A treatyse concerniÌ„ge the power of the clergye / and the lawes of the Realme ♣ CuÌ„ priuilegio regali ¶ The 〈…〉 THough the priÌ„cypall intent of this present treatyse / be to speke of the power of the clergye / of the lawes of the realme Yet for asmoche as those powers canne nat perfytly be knowen / but the power of kynges priÌ„ces be knowen also Therfore dyuers textes of Scripture / concernynge kynges and princes be put into thre of the fyrst Chapitres of this treatise / with the Englyshe folowyng the same / for them that vnderstaÌ„de nat the latin tonge And the .ix. chapiter also / treateth moch of the power of kynges priÌ„ces / and also of the clergy / and whether the gospell toke any power fro princes that they had before the commyng of Christ / or nat The other Chapiters concerne most specyally the clergy / and the lawes and customes of the realme / as to the reders wyll appere ¶ Auctorities to proue that kiÌ„ges and princes haue theyr auctoritye imediatly of god And that honour and obedience ought to be gyuen to them The fyrst chapiter PEr me reges regnant / et legum conditores iusta decerÌ„unt Pro. viij By me kinges raygne / makers of lawes dyscerne thynges that be rightwyse Prouerbiorum viii ¶ Et nunc Reges intelligite erudimini qui iudicatis terram Psal ii And nowe o kyngê / loke ye vnderstande be ye lerned that iuge the worlde Psalmo .ii. ¶ Audite ergo Reges et intelligite / discite iudices furtum terre / prebete aures vos qui continetis multitudines et placetis vobis iÌ„ turbis nationum / quoniam data est a deo potestas vobis Sapi. vi Here ye therfore ye kynges and vnderstande lerne ye that be iuges of all parties of the worlde laye to your eares ye that rule the multitude and ordre the people for power is gyuen to you of god Sapi. vi ¶ Reges geÌ„tium dnÌ„antur corum Luc xxij Kinges of the people haue power ouer them Luc. xxii ¶ Deum timete / et regem honorificate Drede god honour the kiÌ„g i. pe ii ¶ Non est eniÌ„ potestas nisi a deo Que autem sunt / a deo ordinata sunt Itaque / qui resistit potestati dei ordinationi resistit Qui autem resistunt ipÌ„i sibi dampnationem acquirunt c. Nam principes non sunt timori boni operis sed mali c. Vis autem noÌ„ timere potestatem / bonuÌ„ fac habebis laudem ex illa / dei enim minister est tibi in bonum / si autem malum feceris time non enim sine causa gladiuÌ„ portat ad Ro. xiii There is no power but of god Forsoth all thiÌ„ges that be / be ordeyned of god And so he that resysteth power / resysteth the ordynaunce of god And they that resyst get dampnacyon to them selfe For princes be nat ordayned to the drede of a good worke / but of euyll Wylt thou nat drede power do well thou shalte haue laude of it He is the minister of god into goodnesse to the / and if thou do euyll / drede / for he bereth nat a swerde without cause ¶ Subiecti estote of humane creature propter deum sine regi tanquam precelleÌ„ti sine ducibus tanquaÌ„ ab eo missis ad vindictam malefactorum laudeÌ„ vero bonorum Prima petri .ii. Be ye subget to all men for god eyther to the kynge as precellynge other / or to dukes as men sente by him to the correction of euyl doers / and laude of wel doers .i. Petri. ii ¶ Non aufert deus a iusto oculos suos et reges in solio collocat imê‘petuuÌ„ God tourneth nat his eyen fro a rightwysman / kynges he setteth in their seates for euer Iob. xxxvi ¶ Rex Dauid dixit omni populo elegit dominus deus Israell me de vniuersa domo patris mei / vt essem rex super Israell in sempiternum .i Parale xxviii Kinge Dauyd sayd to al the people our lorde god of Israell / chase me before all the house of my father / that I shulde be kynge vpon Israell for euer Primo Parali xxviii ¶ Certayn partyculer auctorityes concernynge Kynges and princes The seconde chapiter COnstituit te regeÌ„ vt faceres iudiciuÌ„ et iusticiam .iii. Regum .x. He hath ordeyned the a kiÌ„ge / that thou shuldest do iustyce iugemeÌ„t ¶ Regina Saba dixit ad SalomoneÌ„ / qr quia diligit deê° Israel et vult seruare illuÌ„ ineternuÌ„ idcirco posuit te suê‘ eum regem vt facias iuditia atque iudiciuÌ„ .ii. Paral. ix The quene of Saba sayd to Salomon / bicause god loueth Israel wyl pÌ„serue him for euer / therfore he hath made the kyng ouer him / that thou shuldest do iustyce to all euery one of the people .ii. Paral. ix ¶ Honor regis iudiciuÌ„ diligit Psa 98. The honour of a kynge loueth iustyce ¶ In multitudine populi dignitas regê / et in paucitate plebis ignominia principis Prouerbiorum xiiii In the multytude of people is the dygnyte of a kynge / and in the lytelnesse of people is the wantyng of glory to a prince Pro. xiiii ¶ Diuinatio in labiis regis in iuditio non errabit os eius Prouer. xvi A dyuine workynge is in the lyppes of a kiÌ„ge / his mouth shall nat erre in iugement Pro. xvi ¶ Abominables Kegi qui agunt impie / quoniam iusticia firmatur solium / voluntas regum labia iusta Prouer. xvi They be abhominable to a kinge that do wyckedly / for a kiÌ„gdome is stabyled in iustyce / true lyppê are a kynges wyll Prouer. xvi ¶ In hilaritate vultus regis vita / et clemeÌ„tia eiê° quasi imber serotinus pro xvi In the cherefulnesse of a kynges countenaunce is lyfe and his mercy is as an euenyng dewe pro. xvi ¶ Sicut diuisiones aquarum ita cor regis in manu domini / quocumque voluerit inclinabit illud Prouerbiorum xxi As diuisyons of waters are in the handes of our lorde / so is the herte of a kynge in the hande of our lorde and whyther soeuer he wyll he shall bowe it Prouerbiorum .xxi. ¶ Qui diligit cordis mundiciam propter gratiam labiorum suorum habebit a micum regem Prouerbiorum xxii He that loueth the clennes of herte for the grace of his wordes shall haue the kinge fauorable vnto him ¶ Gloria regis inuestigare sermonem The glory of a kynge is to serche the truth of that is spoken pro. xxv ¶ Rex iustus erigit terram Pro. xxix A rightwyse kynge exalteth hys realme Prouerbiorum xxix ♣ Rex qÌ„ iudicat in veritate pauê‘es / thronus eius ineternum firmabitur pro. xxix A kinge that iugeth poore men in truth / his throne shal be stabylled for euer Prouerbiorum xxix ♣ Beata terra cuius rex nobilis
all goodes be iÌ„ whose handê soeuer they come And so the parliament hath full power to ordre them / so that the lawe of god be nat broken by their ordre And it is nat to thynke that the kiÌ„ge and his lordes spyrituall teÌ„porall and the comeÌ„s that were at that parliament wolde haue ben so farre ouer seen / to haue made a statute againste the lawe of god / and if it be sayde that the tenthe parte amonge the Iewes in the olde lawe / was a lawe of god / that therfore it ought to be obserued / among cristen men as other morall lawes be Yt may be answered / that payeng of the tenth parte for tythes is no morall lawe / and therfore it cessed whan the passyon of Christe was fully preched knowen amoÌ„ge the people as other Iudicyalles and Ceremonialles dyd And therfore if it were prohibyted / that it shulde nat herafter be lawfull for any man / to saye that the sayde statute is agaynst the lawe of god It is very like that it shuld cause great quyetnes herafter betwene the Curattes and their parysshons in many places in this realme ♣ The .ii. question the fyth cha wHether the Iuges in spryrituall courtes be bounde in any case to take knowlege of the kynges lawes / and to iuge therafter or nat The fyfth chapiter ¶ An answere to the seconde question IF any questyon or doute ryse in the spuÌ„all spirituall courte concerniÌ„g the ryght or possessyon of any teÌ„poral thyng / wherof they in the spyrytuall courte / after the custome of the realme maye holde ple. The iuges there are bounde to iudge the right to him that hathe right by the kynges lawes As if a man haue two sonnes / one borne before espousels / and another after and he bequeth to his sonne and heyre an hundreth pounde / they in the spyrituall courte are bounde to iuge the hundreth pouÌ„de to him that is heyre by the lawes of the realme Also if a man haue a porcyon of tythes in another parysshe / so longe tyme that it maketh a prescryption in the spyrytuall courte / but nat in the lawes of the realme He hath no ryght to that porcyon for lyke as a lawe made by the Clergye / that one curate shulde haue a porcyon of tythes in another parysshe were voyde So is a prescription voide that is grouÌ„ded onely by the lawe made by the Clergye / agaynst the prescryptioÌ„s of the law of the realme And in the lawe of the realme there is no lesse prescryption / thaÌ„ fro the tyme wherof no mynde of man renneth to the contrarie Also if a man by his wyll byqueth certayne money or goodes to a monke / that by quest is voyde in the lawes of the realme And so they in the spyrituall courte oughte to iudge it ♣ The .iii. questyon the syxt cha WHether it be agaynste the lawe of god to arraigne prestes before laye meÌ„ or nat The .vi. cha ¶ An answere to the .iii. question AS to the very auncyeÌ„t grouÌ„des of the comeÌ„ lawe of this realme prestes shulde be put to answere before the kiÌ„ges iustyces as well in actions real and personall / As iÌ„ felonyes murdrers treasons / as farforth as any laye men shulde be Neuerthelesse / by a contynuall pretence that the clergy haue made that it is agaynste the lawe of god that clerkê shulde be put to answere before laye men / or their bodyes arested They haue hadde great fauoure in suche thinges / more than laye men haue had Howbeit whaÌ„ they haue had such fauour / they haue natte taken it as a fauoure of the kynge or his lawes but as a thiÌ„ge whiche they ought of right to haue by the lawe of god And thervpon they haue at many parliameÌ„tes made pretence to haue more lybertie in that behalfe than the comen lawe custome of the realme hathe gyuen them / and more than laye men haue had And to cause the matter more playnly to appere I shall recyte soÌ„e statutes that haue been made in dyuers parlyamentes in tyme past / coÌ„cernynge the pretence of the clergye therin Fyrst in the statute of Marlebrygge in the .lii. yere of kynge Henry the thyrde It is inactyd thus If a clerke be arrested for any offence belongyng to the crowne and after by the kynges coÌ„maundemente he is let to bayll or is repleuied So that they to whom he is taken to vayle shall haue hym before the kynges iustyce c. That they to whoÌ„ he is taken in bayle / nor his other pledges shall nat frotheÌ„sforth be amercyed / if they haue his body before the iustyce though he wyl nat or maye nat answere before theym / for the priuylege that he is a clerke / by which statue it appereth that before that statute clerkes were arrested for offeÌ„ces agaynst the crowne and it appereth also that clerkes clamed their priuyleges than / as they do nowe / but the Statute doth nat afferme or alowe that they oughte to haue it For the statute was nat made to that entente / but it was made onely for the indempnytie of the pledges / that though the clerkes in such case wolde nat answer for trust of their sayd priuylege / that yet the pledges shulde bere no losse therby as some men take it that they shuld haue done by the lawe / but the priuylege of clerkes was lefte in dout as it was before And prestes were put to answere before the kynges iustyce after that statute as they were before / and so contynued the varyaunce / vntyll the treatyce of Articuli cleri was made / which as it is sayde is a statute / and was made in the .ix. yere of Kynge Edwarde the .ii. at whiche tyme the Clergye made many artycles of certayn grefes done / as they sayd to the church of Englande / wherby is vnderstande the clergye of Englande wherof one was that though a clerke ought nat as they sayde to be iuged before a seculer iudge / ne any thynge to be done agaiÌ„ste him wherby he might come to the parell of deth Neuerthelesse / they sayde that seculer Iuges make clerkes that fle to churches and there knowlege their offences to abiure the realme / and admitte the abiuratioÌ„s for that cause / though thei be nat their iuges thervpon And so sayde they that there was gyuen to laye men an indyrecte power to punysshe clerkes if they come into the realme agayne To this coÌ„plainte the seyde treatise answereth thus / sayth A clerke fleeng to the church for felony / to haue the defence of the church / if he afferme him selfe to be a clerke shall nat be compelled to abiure the realme / but yeldynge hiÌ„selfe to the lawe of the realme he shall enioye the lybertie of the church / after the laudable custome of the realme vsed iÌ„ tyme past And it semeth that by this worde Clericus in the sayd treatyse is vnderstande only a Clerke that
auctoritie to his appostles discyples to make lawes / that shulde take any power fro kynges For it is sayde Psal ii Et nunc reges intelligite erudimini qui iudicatis terram That is to saye O ye kinges vnderstaÌ„de ye and be lerned that iuge the worlde by whiche wordes it appereth that kynges iuge the worlde And howe coulde that be trewe if the appostles discyples of Christ their successoures shuld haue auctorite to make lawes generally to bynde priÌ„ces and their people And scripture is alway true Also it is written Sapienc .vi. Rex sapiens populi stabilimentum est That is to saye A wyse kynge is the stablenesse of his people By which wordes it semeth that it must of necessyte folowe that kynges haue also power and auctorite to stable their people For wysdome withoute power can nat stable the people But how can any kynge either by power or wysdome stable his people / if the clergy haue power to make lawes to bynde him and his people / onles that he shuld be taken as iudge ouer those lawes wherfore we thinke that lyke as kiÌ„ges and prynces before they were cristened / had power to order their people after the lawe that they than were of / and had power to auoyde all suche thinges as might bringe any vnquyetnesse amonge their people / that so the same princes after they were conuerted to the chrysten faythe / hadde as full power to kepe their people in peace and quyetnes as they had before they were cristened And that they maye auoyde althyngê that might breke their peace or bringe vnquietnesse amonge their people / by what occasyoÌ„ so euer it shulde happen to ryse / so that they offeÌ„de nat the crysten faith that they haue receyued ¶ The seuenth question the tenth Chapiter IF a kinge that is an infydele wolde offre to be conuerted to the christeÌ„ fayth / and to receyue al the artycles of it / with all his people But he wyll nat that his Subiectes shulde be bounde to breke their laboure / ne to kepe any holy dayes but onely the Sonday / Ne that hys subiectes shulde be be bounde to any lawes made after their conuercyon / but onely by such lawes as shulde be made after the ordre and custom of his realme whether he oughte to be receyued to the fayth with those condicyons or nat The tenth chapiter ¶ The answer to the .vii. questioÌ„ THe answere that is made to the syxte questyon / sheweth suffyciently playnly ynough how this seuenth question may be answered For if the Clergie haue auctoryte by the lawe of god to make holydayes / and also to make lawes to bynde princes and their people / thaÌ„ there maye be none that wyll be of christes fayth that shal refuse them / For euery christen man must specyally ê“fesse to obserue and kepe the lawe of god But if the clergy haue made holydayes and lawes by a fre consente and agrement of princes of the people / or by graunte of princes / nat by the lawe of god ThaÌ„ maye suche a kynge that is vncrystened / and desyreth to be crystened refuse all those holydaies lawes For they be nat made by the immedyat auctorite of the lawe of god / But the Sondaye / all crysten men be boude to kepe holi by example of our lorde / which in the seuenth day rested frome all workes that he had made As it appereth Gene. ii And yet we suppose that the Sondaye that is now vsed amonge crysten men / might be chaunged to another daye in the weke by princes and their people / so that one day in the weke be kepte as a daye of rest / for prayer and contemplacyon For it is but by the lawe ordynaunce of man that the Sondaye is kepte on this daye as it is nowe kepte amonge christen men / for among the iewes it was kepte on the saturday Neuerthelesse our meanyng is nat that it were good to haue the Sonday alteryde to any other day in the weke / for the day that it is nowe kept on semeth to be the most conuenient daye that can be appoynted for it But our intent is to shewe how the Sondaye is by the lawe of god / howe it is by the lawe of man And as for all other holye dayes they be but ceremonyals brought vp by the deuotyon of the people / thorowe the good ensample of their bysshoppes and prestes / whiche vndoutedly lyued a blessed lyfe / in fastynge / prayenge / and contemplacyon / in the bygynnynge of the church / more purely than lay meÌ„ dyd / so farforth that princes seyng the grace and vertue that was in them / were contented to suffre them to do many thynges concernynge the good ordre of the people / which they might haue done themselfe if they hadde lyste but princes haue nat al way accompted ceremonyes concernynge the orderynge of the people / to be of suche weyght as they haue ben in dede but haue holden them as small matters which haue ben very weyghty and therfore they haue suffred the Clergye to ordre them whyles they haue benne busyed in weyghtyer matters for the comoÌ„ welth as they haue thought / though it haue natte alway ben so for many ceremonyes be ryÈt moch to be regarded many persones haue benne punysshed for brekyng of them as greuously as yf they had offended agaynst the lawe of god and somtyme more / and ther vpon in proces of tyme the people haue thought that the clergye haue ordered suche ceremonyes and made lawes theruppon by their owne power and by the immedyat auctorytye of the lawe of god / where it hath nat ben alway so in dede / but they ought in manye cases to haue put the princes and their people in mynde to haue done it / and that is the very dutye of a watchmaÌ„ to put the rulers of the cyte in minde what thinges be lyke to be dangerous vnto the cytie / and therupon to be callers on that remedy may be prouyded before the dauÌ„ger come But the clergye by such sufferaÌ„ce as before appereth haue takeÌ„ vpon theÌ„ to ordre suche thynges as by their owne auctorite / that hath caused moche people to drede them their lawes more than their princes / wherby the power of princes to theÌ„ gyuen by god / hath greatly decayed and ben but lytel regarded / and by this sufferaunce the clergye haue extended their power vpon the people verye greuously where vpon great grudges haue rysen in manye places amonge the people wherfore nowe that such grudges be knowen princes be bounden to knowe their own power and omyttynge other thiÌ„ges that be nat for the tyme so necessary for the comen welth / ar bounde also to put to their handes for reformacyon / and nat to cesse tyll they haue brought such maters to a good qÌ„etnesse And as for other holydayes / if the multytude of theÌ„ be thoughte hurtfull to the
common welthe / and rather to encrease vyce than vertue / or to gyue occasyon to pride rather than to mekenesse / as parauenture the synodales and pertyculer holydaies haue done in some places / the parlyament hath good authorite to reforme it But as for the holydays that be kepte in the honour of oure lady / the postles / and other auncyeÌ„t sayntes / they seme right necessarye expedyent to be coÌ„tynued / though they be nat merely grouÌ„ded by auctorite of the lawe of god Thus we thynke that such a prince as wolde be conuerted to the christen faythe maye refuce any of the ceremonyes and lawes made by the Clergye in tyme paste / and yet be receyued to the principall artycles of the christen relygyon ¶ The .viii. question The .xi. cha IF a maÌ„ auowe to offre a horse or any other thyng to a saynt before a certayne ymage / whether that auowe muste vpon payne of restytucyon be performed quycke or ded / or nat The .xi. chapiter ¶ An answere to the .viii. questioÌ„ IF a maÌ„ haue auowed to offre a horse or any other thynge to a saynte / byfore a certayne Image He that hath the profet of the offeriÌ„ge there / hath after the lawes of the realme no propertie in the thyng so auowed tyll it be offred in dede For after the lawes of the realme / suche a vowe is but as a nude contracte / and is voyde to all intentes / as to the lawe / if it be nat performed But if it be offred to the saynte accordyng to the auowe Than he that hath the profet of the offerynge hath good propertie in it Howbeit if the partye lyue we thinke it is expedyent that he make his offerynge in fulfyllynge of his auowe / onlesse he haue an vrgent cause to lette him that he maye nat do it And if he haue suche a reasonable cause / than it semeth that he may turne it to some other good dede after his deuocion / for the lawe byâ—â—eth him natte to any restytucyon And in lykewyse it is / if a man withoute hauynge Quid pro quo promyse to gyue another .xx. pounde at a certayne day that promyse in the law of the realme is also voyde / and is called in the lawe a nude contracte / and none accyon lyeth vpon that promyse Ne the partye is nat bounde in conscyence to fulfyll the promyse without he entended to be bounde by his promyse whan he made it But if he vpon the promyse made an othe that he wolde performe it / than we thynke he is bounde in conscyence to parforme it in sauynge of his oth whether he entended to be bounde by his promyse or nat / though he be nat bounde therto by the lawe But to saye that restitucyon must be made in this case to him that hathe the profyte of that offerynge / is but avayne sayeng And the people wolde be playnly instructed therein / to thentente that if any suche case shulde happen hereafter / that no man shulde thynke him selfe bounde in conscyence to restytutyon where he is nat bounde to it And so to haue a grudge in coÌ„scyeÌ„ce where it nedeth nat ¶ The .ix. question / The .xii. cha IF the writte of Excomunicato capiendo were put awaye by parlyamente Whether the keyes of the churche were any thynge offended therby or nat The .xii. chapi ¶ An answere to the .ix. questyon IF the writte of excomunicato capiendo That is commenly called a Significauit / were put awaye by parlyamente / the keyes of the church were nothinge therby offended For if the clergye make an excomunication / the partye excoÌ„municate wyll nat obeye it / but obstynatly stande in his malyce / the clergye by vertue of the keyes hath no auctorite to imprison him therevpon / ne to compell him to any penaunce / ne to procede any farther bi their owne power But than it hath ben vsed by a lawdable custome of the realme in mayntenauÌ„ce of good ordre and vertu among the people / That if the bysshop certifye the kinge that suche an excomunicat ê‘sone hath ben accursed .xl. dayes wyll nat be iustyfyed by the censures of the chyrche / as they call them / that than the kynge of his specyall grace shal dyrecte the sayd write of Excomunicato capieÌ„do to the sheryffe where the partye dwelleth coÌ„maundynge him therby to iustifye the partye by the body vntyll he haue satysfyed the chyrche / both of the contempt and of the wronge c. And so it appereth that the grauntyng forth of the sayd wrytte of Significauit dependeth onely vppon the power of the kynge and of his lawes nat vpon the iÌ„mediate power of the clergye Therfore though it were prohibyt the power of the clergye remayned hole vnto theym as it dydde before Neuerthelesse oure intente is nat to proue that it wer good to put away the seyde writte of Significauit For it is right good and conuenyeÌ„t to be vsed whan the case requyreth But our intent is to haue it knoweÌ„ that the power of the grauntyng of the seyd writte dependeth vpon the sayd custome and lawes of the real me / and nat vpon the power of the Clergye so that the Clergye maye the rather parceyue what great fauoure the kynge his lawes hathe borne to the spyrituall IurisdictioÌ„ vpon trust that they haue had / that the spyrituall Iurisdyction wyll so effectuously gyue eye vnto the truthe that none of the kynges Subiectes shulde be vniustly greued by suche excoÌ„munications But if it shulde happen the people to be ouermoch greued therby Than shulde the kynge and his parlyamente be bounde in conscyence to prouyde remedy in that behalfe / as shulde be thought expedient for the good pece and quyetnesse of his subiectes ¶ The tenth question / The xiii chapiter WHether the artycle of the statute of Carleole that treateth of the comen seales of houses of relygyon be a statute or nat And if it be a statute / why it hathe nat be put in executyon The .xiii. chapiter ¶ An answere to the .x. questyon THe article of the Statute of Carleole that treateth of the comen seales of houses of relygion is a statute / as the other chapiters in the sayde statute of Carleole are And we thynke ferther that two thiÌ„ges haue caused the said statute nat to be put in execucyon / wherof one is this The wordes of the statute are so vncertayn of them selfe that the iudges coulde nat by the word / of the statute iuge by order of the law what was the veraye meanynge of the makers therof for though it seme that their meanynge was to prouyde remedy for the saue kepynge of the comen Sealles of houses of religion / and that lyke as the comeÌ„ Seales had ben in tyme past in the kepynge of the Abbot or Prior or other soueratn only c. that it shuld be fro thens forth in the kepynge of the Abbot or prior c.
the kynges courte with out offendyng the lawe of god and so we thynke that the kyngê courtê be put out of iurysdyccioÌ„ for tythes by a custome of the realme and nat by the immediat power of the lawe of god And that it is so / it maye more playnly appere thus / longe after that the kynges courtes of his Benche and Comen place / and also other inferiall courtes were put out of iurisdiccyon for tythes Yet neuertheles writtes of Scire facias were comenly sued in the Chauncerye for tythes / and the defendauntes were ther vpon put to answere / wherfore at the petycion of the clergy / and in coÌ„syderation of a dysme that the clergye grauÌ„ted to the kynge it was enacted in the parliament holden at westmÌ„ in the .xviii. yere of kynge Edward the .iii. the laste Chapiter that such writtê of Scire facias shulde nat fro thensforthe be graunted for tythes / that the proces than depending vpon such writtes shulde be voyde / and that the ê‘tyes shulde be dysmyssed afore seculer iudges of suche maner of plees / sauinge to the kynge suche right as he his auncestours haue had / and of reason ought to haue / And by reason of this statute no sute maye be taken in the Chauncery for tythes / but onely by the kynges patentes / and therfore yf it were ordeyned by parlyament that the sutes for tythes shuld here after be taken in the kynges courte The parlyament ought to be obeyed therin / aswel by spirituall men as by teÌ„porall How be it we wyll nat fully afferme that it were good so to haue it ordered / for as longe as the spirituall iurisdyction wyll ordre the sutes therof there accordyng to right and good indyfferencye / it is sufferable that the sutes be taken there for tythes herafter as they haue ben in tymes paste But if they vse them selfe in such percyall maner / that the peple haue iust cause to complayne of the parcyalyte / thaÌ„ shall the parlyameÌ„t be bounde in conscyence to loke dylygently on the matter and to see it reformed Also it is only by the custome of the realme / that dyuers thiÌ„ges be tryed by the spyrituall court and nat by the kynges lawes as it is of this Issue He is a monke professed or nat professed / dereyned or nat dereygned / admytted and instituted or nat admytted / able or nat able / Bygamus or nat Bygamus / playne or nat playne All these Issues and many other may somtyme be tryed by the ordynary / but â—arte alway for if such maters be pleded in abatemente of the writte / or that such matters be aledged iÌ„ them that be straungers to the ple or if disabylyte be aleyed in one that is deed or if the ordynarye certifye that he in whom professyon is aleyed / is exeÌ„pted from his iurisdyction It shall be tryed euyn as the lawe is nowe / by the kinges lawes And tf it were enacted that it shulde be so in al cases / the lawe af god were nothynge offended therby Howbeit we saye nat this to thentente it shulde be so enacted / but that we thynke it conuenyent that the clergy shuld know that they haue that power by the fauour of the kyng and of his realme by reason of a specyall trust and coÌ„fydence that the kynges of this realme / and the hole realme haue had in the ordynaryes in tyme past But if they mysordre them selfe therin / and refuse to obeye the kynges lawes / or clayme that power onely by the lawes of god / so that it maye in no wyse be taken fro them / where it is natte so in dede Than as it semeth good charite wolde that to gyue theÌ„ the more occasyon of mekenes / that they shulde knowe the power of the kynge and of his parlyameÌ„t therin And it is no dout but that the parlyament maye with a cause take that power fro them / and might also haue done lykewyse before it was recognysed by the parlyameÌ„t / and by the clergye that the kynge was the heed of the church of Englande / for he was so before that recongnicion was made as all other cristen princes be in theire owne realmes ouer all their Subiectes spirituall and temporall ¶ The .xiii. question the .xvi. cha WHether the determinatioÌ„s vpoÌ„ certayn artycles here after folowyng and that be recyted in the summes called SuÌ„ma angelica Summa rosella / stande with the lawes of the realme or nat And if nat whether any hurte maye come by them if they be suffred to contynewe any lengre or nat The .xvi. chapiter ¶ If a seculer Iuge be neclygente in doynge of Iustyce / whether a spirytual iuge may compell him to do iustyce / or to supply his rome here the cause it is said there that he may SuÌ„ma Ro. Iudex .ii. para iiii Whether the goodes of them that minister the goodes of the churche be bounde for the churche goodes And if suche ministers doo pledge their goodê for necessyty to another whether the goodes pledged stande charged And it is sayde there that they do Ro. pignus para ii in priÌ„ Whether relygyouse persoÌ„s shall succede to their auncestours And it is answered that they shall excepte freres minours Ros religio iiii Para. xiiii Whether any gyfte betwene the husbaÌ„de and the wyfe may be good And it is sayd yea whaÌ„ the husbaÌ„d gyueth it causa remuÌ„eracionis ro in the tytle donatio i. Para. xxxii If a man do treason whether the gyfte of goodes after the treason before atteyndre be good Summa an in the tytle donacio i Para. xii And it semeth there naye And loke SuÌ„ an iÌ„ the title alienatio pa. xxiiii If a man make a wyll and enter into religton / whether he may after reuoke the wyll And it is sayd that Freres Mynours maye nat and other may SuÌ„ Ro. in the tytle donacio i. Para. xxxv in fine Whether all that is bought with the money of the church be the churches And it is answered ye Sum. Ro. in the tytle Ecclia i. Para. vii Whether the bysshops palayes be sent wary And it is answered yes Sum. Ro. iÌ„ the tytle Emunitatas .ii. Para. xxiiii Whether the dignite of a bisshop or presthod discharge bondage and it is sayd yes / but it is agreed that they ought nat to be receyued therto c. SuÌ„ Ro. in the tytle EpÌ„us in principio Whether a clerke be bouÌ„de to pay any imposicions or tallages for his patrymony or otherwyse SuÌ„ Ro. in the tytle excoÌ„municacio octaua pa. iiii v. et vi et diuisione nona Para. i. If it were ordeyned by statute that if a man sell c. that he shall giue to the kynge .ii. pence whether a clerke be bouÌ„de if he sell of his prebende And it is sayde nay Sum. Ro. in the tytle excoÌ„municacio i. diuisione nona Para. iii. If it be ordeyned by statute that there shall nat be layde
that the mater shuld contynue in varyaunce / as it hathe done in tyme past Also it hath ben a ryght great default in many of the clergye that seynge that they haue made pretence openly that it is agaynste the lawe of god / that prestes shuld be arraygned before laye men / and that they haue yet opeÌ„ly preched and taught / yea / and executed it in dede openly byfore the face of the worlde / that if a preeste be degrated that than he may be put in execucyon For though he be degrated he is a prest as he was before / bycause the carecter is indelyble And so that pretence of degratynge semeth to be none other / but an illudyng of the truth And that the bysshops wolde bringe the matter to that poynte / that such prestes as they wold haue arreygned afore laye men shulde be arreygned / and that none other shulde ¶ Also sith the knowlege of the lawes of the realme is in many cases necessarye to all men in this realme for the clere orderyng of conscyence and for gyuynge of true counsell to the people It is a great defaute in many of the clergye / that they haue endeuored theÌ„selfe no more to haue knowlege therof thaÌ„ they haue don And what incoÌ„uenyeÌ„ces haue come therby / no man can tell for by that occasyon ignoraunce hath ben preferred before knowlege / as well in outwarde courtes / as in the secrete Courte of the soule ¶ Also it hath ben a great defaute in many of the Clergye / that they haue pretended / that it hath nat ben conuenyent for laye men to treate of the power of the clergye / ne to reason what be the keyes of the church / ne to touche the power of the makiÌ„g of their Canons / or to treate which be resonable and which nat for that right specyally belongeth to priÌ„ces and their counsell to loke vpon for if they shuld be driuen to beleue the iugement of the clergye in thinges concernynge the honour / power / iurisdyccion of the clergye agaynst their owne / they might happely be disceyued for the more power that the clergy hath in temporall thiÌ„ges the lesse is the power of princes / therfore they that be lerned in the kinges lawes / ar specyally bounde before other to know the power of the kynge and of his parlyament For howe can they knowe that the lawe that they haue lerned is to be ministred amonge the people / If they knowe natte whether the kynge by whose auctorite it is ministred / haue power to coÌ„mauÌ„de the ministracyon of it Also he that knoweth nat that the parlyament of Englande hathe power by the hole church of EnglaÌ„d can nat fully knowe the power of the parlyament Furthermore no man can knowe the power of the kynge and of his parlyameÌ„t but he knowe the power of the clergy For it is no dout but that such power as the clergye hath by the iÌ„mediat graunte of Christ / the kynge ne his parlyameÌ„t can nat take it from theym thoughe they maye order the manner of the doynge What an abusyon is it thaÌ„ in theÌ„ that wolde make the lerners of the lawes of the realme beleue that it is nat conuenyent for them to serche / ne knowe what is the auctorite of the clergye for the auctoritie of kynges and of the clergy be so lynked togyther in many thinges / that the one can nat be knowen / but the other be knowen also And yet as it hath ben reportyd / many right notable men haue ben brought to that belefe in tyme past Moreouer it is no defaute in lerners of the lawe to pretende ignorauÌ„ce in high doutes of scripture that parteyne nat to the lernynge of the lawe / but to pÌ„tende ignoraunce in the power of the kinge and his parlyament or of the clergy which be the thinges that most specyally parteyne to the approuynge or dysaprouynge of that they haue taken in haÌ„de to lerne is gret defaut And furthermore / sith dyuers spuÌ„al men haue taken vpon theÌ„ to reason whether laye meÌ„ haue power to assygne what cloth shal be layed vpoÌ„ a deed corse at his buryall / what candelstyckes other thinges shall be set about hiÌ„ / and what nat why shulde nat leye men / and specyally those that be lerned in the lawes of realmes and countreys serche whether the reasonynge and determynacyon therin procede vpon an indifferency accordyng to the trouth or vpon a synguler couetice of them selfe / and if they ought nat nor miâ—t nat do so / thaÌ„ might the clergy happely biÌ„de laye meÌ„ to that they ought nat to do in many cases Neuerthelesse we thinke nat that al the hole clergye be fallen into these defaultes before rehersed for we doute nat but that ther be many of theÌ„ that haue their eyen fully set open vnto the trouth ne yet we thinke nat that any of the clergye now lyuyng be in the ful defaute of the sayd abusyons for many of theym were bygonne by their predecessours before their tyme / and therfore if they wyll herafter endeuour theÌ„ self with good dilygeÌ„ce to helpe that the defaultê which were first begoÌ„ by their pÌ„decessours may be reformed They shall therby deserue great thanke of god / gyue also a good a blessed exaÌ„ple to al the peple toward a good vniuersall reformacion Amen ⧠Fautes in printynge ¶ In the tenth chapiter the fourth lefe / the seconde syde / the .xix. lyne / rede many for any ¶ In the .xiii. chapiter the seconde lefe / the fyrste syde / the .viii. lyne / rede vnder for vnto And in the .ix. lyne for abbot rede the abbot ¶ In the .xvi. chapiter / the seconde lefe / the seconde syde / the .xiii. lyne / rede emunitas for emunitatas / and in the .v. lefe / the first syde / the .xiiii. lyne / rede contayned for contryued ¶ In the .xviii. chapiter / the .xiii. lefe / the fyrst syde / and the last lyne rede to be herde / for herde The table THat kinges and priÌ„ces haue their auctorite iÌ„medyately of god of obedyeÌ„ce to theÌ„ the .i. cha ¶ Certayne other auctorities concerniÌ„g kynges princes the .ii. cha ¶ Of auctorities prouyng that kiÌ„ges in tyme past haue ordered thinges that some men call spyrituall thynges The thirde chapiter ¶ Whether the statute of Silua cedua / that treateth of tyth wood / be agaynst the lawe of god the .iiii. ch ¶ Whether the spuÌ„all spirituall Iudges be bouÌ„de in any case to take knowlege of the kynges lawes The .v. chap. ¶ Of arraygniÌ„ge of prestes before laye men The .vi. chapiter ⧠Whether any of the constitucioÌ„s prouincyall be agaynste the kynges lawes / and of the exposicyon of maister Lynwode made therupon The .vii. Chapiter ¶ Whether the treatyce called Circumspecte Agatis / be a Statute The .viii. Chapiter ⧠Whether crysten kynges haue any lesse power ouer their subiectes after their conuercyon than they had whan they were Paynymmes The .ix. chapiter ¶ If a kynge that is an Infydele offre to be conuerted / but he wyll receyue no holye dayes but onely the sondayes / nor haue his Subiectes bounde by anye lawes / but of hys owne makynge / whether he shal be receyued with those condicyons The .x. Chapiter ¶ If a vowe be made to a saynte / whether that avowe must be performed vpon payne of restitutyon The .xi. Chapiter ¶ If the writ of ExcoÌ„icato capiendo / were put awaye / whether the keyes of the churche were thereby offended The .xii. chapiter ¶ Whether the artycle of the statute of Carleole that treateth of comen seales / be a statute the .xiii. ch ¶ Of excoÌ„icacyons made agaiÌ„st the kynges lawes The .xiiii. chap. ¶ By what lawe the kyngê courte is put out of Iuriâ—diccyon / for tythes The .xv. Chapiter ¶ Whether diuers cases contained in the SuÌ„mes called SuÌ„ma rosella and SuÌ„ma angelica / that be recyted in this chapiter / staÌ„de with the lawes of the realme the .xvi. ch ¶ What shulde cause the hyghest commen welth nowe in these dayes The .xvii. chapiter ¶ Of dyuers reasons to proue that the clergye haue bothe powers spyrytua and Temporall / with answeres therto The .xviii. chapiter ¶ Of abusyons in dyuers of the clergye concernynge the lawes of the realme The .xix. chapiter ¶ Finis ¶ Printed at LoÌ„don by Thomas Godfray Cum priuilegio Regali
est Blessed is that countrey that hath a noble kynge Ecclesiastes .x. ♣ In cogitacione tua regi non detrabas et in secreto cubiculi tui non malediceris diuiti quia et aues celi protabunt vocem tuam / et qui habeÌ„t pennas annunciabuÌ„t senteÌ„ciam Ecclesiastes x. In the secrete of thy hert bacbyte not the kynge / in thy secrete chauÌ„ber / speke nat euyll of a riche man for the byrdes of heueÌ„ shall bere thy voyce / they that haue queles shall shewe thy sentence Ecclesiastes x. ¶ Si ergo delectamini sedibê° et sceptris o reges populi / diligite sapienciam vt ineternum viuetis Sapienci vi O ye kinges of the people if you loue your high seates and scepters / loue wysdome and ye shall lyue for euer Sapienci vi ¶ Rex sapiens / populi stabilimentuÌ„ est A wyse kynge is the stablenesse of his people Sapi. vi ¶ Dyuers autorites prouyng that kynges and princes in tyme past haue ordered thynges that some men call spuÌ„all spirituall The .iii. cha EXiuit igitur Ioseph omnem terram Egipti vendentibus singulis possessiones suas pre magnitudine famis / subiecitque eam Pharaoni et cunctos populos eius a nouissimis terminis egipti vsque ad extremos fines eius / preter terraÌ„ sacerdotuÌ„ que a rege tradita fuit eis / qui bus statuta cibaria ex horteis publiris prebebantur et id circo non suÌ„t compulsi veÌ„dere possessiones suas Gene. xlvii Ioseph wente thorugh all the laÌ„des of Egypte euery man sellynge his possessyons for the greatnesse of the hungre / he subdued it to Pharao / and all the people therof / from the farthest ende of Egypte to the extreme parte therof Excepte the landes of the prestes that were gyuen vnto them by the kinge / to whoÌ„ also suffycient meat was gyuen of the comen barnes / and therfore they were nat compelled to sell their possessyons ¶ Et constituit Salomon iuxta constitucionem Dauid patris sui officia sacerdotuÌ„ in ministeriis suis et leuitas in ordine suo vt laudarent et ministrareÌ„t coraÌ„ sacerdotibê° iuxta ritum vniuscuiusque dici et iauitores in diuisionibus suis ê‘ portaÌ„ et portam sic enim precepit Dauid homo dei nec pretergressi suÌ„t de maÌ„datis regis tam sacerdotes quaÌ„ leuite ex oiÌ„bus qÌ„ precoperat .ii. Parali viii Salomon accordinge to the constitutyon of Dauid his father ordeined the office of prestes in their ministrations leuytes in their order that they shulde laude and minister before the prestes after the customes of euery daye / and porters in their diuisyons by gate and gate so commauÌ„ded Dauid the maÌ„ of god that it shulde be / and they breke nothiÌ„ge of the kiÌ„ges coÌ„mauÌ„demeÌ„t neyther the preestes nor the leuytes in all thinges that the kinge coÌ„maunded ¶ Rex Iosaphat coÌ„stituit iudices iÌ„ cunctê ciuitatibê° Iuda / in Hierl'm coÌ„stituit leuitas et sacerdotes et principes Familiarum vt iudicium et causam domini inditarent habitatoribus eius / et vlterius addidit dicens / Amarias auteÌ„ sacerdos et pontifex vester in hijs qÌ„ ad deum pertinent presidebit .ii. Parali ix Multa eciam fecit Ezechias rex in hijs que videntur esse spuÌ„alia vt patet .ii. paralip xxix xxx xxxi reges etiam diuersi coÌ„stituerunt suÌ„muÌ„ sacerdociuÌ„ inter iudeos vt patet .i. Machab. vii et .x. xiiii The kynge Iosaphat ordeyned iuges in all the cyties of Iuda / in Hierusalem he ordeyned leuytes prestes / princes of Familes / that they shulde iudge the iugemente cause of our lorde to al the dwellers therof / furthermore he added ther to sayeng Amarie / your preest busshop shal be chefe in such thinges as ê‘teyne to god .ii. parali ix Also kynge Ezechias ordeyned many thiÌ„ges that semeth to be spuÌ„al spiritual / as it appereth .ii. parali xxix .xxx. xxxi Also dyuers kynges appoynted the high presthod among the iewes as it appereth .i. Mach. vii .x. .xiiii. The first question the .iiii. Cha. WHether the statute made in the .xlv. yere of kynge Edward the .iii. that is coÌ„monly called the statute of Silua Cedua / be agaynst the lawe of god or nat The .iiii. Chapiter ¶ An answere to the sayd fyrst question THe statute of Silua Cedua wherof mencion is made in the sayd fyrst question standeth wel with the lawe of god / and ought in conscience to be obserued / aswell by the clergye as by the people in this realme and these be the causes that moue vs to say so We thynke that the payeng of the .x. parte of wode aboue .xx. yere can nat conuenyently serue for the susteynauÌ„ce of the spirituall minystres / for they muste yerely and dayly be susteyned / and the profyt of that wode may happely nat come in an hundreth yere or more / for the wode shall growe as longe as it shall please the owner / and therfore whan our lorde Leuitici .xxvii appoynted to the iewes / wherof tythes shulde be payde / he appoiÌ„ted nat that any tythes shulde be payde of the trees / but of the frutes as there appereth Another cause is this Though the people be bouÌ„de by the lawe of reason and also by the lawe of god / to fynde to their spirituall ministers a resonable porcion of goodê to lyue with / yet that the people shall paye precysely the tenth parte to their spirituall ministers in name of that porcyon / is but by the lawe of man And therfore if the tenth parte in any countrey suffysed nat for the minysters / the people were bounde to gyue theym more And accordynge to that / that is sayd before / speketh IohnÌ„ GersoÌ„ in a treatise that he nameth Regule morales / where he saythe thus Solucio decimaruÌ„ sacerdotibê° est de iure diuino quatenus clerici inde sustententur sed quotaÌ„ hanc vel illam assignare aut in alios redditê° coÌ„mutare positiui iuris existit That is to saye / The payenge of tythes to prestê is by the law of god so that they therwith maye be susteyned / but to assygne this porcyon or that / or to chaunge it into other rentes / is by the lawe posytyue / that is to say / by the lawe of man And syth the tenth parte is by the lawe of man / all custommes and prescripcyons of payment of tithes in name of the tenth parte ought to be obserued / so that the spyrituall ministers haue suffycient 〈◊〉 / and the sayd statute is no farther / but that a prohybicyon shall lye where a man is sued in the spyrituall courte for tith of wood aboue the age of .xx. yeres by the name of Silua Cedua / as it hath done in tyme past and though tythes be called spyrituall / yet they be in dede temporall as
is withiÌ„ ordres / and nat euery clerke that can rede And than it appereth farther by the sayde treatyse that if he wyll haue the defence of the church he muste confesse the felony / for the seyde treatyse is / that he submyttynge himselfe to the lawe of the realme shal haue the lybertye of the churche And by the lawe of the real me he must confesse some felony before he haue that lybertye Neuerthelesse bicause this article hath nat ben seen / but seldom iÌ„ vre it hath beÌ„ a doubte to many men whether the Corowner shall be iuge iÌ„ that matter himself / or whether the Corowner muste sende him to the kynges iustyce / and than they either to commytte him to the ordynarye or to remytte him agayne to the sent warye as they thynke ought to be done by the lawe But I suppose that iÌ„ this case the Corowner is the iuge And another complaynt that the clergye made at the makynge of the sayde treatyse called Articuli Cleri was this They sayde that though the conusauÌ„ce made before him that is nat iuge of hiÌ„ that maketh the conusauÌ„ce holdeth nat / nor suffyseth nat to make proces / nor to gyue senteÌ„ce vpon Neuerthelesse / they sayd that some seculer Iuges admytte the accusation made by clerkes by waye of approuynge or appelle / though they be nat of their iurisdyctyon as they sayde But reteyne suche clerkes / that confesse before them their owne enormyous offences as theftes / robbories manslaughter / and delyuer theÌ„ nat after to their pÌ„lates though they be thervpon suffyciently requyred Ne though before theÌ„ for all theire owne confessyon they maye nat be iuged ne condempned without brekynge of the lybertie of the churche To this complaynte the sayde treatyse answereth thus To an apprower asked by thordynarye in due forme as a Clerke / the benyfyte nor the lybertye of the churche shall nat be denyed By whiche complaynte and answere made thervpon / there semeth to appeare two thynges / one is / that the Clergye pretended that the confessyon of a clerke made before a seculer iuge for murder or felony byndeth nat The second is that they founde them greued / that whan clerkes made suche confessyons / thervpon approued other for the Kynges aduauntage as they might do by the lawe That than thoughe the ordynaryes came and asked them as clerkes / that yet the iuges wolde nat delyuer them And that was trewe as the ordynaryes sayd / bycause they that the clerkes hadde appealed / might offre to ioyne battayle if they wolde / which tryall by the lawe might nat be taken fro him that was so approued And as to that artycle the sayd treatyse assented to the request of the clergye and graunted that he shulde be delyuered to the ordynarie whan he asked him And so by that treatyse the ioynynge of battayle is takeÌ„ fro the appelle But as for the fyrst artycle / that is to saye that seculer iuges shulde be no iuges to clerkes / the seid treatise regarded it nat / but lefte it as it was before And after this varyaunce / thus contynuynge without accorde / clerkes were contynually put to answere before the kyngê iustyces as they were before In so moch / that as well seculer clerkes as chapelaynes / and monkes / other men of relygion were draweÌ„ and hanged by the awarde of seculer iustyces / as appereth by the recytall of the statute made in the .xxv yere of kynge Edwarde the thirde Pro Clero the .iii. chapiter / which the Clergye sayde was to the great preiudice of the fraunches of holye churche / and to the oppressyon of the Iurisdyctyon thereof / wherfore it was accordyd and graunted by the kynge in his sayd parlyament / that all maner of Clerkes as well seculer as religiouse that shuld be frotheÌ„sforth coÌ„uycte before iustyces seculer for any maner of treason or felonye touchyng any other persone thaÌ„ the kynge or his royall maiestye shulde haue enioye frely from thens forth the preuyleges of the holy church of Englande / and shall be without impechement or delaye delyuered to the ordinary whan they demaunde theÌ„ And thervpon the Archbisshoppe of Caunterbury / promysed that suche couenable ordinauÌ„ces shulde be made for the sauegarde chastysement of the seyd clerkes / so that none shulde herafter take any boldnesse to offende for defaut of chastisment / and so it appereth that the intente of the kyng and of his parlyament at the makynge of the seyde statute / was / that in treason or felonye touchynge the kynge / they shulde nat haue the preuylege And in the chapyter next folowynge / it is ordeyned / that clerkes that be arrayned before seculer Iustyces / the which chalenge their clergye / and be demaunded by the ordynaryes / shal be forthw t delyuered vnto them without delaye And afore that statute somtime the iuges wolde remaunde clerkes to prison / sayenge they had other thinges to saye vnto them And that is prohibyted by the seyde statute / after in the fourthe yere of kinge Henry the seuenth It was enacted that a clerke which was nat within ordres and had his clergie / shlude be burned vppon the lefte hande / in suche maner as by the seyde statute appereth And that if any persone at the seconde time that he is arrayned demaunde his clergye by cause he is withiÌ„ ordres / hath nat his letters there / nor thordynaryes certifycat that than the iustyces shulde giue a day by their dyscretyon to hym / to bringe in his letters or certifycat / if he fayle therof at that daye / he to be put fro his clergye And so by that statute it appereth that if a clerke that is nat within ordres be brenned in the hande / and than be made a preest / and be after arrayned of felony than he saith that he is with in ordres / but he hath nat his letters nor any certyfycat of thordynarye / wherfore he hathe a daye to bringe them in / accordynge to the seyd statute of Anno quarto And at the day he faylleth therof / that he shal be put fro his clergye / and therof must nedes folowe / that though he be with in ordres / he shal be put in execucoÌ„n And furthermore it is nat lyke that there was any sufficient proufe shewed at any of the seyd parlyamentê that it shulde be against the lawe of god / that preestes shulde be put to aunswer before laye men For it is nat to presume / that so many noble princes and their counseyle / ne the lordes / and the nobles of the realme ne yet the Comons gathered in the sayde parlyamente / wolde fro tyme to tyme / renne in to so great offence of conscyence / as is the brekynge of the lawe of god And if ther be no suffycyent proufe / that it is against the lawe of god / than the custome of the realme is good / to
put them to answere vpon And than is there great defaute in all the clergie / that so depely hath resysted the seyde custome vppon a surmyse that is nat trewe / ne can nat be proued And where dyuers spyrituall men haue in tyme past made pretence as well in open sermons / as in other coÌ„munycatyons / that it is agaynste the lawe of god to put preestes to aunswer before laye men And for profe therof haue layde this texte Nolite taÌ„gere christos meos pÌ„ ciiii That is to saye / Touch nat my annoynted / which they applye only to prestes It is apparant that it is no lytteral exposycion / for after the letter of the seyd texte It maye as wel be applyed to kynges / yea / and to euery christen man / as to prestes And after saynte Augustyne / and saynte Hierome / there is no sence of scrypture suffycyente to proue an argumeÌ„t but only the lyterall sence ¶ The .iiii. question the .vii. cha WHether any of the constitucyons prouyncyall be againste the kynges lawes and his pÌ„rogatyue or nat And of what effecte the exposycion of master Lynwode vpon the seyde constitucyons is of The .vii. cha ♣ The answere to the .iiii. questioÌ„ IT is no dout / but that dyuers of the constitutyons prouyncyall / also of the Legantynes of Octo and Octobon / be dyrectely agaynste the kynges lawes and his prerogatyue / which can nat be here conuenyently rehersed And than it must nedes folowe / that the exposycyon made by master Lynwod vpoÌ„ the same / is againste the kinge and his prerogatyue For vpon a feble foundacyon can nat be sette a stable buyldinge / wherfore it were righte expedyent / that the seyd coÌ„stitutioÌ„s and legantines so beynge againste the kynge and his prerogatyue And the seyde expositions also shulde clerely be prohybit and rased out of the bokes / so that the younge men that shall herafter sette them selfe to studye the Canons / shall nat be disceyued therby hereafter as manye haue ben in tyme paste ¶ The .v. questyon The .viii. cha WHether the treatyse that is called Circumspecte agatis / and that is set amonge dyuers statutes of this realme as a statute / be a statute or nat The .viii. chapiter ¶ An answere to the .v. questyon THe treatise that is recited in the .v. question that is called Circumspecte agatis / is recyted in a constitucyon prouyncyall / which is in the seconde boke of the constytucyons / and begynneth Circumspecte agatis infra / in maner worde for worde as it is conteyned in the seyd treatyse / that is taken for a statute amonges the learners of the lawes of the realme / which also beginneth Circumspecte agatis / and it is recyted in the sayde Constytucyon that is was taken out of the kynges answeres But we neuer sawe any proufe that it was so And there be in the seyde treatyse dyuers thinges that be directly agaynste the lawes of the realme as it is in this poiÌ„te That prelates for fornycatyon / auoutrye / and such other may somtime assygne bodily payne / and somtyme pecunare payne And the law is / that prelates shall neuer assigne pecunary payne for correction of sin but onely at the desyre of the partie And also it is recyted in the seyde treatyse / that if the prelate of any chyrche / or his aduocate aske of a ê‘sone a pencyon / that the sute shulde be in the spyrituall courte / and the lawe of the realme is euyn to the contrary And we thinke that if it had ben a statute / that the lawe shulde neuer haue ben vsed therin so directly agaynste the statute as it hathe ben vsed And in the .xix. yere of kynge Edwarde the thirde in a writ of Annuyte brought in the kynges courte agaynst the sayde artycle of the seid treatyse It is sayde that the seyde treatyse is no statute / but that it was named so to be by the prelates And also the seyde writ of Annuytie / is iuged to be mayntenable in the kynges courte / and that is dyrectly agaynst the seyde treatyse of Circumspecte agatis / wherfore we thiÌ„ke it is no Statute ¶ The .vi. question / The .ix. cha WHether kiÌ„ge Lucyus that was the fyrste christen kynge of the Bretons / in this realme / or kynge Ethelberte that was the fyrste christen kynge of Englysshmen / hadde any lesse auctorite and power ouer their subiectes after they were christened than they hadde before whan they wer paynymes or nat The .vi questyon / The nynth chapiter ¶ An answere to the .vi. question WE neuer sawe cause why kinge Lucyus or kinge Ethelberte recyted in the seyde syxte Questyon shulde haue any lesse auctorite ouer theire Subiectes after they were Christened than they hadde before whan they were Paynymes Howebeit truth it is that after they and theyr people were conuerted / they might nat compel their people to forsake the christen faith whiche they had receyued ne to do any thinge agaynste the christen fayth / but that was no bondage vnto them ne abatynge of their power / but a great lybertye and fredome in god Wherby they their people were deliuered fro the boÌ„dage of infidelitie that they were iÌ„ before their conuersion 1. ¶ And yf anye man wyll saye that the power of Princes shulde be abatted by the wordes that oure lorde sayd to his discyples Mat. 18. What so euer ye bynde vpon erthe shal be bounde in heuyn / and what so euer ye lose vpon erthe / shal be losed in heauen And that by those wordes his disciples their successours shulde haue power to make lawes / wherby princes and their subiectes shulde be bounde / and that therfore the power of princes after the commynge of Christe was abated euyn by the lawe of god To that it may be answered that holye scrypture is nat to be expounded onely after the lytterall sence of the texte / that it is written in / but after other textes of scrypture concerning the same matter And they to be so construed and declared / that there be no coÌ„traryositie in theym / as vndoutedly there is nat / if they be well and truly vnderstande And accordynge to that sayenge there is a texte construed Luc. vi that sayth Et qui aufert que tua sunt ne repetas That is to say / If any man take fro the that is thyne / aske it nat agayne And if that texte shulde be onely taken accordyng to the sence of the same text withoute anye further decleratyon therof / than all propertie were put awaye / and lawes and iustyce concerninge goodes shulde nothing be regarded / wherby the hole commen welth shulde be distroied And therfore that it was nat thentente of our maister Christ / that the seyde wordes shulde be so vnderstaÌ„de / it appereth by the wordes that he sayde Mat. xix Non facies furtuÌ„ Thou shalte do no thefte And in that he prohybiteth thefte / wherby is
fro the coÌ„munyon of the good people / to commauÌ„de the good people also to eschewe theire company / to make absolution therof agayne c. whiche be great powers and maye do gret good if they be charytably put in executyon But if they wyll declare the seyde texte / in suche maner that they shulde therby take power fro princes which Christe lefte vnto them / or to exalte their owne power more than Christe gaue vnto them Than princes maye resyst their declaration theriÌ„ yea / ar bouÌ„d to do it / there princes ought to be iuges takyng such of the clergie vnto theÌ„ as they shall thynke conuenyent wherof vndoutedly there be righte many that wyl nat be blinded with suche worldly honour and vanyte And so it semeth that the seyd texte / Quodcumque ligaueritis c. shal be taken specyally accordiÌ„g to theffecte of the other auctorities before rehersed and nat onely accordyng to the lytterall sence of the same texte Also though some men haue sayde that our lorde gaue to his discyples both powers That is to saye Spyrituall and temperall / whan the apostles sayde vnto him Luc. xxii Lorde / here be two swerdes / And he answered That is ynough And that he shuld mean therby that he wolde that they shuld haue both powers / for if he had nat ment so / he wolde nat haue sayd of the .ii. swerdes / It is ynough But it is to moche And that therfore princes haue had sythe that tyme their temporall power of the spyrituall power To that it maye be answered / that those wordes were neuer spoken of those two powers / as the letter of the seyd gospell playnly declareth For the letter is this Our lorde a lyttel before his passyon / sayde to his discyples thus WhaÌ„ I sent you with out secke / scryppe / or shoes dyd you wante any thynge And they sayde naye Than he sayde vnto them But nowe he that hath a secke let hiÌ„ also take his scryppe And he that hath no swerde / let him sell his cote and bye a swerde / for I say to you that it behoueth that that is written of me shal be fulfylled Et cum iniquis deputatus est that is to saye he is accouÌ„ted among wyked men And than he sayd further And truly tho thinges that be written of me be nygh at an ende to be fulfylled And than they sayd / lorde / lo here be two swerdes / and he sayde vnto them / it is ynough And Lyre whiche treateth princypally vpon the lytterall sence of Scripture / sayth that tho wordes were spoken by oure lorde to instructe his discyples / that somtyme it is lawfull for a man to defende him selfe moderatly from persecutours / and that therfore the Appostelles beyng at that tyme well couraged to defende them selfe / regarged more tho wordes that our lorde spake of the swerdes / than they did eyther of their seckê or of their scripbes And therfore they answered / here be two swerdes / than he knowynge that it was the wyll of his father that he shulde suffre deth for redeÌ„ption of man sayd it is ynough As though he had sayd / those two swerdes suffyce and be ynough to defende me fro deth aswell as many thousand of swerdes shulde do / for I that accordyng to the wyl of my father wyl wylfully suffre deth for maÌ„ loke for no defeÌ„ce of swerdes This semeth to be the intente why he sayd of the two swerdes / it is ynough / nat to sygnyfye therby that thappostelles shuld haue both powers spirituall and temporal / and if it shuld be taken to be ment so it shulde nat be by a litterall sence / after Saint Augustyn and saynt Hierome / it is onely of the lytterall sence of holye scripture that a suffycient argumeÌ„t may be taken / so we thynke those wordes to bere but a small effecte any thynge to abate the power of priÌ„ces And where some meÌ„ haue sayd that the clergye haue auctorytie by the gospell to here all causes that shulde be shewed vnto them by any maner of complaynt and that that shulde appere by the wordê that our lorde sayd Math. xviii If thy brother offend the correcte him betwen him and the onely / And if he here that thou hast wone thy brother / and if he here the nat / take with the one or two wytnes / and if he here the nat than / than shewe it to the chyrche / and if he here nat the churche / lette him be to the lyke an Ethenyke and a publycan / and that in somoch that the gospell coÌ„mmaunded to shewe the offence to the chyrch / sheweth nat in what cases that it shall therfore be vnderstaÌ„de in all cases / and that bycause it is sayd / shewe it to the chyrche / that it was mente thereby that it shulde be shewed to the clergye To that it maye be answered that by that worde chyrche is nat vnderstande only the clergye / for they vndoutydly make nat the chyrche / for the hole congregation of ChristeÌ„ people maketh the chyrche And bycause the hole people of christeÌ„dom can nat be gathered togyder / so that they may haue such matters shewed vnto them all therfore it can nat be taken that our lorde ment that it shuld be shewed to al the people / for he coÌ„mauÌ„ded nothyng but that may well resonably be obserued And therfore whan it is sayd shewe it to the chyrch It is to be vnderstande therby / that it shall be shewed vnto theÌ„ that by the lawe custoÌ„e there vsed haue auctorite to correct that offeÌ„ce And therfore he that in this realme wyll gyue charytable monycyon to his neyghbour that offendeth in suche a thynge as the kynge by his lawes custome of his realme may lawfully punysshe / and he wyll nat yet amende Wherfore he sheweth it to the kynge or to his iuges / or to his iustyces of peace iÌ„ the coÌ„trey / or other offycers that after the lawe custome of the realme may reforme it He hathe therin right well fulfylled the gospell And if the offence be of such thynges as by the custom of the Realme be called spyrituall As it is of auoutry / fornycation / such other / wherof the clergy maye holde ple. And thervpon bycause the partye that he hath gyuen monicyoÌ„ to / according to the gospel / wyll nat amende / he sheweth it to the ordynary or to his offycers We thynke that he hath also right wel obserued the gospell But to saye that the seyd wordes Dic ecclesie shulde take any power fro princes that they had at the commynge of Christ / or that they haue had syth that tyme by the lawes customes of theire realmes and countreys We thinke that the seyde wordes do nothynge amount vnto it And furthermore it shulde seme to make a repugnauncy in scripture If it coulde be proued that our lorde gaue
And of .iiii. of the most dyscrete brethern of the sayd coueÌ„t Yet neuertheles / the statute is that it shal be put into the kepyng of the sayd foure brethern vnder the priuate seale of the Abbot / and so the wordes that folow after in the statute / that is to say / so that the Abbot or Prior of the house may in no wyse make a contracte or obligacyon by him selfe / be voyed and of none effecte / for natwithstandynge that the comen Seale be in the kepyng of the foure brethern vnto the priuate seale of Abbot Yet may the Abbot make a contracte or obligacyon / as well as he might haue done before the makynge of the seyde statute And so the vncertainte therof is one cause why it hath nat ben put in executyon Ther be also dyuers other statutê / whrein the miÌ„de and intente of the makers / were nat so playnly declared / that the iuges after the ordre of the lawe might iuge vpon them / tyll they were more plainly declared and interpreted by parlyament For none maye interpretate a statute but the parlyament onely And one of the statutes that were in themselfe vncertayn for the Iuges to iuge vpoÌ„ is this It was inacted in the seuenth yere of kynge Rycharde the seconde the .xv. chap That no man shulde cary / armour corne / vytayll / nor other refresshement into any party of Skotlande on payne of forfeyture c. And for bycause Berwicke which is in skot laÌ„de was nat excepted iÌ„ the statute though it were than as it is nowe in the Kynges handes yet it was thought that the goodes caried thy ther were forfeyt And the Iudges wolde nat take vpon them to enterprete the statute otherwyse than the expresse wordê of the statute warraÌ„ted theÌ„ to do Wherfore in the .xv. yere of his reygne it was declared by ê‘lyament That it was nat th entent of the seyde fyrste statute / that they that caryed anye vytayles to Berwycke shuld ronne therfore iÌ„to any penaltie of that fyrst statute Also a statute was made in the .viii. yere of kynge HeÌ„ry the .vi. wherby it was ordeyned that the chusers of the knightê of the parlyamente shulde be of the same countye / haue landes to the yerely value of .xl. shyllynges ouer the reprises But the statute sayd nat expresly that the chusers shulde haue laÌ„des to the yerely value of .xl shyllynges within the same shyre / wherfore som men were of an oppynyon / that if he dwelled in the same shyre and had .xl. shillynges yerely in another shyre that it sufficed / and some other thought the contrary And that lyke as the entente of the makers of the seyde Statute was that suche an elysour shulde dwell within the same shyte / that their intente was that he shulde also haue landes within the same shyre And finally the matter was shewed in the parlyament in the tenth yere of kynge Henry the syxte / where it was inacted That euery chewser of the knyghtes of the parlyamente shulde haue .xl. shillingê of freholde within the same shyere And so we thynke that one cause why the seide statute of Carleole was natte putte in executyon / was the vncertayntie of the wordes of the statute And therfore / if it were yet declared and made more certayne / we thynke it were a right good dede Another cause why the seyde statute was nat put in executyon / we suppose to be this That is to saye / that abbottes and other spiritual meÌ„ in tho dayes pretended that it was nat in the power of the parlyament to ordre such spyrituall matters / as they thought the kepynge of the comen seales in spyrituall houses was / that therfore / they were vnder the pretence of a more clere way in consyence encouraged the iuges to suffre the seyd statute to lye vnexecuted / and what so euer the occasyon therof was / the truth is / that the seyde statute was neuer yet put in execucyon But if the statute were playnly declared put in execucyon herafter it shulde seme to be a right expedyente acte / for the well ordringe of many relygyouse howses within this realme ¶ The .xi. questyoÌ„ The .xiiii. cha IF a man be accursed for dysobeyenge of any of the constytucyons prouyncyall or decres that be agaynste the kynges lawes and his prerogatyue / what daunger he renneth in by that excomunicacion The .xiiii. chapiter ¶ An answere to the .xi. questyon IF a man be accursed for dysobeynge of any of the constitucyons prouyncyall or decres / that be agaynste the kynges lawes and his prerogatyue / or for anye cause wherof the sute parteyneth to the kiÌ„ges courte / the excommunicacyon is nat suffycyente in the lawes of the realme / ne a significauit lyeth nat in suche case if the truth of the matter appere to the kynge / and if the bysshoppe certifye the excommunicatyon to the kynge / and sheweth nat the case therof And therupon the excoÌ„municate is taken by a significauit put in prison / than he by his frendes sheweth the matter before the kyng in his Chauncery / the partye oughte therupon to be delyuered out of prison And if the bysshoppe wyll in nowyse assoyle him whan he is delyuered out of the prison he offendeth agaynst the kynge and his lawes right greuously for denyenge the absolucyon ¶ The .xii. question / The .xv. cha WHether the kynges Courte be put out of iurisdictyon for tythes by the lawe of god or by custoÌ„e of the realme The .xv. chapiter ¶ An answere to the .xii. question THe people be bounde by the lawe of reason and also by the lawe of god to gyue vnto theyr spirituall mynysters a suffycyente portion of their goodes to sustayne them with But that the spirituall mynysters shulde haue the .x. parte in the name of the reasonable porcion is onely by the lawe of man and by a custome of the realme And therfore if that .x. parte were nat suffycyent in any place for a reasonable sustentacion of the spirituall mynistres the people were bounde to gyue them more And yf it be to much and ouer greuous to the people / the parliament may moderate it But than though a reasonable porcyon be due to the spirituall mynystres by the law of god as is sayd before yet that the sute shal be takeÌ„ for that reasonable porcyon in the spirituall courte yf it be denyed is only grouÌ„ dyd vpon a fauour that the kyngê of this realme and the hole realme haue in tyme paste borne vnto the clergye / for though the porcyon be due by lawe of god yet it were no thynge agaynste the lawe of god though the sute for the porcyon shulde be takeÌ„ in the kynges courte And paraueÌ„ture it were the more indifferent wey if it were so / for nowe they be both iudges and partyes / but as for the tenth parte it is much more stronger that the sute myght be taken in
vpon a deed persone but such a certayne cloth or thus many tapers or candeles / whether the statute be good And it is lefte for a question SuÌ„ Ro. in the tytle excoÌ„icatio .i. diuisione .xviii. Para. viii in fine Thinges iÌ„mouable of the church maye nat be gyuen SuÌ„ Ro. in the tytle feodum Para. i. et vide ibi in principio / what feodum is To whom treasure founde belongeth And the answere therin varyeth moch fro the lawe of the realme / and is also agaynste the kyngê prerogatyue Summa Ro. in the tytle furtum Para. xi The goodes of deed men go to the heyres / and that of dampned men / and by that terme goodes they vnderstande landes tenymeÌ„tê SuÌ„ / Ro. in the tytle hereditas Para. i. If goodê be fouÌ„de that were lefte of the owner as forsaken who hathe right to them Sum. Ro. in the tytle inuenta Para. ii et vide Sum. Ro. in the tytle furtum Para. xvii If a man bequeth another mans good of what effecte it is SuÌ„ Ro. in the tytle legare para i. et .ii. If a man bequeth to his wyfe his ornamentes whiche haue certayne golde and Iuelles vpon theÌ„ that is nat lawfull to vse after the statutes of the countrey whether the golde Iuelles passe Ro. Legare para xiiii et xv If a maÌ„ bequeth to his daughter whaÌ„ she maryeth a certaine soÌ„me of money / she entreth in to relygion whether the bequeste holde Ro. in the tytle legare Para. xxvii If two haue an house in comen and one wyll sette it / and the other wyll dwell in it / who shal be preferred Ro. locatio Para. vi wherby the rent of a thiÌ„g set to ferme shal be released Ro. locacio pa. ix et .x. And it is sayd by tempeste and enemyes c. et vide pedagiuÌ„ .xviii Whether the rente shal be encreased if the thynge let be amended of it selfe Ro. locacio Para. xi et .xii. And it is saide if a myll encrease by decaye of other mylles / the reÌ„te shal be encreased If a prelate relygiouse without assente of the couente make a lease for terme of lyfe / or to a certayne terme / he is suspended / nought goth to the grauÌ„tee Ro. locacio pa. xxiiii Whether laÌ„des of the church may be pledged Ro. pignus para vi Whether a prescription serueth agaynste him that hath payed a thiÌ„g longe without cause And it is aunswered naye Ro. pÌ„scripcoÌ„ pa. xxii Whether vpon a nude contracte may be grounded any accion And it is sayd yea Ro. ê“missio pa. v. If a monke that is fugytiue / or a postata come to goodes / to whom beloÌ„geth the goodes And it is said there to the monasterye Ro. religio para i. and Loke Ro. religio .iiii. para xii Whether goodes that a man gyueth to the monastary that he goth to folow him if he go to another monastery Ro. religio .iiii. Para. xi ¶ An answere to the artycles contryued in the seyd .xiii. question WE thynke that all the seyd artycles be eyther agaynst the kinges lawes / orels that they be of non auctorite in this realme And therfore whosoeuer in this realme ordre their conscyence after the determynacyons of the seyde soÌ„mes mencioned in the seyd .xiii. questyon / and by the auctorite of the seyd sommes we thynke they erre in conscyence And we thiÌ„ke ferther also that it is very lyke that soÌ„me spirituall men in ar by tremeÌ„tes other couÌ„selles / and also in their iugementes haue ben disceyued therby in tyme past And that it is very lyke that many of them wyll be so / tyll a playne declaracyon be made therupon / accordynge to the lawes of the realme And the daunger is such / that they that gyue sentence accordynge to the seyd artycles or any other that be agaynst the lawe of the realme bynde theÌ„self therby to restitucoÌ„n nat only of the thinge in variaÌ„ce / but also of all the costê damages that the ê‘tye shall sustayn by occasion of the same ¶ The .xiiii. questioÌ„ the .xvii. cha WHat shulde cause the hyghest comeÌ„ welth now in these daies The .xvii. chapiter ¶ An answere to the .xiiii. questioÌ„ THe hyghest comeÌ„ welth that could be now in these dayes wer this That al kynges priÌ„ces wolde fall to a louynge pease and concorde togyther / that they wold than consyder what highe power auctorite they haue receyued of our lorde ouer his people / how strayt accoÌ„pte they haue to make therfore herafter / and that they wolde thervpon with all dilygeÌ„ce fro tyme to tyme put that power in execucyon to the honoure of god and welth of the people And that they specially by such counsell as they shall thiÌ„ke most disposed to saye the truthe Haue this verse whiche is written Psalmo .ii. Et nunc reges intelligite erudimini qui iudicatis terraÌ„ And this text Rex sapiens populi stabilimentuÌ„ est which is Sap. ii Playnly and truly expounded and declared vnto them / and dilygently to folowe the same And certayne it is that he that sayde My delyte is to be with the sonnes of men / wolde nat haue his people lyue out of ordre / ne be blynded with darkenesse of ignorauÌ„ce And if the seyd textes be wel vnderstande / it wyll appere therby / that the high iugemente is in princes / and that it lyeth in princes to appease all varyaunces and vnquyetnesse that shall ryse amoÌ„ge the people / by what occasion soeuer it ryse spyrituall or temporall / and it wyll appere therby also / that the kynges grace hathe nowe no newe auctorite by that / that he is coÌ„fessed by the clergy / and auctorised by the parlyameÌ„t to be the heed of the churche of Englande For it is but only a declaracyon of his fyrst power by god commytted to kynglye regall auctorite / no newe graunte and that for all the power that he is the heed of the churche / that yet he hath none auctorite to minister any of the sacrameÌ„tes / ne to do any other thiÌ„g spyrituall / wherof oure lorde gaue power only to his apostles and discyples And bycause princes haue nat here tofore commenly ben lerned of theym selfe to knowe their owne power in all thynges to them coÌ„mytted by god It is therfore expedyent that they haue trewe / iuste and indyfferent counseyle / as well spyrituall as temporall / the whiche as minysters vnder them / maye fro tyme to tyme declare theire power vnto them / and put them in mynde what is expedyent to be done for the coÌ„men welth settyng alway truthe before their eyen / with the faithe and obedyence that they are bounde to bere vnto their prince / specyally coÌ„cernynge the power and auctoritye that he hathe receyued of god / for mynistracyon of Iustyce vnto his subiectes / and for kepynge of them in peace and quyetnesse ¶ Of dyuers auctorities and reasons / wherby many
that who so euer had any variaunce and wolde put it in iugement of the bysshops / that anon without doutyng it shuld be sent to the iugement of the bysshoppes yet that graunt is of none auctoritye in this realme for the kinges grace here knoweth no superiour vnder god And therfore for hiÌ„ lyeth no appeale And ouer that / if the kiÌ„ges grace made such a grauÌ„te to his bysshops in this realme / that they might holde ple of Temporall thynges / the graunte were voyde for it were agaynst his lawes And furthermore we knowe no auctorite to proue that the seyde Emperours made the seyd grauÌ„t confyrmacoÌ„n but onely the recytall of the seyde lawe made ex de iudicus Ca nouit And that semeth nat suffycient to bynde the Emperoures / ne their successours / onles their assent could be proued by other suffyciente matters of recorde The .viii. reason ALso it is sayde Deutro xvii If any thynge be harde and doutfull to the bytwext blode and blode / cause and cause / leprye and leprye / thou seest the iugemeÌ„t variant bytwext the persones / thou shalt come to the prestes of the Leuytycall kynde to the iudge that shal be that tyme / which shall shewe the the truth of the iugement / and thou shalte do what so euer they that be there in the place that our lord hath chosen saye / and thou shalt folowe their sentence / and than they saye that syth prestes in the newe law be of no lese auctorytie and power thaÌ„ preestes of the olde lawe were c. that they ought to haue no lese auctorytye and power than the other hade / but rather more An answere to this .viii. reason ¶ It is no dout but that the offyce and ministracyon of the prestes of the newe lawe are more notable more worthy than the offyce or ministracyon of the prestê of the old law were For they were iÌ„ a derknesse these in the lyght They in fygure / these in truth of the thinge fygured And therfore for the highnes of their auctoritye in spuÌ„all spirituall thynges / the iugement orderynge of temporall thinges is the more vnconuenyente for them And for that cause it was that the apostels sayd Act. vi It is nat mete for vs to leue the worde of god and minyster to the tables And sith the appostles thought that the ministracyon to the tables / thoughe it were a right charitable dede / was vnmete for their offyce which stode specyally in preachyng and teching and in prayer and contemplacyon / and other ghostly counseyls and ministracyons to the people How far vnmete is it thaÌ„ to their successours to take vpon them as it were a dede of highe ê‘fectyon / to iuge betwixt cause and cause / tytle and tytle / as well of landes tenementes / as of goodes and catales yea and somtyme of thynges concernynge the lyfe of man Therfore the same reason that is made to proue that bycause the auctorytie and power of prestes in the newe lawe / is no lesse thaÌ„ the auctorite and power of the prestes of the olde law was / that therfore they shulde haue as moch auctorite to iuge betwyxte blode and blode / cause and cause / leprie and leprie as the other had / maketh right strongly agaynst theÌ„ And further it is to be noted that in the seid texte of Deu. xvii It is nat sayde onely that the partye shall come to the prestes of the leuytycall kynde / but that he shall come also to the iudge that shall be that tyme / but whether that iudge muste be of the leuytycall kynde or nat it doth nat appere c. ⧠The .ix. reason ALso in this mater in hath beÌ„ sayde / that Emperours at the begynnynge had some right in the Empyre / but for their siÌ„ne that they dyd agaynst holy sayntes / and that specyally agaiÌ„ste the high bysshops they were depryued of the right of the Empyre / and that the right therof was translated vnto the church / for he deserueth to lese his priuilege that abuseth the power to him coÌ„mitted xi q. iii. Ca. priuilegium An answere to the .ix. reason ¶ Emperours had tytle to the Empyre of the immediat gyfte and ordynaunce of god long tyme before the comynge of Christ / and it appereth nat that euer Christe toke that power from them And though soÌ„e of them mysdemeaned themselfe agaynst holy sayntes / and that specyally against the high bisshoppes Yet why they / or their successoures shulde therfore lese the right of the Empier which was gyuen to them of god There is no reason / for though some of theÌ„ were euyll / the successoures might be good as vndoutedly many of theym haue ben And some tyme an euyll man is suffered of god / for the proufe of good men / ouer that admytte that they wer worthy to be depriued for their offences fro the right of the Empier Yet why that right shulde be translated to the churche / it wyll be harde to proue it by reason For as for to the lawe that is aleyed for the proufe therof that is to say .xi. q. iii. Ca. PriuilegiuÌ„ That he deserueth to lese his priuilege that abuseth the power to him coÌ„mytted / proueth nothynge that it shulde be translated to the churche / takiÌ„ge by that terme church / the bysshops and clergye For it is no dout but that the emperours receyued nat the emprye of the Clergye / wherfore it semeth that that reason is but of lytell streÌ„gth to proue that both powers / that is to say spuÌ„al and teÌ„peral shulde be in the clergy ⧠The tenth reason ALso it is sayde Psal lxxi Deus iudicium tuum regida et iusticiam tuaÌ„ filio regis iudicare populum tuuÌ„ in iusticia et pauperes tuos in iudicio That is to saye / O lorde god gyue thy iugement to a kynge / and thy iustyce to the sonne of a kynge to iuge thy peple in iustyce / and thy poore folke in iugemeÌ„t And thaÌ„ this reason hath ben made thervpon / that these wordes were spoken lytterally of christ as they were in dede / as a prayer that the father of heuen wolde gyue his iugement iustyce to Christ And they saye as the trouth is / that that power was fulfylled iÌ„ Christ as it appereth Ioh. v. Where it is sayd Pater omne iudicium dedit filio The father hath gyuen all the iugement to his sonne And also christe sayth himself Mat. xxviii All power is gyuen to me in heuen and in erth And than this reason is made further That that power that christe had he neuer gaue to emperours or kynges / but to his discyples / whan he sayd to them QuodcuÌ„que liga c Wherfore bothe powers spuÌ„all spirituall and teÌ„porall syth the tyme of christe hath ben in his appostels and discyples / and in their successours An answer to this tenth reason ¶ It is no dout
but that all power was in Christ / in heuen in erthe / both of bodyes soules / laÌ„des and goodes / lyfe deth But it is as lytell a dout but that Christ neuer gaue al that power to his apostels nor discyples / ne yet he gaue nat to theÌ„ all the power that was in him concernynge the ministracyon of the sacramentes / wherof he commytted a right high power vnto them as to minister any of the sacrameÌ„tes but in due mater / as in water / bred / and wyne or such other / as he might haue done him selfe Ne yet he neuer graunted power vnto theym to doo myracles by their own power / as he him selfe dyd And syth he grauÌ„ted nat to them power to mynyster the sacramentes but in due matter / which if he had done / it had nat dymynisshed the perfeccyon of theire ministracyon / but gretly enlarged it It is nat to thinke that he wolde gyue them power ouer such thiÌ„ges / wherby they shulde be the more vnapte and vnable to vse the spiritual ministracyon to the people that he had gyuen vnto them as is the medelynge with temporall matters temporall busynes And howe great perell and daunger hath comen therby / as well to the hurte of their owne soules as of the soules of many other / no man knoweth but god alone And for as moch as it is verye lyke that spyrituall mynysters wyll nat frely remoue them selfe fro such Temporall power and Temporall busynesse All christen princes are bounde in conscyence aswell for the helth of the soules of all spirytuall mynysters as of all other people that they haue taken charge of / to remoue the occasyons that haue caused theym to set theymselfe so fully to the medelynge of Temporall thynges as many of theym haue done in tyme paste The .xi. reason OVr master Christ sayd to his lxxii discyplê Luc. x. He that he rech you / hereth me And vpoÌ„ these wordes this reason hath ben made / that for as moche as our lorde speke the seid wordes generally to his disciples / to whom all prestes be successours and shewed nat what tyme / ne wherin they shulde be herde / that hys wordes muste therfore be taken to be of this effecte / that he wolde that his disciples their sucessours shulde be herde and obeyed as well in thinges spyrituall as temporall / wherof it muste nedes folowe that they haue both powers / That is to saye spyrituall and temporall An answer to this .xi. reason ¶ It is to be vnderstande / that the same tyme that oure lorde speke the feyd wordes to his discyples / he seÌ„te them forth to preach in to euery cyte and place where he shuld come and at that sendynge forth he sayde to theym on this maner The heruest is great the workmen be few pray ye the lorde of the heruest that he seÌ„de workmen in to his heruest Go ye forth Lo / I sende you as lambes in the myddes of wolues / Bere neither secke / scryppe / nor shoes / and salute no man by the way In what house so euer ye eÌ„ter fyrst say / peace be to this house / and if the sonne of peace be there / your peace shall rest vpon him / and els it shall retourne agayne vnto your selfe In the same house abyde ye / eatyng drinkyng such as they haue Truly the work man is worthy his hyre / go nat fro house to house And into what cyte soeuer ye enter they receyue you / eate that is set before you / and cure the sycke folkes that be in it / saye vnto theym / the kyngdome of god shall drawe nere vnto you And iÌ„ to what cyte soeuer ye entre / they receyue you nat / ye shal go iÌ„to the stretes and saye Lo / the duste that cleueth to vs of your cyte we cast vpoÌ„ you Neuertheles knowe this / that the kyngdom of god draweth nere And thaÌ„ after certayne wordes that he speke to them concernynge suche cyties as wolde nat receyue theÌ„ / he sayd the wordê before rehersed / He that hereth you / hereth me / wherby it appereth that his meanynge was to haue the people here hys discyples whan they preached such thinges as he commaunded them to do / that is to saye That the kyngdom of god drewe nere / as if he hadde sayde Whan ye preache that I commaunded you to preache / and as I my selfe do preache of the kyngdome of heuen / and vse youre selfe as lambes amonge the people / than he that hereth you / hereth me / for ye speke in me / and I in you And thaÌ„ also all they that heare you and folowe your teachynge shall haue as moch rewarde as if they had herde me parsonally and folowed my teachynge Furthermore it is nat lyke that the meanynge of our lorde was by those wordes that his discyples shulde haue both powers spirituall and temporall for if he had entended so he wolde nat haue sent them forth so poorely as he dyd withoute secke / scryppe / or shoes / and bydde them lyue of their prechynge The effecte therfore of the seyde wordes is this That whaÌ„ preachers preche the gospell truely vnto the people declare vnder what maner the kiÌ„gdoÌ„ of heueÌ„ may coÌ„e vnto theÌ„ / that they be thaÌ„ reuereÌ„tly deuoutly herd But if they pretende to haue by that text or any other more worldly honour power / or rychesse / than our master Christ lefte vnto them / than the people ar nat bounde to obey theym in that pretence ¶ Of abusions and defautes in the clergye / concernynge the lawes of the realme The .xix. chapiter FYrst / it hathe ben a great defaute in dyuers of the clergye that they haue reported affermed in tyme paste / that the statute made in the .xlv. yere of kinge Edwarde the thirde / concernynge the tythiÌ„ge of wood that is coÌ„menly called the statute of Silua cedua / is agaynst the lawe of god And that yet nowe that some questyon hath of late ben moued thervpon / none of them endeuoreth him selfe to proue it is so / ne yet to haue the matter sette in a good cleare waye but as it semeth force lyttell / though the matter rest styll in varyaunce as it hathe done before yf it be so suffered to contynue / great varyaunce wyll folow thervpoÌ„ for the one lawe wyll that the tyth wode be payed / the other lawe clerely prohibyteth it ¶ Also it hathe ben a great defaute in many of the clergy / for that they haue made pretence in tyme paste / as wel in open sermons as in other places / that it is agaynste the lawe of god / that prestê shulde be araygned before laye men / and that yet they haue nat endeuored theÌ„selfe to shew any suffyciente auctorite to proue that it is so / clerely to stable the realme in that behalfe / but rather shew theÌ„self content