MarginaliaAnno. 1549. answere to these last Articles, or els to shewe cause why he should not bee declared pro confesso, dyd for that present breake vp that Session.

Now as the Byshop was departyng with the vndermashall, he in a great fury turned him selfe againe towards the Commissioners, and sayd to sir Thomas Smith:MarginaliaBoners great hart could not choose, but he must nedes vtter his stomacke. sir, where ye haue committed me to prison, ye shall vnderstand that I will require no fauour at your handes, but shall willyngly suffer what shall be put vnto me, as boltes on my heeles, yea and if ye will, yrons about my middle, or where ye will.

Then departyng agayne, he yet returned once more, and fomyng out his poyson, sayd vnto the Archbyshop: Well my Lord I am sory that I beyng a Byshop am thus handled at your graces hand: but more sory that you suffer abominable heretickes to practise as they doe in London and els where, infectyng and disquietyng the kynges liege people:MarginaliaBoner threatneth to accuse the Archbishop before God. and therfore I do require you, as you will aunswere to God and to the kyng, that ye will from hence forth abstaine thus to do: for if ye do not, I will accuse you before God and the kynges Maiestie: aunswere to it as well as ye can. And so he departed, vsing many reprochfull wordes agaynst sundry of the common people which stode and spake to hym by the way as he went.

MarginaliaThe 6. Session or appearaunce of Boner. IT was assigned as ye heard in the 4. Acte prosecuted the. xviij. of September, that vppon Monday then next followyng, beyng the. 23. day of the same moneth, the Byshop should againe appeare before the Commissioners within the great Hall at Lambeth, then to shew a finall cause why he should not be declared pro confesso, vpon all the Articles whereunto he had not fully aunswered.

According to which assignemēt the same 23. day of September the bishop was brought before them by the Vndermarshall (to whom for his disobedient and obstinate behauiour he was before that tyme committed) and there dyd first declare vnto them that his appearaunce at that tyme and place was not voluntary, but coacted, for that he was against his will brought thether by the keeper of the Marshalsey, & therewithall also vnder his former protestatiō, recusation, and appeale,MarginaliaA generall recusation of Boner agaynst all the Commissioners. did then againe intimate a general recusation of all the Commissioners, alledgyng in the same, that because the Archbishop with all his Colleagues had neither obserued the order of their Commission, neither yet proceded against him after any laudable or good fashion of iudgement, but contrarywise had sondry tymes, aswell in hys absence as in his presence attempted many things vnlawfully against his person, dignitie, and estate, especially in committyng hym to straite prison, and yet commaundyng him to make aunswere: and further, because that he with the rest had proceeded in Commission with Sir Thomas Smith Knight, supportyng and maintaynyng all his euill doynges (notwithstandyng that he the same Byshop had before iustly recused and declined from him) he therfore did also there refuse and decline from the iudgement of the sayd Archbyshoppe and his Colleagues, and did except agaynst their iurisdiction as suspect, and they thereby vnmeete persons to proceede agaynst hym, and therefore accordyng to his former appeale he intended to submitte himselfe vnder the tuition, protection and defence of the kynges Maiestie, for whose honour and reuerence sake (he sayd)MarginaliaBoner still sticketh to his former protestatiōs and prouocations.
Read more hereof in the Booke of Actes and Monumētes of the first edition pag. 721. they ought not to proceede any further agaynst him, but quietly suffer him to vse the benefite of all his recusations, prouocations, & other lawfull remedyes before alledged other superfluous wordes at large to be sene in the. 721. page of the Actes and Monumentes.

Notwithstandyng these recusations and former appellation, the Archbyshop with the rest told him playne that they would be still his Iudges, and proceede agaynst hym accordyng to the kynges Commission, vntill they dyd receaue a Supersedeas, whiche if he dyd obtayne, they would gladly obey.

MarginaliaAn other appellation of Boner to the king. Then the Byshop seyng that they would still proceede agaynst hym, dyd there lykewise intimate an other appellation vnto the Kynges Maiestie, expressyng therein in effect no other matter, but such as is already alledged in the two former recusations and appeale: sauyng that hee requireth that Letters dimissories or appellatories might be geuen him accordyng to law, and that for his better safegarde he did submitte himselfe vnder the protection of the kyng.

The Commissioners for all this, stucke still vnto their Commission, MarginaliaBoner standyng vpon his recusations and appellations denyeth to make aūswere.and would not in any case deferre, but vrged him straitly to make a more full aunswere to his Articles, then he had done.

To whom the Byshop sayd, that he would stand vnto his recusations and appellations before made, and would not make other aunswere.

Then the Delegates demaunded of him what cause he had to alledge why he ought not to be declared pro confesso, vpon the Articles whereunto he had not fully answered: the Byshop still aunsweryng (as before) that he would adhere vnto his appellation and recusation.MarginaliaBoner declared Contumax [illegible text] pro confesso, that is, giltye. Whereupon the Archbyshop with consent of the rest, seyng his pertinacie, pronounced him Contumax, and in payne therefore declared him pro confesso vpon all the Articles which he had not answered.

This done, Maister Secretary Smith shewed forth a letter, whiche the Byshoppe of London had before that tyme sent vnto the Lorde Maior and the Aldermen of the Citie of London, the tenour whereof ensueth as followeth.

MarginaliaBoners letter to the Lord Maior and Aldermen of London. RIght honorable, with my very humble recommendations, where I haue perceyued of late and heard with myne eares, what vyle beastes and heretickes haue preached vnto you, or rather lyke themselues, prated and rayled agaynst the most blessed Sacrament of the aulter, denying the veritie and presence of Christes true body and bloud to be there, geuyng you and the people libertie to beleue what ye lyst, teachyng you detestably that faith in this behalfe must not bee coacted, but euery man to beleue as he will, by reason whereof, lest my presence and silence might vnto some haue bene sene to haue allowed their hereticall doctrine and geuyng credite vnto them, betraying my flocke of the Catholicke sorte,MarginaliaBoner would not tarye M. Hoopers Sermon. ye knowe I departed yesterday from the hereticke praters vncharitable charitie, and so could haue wished that you and all other that be Catholicke should haue done, leauyng those there with hym that be already cast awaye, and wil not be recouered. For your tarying with hym still, shall not onely hurt your selfe in receauyng his poysoned doctrine, but also shall geue a visage that their doctrine is tolerable, by reason that ye are contented to heare it, and say nothyng agaynst it. And because I cannot tell when I shall speake with you, to aduertise you hereof, therfore I thought good for myne owne discharge and yours, thus much to write vnto you, requiryng and praying you agayne and agayne in Gods behalfe, and for myne owne discharge, that ye suffer not your selues to be abused with such naughty preachers and teachers in hearyng their euill doctrine that ye shall perceaue them to go about to sow. And thus our blessed Lord long and well preserue you all with this noble Citie, in all good rest, godlynes, and prosperitie. Written in hast this Monday mornyng the. xvi. of September. 1549.

Your faythfull beades man and poore
Byshop Edmond Boner.

This letter beyng read, the Secretary demaunded of hym whether he wrote it or not. To whom he would not otherwise answere, but that hee would still adhere and stand vnto his former recusations and appeales.MarginaliaBoner differed till the next Fryday, and from that till Tewsday after. Whiche the Commissions seyng, determined to continue this case in state as it was vntill Friday then next followyng, betwene the houres of viij. and. ix. of the clocke before noone, assignyng the Bishop to be thereat the same tyme and place, then to heare a finall decree of this matter, he still protestyng as before.

MarginaliaThe 7. Session or appearance of Boner. VPon Friday the Commissioners, for diuers vrgent causes lettyng them, dyd not sit in Commission accordyng to their appointment, but deferred it vntill Tewsday the first of October then nexte folowyng. Vpon whiche day the Byshop appearyng before them, the Archbyshop declared vnto hym, that although as vpon Friday last they had appointed to pronounce their finall Decree and Sentence in this matter, yet for as much as they thought that that