Merchant wares in that place This Altar I say was commanded toÌ„ be demolished and a Temple to be builded in the same place for exercise of divine service The care this good Emperour had to quench the schisme that began in Alexandria shall bee declared in its due time God willing In some things Constantine was not vnlike to King Salomon who finding his Kingdome to be peaceably settled hee gaue himselfe to the building of the Temple of Palaces and of Townes which hee fortified and made strong Even so Constantine finding that no enemie durst enterprise any longer to molest the peaceable estate of his settled Kingdome hee builded magnifique Temples in Bethlehem the place of the Lords Nativity vpon Mount Olivet from whence Christ ascended to Heaven vpon Mount Calvarie where Christs Sepurchre was Hee builded also a Citie in Bithinia and called it Helenopolis for honour of his mother Helena and another in Palestina and called it Constantia by the name of his Sister Also hee builded a glorious Temple in Antiochia which his sonne Constantius perfected and to the dedication of that Temple a number of Bishoppes were assembled And finally hee builded the great Citie of Constantinople in Thracia and called it Nova Roma whereas before it was called Byzantium This towne was builded Anno 336. In the end the good Emperour intended to haue made warre against the Persians and by the way hee was purposed to haue beene baptised in Iordan where our Saviour Christ was baptised by Iohn but the Lord had disposed otherwise for the good Emperor fell sicke at Nicomedia and was baptised in the suburbs of that principall towne of Bithynia not in Rome nor by Silvester but in Nicomedia and by Eusebius How this Eusebius coozned the Emperour and obscured the wicked purpose of his hereticall heart from him and continued in good favour and credit with the Emperour even to the last period of his life so that hee had the honour to baptise the good Emperour will bee declared hereafter In his testamentall legacy hee left his Dominions to his sonnes ended his life happily and was buried in Constantinople Constantius Constans and younger Constantius COnstantius governed the East parts of the Romane Empire and he raigned 25. yeeres The other two brethren governed the West parts Constantine the younger was slain at Aquileia after hee had raigned with his brethren three yeers The Emperour Constans raigned 13. yeeres and was slaine in France by the Tyrant Magnentius so after the death of Constance the whole government of the Empire turned into the hands of Constantius He overcame Magnentius in battell who fled to Lions and slew his mother his owne brother and himselfe And so the Tyrant Magnentius brought himselfe and his kindred to a miserable end Constantius was infected with the heresie of Arrius by the meanes of an Arrian Priest who had beene in Court with Constantia the sister of the Emperour Constantine and relict of Licinius When shee was bound to bed by infirmity and sicknesse where of she died She recommended this Arrian presbyter to Constantine her brother whereby it came to passe that he had favour and credit in the Emperours court Hee procured the returning of Arrius from banishment and was the first reporter to Constantius of his fathers testamentall legacie And finally he perverted Constantius from the true faith which his father had professed So pernicious a thing is it to haue deceitfull Heretiques lurking in the courts of Princes During the life-time of his brother Constans Arrianisme had no great vpper hand because Constans Emperour of the West protected Paulus Bishop of Constantinople Athanasius Bishop of Alexandria and the rest of the Bishoppes whom the Arrians had most vniustly accused deposed and persecuted But after the slaughter of Constans the Arrians were encouraged by the inconstancy of the Emperour whose flexible and instable minde like vnto a reede shaken with the winde was inclined to follow the course that the fore-mentioned Priest put in his head This Priest informed the Emperour Constantius that the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Consubstantiall was not found in holy Scripture and that the inserting of this word in the forme of faith set downe by the Nicene Councell was the occasion of many debates and contentions in the Church of God and that the returning of Athanasius from banishment was the ground of a terrible tempest whereby not onely the estate of Egypt was shaken but also the estate of Palestina and Phoenicia and other places not farre distant from Egypt Moreover he added Athanasius had beene the author of mâ—testine dissention betwixt the Emperour Constantius and his brother Constans so that 〈◊〉 wrote menacing letters to his brother either to repossesse Paulus and Athanasius into their places again or else if he lingred in so doing since their innocency was cleered in the Councell of Sardica he threatned to lead an army to the East and to see them repossessed in their own roomes againe The Emperour Constantius was easily incited to wrath against Athanasius and he sent Sebastianus one of his Captaines accompanied with 5000. armed men to slay Athanasius but the Lord delivered him miraculously out of their hands when there seemed to bee no way of escaping because armed souldiers were planted round about the Temple yet he went safely through the midst of them and was not discerned albeit many Arrians were present of purpose to designe and point him out by the finger as a sheepe ordained for the slaughter Georgius an Arrian Bishop was seated in Alexandria in the place of Athanasius a wolfe in the chaire of a true Pastor whose fury and madnesse was helped by Sebastianus who furnished him with armed souldiers to accompany all his wicked and divelish devices A fire was kindled in the towne Christian Virgins were stripped naked brought to the fire and commanded to renounce their faith but the terror of the fire made them not once to shrinke When the sight of the fire could not terrifie them he caused their faces to be so dashed with strokes misfashioned their countenances that they could not bee knowne by their familiar friends but they like vnto victorious souldiers patiently endured all kinde of rebuke for the Name of Christ. Thirty Bishops of Egypt and Lybia were slaine in the fury of this Arrian persecution Fourteene Bishops whose names are particularly mentioned by Theodoretus were banished of whom some died in the way when they were transported others died in the place of their banishment Forty good Christians in Alexandria were scourged with rods because they would not communicate with the Arrian wolfe Georgius and so pitiously demained that some peeces of the rods were so deepely fixed in their flesh that they could not bee drawne out againe and many through excessiue paine of their wounded bodies concluded their liues Here is a liuely portrait of the mercies of the wicked which are cruell
expert in warfare as may appeare by this wittie policie which hee vsed against his enemies Vpon a certaine time his enemies set vpon him in a rough place where no battell could be fought but on foote only whereupon when his enemies were lighted from their horses Zisca commaunded the women which customably followed the hoast to cast their kirchiefes vpon the ground wherein the horsemen being intangled by their spurres were slaine before they could vnloose their feete And forasmuch as he had no walled nor fenced towne to inhabite he chosed out a certaine place vpon the riuer of Lusinitius which was fenced by nature about 8 miles from the Citie of Ausca This place he compassed with walles commanded euery man to build them houses where they had pitched their tents and named this Citie Thabor and the inhabitants his companions Thaborits because their Citie was built vpon the top of a mountaine He fought against the Emp. Sigismund and draue him out of Bohemia and although the Emperour came backe againe to Bohemia with a great armie of Hungarians and Morauians yet the second time also hee cowardly fled and Zisca pursued after him a daies iourney found great and rich spoyles and tooke the towne of Broda by force and set it on fire It is almost incredible that a man being blind as Zisca was in the time of his hottest warres for hauing but one eye he lost it at the siege of a certaine towne did so prouidently forecast all opportunities and aduantages against his enemies as if hee had seene It is reported that when hee was lying sicke and readie to die being demaunded where he would haue his body to be buried hee answered that they should pull the skin from off his dead body and that a Drumme should be made thereof which they should vse in the battell affirming that as soone as their enemies heard the sound of that Drumme they would not abide but take their flight After the death of Zisca the Emperour Sigismund assembled the Nobles of Germanie at Norinberge and leuied a great armie to enter into Boheme and pursue the Hussites or Thaborites of new againe Also Pope Martin sent Iulian his Cardinall of S. Angelie into Germanie to that same effect that is to say to make warre against the Bohemians But the Emperour had no better successe in this enterprise then hee had in the former for all his armie was striken with a sudden feare before any of his aduersaries were come in sight and fled most shamfully to the great encouragement and inritching of their aduersaries The Cardinall Iulian himselfe being present and marueling at the sudden feare went about the Captaines perswading them to put on armour to order their battells and couragiously to abide their enemies But this exhortation was all in vaine for feare had put away all boldnesse and euerie man did runne headlong away The Cardinall also although it were against his will was forced to doe the like after this the Cardinall addressed himselfe to the councell of Basile wherein he was appointed to be president in name and behalfe of the Bishop of Rome But of this hereafter Albertus NExt to Sigismund Albert Duke of Austria his sonne in law was chosen to be Emperour and gouerned eight yeeres for his liberalitie iustice manhoode in wars greatly renowned He subdued the Bohems and brought in subiection the people of Morauia In his time Amurathes Emperour of the Turkes invaded the king of Seruia from whom after long siege he wanne Scopia and Newmount and hee tooke in battel his two sonnes whom he berest of their sight but after he tooke their sister in marriage and restored Newmont Hee tooke also the famous towne of Grecia called Thessalonica being then vnder league and protection of the Venetians and the towne of Croia in Epirus but God raised vp Ioannes Huniades a valiant man in Wallachia who being aided with the power of Vladislaus the king of Polonia did infringe the puyssance of the Turke and recouered againe to the Christians the greatest part of Seruia and Bulgaria so that the Turkes was compelled to desire truce for ten yeeres But after the truce was concluded on both parts and with solemne oath also confirmed and Amarathes was returned backe againe to Asia Pope Eugenius the 4. sent Iulianus Caesarianus to the foresaid king with full dispensation to breake his oath and league with the Turke whereby it came to passe that the young king inticed by the wicked instigations of Eugenius set forward his armie against the Turke vntill he came to Varna a towne of Bulgaria where he was discomfited and slaine by Amurathes to the great hurt and greater shame of Christian people whom the Infidels might iustlie accuse of periurie and breaking of Couenants sealed by the name of Christ whom they professe to be their Sauiour This battell at Varna fell out in the raigne of Fredericke of whom we are to speake in the next place Fredericke 3. AFter Albert Frederick the 3. Duke of Austria was chosen to be Emperour and raigned 53. yeeres in whose daies much war and dissention raigned almost thorow all Christian Realmes whereby it had beene easie for the Turke to haue ouerrunne them all if the mercifull prouidence of God had not kept Amurathes occupied at this time To this Frederick came Elizabeth the spouse of Albert sometime Emperour with Ladislaus her son by whom he was nourished and entertained a certaine space till at length after the death of Vladislaus aforesaid king of Hungarie who was slaine by the Turkes in the battell of Varna the men of Austria rising vp in armour required the Emp. to giue them their young King who being restored into their hands and being yet vnder age committed his three Kingdomes to three gouernours whereof Iohn Huniades the worthy Captaine aboue mentioned had the ruling of Hungarie George Pogicbzachius had Bohemia and Vlricus the Earle of Cilicia had Austria But Vlricke had the chiefe custodie of the young King and was a great enemie to Huniades by many secret meanes seeking his destruction But Huniades being couragious and wise and circumspect easily disappointed all his fetches After the death of this worthy gouernour his two sonnes Ladislaus and Mathias gouerned Hungarie and in their time Ladislaus King of Bohemia Hungarie and Austria came into Alba a towne of Hungarie accompanied with Vlricus Earle of Cilicia and governour of Austria vnder the young king Ladislaus most gladly receiued the king but debarred from entering into the Citie 4000. armed souldiers of the number of them that accompanied the king Vlricus the Earle grudging at this and sitting in Councell required Ladislaus to appeare before him and accused him of treason for shutting the gates vpon the kings souldiers and not content with this hee tooke his sword from his Page and let a stroake flee at his head But the Hungarians hearing the noyse in the Councell brake in vpon them
nothing but the dissention dayly encreased hee ordayned Paulinus presbyter of Antiochia and the chiefe of those who were called Eustatiani to be Bishop of Antiochia This fact of Lucifer was like vnto fuell added vnto the fire and mightily augmented the schisme Theodoretus blameth him for so doing and Eusebius Vercellencis when hee came backe from Alexandria disliked also the fact of Lucifer Wherefore Lucifer would not communicate any longer with Eusebius These sorrowfull times of multiplyed schismes alienated the hearts of a great number of people from the true Church Meletius was restored from his second banishment in the dayes of the Emperour Gratianus Paulinus would on no condition communicate with him because hee had receiued ordination from the Arrians When Meletius had ended his life the people would not admit Paulinus to be their Bishop because they sayd it was not meete that he should be his successor who dispised his fellowship and counsell in his life time To Meletius succeeded Flavianus a worthy man Paulinus albeit hee appoynted Evagrius to bee his successor yet such formes manifestly repugnant to the approoved order of the Church could take no place The Bishoppes of Rome Damascus Siricius and Anastatius were great adversaries to him and mis-informed the good Emperour Theodosius against him but when he appeared before the Emperour hee spake before him both freely and wisely words that liked the Emperour well as they are reported by Theodoretus O Emperour if any man doe blame my Faith as perverse or my life as vnworthy I am content to bee iudged by my very adversaries but if the disputation onely bee concerning principality and eminent places I will not contend with any man but denude my selfe of all superiority and commit the chaire of Antiochia to whom yee like best The Emperour admired his courage and wisedome and sent him backe againe to governe his owne Flocke and was slow to heare frivolous accusations in time to come against Flavianus This was that worthy Bishop who associated Iohn Chrysostome to bee his fellow labourer in Antiochia and who mitigated the wrath of Theodosius conceived against the City of Antiochia for misusing the Image of his wife Placilla Bishops of Constantinople COnstantinople was builded by Constantine Anno 336. in a place where Asia and Europe neerly confines being separated onely by a narrow river called of olde Bosphorus Thracius The cause wherefore this Imperiall Citie was builded in this place was not to resigne the towne of Rome and the government of the West to the Bishop of Rome but as Sozomenus writes that Constantinople or new Rome might bee as a soveraigne Ladie to all those who in the East West North or South were obedient to the Romane Empire Learned men in our dayes are ashamed to maintaine all the foolish fables of the Romane Church for they see cleerly the cause of the building of this great Citie was to keepe firmely both the East and the West vnder the Soveraignty of Constantine and his successors Alexander Bishop of Constantinople prooved a worthy man in the dayes of the Emperour Constantine The Arrians finding themselues to be vtterly reiected by Athanasius they addressed themselues to Constantinople vnder the conduct of Eusebius Bishop of Nicomedia and threatned Alexander that in case hee would not receive Arrius into the fellowship of the Church then they would bring him in authorized with the Emperours command to the griefe of his heart Alexander cloathed himselfe with the armour of God and all the night long prayed in this sense Lord if Arrius be to be received to morrow into the communion of thy Church then let thy servant depart in peace and destroy not the iust with the wicked but Lord if thou wilt spare thy Church wherevnto I am assured thou wilt be favourable then Lord turne thine eyes toward the wâ—rdes of the Eusebians and give not thine inheritance to a desolation and reproach and cut off Arrius lest while hee entreth into the Church his heresie also seeme to enter with him and so no difference seeme to bee betwixt Piety and Impiety The next day following the prayer of Alexander Eusebius Bishop of Nicomedia with his retinue came with great confidence and pompe to performe all which they threatned they would doe But Arrius was compelled to goe to a secret place where his bowels gushed out and he concluded his wretched life with ignominy and shame To Alexander succeeded Paulus his lot was to gouerne this Church vnder the raigne of an Arrian Emperour Constantius who reiected him and seated Eusebius Bishoppe of Nicomedia in his place But this great Patron of the Arrian heresie scarcely was placed in Constantinople when he ended his life The Homousians received againe Paulus to bee their Bishoppe The Arrians chose Alaâ—edonius This was the cause of great strife in Constantinople and the people divided in factions hatefully invaded one another the Emperour hearing of the tumult sent Hermogenes the Generall Commander of his horsemen to remoue Paulus from Constantinople Hermogenes was very ready to execute the Emperours commandement but the people being affectioned toward their Pastor arose vp with popular tumult compassed the house of Hermogenes set it on fire sâ—ew him and fastned a cord to his legges and trailed him along the street For this cause the Emperour Constantius willing to punish the authours of this tumult hastened to come to Constantinople The people went forth to meet him and with teares confessed their fault and craved pardon The Emperour abstayned from punishing them vnto the death but he cut off the one-halfe of thâ— victuall which the liberality of his father had bestowed vpon Constantinople to bee payed yeerely out of the tributes of Egypt Hee banished Paulus the second tune and seated Macedonius in Constantinople not without effusion of blood Paulus was againe restored by the meanes of the Emperour Constans but after the death of Constans hee was banished to Cucusus a towne of Armenia where hee was strangled by the bloody Arrians The Church of Constantinople was miserably troubled with Arrianisme vnder the raignes of Constantius and Valens The raignes of Gratianus and Theodosius was a breathing time to the professors of the true Faith At this time Nazianzen a constant defender of the Faith was chosen Bishop of Constantinople who notwithstanding voluntarily left the great Citie in regard the Bishops assembled in the second generall Councell gaue not a full and vniversall consent to his admission Yet gaue they all their consent to Nectarius a man of noble birth of the countrey of Cilicia at that time 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and who had received no Ecclesiasticall preferment before that time This man I say they made Bishop of Constantinople with full consent and allowance both of the Councell and people ouer-passing Nazianzenus so fraile are the cogitations of men euen in generall Councels that they are oft times more ruled
Now are yee cleane through the word that I haue spoken vnto you The heresie of Sabellius began to shew it selfe vnto the world about the yeere of our Lord 257. vnder the raigne of Gallus It was set forth by Nortus in Ptolemaida afterward by Hermogenes and Prazeas and last it was propagated by Sabellius the disciple of Noetus Alwaies the heresie rather taketh the name from the disciple then from the master They confessed that there was but one God onely but they denyed that there were three distinct persons in this one Godhead viz. the Father Sonne and holy Ghost By this their opinion they confounded the two Greeke words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as if there were no difference betwene them No man dare presume to say that in God there are three distinct substances therefore Sabellius and his adherents sayd that there were not three distinct substances or persons in the Godhead but the three names of the Father Sonne and holy Ghost were given to one person only but pointed not out distinction of persons or substances in the Godhead By this opinion they were compelled to grant that it was the Father who cloathed himselfe with our nature and dyed for our sinnes and they were called Patrispassâ—ani because their opinion imported that the Father suffered In the raigne of Gallienus and about the yeere of our Lord 264. a certaine Bishop in Egypt called Nepos began to affirme that at the later day the godly should rise before the wicked and should liue with Christ heere in the earth a thousand yeeres in abundance of all kinde of delicate earthly pleasures The ground of this errour was the misvnderstanding of the words of the Revelation of Iohn chap. 20. vers 5.6 In refuting of this heresie Dionysius Bishop of Alexandria bestowed his travels with good successe for hee disputed against Coracion a man professing this errour in Arsenoitis a place of Egypt whom hee refuted in presence of many brethren who were auditors of that disputation for the space of three dayes from morning till evening So that in the end Coracion yeelded and promised that hee should not maintaine any such opinion in time to come About that same time that is in the time of the raigne of Gallienus Claudius and Aurelianus Paulus Samosatenus Bishop of Antiochia a pestilent fellow denyed the divinity of the Sonne of God and affirmed that Christ obtained the name of the Sonne of God through his vertuous behaviour and patient suffering but he was not naturally and truely the Sonne of God begotten of the substance of the Father His life correspondent to his doctrine was wicked and prophane He was so covetous of vaine-glory that he built vnto himselfe in the Church a glorious seat according to the similitude of a princely throne and from this seat hee spake vnto the people whom he was accustomed to reproue with sharpe words if they had not received his words with cheerfull acclamations and shoutings such as were wont to bee vsed in Stage-playes The Psalmes also that were sung in Church to the praise of God hee abrogated and was not ashamed to hire women to sing his owne praises in the Congregation of the Lords people For this his damnable doctrine and lewd life he was most iustly deposed by the Councell convened at Antiochia and excommunicated by all Christian Churches in the whole world and was so detested by all good men that Fâ—rmilius Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia and Dionysius Alexandrinus who for his olde age might not travell and be present at the Councell of Antiochia yet they both damned the Heretique Samosatenus by their letters sent to the Congregation of Antiochia but not to the Bishop thereof because hee was not worthy that any man should salute him either by word or writ Manes a Persian otherwise called Manicheus a man furious and mad answering well vnto his name set forth the venome of his heresie in the time of the raigne of Diclesian a man both in speech and manners rude and barbarous in inclination divelish yet hee durst to call himselfe the holy spirit as Montanus had done before and to represent Christs actions in chusig vnto him twelue disciples whom hee sent forth to propagate his errors into diverse parts of the world His heresie contained a masse or venomous composition of old extinguished errors which hee renued and massed together such as the error of Cerdon and Marcion concerning two beginnings The error of Encratitae in prohibition of meates which God hath appointed for the vse of man with thanksgiving specially flesh and wine Hee vtterly reiected the old Testament as many other Heretiques had done before him Hee ascribed not sinne to the free will of man and his voluntary defection from the estate of his first creation but to necessity because mans bodie was made of the substance of the Prince of darknes This was that heresie wherewith Augustine was infected before his conversion but the Lord who brought forth light out of darknesse and made Paul sometime a Persecuter to be a Preacher of his Gospell and Cyprian a Sorcerer to be a worthy Preacher and Martyr this same gracious Lord I say in the multitude of his vnspeakeable compassions drew Augustine out of this filthy myre of abhominable heresie and made him liste vnto a bright starre sending forth the beames of light to comfort Gods house The opinion of Manes concerning the creation of the world and the creation of man the manifestation of Christ in our nature rather in shew and appearance then in verity and the horrible abhomination of their vile Eucharist no man can be ignorant of these things who hath read but a little of the bookes of Augustine written against the Maniâ—heans In the end like as Manes exceeded all the rest of the Heretiques in madnesse of foolish opinions even so the Lord pointed him out among all the rest to be a spectacle of his wrath and vengeance For the King of Persia hearing of the fame of Manes sent for him to cure his sonne who was deadly diseased but when hee saw that his sonne died in his hands hee cast him into prison and was purposed to put him to death but he escaped out of prison and fled to Mesopotamia Neverthelesse the King of Persia vnderstanding in what place Manes did lurke sent men who pursued him tooke him and excoriated his body and stopped his skin full of chaffe and set it vp before the entry of a certaine Citie of Mesopotamia If any man bee desirous to haue greater knowledge of this remarkeable Heretique both in respect of his life and death hee may reade the fore-mentioned chapter of the Ecclesiasticall history of Socrates and he shall finde that the first man called Manicheus who renued the error of two beginnings was a man of Scythia He had a disciple first called Buddas afterward Terebynthus who dwelt in Babylon This man
Maximian retained to themselues These two Augusties raigned 20. yeeres Constantius Chlorus Caesar continued fifteene Galerius Caesar 21. yeeres Dioclesian and Maximianus Herculeus abstained from persecuting of Christians vntill the nineteene yeere of their raigne Before I touch the History of the tenth persecution three things are to be premitted First that after the persecution of Valerian the eight Persecuter the Church enioyed great peace which albeit it was like to bee cut off by the altered minde of Aurelian yet the wise dispensation of the wisdome of God provided that all his cruell enterprises were disappointed The righteous Lord cutted the cords of the wicked Secondly Christians were in great favour and credit with Emperours and to them was committed the gouernment of Provinces and Nations as cleerly appeared in the preferment of Dorotheus and Gorgonius Thirdly they had libertie to build Oratories and Temples large and ample in every Citie All this came to passe in the forty yeeres peace that intervened betweene the raigne of Valerian and the nineteenth yeere of the raigne of Dioclesian Yet the Church of Christ in this short time began to be festred with the corrupt manners of carnall and fleshly people so that contentions abounded but charity waxed cold in the Church of God What wonder was it then that the Lord permitted this tenth and most horrible persecution of Dioclesian to stirre and to waken drowsie Christians who were beginning to be fashioned according to the likenesse of the world In the nineteenth yeere of his Imperiall authority and in the moneth of March this horrible persecution began to arise Dioclesian in the East and Maximianus in the West bending all their forces to roote out the profession of Christians out of the world Dioclesian was pufft vp in pride for his manifold victories and triumphes and would bee counted a God and adorned his shooes with gold and precious stones and commanded the people to kisse his feete This Persecution continued ten yeeres even vntill the seventh yeere of the raigne of Constantine the great So that whatsoever cruelty was practised by Maximinianus Maximinus Maxentius and Licinius all goeth vnder the name of Dioclesian the author of this tenth persecution Cruell edicts and proclamations were set forth in the beginning of this persecution cōmanding to overthrow cast to the ground the Temples of Christians to burne the bookes of holy Scripture to displace all such as were magistrates and were in office and to cast Christian Bishops into prison and to compell them with sundry kinds of punishments to offer vnto Idols Also common people who would not renounce the profession of Christianity to be spoyled of their liberty These edicts were hastily put in execution Many Christians were scourged racked and cruciated with intolerable torments Some were violently drawne to impure sacrifice and as though they had sacrificed when indeede they did not were let goe some were downe vpon the ground and drawne by the legges a great space and the people was made to beleeue that they had sacrificed some stoutly withstood them and denyed with a lowd voyce that they had not bin or ever would be partakers of Idolatry Notwithstanding of the weake sort many for feare and infirmity gaue over even at the first assault When the foresaid edicts were proclaimed both the Emperours happened to be in the towne of Nicomedia notwithstanding a certaine Christian being a noble man borne whose name was Iohn ranne and tooke downe the proclamation and openly tare and rent it peeces For which fact he was put to a most bitter death which hee patiently endured vntill his last gaspe The generall Captaine of the army of Dioclesian gaue choyce to the souldiers whether they would obey the Emperours commandement in offering sacrifices and keeps still their offices or else lay away their armour and be depriued of their offices but the Christian souldiers were not onely content to lay away their armour bu also to offer themselues vnto the death rather then to obey such vnlawfull commandements In Nicomedia the Emperour refraind not from the slaughter and death of the children of Emperours neither yet from the slaughter of the chiefest princes of his court such as Peter whose body being beaten with whips and torne that a man might see the bare bones and after they had mingled vineger and salt they powred it vpon the most tender partes of his body and lastly rosted him at a soft fire as a man would rost flesh to eare and so this victorious martyr ended his life Dorotheus and Gorgonius being in great authoritie and office vnder the Emperour after diuerse torments were strangled with an halter The torments that Peter suffered encouraged them to giue a worthy confession that they were of that same faith and religion that Peter was of This persecution raged most vehemently in Nicomedia where the Emperours palace through some occasion being set on fire the Christians were blamed as authors of that fact Therefore so many as could be found out were burned with fire or drowned in water or beheaded with the sword amongst whom was Anthimus Bishop of Antiochia who was beheaded The bodies of the sonnes of Emperours that were buried they digged out of their graues and sent them in boates to bee buried in the bottome of the sea lest Christians should haue worshipped them as gods if their sepulchres had beene knowne such opinion they had of Christians The number of twentie thousand burned in one temple of Nicomedia by Maximinus smelleth of the libertie that Nicephorus taketh in adding many things to the veritie of the historie The martyrdome of Serena the Emperour Dioclesians wife is rejected by learned men as a fable albeit recorded by Hermannus Gigas The number of Christians cast into prison and appointed for death was so great that scarcely a voide place could be found in a prison to thrust in a murtherer or an opener of graues such heapes of Christians were inclosed in darke prisons The martyrs of Palestina of Tyrus in Phenicia of Tarsus of Antiochia of Alexandria of Miletina in Armenia and of Pontus Cappadocia and Arabia they could not easily bee numbred In Thebaida horrible and vnnaturall crueltie was vsed against christian women whom they hanged vpon gibbets with their heades down-ward toward the ground and fastened one of their legges onely to the gibbet the other being free thus their naked bodies hanging vpon trees in maner aforesaid presenced to the beholders a spectacle of most vile and horrible inhumanitie In like maner the branches of trees were artificially bowed downe to the earth and the feete and legges of Christians tied to them so that by their hastie returning againe vnto their naturall places the bodies of Christians were rent in pieces This was not a crueltie finished in a short space of time but of long continuance some dayes 20. some dayes 60. and at sometimes an hundred were with sundrie kindes of torments
The like crueltie the Arrians practised in Constantinople Paulus Bishop of Constantinople was banished to Cuculus a little towne in Cappadocia where he was strangled by the Arrians Macedonius was placed in his roome a notable Heretique who vsed no lesse crueltie in compelling the Christians of Constantinople to communicate with him then was vsed of olde to compell Christians to sacrifice to the Idoles of the Gentiles The exquisite diligence of the Arrians in procuring Councels to bee gathered for establishing of their errour shall be declared in the right place God willing Now to returne to the ciuill estate of Constantius After that Magnentius had made an end of his owne life in most desperate manner as is said and his associate Britannio had humbly submitted himselfe to Constantius and obtained pardon yet was not the Emperours estate quiet and free of trouble for there arose another Tyrant called Siluanus whom the Captaines of Constantius armie in France did hastily cut off and make out of the way Also the Iewes of Diocaesaria a towne of Palestina rebelled against him who were ouerthrowne by Gallus the Emperours coosen and the Citie of Diocaesaria was leuelled with the ground This good successe made Gallus somewhat insolent and he slew Domitianus the Emperours great Treasurer in the East therefore the Emperour gaue commandement to cut him off Finally the Germans who had assisted him in his warres against Magnentius they rebelled against him And hee sent against them his coosen Iulian the brother of Gallus who subdewed the Germans and hee likewise waxed insolent and suffered the souldiours to salute him with the name of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is of an Emperour This was not vnknowne to Constantius who made hast to preuent all further vsurpation But by the way as hee was leading his armie through Cilicia hee concluded his life sorowing for this as Theodoretus writes that he had changed the forme of the Nicene faith Iulianus IN the yeere of our Lord 365. Iulian began to raigne and he raigned 3 yeeres Ruffinus assignes vnto him one 8. monethes only he was Constantius neere kinsman who made him Caesar and gaue vnto him in marriage Helena his sister He was brought vp in Christian Religion but was peruerted by Maximus an Ephesian Philosopher whom Valentinian the Emperour afterward punished vnto the death as a practiser of Magicall artes In the beginning of his raigne he restored those Bishops to their places againe whom Constantius had banished not for loue of Religion but to impare the fame of Constantius yet immediately after hee manifested his affection toward Heathnicke superstition and opened the doores of the Temples of the gods of the Heathen which Constantine had locked vp and incouraged others by his owne example to offer sacrifices to the gods of the Gentiles Iulian absteined for a time from crueltie and shedding of blood not for pitie and compassion of Christians but rather for enuie For he enuyed the glory of Christian Martyrs whose magnanimitie courage and constant perseuerance in the faith of Christ vnto the death was commended in the mouthes of all men But he indeuoured by subtile and craftie meanes to vndoe Christian Religion He debarred the children of Christians from Schooles and from the vse of Learning Also hee debarred them from warre fare from offices of gouerment of Romane Prouinces and from offices of heauie taxations which taxations also the auarice of the Deputies of Prouinces increased and made them more grieuous and intollerable Neuerthelesse when Christians complained of the vnrighteous dealing of the Deputies the Emperour mocked them and said their happinesse was increased according to the speech of Christ their Lord and Master Blessed are they who suffer persecution for righteousnesse sake Likewise in the market places of Cities he set vp his own Image with the Effigies of the gods of the Heathen pictured round about it to the ende that whosoeuer should doe ciuil reuerence to the Emperours Image might also seeme to worship the gods of the Gentiles And by the contrarie they who would not bow to the gods of the Gentiles might seem also to refuse all due reuerence to the Emperour When he distributed gold to his Captaines and Warriours as the custome was he vsed a forme of distributing not accustomed before to haue an altar neere vnto his Princely throne and coales burning vpon it and incense vpon a table neere vnto the altar whereby it came to passe that no man receiued gold before he cast incense vpon the coales of the altar by this subtile artifice circumuenting many who knew not that it was Iulians purpose to intangle them with the rites of ido latrous seruice In Antiochia in the Region round about he dedicated all the Fountaines to the Goddesses of the Gentiles and caused all the victuall that was to be solde in market places to be sprinckled with Heathenicke holy water Neuerthelesse Christians without scruple of conscience dranke of the water that was in the Welles and ate of the meate which they bought in the market beeing fully perswaded that to the cleane all thinges are cleane and againe it is written Whatsoeuer is solde in the shambles eat ye and aske no question for conscience sake The libertie that Iunentius and Maxentius two worthie Warriours vsed in reprouing the Emperour to his face for his Heathnike superstition moued Iulian to such wrath that hee punished them vnto the death And so by degrees the policie and wisedome of Iulian in the end breakes foorth into the fruites of crueltie and shedding of blo od Albeit no publicke mandate of Iulian was set foorth commanding to persecute Christians yet by many euident testimonies it was knowne to the people that the Emperour hated them and that no man would incur punishment for outrage and violence vsed against them Therefore in the towne of Sebaste the Sepulchre of Iohn the Baptist was opened his bones were burnt and the ashes scattered abroad Likewise the wicked men of Gaza and Ascalon killed Preachers and holy Virgins ripped their bellies filled them with barlie and cast their bodies to the swine to be eaten Cyrillus also a Deacon in Hierapolis a towne of Phoenicia at the foote of Mount Libanus who in time of the raigne of Constantine had broke in pieces the images of the Gentiles was taken by them his bellie was ript his liuer was drawne out of his bodie which with Barbarous inhumanitie they chawed with their teeth But the Lord suffered not such vnkouth crueltie to escape vnpunished for the teeth of those who commited this fact of vnnaturall inhumanitie fell out of their jaw bones their tongues rotted within their mouthes and their eyes were darkned and blinded a just and deserued punishment of brutish Sauages practised by men Marcus Arthusius had his body ouerlaid with hony and it was hung vp in hot summer weather to be molested with wasps and flies In
dayes hee was compelled to gather a new army and fight against the Tyrant Eugenius and his chiefe Captaine Arbogastus who had conspired against Valentinian the second and strangled him while he was lying in his bed This battell went hardly at the beginning but Theodosius had his recourse to God by prayer and the Lord sent a mighty tempest of winde which blew so vehemently in the face of Eugenius army that their darts were turned backe by the violence of the winde in their owne faces Of which miraculous support sent from aboue the Poet Claudian writes these Verses O nimium dilecte Deo eui sundis ab antris Eolus a mat as biemes cuiâ—â—â— at ather Et cominrati veniunt ad classica venti The Tyrant Eugenius fell downe at the feet of Theodosius to begge pardon but the souldiers pursued him so straitly that they slew him at the Emperours feete Arbogastus the author of all this mischiefe hee sled and being out of all hope of safety slew himselfe Like as there was no sacrifice wherein dung was not found even so the life and actions of this noble Emperour was spotted with some infirmities Against the Inhabitants of Thessalonica the Emperour was mooved with excessiue anger so that seven thousand innocent people were slaine invited to the spectacle of Playes called Ludi circenses and in the Greeke language 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For this fault the good Emperour was reprooved by Ambrose Bishop of Millaine and confessed his fault in sight of the people with teares and made a lawe that the like commandements concerning the slaughter of people should not haue hastie execution vntill the tune that thirty dayes were overpassed to the end that space might be left to either mercy or to repentance In like manner he was angry out of measure against the people of Antiochia for overthrowing the brasen portrait of his beloved bedfellow Placilla The Emperour denuded their towne of the dignity of a Metrapolitan Citie conferring this eminent honour to their neighbour towne Laodicea Moreover hee threatned to set the towne on fire and to redact it vnto the base estate of a village But Flavianus Bishop of Antiochia by his earnest travels with the Emperour mitigated his wrath for the people repented their foolish fact and were fore afraid and the good Emperour moved with pitty pardoned the fault of the towne of Antiochia His lenity toward the Arrians whom hee permitted to keepe conventions in principall Cities was with great dexterity and wisedome reprooved by Amphilochius Bishop of Iconium For hee came in vpon a time and did reverence to the Emperour but not vnto Arcadius his sonne albeit already associated to his father in government and declared Augustus whereat Theodosius being offended Amphilochius very pertinently and in due season admonished the Emperour that the God of heaven also would bee offended with them who tolerated the blasphemers of his only begotten Sonne the Lord Iesus Christ. Wherevpon followed a lawe discharging the conventions of Heretikes in the principall Cities In all these infirmities it is remarkeable that the good Emperour ever gaue place to wholesome admonitions The excessiue paines hee was compelled to vndertake in Warfare hastened his death for hee contracted sicknesse soone after his returning from the the battell fought against Eugenius and died in the 60. yeere of his age and in the 16. yeere of his raigne He left behind him his two sonnes Arcadius to governe the East and Honorius to governe the West ⸪ CENTVRIE V. Arcadius and Honorius THE good Emperour Theodosius left behinde him two sonnes Arcadius to governe the East parts and Honorius the West Arcadius raigned 14 yeeres He was a meeke and godly Emperour but not couragious as his father had beene His simplicity was abused by Eudoxia his wife Ruffinus his chiefe counseller and Gania his chiefe Captaine Eudoxia was offended at the freedome that Chrysostome vsed in reproving of sinne And by the meanes of Theophilus Bishop of Alexandria procured his deposition Theophilus had gathered a Synode at the Oke of Calcedon and because Chrysostome being warned refused to appeare they convict him of contumacy and deposed him after deposition followed banishment from which the affectioned mindes of the people toward their Pastor constrained the Emperour to reduce him againe yet Eudoxia continued in her malice and procured by the meanes of Theophilus his second deposition banishment with commandement to iourney his weake bodie with excessiue travels from place to place vntill hee concluded his life Ruffiinus stirred vp Alaricus King of the Gothes to fight against Arcadius secretly presuming to the kingdome but his treasonable enterprises being espyed hee was slaine and his head and right hand were hung vp vpon the port of Constantinople Gaina of a simple souldier was made generall Commander of Arcadius his army hee waxed insolent and proud affected the kingdome being in blood a stranger of the Nation of the Goths in religion an Arrian Hee craved a petition of the Emperour that hee might haue one of the Churches of Constantinople wherein hee might serue God according to his owne forme but this petition by the prudent advice of Chrysostome given to the Emperour was reiected and the pride of Gaina for a time was something abated Honorius raigned in the West all the dayes of his brother Arcadius and 15. yeeres after his death The whole time of his government was very troublesome Gildo his Lieutenant in Africke vsurped the dominion of Africke and Mascelzer his brother who at the first detested treasonable enterprises in his brother yet afterward followed his brothers footsteps and received the iust deserved reward of his inconstancy for hee was slaine by his owne souldiers In like manner Stilico the Emperours father in law for Honorius married his daughter and the Emperors chiefe Counseller presumed to drawe the kingdome to Eucherius his sonne and stirred vp the Vandales Burgundians Almans and diverse others to invade the kingdome of France to the end that Honorius being overcharged with the multitude of vnsupportable businesse might permit Stilico to set forward to the designes of his owne heart About this time Rhadagisus a Sythian accompanied with an army of two hundred thousand Gothes came to Italy And the helpe of Vldinus and Sarus Captaines of the Hunnes and Gothes being obtained Rhadagisus was suddenly surprised himself was taken and strangled many were slaine the most part were sold whereupon followed incredible cheapnesse of servants so that flocks of servants were sold for one peece of gold in Italy The next great trouble came by Alaricus King of the Westerne Gothes who invaded Italy and camped about Ravenna with whom Honorius entred into a capitulation and promised to him and his retinue a dwelling place in France The Gothes marched toward their appointed dwelling place But Stilico the Emperours father in law followed after them and set vpon them at vnawares when they suspected none evill
Christians to the making whereof concurred Sergius a Nestorian heretik and Iohn of Antiochia an Arrian heretike and some Iewes Mahomet also ordained that all people whom the Saracenes could conquer should be compelled by fire and sword and al kind of violence to receiue the doctrine contained in these bookes Heraclius perceiuing the sudden great increase of the doÌ„inion of the Saracens gathered a great army fought against them but he was ouer-come in battell and lost 150. thousand men of his army And when he renewed his forces againe to fight against the Saracens he found that 52. thousand men of his army died in one night suddenly as those did who were slaine by the Angell of God in the army of Senacherib Heraclius was so discouraged with the calamitie of his armie that he contracted sicknesse and died Constantinus and Heracleonas AEter the death of Heraclius raigned his son Constantine 4 moneths was made out of the way by poyson giuen vnto him by Martina his fathers second wife to the end that Heracleonas her son might raigne But God suffered not this wickednes to be vnpunished For Martina and Heracleonas were taken by the Senators of Constantinople her tongue was cut out and his nose cut off least either her flattering speeches or his beauty and comelines should haue moued the people to compassion and they were both banished About this time the Saracenes had taken Caesarea in Palestina after they had besieged it seuen yeeres and they slew in it seuen thousand Christians Constans AFter the banishment of Martina and Heracleonas her sonne raigned Constans the sonne of Constantine 27. yeeres in religion he followed the footsteps of Heraclius and was infected with the heresie of the Monothelites and persecuted Martinus 1. Bishop of Rome because he had gathered a Synode in Rome and damned the heresie of the Monothelites whom also he caused to be brought in bands to Constantinople cut out his tongue and cut off his right hand and banished him to Chersonesus in Pontus where hee ended his life Hee fought also against the Saracenes in sea-warre-fare and was ouer-come by them like as interpreters of dreames had fore-tolde him for he dreamed that hee was dwelling in Thessalonica and the interpreters said it portended no good but that others should ouer-come him as if the world Thessalonica did import 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is render victory to another Constans was slaine by one of his owne seruants as hee was washing himselfe in the bathe-houses of Saracuse Constantinus Pogonatus COnstans being slaine in Sicile the army in those parts appointed Mezentius a man of incomparable beautie to bee Emperour but Constantinus the eldest sonne of Constans sayled to Sicile with a great nauie slew Mezentius and the murtherers of his father and recouered his fathers dominion to himselfe Hee was called Pogonatus because his face was not bare and voide of haire when he returned from Sicile as it was when hee sailed thither from Byzans but his face was rough and couered with haire Hee had 2. brethren whom the people reuerâ—nced with equall honour as they did him therefore hee disfigured their faces by cutting off their noses and reigned himselfe alone 17. yeeres In religion hee was not like vnto his predecessors who had beene fauourers of heretiques but he assembled a generall Councell at Constantinople vulgarly called the sixt Oecumenick Councell wherein the heresie of the Monothelites was vtterly damned as in his owne place shall be declared God willing Likewise the estate of the Emperour was more peaceable than it had beene in time of his predecessors for the Saracens were compelled to seeke conditions of peace from him and to offer yeerely paiment of 3000. pound weight of gold vnto him with other tributes of horse seruants and prisoners Iustinianus the second Leontius and Absimarus AFter the death of Constantine raigned his son Iustinian the second sixteene yeeres to wit ten yeeres before his banishment and sixe yeeres after his banishment His gouernement was cruell and bloodâ—e by perswasion of Stephanus and Theodorus whose counsell hee followed euen till the purpose of exirpation of all the Citizens of Constantinople But Leontius a man of noble birth pitying the Citie tooke Iustinian the Emperour cut off his nose and banished him to Chersonesus Ponti where he remained in great miserie ten yeeres Stephanus and Theodorus his bad counsellors receaued a condigne punishment for they were burnt quicke in the bellie of an hot brasen bull After this banishment of Iustinian the second Leontius raigned three yeeres The flexible mindes of vnconstant people and souldiers choosed Absimarus to be their Emperour who dealt with Leontius as hee had dealt with Iustinian and cut off his nose and thrust him into a Monasterie where hee remained seuen yeeres to wit all the time of Absimarus gouernement In the ende Iustinian after ten yeeres banishment recouered his Emperiall dignitie againe by the helpe of Terbelliâ— Prince of Bulgaria Hee caused Leontius and Absimarus to be brought vnto him whom he trampled vnder his feete after commanded that they should be beheaded The crueltie that he vsed against the Citizens of Constantinople and against the inhabitaâ—â—â— of Chersonesus Ponti is almost vnspeakeable He was hated of all men Philippicus conspired against him and he was slaine by one named Elias his seruant CENTVRIE VIII Philippicus AFter Iustinian the second was slaine Philippicus raigned two yeeres and nine moneths Great dissention fell out betwixt the Emperour Philippicus and Constantine Bishop of Rome for razing as appeareth the pictures of Fathers who were present at the sixt Generall Councell which being pictured in the Temple of Sopia were abolished by the commandement of Philippicus Constantine Bishop of Rome declared the Emperour an heretique and commanded that his name should be razed out of charters This was the first great direct and violent opposition that the Bishops of Rome attempted against noble Emperours Philippicus was taken and his eyes were put out by Anastasius otherwise called Artemius his Secretarie who raigned in his stead Artemius ARtemius otherwise called Anastasius raigned one yeere and three monethes hee deposed Iohn Patriarch of Constantinople who kept not the true faith and placed Germanus in his steade Hee was taken by Theodosius and sent prisoner to Nice and from thence to Thessalonica where he was compelled to renounce his Emperiall dignitie and to be clothed with the habite of a Monke Theodosius THeodosius raigned scarce one yeere and when he heard that Leo Isaurus gouernour in the East parts was saluted Emperour by the armie he willingly gaue ouer his Emperiall dignitie and liued a priuate and peaceable man Leo Isaurus LEo Isaurus raigned twentie foure yeeres great commotions were in his time both in Church and policie In Church-affaires he was an hater of Images and burnt Images made of wood other images hee melted misfashioned against whom Gregorius the second pust vp with antichristian pride opposed himselfe
Lotharius Conradus Duke of Sueue and sister sonne to the Emperour Henry the fift was elected Emperour and raigned 15. yeeres Henry Duke of Saxonie and Guelphus Duke of Bavaria rebelled against him whom hee easily subdued And hee besieged Guelphus in a towne called Winspergh The men of the towne were saved by the wisedome of the women For they foreseeing that the towne could not endure the strictnesse of the siege they gaue a petition to the Emperour that they might haue liberty safely to depart out of the towne onely with so much as they were able to beare vpon their backs The Emperour supposing they would transport vpon their backs burthens of silver or gold or costly rayment hee condescended to their petition The women preferring the liues of their husbands to all rich treasures came out of the towne every woman bearing her husband on her backe The worthy Emperour admirng the vertue wisedome and piety of the women spared their husbands and would not violate his promise After this the Emperour gathered a great army and set forward to fight against the Turkes and Saracens of whose cruelty against the Christians in Edessa many advertisements were sent to Europe In the way hee conferred with Emmanuel Emperour of Constantinople who with deceitfull promises betrayed the good Emperour Conrad and suffered him not to tarry and get provision of victuals for his army for Emmanuel promised that hee would in all haste send prouision vnto him And while Conradus was besieging Iconium Emmanuel in stead of wholsome victuales sent meale mixed with lyme whereby the army was impoysoned and huge numbers of them died so that Conrad left the siege of Iconium and went backe to Thracia In Ierusalem after Fulco his sonne Baldowin was made the fift King of Ierusalem who repaired Gaza and conquered Askalon and gaue it to the templaries At this time many Christians were in Asia For besides the Emperour Conrad and Lewis King of France Rogerus Count of Sicile all these were sore grieved with the villany done by Emmanuel Emperour of Constantinople and they subdued Corcyra and tooke Corinth and Thebes and the townes of Euboia Conrad and Lewis also went to Ierusalem and ioyned their forces with Baldwin and besieged Damascus but with no good successe After they returned to Europe But the Christians in Asia and Syria dayly decayed in number and courage vntill all the conquered places were reduced againe vnder the dominion of Infidels Fredericus 1. AFter Cunradus Frederike the first surnamed Barbarossâ— was chosen to be Emperour and raigned 39. yeeres He was a man valiant of a quicke Spirit expert in warrefare strong in bodie in Counsel giuing prouident In doing of his affaires magnanimous verie affable to meeke men aâ— enemie to proud persons a man of an excellent wit and mâ— morie whomsoeuer he had once knowne albeit hee had beene absent from him a long space yet the Emperour could call vpon him by his name as if hee had beene dayly conuersant with him He was crowned Emperour by Pope Adrian the 4. to whom hee did this honour when the Pope met him at Sutrium the Emperour lighted off his horse and came on foote to salute the Pope And when our holy father was dismounted from his horse the Emperour did hold his left stirrop in steed of the right and when the Pope was somewhat offended thereat the Emperour softly smiling craued pardon of his ouersight because hee was not accustomed with such seruile offices Before the Coronation of the Emperour Pope Adrian required of him this condition that hee should fight against William Duke of Apulia for recouering of that Dukedome to the Chaire of Rome Neuerthelesse the Pope not expecting the Emperours leasure incited Emmanuell Emperour of Constantinople to driue William Duke of Apulia out of Italie and addressed himselfe and his Cardinals to warrefare hauing first excommunicated William Duke of Apulia On the other part William begged peace from the Pope promising to restore vnto him all that belonged to the chaire of Rome and more also But by the malignant Councel of his Cardinals the Pope would not hearken to conditions of peace hoping to gaine more by warrefare The Duke seeing no hope of peace brought his forces out of Sicile ariued at Apulia and did fight against Emmanuel and did put him to flight This done hee marched foreward toward Benaventure where the Pope and his Cardinalls were expecting victorie But the Duke so strictly pressed the cittie that the Pope and his Cardinals were glad to sue for peace which they refused before The conditions of peace were these that the Duke should invade no possession belonging to the Roman Church and on the other part the Pope should acknowledge William to be King of both Siciles The bad successe of the Popes enterprises was not vnknowne to the Emperour who pondering in his own heart the iniures which his predecessors had suffered by Popes specially in bereauing them of the right of inuesting of Bishops and in sending Ambassadors so frequently to Germanie to the great impouerishing of his dominions whereat the Emperour conceiued such indignation that he charged all Germanie that they should not receiue the Popes Legats in time to come except they were expreslie sent for and that no man should make appellation to Rome also in the Letters sent to the Pope hee prefixed his owne name to the Popes name The Pope tooke all this matter grieueouslie and perswaded the towns of Italie to make defection from the obedience of the Emperour and specially the towne of Millan rebelled against him But Fredericke brought them partly by force and partly by feare vnder his subiection againe In the end the Pope had recourse to the old weapons of his warfare and he excommunicated the Emperour but the Lord suffered not this proud Pope to escape vnpunished for as he was walking with his attendants in a Towne called Anagnia a flie entered into his throte and choked his breath After the death of Adrian the Emperour was not free of trouble in regard of the schisme that fell out in the Roman Church for two Bishops contended for the Popedome to wit Alexander the third and Victor the fourth The Emperour was required to pacifie this schisme who gathered a councel at Papia and desired both the Popes to be present to heare their cause discussed in a lawfull assemblie But Pope Alexander disdained to be iudged of any man and therefore he appeared not before the councell For which cause the Emperour and the councell ratified the election of Victor the 4. Pope Alexander fled to France and cursed both the Emperour and his owne competitor Victor Afterward by money and flatterie powerfull weapons in a declining age he procured such fauour in the Citie of Rome that he was receiued gladly of the most part of the city Pope Victor had ended his life before this time to whom Guido Bishop of Cremona was appointed successour whom they called Paschalis tertius and
excuse who could not bridâ—â— the fury of his malicious heart pretending this to be the cause of his anger because the Emperour amongst other conditions of peace bound vp betweene the Christians in Asia and the Saracens hee had licensed them to come alwayes without armour to the place of the holy grave Also hee made rumours to passe through Italy of the Emperours death to the end the townes which were vnder his dominion might be faint-hearted and resigne over their cities into his hands As likewise the souldiers who returned home out of Asia he caused to be cut off left by their reporting the truth and the good successe of Fredericke the townes vnder his obedience might be encouraged The Emperour being advertised of all these practices done against him in his absence left in Asia Renaldus with his garisons coÌ„manding all the other bands to be vnder his appointment And with all speed came with certaine gallies to Calabria and within short space tamed his enemies and recovered all his holds and dominions againe Also he sent to the Pope to entreate for his favour notwithstanding all the iniuries he had received at his hands but was not heard nor accepted into favour vntill hee had paied an hundred and twenty ounces of gold for his absolution After this great rebellon was stirred vp in Germany against Fredericke for his owne sonne Henry Caesar began to vtter the fruits of that old traffique that was betweene him and the Pope and caused Ludovicke Duke of Boiaria of whom we did speake before not onely to be put from his Court but also most cruelly to be murthered The Emperour thought it no time to sleepe wherefore entâ—ing into Germany hee assembled a Councell in the citie of Nâ—urburg where the conspiracy of Henry Caesar was manifestly detected whereof the Pope was the chiefe author and â—ee by the iudgement and sentence of 〈◊〉 Princes condemned of high treason And being commanded by his father to be bound was as a prisoner brought to Apulia where not long after hee died in prison In whose roome hee ordained his third sonne Conradus Caesar by consent of all the Peeres and Princes Also Fredericus Austriacus his sonne was proclaimed for an enemy to the Common-wealth from whom were taken Austria and Stiria and brought againe vnder the Emperours obedience and fidelity who having set Germany at quietnesse left there Conradus Caesar his sonne and with his army returned to Italy to punish such as with Henry his eldest sonne had conspired against him whose treasons were all detected at the condemnation of Henry Caesar and chiefly the Popes who vnderstanding that the Emperour with warlike furniture marched towards Italy albeit hee fained himselfe to be reconciled and a friend to him yet was hee notwithstanding to him a most secret and intestine enemy For hee sent to those cities who had conspired against the Emperour admonishing them that they should ioyne themselues together and that they should furnish strongly their cities with garrisons and send for aide to friends and that with all their force they would prepare themselues for warre Also hee sent Ambassadors to the Emperour to forbid him and his army to come forward vnto Italy and to say vnto him not by way of entreaty but imperiously that what cause of controversie hee had against the Longobards the same hee should commit to him and stand to his arbiterment The Emperour nothing regarding this foolish interditement prosecuteth his purpose and marcheth towards Italy where he brought vnder his subiection those cities that rebelled against him as Mantua Verona Ternisium Patavium and others and then hee afterward set vpon the great Hoast of Mediolanenses the Brixians the Placentines and other confederats of whom hee tooke a thousand prisoners and also their Generall being the chiefe Magistrate in the citie of Mediolanum Petrus Tenopolus the Dukes sonne of Venice and slew diverse Captaines moe and tooke all their Ensignes The Pope perceiving the overthrow of his confederates could no longer cover his malice but did breake out in open fury and rage against the Emperour and pronounced a sentence of proscription against him depriving him of all his dignities honours titles prerogatiues kingdoms and whole Empire Also calling vnto him the Venetian and Genuan Legats made a peace betweene them for they had beene at variance for certaine causes about their Sea coasts and covenanted with them vpon this condition that vpon their charges they should rigge and man 35. gallies which should spoyle and burne all along the Sea coasts of the kingdomes and dominions of Fredericke But when hee saw the good will and fidelity that the Duke of Venice bare vnto the Emperour who notwithstanding the displeasure he tooke by the imprisonment of his sonne yet would he not make warre against him For which cause the Pope had recourse to his old practises whereby his predecessors had trodden all Princes vnder their feet And so hee put forth an edict at Rome to the vniversall Church and people the beginning whereof is Ascendit de mari bellica bestia wherein hee declareth the causes wherefore hee curseth the Emperour to the divell of Hell and deiecteth him from his Princely dignity charging him with treason periury cruelty sacrilege killing of his owne kindred and all impiety and accuseth him as an hereticke schismaticke and miscreant And this edict of the Emperours cursing he commanded all Bishops Prelats and others of the Clergie that they should solemnly recite the same in their Churches in stead of a Sermon And furthermore charged them and all other Christian men vnder paine of cursing and damnation that they neither helpe the Emperour nor yet so much as wish him well Moreover by meanes of Albertus Bebauus his Legat hee stirred vp great rebellion against the Emperor in Germany For hee drew Otto Duke of Boiaria from the Emperours obedience and with him Venceslaus and Belus Princes of the Hungarians and Henry Duke of Polonia To whom also Fredericus Austriacus the Emperours sonne because he was proscript or out-lawed of his father was easily adioyned The Emperour was at Patavium when these newes were brought to him Therefore hee commanded Peter de Vineis his Secretarie vpon Easter day to make a narration to the people of his great munificence to the Bishoppes of Rome and againe of their iniuries towards him in recompence thereof of his innocencie also in all the heads whereof hee was accused by the Pope and finally of the vse of Ecclesiasticall censure and of the errors and abuse of the Church of Rome By which Oration of his he so remooved the clowds of blinde superstion from mens hearts and the conceived opinion of holinesse of the Church of Rome and also of their vsurped power and subtle perswasion that both they saw and plainely perceived the vices and filthinesse of the same At the same time the Emperour as faith Albericus writ to the Pope these veres Roma diu titubans longis erroribus
their garrisons were remaining supposing vnder the shew of Frenchmen to be let in But the Captaines mistrusting their hasty comming and misdoubting their visages not like to the French-mens shut the gates against them whereby they returned frustrate of their purpose Yet afterward Damiata was rendered to the Saracens as a part of the Kings ransome which citie being twice won and twice lost by the Christians the Souldan afterward caused vtterly to be razed downe to the ground It is to bee noted in this Tragedy that the Pope of Rome was the chiefe ground of all this lamentable calamity For the King wisely considering what great helpe hee might haue gotten by the concurrance of the valiant and wife Emperour Fredericke travailed for reconciliation between him and the Pope before hee vndertooke his voyage but all his travails were spent in vaine and so the King of France went alone to this dangerous enterprise taking with him the Popes blessing as is sayd before But like as Fredericke before prospered not the worse thate he was cursed of the Pope so it may be perceived that Lewis King of France prospered not the better albeit the Pope blessed him Before wee speake of the sixt voyage of his age it is to marked that God raised vp Mango King of the Tartarians to make warre against the Saracens he was baptised and professed the name of Christ and sent his brother Halâ— to fight against the Saracens Who overhailed Persia Assyria Mesopotamia and in the end came to Syria and conquered Damascus appointing his sonne Abaga to bee Governour of the same for hee returned himselfe to inherit the kingdome of his brother Mango whom hee heard to be dead Also Abaga afterward hearing of the death of his father Halo returned to gouerne his fathers kingdome leaving behinde him ten thousand horsemen to support the Christians in the hands of Guirboca who also favoured the Christians for a time vntil they slew his Nephew and then hee also became an enemie vnto them and invaded the towne of Caesarea and set it on fire At this time Nelethinus the sonne of Turqueminius Souldan of Egypt fearing the dominion of the Tartarians in Syria provoked Guirboca to fight and destroyed him and his army and they that escaped of the Tartarians fled to Armenia Thus the small comfort which the Christians had by the Tartarians was first turned into hatred and afterward was vtterly taken away by their destruction The sixt voyage was vnder the King of France and Henrie King of England who sent Prince Edward his sonne to Palestina in his place and Charles Duke of Angeow who was declared by the Pope to be King of Sicile and King of Ierusalem In this voyage the one part of the army to wit French-men arrived at Africa and besieged the towne of Carthage and tooke it also they besieged Tuenetum sixe moneths at which time the army was troubled with a grievous pestilence whereof the King himselfe and the Popes Legat both died But Charles King of Sicile came with a fresh army Mulet the Prince in those parts entreated for peace which was granted vpon these conditions First that if any in Africke would professe the Christian religion they should bee permitted so to doe without molestation Next that the Christians who were detained in captivity should be set at liberty And thirdly that there should bee payd yeerely to the King of Sicile forty thousand crownes The other part of the army vnder the conduct of Edward Prince of England came to Syria where Edward was circumvented by a deceitfull Saracen who came with letters to him from his master and wounded him with an invenomed knife whereby hee was in great danger of his life but being cured by skilfull Physitians he escaped death Also hee staied in Ptolemais vpon the arrivall of the rest of the army out of Africke but when hee had long waited in vaine hee was compelled to returne back againe to his owne countrey In this voyage it is to be noted that the Pope of Rome miserably abused the Christian people for the armies raised against the Turkes and Infidels hee caused to serue the covetous appetite of his bloody heart as plainely appeareth in the French army which Guido Bishop of Altisiodorum conducted to Viterbium Vrbanus Quartus sent his army against Manfred King of Sicile to subdue vnto him Sicilia and to roote out the ofspring of Fredericke which he deadly hated and when this enterprise succeeded not to his hearts contentment Clemens his successor stirred vp this Charles Duke of Angeow who vsurped the kingdome of Sicile destroyed the posterity of Fredericke and at the Popes desire vndertooke this voyage to Asia whereof wee haue last spoken The seventh voyage of this age was vndertaken by the Emperour Rodolph who according to his promise made to Pope Gregory the tenth was willing to raise an army and succour the Christians in Asia but hee was so impeded by the warres hee had with the King of Bohemia that hee could not in his owne person goe to Syria but hee sent Henrie Prince of Mechelburg with a strong army to supply his place who comming to Ptolemais wasted and burnt with fire the region round about Damascus The Barbarians durst not encounter with him in open battell but circumvened him and vpon a time as hee was leading away a great prey they lying in wait for him arose and brought him to the Souldan where hee was detained in captivitie 26. yeeres After this the Christians in Asia were brought to vtter wracke for the Saracens invaded Antiochia and tooke it and destroyed the Christians there Afterward vnder the conduct of Aphir their Souldan they besieged Tripolis and tooke it and razed it to the ground Also Tyrus was rendered vpon condition that the Christians there should safely depart with so much of their substance as they could transport with shippes or drawe with beasts And finally all the townes and holds which the Christians had in Syria were taken by the Saracens onely Ptolemais excepted which afterward was taken by Araphus the Souldan the Christians therein being put to the sword and the citie it selfe vtterly razed to the ground in such sort that there was not so much as a monument of it left vndestroyed Now when all was lost the Christians obtained some new and fresh comfort by the conversion of Cassanus Prince of the Tartarians to the Christian religion who expelled the Saracens out of Syria and repayred the temple and towne of Ierusalem and restored it to the Christians and set at liberty Henry Prince of Mechelburg who had been detained captiue a long time Also he tooke the towne of Damascus and appointed Capcacus to be Governour there like as Molais was left to defend Ierusalem But after the returne of Cassanus to his owne countrey Capcacus revolted to the Souldan of Egypt and Molais finding himselfe alone vnable to resist the force of the Saracens departed to Mesopotamia
and there incontinent killed Vlrick the Earle wounding him and cutting him in peeces The king hearing thereof although hee was not a litle discontented thereat in his mind yet seeing there was none other remedie hee dissembled his griefe for a time But afterward in his Progresse when hee came to Buda accompanied with the two sonnes of Huniades hee caused them both to be taken and cast into prison and Ladislaus forthwith was beheaded Mathias was carried Captiue to Austria to suffer the like punishment if the Lord had not prevented Ladislaus the king by suddē death who departed this life about the verie time appointed for the celebration of his marriage in Prague with Magdalen daughter to the King of Fraunce Thus the young king who hated the race of Huniades and more hated the light of the Gospell that shined in Bohemia and was of purpose as is supposed at his marriage to root out the sect of the Hussits as hee called it was timously in the mercie of God cut off himselfe to the great benefit of the true Church of God In this Emperours time suite was made by the Germanes to the Emperour that hee would prouide remedie against the actions of the insatiat Popes and that hee would not suffer his subiects in Germanie to bee exhausted and empourished by them The Emperour being moued and ouercome by their perswasion promised that hee would prouide no lesse for them then the king of Fraunce had done for the Frenchmen But the subtle perswasions of Aeneas Syluius did so bewitch the Emperour that he contemning the equall iust and necessarie requests of his subiects chosed the said Aeneas to be his Ambassadour to Calixtus newly chosen Pope to sweare vnto him in his name and to promise the absolut obedience of all Germanie Thus the Germans were derided and frustrate by Fredericke and the Emperour on the other part fearing least the Germanes after his death should transport the Empire to another familie caused his son Maximilian 7. yeeres before his death to be chosen and also crowned king of Romans and did associate him to the ministration of the Empire In this Emperours time likewise flourished a valiant man sonne of Iohn Castriotus Prince of Epirus and Albania called George who was giuen in hostage to the Turke with other two brethren But this George excelling all the rest of his equalls in strength of body vigour of minde and actiuitie in warfare was named by the Turkes Scanderbeius which soundeth as much as Alexander Magnus Hee was sent out by the Turkes to fight against Caramannus of Cilicia the Turkes enemie in which expedition hee behaued himselfe so manfully that hee wanne great renowne with the Turke insomuch that hee trusting to the Turkes fauour when hee heard of the death of his father durst aske of the Turke the grant of his fathers dominion to be giuen vnto him The which request although Amurathes did not deny vnto him yet notwithstanding hee perceiuing that the matter was dallied out with faire words by subtle meanes and policie slipt out of the Turkes Court and came to Epirus his owne inheritance where first by counterfeite letters hee recouered Croia The other cities of their owne voluntarie minde yeelded to him and hee so manfullie behaued himselfe that against all the force both of Amurathes and Mahomet he maintained his owne repulsed their violence and put to flight their armies many yeeres together In this Emperours time Mahomet the second tooke the Isle of Euboia and destroyed the towne of Calcis afterward hee commanded the Cittie of Athens to be razed and vtterly subverted and from thence returning his armie to Thracia with a mightie multitude compassed the towne of Constantinople both by sea and land in the yeere of our Lord. 1453. and in the 54. day of the sayd siege it was taken and sacked and the Emperour Constantinus slaine such terrible crueltie did they vse as the like is not often read of in any historie There was no corners in Constantinople which was not defiled with floodes of Christian blood so that in this one towne are reckoned to the number of fortie thousand persons that were slaine amongst whose dead bodyes the body of Constantine the Emperour was found whose head being brought to Mahomet he commaunded it to be carried vpon a speare through the whole Citie for a publike spectacle and derision to all the Turkish armie Also he tooke the Image of the Crucifixe being there in the high Temple of Sophia and writing this superscription vpon the head of it Hic est Christianorum Deus this is the God of the Christians caused it to be carried thorow all his armie and made every man to spit at it most contumeliously Thus was the noble citie of Constantinople sacked 1139. yeers after it was first built by Constantine the great now is made the Imperiall seat of the Turkish dominion Notwithstanding the proud heart of Mahomet which was so highly lift vp by the conquest of Constantinople was by the providence of God somewhat abated soone after For at the siege of Belgradum in Hungarie in the yeere 1436. hee was so manfully resisted by that worthie Governour Iohannes Huniades that hee was compelled after the losse of a great part of his army to the number of 40000. souldiers his owne person also being sore wounded to raise his siege and for feare and shame ready to kill himselfe In the East after Emanuel raigned Iohannes his sonne who was present at the Councell of Florence with Eugenius 4. Pope of Rome but lived not long after his returning And after his death because hee had no children his brother Constantine succeeded in whose time the town of Constantinople was pitifully destroyed and the Emperour himselfe slaine as hath beene declared And here is the end of the Empire of Christians in the East CENTVRIE XVI Maximilianus IN the yeare of our Lord 1486. Fredericus waxing aged and partly also mistrusting the hearts of the Germaines did in his life-time associate his sonne Maximilian to be ioyned Emperor with him with whom he reigned for the space of 7. yeers till the death of Fredericke his father after whose departure he reigned 25. yeers This Maximilian as he was a valiant Emperor prudent and singularly learned so was his raigne intangled in many vnquiet and difficult warres First in the lower Countries of Flanders and Brabant where he was taken captiue but worthily againe relieved by his father Hee had to wife Mary the onely daughter to the Duke of Burgundie by whom hee had two children Philip the father of Charles the fift and Margaret this Mary by a fall from her horse fell into an ague and died So happy was the education of the Emperor in good letters so expert hee was in tongues and sciences but especially such was his dexteritie and promptnesse in the Latine tongue that hee imitating the example of
generall or provinciall councell should be had within the space of a yeare and in the meane time the decree of Wormace Councell to cease In the next Councell kept at Spire where Ferdinand Ambassadour in the Emperours name was present certaine Citties were greatly blamed for altering Religion contrary to the Emperours commandement and the Ambassadour for the Citie of Argentine was not suffered to sit in the Councell because that Cittie had disanulled the Masse Shortly after by the assent of a few Princes these points were decreed That such Cities as had altered Religion should make no further change That other places should obey the decree of Wormes vntill a generall Councell That it should be lawfull to all men who would vse the masse euen in those Citties where it was abolished That the Anabaptists should be punished by death That the doctrine of the Lords supper shuld not be receiued That the Ministers should teach according to the interpretation of the Church That the Princes and Cities should not receiue foreiners comming for Religion into their dominions if any man did otherwise he should be proscript The Duke of Saxonie George Prince of Brandenburgh Erneste and Francisse Princes of Luneburg and the Landgraue of Hesse and a Prince called Anhaldius withstood this decree and answered to euery point thereof saying that the consent of a few could not vndoe that decree which before was made at Spire by the whole Empire and therefore that they all made protestation that they would not acknowledge it And of this protestation were those Princes and all that allied with them called Protestants which name is now giuen to all them that in their doctrine swerue from the Bishop of Rome To the Princes aboue-named these Cities following did agree Argentine Norinberg Vlmes Constance Ruteling Winsemium Mening Lindan Campodune Hailbrune Isna Wiseborough Norling Sangall All these Cities with the Princes refused the act of Spire appealed to the Emperour and to a generall or provinciall Councell After the breaking vp of this Councell the Protestants send Ambassadours to the Emperour to declare the causes of their appellation from the Councell of Spire The Emperour at this time was in Italie and on his iourney to Rome to be crowned with the Emperiall Diadem by Pope Clement the seuenth who hauing heard the Ambassadours of the Protestants entreated them roughly and sent them backe againe with menacing words threatning to punish with all rigour those that would not be obedient to the Decree of the foresaid Convention of Spire This was the first ground that moued the Protestants in the conventioÌ„ of Smalcaldy to bind vp a couenant amongst themselues of mutuall ayde if any of them were pursued for Religions sake as shall be declared afterward God willing In the meane time the Citie of Argentine entreated league with Tigure Berne and Basill who being not farre distant might be more helpfull each to other that if they were invaded for the quarrell of Religion they should mutually assist one another wherewith the Councell of the Empire were much grieued and found great fault with them After the Emperours returning from Italie where he was crowned with the Emperiall Diadem and had sworne to be a defender of the Roman Church a solemne conuention of the Estates of the Empire was kept in the Towne of Angusta or S. Ausbrugh to which were brought many learned diuines The Protestants brought with them Philip Melanchton Iustus Ionas Georgius Spalatinus Iohannes Agricola Islebius and diverse others The Romane Church had for their part Cardinall Campeius the Popes Ambassadour Eccius Iohannes Faber Cochleus and many others The Emperour commanded the Princes of the Protestants to come to Masse with him and to command their Preachers to silence but they answered they would neither come to Masse nor inioyne their Preachers to silence before the matter was concluded Onely the Duke of Saxonie after deliberation with his Divines was content at the Emperours commandement according to his dutie to carrie the Sword before him as he went to the Church Then the Emperour vnder great perill commanded both the parties to silence and he by prerogatiue appointed certaine to Preach that should touch no Controversie In this Convention the Protestants offered vnto the Emperour a copie of the Articles of their Faith which with great difficultie they obtained to be openly read before they delivered it into the Emperours handes This Confession commonly called Augustana Confessio was exhibited to Eccius and Faber Divines on the contrary part to be confuted and the copie of this confutation was also openly read But when the Protestants desired that they might answere to it the Emperour would not grant it saying he would heare no more disputation but willed them to returne to the Catholique Church Also the Citizens of Argentine Constance Mening and Lindan who differed from the other Protestants in the opinion of the Sacrament did in like manner exhibite a confession of their Doctrine a confutation of this Booke also was made by Eccius and Faber with very bitter and sharpe words but the other partie could not haue licence to reply nor any sight of the copie but as they heard it read After this three were chosen on each side to debate matters of Religion where although Melanchton granted more then his â—ellowes would haue him yet nothing was agreed because that Eccius and his two Lawyers who were chosen for the Romane Church stucke so fast by their Masse and Monasticall Vowes that in those things they would admit no reformation In the end the Emperour published a Decree wherein he declared that although the confession of the Protestants was sufficiently confuted yet he would giue them respite for a time to returne to the Church of Rome In which time they should keepe peace and alter nothing of Religion and suffer all that would to follow the Church of Rome But the Princes and Protestant Cities answered that they could not keepe that Decree with safe consciences Thus was the Emperours interim refused wherefore he set forth another Decree wherein he confirmed the Doctrine of the Church of Rome in all points and abrogated all manner of appellations made by the Protestants It appointed also an order how the Emperours Court called the Chamber should proceed in iudgement against the Protestants and forbidded that any Prince of that sect should beare any office in the Court and all that were of the faith of the Romane Church to be taken into the protection of the Emperour against their owne Princes This act caused great feare wherefore the Princes and Ambassadours of the Protestants shortly after met againe at Smalcalâ—ie and went through with the League which they had begunne the yeare before to ayde each other in the quarrell of Religion About this time the Emperour hauing sure information that the Turke with great preparation was setting forward his armie against Vienna in Austrich begun somewhat to relent of
erected vp in Churches to that intent the same ought to be taken downe 10. That Matrimony is prohibited to no estate or order of men but for eschewing of fornication generally is permitted to all men by the word of God And forasmuch as all fornicators are excluded by the testimony of Scripture from the communion of the Church therefore this vnchast and filthy single life of Priests is most of all inconuenient for the order of Priesthood At this disputation were present Oecolampadius Bucerus Capito Blanreus with many other moe all which defended the affirmatiue of the conclusions propounded On the contrary part of the opponents the chiefest Captaine was Conradus Trogedus a Fryer Augustine who to proue his assertion when he was driuen to shift out of the Scripture to seeke helpe of other Doctors and the Moderators of the disputation would not permit the same being contrary to the order before appointed he departed out of the place and would dispute no more The disputation indured nineteene dayes in the end whereof it was agreed that the conclusions there disputed were consonant to the truth of Gods Word and should be ratified not onely in the Cittie of Berne but also proclaimed by the Magistrates in sundrie other Citties neere adioyning Furthermore that Masses Altars Images in all places should be abolished The day and yeare when this reformation with them beganne from Popery to true Christianitie they caused in a pillar to be engrauen in Golden letters for a perpetuall memorie to all posteritie to come This was Anno 1528. The rumour of this disputation and alteration of Berne was noysed in other Citties and places abroad and others were encouraged by this occasion to take the like order within their bounds and namely the Townes of Strousbrough and Basile and Geneua All this time by the providence of God the Emperour and the King of France were together occupied in Warres and strife which hapned very commodiously for the successe of the Gospell for otherwise it is to be thought that the Helvetians and other Germanes should not haue had that leisure and rest to reforme Religion and to linke themselues in league as they did albeit Ferdinandus the Emperours brother and Deputie in Germanie omitted no time nor diligence to doe what he could in resisting the proceedings of the Protestants as appeared both by the decrees set forth at Ratisbone and Speirs as hath beene declared The rest of the Pages of the Helvetians which were of a contrary profession hearing of the end of this disputation at Berne and namely because they had not regarded their admonition disswading them to proceed in their intended purpose of disputation and reformation of Religion confederated themselues in league with Ferdinandus to suppresse the Religion of Christ in Berne and Zurik The names of which Pages especially were fiue to wit Lucernates Vrani Suitenses Vnternaldij and Tugiani who for hatred and despite hanged vp the armes of the foresaid Cities vpon a Gallowes beside many other iniuries and grieuances which they wrought against them For the which cause the said Cities of Berne and Zurik raised their power intending to set vpon the foresaid Switzers as vpon their capitall enemies But as they were in the field readie to encounter one Armie against the other through the meanes of the Citie of Strousbrough and other intercessours they were parted for that time and so returned After this the old wound waxing raw againe beganne to burst out and the Tigurines and Bernates by reason of certaine new iniuries and contumelious words spoken against them began to stoppe the passages and straits whereby no corne not victuall should be conveyed to the fiue Pages aforesaid This second debate also was composed by meanes of the King of France and certaine Townes of Switzerland as namely the Glareans Friburgians Soloturnians and some other laboured to set them at agreement vpon certaine conditions which not being kept and the fiue Pages not obseruing the couenant the warre brake vp of new againe amongst them And the Tigurines and Bernates begunne againe to stoppe the passages so that for lacke of victuall the fiue Pages were pinched with penurie Who notwithstanding arming themselues secretly set forward in warre-like aray towardes the borders of Zurike whereas then was lying a Garrison of Zurike men to the number of a thousand and aboue Whereupon word was sent incontinent to the Cittie of Zurike for ayde to their men But their enemies approached so fast that they of Zurike could hardly come to rescue them fot when they were come to the top of the hill whereby they must needs passe they did see their fellowes at the foote of the hill in great distresse Whereupon they encouraging themselues made downe the hill with more hast then order striuing who should goe fastest by reason whereof they were discomfited and ouer-matched by their enemies Amongst the number of them that were slaine was also Vlricus Zuinglius the blessed seruant of God whose bodie after his death they most vildly abused by cutting it in pieces consuming it with fire and practising against it all despite that malice and hatred could deuise The Bernates were willing to come and reuenge their quarrell but before they came their enemies set vpon them the second time and had the vpper hand yet would they of Zurik nothing relent in Religion At the last through mediation a Peace was concluded and thus the matter agreed that the Tigurines Bernates and Basilians should forsake the league which they lately made with the Citie of Strousbrough and the Landgraue Likewise should the fiue Page men giue ouer the league and composition made with Ferdinanâ—us and hereof Obligations were made and sealed for the greater suretie and better keeping of the promises In this Emperours time amongst other places great alteration of Religion fell out in the Countrey of England vpon this occasion Henry the 7. King of England had two sonnes Arthur and Henry Prince Arthur his eldest sonne married Katherine daughter to Ferdinand King of Spaine but he soone after his marriage died without children King Henry with advise of his Nobles to the end her dowrie might remaine within the Realme thought meete to espouse Lady Katherine to Prince Henry brother to King Arthur This marriage seemed very strange and hard for one brother to marry the wife of another but yet by dispensation of Pope Iulian the second this marriage which neither sense of nature would admit nor Gods law suffer was concluded approued and ratified and so continued as lawfull without any scruple or doubt the space of twentie yeares till that a certaine doubt began to be moued by the Spaniards themselues of the Emperours Councell Anno 1523. At which time Charles the Emperour being in England promised to marry Lady Mary daughter to King Henry the eyght King of England with the which promise the Spanyardes were not well contented Obiecting that the Ladie Mary was begotten of the King of
In this warre they subdued all his dominions and compelled him with his eldest sonne Charles to flie for their safetie into Bavarie Henry to recouer his dominions againe first pursued the Protestants in the Chamber-court of the Empire but the Protestants appealed and refused the iudgement thereof Next he made his complaint to Ferdinand the Emperours brother and last went into Italie to the Emperour there at Cremona grieuously accused the Protestants to whom the Emperour sent an hard message that if the Prince of Brunswick were not restored he would take such order whereby he should be restored whether they would or no. Notwithstanding all this the Emperour at his returning into Germanie after he had heard the declaration of the Protestants against the Duke of Brunswick albeit the Emperour was loath to giue out any grieuous sentence against him yet at length he determined that all the Dukes lands should remaine as sequestred in his hands vntill that matter were ended All this while the Emperour was busied in warres against the King of France â—ut in the end a peace was concluded betweene them vpon certaine conditions Amongst others this was one that they should both ioyne in the restitution of the Romish Religion The effects of this vnhappie agreement were soone felt both in France and Germanie for in France Minerius governour of Provance by the Kings commandement went with an Armie against the Waldenses that dwelt in Merindol Cabreire and certaine other Townes of Provance The poore men of Merindol fearing his comming fled into the Woods and Mountaines with their wiues and children he in the meane time spoyled and burned the townes being left voyde and in Merindol finding but one young man bound him to an Oliue tree and shot him thorow with guns At Cabreire the Citie was yeelded vnto him vpon promise that they should sustaine no harme but he kept no promise but shewed great crueltie killing them euery one some in the Churches some in other places and burned 40 women that were in a Barne full of straw There were slaine partly in that towne partly abroad aboue 800. beside other places They which fled vnto the mountaines woods partly were famished partly otherwise slaine partly sent to the Gallowes 25 persons that fled into a caue by the towne of Mussie were smoothered to death with smoke Certaine of the Heluetians sued vnto the king of France to faâ—our the Waldenses but no entreatie would serue alwayes this tyrane Minerius escaped not the iust iudgement of God for God striked him with a terrible disease and hee felt like vnto a fire burning him from the navell vpward and the lower parts were rotten and consumed away with vermine with an extreame stinke and profusion of blood in place of his vrine and so with great torments hee ended his wretched life In Germanie like as it was harder to oppresse so great a number as had alreadie embraced the Gospell so likewise the Emperour was compelled to doe his turne by craft rather then by force for he sent letters to diuers cities of the Protestants as to Argentine Noriberg Ausbrough Vlmes indeuouring to perswade them that he entended not warre against them but against certaine other traytours and rebells against whom hee doubted not but they would assist him In like manner also he writ to the Prince of Wittenberg Also when Palsgraue of Rhene writ to the Emperour to know against whom he prepared his war he receiued the same answere that before was written to the cities with manifest signification that it was against certaine Princes of the Protestants not so much for religion as for other things and finallie the Heluetians who had receiued the Gospell Tigure Berne and Basile were circumuented with the like policie for the Emperour had perswaded â—hem that he would not medle with religion by this meanes hee had not onely diuers places quiet but also vsed the helpe of many Princes and cities which fauoured the religion against the Duke of Saxonie and Lantgraue of Hesse This war begun in the selfe same yeere wherein the Councell of Trent was gathered to with 1546. the league between the Emp. the Pope against the Protestants was openly pronounced at Trident. The Pope also laied in the Venetians hands for this war 200000. Crownes and moreouer for the space of halfe a yeere did finde 10000. Italian foote and 500. light horsemen Thus was their great preparation and deepe policie vsed to suppresse two noble Princes whom they knew to be chiefe defenders of the reformed religion The Emperour being at Ratisbone and looking for his companies of Italians and Spaniards in the meane time by Proclamation proscribeth out-lawes the Duke of Saxonie and the Lantgraue alleadging these causes That they had made warre against certaine Princes of the Empire That they had spoyled them and oppressed certaine Bishops That they refused and subverted the iudgement of the chamber-court and entered league against him making no mention of religion Shortly after hee sent a copie of this proscription vnto Maurice and August Princes of Saxonie and commaunded them as being next of their kinred to enter vpon the goods lands that appertained vnto them threatning grieuous punishments except they so did The Protestants hauing a copie of the proscription answered vnto the same at large And first whereas the Emperour pretended the fauour of religion and commonwealth they declared by many arguments that it was dissembled false And as touching the causes of their proscription expressed they answered to euerie part and cleered themselues protesting that they did not make warre vpon the Emperour but repell that iniurie which he offered them The Bohemians incited by their king Ferdinand first invaded the lands of the D. of Saxonie lying next vnto them Maurice Prince of Saxonie sent advertisement to the Duke that seeing he was heire to the Dukedome hee would take such order as his heritage should not come into other mens hands and immediatly by the helpe of Ferdinands armie subdued all the Dukes lands except Viteberge Isimake and Goth perceiuing himselfe to be in hatred and displeasure with many for so doing set forth a Proclamation to excuse himselfe saying that hee could not lawfully resist the Emperour seeing that he had assured him that hee would neither opresse religion nor yet hurt the libertie of Germanie The Duke of Saxonie willing to recouer againe his owne lands assaulted Lipsia and departing from thence did not onely recouer all that he had lost in Turinge and Misne but also wanne from Maurice all his cities except Lipsia and Dresta Maurice and August on the other part ioyning with the armie of Ferdinand were all minded to ioyne also with the Emperours armie and so with all their forces to invade Saxonie The nobilitie in the Countrey thinking it was dangerous to their libertie to bring so many Spaniarde and Italians into their Countrie sent word to Maurice and August that they
corrections This booke also was impugned both by Protestants and Papists Of the Protestants Caspar Aquila a preacher in Turingia impugned it as a booke replenished with false doctrine and on the other side Robertus Abrincensis Episcopus impugned it for giuing libertie to Priests to marrie and permitting the people to haue the Sacrament vnder both formes While this great stirre and trouble was in Germanie in England by the authoritie of a Parliament the vse of the Masse was altogether forbidden and a booke made of an vniforme order of common prayers and administration of the Sacraments in the English tongue Edmond Boner Bishop of London and Stephen Gardiner Bishop of Winchester for obstinate defending of the Roman doctrine were depriued of their Bishoprickes and cast in prison where they continued all the time of king Edwards raigne But to returne againe to the troubles of Germanie of all the Cities of the Protestants there was none that more constantly beared out the Emperours indignation as the Citie of Magdeburg For neither would they acknowledge the councell of Trident neither yet the Emperours booke of Interim but fortified their towne against Maurice Duke of Saxonie whom the Emperour made Captaine in that warre vntill at last an agreement was made vpon easie conditions When Maurice with his garrison entered into their Citie hee grieuously blamed their Preachers that both in their bookes and pictures they had done much to his reproach but yet he exhorted them to pray for the good successe of the Emperour and the generall councell of Trident. To whom they answered that they could not pray any otherwise for that Councell that was assembled to oppresse the truth but that God would soone disturbe it and breake it vp The end of the warre against the Citie of Magdeburg was the beginning of great warre and dangerous trouble against the Emperour For Maurice Duke of Saxonie perceiuing the Emp. would not stand to his promise consulteth with forraine Princes how hee might by force deliuer his wifes father the Lantgraue and when hee found that all things were in readinesse hee begun to muster his souldiers shortly after set forth a Proclamation to the states of the Empire in the which first hee lamenteth the discord of Religion secondly he rehearseth grieuouslie the imprisonment of the Lantgraue his wifes father signifying that hee was so kept against all truth and honour to the report of all Germanie Lastly he bewaileth the pittifull estate of all Germanie and oppression of their libertie protesting that the cause of this warre was to restore the old dignitie and freedome Albert Marques of Brandenburge maketh also his Proclamation and after a long rehearsall of the miseries of Germanie referreth the cause of all to the Churchmen and therefore signifieth this warre to bee chiefely against them William the Lantgraues sonne ioyned his power with Duke Maurice at Shuinforde The king of Fraunce also ioyned in this warre and led an armie vnto Germanie As they went forward they caused the Cities to submit themselues commaunded them to pay great summes of money and displaced such as the Emperour had set in authoritie and restored their old Senatours willing them to vse their priuiledges and liberties that the Emperour before had forbidden The report of this warre and the good successe of Maurice namely after the citie of Ausbrough was by him taken made the councell of Trident to breake vp and dissolue The Emperour on the other part set at libertie Fredericke the olde Duke of Saxonie as it were to signifie to Maurice that hee should claime againe the Dukedome of Saxonie and Electorship that he enioyed and thereby to put him in more feare Albert Marques of Brandenburge in this warre shewed great extremitie to diuers cities and noble personages against the mind of Maurice and the other confederates The King of Fraunce led forward his armie to Strawsburge and hearing that communication of peace was betwixt Maurice and the Emperour and that they were in good hope to haue their Princes deliuered hee to gratifie them was content to returne to Fraunce but was much displeased that Duke Maurice would enter in communication of peace without his knowledge In the end agreement passed betweene the Emperour and Duke Maurice vpon these conditions That the Lantgraue should be set at libertie That their Religion should be quiet vntill a certaine order were taken for the same in the next assemblie of of the Empire That Maurice and the Princes confederats should suffer their souldiers to serue king Ferdinand in Hungarie That the Protestants should bee admitted Iudges in the Chamber-court with diuerse such other like conditions The end of this warre was also the beginning of another cruell warre betwixt Duke Maurice and the Marquis of Brandenburg which fell out vpon this occasion The Marquis being reconciled to the Emperour and in great favour with him did many iniuries in Germany not onely to the Bishops whom hee ever deadly hated but also to diverse Princes and Cities yea and that vnder the name of religion Duke Maurice with certaine other went against him and met at the river of Visurg where Albert was overcome But Duke Maurice was so stricken with a gun that hee died within two dayes after Before this in Germanie were seene drops of blood vpon the trees and certaine other strange sights In England about this time fell out a great alteration in religion through the death of King Edward of whom the world was not worthy Lady Mary his sister succeeding to the kingdome Shee ioyned her selfe in mariage with Philip sonne to Charles the Emperour and restored not onely the Popes supremacie dissallowed by her father King Henrie the eight but also the masse and all superstitions of the Romane Church abrogated in the dayes of King Edward her brother Also shee caused the Realme of England in the high Court of Parliament to confesse their defection from the Catholike Church and to craue absolution having there in readinesse Cardinall Poole the Popes Ambassadour to absolue them What excessiue cruelty was vsed in her time no tongue can expresse The very name of Dioclâ—sian begunne to bee lesse abhorred when the name of Queene Mary came forth Her cruelty beginning at Iohn Hooper Bishop of Glocester Iohn Bradford Laurence Saunders Rowland Taylor Iohn Rogers Preachers proceeded shortly after to Ferrar Bishop of Saint Davids whose constant death amazed the people and confirmed their mindes in the true doctrine that they had learned of him This persecution raged in all parts of the Land but specially in Kent Essex and Norhfolke Some of those parts were chiefe maintainers of her authoritie and against the mind of the Nobilitie and Councell set forward her right to the Kingdome but this reward they receiued in the end at her hands The cruell martyrdome of Cranmer Bishop of Canterbury Ridley Bishop of London Latymer Bishop of Worcester Doctor Philpot and many others with the
raising vp of the bones of the men of God Bucer and Fagius out of their graues and the cruelty intended against her owne sister Lady Elizabeth all these things being so well and amply discoursed in the Booke of Martyrs the godly Reader is to be remitted to the reading of the sayd booke Now to conclude this Historie of Charles something is to be noted of his warres with the Turkes In his time Solyman the great Turke conquered the citie of Belgrade the most sure and strong garrison of the Christians and vexed the countrey of Hungarie He besieged the Isle of Rhodes and tooke it to the great shame and rebuke of Christian men who provided not support for the Rhodians that resisted the common enemy so long and so couragiously After this Solyman slew Lewis King of Hungarie and Paulus Bishop of Collen who more rashly then wisely with a small power of foure and twenty thousand men encountered the great Turke leading an army of 200000. souldiers Also hee besieged Vienna but was mightily resisted and repulsed with losse of a great number of his army all this was done before the Emperour Charles began to stirre himselfe against the Turke but when the matters of religion in Germanie were put to some point in the Councell of Ratisbon the Emperour raised an army of eighty thousand footmen and thirty thousand horsemen and compelled the Turke to raise his siege from the towne of Gunza and with speed to retyre backe to Constantinople After this Charles sayled with an army vnto Africa and restored the King of Tunis to his kingdome againe whom Barbarossa Admirall of the Turkes Navie in Africke had dispossessed and deprived of his kingdome In this same voyage he delivered 20000. captiues out of servitude Notwithstanding Solyman with vnsatiable ambition pnft vp to conquer all Europe was ever subduing townes and Isles as Corcyra Zacynthus Cythara Naxus with diverse others also the towne of Newcastle in Dalmatia and Buda in Hungarie which hee obtained by meanes of Frier Cogdridge Tutor to Stephen sonne to Iohn Vaivod of Transilvania and meanes of the relict widow of the sayd Vaivod These two sent for aide to the Turke against Ferdinand and the Turke not neglecting so good an occasion came to Hungarie discharged the Hoast of Ferdinand that was besieging Buda and got the citie into his owne hands Which done hee prevailed mightily in Hungarie and tooke the towne called Quinque ecclesiae and Strigonium Alba regalis and Vizigradum and it was an easie matter for him to haue conquered all Hungarie in respect the Emperour Charles was so busie in warres with the King of France that the common enemy of all Christian people had leave to rage at his owne pleasure and had it not beene the gracious providence of God pitying the misery of Christian people who stirred vp the Persian Sophie against Solyman and droue him backe out of Europe for a time and likewise the murther of his owne sonne Mustapha which stirred vp a peece of a Tragedie in his owne house the Christian people had no doubt beene brought to greater extremities in Solymans dayes The vnprosperous voyage of the Emperour to Argier I passe by and many conventions of Estates in Germanie kept for quieting of religion and preparation for warre against the Turkes In the end the Emperour finding himselfe troubled with sicknesse resigned the gouernment of the Low Countries into the hands of King Philip his sonne and surrendred the Imperiall crowne vnto the Electors of Germany sayled vnto Spaine where hee entered into an house of religion and gaue himselfe to meditation and prayer and there concluded his life Ferdinandus AFter that Charles the fift had surrendered the Imperiall crowne into the hands of the Electors of Germany they assembled at Frankford and there elected Ferdinand King of Bohemia and brother to the forenamed Charles the fift to bee Emperour who raigned seven yeeres The ancient manner was that he should be crowned in the forenoone at masse but because diverse of the Electors would not in any wise come to masse the coronation was solemnized in the afternoone and the masse with other like ceremonies omitted To this King before hee was elected Emperour his Nobles in the countrey of Bohemia made earnest supplication that they might bee permitted to vse the Sacrament in both kindes according to Christs institution but he strictly commanded them they attempted no alteration in religion Neverthelesse the Nobility continuing constant in the purpose of their mindes at last after many earnest suits obtained their desire In France about this time the persecution of the Protestants waxed hot and King Henry the second was sore grieved that the Parliament of Paris it selfe could not be kept free of this new doctrine as hee called it Wherefore hee caused Annas Burgeus an honourable and wise Counsellor to be taken to whom hee spoke in great wrath that hee would stand by and see his body burnt for that new religion which hee favoured But hee was wonderfully cut off before hee could get his heart satisfied with that pitifull spectacle of the burning of a noble Counsellor For God so disposed the matter that the King cloathed all in armour put a speare in one of his subiects hands and compelled him against his will to runne at him at which time the said speare broke and a small splinter of it entring at the Kings eye pierced into his braine whereby hee died Yet by his death was not the foresaid persecution relented but rather vehemently augmented for Francis the second succeeding to his father Henry in the the kingdome married Mary Queene of Scots who was descended of the linage and stocke of the house of Guise By this meanes the Guisians were in great credit and authority with the King and presumed to high things not onely to suppresse the Gospell vtterly in France but also in Scotland For at this time a great part of the Nobility and people of Scotland had shaken off the yoke of the Romane Bishop they had throwne downe Altars and Images and had forsaken all the superstitious ceremonies of the Romane Church The Guisians purposing to supresse the Scotish Nobility sent out of France into Scotland an army of 4000 men vnder the conduct of Monsieur La Broch This army assisted the Queene regent to reduce backe againe the kingdome of Scotland to the Romish religion But the Scottish Nobility obtayned helpe of the Queene of England and brought the Frenchmen to such extremity that they were compelled to accept conditions of peace and to retyre backe againe to France So this first high attempt of the Guisians against the reformed religion in Scotland was by the providence of God disappointed In France the King with advice of the Guisians had appointed a nationall Councell to bee kept in Orleance for the quieting the tumults which were like to ensue for religion in France but all was done in hypocrisie and with deceitfull
was deposed in a Councell gathered by Otto the first and Leo the eight was placed in his roome Pope Iohn had such an end as his most wretched life deserved for hee was deprehended in adultery and the husband of the woman whom hee defyled wounded him to the death so hee concluded his vnhappy life Leo the eight was chosen Pope with advice of the Emperour Otto the first and he ruled one yeere and 4. moneths albeit the seditious people of Rome reiected him and accepted againe Iohn the thirteenth and after his death they chose another called Benedictus the fift notwithstanding the Emperour Otto subdued those insolent and seditious people and tooke Benedictus 5. prisoner and banished him to Hamburg where for very heart-griefe he ended his life Leo loathing the manifold seditions of the Romane people conferred againe the chusing of Popes to the Emperour Pope Iohn the fourteenth ruled six yeeres eleven months and fiue dayes Against whom conspired Godfredus Count of Campania and Petrus the chiefe Captaine of the citie with two Consuls and twelue Aldermen of the towne They layd hands vpon the Pope in the Church of Laterane and detayned him prisoner eleven moneths The Emperour Otto and his sonne made haste to come to Rome and after due examination of this seditious attempt he banished the two Consuls to Germany hee commanded the twelue Aldermen to be hanged and Peter the chiefe Captaine to be bound vpon the backe of an Asse his face turned towardes the Asses tayle and his hands bound vnder the same thus hee was carryed through the whole citie and scourged with rods and banished Godfredus and his sonne before this time were dead and buried but the Emperour caused their bodies to be raised out of their graues and to bee cast into vnhallowed places The abusing of Pope Iohn was punished with the greater severity because hee was hated by the Romanes for the loue hee carryed to the Emperour In this Popes time began the vile superstition of baptizing of Bels and giving vnto them peculiar names and the Pope called the great Bell of the Church of Laterane Iohn according to his owne name Benedictus the sixt was successor both to the place and calamities of Pope Iohn Cynthius a man of noble birth in Rome imprisoned the Pope in the Castle of Saint Angeli where hee was strangled after hee had continued one yeere and six moneths in his Popedome Platina writeth that of all things there is a vicissitude even so the Popes now doe include the noble citizens of Rome into that same Castle called Saint Angeli whereinto of old they were incloased themselues Donus the second of that name dyed in the first yeere of his government nothing worthy of memory is written of him Bonifacius the seventh continued not aboue seven months and fiue dayes in his Popedome a man famous for sacrilegious theft For when he perceived that the Romane citizens conspired against him he tooke with him all the iewels of the Church of Saint Peter and fled to Constantinople where he sold the Iewels and acquired to himselfe a great summe of money wherewith hee intended to corrupt the minds of the people of Rome but incontinent he was cut off by death While Pope Bonifacius the seventh was in Constantinople Iohn the fifteenth was chosen Pope and in the eight moneth of his Popedome hee was inclosed in the Castle of Saint Angeli called of old Moles Adriani where he miserably ended his life Benedict the seventh ruled eight yeeres He was Pope at that time when Otto the second dyed at Rome and great deliberation was had about the successor of the Empire The Pope consented to the Germanes whose opinion was this that the sonne of Otto the second albeit young in yeeres should be declared Emperour Other things and namely the processe of the deposition and restitution of Arnulphus Bishop of Rhemes I referre to the head of Councels After Benedict the seventh succeeded Pope Iohn the sixteenth who hated the Clergie and dilapidated all the Church-rents vpon his friends and kinsmen hee dyed in the eight moneth of his Popedome To him succeeded Iohn the seventeene and continued ten yeeres six moneths and ten dayes Hee was not free of popular seditions but fearing the cruelty of Crescentius whom the Romanes wished that he should raigne as Emperour and King of Italy the Pope fled to Hetruria from thence giving advertisement to the Emperor Otto the third to support the distressed estate of the chaire of Rome Crescentius fearing the power of the Emperour Otto allured Pope Iohn to returne backe againe to Rome which done Crescentius with the chiefe authors of the foresayd sedition kissed his feet and craved him pardon Notwithstanding of this the Emperor Otto set forward with his army toward Rome and when hee heard that Pope Iohn was dead hee presented to the Romanes one Bruno a Germane and of his owne consanguinitie whom the Romanes fearing the Emperour durst not refuse and called him Gregorie the fift Gregorie the fift governed two yeeres and eight moneths The Romanes more seditious then wise incited Crescentius againe to take vpon him authority and to eiect Gregorie the fift and to choose another whom they called Iohn the eighteenth Gregorie fled to Germanie and complained to Otto the third of the iniuries done to him The Emperour led an armie to Rome of intention once to be avenged of the continuall sedition of the Roman people Crescentius fortified the Towne of Rome and the castle of S. Angeli which after that time receiued the third name not onely to be called Moles Adriani and the Castle of Saint Angeli but also the Castle of Crescentius but all this preparation was made in vaine Otto circumvened Crescentius and the new made Pope putting them in hope of Pardon but when they came forth the new made Pope had his eyes thrust out and was spoyled of his life and Crescentius was hanged before the walles of the Citie Gregorius was restored againe and made that constitution about the choosing of the Emperour in time to come by the seuen Electors of Germanie whereof I haue spoken in the life of the Emperour Otto the third After Gregorie the fift Sylvester ruled foure yeeres one month eight daies Hee was first a Monke of Floriake when hee left the Cloyster hee went to Spaine and learned Sciences in the Towne of Sivill Of a Disciple he became in short time a Master and had the honour to be an instructer of Otto the third who was made Emperour and Robert King of Fraunce and Lotharie a noble man who afterward was Bishop of Senon It was an easie thing for his Disciples being so potent and noble to advance him to all the honours hee obtained first to be Bishop of Rhemes secondly to be Bishop of Ravenna and last of all to be Bishop of Rome But his name is filthily spotted with Magicall arts and hee was so familiar
then the traditions of Bishopps and therefore by his Cardinall de Columna Iohn Husse was cited to appeare at Rome where hee appearing by his procurators was notwithstanding excommunicated as an obstinate Heretike because hee appeared not personallie at the appointed day The Bohemians notwithstanding cared litle for all this but grew in knowledge daylie In the meane time it hapned by the occasion of Ladislaus king of Naples who had besieged the Popes townes and territories that Pope Iohn raising vp warre against the said Ladislaus gaue full remission of sinnes to all them who would warre on his side to defend the Church When this Bull of the Popes indulgences was come to Prague Iohn Husse and his fellowes not able to abide the impietie of those pardons began manifestly to speake against them And albeit Winceslaus king of Bohemia who then fauoured the Pope gaue out strict commaundement that no man should speake against those indulgences yet of Iohn Husses companie were found three Artificers who hearing the Priest speaking of the forsaid indulgences did openly speake against them calling the Pope the Antichrist wherefore they were brought before the Senate and committed to prison But the people ioyning themselues in armes required them to be let loose The magistrates one the other part albeit they satisfied the people with gentle wordes and faire promises for a time yet when the tumult was asswaged they sent to the prison and secretlie beheaded the three foresaid artificers whose names were Iohn Martine and Staston The people hearing of this tooke their dead bodies and with great solemnitie buried them in the Church of Bethleem at whose funerall diuers Priests fauouring that side did sing thus These be the Saincts which for the testimonie of God gaue their bodies c. Thus the citie of Prague was divided The Prelats and greatest part of the Clergie and most of the Barons who had any thing to lose did hold with the Pope especially Steuen Pallats being chiefest doer of that side On the contrarie part the communes with part of the clergie and students of the vniuersitie went with Iohn Husse Winceslaus the king fearing lest this should grow to a tumult being moued by the Doctors and Prelats and Counsell of his Barons thought best to remoue Iohn Husse out of the citie who had beene excommunicated before by the Pope The people on the other part began mightilie to grudge and to cry out against the Prelats and Priests who were the workers hereof accusing them to be Simonits couetous whoremasters adulterers proud not sparing also to lay opē their vices to their great ignominie shame wherevpon it came to passe that the king seeing the inclination of the people being also not ignorant of the wickednesse of the Clergie vnder pretence to reforme the Church began to require great exactions from such Priests men of the clergie as were accused knowne to be wicked liuers And thus the Popish clergie while they went about to persecute Iohn Husse were intrapped themselues in great tribulation brought in contempt and hated of all men At this time were three Popes raigning together by reason whereof a generall Councell was ordained and holden at Constance in the yeere of our Lord 1413. And this councell being called by Sigismund the Emperour for the taking away of the schismaticall dissention of so many Popes ruling at one time to the great disturbance of all Christian nations it pleased the said Emperour to send vnto Iohn Husse Bacheler of Diuinitie in the countrie of Bohemia his safe conduct and letters of protection inviting him to come to the Councell and promising him a libertie of safe returning vnto his owne country without any maner of empeachment trouble or vexation Notwithstanding as soone as he came to Constance he was cast into prison before he was heard And when he was brought forth to the Councell there befell a strange and shamefull matter for his aduersaries had scarsly read one article and brought forth a few witnesses of the same against him but as he was about to open his mouth to answere all that were about him began so to cry out that he had no leasure to speake a word The noise and trouble was so great and vehement that a man might well haue called it a noyse of wilde beastes not of men much lesse was it like a congregation of men gathered together to iudge and determine so graue and weightie matters The next time he was brought foorh to the convent of the Franciscans where the Emperour himselfe was present and exhorted Iohn Husse to submit himselfe to the generall councell otherwise said he my safe conduct cannot nor should not be a protection to any who maintaine hereticall doctrin The day after which was the eight of Iune he was brought out againe to the same place and in his presence there were read thirtie nine Articles the which they said were drawne out of his bookes which were iudged by the councell to be hereticall and hee of new againe was required by the Emperour to submit himselfe to the councell Iohn Husse answered that hee would not maintaine any opinion with obstinate minde but if the Councell would instruct him clearlie that any of his Articles were repugnant to the holy scriptures of God he would renounce and forsake the same affirming also most constantlie that the most part of all those thinges that were alledged against him were falsly forged and neuer thought nor vttered by him when they saw that by no exhortation Iohn Husse could be moued to acknowledge his doctrine to be errōeous to recant the same vpon the sixt day of Iulie he was brought to the head church of the citie of Constance there in presence of the Emperour and councell was degraded of all Priestly orders and dignities and a definitiue sentence was giuen out against him wherein hee was condemned as an heretike for that hee preached and openly defended the articles of Iohn Wickliffe which were condemned by the Church of Rome and likewise had appealed to the Lord Iesus Christ as the most high Iudge which appellation they counted a great contempt of the Apostolique Sea and the Ecclesiasticall Censures and Keyes After this hee was put into the Secular Iudges hands to be burnt as an Heretique having vpon his head a crowne of paper with vgly pictures of divels painted thereupon Which rebuke as also the torment of fire hee most patiently sustained with Psalmes and spirituall Songs lauding God vntill the winde droue the fire vpon his face and choaked his breath And after his bodie was consumed with fire they cast the ashes of the burnt body into the river of Rhene Thus died Iohn Hus the faithfull Martyr of God the sixt of Iuly 1516. Now while as Iohn Hus had beene lying in prison and so hardly handled his faithfull companion Ierom of Prague came to Constance the fourth day of Aprill anno 1415. who there
of Christ. And the bookes of holy Canonicke Scripture which are to be read in time of holy Conuocations of people are particularly reckoned out both of olde new Testament And in this Catalogue of canonicke bookes no mention is made of the bookes of the Machabees of Ecclesiasticus and other Apocreeph bookes VNder the raigne of the Emperours Valentinian and Valens and about the yeere of our Lord 370. With aduice of both the Emperours a Councell was gathered in Illyricum wherein the Nicene Faith had confirmation and allowance The Emperour Valens was not as yet infected with the poison of the Arrian heresie LAmpsacum is a towne situated about the narrow passages of Hellespontus The Macedoniā heretikes sought liberty from the Emp. Valens to meete in this towne who granted their petition the more willingly because he supposed that they had accorded in opinion with Acacius Eudoxius but they ratified the Coūcel set foorth at Seleucia damned the Councel holden at Constantinople by the Acacians The Emp. Valens being deceiued of his expectation commanded them to be banished and their Churches to be giuen to the fauourers of the opinion of Eudoxius This dash constrained the Macedonians to take a new course and to aggree with Laberius Bishop of Rome But these Camelions when they had changed many colours they could neuer be white that is sincere and vpright in Religion VNder the Emperour Valentinian in the West Damasus bishop of Rome gathered a Councel in Rome wherein he confirmed the Nicene Faith and damned Auxentius Bishop of Millan with Vrsatius Valens and Caius Likewise hee damned Apollinaris and his disciple Timotheus IN the yeere of our Lord 38.3 or as Bullinger reckoneth 385 in the third yeere of the raigne of Theodosius a Generall Councell was gathered at Constantinople consisting of 150. Bishops of whom 36. were entangled with the heresie of Macedonius who called the Holy Spirit a creature a minister seruant but not consubstantiall with the Father and the Son In this Councel the Macedoniā heretikes were louingly admonished to forsake their errour to embrace the true faith and that so much the more because they had once already sent messengers to Liberius and professed the true Faith But they continued obstinately in their errour departed from the Councell The heresie of Macedonius was dāned the Nicen faith confirmed with amplification of that part of the Symbole which concerned the holy Spirit in this manner I beleeue in the holy Spirit our Lord giuer of life who proceedeth from the Father with the Father and the Son is to be worshipped glorified They ordained Nectarius B. of Cōstantinople that Constātinople shuld haue the prerogatiue of honour next to Rome Great care was had of Prouinces that they should not of new againe be infected with Heresies For this cause the name of Patriarches in the Councell of Nice appropriated to a few in this Generall Councell is communicated to manie To Nectarius Megapolis and Thracia was allotted Pontus to Hellodius Cappadocia to Gregorius Nyssenus Meletina and Armenia to Otreius Amphilochius attended vpon Iconium and Lycaonia Optimus vpon Antiochia and Pisidia Timotheus vpon the Churches of Aegypt Laodicea was recommended to Pelagius Tarsus to Diodorus and Antiochia to Meletius who was present at the Councell and ended his life in Constantinople To other Bishops a care and sollicitude of their owne boundes was committed with this caueat that no man should inuade the bounds belonging to another but if necessitie so required Synods should be assembled and euery one being desired should mutuallie assist his neighbour THe great affaires of the Church the care of their brethren in the West compelled them to meete againe in Constantinople where they wrote a Synodicke letter to Damasus B. of Rome to Ambrose Britto Valeriāus Acholius Anemius Basilius to the rest of the Bishops cōueened at Rome Wherin they declare the māifold troubles they had sustained by heretikes now albeit in the mercie of God they were ejected out of the sheepe-folds yet like vnto rauening wolues they were lurking in woods seeking oportūity to deuour the sheepe of Christ. They excuse their absence because the infirmitie of their Churches newly recouered from the hands of heretikes could not permit many of their number to journey to Rome Alwayes they sent their beloued brethren Cyriacus Eusebius Priscianus to countenance the assembly at Rome In matters of Discipline they recommended vnto them the Canons of the Councell of Nice namely that Ecclesiasticall honours should be conferred to persons worthy that with the speciall aduice and consent of the Bishops of that same Prouince with assistance of their confining neighbours if neede required After this manner was Nectarius B. of Constantinople Flauianus B. of Antiochia Cyrillus B. of Ierusalem ordained Heere marke that the consent of the Bishop of Rome was not necessarie to the ordination of the Bishops of the East And the vsurped authoritie of the Bishop of Rome smelleth of Noueltie and not of Antiquitie This Synodicke letter sent from Constantinople would seeme to import that the Councell which Damasus gathered at Rome was assembled in the dayes of Theodosius or els that hee had gathered two assemblies in Rome at diuers times and yet for owne purpose GOdly Emperours and Kings such as Constantine Theodosius and Dauid were very carefull of the vnitie of the Church that it might be like vnto a compact Citie as Ierusalem was when the tower of Iebus was conquised then the people worshipped one God were obedient to one Law and subject onely to one Soueraigne Theodosius in the fifth yeere of his raigne caring for the peace of the Church conueened a great Nationáll Councell at Constantinople not onely of Homousians but also of Arrians Eunomians and Macedonians hoping that by mutuall conference possibly they might in end accord The good Emperour consulted with Nectarius Bishop of Constantinople Nectarius with Agelius a Bishop of the Novatians Agelius with Sisinius an eloquent man and a mightie Teacher and a Reader in his Church This man considering that by contentious disputations Schismes were increased but not quenched gaue this aduice to Nectarius that hee should counsell the Emperour to demande of Heretikes in what account they had the holy Fathers who preceeded their time The Heretikes at the first spake reuerently of the Fathers but when they were demaunded if in matters of Faith they would giue credit to the testimonie of the Fathers the Heretikes were diuided amongst themselues Therefore the Emperour rent in pieces the summes of the Arrian Eunomian and Macedonian faith and ordained the Homousian Faith onely to haue place THe second Councell of Carthage was assēbled vnder the raigne of Theodosius neere vnto the time of the Generall Councell holden in Constantinople In it first the summe of the Nicene Faith is confirmed The continencie of
multitude of simple and ignorant Priestes that they thought it to bee the Oracle of God but in their next meeting Falthodus whom others call Ethelredus a learned man of Scotland so evidently by testimonies of Scriptures and Fathers prooved that marriage was a thing lawfull to men in spirituall offices that the answer which came from the Crucifix was counted the answer of the Divell whom Dunstanus served because Christ would speake nothing repugnant to his owne Word VNder the raigne of Nicephorus Phocas Emperor of Constantinople and when Polyeuchus was Patriarch the Emperour assembled a Councell at Constantinople The question disputed in the Councell was this Nicephorus having obtained the dominion of the East tooke to wife Theophania the relict of Romanus his predecessor This matter so displeased the Patriarch Polyeuchus that hee debarred the Emperour Nicephorus from holy things pretending these two causes First because the Emperour had celebrated the second marriage Secondly because Nicephorus had beene witnesse in Baptisme to the children of Theophania This question being discussed in the Councell in presence both of Prelats and Counsellers the Emperours marriage was allowed and the acts alledged by Polyeuchus was counted impious made by Capronimus and that they had no force to hinder the marriage The proud Patriarch when he was overthrowne by reason armed himselfe with obstinacie and stiffe neckednesse vntill Bardas the Emperours father came to him and affirmed by an oath that Nicephorus the Emperour was not witnesse in Baptisme to the children of Theophania Thus were the Patriarches of the East serious in observing the traditions of men but remisse and negligent in observing the ordinances of God And this is a sure testimony that defection from the faith had now prevayled both in the west and East IN the yeere of our Lord 992. in the ninth yeere of the Emperour Otto and in the fourth yeere of Hugo Capeto King of France a Councel was gathered at Rhemes against Arnulphus Bishop of Rhemes His hand-writing was produced wherein hee did binde himselfe to bee obedient to Hugo Capeto King of France and never to come in the contrary vnder paine of infamy and perpetuall malediction Notwithstanding he had countenanced Duke Charles who claimed the right of the kingdome as nearest heire thereto being the brother of Lotharius To Duke Charles Arnulphus had opened the ports of the towne of Rhemes and made him Commander of the citie Great disputation was in the Councell concerning Arnulphus His friends would haue had this cause remitted to the iudgement of the Bishop of Rome But many of the Bishops of France mightily opponed to the contrary The discourse is very prolix but the paines of reading is well recompenced with the fruitfulnesse of the disputation This Councell toke this end Arnulphus confessed his fault denuded himselfe of his Episcopall honour and Gilbertus who had beene instructor of Robert the Kings sonne was placed in his roome Likewise Arnulphus was sent to Orlience to be imprisoned there together with Siguinus Archbishop of Senon because hee consented not freely to the deposition of Arnulphus but thought that this matter was overswayed by the tyranny of Courtiers and vsurpers of the kingdome vnlawfully VVHen the deposition of Arnulphus was reported at Rome Iohn the thirteenth was mooued with great wrath and incontinent excommunicated all those Bishops of France who had consented to the deposition of Arnulphus In so doing Pope Iohn kept the accustomed order of the Romane Church to wit to pronounce a sentence before a lawfull cognition and tryall of the cause Also hee sent an Abbot called Leo furnished with the authority of the Romane chaire to appoint a new Councell at Rhemes Hugo King of France was somewhat terrified with the cursing of the Bishop of Rome and feared to oppose himselfe to so many bishops agreeing in one minde and therefore he suffered the councell to hold forward The conclusion of this Councell was that Arnulphus was restored to his former dignitie And left that either the Emperour Otto or Hugo Capeto should be offended Gilbertus was promoted to be Bishop of Ravenna CENTVRIE XI IN the yeere of our Lord 1026. and vnder the raigne of the Emp. Henry the second a Councell was assembled at Aken by the authority of the Emperour who seeing the wrath of God kindled against the word manifold tokens of the anger of God manifested in the Calamities hanging vpon the head of all people and nations he gathered this Councel By the authoritie whereof Priests were commanded to pacifie the wrath of God by frequent saying of masse the people by fasting abstinence Princes by distributing of almes to reconcile themselues to God The Doctrine of repetance and amendement of life was forgotten in this time of horrible ignorance and all religion was turned into outward exercises of fasting of distributing of almes and of saying of Masses Also new fasting daies were inioyned to be kept in most solemne manner to the honour of Iohn the Baptist S. Laurence so that by a multitude of human traditions daily increased the ordinance of God as Christ witnesseth was made null and of no effect IN the yeere of our Lord 1023. and in the 21. yeere of the raigne of the Emp. Henry 2. a Councell was assembled at Halignustat wherein Harido Bishop of Mentz was moderator great pains were taken to make a conformitie vnitie in obseruation of superstitious rites in Germanie such as statut times of fasting and abstinence from marriage at certaine times of the yeere and not casting of the corporall into the fire to quench the fire kindled in a towne which was the custome of foolish Priests at that time that no sword shuld be brought into the Church except the Kings sword and no meetings or confabulations should be in the Church or the poarch thereof and that women should not bee addicted to particular and select Masses such as the Masse of the Trinitie and Saint Michael but let them heare common Masses for the safetie of the quicke and the dead Also Lawes were made in this Councell concerning the reckoning of the degrees of consanguinitie and that no man should iourney to Rome for obtaining pardon for great sinnes before hee had first confessed himselfe to his owne Priest and fulfilled the penance prescribed by him with many other constitutions full of new invented superstition IN the yeere of our Lord 1030. and vnder the raigne of the Emperour Conrad the second a Councell was assembled at Triburia The Emperour was present at the Councell After some constitutions about fasting one arose and said that certaine Epistles were come from heauen concerning peace to be renued on earth he was commanded to write a coppie of these Epistles to be communicat to other Bishops to the ende that nations and people might obserue these new lawes following 1. That no man should weare armoure 2. That no man should seeke restitution of things
many followed him When Pope Alexander came to Rome the Townes of Italie were in great â—â—ope of libertie and rebelled against the Emperour they reedefied the towne of Millan which the Emperour had sacked and ruinated and they builded a towne called Alexandria in contempt of the Emperour and in honour of the Pope When the Emperour Frederike came to Italie hee besieged this new builded towne called Alexandria but was betraied by Henry Duke of Bauaria and Saxonia so that he escaped hardlie in the habit of a seruant and returned to Germanie The Emperour renewed his forces againe and pierced into Italie with a great armie Pope Alexander fled to Venice Otto the Emperours sonne on the other part with a well appointed nauie pursued after him hauing receiued a commandement from his father to attempt nothing against the Venetians vntil his owne comming But the young man more hardie then circumspect encountred with the Venetians and was ouercome and taken prisoner The father for relieuing of his sonne from Captiuitie was content to come to Venice and in Saint Marks Church to craue absolution from Pope Alexander When hee kneeled downe at the Popes feete the proud Pope set his foot vpon the Emperours necke and abused the words of holy Scripture Super aspidem basiliscum ambulabis conculcabis leonem draconem that is thou shall walke vpon the Lyon and the Aspe the young Lyon and the Dragon shalt thou tread vnder feet The Emperour answered non tibi sed petro that is not to thee but to S. Peter but the proud Pope replyed Et mihi petro that is both to me and to S. Peter to wit thou doest this homage The Emperour not willing to giue any further occasion of offence held his peace and so was absolued and his sonne relieued with whom hee departed from Venice After this some affirme that he led an armie to Palestina to fight against the Turks and that hee prospered vntill at length he was drowned in a certaine riuer The Christians in Ierusalem had their last helpe and refreshment from Philip king of France and Richard king of England These two besieged Acon and conquered it But there was kindled betweene the two kings a feruent heat and indignation euerie one of them enuying the honour of another so that Philip returned to France and king Richard after hee had conquered Ioppo returned also to England But by the way hee made ship-wracke and hardly escaped the perill of drowning And albeit hee disguised himselfe putting on the habite of a seruant yet he was knowne and taken prisoner by the Duke of Austria and was brought to the Emperour Henry the sixt where hee was detained vntill hee paied the ransome of 10000. pounds money After Baldowine succeeded Amalricus the sixt king of Ierusalem And after him his sonne Baldowine the 4. the 7. king of Ierusalem Hee was sickly and not meet for governement Therefore he committed the gouernement to Guido and Raimundo Count of Tripoli The discord and debate betweene Raimund and Guido presented occasion to Saladin king of Turkes to recouer againe Ierusalem and other Townes possessed by Christians for the space of 88. yeeres Henry the Sixt. AEter the death of Frederike the first his sonne Henry the sixt was declared Emperour who raigned 8. yeeres hee was Crowned by Pope Caelestinus the second who tooke Constantia the daughter of Rogerius out of a Monasterie and gaue her in marriage to Henry the sixt and both Sicils were bestowed to him in way of dowrie paying alwayes to the Bishop of Rome the fee duely that was accustomed to bee paied out of those parts Henry the sixt tooke Trancredus the young king of Sicile put out his eyes and thrust him into a Monastery and vsed great cruelty against the Bishops and other inhabitants of the Isle of Sicile So that Pope Caelestinus did excommunicate him for his Barbarous crueltie but hee went to Rome acknowledged his fault and obtained pardon together with a confirmation of the kingdome of Sicile The Pope sollicited also the Emperour to lead an armie to Asia for support of distressed Christians which thing hee performed albeit he went not thither in his owne person for he sent the Bishop of Mentz the Duke of Saxonie the Duke of Austria and the Duke of Bauaria and the Lantgraue of Thuringia with many other noble persons and with a well appointed armie But the yeere following their arriual at Palestina the report of the Emperour Henries death caused them to returne backe againe to Germanie leauing the Christians in a verie desolate care CENTVRIE XIII Philippus AFter the death of Henry the sixt Philip his brother by the helpe of the Bohems Saxons Bauaroies and Sueuians tooke on him the Emperiall authoritie contrarie to the minde of Innocentius Bishop of Rome and reigned 10. yeeres In his time the country of Germanie was tormented with most cruell wars for the Pope of Rome did excommunicate him and caused the Bishop of Colen and other electors to make Otto Duke of Saxon Emperour betweene whom and Philip were fought diuers battels But Philip defended himselfe so couragiously that by force hee held the Emperiall Crowne all his life-time against the heart both of Otto and the Roman Bishop who oftentimes had threatened that either hee would pull from Phillip the Imperiall Crowne or else that Phillip shold take from him his triple Diademe so meek was this gentle Byshop In the end the Countrey of Germanie being wearied with continuall warres entreated for peace betweene Philip and the Pope which was obtained vpon these conditions that one of Philips daughters should bee giuen in marriage to Count Richard the Popes Nephew and another of his daughters should be giuen in marriage to Otto Duke of Saxon who should for that cause denude himselfe of the Emperiall dignitie Not long after this peace was concluded the Emperour was cruellie murthered in his owne chamber by Otto Count Palatine In this Emperours daies began the kingdome of the Tartarians who came from the mountains of India with their wifes and children in 〈◊〉 1202 and began to spoyle the Prouinces nerest adiacent to themselus afterward they ouerhaled the Parchians Medes Assyrians Persians Armenians and Sarmatians and in the end setled their dwelling place at Meotidis Paludes a barbarous and fierce people practising great crueltie against all nations both of Christians and others Otto Quartus AFter the death of Philip Otto Duke of Saxon was Crowned Emperour by Pope Innocentius the third Now it was the custome that hee who was crowned Emperour vsed to distribute gifts to the Romans which custome being neglected by Otto the Romans made some commotion and tumult wherein they abused the Emperours seruants He therefore departing from Rome with great discontentment invaded certaine townes belonging to the Chaire of Rome whereby hee incurred such hatred at the Popes hands that hee was forth-with excommunicated and although the Pope hated the of-spring of Henry the sixt