Select English works of John Wyclif. Vol. 3. Miscellaneous works / edited from original mss. by Thomas Arnold.

No. II.

[Besides being given by Knyghton, the profession of faith which follows is found in one independent MS., Bodl. 647, with 'Johannes Wycliff' as a heading to it. It is also included in Bale's Catalogue.

The account which Knyghton gives of the circumstances under which this profession was made, seems at first sight to be straightforward enough, but when pressed, turns out to be a mass of inconsistencies. After entering in his Chronicle the short confession 'I knowleche,' &c. (see prefatory notice to No. 1), Knyghton gives, without a break, a copy of the twenty-four conclusions condemned as heretical or erroneous in the Council of May 1382. Archbishop Courtney, he proceeds to say, after examining these conclusions appointed a day on which Wyclif was to appear before himself and six other bishops at Oxford, so that the business might be settled. He adds that on the day named Wyclif appeared, and gave in the state∣ment 'We beleve as Crist,' &c., namely, this tract which follows; after which the archbishop considered the conclusions in Council, and con∣demned them. Now this last statement plainly refers to the proceedings of the Council of London, which took place therefore, according to Knyghton, after Wyclif had given in the statement in question. And yet the statement itself, speaking of 'þis counseil of freres at Londoun wiþ erþe-dyn,' affords decisive evidence that it was written after the Council had sat.

Knyghton's narrative, therefore, cannot be relied upon to establish the sequence of events; and all that we can say as to the date of the piece is, that it must have been written between June 1382 and Wyclif's death in 1384. The difference in tone between it and the short confession 'I know∣leche,' is very marked; in that scarcely a trace of heterodoxy can be detected; in this, consubstantiation is broadly asserted.

The text is based on Bodl. 647, collated with the MSS. of Knyghton's Chronicle before referred to, namely, Tiberius C. VII. and Claudius E. III.]

JOHANNES WYCLIFF.

I BILEVE [We beleve, HH.] , as Crist and his apostels have tauȝt us, þat þo [The Eucha∣ristic bread is at the same time the true body of Christ and true bread.] sacrament of þo auter, whyte and rounde, and like to oþer bred, or oost sacred [and lyke tyl oure brede or ost unsacrede, HH.] , is verrey Gods body in fourme of bred; and þof hit be broken in thre partyes, as þo Kirke uses, or elles in a thousande, evere ilk one of þese parties is þo same Gods body. And right as þo persoun of Crist is verrey God and mon—verrey godhed and verrey monhed—right so holy Kirke, mony hundred winters, haves trowed þo same sacrament is verrey Gods body and verrey bred, as hit is fourme of Gods body and fourme of bred, as teches Crist, and his apostels. And þerfore Seint Poul nemmes hit nevere, bot when he calles hit bred; and he by oure bileve toke in þis his witte of God. And þo argumentis [argument, HH.] of heretikes ageyns þis sentense are light for to assoyle to a Cristen mon [lyth to a Cristene man for to assolve, HH.] . And right as hit is heresye *to trowe þat Crist is a spiryt and no body, so hit is heresye* [HH and II omit the words between asterisks.] to trowe þat þis sacrament is Gods body and no bred; for hit is bothe togedir.

Bot þo moste heresye þat God suffred cum [come, HH.] to his Chirche, [It is the worst heresy to be∣lieve that the sacrament is accident with∣out subject.] is to trowe þat þis sacrament is accydent wiþouten subgett [accident wiþ a substans, HH.] ; and may on no wyse be Gods body [Here HH and II insert the following sentence; For Crist sayde, be witnesse of Johan, þat þis brede is my body. The words For Crist occur also in W, but are scored through.] . And if þou sey, by his [þis, HH; this, II.] skil holy Kirke hafs ben in erroure mony hundred wynters, for Crist seis, by wittenesse of Jerome, þat þis bred is my body, soth hit is, specialy sithen þo fende was loused, þat was, by wittenesse of þo aungel to Jon þo Evangeliste, aftir a þousande wynters þat Crist was styed [stevenyde, HH.] to heven. Bot hit is to suppose þat mony seyntis, þat dyed in þo meene tyme, bifore hor deth were purged of þis errour. Ow! how gret diversyte is bytwene us þat trowen þat þis sacrament is verrey bred in his kynde, and bytwene heretikes þat tellen þat hit is an accydent wiþouten

sugett! For bifore þat þo fende, fadir of leesynges, was loused, was nevere þis gabbynge contreved [contryvede, HH.] . And how gret diversite is bitwene us þat trowen þat þis sacrament in his kynde is verrey bred, and sacramentaly Gods body, and bytwene here∣tikes þat trowen and tellen þat þis sacrament may on no wyse be Gods body! For I dar surely sey, þat if þis were sothe, Crist and his seyntis dyed heretikes, and þo more partye of holy Kirke byleved [belevyth, HH.] nowe heresye. And herfore devoute men supposen þat þis counseil of freris at [and, HH.] Londoun was wiþ erthe dyn [hery dene, HH.] . For þei putt an heresye upon Crist and seyntis in heven; wherfore þo erthe trembled, faylande monnis voice answerande [ansueride, HH.] for God, as hit did in tyme of his passioun, when [Matt. xxvii. 51.] he was dampned to bodily deth [As printed by Lewis and Dr. Vaughan, this passage makes mere nonsense; but if they had consulted the MSS. all difficulty would have vanished. Men think, says Wyclif, that it was for this reason that the late council in London was sig∣nalized by an earthquake, namely, because its members put a heresy upon Crist; the earth itself, in the absence of a protesting human voice, answering for God. Dr. Vaughan, in the attempt to amend Lewis' version, makes matters worse; he boldly writes, 'In truth, landman's voice answered for God.' (Tracts and Treatises of Wyclyffe, p. 302.)] .

Crist and his modir, þat in grounde have destryed alle [Let the king demand of all the clergy what is their belief herein.] heresies, kepe his Kirke in right byleve of þis sacrament. And move we [þe, HH.] kyng and his reume to aske scharply of clerkes [his clerkus, HH.] þis office; þat alle possessioners, on peyne of leesynge of alle hor temporaltees, telle þo kyng and his rewme, wiþ sufficiaunt groundynge, what is þis sacrament; and alle þo ordiris of freris, in peyne of lesynge of alle hor legeaunce, telle þo kynge and his reume wiþ gode groundynge what is þis [þe, HH.] sacrament. Ffor I am certen, for [of, HH.] þo thridde part of clergye þat deffendes þis sentence [þise doutes, HH; thyse dowtes, II.] þat is here seyde, þat þai wil deffende hit on peyne of losyng of hor lyve [on payne of her lyf, HH.] .

Amen [Om. HH, II.]