III. CHAP. Pope, who by way of requital took Anselm's part against the King, and in a council held at St. Peter's in Rome declared the King worthy of excommunication, and decreed all laymen excommunicate that should presume to give investitures, &c. But the thunders of the Papacy had not yet reached to England, or however the King and Bishops had not at this time learned to dread and stand in awe of them; for the King remained immoveable; and the Bishops, as they had unanimously advised Anselm to submit to the King, and renounce the see of Rome whilst he was in England, so they remained steady in their duty to the King and their country, notwithstanding what had since passed at Rome. 52. One would have thought that so violent a shock, added to the general opposition which this doctrine of the Papal supremacy met with from all the Western Princes, had been enough to shame so groundless and impious an imposture out of the world. But ambition knows no bounds, especially when backed by interest, and flushed and encouraged by the superstitious madness of the people. It was not long after this, that, through the industry of the Religious, the people were struck with such a panic dread of the Pope's thunderbolts, that, as if they had a deadening force, they were perfectly deprived of all sense of duty and loyalty to their Prince, or even of their own interest; insomuch that the unfortunate Prince K. John h, having been excommunicated by the Pope, and his subjects being absolved by him from their allegiance to him, was forced to resign his crown, and for the time to come to hold his kingdoms as fees of the Papacy; which he need never to have done, had his subjects had but a due sense of their duty and interest. 53. But this was too great a dishonour to be tamely submitted to by this Prince's successors. The Popes in h Sir Thomas More absolutely denied, that the King had any power or authority to do this. Never could any King of England, says he, give away the realme to the Pope, or make the land tributary, though he would, nor no such money is there paid, nor never was. English Works, p. 296. col. 1. III. Wiclif, p. Ab. p. 102. deed still kept up their claim, and acted as if they had CHAP. been really lords of the fee, and our Princes and their subjects only their vassals and tributaries. But against this we find very warm remonstrances made by our Princes and their Parliaments, though indeed to very little purpose. In King Edward III.'s reign, Pope Urban VI. gave that great Prince notice of his intention to proceed against him, for not performing the homage which King John ac- Life of Dr. knowledged, &c. With this insolence the King acquainted 19. his Parliament, and required their advice: to which it was stoutly answered by the common consent of the whole estate, "that neither King John, nor any other King, Cotton's "could bring his realm and kingdom into such thraldom " and subjection, but by common assent of Parliament, "the which was not done; therefore that which he did "was against his oath at his coronation, besides many "other causes. If therefore the Pope should attempt any "thing against the King, by process, or other matters in"deed, the King, with all his subjects, should with all "their force and power resist the same." But notwithstanding this resolute answer of the estates of the realm, a monk, it seems, had the hardiness to defend this unjust claim of the Pope's. To him therefore Dr. Wiclif replied, Life of Dr. Wiclif, p. and shewed, that the resignation of the crown made heretofore by King John to the Pope, ought not to prejudice the kingdom of England, and did not at all oblige the present king. That the reason of this pretence was, that the Lord Pope ruling the kingdom of England with less control, and at his own pleasure, temporal demesnes may be heaped on the abbies without any restraint. 19. Of Servants, and 54. In his other writings, Wiclif argued against the of Prelates. Prelates of his time, saying " that it is not enough to be- c. 14. MS. "lieve in Jesus Christ, &c. but if a man believe the Bishop of Rome to be head of the holy Church. That "secular lords have no power upon Clerks, but if Prelates Lords, &c. clepen them to chastise Clerks when they ben rebell, Great Sen" and wolen not ben amended by their Prelates: that the tence of "King hath no jurisdiction ne power of their persons, ne plained, c. 66 MS. Curse ex 11. MS. III. ven Arti cles, No. 20 MS. CHAP. "goods of holy Church." He observed, that "Clerks "wolen never cease, if they may, till they have fully deIbid. c. 11. "stroied Kings and Lords, and their regalie and power." In another tract, wrote by one of his followers, we read Thirty-se- thus; "Cristen men ben not holden for to bileve that the Bishop of Rome, that now lyveth in this peyneful lyf, is "heed of al holi Chirche in erth. This sentence is opin "bi this, that Crist is heed aloon of alle holi Chirche, as "Poul seith in i. chap. to Ephesies, in the i. chap. to Co"lossies, and in the 1 Pistil to Corinthies, the iii. chap. "Therfore if he chalaungeth this dignite to him, he is a Ibid. No. 24. " blasfemere, and Lucifer, and Antecrist." He therefore concluded, that" Christene men ben not holden for to bi"leve, withouten opin groundinge of holi Scripture or of 66 resoun that maie not faile, that Seynte Petir hadde more power of bynding and assoylinge than othir Apostlis 66 gretly lovid of Criste." And therefore he called them Schisma In-" Anticrist's Clerkis, who hold, that the Pope as Vicar of ter Papas, « Crist, and of Petir hath power in the Chirche to do what "he wole." c. 3. MS. MS. 66 55. Our Bishop was so far ensnared by the modish doctrine of his time, as to oppose this opinion and reasoning Repressour, of Dr. Wiclif's. He, on the contrary, asserted that "holi part iv. c. 1. Scripture werneth not and lettith not this governaunce; "that doom of cleerli disposid resoun in kinde weerneth "not and lettith it not; that the said governaunce is lee66 ful; that holi Scripture, bothe in the Oolde Testament "and in the Newe, allowith it; and, that doom of cleerli "indisposit resoun, jugith, allowith, and approvith it." In shewing that holy Scripture alloweth it, he observed, ""1.that, in the Oold Testament God ordeynid oon Bischop "to be above in reule and jurisdiccioun to alle the Prestis "and Dekenys, and so to alle the Clergie in Goddis "Chirche being thanne; even as the Pope is now oon 66 persoon above in reule and in jurisdiccioun to alle Prestis " and Dekonys, and to alle the Clergie in the Chirche of "God being now. 2. That holi Writ of the Newe Testa"ment makith mensioun, that Crist seid to Symount III. "Petir thus, Thou art Symount the sone of Johanna, CHAP. "thou schalt be clepid Cephas or heed.-Petir," says he, 66 66 was heed, in the maner in which noon of the other Apostlis was heed. And sithen ech Apostle was heed "of oon certeyn parcel of peple, or ellis of alle the laypeple of the worlde jointli with his felawis, it folewith "nedis, that Petir was heed of al the Clergie, and so of "alle Prestis, and of alle the lay-partie. For in noon "otherwise can it be govun, that he was heed in a dyverse and different maner from ech other Apostle." 66 He proceeded in quoting the usual texts cited for the primacy, and argues like one who was strongly attached to the Pope. Elsewhere his Lordship affirms, that "the Pope Treatise of "is of lyk auctorite, and juresdictioun with ech, or with Faith, p. 28. "the grettist of the Apostlis for to make positive ordi"nauncis lyk as holi Scripture bi power of the Apostle "maad, and for to revoke thilk positive ordinaunce of holi "Scripture maad bi the Apostle." 56. The sixth governance defended by the Bishop, is the Orders of the Religious. To these his Lordship tells us, it was objected, that these distinctions were all wrong, and that they were wholly new. "That bothe of Prestis Repressour, ❝ and lay persoones ben sectis clepid religiouns maad to part v. c. 1. 66 men, and also to wommen for to be streighter to hem in “eting and drinking, in speking, in wering, in going, in "sleping, and in aboute-walking, and in othere dedis of "worldlihode and fleischlihode, than is the freedom of the "lawe of kinde with the settings to of Christis Sacra"mentis: alle this summe of the lay peple blamen bothe "for the dyuersite and novelte so takun to be in, other"wise than is the comoun maner of othere men and wom66 men. And also thei beren an honde, that the religiouns " whiche now ben had and usid han summe statutis and "ordinauncis being agens charite, and therfore agens the "law of God. And ferthermore these blamers ascriven "and geven the fynding and the maintenaunce of alle "suche sectis or religiouns to the feend and to Anticrist. "That no good skile is whi tho religiose persoones III. * closes. CHAP. "schulden were so straunge and diverse formes of habitis "fro her other Cristen bretheren-That religiose mo"nasteries, nameliche of the begging religiouns, han with"inne her gatis and * cloocis, grete, large, wiide, hige, and "stateli mansiouns for lordis and ladies therin to reste, "abide, and dwelle.That thei haw large and wiide "chirchis like sumwhat to cathedral or modir chirchis of "diocisis-That bi the religion of Seint Fraunces, the "religiose persoones of thilk religioun schullen not han"del and touche with her honde, neither bere aboute hem eny money, that is to seie, eny gold or silver or other metal koyned; and git thei ben not weerned bi the same "religioun for to telle such money with a stik holdun in ❝her hond, neither for to keep it in her coffris, neither "ben thei weerned for to holde, bere, touche, and handle "cuppis and dischis, knyfis and jewelis of silver and of gold, however preciose and delectable to the sigt tho "jewelis ben." 66 66 66 58. Our poet Chaucer thus introduces Jack Upland, asking a begging Friar," whether there is any perfecter "rule than Christ himself made, or that Christ approveth 66 any more religions than one? Whether their habit "made them men of religion; what betokeneth their 66 great hood, their scapulary, their knotted girdle, and "their wide cope; and why they used all one colour, 66 more than other Christian men? Why they held si"lence, and eat flesh in one house more than in another? "Why they would not touch any coined money with the i Erasmus rallies the Franciscans, or begging Friars, on this head. Rursum alios qui pecuniæ contactum ceu aconitum horreant nec a vino interim, nec a mulierum contactu temperantes. So again, alius gloriabitur sexaginta annos nunquam attactum pecuniam, nisi digitis duplici chirotheca munitis. Moria Encomium. The founder of this order, Francis, forbid the Friars to receive any money; but this, it seems, one of the Popes interpreted to mean their not touching any money, and they therefore, to evade that, used to take it with their gloves on, and tell it with a stick. Ger. Listrius, Comment. in Moriæ Encom. k -Quot modiorum capax cuculla, quot digitis latum capillitium? Erasmi Moric Encomium. |