The bishop of Lincolne.
The Gascoigns meane to complaine of the earle of Leicester.
The earle disproueth the allegations of his accusers.
The bishop of Lincolne would haue inforced all the beneficed men within his diocesse to be préests, but they purchased a licence from Rome, to remaine at the Vniuersities for certeine yeares, without taking the order of préesthood vpon them. ¶ The king meaning to go (as he pretended) into the holie land, had grant of the pope to leuie a tenth of his subiects both spirituall and temporall. The Gascoignes sore repining at the earle of Leicester his streict gouernance (who handled them more roughlie than they had béene accustomed) sent the archbishop of Burdeaux ouer into England to exhibit a complaint against him in all their names. The earle of Leicester aduertised thereof, followed him, and comming to the court, found the archbishop readie to aduouch the information which he had made against the said earle, chéefelie in that he had sought the destruction of those to whom the earle of Cornewall when he was ruler there, had granted life and peace, and whom sir Henrie Trubleuile, and Waleran the Dutchman, late stewards of Gascoigne, vnder the king, had cherished and mainteined. With manie other things the archbishop charged him, the which the earle wittilie refelled and disprooued, so as he was allowed in his iustification by those that stood by, as the earle of Cornewall and others.
The bishop of Lincolns authoritie to institute vicars in churches impropriate.
The bishop of Lincolne got authoritie of the pope to institute vicarages in churches impropriat to religious men, where no vicars were; and where such were as séemed too slenderlie prouided of sufficient allowance, to augment the same as he thought expedient: which his authoritie he vsed more largelie than stood with the pleasure of religious persons, bicause he shewed great fauour to the vicars. The copie of the letters which the bishop had procured of the pope, authorising him herein, followeth as we find the same in the chronicles of Matthew Paris.
[The tenor of the Popes grant.]
Innocentius episcopus, &c. Cùm sicut accepimus in tua ciuitate & diocœsi, nonnulli religiosi & alij collegiati ecclesias perochiales in proprios vsus obtineant, in quibus nimis exiles aut nullæ taxatæ sunt vicariæ; fraternitati tuæ per authoritatem summam mandamus, quòd in ijsdem ecclesijs de ipsarum prouentibus vicarias instituas, & institutas exiles adaugeas vice nostra: prout iuxta consuetudinem patriæ secundū Deum videtur expedire, non obstantibus si prædicti exempti sint, aut aliàs muniti apostolicis priuilegijs siue indulgentijs, per quæ id impediri vel differri possit; & de quibus speciale oporteat in præsentibus fieri mentionem: contradictores per censuras ecclesiasticas apostolica potestate compescendo. Datum Lugduni 7 Octob. pontificatus nostri, An. 8.