History of the Catholic Church from 600 to 1600, Ecclesiastical epoch 600-1000 · Century 9 · Chapter 4
CHAP. IV. Of BRITAIN.
1. IN the Year of our Lord 824. the Danes were Lords of Northumberland, and raiſed wars againſt Edmund King of England; they took him, and becauſe he would not deny Chriſt, they tied him unto a Tree, and ſhot at him till he died; then they cut off his head, and caſt it among the buſhes. His own Subjects did bury him both head and body at Haleſdon, which from thence was called Edmunds burrow.
2. In the Synod held at Celicyth in England, about the year 816, the fourth Canon is, Let no Scot be permitted to adminiſter Divine Service within any of our Diocies; becauſe as no Biſhop nor Presbyter ſhould meddle with another Diocy without conſent, far leſs ſhould any people receive any Service from them of another Nation, which give no honour unto Metropolitans nor other Biſhops. Sir Hen. Spelman in Concil. Hence it is clear by the teſtimony of that Synod, that at that time Scotland did not acknowledge Biſhops. Of this more hereafter in Cent. XI.
3. In the year 832. Hungus King of Peichts died, and left his ſon Dorſtorlorg to be his Succeſſour, and he was killed by his brother Egan. Egan did think to eſtabliſh himſelf in the Kingdom, by diſtributing his Fathers treaſure amongſt the Nobles; and by marrying his brothers wife Brenna, leſt ſhe thinking her ſelf degraded would excite her father, the King of Merchis, againſt him. Nevertheleſs ſhe murthered him, in revenge of the murther of her huſband. Then Dongal King of Scots, ſent unto the Peichts, and craved their Crown unto Alpin ſon of Achajus, and the ſiſter-ſon of Hungus, and ſo the neareſt heir. They returned anſwer, No Prince of another blood, might by their Laws reign over them; and they were accuſtomed to transfer the Crown from one houſe to another, as they had judged expedient; and for the preſent they had choſen Feredeth their King, neither by their Laws could they deprive him, during his life. Dongal ſent a ſecond meſſage, with certification, that if they did refuſe to do juſtly unto the only heir, he would invade them by Battel. The Peichts ſent ſome armed men, to inhibit the Meſſengers from coming nearer, under pain of death. Wherefore the Ambaſſadours did preſently denounce Wars in the name of King Dongal and Alpine, Boeth lib. 10. cap. 7. Then King Feredeth took unto his proper uſe all the riches and jewels, which others had given unto the Churches; and he bereft Church-men of all the Tithes and their poſſeſſions, and he gave their lands unto his domeſticks; the Nobles condeſcending, and eſteeming all things to be but as fallen into an enemies hand, which had been given unto the Church. In the mean time Dongal levieth an Army; and by the way he died in the water Spey, by force of the ſtream. Then Alpine was crowned King of Scots, and led forward the Army; at Reſtennet he ſlue Feredeth with many of his Nobles. Bruda then was King of Peichts, but injoied not the Kingdom many moneths; his ſon Feredeth had as bad ſucceſs. Then the Scots were careleſs, as if the Peichts could make no more reſiſtance. But another Brudus amaſſeth all their forces, to fight not ſo much for lands and liberty, as for life and children. In Anguiſe they had the victory, and Alpine was taken and brought, with his hands bound, unto the next village, where he was beheaded in the fourth year of his Reign; and his head was fixed on a pole upon the Walls of Camelon, in token of their Victory. Then Brudus conceived it eaſie to root the Scots out of the Iſland, and to this end he levied an Army; but in the field variance fell amongſt them, ſo that Brudus was conſtrained to diſmiſs them. Within three moneths he died, and his brother Drusken ſucceeded. At this time ſome young Gentlemen, pretending themſelves to be Merchants, came into Camelon, and brought away Alpine's head unto his ſon Kenneth. He was deſirous to revenge his fathers death, and to recover his own right; but the Nobility ſaid, It was more expedient to delay, without war or peace, becauſe the wiſeſt and valianteſt were ſlain. At laſt they were perſwaded to take Arms; and when the Armies came near, they joined without the command of their Leaders, and fought cruelly. In the end the Peichts ſought peace, and the Scots would not hear of it: wherefore Drusken gathered all his ſtrength, and in Fife was utterly overthrown; many Peichts were ſlain, none of them (almoſt) remained in their land; ſome did eſcape into Northumberland, and ſome into Denmark. The Scots from thenceforth poſſeſſed all the land on the North of Adrian's wall, and Edinburgh became the Headburgh of Scotland. Boeth ſaith, They who did take the Tithes from the Church, had neither Tithes nor Land within leſs ſpace then ten years, for this was An. 839. At that time the Biſhops ſeat of the Peichts, was tranſlated from Abernethy by Earn, unto Saint Andrews, and that was called the Biſhop-ſeat of the Scots; for before that time Scotland had no Biſhop, and Miniſters were choſen by the ſuffrages of the people, after the manner of Aſia, ſaith Io. Bale in Catal. Illuſtr. cent. 14. cap. 6. And Iohn Mayr in Hiſt. lib. 2. cap. 2. ſaith, The Scots were inſtructed in the faith by Prieſts and Monks, without Biſhops. Boeth lib. 6. cap. 5. ſpeaking of the Emperour Decius, ſaith, In this time the Scots were very profound in Theology and Holy Writ, by the doctrine of certain Monks, which in thoſe daies were called Culdei, that is, the honourers of God; for then all Prieſts that honoured God, were called Culdei. Here it is clear, that I. Mayr and Boeth do ſpeak (after the manner of their own times) of Monks and Prieſts, and they uſe both theſe terms; and in ancient times, the only term was Culdei for the Teachers of the word; but more of this when we come to the erection of Biſhops.
4. Conſtantine, the ſon of Kenneth, convened his Nobles at Scone, about the year 862, ordained that Church-men ſhould attend Divine Service diligently, and abſtain from all civil affairs; they ſhould live content with the Patrimony of their Churches; they ſhould preach the Word of God unto their people, and live as they teach; they ſhould be free from all charges of Wars; they ſhould not feed Horſe nor Hounds for pleaſure; they ſhould bear no weapons, nor judge in civil actions; if they do, they ſhould pay for the firſt fault a ſum of money; and for the ſecond, they ſhould be degraded. He made alſo other Laws for bringing the people unto their old frugality and induſtry. Here Laws are Enacted for Church-men, without Pope or Biſhop. In this King's time came the Danes, with the Peichts, into Scotland, under two Generals Hubba and Humber, they were diſcomfited in Fife; but Conſtantine was ſlain. King Gregory chaſed the Peichts (which were remaining) into Northumberland; where he fought ſo happily with the Danes and Peichts, that they were all (almoſt) ſlain, by Gregory on the one ſide, and by Alfred King of England on the other; and Northumberland was poſſeſſed by the Scots, granting liberty unto the Saxons to go or abide. Becauſe the Britons had aided the Peichts, Gregory took from them Cumber and Weſtmerland, and ſlue their Prince Conſtantine. His brother Herbert, conſidering the hoſtility of the Scots and Danes, choſe to make peace with the Scots. So Alfred drew up a general peace of all the Chriſtians in Britain, againſt the Danes as a common enemy; and it was agreed that Gregory, for his valiantneſs, ſhould perpetually injoy Northumberland. This Gregory, by Act of Parliament at For far, did confirm all the priviledges of the Church; and ordained that Church-men ſhould not be drawn before Civil Judges, but only before their ordinary: he granted unto them to make Laws and Conſtitutions for the good of the Chriſtian faith; to diſcuſs all debates concerning Oblations, Tithes and Legacies or Teſtaments; to accurſe all Rebels, and that all perſons which were excommunicated ſhould not be heard in Civil Courts. Boeth. Hiſtor. lib. 10. cap. 19. Some Iriſh men had ſpoiled Galloway, and returned privily: therefore Gregory went with all haſt into Ireland, he fought two Battels againſt two Governours, and vanquiſhed them. Dublin was rendred unto him; he viſited the young King Duncan, and proteſted that he came not for greedineſs of their Land, but to redreſs the wrong. With conſent of the people, he took upon him the name of Tutor of the King, and committed him unto the truſtieſt of the Nobles, permitting them to uſe their own Laws; and requiring only of them, that without his ſeal they would admit no Engliſh, nor Britan, nor Dane amongſt them; for aſſurance he took with him 60 men in pledge. This Gregory was called the Great, and died An. 892. Buchan. Hiſtor. Scot.
5. The fore-named Alfred was the firſt King of England, who had unction from Rome. He divided his movables into two equal portions; the one he appointed for uſes ſecular, and divided it into three parts; one for his family; another for building of new works, wherein he had great delight; and the third he reſerved for ſtrangers. The other half he dedicated unto uſes Eccleſiaſtical, and divided it into four portions; one for relief of the poor; another to Monaſteries; the third to the Schools in Oxford, where he had erected a School for Grammar, another for Philoſophy, and a third for Divinity; whereas before they had neither Grammar nor Sciences, becauſe Pope Gregory the I. gave in command, that Britain ſhould have no Schools, for fear of Hereſies, but only Monaſteries, Bale. And the fourth part he ſent for the relief of diſtreſſed Churches without his Realm. Sir Hen. Spelman in Concil. pag. 176. ſheweth, that he bewailed the ignorance of the Clergy in his time, that few on the South-ſide of Humber knew the Liturgy in Engliſh, or could tranſlate an Epiſtle into the vulgar language; yea when he came firſt to the Throne, he found not one on the South-ſide of Thames. Note here, they did uſe the Liturgy in Latine, becauſe they had received it ſo from Rome, and becauſe the people in former times did underſtand it; but when the people underſtood it not, the King would have it rather in the vulgar. Alfred died An. 901.
6. John Scot (who was ſurnamed Aerigena, or born in Aire, for diſtinction from a former born at Melroſe, and another in the XIII Century born in Dunce, otherwiſe called Subtilis) was famous for his pregnant judgement, wondrous eloquence, and (in thoſe daies) rare knowledge of the Greek, Chaldean and Arabian languages. He went to Athens, and ſtudied there ſome years. He returned into France, and was much reſpected by Charls the Bald; at whoſe command he tranſlated the Books of Dionyſius De Hierarchia, into Latine. Anaſtaſius Bibliothecary of the Vatican, in the Preface before that Tranſlation, writeth unto the ſame King, It is wonderfull how that barbarous man, which was born at the end of the World, and might have been thought to be as far diſtant in language, as he was in converſation from men, could underſtand ſuch things, and turn them into another language; I mean (ſaith he) John Scot, whom I have heard to have been a very holy man. It is no marvel that he call him barbarous, becauſe the Scots before that time, and ſome hundred years thereafter, did never acknowledge the See of Rome. This John did write a book, De Corpore & Sanguine Domini, againſt the opinion of carnal preſence; which was condemned at the Synod of Vercelles, as followeth. Bellarmin de Euchariſt. lib. 1. cap. 1. ſaith, This man was the firſt who writ doubtingly of this matter. It is the fault of the Romaniſts that his book is not extant; but ſince it was not condemned by the Church for the ſpace of 200 years, and none of his time ſpoke againſt that book, he wanted no reaſon in it. He writ a book of 19 Chapters, De unica Praedeſtinatione, more curious then ſound; which was anſwered by Florus of Lions, as is before. He writ alſo a book with a Greek Title, foreign, of the diſtinction of natures: Some write, In it is the reſolution of many profitable queſtions, but ſo that he followeth the greeks more then the Latines, and for this the Pope did perſecute him; he fled into England, and was in account with Alfred, and was his Counſellour and Teacher of his children; afterwards he retired to the Abbey at Malmsbury, where his Diſciples murthered him with their pen-knives; being inticed thereunto by the Monks, becauſe he did ſpeak againſt the carnal preſence; as ſaith Zepper. de calumnia haereſ. Berengar. and was accounted a Martyr, as is recorded by Guiliel. Malmsbu. de geſt. reg. Angl. lib. 2. cap. 4.