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K. Rich. 2. The answere of W. Swinderby to the processes. The appeale of W. Swinderby.

blysse, vntill their resurrection in the day of dome. And after they desiren to haue that blusse, and abiden it, and that is paine to them. And I cānot see that þe Pope hath power to bring him from this paine. MarginaliaThe Pope hath no power grounded vpon scripture, to bring from pain of purgatory.But if any man can shew me, that he hath such a power graunted in the troth of holy write, I will gladly leefen it.

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Marginalia7. Conclusion. ☞ The vij. point speaketh of the Pope and is this: Sith it is onely due to God, as I haue sayd before, to geue & to graunt plener remissiō, from paine, and from blame: that whatsoeuer he bee Pope or other that presūptuously mistaketh vpon him the power that onely is due to God, in that, in as much as in him is, MarginaliaThe Pope maketh him selfe euen with Christhe maketh him selfe euen wt Christ, & blasphemeth God, as Lucifer did, when he sayd: Ascendam, & ero similis altissimo, That is, I will ascend, and be lyke the highest &c.

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MarginaliaDeclaration For that I say, if þe Pope holde men of armes in maintayning of his temporal Lordship, to venge him on them that gilten and offenden him, & geueth remission to fight and to slay them, that contrarien him, as men sayden he did by the Byshop of Norwich, MarginaliaThe Bishop of Norwich Hen. Spenser the popes warriour set vp of the pope to slay his enemies. page. 428.not putting his sword in his sheath, as God commaunded to Peter: he is Antichrist. MarginaliaThe Pope contrarie to Christ.For he doth the contrary of the commaundement of Iesus Christ, that bad Peter forgeuen to his brother. 70.sithe. 7. sithe. Wel I finde in the Gospel, that when Christ sent his Disciples to Samarye, the Samaritanes would not receiuen them. And some of them bidden Chryst, that he should make a fire come down from heauen, to destroy the City. And he blamed them and said: Nescitis cuius spiritus estis: Filius hominis non venit animas perdere, sed saluare. That is, ye know not of what spirit ye are: The sonne of man is not come downe to destroy, but to saue þe lyues and soules of mē. &c. If Christ then come to saue men, and not to slea them: who that doth the reuers hereof, is against Christ, and then he is Antichrist. MarginaliaThe pope againe prooued Antichrist.Christ had Peter put his sworde in his sheath and sayd: Omnes qui gladium acceperunt, gladio peribunt. That is: All which take the sword, shall perish with the sworde. And I cannot fynde that Peter drew out his sword after that time, but suffered as Christ sayd: cum senueris, alius cinget te, & ducet quò tu non vis. That is, when thou shalt waxe old, an other shall gird thee and lead thee whether thou wilt not. And therefore sayd Peter, Christ suffered for vs, leauing us example that we shoulde followe his steps. And Paule sayth: Not defending your selues, but geue place to anger: leaue reuenging to mee, and I shall rewarde them &c. And therfore it seemeth to me, that it is much against Christes lore, that his Vicar should bee a fighter, sithen that hee more be a shephearde, that shoulde go before his sheepe, and let them come after him, and not with swordes to druie them away from him. For as Christ sayth, a good shepheard shall put his lyfe for his sheepe. And zif al tht Christ had two swordes when that hee was taken of the Iewes, he sayd himselfe, if was for that Scriptures moten zit be fulfilled: Quoniam cum iniquis deputatus est, that is: he was reputed among the wicked: and not to figure two swordes, that men sayen the Pope hath to gouerne with the church. Marginalia2. Swordes neuer giuen to the pope.And when I see such doinges of the Pope, & many other that accorden not with Christs lore, ne his liuing: And when I reade diuers Scriptures of holye writte, I am foule astenied whether they shoulden be vnderstanded of him,. or of any other. And I pray you for Gods loue tell mee the sooth. Chryst sayth: Many shall come in my name, saying: I am Christ, and shall seduce many. &c. Christ (I wot well) is as muche to saye, as he that is anointed, MarginaliaTwo sortes of annoyntinges in Scripture.& two annointinges there weren in the lawe, one of Kinges, an other of Priestes. And Christ was both King and Priest, and so the Pope sayth that he is. And if all that haue bene Emperours of Rome, and other heathen kinges haue bene Antichrists, they come not in Christes name. But who so commeth in Christes name, and fayneth him Christes frend, and he be priuely his enemy, he may lightly beguile many. S. Paul saith: MarginaliaA defection in Antichristes time.before there commeth a defection first, and þe sonne of perditiō shalbe reuealed, which is þe aduersary, and is extolled aboue al that is named God, or which is worshipped: so þt he shal sit in the temple of God, shewing himself as God. And it followeth in the same place: And now ye knowe what holdeth till be be reuealed in his time, for he worketh already the mistery of iniquitie. Onely he þt holdeth, let him holde till he come abroad, & then that wicked one shall be reuealed, who þe Lord Iesus shall slay with the spiritie of his mouth. &c. And S. Iohn saith in the Apocalips: I saw an other beast ascending out of the erth, and two hornes like to the lambe. He spake like þe Dragō, & had the power of the first beast. Many such authorities astonieth me oft sithes: and therfore I pray you for þe loue of God, to tell me what they meane.

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¶ The sentence.

THe which  

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The sentence condemning Swinderby is copied from Trefnant's register; see Registrum Johannis Trefnant Episcopis Herefordensis, ed. W. W. Capes, Canterbury and York Society 20 (London, 1916), pp. 270-1.

schedule afore mencioned, MarginaliaMention was made of this schedule before in the first dayes Acte. pag. 471.with the cōtentes thereof diligently of vs perused, we considering þt diseases which be not easely cured wt gētle remedy, must haue harder playsters. Cōsidering moreouer these his articles with his aunswers to þe same, & to other articles also lastly against him produced, first mature deliberatiō had before vpon þe whole matter wt the foresaid masters & Doctors, as wel secular as regular, to a great number, obseruing in the same al thinges to be obserued in this behalfe, haue geuē sentēce against þe said W. in forme as foloweth.

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MarginaliaThe sentence giuen agaynst hym. The name of Christ being inuocated, we Iohn, by the permission of God, Bishop of Hereford, sitting in tribunal seate, hauing God before our eyes, weying & cōsidering þe articles by the foresaid faithfull Christians put vp against þe said Swinderby, pretending himselfe to be priest, with his aunswers vpō the same, Actis & Actitatis before vs in the cause of hereticall peruersitie, with mature deliberation had before in this behalfe, with masters & doctours of diuinitie, and also of other faculties, with their counsel and cōsent: Do pronounce, decree, and declare the sayd W. to haue bene and to be an hereticke, scismaticke, and a false informer of the people, & such as is to auoided of faithfull Christians. Wherefore we admonish, vnder þe paine of the law, all & singular Christians, of what sex, state, condition, or preeminence soeuer: þt neither they, nor any of thē wtin our dioces, or any other, do beleue, receaue, defend, or fauor þe said W. til he shal deserue fully to be reconciled to the bosome againe of holy Church.

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¶ The appeale of W. Swynderby from this sentence of the Bishop prefixed, vnto the king and his counsaile.

MarginaliaThe appeale of W. Swinderby from the B. to the king and his counsayle. IN nomine patris, et filij, et spiritus sancti, Amen.  

Commentary   *   Close

This appeal of his conviction, by Swinderby to Richard II, and the next document, Swinderby's appeal to Parliament, are copied from Trefnant's register; see Registrum Johannis Trefnant Episcopis Herefordensis, ed. W. W. Capes, Canterbury and York Society 20 (London, 1916), pp. 271-8.

I. W. Swynderby priest, knowledge openly to al men, that I was before the Bishop of Hereford, the thirde day of October, and before many other good clerkes, to aunswer to certaine conclusions of þe faith that I was accused of. And mine aunswere was this, that if the Bishop or any man couthe shew me by Gods law, þt my conclusions or mine aunsweres were errour or heresie, I would be amended, and openly reouke them before al þe people. *  
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This is another gap caused by flaws in Foxe's transcript of Trefnant's register.

Marginalia* Some thyng there lacketh in the copie.Knowes in any of my conclusions, but sayden singly with word, that there was errours in them, and bidden me subiect me to þe Bishop, & put me into his grace & revoke mine errour, and shewed me nought by Gods law ne reasō, ne proued which they weren. And for I would not knowledge mee guiltie, so as I knew no errour in thē, of which I should be guilty, therfore þe Byshop sate in dome in mine absēce, and deemed me an hereticke, a schismaticke, and a teacher of errours, and denounced me accursed, that I come not to correction of þe Church. And therefore for this vnrightfull iugement, I appeale to the kinges Iustices for many other causes.

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MarginaliaThe kyngs court aboue the Bishops court. One cause is, for the kynges Court, in such matter is aboue the Byshops court: For after that the Byshop has accursed, he may no feare by his law, but thē mote he sech succour of the kinges law, and by a writ of Significauit, put a man in prison.

The second cause is, for in cause of heresie there liggeth iudgement of death, & that dome may not be geuen without the kinges Iustices. For the Byshop will say: Nobis non licet interficere quenquam, That is: It is not lawfull for vs to kill anye man: as they sayden to Pilate, when Christ should be deemed. And for I thinke that no Iustice wil geue sodenly & vntrue dome as the Byshop did, and therfore openly I appeale to hem and send my conclusiōs to the Knightes of the Parliament, to be shewed to the Lordes, and to be taken to the Iustices, to be wel auiset or that they geuen dome.

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MarginaliaWhat is an heretike. The third cause is, for it was a false dome: for no man is an hereticke, but he, that maisterfully defends his error or heresie and stifly maintaines it. And mine aūswere has ben alway cōditional, as þe people openly knows, for euer I say, & yet say & alway will: that if they cannen shew me by Gods law that I haue erret, I wil gladly ben amēdet, and reuoke mine errours and so I am no hereticke, ne neuer more in Gods grace will ben en no wise.

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MarginaliaThe Byshops law of condemnation full of heresies and errours. The fourth cause is. For the Bishops lawe, that they deme men by, is full of errours and heresies, contrary to þe truth of Christes law of the Gospell.

For there as Christs law biddes vs loue our enemies, the Popes law geues vs leaue to hate them & to sley them, and grauntes men pardon to werren againe heathē men, and sley hem. And there as Christes lawe teache vs to be

mercifull,
Ss.iii.