AN APOLOGY
FOR
LOLLARD DOCTRINES,
ATTRIBUTED TO WICLIFFE.
NOW FIRST PRINTED FROM A MANUSCRIPT IN THF. LIBRARY
OF TRINITY COLLEGE, DUBLIN.
WITH AN INTRODUCTION AND NOTES,
JJY
JAMES HENTHORN TODD, D.D. V.P.R.I.A.
FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE, AND TREASURER OF ST. PATRICK'S CATHEDRAL,
DUBLIN.
LONDON:
PRINTED FOR THE CAMDEN SOCIETY,
BY JOHN BOWYEU NICHOLS AND SON, PARLIAMENT STREET.
M.DCCC.XLII.
X
Ot>~7
[13
Wl
.1
(xo. xx.)
COUNCIL
OF
THE CAMDEN SOCIETY,
FOR THE YEAR 1842-3.
President)
THE RIGHT HON. LORD FRANCIS EGERTON, M.P.
THOMAS AMYOT, ESQ. F.R.S. Treas. S.A. Director.
THE RIGHT HON. LORD BRAYBROOKE, F.S.A.
JOHN BRUCE, ESQ. F.S.A. Treasurer.
JOHN PAYNE COLLIER, ESQ. F.S.A.
C. PURTON COOPER, ESQ. Q.C., D.C.L., F.R.S., F.S.A.
T. CROFTON CROKER, ESQ. F.S.A., M.R.I.A.
SIR HENRY ELLIS, K.H., F.R.S., Sec. S.A.
JAMES ORCHARD HALLIWELL, ESQ. F.R.S., F.S.A.
THE REV. JOSEPH HUNTER, F.S.A.
SIR FREDERICK MADDEN, K.H., F.R.S., F.S.A.
JOHN HERMAN MERIVALE, ESQ. F.S.A.
THE REV. LANCELOT SHARPE, M.A., F.S.A.
THOMAS STAPLETON, ESQ. F.S.A.
WILLIAM J. THOMS, ESQ. F.S.A. Secretary.
THOMAS WRIGHT, ESQ. M.A., F.S.A.
INTRODUCTION.
IT will naturally be expected that the following trea
tise should be introduced to the reader by some account
of the manuscript from which it has been transcribed, and
some statement of the grounds upon which it has been
attributed to the pen of Wickliffe.
The manuscript is preserved in the library of Trinity
College, Dublin, among the valuable remains of ancient
literature collected by the celebrated Archbishop Ussher,
and presented by King Charles II. to the University.*
It is on vellum, containing 219 leaves, each 6^. inches
by 4-1 ; a full page having 31 or 32 lines, very neatly and
accurately written, in the usual secretary hand of the
fourteenth or beginning of the fifteenth century. The
last leaf is much wormed, and the volume ends imper
fectly.
Its contents are as follow : —
* It is marked in the Library, Class C. Tab. 5, No. (5.
CAMD. soc. 14. b
VI INTRODUCTION.
I. A tract entitled Credo (being an exposition of the
Creed) ; beginning, " It is sooth that bileue is grounde of
alle vertues." Fol. 1, a. This piece is attributed to Wick-
liffe by Bishop Bale. See Lewis's List, No. 152.*
II. A short Commentary on the Pater noster ; begin
ning, " We schall bileue that this pater noster that Crist
hymsilf techith to alle cristen men, passith alle othere
praiers." Fol. 2, a.
III. A Commentary on the Ave Maria ; beginning,
" Men greten commonly our lady goddis moder, and we
supposen that this gretyng saueth many men." Fol. 3, b.
See Lewis's List. No. 154.
IV. Of the " vij eresies." This treatise is divided into
seven chapters, each treating of a distinct heresy. At
the end we read, " Expliciunt vij hereses contra pater
noster." It begins thus : " For false men multiplien
bokis of the chirche, now rendyng bileue, and now clout-
ynge eresies." Fol. 4, b.
The Lord's Prayer in the former tract was divided into
seven petitions, or " axyngs," as is usual with divines, and
each of the seven heresies described in the present tract
has reference to one of the seven " axyngs " of the Pater
noster. The tract appears to have been especially
* Life of Wiclif, Oxf. 1820, p. 205. Bale, Cent. vi. p. 454.
INTRODUCTION. Vll
directed against the Friars : as may appear from the
" heresies " it describes, which are as follows : —
1. " That special preier applied bi her prelats, is better than gene
ral ; as oonjnmulorum* seid of a frere, is better than a pater noster."
2. " That thes prelats ben hedis of goddis reume and so
alle thes freris ben men of hooli chirche, that God wol here gladlier
than ony othere comoun men."
3. " That thei can bowe the wille of our Lord God to brynge a
soule to heuen, bi maner of her preiyng."
4. " That the sacrid oost is no maner breed, but either nowjt, or
accident withouten ony subiect."
5. " That prestis haue power to assoile men of synne."
6. " That men of priuate religioun be more thick saued/'f
7. " That if we worchen bi conseillis of thes newe ordris, that
leuen the ordenaunce of Crist, we shal nedely be saued."
The tract ends fol. 6, b. The next two leaves are
blank.
V. A treatise on the ten Commandments ; beginning,
" Alle maner of men schulden holde goddis biddyngis."
Fol. 9, a.
This is the tract entitled by Bale " Compendium X.
Prseceptorum," which he describes as beginning Cujus-
* Alluding to the Commemoratio pro vivis in the Canon of the
Mass, " Memento Domine famulorum, fanmlarumque tuarum N et
JV," in which special mention is made by the priest of the persons for
whom he intends to pray.
f More thick, i. e. more numerously.
Vlll INTRODUCTION.
cunque conditionis fuerint homines.* It is divided into
two parts, corresponding to the two Tables of the law,
the first consisting of twelve, the second of twenty-eight
chapters.
VI. A treatise on " Feith, Hope, and Charite ; " begin
ning, " For it is seid in holdyng of our haliday, that we
shulden occupie the tyme in prechyng, and deuout hering
of the lawe of God." Fol. 27, a. This tract is divided
into six chapters ; and is probably the same as that men
tioned by Lewis, No. 274. There is a copy of it in a vo
lume preserved in the library of New College, Oxford -f
VII. A tract entitled at the end " Opera misericordie
corporalis ;" beginning, " If a man wer sur that he shulde
to morowe come bifor a iuge, and other lese or wynne
alle the goodis that he hat, and eke his lijf therto."
Fol. 30, b. It is divided into six chapters.
This is also in the volume belonging to New College,
Oxford, and is entitled, " The seuen werkys of mercy
bodily." — It is mentioned by Bale and Lewis. J
VIII. " Opera caritatis ; " beginning, " Sith we shulden
serue our parishens in spritual almes, as thei seruen vs in
* Bale, Cent. vi. p. 454. Lewis's Catal. No. 153, p. 205. No.
273, p. 213. Comp. also, No. 278, p. 214.
f See British Magazine, Feb. 1836, p. 136.
^ Bale, ut supra. Lewis, No. 155, p. 206. No. 257, p. 211.
INTRODUCTION. ix
bodili sustenaunce." Fol. 35, a. This tract is divided
into four chapters. It is attributed to Wicliffe by Bale
and Lewis, and is to be found in the volume, already
mentioned, belonging to New College.*
IX. "Septem peccata capitalia;" a treatise on the
seven deadly sins, beginning, " Sith bileue techith vs that
every yuel is other synne, or cometh of synne, synne
shulde be fled as almaner of yuel." Fol. 38, a.
The seven sins are thus enumerated : " Pride, Enuye,
Wraththe or Ire, Sleuthe, Couetise, Gloterie, Lecherie."
This tract is divided into thirty-two chapters and ends
on Fol. 63, a. There are copies of it, according to Lewis,
in the Bodleian Library, and in the King's Library .-f-
X. " De Ecclesia et membris ejus 5" beginning, " Cristis
chirche is his spouse, that hath thre partis, the first part
is in bliss, with Crist hed of the chirche, and conteyneth
aungelis and blessid men that now ben in heuene." Fol.
63, b.
This tract is ascribed to Wicliffe under the titles De
ecclesiae dominio, and De ecclesia Catholica.% It is divided
into ten chapters, and ends fol. 75, b. where we read
" Explicit tractatus de ecclesia et membris ejus."
* Bale, ibid. Lewis, No. 156, p. 206, and No. 258, p. 211.
t Lewis, No. 259, p. 211.
I Lewis, No. 58, p. 191. Baber, p. 42.
X INTRODUCTION.
XL " De apostasia et dotatione ecclesiae ; " beginning,
u Sith ilche cristen man is holden to sewe [i. e. to follow]
Crist, and whoever faylith in this is apostata." Fol. 76, a.
This tract is divided into four chapters, and ends fol.
80, b. with the note, " Explicit tractatus de apostasia et
dotacione ecclesise."
The second chapter is headed in rubric De dotacione
ecclesice, and is perhaps the same which Bale mentions
under the same title as a distinct tract, and which he tells
us begins Utrum clerus debuerit dotationem* In the MS.
before us the second chapter begins, " As to the posses-
siouns and dowyng of clerkis, bileeue shulde teche vs that
it doith hem harm to kepe Cristis religioun, and harm
to lewid men."
XII. " Tractatus de pseudo freris ; " beginning, " For
many beren heuy that freris ben clepid pseudo or ypocritis,
anticristis or fendis, or ony siche name." Fol. 81, a.
This tract is divided into eight chapters ; it is full of
curious matter on the controversy with the religious
orders, but does not seem to have been known to Bale,
Lewis, or Baber. It ends fol. 95, b.
XIII. " Of the eight woes that God wished to freris ;"
beginning, " Crist biddeth vs be waar with thes false pro-
* Lewis, No. 51, p. 191.
INTRODUCTION. XI
phetis that comen in clothing of sheepe, and ben wolues of
raueyn, and thes ben specially men of thes newe ordris."
Fol. 96, a.
This is another tract of great interest, unknown to
Bale; it consists of an elaborate parallel between the
Scribes and Pharisees of the Gospel, and the mendicant
orders of the fourteenth century. It ends fol. 101, a,
with the note, " Her enden the eighte woois that God
wishid to freris. Amen." This is probably the same
tract which Lewis describes as a commentary on the text
Vce vobis Scribes et Phariscei hypocrita :* of which he says
there is a copy in the King's Library.
XIV. " Exposicio evangelii M*. 24. Egressus Jesus de
templo, fyc." beginning, " This gospel tellith myche wis
dom that is hid to many men ; and speciali for this cause,
that it is not al red in the chirche." Fol. 101, a.
This is the tract entitled by Bale De Christo et Anti-
christo, of which there are copies, according to Lewis, in
the libraries of Trinity College, and of Corpus Christi Col
lege, Cambridge .-f-
In commenting on the verse, " And thanne schal be
greet tribulation what maner was neuer bifor fro the
* Lewis, No. 277, p. 214.
f Lewis, No. 5, p. 181.
Xll INTRODUCTION.
biginnyng of the world," our author applies the prophecy
to his own times, in the following words: — "But so ge
neral strijf as now is among many rewmes, was neuere
herd bifore fro the bigynnyng of the world, for al our
west lond is with oo pope, or with the tother, and he that
is with the ton, hatith the tother with alle hise."
This fixes the date of the tract to the period of the
great Western Schism which began A. D. 1378.
Itendsfol. 116, b. with the note " Explicit Euange-
lium."
XV. " Of anticrist, and his meynee," [i. e. his train,
family, or followers ; *] beginning, " Dauid seith, Lord sett
thou a lawe maker vpon hem. Hit semyth to me, seith
Austyn, that this signifieth anticrist." Fol. 1 17, a.
Bale mentions a tract under the title De Antichristo
et membris, in two books ; it begins, as he tells us, with
the words, " Quemadmodum Dominus Jesus ordinavit,"-^
and therefore is most probably not the work now before
us, but the tract usually known by the title, " How Anti
christ and his clerks travailen to destroy Holy Writ,":}:
which has been published by the u Religious Tract
* Meynee, or Meiny, from the French Mesnie. See Nares's Glossary
in voc. Meiny.
f See Lewis, No. 6, p. 182.
J Lewis, p. 155.
INTRODUCTION. Xlll
Society," in their volume of the Writings of Wickliffe
(Lond. 1831), from the MS. in Corpus Christi College,
Cambridge. The piece published by the Tract Society,
however, does not appear, from what they have given of
it, to have been in two books.
XVI. " Of antecristis song in chirche," beginning
" Also prelatis, prestis, and freres putten on symple men
that thei seyen, that Goddis office or seruyce ben not to
be songen with note." Fol. 124, a.
This work seems to be a continuation of the former,
and has escaped the notice of Wickliffe's biographers.
XVII. " Of praier a tretys," beginning u Also bischops
and freres putten to pore men that thei seyn, that men
owen not rather to praye in chirche thenne in other place."
Fol. 126, a.
It ends fol. 127, a, with the note, " Explicit tractatus de
oratione."
XVIII. A tract entitled "Nota de confessione," and
beginning " Two vertues ben in mannes soule by whyche
a man shuld be rewled in hoolynesse in mannes wille."
Fol. 127, b.
It is divided into thirteen chapters, and ends, fol. 138,
a, with the note, " Explicit &c."
XIX. A tract without title, beginning " Crist forsothe
£AMD. SOC. 14. C
XIV INTRODUCTION.
did al that he couthe to obeye to lordis, and mekely and
softly speke to hem. But to scribes and to pharisees he
spake sharply." Fol. 138, b.
XX. A tract entitled " Nota de sacramento altaris."
This title has been blotted with ink by a modern hand,
so however that the words are still legible. It begins
" Cristen mennes bileeue tau}t of ihii Crist, God and man,
and hise apostles, and seynt Austyn, seynt Jerome, and
seynt Ambrose, and of the court of Rome, and alle treue
men, is this, that the sacrament of the auter, the which
men seen be twene the prestis handis, is verre Cristis body
and his blode." Fol. 145, a.
XXI. A tract without title, beginning " Crisostom
seith, that fischers and buystouse men, makynge iche daye
nettis with here hondes, founden Crist, whom prestis
studiynge al day in goddis law founden not." Fol. 146, b.
XXII. Another tract without title, beginning, " Seynt
Barnard spekith thus to Eugenye the pope, Supposest
thou whether thise tymes wolden suffre, if two men stry-
uing for ertheli eritage, and axing dome of thee, thou
woldest answer the voyce of thi Lord God, Man, who or-
deyned me domesman upon 3ou." Fol, 1 52, a.
XXIII. A tract without title, beginning, " God moueth
hooly chirche bi many maner of spechis to knowe the
treuthe of his lawe, and therbi to come to blisse. And
INTRODUCTION. XV
thus God spekith bi summe men, as if two persones dis-
pitiden to gidre, the which we clepyn reson and gabbyng,
whech ben Crist and the fende." Fol. 154, b.
This tract is in the form of a Dialogue, in which the
speakers are Christ and the Devil. All the foregoing
treatises from No. XVI. to this inclusive, appear to have
been omitted in the lists of Wickliffe's writings.
XXIV. Another tract without title, written as if it
were a continuation of the former, but which from its
subject appears to be distinct. It is on the seven gifts
of the Holy Ghost, and begins, " And for neither man ne
womman may perfitly do the seuen werkis of mercy, with-
outen the seuen 3eftis of the holy gost." Fol. 161, a.
This may perhaps be the tract mentioned by Lewis
under the title " De vii donis Spiritus Sancti."*
XXV. Another tract without title, and written also as
if it were a continuation of the preceding, beginning
" Clerkys knowen that a man hath five wittes outward,
and other fiue wittes inward." Fol. 162, b.
Lewis mentions a tract entitled " Seven bodily wittis,"~}~
but the initial sentence which he quotes does not agree
with this.
XXVI. A treatise without title, beginning " Here are
questiouns and ansueris putte, &c." Fol. 164, a.
* Lewis, No. 245, p. 211. f Lewis, No. 256, p. 211.
Xvi INTRODUCTION*.
This is the work now for the first time published. It
occupies 88 pages of the manuscript, and ends fol. 218, a.
XXVII. A short tract without title, on the mystical
interpretation of Jacob's ladder, beginning u Hit is writen
in the first book of holy writ, that ther weren thre pa-
triarkes in the peple of God." Fol. 218, a.
XXVIII. Another short tract, beginning, " Thes ben
the nyne poynts that our Lord Ihu answerid an holy man
that coueit to wite what mi3t most plese vn to God." FoL
218, b.*
XXIX. A tract without title, beginning " Of the dedis
of mercy God will speke at the dredful day, and dome to
all his chosun stondyng on his ri3t side, Come ye blessed
childre of my fadre," &c. Fol. 219, a.
This tract is unfortunately imperfect, and ends on the
next page ; the volume wants some leaves, and the last
two leaves are much wormed, although perfectly legible.-}-
It seemed desirable to give this lengthened account of
the volume from which the following treatise is taken, not
only from the great interest of the collection, comprising
* This little tract has been printed in the " Irish Ecclesiastical
Journal," No. 11, (May 1841,) page 183.
f Some account of this volume was given about three years ago in
the British Mazagine, vol. xiv. p. 275, as one of a series of papers on
the MSS. of Wickliffe in the Library of the University of Dublin.
INTRODUCTION. XV11
as it does many works, which, if Wickliffe's, have not
been noticed by his biographers ; but also, and chiefly,
because the principal evidence, if not the only evidence,
upon which Bale and others appear to have depended in
attributing to our Reformer the works of which they
have given catalogues, was undoubtedly the company in
which those works were found, in such collections as that
now before us.
The writer of these pages has already publicly declared
his conviction, that we are to this day unable to decide
with any certainty what are Wickliffe's genuine works, and
what are not.* Bishop Bale, from whose Catalogue of the
Reformer's works all subsequent writers have copied,
appears to have transcribed without much discrimination
the titles of all that he found in the MSS. to which he
had access, or which were attributed to Wickliffe by his
enemies, or by his friends, and the existence of a tract in
any collection, containing one or more of the pieces
usually attributed to WicklifFe, was with Bale evidence
sufficient to induce him to enter it among the Reformer's
writings.-}-
* Seethe Preface to " The Last Age of the Church." Dublin,
small 4°. 1840. London (Leslie).
f Bale himself says, " Edidit partim Latine, partim in
lingua vulgari, opuscula quse sequuntur, quorum majorem partem ex
XV111 INTRODUCTION.
It is not, however, quite certain that the following
treatise has been noticed by Bale, unless it be the same
as the work to which he gives the title of " Repllcationes
et positiones, lib. 1. ;"* and from the remark that has
just been made, it appears that, even if it had been more
distinctly included in his Catalogue, his authority would
not have been of itself sufficient, without other evidence,
to satisfy us that it was really from the pen of Wickliffe.
The only positive evidence that can be alleged in favour
of such a supposition, being its occurrence in a volume
which as a MS. is coeval with the Reformer, and which
contains so many of the treatises that are commonly at
tributed to him.
Of evidence on the other side in disproof of the hypo
thesis that Wickliffe was the author, the most satisfactory
would arise from allusions, if any such could be found in
adversariorum scriptis collegi." But the Catalogue itself bears in
ternal evidence of having been in great part derived from the MSS.
many of the works being enumerated in the order in which they
occur in MSS. still extant. In neither case, however, can much
authority be given to Bale's enumeration of the Reformer's writings,
and in particular no inference can fairly be drawn from his omissions.
* Bale, Cent. vi. p. 455. Lewis, No. 231, p. 210. Bale also men
tions " Positiones variae, lib. i." and " Determinationes quaedam, lib.
i." but as he has not quoted the initial sentences of any of these
works it is impossible to identify them with that now before us.
INTRODUCTION. XIX
the Tract, to events subsequent to the Reformer's times, or
from quotations of writers who flourished after his death.
With this view the quotations have been diligently
examined, and as far as possible verified, and the Editor
believes that nothing will be found in the treatise, which,
so far as these considerations are concerned, might not
have been written by Wickliffe. But, as there are a few
cases in which the Editor has been unsuccessful in de
termining the author of a passage cited, this conclusion
must necessarily be received as liable to some uncertainty,
It has been suggested, indeed, as a circumstance in
consistent with the supposition that Wickliffe was the
author, that the passages of Scripture cited throughout
the treatise, are quoted not from Wickliffe's own version,
but from some other translation. But if this criterion be
applied to the Works admitted to be Wickliffe's by the
common consent of his biographers, and cited as such in
evidence of his opinions, it will be found to conclude
equally against them. Take for example the following
version of St. Matt. xxiv. 27, 28, which occurs in the
tract entitled by Bale De Christo et Antichristo, and
which is admitted to be Wickliffe's, its date being fixed,
as we have seen by internal evidence,* to a very late
* See No. XIV. p. xii. supra.
XX INTRODUCTION.
period of his life. The corresponding passage from the
printed text of Wickliffe's version is given in juxtaposition
for the convenience of the reader : —
The Tract De Christo et Anti- Wickliffes New Testament.
christo.
As the leyting cometh out fro As leiyt goith out fro the est,
the eest, and apperith vn to the and aperith into the west, so schal
west, so shal be comyng of mannes be also the comynge of mannes
sone to the day of doom : and sone, where evere the bodi schal
wher euere the body be, shulen be ; also the eglis shulen ben
theglis be gederid ; and anoon gaderid thidir. And anoon aftir
aftir tribulacion of thoo dayes, shal the tribulacoun of tho dayes, the
the sunne be maad derk, and the sunne schal be made derk : and
inone shal not 3yue his Ii3t, and the mone schal not 3eue her
sterris shulen falle from heuene, Ii3t, and the sterris schulen falle
and vertues of heuenes shulen be fro heuene, and the vertues of
mouyd. heuenes schulen be moeued.
This is a passage in which the similarity to the printed
Version is much greater than usually occurs : but it
sufficiently proves that we can draw no inference, as to
the authorship of any work attributed to Wickliffe, from
any such deviations from the text of his Version.
Besides, even allowing the objection its utmost weight,
can it in any case prove more than that the tract in
which such deviations occur, if by Wickliife, was com
posed at a period of his life prior to the completion of
his English Version ? But not even would this inference
be perfectly safe ; for we know that it was the custom of
INTRODUCTION. XXI
our divines, so late as the reign of Charles I. to translate
for themselves such passages of Scripture as they had oc
casion to cite ; and that notwithstanding the existence of
a Version allowed by public authority, and with all the
facilities of reference afforded by the art of printing.*
The state of the case, therefore, seems to be, that there
is no positive evidence against the supposition that the
following work may be Wickliife's ; whilst on the other
hand there is no decisive reason for attributing it to him,
beyond the fact of its being found in a collection of his
acknowledged writings. It may be said, also, that it is
evidently the work of a man of learning, well skilled in
the canon law, and in the theology of the day, and that it
appears, from several expressions, to have been delivered
to an assembly of judges, before whom the author was
called upon to defend his opinions. Thus he says at the
very outset, " First I witness before God Almighty, and
all true Christian men and women, and you," &c. And
he frequently alludes to some former discourses of the
same kind ; as, p. 6, " And thus I graunt now, as oft I
have knowlechid before many witnesses," &c. and, p. 7,
" To this I seid thus, I reheirsd a doctor that seid thus,"
* See for example the works of Bishops Andrewes, Hall, Saunder-
son, &c.
CAMD. soc. 14. d
XXli INTRODUCTION.
&c. These circumstances are all consistent with the
supposition that Wickliffe was the author, although it
may not perhaps be easy to fix upon the precise period
in the recorded events of his life, in which such an
apology for his doctrines may be assumed to have been
delivered.
There is another source of internal evidence from
which it is possible that some light might be thrown upon
this question, at least so far as indicating the shire or
province in which its author lived. This, however, is a
subject which the Editor, being an Irishman, is neces
sarily incompetent to investigate ; and he has therefore
thought it safer to leave the discussion of it to others,
than to undertake to enter upon it with such imperfect in
formation as he might perhaps have gleaned from books.
He felt also that the attempt to fix the locality of an
author of the fourteenth century, from the provincial
idioms to be found in his writings, must in every case be
somewhat precarious : unless we can be supposed to have
fully satisfied ourselves that the phrases which are now
found to characterize a particular shire, were also peculiar
to that shire five centuries ago. And at all events it seemed
certain, that no conclusion drawn from such premises
against the supposition that Wickliffe was the author of
INTRODUCTION. xxiii
the tract before us, could be deemed perfectly decisive of
the question, without a more complete application of the
same test to the other writings usually attributed to him,
than it is in the power of the Editor to undertake.
It remains now to give some account of the contents
of the treatise, which may perhaps help the reader to
understand it ; and then, a very few remarks on the manner
in which it is now for the first time printed, will close all
that the Editor has to say in the way of introduction.
It has been already said that the work is an elaborate
defence or apology for the principal tenets of the Lol
lards, pronounced before some court of delegates or
judges, by an individual, who if he was not Wickliffe him
self, must have been one of his early followers, and a well
read theologian of the day.
He thus states his object at the commencement of the
Treatise* : " First, I witness before God Almighty, and all
true Christian men and women, and you, that it hath not
been nor is, nor ever shall be mine intent or purpose to
say anything against the Catholic faith ; neither [with]
intent to beguile or deceive any man or woman, in any-
* See p. 1. The extracts here made are given in modern English, for
the convenience of the reader, and (for the most part) in what may be
called a translation. In the foregoing extract a conjectural emend
ation, suggested in the note (p. 115), has been adopted.
INTRODUCTION.
thing unprofitable to the eternal salvation of their souls,
nor contradicting the words or sentence of any Saint,
speaking faithfully."
The following is a list of the propositions which appear
to have been objected to our author, in the order in which
he has stated and defended them.
I. " That the Pope is not the vicar of Christ, nor of Peter." p. 1.
This he explains to mean, that, if the Pope neglect his
duty, he must be considered as having forfeited his claim
to the office whose functions he has failed to perform.
And the. principle assumed in this assertion is defended
by various quotations from the canon law, and from holy
Scripture.
This was the well known doctrine of WickliiFe and his
followers, upon which they grounded their constant
assertion that the clergy had no right to their tithes and
temporal endowments, except so far as they discharged
faithfully their spiritual duties.
The doctrine that the Pope is not the vicar of Christ
or of Peter, was attributed to Wickliife in the Council of
Constance, where we find among the articles condemned,
the following : — " Credere debet Catholicus, quod nee Im-
perator, nee universalis ecclesia, nee Deus, de potentia
absoluta, ordinare potest, quod eo quod quis succedit, et
INTRODUCTION. XXV
post Petrum vocatur in facie ecclesise Romanus episcopus
vel Papa, eo ipso sit caput vel pars ecclesiae cui obedien-
dum est." And again, — " Papa fingit mendaciter, quod
est summus vicarius Jesu Christi in terris. Sed benedic-
tus Deus qui istud caput ecclesise in parte contrivit, et
divisit in partes contrarias caput hujusmodi benedictum."*
II. "That the Pope selleth indulgence." And " That he may
give no indulgence, neither to men in purgatory, nor to them that
are prescit, that is to say, that are to be damned, or are now damned."
p. 7.
His defence of this point is comprised in the assertions,
that the apostles gave no indulgences : that such indul
gences can be of no value, unless we can be sure that the
Pope who grants them is himself saved ; whereas we are
certain that many popes who have granted such indul
gences are damned. That the indulgences bear internal
evidence in themselves of being fictitious, and of none
effect ; and that the sale of indulgences, if the indulgences
were of any value, would be simoniacal and sinful.
WicklifFe's opinion upon this subject, as stated in his
articles condemned in the Council of Constance, was as
follows : " Quantum ad indulgentias, privilegia, et regula-
* Orthuinii Gratii Fasciculus (ed. Brown), torn. i. p. 273. See also
Pationes etMotiva, art. 8. "Si papa est prsescitus et malus, et per con-
sequens membrumdiaboli, non habet potestatem super fideles ab alio
sibi datam, nisi forte a Csesare." Ibid. p. 282.
XXVI INTRODUCTION.
tionem ecclesiae in lege nova,, patet quod foret expediens
toti ecclesise, quod omnes novitates hujusmodi sintsopitae.
Omnia tamen talia videntur esse phantasmata, nee fundata
rationibus, nee Scriptura."*
And in the " Rationes ac Motiva," given by the council
for condemning his opinions, the 4 1 st article attributed
to him is thus expressed : " Fatuum est credere indul-
gentiis Papse."-f-
III. "Of cursing two points. 1. That the ministers of the kirk
ought not to curse and to wary. 2. That the kirk may not righteously
curse a righteous man." p. 13.
The first he explains by saying that the ministers of
the Church may curse, provided they do not use the
power for their own private ends, but for the glory of God.
To the second he answers by distinguishing two senses
in which the curse of the Church may be righteously
denounced. First, when the person cursed justly merits
such a sentence. And, secondly, when the curse is pro
nounced according to the forms of law. In this latter
sense, when the evidence goes against a man who is
really innocent, the Church may, nevertheless, be blame
less in pronouncing sentence against him, in so far as the
* Ibid. p. 275.
f Orth. Gratii Fasciculus, torn. i. p. 294. See also Jo. Wiclef
Trialogus, lib. iv. cap. xxxii.
INTRODUCTION. XXV11
curse is pronounced legally and in due form : but in the
other sense, a righteous man cannot be lawfully, or in the
sight of God, rendered accursed, by the sentence of
the Church. This is confirmed by a dissertation on the
different senses of the word curse, and by citations from
the canon law.
In the " Rationes et Motiva," already referred to, the
llth article attributed to Wickliffe is, " Nullus prselatus
debet aliquem excommunicare, nisi prius sciat ipsum
excommunicatum a Deo : et qui sic excommunicat, fit
hsereticus ex hoc, vel excommunicatus."*
IV, " That Christ was cursed." p. 25.
This is explained by distinguishing the three senses in
which a man may be said to be cursed. First, by sin,
when by his guilt he excommunicates himself. Secondly,
when he is excommunicated by the Church, as a means
of leading him to repentance. Thirdly, when he is cursed
by men unjustly.
In this last way only can Christ be said to be cursed ;
and that in three senses, either as having taken upon
Him that nature of man, which was under a curse : or in
His own Person, as having been cursed unjustly by man
* Orth. Gratii Fasciculus. Ibid. p. 283. Comp. also Art. 30.
Hid. p. 289.
XX VI 11 IN TROD U CTI O X.
and condemned to an ignominious death ; or lastly, in
His members, who are one with Him, and in whom, when
they are unjustly condemned, He also suffers excommu
nication.
V. " That each priest may use the key to every man." p. 28.
This proposition was a favourite one with the Lollards,
and was levelled against episcopal jurisdiction ; the mean
ing being, that every priest not only has power, but is
bound, to exercise his office independently of the license
of his bishop, and even in opposition to an express prohi
bition. It is in this sense that our author here defends it,
and it was thus that a similar proposition was frequently
defended by the Lollards : take for example the sixth
conclusion alleged against William of Swinderby. " That
ech priest may assoil him that sinneth, contrition had ;
and notwithstanding forbiddings of the bishop, is holden
to preach to the people the gospel." To this he answers,
11 Thus I said not, but thus I said, and yet say, with pro
testation made before ; That ech true priest may counsel
sinful men that shewen to him her sins, after the wit and
cunning that God hath given him, to turn fro sin to ver-
tuous life. And as touching preaching of the gospel, I
say, that no bishop ows to let a true priest, that God hath
given grace, wit, and cunning to do that office ; for both
INTRODUCTION. XXIX
priests and deacons, that God hath ordained deacons and
priests, ben holden by power given hem of God, to preach
to the people the gospel, and namely and somely popes,
bishops, prelates, and curates," &c.*
Our author here uses the same form of argument, viz.
that, inasmuch as all power of binding and loosing is from
God, a priest, who has received that power from God,
possesses it as fully as a bishop ; and that originally, by
the testimony of St. Jerome, the order of priest was the
same as that of bishop. These were the well known
errors of the Lollards, and our author (p. 30) incidentally
mentions the consequence that was commonly drawn
from them by his sect, namely, that confirmation might
be ministered by priests.-}-
VI. " Iche prest is holdun to preche." p. 30.
This was another favourite doctrine of the Lollards,
closely connected with the former. Its meaning is, that
the office of priesthood in itself imposed the duty of
preaching, without any necessity of license from a bishop,
* Fox, Acts and Monuments, vol. i. p. 534. Lond. fol. 1684. So
also in the " Rationes et Motiva" at the council of Constance, the
34th art. attributed to Wickliffe is, " Licet alicui diacono vel presby-
tero praedicare verbum Dei, absque authoritate apostolicae sedis, vel
episcopi authoritate." Brown, Fasciculus, torn. i. p. 291.
f See what has been said on this subject in the Note on p. 30, 1. 22.
CAMD. soc. 14. e
XXX INTRODUCTION.
and even in opposition to the bishop's inhibition ; and
whether the priest had cure of souls or not. Our author's
argument is this : " Every man is holden to do what
Christ enjoineth him to do : but Christ enjoineth every
priest to preach ; therefore every priest is bound to do so."*
VII. " If any hear the mass of a priest that liveth in lechery, and
knoweth him to be such, he sinneth deadly." p. 37.
In proof of this position our author relies chiefly upon
the decrees of the two Roman synods under Nicholas II.
and Alexander II. in the years 1059 and 1063, in the first
of which it was ordained that no married priest,, or, as
the synod expressed it, no priest having a concubine,
should celebrate mass, or assist at its celebration ; and in
the second, the laity were enjoined not to hear the mass
of such a priest.~}~
Applying these canons to priests guilty of fornication,
our author maintains the extreme position of his sect,
that to receive the ministrations of such priests is a
* See the Note on p. 31, line 29.
f These enactments are given rather inaccurately in Gratian's
Decretum, Dist. xxxii. c. 5 and 6. They will be found in the
councils. (Hardouin, torn. vi. col. 1062, c. and 1139, c.) The decree
of Alexander II. was the dangerous example afterwards followed by
Gregory VII. of calling in the assistance of popular indignation in
support of ecclesiastical canons. See Bowden's Life of Gregory VII.
vol. ii. p. 25.
INTRODUCTION. XXXI
mortal sin ; and that ignorance of the real character of
the priest does not excuse the laity from this guilt,, unless
due inquiry has first been made. He then quotes several
other decisions of popes and other ancient writers, con
demning profligacy in the clergy, which, however, are
more or less inapplicable to the question, because they
do not make the people the judges or punishers of the
delinquents.
The principle assumed in this proposition was the
ground of many similar conclusions in the theology of the
Lollards ; as for example, that the incontinence of the
clergy released their parishioners from the obligation to
pay tithe ; that the priest in deadly sin cannot consecrate
the Body of Christ, nor minister efficaciously the other
sacraments.* And these principles continued, even to
the period of the Reformation, to produce such per
nicious effects, that it was thought necessary to affirm
* See the second and eighth conclusion objected against William
Swinderby. Fox, uli supra, p. 533, 534. So in the " Rationes et
Motiva," already so often quoted, Wickliffe is made to say in the
15th article, " Nullus est Dominus civilis,nullus est praelatus, nullus
est episcopus, dum est in peccato mortali." (Brown, Fasciculus,
torn. i. p. 284). And again in the 17th article, " Populares possunt ad
suum arbitrium Dominos delinquentes corrigere." (Ibid. p. 285.)
XXX11 INTRODUCTION.
the contrary doctrine in one of the thirty-nine articles of
religion.*
VIII. " He that curseth any man, or denounceth him as cursed,
when he is not cursed, breaketh God's commandments, by bearing
false witness against his neighbour." p. 40.
This proposition our author asserts to "shew itself
sooth/' that is to be self-evident.-}-
IX. " It is a taking of damnation that a man lead his life in
poverty." p. 40.
Our author's defence of this proposition consists in an
explanation of the sense in which poverty is a duty and
lawful, and of the sense in which the profession of it is
dangerous and a sin. It is probably in intent and mean
ing the same as the twenty-fourth article attributed to
Wickliffe in the Council of Constance,, which is thus ex
pressed : " Fratres tenentur per labores manuum victum
acquirer e, non autem per mendicitatem."^
X. " Fastings are not necessary, while a man abstaineth himself
from other sin." p. 44.
This assertion is supported by a reference to the words
* See Art. xxvi. " Of the unworthiness of the ministers which
hindereth not the effect of the sacraments."
f See the fifth conclusion against William Swinderby. Fox, ubi
supra.
J " Rationes et Motiva," apud Brown, Fascicul. torn. i. p, 287.
INTRODUCTION. XXX111
of Joel, ii. 16, " Sanctify a fast," and by a passage from
one of S. Gregory's Homilies. The right use of fasting,
however, is asserted, and the benefits of it, when so used,
enumerated.
XI. " That the priest is not holden to his canonical hours, except
he be to sing [i. e. to officiate] ." p. 44.
To this our author answers, " I deny not my having
said this, from fear of the danger to which I am exposed
by the law ; for if it were proved in evidence against me,
though it were false, if I denied, I should still be con
demned as guilty. And on the other hand I grant not
that I said it, that I lie not against myself, for I wot not
that I said it, and man's mind [i. e. memory] is slender.
If I have been in fault, I ask forgiveness, and I will
mend."
After this confession, he takes occasion to urge, that
if priests feel themselves so strongly bound to their
canonical hours, imposed upon them by human authority,
how much more should they esteem the obligation of that
charge which they have received from Christ himself.*1
It appears, therefore, that our author's doctrine on this
* See the articles, under the head " Contra Orationes/' attributed
to Wickliffe in the Council of Constance. Brown, torn. i. p. 269.
Also those under the head " Contra Missas et horas." Ibid. p. 276.
XXXIV INTRODUCTION.
head was much the same as that of William Sawtrey or
Chantris, priest ; the seventh article alleged against whom,
in his examination before the Archbishop of Canterbury
in 1399, was, "That every priest and deacon is more
bound to preach the Word of God, than to say canonical
hours ;" which proposition (although he afterwards re
canted) he at that time admitted to be a fair statement
of his opinions : his own words are, " And also I say,
that every deacon and priest is more bound to preach the
Word of God than to say his canonical hours, according
to the primitive order of the church."*
XII. " That in the sacrament of the altar, after the consecration,
dwelleth the substance of the bread." p. 45.
Here our author plainly alludes to some former work
or discourse on this subject. " And in this matter," he
says, " I remember that I have spoken and rehearsed the
words of the Apostle, and other doctors, that they speak
on this matter ; for Paul saith, the bread that we break is
the partaking of the Body of Christ."
He goes on then to quote several passages from the
Decretum, which, however, seem to bear but little on the
subject. Amongst the rest he quotes the famous canon
Ego Berengarius, as if it were a testimony in his favour.
* Fox, vol. i. p. 587.
INTRODUCTION. XXXV
He distinctly asserts the Real Presence, although he
denies transubstantiation. The following passage (p. 47)
deserves to be here quoted : " This is that we say, and in
all manners strive to prove, viz. the sacrifice of the church
to stand together in two things, and to be made in two
things together : that is, the visible species of elements,
and the invisible flesh and blood of our Lord Jesu Christ :
the sacrament, and the thing of the sacrament, that is the
Body of Christ ; as the Person of Christ standeth together
of God and man, for he is very God and man. For every
thing containeth in itself the truth and the nature of those
things that it is made of; this thing that is seen is
bread, and the cup that the eyes shew ; but this that faith
asketh to be in form of the bread is the Body of Christ."*
This is in full agreement with the doctrine maintained
by Wickliffe in the Trialogus, lib. iv. c. 2, sq. and by most
of the early Lollards.
XIII. " That churches are not to he worshipped, nor sergs [i. e.
candles, tapers f] to be multiplied therein." p. 48.
In support of this proposition our author quotes Jerome,
* This last clause is very obscure, and is probably corrupt in the
original. It is here emended conjecturally ; the meaning appears
to be " that which faith discerns under the form of the bread is the
Body of Christ."
f See the Note on p. 48, line 8.
XXXVI INTRODUCTION.
from the Decretum ; also William de St. Amour, Chry-
sostom, the Decretals, and the Decretum. His remarks
are chiefly levelled at the abuses then so prevalent, of
superstitious offerings of candles, &c. in the churches,
and the traffic carried on, within the sacred edifices
themselves, of the trinkets necessary for such purposes ;
from which he digresses into the subject of simoniacal
practices among the clergy.
XIV. *' That priests to sing may not first make covenant, without
simony." p. 52.
This proposition our author supports by citing some
passages from the canon law, and other authorities against
simony. See the notes, p. 152, sq.
XV. " That the pope, cardinals, bishops, and other prelates be
neath [i. e. of inferior degree] are disciples of Antichrist and sellers
of merit." p. 53.
In proof of this proposition he quotes the well known
passages of St. John's epistle, to shew that all who are
contrary to Christ in their life or faith may be rightly
called Antichrists. He then shews by extracts from the
writings of several popular authors, that this accusation
might fairly be brought against the prelates and clergy of
the day. The writers quoted for this purpose are Robert
Grosthead, Bishop of Lincoln, in his famous sermon be
fore the Pope and Cardinals, at the Council of Lyons,
INTRODUCTION. XXXV11
A. D. 1250;* the sermons of Odo/f and the Verbum
Abbreviatum of Peter Cantor Parisiensis.J
XVI. " That there is no pope ne Cristis vicar, but an holy man.*'
p. 58.
In defence of this proposition our author cites the
words of Holy Scripture, and of Gratian, St. Jerome,
Pope Symmachus, St. Gregory, and St. Bernard, to prove
the necessity of holiness in the priesthood, and the
vanity of the dignity of sacerdotal functions without this
higher qualification.
XVII. "That a judge giving sentence against an innocent man,
sinneth mortally." p. 60.
In this proposition he evidently has reference to the
proceedings against the Lollards ; he proves it by quoting
the definition of a judge from Isidore, and by stating the
obligation which rests upon every judge to discern the
truth and decide according to the right. For this he
quotes St. Austin, St. Ambrose, St. Gregory, and many
passages of Holy Scripture. He argues also that it is no
excuse to a judge who condemns the innocent, that he has
* Published in the Fasciculus rerum expetend. et fugiend. Ed.
Brown, torn. ii. p. 250.
•j- See the Note on p. 56, line 9.
J See the Note on p. 53, line 12.
CAMD. SOC. 14. /
XXXV111 INTRODUCTION.
given sentence and conducted the trial in accordance with
the forms of human law, because the Divine law, which
forbids the condemnation of an innocent mantis of superior
obligation. He states also another class of objections and
refutes them. As " that God Himself condemneth the
righteous along with the guilty,, and Christ gave Himself
to the death. Abraham was ready to slay his innocent
son, Sampson slew himself in slaying the Philistines,
David slew the Amalekite (2 Sam. i.) for a crime of
which he was not really guilty. And thus by these
examples it seemeth that man may give sentence, yea,
even to slay the innocent." To these objections he an
swers, first, " God may do what He will, and therefore in
some things it is not enough to us, God doth thus, there
fore we may do thus." Secondly, Abraham " was not in
will to slay his son," but acted by the command of God,
and was blessed of God for his faith and obedience.
Thirdly, " Of Sampson men say, either that he had the
command of God, or repented after ;" and as to David,
" all his deeds are not to be followed," nor was the
Amalekite innocent in the sight of God, for he thought
to have pleased David, and to have obtained a reward for
slaying Saul, and " for his lying he was a murderer," and
therefore deserved his fate.
INTRODUCTION. XXXIX
XVIII. " That a priest assorting a feigner (a hypocrite), sinneth
mortally." p. 66.
This assertion our author maintains without any at
tempt at qualifying it. For the priest [he reasons] who
assoils a hypocrite, must either do so from carelessness,
or ignorantly, recklessly, and by error. And in either
case he is guilty of sin ; whether he pretend to absolve, as
author, from the punishment of sin, or as minister, to
promise that God will do so. He sins, moreover, in that
he gives occasion to the guilty man to trust in the abso
lution, and to continue in his sin ; and also because by
such an absolution " the priest beareth false witness, and
professeth himself to know and to do what he neither
knoweth nor doeth, and depriveth God of His majesty,
making the man to trust in leasing, and so to do sacrifice
to the devil."
These views are supported by the authority of the
Prophet Ezekiel, St. Gregory, St. Bede, and St. Ambrose.
He sums up his doctrine thus : " The priest may know
that he hath not power to assoil, except so far as God
giveth him commandment ; now God saith thus : If thy
brother sin, rebuke him : and if he forsake his sin, cease
thou to rebuke him : but if he will not forsake his sin,
proceed against him before witnesses : and if he will not
hear you, be he then unto thee as an heathen man, and
Xl INTRODUCTION.
a publican. And whomsoever ye so bind, shall be bound,
and whomsoever ye bring out of sin,* the punishment
shall be remitted him. He commandeth not here to
curse him that sinneth not, nor to assoile him that
abideth in sin ; but, on the contrary, to assoile him that
forsaketh his sin, and excommunicate him that con-
tinueth in his sin."-f-
XIX. " That marriage made in the third or fourth degree,
although contrary to the ordinance of the Church, is rate and stable."
p. 70.
He explains this to mean, that such a marriage can
not be held null, so that the man should be free to marry
another woman, or the woman another man. And his
argument is this : with the dispensation or confirmation
of the Church such a marriage is valid ; but the Church
could not ratify it, unless it were previously ratified and
valid in the sight of God ; therefore the marriage is not in
its own nature contrary to the law of God, for, if it were,
no dispensation or ratification by the Church could render
it lawful. This opinion he supports by some passages
* Our author's gloss upon the words quemcunque solveritis in terra,
" warn )>at 36 bring out of synne " is remarkable. It is not to be taken
as a translation, but as an exposition of the passage. In the printed
text of Wickliffe's New Testament the words are rendered " what
ever thingis 30 unbynden on erthe, tho shulen be unbounden also in
hevene." Matt, xviij. 18. f Page 70.
INTRODUCTION. xli
from the Decretum, in which it is admitted that the law
forbidding marriages within certain degrees of consan
guinity is of human institution merely, and no part of
the law of God.
On the whole, he concludes that marriages within the
third and fourth degrees of consanguinity ought to be
avoided ; but that when made they are valid, and cannot
be regarded as null, or as marriages made within the de
grees forbidden by the law of God, for these he admits
are unlawful and void.*
XX. " That the Church by solemnising matrimony in a degree
forbidden, erreth, consenting to sin, and authorising sin." p. 71.
This position is thus proved. The marriage of cousins
in the third and fourth degree is forbidden only by the
law of the Church. It is therefore no sin in itself, but
only by the law of the Church. Now St. Paul saith, " If
I build again the thing that I throw down, I make
myself a transgressor ;" therefore the particular Church
that celebrates a matrimony forbidden by the law of the
universal Church is a transgressor ; authorising the sin
of those whom she should have warned against a viola
tion of the law, and thus consenting to sin.
* The eighth of the Articles attributed to Wickliffe, and impugned
by William de Wodford, is " Quod causae divortii ratione consan-
guinitatis vel affinitatis, sint infundabiliter humanitus ordinatae." See
Orthuini Gratii Fascicul. ed. Brown, t. i. p. 190, and p. 213.
Xlii INTRODUCTION.
XXI. "That Canon Law is contrary to God's law; and that
decretists, as to that part of wisdom that they have of the world's
wisdom, are Egyptians.* And that by the science of Canon Law
holy writ is blasphemed, yea God Himself who is the lawgiver. And
that it were well if this science were in a great measure driven as
chaff out of the Church." p. 73.
These assertions are defended by extracts from several
writers. The first is from an author who is not named,
who objects to the canon law ; that it tends to strife and
debate, and is therefore contrary to the spirit of the
Gospel ; that it is of human origin, and that it is too
closely allied to civil law, and that " from the commixture
of these two laws is in diverse ways sown great seed of
discord in the Church of God." St. Chrysostom is also
cited, for the sentiment that " man's law " is busied in
carnal things, and putteth carnal things present, before
spiritual things to come. The other writers cited are
" Parisiensis" (i. e. most probably Peter de Poictiers, com
monly called "Cantor Parisiensis "-f-), Gregory, Austin,
Odo, and some whose names are not given. One very
long extract, from a writer who is cited as " an other
witti in that same law," the Editor regrets very much his
inability to trace to any author whose works are printed
or within his reach. This writer, as our author quotes
* Egyptians, that is enemies of the true servants of God, and
holding them in bondage, as the Egyptians did the children of Israel.
f See Note on page 53, 1. 12.
INTRODUCTION. xliii
him, urges eighteen formal objections against " the new
law/' by which term he probably intends the additions
made to the five books of the Decretals of Gregory IX.
by Popes Boniface VIII. Clement V. and John XXII.
between the years 1298 and 1326.* Most of his objec
tions have reference to the temporal power and exemp
tion from secular dominion, claimed for the clergy in the
new decretals. As that no priest or clerk should be
subject to secular lords : that the lands of the Church
should pay no tribute ; and that simony, heresy, usury,
adultery, perjury, should be punished by the ecclesiasti
cal courts only. He objects also to the abuses which,
though not actually enjoined in the law, were neverthe
less tolerated or permitted ; as the superabundant wealth
of the clergy, their being engaged in secular employments
and offices, their bribery and corruption ; the right of
prescription ; the abuses of indulgences and remissions ;
the neglect of the ancient custom of requiring the assent
of the people in the ordination of ministers ; the com-
* The " Liber sextus Decretalium " was added by Boniface VIII.
in 1298. The five books of Clementine Constitutions were compiled
under Clement V.but published by his successor John XXII. in 1317.
And the twenty constitutions of this latter Pontiff, now commonly
known by the name of Extravagantes, were published about the year
1326.
Xliv INTRODUCTION.
pounding for penance with money ; the simoniacal abuse
of proctorships, customs, and other expenses ; the grants
of privileges and exemptions from episcopal jurisdiction ;
corrupt decisions of law in matrimonial causes ; cases in
which a judge is compelled by the law to pronounce a
sentence which he knows to be false ; cases of unjust
excommunication ; decisions of lawyers in cases of mar
riage between cousins ; and contradictions between the
law and the words or precepts of holy Scripture.*
XXII. " That no man is Christ's disciple unless he keep Christ's
counsel." p. 81.
In explanation of this position our author divides the
counsels of the Gospel -J- into two classes, the first consist-
* See the Articles condemned as Wickliffe's in the Council of
Constance, No. 38. " Decretales epistolae sunt apocryphae, et seduc-
tivae a fide Christi, et Clerici sunt stulti qui eas student." Orthuini
Gratii Fascicul. ed. Browne, torn. i. p. 292.
f It may be well to remind the general reader that theologians dis
tinguish between the counsels and the commands of Christ. The latter
are absolute, founded on the principles of immutable morality, or our
natural duties to God and man, and are consequently equally binding
upon all men, in all places and under all circumstances, and abso
lutely necessary to salvation. The counsels of Christ on the other
hand relate not to things necessary, but to things expedient, leading
us not to holiness, but to higher degrees of holiness, not to salvation,
but to higher degrees of glory. " HSBC est differentia," says St.
Thomas Aquinas, •' inter consilium et prtecepium, quod prceceptum
importat necessitatem, consilium auteni in optione ponitur ejus cui
INTRODUCTION. xlv
ing of those which are counsels of perfection to all
Christians : as the three counsels of poverty, continence,
and obedience ; the second consisting of those which are
addressed to some and not to all, as when our Lord said
to the young man in the Gospel, " If thou wilt be perfect,
go sell all that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou
shalt have riches in heaven." And he concludes, that, in
reference to the former class, no man is Christ's disciple
unless he keep Christ's counsels. It is true, he admits,
that in a general sense all men are Christ's disciples, who
by the law of nature follow His teaching : and that in an
especial manner those that followed Him by the know
ledge of the law of Moses, may be said to have been his
disciples ; but in the highest sense are they His disciples
who follow Him in the Gospel, and to these it is neces
sary to obey His counsels, unless they would go back,
like Judas, and walk no more with Him. For He Him
self has said that no man may be his disciple unless he
datur : et ideo convenienter in lege nova, quas est lex libertatis,
supra prtecepta sunt addita consilia : non autem in veteri lege, quae
erat lex servitutis. Oportet igitur quod praecepta novae legis intelli-
gantur esse data de his qure sunt necessaria ad consequendurn finem
seternee heatitudinis, in quern lex nova immediate introducit ; consilia
vero oportet esse de illis per quse melius et expeditius potest homo
consequi finem praedictum." Summa Theol. 1, 2, q. 108, 4.
CAMD. soc. 14. g
Xlvi INTRODUCTION.
renounce all things that he hath and take up his cross
and follow Christ. Our author concludes thus : " it fol-
loweth plainly that, though a man be Christ's disciple in
some degree, nevertheless in some degree [i. e. in the
highest degree, as just explained,] he is not Christ's dis
ciple, but if he keep Christ's counsel."* It would seem,
therefore, to be our author's meaning that all counsels of
perfection, except such as were specially addressed to an
individual, are binding upon all Christians as such, and
have the force of commands.
XXIII. " That each man is holden to do the better." p. 83.
This position appears to have reference to the former,
and to signify that in a case of interference or opposition
between a commandment of God and a counsel, or be
tween two counsels, the commandment, or the counsel
which is of superior obligation, should be preferred. Our
author has not expressed himself very clearly in his de
fence of this position, which is chiefly occupied in defining
three senses in which a thing may be said to be better
than another, viz. in its nature, form, or virtue. But the
quotations he has given from the Scriptures, and from
St. Jerom, appear to show that his meaning was as stated
above.
* Page 82.
INTRODUCTION. xlvii
XXIV. " That Images of the saints are not to be worshipped."
p. 85.
In defence of this proposition the author quotes St.
Gregory the Great, and a writer whom he describes
anonymously as " another ;" also the second command
ment, and other passages of Scripture.
He then states as an objection, that these passages
refer to the images of the heathen, in which they wor
shipped the devil, not to the images " brought in by the
Church." In other words that the Scriptures prohibit
not every use of images, but only that use of them which
would substitute them as an object of worship in the
place of God : and for this he quotes the Decretum.
To this he answers that doubtless no true Christian men
do honour the images of the saints as God : but others
who are not true Christians do ; and there are many ways
of committing idolatry ; as first, when a man " setteth in
his affection anything before God." Secondly, " of undue
order and cause ;" and this in three ways, as giving to a
creature what is due only to God ; or honouring God
irreverently ; or honouring the creature for God. He
asserts that many fall into these errors : " that many be
lieve the image to be God, and many believe God's virtue
to be in the image subjectively, and therefore are more
affect to one image than to another, which is doubtless
xlviii INTRODUCTION.
idolatry, as true men say." These abuses he maintains
should be amended ; and confirms his opinion by passages
from St. Austin, St. Clement, St. Chrysostom, St. Ber
nard, St. Jerom, and the Archdeacon.
XXV. " That the Gospel written is not to be worshipped." p. 90.
This proposition is levelled against the superstition of
hanging " the Gospel," that is a few verses of the Gospel,
about the neck as a charm. This he refutes by the
authority of St. Chrysostom, St. Jerom, and St. Austin ;
and he adds, that when men hear the Gospel in the
Church and are not saved, and inquire "whether the
Gospel is in leaves of words, or in virtue," they are to be
answered, " If it were in the leaves, thou hangest it
reasonably about thy neck ; but since it is not in the
leaves of the parchment, but in the virtue, and by hearing
thou art not healed, therefore in vain thou hangest the
leaves about thy neck."*
He then states the objection, " But if thou say, by the
touching of Christ's body many were healed, and by the
touching of his clothes, as the Gospel sheweth, and the
Apostle sent napkins to put on men shaking with devils,
and the devils were driven away. And it is said that a
woman made an image of Christ, and an herb by touching
* Page 91.
INTRODUCTION. xlix
thereof received the virtue of healing.* Therefore men
may trust in such things." To this he answers, first
" That Christ is more excellent, more full of virtue, than
creatures, "-f- Secondly, "they that were healed, were 'not
healed simply by the touching, but for the trust that they
reposed finally in God." Thirdly, " that such things were
at first permitted, and miracles wrought for rude men,
to confirm them in the faith. But now that all is plain
and open, it is vain and superstitious for the people to
have such things." And for this he quotes Chrysostom
and
XXVI. " These are two other points. One, that charms in no
manner are lawful. Another, that it is superstitious to hang words
at the neck." p. 92.
In defence of these positions our author quotes the
* This story is told of the woman whose issue of blood was healed
by touching the hem of our Lord's garment. See Note, p. 91, 1. 24.
•j- In the original " more excellent and vertuosar than other crea
tures." This would seem to a modern reader to imply that Christ
was a creature. But such was not our author's meaning, nor the im
port of his language, as it would have been understood in his own
day. The word creatures is grammatically in apposition with other :
as if he had said: " more excellent than others, i. e. than creatures."
Comp. Luke x. 1. Rom. viii. 39, in our English Version.
I In this part of the work our author repeatedly refers to some
former discourse or treatise. " I have rehersid the sentence of
Chrysostom, p. 90. " And to this I seid thus," p. 91. " And to
theis I have said thus," p. 92. See p. xxi.
1 INTRODUCTION.
Mosaic law and the prophet Isaiah, confirming his doc
trine by citations from St. Austin and the Decretum. He
shows by these authorities that witchcraft, charms, en
chantments, and divinations in every form are unlawful,
both by the law of God, and by the law of the Church.
And that Christian men, when visited with sickness or
any kind of peril, should have recourse, not to charms,
augurs, or diviners, but to God ; that after the example of
Job they should confess their sins to the Almighty, and
beg His forgiveness, " and take then such medicines as
God hath made and commanded, and deceive not them
selves vainly, nor incur further indignation." For St.
James has said, " Whoso needeth any wisdom or help for
anything, let him ask of God, and all that is needful shall
plentifully be given unto him."*
He then proceeds to enter more at length into the sub
ject, defining the charms and enchantments forbidden, to
be such as are " brought in by accursed devils and by
suggestion of devils, contrary to the commandments of
God, or else by man's vanity and folly, without authority
of God Almighty, in which men hope for,ahelp without
Him, or even in opposition to Him, like heathen men or
infidels." He then defines the various kinds of charmers,
* Page 94.
INTRODUCTION. 11
as enchanters,, ariolers, aruspicers, augurs, dreamers,
necromancers,, geomancers, hydromancers, piromancers,
sortilegers, &c. concluding " that, since God hath for
bidden these things, as well as holy doctors and the
Church, it is vain and superstitious, and a species of
idolatry, to use such things against so many commands,
authorities, witnesses, and counsels."
He next supposes an objector to urge that ee such
things are useful, because God hath given virtue to herbs,
to words, and stones, and men often see by the evidence
of their senses that such things help." To this he
answers, " it is true that God hath given virtue to all
things that He hath made, and hath ordained how they
shall be used, and to what end. And therefore ought
every man to use them as He ordaineth, but not in a way
contrary to His ordinance, or without it. This, therefore,
gives no proof that these things profit when hung about
the neck, unless we find it written and bidden so to use
them." And again, " when men say such things help,
this is not certain without better proof." He then pro
ceeds to point out some of the causes to which the
apparent success of such charms is to be attributed, and
concludes by an earnest exhortation to trust in the good
ness and providence of the Almighty, and not in the
Hi INTRODUCTION.
unlawful and uncertain aid of charms, forbidden alike by
the authority of the Church, and by the testimony of
Holy Scripture.
XXVIII. " That the vow of religion is against Christ's Gospel."
p. 100.
Here our author first explains " that the name of reli
gion is taken in many manners." As first "for the
truth that ruleth a man to serve duly his Maker." Se
condly, " for the act and state proceeding of this reli
gion." And thirdly, " materially, for the persons thus
inclined." The present question, however, relates chiefly
to the second signification of the term, in which those
are called religious, "who depart from other people by
sects [or orders], founden by traditions, and other sensi
ble rites."
He then explains the nature of a vow, and shows that
it may be wise or unwise, profitable or unprofitable, law
ful or unlawful. Hence he says, "four things are
required to every vow that obligeth," viz. " first, princi
pally, that it be made to God." Secondly, " that it be
in such things only as are good and profitable to the sal
vation of the soul : and not in things evil, or unlawful, or
noyous [i. e. injurious] to any man, nor letting to any
commandment of God, or counsel of Christ." Thirdly,
INTRODUCTION. till
"that it be made with deliberation." And, fourthly,
" that it be wilful."
He concludes, therefore, that " if the vow of religion
[i. e. the vow taken upon entering one of the religious
orders or the monastic state] be thus circumstanced, then
it is pleasing to God, and in accordance with the Gospel ;
else if it be in a contrary manner begun, followed, or
continued, who doubteth that it is not sin ?"
He then enumerates several ways in which " the vow
of religious men or of any man " may be against the
Gospel, and therefore unlawful ; as when men vow " that
they will not eat flesh, till they be avenged of some man :"
or "to fast, or to go pilgrimage, for to do their lechery
or vengeance on some man." Also when men "bind
themselves to keep any estate or degree," or to observe
any monastic rule, " more for the sake of highness
of the world, or worldly riches, or lust of flesh." Again,
he instances in the case of the friars, their obligation to
live by begging, " which is against the Gospel ;" their
vow to abstain from meats, " against Christ's freedom,
that biddeth His disciples eat such things as men set
before them ;" for which " forbidding men to be wedded,
and abstaining from meats," they are also reproved of the
Apostle, 1 Tim. iv. Further, " when they vow to keep
CAMD. SOC. 14. h
llv INTRODUCTION.
an obit, or other rites, although God promiseth no re
ward for keeping such, but rather reproves them :" when
they so vow obedience to the superiors of their several
orders, as to " put their will under man's will, more than
under the will of God," that they may not do even what
God biddeth them do, if their superior bid them refrain,
or do the contrary ; and " when religious men are letten
by their vow from preaching of God's Word, and from
fulfilling the deeds of mercy ;" in all these cases, he con
cludes, " it is certain that their vow is against the Gospel."
In confirmation of these views, he quotes the book On
Contemplative Life, commonly attributed to St. Prosper ;
also St. Bernard, and Grosthead, bishop of Lincoln, with
many passages of Scripture ; concluding with the words
of St. James, " If any ween him [i. e. suppose himself] to
be religious, not refraining his tongue, but deceiving his
heart, his religion is vain. Religion clean before God,
and before the Father, is this, to visit the fatherless, and
motherless, and widows, in their tribulation, and keep
himself unspotted from the world."
XXIX. " That religious men are bound to bodily works." p. 105.
This he proves by testimonies of holy Scripture : also
by the authority of St. Augustine, the Decretum of
Gratian, and the rules of St. Francis and St. Benedict ;
INTRODUCTION. Iv
in which last, special times and hours are set apart for the
labour of the friars.
XXX. " That it is not lawful for the religious to beg." p. 108.
This he explains, that " though it be lawful to every
man to beg in need, nevertheless it is not lawful to any
man without need," or for the purpose of " gathering
much worldly riches, or to enable him to waste his time
in idleness, or waste himself and his goods, and those of
other men, in lusts and in other vain curiosities.1'
He then shews in what sense begging may be lawful,
but asserts that " wilful begging* of stalworth [or able-
bodied] men is forbidden to every Christian man, by the
Apostle of Christ, and by God Himself;" and that St.
Paul commands the excommunication of such as " walk
disorderly, working not at all." (2 Thess. iii. 10 — 14.)
From which our author reasons thus : — " And since no
man ought to be cast out from the communion of Chris
tian men, except for deadly sin, it followeth that he
sinneth mortally, that wilfully and wittingly bindeth him
self to such a state, contemning travail,* as that he beg
for ever."
* The words " contening traveil " (p. 109, 1. 13) are printed
exactly as they stand in the MS. but " contening " is probably a
mistake for " contemning." The omission of a line over the e would
make the whole difference.
Ivi INTRODUCTION.
This position is defended by many texts of Scripture,
and by the authorities of Augustine, the Decretum, the
Glossa ordinaria, Jerome, Prosper, the Golden Legend,
and St. Gregory.
The foregoing brief summary of the contents of the
treatise, and of the arguments employed by the author,
may be of some use, it is hoped, in assisting the reader,
to whom the antiquated language of the original may be
an impediment. It may serve also to establish the
truth of what has been already said, that the treatise con
tains nothing inconsistent with the supposition that
Wicliffe was its author. No writer of a later date than
Wicliffe appears to have been cited in it ; and the general
moderation of its tone and doctrine would seem to indi
cate, that it proceeded from a man of learning, and was
composed at an early period of the great religious move
ment of which WiclhTe is regarded as the leader.
It remains now to say something in the way of expla
nation, and something perhaps also of apology, for cer
tain peculiarities of the present publication.
The Editor has taken great pains to furnish an exact
transcript of the MS. from which the work has been
printed : even its obvious errata have been religiously
retained (except where they were corrected by the origi
nal scribe), and all conjectural emendations, however
INTRODUCTION. Mi
necessary or certain, have been reserved for the notes.*
This seemed the indispensable duty of an Editor who had
undertaken to print from a single manuscript ; not only
to preserve such traces of the true readings as even the
mistakes of transcribers sometimes enable us to discern,
but also because it appeared desirable to retain exactly
the orthography of the original.
No attempt has been made to represent the contractions
of the MS. which would have served no useful end,
even if it could have been effected without getting type
expressly cast for the purpose ; but the use of two Saxon
letters 3 and J? has been retained, because they appeared
to form an essential part of the orthography of the period
to which the MS, belongs.
For this, however, the Editor feels some apology to be
necessary, as the use of the ]> especially was persisted in
* The only deviations that have been permitted are, first, in the
case of proper names, the name of God, &c. which are written in the
MS. sometimes with small, and sometimes with capital initial letters.
In the printed tract capital letters have been uniformly employed.
Secondly, in the punctuation ; which has been conformed to the sense,
and to the modern notation. The punctuation of the MS. is highly
capricious and irregular, and no object would have been attained by
attempting to preserve it. The marginal summaries, and references
to the Scriptures and Fathers, although the greater part of them
occur in the original, have been in some cases added by the Editor
for the sake of uniformity.
Ivili INTRODUCTION.
on his own responsibility entirely, and in opposition to
the judgment of the Council of the Camden Society ; to
whom he takes this opportunity of returning his thanks
for the deference they have paid in this, as well as in
another instance, to his wishes.
His principal reason for desiring to retain this ancient
letter, was because it seemed to him to form a part of the
orthography of the language, at the period to which the
MS. belongs ; and because he does not believe that its place
can be adequately supplied by any modern substitute.
In the fourteenth century, the compound letter th does
not appear to have had the soft or aspirated sound which
now belongs to it; it had the hard sound which in
German it still retains, and was written chiefly in foreign
words, or when the t and h were in different syllables, as
in such words as priesthood, knighthood. In some few
instances in the following pages, th will be found at the
beginning of a syllable, but always in words where t is
now employed, and where the th had therefore most
probably the hard sound.* For example thcching, (p. 33,
* Macpherson, in his edition of" Wyntoun's Cronykil of Scotland,"
has the following remark on the difference of \ and th. " D, J>
expresses the sound now marked by th in that, this ; whereas such
words as think, thing, are written with th ; and this distinction with
very few exceptions (apparently faults of transcribers) is constantly
observed." ( General rules for reading Wyntouns Cronykil, vol. i.
d. p. 2.) This distinction (which is no more than the difference
INTRODUCTION. Hx
1. 31) for "teaching;" hi thwex, (p. 38, 1. 1 1) for "betwixt;"
thwo, (ib. 1. 13) for "two;" throwfy, (p. 40, 1. 26) for
" trowetb," i. e. believetb. These peculiar spellings could
not have been retained or noticed, had the character J>
been every where replaced by th in printing the treatise.
Less objection seems to have been made to the re
tention of the letter 3 ; and it was, in fact, impossible,
without altogether reducing the words in which it oc
curred to modern spelling, to find any real substitute
for it. It is now generally represented by the soft or
quiescent gh, as in such words as thought, though ; but
frequently also by g, hard, and by y. In some words it
is represented by h, and in some it is now altogether
dropped. For example, it is now soft or quiescent in
faulty taught; ri^t, right; lij>t} light; hij,t, hight, [i.e.
promise,] &c. It is represented by hard g, in aj,en, against ;
forget, forget; ^efing, giving; ^ate, gate; wf, gave, &c.
It has become h, in ^el, health ; j,ed, heed ; ^erd, herd
(i. e. shepherd) ; -$er, hear, &c. It is y in ^owe, you ;
jet, yet ; j>ong, young ; jcre, year ; jeld, yield : enpli^ed,
employed ; byj>ar} buyer ; j,ha, yea. And it has been
between^ and )>) is probably characteristic of Scotch MSS. The
Editor has not observed any such use of th as distinguished from J>
in the English MS. of the fourteenth and fifteenth century to which
he has had access.
Ix INTRODUCTION.
altogether dropped in the modern spelling of -$er}>, earth ;
fruit, fruit ; j,erle, earl ; abi^d, abide. In some cases it
has been used for z, as ^ow^and, for thousand ; solempniyd,
for solemnized, &c. ; but in these cases z perhaps ought
to have been printed, although no difference can be ob
served in the MS. between the 3 used for g, gh, y, h, &c.
and the 3 used for z.
On the whole it appeared impossible to substitute
for these letters their modern representatives, without
admitting a principle that should have led to the
translation of the whole treatise into modern spelling, a
task which the Editor had not undertaken to perform.
Nor did it seem to him that, while the antient ortho
graphy in other respects was retained, much additional
inconvenience could result to the reader from the pre
sence of the two letters 3 and J>. Those who took the
trouble to read the tract at all, and who were resolved to
master the other difficulties which its language presents
to a modern reader, would become familar enough with
those letters before they had perused half-a-dozen pages ;
and it is hoped that such readers will perceive that with
out those letters, the transcript of the orthography of
the period, which it was the Editor's object to put in
print, would have been inaccurate and incomplete.
INTRODUCTION. Ixi
The other instance in which the Editor has to return
his thanks to the Council of the Camden Society for
deferring to his judgment, is in reference to the title that
has been given to the treatise. That title is of course
without authority from the original MS., and when the
work was first proposed for publication to the Council,
some Members were of opinion that it bore internal
evidence of a date later than the life of Wicliffe. But
the Editor not being able to concur in the reasons
alleged* for this view, and being convinced that the
work contained nothing that might not have proceeded
from the pen of Wicliffe, was anxious that the question
of the authorship of the treatise should not seem to be
in any way decided by the title given to it in the present
publication, and he therefore proposed that which now
stands on the title-page, retaining the abbreviated title of
" Wicliffe's Apology," on the upper margin of every page ;
—a proposal to which the Council cheerfully acceded.
The Editor has to acknowledge having received much
valuable assistance in the laborious work of collating the
proof sheets with the original MS. from his friend the
Rev. Richard Gibbings, of Trinity College, Dublin. The
* The principal of these reasons has been already alluded to, p.
xix.
CAMD. SOC. 14. I
Ixii INTRODUCTION.
errata, for which the reader's indulgence is solicited,
occur chiefly in those pages which had not the advantage
of his revision.
Some apology is due to the Society for the long time
that this volume has been passing through the press.
The delay has been occasioned chiefly by the great
difficulty of verifying the author's references, and by
the occupation of the Editor's time by his official
duties.
JAMES H. TODD.
Trin. Coll. June 13th, 1842.
P.S. A learned friend, to whom the Editor shewed these
sheets, has suggested that some readers may perhaps
misunderstand what has been said, p. xvii. respecting the
difficulty of deciding what are Wicliife's writings and
what are not. It may be well therefore to say that the
Editor does not by any means intend to assert that we
are not now able to determine whether any of the ancient
tracts attributed to Wicliffe are really his. On the
contrary, there can be no doubt that with respect to
many of these treatises we have every reasonable proof,
as well from the testimony of friends as of enemies, that
they are the production of Wicliffe. But what has been
said is, that we are to this day unable to give any satis-
INTRODUCTION. Ixiii
factory criteria of his genuine writings ; we are unable
to decide, for example, such questions as that which
presents itself with respect to the author of the fol
lowing treatise ; and in the case of by far the greater
portion of the tracts that have been attributed to Wic-
liife, as well as of those which exist in our libraries on
similar subjects, and which have escaped the notice of
his biographers, we seem at present to have no means of
ascertaining with any certainty their real parentage,
beyond the evidence afforded by the authority of Bale, or
the catalogues compiled by writers, who in many cases
do not so much as profess to have seen, much less to have
perused, the treatises they describe.
Until all these writings are collected and published,
under the care of competent editors, the learned world
will not be in a condition to discuss the genuineness of
any tract attributed to Wicliffe, or to decide upon the
real character of his doctrines.*
J. H. T.
* See the Preface to " the Last Age of the Church," a tract sup
posed to be the earliest of Wicliffe's writings, and published from
an unique MS. copy in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin, by
the Editor of the present volume.
WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY.
HERE are questiouns and ansueris putte J?at are writun here aftir.
First, I witnes bifor God Almi3ty, and alle trewe cristunmen and
wommen, and 3 owe, J?at I haue not ben, nor is, nor neuer schal, of
myn entent ne purpos, to sei any ]?ing a} en j?e general fei)?; neifer
entent to bigile, or deseyue, ani man or womman, in ani vnprofitable
to perpetual 3 el of soule ; ne agein seying to ]?e wordis, ne sentence,
of ani seint. seying fei)>fulli. But if }>ei sem ani tyme to uari, onli
in word, I purpos to take and vndirstond her wordis to veri and
feij?ful witte, and so to acorde hem to gidir, and to acord wif> ilke
of hem in ilke trowfe. Preying also ilke man to reduce me in to
J?e ri3t wey aftir J?e gospel of our lord Jhu Crist, and wey of ]?e
apostlis, prophetis, and doctours, if I haue gon biside fe wey, in
ani Jnng in J?eis pontis, or in ani o)?er, to be put for)? heraftir ;
knouing, if I finali abode in error, I were to be punishid perpe-
tuali.
On J?at is put is j?is ; )?at ]?e pope is not ]?e vicar of Crist nor of /• The
Petir. I knowlech to a felid and seid Jms, wan he fillip not in dede, the vicar
ne in word, )?e office of Petir in 3er)?, ne doi)? not )?e ]nng in )?at
office J>at he is holden to do : but do)? contrarili, and so in dede he
is not )?e vicar of Petir in dede. And ]?is sterij? me to fele ]ms :
CAMD. soc. 14. B
2 VVICLIFFE'S APOLOGY.
Ro. viij°. j7C apostil Poul seip pus ; If ani man haue not pe Spirit of Crist, he
Glose. is not of him ; pat is, as pe glose seip, he pat hap not pe Spirit
aftir witt or dedis, he is not of pe body of Crist. Also )ms seip
Jerom. seint Jerom ; Noght alle bischoppis in name ar bischoppis in dede ;
pu tend5 to Petir, but considir Judas ; pu takst vp Steuen, lok
ageyn to Nicol ; pe kirkis dignite makip not only a cristun man.
Corneli centurio, }et vncristund, is clensid wip pe Hooli Goost.
Daniel, 3et a barne, jugid pe prestis. It is not Ii3t to stond in pe
place of Petir and Poule, and hald pe place of hem fat regnun in
heuen wip Crist. Sonnid salt is not worp, but pat it be cast for]?,,
and soilid of suynne. Also Austeyn seip, Nout ilk pat seip pes to
3ou, is to be hard as colver or a doue. He pat hap not in him pe
resoun of gevernauns, ne hap not wipid a wey his defautis, ne
mendid pe crime of his synnes, is more to be seid a vnschamfast
hound pan a bischop. Not alle prestis ar had for prelats, for pe
name makip not pe bischop, but pe lif. And Gregor seip ; Poul
seip, blam pu not an heldar man ; but pis reule is pan to be kept
in him, \van pe synne of pe heldar man drawip not be his
ensaumple pe hertis of pe 3ungar in to dep; but wan pe heldar
gifip ensaumple to pe 3ong to dep, per is he to be stregun wip
scharp blamyng, for it is writoun, Al 36 be grynnies of pe 3ong.
And eft, Waried pe barn of an vndrid 3 ere. And pis is put after
Decreis. in decreis, Weper pe priuilege of dignite is not to be tan a wey from
hem to wham Austeyn, Jerom, and Gregor tak a wey pe name of
pe bischop, or heldarman, pat he may be correctid of wudlowtis.
Austin. Also Austeyn seip, He pat desirip bischophed, he desirip a good
werk ; he wold expound what is bischophed, for is it pe nam of
werk, and not of honor ; it is Grek ; and per is seid a word, pat he
pat is maad a prest, tak he 3ed to pe pingis pat he is maad prest to,
doing pe cure of hem ; scopes is locand vp on ; per for, if we wil, we
mai calle bischoppis, locars up on, pat he pat lufith to be a prest
not furper to, vnderstond him not to be a bischop ; pus seip
W1CLIFFE S APOLOGY. 3
Austeyn. But if )?u sei he seki]? ai to fur)?er, it be howfi)? J?at it be
schewid in dede ; for seynt Jam sei)?, Fei]? wi)? outun werkis is deed ; s. Jam. ij
so to seke to profit is but deed, but if it be put for)? in dede after
power. And as fei]? is for)?fillid of ]?e werkis, so is also desir. And
ellis desir sle]? ]?e soule ; )?erfor sei)? Crist to Petre, )?rise, Simon of j0. acx$>t
Jon, lufist ]?u me ? feede my schep. ]?erfor as Gregor sei)?, He )?at Gre or
is chosun in to schepherd, he howij? to feed wi]? word, and en-
saumple, and sustinaunce of body ; )?an if he be conuicted not to
luf, ne to do )?e office of Crist, in ]?is he is conuict not to be his
vicar. Also ]?us sei]? Crisostom ; Sin Jhu was temptid, he ouercam cruottom
hunger in desert, he despicid auarice in )?e hille, he strak ageyn
veyn glorie vp on j?e temple ; ]?at he schwe to us, )?at he )?at may
ageynsey his wombe, and despice )?e goodis of )?is world, and desire
not veynglorie, he howi]? to be maad Cristis vicar, and preche Cristis
ri3twisnes, and for J?oo )?re chimneis ich low of J?e fendis blowing
is sett in fire. And ]?us sei)? an o)?er ; It is wel wetun ]?at Crist Another.
was mekist man, pure, and moost obedient to God ; it is not )?an
inconuenient his vicar to be moost lik him in ]?eis J?re, namly.
Now deme ]?is fi3ting kirke, if J?e pope be moost mek, reseyuing
wrongis don til him ; if he be purist man as to seculer lordship,
moost hatyng to be enpli3ed wi)? seculer bisines ; and J?e )?rid, if he
be moost obedient to God, and to his lawe, most content of )?e
boundis of his lawe, not presumand to put to his lawe, ne to
minys )?erfro. For so)?, if ]?e pope do J?eis befor o)?er men, )?an is he,
by for o]?er men, ]?e folower of Crist ; ellis is verified in him )?e
sentence of Crist, He )?at is not wi]? me, he is ageyn me. And Matt. xij°.
Crisostom sei]?, He J?at desiri]? primacy in 3 er]? schal fynd confusion Crisostom.
in heuen, and he schal not be countid among )?e seruaunts of
Crist )?at tretij? of primacy ; nor no man hast to be seen more
]?an o)?er, but J?at he be seen lower ]?an o)?er ; for he is not ]?e
ritwisare J?at is more in honor, but he )?at ]?e ri5twisare, he is )?e
more. Ensaumple ledi]? us to ]?is same )?us ; If a man haue an
W1CLIFFE S APOLOGY.
hired plowman in to serueys to dwel wif him, to do ani dede, and
feif fully to serue to him in to fat werk, and fat seruaunt obliche
him to do so, 3efing feif to f is ; if he felle not aftir in dede and
tyme aftir his hi3t and couenaund, but gof a wey fer fro, and
leuif to wirke, and do)? contrarily directly, and in to f e harme of
his maistir, it is certayn fan, f owe he be his seruaunt of dette and
oblisching, nafles he is not his seruaunt in filling of werk, and so
not in dede ; but raf er aduersari, fals trespasor, and traytor.
And f us it semif in fe propos. If ani chosun of God himselue,
and of f e puple, in to pope, or prelate, and ordend in to vicar of
Crist to his office in 3erf e, and he hi}t it ; whan he fillif not in
dede, but dof contrarily to his behest in degre, he semi)? not to be
)?e vicar of Crist in dede. And so, )?owe he be his vicar vp degre
and dignite, and o]?er tyme in dede, wan he do)? )?e dedis of )?e
office, f erfor )?e pope ioi not, or ani prelat, or o)?er in )?e nam of
dignite or of state, wan it is not to perpetual blis to f e soule.
But al dred more lest f ei geit )?er of harme to )?e soule, and tymung
for defaut of trespase ; for ]?i fat in swelk f e synne aggregi)? bi
Ecdus. resoun of J?e degre ; for j?us it is writun, Joi ]?u not of J?e vnpitouse
sonis, if fe drede of God is not befor hem; for better is oon
dredan God, fan a f ow}and vnpitouse. And better to die wif out
barnes, fan to lef vnpitouse barnis aftir. And efte f us seif Crist ;
Luc. x°, J°i 3e not for spiritis are sogetis to 3owe, but joi 36 fat 3or namis
Matt in0. are writun in heuen. And eft seif f e gospel, Makif worfi frutis of
penaunce, and wil 36 not sei wif in 3 or self we haue f e fadir Abra
ham, for God is mi3ti of f e stonis to reise f e sonis of Habraham ;
for now is f e axe sett to f e rote of f e tree, f erfor ilk tree fat
makif not good fru3t, schal be kyt doun, and cast in to fe fire.
Jerom. And eft Jerom seif ; It is not Ii3t to stond in f e place of Petir and
Poule, and hold f e chaur of hem fat regnun wif Crist ; for f er of
it is seid ; f ei are not f e sonis of seyntis fat holdun f er placis,
but f ei fat vse f er werkis. An Gregor seif, We fat are prestis how
WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY. 5
to ask to knowe, not of dignite of place, ne of kirkis, but of nobley
of maneris ; not bi clerte of citees, but bi purte of fei)? ; places ne
orderis makun not vs nekist God, but o]?er good meritis ioynun to
gidir, or ellis departen, ]?at is wit, as to mede merit and blis. And
Crisostom sei}? ; A cristun man fallij? strongli in to synne for two Crisostom.
causis, o]?er for gretness of J?e synne, or for hei3t of ]?e dignite.
Also of J?e dedis of Boneface )?e martir ; If ]?e pope ben tan rekles Bonef.
of his and his brewer's 3ele, vnprofitable and slow in his dedis,
more ouer and stille fro good, )?at more noyej? to him and alle
oj?er, J?an he ledi)? wi]? him silf going bifore to helle peple wij?
outun nowmbre, to be dongun wi)? him wij>outen ende, wij? mani
digingis. )?erfor, si); ]?e office of Crist [on] j?e 3erd was to Hue most
purist and mekly, and to preche bisili ]?e word of God to ]?e peple,
and to calle hem a3en to J?e lord God, fadir of alle, and in to ]?e
vnite and prosperite of body, and cam to serue and not be
seruid, and to 3if his lif raumsum for mani, and bi )?is ha)? 3efun to
vs mani good )?ingis, and to fille )?is ordeynid Petir, seying to j0h. xxi°.
him, lufist me ? feed my schep, and folow me, and in him he biddi)?
j?e same to alle successors of Petre, as als in Petir a gaf to hem
power of bindyng and lowsing, and )ms ordeynd him his vicar, and
)ms his successor ; and Petir himsilf )?us fillid J?e office of Crist,
in liuing, and in teching, and in Doling ; and Jns same he biddij?
to his successors, as is opun in his pistil. But )?ei ]?at do not in
dede, it is clere )?at in dede )?ei hald not, ne do, his office, ne office
of Crist ; and Jms it semi]? J?at ]?ei are not led be J?e same spirit.
J?erfor as be )?e dedis of Crist in his persoun, and bi J?e dedis )?at
he dide in Petre, moost goodis are comyn to vs in )?is tyme, and in
tyme to come, so it is to drede, ]?at bi ]?e slownes of )?e pope, and
of prelats succedand in his place, and bi her peruerse werkis, moost
iuil comij? to vs, boj? of synnis and of peyn, now in J?is tyme, and
ay to dwell wi)? vs, but if we mend.
And f us I graunt now, as oft I haue knowlechid bifor mani wit-
nes, fat fe lawfulli ordenid his Cristis vicar, or wan he do]?, or
biddif, ony f ing in f e nam of Crist, as if Crist do fat hi him, fat
fan he is f e vicar of Crist in dede, and fan it is to obey to him,
as to Cristis vicar, and as to Jftu Crist. And so to folow after fe
i Cor. #io. sentence of f e apostel seyng ; Be my folowars as I am Cristis.
Gal. «o. And eft5 5e tok me, he seif, as an aungel,3e as Crist Jfru, for Crist
spekif in me, and he fat dispicif our teching, dispicif not man,
1 Thes. iflo. but God fat 3af his Holy Gost in vs, for Crist seif, he fat herif }ow,
Luc.x0. herif me, and he fat dispicif 3ow dispisif me, fat is, wan 36 spek
of my spirit. But not so wan 36 spek of a nofer spirit. But
wan fe pope gof a wey fro Crist, and dof fe contrari, as is be for
seid, or dof f e contrari, fan is not he Cristis vicar, ne it is not to
obey ne folow him in f eis f ingis. f us haue I oft seid ; and, as I
suppose, cordandli wif holi writ, and feif ful doctors, and autentik
decreis. And it semif me, fat it be howfif me to sey f us, for it is
knowun fat many popis han synnyd, and ben snibbid ; and sum
tan in heresy and deposid. And, f erfor, f ei are not to be folowid
sympli in al f ing. Also non lyuyng in f is frel lif is simply wif out
synne, non but Crist, holi writ witnessif . Also ani in popehed
aftir Petir is not holier, nor mor confermid in fat office, fan he,
and he, aftir fe Holi Gost taking, synnid opunly in 513 1 of fe
puple, constreyning f e gentil to be com Jewes in obseruaunce ;
werfor Poule a3enstod him in fe face, and redarguid him, for he
was reprouable. fan it semif to me, fat it is helsum to f e pope,
and to prelatis, and to f e peple, and worschipful to God, fat f e
peple be ri3tly enformid, how fei owe to accept fe pope as fe
vicar of Crist, and how fei owe to bowe fro him ; fat f e peple,
deseyuid ani tyme, worschip not God and f e fend to gidir, ne ani
tyme f e fend in f e sted of Crist, and f e wrathe of God com bof on
fe peple and on fe prestis.
Ofer two poyntis fat are put and askid are f eis. On, fat f e n-
pope sellif indulgence. An of er, fat he may 3ef non indulgence Popeseiuth
noif er to man in purgatori, neif er to hem fat are prescit, fat is
to sey fat are to be dampnid, or are now dampnid.
To f eis I seid f us ; I rehersid a doctor fat seid f us ; We owe
not to tak as feif indulgencis, now sale worf, for fi fat are not thertoman
f us grauntid of our lord Jhu Crist. And, sin sophisticacoun fallif tori, nei-
ofte in f is matir, feif ful men askyn, vnder peyn of growing hem a
wey, fis witnes; feif of holi writ is sufficient to reule alle ho\i prescit.
kirk, but men redun not fat ani of fe apostles grauntid silk
indulgencis. And feif ful curats owen to sorowe as wel of fe
spoling of fer sogetis, as also of fe synne of fe spoliars, for Crist
seif , Blessid be f oo fat mornun, for f ei schal be coumfortid. Matt. if.
Blessid be f oo fat hungrun and fristun ri3twisnes, for f ei schal be
filled. Blessid be f e merciful for f ei schal gete mercy. It semif
to mani, fat it were wark of mercy to opun f e trowf of f e feif
in f is part, fat f e pope haf not power to graunt silk indulgencis
for so li}t price. Also abodily f ing of how euer litil price howif
not to be bout but wif f is wisdam ; fat f e by}ar be profhabili
sekir of f e f ing sold. But f e pope mai not siker ani man fat
aftir his dede, or be forn, he schal haue so mikil indulgencis ; f er-
for prouabily silk marchaundise owif to be left. For f e pope
wat not, ne of himsilf, if he be sauid of God, or prescit to be
dampnid, fat if he be prescit, silk indulgencis rennun not forf
a3en fe ordinaunce of God, ordeyning ay lastingly fe contrary;
f erfor, wan f e pope may not procure silk indulgencis generaly to
himsilf, it is euident to many fat silk marchandis are suspect of
coueytise of symonie. It is not a}en fe feif, or prouable a} en fe
trowf, fat mani popis fat be word onli hau grauntid mani large
indulgencis are dampnid ; fan how may f ei defend f er indulgencis
bifor God ? Also, a duke, or an 3erle, stonding ny a 3erf li king, and
f e king grauntid a fredam or priuilege, it is not inferrid of fis, fat
8 WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY.
fe duk, or3erle,grauntif fis fredam or priuilege, but rafer it longif
to f e kyngis dignite ; fan, sin f e king Crist is king of kings, heiar
wif out comparisoun fan ani pope, fan f e king is souereyn to ani
3erle or duke, it semif mikil more euident fat it longif to fe
gretnes of God to graunt singlerly f eis priuilegs or fredam ; for it
folowif not, if a bedel, or criare, schewe f e fre graunt of his lord,
fan fat fis seruaunt, f us schewand, grauntif swilke maner of
fredam ; mikil more if he pronounce wif out autorite or lif, con-
trariously, a3ennis fe lordis wille. And in fis caas are comynli
grauntars of pardoun. Also, a feif ful curat owif to notify to his
sugets, were is pardoun, sikirar, largar, and for les price, to be
bout to his sogets. But f e popes bulle techif , as it is seid, a pope
to a maad and grauntid, at feinstaunce of a king, twofou3and 3er,
als oft as a nobil man seif it bi twex f e consecracioun and Agnus
Dei. And fus prouabli a feif ful man mi3t in 3ering mani messis
geit on a day fewenti f ow3and 3er of pardoun. Swilk a wis mar-
chandis for hel of soul, mi3t a curat sey to his parischings. Also,
putting to ouer for lewid men, fat can not fis orisoun, fat f ei schal
haue as mikil or more indulgencis for fe pr. nr. as oft as fei sey
it, and as gret charite and mekenes deseruing indulgeris. Also,
a3en swilk feynid and on groundid indulgens, howif a feif ful prest
to multiply quek resouns, weil he hungrif and f ristif ri3twisnes
of f e law of God, for by suelk sophymis of anticrist, f e lawe of God
is despicid, and ri3tful is put in veyn hope, and vpon ilk side
a liuar in fis world is falsly iapid. f erfor, lif a man a iust lif, and
tryst he of f e parting of merit fat God gifif men frely as him
likif . And alle feynid arguments of anticrist are not worf i to be
Matt.xvj0. rehersid. God seid to Petir, Wat fu byndist vpon 3erfe it schal be
boundoun also in heuin. And f e pope is Petir's vicar, f erfor it be
howfif to trowe fat fis feif is verifi3ed of him. Ilk feif ful man
graunt of f e gospel f e first. And suppose of f e secound word,
f of it be euident of dede him not be fe vicar of Petre, syn Petir
WICLTFFE S APOLOGY. 9
was not hardi to accept fis foule hardy presumpcoun, but suppose
fat Petre or aungel of heuuri accept to lowse or to bynd, he may
not do fis, but in as mykil as it soundif to f e hed of f e kirk
abouyn. And as fis consonaunt is vnknowen to f e japer, so fis
fendly marchaundy is vneuident to fe feifful peple knowend fis ;
f us seif f e doctor. Also a doctor in f e lawe, Barthelmew in Earth,
casis, seif fat dais or 3eris of indulgens are not daies ne 3eris of
heuen ne of purgatory, but fei are daies of fis world. Also fe Clemen-
law seif, Pardoneris ow not to graunt indulgens of f er wil of dede,
ne dispens vp on wowis, ne asoil of swering, mansleyng, or of
of er synnis fei fat schriuis to hem, ne for3eue fingis iuil tan awey
and vncerteyn to wome to restore for a quantite of money 3yuen
to hem, ne fo^eue fe fridde or fe fourt part of penaunce en-
ioinid, ne to draw sum tyme a soule fro purgatorie, as fei feynun
falsly, ne graunt pleyn remissioun of synnis, ne asoile a pena
et a culpa, for alle priuilegis up on feis or ani of hem are a3en
callid in. fe Clementyns de pe. c°. abus. h. Earth, in Casibus.
If it be askid wef er f e pope selle indulgencs and merits of seynts,
or fat men of f e kirke selle f er orisouns preyours or gostly suf-
fragis ; here I sey fus, It semif me spedy to aferm no f ing folily.
But it semif mekenes to seke how bying and sellyng synfully may
falle in swelk f ings, fat feif ful folk eschew f e warliar ; and fan f e
dede semif and witnessif herd and vnderstonden and of er circum-
stauncs. Ilk man deme fe sikirliar fing fat semit to him. To
selle is f e hauer to 3eue his fing for price tane, and bi his resonable
nature to reseyue fing for price 3euun, and f us bying and sellyng
dubli grauntid and dubli 3euing. f er to selle is seid as for to 3eue
to selling. Werfor wan I by meit for money, I selle f e money
fat f e tof er man bief , as I bye fing fat f e tof er sellif . I bye f e
met ; in fis fat I reseyue for price 3euun. And I selle fe money
in fis fat I giue it for price. And it semif fat bying and selling
of man is many fold ; f e first heuinly ; vpon f e rewlis of wis-
CAMD. SOC. 14. C
10
dam ; |?e secound is on fe gespel, vpon f e rewlis of prudence ;
f e f rid is worldly, up on f e rewl of marinis lawe ; and f e fourt is
fendly. Be f e first, gostly f ings ai lastand are bout for temporal
f ings fat are falling and passing. Of secound is seid, fat Cristis dis-
ciplis went in to f e cyte to by met. Of f e f rid is comyn among
men. Of f e fourt is seid fat Achab was sold to do iuil in si}t of
f e Lord. f eis wel vnderstondun, it seme)? wel fat popis, cardi-
nalisj and of er prelats, prestis, and of er religiouse, may medfully
and graciously selle indulgencis and merits of seynts and preyours
and gostli suffrages, as f ei may graunt be cristun men swilk f ings
or benfets and deds of mercy and of er goodis ; and f us may of er
bye. And mani may not tak part of grace ne of blis but if f ei
bye it vn sum maner, and it be sold hem ; it semi]? bi f is fat Crist
bou3t us a3en, and for our good dedis behit vs heuenly kyndom.
f us blessid martirs for gloriouse martirdom deseruid to haue per
petual crounis. f us J?e apostil did alle fings for \ e gospel ]?at he
schuld be maid perseyuer J>er of. Als fus seye we, o maruelous
marchandies, J>e maker of man kynd takyng a soulid body of \ e
virgyn, demd to be borne, and foregoing man wi]? out seed, may
gif vs his godhed, swilk feij? is ai mad in hope trust and charite.
And Jms if ]?e pope, or ani oj?er, ani tyme feij?fully and charitably
graunt and hi}t to ani man indulgens, or part of merit of seynts,
part of preyours, abstinens, wakyng, obediens, or o]?er deds,
iustly, and on Goddis plesaunce, and graciousli, for her good deds,
o]?er fat J?ei be relesid of synnis, or of peynis, or fat f ei be fe
more sterid to f e feif , or to plese God, blessidli fei selle swilk
fingis to hem. And a3en worde swilke fenkand to do f>e deds of
God iustli, and graciously f e dedis of mercy, fat he be maad per-
seyuar of swilk f ings, bof f ei bien and sellen blessidli. But if f e
pope, led bi coueytise, or of er, as symonie, or wif f e spirit of pride,
as if f ei wif here biginning disposid alle f ings, and graunt swilk
fingis to ilke man, }ha wif out merit, or wif out God ledar before,
11
but as if folowid, and schuld proue, and schuld conferme wat fat
him list to be don, as now is presumid of many; or led wif fe
spirit of lust of flesche, graunt or belli) t ani swilk fingis, ofer for
mony or ofer 3erfli bodili temporal good and fleschly fingis, or
preyour or fauour of meed, or fleschli f ings, or for swilk luf, haterad,
or drede of swilk men, or for vndeu seruise, or ofer vndeu cause
and vnpertinent, who schal fan dout but fat fe pope and ofer
selle swilk fingis synfully, and for symonie, and f us alle fat per-
sewen for swilke indulgens, or benfices, or ofer graces, wif swilk
fro ward in wit, who doutif fat fei ne bi3e sinfully, or veriliar en
force to bye fing fat schal not geyt ? Also if f e pope, and ofer
men of fe kirke, wil not graunt indulgens or benfics to hem fat
fei be grauntid to frely, but if money or sum ofer fing be 3euen
to hem, or if minstris of f e kirke wele not frely minster to hem
fat fei [schuld ?] frely minster to, not but if mony or ofer fing be
3euen to hem, who dowtif fat ne swilk men sellen synfully swilk
f ings ? f is semif be f e sawis of feif ful doctours, put in f e canon,
so and fei fat wenun to bye indulgens for f er temporal goods, and
wenun to be assoilid or for 3euun be hem, fof fei abi3d in fer
synnes, nor mak not satisfaccoun dewly of fer synnis on ofer
syde, but also eft turnun a3en fer to ; byen synfully, and wenun
to haue fat is takun a wey from hem. And also swilk are in defaut
fat hopen not, ne turnen not to be for3euun offer synnis; wran
fei mend hem vp on Cristis bidding, 3ha if f e prest wil not mins
ter to hem, not but if money be gyuen to hem, and for f is fei selle
f is iuil wille. Also how blam worf i are f o minstris fat wan men
and women are foundun in synne, anoon fei forbed hem f e sacra
ments of fe kirke and comynng of cristun men, and enioyn hem
gret penaunce, but if fat fei fynd better grace. But as sone as mony
is 3euen fei reysen f e synnars to f e takyng of f e sacraments and
comyning of fe folk, and joynun prestis to reseyue hem, and minster
to hem, fof fei leue not fer synne, but contenun it more orribli, and
12 WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY.
oft leue hem tul a tyme to contune f er inne. A howe cursid mar-
chaundise of men of fe kirke, to selle soulis in synne to fe deuil for
f er godis ! And also f er oune soule ; in part takyng of f e defaut,
and for f e sacrilege fat f ei do in reif of goodis. A howe gret
schrewidnes, fraude, gile, and reif, and peruersite now regnef in f e
kirk, as is opun be f e dedis ! Certis now is fillid fat is seid in ]>Q
iiv°. psalme, For I sawe wickidnes and contradiccoun in f e cyte day
and ny}t. Wickidnesse schal compasce here vp on her wall, and
traueil in her middis, and vnritwisnes and vsere and gile an [are] not
fallen from here stretis. In how many gret casis may it be, fat
now regnif in f e kirk synful marchondise ; bryng to witnes ; exa-
myn f e sawis ; discusse f e dedis ; opun and comyn fame tra-
ueylif , fat in f e court of Rome mai no man geyt no grace, but if
it be bowt, nor f er is noon grauntid, but if it be for temporal meed ;
for fis fat fe pope reseruif to himsilf, and to fe chaumbre, as
graunting of sum benfics, and f e first fruts of sum of er, J?at he gifij? ;
and translatyng of bis chops; and al fis is don, as it is seid, for couey-
ties, and fat is seruant of idols ; f ei fat persuen for indulgencs,
exempcouns, and priueylegs, sey how f ei geyt nowt wif out bying ;
swilk are corny nly grauntid to f e riche and my3ty of fe world.
Wat of graunting of indulgencs, an abbot of gret riches }af f re
vndred marke, to geyt to his abbey, fries in fe 3eere, fe same in
dulgence fat f e kirk of Rome is wont to graunt to hem fat visitun
a place fat is callid porciuncula. Nout only, but also [a] cardi
nal gaf at his dying al his good, to haue f e same grauntid to a
riche abbey were he was be fore monk, as men fat are hold trewe
men witnessen. What more? A clene man was in fe court, and
spak to hem fat had gret gouernaile in f e court, and praid him
to }if him ordres frely. Wei, he seif, I schal 3eue fe frely. And
fou schalt 3eue me foure floreynis, and I schal ordeyn fe a
bischop aftir noon. And he ansuerid, Sofli, I haue but foure
katereynis. Forsofe, he seif, and f u schalt hau non ordres here.
13
And fus he went wif out ordres. And nowe how f e pricis are
ekid, and how mykil him behowuif to 3eue fat schal geit ben-
fics, f ei telle fat bring swilk new f ingis fro f e cowurt.
Nowe ilk man discuse wedir swilk marchaundis be synful, and
ai be war of f e perel, and see fat we sey no fals witnes a geyn ani
man, but ioi we euer to gidir in trowf .
Of cursing twey poynts. m of
A nof er is fis fat is put and askid, fat f o minstris of f e kirke cursing
owe not to curse and to wari. points.
Certs to fis I sey fei owe bofe to curse and wari, but neuer for Jj^jJ*?
iuil wille ne veniaunce, but for luf of ritwisnes. And raf er for f e \>e kirk
breking of f e bidding of God, fan for worldli goodis or pride of f e ^e.°*
world and flescli lust.
An of er is f is fat is putte, fat f e kirke may not ri3twisly curse 2. \>at \>e
a ri3twys man. To fis I seid fus, fat in two maner offing, is seid k^er™tay
iust ; first sympli, or after trowf , as fat vnrytwysnes is not inne. wisiy curse
In f e secound maner is a man seid iust, onli in name or aftir J£U*
present ri3twisnes. And fus as doctors seyn, a sentence of cursyng
is seid to be 3euun justli, on two maners. On after trouf, wan it
is don wit just cause, juste ordre, and iust entent. A nof er, wan
it is don onli up on comyn form o lawe. And fus it may be as it
semif sum tyme, fat f ow f e kirke curse iustli, as to form, a iust
man, nefles it [is] not iust as to sof fastnes ; as wan f er is no
cause of f e fulnes of f e kirke cursing : vnri3twisnes of f e cause is
f o syn going be for of f e obstinat, wan f e synnar wil not dewli
obey ne amend ri3t. fat is fat fu dost f o dom in nam of f e kirke,
feif fully wilyng f e mendment of f e synnar, helful, to f e worschip
of our Lord Jhu Crist, and due ordre procedand up f e gospel. But
suppose her fat fis iust is fat is ordeynid be God to do a f ing, or
to suffre, to comyn, or to minister in ani maner, or 3 end in fe nam
of Crist, and he willing to perform obediently and fille f e wark fat
14 WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY.
God haf }euun to do, suppose he fat fis is iust. And fan I sup
pose f e kirke mai not iustli curse him, as he may not sequester
him fro fis fat God joinif him to do, but if God wille fat he be
sequestrid ; nor f e kirk may not iustli priue f e comyning of
cristun men, nor taking of f e sacraments, nor part taking of good
f ings, wyle he is iust, not but if God wil fat it be done ; nor f e
kirke may not iustli punisch nor bid punische swilk on, bifor fat
God bid ; nor non may denounce swilk on cursid, not but in f e
forme fat he is cursid ; nor f e kirke mai not iustli lede ani man
in to synne, nor bid do synne, ne contune f er inne, f e wilk he
putt owt of comyn and harmif , as it semif bi f e speche of feif ful
men ; nor mai not iustli wari him, ne pray iuil to him, ne punisch
him, for he will do wel and fille Godds bidding, and amend his mis.
In ani swilk maner f ei mai not curse ani swilk iust man.
But it semef me fat it spedef a litil to seeke f e witte and f e
sawis of feif ful men, owe [how ? ] f ei speke of cursyng, for f er
is mani maner of cursyng. f e first and f e warst, and fat is dedely
synne, bi f e wilk a man synning, puttif him self out of cominyng
of feif ful men, fat is to sey, vndisposif himsilf to tak part of f e
merits of f e kirk, as it is of ilk man deed bi synne ; and f us
owif no man to curse ani man, for God may not autorise fat actyfe
cursyng ; nor Crist was not f us cursid, for he synnid neuer. But
passyue cursyng, fat is peyn be it self wif synne folowand, is iust ;
wilke is proper God to 3eue, and is iust medicyn fat fo synnar
owif for to take fankfuly, and be sory for fe cause ferof : fer
is also a nof er cursing, fat is preying of iuil or effectual warying
or cursyng fat is iust, departing fro comyning of feif ful men, and
fro fe taking of fe sacraments. And a nofer by wilk a man
cursif a nofer coritrarily to f e lawe of Crist, and fat but only in
iiam or pretendid.
f erfor to spek of f e cursyng of f e kirke, [by] f e wilk f e kirk de-
nouncif opunly a synnar to be put out of comynyng, and be for-
WICLIPFE'S APOLOGY. 15
fendid him f o comyn feleschip of feif fulmen, and taking of sacra
ments, fat he do fe raf er penaunce, and infect not of er, and fat
f is be ritful bof up f e side fat is cursid and up on f e kirk side
cursing, be howfif f e kirk to temt warly. For as f re condicouns
mak martirdom faire, fat is to sai, ri3twisnes of fe cause, charita
ble pacience of fe martir, an vnri3twisnes of fe persewar, and so
fat cursing be ri3twyse longeii in a contrari maner; fat is to say,
ri3twisnes in the kirk cursing, cause of vnri3twisnes in fe man
cursid, and enemy of f e obstinat. And ]?us it may be, f of f e
kirk curse a iust man iustly, as to form of vsing of lawe ; navies
it is not iustly as to f e cause of sof fastnes, nor it may not, wyle
fer is no cause of vnri3twisnes in fe man, ne obstynacy, ne
ritwisnes in f e kirk, f us doing ; fat is, wile God biddif not f e
kirk curse, fus f>e vnri3twisnes of ]?e cause is synne going biforne,
for wilk )?e man schuld be cursid. Enemy of J?e obstinat, wan ]?e
synnar wil not dewli obey ne a mend. Ri3twisnes of ]?e kirk doing
execucoun is wan ]?e kirk a cordij? wij? Crist, and ]?e kirk aboue ;
of mek charitable feifful entent, fenkyng helful correccoun of }>e
synnar to J>e honor of God, procedi]? in dewe ordre up )?e gospel.
But, for to haue f>e more clere and vndeceyuid knowyng of ]?is
mater, cursing and assoling in mater of domis, and geuing of
sentence in ani maner of dome, priuey or comyn, and in mater
witnessing, and in materis to be don, )?olid, susteynid, aprouid,
confermidj canoni3id, autenkid, or to be helpid, in ani maner of
cause a geyn ani man, or for ani fing, me semi]? now spedy to sey
summe ]?ings.
First, I tak as fei]?, fat no creature mai do iustli, wele, meri-
torili, perfitly, vnsinfully, effectuali, ne perseuerantli ani \ ing, not
but if God wirk fat f ing bi him, and in him ; fat if he do, or pre
sume to do f is fat God wirkif not bi him, he synnef , and his wark
schal be in veyn, and idil, and schal not stond in profit, f is semif
fus, Crist mi3t not, fan mikil more non of er creater mai fat Crist
1G
Jo. 1*0. mi}! not, semi)? )?us ; for he seij? in the gospel, )?e Sone mai not of
hirasilf ani J?ing, nor nou}t, but as he se}? ]?e Fadir doing; )?at if
he schuld do ani )?ing )?at God schuld not bi him, schuld do
vniustly. For ]?us he seij? : If I bere witnes of misilf, mi wittnes is
not trewe, it is Fadir ]?at beri)? wittnes of me ; and as )?e Fadir
beri]? witnes of him, and biddi]? him bere witnes and speke, so he
beri]? witnes and speki]?. War for he sei)? ; J?e words ]?at I speke,
I speke not of misilf, but J?e Fadir dwelling in me he do)? )?e dedis,
and as he gaf me bidding so I spek. And so is ilk man holdun
to spek, and do, and witnes, as J?e Fadir giffi)? bidding to hem.
And J?at no creater mai do iustli ani j?ing, not but if Crist do it bi
him, semi)? J?us. Ilk power in heuen and in 3er)?e is 3euen to
Crist. Also )?e Fadir ha]? }euen al dome to J>e Sone, and al wysdam
is of ]?e Lord God. ]?erfor wi)? out Crist is no iust power, dome, ne
Apoc. iij. wisdam ; he ha)? j?e key of Dauid ; he closi)?, and fan no man
opunni)? ; he opunni]? and J?aii no man closi)?. If he dyng down,
J?an no man biggij? vppe. If he close, fan is fer no man J?at may
opun, ne iustli a3enstond him, nor no man mai sey ]?is schal be
don, but if he bidde. And he giffi]? power, and wisdam, and seij? :
Jo h. xuo. Wi}> outen me 366 mai no fing do. And for )?is seij? Poule : We
2 cor. Ujo. may not of our sej£ ^Q^ am ^^g as of ourself, but our sufficiens
ZCor.xiijo. [s jn QO(j . ancj no werkis in vs and no fing mai we a3en J>e trow)?,
but for j?e trow]?. And for )?is seij? )?e prophet : Lord, )?u hast
Is. xjujo. wrout al our warkis in vs. And mani swilk witnes. And so, sin
no creater mai do iustli ani )?ing wi]? outun Crist, )?an J?e kirk may
not, no)?er general kirk, ne particuler ; )?e kirk in heuen, ne j?e
kirk sleping in purgatory, ne )?e kirk 63 ting in )?is world, aggregat,
or gedred to gidre in on of Crist, and of al chosun to be blessid
wi)? him wi)? outen ende, lepun vp to gidir in to oo spirit and con-
corporel and conperseyuers and felows of )?e hei3est of Crist, and of
his godly kynd. As Petre sei)? in his epistil, and Poul of Colo-
censes : Wefer it be )?e kirk particuler, as were two or ]?re are
WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY. 17
gedrid to gidir in Cristis name, and of fe kirk ; or if it be a per-
sone ordeynid to do ani fink in f e name of Crist and of f e kirk,
he mai no fing do iustli, but in maner befor seyde, fat Crist do
it bi him.
And f us is opun fat f e kirk mai not iustli curse ne bles, but
as he ha]? befor ordeyned to be doun, and do it be f e kirk ; f e
kirk mai not ellis curse iustli, fat is nofer sequester ani man
fro comyning of feif ful men, ne fro part takyng of sacraments, ne
for bid him ne to do ani fing, ne joyn him penaunce, ne denounce,
put out of comyn, ne bid iuil to him, ne curse him in ani maner,
be wat nam fat cursing be callid ; f e kirk may not do it iustli, ne
vnblamfully, not but in als mikil as Crist ha]? ordeynid to be
doun, and doif it bi fe kirk, and confermit it. And ri3t so of
soiling ; of er wis may not f e kirk bring a man out of synne, ne
for3ef fe peyn, nor man siker, ne pronounce, ne hi}t him to be
soylid, in ani maner for ani cause. Ne of er wyse howif ani man
to dred ani curse, not but in als mikil as it is 3euen vp Cristis
bidding, ne of er wise ioi of assoiling ; ne reste hemsilf siker f er for.
Of er wyse ow 36 not to drede it ; fat is, 36 ow not to drede it fat it
schal greue 3ow, or noy 3ow, as at God to mak 3ow sinful, or to
be punischid, nor 36 ow not cesse, ne abstene fro ani good wark,
but vp fat Crist for bedif it him. f is sentence is clere of manifold
witnes of f e feif ful opunning of holi writt, and publischid expresly
andympli3efly, and of f e sawis of feij?ful doctours, witnessing and
expounding ; and of )?e decreis of )?e kirk conferming. In canoun
it is writun )?us, of )?e words of J?e pope Leoun ; pe priuylege of Leoun.
Petre dwellij? were euer ]?e dome is 3euen aftir his equite, fat J?e
fersnes be nofer to mikil ne to litil, were no Jnng schal be bounde
ne lowsid, not or Petre byndij? or lowsif. Who euer deserue to tak
fe sentence of darning, if he wele perseyuer in his wit, no man
mai relesse him. And also Jerom seif, If ani man be put out Jerom.
nou3t be ri3t dome of hem fat are abouen to fe kirk, if he went
CAMD. soc. 14. D
18 WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY.
not out be forne, fat is, dide not so fat he deseruid to be put out,
he is no f ing hurt in )>is fat he semif to be put out fro men be
dom not 113 1. And fus it is don fat sum tyme his [he ?] is wif inne
fat is cast out, and he is wif out fat semif wif inne. fus seif he.
GeiazL And Gela3i fe pope seif, He fat sentence is 3euen a3en do he
awey f e error and it is voyd, and if it be vniust, so mikil he owif
to charge it f e lesse as at God and at his kirk. Wickid sentence
mai greue no man, and so disire 36 not to be assoilid f er of be
Austeyn. wilk 36 holdun 3ou not boundon. fus seif he. And Austyn seif,
Vp on f e general feif , no man mai noi f e kynd of God, ne f e
kynd of God mai not noi ani man vniustly, ne f ole ani be noi3ed
Col. Hja. vniustly ; he fat noif , as f e Apostel seif, schal reseyue f is fat he
Ralanus. noif . To f is acordif Rabanus and of er doctours mani ; of wilk
3et it is spedi to rehers summe. f er is a cursing fat is dedli synne
f e wilk f e man synning puttif hirnsilf out of comoun ; fat is, vn-
disposif himsilf to tak part of merits of f e kirk, os it is of ilk ded
be synne, and be swilk cursing is man waried to God. And fus
no man ow to curse ani man, sin God mai not autorise f is cursing
actif, for fus was neuer Crist cursid, for he synnid not. But cursing
of peyn be it self folowand is iust, fe wilk longif to God to 3ef.
f er is anof er cursing, bi wilk f e kirk denouncif opunly a synnar
put out of comyn, and forbedif him comyn feleschip of cristun
men, and f e takyng of sacraments, fat he mend f e raf er, and smot
not of er. And of f is curse f e kirke spekif most famously. And
fis is callid fe cursyng of fe kirk. To whas ri3tful ratifiyng, als
wel on his syd fat is cursid, os on f e side of f e kirk cursing, f e
kirk be houuif to tent to f re condicouns fat are requirid to fis
lawful cursing ; fat is, vnri3twisnes in the cause, enuy of a3en
stonder, and ri3twisnes of fe kirke doing execucoun. fe first
semif fat no man is fus cursid but materaly for synne. Ilk synne
is vnri3twysnes or brynging it in, ferfor to fis lawful curse is re
quirid f e vnri3twisnes of f e cause ; ne it is a3en fis, but acording
WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY. 19
J?at man be cursid, for J?e honor of God, and profit of himsilf, and
of J?e peple, wij? mani final leful leke causis os it semi)? of J?e peyn
of dampnid men. ]?e secounde circumstaunce semi)? of ]?is, j?at to
lawful cursing is requirid J?refald broker correcting, and but he dwel
obstinat to J?e fourt peyn ]?at is dede of )?e kirk ; for it is a pre-
scripcoun fro comyning of fei)?ful men ; ellis ]?is cursing is not
lawful. j?e ]?rid circumstaunce semi)? of J?is, )?at is it [it is ?] not
possible to be put of corny n of men, but fat if it be ]?erfor ]?ow a
persoun prescit curse bi autorite of ]?e [kirk], neuer J?e lesse he
presupponij? )?e kirk. And }?us it semi)? al onli in effect an heretik
schuld vnderly J?e curse of )?e kirk ; but it semi)? )?at ilk synning
to }>Q dej? is an heretik ; as a} en ward a heretik is he J?at synni]? to
J?e de)?, for ilk swilk pertinatly contrarily techi)? to holi writte.
And swilk curse, syn it is iust medicyn of J?e gilty, schuld be
tane )?ankfully, for he is not perid J?erby, but betteryd, or ellis his
malice swagid. But he schuld do a wey ]?er of, and take ]?e
medicyn, schakyng a wey synne from him be absolucoun of sacra
ment, and mekly taking a no]?er absolucoun of iurisdiccoun of
him j?at cursid, by was vertewe he my3t comyn wij? cristun men
and tak sacraments. And )?ow J?at medicyn be good for )?e tyme,
neuer)?eles )?e hele folowand is fare better. And bi resoun of ]?at
prohibicoun fro comyng of fei)?ful men and reseyuing of sacraments,
syn it is not a sacrament supposid ]?at is it leful to a lewyd man in
)?e vertew of ]?e kirk to curse and louse ; but wan ani after fe
]>ridde correpcoun dwelli]? inobedient, he owij? not only to be de-
nouncid a cursid, ]?at of sume is callid J?e lesse curse ; but comyn
of fei)?ful men and takyng of sacraments owun to be defendid
him ; )?at is callid j?e more curse J?an ]?e kirke ha]? ordeyned re-
sounably ; )?at )?e kirk performe it solemply, candel slekennid,
bell rogun, and )?e cros turnid vp so doun. neuer]?eles it intendi]?
]?e good of him ]?at is cursid charitabli, and profi}t of ]?e kirk. And
it semi)? be a noj?er doctor to bring for]? a no)?er curse, be wilk it
20 WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY.
is leful to curse fe iust man, wif outun his demerit, of forbeding
him comyn of men, and taking of sacraments, fat he geit mede of
his obedience, and f e sinnar be mad redy^ or for summe of er swilk
cause. But certeyn T am fat f is curse may not be done wif outun
resounable cause ; ne f e nakyd wille of f e prelat is not inowe f erto ;
ne a man is not holdun for swilk curse to leef fing fat he is holdun
to do bi Godds bidding. Neuerfeles he mai medulfully cesser fro
summe dedis for a tyme, and deserue for obediens. And if ani
can ground f is maner of cursyng I consent.
But how fat we spek of curse oif er it fat is dedly, or peyn con
sequent f er of, or ellis warying, or it fat is sequestracoun of f e iust
man fro comyn, or it be wilke f e iust man be cursid as contrari to
Godds lawe, fat is but only in name or pretendand, or ani of er, it
semif fat noun owif to curse ani principali for money, for his
proper cause or wrong don til him.
pis semif bi ensaumpul of Crist and Moyses, and swilk of er ;
and also be doctors and laws of f e kirk : for bi lawe canoun no
man howif to curse in his owne proper cause ; for vnder f e autorite
Gregor. of Gregor f e kirk writif f us ; Among mani quarells a nobil man,
Ysidore, pleynid him to be cursid of f e [thy] brof er hed, and wan
we lere of f e [thy] clerk fat was present for wat cause f is was don,
he maad knowen for non of er cause, but for he had greuid fee.
Wilk fing noi3if vs ri3t gretly, if it be so ; f u schewist fee to f enk
no fing of heuenly f ings, but tokunist fee tohaue an 3erfli conuer-
sacoun, til f u haue done cursing for venging of f i selue ; fat is
defendid bi holi rewlis. Werfore fro hene forf be wel bisy abowt.
And presume f u neuer to do aftur swilk f ingis, for defence of f i
noune iniurie ; for if f u do ani swilk fing, wyte f u wel it to
vengid after in f i self. Werfor f e glose of Ion seif, pe bischop
mai not curse ani man for wrong don to him, nor mai not be iuge
in his oune cause, fat is to vnderstond, namly, it is leful to no
man to curse principali for his oune proper cause.
WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY. 21
]ns semip be ensaumple of Crist, for he wold not curse hem fat
denoied to him harborow and lifelod, but reprouid his disciplis Luc- **•
askyng veniawns ; and wan he was waried he waried not a3en, i Pet. ij,
wan he was punischid, he manest not a3en, but mekly be toke him-
silf to him fat iugid him vniustly ; and f e peyn of of er synne
bare, and prayed for his cruciars.
Also be ensaumple of Moyses, wan f e peple synnid in to God,
he vengid it ; and wan f ei greuid him he f olid, and 3aue f e cause
to God.
Also it be howuif f o synne to be notory and greuows, for wilk
cursyng schuld be done. Were f e Archedecoun seif , fat f e more Archedc-
curse is to be }euun for contumacy alone ; and f is he groundif co
be mani lawis. And al of er lawis fat semen to sey, fat man how
to curse for crime of vowtre, f eft, and swilk of er ; so fat vndir-
stond for contumacy descendend of swilk crime. And he seif
Lincoln to be of ]?e same sentence, and Innocent, seing ]?at man is L^coin.
not to be cursid only for Ipe crime, if he wil amend him. And ]?e Innocent-
sentence of Crist acordi]? in ]?e gospel ; were cursing is groundid.
Were for ]?e kirk sei]?, None of bischoppis priue ani man fro comyn-
ing of ]>e kirk, wij? outun certeyn and opun cause of synne. The JcirJc-
And resoun is ]?is, for ilk cursing vniustli also cursi]? himsilf, for
he synni]? dedly. And Austeyn sei]?, as is be for seid : No man mai Austeyn-
noye kynd of God.
Of )?e wilk semi]? ]?re notable conclusiouns : first, fat God mai
not curse ani man ne suffur him to be rioi3ed to his pering, but
himsilf be first in cause ; for ]?e curse of ]?e kirk taki]? not a wey
ri3tfulnes ne vertu, ne inferri]? not synne, but schewi]? departing
fro comyn of seynts, and defendij? medicinable comyning wij> }>e
kirk or sacraments of it. Were for sei}> Archedecoun, efter ]?at he
schewij> fat J>e keyes of fe kirk only byndun and lousun, wan ]?ei
are confermid to fe keyes of Crist, ]?at bynding or lousing of \ e
prelat is not fe cause why ani is lousid or boundun in heuin. But
22
pus it is seid, for oft pei felow hemsilf to gidir and for pei how to
felowhemsilf to gidir, os it semip bi pe decreisand sentence of doctors
cording to gidir, is, pat pe keyes erring noiper bindun ne lowsoun
as to God. pe prid is pis, pat he pat vniustly cursip as to pe face of
pe kirk, noi}]? principali himsilf, for he misusip his powar. Werfor
Deere. j,e decre seip, We are not dampnid wip out dom, wan we are cursid
Arckede- vniustly. Archedecoun seip, pat he pat cursi)? his sugetis vniustly
incurrip sacrilege, for sacrilege is to file holy ping; perfor he pat cursi]?
vniustly filip pe holi body of pe kirk, fro warn he pulli]? out vniustly
his membre. And I deme not but pat ilk curse is to be deede, for
pat he is cursid vniustly, howip to examin him diligently after holi
writte, pat he be not gilty in ani ping. Pe secounde he houip to
drede of pe perel of him )?at cursip vniustly. And pe prid of harm
of pe broj?er pat may cum of pe forbodun of pe comunicatise doc-
Lincoln. trine of broker. And pis dede Lincoln, pat he callip to pe popis
cowrt, wan he was manifold greuid pore, he appellid stalliworpli
fro pe court of Innocent pe ferpe, vn to pe barre of Crist. Nepeles
it is not to deme pat ne it is leful to curse accessorily ; for pat
tendip but to men lifing actifly ; syn pat execucoun of pis curse
i Cor. vi°. sauerip seculer cause, and pe Apostil biddip, If 36 hau seculer nedis,
ordeyn poo pat are contemptible, pat are in pe kirk, to deme. And
Decre. pis is notable to wite, in pe decre vndre autorite of pe sen3e and of
seint Jerome, were after pat he schewip pat vnleful curse hirtip not
him pat is notid per wip, os innocents, he seip, mai not be
condempnid wip pe crime of a noper, he obiectip vnder pis forme,
Crist seip, and pe Apostil : Blesse and wil 36 not curse. Mischel
was not hardi to 3eue dome of blasfemy to pe fend, most worpi
Jude j°. curse, as pe Apostil seip, howe mykil more howe we to be clene of
al cursyng. pe fend seruid curse ; but blasfemie howip not to go
out of pe aungelis moup. Rede pe holde bokis, and see wilk lynage
were sett in pe hille of Gari3ym to bles pe puple ; and wilk in pe
hille of Hebal to curse. Ruben pat filid his fadir bedde, and Zabloun
WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY. 23
J?e last son of Lia, and ]>e sonis of ]?e wengis were sette in ]?e hille
of Hebal to curse hem ]?at were worj?i curse. And wan we are
taw}t gostly of alle storis of ]?e wold testament how it is to do in
tyme of grace, it semi]? ]?at half of )?e linage blessing betokyn hem
)?at charitabli purli for desire of hietis of Crist comyn to )?e hille ;
}>e to]?er half cursing meni]? hem ]?at for drede of torment filling
]?e lawe comun to J?e hille. Also ]?ei tokun actifis and contem-
platifis ; ]?at sterun to vertewe be ]?er two maneris. pe souereynes
of ]?e kirke howun not to curse for temporal ]?ingis ; ne bisy a bowt
hem, but bles and preche. pat it is leful for to curse semi); of ]?e
oold stori, and of ]?e newe testament ; but ]?e canoun distingui]? Canoun.
t?us ; Cursing ]?at is forbidon is ]?is ]?at procedi]? of wille of veniaunce
or hate of ]?e perseware, not purli of )?e luf of ri3twisnes ; and
proui]; J>is of mani witts of seyntis. perfor it is certeyn ]?at iche
man cursing, wi]? out stering of ]?e Holi Goost first cursing, or not
]?enkyng charitabli good of him ]?at is cursid, and good of ]?e kirk,
he synni]? greuowsly ; ]?erfor sei]? ]?e canoun, vnder autorite of Gre- Canoun.
gori, Prestis synnen not in J»at curse, in wilk ]?ei discord not fro
)?e innare iuge. And after, vnder ]?e autorite of Austeyn, Sogets Austeyn.
ben correctid of o]?er prouastis wi]? correccoun comyng of charite,
and for J>e diuersite of synnis. But now it semi]? to men wel be
haldyng ]?at prelats and prestis ]?eis daies in ]?e court of pleet, and
]?ei pat persewen causis a} en ]?er neybors, enfectun and warioun
hem silf manifold and sinfully foilun ilk o]?er. Also ]?at mani
cursing now blowun in ]?e kirk are not to be dredde, not but in
als mikil of ]?ei smotte ]?e curse or o]?er of cause on o]?er side. And
til is concordyng to ]?e first curse of God. It is semyng be ]?is
wan it is no]?er foundid in holi writt, ne in ]?e lif of Crist, ne of
his Apostlis. But alle ]?ings ]?at prelats owun to do are sufficienly
groundid ]?er, and ]?an sij>en ]?ei curse not ]?us, it is not to drede
oj?er wise, ]?an as is seid before in J>e strong autorite. Also for
Crist forbedi]? swilk maner of cursing, os now in case is vsid in ]?e
24
WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY.
Luc.
Salamon.
Close.
Salm.
cviii0.
1 Cor. vic
Mai. i°.
Salme
cviii".
Mat. i°.
kirk. As )>e gospel of Luc telli}?, and absteni]? ]?erfro as it semi])
of Schario]?, and neuer]?eles in him was more cause of cursing ]?an
in sum ]?at to day are blawun in ]?e kirk. It vali]? not to seie ]?at
Petre cursid Anani, and Poule ]?e fornicary, for ]?ei cursid be a
cursing ]?at mani prelats to day kan not, nor hau not power to.
Petre be tok Anani bi dede going be for to ]?e fend to be tormentid
perpetuali. And Poule be toke ]?e fornicari to sa]?anas til a tyme,
}?at his spirit schulde be saue. But mani prelats are out of part of
J>is maner of cursing. Also bi ]?e fei]? of ]?e gospel no man owi]? to
curse a no]?er not but of charite ]?at he ha]? to him, for of ]?e fei]?
we owe to luf our enmies, and also for to do alle ]?ings in charite,
for mani man cursi]? now not for charite, and ]?erfor not fei]?fully.
A part prouid of ]?is signe, ]?at ]?ei curse more souare and horribe-
lare hem ]?at ]?ei hatun, as it semi]? of hem ]?at are cursid for J>ei
wil not }ef money or reuereris to ]?e mynisteris of ]>e kirk. And
]?us it semi]? ]?at prelats mai mikil drede of ]?er cursyng hem silf,
and o]?er ioi of ]?er cursyng, and dred mikil ]?er blessing; for
Salamon sei]?, Cursing veinli brout schal pletesuowsli descende in
to summe man ; ]>at is as ]?e glose sei]?, in to him ]?at bringi]? it
for]?. And sei]? ]?e salm, He lufid cursing, and it schal cum to him.
And he dede on cursyng os a clo]?, and entred as water in to his
inword ]?ings, and as oyly in to his bonis. Be it made to him a
clo]?e ]?at he is helid wi]?, and as belt ]?at is he ai gird wi]?. And
Poul sei]?, Cursars schal not weld ]?o kyndam of God. And bi ]>e
Prophet God sei]? ]ms, Noweto 3ow prestis ]?is sonde, if 36 wil not
sett to ]?e hert to }ef glory to my name, sei]? ]?e Lord, I schal sende
hunger vn to 3ow, and I schal curse to 3or blessing, and I schal
curse to hem, for 36 sett not to ]?e herte. And on]?e to]?er side ]?e
salme sei]?, ]?ei schal curse, and ]?u Lord schalt blesse. And so sei]?
Crist, 36 schal be blessid wan men schal curse 3ow, and persew
3ow, and sey al iuel a3en 3ow, and reproue 30W, and cast out 3oure
name as iuel, Hand vp on 3ow for me, and for ]?e gospel ; ioie]? and
25
bep glad, for }or mede is plentiuous in heuen. God bring us to his.
And prelats mai sore drede, pat her vniust and iuilwilly cursing
be in cause whi pe puple dredip not cursing, nor mendip not, but
a3enstondip and risip a} en hem ; and pis is cause of al iuil, for ilk
crature wip God au}t to 3enstond falshed : for pus is writun in pe
Psalme, Who schal rise to gidre wip me a}enis pe iuil willid, or Psalm
who schal stonde wip me a}en pe wirking wickidnes. And pe wise
man, pe gelousy of him schal tak armor, and arme pe crature to
venge him on pe wickid, and wip him al pe world schal f^t a3eri pe
vnwitti, and pe spirit of vertu schal stond a}en, and as a wirlwynd
schal diuide hem ; and wickydnes schal bring al 3erp to wildrenes,
for cursing pe 3erp swellip, and iuil wille schal turne out pe setis
of pe mi3ti. And as seynt Jame seip, As ]?e welle mai not bring Jac. m0,
for]; of o pitte bitter water and swete ; so mai we not blesse God
wi]? ]?e mou]?, J>atwe curse man made to his lekenes.
pis is a no]?er point, for I seid pat Crist was cursid. But J>ei IV. Crist
toke heuely at ]?e worde, perfore I preied to excuse me or spare was curstd-
me in termis ; and neuerpeles to trewe vnderstonding me Jnnki]?
it mai be seid sopli, and wip out blame : for we schal vnderstond
bi Holi Writte, and bi teching of seynts and bi resoun, and bi
comyn experiens, pat in pre maners is a man seid cursid. Ffirst 10-
and warst be synne, wan he cursip himsilf, and bi his wickid dede
gop out of comyn of holi men, and vndisposip him to tak part of
merits of pe kirk. And pus mai not God curse ani man, ne bid
ani man curse, ne a proue it, ne pus was Crist neuer cursid, for he
synnid neuer. In pe secound maner is man cursid iustli, wan 2°.
God wordeynip him for pis synne to be putte to peyn, and out of
comyn, and to be waried, or denouncid, or schewid, as cursid and
haldun swilk. And pus is man iustli cursid and worpili, wan men
curse him bi Godds biddyng, and pan pei do it medefully. And
pus God cursip men, and pe 3erp, and bests, and oper pings in
mannis wark, wan he ordeynip peis pings to be noyous to man, and
CAMD. SOC. 14. E
26
punisch him, and not to bring for]; frut ; and pus he seip he wille
curse to her blessing, wan pei wil not kepe his bidding ; for wan
pei prey for plentey, and pees, and swilk oper pings, and delitun in
peis pings, and 3ekun per synnis par by, he wil send hem skarnes
and noi3es, and pole hem to haue debate, and punische hem in mani
wyes, and ay pe moo lusts pat pei haue here, ay pe more schal ben
per peyn. And pus he cursip to per blessing. And so pis pat
mani callun blessing is cursing. And a3en ward ; pus we prayen
iuil and cursing to our neybor iustli, wan we desire pat discese
and oper enuyes be to hem to lette hem of iuil and to mak hem to
drede synne and to do bettar. And pus we blame childre and
lob 3°. misdoars. And pus lob cursid his day. And Jeremy pat man pat
Jer. 20°. Callid his fadre pat a son was born to pirn, and as bi ioy gladid him,
for pey desirid pat peis schuld lette men fro doing of iuil and be in
a maner to stere men to be heuy of per mysse and to desire to be
heyne ; for pus were good to mani a man, pat pings were in desesse
to him, pat now are in mikil leking. But }et in pis maner of curse
pat men curse man iustli for his misdede, was Crist not cursid,
for he seruid not to be cursid, nor God bad not men curse him, ne
}0- pei dede not pis iustly to him. But in pe prid maner a ping is seid
cursid wan men cursun man pow pei do it vniustly, or bannun him,
or puttun him out of comyn, or haldun him cursid, or denounce,
or schew him cursid. And pus comyn speche callip men cursid.
And bi lawis of pe kirk men are pus cursid, and bidun to be holdun
cursid, wan pei are wel good, and pe more blessid of God. And
pus Crist was cursid of men, and olden cursid, and put out of
Gal. 3°. comyn of men, and put to dep as cursid man. And pus seip Poule,
He was mad for vs pat cursid ping, pat we schuld be mad blessid
Ysa. 53°. in him. And pe prophet Ysaye, pat we arettid him as smitun of
God and lafte, and pus he seip bi pe prophet pat alle men cursun
to him. But for pis is he mikil pe bettar and not pe wars. And
we schuld luf him pe bettar and desire pus to be cursid wip pirn,
27
as Poule dede, and Moyses, and odir, as Holi Writt seip of hem 5
for Poule seip he desirid to be cursid of Crist for his brewer, to RO. 9, «.
make hem saue. And Moises praied to fo^eue pe puple per EX. 32°.
synne, or ellis to do him out of his book; not pat pei desirid to do
synne and be cursid wordily ; but pat pei wold pus wip out desert
be punischid as cursid for pe peple, to make pern saue. And pus
schuld we alle if we were in charite, as me pinkip.
And it semip bi sindre resouns it mai be seid pat Crist was 1°.
cursid ; first bi pis pat he was made man wip outun synne ]?at was
cursid of God, and iustli put out of lordschip and comyn for a tyme.
pe secound, for he was in his persoun pus wi]? out desert punischid, 2°-
as if he had ben cursid. pe prid, for he is cursid in his membris pat 3°-
are oon wip him. After pis pat he seip, pis pat 36 dede til ani of
hem lest of myn good or mil, 36 did it to me. And pat 36 ded not
to hem 36 ded not to me. And pis schuld maak men rad to do
ani iuil to ani good man, or to curse him, or to gruch a3en him,
for it soundip in to Crist. And perfor seid Moyses, 3or grucching Ex- 16°'
is a3en ]?e Lord. ]?us as he is seid cursid J;at men cursun. And
as al men of a comynte berun punisching for ]?e defaut of two or on,
]?us it is be twen Crist and vs, for J>us was he punischid for vs.
And ]ms sei]? Peter )?at he bare our synnes, for he bare ]?e peyn of Pe- 3°-
hem. And ]?us he calli]? our synnis and our defauts his. And
]ms he seij> in ]?e Salm, God my God loke in to me, why hast J?u Salm. 22.
left me, fare fro my heyle, ]?o wordis of my defauts. And God 3et
left neuer Crist, but ay is wij? him, for he do]? ai J>o J>ingis J>at plesun
God, os himself sei}>. But for he }>olid him ]ms be punischid, and
for he left sum membris of ]?e kirk at a tyme, for pis he seij? pat
he left him. And pus was Crist callid a synnar and blasfemer,
and pe cursidist man in 3erpe, for pei seid pat he was a deuowrar,
and pat he blasfemid. And pus, as we sey pat man a 3efe blasfeme
or cursid, wan he is pus iugid and rettid of men, pow he be not so
in sopnes, in pis maner we sey of Crist pat he was blasfem, synnar,
28
and cursid, and fat he 3et was not ; for he blasfemid not, ne
synnid, ne did no f ing worf i curse ; and fat Crist wold f ole al f is
schuld we be glad, and leren to f ole wif him ; and fan bi fat we
schal be holdun of God f e more blessid, and be f e more blessid,
and be so perceyuers of Cristis meritis.
v. ich An Oj,er is yls ^ is put and askid, fat ilk prest may vse f e key
vse the key. in to ilk man. To f is, me f inkif , I may wel sey f us, syn al power
is. of God, and, as fe gospel self, fer is no power but of God, ne
man may do no f ing, but if he 3eue him f e mi3t ; as Crist seif,
36 may wif out me do no f ing, fat onely a man vse his power in to
ilk f ing, as God werkif bi him, and lefif him to vse it vnblamf ally,
and no forf er, and fro fat may no man lette him. And f is is fat
we sey, fat we may of ri3t so, if fer be ani vsing of power, or callid
power, fat is not bi Crist, fat is no power, but fals pride, and
presumid, and onli in name, and as to 3end and effect is now3t.
Neuerf eles, a man is seid to haue power, and leue to vse power,
in many wyse, as sum bi lawe and ordre of kynd, sum bi lawe
and ordre of grace, and some bi lawe and ordre made and writun.
And so it is seid bi lawe fat is mad of f e kirk, fat ilk prest haf f e
same power to vse f e key in to ani man in f o poynt of def , as f e
pope ; but not ellis, not but autorite in special be 3euun to him
of f e kirk fer to. But if it be askid, if ilk prest mai vse f e key in
to ilk man, fat is to sey, to assoile him, or ellis to bind him fro
grace, it semif opunly fat ilk prest may not asoile ilk to bring him
Matt. 13°. to heuyn ; for f e gospel seif, fat Crist in a coost of f e Jewis mi3t
not do ani vertu fer, for f e vntrouf , not but helid a few seek, f e
handus leyd vpon, and he maruelid for fer vntrowf ; fan, wan
Crist, fat is God Almi3ty, and of his absolut power may al f ing,
and no f ing is vnpossible to him, nor no f ing may a3en stond him,
and 3et may not of his ordinat power 3ele f e folk for fer ontrowf,
and vndisposicoun, and vnabilite to reseyue, mich more ani of er
benef may not help, but after f e disposicouri of him fat receyuif .
Al so it semi]? bi ]?is, ]?at J?e pope may not bring in to grace, ne
bles, him ]?at lasti]? in vntrow]?, and in ]?er synnis ; os it semi]? bi
Jewes and Saracenis and o]?er swilk, os is witnessid, and of fei]?ful
witnes. Also God 3aue him no fairer power, not but asoyl hem
]?at wil leue ]?er synne, or to bynd hem and curse ]?at wil dur'e ]?er
inne. And bi so ]?e same resoun none o]?er prest may not excede.
And if it be axid weper ilk prest ha]? as mykil power as ]?e pope, as
a nenist God, it semi]? to me J?at is foly to a ferme in Jns case oi]?er
}ie or nay, be for ]?at it mai be schewid out of Holi Writte. Arid
so it semi]? al so to me it is foly ani prest to presume him to haue
euyn power wi]? ilk o]?er, be for ]?at he may ground him in ]?e fei]? ;
and foli it were to deme to ani man any power ]?at God ha]? 3euun
to him, or ]?e vsyng ]?er of; for certeyn I ^.m, how euer ani man
tak power to him, or vse power, it profi]? not, but in as myche as
God 3eui]? it, and wirki]> wi]? it, and confermi]? it; and certayn I
am, ]?at ]?e power ]?at God 3aue Petre, he 3aue it not to him alone,
ne for him alone, but he 3aue it to ]?e kirk, and for ]?o kirk, and to
edifying of al ]?e kirk ; os he 3eui]? ]?e si5t of ]?e ee, or ]?e act of ani
membre of ]?e body, for help and edifying of al ]?e body. And
Sent Jerom sei]?, Sum tyme ]?e prest was ]?at ilk ]?at ]?e bischop. Jerom.
And bi for ]?at bats were made in religioun bi stinging of ]?e fend,
and was seid in ]?e peple, I am of Petre, I of Poule, I of Apollo,
I of Cephas, ]?e kirkis were gouernid bi ]?e comyn of prestis coun-
seil. But after ]?at ilk man callid him ]?at he bapti3id his, arid not
Grists, ]?an was in al ]?e world wordeynid ]?at on of ]?e prestis
schuld be made chefe, and ]?e seedis of scysmis schuld be tan a
wey. ]?er as prestis wit hem to be to ]?er souereynis sogets be
custum of ]?is kirk, so knaw bischopis hem to be more of custum
]?an of dispensacoun of Goddis trow]?, to ]?er sogets, ]?e more ]?er
souereyns, and in comyn ]?ei owe to gouern ]?e kirk. Lo I sey
bischops present, and ]?at ]?ei stondun nere him, prests mai
in ]?e autere mak ]?e sacrament. But for it is writun, Prestis pat 1 Tim. 5,
30 WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY.
prestun wel bi )?ei wor)?i had dowble honor, most ]?at pei trauel in
word and teching : it semi)? hem to preche, it is profit to bles, it is
congrew to sacre, it cordi]? to hem to 3 cue comyn, it is necesari
to hem to visit ]?e sek, to pray for ]?e vnmi3ti, and to fele of ]?e
Jerom. sacraments of God, perfor non of ]?e bischopis, enblawen wi)? enuy
of ]?e fendis temptacoun, wrap, if prestis ouerwile exort or monest
]?e peple, if pei preche in kirk, if pey blesse pe floe, for I schal sey
pus to hym pat wernip me peis pings, he pat wil not prestus do
ping pat pei are bidun of God, sey he wat is more pan Crist ? or
wat may be put beforn his flesch and blode ? And if pe prest sacre
Crist wan he blessip pe sacrament of God in pe auter, awip he not
to blessip pe peple, pat dredip not to sacre Crist ? A 36 vniust
prestis porow 3or bidding pe prest of God stintip J>e office of bless
ing, a bowt levvid men and women ; he stinti)? J?e wark of tong,
he ha)? no tayst of preching, he is dockid on ilk part, he ha]? only
]?e name of prest, but he holdi]? not J?e plente ne ]?e perfeccoun ]?at
falli]? to his consecracoun. I pray 3ow prestis wat honor is ]?is to
3ow, ]?at 36 bring in ]?e damage of alle ]?e folke? for wan wor]?i
diligence is taken a wey fro prestis bi power, sum smiting of mis-
chef rysi]? in )?e flok; and 36 geyt harme of )?e Lordis patrimoyn,
til 36 alon wil be potentats in )?e kirk. And for ]?i seyn o)?er men
)ms, if a bischop in conferming )?at he appropri]? to him silf wi]? out
ground of ]?e Scripter, 3eui)? grace, whi not a simple prest pat in
merit is more at God, of mor merit, gefe mor worj?i sacraments ?
Sum tyme was no resoun, wan ]?e same was bischop and prest.
And bi forn ]?at presched was hied, or veriliar filyd cursidly bi )?e
world, ilk prest of Crist was callid indifferently prest and bischop,
as it semi]? be ]?e wordis of Jerom.
VI. Iche An o]?er is )?is, ]?at ilk prest is holdun to preche. ]?is haue I seid
jmst is of j^g WOrdis of Gregor, Austeyn, and o]?er. And )?is steri]? me to
preche. seye )?us, for ilk man is olden to do ]?ing ]?at Crist eriioyni)? him to
do. And it semi); bi witnes of seyntis, pat Crist enioyni]? ilk prest
31
to preche, and ]?an he is boundun ]?er to. And )?is semi]? bi ]?e
gospel ]?at sei]? ]?us. After ]?at Crist had ordeynid his apostlis, and Luc' 10t
sent hem to preche ; after he assignid seuenty and two disciplis,
and sent hem be forn his face, two and two, in to ilk place and
cite widir he was to com, and bad hem preche ]?e kyridum of God ;
vpori wilk sei]? an expositor ]?us. Crist sent his two and seuenty
disciplis, and }aue power to performe it. And sin it is prouable
j?at ]?ei were not prests, for ]?an had J?ei ben bischopis, and apostlis,
but ]?ei were dekunis, lowar ]?an prestis, as Steuyn, and silk o]?er
J?at is redd of in apostlis dedis, it semi]? ]?at Crist, sending hem to
]?is office, sendi]? in his ordeyning al o]?er heiar, as prestis, to J>e
office; to )?e same soundun ]?e wordis of ]?e prelat ordening dekunnis.
Were fore in be fourt book of sentence, ]?e fowr and twenti distinc- Maff- sent-
. ' . . H°- 4. 24 (L
coun, J?us is writun ; To J?e decoun it pertem]? [to] stond ni3e ]?e
prest, and minister to him all ]?ings ]?at are don in ]?o sacraments
of Crist, to bere ]?e crose, to preche ]?e gospel, and ]?e pistil ; for
as ]?e olde Testament to ]?e redars, so is bedun to dekunnis to prech
]?e newe. And ]?is same sei]? Seint Ysidor, as it is put in J>e decrees. Ysidor.
For YI sei]? Seint Gregori, Poule sei]; to Thimo]?e, ]?at ]?e prest be Gregor. in
mi3ti to exort in al doctrin, and argu hem ]?at a}en seyn ]?e kty-^ddt'w
]?er for is seid bi ]?e prophet Malachie, ]?e lippis of ]?e prest schal Mai. 2°.
kepe sciens, and men schal ask ]?e law of his mow]?e, for he is ]?e
aungel of J?e Lord of hostis, ]?er for ]?e Lord monesti]? be ]?e prophet
Ysaie seing, Crie, cese not, vphauns }?i vois os a trompe. Who Ysaie 58°-
]?at niy]? to prest hed he taki]? ]?e office of a criar, ]?at he go criing
for ]?e goming of ]?e iuge pat ferfulli folowi}?. Werfor }?e prest,
going in and out, die)? if he go wij? out ]?e sound- of preching. But
here sum glosun and seyn, ]?at preching is her vnderstonden reding
at ]?e messe, and )?at Gregori spak }?is of curats ; but swelk men
be howuen tak hede, ]?at bi ]?is are not curats excusid J»at prechun
not ; and it folowi]? not J?er of ]?at simple prestis are excusid bi ]?is,
for he spak to curats, and be ]?ei ware ]?at ]?ei knitt not falsly a wey
32
WICLIFPE'S APOLOGY.
F*a. 43°.
pe witt fro pe lecture, and here fals witnes vpon seynts, and diseyue
simple prestis bi per fraudis, wening pus to be excusid ; for God
seip bi Ysaie, pi fadir ]?e first synnid, and pin enterpretors ban
brokyn pe lawe a3enis me. And tak pei }ed bow Gregor seip to
pressed ; he seip not to cure. And ]?ei pat seyn pis precbing is
takun for reding, take pei }ede to preche, for in a langwag
vnknowun ilk man and womman mai rede, and mani are for bodun
to prech. And if ilk man mai precb it, it were but foly to go to
pe bordres to geit more iarcbe. And also take pey }ed bow to
preche ; pe bolde Testament was bodun dekunis, weper not in tong
pat pe peple vnderstode ; for sop to precbe is in sicbe maner to a
monest good pingis, as Crist bad bis disciplis do, wan be sent hem
to preche, per for be pei ware pat pus wenun to excuse prestis, for
Austeyn. Austeyn seip pus, fewe are pe prestus pat prechun iustli pe Word
of God, but many are stille dampnably, sum of vnkunning, pat
refuse to be tau3t, oiper of neligens, pat despice Goddis Word, but
noiper pei nor pei mai be excusid of pe syri of per stilnes ; sin pei
how not to be prests pat can not preche, ne pei to be stille pat
Crisost. can, pow pei be not curatis. And pus seip Crisostum, it semip pat
God enionip to doctors and dekunis pe minstri of prestbed, and of
dekunhed, pat are ri3tful, and it semip pat men hau ordeynid hem
pat are vniust, and not curatis. And so of pe ping issewe is
knowun who is ordeynid of God, and who of man ; he pat dop
wel his minstri, pat semip pat he is ordeynid of God, and he pat
dop it not wel, is ordeynid of man, pe wilk sopli as to God, is neiper
dekun ne prest. perfor seip Isidor, kunne per prestis Holi Writt,
and pe canouns, and pat al per wark be in preching, and in doc-
trin, and edify pei alle men, as wel of sciens of pe feip as in dis-
ciplyn of dedis, perfor pe prestis, but pei make opun al trowp in
pe peple, pei schal 3eue resoun at pe day of dome ; as God seip bi
Ezech. 3° pe prophet, Lo I haue sett pe a be holdar to pe hows of Israel, if
pou sey not to pe wickid man, pat he go fro his wickid weies and
Isidor.
WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY* 33
lefe he schal dye in his synnis, and I schal seek his blod of J?in hond.
And for so]; prestis schal be dampnid for wickidnes of ]?e peple, if ,
J?ei lere hem not wan ]?ei are vnkunand, nor snyb hem not wanne
]?ei synne. And as it cordi]? to argu ]?e synnar, so it falli]? to not
do veniaunce to ]?e iust man. pis sei]? Seynt Isedor. And ]?us it
semi)? J>at ]?ei are boundun her to vnder ]?e peyn of dedly synne
and dampning to helle. And for obieccouns arid sophims ]?at men
may mak and obiect, it semi]? to me ]?at ]?ei are bounde J>us ; ilk
man taking presthed, he taki]? him mater to mak him holy, body
and soule and spirit, and so to be holy and halow o]?er, be en-
saumple of lyuing, word of teching, and ministring of sacraments,,
after ]?e sentence of Poule, in ]?e ordening of prestis, seyng ]?us, 2 Tim. t°.
Wil ]?u not tak reclesly ]?e grace of God ]?at is in ]?ee bi )?e putting
vp on of my honds. And ]?us he sei]? to Titus, For ]?is I left ]?e at Ad Titum
Crete, ]?at ]?u mend ]?ingis ]?at wantun, and ordeyn bi sy}t prestis,
as I haue ordeynyd ]?ee, and disposid to ]?e ; if ani is man wi]? out
wif of synne, hauing fei]?ful sones, not in accusing of lechery, or
not soget, for ]?e bischop be howui]? be wi]? out crime, as a dis-
pensar of God, nor proud, ne wra]?ful, ne 3euin to drink, ne
strikar, ne coueytous of foul wynning, but to holde hospital, and
to be bening, sobur, just, holy, chast, biclipping ]?e fei]?ful word
]?at is after doctrin, ]?at he be mi3ti to exort or monest in his doc-
trin, and snib hem ]?at a} en seyn ]?e so]?e. Also dekunis to be 1 Tim. Uj°.
chast, not dowble tongid, not 3euun to mikil to drink, ne fowlow-
ing fowle wynning, hauing ]?e priuey witt of ]?e fei]? in a pure con-
sciens ; and first be ]?ei prouid, and so, hauing no crime, minister
]?ei ; be ]?ei ]?e man of a wife, ]?at goueren wel ]?er sonis and J?er
housis, and ]?at ministrej? wel, schal geit him a good decre in mikil
trist in ]?e fei]? ]?at is in Itiu Crist. And be ]?u ensaumple of fei]?ful l Tim. iv°.
men in word, in leuing, in charite, in fei]?, in chastite ; take to reding,
and to exerting, and to theching, and to be stonding in hem ; ]?enk
]?eis ]?ingis oft, be ]m in )?eis f>ings, )?at ]?i going for]? be made opun.
CAMD. SOC. 14. F
34 WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY.
And doing peis pings, pu schalt mak pi seluen sane, and hem pat
i Tim. v°. herun pe. And prestis pat prestun wel be pei hade worpi dowble
honor,, and most pei pat trauelun in word and in dede, teching. pus
it semi]? pat pei are bound to hold pis forme of Hue in hemsilue,
and ai to be redy to ken oper and to minister to hem. And were
euer bi oportunite, or conpetent acordauns, to be redi to fil it in
dede, wip out dispensacoun, and wip out excusacoun, but if our
Lord Iftu Crist despens wip hem, and excuse hem, or for bed hem.
1 Cor. xi°. For no man sett a noper ground pan it pat is sett, pat is Crist Ihu,
Apoc. iy°. pat hap pe key of Dauip, and he closip, and pan no man opunip, he
opunip, and pan no man sperrip, neper is no man worpi to opun
pe lasing of his sclio ; pat is pus to vnderstond : as no man is wor]?i
to opun }>Q priueite of his incarnacoun, ne to fynd J?e resoun of al
his warkis, so is no man wor]?i to mak a letter or title of his to
go by vnfillid, ne to put more ]?er to, ne to draw ]?er fro, ne to
chaunge it, noi]?er to lowse J»athe byndi];, ne to bynd ]?at he lowsij;,
befor J>at he 3eui]? ]?e key, and kenni]? to opun and to steyke ;
J>erfor tent pei so, and here ]?ei al ]?ing ]?at ni3ej> to presthed, and
alle f>at admitten o]?er )?erto, and J>at enforcyn to excuse hem fro
dede of preching, and to excuse hem in pride of lif, worldly
coueiteis, coueiteis of een, and coueiteis of flesche, tent ]?ei to ]?eis
]?ingis be for seid. And to J>oo ]?at God sei]; bi ]?e profet, son of
man, putt to hert, and see wij> ]?in een, and here wi]? ]?in heris, alle
)?ings ]?at I spek to ]?e, of al cerimoynis of J»e house of J>e Lord,
and of lawis J>er of, and ]?u schalt sett pin hert in J>e weyes of ]?e
temple, bi al J?e issewis of pe sanctuari ; and J>u schalt sey to pe
house of Israel stering me to wrap, peis pings seip pe Lord God ;
sufficip to 3ow al 3or felonies hous of Israel ; for pat he bring in
alien sonis vncircumsicid in hert, and vncircumsicid in flesch, pat
pei be in my sanctuari, and fyle myn house, and 36 offer my lofis,
mi gres, and my blod ; my couanant 36 dissoluen in al 3or felonyes,
and han not kepid pe biddings of mi sanctuari, and han put kepars
WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY. 35
of my sanctuari obseruaunce to 3or silf ; f eis f ings seif f e Lord
God, Ilk alien kynd and vncircumsisid in hert, and vncircumsisid
in flesch, schal not go in to my sanctuari, ilk alien son fat is in
medil of f e hous of Israels sonis. But and f e leuits, fat ban gon
a wey fro me in error of f e sonis of Israel, and ha]? errid fro me
after f er idols, and haf born f er wickidnes, fei schal be in my
sanctuari huschers, and portars of f e 3atis of f e house, and minis-
tres of f e hous ; fei schal sle f e bernt offrings and ofFrings of vic
tories of f e peple, and fei schal stond in f er si}t fat fei minister to
hem ; for f i fat fei ministred to hem [in] f e si}t offer idols, fei are
mad in f e house of Israel in to offens of wickidnesse, aftir I haue
liftid vp my hand vp on hem, seif f e Lord God, and fei schal here
f er wickidnes, and schal not m3e to me, fat fei vse presthed to me,
ne nye to al my sanctuari, bi f e sancta sanctorum, but fei schal
bere her confusioun, and her felonyes fat fei haue done ; and I
schal 3eue hem portars of f e hous of luda, and al ministery f er of,
and al fings fat ben don }?er in. But fe prestis and j?e leuits,
sonis of Sadok, fat han kepit ]?e cerymonis of my sanctuari, wan f e
sonis of Israel errid fro me, fei schal ni3e to me, fat fei minister
to me, and stond in my si3t, fat fei offre my grece to me, and my
blod, seif f e Lord God. pei schal go in to my sanctuari, and fei
schal to mi bord ni3e, fat fei minister to me and kepe mi cery-
moynis. Certeynli f o hous of God her is tane f e congregacoun Moral.
of feif ful men, in onhed of spirit wif Crist, fat is f e general kirk,
and gostly body of Crist, fat is foundid in feif, reisid in hope of
lif, and couerid wif charite, and ful mad in good werkis ; fat haf
for f e ground, f e feif of Crist, fat is f e ston vp on wilk f e kirk is
groundid ; hope for f e fowre walls, hoping al iuel to turne to joy
to seynts, be vertu of Grists pascoun, and al f ings to cum in to
blis, be vertu of f e first geyting of Crist to vs al f ing a boue us
frutfully, and to vse al f ing be nef man blessidly ; of f e wilk
grouif charite heling al f e bigging. To f e bigging of f is f e prest
36 WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY.
howif to trauel, and to be bisi, to ding doun of f e contrari ; f e
cerymoynis and f e lawis of f is hous are f e biddingis and f e conseyl
of f e gospel, 3euun be Crist and his Apostls, and ensaumplied be
life, to f e wilk f e prest schuld put to f e hert, fat is f e strengf of
his luf, and wif f e eeris and een of his hert, he schuld vnderstond
hem, and kepe hem in himsilf, and ken fe peple to kepe al f ingis
fat Crist haf comoundid. But alien sonis vncircumsicid in hert
and flesch, are fei fat serue not Crist in spirit, ne in fleschly dedis
gostly. For fei enter not to f e lif bi f e maner of Crist in meknes,
pouert, paciens, and labour, and of er vertuus dedis : but fei enter
for to lif in prid of f e world, and worldly riches, and lustis of f e
flesch, and f erfor fey are alien, and wif swilk cursidnes fei polewt
f e hous, for fei leede mani in to synne, and sterun God in to
wraf , and causun fat God is holdun vniust. And f us fei vndo f e
couenaunt ; wil fei kepe not f e office of presched in fat maner fat
Crist bad, but fey putt f e kepars of f e obseruaunce to hemsilf.
Wen fei welun fat fei kepe more specialy fe fings, and fe
biddingis enioynid of men, and streytar fan biddingis and f ingis
enioynid of God ; and namly, wan fey putt kepars to gedre temporal
fings to hem, after fer decre, [rather] fan to gedre souls to Inu
Crist. But here wat folowif . Sich alien and vncircumsisid schal
not enter in to f e sanctuary, for as f e Lord forbedif swilk to be
ministris, so he storif hem her fat fei schal not accept grace, wil
fei are swilk, ne schal not minister grace to f e puple, but swilk
fat han gon a wey fro God in to error and ignoraunce, and swilk
idolatrie, worschipirig man a3en Goddis bidding, and doing ofer
iuel : fei schal bere fer wickidnes, as fei han synnid, so schal fei
be punischid, and fei schal be huscheris and portars ; for as fei
opunid synnis to f e peple and brout hem ine, so schal fei enduce
hem in to peyn, and f us schal fei scle f e brent offrendis. But
prestis and leuits, f e sonis of Sadok, fat han kepid f e cerymoynis
of f e sanctuari, fei schal ni}e to minister to me ; but swilk be
WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY. 37
prestis of Crist, fat entren be him in spirit, soule, and dede, and
kennen fe peple to kepe his comaundments, and schal ni3e in to
grace, and at f e last in to ioy. And as f ei opunid f e wey of trowf
to f e peple, so schal f ei bring hem to ioi, syne and wrechednes
slayn. pus we vnderstond ; and wan f is comif fat is now seid,
fan schal we wit it; ferfor schuld bischopis dred to ordeyn vnwis
prestis, and ioi to seek f e good, for Jerom seif , fat f e vnwise sone Jermn.
is schemschip to f e modir, and f e wise sone glori of f e fadir ; ferfor
glory fe bischop, wan he ha]? chosun wise prestis, for f e cause
of ruyn of f o peple are iuil prestis.
An of er is f is, If ani 3 ere f e messe of a prest fat leuif in lechery, VII. The
and knowif him to be swilk, [he] synnif dedely. To fis I sey j^m^ary!
f us ; I rehersid oft f e word of seynt Poule, fat forbedif us to i Cor. vi°.
tak meit or comyn wif f>eis manslears, for sworn men, cursars,
drunksum men, rauenors, fornicarers, and swilk o]?er ; for J?ey ]?at
do swilk fings, schal not haue ]?e kyndum of God, for J>ei are
worf i J?e def ; not onli ]?ei fat done, but and f ei fat consentun wif
fe doars, or fei fat wirkun wif, or defendun, or 3euen conseyl or
confort, and fat autoryse it, ne helpun not to a mend, ne reproue
it not, as f ei schuld. Al so I rehersid f e decre of f e kirk, bidding Deere.
fat no man here f e messe of f e prest fat he wot dowtles haf a
concubyn, or a womman suspect preueyli browt vndre. pan seyd
ani fas to me, But wat if I wot not him swilk, what syn haue I
fan ? I answerid, frend perchauns fuhawtist to wete and enquire ;
wan f u dost not, how wilt f u be excusid ? And to f is I led him
be sensible ensaumple. And wan he tok it heuily, and wold not
vnderstond, I 3af him fis ensaumple ; 3if f u cum til a frend, and
he sett rawe meyt be for fe, and sey it is rostod i now, or sodyn,
if f u heyt it, and tak f i def , how art f u fan not dede ? And f us
it semif in mani casis, it mai be susteynid fat it is sof , f ow it be
not in ilk case. Namli sin Crist seif, He fat knowif his lordis LUC. xii°.
wille, and maid him not redy to do f er after, schal be dongun wif
38 WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY.
mani dingings, and he pat cnowip not, and dede pings worpi betings,
Autteyn. schal be dongun wip few dingings. And as Austeyn seip, Not ilk
vnkuning schal be excusid of synne, but he mai be excusid pat
fond not wat for to lere. But he mai not be excusid pat fond what
he mi3t lere, and 3af not wark per to ; and perfor we pray God for
3eue vs our ignoraunce. And per for men schuld not tak pis word
ouer egirly, per for prestis flee fornicacioun, not onli for hemsilf,
but also for all oper, pat pei make hem not to synne dedly ; for pe
gretnes of pe synne in prestis, ouer pe synne in oper men, is
schewid be many resouns ; and for it is mikil greuowsare pan simple
fornicacoun bi thwex an onlepy man, and an onlepi womman, and
it is grettar pan spouse brokun of seculer men bodily, and neuer
pe lese bop thwo are dedly synne. And pat it be pe more semip bi
pis ; for ai pe heiar degre, pe sarrar is pe falle, but presthed is heiar
degre pan bodili matrimoyn, and pus pe prest in doing fornicacoun
dop sacrile, and brekip his wow ; for bi pe vertu of his degre, he
made pe vow of chastite. Also pe gretnes of pis synne is schewid
bi pe lawis and peynis pat are made per a3en ; for pus is writun in
Decreis, j>e decreis, pe prest or dekun pat is tan in fornicacoun, peft, or
Dist. si. mansleyng, or forswering, be he deposid. And eft, If ani are
Ibid. c. prestis, dekunis, or sodekunis, pat lip in pe sin of fornicacoun, we
forbede him in almi3ti Goddis behalue, and bi autorite of Peter and
Poule, pe entre of pe kirk, til pey repent and amende ; and if pei
last in per synne, pat noon of 3ow presewme to here per office, for
per blessing is turnid in to cursing, and per prayor in to synne .
Mai. if. as God seip bi pe pron^t, I schal curse to 3our blessing; and who
so wil not obey to pis helsum bidding, he synnip in pe synne of
i Reg. xv°. ydolatrie, as Samuel witnessip, and seynt Gregor enformip ;
Greyor. synne of wichcraft is to not obey, and pe felowny of ydolatrie to
Dist. 32. not wel assent. And eft pus, Bidding we comaund, pat no man
here pe messe of pat prest pat he wot dowtles pat hap a concubyn,
or a womman suspect brout in vndir. Werfor in pe holy seyn is
WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY. 39
ordeynid J?is capitul, vnder )?e peyn ; seying : If ani of prestis,
dekunis, or sodekunis, after ]?e ordinaunce of ]?e good memorie of
our predecessor seynt Leoun, and pope Nicol, of J?e chastite of
clerk, hold concubyn opunly, or leui]? not heer ]?at he holdi)? ; vpon
almi3ti Goddis half, and bi autorite of Peter and Poule, princis of
postlis, we bid him, and a}en sey him, J?at [he] syng no messe, ne
rede no gospel, ne pistil, at ]?e messe, ne dwel not wi}> prestis, ne
tak no part of ]?e kirk. And as ]?e decretals declarun, in ]?re maneris Decretals.
is ]?is callid notory ; Oi]?er wat it is lawfuly conuictid bi witnesses, or
bi his oune cnowleching, or ellis bi ]?e dede ]?at mai not be weypid
a wey, as ]?e dwelling to gidre of ]?e man and ]?e womman, and ]?e
bringing for]? of bariiis. And eft ]?e decre sei]?, If ani bischop, or Deere.
ani of prestis, or dekunis, consent to fornicacoun, or to crime of
incest in his parische, for price or prayour, or amendi]? not J?at is
done bi ]?e autorite of his office, be he suspendid. And eft writij? Decretal.
]?e pope to )?e bischop, We bid to f>i bro]?erhed, )?at ]?u steer bisili
]?e clerkis of ]?i jurisdiccoun, )?at are wi]? in ]?e ordre of sodeken, or
a boue, J>at han concubins, ]?at )?ei moue hem fro hem, and reseyue
hem no more a}en ; and if ]?ei wernid hold hem stille, suspend hem
fro office ; and ]?ei suspendid if j?ei wel dwel stille in ]?er iuel, do
)?ey bisines to moue hem fro office for euer. And as ]?e doctor seif>, Doctor.
pis schal be heuen wi]? deposing. And forsoj? seif the pope, We
wel ]?at ]?e bischops )?at are necligent in J?is, vndir go J?e same peyn.
And eft j?e decre biddij>, ReceyuiJ> no wey j?e office of him )?at 3ee Decre.
wot lie]? in synne of fornicacoun, and of symonye, and als mikil as
3ee mai, forbedi]? swilk fro holi ministres ; for it is nedeful, for ]?ow
]?e sacraments han J>e dignite of ]?er vertu, neuer]?eles ]?ey noy ]?us
mikil bo]? to ]?e ministring, and to ]?e receyuing hem, a3en ]?e ordi
naunce, ]?at bo]; ]?e ministring and to [ ? ]?e] receyuer vnwor]?ily are
wi]? hem verrey idolatrers ; )?er for sacraments are forbidun to be
reyciuid of ]?e handis of such prestis, ]?at wan such prestis see hem
dispicid of ]?e peple, ]?ei be ]?e licliare callid to penaunce, and ]ms
40 WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY.
seyn we to our prestis bi f eis witnes, and of er moo do f us oft
idolatrie, and are vnfeifful, and f us in mani of er crimes, what
wondir if we be wounded in ilk sid, in many peynful wrechidnes.
VIII. To A nof er poynt putt is fis : he fat cursif ani man, or denouncif
that in not him cursid, wan he is not cursid, he brekif Goddis binding, berif
cursid. £js wjtnes a}en his ne3bore. pis schewif it self sof, and ofer
resouns prouun it wele. And for so]?, as he Ii3f fat seif a3en
mend, as wan he wot how a f ing is if he denay and afferm in f e
contrari ; or ells he fat presumif and wenif to wete verily of a
f ing, and properli denaif fat, and affermif f e contrari, wening him
to h'3e in fis, so h"3f he fat chargid to afferm of a f ing os it is aftur
witing, and he affermif a3en fe sof e, and a fing os it is, for in fis
he seif a3en God, and so a3en his mynde ; for f e trouf of his mynd
affermif not to him )?e fing to be but os it is ; for ]?e tofer is fals
presumpcoun. And Jms wan he affermij? him to wite fing fat he
wot not, he afFermif a3en his mynd, and namly wan fe f ing is
nowt, for he mai not wet but fing fat is, for if he wene to wit f ing
fat is not, fat is but fals presumcoun ; and for f is seif Crist in
sentence, if I denoy fis fat is, I schuld be lik 3ow a Her. On fis
schuld here witnes hang fat fei witnes not a3ens God, nor be not
disseyuid hemsilf, nor disseyue non of er men.
IX. Of pis is a nof er : it is a taking of dampnacoun fat a man lede his
lif in pouert. Certs fis is contrari to fis, fat noon is Cristis dis
ciple but if he forsak al f ing for him. Alas he fat puttif forf fis
f ing noif er dredif ne schamif to lette, ne sclaunder of er men.
Alas fat oifer throwif his lesings a3en fe bidding of God, wer to
bring fei forf suche f ings, sif Crist ledde his bodili lyfe in most
heyest pouert, as diuers doctors declaren. And he was riche, he
Psal. was mad nedy for vs, pore and helples, as f e psalm seif on him,
2 Cor. viu°. Va^ we D^ his pouert schuld be mad riche. Pore he was, for he had
Jame ii"°* nOt were tO ^e(^ ^™ heuid, and he chase f e pore in fis world, fat
Matt, v°.' are riche in f e feif , as Jame seif. And f e pore he blessid, as f e
41
gospel seip, and his apostlis led pe porest lif ; and pus he reprouid
pe rych, and seid many iuel to cum to hem, and neuerles to sum
pouert is not only a ping of saluacoun, but also of dampnacoun.
perfor hem see pore men pat pei grucche not a} en God,, but be glad
of per pornes \ for pus seip pe psalm, Lord, good is to me for pu
hast lowid me, pat I lere pi ri3twisnes. And ilk man see pat he
bring not him self synfully in to pouert, nor bide not synfully
per in. And se hem religious, pat pei feyn not falsly pouert, nor
mak pei not heyet voyd, pat pei purchas hem not peyn but meed.
And see pei pat pei oblesche no man to per maner of pouert, but
pat God hap callid per to. And alle prelats and prestis vse pei
hemsilf in wat pouert pei schuld folow Crist ; for pei schuld folow
Crist as holi doctors declaren, bop Jerom, Ambrose, and oper.
And for pe clerar declaring of pis mater we schal vnderstond pat
pouert is a forme, a ping pat is seid pore, or litil, or haldun litil in
sum maner. And pus sum are gostly pore, and sum bodily ; sum
vertuously, and sum vicously, or synfully ; and sum peynfully ;
and ilk on of hem in syndry degrees and maners. Gostly pouert
is sum tyme wan a ping hap litil of sum spirit ; and pus was Crist
most pore, for he had lest of pe spirit of prid, or oper sinful spirits,
3he lesse pan euer had ani oper man ; for al had sum synne but
he ; and lest he coueited of pis world, bop of hienes of lif, coueitise
of flesche, lest of lordschep, lest of honour worldly, or worldly
serueyse. And litil he tuk or coueytid of pis worlds goodis, or
worldly seruice, for he tuk of hem but in comyn, as pei weren
holden to do seruice to him, in pe performing of pe wark pat God
3aue him to do. But and wan men wold haue reeft him to haue
maid him kyng, he fled it ; and ouer pis he porid him self ouer alle
oper ; more alle oper mi3t for taking hede to his kynd and degre
pat he is of, and to traueyl pat he toke, and pe seruice pat he dede,
and to pe sorow pat he polid. Was per neuer creature so pore, ne
pat porid him so mich ; for ouer hem alle he chesid to be maid pe
CAMD. SOC. 14. G
42
lowist, as it semi)? to him fat beholdif . And as be titil of fis world,
and of worlds lawe, he was moost pore, for he cleymyd no f ing be
fat titil, nor no f ing to be proper to him, ne wold he not be iuge
in f er fings, nor wan men wold not 3eue him, he sowt no veniaunce
vp on hem, but went his wey to o]?er place. And fis techif his
pouert. And his pouert was bi fis mikil fe more, as he is f e richist
f ing fat mai be, and grattist Lord ; for his is God, fat is al riches ;
and in him he is riche gostly in mercy, ri3twisnes, and pees, power,
science, and al gostly f ingis. And rich is seid, as he fat chefly
haf a f ing ; and Crist is rich, for he haf chefly and richli alle
fingis, and gouernif, and ledif ouer alle of er creaturis. And bi
fis we mai see, how alle fings are his most properly; and to
holdyn of him, and bi his lawe, and his seruice to be don to him
f er for. And bi f e state of innocence he is verray Lord, for man
was maid to lord in alle creaturis, and forfetid not fat wyche
synnif not ; and Crist kepid ai fat state, so he had titil to be
Lord ; and bi f us mikil ouer Adam, as God is aboue man. And
f us is opun, how Crist is at onis bof richist and porist. And for
fis seif doctors, fat to defend f e contrary pertinatly is heresy,
contrary to f e feif . And f us he tau}t his disciplis, to flee synful
pouert, and to folow him in medful pouert ; forbad hem to flee
prid, and al fals coueyteis, and veyn glory, and to be mek and
suget, and seruiciable, obedient and buxum to ilk man, and to hold
hem paied of fode and helyng, and bisily to labor f er fore ; and
f ole deseyce of body in wantyng, and taking a wey, wif out
ani euynes, or sekeng to do veniaunce a3en ; and who fat wold
be f e more, to be minister and seruaurit to alle, and nowt glad to
mikil of f er power, or witte, or of er fings, but glad in fis, if God
haue chosun hem to grace, and 3eue f e f ank til him for alle fingis.
pus he tawt hem to do, and fle prid, and of er synnes, fat maken
man pore synfully ; to ocupie of er mennis fingis synfully, and f us
to be rich, and falsly holde ryches. And so many wyse to renne
43
in to f e wrat of God. And Jms doctors declaren f e apostols so
louid Crist in heyest pouert; and Jerom and ofer seynts kermun
how fat prestis now schuld folow Crist in pouert. pus seif Jerom,
It be howuif vs clerks to not mishews f e sygnes of our cleregye,
for alle f e tokenis of clerks, crien and presenten vertewes to be in
hem -, f e croun crief pouerte ; f e closing honeste of soule ; f e
state purte ; f e honoring, chastite ; ]?e professioun, religion a ; f e
office, deuocoun ; f e stody, contemplacoun. And f erfor but if we
schyn in f eis vertues, f e croun lief, f e closing, ]?e honoring, f e
professioun, f e office, f e stody, f e contemplacoun. And f er for
be f eis we are but peyntid clerks and lied clerkis. And if God
schal tyne alle ]?oo ]?at spek lesyng, and fat are lesing, and not
only hare clerks dampnid, for f ei spek lesing, but also for f ei luf
it moost, and putten hemsilf for it to f e def . And eft, f e clerk
fat seruif to Grists kirke, first schuld interpret f e calling of his
nam, and enforce to be fat he is seid ; for a clerk in our speche is
seid sort, and f er for are men seid clerkis, for f ei are of J>e Lordis
sort, or for f e Lord is f er part ; and for he is f e Lordis part, or haf
f e Lord his part, he haut to haue him silk fat he haue f e Lord,
and be had of f e Lord. He J>at ha)? )>e Lord, and is had of J;e Lord,
and sei]? wij? fe prophet, Mi part J>e Lord, may no f»ing haue wif> Psal- Jn>°
out ]?e Lord ; )?at if he haue ani J»ing bi syd ]?e Lord, ]?e Lord schal
not be his part ; as if he haue gold, or siluer, or diuerse instru
ments, or possessouns, wi]? ]?er parts, ]?e Lord denaie)? not to be
his part. If I am ]?e part of J>e Lord, sei]? Jero, and a litil cord of
his heritage, I take not part wij> oj>er linagis, but, as a decoun and
prest, I life on tij>is, seruing j?e auter, I am susteynd of offryng of
J?e auter ; and fode and heling hauing, wi]? hem I schal be content, 1 Tim. vi
and nakyd I schal folowe ]?e nakid cros. And Bernard sei}?, It is Bernard.
iust fat he fat seruif J?e auter lif fer of, noif er to do lechery ne
prid, nor be richid, noifer in clerked of pore to be maid riche, ne
gloriouse of f e vnnoble, big not to him of f e goodis of fe kirk
44
WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY.
x. Of
fasting.
Joel ii°.
Gregory.
XL Of
hnris.
large palayce, nor gedre not baggis to gidre, nor wast not J?e goodis
in vanite, nor in superfluite, bere him not hi3e of ]?e facultees of )?e
kirk, nor gif not to wenddingis his coseynis nor his childre. It is
grauntid to )>e if f>u serue wel ]?e auter to lif }>er of, not to do
lechery, nor to be gilt bridils, peyntid sadels, ne siluern sporis, nor
perpulid aray, fFor so]? wat J?u holdist to J>e of ]?e auter ouer necesary
liflod and simple aray, it is not Jnn, it is J?eft and sacrilege, pis
seij? he.
An oj>er poynt putt is fis : Fastingis are not necesary, wil
man absteni]? him fro o)?er synne. And as to )ns I sey )ms, ]?at
fasting generaly is not onli in forbering of meit and drink, but in
forbering of iuel, and al iuel spite, and in doing of good dedis.
pis semi]? ]ms bi J>e scripture ; for fus seij> )?e prophet, Halow jor
fasting. Wat is it, sei)? Gregory, to halow fasting, but to schew
due or wor];i abstinens of flesch, wi]? oj?er good verteuis ioined ]?er
to ; do a wey prid, wra]?, strif, and oj?er vices ; for in veyn ]?u foilist
]?i flesch wty abstinens, if J?i soule be not refreynid fro synnis.
And as sum fastingis are but of ordinaunce of J?e lawe, so bi J?e
lawe are mani excusid ]?er of; as wymmen wij? childe, and waxit
folk, wold, and 3ong, sek, and feble. And ]?e pore are excusid bi
]?e lawe. And neuer]?eles fasting is mikil profitable boj> to grace
and to blis ; for ]?us we sey to God, by bodyli fasting ]m berist
doun vices, liftist up ]?e mynd, and 3efyst vertu and medis. And
eft ]?us, ];e clere fairnes of fasting is schewid to )?e world heuenly,
fat Crist, autor of al ]?ing, abstening richid. By J?is Moyses, dere
to God, was makid 5euar of ]?e lawe ; J»is liftid up Hely bi )?e aire
in a chare of fire ; for ]?is Daniel, ouercomer of lyowns, saw misteris
of priui Jnngis ; bi J»is Ion, |?e inward frend of ]?e Spows, was clere ;
]/ise are opun in ]?e stories. God graunt in vs to folow feis ensaum-
plis of abstinence.
An o]?er poynt putt is ]?is, |?at ]?e prest is not holden to his horis
canoni3id, not but if he be to syng. To fis I answere |;us, I denoy
45
me not to haue seid pis, for perel falling in forme of lawe ; for if it
were witnessid a3enis me, pof it wer fals, if I denoyed, I schuld
be condempnid as gilty. Ne I graunt not pat I seyd it, pat I lie
not on mysilf, for I wot not pat I seid it, and mannis mynd is
sclendre. If I haue fautid, I aske for3eunes, and I wel mend. But
o ping I wot wel, if prestis are bounde to per horis bi pe lawe pat
hem silf han maid, pel howen be bound be pe charge pat Crist hap
3euen hem. And if pei haue streit conscience to faile in pis pat
hemself hap bound hem to, pei schuld haue mikil more to faile in
pis pat Crist hap bound hem to, if pei lofid and trostid him aboue
pe wark of per hondis. But if pei haue bounden hemself, per as
he maad hem free, and setten mikil bi per oun tradicouns, and litil
bi his, arid puttyn his bidding to forpfil per, and folowen wickid
coueitis and oper iuel, pan schal pis be verified in hem pat Crist
seip in his gospel, pe Holi Goost wan he comip schal find pis world Joh. xvj°.
of dome ; and eft, Whi brek 36 pe biddings of God, to kepe 3or own
tradicouns ? ypocritis, wel is prophecied of 3ow, pis peple honorip Mat. xv°.
me wip per lippis, but per hert is far fro me. In veyn pei honor
me, teching pe biddings and pe maundments of men ; leuing pe
biddingis of God, for to kepe per oune tradicouns. And eft, Wo
worp 3ow pat ti3en mynt, aneis, and comyn, and ilke herbe, and
leuen pe sadder pings of pe lawe, dome, feip, and mercy ; peis
pings howen to be done, and poo not be left. Blind foolis, clensing
forp pe knatt, but swelowyng pe camely. And for sop, as Ambros Ambros.
seip, Till pu lefe pis pat pu art bodun bi po bidding of Crist, what
ping pat pu werkyst is vnpankful to pe Holi Goost. And mani
prestis in per horis byddyn hem self Goddis curse, for pus pei sey,
Lord, pu hast blamid pe prowd, cursid bi pei pat bowen doun fro pi Ps.cxviii0
biddings.
An oper poynt is putt pus ; in pe sacrament of pe auter, aftir pe xil. Sa
consecracoun, dwellyp pe substaunce of pe brede. And pis is sope,
for pe body of Crist [which] is pe bred pat he 3af for pe lif of pe
46 WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY.
world dwellif f er ine, and f erfor f is substaunce of bred dwell!)? f er
inc. And in fis mater I remembre fat I haue spokyn and rehersid
i Cor. x°. j>e wordis of f e apostil, and of er doctors, fat f ei speke on fis
mater ; for Poule seif, pe brede fat we breken is f e part taken of
Austcyn. f e body of Crist. And Austeyn seif, pis f ing fat is seen is breed,
and fat fat fe feif askef to be enformid f e bred is f e body of Crist.
Deere. And f e decre, and of er doctors mani, a corde. And syn f er wordis
are canoni3ed, and approuid of holi kirk, oif er be houif to graunt
f er wordis, or to denay f e canoni3ing and aprouing of f e kirk ; and
fat semif not good, per for I sey as f eis seyncts doun, and trowe
as holi kirk trowif , and techif ; fat f e sacred host is verreyli f e
i Cur. a/°. body of Crist, for Crist seif soo ; and f us seif Poule, Bref er, fle
fro worschipping of idols ; I speke to 3ow as to wyse men, demif
f is f ing fat I sey ; f e cuppe of blessing fat we blesse, is not it f e
comining of Grists blood? and bred fat we brek, is it not fe part
taken of f e body of f e Lord ? for we mani are oo body, and a life
i Cor. xi°. fat alle taken part of oo lofe, and of oo cuppe ; forsof , I tok f is of
f e Lord, fat I be tok to }ow ; for f e Lord Ifru, in f e ni}t fat he
was betrayed, tok bred, and blessid, and brake, and }af his disciplis,
and seid, Take and eete all of f is ; f is is my body fat schal be trayed
for 3ow, do f is in my conmemoracoun. Also he tuke fe cuppe,
after fat he sopid, seying, pis cuppe is a newe testament in my
blod ; do f is, als oft as 30 schal take it, in to my conmemoracoun ;
for als oft as 36 schal etc f is bred, and drink f e cuppe of f e Lord,
36 schal schew f e def of f e Lord, til fat he cumme. And so, who
fat schal ete f is brede^ and dring f is cuppe vnworf ily, he schal be
gylty of f e body and blood of f e Lord, perfor man proue him
selue, and so ete he of f is bred, and drink of f is cuppe, for wo fat
etif and drinkif vnworfily, etif and drinkif dome to hymsilf, not
Amlraar. deming wisely f e body of f e Lord. And upon f is seif Ambrose
f us, It is a gostly medicyn, and memory of raunsom, bi wilk we
deserue greiter f ingis, to wilk we are tau3t to ni3t ; not but drery of
WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY. 47
J?e ni}t of oure synnes, of Jns ]?at in ]?e ni3t he was be tan for our
synnis, wan his sowle was drery to J>e de]?. And also in ]?e mynd
of ]?e same de}>, he }af his disciplis ]?is bred, and ]?e cuppe of ]?e
new testament^ and monest to take it, and ete it, doutles to be
made like to him, and innewid in to him ; he meni]? as mani as wil
be in vnite of his body ]?at is ]?e kirk. And ]ns mete is prophita-
ble to vs dwelling in ]?is vnite, boj> to body and to sowle ; fFor ]?e
flesch of Crist was peynid for the hele of our body, and his blod
was 3euen out for )?e 3ele of our soule, but profiti]? not to hem ]?at
are out of vnite ; werfor J>e apostel seij?, He J?at etij? or drinki]? i Cor. x
vnwor]?ily, ]?at is, oi)?er wij? out deuocoun, or o];er wyse J?an it is of
]?e Lord ordeynd, or dwelling in ]?e filli]? of synne, he schal be gilty
of p>e body and blod of )?e Lord; ]?at is, he schal 3eue peyn for ]?e
de)? of Crist, as if he had slayn him, and he drawi)? spot of good
]?ing to an iuel. And Austeyn sei]?, We sey )?is J>ing }»e body and Austeyn.
]?e blod of Crist, J?e wilk tan of J?e 3erJ? fro J»e frutis, and halowd bi
gostly praiors, we tak ritli to gostli 3ele, in to memory of )? e Lordis
passioun ; ]?e wilk, wan it is browt be handis of man to ]?at inuisible
spice, is halowid not but bi ]?e Spirit of God wirking inuisibily ;
for God wirki]? al J>ingis )?at are done in Jns wirk bi bodily styrings.
pis is ]?at we sey, and in all maneris striue to proue J»e sacrifice of
|?e kirk to stond to gidre in two fingis, and to be maad in two
]?ingis to gidre : J?at is, ]?e visible spicis of elements, and inuisible
flesch and blod of our Lord Ihu Crist ; sacrament and J?ing of ]?e
sacrament, ]?at is ]?e body of Crist ; as J?e persoun of Crist stondij?
to gidre of God and man, for he is verrey God and man ; for ilk
J?ing"conteniJ? in it silf ]?e trow]? and ]>e nature of J>oo Jnngs J>at it is
maad of; ]?is ]?ing ]?at is seen is breed, and J?e cuppe )?at )?e 3een
schewen ; but J»is J>at ]>Q fei]? askij? to be enformid ]?e bred is )?e
body of Crist. Also ]?e decre sei]?, I Beringary concent to ]?e holi Deere.
kirk of Rome, and as J?e apostil sei]?, I cnowlech of mowj> and hert,
me to hold ]?e same fei)? of )?e sacrament of j?e Lordis bord, ]?e
48 WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY.
worschipful sir Nicol pope in heys holi seyne3, he ha]? be tane me
of autorite of J?e gospel, and of J>e apostil, and ha]? fermid to me ]?e
bred and wyne, ]?at are putt in J?e auter, to be after )?e consecra-
coun not onli sacrament, but verrey body and blod of our Lord
Ihu Crist sencibly, not onli in sacrament, but in trow]? to be
tretid ; wi]? handis of }>e prest to be brokyn, and wij? ]?e te]? of
fei]?ful men. And mani o]?er seingis of doctors a corden to ]?is.
XIH. An o];er poynt is ]?is ; kirks are not to be worschippid, nor sergs
lIgTofhip~ to be multiplied ]?er in. I wot wat I seid. Wil ]?u offir a candil
kirkis. ]?at ]?u geyt merit and grace ; 3eue to ]?e pore, ]?at he may see go
to his bedde, or to do sum good werk ; or to wold womman, ]?at
scho spynne, or teese her wolle, or do sum good wark. And ]?at
]?is be ]?e profitabler, concorden all fei]?ful doctors, and cristen
men. And oft ]?u reproue hem f»at drawen a wey help fro ]?e pore to
Isaye. bigge deade warkis. In Ysay J?us is writun ; Refresch ]?e pore, and
Jerom. ]?at is my refresching, seij? ]?e Lord God. And Seint Jerom sei}?,
Mani biggen wall, and drawen a wey pilars of kirk, )?e marblis
shinen, ]?e bondis schinen wij> gold, ]?e auter is vmbeset vvi}> stonis,
but of ]?e ministris of Crist is no chesing. No man sett a3en me
]?e riche temple in ]?e iewes, ]?e bord, ]?e lanternis, censars, pannis,
cuppis, mortars, and o]?er forgid wi)? gold, ffor ]?eis were fan aprouid
of J^e Lord, wan prestis slow J>e ofFringis, and bests blod was re-
missioun of synnis ; ]?ow alle ]?eis went bifor in figer ; ]?ei writun
for us in to worn J?e 3endis of J>is world are comyn. But now wan
]?e Lord haj> halowid ]?e pouert of his hows, bere we )?e cros, and
kownt we gold as cley. To reue ani )>ing fro a frend is ]?eft ; to
defraude ]?e kirke is sacrilege; to haue tane ]nng to be 3euen to }>e
pore and mani hungry, and to rescue it, is vile or fals drede, or of
opunyst felony ; to wi]> drawe ani ]?ing ]?er of, it passij? ]?e cruelte
of all robbars. Hector Thebanus a man sum tyme richist, wen he
went to vse philosophic at Athenis, he kest a wey a gret peise of
gold ; he gessid pat he 11113 1 not haue to gidre, riches and vertu;
WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY. 49
we stoffid and farsid wif gold, folowen pore Crist ; and a color
of takyng of almis, we chouche a boue our mikil riches, how may
we trewly depart of er mennis f ingis, fat dredfully reseruen our
owne. pe fulle womb disputif litly of fastyng. Vp on f e wilk
seif William de Seynt Amour, Swilk maner of men bigging f us William ds
biggings semen to turne bred in to stones ; fat is to sey, f e bred
of f e pore, fat is almis beggid, in to hepis of stonis, fat is in to
stonen howsis costlew and superflew ; and f erfor fey semen werrar
fan f e fend, fat askid stonis to be turnid in. to bred. Wer for Jerom
kennif wel simple men seying, Gif no f ing to no man, ouer liflod
and opun necessaries ; fat howndis ete not f e bred of children ;
forsof , he seif , f e sowle of f e trewe man is f e temple of Crist ;
honor it, clof it, gif it 3eftis, and tak vp Crist in it. Wat profit is
it f e wallis to schine wif precious stonis, and Crist to di}e in f e
pore man for hunger. Also f us seif Crisostom, Men bigging f e Crisostom.
memoryes of martres, and honoring kirkis, semen to do a good
dede : but and if fey kepe of er ri3tfulnes of God ; if f e pore ioi
of f er goodis ; if fey mak not of er mennis goodis here bi violence
or bi fraude ; who so is vnwyse fat he vnderstondif not, for f ei
mak f er biggings, not to f e glory of God, but to mannes dome.
And vniustly f ei bigge memories were pore men, f oling violence
of hem, crien a}en hem ; for martirs ioien not fat f ei are honorid
so of f e money of swilk pore men greten ; what ri3tfulnes is f is to
3ef 3eftis to fe dead, and spoyle fe quek; taken of fe blod of
wrecchis, and offre to God ? pis is not to offre to God, but to
wylen to mak God felow of f is violence, fat if he tak gladly money
fat is offrid to him of synne, he consent to synne. Wel f u bigge
f e howse of God ? 3ef to f e feif ful pore werof fey may lif,
and fu hast biggid a resounable howse of God. Men dwellen in
biggings, but God dwellif in holy men ; f erfor wat men are fey fat
spoylen men, and makyn biggings of marters ? fey aray f e dwell
ings of men, and disturblun f e habitacouns of God. Iftu 3ed in
to f e biggings of f e temple, and sowt f e holmes of f e temple, but
CAMD. soc. 14. H
50
WICL1FFE S APOLOGY.
wan he fond in f e temple f e properte of f e temple, he went out ;
for f e bigging stod fat man had reysid, but f e holines fat God
had ordeynid was fallen ; f e temple of man is biggid of stonis of
faire composicoun, but f e temple of God is f e congregacoun of
men leuing religiously. A man delif [in] f e bigging of wallis, but
David, God in f e conuersacouri of seynts. pe prophet seif, Lord, I haue
Ps. xxv°. iouid jje fairnes. Wilk fairnes ? Not f is fat diuersite of schining
marbles maken, but f is fat f e barianns of gracis of louing me
makif ; fat fairnes delitif f e flesch, but f is quekenif f e soule ;
fat for a tym desceyuif and iapif f e 366, but f is biggif f e vnder-
stonding perpetual, pis seif he. perfor it semif good, spedi, and
meritori, fat f e kirk be honorid, neuerf eles not to mikil nor super-
flue, ne curiously, nor proudly, for glory of f e world, noif er in
biggings, noifer in Ii3ts, noif er in instruments, nor minstris ne-
cessarijs in to vse f er of ; but honestly and mesurabli honorid and
kepid in alle f ings, and mikil honestliar fan it is nowe in mani
placis ; and specialy fat feyris nor markets had no place in f e kirk,
in solempne tymis, wran men schuld tent to preyers and to Goddis
seruys ; and fat in silk tyme men tent not to idil talis, foul
spechis, harlotries, bakbityngis, or conuenticlis, purposing iuel, as
f eft, or manslawt, or swilk of er ; so no synnis were vsid in f e
kirk ; fat f e house of God be not maad a den of f ens. pus schuld
f e kirk be honorid ; but in f e quek gostly kirk, fat is f e congrega
coun of cristun men, au3te honestly to be honorid, first in vertuis,
and vertuis dedis, good maneris, and ritful warks, clensid of alle
crimis and dedis forbeden hem in holi writt, and feif ful doctors,
and ordinaunce of f e kirk ; and f us schuld God haue a gloriouse
kirk, fat is now pollutid and fylid wif many vnleful f ings. Whef er
Decretal, is it not writun in f e lawe of f e kirk f us ? Forsof it is an horrible
f ing fat in sum kirkes is witnessid marchaundis to haue place ;
so fat ani f ing be askid for bischoppis, abbots, or of er personis, to
be putt in f er segis, or prestis to be induyd, or inled in kirks, or
for sepulturis, or exequies, diriges of f e dead, or blessingis of wed-
51
dings, or ofer sacraments. And sum demen to be leful, for fei
deme not f e lawe of f e dede for to harme by cause of long custom,
not takyng heed fat synnis are so mikil greuowsare, euer f e lengar
fei hold bound f e vncely sowle ; f erfor we forbede more strengliare
fat f eis fings be no more do f us ; so no f ing be askid for personis
of f e kirk to be browt in to fer segis, nor for presthed to be institut,
nor for dead to be byried, nor weddings to be blessid, nor ofer
sacraments. And if ani presume 83 en f is, know he him to haue
porcoun wif Gie3i. And als after f e decre, in an ofer place : No
man presume to }eue for ani custom, noifer to fe taking of
symonyently, fat is to sey, for coueytise, for his labour tak ani
f ing, for who fat sellif eif er of f is f ings wif wilk f o comif not
forf , he leuif noifer vnsold. And schame it is fat a man be con-
streynid to 3eue his money for nowt. Of silk fings is fe kirk to
be purgid, for mani causis : forsof as Symon Magus, bicause of
coueytise, wold haue bowt of fe apostel his power, fat he schuld
fe Holy Goost receyue to hele hem fat he put f e handis to, fat
he mi3t haue gotun money of f e selling of signis ; as fe decre Deere
Saluator witnissif . And f erfor he was reprouid of Petre, for he Salua
demid to possede fe 3 eft of God bi money, and f erfor he had no
part in fat fing. It semif fat prestis are nowe in fe same chapi
ter, takyng goostly grace or ordres fat f ei geyt f er of superfleu
riches, prid of world, and lust of flesch, and fey fat minstren to
ofer in fat entent, fat fei habunde in fer fings. And it semif fat
lewid men hiring prestis, in fat entent, deming to by f e goostly
fings so, or fat fei eke riches to hem, or fer ofer fings befor seyd,
are greuid in f e same synne. And f us it semif to sume, fat wat
euer clerk takif priate, religioun, bischophed, or dignite of f e kirk,
fat he life lustili, or habunde after hienes of f e world, or to lord
in fat maner fat Crist forbedif his disciplis to lord in, he synnif
deadly. And fat f e parentis of swilk a clerk are [or ?] worldly frends
helping him to ani artis or scieris, prelats promouing, or secular
WICLIPFE'S APOLOGY.
The Ca-
noun Sunt
quidam.
XIV. Sy-
tnonie of
prestis.
Deere.
Jfrtfitiennis.
Innocent.
lordis procuring fat fat clerk lord in fat maner, f ei synnun deadly ;
f is is opun bi f e canoun, i. q. i. Sunt quidam. Of silk f ings be
howuif f e kirk to be clensid.
An of er poynt is her putt, fat prestis to sing may not first mak
couenaunt wif out symonie. Of f is mater f us seyn feif ful doctors
of diuinite, and doctors in lawe of f e kirk, f us : A prest wefer he
be beneficid or not, he howif not to sett to hire his gostly warks ;
nor it is not leful to him to reseyue ani fing of couenaunt to a day
or 3ere for Goddis seruyce to be seid ; for wo fat sellif ani of f o
fings wif wilk fe tof er com1 not, he leuif noif er viisold, as f e
decre self ; f is bi Ihoun. Neuerf eles he may sett to hire his
bodily werks ; fat is, he may astreyn himsilf a }er to dwel wif a
man to serue him, as writ, or teche children ; and f us he may
lefuly, sauid his ordre ; so fat he outtak fro his generalite, bof in
mynde and in worde, his goostly warks, wilk he may graunt frely
wif out couenaunt or price, after f e wille of God. And f us f e
couenaunts how to be seuerythly, fat f e goostly f ings be done frely.
But for f e synrie of symonye may vnnese or neuer be fled in swilk
fings, ferfor conduct prestis are rcprouid of fe lawe, after
Hostiensis, and Innocent; and eft Hostiensis seif of hem f at 3euen
a peney, or peyneyes, to prestis, for to do aniuersaries, or to syng
a messe of f e Holi Gost, or swilk maner, or for to syng trentaylis,
in alle swilk casis, to tak or }ef temporal fing for goostly fing, of
forfword, or certeyn couenaunt, it is symonye. Wefer it be
3euen for f e sacrament, wefer for fe office. After fis word for
notif or takif appreciacoun. pis seif he. perfor ilk man see why-
he takif f e money, fat is to sey, what he dof ferfor. And ilk
man see why a3enne, for what cause principaly. And see after for
he 3eue for Goddis mede, lok how God biddif . If he 3eue it for
labor, lok what it is. And if he gif it for sustinaurice, lok what
mede it is. Sum men seyn fus, fat symonie is a studiouse wille
to by or selle, or on ani maner to haue goostly power, or f e office
WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY. 53
f er of, for temporal price, in entent of chaunging to gidre f e toon
for f e tof er, as it semi]? bi holy writt, and bi f e lawe, for Symon Act. uiij°.
Magus seyng fe apostil 3euing fe Holy Goost bi leying vpon his
handis, oifrid him money to bye f e gostly power, fat fei schuld
tak f e Holy Goost fat he schuld putt hands to ; but Peter seid
to him, f i money be wif f e in to perdicoun, for f u gessest to haue
f e gift of God for money. And in f e lawe it is seid, fat Symon
wold haue bout f e Holi Gost in fat entent, fat of selling of synnis
fat schuld be do bi him, he schuld wyn money. And f us of him
it takif J?e name of symonye. And f erfor fei fat sellen gostly
f ings, and fei fat bien hem, so folowing Symon are callid Symon-
ieiits. And f us seif Parisiensis in his bok ; Prestis singing for Parisiensis.
money sellen Crist, and are werrer fan Judas in feis fiue points.
Judas sold him onis dedly, and not glorified, for f ritty penies, wen ,
he trowid him not God, but a deadly man walking in 3erf e ; and
after, he repentid, and browt a} en fe penis. But fei selle him
vndeadly, and glorified, and ofte and for lesse price, wan fei trowen
him God, regning in heuen vndedly, and til fey cum to penaunce
fei restore not f e money, pus he seif. And Jerom seif f us ; Jerom.
Als oft of men are seid singing for menis fauor, and temporel
wynning, or hope of ani temporel profet, sof ly Crist is sold and be
trayd, and wen f e body and blod of Crist is tretid wif foul hands,
and polutid conciens, Crist is trayd and crucified. And Ambrose Ambrose.
seif ; He [fat] 3etif and drynkif fis sacrament wif out deuocoun,
or oferwise fan it is ordeynid of fe Lord, synging messe, or
dwelling in lust of synning, he schal be gilty of body and of blod
of Crist, and schal 3eue peynis for def of Crist, as if he had slayn
him, and he schal draw spott of good f ing iuel tane. pis seif he,
and more afterword.
pis is a nof er poynt, fat f e pope, cardinalis, bischopis, and of er XV. The
prelats be nef e, are disciplis of anticrist, and sellars of merit. I 5JJ*;Jar~
wot what I haue rehersid f e wordis of doctors fat spekin on fis bischopis,
54 WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY.
and of her mater. Crist seid to ]>Q Jewis, 36 ben of )?e fader ]?e fend, and wel
d° J76 desir °f 3or feder, f°r ne was nianslear fro ]?e biginning. And
so to J?e propos, Whas doctrine any folowi]?, his disciple he is.
Matt. jcij". And Crist sei];, he )?at is not wi]? me, he is a3enis me. And so)?ly my
warks a cordyn not to ]?e warks of Sathanas, for I a cord in no J?ing
wty him, but al vtterly we are contrari ; for I mak beningne wyl
saue sowlis ; he prowd, enuious, couetous, to tyn hem ; I gedre to
gidre vertuys wij? my preching; he scateri]> and departij? fro ]?e
Close. vnite of ]?e kirk, pis seij? j>e glose. perfor who ]?at vsij? swilk werks
i Jo. M°. is disciple of anticrist, and anticrist. For Jon sei]; in his epistle,
Sonnis is it )?o last hour, and as 36 han herd for anticrist comif>, now
are many anticristis maade, werfor we wot J?at is it ]?e last hour.
Ibid. iu°. Ilk spirit J?at vndo]? Ihu Crist is not of God, and ]?is is anticrist,
of worn 30 han herde ]?at he comi]?, and now he is in j?e world.
Austeyn. Wer ]>e glose ; os Austeyn sei)? : Ilk man axe her his conciens we]?er
he be anticrist. Ilk one contrary to Crist is anticrist, and ]?e tung
Tit. i9. a lone is not to be axid, but ]?e lif. Poul seij?, pei witness hem to
know God, but in dedis ]?ey denay. Als many as )?e kirk haj> for
sworn men, fraudars, misdoars, sortylogers, spousbrekars, drunk-
unsum men, vsurers, and who euer is contrari to ]?e doctrin, and
to J?e word of God, he is anticrist. If ]?u luf synnis, be [Jm] wij>
in, be J?u wi]? out, and if pu be contrari to Crist, be jm wi]> in, be
J?u wij? out, )?u art anticrist, be ]m wi}> in, be ]?u wi]? out, J>u art
Lincolne. caff, pis sei)? Austeyn. And ]?us seij? Lincoln, in a sermoun : pe
office of prelacy passij> alle o]?er in charge, syn J?e principale and
]?e finale wark of Crist J>at he cam for in to ]?is world is ]?e quiking
of soulis ; and |;e proper wark of Sathanas, and moost entent of him,
[who] is a manslear fro ];e biginning, as [is ?] sleyng and mortifying
of sowlis : werfor scheperds, clepid J?e persoun of J?e verrey schep-
herd Ihu Crist, nou3t schewing )?e gospel, ]?of]?ei ekid not o}>er malice
ouer, ]?ey are anticrists, and Sathanas transfigurid in to an aungel
of Ii3t ; peuys priuey and opun slears and traytors of J?e schep,
55
makyng pe hous of prayors a den of peuis. Also pey }ekun al
kynd of brekyng of law, pat now per is not opun what ping pe
Lord hem a towere. And pat I passe ouer schortly, wip al kynd
of syn, felony, and abhominacoun, and new aduencouns. And in
per aduencouns pey are filid as pe prophet seip to God, and to pe
court of heuen are pey moost abominable, and hateful maade ; for
bi hem pe nam of God is blasfemid in alle folk. Wen pe lesynd
of pe herd is a bok of pe schepe, and pei are opunly maistris of
alle iuelis ; how are pey not heretyks ? namly sin, pe word of dede,
is more effectuos in werkyng pen pe word of pe moup. And wen
pei of per office are gederers of euerlastyng lif, how euen pey are
pus misusing pis generatif strengpe, are pei not, a cordantly to pe
wordis of pe prophets, werr, and abhominabler pan carnal sodomits ?
namly wan ]?e misusing of pe better vertu is werr, and more abho-
minable. And ]?us J>eis scheperds are, of office, Ii3t and sun of ]?e
world, Ii3tning and quickning it ; but a}enword, wan J>ei mak and
3etten out for li}t ]?ickest derknes, and so lifly }et corrumping cold
and blakning, opunly are tray tors of )?is world. But wo is ]?e
formar and original cause, wel, and biginning of )?is )?us gret iuel,
I drede ungly to sey, tremel and quake. Neuerfeles I dar not hold
it stille, J>at I falle not in to ]?is woo J?at );e prophet sei]?, Woo to /»«• UJ°-
me for I haue be stille, for I am a man pollutid in lippis. pe
cause, welle, and biginning of pis iuel is ]?e court of Rome ; not
only for it scateri]? not his J>ings, and purgip not his abhomina-
couns, wen it a lone myth, Jns moost and heiast is haldun J>er to ;
but )?us mikil ]?e more pat it silf bi his prouisiouns, dispensacouns,
and 3euing of pastoral curis, ordeynip in pe een of pe sun, swilk as
are towchid bifore, hyrdis, 3a traytors of pis world, pat it peruey to
pe temporal lif of sum man, it hap be taken to pe deuowring or
swelluing of alle bestis of pe feld, pat is to al pe fendis to ay lasting
dep many pow3andis ; for pe wilk lest of alle to be quicknid 3end-
lesly, pe Son of God wold be condempnid to fowlist dep ; for [he]
56
fat 3euij? ]>e cur of sowlis til an vnmi3ty, or vnkunning, or not
weling to kepe, is gilty of alle foo, f of ani schape ; as he fat 3euif
fe gouerning of a schip til an vnwitti, vnkunning, or not willing
goueren it, is gilty of f e schip and alle f ings content f er in ; and he
fat lettif not silk 3euing wen he is holden a may, is strenid bi fe
same gilt. A how bitter luf and vauncing ganging and koward,
fat he reys his luf at a moment a boue a veyri f ing, and kast him-
silf down in to f e vtterist murkenes. pis seif he. Also f us seif
Odo. Odo : Prelats not preching are raf er pilats fan prelatis, spoilars
not biholdars, herodians of Heroud, not heyris of Crist, prelats
wif f er stafis and of er ornaments are statuit ymagis, ful of kaff,
wif a bow to sley f e fowlis, and as a nap in f e rof, so a sole in f e
heyre of honoris. If I were, he seif, of f e noumbre of bischoppis,
I were of f e noumbre of men to be dampnid. pis sei]? he. pe
Matt. xvin. gospel sei)?, fat Ihu cam in to f e coostis of Cesarie of Philip, and
he axid his disciplis, seying, Wham sey men to be f e sone of man ?
And f ei seid, Sum Jon baptist, sum Hely, sum Jeremie, or oon of
f e prophetis ; fan he seid to hem, Wham sey 36 me to be ? Peter
ansuerid and seid, pu art Crist, f o sone of quik God. Ihu an-
suerid and seid to him, Blessid be ]?u Peter, dowue sone, for flesch
nor blod schewid not ]ns to J?e, but my Fadre. And I sey to fe,
}m art Peter, and on ]?is ston I schal bigge my kirk, and f>e 3ats of
helle schal not be mi3ty a3en ]?e ; and I schal 3eue to )?e keys of ]?e
kyndom of heuen, and what ]?ing fu bindest up on 3erj? schal be
bounden in heuen, and what ]?u lowsist vp on 3er]?e, schal be
lowsid in heuen. And ]?an he bad hem J>ei schuld not sey to ani
man fat he was Crist. And he be gan to schew to hem fat it be
houid him to go to Jerusalem, and ]?ole many fings of ]?e olde
men, scribis, and princis of prestis, and to be slayn, and rise a3en
f e frid day. And Peter tok him be side, and be gan to blam him,
and seid, Lord, God schild fis fro fe, )?is schal not be to fe, be
merciful to fisilf. And he tumid and seid to Peter, Go o bak
WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY. 57
after me Sathanas, and J>u art sclaunder to me, for j?u sauerist not
]?ing J?at is of God, but of men. Now ];an, wej?er ani folowing
Peter in J?is office of prelacye, is blessiddar or perfitar |?an Peter,
}?erfor if Peter after his blessing, and silk belnjt, is seid of Crist
Sathan, whi not J?ei )?at are in to sclaunder to God, and lesser
saueren Jnngs J?at are of God, and more ]?ings ]?at are of men, syn
j?is is writun to our lore. And howe J?e name of God is sclaundrid
and blasfemid bi iuel prelatis and techers, it is opun oft in ]>e
scripture. Poul sei]?, pu )>at prechist to not steyl, stelist ? J>u ]?at Rom- v°-
biddist do no lechery, dost lechery ? ]?u pat wlatis idols, dost
sacrilege ? ]?u gloris in ]?e lawe, wuworscippist God be breging of
]?e lawe ? ]?e name of God is blasfemid bi 3ow among ]>e folk.
And after, ]?e prophete ; pei filid me to my peple for a lumpe of Ezek. xiij
bred, and a handful of barly, )?at J^ey slee sowl J>at di3e not, quiken
sowl )?at lyuen not, lying to my peple, trowing to lesing. And
Parisiensis sety, Wan any auerous or couetous is canoni3id in |?e Parisiens.
kirk, or maad cheef, ]?an may ]?e o]?er chanouns of J?e chirche sey,
our moder haj? gotun to vs a moldewarp for a broker. And wan
a bacbitar is canoni3id, )?an ha]? ]?at kirk gendrid a serpent. And
wan an vndiscret is maad bischop in J>e kirk, J?an is an hornid asse
born J?er in. And Odo sei]? ]?us, pey are byars and sellars in J>e Odo.
temple, ]?at wenun winning to be pite, and byen to selle J?e derar.
We se now alle ]?e lif of ]?e kirk bryn to defend dignite to mul-
tipli possessiouns, al is 3euen to honor, no }>iiig to holynesse 5 wer
for it is seid, triacle is turnid in to venyn, and ]?is J?at was foundun
to remedie, is foundun to dej?. But and of J?e riches of clerkis ]?at
]?ei misuse, ]?e Lord bad )?e sonis of Leuy J?at )?ei schuld haue no
part a mong )?e sonis of Israel. But J»ei dispicing, folouun worldly
wynning, ]?e auteris of Crist are maad }?e bordis of chaungis bi
couetous men, for messis j?ey syng for money, J>ei putt out for
money, and swilk messis )?ey sing as ]?ei hope moost wynning, in
|?ey are sellars of dowuis, for )?ei selle spiritual jnngis. And )?of
CAMD. SOC. 14. I
58
fey crie not wif f e mowf, neuerf eles in declis f ei sey wif Judas,
Wat wil 36 3 cue rne, and I gif him to 3ow ? PUS crien monkis, and
o]>er religious, selling fer habits and suffrages, and prestis singing
for money ; f e walle of f e kirk fat schuld be f e hird is brokin ;
swyn and houndis are gone and filun f e kirk ; doumb doggis,
prelats corrupt, fat may not bark, and onclen suyn, fyling ofer,
lyfing bestly, are sett in f e kirk. What more abhominacoun of
desolacoun in holi place fan fat a swyn do vpon f e holy vestiment,
and sing Goddis holy office ? houndis and woluis roryn fepsalmis,
os were woluis criyng ilk to of er ; f e lioun of prid haf lordid f e
clergy, disposing al fing at his list; fe serpent of enuy}e hissif,
fat bakbitif to al and enflaumif f e grete ; f e hound of wrechfulnes
grennif wif his tef ; f e feldhasser of dyerynes laborif to swernes ;
f e wolue of rauyn opunif his chekis, fat multiplien messis and
gospells for offring ; f e bere of glotonie romist a bout, fat singif
wif hie voys, for to fille f e wombe ; f e swyn of vnclennes drownif
himself in f e mig of lecherie ; f e tood of gile hauing mani pursis
schal minister to alle. And wen f e riche man dief , f e processiouii
of bestis is maad ; fan in figeris was depeyntid in f e walle, and f e
swyn and f e wolf and of er bests berun f e cros and f e sergis, and
ryngun f e bellis ; sir Beringary f e bere syngif f e messe ; f e lioun
wif of er bestis schal be best fed, but 3er f e more fat fey f ole, ai
f e more schal f e fendis torment, pis seif Odo.
XVI. Of An ofer poynt fat is putt is fis, fat f er is no pope ne Cristis
vicar, but an holy man. pis may f us be prouid ; for him be
howuif to be halowid wif f e sacrament of baptem, and of presthed,
and of dignite. And oft is bidun to prestis in f e lawe to be holy
and halow ofer ; and for hoyle of halowing of f e Lord is vp on
Joh. xuif. hem. Also f us prayif Crist for alle his, Fader, halow hem in trowf,
f i word is trowf, as f u hast send [me] in to f e world, so haue I
send hem in f e world, and for hem I halow myself, fat f ei be
Decrt. halowid in trowf. And f us is hadde in decreis ; Lo it aperif how f ei
WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY. 59
schal schap f e perel of fe charge, fat fey be f olid to minister prestly
of er sacraments, for fey are remeuid fro f is not only for heresy,
or of er ilk gretter syn, but also for negligens. In wilk f ingis bysily
it is to not, fat f e sacrament of presthed befor of er, more worf ily,
and wif cure, is to be 3euen and tane ; for but if it be so 3euen
and tane, it schal fuyle to be rate or ferme, os it is not perfitly
done. Ofer sacramentis are 3euen to ilk man for himsilf, and silk
fey are to ilk man as f ei are tane wif hart and concience ; but f is
is not only 3euen for hem silf but for of er, and ferfor is nede it be
tane wif verrey hart and clene concience for him self, and as to
of er, not only wif out ilk synne, but also wif out ilk name of fame,
for schunder of brewer, to was profit presthed is 3euen, not only
fat men prest, or be boun, but fat fey prophet. fis ]>e decre. Lo
it semi]? fat he is not Ii3tly nor profi3tly Grists pope ne his vicar
but if he be holi, ellis whi is he callid holiest fadir ? Jerom seif ,
pei fat ordeyn of f er assessory in to prestis, and putten hem f er
lif in to sclaundre of f e peple, f ei are gilty of f e vnfetyfulnes of
hem J?at are sclaundred. For so]? ]?ei are chosun to ]?is to be
prestis to ]?e peple, as ]?ei ordeynid befor to dignite, so J>ey hau3t to
schine be for in holines, ellis whi are fei preferrid to o]?er ]?at
passun in grace of meritis. And ]?erfor sei]? ]?e pope Symachus, He Symachut
is to be countid most vile, )?at is befor in dignite, but if he pre-
celle in sciens and holines. Pe Lord sei]? bi |?e prophet, for ]?u hast 0(iee iu°-
putt a wey sciens, I schal put ]?e a wey }>at J»u vse not presthed to
me. pe dede of f>e bischop houwi]? to passe a boue ]?e lif of J>e peple,
as ]?e lif of ]?e 3erd transcendij? ]?e lif of ]?e schep, as Gregori sei}?. Oregon.
And Bernard sei]? to pope Eugeni, pi felawis bischops lere J>ei at Bernard.
J?e to haue not wi]? hem childer so curhid, nor 3eng men kembidor
compert; certeyn it semi]? riot chapletid men to ren among }?e mytrid
vncorteysly ; ]?of ]?u desire to be prest, or be befor to hem fat ]m
coueitist not to profit to, ouer proudly in coueiting subieccoun of
hem, of fe wilk ]?u hernist not fere 3ele.
WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY.
XVII. A
Juing*a~sen-
innocent °
man, sin-
nith dedly.
Jsidor.
Jamis lu"
Prov. tiii
Johnu0.
pis is a noj>er poynt : a juge 3euing a sentens a}en a innocent
man after allegiaunce and prouid, sinni)? deadly. And me finki]?
^ ^ie synnij?. And for to proue fat, I suppose )?at he be innocent
)?at ha]? not noyed ; ]?e secound be ]?is supposid, ]?at juge is ordey-
n^ j^ ^Q ^ &n(j sc]iew to j,e fo^ j,e rijtj J,^ js wa^ j^ man
howi)? to haue or to )?ole bi )?e rijt of God, and )?at he discusse
ri3tly and pronounce and witnes and schew to ]?e folk wat ilk man
howi]? to haue, and how to be punischid and to be lyuirid ; ]?e ]?rid
be )?is supposid, J?at noyf>er |>e deposing of ]?e witnes, nor J>e
•Sentens 3euing of J?e juge, be it self makif> a ]?ing ri3tful originaly,
nor maki)? not man synful, ne wor]?i to be dead ; syn ]?ei are but
schewars and witnessars : of ]ns was hed be for. And if fei go not
after ]?e trow]> going bifor, but |?er a3en, ]?an )?er witnessing is fals,
and 316]? no ri3t. pis semi)? bi )ns, ]?at in mennis lawe oft men
falsen domis, and appelen ]?er fro, and prouen a3en f>e witnes. pan
J>us, as Isidor seij>, A iuge is seid for he diti]? ri3t to )>e peple, or
discussi]? ri3t; to discusse ri3t is to iuge ri3tly ; to iuge ri3tly is
to iuge after Goddis ri3t ; for God is al ri3tfulnes in himseluen,
and he is al mannis ri3tfulnes ; sin mannis ri3tfulnes is but trow]?
directly vp on God, and ellis it is not ri3tfulnes, so he is no juge in
whom is no justice or ri3tfulnes. And J?an if he be not juge, he
tlo]> wrong in ]?is )?at he synni]? so iuging. But to iuge iustly is
to iuge bi Goddis ri3t; for as ]?e fei]? techi)?, God is iuge of alle
bo)? quik and dead, and he is witnes, and he iugi]? all )?ingis iustly.
And )>us sei)? Jamis, ]?at on is iuge and 3euer of )?e law, )?at may
bo)? dampne and saue. And bi him kingis regnun, and makers of
lawe discernen iust )?ingis. And he ha)? 3euen to Ifru Crist )?e sone
al dome, and ha)? 3euen him power to mak and do dome, for he is
mannis sone; ]?us ha]? he 3euen to him al dome, for he ha]? 3euen
to him al manner of cause to ordeyn and discusse all ]?ingis, and to
mend and punische all wrongis, and to susteyn and mend alle good
)?ingis. And )?us schuld al domis be led bi him, and pus is it 3euen
WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY. 61
to him ]?ow God ordeynd him not seculerly to execut seculer domis,
as he sei]?, fat he is not ordeind juge ne departar vp on men, ne Luc. xij°.
cum not to deme hem, ne to be cause of ]?er harme ne strif to be
maad a mong hem. Neuerfeles al dome is 3euen to him in marier
be for seid, to be rewlid bi him, and he to discusse al ]?ingis. And
for ]?is seij? Poule, fat Crist is end of fe lawe to ri3tfulnes to ilk Horn. x°.
man trowing. As Austeyn self, Bo]? of lawe of kind, and of Austeyn.
law writun, and law of grace, he is fe first begining al ri3t mad,
he is fe midyl, end, ordeyning, and gouerning, he is endfully
consuming and keping, and to warn al laws strekyn; and he
kepi]? in to lawfuly doing al fat go]? bi him, and he is end of
]?e oolde lawe, filling and ending and avoyding after fat ri3twisnes
axi]?. And Poul sei]?, poo ]?at vnknawen fe ri3twisnes of God, Rom. x°.
and seken to ordeyn ri3twissnes to hem, ]?ey are not soget to Goddis
ri3twisnes. And fan are fei proud apostatais and wrong doars.
And Crist himsilf biddi]? f us, Wei 36 not deme, and 36 schal not Luc. uj°.
be demid; ]?at is, wyl 36 not of 3 or silf mak domis, nefer vse ani
domis, not but as God schewi]? to 3ow to do, and os he wirki]?
be 3owe ; for o]?er wis demi)? not Crist f e sone, bi cause to ani man
to be vndur syn, bondage, nor damping nor desese, nor do]? wrong
in ani dome, somoun or priuat, nor supprisi]? nor enif nor demi]?
not after J?e face, but demi]? iust dome. Be he fairar, be he strenger,
]?er schal be no distaunce of persoun, he schal 3ere ]?e smale als
wel as ]?e grete, and accept no mannis persoun, nor take no 3eftis,
for ]?e dome is Goddis ; se]? wat 36 do, vse 36 not ]?e dome to oftun
but of God. And 36 deme it schal turne a3en to 3owr mede, if 36
deme iustly. And ]?an if 36 do wrong and syn, ]?e dred of God be
wi]? 3 owe, and do]? all ]?ingis wif diligence ; at our Lord God is
not accepting of personis, nor couetous of 3eftis, nor wickidnes; Exod.
36 schal not tak fe vois of lesing, nor tak to hond to sey fals wit-
nes for ]?e vnpitous, ]?u schal not folow ]?e rowt to do iuel, nor ]?u
schalt not in dome folowe ]?e sentence of vile money, ]?at ]?u go a
62 WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY.
wey fro f e sof e ; but iustly dome f i neibor, help him fat is sup-
prisid, helpif in 3 or dome to fe faderles and moderles, and defendif
f e widow ; demif not wickidnes, fat is to sey, helpif it not vp, nor
takif not f e face of synnars, helpif f e nedy and f e faderles, and
makif f e meke and f e pore to haue ri3t, and pullif out and deliuer
f e pore fro f e hand of f e synnar ; if f er be ani cause to f e dome,
enquere diligently fe so]?, and wham fu seest iust, 3ef him fe
victory of ri3tfulnes, and warn f u fynd wickid f u schall condempne
of vnpite. Now fan wan iugis gon in to f e contrary of f is, who
schuld dowte fat f ei not syn in mani case and in mani a wise ? And
wan 36 do not after God, ne after charite, nor hope, nor feif ; also
wan f ei do not after his wisdam ne ordre, but gon biside reclesly,
and enquiren not til fey wit f e sof, as bof e f e law of God and
man techef fat fey schuld ; f e f rid, wan f e cause pertenif not to
hem but to hiar iuge, but in ilk cause God schuld iuge befor, and
Rom. if. of er as he biddif hem, and no forf er ; for Poul seif , Wat art f u
fat demist an of er mannis seruaunt ? pus wan jugis bowen fro f is,
Saim. doutles f ei syn, and are reprouid of God, for f us seif f e Salm, f u hast
dispicid al bouning doune fro f er domis, for f er finking is vniust.
joh. Aiu°. And f erfor seif Crist, fat f e Hooli Goost schal argu f is world of
dome, bof fat f ei mak and demen and causen ; sin f e prince of f is
world is demid and founden fat he is vniust, and f erfor is he put
vnder, and man maad fre to serue God if he wil, and fan mai no
Cor. a/°. man blam him iustly, nor he schal not be temptid ouer fat he
mai, but God schal make peruiaunce wif f e temptacoun fat man
Sap. uj°. may susteyn. And bi fe wise man; Here 36 kingis and vnder-
stondif, and lere 36 fe iugis of endis of fe world; 3eftis 3ere 36
fat haldun to gidre, and plesun to 3ou in routis of actouns ; for
power is 3euen of God to 3ou, and vertu of fe heiast, fat schal ask
al 3or dedis, and serch al 3 or f outis, for 36 wse f e ministeris of his
regn, 36 iugid not ri3tly, nor kepid not f e law of ri3tfulnes, nor 3ed
not after f e wille of God ; hedously and sone he schal apere to
63
3ou ; for hardist dome schal be don in hem fat are chefe. And
for f is seif Ysaie, Woo to hem fat maken wickid lawis, and writun Ysa. a/°.
writtis of vnritfulnes ; fat f ei oppresse f e pore in dome, and don
violence to f e cause of f e meke of my peple ; fat veniaunce schuld
be f er prey, and schuld snyb f e moderles, and iustifie f e wickid
man for his 3eftis, and take a wey f e ri3tfulnes of f e ri3tful man from
him.
Nor f is excusif not to sey, fat he demif after f e lawe, and dof
no f ing aftur his oune arbitracoun, but obeyschif to f e lawe, as
seynt Ambrose seif , and so he do]? to his knowing as far as man Ambrose.
may knowe, he may not know as God. pis excusif not ; for Poul Rom. xiun.
seif, fat ilk f ing fat is not of f e feif is synne ; and ilk f ing ]?at is
not of God, nor bi him, nor in him, is synne ; also he sei]?, law is
not but to ]?e iust man, )?at is to sey to punische him, but ra)?er to
susteyn him, and rewle him in ri3tfulnes, and to punisch mis-
doars, and to swilk lauis and to swilk maneris schuld ilk iuge obey,
and do )?erby, and no ]?ing biside of his oune wille, nor no fing
falsly, nor be fals lawis, nor be error, is not he excusable ; sin
Daniel seij> Jms : Sey 36 sonis of Israel folis, noi]?er knowing nor jr>aWt ^y-o.
deming ]?ing )?at is verrey, turni]; a3en to J>e dome, and I schal
deme hem wisely, for ]?ei han seid fals witnes a3enis her. In wilk
is to be notid wel, ]?at fals dome may be reuokid, and ]?o iugis not Nota.
excusid, bi J>er witnes, but more gilty for wickid consent ; and in
J»is J>ei consent, l?at ]?ei werk wickidly ; for J>e man schal not vndir
go ]?e peyn, befor ]?at \e juge 3 eft J?e dome ; nor it helpi]? riot to
sey ]?at he schal be excusid bi ]?is, ]?at God sei]?, f»at ilk word schal
stond in ]?e mou)? of two or of ]?re, for ]?at may not implye ]?at al
Jnng is so)?e for fey sey it, but it is seid for f>is, fat no man schal
be condempnid bi on seying witnes a3en him, os J?e scripture de-
clari]? itsilf. And ]?us seif Crist, 36 erre mikil, not knowing ]?e Matt,xxij°
writingis, ne fe vertu of God ; ferfor bi J>e vertu of God clere
knowing of ilk ]?ing, and be for men know a fing bi fat^men know
64 WICLIPFE'S APOLOGY.
Gregori. it not, as Gregori witnessi)?, for he sei]?, }?at men know not a j?ing
bifor ]?at he know it be fei]? ; ]?erfor as God 3eui]? knowing, and
techi)? al profitable ]?ingis, and enformi]? alle and ledij? hem, for al
abel are tau}t of God, so J?at man schal not stond only in ]?e teching
of man, but in teching of God a boun man, and j?an he schal
vnderstond a boun his enemies, and ouer his techars, and ouer ]?e
Sal™:o hold, as )?e Salm sei)?, and now God 3eui)? his lawe in J?e hertis of
men' anc* WTlity i* in fer bowelis, and not wi]> enk, ne parchemyn,
r °
but wij? ]?e Spirit of God, and kenni]? hem in al ]?ingis, os ]?e prophet
i Joh. up. sei]?, and Jon in his epistil, nor for3eti]? hem not in tyme, nor
confoundi)? hem, so schuld he ]?e jugis, if ]?ei bowid not from him,
nor he schuld not fail to hem nowe ne more f>an he dede to Salo
mon, and oj?er iugis. But now for men lefun, and don domis, and
not bi his Spirit, nor do not bi his counseil, but regnun and not of
him, but gon bi o]?er weyes, J?erfor ]?er oune findingis begon hem
aboute, and bi gernyn hem J?at J?ey may not out, and J?ey bigilun
o]?er men. Nor sey ]?u not J>at bi ]?is ani law mi3t not stond, nor
no domis and polycye were for done, and misdoars schuld not be
punischid : ]?is is not sof ; but bi J?is schuld law be stablid, and ilk
man schuld be suget as God biddi]?, and ilk man schuld do ri3t to
o]?er, and iust men schuld be holden in ri3t, and schrewis schuld
be punischid as ri3t axij?, and mikil bettar ]?an )?ei are now ; for as
God biddi]? ]?eis Jnngis to be don, so schuld he 3ef bo]?e witt and
wille and mi3t J?erto ; and mikil bettar it schuld be ]?an is nowe,
for now are iust men oft wrongid, and schrewis vnpunischid, and
maynteynd, and born vp in iuel, bo]? bi wilis, and strengj?, and
falsnes, and fayntise of f>eis ]?at schuld do ri3t; and ];us syrme is
aggregid mani fold, and if ani haue good j?er by j?er fallij? vp on an
oj>er side to mak harmis.
And if ]?u sey, it semi]? ]?at man may juge a3en ]?e innocent, bi
]?is God himsilf condempni]? bo]? J>e iust and vnpitouse, and Crist
3af himsilf to )?e de)?. And Abraham is blessid of God, for he was
WICLIFFE^S APOLOGY. 65
redy to sle his sone. And Sampson slow himsilf in sleyng of )?e
Philisteis, and so do]? mani o]?er and mani wise. Also Dauid slow 2 Reff-
a man, for he seid ]?at he had slayii a man, and slow him not.
And )?us bi ]?eis it semi]? )?at man may 3eue sentence 3ea to sle ]?e
innocent. To )?eis obieccouns me semi]? ]?us ; God may do what
he wel, and )?erfor in sum Jnngis it is not inow to vs, God do]? atl
jms, }>erfor we mai do ]?us ; but do we as he biddi]? us, for Jms sei)?
Crist, 36 cal me lord and mayster, and 36 sey wel, forsof I am,
but wil not 36 be callid maisteris. Also he condampni]? in o]?er
maneris, as wan he ]?oli]? )?e creature to falle in to synne, or ellis in
to peyn ; )?e secound, wan he ordeynit ani to be punischid or con-
dempnid ; ]?e ]?rid, wen he schewij? ]?e gretnes of his wisdam,
power, goodnes, mercy, paciens, be wilk he schewi]? )?at alle crea-
turs in regard are not, nor wor)?i to appere in his si3t. And bi }?is
]?ei schuld be confoundid in hem silf, and leue al hemsilf, and folow
him, and stond in his grace, and ]?us mend. Blessid be J?is confu-
sioun and dampning ; and so 3ef God bed condempne, or 3eue
sentence, wirk fast as God biddi)?, but it is in veyn to go be for.
And for so)? of Abram it is opun ]?at he was not in wil to sle his
sone, not but after ]?e bidding of God, and J?erfor cam God befor
and bad him sle not ]?e child, and for )?is wil he blessid him ; and
in ]?is he techi]? )?at his wil is not ]?e ded of man ]?at is innocent,
for he sei]? fat he wel not J?e de)? of ]?e synnar, if he wil turne
and lif, as he sei]? bi ]?e prophet. And in )?is he schewi]? vs how
he wil cum befor to saue ]?eis ]?at tristun in him, and do]? in simple
hert and purte of handis. And of Sampson men seyn ]?at o]?er he
hadde bidding of God, or repentid ofter. And os to Dauid, men
seyn ]?at alle his dedis are not to be folowid, wi)? out mikil auto-
rite ; nor ]?is man was not innocent in ]?e si3t of God, for he went
to haue plesid Dauid wi]? ]?e sleyng, and for his lyeing he was
manslear. And ]?us Dauid, led bi ]?e priuete of prophecye, dede
)?e dome of God to him, schewing to vs how God demi]? vs after
CAMD. soc. M. K
66 WICLIFPE'S APOLOGY.
our hartis, and schal deme ilk man after f e wordis of his mow]?.
And f erfor men schuld be warer fat f ei lere not, nor sey not fat
fey wet a f ing to be fat is not ; for fan schal God condempne hem
of f er own mowf , wen f e f ing mai not be prouid, wan nor were
Dan. xiij°. fat it was don, as Daniel did f e prestis ; for f is wil be at f e day
wen al f ing schal be demid after trowf . And her be howuen f ei
be war fat are chargid to sey f e sof e to f er witing. And wen
of er seyn a} en f er witing, f ei holde hem stille, and f olun f e tof er
to 3eue f e dome, and f us f ei are for sworne, and cause of f e
mannis harme fat f ei schuld leit os f ei are sworne to do. And
Num.xxij". error excusif not, os is schewid oft, nor vnkunning ; sin Balaam
seid to aungel, I haue synnid, not witing fat f u stod a} en me ;
Lev. v/j". and in f e law was bidun fat if ani synnid bi error or vnkunning,
and did ani f ing fat f e law forbed, fat he schuld mak an ofring,
and f e prest schuld pray for him, and it schuld be for }euen him,
for he fautid be error and be vnkunning.
XVIII. A An ofer poynt is fis ; a prest assoiling a feyner synnif deadly.
*ineSafy°iar ^OV^J me sermf fat ne synnif , for if he soile him neligently, f ow
sinnith. God asoyle him not, me semif he synnif greuously, wefer a
presum, as autor, to as soile him, and bring him out of sin of peyn,
or to mak him fre f erof ; whef er he denounce him so as a minster,
or he hi3t him fat God dof so ; wefer he do it of luf, or hat, or
drede, or ofer vniust or vnordinat cause ; wefer he do it vnwysly,
reclesly, or bi error, or be vniust ordre or maner, and wen f e
cause pertenif not to him, for he schuld send him to his soueren.
And f us wyle he reformif not fis man to lefe fis syne, nor to
mak a mendis f erfor, as he schuld, and ellis telle him fat he mai not
asoyle him, he synnif, and namli, wan f e man trestif of fis absolu-
coun, wening him siker, and contunif forf, and mendif not, os he
schuld, if fe prest refusid him as he au}t, for fan he wold schame,
and dred, and mend. And in fis defaut is be gilid, and fe prest
berif fals witnes, and seif him to wit and do f ing fat he noif er
67
wot nor do]?, and refif God his regaly, and makif f e man to tryst
in lesing, and so do sacrifice to f e fend. Of swilk prestis God
pleynif f us bi f e prophet Ezechiel, Who worf f eis fat sewen Ezech.
cursing vnder f e hewow of iwan, and maken pilleworf is vnder xyj '
f e hedis of ilk age, for to tak soulis ; and wan f ei tuk f e soulis of
mi peple, fei quikynd fer soulis, and foilid me to mi peple, for an
hanful of barly, and on gobef of bred, fat schuld sle soulis fat dien
not, and quiken soulis fat lyuen [not] ; lying to my peple, trowing
to lesingis ; f erfor seif f e Lord, lo I to 3 or cursing be wilk 30 tak
soulis fleing, and I schal reue hem fro 3 or armis, and fe souls fat
36 tak I schal to 6*13 1 ; and I schal reue 3or quyschinis, and liuer
my peple fro 3 our hand, fei schal no more be in 3 our handis to
robbe ; and 36 schal wit for I be Lord. For fat 36 lyingly han
maad f e hertis of f e iust man to be euy, warn I euid not, and han
coinfortid f e hert of f e vnpitous, fat he turnid not from his iuel
wey and lyue, f erfor he schal no lengar see veyn f ingis nor deueyn
lesing. And vpon ]?is seif Gregor f us, Oft it falli]? ]?at he haldi]? Greyor.
J?e sted of a iuge, to warn ]?e lif a cordi]? not. And is don oft J?at
o]?er he dampni]? J>e vnwor)?i, or louse o)?er )?at are bound ; and
oft he folowi]? his steringis, and not ]?e meritis of causis in sugetis
to be lousid or bound. And ]?us is don J>at he priue himsilf power
of bynding and lowsing, ]?at vsi]? it after his lustis, and not after
meritis of sugetis. Oft is don )?at )?e hirid be sterid a3en his ne3-
bor bi hat or grace, and ]?erfor ]?ei may not iuge ritly of J?er sugetis
|?at in ]?er causis folawen hat or grace ; werfor rit is seid bi }>e Ezek. xi
prophet, J>ey quikid soulis fat liuid not, and slen )?e soulis fat died
not ; forsof he slef him fat dief not, fat dampnif f e iust man ;
and he enforcif to quiken him fat liuif not, fat enforcif to asoyle
fro torment him fat dwellif in his gilt, perfor f e causis are to
be peysid, and fan power of bynding and soiling is to be vsid ;
f erfor it is to see wat synne went be forn, and wat forf inging
folowif after f e synne ; fat f e sentens of f e chepherd asoile f eis
6*8 WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY.
fat Almi3ty God visitif bi for bi grace of compunccoun. For fan
is f e asoiling of f e president verrey, wen it folowif f e dome of f e
innar juge. pat f ei reysing of La}ar fowr daies dead tokunif wel
and schewif , for first f e Lord reysid and sterid and quiknid f e
Joh. .vi°. dead man, seying, La}ar cum forf e, and after he fat was bounden
3ed out, and was lowsid of f e disciplis, as is writun, wan he was
gon out fat was bound wif bondis, fan seid Inu to his disciplis,
Vnbyndif him, and lat him go. Lo f e disciplis lowsid him liuing,
warn dead f e maister had reisid ; for if ]?e disciplis had lowsid him
dead, f ei schuld schew more stynk fan vertewe. Of wilk consi-
deracoun it is to see, fat we owe to lowse bi autorite of herd warn
we know our autor to haue quicknid be grace resing. And so f e
dead man cum out, f e synnar knowleche his synne ; f e disciplis
lowse f e comar out, for f e schepherdis of f e kirk owe to moue to
him f e penaunce fat he deseruif , fat lettid not for schame to
knowleche J?at he dede. pis haue we seid schortly of ]?e wordre of
lowsing, ]?at schepherdis of ]?e kirk ow to bind and lowse vnder
Bede. gret moderacoun. J)is sei]? Gregor. And )?us seij? Bede ; Now is
J>is office committid in bischopis and prestis of J?e kirk, ]?at }>e
causis of ]?e synnars knowen, ];ei doing mercy assoyle hem fro ]?e
dred of perpetual def, wen J>ei able and verrey repentaunt ; and
pat he schewe hem to be bound wi]? ai lasting tormentis, fat he
knawij? to stond tou3ly in ]?er synnis J>at ]?ei han don. And to ]?is
acorden mani oj»er seingis of doctors and decreis of ]?e kirk ; ]?erfor
be ]>ei ware fat asoylun feynars J»at God forbedij? to asoyle for
Ezech. harmis fat folowen ; for fus seif God bi fe prophet E3echiel, A
man of f e house of Israel, fat haf sett his vnclennes in his hert, and
haf set of his wickidnes a3ens his face, and comif to f e prophet,
asking me bi him, I f e Lord schal ansuere to him in f e multitude
of his vnclennes, fat f e hous of Israel be tan in f er hert, in wilk f ei
han gon a wey fro me, in al fer idols, perfor be 36 tumid, and
departif fro alle 3 our idols, and turn if awey 3 our facis fro al 3 our
WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY. 69
folthis ; for ]>e man wat euer he be J?at be alienid fro me, and sett
his idols in his hert, and J?e sclaunder of his wickidnesse a3en his
face, and cum to J?e prophet ]?at he aske me bi him, I ]?e Lord
schal answere him bi my self, and I schal sett mi face vp on ]?at
man, and mak him in to prouerb and ensaumple, and schal scater
him fro ]?e middis of my peple ; and j?e prophet wan he schal erre
in speche of word, I ]?e Lord haue ben fro him, and he schal bere
his wickydnes ; after J?e wickydnes of J>e ascar schal be J>e wickidnes
of J?e prophet ; and I schal streke out my hand on him, and do
him a wey fro ]?e middis of mi peple ; )?at J?e house of Israel erre no
more fro me, but be mi peple, and I ]?er God ; and ]?at fei be no
more polutid in all J?er trespasses. By J?is man is vnderstondyn
feynar ]?at is fals, and lufi)? his synne, and seij? he wel forsak it and
lief>, and cumij? to ]?e prest to be asoylid, and to ask mercy. But
wan f»e prest erri]?, and behyti]? suelk an absolucoun a}en ]?e bid
ding of God, he schal bere ]?e wickidnes wi}» ]?e synnar ; for )ri J>at
he is cause J?at J>e synnar contunij? in his iuel, and mendi)? nout,
os he schuld, if ]?e prest putt him be syd til ]?at he be men did. To
YIS sentens acordi]? Seynt Ambrose, as is put in decreis, wer he Ambrose.
seif ]?us ; If ani man be mouid bi prayors of sonis, or teris of )?e
wif, and wen him to be soylid, to warn )?e afFeccoun of steyling
biddi]? }et, schal he not be tak innocentis to distruccoun, ]?at ben
fre ]?at )?enkun to distroy many ? ForsoJ? if he lay doun J»e suerd,
or lousi)? ]?e bondis, he opunij> ]?e distroyingis. Wy pullij? he not
a wey, in )?e mekist wey )?at he may, faculte of steyling, J?at mi3t
not bow ]?e wille ? Also bi twix two, ]?at is J?e accuser and ]?e gilty,
striuing of euen perel of }>e hed, J>e ton if he had not prouid, ]?e
to]?er if he were conuictid of fe accusing, if ]?e iuge folow not J>is
]?at is of ri3tfulnes, but ha]? mercy of ]?e to]?er, oi}»er he schal
dampne )?e prouar, or til he fauor J»e accusar, ]?at mi3t not proue,
schal iuge J?e vngilty ; ]?is mai not be seid iust mercy. In J?at kirk
wer ani owe to do mercy, and how most to be holden in |?e forme
70
of ri3tfulnes, pat non draw a wey fro pe comyn of feipfulmen, get
wrongly, of pe Ii3tnes of pe prest, comyn wip schort ter and dred-
ful, a tyme pat he ow to axe wip mo tymis and plentiuous teris.
Weper not wan he fo^euip pe vnworpy, he prouocip al to pe smit
of falling ; Ii3tnes of 3euing 3euip kyndling of trespassing, pis seip
Ambrose. J?e prest may wit pat he hap not power to soyl, but as
Matt. God 3euip him bidding ; but God seip pus, If pi broker synne,
blame him ; and if he leue his synne, leue pu to blam him, and if
[he] wil not leue his syn, proced for]? a3en him bifor witness.
And if he wyl not her 3owe, be he pan to pe as a hepen or publi
can. And warn pat 36 pus bynd, schal be bound, and warn pat 30
bring out of synne, pe peyn schal be for3euen hem. He biddip
not here to curse him pat synnip not, nor to asoyle him pat bidip
in synne ; but a3enword to asoile him pat leuip his synne, and put
him out of cumpany pat lastip in his synne.
XIX. Ma- An noj?er is ]?is, )>at mariage mad in jmd and ferd degre, a3en
nage mad r,e ordinaunce of ]>e kirk, is rate and stable. And to Ms I haue
in thnd ...
degre. seid, )?at it is so confermid )?at it mai not be departid ; )?e man to
wed ani o]?er woman, wyle ]?at sche lyui)?, nor scho to be weddid
to ani o)?er man. And ]ns semi); me prouable )>us ; we]? }>e lefe
or conferming of ];e kirk, swilk mariage is rate, J>an it is rate or
stable ; and ]?e kirk mi3t not ratifie it, but if it be first ratified of
God ; and if it be ratified of God, J>an ]?e kirk mai not depart it,
for no man may depart ]?e fing ]?at God ha]? joinid. And as men
seyn ]?e ratifying of J?e pope, or of ]?e kirk, is a chaunging ]?at God
ha]? ordeynd to be don, and if pis mariage were a3en ]?e bidding
of God, pan ]?e conferming of J>e kirk were not wor]?, nor ]?ei mi3t
not 3 cue leue per to ; for pei mai not 3eue leue to breke pe bidding
of God, nor leeue a man to lyue in ani degre a3en pe bidding of
Deere. God> nor charge him per to. Now pe decre seip pus ; pe wedding
of prestis, or of cosynis in pe prid or ferd degre, is not forfendid
bi pe autorite of pe oolde lawe, nor bi pe autorite of pe gospel, nor
WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY. 71
of )?e epistil, but it is only defendid bi law of ]?e kirk. And after
sei]? ]?e decre, )>ow ]?e apostil addid sum ]?ingis counseyling, ]?at Deere.
were [not] found in bidding of }>e gospel diffinid, ]?erfor [netyer]
]?ey are putt a wey of ]?e to]?er apostols as foly or superflu ; so and
)?e kirk, after j?e statutis of ]?e apostil, ha)? addid sum )?ingis of
counseil of perfeccoun, os of continence of prestis, and of making
of goostly misteris, of )?e synging of officis, )?at no wey are to be
put a wey, but to be tan wi]? diligent worschip; ]?erfor )?e wed-
dingis of cosyns, )?ow )?ei be not found for bidyn bi ]?e gospel, nor
bi )?e pistel, neuer]?eles )?ei are to be fled, for )?ei are forbydun bi
]>e ordinaunce of )?e kirke. pis sei)? )?e decre. And so I graunt )?at
it is good to kep fro hem, but neuerfeles me semi)? ]?at ]?ei mai not
be departid, wen J>ei are maad, not but in swilk degre os God
leeui]? not to bide to gidre, and )?at is no matrimone. But in ]ns
]?e decre seij>, ]?eis )?at are found weddid in ]?eis degrees, and wi)? Decre.
in schort tyme done, be J?ei departid ; 3et ]?e decre leeui)? not a
man to wed an o)?er, nor )?e woman noi)?er, wil j?ey two lyuen.
And so if )?e kirk wil not suffur J?is man and woman dwel to gidre,
what may )?ey do, but eifer dwel stille bi hem silue, til ]?ei may
fynd better grace, and tak J?e certayn and leue )?e vncerteyn, )?at
)?ei synne not a} en God, and abid til )?ei be formid wi]? holy
writ, how hem is best to do ? And if ani sey matrimoyn to be
leful in ]?eis degreis, speki); a} en )?e Fadre and Sone and Holy
Goost, be )?u ware ; for ]?e pope and J>e kirk sei)? )?at it is leful, wen
j?ei leefe it, solempni3e it, confermi)? and approui); it.
pis is a no]?er, )?at J?e kirk solempni3ing matrimoyn in degre XX. The
forbiden erri)?, consenting to synne, as it semi)?, and autori3ing iempni~_
synne. J?is semi)? so]? bi ]?is : Matrimoyn of cosyns in ]?rid and zinff
ford degre is not forbiden, not but bi )?e kirk ; and so it is no degrefor-
synne, not but ]?er forbedyng ; and as Poul sei)?, Were is not lawe, Jj
)?er is not breking of lawe, and eft he sei)?, If I bigge ageyn )?e RO.
)?ing )?at I ding doun, I mak mesilfe a trespasor ; and bi J?e same Gal'
WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY.
Ezek. nj°
resoun, if ]?c kirk, wi); out oole autorite, solempnJ3e matrimoyn
forbidun of ]?e general kirk, ]?is kirk ]?at ]?us solempni}!}? synni]?,
3he a}en }>e ordinaunce, and so a}en God, in als mikil as it do]?
a}en Goddis wille in ]?at ordinaunce. And if J?at mariage is maad
only but in autorite of )?e kirk, and neuer]?eles is no very mariage,
but synne vp on ilk side, in j?e making and in ]?e holding, it semi]?
}?at ]?us ]?is kirk is autor of ]?is, and bi )?us mykil ]?e makar at [as ?]
]?e kirk maki]? lawis ; and schuld wern men ]?er of, ]?at )?ei offendid
not ]?er in, and felle in to synne. And sin ]?ei wern not men as )?ei
schuld, ]?ei are cause of )?e fallyng of ofer men, and ]?at blud schal
De sout out of ]?er hand ; as God sei)? bi ]?e prophet, Son of man, if
f>u schewe not to my peple f>at ]?ei be ware, ]?ei schal falle in ]?er
wickidnes, and I schal seke ]>er blude of ]?in hand, perfor be ware
of making of mariagis, and of diuorsis, or departingis ; for ]?is J?ing
is so]?, J>at no man may depart ]?e J?ing J>at God ha]? jonid, no man
Doctor. may j°ynJ Dut if J7^ God joyn bi forn; forso]?, as ]?e doctor sei]?,
In ilk bodily mariage is vnderstond a goostly mariage, wilk J?e
bodily copling performi]?. And of ]?eis bodily weddingis are ]?re
Ausfeyn. good ]?ingis, os Austeyn sei)?, fei)?, entent to bring for]? barnis, and
)?e sacrament of mariage. And hard it were to depart ]?is mariage
]?us maad. And for ]?is are )?e bannis askid bi fore, to warn men
to fle in weddingis couetous lustis, and pride, and swilk o]?er vices
vnpertinent to ]?e mariage. And ]?us schuld men be warnid in
wat degre ]?ei mai not cum to gidre, and how ]?ei schuld be fei]?ful,
and lif honestly and holyly to gidre, in on entent to bring for]?
barnes. And for j?e kirk do]? not ]?is, and oft solempniji]? matri-
moynis J?at are maad for lust, and be ]?wen ]?eis ]?at knowen hem silf
vnable to bring for)? frut, in ]?eis cases it semi)? )?e kirk conseriti]? to
synne. And also in ]?eis ]?at are solempni3id, and after departid,
for ]?at ]?ei were not jonid bi God ; for dowtles ilk ]?ing ]?at is not
Ro. xiu°. °f fe ^i]7 i§ synne, as Poul sei]?. And it is but foly to sey )?at ani
erri]? in doing a}en )?e bidding of God, and synni]? not, for Crist
73
himsilf reprouip hem pat erren vnknowing pe scripture and pe
vertu of God.
An oper poynt is pis ; pat law canoun is contrary to Goddis XXI- Law
lawe, and pat decretistis, as to pat part of wysdam pat pei haue of contrary to
pe worldis wisdam, are Egipcieris. And pat hi sciens of canoun ^'rsetl^s'
holy writ is blasfemid, }he God himsilf, pat is pe lawe 3efar. And Egipcyam.
pat it were nede pis sciens as kaf for gret part to be clensid out of u
}>e chirche. In peis pingis I knowleche pat I haue rehersid pe
seyngis of doctoris, Parisiens and oper. Of pe wilk on seip pus,
pe lawe to be contrary to pe gospel moraly, wan it is not wip it to
help to pe perfeccoun of ping pat pe gospel schewip and biddip to
be done, but in ani maner is per a3en, in ani tyme, for ani cause
letting or troubling, or tarying after J?e sentence of Crist, pat seip, Matt- xiJ°-
he pat is not wip me, he is a3ens me, and he pat gedrep not wip
me, he sckaterip a brod. And so, syn pe law of pe gospel is cha-
rite, ri3tfulnes, troup, euenhed, mercy, clennes, and pes of God,
were pat ani law in ani maner helpip not pis, but to strif and debat,
to wrong, prid, and lust, and to swilk oper, dowtles it is a3en pe
lawe of God. Goddis law is ri3t ordeynd be God alone, explanid
bi Crist in word and dede, as law of pe gospel ; and pus law of pe
gospel is callid multitud of trewpis pat Crist hap tawt, namli, to
rewle his peple ; law canoun is callid law ordeynid of prelats of
pe kirk, and pronounce to constreyn rebell bi holy rewl, and it
may be vnderstondyn as pei ben contrari to pe lawe of pe gospel,
as are many decretal epistlis, and generaly alle pe tradicouns of pe
dowing of pe kirk fro pe tyme of Constantyn ; or as pey comoun
to pe law of pe gospel os articlis of pe feip, in holy seyno3is and
counseils, for os man is pe same in clopis and deedis, bringing in
knowing, so pe sam is pe law or trowp of pe gospel inpli3ed or
opunid bi pe kirk after ward, oper wise, but not contrari, explanit.
As it semip bi pe feip pat we trowe nor pe lawe canoun takip not
inpungning of pe law of God as to pis part, but as to pe toper part,
CAMD. SOC. 14. L,
74
is comonning mikil wif law cyuil, and f us it gedref in itsilf two
laweSj and of f is commixtioun of f e vsing of f eis two lawis f us is
Cruoxtom. diuersly sown gret seed of discord in f e kirk of God. Crisostom
seif, Mannis law haf bodily wynningis to cum, but Crist behetif
goostly f ingis to cum ; at fleschly men ar ay present f ingis putt
befor f ingis to cum, and bodili f ingis to gostly f ingis ; f is seif
he. And Jms as f e flesche and f e spirit are contrari, so f eis twey
lawis, namly, wil f e fleschly f ingis lettun f e spirit. Werfor f e
Parisiens. doctor Parisiens seif, Aduocatis in f er office geytun hem ay last
ing def ; fat semi]; to be figerid in Goddis lawe ; were Sichem, fat
is interpretid a foul, louyd Dyna, fat is interpretid cause, by was
occasioun he was slayn after. Notably is Sichem callid f e son of
Emor, fat is interpretid an asse, for men hard as assis, ]?at nnjt
not profit in of er sciens, were wont to heer decrees and decretals,
pe loue of Goddis lawe, and J>e condicouns of sciens of decres
Greyor. schuld streyn men fro Jns office. Of]?e loue of Goddis lawe Gregor
Salmc a*, sei)?, he ]?at louij? a kyng he loui)? his lawe. In ]?e Salme, his ee
ledis asken reson of men ; ee lydis fat sum tyme are opun, and
sum tyme clos, tokenif holy writ, fat is derk to sum, and opun to
sum, fat axen f o sonis men wef er fey louen God. A tokyn of
Goddis luf is wan ani stodief gladly in holy writ ; holy writ is
mikil dispicid for f e sciens of decrees. Werfor scho may sey fat
Gen. xujo. Sara seid to Abraam, pu dost vneuenly a3ens me, I hau 3euen myn
handmayd in f i bosum, and scho seing fat sche haf conseyuid haf
me to despit ; f e wench of holy writ is sciens of decrees, fat haf
holy writ to despit, for f e frut of wynning fat folowif f er of ; and
in Goddis lawe is figerid fe supprising fat fe sciens of wynning
dof in holy writ, be f e play in f e wilk Ismael oppressid Isaac ;
Gen. xzf. warfor as God bad bi Sara, Kast out f e wench and her son, so
haply it were need f is sciens in gret part to be excludid fro f e
kirk ; not only is holi writ despisid bi fat sciens, and blasfemid,
but God himsilf fat is f e law }euar, fat semif figerid in Goddis
75
lawe, wer it is red, J?at \ e son of a woman of Israel, )?at scho bar of Lev. xxiu°
a man of Egipt, stroue wi)? a man of Israel and blasfemid God of
Israel ; ]?us in J?e decretistis, ]?at are Israelitis in party, os to }>e part
of sciens ]?at)?ey han tane of Godis lawe, and Egipcians as to ]?e part
]?at )?ey haue of worldly wysdam, ]?ei blasfemen God of Israel, wil
]?ey calle ]?e lawe )?at he }af kafe, as vnprophitable, wen he sei]?
himsilf, I ]?i Lord God toching ]?e profitable ]?ingis ; )?erfor )?ei are isa. xluiij0,
ra]?er chaiFe of wilk ]?e gospel sei]?, I schal brenne ]?e chaffe wi]? Matt. Hj°.
fire vnslekable ; ]?e prophet sei]?, He ]?at ha]? a dreme, telle it as a jer. xxiu0,
dreme, and he ]?at ha]? my wordis, telle he my wordis verryli ; wat
is ]?e chaf to )?e corn, sei)? ]?e Lord ? And Austeyn sei]?, If ]?u folow Amteyn.
chaf ]?u schalt be chaf. And Odo sei]?, Jeroboam was dampnid, for odo.
he held ]?e peple abak by two kalfis ]?at ]?ei worschipid not God in
lerlm ; )?eis two kalfis are lawis and decrees, bi wilk clerkis are
haldun dotin, f>at ]?ey sacrificy not to God in J?e 513 1 of holi writ ;
J?is sei]? he. And ]?us sei]? an o]?er, Men occupied in mannis lawis, An other.
and putting be hend J>e helful lawe of Goddis comaundmentis,
schuld tak hed how in ]?is same ]?ei ren in ]?e curse of God ; for in
]?e Salm it is writun, Cursid be ]?ei ]?at bowen doun fro ]?i bid- Salm.
dingis. God biddi]? vs do dedis of kynd, and alle moralls are cxm'J0-
goostly dedis, or dedis of maneris bi f»e lawe of maneris. And
God ha]? 3euen to vs )?e newe lawe, compendiosar and more com-
plet and more profitablar pan ani o]?er lawe ; more ful, for ]?er is
not ]?at mai be put to mak it perfitar or compendiosar, for it is in
a word of charite profitablar, for non o]?er law profiti]?, not but in
as miche as it meue to ]?is. And here rehersi]? Austeyn, speking of Austeyn.
]?e multitude of tradicouns of ]?e kirk, ]?at sei]? J?us : Sum supprise
wi]? seruil chargis our religioun ]?at our Lord Ihu Crist wold to be
fre, in so wast halowing of sacramentis, so ]?at J>e condicoun of
Jewis is more suffurable, )?at is sogetid not to mannis tradicoun,
but to Goddis ordinaunce. But wat trow we ]?is seynt to cry )?is
day, if he liuid, a3ennis )?e multitude of lawis of ]?e kirk incorporat
WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY.
An other.
An other.
1.
Matt.xxij0
2.
Ambrose.
3.
Luc, xxi°.
Austeyn.
Gregor.
Ciprian.
Jerom.
Isidor.
4.
1 Tim. uj°.
Ambrose.
Bernard.
and extriuagaunt, wat a3en batails, a3en reseruacouns, a}en furst
frutis, and of er spolingis of goodis of f e kirk ; I trow he schuld
sey, f is reprouid Crist to f e phariseis, wif more 3he ful of raneyn.
And f is seif an of er, fat f e sciens of aduoketis is detestable semi)?
bi f is, fat in many f ings it is contrari to f e law of God. For f e
law seif, fat it is leful to f eis fat maken couenaunt to gidre, to
disseile eif er of er, wil f ei passe not f e midil of iuste price ; but
Goddis law seif, f u schal do no ]?ing 3euelfuly to f>i ne3bor in his
nedis to be releuid, and J>at no man bigyle his broker in no caas.
Efter ]?e lawe to him ]?at breki]? sei}>5 to him J>at breki)? fei)?, fei]>
schal be brokun to him ; ]?e gospel a3en ]?is biddij? do wel to fin
enemy. Eft an o]?er witti in ]?at sam law seij? }>us : It is to see
how now lawis of J?e seculer clerkis are contrari to holy writ^ and
to hold lawis of seyntis, and general counseils of hold holy clerkis.
First in this, po gospel biddi)? al men 3eld to fe emperor J?ingis
J>at are his, and to God ]?o ]?ingis J»at are Goddis, and Crist obeyed
to princes of J?e world vndirgoing ]?e dede ; and so ded J>e apostlis
and seyntis. Bat now new law techi]? )?at no prest nor clerk ow
to soget to no seculer lord. ])e secound. Crist payid tribut for
him and for Petre, and Ambrose acordi)? fat feldis of J>e kirk pay
tribut. But nowe newe lawe techij? J>at wif out consent of )?e
bischop of Rome f ei schal pay no tributis nor taliagis. ])e \rid.
Crist seij> in ]?e gospel to his disciplis, J>e kyngs of folk lorden vp
on hem, and fei fat vsun power upon hem are callid 3efars of
benefices, but 36 not so ; but he fat wil a mong 3ow be fe more,
be he as f e minister. And Austeyn, Gregor, Ciprian, Jerom, and
Isidir, kennen, as is put in f e law, fat it pertenif to seculer princes
to punisch f eis fat synnen opunly. But nowe clerkis bi f er new
lawis chalungen to hem fat only it pertenif to hem to punisch
symony, heresy, vsur, auoutry, and periury. tyefourt. pe apostil
seif, we hauing fode and hyling hald vs payed. And bi fe sawis
of Jerom, Ambrose, and Bernard, clerkis how to be content of
77
liflod, and haue al fingis in comyn. But now bi new lawis,
clerkis propriun to hemsilf temporal fingis as seclereis, and not
only to liflod and hyling, but to lust and worldly hynes. Werfor
it folowif , fat oif er f eis seyntis bar fals wittnes, or fat swilk lawis,
bi wilk f is maner of hauing is defendir, ar contrari to hem, and to
holy writ ; or ellis fat clerkis now are fals witnes a3en f er lawis,
and f efis, and refars, and fals intrewsars. pe fifth, pe apostil 5-
seif , no man halding bi km'3thed to God, inpli3ef him to worldly 2 Tim. if.
bisines ; and doctors a cordyn, as is put in f e law. But now al
most is no worldly bysines fat ministres of f e auter are not inplied
in, as is opun in f er dedis ; werof it folowif fat f ei lif contrari to
holy writ, and to f e decrees of hold fadres ; and if f ei haue ani
law defending hem in f is, fan is f e law contrari as f er lif is ; if
fey haue not, fan f ei lif vnlawfuly in f is. pe sixst. pe apostil 6.
seif, no man tak honor to him, but if he be callid of God. And Hel. v°.
after J?e decrees of senctis, as is opun in canoun, as it schal be
3euen to him J>at is callid and forsaki)?, so it schal be naytid him
J>at ofFre]? himsilf. But now new lawis kennen }>at he fat most
offrif him, and most persewif wij? 3eftis of hand, tunge, or seruise,
he schal be preferrid to J?e holiar and abler, bi vertu of a ded bulle.
pe seuynt. God biddi]? ]m schalt not do feft, nor coueyt J?e 7.
goodis of J>i nei3bor, but 3eld to ilk man fat is his ; and of fe de- Exod. xx°.
crees of seyntis, if f u haue foundun ani fing and not restorid it,
f u hast reft it. And eft, synnis are so mykil fe greuowsar as fey
hold and schuld lengar bynd. But now new lawis kennyn prescrip-
coun, fat if ani be in possessioun of of er mennis f ingis by a cercle
of 3eris, he schal ioi it as his oune, as is brokyn of Goddis bidding
mak ri3t. pe heyt. Crist biddif in f e gospel to his vicar, turn f e 8.
swerd in to f e schef ; and wordis of doctors and decrees acordyn joh. xuiij0.
fat prestis how not to vse f e bodily swerd wif f er oune hand, and
mani peynis are enioinid in new lawis for breking of f is. But f is
not a3enstonding, fei han founden a new ordinaunce and indul-
78 WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY.
gencis and remissiouns, if f ei sle cristun men wif f er oune handis.
9- ])e nynt. pe apostil seif , f e bischop be howuif to haue good wit-
i Tim. iij°. nes Q£ ^g-g ^at are w^ Qut . an(j jerom techif fat in chesing of f e
prestis requirif f e assent of f e peple. But now bi new lawis f e
10. peple schal not wit fer of. ])e tente. It is seid to prelatis, 30
Matt. u°. are lijt of f e world, and eft, snybbe f e synnar be for alle ; and
after f e decrees of seyntis, and of f e kirk, he fat correctif not,
schal be gilty as he fat ded f e dede. But now lawis 3euen leef to
tak money for gret synnis. and fat non schal let hem to contune
11. in synne for fat feynid correccoun. pe elleuynt. It is seid to
Matt. x°. prestis, Frely 36 han tan, frely 3euiJ? ; and to )?is acordij? mani decres
of J?e kirk, and doctors, wi]? mani peynis. But now are found new
constitucouns of procuracies and customis and oj>er expensis, so
J?at noi)?er sacrament, nor benefice, nor ministry, is 3euun nor tan
frely after Cristis bidding ; but oueral goj? symonie priualy or
12. apert. pe twelft. pe prophet seij? to prelatis, Crie, cese not, hie
Jsa. luiij0. Yl voYce as a troump, and schew to my peple J?er synnis ; cursid
be he fat forbedif his suerd fro blod, fat is his tong, and his
traueyl fro correccoun of synne ; and doctors cordyn, and hold
decres. But now new law kennif priuilegies and exempcouns
fro iust correccouns of faifful prelatis and curatis, so fat fey may
not reise Sathanas out of his nest, nor hele f e seek. Vp on f is
Lincoln. Lincoln crief out opon f e pope and seif, fat prelatis may not be
13. excusid, no but f ei happily wil lay al f e synne on f e pope. xiij.
pe Lord biddife kepe matrimony vndefoylid, and do non
aduowtry ; but now new lawis kennen fat f e man and f e woman
han bi twex hem drawen to gidre verray matrimony, fat if f e man
after tret wif a nof er woman, and lye bi her, if f e first woman may
not proue her contract, fan f e secound schal be his wif, bi resoun
of avowter, and he schal be cursid but if he tak to her as to his
wif. And 3et schal be enioynid bi f e law, in f e sacrament of
schrift, vnder f e peyn of dedly synne, to tak f e first and touch
WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY. 79
riot pe secound ; experiens of dede prouip pat it is pus, and pus
him be howuip to be cursid, but if he tak bope, and cursid if
he tak oiper pe ton or pe toper, pe four tent. God biddip pu 14-
shalt not sey fals witnes a3en pi ney3bor, nor lye, nor
forsuere pe, nor deme vniustly, nor a} en sey pe trow]? in no
maner; and mani lawis of pe kirk and sawis of doctors de-
claryn pis, and enioynen mani peynis for pe trespassers her of.
But now clerkis practisyn bi per new lawis pat a iuge schal witnes
bi his dome, pat an oper mannis ping is myn, and ajenword myn
a oper mannis, for pe fals witnes of two or of pre a3en pe trowp,
and if [ ? }if] pe sentens to sle pe innocent and curse pe giltles, 3 a
pow he wit pat it is fals. Also if a man be falsly accusid bi two
witnessis, if he deney it pat he is accusid of, and graunt ]?e sop, pan
he schal be condempnid per of as gilty. pe ncvj. [xv]. Goddis 15.
law biddip help pe supprissid, jugip to pe fadirles, defendip pe
wydow, and how temporal lordis ow to pole no wrong be don ;
and mani doctors and lawis and resoun acordyn to pis. But now
crien clerkis bi per new lawis, pat if a man be cursid fourty dayes,
pow he be cursid wrongly, and pat pan temporal lordis schal, bi
pe bischops signifying or bidding, put him in to prisoun, til he
suget him to per dome, pow it be vniust. pe xvij. [xvj]. If pat 16«
a man wed in to wif in pe face of pe kirk a cosyn of his, pe wilk
God forbedip him to towch, and after pis cosynage is knowen to
him, but it may not be known formably bi proue after pe court of
plete, 3ef pe woman after axe pe fleschly det, pow it be a3en pe
bidding of God to pay it, he schal be cursid, but if he tret her as
his wif. And if he do it, he brekip pe bidding of God, and in pis
cas he schal not be cursid bi her dome, or ellis he schal dwel
cursid pe daies of his lif, efter pe process of pe new decretal wip
Jon Andrewe. And pis inconuenient mai not be voydid w* mani
moo oper. pe xviij. [xvij] . pe apostil seip, Ilk ping pat is not 17.
of pe feip is synne. And pe lawe acordip, pat he pat dop a3en R0t XIU°
80 WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY.
conciens biggif to helle. And f is not a3enstonding fen schal man
do fing a} en his consciens, and curse him but if he obey, and fis
is contrari in itsilf and to God bof e,, fan f ei sey fat a man schal
raf er f ole f er sentence fan do a} en his consciens ; but war profit wer
fat if God curse al fat f ei curse, for fan God schuld curse fis man.
And it is iuel seid to bid man lett not to his wil for f e curse of
God. After fey sey fat wat fing f o bindif in 3erf or f e kirk, it
schal be confermid in heuen ; and }et f ei sey fey }ef mani sentens
18. fat bindun not anenst God. ])e xix. [xviii.] Eft fe apostil
Gal. v°. biddif men stond, and not be holden a} en wif f e 3 ok of seruage,
for law bringif no man to profit, not but fat fing fat is maad opun
in f e lawe, but he fat sekif to be iustified in f e law is fallen fro
Crist, for man be howuif be iustified of f e fei]? and grace and
goodnes of Crist; in )?is J>at he frely and wilfully trowi]? in to
Cristis teching, and felli)? his bidding. But now men seyn hem
iust, if ]?ey do ]>e law after J»er wit ; an ]?ow ]?at ]?ei do ]?ing ]?at is
a3eii Crist, and a3en consciens, ]?e law schal excuse him, and is
inow for him. Also J?e pope sei]? in his lawe, ]?at )?er are two lawis,
as law of J>e spirit, and law maad of men ; and who fat is led be
]?e law of J?e spirit is fre, and is not worfi fat he be dreuen vnder
maad lawe, and f erfor go he fre bi oure autorite. But now are
men lettid oftun bi maad lawis, rewlis, and constitucouns, to wirk
after fe spirit, or to do f e merciful dedis or ri3tfulnes frely, bi
autorite of Crist ; f is is oft prouid many tymys bi deed, os bof in
religious, and of er, wen it is not leful to hem to do f e dedis of
mercy, noif er bodily, nor gostly, if f er ouer man bid hem be stille,
and lefe alle f eis or ani of er lawis, rewl, or customis, wat euer f ei
be, wan f ei ar not wif f o gospel in ani maner substauns formid
or vsyng in to perfeccoun of fredum of f e gospel, but are in ani
maner, ani tyme, for ani f ing, letting, or trobling, or tarieng any
f ing fat gospel biddif, or counseylif to be don ; in f is fei are a3en
Goddis law, and a3enis God, aftur fe sentence of Crist befor seid,
He fat is not wif me, he is a3en me.
WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY. 81
An of er poynt is Vis : frat no man is Cristis disciple, but if he XXII.
l n • 4.- M tl- ,- -T- i • i, u- j- Cristis dis-
kepe Cristis counsel!, pis me fmgif wel is so]?, bi diuerse resouns. cz^ kepe
And f erfor we schal first vnderstond, as bof Goddis law, and
„. , . counseil.
expenens, and resoun techif, fat Cristis counseihs are callid in
two wise, as sum tyme f ing fat he counseilif to, and biddif not to
ilk man as of er comaundments ; as are f eis, fat men kepen in f e
gospel bodily pouert, and keping fro bodily weddingis, and suylk
of er. On of er wyse is callid his counseil f us, as he sterif oon to
do fus, an of er fus ; as he seid to f e man, 3 if f u wilt be perfi}t Matt. xix
go selle alle fat f u hast, and 3ef to f e pore, and f u schalt haue
mikil mede in heuen, and cum and folow me. And fus seif Poul,
fat he gaf counseil to f ingis as him f owt, but ilk man had his 1 Cor. uij°
proper 3 eft of God, to go as God haf callid him ; and f us in ilk
f ingis men nedyn euer f e counseil of God, to led hem in al f ingis
to do as is leful and spedy and best, and f is is a 3eft of f e Holy
Goost. And f us is opun, fat non is Cristis disciple, but if he kep
his counseil ; for ellis he lerif not at him, nor is not 3euen to his
sciens, nor led f er by, nor fillid f erof, nor of f e sciens of God, but
if he kepe his counseil ; for f us seif Crist, and rehersif f e prophet, Joh. uj°.
fat alle men able are taut of God. And God bi his prophet cursif
f eis fat wirken not bi his counseil, for f us he seif bi Ysaye, Who Isa. xxx°.
sonnis lifers, seif f e Lord, fat 36 schuld mak a counseil and not of
me, and wef a web and not bi mi Spirit, fat 36 schuld adde syn vp
on synne, fat 36 go doun in til Egipt and axid not mi Spirit, fer
for 36 schal mak counseil and it schal be schaterid, and as he han Prov. i°.
left mi counseil and sett mi Warnings at nout, I schal Iaw3e in 3our
def, and bymowe 3ow wen f is schal cum to 3ow fat 36 dred. And
many are f e witnessis fat kenun vs to do alle f ingis euer bi f e
counseil of God. But neuerf eles ouer fis we schal vnderstond
fat disciplis of Crist are seid in syndry maneris and degrees, as
sum in general, sum in special. In general maner are al Cristis
disciplis, fat after fe rewle of kynde folowif his lore. And
CAMD. SOC. 14. M
82
in an oper special maner weren his disciplis pat folowid him bi pe
kenning of Moyses lawe, and oper writun lawis. In pe prid maner
are peis his disciplis pat folowen his lore pat he taut in pe gospel ;
and pus sum are his disciplis in a degre pat are ordeynid and
chosun to folow him in lyuing, and poling, and teching ; and sum
in oper degre pat are ordeynid to be taut. And of peis sum are
iuel, and gon o bak ; and Judas was his disciple chosun, and his
apostil, and mani of his disciplis went a bak. But and sin Crist
Luc. xiu°. seip, Non may be his disciple but if he renounce alle pingis pat he
hap, and tak his cros and folow Crist, it folowip pleynly, pat pow
[a] man be his disciple in sum degre, neuerpeles in sum degre he
is not his disciple, but if he kepe his counseyl, and lef al ping.
A Doctor. And for pi pus seip a doctor, Who pat euer he be, pat in pe last
our of his dep kastip not al his bisines and his affeccoun in to God,
kasting fro him al worldly bisynes, baldly I dar sey, pat he schal
not after pis lif be Cristis disciple in heuen. Of pis schuld pei be
war pat occupien men toward her end a bout pe world, and de
parting and assining of per goodis, and to mak her heyris grete
after hem, and to mak pompous exequies and entermentis, biriel,
and swilk pingis, in to veyn nam after hem ; and pei pat occupien
hem wip japis, and remembren hem of per old iuel, in to lyking
per of, and pat sterip men in to morning for pei schal lefe pis world,
and pei mornyn for her frendis leuen it ; and men pat are ocupied
about testamentis, and schuld lok pat pe last wille of pe man wer
kepid, not only wat he wil, but how his wille schuld be rewlid.
Vp on pis schulde penk prestis, prelatis, and religious, and oper
pat han vowid to kep bodily pouert, obediens, and chastite, how
pat pei schuld folow Crist to be his disciplis trewly wip out ypo-
crisie ; pat pei fille her vow, and mak it not voyd, nor renne not
for pe brekyng and multiplieng of per synne in to pat curse pat
Matt. Crist biddip to pe scribis and to pe phariseis pus, Wo worp }ow,
he seip, pat gon about pe see and pe lond to mak a nouys of 3 our
WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY. 83
ordre, and wan he is made 36 mak him a son of helle double as
3 our silf.
An of er point is her put f us and axid, fat ilk man is holden to XXIII. ilk
do fing fat is f e better. And me f inkif fat ilk man is holden to JJ3^ftolto
do f e better ; and for f e clerar vnderstonding of fis, I suppose, the better.
fat as Goddis byddyngand comyn speche bofe, and as men vnder-
stondyn fat bettar or best is seid by f re resouns, or moo, or ellis
vp on f re maneris, as sum fing is seid better, or best, fan an of er
in his kynd, form, and vertu ; and f us is God seid f e best ouer
alle of er ; and f us gostly createris are seid better fan of er ; and
f us bi diuers resouns is on seid better fan an ofer. In f e secounde
maner is on seid better fan an of er, for f e maner and f e forme ;
and f us of fis is oft o fing seid better fan an o]?er. And J?us if
two men do a ]?ing, J?e ton is oft seid to do better ]?an ]?e to]?er.
And fus is a man of harmis seid better ]?an an oj?er, and a prest
better fan an ofer, and a religious man better fan an of er, and a
housbond better fan an of er, for he can better, and dof better fan
f e tof er. In f e f rid maner is a fing seid better fan an of er, in
fis, as it helpif better by sum wey and mene to f e 3 end of a fing,
fan an of er dof. And f us sum tyme a fing fat is seid to be warst
to sum man, is bi anofer resoun sed best for sum a3enword. And
f us seknes, and foul weder, and pouert is to sum men best, wan
f ei are menis to him to kepe Goddis biddingis, and to geyt blis ;
and so f ei are better to him fan riches, or fair wedur, or hele, wen
he schuld tak occasioun by hem to do synne, and displece God,
and deserue peyn. And f us a3enword wan f eis f ingis are to man
in to cause and help to plese God, fan are fei fe better to him.
And f us f ow it be better in heuen to seyntis to not traueyl, nor be
peynid, as we are here, neuerf eles it is better as for fis tyme ; for
f us seif Poule, forsof I am constreynid of two f ingis, hauing desir Phil. i°.
to be dissoluid, and be wif Crist, mikil better, certis to dwel in
flesche is profit necessary for 3ow. Also men seyn, f ow contem-
84
WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY.
Ecclus.
xxiij0.
Eccles.xij
Gal. u°.
platif lif be f e fairar, actif lif is f e profitabler ; and al f ing as Crist
did it so it was best, for he did ay f e best, and all f ingis wif out
defaut. And it is not to sey of alle ]>e warkis of God, fis is wars
]?an fat, and if any f ing fat Crist dede mi3t haue be don better,
fan were not he best and wisest, nor fe mi3tyest; and fis were
grete synne to sey ; f erfor f e best f ing fat ani man may do is to
do fat he biddif and counseylif to do, and to fat ende fat he
biddif and sterif ; and fis is generaly ilk man holdyn to do, vndre
gret peyn, }he bo)? of synne, and of punisching, and better f ing
may no man do, nor in better maner, nor to better ende. For f us
is writun in Goddis law, No f ing is better fan to drede God and
kepe his biddingis, nor f ing more helfular fan lok in his biddyngis.
And eft f us, Dred God and kep his biddingis, fat is ilk man. And
Poul seif, Noif er prepuce nor circumcicoun is out, nor out worf,
not but keping of f e biddingis of God ; and ani f ing schal not
profit to hem but in fis fat God biddif him, or counseylif him to
do it, and as he do]? it for fat bidding and counseyl ; and ]ms is
Matt. xix°. bidun in ]?e gospel, If fu wil enter in to lif kep Goddis biddingis,
fat are )?eis, J>u schalt luf fi Lord God wi]? al fin hart, in al fin
soul, of al fi mynd, and fi ne}bor as fi silf ; and fis is more fan
alle brend offryngis and sacrifice, for in fis hangif al f e law and
prophetis. An syn fis is bidding of God, man is holden generaly
for to do fis, for ellis he may not be saue, as Poule prouif , for no
penaunce, ne purnes, ne chastite, ne of er f ing fat he may do.
Heb. xiij*. And wif out swilk of er dedis many han comyn to heuen. Also
f us seif Poule, fat it is better to stable f e hert in grace fan in
meytis, fat han not profitid to hem fat gon in hem. Also f us is
i Sam. xvn. writun, Obedience is better fan slayn offring, and for to assent is
better fan for to offer f e fatnes of schep ; for it is os f e synne of
wychis to repungne, and as f e synne of idolatrie to not assent ;
and to obey to Cristis biddingis is man euer holden, and not ay to
offer. And many moo witnes are how a man is holdun to do f e
85
best. Al so f us seif Jerom, He errif not menly fat of two good Jerom.
f ingis puttif f e lesse good be fore, and leuif f e better ; and of f is
it semif fat he is holdun to do f e better.
An of er is f is ; fat ymagis of seyntis are not to be worschipid. xxiv
pis haue I seid, and to sey f is sterif me, fat God seif in his com-
aundment, f u schalt not mak f e a grauyn f ing, noif er in ilk liknes
fat is in heuen a bouen, ne fat is in 3 erf be nef, ne of f ingis )?at
are in wateris vnder fe 3 erf ; j?u schalt not lowt, ne worschip hem.
And Gregor seif f us, If ani wil mak an ymage, as for a bok tul Gregor.
him, forbed him not, but to worschip f e ymage almaner wittirly
forbeed f u him ; but f i brof erhed stere bisily f is, fat men tak of
f>e si}t of fe fing )?e more compunccoun, and be kesed in ]?e wor-
schiping of fe Trinite a lone, for on is to honor ]?e f ing, a nofer is
to se fer by wat is to be honorid. And for )?is seif a nofer, If Another.
ymagis be worschipid, not bi vicary worschip, but by ]?e same
worschip of God, doutles it is idolatrie ; for noifer fe stok, noifer
]?e craft of man is to be worschipid so. It is certeyn bi witnes of
holy writ, and of seyntis, and of experiens, fat we awe not to arett
swelk f ingisj or f ingis formid of marinis craft, heyar nor euen to
man in kynd, warn God haf maad to his ymage and similitude ;
ne we owe not to rett hem more lek to Crist, or to seyntis, in form
or representacoun, fan man, ne worf iar ne holyar gostly ; ne we
ho we not to hope ne trist in hem more, ne luf hem better, ne }ef
hem moo f ingis, ne grace. God biddif vs honor man many fold,
and for many causes ; and it is not were he biddif so worschip f er
ymagis, but his forbeding to worschip hem is opunly found. And
many veniaunces are schorid to her worschipars, for f us is writun
in holy writ, Wat profitif a grauen f ing ? for his feynar haf hopid Hal. ij°.
in his feynid f ingis, fat he schuld mak doumb simulacre. Wo to
him fat seif to a tre, be sterid, and a stil ston, arise ; wef er it
schal not ken sciens ? Lo it is helid wif gold, and ilk spirit is not
in f e bowell. And eft, f e trees polist of forgars, and engilt, and Bar. uj°.
86
WICLIFFE S APOLOGY.
siluerid, is fals, and may not speke ; fey are bout in ilk price, and in
hem is no spirit. Wif [out] feet fey are born in schuldres, schewing
to men f er on nobeley ; fey schal be confoundid fat worschipun
hem. If f ei fal vn to f e 3erf , fey schal not rise of hem silf : if
ani sett hem vp, fey schal not stand. And if f ei f ole ani iuel or
good of ani, f ei schal not quit ; fey may not ordeyn a king, ne do
a wey, ne }ef riches, ne quit iuel. If ani vow a vow to hem, and
quit it not, fey schal not ax it ; f ei schal not liuer a man fro def,
ne pulle a wey f e feble fro f e mi}tiare ; f ei restore not f e blind to
f e sy3t, ne liuer man fro need ; fey schal not haue mercy of f e
wydowe, ne do wel to f e faderles ; f ei han no feling ; f ei are forgid
of forgers, and of goldsmif is ; f ei schal not ellis be, not but os
f e prestis wel ; fey schal lefe fals f ingis, and repreue ]>o fat are to
cum after; fey reyse not a king to regioun, fey schal not 3eue
reyn to men ; fey schal not deme dome, ne liuer f e regioun fro
wrong, for ]?ey may no J?ing ; )?ey schal noi)?er curse kyngis, ne
blesse ; ]?ei schal not schew tokunis in heuen, ne schyn os \ e sunne,
ne 3ef Ii3 1 as ]?e mone ; after ]?ei schal be rotun, and schal be
repreue in j?e regioun. Better is J>e iust man J?at ha]? no simulacre,
Baruc. for he schal be far fro repreuis. pus sei]? ]?e prophet Baruc. And
Sap. any*. J?e wise man sei)?, pei are vnblessid, and her trist a mong }>e ded,
fat han callid goddis ]?e werk of mannis handis, gold, siluer, and
fynding of craft. Or if J?e carpenter hew doun of ]?e wode a tre,
and graue it diligently, and forg it, and mak a dwelling for it, setting
it in a wal, festining it wij? irne ]?at it fal not, loking to it, witing
]?at it may not help it silf, it is an ymage. And of his substauns,
and of his sonis, and of his weddingis making a vow he enquiri]?.
He schami)? not to spek wij> it, ]?at is wi)? out sowle : and for hele
he prayej? }>e seek, and for lif )?e dede, and incallij? in to help it J>at
is vnprofitable ; and for jurney axi]? of it ]?at is vnprofitable in all
Sap. xiu°. ]nngis. Blessid )?e tre ]?at ri3tfulnes is don by ; but J>is J>at is maad
an idol bi hand, is cursid, and he fat maad it. perfor respice schal
87
not be idols of nacouns ; for pe createris of God are maad in to
hate, and foundingis to pe soul of men, and to fot trappis in to
feet of vnwyse men. For pe multitude brow3t to bi pe spice of pe
warke, now pei 3 cue to hold os God pat bi forn was honored as a
man. And pis hap ben pe desseit of mannis lif ; for men deser-
uing oiper to affeccoun, oiper to kyngis, pey han 3euen pe incom
municable name to trees and to stonis ; and it sufficied hem not
han errid about pe sciens of God, but lyuing in bateyl of vnkun-
ning, pus many and gret iuel pey calle pees ; forsop oiper sacrify-
ing per sonis, or making merk sacrifices, or hauing warks ful of
wodnes, fey kepe iioiper clene lif, ne wedding, but on slep an oper
bi enemy [ ? envy], and vowtrand, or doing a vowtri, drying, and al
oper mengid to gidre, blud, mansleyng, peft, feyning, corrupcoun,
vnfeipfulnes, trouby, periury, noys, wasting of pe goodis of God,
filyng of soulis, chaunging of berpe, vnstedfastnes of wedding,
vnkynd lechery, and vnchastite. pe worschiping of cursid idols is
pe bikynning, cause, and ende of all iuel; for wil pey joyen, oiper
fei wax wode, or prophecyen fals f>ingis, or lyuen vniustly, or for
sweren hem sone. Wil J>ei trist in ]?e idol )?at is wi}> out soule,
swering iuel, ]?ey wen hem not be noyed ; ]?er for bof> schal cum
wor]?ly to hem, for iuel ]?ei felid of God, tenting to idols. And
vniustly J»ei sware in idol, dispicing ri3tfulnes.
But ]?u sey a3en, pat fes, and o]?er swilk, are seid of idols ];at
vnfei]?ful men worschipid as ]>er god, and in wilk ]?ei worschipid
deuel, and ]?at forgid to ]?e liknes of no ping ; for pe apostil seip,
An idol is no ping in pe world; pey are not seid of ymagis brout i Cor.
in bi pe kirk. For pe decre seip, Cristun men callen not worscipful Deere.
ymagis goddis, ne seruen not to hem as to goddis, ne put not
hope of help in hem, ne abidip not in hem pe dome of help to cum,
but pei worschip hem to pe memory and record of raper men, but
pei serue not hem wip Goddis worschip, ne any creature ; pus seip
pe decre. Forsop pe decre seip wel, acording holi writ, pat cristun
88 WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY.
men serue not to hem, ne to ani creature, bi Goddis worschip ;
fat is f ei how not to serue to hem ; ne verrey cristun men don
not ; f erfor f ei fat don are not verrey cristun. And it is to note,
fat in diueris maners a man haf a god. First alle we han God
Almi3ti, fat is God to alle, and autor of lif, and 3efar of alle goodis.
Pe secound, he ha); god fis fat he moost lufif , and wer in he
tristif, as in God ; and fus mani han mani goddis, fat f ei sett in
f er affeccoun bifor God Almi3ti, and to serue f eym raf er, and warn
f ei more worschip ; os it semif of dedis, and of sawis of f e scrip
ture, and of seyntis. And in diuers maner do)? man idolatre ; first
wan he settif in his affeccoun ani f ing bi for God ; f e secunde,
of vndu ordre and cause : and fus on f re wise ; first, 3euing to f e
creature f ing onli to God du ; f e secound, honoring God vn-
honestly ; f e f rid, honoring f e creature for God, and vnhonestly.
And fus man dof idolatre in hert synriing ; for als mani idols haf
a man, as he haf dedly synnis. Also of his gold and siluer a man
Col. uj°. makif an idol, wan he worschipif it a boun God, for fe apostil seif,
fat auarice is seruice of idolis. And f us man hoping ouermikil or
tristing in a ymage, or making of er to trist f er in, fat he may
coueytously geyt f er good, forsof he makif to him f er of an idol,
and fus in maner dof as foul idolatre as ef en men. And fis may
not be noyed to be don, for many trowen fat ymage to be God,
and many trowen Goddis vertu sogetly to be f er in, and fus fey
are more affect to o ymage fan to an of er ; fat doutles is idolatre,
as trewe men seyn. And fus mani erren, and fis were to be
Austeyn. mendid. For fus seif Austeyn, Vtterly f ei han deseruid to erre,
fat han sowt Crist and his Apostlis, not in holy boks, but in peyn-
Ciement. tid walls. Also Clement seif, If we wil verreyly worschip Goddis
ymage, doing wel to a man, honor f e verey ymage of God in him.
In ilk man forsof is f e ymage of God, but f e similitud of God is
not in alle, but were f e sowle is beninge, and to mynd pure, perfor
if 36 wil verily worschip fe ymage of God, we opun to 3ow fis fat
WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY. 8!)
is verrey, )?at 36 do wel to a man J?at is maad to ]?e ymage of God,
and 3 cue him honor and reuerens ; 3euit meyt to ]?e hungry, drink
to J?e fristyj clojns to )?e nakid, min string to ]?e seek^ herbarow
to ]?e straunger, and necessarijs to ]?e prisouner. Arid )?is is )?at schal
be gessid verrily done ; J?eis gon so myche in to )?e honor of God, ]?at
he ]?at do)? not ]?eis )?ingis, if he may, schal be trowid to do despit to
]?e ymage of God. Wat honor of God is ]?is, to ren a bout bi tre, and
stone, and formis, and honor as God veyn figeris, and wij? out soule,
and despice man, in warn is verily ]?e ymage of God. But and be]?
certeyn, )?at if ani do mansleing, spovvsbrekyng, or ani ]?ing of wrong
to man, in )?is ]?ing ]?e ymage of God is sylid ; ]?is sei]? Clement,
perfor now, as Poule biddi]?, fle we for worschiping of idols ; for 1 Cor. #°
now is God maad man, and perid ha]? a man, and schewid to us al
jringis of his godhed ]?at are to lif, and to pite, and we are maad
on wi]? Crist; and his body, and his membris, and quiknid of his
spirit ; ]?at we schuld do no idolatre, ne worschip no ]?ing for no
iuel ende ; f»at we schuld mak now no dead ymagis, ne idolis of
our self, ]?at we do wan we are wij? out ]?e spirit of Crist, and lif in
pride, lechery, and fals coueytis, and swilk o]?er synnis ; ]?an are we
foul idols and foul fendis ymagis, as Crisostom merki]? wel. And if Crisost.
we worschip and luf J?eis f>ingis, and o]?er men for hem, doutles we
are foul, doing idolatrie ; and }ms we do wi)> o]7er createris wan we
honor hem a3en Goddis bidding, and a mis, and for foul ende, as
Austeyn declari]?. And ]?us we schuld flee idolatrie ]?at we do wi]? Amteyn.
men, ]?at honor we mikyl more J?an Ihu Crist ; for wan a man is
sett to do ]?e office of God. and ha]? not in him ]?e ^ertu of God,
ne wit, ne wil, ne dede, wat is he but ymage and idol maad of men.
As Bernard sei]?, A kynge vnwise is but a nape in ]?e house rofe ; Bernard.
and ]?us it is of prestis, prelatis, and of oj?er religioun, in J?e same
maner. Wil ]m hast habit and schauin croun, and o]?er signis wi]?
out vertu and lif of spirit, and wi]? out ]?e dede ; ]?u art but peyntid
and lied ymage, as Jerom witness!]? wel, and idols and similacris. Jerom.
CAMD. SOC. 14. N
90
Archedea- Archedeacoun sety, As ]?e he]?un men had sex kyndis of similacris,
cleyen, treeii, brasun, stonun, silueren, and golden, so ban lordis
now sex kyndis of prelatis. Cleyen similacris are fleschli prelatis,,
Salme of J?e wilk J?e Salme sety, I schal do hem awey as ]?e cley of J?e
stretis. Treen similacris are prelatis rude in ]?er doctrin, and on-
Jerom. sensible of wit. Jerom sei]?, Pe tre is woundun in siluer, ]>ei are
seid to be maad in to prelatis, for j?ei are tan vp wi}> out mater of
dignite, bering vp in her schuldres J?at are not but in opynioun.
Brasyn prelatis are ]?ei ]?at ban worldli eloquence ; of wilk J>e
i Cor. xiij°. apostil sei)?, I am maad as bras sounning, or as J?e cymbal tynking.
Stonen prelatis are ]?ey endurid in temporal ]?ingis bi J?e affeccounis
of men f>at ]?ey brek bi seculer power. Silueryn are ];ey j?at seyn
wi}> ]?er maister to ]?e persewars of Crist in his membris, Wat wil
3e 3 cue vs and we schal betray him to }ow ? Goldun prelatis are
J?ey J>at are maad only for nobelay of kyn ; J»us sei}> he. In swilk
men schuld idolatre be fled, for j?ei schuld desir no worschip,
obediens, ne seruice, but as God biddi)? hem ; so J>at in hem God
be honorid, seruid, and obeyed, and neuer bid but his biddingis ;
nor put not his bidding be hynd, for keping of her, for j?us doyng
f>ei don werst idolatri, and taken to hem J?e honor ]?at God schuld
haue, and putten him out. And ]?us men schuld obey hem, and
trust and serue, os God biddi]?, and no farmer ; ]>at J?ei do not ido-
latrie wi]? hem, if ]?ei obey to ]?er biddingis a3en Goddis biddingis,
or trust to J?er wordis, if ]?ey be not wordis of God.
'Go^el Tke ^ ^ an °^er Pomt 5 fat I76 ^osPe^ writun is not to be worschipid.
writun not As to |?is I haue rehersid ]?e sentens of Crisostom, were he seij?
^chippid" ^US : ^um W^ scnew nem holiar )?an oj»er., ]7ei bind to gidre J?e part
CHsost. of an hem, or of heris of seyntis, and hangen vp hem. O vnpite !
}?ei weling schew more holines in ]?er clones, ];an in j?e body of
Crist; ]?at he J?at 3et f>e body of Crist was not helid, schuld be
sauid bi ]>e holines of j?e hem of his cloj?, ]?at he depering in ]>e
mercy of God, trust in ]?e cloj>is of men. And J>e same sentens
WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY. 91
he haf 3.3 en hem fat han fe gospel writun hanging a bout fe neke
for 3ele. Wan f ei han hirid it in fe kirk and are not 3elid, and
axif wef er is f e gospel in leuis of wordis, or in vertu. If it were
in f e leuis, f u hangist it resounably, but now it is not in f e leuis
of f e parchemyn, but in f e vertu ; and bi hering f u art not 3elid,
f erfor in veyn f u hangist f e leuis a bout f i neke. And Jerom Jerom.
seif, Wene we not f e gospel to be in wordis of writingis, but in
wit, not in ouer face, but in f e merowe, not in f e leuis of wordis,
but in rot of resoun ; f us seif he. But worschiping is tan on mani
maner wis ; I suppose fat we how not to honor f e gospel f us, fat
is to sey, f e henk, or f e parchemyn, and f e figeris ; wening werk-
yng to be gostly in hem, or f e spirit of God, or f e godhed ; noif er
fat swilk writing bi hem silf drif a wey fendis, or seknes, or kep
fro harmis, as sum not vndirstonding wel gostly f ingis demun ;
fow we, taking 3ed to ];e f>ing, may after agre worschip such
J>ingis writun, as men seeng ]?e letter or selle of a lord, may bow
him, or do of his hod ; and to J?is sentens I suppose Austeyn to Austeyn.
cord. If he comend hem ]?at worschipun ]?e gospel writun or of>er
writingis, not for J?ei rettid hem in hem self holiar or vertuosar, or
more effectual, fan ofer, but for J?e honor and reuerens J>at ]?ei
haue finaly in f>e ]?ing takun bi hem. But if f>u sey, bi J?e towching
of Cristis body mani were helid, and bi ]?e towching of his clofis,
as ]?e gospel schewif, and fe apostle sent sudarijs to put on men
schaking wif fendis, and J>ei were dryuen a wey. And it is seid,
fat a woman maad an ymage of Crist, and an herbe bi touching
f er of reyceyuid f e vertu of heling, f er for man may tryst in
swilk fingis. And to f is I seid fus, bi sentens of doctors, fat
Crist is more excellent and vertuosar fan of er createris ; f e se-
cound, f ei fat were helid were not helid sympli bi f e touching, but
for f e trust fat f ei strechid finaly in to God. And for f is seif
Crist, pi feif haf maad f e saue. And eft seif f e bok, fat noif er Marc. u'\
herb ne plaster helid hem, but f e word of God, fat helif al f ing ;
WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY.
Chrisos-
tom.
and mani touchid and were not helid, noi]?er to body nor to soule.
To ]?e ]?rid it is seid, ]?at suilk ]?ingis were first ]?olid, and miraclis
for rude men, and hem to be confermid in ]?e fei]?. But now ]?e
opun is opun, it is veyn and supersticion to ]?e peple to haue swilk
Jnngis, pus sei]? Crisostom, Sum miraclis are of God, and sum of
]?e fend, for it is to kum power to be 3euen to ]?e fend to do signis
not of good part, J>er for we how to seek if it be necessary after J?e
tyme or not. If Crist dede miraclis for }?e conferming of ]?e vn-
feijrful, it is opun, wan non is vnfei]?ful, it is no nede to do miraclis ;
]?erfor he ]?at do]? an vnprofitable signe is a fals profit, for he do]?
not to edifie o]?er in )?e fei]?, but ]?at he boost him silf in his dede.
pus sei}? Bede, and rehersi]? Gregor, pe tokunnis of miraclis, in ]?e
beginning of ]?e kirk, were only necessary ]?at sche schuld growe to
]?e fei]?, norischid wi]? miraclis, as we watteren plantis til ]?ey han
ben rotid, and ]?an we cesser to watter.
Peis are o]?er two poyntis. On ]?at charmis on no maner are
leful. An o]?er, ]?at it is supersticious to hang wordis at )?e nek.
As to ]?eis I haue seid ]?us ; In ]?e law of God is J?us writun, Wan
]?u cumyst in to ]?e lond ]?at ]?i Lord God schal 3eue ]?e, be war ]?at
]?u wil not folow ]?e abhominacoun of ]?e folk ]?at ]?er be, ne be ]?er
not found in ]?e )?at compasi]? his sone or dowter, drawing bi ]?e fire,
ne J?at aski]? ariolers, nor dremis, ne chitering of briddis, ne ]?at
]?er be wiche, ne enchaunter, ]?at is chermar in our spech, ne ]?at axe
counseil of hem ]?at han iuel sperits, noi]?er at diuinar, ne seek of
dead ]?ingis ]?e trow]? ; for ]?e Lord wlati]? of ]?eis ]?ingis, and of J?eis
maner of felonies he schal do ]?eis folk a wey in ]n entry ; ]?u schalt
be perfit, and wi]? out spot wi]? ]?i Lord God. And eft, Bow J?u
not to ]?er wicchis, ne axe no )?ing of ]?er ariolers, ]?at 36 be not
polut be hem. 36 schal not a wat dremis, ne diuyn bi criing of
briddis, ne clip ]?e hed in to round, ne schaf ]?e hed, ne calle vp
on ]?e dead ; 36 schal not prik 3or flesch, ne mak to3ow ani figeris,
isa. viif. ne stigmes, ]?at are woundis. But if ]?ey sey to 3ow, seek of Phi-
Bede.
XXVI.
Charmis,
Deut.
Lev. xijc°.
WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY. 93
toneris and of diuineris, J?at gnasten wi)? J»er tej? in her chauntingis,
wefer not a peple schal seek visioun of her God, for ]?e quek and
]?e dead ? perfor goj? more to )?e lawe and to )?e witnes, )?at if J>ei
sey not after J?is woord, morow Ii3t schal not be to hem. Also Jms
writij? Austeyn, and is put in decrees, Fetyful prestis ammonest Austeyn.
]?e peple, ]?at )>ei wit ]?er wichecraftis and enchauntingis to may do
no J>ing of remedy to ani seknes of man, ne of best, noi]?er to best
langering, halting, or sare, or doing to lech ani fing, but J?at )?ei
are panteris of ]?e wold enemye, bi wilk )?e fals fend enforcip to
deceywe mankynd. If ani clerk vse )?eis Jnngis be he degradid,
and ]?e lewid man ]?at vse ]?eis ]?ingis be cursid. And eft Jnis, A Austeyn.
wayti]? not ]>eis Egipcian daies, ]?at we call dysmal, ne kalendis of
Janiuer, in wilk sum seyingis, and comessacouns, and 3eftis, are
3euyn to gidre, as in to begynning of good 3ere, ne monjns, ne
tymys, ne 3eris, ne dayes, ne course of J»e sunne, ne J>e mone, for
36 )?ata way tun ]?eis or ani o]?er diuiningis, desteneys of auguris, or
tenten to hem, or consenten to )?e waytars vnprofitably, and wif> out
cause, he howi); more to his dampnacoun J?an to his saluacoun ; or
J>ei ]?at seek bi noumbre of lettres, or of )?e men [moon ?], and figer
of nigramauncy, }>e lif or de]? of ]?e seek, or wel]? or disess to cum,
or J>ei J?at tentun to dremis writun, and falsly tytlid in Daniel's
name, or canelis f>at are callid of ]?e holy apostolis, or chitering of
briddus, or sich o]?er, for hous to be maad, or weddingis to be
couplid, or in gedering of herbis, seij? ani charme but ]?e pater noster,
or J?e crede, or puttij> ani strowis wij? figeris writun on men for
any infirmite, or vp on bestis, or tenden to wiche falsnes in hailes
or tempestis, J?ey J?at trowen to swilk ]> ingis, or gon to ]?e hous of
hem, wite )?ei hem to haue brokyn )?e cristun fei)?, and ]?e baptem,
and to be paynims and apostatais, )?at is goyng o bak, and to be
J>e enemyes of God, and greuowsly to haue incurrid his wra]?, be
[but ?] if ]?ei mend bi ]?e penaunce of }»e kirk be recounsilid ; for
J>e apostil seif>, We]?er het 36 or drynk or do ani o]?er ]?ing, do all 1 Cor. x
94 WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY.
)?ingis in ]?e name of our Lord Inu Crist, in warn we lirin, are
sterid, and ben. peis sawis and sich o]?er like are trow]? endles,
and bidun to us to be kepid wij? out dispensacoun bo]? of God and
Deere. of j>e kirk ; as j>e decre sei)?, J?at ]?ow no ]?ing of iuel be schewid to
be in swilk ]?ingis, neuer]?eles 3et ]?ei are defendid of ]?e kirk to
fei)?ful men, ]?at ]?ei go not a3en vnder ]?e spice of diuining to }>e
wold worschipping of idols. And ]?us )?ei are bidun to vs to kepe
)?at we how not to rette ]?eis ]?ingis in to God til vs, noi]?er ]?is to
cause in vs goostly vertues ne maners, noi]?er ]?ei may 3 cue til vs
grace ne hele, but if we kepe Cristis biddingis ; ne ]?ei may not
harme vs, if we do his biddingis, for non aduersite schal noy vs,
if wickidnes lord not in vs. And if we do his biddingis, al ]?ingis
schal obey to vs, os ]?ei are maad to serue vs, and to be soget and
boner to vs, and we how not to vse J?eis on ani maner, not but as
God biddi]?, and counseili]? vs ; ]?erfor ]?is semi]? helful, if ani be
vexid wi]? seeknes, or greuid wi]? vniust nei3bor, or on ani oj?er
Job. xiij°. Seid greuid in ani maner, ]?at he say wij> Job to God, How many
wickidnes haue I and synnis, schewe me my felownies and my
defaultis, J?at I wit wat me lacki]?, and ]?at I mend my sarow, and
haue mend J?e jnngis ]?at I haue misdon, o]?er be vnkunning, or
infirmite, or be maleyce, and tak J»eis disessis for mending and
mercy of God, and mikil less fan I haue deseruid ; and tak j?an
swilk medicynis os God ha]? maad, and bidun, and desseyue not
veynly himsilf, ne incur not more indignacoun, for it is certeyn
]?at God ha]? don many veniaunce for J>eis felownies, and al are
writun to our disciplin, correccoun, and warning. And who ]?at
Jac. i°. nedi}? ani wisdam, or help for ani ]?ing, axe of God, as seynt Jame
sei]?, and al J>at is spedful schal plentiuowsly be 3euun to him.
But neuer]?eles, as comyn spech techij? vs, and Goddis lawe, and
clerkis charmis are callid in diuers maner. And ]?eis Jnngis may
be vsid in syndre maner, J?erfor it semi]? to me spedy to clere sum
wat J?is maner ; ]?erfor I suppose her, ]?at charmis and enchaunt-
WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY. 95
mentis for bidun fat f e it are fat are brout in bi fendis curst, and
bi stering of fendis, a}en f e bidding of God, and also be mannis
vanite and foly, wif out ground of God Almi3ti, and in wilk men
trystun of help wif outun him, and oftun a}en as 3efun and vn-
feif ful don ; f us we callid charmers f o fat wil bi f er curst haue a
fing f ow it piece not God. And f is schewif what is a charme,
wef er it be charme maad or writun, or f e wirking of f e charmar.
And enchauntors are f oo fat in callun fendis to ken hem f ingis,
or to telle hem f ingis be for, or to help hem, wef er f ei do it bi
preyor, or bi sacrifice offrid to hem, or bi ani ofer vnleful maner.
And swilk we callen phitoners. Also ariolers f oo fat maken placis
to here God, or wenun to bow God to do for f e place, as Balaam
fat sowt to curse f e peple ajen Goddis bidding : and wan he rmjt
not curse hem in o place, he sout to curse hem in a nof er, and
went fat God wold haue bowed tul hem. And ruspiceris are f oo
fat loken to horis or tymis, are goddis or ofer gouernoris, or wen
fat f ei may bowe God to do fing in on houre, fat he wil not do
in an ofer. An augurreris we calle f oo fat tentun to fe garring
and fliyng of briddus, as if f ei brout good or harme, or God be led
ofer wise f er bi, to do ofer wyse fan as is iust, and good, and
merciful, and trewe. And dremridars we calle f oo fat tentun to
dremis, os if fey drem bi original and principal cause of God ; or
iuil or good bi led bi f e drem to do veynly, or vniustly, or to be
chongid. Nigrarnauncers are f ei fat bi figeris or markyngis vp on
f e dead body of best or of man, f us enforcif to geit wityng, or to
wirk, or f us to bow God. And on f is maner God forbedif to clep
f e hed in to round, or to schaf f e berd, or to mak f us ani figeris
on f e dead, os to geit ani fing f er by, but if God wel, or ellis to
bow him or chong him f er bi ; f us we callen f e magis, f oo fat
calculun bi f e sternis f ingis to cum, wening as f ei were Goddis
gouernours, chef of f is world, or ellis fat God may be chaungid,
and led bi hem. And fus are callid geomanceris, fat werkun bi
fe 3 erf. And idromauncers, fat f us wirkun bi fe watir. Ayero-
mauncers fat wirkun bi f e eyre. Piromauncers fat wirkun bi f e
fire. And spices are content vnder f eis maney, as doctors declarun
wel ; Austeyn, Gregor, Basil, and Isidor, Crisostom, Lincoln, and
of er. And holy writ in many places dampnif f eis f ingis. And
f us sortilegers fat settun f er curst finaly in f e cauil, and wenun fat
Austeyn. fis ledif or bowif ani f ing finali to profit ende. And f us Austeyn
seif , fat f er are f owsand spices of veyn supersticoun, fat is, f ing
veynly ordeynid, and veynly vsid, and veynly fat men atristun in,
and all silk f ingis are forbidun 36 in fis, fat f u schalt not tak his
name in veyn. And syn God haf forfendid f eis f ingis, and holi
doctoris bof and f e kirk, as is oft declarid, it is veyn and supersti-
coun, and fe kind of idolatrie to vse such f ingis a} en f us mani
biddingis, autoritees, witnes and counseilis, be for fat man may
proue bi holy writ, and wittnes of seyntis, for f is is sof , fat is not
contrari to himsilf, ne holy writt contrary to itsilf, ne feif ful doc
toris contrary her to, fat seyn to us how f eis f ingis are iuel. And
if men sey fat swilk f ingis are spedeful, for God haf }euun vertu
in herbe, in word, and in ston, and men sem oft at ee fat swilk
f ingis help, it is sof fat God haf 3euen vertu in all f ingis, fat he
haf maad and ordeynid how f ei schal be vsid, and in to wat ende.
And so how ilk man to vse hem as he ordeynif , but not a}en his
ordinauns, ne wif out. And so fis 3euif not proue, fat fei profit
hangid a bout f e nek ; bi for fei men fyndun writun and bidun.
And fan men seyn swilk f ingis help ; fis is no certeyn wif outen
bettar proue, or grounde ; for as doctors declarun wel, sum tyme
men wen to see a f ing wan fei see it not, os is schewid bi jogulors,
dremers, and rafars. And sum tyme man is holpun bi treyst fat
he haf in o f ing, or bi dred entrid, and not bi fat f ing as phisek
techif and experiens. And sum tyme men wenun to be helpid,
whan he is mikile more hendrid. And wan f e fend haf men in
daunger, sum tyme he deseiuif hem tul fey do him sacrifice, and
WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY. 97
]?an he cessty to harme hem, or fendi]? hem ouer wyl. And )ms
fei are seid to help. But wan ]?is is lokid feijrfuly, fey are wel
more hendrid fan helpid, wyl fei are brout in to mis trowf, and
hopi]? to haue helpe wif out God. As fe decre declarij? wel : And Deere.
if f>ei sey it be semi]? bi holy writ fat enchauntmentis are good, for
fe Salm seif fus, Synnars are alienid fro fe wombe, fei haue errid
fro f e wombe, fei spek fals fingis ; wodnes to hem vp on fe simi
litude of f e serpent, os of def heddir stuppend her 3eris, fat he
here not f e voyce of ]>Q enchaunter, and of f e venyn maker, en-
chaunting wisly. To f is we sey fat God bi his ensaumpel re-
prouif synnars fat stoppun her 3eris, and wil not here his word,
ne cast out f e wold venyn, and be helid, and reseyue vertu to 3ele
of er. It folowif not of f is, wif out more ground, ]?at he approuij?
her charm forbydun. For in holy writ he enformi]? men and prestis
bi similitudis, and }et he forbedi]? men to vse hem ; as he seij», J?e
oxe knowi]? his weldar, and ]?e as fe crib of his lord ; leding vs bi isa. i°.
hem to know our God, and reprouing vs if we know him not. And
neuerj>eles be biddi)? vs, Wel 36 not be maad as hors or mule ; in
warn is not vnderstonding. And ]?e apostil sety, Wil 36 not be
maad barnes in wit, but in malice be 36 litil. perfor seek 36 a
pleynar ground, }?at wil stable ]?eis charmis, )?at men usen amis.
But God for his endles mercy kepe fro ]?e malice of ]?er charmis,
and charmers, and coniurars, wichis, sortilegeris, and oj?er J;at are
put in ]?e general sentens and cursing of ]>e kirk, fro all J?at wirkun
bi fendis curst, or veynli wi]? out God, and to wickid ende, and
namly fro hem )?at enforceii to charme in to iuel dedis, or not to
obey to Cristis gospel, ne to fe teching of J?e apostlis, and prophetis,
and fetyful doctors, Ne }>at we schuld know it, ne lif f>er after,
seying ]?at we may not understond it, ne ]>e holy doctoris ]?at ban
expound it, wilk ]?e kirk haj? canoni3id, but wil led us after o]?er
dremis, and her ymaginacouns, blouing veynly wi]? fleschli wit, tul
J?ei hold not Crist )?e hed, ne go after him, ne sett in him )?er
CAMD. soc. 14. o
98
ground ; but can sey J>at wordis of holy writt, and ]?at are canoni3ed
of al holy kirk, soundun not wel, and wel lede vs bi a kirk ]?at
]?ey seyn errij? oft, and disseyui]? and is deseyuid, begili)? and is
bigilid. God Almi3ty kepe vs fro pe malice of ]?er charmis, and
fro }>er supersticiositeis, vanites, errors, and desseytis ; )?at we nofer
be disseyuid bi hem, ne disseue oj>er men, ne bow not fro Crist tul
a noj>er, ne hold gospel oj?er ]?an is ; for )?er is non o)?er. And
comfort he vs in ]?e power of his vertu, and in himsilf ; and clo]?
he vs in his armor, ]?at we may a3enstond ]>e sautis of )?e fend ; for
to vs is no wrestling a3en J?e flesch and J>e blud ; but a3en princis
and powers, a3en reulers of ]?is world, of )?eis merknes, a3en
gostlynes of wrechidnes, in heuenly ]nngis ; J?erfor tak we ]?e
armor of God, J?at we ma a3enstond in iuel day, and stand perfit
in all Jnngis ; gird ]?e lendis in trow]?, clo]?id )?e habarioun of rit-
fulnes, ]?e feet schod in )?e making redy of Cristis gospel of pes,
taking ]?e scheld of )?e fei)?, in ]?e wilk we may sleckun all J>e firun
dartis of the enemy. And )?e helm of hel, and ]?e swerd of ]?e
Spirit, ]?at is ]?e word of God ; in ilk tyme preying, and biseking in
spirit, and wakyng ]?er in ilk tyme, ]?at we may wet how it is to
lif, and to answere to ilk, and to 3eue resoun of J>at fei]? and hop
J?at is in vs. pus be comfortid in )?e Lord. For now is no wrest
ling to vs a3en flesch and blud, noifer to do fleschly batayl, noij?er
to sle mennis bodies, nor 3et to stryfe for fleschly J>ingis, )?at are
but after J>e flesch. Our wrestling is not only, ne principal y, a3en
]?eis J>ingis, but a3en princis and powers, rewlars of ]?is world of
|?eis merknes, J>ei are not only fendis and swilk wickid speritis, but
J?ei are also wickid men fat ledun j?is world in blindnes, and error,
and foli, and malice, and lettun hem to know Crist, and behetun
hem grace, wan ]?ey mak hem sikir, ne wit not for ]>ei schal haue
it. Wyl J?ei hemsilf lyuen in ]>er corrupcoun, wot not how ]?ei
may mak hemsilf sikir ; ]?ey are rewlars of ]?e world of J?eis derknes,
for ]>ei ln'3t men assoyling, wan ]?ei wit not if it be, and ]?ey led
WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY. 99
bop himsilf and peis pat pey assoyl in blindnes, and desseyue bo];.
And pus wan pei condemp vniustly a iust man on many sidis, pei
led men in blindnes, and pus wan pei erre are desseyuid and dis-
seiuen, all pis is in mirknes. And 3et pey deny to men pe undir-
stonding of pe gospel, and seyn men may not undirstond it, and
pei graunt pat pei undirstond it not, and pei wel bi deneris. And
pus pey may not deme but pat pei lede pis world in mirknes. But
it is scham to hem to sey pus, pat ere kirk errip, sin he and his
kirk is o persone, and also if pe kirk err, men may be in dout of
her dedis, wan scho errip, and wan not ; and were it vnsikir to
trow to her canoni3ing, appro uing, or afferming, or autori3ing bifor
fat pei proue hem bi sikirar ground ; perfor as God ordeynid men
to strif a} en peis princis, pat all be drifun in to pe seruice of Crist,
and groundid and formid bi him. And oper goostly pingis of
schrewdnes in heuenly pingis, pat are ]?ei ]?at feynun in ypocrisy
and color Jnngis pat pei tak and understond misser, as bop holy
mennis lif, and oper vertuous werkis, pat men mis vndirstonden
now, and turnen al in to pride and coueteys, and vndir lustis.
And pus turnen sacramentis pat are gostly pingis, for gostly ping
don, vse pei more in fleschlynes pan in to gostlynes, as in to couey-
teis of pe flesch and pe world. A} en peis pingis bihoue men to
wrestil in po maner, as Crist himsilf ded and his apostlis. And
perfor it behouip to tak pe armor of Crist, and gird our lindis in
his trowp, pat our affeccoun and al our lif and wark be led bi him,
for he is pe first trowp. And pan we be clopid pe habarioun of
rJ3twisnes, to held to ilk man, pat we howe bi his lawe to frend and
fo, to suffreyn and suget, and pat we deme non man, but as God
biddip ; for who is he pat seip pis ping schal be don, and pe Lord
comaund not, but Balaam seid he mi3t not spek, but pat pe Lord Num.
put in his moup, and perfor wan he wold haue cursid hem in anger, xxin°-
he blessid hem ; and mak 3or feet to be shod in arayng of pe
gospel of pees, pat al our wark and our wille be to mak pees ; and Eph. vi°
100 WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY.
take we f e helme of 3ele, fat is good hope, and f e swerd of f e
Spirit, fat is Goddis worde, bof to strik wif , and to vndirnem
misdoars, and to defend hem of. But if f ei sei may we not vndir
stond, appilyfei wot not, for God may 3eue vndirstonding to warn
he will. And if f ei suppose hem to han, and of God, so may God
delen it til an of er, and f erfor may f e first wit if f ei sey f ei haue
not, fan are f e foolis to deme men. And fan dar I wel sey, f ei
vndirstond not f eis men, fat f ei wet wef er f ei sey wel or iuel.
If f ei sei we can not, or we vndirstond amis, pray we hem, for Ifiu
sak, to enform us, bi f e trowf of holy writt, and trowf brout out
bi resoun, fat may not fayle, and bi sensible trowf , and be we euer
more redy to be mendid bi f e trouf of Crist, for we are not so
sikir fat we be wif out faut, error, and vnkunning. perfor fat we
may cum out, and cum to f e knowing of trowf, and lif f er after,
euer pray we to Ifiu Crist.
^n °J7er *s Put an(* *s a§kid f us j fat VQ vowe of religioun is a} en
Cristis gospel. To f is I haue seid f us, fat f e name of religioun is
takun in mani maneris ; os sum tyme for f e trowf fat rewlif a
man to serue duly his makar. And sum tym for f e act and f e
state procedyng of f is religioun. And f e f rid, materialy, for f e
personis f us enclinid. And fus f e keping of Cristis lawe is callid
religioun, bi holy writ, and holy doctors. In f e secound maner are
religious callid foo fat departunfrom oferpuple bi sectis foundun,
and bi tradicouns, and ofer sensible ritis. And in fis maner wer
f er f re sectis among f e Jury, Phariseis, and Esseis, and Saduceis.
Eft it be howuif to not, fat to a wowe is a resonable creature to
obey him to his souereyn, to kep sum hard f ing fat is sensible, or
vnsible, a bout f ing ay lasting or temporel, wise or vnwyse ; wise,
wan it is acording to God, efter his lawe to f e worschip of God,
and profi3t of fe vowar; vnwise, wan it is only about temporal
f ingis, or vnhonest, or vnprofitable to soule hele ; werfor it be
howuif f e vowar be in fredam, hauing feruor to do plesing Goddis
101
f ingis, fat are to soule hele ; and fat he entend to fulfil, ellis he
synnif in vowing, and so his vow is synne ; as if it be more for
lust of flesch, pride of world, or to geit temporel riches, or in to
harm of ani man, or swilk of er, fan for honor and worschip of
God. perfor it is seid f us, four f ingis are requirid to ilk vowe fat
oblischif : first, principaly, fat it be maad to God, sin it is f e
worschipful dede only to be 3euen to God. pe secound, fat is bi
f ingis only good and profitable to hele of soule, and not iuel f ing,
nor of filf , nor vnleful, ne noyes to ani man, ne letting of ani
maundment of God, or counseil of Crist, efter f e decre of Isidor,
seing f us : In iuel hi3tis, kut f e filling a wey of fing fat is hi3t.
In fowl vowe, chaunge f i decret, and do not fis fat f u hast vowid
unwarly. pe f rid, fat it be made wif deliberacoun, fat f e purpos
or entent be not misrewlid, for if it be foly, or vniust, or vndiscret,
or letting fing more profitable, it is not to be kepid, but vtterly to
be brokin, after fis fat Ecclesiastes seif, An vn profitable and a Ecclcs. u°.
foul hi3t displecif God. And as he is seid vnfeifful fat dof not
fis fat he hi3t, so is he fat dof not of f e feif , fat is of f e ground
of God, or not of good in witt or ordre, for ilk fing fat is not of Rom. xiu°.
f e feif is synne. And in a of er place it is seid, f o vowis of foolis
are to be broken. And wilk f ei are Hugo declarif , in his book of Hugo.
sacramentis, seying f us, po fowl wowis vndirstond al fat are iuel
of hem silf, or ellis f of f ei be good, f ei are not ordinat. Or wan
more iuel is of hem fan good is in hem. pe fourt requirid to a
vow is, fat it be wilful, pan if f e vowe of religioun is circum-
staunsid, fan it is plesing to God, and wif f e gospel ; ellis if it be
contrarili be gunne, led, or contenid, who doutif fat ne it is synne ?
perfor iuge religiouse men in f er consciens, if f ei ground hem f us
in her vowis, and ilk feif ful man loking in holy writt, and f e lif of
Crist and his apostlis, and her dedis, after f ingis fat are seid semyn
to be contrary. Certeynly if f e vow of religious men, or of ani
man, is not wif f e gospel, to f e perfeccoun of f e fredam f er of,
102 WICLIPFE'S APOLOGY.
but in ani maner letting or trebling or tariing f ing fat f e gospel
biddif , or counseilif , fan certeynly al so it is a}en f e gospel ; after
Luc. xin. ]>e sentens of Crist, fat seif, He }>at is not wif me, he is a} en me,
and he fat gedref not wif me, he scaterif . As if ani person obeyed
him wif wickid stering, or onordinatly, to do ani fing fat is
forbedun bi fe law of God, or to lef f ing fat God biddif do, as
sum wil mak her awowe fat f ei wil not do f e dedis of mercy, oif er
fat fey wil not ehyt flesch, tul f ei be vengid of sum man, but if he
ouer tak, f ei wille of er mak a vow to fast, or to go pilgrimage, for
to do f er lechery, or veniaunce of sum man. Also f oo fat bydun
hem to kepe ani staat or degre, or rewle more for cause of hi3nes
of f e world, or worldly riches, or lust of flesch, or to do ani f ing,
oif er bi her causis, or ellis wan he is lettid bi f e vow to do f e ded
fat God wold him to do, as f us his vowe is a} en f e gospel. And
ilk fat vowif ani f ing to do in any maner for ani cause, wif out
mening of f e Holy Gost to do so, he synnif in fat vowing ; f erfor
if religious vowen in fis maner, doutles fer vow is synne, and a} en
f e gospel ; as if possessioneris to kep f e religioun of monk, or
chanouns, more to be partiners of temporal goodis, and to lif in
delitis, and m^nes of fe world, fan to lif in wilful pouert, dewe
obediens, and chastite. Who doutif fat ne as f us fey synne 33611
fe gospel ? And if f ei do not fat fei hi}t, it is fe more a} en f e
Ecdes. u°. gospel, and f e biddingis of God, seying, Wan f u hast vowid a vow
to fe Lord, f u schalt not mak it void, but fil fis fat f u hast hi}^
for an vnfeifful man and a foole hi}t displecif God ; as if freris
obeyid hem fat fei beg, for al fer tyme is in begging, fat is a} en
f e gospel, as it is seid in ofer placis, or wan fey obey hem to
LUC. x°. absteyn from meytis, a} en Cristis fredam, fat biddif his disciplis
eyte swilk as men settun to hem. If fey bynd hem in fe con
trary, fat fey be not in fredam to do f us, but if Crist had for
bedun it hem, ellis it is a} en f e gospel, for swilk are reprouid of
i Thi. /«". f e apostil seying f us, pe spirit seif opunly, fat in f e last tyme
WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY. 103
sum schal depart fro pe feip, tenting to spiritis of error, and to
kening of fendis, speking lesirig in ypocrisy, and hairing per con-
sciens iren brondit ; forbeding men to be weddid, and abstening
fro metis, pat God ha]? maad to be tan of feipfulmen, and poo pat
knowun pe so]?, wip doing of gracis, for it is halowid wip pe word
of God and by prayoris ; for ilk creater of God is good, and no
ping to be castun a wey, pat is hawid bi pe doing of grace. And
neuerpeles pe meyt comendip vs not to God, nor filip vs not, but
frely it may be tan, and frely left. Also if ]?ei vow hem to hold
an abit, or o]?er ritis, and God behitip no meed for pe keping, but
raper reproue, as he dede sum tyme pe Phariseis, doutles fat is
a}en J?e gospel. It semi]? ]?us, wan it is not groundid ]?ere, and is
wi]? out med aylasting ; for ]?is is pleinly a} en ]?e gospel bidding,
pu schalt not tak ]?e name of j?i Lord God in veyn, and pis bidding
he breki]? }?at do]? ani ]?ing wi]? out God ordeyning it, or ]?at lefi]? his
bidding, or do]? ani ]?ing for wilk he is not to be medid in blisses
for euer. And if religiouse men bindun ]?us to be obedient, and
puttun ]?er will under mannis will, more }?an under ]?e will of God,
so ]?at it behowui]? to do ]?e will of man, be it hout wor]? or nout,
and wat pat God biddip hem do ]?ey may not do it, if ]?er ouer-
man bid hem cerse, or to do ]?e contrari, certis pis is a} en ]?e
gospel ; and pat we axe in our pr. nr. Our fader pat art in heuen, LUC. uj°.
pi wyl be it don, in }erp as it is in heuen. And pus wan religiouse
men are lettun bi per vow fro per preching of Goddis word, and
fro filling of pe dedis of mercy, and fro ri3twisnes manifold, as pei
knowlech, and are nedid bi al per tyme to comyn wip per breper,
pow pei be symonientis and synnars, pat God forbedip tak meyt
wip, or hald felischip wip ; it is certeyn pat in swilk casis her vow
is a} en pe gospel. And wan pe vow of religious is to wilful bodily
pouert, and obediens, and chastite, to be kepid, but now our
religious lifip and flowip among all men most in delitis, and ha-
bundip in worldly riches, and takip to hem worldly honoris :
104
Nota. certeynly otyer ]?ey han feynidly and falsly a no]?er vow a3en )?e
gospel, or ellis ]?ey brek ]?er vow. And wefer it be so or so, ]?e
toon or }>e to]?er, ]?e vow is a} en J?e gospel, and dampnable; werfor
Prosper. Prosper, in his book of contemplatif lif, sei]? ]ms, It is to sarow he
sei]?, J>at ]?er sum in j?eis daies )?at wel be ooneris, but in express
maneris f>ei kast no f>ing a wey, ]?ei chaunge not ]?e mynde but ]>Q
clof>, )?ei are J>at forsakun ]?e world only in word, but not in werk,
J>ei lifen worldly, and hidun J?er bicis wij> a veyn hi}t of better lif,
and mantel it wi]> a name of ymaginid religioun, ]?ey tak for vertu,
J?e opiniun of vertu, J»ey wil be seen a mong men dredy and just,
J?ei diuerse fro f>e puple, not in mynd, but in cloj?, not in lifing,
but in habit only, in liknes, but not in effect, ]?ei study to be seen
gret, but not to be, pel preeche gret pingis but J>ei do hem not,
)?ei accuse vices, but ]?ey do not a wey, ]>ei ben in wordis, but ]?ei
do not in dedis. In opun pei feyn hem to be displecid of ];ingis
]?at J?ei don in hid ; J»ei knowlech to know and luf God, but in
dedis ]?ey deney. In habite and lifing ]?ei han ];e form of pite, but
]?ei deney ]?e vertu fer of. And for ]?is )?ei disseyue j?e moo, for
]?ei transfiger hem in to an aungel of hjt, and wij? face and tonsur
pretendun a schadowe peyntid of religioun. Werfor it is don )?at
)?ei are maad desseyuable ypocritis, and lurkyng woluis of ref
PS. xjcxu0. under a schepis flees ; of warn it is seid bi ]?e prophet, pe dred of
God is not bi forn J?er een. Alien sonis han Ii3ed to me, alien
sonis han 3eldid and crokid fro }>i pathis, arett J?u ]?er lifing damp-
nacoun, j?at lufun )?e maner of J?e world for J>e cloyster, and dispice
for Crist a fewe facultes, and couetun moo a}en Crist, and inword
coueyteis resti]? or lurki)? under dispicyng of temporal ]?ingis. Of
Bernard. J?eis seij? Bernard to Eugeny ]?e pope, pei are ]?at suffur not to be
vnder lowtid, J?ei kan not be abouen, ]?ei are vnfeifful to fer soue-
reyns, vneuyn to ]?er lowar, vnschamful to axe, bolde to denay,
vnrestful tul J?ei tak, vnkynd wan J»ei han tane, )?ei ken J?er tongis
for to spek gret fingis, wan pei do but litil J?ingis ; )?ei are largist
WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY, 105
bihi3tars, and scarsist geuars; glosandist flaterars, and bitandist
bacbitars ; simplist glosars, and warst willid traytoris. And Lin- Lincoln.
coin seif f us, A cloystrer of priuat ordre, and specialy a frere
wandring voyd in the world, is a ded careyn, gon out of fe graue,
woundun in dedly clof is, schaken of f e fend a mong men : f ei are
tokunid bi f e wif of Loth, fat, after f e going out of Sodom, loking Gen. xix°.
a3en, was turnid in to an image of salt. An image haf f e similitud
of a man, but not f e trowf. So swilk similitudis of religious efter
habit, and ypocrit signis, and neuerf eles not hauing f e vertu of
Cristis religioun ; werfor fe messangeris of Saul, seking Dauid in iReg.ana^.
f e bed, fond a simulacre and geyt skinnis. And Peter and Jon Joh. xx°.
seking f e graue, fond but a sudary. And of wilk seif f e Lord, No Luc. ix°.
man leying hand to f e plowe, and loking a}en, is able to fe kyn-
dam of God, And f e epistil of Jude, Erring sternis, to f e warn Jude-
wirlwynd of mirknes is kepid vn to wif outen ende ; f us seif he.
Wef er f e vow of religioun is not veyn, Seynt Jam seif, If ani wen
hem to be religious, not refreyning his tong, but disseyuinghis hert,
his religioun is veyn. Religioun clene at God, and at ]?e Fader, is
]ns, to visite ]?e fadirles and madirles, and wydowis, in J?er tribula-
coun, and kep hem silf vnfilid of Jns world.
pis is a no]?er, pat religious men are bounde to bodily warks ; J?at^XIX- Re~
semi}? soj> bi }>is. In J>e state of innocens God sett man in paradis lounden to
of delite, leking )?at he schuld wirk and kep it. In to ]ns stat of ^^
synne God kest man out of paradise in to ]?e 3er]?, )?at he schuld Gent z-0<
wirk ]?e 3er]? fat he was tane of, and seid to him, In swot of ]?i chere Gen. iii°.
}>u schalt eyt ]?i brede, tul ]m turn a3eii in to ]>e 3er]? )?at J>u art tan
of. Also in ]?e comaundement, ]?u schalt wirk six dayes and do ]n Exod. xx*.
wark. Also ];us biddif )?e apostil, He f>at stale steyle he not, but Eph. iu°.
more wirk he wi)? his handis ping fat is god, fat he haue wer of
to 3ef to him fat nedif. And eft he seif, Brefern, we warn 3ow, 2 Thes.ult.
in fe name of our Lord Ihu Crist, fat 36 wif draw 3ow fro ilk
brof er going inordinatly, and not after f e ordre fat f ei han tane
CAMD. SOC. 14. P
106 WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY.
of vs ; for 36 wot wel it be howuip to folow vs, for we han not ben
inquiet among 3ow, ne etun ani mannis bred for nou3t, but wirk-
ing in trauel, and werynes, bo]? day and ni3t, pat we schuld greue
none of 3ow. And pis we did, not os if we had no power, but pat
we schuld 3ef to 3ow a forme to folow vs ; for [wan] we were at
3ow, pis we wernid 3ow, pat if any wold not wirk, pat he eyt not;
for we han hard sum a mong 3ow to lif inquiet, no ping doing, but
leding per lif curiously, and we warn 3ow in pe Lord, pat pei pat
Austeyn. are swilk, wip stilnes wirking, eyt per bred. And her seip Austeyn,
in his book of warkis of monkis, pe apostil wrowt wip his handis
pingis able to mannis vse honestly, as pe warkis of carpenteris han
hem, werkis of sewars, and of feld telars, and like to peis. Pa-
triarkis fed bestis ; pe grekis had hem pat we callen pagaynis, her
most honorable philosophurs, sowtars. In pe kirk, pis ilk, iustar
man, to warn pe blessid maydun Mari was spowsid, pat bar Crist,
was a carpenter. If pe patriarkis, pat were pe nobliar of pe Jewis,
herdid bestis ; philosophurs, pat were of pe bettar of pagaynis, wer
sowtars ; Joseph, pat was of pe bettar of cristun, was a carpenter ;
Poule, after pat he was apostil, mad tabernaclis ; if all peis wrout
bodily, pat pei schuld not be constreynid to axe per necessarijs, or
to begge, pat is pe same, of wat professioun, or sect, or law, coueit
pei to be, pat, a3en so mani ensaumplis of seyntis, schamun not
Deere. to beg? And in pe decre is pis notid, pat bi pe saumple of pe
apostle, clerkis may lefuly labor honestly wip per handis, wil pey lefe
Austeyn. not Goddis pat is more profitable. And eft Austeyn seip, Wat do
pey pat wil not wirk bodily ? I desire to wit to wat ping pey tent ?
pei sey to prayor, salmis, and redingis, and to pe word of God, pat
is preching, forsop, he seip, an holy lif. But if we schal not be
callid fro peis pingis, we schal not eyt, ne meytis ar not to be mad
redy, ilk day pat pey be tan. But if ned of mannis infirmite con-
streyn pe seruaundis of God to peis pingis, in certeyn interuallis
of tyme, why ordeyn we not sum partis of tyme to kepe pe apos-
107
tlis bidding of wirkyng bodily ? Sunnar is f e pray or hard of o
buxum man, fan tenf owzand of a dispicer ; fey seyn hem to tent
to lessoun, fynd fey not fer fatfe apostil biddif, wat ouerfwartnes
is f is to wil not obey to f e lesson ? Wil fey tent fer to, and fat
f e lessun be rad f e lengar to wil not to do f is fat is red ? Who
wot not ilk man to profit so mikil f e sunnar as he dof sunnar f e
good fat he redif ? Also in f e rewle of Seynt Frauncis is red :
Freris lif fey first of f e labor of fer handis, f e secound of f ing
frely }euun ; and wan f eis suffice not, haue fey lefe to axe. And
in f e rewle of Seynt Benet ; Idilnes is enemy to f e soule. And
]> erfor in certeyn tymis how f e bref em to be occupied in f e trauel
of her handis. And eft certeyn horis in Goddis lessen, fro pasch
tul f e kalendis of Octobre, goyng vtterly fro f e first hor tul almost
f e fourt, traueil ]?is fat is necessary, fro f e fourt tul f e sixte^ tent
f ei to f e lessoun. And if ned, or pouert of f e place, axe fat f ei
be occupied to gedre frutis, be f ei not euy, for fan are fey verely
monkis, if fey lif of f e labor of f er handis, os our fadres and f e
apostlis ; f is fere. Now fan ilk man ley to his hert to f eis sawis,
and of er, fat he see and understond, and after f e plesing of God
perform and fille in dede ; schak a wey idilnes, vanite, curiosite,
and superfluite, glotany, and lust, and swernes, and of er f ingis
fat bringyn in nede. And reyse he dissolut handis, and dresser
ri}t weies to his feet, and comfort tremeling knees, in to f e wirkyng
of good f ingis. Snyb he f e idul, solace hem of litul hert, and be Cap". iii°.
pesful to all to f e hert, ffor gloriouse is f e frut of good labors ; for
f e Psalme seif , For f u schalt etc f e labor of f i handis, f u art Psalm.
blessid, and wel schal be to f e. Tn f is tyme bi grace, and in tyme cxxuiJ°-
to cum bi glory, wan f e Lord schal bid calle f e warke men, and
pay hem f er mede, mikil glory and honor for f er good warkis ;
and fan he fat wyl not now wirk, schal not be punischid wif men,
but warst of all of er, for he brekif Goddis bidding, and steylif
a}en f e Lordis leue f is fat he eytif . And so he schal be put wif
108
J>efis. And for his idilnes wan alle ]nng schal be 3euen to rest,
];an his trauel schal be gynne in sarow.
^ls *s an °?er > at lt ls not ^u^ to rei°us to be- To ls *
not
leful to re- sey )?us ; J>ow it be leful to ilk man to beg in nede, neuerfeles it
o anj man Wj7 oute nede of releue and iust nede
dispicing ri3tfulnes ; noi]?er to gedre him rnikil worldly riches,
notyer wasting his tyme in idilnes, noi]?er J?at he wast himsilf and
his goodis, and o]?er mennis, in lustis, and in o]?er veyn curiositeis.
And for j?e declaring of J?is mater, I suppose first, ]?at begging is
tane in diueris maneris, as gostly or bodily ; and sum tyme ver-
tuously, and sum tyme synfully, and sum tyme peynfully. per for
}>at to beg understond is sum nedy man to aske, be syde fe titul
of worldly dett, helpe for his releue schewing be signe or bi tokun
or be expresse voyce. And ]?us it semi]? J?at Crist in manhod, as
alle kyngis and princis lifyng, are nedid to beg of God al mi3ty.
And f>us all begging of God gostly godis for relef of hem, and of
her brej?ern, to be releuid of )?er synnis, peynis, and wrechidnes,
in case J>ei beg medfuly. Also ];us man leuyng occupacoun about
temporal fingis, and necessariis of lif, for wark mere profitable and
more gostly, and helful to soule, and J>erfor it nedij> to beg. And
to swilk wit, as doctors seyn, is ]?is verrified of Crist, J?at ]>e Salm
sei]?, I am beggar and pore, and nedy, and helples, and swilk o]?er;
ffor he taking our kynd, was mad nedy and helples for vs, and )?us
he beggid gostly goodis for vs of ]?e Fadir. And J>us, as it semi]?
Bernard, to sum of ]?e sawis of Seynt Bernard. Wan Ihu was of twelf 3 ere
age, he dwellid still in Jerusalem after his parentis, ]?at he schewyng
beggid his liflod fro dore to dore in Jerusalem, for ]?at he goyng in
]>e cite, schewid his ned to be releuid of )?er defaut ]?at hau3t to
haue releuid him, so mi3t oj>er; fFor far is ]?is fro hem |?at beggun
wi]? out nede, or wen ]?ey mi3t ofer wise be susteynid, or for lust,
or for o]?er vndu caus beggen baldly. Wylful begging of stalwor]?
men is forfendid to ilk cristun man of ]?e apostil of Crist, and of
WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY. 109
God himsilf, of Salomon it is vggid, and many fold reprouid of
holy doctoris; so ]?at ]?e almes of J?e pore schal not be 3euen to
hem ]?at are sufficient and mi3ty to traueyl, for )?ei )?at are swilk
ask almis vniustly, despicyng J?e bidding of J?e apostul, seyng, Poule.
Wirkij? wij? 3oure handis, as we haue bedun jow. And desiri]? no
J?ing of no man. And if ani obey not to our word, bi j?e epistil,
)?at is to sey, ]?at he absten him fro begging, wan he may wij? bodily
traueyl geyt his lyfyng, lok ]?at 36 be not men kyd wi]? him, )?at he
be counfoundid, and cast out fro alle, wexe schamid, tul he soget 2 Thess.ult.
him to )?e biddingis of )?e apostil. And syn no man how to cast
out fro comyning of cristun men, but for dedly synne, it folowi]?
]?at he synni]? dedly, )?at wilfully, and witingly, bindij? him to swilk
a staat contening traueil, )?at he beg for euer. And it semi]? ]?at
oon )?us endurid, is not in )?e staat of men to be sauid. Also
Salamon sei]?, Lord 3 cue me not begrye ne riches, but only neces- Prou.
sariis to my lifing ; )?at appily I be not greuid to denay God, or
constreyin be nede to steyle, or forsuer J?e name of my Lord God j
]?at is, as }>Q Glose sei]?, J?at I falle not in to forgeyting of euer Glose.
lasting, for nede, or scarnes of passing J>ingis. Also )?us sei)? God
in his law, Vtterly a nedy man begging be )?er not among 3ow. Deut. xu°.
As if he sey J?us, SufFerij? not in 3 our defaut ani to fal in to so
gret defaut ]?at he be nedid to beg. And bi ]?e same, No man
bring himsilf vniustly vn to swilk stat. And wi]? ned it is iust fat
he beg. And ]?us sei)? Austeyn vp on J>is word ]?at Crist sei)?, Gif Austeyn.
to ilk askyng ]?e. If ]?u gif not )?at he aski];, )?u schalt 3eue bettar,
whan ]?u iustly amendist him )?at aski]? vniustly. And Crist biddi)?, Luc. xij°.
Selle )?at 36 haue and 3 cue almis, )?at is, as ]?e Glose sei)?, )?at 3 or Glose.
)?ingis left after warkis wi]? 3or handis, ]?at 36 haue wer of to lif.
Also Austeyn sei)?, Bred is tan a wey more profitable to j?e hungri, Austeyn.
if he siker of lifing despice ritfulnes ; j?at is, bred brokun to ]?e
hungry ]?at he desseyuid tent to ri3twisnes. Also Jerom sei)?, pei Jerom.
]?at sufficy to hemsilf, or to be susteynid bi J?e goodis of parentis.
110 WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY.
and namly, but if f ei clerkis, if f ei tak gylfuly under color of nede,
]> is fat is dewe to f e pore, doutles f ei do sacrilege, and bi misusing
Prosper, of swilk f ingis f ei eyte and dring dome to hemsilf. Also Prosper
seif, pei fat ban her ovrae, if f ei wil ani f ing be don to hem, fei
tak not wif out gret synne fat f e pore man schuld lif of. As 3 eld
in almis schal be putt be fore, fat fei only take pore mennis meytis,
Austeyn. fat may not labor ne suffice not. Eft Austeyri seif , Wan we may
labor, we how not begging tempt God ; fat as f us fat we may of
his gift. And sin we lif f er of, we lif of him gifyng, for he haf
Jerom. 3euen fat we may. Also f e begging of clerkis is schenschip of
bischops ; ffor f us seif Jerom, Now syn coueyteis haf waxen in
f e kirk, as in f e empyr of Rome, lawis gon a wey fro f e prest, and
visioun from f e prophet, al bi power of bischopis name fat f ei
chalang unlefuly to hem wif out f e kirk. Also f ei dryue in to
f er vsis al fat is of dekunis, ne f ei chalang not f is only fat is
ascriuid, but f ei tak a vey all f ingis fro alle men ; f e vnblessid
clerk beggif in f e strete, and boundun vnder seruil werk he askif
almes opunly of ilk man. And of fis is he f e more dispicid of
all, fat he wrechidly desolat is gessid to be fallun iustly to fis
wrechidnes f o bischopis a Ion lowen to }eftis. Alon he vsif
ministry. Alon he chalangif to him all f ingis. Alon he assoylif
of er partyes. Alon he slef all. And for coueytis of prestis oft
risun hatis ; f er for are bischopis accusid of clerkis ; f er of f e
biginning of strif ; f er of f e cause of detraccoun ; f er of is maid
f e beginning of synne. For sof , if ilk man in fis world is bidun to
haue sum f ing, fat he be content only wif possessioun, and tak
not of er mennis f ingis, noif er f e feld, noif er f e wyne of f e pore,
nor his wayn, nor his money, nor his frutis, how mikil more he
fat is prest to fe kirk of God howif in al fing to kep ri3twisnes,
fat he chalang only fis to him fat [he] knowif to be of his ri3t,
and ref not of er mennis f ingis, ne touche ; feel he him euyn wif
Clement, ofer. Also, in f e story of Seynt Clement is found, fat Petir
WJCLIFFE'S APOLOGY. Ill
blamid dementis modir begging, and seid sche schuld wirk wif
her handis. And also fat Clement Pope hadde writun be nam all
f e nedy folk of f e cuntrees, and he f olid not hem to be soget vn
to begry, fat ]> e clensing of baptem had halowid. Also bi lawe
cyuil it is riot leful to a mi3ty body to beg ; f erf or be fey war f eis
vniust beggars, and ilk man se to warn he 3eue almis, wat maner
and whi, and wherof ; for f us biddif Crist, Wan f u makist a mey t Luc. xix°.
or sopar, calle f u not fi riche frendis, neybors, ne cosynis, fat fei
bid not f e a}en and reward be maad to f e. But calle f e pore,
blynd, crokid, and feble, fat han not werof to quit f e, and f u schalt
be blessid, and it schal be quit fee in f e rising a}en of ri3tfulmen,
for fey may not. And God seif bi f e wise man, If f u schalt do Eccli. aeij°.
wel, wit to warn, and f er schal be mikil grace in f i goodis. Do
wel to f e iust man, and f u schalt fynd reward of God, f ow f u
fynd not of him. 3eue to f e mercy ful and reseyue not f e synnar ;
3ef to f e good, and to f e mek do wel, and 3ef not to f e vnpitous ;
forbede f i louis to be 3euen to him, fat he be not rm^tiar in hem
fan f u. For f u schalt fynd double iuel in all goodis, fat f u dost to
him ; ffor God haf synnars to hate, and he schal 3 eld veniaunce to
f e wickid. And f us is also bedun, Wil f u not do almis of oker
arid vsur ; fat is, do riot swilk defautis to do almis f erof, ne hald
3ow not clen ferof, but if we mak ofer dew satisfaccoun ; ffor fe
decre seif, pe offring of wickid f ing is filid, for God approuif not Deere.
f e gestis of wickid men, nor he lokif not in to f e offring of f e
vnpitous. Nor he schal not be merciful to synnis, in f e multitud
of f er sacrifice. Bred of f e nedy is f e lif of f e pore ; he fat de-
fraudif him, he is a man slear ; he fat schedif blud, and he fat
dof fraud to f e hirid hyne are bref er. Perchauns sum man f inkif
it, are mani riche men auarous and couetous, I haue no synne if I
tak it fro hem, and gif it to f e pore ; I may geyt mede of f is, fat
f ei do no good of. But f is f out is sterid to him bi sleyt of f e
fend, for if a man gef al fat he took, f is is not to be wenid almis,
112 WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY.
if f is be 3euen or despendid to f e pore fat is getun of leful f ingis.
Greyor. ffor he fat takif iuel in f is entent fat he 3euif wel, he is more
greuid fan helpid ; f erfor fat we tak no f ing vnder color to do
Prov. xxj0. almis wif synne, f e scripture for bedif , seying, OfFringis of wickid-
Eccli. men are abhominable, fat are oiFrid of felonie ; he fat offrif sacrifice
m°' of f e substaunce of f e pore, os he fat slef f e sone in f e si}t of f e
fadre. And wat fat is oiFrid in felony in f e sacrifice of God it
softif not, but sterif his wrafe. It semif wel fat feis vniust
beggars, and namly f e ministers of f e kirk, brekyn f e bidding of
Deut. xu°. God ; fFor he biddif f us, Vtterly a nedy man and beggar be not a
mong 3 owe ; fat is to sey, polif not in 3 our defaut ani fal in to so
gret nede, fat he be nedid to beg. And bi f e same ne man schuld
blamfuly bi idulnes, bi rechlesnes, nof er bi wast, noifer bi foly,
bring him silf to swilk nede. And if he dede, men schuld not 3eue
Prov. xx°. to him fat he askif, as is befor seid. And for Salamon seif, pe
slowman wold not in winter here for f e cold ; f erfor he schal beg
in f e somer, and f er schal not be 3euen to him. And if he beg
wif out nede, he dof vniustly ; for to beg, is f e creater to schew be
word or wark or tokun is defaut wanting, and nedif to be releuid,
and ask bi side fe titil of worldly dede, sum fing to be releuid by;
of f is need fan if he noifer want, ne haue nede to be releuid, he
dof vniustly fat brekif Goddis bidding, h^ef , and berif falswitnes ;
fFor he afFermif fat ned is f er, wan it is not ; and f us he is a f ef,
and fraudful reuar. Also it semif fat f ei put wrong un to God, or
to f e peple, or to bof e ; fFor f us is seid in Goddis lawe, pe wark-
Matt. x°. man is worf i of his meed, and his hyre. And eft, who fat warkif
ToUt. iu°. ani fing to f e, pay him his hyre a none. But wan feis ministeris
of f e wark han don f er office, if God or f e peple wil not pay hem
f er hire, fan is God or f e peple vniust, if God schuld pay and
dof not, he dof fan a3en his oune law. If f e pepul sfhuld pay,
and dof not, fan f e peple brekif f e bidding of God. But if feis
men beggars are not sent of God, to do f is office, or dof not f is
WICLIFFE'S APOLOGY. 113
dede trewly, or ellis nedi]? not to beg. And ellis f>e peple is redy
to quit hem ]?er seruice. But of )?is wil )?ei not be payid, but
gredyly gon abowt to geyt al ]?at ]?ey may, J?an j?ei do uniustly, and
silun God and }>e peple. And ]?us may f>ei dred in ]?is, lest ]?ei be
childre of iudas gostly in maneris, and ]?e synful begging be despi-
tously kast on hem, os is prayid in J>e Salme, Wandring bi his sones
borne, and beg ]?ey, cast out of ]?er dwellingis. For dred of Jns
schuld ]>eis meny be aferd to beg as ]?ei do, wyting wel f>at Crist
beggid not, but if he nedi]?, ne seyntis notyer. And if |?ei dede,
j?ei repentid ]?er of and amendid ; and so I rede }>eis beggars do bi
tyme, and come to Crist. Amen, Amen.
THE END.
CAMD. SOC. 14.
NOTES.
P. 1, /. 2. — I witness bifor God Almi$ty, and alle trewe cristunmen
and wommen, and $owe. From this passage it may be inferred that
this work was delivered as an address before some assembly.
1. 3. — That I haue not ben. Perhaps we should read " That
it hath not ben." The sense would seem to require some such
alteration.
- I. 4 — The general feith. That is, " The Catholic faith."
1. 17. — / knowlech to a felid and seid thus. That is, " L ac
knowledge to have felt and said thus :" a for have. Our author uses
the word feel again, line 20 : " And this sterith [i. e. stirreth,
moveth] me to fele thus." So also in the confession of John Aston
(Lewis s Life of Wiclif, Oxf. 1820, p. 262), " Y, John Aston, Prist,
unworthely required of my Lord the Erchbyschop of Canturbery
to say what I felyde in the matyr of the Sacrament of the
Autere." And in the confession of Nicholas de Hereford (A.D.
1382, ibid. p. 256), " Wytes alle cristen men that we Nichol of
Herforde and my fellow Pristus whan we were required to
seyne what we felyde of diverse conclusions," &c. The word seems
used for the Latin sentio.
P. 2, 1. 2. — As the glose seith. — See Biblia cum Glossa ordinariaf
et Nic. Lyrani Postilla, £c. Venet. 1588, fol. The Gloss on Rom.
viii. 9 is as follows : " Si quis autem Spiritum Christi non habet,
(vivens secundum sensum carnis vel gesta. Dum mente consentit
carni, vel ejus opera actu explet), hie non est ejus (i. membrum
Christi)."
116 NOTES.
P. 2, /. 4. — Thus seith scint Jerom. The passage here quoted occurs
in St. Jerome's fourteenth Epistle Ad Heliodorum, according to the
order of the edition of Vallarsius. But our author, like most of the
Divines of his time, quotes the Fathers, not from their own writings,
but from the extracts given in the Decretum of Gratian. See Decret.
Cans. 2, q. 7, c. 29. Non omnes, where the words cited by our
author are thus given : — " Non omnes episcopi sunt episcopi :
Attendis Petrum : sed et Judam considera. Stephanum suscipis :
sed et Nicolaum respice. Et infr. Non facit ecclesiastica dignitas
Christianum. Cornelius centurio adhuc ethnicus dono Sancti Spiritus
mundatur ; Presbyteros Daniel puer judicat. Et infr. Non est facile
stare loco Pauli, tenere gradum Petri, jam cum Christo regnantium.
Et infr. Infatuatum sal ad nihilum prodest, nisi ut projiciatur foras,
et a porcis conculcetur."
The reference to Daniel is in the Latin Vulgate to Dan. xiii, or in
our English Bibles to the story of Bel and the Dragon.
1. 11. — Also Austeyn seith. This is from Aug. Tract, vi. in
cap. i. Joannis. It is quoted, however, from the Decretum, Cans. 2,
q. 7, c. 30. " Non omnis qui dicit, Pax vobiscum, quasi columba
est audiendus. Et infra" — The words that follow are given in the
Decretum (ib. c. 32) as St. Augustine's, but they do not occur in his
works, as the Corr. Rom. acknowledges; they are as follow : " Qui
nee regiminis in se rationem habuit, nee sua delicta detersit, nee
filiorum crimen correxit, canis impudicus dicendus est magis quam
Episcopus."
— 1. 14. — The crime of his synnes. The Latin shews that we
should read, " the crime of his sonnes."
/. 15. — Not alle prestis. This seems taken from the rubric of
Cans. 2, q. 7, c. 33, which immediately follows the foregoing quota
tion : — " Majores et minores non dignitate sed vita intelligi oportet."
Or from the rubric of c. 29, " Dignitas non facit Episcopum, sed vita."
- I. 16. — And Gregor seith. Decret. Caus.2, q. 7, c. 28. " Paulus
dicit, Seniorem ne increpaveris. Sed haec ejus regula in eo servanda
est cum culpa senioris exemplo suo non trahit ad interitum corda
NOTES. 117
juniorum, Ubi autem senior juvenibus exemplum ad interitum
praebet, ibi districta increpatione feriendus est. Nam scriptum est :
Laqueus juvenum omnes vos : et rursus propheta dicit, Maledictus
puer centum annorum." The passages of Scripture referred to are
1 Tim. v. 1. Isa. xlii. 22. and Isa. Ixv. 20.
P. 2, /. 22. — And this is put after in decreis. This is part of Gra-
tian's note on Cans. 2, q. 7, c. 32. Qui nee : " Quibus ergo Hierony-
mus, Augustinus, Gregorius auferunt nomen Columbae, Episcopi,
Senioris ; nonne et privilegium est auferendum dignitatis, ut possint
a subditis reprehendi ?"
1. 26. — Also Austeyn seith. Decret. Cans. 8, q. 1, c. 11, quoted
from August, de Civit. Dei, c. 19. " Qui episcopatum desiderat,
bonum opus desiderat. Exponere voluit, quid sit episcopatus : quia
nomen est operis, non honoris. Graecum est enim, atque inde ductum
vocabulum, quod ille, qui praeficitur, eis, quibus praeficitur, super-
intendit, curam eorum scilicet gerens : e?rt quippe super : O-KOTTVS vero
intentio est. Ergo Episcopos, si velimus, Latine superintendentes
possumus dicere : ut intelligat non se esse episcopum, qui praeesse
dilexerit, non prodesse."
Our author appears to have read in this passage, " atque inde
dictum vocabulum," instead of ductum, for he renders, " and ther is
said a word." It is worth noting also that he has translated ille qui
pr&ficitur, " he that is maad a prest ;" and eis quibus pr&ficitur, " the
thingis that he is maad prest to ;" qui praeesse dilexerit, " he that lufith
to be a prest ;" and non prodesse, " not further to."
P. 3, /. 1. — Ai to. i. e. always.
/. 3 — But if. i. e. unless. See p. 5, line ult.
/. 6 — As Gregor seith. The editor has not been able to find
these exact words in St. Gregory, or cited in the canon law : but
perhaps our author quotes them loosely from the Decretum, Caus. 8,
q. i. c. 9. " Pastori sanctae ecclesiae dicitur : Simon Joannis amas
me ? Pasce oves nieas. Ex quibus verbis colligitur, quia si is, qui
valet, omnipotentis Dei oves renuit pasccre, ostendit se pastorem
118 NOTES.
summum minime amare." See B. Greg. Epist. iv. lib. vii. indict.
15. (Edit. Benedict, torn. ii. col. 848.)
P. 3, I. 7 — Howith. Oweth, oughteth.
/. 10. — Also thus seith Crisostom. The editor has not been able
to find the passage here referred to, either in the canon law, or in the
works of St. Chrysostom.
— 1. 16. — And thus seith an other. This is another reference
which the editor has not succeeded in verifying, although he has spent
more time in the search than it was worth.
1. 19. — Now deme this fating kirk. Deme, i. e. " consider this
fighting church," alluding probably to the schism of the Popes ; an
allusion which may serve to fix the date of this tract.
I. 27. — And Crisostom. seith. Quoted from the Opus imperfec-
tum in Matthceum, falsely attributed to St. Chrysostom : Decret. Dist.
xl. c. 12. Multi. The words cited are as follow : " Quicunque desi-
deraverit primatum in terra, inveniet confusionem in coelo ; nee inter
servos Christi computabitur, qui de primatu tractaverit ; nee unus-
quisque eorum festinet, quomodo aliis major appareat, sed quomodo
omnibus inferior videatur : quoniam non qui major fuerit in honore,
ille est justior, sed qui fuerit justior, ille major."
P. 4, /. 9. — In the propos. i. e. " in the proposition;" the subject,
namely, or question under discussion.
/. 11. — And he hi^t it. i. e. " and he promise it."
/. 15. — Therfore the pope ioi not. i. e. " let not the pope joy or
rejoice." So also, line 17. But al dred more, i. e. " Let all dread
more."
• /. 18. — For thi that in swelk, fyc. Forthi, because. This sen
tence in modern English is, " Because that in such the sin is aggra
vated by reason of the degree," i. e. by reason of the dignity or rank
of the sinner.
— /. 19. — Ioi thu not. From Ecclus. xvi. i. " Ne jucunderis in
filiis impiis, si multiplicentur : nee oblecteris super ipsos si non est
timor Dei in illis :" and verses 3, 4, " Melior est enim unus timens
NOTES. 119
Deum, quam mille filii impii. Et utile est mori sine filiis, quam
relinquere filios impios." Unpitouse is our author's version of impius ;
so also we often find him using the word pite for piety.
P. 4, 1. 21. — Thow$and. This word should have been printed with
z, not with the Saxon 3 : thowzand, not thow3and.
I. 29. — And eft Jerom seith. Decret. Dist. xl. c. 2, quoted
from St. Jerome's Epist. ad Heliodorum. " Non est facile stare loco
Pauli, et tenere gradum Petri, jam cum Christo regnantium : quia
hinc dicitur, non Sanctorum filii sunt qui tenent loca sanctorum, sed
qui exercent opera eorum." The Roman correction notes that the
latter part of this extract, from quia hinc to the end, is not found in
St. Jerome's works : the first part is quoted again in Cans. ii. qu. 7, c.
29, Non omnes.
I. ult. — And Gregor seith. Decret. Dist. xl. c. 3. " Nos, qui
prcesumus, non ex locorum, vel generis dignitate, sed morum nobili-
tate innotescere debemus, nee urbium claritate, sed fidei puritate."
Our author's version of the words " Nos qui prsesumus," we that are
priests, is remarkable ; and this is not the only place in which he has
rendered prceesse in the same way (see note on p. 2, line 26) ; which
shews that the notion of a sacrificer was not in our author's time the
primary idea attached to the word priest.
P. 5, 1. 2. — Places ne orderis. Dist. xl. c. 4. " Non loca vel or-
dines Creatori nostro nos proximos faciunt : sed ei nos merita bona
jungunt, aut mala disjungunt."
/. 3. — Nekist, nearest, proximos.
I. 4. — Departen. Disjungunt ; the old English verb active
and transitive, to depart, (i. e. to separate, to disjoin, put asunder,) was
used in the Office of Matrimony, in our Prayer Books, until the last
revision of the Liturgy, when the original words " till death us de
part," were altered into " till death us do part." The word depart
in its ancient transitive signification does not occur in the authorized
version of the Bible.
I. 5. — And Crisostom seith. Dist. xl. c. 5, quoted from the
120 NOTES.
spurious Opus imperfectum in Matthceum. " Homo Christianus for-
titer cadit in peccato propter duas causas : aut propter magnitudinem
peccati, aut propter altitudinem dignitatis."
P. 5, /. 7.— Also of the dedis of Boneface. Quoted " Ex dictis" [al.
gestis] " Bonifacii martyris." Dist. xl. c. 6. " Si Papa, suae et
fratemae salutis negligens, deprehenditur inutilis et remissus in
operibus suis, et insuper a bono taciturnus, quod magis officit sibi, et
omnibus, nihilominus innumerabiles populos catervatim secum ducit
primo mancipio gehennae, cum ipso plagis multis in seternum vapu-
laturus." Al. " vapulaturos," which was evidently our author's
reading.
1. 12. — Crist [on] the ^erd. The editor is not sure that he is
right in supposing the word " jerd" to mean " earth," and the preposi
tion " on " to have been omitted by the transcriber. It has occurred
to him, since the sheet to which this note refers was printed off, that
" jerd," may mean herd, " shepherd ;" and that the passage does not
require any emendation. In other places ^erthe or $erth is the spell
ing adopted for the word " earth."
/. 19. — A gaf For " he gave ;" a for he is common in Shake-
spere, in the mouths of peasants or illiterate persons. Thus in Love's
Labour Lost, Act I. Scene II. " Dull" says,
" — but a must fast three days a- week."
And again, Act IV. Scene I. " Costard " says,
" Indeed a must shoot nearer, or he '11 ne'er hit the clout."
And a little afterwards,
" To see him kiss his hand ! and how most sweetly a will swear."
/. 22. — In tholing, i. e. " in suffering."
1. 23. — As is opun in his pistil, alluding to 1 Pet. v. 2.
- I. 27. — Comyn. Perhaps for " coming :" but our author often
uses the word comyn for " communion."
P. 6, 1. 2. — His. For is. Our author (or his transcriber) fre
quently prefixes h to words beginning with a vowel.
NOTES. 121
P. 6, /. 13. — Or doth the contrari. These words are probably re
peated by a mistake of the transcriber.
/. 17. — Ben snibbid, i. e. " censured." The verb to snub in
this sense is still used in vulgar English. It is said to be derived
from the Swedish. (See Junius.) In Shakespeare the word is used
with the spelling sneap ; as in Love's Labour Lost, Act I. Scene i.
Biron is like the envious sneaping frost ;
and in King Henry IV. (Second Part,) Act II. Scene i. Falstaff
says, — " My Lord, 1 will not undergo this sneap without reply."
Snib, Snyb, Snebbe, and perhaps also Snuff, are all different spellings
of the same word, and occur frequently in our old writers. Pope, in
his note on the passage last cited from Shakespeare, calls sneap " a
Yorkshire word."
I. 22. — Aftir the Holi Gost taking, i. e. " after receiving the
Holy Ghost."
P. 7, L 3. — Prescit. Prsesciti, reprobate. See also lines 23 and
24 of this page.
1.5. — I seid thus: I rehersid a doctor. This is an evident
allusion to some former work, or public speech. So also (p. (>, line
1) our author says, — " And thus I graunt now, as oft I haue know-
lechid bifor mani witnes," &c.
/. 6. — Sale worth, i. e. ready for sale. We still have " Woe-
worth " in our English version of the Bible, Ezek. xxx. 2.
1. 6. — For thi that. For thi, because. Or perhaps we should
read " for that thei."
/. 12. — Sogetis. Subjects ; those who are placed under their
spiritual care.
1. 19. — That the by^ar beprofhabili sekir. i. e. that the buyer
be proveably (certainly, demonstratively) sure. In the next sentence
siker is used as a verb : the word is often spelt sicker. In line 22 we
have prouabily, and line 28 prouable.
/. 24. — JRennun, run, issue not forth.
— /. 31. — Standing ny. i. e. nigh in favour, or in office, to an
earthly king.
CAMD. soc. 14. R
1J2 NOTES.
P. 8, /. 12. — The Popes bulle techith. In an ancient Horarium
printed by Philippe Pigouchet, Paris, 1493, there is the following
allusion to to this Bull (Sign. K. iii. facie) : —
" Pape boniface a donne a tons ceulz qui diront denotement ceste
orayson qui sensuit, entre leleuacion du corpus dni et le dernier
Agnus Dei, deux mille ans de vray pardon."
On the next page is the prayer to which this privilege has been
granted, which is as follows : —
" Domine iesu qi hanc sacratissimam carnem et preciosum sanguinem
de gloriosissime Virginia marie utero assumpsisti, et eundem sanguinem
de sacratissimo latere tuo in ara crucis pro salute nostra effudisti : et in
hac gloriosa carne a mortuis resurrexisti : et ad celos ascendisti cum
eodem sacratissimo corpore tuo : iterum uenturus es, iudicare uiuos et
mortuos in eadem carne : libera nos per hoc sacratissimum corpus
tuum, quod modo in altari per manus sacerdotis tractatur, ab omnibus
immundiciis mentis et corporis, et ab vniuersis malis et periculis
preteritis, presentibus et futuris. Qui uiuis et regnas," &c.
The editor has been permitted to make this extract from a beautiful
copy on vellum of this rare book, in the possession of the Earl of
Dunraven. The colophon at the end is as follows : — '* Ces presentes
heures a lusage de Romine furent achevees le .ii. iour de Aust, Lan
de grace Mil quattre centz .iiii. xx. et .xiii. Pour Symon vostre
Libraire demourant a Paris en la rue neuue nostre dame a lenseigne
sainct Jehan leuangeliste."
Our author speaks as if the two thousand years of pardon had been
granted to the recitation of the bull ; but, if he really meant this, he is
evidently inaccurate, for the privilege was granted to the repetition,
not of the bull, but of the foregoing prayer.
In a copy of the " Hore beatissime virginis Marie secundum usum
Sarum totaliter ad longum cum multis pulcherrimis orationibus et
indulgentiis iam vltimo adiectis," in the Library of Trinity College,
Dublin, the same prayer occurs with the following rubric in English
prefixed.
" If Our holy father the pope Bonifacius sextus hath graunted to all
NOTES. 123
them that say deuoutly thys prayer folowynge betwene the eleuacyon
ofourlordeet the .iij. Agnus dei .x. thousande yeres of pardon. Oratio.
Domine Jesu Xpe qui hanc," &c.
This copy of the Hours was printed at Paris in 1536 : " Impresse
Parrhisiis per Franciscum Regnault, impensis et sumptibus eiusdem :
alme vniuersitatis Parrhisien. librarii iurati. Anno domini millesimo
quingentesimo tricesimo sexto. Die vero .xxv. Maii." — It differs
from the former copy, and from our author, in assigning ten thousand
years to this indulgence, which it ascribes to Pope Boniface VI.
meaning evidently the Pontiff who is usually styled Boniface VIII.
(A.D. 1295) ; for Boniface VI. (A.D. 896) lived but fifteen days after
his election, which was also by some supposed to be irregular, so that
he is often omitted in the list of pontiffs:* and Boniface VII.
(A D. 974) was an Antipope,f and therefore of course not counted.
It does not appear from either of these authorities what our author
alluded to in saying that this indulgence was granted " at the instance
of a king ;" but it is probable that a collation of other editions or
MSS. of the fforariwm, if the search were worth the trouble, would
clear up this difficulty.
P. 8, /. 14. — As oft as a nobil man. In line 18 our author speaks
of " lewid men," or laymen, " that can not this orisoun," i. e. who
are not learned enough to be able to read it ; and perhaps, therefore,
by " a nobil man " he may mean one who is possessed of the education
sufficient for using the prayer.
I. IS.— Putting to over. L e. adding moreover. This probably
alludes to some provision in the original bull substituting the pater
noster, in the case of laymen " who can not this orisoun/' for the
prayer above cited.
I. 21. — On groundid. Ungrounded ; unfounded.
I. 25. — fapld. Mocked : to jape is to play, or jest. (See
Nares's Glossary, in voc.) So p. 9, line 4,japer, i. e. jester.
1. 26. — Parting. The share or portion of merit.
* See Pagi Breviar. torn. ii. p. 177.
f Ibid. p. 244.
124 NOTES.
P. 8, /. 30. — It beltojith to troive. i. e. we are bound to believe.
P. 9, I. 6. — Thus seith the doctor. The editor lias been unable to
find who " the doctor " here quoted is.
Barthelmew in casts. Bartholomseus Brixiensis, a cele
brated doctor of the canon law, wrote the Apparatus in titulos et
Decreta Gratiani, and also in titulos et Decreta librorum V. Decreta-
lium Gregorii IX., which are published in the Corpus Juris Canonici.
He is author also of a work De Casibus Conscientia?, of which Oudin
tells us that a copy exists in MS. in the library of St. Peter's College,
Cambridge. (Oudin. de Script. Eccles. torn. iii. col. 92.) This would
seem to be the work here quoted by our author, (casis being a mistake
of the scribe for casibus, see line 17) except that our author at the
end of his quotation has given his reference thus : " The Clementyns
de pe .c°. aims. h. Barth. in Casibus," i. e. " Hrec Bartholomaeus in
Casibus :" by which it appears that the extract from the Clementines
was cited from Bartholomaeus ; and if so, Bartholomaeus Brixiensis
cannot be the author referred to, for he died A. D. 1250 (see Fabricius,
BiUioth. lib. ii. p. 471) ; whereas the Clementines were not published
until the second year of Pope John XXII. i. e. 1317.
I. 8. — Also the law seith. Clementin. lib. v. tit. ix. c.2.abusion-
ibus. The passage referred to is from a Decree of Pope Clement V.
in the council of Vienne, A. D. 1312, and is as follows : —
" Ad haec cum aliqui ex hujusmodi quaestoribus, sicut ad nostram
audientiam est perlaturn, non sine multa temeritatis audacia, et
deceptione multiplici animarum, indulgentias populo motu suo proprio
de facto concedant, super votis dispensent, a perjuriis, homicidiis, et
peccatis aliis sibi confitentes absolvant, male ablata incerta (data sibi
aliqua pecuniae quantitate), remittant, tertiam, aut quartam partem de
poenitentiis injunctis relaxent : animas tres, vel plures parentum, vel
amicorum illorum, qui cleemosynas eis conferunt, de purgatorio (ut
asserunt mendaciter), extrahant, et ad gaudia paradisi perducant,
benefactoribus locorum quorum qtiaestores existunt, remissionem ple-
nariam poccatorum indulgeant, ct aiiqui ex ipsis eos a poena et a culpa
NOTES. 125
(ut eorum verbis utamur) absolvant ; nos abusus Imjusmodi per quos
censura vilescit ecclesiae, et clavium ecclesiae auctoritas ducitur in
contemptum, omnimodo aboleri volentes, ea per quoscunque quaes-
tores fieri, vel attentari de caetero districtius inhibemus. Omnia et
singula privilegia, si qua super praemissis, vel eorum aliquo sint
aliquibus locis, ordinibus, vel personis quaestorum hujusmodi quomo-
docunque concessa, (ne ipsorum praetextu sit eis materia talia ulterius
praesumendi), auctoritate apostolica, quantum ad praemissa, penitus
revocantes."
P. 9, /. 12. — Vncertein to ivome to restore, i. e. uncertain to whom
the things stolen should be restored, " male ablata incerta."
1. 17. — The Clementyns de pe. c°. abus. h. Barth. in Casibus.
i. e. the Clementine Constitutions, De penitentiis et remissionibus [the
title of lib. v. tit. ix.], capitulo abusionibus .• Haec Bartholomseus in
Casibus.
/. 20. — Spedy. i. e. expedient.
Folily. Foolishly, rashly.
P. 10, /. 5. — Comyn. Communion, intercourse or commerce, among
men.
1. 14. — Bought vs a^en. So our author translates the word
" redeemed."
Behit us. Promised us.
1. 27. — A^en worde ; or, againword, i. e. again, on the other
hand.
P. 11, 1. 17. — The sawis of feithful doctors put in the canon. The
allusion here is probably to Decret. Cans. i. q. 3, c. 10, 11.
I. 18.— We?iun. Wish, desire.
I. 28. — Comynng, read comynmg, Communion. See line 31.
/. 29. — But iftheyfynd. i. e. even though they find.
/. 31. — Joinun. i. e. they enjoin.
P. 12, /. 3. — In part takyng. i. c. in partaking, taking share of.
126 NOTES.
P. 12. L 4. — JReif. Plunder, spoil ; from reave.
/. 24. — A place that is called porciuncula. Portiuncula was a
place near Assisium, where was a ruined church dedicated to St.
Mary of Angels, which was rebuilt and restored by St. Francis of
Assisium, at the commencement of his religious life ; it was the fa
vourite scene of his early devotions : in it he conceived the design of
founding the celebrated order of Friars Minors, and it subsequently
became the centre and mother church of the whole Franciscan family.
" Hunc locum (says Wadding) vir sanctus amavit prae caeteris mundi
locis. Hie etenim humiliter coepit, hie virtuose profecit, hie foeliciter
consummavit ; hunc in morte fratribus, tanquam Virgini carissimum,
commendavit Hie est locus in quo Fratrum Minorum
ordo a S. Francisco per divinae revelationis instinctum inchoatus est/'
AnnaL Minor t. i. p. 43, Romae, 1731.
The indulgence first given to Portiuncula was this, that every per
son who after confession and absolution shall visit that church on the
second of August, from the first vespers to sun-set, shall obtain a full
remission of all sins committed from the day of his baptism to the day
of his visit to Portiuncula : see the story of the origin of this indul
gence in Wadding, torn. ii. p. 17, et seq. and the arguments in proof
of it, ibid. p. 55, sq. The indulgence was first granted by Honorius
III. A.D. 1223 ; it was afterwards frequently communicated to other
churches, and in 1481 the same privilege was extended by Sixtus IV.
to all churches of the Franciscan order. See Wadding, torn. xiv. p.
257, and Suysken, Analecta de S. Francisco, part iii. § xi. (Apud
Bolland. Acta Sanctorum, in 4 Oct. p. 914, et seq.)
1. 27. — In the court, i. e. the court of Rome.
I. 32. — Katereynis. i. e. quadrains, or farthings. (< Quatrinus
(or Quatrenus) minutior moneta, sexagesima pars lirae, Ital. Quat-
trino." Adelung, Glossar. Manuale, in voc.
P. 13, /. 25. — Tho syn. A mistake of the transcriber for the sin.
We often find tho for the in this MS. See line 8.
NOTES. 127
P. 14, /. 7. — Swilk on. i. e. such an one.
P. 17, /. 24. — Ympli^ethly. i. e. implicitly.
1. 26. — Of the words of the Pope Leoun. Quoted in the De-
cretum from Leo I. Serm. 3. in anniversario suae assumptionis, et
serm. 2. De natali Apostolorum. (Cans. xxiv. q. 1, c. 5.)
" Manet ergo Petri privilegium, ubicunque ex ipsius fertur
equitate judicium, nee nimiae est vel severitas, vel remissio, ubi nihil
erit ligatum, nihil solutum, nisi quod beatus Petrus aut solverit, aut
ligaverit."
1. 31. — And also Jerom seith. Quoted from tS. Hieron. in
Leviticum, Decretum, Caus. xxiv. q. 3, c. 4. " Si quis non recto ju-
dicio eorum qui praesunt ecclesiae, depellatur, et foras mittatur, si ipse
non ante exiit, hoc est, si non ita egit, ut mereretur exire, nihil laedi-
tur in eo quod non recto judicio ab hominibus videtur expulsus. Et
ita fit, ut interdum ille, qui foras mittitur, intus sit, et ille foris, qui
intus retineri videtur."
P. 18, I. 5. — And Gela^i the Pope seith. Decretum, Caus. xi. q. 3,
c. 46. " Cui est illata sententia deponat errorem, et vacua est : sed
si injusta est, tanto earn curare non debet, quanto apud Deum et Ec-
clesiam ejus neminem potest iniqua gravare sententia. Ita ergo ea
se non absolvi desideret, qua se nullatenus perspicit obligatum."
;. 9. — And Austeyn seith. Quoted from Augustin De Summo
bono, Decret. Caus. xi. q. 3, c. 47- " Secundum Catholicam fidem
nee naturae Dei nocere potest quisquam, nee natura Dei
nocere injuste patitur quenquam. Qui enim nocet (ait Apostolus)
recipiet illud, quod nocet."
1. 13. — To this acordith Rabanus and other doctours rnani. Al
luding probably to Decret. Caus. xxiv. q. 3, c. 5, where Rabanus is
quoted under the title " Vita, non sententia, quemlibet ligat, vel
solvit."
P. 20, 1. 5. — Inowe. Enough, sufficient.
128 NOTES.
P. 20, 1. 6. — Leef. Leave, omit, neglect.
/. 17. — By law canon. Referring to the Decretum, Cans, xxiii.
q. 4, c. 27, g. 5, c. 8. Cans. iv. y. 4, c. 1. et alibi.
/. 18. — For under the autorite of Gregor. Cited from Gre
gory's Letter to Januarius (1. 2, indict. 10 ; Epist. 34.) Decret. Cans.
xxiii. q. 4, c. 27. " Inter querelas multiplices, Isidorus, vir clarissi-
mus, a fraternitate tua frustra se excommunicatum, anathematiza-
tumque conquestus est. Quod ob quam rem factum fuerit, dum
clerico tuo, qui praesens erat, voluissemus addiscere, pro nulla alia
causa, nisi pro eo quod te injuriaverat, factum innotuit. Quae res
nos vehementer affligit; quod si itaest, nihil te ostendis de coelestibus
cogitare, sed terrenam te conversationeni liabere significas ; dum pro
vindicta propriae injurise (quod sacris regulis prohibetur) maledic-
tionem anathematis invexisti. Unde de caetero omnino esto circum-
spectus, atque solicitus, et talia cuiquam pro defensione proprias in-
juriae tuae inferre denuo non praesumas. Nam si tale aliquid feceris
in te scias postea vindicandum."
/. 29. — Werfore the Glose of Ion seith. Johannes Semeca,
called Teutonicus from his country, was author of a gloss on the De
cretum of Gratian, which is printed with that work in the Corpus
juris Canonici. The gloss on the canon Inter querelas, just cited, is
as follows : " Ergo episcopus non potest excommunicare aliqueni pro
injuria sibi facta, ut hie, et infra c. q. 5. De occidendis. Nee enim
potest esse judex in causa sua, ut 4, q. 4, c. 1."
P. 21, 1. 2. — Harborow. Harbour, shelter. See Nares's Glossary
in voc.
/. 3. — Veniawns. Vengeance.
I. 4. — Manestf menaced. In the printed text of Wicliffe's
New Testament this word is spelt " manassid." " Whanne he was
cursid, he cursid not, and whanne he suffrid he manassid not, but he
bitook hym silf to hym that denied hym vniustli." The reading of the
Vulgate, " tradebat autem judicanti se injuste," is of course followed
by our author.
NOTES. 129
P. 21, /. 11. — Were the Archdecoun seith. Guide Baifius (as he is
erroneously called by Cave, who followed Trithemius), or more pro
perly Guido Baisius, i. e. de Bayso, or de Bajisio, Archdeacon of
Bologna, flourished A.D. 1280, and is usually known by Canonists
as " The Archdeacon." He composed a celebrated Commentary on
the Decretum, entitled, " Enarrationes super Decreto, sive Rosa
rium," which has been several times printed. It is to this work most
probably that our author refers, and statements similar to that which
he quotes occur so frequently in it that it is not easy to point out the
particular passage cited. For example, in his commentary on the fol
lowing canon (Caus. ii. q. l,c. 11.)? " Nemo episcopus, nemo presby
ter excommunicet aliquem, antequam causa probetur, propter quam
ecclesiastici canones hoc fieri jubent," the Archdeacon says : " Causa,
scil. contumacia, pro hac enim sola causa est quis excommunicandus.
Ar. xi. q. iii. nemo episcoporum [c. 41] et c. nullus sacerdotum [c. 42]
et dicitur tamen excommunicari pro homicidio, pro furto, et hujus-
inodi, i. e. pro contumacia de tali vel tali crimine. xi. q. iii. cerium
[c. 43] xxii. q. i. prcedicandum [c. 17]. Hug. et videas quod de hoc
not. xi. q. iii. episcopi [c. 8] et c. nemo episcoporum [c. 41]. Et not.
quod sicut pro contumacia de expresso crimine debet quis excommu
nicari, sic et de expresso crimine moneri. Ar. hie et de sen. exco.
Cum medicinalis, lib. v. secundum Innocentium, qui ita not. extra de
ver. sig. ex parte in gl. de hoc etiam not. ubi etiam approbat predictam
sententiam Hu. scil. quod pro solo crimine non est quis excommuni
candus si velit se corrigere, ut in pre. c. nemo xlv. dist. sed istud
[c. 17] xxiiij. q. iii. tarn sacerdotes [c. 14] sed contra xvi. q. i. alia
[c. 6] in fi. ibi, sipeccavero, &c. de hoc xvii. q. iiij. de presbyterorum
[c. 23]." Archidia. super Decreto, sive Guidonis de Bajisio Enar
rationes super Decreto, vel Rosarium. Fol. Lugd.1549. fol. 130, col. 4.
Here, however, the archdeacon quotes Hugo and Innocent, not
Lincoln and Innocent, as our author states (line 16). This, however,
may have been a mistake on the part either of our author or of his
transcriber.
CAMD. SOC. 14. s
130 NOTES.
P. 21, 1. 11. — The more curse, i. e. the greater curse, or excommu
nication.
/. 19. — Were fore the kirk seith. Decretum, Cans. xi. q. 3,
c. 41, (Ex Concilio Meldensi.) " Nemo episcoporum quemlibet
sine certa et manifesta peccati causa communione privet ecclesiastica."
1. 22. — And Austeyn seith, as is he for seid, — See this passage
quoted above, p. 18, from Decret. Cans. xi. q. 3, c. 47.
1. 25. — Noised to his per ing. i. e. injured to his perishing.
— /. 28. — Defendith medicinahle comyn with the Kirk. i. e. prohi-
biteth medicinably communion with the church. Medicinabiliter .
" Cum medicinalis sit excommunicatio, non mortalis, disciplinans, non
eradicans," &c. Sexti Decretal, lib. v. tit. xi. de sent. exco. c. 1.
1. 29. — Were for seith Archedecoun. There are many passages
in the Archdeacon's Commentary on the Decretum in which he has as
serted in substance the opinion here attributed to him. But the editor
has been unable to find the exact words quoted by our author. For
example, in Cans. xxiv. q. 3, si quis. " Nihil laeditur nisi injustam
excommunicationem contemnat. xi. q. iii. § cum ergo, in fin. infra eo,
notandum. Et hoc intellige quantum ad participationem glorias eternae."
P. 22, 1. 2. — The decreis and sentence of doctors cording to gidir.
Alluding probably to the ancient title of Gratian's Decretum, — " Con-
cordia discordantium canonum." See Cans. xxiv. q. 3, c. 4. Si quis
non recto. Upon which the gloss says, " Nam quoad Deum non
potest ecclesia ligare," scil. non recto judicio.
— /. 5. — Werfor the decre seith. Decret. Cans. xxiv. q. 3, c. 5.
" Non in perpetuum damnamur, cum injuste judicamur."
— 1. 7. — Archedecoun seith. In Cans. xxiv. q. 3, c. 5, on the
words of the canon " sed dum indiscrete hoc agitur [injuste scil.
aliquem clamnare] sacrilegii facinus incurrunt [sacerdotes] ;" his
comment is, " hie quero quomodo incurrit crimen sacrilegii qui
subditos excommunicat injuste. ad hoc dicit Joan. de. quod sic sacri-
legium est violare sacrum ii. q. i. in primis, versi. si quis in hoc. qui
NOTES. 131
ergo injuste excommunicat violat sacrum, id est corpus ecclesie, a quo
evellit membrum suum injuste, et contra Deum." Archidia. super
Decreto, fol, 315, col. 4.
P. 22, 1. 10. — For that he is cursid vnjustty. Perhaps we should
read, " for he that is cursid unjustly."
— /. 15. — And this dede Lincoln. Robert Grosthead, Bishop of
Lincoln, A. D. 1235-1253, a celebrated canonist and divine, and zea
lous opposer of the power of the Roman court. He was a man of
eminent piety and learning, and, although not canonized at Rome,
was by many of his own countrymen spoken of as a saint. See a list
of his works in Cave, Hist. Literaria, ad an. 1235.
The story alluded to by our author is thus told by Ralph Higden,
in his Polychronicon (fol. cccv. b. Lond. 1527) : — f " Also that yere
[1253] deyed Saynt Robert Grostehed, bysshoppe of Lyncoln, the
nynth daye of October. He was cunnynge in all the lyberall artes.
And specyally he expowned many thynges in logykytyks and astro-
logye. He sent to the fourth Pope Innocent a pystle sharpe ynough,
that begynneth in this wyse : Our Lord Jhesus Cryste ; he sent that
pystle by cause the pope greuyd the churches of Englonde with taxes
and paymentes undue and uncustomable. Also for he hadde geuen
his letyll newe [nephew] a chanonrye with the fyrste that voyded in
the chyrche of Lyncoln. But this Robert wolde not receyue the
chylde. But he wrote to the pope and sayde, that he nother wolde
nor sholde receyue such to the cure of soule that cowde not rule hym-
selfe. Therfor this Robert was somned to the court and accursed.
Thenne from Innocentes court, he appellyd to Crystis owne trone.
Thenne after Roberts deth it happed on a nyghte that the pope laye
in his bedde and rested, a bisshop apared to hym arrayed as a bysshop,
and spake to the pope and sayde, Arise, wretch, and come to j?i dome.
And smote hym with his crosse on the lyfte syde ryght to the herte.
Thenne in the morowe the pope's bedde was founde bloody and the
pope deed. H Herfore though Roberte was a noble man, and dyde
oft miracles, ye court suffred hym not to be canonysed." See also
Matthew Paris, Hist. Angl p. 760 (fol. Lond. 1689).
132 NOTES.
P. 22, /. 22. — And this is notable to wit in the decre. This is a re
ference to the words of Gratian, Cans. xxiv. q. 3, part 3, and the fol
lowing, c. 10, *t igitur, and c. 11. cum ergo. The words are, " Illicita
ergo excommunicatio, ut ex praemissis apparet, non laedit eum, qui
notatur, sed a quo notatur : ac per hoc, qui innocentes sunt, ex alterius
crimine condemnari non possunt : sicut ab imprudentibus familiae po-
tentum pro peccatis dominorum solent notari. Sed adhuc objicitur,
quod non solum innocentes, sed nee etiam criminosi sententia male-
dictionis sint feriendi. Ait enim Christus in Evangelio, Orate pro
persequentibus Item Apostolus : Benedicite persequentibus vos :
Benedicite et nolite maledicere : Item, Maledici regnum Dei non possi-
debunt.
Item Hieronymus (in epist. ad Titum initio cap. Hi.). Si igitur
Michael non fuit ausus diabolo et certe maledictione dignissimo. judi-
cium inferre blasphemies : quanto magis nos ab omni maledicto puri
esse debemus ? Merebatur diabolus maledictum : sed per os Arch-
angeli blasphemia exire non debuit. Relege veteres libros, et vide,
quae tribus in monte (4-arizin constitutae sint, ut benedicerent populo,
et quae in monte altero, ut maledicerent : Ruben, qui maculaverat
torum parentis, et Zabulon novissimus Liae filius, et ancillarum liberi
in monte Hebel ponuntur, ut maledicant his qui maledictione sunt
digni.
Item (in lib. Josuce ) Cum ergo in singulis quibusque fidelium talis
sit propositi varietas, hoc mihi designari videtur in hoc loco, quod
dimidii illi, qui juxta montem Garizin incedunt (ilium, qui ad bene-
dictiones electus est), istos figuraliter indicent, qui non metu poenae,
sed benedictionum et repromissionum desiderio veniunt ad salutem ;
illi vero dimidii, qui juxta montem Gebal incedunt, in quo maledic-
tiones prolatae sunt, istos alios indicent, qui malorum metu, et suppli-
ciorum timore complentes, quae in lege scripta sunt, perveniunt ad
salutem."
— 1. 22. — Seyny. Synod.
1. 29. — Servid. Deserved, merebatur.
I. 30. — Holde, for old. A few lines further on (page 23, line 3,)
NOTES. 133
we have the same word written wold, representing evidently the pro
vincial pronunciation.
P. 22, 1. 30. — Lynage. Lineage, tribe, family.
P. 23, I. 1. — Wengis. Wenches, concubines; ancillarum liberi.
I. 11. — But the canoun distinguith thus. " Distinguendum est
ergo inter maledictum, quod prohibetur, et maledictum, quod a
Domino, et sanctissimis viris rationabiliter profertur. Maledictum,
quod prohibetur, est illud, quod procedit ex voto ultionis, et odio
persequentis, non ex amore justitioe." — Decretum, Cans. xxiv. q, 3,
c. 11. Graf. Sed qui pro, in fin.
I. 14. — Witts of seyntis. i. e. opinions, decisions, judgments
of saints.
1. 15. — Stering. Stirring, movement.
1. 17. — Therfore seith the canoun. Cans. xxiv. q. 3, c. 12.
Cum sancti viri. " Eo in maledicto non peccant, in quo ab interne
judicio non discordant." Quoted from S. Gregory, Moral. 1. iv. c. 6.
I. 19. — And aftir, under the autorite of Austeyn. — Caus. xxiv.
q. 3, c. 17. " Corripiantur itaque a praepositis suis subditi fratres,
correptionibus de charitate venientibus pro culparum diversitate di-
versis, vel minoribus, vel amplioribus." Quoted from S. August.
De Corrept. et gratia, c. xv.
lt 20. — Provastis. Provosts, Prcepositi.
— I. 22. — Court ofpleet. Pletum, Plitum, Placitum : in French,
Plet, or Plait. The bishops' courts, in which the bishops or their
delegates preside, were anciently called Placita Christianitatis, as the
king's court was called Placitum commune. See Du Cange, in voc.
I. 32. — In case. i. e. " for example."
P. 24, 1. 2. — Scarioth. Judas Iscariot.
/. 3. — Blawun. Blowen, censured.
Valith. Availeth.
1. 13. — Souare. Sore.
lt 18. — Salamon seith. Prov. xxvi. 2. " Maledictum frus-
tra prolatum in quempiam superveniet."
134 NOTES.
P. 24, I. 19. — As the Glose seith. The Gloss on the words " in
quern piam " is, "in proferentem." Bibl. cum Glossa interim,
Ven. 1588.
j. 20. — And seith the Salm. Ps. cviii. 18, 19. " Et dilexit
maledictionem, et veniet ei ; et induit maledictionem sicut
vestimentum, et intravit sicut aqua in interiora ejus, et sicut oleum in
ossibus ejus. Fiat ei sicut vestimentum, quo operitur : et sicut zona,
qua semper praecingitur."
/. 23. — Helid. Covered, operitur.
I, 24. — Schal not weld. Weild. " Non possidebunt." 1 Cor.
vi. 10. In the printed text of Wicliff'e's New Testament this passage
is rendered, " nether cursers, nether rauynouris sclmlen wilde the
kyngdom of God."
1. 25.— This sonde. " Mandatum hoc." Mai. ii. 1.
— /. 32. — Liand, lying, mentientes, Matt. v. 11. Joieth, i. e. joy
ye, rejoice ye, gaudete, ib. v. 12.
P. 25, /. U.— Opitte. i. e. " one pit."
/. 16, 17. — Thei toke heuely at the worde, therfore I preied
to excuse me, or spare me in termis. This alludes to some former
speech or discourse, in which our author's words were found fault
with.
lm 25. — Ne a proue it. i. e. " nor approve it."
1. 27. — Wordeynith, for ordaineth.
I 30. — Medefully. Deservedly.
/. 32. — Noyous. Injurious, hurtful. See line 5, next page.
P. 26, 1. 4. — Shames. Alarms, causes of terror.
/. 5. — Noises. Injuries, hurtful things. Thole hem, suffer
them.
/. 12. — And Jeremy that man that callid. Jer. xx. 15. " Male-
dictus vir, qui annuntiavit patri meo dicens, Natus est tibi puer mas-
culus, et quasi gaudio laetificavit eum."
/. 29. — Arettid. Reckoned, accounted, nos putavimus eum, Is.
jiii. 4. So again, rettid, page "21, line 31.
NOTES. 135
P. 27, 1. \5.—Rad. Perhaps for " dread."
1. 16. — To gruch. To grumble, to murmur. So in tlie next
line, " 3or grucching is ajen 36 Lord." Murmur vestrum. Exod. xvi. 8.
See " Deposition of Richard II." published by the Camden Society,
Glossary in voc.
1. 19. — Comynte. Community.
P. 28, 1. 2.— Thole. Suffer.
/. 15. — ^end. i. e. end.
/. 17. — Ordre ofkynd. Order of nature.
/. 26. — Untrouth, or untrowth (line 27). Unbelief; to trow is
to believe. In line 30 the word is spelt ontrowth.
1. 31 — Beneth. Beneath, i. e. inferior to Christ.
P. 29, I. 20. — Sent Jerom seith. Quoted from Jerome on Tit. i.
in the Decretum, Dist. xcv. c. 5. " Olim idem erat Presbyter, qui
et Episcopus. Et antequam Diaboli instinctu studia in religione
fierent, et diceretur in populis, Ego sum Pauli, ego Apollo, ego autem
Cephce, communi Presbyterorum consilio ecclesiae gubernabantur.
Postquam vero unusquisque eos, quos baptizaverat, suos putabat esse,
non Christi, in toto orbe decretum est, ut unus de Presbyteris electus
superponeretur caeteris, ad quern omnis ecclesiae cura pertineret, et
schismatum semina tollerentur. Et paulo post. Sicut ergo Presby-
teri sciunt se ex Ecclesiae consuetudine ei, qui sibi Praepositus fuerit,
esse subjectos ; ita episcopi noverint, se magis consuetudine, quam
dispensationis Dominicee veritate Presbyteris esse majores, et in
commune debere Ecclesiam regere." Also ibid. c. 6. (ex Hieron. ad
Rusticum Narbonensem episcopum, de septem gradibus ecclesice.)
" Ecce ego dico, praesentibus episcopis suis, atque adstantibus in altari,
Presbyteros posse sacramenta conficere. Et infra. Sed quia scrip-
turn est, Presbyteri duplici honore honorentur ; maxime qui laborant
in verbo Domini, pnedicare eos decet, utile est benedicere, congruum
est confirmare, convenit reddere communionem, necesse est visitare
infirmos, orare pro invalidis, atque omnia Dei sacramenta implere.
136 NOTES.
Et infra. Nemo hinc episcoporum invidia diabolicae tentationis in-
flatus, irascatur in templo, si Presbyteri interdum exhortentur plebem,
si in ecclesiis praedicent, si plebibus, ut scriptum est, benedicant.
Etenim abnuenti mihi ista sic dicam : qui non vult Presbyteros facere,
quas jubentur a Deo, dicat, quis major est Christo ? aut quid corpori
ejus, aut sanguini, poterit anteponi ? Si Presbyter Christum conse-
crat, cum in altario Dei Sacramenta benedicit, benedicere populo non
debet, qui Christum etiam meruit consecrare ? Et paulo post. Circa
laicos, ac mulieres, jubentibus vobis, O injustissiini sacerdotes, Pres
byter Dei benedictionis perdit officium, amittit linguae opus, non habet
confidentiam praedicandi, truncatus est omni parte virtutum. solum
Presbyteri nomen habet, plenitudinem, ac perfectionem, quse conse-
crationi ejus competit, non retentat. Quis hie, rogo, O Sacerdotes,
honor vester est, ut damnum gibbi \lege gregibus] inferatis ? Quoniam
cum pastoribus per potentiam vestram aufertur Deo digna diligentia,
contagium quoddam, et calamitas crescit in gregibus : ac Dominici
patrimonii danma conquiritis, dum soli vultis in Ecclesia potentari."
P. 29, I. 21.— Bats, or bates. Contentions.
P. 30, I 4.— Tofole. i. e. fulfil, implere.
1. 6. — Wrath. Here used as a verb, for be wroth) irascatur.
1. U.—Awith. Oweth, ought, debet.
1. 15. — Tayst, read tryst, i. e. trust, confidentiam. This is an
error of the press for which the Editor is to blame.
1. 21. — For thi, because. Who the " other men " here alluded
to are the Editor cannot say. They were probably, from the sentiment
expressed, some of our author's party.
I. 22. — A bischop in conforming, that he approprith to him silf
with out ground of the Scripter. One of the Articles of Wicliffe con
demned in the Council of Constance was, " Collatio sacramenti con-
firmationis non est episcopis ;" and again, Rationes et Motiva, &c.
No. 28. " Confirmatio juvenum, clericorum ordinatio, locorum con-
secratio, reservantur Papae et episcopis propter cupiditatem lucri
temporalis et honoris." Orthuini Gratii Fasciculus (edit. Browne),
NOTES. 137
torn. i. pp. 269, 288 ; also in William Woodford's articles objected
against Wicliffe, the fifth article is, " Quod collatio sacramenti con-
firmationis non est episcopis reservata." — Ibid. p. 190. See also
Wickliffe's Trialogus, 1. IV. cap. xiv.
P. 30, 1. 26. — Hied, " exalted ;" or veriliarjilyd, "or more truly
defiled."
P. 31, 1. 6. — Upon wilk seith an expositor thus. The editor has not
succeeded in verifying this reference.
I. 10. — In apostlis dedis. i. e. in the book of the Acts of the
Apostles.
1. 12. — To the same soundun the wordis of the prelat ordeining
dekunis. See the exhortation of the Bishop to the persons about to
be ordained deacons, beginning ProveTiendi,Jilii dilectissimi , &c. Pon-
tificale Rom. p. 31, fol. Paris, 1664.
/. 13. — Werefore in thefourt book of sentence, £c. Lib. Sen-
tentiar. IV. dist. 24. de Diaconibus, " Ad Diaconum pertinet assistere
sacerdotibus, et ministrare in omnibus quae aguntur in sacramentis
Christi, scilicet, in baptismo, in chrismate, in patena, et calice : ob-
lationes quoque inferre, et disponere in altari. Componere etiam
mensam Domini et vestire, crucem ferre, et praedicare evangelium et
epistolam ad populum. Nam sicut Lectoribus vetus Testamentum,
ita Diaconibus novum praedicare praeceptum est."
/. 18. — And this same seith Seint Ysidore. Decretum, Part i.
Dist. 25, c. 1.
1. 19. — For thi seith /Seint Gregory Poule seith to Thimo-
the. The word " Thimothe " is probably a mistake of the
scribe, for the reference is to Tit. i. 9. The passage is quoted in
the Decretum (part. i. dist. xliii. c. \.) from St. Gregory, Pastoral,
part. ii. c. 4. The words are, " Hinc Paulus ait ad Titum : Ut po-
tens sit exhortari in doctrina sana, et eos, qui contradicunt, redarguere.
Hinc per Malachiam dicitur : Labia Sacerdotis custodiunt scientiam
et legem requirunt ex ore ejus, quia Angelus Domini exercituum est.
Hinc per Esaiam Dominus admonet, dicens, Clama, ne cesses, quasi
CAMD. SOC. 14. T
138 NOTES.
tula exalta vocem tuam. Praeconis quippe ofllcium suscipit, quisquis
ad sacerdotium accedit, ut ante adventum judicis, qui terribiliter se-
quitur, ipse scilicet clamando gradiatur." And, after referring to
Exod. xxviii. 33, 35, he adds, " Sacerdos namque ingrediens vel
egrediens moritur, si de eo sonitus non auditur."
In the marginal reference, " c. 5," ought to be " c. 15," which was
the old division : "dt. 43," is evidently " dist. 43," the reference to
the Deere turn.
P. 31, I. 24.— Uphauns. i. e. lift up.
1. 29. — Curats. Our author is here arguing against those who
maintained that " simple priests," (that is, those who were merely
priests, and not curates, having no cure of souls,) were not bound to
preach. His argument is, that even if St. Gregory spake of those who
had cure of souls, yet it would not follow that "simple priests" are
excused. The subject was a favourite topic with the Lollards. Thus
the sixth of the " Articles of John Purvey, which he afterwards re
canted," as given by Fox (Acts and Monuments, vol. i. p. 619. Lond.
1084 J is, " Whosoever taketh upon him the office of Priesthood, al
though he have not the charge of souls committed unto him, according
to the custom of the church, not only may, but ought to preach the
Gospel freely unto the people ; otherwise he is a thief, excommuni
cated of God, and of the holy church."
In the Articles presented to the King against the Lollards, in 1382,
they were accused (Art. 11.) of holding " That priests and deacons,
whosoever they are, are obliged, and ought to preach publicly to the
people, on account of the orders they have taken, although they have
not a people or cure of souls." (Lewis, Life of Wicliffe, p. 105, quoted
from Knighton.) See also the Articles and conclusions against Wil
liam Swinderby, Fox (ubi supra, p. 534, 538).
P. 32, /. 2. — Wening. Wishing, desiring.
1. 4. — T,ed. Heed. In line 6 this word is spelt yde.
/. 5. — Pres\od. This word should have been printed, as it is
in the MS. " presthod."
/. 6. — Langwag. Language.
NOTES. 139
P. 32, I. 9. — Hordres. Orders ; meaning those in holy orders.
larcha. Hierarchy.
lt 9. — The argument of our author appears to be this : —
" They answer the passage adduced from St. Gregory, by saying that
by preaching he means reading at the mass ; but if this be so, then
every man and woman may preach, for every man and woman may
read in a language unknown, i. e. at the mass. Therefore if every
man may preach, it is folly to look for orders." The unfairness of
such an argument is manifest. It turns on the double meaning of the
phrase " reading at the mass :" the opponents of our author maintained
that the priest preaches the Gospel when he reads the Gospel at the
mass, but they did not allow that every man and woman may in this
sense read at mass.
/. 10. — Bodun. Forbidden.
1. 11. — To a monest. To admonish. By the phrase "to a
monest good things," our author translates the word evangelizantes,
alluding to Luke ix. 6.
1. 14. — Austeyn seith thus. This quotation, and that which
follows from St. Chrysostom, the Editor has not been able to find.
1. '26. — Therfor seith Isidor. This is quoted in the Decretum
(Dist. xxxviii. c. 1), not from Isidore, but from Condi. Toletan. c.
24 [al. 25], " Sciant igitur sacerdotes Scripturas sanctas, et canones,
ut omne opus eorum in praedicatione et doctrina consistat : atque
sedificent cunctos, tarn fidei scientia, quam operum disciplina."
L 29. — Therfore the prestis. This part of the quotation, which
does not occur in the Council of Toledo, or in the Decretum, seems
taken from Isidor. Hispal. Senten. Lib. III. c. xlvi. " Sacerdotes
pro populorum iniquitate damnantur, si eos aut ignorantes non eru-
diant, aut peccantes non arguunt, testante Domino per Prophetam :
Speculatorem dedi te domui Israel. Si non fueris locutus, ut se cus-
todiat impius a via sua, ille in iniquitate sua morietur : sanguinem
autem ejus de manu tua requiram. Sic enim Heli sacerdos pro filio-
rum iniquitate damnatus est : et licet eos delinquentes admonuit, sed
tamen non, ut oportebat, redarguit." (Isid. Hispal. Opp. p. 683, c. i.
C. fol. Par. 1(301.)
HO NOTES.
P. 33, I. 3. — Lere. Learn, teach. In Ireland the word learn is
still used actively in the sense of to teach.
- Unkunand. Ignorant.
/. 15. — Bi sytf. A mistake probably for " bi cities ;" the ori
ginal is per civitates.
— 1. 17. — Wifof synne. A strange mistake of the author or of
his transcriber. The original is Si quis sine crimine est, unius uxoris
vir,Jilios habens Jideles, fyc. ; and Wicliffe's version in the printed
text is, " For cause of this thing I lefte thee at Crete, that thou
amende tho thingis that failen, and ordeyne prestis bi citees, as also
I disposid to thee, if ony man is with outen cryme ; an husbonde of
o wijf, and hath feithful sones, not in accusacioun of leccherie, or not
suget, for it bihoveth a bischop to be without cryme : a dispendour of
God." &c.
— 1. 20. — To holde hospital, i. e. to hold hospitality.
1. 21. — Bening, benign, benignus.
— Biclipping. i. e. embracing. The original is amplectentem.
Shakespeare has frequently used the word clip in the sense of embrace,
as in King John (Act V. sc. 2.J
O, nation, that thou could'st remove !
That Neptune's arms, who clippeth thee about,
Would bear thee from the knowledge of thyself.
In the printed text of Wicliffe's Version the corresponding clause
is " takynge that trewe word ;" which is perhaps derived from the
reading obtinentem for amplectentem, a form in which the Latin fathers
frequently cite this passage. See Sabatier, in loc.
25. — The privey witt. i. e. the secret knowledge, mysterium
fidei.
1. 28. — Deere, for degree : " gradum bonum sibi acqui-
rent."
1. 32. — Thi going forth, i. e. thy proficiency, profectus tuus.
P. 34, /. 1. — Sane. It is not easy to say whether this word in the
MS. is sane or saue ; the latter would seem better to represent the
NOTES. 141
original salvum. In Wiclifte's New Testament, as printed, it is
" make thi silf saaf."
P. 34, I. 11. — Sperrith. Shutteth : from Anglo-Saxon rpajijian, and
modern German, sperren, to shut. The word is used by Spenser?
Shakespeare, and many of our old writers. Thus Spenser : —
And if he chaunce come when I am abroade,
Sperre the yate fast, for fear of fraude.
Sheph. Kal. May, 224.
See Nares, and Todd, in voc. Sperr, and Spar.
1. 17. — To steyke. To shut, to fasten. The same root as to stick.
I. 18. — Tent thei. Attend, consider they. Here thei al tiling
that ni^eth to presthed. i. e. Hear they every one that is near the
priesthood ; i. e. every ecclesiastical person.
I. 28. — For that he bring in. For he, read ye. " Eo quod
inducitis filios." Ezek. xliv. 7.
P. 35, 1. 7. — Huschers. In the original ceditui. Ezek. xliv. 11.
The same word which is now spelt usher.
1. 8. — Offrings of victories. This is probably a mistake of the
scribe : the original has only, " Ipsi mactabunt holocausta et victimas
populi."
I. 10. — For thi. Because. " Pro eo quod ministraverunt
illis." Ezek. xliv. 12.
/. 16 — Thehous ofluda. The words "of luda" seem added
without any authority.
1. 20. — My grece. See p. 34, 1. 31, where the word is spelt
gres ; in the original, in both places, adipem. Here, however, there
is no authority for the pronoun, " my grece and my blod ;" the words
of the Vulgate being, " Ut offerant mihi adipem, et sanguinem."
Ezek. xliv. 15.
I. 23.—Tane. Taken, i. e. taken to signify.
1. 32. — Bigging. Building.
P. 36, 1. 3. — T,euun. Given.
CAMD. SOC. 14. T 3
142 NOTES.
P. 36, 1. 12.—Polewt. Pollute.
I. SQ.^Scle. Slay.
P. 37, 1. 7. — For Jerom seith. An evident mistake, either of our
author or of his transcriber, for the passage is quoted not from S.
Jerome, but from Prov. x. 1. " Filius sapiens laetificat patrem : films
vero stultus moestitia est matris suae."
/. 11. — $ere. Hear.
1. 20. — Al so I rehersid the decree of the kirk. Decret. Dist.
xxxii. c. 5. " Nullus missam audiat Presbyteri, quern scit concubi-
num indubitanter habere, aut subintroductam mulierem."
/. 28. — Rostod i now. i. e. roasted enough.
- 1. 29.— Heyt. i. e. eat.
1. ult. — Dongun. Participle of the verb to ding, to strike
violently ; from which in the next line the substantive dingings. In
the printed text of Wicliffe's New Testament this passage is rendered
" beten with many betyngis." Luke xii. 47.
P. 38, I. 1. — Cnowith. Knoweth.
L 2. — And as Austeyn seith. Decret. part i. Distinct, xxxvii.
c. 16. " Non omnis ignorans immunis est a poena. Ille enim igno-
rans potest excusari a poena, qui, a quo disceret, non invenit. Istis
autem hoc ignosci petit, qui, habentes a quo discerent, operam non
dederunt." This is quoted from the work attributed to St. Augustine,
but now admitted to be spurious, Qucestiones ex vet. et novo Testa-
mento : quest. Ixvii. [ Opp. B. August, edit. Bened. torn. iii.
append. 34.]
/. 11. — Onlepy. Single, solitary. From the Anglo-Saxon anlip,
anlypi, aulipij, anlepi3, solitarius, simplex, privatus, solus. See Lye.
/. 18. — For thus is writun in the decreis. Decret. Dist. Ixxxi.
c. 12. (ex canone Apostolor. xxv.) " Presbyter aut Diaconus, qui in
fornicatione, aut perjurio, aut furto, aut homicidio captusest, depona-
tur."
1. 20. — And eft. Decret. ibid. c. 16. " Si qui sunt Presby-
NOTES. 143
teri, Diaconi, vel Subdiaconi, qui in crimine fornicationis jaceant, in-
terdicimus eis, ex parte Dei omnipotentis, et S. Petri auctoritate,
ecclesiae introitum, usque dum poeniteant et emendent. Si qui vero
in suo peccato perseverare maluerint, nullus vestrum ofticium eorum
audire praesumat ; quia benedictio eorum vertitur in maledictionem,
et oratio in peccatum, testante Domino per prophetam ; Maledicam,
inquit, benedictionibus vestris. Qui vero huic saluberrimo praecepto
obedire noluerit, idololatriae peccatum incurrit, Samuele testante, et
B. Gregorio adstruente [«Z. instruente] : Peccatum ariolandi est non
obedire, et quasi scelus idololatrice non acquiscere." This is quoted
from Gregory VII.
P. 38, 1. 22. — And Poule. Paul is not mentioned in the original.
1. 30. — And eft thus, Bidding we commaund, fyc. Decret. Dist.
xxxii. c. 6. " Prseter hoc autem praecipiendo mandamus, ut nullus
missam audiat presbyteri, quern scit concubinam habere indubitanter,
vel subintroductam mulierem. Unde etiam sancta synodus hoc capi-
tulum sub excommunicatione statuit, dicens ; Quicunque Sacerdos,
Diaconus, Subdiaconus, post constitutum beatse memoriae prsedeces-
soris nostri sanctissimi Papae Leonis, ac Nicolai, de castitate cleri-
corum, concubinam palam duxerit, vel ductam non reliquerit, ex
parte omnipotentis Dei et auctoritate beatorum [al. principum] Apos-
tolorum Petri et Pauli prsecipimus, et omnino contradicimus, ut
Missas non cantet, nee evangelium, aut epistolam ad missam legat,
neque in Presbyterio ad divina officia cum his qui praefatae constitu-
tioni obedientes fuerint maneat, neque partem ab ecclesia suscipiat."
1. ult. — Seyn. Synod.
P. 39, I. 1. — Under the peyn. i. e. under excommunication.
/. 5. — Almi$ti Goddis half. i. e. behalf.
I, 8. — And as the decretals declarun. Decretal, lib. iii. tit. ii.
c. 10. " Nisi peccatum hujusmodi sit notorium, per sententiam, seu
confessionem factam in jure, aut per evidentiam rei, quse tergiversa-
tione aliqua celari non possit."
I. 12. — And eft the decre seith. Decret. Dist. Ixxxiii. c. i.
144 NOTES.
" Si quis Episcopus fornicationi presbyterorum, diaconorum [subdia-
conorum, Cor. Rom.~\ vel crimini incestus in sua parochia, pretio inter-
veniente, vel precibus, consenserit, vel commissum, sibique comper-
tum, auctoritate officii sui non impugnaverit, ab officio suspendatur."
Quoted from Gregory VII.
P. 39, /. 15. — And eft writeth the pope to the bischop. Alexander
III. to the Archbishop of Canterbury and his suffragans (A. D. 1180).
Decretal, lib. iii. tit. ii. c. 4. " Fraternitati vestrae mandamus, qua-
tenus clericos vestrae jurisdictionis, qui in subdiaconatu et supra, for-
nicarias habuerint, studiose monere curetis, ut a se illas removeant,
eos ulterius minime admissuri. Si vero acquiescere contempserint,
eos ab ecclesiasticis beneficiis usque ad satisfactionem congruam sus-
pendatis. Et si eas suspensi prassumpserint detinere, ipsos ab eisdem
beneficiis perpetuo removere curetis."
_ l. 19.— Wernid. Warned.
— J. 21. — And as the doctor seith. This and the next reference
the Editor has not found.
_ £ 24. — And eft. the decre biddith. Decret. Dist. xxxii. c. 6.
(3» part.). This passage is quoted in an epistle of Urban II. (cited
by Gratian,) from an epistle of Gregory VII. (lib. ii. reg. ep. 45.)
" Officium Simoniacorum, et in fornicatione jacentium, scienter nullo
niodo recipiatis, et quantum potestis tales a sanctis ministeriis, ut
oportuerit, prohibeatis." The rest of this section seems to have been
taken from the same epistle of Urban II. although it cannot be said
to be a translation of it.
/. 30. — Therfor sacraments. — These are the words of Gratian,
ibid. (4a part.). " Prohibentur ergo de manibus talium sacerdotum
sacramenta suscipi, non quin sint vera, quantum ad formam et
effectum, sed quin, dum hujusmodi sacerdotes se a populo con-
temptos viderint, rubore verecundiae facilius ad poenitentiam provo-
centur."
I. ult. — Licliar. Likelier, more probably.
P. 40, 1. 7. — A^en mend. Against mind, or intention.
NOTES.
P. 40, /. 9. — Wenith. Supposeth, imagineth, from the Saxon penan,
to ween, to suppose.
I. 31. — His heuid, apparently a mistake for " his head."
P. 41, 1. 4. — Therfor hem see pore men. i. e. therefore let poor
men look to themselves. " Hem see," the reciprocal verb ; as a little
lower down, " And see hem religious," i. e. let the religious look to
themselves.
I. 6. — Lowid. Humbled, made low. " Bonum rnihi quia
humiliasti me." Ps. cxviii. (in the English version cxix.) 71.
I. 27. — Reeft him. Carried him off by violence : from reave.
/. 28. — He porid him self. i. e. he made himself poor.
/. ult. — Chesid. Chose ; prat, of choose.
P. 42, I. 23. — To hold hem paied of f ode. i. e. to deem themselves
sufficiently paid when they receive food, &c.
1. 25. — Thole deseyce of body. Suffer disease of body.
1. 26. — Euynes. Heaviness.
P. 43, I. 3. — Thus seith Jerom. This reference the Editor has not
been able to find either in the Decretum or in the works of St. Jerome.
In the Decretum, Caus. xii. q. 1, c. 7, there is a passage quoted from
St. Jerome, which is not the same as this cited by our author, but in
which the clerical tonsure is spoken of as the symbol of poverty.
" Rasio vero capitis est temporalium omnium depositio."
/. 4. — Mishews. Misuse.
• I. 12. — Tyne. Burn, consume, destroy. Ps. v. 6.
1. 13. — Hare, for are.
I, 14. — And eft. Decret. Caus. xii. quasst. 1, c. 5. " Clericus,
qui Christi servit ecclesias, interpretetur primo vocabulum suum : et
nominis definitione prolata, nitatur esse quod dicitur ; Si enim K\rjpos
graece, Sors latine appellatur, propterea vocantur clerici, vel quia de
sorte sunt Domini, vel quia Dominus sors, id est pars clericorum est.
Qui autem vel ipse pars Domini est, vel Dominum partem habet,
talem se exhibere debet, ut et ipse possideat Dominum, etpossidcatur
CAMD. feoc. 14. u
146 NOTES.
a Domino. Qui Dominum possidet, et cum propheta dicit Pars mea
Dominus, nihil extra Dominum habere potest. Quod si quidpiam aliud
habuerit praeter Dominum, pars ejus non erit Dominus : verbi gratia,
si aurum, si argentum, si possessiones, si variam suppellectilem, cum
istis partibus Dominus fieri pars eius non dignatur. Si autem ego
pars Domini sum, et funiculus heereditatis eius, nee accipio partem
inter caeteras tribus : sed quasi Levita et Sacerdos vivo de decimis, et
altari seruiens, altaris oblatione sustentor. Habens victum et vesti-
tum, his contentus ero, et nudam crucem nudus sequar."
P. 43, 1. 24. — Denaieth. Deigneth, dignatur.
1. 29. — And Bernard seith. This seems quoted from Gaufridi
Abbatis Declamationes ex Bernardo, c. xvii. a work which is published
in the Benedictine edition of St.. Bernard, torn. v. The passage cited
by our author is as follows : — " De altario, inquit, vivat ; non super-
biat, non luxurietur. Denique non ditetur ; non, contra sancti cujus-
dam " \_scil. S. Hieronymi] " plane dignam omni acceptione senten-
tiam, ex clericatu ditiorjiat. Non sibi de bonis ecclesise ampla palatia
fabricet, mutans quadrata rotund is ; nee loculos inde congreget; nee
in vanitate aut superfluitate dispergat; non extollat de facultatibus
ecclesiae consanguineos suos, aut neptes (ne filias dixerim,) nuptui
tradat," &c.
P. 44, /. 9.— Wil. i. e. while.
L 14. — Wat is it seith Gregory. B. Greg. Lib. 1. Horn. xvi.
in Evang. n. 6. (Opp. Ed. Bened. torn. i. col. 1495, D.) " Jejunium
quippe sanctificare est adjunctis bonis aliis, dignam Deo abstinentiam
carnis ostendere. Cesset ira, sopiantur jurgia. Incassum enim caro
atterilur, si a pravis suis voluptatibus animus non refraenatur."
/. 19.— Waxitfolk. i. e. aged folk.
- — /. M.— Wold, for old.
L 25. — Richid, was hungry. To reach is still used to denote
the effort made by an empty stomach to vomit.
I. 31. — The prest is not holden to his horis canonized. This was
a favourite topic with the Lollards. Thus the third article taught by
John Purneye, or Purveye, as given by Knighton, was, " That every
NOTES. 147
Priest ought rather to omit matins, mass, and vespers, and the rest of
the canonical hours, than not to preach the Word of God, because
those things are only ordained by human tradition." (Lewis, Life of
Wicliffe, p. 268.) See also Thorn. Waldensis Doctrinale Fidei, De
Sacranientalibus, Tit. III.
P. 45, /. 1. — For per el falling in forme of law. That is, " I am not
deterred by the danger of incurring the penalties of the law, from
acknowledging that I have said this."
/. 21. — Ti^en. Tithe : the 3 may perhaps be a mistake of the
transcriber for \ ; in Wicliffe's New Testament the word is ti]>en.
Matt, xxiii. 23.
1. 22. — Sadder. More serious. See Nares, Glossary in voc.
I. 24. — As Ambros seith. This passage the Editor has not
found.
1. 32. — For the body of Crist. The argument is this : — " The
Body of Christ dwelleth in the sacrament after consecration. But
the Body of Christ is the bread which he gave for the life of the world.
(John vi. 51.) Therefore the substance of bread dwelleth in the
sacrament after consecration." So Wicliffe Trialog. lib. iv. c. 4.
" Iste panis est Corpus Christi, ergo iste panis est, et per consequens
manet panis, et sic simul est panis et Corpus Christi."
P. 46, I. 5. — And Austeyn seith. Decret. part. iii. De consecrat. Dist.
ii. c. 58. " Quod videtur panis est, et calix, quod etiam oculi renun-
tiant. Quod autem fides postulat instruenda, panis est corpus Christi.
calix sanguis." Quoted as if from August. Serm. 2, de verbis Apos-
toli, but really from Bede on 1 Cor. x.
I, 16. — And a life. Perhaps we should read " and o lofe"
i. e. one loaf or bread. " Quoniam unus panis, unum corpus multi
sumus, omnes, qui de uno pane participamus." 1 Cor. x. 17. The
ancient Vulgate reads, " Omnes enim de uno pane, et de uno calice
percipimus," which reading our author partially adopts : and it is also
in the same partial way followed in the printed text of Wicliffe's ver-
148 NOTES.
sion, " for we ben mani o breed and o bodi, alle we that taken part of
0 breed and of o cuppe." See also Sabatier, in loc.
P. 46, 1. 20. — Trayed, i. e. betrayed : " quod pro vobis tradetur."
1 Cor. xi. 24.
I 28.— Wo, i. e. who.
1. 30. — And upon this seith Ambrose thus. Quoted probably
from Ambrosiaster in 1 Cor. xi. 25. " Medicina enim spiritualis est,
quse cum reverentia degustata, purificat sibi devotum. Memoria enim
redemptionis nostrse est; ut Redemptoris memores, majora ab eo
consequi mereanrar." (Opp. B. Ambros. edit. Bened. Paris, 1690.
torn. ii. Append, col. 149.) Our author's copy, however, appears to
have had interpolations which are not found in the printed edition.
P. 47, 1. 8. — Hele, in the next line spelt ^ele. Health, salvation.
L 12.—Fillith. Filth.
— L 15. — And Austeyn seith. Decret. part. iii. De Consecrat.
Dist. ii. c. 60. " Corpus et sanguinem Christi dicinms illud, quod ex
fructibus terrae acceptum, et prece mystica consecratum, rite sumimus
ad salutem spiritualem, in menioriam pro nobis Dominicae passionis.
Quod cum per manus hominum ad illam visibilem speciem perdu-
citur, non sanctificatur, ut sit tarn magnum sacramentum, nisi ope-
rante invisibiliter Spiritu Dei : cum heec omnia, qu33 per corporales
motus in illo opere fiunt, Deus operetur."
I. 19. — Spice, i. e. species. See again line 23.
I. 21. — This is that we say. Decret. ubi supra, c. 48. " Hoc
est quod dicimus ; hoc modis omnibus approbare contendimus, saeri-
ficium scilicet ecclesise duobus confici, duobus constare, visibili ele-
mentorum specie, et invisibili Domini Jesu Christi carne, et sanguine ;
sacramento, et re sacramenti, id est, corpore Christi : sicut Christi
persona constat et conficitur Deo et homine : cum ipse Christus verus
sit Deus, et verus homo ; quia omnis res illarum rerum naturam et
veritatem in se continet, ex quibus conficitur."
I. 28 — This thing that is seen is breed. These words were
quoted already from Decret. ubi supra, c. 58. See p. 46, line 5.
NOTES. 149
P. 47, I. SO.— Also the decre seith. Decret. ibid. c. 42. " Ego Beren-
garius consentio autem sanctae Romanae, et Apostolicae sedi,"
[for et Apostolicce sedi, our author appears to have read, et ut apostolus
dicit, which however seems hardly to make sense,] " et ore et corde
profiteer de sacramentis Dominicae mensae eandem fidem me tenere,
quam Dominus, et venerabilis P apa Nicolaus, et haec sancta Syno-
dus, auctoritate evangelica, et apostolica tenendam tradidit, mihique
firmavit ; soil, panem et vinum, quae in altari ponuntur, post conse-
crationem non solum sacrarnentum, sed etiam verum corpus et san-
guinern Domini nostri Jesu Christi esse, et sensualiter, non solum
sacramento, sed in veritate manibus sacerdotum tractari, frangi, et
fidelium dentibus atteri."
P. 48, /. I.- — In Tieys holi seyne^. i. e. in his holy synod : or perhaps
keys is a mistake of the transcriber for this.
L 8. — Sergs. This word is used again (p. 58). " And wen
the riche man dieth, the processiouri of bestis is maad ; than in
figeris was depeyntid in the walle, and the swyn, and the wolf, and
other bestis berun the cros and the sergis, and ryngun the bellis."
It is there used, as we shall see, to represent the Latin word cereos,
wax-lights, or tapers ; and is therefore evidently identical with the
French " cierge :" a word which has been used by Chaucer (Ro-
maunt of the Rose, v. 6248.)
" The ix [ ? xi] thousande maidens dere
That beren in heuene her cierges clere."
I. 16. — And seint Jerom seith. Decret. part. ii. causa xii. q.
2, c. 71. " Multi aedificant parietes, et columnas ecclesiae subtrahunt ;
marmora nitent, auro splendent laquearia, gemmis altaredistinguitur :
et ministrorum Christi nulla electio est. Neque vero milii aliquis
opponat dives in Judaea templum, mensam, lucernas, thuribula,
patellas, scyphos, mortariola, et csetera ex auro fabrefacta. Tune haec
probabantur a Domino, quando sacerdotes hostias inmolabant, et san-
guis pecudum erat remissio peccatorum : quanquam haec omnia prse-
ccsserint in figura, scripta autem sunt propter nos, in quos fines seen-
150 NOTES.
lorum devenerunt. Nunc vero, cum paupertatem domus suae pauper
Dominus dedicarit, portemus crucem, et divitias lutum putabimus.
Item idem in extreme. Amico quidpiam rapere, fur turn est, eccle-
siam fraudare, sacrilegium est ; accepisse quod pauperibus erogandum
sit, et esurientibus pluribus vel cautum esse velle, vel timidum, aut,
quod apertissimi sceleris est, aliquid inde subtrahere, omnium prae-
donum crudelitatem superat."
P. 48, L 30.— Hector Thebanus. Ibid. Instead of Hector, how
ever, the printed copies of Gratian, and of St. Jerome's works, have
Crates Thebanus. *' Crates ille Thebanus. homo quondam ditissimus,
cum ad philosophandum Athenas pergeret, magnum auri pondus
abiecit : neque putavit se simul posse et virtutes et divitias possidere.
Nos suffarcinati auro Christum pauperem sequimur : et sub praetextu
eleemosynse pristinis opibus incubantes, quomodo possumus aliena
fideliter distribuere, qui nostra timide reservamus ? Plenus venter
facile de jeiuniis disputat."
Crates Thebanus was a follower of Diogenes the Cynic, B. C.
328, and is said to have given his money away on becoming a philo
sopher. Diogenes Laertius gives the story on the authority of Antis-
thenes ; TOVTOV tyr)a\v ' Avn<rQevr]& &6polaravra Trpos ra
CKCLTOV bictKoaia raAejTct, rots iroXirais avelvcu ravra. Lib. VI. Segm. 87,
torn. i. Amstel. 1692. edit. Meibomii.
P. 49, /. 2. — We chouche. i. e. couch : incubantes.
- L 3.—Dredfully. i. e. timidly.
/. 5. — William de Seynt Amour. A famous opponent of the
vices and inconsistencies of the mendicant orders in the thirteenth
century; he flourished circ. A. D. 1250. The Editor has not been able
to find the passage here quoted in any of the published writings of
Will, de St. Amour.
Bigging. i. e- building.
/. 9. — For Jerom kenneth well simple men, saying. This pas
sage is in St. Jerome's letter to Paulinus, (by Vallarsius numbered
Ep. Iviii. by others Ep. xiii.) n. 6, and 7. " Praeter victum et vesti-
tum et manifestas necessitates, nihil cuiquam tribuas : ne filiorum
NOTES. 151
panem canes comedant. Verum Christ! templum anima credentis
est : illam exorna, illam vesti, illi offer donaria, in ilia Christum sus-
cipe. Quae utilitas est parietes fulgere gemmis et Christum in pau-
pere fame periclitari ?"
P. 49, /. 14.— To <%. i. e. to die.
1. 15. — And thus seith Crisostom. The Editor has not found
this passage in the works of St. Chrysostom.
19. — Who so is vnwyse. Perhaps for " who is so unwise, [i. e.
so foolish] that he understandeth not for [i. e. that] they make their
buildings," &c.
1. 23 — Greten. To greet, or grete, is to lament, to cry out
with grief. Sometimes written greit.
I. 26. — To wylen to mak Godfelow. i. e. to desire or will, to
make God a sharer in this violence.
I 28. — ^ef. i. e. give.
1. 32. — $ed. i. e. went. Preterite of go.
P. 50, I. 8. — Barianns. The Editor is unable to explain this word.
1. 10. — Japith the $ee. Mocketh, or deceiveth the eye.
I. IS.— Tent. Attend.
1. 23 Quek. Quick, living.
I. 28. — Whether is it not writun in the law of the kirk thus ?
Decretal, lib. v. tit. 3, c. 9. " Horribile nimis est, quod in quibus-
dam Ecclesiis locum venalitas perhibetur habere, ita ut pro Episcopis,
vel Abbatibus, seu quibuscunque personis Ecclesiasticis ponendis in
sedem, sive introducendis Presbyteris in Ecclesiam, necnon et pro
sepulturis, et exequiis mortuorum, et benedictionibus nubentium, seu
aliis sacramentis aliquid requiratur. Putant autem plures ex hoc
licere, quia legem mortis de longa invaluisse consuetudine arbitrantur,
non attendentes, quod tanto graviora sunt crimina, quanto diutius
infelicem animam tenuerunt alligatam. Ne igitur hsec de caetero
fiant, vel pro personis Ecclesiasticis deducendis in sedem, vel Sacer-
dotibus instituendis, aut sepeliendis mortuis, seu benedicendis nuben-
tibus, seu aliis sacramentis conferendis, seu collatis, aliquid exigatur,
152 NOTES.
districtius prohibemus. Si quis autem contra hoc venire praesumpse-
rit, portionem cum Giezi se noverit habiturum."
P. 50, 1. 32. — Ther segis. i. e. their sees. Prestis to be induyd. i. e.
to be inducted.
P. 51, I. 9. — And als after the decre, in an oilier place. This seems
quoted from Decret. Cans. i. q. 3. c. 7, with some interpolation ap
parently of our author's own words : " Quisquis horum alterum ven-
dit, sine quo nee alterum provenit, neutrum invenditum derelinquit."
— I. 18. — The decre Salvator. Caus. i. q. 3, c. 8, beginning,
" Salvator praedicit in Evangelic."
— /. 24. — Hdbunde. i. e. abound.
— I. 25. — Lewid men. i. e. laymen. Deming to by, supposing
themselves, or intending to buy.
— 1. 28. — Priate. The office of prior.
P. 52, 1. 2. — This is opun by the canoun i. q. i. Sunt quidam. Ibid.
Caus. i. q. 1, c. 125. " Sunt quidam, qui vel violentia, vel favore
non permittunt ecclesias regulariter ordinari. Hos etiam decrevimus
sacrileges esse judicandos."
— I. 4. — That prestis to sing may not first mak covenaunt without
symonie. This was a favourite position of the Lollards. Thus among
the opinions of the Lollards enumerated in the petition of the House
of Lords to the King, A. D. 1382, the tenth is, " That it is not lawful
for a presbyter to hire out his work." (Lewis, Life of Wiclif, p. 105.
Oxford, 1820.) And the seventh conclusion objected against W.
Swinderby (A. D. 1389) was, "That a Priest taking for annual,
through covenant, in that he is a schismatic and cursed." To this
accusation he answers, " This said I never, in these terms : but thus
I said, and yet say with protestation put before, that no Priest ows
to sell by bargaining and covenant his ghostly travel, ne his masses,
ne his prayers, ne God's Word, ne hallowings, baptism, ne confirm
ing, order giving, for weddings, for shrift, for housel, or for ennoint-
ing ; any worldly men's to ask or take for these, or for any of these,
NOTES. 153
or for any ghostly thing, he errs and doth simony." Fox, Acts and
Monuments, vol. i. p. 534, fol. Lond. 1G84.
P. 52, I.IQ. — With ivilk the tother com*, not. The abbreviation
com*, is probably for cometh, alluding to Caus. i. q. 3, c. 7, " quisquis
liorum alterum vendit, sine quo nee alterum provenit," <Src.
/. 11. — This by Jhoun. Perhaps Johannes Seraeca (see note
on p. 20, 1. 29) ; the foregoing quotation is probably from his gloss
on the Decretum, although the Editor has not been able to find it in
the printed copies. Something like it occurs in the gloss on Dist.
xci. c. 3. " Ergo clericus non potest operas suas per totam diem
locare, cum non debeat officio deesse."
L 14. — Outtak. Separate, except, " take out."
I. 17. — Severythly. i. e. separately, severally.
L 18. — Vnnese. Hardly, scarcely; also spelt unneths, and
unneth, or unneath : from the Saxon ea^S, easy. The v/ord is used by
Shakespeare. See Nares, Glossary, in voce uneath, and eath. So
Wicliffe's New Testament, Rom. v. 7. " For unnethis dieth ony
man for the iust man," and 1 Pet. iv. 18. " And if a iust man
unnethe schal be saued."
I. 20. — After Hostiensis and Innocent, and eft Hostiensis. Hen-
ricus de Segusio, called Hostiensis from the name of his bishopric,
<lied 1271, or 1281. He was author of the celebrated Summa
utriusque Juris, called Aurea Summa Hostiensis, and also of the
Expositio in sex libros Decretalium. The Editor has not found the
passage or passages here referred to by our author, but in the following
extract from the Summa Aurea, the same argument is stated : — " Quod
si clericus, precio appreciatus, vigilet cum defuncto et dicat psalte-
rium ? Respondeo : si ita dixit, Pro sex denariis legam psalterium,
simonia est. Sed si ita dixit, Pro sex denariis vigilabo cum defuncto
hac nocte, non est simonia : quamvis tacite insit quod debeat legere."
— Hostiensis Summa; Lib. V. n. 5, col. 1183.
The reference to Innocent is probably to the Commentary of Pope
Innocent IV. on the Decretals, lib. iv. tit. v. c. 3. Quoniam enormis.
See Apparatus Mirificus Innocentii IV. 4to. Paris. 1514. fol. ex.
CAMD. SOC. 14. X
154 NOTES.
P. 52, I. 22. — Trentaylis. A Trentall was an ofllceof thirty masses
said for a deceased person, generally on the thirty days immediately
following his death; from whence it was often called " a month's
mind." This is still very common in Ireland. In the Latin of the
Middle Ages it was called Tricenarium, Tricenarius, Trentale, Tren-
tena, Trentenum, and in French Trentel. Vide Du Cange, and
Nares.
1. 31. — Sum men seyn thus, that symonie is a studious wille, &c.
This is the common definition of simony given by canonists. See
Glo. Joan, in Decret. Caus. i. q. i. c. 1. " Simonia enim est studiosa
cupiditas vel voluntas emendi, vel vendendi, aliquid spirituale." And
Hostiensis, Summa, lib. v. De Simonia, n. 1. p. 1179. " -Et quidern
studiosa voluntas sive cupiditas ernendi, vel spiritualibus annex, se-
cundum Da. et alios doctos antiques."
P. 53, /. 3. Seyng. i. e. seeing.
/. 12. — And thus seith Parisiensis in his bok* The book here
quoted is the Verbum Abbreviatum of Peter " Cantor Parisiensis,"
as he is commonly called, from his oflice of Precentor in the Cathe
dral of Paris. He was a native of Poictiers, and was elected to the
see of Tournay in 111)1 ; but, the election having been declared invalid,
lie retired to the Cistercian Abbey of Long Pont, in the diocese of
Soissons, where he died in his novitiate, A. D. 1197.*
The Verbum Abbreviatum has been printed, with notes, &c. by
Dom George Galopin, at Mons in Haynaut, 4to. 1639. The Editor
of these pages has not had an opportunity of consulting Dom Galo-
pin's edition : he is the possessor, however, of a very beautiful MS.
of the Verbum Abbreviatum, formerly belonging to the Monastery of
St. Martin of Tournay, and written early in the 13th century. The
following passage, cited from this MS. is probably that which is here
referred to by our author : — " Item turpius vendimus quam Judas eo
quod deteriores sumus. Ille enim quern purum hominem credebat,
* See Cellier, Hist, des Auteurs Sacres, torn, xxiii. p. 58, sq.
NOTES. 155
cum familia etiam ejus indigeret, vendidit. Nos vero quern scimus
Deum verum et hominem vendimus. llle pro xxx argenteis, nos
pro denario et pretio vilissimo. Item ille posnitens Laec non vere,
retulit et rejecit argenteos. In ecclesia vero non est qui turpiter
acquisitos rejiciat."
P. 53, 1. 15. — A deadly man. i. e. a mortal man.
I. 19. — And Jerom seith thus. This quotation the Editor has
not found.
I. 23. — And Ambrose seith. This seems to be a reference to
the Commentaries on St. Paul's Epistles, commonly attributed to St.
Ambrose, but now admitted to be spurious. See the Benedictine
Edition of the works of St. Ambrose, torn. ii. Append, col. 21, sq. Paris,
1690. The passage referred to by our author is the comment on
1 Cor. xi. 27, 28. " Indignum dicit esse Domino, qui aliter rnyste-
rium celebrat, quam ab eo traditum est. Non enim potest devotus
esse, qui aliter praesumit, quam datum est ab auctore."
1. 31. — Other prelats be. nethe. i. e. other prelates of inferior
degree.
P. 54, 1. 7. — To tyn. i. e. to tine, burn, consume.
1. 9. — This seith the glose. The Glossa ordinaria on St.
Matth. xii. 30, says, " Qui non est mecum, i. qui dissimilia meis facit
opera, contrarius mihi est. llle trahit ad vitia : ego ad virtutes."
1. 15. — The glose os Austeyn seith. August, in Ep. Joan.
Tract iii. n. 4. " Et interrogare debet unusquisque conscientiam
suam, an sit antichristus." and n. 8. " Quiescat paululum lingua,
vitam interroga Paulum audi apostolum ; de talibus cum loque-
retur, ait : confitentur enim se nosse Deum, factis autem negant."
And n. 9, " Quotquot enim habet ecclesia perjures, fraudatores, male-
flees, sortilegorum iniquisitores, adulteros, ebriosos, fceneratores, man-
genes, et omnia quse numerare non possumus, contraria sunt doctrinae
Christi, contraria sunt verbo Dei : verbum autem Dei Christus est :
quidquid contrarium est verbo Dei in Antichristo est. Antichristus
enim contrarius est Christo Corrige quod tu fecisti, ut sal-
156 NOTES.
vetur quod in te Deus fecit. Si an tern non vis, et amas et amplec-
teris peccata tua; contrarius es Christo. Intus sis, foris sis, anti-
christus es : intus sis, foris sis, palea es."
P. 54, /. 24. — Caff. i. e. chaff. See p. 56, line 11, where it is spelt
Tcaff.
And thus seith Lincoln. Robert Grosthead, Bishop of
Lincoln. See p. 131, supra. The passage here cited will be found
in the " Sermo Roberti Lincolniensis episcopi propositus coram Papa
et Cardinalibus, in Concilio Lugdunensi," published by Brown, Fas
ciculus Rerum expetend. etfugiend. (torn. ii. p. 251, sq.) : ** Cum prin-
cipale ac finale opus Christi, propter quod ipse venit in mundum, sit
animarum vi vificatio, et Satanae opus proprium et maxime ab eo intentum ,
(utpote homicidae ab initio) sit animarum occisioet mortificatio, ipsi pas-
tores et unde pastores,personam Jesu Christi induti, non annunciantes,
etsi non superadderent malitias alias, sunt Antichristi, et Satanas
transfiguratus in angelum lucis,fures et latrones, mactatores ovium et
proditores, facientes domum orationis-speluncam latronum : superad-
dunt autem omne genus prsevaricationis, ut jam non sit super quo per-
cutiat eos Deus ultra Et ut breviter transeatur, omni genere
flagitii, facinoris, abominationis, et novae in his adinventionis, secundum
dictum prophetae, coinquinati : Deo et curias crelesti summe abomina-
biles etodibiles efl'ecti ; quia per ipsos nomen Dei in omnibus gentibus
blasphematur. Cumque pastorum conversatio sit liber, doctrina et
instructio laicorum, ipsi sunt evidenter errorum magistri et malorum
omnium : Et quomodo non tune haeretici, maximecum verbum
operis effieacius suadeat verbo oris, et cum ipsi ex officio sunt genera-
tores ad vitam aeternam ; quomodo abutentes hac vi generativa non
sunt, consonanter verbis prophetarum, corporalibus illis Sodomitis
pejores et abominabiliores, praesertim cum melioris virtutis pejor et
abominabilior sit abusio ? Ipsique pastores sunt ex officio, lux et sol
mundi, ipsum illuminans et vivificans : e contrario autem facientes,
pro luce densissimas tenebras effundentes et pro vitali calore frigus
corrumpens et mortificans, manifestissime sunt totius mundi perdi-
tores. Sed quae est liujus tanti mali prior et originalis causa, fons et
NOTES. 157
origo ? dicere veliementissimecontremisco et expavesco ; silere tamen
non audeo, ne incidam in illud vae Prophet* dicentis, vae mihi quia
tacui, quia vir pollutus labiis ego sum. Causa fons et origo liujus est
hcec curia; non solum eo quod haec mala non dissipat, et has abomi-
nationes non purgat, cum ea sola hoc maxime possit, et ad hoc
summe teneatur, sed et eo amplius, quod ipsa quoque per suas dis-
pensationes et provisiones et collationes curse pastoralis, tales, quales
praetacti sunt, pastores, imo mundi perditores, in oculis solum con-
stituitjhoc ut provideat vitae alicujus temporali, multa millia anima-
rum pro quarum qualibet sempiterne vivificanda, Filius Dei morte
turpissima voluit condemnari, devorationi summi bestiarum agri
tradit et sempiternae morti. Tradens enim curam ovilis gregis, in
medio luporum rapacissimorum, ursorum et leonum, alicui, ut lac et
lanam tollat, impptenti, aut ignoranti aut nolenti, aut negligent!
gregem educere et in pascua minare, et in ovile reducere, leonibus,
ursis et lupis nee ad modicum pro salute gregis se objicenti, nonne
gregem tradit devorationi et morti, et mortis ipsius reatu tenetur,
etiamsi accidat aliquam casu fortuito mortem efl'ugere ? Tradens
navis onerataa hominibus in portum salutis dirigendis per medium
maris scopulosi et procellosi, gubernaculum et gubernandi officium
paralytico, aut artem gubernationis ignoranti, et talis officii ministe-
rium inexperto, aut laborem gubernationis sustinere nolenti et negli-
genti, ut is naulo a singulis suscepto ditetur, nonne et navem et eos
qui in navi sunt, perdit, et perditionis omnium incurritreatum, et licet
eorum aliquis naufragii evadat periculum ? Quinimo talem tradi-
tionem, cum teneatur et possit, non impediens, eodem reatu irretitur
et constringitur O quam amara dilectio et retrograda
promotio ! ut dilectum super mane ad momentum elevet, ipsum et
se in tenebras dejicit exteriores."
P. 55, /. 1. — yekun. This word seems intended to represent the
word " superaddunt " in the original, unless we suppose our author's
copy of Grosthead's sermon to have had a different reading.
/. 3. — Hem a tower e. The Latin, of which this appears in-
158 NOTES.
tended for a translation, is " super quo percutiat eos Deus ultra."
There has probably been some mistake or various reading.
P. 55, /. 7, — The lesynd of the herd, " pastorum conversatio."
Illyricus, in the extract he has given from this Discourse of Grosthead
( Catal. testium Veritatis, fol. Argentina?, 1562, p. 363^, cites the
passage thus : — " Cumque pastorum conversatio gregis sit libera doc-
trina et instructio, ipsi sunt evidentes magistri malorum omnium."
Our author's copy must have read " gregis sit liber, ipsi sunt, &c."
omitting the intervening words. Lesynd is probably cognate with the
old word leasow, or lessow, to feed, or as a subst. pasture, (see Nares's
Glossary in voc.) and with the Saxon ler]>e.
/. 13 — Werr, worse.
I. 17. — Lijiy $et, " lively, or vital, heat." The Latin shews
that jet is for heat: " pro vitali calore frigus corrumpens."
_ I 18.— Wo. What.
- I. 19. — Forrnar. In the Latin " prior." Wei, i. e. well,
source or spring — '• fons, et origo."
— I. 20. — Ungly, perhaps for only. Tremel, tremble.
— I. 28. — Hyrdis. i. e. herds, shepherds, " pastores." yi, yea.
Pcruey, provide, " providcat."
/. 30. — Swelluing. Swallowing, " devorationi."
P. 56, I. 2.—Schape. Escape.
— /. 5. — A may. " A " seems here put for and, " cum teneatur
et possit." Strenid. i. e. constrained, " constringitur."
— I. 6. — Luf, love, " dilectio." Howard, the meaning of this
word is not very clear.
— /. 7. — Above a vain thing. The original, as printed by Brown,
is " super mane ;" our author, however, evidently read super inane.
— 1. 9. — Odo. This was probably Odo de Sheritona, an English
Cistercian Monk, who flourished about the year 1184, and whose
sermons were published at Paris in 1520 by Matthew Makkerel,
who has dedicated them to John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, under
the title of " Flores Sermonum ac Evangcliorurn Doniiiiicaliuiu ex-
NOTES. 159
cellentiss. Magistri Odonis Cancellarii Parrliisien. omni sale,leporc,
ac eruditione refertissimi : cum eorundern indice." The work bears
internal evidence of having been composed by a Cistercian (see fol.
cliii. V.), and Oudin is of opinion that the Editor is wrong in sup
posing the author to have been Chancellor of Paris. De Scriptoribus
eccles. torn. ii. col. 1624.
P. 56, /. 9. — Prelats not preching . This passage does not appear to
occur in the printed copy of Odo's Sermons : at least the Editor,
after some trouble, has not succeeded in finding it : and yet there is
a reference in the index which leads to the suspicion that it was once
in the work, and probably struck out in the proof sheets as too coarse
an attack on the bishops to be printed even in that age. The refer
ence is, " Herodiani potius quam Christiani prselati, xxviii. H. ;" but
the passage referred to makes no mention of prelates, or of prelates
not preaching : it is as follows : — " Sed quia tarn clerici quam laici
plus desiderant succedere Herodi in divitiis, quam Christo, licet
christiani nuncupentur, in tormentis, ideo potius herodiani quam
christiani nuncupentur." And the same idea is repeated, fol. xxxvii.
G. " Malunt quidam potius successores esse Herodis, quam Christi :
qui potius herodiani quain christiani sunt norninandi."
Rather pilats than prelats. The play upon the words
would be more manifest if we had the original of this passage, which
was probably, " Pilati magis quam prajlati, spoliatores, non specula-
tores, herodiani Herodis, non haeredes Christi."
Ll\.—Kaff. Chaff.
• /. 12. — As a nap in the rqf. This clause is very obscure, and
renders it matter of regret that the original of this quotation has not
been found.
L 20. — Dowue sone. i. e. " dove's son," or " son of a dove;"
see p. 57, line ult. where we have " sellars of dowuis," i. e. of doves.
" Dove's son" is evidently intended by our author as a translation of
Bar-iona. See Hieronym. contra Rvffinum, lib. i. n. 19, and De
interpret, nominum Heb. in voce, where he says, " Bar-jona, filius
columbse. Syrum pariter et Hebrseurn. Bar quippe, lingua Syra,
1GO NOTES.
filius, et Jona columba utroque sermone clicitur." In the printed
text of Wicli fife's New Testament Bar-jona is not translated.
P. 56, I. 28.— Thole. Suffer, from the Anglo-Saxon )>ohan, pad,
tolerare, sustinere. Of the olde men. i.e. of the elders: in Wic-
liffe's New Testament this passage is rendered " Fro that time Jhesus
bigan to schewe his diseiplis, that it hihoued him to go to Jerusalem,
and suffre many thingis of the elder men, and of the scrihis, and
pryncis of the preestis, and be slayn, and the thridde day to rise
a3en."
/. 31. — Schild. i. e. sheild, avert this from thee. " Absit a
te, Domine." Vulg. WiclifT'e's New Testament has " fer be it fro
thee, Lord." Be merciful to thiself. Our author here seems to quote
from memory, and combines together two versions of the same words.
The Latin Fathers often cite the passage Propitius tibi esto, and there
are examples also of their uniting the two versions as our author has
done. See Sabatier, in loc.
P. 57, 1. 4. — Silk behight. Such promise.
_ I, 10. — Wlatis. So in AVicliffe's New Testament, Rom. ii.
22, " thou that wlatist mawmetis." The Anglo-Saxon wlaetaa sig
nifies nauseare, fastidire. See Lye.
I. ll.« — Wuworscippist. This is a mistake of the press for
wnworscippist. i. e. unworshipest, dishonourest, thou God. W is
used for u.
1. 16. — Parisiensis. The Editor has not found this quotation
in the Verbum Abbreviatum of Peter Cantor. There can be little
doubt, however, that the same author already cited under the name
of " Parisiensis " must be intended.
I. 18. — A moldewarp. i. e. a mole, talpa. So called, quasi
terram ejiciens, from the Anglo-Saxon molbe, earth, clay, and weoppan,
jacere, ejicere.
1. 21. — And Odo seith thus. This passage occurs in the Flores
Sermonum of Odo, already spoken of ; fol. cvi. G. cvii. L.
" Ementes et vendentes sunt qui quaestum pietatem putant; emunt
NOTES. 16*1
ut carius vendant : Totius ecclesiae jam fervet zelus
pro dignitate tuenda, pro possessionibus multitudinis honoris totum
datur, sanctitati nihil. Et sic anlidotum versum est in venenum : et
quod inventum fuerat ad remedium reperitur ad mortem. Dominus
praecepit filiis Levi ne sortem haberent in terra, sed potius ipse esset
pars illorum : sed ipsum jam contemnentes lucra terrena sectantur.
Altaria Christi jam mensae sunt nummulariorum : de quibus cupidi
faciunt rnensas campsorum, quum missas tanquam monetam pro
monetata exponunt. Et tales missas celebrant quas magis sciunt esse
lucrativas Cum inofficiantur officiis quae magis lucrosa
creduntur, vendentes columbas sunt, qui sacramenta et caetera
spiritualia vendunt, et ipsum corpus Christi venale constituunt, et si
non ore, tamen corde, dicentes cum Juda, Quid vultis mihi dare, et
ego vobis eum tradam ? Sic clamant monachi habitum vendentes :
et sacerdotes divina celebrantes Murus ecclesiae est
pastor, i. quicunque qui firmiter debet et fortiter resistere, ne persons
intromittantur indigne, iste murus rumpitur sic porci
et canes ingrediuntur et ecclesiam maculant. Similiter cum prae-
latus per precium vel peccatum corrumpitur, canes impudici non
latrare valentes, i. plerique clerici bestialiter viventes in sancta
ecclesia collocantur. Et tune abominatio desolationis, quae dicta
Matthaei xxiiij. est et a Daniele, stat in loco sancto. Quae est enim
major abominatio quam cum porcus sacra induit vestimenta, et officia
celebrat divina ? Canes et vulpes psalmos ruminant ; pilosus alter
ad alterum clamat In ecclesia quandoque praeest leo
superbiae. Hi sunt qui tanquam dominantes in cleros omnia volunt
ad nutum suum disponere. Ibidem, murmurando sibilat serpens
invidiae, qui omnibus detrahit, omnes inflammat Ibidem,
dentibus frendet aper iracundiae : acidia laborat onager tristitiae : qui
cum temporale incommodum, frigus, vel famem patitur, tristatur, et
in bonis spiritualibus afficitur. Ibi fauces aperit lupi rapacitas, qui
pro oblationibus evangelia et missas multiplicat. Ibidem discurrit
ursus gulositatis, qui ut ventrem impleat alta voce jubilat. Ibidem
porcus immunditiae qui quotiens poterit in lutum luxuriae se immergit.
CAMD. soc. 14. Y
162 NOTES.
Vulpes dolositatis qui plures habens foreas seu bursas omnibus mini-
strabit. i. Judas qui plures loculos portat. Hi sunt celelararii et
cseteri officialesqui ecclesiam Dei diuersimode defraudant, ut parentes
et meretrices ditare valeant. Et cum dives moritur tune processio
bestiarum quae in parietibus depingitur figuraliter adimpletur. Porcus
et lupus et caetera animalia crucem et caereos portant, campanas pul-
sant : et dominus Berengarius .i. ursus, missam celebrabit. Leo cum
caeteris optime reficietur. Numquid pro clamore talium anima usurarii
vel militis rapacis deferetur in coelum ? Immo quanto magis ululabunt,
tanto magis dsemones animam torquebunt."
P. 57, /. 22. — Wenun. Ween, suppose, imagine ; from the Anglo-
Saxon penan.
- Pite. Piety.
- /. 23. — Bryn. Burn.
- /. 25. — Triacle. Here used as the translation of antidotum,
and in the original signification of its root theriacum (fl^ptajcov), viz.
a remedy against the poison of animals. The word triaculum is found
in this sense in the Latinity of the fourteenth century. See Adelung,
Glossar. Manuale.
- I. 30.— They putt out. " Exponunt."
P. 58, 1. 4 — The Tiird. i. e. herd, or shepherd, pastor.
- 1. 6. — Suyn. Swine.
- /. 10. — The lioun of prid. " Leo superbiae," a very plain
allusion to the Pope. But either our author had a different reading,
or gave the passage a turn more accordant to his own sentiments, for
the crime of " lording the clergy " is attributed in the printed words
of Odo, not to the Lion of pride, but to all those whose degeneracy is
here censured : and that with the qualification of a tanquam. " Hi
sunt qui, tanquam dominantes in cleros, omnia volunt ad nutum suum
disponere."
- I. 12. — The hound ofwreclifulness. " Aper iracundiae."
- /. 13. — The feldhasser of dyer y ness laborith to swernes. The
corresponding passage of the original seems to be " acidia laborat
NOTES. 163
onager tristitise." Swernes, Anglo-Saxon ruejinejye, aciditas, sourness.
Feldhasser, the field ass, or wild ass, perhaps from the Saxon pilbe
arra, wild ass. Dyeryness, for Dryeryness, i. e. dreariness, Anglo-
Saxon bjieojiignyrre, tristitia, moestitia.
P. 58, 1. l6.— Wombe. Belly.
I. 17. — The mig. " Lutum luxurise ;" mig is perhaps a cor
ruption of the Anglo-Saxon meox, mud.
Tood. i. e. tod, a word still used commonly in Scotland,
and in the north of Ireland for a fox, " vulpes dolositatis."
/. 20. — The sergis. " Cereos." See what has already been
said on this word, in the note on p. 48, 1. 8.
1.21. — Sir Beringary the bere. Every reader of Shakes
peare is familiar with Sir, as the title of a priest, answering to the
Latin Dominus, and still applied in our universities to Bachelors of
Arts. Why the name of Berengarius is used here, the Editor is
unable to say, unless Odo, who was an Englishman, and probably
preached in English, intended some play upon the word in reference
to " the bere."
1. 22. — $er the more. There is an omission here by which the
point of the original is wholly lost : $er is perhaps for e'er, unless it
be a mistake of the transcriber for 30, i. e. yea, immo.
1. 32. — And thus is hadde in decreis. These are Gratian's re
marks after Caus. i. q. 1. c. 43. " Ecce cum honoris periculum eva-
dant, ut caetera Sacramenta sacerdotaliter administrare permittantur,
ab hoc solo non modo pro hseresi, vel pro qualibet majori culpa, sed
etiam pro negligentia removentur. In quibus omnibus policite no-
tandum est, quod Sacramentum Sacerdotalis promotionis prse cseteris
omnibus magis accurate et digne dandum, vel accipiendum est ; quia
nisi ita collatum fuerit, eo desinet esse ratum, quo non fuerit rite
perfectum. Csetera enim Sacramenta unicuique propter se dantur, et
unicuique talia Hunt, quali corde, vel conscientia accipiuntur. Istud
solum non propter se solum, sed propter alios datur : et ideo necesse
est, ut vero corde, mundaque conscientia, quantum ad se, sumatur,
quantum ad alios vero, non solum sine omni culpa, sed etiam sine
164 NOTES.
omni infamia, propter scandalum fratrum : ad quorum utilitatem, non
solum ut praesint, sed etiam ut prosint, Sacerdotium datur."
P. 59, 1. 6. — Fuyle. Probably a mistake of the scribe for fayle,
i. e. fail ; unless it be an attempt to represent a provincial pronun
ciation.
1. 12. — Shunder. Slander, scandal.
Was. i. e. whose.
— 1. 13.— That menprest. " Ut praesint :" be boun " be bov'n,"
or above. Prophet, profit.
— 1. 15. — Jerom seith. Caus. i. q. i. c. 44. " Hi quoscunque de
asseclis suis ordinant clericos, et vitam eorum in scandalum populis
exponentes, rei sunt infidelitatis eorum, qui scandalizantur." Upon
which Gratian notes, " Reveraenim, qui ad hoc eliguntur, ut caeteris
praesint, sicut praeordinantur dignitate, sic preeminere debent sancti-
tate. Alioquin cur caeteris praeferuntur, qui nulla meritorum gratia
a ceteris assumuntur ? Hinc etiam Symmachus, Laurentio Medio-
lanensi Episcopo, post sextam Synodum Romauam, [Caus. i. q. i. c.
45] Vilissimus computandus est, nisi praecellat scientia et sanctitate,
qui est honore praestantior."
— /. 21. — Therfor seith the Pope Symachus. Decret. Caus. i. q.
i. c. 45. " Vilissimus computandus est, &c."
1. 25. — Houwith. Behoveth.
— 1. 26. — As Gregori seith. This reference the Editor has not
succeeded in verifying : yerd, herd, shepherd.
— I. 27. — And Bernard seith to Pope Eugeni. Quoted from S.
Bernard's treatise De Consider utione, dedicated to Pope Eugenius,
lib. iv. c. 6, n. 21. " Discant a te coepiscopi tui comatulos pueros et
comptos adolescentes secum non habere. Certe inter mitratos dis-
currere calamistratos non decet."
I. 28. — Curhid. A mistake probably for " curl id."
I. 32. — ffernist. " Of whom thou desireth not the $ele, health,
or welfare." ffern, for yearn, to long for, to desire earnestly. Anglo-
Saxon geopman.
NOTES. 165
P. 59, I. 32.—$ele. Hele, or health, i. e. welfare.
P. 60, 1. 2. — After allegiaunce. " Adlegiare " is explained " lege
seu sacramento interposito se purgare, culpa se eximere, facinus
diluere." Adelung, Gloss. Manual, in voc. We still use the words
alledge and allegation in something of this sense.
1. 4. — Noyed. Annoyed, injured.
1. 8. — Lyuirid. Delivered, acquitted.
/. 15. — Falsen domis. Falsify judgments.
/. 16. — As Isidor seitTi. Decretal. Gregor. lib. v. tit. xl. De
Verb, signif. c. 10. " Judex dictus quasi jus dicens populo, sive quod
jure disceptet. Jure autem disceptare, est juste judicare. Non est
ergo judex si non est in eo justitia."
Ditith. Inditeth.
P. 61, 1. 7. — 'Trowing-, i. e. believing.
As Austeyn seith. The Editor has not succeeded in veri
fying this reference.
I. 21. — Somoun. Sic MS. Perhaps we should read " comoun,
[i. e. common, public,] or priuat."
Eniih. Perhaps for wenith ; thinketh. Anglo-Saxon
penan.
/. 31. — Vnpitous. Impious, unrighteous. So page 62, 1.9
vnpite, impiety.
P. 62, I. \$.—Bouning doune. " Sprevisti omnes discedentes a
judiciis tuis, quia injusta cogitatio eorum." Ps. cxix. [Vulg. cxviii.]
118. Fro ther domis is an evident mistake of the scribe for " fro thi
domis."
I, 25. — Peruiaunce. " Proventum." In Wickliffe's Ver
sion, " But he schal make with temptacioun also puruyaunce that 30
moun suffre." 1 Cor. x. 13.
I. 27.— $eftis $ere $e. i. e. give ye ear. " Praebete aures vos."
Wisd. vi. 3.
166 NOTES.
P. 62, I. 28. — In routis ofactouns. For actouns we should probably
read natiouns : the original being " in turbis nationum."
I. 30. — Wse. Sic MS. The original is, " quoniam cum
essetis ministri regni illius."
I. 31. — $ed. Praeterite of to go. Anglo-Saxon jeob ; often
written yode.
1. 32. — Hedously. Hideously, horrende.
P. 63, L 10. — As Seint Ambrose seith. This reference the Editor
has not found.
P. 64, 1. 1. — As Gregori witnesseth. This is another reference
which the Editor has not verified.
1. 5. — A boun. i. e. above.
_ I. 7.— The hold. i. e. the old.
1. 16. — Bi gernyn. Perhaps for " governyng."
I. 18. — For done. i. e. undone, destroyed. So Spenser —
" If either salves, or oyles, or herbes, or charmes,
A fordonne wight from dore of death might raise."
Fairie Queene, L v. 41 .
L 21. — Schrewis. Here apparently used in a general sense,
for turbulent, insubordinate persons, in opposition to " just men."
See Nares, Glossary in voc.
I. 26. — Wilis. i. e. wiles, craft.
1. 28. — Aggregid. Encreased.
P. 66, L 2. — Be warer. i. e. more ware, or more cautious. That
they lere not, that they teach not.
L 10. — Leit. Let, hinder.
- 1. 22 — Hat. Hate.
I 24.— Be. For by.
P. 67, I. l.—ReJith. Spoileth, plundereth. Regaly. Regale :
royal prerogative.
NOTES. 167
P. 67, L 3. — Pleyneth. Complaineth. Who worth, i. e. woe-
worth, the Anglo-Saxon, pa-pujvSe. See Nares, Glossary in voc.
That sew en cursing under the hewow of iwan. The Latin
is, " Vae quae consuunt pulvillos sub omni cubito manus." How our
author came to translate it so, or what the words "hewow" and
" iwan" signify, the Editor is unable to explain.
1. 4. — Pilleworthis . Pillows. " Cervicalia sub capite uni-
versae aetatis." Ezek. xiii. 18.
1. 6. — Foiled me. " Violabant me." The ancient Latin
version reads " contaminabant," filed, or defiled me.
1.7. — On gobeth. A morsel, fragmen panis. So in Wick-
liffe's New Test.Matt. xiv. 20, " And thei token the relefis of broken
gobeitis, xii. cofyns full." Gobbet, from the French gobe, a mouthful.
1. 9. — Cursing. Here again our author translates pulvillos,
cursing.
1. 10. — I shall reue hem. " Dirumpam eos."
I. 11. — Quyschinis. Cushions. " Cervicalia vestra."
Liuer. Deliver.
1. 14. — Euy. Heavy. JEuid, as a verb, heavied. i. e. made
heavy.
1. 16. — Deueyn. Divine ; divinabitis.
L 17. — And upon this seith Gregor thus. Decret. Caus. xi. q.
3, c. 88. " Plerumque contingit, ut hie judicis locum teneat, cujus ad
locum vita minime concordat : ac proinde saape agitur, ut vel damnet
immeritos, vel alios ipse ligatus solvat. Saepe in solvendis acligandis
subditis, suae voluntatis motus, non autem causarum merita sequitur.
TJnde fit ut ipse ligandi aut solvendi potestate se privet, qui hanc pro
suis voluntatibus, et non pro subjectorum moribus exercet. Saepe fit,
ut erga quemlibet proximum odio vel gratia moveatur Pastor : judi-
care autem de subditis digne nequeunt, qui in subditorum causis sua
vel odia vel gratiam sequuntur. Unde recte per Prophetam dicitur,
Mortificabant animas quce non moriuntur ; et vivificabant animas quce
non vivunt. Non morientem quippe mortificat, qui justum damnat.
Et non victurum vivificare nititur, qui reum a supplicio absolvere
conatur. Causae ergo pensandae sunt, et tune ligandi atque solvendi
168 NOTES.
potestas exercenda. Videndum est quae culpa praecessit, aut quae sit
poenitentia secuta post culpam : ut quos omnipotens Deus per com-
punctionis gratiam visitat, illos Pastoris sententia absolvat. Tune
enim vera est absolutio praesidentis, cum intern! arbitrium sequitur
judicis. Quod bene quatriduani mortui resuscitatio significat, qu83
videlicet demonstrat, quia prius mortuum Dominus vocavit et vivifi-
cavit, dicens, Lazare veniforas ; et postmodum is qui vivens egressus
fuerat a discipulis est solutus, sicut scriptum est, Cumque egressus
esset qui fuerat ligatus institis, tune dixit discipulis : solvite eum, et
sinite abire. Ecce ilium discipuli jam viventem solvunt, quern ma-
gister resuscitaverat mortuum. Si enim discipuli Lazarum mortuum
solverent, faetorem magis ostenderent, quam virtutem. Ex qua con-
sideratione intuendum est, quod illos nos debemus per pastoralem
authoritatem solvere, quos auctorem nostrum cognoscimus per susci-
tantem gratiam vivificare Veniat itaque foras mortuus, id
est, culpam confiteatur peccator. Venientem vero foras solvunt dis
cipuli ; ut Pastores ecclesise ei poenam debeant amovere, quam me-
ruit, qui non erubuit confiteri quod fecit. Haec de solutionis ordine
breviter dixerim : ut sub magno moderamine Pastores ecclesiae vel
solvere studeant, vel ligare." This passage our author seems to have
quoted not from the Decretum, but from the works of St. Gregory.
In Evangelia Lib. ii. Horn. xxvi. n. 5, 6. (Edit. Bened. torn. i. col.
1555-6).
P. 67, I. 20. — His steringis. His stirrings, " voluntatis suae
motus."
1. 30. — To be peysid. To be poised, weighed. " Causse ergo
pensandae sunt."
I, 31. — Forthinging. " Poenitentia." To forthink is to re
pent. See Nares, Glossary in voc. and in voc. " For." Forthinging,
for forthinking , i. e. repentance.
P. 68, I. I.— Si for. Before.
I, 12. — Resing. Raising : " per suscitantem gratiam."
/. 16. — Wordre. i. e. order. Our author, or his transcriber,
has probably adapted his orthography to a provincial pronunciation.
NOTES. 169
P. 68, /, 17. — And thus seith Bede. This reference the Editor has
not succeeded in verifying.
/. 23. — Toufy. Toughly, obstinately.
P. 69, 1. 8. — The ascar. Asker : " interrogantis." Ezek. xiv. 18.
1. 15. — Behytith. Promiseth.
19. — Seynt Ambrose, as is put in decreis. Decret. Caus. xxiii.
q. 4, c. 33. See also the works of St. Ambrose, Serm. viii. in Ps.
cxviii. n. 25. Edit. Bened. Paris, 1686, torn. i. col. 1065. " Ut
si quis latronis filiis deprecantibus motus, et lacrymis conjugis ejus
inflexus, absolvendum putet, cui adhuc latrocinandi adspiret aflectus :
nonne innocentes tradet exitio, qui multorum liberat exitia cogitan-
tem ? Certe si gladium reprimit, vincula dissolvit, cur laxat exsilio ?
Cur latrocinandi qua potest clementiore via non eripit facultatem,
qui voluntatem extorquere non potuit ? Deinde inter duos, hoc est,
accusatorem et reum, pari periculo de capite decernentes, alterum si
non probasset, alterum si esset ab accusatore convictus, non id quod
justiiiaB est, judex sequatur; sed dum miseretur rei, damnet pro-
bantem : aut dum accusatori favet qui probare non possit, addicat
innoxium. Non potest igitur haec dici justa misericordia. In ipsa
Ecclesia, ubi maxime misereri decet, teneri quam maxime debet
forma justitiae; ne quis a communionis consortio abstentus, brevi
lacrymula, atque ad tempus parata, vel etiam uberioribus fletibus
communionem quam plurimis debet postulare temporibus, facilitate
sacerdotis extorqueat. Nonne cum uni indulget indigno, plurimos
facit ad prolapsionis contagium provocari ? Facilitas enim venise
incentivum tribuit delinquendi."
lm 21. — Wen. i. e. ween, think, suppose.
Soylid. Assoiled, absolved. So also p. 70, 1. 6, " the
prest may wit that he hath not power to soyl."
P. 70, /. 2. — Schort ter. Short tear, lacrymula.
j. 4. — Smit. i. e. smut, taint; contagium. Anglo-Saxon
rmitta.
CAMD. soc. 14. z
170 NOTES.
P. 70, /. 14. — A$enworde. On the contrary.
/. 20. — Weth. For with.
I 30.— The decre seith thus. Conf. Decret. Dist. xxxi. la
part, and Dist. Ivi. c. 13. Also Caus. xxxv. q. 1. " Nullo enim
Evangelii praecepto, vel Apostolorum institute, consanguineorum
conjunctiones prohibits inveniuntur." That Gratian held the opi
nion here ascribed to him by our author will appear from the fore
going references, although the exact words cited have not been found.
P.7\,l. 1. — And after seith the decre. Vid. obs. Gratiani post c.
1. caus. xxxv. q. 1. " Quanquam, sicut apostolus quaedam consu-
lendo addidit, quae Evangelicis praeceptis non inveniebantur definita,
nee tamen ideo tanquam temeraria, vel superflua, ab aliis apostolis
sunto repudiata : sic et Ecclesia, post apostolica instituta, quaedam.
consilia perfectionis addidit, utpote de continentia ministrorum, de
confectione mysteriorum, de celebratione officiorum : quae nullatenus
respuenda sunt, sed diligenti veneratione suscipienda. Consan
guineorum ergo conjunctiones, quamvis Evangelicis et Apostolicis
prseceptis non inveniantur prohibitse, sunt tamen fugiendae, quia eccle-
siasticis institutionibus inveniuntur terminatae."
1. 14. — Leeuith. i. e. giveth leave, permitteth. So again, line
25, " when they leefe it," i. e. permit it.
/. 15. — The decre seith. Caus. xxxv. q. 8, c. 2. " Qui autem,
et quae in quarto, vel in quinto gradu conjuncti inventi fuerint, sepa-
rentur."
1. 21. — Formed, i. e. informed, instructed.
P. 72, /. 1. — Oole. Perhaps for all, i. e. any.
I. S.— Wern. Warn.
/. 11.— Sout. Sought.
1. 16. — Forsoth, as the doctor seith. " The doctor " is proba
bly Gratian ; but the Editor has not found the passage.
I. 19. — Os Austeyn seith. Caus. xxvii. q. 2, c. 10. " Ornne
itaque nuptiarum bonum impletum est in illis parentibus Christi,
proles, fides, sacramentum." See also Lib. Sentent. 1. iv. dist 31.
NOTES. 171
P. 73, 1. 9. — Parisiens. There is here an evident reference to some
former work. " Parisiens " is doubtless Peter Cantor Parisiensis,
the author already quoted under that name, page 53.
Of the wilk on seith thus. The Editor has not found this
quotation.
1. 27. — Seyno^is. i. e. synods.
P. 74, 1. 3. — Crisostom seith. This reference the Editor has not
succeeded in verifying.
I S.— Wil. i. e. while.
/. 9. — Parisiensis. This is another quotation which the Editor
has not found.
I. 11. — By was occasioun. i. e. by whose occasion ; by occa
sion of whom.
/. 16. — Gregor seith. This reference has not been found.
P. 75, I. 6. — Kafe. Chaff. It is elsewhere spelt leaf, and two lines
further on chaffe : from which it is very evident that in our author's
time ch was pronounced hard, as k. So we find chirche, and kirk
indifferently throughout the treatise.
1. 11. — And Austeyn seith. It was scarcely worth while to
spend much time in searching for such a quotation as this.
1. 12 — And Odo seith. This passage does not seem to occur
in the Flores Sermonum of Odo, which have been printed.
I, 16. — Thus seith an other. Who this " other " is, the Editor
is unable to say.
;. 17. — Be hend, i. e. behind.
/. 26. — And here rehersith Austeyn. Decret. part. i. dist. xii.
c. 12. " Ipsam tamen religionem, quam paucissimis et manifestis-
simis celebrationum sacramentis misericordia Dei esse liberam voluit,
servilibus oneribus premunt, ut tolerabilior sit conditio Judaeorum,
qui etiamsi tempus libertatis non agnoverint, legalibus tamen sacra
mentis, non humanis praesumptionibus subjiciuntur."
I, 31. — But Wat trow we this seint to cry this day. — A very re-
172 NOTES.
raarkahly similar observation is made on the foregoing passage of St.
Augustin in the preface of our Book of Common Prayer (of Cere
monies). " Some are put away because the great excess and multi
tude of them hath so increased in these latter days, that, the burden
of them was intolerable ; whereof Saint Augustine in his time com
plained, that they were grown to such a number, that the estate of
Christian people was in worse case concerning that matter than were
the Jews, And he counselled that such yoke and burden should be
taken away, as time would serve quietly to do it. But what would
Saint Augustine have said, if he had seen the ceremonies of late days
used among us ; whereunto the multitude used in his time was not
to be compared ?"
P 75, 1. 32. — Lawis of the kirk incorporat and extrivagaunt. All
collections of Decretals subsequent to the Decretum of Gratian were
termed extra, or extravagantes : " eo quod collecta sunt ex iis quse
extra Decretum Gratiani vagabantur." The term is now commonly
applied to the Decretals of Pope John XXII. published in the ninth
year of his Pontificate, A. D. 1325, and to the subsequent collection
entitled Extravagantes Communes ; but our author no doubt referred
to the earlier collections. The Extravagantes Communes were evi
dently not completed until the end of the fifteenth century, for they
contain a constitution of Sixtus IV. passed in the year 1483. See
Van Expen, Comment, in Jus Canon, torn. iv. Diss i. § i. and Diss.
xvi. Fol. Lovan. 1753. By " the lawis of the kirk incorporat "
therefore our author probably means the Decretum of Gratian and
the Decretals of Gregory IX. which were incorporated with them ;
by the " lawis of the kirk extrivagant," all other collections, espe
cially those of Boniface VIII, (now called Liber Sextus Decretalium)
and of John XXII.
P. 76, /. 1. — Batails. This word and its derivatives are still in
use in the universities. It occurs also in old writers in the significa
tion, of to feed, to fatten, to fertilize. See Richardson's Diet, in voc.
Battel: who supposes it to be cognate with the Anglo-Saxon batan,
NOTES. 173
inescare, to bait, or feed. Our author, however, evidently uses the
word for provisiones, not in the sense of food, or eatables, but in re
ference to the Papal provisions or nominations of clerks to benefices.
P. 76, 1. 1. — A$en reseruacouns, furst frutis, and other spolingis of
goodis of the kirk. — See The Last Age of the Church, a tract attri
buted to Wicliffe, and published from the only MS. of it known to
exist, by the Editor of the present volume. In a note (p. xl of that
work) the nature of the reservations exacted by the Court of Rome
from the English Church in our author's time is explained.
I, 3. — Raneyn. Perhaps this word should be raueyn, i.e.
wrath, anger.
I 7. — To dlsseile. This word the Editor has not met with
elsewhere.
I, 10. — Efter the lawe to him that brekith seith, to him that
brekith feith. Sic MS. But the words " to him that brekith," are
evidently repeated by mistake. Correct the passage thus : " Efter
the law to him that brekith feith seith, feith schal be brokun to him."
• I. 12. — Eft an other witti in that sam law seith thus. The
Editor regrets extremely that, after spending much time and labour
in the attempt to discover the author from whom this long quotation
is taken, he has been forced at length to give it up in despair.
/. 14.— Hold. i. e. old.
1. 18. — Now new law techith. Decretum Caus. xi. q. 1. De
cretal, lib. ii. tit. 2.
1. 22. — Schal pay no tributis nor talliagis. Referring to
Clementin. lib. iii. tit. 17.
/. 32. — How. Owe, i. e. ought.
P. 77, 1. 3. — Hyling. Covering, raiment. Anglo-Saxon, helan.
/. 5. — Defendir. Probably a mistake of the scribe for defendit,
i. e. defended.
/. 8. — Halding by knijthed. " Nemo militans." Impli^eth :
" implicat se." In the printed text of Wicliffe's New Testament this
passage is translated thus : " No man holdinge kny3thood to God,
wlappith hym silf with worldli nedis."
CAMD. soc. 14. z 3
174 NOTES.
P. 77, I n.—Naytid. Denied, refused.
1. 25. — New lawis Jcennyn prescripcoun. Sexti Decretal, lib.
ii. tit. 13.
1. 32. — A new ordinaunce and indulgencis. Perhaps alluding
to Clementin. lib. v. tit. 4.
P. 78, I. 26. — But now new latvis Jcennen. Alluding probably to
Sext. lib. iv. tit. 1.
P. 79, 1. 30. — Jon Andrew. Joannes Andreas, author of a Com
mentary on the Decretals and Clementines, died of the plague at
Bologna, A. D. 1348. The allusion is probably to Decretal, lib. iv.
tit. xiii. c. 4.
P. 80, 1. 18. — Also the pope seith in his lawe. Decret. Caus. xix. q.
•2, c. 2. Conf. Decretal, lib. iii. tit. xxxi. c. 18.
P. 81, L 21. — Who sonnis lifers, i. e. " Woe sons leavers" i. e.
" desertors." " Vse filii desertores." Is. xxx. 1.
/. 26. — Law$e. i. e. laugh.
/. 27. — Bymowe. Mock : to moe or mowe, is to make gri
maces in ridicule : to mock.
1. 32. — After the rewle of kynde. After the law of nature.
The word kind is still employed in Ireland in a signification which
seems evidently derived from this antient use of it The lower orders
of Irish often say, " It is kind for him to do so and so :" as for
example, " It is kind for him to be good and hospitable, for his father
was so before him," meaning it is natural for him, what one would
expect him to be or to do. So the clown in Shakespeare (Ant. and
Cleop. Act V. Sc. 2} says, " You must think this, look you, that the
worm will do his kind," i. e. his nature.
His lore, i. e. his teaching, his instruction.
P. 82, L 13.— And for thi thus seith a doctor. The Editor is unable
to say who this " doctor " is.
NOTES. 175
P. 82, L 17. — Departing, i. e. dividing, distributing, separating.
See note on p. 5, line 4.
- 1. 21. — Japis. Jests.
- /. 22. — Morning. Mourning.
P. 83, 1. 23. — Menis, means. To geyt, to get.
P. 84, L U.—Out. i. e. ought.
P. 85, I. 1. — Tftws *e^A Jerom. The Editor has not found this
passage.
- I. 8. — Zotttf. Bow, pay obeisance : from the Anglo-Saxon
Hlucan, to bend.
- lt 9. — And Gregor seith thus. Reg. Epist. lib. xi. indict, iv.
epist. 13. (Tom ii. col. 1101. B. ed. Bened.) " Et si quis imagines
facere voluerit, minime prohibe : adorari vero imagines, modis omni
bus veta. Sed hoc sollicite Fraternitas tua admoneat, ut ex visione
rei gestse ardorem compunctionis percipiant, et in adoratione solius
omnipotentis sanctae Trinitatis humiliter prosternantur."
- lt 10. — Wittirly. Utterly, " modis omnibus."
- L 12. — Be Jcesed. This word seems intended to represent
" prosternantur."
„ - 1. 14. — This seith a nother. It is not easy to say who this
" other " is.
_ I, 18. — Arett. To reckon, to account.
_ I, 19. — Euen to man in fcynd. Equal to man in nature.
_ I. 21. — Rett. The same as arett, supr. 1. 18.
_ ;. 25. _ So worschip. A mistake of the MS. for to worship.
_ /. 27. — Schorid. — Imputed or reckoned against. This use of
the word is not yet obsolete. See Todd's Johnston in v. Score.
P. 86, I. 2,—Schuldres. Shoulders.
_ ;. 3. _ On nobeley. " Ignobilitatem suam."
_ I, 6. — Quit, recompense, take vengeance. So in the next
line, quit ivel, avenge, punish, evil ; " retribuere."
176 NOTES.
P. 86, /. S.—Liuer. Deliver.
I. 14. — They reyse not a king to regioun. " Regern regioni
non suscitant." Bar. vi. 12.
1. 18. — Rotun. A mistake perhaps for eaten. The original
is " Ipsi etiam postremo comeduntur." Bar. vi. 71.
1. 19. — Repreue. Reproof, " erunt opprobrium in regione."
So in the next line, he schal be far fro repreuis, " erit longe ab oppro-
briis." Bar. vi. 72.
/. 32. — Respice, respect. " Propter hoc et in idolis natio-
num non erit respectus." Wisd. xiv. 11.
P. 87, 1. 2.—Foundingis. " In tentationem."
/. 3. — Bi the spice of the wark. " Per speciem operis." Wisd.
xiv. 20.
/. 5. — Deseruing. " Deservientes."
/. 8. — Lyuing in bateil of vnkunning. " In magno viventes
inscientice bello." Wisd. ib. ver 22.
— /. 10. — Merk. Dark, " obscura sacrificia. From the Anglo-
Saxon mipce, tenelrcR.
/. 11. — Wodnes. Madness: " insaniae plenas vigilias;"
warks, which seems the word used to translate vigilias, is probably a
mistake of the scribe for wakes.
/. 12. — Enemy. A manifest error for envy. The original is
" alius alium per invidiam occidit." ver. 24.
Drying. This word seems intended to represent " con-
tristat " in the original : perhaps for drering, from drere, sorrow.
1. 13. — Mengid to gidre. Mingled together : " omnia commista
sunt.3' So in Wicliffe's New Testament, Luke, xiii. 1, " whos blood
Pilat mengid with the sacrificis of hem."
I 14.—Trouby. " Turbatio." ver. 25.
/. 18 — Wax wode. " Insaniunt." ver. 28.
1. 2l.— Theyfelid. They felt. " Senserunt."
I. 22. — Vniustly thei sware in idol. The original is " jurave-
runt injuste, in dolo contemnentes justitiam.'' Our author appears to
have read, in idolo.
NOTES. 177
P. 87, 1. 27. — For the decre seith. Gratiani Decret. De Consecrat.
Dist.iii. c. 28. " Venerabiles imagines Christian! non Decs appellant,
neque serviunt iis ut Diis, neque spem salutis ponunt in eis, neque
ab eis expectant futurum judicium : sed ad memoriam et recorda-
tionem primitivorum venerantur eas, et adorant, sed non serviunt eis
cultu divino, nee alicui creaturae."
P. 88, I 23 — Sogetly. Subjectively.
1. 26. — Thus seith Austeyn. This quotation has not been found.
1. 28. — Also Clement seith. Probably Clement of Alexandria,
in whose published writings passages similar to this may be found,
although the exact words quoted by our author do not seem to occur.
P. 89, /. 2.— $euit. Give ye.
/. 11 —Sylid. Soiled, defiled.
/. 13. — Perid hath a man. There seems some error in the
MS. here. To peer is to appear (see Nares) ; and perhaps we should
read, " pering, (i. e. appearing,) as a man." Jn p. 90, line 31 , depering
is used for despairing.
I. 14,—Pite. Piety.
1. 20. — As Crisostom. This reference to Chrysostom, as well
as those that follow to Augustin, Bernard, and Jerome, have not been
found.
P. 90, 1. 1. — Archdeacoun seith. The passage here quoted does not
seem like the style of the Archdeacon's Rosarium^ nor has the Editor
been able to find it in that work. It is probable, therefore, that there
has been some mistake, and that the quotation has really been made
from some other author.
. 1. 11. — Endurid. i. e. hardened.
I. 28. — O vnpite. O unrighteousness, impiety.
/. 30. — $et. i. e. eat, or ate.
Was not helid. The word and seems here wanting.
CAMD. soc. 14. 2 A
178 NOTES.
" That he that ate the Body of Christ and was not healed, should be
saved by the holiness of the hem of His garment."
P. 90, L 31. Depering. Despairing.
P. 91, I. 6. — And Jerom seith. B. Hieronymi Comment, in Epist. ad
Gal. (cap. i. 11, 12). " Nee putemus in verbis Scripturarum esse
Evangelium, sed in sensu : non in superficie, sed in medulla : non in
sermonum foliis, sed in radice rationis."
1. 8. — In overface. In superficie. JMerowe, marrow.
. I. $.—Rot. Root.
I. ll.—henk. Ink.
Wening werking to be gostly in hem. i. e. supposing
efficacy to be spiritually in them.
/. 15. — Taking $ed. Taking heed.
/. 16 — Selle. Seal.
/. 17. — Do of his hod. Do off his hood, i. e. take off his hood,
in token of respect.
I, 19. — Rettid. Reckoned.
- /. 23. — Sudarijs. Sudaria, napkins.
1. 24. — And it is seid, that a woman made an ymage of Crist.
See the story here alluded to, in Eusebius, Hist. Eccles. 1. vii. c. 18.
P. 92, 1. 5. — Thus seith Crisostom. This reference and that which
follows to Bede have not been found.
I. 25. — Wlatith. See note on p. 57, 1. 10. " Omnia enini
hsec abominatur Dominus."
1. 29. — A wat, i. e. await, observe. See p. 93, 1. 12.
lt 30. — Ne schaf the hed. Our author seems here to have
taken a liberty with the text, which is " nee radetis barbam." Lev.
xix. 27. Ne calle vp on the dead. " Et super mortuo non incidetis
carnem vestram."
P. 93, /. 4.— Morow li$t. " Matutina lux." Is. viii. 20.
NOTES. 179
P. 93, 1. 5. — Also thus writith Austeyn. Decretum, Caus. xxvi. q.
7, c. 15. " Admoneant sacerdotes fideles populos, ut noverint magicas
artes incantationesque quibuslibet infirmitatibus hominum nihil
remedii posse conferre : non animalibus languentibus, claudicanti-
busve, vel etiam moribundis quicquam mederi : non ligaturas ossium
vel herbarum cuiquam mortalium adhibitas prodesse : sed haec esse
laqueos et insidias antiqui hostis, quibus ille perfidus genus humanum
decipere nititur. £t si quis haec exercuerit, Clericus degradetur,
Laicus anathematizetur."
1. 8. — To lech. Anglo-Saxon laec, to cure, mederi. Hence
leach or leech, a physician.
1. 9. — Panteris. Panders.
1. 11. — The lewid man. i. e. the layman.
And eft thus. Decret. Caus. xxvi. q. 7, c. 16. " Non
observetis dies, qui dicuntur JEgyptiaci, aut Calendas Januarii, in
quibus cantilenas quaedam et comessationes, et ad invicem dona do-
nantur, quasi in principio anni, boni fati augurio, aut aliquos menses,
aut tempora, aut dies, aut annos, aut Lunae Solisque cursum, quia
qui has et quascunque divinationes, aut fata, aut auguria observat,
aut attendit, aut consentit observantibus, inutiliter, et sine causa,
magis ad sui damnationem, quam ad salutem tendit : sive qui per
quosdam numeros literarum, et Lunae, et per Pythagoricam necro-
mantiam aegrotantium vitam vel mortem, vel prospera vel adversa
futura inquirunt, sive qui attendunt somnialia scripta, etfalso Danielis
nomine intitulata, et sortes quse dicuntur sanctorum Apostolorum, et
auguria avium, aut aliqua pro domo facienda, aut proper conjugia
copulanda, aut in collectionibus herbarum carmina dicunt, aut pycta-
ciola pro quavis infirmitate scripta, super homines, vel animalia
ponunt, praeter symbolum, et orationem Dominican!, aut magicis
falsitatibus in grandinariis tempestatibus credunt. Qui autem talibus
credunt, aut ad eorum donum euntes, aut suis domibus introducunt,
ut interrogent, sciant se fidem Christianam et baptismum praevari-
casse, et ut paganum, et apostatam, id est, retro abeuntem, et Dei
inimicum, iram Dei graviter in seternum incurrisse, nisi Ecclesiastica
180 NOTES.
poenitentia emendatus Deo reconcilietur. Dicit enim Apostolus, sive
manducatis, sive bibitis, sive aliquid aliud facitis, in nomine Domini
nostri Jesu Christi facite , in quo vivimus, movemur, et sumus."
P. 93, /. 17. Tenten. Attend.
/. 19. — The men. This seems a mistake of the scribe for
" the moon." And figer of nigramauncy. " Pythagoricam necro-
mantiam ;" there is here also perhaps some mistake.
I. 22. — Canelis. " Sortes." Perhaps the same as cantle or
cantel, a word used by Shakespeare for a part, a share : vid. N ares'
Glossary in voc.
1. 25. — Strowis with figeris writun. " Pyctaciola scripta."
Pictaciolum, or Pittacium, " tabula fusili pice illita ad exarandum :
scheda, epistola." Adelung Glossar. Manuale, in voc.
1. 26. — Wiche falsness. i. e. witch falseness, " magicis falsita-
tibus."
P. 94, 1. 4. — As the decre seith. Decret. Caus. xxvi. q. 2, c. 1.
" Sic et sortibusnihil mali inesse monstratur,prohibetur tamenfidelibus,
ne sub hac specie divinationis ad antiquos idololatriae cultus rediret."
— 1. 14. — Boner. From the French bonaire, kind, gracious,
well-disposed.
P. 95, /. 1. — That the it are. There seems some mistake here.
1. 4. — ^ethun. Heathen.
- I. U.—Phitoners. " Pythones."
1. 29. — Chong him. Change him.
1. 30. — Sternis. Stars. Anglo-Saxon rtejine.
P. 96, 1. 3. — Spices are content under theis many. i. e. many species
are contained under these.
1. 7. — And thus Austeyn seith. This reference has not been
found.
/. 9. — Attristun in. Trust in.
/. 19. — Sem oft at ee. The word sem is a misprint for seen.
NOTES. 181
" Men seen oft at ee that swilk thingis help," i. e. men see often with
their eyes, (evidently, sensibly,) that such things help.
P. 96, L 22.— So how. i. e. so ought.
L 27. — Wen. Ween, suppose, imagine. Anglo-Saxon penan.
See line 30.
I. 28. — Rafars. Spoilers, robbers ; from reave.
P. 97, I 1 — Fendith. Defendeth.
/. 4 — As the decre declareth wel. This reference has not been
found : nor is the Editor quite certain whether it refers to what pre
cedes, or to what follows.
I. 7. — Wodnes. i. e. madness. " Furor illis secundum simi-
litudinem serpentis." Ps. Ivii. 4. From the Anglo-Saxon pob, mad.
/. S.—Heddir. Adder.
I. 12.— Wold. Old.
/. 16. — Weldar. " Possessorem suum." From the Anglo-
Saxon pealban, to wield, to have power over, to possess.
I. 24. — Put in the general sentens and cursing- of the kirk.
Decret. Caus. xxvi. q. 5, c. 1. " Si quis ariolos, aruspices, vel incan-
tatores observaverit, aut phylacteriis usus fuerit, anathema sit." See
also c. 4, et sq.
1. 31. — Blouing. Blowing.
P. 98, L 9. — Sautis. Assaults.
I, l4.—ffabarioun. Breastplate. " Clothid with the habu-
rioun of i^twisnesse." Wicliffe's N. T. at Eph. vi. 14. Written
also habergeon, and haubergon ; from Halsberga, Halbergium, Hau-
bercum, Hauberionius, forms in which the word is found in the Latinity
of the Middle Ages : all derived from the German, ffalsbergh, neck-
protector. See Du Cange, in v. Halsberga.
L 19. — That we may wet. For " that we may wot," or know.
L 32. — Thei hi$t men assoiling. They promise men absolution.
P. 99, L 6.— Thei wel bi deneris. Sic MS.
182 NOTES.
P. 99, I. S.—Ere. Perhaps for here.
I. 16. Vnderstond misser. Understand more erroneously.
The comparative of the Anglo-Saxon mir, with which mistake, misun
derstand, and such words are compounded.
P. 100, I 28.— Vnsible; for unsensible.
P. 101, /. 10.— Efter the decre of Isidor. Caus. xxii. q. 4, c. 5.
" In malis promissis rescinde fidem. In turpi voto muta decretum :
quod incaute vovisti, ne facias. Impia enim est promissio quae scelere
adimpletur."
1. 21. — Hugo declarith, in his book of Sacramentis. Hugo de
Sancto Victore, De Sacramentis, Lib. ii. part. xii. c. 4. " Scriptura
dicit : Vota stultorum frangenda sunt. Vota quippe stultorum intel-
ligimus ea, quae vel de malo fiunt, vel de bono male." The passage
quoted by our author and by Hugo, as from the Scripture, contains
rather the substance or meaning of Eccl. v. 3, 4.
I. 22. — Fowl wowis. Perhaps a mistake for " fools' vowis," as
the Latin seems to indicate.
P. 102, 1. 1. — Tariing. Tarrying, delaying, impeding.
I. 7. — Awowe. i. e. a vow.
I S.—Ehyt. Eat.
/. W.-r—Bydun. A mistake of the press for byndun, i. e. bind.
P. 103, I. l.—Hawid. i. e. hallowed.
I. 10. — An abit. i. e. an obit ; the commemoration of the day of
a benefactor's death. God behiteth no meed for the keeping, i. e. God
promiseth no reward for the keeping of such days or rites.
1. 19. — Be it hout worth or nout. Be it ought worth [i. e.
worth anything] or nought.
1. 20. — Ther ouerman. Their superior.
1 1. 21. — Cerse. Perhaps for cease.
NOTES. 183
P. 104, I. 4. — Prosper, in his look of Contemplatif Lif, seith thus.
The book here quoted has been long attributed to S. Prosper, and
has been printed among his works ; but the learned seem now agreed
that the real author was Julianus Pomerius, who flourished about A. D.
498 or 500. (See Ceillier, Hist, des Auteurs, torn. xv. p. 451, sq.
Oudin. De Scriptor. torn. i. col. 1193 sq.) The following passage
from the treatise De Vita contemplative lib. ii. cap. 4, appears to be
that which is here cited by our author. " Illos dico, qui velut con-
versi, ex pristinis moribus nihil abjiciunt, non mente mutati, sed veste :
nee actu, sed habitu. Hi sunt qui sermone tantum, non opere, seculo
renuntiasse contenti seculariter vivunt, et vitia sua inani professione
vitas melioris abscondunt, ac religionis imaginariae nomine palliati,
opinionem virtutis pro virtute suscipiunt. Praedicant magna, nee
faciunt : accusant vitia, nee deponunt. Publice sibi displicere simu
lant, quod occulte committunt. Magni student videri, non fieri.
Laudant eos, quorum cupiunt prsedicatione laudari." Opp. D. Pros-
peri Aquitanici, p. 221. Col. Agr. 1690, 12mo. Our author appears
either to have had before him a copy differing considerably from the
printed editions, or else to have added to his quotation several inter
polations of his own. The edition of the treatise De Vita Contempla-
tiva, published separately in 4to. A. D. 1487 (s. I.) agrees exactly with
the foregoing extract ; but it is by no means improbable that the
stronger expressions against the hypocrisy of the religious orders may
have been expurgated by the first editor of the work.
I, 5 — Ooneris. This word seems intended to represent the
Latin conversi. There is of course some mistake.
/. 8. — Bids, for vicis, vices.
I. 21. — Ref. Plunder ; from the verb to reave.
I 24. — gelded. Y elided.
/. 25. — Lufun. Leave.
1. 27. — Oftheis seith Bernard to Eugeny the Pope. Bernard.
De Consideration t ad Eugenium III. Papam. Lib. IV. cap. ii. n. 4.
(Operum Edit. Bened. torn. ii. 438, D.) " Hi sunt qui subesse non
sustinent, praeesse non norunt ; superioribus infideles, inferioribus im-
184 NOTES.
portabiles. Hi inverecundi ad petendum, ad negandum frontosi.
Hi importuni ut accipiant, inquieti donee accipiant, ingrati ubi acce-
perint. Docuerunt linguam suam grandia loqui, cum operentur
exigua. Largissimi promissores, et parcissimi exhibitores: blandis-
simi adulatores, et mordacissimi detractores : sirnplicissimi dissimula-
tores, et malignissimi proditores."
P. 104, I. 29. — Vnder lowtid : subesse. To lout, or lowt, is to be
subject, to bow, to pay obeisance. See p. 85. 1. 8.
Thei Jean not: i. e. they ken, or know not ; prceesse non
norunt. In line 31, they ken is used in the sense of " they teach,'" or
make to know ; docuerunt.
P. 105, 1. \< — Bihi^tars. Promissors.
/. 2. — And Lincoln seith thus : This passage the Editor
has not been able to find in any of the printed works of Grosthead to
which he has had access.
1. 4. — Careyn. Carrion.
— 1. 11. — Geyt skinnis. Goat skins.
1. 14. — Sternis. Stars. See p. 95, 1. 30.
— — /. 16. — If ani wen hem-, i. e. if any suppose himself, " Si quis
autem putat se religiosum esse," Jam. i. 26. " And if ony man
guessith hym silf to be relegious." Wicliffe, N. Test.
1.25 — Thi chere : a mistake probably for cheke : "in sudore
vultus tui."
P. 106, I. 9. — And her seith Austeyn, in his book of warkis ofmonkis.
August. De Opere Monachorum. n. xiii. (Ed. Ben. xiv.) " Innocente
et honeste quae apta sunt humanis usibus operabatur [apostolus] ;
sicut sese habent opera fabrorum, structorum, sutorum, rusticorum,
et his similia Si Judaeos discerint, Patriarchae pecora pave-
runt : si Grsecos, quos etiam Paganos dicimus, etiam Philosophos
multum sibi honorabiles, sutores habuerunt : si Ecclesiam Dei, homo
ille Justus, et ad testimonium conjugalis semper mansurae virginitatis
electus, cui desponsata erat virgo Maria, quae peperit Christum, faber
fuit." Edit. Bened. torn. vi. 485.
NOTES. 185
P. 106, I. 12. — Sewars. " Sutores." This word is spelt so wtars, lines
14 and 18.
Feld telars. Field tillers, rustici.
! /. 23. And in the decre is this noted. This is a reference to
the words of Gratian, Dist. xei. " Quod si Ecclesia ei [ecclesiastico
sell, viro] sufficere non potuerit, proprio artificiolo, vel agricultura
(exemplo Apostoli, qui de labore manuum vivebat) sibi necessaria
inveniat : ita tamen, ut, occasione sui operis vigiliis ecclesiae non desit."
1.25. — And eft Austeyn seith. De Opere Monach. n. xvij.
(Ed. Ben. 20). " Quid enim agant qui operari corporaliter nolunt,
cui rei vacent scire desidero. Orationibus, inquiunt, et psalmis, et
lectioni, et verbo Dei. Sancta plane vita et Christi suavitate lauda-
bilis. Sed si ab his avocandi non sumus, nee manducandum est, nee
ipsEe escae quotidie praeparandae, ut possint apponi et assumi. Si autem
ad ista vacare servos Dei certis intervallis temporum ipsius infirmita-
tis necessitas cogit, cur non et apostolicis praeceptis observandis
aliquas partes temporum deputamus? Citius enim exauditur una
obedientis oratio,quam decem millia contemptoris Qui autem
se dicunt vacare lectioni, nonne illic inveniunt quod praecipit Apos-
tolus ? Quae est ista ergo perversitas, lectioni nolle obtemperare,
dum vult ei vacare ; et ut quod bonum est diutius legatur, ideo facere
nolle quod legitur ? Quis autem nesciat tanto citius quemque pro-
ficere, cum bona legit, quanto citius facit quod legit ?" Edit. Bened.
torn. vi. 488.
1. 26. — Tent. Attend. See also p. 107, 11. 2 and 4.
P. 107, /. 7. — fn the rewle of Seynt Francis. Reg. S. Francisci
priinse, cap. vij. viij. Reg. secundae, cap. v. vi. The substance only
of the words quoted by our author is to be found in the Rule of St.
Francis. Vid. Luc. Holstenii, Codex Regularum (edit. Brockie), torn,
iii. p. 21, sq.
I 10. — And in the rewle of Seynt Benet. Reg. S. Benedict!,
cap. xlviii. apud Luc. Holstenii, Cod. Regularum, torn. i. p. 129.
" Otiositas inimica est animae : et ideo certis ternporibus occupari
CAMD. SOC. 14. 2 B
186 NOTES.
debent fratres in labore manuum, certis iterum horis in lectione divina.
Ideoque hac dispositione credimus utraque tempora ordinari; id est,
a Pascha usque ad Kaleridas Octobris, mane exeuntes a prima usque
ad horam pene quartam laborent quod necessarium fuerit. Ab hora
autem quarta usque ad horam quasi sextam lectioni vacent
Si autem necessitas loci, aut paupertas exegerit, ut ad fruges colli-
gendas per se occupentur, non contristentur ; quia tune vere Monachi
sunt, si labore manuum suarum vivunt, sicut et Patres nostri, et
Apostoli."
P. 107,7.25. — Gloriouse is the f rut of good labors. " Bonorum
enim laborum gloriosus est fructus." Wisd. iii. The reference in
the margin " cap0, m'o.," is a mistake of the press, for " Sap. iij°"
P. 108, I. 23.— Our kynd : our nature.
1.25. Of the sawis of Seynt Bernard. The Editor has not
found the original of this reference.
/. 31. — Stalworth. Stout, able-bodied. Anglo-Saxon rtaelpyp^e
or j-raelpeojrS, which Lye explains, Captu dignus, ejus (estimationis ut
operce prcetium sit surripere.
P. 109, 1. ]. — Vggid. There is perhaps some mistake here.
/. 9. — Men kyd. Perhaps for menglid, mingled, united. See
note on p. 87, line 13. Wicliffe's New Testament, reads, " if ony
man obeieth not to oure word bi epistle, marke 3he hym, and comyne
3he not with hym, that he be schamed."
— 1. 18. — As the Glose seith. " Nee rursum copia vel inopia
transeuntium rerum in oblivionem decidat aeternorum." Gloss, or din.
in Prov. xxx. 8.
— /. 24. — And thus Austeyn seith. Aug. De Sermone Domini in
Monte, Lib. i. n. 67. (Edit.Bened. Opp. torn. iii. part ii. 193.) " Ita
omni petenti te dabis, quamvis non semper id quod petit dabis ; et
aliquando melius aliquid dabis. cum petentem injusta eorrexeris."
1. 27. — ^4* the Glose seith. See the Glossa ordinaria on Luke
xii. " Non tantum cibos vestros communicate pauperibus, sed etiam
NOTES. 187
vendite vestras possessiones, ut omnibus vestris semel pro Domino
spretis postea labore manuum vestrarum operemini, uiide vivatis vel
eleemosynam faciatis."
P. 109, 1. 29. — Also Austeyn seith. This passage the Editor has
not found.
1. 31. — Also Jerom seith. This and the next citation from
Jerom the Editor has searched for in vain.
P. 110, 1. 3. — Also Prosper seith. This passage probably occurs in
the work De Vita Contemplative^, falsely attributed to Prosper, which
has been already quoted by our author, p. 104 : but the Editor has
not succeeded in verifying the reference.
— I. 5.—ield. Gold.
1. 7. — Austeyn seith. This is another quotation, the original
of which has not been found.
I. 10. — Schenship. Blame, fault, reproach ; from the Anglo-
Saxon, rcenban. The verb shend, participle shent, has been used by
Shakespeare, Spenser and others. See Nares' Glossary.
/. 32.— Also in the story of Seynt Clement. This is a reference
to the Golden Legend, or Historia Lombardica of Jacobus a Voragine.
In the Legend of St. Clement, the circumstance alluded to by our
author is thus recorded : " Quadam autem vice Petrus cum discipulis
suis Autaradum, et inde ad insulam per sex miliaria distantem, iu
qua Macidiana mater dementis morabatur, venit : ubi quondam co-
lumnae vitrese mirae magnitudinis erant. Quas cum Petrus cum
ceteris miraretur, videns ipsam mendicantem, cur non potius suis
manibus operaretur increpavit." Legend. Lombard, fol. Argentina?,
1490. (Leg. clxv. B.)
P. Ill, /. 17. — Thi louis. Thy loaves, " prohibe panes illi dare."
Ecclus. xii. 6.
1. 20. — And thus is also bedun. Decret. Caus. xiv. 0, 5. c. 1,
" Nolite velle eleemosynas facere de fosnore et usuris."
ibid. — Oker. " fcenus." Perhaps from the Anglo-Saxon,
eacan, to eke, to cncrease, to add.
188 NOTES.
P. Ill, /. 22.— For the decre seith. Decret. Caus. xiv. q. 5, c. 2.
" Immolans ex iniquo oblatio est maculata," &c. The whole of this
chapter is no more than an extract from Ecclus. xxxiv.
/. 24. — The gestis. A mistake for geftis. The original is
" Dona iniquorum non probat altissimus."
L 28. — To the hirid hyne. i. e. to the hired hind. Mercenario.
P. 112, /. 2. — Gregor. This marginal reference appears to have
been added in allusion to the statement made in the text, that
that only can be considered alms which is given of lawfully acquired
property. The same sentiment is quoted from St. Gregory (Lib. vii.
epist. 110, ad Siagrum) in the Decretum Caus. xiv. q. 5, c. 7. " Elee-
mosyna Redemptoris nostri oculis ilia placet, quae non ex illicitis
rebus et iniquitate congeritur, sed quae de rebus concessis, et bene
acquisitis impenditur."
- /. S.—Softith. Softeneth, appeaseth.
/. \\-Tholith. Suffer ye, permit ye.
— /. 16. — The slowman. " Piger." Prov. xx. 4.
Here. " A rare." This word, under the spelling ear, is
frequently used by Shakespeare, and also in the authorised version
of the Bible. (1 Sam. viii. 12. Is. xxx. 24. Deut. xxi. 4. Gen.
xiv. 6. Exod. xxxi. 21.) Sec Naress Glossary. It is the same as
the Anglo-Saxon epian, to plough ; and is evidently derived from the
Latin, arare,
/. 22. — Liyih. Lietli.
— — 1. 24. — Reuar. Plunderer, from reeve.
L 27. — A none. Anon. " Statim ei mercedem restitue."
Tob. iv. 15.
P. 113, /. ^.—Silun. Sell.
/. 8. — Theis meny. These attendants, train, company.
Meiny, or menie, from the old French mesnie. See Nares's Glossary,
in voc.
/. 10. — / rede. I counsel, I advise.
GLOSSARY.
A, for have, p. 1, 1. 17
A, for he, p. 5, 1. 19. See note.
Abit, obit, p. 103, 1. 10. See note, and
Jamieson's Scottish Dictionary, in
voce Abitis.
Abouen, above, p. 104, 1. 29. Abouyn,
p. 9, 1. 4
Aduowtry, adultery, p. 78, 1. 26
Aggregid, increased, p. 64, 1. 28
Aggregi>, is aggravated, augmented, p.
4, 1. 18
A3ennis, against, p. 8, 1. 9
A3enstod, againstood, resisted, -with
stood, p. 6, 1. 24
Ajen-worde, on the other hand, on the
contrary, p. 10, 1. 27 ; p. 70, 1. 14
Ai, ever, always, passim.
Ai to, always, p. 3, 1. 1
Als, also, p. 5, 1. 19
Ammonest, admonish, admoneant, p.
93, 1. 5. See Jamieson, in voce
Ammonyss.
Anenist, anenst, against, in the sense
of over against, coram; in respect of,
concerning, p. 29, 1. 8 ; p. 80, 1. 19.
See Jamieson in w. Anens, slnenst,
Anent.
Arett, to reckon, to account, p. 85, 1.
18 ; p. 104, 1. 24
Arettid, reckoned, accounted, p. 26, 1.
29. See rettid, and Jamieson in v.
Arettyt.
Ascar, asker, used for the Latin inter"
rogantis,, p. 69, 1. 8
Atristun, trust, place confidence in, p.
96, 1. 9
Auoutry, adultery, p. 76, 1. 30
Autere, altar, p. 29, 1. 32
Auteris, altars, p. 57, 1. 29
Avowter, adultery, p. 78, 1. 30
AwaytiJ?, await ye, used for the Latin
observetis, p. 93, 1. 11. Awaytun, ib.
1. 16.
Awith, oweth, debet, p. 30, 1. 11
Bannun, excommunicate, curse, p. 26,
1. 21
Barianns (?) p. 50, 1. 8
Barne, a child, p. 2, 1. 8
Batails, provisions. See note, p. 76,
1. 1
Bateyl, battle ; used for the Latin lellum,
p. 87,1. 8
190
GLOSSARY.
Bats, bates, contentions, p. 29, 1. 21
Bed, bid, p. 65, 1. 17
Bedun, bidden, commanded, p. 31, 1. 17
Be forn, before, p. 67, 1. 31
Behest, promise, engagement, p. 4, 1. 12
Beheti)?, promisetb, p. 74, 1. 4
Behetun, behigbt, promise, p. 98, 1. 28
Behi3t, promise, p. 57, 1. 4
Behit, promised, p. 10, 1. 14
Be howfi>, behoveth, p. 6, 1. 16
Behyte)?, promiseth, p. 69, 1. 15
Bening, benign ; used to translate the
Latin beniynus, p. 33, 1. 21
Be>, be ye, p. 89, 1. 9
Be >wen, between, p. 72, 1. 27
Bicis, vices ; vitia sua, p. 104, 1. 8
Biclipping, embracing. See note on
p. 33, 1. 21
BidiJ>, abideth, p. 70, 1. 12
Big, build, p. 43, 1. 32. Bigge, p. 48,
1. 15 ; p. 71,1. 31. Bigging, building,
p. 35, 1. 32. Biggib, buildeth, p. 80,
1. 1 . See Jamieson in voce.
Ei gernyn (?), p. 64, 1. 16. See note.
The word to girn, is used in the
Scotch dialect for to grin, to snarl,
to be peevish. See Jamieson.
Bi3e, buy, p. 11, 1. 10
Blawun, blowen, censured, calumniated,
p. 24, 1. 3
Blouing, blowing, p. 97, 1. 31
Bodun, forbidden, p. 32, 1. 10
Boner, kind, gracious. French, bonaire,
p. 94, 1. 14
Boun, " be boun," be bov'n or above, p.
69,1. 13; p. 64, 11. 5, 6; p. 88, 1. 17
Bouning doune, used to translate the
Latin discedenles, p. 62, 1. 19. The
word boun, in the Scotch dialect, sig
nifies to go, to direct one's course to
a certain place. See Jamieson.
Brend, burnt, p. 84, 1. 21
Brenne, burn, p. 75, 1. 8
Briddis, birds, p. 92, 1. 22. — Briddus,
p. 93, 1. 23
Brondit, branded, burnt, p. 103, 1. 3
Bryn, burn, p. 57, 1. 23
But, unless ; " but >ei make opun al
truth," p. 32, 1. 29
But if, unless, p. 3, 1. 3 ; p. 5, 1. ult.
Buxum, obedient, submissive, p. 42, 1.
23 ; p. 102, 1. 2
By3ar, buyer, p. 7, 1. 18
Bymowe, mock, p. 81, 1. 27. See Ja
mieson in v. Mow.
Caff, chaff, p. 54, 1. 24. See Kaff.
Canelis, lots, used for the Latin Sortes,
p. 93, 1. 22. See note. The word
cantel, in the Scotch dialect, is used
for & juggling trick. See Jamieson.
Careyn, carrion, p. 105, 1. 4
Cerse (?), p. 103, 1. 21
Ccsser, cease (?), p. 20, 1. 7
Chalang, challenge, p. 110, 1. 14
Chare, car, chariot, p. 44, 1. 27
Chaur, chair, p. 4, 1. 30
Chere, a mistake probably for cheke, i. e.
cheek, p. 105, 1. 25
Chesid, chose, prset. of choose, p. 41, 1. 32
Chesing, choosing, electio, p. 48, 1. 19 ;
p. 78, 1. 3
Chitering, chattering, p. 92, 1. 22
GLOSSARY.
191
Chong, change, p. 95, 1. 29
Chouche, couch ; used to represent the
Latin incubare, p. 49, 1. 2
Clepid, called, p. 54, 1. 29
Clere, clear, p. 5, 1. 24
Clerked, clerk-head, used for the Latin
clericatus, p. 43, 1. 31
Clerte, claritas, renown, celebrity, p. 5,
1. 2
Cleymyd, claimed, p. 42, 1. 2
Colver, a dove, p. 2, 1. 12
Comyn, communion, fellowship, p. 10,
1. 5 ; p. 27, 1. 10
Comynte, community, p. 27, 1. 19
Conduct, hired, conducti, p. 52, 1. 19
Contenid, continued, p. 101, 1. 27
Contenun, continue, p. 11, 1. 32
Contune, continue, p. 12, 1. 1
Contunijj, continueth, p. 69, 1. 17
Cordanli, accordantly, in accordance, p.
6, 1. 15
Cruciars, crucifiers, p. 21, 1. 6
Curhid, probably a mistake for curlid ;
used to translate comatulos pueros, p.
59, 1. 23
Deadly, mortal, p. 50, 1. 15
Dede, action, deed, p. 2, 1. 3 ; p. 3, 1. 2
Deed, dead, p. 3, 1. 2
Defendid, prohibited, forbidden, p. 19,
1. 27, p. 94, 1. 5
Delen, distribute, deal, divide, p. 100,
1. 6. Scotch Deil, Deille. See Jamie-
son
Deme, deem, consider, p. 3, 1. 19 ; p.
22, 1. 18. Also to judge, to pro
nounce judgment, ib. 1. 21 ; p. 99,
1. 27
Demid, thought, hoped, p. 51, 1. 20
Demi>, judge ye, p. 46, 1. 13
Deneris, deniers (?), p. 99, 1. 6
Denaie>, deigneth, used for the Latin
dignatur, p. 43, 1. 24
Deueyn, divine ; used to translate the
Latin divinabitis, p. 67, 1. 16
Depart, to separate, put asunder, p. 5,
1. 4 ; used for the Latin distribuere,
p. 49, 1. 3
Departid, separated, dissolved, p. 70,
I. 18
Depering, despairing, p. 90, 1. 31
Desesse, disease, p. 26, 1. 16
Deseyce, disease, p. 42, 1. 25
Dette, debt, p. 4, 1. 6
Digingis, stripes, blows, plaga, p. 5, 1.
12. From Ding, to strike, scourge.
See Ding doun, and Dingings.
Dije, die, p. 49, 1. 14
Ding doun, to throw down, to overturn,
p. 36, 1. 1 ; p. 71, 1. 32.— To ding is
to strike with violence, to scourge.
See Jamieson.
Dingings, stripes, blows, p. 38, 11. 1, 2
Diriges, dirges, p. 50, 1. 33
Disseile, dissolve, set free (?), p. 76, 1. 7
Dissess, disease, p. 93, 1. 20
Diti>, inditeth, p. 60, 1. 16
Dom, doom, judgment, condemnation,
p. 18, 1. 3. Plur. domis, p. 6, 1. 15
Dongun, beaten, vapulaturos, p. 5, 1.
II, p. 37, 1. 32, past part, of the verb
to ding. See Ding.
Dowing, endowing, p. 73, 1. 26
192
GLOSSARY.
Dowue, dove, p. 56, 1. 20. See note,
p. 57, 1. 32
Dredan, dreading, fearing, p. 4, 1. 21
Dredfully, fearfully, timidly, used for
the Latin timide, p. 49, 1. 3
Dredy (?), perhaps sorrowful, grave, p.
104, 1 10
Drif, drive, p. 91, 1. 13
Drying, sorrow, p. 87, 1. 12. See note.
Dure, continue, endure, p. 29, 1. 5
Dyerynes, for dryeryness, i. e. dreari
ness, tristitia, mcestitia, p. 58, 1. 13
Ee, eye, " ee ledis," eyelids, p. 74, 1. 17.
Ee, eyes, p. 96, 1. 19. Een, eyes, p.
36, 1. 5. See Jamieson.
Eeris, ears, p. 36, 1. 5
Eft, after, passim.
Ehyt, eat, p. 102, 1. 8
Ekid, eked, exacted, p. 13, 1. 2. Spelt
also 3eke. See p. 26, 1. 4. Ekid, added,
p. 54, 1. 30. Anglo-Saxon eacan.
Enblawun, puffed up, inflatus, p. 30,
1.5
Endurid, hardened, p. 90, 1. 11
Enk, ink, p. 64, 1. 8
Enuyje, envy, p. 58, 1. 11
Ere, here (?), p. 99, 1. 8
E)>en, heathen, p. 88, 1. 21
Euen to, equal to, p. 85, 1. 19
Euenhed, evenhood, justice, fairness,
equal dealing, p. 73, 1. 16
Euid, heavied, made heavy, p. 67, 1. 14
Euij> (?). See note, p. 61, 1. 21
Euy, heavy, sorrowful, p. 67, 1. 14 ; p.
107, 1. 16
Euyn, equal, " euyn power," equal
power, p. 29, 1. 11
Euynes, heaviness, p. 42, 1. 26
Eyre, air, p. 96, 1. 2
Eyt, eat, p. 105, 1. 26
Falsen, falsify, p. 60, 1. 15
Farrer, farther, p. 29, 1. 4
Fautid, faulted, committed a fault, p.
66, 1. 16
Felaws, fellows, ">i felaws bischops,"
coepiscopi tui, p. 59, 1. 27
Feldhasser, wild ass, used for the Latin
onager, p. 58, 1. 13
Fele, felid, feel, felt, p. 1, 11. 17, 20 ; p.
87,1.21. See note.
Fele, fulfil ; the word is used to trans
late the Latin implere, p. 30, 1. 4
Fell, to fulfil, p. 4, 1. 3. See fill.
Fellib, for fillft, i. e. fulfilleth, p. 80,
1.15
Fend, fiend, the devil, passim.
Fendly, diabolically, p. 10, 1. 3
Ferd, fourth, p. 70, 1. 16
Fer}>e, fourth, p. 22, 1. 17
File, defile, p. 22, 1. 8. Fili>, defileth,
p. 103, 1. 8
Fill, to fulfil, p. 1, 1. 17, et al. passim.
Filli)>, filth, p. 47, 1. 12
Filyd, defiled, p. 30, 1. 26. Filid, p.
56, 1. 5. See file.
Flees, fleece, p. 104, 1. 22
Foilest, wastest ; used for the Latin
atterere, p. 44, 1. 16
Foilid, defiled ; for the Latin violabant
or contaminabant, p. 67, 1. 6. See note.
GLOSSARY.
193
Folily, foolishly, rashly, p. 9, 1. 20
Foils, fools, p. 63, 1. 19
Folthis, filths ; used for the Latin eo»-
taminationes, p. 69, 1. 1
For done, undone, destroyed, p. 64, 1.
18. See note.
Forfendid, forbidden, prohibited, p. 70,
1. 31; p. 96,1. 11
For>fill, fulfill, p. 45, 1. 13
For]n> because, p. 4, 1. 18. See note ;
used to represent the Latin pro eo
quod, p. 35, 1. 10, and to translate
hinc, p. 31, 1. 19. See p. 30, 1. 21,
and p. 69, 1. 16
Forjnnging, forthinking, repenting, p.
67,1.31. See note.
Foreword, bargain made before, p. 52,
1. 24
Fru3t, fruit, p. 4, 1. 28
Fuyle, fail ; used for the Latin desinet,
p. 59, 1. 6
Fyle, defile, p. 34, 1. 30
Gaf, gave, p. 5, 1. 19
Garring, prating, chattering, p. 95, 1. 18
Geit, get, p. 4, 1. 17
Gelousy, jealousy, p. 25, 1. 8
Geyt, a goat, p. 105, 1. 11
Gifith, giveth, p. 2, 1. 20
Gnasten, gnash, p. 93, 1. I
Gobe>, a morsel ; frogmen, p. 67, 1. 7.
See note.
GoJ>, go ye, p. 93, 1. 3
Grattist, greatest, p. 42, 1. 7
Greece, grease, fat ; used to translate the
Latin adipem, p. 35, 1. 20. See Gres.
CAMD. SOC. 14.
Gres, grease, fat, p. 34, 1. 31
Greten, sorrow, lament, grieve, p. 49,
1. 23. See Jamieson in v. Grict.
GrouiJ>, groweth, p. 35, 1. 32
Gruch, to grumble, to murmur, p. 27, 1.
16. See Jamieson.
Grynnies, snares, gins, laquei. Anglo-
Saxon Spin, p. 2, 1. 21
3a, yea, p. 55, 1. 28 ; p. 79, 1. 11
jaf, gave, p 6, 1. 9
3atis, gates, p. 35, 1. 7 ; spelt jats, p.
56, 1. 22
36, yea, p. 6, 1. 7
3ed, heed, p. 2, 1. 29 ; p. 32, 1. 4. 3ede,
ib. 1. 6
3ed, went ; old prset. of the verb to go,
p. 49, 1. 32 ; p. 62, 1. 31. See note.
3ed, heed, p. 91, 1. 15
3een, eyes, p. 47, 1. 28
3ef, give, p. 7, 1. 2 ; p. 49, 1. 28. 3efing,
giving, p. 4, 1. 3. See Gifith.
3ef, if, p. 65, 1. 17
3efar, giver, p. 73, 1. 6 ; p. 76, 1. 24
3eft, give, p. 63, 1. 25 ; p. 81, 1. 13
3eftis, give ye, p. 62, 1. 27
3efun, given, p. 5, 1. 16
3ekun, eke, add, p. 26, 1. 4 ; used to re
present super addunt in the Latin, p.
55, 1. 1. See Eke.
3el, 3ele, health, passim.
3eld, yeild, p. 76, 1. 15 ; p. 77, 1. 22
3eld, gold, p. 110, 1. 5
3eldid, yeilded, deviated, p. 104, 1. 24
3ele, verb, heal, p. 28, 1. 30 ; p. 97, 1. 12
3ele, subst. health, welfare, p. 47, 11. 9,
17; p. 59, 1. 32; p. 91, 1. 2 ; p. 100,
1. 1
2 c
194
GLOSSARY.
3elid, healed, p. 91,1. 2, 5
3end (?), p. 13, 1. 30, perhaps for wend,
to go.
3end, end, p. 28, 1. 15 ; p. 83, 1. 19
3endis, ends, p. 48, 1. 24
3endlesly, endlessly, eternally ; used for
the Latin sempiterne, p. 55, 1. 31
3eng, young, p. 59, 1. 28
jenstond, for a3enstond, withstand, re
sist, p. 25, 1. 5
3er, year, p. 8, 1. 16. 3eris, years, p. 9,
1. 7
3er, perhaps for e'er, ever, p. 58, 1. 22.
See note.
3erd, herd, i. e. shepherd. See note, p.
5, 1. 12 ; conf. p. 59, 1. 26
3ere, verb, hear, p. 37, 1. 11, p. 61, 1.
23. 3ering, hearing, p. 8, 1. 15
3ere, ear, p. 62, 1. 2?
3erle, earl, p. 7, 1. 31
3erbe, earth, p. 4, 1. 11 ; p. 8, 1. 28
3et, yet, passim.
3et, heat, p. 55, 1. 17. " Bidde> 3et ;"
used to translate the Latin adspiret,
p. 69, 1. 22
3et, eat, or ate, p. 90, 1. 30
3eti>, eateth, p. 53, 1. 24
3eJ>un, heathen, p. 95, 1. 4
3euelfuly, evilly, evil-mindedly, p. 76,
1. 8
3euit, give ye, p. 89, 1. 2
3euun, given, p. 9, 1. 26 ; p. 36, 1. 3
3ha, yea, p. 10, 1. 32
3he, yea, p. 76, 1. 3 ; p. 84, 1. 9
316, yea, p. 29, 1. 9
3if, give, p. 5, 1. 16
3if, if, p. 37, 1. 27
3ok, yoke, p. 80, 1. 10
3ong, young, p. 2, 1. 20
3or, your, passim.
3ou, 3owe, you, passim. 36, ye
3ungar, younger, p. 2, 1. 19
Habarioun, breastplate, p. 98,1. 14. See
note.
Habunde, abound, p. 51, 1. 29
Hald, hold, p. 2, 1. 9 ; p. 5, 1. 24
Half, behalf, p. 39, 1. 6
Han, have, p. 6, 1. 17, et passim
Harborow, harbour, shelter, p. 21, 1. 2.
See Herbarow.
Hard, heard, passim.
Hare, are, p. 43, 1. 13
Harmis, arms, p. 83, 1. 15
Hast, haste ; "no man hast," i. e. let
no man haste," or be in haste, p. 3,
1. 29
Hat, hate, p. 66, 1. 22
Haterad, hatred, p. 11, 1. 5
Hau3t, ought, p. 59, 1. 19; p. 108, 1.
28 ; p. 43, 1. 19
Hawid, hallowed, p. 103, 1. 7
Hawtest, oughtest, p. 37, 1. 24
Hed, heed (?), p. 60, 1. 12
Heddir, adder, p. 97, 1. 8
Hedously, hideously, p. 62, 1. 32
Heiar, higher, p. 31, 1. 11
Heldar, elder, p. 2, 1. 17
Hele, health, p. 19, 1. 21 ; p. 47, I. 8 ;
p. 94, 1. 10
Helful, healthful, wholesome, healthy,
p. 75,1. 17
Helid, covered, p. 24, 1. 23 ; p. 85, 1.
GLOSSARY.
195
31 ; p. 90, 1. 30. Anglo-Saxon Helan.
See Hyling.
Helsum, wholesome, p. 6, 1. 25 ; p. 38,
1.27
Hem, them, p. 4, 1. 30, and passim,
Hend, " be hend," behind, p. 75, 1. 17
Hene, hence, p. 20, 1. 26
Henk, ink, p. 91, 1. 11
Her, their, p. 5, 1. 29, et passim.
Herbarow, harbour, shelter (Anglo-
Saxon hepebepga), p. 89, 1. 3
Here, plough, arare, p. 112, 1. 16. See
note, and Jamieson in v. ar, are.
Hernist, yearnest, desirest. Anglo-
Saxon geojiman, p. 59, 1. 32
Hertis, hearts, p. 2, 1. 19
Het, eat, p. 93, 1. 32
Hejmn, heathen, p. 90, 1. 1
Heuid, head, p. 40, 1. 31. Anglo-Saxon,
heuec, heajrob, caput. In the Scotch
dialect Hew id, and Hevyd, are found.
See Jamieson.
Hewowof iwan (?,). See note, p. 67, 1. 4
Heyest, highest, p. 40, 1. 28. See Hie.
Heyet, height, p. 41, 1. 9
Heyle, health, p. 27, 1. 24
Heyne, p. 26, 1. 16, courteous, gentle.
See Jamieson in v. and Sir Fred.
Madden' s excellent Glossary to
" Havelok the Dane," printed by the
Roxburghe Club. Lond. 1828
Heyt, eat, p. 37, 1. 29
Hie, high, p. 58, 1. 16, exalt, make high,
lift up, p. 78, 1. 16. Hied, exalted,
made high, p. 30, 1. 26
Hied, hide, p. 4, 1. 30
Hienes, highness, p. 41 , 1. 22 ; p. 51 , 1. 29
Hietis, perhaps for hi3tis, promises ;
unless it signify heights, p. 23, 1. 5
Hijt, promise, p. 4, 11. 4, 11 ; p. 10, 1.
22, et passim
Hird, shepherd, p. 58, 1. 4
His, is, p. 6, 1. 2
Hod, hood, p. 91, 1. 17
Hold, old, p. 76, 1. 14
Holde, old, p. 22, 1. 30
Hordres, orders ; used for those in holy
orders, p. 32, 1. 9
Houih, hoveth, behoveth, ought, p. 22,
1.12
Hout, subst. ought, anything. " Hout
worth," worth anything, p. 103, 1. 19
Houwi>, behoveth, p, 59, 1. 25
How, ought, p. 4, 1. 32
HowfiK See Be-howfifr.
HowiJ>, oweth, ought, p. 3, 1. 7
Hoyle, oil, p. 58, 1. 28
Huschers, ushers ; used to translate
teditui, p. 35, 1. 7, p. 36, 1. 28
Hyling, covering, raiment, p. 76, 1. 31 ; p.
77, 1. 3. From the Anglo-Saxon helan,
to cover. See Wickliffe's N. T. in I
Tim. vi. 8, " but we having foodis and
with what things we schulen be hilid ; "
habentes antem alimenta, et quibus
tegamur.
Hyrdis, herds, shepherds ; used to trans
late the Latin pastores, p. 55, 1. 28
larche, hierarchy, p. 32, 1. 9
Ich, each, passim
If, for 3if, i. e. give, p. 79, 1. 11
Ilk, the same. <( >at ilk," the same, p.
196
GLOSSARY.
29,1.20. "Ms ilk," this same, p.
106, 1. 14. Anglo-Saxon ilc, idem.
See Jamieson.
like, or ilk, every, passim. Anglo-Saxon
elc, selc, omnis. See Jamieson.
Induyd, inducted ; used for the Latin
introduce™, p. 50, 1. 32
I now, enough, p. 37, 1. 28
Inowe, enough, p. 20, 1. 5
Inpli3ed, implied, p. 73, 1. 29
loi, enjoy, p. 77, 1. 27
luil, evil, p. 5, 1. 30
Japer, jester, p. 9, 1. 4. See Junius,
Etymol. in v. Jape.
Japid, mocked, p. 8, 1. 25
Japi>, mocketh, deceiveth, p. 50, 1. 10
Japis, (pi. of Jape,) jests, p. 82, 1. 21
Joynun, enjoin, p. 11, 1. 31 ; p. 17, 1. 9
Kafe, chaff, p. 75, 1. 6
Kaff, chaff, p. 56, 1. 11
Kalfis, calves, p. 75, 1. 13
Katereynis, quadrains. See note, p. 12,
1. 32
Kembid, combed, p. 59, 1. 28
Ken, " ken >e peple," teach, make the
people know, p. 36, 1. 6. See also p.
37, 1. 2. See Jamieson in v.
Kesed (?), apparently used for the Latin
prosternaniur , p. 85, 1. 12
Kest, cast, threw away, p. 48, 1. 31
Koward (?) ; this word is probably a
mistake of the MS. p. 56, 1. 6, for
Komand, i. e. coming
Kownt, count, p. 48, 1. 26
Kum, come. " It is to kum power to
be given to the fend," i. e. it is still
future, &c. p. 92, 1. 6
Kunne, ken, know ; used to translate
Sciant, p. 32, 1. 26
Kynd, nature, p. 18, 1. 10; p. 28, 1. 17.
" Ilk alien kynd," every strange or
foreign nature ; used to translate
Omnis alienigena, p. 35, 1. 2 ; p. 75,
1. 20 ; p. 108, 1. 23. See note on p.
81, 1.32
Kyt, cut, p. 4, 1. 28
Lafte, left, deserted, p. 26, 1. 30
Langwag, language, p. 32, 1. 6
Last, continue, p. 38, 1. 24
Lawje, laugh, p. 81, 1. 26
Lech, to cure (Anglo-Saxon laec) ; used
for the Latin mederi, p. 93, 1. 8
Leef, verb, leave, omit, neglect, p. 20,
1. 6
Leef, subst. leave, permission, p. 78, 1. 8
Leefe, permit, give leave, p. 71, 1. 25
LeeuiJ>, permitteth, giveth leave, p. 71,
1. 14, and 16
Lef, to leave, p. 4, 1. 22
Lefe, sulst. leave, permission, p. 70, 1.
20. See Leef.
Lefith, leaveth, p. 20, 1. 11
Leful, lawful, p. 19, 1. 2
Lefun, leave, p. 64, 1. 13
Leit, let, hinder, p. 66, 1. 10
Lek, like, p. 85, 1. 21
Leke, like, similar, p. 19, 1. 2
Lekenes, likeness, p. 25, 1. 15
GLOSSARY.
197
Leking, looking, p. 105, 1. 23
Lendis, loins, p. 98, 1. 14
Lere, learn, p. 20, 1. 21
Lere, teach, instruct, p. 33, 1. 3 ; p. 66,
1. 2
Leren, learn, p. 28, 1. 3
Leri>, learneth, p. 81, 1. 17
Lesynd (?). See note, p. 55, 1. 7
Leue, leave, permission, p. 70, 1. 28
Leuis, leaves, p. 91, 11. 3, 4, 6
Leui}?, leaveth, omitteth, neglecteth, p.
4,1. 6
Lewid men, laymen, p. 8, 1. 18 ; p. 19, 1.
23; p. 93, 1. 11 (Anglo-Saxon, Isepb
lepeb, laicus)
Liand, lying, mentientes, p. 24, 1. 32
Licliare, liklier, more likely, p. 39, 1. 32
Lifelod, livelihood, p. 21, 1.2. Liflod,
p. 49, 1. 10; p. 77, 1. 1; p. 108, 1. 27
Lifers, leavers, desertors, p. 81, 1. 22.
See note.
Lifly, lively, living, vital, p. 55, 1. 17
Li3e, to lie, to speak falsely, p. 40, 1. 11
Li3ed, lied, p. 104, 1. 23
Li3e>, lieth, p. 112,1. 22
Li3>, lyeth, speaketh falsely, p. 40, 1. 7
LiJ>, lyeth, p. 38, 1. 21
Liuer, deliver, p. 67, 1. 11 ; p. 86, 1. 8
Locand, looking, p. 2, 1. 30
Locars, lookers, p. 2, 1. 31
Lofid, loved, p. 45, 1. 10
Lofis, loaves, p. 34, 1. 30
Longe>, belongeth, p. 18, 1. 20
Lore, teaching, instruction, p. 81,
1. 32
Louis, loaves ; used for the Latin panes,
p. Ill, 1. 17
Low, flame, blaze, p. 3, 1. 15. See Ja-
mieson.
Lowt, bow, pay obeisance, p. 85, 1. 8.
See Jamieson in v. Lout.
Lowid, made low, humbled, p. 41, 1. 6
Lowse, loose, p. 9, 1. 2
Lowtid, " vnder lowtid;" used for the
Latin subesse, p. 104, 1. 29. See
note.
Luf, love, p. 3, 1. 9 ; used for the Latin
dilectio, p. 56, 1. 6
Lufist, lovest, p. 5, 1. 18
Lufith, loveth, p. 2, 1. 31
Lufun, leave, p. 104, 1. 25
Lynage, lineage, tribe, p. 22, 1. 30
Lyowns, lions, p. 44, 1. 27
Lyuirid, delivered, acquitted, p. 60, 1. 8
MakiJ?, make ye, p. 4, 1. 24
Manest, menaced. See note, p. 21, 1. 4
Maundments, commandments, p. 45, 1.
19
Med, meed, reward, p. 103, 1. 13. See
1. 10
Mede, reward, p. 5, 1. 4
Medefully, deservedly, p. 25, 1. 3
Medid, rewarded, p. 103, 1. 16
Medulfully, medefully, profitably, with
mede or reward, p. 20, 1. 7
Meed, reward, payment, p. 12, 1. 14
Mene, mean, p. 83, 1. 19. Menis, means,
ib. 1. 23
Mengid, mingled, mixed, p. 87, 1. 13.
See Jamieson in v. ming.
MeniJ?, meaneth, signifieth, p. 23, 1. 6
Men kyd, for mengid, mingled, united,
198
GLOSSARY.
p. 109, 1. 9. See note, and Jamieson
in v. Menkit.
Meny, train, attendants, company, p.
113, 1. 3. See note. And Sir Fred.
Madden's Glossary to " Havelok the
Dane."
Merk, dark, p. 87, 1. 10
Merknes, darkness, p. 98, 1. 11
Merowe, marrow, medulla, p. 91, 1. 8
Messis, masses, p. 8, 1. 15
Meue, move, p. 75, 1. 26
Middis, midst, p. 69, 1. 6. See Jamie-
son, v. Myddis and Mids.
Mig, mud, Anglo-Saxon, meox, p. 58, 1.
17
Mikil, much, p. 72, 1. 3
Minys, minish, diminish, p. 3, 1. 24
Mishews, misuse, p. 43, 1. 4
Misser, more erroneously, p. 99, 1. 16.
See note, and Jamieson, v. Mys.
Misteris, mysteries, p. 44, 1. 27
Moldewarp, mole, p. 57,1. 18. See note.
Mone, moon, p. 93, 1. 15
Monest, monish, admonish, p. 30, 1. 6.
" To a monest, to admonish, p. 32, 1.
11. See the note.
MonestiK admonisheth, p. 31, 1. 23
Moo, more, p. 79, 1. 31
Murkenes, darkness, p. 56, 1. 8. See
Jamieson, v. Mirk.
Mysse, error, fault, misdoing, p. 26, 1.
15. See Jamieson, v. Mys.
Nap (?), " as a nap in the rot"," p. 56, 1.
12, "a nape in the house rofe," p.
89, 1. 28. Jamieson gives the word
Naip, as used in the north of Scot
land, for " The summit of a house, or
something resembling a chimney top,"
and quotes the lines from Ross's He-
lenore, p. 75 —
" Far in a how they spy a little sheald,
Some peep of reek out at the naip ap
pears."
Naples, nevertheless, p. 4, 1. 7
Naytid, denied (?}, p. 77, 1. 17
Nekist, nearest, next, p. 5, 1. 3
Ne>, " be ne>," beneath, p. 35, 1. 31
Nije, as a verb, come nigh, p. 35, 11. 13,
19, 22. See Nye.
Ni3ej>, is nigh or near, p. 34, 1. 18
NiyJ>, nigheth,is nigh, or near, p. 31, 1. 25
Nobelay, nobility, p. 90, 1. 15. Nobley,
nobility, p. 5, 1. 1
Noi3es (from noy, to hurt), injuries,
hurtful things, p. 26, 1. 5
Nout, not, p. 2, 1. 11
Nouys, novice, p. 82, 1. 32
Now3t, nought, nothing, p. 28, 1. 15
Nowt, nought, nothing, p. 40, 1. 17
Noyed, injured, p. 87, 1. 20
Noyes, noyous, injurious, p. 101, 1. 9
Noye>, annoyeth, injureth, p. 5, 1. 9
Noy, noi, annoy, injure, p. 17, 1. 20 ; p.
18, I. 10 ; p. 60, 1. 4. See Jamieson,
v. Noy.
Noyous, injurious, hurtful, p. 25, 1. 32
Nye, as a verb, also spelt ni3e, to come
or be nigh, or near, p. 35, 1. 14
O, one, p. 25, 1. 13 ; p. 88, 1. 24
Odir, other, p. 27, 1. 1
GLOSSARY.
199
Oker, usury; used for the Latin fcenus,
p. 111,1. 20. See note.
Olden, holden, reputed, p. 26, 1. 26 ; p.
30, 1. 31
Onhed, onehead, or one hood, i. e. unity,
p. 35, 1. 24
Onis, once, p. 42, 1. 18
Onlepy, single, solitary. See note, p.
38, 1. 11, and Sir Fred. Madden's
Glossary to u Havelok the Dane,'' v.
Anilepi.
On nobeley, " ignobilitatem suam," p.
86, 1. 3
Ontrowj?. See VntrouK
Ony, any, p. 6, 1. 3
Oole, all, i. e. any, p. 72, 1. 1
Oon, one, p. 4, 1. 20
Ooneris (?), p. 104, 1. 5
Oueral, over all, p. 78, 1. 15
Ouer face, in superficie, p. 91, 1. 8
Ouer-man, superior, p. 80, 1. 26 ; p. 103,
1. 20
Ouerwile; used to translate the Latin
word interdum, p. 30, 1. 6
Out, aught, " out worth," ought worth,
worth anything, p. 84, 1. 14
Outtak, separate, except, take out, p.
52, 1. 14
Over>wartnes ; used for the Latin per-
versitas, p. 107, 1. 3
Panteris, panders, p. 93, 1. 9
Parischings, parishioners, p. 8, 1. 17
Pees, peace, p. 42, 1. 8 ; p. 87, 1. 9
Peple, people, p. 5, 1. 13
Perid (?). See note on p. 89, 1. 13
Pering, perishing, p. 21, 1. 25
Perpulid, purpled, p. 44, 1. 6
Perseyuer, perceiver, p. 10, 1. 17, 28
Peruey, provide ; used to translate the
Latin provideat, p. 55, 1. 28
Peruiance, passage, proventum, p. 62, 1.
25
Pes, peace, p. 2, 1. 11 ; p. 73, 1. 16
Peysid, poised, weighed, considered, p.
67, 1. 30
Phitoners, pitkones, p. 95, 1. 11
Pilleworjns, pillows, p. 67, 1. 4
Pistil, epistle, p. 5, 1. 23
Pite, piety, p. 57, 1. 22 ; p. 89, 1. 14
Pleet. See note on p. 23, 1. 22. See
Plete.
Plente, plenitude ; used to translate the
Latin plenitudinem, p. 30, 1. 16
Plete, " court of plete," p. 79, 1. 25.
See Du Cange in vv. Pletum, Plitum,
Placitum.
PleyneJ?, complaineth, p. 67, 1. 3
Pleynid, complained, p. 20, 1. 20
Polewt, pollute, p. 36, 1. 12
Porid, made poor, p. 41, 11. 28, 32
Prescit, pr&sciti, reprobate, p. 7,11.3,
23, 24
Prest, " that men prest,*' ut pr&sint, p.
59, 1. 13
Priue, deprive, p. 14, 1. 4 ; p. 67, 1. 21
Priueite, mystery, secret, p. 34, 1. 13
Profhabili, proveably, certainly, demon
stratively, p. 7, 1. 19. Prpuable,
provably, ib. 1. 28. See also p. 8, 1. 15
Profi3t, prophet, p. 38, 1. 26
Pron3tly, profitably, p. 59, 1. 14
Profi>, profiteth, p. 29, 1. 14
200
GLOSSARY.
Prophet, profit, p. 59, 1. 13
Propos, proposition, p. 4, 1. 9
Provastis, provosts, superiors, praepositi,
p. 23, 1. 20
Puple, people, p. 4, 1. 10
Purte, purity, p. 5, 1. 2
Quek, quick, living, p. 8, 1. 22 ; p. 49,
1. 24 ; p. 93, 1. 2
Quikid, quickened, made alive, p. 67,
1. 26
Quiking, quickening, making to live, p.
54, 1. 26
Quit, to recompence, take vengeance,
p. 86, 1. 6
Quyschinis, cushions, cervicalia, p. 67,
1. 11
Rad, afraid, p. 27,1. 15. See Jamiesoninv.
Rafars, spoilers, robbers, p. 96, 1. 28.
See Jamieson in v. Reyfar.
Raneyn (?). See note p. 76, 1. 3
Rate, ratified, valid, p. 70, 1. 21
Redarguid, reproved, p. 6, 1. 24
Rede, verb, counsel, advise, p. 113, 1. 10
Reeft, carried him off, p. 41, 1. -21
Ref, plunder, p. 104, 1. 21 ; p. 110, 1.
31. SeeReif.
Refi>, reaveth, spoileth, plundereth, p.
67, 1. 1
Reft, part, of reave, plundered, carried
off by force, stolen, p. 77, 1. 24
Reif, plunder, spoil ; from the verb to
reave, p. 12, 1. 4. See Jamieson in v.
Ren, " ren in," incur, p. 75, 1. 18 ; run,
p. 89, 1. 7
Rennun, run, p. 7, 1. 24
Respice, respect ; used for the Latin
respectus, p. 86, 1. 32
Rett. See arett, to reckon, to account,
p. 85, 1. 21
Rette, reckon, account, p. 14, 1. 8
Rettid, p. 27, 1. 31 ; p. 91, 1. 19, same
as arettid, p. 26, 1. 29, reckoned, ac
counted.
Reuar, plunderer, p. 112, 1. 24. See
Rafar.
Reue, verb, rob, plunder, carry off, p.
48, 1. 26 ; p. 67, 11. 10, 11. See Ref,
Reif.
Rewle, to rule, p. 73, 1. 22
Rewl, rule, subst. p. 73, 1. 23
Reysing, raising, p. 68, 1. 3
Richid, " be richid," be enriched ; used
for the Latin ditetur, p. 43, 1. 31
Richid, was hungry, reached, p. 44, 1. 25
Ri3twisare, more righteous, p. 3, 1. 31
Rijtwisnes, righteousness, p. 3, 1. 15
Ri3twys, righteous, p. 13, 1. 15
Rit, right, p. 67, 1. 25
Rof, roof, p. 56, 1. 12. Rofe, p. 89, 1. 28
Rogun, rung, p. 19, 1. 30
Rostod, roasted, p. 37, 1. 28
Rot, root, p. 91, 1. 9
Rowt, the multitude, p. 61, 1. 31. Routis,
used to translate turbce, p. 62, 1. 28
Sadder, more serious, p. 45, 1. 22. See
Jamieson, v. Sad.
Sale wor>, ready for sale, p. 7, 1. 6
GLOSSARY.
201
Sare, sore, p. 93, 1. 8. See Jamieson,
v. Sair.
Sarrar, sorer, p. 38, 1. 14
Sautis, assaults, p. 98, 1. 9
Sawis, saws, sayings, p. 11, 1. 17
Schap, escape ; used for the Latin eva-
dant, p. 59, 1. 1. Schape, 1. 2
Schaterid, scattered, p. 81, 1. 25
Schauin, shaven, p. 89, 1. 30
Schemschip, shame, or sorrow ; used for
the Latin mcestitia, p. 37, 1. 8
Schenship, blame, fault, reproach (An
glo-Saxon rcenban), p. 110, 1. 10
Schep, sheep, p. 5, 1. 18
Sche>, sheath, p. 77, 1. 29
Schild, shield, p. 56, 1. 31. See note.
Scho, shoe, p. 34, 1. 12
Schorid, scored, imputed, or reckoned
against, p. 85, L 27
Schrewis, p. 64, 1. 21. See note.
Schuldres, shoulders, p. 86, 1. 2
Schyn, shine, p. 43, 1. 9
Scle, slay, p. 36, 1. 30
Seclereis, seculars, p. 77, 1. 2
Seek, sick, p. 93, 1. 20
Segis, sees ; used for episcopal or abba-
tial sees, p. 50, 1. 32
Sek, sick, p. 30, 1. 4
Sekir, sure, certain, p. 7, 1. 20 ; p. 17, 1.
18. See Jamieson in v. Sicker.
Selle, seal, p. 91,1. 16
Sen3e, synod, p. 22, 1. 22. See Seyn.
Sergs, tapers, wax candles ; (French
cierges,) p. 48, 1. 8. See note, and p.
58, 1. 20. See also Sir Fred. Madden's
Glossary to " Havelok the Dane," v.
Cerg.
CAMD. SOC. 14.
Seruid, deserved, p. 22, 1. 29; p. 26,
1.19
Setis, seats, p. 25, 1. 12
Se>, see ye, p. 61, 1. 25
Severythly, severally, separately, p. 52,
1. 17
Sewars ; used for the Latin sutores, p.
106, 1. 12
Seyn, synod, p. 38, 1. 32
Seynej, synod, p. 48, 1. 1. See Jamieson,
v. Seinye, Senye, Senyhe, Seinghe.
Seyng, seeing, p. 53, 1. 3
Seyno3is, synods, p. 73, 1. 27. See Seyn.
Shriuis, shrive, confess, p. 9, 1. 11
Shunder, slander, scandal, p. 59, 1. 12
Signis, miracles, p. 51, 1. 18
Siker, as a verb, to make sure, to as
sure, p. 7, 1. 20 ; p. 17, 1. 15. See
SeJcir.
Sikir, sure, certain, p. 98, 1. 29
Silun, sell, p. 113, 1. 4
Sin, since, p. 82, 1. 8
Si>, since, p. 5, 1. 12
Skarnes, terrors, p. 26, 1. 4
Sleckun, slack, quench, p. 98, 1. 16
Slekennid, slackened, extinguished, p.
19, 1. 29
SleJ>, slayeth, p. 3, 1. 5 ; p. 87, 1. 11
Smit, smut, taint (subst.) ; Anglo-
Saxon rmicta; used for the Latin
contagium, p. 70, 1. 4
Smot, to smut, stain, infect (ver6) ; " j?at
he smot not o>er ;" that he [the sin
ner] infect not others, p. 18, I. 23
Snibbid, censured, p. 6, 1. 17. See
note
Snyb, snub, censure, reprove, p. 33, 1. 3
2 D
202
GLOSSARY.
Sodekunis, subdeacons, p. 38, 1. 21 ; p.
39, 1. 2
Sodyn, sodden, boiled; past participle
of seethe, p. 37, 1. 28
Softi)>, softeneth, p. 112, 1. 8
Sogetis, subjects, p. 4, 1. 23 ; p. 7, 1. 12
Sogetly, subjectively, p. 88, 1. 23
Soil, soyl, to assoil, to absolve, p. 17,
1. 16
Soiling, subsi. assoiling, absolution, p.
17, 1. 14
Soiling, part, assoiling, absolving, p. 67,
1. 30
Somoum (?). See note, p. 61, 1. 21
Sonde ; this word is used, p. 24, 1. 25,
for mandatum, a command
Sonnid, spoiled, perhaps for soddened,
infatuatum sal, p. 2, 1. 10
Sophymis, sophisms, p. 8, 1. 23
Sopid, supped, p. 46, 1. 22
SoJ>e, sooth, truth, p. 40, 1. 12 ; p. 62,
1. 1
SoKastness, truth, p. 13, 1. 23
SoJ>ly, soothly, truly, p. 53, 1. 21 ; p.
66, 1. 18
Souare, severe, sore, p. 24, 1. 13
Sout, sought, p. 72, 1. 11
Sowt, sought, p. 49, 1. 33 ; p. 88, 1. 27
Sowtars, shoemakers, sutores, p. 106, 11
14, 18. See Jamieson, v. Soutar.
Soyl, assoil, absolve, p. 70, 1. 6
Soylid, assoiled, absolved, p. 69, 1. 21
SpedeJ>, "it spede>," it is expedient, p.
14, 1. 15
Spedy, expedient, p. 9, 1. 20 ; p. 15, 1. 25
SperriK shuttith. See note on p. 34,
1. 10
Spice, species, p. 47, 11. 19, 23, appear
ance ; used for the Latin species, p.
94, 1. 6
Spices, species, kinds, p. 96, 1. 3
Sporis, spurs, p. 44, 1. 5
Spowsbrekyng, adultery, p. 89, 1. 10
StalliworHi, stalworthly, stalwartly,
stoutly, bravely. Anglo-Saxon rtsel-
pypSe, literally worth stealing. See
Nares' Glossary in voc. p. 22, 1. 16.
See note on p. 108, 1. 31
Stalwor>, stout, able-bodied, p. 108, 1.
31. See note.
Steer, stir ; used to represent the Latin
monetis, admonish, stir up, p. 39, 1. 16
Stere, stir, move ; used for the Latin
admoneat, p. 85, 1. 11
Sterft, stirreth, p. 1,1. 20
Sternis, stars, p. 95, 1. 30. See Jamie-
son, v. Starn.
Sterringis, stirrings ; used for the Latin
motus, p. 67, 1. 20
Steyke, to shut, to fasten, p. 34, 1. 17.
See Jamieson, v. Steik.
Stille, silent, tacitumus, p. 5, 1. 9
Strak, struck, prat, of strike, p. 3, 1. 11
Stregun, stricken, p. 2, 1. 20
Streke, strike, stretch ; used for the
Latin extendam, p. 69, 1. 9
Strenid, constrained ; used for the Latin
constringitur, p. 56, 1. 5
Streyn, to draw, turn away, p. 74, 1. 16
Strowis, straws, p. 93, 1. 25. See note.
Sudarijs, napkins, Sudaria, p. 91, 1. 23.
Sudary, a napkin, p. 105, 1. 12
Suffreyn, sovereign, p. 99, 1. 27
Supprissed, oppressed, p. 79, 1. 15
GLOSSARY.
203
Suyn, swine, p. 58, 1. 6
Suynne, swine, p. 2, 1. 11
Swelk, such, passim, Suelk, p. 8. 1. 23.
See SwiUk.
Swelluing, swallowing, p. 55, 1. 30
Swernes, sournes, acciditas, p. 58, L 13.
See note ; used to translate tristitia,
p. 10T, 1. 21
Swilk, such, p. 37, 1. 12, p. 70, 1. 21.
See Jamieson.
Sylid, soiled, defiled, p. 89, 1. 11
Tan, for ta'an, taken, p. 5, 1. 7 ; p. 6, 1.
18 ; p. 103, 1. 4. Tane, p. 9,1. 25, p.
35, 1. 23. See Jamieson, v. Tane.
Telars, " feld-telars," field-tillers ; for
the Latin rustici, p. 106, 1. 12
Tenden, attend, give heed to, p. 93,
1.26
Tend, i. e. tendis, attendest, p. 2, 1. 5
Tent (to tent), to attend, consider, p.
18, 1. 27 ; p. 34, 11. 18, 21 ; p. 50, 1.
18 ; used to translate the Latin " cui
rei vacent," p. 106, 1. 25 ; p. 107,
1. 2
Tenten, attend ; used for the Latin at-
tendit, p. 93, 1. 17
Tenting, attending, p. 87, 1. 21
Ter, tear, p. 70, 1. 2. See note. Teris,
ib. 1. 3, tears.
Tijen, for ti>en, perhaps by an error of
the scribe, tithe (verb), p. 45, 1. 21
Til, to, unto, p. 94, 11. 8, 9. See Jamie-
son in v.
Tokun, betoken, signify, p. 23, 1. 7
Ton, " >e ton," the one, p. 69, 1. 27,
often spelt tone. See Nares in voc.
and Jamieson, v. Tane.
Tood, fox, p. 58, 1. 17. See note, and
Jamieson, v. Tod.
Toon, one, " >e toon for >e to>er," the
one for the other, p. 53, 1. 1. See Ton.
Toujly, toughly, obstinately, p. 68, 1. 23
Towere (?) See note, p. 55, 1. 3
Trayd, betrayed, p. 53, 1. 23 ; p. 46, 1. 20
Tremel, tremble, p. 55, 1. 20
Trentaylis. See note, p. 52, 1. 22
Treyst, trust, p. 96, 1. 28
Triacle, antidote, p. 57, 1. 25. See note.
Trouby ; used for the Latin turlatio, p.
87, 1. 14
Trowe, to believe, p. 8, 1. 30. Trowen,
p. 53, 1. 17 ; p. 88, 1. 22, 23
Trowing, believing, p. 61, 1. 7
Tul, to, unto, p. 95, 1. 15. See Til.
Tyn, tyne, tine, burn, consume, destroy,
p. 54, 1. 7 ; p. 43, 1. 12. See Jamie-
son in vv. Teind and Tine.
Tynking, tinkling, p. 90, 1. 10
Tymung (?), p. 4, 1. 17
J>an, then, p. 4, 1. 6
J>enkand, thinking, p. 10, 1. 27
>er as, therefore, p. 59, 1. 27
>euys, thieves, p. 54, 1. 32. J>euis, p.
55, 1. 1
J>ewenti, twenty, p. 8, 1. 16
Mnk, thing, (a provincial pronunciation,)
p. 17, 1. 2
J>o, those, p. 63, 1. 22
J>of, though, p. 8, 1. 32 ; p. 54, 1. 30.
See Jamieson, v. Thof.
GLOSSARY.
J>ole, to suffer. >oling, suffering, p. 5,
1. 22, et passim. See note, p. 56, 1. 28.
To permit, p. 59, 1. 1. See Jamieson,
v. Thole.
J>ole ; used for ululabunt, p. 58, 1. 22 ;
perhaps by mistake for hole, i. e. howl.
J>olid, suffered, bore, endured, p. 21, 1. 7
hoo, bo, those, passim.
J>orow, through, p. 30, 1. 13
t>owe, though, p. 4, 1. 6
J>ow3and, thousand, p. 4, I. 21
Juries, thrice, p. 12, 1. 22
t>ristib, thirsteth, p. 8, 1. 22
Ungly, only (?), p. 55, 1. 20
Valib, availeth, p. 24, 1. 3
Vengid, avenged, punished, p. 21, 1. 7
Veniawns, vengeance, p. 21, 1. 3
Venyn, venom, poison, venenum, p. 57,
1.25
Vggid, abhorred, nauseated, p. 109,1. 1.
From the Anglo-Saxon oga, fear, hor
ror. See Jamieson, v. Ug.
Vncely, unhappy ; used for the Latin
infcelicem, p. 51, 1. 4. From the
Anglo-Saxon reeh^, gersehs, happy.
Chaucer has selynesse, for happiness :
and Wicliffe, N. T. Rom. vii. 24. "I
am an unceli man, who schal delyuer
me fro the bodi of this synne ?"
Vndeadly, immortal, p. 53, 1. 17
Vneuyn, unequal, unjust, p. 104, 1. 30
Vneuenly, unjustly, unfairly, p. 74, 1. 23
Vnfilid, undefiled, p. 105, 1. 20
Vnknowen, unknown, are ignorant of,
p. 61, 1. 13
Vnkunand, unkunning, ignorant, p. 33,
1. 3
Vnkynd, unnatural, p. 87, 1. 16
Vowtrand, vowtri, adultery, p. 87, 1. 12
Vowtre, avowtry, French avoutrie, adul
tery, p. 21, 1. 14
Vnnese, unneths, or unneath, hardly,
scarcely, p. 52, 1. 18. See note.
Vnpite, impiety, p. 90, 1. 28
Vnpitouse, impious, wicked, p. 4, 1. 19 ;
p. 61, 1. 31
Vnschamfast, immodest, shameless, p.
2, 1. 14
Vnsible, insensible (?), p. 100, 1. 28
Vnsikir, unsafe, uncertain, p. 99, 1. 10
VntrouJ>, or vntrow>, unbelief, from
trow, to believe, p. 28, 1. 26 ; 27.
Ontrow)>, 1. 30
Vnwitti, ignorant, p. 25, 1. 10
Vp, upon, p. 4, 1. 13 ; p. 15, 1. 3
Vphauns, lift up, p. 31, 1. 24
Vp so doun, ignorant spelling for upside
down, p. 19, 1. 30
Warn, whom, p. 68, 1. 9 ; p. 70, 1. 1 1
Wan, when, p. 4, 1. 14
War, worse, p. 80, 1. 4
Warer, more ware, more cautious, p. 66,
1.2
Wari, curse, p. 14, 1. 12. Waried,
cursed. Anglo-Saxon pajnan, p. 2,
1. 22; p. 21,1. 3
GLOSSARY.
205
Warliar, more warily, p. 9, 1. 22
Was, whose, p. 59, 1. 12 ; p. 74, 1. 11
Wat, what, p. 38, 1. 4
Waxit, aged, p. 44, 1. 19
Wayn, wain, waggon, p. 110, 1. 28
Weder, weather, p. 83, 1. 22. Wedur,
ib. 1. 24
Wedir, whether, p. 13, 1. 4
Weil, while, p. 8, 1. 22
Weld, wield, possess, p. 24, 1. 24
Weldar, owner, possessor (Anglo-Saxon
pealban), p. 97, 1. 16.
Wen, ween, think, suppose, p. 69, 1.
21 ; p. 95, 1. 16. Wene ; used for the
Latin putemus, p. 91, 1. 7
Wengis, wenches, concubines, p. 23, 1. 1
Wenid, supposed, considered, p. Ill, 1.
32. See Wen.
Wening, wishing, supposing, p. 32, 1. 2.
p. 91,1. 11. See note.
Went, thought, supposed, (prat, of
ween), p. 95, 1. 15
Wenun, wish, desire. Anglo-Saxon
penan, p. 11, 1. 18 ; p. 57, 1. 22. See
Wen.
Werkis, works, p. 4, 1. 32
Wern, warn, p. 72, 1. 8, 9
Wernid, warned, p. 39, 1. 19
Wer of, whereof, p. 105, 1. 29
Werr, worse, p. 55, 1. 13
Werrar, worse, p. 49, 1. 8
Wet, wot, know, p. 98, 1. 19
Wete, to wit, to know, p. 37, 1. 24; p.
40, 1. 9
Wetun, known, past part, of to wit, p.
3, 1. 16
We}>, with, p. 70, 1. 20
Weypid, wiped, p. 39, 1. 10
Who, wo, p. 81,1. 21
Who wor>, woe-worth, p. 67, 1. 3. See
note.
Wiche, witch (used as an adj.) ; magical,
mafficisfalsitatibus, p. 93, 1. 26
Wil, while, p. 74, 1. 8
Wills, wiles, craft, p. 64, 1. 26
Wirke, work, p. 4, 1. 5
Wis, ways ; " on many manner wis," in
many ways, p. 91, 1. 10
Wit, know, p. 70, 1. 6
Wit, " >at is wit," that is to know, p.
5,1.4
Witt, knowledge, p. 1, 1. 9 ; p. 2, 1. 3
Wittirly, utterly, p. 85, 1. 10
Wityng, knowledge, p. 95, 1. 25
Wlatis, for wlatist, hatest, abominatest.
Wlati>, hateth, abominatur, p. 92, 1.
25. See note, p. 57, 1. 10
Wnworscippist, unworshippest, disho-
norest, p. 57, 1. 11. See note.
Wo, who, p. 46, 1. 28, p. 52, 1. 9
Wo, what, p. 55, 1. 18
Wode, mad, insane, p. 87, 1. 18
Wodnes, madness, p. 87, 1. 11 ; p.
97, 1. 7
Wold, old, p. 23, 1. 3 ; p. 93, 1. 9 ; p.
94, 1. 7
Wombe, belly, p. 3, 1. 13
Wordeynid, ordained, p. 29, 1. 25
WordeyniJ?, ordaineth, p. 25, 1. 27
Wordre, order, p. 68, 1. 16
Wowe, vow, p. 100, 1. 26
Wowis, vows, p. 9, 1. 10
206
GLOSSARY.
Wrath, used as a verb, " non of >e
bischopis wrath," i. e. let none of the
bishops be wroth ; nemo episcoporum
irascatur, p. 30, 1. 6
Wrechfulnes ; used for the Latin iracun-
dia, p. 58, 1. 12
Wse (?). See note, p. 62, 1. 30
Wudlowtis, peasants, subditi, p. 2, 1.
25 ; from the Anglo-Saxon poba,
wood, agrestis ; and lowt, a servant,
a subject. See Lowt, and Jamieson,
v. Lout.
Wylen, will, desire, p. 49, 1. 26
Ympli3eJ>ly> implicitly, p. 17, 1. 24
LONDON ?
J. B. NICHOLS AND SON, PRINTERS, 25, PARLIAMENT-STREET,
ERRATA.
The Reader is requested to correct the following Errata, for which the difficulty of
the work, and the Editor's distance from the press, will, it is hoped, be a sufficient
apology :—
P. 7, 1. 29, for hau, read han.
P. 10, 1. 17, /or maid, read maad.
P. 11, 1. 10, for inwit, read in witt.
P. 12, 1.32, • m
for hau read han.
V. IV, 1. 32, -x
P. 22, 1. 20, S
P. 24, 1. 5, 3
P. 24, 1. 30 (margin), for Mat. ij°. read Mat. u°.
P. 30, 1. 15, for tayst, read tryst.
1. 26, for presched, read presthed.
P. 32, 1. 5, for pres>od, read presthod.
1. 21 jfor hau, read han.
P. 36, 1. 15, for presched, read presthed.
P. 37, 1. 32,-
P. 41,1. 28,
1. 32, y for maid, read maad.
P. 42, 1. 15,
P. 43,1.31,
P. 45, 1. 7,
P. 56, 1. 9, for pilats, read Pilats.
P. 57, 1. 11, for wuworscippist, read wnworscippist.
P. 96, 1. 19, for sem, read seen.
P. 102, 1. 10, for bydun, read byndun.
P. 107, 1. 24 (margin), for Cap0. iii°. read Sap. iij°.
P. 110, 1. 24, for maid, read maad.
38100°
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