66 66 66 III. "that the plenary indulgence which they hoped for at CHAP. "Canterbury was of no profit or value: on which many "of the crowd, with their eyes cast down to the ground, "stood amazed at the sayings of so great a father; some "went back again; others with loud voices cursed the Bishop to his face, saying and wishing, that he might "die a base and shameful death, who was not afraid to do "so great an injury to the glorious martyr. A Kentish 66 knight also, whose name the writer thinks was Sir Thomas de Aldoun, being moved with anger, came up to the Bishop, and said to him, My Lord Bishop, because you "have raised such a sedition among the people against St. "Thomas, on pain of my life, or at the peril of my souls, you shall die a shameful death; to which all the people "cried amen, amen. Accordingly, in the reign of Richard "II. he was beheaded by the mob that rose under Wat "Tyler and Jack Straw, that the voice of the people, saith ૉદ the writer of this story, i. e. the voice of God, as it was "foretold, might in due time be fulfilled. This story is "therefore told, as the writer of it informs us, to make "others afraid of opposing the Papal indulgences, and terrifying the minds of devout pilgrims.” 66 Wiclif, p. 27. It was about the same time, that Dr. Wiclif opposed the granting these indulgences, and the practice of pilgrimages. He observed of the first of these, that "this Life of Dr. "pardon is forgiveness or remission of sins when men are 169, &c. "verily contrite for all their sins, by virtue of Christ's "passion and martyrdom, and holy merit of saints, that 66 they did more than was needful for their own salva"tion: That this was never taught in all the Gospel, and 66 never used by Peter nor Paul, nor any other Apostle of "Christ's: That all men that are in charity are partakers "of Christ's passion, and of all good deeds from the beginning of the world to the end thereof, by the most ❝righteous dealing of Jesus Christ, as far as it is right; 66 This was in those times a form of swearing- -Juramentum est quando aliquis dicit, Periculo animæ suæ. Lyndwood, Provin. p. 110. CHAP. "and, that more shall no man have, for III. Wiclif, p. 176. 66 66 any grant of any "creature of God: That if the day of judgment come, "before these thousands of years are expired, then these pardons are false, since after the judgment shall be 66 no purgatory: That the Pope and his creatures are "out of charity, if there dwell any soul in purgatory, for "he may with full heart, without any cost deliver them "out of purgatory, and they are able to receive such help, "since they are in grace: That these pardons go not for 66 charity, but for worldly dirt, as it seems; since if pardon "should be granted, it should be granted for to make 66 peace and charity, and not for to make dissension and wars, and Christian men to slay their brethren: That if "this pardon be an heavenly and spiritual gift, it should "be given freely, as Christ teacheth in the Gospel, and "not for money, nor worldly goods, nor fleshly favour: "whereas if a rich man would buy dearly the bull, he "shall have a bull of pardon with thousands of years, 66 though he be cursed of God for his sinful life; and a 66 poor bedrid man that hath no money, and cannot tra"vel to Rome, or to such another place, he shall have "no pardon of the Pope, though he be holy and full of "charity: That this feigned pardon foully deceived many "Christian men, and robbed them cursedly of their money; "for rich men trust to flee to heaven thereby without ແ pain, and therefore dread sin the less, and little is said "of true contrition and of leaving of sin, and of doing "alms to most needy men. He therefore concluded, that "this feigned pardon is a subtil merchandize of Anti"christ's clerks, to magnify their pretended power, to get worldly goods, and to make men not dread sin, but "securely to wallow therein as hogs." Life of Dr. 28. As to the going on pilgrimages, the Doctor said, "that, though it might be allowed, that sick men go a pil"grimage in the realm, in visiting the places of saints to "avoid sins, and to give goods to needy men, so that they "set not hope of health in the aforesaid images, nor leave "the works of mercy in relation to poor men, which 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 poor men by the command of Christ, was utterly un66 lawful, an open sign of idolatry, and a spoiling and slaying of poor men, and apostasy or going back from the "Christian faith." 66 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 "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, 66 nor secular lords duly, or as they ought to know them "nor their poor neighbours mercifully." But in the year 1408, Archbishop Arundel made a con- Lyndwood, Provinc. p. 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. *quires. 66 signe of the same persoon; it is ful resonable and ful 66 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 co 66 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 "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. 66 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: 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 "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 66 66 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 †tre † 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 "great deal of excellent sense; yet both these fell into 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 35 |