Life of Matthew Parker (Strype, 1821)/Book III/Chapter XIV

This is the enhanced reading edition of Book III, Chapter XIV of John Strype's The Life and Acts of Matthew Parker (1821). The text has been proofread against the 1821 Clarendon Press scan, with editorial enhancements: descriptive section headings, English translations of Latin passages (the original Latin being preserved), verified internal links, and editorial notes clearly distinguished from Strype's own text. Spelling and substance are as in the original.

The Archbishop makes inquiry into the Clergy of his province. Appoints public prayers against the Turk. Robinson consecrated Bishop of Bangor. His sermon. The Archbishop receives information where Cranmer's and Ridley's Disputations at Oxford were. Desires of Grafton a sight of certain ancient authors used in his Chronicle. This historian's condition. The Archbishop informed of the misbehaviour of one Day, Curate of Maidstone. The Earl of Oxford holds in Knight's service of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

An Inquiry into the Clergy of the Province

BUT now to return to our Archbishop again, and to make some further discovery of his extraordinary diligence and care in his office. To know the true state of his province, and what kind of Clergy for learning and abilities, and what numbers to supply the cures, and what parishes void there now were, and especially how the cathedrals were supplied, that he might the better take order in the Church, and see what proficiency it had made in seven or eight years; he sent a letter to the Bishop of London, (and the like I suppose he did to the rest of the Bishops,) to certify him on this side Michaelmas of these things, viz. of the names, surnames, degrees, and reputed age of all Deans, Archdeacons, Dignitaries, and Prebendaries, within his cathedral church, and of all others any ways beneficed, or having any spiritual promotion within his diocese. And how many of them be resident; and where and in what place and calling the absents do live; and how many of all such be Ministers or Deacons; and how many no Priests nor Deacons; and how many be learned and able to preach; and how many be licensed, and by whom they be so; and how many of them do keep hospitality upon their benefices; with a note of all vacant benefices, and the names of such as do receive the fruits thereof. The Archbishop undoubtedly had great ends in this inquiry; as to know in what better state the Church now was, as to the number and improvements of the Clergy, and also to stop the mouths of Papists or other enemies of the Church, who failed not to make representations bad enough of them: and where there were defects, by knowledge thereof to be the better able to redress them.

Prayers Against the Turk

The Turks were now very unquiet in the parts next their dominions, and poor Hungary was in danger of being overrun by them. Our most reverend Father now, to shew himself a truly Catholic Bishop, that had a tender concern for the welfare of all Christians, wheresoever dispersed, ordered a form of prayer to be used every Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday, throughout the whole realm, to excite and stir up all godly people to pray unto God for the preservation of those Christians and their countries, that were then invaded by the Turks in Hungary or elsewhere. This form was printed, and set forth by the most reverend Father in God Matthew, Archbishop of Canterbury. The Preface to which shewed, "That whereas the Turks the last year most fiercely assaulting the isle of Malta with a great army and navy, by the grace and assistance of Almighty God were from thence expelled and driven with their great loss, shame, and confusion; they, being inflamed with malice and desire of revenge, did now by land invade the kingdom of Hungary, (which had been of long time a most strong wall and defence to all Christendom,) far more terribly and dreadfully, and with greater force and violence, than they did either the last year, or at any time within the remembrance of man. That it was therefore our parts, which for distance of place cannot succour them with temporal aid of men, to assist them at least with spiritual aid: that is to say, with earnest hearts and fervent prayers; and that the Emperor, as God's principal minister, might repress the rage and violence of these infidels; who by all tyranny and cruelty labour heartily to root out not only true religion, but also the name and members of Christ, and all Christianity. And for so much as, if the infidels, who have already a great part of that most goodly and strong kingdom in their possession, should prevail wholly against the same, all the rest of Christendom should lie as it were naked and open to their incursions and invasions, to the most dreadful danger of whole Christendom."

There was one prayer to be used for the morning and another for the evening. That for the evening was to this tenor:

"O God of hosts, most righteous Judge, and most merciful Father. The dreadful dangers and distresses wherein other Christian men our brethren and neighbours do now stand, by reason of the terrible invasion of most cruel and deadly enemies the Turks, infidels and miscreants, do set before our eyes a terrible example of our own worthy deserts by our continual sinning and offending against thy great Majesty and most severe justice, and do also put us in remembrance here in this our realm of England, of our most deserved thanks for our great tranquillity, peace, and quietness, which we by thy high benefit, and preservation of our peaceable Prince whom thou hast given us, do enjoy, while others, in the like or less offences than ours are against thy Majesty, are by thy righteous judgments so terribly scourged. This thy fatherly mercies do set forth thy unspeakable patience, which thou usest towards us thy ingrate children, as well in the same thy gracious benefits of such our peace and tranquillity, as in thy wholesome warnings of us, by thy just punishments of others less offenders than we be. For the which thy great benefits bestowed upon us without our deserving, as we praise thy fatherly goodness towards us, so being stricken in our minds with great dread of thy just vengeance, for that we do so little regard the great riches of thy fatherly goodness and patience towards us, we most humbly beseech thee to grant us thy heavenly grace, that we continue no longer in the taking thy manifold graces and goodness in vain. And upon deep compassion of the dreadful distresses of our brethren and neighbours, the Christians, by the cruel and most terrible invasion of these most deadly enemies the Turks, we do make and offer up our most humble and hearty prayers before the throne of thy grace, for the mitigation of thy wrath, and purchase of thy pity and fatherly favour towards them; and not only towards them, but to us also by them. For so much as our danger or safety doth follow upon success of them. Grant them and us thy grace, O most merciful Father, that we may rightly understand and unfeignedly confess our sins against thy Majesty to be the very causes of this thy scourge and our misery. Grant us true and hearty repentance of all our sins against thee; that the causes of thy just offence being removed, the effects of these our deserved miseries may withal be taken away. Give to thy poor Christians, O Lord God of hosts, strength from heaven, that they neither respecting their own weakness and paucity, nor fearing the multitude and fierceness of their enemies or their dreadful cruelty, but setting their eyes and only hope and trust upon thee, and calling upon thy name who art the Giver of all victory, may by thy power obtain victory against the infinite multitudes and fierceness of thine enemies. That all men, understanding the same to be the act of thy grace, and not the deed of man's might and power, may give unto thee all the praise and glory: and especially thy poor Christians by thy strong hand being delivered out of the hand of their enemies, we, for their and our safety with them, may yield and render unto thee all lauds, praises, and thanks, through thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ. To whom with thee and the Holy Ghost, one eternal God of most sacred Majesty, be all praise, honour, and glory, world without end, Amen."

Robinson Consecrated Bishop of Bangor

Now at length was consecrated Nic. Robynson, D. D. Bishop of Bangor, a Welshman, of the University of Cambridge, spoken of under the last year, succeeding in the room of Merick deceased. This Robinson was the Archbishop's Chaplain, eloquent in the English and Latin tongues, well furnished with human learning and divinity, and in Queen Mary's reign had suffered much from the Papists in the foresaid University, where he seemed then to reside. Among the Archbishop's papers there is a sermon, known to be this man's, by what the Archbishop by his own hand noted upon it, viz. Concio N. Robinson ("Robinson's sermon"): it was preached near this time before some great audience either at Court or St. Paul's Cross, by the Archbishop's order. By which may be perceived his great ability in preaching, and what sort of preaching there was even in those first times of Queen Elizabeth; and what sins prevailed. I will give some few lines of it therefore in this place.

"It is a pitiful case to see abroad in country and town (and we may see it daily, if we shut not our eyes) godly preaching heard without remorse or repentance; lawful prayers frequented without any devotion, fastings kept without affliction, holy days kept without any godliness, almsgiving without compassion, Lent openly holden without any discipline. And what fruit of life may be looked for, upon so simple a seed sowing? He will not come to church, but that the law compelleth him: he will never be partaker of the most reverend mysteries, if he might otherwise avoid shame: he heareth the chapters, to jeer at them afterwards: he cometh to the sermon for fashion sake only. He makes himself Minister to get a piece of a living. He sings stoutly for the stipend only. Chrysostom eloquently lamenting the corrupt manners of his days, universally throughout all estates, high and low, rich and poor, man and wife, master and servant, judgeth all at length to spring of this root, that things in the Church were done ὡς κατὰ συνηθείων, as it were for fashion sake only, as church prayer, God's word, sacraments, service, &c. And alas! among us for fashion sake, men of worship have chaplains, peradventure to say service. For fashion sake simple men are presented to cures, and have the name of parsons. For fashion sake some hear the Scripture, to laugh at the folly thereof. For fashion sake merchantmen have Bibles, which they never peruse. For fashion sake some women buy Scripture books, that they may be thought to be well disposed: yea, for fashion sake many good laws are lightly put in execution, and so forth. And many carry death on their fingers, [a ring with a death's head,] when he is never nigh their hearts. He abhorreth superstition, because he would live as he list: he is a Protestant, because of his lands: I warrant you, he hateth the Pope, because he is married: he must needs be a favourer of religion, because of his promotions. From all these fashions what ill fashions in manners and life must spring, we may easily conjecture. I fear me, (and pray God from my heart it be not so,) many deal now with God's sincere religion publicly professed, (for the which the Lord's name be blessed,) as Dionysius the younger in his time did with philosophy: who indeed, though he maintained many philosophers at his house right well, and sometime reasoned of the Divinity, and conferred with them; yet in his heart, as he said, he neither regarded nor esteemed them a haw; saving, that by that means he might be thought of many, a philosopher or a favourer of wisdom. Many think it enough to be thought Protestants. Here I forgat the example of Saul; Honora me coram populo." ("Honour me before the people." — 1 Sam. xv. 30.)

The Oxford Disputations Sought After

At or near this time I find two learned historians applying to the Archbishop. The one was John Fox, who by his letter signified to his Grace and the Bishop of London, that he had found in a register of a certain church in London, (as he was a curious searcher into registers and records,) that the famous disputations of Dr. Cranmer, Dr. Ridley, and Dr. Latymer, with the Oxford Divines, were under the seal of the University, and the subscription of notaries exhibited into the House of Convocation by Hugh Weston (the chief moderator of those disputes) and some lawyers: which was celebrated in the first of Queen Mary, Boner being Bishop of London: and that there were contained under the same seal other things perhaps not unworthy knowledge. That he had endeavoured to search them out; but when his pains succeeded not, he was compelled to desire the assistance of some that belonged to the Convocation House. Dr. Incent, that was Actuary, told him, that these papers were either in Boner's hands, or in the custody of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and that he had them not. And having given this information to the said Archbishop and Bishop, Fox left it to them to consult as they thought good for the finding of these writings. Which no question set the Archbishop on work, who was an elaborate collector and retriever of such things.

Grafton and the Ancient Authors

The other historian was Richard Grafton. The Archbishop was an earnest student in the ancient history of this his native country, and more especially of the ecclesiastical history thereof. And reading Grafton's history, he met with the mention of two things relating to antiquity, that he was desirous to make more diligent inquiry into. The one was a book of Guido [he surnamed De Columna perhaps] which Grafton had mentioned to be in his possession. This the Archbishop did desire of him a sight of. The other was a passage concerning King Lucius, the first Christian King of Britain, and concerning two men named Elvanus and Medwinus, whom Eleutherius, Bishop of Rome, had sent to this King to convert the inhabitants to the faith, and concerning the conversion of them. The Archbishop's request was to know whence he had those names and the rest of the story. This probably the Archbishop was the more desirous to be informed in, because he intended to make some use of the history of this conversion in his Preface to the Great English Bible, and in his Antiquitates Britannicæ; both which he had now under his hand: in the former whereof I remember he makes mention thereof.

Grafton accordingly gave the Archbishop a letter, wherein he certified his Grace, that concerning the book of Guido, he had sought for it, but could not find it. But to his remembrance he had delivered it to Mr. Keyes, [Caius the antiquarian I suppose,] and that he would send for it, and then his Grace should see it. And that as for the matter of Lucy, [Lucius,] he added, that Eleutherius sent Elvanus and Medwinus unto him, that the Britains might receive the faith of Christ: that their two names were added by Mr. Keyes, [who, as it seems, had a great hand in Grafton's history:] but where he found them he knew not. But he would learn of him, and certify his Grace. And finally, that the rest of the story of Lucy was in Fabian, [a chronicler in the time of Henry VII.] in the third book, fol. 59.

Grafton's Condition Under Elizabeth

The mention of Grafton here gives me occasion to say somewhat more of that eminent printer, and confessor too: for he suffered imprisonment under Queen Mary; the Popish party having a mortal hatred against the man, who was the first that printed the English Bible. He wrote also, or published, a very good Chronicle, as was hinted above. King Edward VI. ought him 300l. I suppose the debt was chiefly for an edition of the Bible in his days. Under Queen Elizabeth he fell down stairs, and brake his leg in two places; which made him lame to the day of his death. And by this and other mischances he was reduced in his last age to poverty. So that I find in fifteen hundred seventy and odd, he petitioned the Queen for the benefit of a penal statute made in the eighth of her reign, for the setting a work the greater number of cloth-workers. Which statute was, that whosoever should after the making of that act be licensed to carry cloth out of the realm undressed, should for every nine cloths undressed carry also one cloth of like goodness dressed within the realm, upon pain of the forfeiture, for every nine cloths so carried, of ten pounds, one moiety to the Queen, and the other to the Master and Wardens of the cloth-workers. But the cloth-workers, being now most of them merchants, were offenders against this statute themselves, and would not punish any offenders or offence. Now Grafton desired that the Queen would grant to him and his assigns authority in her name to put in suit the offenders against the said statute; and for his pains to grant him the half of what he should recover in the Queen's name, in any of her Majesty's courts of record, to her use. And this suit he besought the Lord Treasurer to countenance, and got his old friend Dr. Wylson to solicit it before his Lordship.

John Day, Curate of Maidstone

A complaint this year came before the Archbishop against one John Day, Curate of Maidstone. Both the parish and country laid to his charge, that he was a person of a most scandalous life, frequenting alehouses, retreating thither ordinarily from the church, and a common player at cards and dice. This man held this curacy from the first year of Queen Mary, to this year 1566. And when seven holy men and women were burnt as heretics in the same town of Maidstone, in a place called the King's Meadow, he preached at their burning; and said to the people, "That they should not pray for them; and that as they should see their bodies burn with material fire, so their damned souls should burn in the unquenchable fire of hell." And this and the like he said of them the next Lord's day in his pulpit. When, in the beginning of Queen Elizabeth, some of the friends and relations of these martyrs had required him to recant what he then said, he answered, he would do so. But then, before the public audience, instead of recanting, he both belied himself and them. For he said, that it was now out of his mind what he then said concerning those persons that were burnt, and whether he said they were heretics or no; but, he added, he knew some of them denied the human nature of Christ, and the equality of the three Persons in the Trinity, and so he was sure in that respect they were heretics. Which, as soon as he came out of the pulpit, when some had confuted to his face, and told him, that he had lied in so saying; he said, that there were none of them but had been guilty of telling lies at some time or other, or else they were not men, but justifiers of themselves and hypocrites; and so flung away to the alehouse, his common retreat. Of this, John Hall, one of these men that conferred with the said Day, and an inhabitant of Maidstone, gave Mr. Fox information by way of letter.

Which letter began in this tenor: "May it please you to understand, that one John Day, the Curate of Maidstone from the first year of Queen Mary unto this present year 1566, (of whom we beseech God for his mercy to deliver us,) sheweth himself still not to have any fear of God at all before his eyes. In Queen Mary's days he was defamed greatly for whoredom, besides his abominable blasphemy of God's truth, and detestable Papistry. And one most execrable example thereof above all other is to be had in perpetual memory." And then the writer proceeds to tell at length that most uncharitable and unchristian censure he gave of the pious Christians at the stake, as they were burning, being on Wednesday the 16th of June, 1557. Who, besides his damning them to hell, relates what discourse this Popish Curate had first with them; telling them, "That they were heretics most damnable; and that by their heresy they had separated themselves from the holy Church, as he called that of Rome, terming it the spouse of Christ, and Christ's mystical body. And therefore, said he, ye have no part in him. But when he saw that they were builded upon the unmoveable rock of Christ's word, and that at that hour comfortably put their whole trust in their Saviour, and cried out to him, Away, Satan; away with thy doctrine and thy blasphemy; then in great haste and fury he turned both his face and talk to the people standing by, and spake concerning them as was mentioned before." This man being thus put to it; viz. now to revoke in the same pulpit what he had said so maliciously before, (which was, that these pious martyrs were heretics and damned,) the better to bring himself off, charged them with Anabaptism and Arianism: asserting, that he knew some of them denied the humanity of Christ and the equality of the Trinity: and that none doubted that such were heretics, and that therefore he might be bold to say, that without the great mercy of God and repentance, they were damned. Whereas in truth they were known to hold no such errors, and much abhorred all such heresies to the death.

Which most vile and false imputation that he had the confidence in so public a manner to lay to their charge, and to defame the memories of such holy persons that had laid down their lives for true religion, stirred therefore the zeal of the good men, their former friends and acquaintance, who knew them well to be none such as he had represented them. Insomuch, that standing where he should pass, they demanded of him, which of these martyrs it was that he asserted these things of. Whereat he was so surprised with his own guilty conscience, that he stood mute for a while, as it were astonished, and at last confessed, that none of them that were burnt at Maidstone held such opinions. Then they roundly charged him for his abominable lying: and asked him, whether the pulpit was made to utter lies and blasphemies in? Whereupon he made that poor plea for himself, as is abovesaid. For this tergiversation towards true religion now professed, accompanied with the looseness and immoralities of his life, the parishioners drew up a supplication, wherein what is related before, and the rest of his crimes, were set forth; which they presented to the Archbishop, as it seems, sitting in commission ecclesiastical. A copy whereof the aforesaid Hall promised to send to Mr. Fox: wherein he should more at large understand the life and behaviour of this monster, as he called him.

A Decree in the Court of Wards

This year was the decision of a famous suit, prosecuted by the Archbishop in right of his see. It was held before Sir William Cecil, Master of the Wards and Liveries, against Edward, Earl of Oxon, a minor, for the manor of Fleet in Kent, which that Earl held in knight's service of the Archbishops of Canterbury. In his own behalf he produced ancient instruments and monuments, and shewed how it had been adjudged in behalf of the Archbishops in the times of King Henry VI. and King Henry VIII. concerning lands of the Lords Rosse, Conyers, and Darcy, which were held in knight's service of the Archbishops of Canterbury. In July, the eighth of Queen Elizabeth, it was decreed by the said Master of Wards and Liveries, with the consent of the King's Attorney, and others of the Council present, that the profits and emoluments of the manor of Fleet, the Earl being under age, did pertain unto the Archbishop; and that all whatsoever had hitherto been received thence for the Queen's use, before the Archbishop had made his own right appear, should be restored to him.

Editorial Notes

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Source: John Strype, The Life and Acts of Matthew Parker, the First Archbishop of Canterbury in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1821), Vol. I, Book III. Enhanced reading edition: section headings, Latin translations, verified internal links, and editorial notes added per the AnglicanWiki Editorial Guidelines for Historical Texts. Strype's text faithfully transcribed from the Google Books scan; spelling and substance as in the original.