1570 Edition | Book 4 | Page 425 
the churche on may day. Wherin the first he resembleth the phariseis to our monkes, and that he proueth by all the properties of the phariseis described in the Gospell. The publicane he resembleth to the laitie, such as for because þe soner are thei reduced to acknowledge their sins the more hope they haue of mercy. The other, because they stand confident in their own rightousnes, are therefore farther frō their iustificatiō. In the later sermon he setteth forth and declareth what perils and daungers ar lyke to fall vpon the churche by these religious orders of monkes and friers.
[Back to Top]MarginaliaLaurentius Anglicus condemned of the pope.
Petr9 Ioānes burned after death.Among the other besides of that age whiche withstode the byshops of Rome and his Antichristiā errours, was one Laurence an Englishe man, and maister of Paris. An other was Petrus Ioannes a Minorite. Of whom, the foresayde Laurence was aboute the yeare of our Lorde 1260. Who in his teachyng, preachyng, and writyng, did stoutly defend the part of the foresayd Gulielmus & the rest of his side agaynst the friers. Against the whiche friers he wrote ij. bokes: MarginaliaDefensio Gulielni.
Cauendum a pseudoprophetis.One in the defence of William a fore mentioned: the other vpon this argument & title: To beware of false Prophetes. &c. Certaine other things also he wrote, wherin by diuers proofes, and testimonies he argued and proued, that Antichrist was not farre of to come.
MarginaliaThe Pope Antichrist. The synagoge of Rome to be great Babylon.The other, Petrus Ioannis, was about the yeare of our Lord. 1290. whiche taught & maintained many thinges agaynst the pope: prouyng that he was Antechirst, and þt the sinagoge of Rome was great Babilone. He wrote vpon Mathew, vpon the Epistles, and vpon the Apocalips. Mention of this Petrus Ioannes is made in Nicolaus Emericus in lib. Inquisitionum. &c. MarginaliaEx Nicolao Emerico in libro suarum inquisitionumAnd sayth moreouer, that Michael Cesenas (of whom Christ willyng shall folow hereafter) tooke of hym a great part of his opiniōs. And because the Pope could not burne hym aliue, after his death he caused his bones to be taken vp and burned.
[Back to Top]MarginaliaRobertus Gallus prophecieth against the pope.To these and with these aboue specified, is to be added Robertus Gallus: who beyng borne of a right noble parētage, for deuotion sake was made a Dominicke frier, about þe same yere of our Lord aboue touched, an. 1290. This man, it appeareth by his writyng, had diuers and sondry visions: wherof part is annexed with the visions and Prophesie of Hildegardis. His visions all tende against the spiritualtie of Rome. Where, in the v. chap. he calleth plainly the Pope an idole: whiche hauyng eyes seeth not, neither lusteth to see the abhominations of his people, nor the excessiue enormitie of their voluptuousnes. But onely to see to the heapyng vp of his owne treasure: and hauing a mouth, speaketh not, but sayth: I haue set good mē ouer them, (which is sufficient for me) to do them good either by me selfe, or by some other. And foloweth in the same chapter, wo to that idole: wo to the mighty and proude, who shall be equall in all the earth to that idole. He hath exalted vp his name in earth, saying: who shall bring me vnder? Is not my house cōpared with the mighty potētates of the land? I am higher thē dukes: Knights on their horse backe do seruice vnto me. That whiche my fathers had not before me, that haue I done to me. My house is strowed with siluer: Gold and pearle are the pauement of my palace. &c.
[Back to Top]MarginaliaThe pope described.Agayne, in the xij. chapter, and also in the first, vnder the name of a serpent he paynteth out the pope: whom he declareth to extolle hym selfe aboue measure, and to oppres the fewe that be godly, and to haue many false Prophetes about hym, whiche neglectyng the worde and the name of Christ, do preach and extolle hym onely, obscuryng the name of Christ. The churche of Rome and the pope he describeth in these wordes: MarginaliaThe visions of Robertus Gallus.I was prayng (sayd he) on my knees, lookyng vpward to heauen, nere to the altar of S. Iames in Paris, on the ryght side of the altare: and saw in the ayre before me the body of a certain high byshop all clothed in white silke, who turnyng hysbacke on the East, lift vp his hand toward the West, as the priestes are wont in their Masse turnyng to the people, but his head was not sene. MarginaliaThe state of the church of Rome described.And as I was considering aduisedly whether he had any head or no: I perceaued a certain head in him all dry, leane, & withered, as though it had bene an head of woode. And the spirite of the Lord said to me: This signifieth the state of þe church of Rome.
[Back to Top]Moreouer, the same author in hys visions well describing the maner of the schole sophisters, and Sorbonistes, addeth in thys wyse. MarginaliaThe schole men & the friuolous questions described.An other daye, as I was in lyke contemplation as before, I beheld in spirit: and beholde I sawe a man appareled lyke to the other before; which went about, hauing fine bread, & excellent wyne, that hanged about hym on both sides. And the same hauing in hys hand a longe and an hard flynte stone, was knawing hungerly vpon the same, as one being hungrie is wonte to byte vpon a loafe of bread. Out of the which stone came out two heades of two serpentes, the spirite of the Lorde instructing me, and saying: This stone purporteth the friuolous intricate, and curious questions, wherin the hungrye do trauaile and labour, leauing the substantiall foode of their soules. And I asked, what these. ij. heades dyd meane. And he sayd: The name of the one is vayne glory, the name of the other is the marring and dissipation of religion.
[Back to Top]MarginaliaThe reformation of the church prefigured.Also, concerning the reformation of the church, this vision he declareth: It happened as I was (sayth he) in the same citie in the house of a certayn noble mā (a Britaine) and was there speaking with certayne: I sawe a crosse of siluer very bryght, much like to the crosse of þe Earle of Tholouse: But the. xij. aples which dyd hange beside in the armes of the crosse, were very vyle, like to the aples which the sea is wonte to caste vp. And I said: What is this Lord Iesu? And the spirit answered me: This crosse which thou seest is the church, which shall be cleare and bryght in purenes of lyfe, & shall be harde and knowen all ouer through the shrille voyce of the preaching of sincere veritie. Then being troubled with þe apples, I asked, what these aples so vyle dyd signifie. And he sayd: it is the humiliation of the church, &c.
[Back to Top]MarginaliaThe simonye and auarice of the clergy to be punyshed.This godly man did forewarne (as is in a certayne chronicle declared) how God would punishe the simonie and auarice of the clergie with such a plage, that riuers should runne with bloud, &c. It is sayd, that there is remayning a great volume of hys visions, which are not yet abroad: for these that be abroad, are but a briefe extracte out of hys visions and reuelations.
[Back to Top]After that we haue thus long strayed in these foren storyes of Friderick, and in the tractation of other matters pertayning to other countreys: Now after this sufficient digression, it is tyme that we returne to our owne countrey again. Where, in folowing the continuation of tyme, and course of the church: we wyll nowe adioyne to these good fathers and writers, MarginaliaThe stori of Rob. Grostede Byshop of Lincolnethe history of the learned bishop of Lincolne named Robert Grosted
CloseThe account of Robert Grosseteste can be found almost identically in Matthew Paris, Chronica Majora, ed. Henry Richards Luard, Rolls Series (7 vols., London, 1872-1884), vol. 5, pp. 389-401 and in the Matthew Paris, Flores Historiarum, ed. Henry Richards Luard, Rolls Series (3 vols., London, 1890), vol. II, pp. 379-393, however Foxe largely claims to follow the Chronica Majora for this account with the occasional nod to the Flores Historiarum. The letter from Innocent III was taken from Chronica Majora, vol. 6, pp. 229-31 while the learning of Robert Grosseteste was taken from Nicholas Trivet, Annalium continuatio; ut et Adami Murimuthensis Chronicon (Oxford, 1722), pp. 242-3. Grosseteste is an interesting figure for Foxe to mention at this point in his account. Although generally less popular with sixteenth century reformers, Grosseteste had been celebrated by Wyclif and the Lollards in the fifteenth century as a thirteenth century predecessor to their religious views. However, this was a misinterpretation and one which papal supporters were able to easily deconstruct. Grosseteste opposed Pope Innocent IV on his abuse of his pastoral office in which men incapable of carrying out their duties were often selected. He was not anti-papal. Therefore, Foxe's use of Grosseteste as another sign that the true church remained at the time when the Antichrist had taken control of the papacy was at odds with the general trends of reformist polemic. Grosseteste is probably here because of a particular interest in Lollard texts inspired by John Bale, who had lent Foxe his collection of Lollard papers (the Fasciculi Zizaniorum). Despite the difficulties in using Grosseteste's campaign against the papacy, within the context of other complainants, persecutions and papal abuses of power, Foxe felt that it was worth reinventing the Lollard view of this thirteenth century scholar for a sixteenth century audience. For more detail see R. W. Southern, 'Grosseteste, Robert (c. 1170-1253)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press (2004) and D. A. Callus, Robert Grosseteste: Scholar and Bishop (Oxford, 1955).
[Back to Top]Matthew Phillpott
University of Sheffield