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673 [649]

K. Hen. 6. The bloudie inquisition of Pope Martine.

the same, there be many other of þe secretaries and followers of the foresayd Archheritickes and hereticall opinions casting behind their backes as well the feare of God, as þe shame of the world, neither receiuing fruit of conuersion & repentaunce by the miserable destruction of the foresayde Iohn Hus and Hierome, but as men drowned in the dungeon of their sinnes, cease not to blaspheme the Lord God taking his name in vayne (whose minds the father of lies hath damnably blinded) and do read and study the foresaid bookes or workes, contayning heresies & erroures, being lately by the foresayd Synode condēned to be burned:MarginaliaWe fooles thought their life to be madnes, and their ende without honour. Sapiens. 5. also to the perill of themselues and many other simple men, & against the statutes, decrees, and ordinaunces in the Synode aforesayd, and the Canonicall sanctions, do presume to preach & teach the same, to the great perill of soules, the derogation of the Catholicke fayth, and sclaunder of many other besides. We therfore considering that errour, when it is not resisted, seemeth to be allowed and liked, and hauing a desire to resist such euill and pernicious errours, and vtterly roote them out from amongst the companie of faythfull christians, especiall frō the afore recited places of Bohemia, Morauia, and other straights and Ilands ioyning and bordering vpon the same, least they shold stretch out & enlarge their limites: we will and commaund your discretions by our letters Apostolicall, the holy Councell of Cōstance approuing and allowing the same, that you that are Archbishops, Bishops, and other of the clergy, and euery one of you by himself or by an other or others, being graue and fit persons to haue spirituall iurisdiction: do see that al and singuler persons, of what dignitie, office, preeminence state, or conditiō so euer they be, and by what name soeuer they are knowne, which shall presume otherwise to teache preach, or obserue, touching the most high and excelent, the most wholesome and superadmirable Sacrament of the bloud of our Lorde Iesus Christe, or els of the Sacrament of Baptisme, confession of sinnes, penaunce for sins and extreme vnction, or els of any other Sacramentes of the Church, & articles of the faith, MarginaliaEt os eius sicut os Leonis. I. And his mouth is like the mouth of a Lyon. Apoc. 13.then that, which þe right holy & vniuersall church of Rome doth hold, teach, preach, & obserue: or els þt shall presume obstinately by any wayes or meanes, priuily, or apertly, to hold, beleue, and teach the Articles, bookes, or doctrine of the foresayd Archhereticks Iohn Wickleffe, Iohn Hus, & Hieronimus of Prage, being by the foresayd Synode of Constaunce with theyr authours (as is sayd) damned and condemned, or dare presume publikly or priuily to allow or commend in any wise þe death and end of þe said archheretiks, or of any other their receiuers, ayders and fauourers, in the fauour or supportation of the foresayd errors, as also their beleuers and adherentes: that then as before, you see and cause them and euery of them to be most seuerly punished, & that you iudge and geue sentence vpon them as hereticks, and that as arrant hereticks you leaue them to the secular court or power.MarginaliaDraconis lex saguine scripta. Let the receiuers also, and fauourers and defenders of such most pestiferous persons, notwtstanding they neyther beleue, fauour, nor haue deuotion, towardes their errors but happely shal receaue or entertain such pestiferous persons, because of carnall affection, or friendly loue, besides þe punishment due vnto thē by both lawes, ouer and aboue the same punishment, by competent iudges be so afflicted, & for so haynous actes of theirs, MarginaliaThe popes religiō hath left all sence of humanitie.with so seuere payn & punishment excruciated, that the same may be to other in like case offending, an example of terrour: that at the least, those whome the feare of God by no meanes may reuoke from such euill doing, yet the seueritie of this our discipline may force and constrayne.

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As touching the third sort, which shalbe any maner of wayes infected with this damnable sect, and shall after cōpetent admonition repēt and amend themselues of such errours and sectes aforesayd, and will returne agayn into the lap and vnitie of our holy mother the Churche, & fully acknowledge and confesse the Catholike fayth: towardes them let the seueritie of iustice, as the quallitie of the facte shall require, be somewhat tempered with a tast of mercy.

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*Marginalia

* Et vidi & bestiam & reges terræ & excercitus eorum pugnantes cum illo qui sedebat in equo, & exercitu eius. Apoc. 13. Et data est illi potestas in omnem tribum, et populum et linguam, & gentem.

I. And power is geuen him ouer all tribes, and people and tongues, and nations. &c. Apoc. 13.

And furthermore, we will and command, that by thys our authoritie Apostolicall, ye exhort and admonish al the professours of the catholicke fayth, as Emperours, kings, Dukes, Princes, Marquesses, Earles, Barons, Knights and other Magistrates, Rectors, Consuls, Proconsuls, Shires, Countries and Vniuersities of the kingdomes, Prouinces, Cities, otwnes, Castles, villages, their lands & other places, & al other executing tēporal iurisdiction according to the form & exigence of the law, þt they expell out of their kingdoms, prouincies, Cities, towns, castles, villages & lands, & other places, al & all maner of suche heretickes, according to the effect and tenour of the Councell of Laterane, beginning, Sicut ait ecclesia. &c. þt those whompublikely and manifestly by the euidence of their deedes, shall be knowne to be such as like sicke and scabed sheepe infect the Lords flock, they expell and banish till such tyme as from vs or you or els other ecclesiasticall iudges or Inquisitours holding the fayth and communion of the holye church of Rome, they shall receiue other order and countermaund: and that they suffer no such within theyr shyres and circuites, to preach or to keepe either house or familye either yet to vse any handicrafte or occupations or other trades of merchaundise, or els to solace themselues anye wayes, or frequent the company of Christen men.

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And furthermore if suche publike and knowne heretiques shall chaunce to dye (although not so denounced by the Church) yet in this so great a crime, let hym and them want Christian buriall, and let no offeringes or oblations be made for them nor receiued. Hys goodes and substance also frō þe time of his death, according to þe Canonical sanctions being confiscate, let no such enioy them to whō they appertayne, till that by the ecclesiasticall iudges hauing power and authoritie in this behalfe, sentence vpon that his or their crime of heresie, be declared, and promulgate, & let such owners as be found suspect or noted with anye suche suspition of heresie, before a competent and ecclesiasticall iudge, according to the consideration and exigence of that suspicion, and according to the quallitie of the person, by þe arbitrement of such a iudge: shew and declare hys proper & own innocēcy with deuotion as beseemeth in that behalf, And if in hys purgation, being Canonically interdicted, he do fayle, or be not able Canonically to make his purgation, or that he refuse to take hys othe by damnable obstinacie, to make suche purgation: then let him be condemned as an hereticke. But such as thorough negligence or thorough slothfulnes, shall omit to shew their sayd innocencie and to make such purgation, let them be excommunicate, and so long put out from the company of Christen men, til þt they shall make condigne satisfactiō: so that if by the space of one whole yeare they shall remayne in such excommunication, then let them as heretickes be condēned.

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And further, if any shalbe found culpable in any point of the foresayd pestiferous doctrine of the Archheretickes aforesayd, or in any Article thereof, whether it be by the reporte of the seditious, or els well disposed: MarginaliaNote the tendernes of this louing mother, the Church of Rome.let them yet be punished, according to the Canons. If onely through infamy and suspition of the foresaid Articles or any of them, any man shalbe found suspect, & in his purgation Canonicall for this thing being interdicted, shall fayle: let hym be accompted as a man conuict, & as a conuict person by the Canons let him be punished.

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And furthermore we innouating and putting in execution the Canon of our predecessour of happy memory pope Boniface the 8. which beginneth thus: Vt inquisitionis negocium. &c. In exhorting wise require and also commaund Marginalia

Et facies omnes pusillos, et magnos, & diuites, et pauperes, et seruos, accipere characterem in manu sua dextra,

I. And he shall make both little and great, riche and poore, free & bond to take his character in their right hand. &c. Apoc. 13.

all temporall potentates, Lordes & Iudges afore recited, by whatsoeuer dignities, offices, and names they are knowen: that as they desire to be had, estemed, & counted for the faythfull members and children of the Church, and do reioyce in the name of Christ: so in likewise for the defēce of the same faith, they wil obey, intēd, giue their ayd, and fauorable help, to you that are Archbishops, Bishops, and Ecclesiastical men, inquisitours of al hereticall prauitie, and other Iudges and Ecclesiasticall persons by you hereunto, as aforesayd, appoynted (holdyng the fayth and communiō of our holy mother the church) for the searching out, taking, & safe custody, of all the foresayde heretickes, their beleuers, their fauorers, their receiuers, and their defenders, when so euer they shalbe therunto of them required.

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And that they bring and cause to be brought (al delay set aparte) the foresayde pestiferous persons so seeking to destroy others with them, into suche safe keeping and prysons, as by you the Archbyshops, Byshops, Clergie and Inquisitors aforesaid, are to be appointed, or els vnto such other place or places, as eyther you or they shal commaūd within any of their dominions, gouernements, and rectories, where they by catholicke men, that is, by you the Archbishops, byshops, the Clergy, and inquisitours, or any other that shalbe by you appointed, or are already appointed by any of you, may be holden and kept in safe keping, MarginaliaSatan ratteleth his chaines.putting them in fetters, shackles, boltes, and manacles of yrō vnder most straight custody for escaping away, tyll suche tyme as all that busines which belongeth vnto them, be by the iudgement of the church finished and determined, and that of suche heresie, by a competent ecclesiasticall iudge (which firmely holdeth the faith and communiō of the said holy church of Rome) they be cōdemned.

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The residue, let the foresayde temporall Lordes, Rectours, Iudges, or other their officers and Pursiuauntes,

take
LL.j.