excuse and reasonable answer of the emperour, perhaps might be prouoked to desist from his purpose, and so degenerate from other of his precedessoures: refuseth to speake with them, MarginaliaThe new sentence of proscriptiō against the Emperour.and at the day oppointed pronoūceth the sentence of proscription agaynst hym, depriuing him of all his dignities, honoures, titles, prerogatiues, kingdoms & hole empyre. And that he had no occasiō hereunto, as well Pādolphus & Colomitius, as the letters of þ^e emperour hymselfe do both right well declare. For it may appeare, he dedicated as it were hymselfe to his vtter ruine and destruction, when he did sollicitate against Fridericus, Iacobus Tewpolus the Venetian Duke: Whome, for the displeasure he toke with the emperour in the imprisonyng of his sonne, was in good hope he shoulde allure vnto hym, he being in so troublous a tyme such a comfort and ayder vnto hym: þ^t as Blondus wryteth, in a certayn epistle gratulatorie he calleth him Lord of the fourth part of Croatia and Dalmatia, and Lord of the half of the Romain empire. MarginaliaThe pope wageth & hyreth 35. Galleyes to spoyle the coastes of the Emperour.And calling vnto hym the Venetiā and Genwetian legates, made a peace betwixt them (which for certayne causes aboute theyr sea costes were at variaunce) and couenaunted w^t them vpon thys condition: that at theyr publique charges, they should rigge and man 35. galleis, which should spoyle and burne all alongst the sea coastes of the kyngdomes and dominions of Fridericke.

But the Pope, when he saw the good wyll and fidelitie which the duke of Venis bare vnto the emperour, & saw also what ayde the Emperour had of him, neyther that he was like to winne hym to hys purpose: then had he recourse agayne to hys old crafty practisies & subtilties. MarginaliaThe popes edicte agaynst the Emperour Ascendit de mari bellica bestia.And further deuised, to put forth an edicte at Rome to þ^e vniuersall church & peole, the beginnyng whereof is Ascēdit de mari bellica bestia: wherin, he declareth þ^e causes wherfore he curseth & geueth þ^e emperour to þ^e deuil of hel, & hath deiect hym frō all his princely dignitie. He in þ^e same, accuseth hym of so many & of so huge a heape of mischiefes, as to nominat thē my hart detesteth: And besydes that, he restrayneth his soueraigne lord and emperour of the appellation which euery priuat man by law may haue. He slaundereth hym of treason, periury, crueltie, sacrilege, kyllyng of hys kynd, & all impietie: he accuseth hym for an heretike, a schismatike, and a myscreant: And to be briefe, what mischiefe so euer the pope can deuise, wyth that doth he charge hym and burden hym. All thys doth he sayth the Pope, þ^t when he hath brought our holines, and all the ecclesiasticall estate to beggery, he might scoffe at and deryde the religion of Christe, which as a miscreant he detesteth. MarginaliaAlbertus Behauus the popes rone hand.And nowe for that þ^e pope had a great and special trust in Albertus Behauus of the noble house called Equestri (as crafty a postle as þ^e best) and one whom he saw so redy to leane to hys lust: To hym the pope deliuered two other mandates in seuerall letters sealed, in which he commaundeth all Byshops, prelates, and other of the cleargy: that they should solempnly recite the same in theyr churches in steade of their Sermon, that by his decree he had excommunicate Fridericke out of the fellowship of christen men: put hym from the procuration or gouernmēt of the empire: & that he had released all hys subiectes of their allegeance & fidelitie towardes hym. MarginaliaThe pope threatneth to curse all those that wish well to the Emperour.And farthermore, chargeth them, and all other christen men vnder the payne of cursing and damnation, that neyther they succour the emperour, nor yet so much as wysh hym wel. Thus he, beyng the popes speciall and trusty seruiture and made to hys hand, caused a most horrible confusiō and Chaos of publike quietnes, as shall after appeare.

Amongst all other noble men of Germanye at that tyme towardes the emperour, was Otho the gouernor of Rhenus & duke Boiora, both most seruiseable and also a Prince of greate honoure, riches and estimation. Thys prince, both with fayre promises & also rewards,he entised from hym: for that beyng made by him to beleue, that Ludouicus hys father of whome we spake before, was by the Emperour murdred and slayne. MarginaliaOtho with diuerse other princes of Germanie by the popes meane do forsake the Emperour.And the same Otho agayne, caused three other princes and dukes, to reuolte from the Emperour to the Pope, which were neighbours and nere adioyning vnto him: as Vuenceslaus, and Belus, princes of the Vngarians, and Henry duke of Polonia. To whō came also Fridericus Austriacus his sōne: who because he was proscript or outlawed of hys father, and had hys dukedome wasted and brent as you heard, was easilye wonne vnto the pope. These, gatheryng a councel (when they had thought to haue translated the empire vnto the kings sonne of Denmarke) desired to haue the popes legates to be sent from him, to the effect of that election.

The Emperour was at Patauiū when these newes were broughte vnto hym, what the Pope had done at Rome. MarginaliaWhat great good the oration of Peter de Vineis dyd in the Emperours behalfe.Therfore, he commaunded Peter Deuineis his secretory (vpon Easter daye) to make an Naration to the people, of his great and liberall munificence to the bishops and church of Rome, and agayn of the iniuries of them towards him in recompence thereof: of his innocencie also in that whereof he had accused hym: and of the vnsemelynes of such an act or deede: of the ryght vse of the ecclesiasticall censure, and of the errours and abuse of the church of Rome. By which Oration of his, he so remoued the cloude from manye mens hartes of blinde superstition, and the conceaued opinion of holynes of the church of Rome, and bishops of the same, and also of their vsurped power and subtill perswasion: that both they playnly saw and perceaued the vices and fylthynes of the church of Rome and bishops of that see, as also theyr fraudulent deceites and flagitious doyngs: most vehemently lamenting and complayning of the same. Albertus maketh mencion of certayne verses which were sent & written betwene the bishop of Rome and the Emperour. The which verses in the latter ende of thys present historye of Fridericke you shalt finde.

The Emperour moreouer both by hys letters and Legates, geueth intelligence to all Christen kinges, to the princes of his own empire, to the college of Cardinals, and people of Rome: as well of the fayned crymes wherwith he was charged, as also of the crueltie of the bishop of Rome against him. The copye of which letter or epistle foloweth here vnder inserted.

MarginaliaThe Emperours letter to all prelates to brydle the pope & restraine hym of his will.In the beginning and creation of the world: the ineffable foreknowledge and prouidence of God (who asketh counsell of none) created in the firmament of heauen two lightes (a greater and a lesse) the greater he created to gouerne the day, and the lesse to gouerne the night: which two, so doo their proper offices and duties in the Sodiake, that although often times the one be in an oblique respect vnto the other, yet the one is not enemie to the other: but rather doth the superiour, communicate hys light with the inferiour. Euen so, the same eternall foreknowledge hath appointed vpon the earth two regimentes: that is to wit, Priesthood and kingly power: the one for knowledge and wysedome, the other for defence. MarginaliaMan being made of two partes hath two seuerall regimentes Gods word and the materiall sword.That man, which was made of two partes (euer wanton and dissolute) might haue two raygnes to gouerne hym and bridle him with all, that peace therby and loue, might dwel vpon the face of the earth. But alas, the bishop of Rome sitting in the chayre of peruerse doctrine or pestilence, that Pharisie anoynted wyth the oyle of iniquitie aboue the rest of hys consortes in thys our time, which for his abominable pride is fallen from heauen: indeuoureth wyth his power to destroy and vndo all, and thinketh (I beleue) to stellifye agayne himself there frō whence he fell. Hys purpose is to darken and to shadow the lyght of our vnspotted lyfe, whylest that