The Pageant of Popes, Book 6 · Part 17
137. Iohn the xxiii.
IOhn the xxiii. a Frenchman borne, called Iacob Caturcensis bishop and Cardinall of Portua, after ye seate had beene voyde through ye discorde of 23. Cardinals ii. yeares, was chosen Pope at Lions: from thence remouinge his Court to Auenio he created viii. Cardinals, amonge whō was Iacob Caturcensis the yonger his sisters sonne, and Iohn Caietan of the house of Vrsine. He deliuered Hugh Gerard bishop of Caturcia, to a seculer Courte beinge disgraded and spoyled of his pontifical araye to be tormēted, his skin fleed from his bodye & then to be burned to death, because he had (as he saide) conspired against his parson. He was so new fangled that he made much chopping and chaunginge, erecting and supplanting of bishoprickes, abbeyes, and such like dignityes. He made two Thomasses Saincts, the one bishop of Hertford in England, ye other Thomas Aquinas a dominican, beside sondrye other. Hee ordayned that belles should be ronge thrise in the day, that the people fallinge on their knees euen as they go in theyr waye, shoulde saye Aue Maria thrise. He condemned them for obstinate heretickes, that defended that Christ and his Apostles possessed nothing priuatly, and sent commaundement to the Uniuersities that no scholers should presume to dispute therof. He condemned the wryting of one Peter a franciscan fryer, who wente aboute to encourage men to follow the pouertye of Christe, for the which thinge many were condemned & burnte. He exempted the white fryers from all iurisdiction, reseruing them onelye to S. Peters auctoritye his deare children, and made diuers of them bishops: for (by the suggestion of Sathan, as surely it maye be well thoughte) he had a wonderfull straunge vision before he came to be Pope, as he him selfe testifyeth in a certaine bull, that is this: That the Uirgin Mary deliuered him from his ennemyes amonge great debate of the Cardinals, and made him Pope, but vponupon this condition that he should saue from Purgatorye these his bretherne. This Pope Iohn taught certaine errours, namelye that ye soules departed from the bodye do not see God till the day of Iudgemente: for so (sayth Massaeus) his father taughte him, being deluded with the false visiō of one Tundalus an Irishman. He sent to Paris twaine, the one a dominicke ye other a franciscan, to preach ye same heresye: but one Thomas VValleis an English fryer dominick, withstoode the Pope in his heresye, whom the Pope committed to prison. Durandus of S. Porcian, VVilliam of Callis, and other wt stoode the Pope likewyse. Touching the errour & grosse heresye of this Pope Iohn, he was charged with it in the councell of Constance by these wordes: Pope Iohn sayde and stubbornely beleeued, that the soule of man dyeth together with the body, & is consumed to nothing like the soule of brute beastes: whereof he neuer would purge him selfe. Furthermore because that Thomas Vvalleis an Englishman was imprisoned by the Pope for reprouinge his heresye, the kinge of Fraunce sommoned a councell into his Pallaice in Viciana sylua, where the whole assemblye subscribed against the Popes heresye: and therefore the kinge sent to Pope Iohn, willinge him both to reforme his heresye, and also to deliuer the prysoner, & so the said Thomas was set at libertye. This Pope reformed and transposed the orders & decrees of the Church at his owne pleasure, & made Colledges of Scribes according to the nomber of the Apostles, who receyuing their fee, should write such letters as he should appoint. He cōdemned Iohn Poliacus a deuine, because he taught that mē should not trust the begging fryers. He cōpelled certaine Nonnes called Biginae to marrye, and detested pictures. He helde it for a grounded article that Christ gaue none other rule of godlinesse to his Apostles then to other Christians, and that ye Apostles neuer vowed pouertye. Iohn Mandeuil in his first booke and seuenth Chapter, sheweth that this Pope wrote at large to the Greekes that there is but onelyonly one Christian Church, and that he was head thereof and vicar of Christ, to whō the Greekes aunswered briefely: VVee do assuredlye acknowledge your highe power ouer your subiectes, but wee cannot abide your high pride, wee cannot stanch your greedye couetousnes: the deuill is with you but God is with vsus. Thus briefely in a worde they reuealed the Popes estate. This Pope condemned Lewis Bauare a noble Emperour, to be a rebell to the Church, a scismaticke and hereticke, because he toke vponupon him by the Electours choyse the gouernment of ye Empyre, not vowing anye fealtye to the Pope. Thus wryteth Iohn Marius of this Emperour Lewis: Pope Iohn (sayth he) hated vntounto death Lewis Bauare, partly because he beinge chosen by the estates of Germanye kinge of the Romaynes, did disdaine to receyue at the Popes hand (according to ye Canon of Pope Clement the fifte) the name and title Emperiall, partly againe because he defended from the Popes power certaine monkes whom he had condemned for heretickes: therefore Pope Iohn auouched Lewis to be an hereticke. Lewis comminge into Italye, appointed his deputies in eueryevery Cittye and came to Millen: and because he desired to qualifye the Popes displeasure, he sent Embassadours to him kepinge his courte then at Auenio in Fraunce, to require of him the ornamentes belonging to the estate imperiall, with freindlye affection as his auncestours had done: the Pope did not onelye denye the sute, but sent awaye the Embassadours with great reproche, and cited the Emperour him selfe peremptory wyse (as they terme it) to come to Auenio, & submit himselfe to the Canons of ye Church. The Emperour knowinge the Popes tyrannye vsed in his Church, & vnderstanding that he had his estate giuen him from God, desired to keepe and defende the same holye and vndefiled: and therefore woulde not submit himselfe like a slaue vntounto Popes, and so denyed to come to Auenio. And yet being desirous of peace, he besought the Pope by Embassadours once againe, to bestowe on him with curtesye ye ornamentes of the Empyre: the Pope stoode peuishlye in his wilfulnes, vaunting and boasting in his wrytings, yt he had power to playe make & marre wt Princes, and yt at his pleasure he might set vp and depose whom he listed: and yt the Empyre being voyde, the Pope is ful Emperour: And for malice against Lewis he excōmunicated the Uicounts, whom the Emperour had appointed to gouerne Millen. The Emperour perceyuinge the Popes obstinate minde, taking with him many Princes of Italye came to Rome, and was honourablye receyued of al the people, and required according to the custome to receiue the solemnityes of the Empyre. The Romaine peeres and all the people sent Embassadours to Pope Iohn in Fraunce, and humbly besought him to come to visit his City Rome, & to bestowe vponupon the king of the Romaynes the imperiall rites: which if he would not do, they said plainly that they them selues would keepe the ould law & priuiledge of the Romaynes. Iohn hauing heard the Embassadours, vsing great threates and terrours draue them away with foule rebuke frō him. The Romaynes, seing this decreed to yeld to the noble Lewis his lawfull request: and so by the commaundement of the clergy and people, both he and his wyfe together were crowned by Steuē & Nicolas being Senatours, in the meane time the nobilitye shouted oute, saying: God saue Lewis Augustus Emperour of the Romaynes. The Pope hearing this (though the Emperour did nothing but that was lawful and godly) did accuse him for a traytour, and an heretick: he published sore processe against him, put him frō his estate imperial, depriued him of his kingdome, condemned him by vile and cruel curse of excōmunication, as a rebell and Captaine heretick againste the Church of Rome, by meanes whereof he enflamed all Christendome with such discord & deadly warres, as could not afterward be quenched in thirty yeres. Thus farre wryteth Marius.
Thus the Pope had nothing to defende his forged supremacye and auctoritye, but the dreadfull boultes of his excommunication. But there were certaine at this time as well deuines as lawyers, which preached that Christe and his Apostles did possesse nothinge properlye, and that the Emperour in temporall cases was not subiect to ye Pope: Amonge these men were Michael Coesenus & VVilliam Occam minorites, Marsilius of Padua & Iohn of Iandane lawyers, with diuers other. Lewis the Emperour was so comforted by these, that he did stoutly withstand the Popes ententes, and published this his appellation about the coastes of his Empyre.
¶ The Emperours letters.
WE Lewis kinge of the Romaynes, doe pronounce against Iohn (who saith that hee is Pope) that he doth naughtelye execute the testament and will of Christe cō cerning peace, troubling the cōmon tranquility of Christendome, neither is he mindfull that what honour soeuer he nowe doth enioye, was first giuen by the holye Emperour Constantine, to Syluester euen when he forfeare lurked in forrestes. Thus doth he shewe himselfe vnthankful to the Romaine Empire, from whence hee reaped all the roialty which now he abuseth &c.
Thus when Lewis and the peeres of Rome perceyued well the iniquitye of Pope Iohn, and the people of Rome from the hyest to the lowest, did take it in euill part that ye Embassadours whō they had sent were so mocked of him, they all agreed together that the ould custome of chosing the Pope should be brought into the Church: that is, that he being chosen by the people of Rome, should be admitted and allowed by ye Emperour. Therefore one Peter of Corbaria a minorite was made Pope, and was called Nicolas the fifte: and as for Iohn they cōcluded of him that he was an heretick, and a tyrant of the Church, not a pastour but a breaker of the common peace of Christians. In the meane time Pope Iohn Anno 1335. in the fourscore & x. yeres of his age dyed at Auenio. About ye yeare of our Lord 1326. in ye time of this Pope Iohn, the prelats of Englād played a stout prancke: for the bishop of Hertford was by the kinges commaundement wt other mo impeached of treason, & finally arested in the Parliamēt house to aunswere to his endightmēts. Whereunto after long pauze he aunswered (clayming the priuiledge of the Church) saying thus: I am humble mynister of the holye Church &c. and cannot neither ought to aunswere to such matters, without ye auctoritye of the bishop of Canterbury my directe iudge nexte vnderunder the Pope &c. whereupon the other bishops stept vp and sued to the kinge for this their fellowe. But when ye king would not yeld, the said bishops together wt the archbishops and the clergye comming with theyr crosses, toke him away perforce, chalenginge him to the Church wtout any other aunswere: charging moreouer vnderunder ye censure of terrible excommunication, none to presume to laye any further handes vponupon him. And yet the kinge encouraged herewith commaunded lawe to passe vponupon him, and he being found gilty his goodes to be confiscate: but yet the partye remayned safe vnderunder protection of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
This Pope lefte more abundance of treasure then euer any other did, namely fiue and twenty thousand thousande Crownes in gould, and yet but latelye before he ioyned in warre with Robert kinge of Apulia to defende Genua, in which warre (sayth Antonius Florentinus) eyther syde spente as much treasure as woulde hauehave boughte a good kingdome.