sayd these noble men beyng present the Lordes of Auia and Bolone the Lordes Martins & other earles named afore, Mathew Dotera, Peter the Lord chāberlate, Philip the Lord of Wirtmes, and Henry of Bolone knight and also master Philip archdeacon of Bengem, Nicholas archdeacon Remem, William treasurer of Anioye, Philip Beaspere, Rainolde of Burbon and Ihon Montagre, and many moe both clerkes and other specially required and called to be witnes to this.

After these thinges thus in the Parliament decreed and agreed, the prelates of the clergie cōsulting with thē selues what was to be done in so doubtful a mater: & dredyng the popes displeasure, for this which was done alredy, to cleare them selues in the matter cōtriued amōg them selues a letter to the Pope partly to certifie hym, what there was done, and partly to admonish him what he should do: the tenour of whiche their letter conteined these wordes following.

☞ To the most holy Father & their dearest beloued Lord, þ^e Lord Boniface the chief Bishop of the holy Romishe churche and the vniuersall churche: his humble and deuout Archbishops, Byshops, Abbotes, priors, conuentuals, Deandes, Prouostes, Chapters, Couentes and Colleges of the Cathedrall and collegiat churches, regular and secular of all the realme of Fraunce, being gathered together, do offer most deuout kyssings of your blessed feete.

MarginaliaThe letter of the French prelates to pope Boniface.WE are compelled not without sorow of hart and bitter teares to signifie vnto your holynes, that þ^e most famous prince our most deare Lord Philip, by the grace of God, the noble kyng of Fraunce: when he hard and saw the Apostolicall letters sealled, whiche were sent to him of late, from your behalf by the worshipful man the Cardinal of Narbo your notarie and messenger, & were presented by the same Cardinall to him, and certeine other of his barons. Vpō the sight and perusing of which so bloudy letters being read and declared to thē sittyng by him: both our Lord the kyng and the barons them selues wer highly moued with great marueling and great trouble. In so muche, that the sayde our Lorde the king by the aduice of his barons, commaunded to be cald afore him the other barons then absent, and vs also that is to wete: all Archbishops, Bishops, abbotes, priors, conuentualles, deanes, prouostes, chapters, conuentes & colleges aswell of cathedrall as collegiat churches, regular and secular, and also all the vniuersities and communalties of the townes of his realme: that we Prelates, Barons, deanes, prouostes, and two of the learnedst of euery collegiate and cathedrall church, should appeare personally, and should procure, the rest likewise to appeare, by their stuard, officers and sufficient proctors, with full and sufficiēt commission at the appointed place & terme. Farther, when we and the other ecclesiasticall persons aforesayd, and also the barons, stuardes, officers, & proctours, and other of the communaltie of the townes that were thus cald: and when according to the forme of the foresayd callyng by the kynges commaundement, we stode afore the king this wedensday, the tenth of this present of Aprill, in S. Maries churche in Paris: Our Lord the kyng caused to be propounded openly and playnly to all men, that it was signified to him, from you among other thinges by the foresayd cardinall and letters: that for his kyngdome (whiche he and his auncetors hetherto do acknowledge to hold of God onely) now ought in tēporalties to be subiect to you and holde of you, and that ye wer not content with these so meruelous and straūge woordes, and not hard of from the begynnyng of the world of any dwellers within the same realme, but that ye went about to put them in practise. And that ye cald to appeare afore you, the prelates of the sayd realme, and doctors of diuinitie, and such professours of both lawes,as were borne within the sayd realme, for the correcting and amendyng of such excesses, fautes, arrogancies, wronges, and harmes, as ye pretend to be done to the ecclesiasticall prelates and persons ecclesiastical both regular & secular, abidyng within the realme and elswhere, by our Lord the kyng him selfe and his officers or bayliffes, by his peres, earles, barons and other nobles, with the communaltie and people of the sayd realme: To the entent by this meanes, þ^e foresaid realme might be made strong, with pretious iuells & durable treasures, whiche are to be preferred before the bucklers or any armour of strong men, that is to say, by the wisedome of prelates, and wise men, and others: through whose rype faithfull counsel and circumspect foresight, the realme might be ruled and gouerned, that faith might be stablished, the ecclesiasticall Sacramentes might be ministred, iustice might be exectued: whiche by thē beyng robbed of goods and riches and vtterly spoyled, is a doubtfull case and in ieopardie of miserable decay and for euer to bee destroyed. Among these and diuerse other grieues, whiche were done by you and the Romish church, to him, to his realme and the Frenche churche, both in reseruyng and willfull ordering of Archbishoprickes, byshoprikes, andbestowing of great benefices of the realme vpō straūge and vnknowne persons, yea & oft vpon suspect persons, neuer being at the churches or benefices aforesayd. By reasō wherof, the decay of Gods worship ensued, the godly willes of the founders and giuers are defrauded of their godly purpose: the accustomed almes giuyng is withdrawen frō the poore of the said realme, the pouerishing of the realme followeth, and churches rune in daūger to be defaced, while they remain destitute of seruice: the Prophetes being taken away, and the fruites of thē, that serue them, bee appoynted to the commoditie of straungers. And while prelates haue not to giue, yea to rewarde men for their desertes: noble men (whose auncetors founded the churches) and other learned men, cānot haue seruauntes: and that for these causes, deuotion began to be cold, ther was none at these dayes that would stretche out a liberall hād towardes the churches, & farthermore by the premisses an euill example was giuen. Also he complayned of newe taxes of pensions, newlye layd on the churches, of inmesurable bondages, exactions, and diuerse extortions, with other preiudiciall and hurtfull nouelties, by which þ^e generall state of þ^e church is chaunged: in geuing suffraganes, as helpers to the higher prelates, wherby neither the bishops them selues nor the suffraganes can doe their dueties, but for them they myght runne with giftes to the apostolicall see. He complayned also of diuerse causes & some articles longe since, but true in the tyme that they were presented, that were done and be done continually: and also not purposing to suffer so great a disheriting of him and hys successours, from the realme and so manifest a griefe, they coulde not suffer any longer the euident losse of the honour of hym and the realme, and sayd: that he was certayn, that it was knowen to the whole world, and that he dyd maintayne in thys matter a iuste cause as he had learned by the agreeable sentence of doctors in diuinitie and maisters of both lawes, that were borne within his realme and others, which among the doctors & connyng men of the world were counted of the learned sorte and more famous. Therfore he requyred vs, all and euery one, both prelates, and Barons, and other, earnestly as our Lorde: he prayed and gentlye begged as a frende: to consulte and take diligent payne, that he myght ordeine wholesome thynges, both for the keeping of their olde libertie, the honour and state of the realme and of the inhabitauntes therof, for the easing of the griefes aforesaid, for redressing of the realme and þ^e French church, by our counsel and hys Barones to the prayse of Gods name, the encrease of the catholicke fayth, the honour