all his said realm, and for the eschewing of such dissensions, divisions, hurts, slanders, and perils, in time to come, and that this wicked sect, preachings, doctrines, and opinions, should from henceforth cease and be utterly destroyed; by the assent of the great lords and other noble persons of the said realm, being in the said Parliament, hath granted, stablished, and ordained, from henceforth firmly to be observed, that none within the said realm, or any other dominions subject to his royal majesty, presume to preach openly or privily, without the license of the diocesan of the same place first required and obtained, curates in their own churches and persons hitherto privileged, and other of the canon law granted, only excepted; nor that none from henceforth anything preach, hold, teach, or instruct openly or privily, or make or write any book contrary to the catholic faith or determination of the holy church, nor of such sect and wicked doctrines and opinions shall make any conventicles, or in any wise hold or exercise schools; and also that none from henceforth in any wise favour such preacher or maker of any such and like conventicles, or persons holding or exercising schools, or making or writing such books, or so teaching, informing, or exciting the people, nor any of them maintain or in any wise sustain, and that all and singular having such books or any writings of such wicked doctrine and opinions, shall really with effect deliver or cause to be delivered all such books and writings to the diocesan of the same place within forty days from the time of the proclamation of this ordinance and statute.

And if any person or persons of whatsoever sex, estate, or condition that he or they be, from henceforth do or attempt against the said royal ordinance and statute aforesaid in the premises or any of them, or such books in the form aforesaid do not deliver, then the diocesan of the same place in his diocese such person or persons in this behalf defamed or evidently suspected and every of them may by the authority of the said ordinance and statute cause to be arrested and under safe custody in his prison to be detained till he or they of the articles laid to him or them in this behalf do canonically purge him or themselves, or else such wicked sect, preachings, doctrines and heretical and erroneous opinions do abjure, according as the laws of the church do demand and require.

And if any person within the said realm and dominions,

upon the said wicked preachings, doctrines, opinions, schools, and heretical and erroneous informations, or any of them be before the diocesan of the same place or his commissaries convicted by sentence, and the same wicked sect, preachings, doctrines and opinions, schools and informations, do refuse duly to abjure, or by the diocesan of the same place or his commissaries, after the abjuration made by the same person be pronounced relapsed, so that according to the holy canons he ought to be left to the secular court, (upon which credence shall be given to the diocesan of the same place or to his commissaries in this behalf), then the sheriff of the county of the same place, and mayor and sheriffs, or sheriff, or mayor and bailiffs of the city, town, and borough of the same county next to the same diocesan or the said commissaries, shall be personally present in preferring of such sentences, when they by the same diocesan or his commissaries shall be required; and they the same persons and every of them, after such sentence promulgate shall receive, and them before the people in an high place cause to be burnt, that such punishment may strike fear into the minds of others, whereby no such wicked doctrine and heretical and erroneous opinions, nor their authors and fautors, in the said realm and dominions, against the catholic faith, Christian law, and determination of the holy church, which God prohibit, be sustained or in any wise suffered in which all and singular the premises concerning the said ordinance and statute, the sheriffs, mayors, and bailiffs of the said counties, cities, boroughs and towns shall be attending, aiding, and supporting to the said diocesans and their commissaries.

(Ed. from Statutes of the Realm, II, 125-128.)

ROYAL LETTERS REGARDING LOLLARDY No more illuminating documents exist than those of the royal letters regarding the Lollards. Those selected are peculiarly suggestive. No. 100 shows the attitude of Henry V. toward the Church, in its relation with Lollardy. No. 101 directs the prosecution of Sir John Oldcastle, the Lollard leader. No. 102 outlines the attitude of Henry VI., and the importance of the religious movement.

100. Henry V. to the Mayor and Sheriffs of London

(1413)

Letters of the Kings of England

The King, &c., greeting. Inasmuch as we have been given to understand, that certain priests, not privileged by law for this purpose, nor licensed by the diocesan of the place, nor

permitted by the church, who are said to be of this new sect of the Lollards, have been preaching in public places within the aforesaid city, and in the suburbs and vicinity thereof, in order to excite and win over some, who are ill disposed to the Catholic faith, and the doctrine of holy mother church; and by their own rashness, and contrary to the laws and ordinances of the church, they have preached, nay, rather have profaned the Word of God; or, at least, under pretext of preaching, they have in such places been emboldened to propagate discord among our people and the pestiferous seeds of Lollardism and evil doctrine, after the manner of preachers; and as some of our people of our said city and its vicinity, under pretence of hearing such preaching, have assembled to those places, and have congregated together in large multitudes; and, in consequence, murmurs and seditions have in part arisen, and will probably arise, to the disturbance and no small marring of our peace, unless a remedy be more quickly applied to abolish such meetings and pull down such conventicles:

We, desiring especially to provide for the defence of the Catholic faith, the laws and ordinances of the church, and for preserving our peace, command you, that you cause proclamation publicly to be made, within our city aforesaid, and its suburbs, in every place where you shall find it expedient:

That no chaplains, of whatever degree, state, or condition they may be, shall henceforward hold, cherish, affirm, preach, or defend such opinions, heresy or error, contrary to the decision of holy mother church; and that none other our lieges and subjects in this matter adhere to or abet them, or lend them counsel or assistance, under penalty of imprisonment of their bodies, and the forfeiture of all their goods and chattels, to our will and disposal. We further command and positively enjoin you that, if henceforth you shall be able to find within your bailiwick any such chaplains preaching and affirming publicly or secretly, contrary to the aforesaid rescript, or any other our lieges and subjects making conventicles and meetings, or receiving the same chaplains, or being under probable or great suspicion concerning the premises, or in any way counselling, favouring, or helping such chaplains in this matter, then arrest ye them without delay, and commit them to prison, there to remain, until they shall obey the commands of the diocesan in whose diocese they may have preached, and it shall have been certified unto you accordingly by the same diocesan.

And, that also in our places aforesaid, ye cause it to be proclaimed, in our behalf, that no such chaplain presume hereafter to preach, contrary to the constitutions of the province published, without license, sought and obtained as a qualified literate; and that none of our lieges henceforward hear the same chaplains so preaching, or be present at such preachings on any pretence alleged, under the punishment and forfeiture aforesaid; and that all and every our lieges and subjects of our city and suburbs aforesaid comply with, obey, and attend to you and any of you, in the carrying out of the premises, under penalty of imprisonment.

Witness the King, at Westminster, the 21st day of August, 1413.

(Letters of the Kings of England, ed. by J. O. Halliwell, Lond., 1846, I, p. 72.)

101. Henry V. to the Sheriff of Kent

(1414)

Letters of the Kings of England The king to the sheriff of Kent, greeting. Whereas we are more fully informed, and it is notoriously and openly discovered, that very many our subjects of our kingdom of England, vulgarly called Lollards, have, by the agency, instigation, encouragement, abetting, and upholding of John Oldcastle, knight, who hath lately stood condemned of heresy, and is declared and pronounced a manifest heretic, according to the canonical decrees published on that behalf, have preached and caused to be preached divers opinions manifestly contrary to the Catholic faith; and have falsely and traitorously, contrary to their due allegiance, contemplated. our death, because that we do take part against them and such their opinions, even as a true Christian prince, and as we are bound by the chain of our oath; and, whereas they have formed many other designs to the destruction as well of the Catholic faith as of the estate of the lords and nobles of our kingdom, as well spiritual as temporal; and they have purposed to hold various meetings and other unlawful cabals, with a view to perpetrate their abominable project in this behalf, and desist not from daily plotting (as far as in them lies) to the probable destruction of our own person, and of the estates of the lords and nobles aforesaid; we, considering in what manner certain such Lollards and others, who imagined and designed our death and the other mischiefs and misdeeds aforesaid, have been taken for the before-named reason, and stand adjudged to death for this abominable act and purpose; and wishing to order and provide, in the best.

and most quiet manner possible, for the avoiding of the effusion of Christian blood, and especially that of our lieges whom, on account of our tender and special regard towards them, we desire, with our whole heart's intent, to preserve from the shedding of blood and corporal punishment.

We command you, and positively enjoin, that in each place in your bailiwick, where you shall find it best, you cause to be proclaimed publicly on our behalf, that they, by whose agency, incitement, counsel, or information, the said John shall be taken or arrested, shall receive five hundred marks; and he that shall take or cause to be arrested the same John, one thousand marks, of our free gift, for his labour and his pains in this behalf, and that the citizens, burgesses, and corporations of the cities, boroughs, and other towns, who shall take and arrest the same John, and shall cause him to be brought before us, shall be quit and wholly exonerated for ever from all taxes, tallages, tenths, fifteenths, and other contributions whatever, to us and our heirs hereafter payable, and that we will cause accordingly to be made to them our letters patent under our great seal; and that in doing their own concerns, and in any lawful and honourable transactions whatever to be done towards ourself, they shall find and have ourself more than usually gracious.

Witness the King, at Westminster, the 11th day of January, 1414.

(Letters of the Kings of England, ed. cit., I, p. 74.)

102. King Henry VI. to the Abbot of St. Edmondsbury and to the Aldermen and Bailiffs of the Town, for the Suppression of the Lollards

By the king,

Trusty and well-beloved, the malicious intent and purpose of God's traitors and ours, heretics in this our realm, commonly called Lollards, the which now lately setting up of seditious bills, and otherwise traitorously exhorted, stirred and moved the people of our land to assemble, gather, and arise against God's peace and ours, is not unknown to you nor to no man endued with reason, foresight, or discretion: the which, howbeit that they of high subtlety, fraud, and fellness, feign, pretend, and write such thing as they trow to blind with you that be simple, and to draw by their arts and affections to them and their intent, intending nevertheless and purposing without any doubt the subversion of the Christian faith, and belief of us also and of all estates,