This doone, and now after that they were set inquiet in that countrie
(the rebels not being so hardie as to stirre, whilest such a mightie
armie was there readie at hand to assaile them) king about Easter
came backe into England without anie more adoo, so that the gaine was
thought nothing to counteruaile the charges, which were verie great:
for the king had ouer with him in that iournie, foure thousand men of
armes, and thirtie thousand archers, as Froissard saith he was informed
by an English esquier that had béene in that iournie. The king at his
comming ouer, did not forget what complaint the archbishop of Yorke
and the bishop of London had exhibited to him, against those that were
called Lollards, and heretiks, wherevpon immediatlie, he called before
him certeine of the noble men, that were thought and knowne to fauour
such kind of men, threatning terriblie, if from thence foorth they
should in anie wise comfort and relieue them. He caused sir Richard
Sturrie to receiue an oth, that he should not mainteine from that day
forward anie such erronious opinions, menacing him, and as it were,
couenanting with him by an interchangeable oth, that if euer he might
vnderstand, that he did violate and breake that oth, he should die for
it a most shamefull death.
[Sidenote: _Abr. Fl._ out of _Henrie Knighton_ canon of Leicester
abbeie.]
¶ By the report of H. Knighton it should séeme, that this sect (as
he calleth them) mightilie increased, to the no small offense of the
lords temporall and spirituall, wherevpon after sundrie complaints,
and serious solicitations for the supplanting of them, commissions
were granted, and the tenure of them (as it should séeme) though
not absolutelie, yet in part executed. Now therefore listen what
mine author saith, whose addition, though by his owne supputation of
yeares it require to be placed elsewhere; yet for the consonancie of
the matter, and because writers varie greatlie in their accounts of
time, I haue here inserted the same, as in a verie conuenient place
of the historie. The noblemen and the commons (saith Henrie Knighton)
séeing the ship of the church, with these & other innumerable errors,
& verie lewd opinions as it were on all sides from day to day with
ceasselesse violence and force to be shaken; besought the king in the
|826| parlement, that redresse might be had herof; lest the arke of
the faith of all the church by such violences and inforcements giuen
in those daies, should through want of gouernement be battered without
remedie, and the glorious realme of England by corrupting of faith
should by little and little be drawne into a distresse of grace and
losse of honor. Wherefore the king vsing the sound counsell of the
whole parlement, commanded the archbishop of Canturburie, & the rest
of the bishops of the realme, to execute their charge and office, all
and euerie of them in his and their diocesse, according to the canon
lawes, more seuerelie and zealouslie; to correct the offendors, to
examine their English books more fullie and substantiallie, to root
out errors with all their indeuors, to bring the people into an vnitie
of the right faith, to wéed vp out of the church all netles, thistles,
and brambles wherewith she is disgraced; and to beautifie hir with
lillies and roses; and should cause an establishment of his roiall
power more boldlie and stoutlie. And the king foorthwith commanded,
without delaie, that his letters patents should be sent abroad into
all and euerie shire of his kingdome; and appointed in euerie shire
certeine searchers for such books and their fauourers; charging them to
applie a spéedie remedie vnto these disorders, and to lay vp the rebels
in the verie next gaoles, till the king sent vnto them. But verie slow
execution or none at all followed, because the houre of correction
was not yet come. [Howbeit, to prepare and make an entrance to the
purposed reformation and correction of those enormities, he gaue out a
commission against the Wickleuists, a copie whereof followeth both in
Latine and English. Whereby the world may see how the springing church
of Christ was hated and abhorred of the antichristian rout.]
Copia regiæ commissionis aduersus Lollardos & Lollardorum sequaces.
RICHARDUS Dei gratia rex Angliæ & Franciæ, & dominus Hiberniæ,
dilectis sibi magistro Thomæ Brightwell in theologia doctori, decano
collegij noui operis Leicestriæ, & Gulielmo Chesulden præbendario
præbendæ eiusdem collegij, ac dilectis & fidelibus nostris Richardo
de Barow Chinall, & Roberto Langham, salutem. Quia ex insinuatione
credibili certitudinaliter informatur, quòd ex insana doctrina
magistrorum Iohannis Wickliffe dum vixit, Nicholai Herford, Iohannis
Liston, & suorum sequaciū, quàm plures libri, libelli, schedulæ,
& quaterni, hæresibus & erroribus manifestis in fidei catholicæ
læsionem, & sanæ doctrinæ derogationem, expressè, & palàm, & notoriè
redundantes, frequentiùs compilantur, publicantur, & conscribuntur,
tam in Anglico quàm in Latino, ac exinde opiniones nefariæ sanæ
doctrinæ contrariantes, oriuntur, crescunt, & manutenentur,
ac prædicantur, in fidei orthodoxæ eneruationem, ecclesiæ
sanctæ subuersionem, & ex consequenti (quod absit) quàm plurium
incredulitatem, eorúmq; animarum periculum manifestum. Nos zelo
fidei catholicæ, cuius sumus & esse volumus defensores in omnibus
(vt tenemur) moti salubriter & inducti, nolentes huiusmodi hæreses
aut errores infra terminos nostræ potestatis, quatenùs poterimus,
oriri, seu quomodolibet pullulare: assignamus vos coniunctim &
diuisim, ad omnes & singulos libros, libellos schedulas, & quaternos
huiusmodi doctrinā dictorū Iohannis, Nicholai, Iohannis, & sociorum
sequacium, seu opinionum aliquam minùs sanam continentes, vbicúnq;, &
in quorumcúnq; manibus, possessione, seu custodia inueniri poterunt,
infra libertates vel extra, inuestigandum, capiendum, & arrestandum,
& penes concilium nostrum cum omni celeritate possibili deferri
faciendum, vt tunc ibidem de ijsdem ordinare valeamus, prout de
auisamento concilij nostri prædicti fore viderimus faciendum: ac
etiam ad proclamandum, & ex parte nostra firmiter inhibendum, ne
quis cuiuscúnq; status, gradus, seu conditionis fuerit, sub pœna
imprisionamenti & forisfacturationum, quæ nobis forisfacere poterit,
aliquas huiusmodi prauas & nefarias opiniones manutenere, docere,
pertinacitérque defendere, clàm vel palam, seu huiusmodi libros,
libellos, schedulas, & quaternos detinere, scribere, vel scribi
facere, aut emere vel vendere præsumat quouis modo; sed |827| omnes
& singulos huiusmodi libros, libellos, schedulas, & quaternos secum
habitos & inuentos, ad mandatum nostrum vobis reddat, seu reddi
faciat indilatè. Et ad omnes illos, quos post proclamationem &
inhibitionem prædictis contrarium inueneritis facientes, & huiusmodi
nefarias opiniones manutentes, coràm vobis præfato Thoma decano &
Gulielmo euocandum, & diligenter examinandum: & cùm inde legitimè
euicti fuerint, ministris proximísq; prisonis committendum, in ijsdem
detinendum, quoúsque à suis erroribus, hæresibus, & prauis opinionibus
resipiscant, seu nos pro deliberatione eorundem aliter duxerimus
ordinandum. Et ideo vobis mandamus, quòd dicta præmissa cum omni
diligentia & efficacia intendatis, & ea faciatis & exequamini in forma
prædicta. Damus autem tàm vniuersis & singulis viris ecclesiasticis,
quàm vicecomitibus, maioribus, balliuis, ministris, & alijs fidelibus
& subditis nostris, tàm infra libertates quàm extra tenore præsentium
firmiter in mandatis, quòd vobis, & cuilibet vestrum, in præmissis
faciendis assistentes sint, consulentes, & auxiliantes, prout decet.
In cuius rei testimonium has literas nostras fieri fecimus patentes.
Teste meipso apud Westmonasterium vicesimo tertio die Maij, anno regni
nostri vndecimo.
A copie of the kings commission against the Lollards or Wickleuists and
their followers: Englished by A. F.
RICHARD by the grace of God king of England and France, and lord
of Ireland, to his beloued, maister Thomas Brightwell doctor in
diuinitie, deane of the college of the new worke of Leicester, and
to William Chesulden prebendarie of the prebend of the same college;
and to our beloued and trustie subiects, Richard of Barow Chinall,
and Robert Langham; greeting. For so much as we are certeinelie
informed by credible report, that by the vnsound doctrine of maister
Iohn Wickliffe, whiles he liued, of Nicholas Herford, Iohn Liston,
and their followers, many bookes, libels, scheduls, & pamphlets
expresselie, euidentlie, and notoriouslie swarming with manifest
heresies and errors to the hurt of the catholike faith, & the
abolishment of sound doctrine, are commonlie compiled, published,
and written, as well in English as in Latine, and therevpon wicked
opinions contrarie to sound doctrine, doo spring, grow, and are
mainteined and preached to the weakening of the right faith, the
ouerthrow of holie church, and consequentlie (which God forbid) the
misbeleefe of a great many, & the manifest danger of their soules.
We being moued with zeale to the catholike faith, whereof we are,
and will be defenders in all things, as we are bound, vnwilling that
such heresies or errors within the limits of our iurisdiction, so far
as we are able, should grow, or by any meanes spring vp: doo assigne
you iointlie and seuerallie, all and singular the books, libels,
scheduls, & pamphlets conteining such doctrine of the said Iohn,
Nicholas, Iohn, and their fellow-followers, or any of their corrupt
opinions, wheresoeuer, & in whose hands, possession, or keeping soeuer
they shalbe found within the liberties or without; them to search,
take, arrest, and cause to be brought before our councell with all
possible speed, that then and there we may take order for the same
accordinglie, as by the aduise of our foresaid councell we shall see
requisite to be doone. And also to proclaime, and on our behalfe
firmelie to forbid all and euerie one, of whatsoeuer state, degree,
or condition he be, vnder paine of imprisonment and forfeitures,
which to vs he shall forfeit, any of these wicked and lewd opinions
to mainteine, teach, obstinatlie to defend, priuilie or openlie, or
any of these bookes, libels, scheduls & pamphlets to keepe, write, or
cause to be written; but all and euerie such booke and bookes, libels,
scheduls, and pamphlets with them had & found, at our commandement
vnto you to deliuer, or cause to be deliuered without delaie. And all
them, whome after proclamation and inhibition you shall find dooing
contrarie to the premisses, and such lewd opinions mainteining, to
call foorth before you the said Thomas the deane, & William, and them
to examine: & when |828| they shalbe lawfullie conuinced therein,
to commit them to the next officers & prisons, there to be kept,
till they haue recanted their errors, heresies, and wicked opinions;
or till we for their deliuerance shall otherwise thinke order to be
taken. And therefore we command, that you intend the said premisses,
with all diligence and effect, and the same doo and execute in forme
aforesaid. We doo also giue in streict commandement and charge, to
all and euerie as well churchman & churchmen, as shiriffes, maiors,
bailiffes, officers, and other our trustie subiects, as well within
the liberties as without, by the tenor of these presents, to assist,
counsell, and helpe you and euerie of you in doing the premisses,
as it is conuenient. In witnesse whereof, we haue caused these our
letters patents to be made. Witnesse our selues at Westminster the
twentie third day of Maie, and the eleuenth yeare of our reigne.
[Sidenote: Archbishop of Canturburies visitatiō.
Wickleuists excommunicated.