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443 [419]

K. Edward. 3. The law of premunire. Briget. Catherine. The prophesie of Katherine.

yeare of his graundfather Edward the first, wherein was made an act  

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This is the first statute of Provisors (1351), which barred any foreigner, particularly the pope, from appointing clergy to English benefices.

against þe rauenous pillage of the Pope, thorough the same prouisions, reseruations, & collations. &c. but not put in execution. By the which prouisions, þe state of the realme decreased more and more, the kings royaltie & prerogatiue greatly obscured and diminished, innumerable treasure of the realme transported, aliens & straungers placed in the best and fattest byshoprickes, abbeyes, and benefices within the realme. And such, as eyther for their offices in Rome, as Cardinalships & such like could not be here resident, or if resident, yet better away for causes infinite, as partly haue bene touched before: Not onely reuiued the sayd statute made by Edward the first hys graundfather, but also inlarged the same  
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This is the first statute of Praemunire (1353), which forbade appeals from English courts to Rome.

. MarginaliaThe law of premunire with the penaltie thereof.Adding therunto very strayt and sharpe penalties against the offenders therin, or in any part therof, as exemptiō out of the kings protection, losse of al their lands, goods, and other possessions, and theyr bodies to be imprisoned at the kings pleasure: And farther, who so euer was lawfully conuict, or othewise for want of appearance by proces directed forth, were wythin the lappes of this statute or premunire (for so bare the name therof) shuld suffer al and euery such molestation & iniuries, as men exempted frō the protection of the king. In so much, that who so euer had killed such mē, had bene in no more daunger of lawe therefore, then for the killing of an outlaw, or one not worthy to liue in a commō weale. Lyke vnprofitable members were they then in that tyme, yea of ignoraunce estecined in thys common weale of Englande, as would offer themselues to the wilfull slauery and servile obedience of the pope: which thyng in these dayes, yea and that amōgst no small fooles, is coūted more than Euangelicall holynes. He that list to peruse the statute, and would see euery braunch and article therof at large discussed and handled, wyth the penalties therfore due: Let him read the statute of prouision and premunire, made in the 25. yeare of thys kynges dayes. And let hym read in the statutes made in the parliamentes holden the 27, yeare, and 38. yeare of hys raigne: MarginaliaThe Popes primacie here in englād bridled.And vnder the same title of prouision and premunire shall finde, the popes primacie and iurisdiction wythin this Realme more nearely touched, and much of hys papall power restrayned: In so much, that who soeuer for any cause or controuersy in law, either spirituall or temporal, þe same being determinable in any of þe kyngs courts (as all matters were) whether they were personall or reall, citations or other: or should eyther appeale or consent to any appellation, to be made out of the realme to the pope or see of Rome: should incurre the sayd penaltie and daunger of premunire. Diuers other matters wherein the Pope is restrained of his vsurped power, authoritie & iurisdiction within this realme of England: are in the sayd titles and statutes expressed, & at large set forth, who euer list to peruse the same, which for breuities sake I omitte, hastening to other matters.

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MarginaliaS. Bridget. About this tyme,  

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Foxe's account of St. Bridget of Sweden is taken from Matthias Flacius, Catalogus testium veritatis (Strausburg, 1562), p. 528.

being the yeare of our Lorde. 1370. lyued holy Brigit, whom the Church of Rome hath canonised not onely for a saint, but also for a Prophetesse: who notwithstanding in her booke of reuelations, MarginaliaEx lib. reuelationum. Diua Bridgitta.which hath bene oft times imprinted, was a great rebuker of the pope, and of the filth of his clergie, callyng him a murtherer of soules, a spiller, and a pyller of the flocke of Christ: more abhominable then Iewes, more crueller thē Iudas: more vniust then Pilate, worse then Lucifer hymselfe. The see of the Pope she prophesieth, shalbe throwne down into the deepe, lyke a mylstone. And that his assister shall burne wt brimstone: Affirmyng, that the prelates, byshops, & priests are the cause, why the doctrine of Christ is neglected, and almost extincted. And that the clergie haue turned the ten commaundementes of God into two wordes, to wyt, Da pecuniam, MarginaliaDa pecuniam.that is, Geue money. It were long and tedious to declare all that she against them writeth. Among the rest which I omytte, let this suffice for all, where as the sayde Briget affirmeth in her reuelations, that is when the holy Virgine should say to her sonne, MarginaliaRome a fertile grounde of weedes & cockle.howe Rome was a fruitfull and fertile field: yea, sayd hee, but of weedes onely and cockle. &c.

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MarginaliaCatherina Senensis. To thys Briget I will ioyne also Catherina Senensis, an holy virgin  

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Foxe's account of St. Catherine of Siena is taken from Matthias Flacius, Catalogus testium veritatis (Strausburg, 1562), p. 523.

which lyued much about the same tyme, ann. 1379. MarginaliaEx Antonino. part. 3. histor. Of whome writeth Antoninus. part. historiæ. 3. Thys Katherine hauyng the spirite of prophesie, was wōt much to complaine of the corrupt state of the church, namely of the prelates of the court of Rome, & of the pope: prophesying before of the great schisme, which then folowed in the Church of Rome, and dured to the Councell of Constance, the space of xxxix, yeares. Also of the great warres and tribulation, which ensued vpon the same. And moreouer declared before and foretold, of this so excellēt reformation of religion in the Church now present. The words of Antoninus be these. MarginaliaThe reformatiō of religion prophecied of before.After this Virgine in her going to Rome, had tolde her brother of the warres and tumultes that should rise in þe coūtries about Rome, after þe schisme of the two Popes. I then curious to know of thinges to come, & knwoing that she vnderstood by reuelation what should happen, demaunded of her: I pray you (good mother) sayd I, and what shall befall after these troubles in the Church of God? And she sayd: MarginaliaThe prophecie of Katherine.By these tribulations and afflictions, after a secret maner vnknowne vnto man, God shall purge his holy Church, and stirre vp the spirit of his elect. MarginaliaNote. And after these thinges shall follow suche a reformation of the holy Churche of God, and suche a renouation of holye Pastors, that the onelye cogitation and remembraunce thereof maketh my spirit to reioyce in the Lord And as I haue oftentimes tolde you heretofore, the spouse which now is all deformed and ragged, shall be adorned and deckt with most rich and precious ouches and brouches. And all the faythfull shall be glad and reioyce to see themselues so beautified with so holy shepheards. Yea and also the Infidels then allured by the sweet sauour of Christ, shall returne to the catholicke folde, and be conuerted to the true Bishop and shepheard of their soules. Geue thankes therefore to God; for after this storme, he will geue to his a great calme. And after she had thus spoken, she stayed, and sayd no more.

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Beside these aforenamed, the Lord which neuer ceaseth to worke in his Church  

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Anti-papal writers

This section describing various late medieval anti-papal writers isdrawn entirely from Matthais Flacius, Catalogus testium veritatis and John Bale's Catalogus. Listing these writers not only underlined putative papal corruption, it also suggested that there were members of the True Church before Luther. Foxe often garbles the names or details of this figures, sometimes beyond recognition, because he knew nothing about them beyond what he read in Flacius. Yet, by including these figures, Foxe not only showed - to his own satisfaction at least - that there was a church before Luther, but that it included prominent and educated figures from all countries.

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Thomas S. Freeman
University of Sheffield

: styrred vp agaynst the malignant church of Rome, the spirites of diuers other good & godly teachers, as Matthias Parisiensis, MarginaliaMathias Parisiensis a writer against the pope.a Bohemian borne  
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This is actually John of Paris, who was French, not Bohemian. Foxe is simply repeating Matthias Flacius, Catalogus testium veritatis (Strausburg, 1562), pp.523-4.

, who about the yeare of our Lord 1370. wrote a large book of Antechrist, and proueth him already come, MarginaliaAntichrist alreadie come.and noteth þe Pope to be the same. Which booke one Illiricus a writer in these our dayes hath, & promiseth to put it in print.  
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This volume never appeared in print.

MarginaliaThe doctrine & protestation of Mathias.In this booke he doth greaty inuey against the wickednesse and filthines of the Clergy, and agaynst the neglecting of theyr duety in gouerning the church. The Locustes mentioned in the Apocalips, he sayth, be the hypocrites raigning in the church. The workes of Antechrist he sayth be these, the fables and inuentions of men raigning in the Church: the Images & fained reliques that are worshipped euery where. Itē, that men do worship euery one his proper Saint and Sauior beside Christ, so that euery mā and City almost hath his diuers and peculiar Christ. He taught and affirmed moreouer, that godlines & true worship of God, are not boūd to place, persons, or times, to be heard more in this place, thē in an other, at this time more thē at an other. &c. He argueth also agaynst the cloisterers which leauing the onely and true Sauior, set vp to them selues theyr Franciscanes, theyr Dominickes, and suche other: and haue them for theyr Sauiors, glorying and triumphing in them, and fayning many forged lyes vpon them. He was greatly and much offended with Monks & friers, for neglecting or rather burying the word of Christ and in stead of him, for celebrating & setting vp theyr own rules and canons, affirming it to be much hurtfull to true godlines, for that Priestes, Mokes, and Nunnes do account themselues onely spirituall, and all other to be lay & secular, attributing onely to themselues the opinion of holynes, & contemning other men, with al theyr politick administration & the office as prophane in cōparison of theyr owne. He further writeth that Antechrist, hath seduced all Vniuersities & Colleges of learned men, so that they teach no sincere doctrine, neither geue any light to the Christiās with theyr teaching. Finally, he forewarneth that it will come to passe, that God yet once againe will raise vp godly teachers, who being feruent in the spirite and zeale of Helias, shall disclose and refute the errors of Antechrist, and Antechrist himselfe, openly to the whole world. This Mathias in the sayd booke of Antechrist alledgeth the sayinges and writinges of the Vniuersity of Paris, also the writings of Guilielmus de sācto amore, and of Militzius afore noted.

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MarginaliaIoannes Moūtziger protestant against the pope. About the same time, or shortly after. an. 1384. MarginaliaAnn. 1384.we read also of Ioannes of Mountziger, Rector of the Vniuersity of Vlme  

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The account of Mountziger is taken from Matthias Flacius, Catalogus testium veritatis (Strausburg, 1562), p. 523.

, who opēly in the scholes in his Oratiō propoūded that the body of Christ was not God, and therefore not to be worshipped as God with that kinde of worship called Latria  
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Latria is the worship that is reserved for God alone; Dualia, by contrast, is the reverence due to the saints and the Virgin Mary.

, as the Sophister termeth it, meaning thereby the Sacrament not to be adored, which afterward he also defended by writing: affirming also that Christ in his resurrection tooke to him agayne all his bloud which in hys passion he had shed. Meaning thereby to inferre, that the bloud of Christ which in many places is worshipped, neither can be called the bloud of Christ, neither ought to be worshipped. But by and by he was resisted and withstood by the Monks and friers: who by this kinde of Idolatry were greatly enriched, till at length the Senate and councell of the city was fayne to take vp the matter betwene them.

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MarginaliaNilus the archbishop of Thessalomca. Nilus was Archbishop of Thessalonica, & liued much

about