Search York

have some of the nobility now; and such a one have
some had of late. Some, having lands of their own to
live on, have peltingly gone about from court to court,
buying farms and bargains, and overbidding all men : so
that poor men can get no reasonable prize of any term or
252" bargain for them. Some are so thirsty of farms, and
namely of benefices, that they snatch up all the reversions
that can be had in a country, though the farmers have
yet forty or fifty years to come. There is one knight

UxNDER QUEEN MARY I. 421

" that hath ten benefices in one shire in his hands; and CHAP.

" another hath two and twenty, as credible persons have

" told me. Some are so thirsty for the farms of vicarages Anno 1555.

" or parsonages, that they beg or buy the advowsons of
" them of the patrons ; and as soon as they fall, they will
" let none have the benefice, but such as will let them the
" benefice to farm with house, and land, and tithe, with all
*' that belongeth thereto. Others drink up the glebe-land,
" and let the rest alone. Some have by bribery, simony,
" and other unlawful ways, robbed many a poor parish in
" England of their parsonages and parsons ; and have
" drunken up quite the parsonages for them and their
" heirs for ever: wherewith the church of Christ hath
" been wont to be fed both bodily and ghostly.
" Some new gentlemen have drunken up not only a great

" part of bishops 1 lands, but also have drunken up divers

" churchyards, and hospitals, chapels and chantries, to patch

" and clout up their livings withal ; because their fathers

" left them never a foot of land. One of the nobility saw,

" of late years, a pretty church, with a good large church-

" yard ; the same was lord of the town there ; and he de-

" sired the parish, that they would let him have the church

" and churchyard, promising them a new church and a new

" churchyard in another place. The poor tenants durst not

" say him nay, because he was their lord. In the mean

" season he lent the parish a foul ill-favoured hole, an end

" of an old abbey, very strait and narrow, evil covered, and

" every day like to fall upon the poor people's heads : and

" as for the other church, the poor people can get none

" unto this hour. Where is there any good parsonage in

" England, but it is either bought or drunken up of some

" gentleman ? As with great honesty and praise, the noble-

" men's servants had wont to come home to their masters 1

" houses with hares, wild cats, and foxes upon their backs,

" so, with much shame, they come now with their tithe-pigs

" by their tails, with tithe-eggs, and tithe-hemp and flax.

" There was an earl, within these few years, that had

" lands and goods enough, and could not quench his thirst

£ e 3

422 MEMORIALS ECCLESIASTICAL

CHAP. " therewith, until he had gotten one of the greatest deane-
'__ " ries in England ; and so was made my lord dean also.
Anno 1555." But he left to his successors the land undiminished: and

" therefore did much better than he should have done, if

" he had taken the deanery quite away in his own hands

" for ever, for him and his heirs."

And again : " Some, when as they have drunken up as

" much of the commons, of abbey lands, of bishops' lands,

" of deans 1 lands, of parsons 1 lands, and beggars" lands, I

" mean of hospitals, as would serve four as honest and as

" honourable men as they be ; yet, for to spare their own

" drink at home, are not ashamed to beg drink of such poor

" men as I am, when as I had seventy-four pounds to spend

" in the year, my first-fruits yet unpaid : and yet they never

" gave me a cup of ale undeservedly all their lives. I have

253 " yet copies of their begging letters here in Germany, to be

" witness of their shameful begging. I would there were

" some act of Parliament made against such valiant beg-

" gars, which vex poor men as I was, much worse than the

" lousy beggars do. 11

This evil in These were the evils the Church suffered from the tem-

zabeth's '" poralty, both nobility and gentry, in King Edward's, and

,e »s n - now in Queen Mary's days. I have been the larger in this

transcription, that the history of this sacrilege might the

more fully appear. Nor did this great evil cease in the

next reign. The clergy did sadly complain of it in the

Epist. be- beginning of Queen Elizabeth. Thus spake honest Au-

sermons! gustin Bernher : " I will not speak now of them, that, being

" not content with their lands and rents, do catch in their

" hands spiritual livings, as parsonages, and such like, and

" that under the pretence to make provision for their houses.

" What hurt and damage this realm of England doth sus-

" tain by that devilish kind of provision for gentlemen's

" houses, knights 1 and lords 1 houses, they can tell best that

" do travel in the countries, and see with their eyes great

" parishes and market-towns, with innumerable others, to

" be utterly destitute of God's word ; and that because that

*' these greedy men have spoiled the livings, and gotten

UNDER QUEEN MARY I. 423

" them into their hands. And instead of a faithful and CHAP.
XXXII
painful teacher, they hire a Sir John, which hath better.

" skill in playing at tables, or in keeping of a garden, than Anno l55S -

" in God's word. And he for a trifle doth serve the cure,
" and so help to bring the people of God in danger of their
" souls. And all those serve to accomplish the abominable
" pride of such gentlemen, which consume the goods of the
" poor, (which ought to have been bestowed upon a learned
" minister,) in costly apparel, belly-cheer, or in building of
" gorgeous houses. But let them be assured, that a day
" will come, when it will be laid to their charge, Rapina
" pauperum in domibus vestris. And then they shall per-
" ceive that their fair houses are built in the place called
" Aceldama. They have a bloody foundation, and there-
" fore cannot stand long. This matter also is so weighty,
" and the spiritual slaughter of the poor people so misera-
" ble and woful, that except the magistrates speedily look
" thereunto, and redress the same, the Lord of Sabaoth
" himself will find out some remedy to deliver his people
" from such caterpillars, and require the blood of his people
" at their hands, by whose covetousness they were letted to
" come to the knowledge of Christ/ 1 But I am now out
of my way, and therefore return.

CHAP. XXXIII. 254

Bishop Ferrar, Cardmaker, canon of Wells, and Philpot,

archdeacon of Winchester, burnt for religion.

-A.S I have made some remarks, a little before, of Bradford

and Latymer, Cranmer and Ridley, four prime pillars of

the reformed Church of England, which this bloody year

executed in the flames ; so, passing by many others, I shall

take notice of three more this same year so used ; namely,

a bishop, a canon, and an archdeacon : that is to say, Fer-

rar, bishop of St. David's ; Cardmaker, canon and residen-

tiary of Wells ; and Philpot, archdeacon of Winchester.

March 30, the abovesaid Bishop suffered in the fire at Bisho P Fer -

e e 4

424 MEMORIALS ECCLESIASTICAL
CHAP. Carmarthen; a pious and good man, but pursued with un-

XXYIII • • . .

just vexations in the former Prince's reign, as well as in
Anno 1555. this.
Memor. Something hath been said of this matter elsewhere : to
Cranm. which in this place I will take occasion to add some more

particulars in behalf of the memory of a man that had the

resolution and courage to die for the true doctrine. When

this person came first to oversee the diocese of St. David's,

he found many things amiss, even in the chapter, (which

ought to have been the example to the rest of the diocese

and clergy :) for there was great spoil made of the plate

and ornaments of the church, which was converted into the

private possessions of those that belonged unto the church.

And of these and other misdemeanours were the chanter

Young, and one of the canons residentiary, named Merick,

chiefly guilty : and Constantine, his own register, was not

clear. These men were also guilty of simony, bribery, and

bearing with ill lives for money. So the Bishop resolved

to begin his visitation with his own church.

The delin- They were also very defective, as to many of the King's

the 'chapter injunctions, refusing to obey them : as concerning the found-

of St. Da- i n g f a school for poor men's children ; a lecture of divi-

nity ; sermons on the Sundays ; repairing of their church

and mansion-houses ; decent order and ministration in their

Fox's Acts, public assemblies. But they stubbornly counted themselves,

with the chanter, to be a body politic, without regard of the

Bishop and his lawful monitions, though he were named in

their statutes, decanus aut quasi decanus ; having also their

dean's seal in the choir, with a prebend thereunto annexed,

and the chief place in the chapter-house, with a key of their

chapter-seal ; being also by the King's commission appointed

their ordinary. Yet would they not, in any wise, deliver

unto him a book of their statutes, for the better knowledge

of his or their duties ; nor shew unto him their records and

monuments, for declaration of the King's right and his.

For which cause afterwards, by a writ of Quo warranto, he

called them to answer. But the writ, by their interest, lay

asleep. For their crimes he had first friendly admonished

UNDER QUEEN MARY I. 425

them; but that not mending them, he put them out of their CHAP,

office, which made them more his enemies, and say, they ;

would pall him out of his bishopric. Anno 1555.

But let me shew how they endeavoured to impede his vi- 25 ^
. Thcv r6fusc
sitation. For, to stop the Bishop's just proceedings, they theBishop's

began to raise all the dust they could, and to express the J^ ng

greatest malice against him. And because his commission

to his Chancellor was issued out in his own name, according

to the old form, and not in the name of King Edward, they

took hold of this for an advantage against him. So they, in

the name of the chapter, (who yet were willing to receive

him,) appealed unto the Archbishop : and for carrying on

the suit, spent the goods of the church ; but notwithstand-

ing their disobedience, he visited the diocese, and was friend-

ly received by them. But as for Young and his fellows,

they employed against him many promoters and witnesses,

dissolute or mercenary men ; whereof one was Rawlins, a

priest, who had four or five livings, but resided upon nei-

ther of them : a lewd man ; of whom they said themselves,

" We know Rawlins to be a very knave, and so meet for

" no purpose, so much as to set forward such a matter.'"

Another was Lee, a broken merchant turned promoter. Of

Constantine, this is to be remarked, that he had been his

old acquaintance and friend, whom he continued register,

having been so made by Barlow, Ferrar's predecessor ; but

one that formerly abjured his religion, and that afterwards,

namely, in this Queen's reign, complied with the old religion

again, and sat as register when this Bishop was condemned

to be burnt for heresy. These men raked into the Bishop's

life and conversation, his preaching, his behaviour in public,

in private ; and at last scraped up together fifty-six articles

against him ; which are extant in Fox, with his answers to

them. These articles they sent up to the King's Council ;

and having a warrant from the Council to go down and

examine witnesses, which they had procured, by money and

promises, to the number of no less than an hundred and

twenty-seven, (many of whom were persons of most scandal-

ous life and the illcst fame,) in the mean time so ordered

426 MEMORIALS ECCLESIASTICAL

^ v A n p ; their matters, that the Bishop was stayed in London, lest
XXXlll. ... -li
his presence might Jay some awe upon the witnesses, and
Anno 1555. obstruct their proceedings: and yet after all, to some of

their articles they had but one witness; and to some no-

thing but fame ; and to some no witness at all, as appeared

by their own paper, entitled, A brief note how many wit-

nesses deposed to every article.

The Bi- And all this they did, hoping to get him deprived at

terrogato'- ^ ast ' an(1 to run mm mto a premunire. But the Bishop

ries to the being so well aware of the dishonesty of the witnesses, and

how probable to have been procured to swear falsely for the

Fox in his gain of money, got so much favour, that certain interroga-

scriT tories might be administered to the witnesses secretly and

apart upon their oaths : first letting them know the danger

of an oath, and the pain of a perjured person : then to de-

mand of them, whether they were not instructed and in-

formed what they should say or depose in this case ? And

whether they had communed and consulted with any body

in that behalf? And whether any thing had been given or

promised unto them for bearing of witness ? And which of

256 the parties the witness would wish to have the victory in

this matter, if it lay in his power ? And whether it were

more for his profit the Bishop should be deprived, or con-

tinue Bishop ? And whether he came to bear witness will-

ingly or by compulsion, desired or hired? And whether

there were any displeasure, variance, strife, or hatred be-

tween him or any of his friends or kindred, and the Bi-

shop? And whether he did hope to obtain any profit or

commodity, if the party that produced him had the victory?

And whether any of the witnesses were tenants, farmers, ser-

vants, kin, or of special friendship, with Young, Constan-

tine, or Merick, or either of them ; or had any part of his

living by them, or any of them ? And whether any of the

witnesses were, at that present time, incontinent persons, and

noted and suspected of any notorious crime ? Thus was the

poor Bishop fain to sift these men, and put close questions

to them; of whose true speaking he had such just sus-

picion.

UNDER QUEEN MARY I. 427
And as they preferred their articles against him at the CHAP.

council-table, so they indicted him at the quarter sessions _____

at Carmarthen : and to create him the more disgrace, it was Anno 1534.

at the same time that he was visiting; his diocese ; so that he™ 6 ?'_ ll ° p
° indicted at
was fain to adjourn his visitation to appear at the sessions, the quarter

But above and beside all these articles and malicious s . essi ..

Accused for
courses against him, they thought to make their advantage a passage

of an expression which he had used in a sermon in the __ " ser "

month of April 1551 : when, out of good-will to the Welsh,

and it may be to get their love, that so he might the better

instil his doctrine and instructions into them, Rawlins in-

formed, that he had used these words, or to this effect ;

" That the Englishmen were more churlish and cruel than

" the Welshmen were : for in England they would rush one

" at another without any salutation or manners ; but here

" in Wales," said he, " ye are more gentle : and not without

" cause : for ye were the Britains sometimes, and had the

" realm in governance. And if the prophecy of Merlyn be

" true, ye shall be Britains again, and this land shall be

" called Great Britain.'''' Which indeed, though it were then

made a matter of accusation against the Bishop, yet in our

days we cannot look upon without a remark, how it fell out

what that Bishop then preached, or the Welsh prophet fore-

told. But this, Rawlins, employed by Young and Con-

stantine, as promoters, took hold of as a criminal matter

against a law, enacted in King Henry Vlllth's time con-

cerning the country of Wales, of laying aside their old cus-

toms, and living according to the laws of England ; and

that their vain prophecies should be extinguished, and the

tellers of them punished. And this was the very informa-

tion they drew up against the Bishop, in language spiteful

enough.
" To the Right Honourable the Lords and others of the

" Kings Majesty's Privy Council.

" For as much as our late sovereign Lord, of famous Informa -

1 TT 11 Villi 1 • /• 1 t' 011 g» Ven
" memory, Henry the Eighth, did, by th authority ot the thereof to
the Council.

428

MEMORIALS ECCLESIASTICAL

CHAP.

XXXIII.
Anno 1555.
Fox's MSS.
257

high court of Parliament, establish and enact, that his

country of Wales, laying aside their old and ill customs,

should from thence after use and have the laws of Eng-

land, and to all purposes be as meer Englishmen: and

that vayn prophesies shuld be extincted and abolished,

and the tellers and supporters thereof accordingly pu-

nished, according to this effect of the statutes and other

laws in that case provided ; thorough whose provydence

many good things have happened to the nation : so that

they have lived more wealthily and quietly under fear and

obedience, which evermore they do most thankfully em-

brace, as apperteyneth. Nevertheless, Robert, the bishop

of St. David's that now is, the xixth day of April last

past, or thereabouts, in the town of Carmarthen, in the

diocess aforesaid, perceiving himself to be evil beloved in

that country, and utterly out of credence with the people

there, not only for his unsatiable covetousness, daily vex-

ing the poor tenants and clergy without just cause, but

also for that he buyeth lands of open adulterers, taking

the same better-cheap for permitting their sins, leaving

their detestable adulteries unpunished, to the slander of

God's holy word ; yet, thinking to get the favour of the

people again with flattery, spake and said these words

following, openly in the pulpit, saying, ' That ye Welsh-

men were more gentle than the Englishmen were : for the

Welshmen would salute gently the one the other. And

the Englishmen be more cruel and more sturdy, rushing

one at the other without salutation or greeting. But you

Welshmen are more gentle : and no marvel, for some-

times ye were Britains, and had this realm in govern-

ance ; and if the prophecy of Merlyn be true, ye shall so

have it again."' And by these seditious words and preach-

ing, he did not only stir envy and hatred betwixt the two

peoples, being the King's Majesty's subjects and inha-

bitants there, but also provoke idle rhime-singers and

vain prophesiers to rhime old seditious and pernicious

prophesies, blazing of arms and such like, to the great

UNDER QUEEN MARY I. 429

" disturbance of the common-wealth, and no less imminent CHAP.
" danger that thereof may ensue, if remedy be not the '_
" sooner provided. In tender consideration whereof it may Anno 1555.
" please your good Lordships to command the said Bishop,
" being now here present, to make answer to the premises,
" and that such order and direction may be taken therein,
" as to justice apperteyneth, and as to your good Lordships
" shall seem expedient."
To this the Bishop made this plea for himself, " that he The Bi-

" preached upon those words of St. Peter, / beseech you, swer>

" as out-comlings and strangers, to abstain, &c. and thence

" did exhort the people to be friendly unto strangers, ac-

" cording to God's precepts unto Moses, given unto the

" people of Israel : affirming, that it seemed well, by the

" diligent observing of that precept in the country of Wales :

" that these people, as Britains, of whom this realm was first

" called Britain, (and if Merlyn's saying be true, it should

" be called Britain again.) That they had received that

" lesson of loving-kindness towards strangers originally from

" God's people ; and that they were worthy of much com-

" mendation, for that they kept the same more diligently

" than other parts of the realm, even to this day." And

more than this he spake not : but for proof of the words,

according as Rawlins had represented them, he produced

nine witnesses: yet but two of them agreed with Rawlins's 258

information ; the one the veriest drunkard in the town, and

the other a poor simple fellow, that could speak no English,

and therefore, very probably, could not understand the Bi-

shop when he preached.
Besides what Fox hath preserved in his Acts and Monu- He dis-

ments in behalf of this Bishop, publishing, as the articles adversaries.

against him, so his answers to every one of them, wherein

judgment may be made of the malice of his enemies, I refer

the reader to the Catalogue for two other papers of the Bi- N«. XLVI,
• • . XLVII
shop in his own vindication, one entitled, Adversaries prin-

cipal against the Bishop of St. David's : the other, Excep-

tions general, in behalf of' Robert Bishop of St. David's.

Wherein will appear the true grounds of Young's, Constan-

430 MEMORIALS ECCLESIASTICAL

CHAP, tine's, and Merick's, and the rest of his enemies, their anger

ir ' against him ; and that it was procured, because he would

Anno 1555. not grant some of them their unreasonable desires, and be-

cause he reproved and threatened the vices of others. For

this they laboured to bring him into a premunire, nay, to

take away his life.

The Bishop By these unkind dealings towards their diocesan, they

enemas be- procured his imprisonment, in which he lay to the death of

fore his King Edward ; and so was the easier exposed to the rage

of the Papists, as it happened afterwards. But before his

death, Young and Constantine came to him, and begged his

forgiveness, which he, like a Christian, gave them ; and

there was a reconciliation between them.