Brief Chronicle Concerning Examination and Death of John Oldcastle, Part 4
☞The determynacyon of the Archebysshop and clergye.
THe fayth and determynacyon of holye Churche towchynge the blesfull sacrament of the aultre / is this.Ex magno processu Thome Arundelis That after the sacramentall wordes be ones spoken by a Prest in his Masse / the materyall breade that was before breade / is turned into Christes verye bodye. And the materyall wyne that was afore wyne / is turned into Christes verye bloude.The fyrst artycle. And so there remayneth in the sacrament of the aultre from thens forth no materyall breade nor materyall wyne / which were there before the sacramentall wordes were spoken. How beleue ye this artycle? Holye churche hath determyned / The secō de artyclethat euerye Christen manne lyuynge here bodylye vponupon earth / ought to be shryuen to a prest ordayned by ye churche yf he maye come to him. How f…le ye this artycle?
Christ ordayned saynct Peter ye Apostle to be his vycar here in earth.The thyrde artycle Vvhose see is the holye churche of Rome. And he graūted that the same power which he gaue vntounto Peter / shulde succede to all Peters successours / which we call now Popes of Rome.The sede of the serpent. By whose specyall power in churches partycular be ordayned Prelates / as Arch…bysshoppes / Bysshoppes / persones / curates / & other degrees more. VntoUnto whom Christen menne ought to obeye after the lawes of the churche of Rome. This is the determynacyon of holye churche. How feleye this artycle?The .iiii. artycle. Holye churche hath determyned that yt is merytoryouse to a Christen manne to go on pylgrymage to holye places. And there specyallye to worshyp holye relyques and ymages of saynctes / Apostles / Martyrs / Confessours / and all other saynctes besydes approued by the churche of Rome.He se ther ignoraunce & malyce. How fele ye this artycle?
And as the good lorde Cobham had redde ouer this wretched wrytynge / he marueled greatlye of theyr madde ignoraunce. But that he consydered agayne that God had geuen them ouer for theyr vnbeleues sake / into most depe errours and blyndnesse of soule. Agayne he perseyued therby that theyr vttermost malyce was purposed agaynst him / how so euer he shuld answere. And therfore he put his lyfe into the handes of God / defyerynge his onlye sprete to assyst him in his next answere.He putt his lyfe in Gods hā des. Vvhan the seyd xxv. daye of Septembre was come / (which was also the Monedaye afore Myhelmesse) in the seyd yeare of oure lorde a .M.CCCC. and .xiii. Thomas Arundell the Archebysshop of Caunter burye commaunded his iudycyall scate to be remoued from ye chaptre house of Paules to the Domynyck fryers within Ludgate at London.Ex vtroque exemplari. And as he was there set with Rycharde ye Bysshop of London. Henrye the Bysshop of Vvynchestre / and Benet the Byshop of Bangor / he called in vntounto him his counsell and his offycers / with dyuerse other Doctours and fryers. Of whom these are the names here folowynge.
The coū sell of LayphasMastre Henrye Vvare / the Offycyall of Caunterburye / Phylip Morgan / doctor of both lawes / Howest kyffyn / doctor of the canō lawe / Iohan kempe / doctour of the canō lawe Vvistyam Carleton / doctour of the canon lawe / Iohan Vvytnam / of the newe college in Oxforde / Iohā Vvhyght head / a doctour of Oxforde also / Robert Vvombewell / vycar of saynct Laurence in the Iewrye / The Pharysees & scrybes.Thomas Palmer / the wardene of the Mynors / Robert Chamberlayne / prior of the Domynyckes / Rycharde Dodyngton / prior of the Augustynes / Thomas Vvalden / prior of the Carmelytes / all doctours of diuinyte. Iohan Steuens also / and Iames Cole / both notaryes / appoynted there purposelye to wryte all that shuld be eyther sayd or done.A rable of Antichristes. All these with a great sort more of Prestes / Monkes / Chanōs fryers / parryshe clarkes / Bell ryngers / and pardoners dysdayned him with innumerable mockes and scornes / rekenynge him to be an horryble heretyque and a manne acursed afore God.
Anon the Archebysshop called for a masseboke / and caused all those Prelates and doctours to sweare therevpon / that euerye manne shuld faythfullye do his offyce and dewtye that daye.Blasphemouse dissymulacyon of papistes. And that neyther for fauer nor feare / louelove nor hate of the one partye nor the other / anye thynge shuld there be wytnessed / spoken / or done / but accordynge to the truthe / as they wolde answere before God and all the worlde at the daye of Dome.For a false coloure sweare they. Than were the two forseyd notaryes sworne also / to wryte and to wytnesse the wordes and processe that there shuld be vttered on both partyes / & to saye theyr myndes (yf they otherwyse knewe yt) before they shuld regestre yt. And all this dissymulacyon was / but to colour theyr myscheues before the ignoraunt multytude.All done to deceyue the ignoraunt. Consydre herin (gentyll reader) what this wycked generacyon is / and how farre wyde from the iust feare of God / for as they were thā / so are they yet to this daye.
After that came forth before them syr Robert Morleye knyght and Lyeftenaunt of the tower / & he brought with him the good lorde Cobham / there leauynge him amonge them as a lambe amonge wolues / to his examynacyon and answere.Here cometh he before them