MarginaliaRabanus Maurus Byshop of Mentze.
An. 800.

in Paris, an English man: who lyuing also in the same age with Haymo and Bertrame, (which was 800. yeres after Christ)  

geueth the lyke testimony of this doctrine in hys booke of Institutions. Where he askyng the question, why the Lord would geue the mysteries of his body and bloud, vnder such thinges as may be eaten and dronken, rather then vnder those thyngs which might be kept and reserued whole with greater honour? thus he aunswereth agayne: The Lorde (sayeth he) would rather that the Sacramentes of hys body and bloud should be receyued with the mouth of the faythfull, and made to be theyr food, that by the visible action, the inuisible effect myght be shewed. For lyke as material meate outwardly nourisheth & quickeneth the body, so also the worde of God inwardly nourisheth and strengthneth the soule. For man lyueth not onely by bread, but by euery worde proceding from the mouth of God.MarginaliaRabanus De institut. clericorum. 1. cap 21.

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And after followeth: For this bread and drynke, signifieth the eternall societie of the head, and of the members together.

And agayne: For the Sacrament is one thyng, and the vertue of the Sacrament is an other thyng. The Sacrament is receaued with the mouth, with the vertue of the Sacrament the inward man is nourished: For the Sacrament is turned to the nourishment of the body, but by the vertue of the Sacrament, the dignity of eternall lyfe is gotten,

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Wherefore, lyke as the same is turned into vs, when we eate of it: so also are we turned into the bodye of Christ, whē we lyue obediently and godly. &c. Who seeth not by these wordes of this Byshop, what forme of doctrine was then in the Church receiued concernyng this article of the Sacrament, much dyuers from this our grosse opinion of transubstantiation.

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With the sayd Rabanus also accordeth  

an other of the lyke standyng and also doctrine, called Christianus Druthmarus: who writyng vpon Math. The wine (sayth he) doth chere and cherish the bloud, and therfore not inconueniently the bloud of Christ is figured therby: for whatsoeuer procedeth from him to vs, it cheareth vs wyth true gladnes, and encreaseth all goodnes vnto vs.MarginaliaChristianus Druthmarus monachus ord. Bened. in Mat.

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And a little before, the sayd Druthmarus sayeth: The Lorde gaue to hys Disciples the Sacrament of his bodye, to the remission of sinnes, and kepyng of charitie, that they alwayes remembryng hys doyng, might doe that in figure, which he should do for them. Thys is my body (sayeth he) that is, in Sacrament. This Druthmarus lyued also in the tyme of Carolus Magnus, as witnesseth Abbas Spaynehemensis.  

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MarginaliaIoan Scotus
An. 880. After Bertramus was Ioannes Scotus, or els as some call hym, Ioannes Erigena, a man well accepted with Carolus Caluus, and afterward with Ludouicus Balbus, about the yere of our Lord. 880  

.MarginaliaIoan. Scotus. lib. de corpore and sanguine Domini. He wrote a booke De corpore et sanguine Domini, so affirmyng therin & teachyng, as he knew that Bertramus had taught a little before in Fraunce. This booke þ^e pope caused to be condēned in Vercellensi Synodo. Of the lyfe and conuersation of this Ioannes Scotus, & also of hys death,MarginaliaRead afore pag. 146. read before, pag. 146  

Commentary     Close

See 1570, pp. 190-91, 1576, pp. 145-6 and 1583, pp. 144-45.

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MarginaliaAn. 950. In the yere of our Lord. 950. lyued Odo Archbyshop of Canterbury, in whose tyme it appeareth by the catholickes owne confession, that many priestes then affirmed, that the bread and wyne after consecration, did remayne in their former substance, and that the sayd mysteries were onely a figure of the body and bloud of Christ,MarginaliaThe witnes of Osberne. as we finde it witnessed by Osberne hymselfe, who dyd write the lyues of Odo, Dunstane, and Elphege, at the biddyng of Lancfrāke Archbyshop of Canterbury, as reporteth Edmerus, Anselmus Chaplain.  

The wordes of Osberne be these   : Hoc ferè tempore, quidam clerici maligno errore seducti, asseuerare conabantur panem & vinum, quæ in altari ponuntur, post consecrationem, in priori substantia manere, et figuram tantummodo esse corporis & sanguinis Christi. &c.MarginaliaOsbernus in vita Odonis. That is: About this tyme (sayth Osberne, writing in the dayes of Lancfrancke) certayne of the Clergy, beyng seduced by wycked errour, dyd hold and maintayn, that bread and wyne, which are set vpon the aulter, after the consecration do remayne in theyr former substaunce, and are but only a figure of the body and bloud of Christ. &c. And no doubte but at that tyme, the common opinion of most of the Clergy was so, that the Sacrament was the body and bloud of Christ, and that the substaunce of breade and wyne notwithstandyng were not transubstantiate, as the Romish Catholikes doe now teache. But this is the guise of these men, that in their writynges and stories, still they diminish the better number, wherby their faction may seeme euer to be the bigger, and therfore to extenuate the common opinion then receyued in the Church, he inferreth mention of certayne of the Clergy. &c.

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And as he faileth in the number of these Clergymen, which then held against transubstantiation, so he vpholdeth the same with as lying a myracle:MarginaliaA lying myracle to proue trāsubstantiation. Which myracle hee fayneth to be wrought the same tyme, for the conuersion of the sayd Clergie men, by the bloud dropping out of the host at Masse, as Odo was breaking the host ouer the chalice. At the sight wherof, first Odo himselfe (saith he) wept for ioye, seeing hys petition accomplished, which he so earnestly prayed for. Secondarely, all those Clergie men (saith he) which before beleued not this transubstantiation, by & by were conuerted, and blessed the Archbyshop, that euer he was borne, desiring him to pray againe, that the bloude might returne to his former shape, & streight is was done. And this was the miracle: which seemeth as true, as that which W. Malmesbery writeth of the sayd Odo,MarginaliaEx Malmesb. how by his prayers, he caused a sworde to come flying from heauen, into kyng Æthelstanes scabbaard, whē he had lost his owne, as he should fight against Analanus: or els as that myracle where the sayd Odo is sayd to couer and defend the church of Caūterbury, that no droppe of rayne coulde touch it, so long as the roofe therof was in making.  

MarginaliaRead afore pag. [illegible text] Ex W. Malmesb. Vid. supra. pag. 152.

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MarginaliaReasons and proufe alleaged agaynst thys miracle. In which so myraculous a miyacle, many things are to be meruelled. First I meruell that at thys great miyacle of the Archb. in his Cathedrall church, amongest so many singing men, we read of no Te Deum there to be song, after the doyng thereof.

Secondly I meruell, that those Priestes and Clerks, which then denyed transubstantiation, were suffered to be so neare the Archb. at his Masse, and that they were not committed rather toward like heretickes and traytours, if this Article of transubstantiatiō had bene then such a Catholicke doctrine, and so publickely receaued in the Church, as they say it was.

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Thirdly I meruell, seeyng the tyme of myracles is expired, we hauing the scriptures to guide vs, why þ^e Archbyshop would seeke to myracles and apparitions to conuert men, rather then to the lawe and Prophets, according as we are commaunded, especially hauing no such example of all the olde Doctours, which in confutatiō of so many erroneous opinions, yet neuer sought to such myracles, or blynde meanes.

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MarginaliaThe authours of this fabulous myracle, do not agree wythin themselues. Fourthly, I maruell much at the discrepance in telling thys tale, betwene Osberne and other whiche since haue written Legendes of Odo. For where Osberne speaking of certeine Priestes, nameth no place, but leaueth the matter at large, and speaketh absolutely: quidam clerici: all other which haue since written the Legendes of Odo, doe tell thys tale agaynst certeine Priestes of Canterbury, addyng to the words of Osberne, quidam clerici Cantuarienses.  

But to conuict the falsehood of them all as well of Osberne as of the rest, there is a legend of the life of Odo, and of Oswald together, more auncient then this of Osberne, written (as it may seeme) in the time of Ælfricus Archb. of Canterbury & Elphege then Bishop of Winchester, wherin mention is made in deede of this miracle   , but after an other sort, then this of Osberne, and to an other purpose, thē to dissuade certayne priestes infected with that errour frō the opinion before declared: which is onely brought to shew the holines of Odo, as commonly the maner of Legends is to doe. So that in this olde Legend it is thus reported, that when this miracle was done, Odo disclosed the matter not to many priestes of England, that were in that error as Osberne would: sed vocat protinus fidelem seruum, qui cominus erat, et miraculum secretè demonstrat. etc. that is, but called vnto him a certayne faithfull seruaunt, which was neare about him, and shewed to him the miracle secretlye. Whereupon the Priest (sayth the Legende) muche reioysed at the holines of Odo, and desired him to make his prayer to almighty God, that the body might returne agayne to the former shape. &c. Out of this olde lying Legende, Osberne, and other lykewise that folowed hym, seemeth to haue takē thys tale: so that out of the errour of one (as the maner is) springeth the errour of a number mo.

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But this much more I meruell, why this miracle is not storied in Henry Huntyngton, which professedly writeth of such myracles, nor in Rog. Houeden, and such other:MarginaliaLying Legends. but onely in such blynde Legendes, which commonly haue no substaunce of veritie, nor certeintie of tyme or writer, to know when, and by whom they were written, and for the most part are stuffed wyth liyng visions, and prodigious fables.

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Finally, if this myraculous fictiō of Osborne were true, that for the conuertyng of the Priestes of England, which would not beleue trāsubstantiatiō, this bloud did droppe out of the hoste (of the whiche bloud peraduenture came the bloud of Hales)  

and that by the sight thereof the Priestes eftsoone were all conuerted (as Osberne pretendeth) how thē came it to passe, that after the tyme of Odo, in þ^e dayes of

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