FFyrst ye shall vnderstande howe the churche of Rome / was fyrst infecte with treasure and possessyons. As fyrst by the Emperour Constantyne / the great and his successours? Pepyne / Charlemayn / lowys de bonere. And by dyuers other prynces. Howe be it it was ingendred / & gadred / vnder the shadowe of polecy, throughe fayned holynesse. Wherof sprang great infexions, and therby was ingend [...]ed many wycked chyldren / as Pryde, Pompe, Arrogansy, Herisy, Auctoryte of Kynges, and Prynces, suppressynge subiectes with great tyranny / w ^t ­out mercy, shame or pety, after y ^• whiche thynges there folowed great abusyons and debates, in coūceylles generalles. And thus of all these foresayd iniquites engendred great sysmes and diuysions, seperacyons, & impedymentes, w ^t percy­alytes, amonge chrysten Regyons wherof [Page] sprange great euylles, trybulacyons incōuenyences, persecutyons, through all chrystēdom. And thus through these enormytes, and Incōuenyences, it was expedyent for dyuerse Kyngꝭ, & Pryncꝭ to assemble dyuerse councelles and con­gregacyons of wyse & prudent persons, and faythfull chrysten Rulers, and go­uerners, the which counceles doth more playnly appere in the fyrst parte of this present boke and specyally in the .vii. fyrste sysmes.

IT is a comune experience / & dayle sene and harde / that none euyll is engendred but through some euyll and ma­lyuolent persone / as it appered playnly [Page] by one Nouatus an heritike preest & cardynall of Rome / which was y ^• fyrst y ^e in­uiolated y ^e church of Rome through his detestable abusiōs & ypocrysy for he pretēded none other / but to obtayne y ^• dig­nyte of the see of rome vnder his fayned holynesse / that was throughe Rygore, and ambysyon. Thus vnder his false & subtyll pretence was reysed vp two an­ty papis agaynst the holy bysshop saynt Cornelis / the one was y ^• sayd Noua [...]us at rome: the other nicostratus in affrica / and so was expulsed the said Nouatus, frome y ^• knowlege of the churche of Ro­me / & named hym selfe (vnmaculat cle­ne without spot) and al his diciples and thus they a bode in theyr appostasy / as men that denyed the fayth catholyke / & not worthy to come agayne to the crystē Relygyon accordyng as Chrystes dycy­ples dyd preach and teache the Gospell. For the whiche errour it was thought expedyent to assemble a counsell in Ro­me of .40. Bysshoppes, In the whiche [Page] coūceyl the sayd Nouatus was cōdempned / which was the fyrst counceyll that was assembled in the church of Rome / except in the prymatyue churche by the Appostles, and Discyples, of Chryste. Thus abode Cornelis a Romayn in y ^• see bysshop suffryng great tribulacions and persecucyons / through the sysmes of the two forsayd antypapes / n [...]uatus and Nycostratus cardynalles / and per­forse put Cornelius to exyle / & so after­warde he was put to y ^• Crowne of mar­terdome vnder the tyraunt Decyus emperour & he rayned bysshop of Rome .ii. yeres and .iii. dayes and so he gaue his power and auctoryte to steuen and thus the see of Rome lyued many yeres after Chrystes passyon in great perfeccyon / symplyci [...]e & holynesse replet with grace and vertue / vntyll the tyme that Cōstā ­tyne poysoned holy perfeccion w ^t temporall possessyons / whiche he gaue then to the church of Rome and so rayned after Cornelius / Fabyan the fyrst the .xxi. bisshop [Page] of Rome / whiche cristened Phillip the fyrst Emperour of y ^• name of y ^e naciō of Arabye / who began to raygne Anno dn̄i .cc.xlvi. which when he dyed gaue al his treasours, & possessyons, vnto y ^e sayd Fabyan bysshop of Rome / the whiche Emperour dyed vnder Decius the Ty­raunt / and so bycause that Decius the tyraunt coude not obtayne Kyng Phyl­lyppes, treasours whiche was gyuen to Fabyan bysshop of Rome. Then De­cyus caused great persecucyon through all the worlde amonge crysten people, whiche was y ^e .vii. persecucion after Nero the great tiraunt & so in this persecu­cyon Fabyan was put to deth by cruell martyrdome with the fyrst and the .xxi. martyre bysshop of Rome / folowynge Saynt Peter / and vnder y ^• sayd decyus dyed martyrs, Sebastian, saynt Aga­tha, Appolonia with many other y ^e were innocent of the treasours that fabyane, had whiche was y ^• specyall cause of this cruell persecucyon of chrystes flocke.

[Page] ¶And so this cruell tyranny contynewed many yeres by detyns and his succes­sours / and so after Detyns successid Ualeryan gallus which began the .viii. persecucion / vnder whom dyed Sextus bishop of rome the fyrst of that name (also) Laurens his deacon which distrybuted the goodes of the church to the pore ac­cordyng to y ^• law of God also saynt Ypolyt with dyuers other martyrs dyed vnder hym. And after hym Aurclianus emperour borne ī Dalmace, the .xxxii. emperour founder of Orleaunce in Fraunce. And y ^• cytie of Geneue vpon the lake in sauoy / he persecuted the .ix. persecucion on Christes flocke or region through cristendom to pytefull to suffer.

THe .x. persecucion was most cruely vsed through Dioclesian & Maxi­myan Emperours borne in Dalmatiq̄ whiche persecucyon endured .x. yeres, whiche Dioclesyan caused hym selfe to be honoured lyke a God in kyssyng his fete as popis of late daies hath vse princes [Page] and crysten rulers to do which was abhomynable afore God, & man, and this sayd Dioclesian persecuted ouer al the Orientall partes of y ^e world & Max­imian in lykewyse in y ^• occident partes / and tyranny vpon chrystes chosen chyl­dren was so horryble & vnmerciful lyke bochers of bestes / that it was to exec [...]e­ble in the syght of all people / impossyble for pen to wryt for in the space of a mo­neth in y ^• pa [...]tꝭ of Englād & Fraūce was put to deth .xvii. thousād christē people / in so moch that y ^• fayth of chryst was al­most in Englande and fraūce extynckit that no man durst shew hym felfe a cry­sten man for fere of deth and tyranny / & all bokes of Chrystes fayth brent that myght be goten / so after this cruell per­secucyons the deuyll ennemye to al mā ­kynd engendred many heresyes as Sabellyans that denyed y ^t Ihesus Chryste was not the sone of God and also y ^e he­rytykes called Manekis put forth two questyons / one good y ^• other euyl / whervpon [Page] was gadred a great counceyll in Antioch agaynst Paule the samosethā bysshop which denyed the virginite of the virgyne Mary mother of chryste. In the whiche counceyll and busynesse was assembled .xviii. bysshoppes in the cyte of senesse in the countrey of naples.

¶All this persecucyon endured vnto y ^• tyme of Constantyne y ^• great emperour in which tyme was martyred and put to deth for Christes fayth all these sayntes Marcellyn, Marcell, Melchiades, bys­shops of Rome, Also Agnes, Anastase, Barbara, Crispyn, and Crispian, Cry­stofer, Cosme, and Damyan, Kateryne, Luce, marget, George, maximiliā, quintyn, Blase, Mauryce, Uincent, & many without nombre whose names are wryten in the boke of lyfe.

[Page] THus haue you harde howe the fylthy treasours y ^• Faby­an helde Chrystes churche / was infected fyrste with by the couetous mynde of Fabyan bysshop of Rome / whiche held the treasours of Phyllyp kynge whiche dyed vnder De­cyus the tyraunt / whiche Decyus cruelly persecuted all crystendome for with holdynge the sayd tresory of kyng Phyllyp / and so afterward the forsayd No­ [...]atus & Nycostratus was proued false prophetes & antipapes openly to theyr great rebukes and shame by a generall counceyll / and yet after this there [...]ose agayne throughe all Chrystes churche great dyscordes / trybulatyōs / & persecucyōs through the infexions / pryd & of arrogansy / y ^e arose in the church of Rome through the treasours and gyftes of cō ­stantyne and of his successours / where through sprange .xxiii. great sysmes in contynuaunce ī crystes church through these possessyons temporall abused.

COnstantyne was sone to the doughter of claude. Empe­rour the seconde of his name, and the said Constancius maryed Helene quene of Englande herefor to the Crowne of Englande / by whom was conceyued and borne constantyne / the great / the yere of oure Lorde God .ccc.viii. whiche Constantyne was emperour of all the occident partes and after warde emperour of all the worlde.

¶And thus after his great warres Cy­uyle he beynge yet a pagan & a persecu­tor of crysten men / as his predecessours were / frome the whiche tyranny God of his wonderfull workes conuerted hym to y ^e faith by Siluester byshop of Rome which was fled & hyd hym selfe for dred of deth in mountens and woodes.

SIluester the .xxxiiii. bysh [...]p borne ī Rome, was estemed a mā of holy lyfe which had great grace gyuē to hym in cōuertyng many to the fayth, as specylaly constantyne the great / by whose dyly­gence and preachyng the sayd syluester caused hym to sease of his cruell tyrāny vpon cristen people / cōmaunding [...] de­stroy all ydoles temples / and set vp Crystes churches / & so worshipped the crosse and passyon of cryst ouer all the worlde vnyuersall / to the great ioy of all crystē dome and straytly he cōmaūded that no persecucion shulde be done ouer crysten men in no regyon / which was to al cry­stendome a wonderful s [...]d ayne mutacyon [Page] and chaunge y ^• in a lytle whyle afore y ^e no man so hardy y ^e durst be knowen to be a crysten man for feare of persecucyō of deth / in somoch they were hated ouer all / that no body wold suffre a crystē mā (ones knowē) abyd ī no place but lyued in great dred and in secret places.

¶Thus by the prouysyon of God syl­uestre was taken in lyke honour w ^t kynges whiche was as many haue opinion and say it was by the subtyl craft of the deuyll / whiche is & euer was the auncy­aunt ennemy of mankynd which could fynde none other poyson to destroy the perfexion of holy byshops / which were xxxii. that dyed holy martyrs for crystes fayth afore Syluester / & thus y ^• deuyll supposynge to haue a great parte of crystendome / through riches, power, digni­te, pryd, and heresy, and sismes, y ^e shulde sprynge / & dyd in dede afterward / vnto this day experience leadeth vs to moche And some holdeth opynyon, & wryteth that at this tryumphe was herd a voyce [Page] horryble in the ayer sayenge / Hodie ve­nenum ī ecclesia semiau [...], yet I can not assure this for a trewth but as some wri­ters haue wryten.

¶This noble Prynce Constantyne in loue & zelus mynde to siluester / through the wonderfull suffraunce of God / and blynded with worldly vanytes, caused Siluester the bisshop to be clothed with purple sylkes & rayment imperyal most lyke a Kynge or a Prynce in somoch he toke his crowne imperiall & set it on his hede / yet notwithstādyng Siluester w ^t humble coūtenaunce wolde not take it, but vtterly refused it & wold not vse nor take vpon hym to were it / but a symple myter of fustian / the whiche is yet vsed among the bysshops and cardinalles of Rome to this daye / notwithstandynge though Siluester wolde not take vpon hym the emperyall Crowne yet the bys­shops of Rome of late dayes haue takē vpon them vsurpacyon & hye auctoryte thre crownes of golde facyoned hye and [Page] sharpe copped, ryche w ^t stones and perle as the boxe of a great lapydarye oryen­tal for truely it is to be wōdered on such superfluyte to be worne on any such ho­ly persones / hede for Chryst our redemptour vsed no such vayne glory / for ī this cause Platyne y ^• great wryter of stores mayster of the roulles in Rome / whcihe mocketh this abusyō in y ^• tyme of Adriā y ^• fyrst which was called paule y ^• proude a venecyan / which gloryfy [...]d ī hym selfe in suche lyke ryche apparel euē as a god in earth (and wolde so be called) among people in earth ī his arrogancy & pryde and thus wolde y ^• sayde Paule vse hym selfe gloryfyed euery yere of Iubely / afore all y ^• worlde & afore y ^• Pylgrymes & dyd vse hym to were y ^• maner & facion rayment / of women in those dayes lyke the customable weryng that Bysshops dyd vse, and yet moreouer saynt Austyn sayeth de verbis domini / in reproche of the arrogancy & pryde of popes / whiche wolde be called Goddes saynge thus. [Page] (Qui vult videre deus cum sit homo non imitatur illum qui cū deus esset pro illo factus est homo.)

¶Thus to proced of Siluester though he with holy and symple countenaunce refused the ryche crowne emperyall of Constantyne / yet he wolde not refuse of Constantyne y ^e great possessyon gyftes and rentes y ^• he gaue with the hole cytie of rome, which was no small possessyon as dyuers wryters maketh mencyon, as doth Laurence valla the great orator.

¶This Syluester caused to assemble the fyrste great generall councell at Nycene and Bythena purposly agaynst the herysies of Aryen which greatly encreased, whose errours was in the distynctions of the thre persons in Trinite. And in this coūceyl was presēt .xxxviii. Bysshop­pes assembled,✚

AFter the donacyon of Con­stātine folowed two bisshoppes of Rome pesyble & iuste men in theyr offyce without sysme or dyscorde amonge crystes flocke / the one was named Marke, the other Iuly. In whose tyme y ^• he­resyes of the Aryans encreased more & more, whiche torned the hart and mynde of Constance the sone of Constantyne y ^• then rayned. And so he began the .xi. persecucyon vpon crysten people. And put Iulius in exyle out of rome, whose pla­ce succeded Liberius, and Felyce togy­ther, [Page] which enuyed ech other, who shuld haue the see of Rome, so in contynuaūce Liberius y ^• heretyke throughe the fauor of Constans opteyned his purpose to be bysshop of Rome, And enioyed the see of Rome, the space of .xlii. yeres and .vii. monthes and thre dayes / notwithstan­dyng he was noted to be the fyrste pope heretyke and sysmatyke. And supporter of the Aryans artycles, through his abhomynable gloryous dygnyte pleasyng the mynde of the Emperoure Constan­tyne the yonger infecte with the sayd heresyes / whiche was the most abhomynablest and cruel heresyes y ^• euer was, worse then the seckte of Mahōmet / for the Preestes Aryans persecuted other cry­sten bysshops & catholyke people with­out pety, or mercy, in Affryque & Spay­ne. Thus was Felyxe y ^• bysshop of Ro­me put to deth ī this persecuciō / the .xiiii moneth of his reygne / & after this rose other heresyes called Donastytes whi­che baptysed y ^• cristē agayne / as our late [Page] Anna baptystes vsed and as the enmo­nyans heretykꝭ y ^e sayd that Iesu Cryste in his Godhede was not equall w ^t God the Father by dyuyne nature / but onely by grace / & the massedonyas heretykes / denyed the holy Ghost to be equall with the Father, and the Sone, & thus these heresyes arose y ^• .xii. persecucyō through the cōmaundement of Iulian y ^• appostata emperour that was fyrst a cristē man and after fell to Ydolatry / whiche perse­cucyon arose by euyll example & sismes / that he sawe in Chrystes church.

SHortly after the seconde sys­me y ^e thyrde folowed / bytwē Bysshop Damascus borne in Spayne and Ursysinus cardynall & deacon his ennemy / whiche was his open chalenger / to batayll in armes within the church wherthrough / [Page] were many men slayne one both partes, so inconclusyon Damascus ouercame and vaynqueshed vrsysyne y ^• antipape / whiche was afterward content with the bysshoprycke of naples.

¶Thus is apparant to all the worlde / what desolacyon and myschefe ensued vpon the possessions that was gyuen to the bysshops of [...]Rome by Cōstantyne & his successours what w ^t violence of war & persecucyon of tyranny vpon crysten people, alas what pety was this to se y ^e see of Rome so pyteously brought ī such a name by Damascus bysshop / & this man was y ^• fyrst bysshop of Rome that enterpressed dedes of armes & warre for his dignyte / yet notwithstandyng he is at this day acepted and taken for a holy glorious confessou [...] / yet was he accused for adultrye and this man was the fyrst that auctorysed saynt Ieromes werkes and in his tyme Rome was taken / and destroyed by Alarych Kynge of gootes the whiche ingendred great slaunder in [Page] the crysten church in somoch that y ^• pay­nymes greatly reproched the chrysten relygyon for suche shamfull enormytes in somoche that many cristen Kynges and Prynces withdrewe thē frome seruinge of God / and so fell frome y ^• fayth where vpon saynt Austen compiled and wrote the boke called (De ciuitate dei) & thus through this sysme the deuyll redy to al myschefe engendred another sorte of he­retykes called Pelagyans / whose opy­nyons was that mā myght meryt with­out the grace and gyft of God / and that no mā shuld passe vpō baptyme / for the whiche errour was assembled a coūceyl generall in the cetye of Car [...]age & there were assēble .cc.xviii. prelates where, as saynt Austen was one of them & sheued wel his scyence vertue and learnynge.

[Page] THus bytwene the thyrde sysme & y ^• fourthe was but foure pesyble bysshoppes of Rome, whiche were Syry­ake Anastase fyrst, Innocēt y ^• fyrst / & zo­synus after whose death began the .iiii. sysme & deuisyon in the churche / that is to wet bytwene Bonyface the fyrste and eulalyus cardynall preest. The cause of theyr dyuysyon was that y ^• clarge ware departed in to two partes and sortes / in the which tyme the Emperour Theodo­sius beyng at Mallan w ^t his wyfe were banyshed & shortly after Boniface was reuoked agayne and so made bisshop of Rome onely / after that vnto y ^• fyfte sys­me began the heryses of Predestynacyō y ^• whiche affyrmed y ^• no ꝑson aueyled to do any good werkes but euery ꝑsō to do his pleasure for god had predestynated euery mā to be saued & dāpned at his plesure & in this seasō was assēbled a coūcel at Cōstantynople in the tyme of gratiā Emperour & theodose & damascus bys­shop of Rome agaynst the errour of the macedonyans.

[Page] ¶So folowyng not lōge after was assē bled y ^• thyrde great counceyll at Ephese, by the cōmaūdement of Theodose afore wrytē & bysshop Telestyn against y ^• heresyes of the Nestoryans / which held opynyon / that the virgyn marye was not mother to the sone of God & in this opynyon was many countres sore infected with / as Fraunce, Spayne, Affrique, with many other small domynyons / in whiche tyme Ursula & her cōpany suffe­red deth and martyrdome at Colone.

¶And in this season was assembled the iiii. generall counceyll in Calsydonye in Asia the lesse end / the which was assēble ccccc.xxx. bysshops by y ^• auctoryte of bysshop Leo the fyrste of y ^t name / & Marsū then emperour This assemble was to cōuicte the heryses of Eutycyanes ab­bot of Constantynople who held opynyon that Chryst had takē humanyte vpō hymself & y ^t he had ī hym but one nature that was pure dyuynyte / the whiche he­ryses was fordone by y ^• sayd counceyll / [Page] and shortly after began another sysme called Archefallyke / y ^t is to wyte with­out a hed / which denyed all Canons of the sayd counseyll.

¶And this tyme befel a great mischyfe in Rome that Anastasius then seconde bysshop of that name / borne in Rome became an herityke & was named the seconde bysshop abhomynable in Rome / for he fauoured the opynyons of y ^t nestoryans as Lyberius bysshop dyd afore wryten toke the opinyons of the Arians and this Anastasius was the fyrst that gaue out cursse vpon any Emperour or Kynge, & in synne this cursed Bysshop dyed full of misery, in somoch y ^t his bowelles fell from hym syttyng at the s [...]ole of eysment as stores make mēcyon & he raygned one yere and .xxiiii. dayes.

[Page] THe .v. sysme of the churche of Rome beganne the yere .494. this sysme beganne bytwene Symachus and Laurence the cause of this dyuisyō was that the clargye could not agree in theyr voyces / whiche of these two shuld holde the see of Rome for the which rose great dy­uysyon and dyssencyon in two pertes a­monge the Romayns / and in fine agre­ed to assemble a counceyll at Rauenna in y ^• presens of Theodore Kynge of Gotes / In the whiche counceyll they agre­ed that Symachus shulde be bysshop through Theodore y ^• Kynge / which bys­shop was at Sardyne / & Laureus was made bysshop of Nucerre thus was fy­nyshed the .v. sysme.

THrough the forsayd bysshops was the .vi. sysme fyrste w ^t in foure yers some of y ^• clargy of Rome sediciuos per­sons and louers of newe tydynges with [Page] help of two senatours conspyred to de­pose Simacus bisshop and wolde haue put in Laurēs afore wryten / here vpon the Kynge Theodoryke beynge sore a­greued / he set one Peter Altyne to kepe the see of Rome for hym selfe and cha­sed the forsayd two bysshops in exyle / and so in cōclusyon the sayd Symacus assembled a coūceyl of .vi. score bisshops and they purged hymselfe cleane of all thynges / there layd agaynst hym for the whiche he abode styll bysshop of Rome, and yet notwithstōdynge there was su­che dyscorde & vprorers among the Ro­mayns / y ^e oftentymes many were slayne in the stretes both Preestes and men of lawe / in somoch y ^e one Faustus a great man of power set a dyreccion amonge the senatours / or els had folowed grea­ter ruyne / thus maye ye se what vertue or debatꝭ arose by y ^e possessiō & giftꝭ that Constantine gaue to y ^• church of Rome.

[Page] IN this tyme raygned Emperour of Constantynople Iustyniane the seconde of that name / in whose tyme was Seresinus borne in Surrey. Anno xp̄i .706. Agaynst the whiche arose an Anty­pape whiche helde byforse the dygnyte of Rome / whose name was Diascorus / thus began the .vii. sisme in the churche of Rome / with great persecucyon & try­bulacyon in Rome / whiche continewed a great season vnto the tyme of Grego­ry the seconde of that name / borne in Rome w ^t another named Sygysmond, thorowe whose enormytes the fayth of Chryst began sore to decay in the oryent partes / and through this horlay burlay the bysshops of Rome toke corage / and lyfted vp theyr hornes / y ^• is theyr power agaynst the Emperours more then euer was sene / for this Gregorye & Anastase were the second abhominable bisshops that raygned in Rome after Anastase / whiche was so bold to excōmunycat his [Page] Emperour Leon y ^• .iii. of his name y ^• whiche cause was y ^• he wolde a put downe the worshippyng of ymages through al crystendome sayeng it was ydolatry hated of god / & the pope w ^tstonde it beforse wherthrough arose great bandes of cō ­panyes & of persyalytes bytwene Emperours & bisshops / wherthrough oftimes sysmes hath ben renewed & thus during this sysme & discorde / arose out of Afri­que a great army of Sarazyns & entred into spayne / & wone the Realme of Gra­nado / and so kept it by force [...]yl w ^t great polecy and forse of Prynces & Kynges wane it agayne / also in this tyme was a great armye of Sarazyns in Fraunce / which were reculed byforse of armes by Charles Prynce and Martyre & in this tyme of Gregory began the Lent of for­ty dayes to be fasted / y ^• which Lent Melchiades, predecessour of saynt Siluester strongly withstode & defended / bycause therby myght engender great corrupci­on and infexion vnyuersally among crysten [Page] people. As wytnessed then the counceyll of Physycions expert.

¶And in this tyme of contynuaūce of malyce in the Churche, one Constanty­ne bysshop of Rome vsurped the see of the papasy by force, & by money, whose eyes were perforce put out, & so put ī pryson in a monasterye, by the whiche he is named the .v. abhomynable bysshop of Rome. And in this tyme began the nacyon of Turkys, that came out of Tarta­ry who enuayed sore the partꝭ oryentall And so mynysshed sore chrystendome. And this heresyes dyd encrease more & more, where through they were enforsed to assemble the .vii. counceyll at Constā ­tynople for the [...] and worshyppynge of Images in the Churche whiche many sayd it was Ido­latrye, and for certayne other Articles that the Greke churche had agaynst the holy ghost.❧ ❧

THe noble [...] maketh mension that Clowys the fyrste crysten kyng of Fraunce / whiche was bytwene the .iiii. & y ^e .v. sysme then reygned. And this kyng was y ^e fyrst crysten that assembled a general coūcel ī Orliaūce. Anno. dn̄i .486. Raynyng y ^t tyme at Cōstātino­ple y ^• emꝑour zeneme. And at y ^• tyme sat in y ^• apostolyk see [...] y ^• .iii. of y ^• name And about [...] tyme rayned kīg Artur of Englande and he sent a presydent to that coūcell at orliaūce one named Mellanius, which he sent for a good purpo­se for the welth of the churche.

[Page] This Charlemain rayned emperour o [...]er Almayne, Fraūce, and Ytaly, which assembled this counceyll in a cyte in Germanya called Herbypolys in the tyme of Adryan the fyrst bisshop of that name / as Platyne wryteth y ^• which coū ­ceyll the Grekes called the great Sino­da, and there was condempned the opy­nyon of the Felycyans the whiche sayd that no Ymages ought to be in the churche, and shortly after Pope Leo y ^• thyrd of y ^• name came into Fraunce to Charle mayne / complaynynge of thre Preestes which had done hym great vltrage and dyspleasure / y ^• one named Pasculis the other Pri [...]isserius / y ^• thyrde called Cā ­pulus / y ^e which with many of theyr opy­nyon droue out of Rome the sayd Adry­an w ^t all his affynyte for goyng on pre­cessyon and syngyng the Lateny which Gregory instytuted and ordayned afore for the which Charlemayn was sore dis­pleased / and so at the sayd Adryans re­quest Charlemayn raysed a great army [Page] and went to Rome / to set Adryan bys­shop in his see agayne / wherthrough he had the name of the Empyre of Rome / which he gaue to the see of rome & great possessyons & rychesse / as his father Pepyn dyd afore hym as dyuerse such suc­cessours hath syas contynued and aug­mented.

OF this coūceyll wryteth Platyne historyograffer / y ^t there were assembled al the Prynces and counceylles vnder y ^• power and domynyon of Lowys de bō ­nere the which Lowys at this connceyll gaue Lotere his sone parte of his Em­pyre / and crowned hym kyng of Ytaly / and Pepyn his seconde sone he named hym kynge of Acquitayne / and Lowys [Page] his thyrde sone he named kynge of Ba­uarye / and at this counceyll y ^• Infydel­les and Sarasyns laboured for Peace whiche was graūted / and at the whiche coūceyll was compyled a great Boke of Lawes and cōstytucyons for ecclesiasti­call ceremonies and orders / which were straytly kept which boke was made and compyled by Amalarius a man florys­shynge in Learnynge in that tyme / & at this tyme of Lowys y ^• good Kynge and Emperour / he perceyuynge the abhominable pryde that exceded in bysshops of Rome and other prelates of y ^e Churche / as amonge Preestes / and other meane sorte / such Pompe, and Rayment, so presyous / & rych, and superfluous withall and to moch gasynge and glysterynge / set with Gēmys, perle, & stone / lyke Kynges and Prynces, & on theyr Fyngers ryche Rynges and so this good Kynge cōmaūded this pryde & glory to be fordone / and caused a more sadder and a sympler facyon and maner of rayment vsed [Page] and worne and thrusted downe al theyr pryde & pompe / and caused y ^t no bisshop nor prelate shuld were but one Ryng of Golde / which shuld serue for his singne and seal, and so they were cōtented and agreed / also as Platyne wryteth the bisshop of Rome Steuen y ^• fourth of that name borne in Rome / and successour of Leo the thyrde beynge at the sayd coun­ceyll fled frome the Romayns & came into Fraunce to kynge Lowys the good Kynge at Orlyaunce / & was there honorably receyued and at his retorne gaue hym ayed and strength to retorne to Rome / and he gaue hym a crosse of so great valoure that was inestymable to iudge, whiche was sent as an offrynge to seynt Peter.

[Page] THere was about this tyme a detestable and wycked counceyll & a permysyous, which was gadered by euyll auctoryte * * * * * of the wycked prelates of Fraunce / whiche conspyred agaynst theyr good Kynge Lowys / bycause he set a dyreccyon and good order agaynst theyr dishonest lyuynge pompe, pryde, & abhomynacyon, and superfluytes as a­fore was wryten / and thus this wycked counceyll of prelates conspyred a great insurreccyon and army of moch people / as the sone against the father and frend agaynst frend / & so toke the good Kyng Lowys, & put hym captyue at seysons in a stronge hold. And to this conspyrese was agreed, pope Gregory y ^• .iiii. of his name bycause he was not benefyciall to the Churche of Rome at that tyme, and for redressyng many enormytꝭ. And not so benefycyall as he was to other Bys­shops afore. And as the orator Raphael of voluntary testyfyeth of this wycked [Page] counceyll & companye assembled with­out auctoryte. And so there these tray­tours cōdempned this good kyng with­out auctoryte / & deposed hym frome all armes and out of his dignyte emperyal and dyspoyled hym of his Kynges ray­ment and put on hym a monkes kole in derysyon.

¶O cursed & wycked Pharysyans / re­pleat with treason and ypocresy sacerdotall / howe can ye conspyre so great abhomynacyon and cruelty agaynst so good a kynge / for redressynge your Antecristian lyuynge / pompe & pryde / suerly this is not your fyrst cruelty for ye began w ^t the hede y ^t was our sauyour Iesu Christ whome ye shamfully crucyfyed and put to deth.

¶And thus contynued the good kynge Lowys captyue indesolacyon amonge his ennemyes / tyll God prouyded for hym through good coūceylles / & iustyce diuyne of Kynges and Prelates that he was restored to his originall tytle emperour [Page] and Kynge of Fraunce agayne.

IN the tyme of this Lowys / sone of Charles came in to Fraunce / Iohn̄ bysshop of Rome the .viii. of that name borne in Rome / And escaped out of the prysons and captyuyte of the Romayns which hated hym bycause he wold haue crowned this sayd Lowys y ^• s [...]utter Emperour of Rome / for the Romayns wol­de rather haue had Charles his brother kynge of Germanye / and not onely for this cause he fled but bycause of two er­les which wolde haue taken frome hym the patrymonye of the Churche / and in this cause he dyd curse thē / and so came for socour in to fraunce and there abode a .xii. monethes / & desyred the help of the Kynge / which could not come / bycause he lay secke at Towers notwithstādyn­ge [Page] within short tyme after he recouered his sykenesse / then he & the bysshop met togyther in Troyes in Champane and there assembled a counceyll of the chur­che Gallycane.

¶And thus at this sayd counceyll were determyned many holy decrees / & there they confyrmed a bysshop to be Pastore ouer the countre of Flaunders / whiche was a wylde Forest for to make Colys / and full of maryse as Platyne wryteth / which afterwarde was replet with peo­ple and townes / wherthrough it is to be coniectured they be vnder the dioses of Tornay as yet remayneth.

¶Yet furthermore at this sayd coūceyll this said Iohn̄ bysshop gaue the crown empyre to kyng Lowys the stut [...]er & al­led him august, yet wold not he graūt to crowne his wyfe Quene / & so after this counceyll fynyshed / Iohn̄ bysshop the .viii. of that name retorned to Rome / to warre on the Sarasyns whiche were entred in to the partys of Italye.

AGaynst these counceylles the bysshop Benedict the .vii. of that name / caused to assēble another counceyll at Raynes in the which Arnulphus was restored to the byshoprych of Rayns and the vsurped bysshop deposed / which was after Arch­bysshop of Reuenna and syns bys­shop of Rome by crafte and meanes of Diabolyke scyence wherin he was expert / yet notwithstandyn­ge he ended his dayes my­serably,

THis holy bysshop of Rome Urban the .xii. of that name Abbot of Clunye a blacke monke and Cardynall of Hostyensis, was moued w ^t pyte and compassyon thorow the lamē ­table complayntes of the worthy pylgr [...] me Peter the heremyte borne at Mens / the whiche came lately from the holy lā de. And so informed Urban of the mys [...] ry [Page] and po [...]erte, & seruytude that crysten people were in there with the patryarke Symon in Ierusalem. So this com­playnt herynge Urban, moued with cō ­passyon & prepayred with all dylygence for succour & delyueraūce of them there beyng in the thraldom & daūger of Sa­rasyns, turkys, & Infidels, which crystē people laye in this thraldom from the tyme of Hiracle, whiche was the yere of our Lorde god .cccc.lxxx. or there aboute as platyne wryteth.

¶And shortlye after Urban was in so greate trouble and veracyon amonge the Romayns, that they were fayne to flye out of Rome, and came in to Fraunce. And there was assembled throughe his commynge a great counceyll of all the Prelates of the Churche catholyke whiche was holden in the cytie of Cle­remount in Ouernia. And some storyes sayth that Phillyp y ^e fyrste of that name assembled another counceyll agaynst y ^e [Page] Hollandes. And so whan the great coū ­cell of Urban the bysshop of rome was assembled in the holy Ghost / this sayde Urban made an excellent and elygant Oration to that assēble. And there ther­of breyfly & sentenciously I gadred as foloweth concernynge the vyage to Ie­rusalem for the delyueraunce and captyuyte of the crysten people.

¶All ye honourable audyence here as­sembled ye shall vnderstande y ^t I whi­che haue taken on me vnworthy this entendeth to set good ordre and reforma­cyon in all thynge accordynge to the ca­tholyke Relygyon of Chryste.

¶It is not vnknowen to you what in­gerys and losse hathe ben of late dayes in crystendome by Sarasyns and In­fydellys without mercy or pytie / with great warres and battayllys / for the whiche remedy is there none but by for­ce of armys / wherfore to redresse it as we and you be very C [...]tristyans stonde faste in the fayeth / and lette vs seke [Page] remedy for this pyteous tyranny that chrysten people do susteyne, and Remē ­bre the great dylygence that your predysessours hath had in this behalfe in ty­mes paste, And spetyally ye nobles of Fraunce, whiche hath alwaye susteyned agaynst the Infydelys, also you Ger­mayns & Saxons & Polax, Bohemys, and hungaryon and Englysshe nacyon ye shulde not suffer this tyranny vpon Chrysten people so pyteously also ye I­talyons shulde remembre what paynes and tyranny your predycessoures fren­des of late dayes hath suffred by them also ye venecyans & ye of Dalmase and of Hystrye / and al ye bourderars of the Ardryatyque sees whiche haue alwaye valyantly defended the malyse & power of the Sarasyns / now apply your selfe withal other princes to withstande this cruell Infydellys or els ye shall se your chyldren / your wyfes / your goods / and lyues, vtterly destroyed by cruelty, wherfore awake all ye valyaunt personage [Page] and we humbly desyre you in y ^• mercy of God / put on your armyes & sprede forth your standardes and Baners & set forth your cōpaynyes w ^t great courage / and God y ^t is most puysaūt shal be with you & send his omnypotent powre to ayed & strength you in all your wayes & to con­founde all that shall withstande you.

ANd thus as sone as Urba­nus had fynysshed his oracyon all that were there presēt / arose & sayd with one voyce this is the wyll & pleasure of God / and therwith Urban blessyd theym all say­enge this blessyng / I gyue you as lōge [Page] as ye shall endure this Iourney / and ye shall vnderstand y ^• in this assemble and coūceyll was many noble worthy Prynces and barons, and noble men the whi­che many of them solde theyr landes, hopynge to prospere in this Iourney to y ^• hye honour and seruyse of God / wherof is made mencyon ī dyuerse crownacles more at large / in the which iourney god fray of Bullyon was the chefe of that enterpryse / and thus was fynyshed the counceyll of Cleremont.

AFter this great coūceyll arose the .17. sisme in the church / in the tyme of Paschall bysshop of Rome the .12. of that name borne in Italye afore a mōke and so successour of Urbanus / whiche came into Fraunce for to haue reforma­cyon of dyuerse abuses y ^• was thē in the Church farre frome al good facyon and order wheron he caused a counceyl to be assembled generall / wherin was refor­med [Page] many thynges / and specyally he deposed many prelates and benefysed mē / which were necligent & vnlearned from theyr pastoralyte & curyous / & admytted such as were able for suche promocyons and to preache and gyue example of ly­uynge in Chrystes churche.

AFter this Pascal rayned gyles the seconde of y ^• name borne in Italye in whose tyme fell the .18. sysme in y ^• whi­che suffred many trybulacyons & perse­cucions as ye shall fynde in the tyme of Henry the fourth Emperour which cre­ated an antypape named Benedictus / y ^• whiche antypape pope Gyles droue out of Ytalye / and so fled into Fraunce.

¶And so in the absent see of this sayde Gyles possessed the see bysshoppe of Uy­ [...]nne named Guy of Burgongne, which [Page] was in y ^• holy lande of Ierusalem when Godftay de Bullyon, the whiche Guy was taken and accepted for a man of an acceptable lyfe, whose name was after­warde called Calixtus the .ii. but yet as storys saith y ^• the forsayd Gylys was he y ^• coursed Henry the emperour in y ^• coū ­ceyl and not this Calyxt / for he was nye a kyne to y ^• emperour Henry whiche maryed Ma [...]de doughter to the kynge of Englande and this sayd curse was gy­uen by Gyles Bysshop bycause of the reformacyon of the pryde & pompe that then was vsurped among prelates and preestes / as well in dignytes & theyr auctorytes / as in excesse of gorgyous appa­rell & a rayment also partly as Platyne wryteth it was for y ^• supportynge of an Antypape named Burdyn a spanyard / as here after in the thyrde parte here of shal make mensyon and so was Calyxt made bisshop & stauled in Rome byforse & caused y ^• emꝑour Henry to be beseged, the [...]yte of rayns where he was acursed.

INnocent y ^• secōde bysshop of Rome and borne in y ^• sa­me Cytie helde warre & batayle agaynst Roger nor­munde Kynge of Naples / * * * * * and y ^• sone of Roger vayn­quyshed this bisshop Innocent ī playne Batyle / and toke hym & his cardinalles prysoners / yet notwithstandynge this prynce Wyllyam e [...]treated hym & his cardynalles gently and honorably / and in contynuaunce he set theym at lyberty lyke a noble man.

¶And this tyme indurynge was a no­ther bysshop of Rome named / Anacle­tus, by whom y ^• forsayd Innocent was chased out of Rome / & this was y ^• .xviii. sysme as ye shall playnly se in the laste parte of this boke.

[Page] ¶And thus in that tyme by the aduyse­ment of kynge Lowys y ^• grosse was holden two counceylles in Fraunce / in the whiche was the forsayd Innocent pre­sent / these coūceylles were holden at cle­remont ī Ouernya / & the other at rayns in Champayne in the which coūceylles were determyned dyuerse decrees and by the whiche Innocent ouercame his aduersary annacletus his antipape and so he retourned to Rome agayne & possedyd his see.

DUryng the tyme of the .19. sysme of the which ye shal perceyue more at large in the thyrde parte of this boke / so [Page] this tyme Engenius the .3. of that name bysshop of Rome borne in Pisa in [...] [...]a­lye / who was disciple of saynt Bernard the whyte monke / & this man also fled in to Fraunce aparte for socoure for the great murmure & furye, y ^• he had of the Romayns / and part for to coūceyll and to mocion cristē Princes to warre vpon the infydellys the whiche had taken a great cytie called Edessa Mesopotania in grecya.

¶For the which cause kynge Lowys y ^• yonger sone to grosse Lowys / y ^• whiche endeueryd hymselfe with great dilygēce toward this iourney & assēbled a great coūceyl of prelates & pryncis in the cytie of vezelay in Burgone, and through the coūceyll and aduyse of saynt Barnarde with other / this yong Lowys vowed to go on this iourney and he requyred to helpe the crysten people that were there / so sore oppressed of the infydellys / inso­moch that after hym folowed his wyffe [Page] with gret nōbre of people. And w ^t them conradus kynge of romaynes, Alfonce kyng of Spayne Rycharde the fyrste of England with great nombre of knygh­tes and barons whiche was the seconde passage vnyuersall y ^• crystendome ma­de to the holy Lande of Ierusalem.

¶And as Platyne sayth this Eugeni­us and saynt Bernarde was the cheyf setters forth in this counceyl, for this armye, And so returned to rome quyetly.

THus the .xx. sysme of y ^• chur­che was agaynst bisshop A­lysaunder the thyrde of that name, borne at Senys, the yere of our Lorde .M.lxxx. and this sys­me & dyuysion endured in the churche .xvii. yeres / agaynst .iiii. Antypapes that then rayned & were suffered by y ^• empe­roure [Page] frederyke called Barbarouse / and so this Alyxsaūder fled out of Rome for socoure vnto kynge Phillype augustus who then assembled a coūceyll in Clere­monde in Ouernya agaynst the forsayd Frederyke / for mayntenynge of victor Antypape / by the which varyaunce and dyuysyon in crystendome, in this meane season Ierusalem was wonne by y ^e soul dan Saladyne / which was neuer yet recouered to this day this was the yere of Chryste .1184. and so this emperour Frederyk wolde fayne a brought to passe a vnyte & concorde / & wold haue had this co [...]ceyl at Dygyon ī Burgony where they shulde amet with kynge Phyllype, and the kynge of Boheme, and kynge of Scottes and shuld haue had the said antypape Uictor / whiche he brought all to passe byforce of armes, or els not.

¶But yet this Alexsaunder bysshup of Rome wolde not consent to come there / for he had that place in susspecke and so [Page] gadered a nother counceyll at Towers, and thus y ^• emperour Frederyk / in spyte and displeasur returned in to Almayne / and sent Uictor his antypape in to [...]ta­lye & thus was al thyngꝭ in more pertur bacyon & vnquyetnesse thē it was afore, thus al cristen people may se what mys­chefe & vengeaunce hath ben through y ^• obstynacy of wycked bisshops of Rome ouer all crystendome & euer wyll be vn­tyll the hande of God put remedy.

IN the tyme of this phyllip august / came Enbassatoures quene Isabel from the kynge of Ierusalem which came for socour for the cristen prysoners y ^• Sala­dyne soldā had in captyuite / wherupon was gadered a coūseyll at Parys to no purpose, but for the socour of crysten mē [Page] for the kyng Phillyp had as then great warre agaynst Hew duke of Burgone and other.

¶And thus this sayd Phillyp sent en­bassatours to kynge Rycharde curede­lyon desyring hym of ayed in this cause to the whiche he graunted w ^t good wyll & so / shortly after he assembled a great armye on both partys of Fraunce, and England, and went on a croose agaynst the ennemys of cristendome / but the forsayd kīg Richard could not obtayne his purpose for he was slaine afore a Castel or he came to Ierusalem / and notwith­standynge his sone toke that Iourney / on hym & for the mayntenaunce of this was payed al the hole rentes of the churches / and monestaryes in Fraunce whi­che was called y ^• subsedy of Salandyne and after this forsayd company folow­ed Frederyke emperour w ^t a great puyssaūce / which was called y ^• thyrde gene­rall viage in to the holy lande.

THus another coūceyll was holden agaynste Pyyllype after his retorne by y ^• legat of Innocēt y ^• thyrde of that name / & there was y ^• kynge Pyllype enterdyted and all the Realme for forsakyng of the Quene / which was the bysshops kynswoman and herupon the Kynge armyd hym & raysed a great armye / & he exyled all the bysshops that consented to the curse / and put them in Pryson and frome theyr benefyces &c.

IN y ^• tyme of Lowys father to saynt Lowys then Gregory the .ix. rayned Anno. Dn̄i .1226. then came in to Fraūce a legat from the Bysshop / whiche legat was named Romanus & there was ga­dred [Page] a coūceyll they concluded to warre vpon the herytykes Albygoys / whiche was in y ^• coū [...]re of Auynion, in Prouaū ce, & Languedock, whiche were repleat with great vyllany and herysyes, and so the Kynge went vpon these countryes & subdued them, and in retournyng home he dyed.

THe which bisshop came into Fraū ­ce for soco [...]r for case that the Em­perour Frederyk persecuted hym / Anno Dn̄i .1246. and y ^• Emperour was syted to appere at this counceyll and came w ^t a great company / and at turayne he re­tourned home agayne for his ennemies were entred into his countrye.

¶This debat contynued long tyme the space and tyme of thre bysshops of Ro­me [Page] successyuely / y ^• was Honorius the .3. the other Gregorye / & Innocent afore wryten / and thus thorow y ^• cruell obsty­nacy of these bysshops there arose great mischeffe & dissencion through al cristendome, & so therby was engendred great war in al crystendom in the which tyme of warres was lost Constantinople & so at this coūceyl was nothyng concluded through the great ruyne that fell in cry­stendome / by these forsayd bysshops of Rome one after a nother.

THe yere of grace .1232. rained kyng Phillip sone to saint Lowys / who assembled a nother counceyll at Lyons wherunto came Gregorye bysshop the tenth borne in Plesaunce / this Kynge Phyllyp was the fyrst y ^• gaue y ^• bisshop [Page] a garde of men of armys / also he gaue hym .3. stronge Places for his sauegard about Lyon / and to this counceyll came themperour Michel paleolog of Con­stantinople / for the Reformacion of the greke church / which had fallen the .xiii. tyme in to Ruyne, and yet wolde not be reformed.

PHyllyp the fayre a prudent & vertuous kyng began to raygne .1286 & in his tyme possessed the see of Rome Boniface the .viii. successoure of Celestyne the .v. which was a wyse and a vertuous man the which Bonyface craftely deceyued / & this bonyface was of the nature & fa­cyon of the Italyans / as arrogaunte, [Page] and fyerse, which nothynge considering the beneficial giftes y ^t his predecessours had receyued in Fraūce / as ye shall here more at large.

¶This sayd Bonyface the .8. sent as strayte a cōmaundement vnto the kyng of Fraūce by an enbassade a fyerse bys­shop / howe that the sayd Kynge shulde in contynent without delay go [...] and prepayre in al hast a great nauey and an armye also, to go into the holy Lande / the which y ^• sayd Kynge coulde not brynge to passe / forcause of great warres y ^t he had at y ^t time against y ^• Flaūders naciō.

¶And thus this sayd Arrogaūt bishop seynge y ^t he coulde not obtayne his pur­pose / began to threten & rebuke y ^• kynge rygoryously sayeng that in case that he wolde not fulfyll his message / he wolde cause hym to fle out of his Realme / and for bycause y ^• this bysshop enbassatour vsed hymselfe so rygorously / agaynst y ^• Kynge / the Kynge toke hye displeasure and straytly cōmaunded hym to pryson.

[Page] ¶After this tydinges came to this foresayd Boniface the .viii. Coloryk, proud and arrogant aboue mesure, And sente strayght an Archedeacon Embasadour cōmaundyng the kyng phyllyp the fay­re that he shulde not enterpryse to take nor rayse no money Subsidie vpon the churche, the whiche subsydie he was en­forced to do for the great warres that he was charged with at that tyme / for his defence. And the sayd archedeacon dys­charged the sayd kyng for the Inpryso­nemēt of the sayd bysshop, that he shuld be exyled all y ^• iurisdixion of Rome. And that it shuld be auctorysed in Rome, for euer his disobedyence and so taken / no­mynated as an Herytyke, and a sysma­tyke, also y ^• sayd Archdyacon syted hym with dyuers other Bysshops / & prelats of the Cleargy to come vnto Rome par­sonally by a certeyn day / and disanulled all the Preuylages of grauntes & par­dons gyuen by his predycessours of the see of Rome.

[Page] ¶This was an extreme rygoure in the presens of all his barons and counceyll whiche was so dysdaynous & proudly spoke by the sayd enbassatour / without any seueryte or of good order / and yf the Kynge were moued or abasshed it was no marueyle / & so cōmaūdynge with so­ber aduysement y ^t the fyrst Enbassatour the bysshop shuld be set at lybertye / and that in all the hast with further deliberacyon he shulde depart his Realme / and so in short tyme after he assēbled a great counceyll of Bysshops / & barons / in the whiche the Kynge openyd all the vltra­ges and abhomynacyons y ^t the forsayd Innocent the eyght vsed agaynst hym / and openly there expressed howe sham­fully & craftely this Boniface / came by the see of Rome, and tourned hym to the Clargy & to y ^• Lordes temporal sayeng, of whome holde ye your Landes & pos­sessyons but of me / wherfore I wyll ye / ye henseforth not so hardy to send or pay any money or treasour / to y ^• court of Rome [Page] / and hereupon caused all brydges, portys, and passages, to be stopped and kept / & thus Boniface y ^• bysshop of Ro­me cursed hym / & cōspyred great malyce and ingeris agaynst y ^• Kyng & procured great enuyte agaynst hym by certayne Prynces / and shortly this was the fyne and cōclusion of this debate was thus.

¶The Kynge seynge y ^• importunat malyce of this Antecryst bysshop / y ^• Kynge caused .200. men of armys conduted by two subtyle and wyse persons / and they which went to y ^t towne of agnane / wher the Bysshop lay in Naplys / and toke hym ther in & brought hym prysoner to Rome / where he dyed myserably for do­loure & cursed mynde within .24. dayes after, and his epytaphe was suche lyke as he deserued as foloweth.

Intrauit vt Uulpes, regnauit vt Leo, mortuus est vt cauis, y ^t is in Englysshe he entred as a Foxe, & rained lyke a Ly­on, and dyed as a Doge.

THe auctour founde in olde auncy­aunt Lybrary a Boke at Lyons / wherin was wryten, that from the tyme of Formosus bysshop of Rome / began the .ix. sisme which shalbe more leargely treated of, in y ^• thyrd parte of this boke, and so by the cōmaūdement of Lowys Kynge otherwyse called Lowys le bal­be throughe the counceyll of his wyfe / assembled a counceyll in the churche of saynt Saluatour where were gadered two legatꝭ of Rome, the one named pascal / the other Iohn̄ / & the archebysshop of Uyenne / and Aurelyan archebysshop of Ualencie / with many other prelates, and learned men of the Clergye, and yet at this tyme the preestes were maryed / and at this counceyll was decreed this acte worde for worde.

¶Ut presbiteri non in villis / sicut qui­busdam consuetudinis est (morentur) et [Page] feminas suas secum in domibus suis habitare non permittant, exceptis quas canonicas permittit auctoritas / that is in englyshe. That preestes which dwelt in Cyties, & in Townes, of custume ha­uyng theyr wyfes with them dwellyng shulde no more so be suffered (but onely those) as shulde be permytted & suffered by the auctoryte of the holy Canons.

AFter y ^• Ignomynyous and shamfull deth of Bonyface afore wryten y ^• .8. of that na­me bysshop of Rome, succe­ded Benedictꝰ y ^• eleuenth borne at Taruyse in Italye a blake Frere which was amoderat parsone / nothynge lyke his predycessour for he assoyled Phillip kynge of Fraunce of y ^t sensurys of the chur­che whiche bisshop Bonyface surmysed agaynst hym & so this good bysshop rayned [Page] but eyght monethes and .17. dayes after whom rayned Clement y ^• .v. a gas­ken borne, archbysshop of Burdux whi­che was chosen by the Cardynallys re­sydent for the tym, ethe yere of our Lor­de, at the instaunce of kynge Phyllyp la bel .1305.

¶Thus shortly after this sayd Clemēt assembled a great companye of Cardy­nalles & Bysshops, to no lytell cost and charge to all y ^• churche of Fraunce / and so came to Lyons with great pompe, & wordly glory, where met with hym ma­ny cardynalles of Italye / where as he was corwned with great pompe & Royalty / at the which coronacion was kyng Phyllyp la bel w ^t his brother Charles & all the prynces of Fraunce / & in all this pompe & royalty, befell a great sodayne myschaūce / where as a great nombre of people were slayne in the fall of a great olde wall where as moche people were assēbled for to beholde this great pomp and ryalty / in the which fall was [...]layne [Page] the duke Iohn̄ of Brytanye & the kyng sore hurte, and the new bysshop smyten from his Horse / in so moch y ^• his crowne fell from his hed / & lost the rychest stone there one called a Carbuncle / estemed worth .vi.M. duccatꝭ, & thus after this mysfortunat aduentour this sayd bys­shop Clement departed from Lyons / & came to Auygnyon wher as he abode / & there remoued the See appostolyque from Rome vnto Auignyon / the whiche see appostolike remoued abode there the space .lxxiii. yeres after afore it was re­moued to Rome agayne.

¶The syxt yere after the forsayd Cle­mentis coronacyon which was the yere .1311. in the moneth of Nouēbre was assē bled a great generall coūceyl vnyuersal through all crystendome in the Cytie of Uyenna ī Dolphyne / wher as was assē ­bled aboue .300. prelates of dyuerse coū tres through all crystendom / & this coū ceyl was partly gadered at kyng Phil­lips req̄st to reproue y ^e forsayd boniface [Page] an herytyke & a sismatyke / whiche was his cruell ennemy & to disanul his actes and decrees / howbeit it came not to pas though clement bysshop promysed hym the coūceyll wold not consent therunto / yet notwithstādyng it was iudged / sayd and declared that his actes / and decrees against y ^• Kynge, were nowght & vniust and of no valoure.

¶Also at this coūceyll was vtterly de­stroyed all the rules & wrytynges of the Templers and brent them and all theyr possessyons gyuen vnto y ^• order of saynt Iohn̄s in Ierusalem the which we call the knyghtes of the Rodes.

¶Also at this coūceyll the gray Fryers were at great dyuysyon within them selues for y ^• which was decred many actes and decrees in y ^• canon boke called Cle­mentynys / compyled by this sayd Cle­ment bysshop of Rome / also at this coū ­ceyll was great counceyll for to recouer the holy Lande / but it nothyng auayled also some hystoryans holde opynyon y ^t [Page] this bysshop Clement kepte two other coūceyls in Fraunce to destroye the he­rysyes that were in valdoyes, and pye­mont, and sauoye, this fynyshed y ^• great counseyll of Uyenne.

AT the tyme of the .xxi. sys­me / ye shal here more largly of in y ^• later end of this boke / and so this coūceyll of Auynyon began by Iohan bisshop of Rome the .xxii. of y ^• name a graye Fryer / in whose tyme arose an Antypape by y ^• mayntenaunce of them­perour Lowys of Bauaria / the whiche antypape helde a counceyll in Italye / where as he declared y ^• sayd Iohn̄ .xxii. of that name to be an herityke / and this sayd Antypape and his company helde opynyon y ^• Chryst & his discyples were pore and y ^t they had nothyng pryue nor [Page] comon, the which was proued the coun­trary in this counceyll of Auynyon.

SOme men wyll thynke that kynge Phyllyp la bell dyd, for a polecy cause Clement to moue the see appostolyke from Rome, & so to be kept at Auynyo [...], but al thynges pondered it tourned his country to moche trouble / ruyne / and grefe / as longe as it was there-holden the space of .lxxiiii. yeres / for as sone as the see appostolike was moued to Auy­nyo [...] by Clement, then succedyd Iohn̄ the .22. of that name Anno .1327. of our Lorde & in his tyme rayned Lowys de Bauaria / & Frederyk duke of oystryche which had great warre together by this meane / also kynge Phyllyp de valoys [Page] father of kyng Iohn̄ y ^• was prysoner in Englād through y ^• cause y ^• .xxi. sisme of y ^• which ye shal here more of in y ^• last part of this boke & thrugh this forsaid cause arose also an Antipape ī Italye named Nycolas y ^• thyrd which was supported by the emperoure / Lowys de Bauarya.

¶Also yet further incōuenyenses arose by this meane y ^t this sayd Bisshop preached and supported dyuerse visions, fā ­tasyes, and dremyes of contemplacyon / whiche was of lytle fayth / y ^e whiche dy­uerse doctoures in dyuyne withstode & proued the contrarye / & yet furthermore this sayd bysshop oppressyd y ^• realme of Fraunce w ^t imposycyons / donacyons / and decimis / & subsides / & expectatyues with other inuencyons / such as y ^• court of Rome could well cōtryue, in so moch that no learned man of Parys could obtayne any benefice, but they were polled and pylled by cardynalles & curtysians vnder thē of auynyō through y ^• whiche pyllage & abhomynable liuynge it was [Page] generally called the whore of babylon / for theyr great pyllage / ryches, pomp, & pryde, in somoch they had the halfe of al the benefyces in Fraūce and this abho­mynacyon was sore resysted by the vnyuersyte of Parys.

¶After this shamful ruyngne y ^• sete appostolyke was remoued to rome agayn Anno Dn̄i .1376. in y ^• tyme of Gregorye the eleuenth borne in Lymogys / and he was not longe without great preiudyce and flaunder by the .xx. sisme moued by Urbane the .vi. Neopolitane borne / whiche Urbane caused .v. Cardynallys of Fraunce to be drowned / and in this sea­son was two bysshops in crystendome / the one in Rome and y ^• other in Auyny­on / in somoch that people were so a ma­sed & troubled that they colde not iudge nor knowe which of them was in y ^• iust and in ryght auctoryte / and this sysme endured .40. yeres which was more troblous and daungerous then any y ^• euer befel afortyme / & thus befel euyll vpon [Page] eyull so the Bohemis became as y ^• tyme requyred farre from the faythe / & vtter­ly denyed and disspysed the Romayns.

¶Thus was all crystendome vexed, & troubled with these two bysshops whi­che contynued many yeres successyuely from bysshop to bysshop after the dethe of Urban y ^• which held his see at Rome after whome succeded Innocent the .7. and after hym succedyd Augelus a Ue­necyan whom was named Bonefacius the .ix. and thus after Clement .vi. y ^• dy­ed in Auygnyon / succedyd Benedictus .xiii. whose errours were worse thē were afore for this Benedictus was very ob­stynat. ¶By this occasyon was Char­les sore moued and vnquyeted through these sysmes / & sent noble enbassatours vnto Auynyon to y ^• bysshop which was onely for the concorde & vnyte of cristes Church / but it lytel auayled for they re­tourned without aunswer.

¶That seynge the kynge assembled at Parys a great counceyll of all his prynces [Page] and barons w ^t the prelates & the best learned mē of his realme / where as they cōsulted togyder y ^t both bisshops shulde be deposed / wherupon the duke of bauarye and y ^• duke of Burgone went to the by [...]shop at Auynyon to discus this mes­sage with a noble power / and when the bysshop vnderstode what was theyr co­mynge and wherfore / for feare to consēt fled away secreatly out of Auynyon, & left them alone without farewel or leue taken / & retourned in to his natyue coū ­trye / wherof these dukes were abasshed and so retourned to Parys agayne pen­siue where y ^• Kyng lay / & after this they helde another coūceyl in the same Cytie in the tyme of charles y ^• .vi. for this vnyon of the church to y ^• which this bisshop y ^• fled wold not cōsēt nor be cōfyrmable.

[Page] AFter the great coūceyl of cō ­staunce whiche was assem­bled in Almayne by the ad­uyse of sygisemundus / with the assystaunce of .v. pryncy­pall crysten nacyons / that is to wet ger­many / Fraunce / Englande / Spayne / & Italye / for to extyrpe these sismes in the church and to depose thre bysshops sys­matykes y ^t was Gregorye the .xii. Alex­aūder the fyfth & Iohn̄ the .23. and after these was Martyne the fyfth of y ^t name created Bysshop at this sayd counceyl / with the hole consent of all crystendome which counceyl contynued foure yeres / and at this counceyl was condampned the bohemys, herysyes, & confounded & in this tyme rayned the puissaunt kyng Charles of Fraūce / which held another counceyll for the susteynynge of Prag­matica sanxio this was so Anno 1438.

¶Shortly folowynge Anno .1447. began a new discord called the .xxiii. sisme for y ^• dignyte bytwē Eugeniꝰ a veneciā [Page] and Felyx somtyme duke of Sauoy / y ^• whiche dyuysyon endured the space of xvi. yeres / vntyl Nycolas the .vi. agen [...] ­uoy / and for this purpose kynge Char­les the seuenth assembled a great coun­ceyll at Lyons where at was concluded and fynyshed this sysme and this was the comon voyce. Lux fuit in mundocessit / Felix / Nicolaio. In this artycle y ^• kyng Charles the seuenth prefered his decrees and actes of Pracmatica, sāxio, and after hym rayned Lowys kyng the leuenth of that name in whose tyme rayned in Rome bysshop Pius the twelfth and this Lowys / helde a nother great counceyll at Orlyaunce for the mayntenaunce of y ^• Pracmatica sanxio / wherin Pius bysshop was agreued.

[Page] IT is to be vnderstand that at the last coūceyl holden at Basyll, whiche was Anno .448. that then was the cytie of Lyon named by the sayd coūceyll most profitable and necessary be kepte there frō tenne yere to .x. yeres a generall coūceyl and so succedyd kynge of Fraunce after Lowys the .xi. Lowys the .xii. a noble & a wyse prynce / which held two coūceyls in his tyme in whose time rayned in Rome Iulius bysshop the seconde / whose artes of ruyne nedeth not my pen to write / for his holy liuing is manyfestly knowen of a great many now, yet lyuyn­ge y ^• hath experyence of his cruell actes, thus is fynysshed y ^• seconde part of this boke / and thus to this the thyrde part I wyll begyn at the later end of this fyrst boke which mensioneth of the .vii. sisme and I wyll begyn this third boke with the eyght sysme & so end & finish this lytle boke as foloweth.

THe emperour Lowys y ^• gentle kynge of Fraūce, sone of charlemayne arose the .viii. sisme in y ^• church bytwene Eugenius bysshop of Rome / the .ii. of y ^• name borne in Rome / & zozinus antipa­pe, whiche wrought through dyuerse cardinals great displeasures / yet was this Eugeniꝰ a good mā & a wyse, & so anone after the takynge of Rome by the Sa­rasyns / ther folowed great euyllys throghe al the worlde and specyally in fraū ­ce / wherin the Normans & the frysyās entred fyrste, & exersysed their cruelty, & shortly after, Ione the woman bysshop of rome borne in englonde possessed the see of Rome with great sclaunder to the Romayns and to the see appostolyke.

[Page] SHamefull, cruell, & sclaunderous out of measure was this .ix. iysme * * * * & endured lōge tyme, whiche be­gan in the tyme of lowys the emperour, the stutter, the which occasion was this.

¶The bysshop Iohn̄ the, viii, in Rome borne, whiche fled in to fraunce for refuge & socour, the which was a man cruel & nothynge pyteous but malyciously entreated formosus bysshop, & so this for­mosus for fere and daunger of the for­sayd Iohn̄ the .viii. bysshop, he fled in to fraūce. But afterwarde by constraynte of excomunycacyōs he was enforsed to retourne agayne to his bysshopryche at rome, called port romayne & afterward was he degraded & deposyd, & made a seculer preest agayn to his formal state, & sworne y ^• he shuld not ī nowyse retourne to his bysshoprych. ¶yet not w ^tstōdyng afterward he was absolued by Martyn bysshop of Rome the, xii, of y ^• name, & in short tyme af [...] y ^• sayd formosus bought [...] papalyte y ^• whiche another pretēded to [...] a romayne (which [Page] coulde not as at that tyme obtayne it / yet notwithstandynge afterwarde he obtayned his purpose through a conspyrasy / mortall agaynst y ^• sayd Formosus / and so came in to Fraūce to kynge Lothayr / and thus this sayd Formosus kept y ^• pō tifycalite of Rome / fyue yeres & a halfe, in the whiche tyme he dyd nothyng worthy to be in memory, but ingendred ene­myes, the whiche was reuenged of hym after his deth.

¶After this Formosus bysshop, succe­ded Steuen the .vi. of that name, there was but one bysshop bytwen them both which was named Boniface the .vi. borne in Tuskayne / whiche rayned but .36. dayes. And so this foresayd Steuen the vi. with all his power abolyshshed and condempned all the Decrees and actes of Formosus. And y ^• next bysshop that succedyd dyd clene contrary, and stablysshed and confyrmed them in theyr owne formal estate agayne / whose name was Romanus. And in lykwyse dyd Theo­dorus [Page] and Iohn̄ the .ix. bysshop / wher­by arose great perturbaunce and busy­nes amōge the people of Rome / for cau­se some helde of one partye, and some of the other. And so all this hurly burlye was in faulte (none) but for lacke of good vertuous bysshops of Rome, but they were all poysoned. And yet after this succedyd Sergyus afore named y ^• came agayne out of Fraunce, whiche was worse thē any of y ^• other afore hym.

¶This Sergyus the thyrde bysshop of that name, retourned agayne in to Italy, by the ayde and socoure of kinge Lowys the thyrde, the whiche lowys deposed Chrystofer bysshop the, viii. that after formosus vsurped the papalyte / the whiche Chrystofer was infected w ^t sysmes that was bytwene leo the .v. of that name and hym and so this forsayd Sergius to be auenged of the forsayde formosus, In his furye agaynst all hu­manyte / caused the body of formosus to be dygged out of his graue / and clothed [Page] hym agay [...]e in his pontyfycalibus, & so caused the hangman to smyte of his hed and so threwe his body into the Ryuer of Tyber, yet some storyes wryt that his body was takē vp agayne pryuely and buryed by fyssher men.

¶This said sergius had a sone named Iohan the .x. of that name bysshop of rome / whiche succedyd hym but not dyrectly / for there were two that possessed the dygnyte afore hym, whose names were Anastas the .iii. and landolphus. This sayd Iohan the .x. was lytel better then his forefather sergyus. Not withstan­dyng he was a great warriour & a good man of armes, for he droue the sarasyns out of Calabre / by the ayde and helpe of Alberyke marques of Tuskan / So in conclusyon this wycked Iohn̄ bysshop onely to haue the name and renowme of this sayd vyctory agaynst y ^• sarazyns caused the men of warre of Alberyke to stoppe his mowthe with a cusshon / & so smodred hym to deth / this trewely was [Page] a pytefull case to se y ^• see appostolyke / so repleat with bysshops of iniquite as sto [...]yes of y ^• tyme doth wryt more at large of theyr ambysyon, pryde, and iniquyte, in the whiche season / the Hongaryons wrought great vengeauncys / and dys­pleasurs agaynst the church of Rome & the patrymonye of the Church / whiche was onely the iust punyssyon of God.

IOhn̄ the twelfth of y ^• name bysshop of Rome / & also borne there, the whiche afore was called Octauyan thorow the puyssaunce & tyrannye of his father Alberyk, he vsed his papalyte very euyl for he was a man of euyll lyfe, without chastyte / he companyd w ^t women open­ly without shame / for y ^• which abhomy­nacyon two cardynalles dyscret & wyse persons complayned vnto Otton emperour of germany / who rained Anno .962 [Page] ye shall vnderstande that the meane season or Otton the Emperour came / this foresayde Ingnomynyous Bysshoppe Iohan, was aduertised of this cōplaynte by the Cardynalles to the Emperou [...] of hym and caused thē to be taken, and of the one he caused to cutte of his nose, and the other his brestys. And so shortly after kynge▪ Otton came to Rome and there helde a counceyll agaynst the sayd bysshop of Rome. In the whiche coun­ceyll he was condempned, and deposed for his wycked and cruell lyfe, yet after this iust iudgement he was taken agayne in the acte of adulterye with a mānes wyfe whose husbande slewe hym with the dede doynge.

¶After the deposytyon of this sayd Iohan the, xii. kynge Otton caused a bys­shop to be chosen called Leo the eyght. And shortly after the absence of Otton the emperour / The wycked Romayns, sedytions inconstaunt, chased this Leo bysshop out of Rome, and set vp an an­typape, [Page] who was named, Benedictus / the .v. for the whiche cause themperoure Otton shortly after beseged Rome / and so what for the warre & famyne / the Ro­mayns were constrayned to yeld and set the forsayd Leo in his see, and auctorite and so put to exyle theyr antipape Benedict / which fled in to Almayn thus were these two sismes fynysshed afore wrytē.

BY the auctoryte of y ^• empe­rour Otton y ^• thirde Anno dn̄i .993. was created bys­shop of rome / gregorie y ^• v. borne in saxonia ī Almayn and so after the departynge of the emperour Otton from Rome, a certayne senatoure ryche & repleat with couetous na­med Cressēsius, set vp y ^• bysshop of plea­saūce of the nacyon of Grece for money, and so this Gregorye seyng & dredynge [Page] the fury of the Romayns / and theyr vyolence w ^t all fled into Almayne / towarde the emperour Ottō / who brought hym agayne by stronge hande / though this senatour w ^t the greke bisshop antypape with Cressencyus by force and strenght kept theym within the Castell aungell / yet that notwithstandyng they were ta­ken / and Cressencyus was byhedyd for his couetous enterpryse / & the antypape had both his eyen put out, and wel wor­thy for his ambycyous preesthode.

¶Thus was the bysshop Gregorye re­stored to his dignyte in Rome agayne / and he was y ^• fyrst that decreed & made / ordinaūces for y ^• elexcion of the Empyre Anno dn̄i .1002. to y ^• entent y ^• the elexciō imperyall shulde alway remayne & con­tynew amonge the Prynces of Germa­ny, whiche contynueth to this day onely but of suffraunce, and so after Gregorye held the see appostolyke / Syluester the seconde the which was expert in the art Magyque, and Nygromn̄cy, whiche is [Page] a deuyllysh & a dāpnable scyence / y ^• whiche Gregorie dyed shamfully as storyes maketh mension as in the seconde parte of this boke it doth partly appere.

THe knowledge of these dyuysyons and sysmes be so confuse & odyous that I wold they were passed vnder scylence / notwithstandynge he that seketh for the swete breers / must oftymes passe thorow sharp thornes & crowked breers & or we come to the swet carnel / we must pas thorowe the harde shell / thus after these thyngꝭ afore resyted I must shew vnto you the residewe as myne auctour wryteth sucsentyfly as I may & can vnderstāde. Thus haue ye sene y ^• through euyll & auarycyous bysshops of Rome / [Page] was the cause and occasyon of al sismes discordes, & euylles that befell throughe the world, & in lyke maner y ^• good meke and crystyan bysshops / was y ^• occasyon of peace, vnyte, & concorde, ouerall cry­stendome▪ / as we haue wryten in the se­conde part of this boke.

¶Thus after y ^• this forsayd Siluester the seconde dyed / whiche gaue hymselfe to the Deuyll to come vnto his sayd dignyte papall / whome God may saue by his merry and grace / and in so succeded in the space of .xii. yeres / but thre peasy­ble bysshops of Rome / after this succe­ded Benedictus the fyfth borne in Tus­kay / which began to entre in moch trou­ble, for when the emperour henry y ^• fyrst of that name was deed / whiche was in the yere of our Lorde .404. which stode in great fauour with the sayd emperour bycause he dyd crowne hym in his see / which benedictus was cast out by force from his dignite by the Romayns / & so they set in another in his place yet not­withstandynge [Page] Benedictus / made his agrement with his ennemies / and afterward chasid his ennemies out of his place / and so he was restored to his dignyte agayne / thus fynysshed the .xii [...]. sysme.

¶And as storyes doth specefy / which remayneth that after the deth of the sayd Benedictus / it was fantasyed that the spryte of the sayd bysshop Benedictus / the .vii [...]. appered vnto a bysshop in aso­lytarye place vpō a great horrible blake horse / & this Bysshop demaunded hym, why & wherfore he rode on such a blacke horse / he answered bycause he was in great tormētes / & prayed the Bysshop to take certayne treasours that he had hyd in dyuerse places / where as he shewed hym where they lay / & y ^• he shuld destry buit thē to the pore people / for all the al­mes I gaue ī my lyfe tyme lytle profytꝭ me bycause I gat my treasour w ^t extor­ [...]yon / & rapyne whiche dyd as y ^• vysyon sayd & af [...] he forsoke y ^• glorie of thꝭ worlde & be came a relygyous man soletary.

[Page] ¶After this benedictꝰ the .viii. succeded Benedictus y ^• .ix. bytwene whō was the bysshop Iohn̄ the .xx. & this Benedictꝰ the .ix. was worse then his vncle / as ap­pereth for he was y ^• occasion of the .xiiii. sisme & diuision in y ^• church of Rome for the Romayns sawe y ^• he was of smal re­putacyō, & of lytle valoure deposed hym from his dignite, and set vp in his place Iohn̄ y ^• archbysshop of Sabyn / whiche was called Syluester y ^• thyrde / & about 49. daies after they chased hym out also bycause he was lesse then and an ydeot, yngnoraunt & vnprofytable, but yet ye shall vnderstande he perceyuynge this / solde his papasy to Iohn̄ / for redy mo­ney / who was then a [...]chedeacō, of saint Iohn̄ porte latyne / whiche afterwarde was called Gregorye the .vi. for y ^• which sclaūders & rumour among y ^• Romains then Henry y ^• seconde of y ^• name sōne to Conradꝰ y ^• rained Anno .1039. who cam into Italy w ^t a great army puisaūt, where he assembled a great coūceyl general / [Page] and so deposed these .iii. sysmatykes bysshops y ^• is to wete / Benedictꝰ the .ix. syluester the thyrde & Gregorye the .vi. & he created bysshop of Rome, y ^• bysshop of Baynbergh in Almayne, who was na­med clement the second / who was poysoned by his successour Damascus the se­cōde of y ^• name also. And thus to com to our purpose of the forsayd Benedictus / the .ix. which was the cause of moch euil in the .xiiii. sysme / & solde his papalytye some storyes holde this fantasy / or opy­nyon of hym after his deth / was that he appered in facyon of a straunge & won­derfull lykenes monstruous and horryble / of whome was demaunded the occasyon of this wonderful forme / and state myght signefye / he made answere that thorowe the iuste iudgement of God / he was thus condempned to be eternally / for bycause he liued so bestially in y ^• sege appoholyke, & thus through y ^• ꝑturbacions of the wicked bisshops, the turkes & sarasyns oppressed so cristendome & lost the holy lād w ^t ierusalē An .1012. y ^• tyme.

THis tyme rayned emperoure Henry the thirde in almayne the whiche was Anno .1057. began the .xv. sisme and dys­corde in the Churche / y ^• cause herof was that after the deth of besshop Nycolas / the seconde borne in Sauoy / was elect the bysshop of Luke borne in Myllane, this man was chosen by y ^• Cardynalles of Rome / & they named hym Alexaūder the seconde / this bysshop had a good & vertuous name where as he was resy­dent / & after his elexcyon y ^• cardynalles came to hym to accompanye his person to Rome.

¶And so anone after his cōmynge to Rome / certayne bysshops Lumbardye coulde nor agre w ^t hym / because he wolde not of theyr band and affynyte / wherupon began the .xv. sysme / bycause some held opinyon and sayd that he entred by [Page] symony (this pre [...]ted) they thought to haue one of theyr affinyte mete for theyr purpose / through the inuestigacion and counceyll of gylbert bysshop of parme in lomba [...]dye, so these companyons cardynalles helde fast togyther as burres in a cluster (and obtayn [...]d agaynst hen­ry the .iii. emperour to chose an other bisshop of rome in his place to theyr owne purpose and mynde. And herupon the Emperour & they accorded and so these cardynals entred in to lūbardye, where they g [...]dred a counceyll amonge them selues, whom was cōsulted to chose one named Cadollus borne in parme, marueylous ryche puyssaunt and peryllous to the whiche all Italy were agreed,

¶This is cad [...]llus chosen in the place of the papall see, as an antypape and so in short tyme drewe hymselfe towardes rome with a myghtye power / & a great armye of lūbardys, agaynst alexander bysshop of Rome who was accōpanyed with a great armye of romayns in lykewyse [Page] to withstande hym / and inconclu­syon this batailles encoūtred, the which was sturdy, stronge, & sharpe, vnder the mountayne golde / where as was slayne pytefully moche people / but in fyne the victory tourned on Alexaunders syde / & so retourned Cadollus vaynqueshed / yet notwithstādynge he lost not his courage / but or it was a yere passed / thro­ughe secret conspyresyes of some of his affynyte / the which secrete companye he obtayned by many within Rome / whi­che ran sodaynely vnto armyes, & so by Cincius saneofo the prouest of Rome / conuayed Cadollus in to the castel aungell / and so fynally byforce of his enne­myes he was fayne to yeld / and pryuely bought his lyfe of certayne souldyers / for .vi.c. markes and was [...]orssed & flede & so to please the emperour Henry the .3. which fauored y ^• sayd Cadollus / he caused a coūceyl to be assembled at mantua to the which came the sayd emperoure & Alexaunder bisshop of Rome / and there [Page] Alexaunder pourged hym afore all that noble presence to be clene of y ^• cryme of symony / & of ambysyon / and so the one forgaue the other of all grudg [...]s & thus fynyshed the .xv. sisme.

WI [...]hin a lytle and short tyme after the .xvi. sisme folowed moch lyke / the other / for after the death of Alexaunder the second succedyd Gregory the [...] borne in senys in touskayne by the p [...]o­curement of y ^• sayd blacke monke legal in fraunce / which in contynent after the elexcyō began a great discorde / bytwene the bysshops of Rome, and y ^• emperour, which engendred great debates & mys­cheuous euylles innumerable ouer all crystendome as it shall appere herafter.

[Page] ¶For in the tyme that this forsayd em­perour was busyed / and had great to do with his warres agaynst the Saxons his ennemyes, this forsayd gregory bysshop of Rome / whiche was cōfyrmed by the Emperour / for at that tyme no bys­shop coulde be in Rome / without the ful consent & confyrmacyon of themperour and thus began this Gregorye the .7. to sporne with an arrogaunt mynde / inhy­bytynge themperour to medle with any ecclesiastique auctoryte / vpon payne of the hye sensuris and curse of the church of Rome, nether that he shulde gyue nor admyt bysshoprych, nor benefyce within his Empyre / for they made pretens that the Emperoure dyd sell the dignytes of the prelacy in his Empyre / the whiche this arrogaūt Bysshop wolde haue the sale of y ^• marchandise hymselfe as other of his predycessours had done in tymes past of auncyaunt institucyons / and of ryght and olde customes.

¶These thynges were straunge newes [Page] to themperour Henry / but that tyme he fayned with a fayre coūtenaūce / bicause of y ^• great busynesse y ^• he had that tyme ī the warres of y ^• saxons / yet notwithstā ­dynge this arrogaunt bysshop left not his purpose but procedyd agaynst hym, & sent forth curses and excōmunycaty­ons agaynst certayne bysshops that helde with the emperoure / thus in shorte conclusyon themperour had vyctory of the saxons, and assembled in contynente a generall counceyll in the cytie of wor­mys vpon the ryne / and there was con­cluded, that thorowe all his Empyre that none so hardy shulde supporte any Cardynall nor mayteyne courte nor cō ­systory that partayned to the see of Ro­me, nor to any of his assystens, and thus they shulde forsake them and obeye his commaundemente and iniunceyons in Almayne.

¶Uery longe & tedyous it were to this abbreuyacyō / to excyte and set forth the wonderfull feates of warre, with dyffe­rences [Page] & alteracyōs & appoyntementꝭ y ^• were & happened bytwene this gregory the seuēth & henry y ^• thyrde emperour of almaine, gregori gaue out a great curse agaynst themperour & his bi [...]shops / and themperour created another bysshop named Clement afore called gylb [...]rt arch­bysshop of Raue [...]na / & he was created and elected by a counceyl in Germany / and this bysshop Gregory gaue his ty­tyle to the duke of saxon named Radul­phus / but thus in conclusyon after .iiii. bataylles faughten / he was cōuye [...] and slayne by the sayd emperoure Henry the fourth. And after these vyctorys & cru [...]l bataylles / this sayd emꝑour sēt fyrst his sōne Henry y ^• fourth to Rome to subdue the pryde of this arrogaūt bysshop gre­gorye the .vii. and of his adherēces / and in this tyme / was there dame mehault coūtesse of Mantua / which was an Appostasa / an ypocryte / sturdy / and ha [...]dy / more then became any woman / whiche resysted themperour in y ^• bisshop of Ro­mes [Page] cause / whiche was also ouercome [...] slayne, and thus this forsayd emperour came to Rome byforce / & he brought w ^t hym clement his antypape / & there cōse­crated hym & was intronysed or crow­ned / & so the bysshop Gregory y ^• .7. whi­che was the very occasion of al this mischefe & euyll was beseged & afterwarde escaped by the handes of Guyschard y ^• normande prynce of poylle / whiche conuayed hym / yet notwithstandynge he lyued not lōge after (for dolour & sorowe) and this gregorye was he y ^• made many new & straūge cōstitucions, he ordayned that prestꝭ shulde haue no wyues, & that they & theyr wyues shuld not dwel toge­ther, & y ^• no man shuld here y ^• masse of h [...] y ^• held or kepe a cōcubine, & he ordayned y ^• no ꝑsone shuld ete flessh on ymber dayes, & also y ^• none shuld ere flesshe on y ^• sa­terdayes, & trouth to say this Gregorie was to arrogāt & rigorus as storys wryteth, thus by y ^• death of gregory y ^• .7. the 16. sisme was almost abolysshed but not [Page] all hole, for his successour named vyctor the .iii. abbote of the mounte cassyn wolde gladly haue susteyned the same opy­nyons whiche his predycessour helde a­gaynst y ^• emperour but he was soone cō strayned to y ^• cōtrary whiche dyed other by preuy sycknes or by poyson / & after hym succeded vrbanus the seconde whiche medled nor enterprysed lytle of the­se forsayd matters, and so this man ca­me in to fraunce, where was holden a great counceyll generall at cleremount in auernia, wherin he moued al chrystē ­dome to haue warre / agaynst the infydelys and to recouer Ierusalem with the holy lāde / by whose mocyō was gadred vnyuersally throughe all chrystendome the greatest army that euer went ī to the holy land / and godfray de bullyon was the chefe captayne therof as apperethī the second parte of this boke.

[Page] PAscal the secōde of his name borne in tuskane was no les then a dyscyple of Gregorye the .7. which succeded vrban the .2. yet he dyd no lesse then his predycessours dyd / for he began his quarell against y ^• emperour supportyng the papall dygnyte / so this mater han­gyng Godfroy de bulliō w ^t al other cry­stē princes helde strong warre & batayls agaynst y ^• sarasyns in surrey, in y ^• which tyme they conquered Antioch and Ierusalem Anno d [...]i .1099. whiche was .492. yeres after the sarasyns wan it fyrste in the tyme of Heracle emperoure.

¶After this y ^• forsaid pascal some what hye mynded holdynge hye countenaūce agaynst Henry the fourth of that name emperour, he sent his armie agaynst gilbert / called Clemēt antipape elect in Al­mayne by themperour henry the thyrde and this armye was wel enforsayd and strengthed by Roger le Normāde Prynce of Sycyl / which sent hym many men [Page] of armyes, & also a thousande ouncys of golde to mayntayne his souldyers w ^t al thus was this antipape for lack of help constrayned to fle the cytie y ^• he lay in, & flede to saue himselfe into the handes of Rycharde de Chāpayne of Napl [...]s, and so after in short tyme he dyed for sorowe and dyspleasure. This Rychard Erle of Champayne in Naples, which fauored this sayd antypape gylbert called Cle­mēt, he set vp an other antypape named al [...]ertus, borne besyde Naples, whiche within short tyme was deposed / and the inhabitantes of Rome / chose another whose name was Theodorus, the whi­che within a houndred and .v. dayes re­uoked his auctorite & became an hermit and so the thyrde was chosen called ma­ginus, a cytazyne of Rome / whiche toke the tytle and auctoryte of the bysshop of rome at Rauēna / which was afterward ouer throwen by the romayns.

[Page] ¶And after al these thynges yet the forsayd Pascal bysshop the seconde of that name recouered sertayne landes of the church of Rome / byforce of armyes and so he came into Fraunce to reforme the churche.

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¶Into Fraunce came this sayd Pas­cal the seconde in y ^• tyme of kynge phyl­lyp the fyrst, and gathered a counceyl attroy in champayne / & it appereth in the seconde part of this boke / for the refor­macyon of the church / and so after this sayd counceyll he retourned towardes Rome / whereas Henry the fourth was come afore hym / to be crowned empe­roure / where as this emperour toke prysoner this sayd bysshop Pascal / and all his cardynallys, prelates, & curtasans / and so set them at lybertie agayne / whē he hadde recouered his ryght and tyt­le / that was taken from his predyces­sours for admyttyng / the fre Elexcyon [Page] of bysshops of Rome / & the fyrst fruytes vnyuersal of the bysshops and prelates and benefysed men / to be at the Empe­rours pleasure, as his ryght & title was and after y ^• emperours departynge they reuoked all that they graunted / & thus was busynesse new to begyn agayne.

THe .xviii. sisme began bytwē Gelasius the second bysshop of Rome, borne in Gaiectan, successour of the said Pascal the seconde / & another antypape called Benedictus a spanyard elected by Hen­ry the fourth bycause of his tytle of elexcyons inuestures of the spyrytualtye, so this sayd Gelasius came in to fraunce / and dyed at Clugny / & in his place was chosen bisshop of rome calixtꝰ y ^• seconde archbysshop of Uyenne in Dolphyne / & thus Benedictꝰ afore named antypape, which held hymselfe stronge in Italy in [Page] the spyte of the sayd Gelasius bysshop / and Calixtus his successour dyd in lyk­wise withstande Gelasius to his power but shortly in conclusyon he was vayn­quyshed in playne batayl / and taken by the ayed of the french men / and the cap­tayne of theym / as the cardynall of sen [...] Grisigone / & so set this Benedictꝰ vpon a camel & trussed his vysage / towardes the camylles tayle, and so was led to ro­me in dispyt tryumphaūtly with shame, thus fynyshed the .18. sysme.

THus after the death of Calixtus of Burgony / Honorius the secōde of that name borne in Ymola in Italy suc­ceded the papasy / the which kept it pea­sybly the terme of .v. yeres and died / and after hym succedyd Innocent the secōde of y ^• name borne in Rome / ī whose tyme began the .xix. sisme, & the occasyon ther [...]f was for raysyng warres agaynst Roger [Page] le Normande / whiche was called kynge of naples / whiche withstode hym with all his power / & so bytwene them both was moche murther & blode shede on both partyes, but in conclusyon this sayd bisshop innocēt was vaynquyshed in batayle raygned▪ & taken prysoner by Wyllyam duke of Calaber / sone to the sayd roger kynge of Naples, & yet was he honestly entreated, & afterwarde delyuered. ¶And so in the meane seasō that this Innocent the secōde the forsayd bisshop was prysoner / the romayns chose another called Peter of Lyon sonne of a myghty rych cetezyn of Rome / and he was called Anacletus, for the whiche elexcyon / Innocent was inforsed to go into Fraunce for socours / and at Clere­monde assembled the seconde counceyll / and another at Rayns ī Champayne in the tyme of kynge Lowys le grosse / and from thense he came to Lyege / where as he foūde y ^• kynge of romayns Lothayre the seconde of that name, who promysed [Page] hym assystēce with all his power / & thus what by the helpe of thēperour Lothayr and the french men, he retourned the se­conde tyme into Italy, w ^t great power, whiche was Anno dn̄i .113 [...]. & thus was Innocēt restored to his papacy agayne, and Anacletus the antipape was depo­sed, and spoyled of all his treasure and reliqus of the Churche to paye the soul­diers withal, wherfore he died for sorow and dyspyte.

¶In certayne tyme after y ^• bysshop eu­geny the thyrde of y ^• name borne in pysa and afore a monke of saynt Barnardes, one of his discyples / whiche came in to Fraunce for two purposys, the one was for the Ingerys and dyspleasurs of the Romayns, the other was to monysh the kynge Lowys to moue warre vpon the turkys in the holy Lande / as it is more playne in the seconde party of this boke & gathered a coūceyll at vezelay, after y ^• which tyme he returned to rome agayne peasible w ^t the help of y ^• kynge Lowys.

EUen of the same roote & pre­sydēce y ^• afore tyme hath growen / y ^• is to say for couetyse / which alway rayned in y ^• see appostolyk / such lyke causes engendred this .xx. sisme / that is to wyt onelye / for admyttynge the clergye in to benefyces and possessyons / & who shulde haue the fyrst fruytes / whiche began in the tyme of Frederyke barbarousse Emperoure / whiche was a maruelous man & prynce of slaueny / who maryed in the countesse of Bourgonye / and bycause he had per­c [...]yueraunce & knowledge what ingeris and displeasures, his pre [...]ss [...]ssours had in tyme passed with the bysshops of Ro­me by vyolence and vniust cause / he conceyued so greatyre, and displeasurs / a­gaynst thē, for it that he scourged them [Page] in suche wyse that there was neuer sen [...] so great dyuysion bytwene the Empyre and the bysshops of Rome / in somoch y ^• the consequence was yet wel worse that folowed / for in the begynnynge of the raygne of this sayd Emperour, whiche began to raygne Anno .1154. this sisme was begon bytwene Alexaunder the .3. borne in senis, chosen and elect by the soueraūce of .xxiii. cardynallys / & an other named Octauyan a romayne / whiche was chosen by .3. cardynallys specyall and named hym victor.

¶So this Alexaūder thynking to haue good ryght / made a frend by an enbassetou [...] vnto the emperour Frederyke bar­barous whiche as y ^• tyme lay sege afore the cytie of Cremona in lumbardy / and that he shuld set adirexion amonge these a [...]ypapes, the whiche Emperour to set a v [...]yte and concorde cōmaunded them both to mete with hym at pay [...]ie, & there he wolde mete with them / vnto the whi­che Alexsander wold not consent, for the [Page] which cause he absēted hym selfe th [...]s & so incontynēt frederyke without aucto­ryte assembled a coūceyl at pauye, where the sayd Octauyan was present, & there was decreed y ^• he shulde posesse y ^• see ap­postolyke & was confyrmed ma [...]g [...]e the wyl of alexāder y ^• thyrde. And ī these causes the sayd Alexsaūder excōmunycated thēperour frederyk barbarous, & so fre­derike toke vp y ^• patrymonie & profytes of saynt Peter / otherwyse called the profytes of y ^• church, for y ^• which cause this alexander fled from rome into fraūce, in the tyme of phylip augustus, & there assē bled the thyrde counceyll at cleremound in auernia as we haue expressed in the seconde parte of this boke, in the which [...] coūceyll Alexander the thyrde named by vyctor antypape, excomunycated octauian emperour, & in this tyme y ^• emperour discomfited millan & dertome, bycause they were rebellyōs, & after sēt an enbassade [...] to kynge Phyllyp to fynde the meane to destroye this sysme then in the churche.

[Page] ¶The place of this apoyntmēt was cō sēted to be at dygyō in burgoyne / which was Indyfferēt for both prynces / for y ^• emperour frederyk lay on y ^• borders of burgoyne which came thyther w ^t a no­ble cōpany w ^t his quene & the kynge of boheme & with y ^• kyng of scottes & theyr Antypape w ^t theym named vyctor w ^t a great nōbre of mē of warre with thē yet wold not Alexāder come there sayēg y ^• / y ^• place was not indyfferēt for his persō nor yet cōuenyēt to kepe such a coūceyll which only pertayned to his auctoryte / wherfore this vnworthy Emperoure w ^t his antypape ful of yre & thretnyngꝭ / returned into Almayne w ^t great displeasure & so when the forsayde antipape was deed / there was created thre antipapes successiuely one after the other, & by this meane Alexsaūder was fayne to flye out of rome to Uenyse in a straūge habyt, & ī al this tyme was war thorow al chrystē ­dome & al by y ^• occasyon of these sysmes and errors y ^• arose by these antipapes, & [Page] stoborne bysshops of Rome / & fynably the cytie of Ierusalem was lost agayne in this season & wone by the turkes, and sarasyns, also the sayd Emperour made that tyme a great vyage in to Turkey / & a prosperous, & victorious, vnto his death the whiche was great pyte / for he was drowned in bathtynge hymselfe in a ryuer / whiche was a great desolacyon to al his armye / and a dyscomforte to al crystendome so soudayne a chaunce.

CLement bisshop the .v. of that name borne in burgony was the fyrst that mo [...]ed the see of Rome to Auinion, as I haue wryt [...] playne in the second part of this boke / and after the death of hym, the see of Rome / stode vacant the space of two yeres / thre monethes, & .xvii. dayes. For [Page] bycause y ^• cardynalles coulde not agree at that elexcion and counceyl of carpen­tras / in so moche that they fell togyther and fought / in the whiche arroure was slayne two of the chefyste Cardynalles / and this hurle burley, in shorte tyme af­ter they gathered a coūceyll at lyon, and they held theyr cōclaue within the black freres called our lady of conforte, where as they cōcluded to haue Iohn̄ the .xxii. of y ^• name borne in Cauors Anno dn̄i .131 [...]. and some wryters say that he was chosen by kynge Lowys, and Phyllyp his brother kynges of Fraunce / and his brother countye of poyeters.

¶After the coronacyon of y ^• sayd Iohn̄ the .xxii. of y ^• name, he kept his resydence in Auynyon, and for his fyrst acte he ex­ercysed a marueylous iustyce / agaynst Hewe bysshop of caours / the which bis­shop was taken w ^t a cōspyrasy / agaynst the bysshop of Rome / Iohn̄ .xxii. for the which he was degraded / and delyuered [Page] to the hangman / and cruelly put to deth so in this meane season Lowys de bauaria kynge of romayns ouer came in ba­tayl duke Frederyke of Ostrich, whiche toke vpon hym bycause he had y ^• corone of myllan he wolde vsurpe thempyre of Rome without auctoryte / agaynst the whiche Iohn̄ bysshop aforesayd / with­stode with great indignation / with dy­uerse censurys & curses agaynst y ^• sayd kynge of bauaria, which was called ny­colas the .v. which caused the .xxi. sysme which seassed not vnto y ^• boniface coun­te de Pisa toke prysoner this sayde an­tipape / the which raysed a great decyme thorowe al the church of Fraunce vnder colour to goo agaynst the sarasyns w ^t a hole crosse, for the which was money gathered & he dyd pretend nothyng lesse / & in this .xxi. sysme amonge the valdays and y ^• comons of Lyon / arose and engendred many great heresyes.

THis .xxii. sisme contynued forty yeres / in the which season was many bisshops of rome one agaynst another / whiche was so obscure and crafty that al y ^• clar­gy in crystendome were troubled ther­with / to iudge to whome partayned the ryght and iust tytle & who shuld possesse the iust patrimony of saynt peter / called these appostolyke / some sayd the one / & some opynyon of the other, by the which dyuysion the bohemes fel in great decay and heresyes / as then it was taken and called bicause partly it pretēdid agaynst y ^• vsurped maiesti of y ^• bisshops of rome [Page] and agaynst theyr fylthy deceytfull c [...] ­uy [...]ousnesse inuented for theyr owne lu­cre for money / and pylled and robbed al the worlde many yeres / & clene agaynst all goddes lawe and holy scrypture / as nowe it is euydently perceyued, that the lyght is at his lybertye, and not darke­ned as it was then, and these be the here syes y ^• the Bohemes helde as then, was that y ^• bysshop of Rome / was a bisshope of no hyer preeminence / then other bys­shops be / eche for his perticuler dyoses / also they held that there was no purga­tory to be remitted by theyr power / also that it was vayne and vnprofytable to pray for soules ons passed this lyfe, but helde opynyon that it was a profyte in­uented by the couetousnesse of Preestes onely for lucre / also y ^• ymages of Chryst and of sayntes, were not to be worshypped nor to stande in syght, for it was Y­dolatry / and also that all the orders of F [...]eres beggers was not of God / but inuented by the deuyllys crafte / also that [Page] no preest nor bysshop shulde possesse no temporalytes nother in auctoryte nor in iurisdiccion / these were great heresyes / as y ^• tyme required, as nowe many may haue experyence.

¶And so to procede & come to our pur­pose of the .xxii. sysme / it began the yere of our Lorde a .1378. y ^• was anone after the court of Rome / was remoued from auynion to Rome agayne, by the meane of bysshop Gregorye y ^• eleuenth of that name borne in Limogis / as I haue wryten more playnly in the seconde parte of this boke / where as I wrote of two coū cellys holden at Parys / in the tyme of kynge Charles the syxt.

¶Thus that I may come directly / and folowe the courses of these sysmes / Ye shall vnderstand that in the yere aboue wryten / the .xxii. sisme began in the tyme of Gregorie the .xi. the which remoued y ^• [...]ee appostolyke from Auynion vnto ro­me, [Page] then at y ^• tyme the cardynallys were deuyded in two bandys, or partys, & so the cardynallys of Italy set vp Urban the .vi. borne in naples / and the French cardynalles, set vp Robert of Geneua / who was called Clement the .vii. and he kept his see in auignion bycause of this sysme, thus al cristendome was deuided in two partys by the wilfulnesse of these two monstruous Antypapes / beynge a straūg syght as it were a man to haue two heddes / and so this sysme infected the oryent partes of Italy, Almayne, Hungory, which gaue obedyēce to Urbā the .vi. on the other part Fraūce, spayne, Englande, helde with Clement the .vii. whiche was the occydent parte.

¶In the tyme of this great dyuysyon / Lowys duke de aungeoy, which fauoured bisshop Clement the .vii. which held his auc [...]orite in auynyon, and so entred into Italy w ^t .xxxi. thousande horse men of armys / party for the Realme of Na­ples, and also to socoure quene Ione [Page] agaynst kynge Charles of Hungry, as well as for the dyfference that was by­twene the two bysshops aforesayd antypapes, & to thend to gyue clemēt the hole auctoryte, but in conclusyon, this sayd duke of aungeoy sōne of kynge Iohn̄ y ^• was prysoner in England fel sycke and died within the space of two yeres in the land of polonya, afore he had fynysshed his sayd warres, for the which this sayd french men departed thense into fraūce agayne, & this forsayd bysshop Urban, yet coulde not lyue in peace with Char­les kyng of Hungry and of naples, but was constraynt to flee out of Rome, to Gennes by see where as in y ^• passage he caused to be drowned .v. Cardynallys / whiche were great frendes of this sayd clement in auynyon, & dyd fauoure hym greatly, & thus this forsayd quene Ione sold auinion & the coūty of venyse, vnto Clement the .vii. but some stories wryt y ^• they chaūged for y ^• tribuit, which y ^• real­me of naples ought to y ^• church of rome.

[Page] ¶For to retorne & wryte yet further of bysshop Urban the .vi. & of the .xxii. sys­me ye shall vnderstande that this sayde bysshop as storyes do wryt was / a very peruerse man, the which toke great pleasure to sowe disce [...]tions / and debatys amonge crysten prynces soner & raither then to set peace, vnite, and concorde, the which dyscordys and debaytes were not apeased longe after his death / and thus longe endured this sysme / and so in his place was chosen Boniface the .ix, borne in Naples / y ^• whiche was not aboue .30. yeres of [...]ege, and this bisshop boniface was he that vsurped, and toke the auctoryte from y ^• Romayns / & so transported it / & brought it to the set of the bysshops of Rome / and so fortefyed the castel aungel agaynst the Romayns / also this bo­niface began to rayse y ^• exactions vpon the [...] / for al benefycys thorowe all chrystendome (onely except y ^• realme of Englande) and in his tyme was the gerat Iubelee vnyuersall.

[Page] ¶So on the other part after the death of [...]lement the .vii. was chosen another bysshop Antypape at Auynyon / by the consent of the Cardynallys of Fraunce called the bysshop of the mone / after na­med benedictus the .xiii. against whome was holden a counceyl in Fraunce as it is wryten in the seconde part of this / the which enforsed and enlarged this sysme the which perceuered and contynued vnto the counceyl of Constaunce duryng / the whiche tyme this sayd benedictus of the mone supported his obstynat plea­sure, and so cōtynued in his wylfulnesse vnto the ende of his lyfe.

¶Thus whē Boniface the .ix. was deed in Rome afore wryten / the cardynallys of Italy chose another bssshop of Rome called Cosmian of Perouse, who was named in the see of Rome Innocent the vii. and after hym succedyd gregory the xii. a venecian, somtyme called Angelus be corario / thus worse and worse was [Page] the sisme, for yet al this whyle rayned in auynyon Benedictus of the mone / whi­che held his ful auctorite as an antipape vnto whome came as enbassatoure / the duke of burgonye and of berry and orly [...]unce / from kynge Charles the .vi. the which kynge desyred this bysshop of the mone / to be perswaded from certayne poyntes / the which he vsurped, and that he myght be set in his ryght & iust auctorite / & also y ^• the bisshop Gregory the .xii. his felowe shulde do in lykewyse, vnto the whiche this bysshop of y ^• mone wold make no auswere / but fled secretly into spayne for fere of losynge of his dignite and so y ^• barons retourned with displeasure without answere / & there this Bys­shop held a counceyl at perpignan / and there held hym sure in a stronge castell / called Paniscolle.

¶Thus when the crysten prynces / and cardynallys sawe that none accorde nor appoyntement coulde come to passe / by­twene these two / papystes bysshops of [Page] the see of Rome / but contention & stryfe, and that none wolde come to the ryght / thoughe they had promysed it afore / so then was there gathered and assembled another generall counceyll at Pysa in Italy y ^• yere of grace of our lorde .1408.

¶In the which coūceyl was a syted personally to appere / both the papystes bisshops solemply according to theyr estate yet for all this they lytle regarded this apperaunce, but held it as a scorne indy­rysion / the one as wel as y ^• other / for the whiche they were both depriued and de­posed, & in theyr places chosen Alexsan­der the .vi. borne in the yle of Candye / a frere minor / the whiche lyued not after full .v. monethes / and dyed in bollone le grasse / and after his tyme gregorye the xii. whiche held hym in Austrych, yet notwithstandinge he thought not hymselfe there not in suretye / but he retourned a­gayne into Italye, & there helde hym in the cytie of Armyne vnder y ^• proteccion, of a baron named charles y ^• euyl hedyd.

[Page] ¶In this tyme all y ^• possessours of the church of Rome were redy in an vprore and in armyes towards batayl / for this Alexsaunder the .v. whiche had frendys as y ^• kynge of Naples / w ^t dyuerse other so this alexsaunder lyued not longe / but after hym was chosē bysshop a cardinal of naples named Balthasar [...]ossa / whi­che was afterward intytuled / Iohn̄ the xxiii. and so in this tyme was in crysten­dome .iii. antipapes / the one at Bollon [...] grasse / the other in Armyne / the .iii. in the castell of Panyscole in Spayne / yet notwithstandynge for the deposition of these two bysshops at the counceyl that is to say of Gregorye the .xii. & y ^• forsayd Bene [...]ict of y ^• mone / all crysten nacions consented vnto / except some of Spayne and the [...]ynge of Skottes, the which fa [...]oured the sayd Benedictus of y ^• mone.

¶And thus after this forsayd counceyl whiche was gathered agaynst Gregory the .xii. whiche came not personally / to this counceyl / but sent his debytes duke [Page] les euyll heddyd / lorde of Armyne with other procuratours / and so contented to resygne the ryght and iust tytle / that he helde from themperour / & yelded vp his dignyte papall in Rome / and put it into the handes of the counceyl / and so fyna­bly he was there created legat / and marquys de Ancona where he dyed not lōge after for sorowe.

¶Thus was these two stoborne anty­papes consumed / so yet resteth the thyrd ydoll and antypape / that is to wyte Be­nedictus the .xiii. surnamed the bysshop of the Mone / the whiche put this sayde good emperour Sigismundus to moch vnquyetnes and payne / for after the forsayd ydolles antypapes were deposed / and y ^• this of the mone wold not come to no appoyntement nor concorde / by no perswasyon, then this sayd Sigismun­dus themperour went personally to the Kynge of Englande / and so retourned by the kynge of Fraunce / & all this was to set vnite in the crysten churche & con­corde [Page] wherof he had good answeres, & from thens went to Narbone to Fardi­nandus kynge of Aragon / for the same cause, al this was to perswade the styffe obstynacye of the bysshop antypape of the moone, the which fury coulde not be ouercome by no maner of wayes & thus this sayd emperoure retourned agayne to the counceyl of constance, wher as he depryued and deposed the sayd euyl bis­shop of the mone, and so was there cho­sen by the consent of all Chrystendome, bysshop Martyne the fyfth of the noble house of collonyois, a man estemed of synguler vertue and prudent moderat & iuste Anno domini, M.cccc. and .xvi, and thus came peace in to the churche and so ended this .xxii. cursed sysme.

¶This bysshoppe of the mone incontynente after he was deposed by a hole generall councey [...] and depryued of his papalyte, And so seynge that all his fren­des were constrayned to forsake hym, [Page] thus in conclusyon he dyed in his obsty­nacye in the castell of panyscoll, And in his restament charged his Cardynalles to chose an other ydoll antypape in that place, to succede hym / named clemēt the .viii. borne in barfylonne, and as the storye sayth he lyted reioysed of his dygnyte / for the forsayd bysshop Martyne the fyfth helde and kept the see / & auctoryte papall honorably / for al crysten pr [...]nces and dukes held w ^t hym as they had cho­sen hym at Constau [...]ce / and so fynably this Clement the eyght gaue vp his dignyte / and became bisshop of Maior [...].

Bytwene Felix the fyth and Eugenius the fourth / fo­lowed the thre and twenty sysme / and this sayd Eu­geniꝭ had great pleasures in warres / he was a venecyan borne / [Page] as Platina historial wryteth of his lyfe, which propryete is very straūge among meke & good bisshops, for in his warres he syted the Dolphyne of Fraunce, whi­che afterwarde was lowys the eleuenth kynge of Fraunce of that name, that he shulde come w ^t a great company of men of armys to rayse and trouble the coun­ceyl of Basyle agaynst Felix his aduer­sary, y ^• was chosen by the sayd counceyll whose name was Ame duke of Sauoy somtyme an holye heremyte / and thus shortly to conclude this .xxiii. sysme that which was bytwene Felix & eugenie whiche contynued .xvi. yeres tyll the deth of of eugenius / whome succeded N [...]colas the .v. borne in the towne of sarasanne / in y ^• lordshyp of luke sone to a physytien who was chosē Anno .1447. and at this tyme the church was in diuysion in thre partyes for the one alowed Eugenius / and the other Felix / and some neyther of both and were not content with the one nor with the other / and inconclusyon it [Page] was determyned by themperour Frede­ricus the .iii. that felix of sauoy shulde be constrayned to gyue his dignyte & pro­fyte to the sayd Nicolas / and this felyx was content to be come Cardynall / and Lega [...] appostolyke ouer al countryes to se peace and vnyte vnyuersall / and thus endeth the .xxiii. sysme / and yet notwith­standynge al decrees and actes / whiche the sayd Felix dyd in his papalyte / was confyrmed to be good / & so dyed in good estymacyon and holynesse. &c.

ANd so brefly to procede / and conclude / the .xxiiii. sysme began in calixtus dayes wherof I make no mencyon / by­cause myne auctoure leueth there at the xxiii. [...]sme as he then hauynge no delyte nor pleasure to wryte therof, bycause the [Page] abuses and abhomynable vyces / & enormytes be to tedius to wryt / specyally of the arrogaūt abhomynacyons, sysm [...]s, bataylles, blode sheddes, luxury, symo­ny, buggerys, treasons, poysons, with in numerable vyces, to moch abhorryng all Cyuyll lyuynge, and vrbanyte / what shal I say there is so many now lyu [...]ng that which haue experyence of the ly [...]e & actes of some of these antecristyans bis­shops of Rome folowynge, & specyal [...]y Iulius the seconde, that I can wryt no more of pope holy lyuynge & ypocrytall deceyt and dissymylacyon and extorsi [...]n and so to procede.

¶After Nycolas rayned Calixtus the thyrde / who rayned .iii. yeres. Anno dn̄i .1455. then rayned in england Henry the syxth crowned in Fraunce.

¶After hym rayned Pius the seconde. Anno dn̄i .1458. in Henry the .vi. tyme.

¶After Pius rayned Paulus the se­conde / who rayned .vii. yeres. Anno dn̄i .1464. in whose tyme rained in Fraunce [Page] Lowys the eleuenth afore wrytten and kyng Edward the fourth in Englande.

¶After Pius rayned sixtus the fourth / thurtyne yeres / then rayned Edward y ^• fourth in Englande. Anno dn̄i .1471.

¶After Pius rayned Innocentius the eyght who rayned .viii. yeres. Anno dn̄i 1435. then rayned Rychard the thyrde in Englande / ī whose tyme was great wa­ters in Rome / & great famyne through al out eutopa, & great pestelēce folowed.

¶After Innocentius Alexander the .vi who rayned .xii. yeres. Anno dn̄i . [...]492. Then rayned kynge henry the .vii. of Englande.

¶After Alexander rayned Pius the .iii.xxx. dayes / and Iulius the seconde suc­ceded hym whiche was a great warryar and ī al his tyme was no peace through all crystendome / but through his maly­cyous mynde was all Crystendome in warre / batayl / and stryffe / w ^t shedynge of Crysten mennes blode to pytefull / [Page] and lyued an excecrable lyfe / both afore god & man he rayned .x. yeres Anno dn̄i 1543. then rayned kyng Henry y ^• seuēth.

¶After this Iulius rayned Leo the .x. & he rayned .ix. yeres. Anno dn̄i .1513. in the v. yere of kynge henry the .viii. & in his tyme began Luter to wryt Anno 1517.

¶After leo rayned Adrianꝰ de traiecto who rayned one yere and .1522. the .xiiii. yere of kynge Henry the eyght.

¶And after hym rayned Clemēt the .7. Anno .M.ccccc.xxii. who rayned .xiii. ye­res in the tyme of kynge Henry the .viii.

¶And after hym Paulus y ^• thyrde An­no .M.ccccc.xxxv. & this Paulus was the .cc.xxi. bysshop of Rome, in whose ty­me now largly appereth the .xxiiii. sysme which longe hath endured, and yet more largely shall appere to the hye honor of God / and to the great tranquilite of all crysten regyons / for the which let vs all gyue laudes and prayer to god, that an­techryst may be knowen apparently in his owne nature and kynde in the [...]yes & [Page] hartes of all crysten people / and that he may be vtterly confounded with all his assystence and adherentes tradycyons & sectes, thus fynysheth this lytell abbre­uyatyon, & foloweth the conclusyon of the auctor.

IT is to be vnderstonde that thynges concernynge prophesyes and thynges to come, we haue no certayne determyna­tyons nor yet iust iudgementes of, as cō cernynge the veryte and trewth, yet it is wryten y ^• the world accordynge to scryptures shall fynysshe by fyre elymentall. Also it is wrytten in scripture / as the appocalypsis wytnesseth, that afore that tyme Antechryst shall apere afore al people and shall be knowen, & after the an­techryst openly knowen / shall the great and horryble sysme appere / the twenty & four y ^t which so lōge hath ben hyddyn [Page] afore the people / for the whiche crystyen kynges and prynces shal be in enforsed / and constrayned to set to theyr power to resyst / & to s [...]t reformacyon in the church catholyke vnyuersall, as it hath ben re­uelated by inspyracyons & reuelacyons dyuyne / as appereth by the appostles / prophetes / sybylles / sayntes / auncyent astronomyers, & metamatisians, whose inspyracions hath set furth a great part of the cōmynge of such lyke thynges.

¶Yet notwithstandyng al such prophe­syes and pronostycations / as hath ben wryten / yet remayneth storyes and wry­tynges of dyuerse and of many other holy persons dyuyne / which had reuelacy­ons / as these auctours folowynge boc­case / saynt vincent / de valentia / abbat Ioachym of calabre / raymundus lulliꝰ reuelacyons of saynt Brigit besyde cer­tayne pagans / which I make no menti­on of / yet notwithstandynge I wolde y ^e [Page] no person shulde obstynatly stande fa [...]te in ony lyke proph [...]syes and sayenges as an ar [...]icle of scripture nor to gyue fayth there vnto none otherwyse / then the ca­tholyke churche wyll it admit / and so a [...] all such sentēsyes wryten and set forthe in la [...]yne / to the intent y ^• all people may perceyue of whense they be & of whome and so foloweth now the hole substaūce of all thynges / that is afore wryten pen­ned and declared by the most noble ora­tour mayster Alayn charter / whiche wrytcth this sentensyes worde [...]or worde in the end of his boke called L [...]xil, wherof I do translate but a parte which is expedyent / and serueth for this tyme.

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¶In olde tymes past was decreed in y ^e latyne church now called Rome as con­cernyng y ^• sacreed ordinaūce of maryege with y ^• dignite of preest hode, which▪ was pretended vnder y ^• coloure of clennesse & chastite without spot, yet notwithstādīg [Page] now is alowed y ^• statute of cōcubynage / which is clene cō [...]rary against al statutꝭ decreed by goddes lawes or of clene ly­uyng / but rather folowynge al sensualy [...]e & bodely lustes & pleasurꝭ / & it is to be iudged y ^• the makers of such statutes or decrees were more apt vnto au [...]ice and couetousnesse through the procuracyon of symony with dyuerse other vn [...]efull wayes stryfull with processe corrupt as by benefyces prelacions spyrytual / whi­che ar defyled & spotted w ^t wordly cures busynes temporall / & thus largely wry­teth storyes of the greke churche and the latyne also as concernynge the ambyly­on and dishordinaūces of preestes & relygyous persons / and men of the clargy / which was onely the cause of the seperacion of the people of boheme, and also of other nacions of the churches of Rome / what shall I meane of Boheme / none other then al crysten regyons / for the prelates of the church w ^t theyr adherentes hath so abhominably & fylthily enfected [Page] not only them selues or theyr estate, but al crystendome / y ^• they haue gyuen occa­syon to be disdayned of all crysten p [...]o­ple / both great and small / and to be hol­den as straungers dishobedyent to the holy catholyke church of christ through the baroynesse / who were clene desti [...]ute of theyr dyewty of cle [...]e & holy mynistracyon & lyuynge / & haue set fur [...]h & vsed all vnlawfull tradycyons & vayne lu [...] ­uryous werkꝭ of ba [...]dry and for [...] cac [...] ­on / I may not wryt so large w ^t my [...] as I culde / onely for to vtter to moche theyr abhomynacyon for mānes eres to here or iyes to rede.

¶And yf I shulde say al that I thynke I shulde say playnly the ex [...]esse and fatnesse of the goodes temporall medled w ^t the hote sulfure of enuy / with the hete of ambycyon and lechery / hath made them redy to put the fyre into the Church / but this matter is of to depe inuestigacyon / and y ^• determinaciōs doubtfull, though there be experyence and proffe therof y­nowgh [Page] / so w ^t this I holde my peace / but yet I pray vnto hym, which consecrated our mother the holy church w ^t his blode (that which I do thynke folow not) py­te hath caused me to wryt this, wherfore pray we all to god, that al chrysten pryn­ces may perceyue theyr dyewty regall / & to set forth goddes worde prosperiously vnyuersall accordynge to goddes wyll / and to reforme all such enormytes & s [...]s­mes / which antechryst hath deceyued vs by whiche we may auoyd to y ^• hye honor of God and tranquyl lyte of all chrysten regyons. Amen. ❧ ❧ ☞☞ ❧ ❧

HEnry by the Grace of God / Kynge of Englande and of Fraūce / defensor of the fayth / lorde of Irland / supreme hede vnder crist [Page] ouer the catholyke church of Englande. To all maner of people exercysing the art of pryntyng we gyue gretynge and to vnderstande / that we haue onely graunted and lycencyd vnto Iohn̄ gowgh cytesyn [...] and stacyoner of London / that he onely to prynte vnder our pryuelege all ma­ner of bokes new begon translated or compyled by the sayd Iohn̄ gowgh▪ & all suche as he doth cause to be translated and prynted by his procu­rement cost or charge / we graunt lycence & auc­toryse to the sayd Iohn̄ gowgh his assigne [...]s & factors to prynte all such storyes newe begonne lawful and not prohybyted / so that all such storyes or bokes / be perused & ouersene by our coū ­ceyl or by such as we shal admyt / we graunt to the sayd Iohn̄ gowgh the makyng pryntyng, and vtteraunce of al such bokes, newe set forth to his owne aduantage for y ^• space of .vii. yeres Imedyatly ensewynge the pryntynge and set­tynge forth of all such bokes or processe new be­gonne / and not afore prynted / and thus duryng the tyme afore lymyted that in onywyse no person vsyng the scyence of printing / or not vsyng do by any maner of crafte or delay prynte with in this ont / Realme or cause to be prynted elswhere no such bokes / but that the forfayd Iohn̄ [Page] gowgh haue the onely auantage accordynge to [...] of this our forsayd lycense and pleas [...]t (to hym onely graunted) vpon payne of forf [...]ture of all such bokes contrary imprynted to the effect of this our lycense / cōmaundyng therfore all subiectes▪ offycers / and mynysters / to ayde and fauourably assyst the sayd Iohn̄ gowgh in the executyng of this our lycense and auctorite yf nede requyre.

¶God saue the kynge.