whole and full doynges of the Empire, as lawfull Emperour for the tyme. Which prerogatiue and function, by auncient order of fore elders, shoulde properlye and onelye appertaine to the Palatine of Rhene, the constitution Clementine of the foresaide pope Clement to the contrary notwithstanding. Then in the end for his own excuse, he in the presence of them all reciteth the publike confession of his fayth, to answer and purge himselfe of those obiections layd to hym by the pope. This did the meeke Emperour Ludouike in that councel: yet all this notwithstanding, the sayde Emperour remayned styll excommunicate, tyll tyme variaunce fell betwene thys pope Benedict & Phillip the French king. Wherfore to make his party good, at least to haue some frēdes to flee to: he began to pretende fauour and absolution, rather for necessitye, then for any good wyll to the Emperour. But not long after, this pope dyed: MarginaliaPope Clement. 6.after whom folowed pope Clement the sixt, a man most furious and cruell. Who renuing agayne the former excommunications of his predecessours, caused hys letters to bee set vp on church doores, MarginaliaThe trouble of Ludouike the emperour.wherein he threatened & denounced most terrible thunderbolts agaynst the sayd Lewes the Emperour, vnlesse within three dayes he shoulde satisfye to God and the church, and renounce the emperiall possession of the crowne. The emperour vpon this, commeth to Francford, and there ready to stand in all thynges to the ordinaunce of the pope: sendeth hys Oratours to the court of Rome, to entreate the Pope of his fauour and good wyll toward hym. To the which messengers the pope answered agayne, MarginaliaHeresie of the popes making obiected against the Emperour.that hee woulde neuer pardon the Emperour, before he gaue ouer and confessed his errours and heresies: and resigning vp his empyre to hys handes, would submit himselfe, his children, and all hys goodes to the will and pleasure of the bishop, promising that he should not receaue agayne any part of the same, but vpon his good grace, as hys will should be to restore them.

The heresye here mencioned, which was to this emperour obiected by the pope, was this: because (as is aboue touched) he vsed and executed the emperiall dignitie after his electton, before he was of the pope cōfirmed. Ouer and besides, the pope sendeth to themperor by the sayd Oratours, a certayne forme of a byll conteined in writing with certayne conditions, which he commaunded to be geuen to the hands of themperour. Here if the Emperour Lewys had as muche mynde to set vpon the pope with dynt of sword, as he lacked neither occasion nor power so to do: what bloud myght here haue ben spylled? MarginaliaThe proud hart of the pope.But the good Emperour sparing the effusion of bloud, receiueth gently the byll: and not onely wyth hys seale doth confirme it, but also sweareth to obserue all the condicions therof. Which the pope hearyng of, doth greatly maruell. But yet all thys would nothing helpe to mollifie the modest hart of thys Pharao.The princes and electors seyng the bill with the articles and conditions, wherof some sounded to malicious defacyng and destruction of the Empire, abhorryng the wickednes therof: desired the Emperour to stand to the defence of the Imperiall dominiō, as he had begon: promising þ^t their assistāce and ayde, to the vttermost therunto should not lacke. Vpō þ^t other orators were sent to Pope Clemēt frō þ^e princes, desiring him to absteine frō such maner of articles conceaued against the state and maiestie of the Empire. The pope surmising all this to spring frō Lewes the emperour, to the vtter subuersiō of hym & all his posteritie: MarginaliaLewes the emperour accused of the pope for an heretike.on Maunday thursday blustereth out most blacke curses agaynst hym, also reneueth all the former processes of his predecessor against him, as against both an hereticke and a schismatike, cōmaūdyng moreouer þ^e princes electors to procede in chusing a new emperour. MarginaliaA good and faithful archb. of Mentz.The archbishop of Mentz seyng þ^e innocencie of the emperour, would not consent to the violatyng of hys maiestie, wherfore was depriued by the Pope of all his dignities. MarginaliaBribers corrupted with monyThe other Bishops electors, as the archbishop of Colen, which tooke viij. thousand markes, with the duke of Saxonie, which tooke ii. thousand markes, being corrupted with money by Ihon kyng of Boheme: elected Charles the sonne of the sayd Ihon, whom pope Clement eftsones in his consistory did approue. MarginaliaThe pope sower of discord & bloudshed.Who seeth not here what matter was ministred by þ^e pope of warre & bloudshed betwene these two emperors, if the pacience of Ludouike had not been more prudēt to quench þ^e fire, thē the Pope was to kindle it? Charles then the new emperour elect, sped him to Aquisgraue, accordyng to the custome, there to be crowned. But by the citizens there and the empresse (Ludouicus wife keping there about) he was repelled. All this happened in the time & reigne of Edward the iii. kyng of England, with whom the sayd Charles, with the French kyng, and kyng of Boheme, MarginaliaThe pope againe stirreth vp warre.set on by the Pope, encountred in warre: where the kyng of England, had agaynst them a noble victorie, and slue a great nūber of the Frenchmen and Almaines, MarginaliaCharles the new emperour put to flight by the englishmē.and put Charles the new emperour to flight. In the mean time, amōg the princes and cities of Germanie what sorow & what complaints were agaynst Pope Clement and those Electors, it can not be expressed. For as they wer altogether at Spires congregated in a general assēbly, so ther was none among them all: that alowed the election of Charles, or that cared for the Popes processe, promising all to adhere & continue faithfull subiectes to Ludouicke their lawfull emperour. MarginaliaLudouike the right emprour resigneth vp his empyre.But Ludouicke remembring his oth made before to the Popes bill, voluntarie and willingly gaue ouer his emperiall dignitie, and went to Burgrauia, where shortly after, MarginaliaLudouike the emperour impoysoned.through the procured practise of pope Clement (as Hieronimus Marius doth write) poison was geuen him to drinke. After the which being dronke, when he would haue vomited out, and could not: tooke his horse and went to hunte the heare, whereby through the chafyng and heate of his body to expelle the venime, MarginaliaLudouicus emperour and Martyr.And there the good and gentle emperour wickedly persecuted and murdered of the pope, fell downe dead, whom I may well recounte among the innocent and blessed martyrs of Christ. For if þ^e cause beyng rightoeus doth make a martyr, what Papist can iustly disproue hys cause or fayth? if persecution ioyned therunto causeth martyrdome, what martyr could be more persecuted then he: who hauing iii. popes, like iii. banddogges vpon him, at length was deuoured by the same. The princes then hearyng of hys death assēbled them selues to a new election: MarginaliaGunterus de monte nigro made emperor.who refusing Charles aforesaid, elected an other for emperour, named Gunterus de Monte Nigro. MarginaliaGunterus the right emperor poysoned.Who shortly after fallyng sick at Frāckford through his Phisicions seruaunt was likewise poysoned, whom the foresayd Charles had hyred, with money to worke that feat. Gunterus tastyng of þ^e poisō, although he did partly cast it vp agayne, yet so much remained w^tin him, as made him vnable afterwarde to serue that place. Wherfore for concordes sake beyng counsayled therto by the Germanes, gaue ouer his empire to Charles. For els, great bloudshed was lyke to ensue. This Charles thus ambitiously aspiryng to the emperiall seate contrary to the mindes of the states and peres of the empire, as he dyd wickedlye and vnlawfullye come by it: so was he by hys ambitious guiding, the firste and principall meane of the vtter ruine of that monarchie. For that he to haue his sonne set vppe emperour after him, conuented and graunted to the princes electours of Germanie, all the publicke taxes and tributes of the empire. Which couenaunt beyng once made betwene the emperour and them, they afterward held so fast: that they caused the emperour to swere neuer to reuoke or call backe againe the same. MarginaliaThe ruine of the Germayne empire, and the first cause therof.By reason wherof, the tribute of the countreis of Germanie, whiche then belonged onely to the emperour, for the sustētation of his warres: euer sence to this day is dispersed diuersly into the hands of the princes, &