thys (I say) the church of Rome was in some order, and byshops quietly gouerned vnder christen emperours, & also were defēded by þ^e same. MarginaliaThe obedience of bishops in auncient tyme to Emperours.As Marcellus, Meltiades, & Siluester were subdued, & vnder obedience to Constātinus an. 340. Syricius to Theodosi⁹. an. 388. Gregorius to Mauritius. an. 600. Hilarius to Iustiniā. an. 528. Adrianus and Leo to Carolus Magnus: an. 801. Paschalis and Valentius to Ludouicus Pius. an. 830. Sergius. 29. vnto Lotharius. an. 840. Benedictus the. 3. and Ioannes the. 9. vnto Ludouicus sonne of Lotharius. an. 856. But against this obedience & subiection Hildebrand first began to spurne, and by his example taught all other bishops to do the lyke.

In so much, that at length they wrought & brought to passe, to bee lawfull for a fewe curtisans & cardinals (contrary to auncient ordinaunce and statutes decretal) to chuse what Pope they list, without any consent of the emperour at all. And where as before it stoode in the emperours gift, to geue and graunt bishoprikes, archbishoprikes, benefices and other ecclesiasticall prefermentes within their owne limittes, to whom they list: Marginaliawhat popes haue done.nowe the Popes through much wrastling, warres, and contention, haue extorted all that into their owne handes, and to their assignes: yea, haue pluckt in, all the riches & power of the whole world. MarginaliaPopes more than princes.And not content wyth that, haue vsurped and preuayled so much aboue Emperours: that, (as before) no pope might be chosen wythout the confirmatiō of þ^e emperour: so now no Emperor may be elected w^tout þ^e confirmatiō of þ^e pope, takyng vpō thē more thā princes, to place or displace emperours at their pleasure, for euery light cause: to put down or to set vp whē, & whom they listed: MarginaliaFridericus primus, shent for holding the Popes left stirrup.as Fridericus primus, for holding þ^e left styrrup of the popes sadel, was persecuted almost to excōmunication. The which cause moueth me to strain more diligence here, in settyng out the history, actes, and doings of this Hildebrand: from whom, as the fyrst patrone and founder, sprong all this ambitiō & contention, about the liberties and dominiō of þ^e Romain church: to þ^e entent, þ^t such as can not read the latine histories, may vnderstād in english, þ^e originall of euils: how, & by what occasiō they first began, & how long they haue cōtinued.

And first how this Hildebrand hitherto hath behaued himself before he was pope, I haue partly declared. For though he was not yet pope in name, yet he was there pope in dede, and ruled the popes and all their doynges, as hym lusted. Item what wayes and fetches he had attempted euer since his fyrst commyng to the courte of Rome, to magnify and maintayne false libertie, against true authoritie: MarginaliaEx Auentino & alijs.what practise he wrought by councels, what factions and conspiracies he made in stirryng vp popes against emperours, striuing for superioritie: and what wars followed therof, I haue also expressed. Now let vs see further (by the helpe of Christ) the worthye vertues of this princely prelate after he came to be pope, as they remayne in histories of dyuers and sondry writers described.

MarginaliaGregorye the vii.
Ex Auētino.TThe wordes of the laten history be these in English: Hactenus pontifices Rom. commitiis curiatis, calatis, a sacerdotibus, equitatu, plebe, Senatu. &c. Hitherto the byshops of Rome haue bene elected by voyces, and suffrages, of all sortes and degrees, as wel of Priestes and the Clergy, as of the nobilitie, people, and Senate, all conuenting and assembling together. And this election so I finde to stand in force, if so be it were ratified and confirmed, by the consent of Romane Emperours: who had authoritie to call and to assemble all these, as wel, as bishops together, vnto councels, as case required. MarginaliaThe state and maner of the old church in tymes paste.Vnder the authority and iurisdictiō of these Emperours, were contayned both in Germany, Fraūce, Italy, & through the whole dominion of Rome, all Patriarches, bishops, masters of churches and monasteries, by the decree ofcouncels, according to the old custome of our aūceters, as is declared in a certayne story, in the lyfe of Carolus Magnus. MarginaliaReuerence & obediēce in old tymes geuen to princes.The holy and aucient fathers (like as Christ our Lord with his disciples and Apostles both taught & did) honoured and esteemed their Emperours, as the supreme potestate next vnder God in earth, set vp, ordayned, elected, and crowned of God, aboue all other mortall men, and so counted them, and called them theyr Lordes. To them they yelded tribute, and payde theyr subsidies. Also prayed euery day for their lyfe. Such as rebelled against them, they tooke as rebels and resisters agaynst God hys ordinance, and Christian piety. The name of the Emperour then was of great maiesty, and receyued as geuen from God. MarginaliaThe maners and vertue of the forfathers described.Then these fathers of the church neuer intermedled, nor intangled them selues w^t politike affayres of the common weale: much lesse they occupied martiall armes, and matters of cheualrye. Onely in pouerty and modesty, was all their contenciō wyth other Christians, who should be poorest, and most modest amongest them. And the more humblenes appeared in any, the hyer opinion they conceiued of hym. The sharpe and two edged swoord they tooke geuen to the church of Christ, to saue, and not to kill: to quicken, and not to destroy: & called it the sword of the spirite, which is the word of God, the life and light of men, & reuoketh frō death to lyfe, making of men, Gods: of mortall, immortall. Farre were they from that, to thrust out any prince or kyng (though he were neuer so farre out of the way, yea an Arriā) frō his kingdom: or to cursse him, to release hys subiectes from their othe & their allegeance, to chaunge and translate kingdomes, to subuert Empires, to pollute themselues with Christen bloud, or to warre with their Christian brethren for rule and principallity. This was not their spirit and maner then, but rather they loued and obeyed their princes. Againe, Princes loued them also, like fathers and fellowe princes with them of the soules of men. MarginaliaThe ambitious presūption of HildebrādNow this Gregorius the seuenth, otherwyse named Hildebrādus: trusting vpon the Normanes, whych then ruffled about Apulia, Calabria, and Campania: trusting also vpon the power of Machtilda, a stout woman there about Rome: & partly agayne, bearing himselfe bold, for the discord among the Germaines: fyrst of all other (contrary to the maner of elders) contemning the authority of the Emperour, inuaded the cathedrall see of Rome: vauncing him selfe as hauing both the ecclesiasticall and temporal swoord, committed to hym by Christ: and that fulnes of power was in hys hande, to bynde and lose what so hee listed. Wherupon thus he presumed to occupye both the regimentes, to chalenge all the whole dominion, both of the east and west church, yea and all power to hym selfe alone, abidyng none to be equall, much lesse superiour to hym: derogating from other, and arogating to himselfe their due right & honour: setting at light Cesars, kings, and Emperours, & who raygned but by hys godamercye? Bishops, and prelates, as hys vnderlinges, he kept in awe: suspending and cursing, and chopping of theyr heades, styrryng vp strife & warres, sowing of discorde, making factions, releasing othes, defeating fidelity and due allegiaunce of subiectes to their princes. Yea, and if he had offended or iniured themperour himselfe, yet not withstanding he ought to be feared: as he him selfe glorieth in a certain epistle, as one that could not erre, and had receiued of Christ our sauiour, and of Peter, authority to binde and vnbinde at hys wyl & pleasure. MarginaliaEx Auentino, qui inuenit in instrumētu donationum.Priests then in those dayes had wyues openlye and lawfullye, (no law forbidding to the contrary) as appeareth by the deedes and writinges of their chapter seales and donations, which were geuen to temples and Monasteries: MarginaliaPriestes wiues called presbyterissæ, in old chapter seales.wherin their wyues also be cited with them for witnes, and were called presbyterissæ. Also for bishops, prelats, parsons of churches, gouernours of the clergy, masters