least by the wordes of hys owne mouth, he should be reprehended and condemned: MarginaliaA subtill shifte of Hildebrand to saue his lying prophecie.subtiltie turned hys tale saying and perswading the ignoraunt people, that he ment not of the body of the kyng, but of hys soule: as though the soule of þ^e king had loste all, sauing. vj. of his knights or soldiours, or els had bene dead during that space: and thus by these slayghtes he begyled the ignorant people. Agaynst such prophets s. Gregory vpon Ezechiel sayth: Betwene true prophetes and false thys difference there is: that true prophetes, if they speake anye thing vpon theyr own mynde, they be soone rebuked: but the false prophets, both they tell lyes, and not hauyng the spirit of truth, they perseuere in their falsity.

MarginaliaThree persons before they were conuict, put to executiō by Hildebran agaynst al law.Ouer and beside, the sayd Hildebrand iudged to death three men before they wer conuict, or els confessed their crime without the sentence of any secular iudge: & caused them to be hanged vpon a payre of gallowes ouer agaynst the church of S. Peter in a place called Palatiolum, without any delay or aduisement, contrarye to the lawes, which commaunde that euerye publike offender should haue. 30. dayes space before he be put to execution. Whych thing euen amongest the Paganes is in vre and obserued: as teacheth the autoritie of S. Ambrose, & the martyrdome of holy Marcelianus and Marcus.

MarginaliaCentius taken by the pope, & put into a barrell of nayles.He cast Centius the sonne of Stephan the alderman into prison, being before his trusty friend: and in a vessel being thycke set with sharpe nayles, he tormented hym to the poynt of death: MarginaliaThe pope takē of Centius.who after that he was escaped, apprehended the sayd Hildebrand. Of this apprehension before he was set at liberty, he openly forgaue all the conspiratours. Whych thyng afterwardes, contrary to hys fidelity, he brake and reuenged, and caused Centius, to whom he had forguē al offences, MarginaliaCentius executed by the pope, contrary to promyse and fayth.to be taken, & hanged hym, and nyne of hys men vpon the gallowes before S. Peters porche.

There was at the apprehension of pope Hildebrand, a certayne wydowes sonne, to whom and others moe for their penaunce, hee enioyned a yeares banishment. Which tyme being explete or run out, the wydow in token of more ample satisfaction, thinking thereby to haue appeased the mynde of Hildebrand, put a halter about her sonnes necke: and drawing her sonne by the rope to the foote of Hildebrand, sayde: My Lord pope, at your handes wil I receaue againe my sōne, which one whole yeare hath indured banishment and other penaunce by your holynes enioyned. Thē þ^e said Hildebrand, for that instant, because of those which were with hym in company (dissimuling hys wrath) delyuered her, her sonne very churlishly, saying: get thee hence womā I bid thee, and let me be in rest. MarginaliaThe villanie of the pope in killing a widowes sonne which before had done hys pennaunce.After thys he sent hys officers and apprehended the wydowes sonne, and gaue commaundement to the Iustices, to put him to death: who altogether making answer, sayd that they could not more condemne or meddle with him, for that he had for his crime committed, appealed once to the pope: and abidden the banishment, and done the penaunce by hym enioyned. Hereupon thys glorious Hildebrand, beyng displeased with the iudges, caused the foote of the wydowes sonne to be cut of: making neyther repentance, nor the lawes and ordinaunces to be of any estimation with hym: and thys hys foote being cut of, he dyed w^tin three dayes after with the payne thereof. Manye other wycked deedes did this Hildebrand, vpon whom the blood of the church cryeth vengeance, shed by the sword (that is) the miserable trechery of hys toung. For which thinges (and þ^t iustly) the church refused to cōmunicate w^t hym. Hæc Bēno.

MarginaliaAn other letter of Benno.TO the reuerend fathers of the church of Rome, and to hys beloued in Christ, and to his brethrē that shal for euer be beloued: Bēno the Cardinall of the churche of Rome, wisheth faythfull seruice, health and communion with the seruants of the catholicke church. Of thewhich cōmunion, discipline and power, he vainly braggeth, that by the presumption of his authoritye shall vniustly bynde or lose any maner of person. And he doth vniustly bynde whatsoeuer he be, that curseth any man, (being wylling to make satisfaction, and bewayling his boldnes, beyng also vnconuict, and not confessyng the crime) but rather cursing that party in vain: he curseth and condemneth himselfe, turning his weapon vpō hys own person to destruction. O straunge and new founde trechery, proceding from the sanctuarye: nay rather frō hym whych as hygh priest seemeth to rule the churche, and to be a iudge ouer the Iudges.

Hildebrand was earnestly in hand with the Emperour, that he should depriue those bishops which came in by simonie. The Emperour (thyncking as a zealous prince, that this commission had proceeded from the throne of God) without delay obeyed the same, & foorthwith without any consideration or iudiciall order, depriued certayne bishops: and thought that by this his obedience to Hildebrand, he offered an acceptable sacrifice to God, not knowing the crafty handelyng of him. But Hildebrand then agayne placed those, whom themperour for Simonie at his commaundement had before deposed: and those whom by that meanes hee made to beare a hatefull hart to the Emperour, he reconciled agayne vnto hymselfe in great familiarity: And by many and great othes taken of them for their fidelitye towardes him, he promoted aboue all the rest. MarginaliaA deuilish practyse of Hildebrand in setting the bishops agaynst the Emperour.And thus by these prankes, the emperiall seate of the king beyng shortly after empayred, and destitute almost of friends, he craftely purchasing the friendship and fauour of the greatest princes, the better to bring his matters to pas: sodainly agayne, without any lawfull accusation, without any canonical vocation, without all iudicial order, excommunicated agayne the Emperour (so obedient alwayes vnto him) and set the princes of the empire all agaynst him. And notwithstanding (as the Apostle saith) that no man ought to circumuent his brother in his busines: as much as in him lay, he rather mortefied and kylled him, then brotherly corrected him. Thus themperour being many wayes circumuented: as, excommunicate besides the canonicall order: and by the consent and counsel of Hildebrand, spoyled of the greatest part of his imperiall honour: and ouercharged with great warres and slaughters of his own subiectes, in vain desired he and sued for, to haue the canon red and hearde: MarginaliaThemperor caused by Hildebrand to accuse himself.causing him by force and violence at Canusium, in the presence of Hildebrand, to accuse him selfe by hys own confession.

Say you now (I pray you) all suche as loue iustice, and loue not to leane either vpon the left hand, or els the right hand in the fauour of anye person: saye your myndes, whether that suche a confession being inforced vpon neuer so poore a man (muche lesse vpon an Emperour) ought at such a tyme to be preiudiciall or not. Or whether he which extorted the same confession, is gyltye of þ^e canon? Or els he, which being so peruerslye iudged, suffered the iniurye of a most peruerse Iudge? MarginaliaThe godly pacience of the godly Emperour.Which also most paciently & publikely suffred this violence w^t lamētable affliction vpō his bare feete, clothed in thinne garments, in the sharpe wynter, which neuer was vsed, & was three dayes together at Canusium, made a spectacle both of angels and men, and a ludribrious mocking stocke to that proud Hildebrand. Neuer trust me if that. xiiij. Cardinals, the Archdeacon hymselfe, and he that is called Primicerius, being all wise and religious men, besides manye other of the Clarkes of Lateran, to the iudgemēt and priuilege of whose holy seate the whole worlde is obedient (waying and considering his intollerable apostasy) departed from participating, and refused from communicating with him.

This glorious Hildebrand and hys affinite, by their