Brief Chronicle Concerning Examination and Death of John Oldcastle, Part 1
☞The great processe of Thomas Arundell the Archebysshop of Caunterburye and of the Papisticall clergye wt him / agaynst the most noble knyght syr Iohan Oldecastell the lorde Cobham in the yeare of oure Lorde a .M.cccc. and .xlii. wherin is cōtayned his examinacyon / impresonmēt / and excommunycacyon. The processe before his examinacyon.
AFter that ye true seruaūt of Iesus Christ Iohan Vvycleue / Ex operibus & scriptis Thome Vvaldeni.a māne of verye excellent lyfe & lernynge / had for the space of more than .xxvi. years most valeauntlye batteled with the great Antichrist of Europa or Pope of Rome & his dyuerslye dysgysed host of anoynted hypocrytes / to restore the churche agayne to the pure estate that Christ left her in at his ascensyon / he departed hens most Christenlye into the handes of God / the yeare of oure Lorde a .M.CCC.lxxxvii.Iohā Vvicleue a mā of god & his disciples. and was buryed in his owne parryshe churche at Lutterworth in Lyncolne shere. No small nombre of godlye disciples left that good manne behynde him to defende the lowlynesse of ye Gospell agaynst the exceadynge pryde / ambycyon / sym… nye / anaryce / hypocresye / whoredome / sacrylege / tyrannye / ydolatrouse worshyppynges / and other fylthye frutes of those styfnecked Pharysees.Thomas Arundell in magno processu. Agaynst whom Thomas Arundell than Archebysshop of Caunterburye / so ferce as euer was Pharao / Antiochus / Herodes or Cayphas / collected in Paules churche at London a vniuersall synode of all the papystycall clergye of Englande in the yeare of oure Lorde a .M.CCCC. and .xiii. as he had done dyuerse other afore / to withstande theyr most godlye enterpryse. And this was the fyrst yeare of kynge Henrye the fyft / whom they had than made fyt for theyr hande.
Ionā. 11. Psal. 1. Psal. 2.As these hygh Prelates with theyr Pharysees and Scrybes were thus gathered in this pestilent counsell against the Lorde and his worde / fyrst there resorted vntounto them the .xii. inquysytours of heresyes (whom they had appoynted at Oxforde the yeare afore to serche out heretyques with all Vvycleues bokes, and they brought .CC. and .lxvi. faythfull conclusyons whom they had collected as heresyes out of the seyd bokes. The names of the seyd inquysytours were these.Vvalden. in fasciculo zizanio rum Vvicleui. Iohan Vvitnam a mas…r… in the newe college / Iohan Langedon monke of Chry churche in Caunterb…rye / Vvillyam Vfforde regent of the Carmelytes / Thomas Clayton regent of the Dominykes / Robert Gylber… / Rycharde Cartysdale / Iohan Lucl…e / Rycharde Snedysham / Rycharde Flem…mynge / Thomas Rodborne / Rob…rt Roadberye / and Rycharde Grasdale In the meane season caused they ther hyred seruaūtes to blowe it forth a brod… through out all the realme / that they were there congregate for an wholsom …nyte and reformacyon of the churche of Englande / to stoppe so the mouthes of the cōmon people.A practyse cōmonlye vsed of that generacyon. Soche is alwayes the cōmon practyse of these subtyle sorcerers / whyls they are in doynge myschefe / to blere the eyes of the vnlerned multitude with one false craft or other.
After a certen communicacyon they concluded amonge themselues / A luke practyse sought now of late but yt toke not.that yt was not possyble for them to make whole Christes cote without seme (meanynge therby theyr patched Popyshe synagoge) vnlesse certen great menne were brought out of the waye / which semed to be the chefe maynteners of the seyd disciples of Vvycleue. Amonge whom the most noble knyght syr Iohan Oldecastell the lorde Cobham was complayned of by the generall proctours / yea rather betrayers of Christ in his faythfull members / Accused for maynteynynge the Gospell of Christ.to be ye chefe principall. Him they accused fyrst for a myghtye mayntener of suspected preachers in ye dyoceses of London / Rochestre / & Herforde / contrarye to the myndes of theyr ordynaryes. Not onlye they affermed him to hauehave sent thyder the seyd preachers / but also to hauehave assysted them there by force of armes / not withstandynge theyr synodall constitucyon made afore to the cōtrarye. Last of all they accused him / Accused for his Ehristen beleue.that he was farre otherwyse in beleue of the sacrament of the aultre / of penaunce / of pylgrymage / of ymage worshyppynge / and of the ecclesyastycall power / than the holye churche of Rome had taught manye years afore.
Processe agaynst him.In the ende yt was concluded amonge them / that without anye farther delaye / processe shuld out agaynst him as agaynst a most pernycyouse heretyque. Some of that felyshyp which were of more craftye experiēce than the other / wolde in no case hauehave ye matter so rashlye handeled / but thought this waye moche better.A spirituall practyse. Consyderynge the seyd lorde Cobham was a manne of great byrthe and in fauer at that tyme with the kynge / theyr counsell was to knowe fyrst the kynges mynde / to saue all thynges ryght vp. This counsell was wele accepted / and thervpon the Archebysshop Thomas Arundell with his other Bysshoppes and a great part of the clergye went strayght wayes vntounto the kynge as than remaynynge at kenyngton.A woluyshe generacyon. And there they layed forth most grenouse complayntes agaynst the seyd lorde Cobham / to his great infamye and blemyshe / beynge a manne most godlye. The kynge gentyllye harde those bloud thurstye rauenours / The kynge speaketh for him.& farre otherwyse than became his princelye dignite he ins…aūtlye desyred them / that in respect of his noble stocke and knyghthode they shulde yet fauorablye deale with him. And that they wolde yf yt were possyble / without all rygour or extreme handelynge reduce him agayne to the churches vnyte.His gentyll promes. He promysed them also that in case they were contented to take some delyberacyon / his selfe wolde seryouslye common the matter with him.
Anon after the kynge sent for the seyd lorde Cobham. And as he was come / he called him secretlye admonyshyng him betwixt him and him / to submyt hims…lfe to his mother the holye churche / His admonyshmētand as an obedyent chylde to acknowledge himselfe culpable / vntounto whom the Christen knyght made this answere / yow most worthye prince sayth he… am I alwayes prompt and willynge to obeye / for so moche as I knowe you a Christen kynge and the appoynted minystre of God bearyng his ryghtuouse swerde to the ponnyshment of yll doers and for the sauegarde of them that be vertuouse. VntoUnto you next my eternall lyuynge God owe I my whole obedience / Rom. 13. 1. Pet. 2.and submyt me therunto (as I hauehave done euer all that I hauehave eyther of fortune or nature / redye at all tymes to fulfyll what so euer ye shall in that lorde commaunde me.A most Christen obediēce. But as touchynge the Pope and his spiritualte / trulye I owe thē neyther sure nor seruyce / for so moche as I knowe him by the scripturs to be the great Antichrist / the sonne of perdicyon / the open aduersarye of God / and the abhominacyon standynge in the holye place.2. Thes. 2. Mat. 24. Vvhan the kynge had hearde this with soche lyke sentences more he wolde talke no longar with him / but left him so vtterlye.
And as the Archebysshop resorted agayne vntounto him for an answere / he gaue him his full auctorite to cyte him / examyne him / and ponnyshe him accordynge to the deuylyshe decrees / which they call the lawes of holye churche.Ex vetusto exemplari Condinensiū. Than the seyd Archebyshop by the coū sell of his other Bysshoppes and clergye / appoynted to call before him ye seyd syr Iohan Oldecastell the lorde Cobham / and to cause him personallye to apere / to answere to soche suspected artycles as they shuld laye agaynst him.Cayphas seketh Christ. So sent he forth his chefe sommener with a verye sharpe cytacyon vntounto the castell of Cowlynge / where as he at that tyme dwelt for his solace.Iudas is sent forth And as ye seyd sommener was thyder cōmen / he durst in no case entre the gates of so noble a manne without his lycens / and therfore he returned home agayne / his massage not done.An other Iudas yet is hyered. Than called the Archebysshop one Iohan Butler vntounto him which was than the dorekeper of the kynges preuye chambre / & with him he couenaunted through promyses and rewardes / to hauehave this matter craftelye brought to passe vndre ye kynges name.
Vvhervpon the seyd Iohan Butler toke the Archebysshoppes sommener with him / Iudas kisseth and betrayethand went vntounto the seyd lorde Cobham / shewynge him that it was the kynges pleasure that he shuld obeye that cytacyon / and so cyted him frawde lentlye. Than sayd he vntounto them in fewe wordes / that in no case wolde he cō sent to those most deuylyshe practyses of the Prestes.The malyce of the serpent. As they had infourmed ye Archebysshop of that answere / & that yt was mete for no manne pryuatelye to cyte him after that without parell of lyfe / he decreed by and by to hauehave him cyted by publyque processe or open commaundement.Marke this relygyon of ye papistes. And in all the hast possyble vponupon the wedynsdaye before the Natiuite of oure Ladye in Septembre / he commaunded letters cytatorye to be set vponupon the great gates of the cathedrall churche of Rochestre (which was but iii. Englyshe myles from thens) chargynge him to apere personallye before him at Ledys in the .xi. daye of the same monethmonth and yeare / all excuses to the cō trarye set a part.The cytacyons takē downe. Those letters were taken downe anon after by soche as bare fauer vntounto the lorde Cobham / and so conueyed a syde. After that caused the Archebyshop newe letters to be set vp / on the Natyuyte daye of oure Ladye / which also were rent downe and vtterlye consumed.
Than for so moche as he ded not apere at the daye appoynted at Ledys where as he fate in consystorye as cruell as euer was Cayphas with his court of hypocrytes about him he iudge him / Cayphas sytteth in consystorye.denounced him / and condempned him of most depe contumacye. After that whan he had bene falselye infourmed by his hyred spyes and other glosynge glauerers / False accusacyōs agaynst him.that the seyde lorde Cobham had law hed him to scorne / dysdayned all his doynges / maynteyned his olde opynyōs contemned the churches power / the dignyte of a Bysshop / & the ordre of presthode (for of all these was he than accufed) in his modye madnesse without iust profe ded he openlye excommunicate him.The serpent doth his nature. yet was he not with all this ferce tyrannye qualyfyed / but commaunded him to be cyted a freshe / to apere afore him the Saturdaye before the feast of saynct Matthew the Apostle / with these cruell threttenynges added therūto. That yf he ded not obeye at that daye / he wolde more extremelye handle him. And to make himselfe more stronge towardes the perfourmaunce therof / he compelled the laye power by most terryble manacynges of curses and interdiccyons / Se here how spirituall they be.to assyst him agaynst that sedycyouse apostata / that scysmatyque / that heretyque / that troubler of the publyque peace / that enemye of the realme / and great aduersarye of all holye churche / for all these hatefull names ded he geue him.
This most constaunt seruaunt of the lorde and worthye knyght syr Iohan Oldecastell the lorde Cobham / A myrror of Christē knyght hode.beholdynge the vnpacable furye of Antichrist thus kyndled agaynst him / perscyuynge himselfe also compased on euerye syde with deadlye daungers / he toke paper and penne in hande / & so wrote a Christen confessyon or rekenyng of his fayth (which foloweth here after) and both sygned and sealed it with his owne hande.He confesseth his God before menne. Vvherin he also answereth to the iiii. chefest artycles that the Archebysshop layed agaynst him. That done he toke the copye with him / & went therwith to the kynge / trustynge to fynde mercye and fauer at his hande.The Apostles fayth Non other was that confessyon of his than the cōmon beleue or somme of the churches fayth / called the Apostles crede / of all Christen menne than vsed. As thus.