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From Illustrations of Chaucer's England, edited by Dorothy Hughes, M.A.; Longmans, Green and Co.; 1919.
The King to all to whose notice these present letters shall come, greeting — Know that we, having full confidence in their loyalty and discretion, have appointed the venerable father John Bishop of Bangor, and our beloved lieges Master John Wyclif, professor of theology and [5 others] our special ambassadors, nuncios, and procurators to parts abroad, giving them, five, or six of them, of whom we wish the aforesaid bishop to be one, authority, power and special mandate to treat and take friendly counsel with the ambassadors of the Supreme Pontiff upon certain business for which we lately sent the aforesaid bishop [and others] to the Apostolic See; and to make full report as to those matters which shall have been treated and agreed upon among them to us and our council. That those things which may concern the honour of Holy Church and the preservation of the rights of our crown, and of our realm of England in this matter may by the guidance of God and the Holy Apostolic See, be despatched and brought to a favourable conclusion.
Given at London, on the 26th day of July (1374).
There is no man that loves God and Holy Church, the King and the realm of England that has not matter for thought, sorrow, and tears, inasmuch as the court of Rome, that ought to be the fountain and source of holiness, and the uprooter of all covetousness and simony, has 190 so subtly, little by little, by the sufferance and connivance of evil persons now more excessively than ever before drawn to itself the collations of bishoprics and other benefices of Holy Church in England, whereof the tax amounts to more than five times the amount of all the profits pertaining to the King each year throughout the realm. And of each bishopric and all the other benefices that the Pope gives, he will have the tax . . . and of one voidance he makes two or three by way of translations. And when a bishop has obtained his bulls, he will be so indebted to the court of Rome for the tax and other payments and costs, that he must needs sell the woods of his bishopric, borrow from his friends, and have aid from his poor tenants and subsidy from his clergy. . . . Also, there are many persons who, when they have purchased a benefice, and made payment of the tax, and to the “brocours” of benefices dwelling in the sinful city of Avignon, they make them let their benefices to farm, which farm will be sent to the “brocours” to purchase more benefices therewith . . . . And thus by way of simony and brocage, an ignorant good-for-nothing shall be advanced to churches and prebends worth 1000 marks, while a Doctor and master of divinity will be glad to get a little benefice of 20 marks.
And thus clerks lose all hope of being advanced by their clergy, and all inclination to learn; and for the same cause, parents cease to send their children to the schools. . . .
Be it considered, that God has committed His sheep to our Holy Father to be fed, not to be shorn. . . .
And be it remembered for the common profit that the Pope’s collector, who is an alien, and of the obedience of France, and also many other open enemies, and spies of the secret matters of this realm, stay continually in the City of London, and have their procurators and spies, Englishmen, Lombards, and others, throughout the country to spy out the vacancies of benefices, sending 191 word thereof continually by letter to the court of Rome; . . . and also they send certain intelligence of the secrets of the realm.
. . . And the said collector is receiver of the Pope’s money, keeping a great household in London, with clerks and officials, just as though it were the dwelling of a prince or duke.
. . . Our said lord the King, by the assent aforesaid, and at the request of his Commons, hath ordained and established, That if any purchase or pursue, or cause to be purchased or pursued in the court of Rome or elsewhere, by any such translations, processes, or sentences of excommunication, bulls, instruments, or any other things whatsoever which touch our lord the King, against him and his crown, and his regalty or his realm . . . or receive them, or make thereof notification, or any other execution whatsoever within the realm or without — that they, their notaries, procurator, maintainers, abettor, fautours and counsellors shall be put out of the King’s protection, and their lands and tenements, goods and chattels forfeit to our lord the King. And that they be attached by their bodies, if they can be found, and brought before the King and his Council, there to answer to the cases aforesaid; or that process be made against them by “Praemunire facias,” in manner as is ordained in other Statutes of Provisors and others who sue in any other court, in derogation of the regalty of our lord the King.
192Whereas in this present Parliament it was shown to our lord the King by all the earls, barons, and commons of England that the government of the realm has long been in the hands of men of Holy Church, who cannot be brought to account for their acts, whereby great mischiefs have happened in times past, and yet more may happen in time to come, to the disherison of the crown, and great prejudice of the realm, for divers causes that might be declared — therefore may it please the King that laymen of sufficient condition be chosen, and henceforth no other persons be made Chancellor, Treasurer, clerk of the Privy Seal, chamberlains or controller of the Exchequer, or other great officers and governors of the realm. And that this matter be now established in such manner that it may by no means be undone, and that nothing may be done to the contrary in time to come. Saving always to the King the right of choosing and removing such officers, provided that they be laymen, as is aforesaid.
In the year 1349, about Michaelmas, more than six score men, natives, for the greater part, of Holland and Zeeland, came to London from Flanders. And twice a day, sometimes in the Church of St. Paul, sometimes in other places of the City, in sight of all the people, covered 193 with a linen cloth from the thighs to the heels, the rest of the body being bare, and each wearing a cap marked before and behind with a red cross, and holding a scourge with three thongs having each a knot through which sharp points were fixed, went barefoot in procession one after another, scourging their bare and bleeding bodies. Four of them would sing in their own tongue, all the others making response, in the manner of litanies sung by Christians. Three times in their procession all together would fling themselves upon the ground, their hands outspread in the form of a cross, continually singing. And beginning with the last, one after another, as they lay, each in turn struck the man before him once with his flail; and so from one to another, each performed the same rite to the last. Then each resumed his usual garments, and still wearing their caps and holding their flails, they returned to their lodging. And it was said that they performed the same penance every evening.
Ralph de Tremur . . . craftily going about as well in our diocese as in other parts of England for a long time . . . “a renowned Master of Arts, a learned grammarian, able to speak fluently in four languages, Latin, French, English, and in the Cornish and Breton tongue. . . . This man proclaims openly and teaches in secret otherwise than the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church believes. . . . Worse than all, he does his best . . . not only to lead others along with himself to destruction, but to secure the secret support of simple and unlearned folk, 194 ignorant of theological verities, and already prone to heresy; for the purpose of spreading his errors.”
(From the Bishop’s mandate concerning the matter.)
It has come to our hearing by common report that one John Ball, pretending to be a priest, is preaching manifold errors and scandals within our said jurisdiction, as well to the ruin of his own soul and the souls of his adherents as to the manifest scandal of the whole Church. Being unwilling, therefore, to tolerate this hurt, we order you to warn all and sundry of the said deanery, peremptorily forbidding any to be present at the preaching of the said John, on pain of greater excommunication. . . . And denouncing all who shall offend against it, . . . you shall cite to them to appear before us. . . . You shall also cite . . . the said John to appear personally before us, to make answer concerning certain articles and interrogations to be put before him touching the correction and safety of his soul.
Meanwhile, as men said, the Duke1 was taking counsel unceasingly with his accomplices, either as to how he could render the Church subservient to himself, or else by what means he could subject the Kingdom in some way to himself. For he knew that so long as the Church stood intact he would have difficulty in attaining his ends; 195 moreover it would be most perilous openly to attempt what he had in mind, while the might and liberties of the City of London were inviolate. Whence he strove first to subvert the liberties both of the Church and of that City.
He therefore attached to himself a certain false theologian, or rather, a true enemy of God, who already for many years in all his lectures in the Schools had been barking against the Church, because he had been justly deprived by the Archbishop of a benefice in the University of Oxford to which he had wrongfully attached himself. And he had invented many new opinions, lacking indeed all foundation, but such as were likely to win the ear of his listeners, inviting to hear him simple persons, who were always seeking for some novelty, as is the way of such men. This man called John, undeservedly, for the grace that God gave him he rejected, turning from the truth, which is God, to empty fables. And among other unspeakable things, he denied that the Pope is able to excommunicate anyone . . . and said, moreover, that neither the King nor any secular lord could give property in perpetuity to any person or church; because if such should habitually commit sin, temporal lords might meritoriously take away from them what they had previously given — which, he said, was practised in the time of William Rufus. . . . He asserted, moreover, that, if they stood in need, temporal lords might lawfully lay claim to the goods of possessioners to relieve their own want.
These and much more serious things, he had not only discussed and handled in the Schools of Oxford, but had also preached publicly in the City of London, more especially to obtain the favour of the Duke and others, whom he knew to be inclined to pay heed to his opinions. Then he found certain lords of the realm who embraced his imbecilities, and would have hardened him to blunt the 196 sword of Peter, protecting him with the secular arm lest he should be publicly struck with the same. And supported by the patronage of these men, he imparted his forbidden topics with still greater boldness and daring, so that he drew with him into error not only the lords, but certain plain citizens of London. To say truth, he was not only eloquent but a throrough hypocrite, working always to one end, namely, that he might spread abroad report of himself and his opinions.
He made pretence of despising temporal possessions, as vain and perishable, from love of the things which are eternal; wherefore he had no intercourse with the possessioners, but adhered to the mendicant orders, the more to beguile the populace, speaking with approval of their poverty, and extolling their perfections. . . .
The Duke and the lord Henry Percy were full of praise for his opinions, busily lauding to the skies his learning and virtue; and so it came to pass that, puffed up by their favour, he did not fear to spread his vain teaching far and wide, hurrying from church to church, and instilling his false ravings into the ears of great numbers of people.
1 The Duke of Lancaster.
There is a doubt as to whether the kingdom of England may legitimately, under the urgent necessity of her defence, withhold the treasure of the realm from being carried abroad, even though the Pope require this on pain of censure, and by virtue of her obedience.
. . . Every natural body is given power from God of 197 resisting what is hostile to it, and of duly preserving itself. . . . Since therefore the realm of England ought, in the words of Scripture, to be one body, and the clerks, lords, and community its members, it seems that it has such power from God, the more clearly in that that body has been most excellently adorned by Him with virtue and knowledge.
It is proved by the law of conscience, for as well Kings as lords who have received the burden of governing their realms or lordships, are bound by the law of conscience to defend the prosperity and estate of their realms, and the pious intentions of their forbears, which they would not do unless they safeguarded the alms of their forefathers in the form wherein they are founded in their testaments. . . . For the secular lords of this kingdom gave the possessions wherefrom the Pope draws forth treasure, not to the Church at large, but to the Church of England in particular.
So they were called by the people disciples of Wycliffe and Wycliffites, and a very great many were thus senselessly beguiled into their sect. The original false Lollards, at the first introduction of this unspeakable sect, wore, for the most part, russet garments, showing outwardly, as it were, the simplicity of their hearts, the more subtly to attract the minds of beholders, and the more securely to set about teaching and sowing their insane doctrine. . . . Their opinions prevailed to such an extent that the half, or the greater part of the people were won over to them, some sincerely, others from shame or fear; since they 198 extolled their adherents as worthy of all praise, immaculate, and conspicuous for their goodness, even although their public and private vices might be well known . . . while, on the other hand, those who did not join or favour them, but continued to observed the ancient and sound doctrines of the Church, they declared impious, depraved, malignant and perverse, worthy of all censure, and opponents of the law of God. They asserted that only those turned from them who were malignant and confirmed sinners, not keeping the law of God which they themselves preached; and constantly in all their sayings they made use of this same ending, always alleging “Goddis law”. . . .
In all their discourses, their doctrine appeared at first to be devout and full of sweetness, but declining towards the end it became abundant in subtle malice and slander. And although newly converted, and but lately imitators of that sect, all their disciples at once adopted in extraordinary fashion the same manner of speech . . . ; and suddenly changing their natural phrase, both men and women became teachers of the evangelic doctrine. . . .
Thus from the day of their coming into the kingdom there has been violent dissension, because they stirred up son against father, the mother against her son’s wife, the servants of a household against their master, and, as it were, every man against his neighbour. . . . Never, probably, since the foundation of the Church, were such suspicion, discord, and dissension to be seen. They adopted fittingly enough the name of “Wycliffe’s disciples,” applied to them everywhere by others; for just as Master John Wycliffe was powerful beyond others in disputation, being held second to none in argument, so these people, even when newly attracted to the sect, became surpassingly eloquent, getting the better of others in all subtleties and wordy encounters, mighty in words and 199 prating. So that what they might not achieve by reasoning, they made up for by quarrelsome violence, with angry shouting and bombastic words. . . .
These Wycliffites incited both men and women to reject the teaching of all others, instructing them on no account to listen to the mendicant friars, whom they dubbed “false preachers”; they constantly plotted against them, and clamorously proclaimed themselves true and evangelical preachers, in that they had the Gospel translated into the English language. . . . And as a result of their exhortations, the mendicant friars were looked upon with hatred by many in those days, whereby the Wycliffites, emboldened, strove the more to turn the people’s hearts from them, and to hinder them from preaching and asking alms.
Whereas it is notorious that there are many wretched persons within the realm, going from county to county and from town to town, in certain habits under pretence of great holiness, without license of our Holy Father the Pope, or of the ordinaries, or other sufficient authory; and they preach daily, not only in churches and cemeteries, but in markets, fairs, and other public places where there is great concourse of people, divers sermons containing heresy and notorious errors, to the injury of faith, the destruction of the laws and estate of Holy Church, and the great peril of the people’s souls and of all the realm. 200 The which has been sufficiently found and proved by the reverend father in God the Archbishop of Canterbury, and other prelates, masters of divinity, doctors of canon and civil law, and great part of the clergy of the realm especially summoned for the purpose. And the same persons preach also divers matters of slander, to make discord and dissension between divers estates of the realm, as well temporal as spiritual. . . .
And these preachers, when cited or summoned before the ordinaries, will not obey their mandates, paying no heed to the censures of Holy Church, but expressly despising them. Further, by many subtle words they entice the people in great multitudes to listen to their sermons, and to maintain them in their errors: —
Therefore it is ordained in this Parliament, that after, and according to, the certifications of the prelates, thereon to be made into the Chancery, the King’s commissions shall from time to time be issued to the sheriffs and other his officers . . . to arrest all such preachers, their fautors and abettors, and keep them in close prison until they will submit according to reason and the laws of Holy Church.
And the King wishes and commands that the Chancellor shall issue such commissions whenever he shall be certified by the prelates . . . as is aforesaid.
. . . Also they cursen all hem that ben necligent to prison cursed men, but here they cursen hem that God blisseth many times, for oft they cursen wrongfully true men, for prechynge of the Gospel. . . . And God blisseth these true prechours and all that faveren hem in this; then 201 these worldly clerkis cursen the Kyng and his justices and officeris, for they meyntenen the Gospel and true prechours thereof, and wolen not prison hem for wrongful commandment of Antichrist and his clerkis. But where ben fouler heretics than these wordly clerkis? . . .
And many times they maken the Kyng and his lordis sue trewe men and the Gospel, when they wenen to sue heretics hardid in their error, and to distroie hem and meynteyne Goddis worship. . . .
Then worldly clerkis maken the Kyng and lordis . . . to tormente his body as he were a stronge thief, and cast him in a deep prisone . . . and thus they betraien our Kyng and lordis, and rob hem of right bileve and rightful doom, and workis of mercy, and stopen Goddis word.
The commons pray that whereas a statute was made in the last Parliament in these words [the ordinance in No. 19 is quoted] . . . the which was never granted by the commons, what was said upon this matter being without their assent — that this statute be annulled; for it was not their intent to be made subject to jurisdiction, nor to bind themselves nor their successors to the prelates more than their ancestors have been bound in times past.
The lords and commons of the realm, seeing that the ship of the church was daily being endangered by the incessant forces of these and innumerable other errors and unspeakable opinions, asked the King for a remedy in the present Parliament. . . . And he, taking the wholesome counsel of the whole Parliament upon the point, ordered the Archbishop of Canterbury and other bishops that each should do his duty more zealously within his diocese, and 202 punish delinquents, more carefully examine their English books, uproot error, and study to preserve the unity of the orthodox faith. . . .
And without delay the King ordered his letters patent to be sent at once into all counties of the realm, appointing certain persons in each county to examines such books and their possessors and speedily to apply remedy, sending any persons offering resistance to the nearest gaol. . . . But this was tardily executed, and of little help.
I; William Dynot, before yow worshipfull fader and lord archbishop of Yhork and your clergie, with my fre will and full avysed, swere to God and to all His seyntes upon this holy gospell. . . .
. . . And also I shall be buxom to the laws of holy Church and to yhowe as myn archbishop, and to the laws upon my power and meyntein them; and also I shall never more meyntein, ne techen, ne defend errours, conclusions, no teching of the Lollards, ne swych conclusions and techings that men clopith Lollards doctrin. Ne I shall her books ne swych books, ne hem or any suspect or diffamed of Lollardery receyve or company withall wittynglye, or defend in tho maters; and if I knowe ony swiche, I shall withall the haste that I may do yhowe or els your ner officers to wyten, and of ther bokes. And also I shall excite and stirre al tho to good doctrin that I have hindred with myn doctryne up to my power.