The Church, Wyclif, and the Lollards

1. The Late Medieval Church Strengths and Weaknesses John Wyclif & Friends Oxford, Gaunt Lollardy to 1414 Beliefs/Grievances Support of Wide Social Strata Strong Government Reaction John Oldcastle The Later Lollards Going Underground Locations & Networks Case Study: Bristol From the 1380s to the 1480s The Church, Wyclif, and the Lollards St. Mary’s Lutterworth, Leicestershire

2. The Late Medieval Church Strengths Making Sense of Madness Liturgical Calendar Education & Catechesis Saints, Pilgrimage, & Morals Order and Sacraments Building Program of 15th Cent. Weaknesses Reputation for Wealth, Greed Land, Plate, Finance Overly-allied with Crown Monopoly of Divine Power Relations with the Papacy Great Schism (1378-1417) Potential for Alienation Chaucer’s Parson

3. Wyclif and Friends John Wyclif (b. c.1320s, d. 1384) Educated at Oxford, 1350s Served as Clergyman, 1360s Volatile Teaching & Preaching, 1370s Papal Censure for Doctrines, ‘77 Oxford & London Taught Many; Large Circles Condemned, Oxford (Eucharist), ‘81 No Direct Connection to ‘81 Revolt Theoretical Critique of Power, tho’ John of Gaunt Protected Wyclif in ‘76/7; turned in ’81 Later Years, ‘81-4 Retired to Write Further Wyclif, anon., n.d.

4. Lollardy to 1414 Beliefs Not Cohesive/Uniform Across Groups Bible Reading > Ceremonies, Rites, Images Personal Relationship (qua Mystics) Grievances (Anticlericalism) Church’s Language, Wealth, Greed Support of Wide Social Strata Oxford, Paris, Prague Scholars “Lollard Knights” at Richard II’s Court Yeomanry, Artisans Urbanites, Merchants, Gentry “Known Men”; “Poor Preachers” Media English Bibles, Sermons, Compilations Wyclif N.T., Glasgow MS Hunter 191; late 14th Century; Gospel of John

5. Reaction Strong Church and State Lollardy Linked to Sedition “Roots of the Tree Upward” Dangerous Doctrines Eucharist and Predestination Thomas Arundel, Abp. Canterbury “Hammer of the Lollards” De haereticocomburendo, 1401 John Oldcastle, Lord Cobham Holdings in Kent, E. Anglia, West Supported Lollard Preaching Heresy Conviction, 1413 Rebellion w/ Lollards, January 1414 Hunted Down, Burnt, 1417 Oldcastle’s End, via John Foxe

6. The Later Lollards Going Underground Post-Oldcastle, Lost Respectability Little Noble Support “Middle Class” Movement Private Conventicles / Meetings Peripatetic Preachers; On the Move Manuscript Circulation / Book Trade Disparate Cells, but Ideologically Linked Locations & Networks Kent, E. Anglia, Leicester, Coventry London: Perennial Hotbed of Radicalism West Country: Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Bath & Wells Diocese Merchant Networks, Trade Routes London, Braun & Hogenberg

7. Case Study: Bristol in the 15th Century Early Links Nicholas of Hereford (English Bible) John Aston (Preacher) William Swinderby (Preacher) John Purvey (Wyclif’s Secretary) Overlapping Episcopal Jurisdictions Lack of Uniform Enforcement Non-resident, Resident Clergy Bishops often in London Sympathetic Preachers Neighborhoods Redcliffe, St. Thomas, Holy Cross of the Temple

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9. William Emayn’s Abjuration, 1429 In primis every praier should be maadimmediatly to God and not to Seints right as the child that had wast his faderis good come immediatly to his fader and asked mercy and his fader forgafhym his trespas. Item hit is not lawful to a man spirituel to charge or to compelleony man to swere on a book Item confession is but a counsail: right as Peter cried God mercy and David and Magdalene and here synne was forgif, so should we do and non otherwise. Item the pope in dedlysinne is Antecrist and not the viker of Crist: for Cristsaith he that is not with me is ayenst me. Item every prest is bound under the payne of dedlysynne to prech Word of God openly. Item it is ayenstGoddeslawe to ony man or woman that is foole to entre into onyhous of religion: for thoo places be the dennes of foxes and of briddesnestes. Item freresshuld not begge but wercke as Pouledede with there handes for thairliflode for they be the childre of sathan. Item hit is not lawful to onyprest which ministreth the sacrament or singeth for a soule in church collage or the other place to take ony salary for his labour. Item the hed of the church is Crist, and thoo that be most vertuous in lyvying be most highest in the church, and thoo that be in dedlysynne be out of the church of Goddes ordinance and on the sinagog of Sathanas. Item to images shulde no maner worship be do neither genufleccionsnerinsensingne non othre thing of worship. Item hit is dampnable to goo on pilgrimage to ony sepulture reliquys of Seintes: for a pilgrimage shulde be do to pouer men. Item hit is dampnable to offer to onyymage. Item hit is not lawful to the king lordesspirituel and temporel be callyng to hem the comones to kepe and execute such ordinances and statutes but they be founded and grounded in Cristes gospel: and the writers of such statutes be like to scribes and pharisees to whom CristsaideVevobisscribis et phariseis, Woo to you scribis and pharisues. Item hit is not lawful neither to spiritual lordes as the pope, archbushops, busshops, abbotes and al other of the prelacie, ne to lordes temporal as the king, princes or ony other of the temporalte to occupie temporal goodes if thay be in dedlysynne: for than they be not lordes ne owners of the same goodes. Item the opinions that Sir John Oldecastel, called the lord Cobham, Maister John Wyclif, Maister William Taillour, Sir William Sawtry, Sir John Beverley and Sir James ------ which persones for their errours and heresies that they pertinatlich defended were convicted and demed for heretikes, and so take to seculerpouer and punished to the deth, were holy men and thair doctrine and opinions were trewe and catholik, and therforthay be worshipped in heven as holy martirs. Item Maister John Wyclif was holier and now is more in blisse and hier in heven glorified than Seint Thomas of Canterbury the glorious Martir. The Register of John Stafford, Bishop of Bath and Wells (Somerset Record Society, 1915), no. 263.