the body, and these pylde † fryers are the tayle, whiche couuereth his moost fylthy part. Than sayd the Pryor of the Fryre Augustines, Alac, sir, why do ye say so? That is uncharitably spoken. And the Lord Cobham said: Not onely is it my saying, but also the Prophet Esayes, longe afore my tyme. The Prophet, sayth he ‡, which preacheth lyes, is the tayle behinde. As you fryers and monkes be lyke the Pharisees, divided in your outward apparell and vsages, so make ye diuisyon among the people; and thus you, with snch other, are the very natural members of antichryst. Than sayed he vnto them all: Chryst sayth in his gospell ||: Wo to you scribes and pharisees, ypocrites; for ye close vp the kingdom of heauen, before men, neither entre ye in yourselves, nor yet suffre any other that would entre into it. But ye stop vp the ways thereunto with your owne tradicions, and therfore are ye the houshold of antichryst; will not permit Gods verytee to haue passage, nor yet to be taught of his true ministers, fearinge to haue your wickednes reproued? But, by such vayne flatterers as vpholde you in your mischeues, ye suffre the common people moost miserably to be seduced, Than sayd the Archbisshop. By oure lady, Sir, there shall no soche preach within my diocese (and God wyll) not yet in my iurisdiction (yf I may knowe yt) as either maketh diuision or yet dissension amonge the poor commons. The Lord Cobham sayd: Both Chryst and his apostles were accused § of sedicion making, yet were they most peceable men. Both Daniell and Chryst prophecyed, that such a troublous tyme shulde come, as hath not bene yet sens the worldes beginning. And this prophecye is partly fulfylled in your daies and doinges. For many haue ye slaine alredy, and more wyll ye sle here after, if God fulfil not his promes. Chryst saith also, if those dayes of yours were not shortened, scarsly shuld any flesh be saued. Therfore loke for it iustly, for God wyll shorten your dayes. Moreouer, though pryestes and deacons, for preaching of Gods word, and for ministring the sacramentes, with prouision for the pore, be grounded in Gods lawe, yet haue these other sectes no maner of ground therof, so farre as I haue red. Than a doctour of lawe, called master Iohan Kempe, plucked out of his bosome a copye of that byll, whiche they had afore sent him into the Tower, by the Archbisshops councell, thinking therby to make shorter worke with him. For they were so amased with his answeres (not al valike to them which dysputed wyth Steuen ) that they knewe not well howe to occupye the tyme, there wyttes and sophistry (as God wolde) so fayled them, that daye. My Lord Cobham (sayth this doctour) we mnst brefely know your mynde concerning these four poyntes here following. The fyrst of them is thys. And than he redde vpon the byll. The fayth and the determinacion of holy church, touching the blessed sacrament of the aulter, is this: that, after the sacramentall wordes be ones spoken by a pryest in hys masse, the materiall breade, that was before breade, is + Shaven. + Esay ix. "Daniell xii. Math, xxiii. ++ Math. xxiv, Luke xxiii. Joan. xvi. #Actes vi. turned into Chrystes very bodye. And the materiall wyne, that was before wyne, is turned into Chrystes very bloude. And so there remaineth in the sacrament of the aulter from thens forth no materiall bread, nor materiall wyne, which were there before the sacramentall wordes were spoken: Sir, beleue ye not this? The Lord Cobham sayd: This is not my beleue. But my fayth is (as I sayd to you afore) that, in the worshypfull sacrament of the aulter, is very Chrystes body, in fourme of breade. Than said the Archbisshop, Sir Johan, ye must say otherwise. The Lord Cobham sayd: Naye that I shall not, if God be vpon my syde (as I trust he is) but that there is Chrystes body in fourme of breade, as that comen beleue is, Than redde the doctor agayne. The second poynt is this: holy church hath determined that euery chrysten man, lyuing here bodely vpon earth, ought to be shryuen to a pryest ordeined by the church, if he may come to him: Sir, what say ye to this? The Lord Cobham answered and sayd: A diseased or sore wounded man had nede to haue a sure wyse chyrurgion and a true, knowing both the ground and the daunger of the same. Moost necessary were it, therfore, to be fyrst shriuen vnto God, whiche only knoweth our diseases and can helpe vs. I deny not † in this the going to a pryest, if he be a man of good lyfe and lerninge; for the lawes of God are to be required of the pryest, which is godly lerned. But, if he be an ydiote or a man of viciouse lyuing that is my curate §, I ought rather to flee from him, than to seke vnto him. For sonner might I catche yll of him, that is nought, than any goodnesse towardes my soules helth. Than redde the doctour agayne. The third point is this: Chryste ordeined Sainct Peter the apostle, to be his vicar here in ærth, whose see is the church of Rome. And he graunted that the same power, which he gaue vnto Peter, shulde succede to all Peters successours, which we call now Popes of Rome. By whose speciall powr in churches partycular be ordeined prelates, as archbisshops, parsons, curates, and other degrees more. Unto whom chrysten men ought to obeye after the lawes of the church of Rome. This is the determinacion of Holy church. Sir, beleue ye not this? To this he answered and sayd: He, that followeth Peter moost nighest in pure lyuing, is next vnto him in succession: But your lordely ordre estemeth not greatly the lowly behauer of pore Peter, whatsoeuer ye prate of him. Neither care ye greatlye for the humble maners of them that succeded him tyll the tyme of Siluestre ¶, which for the more part were martirs, as I tolde ye afore. Ye can lett all their good conditions go by you, and not hurt your selues with them at all. All the worlde knoweth thys well inough by you, and yet ye can make boast of Peter, With that, one of the other doctours axed him: Than what do ye say of the Pope? •Al. common. + Wald 2. • Parish Minister or Priest. Silvester I, for, as Platina confesseth. Silvester II sold himself to the Devil, for his help to gain the Popedom. The Lord Cobham answered. As I said before: He and you together maketh whole the great antichryst. Of whom he is the great heade, you bysshops, priestes, prelates, and monkes are the body, and the begging fryers are the tayle, for they couuer the filthinesse of you both, with their subtyle sophistrye. Neuer will I in conscience obey any of you all, tyll I see you with Peter follow Chryst in conuersation. Than redde the doctour agayne. The fourth poynt is this. Holy church hath determined that it is meritoriouse to a chrysten manne to go on pilgrymage to holy places. And there specially to worship holy relikes and ymages of sainctes, apostles, martirs, confessours, and all other sainctes besydes approued by the church of Rome. Sir, what say ye to this? Whervnto he answered: I owe them no seruice by any commaundment of God, and therfore I minde not to seke them for your couctousnes. It were best ye swept them fayre from cobwebs and duste, and so layed them vp for catching of scathe; or els to bury them fayre in the ground, as ye do other aged people whiche are Gods ymages. It is a wonderfull thyng, that sainctes, now being dead, shuld become so couetous and nedye, and thervpon so bytterly begge, which, al their lyfe-time, hated all couetousnesse and begginge. But this I saye vnto you, and Í wold all the world shuld marke it: That with your shrines and idolles, your fayned absolutions and pardons, ye drawe vnto you the substaunce, welthe, and chefe pleasurs of all chrysten realmes. Why, Sir, (said one of the clerkes) wyll ye not worship good ymages? What worship shuld I geue vnto them? sayd the Lord Cobham. Than sayde Fryer Palmer vnto him: Sir, ye wyll worshyp the crosse of Chryst, that he dyed vpon? Where is it, sayd the Lord Cobham ? The Fryer sayd: I put the the case, Sir, that it were here euen now before you? The Lord Cobham answered: This is a great wyse manne, to put me an arnest question of a thyng, and yet he his selfe knoweth not where the thyng itselfe is. Yer ones again aske I you, what worship I shuld do vnto it? A clerke said vnto him: Such worship as Paull speaketh* of, and that is this. God forbidde that I shuld ioye but onely in the crosse of Jesuchrist, Than sayd the Lord Cobham: And spreade his armes abroade. This is a very crosse, yea, and so moche better than your crosse of woode, in that it was created of God. Yet, will not I seke to haue it worshipped, Than said the Bisshop of London, Sir, ye wote wel that he died on a materiall crosse ? The Lord Cobham sayd: Yea, and I wote also, that our saluacion came not in by that materiall crosse, but alone by him which dyed thervpon. And well I wote that holy Saint Paull reioysed in none other crosse, bnt in Chrystes passion and death onely, and in his own sufferings of like persecution with him, for the selfe same veritee, that he had suffred for afore, Gal. vi, An other clerke yet asked him: Wyll ye than do none honour to the holy crosse ? He answered him: Yes, if he were myne, I wolde lay him vp honestlye, and see vnto him, that he shuld take no more scathes abroade, nor be robbed of his goodes as he is now a-dayes. Than sayd the Archbisshop vnto him, Sir Johan, ye haue spoken here many wonderfull wordes to the slaundrous rebuk of the whole spiritualtee, geuing a great yll example vnto the common sort, here, to haue vs in the more disdayne. Moche time haue we spent here, abought you, and al in vaine, so farre as I can see. Well, we must be now at this short poynt with you, for the day passeth away, ye muste eyther submit yourselfe to the ordinaunce of holy church, or els throwe your selfe (no remedy) into moost depe daunger. See to it, in tyme, for anon it will be els to late, The Lord Cobham said: I know not to what purpose I shulde otherwise submitte me. Moch more haue you offended me, than cuer I offended you, in thus troubling me before thys multitude. Than sayd the Archbisshop agayne unto him: We ones again require you to remembre your selfe wel, and to haue none other opinion in these maters, than the vniuersall fayth and beleue of the holy church of Rome is. And so lyke an obedient child to returne again to the vnitee of your mother. See to it, I say, in tyme, for yet ye may have remedy, where as anon it will be to late. The Lord Cobham sayd expressely before them all: I will none otherwise beleue in these poyntes, than I have tolde ye here afore. Do with me what ye will, Finally, than the Archbisshop sayd: Wel than I see none other, but we must nedes do the lawe; we must procede forth to the sentence diffinitiue, and both iudge ye and condempne ye for an heretike. And wyth that the Archbysshope stode up, and redde there a byll of his condempnacion, all the clergye and laytee avaylyng* their bonnettes, And this was therof the tenour. The diffinitive Sentence of his Condempnacion. + IN Dei nomine, Amen. Nos Thomas permissione diuina Cantuariensis ecclesia Archiepiscopus, Metropolitanus, totius Anglie primas, & Apostolica sedis legatus, and so forth, in barbarous Latin, which we haue here translated into Inglish for a more playne vnderstanding to the reader: In the name of God. So be it, We Thomas by the sufferaunce of God, Archbisshop of Caunterbury, Metropolitane and Primate of all Ingland, and Legate from the Apostolyke Scate of Rome, wylleth this to be knowen vnto all men. In a certein cause of heresy, and vpon diucrse articles, wherevpon Sir Johan Oldcastle, Knight and Lord Cobham, after a diligent inquisition made for the same, was detected, accused, and presented before vs in our last convocation of all our province of Caunterbury, holden in the cathedrall churche of Paules at London. At the laufull denouncement and request of our vniuersall clergye in the seid conuocation, we proceded against him, accordinge to the lawe (God to + Ex magno processu Thome Arundeli. • Pulling off. witness) with all the fauer possible; and, following Chrystes example ip all that we might, which wylleth not the death of a synner, but rather that he be conuerted and lyve, we toke vpon vs to correct him, and sought all other ways possible to bring him agayne to the churches vnytee, declaringe vnto him what the holye aud vniuersall church of Rome hath sayd, holden, determined, and taught in that behalfe. And though we found him, in the catholike faith, farre wyde and so stifnecked, that he wold not confesse his erroure, nor pourge himself, nor yet repent him therof. We, yet pyteing him of fatherly compassion, and intierlye desyrynge the helthe of his sowl, appoynted him a competent tyme of delyberacion, to see if he wold repent, and seke to be reformed. And sens we haue found him worse and worse, considering therfore, that he is incorrygible, we are driuen to the very extremitee of the lawe, and, with great heuynes of harte, we nowe procede to the publicacyon of the sentence diffinityue against him. Than brought he forth an other byll conteyning the sayd sentence, and that he redde also in his baugert Latyne.‡ Christi nomine inuocato, ipsumq. solum preoculis habentes. Quia per acta inactitati, and so forth; whiche I have also translated into Englysh that amen may vnderstand it: Chryst we take vnto witness, that nothing els we seke in this our whole enterpryse, but his onely glory. For as much as we have found by dyuerse actes done, brought forth, and exibited, by sundry euidences, sygnes, and tokens, and also by many moost manifest proues, the seid Sir Johan Oldcastell, knight and Lord Cobham, not only an euident heretyke in his owne parsonne, but also a mighty mainteyner of other heretikes against the fayth and relygion of the holy and universall church of Rome, namely about the two sacramentes of the aulter, and of penaunce, besides the Popes power and pylgrymages. And that he, as the chyld of iniquitee and darkenes, hath so hardened his hart, that he will in no cas attend vnto the voice of his pastour. Neyther will he be alured by strayght admonishments, nor yet be brought in by fauourable wordes. The worthenes of the cause first wayde on the one side, and his vnworthynes agayn considered on the other side, his fautes also aggravated, or made double through his damnable obstinacy. We being loth that he which is nought should be worse, and so with his contagiousness infect the multitude. By the sage councell and assent of the very discret fathers our honorable brethren, and lordes bisshops, here present, Rychard of London, Henry of Wynchester, and Benet of Bangor, and of other great lerned and wyse men here, both doctours of diuinitee, and of the lawes canon and ciuyle, seculars and religious, with dyuerse other expert men assisting vs, we sentencyally and dyffinitiuely, by thys present writing, iudge, declare, and condempne the seid Sir Iohan Oldcastell, Knight and Lord Cobham, for a most pernicious and detestable heretike, conuycted vpon the same, and refusing vtterly to obey the churche againe, commyttyng hym here from hensforth as a condempned heretike to the secular iurisdiction, power, and judgement, to do him thervpon to death. Furthermore we excommu ⚫ Ezec. xviii. ib. xxxiii. VOL. L + Barbarous. T #Ex magno processu Thome Arundeli. |