vjfCl^V ivT^C^; llfffiiSIB ,-'^i BR 270 .W8x Wycliffe, John, The last age of d. 1384, the Church THE LAST AGE THE CHURCH. The aji0t n&e of rbe Cf)tirr|i By JOHN WYCLYFFE. Now first Printed jfxom a iWanuscript In the UNIVERSITY LIBRARY, DUBLIN. EDITED WITH NOTES, By JAMES HENTHORN TODD, D.D., Fellow of Trinity College, and Treasurer of St. Patrick's Cathcdi'al. AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS. M.DCCC.XL. II %f}t IBvtfm. Well known popular Writer on the History of the Chris- tian Church has given it as Miiner, Hist, of the his Opinion, that whoever Church, vol. iv. p. 121. will carefully examine the original Records, Lond. 1819. will soon be convinced that the Merits of Wyclyffe, as a Reformer, have been con- siderably exaggerated. How far this is true or not, the Writer of these Pages will not attempt to determine ; but certain it is, B vi The Preface. that to " examine the origmal Records," with a View to discover the real Doctrines and Opinions of Wyclyffe, is much more easily said than done ; and the' Reader who seeks for Satisfaction from the Biogra- phers of the Reformer, or from the Histo- rians of the Period, will soon be convinced that the original Records, and above all, the still remaining Writings of Wyclyffe and his Followers, have never been ex- amined with the Care and Attention ne- cessary for the Purpose of forming a just Estimate of his Opinions, and of the Merit of his Efforts at a Reformation of the Church. The List of Wyclyffe s Writings pub- The Preface. lished by Bishop Bale^ in his Work, Scrip- Cent. vi. p. 450. torum Majoris Brytannice Catalogus^ has been necessarily made the Basis of all that subsequent Writers have collected. It The Hist, of the Life of has been reprinted, with many useful ad- John JVicUf, D.D. By ditions, by the learned and indefatigable Joh7i Lewis, ° M.A. Oxf. Joh7i Lewis, of whose Labours every 1820. Student must speak with Gratitude. Mr. Memoirs of Baher also has done much towards assisting t\\eKev. future Inquirers, by the very valuable ler, ii.A.' List of the Reformer's Writings that he isio. has compiled. Here, however, we must stop ; Mr. Vaughaas Compilation has The Life oi John de not added much to our Knowledge of WycUffe, D.D. By the Subject, nor can it be commended Robert either for Accuracy or Learning; and Lond. is3i. B 2 viii The Preface. The Life of Mr. Le Bas does not profess to do more Chas. w. Le than follow his Predecessors. His hum- Loud. 1S32. bier Task, however, has been executed with great Elegance and Judgment. The Truth, therefore, is, that until the Works of Wyclyffe, real and supposititious, be collected and published, it is vain to talk of determining his Opinions, or fixing his real Merits as a Reformer ; and it is with the Hope of directing Attention to this Subject that the following Tract Appendix is now printed. The learned Henry ad Histor. Litterar. CI. WhartOTi was willing to believe that all V. GuL ^ Cave. vol. ii. the Writings of Wyclyffe might in his p. C3. Fol. Oxon. 1743. Time havc been recovered : ''o?w?w*a Wiclefi scripta," he says, <' in Anglia adhiic deli- The Preface. ix tescere, et ex Bibliothecis nostris qua puh- licis qua privatis in lucem end posse, luhenter crederemT Perhaps we have still all the MSS. that existed in Whar- ton s Time, and it may be still within our Power to rescue them from the Oblivion in which they have so long been suifered to remain. But the Chances of their De- struction are every Day becoming greater, and Delay in such an Enterprize is highly dangerous. It is true that many of these Documents will be found dry, and to the popular Reader uninteresting; buried in the barbarous Latinity of the Schools, or concealed under the perhaps still more ob- solete English of the fourteenth Century. The Preface. But they who would engage in such a Labour as the Publication of the Works of Wyclyffe, must be above the narrow Influences of modern Utilitarianism. They must keep in View a higher Field of Learn- ing than comes within the Sphere of Mer- cantile Speculators in Literature, or Useful Knowledge Societies. They must feel that the Value of these Documents as Compositions, is but a secondary Object in their Publication ; the great End must be the Discovery of Truth, and the Pre- servation of the Remains of an illustrious Character in our History. What nobler, what more imperishable Monument could the Gratitude of England raise to her first The Preface, xi Reformer, than a complete and uniform Edition of his extant Writings ? The Editor is fully sensible that the Tract which is now for the first Time given to the public, is very far from being a favorable Specimen of the Works of Wye- lyffe. But it commended itself for Publi- cation on many Grounds : First, its Short- ness. Secondly, its early Date ; for it bears internal Evidence of having been composed in the Year 1356, and must, therefore, (if See Page xxxi. really by Wyclyffe^) have been the earliest of his Writings. Another Motive for pub- lishing this Production is furnished by the Consideration, that, if it be genuine, it reveals to us a Fact not dwelt upon, so far xii The Preface. as the Editor knows, by any of the Re- former's Biographers; namely, the Con- nexion which existed between the earlier Doctrines of Wyclyffe, and the propheti- cal Speculations of the Beguins, circulated under the Name of the famous Abbot Joachim, It remains, however, to be proved, that the Tract now printed is really Wychjffes ; and this, the Editor admits, seemed to him an additional Reason for selecting it for Publication ; inasmuch as it served at once to raise the Question, How far we have certain Grounds for attributing to Wyclyffe the Writings that exist under his Name; nor is it perhaps too much The Preface. xiu to say, that this is a Subject which the learned World has never been in a Condi- tion to consider fully. Yet there is no preliminary Question more deserving of Attention, if we would form a just Es- timate of our Reformer's Merits ; for it must be evident to every reflecting Reader, that if we are in any Degree un- certain of the Genuineness of such Wri- tings as are quoted under the Name of Wyclyffe^ the Conclusions drawn from them, as to the Nature and Character of his Doctrines, must be in the same Degree uncertain, and destitute of Authority. In the present Case, the Grounds upon which the following Treatise has been as- xiv The Preface. signed to JVyclyffe, are no more than these : — First, that it is found in a MS. Volume of the fourteenth Century, which contains several other Tracts, that are be- lieved to be Wyclyffes. Secondly, that it has been ascribed to Wyclyffe, by Bishop Bale^ Mr. Lewis^ and, after them, by his more modern Biographers. These Remarks are not made with a Design to cast any Doubt on the Genu- ineness of the following Treatise. It is very probably by Wyclyffe, although we have no better Reason than the Authority of Bale for thinking so. But if any Reader should entertain a Doubt on this Subject, deeming the Tract unworthy of The Preface. xv our Reformer, (as many will doubtless feel it to be very different from what they would have expected from the Pen of Wyclyffe,) the Editor must confess him- self unable to satisfy such Scruples ; nor is he aware of any Argument by which the Authority of Bale and Lewis can be sup- ported. The Conclusion, however, to which he desires to bring the Reader, and for the Sake of which he has hazarded these Remarks, is simply this, that until the various Treatises attributed to TVyclyffe are collected, and rendered accessible to the Learned, it is vain to think of deciding the Question how far any given Tract is worthy or unworthy of his Pen. xvi The Preface. One other Particular, concerning the following Work, remains to be considered. Vaughan's Mr. Vaufjhan tells us that *' this is one WycUffe. of the Reformer's Pieces that is to be 255! N^ote. found only in the Library of Trinity 2nd Edit, (.^iig^g^ Dublin;" and this may, for aught we know^, be true, although per- haps it only means that no other Copy of the Tract w^as elsewhere found by Mr. Vaughan. Certain, however, it is, that Bishop Bale has entered the Treatise in two diiferent Places of his Catalogue, and under two different Titles ; from which we may infer, that in his Time, or in the Times of those from whom he copied, the Tract was found in two different CoUec- The Preface, xvii tions. In one place he enters it thus : — Baia;us, De ( See No. 84 of Lewis's Catalogue.) Brytannise. Cent. vi. p. *' De simonia sacerdotum, lib. 1. Heu ma/rni ^ ' Lewis, Life nacerdotes in tenehris:' of WicUf, p. 195. In another place he gives it the Title ^«^^' ^- '^• p. 454. under which it is now published, and de- Lewis, p. scribes it thus :— j^s] ^''' " De ultima estate Ecclesice, lib. 1. Sacerdotes, proh dolor I versantes in viliis." It is by no means improbable, therefore, that a second Copy of the Tract may still exist, under some Disguise, in our public or private Libraries. The Volume from which the Treatise is now printed, is preserved among the xviii The Preface. MSS. of Archbishop Ussher, in the Li- brary of the University of Dublin. It appears to have been once the Property of Sir Robert Cotton, whose Autograph is found on the lower Margin of the first See Nichols' Page, in his usual Form of Signature : Autographs, ^^«^f ^'^' " Robert Cotton Bruceusr No. 5. On the upper Margin of the same Page, in a Hand of the early Part of the six- teenth Century, now nearly obliterated, may be traced the Words, " Wiclefe roas a thousand thre huderyd thre schorr and uiij.'' Over which Sir Robert Cotton has writ- ten, The Preface. xix " Anno 1368. Wicklif workes to the Duk of Lancaster.'' Nothing" appears in the Volume to in- dicate the exact Year in which it was transcribed, but the Hand-writing would lead us to assign it to the latter End of the fourteenth or Beginning of the fif- teenth Century. It is imperfect in some places, but contains a very valuable Col- lection of the Tracts of Wyclyffej for a complete List of which the Reader is re- ferred to some Papers that were published in the Year 1835, in the British Maga- British Ma- zine ; where he will also find an Ac- vii. p. 532, ^ ^ _ . ^ - - and p. 690. count of the Treatise, now for the first voi. viii. p. ^ V » ^ ^ r 267, and p. time printed, ** <^n tftc last ^gc of tj)t 402. XX The Preface. ^|)irc]^C,^^ with an Exposure of cer- tain Mistakes that have been committed respecting it. Several of the Remarks contained in those Papers have been transferred to the Notes, which will be found at the End of the present Volume. f 3Cfte la0t ^Qt at i«.ccc.lu}. Wbt last age of tfic Has forsorfcoE q^xttt pus- tfs sittingc m trcrlictttssis (| ps. loc. m sc^atretoc of te^)/ no^t Saupnp f)im t^at openlg cric|)/ al t^is 31 Mh )mt ]ii l^ou auaunct mt, ^ti mafec teseruaciouns/ pe foi)ic5c bm ckpftr ligmcs/ ffirst ftugtis/ ofcr pcmiouns/ aftir t?£ oppnioun of ficm t?at mte i(ii% tnatit, jpor no tnou xxib Srte last age of 11^^ (Hf^ivcf^t. sc!)ultre fattc bencficis ht ttscructJ ^an£ smale/ ^if no prpug cause of sgrnonge foerc trctftrc/ f£ toj^ic^e 5 stie uo^t at Joachim. |ns tgmc. i3ut 2)oac6ur/ in Jis book of )?£ settris of }3rofctis (J of ft segingis of popes (| of "pe cf^argis of ptqfetis/ tretgnge fi% matir/ ^ spe!ignge of j^e rente of trgmes/ Psai. 90. seij) \ni^/ foure tribulaciouns iBauij) j^e pvofetc 6at? bifore seiti/ f^e seugntg 5 ngne cjapitrc/ to cntre into j)e Cjbircfic of 6rob/ Bernard. (J i3ernarl( acorUij) j^ere toi))/ bpon can- tica/ |)e |)re (| f rittg sermon/ j^at htn/ a ng)tlg tfretre/ an artoe flegnge in Irag/ c|)affare toalfegnge in tfer^iencssis/ (| mgU= tJais beuglrie/ fat is to sege/ antecrist. iBg)tIg SjretJe toas tobanne alle ^mt slofoen segntis bemgtr bcm silf tio serugse to ^fje last .age of ttje (fTfjirrl^e. xxb (&oh/ ? |)is toas |)e firste tribulacioun j^at ontxtUt p QLf)ixt\)t oiQ^oti, |)£ artoe fltgngc in tray fcoas tfcsccgt of ficrctiliis/ (J i^at toas i^e sminUe tribulacioun |^at cntrctr fe <2r]^ircJ)e of ^rist |)at is put of bi toistJom of scgntis/ as f c firstc tnas cast cut hi stctifastcncssc of martiris. ^fiaffarc toalik= gngc in ticiiicncssis is p prgui ftcrcsic of spmonpans/ hi rcsoun of b)J)ic6e |?£ f rititte tribulacioun scjal cntrc into Cristis Cftircftc/ ft lu6ic{)c tribulacioun or an= mst\) scjbal cntrc |?c Cfiircjc of ^rist in p tpmc of ft f^nxitix^ ]ttx of ,x, Itttxt/ tojcs cntfc toe ben/ as 1 Inclc prcuc/ $ |^is m5S= ci)cif sc|)al be so })eun i^at feel scjal be to |?at man of jbolg Cfiircfie fat ^ ane scfial no^t be on Ipue. ^nb i^at 31 preue \>\xs D xxbi ^^t last age of tfje Cfjirrtie. Joachim. ])i 2Joac5)viu in \)is hoo'k of fe bcctiis of profetis. iilcn of cbreu tungc imtf xxii lettris/ anb fjgngpnge fro f e first of cbrcto Icttris/ {| }cugngc to eucrg kttre an 6ttn' tiriU }m/ ft ooltJ£ '^Ttstamcnt Inas cntiitr fcaf)anc )'c noumbrc ^cucn to \k Icttris toas fulfilhU ^0 fro ])t ijijginrninigc of cbrcto Icttris in to QLxist/ in fc M)it^t \^t ooltte 'S^cstamcnt Iwas entrib/ futrcn tfcoo aab ttocnty fiunbritibis (5f ^ccris. ]H% also [J)c] sc|)cini)) opcnlg f)i biscripcioun of ttjmc/ of Eusebi. (IBuscbi/ 23ctJe/ (J l^aymounti/ most Haymouad. prcuctJ of acouutcris/ or talficris. ^o Christen men ftaucn xxi Icttris/ (J hv>q^n= ngnge fro j)t first of Hatyn Icttris/ (| 3cugngc to ccfic .c./ t^c ncixic Testament toas cntiitJ lojbnnnc ft noumbrc of f cs as* ^t)e last age of t^e (fffjirrfie. xxtjli sinpcb lettn's toas fulfiUitr. ^\\tip% i% as sa|) as in j^e biggnnpnge C^rolr malJe beucne (J cr|»t/ for j)£ oolbe Testament is figur of |)e netoe, 33ut aftir ^joacfiim Q[ joachim. 53ttic/ fro p tpSBtxttpngc of Hatijn Uttris Bede. to p comgngc of CDrist tocrcn stuene 5un= tirib ]ttxt/ so pt Crist cam in jie j&onUriti of .6'. kttxt/ (Bxi%t stcgc to ficucnc/ anti aftir |)at/ untiir .fe'. lettre/ ODrist ticlgucrclj i)is djirci)£ fro ng^tlg brctrc/ |^e lxif)ic]^E toas ft firstc tirctre |^at 6foUtiis (2B^{)irc]bc t«as innc. ^ftir t^at/ bntrir .m, kttir/ OTrist bcluucrcti J)is Cibirclbc fro ^c artot flcgnge in tiag/ f)at fajas p secunbt tribulacioun of ft QLf)ixt\)z/ ij )?at fcoas trcmyngc bg 2(oac6im Joachim. I o\mz pt bntJir .m. kttre scfietoctie if>z ntultitut?£ of ficrctiikis contrarginge t^e XXbiii ^t)f last ^ge of tfie €t»*r^e. hixft of d^dst j)ts pascioun 3 Ibis asscn-- tioun/ in |^at |)at .m. lcttr£ most figurcti ^n'st. ^uerp kttrc in p abm map be souncti toij) opgn mouj) saue .m, lettre one/ |>e toJ)i(6^ map no^t be sounctr but fcDt|j dos mou|i. ^0 ^rfst mp^tc no^t rome out of ifit maptrcncs fcoombt/ but scj)c j)atitrc be dos. ^ntf fts ben uerse of .m. lettre/ College daustris e.xi're solent patefactis/ ^na setr e.x* istis no egretu'tur nisi dausis. ^ftir jvit/ bntrir ..x. lettre/ bias ^t ])x\ii'ii£ tribulacioun in (&oM% CH^bitebe/ \>t tobicbe ..X, lettre is last of Uatpn lettris/ IJ ))e t^nljJje tribulacioun scbal be scbefcoilJ in fe i)ontJrib ^eere of .x. lettre, 1 preue it hi tli3o resouns/ fe firste is f is. ^etir Ef^t last ^ge of ti^e (jr^irr^e. xxix Ve apostle ft lufiicje toas in |ie tymc of J» Icttrt/ m2)tc not btttrlp bistrie ^nmoun iWagus/ but hi ftclpe of ^oul/ Act. ft iDjfcfie tuas t^t t^rittenci) apostil S:o/ ]ii .X. Itttrc bt j)t t^rittentft fro J. Itttxt/ in t^e tpmt of .x. lettrt Crist scfial rianse 6is €Uxtf^t fro marcfiauntifse toalliBnge in trerfienessis. p stcuntre rtsoun is sucjc. 5it cam no)t |)at tribulacioun pat scjal be in GotJtJis ODIbircSe bi cause of cfiaffare foalfegnge m trerfienesses/ 5 |^at pat is pro-- p^esieU sc]&al come, ^if^pe panne pat toe ben in .x. lettre/ as it is scj&etoiti/ pi's tri- bulacioun scftal come in .x. lettre opere aftir/ but aftir ,x, lettre/ pat is pe last of Hatun lettris/ scbal be no tribulacioun in Gobtu's (2D6irc]&e bote pe fourpe 5 pe 8. XXX STfje last age of tf)t (irf)irrf)e. Instc/ ft to{)ic6c scjbal ijc i)i j^e ticud of Antecrist. injiUbaij/ juit IS ^utccrist/ f c lxij)ic5)e trit)u= lacioun hi no Untyu Icttrc mny be ccrte= firtr/ as ^'ts i(>xt bifore. jffor Ibis comungc oonly to Gotr is imototn/ (J fenotolccfie of Dim to Gotr oonb rcstructr. 5igl6cforc it folfeif jvit bntiir .x. Itttrt sdjal ht scbctoitJ julfic tribulacioun t^at scbal be in GoliiJis ^bitcbc/ bn rcsoun of cj^affare b)al]knnge in trevkncssis. pat toe bm bntrir f)e fiunliritr 3ccvc of Bede. .X. kttrc/ 31 scbcb^t sc^ovtln bn i3etre bpon Joachim, p profctis of S^ibtllc/ antr bn loacbim in ]ic book of \)t srctiis of profctis/ 5 o^^cre toiitcris of stories, jpfro ]k bijgynnijngc of Hatnn lettris to CDrist I\)n/ toere seuene buntiriti ]m/ antr fro Crist til nob/ Zf}c last atge of t^e C^ircfje. xxxi l^rittcne 8untirft( 3ccr nnti sixt (J fijftp/ so Nota. |jat f crt bctt to come of our uhm hut foure ? fourtg 3eer/ 5[ hi ps of f e i)uniJriU }ttxt of .X. be^^ passilJ %ixt (J fiftg ^ccre. |)e spnncs bi caust of tojbtcfie suc^e persccu= cioun sc^al be in €5rotitifs ^Ijiube our tiime htn fes/ for 6rotitris dbircjc is fountin? in "kmratit of prelatis. |)is same rdkenctr 3toat]&im in ft booliis bifore, ^Iso Joachim. for gootiis of jbolg C^irrj^e |?at prelatts toi'l^ jboltrcj) to J)cm/ as pensiouns/ firste frutis/ fermes/ prouentrris/ -pe Inj^fcfte mag fcoel be depiij collibiste/ fts sgnnes antj o^^ere suc]&e ben marc{)aunliise fcoaltinnge in Uerikenessts. t)e manere of tribulacioun scj^al be suc5 as 3Ioaei)im sei)? m p booli Joachim. of f e cjbarge of profetis. Jilen of bolp XXXii ^()f last Sige of t^e Cfiirrfjc. C{)ircf)e scjal be st^ti in a mancrc of ca-- rnjnc/ ^'ci scjal be cast out as boggc in carnoten- m\}W% placfs. |^cr toi|) acovbi)) (irarno= cmico. "" ' scncis/ in a book j^at fie elepij^ ponicrati= con/ -pe seuent^e booli/ -pe teniae cfiapitre/ (J fie alegep CKregor seiynge t^us/ pestilencis/ smiittmgts to giljcre of foHu's/ !J fiurtlgnge to gn^eie of retomes/ (| o|nr fiarmes scfial come to fe txft/ for |)at bjorscfiipis of fiolii ^fiircfie be)) 3eue to bntoorj^i men. In lib. so. ^ntr in f^e ei^tejie book/ tefautc of prestis among C5fobtiis folk bryngi|) in tirnauntis. ])at f is tribulacioun is nij)e/ anti fcofianne it scfial come/ hi fiem pt treti|i ju's matir is/ bjfianne men scfiulle bjante teef / anb comnnh) alle cfiiltiren/ boren siffcn p first pestilence/ ben sucfi j^at tuanten ei^te ^f)t last age of tl^e C^irc^c. XXXili gvctc tccf . I^crtni)) acortfif iilcrlpn ^m-- Mefiyn brosc/ |?at suc]& anguscfie is ng^c/ for as t)D 6cm/ in p tgmc of ^t rngscj^eif of ^z ko\{/ i^at tot clcpc frauncc/ j^at S£]&al be Uistroncti f)g |^c sixte of irlonU/ j^e toitt is our fepng t»i|) 5is cfiiltiren. Sibillc acor= siMiie. tiif f)txto/ |iat %\xti)t tribulacioun is np^e/ in ps bersc : C&allus succuutus aquile bictricia sipa/ i^untms atjorabit/ est bits bix presulc tiigna/ ^apa cito moritur/ ^esar regnatiit bbiquc/ ^ub quo tunc bana ccssabit gloria clcri. \}ti fat trctcn f cs bcrsc of S^ibillc/ alle fat H fiaue seen/ acortien in f is/ fat seculer potoer of f e l^oolg ffioost elispirilr/ 5 fat XXXib €fit last ^ge of tl&e Ci^irrfie. trep/ beniaunce of sfocrtj/ mpscj^cifs bn= iiuolue biforc/ hi fcDj)ic{)e men fes tiaics sc\)\x\t ht ponijS£j)nj/sc!)ulcn fallc for sgnne of prcstis. iltcn scftal fallc on itm/ } caste i)cm out of 5tr fattc bcncficis/ antr fd sc^ulc scDc/ Ibc cam in to Sis benefice bg !)is fiDnrctie/ |ies hi couenant maalr bi= fore/ Ibe for !)is serunse/ j pes for mo-- neye/ cam into Gobtiis Cj^ircSe. |)anne scj)al ecj&e sucfte prest crge/ ^las/ ^las/ t^at no goob spirit tibjclliti bji^ me at mg comnnge into Gobbis C})irc]&e. |>e toorbis of 3Josue 2. c". ft )>ritiJJe. 31 seitre |>at ^rist cntretie into !)ooln f ingis/ fat is fiolg (2[rf)irc{)e/ bn jboly lininnge 5 fiolg Maysterof tccjingc/ prcDngc \)t Jpatiir for bs, -pe schoiys. ^^T[^3stf J jjf Adjoins reljersif/ fc f rititre Cf)e last age of tfje Ctlirc^e. xxxb book of Ijtpngt?/ fc b. c^./ aftir j?e talis of ictnis of Salamon/ \mz toas a stodi balJtJc a btrtJ/ i| f)is bcrb toas speritJ bntitr a bcssel of glas/ anti tubaniu t^is storfi sau bis britr/ J |^at \}t mg^te no]t come to bum/ b^ brou^t a litil rcctr toormc out of toilUirnesse/ 3 b)i|) bis blootr be anoyntitie t)c glas. "Pe glass to barst/ $ f£ briti aege bis toeg. ^o oure Horb j^c jf aliir of beucnc ba^^e manfinntie in belle/ fat toas glaspue/ |iat is to sege britil as glas. ^0 brefie it b^ brou3t sucbe a litil reeti fcoorme/ t^at toas our HortJ gbu €xi%t/ as Baui]? sei)^/ j^e on J twenty ^alme. 2i, Psai. 21. iSgo sum bermis/ 5 non bomo/ ]I am a foorme $ no man/ 9 bjij) \)i^ blootr be tiebuereti mannes lipnbe. 5acarie toriti^^/ zach. 9. V.VXbi ^Tfje las I age of tfie C^irc^P. ])£ nyuf c c{)apitrc/ |^ou ioxsoft b)i|) blooti of foitncssc/ or p testament/ ftast Icbtrc out 6cm ))at lucre tountre in ^e ppt. So to^anne toe fcoeren sgnful/ 5 cj)tltiren of torai^pe/ ©obtrfs sone cam out of fteucne/ (J pregning fits fabir for fits enemrcs/ ij J)e ticyeti for bs f anne/ mpcfic raf ere nolo toe ben maab ri^tful hi ftis bloob scftulc be Rom. V. sauctr, ^oul toriti)^ to \it romapns. b. CO. I^e scf)al prege for bs. Iftus toente into fieuene to apere to pe semlant Heb. 9. of Gotr for bs. ^oul to ft fiebrees. ^e tobicje semlant Se graunte bs to see/ fiat Imtp (J regnc]? toi'i^out eenbe/ amen. NOTES, jBote0. Ow far the foregoing Tract has suffered from the Care- lessness or Ignorance of the Transcriber, it will not be possible to determine, until another Copy shall be discovered. It is the Object of the following Notes to correct some of the more obvious Mistakes, as well as to trace the Historical Origin of the Tract, and to explain its References and Allusions. The Editor has not thought it necessary to pre- serve in every Instance the Contractions of the original Manuscript ; but he has carefully xl Notes. retained the Spelling, even in some Cases where an Error of the Transcriber is evident. The Anglo-Saxon Letters, j) and 3, are used throughout the MS., and are preserved, as being characteristic of the Orthography of the Pe- riod. Page xxiii. line 3. iSojt Saugnge 5tnt jjat opcnlp txit\\ There seems some Error or Omission of the Transcriber here ; but the Allusion is probably to St. Matt. iv. 9. A learned Friend has ingeniously suggested to the Editor, that " nought-having" may mean disregarding, pro nihilo habentes, not fearing, abhorring, or thinking any Harm of him that openly crieth, " all these Things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me;" i. e. not fearing the Demon of Simony. " Avaunce" is Notes, xl perhaps substituted for adoraveris, in order to render the Passage more applicable to Clerical Simony, or Purchase of Preferment. Ibid, line 6. t)ci maike rescruaciouns. The Exactions of the Court of Rome had been made the Subject of Legislation in Eng- land, from the 35 of Edw. I., in which Year (A.D. 1306-7) Petitions were presented to the King from the Nobility and Commonalty of the Realm against the intolerable Exactions of the Pope; {Sujjer variis novis et intollerabi- Ryiey, vin.- lihus gravaiyiinibus, oppressionibus , injiiriis, naJ)-,^'^^" et extorsionihus .... auctoritate etmandato 379. Domini Papce;) and these Petitions were the Occasion of a Statute, passed at a Parliament Statutes &/ held at Carlisle in that Year, whereby the y^'j^''''^"'' Papal Taxation of Abbeys and Religious Zo«rf. is lo, p. 150. xlii Notes. Houses was restrained, and in certain Cases prohibited. In the Year 1350-1, however, (25 Edw, III.) only Six Years before the Date /Ajrf. p. of the Tract before us, the Statute against Gibson's Papal Provisions of Benefices was passed. Codex, p. in which the Pope's Power of presenting to £^lf^ " Benefices in England, in Violation of the Rights of the natural Patrons, was restrained, and the Provisors attached. The Word Reservation seems to be used in the Text to denote the Provisions prohibited by these Acts of Par- liament; — it is thus defined by DuCange: Giossarium, n Hescriptum SBU maudatum summi Ponti- in voc. ■* 1 ^ . Jicis, quo certorum beneficiorum, cum vaca- verint, collationem sihi reservat faciendam cui voluerit, aliis legitimis collatorihus ex- clusisT This is exactly what the Statutes Coke : referred to term Provision. The Word Reser- Part. i. vation, however, is used by our modern Law- ]'2, sect. Authorities in a more general Sense, to denote 215. Notes. xliii a Eent or Profit reserved by the Owner of an Estate or Tenement forh is own Use : and in this Sense the First Fruits or Annates, Tenths, and Pensions, claimed bj the Court of Rome^ are rightly termed Heservations, and in their Origin are clearly Simoniacal : such Pensions, First Fruits, and Tenths being in fact the Price paid to the Court of Rome for Colla- tion, as appears from the Statute 13 Etc. II. Statutes of Stat. 2, c. 2, (A.D. 1389-90,) where after re- ttlufpl^o, citing the Statutes 25 Ed?v. III. and 35 ^i- ^ond. ' Edw. I. the Act goes on to complain : Etja monstre soit a nr. sr. le Roi ^-c. " And now it is shewed to our Lord the King, in this pre- sent Parliament holden at Westminster, at the Utas of the Purification of our Lady, .... by the grievous Complaints of all the Com- mons of his Realm, that the Grievances and Mischiefs aforesaid do daily abound, to the great Damage and Destruction of all this E 2 xliv Notes. Kealm, more than ever were before, viz. that now of late our Holy Father the Pope, by Procurement of Clerks and otherwise, hath reserved, and doth daily reserve to his Colla- tion, generally and especially, as well Arch- bishopricks, Bishopricks, Abbeys, and Prio- ries, as all other Dignities, and other Benefices of England^ which be of the Advowry of Peo- ple of Holy Church, and doth give the same as well to Aliens as to Denizens, and taketh of all such Benefices, the First Fruits, and many other Profits, and a great Part of the Treasure of the said Realm is carried away and dis- pended out of the said Realm by the Purcha- sers of such Graces ; and also by such privy Reservations many Clerks advanced in this Realm by their true Patrons, which have peaceably holden their Advancements by long Time, be suddenly put out : Whereupon, the said Commons have prayed our said Lord the Notes. xlv King, &c." And again, in Statute 6 Hen. IV. (A.D. 1404) cap. 1. Sur la grevouse com- /iirf. p. 4s. pleint, &c. " For the grievous Complaints made to our Sovereign Lord the King by his Commons of this Parliament, holden at Co- ventry, the vj. Day of Octoher, the vj. Year of his Reign, of the horrible Mischiefs and dam- nable Custom which is introduct of new in the Court of Rome, that no Parson, Abbot, nor other, should have Provision of any Arch- bishoprick or Bishoprick, which shall be void, till he hath compounded with the Pope's Chamber, to pay gi-eat and excessive Sums of Money, as well for the First Fruits of the same Archbishoprick or Bishoprick, as for other less Services in the same Court, and that the same Sums, or the greater part there- of, be paid beforehand, &c." Thus it appears that the Exactions of the Papal Court were attracting great Attention xlvi Notes. in England, at the Period when this Tract was written. The ParUament, viewing the Matter as Politicians, denounced the Papal Claims on the Grounds that large Sums of Money were annually sent out of England, and Aliens advanced to spiritual Livings in the Church ; Wyclyffe taking up the Ques- tion as a Theologian, censures these Exactions as Simoniacal, and refers to them as symp- tomatic of the Approach of Antichrist, See Gibson, The Dismes mentioned in the Text are the xxxv^p.^'^' -^^^2'^«<^ Decimarum, or Tenths of all Li- 824. vings, which, with the First Fruits, were ori- Repe/to-"' gi'^^lly claimed by the Pope, although subse- rium, c. quently annexed to the Crown ; and which now jyiiffe, ^orm the Foundation of the Fund called Queen Parergon, Aniie'S BountlJ. The Pensions exacted by the Court of Eome were still more directly Simoniacal : they are thus alluded to in the Preamble of Notes, x^vii an Act passed in the Keign of King Henry stat. 25, VIII., where the Commons, addressing the ^^^CqIj^, King, say: "That where your Subjects of ^(m's Codex, this your Realm, and of other Countries and ^' ' Dominions being under your Obeysance, by many Years past have been, and yet be greatly decayed and impoverished by such intolerable Exactions of great Sums of Money as have been claimed and taken, and yet continually be claimed to be taken out of this your Realm, and other your said Countries and Dominions, by the Bishop of Rome, called the Pope, and the See of Rome, as well in Pensions, Censes, Peter-pence, Procurations, Fruits, Suits for Provisions, and Expeditions of Bulls for Arch- bishopricks and Bishopricks, &c .... It may, therefore, please your most noble Majesty, for the Honor of Almighty God, &c That no Person or Persons of this your Realm, or of any other your Do- xlviii Notes. minions, shall from henceforth pay any Pen- sions, Censes, Portions, Peter-pence, or any other Impositions to the "Use of the said Bi- shop, or of the See of Rome.'' Page xxiv. line 2. smalf. This Word in the MS. is written apparently " samle," which must be an Error. The Edi- tor has ventured to adopt a conjectural Emen- dation, and print it " smale," i. e. sinall. This, at least, will make Sense ; for, the Au- thor's Argument is, that if there were nothing of a Simoniacal Nature in the Reservation of Benefices, the small Benefices would be as often made the Subjects of the Papal Provi- sions and Reservations, as the " fatte" or more valuable Livings ; but the contrary being the Case, it follows that the Income of the Bene- Notes, -^li-^ fice is the real Object, and, therefore, that all these Exactions of the Court of Rome are Si- moniacal in their Origin. Ibid, line 4. 3Joac6ur. An evident mistake of the Scribe for Joa- chim. In another Place, by a different Er- ror, we find the Abbot called Joachrin. See p. xxvi. Ibid. Hn l&is book of ^t sectris of profetfs, (Jc. Whether one Book or more be here referred to seems doubtful. The Editor is disposed to think that three different Works are intended ; —the first, Of the Seedis of Profetis ; the Notes. second, Of the Seyingis of F opes ; and the third, Of the Chargis of Profetis, In ano- ther Place (p. xxvi) we find Joachim quoted "in his Book of the Deedis of Profetis i^ and (p. xxix) ** Joachim in the Book of the Seedis of Prophetis.'''' Again (p. xxx) '* the Bookis" oi Joachim are spoken of in the plu- ral Number, and " the Book Of the Charge of Prophetis'" is quoted, as distinct from the rest. It is probable that the Book of the Seedis of Profetis, and the Book of the Deedis of Profetis, may be the same ; the Word Deedis or Seedis being one or other of them a Mis- take of the Transcriber. If the Word Seedis be correct, the Title of the Work was proba- bly De seminihus prophetarum ; unless we take Seedis, as derived from the Verb to say, for dicta ; for which there seems no Autho- rity, especially as we find Seyingis used to Notes. ii express dicta, in the very Passage before us. From the other Eeading, the Title of the Book would be Dc gestis prophetarum. The Book Of the Seyingis of F opes may, perhaps, be meant for the Liber de Flore of the Abbot vit. Joach. Joachim, which the Author of his Life tells % ^- f*"" ' _ Sanctorum t US was also called De summis pontijicihus. Mail tom. It is quite obvious, however, that if these ^"* P* ^^^' Books contained the Doctrine for which they are quoted by TFycUffe, (viz. that the Year 1400 was to be the Date of the Kevelation of Antichrist,) they could not have been ge- nuine Productions of the Abbot Joachim. The Opinion oi Joachim was, that the Year 1256 would be the Era of the total Extinction of the Christian Church, and that the Triumph of Antichrist was then to commence, and to continue for three Years and a half, counting from the Middle of the Year 1256, to the End of the year 1260. As in the Lines : — lii Notes, MS. Har- Hoc Cistercienni Joachim prcBdixit in anno fo'^n' ?'i"I' ^"^ Saladinus sanctum sibi suhdidit Urhem, 1 280. o. loi. 227, Cumfuerint anni completi mille ducenti, Et sent decies a partu Virginis almce, Tunc Antichristus nascetur demone plenua. Rev. Ki. 3, This Theory was derived from the famous 1260 Days of Prophecy, taking Days for Years, and computing from the Commence- ment of the common Christian Era. But when the Year 1260 passed away and the Prophecy was not fulfilled, the Followers of Joachim attempted to correct the H}^othesis See the Be- of their Master, and many of them (as for Ex- feTsbn^in ^^P^^ the Beguins^ who adopted the Specula- the Liher tions of Peter John de Oliva,) took hold of inqiTs.^To- ^^^ ^^^^ Days o^ Daniel, and from them fixed fc*. pp. 298, upon the Year 1335, as the Date of Ayiti- lished bv chrisfs Destruction. The Editor has not had Limhorch. Access to any of the Remains o^ Peter John's Hist. In- „^ . . , t - • n quisit. vVritmgs, but he is mformed by a learned Notes. liii Friend, in whose Accuracy he has the fullest Confidence, that Peter Jolin^ in his Tracta- Tract, de tus de Antichristo, has fixed upon the Year ^ntichristo, 1356, as the Year of the Revelation, not the ^°^' ^^' ** Destruction, of Antichrist, by adding 9Q, the supposed Date of the Apocalijpse, to 1260. Joachim, however, in greater Conformity with Scripture, made the Termination of the 1260 Days, (or Years, as he considered them,) the Period of the End, not of the Beginning of Antichrist. Our Author's Theory, supported see p. xxvii, by a Cabbalistic Computation from the Let- ^' *^^- ters of the Alphabet, which the Editor has not been able to discover elsewhere, makes the Year 1400 the Era of the Revelation of Anti- christ; and Walter Brute, in 1390, appears Poj'a Acts to have put forward a Conclusion not verv ^"'^ ^^o""" ^ J ments, vol. dissimilar, although maintained on difierent i. p. 545. Grounds. His Argument was drawn from the fggf ^°'' Joachitic Theory of the prophetic Days taken liv Notes. for Years, and from the Supposition that the 1335 Days of Daniel commenced at the Deso- lation of the Temple under Adrian. On the whole then it is unquestionable, that Wycliffe had before him some spurious Pro- ductions of Beguimsm^ circulated under the Name of the Abbot Joachim^ but which could not possibly have been derived from the ge- nuine Writings of that Enthusiast. None of these spurious Books, so far as the Editor's li- mited Means of Research have enabled him to ascertain, have been preserved in our Libra- ries, or are noticed by the Authors who treat of the Doctrines of JoacMm and his Successors. It is evident from p. xxxi, that the Tract before us was composed in or after the Year 1356, the fatal Year of the Revelation of An- tichrist, according to the Followers oi Peter John. Notes. Iv Ibid, line 9. W^z seugntg antr ngnc ciiapitrc. The Passage quoted is taken from the nine- tieth Psalm, as it is numbered in the Latin Vulgate, (ninety-first in our English Version.) The Editor is not aware of any Reason why this Psalm should be referred to as " the se- venty and ninth Chapter," and he is, therefore, constrained to assume, that there is here a Mis- take of the Transcriber, who, perhaps, had before him numeral Letters or Figures, which he read erroneously. The Words referred to are to be found in Verses 5 and 6. Non ti- mehis a timore nocturno. A sagitta volante in die, a negotio peramhularite in tenehris . ah incursu, et dcemonio meridiano. Ivi Notes, Ibid, line 11. ^nti i3£rnartJ accortfi)^ ^txt tuff Opp. s. The Passage here referred to will be found Ertlned ^" ^^* ^^^^(^^d's Works, Serm. xxxiii. in Can. p. 1396. C. tica, num. 14, et seq. Adkuc 7iisi tcedio ""' ^^' fuerit longitudo sermonis, has quatuor ten- tationes tentabo suo ordine assignare ipsi cor- pori Ckristi, quod est Ecclesia. Et ecce quam brevius possum percurro. Videte primitivam Ecclesiam, si nan primo pervasa est acriter nimis a timore nocturno. Erat enim nox, quando omnis qui interjiceret sanctos, arbi- trabatur obsequium se prcEStare Deo. Hac autem tentatione devicta, et sedata tempes- tate, inclyta facta est, et juxia promissionem ad se factam, in brevi posita in superbiam sceculorum, Et dolens inimicus quod frustra- Notes. Ivii tus esset, a timore nocturno convertit se cal- lide ad sagittam volantem in die, et vulneravit in ea quosdam de ecclesia. Et surrexerunt homines vani^ cupidi gloricB, et voluerunt sibi facere nomen : et exeu7ites de ecclesia, dm eamdem matrem suam afflixerunt in diversis et perversis dogmatibus. Sed hcec quoque pestis depulsa est in sapientia sanctorum, si- cut et prima in patientia martyrum. Page 25, line 7. prgui fieresic of sgmongans. Here our Author abandons St. Bernard's In- teqjretation, which expounds negotium peram- bulans in tenebris, not of Simony, but of Hypo- crisy, and Avarice. Serpit hodie putida tabes In Cant. per omne corpus Ecclesice, et quo latius, eo f^'^"?; , V 15. Iviii Notes. desperatius: eoque periculosiuSf quo interius omnes quce sua sunt qucerunt. Mi* 7iistri Christi suntj et serviunt Antichristo. Honorati incedunt de honis Domini^ qui DO' mino honor em nan deferunt. Inde is quern quotidie vides meretricius nitor, kistrionicus habitus, regius apparatus Inde dolia pigmentaria, inde referta marsupia. Pro hujusmodi volunt esse et sunt ecclesia- rumprcepositi, decani, archidiaconi, episcopi, archiepiscopi. Nee enim hcec merito cedunt, sed negotio illi, quod peramhulat in tenehris. Ibid, last line. on Igue. Cant. Talcs. As Chaucer. V. 3041. And here-againes no Creature on live Of no degree availleth for to strive. On live is now contracted or corrupted into Notes, Hx alive. Thus we say, a-coming^ a-saymg, a- hoard, a-purpose, asleep ^ a-way, &c., for on coming, on saying, on board, on purpose, &c. By which it appears that Dr. Wallis is WalUsU mistaken in supposing this Class of Words to Gram. An- be compounded with the Preposition at. zond. 8vo. John Hopkins, in his Version of Psalm i^^^- Ixxvii. 16, has retained the old Form, on trembling, for a-trenibling ; " The Waters, Lord, perceived thee, The Waters saw thee well, And they for Feare away did flee The Depths on trembling fell." Numerous instances will be found in Chau- Cant. Tales. cer, as, ^- 1^89. " On hunting ben they ridden really." and again, ^^'<^- '^• ^ 13666, 7. " He could hunt as the wilde dere, And ride on hauking for the rivere." f2 Notes. Page xxvi. line 2. This Word should probably be haven ; but it is Jiaveth in the MS. In the next Line, " byngynge," for " bygynnynge," is an ob- vious Mistake of the MS. Ibid, line 9. toeren tluo anb ttDcntg JunbrOJtJis of ?ceris. Ey this Date the Writer probably intended the Interval from the Birth of Heher, to the Birth of Christ : which by the Computation of Bede in his Chronicon sive de sex cetati- bus 7)i2mdiy wanted but five Years of 2200, a mere Trifle with such Expounders of Pro- phecy as our Author. Notes, Ixi Ibid, line 12. OBusebi, ^tUty 5 l^ngmountr. The Works here referred to are, proba- bly, the Chronicon of Eusebius, translated 0pp. B. and preserved by St. Jerome ; the venerable ^^^^vUi!"* Bede's Chronicon^ sive de sex cetatibus mun- Ed. Vaiiar- di ; and the Historice Ecclesiastics Brevia- rium, sive de Christianarum rerum memo- ria^ Libb, X. oiHaymo, Bishop o^Halber- stadt, who died A.D. 853. Page xxvii. line 5. fro ^z bcggnnsnge of Hatm Uttris. That is to say, from the Foundation of Rome. The Writer speaks in round Num- bers. Ixii Notes. Ibid, line 15. This Word is perhaps a Mistake of the Transcriber for denied^ i. e. deemed, consi- dered. Page xxviii. line 8. aixlTfesben bersc of .tn. lettre. The Editor has not been able to find these Verses elsewhere. The Letters of the Alpha- bet are represented as Collegce^ or Members of a College, all the rest of whom go forth when the Gates are open ; one only, viz. w, when they are shut. College is for Colleges. Notes. Ixiii Page xxix. line 3. but t)i Selpc o! ^oul This alludes to the well-known Story, told by a great Number of the Antients, of the Destruction of Simon Magus, by the Prayers of Saints Peter and Paul. Sulpitius Seve- Sacrae Hist. rus relates this Event in the following Words : J^' "jmo Etenim turn illustris ilia adversus Sirno- Amstei. nem, Petri ac Pauli congressio fuit. Qui '^' cum magicis artihus, ut se Deum proharet, duobus suffultus dcemoniis evolasset, oratio- nibus Apostolorum fugatis dcemonibus, de- lapsus in terram, populo inspectante dis- ruptus est. The same Account is given by St. Cyrill of Jerusalem ; after stating that Catech. vi. Simon had so far succeeded in deceiving the ^^' Romans, that the Emperor Claudius had erected a Statue to him with the Inscription 1-^iv Notes. Library SIIVinNI ©EH 'AFin, he adds : " The Error tlrl lvo\. spreading, that goodly Pair, Peter and Paul, ii. Transi.) the Rulers of the Church, being present, set j838^p{'''''^' Matters right again ; and on Simon, the sup- 68. posed God, attempting a Display, they straight- way laid him dead. Simon, that is, promised that he should be raised aloft towards Heaven, and accordingly was borne through the Air on a Chariot of Daemons ; on which, the Servants of God falling on their Knees, gave an Instance of that Agreement, of which Matt, xviii. Jesus said, If two of you slmll agree as touching any Thing tluxt they shall ask, it shall be done for them : and reaching the Sorcerer with this Unanimity of their Prayer, they precipitated him to the Earth." 0pp. B. ■f'o^ other Authorities, see the Note of the Cyril, foi. Benedictine Editor oi St. Cyrill, on this Pas- p. 96. ' sage, and Tillemonty Memoires pour servira Notes, Ixy VHistoire Ecclesiastique / Saint Pierre, Tom. i. Art. 34. P- ^^^• Ibid, line 6. (STrist scftal clanse W Cj^ircj^e. In the Original this is, " Chirche schal clanse his Chirche;" the Editor has not hesi- tated to correct so obvious a Mistake. Page xxx. line 1. tftc trcbel of mgtitrag. Demonium meridianum^ alluding to Ps. xc. 6, in the Vulgate. Ibid, line 6. fcojcfore. A Mistake of the MS. for JFherefore, Ixvi Notes, Ibid, line 10. The Word in was omitted by the Original Scribe ; but is added in the MS. by a more recent Hand. Ibid, line 12. 33ctre upon t]be profctis of ^ibilk . This Reference is to some spurious Work attributed to Bede, and which is probably not the same as the Tract De SyhiUis, published Sibyllina among Bede's Works, and also by Joh. Op- \ltt!c(Jl. s^T^^^ Brettanus, at the End of his Edition Aucta, &c of the Sybilline Oracles ; for that Tract does Ops. Bret- ^^^ contain any thing like the Computation tanno, 8vo. from the Latin Letters, for which Bede is Pans, 1607, , ^ -, , . , p. 515. here referred to by our Author. Notes. Ixvii Page xxxi. line 8. Gotitffs cf)ircSe is fountriti in iipnrabe of prelatis. This Expression is illustrated by the Pre- amble of the Statute of Provisors, (25 Edw. statutes of III.): "Whereas late in the Parliament of^^^^^«^^. good Memory oi Edward ^mg of England, ^iq^' Grandfather to our Lord the King that now is, the XXV. \leg. xxxv.] Year of his Keign, cihaon's holden at Carlisle, the Petition heard, put be- Cod^x, p. fore the said Grandfather and his Council, in his said Parliament, by the Communalty of the said Realm, containing: That whereas the Holy Church of England was founden in the Estate of Prelacy, within the Eealm of England f &c." Ixviii Notes. Ibid, line 13. 1ft fcojitfie map M be clepib collibiste. Collybistey from the Greek Word xoAAv/S^ttjj?, which is used St. Matt, xxi. 12, where St. Je- B. Hieron. TOVfie remarks : Sedquia erat lege prcBceptum, xxi 1^" 13 ^^ ^^^0 wswras acciperet, etprodesse non pote- tom.vii. rat pecunia fceneratay quce commodi nihil ha- larsii 4to. ^^^^^j ^l interdum sortem perderet, excogita' Venet. verunt et aliam technam, utpro nummulariis, 1769, Col. ^ „ ,. , . ,. . 162. Collybistas /aceren^, cujus verbi propnetatem Latina lingua non exprimit. Collyba dicun- tur apud eos, quce nos appellamus tragemata, vel vilia munuscula. Verbi gratia, frixi ciceriSj uvarumque passarum, et poma di' versi generis. See also Du Cange, Glossarium, vv. CoUi- bium, Collybista. Notes. Ixix Page xxxii. line 1. sc6al hz scgtr in a manure of carcpnc. Careyne, from the old French, carogne, carrion; " seyd in a manere of carejne," perhaps may mean, '* they shall be spoken of as a Sort of Carrion," unless there be here some Mistake of the Transcriber, which is not improbable. The next Clause, ** thei schal be cast out as dogge in myddis places," is possibly an Allusion to Is. v. 25. Et facta sunt morticinia eormUy quasi stercus in me- dio platearum ; the Word dogge being a Mistake for donge ; and, ''in myddis places" the Author's Version of in medio platearum ; although it is highly probable that myddis is corrupt. Ixx Notes. Ibid, line 3. 5er fa)i|) acorKij) ^amoscnsis. John of Salisbury, called CarnotensiSi be- cause he was Bishop of Chartres, The Pas- Polycrat.^. sage referred to occurs in his Polycraticus, Bat 1639 ^^^^ ^^ Nugis Curialium, Lib. vii. cap, 20. Svo. Si dicas quia ignis per septuaginta annos Babylonicae capfivitatis sub aqua vixerat, demum extinctus est, Antiocho vendente Ja- soni sacerdotium ; ant quod Beatus Gregorius testatur, quia pestilentia et fames, concussio- nes gentiuMj collisiones reg7iorum, et quam- plurima adversa terris proveniunt, ex eo quod honores ecclesiastici ad pretium vel humanam gratiam conferuntur perso)iis non meritis. Jbid.'p. The other Reference (Line 11) is to Lib. viii. ^>^^' cap. IS. Nametpeccata populifaciunt reg- Notes. Ixxi nave hxjpocritam, et sicut Regum testatur his- toritty defectus sacerdotum, in populo Dei, ty^ rannos induxit. Ibid, line 10. A Mistake probably for hen geve, i. e. been given. Ibid, line 16. allc cj^iltrren bornx ^i^^txi ^t first pestiknce, (Jc. The Year 1348 and two following Years See Bocca- are recorded in all our Chronicles, as remarka- '"^ ^^^^' ble for a most formidable Pestilence which Giornll^^^. devastated Europe, and is said to have been attended with this singular Circumstance, that the Children born after the Pestilence Ixxii Notes. Caxton^s Chronicle, fol. Lond. 1528, fol. c.xxiii.a. had begun, were found to be deficient in the usual Number of Teeth. It may be enough to quote from our English AnnaUsts, the Chronicle of Caxton. Speaking of the 23rd Year of King Edward the Third, the Histo- rian says : *' IF And in the xxiij Yere of his Regne, in y^ East Partyes of the Worlde, there began a Pestylence and Deth of Sara- syns and Paynyms, that so grete a Deth was never herde of afore, and that wasted away the People, so that unneth the tenth Per s one was left alive. IF And in the same Yere, about y^ South Countrees there fell so moche Rayne, and so grete Waters, that from Chryst- masse unto Mydsomer there was unnethes no Daye nor Nyght but that rayned somewhat, through which Waters y*^ Pestilence was so enfected, and so haboundant in all Countrees, and namely, about y^ Court of Rome, and other Places, and See Costes, that unneth Notes. Ixxlii there were lefte lyiiyng Folke for to bury them honestly y^ were deed. But made grete Diches and Pyttes y"^ were wonders brode and depe, and therin buryed them, and made a Renge of deed Bodyes, and cast a lytell Erth to couer them aboue, and than cast in another Renge of deed Bodyes, and another Renge aboue them. And thus were they buryed, and none other wyse, but yf it were so y^ they were Men of grete Estate, so that they were buryed as ho- nestly as they myght." And again, *' And in Fol. cxxiii. this same Yere," [24 Edw. III.] " and in the ^' Yere afore, and in the Yere nexte folowynge, was so grete a Pestylence of Men from the Eest in to the West, and namely through Botches, y^ they that sekened, as on this Daye, dyed on the thyrde Daye after, to y* whiche Men y^ so dyed in this Pestylence had but lytell Respyte of theyr Lyggynge. Than Pope Clement of his Goodnes and Grace, G Ixxiv Notes. gave them full Eemyssyon and Forgyuenes of all theyr Synnes that they were shryuen of, and this Pestylence lasted in London fro Mi- ghelmasse vnto August nexte followynge, al- most an hole Yere. And in these Dayes was Deth without Sorowe, Weddynges without Frendshyp, wylful Penaunce, and Berth with- out Scarsete, and Fleynge w^out Refute or Sucour, for many fledde from Place to Place bycause of the Pestylence, but they were in- fected, and might not escape y^ Deth, after y^ y^ Propbete Isaie sayth, Who that fleeth fro the Face of Drede, he shall fall into the Dyche. And he y*^ wyndeth him out of y' Dyche, he shall be holden and tyed with a Grenne. But whan this Pestylence was cesed, as God wolde, unnethes y** tenth Parte of the People was left on lyue. IF And in y* same Yere began a wonders thynge, that all y* were borne after y^ Pestylence had two Notes, 1-A'v Cheketethe in ther Heed lesse than they had afore." HolUnshed records in like Manner the Chron. suh. Fact of the Pestilence, and the Desolation ^"j jj^ ' caused by it throughout jEe<;'<9/>^. Of Lo?^c^o?^ 378-9. he says that the Death " had bin so great and vehement within that Citie, that over and be- side the Bodies buried in other accustomed burieng Places, (which for their infinit Num- ber cannot be reduced into Account), there were buried that Yeare" [viz. 1350] " dailie, from Candlemasse till Easter, in the Charter- house Yard of Xow6?o?2, more than two hun- dred dead Corpses." He also notices the Fact of the Children wanting Teeth, but he makes the Defect to be four, not two " cheke Teeth," as Caxton's Chronicle stated: " 1" This Yeare ^^'^'l- P- 379. in August died Fhilip de Valois the French King. Here is to be noted, that all those that were borne after the Beginning of that G 2 'i^xvi Notes. great Mortalitie whereof ye have heard, wanted foure cheke Teeth (when they came to the time of Growth) of those 32 which the People before that Time commonUe vsed to have, so that they had but 28." Our Author, it will be observed, differs from HolUnshed in making the Defect "eight grete Teeth," and in this he has the Authority of the second Continuator of the Chronicle of D'Achery, WiU'iam tie Nangis^ published by D'Achery Spicileg. jj^ |-^jg Spicilegium ; a Narrative which appa- tom. iii. p. •, ^ c, o 1-1 109, sq. parently has been the Source from which many of our English Chroniclers have borrowed. It contains a very minute History of this me- morable Pestilence, \vith several curious Par- ticulars not mentioned by other Writers. The Author endeavours to account for the Plague by supposing the Explosion of a Comet, whose sudden Evaporation, he suggests, may have disseminated in the Atmosphere pestilential Notes. 1-^-^^'^^ Vapours. He tells us also that the Jews were suspected of having poisoned the Fountains, and that many of them were in consequence put to Death, and burnt, in various Places. The circumstance of the Children born with a smaller Number of Teeth is thus recorded : — Cessanie auiem dictd epidemid, pestilentidj Ib'uL\^. IIO. etmortalitate,nupserunt viri qui remanserunt et mulieres ad invicem, conceperunt uxores residues per mundum ultrd, modum, nulla ste^ rilis efficiehatur, sed prcegnantcs hinc hide videhantur, et plures geminos pariebant^ et aliqnce tres infantes insimul vivos emitte- bant; sed qiiod ultra modum admirationem facit, est quod dicti pueri nati post tempus illud mortalitatis supradictce^ et deincepSy dum ad (Btatem dentium devenerimt, non nisi viginti dentes vel viginti duos in ore commu- niter habuerunt, cum ante dicta tempora ho- mines de co?nmuni cursu triginta duos dentes, S2(b et supra, simul in mandibulis habuissent. Quid autem numerus iste dentium in post natis signi/icetf multum miror, nisi dicatuvy quod per talem et tantam mortalitatem homi- num infinitorum et successionem aliorum et reliquorum qui remanserantf mundus est quo- dammodo renovatus et seczilum, ut sic sit qucedam nova cetas ; sed proh dolor ! ex hujus renovatione seculi non est mundus prop- ter hoc in melius commutatus. Nam homines fuerunt postea magis avari et tenaces^ cum multo plura bona quam antea possiderent ; magis etiam cupidi, et per lites brigas et rixas atque per placita seipsos conturbantes, nee per hujusmodi terribilem mortis pest em a Deo inflictam fuit pax inter Reges et dominos re- formata, quinimo inimici Regis Francice ac etiam guerrcB Ecclesice fortiores et pejores quam ante per mare et per terram suscitave- runtj et mala ampliora ubique pulhdarunt. Notes, ixxix Et quod iterum mirahilefuit ; nam cum omnis abundantia omnium bonorum esset, cuncia tamen cariora in duplofuerunt^ tarn de rebus utensilibus, quam de victualibuSj ac etiam de mercimoniis et mercenariis et agricolis et servis, exceptis aliquibus hereditatibus et do- mibus quce superflue remanserant his diebus, Charitas etiam ab ilia tempore refrigescere coepit valde, et iniquitas abundavit cum igno- rantiis et peccatis : nam pauci inveniebantur qui scirent aut vellent in domibus, villis, et castris, informare pueros in grammaticalibus rudimentis. The Allusion contained in the Tract before us to the Circumstance of the Children want- ing Teeth, may possibly be urged as an Ob- jection to the early Date of 1350, which it claims for itself. For if this Circumstance of the Want of Teeth be a Fable, it is not proba- ble that it could so soon have become current ; 1-^xx js^otes. and if on the other hand it be true, it seems hardly possible that the Fact could have been ascertained in 1350, respecting all Children born si7ice the first Pestilence, i. e. since 1348. However, it is possible that by the Jirst Pestilence our Author may have alluded, not to that of 1348, but to that of 1340, which De event, is thus described by Knighton, under that Anglue. Year : ^^ In cestate scilicet an7io &-ratice ^j.ccc.xL.j (Apud X. ^ ^ ° Script.) accidit qucedam execrabilis et enormis infirmi- tas in Anglia quasi communis^ et prcecipue in comitatu Leicestriae, adeo quod durante pas- sione homines emiserunt vocem latrabilem ac si esset latratus canums etfuit quasi intolerahilis pcena durante passione. Exinde fuit magna pestilentia hominum." It is no Doubt a Difficulty that the Continu- ator of William de Nangis and other Chro- niclers, represent the Phenomenon of the Want of Teeth as the Consequence of the Pestilence Notes. Lxxxi of 1348, but the Story may have originated at the former Period, although later Writers re- corded it in Connexion with the more recent and more formidable Pestilence. The Editor, however, leaves this Question to be decided by future Kesearch, and by Judges more competent than himself. It is not impossible that the whole Passage in which See p. xxxi. the Date of " thrittene hundrid yere and sixe and fifty" has been given, may prove to be a Quotation from the Book referred to under the Title of " Joachim in the Book of the Seedis of Profetis," and if so, the Tract be- fore us must of course be the Production of a later Period. Page xxxiii. line 1. i^erlin Ambrose. For the History of Merlijn^ see Geoffrey of Ixxxii Notes. Afotimouth^s Historia Regum Britannice, Lib. vi. c. 17, 18. The famous Prophecy oiMerlyn will be found in Lib. vii. c. 3, 4. It has also been repeatedly published in a separate Form, with the Commentaries in seven Books of Alanus de Insults. Ibid, line 3. of f e mi}sc!)cif. In the original MS. these Words are re- peated, ^^ in 'the tyme of the myscheif of the myscheif of the Kok ;" the Editor did not deem it necessary to retain so obvious a Mis- take of the Transcriber. Ibid, line 5. 1ft si.xtc of irlonb. This Personage is mentioned in numerous Notes. Ixxxiii Prophecies circulated under the Names of MevlyUy GildaSy Robert of Bridlington, Sybill, and others, in the fourteenth and fifteenth Centuries, many of which appear to have had their Origin in the Prophecy of i^/(??%7i, pre- served by Geoffrey of Monmouth, already re- ferred to, where we find " the sixte oilrlond" thus noticed : — Sextus Hiberniae mcenia subvertet, et nemora Golf. Muti- in planitiem mutabit : Diversas portiones in *^!^"'^"- "''• unum reducetf et cajnte leonis coronahitur. Rer. BHt- The following Collection of Prophecies re- J","'/p"fo. latinsf to Sextus of Ireland, is from a MS. Heidelb. 1587 written about the Middle of the Fourteenth Century, and preserved in the Library of Trinitif College, Dublin. Iste sunt prophetie diuerse a diuersis pro- Cod. MS. in phetate de Sexto Hibernie, qui vacatur Dominus gg ^^.j^ * [here there is an erasure in the MS.] JRex An- Dubl. Cl. B. glie et Francie et Sextus Dominus Hibernie, de ^"^^^^ 209! Ixxxiv Notes. quo Prophetie sunt notate. Hermerus Dominus sapientum. Anno a Creatione mundi sex Vid C ifi ^^-^^^ ^^ iiii.^'^ Lilium regnans in nohiliore altera Chro- muncli mouehit se contra senem leonem, et veniet Nancris^ a ^ ^"' ^^*'^'"^ ^^^^* inter spinas vegni sui, et cir- Dacherii cumdahit Jilium leo7iis illo anno ferens feras in \^\ where b^^<^chio suo. Cuius regnum erit in teri^a lune thisProphe- Umendus per vniuersum mundum potestate cy is attri- ... 7. huted to agentis pr^incipalts, cum magno exercitu suo Johannes de transiet aquas et srradietur in terram leonis Muis. ..,..,. . . carentis auxilio^ quia bestie regioms sue lam dentibus suis eius pellem dilaceraverint. Illo anno veniet Aquila a parte orientali, alis ex- tensis super solem^ cum multitudine pullorum suorum, in adiutorium Filii hominis. Illo anno Aquila destymetur. Amor magnus erit in mundo. Una die in quadain 2^(irte leonis erit helium inter pluy^es reges crudeles, quod usque ad diem ilium non viderunt homines ; ilia die erit sanguinis diluvium^ et perdet Lilium coro' Notes. nam solis, quam accepit Aquila, de qua Filius hominis postmodum coronahitur. Per quatuor annos sequentes Jient multa in mundo prelia inter omnes homines Jidem ienentes, quia illo tempore credenda sunt. Omnia tunc erint communia. Maior pars mundi destruetur^ caput mundi erit ad terram declinatum. Filius hominis et Aquila relevahunt ille [sic], et tunc erit pax in toto orhe terrarum, et copiafruc- tuum., et filius hominis mare tirinsiet, etportabit signum mirahile ad te7'ram promissionis, sed prima causa sibi permissa remanebit. Item versus illius sompniatoris viri religiosi, per quos versus cognoscitur Sextus Hiberniae. Illius imperium gens barbara senciet ilium, Eoma volet tanto principe digna did, Conferet hie ^orae plus laudis quam sibi Eoma, Phis dabit hie orbi quam dabit orbis ei. Vers7is vaticinales de Normannia, de eodem Sexto. Anglia transmittet Leopardum lilia Galli, \xxxv Ixxxvi Notes. Qui 2^ede calcalit Cancrum cum fratre sii- perbo, Ungues diripient Leopardi Gallica regna., Circulus inuictus circumdahit undeperihunt. Anglia regnahit, Y^LSCOwm porta redibit Ad luga consueta Leopardi Flandria magna Flumina concipient que confundent gene- tricem. Lilia marcescent^ Leopardi posse vigebit, Ecclesie sub quo libertas prima redibit. Hide Babilon veniet truces aras non teret omnes, Aeon iQvwsdilem. Leopardi p)osse redempte., Ad cultum fidei gaudebunt se reditiwas, Imperium mundi sub quo dabit hie heremita. Versus cuiusdem nomine Gildas, per quantum tern- pus regnahit idem Sextus. Ter tria lustra tenent cum semi tempora Sexti, En vagus in primo perdct, sub fine resumet^ Notes. Ixxxvii Mulia rap'it medio volitans sub fine secundi, Orbem suhmittct reliquo, clerumque rediicet Ad statum primum, post hoc renouat loca sancta Ilinc terram spernens secundo ether e scandit. In another MS. in the Library of Trinity Cod. MS. in College, Dublin, there is preserved a Pro- gg 'r^^?^ ' phecy in which Sextus of Ireland is also Dubl. Class. mentioned, and which, as the Editor is in- y^ Jo fo'i. formed by his learned Friend John Holmes^ xiiii. Esq., of the British Museum, occurs also in the Arundel MS. bl , fol. 4, b., where it is entitled,'^ F^ersusGyldedeProphetiaAquile." It will suffice to quote from this Prophecy the Lines where Sextus is mentioned. Sextus Hybernensis inilleno 9nilite cinctus, Hostibus expulsis castra relicta petet, Menia subversa vix antrix apta ferarum Pinget et ciectus bubo necabit apem. Ixxxviii Notes. Ibid. pc toitt IS out lifng toip i)is cfiiltan. " The ivitt,'' i. e. the Meaning; alluding probably to the Interpretation given of this part of the Prophecy by Alanus de Insulis, who supposes the then reigning King Henry II. and his Sons to be intended ; his Words are : — Prophetia Henricus Old nunc in Anglia reg?iat, quinque Anglicana . _ . . vii. Libris Jihos suscepit ex liegma conjuge sua, quorum explana- unus mortuus est, quatuor vero supersunt. tionum ■' Alani de Habuit et sextuTJi ex concubina, qui clericus F"an""f est^magncB, ut aiimtjuxta (Blate?n,probitatis. 1603. 12"'°. Hie itaque vel sextus dicetur Henrici Regis ' Jilius, si mortuus ille quern habuit ex Regina inter alios computetur, vel quintus, si soli superstites a propheta numerantury et alius adhuc expectandus, quern hie Sexturn appellat. Possumus tamen sextum istum vitelligere^ qui in Anglia regnaturus sit post quatuor istos, Notes. Ixxxix et alium quintum quicunque ille sit, hoc est sive istorum frater, sive non, de quo dicitur quod Hyberniae sit mcenia subversurus, ex- cisurus nemora, et in planitiem inutaturus diversas portiones, id est regna diversa, non est enim unum regnum, sed plura, ad unum regnum reducturus, ejusque coronam, assumpta feritate et fortitudine leunina, suo capite im- positurus. Ibid, line 9. Sbibille accorlri|) Ijcrto. The Verses of <* Sibille" here quoted are to be found in a large Collection of other Prophecies of the same character, in a Manuscript of the four- Cod. Ms. teenth Century, preserved in the Library of Tri- 'J! ^'^''^J^ 7iity College, Dublin. The Editor is also enabled, Trin. D.ii.- through the Kindness of Mr. Holmes, to give Tab^'IriJ^* here a complete Copy of them from the Cotiun l^'- H xc Notes. MS. Claud. B. vii., collated with the Arundel MS. 57, fol. In this latter MS. which is written, as Mr. Holmes conjectures, in a Hand of about the Year 1350, and also in the Dub- lin MS. the Line TerrcB motus, Sfc. comes im- mediately before the Line Millenis ducentenis. The other various Readings are given in the Margin; A. denoting the Arundel, and D. the Dublin Manuscript. ^Deesttitul. " Sybilla de eventihus regnorum et eonun Regum in Cod. Drib- ante finem jnundi." =* Gallorum ^e?2?7as Germanos iustificabit, Italiae gravltas Gallos confusa necabit. cumbet^^A*^" Succujnbet Gallus^, Aquilae victricia^ siyna D. Mundus adorabit,^ erit urbs sub ^ presule *■ Victoria. D. ,. •^ Abhorre- digna. bit. D. Millenis ducentenis nonaginta sub annis, ^Aliis. D. ^i tribus^ adiunctis, consurget aquilagrandis. Notes, xci Terr* rW'^^inmef. ':t'm%'rf Theological Semmary-Speer Library 1 1012 01145 2960 \:.-.';«1 >>^J>'