ous, and that he could not be otherwise, comming out of a towne so infected with pernitious errours & sects as that was, was willed by them to take good heede to himselfe, least through obstinacy he turned his erroneous opinions to playne heresie: for an errour defended, is heresie.

MarginaliaThe aunswere of Rafe Hare.My good Lordes sayde the poore man, I take God to recorde, I woulde not willingly maintayne an errour or heresie, wherefore I beseech you, let my accusers come face to face before me. For if they charge me with that whyche I haue spoken, I will neuer denye it. Moreouer, if it be truth, I will stand vnto it, and otherwise if it be an errour, I will with all my hart vtterly forsake it, I meane if it be against Gods holy worde. For the Lorde is my witnes, I seeke, and dayly pray to God, that I may know the truth, and flee from all errours, and I trust the Lorde will saue me, and preserue me from them.

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A ha, quoth the Bishop of Winchester, do you not heare what he saith my Lord? I perceiue now thou art a naughty fellow. Alas my Lord, sayd Rafe Hare, what euill sayd I? Mary Syr, you sayd, the Lord, the Lord, and that is, Symbolum hæreticorum, sayde Winchester.MarginaliaWinchesters cauillation abou-the Lord and, our Lord. What is that my Lord, for Gods sake tell me, sayde Hare? Thou art nought, thou art nought, sayd he. At which words þ^e simple man began to tremble, and seemed much dismayde and driuen into a great agony and feare. Which thing Winchester wel perceiuing, said vnto him: Rafe Hare, Rafe Hare, by my trouth I pitie thee much. For in good faith, I thinke thee to be a good simple man, & of thy selfe wouldest meane well enough, but that thou hast had shrewd and subtile schoolemaisters, that haue seduced thee good poore simple soule, and therefore I pitie thee: and it were in deede pitie that thou shouldest be burnt, for thou art a good fellow, a tall man, and hast serued þ^e King right well in his warres.  

I haue heard thee well commended, and thou art yet able to do the King as good seruice as euer thou wast, and we all will be a meane to his grace to be good and gracious Lord vnto thee, if thou wilt take pitie of thy selfe, and leaue thy errours. For I dare say for vs all, that be Commissioners, that we would be loth that thou should be cast away. For alas poore simple man, we perceiue thou hast bene seduced (I say) by others.

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How sayest thou therefore? thou knowest my Lorde of Canterburies grace here is a good gentle Lord, and would be lothe thou shouldst be cast away. Tell me, canst thou be cōtent to submit thy selfe vnto him, and to stand vnto such order, as he and we shall take in this matter? The poore man therewith falling vpon his knees, and sheeding teares, aunswered, speaking to the Archbishop of Canterbury in this wise: My good lord, for Christes sake be good vnto me, and I referre my selfe vnto your graces order, do with me what you please.

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The Bishop of Canterbury, considering what daunger he was ready to fall in, & pitieng the same (though the simplicitie of þ^e man was so great, that he perceiued it not) sayd, MarginaliaThe wordes of the Archb. of Cant. to Hare.nay Rafe Hare, stand vp, & aduise thy selfe, and commit not thy selfe to me, for I am but one man, and in Commission but as the other are, so that it lieth in me to do nothing. But if thou do commit thy selfe vnto all, then thou committest thy selfe vnto the law, and the law is ordained to do euery mā right. Go to Raph Hare, said Winchester, submit thy selfe to my Lord and vs: it is best for thee to doo so. Whereupon he fell vpon his knees again, and said: My Lordes and maisters all, I submitte my selfe wholy vnto you. And therwithall a booke was holden him, and an oth geuen him to be obedient vnto them, and to all Ecclesiasticall lawes: MarginaliaPennance inioyned to Rafe Hare.and straightway he was enioyned to abiure, and to beare a fagot three seuerall dayes, & moreouer, the poore man lost the liuing that he had at Calice.

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This simple man hearing his penance, piteously lamented, and earnestly at the firste denied to stande thereunto, with piteous exclamation, sayeng: O my Lord of Winchester, my Lorde of Winchester, haue you made me a logge ready to be layde vpon the fire, whensoeuer anye wicked man falsly of malice, by prouocation of the deuill, shall lay any small trifle to my charge? Or shall I be thus handled, nothing proued to my face against me? Alas, I haue alwayes hated errours and heresies. Content thy selfe Hare: there is now no remedy, thou must eyther do thy penance, or be burnt, sayd the Cōmissioners. Thus haue you heard how Ralph Hare did speede.

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MarginaliaThe examinatiō and trouble of Tho. Broke.Then was Thomas Broke called for, against whome it was obiected by some of the Counsels letters of Calice, that he was a seditious fellow. MarginaliaAccusers of Tho. Broke.Among these accusers besides the rest, was one Richard Long, an other Fraunces Hastings, men of armes, who charged þ^e forenamed Tho.mas Broke, and one Geffray Loueday Esquire, MarginaliaFalse accusatiō.for staying and mainteining the foresayde Adam Damlyp at Calice: as who had promised vnto him a stipend to preachesuch heresies and pernitious opinions, as afterwarde hee taught there: and that these two daily gathered many seueral summes of money, for the entertainement of the said Adam. Howbeit, the foresaid Hastings failed in the proofe thereof. For Loueday proued that he was viij. daies before Damlips comming to Calice, and during xiiij. daies continually after he began to preach, abiding at Paris, there occupied aboute necessary affaires of Charles Duke of Southfolke. And Broke during the sayde time, was at London daily attendant in the Parliament house, wherof he had enough to beare witnes, against þ^t vntrue surmise.

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MarginaliaThree other accusers against Tho. Broke, and Geffrey Loueday.After that, came three at once against the sayd Broke, well armed as they thought, who had not onely consulted together before of the matter, and put it in writing at Calice, beside their conference and talke by the way keepyng company from thence hether, but also had obtained from the Lord Deputie and others of the Counsell, speciall letters as is aforesaid: and among other, one letter vnto the Bishop of Chichester for the earnest and speedy furtherāce of the aduancement of their accusations against Brooke.

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MarginaliaPayron the first accuser.The first of these three was a young Gentleman lately brought vp vnder the said Brooke in the office of custome, whose name was Edmund Payton  

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MarginaliaR. Poole the second accuser.The other was one Robert Poole, a man (as it was commonly reported) both base borne, and also such a one, as in his youth for murthering a man with a clubbe in Bow lane in London, was faine by obtaining the Kings pardon, to saue his necke  

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MarginaliaThomas Boyse the third accuser.The third was one Tho. Boyse, who shewyng more honesty then the rest, affirmed not that he himselfe heard þ^e sayd Broke speake any thing of that whiche was obiected against him, but iustified that either of the other two had stedfastly affirmed to him, that Broke had spoken vnto them those things heere vnder obiected against him.

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MarginaliaThe deposition of the first witnes agaynst T. Broke.The yong man first obiected againste the sayde Broke, that he should say that the thing which the Priest vseth to hold vp ouer his head at Masse, is not the natural body of Iesu Christ: for if that were so, who so would, might haue their belly ful of Gods, their guts ful of Gods, and he that had lately receiued the Sacrament before he wente to the Sea, might happely vomit God vp againe on shypboord.

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And thus much he brought ouer in writing wyth hym from Calice, and added thereto, as it should seeme, to exasperate the Commissioners and the rest of the Cleargy against him, certaine other heynous words spoken against Byshops and Priestes. Whiche wordes the sayd Broke there denied, confessing neuerthelesse that certaine priuate talke he had with him touching the Sacrament,MarginaliaThe priuate talke of T. Broke and Payton. touching the Sacrament. wherein he shewed to the yong man the right vse of the same, concluding, that albeit with our mouthes we receyued very materiall bread and wine, yet by faith, all Christian mē do receiue, eate, and drinke, to their great comfort and benefite, the very natural body and bloud of Christ, which was both borne of the virgine Mary, and suffered death on the Crosse for the remission of their sinnes: which most holye Sacrament, who so came vnworthely vnto, the same was so farre from the eating of Christes body and bloude, that all such (without hartie repentaunce) do eate their owne damnation. And to conclude with him in that priuate talk he told him, that if the grosse & vnlearned errour of transubstantiation, were in deede matter of truth and sincere doctrine, then not only this should follow of it, that euery mā who would, might haue euerlasting life (for they might when they woulde receiue the outward Sacrament, seene with our eyes, whiche the Priestes call Christes naturall body, and who so eateth Christes body, and drinketh hys bloud, hath euerlasting lyfe, sayeth Christ) but also there should great absurdities follow therby, as whē a mā hapneth to go to the sea, hauing lately receiued the sacrament, he should put it ouer boorde, or do it on the hatches, & therfore exhorted the said Payton to leaue that grosse errour.

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The second accuser was Poole, who obiected agaynste him, MarginaliaPooles accusation agaynst Broke.that about two yeares past, he himselfe dining wyth the sayd Brooke, with xv. or xvj. other honest men, heard him thus say at the table, that the thing which the Priestes vse to hold vp ouer their heads, was not the very bodye and bloud of Christ, but a sacrament to put vs in remembrance thereof. Vnto whose obiections the said Broke answered, that a man in mirth might well enough with charitie beshrewe suche a guest, as when he had dined wyth a man, could so lōg after remember to say him such a grace: and required of Poole, of whence the rest of the guestes were. He aunswered they were of the towne all. Then inferred he, that he was sure Poole could as well remember some of their names which then were present, as freshly to keepe in mind (for so by oth vpon a booke he had affirmed) euery word of the whole matter which he obiected: but for that the matter was vtterly vntrue. Whereupon,

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