66 III. "Christ commanded under the pain of everlasting damna- CHAP. "tion: Nevertheless to go a pilgrimage, and visit such places in set hope of health in dumb idols, or in images "made with man's hands, in offering to the images, or to "rich men of the world, the alms-deeds that are due to 66 poor men by the command of Christ, was utterly un"lawful, an open sign of idolatry, and a spoiling and slay❝ing of poor men, and apostasy or going back from the "Christian faith." On the whole he concluded, that, "by such images and "foolish pilgrimages, the works of mercy were cruelly "withdrawn from needy men, and the common people 66 were needlessly and unprofitably occupied and engaged "in sins, and proud clergymen and religious were set, "so high, that they neither know God nor themselves, "nor secular lords duly, or as they ought to know them "nor their poor neighbours mercifully." Provinc. p. But in the year 1408, Archbishop Arundel made a con- Lyndwood, stitution, that nobody should presume privately or pub- 298. licly to dispute the determinations of provincial councils, &c. or teach contrary to them, especially about the adoration of the glorious cross, the worship of the images of the saints, or the pilgrimages to their places, or reliques, &c. under the pain of incurring the penalties of heresy and relapse. 29. Thus stood this matter in our Bishop's time, who in justifying this usage of pilgrimages proceeded by these following conclusions. First, that "holi Scripture weern"eth not, neither reproveth suche now seid pilgrymagis to "be don: That doom of kindeli weel disposid resoun “weerneth not, and lettith not bodili pilgrimagis to be "donin the maner now bifore seid: That pilgrimagis are "not unleeful, but leeful: That holi Scripture allowith, "that pilgrimagis be doon-For whi, withoute rememora"tiif signes of a thing or of thingis, the rememoracion or "the remembraunce of thilk thing or thingis must needis be "the febler. And therefore sithin the bodi, or the bonis, "or the relikis of eny persoon is a ful wyg rememoratiif * CHAP. "signe of the same persoon; it is ful resonable and ful III. "worthi, that where the bodi or bonis, or eny releef or "relick of a saint mai be had, that it be sett up in a co66 moun place, to which peple may have her devout neiging ❝ and accesse, for to have her devout biholding therupon "for to make the seid therbi remembraunce. And ferther, "sithin it is not resonable and convenient, that suche bo"dies or bonis or relikis be left withoute in the bair feeld, "and that bothe for it were agens the eese of the peple, "which schulde come therto in reyny and wyndi wedris, "and for that thei myghten thanne be take awey bi "wicked men not dreding God; therfore it is ful reson"able and worthy for to bilde over the bodies and bonis "and othere relikis chapellis, or chirchis, yhe and for to quires. "bilde besidis hem auter and *queris, that the office of "praising God, and of praiyng to God and to seintis be in "the better forme doon Resoun wole and allowith " and approvith nedis, that men visite and haunte, for the "seid eende of solempne remembrauncing, tho placis and "tho ymagis whiche it is sure God to chese into the seid "eende, and by the seid evydencis of miraculis doing."But so it is, that suche seid visiting and hauntyng into "the seid eende is not ellis than pilgrimage. Wherfore "resoun wole, jugith, allowith and approuith pilgrimagis "to be doon." In all which reasoning, we may observe, the Bishop says not a word of people's visiting the relics and images of the saints to obtain the benefit of indulgences, or in set or firm hope or trust of health or salvation in them, or to make their offerings to them, which were the ends of pilgrimage which Dr. Wiclif opposed. The same may be observed of our Bishop's answers to the objections made by the Wiclifists against images and pilgrimages. 30. It seems by the Wiclifists' objections, that they went farther in their opposition to images than Dr. Wiclif had done, since they were against their being thought at all lawful, or even for rememorative signs, or the books of ignorant men. Thus the Bishop represents their arguings : 66 III. "There is no occasion for either images or pilgrimages to CHAP. "awaken men's remembrance, so long as Scripture, and "saint-lives, and other devout treatises may sufficiently 66 answer that purpose: That if Bishops and Priests were "but more constant and diligent in preaching and other"wise instructing and exhorting the people, there would "be no need of images or pilgrimages to stir up their re"membrance: That every living man is a better repre"sentation of Christ or of the saints than dead images: "That the Devil hath sometimes deceived the worshippers "of images, as is plain from the legend of Bartholomew, " where it is said, that the feend, which was in a famose ymage in a temple, made the peple siik in her bodies, "that thei schulden come bifore him in pilgrimage, and "*prie, and thanne he wolde make hem hool; and herbi* pray. "he drowe the peple into mysbileeve and myslyvyng: That "images and pilgrimages are the occasions of much sin; "that the time and pains and costs laid out upon images " and pilgrimages might be more usefully spent in much "better services, as relieving the poor, instructing the "ignorant, reading, hearing, &c. That St. Paul cautions "us against vain philosophy and human wisdom: That if "a man must go in pilgrimage, why must it be done open"ly, except for vain-glory? Also what skille is thereto, "that he bere openli by stretis an ymage of wex, or of † tret wood. "for to offre it up at the place of pilgrimage, and for to "lete it abide there contynuelly after him? That Joshua "commanded the people to put away all strange gods: "That the Jews had much more sense than Christian "children of ten year old, and so also had the heathens a 66 great deal of excellent sense; yet both these fell into 66 gross idolatry in the use of images; how then shall "Christian people, the ignorant especially, avoid the like "snare while they use images? That to pray to any crea"ture for such favours and blessings as can come from "God only, is plainly idolatry; yet such prayers are of"fered up to the cross, both by Clergy and people, as is "manifest from the Church-offices, particularly the hymn CHAP. III. pars vern. p. 298. "Vexilla regis prodeunt, &c. which is appointed to be said "on the Saturday before Passion Sunday; the response, Breviarium "crux viride lignum, &c. at the first evening song on Romanum, "the feast of the Invention of the Cross; and the anthem, "O crux splendidior, &c. sung at the same festival; the "anthem Crux fidelis, &c. sung at the second evening "song of the Exaltation of the Cross, and the sequence, O "Christe, &c. at the same feast. That to use such cere"monies, salutations, prostrations, &c. towards a creature, * lowest. 66 as are proper to God alone, is making a God of the crea66 ture; but such are those that have been customarily used "towards the cross: Thus in eeldir daies whanne pro"cession was maad in the Palme-Sunday, before masse, "the Eucharist was not brougt forth, that the processioun "of the Clerkis and of the lay peple schulde meete with "him, but a baar uncoverid crosse was brought forth 66 agens the processioun, that the processioun schulde meete agens it, as y have red in diverse oolde ordinalis of ca"thedrale chirchis, and of monasteries in Ynglond: (thoug "in latir daies, and namelich in summe chirchis, the Eu"karist is born forth, and the processioun meetith with the "Eukarist born in a chest among relikis, and in many 66 placis he is born in a coupe ordayned thereto.) In tho "daies, and in tho placis whanne and where the proces"sioun mette in Palme-Sunday, with the nakid crosse, or "with the chest of relikis withoute the Eukarist, summe "of the Clerkis were ordeyned for to stonde bifore the seid 66 crosse, and for to turne hem toward the processioun, and "seie in singing to al the Clergie and peple thus, Lo the "Kynge mylde and meke, &c.—And thanne thus seid and 66 sungun fro the Clerkis, in the crossis bihelve, to the "Prestis and lay peple in processioun, the Priestis and "peple fillen doun, kneling with alle her knees to the grounde, seying or singing, or in both maners, toward "the seid discouered crosse thus: Heil thou whom the peple of Hebrees meeting witnesseth to be Jesus: 66 Lastly, it was objected, that to whatever thing men offren in * lougist wise coming toward it bi creping, 66 66 III. " and whos feet thei kissen in devoutist maner thei kunnen CHAP. "thilk thing thei taken for her souereynest and higest Lord, -But so it is, that to the crosse in Good Fridai, men "comen in lougest wise creeping on alle her knees, and to "this crosse in so louge and devout maner thei offren, "and the feet of thilk crosse thei in devoutist maner "kissen, &c." 31. To the objections of the Wiclifists against images, going on pilgrimages, and offering to them, our Bishop thus replies. First, he observed, that hearing and reading, though good means, are not sufficient without rememorative signs, which are more lively, strong and affecting, and do that at once, and with less labour or pain, which the reading whole volumes can scarce effect. Besides, that many cannot read at all, and at the best, reading and hearing alone leave but faint and dull and transient impressions, and convey a great deal less to the mind than a visible representation and reading both together. Christ added visible Sacraments to supply the defect of mere reading or hearing, so necessary was it to have something visible added to the other. For, says his Lordship, to soone and ofte come into remembraunce of a long mater bi ech oon persoon, and also as for to make that the mo persoones come into remembraunce of a mater, ymagis and picturis serven in a specialer maner than bokis doon, tho' in another maner ful substanciali bokis serven bettir into remembrauncing of the same materis than ymagis and picturis doon -Marke whoso whole in his mynde all the bokis whiche been in London writun upon Seint Katheryns liif and passiouns, and y dare weel seie, that thoug ther were x thousind mo bokis writun in Londoun in thilk day of the same seintis liif and passioun, thei schulden not so moche turne the citee into mynde of the holi famose lif of Seint Kateryn, and of her dignitee in which sche now is, as dooth in each yeer the going of peple in pilgrimage to the college of Seint Kateryn bisidis Londoun. As y dare juxta Turoutte this into judgment of whomever hath seen the pilgrimage doon in the vigil of Seint Kateryn bi persoones Nov. 24. rim. |