The pageant of popes contayninge the lyues of all the bishops of Rome, from the beginninge of them to the yeare of Grace 1555. Deuided into iii. sortes bishops, archbishops, and popes, vvhereof the two first are contayned in two bookes, and the third sort in fiue. In the vvhich is manifestlye shevved the beginning of Antichriste and increasing to his fulnesse, and also the vvayning of his povver againe, accordinge to the prophecye of Iohn in the Apocalips. ... Written in Latin by Maister Bale, and now Englished with sondrye additions by I.S.

11. Vitellianus.

VItellianus borne in Campania, being an excellent musi∣cian, [ 76] wrote the ecclesiasticall Canon, he broughte sin∣ging and organs into the churche. He accused one Iohn minister in a certaine churche in Crete, vnto the bishop of that place, for hauing a wife. He made the Latin howers,

songes, masses, idolatry, and ceremonies, adding and tur∣ning all into Latine, about the yeare of Christes incarna∣tion. 666. which was the number of the name of the beast spoken of in the 13. of the Apocal.. Here therefore is to be noted, that the nūber of the beast agreeth vnto this time, secondly the number of the yeares conteined in the name of the beaste, is founde out in this woorde λατεινοσ: as who would saye, that Antechriste shalbe a Latin, or in the La∣tin churche, who shall come to his perfection in the yeare. 666. Also the letters of his name shall amounte to this number, and last of all is to be noted how that beside this Lateinos expressed the Latin bishop, and the time of Ante∣christe, it agreeth with the straunge doinges of this tyme, that all thinges were turned into Latin in the churche. And because that this mistery of sixe hundred sixty sixe, spo∣ken of in the Reuelation, may appeare euen to the moste simple to agree vnto the churche of Rome, as in this place is saide: it is first to be considered that the auncient father Irenaeus, being immediatly after the Apostles, reading this place, and considering of the woordes of S. Iohn, saying: Let him that hath wisedome counte the nūber of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is sixe hun∣dred sixty sixe. Irenaeus I saye, considering of these wordes, did at the length finde out that this number agreed to this Greeke name λατεινοσ and therefore he sayde, that surely Antechriste should be a Latin and in the Latin churche: for the Grekes, in whose tongue the Reuelation was written, do expresse their numbers by their letters, as we do by fi∣gures. And in their numbringe this letter λ the firste let∣ter of that name, standeth for thirty: the next letter α stan∣deth for one: the thirde letter τ for three hundred: the iiii. letter ε for fiue, the fift letter ι for tenne: the sixte letter ν for fiftie: the seuenth letter ο for threscore and tenne: and the eight and last letter, σ standeth for twoo hondred. So that if these eight numbers, that is: thirty, one, three hun∣dred,

fiue, ten, fifty, seuenty, and two hundred, be added to∣gether, they make sixe hundred sixty sixe ••umpe. Againe nū∣ber so the letters in this worde 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Ecclesia Italica, that is the Italian churche, and ye shall finde it also make iump six hundred sixty sixe. For in the former worde of these two, there are right letters: whereof the firste is ε standing for fiue, the second κ in value twenty, and so the thirde is κ that is twenty, the fourth λ that is thirty, the fift η that is eight, the sixt ς that is twoo hundred, the se∣uenth is ι that is tenne, the eight is α and that standeth for one: All whiche numbers added together, make. 294.

Nowe to coine to the latter woorde 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Italica, in it are seuen letters, the firste is ι and is euer set in the Gre∣cian numbers for ten, the seconde τ for three hundred, the third α for one, the fourth λ for thirty, the fift ι for tenne, the sixt κ for twenty, the seuenth and last, is α for one: all whiche seuen numbers amounte to three hundred seuenty and two, then vnto this adde the nūber of the former word, whiche was two hūdred ninty foure, and the whole somme is lumpe sixe hundred sixty sixe. Furthermore, in the same thirtene chapter, and the firste verse thereof, S. Iohn spea∣king of this beaste, saith that the beaste had seuen heades. And in the seuententh of the Reuelation, the Angell doth expounde this mistery vnto Iohn saying: the seuen heades were vii. mountaines vpon which the woman (meaninge the forenamed whore of Babilon) doth sit: and afterwarde againe he saith that the same woman whom Iohn saw sit∣ting on the beast with seuen heades, is that great Cittye which hath rule ouer the kinges of the earth: At which time it is manifest to all the world, that Rome had the so∣ueraignitye and Empyre of all the world, and that it was then the great Cittie, and none but it of whom this might be said: neither is it knowen that anye other Cittye is, or hath bene built vppon seuen hilles. And that Rome is so, it appeareth by diuers writers Romaines and other, that

report it as they haue seene it: Amonge other Munster in his Topographie doth not only in the descriptiō of Rome testifie that there are seuen hilles but also sheweth the na∣mes of them euerye one which are these: Auentinus, Ca∣pitolinus, Palatinus, Cael••us, Exquilinus, Viminalis and Quirinalis hill. Proper••ius the Poet confirmeth it briefe∣ly in a verse saying thus of Rome, Septem vrbs alta iugis toti quae presidet orbi: the like hath Virgil in hys Geor∣gicks, Septem quae vno sibi muro circundedit arces, spea∣kinge it of Rome. Mantuan in his Fast. li. 2. doth in like maner describe Rome, calling it Romuleā septem cū Col∣libus vrbem. So of the Grekes it is called Heptalophos, wherin Hep••a signifieth 7. and lopho•• an hil, head or top.

This Vitellianus commaunded shauings and annoin∣tings of the clergye to be vsed, geuing vnder these markes lice••s to buy and sell pardons in the Churche, as was pro∣phesyed of Antichrist: & after he had choaked the Church with much palcry he dyed. At this time at the fulnesse of Antichrist, mōkery grew into superstitious estimation. At this time also these two straunge thinges were wrought: Abbeis were first founded for monkes, kinges were shaued and made monkes.