debere vel posse licenter vti coniugibus, quomodo & laicos, &c. As much to say in English, as, I doe accurse all here∣sies extolling thēselues against the holy catholike and Apostolike church, but especially and namely, the heresie of Simonie: and in like maner, the abominable heresie of the Nicolaitanes, whiche impudently barketh, that the Ministers of the holy aultar may & ought to vse wiues lawfully, as well as lay men, &c. And thus much concerning the Synode of Millain, vnder Pope A∣lexander. 2. ann. 1067.
Nexte after this Alexander, rose vppe Pope Hilde∣brand, of all other, the chiefest and most principal enemy a∣gaynste Priestes Marriage. For whereas all other ap∣proued Canons and Councelles were contented, that any Clergie man hauing a wife before his entring into his mi∣nisterie, might enioy the libertie of his marriage, so that he married not a widowe, or a knowen harlot, or kept a Concubine, or were twise married, nowe commeth in Pope Hildebrande, making Priestes Marriage to be he∣resie, and further enacting: That what soeuer Clerke, Deacon, or Minister had a wife, what so euer she was, (mayde or other) ei∣ther before his orders, or after, should vtterly put her from him, or elles forsake his Ministerie. &c.
Although notwithstanding the greatest parte of Ec∣clesiasticall Ministers seeing this straunge doctrine and proceedinges (whiche Saint Paule expressely calleth the doctrine of Deuilles) did what they coulde to withstande the same. Of whom Lambertus Scafnaburgensis thus writeth: Aduersus hoc Decretum protinus vehementer infre∣muit tota factio Clericorum, hominem planè haereticum, & ve∣sani dogmatis esse clamitans, qui oblitus sermonis Domini, quo ait: Non omnes capiunt hoc Verbum: Qui potest capere, capiat, &c. Et Apostoli: Qui se non continet nubat: Melius est nubere, quàm vri, Violenta exactione homines viuere cogeret ritu An∣gelorum. Quod si pergeret, malle se sacerdotium, quàm coniu∣gium deserere, &c. In English thus: Agaynste this Decree, the whole number of the Cleargie did vehemently storme and grudge, crying out vppon him, as a pernicious heretique, & one that maynteyned phantasticall doctrine: who forgetting what the Lorde sayth: All men can not take this worde: Hee that can take it, let him take it. And also what the Apostle sayeth: Who so can not otherwise conteyne let him marrye, better it is to marry then to burne, &c. Yet notwithstanding woulde bynde men to liue like Aungelles. Who if he continued as he beganne, they woulde (they sayd) sooner forsake the order of Priesthode, then their order of Matrimony, &c.
Which Hildebrand, all this notwithstanding, yet cea∣sed not still to call vpon them, and to sende to the Bishops euery where to execute his commaundement with all se∣ueritie, threatning to lay the Apostolicall Censure vppon them, if otherwise they shewed not their diligence there in to the vttermost. Ex Lamb. This was, ann. 1074. Of the same Hildebrande, Radulphus de Diceto also writing hath these wordes:
Gregorius Papa septimus Hildebrandus, celebrata Synodo, Symoniacos anathematizauit, vxoratos sacerdotes à Diuino re∣mouit officio, & Laicis Missam eorum audire interdixit, nouo ex∣exemplo, & (vt multis visum est) inconsiderato praeiudicio, con∣tra sanctorum patrum sententiam, &c. The English is this: Pope Gregorie the seuenth called Hildebrand holding a Synode, accursed, such as committed Simonie, and remooued married Priestes from saying seruice, forbidding also the lay men to heare their Masse, after a new and strange example, & as many thought, after an vnconsiderate preiudice, against the sentence of holie fa∣thers.
And thus much for the antiquitie of bringing in the sin∣gle life of Priests, which first springing from the tyme of Pope Nicholas and Alexander 2. began first with a cu∣stome, and afterward was brought into a lawe, chieflie by Pope Hildebrand, and so spread from Italie into other countries, and at length into England also, albeit not with out much adoe, as ye shall heare, the Lord willing.
In the meane while as Pope Nicolas and Hildebrand were busie at Rome, so Lanfranke Archb. of Canterbury likewise was doing here in England about the same mat∣ter, although he began not altogither so roughlie as Pope Hildebrand did, for so it appeared by his Councell holden at Winchester: where though he inhibited such as were Prebendaries of cathedrall churches to haue wiues, yet did he permit in his Decree, that such Priests as dwelt in townes and villages, hauing wiues, should reteine them still, and not to be compelled to be separate from them: and they which had none, should be inhibited to haue: enioy∣ning moreouer the Bishops thus, to foresee hereafter, that they presumed not to admit into order, any priests or Dea∣cons, vnlesse they should first make a solemne profession to haue no wiues.
The words of the Councell be these: Decretumque est, vt nullus Canonicus vxorem habeat, sacerdotum verò in castellis & in vicis habitantium habentes vxores, non cogantur vt 〈◊〉〈◊〉 non habentes, interdicantur vt habeant: & deinceps caueant E∣piscopi, vt Sacerdotes vel Diaconi non praesumant ordinare, nisi profiteantur vt vxores non habeant, &c.
And here to note by the way of the said Lanfranke, for all his glorious gaye shew of his monkish virginitie and single life, yet he escaped not altogither so vnspotted for his part, but that the storie of Mathew Paris, writing of Paulus Cadonensis, whom Lanfranke preferred so gladly to be Abbot of S. Albons, thus reporteth of him: Paulus (inquit) Monachus Cadonensis Archiepiscopi Lanfranci nepos, iure, ali∣quorum relationibus, consanguinitate propinquior, &c. That is, Paule a Monke of Cadune, and nephew of the Archbishop Lanfranke, yea as some say further, more neere in bloud to him, then so, &c.
Then after Lanfranke, came Anselme into the See of Canterbury, who taking to him a stouter stomacke, more fiercelie and egerlie laboured this matter, in abrogating vtterly the mariage of priests, Deacons, Subdeacons, and of the vniuersall clergy, not permitting as Lanfranke did, Priests that had wiues in villages and townes, to keepe them still, but vtterly commanding, and that vnder great paine, not onelie Priests and Deacons, but Subdeacons also (which is against the Councell of Laterane) which were already maried, to be seperated, and that none should be receiued into order hereafter, without profession of per∣petuall chastitie.
And yet notwithstanding, for all this great blustering and thundering of this Romish 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, the Priests yet still holding their owne, as well as they could, gaue not much place to his vnlawfull Iniunction, but kept stil their wiues almost two hundred yeares after, refusing and resi∣sting of long time, the yoke of that seruile bondage, to kepe still their freedome from such vowing, professing, and pro∣mising, as may well appeare by those Priests of Yorke, of whom Gerardus Archbishop of Yorke speaketh, writing to Anselme in these wordes: Sitio Clericorum meorum inte∣gritatem, sed praeterquam in paucis admodum, ve Aspidis surdita∣tem, vel fabulosi cuiusdam Prothei mutabilitatem inuenio. Varijs linguarum aculeis, minas, modò conuitia infligunt. Sed hoc faci∣lius in his qui remotíores sunt, tolero. Illud omninò graue ge∣nus mali est, quod hi qui quasi in sinu meo sunt, qui Canonicorum nomine gaudent canones aspernant, aduersus concilij nostri sta∣tuta, quasi Sophistici disputatores argumētantur, professiones ve∣rò mihi penitus abnegant Canonici illi, qui sine professione ad sacros ordines inordinabiliter sunt prouecti, & qui in praesby∣teratu vel Diaconatu constituti, vxores siue Concubinas in pub¦lico hactenus habuerunt, ab Altari nulla se reuerentia conti∣nuerunt. Cum verò ad ordines aliquos inuito, dura ceruice nituntur, ne inordinando castitatem profiteantur: In englishe thus: I much desire the puritie of my clergye men. Howbeit except it be in very few, I finde in them the deafenes of the serpent aspis, and the inconstancie of Protheus that the Poets fable spake of. With theyr stinging tongues they cast out some while threates; some while tauntes and rebukes. But this gree∣ueth mee lesse in them that be further off. This greeueth mee most of all, that they whiche be of mine owne Church as in myne owne bosome, and prebendaryes of myne owne See, contemne our Canons, and argue like Sophisticall dispu∣ters, agaynst the statutes of our Councell. The prebendaries which vnordinately haue bene taken into orders heretofore without making vow or profession, refuse vtterly to make pro∣fession to me. And they that be priestes or Deacons, hauing maryed before openly wyues or Concubines, will not be re∣moued for anye reuerence from the Aultare. And when I call vpon any to receaue order, styffely they deny to professe cha∣stitie in theyr ordering &c.
Thus for al their rigorous austeritie by this Anselme in forcing his Decree made at London, agaynst the mar∣riage of Priests, yet the same had no great successe, neither in his life time, nor after his life. For although sondry prie∣stes, during his life tyme, were cōpelled by his extremitie, to renounce theyr wyues, yet many denyed to obey him.
Diuers were contented rather to leaue theyr benefices, then their wiues. A great number were permitted by king Henry, for mony to enioy theyr wiues. Which was so char¦gable vnto them, (sayth Edmer in his 4. booke) that at length two hundreth priestes, in theyr Albes and Priestly vestementes, came barefoote to the kings Pallace, crying to hym for mercy, and especially makyng theyr sute to the Queene, who vsing much compassion towardes them, yet durst not make for them any intercession.
Anselme at this time was ouer the Sea, making his voyage to the pope. Who hearing hereof, writeth to the King, declaring that suche forfaytures appertayned no∣thing to him. But onely vnto Bishops, and in theyr de∣faulte to the Archbishops. Whereof read more, pag. 194. So wilfull was the blinde zeale of this Prelate, agaynst