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584 [584]

K. Richard. 2. The aunswer of W. Swinderby to the proces.

MarginaliaThe pope agayn proued Antichrist.Antichrist. Christ bad Peter put his sword in his sheath and said: Omnes qui gladium acceperint, gladio peribunt. That is: All which take the swoord, shall perishe wyth the sword. And I cannot finde that Peter drewe out his sword after that time, but suffered as Christ said: Cum senueris, alius cinget te, & ducet quo tu non vis. That is: when thou shalt waxe old, an other shal gird thee & lead thee whyther thou wilt not. And therefore saide Peter, Christ suffered for vs, leauing vs exāple that we should folow his steps. And Paule sayth: Not defending your selues, but geue place to anger: leaue reuenging to me, and I shall reward them. &c. And therefore it seemeth to me, that it is much against Christes lore, that his vicar should be a fighter, sithen that he mote be a shephearde, that should go before his shepe, and let them come after him, and not with swoordes to driue them awaye from him. For as Christ saith, a good shepheard shall put his life for his shepe. And zif all that Christ hath two swords when that he was taken of the Iewes, he said him self it was for þt the scriptures moten zit be fulfilled: Marginalia2 swordes neuer geauen to the pope.Quoniā cū iniquis deputatus est, þt is: he was reputed among the wicked: and not to figure two swordes, that men sayen the Pope hath to gouerne with the church. And when I see such doinges of the Pope, and manye other that accorden not with Christes lore, ne his lyuing: And when I reade diuers scriptures of holy writ, I am foule astonied whether they shoulden be vnderstanded of him, or of anye other. And I praye you for Gods loue tell me the soothe. Christ saith: Manye shall come in my name, saying: I am Christ, and shall seduce manye. &c. Christ (I wot well) is as much to saye, as he that is anointed, and two anointinges there weren in the law, one of kyngs, an other of priestes. And Christ was both kyng & priest and so the pope saith that he is. MarginaliaTwo sortes of annointings in scripture.And if all that haue ben Emperours of Rome, and other heathen kinges haue bene Antichristes, they come not in Christes name. But who so commeth in Christes name, and fayneth hym Christes friende, and he be priuely his enemy, he maye lightly begile many. Saint Paule saith: before ther commeth a defection fyrst, & the sonne of perdition shal be reuealed, which is the aduersary, And is extolled aboue all þt is named God, or which is worshipped: so that he shall syt in the temple of God, shewing him selfe as God. MarginaliaA defection in Antichrists time.And it foloweth in the same place: and now ye knowe what holdeth tyll he be reuealed in his time, for he worketh already the mistery of iniquity. Onely he that holdeth let him hold, till he come abroad, & then þe wicked one shall be reuealed, whom the lord Iesus shall slay with the spirite of his mouth. &c. And saint Iohn saith in the Apocalips: I saw an other beast ascending out of thearth, and two hornes like to the lambe. He spake lyke the Dragō, and had the power of the first beast. Many such autorities astonieth me oft sithes: and therfore I pray you for the loue of God, to tell me what they meane.

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¶ The sentence.

MarginaliaMention was made of this schedule before in the fyrst days Act. page 560.THe which  

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The sentence condemning Swinderby is copied from Trefnant's register; see Registrum Johannis Trefnant Episcopis Herefordensis, ed. W. W. Capes, Canterbury and York Society 20 (London, 1916), pp. 270-1.

schedule afore mencioned, wyth the contentes thereof diligently of vs perused, we considering that diseases which be not easelye cured with gentle remedye, must haue harder plaisters. Considering moreouer these his articles with his answers to þe same, and to other articles also lastly agaynst him produced, first mature deliberatiō had before vpon the whole matter with the foresaid maisters and Doctours, as well secular as regular, to a great number, obseruing in the same all thinges to be obserued in this behalfe, haue geuen sentence against the said W. in forme as foloweth.

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MarginaliaThe Sentēce geuen against him.The name of Christ being inuocated, we Iohn, by the permission of God, bishop of Hereford, sitting in tribunall seate, hauing God before our eyes, weying and considering the Articles by the foresayd faithfull Christiās put vp against the sayd Swynderby, pretending hym selfe to be priest, with hys answers vpon the same, Actis et Actitatis before vs in the cause of hereticall peruersi-tie, with mature deliberation had before in this behalf, with maisters and doctours of diuinitye, & also of other faculties, with their counsail and consēt: Do pronoūce, decree, and declare the sayde W. to haue bene and to be an hereticke, schismaticke, and a false informer of the people, and such as is to be auoyded of faithfull christians. Wherefore we admonish, vnder payne of the law, all and singular Christians, or what sex state, condition, or preeminence soeuer: that neither they, nor any of them within our dioces, or any other, do beleue, receue, defend, or fauour the said Williā, till he shal deserue fully to be reconciled to the bosome againe of holy church.

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¶ The appeale of W. Swynderby from this sentence of the bishop prefixed, vnto the king and hys counsayle

MarginaliaThe appeale of W. Swinderby from the B. to the King and his counsail.IN nomine patris, et filii, et spiritus sancti, Amen.  

Commentary   *   Close

This appeal of his conviction, by Swinderby to Richard II, and the next document, Swinderby's appeal to Parliament, are copied from Trefnant's register; see Registrum Johannis Trefnant Episcopis Herefordensis, ed. W. W. Capes, Canterbury and York Society 20 (London, 1916), pp. 271-8.

I W. Swynderby priest, knowledge openly to all men, that I was before the bishop of Hereforde, the thirde daye of October, and before many other good clerkes, to answer to certaine conclusions of the faith that I was accused of. And myne answer was this, that if the bishop or any man couthe shew me by gods law, that my conclusions or myne aunswers were errour or heresie, I woulde be amended, and openly reuoke them before all the people. Marginalia* Some thing there lacketh in the copy.*  
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This is another gap caused by flaws in Foxe's transcript of Trefnant's register.

Knowes in any of my conclusions, but sayden singly with woord, that there was errours in them, and bidden me subiect me to the bishop, and putte me into his grace and reuoke myne errour, and shewed me nought by Gods law ne reason, ne proued which they weren. And for I would not knowledge me gilty, so as I knewe no errour in them, of which I should be gilty, therefore the bishop sate in dome in myne absence, & deemed me an hereticke, a schismaticke, and a teacher of errours, and denounced me accursed, that I come not to correction of the church. And therfore for this vnrightfull iudgement, I appeale to the kinges Iustices for manye other causes.

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MarginaliaThe kinges court aboue the bishops court.One cause is, for the kinges court, in such matter is aboue the bishops court: For after that the bishop has accursed, he may no feare by hys law, but then mote he seche succor of the kynges law, and by a wryt of Significauit, put a man in prison.

The second cause is, for in cause of heresie there liggeth iudgement of death, and that dome may not be geuen without the kinges iustices. For the bishop wil say: Nobis non licet interficere quenquam, that is: It is not lawfull for vs to kyll anye man: as they sayden to Pilate, whē Christ should be demed. And for I thynke that no Iustice wil geue sodenly and vntrue dome as the byshop did, & therfore openly I appeale to hem and sēd my cōclusions to the knights of the parlament, to be shewed to the Lordes, and to be taken to the iustices, to be well auiset or that they geuen dome.

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MarginaliaWhat is an heretike.The third cause is, for it was a false dome: for no mā is an hereticke, but he, that maisterfully defendes his error or heresie and stifly maintaine it. And mine aunswer has ben alway condicional, as the people opēlp knowes, for euer I sayd, and yet say and alway will: that if they cannen shewe me Gods lawe that I haue erret, I will gladly ben amendet, and reuocke myne errours and so I am not hereticke, ne neuer more with Gods grace wil ben en no wise.

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MarginaliaThe B. law of condemnation full of heresies and errours.The fourth cause is. For the Bishops law, that they deme men by, is full of errours and heresies, contrary to the truth of Christes lawe of the Gospell. For there as Christes law byddes vs loue our enemies, the popes law geues vs leaue to hate them and to sley them, & graūtes men pardon to werren agayn hethen men, and sley hem. And there as Christes lawe teache vs to be mercifull, the Bishops law teaches to be wrechfull. For death is the gretest wrech that mē mowē done on him that gulty is. There as Christes lawe teaches vs, to blessen hym that

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diseazen