Christs Victory over Satans Tyranny, Book 6 · Part 48 – Part 51
VVALTER MILL.
AMongst the rest of the Martirs of Scotland the constancy of Walter Mill, is not to be passed in silence, out of whose Ashes sprang thousands of his opinion▪ who chose rather to dye, then to bee any longer ouer-trodden with the cru…l, beastly, and ignorant Byshops, Abbots, Monkes, and Fryers: and scone after his Martyrdome, the Congregation began to debate true Religion against the Papists.
He climbing vp into a Pulpet to be examined before the Bishops, they séeing him so weake, partly by age, and partly trauell, and euill intreatment, that hee could not climbe vp without helpe: they thought they should not hauehave heard him, but when he spake he made the Church sound with great stoutnesse, that the Christions reioyced, and the Aduersaries were ashamed: At first hee knéeling, praying long, and was commaunded to rise and answere his Articles, calling him Sir Walter Mill, He said, he ought to obay God more then Men, and where you call me Sir Walter, call me Walter; for I hauehave bin ouer long one of the Popes Knights.
Oliphant.
What think you of Priests marriage?
Mille.
I hold it a blessed band: for Christ made it free to all men, but you abhorre it, and take other mens wiues and daughters: you vow chastitie and breake it. Paule hade rather marrie then burne: the which I hauehave done, for God neuer forbade marriage to any estate or degrée.
Oliph.
Thou sayest there is not seuen Sacraments.
Mille.
GiueGive me the Lords Supper and Baptisme, and take you the rest: and if there be seuen, why omit you one of them, to wit marriage, and giuegive your selues to whoredeme?
Oliph.
Thou art against the blessed Sacrament of the Altar.
Mill.
If a King bid many to a feast, and when they sit downe to eate, he turn his back to them and eate vp all himselfe, doth he not mock them? euen so do you mock the people, eating and drinking the Sacrament, and giuing them none: the Sacrament of God is not to be taken carnally but spiritually, and stands in faith onelyonly. Your masse is wrong, for Christ was once offered vponupon the Crosse for mans trespasse, and will neuer be offered againe.
Oliph.
Thou deniest the office of a Bishop.
Mill.
I affirme, those which you call Bishops doe not the workes of Bishops, but liue after their sensuall pleasures, and take no care for the flocke, nor yet regard the word of God, but desire to be honoured and called Lords.
Oliph.
Thou speakest against pilgrimages.
Mill.
I say it is not commaunded in Scripture, and that there is no greater whoredom in no places then at your pilgrimages, except in common Brothell-houses.
Oliph.
Thou preachest priuatly in houses, and openly in fields.
Mill.
Yea man, and in the Sea also, sayling in a ship.
Oliph.
If thou wilt not recant I will pronounce sentence.
Mill.
You shall know that I will not recant: for I am corne and not chaffe, I will not be blowne away with the winde, nor burst with the flaile, but I will abide both.
When sentence was pronounced, and he to be deliuered to the temporall Iudge, his constancie so moued the hearts of many, that the Prouost of the Towne Patricke Learmond, though he were Steward of the Bishops regalitie, refused to bee his temporall Iudge: and the Bishops Chamberlaine being therewith charged, would not take vponupon him so vngodly an office: the Bishops seruants could get neuer a cord in the whole towne for money to tye him to the stake withall, nor a Tarre barrell to burne him when he came to the stake. He said to Oliphant, Put me vp with thy hands, and take part in putting me to death, for by Gods law I am forbidden to lay hands on my selfe. Then he put him vp with his hands; and he ascended gladly, saying, Introibo ad altare Dei, and desired he might speake to the people, which was denied him, they saying he had spoken too much already. Then some of the yong men committed the burners, and the Bishops their Masters to the Diuell, and bade him speake what he pleased.
Then after he had prayed, standing vponupon the coales, said, I die onelyonly for the defence of the faith of Christ, for the which the faithfull Martyrs hauehave offered themselues gladly before, being assured after the death of their bodies of eternall felicitie. And I praise God he hath called me of his merciemercy, amongst the rest of his seruants, to seale vp his truth with my life; therefore as you will escape eternall death, be not seduced with the lies of Priests, Monks, Friers, and the rest of that Sect, but depend onelyonly vponupon the death of Iesus Christ and his merciemercy, that you may in the time to come be deliuered from condemnation. All the while the multitude greatly mourned, perceiuing his mighty patience, constancie and boldnesse; whereby their hearts were so much enkindled and inflamed, that he was the last Martyr that died in Scotland euer after for religion.
After this by Gods iust iudgement, in the same place where Walter Mill was burned, the Images of the great Church of the Abbey, which passed in number and costlines, were burned in time of reformation.
Heere followeth in the booke of Martyrs the names of diuers which were omitted by him in King Henrie the eighth his time, and an instrument of the Popes definitiue sentence against Henrie the eighth for his diuorse with Katharine Dowager, and the instrument of the Bull of Pope Leo against Martin Luther, and his answer to it; in which for breuitie sake I leaue thee to the booke at large if thou be disposed to see them, and also the last Will and Testament of King Henry, and the manner of his death.
A Storie of certain Friers in France in the Citie of Orleance in the yeare 1534.
THe Mayors wife of the Citie prouided in her Will that she should be buried without any pompe or solemnitie: for the Bell did vse to warne eueryevery one to pray for the dead corps; and when it is carried forth all or the most part of the begging Friers goe before it with Torches and Tapers, and the more pompe is vsed, the greater is the concourse of people; but this woman would none of this gears, the which buriall of hers, her husband performed according as she required in her Will.
Then one Colman and Steuen Arras Doctors of Diuinitie: and the first a Coniurer, set a young man, which was a nouice, ouer the Uault of the Church, and when they came according to their vse to Mattins at mid-night, he made a wonderfull noyse and shrieking: then this Colman went to crossing and coniuring, but the other aboue would not speake; and being charged to make a signe whether he were a dumbe spirit or no, hee ratled and made a great noyse againe.
Then they tolde some of the chiefest of the Citie what a heauie chance had happened, and intreated them to come to their seruice at night. When they were there, and the seruice begunne, he aloft made a great noyse: being demaunded what he would, he made signes he could not speake: then he was commaunded to answere Intergatories by signes, and when any question was asked he strook vponupon the Table so that he might be heard: then he was demaunded whether he was any that were buried there; then they reckoned vp diuers, and at last the Mayors wife: here he made a signe that he was the spirit of that woman; then he was asked whether he was damned for Couetousnesse, Pride, Lecherie, or not doing workes of Charitie, or else for Lutheranisme; then by striking twise or thrise vponupon the Table gaue them to vnderstand that Luthers heresie was the cause of her damnation: and being asked whether the bodie buried in holy ground should be digged vp and carried …hence, he made signes it should be so: then the Friers desired the Citizens to set their handes to a writing, testifying that which they had séene, but for feare of the Mayor, they refused to subscribe: then the Friers took the Pixe, with the Host, and the Lords body, and all the reliques of Saints, and carried them to another place, and there they said their masses: then the officiall came thither, and would faine hauehave seene the spirit coniured, and one should go into the vault and sée if any spirit appeared: but he could not get them to disturb the spirit any more.
… Then the Mayor informed the King of the whole matter, and the King sent certaine to know whether it were so, or no: then they put the d…ers thereof into seuerall Prisons, and examined them apart, and a great while they would confesse nothing: at length, the Iudges promising the nouice that he should hauehave no harme, nor come no more into the Fryers hands, he declared to them the whole matter in order: wherupon they were committed to Orleance to prison. And it was certainly reported, that the King would hauehave plucked down the House: but euen at the same time chanced a persecution against the Lutherans, and they feared the punishment of these men should hauehave bin a reproch vntounto the Order, and a cause of much reioycing to the Lutherans. These were Francis…an Fryers.
A Storie of certaine Monks of Sueuia.
GVnrame, a noble Baron, in the yeare 1130. builded an Abbey in Sueuia, called Salmesuille, of Cistercian Monks. Amongst many Benefactors to the said House, the Earles of Montfort had bestowed vponupon that Monasterie many new Liberties and Priuiledges, vponupon condition, that they should receiue with frée hospitalitie any stranger, Horse-man or Foot-man, for one night: but this hospitalitie did not long continue, through a subtile deuise of one of the Monks, who would counterfeit the Diuell, ratling and raging in chaynes at the lodgings where the strangers should lie: and so continued this a long space. At length, an Earle of the house of Montfort was lodged at the Monasterie: when the Earle was at his rest, in the night the Monke, after his wonted manner, began to play the Diuell, roring, thundering, spitting of fire, and making a noyse: the Earle hearing thereof, tooke a good heart, and taking his sword, slew the Monk. And thus the Diuell of the Abbey was coniured, which stopped the guests from comming to the House. Who lift to see more and worse pranks of Friers and Monks, played in their Houses & Cloysters, let them resort to the Epistle of Erasmus, and he shall find ynough to infect the aire.
IOHN BROVVNE, a blessed Martyr, burned at Ashford in the second yeare of Henrie the eighth, Anno 1511.
THe said Iohn Browne passing to Graues-end in a Barge, a Priest began to swell and stomack that he should sit so neere him, at length said, Doest thou know who I am, thou fittest so neere me and vponupon my clothes? No sir, said the other. I tell you, said he, I am a Priest. What sir, are you a Parson or Uicar, or some Ladies Chaplain? No, said he, I sing for a Soule. I pray you, said the other, where find you the Soule when you go to Masse? I cannot tel, said he. I pray where do you leaue it when you hauehave done Masse? I know not; said the Priest. How then, said the other, can you saue the Soule? I perceiue thou art an Heretick, said the Priest. Within three daies after, by vertue of a Warrant …rom the Archbishop, with a Baylife and two of the Bishops men, they came suddenly into the house of the said Browne, as he was carrying a dish of meat to his guests (for his wife was that day Churched) they layd hands on him, and carried him to Canterburie, where they kept him fortie dayes: in which time he was so pitifully entreated by Warram the Archbishop, and Fisher Bishop of Rochester, that he was set bare-footed vponupon hote burning coales, to make him denie his Faith; which he bare patiently, and continued in maintaining the Lords quarrell vnremoueable: then he was sent to Ashford, where he dwelt, the next day to be burned: where he was set in the Stocks all night; his wife sate all the while by him, to whom he declared the whole Tragedie of his handling: how they burned his …e…t to the bones, that he could not set them to the ground, to make him denie his Lord here: which if I should hauehave done, he would denie me hereafter; therefore good wife, continue as thou hast begun, and bring vp thy children in the feare of God: where the next day he was burned. This Iohn Browne bare a Faggot seuen yeares before this, whose sonn…, named Richard Browne▪ for the like cause of Religion, was imprisoned at Canterburie in the later time of Queene Marie, and should hauehave beene burned, with two more: but the next day after Queene Marie died, and they escaped by the Proclamation of Queen… Elizabeth.