1583 Edition | Book 7 | Page 886 
Close[Wittenberge; Wyttenberge]
Saxony, Germany
Coordinates: 51° 52' 0" N, 12° 39' 0" E
Capital of the duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg; university town
forbid vnlawful vsuries and gaines of mony, but also suffer and maintaine the same. Moreouer, they taking a yerely stipend and pension, do suffer the Clergy and other religious persons vnlawfully to dwel with their concubines and harlots, and to beget children by them. Bothe whych things, howe great pearil, offence and detriment they doe bring bothe vnto body and soule, euery man may plainely see (so that it neede not to be rehearsed) except he wil make himselfe as blinde as a mole.
[Back to Top]FVuthermore, where it so happeneth (as it doeth oftentymes) that either the good manne or the good wife, by meanes of warre or some other vowe, hath taken in hande some long iourney, and so tarieth longer then serueth the appetite of the other, the Officiall taking a rewarde of the other, geueth licence to the party to dwell wyth any other person, not hauing first regard or making inquisitiō whether the husbād or wife being absent, be in health or dead: and because these their doings shoulde not be euill spoken of, they name it a tolleration or sufferaunce, not without greate offence vnto all men, and to the great contempte of holy matrimonie.
[Back to Top]MarginaliaThe practise in chapters of cathedral church-ches to make the byshop sworne vnto them.THis is also vnlawfull and plainly wicked, that the Canons of Cathedrall Churches, in whose hand the principal part of Ecclesiastical iudgements, Sinodes, and censures do consist, and the Canons of other collegiate churches, which haue power and authoritie to chuse theyr Superiour and Bishop, will chuse none to their Bishop, except he binde himself first with an oth, and plainly sweare, yet and oftentimes is bound by bond and instrumēts sealed wyth their seales to them and their Ecclesiasticall iudges, þt in no matter, be it neuer so greuous, intollerable, or dishonest, he shall not be against them: and if it happen at any time that they doe offend, they may do it also wythout punishment for him.
[Back to Top]MarginaliaThe incōueniēce of improperations.MAny parish churches are subiect vnto monasteries, & to the persons of other churches, by meanes of incorporations (as they call them) or otherwise, whych they are bound also, according to the canon lawes, to foresee & looke vnto, by themselues, when as they do put them foorth vnto others to be gouerned, reseruing for the moste parte vnto themselues, the whole stipende of the benefices and tithes: and moreouer, aggrauate & charge the same wyth so great pensions, that the hireling priestes and other ministers of the Church, can not haue thereupon a decent or competent liuing: whereby it commeth to passe, that these hirelynge priestes (for that they must needes haue wherupon to liue) doe with vnlawfull exactions, miserably spoil and deuour the poore sheepe committed vnto them, & consume all theyr substaunce. For when as the Sacramentes of the aultare and of Baptisme are to be administred, or when the firste, the seuenth, the thirtie, and yeare day must be kept, when auricular confession cōmeth to be heard, the dead to be buried, or any other ceremony whatsoeuer, about the funerall is to be done: MarginaliaCruell exactiō. of the people by churchmen.they will not do it freely, but extort and exact so much mony, as the miserable communalty is scarse able to disbourse, and daily they do encrease and augment these their exactions, driuing the simple pouerty to the payment therof, by threatning them with excommunication, or by other waies, cōpelling them to be at charge: which otherwise through pouerty, are not able to maintein obsequies, yere mindes, and suche other like ceremonies, as to the funerals of the dead be appertaining.
[Back to Top]MarginaliaGaine gotten by selling burials.IT is ordained by the Popes Canons, that buriall in the Church should be denied onely vnto them, whych being known to be manifest & notorious offenders, haue departed this life wtout receiuing of the sacrament. But the clergie not regarding those decrees, will not suffer suche as by chaunce drowned, killed, slaine with falles, or fire, or o-therwise by chance haue ended their liues (albeit it be not euident, that they were in deadly sinne) to be buryed in the churches, vntill such time, as the wiues, children, or frends of those men so dead, do with great summes of money purchase and buy the burial of them in the Churchyard.
[Back to Top]MarginaliaConcubines permitted for money and chast priestes cōpelled to pay tribute for concubines.ALso in many places, the bishops & their Officials do not only suffer Priestes to haue concubines, so that they paye certayne summes of money, but also compell continent and chast Priestes, which liue without concubines, to paye tribute for concubines, affirming that the B. hath neede of money, which being payde, it shalbe lawfull for them, either to liue chast or keepe concubines. Howe wicked a thing this is, euery man doeth well vnderstande and knowe.
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CloseFoxe drew this brief narrative of what happened after the complaints were presented to the papal legate at the Diet of Nuremburg (1522) and of Cardinal Campeggio's legation to Germany from Johannes Sleidan, A famouse cronicle of our time, called Sleidanes Commentaries, trans. John Daus (London, 1560), STC 19848, fos. 45r-46v.
[Back to Top]In this meane time Pope Adrian died.MarginaliaThe death of Pope Adrian. After him succeded pope Clemēt 7.MarginaliaPope Clement 7. Who the next yere folowing, whych was An. 1524. sent downe his Legate Cardinall Campeius,MarginaliaCardinall Campeius the Popes Legate into Germanye. vnto the Councel of the Germane Princes assembled againe at Norenberge, about the moneth of March, with letters also to duke Friderick, full of many faire petitions, and sharp complaints. &c. But as touching the greuances aboue mentioned, no word nor message at al was sent, neither by Campeius, nor by any other. Thus, where anye thing was to be complained of againste Luther, eyther for suppression of the liberty of the Gospel, or for vpholding of the Popes dignity, the Pope was euer ready with al diligence, to cal vpō the Princes:MarginaliaThe Pope onely seeketh his own dignitie, but publicke reformation he neuer tendreth. but where any redresse was to be required, for the publicke wealth of Christen people, or touching the necessary reformation of the church, herein the Pope neither geueth eare, nor answere.
[Back to Top]And thus hauing discoursed such matters occurrēt betwene the Pope & Princes of Germany, at the Synode of Norenberge, let vs now proceede, returning againe to the story of Luther:
CloseIn the 1563 edition, the conclusion of Foxe's account of Luther can be divided into three parts. The first is an account of Luther's death, translated from Melanchthon's funeral sermon, as translated by Henry Bennet (see A famous and godly history contayning the lyves a[nd] actes of three renowned reformers…, trans. Henry Bennet (London, 1561), STC 1881, sigs. F8v-G1r). The second was a long account of the pontificate of Leo X translated from Bale's Catalogus. And the third part is a brief summary, of Foxe's composition, on the increasing papal corruption of the Church during the Middle Ages and praising Luther for bringing light into the depths of this darkness.In the 1570 edition, the second and third parts of this initial account were dropped. Material from Sleidan's Commentaries and Caspar Hedio's continuation of Burchard of Ursburg's chronicle was added to the account to provide a narrative of Luthers's dispute with Karlstadt on iconoclasm and Luther's dispute with Zwingli over the Eucharist. Since Foxe sided with Luther on neither issue, he distanced himself from the Reformer, warning readers that Luther's opinion and example were not to be slavishly followed, such as his opposition to iconoclasm (Foxe endorsed iconoclasm). But Foxe also made clear his very considerable admiration for Luther, based especially on his regard for Luther as a spiritual physician to troubled souls, on Luther's courage in defying the papacy and for being the first person to articulate a theology of justification by faith. By the end of the account, Foxe despite his theological differences with Luther, ends up crediting him with quasi-miraculous powers.
[Back to Top]Thomas S. Freeman
University of Sheffield
CloseI.e., the banning of Luther's works and the order for his arrest (after his safe conduct had expired) issued by Charles V at the Diet of Worms.
CloseThe account of Luther's quarrel with Carlstadt over images is drawn from Johannes Sleidan, A famouse cronicle of our time, called Sleidanes Commentaries, trans. John Daus (London, 1560), STC 19848, fos. 35v-36r and 45r-v.
CloseAndreas Bodenstein von Carlstadt (c. 1480-1541), often known simply as Carlstadt, became a leading and extreme Lutheran. In 1518, he had been an important and outspoken ally of Luther's but Carlstadt eventually fell out with him.
Furthermore, Luther wryting of Carolostadius, affirmeth that he also ioyned with the sentēce of them, which began to spread about certaine parts of Saxony, saying that they were taught of God, that al wickednes being vtterlye suppressed, and all the wicked doers slaine, a newe full perfection of all thyngs must be sette vp, and the innocent onely to enioy all things. &c.
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