MarginaliaThe grosse opinion of Lanfrancus and the Papistes concerning the Sacrament.Priest, to be conuerted vnspeakably, incomprehensibly, and miraculously by the operation of Gods mighty power, into the essence of the Lordes body, the outward formes onely of the thinges themselues, and certaine qualities reserued, and that for two respects: The one lest the sight of the raw and bloudy flesh might otherwise make men to abhorre from eating therof: The other, for that they which beleue the thing they see not, might haue the greater merite for their beliefe. The conuersion of which earthly substaunces into the essence of the Lordes body notwithstanding, yet is the selfe same body of the Lord in heauen, and there hath his essentiall beyng at the right hand of his father immortal inuiolate, perfect, vndeminished, and vncorrupted: so that truly it may be affirmed, the selfe same body both to be receiued of vs, and yet not the selfe same. The selfe same, I meane, as touching the essence, propertie, and vertue of hys true nature: & yet not the selfe same as touching the formes of bread and wyne, and other outward qualities incurryng to our outward senses. &c. And thus haue ye the confession of Lancfranke Archb. of Cant.

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MarginaliaThe impious & grosse opinion of Guimundus, of transubstantiation. From this confession of Lancfranke, the opinion and assertion also  

of Guimundus   Archb. of Auersane, doth nothing differe in grossenes and impietie, but rather passeth the same, thus affirmyng and defendyng: That the body of Christ is pressed, and torne with teeth euen lyke as it was felt and touched with the handes of Thomas.

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And moreouer the sayd Guimundus (if his boke be not rather counterfeited at Louaine)  

in the same place   answeryng to an obiection put out, that it is not lawfull for Christ to be torne in pieces with teeth, doubteth not to pronounce that whether we take tearyng for hard bityng, or softe bityng, it is not repugnant nor disagreeyng, but þ^t (by the wil of God agreyng therunto) the body of Christ may be touched with handes, bitten with mouth, crushed, yea and deuided in pieces, with hard or soft pressing of the teeth: and that as he was brused vpon the crosse, according to the prophete saying: He was brused for our iniquities. &c. MarginaliaEsay [illegible text] so the same body for the health of the faythfull, may deuoutly be torne and rent with theyr teath any thyng to the contrary notwithstandyng. &c. Guimund. lib. Sacram. fol 30. Iudge now al good studious readers, what is to be thoughte of this kynd of doctrine, and how this opinion cohereth with the infallible voyce of gods word sayinge Exod. And of him ye shall not breake a bone. &c.

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This rude and mishapen doctrine of these monkes concerning transubstantiation, as ye haue heard, when and by whom it began first to be broched:MarginaliaThe greate confirmatiō of this doctrine of transubstantiatiō was by miracles. so if ye would now know by what learnyng and scriptures they did confirme & establish the same, ye must here thinke and vnderstande, how their chiefest groundes and substance to persuade the people was at this tyme, certayne miracles by them forged, & published both in their writings and preachinges,MarginaliaA miracle to proue transubstantiatiō wherof one was the same of Odo aboue recited, which Osberne, or some other monkish legend inuented of him, how he should shew vnto certayn the host turned into the lykenes of flesh & bloud droppyng into the chalice for the conuersiō of those clerkes, which before would not beleue it.

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MarginaliaEx Osberna lib. 2. De vita Dunstani. An other lyke miracle  

is also told by the sayd Osberne of Dunstane in this order   ,MarginaliaAn other miracle to proue transubstantiation. how the sayd Dunstane appeared to a certayne lame crepill in the night, willyng hym to resort vnto hys tombe, to haue his lymnes againe restored. Which crepil, according as he was willed, after he had there continued praying for health a long tyme, and could not obtayn, began to returne home agayn after long tarying, without all hope of recouery. To whom the sayd Dunstane appearyng again by the way, asked from whence he came, & whether he would. The crepi answering, declared how he came thether vpon hope of helth, where he had long taried, and because he could find no recouerie, therfore he now was returning home. To whom then said Dunstane: I am (sayhe) Dunstan the fellow seruaunt of all gods seruantes, and haue bene occupied with certaine necessary busines for the which I could not be present there with my children. For Elfricke (sayd he) otherwise surnamed Bata hath attempted to disherite my church   ,MarginaliaBy thys it appeareth that Ælfrike the translator of the Saxon sermon was Archbyshop of Canterb. but I haue so stopped him, that he could not preuayle.

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Many other fabulous miracles of the lyke stampe are ryfe in popish stories, conterfeited and forged vnder diuers and sondry names, some referred to Gregory  

, some to Paschasius   , and to other moe, which to recite all, would fill a whole sea full of lyes and fables. Among many, one is thus inuented of Paschasius. ThereMarginaliaAn other lying miracle of Pascasius to proue trāsubstantiation. was a Priest, sayth he   , of Almain, named Plegildus, who did see and handle with his handes visibly the shape of a child vpon the aulter, and so after he had embraced and kissed hym, it returned again into the lykenes of bread, as he should come to the receauyng therof. This miracle when it was obiected against Berengarius, he merily deridyng the blynde fable, aunswered in these wordes: Speciosa inquit, pax nebulonis, vt cui [illegible text] præberet basium, eo dentium inferret exitium. That is, A goodly peace (quod he) of a false verlet, that whome he before kissed with hys mouthe, by and by he goeth about to teare him with hys teeth.

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MarginaliaAn other Monkishe miracle to proue transubstātiation. An other miracle is reported  

of a Iew boy, who vpon a tyme entring into the Churche, with an other Christian lad which was his play felow, saw vpon the altar a litle childe broken & torne in peeces, and afterward by portions to be distributed among the people. Whiche sight when the young Iew comming home had told vnto his father to be true and certaine, he was for the same, condemned to be burned. Thus he being inclosed in a house, and the doore fast where he should be burned, he was founde and taken out frō thence by the christians not onely alyue, but also hauing not one heare of his head blemished with the flames about him. Who then being of the Christians demaunded how he was so preserued from the burning fire: there appeared (sayd he) to me a beautifull womā sitting on a chaire, whose sonne the childe was, whiche was before diuided and distributed in the Churche among the people, who reached to me her hand in the burning flame, and with her gowne skyrtes kept the flames from me, so that I was preserued thereby from pearishing. &c. Belyke these Monkes lacked miracles among the Christians, when they were fayne to borow such figmentes of the Iewes to proue their feyned transubstantiation.

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And these commonly were then the argumētes of these Monkes, wherwith they perswaded the people to beleue theyr transubstantiation. But to leaue these monkes fictions, and to returne agayne to Berengarius, thus Malmesbery of hym reporteth  

,MarginaliaEx VV. Malmesb. that after he had once or twise recanted (as is aforesayd) yet notwithstandyng this doctrine of the Sacrament still remayned in the mynde of his hearers. And how so euer the tirāny of the Pope did driue him thorough feare to denye his opinion, and wrought him muche trouble, yet notwithstandyng after hys death he lacked not hys well wyllers. In the number of whom was Hildebertus Bishop Cenomanensis, whose verses in commendatiō of his maister, I thought here not vnworthy to be preserued, beyng otherwise rare peraduenture to be found in our story writers.

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MarginaliaVerses in commendation of Berengarius. QVem modo miratur, semper mirabitur orbis, Ille Berengarius non obiturus obit: Quem sacræ fides fastigia summa tenentem, Tandem extrema dies abstulit ausa nefas. Illa dies damnosa dies, & perfida mundo: Qua dolor & rerum summa ruina fuit. Qua status ecclesiæ, qua spes, qua gloria cleri, Qua cultor iuris iure ruente ruit. Quicquid Philosophi, quicquid cecinere Poetæ, Ingenio cessit eloquioque suo. Sanctior & maior sapientia, maius adorta, Impleuit sacrum pectus & ora Deo. Pectus eam voluit, vox protulit, actio prompsit: Singula factori sic studuere suo. Vir sacer & sapiens, cui nomen crescit in horas: Quo minor est quisquis maximus est hominum. Qui census peperit pancos, seruauit honores. Cui potior pauper diuite, iusq̀ lucro. Cui nec desidiam, nec luxum res dedit ampla: Nec tumidum fecit multus and altus honos. Qui nec ad argentum, nec ad aurum lumina flexit: Sed doluit quotiens cui daret hæc aberat. Qui non cessauit inopum fulcire ruinas, Donec inops, dando pauper & ipse fuit. Cuius cura sequi naturam legibus vti, Et mentem vitijs, ora negare dolis: Virtutes opibus, verum præponere falso, Nil vacuum sensu dicere vel facere: Lædere nec quemquam, cunctis prodesse, fauorem Et populare lucrum pellere mente, manu. Cui vestis textura rudis, cui non fuit vnquam, Ante sitim potus nec cibus ante famem. Quem pudor hospitium statuit sibi, quamq̀ libido Incestos superat, tam superauit eam. Quem natura parens cum mundo contulit, inquit, Degenerant alij, nascitur iste mihi: Quæque vagabatur & pene reliquerat orbem, Inclusit sacro pectore iustitiam. Vir sacer a puero, qui quantum præminet orbi Fama, adeò famæ præminet ipse suæ. Fama minor meritis cum totum peruolet orbem, Cum semper crescat, non erit aqua tamen.

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