A copie of the kings commission against the Lollards or Wickleuists and their followers: Englished by A. F.

RICHARD by the grace of God king of England and France, and lord of Ireland, to his beloued, maister Thomas Brightwell doctor in diuinitie, deane of the college of the new worke of Leicester, and to William Chesulden prebendarie of the prebend of the same college; and to our beloued and trustie subiects, Richard of Barow Chinall, and Robert Langham; greeting. For so much as we are certeinelie informed by credible report, that by the vnsound doctrine of maister Iohn Wickliffe, whiles he liued, of Nicholas Herford, Iohn Liston, and their followers, many bookes, libels, scheduls, & pamphlets expresselie, euidentlie, and notoriouslie swarming with manifest heresies and errors to the hurt of the catholike faith, & the abolishment of sound doctrine, are commonlie compiled, published, and written, as well in English as in Latine, and therevpon wicked opinions contrarie to sound doctrine, doo spring, grow, and are mainteined and preached to the weakening of the right faith, the ouerthrow of holie church, and consequentlie (which God forbid) the misbeleefe of a great many, & the manifest danger of their soules. We being moued with zeale to the catholike faith, whereof we are, and will be defenders in all things, as we are bound, vnwilling that such heresies or errors within the limits of our iurisdiction, so far as we are able, should grow, or by any meanes spring vp: doo assigne you iointlie and seuerallie, all and singular the books, libels, scheduls, & pamphlets conteining such doctrine of the said Iohn, Nicholas, Iohn, and their fel­low-fol­low­ers, or any of their cor­rupt opinions, where­so­euer, & in whose hands, possession, or keeping soeuer they shalbe found within the liberties or without; them to search, take, arrest, and cause to be brought before our councell with all possible speed, that then and there we may take order for the same accordinglie, as by the aduise of our foresaid councell we shall see requisite to be doone. And also to proclaime, and on our behalfe firmelie to forbid all and euerie one, of whatsoeuer state, degree, or condition he be, vnder paine of imprisonment and forfeitures, which to vs he shall forfeit, any of these wicked and lewd opinions to mainteine, teach, obstinatlie to defend, priuilie or openlie, or any of these bookes, libels, scheduls & pamphlets to keepe, write, or cause to be written; but all and euerie such booke and bookes, libels, scheduls, and pamphlets with them had & found, at our commandement vnto you to deliuer, or cause to be deliuered without delaie. And all them, whome after proclamation and inhibition you shall find dooing contrarie to the premisses, and such lewd opinions mainteining, to call foorth before you the said Thomas the deane, & William, and them to examine: & when |828| they shalbe lawfullie conuinced therein, to commit them to the next officers & prisons, there to be kept, till they haue recanted their errors, heresies, and wicked opinions; or till we for their deliuerance shall otherwise thinke order to be taken. And therefore we command, that you intend the said premisses, with all diligence and effect, and the same doo and execute in forme aforesaid. We doo also giue in streict commandement and charge, to all and euerie as well churchman & churchmen, as shiriffes, maiors, bailiffes, officers, and other our trustie subiects, as well within the liberties as without, by the tenor of these presents, to assist, counsell, and helpe you and euerie of you in doing the premisses, as it is conuenient. In witnesse whereof, we haue caused these our letters patents to be made. Witnesse our selues at Westminster the twentie third day of Maie, and the eleuenth yeare of our reigne.

Archbishop of Canturburies visitatiō.

Wickleuists excommunicated.

A ridiculous penance.

¶ About this time, or (as Henrie Knighton saith) in the yeare 1392, maister William Courtenie archbishop of Canturburie, brother to the earle of Denshire visited the diocesse of Lincolne, and on the feast of saint Faith the virgine he visited maister Iohn Bokingham bishop of Lincolne in the cathedrall church of Lincolne, with the chapter, and an hundred of the canons, and he came to Leicester abbeie in visitation, the sundaie before the feast of All saints, where he abode all the tuesdaie, and on the eeue also, of All saints being mondaie, calling togither all the canons of the said monasterie, with the chaplines of his owne chappell, euerie of them hauing in their hands burning candels. The same archbishop confirmed sentence of ex­com­mun­i­ca­tion against the Lollards or Wickleuists, with their fauourers, which either now mainteined or caused to be mainteined, or hereafter did mainteine or should mainteine the errours and opinions of master Iohn Wickliffe, in the diocesse of Lincolne. On the morrow next after All saints, the same bishop flashed out his sentence of ex­com­mun­i­ca­tion like lightning in open sight, with a crosse set vpright, with candels burning bright, and with bels roong alowd, and namelie against those of Leicester towne that had too too much defiled and infected the said towne and countrie. The archbishop departing from thence, went to saint Peters church, to a certeine anchoresse named Matildis there kept as in a closet, whom he reprouing about the foresaid errors and opinions of the Lollards, and finding hir answers scarse aduisedlie made, cited hir that she should appeare before him, on the sundaie next insuing, in saint Iames his abbeie at Northampton, to answer vnto the foresaid erronious and prophane points. Now she appeared at the day appointed, and renouncing hir errours, and hauing penance inioined hir, she went awaie reformed. But till the second day before the feast of saint Lucie, she kept hir selfe out of hir closet, and then entred into the same againe. Other Lollards also were cited, and appeared at Oxford, and in other places, as the archbishop had commanded them: who renouncing their superstitious errours, and forswearing their prophane opinions, did open penance. Also one William Smith was made to go about the market place at Leicester, clothed in linnen [or in a white sheet] holding in his right arme the image of the Crucifix, and in his left the image of saint Katharine, bicause the said Smith had sometimes cut in peeces and burned an image of saint Katharine, whereof he made a fire to boile him hearbes in his hunger.

† For the papists saie that the sacrificing préest is the maker of his maker, namelie God.

Boldnesse of women in eccles­i­as­ti­cale matters taxed.

In those daies there was a certeine matrone in London, which had one onelie daughter, whome manie daies she instructed and trained vp to celebrat the masse, and she set vp an altar in hir priuie or secret chamber with all the ornaments therevnto belonging, and so she made hir daughter manie daies to attire hir selfe like a priest, and to come to the altar, and after hir maner to celebrate the masse. Now when she came to the words of the sacrament, she cast hir selfe flat on hir face before the altar, & † made not the sacrament; but rising vp, dispatched the rest of the masse euen to the verie end, hir mother helping hir therein, and dooing hir deuotion. This errour a long time lasted, till at last by a certeine neighbour that was secretlie called to such a masse, it was told abroad, and came to the bishops eares, who causing them to appeare before him, talked with them about that |829| errour, and compelled the yoong woman openlie to shew the priestlie shauing of hir haire, whose head was found to be all bare and bald. The bishop sighing and sorrieng that such an errour should happen in the church in his time, made manie lamentations, and hauing inioined them penance, dispatched and sent them away. Thus far Henrie Knighton. [It is not to be doubted, but that in these daies manie of the female sex be medling in matters impertinent to their degrée, and inconuenient for their knowledge; debating & scanning in their priuat conuenticles of such things as wherabout if they kept silence, it were for their greater commendation; presuming, though not to celebrat a masse, or to make a sacrament; yet to vndertake some publike peece of seruice incident to the ministerie: whose ouer-sawcie rashnesse being bolstered and borne vp with abbettors not a few, whether it be by ec­cles­i­ast­i­call discipline corrected, I wot not; but of the vniformed presbiterie I am sure it is lamented.]

A fierie apparition of diuerse likenesses.

A head of wax wrought by necromancie speaketh.

A fierie dragon séene in diuers places.

Abr. Fl. out of Thom. Walsin. in Rich. 2. pag. 341.

A coniunctiō of Iupiter & Saturne.

A certeine thing appeared in the likenesse of fier in manie parts of the realme of England, now of one fashion, now of another, as it were euerie night, but yet in diuerse places all Nouember and December. This fierie apparition, oftentimes when any bodie went alone, it would go with him, and would stand still when he stood still. To some it appeared in the likenesse of a turning whéele burning; to othersome round in the likenesse of a barrell, flashing out flames of fier at the head; to othersome in the likenesse of a long burning lance; and so to diuerse folks at diuerse times and seasons it shewed it selfe in diuerse formes and fashions a great part of winter, speciallie in Leicestershire and North­amp­ton­shire: and when manie went togither, it approched not neere them, but appeared to them as it were a far off. In a parlement time there was a certeine head of wax made by the art of necromancie (as it was reported) which head at an houre appointed to speake, vttered these words following at thrée times, and then ceased to speake any more. These be the words; first, The head shall be cut off; secondlie, The head shall be lift vp aloft; thirdlie, The feet shall be lift vp aloft aboue the head. This happened in the time of that parlement which was called the mercilesse parlement, not long before the parlement that was named the parlement which wrought wonders. In Aprill there was séene a fierie dragon in manie places of England; which dreadfull sight as it made manie a one amazed, so it ministred occasion of mistrust to the minds of the maruellors, that some great mischéefe was imminent, whereof that burning apparition was a prog­nos­ti­ca­tion. In this kings daies (as saith Thomas Walsingham) whose report, bicause I am here dealing with certeine prodigious accidents importing some strange euents, I am the more bold to interlace about the troublesome time when discord sprang betwéene the king and his youthlie companions with the duke of Lancaster, in the moneth of Maie, there happened a coniunction of the two greatest planets, namelie Iupiter and Saturne, after the which did follow a verie great commotion of kingdoms, as in the processe of this historie may appeare.

A schisme betwéene two popes for the dignitie of S. Peters chaire.

The French king about this time summoned a conuocation of the French cleargie, to decide and search out the power of the two popes, which of them had fuller right and authoritie in S. Peters chaire, for the schisme and diuision betwéene the two popes was not yet ended. The French clergie wrote in the behalfe of Clement their pope, & cōfirmed their script or writing with the vniuersitie seale of Paris. Which writing Charles the French king sent ouer to Richard king of England, that touching these doubts and difficulties he with the councell of his cleargie might deliberat. Wherefore king Richard summoned a conuocation at Oxford of the lerneder diuines as well regents as not regents of the whole realme; who wrote for and in the behalfe of Vrbane their pope of Rome, and confirmed their writing with the vniuersitie seale of Oxford, & sent it ouer sea to Paris vnto the French king. But nothing was doone further in the premisses, both popes, vnder the shrowd or shelter of schisme preuailing betwéene them, iustifieng their title & interest. [This is the last record found in Henrie Knighton, who for that which he hath doone touching chronographie, hath written (the blindnesse of the time wherein |830| he liued, and his order considered) though not so well as the best, yet not so ill as the woorst: and whose collections, if they were laid togither, would afford a large augmentation to maters of chronicle: but O spite that so abruptlie he breaketh off, and continueth his annales no further than this yeare, 1395.]

The Danes rob the English merchāts on the seas.

Great prises woone by the Danish pirats of the Englishmen.

This yeere, the Danes that laie rouing on the seas did much hurt to the English merchants, taking and robbing manie English ships, and when the hauen townes alongst the coasts of Northfolke, made foorth a number of ships, and ventured to fight with those pirats, they were vanquished by the Danes, so that manie were slaine, and manie taken prisoners, which were constreined to paie great ransoms. The enimies also found in ransacking the English ships, twentie thousand pounds, which the English merchants had aboord with them to buy wares with, in place whither they were bound to go. ¶ In the same yeare, William Courtneie archbishop of Canturburie, hauing more regard to his owne priuat commoditie, than to the discommoditie of others, purchased a bull of the pope, whereby he was authorised to leauie through his whole prouince foure pence of the pound of ec­cles­i­ast­i­call promotions, as well in places exempt, as not exempt, no true nor lawfull cause being shewed or pretended, why he ought so to doo; and to see the execution of this bull put in practise, the archbishop of Yorke, and the bishop of London, were named and appointed.

Waltham bishop of Salisburie buried at Westminster amongst the kings.