Marginalia1556. March.ly the contrary: that man must needes be taken for Antichrist. But vntill the tyme that such a person may be found, men may easely coniecture, where to finde Antichrist.

Wherfore, seing the pope thus, to ouerthrow both Gods lawes & mās lawes, taketh vpon him to make Emperours and Kyngs to be vassals & subiectes vnto him, specially the crowne of this Realme, with the lawes and customes of the same: MarginaliaNote this conclusion.I see no meane, how I may consent to admit this vsurped power within this Realme, contrary to myne othe, myne obedience to Gods law, myne allegeaunce & duety to your Maiestie, and my loue and affection to this Realme.

MarginaliaThe cause why the Archbishop spake and wrote thus.This that I haue spoken agaynst the power & authoritie of the Pope, I haue not spokē (I take God to record & iudge) for any malice I owe to the popes person, whom I know not, but I shal pray to God to giue him grace, that he may seeke aboue all things to promote Gods honor & glory, & not to folow þ^e trade of his predecessors in these latter dayes.

Nor I haue not spokē it for feare of punishment & to auoyde the same (thinking it rather an occasiō to aggrauate, thē to diminish my trouble): but I haue spoke it for my most boundē duety to the crowne, liberties, lawes & customes of this realme of England, but most specially to discharge my cōscience in vttering the truth to Gods glory, castyng away all feare, by the cōfort which I haue in Christ, who sayth: MarginaliaMath. 10.Feare not thē that kill the body, & can not kill the soule, but feare him that cā cast both body and soule into hell fire. He that for feare to lose this life, will forsake the truth, shal lose the euerlastyng life: And he that for the truthes sake wil spend his lyfe, shall finde euerlastyng life. And Christ promiseth to stand fast with them before his father, which will stand fast with him here. Which cōfort is so great, that who soeuer hath his eyes fixed vpon Christ, can not greatly passe on this lyfe, knowyng that he may be sure to haue Christ stand by him, in the presence of his father in heauen.

MarginaliaThe Sacrament.And as touchyng the Sacramēt, I sayd: For as much as the whole matter standeth in the vnderstandyng of these wordes of Christ: This is my body: This is my bloud: I sayd þ^t Christ in these words made demōstratiō of þ^e bread & wine & spake figuratiuely, callyng bread his body, & wyne his bloud, because he ordayned them to be Sacramentes of his body and bloud. MarginaliaA double errour of the Papistes in the wordes of the Sacrament.And where the Papistes say in those two pointes contrary vnto me, that Christ called not bread his body, but a substaunce vncertaine, nor spake figuratiuely: Herein I sayd, I would be iudged by the old Church, and whiche doctrine could bee proued the elder, that I would stand vnto.MarginaliaCranmer standeth to be iudged by the olde Church. And for asmuch as I haue alledged in my booke many old authours, both Greekes and Latines, which about a thousand yeares after Christ continually taught as I do: if they could bring forth but one old author, that sayth in these two pointes as they say, I offered vj. or vij. yeares ago, and do offer yet still, that I will geue place vnto them.

But when I bring forth any author that sayth in most playne termes, as I do, yet saith the other part, that the authours ment not so: as who should say, that the authours spake one thyng and ment cleane contrary. And vpon the other part when they can not finde any one author, that sayth in wordes as they say: yet say they, that the authours ment as they say. MarginaliaThe Papists not able to bring forth one olde author aboue a thousand yeares, to make with the Sacrament.Now, whether I or they speake more to the purpose here in, I referre me to the iudgement of all indifferent hearers: yea the old Church of Rome aboue a thousand yeares togethers, neither beleued nor vsed the Sacrament, as the Church of Rome hath done of late yeares.

For in the begynnyng, the Churche of Rome taught a pure and a sounde doctrine of the Sacrament. But after that the Churche of Rome fell into a new doctrine of transubstantiation: MarginaliaWith the substaunce the vse also chaunged of the Sacrament.with the doctrine they chaunged the vse of the Sacrament, contrary to that Christ commaunded, and the old Churche of Rome vsed aboue a thousand yeares. And yet to deface the old, they say that the new is the old: wherein for my part I am cōtent to stand to the triall. But their doctrine is so fonde and vncomfortable, that I maruaile that any man would allowe it, if he knew what it is. But whosoeuer they beare the people in hand, that whiche they write in their bookes hath neither truth nor comfort.

MarginaliaThe Papists make Christ two bodyes.MarginaliaNeither truth nor comfort in the Popes doctrine of the Sacrament.MarginaliaMarke the errours of the Papistes in their doctrine of the Sacrament.For by their doctrine, of one body of Christ is made two bodyes: one naturall, hauing distaunce of members, with forme and proportion of mans perfite body, and this body is in heauen: but the body of Christ in the Sacramēt, by their owne doctrine, must needes be a monstruous body, hauyng neither distaunce of members, nor forme, fashion or proportion of a mans natural body. And such a body is in the Sacrament (teach they) and goeth into the mouth with þ^e forme of bread, & entreth no farther then the forme of bread goeth, nor taryeth no longer then the forme of bread is by naturall heate in digestyng: So that when the forme of bread is digested, that body of Christ is gone. And for asmuch as euill men be as long in digestyng as good men, the body of Christ (by their doctrine) entreth as farre, and taryeth as long in

wicked men, as in godly men. And what cōfort can be herein to any Christian man, to receaue Christes vnshapen body, and it to enter no farther then the stomacke, and to depart by and by, as soone as the bread is consumed?

MarginaliaThe Protestants doctrine of the Sacrament more comfortable, then the doctrine of the Papistes.It seemeth to me a more sounde & comfortable doctrine, that Christ hath but one body, & that hath forme & fashion of a mās true body: which body spiritually entreth into the whole mā, body & soule: and though the Sacrament be consumed, yet whole Christ remayneth, & feedeth the receauer vnto eternall life, if he cōtinne in godlynes, and neuer departeth, vntill the receauer forsake him. And as for the wicked, they haue not Christ within thē at all, who cā not be where Beliall is. And this is my fayth, & (as me seemeth) a sound doctrine, accordyng to Gods word, & sufficiēt for a Christiā to beleue in that matter. And if it cā be shewed vnto me, that the popes authoritie is not preiudiciall to the thynges before mētioned, or that my doctrine in the Sacrament is erroneous (which I thinke cannot be shewed) then I was neuer nor will be so peruerse, to stād wilfully in myne own opiniō, but I shal with all humilitie submit my selfe vnto the pope, not onely to kisse his feete, but an other part also.

Another cause why I refused to take the bysh. of Glocester for my Iudge, was the respect of his own person, being more then once periured: MarginaliaAn other respect, why the Archb. refused Byshop Brokes to be his iudge.First, for that he being diuers times sworne neuer to cōsent that the bysh. of Rome should haue any iurisdictiō within this realme, but to take the king & his successours for supreme heades of this Realme, as by Gods lawes they be: contrary to that lawfull othe, the sayd Byshop sat then in Iudgement by authoritie from Rome: wherein he was periured, & not worthy to sit as a Iudge.

MarginaliaDouble periury of B. Brookes.The secōd periurie was, that he tooke his Byshopricke both of the Queenes maiestie & of the Pope, makyng to ech of them a solēne oth: Which othes be so cōtrary, that the one must needes be periured. And furthermore in swearyng to the Pope, to maintaine his lawes, decrees, cōstitutions ordinaunces, reseruations, and prouisions, he declareth him selfe an enemy to the imperiall crowne, and to the lawes and state of this Realme: whereby he declared himselfe not worthy to sit as a Iudge w^tin this Realme. And for these considerations I refused to take him for my Iudge.

¶ This was written in an other Letter to the Queene.  

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This letter was first printed during Mary's reign in The copy of certain letterssent to the quene... (Emden: 1556?), STC 5999. This letter was reprinted in every edition of the Acts and Monuments and in Letters of the Martyrs, pp. 15-16. BL, Lansdowne 389, fos. 222v-223r and ECL 260, fo. 265v are copies of this letter.

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MarginaliaA peece of an other letter to the Queene.I Learned by Doctour Martin, that at the day of your Maiesties coronation, you tooke an othe of obedience to the Pope of Rome, and the same tyme you tooke an other othe to this Realme, to maintayne the lawes, liberties, and customes of the same. And if your Maiestie did make an othe to the pope, I thinke it was according to the other othes, which he vseth to minister to Princes: whiche is to be obedient to him, to defend his person, to maintaine his authoritie, honour, lawes, landes, and priuiledges. MarginaliaContradiction in the Queenes othes, sworne both to the Realme, and to the Pope in one day.And if it be so (which I know not, but by reporte) then I beseech your Maiestie to looke vpon your othe made to the crowne and realme, and to expend and weigh the ij. othes together, to see how they do agree, & thē to do as your graces cōscience shall geue you: For I am surely perswaded, that willyngly your Maiestie wil not offend, nor do agaynst your conscience for nothyng.

But I feare me that there be cōtradictiōs in your othes, and that those whiche should haue informed your Grace throughly, did not their dueties therin. And if your Maiestie ponder the two othes diligētly, I thinke you shall perceiue you were deceiued: & then your highnes may vse the matter as God shall put in your hart. Furthermore, I am kept here from cōpany of learned men, frō bookes, frō counsaile, from pen and inke, sauyng at this tyme to write vnto your Maiestie: which all were necessarie for a man beyng in my case. Wherfore I beseech your Maiestie, that I may haue such of these as may stand with your Maiesties pleasure. And as for myne appearaunce at Rome, if your Maiestie will geue me leaue, I will appeare there. And I trust that God shall put in my mouth to defend his truth there, aswell as here. But I referre it wholy to your Maiesties pleasure.

¶ An other Letter of the Archbyshop to Doctour Martin, and Doctour Story.  

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This letter is printed in every edition of the Acts and Monuments but not in Letters of the Martyrs. BL, Lansdowne 389, fo. 223r-v and ECL 260, fo. 265v are copies of this letter.

MarginaliaHis letter to Doct. Martin, and Doct. Story.I Haue me commended vnto you. And as I promised, I haue sent my Letters vnto the Queenes Maiestie vnsigned: praying you to signe them and deliuer them with all speede. I might haue sent them by the Caryer sooner, but not surer. But hearyng Maister Bailiffe say, that he would goe to the Court on Friday, I thought him a meete Messenger to send my Letters by. For better is later and surer, then sooner and neuer to be deliuered. Yet one thyng I haue written to the Queenes Maiestie inclosed and sealed: which I require you, may be so deliuered without delay, &