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Vol. Ill, No. 6.
Translations and Reprints
FROAV THE
Original Sources of European History

THE PRE-REFORMATION PERIOD
Edited by James Harvey Robinson, Ph.D.,
Professor of Histoiy in Columbia University.

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Translations and Reprints
FROM THE
ORIGINAL SOURCES OF EUROPEAN HISTORY.
Voi,. III. The Pre-Reformation Period. No. 6.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PAGE
I. Early Consciousness of the Abuses in the Church.
i. The Revelation of Golias the Bisshoppe  2
2. Walther von der Vogelweide on the Pope  5
3. From Raimond de Cornet  5
II. Heresy and the Inquisition (XIII. -XIV. Centuries).
1. Tale of Heresy from Luke of Tuy  8
2. Description of the Albigenses  9
3. Petrarch's account of certain Averroists  10
4. Edict of Frederick II. (123 1 )  12
5. Extracts from the Sachsenspiegel and Schwabenspiegel
relating to Heresy.  14
6. Edicts of Saint Louis  L5
7. Formulae of the Inquisition  16
8. Thomas Aquinas on the Treatment of Heresy. . 17
III. Church and State.
1. The Bull Unam Sanctam (1302)  20
2. The Bull Clericis Laicos (1296)  23
3. The Imperial Law Licet Juris (1338)  25
IV. The Council of Constance and its Antecedents.
1. A Letter of Petrarch on the Papal Court at Avignon . 27
2. Extract from Dietrich Vrie's History of the Council of
Constance  2^
3. Extract from the "Downfall of the Church " by C16-
manges   29
4. The Decrees "Sacrosancta" and "Frequens" of the
Council of Constance  31
5. List of Abuses drawn up at Constance  32
V. Bibliographical Notice  33

2 translations and reprints.
I. EARLY CONSCIOUSNESS OF ABUSES IN THE CHURCH.
Those who study the Protestant Revolt sometimes forget that it was not left for
Luther first to point out the abuses in the Church. The verses given below show how
general was the discontent with the conduct of the ecclesiastical officials and how out
spoken the criticism of them from the pope down , which may be found in the popular
literary productions of England, Prance, and Germany in the twelfth, thirteenth, and
fourteenth centuries.
(i) The first extracts are from a poem not improbably composed by a very clever
churchman, Walter Mape or Mapes, who was a member of the literary circle which
Henry II. of England gathered about him. It is but one of a great number of Latin
poems originating at the same period, " remarkable chiefly for pungency of satire or
sprightliness of composition." They were the work of university men, and show us
that the Church never succeeded in checking, at least among the educated, the most
open and scornful strictures upon the clergy.
The poet is represented as caught up into heaven, where he sees visions suggested
by the Apocalypse of St. John. The translation here given is one made under Eliza
beth or a little later.
(2) The second extract is by a celebrated German poet who was probably some
what younger than his contemporary, Mapes, and wrote at the very end of the twelfth
or the opening of the thirteenth century.
(3) The last example of acrid criticism comes from France, and belongs to a period
a hundred or more years later than the first two. The author was Raimon de Cornet.
I. THE REVELATION OF GOLIAS THE BISSHOPPE.
From the Latin poems attributed to Walter Mapes, edited by Thomas Wright,
Camden Society's Publications, London, 1841, pp. 271 sqq.
[After a burst of thunder a " goodlie personage " appears and bids
the poet " Marke well and undirstand."]
And when he had thus done he did bringe out a booke,
Whiche booke had titles seven, and seven sealles sealled well,
And withe a stedfast eye badde me therein to looke,
And se therbie what I to all the world should tell.
Of bisshopes' life and trade, this book hathe right good skill,
As by the sealles thereof more plainlie dothe appeare,
For in the inner part is hidd all that is ill,
But to the outeward shewe all godlie thinges appeare.
Anon a certaine power there was that opened cleare
The formost chapter's seale, and then I did espie
Foure beasts, whose shape eche one unlike to other were,
But nothinge yet at all in gesture contrarie.

EARLY CONSCIOUSNESS OF ABUSES IN THE CHURCH.
The first of theise four beasts a lion semde to be,
The secund like a caulfe, the third an eagle stout,
The fourthe was like a man ; and they had wings to flie,
And full of eyen they were, and turnd like wheeles about.
And when unclosed was the first sealles knotte anon,
And I perused well the chapter thorough cleare,
And aftir that I bent my whole sight thereupon,
Whereof the title was as here it may appeare.
The lion is the Pope, that useth to devoure,
And laiethe his bookes to pledge and thirsteth aftir gold,
And dothe regard the marke, but sainct Marke dishonor,
And while he sailes alofte on coyne takes anker holde.
And to the Bisshoppe in the caulfe that we did se,
For he dothe runne before in pasture, feild, and fenne,
And gnawes and chewes on that where he list best to be,
And thus he filles himselfe with goodes of other men.
Th' Archdeacon is likewise the egell that dothe flie,
A robber rightlie cald, and sees a-farre his praie,
And aftir it with speed dothe follow by and by,
And so by theft and spoile he leades his life awaie.
The Deane is he that hathe the face and shape of man,
Withe fraude, desceipt, and mile fraught full as he may be,
And yet dothe hide and cloke the same as he best can,
Undir pretence and shewe of plaine simplicitie.
And theis have winges to flye, eche one of these said foure,
Because they flye abrode, and lie about affaires,
And they have eyes eche one, because that everye houre
They looke about for gaine, and all that may be theires.

Then boisterous wyndes arose, and earthequakes by and by
And there was harde a voice of thunder from above,
That sounded Ephata, which woorde dothe signifie
An openinge, and anon the fifthe seale did remove.

4 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS,
When I the chapter sawe I reade the preface than,
And there the life and trades of priestes I marked well,
Which doe dishonor God, that all thinges first beganne,
Whiles for one penyes gaine the Trinitie they sell.
Full filthelie the priest dothe service celebrate
Withe voyce, and breathes on God his surfet's belchinge cheere;
And hathe twoo Latin names, but not bothe of one rate,
Sacerdos is the one, the other's Presbiter.
He cannot brooke as well Sacerdos name by right,
For by the other name men ought to call him more,
When he gives holie thinges then he Sacerdos hight,
But Presbiter when he hathe drunck well thrise before.
He is more bolde to synne, because he heares in Lent
The people's greivous crymes, and all their synnes at large,
And all the faultes for whiche they ought for to be shent,
And thus he countes his owne to be of smallest charge.
[The doings of abbots and monks are next revealed to the poet.]
And when the Abbat dothe amonge his bretheren suppe,
Then tossed are the cuppes with quaffinge to and froe,
And then with bothe his handes the wine he holdeth uppe,
And with a thunderinge voice these wordes he doth out blowe :
" O how muche glorious is the lordes lamp so bright,
The cuppe in strong man's hande, that makes men druncke I meane.
O Baccus, god of wyne ! our covent guyde aright,
Withe fruict of Daviddes stocke to wash us thoroughlie cleane."
And aftir this the cuppe he takethe from the breade,
And cryes alowde, " Ho ! sires, can yow as well as I
Drincke this cuppe in his kind that I lift to my heade?"
They answer, " Yea, we can," then goe to by and by.
6)6 vfc vff vfc tIp ^1t
Then of a moncke a right demoniacke is made,
And everie moncke dothe chatte and jangle with his brother,
As popingaye or pie, the which are taught this trade,
By filling of their gorge, to speake one to an other.

EARLY CONSCIOUSNESS OF ABUSES IN THE CHURCH. K
Their order to transgresse, thei have but small remorce,
By fraude and perjurie, by missreport and spite,
By gredines of mynde, withholdinge thinges by force,
By filling of their pawhches, and fleshlie fowle delight.
Wurse than a moncke there is no feende nor sprite in hell,
Nothinge as covetuouse nor more straunge to be knowen,
For yf yow give him ought, he maie possesse it well,
But if you aske him ought, then nothinge is his owne.
2. WALTER VON DER VOGELWEIDE ON THE PRACTICES OF THE POPES.
Mr. Henry C. Lea's version, in his " History of the Inquisition," Vol. I., pp. 54 -53.
St. Peter's chair is filled to-day as well
As when 'twas fouled by Gerbert's sorcery * ;
For he consigned himself alone to hell,
While this pope thither drags all Christentie.
Why are the chastisements of Heaven delayed?
How long wilt thou in slumber lie, O Lord?
Thy work is hindered and thy word gainsaid,
Thy treasurer steals the wealth that thou hast stored.
Thy ministers rob here and murder there,
And o'er thy sheep a wolf has shepherd's care.
3. RAIMON DE CORNET'S DESCRIPTION OF THE ABUSES IN THE CHURCH,
Mr. Lea's version, in his " History of the Inquisition," Vol. I., pp. 55-56.
I see the pope his sacred trust betray,
For while the rich his grace can gain alway,
His favors from the poor are aye withholden.
He strives to gather wealth as best he may,
Forcing Christ's people blindly to obey,
So that he may repose in garments golden.
The vilest traffickers in souls are all
His chapmen, and for gold a prebend's stall
He'll sell them, or an abbacy or mitre.
And to us he sends clowns and tramps who crawl
Vending his pardon briefs from cot to hall —

* The famous scholar and friend of kings and emperors, Gerbert, became pope in
999, assuming the name Sylvester II. His learning caused him to be suspected of
sorcery.

TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
Letters and pardons worthy of the writer,
Which leaves our pokes, if not our souls, the lighter.
No better is each honored cardinal.
From early morning's dawn to evening's fall,
Their time is passed in eagerly contriving
To drive some bargain foul with each and all.
So if you feel a want, or great or small,
Or if for some preferment you are striving,
The more you please to give the more 'twill bring,
Be it a purple cap or bishop's ring.
And it need ne'er in any way alarm you
That you are ignorant of everything
To which a minister of Christ should cling,
You will have revenue enough to warm you —
And, bear in mind, the lesser gifts won't harm you.
Our bishops, too, are plunged in similar sin,
For pitilessly they flay the very skin
From all their priests who chance to have fat livings.
For gold their seal official you can win
To any writ, no matter what's therein.
Sure God alone can make them stop their thievings.
'Twere hard, in full, their evil works to tell,
As when, for a few pence, they greedily sell
The tonsure to some mountebank or jester,
Whereby the temporal courts are wronged as well,
For then these tonsured rogues they cannot quell,
Howe'er their scampish doings may us pester,
While round the church still growing evils fester.
Then as for all the priests and minor clerks,
There are, God knows, too many of them whose works
And daily life belie their daily teaching.
Scarce better are they than so many Turks,
Though they, no doubt, may be well taught — it irks
Me not to own the fulness of their teaching —
For, learned or ignorant, they're ever bent
To make a traffic of each sacrament,
The Mass's holy sacrifice included ;

HERESY AND THE INQUISITION, XIII. AND XIV. CENTURIES.
And when they shrive an honest penitent,
Who will not bribe, his penance they augment,
For honesty should never be obtruded —
But this, by sinners fair, is easily eluded.
'Tis true the monks and friars make ample show
Of rules austere which they all undergo,
But this the vainest is of all pretences.
In sooth, they live full twice as well, we know,
As e'er they did at home, despite their vow,
And all their mock parade of abstinences.
No jollier life than theirs can be, indeed ;
And specially the begging friars exceed,
Whose frock gran ts license as abroad they wander.
These motives 'tis which to the Orders lead
So many worthless men, in sorest need
Of pelf, which on their vices they may squander,
And then, the frock protects them in their plunder.

II. HERESY AND THE INQUISITION, XIII. AND XIV.
CENTURIES.
Nothing is more difficult for the student in our tolerant, if not indifferent age, than
to understand the universal and deeply rooted horror of heresy which prevailed not
only during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, but down, at least, to the
eighteenth century. Heresy was treason against an institution which was regarded
by practically the whole body of the people, both learned and unlearned, as not only
essential to the salvation of the soul but as a necessary bulwark of all order and
civilization. Frank criticism of the abuses of the Church has prevailed among the
more conscientious and cultivated classes from the first. But it must be remembered
that a consciousness of the wickedness of the individual officers of the Church, includ
ing even the pope himself, did not constitute heresy, any more than a criticism of the
administration of a corrupt municipal "ring " constitutes a repudiation of government
altogether. Many still hold that the "incendiary" propaganda of an anarchist
should be checked. So it was generally agreed that the treason of a Wycliff or a
Huss against God and His holy church on earth should be met by the prompt execu
tion of the offender. The following documents show how cordially the temporal
rulers co-operated with the church in the detection and punishment of what was
looked upon as the most horrible of all crimes. The legislation here given covered
the greater part of western Europe, and was drawn up under the auspices of its most

8 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
enlightened rulers. The simple monk," the theologian, the monarch, the finished
scholar like Petrarch, all express the same horror of this offense.
I. THE BODY OF A BURNT HERETIC TURNS INTO TOADS.
Lucae Tudensis Episcopi De Altera Vita, lib. III., chap. 15, in Magna Bibliotheca
Veterum Patrum (Ed. Coloniae Agrippinae, 1618) : vol. xiii., p 283. Latin.
From the lips of the same brother Elias, a venerable man, I learned
that when certain heretics were scattering the virulent seeds of error in
parts of Burgundy, both the Preaching Friars and the Minorites drew
the two-edged sword of God's word against these same heretics,
opposing them valiantly until they were finally taken by the magistrate
of the district. He sent them to the fiery stake as they merited, in
order that these workers of iniquity should perish with their wicked
ness as a wholesome lesson to others. Quantities of wood having been
supplied in plenty to feed the flames, suddenly a toad of wonderful size,
which is sometimes called crapaldus, appeared, and without being
driven betook itself of its own accord into the midst of the flames.
One of the heretics, who was reported to be their bishop, had fallen
on his back in the fire. The toad took his place on this man's face
and in the sight of all ate out the heretic's tongue. By the next day
his whole body, except his bones, had been turned into disgusting
toads, which could not be counted for their great number. The in
habitants, seeing the miracle, glorified God and praised Him in His
servants, the preaching monks, because the Lord had, in His mercy,
delivered them from the horror of such pollution. God omnipotent
surely wished to show through the most unseemly and filthiest of
animals, how foul and infamous are the teachings of heretics, so that
all might thereafter carefully shun the heretic, as they would the
poisonous toad. Just as among four-footed creatures the toad is held
the foulest, so the teachings of the heretic are more debased and filthy
than those of any other religious sect. The blindness of heresy justifies
the perfidy of the Jews. Its pollution makes the madness of the
Mohammedans a pure thing in contrast. The licentiousness of the
heretics would leave Sodom and Gomorrah stainless. What is held
most enormous in crime, becomes most holy, when compared with the
shame and ignominy of heresy. Thus, Dear Christian, flee this un
speakable evil, in comparison with which all other crimes are as trifles.
* See a diverting tale by Caesar Heisterbach to illustrate this in Translations and
Reprints, Vol. II., No. 4, " Monastic Tales," pp. 9 sg.

HERESY AND THE INQUISITION, XIII. AND XIV. CENTURIES. 9
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE ALBIGENSES.
B. Guidonis, Pratica Inquisitionis Heretice Pravitatis, Pars V., Chap. I., Sec. 4. Latin.
It would take too long to describe in detail the manner in which
these same Manichean heretics preach, and teach their followers, but
it must be briefly considered here.
In the first place they usually say of themselves that they are good
Christians, who do not swear, or lie, or speak evil of others ; that they
do not kill any man or animal nor any thing having the breath of life,
and that they hold the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Gospel
as Christ and His Apostles taught. They assert that they occupy the
place of the apostles, and that on account of the above mentioned
things those of the Roman Church, namely, the prelates, clerks and
monks, persecute them, especially the Inquisitors of Heresy, and call
them heretics, although they are good men and good Christians, and
that they are persecuted just as Christ and his apostles were by the
Pharisees. They moreover talk to the laity of the evil lives of clerks and the pre
lates of the Roman Church, pointing out and setting forth their pride,
cupidity, avarice and uncleanness of life and such other evils as they
know. They invoke with their own interpretation and according to
their abilities the authority of the Gospels and the Epistles against the
condition of the prelates, churchmen and monks, whom they call Phari
sees and false prophets, who say but do not.
Then they attack and vituperate, one after the other, all the sacra
ments of the church, especially the sacrament of the Eucharist, saying
that it cannot contain the body of Christ, for had this been as great
as the largest mountain Christians would have consumed it entirely
before this. They assert that the host comes from straw, that it
passes through the tails of horses, to wit, when the flour is cleaned by
a sieve [of horse hair]. That moreover it passes through the body
and comes to a vile end which, they say, could not happen if God
were in it. Of baptism, they assert that water is material and corrupt
ible, and is therefore the creation of the Evil Power and cannot sanctify
the soul, but that the churchmen sell this water out of avarice, just as
they sell earth for the burial of the dead, and oil to the sick when
they anoint them, and as they sell the confession of sins as made to
the priests. Hence, they claim that confession made to the priests of
the Roman Church is useless, and that, since the priests may be sinners,

IO TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
they can not loose nor bind, and being unclean themselves, cannot
make another clean. They assert, moreover, that the Cross of Christ
should not be adored or venerated, because, as they urge, no one
would venerate or adore the gallows upon which a father, relative or
friend had been hung. They urge farther that they who adore the
cross ought for similar reasons to worship all thorns and lances, because
as Christ's body was on the cross during the passion so was the crown
of thorns on his head and the soldier's lance in his side. They pro
claim many other scandalous things in regard to the sacraments. They,
moreover, read from the Gospels and the Epistles in the vulgar tongue,
applying and expounding them in their favor and against the condition
of the Roman Church in a manner which it would take too long to
describe in detail, but all that relates to this subject may be read more
fully in the books they have written and infected, and may be learned
from the confessions of such of their followers as have been converted.*
3. PETRARCH'S DESCRIPTION OF THE AVERROISTS.
Opera Omnia (Basle, 1581), Epistolae rerum senilium, Lib. V., III. Latin.
How are we to deal with another monstrous kind of pedant who
wears a religious garb, but is most profane in heart and conduct, he who
would have us believe that Ambrose, Augustine and Jerome were
ignoramuses, for all their wordy treatises? I do not know the origin
of these new theologians, who do not spare the great teachers and will
soon cease to respect the Apostles and the Gospel itself. They will
soon turn their impudent tongues even against Christ, unless He
whose cause is at stake interferes to curb the raging beasts. For it
has already become a well established habit with these fellows to
express their scorn by a mute gesture or by some impious observation
whenever revered names or sacred subjects are mentioned. "Augustine,"
they will say for example, " saw much, but understood little." Nor
do they speak less insultingly of other great men.
Recently one of these philosophers of the modern stamp happened
to be in my library. He did not, it is true, wear the habit of a church
man, but, as we know, the real Christian is known by his belief. He
was one of those who think that they live in vain unless they are con-
* The reader will find a most interesting extract from the Archives of the Inquisition
at Carcassonne in Lea's " Inquisition ", Appendix to Vol. I., where the reasons are
given which were customarily advanced by the Albigenses (Cathari) for attributing the
Old Testament to the inspiration of the Evil Principle.

HERESY AND THE INQUISITION, XIII. AND XIV. CENTURIES. 1 1
stantly snarling at Christ or his divine teachings. When I cited some
passage or other from the Holy Scriptures, he exploded with wrath, and
with his face, naturally ugly, still further disfigured by anger and con
tempt, he exclaimed, " You are welcome to your two-penny church
fathers ; as for me, I know the man for me to follow, for / know him
whom I have believed" * " But," I replied, " you use the words of the
Apostle ; would that you would take them to heart !" " Your Apostle,"
he answered, " was a sower of words and a lunatic." " You reply like
a good philosopher," I said. " The first accusation was brought against
him by other philosophers and the second to his face, by Festus,
governor of Syria. He did indeed sow the word with such success
that, cultivated by the beneficent plow of his successors, and watered
by the holy blood of the martyrs, it has borne such an abundant harvest
of faith as all may behold." At this he burst forth into a sickening
roar of laughter. " Well, be a good Christian ! + as for me I put no
faith in all that stuff. Your Paul and your Augustine and all the rest
of the crowd you preach about, were a set of babblers. If you could
but digest Averroes you would quickly see how far superior he was to
these empty-headed fellows." I was very angry, I must confess, and
could scarcely keep from striking his filthy, blasphemous mouth. " It
is the old feud between me and the heretics of your class. You may go,"
I cried, " — you and your heresy, never to return." With this I plucked
him by the gown and, with a want of ceremony less in consonance with
my habits than his own, hurried him out of the house.
There are thousands of instances of this kind where nothing will
prevail — neither the majesty of the Christian name, nor the reverence
for Christ himself, whom the angels fall down and worship, though weak
and depraved mortals may insult Him ; not even the fear of punish
ment or the armed inquisitors of heresy. Prison and stake are alike
impotent to restrain the impudence of ignorance and the audacity of
heresy. Such are the times, my friend, upon which we have fallen ; such is
the period in which we live and are already growing old. Such are the
judges against whom I have so often inveighed, who are innocent of
knowledge or virtue, and yet harbor the most exalted opinion of them-

* II. Timothy i., 12.
t Luther reports that one who looked with disapprobation upon the vices of the
churchmen was called " Bon Christian " in Italy.

12 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
selves. Not content with losing the works of the ancients, they must
attack their ability and their ashes. They rejoice in their ignorance,
as if what they did not know were not worth knowing. They give full
reign to their unlicensed and conceited spirits and freely introduce
among us new authors and outlandish teachings.
4. FROM THE CONSTITUTIONS OF THE KINGDOM OF SICILY.
Historia diplomatica Frederici Secundi, ed. Huiliard-Breholles, Tom. IV., Part I.,
pp. 5, sq. Latin. TITLE I. B.
Concerniiig Heretics and Patarins.
The heretics endeavor to rend the seamless garment of our Lord,
and in accordance with their vicious name, which means division, they
would destroy the unity of that same indivisible faith. They would
withdraw the sheep from Peter's guardianship, to which they were
entrusted by the Good Shepherd. They are ravening wolves within,
but feign a love for the flock, until they shall have crept into the
Lord's fold. They are bad angels, sons of perversity, appointed by
the father of lies and deception to mislead the simple minded. They
are serpents who deceive the doves. Like serpents they creep stealthily
abroad ; with honeyed sweetness they vomit forth their virus. While
they pretend to offer life-giving food, they strike with their tail, and
prepare a deadly draught, as with some dire poison. These sects do
not assume the old names, lest they should be recognized, but, what
is perhaps more heinous, not content like the Arians, who took their
name from Arius, or the Nestorians, from Nestorius, and others of the
same class, they must imitate the example of the martyrs who suffered
death for the catholic faith. They call themselves Patarins, as if
they, too, were sufferers.* These same wretched Patarins, who refuse
to accept the holy belief in the eternal Trinity, combine three
offences in their wickedness. They offend God, their neighbor
and themselves, — God, since they refuse to place their faith in Him
or recognize His Son ; their fellow-men since they deceive them by
offering them the seductions of a perverse heresy under the form of
spiritual nurture. Against themselves they rage even more fiercely,
* The name, which seems here to be derived from patior, to suffer, appears to have
been given to the Milanese Cathari, because they lived among the rag-pickers or
Patari. Cf. Lea's " History of the Inquisition," I., 114.

HERESY AND THE INQUISITION, XIII. AND XIV. CENTURIES. 1 3
for, prodigal of life and careless of death, in addition to the sacrifice
of their souls, they involve their bodies in the toils of a horrible end,
which they might avoid by acknowledging the truth and adhering to
the true faith. What is worst of all, the survivors are not terrified by
such examples.
Against these who offend alike against God, themselves and their
fellow-men, we cannot restrain ourselves and must draw forth the
sword of merited retribution. We pursue them the more closely,
inasmuch as they are known, to the obvious prejudice of the Christian
faith, to extend the crimes of their superstition toward the Roman
Church, which is regarded as the head of all other churches. Thus
from the confines of Italy, especially from parts of Lombardy, where
we are convinced that their wickedness is widespread, we now find
rivulets of their perfidy reaching even to our kingdom of Sicily.
Feeling this most acutely, we decree, in the first place, that the crime
of heresy and of reprehensible teaching of whatever kind, by whatever
name its adherents may be known, shall, as provided by the older
laws, be included among the recognized crimes. (For, should not
what is recognized to be an offence against the Divine Majesty be
judged more terrible than the crime of lese-majesty directed against
ourself, although in the eyes of the law one is not graver than the
other?) As the crime of treason deprives the guilty of life and prop
erty, and even blackens the memory of the dead, so in the aforesaid
crimes of which the Patarins are guilty, we wish the same rules to be
observed in all respects. And in order that the wickedness of those
who walk in darkness, since they do not follow God, should be thor
oughly exterminated, we wish those who practice this class of crimes
should, like other malefactors, be diligently sought for and hunted out
by our officers. If such be discovered, even if there be only the
slightest suspicion of their guilt, we command that they shall be
examined by churchmen and prelates. If they shall be discovered by
these to have deviated from the Catholic faith, even in a single respect,
and if, when admonished by such churchmen in their function of
pastors, they refuse, by leaving the wiles of the devil, to recognize the
God of light, and stubbornly adhere to their error, we command, by
this our present edict, that such condemned Patarins shall suffer the
death they court ; that, condemned to the sentence of the flames, they
shall be burned alive in the sight of the people. Nor are we loath to
satisfy their cravings in this respect, for they only suffer the penalty

14 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
of their crime and reap no farther gain. No one shall dare to inter
cede with us for any such, and should any one presume to do this, we
shall properly direct the darts of our indignation against him, too.
TITLE II.
The emperor Frederick, concerning those who receive, adhere to or
favor the Patarins, their accomplices or fautors.*
All who shall receive, trust, aid or abet the Patarins in any way,
seeking to shield others from a penalty which they rashly do not fear
for themselves, shall be deprived of all their goods and banished forever.
Their sons shall thereafter be excluded from all honors whatsoever and
shall be branded with perpetual disgrace. They shall not be permitted
to act as witnesses in any case, but shall be rejected as infamous. But
if any one of the sons of such harborers or fautors shall point out a
Patarin, whose guilt shall be thus proven, he shall, by the imperial
clemency, be freed from the opprobrium and restored to his full rights
in view of the good faith which he has shown.
5. (a) FROM THE SACHSENSPIEGEL.
Der Sachsenspiegel, herausgegeben von Dr. J. Weiske (Fiinfte Auf.), Buch 2, Art.
r3> § 7- Old German.
Any Christian man who is an unbeliever, or who practices poisoning,
and is convicted shall be burnt at the stake.
(b) FROM THE SCHWABENSPIEGEL.
Der Schwabenspiegel, herausg. von Wackernagel, pp. 241-3 (Cap. 258). Old
German. Concerning Heretics.
Where persons are believed to be heretics, they shall be accused before
the spiritual court, for they should in the first place be tried by eccle
siastics. When they are convicted they shall be taken in hand by the
secular court, which shall sentence them as is right ; that is to say, they
shall be burned at the stake. If, however, the judge protects them, or
makes any illegal concessions and does not sentence them, he shall be
excommunicated, and that in the most severe form. This shall be done
by a bishop. The delinquent judge shall, moreover, be judged by his
superior temporal judge, if he have one, as he himself should have
* The comprehensive Latin expression is patarenorum receptoribus, credentibus,
complicibus et fautoribus.

HERESY AND THE INQUISITION, XIII. AND XIV. CENTURIES. 15
judged the heretic. In case a feudal prince does not bring heretics to
judgment, but protects them, the ecclesiastical court shall excommuni
cate him. If such prince does not yield within the space of a year,
his bishop, who excommunicated him, shall report his evil deeds to
the pope and the length of time he has remained excommunicated
for the same. Then shall he [the pope] with propriety deprive him
of his princely office and of all his dignities. The pope shall bring his
sentence to the notice of his king and his other judges. These shall
substantiate the sentence of the pope with their sentence. The
offender shall be deprived of all his goods, his fiefs and all his worldly
honors. Thus shall lords and poor men be judged. The fitness of
this is thus shown.
There was once a pope at Rome called Zacharias. In his time there
was a king of France called Lescandus who protected the heretics
unlawfully. He was king before King Pippin, King Charles' father.
Him the pope deposed from his kingship and from all his honors,
and Pippin became king in his stead during his natural life. We read,
too, that Pope Innocent deposed King Otto of the Roman Empire on
account of his ill deeds. This the popes have a right to do, as God
spake to Jeremiah, saying, " I have set thee over all the nations and
over all the kingdoms to judge."
********
6. (a) FROM AN EDICT OF SAINT LOUIS DIRECTED AGAINST THE HERETICS
OF LANGUEDOC (1228).
Isambert, Recueil general des anciennes lois francaises, Vol. I., p. 233. Latin.
Moreover, since the keys of the church are often despised in that
country [Languedoc], we command that excommunicated persons
shall be avoided according to the canonical provisions, and that if any
one shall contumaciously remain in a state of excommunication for a
year, he shall be forced by material means * to return to the unity of
the Church, in order that those who are not induced to leave their evil
way by the law of God, may be brought back by temporal penalties.
We therefore order that our bailiffs shall, after one year, seize all the
property, both real and personal, of all such excommunicated persons.
And on no account shall such property be in any way returned to such
persons, until they have been absolved and have rendered satisfaction
to the church, and then only by our special order.
* Isambert gives spirilualiter but approves the reading corporaliter.

1 6 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
(b) FROM THE ETABLISSEMENTS OF SAINT LOUIS.
Etablissements de Saint Louis (ed. Viollet), Livre I., Cap. 90. Old French.
If any one be suspected of heresy, the magistrate shall lay hold of
him and send him before the bishop. If he be convicted, he shall
be burned, and all his personal property shall revert to his lord.
7. (a) FORM OF OATH TAKEN UPON THE BOOK OF THE GOSPELS BY THE
SENESCHALS AND MAGISTRATES OF THE LORD KING.
B. Guidonis Pratica Inquisitionis Pravitatis Heretice (ed. Douais), Paris, 1886, p.
87. Latin.
We, ****, a Seneschal and a Vicarius of Toulouse, and, ****, a
judge in ordinary, (and so with other officials then present) swear by
these holy Gospels of God, that we will hold to the faith of our Lord
Jesus Christ and the holy Roman Church, and will cause it to be held,
and will defend it with all our power against every one. We will like
wise pursue, and take, and cause to be taken, wherever we can, all
heretics with their adherents, aiders, abettors, helpers and defenders,
as well as all fugitives on account of heresy. These aforesaid, if we
know where they are to be found, or where any one of them is to be
found, we will accuse and denounce to the Church and to the inquis
itors. Moreover, we swear that we will not commit any bailliage,
judicature, administrative or other public office, to any one of the
pestiferous persons, nor will we permit any one to use or hold any
public office who is suspected or defamed for heresy, or any one
sentenced for the crime of heresy, or otherwise precluded by the
inquisitors, or by law, from holding a public office. We will not
receive anything from the aforesaid, nor have them in our family, or
society, or service, or knowingly take council with them. If the con
trary should result from ignorance, we will expel the aforesaid straight
way, so soon as the matter shall be brought to our notice by the
inquisitors of heresy, or others worthy of faith. In these things, and
in all others which relate to the office of the inquisition for heresy, we
will be obedient to God, the Roman Church, and the inquisitors of
this same heresy. So help us God and these, His Holy Gospels.
(b) FORM OF RELAXATION TO THE SECULAR ARM.
B. Guidonis Pratica, etc., pp. 143, 144. Latin.
[After enumerating the errors of those to be sentenced, the writ
continues :]

HERESY AND THE INQUISITION, XIII. AND XIV. CENTURIES. 1 7
Since after salutary exhortations, ample refutations and a regular trial,
the said A  , sinking to the lowest depths of evil, stubbornly and
perversely persists in the said errors and doctrines, and defends them
in the most obstinate and impudent fashion, clinging to them, and
preferring to die in and for them, rather than leave his evil ways and
return to the unity of the church, we, the aforementioned, having
maturely considered and taken council in this matter with good men,
expert in both systems of law, having called upon the name of Christ,
and having before our eyes God only, the purity of the orthodox faith,
and the unity of the holy Catholic Church, in the presence of such and
such persons, and with the holy Gospels of the Lord before us, that
our judgment may go forth before the face of the Lord and our eyes
behold equity, — we, sitting as a tribunal, on the day and in the place
especially assigned for passing judgment upon the said A  , by the
authority in virtue of which we act, do by these presents, assert, and
as the final sentence, pronounce and declare the said A  to be a
pestilential assertor of perverse doctrines, to be a rebel and opposed to
the authority and power of the Catholic Church. We declare that he
is, moreover, a manifest heretic and that, as an obstinate heretic, since
the Church can, in view of his conduct, do nothing further for him, we
do relinquish him to the arm and judgment of the secular court, affec
tionately requesting the said court, that they should so moderate their
sentence as not to involve death or the mutilation of his members.
This sentence was given, etc. :
8. THOMAS AQUINAS ON "WHETHER HERETICS ARE TO BE TOLERATED."
Sancti Thomte Aquinatis Summa Theologica, Sec. Secunda?, Quaest. XL, Art. III.
Latin. Proceeding to the third question. First. It would appear that her
etics are to be tolerated, for the Apostle says (2 Tim. ii. 24), "The
Lord's servant must be gentle, in meekness, correcting them that oppose
themselves to the truth ; if peradventure God may give them repentance
unto the knowledge of the truth, and they may recover themselves out
of the snare of the devil." But if heretics are not tolerated but deliv
ered over to death, they are deprived of the opportunity of repentance.
Hence, this would seem contrary to the precept of the Apostle.
Second. Moreover, that which is necessary in the Church must be
tolerated. But heresies are necessary in the Church. For the Apostle
says (1 Corinthians xi. 19), "For there must be also heresies among you

1 8 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
that they which are approved may be made manifest among you."
Therefore, it would seem that heretics are to be tolerated.
Third. Moreover, the Lord commands his servants (Matthew xiii.);
that they should let the tares grow until the harvest, which is the end
of the world, as is explained in the Interlinear Glossa. But the tares
signify the heretics according to the interpretation of the saints.
Therefore heretics are to be tolerated.
But against this is to be urged the saying of the Apostle (Titus iii.
10), "A man that is heretical, after a first and second admonition,
refuse, knowing that such a one is perverted."
I reply that heretics must be considered from two points of view,
namely, as regards the heretic himself, and secondly, as regards the
church. As for the heretics themselves, there is their sin for which
they deserve not only to be separated from the Church by excommu
nication, but to be sent out of the world by death. It is, indeed, a
much more serious offence to corrupt the faith, upon which depends
the life of the soul, than to falsify coin, by means of which the tem
poral life is sustained. Hence, if counterfeiters and other malefactors
are justly hurried to death by secular rulers, much the more may those
who are convicted of heresy not only be excommunicated but justly
put to a speedy death. But on the side of the Church, there is mercy
looking for the conversion of the erring. She does not therefore con
demn immediately, but only after a first and second admonition, as
the Apostle teaches. Should the heretic still prove stubborn, the
Church, no longer hoping for his conversion, shall provide for the
safety of others by separating him from herself by a sentence of ex
communication. She further relinquishes him to the secular judgment
to be put out of the world by death.* Jerome also says (on the passage
in Galatians v. — "a little leaven;"'), and it is stated in 24. qu. 3, cap.
i6,f "Foul flesh must be cut away, and mangy sheep must be kept from
the fold lest the whole house % be burned, the whole mass corrupted, the

* The Latin seems unequivocal — et ulterius relinquit eum judicio saeculari a mundo
exterminandum per mortem. Compare with the plea for mercy at the close of the
form of sentence, given above, p. 17.
t A usual form of reference to the Canon law.
J Referring to a part of Jerome's sentence which the Angelic Doctor omits. Quo
tations are often incomplete, as in the opening one from second Timothy. It was
assumed that the passages would be familiar to the reader and that it was unnecessary
to give them in full.

CHURCH AND STATE. 1 9
whole body be destroyed. Arius was but a spark in Alexandria, but
since this spark was not promptly quenched, the whole world has been
devastated by the flames."
As to the first argument, * namely, that which relates to the meek
ness in which a heretic should be admonished a first and a second
time, if, after that, he refuses to return he is looked upon as perverted,
as appears from the authority of the Apostle above cited (in the argu
ment beginning, But against).
As to the second argument, any advantage which may proceed from
heretics is in no way intentional on their part, as, for example, the
proof they furnish according to the Apostle of the constancy of the
faithful, or, as Augustine says, — Lib. I de gen., cont. Manich. (Cap. I.,
about the middle) "Let us put away all slothfulness, carefully searching
the holy Scriptures." Their intention is, on the contrary, to corrupt
the faith, and this is most harmful. We should, therefore, give more
weight to those conscious aims which would cut them off, rather than
the unintentional good which would seem to countenance their toler
ation. To the third argument we may reply, as it is written in the Decretals,
24, qu. 3, Cap. beginning, // is to be observed that excommunication
is one thing and extirpation another. One is excommunicated with a
view, as the Apostle says (i Con. v. 5), "that the spirit may be saved
in the day of the Lord." That heretics shall be totally extirpated by
death is not however contrary to the command of God, for that
command is to be understood as applying only in case the tares
cannot be destroyed without destroying the wheat at the same time,
as has been said in the preceding question, art. 8, argument 1, when
we treated of heretics in common with infidels.
III. CHURCH AND STATE.
The problem of the relations between the Mediaeval Church, which enjoyed many
of the privileges, and exercised many of the functions, of a modern state, and the
rudimentary Mediaeval state which was destined to absorb many of the functions of
the Church and to develop many new forms of activity, — this problem is to many
scholars the most interesting of Mediaeval history. The struggle between Philip the
Fair of France and Boniface VIII., at the opening of the fourteenth century and, a
little later, the efforts of the Emperor, Louis of Bavaria, to assert his claims against
the opposition of the popes at Avignon, gave rise to a most important discussion of
* That is, the first argument in favor of toleration mentioned above.

20 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
the whole question of government. Peter du Bois (died about 1320) advocates (it
his pamphlet de Recuperatione Terre Sancte) a system of international arbitration
and a federation of the states of Europe under the headship of France, which shoulo
bring about a universal peace. Marsiglio of Padua wrote his enlightened treatise
{Defensor Pads) on the right of the state to be, and advocated the diminution of
the powers and privileges of the clergy. Dante in his De Monarchia, espoused the
cause of the Empire with equal warmth, if with much less insight. On the other
side, we have, among others, the works of Trionfo (de Potestate Pupae), where the
most exaggerated claims of the Papacy were defended. This was repeatedly reprinted
from 1473 to 1584, and was looked upon by the defenders of the papal supremacy
during their struggle against the Protestant defection, as the most learned and effective
defense of their position.
While the best analysis of the latter work is in the rare brochures of Friedberg, Die
Mitteldlterlichen Lehren uber das Verhdltniss von Staat und Kirche, the reader will
find an excellent discussion in R. L. Poole's Illustrations of Meditzval Thought.
The two Papal bulls and the protest of the German Electors given below, arc
among the best brief official documents relating to this great struggle.
I. THE BULL UNAM SANCTAM OF BONIFACE VIII. (1302).
From the text given by Mury (Revue des Questiones Historiques, vol. 46, pp. 255.,
256), based on the facsimile from the Papal Regesta. In Latin.
The bull Unam Sanctam, while an obscurely worded document, furnishes a conve
nient example of the reasoning of those who strove to exalt the papal power to the
highest point. The theory of the two swords is taken from Saint Bernard (Epist.
CCLVL), other portions almost literally from Aegidius Romanus, a well known polit
ical writer of the time, who is supposed by some to have drafted the bull itself. The
more comprehensive claims of the bull have been so attenuated by the official inter
pretation of succeeding popes that the claim directly to control the secular government
is surrendered. The present pope, Leo XIII., in an Encyclical, Immortale Dei, speaks of the rela
tion between church and state as follows: — " God has divided the care of the human
race between two powers, namely, the ecclesiastical and civil, assigning to the one
divine interests, to the other human affairs. Each is the greatest of its kind; each is
limited by definite bounds; controlled like some sphere, each acts according to its
own laws. But because both have power over the same person it may come to pass
that the same matter, although for different reasons, may be included within the scope
and jurisdiction of both, and it is the part of a far-seeing God, by whom both powers
have been established, to have accurately and fittingly determined the paths of each."
Although the authenticity of the bull has been questioned, it is recorded in the
Papal Registers, is appended to the civil law in the Extravagantes, and was formally
sanctioned by Leo X. in the Fifth Lateran Council. An interesting discussion of the
bull and its origin is to be found in the Revue des Questions Historiques for 1879
vol. 26, pp. 91 ff.
That there is one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church we are im-

CHURCH AND STATE. 21
pelled by our faith to believe and to hold — this we do firmly believe
and openly confess — and outside of this there is neither salvation or
remission of sins, as the bridegroom proclaims in Canticles, " My dove,
my undefiled is but one ; she is the only one of her mother ; she is the
choice one of her that bare her." The Church represents one mystic
body and of this body Christ is the head ; of Christ, indeed, God is
the head. In it is one Lord, and one faith, and one baptism. In the
time of the flood, there was one ark of Noah, pre-figuring the one
Church, finished in one cubit, having one Noah as steersman and
commander. Outside of this, all things upon the face of the earth
were, as we read, destroyed. This Church we venerate and this alone,
the Lord saying through his prophets, " Deliver my soul, O God, from
the sword ; my darling from the power of the dog." He prays thus
for the soul, that is for Himself, as head, and also for the body which
He calls one, namely, the Church on account of the unity of the bride
groom, of the faith, of the sacraments, and of the charity of the Church.
It is that seamless coat of the Lord, which was not rent, but fell by lot.
Therefore, in this one and only Church, there is one body and one head,
— not two heads as if it were a monster— namely, Christ and Christ's
Vicar, Peter and Peter's successor, for the Lord said to Peter himself,
" Feed my sheep :" my sheep, he said, using a general term and not
designating these or those sheep, so that we must believe that all the
sheep were committed to him. If, then, the Greeks, or others, shall
say that they were not entrusted to Peter and his successors, they must
perforce admit that they are not of Christ's sheep, as the Lord says in
John, " there is one fold, and one shepherd."
In this Church and in its power are two swords, to wit, a spiritual
and a temporal, and this we are taught by the words of the Gospel,
for when the Apostles said, " Behold, here are two swords " (in the
Church, namely, since the Apostles were speaking), the Lord did not
reply that it was too many, but enough. And surely he who claims
that the temporal sword is not in the power of Peter has but ill under
stood the word of our Lord when he said, " Put up thy sword in its
scabbard." Both, therefore, the spiritual and the material swords,
are in the power of the Church, the latter indeed to be used for the
Church, the former by the Church, the one by the priest, the other by
the hand of kings and soldiers, but by the will and sufferance of the
priest. It is fitting, moreover, that one sword should be under the
other, and the temporal authority subject to the spiritual power. For

2 2 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
when the Apostle said, " there is no power but of God and the powers
that are of God are ordained," they would not be ordained * unless one
sword were under the other, and one, as inferior, was brought back by
the other to the highest place.f For, according to the Holy Dionysius,
the law of divinity is to lead the lowest through the intermediate to
the highest. Therefore, according to the law of the universe, things
are not reduced to order directly, and upon the same footing, but the
lowest through the intermediate, and the inferior through the superior.
It behooves us, therefore, the more freely to confess that the spiritual
power excels in dignity and nobility any form whatsoever of earthly
power, as spiritual interests exceed the temporal in importance. All
this we see fairly from the giving of tithes, from the benediction and
sanctification, from the recognition of this power and the control of
these same things. For the truth bearing witness, it is for the spiritual
power to establish the earthly power and judge it, if it be not good.
Thus, in the case of the Church and the power of the Church, the
prophecy of Jeremiah is fulfilled : " See, I have this day set thee over
the nations and over the kingdoms " — and so forth. Therefore,
if the earthly power shall err, it shall be judged by the spritual power;
if the lesser spiritual power err, it shall be judged by the higher. But
if the supreme power err, it can be judged by God alone and not by
man, the apostles bearing witness saying, the spiritual man judges all
things but he himself is judged by no one. Hence this power, although
given to man and exercised by man, is not human, but rather a divine
power, given by the divine lips to Peter, and founded on a rock for
Him and his successors in Him [Christ] whom he confessed, the Lord
saying to Peter himself, "Whatsoever thou shalt bind," etc. Whoever,
therefore, shall resist this power, ordained by God, resists the ordina
tion of God, unless there should be two beginnings, as the Manichaean
imagines. But this we judge to be false and heretical, since, by the
testimony of Moses, not in the beginnings, but in the beginning, God
created the heaven and the earth. We, moreover, proclaim, declare

* I. e., disposed in an orderly manner.
tMr. Henderson suggests (Select Hist. Documents, 436) "were guided by the
other to the performance of the most exalted deeds." This is, at least, intelligible,
while the literal translation here given and the numerous French and German ren
derings cited by Mury, Revue des Questions Historiques, vol. 26, pp. 107, 108, are
none of them clear.

CHURCH AND STATE. 23
and pronounce that it is altogether necessary to salvation for every
human being to be subject to the Roman Pontiff.*
Given at the Lateran the twelfth day before the Kalends of Decem
ber, in our eighth year, as a perpetual memorial of this matter.
2. THE BULL CLERICIS LAICOS (1296).
Rymer's Foedera, (ed. 1727), Vol. II., pp. 706, 707. Latin.
This declaration of the papacy antedates the preceding bull by some six years. It
is much more specific than Unam Sanctam, dealing especially with the asserted ex
emption of the clergy from taxation and secular jurisdiction. A struggle between the
papacy and the temporal rulers as to the proportion of the vast income of the Church
which each should enjoy was inevitable. The extensive enterprises of Philip the Fair
of France and Edward I. of England led them to apply to the clergy for a part of the
revenue necessary to meet the public expenses; Edward demanded one-fifth of their
personal property in 1296; Philip exacted a one-hundredth, then one-fiftieth of the
possessions of clergy and laymen alike. Against this impartial system, which bore on
all classes alike, Boniface issued the bull given below. But Philip had at the same
period issued a decree forbidding the exportation, without his express consent, of the
precious metals, thus cutting off the papal supplies. Two years later the pope greatly
modified the claims of the bull, by admitting the legitimacy of the dons gratuits, or
free gifts of the clergy, to the king, and even of extraordinary aids which could, in
case of urgent necessity, be collected without waiting for the papal consent.
Bishop Boniface, servant of the servants of God, in perpetual mem
ory of this matter. Antiquity shows us that the laity has always been
exceeding hostile to the clergy ; and this the experience of the present
time clearly demonstrates, since, not content with their limitations,
the laity strive for forbidden things and give free reign to the pursuit
of illicit gain.
They do not prudently observe that all control over the clergy, as
well as over all ecclesiastical persons and their possessions, is denied
them, but impose heavy burdens upon the prelates of the churches,
upon the churches themselves, and upon ecclesiastical persons both
regular and secular, exacting talliages and other contributions from
them. From such persons they require and extort the payment of a
half, a tenth, a twentieth or some other quota of their property or
income, and strive in many other ways to subject the churchmen to
slavery and bring them under their control.
* This famous concluding sentence has been robbed of all political significance by
the interpretation of Leo X., who declared that " every human being" meant "all
Christian believers" which reduces the meaning to a commonplace of Catholic
theology.

24 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
And (with grief do we declare it) certain prelates of the churches
and ecclesiastical persons, fearing where they ought not to fear, and
seeking a temporary peace, dreading to offend a temporal more than
the eternal majesty, do, without having received the permission or
sanction of the Apostolic See, acquiesce in such abuses, not so much
from recklessness, as want of foresight. We, therefore, desiring to
check these iniquitous practices, by the council of our brothers, do, of
our apostolic authority, decree that whatever prelates and ecclesiastical
persons, whether monastic or secular, whatever their order, condition
or status, shall pay, or promise or agree to pay to laymen, any contri
butions or talliages, tenths, twentieths, or hundredths of their own, or
their churches' revenues or possessions, or shall pay any sum, portion
or part of their revenues or goods, or of their estimated or actual value,
in the form of an aid, loan, subvention, subsidy or gift, or upon any
other pretense or fiction whatsoever, without authority from this same
Apostolic See, — likewise emperors, kings and princes, dukes, counts,
barons, podesta, captains, officers, rectors, whatever their title, of cities,
castles or other places wherever situated, or any other persons, what
ever their rank, condition or status, who shall impose, exact or receive
such payments, or who shall presume to lay hands upon, seize or occupy
the possessions of churches or the goods of ecclesiastical persons de
posited in the sacred edifices, or who shall order such to be seized or
occupied, or shall receive such things as shall be seized or occupied, —
likewise all who shall consciously lend aid, council or support in such
undertakings, either publicly or privately, — shall, by the very act, incur
the sentence of excommunication ; corporations, moreover, which shall
show themselves guilty in these matters, we place under the interdict.
We strictly command all prelates and ecclesiastical persons above
mentioned, in virtue of their obedience, and under penalty of depo
sition, that they shall not hereafter acquiesce in any such demands,
without the express permission of the aforesaid Chair. Nor shall they
pay anything under pretext of any obligation, promise or declaration
made in the past, or which may be made before this notice, prohibition
or order shall be brought to their attention. Nor shall the above
mentioned laymen in any way receive any such payments. And if the
former pay or the latter receive anything, they shall incur, by the act
itself, the sentence of excommunication. No one, moreover, shall be
freed from the above mentioned sentences of excommunication or of
the interdict, except in the article of death, without the authority and

CHURCH AND STATE. 25
special permission of the Apostolic See, since it is our intention to
make no kind of compromise with such a horrible abuse of the secular
power ; and this notwithstanding any privileges, whatever their tenor,
form or wording, conceded to emperors, kings or other persons above
mentioned, for we will that such concessions as are in conflict with
the preceding prohibitions shall avail no individual person or persons.
Let no man at all, therefore, violate the page of this our decree, pro
hibition or order, or with rash assumption, contravene it. Whoever
shall presume to attempt this, let him know that he shall incur the
indignation of omnipotent God and of the blessed Peter and Paul, His
apostles. Given at Rome, at Saint Peter's, on the sixth day before the Kalends
of March, in the second year of our Pontificate.
3. THE SO-CALLED LAW "LICET JURIS," AUG. 8, I338.
From Altmann and Bemheim, Ausgewahlte Urkunden, 2d Ed., pp. 44, 45. Latin.
The long struggle between Louis of Bavaria and the French popes at Avignon
finally aroused the Electors, who had a natural interest in asserting their rights, to
make a formal declaration of the independence of the Empire from papal control.
Upon the resolutions which they drew up at Rhense (July 16, 1338), a diet, assem
bled at Frankfort, based the declaration, given below.
Although the testimony of both kinds of law * manifestly proves that
the Imperial dignity and power proceeded of old from the Son of God,
and that God has clearly given laws to the human race through the
emperors and kings of the world, and that the Emperor is made a true
Emperor by the simple choice of those to whom his election belongs,
nor needs the confirmation or approbation of any one else, since on
earth [in terris~\ he has, so far as temporal matters are concerned, no
superior, but the nations and the peoples are subject to him, and our
Lord Jesus Christ Himself commanded to render unto God the things
that are God's and unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, — yet, in
spite of these reasons, certain persons, led by the blindness of avarice
and ambition, and having no understanding of scripture, but perverting
the senses from the true interpretation, resorting to wicked and de
praved inventions, attack the Imperial power and authority, the rights
of the Imperial Electors and of other princes and of those faithful to
the Empire, and falsely declare that the Imperial dignity and power is
derived from the Pope, and that one who is elected Emperor is not
* The Civil and the Canon law.

26 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
a true emperor, or king, unless he be first confirmed, approved and
crowned by the Pope, or through the Apostolic See. Since by these
perverse assertions and pestiferous teachings, the Old Enemy stirs up
strife and discord and breeds contention and seditions : We, therefore,
for the purpose of avoiding these evils, with the counsel and approba
tion of the Electors and other princes of the Empire, do declare that
the Imperial dignity and power is derived immedialely from God
alone, and that, according to law and the custom of the Empire,
approved from of old, after any one shall be chosen Emperor or King
by the Electors of the Empire, either unanimously, or by the greater
part of them, he is straightway, from the simple fact of his election, to
be considered and entitled true King and Emperor of the Romans, and
should be obeyed by all subject to the Empire. He should, moreover,
possess full power in administering the laws of the Empire, and in
doing all those things which appertain to a true Emperor, nor does he
require the approbation, confirmation, authority or consent of the Pope,
the Apostolic See, or of any one whatsoever.
Therefore, by this law, which shall remain in force forever, we
establish that he who is elected Emperor, either unanimously or by a
majority of the Electors, shall be considered and held, in virtue of his
simple election, to be the true and legitimate Emperor, and should be
obeyed by all those subject to the Empire, and that he shall have, and
shall be considered and definitely asserted to have, and to hold, the
Imperial administration and jurisdiction and the plenitude of the Impe
rial power.
Moreover, those who shall presume to assert or declare anything
contrary to these declarations, provisions and definitions, or any one of
them, or shall give their assent to those asserting or saying anything
against them, or obey their mandates, letters, or instructions, we de
prive from now on, and, by the law itself and by their act, we declare
to be deprived of all the fiefs which they hold from the Empire, as well
as of all the favors, jurisdictions, privileges and immunities conceded
to them by us or our predecessors. Moreover, we claim that they have
committed the crime of lese-majesty and are subject to all the
penalties incurred by those committing that crime.
Given in our town of Frankfort, on the eighth day of the month of
August, in the year of our Lord, 1338.

THE COUNCIL OF CONSTANCE AND ITS ANTECEDENTS. 27
IV. THE COUNCIL OF CONSTANCE AND ITS ANTECEDENTS.
The residence of the popes at Avignon during twenty-five years had done much to
undermine their prestige. Avignon was so near France that the English and Germans
suspected that the French king controlled the papal policy. Besides the national
jealousies, there was an ever-increasing burden of papal taxation required to support
the splendor and luxury which Petrarch, who lived much at or near Avignon, describes
in the letter given below. The revenue which the popes formerly derived from their
Roman possessions had been cut off since their departure from Rome, and this served
to make financial pressure the more serious. When in 1378 Gregory XI. finally re
established the papal court in Rome, the French influence among the cardinals was
still so strong that they found excuses for seceding from the newly-elected successor
of Gregory XL, Urban VI., a harsh, fanatical monk. The seceding cardinals chose
a second pope, Clement VII., on the ground that they had been intimidated in elect
ing the unpopular Urban, and returned again to Avignon. Urban promptly created
a new group of cardinals around him and thus the Great Schism began. The death
of one of the two popes did not heal the schism, as the Cardinals immediately chose a
successor in order to justify their claim to be the true elective body. There was thus
no solution unless, as many began to assert, a general council of the Church was supe
rior to the pope, and could depose one or both claimants, and so put an end to the
scandal of rival successors to Peter. The first council called at Pisa in 1409 only
made matters worse, for its deposition of the existing popes was not universally
recognized and the choice of a new one only added to the confusion. The council of
Constance met in 1414 with three great tasks before it : 1st., to heal the schism, which
was accomplished by the deposition or resignation of the three existing popes and the
election of Martin V.; 2d., the suppression of heresy and the trial of Huss; and 3d.,
the reformation of the church, in head and members. The necessity of reform had
been emphasized by the confusion of the schism, which not only involved the papacy
but extended to the bishoprics and abbeys, where there were frequently two rivals
each supported by one of the popes.
The reader will find this subject admirably treated in Creighton's " History of the
Papacy," Vol. I., and in Pastor's " Geschichte der Papste," Vol. I.
I. PETRARCH ON THE PAPAL COURT AT AVIGNON.
Petrarchae Opera Omnia (Basle, 1581), Epistolae sine Titulo V. Latin.
I am now living in France, in the Babylon of the West. The sun, in
its travels sees nothing more hideous than this place on the shores of
the wild Rhone, which suggests the hellish streams of Cocytus and
Acheron. Here reign the successors of the poor fishermen of Galilee ;
they have strangely forgotten their origin. I am astounded, as I recall
their predecessors, to see these men loaded with gold and clad in
purple, boasting of the spoils of princes and nations ; to see luxurious
palaces and heights crowned with fortifications, instead of a boat

28 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
turned downwards for shelter. We no longer find the simple nets
which were once used to gain a frugal sustenance from the Lake of
Galilee, with which, having labored all night and caught nothing,
they took, at daybreak, a multitude of fishes, in the name of Jesus.
One is stupefied nowadays to hear the lying tongues, and to see worth
less parchments, turned by a leaden seal, into nets which are used, in
Christ's name, but by the arts of Belial, to catch hordes of unwary
Christians. These fish, too, are dressed and laid on the burning coals
of anxiety before they fill the insatiable maw of their captors. Instead
of holy solitude we find a criminal host and crowds of the most in
famous satellites ; instead of soberness, licentious banquets ; instead of
pious pilgrimages, preternatural and foul sloth ; instead of the bare feet
of the apostles, the snowy coursers of brigands fly past us, the horses
decked in gold and fed on gold, soon to be shod with gold, if the Lord
does not check this slavish luxury. In short, we seem to be among
the kings of the Persians or Parthian s, before whom we must fall down
and worship, and who can not be approached except presents be
offered. O, ye unkempt and emaciated old men, is it for this you
labored ? Is it for this that you have sown the field of the Lord and
watered it with your holy blood? But let us leave the subject.
2. FROM DIETRICH VRm's HISTORY OF THE COUNCIL OF CONSTANCE.
Von der Hardt: Magnum Constantiense Concilium. Vol. I., 104-6. Latin.
The supreme pontiffs, as I know, are elected through avarice and
simony, and likewise the other bishops are ordained for gold. These,
in turn, will not ordain those below them, the priests, deacons, sub-
deacons and acolytes, except a strict agreement be first drawn up. Of
this mammon of unrighteousness the bishops, the real rulers, and the
chapters, each has a part. The once accepted proverb, " Freely give
for freely ye have received," is now most vilely perverted : " Freely I
have not received, nor will I freely give, for I have bought my bishopric
for a great price, and must indemnify myself impiously for my un
toward outlay. I will not ordain you as priest except for money. I
purchased the sacrament of ordination when I became a bishop, and I
propose to sell you the same sacred sign and seal of ordination. By
beseeching and by gold, I have gained my office, for beseeching and
fdr gold do I sell you your place. Refuse the amount I demand and
you shall not become a priest."
If Simon Magus were now alive he might buy with money not only

THE COUNCIL OF CONSTANCE AND ITS ANTECEDENTS. 29
the Holy Ghost, but God the Father, and Me,* the Son of God. But
favor is bought from the ungrateful who do not the works of grace, for
grace must give freely, but if bought and not given, grace is no longer
grace.y But why say more ? The bishops who take money for ordina
tion become lepers with Gehasi. Those ordained do, by their bribery,
condemn themselves to perdition with Simon Magus, to whom Peter
said, " Thy money perish with thee."
3. EXTRACTS FROM NICHOLAS CLEMANGES' "DOWNFALL OF THE CHURCH."
Von der Hardt: Op. cit., Tom. I., Pt. III., 7 and 1 1. Latin.
Cap. III. On the Three Vices which have given rise to all the other
ills in the Church.
After the great increase of worldly goods, the virtues of our ancestors
being quite neglected, boundless avarice and blind ambition invaded
the hearts of the churchmen. As a result, they were carried away by
the glory of their position and the extent of their power and soon gave
way to the degrading effects of luxury. Three most exacting and
troublesome masters had now to be satisfied. Luxury demanded sundry
gratifications, wine, sleep, banquets, music, debasing sports, courtesans
and the like. Display required fine houses, castles, towers, palaces,
rich and varied furniture, expensive clothes, horses, servants and the
pomp of luxury. Lastly is Avarice which carefully brought together
vast treasures to supply the demands of the above mentoned vices or,
if these were otherwise provided for, to gratify the eye by the vain
contemplation of the coins themselves.
So insatiable are these lords, and so imperious in their demands,
that the Golden Age of Saturn, which we hear of in stories, should it
now return, would hardly suffice to meet the demands. Since it is
impossible, however rich the bishop and ample his revenue, to satisfy
these rapacious harpies with that alone, he must cast about for other
sources of income.
Chap. IX. The Institution of Collectors and the Ills they bring with them.
For carrving on these exactions and gathering the gains into the
Camera, or Charybdis, as we may better call it, the popes appoint their
* This lament is put in the mouth of Christ.
+ The word gratia permits a species of untranslatable pun in the Latin.

30 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
collectors in every province, those, namely, whom they know to be most
skillful in extracting money, owing to peculiar energy, diligence or
harshness of temper, those in short who will neither spare nor except
but would squeeze gold from a stone. To these the popes grant,
moreover, the power of anathematizing any one, even prelates, and of
expelling from the communion of the faithful, every one who does not,
within a fixed period, satisfy their demands for money. What ills
these collectors have caused, and the extent to which poor churches
and people have been oppressed, are questions best omitted, as we
could never hope to do the matter justice. From this source come
the laments of the unhappy ministers of the church, which reach our
ears, as they faint under the insupportable yoke, yea, perish of hunger.
Hence come suspensions from divine service, interdicts from entering
a church, and anathemas, a thousand fold intensified in severity. Such
things were resorted to in the rarest instances by the fathers, and then
only for the most horrible of crimes ; for by these penalties, a man is
separated from the companionship of the faithful and turned over to
Satan. But now-a-days, these inflictions are so fallen in esteem, that
they are used for the lightest offence, often for no offence at all, so
they no longer bring terror, but are objects of contempt.
To the same cause, is to be ascribed the ruin of numerous churches
and monasteries and the levelling with the ground, in so many places,
of sacred edifices, while the money which used to go for their resto
ration, is exhausted in paying these taxes. But it even happens, as
some well know, that holy relics in not a few churches, crosses, chalices,
feretories and other precious articles go to make up this tribute.
Who does not know how many abbots and other prelates, when they
come to die, are, if they prove obnoxious to the papal camera on
account of their poverty, refused a dignified funeral and even denied
burial, except, perchance, in some field or garden or profane spot,
where they are secretly disposed of. Priests, as we all can see, are
forced by reason of their scanty means of support, to desert their par
ishes and their benefices and, in their hunger, seek their bread where
they may, performing profane services for laymen. Some rich and
hitherto prosperous churches have, indeed, been able to support this
burden, but all are now exhausted and can no longer bear to be cheated
of their revenue.

THE COUNCIL OF CONSTANCE AND ITS ANTECEDENTS. 3 1
4- (a) DECREE "SACROSANCTA" OF APRIL 6, 1415.
Von der Hardt: Op. cit., Tom. IV., 98. Latin.
In the name of the Holy and indivisible Trinity ; of the Father, Son,
and Holy Ghost. Amen.
This holy synod of Constance, forming a general council for the
extirpation of the present schism and the union and reformation, in
head and members, of the Church of God, legitimately assembled in
the Holy Ghost, to the praise of Omnipotent God, in order that it may
the more easily, safely, effectively and freely bring about the union and
reformation of the church of God, hereby determines, decrees, ordains
and declares what follows : —
It first declares that this same council, legitimately assembled in the
Holy Ghost, forming a general council and representing the Catholic
Church militant, has its power immediately from Christ, and every one,
whatever his state or position, even if it be the Papal dignity itself, is
bound to obey it in all those things which pertain to the faith and the
healing of the said schism, and to the general reformation of the Church
of God, in head and members.
It further declares that any one, whatever his condition, station or
rank, even if it be the Papal, who shall contumaciously refuse to obey
the mandates, decrees, ordinances or instructions which have been, or
shall be issued by this holy council, or by any ether general council,
legitimately summoned, which concern, or in any way relate to the
above mentioned objects, shall, unless he repudiate his conduct, be
subject to condign penance and be suitably punished, having recourse,
if necessary, to the other resources of the law.*
(b) THE DECREE "FREQUENS," OF OCT. 9, 1417.
Von der Hardt: Op. cit., Tom. IV., 1436. Latin.
A frequent celebration of general councils is an especial means for
cultivating the field of the Lord and effecting the destruction of briars,
thorns and thistles, to wit, heresies, errors and schism, and of bringing
forth a most abundant harvest. The neglect to summon councils, fosters
and develops all these evils, as may be plainly seen from a recollection
of the past and a consideration of existing conditions. Therefore, by
a perpetual edict, we sanction, decree, establish and ordain that gen-
*Tbe rest of the decree relates to John XXIII., who, it is asserted, enjoyed full
liberty at Constance and must not induce the members of the Curia to follow him.

32 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
eral councils shall be celebrated in the following manner, so that the
next one shall follow the close of this present council at the end of five
years. The second shall follow the close of that, at the end of seven
years and councils shall thereafter be celebrated every ten years in such
places as the Pope shall be required to designate and assign, with the
consent and approbation of the council, one month before the close
of the council in question, or which, in his absence, the council itself
shall designate. Thus, with a certain continuity, a council will always
be either in session, or be expected at the expiration of a definite time.
This term may, however, be shortened on account of emergencies, by
the Supreme Pontiff, with the counsel of his brothers, the cardinals of
the Holy Roman Church, but it may not be hereafter lengthened.
The place, moreover, designated for the future council may not be
altered without evident necessity. If, however, some complication
shall arise, in view of which such a change shall seem necessary, as,
for example, a state of siege, a war, a pest, or other obstacles, it shall
be permissible for the Supreme Pontiff, with the consent and subscrip
tion of his said brethren or two-thirds of them {duarum partium) to
select another appropriate place near one determined upon, which must
be within the same country, unless such obstacles, or similar ones, shall
exist throughout the whole nation. In that case, the council may be
summoned to some appropriate neighboring place, within the bounds
of another nation. To this the prelates, and others, who are wont to be
summoned to a council, must betake themselves, as if that place had
been designated from the first. Such change of place, or shortening of
the period, the Supreme Pontiff is required legitimately and solemnly
to publish and announce one year before the expiration of the term
fixed, that the said persons may be able to come together for the
celebration of the council within the term specified.*
5. LIST OF ABUSES DEMANDING REFORM, DRAWN UP BY THE COUNCIL OF
CONSTANCE. (OCT. 30, 15 I 7.)
Von der Hardt: Op. cit., Vol. IV., 1452. Latin.
The holy council of Constance decrees and ordains that the Supreme
Pontiff who shall next, by the grace of God, assume office, shall, in
conjunction with this holy council, or with the deputies of the several

* The succeeding paragraphs of the decree relate to various methods for preventing
future schism and to an oath to be taken by the pope on his election.

INTRODUCTORY BIBLIOGRAPHY.

33

nations, reform the Church, before the council dissolves, in head and
members, as well as the Roman curia, in accordance with justice and
the proper organization of the Church, in all the respects enumerated
below, which are presented by the nations as requiring reform :
The number, character and nationality of the Lords Cardinals.
The Reservations made by the Apostolic See.
The Annates both the servitia communia and servitia minuta.*
The Collation to Benefices and Expectative Favors.
What cases are to be brought before the Roman Curia and what not?
Appeals to the Roman Curia.
The functions of the [papal] Chancery and Poenitentiary.
Exemptions and Incorporations made during the Schism.
Benefices in Commendam.
Confirmation of Elections.
Income during Vacancies.
The non-alienation of the possessions of the Roman Church or other
churches. For what reasons and in what manner shall a Pope be corrected or
deposed? The Extirpation of Heresy.
Dispensations.
The means of support of Pope and Cardinals.
Indulgences.
Tenths. INTRODUCTORY BIBLIOGRAPHY.t
Milman: History of Latin Christianity. (Various editions.) Books XI.-XII.
This is, perhaps, the best general account of the Church in the 13th and r4th cen
turies for one who reads only English. It must, however, be supplemented by
Henry C. Lea's researches.
Lea Henry C. : A History of the Inquisition in the Middle Ages. 3 vols.
Harpers.
This is probably the most scholarly work upon a considerable scale which has ever
* Of the Annates, a portion, the servitia communia, went to the Pope and Cardi
als while the servitia minuta fell to the lower officials of the chancery.
+ It is possible to mention only a few of the most important and accessible of the
orks relating to the Church in the centuries immediately preceding the Protestant
r volution; but the student will find an abundance of references in the works indi
ted which will carry him farther. Unfortunately, no important historical subject is
more neglected in most of our libraries.

34 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.
been produced in the field of history in the United States. Supplemented by the
" History of Confession and Indulgences" (3 vols.; Lea Bros., 1896), it forms an indis
pensable source for the student of the Mediaeval Church. The work treats not only
the Inquisitorial process, but deals with the spirit of the institution, the conception of
of heresy and its treatment in relation to the jurisprudence of the time. The work
forms, iu short, a negative history of the movement of reform before 1500, depicting
the methods of the Church for checking revolt and innovation and describing the
causes celebres of the Templars, Huss and Joan of Arc.
As Quintilian says of the young orator, who is to gauge his progress by an increas
ing veneration for Cicero, so the student of history may mark his advance by an ever
growing appreciation of the untiring labors of Mr. Lea and a constantly increasing
desire to follow him to the unsophisticated records of a period long before the Pro
testant Schism had divided Europe into two bitterly hostile camps, neither of which
could understand the other, or themselves.
Creighton, Mandel : A History of the Papacy during the Period of the
Reformation. Longmans, Green & Co., 1900.
Vols. I.-IV. deal with the period from the opening of the Great Schism (1378) to
151 7, and form, with the excellent bibliographical notes at the close of each volume, a
work of first-rate importance for the period.
Pastor, Ludwig : Geschichte der Papste seit dem Ausgang des Mittelalters.
2d Ed. Freiburg, 1891 sq. Appearing also in an English translation.
This is the most recent and most scientific treatment of the subject from o. Catholic
standpoint. It opens a little later than Creighton's work, dealing only superficially
with the Great Schism, or even with the Council of Constance. The author has freely
utilized the recently opened Vatican archives. Elaborate lists of the works cited are
prefaced to each volume, and will prove of great assistance to the student.
Hefele, Carl Joseph von: Conciliengeschichte fortgesetzt von Cardinal
Hergenr'other. Freiburg, 2d. Ed., 1889 ff. Especially Vols. VI.-VIII.
Also, from the Catholic standpoint.
Poole, Reginald L. : Illustrations of the History of Mediaeval Thought.
Williams and Norgate, London, 1884.
An excellent discussion of the views of several of the most interesting writers of the
13th and 14th centuries. It relates, especially, to political thought, and furnishes the
reader with the necessary references for this subject.
Translations and Reprints, Vol. II., No. 4: Monastic Tales of the XIII.
Century. Here the reader will find some specimens of a literature which tells us more of the
religion of the people than can be derived from any other source. The note, page 2,
gives the most accessible collections of these stories.