MarginaliaAnno. 1557. September.is agreeable to Gods word. And where as you doe lay vnto my charge that I should deny the wordes of our Sauiour Iesus Christe: oh good Lorde, from whence commeth this rash, hasty, and vntrue iudgement? Forsooth not from the spirite of truth: for he leadeth men into all truth, and is not the father of lyers. Wheruppon should your Lordship gather or say of me so diffamously? wherefore I besech you, if I deny the Scriptures canonicall, or any part thereof, then let me dye.MarginaliaSyr Thomas Tye, lately turned to his vomet, thirsteth for bloud.Tye the Priest. My Lord, he is a very sedicious fellow, and perswadeth other men to doe as he hymselfe doth, contrary to the order appointed by the Queenes highnes and the Clergie of this Realme. For a great sort of the parish will be gathered one day to one place, and an other day to an other place to heare hym: so that very few commeth to the churche to heare diuine seruice: and this was not onely before that he was taken and brought vnto the Councell, but also since his returne home againe, he hath doone muche harme. For where both men and women were honestlye disposed before, by Saint Anne, now are they as ill as he almoste. And furthermore, he was not ashamed to withstand me before all the Parishe, saiyng that we were of the malignant churche of Antichrist, and not of the true churche of Christe, alleadging a great many of Scriptures to serue for his purpose, saying: good people, take heede, and beware of these bloudthirsty dogges. &c. And then I commaunded the Constable to apprehend hym, and so hee did. Neuerthelesse after this apprehension, the Constable let hym goe about his busines all the nexte daie, so that without puttyng in of suerties hee let hym go into Suffolke and other places, for no goodnes, I warrant you my Lord: it were almes to teache such officers their duetie, how they should let suche rebels go at their owne libertie, after that they bee apprehended and taken, but to keepe them faste in the stockes vntill they bryng them before a Iustice.

Rafe. As I sayd before, so say I now againe: thou art not of the church of Christ, and that will I proue, if I may bee suffered. And where you sayde, that you commaunded the Constable to apprehend mee, you did so in deede, MarginaliaAllerton apprehended, contrary to the lawes of the realme.contrary to the Lawes of this Realme, hauing neither to lay vnto my charge, Treason, Fellony, nor murther: no neither had you Precept, Proces, nor warrant to serue on me, and therefore I saye, without a law was I apprehended. And whereas you seeke to trouble the Constable because hee kept mee not in the stockes three daies and three nightes, it doth shewe a parte what you are. And my goyng into Suffolke was not for any euill, but onely to bye halfe a bushel of corne for bread for my poore wife and children, knowing that I had no longer tyme to tary with them. But if I had runne away, then you woulde surely haue layd somewhat to his charge.

Boner. Go to, thou art a Marchaunt in deede. Ah syrrha, before God thou shalt bee burnt with fire. Thou knowest Richard Roth, doest thou not? Is he of the same mynde that thou art of or no? canst thou tell.

Rafe. He is of age to aunswere: lette hym speake for himselfe: for I heare say that he is in your house.

Boner. Lo what a knaue here is. Go Cluny, fetche mee Roth hither. By my trouth he is a false knaue: but yet thou art woorse then he. Ah syrrha, did not you set your hand to a writing, the tenure wherof was, that if thou should at any tyme say or doe heretically, MarginaliaAllerton charged with Relaps.then it should be lawfull for me to take thee as a Relaps, and to proceede in sentence against thee?

Rafe. Yea, that is so. But here is to be asked whether it be sufficient, that my hand or name writyng be able to geue authoritie to you or to any other to kil me. For if I, by writyng my name can doe so muche, then must my authoritie be greater then yours. Neuerthelesse, I haue neither said nor doone heretically, but like a true christen man haue I behaued my selfe. And so I was committed into prison agayne, and the. xxiiij. day of the same moneth, I was brought before the Bishoppe, the Lorde North, D. Story, and others, and after a long talke in latine amongest themselues (vnto the which I gaue no aunswere, because they spake not to mee, although they spake of me) at the last the Bishop said:

Boner. Howe saye you syrrha? tell mee brieflye at one worde, wilt thou bee contented to go to Fulham with me, and there to kneele thee downe at Masse, shewyng thy self outwardly as though thou didst it with a good will? Go to, speake.

Rafe. I will not say so.

Boner. Awaie with hym, awaie with hym.

MarginaliaAllert? brought againe before Boner and certaine Lordes.The seconde daie of Maie I was brought before the Bishop, and three noble men of the counsell, whose names I doe not remember.

Boner. Loe my lordes, this same is the fellowe that was sent vnto me from the Counsell, and did submitte hym self, so that I had halfe a hope of hym: but by S. Anne I was alwaies in doubt of hym. Neuerthelesse he was with me, and fared well, and when I deliuered hym, I gaue hym money in his purse. How saiest thou? was it not so, as I tell my lordes here?

Rafe. In deede my Lorde, I had meate and drinke enough: but I neuer came in bed all the while. And at my departyng you gaue me. xij. d. how be it I neuer asked none, nor would haue doen.

A lorde. Bee good to hym my Lorde. He will bee an honest man.

Boner. Before God, how should I truste hym? He hath once deceiued me already. But ye shall heare what he will saie to the blessed Sacrament of the altar. How saie you sirha? after the wordes of consecration be spoken by the priest, there remaineth no bread, but the verie bodie of our sauiour Iesus Christ, God and man, and none other substaunce, vnder the forme of bread?

Rafe. Where finde you that, my lorde, written?

Boner. Lo sir. Why? Doeth not Christe saie: This is my bodie? Howe saiest thou? Wilte thou deny these wordes of our Sauiour Christ? Or els, was he a dissembler, speakyng one thyng, and meanyng an other? Goe to, now I haue taken you.

Rafe. Yea my Lorde, you haue taken me in deede, and will keepe me vntill you kill me. MarginaliaTransubstantiation.Howe bee it my lorde, I maruaile why you leaue out the beginnyng of the institution of the supper of our Lorde? For Christ saied: Take ye, and eate ye, this is my bodie. And if it wil please you to ioyne the former woordes to the latter, then shall I make you an answere. For sure I am that Christ was no dissembler, neither did he saie one thing, and meane an other.

Boner. Why? Then muste thou needes saie, that it is his bodie: for he saieth it hym self, and thou confessest, that he will not lye.

Rafe. No my Lorde: he is true, and all menne are liers. Notwithstandyng, I vtterly refuse to take the woordes of our Sauiour, so fantastically as you teach vs to take them: for then should wee conspire with certaine heretickes, called the Nestorians: for they deny that Christ had a true natural body, & so me thinke you doe, my lorde. If you will affirme his bodie to be there, as you saie he is, then muste you needes also affirme, that it is a fantasticall bodie, and not a true naturall bodie, and therefore looke to it for Gods sake, and let these woordes goe before: Take ye, and eate ye: without whiche wordes the rest are not sufficient: but when the worthie receiuers doe take an eate, euen then is fulfilled the woordes of our Sauiour, vnto hym, or euery of them, that so receiueth.

Boner. Ah, I see well thou canste not vnderstande these wordes: I will shewe thee a parable. MarginaliaBishoppe Boners parable.If I should set a pece of beefe before thee & saie, eate: is it no beefe? and then take part of it awaie, & sende it to my Cooke, and he shall chaunge the fashion thereof, and make it looke like bread. What wouldest thou say that it were no beefe, because it hath not the fashion of beefe?

Rafe. Let me vnderstande a little further my lorde: shall the Cooke adde nothyng thereunto, nor take nothyng therefrom?

Boner. What is that to the matter, whether he doe or no, so longe as the shape is chaunged into an other likenesse?

Rafe. Ah, will you so my Lorde? your Sophistrie will not serue: the truthe will haue the victorie, neuertheles, as Esay saith: MarginaliaEsay. lix.He that restraineth hym self from euill, must be spoyled. And Amos hath suche like woordes also. MarginaliaAmos. v.For the wise must be faine to hold their peace: so wicked a tyme it is, saieth he. Neuerthelesse he that can speake the truthe, and will not, shall giue a straite accountes for the same.

A Doctor. By my lordes leaue, here me thinkes thou speakest like a foole. Wilte thou bee a iudge of the Scripture? Naie thou muste stande to learne, and not to teache: for the whole congregation hath determined the matter long agoe.

A Priest. No by your leaue, we haue a Churche, and not a Congregation. You mistake that woorde, Maister Doctor.