the lawes, statutes, Canons & Constitutiōs of our most holy father þ^e pope, incorporated in his Decrees, Decretals, Clemētines, Codes, Chartes, Rescriptes, Sextiles and Extrauagātes the world ouer all: and as the prouinciall statutes of Archbishops in their prouinces, the Synodall actes of bishops in their dioces, and the commendable rules and customes of prelates in their colledges, & Curates in their parishes, all Christen people are both bounde to obserue and also most mekely to obey. MarginaliaIntollerable yokes lay they.Ouer and besides all this, I Iohn Oldcastel vtterly forsakyng and renouncyng all the aforesayd errours and heresies, and all other erroures and heresies lyke vnto them, laye my hand here vpon this booke or holy Euangely of God, and sweare: MarginaliaNeuer made he such an othe.that I shall neuer more from hēce forth hold these foresayd heresies, nor yet any other lyke vnto them wittingly. Neither shall I geue coūsayl, ayde, helpe, nor fauour at any tyme, to them that shall holde, teache, affirme, or maintaine the same, as God shall helpe me, and these holy Euangelyes.

And that I shall from hence forth faithfully obey and inuiolably obserue all the holy lawes, statutes, canons, and constitutiōs of all the Popes of Rome, Archbishops, bishops, and prelates, MarginaliaAnd thys maintaine they still.as are contained and determined in their holy Decrees, Decretals, Clementines, Codes, Chartes, Rescriptes, Sextiles, Summes papall, Extrauagantes, statutes prouinciall, actes synodall, and other ordinary regules and customes constituted by them, MarginaliaThe pope holy bible of papistes.or that shall chaunce hereafter directly to be determined or made. To these and all such other, wyll I my selfe wyth all power possibly apply. Besides all this, the penaunce which it shall please my sayd reuerend father the Lorde Archbishop of Canterbury hereafter to enioyne me for my sinnes, MarginaliaMarke this handling.I wyll meekely obey and faithfullye fulfill. Finallye, all my seducers and false teachers, & all other besides, whom I shall hereafter know suspected of heresie or errours: MarginaliaThis chardge geue they cōmonly.I shall effectuallye present, or cause to be presented vnto my sayd reuerend father, Lord Archbishop, or to them which haue his autoritie, so soone as I can conueniently do it, and see that they bee corrected to my vttermost power.

Thys abiuration neuer came to the handes of the Lorde Cobham, neyther was it compiled of them for that purpose, but onely therewith to bleare the eyes of the vnlearned multitude for a tyme. After the which lyke fetche and subtile practise, was also deuised the recantacion of the Archbishop Tho. Cranmer, to stop for a tyme the peoples mouthes. Which subtilty in lyke maner was also practised with the false recantaciō of bishop Hoper, & diuers other, as in their places hereafter (Christ graunting) shall be shewed.

MarginaliaFor confirmation of thys historye.And thus much hetherto concerning the first trouble of sir Iohn Oldcastle lord Cobham, with all þ^e circumstances of the true tyme, place, occasion, causes, and order belonging to the same. Wherein I trust I haue sufficiently satisfied all the parties, requisite to a faythfull history, without corruption. For the confirmation wherof, to thentent the mynde also of the wrangling cauiller may be satisfied, and to stop the mouth of the aduersary (which I see in all places to be readye to barcke) I haue therefore of purpose annexed withall, MarginaliaEx archiuis et Regist. Tho. Arund. Archiep. Cant.my grounde and foundation taken out of the Archiues and Registers of the Archbishop of Canterbury: Ex epist. Tho. Arund. ad Rich. Lond. MarginaliaPolydorus and Edw. Haull deceaued.Whereby may appeare, the manifest error both of Polydorus, and of Edward Haul, who being deceaued in the right distinction of the tymes, assigne thys citation and examination of the Lorde Cobham, to bee after the Councell of Constance: when as Thomas Arundell Archb. of Canterbury at the Councell of Constance, was not alyue. The copy and testimonye of hys owne letter shall declare the same, wrytten and sent to the bishop of London, in forme as foloweth.

TO the reuerend father in Christ and Lord, the Lorde Robert by the grace of God bishop of Hereford, Richard by the permission of God bishop of Lōdon, health and continuall increase of sincere loue. We haue of late receaued the letters of the reuerend father in Christ & lord the Lord Thomas by the grace of God Archb. of Cant. primate of all England, and Legate of the Apostolik see to this effect. Thomas by the permission of God, Archb. of Canterbury, Primate of all Englande, and Legate of the Apostolike see, vnto our reuerend brother the Lorde Richard bishop of London, health and brotherly loue in the Lord. It was lately concluded before vs in the conuocation of the Prelates and Clergy of our prouince of Canterbury last celebrate in our church of S. Paule, intreating amongst other thinges with the sayd prelates & clergy vpon the vnion and reformation of the church of England by vs, and the sayd prelates and clergy: that it was almost impossible to amend the hole of our Lordes coate which was without seame, but that fyrst of all certayn nobles of the realme, which are autors, fauourers, protectors, defendors and receiuers of these heretiks called Lollards, were sharply rebuked, and if nede were by the censures of the church, and the helpe of the seculer power, they be reuoked from theyr errors. And afterward hauing made diligent inquisition in the conuocation amongst the proctors of the clergye & others, which were ther in great nūber out of euerye dioces of our prouince: MarginaliaA thyng thought ryght necessary that the Lord Cobham should be made out of the way, or ells not possible for papistrye to florishe.It was found out amongst others, that sir Iohn Oldecastle knight, was and is the principall receiuer, fauorer protector, and defender of them: and that speciallye in the diocesse of London, Rochester, and Harforde, he hath sent the sayd Lollardes to preache, not being licensed by the ordinaries and bishops of the dioces or places, cōtrary to the prouinciall constitutions in that behalfe made, and hath bene present at their wicked sermons, greuously punishing wyth threatninges, terrors, and the power of the secular sword, such as dyd withstande hym: alledging and affirming amongest others, that wee and our fellow brethren Suffraganes of our prouinces had not, neyther haue any power to make any such constitutiōs. Also he hath holden, and doth hold opinion and teach as touching the sacraments of the aultar, of penance, of pilgrimage, of the worshipping of saintes, and of the keyes contrary to that whych the vniuersall churche of Rome doth teache and affirme. Wherefore on the behalfe of the sayd Prelats and clergy, we were then required, that we would vouchsafe to proceede agaynst the sayde syr Iohn Oldcastell vpon the premises. MarginaliaSyr Iohn Olde Castell in fauour with the king.Notwithstanding, for the reuerence of our Lord the king, in whose fauour the said syr Iohn at that present was, and no lesse also for the honour of hys knighthood: we with our fellow brethren & Suffragans then present, with a great part of the clergy of our prouince, comming personally before the presence of our sayde Lorde the kyng, being then at hys manor of Kenington, put vp agaynst the sayd Syr Iohn, a complaynt, and partly reciting the defaultes of the sayde syr Iohn. But at the request of our sayde Lord the king, we desyring to reduce the sayd syr Iohn to the vnitye of the church, without any reproch: we deferred all thexecution of the premisses for a greaat tyme. But at the last, for so much as our sayd Lord the kyng, after his great trauels taken about the conuersion of hym, dyd nothyng at all profye, as our sayd Lord the kyng vouchsafed to certifye vs both by word and writing: We immediately decreed to call forth the sayd syr Iohn personally, to answer before vs at a certayne tyme alreadye passed, in and vpon the premisses, and sent our messengers with these our letters of citacion to the sayd syr Iohn, then beyng at hys Castel of Cowlyng, vnto the whych Messenger we gaue cōmaundemēt, that he should in no case go into the castel except he were lisenced. But by the meanes of one Iohn Butler, porter of the kings chamber, he shoulde requyre the said sir Iohn, that he wold either lisence the said messenger to come into the castel, or that he should cite him, or at the least that he wold suffer himself to be cited without his castel. The which sir Iohn openly answered vnto the sayd I. Butler, declaring the premisses vnto him, on the behalfe of our Lord the kyng: that he woulde by no meanes be cited, neither in any case suffer his citation. Thē we beyng certified of the premisses lawfully proce-.