The Præ帕斯

herfoze þ' apostles folowig & obei
þ' rule, doctrine & cœmationmet of ou
fauiour Jelus Christ their master
ozdevned in hys kyngdome &d congregaci
two officers: One called after þ' greke wo
de bythop, in english an ouerlear: which i
me was called pæast after þ' greke, elder u
églyph because of his age, dilcreció & sadne
for he was as nygh as coulde be all wape
elderly man: as thou leist both in the new
ofde testament also, how the officers of th
Jewes be called the Elders of the People
because (as thou mayst weithynke) they w
re ouer old men, as nygh as coulde be
unto age do men naturally obepe, and vnto
age doth god commaunde to geue honoure
faynege: Levi, xix. Ryle vp before the ho
rehead, and reuerence the face of the old ma
And also experience of thynges and could
neffe (without which it is harde to rule wel
in more in age then in youth. And thys
ouerlear dyp put hys hâdes vnto the plow
of goddes worde, and keed Chyrstes flocke
and tended them only without lokping vnto
any other busynesse in the worlde.

A nother officer they choler, and called
him Dracen after the greke, amynystre in
nuglith, to mynystre the almylle of the pco
ple

The Prætyle

mette for by the first springing of the em
pyre of, Mahomete, the Emperours, Lai
ges, and greate lozdes of christendome ha
geuen their treasure so myghtelp on to
church, what after great victoizes, & wha
at they deathes, that their succellours in
tre not able to mainteyne battell against the
Saracenes and Turkes (for the woold
was not put in such captiuitie þ thep could
make thep subjects fwere on bokes wha
they were worth 4 raple vp taxes at the
pleatur) so that a certein wyppter of stoples
lapth; The pzelates gaped when the lay
men wolde take the warre upon the agair
the Turkes, and þ lay men loked when
pzelates wolde lape out their monep to ma
ke the warre with all, and not to spend it in
wozle vse, as þ most part of the were wó
to do, spend vnyge the monepe that was go
ten with aimele and bloude of markers vp
pou goodly plate and greate veffels of gol
de and lpluer, without care of things to co
me, despysing God who me thep worg hyppe
ped for their beipes lake on ly and allo ma.
Moreoue it was the custome euen the
(fapth þ auctor) to axe what the bishopvo
ke was worth, ve and to leave a wozle for a
better oz to kepe both with a vnio. And at þ
same

["Of prelates.", "Of the time when the debitie of the Church, her order, came to Rome, to confirm me the Postime, in his se, W the Emperor, and the Pope, the elector of a great king, and the elector of a great州, and the elector of a great king, and the elector of a great州, and the

The Præpyke

tepte that he were ready to forfale lyke an
ali:euè so myght that officer be sure that
woldre coste hym hys lyke at one trme of
other forþbearig eacoro into the truth. W
after that the multi: ude of the chypsten e
re encreased, and manp great men had w
creued the fayth, than both landes and
tes as well as the other goodes, were geu
unto the maintenaunce as well of the ele
gye as of the pooze: becaule they gave the
no tythes to the prieſtes , noz yet nowe
ſave in certeyne coûtreps: ſo that is to mu
to geue almeſſe offe: tinges: landes and
thes alſo. And then the by: shops maden
whoch they call prieſt, and kepe the na
bifhop unto them ſelnes.

But out of the deacons ſp RANGE all
myſcheke. ſo that their hanoes wer
all thynge: they miniftréd unto the clerg
they miniftréd unto the pooze: they were
ſauure with great and small. And when
bifhops office begã to haue text to he
nozable then the deacons through ſauon
and gyktes clam vp thereunto, as lyghelp
þ hath the old Abbots treaſure, ſuccede
with vs. And by the meanes of their p
ſe & accointaunce in the world, they were

Of Pzelates.

ake lyfere subtile and woozldly wyfe then the olde
Cure theyschops, and lesse learned in Goddes woez-
tyme ope, as oure pzelates are, when they come from
truch. Student chyppe in Gentlemens houles, and
Chyptek from tutueing of great mens landis, loz-
en haures secrets, Kynges counels, ambaladvour
es and chyp, from warre and minuiting all woold
were gely matters pea, wozldive milchete; and yet
of the no we they come not thence, but receaue all
p gale and byde there stpil, pea they haue enacted
et not by playne parlyament that they must byde tes must be
is to win the courte stpil oz els they may nothave de stpil in
es an pluraltie of benetycres. And then by lytle the courte.

The pzelat
es and lytle they inhaunled them felues and
the returned all to them felues minys chynge the
pooe peoples parte and encrealing theyz, and
ange al and iopning accyntaunce with great me,
ves and with their power claim up and enptyled
the cle the wich the choyling and contpyming of the
ey we Dope and all bischoppes, to flatterant put
who thale fauoure and defenders: trustprie mo
t to have unto their wozldly wpldom then unto þ
gh fau doctrine of Chypt, whych is the wplde m
lyghel of God and unto the defence of mā, then of
God. Then whieh they þ had thy piowe by
their part, loked darke the plow went awyre,
y were fay the waxed feble and faint, tour waxed
solo, the lcriptur waxed darke, Chypt was
en

The pzelat
es must be
de stpil in
the courte.

en

The præchife

The chaste it
of prieſes
how it ca-
me vp,

wherunto all the bilſhops of Almanpe,
maudin g þeuer bylſhop þyld call all the
prieſes et his diocſe, a charge þe þeue
man þyld put away et his wyke under pa-
ne of excommunicatió Alhich tpzannp, thog
great reliſtaunce was made against it, þe þ
brought to palle with the emperours ſw
de and his owne ſubtiltie to gether: foþ
Bylſhops were rych and durſt not diſpl-
ſe the pope foþ keare of the Emperour.

Papa.

As one as Memroth þe myghtie h
ter had caught this pape, that he had cor
pelled all bylſhops to be under hym and
were obeynent unto hpm/then he beg
to be greate in the earth,and called him ſe
papa, wyth thys interpræacpon/ kathere
fathers. And when the Pope had exalts
his chzone about hys fellowes, then the
nitie that ought to be amonge þetheren
Chyſtes Church,bzake:and diuizion be
betwene us and the greches/which grek
(If suppose) were at that time the one ha
of chyſtendome. And when any popc ſu
exhozted them to vnitie, they alwered th
he which wpl reygne ouer hys betherē
violèce,bzaketh vnitie, c. not they, c þe
my!! not be under hys tpzannpe wherur
he calleth them vnð a colour of vnite. An

Diuilióin
the church.

The piactile

He and when he had subdued the Lyngbo
Lombardye, he gaue unto our holy father
or rather to saunt Peter that hungry beg
get, greatے p[ro]u[n]its & contreys in Lom-
bar[do]e and in Italie, with the yle coxſien
and many greatے cryptes, of which some per-
tempe[rd]o unto the Empereute being then at
Constantinople, & yet the Empereur ha
ſent before unto king Dijpine that he ſhy
not geue of his to wnes unto the pope.
But Dijpine anſwered that he cam for the
ſame intent, & to inhaunce our holy father.
And our holy father receaue them.

And thus the Empyze was divided in
two parts: the Pope and the Frenchking
parting the one halte betwene them. And
as the Empereur decayed, the Pope gre-
we. And as the pope grewe, so the leste of
Mahomete grew, for the Empereur (hal-
ke his empyze loft) was not able to defer
him lelke agaist the inſidels. And the pop
would suſfer no help hence to come for two
cauſes: One, left the Empereur ſhulde
couer his Empyze agayne, and an other be
cauſe þ p[er]ſlates of þ grekes woio not ſub-
mitte them ſelues unto his godheade as þ
p[er]ſlates of theſe quarters of þ wo[ld] ha-
done.

After

The practice

of these two chivalrous to obtaine favours
among many of the Frenchmen, and so to
be able to repair charities, if he would medle,
and to brynge Italy unto the right Emper
perour againe, and would have had that po
pe Adrianould have appointed them kin
ges in their fathers rounde. But Adrian te
kuled that to do for he sawe charles mygh
lie and mete for his purpose and was as
wily as Desiderius, and thought to kepe
out the right Empirour that be Emperour
of Rome himself, though he gave an other
the name for a ceason till a more convenient
time came.

Then Desiderius warred upon the papes iuris dictis. And Adrian sent to Charles and Charles came with his armpe and dralle out desiderius and his lonne, which lonne fled unto the right Empirour to Constantinople. And Charles and the Pope dyed with the kingdome of Lombardy, and twoe them And Charles came to Rome. And the Pope and he were twozne together that who koveit should be ennemy unto the one, should be ennemy also unto the other.

This Adrian gathered a counsell in adiatiu of an. C. Lu. h. Schoppes, alde and

of prelates.

and religious parliaments, & gaue unto Charles and his succours the empyre of Rhodes, and ordeined that the ryght and power to choose the pop, hulo be hys, and that no byfhop huld be consecrate til he had obtained of hym both consent and the ornamentes of a byfhop allo (whych they now are of the pope under payne of curling, &c. to be delpuered unto blackathan the de well and loste of goodes. Dift. I.uy. 1.

And Leo the thynge which succeded A.D. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. and 10. Charles the First, and of Rome adoration of the Emperours of the East made betwene the Emperours of the East and of Rome, and of Rome adoration of the Emperours of the West made betwene the Emperours of the West, how farre the borders of other emperours were, and how farre the borders of other emperours were made twayne. And therfore the emperours of the East and of the West, how long after subdued of the Turkes.

The layd Leo allo called Charles the smooth chyppen Knyge, because of his good seruice: which epty the kypges of Fraunce vse vnto thys dave, though many of them be neuer so unchistened. As the laste Leo called oure kinge the defender of the faith. And as this Pope Clemins calleth the ou

knot

of prelates.

again: but not without the false subtlety of the pope, thou mavest be sure, neither will out his dispensation. For how could Charles have made warre for the Pope's pleasure with Belairius his father, and have thuste him out of his kingdom, and banis hed his Sonne for ever, deuoping his kingdom betwene him and the pope as long as he had bene his wyte?

And therfore the pope with his auctors ite of byndyng and louisinge, lowled the bodes of that matter (as he hath made other lens, and dailly doth for lyke pur purposes) to the intent that he would with the I. werde of the french kyng put the Kyng's dome of Lombardye that was somwhat to nye him out of the way: by the realtio of whose kynges hys father hode could not tapgne alone noz assygne or sell the Bys chopykes of Italy to whome he lusted ad at his pleasure.

He kept also, iiiij. concubines, and laye with two of his owne daughters ther to. And though he twist howe that it was not unknowne, yet his lustes being greater the greater Charles, he would not were nor yet restryne.

And

The practice

And be yonde all that, the sayinge is:
If in hys olde age a whoze had so be witched
him with a ryng, & a pearle in it, ò that I wote
not what pimager pe grauen therin, that he
went alaute after her as a Dogge after a
bitch, and the dote hed was best of hym self
and hole out of hys Hynde: in somuche if
whé the whoze was dead, he could not des
parte from the Deade Corps, but cauled it
to be Endaulmed and to be Carped wyth
hym wheether so ever he Wente, so that all
the wozlde wondered at him, tyll at the last
hys lozdes accombred wyth carpenge her
from place to place, and althamed that so
olde a Man, so greate an Emperoure and
such a molt chrysten ryng, on who, & who
se dedis euery Mannes eyes were lette,
shuld dote on a dead hozé, toke coulel what
shuld be the caule. And it was concluded
that it muste neades be by enchauntement.
Then they wente Unto the cophyne, & op-
ned it and sought, and found thys rynge
on her linger: which one of the lozdes toke
of and put it on his owne rynger. When
the ringe was of he, commaunded to burpe
her, regarding her no longer, Nevertheless
he cast a phantale Unto thys Lozde and
beganne to dote as fale on hym, so that he

of prelates.

W'ight neuer be out of lyght: But whene
oure Charles was there must that lozd al
do be, and what charles dpyd, that must he be
proue unto: until that thys lozd peecuaz
uing that it came because of this eu chann-
ted rynge, for very paine and tedypousnefes
toke and cast it into a well at acon in douch
land. And after þe rynge was in the well,
the Emperour coulde neuer departe from
the towne, but in the lappe place where the
ting was, cast though it were a foule mae
telle, yet he blyt a goodly monasterye in þ
worship of our ladyp, and the ther brougha
telikes, from whence he coulde gett þe au
pardons to sanctifpe the place and to make
it moze haunted. And there he lpeith and is a
sainte as ryght is. For he dpyd for chyppes
vicar almuch as the greate Turke for ma
homete: but to saue his Holynesse that he
myght be canonpled for a saint, thep fayne
in his lpe that hys abpoyng there so con-
tinuallype was for the hote bathes lak a W
b the e.

After Charlemain, he was a child
was Emperour. It was a very
pacièt mā(an other photo as an
other pap for a pope) and some
and some, that Sainte he could be angre
and so an

The practice

at any thynge at all. Cuiu[n] an oure holynesse,
thyns had lene his wate[er] and ipp[ed] what
complexion he was / thep chole Steuens
iij. of the name P[ope] with his knowle,
lege and bad him nother good morow, no
good eve no[te] once god Ipe[de] about the ma-
ter, against thep oungraint vnto hys fa-
ther for his good seruice. And hys softnes
was p[et] so[n] what he p[le]ased there vith in
as muche as the electyon of the P[ope] pat-
tapned vnto his right. But the P[ope] lent
Ambassadoures and w[ote] al the execu-
tions that he coud and cam after him selfe to frau-
te to him, p[le]ased him a[d] crowned him p[er]
emperour and p[as]sed the tym[es] a ces[on]
with him, and thep became verp[er] famplier
to gether.

Pope Steuere
the iiiij.

After that, thep chole Palchalis p[ope] of
p[er] same maner, which p[al]chalis lent imme
diariely legates vnto the emperour p[ok]te[le]
w[es] excusing him selfe and layeng that it
was not his faute but that the cl[ergy] and
the comen people had d[ra]wen hym therto
with violence against his w[ill]. Then p[er]
per ourt was content to[] that ones and bad
they thuld no more do so, but that p[er] old or
dinaunce ought to be kept. The softennesse
of this p[er] w[es] did him much t[he] care.

Pope p[al]
chale.

Wass

of prelates.

Was after pzelated of his owne fone with
helpe of pope B. Igozp the fourth.

After this mans dayes the popes ne-
uer regarded the Emperours moz did the
clergy of Rome fue any moze to the empe-
rour, ether foz the electio oz confirmacio of
the pope. Moreover after this Lewes the
re was ned emperour in chyftedó of any
power oz able of his owne might to coñec-
te any pope nether was there anye knyg h
toud coñect h outrages vices of the ſpriz-
tualty of his owre realme after this tyme
For this Lewes lefte. iij. ſonnes amonge
which he deuied the realme of Fraunce
and all douchló. Which ſame foz pize &
disdapne that one huld haue moze then as
other fell to gether ( as we ſay ) by the ca-
res eche distropeng others power, so that
fraunce was afterward of no mighte to do
any great thig. And the the pope repgned
in ſtaly alone without cars of any Empe-
rour: in so much that Nicholas the ſn strpope Nic-
deeed that no ſeculare pince oz emperour: aus the i.
re huld haue ought to do oz he at the coun-
fels of the clergy. And after h Adzis h pope adzis
ſecode was chofe pope h eperours debite
hepng in Rome and not ones ſpoken to of
the matter.

And

The p[ar]ticle

And when the imperials ambuscated, they were dethrown, and the third decreed that they should not be taken to salute him as pope. And after the third decree that they should not abdicate, they were confirmed in their title, and the title was confirmed by the third council. And not the emperor, nor the Emperor held p[ar]ticular opinion that to do so, the council should be of none effect, though all the p[ar]ticulars of their order were there, and though what they said were not true, yet the council of thecardinal was so. So mighty was the beast now that it was in their hands began to speak alone. And from this time therewas p[ar]ticular power of the emperors and the council of the popes, and after that time in the place of the popes, there was none in the council of the cardinals, so was there no power in any ordinance.

After this time, there was no power in France and of all Dutchland was divided into two, one his son, and the other with an other and distinquished from the rest, of the which he was offraint. And from that time to this, which is about two hundred and twenty years, thou shall see of the powers that be in the world.

of pzelates.

yes that have not led their lives in clouds
heading/in so much that if thou conspire
the nozles well, thou shall easily perceale
that there hath bene clayn about thery cau
le farre aboue. xi. C. thousand me, believe
there hath bene but fewe princes in chyld
 tendom that hath not bene busyed and co-
bred a great parte of his lyfe about their
mater. Cytherin wartes begonne at their
setting on, ether in ceasing leAMES or di-
uision that hath bene amonge the clergye
who should be pope, or struing of byllshops
who should be greatest as betweene the bis-
hop of Pozke and Cau nterbury in Inz-
gland, & betweene the bisshops of Ingláde
& Wales, whether al þ chysoncles be full, or
in reforming friers or monks, or in struing
them that battered their false hypocrisly w
goodnes woozde.

When the Emperor was downe,
no man in chyldendom of any powre to be
feared, then every nation fel upon others
and all landes were at variaunce betweene
them felues. And then as the Danes cam
into England and vexed the Ingilmen,
and dwelt there in spyte of their hartes, or
ven so came straunge nations whole na-
mes were leace hearde of before it.

D quod iste

Clanداles.
Hunnes-
Gothes.

The episcopate
quarters (as the Clandales/ Hunnes and Gothes) and ran through out all Christendom.
by C. Thoulands to gether, and subordinated all lands and of the run maugre the inhabitation
bitours, as thou mayst be in Douchlon how diuise nations are inclosed in þi mind
of þi land of a strange tongue which no douchman understandeth; and that rule
continued wel. viij. or ix. scoze or iiij. húdzent
peres. And in all this ceat ion, who leues
wan the may strye, him, the spiritual type
receaued, and him thy crouning ad to
him they cleave. And what so ever any type
taût had robbed al his lpye, that or most pay
the ther of must he deale am og them at his
death, for fear of purgatioz. The spiritual
type all that ceat ò p reach ed the pope mygh-
tely, by the abbay es for recreaton and quiet
ille/ st. zy ninge them al waye for laynes
which purchased the priuilege of or fought
for their liberties, or disputed for the popes
power, how so ever they lived (but after A.
pere whé their liues were forgotten) ad to
any rest ed them what so ever milcheuen
they went about, him they noted in chzea
apjes as a crueil tireunt: pe & what lord
mil fortune chaun sed any of his posterité
after him, that they noted also, as thou

God

The practice

Who do promise and swear into the loyol John, by the father, the Son and the holy ghost, and by this wood of the cross that make this lying, and these relyques of faith, that if I come to Rome with goddes helpe, I will exalthe the holy church of Rome and the, Y governing of the same, unto my power: neither shall thou lole lyke no members, or that honour that thou hast by my will, collack consent or lettynge a word. Or after I will make in rome no costitucion of ordinance of anye thyng that perteyneth unto the or unto Y Romaynes without thy counsell. And whatsoeuer of the landes of Lant Peter cometh unto our hands, I will do lyuer it the Lord, and to whom soever I shall commit the rule of Staly, I will make him were that he shall helpe the, to defend the landes of Saint Peter unto his power.

And Gregory the V. (when they had gotte at the last that whiche they long gaged for) made this ordinance of cholynge the emperour, to stablysh it with all: that vi. landes of Almany, iii. of the spiritualtye and, iii. of the temporaltye with the king of Boyce the Seuenth to be the odde ma. et vince

Dope Gre
ゴロズ v. v.

of pzelates

which was the fode and patrimony of the
pooze and necellarp preachers, that he cal-
led lait Peters patrimony, lapnt Peters
rentes, lapnt Peters lands, lapnt Peters
right: to cast a vayne keare ( an hethenily
supersticiouines into þ hartes of me, that
no man shuld dare meadle with what foe=
uzr came once into their hāves, for keare of
lapnt Peter, though they muniftred it nez
uer so euel: and that they which shuld thin
ke it none almele to geue the any more (be
cause they had to much alreadpe ) shuld yet
gyue lapnt Peter from what (as I abucho
Doneffer gave his God Brell ) to purcheus
an advocate and an intercessor of lapnt De-
ter, and that lapnt Peter shuld at þ fpriste
knocke, let them in.

And thus woiþ flateringe and fayning
and vayne supeſtacion under the Name
of Saynt Peter, he crept vp and fastened
hys rootes in the harte of the Emperour,
and wyth hys swerze clame vp aboue all
his felowbich hoppes and brought them vn=
ð his fete. And as he subdued them wyth
the Emperours lwerd, even so by SUBTILTY
& helpe of them (after that they were lwoz
ne faythfull ) he clam aboue the Emperou-
re, and subdued hyn alco and made hyn
floupe

geuk vnto
þ pooze is
come. S
peters pa-
trpmonye.

Danielis

riuj.

floupe

The practice

Toupevnto his fete,and kyll e them an othe whyle. Pea Pope Calestinus crooned the Emperour Henrye the fift, holdynge the crowne betwene his fete. And when he had put þ crowne on , he smote it of w his fete agayn, layeng : that he had myght to make Emperours and to put them dou me agayne.

And he made a constitucion that no lay
man Thuld meddle w theyr maters, nor be
in theyr counsels or witte what they did, or
that the Pope only Thuld call the counsell
and the Emperon Thuld but defende the
Pope: proupled alway that the counsell
Thuld be in one of the Popes towne s, and
where the popes power was greater then
the Emperours: then under a pretence of
codempnyng some here lye/ he called a ge-
nerall counsell/ where he made one a patris
arcke, an other Cardinal: an other Legate,
an other Primate, an other Archbyschop,
an other Byschoppe, an other Deane, and
ther Archdeacon and to for th, as we now
see.

And as the Pope played with the Em
perour, lo did his bzaunches and hys me
bres the bishops play in euery kingdome
buckedom and, lordship, in so much that þ
very

of prelates.

very hevres of them, by whome they came
up/hold nowe their londes of them and ta-
ke them for their cheke lozdes. And as the
Emperour is twozne to the pope, eu en so
every kyng is twozne to the bishopes and
prelates of the realme: as they are the che
kest in all perliamentes: yea they and their
money and they that be twoznto them as
come up by them, rule all together.

And thus the pope the father of all hys
pocrites hathe wyth kalfyod and gyle per-
verted the order of the worlde and turned
the rootes of the trees upwarde and hath
put downe þ kingdō of chriſt, & let up þ kig
dome of the deuell whole by car he is, and
hath put downe the miniters of chriſt, as
hath let up the miniters of Sathan, vils-
giled yet in names and garmen ts lyke vn
to þ aügels of lyght and minitres of righ
tuouſnes. For Chr�ſtes kingdom is not of
the world Alton. xviiij. as the Popes king
dom is all the world.

And Christ is neither judge nor diuell in
this world Luke xij. But the pope iud-
geth and deuideth all the world, e. take th
the empyre e al kingdoms and geue th
to whom he iudgeth.

Christ

Qualis pater talis fide
Naturall chylderen.

the popish order com-
pared with
Chrysostom.

The practike

Christ layth Math.v. Blessed are the poor in poize: so that the Christ steppe in Christ kingdom of Christ is humbienes or humiliaie that thou canst fpyde in thyne hart to do feruice vnto all me, and to suffer that almen treade the.

The Pope layth. Blessed be the proude and hyghminded that can clym and subdue all vnder them and mainteyne their ryghes and such as wylf suffer of no man, so þe which was yesterey taken from the dong hyll and prouoted this dape by his prynce, that to morrow for the popes pleasure can he him & excommunicate hym, and intercepe hys rapalme.

Christ layth. Blessed be the meke of sole that be harmlesse as dores.

The pope bleleth them that can let all the world together by the eares and fyghes and clea manfully for his sake, that he may com hote from bloudthreading to a byfhop ryxe as our Cardinal dyo, and as Saynte Thomas of Canterbury dyo, which was made byfhop in þe feld, in complete harme, ke on his horlebcke and hys speare bloud by in hys hande.

Christ hath neither holes for foxes, nor nests for byrds, nor yet wheron to lay his head.

of prelates.

Golpell to begge more from the pooze.

And as his Deacons mynistre the goodes
of the church vnto the pooze : euen so voo
hys prelates prieche Chryfts golpell vnto
his flocke.

And the almeffe that was gurnt to the How the
fustentacion of the pooze which thou make pope diuys
reade in stories that it was in some citiesseth the po
above. xx. xxx. xl. pea an hundred that are people
pounde, and all the lands gurnt for the la-
me purpose, they have stoln from them &
have diuysed it amonge them felues. And
the with did theyp at the beginning corrupt
the grate men of the wozide an clam up
to this heigth were they now be. And for
have they strourn among the in felues this
viiij. hundred peares. And to mainteyne
which they have falkely goften hath the po
pe sturred up a swerd of warre in all chye
fendom this. viij. hundred years (e hath
taken peace cleane out of the wozide.

When the bilshoppes, paires and dea-
tons were fallen and had received of the
pope the kingdom that parrerned vnto the
pooze people, and had robbed them and par-
ted their patrymony among them felues,
then spange the orders of monkes: Who:
se pzekellyon was to abstayne frō flesh all
their

The prartike

the pr lives, to were vyle rap mët, to eate but
once in the dape, âd that but butter, chele, eg
ges, frutes, rootes and suche thyn ges that
weare not costly, âd myght euery where be
founde. And theyp wzote boke s, âd wzought
duier se thyn ges to get their lyuinge wyth
all. When the lape men sawe that the pzea-
stes were fallen in to suche couetuoulnes/
that the Monkes were so holys theyp the
ught, the se be mete men to minister our al-
misse vnto the poze people. Foz theyz pzo-
ſſion is so holys that they can not decea-
uc vs as the pzeaſtes do, âd made the mo-
kes tutoyzs and minifters vnto the poze, âd
gaue great Landes and ryche ſe in to thep z
handes to deale it vnto the pooze. Whê the
monkes sawe suche aboun daunce, theyp fell
after the enſample of the pzeaſtes, and toke
dispé ſacy õs of the pope ſoz their rulés âd
ſtrait p[ro]ſedíó, whiche now is as wyde as
the ir coules, and deuided all amonge them,
and robbed the pooze once moare. And out
of the abbaye stoke he the moſt parte of his
Byſhopzickers and cathedral churches, and
the moſte parte of all the landes he hature
bespdes that there Remayne yet ſo Ma-
ny myght ye abbapes and nunzpes the r
to.

AS

of p[er]lates.

As lone as the monks were fallen, the
k[py]ang these beggynge fryzes out of Hell,
the last kind of Caterpillers, in a more vile
apparel and a more strapte relygion that (if
ought of relefe were left amonge the laye
men for the pooze people) these hozleleches
might sucke that also. Which dzanbers as
lone as they had learned their crakte & had
hyle them goodly & costly nestes / and their
lymiters had divided all contrers amonge
them, to begge in and had prepared lyupn-
ges of a certayntie / though we beggynge/
then they also toke dispélacyps of the po-
pe for to lyue as largely as we w delye as
the monks.

Beggynge
fryers.

And yet unto the laye men whom they
haue thus fallelye robbed & from whyche
they haue deupeed them selfes and made
them a feuerall kyngdome amonge them
selfes, theyp leaue the payenge of tolle, cu-
stome and erpbute (for unto all the Char-
ges of the Ropalmes they will not paye
a mpte (and the finding of all the pooze:
the fynding of scolers for the moſte par-
te: The fynding of these for layde hozlele-
ches and caterpillers the beggynge fryers
the reparynge of hype wapes and b[ry]poges
the buILDynge and reparacpons of theypze

abbates

The char-
ge of lay-
people.

The practice

abbayes and cathedral-churches, chapels
come to us, for which they send out their parts
dons, vapy by heapes, and gather a thousand
land pounds for every hundred that they
bestow truly.

If the laye people have warre on what
formerly charge it be, they will not bear a
myte.
If the warre be theirs (as the
one parte almost of all warre is to defend
them) they will falchod make the bear
the greatest parte, help des that, they must
leave their wyues and children & go fight
for them and looke their liues. And likewi
soial their charges they have a cast to poll
the laye people.
The Scottes cast downe
a castell of þ þylþop of dirams on þ scot:
þynþy dancke called Nozam castell. And he
gat a pardon from Rome for the buyd op:
ge of it agay ne wher with I doubt not, but
he gat for every penny that he bestowed
there.

Howe the
spiritual
lie bestowe
theytreas
in us.

And what do they with their store that
they have in so great plentyn every where:
so that the very beggving fryers in thos
pace to make a cardinal or a pope of their
less or to do what keate it were for their
pize.

The practice

ped hym as God, to receaue hys empyre of
him, and all kings had done lyke wile to be
anopnted of him and to be croune of him,
and after that the worlde both greate and
smale had submitted them to lyues to receas
ue the beauest bagge: then because that chzi
stes doctryne was contrary unto all such
kingdomes, and therfore had no law thet
in howe to rule it, he wentand made him a
feuerell lawe of hys owne makpng, which
passe in cruelty and tyranny, the lawes of
all hethen prie stes.

What sub-
titè the po-
pe vnlth to
Kablyth
hys kypg-
dome.

And in his lawe he thust in fapned gyf
tes of old emperours, that were out of me
mory, layeng that the emperour Constan
tinus had geuen vp the empyre of Rome
unto. S. Splester, which is proued a fat
le lye for diverse causes: one that fait lilye
ster being so holp a man as he was, wolde
not have receaue it contrarpe to his ma-
sters como ndemées & doctrine: an other
that the emperours rapgned in Rome ma
ny paires after and all bilthopes lued vn
to the emperour and not to the pope, which
was but bilthope of Rome only: & not cal
led father of fathers. Moreover, þ no au-
tentykke story maketh mencion that any em
peroure gaue them their patrimonye, but
that

that

of p[ixel]ates.

That Pipine which fallelp with streghth
inuaueo the empire gaue it vnto him. Thé
pur he m the graunt of Phocas, then the
gift of pipine confirmed by the great char-
les : then a fayned relefe of the electió of P
pope/geué vp agayne vnto pope Palcha-
te by the emperour Lewes. If they the
felsues had graunted vnto charlemayne, c
his fuccellours for ever the election of de-
nominacion of the pope & bishopes to flat-
fer him with all, to make him a faythfull
defender, and that in a genetall Counsell
which (as they flap) can not erre. Neuerthe
leue pope Palchajl though he believed the
counsell coude not erre, yet he thought the
Com what overlene, to make so long a gra-
tunt, & therfore he purchased a relefe of gée
gle lewes as they ptéd. But verely it is mo
tre lipkelp that they fayned that graunte to
excufe their tyzanny after they had take P
electió into their hādes agayne wyth violé
te, whethe emperours were weake & not
able to reelyst the[es] as they fayned P gift of
Costatine, after they had inuaured the empi-
te with subtylty and fallhed. And last of al
they brought in the oth of Etho with the
ode that now is vled to choose P éprentour

C iv

Nom

The practice
Howe the popery corrupteth the
Scripture and why.

Mereouer left these his lyes shulde be lpped & least happily the emperours follo wing, myght ape, our predeceffours had no power to bynde so, noz to minish oure migtzes. And least kinges following, Shuld fay after the fame maner, that the lwerd & full power to punish euel doers indifferéntly, is geue of God to every kynge for hiss tyne, and therfore & thysy & decellour coulde not bynde thim contrarpe unto the orvynaunce of God: but rather it was unto they, dæpnation to make such graütes & þ þhep dyp not execute they, al fice. And therfore þ foule & mylshapé mofte, gate hym to the fcripture & corrupteth it wyth falle expolptions, to proue þ such auothoritie was geuen hym of God, & caunged it by þ auothoritie of Deter.faying, that peter was the head of Christs church, and that Chryft had made hym lorze ouer the apostles hys fellowes, in þ he bad his fea de hys thepe & lábes John & last, as who Shuld fape þ paule which came longe after, was not commaunded to frade as lperyal in as peter, which, pet wold take no aueth

of pzelates.

The mercies that is made up for us in Christ.

Then comes he unto another text which the Christ rehearseth Mathe, last, saying: All power is given me in heaven & earth, go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptize them in the name of the Father, and Faireonne, and of the holy goft, teaching them so kepe all that I command you: And behold I am with you unto the world's end: Loo forth the pope, Christ hath all power in heaven and earth, without exception, and I am Christ's vicar, wherfore all power is mine, and I am about all kings and emperours in time & all iustic of them that be, but my seruantes to kill not my kete only but my R. alioft I lift not to haue the koupe so low. Whosoever Christ as I laid because he had no temporal kingdom, even Christ's to the ment of no temporal all power, but of po power is to wer to saue sinners, which the power of saue lines the text declareth by that he sayth, goo ve therfore, and teach and baptize: that is, before this power to all nations, & wash of their lines thorow Christ in the promises made in my bloude.

of this mass

Then he comes unto another text. He meriugleth bze. vis. which is. The perehode being trá he with lated, the law must needs be translated al textes.

10.

of prelates.

Isak in the XX. chapte of Joh where he saith them the keyes afterlys resurrectio / et thou shalt se that he gave them onto all in-differentiye layemgi: As my father sente me so send I pou. Whether sent he them into all the world, and onto all nations. What to do: to preach § law that § people might repét, et the promples § they might beleue in Christ for §復 remeð von ot sinnes, layeng: zecraue the holie goð, who so euer sylmne ye forzgeue, theys haibe for zgeuen. By which holie goð he gave them understan dynge of the скripture and of all that theyeould prieche: as thou mapest see Luk last, where he opened theys wittes to undeistand the скripture and layd, that repentaunte and forzgeuenes of syllys muite be prieved in hys name to all Matrons, and that they were wytne: as to prieche it. Wherby thou seiste § to Bynd and to Loole is but to prieche and tell the people theys fautes, and to prieche me type in chypre to all that type.

And when he layeth all power is geuen me: he layeth not go thou Deter and preach but layeth onto all indifferentiye, go ye et preach hys power geuen me of my father so laue al that repent, and to dampne them thas

Christ ges all hys Apostles it ke aucthoyt ye.

To bynd / loule is / to prieche.

The p[r]actile

that repent not but follow þ lustes of their
flesh, wyth full desire to lyue beaſtlie beþng
sinne mypes onto the lawe of god.

And Mathe. xviiij. Peter axed Christ how
oft he shulde forgyue hys brother, whether
seuen tymes. And Christ spake, *Suffer me,
 tymes seuen tymes*. As who should lay
as ofte as he repented and axeth forgye-
nesse.

Now though this were spoken unto Pe-
ter only, because Peter only moured the
question, yet apartapneth it not unto us all
as well as onto Peter. Are not we as mu-
the bounde to forgeue oure nepghboures
that repent and are forngeuen, as Peter.
Pres. verelve. But because Peter only ax-
ed þ question, therfore did Christ teache us
by Peter. If an other had axed he wolde
haue taught us by that other. And in lyke
maner when Christ axed who laye he that
I am: if any other of the Apostles whiche
beleurd it as well as Peter, had layd as
Peter did, thou arte Christ, the one of the
lyuinge god, which arte come in to the worl-
de of sinners, to laue them: onto him wold
Christ have answered, as he said to Peter,
that upon the rocke of that his confession
he wolde have hit his church, and wolde
have

Nota.

of prelates.

haue Pzompled hym kepe as well as he
 dop Peter. Pea and in the.xviiij.chapte of
Mathe w, Chyzst laith to al the Apostles/
pea, and to all congregatons where syn-
ners be, that what lorer they bound thul-
de be boude & what lorer they looke thul
be be looke.

A woman
hath pow-
to bynde.

Mors ouer euerpe man and woman
that knowe Chyzst and hys doctrine, haue
the kepes and power to bynde and looke:
in an orde yet and in their measure, as ty-
me place and occasion geruth and ptyua-
telpe. Mape not a wypke, yt hys hulband
lynne agaynste God and hys, and take a no-
ther woman , tell hym hys taute betwene
hym and hys secre telpe, and in good maner
humbly, and bynd hys conscience with the
law of god. And yt he repent, may the not
korgeue hym ad looke hym as well as the
Dope. Pea, and better to, as longe as the
lynne is secret, in as muche as he lynne the
specially against hys, and not against the po-
pe.

And so mape the lōne do to the fathere
and a feruaunte to the master, and euer pe
man to hys neyghboure, as thou leyst in þ
Tapde.xviiij.chapte of Mathe w. Now
be it to bynde and looke in the conscience by

open

of prelates.

Insuperible kynghood to do with places?

Where Chyystes Gospellis, their is his po Chyöstes
wer full and all hys auctozite as well i one powr is in
place as in an other.

the golpeil

Fynallpe to getr auctozitie whente so e-
uer they can snatch it, they ioyne Paule W
Peter in their awne lawes Distinitiv. I xij
faynge : By the auctozytie ot peter and
Paule. Whych is clene agaynst the selues.
For they lay in their awne lawe in the pze
lence of the Superior, the power of the inke-
nor ceaſeth, and is none at all. Mowe if
Peter be greater then Paule, then by that
rule, where Peter is pzeſent theiſe Paule
is but a ſubiecte and wythouſte auctozytir.
As where Chziſt is pzeſent bodilie ad pzea-
cheth hi ſelke, there û apostles geue vp their
auctozytie, ad hold their peace ad ſite doune
at hys fete, and become ſcolers and herken
to.

paull is tal-
ied to help

W herforre in that theyp ioyne Paule with
Peter, and chalége their ſuperiortie as porl.
by û auctoſitie of Paule as of Peter, there
they make Paule ſelw ad equall with pe-
ter. And thus it is falſe that Peter was
greater then hys ſelowes, but the blynd ou-
les care not what they houle, ſeyng it is mi-

thy

The practice
and the daye lyght of gods worde, but by
that no man can laye them.

Mozourr w chisterme, Peters leate,
they iugle a pale(as w infinite other) lay:
ing, that Peters leate is the chefe leat, but
what Peters leat is, that they tell you not
For what ye that ye thule loose perceave
that they lye. Peters leate is no stole on
chayre(for what hath the king of King's)
to do with such baggage) but, it is a spiritual
thyng. Chyrst lay thyn in the golpell Math.
xiiij. The Scrybes and pharyzees lay on
Moles leate. What was moles leat ther,
a chapre/ or the temple/ or the churchs, or
nagoge of the land. Nap verely, for moles
came neuer there. But Moles leate was
Moles lawe and doctrine. Cué so peters
leate, is peters doctryne, with golpell of chris
t W peter taught. And the same doctrine is
Peters kepes: so that peters leate, Peters
kepes and Peters doctrine is all one thing
Nowe is peters doctryne, Paules doctrin
ne (the doctrine of all the xij. Apostles in
differently, for they taught all one thynge.
Wherefore it followeth: that peters kepes,
and peters leate, be the kepes and leate of
Paule also, of all the other xij. Apostles
and are nothing laue the golpell of Christ.

And

of prelates.

And thus as Peters doctryne is no better
then Paules but one thing, even so Peters
fate is no greater nor hier over, holyer then þ
fete of þ other. xij. Peters fete now is chri
stes fete. Chyrstes gospell on whych all the
apostles fete, on whych this daie litteth
all they only that preache Christ truly God
foze as Antichrist preacheth not peters doc
time (which is Christ's gospell) so he fotteth
not on peters fete, but on the fete ofathan
whole vicar he is and on the fete of his ow
ne laws and ceremonies and false doctry
ne wher vnto he compelleth all men wythe
bypotence of swerde.

Then he clame to purgatorie with the
ladder of the layde texte, what so ever thou
bindest in earth. a. c. purgatorie layde he, is
in earth: wherfoze I am tode ther to. He
uertheless as he can prie no purgatorie
so can he not prie that þ ther were any
it shold be in the earth. It myght well be i
þ elemete o[ sphere of fire under þ mone
as well as in the earth. But to byn að loo
le, is as I have aboue layde to preache and
to fede and with Chyrstes doctryne to put
ge foules. And they that be dead be not of
the flocke which Christ bad Peter fede, but
they that lyue onlye.

Purgator[us]

f then

The practice

Thenclam he vppe wyth the same lads
drr spyl ouer all vowes and p[ro]fflements of
all rełygious parlones,and ouer othes ma
de betwene man and man to dispence wyth
them, and ouer all menne's tristamentes to
alter the. If so what thou makest an holyp
fall, that will he thortely make a college of
prerestes, or a place of relygion, or what he
justeth. The all maner monkes and fryers
and lyke d[ra]ffe toke dyspensations of hym
for the vedenances of they, olde founders

And because, as they thought, they had
prayed (distributed) for them. Souls F-
nough to bring the out of purgato[ry], they
thrust the out of their bleedzollés and toke
daply mo and mo.

But euer lers they toke dyspensations
of the pope beth for their rules and to renews
de all among them, they recdued in the nap
me, not of the pooe, but of purgato[pe], to
quench the ragige spye ther of, which is as
hote as they, belpes can fapne it, and foles
be out of they, wpts to believe it: p[ro]ompli-
ge a maſſe daily for xL thilyngs by the pea-
re, of wgh ch foundations when they haue
gotten tw entie, they wil yet with an on[]mou
purchased of the pope, make but one chaui-
trie. If so, it they chuld do all that they haue

Howels.
Dithes.
Testamèts.

Union.

p[ro]

of prelates

promised from this first founder unto this
asp. v. hundredth monks were not enough
in many cloisters.

Thyntonkest thou? me? were either so mad
to make the fastions that are now a long
them? to give the seller such a lóine, & th
priour and the supprior and the other of
friers so much for their pattes as they ha
ue prelye, and to fill the Abbot from
his bath. &c. to send him out of the abbate
into suche parkes, and place of pleasure,
and give hym a thousand, and such a hundred,
two thousand and so forth thousand and one
for two, so forth to I poize his selfe with all.
Now, but when thou
now hoppochest he had got the land enough
then they turned unto the pope and took up
pensations both for their rules, which we
to have for his abundance, and for his
wylles of their founders, and served an great
for of founders under one per dominum,
and deputed among fewe that which was
enough for a great multitude.

It was the pope that deputed all these
fastions to corrupt the prelates with abu-
daunce of wozldelpre plealures, of whyche
he wist that þ wozst word be most grandy
and for which he wist also þ he should find
Judalles now that wold forake Chyrst

If it and

The practice
and betray the truth, and be وزne false
unto him and his godhead. He maketh of
many countries one, of an abbay, a cathed
ral church, and out of the abbats plucketh
he the Bp[ist]op[iz]kes. And as B[ist]hoppes
pape for thep[iz] bulles, even so do an infamy
te number of abbots in ch[ast]endom, in all
lands for one whyche Abbots be by[ist]hops
within them telues and immediately under
the pope. And other abbots & p[ious]es led
after the same example daply unto rome
to purchase lycence, to wear a mitre and a
stolfe & gape o[namet]res, to be as glozvous
as the best. &c. And where befo[re] God, no
ma is a pr[iet], but he [is] appointed to prea
the Ch[rist]es gospel unto the people, & the
people ought not to geue ought unto [as] pi
ritualty, but for the maintenance of the
preaching of God's word, the Dope taketh
bi. o[ur]d. y[our] ten. &c. and as many benefi-
ces as he lyfeth, & geueth them unto one [as]
preacheth not at all, as he doth all other dy-
gnities of the spiritualty: he that will pura
chasse and pape, and be وزne, shall have
what he will.

Howe they prove all thep[iz] general[ly]
countely.

of Pzelates.

When the Byllhoppes and Abbottes
and other great Pzelates had for:
saken Chypste and hys lpuinge, and
were fallen downe before the beaft the Vy-
tar of Sathan, to receaue their kyngdome
of hym then the pope called together diuer
se counsels of luch holy apostles, and th: re
concluded and made of euery opinion that
semed proffitable an artycle of y fayth. If
thou axe wher is the Scriptur to proue it:
They answere we be the church & can not
erre, and therfore lype they, what we con-
clude, though there be no scrpture to pzo:
we it, it is as true as the Scriptur & of egall
aucthoritie with the scrpture and must be
belcued as well as the scrptur under pay
me of dampnation. Ifo( ly that our truth
dependeth nor of the truth of the Scriptur
that is, we be not true in our doynge becau-
se the Scrpture testifiketh unto vs that
We so trulyp; but contrary the truth of the
Scripture (lype they) dependeth of vs, that
as the Scrpture is true because that we ap
mpt it and tell the that it is true. Ifo, home
couldest thou knowe that it were the scrpy
ture excerpt we told y so? a therfore we ne
deno witnesse of the Scrpture for that we
Do, it is enough that we lyf of our owne

The chur-
che, r: not
r: not

f iii head

The prætiole

head for we cannot erre.

Which realon is lyke as though yong
monkes newly prouell ed, chulo com by the
rules of their order, & ordinances of their
olde founders and wolde go about to kepe
them: & the old cankered mokes chulo call
them backe unto the corrupt and false ma-
ner that now is vled, sapig: pe er. Do on
ly as we teach you, for your profession is
to obey your Elders. According unto the
rules of our order and ordinances of our
founder, shall they sapr: We can teache you
none other, shall the old monkes sap, no: ca-
lyp unto you, ye ought therfore to beleue vs
and to do as we do by you. The yong mon-
kes shall answere, we se that you ly, cleane
cotrary unto all that is wrizé in our rules
and ordinances. The old mokes chal sap
pecan not understande them except we er:
pounde them unto you, nother yet know
they be your rules, excepte that ye beleu
we can not lye unto you. If so, how can ye
knowe that these be your rules and order:
nances, but as we pour elders tell you so.
Now whé we tell you that these be your
rules, & ordinances howe can ye be sure
undoutedlye that it is so, excepte ye beleu
undoutedly that we cannot lye?

A furilitu-
Dis.

okpxelates

re if ye wylbe lure þ they be your rules & ordenaunces then ye must first beleue that we can not lyr. Leue luch imaginations & disputations therfore and lape your rules and ordinaüces out of your hâdes and loa ke no more on the, for they make you erre And come and do as we tell you and captize youre wpttes and beleue that we can not lyr vnto you, and that we cannot vnder stande your rules and ordenaunces. Euen so þkthou lape it is contrary to the scruplure: they þal were þ thou vnderstande it not, and that thou must captue thy wptte âo beleue that though it seeme neuer so contrary, yet it is not contrary: no if they de terme þ Christ is not rilen againn & though þ scruplure testykþ þ he is rilen againe yet (lap they) they be not contrary, if they be wi fely vnderstande. Thou must beleue, lap they, þ there is some other meaning in the scruplure & þ no mâ vnderstand it; but þ we lap, whether vnto scruplure or against it, that must thou beleue that it is true.

And thus because þ the scruplure wolde not agree with them, they thrust it out of þ way Epist, & thut vp the kingdome of hea uen which is Christ's gospel, with false ex polisþons and with such sophistrye & with

F iiiij false

the abottes
kepe þ mó
kes in igno
raunce, 〈 e þ
bifhopes þ
priestes

The practice

falle principles of naturall wisdom,
the abottes toke the lcripture frô their mò
kes left lome thulde ever barre against þ a:
bottes lyupng, and let up luche longe ser
upce and lyngyng to werye them wyth all
that theyp thulde haue no leasure to rede in
the lcripture but with their lippes, and ma
de them good chere to fyll their bellyes àd
to stop the p[ro]mouthes. And the bylflops
in lyke maner to occupp their p[ri]estes with
all, that theyp thulde not study the lcripture
foz barkayng agaynste them, lett up longe
Seruple wonder ovole intricate, so that in
xi. p. ares thou coudest lceace learneto tur-
ne a ryght onto it: Long matèles, long e
uen longes, longe Malfes, long Dyzyges
with bauntage yet to mitigate the tediolul
nes quia leuis eit laboz cum lucto, foz luz
tre (lap theyp) maketh the laboure lyghţe-
uer no lelpng them in Ceremonies and in
their oune cost iturçons, decrees, ozoinau?
tes and lawes of holy church.

And the promises and testament which
the sacrament of Christes body and blood
did p[re]each dayl y pe vnto þ people, that they
put out of knowlege àd lap now that it is
a l[ab]ryfyrce fo[ze] the soules of purgatorye, þ
Theyp mygh[te] the better f[ull] their malle. And

m

of prelates.

in the univerſates they have ordered that the cast of no man shall loke on the ſcripture until he be noſelede in heathé learning, viij. oz. nyne ſities, the univerſities, yere and armed with ſale principall, with which he is clene ſhit out of the underſtoning of the ſcripture. And at his ſpilt co[m]mig vnto the univerſitie, he is ſwozne that he ſhall not defame the univerſtie what ſoever he ſeeth. And when he taketh ſpilt ſegre, he is ſwozne that he ſhal hold none opinion co[on]demned by þ church, but what ſuch opinions be, þ he ſhall not know. And they when they be admitted to ſtudye di[u]nition, because the ſcripture is locked vp with ſuch ſale explications and wypth ſale principles of naturall philofophy that they cannot enter in, they go aboute the out ſp[itu]des and di[u]pute all their lyues aboute woz[er]des and bayne opinyons per[ta]pynnge as muche vnto the yesalŋg of a mannes helpe as heith of his ſoule. Provided yet alway, þrouſe

left god geue his ſyngular grace vnto any
par[ton] that none may preach except he be
admitted of the bis[b]hopes. The [a]mas de aquino & he made the pope a god
with his ſophyſtreu, & the pope made him
a laynct for his labour, and called him doc
four ſanctus, for whose holyncs no man

maye

Saiut th[ou]mas de Aquino.

The practice

may deny what so ever he sayth laue i cers
tapne places where a nog so many lyes he
layd now ad then true. Ano in like maner
who so ever defendeth his tradicions, de-
crees anop zuiileges, him he made a sainct
also f.ay hys lab our, were hys lyuyng ne-
uer so cot carp onto the lcripture, as The
mas of Canterbury with many other like
whole like was like Thomas cardinalles
but not Chzists nepther is Thomas car-
dinalles like any thing laus: couſtrefaptyn-
ge of ſauct Thomas of canterbury. Tho
mas becket was firſt lene in marchaudeſu-
tempoali, and then to learn ſpirituall mar-
chaundyle, he gatt him to Theobalo Arche-
bis(hop of Canterbury) which ſent him di-
uerle tymes to Rome about busines of ho-
ly church. And when Theobalo had spied
his actiuitie, 'he choze hi deacó lest he hulo
go backe, & made him Archeacon of Can-
terbury & upon þ, p[ro]ſented him to the kin-
ge. And the king made him his chancelate
in which office he palled the pompe & p[ri]
de of Thomas cardinal as farre as the o-
nes lyune palleth the others tombe in glo-
ry & rycher. And after that, he w is a ma
of warre, & captapn ouer v. or. vi. thouſau
men in full harnede as bright as ſaict Ge

Sintes.

Thomas
of caunter
burp.

02e

of prelates.

or ge ad his speare in his hande ad encomi-
tred who locuerit ca against hir in ouerthizem
the iolpest rutter that was in al the holtze of
fraunce. And out of the feld hote fró bloud
meading was he made bisshop of Caunter-
durpe, and dio put of hys helme and put on
his mpre, put of his harnelle and on with
his robes, and lapde downe his speare and
toke his crosse, per his hâdes were colde, et
focani wyth a lustye coxe rage of a man of
warre, to fyghe an other whyle against his
prince for the pope. Where hys princes cau
ses were with the law of God, et the popes
dleane contrary. And the pape of hys confe-
cratyon was after his old wozdly fation.
How be it yet he is made a laynte for his
wonzlyppying of the holy feate of Sainct pe-
ter, not that feate of peter which is Chzists
golspell, but an other lpeo to be peters, et is
in de de cathe dza pestilencie, a chapy of false
doCTRine. And becaufe he could no skyll of
oure lozdes golspell he lapde of matens wi
oure lady, laye they. If any man understa-
d the laten, let hym reade his lyfe & compare
it unto the scriptur, et the he that se such ho
lynes, as were here to long to be rehers ed.
And every abbay & every cathedral church
dop flyne the one God oz other, & mingled
the

The practise

The lyues of þ very Saintes wyth karke ly
es/to moue men to offre/which thyng they
call devocion.

And though in all their doings they op
pzele the tépozaltp & their comé wealth, c
be greuous vnto þ rych, and paynkull to þ
pooze: yet they be so many & so exercted in
wyles & so subtyl & so knit & swozne toge
ther þ they còpalle þ tépozaltp & make the
beare the whether they wil oz wyll not(as
the eupe doth the oke)partly with iugglin-
ge, & beþde that with wozdlyp polycy. for
every abbot wyl make him þ may do most
in the snyze oz wyth the kynge, the Stuarde
of hys landes, & geue hym a fee yerely, and
wyl léo vnto Loine, & feast other, þ by luch
meanes they do what they wyll. And lytle
master parló after the Same maner, if he o
me into an houſe & the wife be Snoutefaire
he wil vorte him ſelf there by one craft oz oz-
ther: ether by vſig luch pastime as þ good
man doth, oz in beinge benefycypall by one
waye oz other, oz he wyll lend hpm/and so
bryng hpm into hys daunger, that he can
not thzuste hym oute when he wolde, but
must be còpelled to beare him ád to let hpm
he homely whether he wyll oz not.

Ay

of prelates.

An example of practice out of
our own chRONICLES.

Take an example of their practice out of our own stories. Kyng Herold rolde. Exiled or banished Robert Archbil. Hope of Canterbury. For what cause the English polychronicon specifies not. But Robert of the cause we are not sure what he says, for he says not that they were not passed it over with tolerance. This Robert got him into diatribe unto kynge William the conqueror then duke of Normandy. And the pope Alexander sent duke William a bar to go and conquer England and France. The remission is to whom he is to pass, and of what sin to the barer and good will of kynge William is to conquer here. Mark him how straight the pope followed England. The Justices are to act as his apostles: they are charged with justice for the sins, to all that are repened thereon. The Justices are to decide the Pope's preacheth with justice for the sins to all that will clear their neighbors bought with theIRTES bloud: to subdue them unto his tyrannic. What he ever other cause duke William had against kynge Herold, thou maiest be sure that if the Pope were not clear he would meddle with Herold had not troubled his kingdom.

The piety of
the Saint

memorably the Duke of Württemberg have been able to conquer the land at that time except the spiritualité had brought them on by some means. What could have that result? In England, though we know almost all the losses of the English have been in the field, were they the Normandyers became rulers and all the laws were changed into frenches. But what care we if holy father knows nothing of our men's losses. It were better that we should be hundred thousand men and knaues instead of they were then that holy church should lose one inch of her honour, or Saint Peter leave one dot of her tyght.

Antelmus

And Antelmus that was by St. Thomas in Chorze time after, never left Atrium with that holytie prince of England the second time he had compelled him to give him his life, to help him in the investiture of the election of St. Thomas unto Saint Peter by care, why which investiture was of old time a key of the keytie.

And again, when the Saint Kyng St. Thomas was about to give a present to one of their brothers, who were papists to him, he did not take his chop of Chichester, but by his goddesse he called (as they call it) and stoppeth up the church.

DOCTRINA

of pzelates.

Dozes with thoznes thozow out al hys dis
dele, vntyll the kynge had yelid hyn vppe
hys trybute agayne. Ifoz whyn the holy fa
ther had forbiddin pypelles theyz wyues,
the bpistop permitted the whozres of their
omne foz a yearely tribute, at do yet in all la
des, saue in Angland where they maye not
haue any other saue mennes wpyues onely.

And agayne foz the election of Strüen
langton arch; by the shop of Canterbury,
what misery and wretchedness was in the roy
alme a longe season. The was the land in
terdited many years. And when that hol
pe not, then Irelande rebelled a gayn st kin
ge John immedyatly, and not wythout þ
secrete working of cures Pzelates I date
well sape. But synally when neyther the
interdicing nether þ secrete subtiltie holpe
c whé Jhon wold in no meanes content þ
saint peters vicar shuld raygne alone ouer
the spiritualtye, at ouer all þ perteyned vn
to the, and þ they shulde spynne at do all mil
cheke unpunished, the pope sent remiss Æ
of spynnes to the kynge of Fraunce foz to go
and conquere hys land. When he rok king Joh
was so soze afrazd þ he pelded up his crou
ne vnto þ pope, at we re to hold þ lád of hi
ad þ his succellours shuld do so lykewile.

Any

Note.

Kemystiad
of spynnes
to cõqure

of pzelates.

enemies secretes to betray e them with all.
The p cā inppze priuelpe into þ bzeſtes of
þ people, what myſcheke thep lyst, c no mā
thall know w héce it cometh. Their letters
go ſecretly frō one to an other thożo w out
all kypngo ós. Saict peters vicar, thall haue
wozde in.xv.oz.xvi. dapes, frō the utter-
most part of chriſtendom. (Che bypſhops
of England at their nede/c ā wzyte vnto þ
bypſhops of Jreland, Scotland, denmarke,
douchland, fraunce and spayne, p[ro]mptſig
them as good a turne an other tyme/put-
tyng them in remembraunce that thep be
all one holy churche/c þ the cauſe of the oz-
ne, is the cauſe of the other, ſapenge: if our
iugglyng bzeake out/pours can not be lon-
ge hyd. And the other thall ſerue to, eir tut
ne/ād bring the game vnto their handes, c
no man thall know how it cometh about.
As ſone as king Richa rod was gone to J[]
teland to ſubdue theſe rebelſous, the b[]
ſhop e cam in agayn, and p[]revented the kiu
ge, and toke vp his power against him and
toke him p[ri]ſoner, and put him downe/āo
to death most cruelly, and croune the fat
le of dardp kig. D mercypfull Chriſt, what
bloud hath that coronacion cost England:
But what care thep? Their cauſes muſte

G he

The practise

be auenged. He is not wozthp to be kyngs
that wyl not auenge their quarrels. For to
not the kynges receaue their kynge dome of
the beaſt, and ſweare to woe ſhypp hym and
mapntrine hysthzone. And then when the
erle of Darbye whych is kynge Henry the
fourth, was crowned, the pzelatis toke hys
ſwerve and hys ſonnes Henry the fifth al
ter hym, as all þ kinges ſwerdes ſyns and
abuſed them to ſhed chyſſté bloude at their
pleafur. And they coupled their cauſe vnto
the kynges cauſt (as now) & made it treaſo
to beleve in Chyſt as þ ſcriptur teacht h
to reſyſt the bithopes (as now) and thynſte
the in the kynges pzyſons (as now) lo that
it is no new muécion, that they now do buſ
euen an old pzaſtyle, though they haue done
their bulſe cure to hyde theyr ſcience, þ their
conuenience ſhuld not be eſped.

And in kynge henry the.vj days, how
aged they as fierce lions against good duke
Humſt of Gloceſter the kynge's uncle, and
p[rot]ectour of the realme in the kings you-
th and childe h[od], be cauſe that for him they
myght not clea whom they wold, and make
what cheup ſaunce they lusted. Wold not þ
b[ys]t hop of Wynchester hau[er] fallen oppon
him, and oppzef[ed] hym open[ly] with myght

Duke
Im
re.

of pzelates:

and power, in the City of London, had not
the citizens come to hiss helpe:

But at the last they found the means
to contrive a way to bring their matters
to pass, and made a parliament farre from
the cityzens of London, where was Clapne
the good duke and only weith of the royal-
me, and the mpighty Kyllde that so longe he
foze had kept it from so long, which thoroly
after his death, fell cheron by heapes. But P
tronicles can not tell wher foze he dyed, no
by what means. No meruell verely. Foz
he had nede of other spes then such as the
world seeth with all that thud sppe out thes
pr priepe pathes. Neuer the lesse the cronys
dles testifie that he was a vettuous man,
a godly and good to the comen weith.

Moreover the Protectour of Purgatorie
Sayth in his Dialoge, quod I, ao quod he
and quod youke frende, how that he was a
noble man, and a great clerke, and so wyle
that he could sppe falce myracles and dyf-
clothe them, and Judge them from the true,
Whych is an hatefull science unto our spv-
tualtye and moare abhorr'd them necro-
mantie or wektherakte and a thynge wher-
foze a man by their lawe, I dare well saye,
is worthy to dye, and that secretly yn it be

G ii pax

of prelates.

Make another practice of our most holy prelates. When the empyre was translated unto the germanes, though the emperour was fallen doune, and had killed the Popes there, and was become his twozne seruants; yet there was much strike and open warre oftimes betweene the popes and the emperours. And the popes have put doune many good Emperours by helpe of the Bishops, where Secretly persuaded they lozdes, to take the emperours' part, to take dispenSIATIONS of the pope for their others.

And contrary wyle, the emperours have now and then depoled dyuerse popes at request of the Cardinalles & other great prelates, by whole helpe onely they were able to do it. For els werely though al Kynges Christened, had twozne to depole one Pope out of his leat, if they had not fauour of other prelates ther to, they might haply by the secret practice of them, to be put out of their own leates in meane tyme.

The pope therefore, to be sure of him self, out of feare & danger of his emperour, were he neuer so mighty, & that his emperour should not keepe his naply open pal times, made

G iiij. fren

The practice

friendship and amity with the Clericians
on the one side of him, and let them comin
to certaine cnyties of the Emperours in A
taly and with the Frenchking on the other
side, and late him also up into certainne Cy
tyes and polled pons of the Emperours:
and he himselfe in the middes: And shotte
out the Emperours fröh co minge any mo-
tre to Rome, and ever lent him his coronas
re tion home to him.
And then he made a la-
we that no man shuld rebuke the Pope for
what so ever myscheke he dyd, lapeng, that
the Pope was aboue al and judge oner all,
and none ouer him, and therfore forbade in
his law. Distinctio. xi. St Papa lapenge:
though the pope be proued negligent abous
to him self, and also the soule helth of his bze
thern, and slacke in his worke and speach,
lesse as concernynge anye good, and drawe
with him by his en sample innumerable peo
ple to hell to be punished with him with di-
uerse formes everlastingly: yet se that no
mortal mäß presume once to rebuke his fau-
tes here.
For he shall judge all men and no
man him. D antichryst. If he not atichrist
that wyll not have his lyfe tryed by Goos
worde?

No mäß buk pape

Clericians.

Of the Clericians catch any of our holy
fathers

of pzelates

fathers to wnes or possession, whether by
warre or that they haue bought it, or that
it be layde to mozgage unto them or that I
olde Dope hatiij geuen it with the marriage
of lom boughter unto the duke of Clenpce;
then the holy father that succed eth, whé he
feeth his ceason, lendeth for it agayn, layen
ge that it is not laufull for lay men to with
holde launct Peters patrimony. If they al
lege that they bought it and so for ever: his fa
the rhod anf wereth that the old Dope had
none auctozitie to make any such cheuisaun
ce with launct Peters enheritance: he cou
de haue but the use of it his lyke longe, and
after it must neders returne unto his succel
loure agayn. And opó that he interdyeth
them and curleth them as blacke as coles,
and doune to the pyt of hell.

But the Clenerians knowing more of
our holpe fathers p[r]actyle, for their npe-
nes then we which dwel a farre of, and wy-
ler then we of cold contrees, perceaving al-
so that their co lour chaungeth not with his
curlyng; and that they spncke not, ao that
the ir meate digeſteth as well as before, and
that(as Eramus lapeth) they spytte as ea-
ſply as before (with reverence of the holy co-
use I speake it) that before feare not his in

G in terot

of prelates

thers, and what honour it was unto them,
and that he mape ealely gett as greate ho-
noure as they/and happen a moze excellent
ticle/pyk he wyl take our holy fathers parte,
bespydes that he shall purchase remyll yon
of all hys Lynnes.

Then must the peace and all the apoine-
tementes made betwene vs and fraunce, be
broken, and the kynge must take a dyspeulat-
ion for hys oth. For the kynge of fraunce
wyll attempte nothing in Italy, vntill he
haue lent hys ambassadours / and haue ma-
de a perpetuall peace wyth oure kynge, the
Sacrament of the bodye of oure SAULOUR
broke betwene them, to confyrme the ap-
pointement. But If suppoſe that the bzea
kyng liginſeth that the appointemét shall
not long endure / for a greate deale of flo-
wer wolde not make so manye hooffres, as
they call them, of Lynginge loues, as hathe
bene broken in our dapes betwene chzisten
princes(as they wylbe called ) to confirme
promifes that haue not long bene kept. D
ther vſe of that bleſſed Sacrament wyll the
pzices none know: but Christ ordained it to
be a perpetuall memorie of his bodye was
boké for oure Linnes vpō crosſe, & of all
that repent theyd receawe as oft as they ea

The abuse
of the sacra-
ment.

18

The practise

of it, forgaveues of their mildestes thos,
tow kaph. Of kigs of y earth whé they
bake that factamét betwene them, do lay
on this wple : The body of our Saufour
(whi ch was broken on y croté for the Syn
ne of al y repét ( haue good harts ( wold
kaime kepe his law) be broke vnto my dâna
cion, if I breake this oth: the is it a terrible
ost, and they had neade to take heade how
they make it, ad if it be lawfully made, not
so breake it at all. But as they care for the
yr othe , whiche they make in wedlocke
so they care for this.

What lorum nead the pope hath, he wpl
not lend to the Emperour to come ( helpe
hi n in Italo, for keare left he wold take to
hi self what lorum he couquered of y frech
men, and ware to strong and minish our
holy fath ers power, and become our holy
fathers vicar/as he is Saint Peters. Ne-
wer thelesse if we englifhmen will hyre the
Emperour to com and fyght against krau-
ce for the right of the church in these quar-
ters that he next onto us, his father h od is
Côtent to a d myt his seruice.

When our king hath graunted to take
our holy fath ers part, then the p[r]tence (c
close out word must be, that the kyng wil

ca

of prelates.

Challenge his ryghte in fraunce. And to ayde
the king in his ryght, must the comunens be
mpliked tyll they blede agayne. Then to do
the king seruice, the lorde's fell or lape their
landes to moʒgage. Then is cleane remissio
n geuen to fleo french dogges. He that Remission
dyeth in the quartel shall neuer see purgato of Lynues,
ype but fhe to heauen streyght, even with
a thought.

W
hen the Pope hath what he deelys
reth in Italie, then must we make
peace wyth the Frenchmen agapne
immediatly, that fraunce be not ali toges
ther trode under the kete: but that it remai
alwaye in a meane state, if stronge. Enough
to match the emperour, to kepe him dou
me, but not to myghtye for oppreſſinge the
pope, and then oure prelates to bringe the
peace about, ſende imme diarly a kryer fo
rest, or a vicar of croiden, to prieach before my
king, & his lorde, which prieacher rozeth ad
cryeth unto the as though he halowed hys
hounds and maketh exclamations, ſapen
ge: Alas what wyll ye do? spare Chyſten
bloude: Wyll ye flea poute our ſoules: Be
not the fréchme as well chriſté as ye: My
reuer pe flea noze innocents that neuer of
képed make peace for his pailio of chriſt, kyll
not

not

The practise

not one an other as though Christ had not
dyed for you; but fight rather against the
turkes.

The come in the Ambassadours of fraud
ce, and monep a fewe pzelates and certayn
other the kynges playkello wes, þ be Swozz
with them to betrape both the kinge and þ
roupalme too: And then is peace concluded,
But outwardelye there is nothinge laue a
true taken for halfe a peare, tyll our soul-
diers be at home again, for feare least they
wold not be contéet. Then cometh the who
le host home b egg er both great and small
And the pooze that can not sodenlye gette
Work, fall to stealing an d be hanged at ho
me. Thys could Moze tell in hys Utopia
before he was the cardenalles Sworn secre
tarye, and fallen at hys fete to betrape the
truth, for to gett p[ro]mocyon.

Mérp þ.v.

Take an enfâple: the bp[les]hops sent king
Henryc the fyt out to conquere Fraunce.
The cause was (lapth the chronicles) that
the kynge went about to take theyn tempo
rallyes from them. And therfore to bringe
the kynge into an other imaginacyon, they
monped hym, and sent him into Fraunce.

When they had sent out the kynge, he com-
quered moze then was theyn will and mo-

re

of pzelates.

ere then they luppoved possible for hym in
lo thorte lpace and bzought fraunce cleane
vnder feti: lo that oure pzelates had much
secrete bulynes, to let it up agayn, but what
is impoffible vnto lo great Gods?

In kynge Henrys dapes the.v.oure
holy father of Rome made the bylhop of
Wynchester a cardynall, which went thort
ly after into fraunce to treate of a truce be
twene Inglande & fraunce. And him met-
te a legate of Rome, a cardinall also; atter
which meating, Inglyshmen had euer the
worle in fraunce, and the p[ro]cheſt kypende
the duke of Burgayne for to kepe them. For
whic[he] cardinalles & bylshops mete together,
the p[ro]cheſt counſell by them ſel-
tes, wherein they conclude ne p[ro]the what is
good for Inglande, no[th]o p[ro]to fraunce, but
what is best for our h[oly] fathers p[ro]ſtitt
to kepe him in h[ys] ſlate.

Méry h. vi

When kynge Henry was of age, there
was a marpage made betwene hym and þ
earle of Arminackes doughter in Gi[s], w
the which Thuld haue bene geuen manpe ca
ltels and townes in G[ian] and a greate l[ó]
me of monep ther to. But þ marvage was
broken a[not] without the secret wo[ð]kynge of
oure p[ro]zelates and dyspenſation of our h[os]

W

The p[ro]testile

Ipe kather thou mayst be lured. And a ma-
riage was made betwene hym and the kin-
ges daughter of Cecyle, for which Ingland
gaue vp the whole dukedom of Gyan and
Earledom of Mayme wherby we lost all
Normandye, wherof they were the kape.
And belyde þ, the cōmunes gaue a, xv. (an
haik to fette her in wyth pompe. And then
was the good duke of Glocetter traytou—
zoully murthered/partely because he could
judge falle mpzacles, & partelp because of
the delypueraunce of thele two contteys. For
he being a lyue, they durst not do it.

And when kyng Edward had put dou-
ne kyng Henrpe, a matrise was made and
concluded betwene hym & the kynge of spai-
ue this quenes mother þ nowe is. But yet
the Ambassadours were come home, oure
Prelates had be witched kynge Edwarde
dy thep[re] apostle fryper bongap and married
him vnto a wyddowe that was a knygchts
wpeke, left þe payne and Ingland had bene
jopned together, kynge Edward thulde has
ue recovured fraunce agayn. But what fol-
lowed akte r þ b[reak]ig of þ mariage, betwe
ue kynge Edward & the eate of warwick
ad what came of his chyldren? ve ad what
tame on king H[er]py of windlozes children,
also

of prelates.

also: But what care our prelates what be
graunce or milchefte falle on p[r]inces or on
theyp[er] ropalmes/So theyp[er] kyngdome p[ro]sp[e]re:

In Kynges dayes the. viij. the
cardinal M[ary]urton & kylshop of win-
chester, delyuered vnto the kinges grace the
confessions of as many lozards as h[is] gra-
te lusted. Who loeuer was mistrusted, if the
Myzoue hym self at the charterhoules lyen
G[ene]wich/at launct J[oh]s, or where loe-
uer it was, the confest out was comaunded
by the auethorit[é] of the pope to delyuer his
confession w[hy]pté & sworne that it was al.
And cardinal M[ary]urton, had a lycince of the
pope for fourtyne, to studyp[re]ctomancy, of
whych he himselfe was one and other A
haue heard named which at thys tyme A
p[as]se ouer with ſcience. And how the holy
kryers obſeruauntes carped feyn[ed] letters
to trpe who was true, A p[as]se ouer with ſi
ſence also. How beit ſuch temptacion and
ſained p[oz]kers were enough to mor e them
that ueuer wold haue thought amp[le]: vea
and in confession men wyll ſpyu[er] them ſel-
ues of thoughte s which they neuer went a
hout in the out warde dead.

Why an[]g great m[+]a is put to death how

t, w

The p[r]actike

his cōttour entreateth him & what penaunce is eniopned him, concernunge what he shall say, when he cométh unto the place of executió, I could gelle at a p[r]actile þ might make mens eares glowe

And did not the subtil counſell of the lay
de two p[ra]elates fayne the lege of Bolen to
make a p[re]tence to gather in a fiftene, whé
there was no moze warre betwene þ king
of ſtraunce and of Englond, then is betwe
ne a mans head þ hath lust to ſlepe, & his pi
low: Which lege yet cost many a mā their
lyues, yea & lome great men therto, which
knew not of that faining. The kinges gra
ce went ouer with a ten thouſá men to cō
quere all ſtraunce and ſpent haply an hū
dred thouſand pound, of which he ſaued þ
fourth partin the dānyp[ra]attes and gathe-
red at home. v. or. vi. hūdred or moze. And
two other ſuch ſapned viages could I hap
ply reherſe, which I p[ra]ſe ouer for diuerſe
taules, where many an Englifhe man lost
his lyfe. But what care they for mens ly-
ues?

And did not our cardinall with like po
l[ay]c þiſke ye to gather þ which he thought
wolde not well be p[ap]ed, excepte the com-
mens lawe ſom: taulſe, by[ig] a great mul-
titude

of p[ri]lakes.

titude of scottes vnto the english pale ether
by some bylhopes of Scotl ande or by so
me great man, whom he cozupted with so
me p[ri]lape p[en]cion: agap[us]t which the poo
re nozthen m[+]e/m[+]ust goo on their owne cosk
to kepe them out. And generall p[ro]cess you
was commaui[d]ed at London : ch[yr]p[le] in the
woke, and tho[zo]w out all the lande, while P
Kynges receauers gathere[t] the taxe of the
comen people. Which plage and such like ak
ter the ch[yr]etning of god. Levii. xxvi. 2 Deu
ke. xxviijs. âd. xxix. 3 I am sure w[pl]l faule on
all ch[yr]istendome without ceaſe, vnt[pl]l thep
ether defye the name of ch[yr]p[le]t with the turc
kes, or if thep w[pl]be called ch[yr]isten, thep tur
ne and loke on his doctrine.

Pea and what fayned the cardinall at
the great love to beggle his owne p[ri]lteses,
to make the ſwere what thep were w[or]th
and the better w[yl]lyng to payr, for the co-
men p[ri]ltes be not so obedient vnto thep[
] or dinarpes, that thep w[yl] pay monep excep
te thep know why. Now it is not expe[d]yt
that euery r[al]call thulde know the ſecretes
of the very true cauſe, for many c[ol]p[der]acyp
ons. And therfore ze a other p[re]tence must be
made âd an other cauſe aileaged. And ther
fore ze the p[ri]ltes were charged by thep[
] or

H

Dinaa

The practice

of your practice to appear before the gentlemans of your court and temporal officers, &c. weare what every man was worth. Now the pipe banks had lever be Clayne and dye matters after the example of Saint Thomas of Caunterbury, then to weare betoze a laye judge, for they thinke it greater Spynne, then to tie the ie owne fathers, and that then the hyper ties of the Church were clean lost, and they no better then the vple lay people. And when they were in your perplexitie that they muste ethier weare or runne into the kngs bayn, get your selfe theyr goddes (I wold lay theie goddes) then my lozde cardinall sent downe hiss gracioule powre, that they shold weare unto theie or din arpes onely. And then the practice for your eye that they were rpyd out of your handes, were so glad and iopious, that they wylle not what thankes to give my lozde cardinall, and so were obeyed to weare and to lendre, or els for all the curses that my lozde Cardinall hath and the Pope to, they wold neither have twozne or payde a penny.

The practice of our practice.

The Practice

of prelates

When the Kynges grace came fyzst Thomas to the ryghte of the croune and unto wolle, the Government of the Royalne póg & vnexpert, Thomas wolffe a man of lust & courage, and bodelie strength to do ad to suffer great things, and to endure in al maner of voluptuousnes, expert at exercise in þ course of the wold, as he which had hard, red & lene much policie & had done many thynges him selfe and had bene of the secrete council of weyghte matters, as lotle as Symon that betraed troye, utterly apoynted to femble and dig femble, to have one chynge in the harte and an other in the mouth, beþnge ther to as eloquët as lotle & able to perfusade what he lust to the that were vnexpert: to delpyzous and greedy of honoure, that he cated not but for the nexte and most compendious waye ther to, whether godlie or ungodlie: this wylde wolf Hape, ad ragynge Sea and Hypwzarke of all England, though he the word him selfe plea saut and calme at the fyzst (as hozes do unto theþz louers) came unto þ kinges grate and wayted opp þim, and was no mark to obsequious and servicable ð and in all gazes and lpoztes the fyzst and next at hand

M 15

and

The practive

and as a captapne to courage other ad
ye fynder out of newe pastimes to obtayne
favour with all.

Bifhopes
take kings
natiuities.

And thereto as the secrete communicaci
on wēt, which by many tokens thou mayst
well coniecture and gather to be true, he call
ed the kinges natiuitie an birth, whiche is
a comen practive among pzelates, in all tan
des, whereby he laye wherunto the kynges
grace it; uld be enclined all his lyfe, ad what
thuld be lyke to chaunce him at all times.

And as I hard it spoken of diuerse, he ma
de by crakte of nicromancpe, grauen Ima-
gery to beare uppon hym, wherwith he be
witched the kinges mpnde, ad made the kin
ge to dote upon him moze then ever he dyd
on any lady o, gentil woman, so that nowe
the kinges grace followed him, as he before
followed the king. And then what he layd,
that was wypdome, what he pızaped, that
was honourable only. Moze ouer m the
meantime he spied out þ naturs and dispo
stions of the kinges plapekelowes, and of
all that were greate, ad whó he spied mea
te for his purpose, him he flattered, & hym
he made lapthfull wyth great pnomyles, &
to hym he sware, & of hym he toke an oth a
gayne that the one hyulde helpe & other for
wyth

wyth

of prelates.

Without a secret oath, he admitted no man
unto any parte of his pripuities.

And ever as he grew in promoción (e)
dignité, so gathered he unto him of þ moð
subtle wyptted, of þe that were vonke in
the deſpree of honour most lyke unto his ſel
And after they were sworne he promoted
þe, and wþth great Æmples, made them in
faithful: of them ever prelented
unto the kynge grace, of þe into his ſet
upce, slaping: þys is a man made for you
grace. And by these Æpkes (if ought we are
done of spoké in the court, against þ cardinall)
of þ he had wooed within an hour
of two. And þe came the cardinall to court
with all his magike, to persuade þ contra
ry. If any in the court had spoké against þ
Cardinall, ad the fame not great in the kin
ges favour, the Cardinall had hym walke
a villapne, and thust hym out of the court
headlong. If he were in conceyre wþth the
kynge grace, þe he flatterer, and persuaded
and co rupet some wy gyktes, and sente him
Ambassadours, and some he made Captai
nes at Calais, Hames, Gynes, Jernley
Getley, or sent them to France into the
north, and so occupied them till the kynge
had forgottè them and other were in thy


D in you

The kinge
is betrayed

The practise
commes or tyll he had lpped what they en-
tended.

And in lyke maner played he with the la-
dyes and gentyll women. Whosoever of
them was great, with her, was the familiar
and to her gaue he gittes, Pea: and where
lapnt Thomas of caunterbury was w one
locom after, Thomas Cardinall wét ott
befoze præentynge hys pince and pruuer-
ted the order of the holie man. If any were
lubtyll witted and mete for his porpòle, hir
made he swozn to betray þ quene likewile
end to tell hym what the sayor or dpyd. A
know one that departed the court for none
other Caufe then that the wolde no longes
betraye her mastrefle.

And after þ same example he furnished
þ court with chapels of his owne swoz-
ne disciples & childz of hys owne byngig-
up, to be alwaie present Æd to dyspute ofba-
nityes and to water what former the Cat-
dinall had planted. If among thole cozmo-
xaunt s any yet begá to be to much i favour
wyth the Kynge, and to be lom what bulpe
in the Court, and to drawe any other w ay
then as my lord Cardinall had appopnted,
that the Plowe childe goo, anonne he was
sent to Italie or to SPAIN: or some

qua?

the quene
is betrayed

The practice

how to bring the frenchmen down, yet so
berly left why the brought him lower, he
hulde give an occasion to lyft vp the Em
perour hyper. Our first viage into Spayne
was to bring some frenchmen lower. So our
mephey were let in the kozefronte and boz-
ders of spayne towarde Galkapne: partly
to kepe those parties, and partly to scare a
Galcapnes, a to kepe them at home whyle
in the meane tyme the Spavardes wan
Nauerne. When Nauerne was wonne
our men came to howle as manye as dyed
not there, ad brought all there monep with
them home againe/lauré that they spend the
re. How be it so, all the loll of Nauerne a
frenchmen were yet able enough to match
Spayne, the Clenicians ad the Pope with
all the Zwopt zers that he coulde make: so a
there was yet no reme dye but we must let
on a fréchmé alio, if they should be brought
out of italy.

Then pope July wrote vnto hys deare
lonne Thomas wolkle that he wold be as
good as loupuge and as helpyngc to holye
church as any Thomas euer was /epping
he was as able. Then the newe Thomas
as glonzious as the old toke the mater in hā
ps and perſuaded the kinges grace. And
then

the newe
Thomas.

of prelates

Then the kinges grace toke a dyspenatyon
for his othe made vpon the apoyntment
of peace betwene him and the French king
and promp't to hilde the holy eate where
in Pope Peter neuer sate. But the Empes
tour Maximilian myght in no wyse stand
nil left the Frenchmen thulde monep hym, t
get apde of hym, lepnge the Almapnes te-
kuse not monep whéce soever it be profered
then quod Thomas wolkse, Th and lyke
poure grace, what an honoute thulde ic be
vne poure grate if the emperour were you
ze lodyare. So greate honoure neuer cha-
unce any kyng chystened. It thalde be spo
ken of while the world stode. The glozy t
Honour thall hyde and darken the coste that
it thall never be sene, though it thulde coste
halke poure realme. Dixit t factum est, it
was euen so. And the a parliament: and
then paye: and then vpon the frenche dog-
ges, with cleane remission of all his linnes,
that flew one of them, or if he be slayn for
the pardons, haue no trégh to laue in thys
life, but in the lyke to come only the to hea-
uen strayght wthout felpnge of þ paynes
of purgatoize.

Then cam oure kyne with all his mini-
sh, by se and by lande, and the Empirour

wyth

Maximilis

Remission
of Spnes.

The practice

Ioyeh a strong armp and the Spaniards
and the pope & the Venecians all at once a
gainst king Lewes of France. As alone as
the pope had that he delyzed in Italy, then
peace immediatly. And Frenchmen were
chyzten men/and pretty, vea and great lyp=
ne also were it to theade their bloud/ and f
frenchkinge was the moft chyzten kpyng as
gayne. And thus was peace concluded and
oure Anglyshymen of rather thepe came ho
me against winter and lefte theyz fleces be
hynde them. Wherfore no small number of
them, whyle thep loughey them better raps
mente at home, were hanged for theyz la=
boure.

Why the kinges lyfter was turz
ned unto fraunce.

When this peace was made, our e hou
lpe Caropnalleg and Byschoppes
(as their olde Byle is to calke and
caste. XI. L. pea an hundred yeare before
what is lyke to chauice unto theyz kingdo
me) considered how the Emperour p now
is, was moost like to be cho sen Emperour
after his graundfather Maximilian, for
Marye

Marye

of pzelates

Maximilian had already obtained of the Dukes of Württemberg that it had been so.

They considered it of how we might type him. He said first, Kyng of Spain, with all that perteyneth thereto, it was wont to be v. vii. kyngdons; then Duke of Burgoyne, Earl of Flanders, of Holland, Zeland, and Braband, with all that parteine thereto; then Emperor, and his brother, Duke of Austrych, and his sister, quene of Hungary. Wherefore thought our pzelates, if we take not hede betymes, our kyngdome is lyke to be troubled as we to be brought up in the fere. For thus many shall be so myghty that he shall have power take out of French Kynges hands, out of the hands of the Christians, and from the Pope also, whatsoever perteyneth unto the empire, and whatsoever belongeth unto his other kynge's and dominions thereto. And then he will come to Rome and be creuned there, and so shall he oueriooke our hope father and see what he doth. And then shall the old here tykes vse up agayne as he say that the Pope is Antichrist, and strangle him, and Kyng to lyght that we have him & brought him to the elect, payne and blinde.

As he said.

The P[r]acticle

The dyng more then thys hundred yere lon-
ge. Conflid[ed] also that hys aunte is quene
of England, and hys wypke the king of Eng-
lads lilter, con[l]pored þ old amitie bre wene
þ houſe of burgom, & þ old kinges of églód
ſo þ they could nuer do ought i fraunce W-
out thep[?] helpe: & laſt of all conſidered þ cour-
ſe of marcha[n]dife þ íglád hath i thoſe par-
ties, & alco þ naturall hart þ églil[h]mé bear
to fréchmé. Wherfor[e] if we ſhal wſe our
old p[]r]actyle, and let the French king agap[n]ſt
hym : Then he ſhall lyſhtelye obtayne the
ſauour of the king of Ingland by the mea-
nes of hys Auntes and hys wypke, and apde
Wyth men and money. Wherfor[e] we muſt
take hede betimes and b[]eake h[]ys amytie
Whych thinge we maye by thys oure olde
ſraft, eſaely b[]inge to p[]affe. Let us take a
dispensation & b[]eake thys m[a]page, and
turne the kinges lilter vnto þ French king
P[k] the Frenche Kynge, gette a male of her.
then we ſhall lyſhtly make our kynge p[]ro,
tectoure of fraunce, and ſo ſhall Inglande
and fraunce be coupled together, and as
for the quene of Inglandr, we ſhall trym-
me her well ynough, and occuppe the kynge
with Straunge loue / and kepe her that the
[]hall beare no rule. And as the goddi ſhad
lpo

Practyle.

The preface

Others would have bene alhamede of so many
and wanton aray: how beit theyp went not
to make war but peace for ever and a dape
longer. But to speake of the Pompoule
apparell of my lozoe hym selfe and of yps
thraplaynes, it palfeth the .ris .apostles.

If dare I were that if Peter and Paule had
fene them loodenly about a blush / they would
haue bene harder in belieue that theyp or any
such shulo be theyp succell ours / then Tho-
mas didimus was to belieue þ Chyrpit was
tylen agapne from death.

When all was concluded betwene the
kyng of Fraunce and ours, that Thomas
Wolke had devised / and when the prelates
of both parties had cast theyp peny wot thes
agapne all chaunces and devised remedys
for all mischeues. Then the right reues
tend father in God. Thomas cardinal ad
Legate, wolde go le the young Emperours
newlye chosen vnto the toume, and haue a
certayne secrete communication wth some
of his prelates also. And gatte him to hiz
ges in flaunders, where he was receaved
with great solempnitie as belongeth vnto
lo might a pillar of Christes church, and
was saluted at the entering into the toune
of a mery fellow which lapd, lalue rex re-
gis

Prelates

of pzelates.

gis tuiatque regni sui. Maple both kping of
the king and also of his realme. And thogh
there were neuer so great stryke betwene
the Emperoure and the French kyng: yet
my lozde Cardynall jangle bym fauour of
them both /and fynally brought the Empe-
rour to Calaps, vnto the kinges grace, whe
tre was great trypumphe / and great loue, et
amptie shewed on both parties in so much
that certayne men maruelypnge at it, alkeco
the olde bilshope of Deram. How it migl,
t be that we were so great with the Empe-
rour so thortlye vppon so stronge and euer
latinge a peace made betwene vs and the
frenchmen, the Emperour and the kyng of
Fraunce being so moztall ennemye. My
lozde answere that it might be wel enough
if he wist at. But there was a certayn secret
lapd he, wherof all men knew not.

Pea verely they haue had lecretes this viij
hunzied yeares, which, though all the laye
me haue felt the, yet fewe haue spied them,
laue a few Judales which for luire haus
bene confederate wyth them, to bitray their
owne kinges and all other.

Then were we indifferent to stode still.
And the Emperoure and the French kyng
wastled together. And fer dinandous the
empe

salutacion

A certain
secret.

of pzelates.

What the Shulde neuer haue bene able to lift up
his harte to any goodneſſe or vertue: that
cardinalles and bishoſpes myght haue ad
ministred his dominions in the meanetime
unto our holy fathers p[ro]ſyte.

The king of fraunce hearing the fa
uour that was chewed vnto the Emperou
re, ſent immediatlye a diffiaunce vnto oure
king, not wout our cardinalles & bishops
counſell, thou mayst well w[ie]t.

For frenchmen are not so foliſh to haue do
ne it so vnauuisedlye and so raſhipe, ſeynge
they had to many in their toppes al ceady.
Then oure king ſpake manye greate woz-
des that he wold d[ry]ue the frenchkyng out
of his realme, or els the frenchkyng Shulde
d[ry]ue him out of his: But had he added as
the legate Pandulph taught kinge J[oh]
with the popes lycence, his wozdes had lo
uwood muc h better. For there can no vow
Stande in effect, except the holy father con-
kirme it.

We lent out our S[odiars], two ſommers
agaift the trenchm[é], vnto whole cheſe cap
ſaynes the Cardinal had appoynted, how
kare they Shulde go, ad what they Shulde do,
And therfore the Frenchkyng was nothig
akrapte; but brought all h[is] Power at
gainst

A

gainst

The practice

might. The king of fraunce and his lords purpoting that the mone wolde loner haue faullen out of the kye, then that the Emperours hosit durst haue fought wyth them, were som what negligent, and wert the same might a mummpnge that Burbon frett vpon them. The Emperours hosit therfore with their sodavn comping vpon the, a maſed the frenchmen, and dzauc them vpon heaſes to gether one on an other, so þ they neuer coulde com in aray agavne, and toke the king and diuerſe of his lords, z ſlew many and wanne the felde. And there came out all the Cardinals pzeupe treason, for in the frenchkinges tent (lap men) were letters found unde and belpde that in the frenchkyngs treasure, and in all the hosit among the sodars were englyth ſhippes found innumeraſble whiche had come ſaplynge a thouſande myles by land. But what wonder, ſhippes be made to ſaple ouer the ſea, ad wings to ſe into farre contrees, z to mounte o þ top pe of hve hylles.

When the frenchkyng was taken, we ſang Te deum. But for all that ſingynge we made pesce with frenchmen. And the Dope, the Nenecians, ſtraunce and England were knyt to gether, left the Empers

tours

of pzelates

tours armp thuld do any hurte in fraunce
Wherby pe may collecture of what mind þ
pope ɛ þ cardinal were toward þ éperour,
and  what hart our spiritualty w theyz
inulsible lecretes,lang Te deũ. And frō þ
time hitherto þ emperour ád our carduall
haue bene t wayne.

After that, when the king of fraunce
was deelyuered home a gapne / and hys lon-
nes left in pledge, many wayes were loughs
to byng home the lonnes also : But in bay
ne / except þ frenchking wold make good þ
which he had prompled the Emperour.

For the byzinging home of thole Chypderne
no Man more bulped his wittes / then the
Cardinall. He wold in any wyle the empe-
rour thuld haue lét the home / ɛ it had bene
but for our kynges pleasure, for the greate
kindenesse that he the wed him i times palt.

He wold haue marved the kinges dough-
ter our pryncelle vnto the Dolphine agay-
ne, or as the vopce went among many, vn-
to the leconde Brother, and he thulde thue
bene prince in Englonde and king in tyme
to com, so that he sought alwayes to pluc
ke vs from the Emperour and to iopne vs
unto Fraunce, to make fraunce stronge y-
ought to matche the Emperour, and to ke

Aij pe

The PRACTISE

The MARTLE
peh im downe, that the pope myght reyg
ne a GM Dalon, and do what pleamed
mulo haue him without countrollynge of anpe ouer
bene at Ca feet. And for the same purpole, h. left no
lice, thing unpzould to dzynge the marti from
Anowerpi to Cales.

This be sufficient at this lyme, though
I could epe more, and though other haue
delibered that I more epe: pe and I could
more depely haue etred into the PRACTISE of
our cardinaill, but I spare for diverse conly
de racions, and namely for his lake, whiche
neuer spared me, no, any eapthfull frende
of his owne, no, anye that tolde hym truth,
no, spareth to persecute the bloud of Christ
in as cleare lyght as euer was, ad under as
subtill colour of properly as euer was any
persecution (lys the creation of the world).
Reyther haue I epe for hate of any par
ton of parlons (God I take to record) but
of the wickeonnesse only, and to calle them
to reper taunce, knowne ginge that I am a
sonner also, that a greuous. How be it,
is a deuilenthying and a mercyplesse to de
fend wickednes against the open truth, and
not to haue power to repent. And therfore
I doubt not, if men will not be warned he

re by

of preates.

be by, but that God will venter more practice
by to home he will, & not cease, but will he ha
ue broken tiie bande of the wife he practices
with which he will execute so subtilly.

And finallp, let them remember that J.
to p[rae]vent all occafions and all carnall bea
its that Leke felfhlp lybertie, lent for[th] the
true obedienc[e] of a Chyr[ist] man, W[hy]t they
condempned, but after they had conde>pned
the newe testament, as right was, whence
the obedienc[e] had hys auθ[ho]rtytie. Now the
if wh[ie] the lyghr is come ab[so]ad in W[hy]t
wy] chednele can not be h[D]p, they fynde no
such obedienc[e] in the people vnto theyr old
tyranny, whole faute is it? This is a fure
concluſp[or]: no obedienc[e] is not of loue
can longe endure; and in your de[des] can no
man free any cauſe of loue; and the knole of
e Chyr[ist], for whose ſake onely a man wold
loue p[on], though he were neuer so eueil, yea
perſecute. Now then if any diſobedience ry
le are pe not the cauſe thereof youre ſelues.

Say not but that ye be warned.

D-244

"THE FIERCEST OF ALL TYNDALE'S WORKS"

TYNDALE (William)

THE PRACTYSE OF PRELATES. Compyled by
the faythfull and Godlye learned man,
Wyllyam Tyndale. Imprinted at London
by Anthony Scoloker. And Wyllyam
Seres (1549 ?)

THIRD EDITION

$225.00

8vo. early 19th century half roan,
somewhat stained in part, corner of
D1 torn, affecting a few letters. From
the Amherst Library.

This work on the divorce question, in
which Tyndale took an independent view from
that of the two opposed factions in England,
has been described by his latest biographer
as "the fiercest of all his works".

"The work was not likely to find favour in
any quarter and it soon found its way to
the list of forbidden books. Thomas More
censures it in the preface to his *Confutation*..
A placard was put out by authority attacking
the *Practice of Prelacy*...but of what use
is this ? asks Chapuys the ambassador of the
emperor...It only makes the people read the
book more eagerly" - J. F. Mozley. Wm.
Tyndale (1937) where pages 163-171 are
devoted to the story of the impact of this
dynamic little book.

S.T.C. 24467

Extremely rare, only the Folger and
Newberry copies recorded in America.