iudges, soldiours, tirantes, princes, of such as lyue contrary to the law, and of many peruers and wycked mē, following the perswasion of the deuill, the sweetenes of sinne, a delicate and transitory life, and fulnes euen vnto eternall damnation. All these thinges shall manifestlye appeare in them vnto all people, and they (day by daye) shall waxe more wycked and hard harted: and when as their wyckednes and disceites shall be found out, then shal their giftes cease, and then shal they go about their houses hungry, and as mad dogges looking downe vpon the earth, and drawing in their neckes as doues, that they might be satisfied with bread: then shall the people cry out vpon them. Wo be vnto you ye miserable chyldrē of sorow, the world hath seduced you, the deuil hath brydled your mouthes, your fleshe is frayle, and your harts w^tout sauour, your mindes haue ben vnstedfast, & your eyes delited in much vanitie & folly, your daintye bellies desire delicate meates, your feete ar swift to run vnto mischiefe. Remēber whē you were apparātly blessed, yet enuious: poore in sight, but rich: simple to see to, but mighty flatterers: vnfaithful betrayers: peruers detracters: holy hypocrites: subuerters of the truth: ouermuch vpright: proud, vnshamfast, vnstedfast teachers, delicate martirs, confessors for gain: meke, but slaunderers: religious, but couetous: hūble, but proude: pitifull, but hard harted lyers: pleasāt flatterers, peace makers, persecuters, oppressors of þ^e poore, bringing in new sectes newly inuented of your selues: mercifull thought but found wycked, louers of the worlde, sellers of pardons spoylers of benefices, vnprofitable orators, seditious cōspirators, drōkardes, desirers of honors, maintainers of mischief, robbers of þ^e world, vnsatiable preachers, mē pleasers, seducers of womē, & sowers of discord, of whō Moises þ^e glorious prophet, spake very wel in hys song. A people w^tout counsel or vnderstādyng: would to god they dyd know, vnderstand & fore see the end. You haue builded vp an high, and when you could ascend no higher, then dyd you fall euen as Symon Magus, whō God ouerthrew, and dyd strike with a cruel plage: so you likewise thorough your false doctrine, naughtines, lies, detractiōs, and wickednes, are come to ruine. And the people shall say vnto thē, go ye teachers of wickednes, subuerters of the truth, brethren of the Sunamitie, fathers of heresies, false apostles: which haue fayned your selues to followe the lyfe of the Apostles, and yet haue not fulfilled it in no part: ye sonnes of iniquitye, we will not followe the knowledge of your wayes, for pride and presumption hath deceyued you, and insatiable concupiscence hathe subuerted your erroneous hartes. And when as you wouild ascend hygher thē was meete or comely for you (by the iust iudgement of god) you are fallen backe into perpetuall opprobri & shame.

This Hildegardis whose prophecy we haue mentioned, lyued about the yeare of our Lord, 1146. as wee read in Chronico Martini.

MarginaliaCrossebearer fryers.About the same time that these Franciscans, & Dominick friars began (which are aboue mencioned) sprāg vp also the Crossebearers, or crouched Friers, takyng their originall and occasion af Innocēt the third: which Innocent, raysed vp an armye (signed with a Crosse on their brest) to fight against the Albingenses, whom the Pope and his sect accompted for heretickes, about the partes of Tholous. MarginaliaAlbingenses.What these Albingenses were, it cā not be wel gathered by the old popishe histories: For if there were any that did hold, teach, or mayntain against the Pope, or his papall pride: or withstand & gainsay his beggarly traditions, rites, and religions. &c. the historicians of that time (for the most part in writing them) doo so depraue and misreporte them (suppressing the truth of their articles) that thei make them and paint them forth to be worse then Turkes and Infidels. And that as I suppose, caused Mathew Parisiensis and other of that sorte, to write so of them as they did. Otherwyse, it is tobe thought (and so I finde in some recordes) that the opinions of the sayd Albingenses were sound inough: holding and professing nothing els, but onelye against the wanton wealth, pride, and tyranny of the prelates: deniyng the Popes authoritie to haue grounde of the scriptures: neither could thei away with theyr ceremonies & traditions, as images, pardōs, purgatory of the romish church, calling them (as some say) blasphemous occupienges. &c. Of these Albingenses were slayne (at times) & burned, a great multitude, by the meanes of the Pope, and Simon Ecclesiasticus with other mo. It seemeth that these Albingenses wer chiefly abhorred of the pope, because they set vp a contary pope againste him, about the costes of Bugarorum. For the which cause, the byshop called Portinensis being the popes Legat in those quarters, writeth to the archbishop of Roane and other bishops in this wyse.

MarginaliaA letter of the byshop Portinensis concerning the Albingenses.VEnerabilibus patribus dei gratia Rothomagensi Archiepiscopo & eius suffraganeis episcopis Sal. in Domino Iesu Christo. Dum pro sponsa veri crucifixi vestrum cogimur auxilium implorare, potius cōpellimur lacerari singultibus & plorare. Ecce quod vidimus loquimur, & quod icimus testificamur. Ille homo perditus qui extollitur super omnē quod colitur, aut dicitur deus, iam habet perfidiæ suæ præambulum hæresiarcham, quē hæretici Albingenses Papam suum nominant, habitātem in finibus Bugarorum & Croaticæ, & Dalmatiæ, iuxta Hungariorum nationem Ad eum confluunt hæretici Albingenses, vt ad eorum consulta respondeat. Etenim de Carcasona oriundus vices illius Antipapæ gerens Bartholomæus, hæreticorum episcopus, funestam ei exhibendo reuerentiam, sedem & locum concessit, in villa quæ Porlos appellatur, & seipsum transtulit in partes Tholosanas. Iste Bartholomæ⁹ in literarum suarum vndique discurrentium tenore, se in primo salutationis allo quio, intitulat in hūc modum: Bartholomæus seruus seruorum. M. sanctæ fidei salutem. Ipse etiam inter alias enormitates creat episcops, & ecclesias perfide ordinare contendit. Rogamus igitur attentius, & per aspersionem sanguinis Iesu Christi, & propensius obsecramus, autoritate domini Papæ qua fungimur, in hac parte districte præcipientes, qua tenus veniatis Senonis in oct. Apostolorum Petri & Pauli proxime futuris, vbi & alij prælati Frāciæ, fauente domino congregabuntur, parati consilium dare in negotio prædicto, & cum alijs qui ibidem aderunt prouidare super negotio Albingensi. Alioqui in obedientiam vestram D. Papæ rabimus significari. Datū apud Plauuuium. 6. Nonas Iulij.

For so much as mention is here made of these superstitious sectes of Fryers, and such other beggerly religions, it shall not seme much impartinent, being moued by the occasion hereof, as I haue done in Hildegardis before: so now to annexe also to the same, a certayne other aunciēt treatise compiled by Geoffray Chawcer by the way of a Dialogue or questions moned in the person of a certaine vplandish and simple ploughman of the countrey. MarginaliaThe blinde ignorance of friers described.Which treatise for the same, þ^e autor intituled Iack vp land: wherin is to be sene and noted to all the world, the blynd ignorance and variable discord, of these irreligious religiōs, how rude & vnskilful they are in matters and principles of our Christian institution. As by þ^e contents of this present dialogue appeareth, þ^e wordes wherof in the same olde english, wherin first it was set forth, in this wise do proceede. Wherin also þ^u mayst see, þ^t it is no new thinges þ^t their blasphemous doings hath by diuers good mē in the olde time bene detected as there are many and diuers other olde bookes to shewe.

MarginaliaThe fruites of Antechrist.I Iack vp land make my mone to verey God and to al true in Christ, that Anthechrist and his disciples (by colour of holynes) walkyn and deceauyn Christes churche by many fals figures: where through (by Antechrist and his) many vertues bene transposed to vices.