CHAP. I. How our aduersaries the Papists are ashamed of Pope Ioane, and how some of them do peremptorily denie the storie thereof.

AS the Scriptures are plain to proue, the Doctors and learned fathers plentifull to testifie: so many & great are the signes and tokens which the Lord from time to time hath shewed, that Rome is Baby­lon, the Pope Antichrist, the abhomination of desolation, the arch-enemie of Christ, and that man of sin, which lifteth himselfe aboue all that is called God. 2. Thess. 2.4. Among which none surely is more liuely & euident, and more to be weighed and considered, then that of Pope Ioane, which is such a notable president & singular demonstration therof, that no man (vnlesse wholly possessed of Satan, and a verier beast then euer was Nabuchadnezar) will doubt or put any dif­fidence therein. This is that which is the onely eyesore, and biting corasiue to our aduersaries, which pulleth downe their proud peacocks feathers, & battereth their paper wals cleane to the ground. This is [Page]that which grieueth them to the galles, and pricketh them to the quicke, which ouer­whelmeth them with horrour, & drowneth them top and taile in shame and dishonor. Eus;eb. lib. 10. cap. 14. Supe­rati pudore & adoperti cōfu­ [...]ione disceduntFor as the shamefull and detestable end of Arrius, was such a terrour and cooling card to his adherents, that they went away husht, ouercome with shame, and couered with confusion: so y ^t strange euent of Pope Ioane and her opprobrious death, is such a torment and torture vnto them, that in their own consciences they are stinged and accused, and compelled to crie: Esa 1.21. Quomodo facta est meretrix vrbs fidelis? How is that faithfull Citie become a strumpet? Anton. Par 2. tit. 16. cap. 1.7 Antoninus the Archbishop of Florence, when he had o­pened this whole storie of Pope Ioane, was so astonied with the strangenesse and ad­miration of the matter, that he cried out: O altitudo sapientia, & scientiae Dei: quam in­credibilia sunt iudicia eius! O the depth of the wisedome and knowledge of God, how in­credible be his iudgements! A storie wri­ter, liuing in the time of king Edward the sonne of Egelred, and Emma.

See Marianus printed at Ba­sil, collum. 407. sub an. Dom. 854. Marianus Scotus, perceiuing what a déepe downfall and ruine this brought to the Sea of Rome, and that God would haue such a matter openly knowne, to the euer­lasting detestation both of the person and place, writeth thus: The Author corrupted. Propter turpitudinem roi, & muliebrem sexum, Authores Pontificij [Page]huius Iohannae nomen non ponunt. Both for the shame of the matter, and also for the woman kind, the Popish Chroniclers leaue out the name of Pope Ioane. Can there be a more manifest token then this, both of great cor­ruption of manners, and dissolutenesse of life? Can there be a more infallible argu­ment of open horror and filthinesse, in that onely Sea aboue all others? Psal. 147.15.Surely, sure­ly, the Lord is righteous in all his wayes, and holy in all his workes, & all his iudge­ments are done in truth and equitie. A proper fig-leafe of our aduersaries to couer Dame Ioane.But our aduersaries haue a figge-leafe to couer this shame, and thinke by that, to shift and face out the matter, and to passe away in­uisible in a cloud. They flatly denie that there was euer anie Pope Ioane in Rome, yea they stoutly and sturdily defend it, and say, that it is a fond and vaine fable, a lye, and a tale inuented of malice and stomach against them. Soft and faire, my Maisters: your figge-leafe is drie and withered, and not worth a rotten figge, for it doth vnco­uer your shame, shew your nakednesse, and bewray your trecherie and dastardnesse in the cause. Euseb. lib. 3. cap. 21.You cannot bridle the flowing Seas, nor blind the Sunne-beames: you haue as great an aduantage by the deny­ing of it, as the Ebionites had by denying S. Pauls Epistles, and calling him an Apo­stata [Page]of the Law. But can you proue it so? Alas you cannot: for your owne Doctors and Proctors haue written and related it so plainly and pithily, that you must néeds (vnlesse you clip their credits, and deface them) confesse it. Martinus Polonus the Popes Penitentiarie, and a Monke of the order of Cisterce, who liued about y ^e yeare of our Lord 1320. hath written and repor­ted it: Iohan 8. mu­ [...]ier vt fertur. Testimonies or the proofe [...]f Pope Ioane [...]vs dicitur.So hath Platina in Iohanne. 8 Sabelli­cus, Enneadis 9. lib. 1. Marianus Scotus: Ra­uisius Textor in Officina: Antoninus the Arch­bishop of Florence: Supplementum Chronico­rum: Fasciculus temporum, and other moe. Are all these lyers and tale tellers? Are the writings of all these men fabulous and vn­true? I trust you will not say so. Then giue place vnto the truth, and kicke not a­gainst the spurre: for the truth is great, and will preuaile, will ye, nill ye, it will conquer. Denie not such a miraculous to­ken, shewing as it were in a glasse, the cor­ruption and abhomination of the Romane Church, and of the Pope thereof, the open aduersarie of God, and the abhomination standing in the holy place. Acknowledge and cenfesse it, and let the remembrance therof worke such repentance and remorse in you, t [...]t you may renounce your errors, abiure your herefies, forsake the kingdome [Page]of darknesse, and serue the Lord in true ho­linesse and righteousnesse.

CHAP. II. How some of our aduersaries go about to ex­cuse and shift the matter, by possibilitie of nature, saying, that Pope Ioane might be Hermaphroditus, that is, a man and wo­man both in one.

THe Lion is knowne by his clawes, the Leopard by his spots, and our aduer­saries by their peruerse and corrupt dea­ling to defend Pope Ioane, and to colour her filthinesse and abomination withall: wherein as manie of them haue toyled and moiled not a little, so especially hath one Cope our countriman, an earnest Procter for the Pope and his Prelates, who wri­ting of this matter, saith thus: Dialogo. 1. pag. 47. Neque hic ego quicquam dsco de Hermaphroditis & [...] de quibus veterum librs pleni sunt. I will here say nothing of such persons as be called Hermaphroditi, and are both man and woman all in one, whereof in old writers we find much mention. Meaning thus in effect, that the Pope might be Hermaphroditus, an Herkinalson, that is to say, a man and a woman both in one: and thinking by this meanes somwhat handsomly to excuse and shift the matter. Gentle stuffe for the nonce; [Page]and worthie diuinitie for such a Romaine courtier. What toy is there so vaine and ridiculous, and what excuse so childish and friuolous, which they will not force to serue their turne? The Pope may be a man and a woman both in one: verie likely, for he might peraduenture wash himself in the fountaine Salmacis in Caria, and be made halfe a man: or he might perchance embrace a woman as the Nymph did, finding Her­maphroditus the sonne of Mercurius and Ve­nus naked, and desire of the gods as she did, that of them two might be made one bodie. Is not this Catholike Theologie, and Apustolike discipline méete for a Ro­mane champion? Is not this credible and to be iustified? [...]orn. Agrippa de Occul. Phi­ [...]osophia. lib. 1. [...]ap. 45.Yes no doubt, for the Pope that is a God & aboue Angels, may trans­forme himselfe if it please him, as well as Proteus, Periclimenus, Achelous, and Metra the daughter of Erisichtho, and may and can do greater miracles then these: for in his hands is heauen, hell, and purgatorie, he hath all the earth at his commaund, all the saints at his commandement, yea, and all the diuels too if néed be. Therefore a small matter it was for him, and the least miracle of a thousand, to make himselfe a man and a woman both in one. What cur­sed doctrine is this? alas what a childish [Page]and sillie excuse is this, to couer Dame Ioanes infamie, and to bring her to some credite in the world? Omiserable & phan­tasticall imaginations, of verie heathen Atheists & Apistes not allowed nor main­tained. For shame, for very conscience sake, for the regard of the world, and for feare of Gods heauie wrath, reiect such foo­lish dreames and ceremonies, and vphold no longer such blind and vaine excuses, in defence of that which is so wel and perfect­ly knowne to the world, and which is such a cleare light, and plaiue signification of sacriledge, superstition and idolatry in the Romane sea. Let not Antichrist any longer deceiue you, nor the Romish Babylon in­fect you with her poysoned cuppes. Ierem. 2.13. Damne not vp the springs of the water of life, nor breake vp puddles of your owne, such as are able to hold no water, but serue the Lord with feare, and reioyce vnto him with reuerence; embrace his word, loue him, and put your whole trust in him: then you shall be his people, and shéepe of his pasture, then your leafe shall not wither, yea and then looke whatsoeuer you shall do, it shall prosper.

CHAP. III. How some say, that the Pope being a man, may afterwards be changed into a woman.

GReat is the subtiltie, and maruellous is the craft y ^e Sathan vseth to drowne men in heresie, to thrust them headlong in­to sinne and perdition, and to make them obstinately wallow and welter therein. He will prouide for them such fine excuses: he will get for them such starting holes and defences, that they shall thinke themselues secure, to be in the right way, and to stand vpon good and firme ground, when it is far otherwise: yea he will leaue no meanes vnaffayed to kéepe them in his subiection, and to make them drunken with their owne erronious opinions. This may be perceiued in none more perspicuously then in the Papists, and in no one thing more apparently, then in their defence of Pope Ioane, whom the diuell hath so bewitched, so blinded, and so wedded to their owne selfe willes, that to couer her deformitie, and to paint it out with some colour to the world, they haue spread themselues againe as the heauens, and left no way vnattemp­ted. Wherefore let vs go further, and sée more of their dealing, and more of their fetches in the matter: and let vs come a­gaine to Cope, and sée what a good and ghostly Maister he is for his Dame Ioane. After he had said, that the Pope might vs an Hermaphroditus, he resteth not there, [Page]but going further, he forceth Ouids Meta­morphosis to serue his turne, and saith, that the Pope being a man, may be changed into a woman: for these be his words: Et ne à nostri temporis memoria longius abeam, non ig­nore monumentis literarum esse traditum, Mu­lierum quandam nomine Aemyliam Antonio Spensae, Ciui Eubulano nuptam, post duodecimum à nuptijs annum in virum tran [...]sse. Legi etiam alteram mulierem, vbi puerum peperisset, in ma­rem fuisse mutatam.

But not to go farther then the remem­brance of our owne time: I know that it is written that a certaine woman named Emy­lia, married vnto one Antonius Spensa a Citi­zen of Eubulum, ten yeares after she had bene married, was turned into a man. I haue likewise read of another woman, that when she had bene brought a bed, afterwards be­came a man. Certes this is strange, for a man to be turned into a woman: but all things well cōsidered, it is nothing strange at all. For the Pope hath all lawes and knowledge within his breast, and whatso­euer he be, he is holy, and immaculate, and can worke no small wonders. May not he change himselfe into sundrie shapes, as well as Iupiter, Mercurie, Apollo, and other of the Gods? Metam lib. 3. Ponta [...]us. May not he be changed into a woman as well as Tiresias was: or as well [Page]as Caietana and Aemilia into men? Yes doubtlesse, for he is farre aboue them, and can do much more then euer they could, Therefore maister Copes surmise, that the Pope may be changed into a woman, is very Catholicke and substantiall, and fit for such a pregnant and illuminate do­ctor. But fie for shame, what a sottish ex­cuse is this? What a vaine illusion and Maygame? Is there no better shift nor su­rer refuge then this? Is there no thicker cloud to spread ouer the matter with more likelihood? Then who séeth not the bon­dage of Egypt? who sées not the spirituall Babylon, and the madnesse of them that commit spirituall fornication with her? Better it had bene, and the safer way by a great deale, simply and plainely to haue confessed it, then by a myracle to turne the Pope from a man into a woman, and that which is worst of all, obstinately to defend it. For now euery one doth sée, that you had leifer be filthie still, then leaue off your filthinesse, and had rather (because you loue your vices) Excusare, quàm excutere. Excuse them, then forsake them: and as many as in spi [...] and truth do loue the Lord, do mou [...]e for griefe, to see men carried so heau [...] [...] with such godlesse and retchlesse ima [...]ations.

CHAP. IIII. How they haue left cut Pope Ioanes name out of their Calendar: and how they haue hired Onuphrius Pamuinius of set purpose to face out the matter.

SOme of our Aduersaries take this En­thimeme for an insallible argument: An Enthi­meme of our aduersaries to denie Pope Ioane. Dame Ioane is not registred in the Calendar among the Popes: Ergo it is but a vaine fable that euer Dame Ioane was Pope in Rome. The consequent is very simple, and not to be granted, because it is well knowne, that the Bishops names as well in Rome as in other places, haue vpon sundrie occasions bene oftentimes quite stricken out of the Calendar. But Dame Ioanes name (they say) is not in their Calendar. It may be so: and wherefore I pray? Martious Polo­nus, one of their owne sworne brothers doth tell vs. Iohanna (saith he) non ponitur in Catalogo Pontificum, tam propter muliebrem sexum, quàm propter deformitatem facti. Pope Ioane is not reckoned in the Calendar of ho­ly Popes, as well for that she was a woman, as also for very shame of the matter.

The like doth Sabellicus set downe. Nul­lus defunctae honor habitus: fama tenet, ob tam foeda rei memoriam. There was no honour bestowed at her buriall: the report is, for the [Page]remembrance of her filthie act. By this we sée, that the name of Pope Ioane was not put into the Calendar of the Popes, partly because she was a woman, and especially, because she was a woman of such a filthie life, and vicious behauiour. Therefore this reason of our aduersaries is a blind con­iecture, and of no force. But (say they) In Scholijs in Platinam. Onu­phrius Pamuinius vpon Platina, hath truly and learnedly written hereof: and he that list to reade that discourse of his, shall easi­ly beléeue the whole matter to be fabulous. Truth it is, that such a one indéed hath of late written hereof, and beaten his braines not a litle to helpe out this matter, but all in vaine: for he was one of the Popes Pa­rasites, hired and procured by him onely for that businesse. His booke was printed in Venice, and plausiblie accepted of his friends and wel willers: but the stuffe that he hath brought in there, to make the world beléeue, that there was neuer any Pope Ioane in Rome, is such trash, and so ridicu­lons, that it will grieue a good Christian in in his heart, to reade and sée it.

This is the craft & policie of the Pope, to hire and procure men to smooth and sooth his matters, and to face and grace out his impieties, with many forged lies and false suppositions: thinking by that meanes, to [Page]dazel mens eyes, and to make them beléeue they be true, godly, and apostolicall. Most impu­dent and no­torious railers and lyers.This haue many popish Pages of late done, and especially Amphilochius, Onuphrius, Surius, and Hieronimus Bolsecus, one that hath v­sed most shamlesse rayling, most vile, spite­full, and horrible lies and cauils, with an immoderate and vnciuill bitternesse, pro­céeding from the vnsauory and vnquiet hu­mour of his heart, against the godly and reuerend ministers of the Gospell, Caluin, Beza, with others moe. God of his mercie grant, that they may repent & amend their liues, renounce their damnable errors, for­sake their cursed slanders, and not aduen­ture their wits in such desperate causes. For, Nemo periculosiùs peccat, quàm qui peccata defendit. No man sinneth with more danger, then he that standeth in defence of sinne.

CHAP. V. What yeare of the Lord Pope Ioane liued in Rome. How long she was Pope: and be­tweene what Pops she was.

Herodotus.XErxes the great king of Persia, when he brought ouer his huge armie into Grecia, sent out his letters of defiance vn­to the great mount Athos that is in Mace­donis, and commanded him to stand still, & [Page]not to stirre a foote, nor to worke any dis­pleasure, either to himselfe, or to his army. Euen by like authoritie, and with as good discretion, the Pope & his hirelings haue done with Dame Ioane, who being able no kind of way, to colour or cloake her suffici­ently, haue sent out their letters and defi­ance to all Countries & Regions that per­fectly know her, commanding them not once to spurne or kicke against her, nor so much as to make any record or mention of her. But let them wrastle and wrangle so much as they will, let them curse and defie while they list, and let Onuphrius, and all the rabble rout of them do what they can, the truth thereof will neuer be forgotten: it is and will be absolutely knowne, to the vtter confusion of proud Antichrist, and to the euerlasting execration of all the popish and péeuish synagognes. What the cause was, that they haue left Pope Ioane out of their Calendar.For although they haue left the name of Pope Ioane out of the Calendar of the Bishops of Rome, only for shame, lest it should appeare in records that a woman, and such a woman had bene bishop of Rome, or that the bishop of Rome had bene with child: and although they ne­uer ceasse to bolster and bungle vp the mat­ter, sometime with this shift, sometime with that, sometime affirmatiuely, some­time negatiuely: yet so many Chronicles [Page]would not haue recorded it, nor so many men would haue written it, nor the world would so vniuersally haue beléeued these things of the Pope, more then of any other, had it not bene true, credible, and veritie. For where I pray began the historie of her first? In Rome. From what place was it first published abroad into the world? Frō Rome. What he they that haue written & declared it? The trustie friends of Rome: yes the great authenticall Doctors & com­missioners of the Pope, haue described & auouched it, some liuing foure hundred yeares agoe, some fiue hundred, who haue euer bin counted famous fathers in Rome, and whorthy of no small authoritie and re­uerence. What yeare of our Lord was Dame Ioane Pope in Rome? As they haue written, 853. How long was she in the Popedome? As they haue written, two yeares, one moneth, and foure dayes. Be­twixt what Popes was she? As they them­selues haue written, betwéene Leo the 4. and Benedict the third. Séeing then that our aduersaries owne friends & Proctors haue written and related it, and so plainly and expresly shewed it, I maruell with what faces any of them can denie it, or go about to excuse it.

CHAP. VI. What Pope Ioanes name was, how she was not borne in England, but at Mentz in Germanie, and how she came to Rome, and to the Popedome.

MAny there be (I know) and those our owne countrimen, who thinke and beléeue Dame Ioane to be an English wo­man borne. The cause why Pope Ioane is thought to be an English woman born.I can coniecture no other thing to be the cause hereof but report onely, be­ing for the most part more commen then true, and especially because in manie au­thors intreating of this matter, is found, Iohannes Anglicus, or Iohannes de Anglia, which séemeth vnto them to be transtated, Iohn an English man, or Iohn of England. Because I would haue all those that be not as yet truly certified & resolued herein to agrée together, and rightly to beléeue this point, I will declare vnto them the truth of the matter, according to the opinions of the best and most approued writers. Why she was called Ioane English.She was called Ioane English, by the surname of her father, and borne at Mentz in Ger­manie. Martinus Polonus the Popes ghost­ly Penitentiarie, discoursing at large of this matter affirmeth the same, for thus he writeth: Iohannes Anglicus natione Magun­tinus, sedit annos duos, mensem vnum, dies qua­tuor, [Page]&c. Iohn English (so surnamed) borne at Mentz, sate in the Romane Sea two yeares, one moneth, and foure dayes. Theodoricus Niemus also, sometime the Popes Secre­tarie, and therefore had good cause to know the truth hereof, doth liuely paint out the whole matter, & expresly sheweth the same. Et fuit mulier de Maguntiae nata, quae studuit Athenis sub virili habitu: & in tantum profecit in artibus, vt tandem veniens Romam per bien­nium in schola Artes liberales legerit: & adeo sufficient fuit, vt etiam Maiores & Nobiles vrbis eius lectiones frequenter audiuerint. Et postea eligitur in Papam, &c. And there was Ioane a woman, borne at Mentz, who had studied at Athens in the apparell of a man, and had so profited in the Arts, that at last comming to Rome, two yeares together she professed the liberall sciences in a Schoole. And her gift in teaching was such, that the Elders and No­bles of the Citie resorted often to here her reade. Afterward she was chosen Pope, &c. Pope Ioane a Dutch wo­man.We néed not cite anie more testimonies for farther proofe hereof: these two do ma­nifestly shew that she was a Dutchwoman borne, and not called Ioane English by the name of the countrey, for that she was an English woman borne in England (as many imagine) but onely by the surname of her father. For who knoweth not that [Page]there are manie at this day called by the names of Scot, Irish, French, Welsh, Norman, Gascoine, Holland, and yet not borne in anie of these countries, but onely in England. Her right name was Gilberts, but called Ioan the eight. Therefore it is true, & with­out all doubt, that Pope Ioane was not borne in England but in Germanie. Not­withstanding some there be (whose autho­ritie is verie credible and sufficient) that say her name was Gilberta, and called Ioan the eight: Pope Ioane was a student at Athens.who likewise affirme, that she was a Dutch-woman of Mentz, and went with an English Monke out of the Abbey of Fulda to Athens, in mans apparel. Well, truth it is that she was in the yong yeares of a girle brought to Athens by one that was her louer in mans apparell. There she studied, and profited so much in diuerse sciences, that none were found to be compared with her. Women brought vp in mens apparel, and taken for men.This is not strange, nor much to be maruelled at: For Rauisius Textor in Officina writeth the like of one Marina, that dissembling what she was, liued manie yeares in an Abbey as a Monke: and of Lasthenia, Axiothea, and others, that being women, came into the Schoole in mans apparell to heare Plato. The like doth manie others write of Eu­phrosyna that holy maide, that dwelt thirtie and sixe yeares in Monkes apparell [Page]among Monkes, and was neuer otherwise taken then for a Monke.

Pope Ioane came to Rome.From Athens she came to Rome, & there professed learning openly, and had great Doctors to her scholers, and for opinion of learning and good life by one consent of all, was made Pope. She was crea­ted Pope of Rome. Her behaui­our in that high office. Being in this high and glorious seate, she behaued her selfe so orderly, and discharged that super­nall office so absolutely, that she was with child, and as she went in procession deliue­red thereof, & so died. A most liuely president of the whorish Sea. Thus was the Pope of Rome, who is such a parles fellow that he cannot e [...]re, a woman with child, deliue­red in procession, dead openly in y ^e stréets, and buried without anie honour or solem­nitie. God giue all Christians grace by this example to beware of the Antichristian and Babylonicall Pope, to renounce him, and all his errors, to reiect him and all his parasites, and to sée the truth, and that blessed hope whereunto they haue bene cal­led, so as they may glorifie him alone, who is the true God, and also that same Iesus Christ whom he sent downe to vs from heauen: to whom with the Father, and holy Ghost be giuen all honour and glorie euerlasting­ly. Amen.