Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe 9781442679092

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Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe JEROME BARLOWE AND WILLIAM ROYE

Published in 1528, Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe is typical of popular literature from an era of English popular rebellion against the Catholic church. Usually attributed to two former members of the Franciscan order, Jerome Barlowe and William Roye, the text reflects the feeling of much of the population of the period in its vitriolic anti-Catholic stance and irreverent tone. The chief targets of the satire are the monastic orders, the mendicant friars, and, above all, Cardinal Wolsey. Written to appeal to a popular audience, the text is filled with humour, caricatures, and exaggerations. It captures the essence of the common people's complaints against the traditional church. Douglas Parker's edition of this text provides an invaluable tool for understanding the roots of the Reformation movement in England. DOUGLAS H. PARKER is a member of the Department of English, Laurentian University, and Dean of the Universite canadienne en France program in Villefranche, France. He is co-author, with Laurence Steven and Jack Lewis, of From Reading to Writing: A Reader, Rhetoric and Handbook.

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JEROME BARLOWE and WILLIAM ROYE

ftebe $le anfo

35e Writ

Brothe edited by Douglas H. Parker

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS Toronto Buffalo London

www.utppublishing.com University of Toronto Press Incorporated 1992 Toronto Buffalo London Printed in Canada ISBN 0-8020-2681-8

Printed on acid-free paper

Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data Barlow, Jerome, fl. 1527 Rede me and be nott wrothe Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-8020-2681-8 i. Wolsey, Thomas, i475?-i53O - Poetry. I. Roy, William, fl. 1527-1531. II. Parker, Douglas H. (Douglas Harold), 1942III. Title. PR22O9.B55R4 1992

821'.2

C92-O93947-3

This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Canadian Federation for the Humanities, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Contents

Acknowledgments vii INTRODUCTION I

Prologue 3 Literary Aspects of the Satire 12 Sources and the Tradition of Religious Satire 21 Authors, Date, and Printer 29 Interrelation of Editions 39 Bibliographical Descriptions 45 REDE ME AND BE NOTT WROTHE 49 Commentary 159 Glossary 210 Press Variants in the 1528 Copy Text 228 Emendations 229 Variants 233 Bibliography 242

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Acknowledgments

I am indebted to the generosity of the trustees and librarians of the following institutions: Bodleian Library, Oxford; British Library, London; Carl Pforzheimer Library, New York City,- Folger Library, Washington, D.C.; Harvard University Library, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Huntington Library, San Marino, California; John Rylands Library, Manchester,- Pierpont Morgan Library, New York City,- National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh; University of Edinburgh Library. Special thanks are due to the John Rylands Library for permission to use the two illustrations that appear in this book. I also owe thanks to the following people: Ashley Thomson, reference librarian, Laurentian University, for his assistance in helping me get materials not available in Canada; Dr Andrew Wawn, English Department, Keele University, for his assistance with parts of the glossary; Dr William Barker for his patience and wise suggestions for improvements; Helen Curlook in Canada and Lorna Warner and Chantal Baril in France for the uncomplaining hours they spent typing a sometimes very difficult manuscript; and last but not least to my wife Hilary and my two sons Geoffrey and Jonathan to whom this work is dedicated.

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Introduction

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Prologue

Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe, reputedly written by Jerome Barlowe and William Roye, is a long pre-Reformation verse satire, largely in dialogue, which unrelentingly and irreverently attacks various aspects of Roman Catholicism as well as Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, England's powerful prelate-chancellor in power under Henry Vlll from 1515 to 1529. Written probably late in 1527 and published in 1528 in Strasbourg by the Protestant printer Johann Schott, this acerbic indictment of the traditional church was, like other early English Protestant works of the period, probably too inflammatory and controversial for the authors to publish in their own religiously conservative country. However, it seems to have found a publisher easily enough on the continent where Lutheranism and other burgeoning heterodox creeds discovered a more congenial home than they did under the rather conservative Henry. Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe is an important work not because it presents the reader with strikingly original ideas - indeed, many of the complaints it levels at Roman Catholicism stretch back in literature to as early as the twelfth century - but because it is an engagingly populist and humorous work meant to appeal to the common reader. Its vicious attacks on Roman Catholic doctrine and practices regularly teeter on the border of gross exaggeration, and its excoriating criticisms of Wolsey are perilously close to caricature. It is, then, an early English example of a work designed to win the attention, support, and sympathy of the commoner for the cause of Protestantism, which was officially accepted in England only some twenty years later under the reign of the young Josiah, Edward VI.

4 / Prologue Major religous writers and polemicists of the period - More, Tyndale, Colet, and Luther, to name only a few - are remembered for their more theoretical and generally sober-sided treatises in support of their religious convictions. Barlowe and Roye are lightweights by comparison, more in the tradition of Skelton. They present us in Rede Me with a lively and jaunty rhyming dialogue which captures, if not the historical 'facts,' at least the high emotional temperature and impact of religious conviction of the era. Apart from its importance as a work that appeals in some ways to the emotions of the lowest common denominator of its society, Rede Me is also a significant document because in its not altogether orderly attack on Roman Catholic doctrine and practice, it serves as a handy compendium of many of the complaints that had been directed against the traditional church and were to continue to be directed against it in the years of the Reformation. In the authors' biting criticisms of Wolsey's influence on England's sacred and profane realms, the poem qualifies as social history - albeit skewed - of that important pre-Reformation period in England prior to Henry's official break with Rome in 1534. One of the many interesting but perplexing aspects of this poem is that no one today seems absolutely certain about how it should be titled. Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe is not the only possibility. Some twentieth-century Reformation historians, among them A.G. Dickens and Gordon Rupp, call it The Burying of the Mass, claiming that it was supposedly so referred to in its own day. For example, in an official proclamation issued, according to John Foxe, in 1530 by the English government, a work entitled The Burying of the Mass' was included on a list of banned books (Foxe 667). Dickens refers to those literary histories which call the work after its opening two lines 'Rede me and be nott wrothe, I For I say no thynge but trothe' - as 'misguided' (The English Reformation 345), and Rupp states that 'it is high time this title 'Rede me and be nott wrothe' went the way of Sinlac Hill and other misnomers ...' (Rupp 55). Despite the recognized authority of both Dickens and Rupp, this edition entitles the work after the first of its opening two lines. If a title is meant to convey to a reader the work's principal concern, 'The Burying of the Mass' simply will not do, for this title is a misnomer; Rede Me deals with a wide variety of subjects, only one of

5 / Prologue which happens to be the mass. Therefore, a less misleading and more general title seems to be appropriate, and the best option is to turn to the poem's opening couplet. If this title has the disadvantage of being too long and of not telling the reader anything about the contents of the work, it at least has the virtue of not leading the reader to believe that one of the dialogue's parts is its whole. Furthermore, it also gives a good indication of the controversial-polemical tone of the dialogue: in its warning to 'be not wrothe' the work prepares us for its strident, strongly partisan, and emotionally charged delivery. Although a not altogether neatly packaged or tidy tract, Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe is, in general terms, made up of five distinct parts: a title-page description, a prefatory letter, a preface in the form of a short dialogue, a lamentation, and a major dialogue which is itself divided into two large sections. The first part, the title-page description, entitled 'The Descripcion of the Armes,' is composed of three stanzas of rhyme royal [ababbcc] explicating the parody of Cardinal Wolsey's coat of arms on the title page. The second part, the prefatory letter, is now generally regarded as a 'blind' (Rupp 56; Arber 7), a device on the part of the authors to disguise the origins of the work in an attempt to protect themselves from legal recriminations. In it a Master N.O., residing on the continent, writes to master P.G., who lives in England and who has apparently sent this dialogue to N.O. so that it might be 'diligently put into prynt' (38). Arber suggests that the alphabet letters are a fabrication representing no real persons and that perhaps the 'G' is a misprint for 'Q' which would then render the letters in the order N.O.P.Q (7). Possibly the letters N.O. themselves cryptically point to the fictitious nature of the letter writer (ie, Master No). In any case, to accept this salutation as legitimate leads to certain difficulties, even, perhaps, absurdities. Why would N.O. feel the need to apologize for the work and explain its structure and contents to the person who sent it to him? The letter must be seen as the authors' attempt to preface the tract with a general explanation for the reader of the intent, structure, and content of the work. Clearly, then, both the preface and the tract were written by the authors in Strasbourg and made to appear to be coming from England so as to throw the English authorities off the scent. If Wolsey could be made to believe that the authors of the

6 / Prologue work were in England, he would not likely suspect either Barlowe or Roye, both of whom were known to be living on the continent. The fact that the authors felt the need to protect their identities even outside of England indicates the power and extent of English investigative procedures whose effects the self-exiled Tyndale was to feel a few years later. The preface which follows this letter reverts to rhyme royal; it is made up of fourteen such stanzas, ten of which are in the form of a dialogue between author and treatise, with both speakers addressing each other in alternate stanzas with separate refrains. This somewhat fantastic dialogue between a talking book and its author anticipates the major dialogue itself, more realistically put into the mouths of the poem's two speakers, Watkyn and leffraye. In the short preliminary dialogue the book is concerned that even though it speaks the truth it will not be believed because its account of the outrageous behaviour of Wolsey and the enormous crimes of the Roman Catholic Church will be regarded as fictional. The fourth part of Rede Me is the ironic 'lamentacion' in which a member of the Roman clergy laments the death of the mass in thirtyfour rhyme royal stanzas. Each ends with the heavily ironic refrain 'Seynge that gone is the masse / Nowe deceased alas alas' or a slight variation on it. As Skelton ironically used phrases from the mass to mourn the death of a bird in Thyllyp Sparowe/ so Barlowe and Roye use phrases from the mass to 'mourn' the mass's death. The major part of the poem follows this 'lamentacion.' Part one of the dialogue is made up of 1267 lines. Within this space the authors range widely through many topics: they begin by exposing the various evils of the Roman Catholic mass; they turn on Cardinal Wolsey as both priest and politician,- they criticize many of the sacraments and the church hierarchy; they attack clerical celibacy, clerical immorality, and the church's position on the Bible in the vernacular. To suggest that there is any particular order or causal relationship in these attacks would be to give the first part of the work more credit for structural integrity than it deserves. In fact, Watkyn and leffraye (and Barlow and Roye) are less concerned with presenting clearly articulated and organized arguments than in wandering about, as one idea critical of the established church gives rise to another in no particular order. Part two of the dialogue initially begins in a more orderly fashion

7 / Prologue than its predecessor. The majority of the 2090 lines of this section attack monks and friars. Here the authors drop a number of revealing and, no doubt, skewed comments about the way the traditional church hierarchy not only ravages the souls of its benighted followers, but also how it is the main culprit for many of the economic ills of the day. Here, as elsewhere, evidence is rarely produced to support these claims, nor do the speakers feel any need to justify their accusations. As the work comes to a close Wolsey is attacked again, in a feeble attempt to tie the end of the tract to its beginning. Three factors in particular stand out as especially important for the historical context of Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe: England's doctrinal conservatism relative to many countries on the continent; the importance of the heretical and subversive movement known as Lollardy; and the presence and enormous influence during this period of England's chancellor, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. Although the heretical Lollard movement was never totally eliminated in England during Henry vm's reign and had found a welcome home in certain pockets of the country ever since it first raised its head in the fourteenth century under its founder, John Wycliffe, government-supported religious heterodoxy was not a possibility in England until after Henry's death and the accession of Edward vi in 1547. This is not to say, however, that England was content to silently tolerate corrupt practices that had infested many aspects of the old faith. From Wycliffe's time and even earlier, the written records show that much criticism had been levelled at 'the leprosy of monasticism' (Trevor-Roper 71), pluralism, clerical immorality, benefice-selling, and a general and undue involvement in things of the world and the flesh. And in the eyes of many - and this included Barlowe and Roye - this corruption, at least during the decade of the 15205, was embodied in Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, who 'combined in his own person the Church in England, the Church of Rome, and the Kingdom of England - for he was Archbishop of York, a cardinal and legate of the pope, and chancellor of the realm' (Bainton The Reformation 184). Despite the religious discontent in Henry's reign, England was a country of 'schism without heresy' (Bainton 199). Henry's unflagging doctrinal orthodoxy and steadfast opposition to heresy explain why, relative to other countries on the continent such as Germany and

8 / Prologue Switzerland, England turned to Protestantism so late. Many ardent and radical English reformers, in the 15205 especially, fed up with not only corrupt practices but drawn to the reforming views of Lollardy and Lutheranism - for 'heretics of Lollard background welcomed Lutheranism' (Dickens Reformation and Society 14-15) - felt the need to escape England for their own safety and to find a more congenial haven for their unorthodox religious views. The most famous to leave was William Tyndale, best known for his English translation of the New Testament published on the continent in 1526 and outlawed in England under Wolsey and Henry vm. And two others who left the country and began propagating Protestant views were Jerome Barlow and William Roye, the authors of Rede Me. The spread and support of heretical views - especially Lutheranism - was as much political as religious. For its part, England, under Henry vm, had less to gain by fostering reformist positions and far more to lose by allowing them to challenge and perhaps overthrow the traditional faith. Thus, religious reform along doctrinal lines was an underground and unwelcome phenomenon from the 15205 up to Henry's death. Dickens is doubtless correct when he states that 'the English Protestant Reformation arose and grew largely in opposition to the will of Henry vm' (The English Reformation 83). The religious climate in England in the 15205 underlies much of what one finds in Barlowe and Roye's poem. It explains why the work was published in Strasbourg, the reason for the 'blind' preface, and the authors' negative attitudes towards religiously conservative England and especially the Cardinal. It explains the authors' attacks on the clergy, the monastic life, and those aspects of Roman Catholicism that in the 15205 Lollardy and later Lutheranism held up to scorn. One of the early major forces that played a significant part in the Reformation movement was Lollardy. Indeed, 'the nature of heresy in early Tudor England' was 'overwhelmingly inspired by Wycliffe, at least until about 1530' (Dickens The English Reformation 27). A brief summary of Lollardy's principal tenets read in light of Rede Me's criticisms of the traditional church reveals some striking similarities and suggests that Barlowe and Roye were attracted to and influenced by much of what Lollardy had to say to a significant number of English citizens in the 15205. In essence, Lollardy, was stridently anti-

9 / Prologue clerical; it denied the doctrine of transubstantiation and the efficacy of pilgrimages and images; it condemned clerical celibacy and supported the reading of the Bible in the vernacular. As a movement it was 'anti-sacerdotal/ 'anti-sacramental/ and 'anti-ceremonial' (Dickens in Hunstfield 46-7; Thomson, passim}. The fact that Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe calls time and again for the mass's burial, excoriates clerical immorality which it directly attributes to clerical celibacy, ridicules pilgrimages and shrines and the invocation of saints, and attacks those who are responsible for burning Tyndale's English New Testament, suggests that it does reflect in its pages the principal tenets of radical opposition to religious conservatism in the 15205, namely Lollardy. Furthermore, if Dickens is correct when he states that in its sixteenth-century manifestation Lollardy seemed to appeal 'to the common people - weavers, wheelwrights, smiths, carpenters, shoemakers, tailors and other tradesmen' (Dickens The English Reformation 30), then it is no wonder that the authors chose a populist form for their work. With its lively dialogue and rhyme, its song and racy jokes, its many colloquialisms, its untheoretical nature, and its scurillous attacks, Rede Me might very well be reflecting the radical positions of Lollard reform and playing to a particular socio-economic group already won over to these reforms. A few words need to be said about the importance of Lutheranism in England during the 15205. A close reading of Rede Me suggests that a central tenet of Martin Luther's theology - the doctrine of justification by faith - plays some part in it with one clear reference in the text to the doctrine (1771-6). There are two other references to Luther (627) or Lutheran views (i116) and one oblique reference that suggests support of Luther's position on free will (666ff). However, since other aspects of Lutheran doctrine are either compatible with or identical to much of Lollard belief, it is virtually impossible to distinguish between what is Lutheran or what is Lollard in the text. Nevertheless, it is important to mention that Lutheran views were present, if not prevalent, in England during the 15205. The existence of such views suggests a growing Protestant climate in the country and a growing resistance to the traditional church. The two major centres of Lutheranism in the 15205 were Cambridge and London (Dickens The English Reformation 68-70). In Cambridge, scholars used to gather together, in the early years of the decades, at the

io / Prologue White Horse tavern, popularly known as 'Little Germany/ to discuss Lutheran views. One of those scholars was Roye. London, for its part, seems to have been important as a clearing house for Lutheran books smuggled into the country by merchants sympathetic to the Protestant cause. 'Early in 1526 several of the Hanse merchants of the Stilyard were prosecuted for holding Lutheran heresies and importing Lutheran books when they returned from their periodic visits to their own country7 (Dickens English Reformation 69). The third and final factor in the historical context of Rede Me is Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. Wolsey attained the height of his power as chancellor and cardinal during the decade of the 15205. Doubtless both Barlowe and Roye as English Observants would have had ample opportunity to watch Wolsey in action while they were in England, and would not have missed the opportunity to expose him as a villain. In Rede Me, the authors needed only to point to Wolsey as the supreme example of the corrupt clergyman in England for their readers to draw the obvious conclusion, namely that the Roman Catholic clergy in general shared in the faults of their leader and that clerical corruption was a disease spreading from the top down. Certain revisionist historians have claimed that the attacks against clergy were merely attacks against the personal abuses of Wolsey and his cronies and that the 'anticlerical statutes' of 1529 were reactions to Wolsey's power, not to widespread clerical corruption (Haigh The English Reformation Revised 68). They argue that the Roman church was not as abuse-ridden as the Protestant Reformers have claimed, indeed that the Reform movement in England never really took shape until very late in Henry's reign. Yet the sustained attacks against Wolsey in Rede Me and other works suggest that Wolsey was the target because he summed up so well what was increasingly wrong with the English Catholic church. For their information on Wolsey, Barlowe and Roye doubtless relied on their own memories of stories they heard and things they saw, but also, very likely, on the anti-Wolsey poems of John Skelton, especially 'Speke Parott/ 'Collyn Clout/ and 'Why Come Ye Nat to Courte?/ all written in 1521 and 1522 (Skelton 18). As is shown in the commentary as well, many of the accusations brought against the Cardinal are probably overstated, since the authors seem to use him as the whip-

11 / Prologue ping-post for their frustrations with Roman Catholicism in general. It is questionable whether Wolsey was as unscrupulous and meanspirited as Barlowe and Roye portray him in Rede Me, but even the usually fair-minded Dickens finds little to admire in what we today might call Wolsey's management style: His tactlessness and financial demands in Parliament, his repression of the nobility, his development of Chancery jurisdiction at the expense of the influential common lawyers, his costly and ineffective foreign policy, his failure to execute radical reforms in the Church, his voracious appetite for other clergymen's privileges, the Roman basis of his authority as Legate, each of these features attracted powerful enemies. Above all, his personal arrogance, his enormous wealth and splendid ostentation were resented and freely contrasted with his origin as the butcher's son from East Anglia. To an increasing extent Wolsey's policy became based on his legatine office,- in England the justification of his unique powers would disappear the moment he ceased being able to manipulate papal jurisdication. Hence he strove to keep Rome out of hostile hands, or at least to stand well with whichever European power might threaten to dominate the Papacy ... And while in fact ecclesiastics were the main sufferers under Wolsey's system, it provided also a lurid theme for anticlerical demagogues, who did not stop to reflect that the King must bear chief responsibility for this portentous phenomenon. (The English Reformation 38-9) Barlowe and Roye had plenty of material on which to base their partially true, partially fabricated portrayal of Wolsey in Rede Me.

Literary Aspects of the Satire

A careful sorting out of the wayward material of Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe shows that the satire in general is directed mainly at two targets. The first is Wolsey who seems to represent for the authors the epitome of all that is wrong with the Roman Catholic church in England. The second is the great variety of perceived corruptions within that church. The authors are relentless in their attacks on Wolsey's arrogance, pomp, wealth, corruption, and immorality. When they turn their attention to the church over which he presides they attack the mass, the sacraments, pilgrimages, and various sacerdotal offices which support and sustain the church. Apart from strongly supporting the dissemination of the Bible in the vernacular, Barlowe and Roye rarely utter statements that articulate their positive religious convictions; as a result, one is constantly forced to infer from their biting attacks what they themselves support. In other words, throughout Rede Me, the authors strike no balance between what is and what they think should be. They excoriate the religious status quo and leave readers to draw their own conclusions about the kinds of reforms that might correct this status quo. This strong emphasis on exposure of perceived corruption accounts for the feeling that the work is something of a breathless and unrelenting piece of complaint literature. The authors themselves seem aware that an unrelieved negativism stretched over the length of some 3700 lines might deter their reader. In the prefatory letter, N.O. utters an apologia: 'I hoape that the reder what ever he be, will nott take this worke as a thynge convicious, or a principle of hatred and

13 / Literary Aspects of the Satire debate' (107-9). And in the dialogue between the Treatise and the Author, the Treatise seeks twice to assuage the readers concerning the work's alarming and relentless candour: Well yett there is greate occasion of grudge Because I apeare to be convicious. Withouten fayle the clargy will me iudge To procede of a sprete presumtuous, For to vse soche wordes contumelious It becommeth nott christen charite. (42-7) When the Author responds that the traditional church deserves everything it gets because of its burning of the Bible, the Treatise remains unconvinced and once again expresses concern about not being believed: Yf I presume to make relacion Of secret matters that be vncertayne They will count it for diffamacion Or thinges contryved of a frowarde brayne To descrybe their faultes it is but vayne Except I were in some authorite. (58-63) The very title of the work - or at least the title used here - also expresses awareness of possible disbelief and anger on the part of an audience unaccustomed to such sustained satiric exposure. When the book addresses its audience and tells it to 'Rede me and be nott wrothe For I saye no thynge but trothe' it anticipates the reader's incredulity and anger, while, at the same time, it assures the reader that all the apparent preposterousness of what follows is, nevertheless, only the truth. These various apologiae go some distance in clarifying and defining the nature of the satire of Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe. Apart from the work's negativism and its shot-gun approach to its targets, one can also detect a special 'technique' that the authors use against Wolsey in particular and the church in general to deepen their satiric attacks. The device that I am referring to is best understood by way of examples drawn from the tract itself. The following examples

14 / Literary Aspects of the Satire are all taken from the prefatory letter. They are all more or less emotionally neutral in the sense that they are not part of the extended satiric elements of the dialogue. In his salutation to his colleague, N.O. refers to P.G. as 'his singuler goode frende' (29). Just after the letter opens and in a parenthetical clause the writer refers to 'the whole nombre of Christes chosen flocke, remaynge amonge oure nacion of englisshe men, [that] are knet together purly for the truthes sake pondered ...' (36-8}. Because the book he has been sent to have published is so worthwhile, he claims that 'he coulde do no lesse' (39) than see it through the press. A little later in the letter he fears that those who see the work as a threat to the traditional faith will 'with all violence persecute the reders there of (66}. Nevertheless, he is prepared 'to sett this smale treatous as a glas or myroure most cleare before all mens eyes' (85-6} so 'that as many as are of the sede of abraham shall se their light ...' (155-6). He closes the letter by hoping that God will 'continuity (157) strengthen P.G. with spirit. The italicized words and terms in the above phrases all have something in common, perhaps best defined as an inclusiveness, a thoroughness, a superlative quality, a lack of qualification. Terms such as 'singuler,' 'whole/ 'purly/ 'no lesse/ 'all/ 'most cleare/ 'all mens/ 'as many as/ and 'continully' leave little room for discussion, doubt, or debate. They are self-satisfied terms that close the door to further discussion by implying that nothing more need to or can be said. From the rhetorical point of view, they discourage response or qualification. Such terms suggest that everything that needs to be said has been said. In an emotionally neutral context they do not jump off the page, but they do, nevertheless, act collectively to give an overall impression of confidence and certitude. Used in a more emotionally charged context and brought to the service of satire, such a device or technique sears the mind of the reader by painting the objects of attack in startling tones with few shades or subtleties. The intellectual arrogance of the title phrase 'For I saye no thynge but trothe' says simply 'everything that I state in this tract is true.' And in light of what follows - an unrelenting and unqualified attack on Wolsey and the church - this line and the various other apologiae about the tract's truthfulness clearly protest too much.

15 / Literary Aspects of the Satire It now remains to examine the use of the satire as it applies to the work's two main targets, Wolsey and the church. The authors turn their attention to Wolsey mainly in the first part of the dialogue and it is here that the stark superlatives are most clearly associated with him. We learn in the dialogue between the Author and the Treatise, for instance, that 'his lyfe is / Vnto all people greatly detestable' (18-19). Unashamed of redundancy, the authors add only seven lines later that 'his lyfe of all people is hated' (26). Some 400 lines into part one of the dialogue, leffraye, who regularly fills in Watkyn on the way things are in England, describes Wolsey as the Tatriarcke of all wickednes' (441), and later adds that Wolsey's 'pompe' is so great that 'It passeth my capacite' (687-8) to express it. This admission of defeat (that he lacks both the language and the skill to articulate this 'pompe') soon is transformed into a rhetorical feint, since leffraye continues - as he has started - to paint Wolsey's crimes in unsophisticated extremes. In lines 858-9 he states - as if he had carried out a detailed study of the history of tyranny from England's beginnings to his own day - that 'Alas sens England fyrst began, / Was never soche a tyrante theare,' and adds some ten lines later with characteristic exaggeration that 'Through all the londe he caused periury' (866) by 'Procedynge most tyrannously' (868). Th goods that Wolsey steals from others are 'scattered' (879) and used 'In causes nothynge expedient' (880). Wolsey 'geveth nothynge grates, / But selleth all for reddy mony' (897-8). And the authors' attacks on Wolsey become hyperbolic in such lines as 'He extendeth his power more large, / Then the power of almygthy god' (909-10). Such hyperbole is sustained later on: Vnto god he is so odious, That nothynge can be prosperous, Where as he hath governaunce. Sens that he cam fyrst forwarde, All thynges have gone backwarde. (974-8) And again, later, where Wolsey is described riding on his goldbedecked mule, 'More lyke a god celestiall, / Then eny creature mortall, / With worldly pompe incredible' (1097-9). The way in which the authors present their satiric exposure of

16 / Literary Aspects of the Satire Wolsey - to say nothing of what they say about him - is altogether consistent with the grotesque images they use to describe him elsewhere. In the poem which leffraye utters near the end of the dialogue, Wolsey's vile enormities are stressed both through the extreme language we have grown accustomed to as well as the alliteration. The heaping on of abuse reaches a crescendo near the end of the poem: O miserable monster, most malicious, Father of perversite, patrone of hell. O terrible Tyrant, to god and men odious, Advocate of antichrist, to Christ rebell. To the I speake, o caytife Cardinall so cruell. (3364-8) O perverse preste patriarke of pryde, Mortherer with out mercy most execrable. O beastly brothell, of baudry the bryde, Darlynge of the devill, gretly detestable. Alas, what wretch wolde be so vengeable? (3385-9) O paynted pastoure, of Satan the Prophet, Ragynge courre, wrapped in a wolues skynne O butcherly bisshop, to be a ruler vnmete, Maker of misery, occasion of synne. (3413-16) When we add all of the earlier attacks on Wolsey to these three excerpts and to the title-page parody of the Cardinal's coat-of-arms which Neville Williams calls 'the earliest political cartoon in England' (72) - the clear impression we are left with is that Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe's expose of Wolsey is pure caricature. Any pretence at valid or truthful reporting has been laid aside. Indeed, with this portrayal of Wolsey, the satire degenerates into the grotesquerie of lampoon. The extreme language is also applied in the attacks on the mass. However, when the authors turn their attack to the mass they ironically fall into a linguistic trap of which they are either oblivious or uncaring. In that part of the work where the Treatise and the Author speak to each other in alternating stanzas, the Treatise tells the Author that the people of England, although disdainful of Wolsey,

17 / Literary Aspects of the Satire still regard the mass 'As a worke of singuler magnificence' (29). In an attempt to prove this point, the next section of the poem, the Lamentation, is spoken by a priest (perhaps leffraye and Watkyn's employer) who mourns the passing of the mass because of the various losses to himself and the church in general. What is to be noted in his complaint is his choice of diction to explain the faith that heretofore had been placed in the powers of the now dying mass. We learn from him, for instance, that his and the church's honour are now 'brought to extreme decaye' (121) because of the mass's death. By way of analogy he adds that The dolfull destruction of noble troye Was never to man haulfe so lamentable Nor yett the subuersion of Rome oure ioye Vnder whom we were counted honorable. (139-42) The speaker considers the mass's death as the worst of all possible fates and the rhetoric he uses emphasizes this point repeatedly. In its heyday the mass was regarded as 'The chefe vpholder of oure liberte' (147). In what we begin to recognize as a repetitive linguistic pattern the priest emphasizes the happy effects of the simple Christian's gullible acceptance of the mass's powers. He states: By the masse we were exalted so hye, That scantly eny man we wolde once knowe. We thought for to ascende vnto the skye, Havynge oure seate above the rayne bowe. (230-4) Or again: The masse made vs lordes and kynges over all, Farre and nere every wheare havyng power. (237-8) And finally: Kynges and prynces for all their dignite, To displease vs feared oute of measure. (268-9) All of these examples with their built-in superlatives pushed occa-

18 / Literary Aspects of the Satire sionally to the borders of hyperbole underscore the tremendous benefits that accrued to the clergy as a result of the faith placed in the mass by the simple Christian. However, the irony of this rhetorical device begins to make itself felt once the priest explains the various powers the mass was thought to have. He lists the following attributes, beginning with this general comment: 'Of all maner thynges the comodyte, / By the masses healpe only did depende' (279-80), and then only a few lines later and by way of redundancy he adds: 'All prosperite that our lorde did sende. / Was for favoure of the masse' (283-4). He then turns to more particular attributes which we as the enlightened Protestant audience are supposed to scorn and ridicule. We learn, for example, that 'To soudears and men goynge a warre fare, / The masse is ever a sure proteccion' (300-1). He tells us as well that the mass drives 'awaye all affliccion' (303) and concludes his list of the mass's benefits by stating: Never sence the worlde was fyrst create, Was there a thynge of soche reputacion. For in every londe and nacion All goodnes cam by the mass ... (309-12) The intended response that these types of claims for the mass is supposed to solicit is, of course, scornful laughter at those who could put their faith in such exaggerated powers. But what the authors seem to forget - or chose to ignore - is that they employ the same type of rhetorical device in their exposure of Wolsey and later in their vilification of the monastic orders and the Catholic church in general. In other words the unqualified and exaggerated claims that the priest makes on behalf of the mass's powers is no different in kind from the unqualified and exaggerated attacks that are made against Wolsey. Why we should laugh in disbelief at the outlandish claims of the former and accept as valid the attacks against the latter when both the former and the latter employ the same rhetorical device is a significant problem in the satirical strategy of the work. But perhaps this glaring contradiction is to be expected in a work of propaganda. W.H. Auden called propaganda 'a monologue which seeks not a response but an echo.' Here the echoes are redoubled even within the work itself.

19 / Literary Aspects of the Satire The rhetorical device that I have been examining in the preliminary matter and part one of the dialogue is found as well in part two where the authors turn their attention principally to the lengthy exposure of monastic abuses and the corruption of friars. Once again we witness unrelenting attacks on the evils of the sacerdotal life expressed in language which is unqualified, exaggerated, and allinclusive. Thus, as part two opens, leffraye wastes no time letting us know that monks living in abbeys have it easy since 'Thei live in welthynes and ease, / Havynge what soever they please' (1624-5). Furthermore, we learn that 'Be they never so stronge or starcke, / They will exercyse no maner warcke' (1633-34). A little later we hear that for unholy living friars 'are worst of all' (1699) and that the Observants 'are the very foundacion' (1827) 'of all hypocrysy' (1826). The second part continues in this vein. The very length of the attacks in part two coupled with the non-pareil quality of the hypocrisy, lechery, immorality, greed, pride, sloth, and envy of the subjects under attack leave the reader struggling under the weight of this 'no thynge but trothe.' Given the satirical overkill and exaggeration, which sometimes leave the reader gasping, what may be said on the work's behalf? For one thing, its lack of substantial literary merit is in large measure compensated for by an energy which gives it a self-justifying vitality. Through the work we get a vigorous presentation - if, perforce, a highly exaggerated picture - of the major Protestant complaints against Roman Catholicism, particularly as it was preached and practised in England. The vitality of the work is enhanced by the dialogue form itself: the authors seem to be trying to give their work dramatic and mimetic shape. One comes to know the two narrators as the work unfolds. Obviously they are servants of a priest; that much we are told. But other aspects of their personality emerge from the tract. Watkyn is clearly conversant with religious events on the continent and initially leffraye takes a back seat to him. However, when the subject turns to things English, leffraye seizes control of the dialogue and maintains it throughout the greater part of the work. Watkyn is then seen as naive and uninstructed and leffraye is eager to disabuse him of his illusions about Roman Catholicism in general and the religious life in particular. Watkyn, however, is not only naive and ignorant; he is also much more cautious as he constantly

2O / Literary Aspects of the Satire warns the brasher leffraye that he is flirting with heresy or losing credibility through his revelations and charges. leffraye's boldness is evident not only in his accusations against the traditional church, but also in his histrionics: he is both poet and singer and is willing to demonstrate his skill in both these areas at the drop of a hat. A sense of drama is also maintained in other parts of the dialogue through the authors' creation of various personae: the two friends in the prefatory letter, separated from each other by the Channel, but joined in a common effort to defeat papistry; the somewhat unbelievable talking Treatise in the short dialogue between Treatise and Author, and the self-incriminating priest who rues the passing of the mass in the lamentation. In sum, through its sometimes racy language and outlandish claims, its biting irreverence, its various voices, its lack of doctrinal theory and plethora of examples, its simple rhyming narrative poetry, often highly alliterative and with refrain, its cartoon-caricature title page and its songs, the dialogue shows that its authors were aware that reaching and holding their audience was to be achieved more by the energy of mimesis and slander, than by preaching dry theory or engaging in highly intellectual polemics. Barlowe and Roye seemed to take to heart the Horatian dictum that literature not only had to instruct and inform but also delight and entertain. Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe does this extremely well. Well enough, that is, to provoke Wolsey to attempt to buy up and destroy all copies of the work - surely a tribute to the work's ability to move if not, in this instance, to delight.

Sources and the Tradition of

Religious Satire

In his Studies in the Literary Relations of England and Germany in the Sixteenth Century, Charles Herford suggests that Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe, with its emphasis upon a dying mass, found its inspiration in Die Krankheit der Masse, by the Swiss poet Niclaus Manuel (40). Herford claims that this verse dialogue 'is the triumphant cry of Swiss Protestantism over the fall of the Mass in Switzerland' (40). For Herford, the connection between Manuel's 'incomparably superior' work and Barlowe and Roye's is clear. Doubting that Roye could have actually read and examined the Swiss work because 'of the inferiority of his own' (40), Herford feels that he must have got the inspiration of Rede Me from what he had heard about Manuel's work. He states that Manuel's effective satire became immediately popular and was immediately reprinted and adapted. At Strassburg, where every movement of the Swiss Protestants found an instant echo, the report of it must have followed the collapse of the Bern Disputation [1528] ... [T]he idea of the personified Mass falling sick, abused by her foes, vainly succoured by her friends, and finally lying at the point of death, was one of those which in a country thrilling with excited hopes and fears at that very prospect, penetrates and is passed from mouth to mouth with incredible rapidity. In Strassburg it must have been current talk at the moment when Roye conceived the thought of his dialogue. As the most effective handle within reach for the elaborate assault upon the English clergy which he contemplated, he seized upon it - and

22 / Sources and the Tradition then came the complaisant and industrious Barlow to give form to his conception. (43) Perhaps following Herford, the editors of The Cambridge History of English Literature also support his view by claiming that 'the framework [of Rede Me] is suggested by Niclaus Manuel's famous Krankheit der Masse' (ill, 80). John Berdan also accepts the influence and regards it 'as epitomizing the whole subject of German influence.' He adds: 'When by chance an English author found something to his liking in the Germany literatures, he simply appropriated it, incorporated it into his own work, and gave it a strictly English setting. Consequently there was no German influence as such; it is a record of individual writers purloining the particular feature with which their fancy had become enamoured' (68). While not denying the possible relationship between the two works, Anthea Hume points to significant differences between them. She states that although, like Rede Me, Die Krankheit is a dialogue, it is, in fact, a dialogue in prose and not in verse (A Study of the Writings of the English Protestant Exiles 106). She adds that the allegorical expose of the mass in Manuel's work plays only a small unallegorical part in Rede Me (107). Indeed, those who see the attack on the mass as the main thematic concern and structural backbone of Rede Me have badly misread the work: the opening poetic sequence and lamentation deal with the death of the mass to be sure, but the vast majority of the tract is concerned with other matters (Wolsey, clerical abuses, monasticism, and so on). In fact, as I have already suggested, part two of the dialogue is almost totally given over to an excoriating attack on monks and friars, and it is only near the end of the work that the mass is again mentioned, almost as an afterthought. Hume even suggests that Die Krankheit may have been written after Rede Me: 'one may perhaps assume that the original poem was an anti-clerical blast against Wolsey and the English spirituality, but was reshaped in its opening pages with a topical treatment of the mass - probably in about February 1528' (108), after the appearance of Die Krankheit in early 1528. Although Barlowe and Roye may not have been as influenced by the content of Die Krankheit as some have thought, it is, however, clear that they were very much influenced in their choice of form by

23 / Sources and the Tradition the popularity of the form of dialogue, particularly in Germany (Herford 21-69). A popular form of debate throughout the Middle Ages, the dialogue was brought to its artistic apex on the continent by Erasmus and Ulrich von Hutten. Following the example set by these two reformers - the one conservative, the other radical - writers produced a host of dialogues in Germany between the beginning of the 15205 through to the middle of the decade. Doubtless Roye would have become aware of the popularity of the form in Germany after he arrived there sometime in 1525, if he wasn't already aware of its rising popularity in England in polemical as well as educational writing. The extent to which the work is largely 'hempen homespun' is also evident in the tradition which it follows. It would be hard to claim any real originality for Rede Me. Though the immediate source for its form is the German dialogue form of the 15205, in its subject matter of strident anticlericalism it is part of a long native tradition of clerical verse satire (Tucker). For its attacks on Wolsey it could rely, as is noted in detail in the commentary, on the folklore found in the near contemporary ballads and in some of the works of Skelton. It is also, as John Peter states, a good example of complaint literature, particularly in its criticism of Wolsey, 'the novus homo, the upstart, the man who has climbed up from mediocrity to a position of wealth and power' (96). Its attacks on Roman Catholic doctrine are also derivative: some of them, as we have seen, are expressions of views that originated with Wycliffe and that were still current in England in the 15205, largely through the activity of scattered pockets of Lollards in the country,- others, no doubt, are criticisms popularized by English reformers resident at Cambridge University, which Roye himself attended (Rupp 15-16). King states that 'the origins of reformation literature may be traced back to the writings of John Wyclif and his fourteenth century Lollard followers' (4). Still others might have been imbibed from Tyndale with whom Roye obviously shared some common feeling; Tyndale's doctrinal views, in turn, owe much to Luther and to other continental reformers. As the commentary shows, the work's indebtedness to earlier models for its 'theology' and its form is considerable. I have placed the word theology in quotation marks to emphasize the indirect way in which Rede Me's theological underpinnings are articulated. Its

24 / Sources and the Tradition highly satiric and irreverent tone evident in its scathing denunciations, diatribes, and blasphemous references, as well as its approach to Roman Catholic doctrine and practices - an approach based on reaction - makes it difficult to define clearly its theological positions or to see a particular theological school at its root. The theological positions that the authors make must be found in analogies in the works of other Reformation writers of the period, especially, but not exclusively, William Tyndale. And to point to analogies rather than to insist categorically on direct borrowings is as far as one can safely go with this work, largely because many of the criticisms that it makes were so widespread, popular, and universally accepted that direct attribution is impossible. Probably as close as we can get to the source of the 'theology' behind Rede Me is to say that it is, in many of its statements, Lollard inspired. Having said this, however, does not take us much closer to finding a coherent theology. For as J.A.F. Thomson has reminded us, Lollardy was 'a set of more or less consistent attitudes than ... a set of carefully worked out doctrines' (244); moreover, although the 'intellectual basis of Lollardy lay in the work of John Wycliff (1329-85),' 'the term "Lollard" came to be applied in an indiscriminate way to anything and anybody even vaguely unorthodox' (Scattergood 248). Indeed, Wycliffe's main objections to th traditional church read like a compendium of many of Barlowe and Roye's reactions to Catholicism in Rede Me. Wycliffe denied the real presence in the Eucharist, papal authority, the validity of confession, the reliance on pilgrimages, images, and indulgences. Furthermore he encouraged the translation and reading of the Bible in the vernacular (Scattergood 249). The latter point especially is one that the authors of Rede Me make repeatedly in their work. Post-Wycliffite Lollardy 'became virtually a private religion' often taken up by 'ill-informed enthusiasts who mixed a debased form of Wycliffe's ideas with crude superstitions and extravagances of all sorts' (Scattergood 249). The sometimes wild claims made by the authors are perhaps a hold-over from the Lollard enthusiasm they inherited. 'That Lollardy was almost exclusively a lower-class movement' (V.J. Scattergood 250) perhaps explains the clear proletarian appeal of Rede Me: it is a work made up of simple song and rhyme, in the form of a dialogue, with two servants as the speakers, with a practical rather than a theoretical orientation, and with a satiric, populist, and complaint tone.

25 / Sources and the Tradition Clearly Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe is indebted in many ways to the Lollard spirit which led the way in reform by daring to stare down the traditional Church. This, however, is not to rule out the influence from Lutheranism or other continental reform movements. The question of theological indebtedness in these complex times is at best a tangled affair. And in a work as apparently as derivative as Rede Me, there are no simple answers. To place Rede Me in the history of verse satire in England is not easy. In the first place, a difficulty arises from the protean meaning of the word 'satire' itself. Although we may define satire in very general terms as a form that is critical of the existing order of things or some aspect of that order, it is difficult to go beyond these general terms if we want to find a definition that applies to all satiric verse. Looking more closely at the form, we have to answer such thorny questions as to what extent humour, irony, diatribe, parody, and invective are part of the satirical genre. Are these terms always a central component of satire or do some of them form a cruder, some a more sophisticated, species of writing? Another question: are mere attack and criticism enough to define satire, or is an implied or stated corrective also required? These questions are particularly vexing when it comes to considering Rede Me's place within the tradition of verse satire. For Barlowe and Roye's work is a veritable medley not only of early verse forms - the ballad, the refrain, the lamentation, the dialogue - but also of the various voices, tones, and attitudes that the satirist can take towards his subject. In it invective, humour, exaggeration, irony, diatribe, parody, and burlesque tumble about playfully. The reader's sense of the authors' attitude towards their subjects is never entirely unambiguous. Perhaps, then, rather than trying to separate the various components which constitute verse satire in Rede Me, it might be more fruitful briefly to identify the subject matter of the work to show not so much the tradition of the exact satiric techniques as the tradition of the items held up for attack and criticism. Yet even this approach is not without its dangers. The subject matter of Rede Me is not distinct and separate, as it is in some of Rede Me's possible ancestors. Scattergood, in his Politics and Poetry in the Fifteenth Century, confidently studies the poetry of the period by dividing it into distinct subjects. He devotes one chapter to political verse, another to

26 / Sources and the Tradition religion and the clergy, and three more to English society and poetry. Regrettably, Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe does not allow itself to be dealt with in this way because of the very nature of the times of which it is a part. Barlowe and Roye are writing of an era in which politics and religion are largely inseparable; indeed, the one figure at whom they level most of their satire - Cardinal Wolsey - symbolizes the marriage between religion and politics that was a particular characteristic of the Reformation. Wolsey is the quintessential political prelate, and he is attacked for that very reason. Throughout the work, religion and politics are spoken of in the same breath: Wolsey has too much influence over the king, Henry vm; the enclosing of lands by monks leads to poverty and destitution,- abbots are more concerned with feathering their own nests through economic plunder than following the rules of their founders; Wolsey is a war-monger,friars fail to contribute to the military security of their country. And the list goes on. Hence when one talks about Rede Me, one must constantly be aware of the political context of ecclesiastical matters and vice versa. In his still-useful Verse Satire in the Renaissance, Samuel Tucker sketches out the beginnings of verse satire in England as it applied to matters ecclesiastical and religious, as old as the Goliardic verse of the twelfth century, initially written in Latin, then in Anglo-French, and finally in English. Two of its most characteristic concerns - the decadence of the age and an obsession with women - find no real place in Rede Me, but a third theme, the immorality of the ecclesiastical orders, is a notion that Barlowe and Roye harp on throughout their work. Clearly, in Rede Me Wolsey is the principal offender, but the secular clergy and the monks and friars are also indicted for their immorality. The particular point that Barlowe and Roye make through this indictment is probably one that the Goliardic satirists could not have subscribed to: that the immorality of the priestly orders supports claims for a married clergy. Also in this early period is the more scholarly Anglo-Latin satire of the twelfth century whose subject matter 'sprang from reformatory tendencies in the Church itself (Tucker 39). In the following century, this satire, often written by monks and priests, took ecclessiastical abuse as its subject matter. Written by those critical of the institution of which they chose to remain a part, it was motivated by the sincere concern of dedicated

27 / Sources and the Tradition conservative reformers, individuals who find their sixteenth-century counterparts not in the likes of the more radical reformers such as Barlowe and Rove, but rather in those like Thomas More and Erasmus who, while writing critically of their church, nevertheless chose to remain within it. Two of the most famous of the Goliardic compositions are the work of Walter Map. The Apocalypsis Goliae exposes the sins of the clergy and especially the corruption of the monastic ideal - a theme which Barlowe and Roye hit on again and again particularly in the second part of Rede Me. Map's The Confession of Golias focuses on one figure for its satiric effect; in this work, Bishop Golias confesses his sins to the Bishop of Coventry. Although probably most unlike Rede Me in its confessional tone, The Confession of Golias shares one important similarity with it; both focus, in part, on the sins and enormities of one figure; Wolsey is a kind of latter-day Golias who has not yet chosen to confess his crimes. One of the most important of the Anglo-Latin satires of the period for the light it throws on the prevalence of satire directed against matters and figures ecclesiastical is the Speculum stultorum of Nigellus Wireker (fl 1190), the precentor of the Benedictine monastery at Canterbury. Wireker's approach in his work is largely allegorical, and his satire is intended to show the spiritual decrepitude of the monastic body. Another work of the same period, De vita monachorum of Alexander Neckham (1157-1217), is also an attack on monastic abuses. There is a plethora of minor religious satire of the period, much of it written in Latin, some in French and some in English. The greatest poem of this first period of satire is Langland's Vision of Piers the Ploughman (1362). In terms of its ecclesiastical concerns, Piers anticipates 'Wycliffe's revolt against clerical corruption and papal tyranny' (Tucker 71). Unlike Rede Me, Piers makes use of allegory - the common poetic tool of medieval poetry - but like Rede Me it seems to take legitimate Lollard complaints against the Church and add flesh to them. As in Barlowe and Roye's work, the hierarchy of the Church is criticized 'from Pope to mendicant Friar' (Tucker 75). Piers complains about absentee clergy, about temporal matters overriding spiritual ones, and about the prevalence of hypocrisy, greed, and sexual immorality among the clergy. Unlike Piers Plowman, whose concerns were divided among the

28 / Sources and the Tradition social, political, and ecclesiastical realms, its imitator Pierce the Plowman's Crede (1394) exposes only the ecclesiastical abuses, particularly as they are seen in the greed and wealth of the four orders of mendicant friars. Barlowe and Roye likewise, in the second part of Rede Me, point out the deceit behind the outward trappings of holiness and piety in friars. They turn their attack in particular to the Observants, their own former order, and accuse them of being the worst of all the orders. In short, the motif of complaint against the various clerical types runs through satire from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century and is evident in varying degrees in works as different from each other as Gower's Vox Clamantis and Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. The tradition is continued in the early sixteenth century by John Skelton, to whom Barlowe and Roye are clearly indebted. As the commentary shows, Rede Me not only finds some of its complaints about ecclesiastical corruption corroborated in Skelton's work, but more importantly it finds a kindred spirit and a literary source for its scathing denunciation of Thomas Wolsey. So clear is Rede Me's indebtedness to those works by Skelton that refer to Wolsey - 'Speke Parott,' 'Collyn Clout/ and 'Why Come Ye Nat to Courte?' - that of all the items mentioned in this brief summary of 'sources' only Skelton's works (as well as a handful of contemporary ballads) are categorically clear and irrefutable sources. The other works mentioned form part of a long tradition of verse satire directed against clerical wrongdoing. It is in this tradition that the satiric tropes are formed; in Skelton the authors of Rede Me found them regenerated in a model for their own work.

Authors, Date, and Printer

Although Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe was published anonymously, doubtless because of the heretical and inflammatory material contained within it, most authorities agree that the authors of the tract are Jerome Barlowe and William Roye. William Roye is perhaps best known for his not altogether happy associations with the more famous William Tyndale, and it is from Tyndale that we receive most of our information about Roye's activities on the continent. Roye 'was possibly the son of William Roy, native of Brabant, to whom letters patent were issued in London on 3 Feb. 1512' (DNB). 'Roye, or Petit, came from Calais where his father had been a citizen,- enemies declared that the family were what would now be called "NonAryan," or as Roye more delicately phrased it, "would eat no pork'" (Rupp 52). The Venns' Athenae Cantabrigienses lists him as an alumnus and adds that he became 'a friar observant at Greenwich' (44); he was probably a member of this Franciscan house 'during the uproar which was created against Wolsey's visitation' (Rupp 52). In any case, Roye became disaffected with the Observant life - hence the severe attitude towards the Observants in the poem - and followed Tyndale, who had left for the continent in May 1524 (DNB), sometime during the summer of 1525. Humphrey Monmouth, a wealthy London merchant who was sympathetic to the reformers' cause, was in large part responsible for helping both Tyndale and Roye leave England. Under a 'Proceeding for Heresy,' several articles in May 1528 were 'ministered against Humphrey Monmouth, of the parish of All Saints Barking, London.' Two of the articles read as follows: '3. That he has helped and given exhibition to persons occupied in translating the

30 / Authors, Date, and Printer Bible, and making erroneous books from it; as Sir William Hochin alias Tyndale, priest and friar Roye, an apostate Observant. 4. That he helped Tyndale and Roye to go to Almayne to study Luther's sect' (Letters and Papers 4260, p. 1877). This fourth article no doubt refers to the assistance given to Tyndale in 1524 and Roye in 1525. After leaving England, Tyndale arrived first in Hamburg and then moved on to Wittenberg. He lived there for over a year working on his English translation of the New Testament. After matriculating from Wittenberg on 10 June 1525 (Rupp 52; Hume English Protestant Exiles 13), Roye joined Tyndale. Tyndale takes up the story in his 'Preface' to The Parable of the Wicked Mammon, published in 1528: While I abode a faithful companion, which now hath taken another voyage upon him, to preach Christ, where, I suppose, he was never yet preached ... one William Roye, a man somewhat crefty, when he cometh unto new acquaintance, and before he be thorough known, and namely when all is spent, came unto me and offered his help. As long as he had no money, somewhat I could rule him,- but as soon as he had gotten him money, he became like himself again. Nevertheless, I suffered all things till that was ended, which I could not do alone without one, both to write, and to help me to compare the texts together. (37-8) On the basis of this unflattering account, some have assumed that Roye's part in the production of the English New Testament was merely one of 'amanuensis' (Rupp 52,- DNB-, Athenae Cantabrigienses], but Tyndale's final phrase that he needed someone 'to help me to compare the texts together' suggests that Roye may have had a less menial task to perform, although the precise nature of his contribution can never be fully determined. At least two references in Letters and Papers yoke together Tyndale's and Roye's names when mentioning the English New Testament; this perhaps indicates that they were regarded in their own time as more of a team - albeit a short-lived one - than they currently are (3960, pp 1760-1,- 4260, p 1877). Certainly Rupp is not prepared to give Roye much credit at all for the New Testament: '[Roye's] own opinion of his abilities was not mean and he seems to have persuaded most people, and perhaps came nearer than we realize to persuading posterity, that he was the real

3i / Authors, Date, and Printer linguistic genius among the exiles and had played Paul to Tyndale's Barnabas' (52). Tyndale and Roye moved to Cologne in the fall of 1525 and found a printer for the Testament in the person of Peter Quentel. After this edition was sabotaged, they escaped to Worms where they found another printer, Peter Schoeffer (Hume English Protestant Exiles 80). When the edition was completed in early 1526, Tyndale and Roye went their separate ways, with Roye travelling to Strasbourg. Tyndale seemed not altogether unhappy at their parting: 'I took my leave, and bade him farewell for our two lives, and (as men say) a day longer' (Tyndale Wicked Mammon 38). After arriving in Strasbourg, Roye was joined by Jerome Barlowe, another former Franciscan friar from the Greenwich house. If little is known of Roye's life, even less is known of Barlowe's. Indeed, for a while Jerome Barlowe was confused with William Barlowe, later bishop of St Asaph and St David's (Koszul 25-34). Rupp has shown, however, that these two men were indeed two different individuals, and Hume and McLean have agreed with him (Rupp 67-73; Hume English Protestant Exiles 79-80; McLean 173-85). Apart from isolated contemporary comment that Barlowe had red hair (Berdan 200), again Tyndale is our source for information on Barlowe. Referring to his own separation from Roye in the spring of 1526, Tyndale states: After we were departed, he went and got him new friends,which thing to do he passeth all that ever I yet knew. And there when he had stored him of money, he got him to Argentine [ie, Strasbourg], where he professeth wonderful faculties, and maketh boast of no small things. A year after that, and now twelve months before the printing of this work, came one Jerome, a brother of Greenwich also, through Worms to Argentine, saying that he intended to be Christ's disciple another while, and to keep ... the profession of his baptism, and to get his living with his hands, and to live no longer idly, and of the sweat and labour of those captives, which they had taught not to believe in Christ, but in cut shoes and russet coats. (Tyndale Wicked Mammon 38) As Hume points out, Tyndale's words both give us information about

32 / Authors, Date, and Printer Barlowe's past associations with the Greenwich house and also date precisely his arrival in Germany in the spring of 1527 (English Protestant Exiles 80). Although we do not know how the relationship developed between Barlowe and Roye, it seems clear that they established some type of partnership based on their zeal to propagate reformist views. The two began writing Protestant propaganda to be sent to England. Roye probably helped support himself in this endeavour by making contact with a continental agent of the Christian Brethren - an English-base organization with Protestant leanings which, Rupp argues, was largely responsible for financing Protestant propaganda produced on the continent and smuggling it into England (6). Once again it is Tyndale who describes their work and their methods. He states: Which Jerome with all diligence I warned of Roye's boldness, and exhorted him to beware of him, and to walk quietly, and with all patience and long suffering ... Nevertheless, when he was come to Argentine, William Roye (whose tongue is able not only to make fools stark mad, but also to deceive the wisest, that is, at the first sight and acquaintance,) got him to him, and set him a-werke to make rimes, while he himself translated a dialogue out of Latin into English, in whose prologue he promiseth more a great deal than I fear me he will ever pay. (Tyndale Wicked Mammon 38-9) This 'dialogue out of Latin into English' translated by Roye is, according to Rupp and Hume, A Brefe Dialoge, betwene a Christen Father and His Stobborne Sonne, Whom He Wolde Fayne Brynge to the Right Vnderstondynge of a Christen Mens Lyvynge, published in Strasbourg by John Schott in 1527 (Hume English Protestant Exiles 8off; Rupp 52-3). This was Roye's first work. His other major production, which Hume convincingly attributes to his pen rather than to Tyndale's, is an English translation oiAn Exhortation to the Diligent Studye of Scripture, Made by Erasmus Roterodamus (English Protestant Exiles 138-56), with its accompanying An Exposition in to the Seventh Chaptre of the First Pistle to the Corinthians-, these works, published together by Hans Luft (ie, Johannes Hoochstraten), are dated 20 June 1529 (STC 10493).

33 / Authors, Date, and Printer Tyndale's other reference in Wicked Mammon to Roye's setting Barlowe 'to make rimes' has generally been taken to refer to Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe. Gordon Rupp assumes that the work is entirely Barlowe's; he states that 'owing to a misunderstanding of Tyndale, Roye had been given credit for this work, but it is very likely he did no more than commission the author' (55). Anthea Hume also argues that the work is probably mostly Barlowe's, stating that 'Roye may well have had the original idea and have provided some of the material about events on the continent' (English Protestant Exiles 100). These critics may be right in their assessment of the identity of the author of Rede Me, especially when one considers that in his letter of confession written to Henry vill in 1533 Barlowe includes the Treatyse of the Buryall of the Masse' among the 'bookes ... that I have made' (English Protestant Exiles 100). Yet it would be unwise to exclude Roye on such slim evidence. Tyndale does not say point blank that Roye was not involved in the work; indeed, all he states is that Roye 'set Barlowe a-werke to make rimes'; this statement does not automatically exclude Roye from playing a part in the composition process. Also, even though in his confession Barlowe mentions the part he played in the composition of the tract, there is no reason for him in his confession to include others who may also have been involved in the work. Furthermore, contemporary commentary links both Roye and Barlowe's name to Rede Me. In his Supplycacyon of Soulys (1529), Thomas More states that 'the blasphemouse boke entytled the berying of the masse' was the work 'of frere Roy and frere Hyerome' (Arber xrv, 12). There is, then, in my view, no good reason to assume that Barlowe was the sole author of the work. The evidence seems slight to come to such a firm determination. It is safer to think of the work as a collaborative effort without trying to apportion its ideas or various parts to one or other of the two people most often linked to it. Indeed, if the work itself gives any indication of its authors, it may be in its use of the names Watkyn and leffraye, whose initial letters also begin the names of William and Jerome. From all accounts, the publication of Rede Me, like other clandestinely imported Protestant tracts, caused a considerable furore when it reached England. No doubt the conservative element was concerned with its obvious heterodoxy and sharply blasphemous tone.

34 / Authors, Date, and Printer But on the basis of the information that has come down to us, the most aggrieved figure was Cardinal Wolsey, the most severely calumniated individual in the entire piece. In a long letter to Wolsey, dated 4 October 1528, Herman Rynck tells of his efforts to buy up all copies of books printed in Cologne in English, one of which was Rede Me (reprinted in Arber xiv, 12-13,- summarized in Letters and Papers 5462, P 1529)Very little is known about Barlowe or Roye after the appearance of Rede Me. Anthea Hume claims that Barlowe was the author of an anonymous dialogue in English, published in 1530 entitled A Proper Dyaloge, betwene a Gentillman and a Husbandman, Eche Complaynynge to Other Their Miserable Calamite, through theAmbicion of the Clergye (English Protestant Exiles 120). By 1530 Barlowe and Roye had left Strasbourg for Antwerp, perhaps to join Tyndale, who had arrived there by May 1528, as well as John Frith, Simon Fish, and George Constantine, three other exiles from England (ibid 18). After the publication of Rede Me and before his removal from Strasbourg to Antwerp, Roye, perhaps with Barlowe as a companion, made a secret trip to England to visit his mother (Letters and Papers 5043, p 2194,- Berdan 210). It is Thomas More who provides us with the information concerning Roye's death, stating that he 'was burned in Portugale' (Arber xrv, 14). Arber doubts the validity of this claim, arguing that More's source deliberately put him 'on a wrong scent' (14). Hume, however, is more trusting and accepts More's claim stating that 'Roye was burnt at the stake in Portugal in 1531' (English Protestant Exiles 18). According to Dickens 'On Wolsey's fall Barlow begged the King's permission to return home and did atonement by assaulting his former friends in a Dialogue against the Lutheran Factions' (The English Reformation 75). Hume adds that Barlowe recanted in 1533, after which he dropped out of sight (ibid 18). Though the first edition of Rede Me has no date of publication or printer, neither is difficult to establish. The tract itself provides two indisputable termini a quo. The first is a reference to Pope Clement Vll on the final page of the text; Clement did not become pope until 19 November 1523. The second is a reference to Erasmus's De libero arbitrio, published in 1524. There is, however, good reason to believe that the work was written some years after this date. For one thing we know that Roye was not in Strasbourg before 1526; for another,

35 / Authors, Date, and Printer according to Tyndale's testimony, the work was not begun until both Barlowe and Roye were in Strasbourg after Roye and Tyndale had parted company; and finally, basing the dating on Tyndale's comments, we can conclude that Barlowe could not have arrived in Germany before the spring of 1527. This view is given further support by the correspondence between Herman Rynck and Cardinal Wolsey. Rynck's letter of October 1528 refers to Wolsey's letter, received on 21 September and dated 5 August. From Rynck's letter it is clear that Wolsey had read Rede Me, which means, of course, that the work has been carried, probably smuggled, into England some time in 1528. The 1528 date is also supported by references in the work to contemporary historical and religious events occurring on the continent. In his introduction to the reprint of Rede Me, Arber mentions the theological disputation between conservatives and reformers that took place in Baden, Switzerland, in 1525, and names some of the disputants: on the side of the established church, John Faber, John Eck, and Thomas Murner, and on the opposing side, Oecolampadius. Lines 466ff of Rede Me mention Faber, Eck, and Murner, and add Jerome Emser. The context suggests a religious dispute of some importance with these names, treated pejoratively, representing the conservative side. The lines may refer to the Baden conference. The indecisive nature of this conference resulted in the decision to hold another disputation on 7 January 1528 at Berne. Of the many participants in this disputation two are mentioned in Rede Me: Bucer and Capito as adversaries of the mass (470). The disputation ended on 25 January 1528 'immediately after which the Mass, Altars, Images, etc., were legally suppressed in the Canton and its vicinity' (Arber XTV, 5). Despite the fact that the mass was not abolished in Strasbourg until February 1529 (Chrisman Strasbourg and the Reform 146), there was continual fighting about its legitimacy throughout 1528. Indeed in Strasbourg there was 'a concentrated attack on the Catholic Mass from 1526 to 1529' (ibid 145). Apparently in line 395, Barlowe and Roye gleefully anticipate the mass's death in Strasbourg after its defeat in other European centres. Certainly the most convincing piece of internal evidence that the work was written sometime after the abolition of the mass in Berne, Geneva, and Constance is the lengthy ironic lamentation in the piece on the death of the mass (lines no to 348) with its mocking refrain 'Seynge that gone is the mass, / Nowe

36 / Authors, Date, and Printer deceased alas alas.' Further, the body of the dialogue itself begins with two priest's servants discussing the recent decease of the mass and its effects upon themselves and their employer. All of these bits and pieces of external and internal evidence point conclusively to 1528 as the date of publication of Rede Me. There is also very little problem identifying the printer of Rede Me even though no colophon appears in the text. This printer was Johann Schott. Once again Rynck's letter to Wolsey proves invaluable for the information it provides both about the identity of the printer and the incidents surrounding the work's disposition. Rede Me's 'engraver' (ie, printer) Johann Schott, in a deposition made before the Senate at Frankfort, declared that he had printed a thousand copies of this book which had not been paid for. Having been left with them, he pawned them to the Frankfort Jews who sold them to Rynck, Wolsey's agent, who had been ordered to confiscate all he could find. Rynck speculates on what would have happened to the books had he not 'discovered' them and 'interfered': 'the books would have been enclosed and hidden in paper covers, packed in ten bundles covered with linen and conveyed in time by sea, craftely and without exciting any suspicion to Scotland and England, where they would have been sold only as blank paper.' Rynck adds that he thinks that very few 'have been exported or sold' and is waiting for the 'engraver' to send him the 'original written copy.' Rynck's awaiting the 'original written copy' suggests that his design was to put an end to the possibility of the work ever being printed or even circulated in manuscript again. At least two sources have identified Schott as printer on the basis of internal evidence. The Pforzheimer catalogue is prepared to name Schott on the basis of ornaments and type design, and Anthea Hume identifies the type as a 'rather distinctive' Schwabacker of Schott's (English Protestant Exiles 100). Of the seventy-seven printers who established printing houses in Strasbourg between 1480 and 1599, Johann Schott, who was active in the business from 1500 to 1544, was regarded as a major printer with some 229 editions to his credit in a medium-scale shop, a type of shop Chrisman describes as 'the backbone of the industry' (Lay Culture 9). Opening his shop in 1500, the well-educated Schott (he had studied at Freibourg, Heidelberg, and Basel) operated only one press

37 / Authors, Date, and Printer for the first twenty-nine years (which would, of course, include the year in which he published Rede Me). In 1530 he purchased a second press. The Schott press actually began in 1460 when Johann Mentelin established a business and 'eventually created a business dynasty through his daughters' (Lay Culture 15). Salome married Adolf Busch, a printer, who ran the business when Mentelin died in 1478. At Busch's death in 1492. Martin Schott, the printer and husband of a second Mentelin daughter, took over and left it to his son Johann in 1499, who turned it into one of the five important shops of Strasbourg until the Mentalin-Schott dynasty died out in 1550, six years after Johann's death. That Johann Schott should agree to print a work as controversial as Rede Me and Be Nott Wiothe is not surprising given his involvement in the dissemination of Protestant literature and his apparent disregard of reprisals. Some 30 per cent of his output over his 44 years in the business was Protestant. In fact, as early as 1504, Schott was involved in the first recorded Strasbourg incident of censorship of printers. In either 1503 or 1504 Schott had published defamatory verses. As a result he 'and several other printers were called before the Rat and admonished to refrain from printing anything that would undermine the morals or reputation of the city. Schott responded to the warning by publishing a second edition in March 1504' (Chrisman Lay Culture 27). Schott was the strongest Protestant supporter in the early years of reform in Strasbourg and began printing 'Lutheran treatises as early as 1519 and 1520' (ibid 29) when it was still dangerous to do so. He issued Luther's Treatise on the Babylonian Captivity in both German and Latin in 1520 and, out of personal admiration, became Ulrich von Hutten's major printer. As Hutten became increasingly radical and isolated from his former humanist circle, Schott continued to encourage him and print his work. Schott protected and encouraged Otto Brunfels when the latter left the Carthusian monastery; Schott also continued to publish his theological and scientific works. In so doing, Schott again chose a nonconformist, since Brunfels was regarded as too Lutheran by Strasbourg theologians. (Lay Culture 29)

38 / Authors, Date, and Printer Schott, who apparently delighted in sticking his head into the lion's mouth, published 57 per cent of his work in Latin and 42 per cent in German. As far as we know, his only two English works were Barlowe and Roye's Rede Me and Roye's earlier A Brefe Dialoge, which he published in 1527.

Interrelation of Editions

The first edition of the dialogue seems to be a carefully printed text relatively free from obvious error. As the 'Emendations' indicate, all errors are of a minor and unspectacular nature; when they do occur, they are mostly punctuation and/or spelling variants. Occasionally one runs across errors in layout: the pattern of line indentations in the text is sometimes not adhered to. Further, once in a while 1528 errs by omitting speech headings (ie, Watkyn, leffraye) and sometimes gives the change in speech headings at the wrong point; this latter error would seem to result from an inaccurate alignment of speech headings to text. The colophon to the second edition of this work reads Trynted at Wesell in the yeare of our Lorde 1546 in the last of lune. By Henry Nycolson.' According to the Pforzheimer catalogue, this edition was actually printed in London by the English printer Richard Jugge and was published at this time to attack the mid-century Catholic reaction. Certainly this edition has some noticeable omissions and includes some interesting new material which serves to broaden the attack against Roman Catholicism and the hierarchy. Barlowe and Roye's prefatory letter is replaced by a new one (which contains many echoes of the original) addressed to 'all them that loue Goddes worde' written by the anonymous L.R. In this preface the author alludes to the first edition and gives some interesting information. He mentions, for instance, that the work was first printed 'in the Cardynalles tyme' and adds how assiduously Wolsey sought to have all of the copies gathered up 'that they shulde not come a brode to vttre their most wycked feates.' A few lines later, the author points

40 / Interrelation of Editions out that the present work has 'by the space of .xvj. or .xvij. yeares' 'lyen longe hydden/ a fact which would place the appearance of the first edition between 1529 and 1530. We cannot, of course, place too much faith in this author's memory. His language suggests that he himself is uncertain of the precise date or year of the appearance of the first edition and is only giving a rough approximation. Most of the rest of the prefatory material is a paraphrase of i528's apologia. In general, 1546 reduces, alters, or excises some of the material in 1528 which made that work the product of a particular period of history. Although retaining the title page with its clear references to Wolsey, 1546 accuses the bishops of the faults which 1528 applied to the Cardinal. In 1528, for instance, Wolsey was given the following words to indicate his aspiring mind: 'I will ascende makynge my state so hye, / That my pompous honour shall never dye' (3-4); in 1546 the editor prefaces these words with the claim that The Byshoppes speake in the Cardynall.' 1546 retains the attack on Wolsey found in the description of arms on the title page, but avoids introducing i528's references to Buckingham and Norfolk in the 'beautifull swan' (12) and 'the whyte Lion' (13). Instead, the author omits 'the beautifull swan' altogether and changes 'the whyte Lion' to 'the worthy Reade lyon,' clearly a reference to England itself. Wolsey is seen now as an enemy not to particular individuals no longer relevant in 1546, but to the country itself. Further, the editor of 1546 adds one final verse to the description of the arms to once again broaden and generalize the attack. This verse is addressed to 'the Papistes' and warns all 'Byshoppes and Prestes' to follow the dictates of the gospel. And so it goes throughout 1546. The pointed nature of the attack on Wolsey is blunted in the second edition. The excoriating attack on Wolsey in the Treatise-Author dialogue is changed to an expose of general episcopal corruption by the simple method of dropping Wolsey's name and adding the term 'Bishops' and by changing all single personal pronoun references to plural ones. The frequent references to Wolsey in the dialogue itself are maintained, probably because to change them would have meant a wholesale reconstruction of much of the dialogue and also because such negative references, although dated, would not be inimical to the Protestant temperament of the editor. Other dated historical events in the dialogue requiring much less

4i / Interrelation of Editions tampering and changing are also altered or deleted. For instance, the reference in 1528 to the duke of Buckingham affair is changed so that Wolsey's unjust attacks on individuals are made to fall generally on 'many honest men of fame.' Also 1546 omits i528's lengthy reference to Wolsey's rumoured part in the divorce between Catherine of Aragon and Henry vm (929-70). 1528 places the blame for this event squarely on Wolsey's shoulders and regards the whole affair as a disgrace. Clearly the authors of the 1528 edition were not aware at this date of the felicitous outcome of the divorce for the Protestant cause in England. The Protestant editor of 1546, aware of the longterm results of Henry's divorce from Catherine, would have no cause to complain about Wolsey's part in the affair (if, that is, he believed Barlowe and Roye's skewed account) and certainly no cause to rue the divorce itself. Any condemnation of Wolsey in 1546 for the part he played in the divorce by a confirmed adherent to the new religion would be nonsense,- it could logically be construed as an inconsistency: why should a Protestant condemn a man for aiding a cause which helped to bring about the extirpation of papal influence on English soil? i546's last attempt at dragging the work out of its original historical context is found on the final page of the tract, an attack on Clement vii (pope from 1523-34). 1546 amends the reference and changes the phrase 'Pope Clemente, the sonne of a whoore' (3715) to the slightly ungrammatical 'Popes commonly the sonnes of an whoore.' The second edition of Rede Me is a carefully printed text. Unlike 1528, it contains a colophon, running titles, and catch-words. In the preface it admits its reliance on 1528, which indicates that Wolsey was not successful in having the first edition completely destroyed. As the 'Emendations' show, the 1546 edition improves some of i528's readings, but is itself not entirely free from taking unjustified liberties with 1528. Occasionally it attempts to 'update' 1528 readings for no good reason, as in line 22 where it changes 'reprobable' to 'reprouable' and in line 185 where 'glytterynge' replaces the already suitable 'glystringe.' Sometimes it misreads the original, as in line 67 where it changes 'conservacion' to 'conuersacion'; and in line 1521 its unfamiliarity with 'Renyinge' results in the emendation 'Denyenge.' Squeamishness or ignorance must account for the emendation in line 428 where the colourful if bawdy metaphor 'rawe motten' becomes

42 / Interrelation of Editions the more dignified 'christen bloode/ And finally, an entirely unwarranted alteration is made to a fine metaphor in line 775 where the word 'bever' in 1528 is changed to 'father.' In short, the 1546 edition, though carefully printed, is clearly less accurate than 1528. Some of its emendations are simply wrong; others are unwarranted, and none of i528's side-notes are retained. Further, the changes that 1546 makes to 1528 to bring it to the services of the political/religious situation of the 15405 mean that the work has moved a good distance away from the spirit of the original. Choice and State of Copy Text The 1528 first edition of Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe has been chosen as the copy text for this critical edition. The John Rylands Library copy of 1528 is the control text. Nine other copies of this edition (Bodleian, Tanner 59; Bodleian, Wood 774; Huntington; Folger; Harvard; British Library,- British Library, Grenville,- Carl Pforzheimer, CHPL 42; Pierpont Morgan, £3 105) have been collated with the John Rylands copy for accidental and substantive variants. The results of the collation are found in the section entitled 'Press Variants in the 1528 Copy Text.' All copies of the 1528 edition exist in a complete state although some copies' side-notes have been trimmed off. Tight bindings and the delicate condition of some copies have made the side-notes on some pages hard to decipher in their entirety. Thirteen of the fourteen press variants in the copies are of an accidental nature. Three of these are turned letters; two are letter spacing problems,- four are spelling variants, one of which results in a nonsense word; one is the appearance of a dash over a letter, usually signalling contraction, where it is inappropriate,- another is a punctuation change; two are examples of one or more letters having dropped out of the text. The only variant which might be considered substantive occurs in only one copy - Rylands - and it is the change from 'will' to 'who' (3699); the 'who' renders the context difficult and ungrammatical, if not meaningless. However, there is some indication that the variant 'who' is an inked-in addition of a later hand, attempting to make sense of a passage whose original word 'will' either fell out of the setup type or was obliterated over time.

43 / Interrelation of Editions It is risky to jump to conclusions about a work whose original issue was a thousand copies, but on the basis of the ten copies I have examined, there is nothing to suggest that a systematic or detailed proofing of the sheets occurred. One might suggest that where errors were detected they were corrected, but that no deliberate attempts was made to make careful proofing a part of the printing process of this book. The collationary formula for 1528, which appears in the Bibliographical Description, is that of an 'ideal copy,' no example of which exists. Seven of the ten copies share the same collationary errors; two of the remaining three copies correct one error in the seven but duplicate the rest; and the final copy stands alone as an anomaly, duplicating some of the other nine copies' errors but creating more of its own. John Rylands, Bodleian, Tanner 59, Bodleian, Wood 774, Folger, Har vard, British Library, and Pierpont Morgan all have the collationary formula a-d8 (d2 signed as) e8 (e4 signed d4; €5 signed v) f-i8 (i2 signed h2; i4 signed 114). Huntington and Pforzheimer's formula reads a-d8 (d2 signed a3J e8 (64 signed d4J f-i8 (i2 signed h2; i4 signed h4J. Missignings like these are common enough in sixteenth-century books. One theory for the curious V signing for 65 might be that the 65 signature dropped out at some point in the printing process and was simply replaced by a V representing not the alphabet letter, but the roman numeral for the number 5. If this were the case, we might conclude that the copies that contain the 'v' were printed later than those which do not have it. However, it is just as plausible to argue that the 'v' may have been inserted sometime after the printing process began but was later replaced by the more usual 65 signature. In this case we could conclude that some of the copies with the 'v' signature were printed earlier than those without it. Finally, the British Library's Grenville copy. Its formula is a-c8 di d3 04 d4 (actually 64) 65 ds d6 d8 e-e3 a3 (actually d2J d7 e6-e8 f-i8 (i2 signed h2; 14 signed 114). This copy contains all of the errors found in Huntington and Pforzheimer plus some new ones found in signatures d and e. Here, as a result of improper binding, the missigned conjoint leaves 33 (=d2J / d7 and d4 (=64) / €5 were bound out of sequence, the 'a3; placed in the middle of the fifth signature (e) and the 'd^' in the middle of the fourth signature (d).

44 / Interrelation of Editions Editorial Method This text is an old-spelling edition of the 1528 first edition of Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe. All available extant copies of 1528 have been collated for both accidental and substantive variants. Two copies (Folger and Huntington) of the only other sixteenth-century edition of this text, published in 1546, have been collated with 1528 for substantive variants only. Three reprints of the 1528 edition (Arber, Harleian, Chiswick - see Bibliographical Description) have also been collated with 1528; the results of this collation are found under 'Variants.' I have silently modified the punctuation in the text to conform a bit more closely to modern practice. Sometimes in the original text full stops appear where we would have a comma, lower case initial letters are mixed inconsistently (by our standards) with upper case, and so on. By our standards as well, the text tends to overpunctuate and make excessive use of the virgule (/) - the equivalent of our comma - especially in the prefatory letter. I have proceeded very conservatively in these changes with a view to making the reading of the text clear. When a virgule appears in the original, I have used a comma. For those who would like to read the text with the original punctuation, I recommend the English Experience reprint of the Strasbourg 1528 edition. Punctuation in the side-notes has presented some problems. I have chosen to follow a normal sixteenth-century practice of placing full stops after abbreviations and also after each roman numeral. 1528 sometimes does this and other times does not; for the sake of consistency I have emended and recorded all examples that do not follow the usual practice; these can be found under 'Emendations/ The black letter of the sixteenth-century print appears here as roman type. No attempt has been made to reproduce ornamental letters, ornamental devices, or size of the type. Only two contractions have been used throughout and both of these have been expanded silently: a mark similar to a macron indicating an omitted 'm' or 'n' has been removed and the 'm' or 'n' reintroduced. A superscript terminal contraction that looks like an 'e' with a tail has been expanded to 'es.' The black letter form of et cetera found once on 120 has been changed to the more familiar 'etc.', the reason being that no attempt is made to reproduce black letter in the rest of the text. The long 's' has been normalized.

Bibliographical Description

1528 STC 21427

Title Page: [three couplets, two above and one below an elaborate design - a parody of a heraldic crest - containing, in part, a Cardinal's hat, a club, griffons, and six bull's heads. In the centre of the design is a shield upon which is a dog; six axes on a white background are dripping drops of blood. The colour scheme of the whole is red, white, and black with the Cardinal's hat, griffons, club, and drops of blood in red. The first couplet is also in red.] Rede me and be nott wrothe I For I faye no thynge but tiothe. 1 1 will afcende makynge my ftate fo hye I That my pompous honoure fhall never dye. I [design] O Caytyfe when thou thynkeft leaft of all/ I With confufion thou {halt have a fall. Collation: 8°, a-i8 ($5) 72 unnumbered leaves Contents: air title page,- aiv The defcripcion of the armes. a2r To his finguler goode frendt and bro= I ther in Chrift Matter. P.G.N. I O. defyreth grace and pea= I ce from God the fat= I her/ thorowe the= I lorde lefus I Chrift.; asr Amen. a5v CThe Author of the worke.; a7v CHeare foloweth the lamentation.; b3v CHere foloweth a brefe Dialoge bet= I wene two preftes fervauntc /na= I med Watkyn. and leffraye.; 631 CHere foloweth the Secunde parte.; i8r Gin defcripcio of the Armes/for I wherfor rede wherby.; i8v Chrift godde fonne/borne of a mayden poore/ I Forto fave mankynd/from heven defcended. I Pope Clemente. the fonne of an whoore/ I To deftroye man/from hell hath afcended.l [within a rectangular border, a white design on a black background. The design is made up of a papal triple tiara at the

46 / Bibliographical Description top; two crossed skeleton keys flank the tiara and at the base the keys are joined by a rope or thread. In the centre of the design obscuring most of the shafts of the keys is a white shield broad at the top and coming to a point at the base; descending from the tiara and wrapped around the keys is an ecclesiastical stole;] In whom is evidently comprehended. I The perfett meknes of oure faveoure Chrift/ I And tyranny of the murtherer Antichrift. This edition has no colophon, running titles, or catch-words. Copies Collated: John Rylands; Bodleian, Tanner 59; Bodleian, Wood 774; Huntington,- Folger; Harvard; British Library,- British Library, Grenville; Carl Pforzheimer, 42,- Pierpont Morgan, £3 105. Reprints of the 1528 edition-, Edward Arber English Reprints xrv (Edinburgh: Muir and Paterson 1871); The Harleian Miscellany: A Collection of Scarce, Curious, and Entertaining Pamphlets and Tracts as Well in Manuscript as in Print, IX, Being the First Supplemental Volume of Miscellaneous Pieces Not Included in the Former Edition selected and prepared by Thomas Park (London: Harding and Wright 1812); an untitled reprint of 1528, with the colophon reading Charles Whittington, Chiswick, 1845, and with Pickering on the spine, a reference to William Pickering, the publisher (1796-1854) (see DNB); The English Experience 485, a text made up of Bodleian Tanner and Wood, Amsterdam: Theatrvm Orbis Terrarvm Ltd and New York: Da Capo Press. 1546 STC 21428

Title Page: [a design similar to I528's except that it is in black and white only and lacks the drops of blood dripping from the axes] (ri* The Boke I Reade me frynde and be not wrothe, I For I faye nothynge but the trothe. I CThe Byfhoppes fpeake in the Cardynall. I I wyll afcende makynge my ftate fo hye, I That my pompoufe honoure fliall neuer dye. I [design] CThe Chriften Congregation fpeaketh. I O catife, whan thou thynkeft leaft of all, I Wyth confufyon thou fhalt haue a fall. Collation: 8°, A-H8 ($5 - Ai, £4) 64 unnumbered leaves. Colophon: CPrynted at Wefell in the yeare of I our Lorde 1546 in the I last of lune. By Henry I Mycolfon. Contents: Air title,- Aiv CThe Defcription of the Armes.; A2r CTo

47 / Bibliographical Description all the I that loue Goddes worde I vnfaynedly L.R. wyfheth gra= I ce and peace from God the I Father, through our Lor= I de lefus Chrift.; A4v AMEN.; Asr CThe Authou= I re of the boke.; A6v CHere foloweth the Lamentacion of A I ranke Papift concernynge the I death of the Maffe.; B2v CHere foloweth a breife Dialogue betwene I two Preftes feruauntes, named Wat= I kyn and leffraye, reafonynge vpo I their Matters Lametacyon.; D6v CHere foloweth the feconde parte./ Hjv Chrift Goddes fonne, borne of a mayden poore, I For to faue mankynde from heaven defcended; I Popes commonly the fonnes of an whoore, I To deftroye man, from hell hath afcended. I [design similar to I528's except that it is larger; there is no shield over the key shafts and the keys are not joined at the base. The ecclesiastical stole that descends from the tiara does not wrap itself around the keys but rather hangs loosely behind them.] In whom is evydently comprehended. I The perfecte mekenes of oure favyoure Chrift, I And tyranny of the murtherer Antichrift. Running Titles: The Preface. A2V-A4V; The Lamentacyon. Avr-A8v Biv-B2r; The Lamentacion. Bir-B2v; The Dialogue. Bsr-Bsr B6v Cir-D4r lacking BSV B6r The Dialogue. D6v Eir-F6v Gir-Hir; The Dialogue Dvr-D8v F7r-F8v; A Balade. Hiv-H2r; The Dialogue. H2V-H5V H6v-H7r; The Dia logue. H6r Catchwords:Asr-Asv their B2r-B2v Wher= [Wherfor] C5v-C6r Gapynge D6v-D7r Euery Eir-Eiv De= [Defpyiynge] F2v-F3r Pro= [Promooters] G8r-G8v Eyther H3v-H4r Hero= [Herode,] Copies Collated: Huntington, Folger

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Rede Me Be Nott Wrothe

Rede me and be nott wrothe For I saye no thynge but trothe.

[air]

I will ascende makynge my state so hye, That my pompous honoure shall never dye. [Wolsey's arms] O Caytyfe when thou thynkest least of all, With confusion thou shalt have a fall.

5

The descripcion of the armes. Of the prowde Cardinall this is the shelde Borne vp betwene two angels off Sathan. The sixe blouddy axes in a bare felde Sheweth the cruelte of the red man, Whiche hathe devoured the beautifull swan. Mortall enmy vnto the whyte Lion, Carter of Yorcke, the vyle butchers sonne. The sixe bulles heddes in a felde blacke Betokeneth hys stordy furiousnes Wherfore the godly lyght to put abacke He bryngeth in hys dyvlisshe darcknes. The bandog in the middes doth expresse The mastif Curre bred in Ypswitch towne Gnawynge with his teth a kynges crowne. The cloubbe signifieth playne hys tiranny Covered over with a Cardinals hatt Wherin shalbe fulfilled the prophecy Aryse vp lacke and put on thy salatt, For the tyme is come of bagge and walatt The temporall cheualry thus throwen downe Wherfor prest take hede and beware they croune.

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To his singuler goode frende and brother in Christ Master .P.G. N.O. desyreth grace and peace from God the father, thorowe thelorde lesus Christ. By youre last letter, dere brother in Christ, I perceved that youre desyre was to have the lytle worke which ye sent wele examened and diligently put into prynt. Which thynge (the bonde of charite where with not alonly you and I, but we with the whole nombre of Christes chosen flocke, remaynge amonge oure nacion of englisshe men, are knet together purly for the truthes sake pondered) I coulde do no lesse but fulfill and accomplysshe. For as moche as it is a thynge so necessary. Where of no doute shall sprynge grett frute vnto the fammisshed, and lyght vnto theym which of longe season have bene sore blyndfolded. Though the rammysshe resydue of gotes, so farre envred with mannes blynde reason (which repute grett felicite to make men beleve goode to be the naturall cause of evill, darknes to precede oute of light, and lyinge to [a2v] be grownded in trouth, and to make of the worde of lyfe the glave of death, contrary to all trueth) that scripture calleth theym faulce teachers, and bryngers in prevely of dampnable sectes, even denyinge the lorde that bought theym, and brynge on their owne heddes swyfte dampnacion, for their leadynge of many into their dampnable waies. Of whose boddies annd soules thus once blynded and ledde out of the narowe waye of lyfe into the broade waye of perdicion, thorowe convetousnes they make their marchandyse. Whereby the waye of trueth (that is to saye the glorious gospell of Christ) is evill spocken of. In so moche that they after this manner sealed with the marke of the grett beast of the erth, whose consciences .S. paul descrybeth to be singed with the hott yeron of blasphemy, only geve hede to the spretes of erroure and dyvelysshe doctryne of theym Side-notes 35-6 loh.xv. 43-4 Ma.xxv. 46-7 Mat.xxiiij. 49-50 ij.pe.j.ij. 53-4 ap.xviiij. 53-5 Ma.vij. 57 ij.Pet.ij. 59-61 apo.xvj. 60-2 j.ti.iiij.

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which speake faulce through hipocrisy, forbyddynge to mary, and commaundynge to abstayne from meates and soche wother, cannot but barke there att, forbid it, and with all violence persecute the reders there of. Yet I neverthelesse with you, doinge after the apostles erudicion, as longe as I folowe no decevable fables, will not be ne= [a3r] gligent to put my brethren in remembraunce (thogh they partly knowe them their selves, and are stablysshed in the present trueth) of those thynges wherby they maye the more evidently note the disceatfulnes of mortall man, and the better come vnto the knowledge of the immortal god. Seynge the tyme at hande wherin god of his infinite mercy, hath ordened before to make theym thorowe Christ oure lorde parte takers also of his glorious will and porpos. Even as in the gospell oure saveoure before to all his hadd promesed. I therfore consyderynge the worlde thus to be wrapped in mysery and blindnes (and now in these latter dayes becom an hole or denne of falce foxy hipocrites, and a mancion for all ravenynge wolves disgysed in lambes skynnes, which hate all love, and with oute drede of god wander but for theire praye) have iudged it a thynge moste convenient to sett this smale treatous as a glas or myroure most cleare before all mens eyes. In the preface where of manyfestly they shall perceave howe grett daunger nowe a dayes it is, the trueth other to describe with penne, or with tonge to declare. In the lamentacion folowynge, made by a bely beast engendred amonge the gresy, or anoynted [a3v] heap, wother wyse called the papysticall secte (whom Christ calleth a croked, vntawarde, and cruell generation of venemous vipers) they may surly groape and fele, where of oure spretuall lordes, masters, and rulars (falcely so named) have preceded, and are come. With what presomcion they disdayne the Side-notes 63-4 iiij. 66-7 ij.Pet.j. 69 ij.Pet.jij. 74-5 Luc.j. 75-6 Rom.j. j6-j Ac.xiij. 77 Ebre.iij. 78 mar.iij.xvj. 78-9 lu.iiij.ix. 80-1 j.Io.v. 81-3 Lu.viij. 82 Ma.vij. 89-90 Luc.vj. 91 Ro.xvj. 92-3 Ma.xvj.xvij. 93-4 Luce.ix.

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ncient and true noble bloud. And what preeminence and dignite they have obtayned through their faulce and crafti bryngynge vppe of the blasphemous masse, which principally is their holde, stede, and defence. Forthermor in the dialoge ensuynge or brefe interlude, is mas descrybed with his abhominable ministers as Popes, Cardinalls, bisshops, abbotes, monkes, fryres, and lyke wother. Wherin also is declared whatt trees they are with their frute annd what they shall remayne their masse once disanulled, and putt downe. Which all well consydered, I hoape that the reder what ever he be, will nott take this worke as a thynge convicious, or a principle of hatred and debate nor yett despyse the ryches of the godnes, and of the patience, of the longe severance of god but will remember that his kyndnes only leadeth hym to repentaunce. And mekely with the sprete of quyetnes, fy=[a4r] rst iudge it, and then consydre hym silfe. And fautlesse he shall fynde it a grett occasion to love, and also to thancke god his father most mercifull, which of his tender mercy hath nott delyvered hym vppe vnto a leawd mynde, with these vessels of wrathe, and children of the devill, to do those thynges which are nott comly, ful of all vnrightousnes, fornication, wickednes, covetousnes, maliciousnes .etc. and sofered hym nott to become lyke vnto theym, a hater of god and of his godly worde. Agaynst whose vngodlines and vnrightousnes, the wrath of the hevenly god apereth because they with holde the true rightousnes of god, whiche commeth throwe the lyght of the gospell of Christ, in the vnright ousnes of mans lawes and tradicions. Ye, and as sayth .S. paul, though they knowe the rightousnes of god, howe they which soche thynges committ are worthey of death, yett not only do the same, but also have pleasure in the doars of them. Wherfore they are before god with oute excuse seinge that knowinge god, they glorify hym nott Side-notes 98-9 ma.xxiij. 104-5 ma.vij. 105-6 epis.Iu. 109-10 Rom.ij. 112-13 j.Cor.ij. 116-17 Rom.j. 117-18 loa.viij. 118-19 Rom.ij. 124 Rom.j.

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as god nor yett are thanckfull but wexe full of vanities in their ymaginacions countynge theym selves wyse where as in dede they are foles. For with their folysshe [a4v] and blynde hert, they tourne the glory of the immortall god 135 vnto the similitude of the ymage of mortall man. He shall lykwyse clearly perceve, that we of duty colde do no lesse, but for the preservacion and tutell of the innocent and simple, to declare the pestilent doblenes and decevable seduccion of the wicked acordinge to the doc140 tryne shewed vnto vs every where by Christ cure master which cam to save, annd not to destroye. For one rotten apple lytell and lytell putrifieth an whole heape. A lytell sower leven the whole lompe of do we. One rancklynge member, the whole boddy. Shortly to conclude. Here in I 145 am well persuaded, lett the vngodly roare and barcke never so lowde, that the fyre which Christ cam to kyndle on erth, cannott butt burne. That is to saye, his godly worde forevermore encreace and continue. Wherfore dere brother, yf eny mo soche smale stickes come vnto youre 150 hondes, which ye shall iudge apte vnto the augmentacion of this fyre, sende them vnto me (yf in englonde they maye not be publisshed) and by goddes grace with all my power and possibilite, I shall so endever my sylfe to kyndle theym, that as many as are of the sede of abraham 755 shall se their light, and therby gloryfy their father [a5r] celestiall, which kepe you and youres continuity strengthynge you with his sprete of comforte to his glory for ever Amen. Side-notes 140-2 loan.vj.x. 142-3 mat.xiij. 143-4 Luc.xij. 145-6 j.Cor.v. 147-8 Luc.xij. 148-9 ij.re.xxij. 150-2 Psa.xvij.ciiij.cxviij. 755-7 loa.viij. 756-7 Mat.v.

[Dialogue of the Author and the Treatous]

The Author of the worke. Go forthe lytell treatous nothynge a fraide To the Cardinal of Yorcke dedicate And though he threaten the be not dismayde To pupplysshe his abhominable estate For though his power he doeth elevate Yett the season is nowe verily come Vt inveniatur iniquitas eius ad odium. The Treatous. O my author howe shall I be so bolde Afore the Cardinall to shewe my face Seinge all the clargy with hym doth holde, Also in faveour of the Kynges grace With furious sentence they will me chace Forbiddynge eny persone to rede me Wherefore my deare author it cannott be. The Author. Thou knowest very well whatt his lyfe is Vnto all people greatly detestable, He causeth many one to do amisse Thorow his example abhominable. Wherfore it is nothynge reprobable To declare his mischefe and whordom Vt inveniatur iniquitas eius ad odium.

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The Treatous. Though his lyfe of all people is hated Yet in the masse they putt moche confidence Whiche through out all the world is dilated As a worke of singuler magnificence, Prestes also they have in reverence With all wother persones of the spretualte Wherfore my deare author it cannot be. The Author. O deare treatous thou mayst nott consyder Their blynde affeccion in ignorance Wherby all the worlde both farre and near Hath bene combred with longe continuance Itt is goddes will his trueth to avaunce And to putt antichrist oute of his kyngdom Vt inveniatur iniquitas eius ad odium. The Treatous. Well yett there is greate occasion of grudge Because I apeare to be convicious. Withouten fayle the clargy will me iudge To precede of a sprete presumtuous, For to vse soche wordes contumelious It becommeth nott christen charite Wherfore my deare author it cannot be. The Author. O my treatous it is goddes iudgement So to recompence their madde blasphemy Seynge they burned his holy testament Thorowe the prowde cardinals tyranny Agaynst whose harde obstynacy to crye The stones in the strete cannot be dom Vt inveniatur iniquitas eius ad odium. The Treatous. Yf I presume to make relacion

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Of secret matters that be vncertayne They will count it for diffamacion Or thinges contryved of a frowarde brayne To descrybe their faultes it is but vayne Except I were in some authorite Wherfore my deare author it cannot be. The Author. As touching that thou nede not to be deiecte The trueth shalbe thy conservacion Whyles thou presume no faultes to detecte But wheare thou hast hadde certificacion By their knowledge and informacion Whiche have forsaken the whore of rome Vt inveniatur iniquitas eius ad odium. The Treatous. Alas yett in their outragious furoure They shall coursse and banne with cruel sentence All those whiche have to me eny favoure Ether to my saynge geve credence In hell and heven they have preeminence To do as they lyste with free liberte Wherfore my deare author it cannot be. The Author. O treatous lett antichrist crye and roare Manassynge with fulminacions His cruelte shalbe feared no moare Men knowynge his abhominacions Fye apon his forged execracions. Seynge his tyranny is overcome Vt inveniatur iniquitas eius ad odium. Fye on his dyvlisshe interdiccions With his keyes lockes chaynes and fetters Fye apon all his iurisdiccions And apon those whiche to hym are detters

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Fye apon his bulles breves and letters Wherin he is named seruus servorum Vt inveniatur iniquitas eius ad odium. Fye on his golden thre folded crowne Whiche he vseth to weare apon his head Fye apon his maieste and renowne Clayminge on erthe to be in Christes stead Fye on his carkes bothe quycke and dead Ex hoc nunc et usque in seculum Vt inveniatur iniquitas eius ad odium.

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Blissed they be which are cursed of the pope And coursed are they whom he doth blisse A coursed are all they that have eny hope Ether in his personne or els in his. For of almyghty god a coursed he is Per omnia secula seculorum Vt inveniatur iniquitas eius ad odium.

[ayv]

Heare foloweth the lamentacion.

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Alas alas for woo and bitter payne Oppressed withe grefe and sorofull care Howe shall we from hevy wepynge refrayne Consyderynge the case that we in are. We have now lost the pryce of oure welfare Seynge that gone is the masse Nowe deceased alas alas. Wo worth the time that ever we were born To se the chaunce of this dolorous daye For now ar we mocked and laughed to skorn Owre honour brought to extreme decaye We may well synge alas and well awaye Seynge that gone is the masse Nowe deceased alas alas. Aproche proud patriarkes with youre pope

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61 / Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe Bisshops arsbysshops and Cardinalls gaye With all other prelates which had your hope To be mayntayned by the masse all waye Who shall finde oure belly and ryche araye Seynge that gone is the masse No we deceased alas alas. Drawe nere ye prestes in youre longe gownes With all the fryres of the beggarly ordres Com hither monkes: with brode shaven crounes And all soche as are shoren above the ears, Helpe me to lament with dolourous teares Seynge that gone is the masse No we deceased alas alas. The dolfull destruction of noble troye Was never to man haulfe so lamentable Nor yett the subuersion of Rome oure ioye Vnder whom we were counted honorable. O fortune fortune: thou arte vnfauorable Seynge that gone is the masse Nowe deceased alas alas. Departed is nowe the masse and clean gone The chefe vpholder of oure liberte Wherby our whores and harlotes everychone Were mayntayned in ryche felicite. Full sore we shall repent this daye to se Seynge that gone is the masse Nowe deceased alas alas. Our baudes and brothels have lost ther finding Our bastardes compelled to go astraye, Oure wynninge mill hath lost her gryndinge Which we supposed never to decaye. Alas therfore what shall we do or saye Seynge that gone is the masse Nowe deceased alas alas. Oure gaye velvet gownes furred with sables Which werre wont to kepe vs from colde The paulfreys and hackenees in our stables Nowe to make chevesaunce must be solde

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62 / Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe A due forked mitres and crosses of golde Seynge that gone is the masse Nowe deceased alas alas. e shall nowe abate oure welthy tables With delicate deyntyes so delicious Oure mery iestes and plesaunt fables Are nowe tourned to matters dolorous We must laye downe oure estate so pompous Seynge that gone is the masse Nowe deceased alas alas. Oure fyngres shyninge with precyous stons Sett in golden rynges of ryche valoure Oure effeminate flesshe and tender bones Shalbe constrayned to faule vnto laboure For why decayed is all oure honoure Seynge that gone is the masse Nowe deceased alas alas. Where as we vsed apon mules to ryde Nowe must we nedes prycke a fote a lone Oure wantan daliaunce and bostinge pride With wofull misery is over gone. Oure glystringe golde is turned to a stone Seynge that gone is the masse Nowe deceased alas alas. We had oure servantes in most courtly wyse In greate multitude folowinge oure tayle With garded lyverey after the newe gyse Whome we frely supported to iest and rayle How be it nowe cache from wother shall fayle Seynge that gone is the masse, Nowe deceased alas alas. Oure povre kynred we lytell vnderstode, And of whatt vilnes oure pompe did aryse. We desdayned the estates of noble blode, Nothynge afrayde oure betters to despyse. Wherfor agaynst vs they will nowe surmyse Seynge that gone is the masse Nowe deceased alas alas.

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We were called lordes and doctours reverente, Royally raignynge in the spretualte. In every place wheare we were presente, They vayled their bonetes and bowed a kne. But it begynneth no we wother wyse to be. Seynge that gone is the masse, Nowe deceased, alas alas. We devowred the sustenaunce of the poore, Wastynge the goodes of people temporall. Wherwith we norysshed many a whore, To satisfye oure pleasure beastiall. And yett we were counted spretuall. Vnder faveoure of the masse, Nowe deceased, alas alas. Oure greate lordshippes and dominacions, With oure ryche iuelles and somptous plate. Oure places and large habitacions, Adorned with hangynges and beddes of state From oure hondes shall nowe be seperate. Seynge that gone is the masse Nowe deceased, alas alas. A due, oure ayde and supportacion, Wherby fortune so merely did smyle. Farwele comforte and consolacion, Thus soddenly chaunged with in a whyle. Oure vayne confydence dyd vs sore begyle. Seynge that gone is the masse, Nowe deceased, alas alas. By the masse we were exalted so hye, That scantly eny man we wolde once knowe. We thought for to ascende vnto the skye, Havynge oure seate above the rayne bowe But we are come downe agayne full lowe. Seynge that gone is the masse, Nowe deceased, alas alas. The masse made vs lordes and kynges over all, Farre and nere every wheare havyng power. With honorable tytles they dyd vs call,

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Dredynge to offende vs at eny houre. Then were we as fressh as the garden floure. Vnder favoure of the masse, Nowe deceased, alas alas. Amonge all the people we went a fore, By pretence of oure fayned holynes. They reputed vs for haulfe goddes and more, Thorowe the masses beneficialnes. Whiche is nowe tourned to oure hevines. Seynge that gone is the masse, Nowe deceased, alas alas. The masse was only oure singuler suffrage, To delivre the people from their synne. There was no prest in towne nor village, But by the masse his lyvynge did wynne. Whose superfluite shalbe full thynne. Seynge that gone is the masse, Nowe deceased, alas alas. O faythfull masse, so constant and true. In heven and erth continually. We nowe thy chyldren shall morne and rue, The chaunce of thy dekaye so sodenly. Constrayned we are all to wepe and crye. Seynge that gone is the masse, Nowe deceased, alas alas. By the masse we had hye authorite, In heven and erth takynge oure pleasure. Kynges and prynces for all their dignite, To displease vs feared oute of measure. Alas we have nowe lost oure chefe treasure. Seynge that gone is the masse, Nowe deceased, alas alas. The masse made vs so stronge and stordy, That agaynst hell gates we did prevayle. Delyveringe soules oute of purgatory, And sendynge theym to heven with out fayle Who is he then that wolde nott bewayle. Seynge that gone is the masse,

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No we deceased, alas alas. Of all maner thynges the comodyte, By the masses healpe only did depende. From sycknes and pestilent mortalite, The socoure of the masse did vs defende. All prosperite that our lorde did sende. Was for favoure of the masse Nowe deceased, alas alas. The masse farre excedeth mannes reason, Oft tymes of foule wether makynge fayre. It causeth frute for to rype in season, Puttynge awaye infeccions of the ayre. Create estates frendshippe stably to repayre. Have confirmacion by the masse Nowe deceased, alas alas. The masse in due tyme procureth rayne, Wherby floures and erbes freshly do sprynge. And masse maketh it forto seace agayne, When it so aboundeth to their hyndrynge. All maner matrymony and maryinge. Is solemnysed by the masse, Nowe deceased, alas alas. To soudears and men goynge a warre fare, The masse is ever a sure proteccion. It preserveth people from wofull care, Dryvynge awaye all affliccion. Alas who can shewe by descripcion All the proffettes of the masse, Nowe deceased, alas alas. O wofull chaunce: most infortunate So sodenly makynge comutacion. Never sence the worlde was fyrst create, Was there a thynge of soche reputacion. For in every londe and nacion All goodnes cam by the masse, Nowe deceased, alas alas. Whatt avayleth nowe to have a shaven hedde, Or to be aparelled with a longe gowne.

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Our anoynted hondes do vs lyle stedde, Wher as the masse is thus plucked downe. Vnto oure dishonowre all doeth rebowne. Seynge that gone is the masse, Nowe deceased, alas alas. The gooddes of the churche are taken awaye, Geven to povre folkes soffrynge indigence. The devyne servyce vtterly doeth decaye, With halowed oyle, salt, and frankynsence. To holy water they have no reverence. Seynge that gone is the masse, Nowe deceased, alas alas. All people because the masse is departed, Seketh no we, Ceremonies to confounde. The aultres of the lorde are subuerted, With ymages which cost many a pounde. The temples also are throwen to the grounde Seynge that gone is the masse, Nowe deceased, alas alas. Wherfore no we of my lamentacion To make an ende with oute delaye. Fare wele O holy consecracion, With blyssed sanctus and agnus dei. No lenger no we with you we can praye. Seynge that gone is the masse, Nowe deceased, alas alas. A due, gentle dominus vobiscum, With comfortable, ite missa est. Requiem eternam, is nowe vndon, By whom we had many a fest. Requiescat in pace and goode rest. Seynge that gone is the masse, Nowe deceased, alas alas.

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Here foloweth a brefe Dialoge betwene two prestes servauntes, named Watkyn. and leffraye.

Watkyn lEffraye, hardest thou cure master, Thus with lamentable maner, Most pitously complayne? leffraye Herde it catha? yee be throode, I praye god turne it vnto goode, That it be nott to oure payne. But is it of a very surety, As it is spoken in the country, That the holy masse is deade. Watt. Dead? yee leffraye by my hande, And that thou myght well vnderstande, Hadde thou eny witt in thy heade. For the soroufull constraynte, Of oure masters complaynte, Allonely for hys deceace was. Wherfor lett vs oure counsell take, What shyfte for vs is best to make, Seynge that deceaced is the masse, lef. Mary watkyne thou sayest very trothe, We shall have but a colde brothe, I feare me shortely after this. But I praye the tell me nowe playne, Was he by eny myschaunce slayne, Or was it for age that he deade is? Wat. Naye, it was not surly for age, For he was of lusty courage, Though he had very many yeres.

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Also he had continued still, Yf prestes myght haue had their will, With the helpe of monkes and fryres. Butt he was assauted so sore, That he coulde resist no more, And was fayne to geve ouer. Then cam his aduersaries with myght, And slewe hym oute of honde quyght, As though he had bene a faulce rover, With what wepen did they hym kyll, Whether with polaxe or with bill? A goode felowshippe lightly tell. Naye: with a sharpe two edged sworde, Which as they saye was goddes worde, Drawne oute of the holy gospell. And is goddes worde of soche myght, That it slewe the masse downe right, Of so auncient continuaunce? Me thynketh it shulde not be true, Seynge that prestes wolde hym rescue, With worldly ryches and substaunce. Monkes, channons, all shaven crownes, Wolde have brought their villages and tounes, With their whole religious rable. Which vnder antichristes raygne, Are of sectes variable and vayne, Forto be reckened in numerable. Oure master also I dare saye, With many wother prestes gaye, Whom I knowe very well. Wolde have spent all their goode, Yee verely their owne hert bloude, To helpe masse agaynst the gospell. Tosshe man they did all their best, Not sparynge to opyn their chest, Gevynge out brybes liberally. Wherby they had gret confidence, For to have done moche assistence,

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In ayde of the masse certaynly. But it provayled theim nothynge, For goddes worde hath soche workynge, That none maye resist contrary. Well, yet take it for no scorne, I tell the wheare as I was borne, They resist the gospell openly. And the principall doars be suche, As no we a dayes governe the churche, No smale foles I promes the. And namly one that is the chefe, Whiche is not fedd, so ofte with rost befe, As with rawe motten so god helpe me. Whose mule yf it shulde be solde, So gayly trapped with velvet and golde, And geven to vs for oure schare. I durst ensure the one thynge, As for a competent lyvynge, This seven yere we shulde not care. Yf he be soche what is his name, Or of what regarde is his fame? I beseche the shortly expresse. Mary, some men call hym Carnall, And some saye he is the devill and all, Patriarcke of all wickednes. Well, to be brefe with outen glose, And not to swarve from oure purpose, Take goode hede what I shall saye. The tyme will come or it be longe, When thou shalt se their statly thronge, With miserable ruyne decaye. Note wele the ensample of Rome, To what misery it is come, Which was their hedde principall. Goddes worde the grownde of vertue, They went aboute for to subdue, Werby they have gotten a faule. Beleve me, thou speakest reason,

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I trowe we shall se a season, To the confusion of theym all. But nowe to oure mater agayne, I wolde heare mervelously fayne, In what place the masse deceased. In Strasbrugh, that noble towne, A Cyte of most famous renowne, Wheare the gospell is frely preached, And what dost thou their names call, Which were counted in especiall, The aduersaries of the masse? Truly there where clarkes many one, And gretly learned every chone, Whose names my memory do passe. Howe be it, Hedius, Butzer, and Capito, Celarius, Symphorian, and wother mo, In dede were reputed the chefe. Whose lyuynge is so inculpable, That their enemies with oute fable, In theym coulde fynde no reprefe. What did then the temporalte, Wolde they all there vnto agre, With outen eny dissencion? As for the commens vniuersally, And a greate parte of the senatory, Were of the same intencion. Though a feawe were on the wother syde, But they were lyghtly satisfyed, When they could nott goddes worde denaye. I perceaue then manifestly, The bisshoppe with his whole clargy, Were absent and a waye. They were not absent I the ensure, For with the masse they dyd endure, Whyls to speake they had eny breth. In somoche that for all this, The bisshoppe ceaseth not with his, To revenge the masses death.

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He spareth nott to course and banne, Doynge all that ever he canne, To revoke masse vnto lyfe agayne. He spendeth many a gulden, To hange, morther, and bren, The masses aduersaries certayne. And getteth he any goode therby? But littell yet I the certefy, And I trowe lesse he shall have. Nowe for all his hye magnificence, They counte hym savynge reuerence, Not moche better than a knaue. Peace whorsone, beware of that, I tell the his skynne is consecrat, Anoynted with holy oyntmente. Yee, so many a knaues skinne, Is gresyd with out and with in, And yett they are not excellente. Cockes bones, this is rancke heresy, Yf it were knowne: by and by, Thou shuldest a faggote beare. To speake so of soche a prelate, Whiles they are all of the same rate, For the more parte euery wheare. But to the purpose that we beganne, What did monkes and fryeres thanne, When masse went thus to wracke? So vttered was their abusione, That with great confusione, They were fayne to stande abacke. Och: I knowe a fryer in a place, Whom they call father Matthias, Yf he had bene at this brayde. He wolde have made soche a noyse, With his horrible shrill voyce, Able to have made theym afrayde. Tosshe, there were fryres two or thre, In fayth as grett panched as he,

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With bellies more then a barell. Which for all their learned strengthe, Were so confounded there at lengthe, That they gave over their quarell. What made Ihon Faber and Emser, With their ayders Eckyus and Morner, Did they vnto masse no socoure? Yes truly, with wordes of greate boste, They spared nott to sende their oste, Threatnynge with fearfull terroure. Howe be it they had soche impediment, That they coulde nott be there present, As thou shalt the case vnderstonde. Emser somtyme a reguler chanon, To defende the masses cannon, Longe before had taken in honde. Which craftely to vpholde with lyes, So grevously troubled his eyes, And also encombred his brayne. That there was no remedy, But he was fayne certenly, At home, a fole to remayne. Flatterynge Faber, full of disdayne, Was newe admitted to be chaplayne, Vnto duke Ferdinand by othe. Wherfore he had ynough of busynes, To disswade the dukes noblenes, From favourynge the godly trothe. As for Morner, the blynde lawear, And Eckius, the frowarde sophistrar, They have afore castynge wisdome. That in soche honorable audience, Wheare as wyse clarckes are in presence, They will nott very gladly come. Medled nott Erasmus in this matter, Which so craftely can flatter, With cloked dissimulacion? He was busy to make will fre,

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A thynge nott possible to be, After wyse clarckes estimation. Wherfore he intermitted lytle, As concernynge the masses tytle, With eny maner assercion. He feareth greatly some men saye, Yf masse shulde vtterly decaye, Least he shulde lose his pension. Notwithstondynge he hath in his hedde, Soche an opinion of the god of bredde, That he wolde lever dye a marter. Then ever he wolde be of this consent, That christ is not theare corporally present, In bredde wyne and water. Also he hath geven soche a laudation, Vnto the ydols of abhominacion, In his glosynge pistles before tyme. That yf he shulde wother wyse reclame, Men wolde impute vnto his blame, Of vnstable inconstancy the cryme. Howe did they then with lovayne, And with the vniuersite of Colayne, Made they right noght for masses parte? Yes surly with terrible vociferacion, They made wonderfull exclamation, The worde of god to subverte. They sent thether Thomas and Scote, With wother questionistes god wote, Full of crakynge wordes inopinable. But when it cam to the effecte, They were so abasshed and deiecte, That once to hisse they were nott able, It was a thynge playnly acorst, That masse went thus by the worst, Havynge so many on his wynge. Goddes worde is so efficacious, And of strengthe so mervelous, That agaynst it is no resistynge.

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lef. Neverthelesse amonge this araye, Was nott theare one called Coclaye, A littell pratye foolysshe poade? But all though his stature be small, Yett men saye he lacketh no gall, More venemous than any toade. Wat. No, for he hadde a nother occupacyon, Wrytinge to the englysshe nacyon, Inuencyones of flatterye. lef. To Englonde? in goode tyme, I trowe the vrchyn will clyme, To some promocion hastely. Wat. Or els truly it shal cost hym a fall, For he is in fauoure with theym all, Which haue the gospell in hate. Continually he doth wryte, Euer laborynge daye and nyght, To vpholde antichristes estate. Of papistes he is the defender, And of Luther the condemner, The gospell vtterly despysynge. To forge lyes he hath no shame, So that they somewhat frame, With the processe of his writynge. He wrote of late to Herman Ryncke, Wastynge in vayne paper and yncke, Pomeranes epystle to corrupte. Which by christen men requyred, Accordynge as he was desyred, Dyd his parte theym to instructe. No thynge ther in was reprobable, But all to gedder true and veritable, With out heresy or eny faulte. Howe be it this wretch vnshamfast, Thorowe malyce was nott a gast, The trueth with lyes to assaulte. lef. Yf he be as thou sayst he is, I warant he shall not mis,

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Of a benefice and that shortly. For I ensure the cure Cardinall, With wother bisshops in generall, Love soche a felowe entierly. But lett this nowe passe and go to, What is best for oure proffit to do, Seynge masse hath made his ende? Surely as farre as I can gesse, We are lyke to be masterlesse, Yerre it be longe so god me mende. For as sone as the masse is buried, Oure master shalbe beggered, Of all his ryche possession, Then mate I put the out of doute, It is goode that we loke aboute, Least we solfe a newe lesson. Howe be it howe longe will it be, Or ever that we shall se, Of this dedde masse the buriall? As touchynge that in very dede, They are nott yett fully agrede, But I suppose shortly they shall. Some wolde have hym caried to Rome, For be cause of all christendome, It is the principall Ce. And some wolde have hym to Fraunce, Because of the noble mayntenaunce, That he had of Parys vniversite. Some also perswade in goode ernest, That in Englonde it were best, His dedde coors rychly to begraue. Nowe after my folysshe coniecture, They coulde nott for his sepulture, Devyse a better place to have. Also theare is Sayncte Thomas schryne, Of precious stones and golde fyne, Wherin the masse they maye laye. Wherof the ryches incomprehensible,

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As it is spoken by persones credible, Myght an Emperours raunsome paye. Morover theare is the Cardinall, Of whose pompe to make rehearceall, It passeth my capacite. With stately bissoppes a greate sorte, Which kepe a mervelous porte, Concernynge worldely royalte. Prestes also that are seculer, With monkes and chanons reguler, Abownde so in possession. That both in welfare and wede, With oute doute they farre excede, The nobles of the region. Yf it be thus as thou dost declare, It is best that masse be buried theare, With due honorable reverence. Ye but they have a frowarde witt, And par case they will nott admitt, But vtterly make resistence? Holde thy peace and be content, The gospell by a commaundment, To do it will strayghtly theym compell. They sett nott by the gospell a flye, Diddest thou not heare whatt villany, They did vnto the gospell? Why, did they agaynst hym conspyre? By my trothe they sett hym a fyre, Openly in London cite. Who caused it so to be done? In sothe the Bisshoppe of London, With the Cardinalles authorite. Which at Paules crosse ernestly, Denounced it to be heresy, That the gospell shuld come to lyght. Callynge theym heretikes excecrable, Whiche caused the gospell venerable, To come vnto laye mens syght.

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He declared there in his furiousnes, That he fownde erroures more and les, Above thre thousande in the translacion. Howe be it when all cam to pas, I dare saye vnable he was, Of one erroure to make probacion. Alas he sayde, masters and frendes, Consyder well nowe in youre myndes, These heretikes diligently. They saye that commen women, Shall assone come vnto heven, As those that lyve perfectly. And was that their very sayinge? After this wyse with oute faynynge, In a certayne prologe they wryte. That a whoare or an open synner, By meanes of Christ oure redemer, Whome god to repent doth incyte. Shall soner come to saluacion, By merites of Christes passion, Then an outwarde holy lyver. They did there none wother thinge shewe, Then is rehearced in mathewe, In the one and twenty chapter. For all that, he sayde in his sermone, Rather then the gospell shulde be comone, Bryngynge people into erroure. He wolde gladly soffre marterdome, To vpholde the devyls fredome, Of whom he is a confessoure. Why, makest thou hym a saynt? Euen soche a one as paynters do paynt, On walles and hordes artificially. Which with myters, crosses, and copes, Apere lyke gaye bisshops and popes, In strawnge fassion outwardly. But they are ydols in effecte, Mamettes of antichristes secte,

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To blynde folke deceatfully. Wat. I perceave well nowe that, honores, As it is spoken, mutant mores, With soche men most commenly. But thynkest thou in thy mynde, That he coulde in his herte fynde, In soche a case death to souffer. lef. Naye, yt was a worde of office, I warante he is nott so folisshe, To putt his boddy so in daunger. Neverthelesse with tonge and porsse, All though he shulde fare the worsse, Gladly he will do his dever. To plucke the worde of god downe, And to exalte the thre folde crowne, Of antichrist hys bever. Also there is a charge vnder payne, That no man eny thynge retayne, Of the gospel newly translate. For yf they presume the contrary, They lose their goodes with oute mercy, And their boddies to be incarcerate. Morover that no clarcke be so bolde, Prevy or pearte, with hym to holde, Preachynge ought in his favoure. But contrary their braynes to sett, Both in scoles and in the pulpett, Hym and all his to dishonoure. Wherfore it boteth the gospell nothynge, As concernynge the masses buryinge, To sende eny precepte thether. For they had lever by this daye, Go vnto the devill strayght waye, Then to obeye hym in eny maner. Wat. This passeth of all that ever I hearde, I wonder they were nott a fearde, Of so notable blasphemy. Nott with stondynge their interrupcion,

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lef. Wat. lef. Wat. lef. Wat.

lef.

Shall tourne to their destruction, At longe runnynge fynally. For though they caused to be brent, The outwarde shaddowe or garment, Of goddes worde so hye of pryce. Yett the grownde of his maiesty, Printed in christen hertes secretly, They are nott able to preiudyce. Therfore whyther they will or nill, Yf it be the holy gospels will, Masse in Englonde to bury. Lett theym crake vntill they burst, Doyng their best and their wurst, Itt avayleth nott a chery. They are worldly and carnall, And the gospell is spretuall, Assisted with angels presence. Yf it come vnto that reckenynge, They will no angels with them brygne, Then shalbe in the gospels assistence, Have they of angels eny garnyson? Ye god knoweth many a legion, Att all tymes theym to socoure. Howe do they these angels gett? By my fayth of povre mens swett, Which for theym sore do laboure. A ha, I wott well what thou meane, Soche angels are nott worthe a beane, Yf it come to the poynt once. But nowe wolde I heare the expresse, The maner of their holynesse, firefly declared att once. Mary that is done forthe with all, For they have no holynes att all, As farre as I sawe yett ever. Howe be it shortly to discousse, Their proude estate so glorious, I shall here my selfe endever.

800

805 [041]

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815

820

825

830

[c4v] 835

8o / Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe

Wat. leff.

Wat. lef. Wat. lef.

Fyrst as I sayde there is a Cardinall, Which is the Ruler principall, Through the realme in every parte. Have they not in Englonde a Kynge? Alas manne, speake not of that thynge, For it goeth to my verve harte. And I shall shewe the a cause whye, There is no Prynce vnder the skye, That to compare with hym is able. A goodly persone he is of stature, Endued with all gyftes of nature, And of genttylness incomparable. In sondrye sciences he is sene, Havynge a ladye to his Qwene, Example of womanlye behaveoure. Notwithstandynge for all this, By the Cardinall ruled he is, To the distayninge of his honoure. Doeth he folowe the Cardinales intente? Yee, and that the commones repente, With many a wepynge teare. The Cardinall vexeth theym than? Alas sens Englande fyrst began, Was never soche a tyrante theare. By his pryde and faulce treachery, Whoardom and baudy leachery, He hath bene so intollerable. That povre commens with their wyves, In maner are weary of their lyves, To se the londe so miserable. Through all the londe he caused periury, And afterwarde toke away their money, Procedynge most tyrannously. The povre people nedy and bare, His cruell herte wolde nott spare, Leavynge theym in greate misery. Insomoche that for lacke of fode, Creatures bought with Christes blode,

840

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860 [051] 865

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81 / Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe

Wat. lef.

Wat. lef.

Wat. lef.

Were fayne to dye in petous cas. Also a ryght noble Prince of fame, Henry the ducke of buckyngame, He caused to deye alas alas. The goodes that he thus gaddered, Wretchedly he hath scattered, In causes nothynge expedient. To make wyndowes, walles, and dores, And to mayntayne baudes and whores, A grett parte therof is spent. Lett all this pas I praye the hertely, And shewe me somwhat seriously, Of his spretuall magnificence, Fyrst he hath a tytle of .S. Cecile, And is a Legate of latere, A dignite of hye premynence. He hath bisshopryckes two or thre, With the popes full authorite, In cases of dispensacion. He maye then with the masse dispence, Yf he be faulen in the sentence, Of the grett excommunicacion? That he maye in all maner cases, Howe be it he geveth nothynge grates, But selleth all for reddy mony. Excepte courses and blessynges, With syght of his golden rynges, All this he geveth frely. Hath he so large faculte, Of the popes benygnite, As it is spoken abroade? He stondeth in the popes roume, Havynge of his bulles a grett some, I trowe an whoale carte loade. Wherwith mens porses to descharge, He extendeth his power more large, Then the power of almygthy god. For whether it be goode or ill,

875

880

885

[c5v]

895

900

905

910

82 / Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe

Wat. lef. Wat. lef. Wat. lef.

His pervers mynde he will fulfill, Supplantynge the trueth by falshod. To gett hym a synguler name, The londe he bryngeth out of frame, Agaynst all goddes forbod. He tourneth all thynge topsy tervy, Nott sparynge for eny symony, To sell spretuall gyftes. In grauntes of consanguinite, To mary with in neare degre, He getteth awaye mens thryftes. Of seculer folke he can make reguler, And agayne of regular seculer, Makynge as he lyst blacke of whyte. Open whordom and advoutry, He aloweth to be matrimony, Though it be never so vnryght. Laufull wedlocke to divorce, He geveth very lytle force, Knowynge no cause wherfore. He playeth the devill and his dame, All people reportynge the same, Coursse the tyme that ever he was bore. It cannot syncke in my mynde, That the Cardinall is so blynde, To make eny soche diuorcement. Though it be nott in thy belefe, I tell the to putt it in prefe, He doth all that he can invent. Bitwixte whom dost thou wene? Bitwixte the Kynge and the Quene, Which have bene longe of one assent. Some cause then he hath espyed, Which asonder theym to devyde, Is necessary and vrgent. Nothynge but the butcher doth fayne, That the goode lady is barayne, Lyke to be past chylde bearynge.

915 [c6r] 920

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945 [c6vj

83 / Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe

Wat. Had the kynge never chylde by her? lef. No man sawe ever goodlyer, Then those which she forth did brynge. Wat. Is there eny of them a lyve? lef. Ye a Princes, whom to descryve, It were herde fo an oratoure. She is but a chylde of age, And yett is she bothe wyse and sage, Of very beautifull faveoure. Perfectly she doth represent, The singuler graces excellent, Bothe of father and mother. Howe be it all this nott regardynge, The carter of Yorcke is meddelynge, Forto diuorce theym a sender. Wat. Are nott the nobles here with offended? lef. Yes, but it can not be amended, As longe as he is the ruler. Wat. I thynke the Quene is nott faulty, But hath done ynough of her party, Yf it had pleased goddes benificence. lef. None is faulty but the butcher, Whom almyghty god doth suffer, To scourge the peoples offence. Vnto god he is so odious, That nothynge can be prosperous, Where as he hath governaunce. Sens that he cam fyrst forwarde, All thynges have gone backwarde, With moche myschefe and mischaunce. No yerly purpose he doeth intende, That ever commeth to a goode ende, But damage and tribulacion. Wat. In these parties it is verifyed, That he hath a college edified, Of mervelous foundacion. lef. Of preuy houses of baudry, He hath made a stues openly,

950

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965

970

[071] 975

980

985

84 / Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe

Endued with large exibicion. Wat. Lycknest thou to whoarmongers, A colage of clarkes and scolears, Ensuynge learned erudition, lef. Thou mayest perceave, by reason, That vertue shalbe very geason, Amonge a sorte of ydle losels. Which have ryches infinite, In welth and worldly delyte, Geven to pleasure and nothynge eles. Wat. They rede there both greke and ebrue, lef. I will not saye but it is true, That there be men of grett science. Howe be it where pryde is the begynnynge, The devill is commenly the endynge, As we se by experience. And yf thou consyder well, Even as the towre of Babell, Began of a presompcion. So this colledge I dare vndertake, Which the Cardinall doth make, Shall confunde the region. What is it to se dogges and cattes, Gargell heddes and Cardinall hattes, Paynted on walles with moche cost. Which ought of dute to be spent, Apon povre people indigent, For lacke of fode vtterly lost. Wat. Hath he for soche folke no providence? lef. No, savynge only to rid them hence, A proper waye he ymageneth. Wat. After what maner porviaunce? lef. Truely least they shulde be combraunce, A warfare he theym sendeth. Wat. Many of theym then are slayne? lef. They never come home haulfe agayne, I maye tell the in goode plyght. For some be taken presoners,

990

995

1000 [CTV] 1005

1010

1015

1020

1025

85 / Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe

Wat. lef.

Wat. lef. Wat. lef. Wat. lef.

And some are dedde of the fevers, Many of theym losynge their syght. Of twenty thousande fyghtynge men, Scant returneth home agayne ten, In goode state and perfect lykynge. For the more parte made beggers, And so become robbers and stelers, Wherby they have a shroade endynge. He fareth nott the better for warre, Yes mary, it doth hym prefarre, To more gaynes then I can rehearce. For fyrst or the warre do begynne, They laboure his favoure to wynne, Gevynge gyftes many and dyvers. And yf it cannot be so pacifyed, They brybe hym on the wother syde, At the least for to be favoured. And fynally warre for to ceace, With rewardes they must hym greace, Or els peace cannot be performed, Dothe he practyse soche conveyaunce? Ye, and for that cause in Fraunce, This warre tyme he was beloved. Thou makest hym then a trayter? I recken hym a falce fayterer, Yf the very trueth were proved. Well lett this pas, nowe dothe he, In gevynge grauntes of liberte, And cases that be dispensable? He foloweth the commen practyse, Of marchantes in their marchandyse, To gett worldly goodes movable. Savynge they take grett laboures, And he doth all by his factoures, Restynge in quyet felicite. He hath falce farises and scrybes, Gapynge for nothynge but for brybes, Full of fraudes and perversite.

[c8r]

1035

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1045

1050

1055 [c8v] 1060

86 / Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe Wat. They are named yett wother wyse, lef. Trothe, but they folowe their gyse, In wicked operacions. Wat. I put a case nowe they be leawde, As I thyncke they are all be shrewde, In their administracions. Shall they to hell for the Cardinall, Or els thynkest thou that he shall, Go thether in his owne persone? lef. Though he have here soche prerogative, In all poyntes that be dispensative, To performe it by commyssion. Yett in this poynt sekerly, He must performe it personally, Withoute eny exempcion. Wat. Yf he be as thou hast here sayde, I wene the devils will be afrayde, To have hym as a companion. For what with his execracions, And with his terrible fulminacions, He wolde handle theym so. That for very drede and feare, All the devils that be theare, Wilbe glad to let hym go. lef. As for that thou mayst be assured, The devils with coursses are invred, As authours there of with out fayle. Wat. What yf he will the devils blisse? lef. They regarde it no more be gisse, Then waggynge of his mules tayle. Wat. Doth he vse then on mules to ryde? lef. Ye and that with so shamfull pryde, That to tell it is not possible. More lyke a god celestiall, Then eny creature mortall, With worldly pompe incredible. Before hym rydeth two prestes stronge, And they beare two crosses right longe,

1065

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1080

1085 [dirj

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1095

noo

87 / Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe

Wat. lef. Wat. lef.

Gapynge in every mans face. After theym folowe two laye men secular, And cache of theym holdynge a pillar, In their hondes, steade of a mace. Then foloweth my lorde on his mule, Trapped with golde vnder her cule, In every poynt most curiously. On cache syde a pollaxe is borne, Which in none wother vse are worne, Pretendynge some hid mistery. Then hath he servauntes fyve or six score, Some behynde and some before, A marvelous great company. Of which, are lordes and gentlemen, With many gromes and yemen, And also knaves amonge. Thus dayly he procedeth forthe, And men must take it at worthe, Whether he do right or wronge. A great carle he is and a fatt, Wearynge on his hed a red hatt, Procured with angels subsidy. And as they say in tyme of rayne, Power of his gentelmen are fayne, To holde over it a cannopy. Besyde this to tell the more newes, He hath a payre of costly shewes, Which sildom touche eny growndes. They are so goodly and curious, All of golde and stones precious, Costynge many a thousande pownde. And who did for thes shewes paye? Truly many a ryche abbaye, To be easied of his visitacion. Doth he in his owne persone visit? No, another for hym doth it, That can skyll of the occupacion. A felowe nether wyse nor sadde,

1105

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[div] 1115

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1125

1130

1135

88 / Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe

Wat. lef. Wat. lef.

Wat. lef. Wat. lef. Wat. lef. Wat. lef. Wat. lef. Wat. lef. Wat. lef.

But he was never yett full madde, Though he be frantyke and more. Doctor Alyn he is named, One that to lye is not asshamed, Yf he spye avauntage therfore. Are soche with hym in eny pryce? Ye, for they do all his advyce, Whether it be wronge or right. Hath the Cardinall eny gay mansion? Grett palaces with out compareson, Most glorious of outwarde sight. And with in decked poynt device, More lyke vnto a paradice, Then an erthely habitacion. He commeth then of some noble stocke? His father coulde snatche a bullock, A butcher by his occupacion. Howe cam he vnto this glory? Playnly by the devils policy, As it is every wheare sayde. Are the states here with all content? Yf they speake aught they are shent, Wherfore I tell the they are a frayde. Whatt abstinence vseth he to take? In Lent all fysshe he doth forsake, Fedde with partriges and plovers. He leadeth then a Lutherans lyfe? O naye, for he hath no wyfe, But whoares that be his lovers. Yf he vse whoares to occupy, It is grett marvell certaynly, That he escapeth the frenche pockes. He had the pockes with out fayle, Wherfore people on hym did rayle, With many obprobrious mockes. He was then abhorred of his prince? By my troth man, not an ynche, Still in favoure continually.

1140 [cbr] 1145

1150

1155

1160

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[d2v]

1175

89 / Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe Wat. By the devill then he worketh? lef. Truly so every man iudgeth, But alas what remedy? Wat. Hath he children by his whoares also? lef. Ye and that full prowdly they go, Namly one whom I do knowe. Which hath of the churches goodes clerly, More then two thousand pownde yerly, And yett is not content I trowe. His name is master Winter, For whom my lorde his father, Hathe gotten of the frenche kynges grace. That when the bisshop of Rone, Out of this lyfe is dedde and gone, He shall succede hym in his place. Wat. And is his father as redy, To promoute the noble progeny, As he is towardes his bastardes? lef. He favoureth lytell noble lynage, Takynge a waye their heritage, Rather then to sett theym forwardes. He breaketh mens testamentes, And contrary to their intentes, At his owne mynde and pleasure. He wilbe nedes their exsecutours, Sayinge with the devill all his oures, Rychely to encreace his treasoure. Many a goode ladys ioynter, He engroseth vp into his cofer, Of the which some here to name. I recken the Countes of Darby, With the Countes of Salsbury, Also the Duches of Buckyngame. Wat. Is the devil soche an whorsone? lef. Och, there is nether duke ne barone, Be they never of so grett power. But they are constrayned to croutche, Before this butcherly sloutche,

1180

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1195 [dsr] 1200

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1210

1215

90 / Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe

As it were vnto an Emproure. Wat. Nowe surly then after my mynde, They cannot soche another fynde, The dedde masses office to solempnise. lef. Yf it be his pleasure he maye, Howe be it he vseth lytell to praye, For it is late or he do aryse. Also as farre as I canne muse, To do this office he will refuse, Dredynge his pompe therby to lose. Wat. As for that, it shall nothynge skyll, Playnly yf it be the gospels will, Do it he must and cannot chose, lef. Yett it wilbe a parelous busines, For bisshops and prestes doutles, To ayde hym will nott be slacke. Though they loue hym as the devill, Yett to do the gospell some evill, No diligence in theym shall lacke. Wat. Have the bisshops so grett ryches? lef. It is nott possible to expres, The treasure of the spretualte. Wat. What, are the bisshops divines? lef. Ye they can wele skyll of wynes, Better then of devinite. Lawears they are of experience, And in cases agaynst conscience, They are parfet by practyse. To forge excommunicacions, For tythes and decimacions, Is their continuall exercyse. As for preachynge they take no care, They wolde se a course at an hare, Rather then to make a sermon. To folowe the chace of wylde dere, Passynge the tyme with ioly chere, Amonge theym all is common. To playe at the cardes and dyce,

1220

1225 [dsv]

1230

, 1235

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1245

1250

9i / Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe Some of theym are nothynge nyce, Both at hasard and momchaunce. They dryncke in gaye golden holies, The bloudde of povre simple soules, Perisshynge for lacke of sustenaunce. Their hongery cures they never teache, Nor will soffre none wother to preache, But soche as can lye and flatter. Biddynge the beades after this rate, Ye shall praye for the goode estate, Of my lorde my master. And so redynge a ragge mans roule, He exhorteth to praye for the soule, Of this persone and of that. Which gave boke, bell, or challes, To the fortheraunce of goddes serves, Babblynge he wotteth neare what. Soche preachers be commended, And the wother are reprehended, Which preache the gospell purly. So they sitt apon cousshens softe, Their royalte exalted alofte, They regarde nott goddes worde surly, They are so geven to avaryce, That they ponder no preiudyce, Happenynge to the comen weall. They norysshe servauntes in ydelnes, Which when they are masteries, Are constrayned to begge or steale. To tell all the abhominacion, Of their wretched conuersacion, It were bothe longe and tedious. Wat. If the bisshops do so abownde, Howe are seculer prestes fownde, With persons which be religious? lef. Thynkest that with theym it is scant, Naye naye man, I the warant, They fele no indigent rearage.

[d4r] 1255

1260

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1270

1275

1280 [tUv] 1285

1290

92 / Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe For they have goodes innumerable, And fare moche better at their table, Then lordes of worthy parage. Fortune with prestes runneth on wheles, So that some have after their heles, A scoare of yemen taule and stoute. Whom forto mayntayne ydely, They have benefyces very many, In the country there aboute. Wherby they are so proude and vayne, That the noble men they disdayne, With scornfull indignacion. Though peraventure their fathers, Were other sowters or cobblers, Of no maner reputacion. As for religious folke to be brefe, In all Englonde they have the chefe, And most plesaunt commoditees. The goodly soyles, the goodly londes, Wrongfully they holde in their hondes, Endued with many knyghtes fees. By coloure of their faulce prayres, Defrauded are the ryght heyres, From their true inheritaunce. They are the cause of mysery, Of whordom, theft, and beggery, To the commen welles hynderaunce. No frutfull worke they vse, All honest laboure they refuse, Geven wholy to sluggesshnes. They are nether gostly nor divine, But lyke to brut beastes and swyne, Waltrynge in synfull wretchednes. I speake this of the possessioners, All though the mendicant orders, Are nothynge lesse abhominable. Whose lyvynge is with oute laude, Norisshed in rapyne and fraude,

1295

1300

1305

[d5r]

1315

1320

1325

93 / Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe

Wat.

lef.

Wat. lef.

Wat.

Grounded on lesynges detestable. They are the devils messengers, And of antichrist the members, Example of all perversite. They are ydols of flattery, And apostels of hypocrysy, Replenisshed with enormite. Lo, here I have thus reported, Howe their lyfe is partly ordred, And vnder what condicion. That thou hast I make god a vowe, Insomoche that I marvayle howe, Thou knowest their disposicion. But I praye the, dost thou iudge, That they will murmer and grudge, At the dedde masses buryinge? Ye syr I wis man I am sure, They will laboure with busy cure, His sepulture forbiddynge. For why their superfluite, By the masses liberalite, Only hath supportacion. What supposest thou of men temporall? I thynke they wolde holde here with all, Yf they had due informacion. Nevertheless at the begynnynge, Dede masse amonge theym to brynge, There wilbe some difficulte. Because of longe continuaunce, They have had trust and affiaunce, Thorowe the masse saved to be. For these prestes and fryres perswade, That by the masse they shall evade, Eternall payne and punnysshment. Whose suffrage doeth theym gret stedde, Proffitable bothe to quicke and dedde, After their mynde and iudgement. Ye to prestes and fryers miserable,

1330

1335 [dsv] 1340

1345

1350

1355

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1365 [d6r]

94 / Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe

lef.

Wat. lef. Wat. lef. Wat. lef.

Doutles the masse is proffitable, And is the mill of their welfare. But to the people without faynynge, It is playne a fraudfull deceavynge, To make their porsse empty and bare, Nowe truly I trowe as thou dost saye, Even there goeth the hare quyte awaye, And all their babellynge is but lyes. All though there be wother obstacles, Because of the grett myracles, Dayly practysed before oure eyes. Thou never sawest myracle wrought? I, no be hym that me bought, But as the prestes make rehearceall. Canst thou rehears me nowe one? No I cannot, but oure syr Ihon Can, in his Enghlisshe festivall. Geve they to soche fables credence? They have them in more reverence, Then the gospell a thousand folde. Also ther is nether whoare nor thefe, Nor eny of so wicked mischefe, But by the masse is made bolde. For yf they heare once a prestes masse, They trust surly that daye to passe, Without all parell or daungeoure. Crafty sorcerers and falce dyce players, Pickporses and prevy conveyers, By the masse hope to have socoure. Marchantes passynge viages on farre, And soudiars goynge forthe to warre, By the masse are ofte preserved. Masse bryngeth synners to grace, And fendes awaye it doeth chace, Above all thynges preferred. Masse solemniseth mariage, And kepeth people from domage, Causynge also wedder to be fayer.

1370

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1385

1390

[d6v] 1395

1400

1405

95 / Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe Masse maketh tame thynges of wylde, And helpeth wemen to be with chylde, Thorowe assistence of the sayer. Masse avayleth agaynst sycknes, A proved remedy for all distres, And for thynges that be gone. Thus to conclude with brevite, Of the whole churches felicite, The masse is mayntener alone. Wat. The nobles that be wyse and sage, I suppose with soche blynde dotage, They cannot so folisshly begyle. lef. Troth it is, some of theym begynne, To have lytell confidence there in, And lesse woll with in a whyle. Which of the bisshops is perceaved, Wherfore they have no we restrayned, Vnder the payne of courssynge. That no laye man do rede or loke, In eny frutfull englisshe boke, Wholy scripture concernynge. Their frantyke foly is so pevisshe, That they contempne in Englisshe, To have the newe Testament. But as for tales of Robyn hode, With wother iestes nether honest nor goode, They have none impediment. Their madde vnsavery teachynges, And theyr fantasticall preachynges, Amonge simple folke to promote. For no cost they spare nor stynte, Openly to put theym in prynte, Treadynge scripture vnder their fote. Also their decrees and decretalles, With folysshe dreames papisticalles, They compell people to rede. Howe be it the confutacion, Of their abhominacion,

1410

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1420 [dyr] 1425

1430

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96 / Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe They will not soffre to precede. Wat. Kepe thou silence and be whyst, Though with grett crakes they resist, For a lytell season present. Yett I warant within shortt space, Masse will have there his beryinge place, Acordynge as it is convenient. lef. So moche the worse for oure thryfte, For then there is none wother shyfte, A newe master we must vs gett. Wat. All though masse be dedde and rotten, A master maye lyghtly be gotten, Yf we oure mynde to laboure sett, lef. Ye but prestes service is gaye, For we maye with theim all waye, In ydelnes have grett respyt. Wat. That for a christen man is nott best, Borne vnto laboure and not vnto rest, As the foule is vnto flyght. But nowe all this matter to spare, Lett us oure masters dyner prepare, For it is hye tyme verely. lef. A felyship lett vs go a pace, For he will beshrowe oure face, Yf he fynde not all thynge redy. Wat. Hawe, I praye the yett abyde, Sett thy busynes a whyle a syde, And lett vs have fyrst a songe. lef. What woldest thou that I shulde synge? Wat. Surly some propper conveyed thynge, Not over tedious nor longe. lef. I trowe thou arte a syngynge man? Wat. The devil of the whit that I can, But I love specially soche geare. lef. Will thou have it mery or sadde? Wat. I foarce not be it goode or badde, So that I maye some what heare. lef. If thou will thy mynde satisfy, Gett the into some monastery,

1445

[dyv]

1455

1460

1465

1470

1475 [d8r] 1480

97 / Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe And be a monge theym in the queare. Wat. Do they vse soche ioly syngynge? lef. It is the crafte of their lyvynge, Wherby they make lusty cheare. Wat. But I vnderstonde nott what they saye, lef. By my sothe no more do they, I may shewe the in counsell. Wat. Shall I axe the no we a question? lef. Ye hardely a goddes beneson, And I will not spare the to tell. Wat. Ware thou never in religion? lef. Yes so god helpe me and halydom, A dosen yeres continually. Wat. Then thou knowest moche vnhappines? lef. A grett deale more than goodnes, I promes the faythfully. Wat. Well lett vs differ this till soune, When oure masters diner is done, We will a gayne come hydder. lef. I am content even so to do, Wat. Fyrst synge a balett, go to, And then will we to diner. lef. Alas I am marvelously drye, Wat. Thou shalt dryncke man by an by, What nedeth the so to lynger? lef. Have at it in the best manner. In the ioyfull moneth of ioly lune, Walkynge all alone my care to solas. I herde a voyce with a dolorous tune, Full pitiously cryinge, alas alas. The worlde is worsse then evyr it was. Never so depe in miserable decaye, But it cannot thus endure all waye. Fyrst to begynne at the spretualte, Whose lyvynge shulde be example of grace. Indued with parfett workes of charite, Sekynge goddes honoure in every cace.

1485

1490

1495

1500

1505 [d8v]

1510

1515

98 / Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe

The worlde with his vanites they enbrace. Renyinge god all though they saye naye, But it cannot thus endure all waye. Of this worlde they have the chefe dominion With stately preeminence temporall. They preasume to be hadde in opinion, Of the people, as lordes emperiall. Worsshipfull seniours we must theym call, Requyrynge that we shulde to theym obeye, But it cannot thus endure all waye. The ryches and gooddes of the commen weall, Hath sett theym in their honoure full hye. They are occasion that theves do steall, And cause of all mischefe and misery. The worldly treasure they consume ydely. Nothynge regardynge but pastance and playe But it cannot thus endure all waye. The laboure of the povre people they devower And of nobles they waste the patrimony. They teache and exhorte men god to honoure With their temporall substannce and mony. They clayme tythes to supporte their foly. Inventynge many a faulce offerynge daye, But it cannot thus endure all waye. They ought of duty to preache the gospell, The wordes of lyfe, so dulcet and swete. Howe be it there agaynst chefly they rebell, Christes doctryne troaden vnder their fete. They beare vs in honde that it is nott mete. The gospell to be knowen of people laye, But it cannot thus endure all waye. They shulde be meke, and they ar full of pryde Voyde of true pacience replete with yre. Envy they holde, charite sett a syde,

1520

1525

[eir]

1535

1540

1545

1550

99 / Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe

Retaynynge for chastite carnall desyre. Slouthe and glotteny in their hole empyre. Hath made temperance and labour to straye But it cannot thus endure all waye. Emprours and kynges they trappe in their lure, Deceavynge theym by falce adulacion. So that of promocions they be sure, Full lytell they ponder their damnacion. They geve theym no true informacion, And that evidently parceave they maye, But it cannot thus endure all waye. The workes of mercy apon them are spent. Poure people defraudynge with iniury. They dryncke the bloud of soules innocent, Simple folke begylynge outrageously. Their foule fylthy carkes to magnyfy. They wrappe in robes and costly araye, But it cannot thus endure all waye. Goddes commaundmentes they transgresse openly To his godly love no respecte havynge. They take his name in vayne with blasfemy, Holy dayes after their own mynde faynynge To honour their parentes they are disdaynynge More covetous then kytes waytynge apraye. But it cannot thus endure all waye. Letcherous luste leawdly they enbrace, Forbiddynge wedloke agaynst goddes will. Their subiectes they oppresse in wretched cace, Prone vnto morther christen men to spill. Sacrilege and simony is their corne mill. Vsynge falce witnes the trueth to delaye, But it cannot thus endure all waye. The sacrementes of christes ordinaunce Institute oure feble fayth to sustayne.

[eiv]

1560

1565

1570

1575

[e2r] 1580

1585

ioo / Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe

They have perverted vnto oure hyndra Enforcynge vs to trust in tryfles vayne. Wother newe sacrementes falcely they fayne. Obscuringe godes worde as moch as they may But it cannot thus endure all waye. Christes fredom they have brought in bondage Of hevenly rightes makynge marchandyse. In gostly workes they covett avauntage, To fede their insaciate covetyse. Of the damnable masse they make a sacryfyse Compellynge men dearly for it to paye, But it cannot thus endure all waye. Of hell and heven they make chevesance, Faynynge as they lyst a purgatory. Hypocrisy is leader of their daunce, With wronge extorcion and vsery. Of Christes worde they make heresy, Redy and prompte christen men to betraye, But it cannot thus endure all waye. Wherfore brefly to fynnysshe my balade, O hevenly father, apon the I call. Have pyte on man, whom thou hast made, To serve the in fredom spretuall. Rid vs from antichristes bondes so thrall. Wherwith we are fast bovnd nyght and daye That thy name be not blasphemed all waye. Lo nowe I have done my best, To satisfy the request, Accordynge as thou desyredst. Wat. I will holde the then no longer, But loke that thou remember, To fulfill that thou promysedst.

1590

1595

1600

[e2v] 1605

1610

1615

Here foloweth the Secunde parte.

lef. O Lorde god what goode dayes, Thes monkes have in abbeyes, And do nether swett nor swyncke. Thei live in welthynes and ease, Havynge what soever they please, With delicate meate and dryncke. Wher with they farce their bellies so full, That to all goodnes they are dull, Makynge mery with gill and loan. They sitt slepynge in a corner, Or momblynge their pater noster, Their mynde nothynge ther apon. Be they never so stronge or starcke, They will exercyse no maner warcke, Nor laboure boddily. Wat. Arte thou here lef fray mate? lef. Ye, why commest thou so late? I am fayne for the to tary. Wat. I was troubled with the estates, I beshrowe all their folisshe pates, For commynge here this daye. lef. So mot I the I thought the same, Howe be it the stuarde was to blame, That he did no better porvaye. Wat. By thy fayth, had thou better fare, In the cloyster where as thou ware,

[e3r]

1625

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1640

1645

102 / Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe

Vnder the rule of the monastery? lef. Fare cotha? they eate their belies full, Every man as moche as he wull, And none sayth blacke is his eye? Wat. What do they for it, eny thynge? lef. Truly nothynge but rede and synge, Passynge the tyme with sporte and playe. Wat. That is a lyfe in dede for the nones, Thou ware a fole by thyse ten bones, Whan thou earnest fro theym awaye? lef. O I thyncke my silfe moche fortunate, That fro their lyfe I am seperate, Seynge it is so abhominable. Wat. What abhominacion is there in? lef. Alas mate all to geder is synne, And wretchednes most miserable. Wat. What a man of religion, Is reputed a dedde person, To worldly conversacion? lef. It is of a trueth they are dedde, For they are in no vse nor stedde, To christen mens consolacion. And as a dedde stynkynge carkace, Vnproffitably cloyeth a space, Yf it be kepte above grownde. So in their lyfe supersticious, Of wicked crymes enormious, No maner proffitablenes is fownde. Wat. Yett their order is very strayte? lef. Ye but they vse soche a consayte, That they make it easy ynowe. More easy by the twenty parte, Then to laboure in some arte, Or to go with the carte or plowe. Wat. They have man the worlde forsaken, And a spretuall lyfe taken, Consistynge in gostly busynes. lef. What call ye the worlde I praye?

[esv] 1650

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103 / Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe

Wat. Welthy ryches and pleasurs gaye, And occasions of synfulnes. lef. Then are they in the worlde still, For they have all that they will, With ryches and possessions. And as touchynge the realme of vice, Pryde, wrath, envy, and avarice, With wother synfull transgressions. In this worlde that we do name, There is none so farre oute of frame, And lyve in soche outragiousnes. Wat. Yett leffrye thou errest so god me save, For the fryers no possessions have, But lyve only by pure almes. lef. Fryers? nowe they are worst of all, Ruffian wretches and rascall, Lodesmen of all knavisshnes. Though they be no possessioners, Yett are they intollerabill beggers, Lyvynge on rapyn and disceyte. Worshipfull matrons to begyle, Honorable virgins to defyle, Continually they do wayte. Of honesty they have no regarde, To displease god they are not afearde, For the valoure of a pynne. Of whordom they are the very baudes, Fraudulent inventers of fraudes, Provocacion vnto synne. They are slaunder of vertousnes, Occasion vnto viciousnes, Chickens of the devils broode. To the trueth they are adversaries, Diligent imageners of lyes, Depravers of those that be goode. They are antichristes godsones, Promowters of his pardones, And proctours of simony.

1685

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1700 [e4v] 1705

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104 / Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe

They are brokers heven to sell, Fre coppy holders of hell, And fe fermers of purgatory. Of sathan they are the soudiers, And antichristes owne mariners, His shippe forwardes to convey. And to conclude seriously, They are the hell howndes veryly, Enmies agaynst goddes worde allwaye. Wat. Nowe thou arte gretly oversene, For in places there as I have bene, They do goode I the certify. For yf it wer not for the fryers, There wolde not be in seven yeres, A sermon in the povre contry. And as for their lyvynge truly, They begge peoples almes purly, Takynge soche thynges as they geve. They have no wast superfluite, But even their bare necessite, Scant ynough wherby to leve. lef. I mean not that they are all bad, For I wolde the devill theym had, Then with a fayre deliverance. But of the gretter parte I thought, Which I saye are worsse then nought, Replete with mischevous vengeance. Their preachynge is not scripture, But fables of their coniecture, And mens ymaginacions. They brynge in olde wyves tales, Both of Englonde, Fraunce, and Wales, Which they call holy narracions. And to theym scripture they apply, Pervertynge it most shamfully, After their owne opinions. Wherwith the people beynge fedde, In to manyfolde errours are ledde,

1725

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[esv] 1760

105 / Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe And wretched supersticions. Of Christ oure mercifull saveoure, They make a iudge full of terroure, Only threatninge oure damnation. Whose faveoure as they falsly fayne, We cannot be able to obteyne, With oute sayntes mediacion. They saye that holy mens suffrages, Pardons, masses, and pilgremages, For synnes make satisfaccion. They bid vs in oure workes to trust, Wherby they saye that we must, Deserve oure saluacion. Fayth litell or nothynge they repute, Wherof we beynge destitute, Are brought into desperacion. And as for their lyfe doutles, It is the well of ongraciousnes, Of iniquite the myroure. The almes that povre folke shulde have, Wretchedly awaye they do crave, To lyve ydely withoute laboure. Dissaytes continually they do muse, And crafty falshod dayly they vse, With simple folke gretly dissemblynge. They feare lytell whom they offende, Acustumed to rappe and rende, All that commeth in their fingrynge. Their miserable disposition, Causeth stryfe and sedicion, In all places where as they dwell. There is none vnhappines done, In eny christen regione, But a fryer is of the counsell. Though they saye that their order, Is to have no thynge in proper, But to vse all thynges in commone. Yett ther is no commenalte,

1765

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io6 / Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe

Wat. lef. Wat. lef. Wat. lef. Wat. lef. Wat. lef.

Which hath so gret parcialite, As their miserable religione. For where as the heddes principall, Whom master docters they call, Lyve in welthy aboundance. The wother are povre and nedy, Leadynge their lyves in penury, Scant havynge their sustenance. Of their brothers vexacion, They have no compassion, Despysynge those that be in sicknes. Agaynst all order of charite, They desdayne forto have pete, Apon theym that are in destres. To shewe all their vnhappines, So abhominable and shamles, It wer ouer tedious and longe. Thou hast sayde ynough all redy, They cannot be moche wors lyghtly, Yf the devill be not theym amonge. As for that thou nedest not feare, The devill with theym is familiare, All waye bothe at bed and at horde. The observauntes are not so disposed? Wilt thou have their lyfe disclosed, Brefly rehearsed at a worde? Nowe mate I praye the hartely. So god helpe me of all hypocrysy, They are the very foundacion. Peace man, what speakest thou? I perceave well thou errest nowe, With wordes of diffamacion. Why thynkest thou that I do erre? Because the worlde doth theym preferre, For their wholly conversacion. Ye so were the scrybes and pharisays, Through their falce hypocrisy ways, Amonge the lues in reputacion.

1800

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[e6v]

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107 / Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe

Wat. lef. Wat. lef. Wat. lef. Wat. lef. Wat. lef.

Neverthelesse in inwarde maners, They were worse then open synners, Whom oure lorde also did coursse. Makest of theym soche compareson? Ye savynge after my opinion, The observantes are farre worse. It is not possible to be so, For they shewe ther as they go, Of simplenes gret aperaunce. Ye so dothe the foxe wother whyle, All though he canne many a wyle, Pretende a simple countenaunce. Thou doest wrongfully surmyse. Naye I tell the it is their gyse, To have two faces in a hoode. What dost thou meane therby? That they are dissemblers vniuersally, And feawe or none of theym be goode. They vse no whordom, nor robbery, Nor take mens goodes wrongfully, As farre as I can heare or se? Open advoutrers they are none, Yet are they not virgens every chone, All though they professe chastite. They have pollucions detestable, And in warde brennynges intolerable, Of the flesshly concupiscence. Ye and wother whyles advoutry, With wother meanes of letchery, Cloaked vnder a fayned pretence. Wich to overcome certaynly, They vse not the right remedy, Of oure lordes institucion. Gevynge hede to spretes of errours, And doctryne of divlysshe doctours, Which do make prohibicion. And as touchynge theft to be playne, They are the gretest theves that raygne,

1840 [evr] 1845

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1870 [CTV]

108 / Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe

In all the worlde nowe a dayes. For all wother theves commenly, Of theym which have aboundantly, And of ryche folke take their prayes. But the observauntes no people do spare, Makynge their quest every wheare, With most importunate cravynge. To begge of the pover and nedy, They are as dogges most gredy, And wolves incessantly ragynge. Wat. Yet they never handell money? lef. No for that is a subtill policy, To vpholde their madde disgysynge. For when antichrist sathans soune, To stablysshe his realme had begoune, Temporall honoure despysynge. To have all in his dominion, He made many a religion, With outwarde holynes aperynge. Which into sectes innumerable, Wer divided with oute fable, The worlde in care forto brynge. By their coloured devocion, To the people they gave a mocion, Their favoure craftly purchasynge. And so by their contrivynge cast, They gott clene a waye at the last, Their chefe possessions temporally. Wherby laye people opressed sore, Scant coulde they geve eny more, Concernynge londes and patrimony. Then cam the fower orders of fryers, Which are the substanciall pillers, Of antichristes mayntenaunce. So holy theym selves they did make, That all possessions they did forsake, Wilfull poverty to inhaunce. To live by almes they did pretende,

1875

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1885

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1895

[e8r] 1900

1905

1910

log / Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe

An eceaved all that god did sende, Sheawynge tokens of perfection. Wherfore the people did theym honoure, With gretter love and faveoure, Then those that had possession. Except livelod and londes only, They receaved all that cam frely, Whether it wer mony or ware. Howe be it they did multiply, In all provinces so innumerably, Through the worlde in every quartear. That the people wexed wery, Seynge they coulde not kepe a peny, But the fryers wolde begge it awaye. At the last cam the observauntes, Of antichrist the trusty servauntes, To brynge the worlde in more dekaye. At least they shulde seme chargeable, They fownde a newe waye deceavable, To begylde bothe yonge and olde. They were of soche supersticione, That in proper or in commone, They wolde nothynge kepe nor holde. Of their nedes havynge the vse, To handle money they dyd refuse, Faynynge austerite of pennaunce. Wherby with desyrous affecte, The people had a grett respecte, Vnto their paynted observaunce. In somoche that though their londes, Was geven clene oute of their hondes, By meanes of the possessioners. And also most greveously opprest, With the dayly cravynge and quest, Of the vnsaciate fryer beggers. Yett the observauntes semed so parfyt, That to healpe theym they iudged yt, With oute charge a thynge charitable.

1915

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1925 [e8v] 1930

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1945

1950

i io / Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe

Wat.

lef. Wat. lef.

Wherfore all the wother sectes, In maner reputed abiectes, The observauntes were honorable. Apon whom the workes of mercy, Were bestowed continually, With superfluous abundaunce. And so vnder a leawde coloure, In ydelnes they did devoure, The povre peoples sustenaunce. They have increased so their nomber, That all the worlde they do encomber, With intollerable oppression. They are more noyous a gret deale, In hyndraunce of the commen wealle, Above eny wether faccion. For where as the people afore, Wer halfe beggered and more, By the wother orders afore sayde. They robbed the worlde vterly, Causynge it with extreme beggery, In grett ruyne to be dekayde. Thou speakest agaynst conscience, For we perceave by experience, What a godly lyfe they leade. They flye diligently all excesse, Livynge in poverte and scasnes, With smale dryncke and browne breade. Thynkest thou they live in penury? Or els they are hipocrites verily, Of shamfull dissimulacion. Saye that hardly once agayne, For they leade a lyfe to be playne, Full of worldly delectacion. Fyrst they have befe and mutten, Of the chefe that maye be gotten, With bred and dryncke of the best. And that morover so largely, That to farce and stuffe their belly,

[fir]

1960

1965

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1975

1980 [fiv] 1985

i n / Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe

Wat. lef. Wat. lef. Wat. lef. Wat. lef. Wat. lef.

Wat. lef.

They take more then they can deiest. They have sauces with every disshe, Whither that it be flesshe or fysshe, Or els they wilnot be content. To eate bred that is browne or stale, Ether to dryncke thynne byere or ale, They count it not convenient. And many tymes they have daynties, Sent from dyvers lordes and ladyes, Their wholy suffrages to procure. Yet they nether bake nor brewe. No for all laboure they exchewe, I the faythfully ensure. Howe have they their meate rost or bake? Wother men for theym the payne take, Whom spretuall fathers they call. And have they no spretuall mothers? Yes with many sisters and brothers, And also doughters spretuall. Howe come they to be kynred so nye? Because they canne flatter and lye, Makynge beleve the cowe is wode. They cannot lye though they wolde, For they will nether silver nor golde, Nor covet eny mans goode. Trowest thou they covyt nothynge, Where as they come a beggyng, To the housse of a povre man? Which hath both wyfe and children, And is not able to fynde them, Doynge the best that ever he can. Yet he must vnto the fryers geve, All though he shulde his housholde greve, Havynge nought theym selves to eate. O they have then the gretter mede. Ye god geve theym evill to spede, That do pover creaturs so entreate. For they shulde their livynge gett,

1990

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ii2 / Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe

Wat. lef. Wat. lef.

Wat.

lef.

Wat. lef. Wat. lef. Wat.

With boddely laboure and swett, Wherby they myght healpe wother. So they do healpe them spretually. Soche spretualnes I defye, When pover people dye for honger. Men saye they are goode to the pover, And geve every daye at their doer, Grett almes and refresshynge. They geve almes, but howe? When they have eaten ynowe, Their gredy paunches replenisshynge. Then gadder they vp their levettes, Not the best morsels but gobbettes, Which vnto pover people they deale. Then are they lyke with oute doute, Vnto certayne theves devoute, Which though they vse to steale. Yet they are liberall and fre, Yf eny pover creature they se, To geve hym parte of their stolen geare. Nowe truly their disposicion, Is not vnlyke of condicion, Savynge in this poynte they differ. That where as theves liberally, Geve their goodes gotten wrongfully, To the pover with true affection. They geve no thynge in very trothe, But scrappes which they wolde be lothe, To vse agayne in their refeccion. Pover folke yet commende theym gretly. But yf they knewe as moche as I, They wolde rather on theym complayne. Howe do they pover people offende? Bycause in ydelnes they spende, Which vnto theym shulde pertayne. They are not ydell I dare saye, Whyles they rede, synge, and praye, Continually every houre.

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113 / Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe

lef. I ll it ydelnes vnproffetable, Which in no case is confortable, To the necessite of oure neghboure. Wat. Well yett the apostle doth wryte, A iust mans prayer doth proffyte And is very efficacious. lef. Are they iust in thy reputacion? Wat. After their owne affirmation, Truly they are just and rightous. lef. Then it is an evident token, That they are of whom it is spoken, Ve vobis qui iustificatis vos ipsos. Wat. What dost thou by these wordes note? lef. That vnder neath a fryers cote, Moche hipocrisy they glose. Wat. Reputest thou it hipocrisy, That they vse to go so holyly, In cutt shues with out eny hose? lef. Be it hipocrysy or no, To mangill their goode shues so, Me thynkest it but folisshnes. Wat. They cutt but the vpper ledder. lef. No for it is moche easier, Then to cut the soles doutles. Wat. They do it for pennaunce sake, lef. For all that gret shifte they make, To avoyde all corporall sofferaunce. Wat. They shewe signes of penaunce outwardly, lef. Ye but they fynde soche a remedy, That they fele lytell grevaunce. For in coventes where as they are, Thycke mantels of fryse they weare, With sockes to kepe their fete warme. Then have they fyre at their pleasure, And to sit therby at their leaysure, No man sayinge theym eny harme. And when they walke their stacions, They seke gentilmens habitacions,

2065 [£31] 2070

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[f 3v]

2100

ii4 / Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe

Wat. lef. Wat. lef. Wat. lef. Wat. lef.

Wat.

Where as they fare deliriously. For be there never so grett prease, They are set vp at the hy dease, Taken lyke lordes honorably. They have also to wasshe their fete, Water made hott with erbes swete, And a goode fyer in their chamber. Then have they bred, ale, and wyne, With a ryche bed of downe fyne, Decked after the best maner. And paraventure the goode father, Hath in his sieve a bladder, Full of gynger, nutmegges or graynes. Which to make the drincke myghtye, He putteth therin a quantite, To comforte and warme his veynes. They fynd not this whersoever they come? Syr I wis it is their custome, In gentilmens places commenly. Yet when they go on farre iorneys, They cannot espye oute all ways, Gentilmens houses so redely. Mary before their departynge, They have by mouthe or wrytynge, The names of places where they dwell. Some tyme they fayle yet I iudge? Then do they mormor and grudge. Lyke yonge devils of hell. They want soche thynges in their cloyster? Concernynge the fare of their froyter, I did tell the a fore partly. But then they have gest chambers, Which are ordened for strangers, And for fathers to make mery. There have they ale, wyne, and byre, And in winter tyme a goode fyre, With gaye conceytes many wother. What is their communicacion?

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lef. By my sothe murmuracion, One backbytynge another. Wat. They have nothynge to murmur fore, lef. I tell the they murmur more, Then eny persons that I knowe. Full of envious suspicion, Overwhelmed with ambicion, Though their vocacion be lowe. With all diligence they laboure, To obtayne noble mens favoure, And to be ladys confessours. In soche matters dayly they boste, Who with grett estates maye do moste, Reckenynge theym selve wyse seniours. Wat. Do they desyre to be conversant, In courtes of vertue so scant, Intangled with all vngraciousnes? lef. They are content to be partners, With all vngracious lyvers, Yf so be they geve theym almes. Wat. I put case they geve nothynge? lef. Then whether he be lorde or kynge, They will his maners deprave. Howe be it though they be advoutrers, Extorsioners, or whormongers, Yf to be their frendes they witsave. Then with grett commendacion, In their flatterynge predicacion, They will their actes magnify. Wherfore whoares, theves, and bawdes, And all soche as live by frawdes, To their order have a fantesy. Wat. Howe do they which are true preachers? lef. They are charged in their chapters, Vnder their prelates strayte precepte. That agaynst their goode fownders, Benefacters, and frendly doers, No enormites they detecte.

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Wat. Yf they sett men thus to scole, I trowe they make many a fole, Of ladys and gentill wemen. lef. Shall I shewe the ho we they do? Wat. Nowe for cure lordes sake go to, To tell the cast of this wholy men. lef. Fyrst it is their custome ever, To go, two and two to gether, Excepte a grett impediment. And so to my ladys chamber, Formost pricketh in the elder, Which of theym is most auncient. As some as my lady he dothe se, With a countenaunce of gravite, He saluteth her noblenes. My lady then of his commynge, Affectously reioysynge, Welcometh him with gladnes. The father then with his glosynge style, After that he hath preached a whyle, With babblynge adulacion. My lady with many a goode morowe, Begynneth her tale to folowe, Speakynge after this fassion. O father ye do grett penaunce, To wynne eternall inheritaunce, Throw prayer, fast, and watchynge. Ye vse forto sweare no othes, Lyinge evermore in youre clothes, Nether shetes nor shurtes wearynge. Ambicion ye sett a syde, Flyinge worldly pompe and pryde, Whiche with vs is dayly in vre. Happy are ye and fortunate, To live in so parfet a state, Where to be saved ye are sure. Yf it were not for youre wholines, This worlde full of viciousnes,

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Had bene destroyed longe or this. Howe be it, ye do pacify, The rigoure of god almighty, Towardes vs that live a mis. The father then with wordes of comforte, Begynneth my lady to exhorte, Saynge thus, o goode madame. Youre ladyshippe nedeth not to care, For we praye dayly for youre welfare, Or els we were gretly to blame. Wholy .S. Fraunces do you mede, Many a pover fryer ye do fede, Of youre bounteous charite. Wherfore ye were made sister, In the last generall chapter, Of oure whole confraternite. By meanes wherof ye are partetaker, Of oure watchynge, fast, and prayer, Remembrynge you in oure memento. There is no daye that commeth to passe, But ye have parte of many a masse, Preservynge you from carfull wo. Wholy .S. Fraunces also hym selve, Which is above the apostles twelve, Nexte vnto Christ in authorite. Shalbe youre perpetuall defence, Agaynst sycknes and pestilence, Souckerynge you in aduersite. And for a sure aprobacion, He bryngeth forth a narracion, De libro conformitatum. Howe .S. Frances their advoury, Once in the yere entreth purgatory, When that his fest daye doth come. And from thens he taketh oute, Those which to hym were devoute, Or to his order charitable. Thus my lady not very wyse,

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Wat. lef.

Wat. lef. Wat. lef. Wat. lef.

Is brought in to foles paradyse, Thorowe their wordes disceavable. Hath Christ amonge theym no place? Christ catha? in no maner cace, He is rather to their damage. Because thorowe his passion, For vs he made satisfaction, Withoute eny mans suffrage. Whose doctryne yf they did observe, Playnly for honger they shulde sterve, Excepte they wolde to laboure fall. Howe conclude they then at the ende? My lady must to their covent sende, Her blyssynge with a trentall. What is the trentall, in paper? Or els in goode golde or silver, To make theym a recreacion. They will not for all Englonde, Handill money with their bare honde, As I have had informacion. Yett in golden cuppes to dryncke, And to touche wemen I thyncke, No grett parell they do adverte. And though some of theym never dare, Touche eny coyne with hondes bare, Yet they touche it with their hertt. They have also withouten lesynge, Money in wother mens kepynge, Redy at their commaundment. Which by the wryttynge of a bill, In whatt soever vses they will, Dayly is bestowed and spent. In eny covent where they be, Very feawe of theym thou shalt se, But have a frende temporally. To whom for every tryfill vayne, That commeth once into their brayne, Yf by wrytynge they signify.

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Wat. lef.

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Though it cost a noble or twayne, By and by they shall it attayne, Not foarsynge what is layde oute. Which truly yf they shulde purchace, With laboure and swett of their face, They wolde wotherwyse loke aboute. Yf it be as thou dost expresse, Playnly their rule they do transgresse, Retaynynge in commen or in proper, They have the popes declaration, Makynge therof a mitigacion, In most favorable maner. Vnder whose divlysshe protection, They have put theym in subieccion, As children of iniquite. Wherfore he taketh to his person, The name of their dominion, To vse it gevynge liberte. They have scant as moche as a lousse, Nether clothes, churche, nor housse, But the pope there of is awner. Why ascrybe they it to the pope? By cause with soche craft they hope. To begylde people seculer. For where as they live welthyly, And have all thynges abundantly, Acordynge to their apetyte. Yet vnder soche falce pretence, They fayne to soffre indigence, Contempnynge all worldly delyte. The pope also for this intent, Because to his errours they consent, Alowynge his abhominacions. Graunteth to their avauntages, Many bulles and previleges, With wretched confirmacions. Whose favoure to recompence, Against all goode conscience,

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They preache as moche as they maye. That the people with reverence, Continue still in obedience, Of the popes rule nyght and daye. Though his workes be contrary, They saye that he is goodes vicary, And of Christ the leftenaunte. Makynge of a fende, and angell, Christ, of antichrist rebell, A saynt, and the divels servaunte. Wat. I supposed with out dissemblynge, That they vsed in their preachynge, All ways to sheawe the verite. Seynge amonge the states royall, They were reputed substanciall, With oute eny parcialite. They vsed to go in pover wede, Exhortynge both in worde and dede, Vnto the ioye celestiall. As though they had no erthely love, But only to the lyfe above, Despysynge the ioyes of this lyfe mortall. lef. The wholynes that they did sheawe, Principally did over throwe, The fayth of all christendome. For they were confederate, With antichrist so inveterate, Called the Pope of Rome. Whose lawes to sett in renowne, Christes doctryne they plucked downe, Pervertynge all wholy scripture. And yet so perfett they did apere, That grett mens confessions to here, In every place they had the cure. They pretended soche parfetnes, That simple people more and les, Vnto their wordes gave credence. Whatsoever fables they did tell,

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They were taken as the gospell, Approved with commen sentence. Wherfore by their seduction, They have bene the destruction, Of all true christen liberte. They make cruelnes of mercy, Perfeccion of hipocrisy, And of fredome captivite. Of counterfeyted simulacion, They ymagen mortificacion, Turnynge fayth to infidelite. Ydelnes they name contemplacion, Faynynge zele of murmuracion, Enmies to charitable amite. Vat. I marvayle moche and wonder, That they shulde have eny anger, Or eny envious debate. Seynge from worldly royalte, And promocions of dignite, They are willingly private, lef. Though they have no worldly honours, Yet nether kynges ne emperours, Nor wother states of the temperalte. Have soche stryfe in their provision, As observauntes in their religion, With dedly hatred and enmyte. To be made confessors, and preachers, Wardens, discretes, and ministers, And wother offices of prelacy. With grevous malice and rancour, One agaynst a nother dothe murmour, Full of craft and inconstancy. They have nether drede nor shame, Their faultles brethren to defame, Havynge none occasion why. Yonge men agaynst their superiours, And prelates agaynst their inferiours, One at another hath envy.

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Wat. lef. Wat.

lef.

Wat. lef. Wat.

In chapters and visitacions, They vse wronge accusations, With many slanderous iniuryes. They execute sharpe corrections, To ponysshe the transgressions, Of their fantastycke ceremonyes. God and his lawes they omitt, Aplyinge their malicious witt, To kepe mans invencions. They are patrons of ydolatry, Promouters vnto herisy, And bryngers vp of dissencions. Nowe by the fayth of my body, The observauntes are not so holy, As they do outwardly seme, Yf thou knewe manyfestly, What a lyfe they occupy, Thou woldest marvayle I deme. I have hearde ynough and to moche, Yf theyr conversacion be soche, It is pite that they are souffered. But nowe touchynge the maners, Of these religious possessioners, I wolde heare somwhat more vttered. I tolde the in the begynnynge, Howe their wicked lyvynge, Is gretly abhominable. Marcke their lyfe intentifely, And thou shale not therin espy, Eny thynge that is commendable. What sayst thou then of their vowes? Wherby theym selves they spowse, To god, by a certayne promes. Surly in it Christ they forsake, And them selves wholy they betake, To live in the devils serves. Why, they professe chastite, Obedience, and wilfull poverte,

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Which allmygthy god doth approbate. lef. Ye for all that I promes the, They kepe none of all the thre, With mundane affections intricate. Wat. All worldlynes they do renownce. lef. Though with wordes they so pronownce, Their hertes do not consent. Wat. They observe truly obedience, lef. Ye but savynge reverence, Nothynge after Christes intent. For after goddes commandementes, They shulde obey their parentes, Honorynge theym as is their duty. Not with standynge they are so mad, Their fathers and mothers are glad, To honoure theym reverently. And where as holy scripture wolde, That vnto all powers we shulde, Obey as to goddes ordenaunce. They are vnder no power at all, Nether spretuall nor temporall, To the commen wealles fortheraunce. Wat. They obey vnto their prelate, At all seasons yerly and late, His precept accornplisshynge. lef. I will not denye they do obey, Vnto the ruler of their abbey, A carle of their owne chosynge. Yet is it in supersticiousnes, With outen eny profitablenes, Of their neghbours comforte. They serve theym selves and no mo, Carynge litell howe the worlde go, So that they have pleasure and sporte. And contrary the seculers, Are vnder temporall rulers, With their children and wyves. At all seasons prest and redy,

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Wat. lef. Wat. lef. Wat. lef.

To put theym selves in ieopardy, Aventurynge bothe goodes and lyves. To serve the kynge in warre and peace, They putt theym selves alwaye in preace, The defence of the realme assistynge. Wher as the religious sectes, Vnto no lawes are subiectes, Obeyinge nether god nor kynge. Yf the kynge will their service vse, Forthwith they laye for an excuse, That they must do goddes busines. And yf in it they be fownde negligent, They saye the kynge is impediment, Because they must do hym serves. And yf the kynge shall theym compell, Then obstynatly they do rebell, Fleinge to the popes mayntenaunce. Of whom they obtayne exempcions, From all the iurisdiccions, Of temporall governannce. Of the pope with out grett expens, They can obtayne no soche defens, As men saye which do it knowe. Yet are they so farre out of tune, That they do their goodes so consume, Rather then in goode vses to bestowe. I perceave by this with out fayle, Their obedience doth not provayle, But what sayst thou to their poverte? What nede I therof to speake, Consideringe they do it breake, Endued with ryche felicite. Do they soche lyvelod possesse? They have in maner the ryches, Of every londe and nacion. Namly in Englonde region, They excede in possession, And lordly dominacion.

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The blacke order hath more alone, Then all the nobles every chone, As touchynge their patrimony. Thou woldest surly marvell, To se their fare and aparell, In all poyntes superfluusly. There be monkes of soche statlynes, That scant will soffer at their messe, A lorde of bludde with theym to sitt. Whose prowde service to beholde, In plate of silver and golde, It passeth a mans witt. Knyghtes and squyers honorable, Are fayne to serve at their table, As vnto Dukes excellent. Divers of theym have the degre, Of worthy Erles in dignite, And are lordes of the parlement. Wat. They descende of famous progeny? lef. Ye beggers sonnes most commenly, Their fathers scant worth a groate. Commynge fyrst to the abby gate, A beggynge with a scalled pate, Havynge nether goode shurt nor coate. Which as sone as he is ones clad, For a gentilman he is had, Though he be but a starcke knave. Wat. Soche poverte is plente, For by it avoydynge scacite, All welthynes they have. lef. It is truly their fisshynge nett, Pover mens goodes awaye to gett, To satisfy their gluttenny. It is the goulfe of devoracion, And fountayne of desolacion, To all people generally. Wherof in wholy scripture, Is written a notable figure,

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Shewed in the boke of Daniell. Howe the prestes of Babilone, With falshod acordynge in one, Had an ydole called Bell. Outwardly made all of bras, And inwardly of erth it was, Havynge a resceyte so devised. That the ydole seemed to devowere, An .C. shepe with wyne and flower, Dayly vnto it sacryfised. Which the prestes with their whores, Thorowe crafty contrived dores, Entreinge in the nyght secretly. And there makynge recreacion, They consumed the oblacion, Oppressynge the people grevously. Which semed so straunge a thynge, That bothe the people and the kynge, Reputed it a grett miracle. Vntill Daniel at the last, Perceavynge their disceavable cast, Agaynst it made an obstacle. He vttered to their confusion, The execrable illusion, Wherwith the folke they sore noyed. Causynge by his policy, That this ydole vtterly, Was broken and destroyed. Wat. Wherto dost thou this compare? lef. Of religious persons to declare, The intollerable enormite. For as the prestes with their ydoll, The pover people did pill and poll, By their dissaytfull suttelte. So the children of perdicion, Named men of religion, With their wilfull poverte. The wyde worlde forto begger,

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Wat. lef. Wat. lef. Wat. lef. Wat. lef.

Daye and nyght they indever, Blyndynge the peoples simplicite. I marvayle men make no restraynt, Their dissaytfulnes to attaynt, Whyls it is open and aperte. Daniel is not yett come, Which shall obtayne the roume, Their fraudfull wayes to subuerte. When shalbe then his comynge? I ensure the or longe runnynge, For the begynneth to drawe nere. Well then, this matter to remitt, I wolde very fayne a lytell fitt, Of their chastite to heare. To tell the of their chastite, It lyeth not in my capacite, The shamfullnes therof to compryse. Men saye they live blissedly, With out acte of matrimony, Ensuynge verteous exercyse. Their cloysters are the devils mewes, Farre worse then eny stewes, Or commen places of whordom. They are the dens of baudines, And fornaces of all letcherousnes, Lyke vnto Gomer and Sodom. Yonge laddes and babes innocent, They brynge in by their intysment, To their leawde congregacion. Whom they receave to profession, Before that they have discrecion, To their eternall damnacion. For when they fele by experience, The brynnynge of the concupiscence, Pryckynge their hertes with love. Consyderynge also their bondage, Howe they can vse no mariage, As a christen man doth behove.

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Then to quenche their apetytes, They are fayne to be sodomytes, Abusynge theym selves vnnaturally. And so from hope of salvation, They fall into desperation, Ordrynge their lyves most shamfully. I will not say the contrary, But amonge a grett company, One or two soche thou mayst fynde. Make the company grett or small, Amonge a thousand fynde thou shall, Scant one chast of boddy and mynde. They saye yett with bolde audacite, That it resteth in mans faculte, If he will to live chastly. Then make they Christ a Iyer, Callynge it a gyfte singuler, Not geven to every boddy. Paul also in his epistle, Vnto Timothe his disciple, Writynge by sprete of prophecy. Nameth it a dyvlisshe doctryne, Which agaynst scripture divine, Forbiddeth folke to mary. Morover the storys not faynynge, The lives of olde fathers conteynynge, Geve reccorde to the same. Which endued with godly science, Exercysynge continuall abstinence, The lustes of the flesshe to tame. Yet feawe or none had the grace, With all their laboure to purchase, The singuler gyfte of chastite, Howe shuld they then live chaste, That of gostlynes have no taste, Geven holy to carnalite. Which as wolves and bely beastes, Eatynge and drynkynge in their feastes,

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The bloudde of the pover commenalte. They hate soche as are studious, Aborrynge those that are verteous, As a toade or poysonde serpente. With oute knowledge as asses brute, Of all goode manners destitute, Braynles and insipient. I se then he werre a very chylde, Which wolde eny mo abbeys bylde, Yf the goodes shuld be so yll spent. It werre fare better I suppose, To plucke downe a grett sorte of those, Which are all redy of costly bildynge. Oure lorde forbid, that werre pete, For they kepe hospitalite, Waye farynge people harborynge. Husbande men and labourers, With all commen artificers, They cause to have grett ernynge. Their townes and villages, With out exaccions or pillages, Vnder theym have moche wynnynge. They kepe also many servauntes, Retaynynge fermers and tennauntes, Which by theym have their lyvynge. Hospitall abbeyes thou fyndest but feawe, All though some of theym for a sheawe, To blyndfelde the peoples syght. Paraventure will not denaye, Yf a gentle man come that waye, To geve hym lodgynge for a nyght. But yf pover men thyther resorte, They shall have full lytell comforte, Nether meate, dryncke, ne lodgynge. Savynge wother whyles perhapes, They gett a feawe broken scrapes, Of these cormorantes levynge. Well yett their fare consyderynge,

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It is I wis no smale thynge, That they leave dayly at their horde, lef. Ye but thorowe falce lorchers, And vnthryfty abbey lobbers, To povre folcke lytell they a forde. For the best meate awaye they carve, Which for their harlottes must serve, With wother frendes of their kynne. Then proll the servynge officers, With the yemen that be wayters, So that their levettes are but thynne. And where as thou makest relacion, That men of sondry occupacion, By theym are sett vnto laboure. It is aboute soche folysshnes, Concernynge no proffytablenes, Vnto their neghbours soccoure. In byldynge of chambers curious, Churches, and houses, superfluous, To no purpose expedient. So that they maye satisfy, Their inordinate fantasy, They care for no detryment. Set dyce and carde players a syde, And thorowe out the worlde so wyde, They waste their goode most in vayne. Their pryde maketh many a begger, Feawe or none farynge the better, Except an ydell lavel or twayne. Their townes somtyme of renowne, Leawdly they cause to faule downe, The honoure of the londe to marre. They sue their subiettes at the lawe, Whom they make nott worth a strawe, Raynynge theym giltles at the barre. And that I me nowe reporte, To their lordships a grett sorte, With whom they had controversys.

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Namly, Saynt Edmondes bery, With dyvers wother a grett many, Vnder the holde of monasterys. Furthermore theare as I did wone, All husbande men they have vndone, Destroyinge the londe miserably. To prove that it wer very harde. Take hede howe farmers go backwarde, And thou shalt se it with thyne ey. For the londes welth pryncipally, Stondeth in exercyse of husbandry, By encreace of catell and tillynge. Which as longe as it doth prosper, The realme goeth backwarde never, In stabill felicite perseverynge. The abbeys then full of covetyse, Whom possessions coulde not suffyse, Ever more and more encroachynge. After they had spoyled gentill men, They vndermyned husbande men, In this manner theym robbynge. Wheare a farme for xx.lj. was sett, Vnder .xxx. they wolde not it lett, Raysynge it vp on so hye a some. That many a goode husholder, Constrayned to geve his farme over, To extreme beggary did come. I have hearde saye of myne elders, That in Englonde many fermers, Kept gaye housholdes in tymes passed, Ye that they did with liberalite, Sheawynge to povre people charite, But nowe all together is dasshed. Of ryche farme places and halles, Thou seist nothynge but bare walles, The rofes fallen to the grownde. To tourne fayre houses into pasture, They do their diligent cure,

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The commen well to confownde. Wat. Howe have the abbeys their payment? lef. A newe waye they do invent, Lettynge a dosen farmes vnder one. Which one or two ryche francklynges, Occupyinge a dosen mens lyvynges, Take all in their owne hondes a lone. Wat. The wother in paiynge their rent, Be lycklyhod were negligent, And wolde not do their duty, lef. They payde their duty and more, But their farmes are heythed so sore, That they are brought vnto beggery. Wat. Have the francklynges therby no gayne? lef. Yes, but fyrst they have moche payne, Yer they can gett it substancially. Payinge more for the entrynge in, Then they shalbe able to wynne, A goode whyle after certaynly. For to gett the abbottes consent, Vnder the scale of the covent, It is a thynge very costly. Where of the charges to recover, Lest they shulde theym selves enpover, And be brought into decaye. Pover cilly shepperdes they gett, Whome into their farmes they sett, Lyvynge on mylke, whyg, and whey. Wat. Mercyfull lorde, who hearde ever tell, Religious folke to be so cruell, Supplantynge the temporalte. lef. Thou knowest nott watkyn felowe, Howe they have brought to sorowe, In lykwyse the spretualte. Wat. By what manner cavillacion? lef. Surly through improperacion, Of inumerable benefices. Wat. Do they benefices improperate?

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lef. Ye and that many a curate, Dayly coursse their cruell bellies. Wat. They eate nether churche ne steple. lef. No but they robbe the pover people, Devowrynge their substaunce. Wat. Yf they do spretually so we, They maye well temporally mowe, After the apostles ordenaunce. lef. Toshe they have it better cheape, For they temporall goodes reape, And sowe nothynge spretually. Their parisshons they sheare and clippe, But they never open their lippe, To geve theym eny fode gostly. Wat. Happely they do it in prevete. lef. So god healpe me it maye well be, Vnder some secret clausure. For it is surly so invisible, That I trowe it is not possible, To be sene of eny creature. Wat. What requyre they of benefices? lef. No thynge but to have the fleces, And avauntages carnally. Wat. I perceave not well thy meanynge. lef. They are redyer to take vp tythynge, Then to preache to theym frutfully. Wat. Is there any grett differynge, Bitwene theft and tythe gaderynge, After the practyse that we se? lef. Very litell, all thynges reckened, Savynge that theves are corrected, And tythe gaderers go scott fre. Wat. Have they no circumspeccion, With diligent affeccion, For their paresshes to provyde? lef. They sett in folysshe dotardes, More mete forto be bearwardes, Then christen mens soules to gyde.

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Wat. lef. Wat. lef.

And even as they do by farmage, Brynge the londe into a rearage, Contempnynge the state temporall. In lyke maner by their rapyne, They have brought into ruyne, The order ecclesiasticall. It apereth they are past grace, They are the divels fornace, Oven infernall vnsaciable. If these monkes are so noyous, Bothe fraudulent and covetous To what vses are they profitable? Nowe by the death that I shall deye, Of all people vnder neth the skye, The worlde maye theym best spare. Nether to the godly deite, Nor yett to mans vtilite, In eny case profitable they are. And not only vnnecessary, But moroever clene contrary, Defraudynge that to theym is due. For though their lyfe so vicious, To goddes lawes is iniurious, Confowndynge the waye of vertue. Yet are they more presompteous, Sayinge their workes meritorious, Healpe synners to be goodes heyres. Wherby Christes bloud they despyse, As though it coulde not suffyse, With out their damnable prayres. And wheare as they shulde be prest, At all seasons doynge their best, The commen well to mayntayne. Their bellies are so full of greace, That nether in warre nor peace, They cane to eny healpe certayne. Yet their fyndynges they expende, Which shulde the londe defende,

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lef.

Wat. lef.

Wat. lef. Wat. lef.

Devowrynge many a knyghtes fe. They are nether gostly ner worldly, Rather divlysshe then godly, With out eny goode properte. Yf they be soche ydell raveners, They are lyke to the grett coursers, Which noble men in stables kepe. For they are cheresed all waye, With fresshe litter and goode haye, Doynge right noght but eate and slepe. There is in theym grett diversite, For yf it come to extremite, They save their masters from yvill. Where as these miserable brybers, Brynge their fownders and healpers, The strayght waye to the devill. Are they lyke to wolves ravenous? A grett deale more outragious, Farre excedynge their rapacite. For though they be cruell of kynde, Yett they leave their skynnes be hynde, As a mendes for their cruelte. But this mischevous mounckry, Though they robbe every country, Whyls they be here a lyve. Yet can they not be so pleased, But after that they be deceaced, Least eny by theym shuld thryve. They cary into their sepulture, Their dayly clothynge and vesture, Buried in their churlysshe habyte. Have they on their botes also? Ye by my trothe even redy to go, To the devill withouten respyte. There is some mistery pondered, That they vse so to be buried, In their habyte and clothynge. No dout it is a mistery,

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Wat. lef. Wat. lef. Wat. lef. Wat. lef.

Wat. lef.

By coniectours manifestly, Their wretched lyfe betokenynge. For as in this lyfe they denayde, Their christen neghbours to ayde, Lyvynge here vncheritably. So by their death and latter ende, In their buriall they pretende, Not to be of Christes company. To whom then do they pertayne? To the devill their soverayne, Which hath theym all in his bonde. Beware thou be not to bolde, For thy lyfe were bought and solde, Yf thou spake this in Englonde. They maye well bothe ban and cours, But they cannot do moche wors, Then they did to Hun the marchaunt. Did they eny grevaunce to hym? Out of this lyfe they did hym trymme, Because he was goodes servaunte. He did some faulte gretly notory? No thynge but for a mortuary, The prestes agaynst hym did aryse. No maner faulte in hym was fownde, Yet was he hanged, brent, and drownde. His goodes takyn vp for a pryse. As an herityke they hym toke, Because he had many a boke, In englysshe, of holy scripture. Also he worshipped no ymages, And wolde not go on pilgremages, Vsynge none othes to periure. Are the prelates so mad frantycke, To iudge soche a man an heritycke, Shewynge tokens of fydelite? They regarde their worldly proffett, Wynnynge therby many a forfett, Whiche moveth theym to crudelite.

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Wat. lef. Wat. lef.

Wat. lef. Wat. lef.

Wat. lef. Wat. lef. Wat. lef.

Mens goodes wrongfully to cease, They make heritykes whom they please, By faulce relacion of Someners. Have they none wother intelleccion? Yes also by their confession, Which they tell in prestes eares. Dare they confessions to bewraye? Confessions catha? ye by my faye, They kepe no secretnes att all. Though noble men have doctours, To be their private confessours, Yet they have one that is generall. Besyde those which are perticuler? Ye, and that hath brought some to care, Of whom I coulde make rehearceall. His name wolde I very fayne here, It is the englisshe Lucifer, Wotherwyse called the Cardinall. In all the londe there is no wyght, Nether lorde, baron, nor knyght, To whom he hath eny hatred. But ether by sower speche or swete, Of their confessours he will wete, Howe they have theym selves behaved. What they saye, it is accepted, In no poynte to be obiected, Though they be as falce as ludas. What authorite do they allege? It is their churches previlege, Falcely to fayne that never was. Soche confessours are vniust. Yett nedes do it they must, Yf they will to honoure ascende. Promocions are of the Kynges gyft? For all that he maketh soche shyft, That in his pleasure they depende. Though they have the kynges patent, Except they have also his assent,

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Wat.

lef.

Wat. lef.

Wat. lef. Wat. lef.

It tourneth to none avauntage. His power he doth so extende, That the kynges letters to rende, He will not forbeare in his rage. This is a grett presumpcion, For a villayne bochers sonne, His authorite so to avaunce. But it is more to be marveyled, That noble men wilbe confessed, To these kaytives of miscreaunce. O, the grett whore of Babilon, With her deadly cuppe of poyson, Hath brought theym to dronkenship. That paynted hordes and ded stockes, Carved ydols in stones and blockes, Above allmyghty god they worship. Hath Englond soche stacions, Of devoute peregrinacions, As are in Fraunce and Italy? Seke oute londes every chone, And thou shalt fynde none so prone, As Englonde to this ydolatry. Of wholy Roodes there is soche a sight, That bitwene this and mydnyght, I coulde not make explicacion. Then have they ladies as many, Some of grace and some of mercy, With divers of lamentacion. Morover paynted stockes and stones, With shrynes, full of rotten bones, To the whiche they make oblacion. What are they after thy supposynge? Stronge theves with outen glosynge, And authours of prevaricacion. Take hede thou do not blaspheme, After their workes I theym esteme, Both to man and god oure creatoure. Where as is no god but one,

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Wat. lef. Wat. lef.

Wat. lef.

Wat. lef.

We ought to worship hym alone, And no falce goddes to adoure. Whyche of his honoure is defrauded, By these ydoles faulcely lauded, With sacrifice and adoracion. Man in lyke maner they robbe, Causynge povre folke to sygh and sobbe, Takynge awaye their sustenacion. The goodes that to theym are offered, Are they not to pover people proffered, Their necessites to relefe? It is wasted in ryetous revell, Amonge many an ydell lavell, To norysshe morther and mischefe. I heare saye that besydes London, There is oure lady of Wilsdon, Which doth grett myracles dayly. As for whordom, and letcherousnes, She is the chefe lady mastres, Commen paramoure of baudry. Many men as it is knowen, Kepe mo chyldren then their owne, By her myracles promocion. Wyves to deceave their husbandes, Make to her many errandes, Vnder coloure of devocion. Dost thou oure lady so backbyte? No but I have the stocks in despyte, Wherby they dishonoure her. In scripture it is written, And of our lorde forbidden, To be a falce ydolatrer. Whyls thou dost so farre precede, Howe is it then in thy crede, Of Saynt Thomas of Cantourbury? I beleve, and also I trust, Yf that he were in this lyfe iust, And of oure lordes vocacion.

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That his soule hath fruicion, Perpetually with out intermission, Of eternall consolacion. Ye but I meane of his body, Shryned in the monastery, With golde and stones precious. Also the grett myracles wrought, And howe of people he is sought, With offerynges and gyftes somptious. As for that yf we geve credence, To cure saveoure Christis sentence, The Euangelistes bearynge recorde. Many shall do thynges straunge, Wherby they will boldly chalange, To worcke in the name of oure lorde. And yet Christ in theym hath no parte, But worcke theym by the devils arte, Vsurpynge and angels lykenes. Which doth hym silfe so transpose, Fraudulently to begyle those, That contempne goddes rightousnes. Neverthelesse as clarckes defyne, Workynge of myracles is a signe, That vnto god they are acceptable. Shall we to men credence geve, Or ought we the gospell to beleve, Whose verite is impermutable? I dare saye and abyde therby, That Saynct Thomas of Caunterbury, With wother Saynctes canonysed. Yf their paynted efficacite, Is but as it semeth to be, Of god they are despysed. For though they heale lame and blynde, With men (as they saye) out of mynde, Healpynge diseases corporall. Yet destroye they out of hande, For every one of theym a thowsande,

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Wat. lef. Wat. lef. Wat.

lef.

Wat. lef. Wat. lef.

Wat.

Concernynge their soules spretuall. And where as Christ doth requyre, That of god we shulde desyre, All oure necessite and nede. To theym we make peticion, Agaynst goddes prohibition, To wicked doctours gevynge hede. Well yet I ensure the lef fr aye, The gospell for theym they laye, Growndynge on it their argument, Naye watkyn that is a starcke lye. Howe shall we then the troth trye, By some probacion evident? Mary take goddes wholy wrytynge, Nether addynge nor diminysshynge, But even playnly after the letter. They saye scripture is so diffuse, That laye people on it to muse, Shulde be never the better. It is no medlynge for foles, But for soche as have bene at scoles, As doctours that be graduate. Wenest thou that Peter the fissher, Vnderstode not scripture clearlyer, Then the pharisaies obstinate? Who did so wilfully resist, Agaynst the receavynge of Christ, As they which were learned? No wonder, for they knewe hym not. No more do oure doctours god wot, In eny poynte to be discerned. Of Christ yett they make mencion. Ye for be cause their pension, With benefices maye be endued. But in their lyfe and behaveoure, They despyse Christ oure saveoure, Labourynge his worde to exclude. Canst thou prove this is dede?

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lef. Whosoever will the gospell rede, To prove it shall nede no testes. Wat. Peraventure they wolde have it hid, Wherfore to rede it they forbid, Lest men shulde knowe their wickednes. lef. Had thou studied an whoale yere, Thou couldest not have gone no nere, To hit their crafty suttelnes. For yf the gospell were soffered, Of laye people frely to be red, In their owne moders langage. They shulde se at their fyngers endes, The abhominacions of these fendes, With the abusion of pilgremage. Also to perceave every whitt, What it is Sayntes forto visitt, With nobles, brouches, and rynges. Wat. Dost thou this custume reprehende? lef. I thyncke no goode man will commende, Soche supersticious offerynges. Wherof thre poyntes I will move, By the whyche I shall playnly prove, That it is a thynge vngodly. Fyrst a povre man of farre dwellynge, For his wyfe and chyldren labourynge, To kepe and fynde theym honestly. Paraventure for some sicknes, Or for a vowe of folisshnes, To accomplysshe Satans institute. Taketh on hym a farre viage, To some Saynctes shryne or ymage, Leavynge his housholde destitute. Which often tymes do mis cary, The meane while that he doth tary, Bestowynge his laboure in vayne. And so goddes commaundment neglecte, For smale tryfles of none effecte, They put theym selves vnto payne.

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lef. Wat. lef.

Secondaryly, what pevisshnes, Is it to honoure with ryches, Of deade saynctes the bodies? Seynge that whyls they here lyved, From ryches they were deprived, As we rede in their storyes. Thirdly, it is no Christen touche, To se many a golden ouche, With rynges and stones preciously. To make deade saynctes forto shyne, Where pover folke for honger pyne, Dyinge with out healpe petiously. And yf with all possibilite, Oure christen neghbours poverte, Duly to ayde we are bownde. Why do Saynctes it then transgresse, In whom charitable perfetnes, In especiall shulde redownde? Saynct Ihon to Christ so amiable, Sayth, excepte we be charitable, Lovynge cache wother fraternally. It boteth not Christ to professe, For why we wander in darcknes, With out light erroniously. For howe can he have charite, That seith his neghbours necessit, And refuseth hym to socoure? I marvayle not by hym that me made, Yf they be with golde and stones so lade, Though they cannot their neghbours se. But nowe to speake ernestly, Have their soules celestially, In soche offerynges eny delyte? It is to theym grett despleasure, Abhorrynge it out of measure, As a thynge done in their despyte. What were best then to be done? To breake theym in peces a none,

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Amonge povre folke to be destributed. Wat. Haw, to do that dede who durst, Seynge that he shulde be a courst, And as an herityke reputed, lef. Let theym with furiousnes swell, Coursynge with boke, bell, and candell, Whyls they have breath for to speake. Yet had we the Kynges licence, We wolde with outen diffydence, Their golden shrynes in peces breake. Wat. What shulde we do with their ryches? lef. Geve it to pover men in almes, To whom of dute it doth longe. Wat. The Saynctes then wolde be angry, Yf that we shulde be so hardy, Vnlaufully to do theym wronge. For some men have it assayde, Whom saynctes have shreawedly arayde, In revengynge their iniury. So that by an whole nyghtes space, They were fayne to kepe one place, The dores stondynge open apertly. lef. And what was their fynall chaunce, Wat. By my sothe, in an hangynge daunce, Their neckes in a corde to preve. lef. Vse the Saynctes eny men to kyll? Wat. No but they make theym stonde still, Vntill they be taken of the Schereve. Then are they lyke and semblable, Vnto oure bisshops venerable, Which saye, we will not morther. But they put men in soche savegarde, That with in a whyle afterwarde, They be sure to go no forther. lef. Are not soche saynctes reprehensible? Wat. Ye for they shulde be invincible, Of charitable dileccion. For if they will eny man noye,

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lef.

Vat. lef.

Vat. lef. Wat. lef.

Ether eny body to destroye, They are not of Christes eleccion. Whiche after Lukes evangelion, Sayde to thapostels lames and Ihon, Nescitis cuius spiritus estis. The sonne of man hidder cam, Not forto destroye eny man, But to save that perisshed is. Wherfore let theym do wonders, By the divels their founders, To leade men in blynde cecite. Yett never thelesse thou and I, Wolde put oure selves in ieopardy, Agaynst all their malignite. To take awaye their ouches, Golden rynges and brouches, Gevynge it vnto the poore. Thou excepst .S. Chutbert of Duram, With oure lady of Walsyngam, Also oure lady of the Moore. God beynge oure direccion, We wolde make none excepcion, Agaynst the devils enchauntmentes. To do their best let theym not spare, For we wolde make theym full bare, Of their precious ornamentes. Oure honeste then destayned, Suerly we shulde be proclaymed, For outragious heretykes. Why more we then the Cardinall? He attempteth nothynge at all, Soche maters in his bisshopryckes. I am sure thou hast hearde spoken, What monasteries he hath broken, With out their fownders consentes. He subverteth churches, and chappells, Takynge a way bokes and bells, With chalesces, and vestmentes.

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Wat. lef.

Wat. lef.

He plucketh downe the costly leades, That it maye rayne on saynctes heades, Not sparynge god nor oure ladye. Where as they red servyce divyne, There is grountynge of pigges and swyne, With lowynge of oxen and kye. The aultres of their celebracions, Are made pearches for henns and capons, Defoylynge theym with their durt. And though it be never so prophane, He is counted a goode christiane, No man doynge hym eny hurtt. A conscience yf it be sothe, That the Cardinall so dothe, I wonder that he is not apeached. O, churche men are wyly foxes, More crafty then iuggelers boxes, To play ligier du mayne teached. Yt is not for nought they fayne, That the two sweardes to theym pertayne, Both spretuall and temporall. Wherwith they playe on both hondes, Most tyrannously in their bondes, Holdynge the worlde vniversall. Agaynst god they are so stobbourne, That scripture they tosse and tourne, After their owne ymaginacion. Yf they saye the mone is belewe, We must beleve that it is true, Admittynge their interpretacion. Art thou not a frayde to presume, Agaynst the Cardinalls fume, Seynge they wilbe all on his syde? No I do rather gretly reioyce, That of a lytell wormes voyce, Goddes iudgement maye be veryfyed. Agaynst soche a wicked brothell, Which sayth, vnder his girthell,

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He holdeth Kynges and Princes. To whom for a salutation, I will rehearce a brefe oration, Dedicate vnto his statlynes. Wat. Nowe gentell mate I the praye. lef. Have at it then with out delaye, Contempnynge his maliciousnes. O miserable monster, most malicious, Father of perversite, patrone of hell. O terrible Tyrant, to god and men odious, Advocate of antichrist, to Christ rebell. To the I speake, o caytife Cardinall so cruell. Causles chargynge by thy coursed commandment To brenne goddes worde the wholy testament. Goddes worde, grownd of all vertue and grace The fructeous fode, of oure faythfull trust. Thou hast condempned in most carfull cace, Throwe furious foly, falce and vniust. O fearce Pharao, folower of flesshly lust. What moved thy mynde by malyce to consent, To brenne goddes worde the wholy testament. The tenoure of thy tyranny passeth my brayne In every poynt evidently to endyght. Nero nor herod wer never so noyus certayne All though of goddes lawes they had lytel lyght Shame it is to speake howe agaynst ryght. Thy hatfull hert hath caused to be brent, Goddes true worde, the wholy testament. O perverse preste patriarke of pryde, Mortherer with out mercy most execrable. O beastly brothell, of baudry the bryde, Darlynge of the devill, gretly detestable. Alas, what wretch wolde be so vengeable? At eny tyme to attempte soche impediment,

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To brenne goddes worde the wholy testament. God of his goodenes, grudged not to dye, Man to delyver from deadly dampnacion. Whose will is that we shulde knowe perfetly What he here hath done for oure saluacion. O cruell kayface, full of crafty conspiracion. Howe durst thou geve then falce iudgement To brenne goddes worde, the wholy testament. Thy leawednes of lyvynge is loth to heare, Christes gospell to come vnto cleare light. Howe be it surly it is so spred farre and neare That forto let it thou haste lytell myght. God hath opened oure dercke dimed syght. Truly to perceave thy tyrannous intent, To brenne goddes worde the wholy testament. Agaynst thyne ambicion all people do crye, Pompously spendinge the sustenaunce of the pore Thy haulte honoure hyly to magnify Maketh theves, traytours, and many a whore. Wo worth the wretche of wickednes the dore Forger of oure dayly damage and detriment To brenne goddes worde the wholy testament. O paynted pastoure, of Satan the Prophet, Ragynge courre, wrapped in a wolues skynne O butcherly bisshop, to be a ruler vnmete, Maker of misery, occasion of synne. God graunt the grace nowe to begynne. Of thy dampnable dedes to be penitent, Brennynge goddes worde the wholy testame Wat. No more for oure lordes passion, Thou raylest nowe of a fassion, With rebukes most despytous. No man shall these wordes advert,

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lef.

Wat. lef.

Wat. lef.

Wat. lef.

But will iudge theym of an hert, To precede most contumelious. Though popisshe curres here at do barcke, Yet thou mayst therin well marcke, The will of god accomplesshed. The Cardinall thus to rewarde, Which with oute eny godly regarde, Desdayneth the trothe to be pupplisshed. Therfore as he did the trueth condempne, So god wil hym and all his contempne, With the swearde of punnysshment. They had fyrst some provocacion? None wother then the translation, Of the englysshe newe testament. Wherein the authours with mecknes, Vtterly avoydynge conviciousnes, Demeaned theym so discretly. That with all their invention, They coulde fynde no reprehencion, Resistynge goddes worde wilfully. Howe had the gospell fyrst entraunce, Into Englonde so farre of distaunce, Where to rede hym no man maye? Goode christen men with pure affecte, Of god singulerly therto electe, With cost did hym thether conveye. Which even as Christ was betrayed, So with hym the clargy played, Thorowe trayterous prodicion. Who played the parte of ludas? The wholy bisshop of Saynct Asse, A poste of Satans iurisdiccion. Whom they call Doctour standisshe, Wone that is nether flesshe nor fisshe, At all tymes a commen Iyer. He is a bablynge Questionist, And a mervelous grett sophist, Som tyme a lowsy graye fryer.

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Wat. lef.

Wat. lef.

Of stomake he is fearce and bolde, In braulynge wordes a very scolde, Menglynge vennem with sugre. He despyseth the trueth of god, Takynge parte rather with falcehod, Forto obtayne worldly lucre. In carde playinge he is a goode greke, And can skyll of post and glyeke, Also a payre of dyce to trolle. For whordom and fornicacions, He maketh many visitacions, His Dioces to pill and polle. Though he be a stowte divyne, Yett a prest to kepe a concubyne, He there admitteth wittyngly. So they paye their yearly tributes, Vnto his dyvlisshe substitutes, Officiall, or commissary. To rehearce all his lyvynge, God geve it yvell chevynge, Or els some amendment shortly. Howe did he the gospell betraye? As sone as ever he hearde saye, That the gospell cam to Englonde. Immediately he did hym trappe, And to the man in the red cappe, He brought hym with stronge honde. Before whose prowde consistory, Bryngynge in falce testimony, The gospell he did theare accuse. He did no persones represent, Then ludas the traytour malivolent, Whiche betrayed Christ to the lues. Thou mayst se of theym in one manne, Herod, Pilat, Cayphas, and Anne, With their propertes severall. And in another manifestly, ludas full of conspiracy,

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With the sectes pharisaicall. They are a grett deale more mutable, Then Proteus of forme so variable, Which coulde hym silfe so disgyse. They canne represent apes, and beares, Lyons, and asses with longe eares, Even as they list to divyse. But nowe of standisshe accusacion, Brefly to make declaracion, Thus to the Cardinall he spake. Pleaseth youre honourable grace, Here is chaunsed a pitious cace, And to the churche a grett lacke. The gospell in oure Englisshe tonge, Of laye men to be red and songe, Is nowe hidder come to remayne. Which many heretykes shall make, Except youre grace some waye take, By youre authorite hym to restrayne. For truly it is no handlynge, For laye peoples vnderstondynge, With the gospell to be busy. Which many wone interprisynge, Into heresy it did brynge, Disdaynynge the churche vnreverently. Vat. Tosshe, these saynges are so I wolde heare the sence misticall, Of these wordes right interpreted, lef. In fayth with out simulacion, This is the right significacion, Of his meanynge to be expressed. O Cardinall so glorious, Thou arte Capitayne over vs, Antichristes chefe member. Of all oure detestacions, And sinfull prevaricacions, Thou alone arte the defender. Wherfore healpe nowe or els never,

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152 / Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe For we are vndone for ever,

Yf the gospell abroade be spred. For then with in a whyle after, Every plowe manne and carter, Shall se what a lyfe we have led. Howe we have this five hondred yeres, Roffled theym amonge the bryres, Of desperate infidelite. And howe we have the worlde brought, Vnto beggary worsse then nought, Through cure chargeable vanite. Which knowen, we shalbe abhorred, Reddi to be knocked in the forhed, Oure welth taken awaye clene. Therfore Tyrant playe nowe thy parte, Seynge with the devill thou arte, Gretter then eny manne hath bene. Put the gospel a waye quyght, That he come not to laye mens sight, Forto knowe goddes commaundementes. And then we that are the remmenaunt, Shall diligently be attendaunt, To blynde theym with oure commentes. Yf they have once inhibicion, In no maner of condicion, To red goddes worde and his lawes. For vs doctours of theology, It shalbe but a smale mastery, To make theym foles and dawes. Loke what thou dost by tyranny, We will alowe it by sophistry, Agaynst these worldly villaynes. Nowe truly this is the meanynge, Howe soever be the speakynge, Of these spretuall lordaynes. Wat. But what sayde the Cardinall here at? lef. He spake the wordes of Pilat, Sayinge, I fynde no fault therin.

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Howe be it, the bisshops assembled, Amonge theym he examened, What was best to determyn? Then answered bisshop Cayphas, That agrett parte better it was, The gospell to be condempned. Lest their vices manyfolde, Shulde be knowen of yonge and olde, Their estate to be contempned. The Cardinall then incontinent, Agaynst the gospell gave iudgement, Sayinge, to brenne he deserved. Wherto all the bisshoppes cryed, Answerynge, it cannot be denyed, He is worthy so to be served. Wat. Yf they playe thus their vages, They shall not escape the plages, Which to theym of Rome happened. At whose scourge so marvelous, They wolde yf they were gracious, Gladly to be admonisshed. To whom goddes worde in purite, Was fyrst shewed with humilite, Accordynge to the veritable sence. Howe be it they wolde not it receave, But frawardly with swearde and gleave, They expulsed it from thence. Vnto tyranny they did leane, Wherfore god vsynge another meane, To brynge theym vnto repentaunce. He stered vp some mens spryte, Which their fautes did endyte, Of their mischefe makynge vttraunce. Yet wolde not they amende, But moare wilfully did deffende, Their evill lyfe agaynst goddes worde. Side-note 3579-81: Hoc est. London. Epus.

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lef.

Wat. lef.

Wat. lef. Wat. lef. Wat.

Therfore as mislyvers obstinate, They were destroyed nowe of late, With pestilence and dent of sworde. Thou hast rehearced thre poyntes, Which will make all prestes ioyntes, For feare to trymble and shake. Seynge that the fyrst is past, And the seconde commeth in fast, Their hypocrisi to awake. And yf they will not be refrayned, The sworde of vengeaunce vnfayned, On their frawardnes will light. Well, let vs by no persuasion, Geve no soche occasion, Causynge christen men to fyght. No man will have that suspicion, But take it for an admonicion, Their vnhappy lyfe to repent. For we shewe as they shall fynde, Yf god inspyre not their mynde, To laboure for amendment. Which by scripture to verify, Let theym rede the prophet leremy, In the chapter, fower and twente. Howe be it I will me hens hye, Wheare as the Cardinals furye, With his treasure shall not gett me. Is this prowde Cardinall rycher, Then Christ or goode saynct Peter, In whose roume he doth succede? The bosses of his mules brydles, Myght bye Christ and his disciples, As farre as I coulde ever rede. Whether canst thou then flye awaye? To Constantinoble in Turkeye, Amonge hethen my lyfe to leade. Yf thou wilt then live christenly, Thou must vse thy silfe prevely,

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Or els surely thou arte but deade. lef. I shall have theare as grett liberte, As in wother places of christente, The trueth of Christ to professe. For he that will the trueth declare, I dare saye moche better he weare, To be with theym in hethennesse. Wat. Though thou go never so farre hence, Yet with most terrible sentence, To coursse the they will not mysse. lef. I ponder very lytell their courses, For to god I saye with humblenes, They shall course, and thou shalt blysse. Wat. In their courses is their no parell? lef. No for they do it in the quarell, Of their god which is their belly. Wat. What mischevous god is that? lef. Wone that hath eaten vp the fatt, Of englondes wealth so mery. Wat. I will gett me then into Wales, To dwell amonge hilles and dales, With folke that be simple and rude, lef. Come not there I counsell the, For the prestes, their simplicite, Thorowe craftynes do so delude. That whosoever is so hardy, To speake agaynst prestes knavery, For an herityke they hym take. Of whose miserable calamite, Vnder the spretuall captiuite, I will here after a processe make. Wat. Then will I go into the realme, Of the plenteous londe of beame, In the Cite of Prage to dwell. lef. Of two thynges I will the warne, Which thou must parfetly learne, Yf thou wilt folowe my counsell. Fyrst beware in especiall,

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Wat. lef. Wat. lef.

Of the outwarde man exteriall, Though he shewe a fayre aperaunce. Many shall come in a lambes skynne, Which are ravisshynge wolues with in, Ennemys to Christes ordinaunce. The seconde is, yf eny reply, Bryngynge in reasons obstinatly, Agaynst that which semeth to be trewe. Take no graduate for an authoure, But remitt goode master doctoure, To the olde testament or newe. And yf he will beare the in honde, That thou canst not it vnderstonde, Because of the difficulte. Axe hym howe thou arte able, To vnderstonde a fayned fable, Of more crafty subtilite? I se thou knowest their secretnes, Ye I coulde in their very lycknes, Declare theym yf I had respyte. Well I will departe, adue, Nowe I beseche oure lorde lesu To be thy gyde daye and nyght.

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In descripcion of the Armes, for wherfor rede wherby. Christ goddes sonne, borne of a mayden poore, Forto save mankynd, from heven descended. Pope Clemente, the sonne of an whoore, To destroye man, from hell hath ascended. [The papal arms] In whom is evidently comprehended, The perfett meknes of oure saveoure Christ, And tyranny of the murtherer Antichrist.

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Commentary

Note Because William Roye was William Tyndale's helper during Tyndale's work on the English New Testament I have quoted from the 1526 Tyndale New Testament throughout the Commentary to explain the authors' reference to certain New Testament passages in the poem. 1-2 Cf the opening of another work tentatively, but wrongly, attributed to Roye in the British Museum Catalogue: 'O Read me for I am of great Antiquitie / I plaine Piers which can not flatter ...' The date given to this work, 1550, clearly makes it belong to someone other than Roye, who was executed in Portugal in the early 15305 (Foxe rv, 696). A ballad, estimated to have been written around 1547 and entitled Vox Populi Vox Dei, also has a similar opening: 'I praye you, be not wrothe / for telling of the trothe!' (Ballads from Manuscript 124). 3-4 The words are Wolsey's, put into his mouth by the authors; lines 5-6 are the book's (i.e., authors') response to Wolsey's pompous aspirations. The title page 'coat of arms' as it appears in the 1528 edition is described by Arber: 'In the original edition, the griffons, club, and Cardinal's hat are painted red. In which way drops of blood are represented as falling from the edges of the six axes' (19). 7-28 This entire page is a verbal description and explanation of the fictional coat of arms depicted on the title page and applied to Wolsey. A drawing of Wolsey's actual coat of arms can be seen on the paste down end papers in Lockyer (Cavendish Thomas Wolsey}; a picture of the arms can be found in N. Williams (between 118-19), who calls Barlowe and Roye's parody of Wolsey's arms 'the earliest political cartoon in England' (72). ii the red man is a reference to the colour worn by Cardinals, but also to Barlowe and Roye's sense of Wolsey's bloodthirstiness and butchery; cf

160 / Commentary Tyndale: 'What signifieth that the prelates are so bloody, and cloked in red? That they be ready every hour to suffer martyrdom for the testimony of God's word. Is that also not a false sign? When no man dare, for them, once open his mouth to ask a question of God's word, because they are ready to burn him' (The Obedience of a Christian Man' Doctrinal Treatises 251). 12 the beautifull swan later called 'Henry the ducke of buckyngame' (876) is actually a reference to Edward Stafford, third duke of Buckingham (1478-1521), son of Edward Stafford second duke of Buckingham (1454-83). Barlowe, Roye, and Polydore Vergil - unreliable narrators of Wolsey's activities - seem to place the responsibility for Buckingham's downfall in Wolsey's lap: 'Wolsey had determined upon the utter destruction of the duke' (Vergil, book xxv, p 263). Shakespeare also followed their lead in Henry vm. However, other more disinterested critics are not prepared to indict Wolsey to the extent that Vergil does. The Buckingham story can be found in Scarisbrick: 'In a sense, Buckingham destroyed himself. What he had said, the treasonous words he had heard, the sinister plans he had apparently entertained were enough to bring a score of men to the scaffold. Whether he was really a threat to the kingdom, whether he really intended to usurp the throne is perhaps largely beside the point. What he had said and done were manifest treason and would have cost anyone his life in early Tudor England' (122). Buckingham was executed in Tower Hill, 17 May 1521, after having been accused of listening to prophecies of the king's death and of his own succession, and of having expressed intentions of killing Henry (DNB). The most recent study of the Buckingham family exonerates Wolsey of the charge brought against him by Barlowe and Roye: 'there is no real evidence, as was once believed, of a systematic attempt on Wolsey's part to isolate and destroy his most trenchant critic' (Rawcliffe 144). The 'swan' refers to the swan on the coat of arms of the Buckingham family. A French romance entitled 'Knight of the Swann' was translated into English at the request of the Duke (STC 7571). In tracing the history of the Buckingham family, Holinshed cites Gower's Vox Clamantis and its frequent references to the swan (667). 13 the whyte Lion According to Harleian this is a reference to Thomas Howard, duke of Norfolk (1473-1554), who married Buckingham's daughter, Elizabeth, probably in 1512-13. The fiction of the Norfolk lion is as follows: an ancestor of the Howard family, William d'Albini, a skilled knight, is threatened by a lion through the wiles of a jealous lover. William kills the lion by pulling out its tongue. After returning home to England from Paris where he successfully defeated the knights of France in lists, he is raised to the earldom of Arundel and granted the lion on his

161 / Commentary arms (Richardson, I 32-3). In Ballads from Manuscript (332) there is an extended gloss on the ballad 'of the Cardinall Wolse' (1521-2) which makes reference to the 'subservient White Lion' as the second duke of Norfolk and also alludes to Sir Walter Scott's 'Lay of the Last Minstrel' where Scott refers to the 'lion argent' as decking the breast of the Lord Howard. There is litle doubt that 'the whyte Lion' is Norfolk, who is described in Ballads from Manuscript as 'no friend of Wolsey' (332). 14 Among his other titles Wolsey was also made archbishop of York in 1514 (N. Williams 53-8), although the York allusion may also refer to York Place, one of the two splendid residences of the Cardinal in London. Throughout this satire, Barlowe and Roye frequently attack Wolsey's origins. Cavendish, Wolsey's first biographer, refers to Wolsey as an 'honest poor man's son' (31). Alexander Barclay, in his 'First Eclogue/ perhaps refers to Wolsey in his phrase the 'butchers dogges Wood' (Eclogues 16). But it is probably Skelton whom Barlowe and Roye use for their source for Wolsey's humble origins and specifically for his father's profession. In 'Why Come Ye Nat to Courte?' Wolsey is called 'the bocher's dogge' (ed Scattergood line 298) and the Cardinal's origins are mocked (489-94): How be it the primordyall Of his wretched originall, And his base progeny, And his gresy genealogy, He came of the sank royall That was cast out of a bochers stall! N. Williams, however, claims that Wolsey's birth was not as lowly as his early detractors made out (5-6). The fact that Wolsey was a butcher's son serves Barlowe and Roye's purposes here. The authors can use this apparently insignificant detail to emphasize that, in a sense, Wolsey has continued in his father's occupation, despite all appearances to the contrary: Wolsey is still a butcher, but on a greater scale. 15 bulles heddes Probably not just the animals, but also papal bulls which come under attack later in the poem. 20 mastif Curre A borrowing from Skelton's 'Why Come Ye Nat to Courte?' (line 297); in the ballad 'Of the Cardinall Wolse,' he is called 'A Bochers Curre' (Ballads from Manuscript 334). 20 Ypswitch towne Wolsey was 'born in Ypswitch within the county of Suffolk' (Cavendish 31), about 1475. 21 The king, of course, is Henry vm. The tremendous power of Wolsey during much of the king's reign has never been doubted by any critic or

162 / Commentary historian, although the effects of Wolsey's powers and decisions are still very much the subject of debate. 22-3 The Cardinal's hat is the most predominant item in Barlowe and Rove's caricature of Wolsey's coat of arms. On 10 September 1515 Pope Leo X made Wolsey a cardinal and the cardinal's hat was presented to him in Westminster Abbey on 18 November 1515. Something of the panoply surrounding the ceremony can be found in Cavendish: the investiture 'was done in so solemn a wise as I have not seen the like, unless it had been at the coronation of a mighty prince or king' (44). Barlowe and Roye depict a club partially hidden under the symbol of Wolsey's spiritual office. The implication is that Wolsey uses this spiritual office to practise his tyranny. 25-8 The authors are here warning the Cardinal that a fall is imminent and will take place when the 'temporall cheualry/ so long oppressed by the Cardinal, rises up against him. This sentiment of final destruction is not unlike one expressed in the ballad 'An impeachment of Wolsey' (Ballads from Manuscript 359-60). Although it is possible that Barlowe and Roye may have foreseen Wolsey's downfall, it is more likely that their reference here to Wolsey's defeat is based on their sense of the final defeat of Roman Catholicism in England. Rome itself fell to the imperial forces on 6 May 1527 and the effects of the radical European reformers had made themselves felt on the continent (Chrisman Strasbourg and the Reform}. These two events, which Barlowe and Roye mention later in the satire, must have served as a heartening signal for what might follow in the authors' homeland. 28 Wherfor See note to 3711-12. 29ff This prefatory letter is accepted as legitimate in The Harleian Miscellany. The editor claims that Barlowe and Roye sent the work abroad to a friend 'of no inferior zeal, who offered his assistance in future services of like nature.' If this is the case, this friend, 'N.O.', the author of this preface, has never been identified. However, it is more likely that this preface was written by Barlowe and Roye themselves when they were already on the continent and made to appear as if it were written by a fictional 'N.O.' Tyndale in The Parable of the Wicked Mammon' (Doctrinal Treatises 39) indicates that the work was begun while Roye was on the continent and not, as the preface suggests, in England. Further, the preface only makes sense if it is seen as a general guide to the work for the reader. How else can one explain the lengthy apologia for the work and the examination of its contents and structure? If one accepts the Harleian account, what one has is a friend, 'N.O.', writing to his colleague 'Master. P.G.' (who has sent N.O. the tract) explaining to him the nature of the work, its content and organization. N. Williams agrees, though he fails to give any reason other

163 / Commentary than saying that 'the work was printed in Strasburg in 1528, though the preface made a brave attempt at pretending that the printer's copy had been sent from England' (72). Both Arber (7) and Rupp (56) refer to the preface as a 'blind.' 35-6 side-note Not a direct quotation or paraphrase of John 15, but merely an attempt on the authors' part to suggest their line of descent from earlier evangelical propagators of truth: 'Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you and ordeyned you that ye goo, and bringe forthe frute, and that youre frute remayne, that whatsoever ye shall axe off my father in my name he shall geve it you.' 43-4 side-note 'And he shall sever them won from another, as a sheperde putteth asunder the shepe from the gootes. And he shall sett the shepe on his right honde, and the gotes on his lyfte honde.' 46-7 side-note 'Then shall they put you to trouble, and shall kyll you, and ye shalbe hated off all nacions ffor my names sake: and then shall many fall, and shall betraye won another, and shall hate won the other, and many falee prophetes shall aryse, and shall deceave many ... Then yff eny man shall saye vnto you: lo here is Christ, or there is Christ: beleve it not: ffor there shall aryse fake christes, and falce prophetes, and shall geve grete signes and wonders.' 49-50 side-note 'There were falce prophetes amonge the people even as there shalbe falce teachers amonge you: which prevely shall brynge in damnable sectes, even denyinge the lorde that hath bought them, and brynge on theier owen heedes swyft damnacion, and many shal folowe their damnable wayes.' 53-d Of ... marchandyse Ie, they (the papists) entirely exploit for their own ends those who have been blinded by them and led to perdition. 53-4 side-note 'Alas! Alas! that great cite Babilon, thatt myghty cite: For att won houre is her iudgment come. And the marchauntes off the erth shall wepe and wayle in them selves, for no man wyll bye their ware eny more ...' 53-5 side-note 'Enter in at the strayte gate: ffor wyde is the gate, and broade is the waye that leadeth to destruccion: and many there be which goo yn there att. For strayte ys the gate, and narowe is the waye which leadeth vnto lyfe: and feawe there be that fynde it.' 57 side-note '... by which the waye off trueth shalbe evyll spoken off, and thorowe covetousnes shall they with fayned wordes make marchandyse of you ...' 59-61 side-note 'And I herde a gret voyce out of the temple, sayinge to the seven angels: goo your wayes, poure out youre vialles of wrath apon the erth. And the fyrst went and poured out his viall apon the erth, and there

164 / Commentary fell anoysom and a sore botche apon the men, which had the marke of the best, and apon them which worshipped his ymage.' 60-2 and 63-4 side-notes 'The sprete speaketh evydently that in the latter tymes some shall departe from the fayth, and shall geve hede vnto spretes of errure, and dyvlysshe doctryne off them which speake falce thorow ypocrisy, and have their consciences marked with an hott yeron, forbyddynge to mary, and commaundynge to abstayne from meates ...' 65-6 cannot ... there of They bark at the glorious gospel and persecute violently those who read it. Here and throughout the preface Barlowe and Roye mention what they consider to be evil papal practices. Such items as fasting, restrictions against marriage for clergy, and, most important, refusal to allow the scriptures to be read in the vernacular are touched on here and dealt with in greater detail in the body of the satire. 66-7 side-note Tor we folowed not decevable fables when we opened vnto the power: and commynge of our lord Jesus Christ: but with oure eyes we sawe his maiestie.' 69 side-note Here the authors see themselves following in the footsteps of Peter the teacher: This is the second pistle that I nowe wrote vnto you, my derly beloved, wherwith I stere vppe and warne youre pure myndes, to call to remembraunce the wordes were tolde before off the holy prophetes, and also the commaundement of vs the apostles of the lorde and saveour/ 74-5 side-note Not an allusion to a particular sentence or phrase in Luke but rather an example of the way in which God makes his 'glorious will and porpos' manifest. The examples from Luke are the birth of John the Baptist and the Annunciation. 75-6 side-note This allusion serves the same function as 74-5: 'Paul the servaunte off Jesus Christ, called vnto the office of an apostle, putt a parte to preache the gospell of God, which he promysed afore by his prophetes, in the holy scripture ...' 76-7 side-note As the above, this reference shows how figures in the Bible are chosen to fulfil God's will: There were at antioche, in the congregacion, prophetes and doctours, as Barnabas and Symon, called Nyger, and lucius of cerene, and Manahen Herode the tetrarkis norsfelowe, and Saul. And they served God, and fasted, The holy gost sayd: sererat one Barnabas and Saul, for the worke where vnto I have called them.' 77 side-note 'We are parte takers of Christ, so that we kepe sure vnto the ende ...' 78 side-note Mark 3 refers to the ordination of the twelve apostles; Mark 16 refers to Christ's appearance to the apostles after his resurrection where he tells them: 'Goo ye in to all the woorlde, and preache the gospell to all creaturs ...'

165 / Commentary 78-9 side-note 'And there was delyvered vnto hym the boke of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the boke, he founde the place, where hit was wrytten: The sprete of the lorde apon me be cause he hath annoynted me, To preache the gospell to the povre he hath sent me, And to heale them which are troubled in there hertes. To preache deliveraunce to the captive, And sight to the bynde, And frely to sett att liberte them that are brused, And to preache the aceptable yeare off the lorde.' Luke 9 gives examples of how Christ made his disciples partakers of his will and purpose: the first example is the miracle of the loaves and fishes, the second that of the transfiguration. Also in this chapter, Christ invites his disciples to take up their crosses and follow him. 80-1 side-note These things have I written vnto you that beleve in the name of the sonne of God, that ye maye knowe howe that ye have eternall lyfe, and that ye beleve in the name of the sonne of god.' 81-3 side-note This allusion possibly supports Barlowe and Roye's views on God's infinite mercy. Luke 8 details a number of miracles. The fact that two of these are concerned with casting out devils may support the authors' statement that the world is 'Wrapped in mysery and blindness.' Whatever the significance of this allusion, it is surely indirect and oblique. 82 side-note 'Beware of falce prophetes which come to you in shepes clothynge, but inwardly they are ravenynge wolves.' 85 side-note a glas or myroure Not an uncommon image of the period to suggest the didactic function of literature. See, for example, The Mirrour of Golde for the Sinful Soul (STC 6894.5); A Glasse of the Truthe (STC 11918); The Mynoure of Oure Lady (STC 17542). For a complete view of the image as it was used in the Middle Ages and the English Renaissance, see Grabes. 86 the preface le, where the author and the treatise exchange comments; lines 1-109. 88-9 other ...or either ... or 89-90 side-note A reference to the two attempts by the Pharisees to trap Christ. When they are outsmarted by Christ, Luke states: 'And they were filled full of madenes, and counselled won with another, what they myght do to Jesu.' Through this allusion the authors are illustrating the dangers inherent in declaring the truth. 89 the lamentation Found from lines 110-348. 91 side-note 'I beseche you brethren marke them which cause division, and geve occasions of evil contrary to the doctryne which ye have learned: and avoyde them. For they that are suche serve nott the lorde Jesus Christ: but their one bellyes.' 92-3 side-note 'O ye ypocrites; ye can discerne the fassions of the skye:

166 / Commentary and can ye not discerne the sygnes of the tymes. O generacion faythles and croked ...' 93-4 side-note 'O generacion with oute fayth, and croked: howe longe shall I be with you? And shall suffre you?' 98-9 side-note Tulfyll ye lyke wyse the measure of youre fathers: ye serpents and generacion of vipers, howe shall ye scape the dampnacion of hell?' 99 the blasphemous masse Despite an obvious pro-papal stance, Hughes gives a fine summary of the Protestant reformers' principal objection to the mass. He states, 'When the reformation confronts the Mass as instructed Catholicism believes and lives it, and as the theologians explain it, there will be only one way round the difficulty which the doctrine presents, namely to deny that Our Lord instituted such a sacrifice for His Church to use, and to insist that it is a human invention that necessarily derogates from the one sacrifice of the Cross and is, therefore, a blasphemy' (92). Here is Luther on the mass in The Babylonian Captivity of the Church: The third bondage of this same Sacrament (ie, the Eucharist) is that abuse of it - and by far the most impious - by which it has come about that at this day there is no belief in the Church more generally received or more firmly held than that the mass is a good work and a sacrifice. This abuse has brought in a flood of other abuses, until faith in the Sacrament has been utterly lost, and they have made the divine Sacrament a mere subject of traffic, huckstering, and money-getting contracts ...' (Rupp and Drewery 48). And here is the humorously irreverent Tyndale: 'What helpeth it (ie, the word of God) also that the priest, when he goeth to mass, disguiseth himself with a great part of the passion of Christ, and playeth out the rest under silence, with signs and proffers, with nodding, becking and mowing, as it were jackanapes, when neither he himself, neither any man else wotteth what he meaneth? Not at all, verily; but hurteth, and that exceedingly; forasmuch as it not only destroyeth the faith, and quencheth the love that should be given unto the commandments, and maketh the people unthankful, in that it bringeth them into such superstition, that they think that they have done abundantly enough for God, yea, and deserveth above measure, if they be present once in a day at such mumming ...' ('The Obedience of a Christian Man,' Doctrinal Treatises 226-7). Pelikan comments: The most wicked of all the abuses connected with the mass ... was the sacrificial interpretation of the eucharist, as a result of which all sorts of ritualistic elaboration and commercial exploitation had developed' (27). 101 the dialoge The principal part of the text beginning at line 349. 104-5 side-note 'Even soo every good tree, bryngethe forthe good frute. But a corrupte tree, bryngethe forth evyll frute. A good tree cannot brynge

167 / Commentary forthe bad frute: nor yett a bad tree can brynge forthe good frute.' 105-6 side-note 'Trees rotten in authum, vnfrutfull, twyse deed, and plucked vppe by the rotes.' 109-10 side-note See below for 118-19 side-note. 112-13 side-note The brief apologia from 109-14 is in the same vein as Paul's in his epistle to the Corinthians: 'And my wordes, and my preaching were not with entysynge wordes of mannes wysdom: but in shewynge of the sprete and of power, that youre faythe shulde nott aronde in the wisdom off men, but in the power of god.' 116-17 side-note 'And as it semed not good vnto them to be aknowen of god, even so god deliveryd them vppe vnto a leawde mynd, that they shulde do tho thynges which wer not comly, beynge full of all vnrighteous doynge, off fornicacion, wickednes, covetousnes, maliciousnes ...' 117-18 side-note 'Yf god were youre father, then wolde ye have loved me. For I precede forthe and come from god. Nether cam I of my sylfe, butt he sent me. Why do ye nott knowe my speache? Be cause ye cannot abyde the learnynge off my wordes. He that is of God, heareth goddes wordes. Ye therfore heare them nott be cause ye are not of God.' 118-19 side-note Tor before God they are nott righteous whiche heare the lawe; but they which do the lawe; shal be judged by the lawe.' 124 side-note Tor the wrath of god of heven apereth agaynst all vngodlynes and vnrightwesness, seynge that that, which maye be knowen of god, is manifest amonge them. For God did shewe it vnto them. For his invisible thynges (that is to say, his eternall power and godhed) are vnderstond and sene, by the werkes from the creacion of the worlde. So that they are with out excuse, in as moche as when they knewe God they gloryfied hym not as god, nether were thankfull, but wexed full of vanities in their imaginacions. And their folisshe hertes were blynded. When they counted them selves wyse, they becam foles and turned the glory of the immortal god, vnto the similitude of the ymage of mortall man, and of brydes, and foure foted beastes and serpentes.' 140-2 side-note John 6 is a passage with many instances of Christ teaching and seeing to the needs of the simple. John 10 is a passage in which Christ's teaching role is evident. When he is misunderstood after telling his first parable, he attempts to explain it. 142 which cam to save, annd not to destroye Luke 9: 'The sonne of man ys not come to destroye mennes lives, but to save them.' 142-3 side-note Still emphasizing Christ's desire to instruct the simple, Barlowe and Roye turn to Matthew 13 where the value of parables is explained: 'And hys disciples cam, and sayde to him: Why speakest thou to them in parables? he answered and sayde vnto them: Hit is geven vnto

168 / Commentary you to know the secrettes off the kyngdom of heaven, but to them it is not geven. For whosumever hath to him shall hit be geven: and he shall have aboundance. But whosever hath not: from him shalbe takyn awaye even that same that he hath. Therefore speake y to them in similitudes.' 143-4 side-note Tyrst of all beware of the leven of the pharises, which is ypocrysy.' 145-6 side-note 'Knowe ye not that a lytell leven sowereth the whole lompe of dowe?' 147-8 side-note 'I cam to sende fyre on erth: and what ys my desyre but that yt were all redy kyndled?' 148-9 side-note 'Smoke went up before his indignant presence and a consuming fire ; burning coals were kindled as he went.' 150-2 side-note 17: 'There went vp a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth deuoured, coales were kindled by it.' 104: 'he spread a cloud for a covering: and fire to give light in the night.' 118: This entire psalm is given over to the power of God's word: 'Thy word is a lampe vnto my feete: and a light vnto my path.' 149-59 Barlowe and Roye maintain the fiction here by having N.O. request further works from P.G. if they do not find favour in England. Although N.O. is a fictional character, the sentiments he expresses here have some basis in fact. One finds throughout Foxe, for example, instance after instance of persecution of authors and confiscation of prohibited religious material. Foxe also mentions lists of books publicly prohibited, and in the prohibitions of 1526 and 1530 two works, reputed to be Roye's, are mentioned: in the first his 'Dialogue betwixt the Father and the Son/ and in the second this present work, 'the burying of the Mass' (Foxe iv, 667 and 679). The vigorous drive by conservatives to repress and destroy unconventional religious opinion was, in large part, responsible for the escape to the continent of many of the most significant English reformers, not least of whom was William Tyndale. Tyndale tells his own story in his 'Preface to the Five Books of Moses' where he states that he was forced to conclude after bitter experience that as far as translating the New Testament into English 'there was no place to do it in all of England' (Doctrinal Treatises 396). J 55~7 side-note 'I knowe that ye are Abrahams seed: but ye seke means to kyll me be cause my sayinges have noo place in you.' 156-7 side-note 'So that youre light shyne before men, that they maye se youre good workes, and glorify youre father which is in heven.' 8 The refrain can be translated as 'So that his iniquity might be smelled out.' 13 The close relationship between Wolsey and Henry Vffl, indeed the abso-

169 / Commentary lute power that Wolsey held at the height of his career, is well documented in such standard biographies as Pollard, N. Williams, Scarisbrick, and Gwyn. 15 Truer perhaps than Barlowe and Roye might have wished if we can rely on Foxe's list of prohibited books of 1530 which contains this particular tract (Foxe iv, 679). 16 The refrain which closes each stanza of the Treatise's part of the dialogue suggests the despair that the Treatise feels about getting a hearing in the face of the strength of Wolsey and his supporters who include even Henry himself. 34-6 Treatise you cannot be ignorant of their blind affection, ie, you cannot allow yourself to appear ignorant or unaware of it (by remaining silent in the face of it). 'Their blynde affeccion' refers to the benighted views of the population as a whole who are duped by the 'spretualte.' 39 antichrist A word taken from the Book of Revelation and used throughout Reformation literature to refer to the pope. The word appears in English in this sense as early as Wycliffe (O£D), although King claims that the identification of Antichrist with the papacy was first made by the twelfth century writer Joachim de Fiore (198). Its most complete definition is found in Tyndale's preface to 'The Obedience of a Christian Man': 'Christ saith; that there shall come false prophets in his name, and say that they themselves are Christ; that is they shall so preach Christ that men must believe in them, in their holiness, and things of their imagination, without God's word: yea, and that Against-Christ, or Antichrist, that shall come, is nothing but such false prophets, that shall juggle with the scripture, and beguile the people with false interpretations, as all the false prophets, scribes and Pharisees did in the old testament. How shall I know whether ye are that Against-Christ, or false prophets, or no, seeing ye will not let me see how ye allege the scriptures? Christ saith, "By their deeds ye shall know them"' (Doctrinal Treatises 147). 42-8 The scurrility and viciousness of this tract are referred to here as 'wordes contumelious.' The authors here hint at the probable main objections to this satire. Tyndale, who knew Roye at least and was aware of his hot-headedness, utters the following words as a warning to all of those who might be tempted to follow or praise Roye's methods: 'The servant of the Lord must not strive, but be peaceable unto all men, and ready to teach, and one that can suffer the evil with meekness, and can inform them that resist; if God at any time will give them repentance for to know the truth. "It becometh not then the Lord's servant to use railing rhymes, but God's word; which is the right weapon to slay sin, vice, and all iniquity'" (The Parable of the Wicked Mammon'; Doctrinal Treatises 40).

170 / Commentary 52-3 Under Wolsey's chancellorship, Tyndale's New Testament was ordered burnt by Cuthbert Tunstal, bishop of London, in October 1526. Tunstal's monition addressed to his archdeacons reads: 'Monicio ad tradendum libros novi testamenti in idiomate vulgare, translates per fratrem Martinum Lutherum et eius ministrum Willmum Tyndall alias Hochyn et fratrem Willmum Roy' (Sturge 132). Hall gives an account of how Tunstal's zealous search for copies of the New Testament resulted in more of them appearing in print (762-3). 54-5 Even the stones in the street cannot be dumb but must cry out against his (Wolsey's) obstinacy. 76-7 All those who have either shown favour or given credence to my sayings. 94 seruus servomm Servant of the servants; the traditional way of opening a papal letter. See, for instance, the opening of one of the letters of Innocent ni reprinted in part in Cheney (17). 96 golden thre folded crowne The papal triple tiara. 101 Ex hoc nunc et usque in seculum Now and for all time. 106 The authors turn their attention to the pope and away from Wolsey. Line 106 is somewhat perplexing; 'his personne' refers to the pope's person and 'in his' may be another reference to Wolsey who has been, after all, the subject of some of the preface. Since the preface is drawing to a close, the authors may be summing up and drawing together both the pope's and Wolsey's pernicious behaviour. This line and 105 would then mean something like: accursed are they that have any hope either in the pope's person or in Wolsey's. Curiously, however, the next line returns again to the singular 'he.' 108 Per omnia secula seculorum For ever and ever; a phrase which appears frequently as the concluding words of many of the prayers of the mass. Here the term is used irreverently. no As was mentioned in the prefatory letter, 'the lamentacion' is uttered by one of the 'papysticall secte'; therefore, what is lamented here by the speakers - the death of the mass and the loss of its attendant benefits - is the subject of rejoicing for Barlowe and Roye. 116-17 Although the sentiment of the refrain represents a reality for Strasbourg where this tract was first printed, the mass was far from dead in England, the country to which this work was originally intended to appeal. Barlowe and Roye, however, must have felt that the destruction of Roman Catholicism (as seen by them through the destruction of the mass) was imminent. First of all they were living in a city which had already abolished the mass and, secondly, the sack of Rome on 6 May 1527 must have suggested to them the destruction of the centre of Roman Catholicism

171 / Commentary itself. The fact that the motivation for the sack was more political than religious probably would not have bothered the authors. 134-5 A reference to the tonsure. 139 As immortalized in Homer's Iliad. 141-2 A reference to the sack of Rome. 147 It is quite clear from this passage that the authors see the mass as the central pillar of Roman Catholicism and the major supporter of the church's many abuses. The abuses, as the passage suggests, are all associated with things of the world which can only be purchased with money. Here Barlowe and Roye are echoing other reformers who saw in the mass no religious or spiritual significance at all, but only a means of financial gain. 155 This metaphor may pun on 'winning' - 'Winnowing' - suggesting both the profitable nature of the mill (ie, the mass) as well as the separating activity of the mill itself. In any case, the metaphor is apt if only for the word 'gryndinge' which suggests the oppression of the people. 196 Either what vileness our pomp arose from or what vileness our pomp gave rise to; since the authors are talking about kin, the former interpretation seems more likely, especially if they are attacking Wolsey's humble origins once more. 274 A comment on the power of the mass to remit temporal punishment due to sin and thereby lessen one's stay in purgatory. Here is Tyndale on the same subject: The pope with all his pardons is grounded on purgatory. Priests, monks, canons, friars, with all other swarms of hypocrites, do but empty purgatory and fill hell. Every mass, say they, delivereth one soul out of purgatory. If that were true, yea, if ten masses were enough for one soul, yet were the parish priests and curates of every parish sufficient to scour purgatory all the other costly workmen might be well spared' ('The Obedience of a Christian Man'; Doctrinal Treatises 303). And again: 'I pass over with silence the wicked and damnable doctrine of these servants of Mammon, which for lucre pervert the true use of the sacrament, and hide from the people for their gain, teaching it to be a sacrifice instituted of God to help the souls of the dead in purgatory, and that it will make men rich. And bring them to such promotion as Christ never promised his diciples, but forbade it them' ('A Fruitful and Godly Treatise'; Doctrinal Treatises 358-69). 305 profettes Whatever else Barlowe and Roye might have in mind here, they are surely using the word in the sense of financial gain. What they seem to be suggesting is that the spiritual estates convince people of the profits to be gained from the mass so that these same spiritual estates can reap their own profits in the form of money paid for the mass.

172 / Commentary 324-5 These items are associated with various Roman Catholic rituals. 342 dominus vobiscum The Lord be with you; the greeting given at intervals to the congregation by the celebrant during the mass. It is intended to attract the attention of the faithful and to associate them with the prayer that follows (New Catholic Encyclopedia}. 343 ite missa est Go, it is the dismissal; the concluding formula indicating that the mass is concluded (New Catholic Encyclopedia). 344 Requiem eternam Eternal rest; requiem masses or masses for the dead are celebrated as prayers for the souls of the deceased. The name 'requiem mass' is derived from the first words of the entrance antiphon: 'Requiem aeternam dona eius Domine' (New Catholic Encyclopedia). 346 Requiescat in pace Rest in peace; the Latin phrase used in the mass and elsewhere to wish the soul of the departed eternal rest (New Catholic Encylopedia). 350-1 named Watkyn and leffraye An undated fragment entitled 'A Tale of Robin Hoode' is also a dialogue between two men called, curiously enough, Watkin and leffry (Ballads from Manuscript 295-8). 356 Refers to the situation about which the master complains. 361 by my hande An oath. 366 hys Refers to the mass. 374-5 he in both lines refers to the mass. 391 a sharpe two edged sworde Hebrews 4: 'the worde off god is quycke, and myghty in operacion, and sharper then eny two edged swearde ...' 404 sectes The numerous orders and divisions of the spirituality within the Catholic Church. Tyndale uses the word in the same way in 'The Parable of the Wicked Mammom:' 'There were false prophets among the people (meaning the lews), even as there shall be false teachers or doctors among you, which privily shall bring in sects damnable (sects is parttaking, as one holdeth of Francis, another of Dominic ...)' (Doctrinal Treatises 124). 'And when he speaketh of sects of heretics, I answer, that they which ye call heretics believe all in one Christ. And in your false doctrine, of your own feigning without scripture, ye have as many sundry sects as all monks and friars and students of divinity in all your universities' (An Answer to Sir Thomas More's Dialogue 'The Supper of the Lord' 128). Part iv of the ballad The Image of Ypocresye' (1533) is given over to a humorous listing of the many sects within the church (Ballads from Manuscript 290 ff). 411 The battle lines are between papal inventions which have no scriptural basis - the mass being the one outstanding example - and scripture itself, the only proper and final authority from the point of view of the reformers.

173 / Commentary 412-19 A good example of the authors' sweeping, unverifiable statements. 422 The first indication that Jeffrey is a native-bom Englishman. 429 motten loose women. An example of an early sixteenth-century figurative development of an early literalism,- cf Skelton's Magnyfycence (lines 2261-5, ed Scattergood 204): Clo. Col. But nowe let us make mery and good chere. Cou. Cou. And to the taverne let us drawe nere. Cra. Con. And from thens to the halfe strete, To get us there some freshe mete. Clo. Col. Why, is there any store of rawe motton? 430-6 The reference, of course, is to Wolsey himself. Wolsey's mule is described by Cavendish as 'trapped altogether in crimson velvet and gilt stirrups' (52); Skelton in 'Collyn Clout' (lines 301-20, ed Scattergood 254) may have had Wolsey in mind in this description: Over this, the foresayd lay Reporte howe the pope may An holy anker call Out of the stony wall, And hym a bysshop make, Yf he on hym dare take To kepe so harde a rule, To ryde upon a mule With golde all betrapped, In purple and paule belapped; Theyr Theyr There Theyr Theyr

tabertes of fyne sylke; styrops of myxt golde begared, may no cost be spared; moyles golde dothe eate, neyghbours dye for meate.

439 Carnall A play with the similarity in sound between 'cardinal' and 'carnal' as Tyndale was later to play with Wolsey and Wolfsee in The Practice of Prelates' (Doctrinal Treatises 307). 445 or Used here and throughout the work for 'ere.' 448-53 A reference to the sack of Rome which the authors see as a punishment for the papacy's reluctance to accept the true word of God as found in the Bible.

174 / Commentary 460 The definitive study of Strasbourg and the Reformation movement is M.U. Chrisman's Strasbourg and the Reform. 469-70 Caspar Hedio (1494-1552), along with Martin Bucer (1491-1551), Wolfgang Capito (1478-1541), and Matthaus Zell (1477-1548) are the four men 'who were to change the lives and mores of the citizens of Strasbourg' (Chrisman Strasbourg and the Reform 85). Hedio came from Ettlingen in the Rhineland and was a product of a middle-class burgher family. Chrisman claims that Hedio 'was the least important member of the group' (92). He was a protege of Capito and it was through him that Hedio was introduced to Erasmus and other important humanists. 'Butzer,' or Martin Bucer, of the four figures mentioned was the 'most dynamic and the most vigorous.' He grew up in Selestat and joined the Dominican order in 1506 and was sent to Heidelberg, the centre for theological studies, but finally left the monastery in disappointment. Chrisman describes Bucer as a conciliator and mediator - 'as a person, as a theologian, and a churchman' (86). Capito was one of the leading Hebrew scholars in Germany. Attending the universities of Ingolstadt and Freiburg, he earned a degree in theology at the one and a degree in medicine at the other. Later he became a doctor of canon law at Basel and received his doctorate in theology from Mainz (Chrisman 88). Johannes Cellarius (c 1492-1542) came from Burgkundstadt (Gnodstadt), on the Main, west of Bayreuth. He studied in Bologna and obtained his MA at the University of Heidelberg in 1519. Throughout his life he taught Hebrew at various places including Mainz, Tubingen, and Leipzig. He met a number of leading religious figures of the day, two of whom were Erasmus and Melanchthon. Initially he was attracted to Zwingli's views but later became a Lutheran: after studying theology, he became a minister in Frankfurt am Main from 1529 to 1532 (Contemporaries of Erasmus I, 287). Symphorian has not been identified. Arber states that 'the only person of that name about this time that we can trace is a French Doctor, Historian, and Philosopher, named Symphorien Champier, latinized Benedict Curtius Symphorianus, b. at Saint Symphorien le Chateau in i472-d. 1533,- but he appears to have lived at Lyons, and not in any way to have been connected with the Strasburg Protestants' (3-4). It is doubtful whether Barlowe and Roye have one particular disputation in mind between conservatives and reformers,- more probably they are thinking of the series of debates that took place between the two groups. Some of these are dealt with in Arber and Chrisman. 492 his le, his breath. 501 Chrisman (Strasbourg and the Reform] points out that the bishop of Strasbourg 'had no articulate support from his flock and little from his clergy' (156).

175 / Commentary 511 The authors draw attention to the concern that they think many of the spiritual estates have with things of the world, here especially food. 525 father Matthias Not identified; even so, the satire on friars is clear. S36-? Johann Heigerlin (1478-1541) of Leutkirch in the Allgau was the son of a smith, hence the name Faber. In 1516 he was appointed to the post of chancellor to the bishop of Basel; in 1518 he was appointed vicar of the bishop of Constance and in 1521 suffragan bishop. Allen comments: 'he was in general sympathy with the humanists, many of whom were under obligations to him; and for a time it seemed that he might join the reformers. His decision to remain in the Church angered them greatly, especially as he at once strongly declared against heresy; but it opened the way of ecclesiastical preferment to his ambitious energy. In 1523 he became minister to Ferdinand, whose confidence he gained and who loaded him with offices and honours' (Allen in Erasmus Opus epistolarum} II, 189). Jerome Emser (1477/8-1527) a Swabian, matriculated at Tubingen in 1493 and migrated to Basel in 1497 where he took his BA and MA. 'In 1519 he appeared as a champion of orthodoxy against Luther and was thenceforward exposed to bitter abuse from the Lutherans ... He attacked Luther's translation of the New Testament and in 1527 produced a new version of his own' (Opus epistolarum n, 505). 'Eckyus' is Johann Eck or Maier (1486-1543). After completing his Doctor of Divinity in 1510, he became a professor of theology at Ingolstadt. He is best known for the war he waged against Luther, in particular, on points of doctrine. 'His brilliancy won him success in debate, of which he was very fond, but not popularity; especially after the publication of the bull against Luther in 1520' (Opus Epistolarum in, 208). Luther himself was aware of Eck's talents and referred to him on one occasion as 'a man of signal and talented learning and of learned talent' (Rupp and Drewery Martin Luther 26). 'Morner' is Thomas Murner (1475-1537) whom Arber refers to as 'the great Roman Catholic satirist of the time' (5). Allen adds that Murner's efforts in the cause of morality and orthodoxy were frustrated by 'the restless unsteadiness of his life' (Opus epistolarum V, 350). He co-operated with Faber against the reformers in Strasbourg in 1523. 566 Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus (1469-1536), Europe's most outstanding humanist, who, among other things, spent a good part of his life attempting to escape the embraces of various reforming groups interested in using his name and influence in support of their positions (Bainton Erasmus of Christendom}. Erasmus' flattery, referred to here by Barlowe and Roye, was no worse than that of other scholars of the period who often found themselves in need of patronage. Tyndale, however, echoes the authors' point in his 'Preface to the Five Books of Moses' where he speaks of his

176 / Commentary own unhappy relationship with Cuthbert Tunstal, bishop of London: 'As I this thought, the bishop of London came to my remembrance, whom Erasmus (whose tongue maketh of little gnats great elephants, and lifteth up above the stars whosoever giveth him a little exhibition) praiseth exceedingly ...' (Doctrinal Treatises 395). Despite the authors' less than enthusiastic treatment of Erasmus here, Roye translated in 1529 his Paraclesis under the title, An Exhortation to the Diligent Studye of Scripture (STC 10493; see also McConica 114). 569 The reference is to Erasmus' De libero arbitrio published in 1524. This was answered by Luther in 1525 in a tract entitled De servo arbitrio. 577 In 1512, Erasmus was given the benefice of Aldington in the diocese of Canterbury which was later commuted to a pension. In 1516 he was councillor to Prince Charles and in receipt of a pension; he was also given the prebend at Courtray which was later commuted to a pension (Allen,Bainton Erasmus of Christendom). 578-83 Erasmus would rather be a martyr than consent to the view that Christ is not corporally present in the bread and wine. The Protestant reformers' view of the sacrament of the eucharist arose as a reaction to the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation and the Real Presence. English reformers, Tyndale and Roye among them, taking their lead from Zwingli, Oecolampadius, and perhaps from vestiges of Lollardy, denied the doctrine of transubstantiation and the Real Presence and saw the eucharist as merely a symbol. The Roman Catholic position was that through the priestly office, the bread and wine were actually transformed into the body and blood of Christ. For a detailed explanation of Tyndale's view (which must be seen as the authors' view here) see 'A Fruitful and Godly Treatise Expressing the Right Institution and Usage of the Sacrament of Baptism and the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of our Saviour Jesu Christ' (Doctrinal Treatises). For an explanation of the complex position of Luther on this matter see Pelikan. 585 the ydols of abhominacion The supporters of the traditional position. 586 Erasmus was an inveterate letter writer. The first major selection, Auctarium selectarum aliquot epistolarum Erasmi, was published in 1518 at Basel by Froben, although a smaller number of letters appeared as early as 1515 (CWE I, xx). 590-1 Two centres of doctrinal conservatism and the scholastic method of theological disputation. 596 Thomas and Scote Thomas Aquinas (122^-12^4) and John Duns Scotus (i265?-i3o8), the two most important exponents of the scholastic method. The line suggests that the universities sent Thomists and Scotists to the disputation.

177 / Commentary 602-4 That the mass fared so badly despite its number of supporters must mean that it was accursed. 609-13 Johannes Cochlaeus, christened Johann Dobneck (1479-1552), was born at Wendelstein. Allen states that 'on 26 April 1504 he matriculated at Cologne where he was B.A. 1505, M.A. 1507 and in 1509 professor ...'; 'when the struggle with Luther began, Cochlaeus drew at once to the orthodox side ... and soon he appeared in what was to be his vocation for the rest of his life, a controversialist of inexhaustible activity in defence of the Papacy' (Allen in Erasmus Opus epistolarum vn, 145). Watkin's reference to Cochlaeus 'Wrytinge to the englysshe nacyon, / Inuencyones of flatterye' probably refers to what Allen calls 'his close relations with English statesmen and men of letters to whom he dedicated many books ...' Allen mentions Henry vni, John Fisher, Cuthbert Tunstal, Thomas More, Nicholas West, and Robert Ridley (145). 632 Herman Ryncke Archbishop of Cologne and Prince Elector. According to Harleian, 'he published several treatises on Christian reformation, the administration of the sacraments, the cure of souls, the right institution of baptism, of matrimony, and burial of the dead' (19). Arber adds that Ryncke served as Wolsey's agent and bought up all of the copies of Rede Me that he could lay his hands on (6). 632-7 Pomerane John Bugenhagen (1485-1558) of Wollin in Pomerania, curate of the congregation of Wittenberg (Allen in Erasmus Opus epistolarum vi, 8-9) His letter 'to the faithful congregation of England' (Harleian Miscellany 19) was answered by Cochlaeus in his Responsio in epistolam Bugenhagij Pomerani ad Anglos printed in 1526. 635-7 Pomerane, as was requested of him, did his part by instructing Christian men who required it. 661 solfe a newe lesson le, find a new means of earning a living; literally, sing a new lesson; 'solfe' is from the noun 'solfa' which developed from the syllables 'sol' and 'fa' of the scale. Jeffrey is warning Watkin that because of the defeat of the mass, their own livelihood may be in jeopardy and that it might be wise of them to look around for new work. 673 Parys vniversite Like Louvain and Cologne, another bastion of doctrinal conservatism and scholasticism. 680 Sayncte Thomas schryne The shrine of St Thomas a Becket at Canterbury. The classic statement on the wealth and abuses of shrines and the chicanery of their keepers is Erasmus' colloquy 'A Pilgrimage for Religion's Sake.' 686-97 Hall goes further than Barlowe and Roye and suggests that the irresponsibility and pomposity of much of the clergy in general was largely a result of Wolsey's example; 'by example of his pride, presstes and all

178 / Commentary spiritual persones wexed so proude, that thei ware velvet and silke, both in gounes, jackettes, doblettes and shoes, kept open lechery, and so highly bare themselfes by reason of his authorities and faculties, that no man durst once reprove any thing in them ...' (593). 711-12 The public burning at Paul's Cross in October 1526 ordered by Cuthbert Tunstal, bishop of London (Sturge 133-4). 715 Walter points out that in the preface to his Assertio septem sacramentomm, Henry VTII told '"his dearly beloved people" that "with the deliberate advice of his chancellor, Cardinal Wolsey, he had determined that Tyndale's untrue translation of the scriptures should be burned, with farther sharp correction and punishment against the keepers and readers of the same"' (Doctrinal Treatises 131). 723-4 Sturge states that 'it is clear that Tunstal's opposition was based to a large extent on alleged incorrect renderings, two thousand of which he claimed to have found ...' (131). With characteristic exaggeration, Barlowe and Roye here increase the number to three thousand. 728-33 Jeffrey is trying to show how the bishop of London distorted the words of those who were trying to promote the gospel in the vernacular in order to make those promoters appear to be heretics. Here, then, according to Jeffrey, the bishop stated that these heretics maintained that a woman of easy virtue will attain heaven as easily as one who lives perfectly. 737-42 Jeffrey corrects the bishop's deliberate distortion by pointing out that what was really said was that a whore or obvious sinner who repents will sooner attain heaven through the agency of Christ's passion and death than one who is only a holy person in externals or appearances; cf Tyndale's 'Prologue upon the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans' (Doctrinal Treatises 484-510): 'In the second chapter the apostle proceedeth further, and alludeth all those holy people also, which without lust and love to the law, live well outwardly in the face of the world, and condemn others gladly; as the nature of all hypocrites is, to think themselves pure in respect of open sinners,- and yet they hate the law inwardly, and are full of covetousness, and envy, and of all uncleanness (Matt. 23). These are they which despise the goodness of God, and according to the hardness of their hearts heap together for themselves the wrath of God. Furthermore, St. Paul, as a true expounder of the law, suffereth no man to be without sin; but declareth that all they are under sin, who of free will and of nature will live well, and suffereth them not to be better than the open sinners, yea he called them hard-hearted and such as cannot repent' (496). 736 they The third person plural pronoun used here perhaps in order to include Roye himself along with Tyndale in the preparation of the New Testament. Tyndale credits Roye with helping him in the 'Preface' to the

179 / Commentary 'Parable of the Wicked Mammon' (Doctrinal Treatises 38), and Roye mentions his part in the project in his 'Dialogue Between a Christian Father and His Stubborn Son'; It is not vnknowne to you all my lordes, and masters ... how that this last yere, the newe testament of our saveour, was delyvered vnto you, through the faythfull and diligent stodye of one of our nacion ... named William Hitchyns, vnto whome I was (after the grace geven me of the lorde) as healpe felowe, and parte taker of his laboures ...' (34). 744-5 Jesus, speaking to the chief priests and seniors says: 'verely I say vnto you, that the publicans and the harlots shall come into the kyngdome off God before you: For Jhon cam vnto you, in the way of rightewesnes, and ye beleved hym not, but the publicans and the whoares beleved hym' (Matthew 21). 761-2 honours change manners; proverbial (Tilley 11583). 770-2 Hall tells a humorous anecdote that indicates Tunstal's zeal as well as his trust of others less reliable than he originally thought. Tunstal hired one Augustine Packington to buy up all the copies of the English New Testament he could find in order to suppress the translations. The Wily Packington took Tunstal's money, but instead used it to have more English Bibles printed (v62ff). 776-8 This might refer to the statement at 716-18 or to Tunstal's injunction of 1526. The first Royal Proclamation was not issued until 1530. 789-90 It is of no avail if the gospel gives precepts to them (ie, those who do not want the mass to be buried) concerning the burial of the mass because, as the preceding lines have shown, the gospel's defamers have no use for it. 84off The reference is to Henry vin whose praise here is also found in Polydore Vergil: 'Henry ... was recommended by his handsome bearing, his comely and manly features (in which one could discern as much authority as good will), his outstanding physical strength, remarkable memory, aptness at all the arts of both war and peace, skill at arms and on horseback, scholarship of no mean order, thorough knowledge of music, and his humanity, benevolence and self-control' (151). 848 In many areas of knowledge he is seen to be skilful. 849 Catherine of Aragon, Henry's first wife and former wife of his eldest brother Arthur. 852-3 Although the effects of Wolsey's activities during his stay in office are still open to dispute, no one doubts the tremendous power that he possessed over the king and the country in religious and political affairs. Polydore Vergil states: 'The enjoyment of such an abundance of good fortune is to be reckoned most praiseworthy if it is showered upon sober,

i8o / Commentary moderate and self-controlled men, who are not proud in their power, nor are made arrogant with their money, nor vaunt themselves in other fortunate circumstances. None of these characteristics could be described in Wolsey, who, acquiring so many offices at almost the same time, became so proud that he considered himself the peer of kings.' He concludes: 'And so the government of Wolsey in the beginning had for the people a shadowy appearance of justice, which indeed, because it was only a shadow, quickly disappeared, Wolsey conducting all business at his own pleasure, since no one at all was of more value to the king' (231). After Wolsey had conducted successfully some political matter with France, Polydore Vergil tells us that 'Henry was greatly pleased that a new friendship should be established with the French king and he praised Wolsey's diligence so highly that, a few days later, he said openly (and not by way of a joke) that Wolsey would rule not only himself but Francis as well ...' (247). Foxe states that 'this glorious cardinal in his tragical doings, did exceed so far all measure of a good subject, that he became more like a prince than a priest; for although the king bare the sword, yet he bare the stroke, braking (in a manner) the whole realm to bend at his beck, and to dance after his pipe' (iv, 589). And in a more poetic vein Skelton in 'Why Come Ye Nat To Courte?' (482-8; ed Scattergood 291) writes: He is in suche elacyon Of his exaltacyon, And the supportacyon Of our soverayne lorde, That, God to recorde, He ruleth all at wyll Without reason or skyll. 863-71 The reliability of these statements is clearly open to question. Throughout much of his stay in office, Wolsey was hated for the taxes that many said he was responsible for levying, although the extent of his responsibility for these taxes is by no means clear. In any case, he had a war-hungry king to satisfy, and the taxes that were raised were largely put to the services of war. Generally, those unfavourably inclined to Wolsey for political or religious reasons were not reluctant to accuse him of all possible crimes. 867 their money The money of the common people. 875-6 See note to 12. 881 Possibly a reference to Wolsey's two magnificent residences, Hampton Court and York Place. A lengthy description of Wolsey's households and

i8i / Commentary officers can be found in Cavendish (46-9). In general, one can accept this account as a reliable estimation of the lavishness in which the cardinal lived because Cavendish was Wolsey's usher and as such would have had first-hand knowledge of the household (see also Williams 55-8). 887-9 Wolsey was raised to the cardinalate in 1515 and the title he chose for it was St Cecilia trans Tiberin. The bishop of Worcester wrote to Wolsey and told him that St Cecilia was a happy choice 'as many Popes had proceeded from it' (cited in N. Williams 21). Lockyer in his edition of Cavendish explains legate a lateie and Wolsey's achievement of it: 'While Warham, the archbishop of Canterbury, lived ... the ambitious favourite could not hope for the nominal headship of the English church. He could, however, supersede Canterbury if he secured an appointment as Legatus a lateie (i.e., a legate sent "from the side of" the Pope). The first step was to be made Cardinal, and, at Henry's request, the Pope conferred the title in 1515. Three years passed before the Pope reluctantly agreed to make Wolsey legate a lateie. It was an unprecedented concession, for legatus a lateie were usually sent from Rome to carry out a carefully defined and limited mission, and their authority, though supreme, was of brief duration. Wolsey had never even been to Rome, but he now demanded to be made legate a lateie for life ... In 1518 Wolsey was made legate a lateie for a limited period; by 1524 he had turned this into a grant for life' (14). 891-2 He has the pope's full authority in dealing with cases of dispensation. 899-901 The sense here seems to be that Wolsey freely dispenses blessin and curses in order to show by the movement of his hands during these ceremonies his wealth and power as seen in the rings he wears. Or perhaps Barlowe and Roye are suggesting that curses and blessings are meaningless when they come from a man so obviously concerned with his own physical and worldly welfare. 902-22 N. Williams gives some indication of the extent of Wolsey's powers: 'As legate a lateie he was empowered to reform the entire clergy, from the lowest cleric to the highest dignitary; to issue dispensations of all kinds; to absolve individuals from the excommunications and all other sentences pronounced on wrongdoers by other ecclesiastics; to make appointments to benefices; to grant degrees; and to make bastards legitimate' (303). 920-2 The sense is that Wolsey accepts men's savings which they pay him in order that he will permit them to marry their own kin. 926 advoutiy 'avoutrie' was gradually refashioned to the present form through the influence of the French learned form 'adultere' from the fourteenth century onwards (O£D). There is no sense of the surviving popular

182 / Commentary form even in this populist work. The word means, of course/ adultery. See also 1864. 928 never so vnryght A double negative. 929-31 to divorce is an infinitive; hence the sense here in light of what follows is that Wolsey is not concerned about marriage which ends in divorce even though there is no just cause for such a divorce. 932 He playeth the devill and his dame A conflation of the proverbial The devil and his dam' and 'to play the devil' (Tilley 0225, 0302; see also OED 'devil' 22k and 'dam' 2b). Through his evil actions, Wolsey is as bad as the devil and the devil's mate. 942-9 There seems to be little doubt that Barlowe and Roye are distorting the facts as Polydore Vergil does some years later: 'Heare is to be noted, that the queene in presence of the whole court most greeuouslie accused the cardinal of vntruth, deceit wickednesse and malice, which had sowne dissention betwixt hir and the king hir husband' (739). Grafton also places the blame for the separation on Wolsey's shoulders. He begins by 'quoting' Catherine: 'But of this trouble I onely may thanke you my Lorde Cardinall of Yorke, for because I have wondered at your highe pride and tiranny, therefore of malice you have kindeled this fire and set this matter abroche, and in especiall for the great malice that you beare to my nephew the Emperor ... because he would not satisfie your ambicion and make you Pope by force ...' (Grafton 116). Cavendish tells quite another story. Wolsey, distressed by accusations of his involvement in the affair, addressed the King: '"Sir I most humbly beseech Your Highness to declare before all this audience whether I have been the chief inventor or first mover of this matter unto Your Majesty,- for I am greatly suspected by all men herein." "My Lord Cardinal," quoth the King, "I can well excuse you herein. Marry, indeed you have been rather against me in attempting or setting forth thereof" (116). 951-2 Barlowe and Roye make it sound as if Catherine were possessed of a teeming and healthy womb and as if Jeffrey had been on the scene when the children were born. In fact, the Princess Mary was the only child of the marriage who lived. Catherine had three infants who were either stillborn or died immediately after birth and two infants who died within a few weeks of birth (Scarisbrick 150). 983-5 Cardinal College, Oxford, founded by Wolsey in 1525 and later refounded as Christ Church by Henry VIII in 1532. Here and in what follows, Barlowe and Roye feel that the creation of the institution was motivated by pride and that little good can come of it. 1005 towre of Babell Genesis 11. io2off Barlowe and Roye are here alluding to the number of wars and

183 / Commentary jockeyings for political superiority that took place during Henry's reign. Characteristically, they are placing the blame for these wars on Wolsey's shoulders. Yet a recent historian maintains that Wolsey's concern throughout the greater part of his time in office was to establish a permanent European peace (Scarisbrick 48ff). 1031-2 A similar view is expressed in More's Utopia (61-3). 1047-8 Possibly a reference to the treaties of Westminster signed on 30 April 1527 between France and England. The treaties were for war with Charles and 'perpetual peace' with France. Wolsey claimed responsibility for this perpetual peace between the two countries (Pollard 151-2). Barlowe and Roye reflect the country's general ire towards Wolsey's plan for peace with France and war with Charles: 'There was fierce opposition in England to the cardinal's new anti-imperial policy. Norfolk had high words with him in the king's presence; many of the council had urged Henry to break off the French negotiations in April; and his ambassadors in Spain wrote against the war, urging the old amity of England, Burgundy and Castile, the injury that its breach would do to trade and to the whole of Christendom ... "The whole country," wrote ... Mendoza from London in May, "is roused against the cardinal ... he is universally hated"' (Pollard 153). 1052 The suggestion is that Wolsey uses his significant legatine authority to issue dispensations in return for money and goods. 1059 factoures Some of there 'factoures' are mentioned in Polydore Vergil: 'When Wolsey attained the summit of his power, then he opened a law shop; what a Charybdis, what a whirlpool, what an abyss of every kind of plundering. For over a new court of this legatine kind he appointed Dr. John Allen ... Thereafter this man became a judge, a guardian of morals, a teacher of old-fashioned and upright habits! First he had under review the jurisdictions within the whole city and investigated the conduct of individual citizens. If there were any men or women upon whom fell suspicion of any grave fault, those he harassed and legally or illegally he fined them cruelly. The deputies of Allen diligently applied, practised and upheld this scheme through the country. There were besides a crowd of apparitors perambulating the countryside and the villages who smelled out the funerals of the dying and cited the executors of wills so that the latter should be quickly compelled to prove the wills in the legate's court' (257). 1094-1115 Once again Barlowe and Roye emphasize Wolsey's pomp and his sense of his own importance. Polydore Vergil states that 'one could scarcely make it credible how greatly his arrogance was increased as soon as he was invested with the new dignity ... Hence when he saw himself elevated to the loftiest rung in the ladder, his first consideration was by some vivid symbol to demonstrate his superiority in rank over other

184 / Commentary people ... When any holy day occurred and the king was present with all his retinue, he now began more often than customary to celebrate the divine office with pontifical rites and to employ as ministers to wait upon him not only bishops and abbots but also dukes and earls, to hand him napkins for his hands. He was also not satisfied with the one cross which he had used in his capcity as archbishop of York, but would have another carried before him by two elegantly proportioned priests riding on great horses, who solemnly advanced bare-headed at all times of the year' (255). Cavendish adds to the picture the following details: 'he passed forth, with two great asses of silver bore before him,- with also two great pillars of silver, and his sergeant-at-arms with a great mace of silver gilt... And when he came to the hall door, there was waiting for him his mule, trapped altogether in crimson velvet and gilt stirrups. When he was mounted, with his cross bearers and pillar bearers also upon great horses trapped with red scarlet, then marched he forward ... having about him four footmen with gilt pole-axes in their hands' (51-2). In one of his angrier moments in 'The Obedience of a Christian Man/ Tyndale gives his own symbolic rendering of the legate's poleaxe: 'What signifieth the poleaxes that are born before high legates a latere? Whatsoever false signs they make of them, I care not; but of this I am sure, that as the old hypocrites, when they had slain Christ, set poleaxes to keep him in his sepulchre, that he should not rise again, even so have our hypocrites buried the testament that God made unto us in Christ's blood; and to keep it down that it rise not again, all their study, whereof these poleaxes are the very sign' (Doctrinal Treatises, 251). For a poetic rendering of Wolsey's arrogance and the showy display of the symbols of his various offices, see the ballad 'An Impeachment of Wolsey,' 1528, xliii (Ballads From Manuscript 360). 1104 About these pillars OED 5 says: 'Two of these, of silver gilt, were borne by pillar-bearers before Cardinal Wolsey and Cardinal Pole. They are not recorded otherwise, and appear to have been substituted by Wolsey for the silver mace or stick with a silver (or gold) head, to which a Cardinal had a right, and to have been retained by Pole.' If we can trust Cavendish, however, it would appear that the silver pillars were not a substitute for the mace but rather an addition to it. 1135 Holinshed, following Hall, tells us that Wolsey 'visited bishops, and all the cleargie exempt and not exempt and vnder colour of reformation he got much treasure. For thorough bribes and rewards, notorious offenders were dispensed with, so that nothing was reformed, but came to more mischefe' (267-8). Hall cites a specific example of Wolsey's visitation of the 'Friers Obseruauntes,' whose recalcitrance resulted in their being accused at Paul's Cross by one of their own (691), and Polydore Vergil

185 / Commentary narrates a colourful anecdote about how Wolsey's threats turned to his own profit: 'in London, Wolsey, who had decided from the street to turn his province into profit, summoned before him monks of all orders. They flung themselves at his feet and, assuming a virtuous pose, he reproved them for many things - that they lived a life very different from that which they had professed in the beginning; that they did not employ themselves in literature and virtuous activities, but addressed themselves with quite unremarkable zeal in acquiring wealth. Consequently, he asserted that it was his business to correct these abuses, lest their religion should be utterly ruined ... He dealt with the business extravagantly and confused and disturbed them, in order to frighten the other monks, to show his power, to represent himself as even more terrible. The whole performance tended to one result: that the monks who had been called to judgement should prefer voluntarily to pay cash rather than change their way of life. His view was not mistaken. The monks easily comprehended why the physician who was so forgetful of his own health was so careful of that of others. They finally reconciled Wolsey to themselves with gifts ...'(259). 1142 Doctor Alyn John Allen (1476-1534). Polydore Vergil points out that Wolsey's agent for visitations was not himself entirely beyond reproach. He refers to him as 'a creature himself so remote from the study and love of justice that he had shortly before [his appointment as superior in Wolsey's legatine court] on the testimony of many been convicted by him [ie, Wolsey] as chancellor of England not only of flagrant crimes but above all of perjury' (257). Hall provides further details on Allen the visitor: The Cardinall ... by his power legantyne, sent a Chapplein of his, called Doctor Ihon Alein, a man of more learnyng then vertue, or good conscience, to visite all places religious: this priest roade in his goune of velvet, with a greate trayne, and was received into every Religion with Procession, as though the legate had been there, and toke suche greate sommes for his visitacion that the religious sore were greued, and murmured much against it, and in especial, for now this sodain visitacion or predacion cleane shaued them. The common people spake muche against this, and also they saeid, that the Cardinall by Visitacions, makyng of Abbottes, probates of testamentes, grauntyng of faculties, licences, and other pollynges in his Courtes legantines, had made his threasore egall with the kynges ...' (703). Pollard claims 'In the vacation between Easter and Trinity terms 1524 Allen visited seventeen London churches and religious houses, and returned the sum of £189 8s. sd. as due to Wolsey; and his visitations elsewhere during a somewhat longer period produced £439 i2s. 2d.' (198). 1149-53 See note to 881.

186 / Commentary 1164-5 The meaning is that Wolsey does not abstain at all. The traditional replacement food for meat and foul during Lent and periods of abstinence is fish. Cf Skelton's 'Why Come Ye Nat To Courte?' (lines 220-4; ed Scattergood 284): In lent, for a repast, He eateth capons stewed, Fesaunt and partriche mewed, Hennes, checkynges, and pygges. 1166 Lutherans, along with other Protestant reformers, threw out the Catholic church's view on abstinence and fasting. 1167-8 Barlowe and Roye are attacking the law of celibacy for clergy and pointing to the situation that all too often arose because of the church's rule, namely, the keeping of women or the use of whores by the clergy. Here is Tyndale on chastity and the benefits of marriage: To speak of chastity: it is a gift not given to all persons, as testifieth both Christ and also his apostle Paul; wherefore all persons may not vow it. Moreover there be causes wherfore many persons may live better chaste at one time than at another. Many may live chaste at twenty, and thirty, for certain cold diseases following them, which at forty, when.their health is came, cannot do so. Many be occupied with wild fantasies in their youth, that they care not for marriage, which same, when they be waxen sad, shall be greatly desirous. It is a dangerous thing to make sin where none is; and to forswear the benefit of God and to bind thyself under pain of damnation, of thy soul, that thou wouldest not use the remedy that God hath created, if need required' ('The Prologue unto the Fourth Book of Moses Called Numeri'; Doctrinal Treatises 438). Tyndale sees married clergy as absolutely central to the office of the clergyman: 'He must have a wife for two causes: one, that it may thereby by known who is meet for the room. He is unapt for so chargeable an office, which had neither household to rule. Another cause is, that chastity is an exceeding solemn gift, and unchastity exceeding perilous for that degree,- inasmuch as the people look as well unto the living as unto the preaching, and art hurt at once if the living disagree, and fall from the faith and believe not the word' (The Obedience of a Christian Man'; Doctrinal Treatises 230). 1169 Although the authors refer to 'whoares' in this line, Pollard takes what he calls 'the most charitable theory' and maintains that Wolsey had only one mistress 'the daughter of one Lark' to whom 'he seems to have been faithful' (306). Wolsey had two children by her, a son called Thomas Wynter and a daughter Dorothy, born about Michaelmas 1512 and 'fathered

187 / Commentary on one John Clansey, and sent to the nunnery at Shaftesbury' (307). Skelton also emphasizes Wolsey's promiscuity in 'Why Come Ye Nat To Courte?' (lines 224-5; £d Scattergood 284): 'He foynes and he frygges; / Spareth neither mayde ne wyfe.' 1172 One of the more absurd charges brought against Wolsey in the list of charges associated with his downfall was 'that hauyng the French Pockes, [he] presumed to come and breth on the king' (cited in Grafton 425). 1178 A common view at the time to explain Wolsey's hold on Henry's affections. Skelton, in 'Why Come Ye Nat to Courte?' (lines 657-68; ed Scattergood 295), explains the situation by suggesting that Wolsey's power over Henry can be attributed to sorcery: It is a wonders case: That the kynges grace Is toward hym so mynded, And so farre blynded, That he can nat parceyve How he doth hym disceyve. I dought, lest by sorsery Or suche other loselry As wychecraft, or charmyng; For he is the kynges derlyng And his swete hart rote, And is governed by this mad kote! And Tyndale in 'The Practice of Prelates' suggests similar means: 'And, as I heard it spoken of divers, he made by creft of necromancy grauen imagery to bear upon him; wherwith he bewitched the king's mind, and made the king to dote upon him more than ever he did on any lady or gentlewoman; so that now the king's grace followed him, as he before followed the king' (Doctrinal Treatises 308). Pollard, citing Dyce, points out that 'Skelton wrote a lost drama, entitled The Nigramanser, which probably dealt with Wolsey' (101 note n). 1183-92 Pollard maintains that Wynter 'was as glaring an example of abuses in the church as was his father' (308). 'On 26 March Wynter received a grant of arms ... which informs us that in addition to being Dean of Wells and prebendary of St. Peter's, Wynter was already provost of Beverley, archdeacon of both York and Richmond, and chancellor of Salisbury, besides holding the prebends of Lutton (Wells), Strenshall (York), Bedwin (Salisbury), Milton (Lincoln), and Norwell (Southwell), and the rectories of Rudby (Yorks), and St. Matthew's, Ipswich' (309). Interest-

188 / Commentary ingly, the authors' statement at line 1190 is misunderstood by Pollard (310) who states: 'Roy even alleges that Wolsey hoped ultimately to make the boy pope "by the French king's grace."' Harleian (32) quite rightly points out that 'rone' is Rouen in Normandy not Rome as Pollard reads it. 1196-1201 Polydore Vergil states that 'the wills of deceased persons were proved under his legatine power, a power which the Roman pope himself was nowhere said to exercise; that the benefices of the gentry, that is those who were in the gift of bishops or nobles ... were disposed of [by Wolsey], although this papal right had for long fallen into disuse in England' (261). Hall adds 'When the Cardinall of Yorke was thus a legate, he set vp a court, and called it the court of the legate and proued testamentes, and hard causes to the great hinderaunce of all the bishops of the realme' (593). 1203 all his oures Wolsey's words are 'all is ours,' ie, all belongs to us. 1208-10 Countes of Darby Anne, daughter of Lord Hastings and widowed in 1521. Harleian states that 'her eldest son being then only in the eleventh year of his age, Wolsey got a grant of several of his manors in Lincolnshire, which came into the king's hands on account of the Earl's minority' (33). Countes of Salisbury is Margaret Pole (1473-1541), daughter of Warwick. She married Sir Richard Pole in 1491 and he died in 1505. Her brother, Edward, earl of Warwick, was 'judicially murdered' by Henry VII in 1499. Henry vm, in an attempt to expiate this injustice, granted her an annuity of £100 in 1509 and in 1513 he created her countess of Salisbury. She therefore became the owner of a very magnificent property. Her name is mentioned here by Barlowe and Roye because of the heavy financial burden placed upon her by the crown. 'On 12 May 1512 she delivered to Wolsey £1000 as first payment of a benevolence of 5000 marks for the kingswars, and in 1528 she was sued forr a further Duches of Buckyngame is the widow of Edward, duke of Buckingham and daughter of Henry Percy, earl of Northumberland (Harleian 33); following Buckingham's death, his goods were attainted (Ferguson 158). i229ff The authors now turn for the moment away from Wolsey to attack bishops in general. The same general complaints are uttered against them as against Wolsey: an undue interest in things of the world, pomp, and self-interest, and an unwillingness to preach the gospel as it should be preached. 1242 In cases in which even their consciences tell them that they are wrong. 1287 Barlowe and Roye now turn to 'seculer prestes' from lines 1287 to 1306 and then finally to the 'religious' (1307). This section on the abuses of the religious orders is dealt with at greater length in the second section of the work.

189 / Commentary 1369 the mills of their welfare. The metaphor was used earlier at 155. 1373-8 le, I know what you say is true and that's an end to the matter. All their babbling talk is nothing but lies. But there are other obstacles (to truth as you expressed it about these men and their practices) and one of these is the miracles that are regularly performed in front of us. 1380 be hym that me bought An oath referring to Christ. J 383-4 A reference to the Festial of John Mirk a collection of homilies based on feast days of various saints (ed Theodore Erbe [London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Triibner 1905] EETS es 96). 1385 Although Barlowe and Roye dismiss the miracles as fables, Tyndale has a much more sombre explanation of their significance and effect: 'the miracles of antichrist are done to pull thee from the word of God, and from believing his promises, and from Christ, and to put thy trust in a man, or a ceremony wherein God's word is not. As soon as God's word is believed, the faith spread abroad, then cease the miracles of God. But the miracles of antichrist, because they are wrought by the devil, to quench the faith, grow daily more and more; neither shall cease until the world's end, among them that believe not God's word and promises' (The Obedience of a Christian Man'; Doctrinal Treatises 287). i394ff What follows is a list of some of the powers often attributed to the mass. 1402 Above everything else the mass is preferred. 1407-8 A humorous touch on the authors' part; women can be got with child through the assistance of the priest who says the mass. The lines are ambiguous. 1424-6 That no lay man can look in any English book that deals with (an interpretation of or comment on) Holy Scripture. It is possible here that the reference is to Tyndale's prologues to various parts of the New Testament and also to other Tyndale work published prior to the appearance of Rede Me, namely 'The Parable of the Wicked Mammon.' The reference might also be to various Lollard tracts circulating privately in the country, although our knowledge of the number and influence of these tracts is sketchy and incomplete (see Thomson; McFarlane,- and Foxe rv). 1427-32 The reference is to Tyndale's New Testament: 'that this threatening and forbidding the lay people to read the scripture is not for the love of your souls ... is evident, and clearer than the sun; inasmuch as they permit and suffer you to read Robin Hood, and Bevis of Hampton, Hercules, Hector and Troilus, with a thousand histories and fables of love ...' ('The Obedience of a Christian Man'; Doctrinal Treatises 161). Tyndale maintains that the principal reason why the papists refuse to allow the New Testament to be read in English is fear of losing what they have

190 / Commentary gained: 'in this they be all agreed, to drive you from the knowledge of the scripture, and that ye shall not have the text thereof in the mother-tongue, and to keep the world still in darkness, to the intent they might sit in the consciences of the people through vain superstition and false doctrine, to satisfy their filthy lusts, their proud ambition, and unsatiable covetous ness, and to exalt their own honour above king and emperor, yea above God himself ('Preface to the Five Books of Moses'; Doctrinal Treatises 393). 1476 By this expression Watkyn is claiming that he can't sing at all. 1493-5 Roye himself was a member of the Observants at Greenwich before abandoning the order. If Jeffrey's 'dosen yeres' reference here applies to Roye and if DNB is correct when it states that Roye left the order in about 1525, then we can guess that he was a member of the Observants from about 1513,- Morman points out that Roye was ordained exorcist and acolyte in December 1516 and deacon in September 1518 (205). 1563 The spirituality know for certain (that they give emperors and kings false information). 1565 workes of mercy There are two types, the spiritual and the corporal. The spiritual are to instruct the ignorant, to counsel the doubtful, to admonish sinners, to bear wrongs patiently, to forgive offences, to comfort the afflicted, to pray for the living and the dead. The corporal works are to feed the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, to shelter the homeless, to visit the sick, to ransom the captive, to bury the dead. 1583 Once again the metaphor of the mill as seen earlier at 155 and 1369. 1586 Barlowe and Roye following Tyndale accept only the two sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist in contrast to the seven named by the Catholic church (Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Holy Orders, Matrimony). See 'The Obedience of a Christian Man' and 'A Fruitful and Godly Treatise'; Doctrinal Treatises 2$2ti. 1618-19 To tell Watkin more about the religious life. This leads to part two of the work which is less an attack on Wolsey and more of an expose on the religious life as such. The entire second section must be read in the context of the authors' strong prejudices against the religious life. The fairest estimation of this subject is probably in Knowles. It is clear from what Knowles says that criticism of monastic institutions was a wellestablished fact prior to Barlowe and Roye's tract appearing on the scene; to prove his point he mentions Fitzralph, Langland, and, of course, Chaucer (n, 90-114.) 1637!! Watkin is late for his appointment with Jeffrey presumably because he was busy with people ('estates') who came for food and provisions to his master's residence.

191 / Commentary 1642 Just as Watkin has cursed the people who have made him late for his appointment with Jeffrey, so Jeffrey feels he should curse or swear at Watkin for being late. 1654 f°r the nones A lexically empty metrical and rhyming tag. 1697-8 The friars were to suffer a blistering attack in Simon Fish's A Supplication for the Beggars. Fish makes it clear where he stands: 'Tye these holy theues to the cartes, to be whipped naked about euery market town til they will fall to laboure, that they, by theyre importunate begging, take not awey the almesse that the good christen people wolde give vnto vs sore, impotent miserable people ...' (Four Supplications 14). 1705-7 They continually lie in wait for worthy matrons to cheat and honourable virgins to defile. Fish echoes this view: they do 'nothing but applie theym silves, by all the sleyghtes they may, to have to do with every mannes wife, every mannes doughter, and every mannes mayde, that cuckoldrie and baudrie shulde reigne over all emong your subiectes [ie, the king's subjects] that noman shulde knowe his owne childe, that theyre bastardes might enherite the possessions of every man, to put the right begothen children clere beside their inheritaunce ...' (Four Supplications 6). 1713 They provoke others to sin (presumably by their example). 1715 They serve as occasions to viciousness. 1725 The authors introduce a metaphor from the realm of business and commerce and apply it to the friars to suggest their principal concern. 1741-3 They have no overabundance of anything to waste and even their bare necessities are scant. 1744-6 If they were all bad I would wish that the devil had them all without further ado. 1748 Which I say are worse than anything. 1765^ It is interesting to note that the 'manyfolde errours' which Barlowe and Roye accuse the friars of preaching are central Protestant objections to aspects of Roman Catholic belief: the first is the objection to the invocation of saints,- the second to ceremonies and beliefs in non-scripturally verifiable phenomena. The third point is not an attack on an error but the defence of the Protestant view of justification by faith. 1817-18 Another double negative: if the devil were among them they could scarcely be worse. 1822 Throughout this attack Watkin expresses the popular view of the Observants as pious and devout. Jeffrey attempts to reveal the 'truth' of the situation by overturning the generally accepted view. We are fortunate in being able to assess Jeffrey's statements in the light of Knowles' comments on the Observants. What emerges from Knowles is a view much closer to Watkin's sense of things than Jeffrey's. Knowles states: The

192 / Commentary Observants were the only representatives in England of the reforming movements of the later Middle Ages which had given birth to a number of new and zealous organizations among the monks and friars. In origin one of the successive waves of fervour which in every century had endeavoured to spiritualize and rejuvenate the institute of St. Francis ... the Observants ... had counted in their number three of the great humanists of the fifteenth century, St. Barnardino of Siena, St. Antoninus of Florence, and St. John Capstran. The English province, which had increased to seven houses with a population of some two hundred religious, was closely connected with the order abroad and was visited regularly by foreign superiors; the early history of the order had given them a living connection with Rome. A certain number of French and Flemish friars were members of the province, but the composition of the whole body was predominantly English. They had a tradition of strict observance, uncompromising if uncultured theological orthodoxy, and a forthright bluntness of speech that was in striking contrast to the conventional outlook of the majority of the other friars of England and to the tendency towards the new heretical theology shown by individuals. They were, in a word, most "Catholic" in temper ...' (in, 206). Given this, it is not difficult to see why the zealous Protestant authors take exception to this order. iSsSff Immorality was a common accusation against all types of religious. Furnivall traces the charges of immorality brought against the English clergy in literature from 1150 onwards (Ballads from Manuscript 60-75). Yet the charges were not always substantiated: 'the conflict of evidence leaves us without a clear, simple and overwhelming proof of the general depravity of the monasteries ...' (Knowles III, 303). 1876-8 For all other kinds of thieves (not the religious type) take as their prey rich people and those who possess things in abundance. Barlowe and Roye's animosity is directed at the friars who rob both rich and poor. A similar notion is found in Piers Plowman where the friars' fleecing of the poor is seen as an example which others follow: And then would lords and ladies be loth to offend, And to take of their tenants more than truth wills, If they found that friars would forsake their alms, And tell them to bear it whence it was borrowed. (The Book Concerning Piers Plowman 141) 1888-90 The sense seems to be that when the pope began to establish his reign, he made it appear as if he despised temporal honours. 1894 secies See note to 404.

193 / Commentary 1894 What follows is the authors' brief history of the establishment of the religious orders. The Benedictine monks were established in the fifth century; the Cluniacs in 920; the Carthusians in 1086; and the Cistercians in 1098. 1921-3 'During the isth century there was a remarkable growth in the number of mendicant orders until the Second Council of Lyons issued a decree in July 17, 1274, directed at the suppression of all but the four major orders ...' (New Catholic Encyclopedia}. !93ff In what follows, Barlowe and Roye claim that by comparison with the possessioners and friars, the Observants seemed much more deserving of charity; this, however, was due to the skill of the Observants. In fact the authors are suggesting that the Observants are worse than other religious orders because of their ability to deceive the public. 1939-41 The desired effect was achieved and the people had a great respect for their painted observances. 1942-4 The notion of land-based economy for the monasteries is dealt with briefly in Woodward (2-13) and in more detail in Knowles (l, 32-48). 2003-7 Cf Tyndale: 'unto monks, friars and to the other of our holy spirituality, the belly is all in all, and cause of all love. Offer thereto: so art thou father, mother, sister, and brother unto them. Offerest thou not? so know they thee not; thou are neither father, mother, sister, brother, nor any kin at all to them' ('The Obedience of a Christian Man'; Doctrinal Treatises 299). 2010 cowe is wode This is a perplexing reference. OED states that 'wood' was used in reference to idols and images and quotes Coverdale (1535): 'Wod and stone wil we worshipe.' Here Barlowe and Roye might be suggesting that the deceit of the Observants is so great that they can even make other believe that the cow is an image to be worshipped. This notable piece of hyperbole may, in fact, be based on Exodus 32 and the episode of the golden calf. 2oioff Notice Tyndale's warning: 'though a Christian man's heart be open to all men, and receiveth all men, yet because that his ability of good extendeth not so far, this provision is made, that every man shall care for his own household, as father and mother, and thine elders that have helpen thee, wife, children and servants. If thou shouldest not care and provide for thine household, then were thou an infidel ...' ('The Parable of the Wicked Mammon'; Doctrinal Treatises 98). 2011-13 There is no point in their lying since they do not care for gold or silver nor do they covet other men's possessions. 2045 Contemporary views on monastic almsgiving are still largely tentative,- both Knowles (ill, 264-5) and Woodward (22-3) are cautiously sup-

194 / Commentary portive of the way in which this duty was fulfilled, at least in some houses. 2038-55 The reference here is to the distribution of 'broken meats': 'It had always been a monastic tradition that food left from the monks' table should go to the poor. In the days of strict observance and sparing administration, when each monk was given a fixed modest portion, this custom would not have implied waste and might even have encouraged self-denial; if a monk did not fully consume his ration of bread, he knew it would go to the poor. In later ages, with large households of guests and servants, there must have been much waste and pilfering of food, and very little thrift, but even so, considerable quantities of the basic food-stuffs must have filtered down to the poor of the neighbourhood, who would have fared no better without it, whatever we may think of indiscriminate relief (Knowles III, 265). 2061 theym le, the poor people. 2068-70 James 5: The prayer off a ryghteous man avayleth moche, yf it be fervent.' 2076 Translated as 'woe to you who justify yourselves',- a summary statement of Christ's warnings to the Pharisees. See especially Matthew 23 and Luke ii passim. 2o83ff This discussion on cut shoes is meant to show the hypocrisy of the friars and their use of appearances to suggest holiness and self-denial. In order to make themselves appear destitute, they cut the uppers of their shoes. Jeffrey claims that this practice is sheer folly and in any case it is much easier and less of a penance to cut the uppers (which other people will surely see) than to cut the soles - an act which would be a much truer sign of penance because the weather would then take its toll on the friar's feet. Though (and this is the point) to cut the soles of the shoes would result in a more severe penance, it would not suit the friars' purposes because cut soles are not as obvious as cut uppers. Compare with Tyndale's words in The Parable of the Wicked Mammon' quoted above in introduction, p 31. 2134 A reference to the duty of hospitality,- see Woodward 20-1. 2180-1 They make fools of ladies and gentlemen (by deceiving them and lying to them). 2187 Unless something prevents it (ie, the two of them going together). 2190 Possibly redundant and included for the sake of the rhyme,- or a reference not to actual age, but rather to the number of years spent in the order. 2227 S. Fraunces St Francis of Assisi who founded the Franciscan Friars in 1210 (Knowles I, 114-26). This sustained attack on the Franciscans is not

195 / Commentary unusual according to Knowles: 'although all the four great orders of friars that survived the Council of Lyons in 1274 were objects of criticism, the Minors were always the mass of ferment at the heart of all controversies, partly on account of the internecine strife which distracted their body, and in part because truancies and heterodox enthusiasm of individuals and groups gave a handle to their opponents, but principally because the original legislation of St. Francis on poverty and the apostolic work of the friars, resting as it did on purely spiritual principles, remained a perennial source of doubt and discussion, from which zealous friars and bitter opponents alike drew conclusions against existing compromises or abuses' (n, 99)2230 sister See note to 2003-7. 2247 Reference to Bartholomew of Pisa's Libei de conformitate vitae B. Francisci ad vitam Domini lesu written about 1390. For this parallel life of St Francis and Christ, see Little 22. 2249-57 Barlowe and Roye strike a blow at two aspects of the Roman Church that they find particularly distasteful: the practice of the invocation of saints and the doctrine of purgatory. 2270-80 Knowles mentions that 'the Rule of St. Francis made three essentially spiritual demands which were from the first to cause the keenest controversy and searching of heart, and which have never ceased to attract and perplex both friars and historians throughout the centuries. These were absolute poverty implying incapacity for even corporate ownership and a refusal with all physical contact with money as a possession; refusal to solicit or accept ecclesiastical privilege; and the renunciation of all human learning' (Knowles I, 120). 23O2ff In this lengthy reference to the relationship between the Franciscans and the papacy, Barlowe and Roye have in mind the controversy over the centuries between the Friars and the members of the secular clergy. Furthermore, the fact that the Franciscans originated in Italy may make the association between the order and the papacy even more tangible for the authors. In any case, their statement here seems to have some factual basis, although the details they give may be exaggerated. Knowles, for example, states that 'the simple individual methods of the first followers of St. Francis in Italy, had given way, even in the saint's lifetime, though against his desires, to a reliance upon letters of introduction and protection and other privileges from Rome which had enabled the friars, when once accepted by a bishop, to establish their own chapels where they and their clientele might administer and receive the sacraments' (i, 182) 2308-10 The pope takes the order under his protection thereby giving it the liberty (to behave as it does).

196 / Commentary 234i££ Watkin introduces another aspect of the Franciscan Rule which Jeffrey elaborates on to show the perversity of the practice of Franciscan preaching. Knowles states: 'While he made full and explicit allowance for a contemplative and solitary element in the body of his followers, Francis was always clear in his declaration that it was their vocation as a body to preach to all men, faithful and heathen alike, both by the example of a life of service lived among men, and by direct, formal widespread evangelization' (l, 119-20). The practice that Barlowe and Roye outline here often fell short of its goals: The friars ... had been sent from Italy with a papal commission to preach, and had been welcomed and employed by many of the bishops. There had therefore at first been no question of any abstract right to preach or to confess. The difficulties arose when the friars, established in all the large towns and no longer the immediate instruments of the diocesan, acquired a clientele among the well-to-do as well as among the poor, and attracted penitents by their more expert knowledge of theology and ethics, and by their more sympathetic attitude which, so their enemies alleged, sprang from easily comprehensible motives of selfinterest' (Knowles I, 184). 2431 At Watkin's request Jeffrey now turns his attention to the monks (ie, possessioners 2429). 2437 The three monastic vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience are dealt with by Jeffrey in what follows. Concerning these Tyndale is in general agreement with Barlowe and Roye: 'They have robbed the works commanded by God of the intent and purpose that they were ordained for. And with their obedience they have drawn themselves from under the obedience of all princes and temporal laws. With their poverty they have robbed all nations and kingdoms,- and so with their wilful poverty have enriched themselves, and have made the commons poor. With their chastity they have filled all the world full of whores and sodomites, thinking to please God more highly with keeping of a whore than an honest chaste wife' ('Exposition of Matthew'; Expositions and Notes 123). 2448 Because they are involved with earthly passions. 2461-3 Romans 13: 'let euery soule submitt hym sylfe vnto the auctoritte off the hyer powers. There is no power but of God. The powers that be, are ordeyned off God. Whosoever therfore resysteth power, resisteth the ordinaunce off God.' 2464-6 Barlowe and Roye's complaint that the monks were not obliged to advance the commonwealth either spiritually or temporally is not, strictly speaking, true (Knowles II 298-308). 2470-2 'Throughout the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries the normal way by which an abbot or prior with jurisdiction attained office was that of a

197 / Commentary free election by all the professed members of his community' (Knowles n, 248). 2488 The evasion of military duty is dealt with briefly by Knowles (il, 298-9). From a very early time it is clear that the monks were not exempt from such duty, but chose to ignore or resist 'writs of summons to fulfill military obligations' (299). Coulton cites Charles the Great whose concern was with those who 'take the vows not so much for devotion's sake as to escape from the army or some other royal obligation ...' (Coulton III, 336). 2 53-5 Men who know say that they cannot rely on the pope's protection without great expense (the implication being that the pope will protect them from the law if they are prepared to pay for this protection). 2506 Out of tune with the life they profess to live. 2516-20 It is clear from both Knowles and Woodward that the question of the wealth of monasteries is a difficult one to assess. Many monasteries were wealthy and many monks conducted their affairs more like barons and princes than men vowed to poverty. On the other hand, it is not accurate to indict all monks and monasteries as the authors seem to do in these lines. 2521 The blacke order The Benedictine monks; Knowles states that 'the black monks throughout the whole medieval period had the largest communities in the country. This was primarily due to their great resources ... This great wealth gave them a flexibility which the other monastic and canonical orders did not enjoy; although they might have an ideal number for their communities, this was so large and their wealth on the whole appreciated so greatly that the larger houses in normal times were able to accept all those who wished to come ...' (il, 261). In Woodward's list of the five wealthiest houses in England in 1535, four of the five are Benedictine; Roberts lists 230 Benedictine houses in England, far and away the largest number of all orders of monks (Appendix, ill, 146), and Knowles names all of them (Medieval Religious Houses 58-93). 2537 Woodward mentions some abbots serving as commissioners and justices of the peace, but this is a far cry from earls. 2538 Woodward states that in the sixteenth century 'the heads of the thirty important abbeys and priories were Lords of Parliament and were accustomed to receive individual writs of summons whenever parliament met ... Together with the twenty-one English and Welsh bishops the parliamentary abbots made up the number of the Lords Spiritual, who had they all been present, could have formed a very substantial group, indeed an actual majority, in the upper house, for at the beginning of the reign of Henry vni there were only about forty lay peers. However, it is interesting to notice that whatever the historical origins of the representation of the

198 / Commentary clergy in the parliament, the judges of 1515 declared that the Lords Spiritual "have no place in the Parliament-chamber by reason of their spirituality, but only by reason of their temporal possessions." In other words it was their estates, their social position and not their ecclesiastical which secured for the bishops and abbots their entry to parliament and once there they did not form a separate estate or house, but remained on a par with the Lords Temporal, their fellow landlords' (6). 2548-50 Watkin points out that the vow of poverty that they take is actually a vow of plenty because through this vow of poverty they manage to avoid want and gain wealth. 2559-86 Book of Daniel 2ff. 26i7ff Concerning Jeffrey's accusations on immorality see the note to 1858. 2622 References to these two cities, notorious for their vice and immorality, are found throughout both the Old and New Testaments. 2636 sodomytes Following contemporary records, Knowles claims that 'sodomite' is used to mean either 'homosexual' or 'masturbator' (ill, 297). The sense here seems to be the latter. 2644-6 On the basis of Knowles' evidence, this is clearly an exaggeration. 2651-2 Cf Paul at i Corinthians 7: Tor I wolde that all men were as I my silfe am: but euery man hath his proper gifte off god, won after this manner, a nother after that, I saye vnto the vnmarried man, and widdowes: it is good for them yf they abyde euen as I do: but and yf they cannot abstayne, let them mary. For it is better to mary then to bourne.' 2653-8 i Timothy 4: The sprete speaketh evydently that in the latter tymes some shall departe from the fayth, and shall geve hede vnto spretes of errure, and dyvlysshe doctryne off them wich speake falce thorow ypocrisy, and have their consciences marked with an hott yeron, forbyddynge to mary ...' 2667 St Jerome's letter to Heliodorus: 'The advice that I give is that of no inexperienced mariner who has never lost either ship or cargo, and has never known a gale. Lately shipwrecked as I have been myself, my warnings to other voyagers spring from my own fears. On one side, like Charybdis, self-indulgence sucks into its vortex the soul's salvation. On the other hand, like Scylla, lust, with a smile on her girl's face, lures it on to wreck its chastity' (Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers 15); and his letter to Palmachius: 'I extol virginity to the skies, not because I myself possess it, but because, not possessing it, I admire it all the more. Surely it is a modest and ingenuous confession to praise in others that which you lack yourself. The weight of my body keeps me fixed to the ground, but do I fail to admire the flying birds or to praise the dove ...' (78). Augustine found it no less easy to fight against the tempta-

199 / Commentary tions of the flesh: '... that which for the most part did most violently affect me, already made a slave to it, was the custom of satisfying an insatiable lust' (Confessions 319). And again from Augustine: 'My sins in the mean time were multiplied and that mistress of mine which was wont to be my bedfellow, the hinderer as it were of my marriage, being plucked away from my side, my heart cleaving unto her, was broken by this means, and wounded, yea, and blood drawn from it. Home again went she to Africa ... leaving a bastard son with me, which I had begotten of her. But unhappy I, who had not the heart to imitate a woman ... quickly procured another ... by whom that disease of my soul might be nursed up, and kept alive ...' (325). 2683-5 A reference to the suppression and dissolution of the monasteries which had already started in Barlowe and Roye's own time. See Knowles, vol HI. 2687-8 A reference to the duty of hospitality: 'The offering of shelter and food to travellers was a duty which devolved upon others besides monks ... yet it was chiefly to the monasteries that the traveller turned, and we know from the ruins which survive that even the humblest convent had its hospitium or guest house where the passerby could secure a meal and a place to sleep. The quality of such hospitality must have varied as much as that provided by modern inns. A lot would depend upon the number of visitors entertained and the wealth or poverty of the house itself. No specific charges were made, but the well-to-do guest was expected to make a suitable offering when leaving' (Woodward 20). Woodward's conclusion differs from Jeffrey's: 'On the whole the tradition of hospitality seems to have been well maintained by the monks, and the fear was expressed at the time of dissolution that a "decay of hospitality" would ensue' (21). 2689-97 Watkin maintains that the monasteries contribute to the welfare of many by employing people to tend their large estates and farms and to look after the daily affairs of the monasteries (see Knowles I, 32-48, 55-62). 2719-21 'In later ages, with large households of guests and servants, there must have been much waste and pilfering of food and very litle thrift ...' (Knowles ill, 265). Here again Jeffrey makes a sweeping statement which requires considerable modification. Woodward points out that we do not know whether the practice of 'broken meats' was still regularly practised in the sixteenth century. 'We do know, however, from visitation records, that inquiries were from time to time made into the way in which the duty [the care of the poor] was performed, and that the visitors were not always satisfied with what they discovered. At St Benet's Holme (Norfolk) in 1526 the poor were suffering because the dogs in the house, of which there were an excessive number, were consuming all the scraps and

200 / Commentary leaving rotting food to be distributed. Six years later there were still too many dogs there for the visitor's liking but the plight of the paupers was not mentioned. At West Acre the poor were also being deprived of their broken meats, though there was no suggestion there that dogs were to blame. At Markby (Lines.), on the other hand, the poor were in 1519 enjoying the comforts of the canons' hall instead of being fed at the gates. This over-indulgence was thought to be as serious as giving their food to the dogs' (21). 2725-7 The foolish labour (that other men perform for the monks) is not profitable or helpful to their neighbours. 2728-30 'It is certain that the religious houses of England during the last half of their existence showed an undiminished activity in adding to their churches, in embellishing them, and above all in using all the new techniques and materials and designs of domestic architecture to adapt their buildings to the demands and tastes of a new age' (Knowles ill, 22). 2740-2 Delapidation of the property and buildings of the monasteries was not an uncommon charge in sixteenth century visitations (Knowles ill, 62-86). 2743-5 'As the heads of propertied corporations in a highly litigious age they [the abbots] found themselves obliged quite frequently to engage in private law suits in defence of the possessions and rights of their houses. In this respect ... there was little to distinguish the religious orders from their secular contemporaries among the landed classes. The records of the law courts feature the names and claims of religious houses with the greatest regularity and not always in a favourable light. Of course in many instances the monks or nuns are merely concerned to defend their properties and endowments from the greedy grasp of avaricious neighbours. In an age still recovering from the comparative lawlessness of the midfifteenth century, few landowners could altogether avoid engaging in litigation if they wished to survive, and cases of trespass and disputes over land titles and the terms of lease are very frequent and reflect, for the most part, no particular credit or discredit upon the religious persons and houses involved. But there are also cases in which the heads of religious houses are accused of highly discreditable activities ...' (Woodward 8-9). 2 749-54 'The controversies between the bishops and the abbot of St. Edmund's Bury, concerning an exemption of the latter from all episcopal jurisdiction or connexion, were carried on for a length of time with great violence and renewed at intervals from the reign of William I. to that of Henry vi. The monarchs in general favoured the cause of the monastery, which was ultimately triumphant' (The Harleian Miscellany 64). 2770 I cannot decipher the Roman numeral xx.lj. in this line. The sense

20i / Commentary demands that it be a lower figure than the figure .xxx. (30) in 2771 since the authors are here discussing how farms that once rented for a reasonable price (the first number) are now renting for an unjustifiably higher price (ie, .xxx.). Rather than guessing that the first figure is actually meant to be the Roman numeral equivalent of 22 (ie, xxii) and emending the text accordingly, I have left the figure as it appears in the original. In any case the sense is clear. 2770-5 'In the 14th article of impeachment preferred against Wolsey, it is stated - "Before the suppression of such houses as he hath suppressed, the Lord Cardinal said, that the possession of them should be set to farm among your lay-subjects, after such reasonable yearly rent as they should well thereupon live, and keep good hospitality: and now the demain possessions of the said houses, since suppression of them, hath been surveyed, mete, and measured by the acre, and be now set above the value of the old rent; and also such as were farmers by convent-seal, and copyholders, be put out and amoved of their farms, or else compelled to pay new fines, contrary to all equity and conscience"' (The Harleian Miscellany 64). This passage speaks of rent-raising following certain suppressions, but there is evidence to suggest that a good deal of it took place prior to suppression by the monks themselves, which is Barlowe and Roye's point. Woodward attempts to explain the position of monks as landlords: 'In the management of their estates there is ... practically no distinction to be drawn between monastic and lay landlords. The romantic notion that the monks were somehow "good" or "old-fashioned" landlords when compared with the rapacious and ruthlessly efficient laymen who took over the monastic estates after the dissolution, is not easily sustained by the evidence available. The economic pressures which obliged the secular landlords in the sixteenth century to overhaul the management of their estates, to raise rents and to renew leases on terms less favourable to the tenants, operated equally forcibly upon the monks, particularly in the last two decades before the dissolution. Rising costs, resulting from the general price rise, compelled those monks who wished to maintain their accustomed style of living to find additional sources of income ... If more money was needed it could only be found by raising rents and increasing admission fines. The religious orders could no more afford the luxury of being "easy landlords" than could any secular landlord caught in the inflationary spiral of the sixteenth century' (10-11). 2785 Enclosures were another practice largely dictated by the economic pressures of the day. Pollard points out that initially at least Wolsey did a good deal to prevent the enclosing of land for pasture at the expense of the farmer (85-7); the ill-feeling brought about by enclosure is evident in the

202 / Commentary riots that it often gave rise ). Knowles shows that the practice of enclosing lands by monasteries dates from the thirteenth century when enterprising abbots became aware of the new economic and market trends (l, 35). In a ballad entitled 'Now a Dayes/ tentatively dated 1520, we find a reference to the practice of enclosure and the effects it had on the people: Commons to close and kepe; Poor folk for bred to cry and wepe; Towns pulled downe to pasture shepe: this ys the new gyse! (Ballads from Manuscript 97) See also More, Utopia, in Complete Works iv, 67-71. 2789-2814 Pollard cites Bishop Longland's letter to Wolsey, 30 September 1528, where the practice of placing many farms in the hands of one man is mentioned: 'If your Grace did, at the eyes, see as I have now seen, your heart would mourn to see the towns, villages, hamlets, manor places, in ruin and decay, the people gone, the ploughs laid down, the living of many honest husbandmen in one man's hand ... the commons in many places taken away from the poor people, whereby they are compelled to forsake their houses, and so wearied out that they wot not where to live, and so maketh their lamentation' (85-6, note 4). See also Ballads from Manuscript where the text of a petition entitled 'Petition to Henry vin, against the Engrossing of Many Small Farms into One Man's Hands, and the Consequent Neglect of Tillage for Pasture, Loss of Corn, Poultry etc., Decay of Houses and Churches, Ploughs and Men' is cited. In the ballad 'Now a Dayes' (97), we read: men say that priors and abbottes be Crete grosyers in this countrie,they vse bying and sellyng openlye,the church hath the name. In 'A Proper Dyaloge betwene a Gentillman and a Husbandman' Barlowe compares the days that have gone by with the intolerable present, fixing particularly on farm rearrangements as in the following passage: Where as poore husbande men afore season Accordinge vnto equite and reason House or lande to fearme dyd desyre. Without any difficulte they might it get And yet no hygher price was ther vp set

203 / Commentary Than good conscience did require. But now their ambicious suttlete Maketh one fearme of two or thre Ye some tyme they bringe .vi. to one. Which to gentillmen they let in farmage Or elles to ryche merchauntes for avauntage To the vndoynge of husbandeman ech one. 2822-3 See Knowles II, 171-3 and 293. Concerning the privilege of holding a benefice, Knowles states: 'Such a privilege not only broke the ties of the religious life, but reversed the secular policy of the papacy, which had indeed often permitted and even encouraged monks to evangelize a pagan country, but which had hitherto before the end of the i4th century consistently distinguished between the monastic orders and the beneficeholding secular clergy. It is, indeed, remarkable that this practice developed at the very time when the monks and canons were coming under the fire of the Lollards and satirists as "possessioners"' (n, 172). 2860 The practice in which absentee benefice holders pay another to tend to the spiritual well-being of those within their cure while still holding the finances accruing from the benefice. 2881-3 Not only are they unnecessary, they are downright harmful because they defraud the people of what belongs to them. 2899-2901 The money they spend on their frivolous activities when they should be defending the land (or country) could be more profitably spent to support many knights (who could defend the land). 2902 Ner worldly le, the monks are not of this world, they are of the underworld, of the devil. 2905-16 Watkin points out that the possessioners are no better than horses that wealthy men keep well fed and rested. Jeffrey disagrees and points out that such horses do sometimes save their masters from danger, but that monks do nothing but harm those with whom they come in contact. 2924-46 An ironic explantion of the practice of burying monks in their monastic habits. 2938-40 le, the practice of being buried fully clothed is a mystery that can be openly (or easily) interpreted as a sign of their wretched lives. What follows is such an interpretation. 2955-70 The Lollard, Richard Hunne. There is no contemporary or nearcontemporary of Barlowe and Roye's who reports this case in a disinterested or reliable way. The best summary and evaluation of the case is found in Thomson 162-170 and Dickens 90-6. Upon the death of his son, Richard Hunne refused to pay the accustomed mortuary demanded by the

204 / Commentary church. He brought the case to the ecclesiastical court and lost. Having lost the case in that court, he brought a charge of praemunire against the ecclesiastical authorities. He was confined to the bishop's prison in St Paul's on charges of heresy and on 4 December 1514 was found hanged. The clergy chose to consider the hanging a suicide, but others less satisfied with this decision considered Hunne's death a murder. The coroner's inquiry pressed the charge of heresy against Hunne, the corpse was tried on 16 December, condemned and burnt on 20 December at Smithfield. The case became something of a cause celebre for English reformers who saw it largely as an example of the injustice committed by the church against an ordinary individual. 2981-3003 Auricular confession, considered as one of the seven sacraments by the Catholic church, but denied that position among the reformers who saw it merely as another invention or trick created by the church. Tyndale expressed basically the same view as the authors: 'They have feigned confession ... to stablish their kingdom withal. All secrets know they thereby. The bishop knoweth the confession of whom he lusteth throughout all his diocese: ye and his chancellor commandeth the ghostly father to deliver it written' (The Obedience of a Christian Man/ Doctrinal Treatises 336-7). 'The bishops, with the pope, have a certain conspiration and secret treason against the whole world: and by confession know they what kings and emperors think' (ibid 191). 2988ff The suggestion is that all those who hear confessions relate what they hear in confession to their general confessor, Wolsey himself; this is explained at 2995-3003. 3017-18 Cf Skelton 'Why Come Ye Nat to Courte?' (lines 670-2,- ed S good 295-6): For what is a man the better For the kynges letter? For he wyll tere it asonder! 3025-7 Cf Tyndale: 'O great whore of Babylon, how abuseth she the princes of the world! how drunk hath she made them with her wine!' ('The Obedience of a Christian Man,' Doctrinal Treatises 188); cf Revelation 16, 17. 3031(1 Compare this long section on pilgrimages with Erasmus' colloquy A Pilgrimage for Religion's Sake. 3037 The pieces of the true cross were used as relics. Heath states that 'the cross, like so many of the popular relics, had the faculty of gracing two or more shrines at the same time. It existed in a complete state at

205 / Commentary Constantinople, and in fragments all over Europe' (44). 3040-3 A comment on the importance played by the Virgin Mary at shrines; the most famous of her shrines in England was at Walsingham (Dickinson; Warner). 3050-1 After their (fraudulent) activities, I regard them as thieves (3047) and liars (3048) both to man and God. 3068 For a reference to this shrine see John Heywood's The Four PP ed John Farmer. In this interlude the Palmer outlines the shrines he has visited, one of which is Willesden (30). In his notes, Farmer calls this shrine the church dedicated to St Mary in Middlesex (279) and cites Weaver: 'In September, the same yeare ... viz., an. 30 Henry 8, by the speciall motion of great Cromwell, all the notable images vnto the which were made any especially pilgrimages and offerings, as the images of our Lady of Walsingham, Ipswich, Worcester, the Lady of Wilsdon, the rood of grace of our Ladie of Boxley, and the image of the rood of Saint Saviour at Bermondsey, with all the rest, were brought vp to London, and burnt at Chelsey, at the commandement of the foresaid Cromwell, all the lewels and other rich offerings to these, and to the shrines ... of other Saints throughout both England and Wales were brought into the King's Treasurie.' 3087 The most famous and wealthiest shrine in England, dedicated to the memory of Thomas a Becket (Heath, Ward). 3091-3 le, he is in heaven. 3102-8 Mark 13: 'Take hede lest eny man deceave you. For many shall come in my name sayinge: I am Christ, And shall deceave many.' Luke 21: Take hede, that ye be not deceaved. For many will come in my name: saying of them selves, I am he.' Cf Tyndale: 'Seek the word of God in all things, and without the word of God do nothing, though it appear never so glorious. Whatsoever is done without the word of God, that count idolatry. The kingdom of heaven is within us. Wonder therefore at no monstrous shape, nor any outward thing without the word: for the world was never drawn from God but with an outward shew, and glorious appearance and shining of hypocrisy ...' ('The Parable of the Wicked Mammon,' Doctrinal Treatises 103). 3121-3 If their benefits are as they are made to appear at these shrines, they are despised by God. 3135 doctours Those who led us into spiritual disease,- the word continues the metaphor found on 3126. 3145-50 Once again a reference to the Catholic church's unwillingness to allow the Bible to be read in the vernacular. It is a point that Barlowe and Roye have made throughout this work; cf also Tyndale: 'many are not

206 / Commentary ashamed to rail and blaspheme, saying, How should he understand the scripture, seing he is no philosopher, neither hath seen his metaphysic' (The Parable of the Wicked Mammon/ Doctrinal Treatises 107). 3223-31 Not so much a paraphrase or quotation from John as a brief summary of the five chapters of his epistle on the nature of love. 3232-4 le, I'm not surprised that they can't see their neighbours' plight since they're so laden with gold and precious stones. 3259!! Watkin is pointing out that those who have tried to 'rob' from the saints have been struck immobile by the saints until they were captured by the sheriff and hanged as thieves. 3283-5 Luke 9: 'And it folowed when the time was com that he shulde be receaved vp that he determined hym silfe to go to Jerusalem: and sent messengers before hym. And they went, and entred into a citie of the Samaritans to make redy for hym. And they wolde nott receave hym, because his face was as though he wolde goo to Jerusalem. When hys disciples, james and Jhon, sawe that, they sayde: Lorde, wilt thou that we commaunde, that fyre come doune from heven, and consume them, even as Helias did? Jesus turned about, and rebuked them sayinge: ye wote nott what maner sprete ye are off. The sonne of man ys not come to destroye mennes lives, but to save them.' 3298 The shrine of St Cuthbert at Durham (The Relics of St. Cuthbert ed Battiscombe). 3299 Walsingham and Canterbury were the most famous shrines in England. 3300 Possibly not a shrine but rather a reference to the image of Our Lady of Otmoor which stood on the rood-screen with its companion figure of St John in Charlton-on-Otmoor. The church itself was destroyed in the mid15308 and, as Hole points out, 'this statue may well have incurred the special dislike of extreme reformers because, besides being an object of strong local devotion, it was the centre of a ceremony that took place on that ancient pagan festival, the first of May' (145). 3313-30 A reference to Wolsey's spoliation of the monasteries. Knowles states that 'Wolsey's personal interests ... were the chief motive of his entry upon a course of suppression hitherto without parallel. Between 1524 and his fall in 1529 a stream of bulls and royal writs authorized the disappearance of some twenty-nine houses of monks and nuns. The series began when St. Frideswide's in Oxford was suppressed in order to make way for Wolsey's college, and later in the same year this permission was confirmed and authorization given for the annexation to the college of other small monasteries to the same aggregate value of three thousand ducats. The suppressions actually carried out were in value many times greater than the sum allowed' (161). He continues: 'The religious were

207 / Commentary either turned out without ceremony or were persuaded to endorse a form of surrender admitting their faults; the necessary inquests were then held, and it was found that the religious had voluntarily forsaken their houses ... The inmates were given their choice between transference to another house or return to secular life (presumably with a legatine dispensation) assisted by a small sum on money. The buildings were then rifled, dismantled or converted just as were those of their fellows ten years later' (Medieval Religious Houses 163). 3319 costly leades Hole states that the 'high price of lead made it worth their while to strip the roofs and tear down gutters, pipes and spouts ...' (146). 3380 New nor herod Nero, the Roman emperor, was traditionally known for his cruelty; Herod, tetrarch of Galilee, was along with Pilate responsible for Christ's death (Luke 23) and had sought to kill the new-born Christ child (Matthew 2). 3396 cruell Kay face In The Practice of Prelates' (Doctrinal Treatises 322) Tyndale refers to Wolsey as 'this caitiff Caiaphas.' Caiaphas was one of the high priests who 'gave counsel to the Jews that it was expedient that one man should die for the people' (John 18); along with Annas and Pilate, he was one of Christ's judges. 3439 rewarde Here used ironically,- the reward is mentioned on 3433-4. 3432 the trueth le, the New Testament. 3434 Job 19:29 'Be ye afraid of the sword: for wrath bringeth the punishments of the sword, that ye may know there is a judgment.' 3446 hym le, the gospel. 3453 In this long section the subversion and destruction of the gospel in England are seen in terms of the passion and death of Christ. Contemporary figures responsible for the destruction of the gospel find their historical counterparts in those who betrayed Christ and brought about his death. The first figure is Henry Standish (d 1535) whom the authors see as Judas. He was a Franciscan friar ('a lowsy graye fryer' 3461) who studied at Oxford and Cambridge. The reference to him as 'a bablynge Questionist' (3459) attacks his scholastic training and the degree of Doctor of Divinity. DNB describes him as 'a zealous upholder of the church and persecutor of heretics.' He was appointed bishop of St Asaph ('Asse' 3454) and consecrated by Archbishop Warham on n July 1518. His connection with Wolsey is noted in 1525 when he was one of the cardinal's examiners of heretics. In 1527 he was one of the judges who tried the famous Bilney. 3487 Wolsey himself. 3496 Anne Annas, high priest (Luke 3) and father-in-law of Caiaphas (John 18).

208 / Commentary 3503 Proteus A minor god and , in Homer's Odyssey and Virgil's Georgics, has the ability to assume all manner of shapes. 3519-21 The lay people's understanding cannot deal with the gospel. 3543 this five hondred yeres The time since the Conquest. 3567-8 What you (Wolsey) do by tyranny, we will accomplish through sophistic arguments. 3574-5 Luke 23,- John 18. 3587 he le, the gospel. 3591-3614 Further reference to the sack of Rome, here again seen in purely religious terms as a punishment from God inflicted on those who pervert His word. 3615 thre poyntes the three points that show Rome's unhappy fate because it failed to regard God's word: it was first visited by plague (3592-3); it was exposed by strong-hearted men (3606-8); it was destroyed by pestilence and sword (3613-14). 3634-5 Jeremiah 24:9-10: 'And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places wither I shall drive them. And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers.' 3642-4 See note to 430-6. 3647 hethen followers of Islam. 3656 hethennesse lands outside Christendom. 3662 Psalm 109:28: 'Let them curse, but bless thou. When they arise, let them be ashamed; but let thy servant rejoice.' 3669-77 'In Wales before Elizabeth's reign the influence of the humanists was extremely circumscribed. They were few in numbers and the ablest among them were pursuing careers outside Wales ... The absence of a university in Wales itself, the fewness of towns or large households, and the difficulties of publishing books in Welsh placed almost insuperable obstacles in the way of conveying their ideas to their fellow countrymen ... The conditions which prevented the humanist ideals from penetrating deeply into the life of pre-Reformation Wales made it yet more unlikely that the new Lutheran heresies would infiltrate into the country. The spread of such doctrines depended greatly on contacts with the Continent and on heretical books being smuggled in from Europe. The operations of the Christian Brethren, the merchants and the book-agents who peddled the contraband literature, were confined largely to the larger towns and ports of the south and east and to the universities. Wales was, naturally, terra incognita to them. Works in English by heretics like Tyndale would

209 / Commentary anyway not have been intelligible to most of the population. Even if they had been, it would have been difficult to smuggle them in or circulate them without detection in towns so small that every man knew his neighbour's business' (Williams 334). 3682 Bohemia was the stronghold of the Hussite movement. For Wycliffe's contribution to this movement see Kaminsky (23-35); f°r Lollardy as fertile soil in which Lutheranism could develop in England see Thomson. 3687-9 Matthew 23: 'Wo be to you scrybes, and pharises ypocrites, for ye are lyke vnto paynted tombes which appeare beautyfull outwardes: but are with in full off deed mens bones and of all fylthynes. So are ye, for outwardes ye appere rightous vnto me, when with in ye are full of dissimulacion and iniquite.' 3690-2 Matthew 7: 'Beware off falce prophettes, which come to you in shepes clothynge, but inwardly they are ravenynge wolves.' 3711-12 A directive to emend the word 'Wherfor' in line 28 of 'The Descripcion of the Armes' to 'Wherby.' No one seems to have followed the advice - all subsequent editions of the poem use 'Wherfor' or a variant spelling of it. OED under Whereby 3 gives 'wherefore' as a synonym and adds the following meanings for it: in consequence of, as a result of; Under Wherefore 4 O£D lists the following meanings: on account of or because of which; in consequence or as a result of which. The two words seem synonymous and, as a consequence, the reason for the directive remains unclear. 3715 Clement VII, Giulio de' Medici (1478-1534), succeeded Adrian vi in 1523. The authors refer to him as 'the sonne of a whoore',- Clement was the illegitimate son of Guiliano de' Medici and Antonia del Cittadino (New Catholic Encyclopedia}. 3717-19 Cf the immediately preceding contrast between Christ and Clement at lines 3713-16. What one sees in Christ who descended from heaven is his perfect meekness; what one sees in Clement who ascended from hell is his tyranny and Antichrist-like characteristics.

Glossary

Unless indicated otherwise, all definitions in this glossary are taken from the OED and the New Catholic Encyclopedia. Words with asterisks are OED antedatings or corrections. The spelling of all glossary entries is based on the first appearance of the word in the text. Italic line numbers refer to the first sequence of prefatory matter in Rede Me, roman line numbers refer to the main text. a conscience in conscience 3331 a foide (v) manage to give, spare 2715 a gast (v) frighten, terrify 642 a none (adv) anon, at once 3242 abate (v) put an end to 167 * abbey lobbers (n) lazy monks 2714 abbottes (n) superiors of monasteries 104, 2806 abownde (v) revel 1286 abusione (n) deceit, deception 521, 3180 acordynge (ppl a) agreeing 2561 admitt (v) permit 702 advene (v) notice, consider 2277, 3423 advoury (n) patron saint 2248 advoutrers (n) adulterers 1858, 2164 affecte (n) feeling, disposition 1939, 3447 affections(n) passions, lust 2448 affectously (adv) eagerly, ardently 2195 affiaunce (n) faith, trust 1359 afore (adv) previously, before 562 after this rate in this manner 1262 allege (v) cite, quote 3004

2ii / Glossary alowe (v) acknowledge 3568 amite (n) friendship 2382 angels gold coins worth 75 6d in the first year of Henry vin's reign, rising to 8s near the end of his reign 1123 apeite (adj) open, manifest 2601; apertly (adv) publicly, openly, plainly 3264 appeached (v) accused, charged with a crime 3333 approbate (v) approve 2445 aprobacion (n) confirmation 2245 arayde (v) placed in readiness 3260 assayde (v) tried, tested 3259 assisted (v) supported 814 at longe runnynge in the long run 799 attaynt (v) condemn, convict 2600 attendaunt (adj) attentive 3559 authoure (n) authority 3696 aventurynge (ppl a) risking, imperilling 2484 balett (n) a simple song of any kind 1503 bandog (n) a ferocious dog 19 baudry (n) unchastity, fornication 3387 be (throode) by the rood (cross) 355 be gisse by Jesus 1092 beame (n) Bohemia 3682 beare ... in honde (v) charge, accuse 1548, 3699 bearwardes (n) keepers of bears 2861 belly (n) pertaining to the services of the flesh 129, 3665; also bellies 532, 1627, 1648 bely beast glutton 90 benefice ecclesiastical living 646, 1299, 2823, 2824, 2845, 3162 beneson (n) blessing 1491 beshrowe (v) curse 1467, 1640 bever although the sense here suggests that bever means helmet, OED points out that the term refers not to helmet, but rather to 'the lower portion of the face-guard of a helmet when worn as a visor.' However, O£D adds that the word was sometimes used for the visor itself in the sixteenth century. This loss of specific definition perhaps accounts for Barlowe and Roye's use of the word. 775 biddynge the beades praying 1262 bill (n) broadsword, halberd 389 bisshopryckes (n) dioceses 890, 3312 blacke is his eye he is at fault 1650. Tilley £252 gives Rede Me as the first source for this expression.

212 / Glossary blyndfelde (v) blindfold 2700 boke, bell, and candell referring to a form of excommunication which closed with the words, 'Doe to the book, quench the candle, ring the bell' 3248 borde (n) a table used for meals 2712 bordes (n) idols made of wood 3028 bosses (n) metal knobs on each side of the bit of the bridle 3642 boteth (v) boots, profits, helps 788, 3226 bought and solde betrayed 2951 brayde (n) attack 526 breves (n) letters of authority 93 brode (adj) wide, apparent 134 brothell (n) wretch, scoundrel 3355, 3387 bryres (n) briars 3544 bulles (n) official papal documents or letters issued to grant favours and promulgate decisions; executive documents which contained precepts and ordinances 93, 906, 2327 busynes (n) business 1470, 1683, 2493 by thyse ten bones by these ten fingers (an asseveration) 1655 cannon (n) part of the mass included between the Preface and the Pater Noster and containing the words of the consecration 546 carle (n) villain, one of low birth and manners 1121 carter (n) rude, uncultured man 963; but also one who drives a cart 3541 cas (n) condition, state 874, 1581 cast (n) trick 1900; purpose, aim 2184; contrivance 2579 castynge (ppl a) delivering, vomiting 562 catha quotha (quoth he) 355; the phrase 'said he' used with contemptuous or sarcastic force in repeating a word or phrase used by another,- hence, 'indeed!' 'forsooth!' causles (adj) without cause, groundless 3369 cavillacion (n) chicanery, trick 2821 Caytyfe (n) wretch, villain 5, 3368 Ce (n) See 670; the city in which the authority symbolized by the throne of the Pope is considered to reside. The principal see of Roman Catholicism is Rome itself. cecite (n) blindness 3291 chace (v) drive out, persecute, harass 14 channon or chanon reguler or reguler chanon or reguler or secular clergyman living with others in a clergyhouse or in one of the houses within the precinct or close of a cathedral or collegiate church. This practice of the canonical life began to prevail in the eighth century,- in the

213 / Glossary eleventh century it was reformed in some churches by the adoption of a rule (based upon a practice mentioned by St Augustine) that clergymen so living together should renounce private property; those who embraced the rule were known as Augustinian (Austin) or regular canons; the others were secular canons. 400, 545, 693, 923, 924 chapters (n) meetings of the members of any monastic or religious order for consultation and transactions of the affairs of their order 2174, 2407 chargeable (adj) burdensome, troublesome 1930, 3548 *chargyne (ppl a) ordering 3369 chaunce (n) falling out or happening of events 119, 261, 3265 cheresed (v) treat with affection, kindness 2908 *chevesaunce (n) money, funds 163, 1600 chevynge (n) luck, fortune 3481; cf 'God sende you yvell chevyng, which is a maner of cursing' (Palsgrave 1530). cilly (adj) simple, deserving of pity or sympathy 2812 circumspection (n) vigilant observation, attention, concern 2857 clausure (n) enclosed place 2841 *cloyeth (v) crowds, blocks 1670 cloyster (n) monastery 1646, 2131, 2617 coloured (adj) made to look well, feigned, pretended 1897 combraunce (n) trouble, annoyance 1020 commenalte (n) commonwealth, state 1798 commissary (n) official representing the bishop and exercising jurisdiction 3479 commones (n) common people 855, 863 communication (n) conversation 2140 commyssion (n) delegated authority 1075 *comodyte (n) advantage, benefit 279 compryse (v) comprehend 2613 confutation (n) change, alteration 308 conceytes (n) fancy articles 2139 confessoure (n) one who makes confession of religious belief 751 confirmations (n) the action of ratifying through legal forms 2328 confortable (adj) strengthening, supporting 2066 congregation (n) community or order 2625 consayte (n) practice, trick 1676 consecration (n) part of the mass where bread and wine are changed into the body and blood of Christ 337 consistory (n) court, tribunal 3489 constraynte (n) oppression, distress, affliction 364 contempne (v) despise 1428, 3433; (past ppl) 3584; (vbl n) 2865

214 / Glossary contumelious (adj) reproachful, spiteful 46, 3425 conuersacion (n) behaviour 1284, 1665, 1833 conventes (n) monasteries 2095, 2287 convey ounce (n) stealing, contrivances 1046 conveyers (n) nimble, light-fingered thiefs 1395 convicious (adj) abusive, railing 106, 43. Only four examples in OED: the first is in a Lollard text (1407) and the second is in Barlowe's letter of recantation written to Cromwell and actually referring to Rede Me. *conviciousnes (n) abusiveness 3439 (not in OED} coniectours (n) interpretations 2939 copes (n) liturgical cloaks of semicircular form reaching to the feet; they are fastened at the breast but open below 755 coppy holders (n) those who hold estates in ancient tenure 1724 *cormoi-antes (n) large and voracious sea birds, here figuratively as greedy or rapacious persons 2709 course at a hare the action of pursuing a hare with hounds 1248 covent (n) convent 2267 crake (v) to utter a harsh, grating cry; to groan 809 crakes (n) loud talk, boasting 1446 crakynge (adj) loud talk, boasting 598 crave (v) desire; but also demand 1781 crudelite (n) cruelty 2976 cule (n) rump, buttock 1107 curate (n) priest 2825 cure (n) care 1347, 2364,- 'to do one's cure' is to give one's care and attention to 2786 cures (n) parishes 1259 curiously (adv) carefully, elaborately 1108 daliaunce (n) waste of time, idle delay 183 dawes (n) fools, simpletons 3566 deale (v) distribute 2040 dease (n) dais 2105 *decimacions (n) exaction of tithes 1245 decretalles (n) letters containing papal rulings 1439 delectacion (n) pleasure 1983 deme (v) think, feel sure 2424 demeaned (v) behaved 3440 descharge (v) deprive 908 deserve (v) earn 1773 despytous (adj) spiteful, cruel, merciless 3422 destayned (v) sullied 3307

215 / Glossary detryment (n) loss or damage sustained 2733 dever (n) utmost 772 devoracion (n) action of devouring 2554 differ(v) defer 1499 diffuse (adj) vague, obscure 3145 diffydence (n) lack of confidence 3251 dilated (v) spread abroad 28 dileccion (n) love 3279 discretes (n) honorary titles frequently applied to bishops 2396 * dispensable (adj) subject to dispensation 1054 dispensative (adj) official 1074; but also 'capable of being dispensed' dolfull (adj) distressful 139 dominion (n) sovereign authority 2309 dore (n) doer 3410 due (adj) proper, rightful 1354 dulcet (adj) pleasing, agreeable 1545 *easied (ppl a) relieved, set free from 1135 effecte (n) result, consequence 599 efficacite (n) power or capacity to produce effects 3121 eleccion in a theological sense, exercise of God's will in choosing some over others for temporal or spiritual blessings 3282 encomber (v) cause suffering or inconvenience 1961 endued (v) invested, be possessed of 846, 988, 1312, 1518, 2514, 2662, 3162 endyght (v) declare, make accusation 3379, 3607 "engroseth (v) collect, gain, keep exclusive possession of 1206 enormite (n) transgression, crime 1336, 2178, 2589. enpover (v) impoverish 2810 ensuynge (ppl a) seeking after, striving to attain 991, 2616 envied (v) beset, surrounded 44, 1089 emynge (n) earning, gain, profit 2691 estate (n) condition, status, position 5, 625, 1263 estates (n) people 1639 esteme (v) regard, think 3050 "evangelion (n) gospel 3283 evidently (adv) clearly, distinctly 3379 evill to spede fare ill 2024 excecrable (adj) deserving to be cursed 719, 3386 execrations (n) curses 86, 1082 exibicion (n) the action of providing or furnishing 988 expedient (adj) fit, proper 880, 2730 expende (v) spend 2899

2i6 / Glossary exteriall (adj) external 3688 faction (n) faction 1965 factoures (n) agents 1059 "faculte (n) power, liberty, privilege 902 "faggote (n) a bundle of sticks used as fuel in the burning of heretics 514 fantesy (n) fancy, inclination 2172 farce (v) stuff 1627, 1988 farmage (n) taking tithes and taxes 2863 fayle (v) die out, pass away, cease 192 fayne (v) declare, allege falsely 1590; pretend 1765, 2321, 3337; invent 3006; obliged 384, 1638, 3263,- (adj) glad, (adv) gladly 2534, 2609, 2992,- fayned (adj) contrived 1866; invented 3703 faynynge (vbl n) with oute faynynge sincerely, truly 735; but also deceitful, false, fictitious 2659; also inventing 1575 fayre (adj) unobstructed 1746 "fayterer (n) hypocrite, deceiver 1050 fe feimeis (n) those who hold lands subject to a fixed rent in perpetuity 1725 felyship (a) in fellowship 1466 fendes (n) fiends 1401; used figuratively 3179 figure (n) image, metaphor 2558 finde (v) provide for 129, 2018, 3192 finding (n) support, maintenance 153, 2899 fingrynge (vbl n) filching 1788 fitt (n) a part or section of a poem 2609 *fleces (n) fleeces; booty (fig) 2846 foarce (v) care 1479 foarsynge (ppl a) caring 2295 for why (conj) because 178 forbeare (v) refrain 3018 forbod (n) forbidding, prohibition 916 forger (n) creator 3411 forthe with all (adv) immediately, at once 830 for to (conj) as far as, up to 405 fownde (v) considered 1287 *frame (v) be of service to, fit, suit 630 francklynges (n) freeholder, the designation of a class of landown free but not noble birth and ranking next below gentry 2800 frawardnes (n) perversity 3623 frenche pockes (n) venereal disease 1171 frowarde (adj) perverse, evilly disposed 61, 701

217 / Glossary fioyter (n) frater; the eating or refreshment room of a monastery 2132 fmcteous (adj) advantageous, beneficial 3372 fiyres friars; members of the mendicant orders founded in the thirteenth century and afterwards. The friars represented a departure from the previous monastic tradition insofar as they lacked corporate possessions. They possessed a greater mobility, as they were not confined to a single monastery or abbey. The majority of their members were priests engaged in the direct apostolate to the faithful. During the thirteenth century there was a remarkable growth in the number of mendicant orders until the Second Council of Lyons issued a decree on 17 July 1274 directed at the suppression of all but the four major orders: Dominican or Black Friars (1216); Franciscan or Grey Friars (1223); Carmelites or White Friars (1226); Augustinian or Austin Friars (1256). 133, 381, 519, 524/ 530, 1361, 1367, 1697, i699/ 1735, 1794, 1906, 1926, 1947, 202O, 2078, 2228

fryse (n) frieze; coarse woolen cloth with a nap 2096 fume (n) anger 3350 gapynge (ppl a) eager to obtain 1062 garded (adj) ornamented, trimmed 190 Gargell (n) gargoyle ion gaye (adj) showy 756; but also joyous, merry 1457, 2778 gears (n) stuff, matter 1477 geason (adj) rare, scarce, uncommon 993 getteth away (v) takes away, steals 922 geve ouer (v) give up 384 gill and loan generic names for women: 'gill' is a term for wench and 'loan' is a general term for a female rustic 1629 girthell (n) belt 3356 glave (n) sword 48, 3601 glose (n) exposition, comment 442; but also hide 2079 glosynge (adj) false, lying 586, 2197; with outen glosynge sincerely, truly 3047 *glyeke (n) a game of cards 3469 glystringe (adj) glittering 185 gobebettes (n) fragments, bits 2039 god me mende God give me good cheer or comfort (an asseveration) 655 gostly (adj) spiritual 2838 graduate (n) one who has obtained a degree from a university; here the doctours scholastic theologians 3150 grates gratis 897 greace (n) ply with money, bribe 1044

218 / Glossary greke (n) cheat, sharper 3468 gresy (adj) anointed with grease or chrism; used contemptuously of Roman Catholic priests in reference to unction 91, 510 greve (v) grieve 2021 groate (n) a denomination of coin worth very little 2541 gromes (n) grooms, men-servants 1116 grownde (n) basis, foundation 803 grudge (v) grumble, complain 2129 gulden (n) gold coin 497 gyse (n) fashion 190,- habit, manner 1065, 1850 hackenees (n) horses of middle size and quality used for ordinary riding 162 holydom (n) holy lady; an oath-like expression with reference to the Virgin Mary 1494 handlynge (vbl n) dealing with 3519 hardely (adv) by all means 1491, 1981 *hare (there goes the hare ... awaye) there the matter ended 1374 hasard (n) dice game 1255 haulte (adj) haughty 3408 have at it (v) make an attempt at, go at it 1508 here with all (adv) herewith, with this 1353 hevines (n) grievance, sadness 248 heythed (v) heighted, increased 2798 holde (n) stronghold ioo; (v) accept 1353; but also support, side with 12; defend 783 Hospitall abbeyes (n) abbeys that make provision for pilgrims and travellers 2698 Howe be it (adv) nevertheless 470, 542, 641, 662, 725, 833, 897, 1001, 1442, 1546, 1643, 1921, 2218, 3401 Husbande men (n) farmers 2689, 2768 hye (v) hasten, go quickly 3636 iavel (n) a low or worthless fellow 2739, 3065 impediment (n) obstruction, hindrance 542, 2495 (in this latter instance the King hinders them from performing their spiritual duties) impermutable (adj) unchangeable 3117 *improperacion (n) the annexation of a benefice or its revenue 2822; *improperate (v) annex 2824 in despyte in contempt 3080, 3240 in eny pryce of any esteem or value 1145 In somoche that (adj) seeing that 491 in vre in use 2211

219 / Glossary incarcerate (ppl a) imprisoned 781 incontinent (ad}} quickly; lacking self-restraint. The two meanings of this word nicely capture the authors' double-barrelled attack on Wolsey. He acts quickly against the gospel and lacks self-restraint in his personal life. 3585 inculpable (adj) blameless 473 indigent (adj) want of, deficiency of 1291 inhibicion (n) prohibition 3561 inopinable (adj) inconceivable 598 insaciate (adj) insatiable 1596 insipient (adj) foolish, unwise 2679 institute (n) purpose 3195 intelleccion (n) source of information 2980 interdiccions (n) acts of depriving or states of being deprived of certain sacred rights. Interdictions are censures by which the faithful, while remaining in communion with the church, are forbidden the use of certain things enumerated in canon law. 89 intermitted (v) concerned (himself) 572 interprisynge (ppl a) undertaking 3522 interrupcion (n) obstruction, hindrance 797 intricate (adj) involved, entangled 2448 Inuencyons (n) fictitious statements 616; but also devices, plans, designs 2415 inveterate (adj) embittered, virulent 2357 invincible (adj) unsurpassable 3278 invred (v) accustomed 1089 ioynter (n) an estate held by a widow after her husband's death 1205 iuggelers (n) magicians 3335 iurisdiccions (n) legal authorities or powers 91 / wis ywis; indeed 1346, 2711 kye (n) cow 3324 kyndred (n) kindred, kin 2008 kytes (n) kites, birds of prey 1577 lacke (n) problem, affliction 3512 laye (v) allege 2492; put forward 3137 "leades (n) sheets or strips of lead used to cover roofs 3319 leawde (adj) wicked, vile 1957 (or possibly 'lay brother') lesynges (n) lies 1330, 2281 let (n) hinder, prevent 3402 lever (adv) rather 580, 791 levettes (n) crumbs 2038, 2721

220 / Glossary lightly (adv) quickly, immediately 390, 483 (see lyghtly) livelod (n) property yielding income 1918, 2515 lodesmen (n) leaders, guides 1701 longe (v) belong 3255 longe runnyage (adv) before long 2606 lorchers (n) gluttons 2713 lordaynes (n) lurdan; vagabond, idler; a general term of opprobrium with an interesting pseudo-etymology 3572,- Rastell (1529) states: 'These Danys before were so proud, that they kept husbondmen lyke vyleyns ... the husbondmen called them Lorde Dane, which word now we vse in obprobrye, callynge hym that we rebuke Lurdayn.' lordshippes (n) domains, estates 216 losels (n) worthless persons, scoundrels 994 lyghtly (adv) probably, perhaps, easily 1817 (see lightly] lykynge (n) bodily condition 1030 lyst (v) please 1601, 3506 Mamettes (n) false gods; persons of grotesque appearance and costume 759 Manassynge (ppl a) menacing, threatening 83 mangill (n) hack, cut 2084 mastres (n) mistress 3071 mede (n) reward 2023, (v) 2227 memento latter of two prayers in the canon of the mass in which the living and the dead are commemorated 2235 *'merely (adv) absolutely, entirely 224 messe (n) table, meals 2528 mete (adj) proper 2861 mewes (n) places of confinement, concealement, or retirement 2617 miscreaunce (n) false belief 3024 mistery (n) religious rite 2935, 2938 misticall (adj) having a certain spiritual character 3526 mitigacion (n) relaxation of the severity of a law 2303 motion (n) prompting, urging, instigation 1898 momchaunce (n) dicing game 1255 monkes (n) monks; members of a religious community of men living apart from the world, vowed to a definite rule, to a celibate life of poverty and obedience, and dedicated primarily to the performance of religious duties and to the contemplative life 134, 381, 400, 519, 693, 1622, 2527, 2872 mortification (n) subjection of one's appetites and passions by the practice of austere living 2378

221 / Glossary mortuary (n) customary gift formerly claimed by the incumbent of a parish from the estate of a deceased parishioner 2960 "mounckiy (n) monastic life, monkish practices 2923 mundane (adj) worldly, earthly 2448 murmuiacion (n) grumbling, complaining 2141, 2381 muse (v) contemplate, ponder 1783 myschaunce (n) unlucky accident 374 myters (n) mitres; head-dresses worn in liturgical functions by bishops and other ecclesiastical prelates as symbol of their dignity 755 Namely (adv) particularly, especially 2518 neare what never what, not what 1270 nether flesshe nor fisshe neither one thing nor the other; a strange being (proverbial, see Tilley F3I9) 3457 nones (for the) a lexically empty metrical and rhyming tag 1654 Nor yett (adv) and also not 141 not vnlyke of condicion not unlike the situation of 2048 notory (adj) notorious 2959 Nott with stondynge (adv) nevertheless 797 noye (v) annoy, trouble 3280; noyous (adj) troublesome 1963, 2872, 3380 nyce (adj) lazy or indolent; foolish or stupid; sly or reserved (exact meaning unclear) 1254 oblacion (n) offering, sacrifice 3045 obprobrious (adj) abusive, vituperative 1174 observauntes friars in that branch of the Franciscan order that desired a return to a purer observance of the rule of St Francis. The movement began in the fourteenth century, but it was not until the fifteenth century that the friars of the reform began to be designated as Friars Minor of the Observance, or simply Observants. 1822, 1842, 1879, 1927, 1948 occupy (v) deal with or have to do with sexually 1169; but also engage in, practice 2423 Och an exclamation of surprise, regret, sorrow 1212 offerynge daye specific day set aside in the Church calendar for the demonstration of devotion to a particular saint and the attendant financial offerings attached thereto 1542 oracion (n) elevated, dignified speech (ironic here) 3359 Ordrynge (ppl a) governing, managing 2640 oste (n) host, a large number 540 ouche (n) necklace, bracelet 3212 over gone (v) overcome, overpowered 184 oversene (v) mistaken, in error 1732

222 / Glossary par case (adv) perchance 702 parage (n) lineage, descent, rank 1294 parcialite (n) rivalry, factiousness 2346 parisshons (n) parishioners 2836 parties (n) regions, matters 983 passe (v) forget 469 pastance (n) past-time 1535 pater noster our Father (the Lord's Prayer) 1631 Patriarcke (n) father, leader 441 paulfreys (n) saddle horses as distinguished from war horses 162 pearte (adj) unconcealed, open 783 pension (n) fixed payment out of the revenues of a benefice upon which it forms a charge 577, 3161, 3165 peraventure (adv) perhaps 1304, 2113, 2701, 3169, 3193 peregrinacions (n) pilgrimages 3032 pertayne (v) belong 2947 pevisshe (adj) spiteful, harmful 1427; pevisshnes (n) silliness 3205 Pickporses (n) pickpockets 1395 pill and poll (v) rifle, pillage 2591, 3473 playe on both hondes cheat, take unfair advantage 3340 plyght (n) condition, state 1024 poade (n) toad 610 pondered (v) considered 2935 porte (n) deportment, bearing, style of living 690 porvaye (v) make provision or adequate preparation 1644; porviaunce (n) preparing, arranging 1019 possessioners (n) monks as opposed to friars, the latter lacking corporate possessions 1325 paste (n) support, prop 3455; but also a card game 3469 poynt device (adv) perfectly correct 1151 pratye (adj) cunning, crafty, wily 610 prease (n) crowd 2104 predicacion (n) proclaiming, preaching 2168 prefarre (n) promote, advance 1035 prefe (n) proof 939 prest (adj) prepared, in a state of readiness 2482, 2893 preiudyce (n) injury, damage 1278 preve (v) test, try 3267 prevely (adv) secretly 50, 3649 prevy (adj) private 783, 986, 1395 probacion (n) proof 727, 3141

223 / Glossary processe (n) a narration 3680 proctours (n) defenders, guardians 1722 piodicion (n) treachery, betrayal 3452 proffered (v) offered for acceptance 3062 proll (v) pilfer, steal from 2719 promotion (n) help 3075 prone (adj) inclined, disposed 1582 proper (in) (adv) belonging to oneself 1796, 1934, 2301 proper (adj) suitable, appropriate to the circumstances 1018 properte (n) quality 2904, 3497 provayle (v) prevail 2510 provision (n) providing for themselves 2392 pryce (n) monetary source 115 pry eke (v) go 182, 2189 purgatory state, place, or condition in the next world which will continue until the last judgment, where the souls of those who die in the state of grace, but not yet free from all imperfection, make expiation for unforgiven venial sins or for the temporal punishment due to venial or mortal sins that have already been forgiven, and by so doing, are purified before they enter heaven 274, 1601, 2249 put case (v) suppose 2161 questionistes schoolmen, scholastic theologians. In early use the term applied to certain of the schoolmen who followed the argumentative methods of Aquinas and Duns Scotus. The term is used here pejoratively to describe those conservative theologians who were devoted to scholastic disputation. 597, 3459 ragge mans roule records of small importance and great length 1265; an official list or catalogue,- the phrase appears in the medieval complaint Mum and the Sothsegger: 'There is a ragge rolle that Ragenelle hymself / Hath made of mayntennance and motyng of the peuple' (1565-6, ed Day and Steele); the editors point out that it is called ragged from the ragged fringe of seals at the foot. rammysshe (adj) strong taste or smell 43 rancklynge (adj) festering 144 rappe and rende (v) seize, snatch, steal 1787 rapyn (n) plunder, pillage, robbery 1704 raveners (n) plunderers, despoilers 2905 rearage (n) debt, in arrears 1291, 2864 (Harleian wrongly guesses 'old age' for rearage} reckenynge (n) mode of regarding a matter 815 reclame (v) recant 587

224 / Glossary recompence (v) repay 51 recreacion (n) amusement 2271, 2572 rede (v) guess 3644 redownde (v) abound 3222 refeccion (n) meal 2055 rehearceall (make) (v) give an account of 1381, 2991; rehearced (v) narrated, gave an account of 744, 1036, 1382, 3480 relation (n) testimony, evidence 2979 remitt (v) lay aside, desist from 2608 remmenaunt (n) the others 3558 rende (v) tear 3017 renyinge (ppl a) renouncing, abjuring 1521 reprefe (n) fault, blame 475 reprobable (adj) deserving of reproof or censure 22 reputation (n) opinion 2071 repute (v) think, consider 44 resceyte (n) place for the receiving of things 2565 respyte (n) delay 2934,- also, leisure time 3707 revoke (v) recall, bring back 496 right noght (adv) nothing at all 592 roffled (v) tangled, fought, bullied 3544 Roodes (n) crosses 3037 "roume (n) opportunity 2603 "rover (n) robber 387 runneth on wheles (v) proceeds swiftly 1295 sadde (adj) of trustworthy character 1139 salatt (n) light globular piece of head-armour 25 sanctus that part of the mass prior to the Consecration which serves as a hymn of praise 338 savegarde (n) safe-keeping 3274 savynge (prep) except 1841; savynge reuerence an apologetic phrase introducing a criticism or some remark that might offend the hearer 504, 2453 scalled (adj) scaly, scabby 2543 scantly (adv) scarcely, hardly 231 scasnes (n) want, poverty 1976; scacite 2549 sciences (n) fields of knowledge 848, 2662 seculers (n) lay people 2479 sekerly (adv) certainly 1076 semblable (adj) similar 3271 senatory (n) the commons 480

225 / Glossary seniours (n) elders 2154 sentence (n) judgment 14, 75, 2370 shent (v) reproached, reproved, destroyed 1161 shroade (adj) bad, evil 1033 shyfte (n) movement or move in order to manage to secure some result 368, 1452, 2090, 3011 signification (n) interpretation 3529 simony the act or practice of buying or selling ecclesiastical preferments, benefices, etc 1722 skyll (v) avail, help 1138, 1226; but also, have knowledge 1239 slaundei (n) slanderer 1714 sloutche (n) lout 1215 smale dryncke and browne bread little or weak drink and inferior type of bread (white bread being the more desirable) 1977; cf 1993-4 snatche (v) to take hold of 1155 so mot I the so may I thee 1642 soffered (v) allowed 3175 someneis (n) minor officers who cited and warned people to appear in court 2979 sophistrar (n) sophist, specious reasoner 561,- sophist 3460; sophistry (n) specious reasoning 3568; sophisticall (adj) specious reasoning 3525 sower (n) sour 144, 2998 sowters (n) shoemakers 1305 spent (v) wasted 1565 spill (v) kill 1582 spowse (v) marry 2438 stably (adv) securely 290 starcke (adj) strong, stout 1633; arrant 2547 stedde (n) profit 1364, 1667 stede (n) support 100 stockes (n) stocks, applied contemptuously to idols and sacred images 3028, 3080; stockes and stones gods of wood and stone 3043 stowte (adj) haughty, fierce 3474 strawnge (adj) strange 757 strayghtly (adv) directly 706; strayte (adj) strict, direct 1675, 2175 stues (n) brothels 987, 2618 stynte (v) cease, stop 1436 substitutes (n) delegates, deputies 3478 subtill (adj) ingenious, crafty 1886 subuerted (v) destroyed, overthrown 330 subvene (v) corrupt, pervert 595

226 / Glossary suffrage(n) help, support 251, 1364, 2262;suffragesprayers 1768, 1998 superfluite (n) overabundance 255, 1349 supeifluusly (used as adj) overabundant 2526; superfluous (adj) overabundant 2729 supportaciori (v) support 223, 1351 surety (n) certainly 358 surmyse (v) plan maliciously 199 sustenacion (n) means of subsistence 3060 suttelnes (n) subtlety 3174 sweardes swords; here, traditional symbol of authority 3338 swyncke (v) labour, work 1623 tary (v) stay 1638, 3200 tenoure (n) substance, nature 3378 testamentes (n) wills 1199 testes (n) proof, evidence 3168 thryftes (n) fortune, savings 922, 1451 tokens (n) signs 1914, 2973 to play ligier du mayne teached to perform tricks and deceptions that they have been taught 3336 'Tosshe trash, nonsense 412, 2833, 3525 "louche (n) characteristic, trait 3211 townes (n) manors, estates 2740 trentall (n) the payment for a set of 30 requiem masses 2268, 2269 trolle (n) roll 3470 trowe (v) believe, suppose 455, 502, 907, 1186, 1475, 2014, 2180, 2843 trymme (v) beat, trounce 2957 "tutell (n) protection, tutelage 138 two faces in a hoode to be guilty of duplicity 1851 vages (n) pranks, tricks 3591 (Harleian wrongly guesses 'vagaries') vayled (v) took off 205 viages (n) voyages 1397, 3196 vicary (n) vicar 2336 villaynes (n) low-born, base-minded rustics 3569 Vnder faveoure with the support of 214 vndertake (v) assert, venture 1007 vnfayned (ppl a) genuine, true 3622 vnmete (adj) unfit 3415 vnsaciate (adj) insatiable 1947 vntawarde (adj) intractable, unruly, perverse 92 vse (n) practice 1936, 2285

227 / Glossary vttered (v) revealed 521, 2581 wallat (n) a bag for holding provisions on a journey 26 waltrynge (ppl a) wallowing 1324 wardens (n) deans of cathedral, collegiate church, or royal chapel 2396 wene (v) think, surmise, suppose 941, 1080, 3151 went ...by the worst (v) was defeated 603 wete (v) to know 2999 What Lo! Well! 1663 whey (n) watery part of milk which remains after the separation of the curd 2814 whyg (n) sour milk or whey 2814

Press Variants in the 1528 Copy Text

Abbreviations A John Rylands; B Bodleian, Tanner; C Bodleian, Wood; D Huntington,- E Folger; F Harvard; G British Library, Grenville,- H British Library; I Pforzheimer,- J Pierpont Morgan 21 Gnawynge B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J 87 shall A,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J; shuall B 137 perceve B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J; pefceve A 163 chevesaunce E,F,J aopies) 1204 treasoure A,C,D,E,F,G,HJ;treasour e B; treasour / 1367 Wat. A,B,C,D,E,F,G,I; V HJ 1969 vterly A,B,C; vterl y D,E,F,G,H,l,J 2328 With D,E,F,H,J; Vith A,B,C,G,I 3029 in B,C,D,E,F,G,I,J; n A,H 3212 golden A,C,E,l, goldeu B,D,F,G,H,J 3242 none A,D,I; noue B,C,E,F,G,HJ 3584 contempned. B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J; contempned: A 3698 olde B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J; old A 3699 will B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J;who A

Emendations

Abbreviations 28 = 1528 edition; 46 = 1546 edition; C = Chiswick; H = Harleian; A = Arber; ^ = sigma, meaning all other editions. 29 frende H: frendt ^ 35-6 s-n loh.xv. ed.: loh. xv ^ 43-4 s-n Ma.xxv. ed.: Ma.xxv ^ 49-50 s-n ij.pe.j.ij. ed.: ij.pe.j.ij ^ 53-4 s-n ap.xviij. ed.: ap.xviij ^ 53-5 s-n Ma.vij. ed.: Ma.vij 5* 57 s-n ij.Pet.ij. ed.: ij.Pet.ij ^ 59-61 s-n apo.xvj. A: apo xvj ^ 60-2 s-n j.ti.iiij. ed.: j.ti.iiij ^ 66-7 s-n ij.Pet.j. ed.: ij.Pet.j ^ 69 s-n ij.Pet.jij. ed.: ij.Pet.jij 5* 74-5 s-n Luc.j. ed.: Luc.) ^ 75-6 s-n Rom.j. ed.: Rom.j ^ 76-7 s-n Ac.xiij. ed.: Ac.xiij ^ 77 s-n Ebre.iij. ed.: Ebre.iij ^ 78 s-n mar.iij.xvj. ed.: mar.iij.xvj A: mar.iij xvj ^ 78-9 s-n lu.iiij.ix. ed.: lu.iiij.ix ^ 80-1 s-n j.Io.v. ed.: j.Io.v ^ 82 s-n Ma.vij. ed.: Ma.vij ^ 89-90 s-n Luc.vj. ed.: Luc.vj ^ 91 s-n Ro.xvj. ed.: Ro.xvj ^= 92-3 s-n Ma.xvj.xvij. ed.: Ma.xvj xvij ^ 93-4 s-n Luce.ix. ed.: Luce.ix ^ 98-9 s-n ma.xxiij. ed.: ma.xxiij ^

230 / Emendations 100 principally C,H-, principlally ^ 109-10 s-n Rom.ij. ed.: Rom.ij ^ 112-13 s-n j.Cor.ij. ed.: j.Cor.ij ^ 117-18 s-n loa.viij. ed.: loa.vij C: loa. viij ^ 118-9 s-n Rom.ij. ed.: Rom.ij ^ 722 vnrightousnes C,H,A: vnrightonses 28 124 s-n Rom.j. ed.: Rom.j ^ 727 rightousnes C,A: righthousnes ^ 142 to save C,H,A: co save 28 142-3 s-n mat.xiij. ed.: mat. xiij ^ 143-4 s-n Luc.xij. ed.: Luc.xij ^ 145-6 s-n j.Cor.v. ed.: j.Cor.v ^ 148-9 s-n ij.re.xxij. ed.: ij.re.xxij ^ 150-2 s-n Psa.xvij.ciiij.cxviij. ed.: Dsa.xvij ciiij cxviij C: Psa. xvij ciiij cxviij ^ 755-7 s-n loa. viij. ed.: loa. vij ^ 756-7 s-n Mat.v. ed.: Mat.v ^ 36 and ^: amd 28 40 odium ^: kyngdome 46 96 crowne C,A: crowue 28: crownes 46 119 dolorous H: dolorouse 46: dolorours ^ 767 We shall A: We must 46; Weshall ^ 769 and 46:A: und H: vnd ^ 216 lordshippes ed.: lordspippes ^ 370 there a 46:H,A: therea ^ 377 downe ^: dowue 28 348 deceased C,A,46,H: decavsed 28 356 turne ^: turue 28 397 Me 46: My ^ 573 knowne ^: knwone 28,H 541 with fearfull H,A: withfearfull 28, C: with fearefull 46 614 Wat. 46,H,A: lacking in 28 and C and found at the beginning of line 615 642 malyce 46: malicie ^ 665 Wat. ^: lacking in 28 and found at the beginning of 666 709 They 46,H: Th[e]y A: Thy ^ 742 outwarde 46, C,A: ouwtarde ^ 942 Bitwixte A,H: Bitwxite ^ 963 The A,H: They 28,C 963 Yorcke H: orcke 28, C: yorcke A

231 / Emendations 966 lef. C,A\ Wat. 28: leff. H 1373 lef. ^: leff. H: lacking in 28 and found at the beginning of line 1374. 1426 concernynge ^: coucernynge 28. 1476 Wat. H,A: lacking in ^ 1494 god H,A: God 46: gdd ^ 7534 worldly C,H: wor[l]dly A: wordly ^ 1559 by 46: bey ^ 1560 promocions ^: promocious 28 1647 monastery C: monasterye 46: manastery ^ 7755 narracions. ^: narracious, 28: narracyons, 46 1764 damnacion C,A: dmnacion 28: dampnacion 46 d[a]mnacion H 1782 To lyve ^: Tolyve 28: To lyue 46 1783 continually ^: continually 28: contynually 46 1819 thou ^: thon 28 1836 reputacion. ^: reputaciou. 28 1872 prohibicion C,A,H: ptohibicion 28: prohybycyon 46 1891 dominion C,A,46,H: donimion 28 1892 made 46,C,H: made made ^ 1907 They 46,H: The y A: The 28, C 1905 and ^: aud 28 1963 a gret C,H: agret 28,A: agreate 46 1983 Full ^: Fnll 28 2/30 yonge 5*: youge 28 22/3 in so ^: inso 28, A 2377 simulacion ed.: sim[u]lacion A: symulacyon 46: simlacion H: simlacion ^ 2452 truly C,H tuly: 28: t[r]uly A: duely 46: 2483 To C,H,A. Tu 53

2498 2547 2553 2617 2618 2626 2883 2979 3038 3/37 3/48 3253 3277

obstynatly C,H: obstynately 46: obstymatly *s knave A,H: knaue 46: knawe ^ satisfy C,H: satify 28: satysfye 46: sati[s]fy A mewes 46, C: mwes 28: m[e]wes A,H stewes C: stwes 28: st[e]wes A,H receave ^: reccave 28: receyue 46 Defraudynge ^: Defraudyuge 28 of 53; af 28 and ^: aud 28 of ^: of of 28 medlynge ^: medlyuge 28 shulde 53; shnlde 28 they 46: thy 28, C: th[e]y ^

232 / Emendations 3286 3374 3418 3560 3570

lef. lacking in all editions furious ^: furions 28: furyous 46 Of 2s: Sf 28 cure ^: onre 28: our 46 Wat. precedes this line in 28,46,C,A: correct in H

Variants

1-6 quotation marks around each set of couplets in Harleian. 2-3 Between these lines, 1546 has The Byshoppes speake in the Cardynal. 4-5 Between these lines, 1546 has The Christen Congregation speaketh. 12 the beautifull swan.] all that he may or can 1546. 13 the whyte Lion] the worthy Reade lyon, 1546. 28 a fourth stanza in 1546 follows the three in 1528: An exhortacion to the Papistes. O ye Byshoppes and Prestes that yet be alyue, Repent from your tyranny after Johns counsell, Least ye be serued as the folyshe virgynes fyve, And vtterly be condempned to the pytte of hell. Therfor put all your affiaunce in the pure Gospell, Dyspise the worlde and cast yourselues downe, Than shall ye receyue of God an immortall crowne. 29-759 replaced in 1546 by the following: To all them that loue Goddes worde unfaynedly L.R. wysheth grace and peace from God the Father, through our Lorde lesus Christ. Ryght gentle Brethern and Fryndes in the Lorde, as I was syttynge at the table vpon Easter daye last past, a certayne frynde of myne delyuered me this lytle treatise, desyrynge me to pervse and reade it: Which thynge whan I had ones done, I consulted with me frynde, shewynge hym that I thought it good to set it forth in Print. Vnto the whiche thynge he most gladly consented. This boke was prynted in the Cardynalles tyme, which whan he harde that it was done, caused a

234 / Variants certayne man whome I coulde name if I lusted to bye them all vppe, that they shulde not come a brode to vttre their most wycked feates, that he and all those of that pestylent secte ded than, and euen sens hath done to the holy and pure worde of God. But by the verye sentence of God, there is nothynge so craftely hydden, but at the last it wyll appeare, to their greater shame and rebuke. For there is nothynge so feble and weake (as the Byshoppe of Herforth ded laye vnto your charges in the Parlament house) so that it be true, but it shall fynde place and be able to stande agaynst all falshode. Truth is the doughter of tyme, and tyme is the mother of Truth. And what so euer is besieged of Truth can not longe contynue. All thynges doth not consyst in your paynted eloquence strength and authoryte. For the Truthe is of suche power strength and efficacyte, that it can neyther be defended with wordes, nor be ouercome wyth any myght, but after she hath hydden her selfe longe, at length she putteth vpe her heade and appeareth. As it is wryten in Esdra. A kynge is stronge, wyne is stronger, yet women be more stronge: But Truth excelleth all. This lytle treatyse though he hath lyen longe hydden by the space of .xvi. or .xvij. yeares, now as a sparcle of Truthe (by the prouysiyon of God) at the last he doth appeare, and wyll declare vnto the wyde world as well the abhomynations of them (which our most dreade Souereygne Lorde hath suppressed and put downe for their desertes) as of those whiche do yet remayne vnsuppressed, not lesse worthy (all thynges consydered) than their Brethren the Monkes and Fryres, whiche are gone before them. And althoughe these Rammyshe gootes (yet beynge alyue) so deapely drowned with the blynde reasons of mannes wytte, that they esteame good to be evell, and darknesse to be lyght, and lyes to the grownded in the Truthe, and to make of the worde of lyfe, the sworde of death, contrary to all Truthe) [sic] yet wyll not I accordynge to S.P. Doctryne be neglygent in puttynge my bretherne in remembraunce (though they partlye know them their selues and are stably shed in the sayde Truthe) of those thynges wherby they maye the more evydently note the deceytfulnesse of mortall man, and the better come vnto the knowledge of the imrnortall God. Seynge the tyme to be now at hande, wherin God of his infinyte mercy, hath ordeyned before throughe Christ our Lorde to make them partakers also of his gloryouse wyll and purpose. Euen as in the Gospell our sauyour had promysed to all his before. I therefor consyderynge the worlde thus to be wrapped in mysery and blyndnes (and now in these lattre dayes become an hole or denne of false foxy hipocrites and a mansion for all rauenynge wolues dysgysed in lambes skynnes,

2

35 / Variants

whiche hate all loue, and without the feare of God wandre but for their praye) haue iudged it a thynge most necessary to sett this lytle boke as a glasse or myrroure before all mennes eyes. In the Preface whereof manyfestly they shall perceyue, how greate daunger it was than and is yet in these dayes, to describe and set forthe the Truthe eyther with tongue or penne. In the lamentacion folowynge made by a Papiste or bellye beaste, brought vp amonge the greasy and annoy ted heape (otherwyse called the Papisticall secte, and cruell generacion of venomouse vypers) they maye easely groape and feale, wherof our spirituall Lordes, Masters, and Rulers (falselye so named) haue preceded and are come. And by what presumpcion they disdayne the auncyente and true noble bloode. And by what preemynence and dignite they haue obteyned through their false and craftie bryngynge vppe of the blasphemouse Masse, whiche pryncypally is their holde, stede, and defence. Further more in the Dyalogue folowynge, is masse destribed [sic] wyth his abhomynable mynysters. As Popes, Cardynalles, Byshoppes, Prestes, Abbottes, Monkes, Fryres, Nonnes, and suche other. Wherin also is declared what trees they are wyth their frute, and what they shall remayne their Masse ones dyasanulled and put downe. Which all well consydered, I trust that the reader whatsoeuer he be, wyll not take this worke as a thynge convycyous, or as a pryncyple of hatred and debate. Nor yet, despise the riches, pacience, and longe sufferaunce of God, but wyll remembre that his kyndnes only leadeth hym to repentaunce. And mekely first iudge it, and than consyder hym selfe. And faultelesse he shall fynde it a greate occasyon, to loue and also to thanke God his most mercyfull Father which of his tendre mercy hath not delyuered hym vppe vnto a lewde mynde, wyth these vesselles of wrathe, and chyldren of the deuyll, to do those thynges whiche are not comely, full of all vnryghtuousnes, fornycation, wyckednesse, couetousnes, malycyousnes and cet. and suffred them not to be come lyke vnto them, a hater of God, and of his most holy woorde. Agaynst whose vngodlynesse, and vnryghtuousnes, the wrathe of God apperethe, because they withholde the true ryghtuousnes of God (whiche commeth through the lyght of the Gospell of Christe) in the vnryghtuousnes of mannes lawes and tradicions. Yea (and as .S.P. sayeth) though they know the ryghtuousnes of God, and how they that commytte suche thynges are worthy of deathe, yet not only do they the same, but also haue delyghte in soche as do them. Wherfor they are before God wythout excuse, seynge ehey [sic] knowe God, and yet do not glorifye hym as God, nor yet are they thankemll, but wexe full of vanitees in their owne Imagynacions, countynge them

236 / Variants selues wyse, where as in dede they are very fooles. For with their folyshnesse and blynde harte, they tourne the glorye of the immortall God, vnto the similitude of the ymage of mortall man. He shall also clerly perceyue, that I coulde do no lesse, for the preseruacion and defence of the innocent and symple, but to declare the pestylent doublenes, and deceyuable seduction of the wycked. Accordynge to the doctryne of Christ our Master, whiche came to saue and not to destroye. Therfor to conclude, I am herin fully persuaded (let the vngodly roare and barke as loude as they can) that the fyre which christ came to kyndle here vpon earthe, can not but burne. That is to saye, his godly worde for euermore increase, go forwarde, and contynue. Therfore deare bretherne, if there happen any mo suche small styckes to come to my handes, beynge apte and mete for the augmentacion of thys fyer, I shall endeuer my selfe with all my possybylyte and power to kyndle them, that as manye as are of the sede of Abraham shall see their lyght, and therby gloryfy their heauenly Father, who kepe your wyttes and sences in Christ lesu. AMEN. 44-8 brackets lacking in Harleian 57 brackets lacking in Harleian 68 no] not Harleian jo-i brackets lacking in Harleian 80 (and now in these latter dayes] and now (in these latter dayes) Harleian 84 praye)] praye Harleian 92-3 (whom Christ calleth a croked, vntawarde, and cruell generation of venemous vipers)] whom Christ calleth 'a croked, untawarde, and cruell generation of venemous vipers/ Harleian 140-2 s-n loan. vj. x.] loan j. x. Chriswick 146-7 lett the vngodly roare and barcke never so lowde] bracketed in Harleian 1 worke] boke 1546 2 treatous] boke 7546 3 Cardinall of Yorcke] Byshoppes of Englande 1546 4 he] they 1546 5 his] their 1546 6 his] their 1546 6 he doeth] they do 1546 7 season] tyme 1546 8 Vt inveniatur iniquitas eius ad odium.] To open their iniquite in euery kyngdome. 1546 9 Treatous] Bobe 7546

237 / Variants 11 12 13 18 20 21 22 23 24

Cardinall] Byshoppes 1546 hym] them 1546 Also] And also 1546 his] their 1546 He causeth many one] They cause many a man 7546 his] their 1546 reprobable] reprouable 1546 his] their 1546 Vt inveniatur eius ad odium] And to open their iniquite in euery kyngdome 1546 25 Treatous] Boke 1546 26 his] their 1546 26 is] be 1546 28 through out all] through all 1546 34 treatous] Boke 7546 39 his kyngdom] Rowme 7546 40 Vt inveniatur iniquitas eius ad odium] Specyally there in that worthy kyngdome 7546 41 Treatous] Boke 7546 42 there is greate] is there a greate 7546 46 For to vse] And for to vse 7546 50 treatous] Boke 7546 53 prowde cardinals] Byshoppes proude 7546 56 Vt inveniatur iniquitas eius ad odium] To open their iniquite in euery kyndome 7546 57 Treatous] boke 7546 60 for] but 7546 66 not to be] not be 7546 67 conservacion] conuersacion 7546 72 Vt inveniatur iniquitas eius ad odium] And vttered hure iniquite there in that kyngdome 7546 73 Treatous] Boke 7546 77 saynge geve credence] sayenges geue any credence 7546 79 lyste] lust 7546 82 treatous lett antichrist] Boke let the Antichristes 7546 84 His] Their 7546 85 his] their 7546 86 his] their 7546 87 his] their 7546 88 Vt inveniatur iniquitas eius ad odium] And their iniquite vttered in euery kyngdome 7546

238 / Variants 89 on his dyvlisshe interdiccions] vpon their deuellyshe iniunctions 1546 90 With his keyes lockes chaynes and fetters] Their Crosyers rynges myters and fetters 1546 91 his] their 1546 92 hym] them 1546 93 his bulles breves and letters] their blessynges and dyspensatiue letters 1546 94 Wherin he is named seruus servorum] Wherby they have all the worlde ouercome 1546 95 Vt inveniatur iniquitas eius ad odium] Yea, Vyllage, Towne, Cyte and kyngdome 1546 96 Fye on his golden thre folded crowne] Fye vopn their Myters and gaye crownes 1546 97 he vseth] they vse 1546 97 his head] their heade 1546 98 his] thier 1546 98 renowne] renownes 1546 99 on] vpon 7546 99 Christes stead] Thapostles steade 1546 100 his] their 1546 101 Ex hoc nunc et usque in seculum] Now and in the worlde to come 1546 102 Vt inveniatur iniquitas eius ad odium] Even the very theves of euery kyndome 1546 103 Blissed they be which are cursed of the pope] Blessed are they which be acursed of the byshoppes 1546 104 coursed] acursed 1546 104 he] they 1546 105 that have eny hope] whiche haue their hopes 1546 106 Ether in his personne or els in his] In their persons eyther more or lesse 7546 107 he is] are they endelesse 1546 108 Per omnia secula seculorum] Beynge the pyllers of their Patryarke of Rome 1546 \og Vt inveniatur iniquitas eius ad odium] Worthy to be scourged out of euery kyndgome 1546; followed by a line by itself in 1546 So beit. 110 Heare foloweth the lamentacion] Here foloweth the Lamentacion of A ranke Papist concernynge the death of the Masse 1546 126 Bisshops arsbysshops and Cardinalls gaye] Chanons, Byshoppes and Archebyshoppes gaye 1546 128 masse] Pope 1546

239 / Variants 129 araye] raye 1546 132 nere] nyghe 1546 133 ordres] ordre 1546 135 shoren] shauen 7546 141 Nor] Neyther 1546 167 shall] must 1546 184 misery is over gone] myseryes is now ouer gone 1546 185 glystringe] glytterynge 1546 185 to] into 1546 213 counted] accounted 7546 275 to] vnto 7546 284 the masse] the blessed Masse 7546 291 the masse] the Holy Masse 7546 316 do vs lytle stedde] standeth vs in lytle steade 7546 339 No] Now 7546 349-51 Here foloweth a brefe Dialoge betwene two prestes servauntes, named Watkyn, and leffraye] Here foloweth a briefe Dialogue betwene two Prestes seruauntes, named Watkyn and leffraye, reasonynge vpon their Masters Lamentacyon 7546 355 be] by 7546 355 throode] th[e] roode Arber 356 vnto] to 7546 361 my] any 7546 379 had continued] had yet contynued 7546 384 And] But 7546 400 all shaven] and all shauen 7546 401 villages and tounes] whole townes 7546 402 their whole religious rable] all their relygiouse rable 7546 427 namly] specyally 7546 429 rawe motten] christen bloode 7546 451 of vertue] of all vertue 7546 455 shall se] shall yet see 7546 473 lyuynge is] lyuynges are 7546 497 gulden] pownde 7546 498 bren] drownde 7546 504 savynge reuerence] bracketed in Harleian 534 Were so confounded] Ware confounded 7546 534 at lengthe] at the length 7546 580 lever] rather 7546 594 wonderfull] wonder 7546 609 nott theare] there not 7546

240 / Variants 615 Wrytinge to the englysshe nacyon] Wat. Wrytinge to the englysshe nacyon Aibei 638 reprobable] reprouable 1546 655 Yerre] Or 1546 655 mende] a mende 1546 678 They] The 1546 725 when all] whan it all 1546 728-33 enclosed in double quotation marks in Harleian 744 is rehearced] is playnely rehearsed 1546 751 is] was 1546 762 As it is spoken] bracketed in Harleian 767 Naye, yt] Naye/yt it Arber 772 dever] indeuer 1546 775 bever] father 1546 783 pearte] a parte 1546 842 a cause] the cause 1546 863 That povre] That the poore 1546 875 Also a ryght noble Prince of fame] Also many honest men of fame 1546 876 Henry the ducke of buckyngame] He caused to suffre wythout blame 1546 877 He caused to deye alas alas] And must neades dye alas alas 1546 887 of .S. Cecile] of Cecile 1546 909 more large] more at large 1546 911 or ill] or evyll 1546 925 lyst] luste 1546

929-73 omitted in 1546 1105 steade] in steade 1546 1119 at] in 1546 1141 be f ran tyke] be halfe fran tyke 1546 1203 his] is 1546 1203 all his cures] "all is cures," Harleian 1270 neare] not 1546 1474 nor longe] nor to longe 1546 1479 Wat.] lef. 1546 1481 lef.] Wat. 1546 1482 Gett the into some monastery] lef. Get the into some monasterye 1546 1521 Renyinge] Denyenge 1546

1696 so god me save] bracketed in Harleian 1704 on] vpon 1546

241 / Variants 1728 convey] convya 1546 1847 All though he canne many a wyle] bracketed in Hdrleian 1950 charge] doubt 1546 2069-70 enclosed in single quotation marks in Harleian 2076 Ve] Vae Arber 2095 coventes] covente 7546 2203-20 enclosed in double quotation marks in Harleian 2223-44 o goode ...] enclosed in double quotation marks in Harleian 2452 truly] duely 1546 2463 to] t 1546 2469 precept] preceptes 1546 3135 To wicked doctours gevynge hede] Wat. To wycked doctours geuynge heade 1546 3136 Wat. Well yet I ensure the leffraye] Well yet I ensure the leffraye 1546 3173 no] so 1546 3224-31 excepte ...] single quotations, with one beginning each line in Harleian 3234 Though] That Harleian 3244 Haw] Tushe 7546 3285-8 single quotations, with one beginning each line in Harleian 3327 Defoylynge] Defylynge 1546 3382 agaynst ryght] agaynst all ryght 1546 3469 glyeke] glycke 1546 3510-24 enclosed in double quotation marks in Harleian 3553 arte,] atre Arber 3580-4 agrett ...] enclosed in double quotation marks in Harleian 3587 to ...] enclosed in double quotation marks in Harleian 3589-90 it ...] enclosed in double quotation marks in Harleian 3598 with] in Arber 3662 enclosed in single quotation marks in Harleian 3711-12 lacking in Arber, Harleian, 1546 3715 Pope Clemente, the sonne] Popes commonly the sonnes 1546

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243 / Bibliography Barclay, Alexander The Eclogues ed Beatrice White (London: Oxford University Press 1928) Early English Text Society os 175 Berdan, John M. Early Tudor Poetry, 1485-1547 (New York: Macmillan 1920) The Book Concerning Piers Plowman trans Donald and Rachel Attwater (London: Dent 1907) The Cambridge History of English Literature ed A.W. Ward and A.R. Waller 15 vols (Cambridge: University Press 1909; rpt 1949) The Carl H. Pforzheimer Library, English Literature 1475-1700 (New York: Privately printed 1940) Cavendish, George Thomas Wolsey, Late Cardinal. His Life and Death Written by George Cavendish his Gentleman-Usher ed Roger Lockyer (London: The Folio Society 1962) Cheney, C.R. Medieval Texts and Studies (Oxford: Clarendon Press 1973) Chrisman, Miriam U. Lay Culture, Learned Culture: Books and Social Change in Strasbourg 1480-1599 (New Haven and London: Yale University Press 1982) - Strasbourg and the Reform (New Haven and London: Yale University Press 1967) Constant, G. The Reformation in England trans R.E. Scantlebury and E.I. Watkin 2 vols (London: Sheed and Ward 1939; rpt New York: Harper and Row 1966) Contemporaries of Erasmus: A Biographical Register of the Renaissance and Reformation ed Peter G. Bietenholz and Thomas Deutscher 3 vols (Toronto, Buffalo, and London: University of Toronto Press 1985-7) Cooper, Charles Henry, and Thompson Cooper, comps Athenae Cantabrigienses 3 vols (Cambridge: Deighton Bell etc 1858-1913) Coulton, G.G. Five Centuries of Religion 4 vols (Cambridge: University Press 1923-50) Dickens, A.G. Reformation and Society in Sixteenth-Century Europe (London: Thames and Hudson 1966) - The English Reformation (New York: Schocken Books 1964) Dickinson, J.C. The Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham (Cambridge: University Press 1956) Dictionary of National Biography ed Sir Leslie Stephen and Sir Sidney Lee 22 vols (1885-1901; rpt London: Oxford University Press 1921-2) Erasmus, Desiderius Christian Humanism and the Reformation: Selected Writings ed John C. Olin (New York: Harper and Row 1965) - Collected Works of Erasmus gen ed J.K. McConica (Toronto and Buffalo: University of Toronto Press 1974-) - Opus epistolarum ed P.S. Allen 12 vols (London: Oxford University Press 1906-58)

244 / Bibliography Ferguson, Charles Naked to Mine Enemies: The Life of Cardinal Wolsey (London: Longmans, Green 1958) Four Supplications, 1529-1553 A.D. ed Frederick J. Furnivall (London: Kegan Paul, Trench and Triibner 1905) Early English Text Society es 13 Foxe, John The Acts and Monuments ed Rev Stephen Cattley 8 vols (London: Seely and Burnside 1837-41) Grabes, Herbert The Mutable Glass trans Gordon Collier (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1982) Graf ton, Richard Grafton's Chronicle; or, History of England 2 vols (London: J. Johnson 1809) Gwyn, Peter The Rise and Fall of Cardinal Wolsey (London: Barrie and Jenkins 1990) Haigh, Christopher, ed The English Reformation Revised (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1987) Hall, Edward Hall's Chronicle; Containing the History of England, during the Reign of Henry the Fourth and the Succeeding Monarchs, to the End of the Reign of Henry via (London: J. Johnson 1809) The Harleian Miscellany: A Collection of Scarce, Curious and Entertaining Pamphlets and Tracts ... vol ix, Being the First Supplemental Volume of Miscellaneous Pieces Not Included in the Former Edition selected by Thomas Park (London: for J. White and J. Murray 1812) Heath, Sidney In the Steps of the Pilgrims (London and New York: Rich and Cowan 1953) Herford, Charles H. Studies in the Literary Relations of England and Germany in the Sixteenth Century (Cambridge: University Press 1886) Heywood, John The Dramatic Writings ed John S. Farmer (London: Early English Drama Society 1905,- rpt New York: Barnes and Noble 1966) Hole, Christina English Shrines and Sanctuaries (London: B.T. Batsford 1954) Holinshed, Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland 6 vols (London: J. Johnson 1807-8) Hughes, Philip The Reformation in England 5th ed (London: Burns and Gates 1963) Hume, Anthea A Study of the Writings of the English Protestant Exiles, 1525-1535 (PhD diss University of London 1961) - 'William Roye's "Brefe Dialoge" (1527): An English Version of a Strasburg Catechism' Harvard Theological Review 60 (1967) 307-21 Hurstfield, Jack, ed The Reformation Crisis (London: Edward Arnold 1965) Kaminsky, Howard A History of the Hussite Revolution (Berkeley: University of California Press 1967) King, John N. English Reformation Literature: The Tudor Origins of the Protestant Tradition (Princeton: Princeton University Press 1982)

245 / Bibliography Knowles, David The Religious Orders in England 3 vols (Cambridge: University Press 1948-59) Knowles, David, and R. Neville Hadcock Medieval Religious Houses: England and Wales (London: Longmans, Green 1953) Koszul, A. 'Was Bishop William Barlowe Friar Jerome Barlowe?' Review of English Studies 4 (1928) 25-34 Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic of the Reign of Henry vm ed J.S. Brewer, J. Gairdner and J.H. Brodie. 21 vols (London: Longmans 1862-1910) Little, A.G. Franciscan Papers, Lists and Documents (Manchester: Manchester University Press 1943) McConica, James K. English Humanists and Reformation Politics under Henry VIII and Edward VI (Oxford: Clarendon Press 1965) McFarlane, K.B. John Wycliffe and the Beginnings of English NonConformity 3rd impression (London: The English Universities Press 1952) McLean, Andrew '"A noughtye and a false lyeng boke:" William Barlow and the Lutheran Factions' Renaissance Quarterly 31 (1978) 173-85 Mirk, John Mirk's 'Festial': A Collection of Homilies ed Theodore Erbe (London Kegan Paul, Trench, Triibner 1905) Early English Text Society es 96 More, Thomas The Complete Works (New Haven and London: Yale University Press 1965-) Mum and the Sothsegger ed Mabel Day and Robert Steele (Oxford: Oxford University Press 1936) Early English Text Society os 199 New Catholic Encyclopedia 15 vols (New York: McGraw-Hill 1967) OCD = Oxford Classical Dictionary 2nd edition ed N.G.L. Hammond and H.H. Scullard (Oxford: Clarendon Press 1970) OED = Oxford English Dictionary ed Sir James Murray et al 12 vols with suppl (Oxford: Clarendon Press 1933) Pelikan, Jaroslav Spirit Versus Structure: Luther and the Institutions of the Church (London: Collins 1968) Peter, John Complaint and Satire in Early English Literature (Oxford: Clarendon Press 1956) Phillips, John The Reformation of Images: Destruction of Art in England 1535-1660 (Berkeley: University of California Press 1973) Pollard, A.F. Wolsey (London: Longmans, Green 1929) Rawcliffe, Carole The Staffords, Earls of Stafford and Dukes of Buckingham, 1394-1521 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1978) The Relics of St. Cuthbert ed C.S. Battiscombe (London: Oxford University Press 1956)

246 / Bibliography Richardson, Ethel M. The Lion and the Rose 2 vols (London: Hutchinson 1922) Roberts, H. Ernest Notes on the Medieval Monasteries and Minsters of England and Wales (London: SPCK 1949) Roy, William William Roy's 'Dialogue between a Christian Father and His Stubborn Son' ed Adolf Wolf (Vienna 1874) Kaiserliche Akademie der Wissenschaften, Philosophisch-historische classe, Sitzungberichte, Band 76, pp 391-476 Rupp, E. Gordon Studies in the Making of the English Protestant Tradition (Cambridge: University Press 1949) Rupp, E. Gordon and Benjamin Drewery Martin Luther (London: Edward Arnold 1970) Scarisbrick, J.J. Henry VHI (London: Eyre and Spottiswoode 1968) Scattergood, V.J. Politics and Poetry in the Fifteenth Century (London: Blandford 1971,- rpt New York: Barnes and Noble 1972) A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church 2nd series ed Henry Wace and Philip Schaff 14 vols (Oxford: James Parker 1890-1900) STC = A Short-Title Catalogue of Books Printed in England, Scotland, and Ireland ... 1475-1640 ed A.W. Pollard and G.R. Redgrave (London 1926); 2nd ed W.A. Jackson and F.S. Ferguson completed by Katharine F. Pantzer 3 vols (London: Bibliographical Society 1976-91) Skelton, John The Complete English Poems ed John Scattergood (Harmondsworth: Penguin 1983) Sturge, Charles Cuthbert Tunstal: Churchman, Scholar, Statesman, Administrator (London: Longmans, Green 1938) Thomson, A.F. The Later Lollards, 1414-1520 (London: Oxford University Press 1965) Tilley, M.P. A Dictionary of the Proverbs in England in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press 1950) Trevor-Roper, H.R. Historical Essays (New York: Harper and Row 1966) Tucker, Samuel Marion Verse Satire in England before the Renaissance (New York: Columbia University Press 1908; rpt New York: AMS Press 1966) Tyndale, William An Answer to Sir Thomas More's Dialogue 'The Supper of the Lord' ed Henry Walter (Cambridge: University Press 1850) Parker Society - Doctrinal Treatises and Introductions to Different Portions of the Holy Scriptures ed Henry Walter (Cambridge: University Press 1848) Parker Society

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