A treatyse of the donation or gyfte and endowme[n]t of possessyons, gyuen and graunted vnto Syluester pope of Rhome, by Constantyne emperour of Rome [and] what truth is in the same grau[n] thou mayst se, and rede ye iugement of certayne great lerned men, whose names on the other page of this leafe done appere.

¶ The sentence & mynde of Nicholas of Cusa / car¦dinall by the tytle of saynt Peter ad vincula: concer∣nyng y^e donation of Constātine / which sentēce he wro¦te to the councell assēbled at Basile in the thirde boke y^e secōd cha. of the catholyke concordaūce & agremēt.

ONe thynge I can nat passe ouer with sylence: because it is the vndouted & assured sentēce / wel nere of all men / that Constātine thēperour dyd gyue for euer the empier of the weste / to Siluester pope of Rome / & to his successours / whiles the worlde shall contynue. And therfore / all though the reason & argu¦mēt of the vnite of the prīcypall regente & gouernour (which is / that it is agaynst ryght & good ordre / that there shuld be two hedes or prīcipal gouernours) did nat cōclude: yet neuer thelesse / it shulde be open & eui¦dent / that there can be none emperour ryghtfully in y^e west: excepte he wolde aknowlege his empier to be

dependently of the pope. I haue serched out this rote as dilygently as I coulde / presupposing this thinge also to be vndouted and of surety: that Constantyne might haue made such gyfte or graunte / whiche que∣stion for al that / neither hath soyled hytherto: neither by all lykelyhode shall euer be solued. But in very trouthe I meruayle excedyngly / if that thynge be of trouth & matter in dede:* 1.1 that it is nat foūde in auten∣ticall bokes / and in approued histories. I haue red / and red again / all y^e iestes or acres of the emperours / & the histories of the popes of Rome: which I could fynde. and the workes of saynt Ierom: whiche was moste dilygente / to make collection or gaderinge of all thinges. the workes also of Augustyne / Ambrose / and of dyuerse other very well learned men. I haue tourned ouer & ouer agayne / the thynges done in the holy and worshipfull councels / which haue ben syns the coūcels called Consiliū nicenū. and yet can I nat fynde any thinge / that doth agre & accorde with those thinges which are red / cōcernyng the sayd donation.

Holy Damasus the pope / * 1.2 is sayde at the instaūce & request of saynte Ierome: to haue set forth the actes and dedes of his predecessours. in whose worke / ther is no suche thynge founde: as is cōmunely reported & talked of Siluester the pope. It is redde in certayne histories: that Constantine was baptized of Silue∣ster. and that the same emperour dyd meruaylously adourne and decke those .iii. churches / of saynt Iohn̄ of saynt Peter / & of saynt Paule / & that he gaue ma∣ny yerely rentes & reuenues out of certayn percels of lande / in diuerse prouinces & Ilandes: for the mayn∣tenyng & vpholdīg of the garnisshyng & adournynge of laumpes / of baulme / & of the precious oyntemēt of pure narde / & of other thynges / of all which thynges a man shall fynde {per}ticulare mētion made in the boke of popes / But cōcernyng the donation of the tēporall dominion / of the empier of the west: there is nothyng at all therein cōtayned.* 1.3 But we rede y^e after Astul∣phus kynge of Lombardy had takē by force the domi∣nion & gouernaūce of Rauenna & many other places /

And pope Steuen the secōd of y^e name beīg a romain borne (whose fathers name was Cōstātyne) by many ambassadours sēte to Astulphus / * 1.4 had requyred y^t the places shulde be restored to y^e emperiall diction or do¦minion / & Astulphus wolde nat in any wise cōsent so to do: Steuen wēt to Pipine / & anoynted him & his two sōnes kynges. There was also an ambassadour of y^e emperours / sēte with y^e same Steuen. & they op∣tayned & gotte graūt of Pipine: that he shulde brīge Astulphus in mīde / to restore y^e places to the empier. Pipine sēte ambassadours to Astulphe / but all that auayled nat. Wherfore bycause he coulde nat by that meane optayne of Astulphe / y^t restytution shulde be made: he made promise to Steuen / y^t him selfe wold by force of armes take them from Astulphe / & that he wolde gyue thē to saīte Peter. Whan y^e em{per}ours am∣bassadour had herde this: he retourned home agayn / Pipin {per}fourmed & fulfylled those thynges whiche he had {pro}mysed / and the fourme and maner of this dona¦tion or gyfte / is cōtayned in y^e actes of y^e aforsaid Ste¦uen / * 1.5 & also the {per}ticulare names of all y^e thynges / whi¦che were geuē. zacharie the pope did trāslate the mo∣narchie or kyngdome of Fraūce vnto Pipin deposīg fyrst & puttyng downe Hilderike the kynge whereof it is redde / in the .xv. cause & y^e .vi. question. Alins. &c. & in y^e glose Venerabilē. By the reason herof / I sup∣pose. y^e Pipin from thēce forth did fauour the apostoli¦ke see. Afterwardes Desiderius kynge of Lōbardie warme & recouered agayn by force of armes / those cy¦ties or some of thē:* 1.6 in the tyme of Adrian / Adrian the pope sēdyng many embasadours vnto hī: required & demaūded agayn of him the right of saint Peter / but he could nat optayne.* 1.7 Than Charlemayne / of whom Adrian desired ayde and socour: recouered the cyties & gaue thē agayn to saint Peter / * 1.8 by a solēpne gyfte or graūte / which is contayned in the actes of the sayd A¦drian pope. By these thynges it is euydēte / y^t Constā¦tine dyd nat gyue the empier to the pope: by the duke dome of Rauenna / the cyte of Rome / & the west / whe∣reof we do rede / that contynually euyn vntil y^e times

aforesayd: the emperours did with full ryght possesse Rome / Rauenna / & Marchia / * 1.9 with many other pla∣ces / euyn so as they had before. And this is proued by the texte in the .xcvi. distīction. Bene quidē &c. whe∣re it is spokē of Patritius which was gouernour or captayne in the name of kyng Adoacre / & in the lxiii. distīction. Agatho &c. And in the xcvi.* 1.10 distīction Cū ad verū &c. And we do rede also / that y^e popes of Ro∣me did confesse the em{per}ours to be lordes / for Agatho the pope / * 1.11 writeth vnto Constātine the em{per}our (whi∣ch gathered or assēbled the vi. synode & foloweth ma∣ny yeres after the fyrste of that name) how the cyte of Rome is the seruyle cyte of the emperour. And Bo∣niface the pope / writeth to Honorius y^e em{per}our / that him selfe ought to gouerne the benefice of the church of Rome in spiritual thīges: but the emperour ought to gouerne the tēporal thynges / & in the ende he saith.* 1.12 that Rome is the cyte of his mansuetude or mildenes This texte is red in the xCi, distīcion / Ecclesiae. &c.* 1.13 And (that I may speke brefly) I neuer red the cōtra∣ry in any place: but y^e euermore vntyll the tyme of the aforesayde Pipine: the emperour remayned in pos∣session of the places afore named. Neither coulde I yet any where rede / y^t euer any of the popes presumed to haue any ryght or tytle / by y^e name of saīt Peter / in the sayd places: vntill the tyme of Steuen y^e .ii. pope of that name. These thynges I beleue to be true: nat withstādyng y^e famouse opinion of the contrary / whi¦ch is redde in Palea the xcvi. distītion / Constātin{us} &c for without doute if that wrytyng had nat bē apochri¦phe:* 1.14 Gratianus shulde haue foūde it in the olde bo∣kes & collections of the canones / but because he dyd nat fynde it: therfore he did nat put it theri / wherfore those thynges whiche he hath added afterwardes he put that fayned scripture for chaffe: euyn so as we do finde many other thīges of the apocriphe writyng{is} to be writtē in our bokes / I haue also foūde this writīg set forth of lenght / in a certayn boke: which cōtayneth moche more than that / which is put in the decrees / in the place afore alledged / & whan I had dilygētly exa¦mined

it: I foūde of y^e selfe same scripture many ma∣nyfeste & euidēt argumētes & tokēs of the forgynge & falsehed of the same / whiche nowe to reherce here: it shulde be bothe tedyouse & also vnprofytable. This also is to be marked / y^t the aforsayd writyng Cōstati¦n{us} &c.* 1.15 which is had in the xcvi. distīction: is extract & drawen out of the legēde of saint Siluester / & he whi¦che dyd put y^e texte in y^e decree: groūdeth the auctorite of it / vpō the approbation & alowyng of Galasius in the Sinode / I pray you loke vpon that approbation in the xv.* 1.16 distinction. Sancta Romana. &c. & it shal be foūde of small strēgth / for he saith. that the author therof is vnknowē / & yet y^t nat w^tstandyng / that it is redde among catholyke mē / & therfore that it may be redde / what maner ap{pro}bation this is: euery mā may considre / * 1.17 for there are many histories of saint Silue¦ster. One / in y^e which this is nat foūde / which histori Damasus the pope made. Another / whose authour is nat knowē / which the texte saith nat to be true: but that it may be redde neither sayth y^e texte / yet y^t this thinge is cōtayned therin. Also y^e olde aunciēt bokes of y^e decrees / hath nat y^t text / but only vnto y^e {per}agraffe It••̄ decreta romano{rum} pōtificū. &c. īclusiuely. And so this {per}agraffe of y^e histori of Sil.* 1.18 is nat foūde in those bokes. Also y^e fifth vniuersal Synode / which maketh mētion of y^e ap{pro}bate bokes of al lerned authors / & of y^e approued scriptures:* 1.19 moreouer y^e Synode of Mar¦tin y^e pope / which was made agaynst y^e assertiō of thē which said y^t there was but one wyl in Christ (y^t is to wit / agaīst Paulus & Sergius) renuyng y^e approued scriptures / as I my self haue seen: maketh no mētiō of these histories / neither yet any other ap{pro}ued author / or such as is accōpted for a true author / * 1.20 y^t euer I sawe maketh any mētion of thē. I haue redde ī Vincent in y^e xxiiii.* 1.21 boke of histories in the ende / after the mīde of saynt Ierome: y^e Cōstātine cruelly dyd slee his wyfe Fausta & his sōne Crispus. And that at y^e later ēde of his lyfe / after y^t he had ben baptyzed of Eusebius bys¦shop of Nichomedia: he declyned to y^e heresie of y^e Ar¦rians / frō which tyme (as saynt Ierome saith (spoy∣lyng & robbrie of churches / & y^e discord / debate / & strife

of the whole world hath folowed / euyn vntyl this p̄sēt tyme. These thīges manifestly do repugne / & ar plaī¦ly contrarye to y^e boke of the actes of Siluester / whi∣che boke Vincentius saith to haue ben translated out of Greke by a certayn man / whose name he knoweth nat / as it is had in the same boke in the ix. chap. who wolde nat rather gyue credence to Ierome / whiche is an approued authour: than to y^e writyng{is} of an vn¦knowen authour / which therfore are called Apochri¦phe scriptures? The texte also / which is ascribed to Melchiades y^e pope / whiche is had in the .xii. cause & the first questiō / Futurā. &c. which texte semeth to be somwhat agaīst this sayeng: Is nat y^e texte of Mel∣chiades / after y^e mīde of a certayne glose / & also accor¦dyng to y^e very trouth.* 1.22 For Melchiades was p̄deces∣sour to Siluester / as it appereth in y^e cataloge of the popes of Rome. And if Cōstātine was baptyzed of Syluester / accordīg to y^e commune noyse & fame: thā it is euydēt / that y^e tytle of y^e texte is false. For it ma∣keth mētion of y^e baptisme of Cōstātine. And albeit that y^e sayd texte had ben writtē by Melchiades: yet coulde nat therof any argumēt or profe he takē agaīst the p̄misses / for it sayth nothīg els / but y^e Constātine forsoke y^e em{per}iall place of Rome / & graūted it to Pe∣ter & to his successours / that is to say / y^t wher sōtyme was y^e em{per}iall seate: there is now y^e papall see.* 1.23 which thīge no mā denyeth. And trouth it is / that Cōstātine thēperour was in y^e time of Melchiades y^e pope / and that he was thā christen. as it is red in the workes of saint Augustīe in many places: & namely in y^e epistle to Glorius & Elusyus / which beguineth in this wise.

Dixit quidā aplolus. &c. & this also agreeth w^t the mīde of saīt Ierome. I haue seē also y^e decre of Leo the pope in y^e sinode holdē at Rōe / * 1.24 w^t the subscription of the bisshoppes & clerkes / & of the cytizēs of Rome / where Leo y^e pope restored to Otho the first / all y^e pla¦ces which had ben gyuē by y^e kīges / Pipyn / Charles / & Roberte / to saīt Peter. And all y^e sayd places ar na∣med in y^e same decre / but ther is no mētion made of y^e donation of Cōstātine. In my iugemēte those textes cōcernīg Cōstātine: ar apocriphe & of non auctorite.

Notes

• * 1.1

  The donatiō of Constanty¦ne is nat foū∣de ī any autē¦tical bokes or in any appro∣ued histories
• * 1.2

  Damasus 〈◊〉〈◊〉 pope at 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Iheromes ••••••queste: dyd•• write the ac∣tes of his pre¦decessours▪
• * 1.3

  Astulphus kī¦ge of Lombar¦dye.
• * 1.4

  Steuen the .ii anoynted pi∣pin the kynge of Fraunce.
• * 1.5

  Pope zachari the fyrst depo¦sed Hilderike the kynge of Fraūce•• & trās¦lated the sayd kyngdome to Pipin frō the 〈…〉〈…〉.
• * 1.6

  〈1 paragraph〉〈1 paragraph〉
• * 1.7

  Adrian••.
• * 1.8

  Charlemayn recouered the cyties agayn: whiche Desi∣derius with helde: & gaue therin to the pope
• * 1.9

  Places in the popes lawe: that make plaīly against the donation of Cōstātine.
• * 1.10

  Rede that tex¦te Cum ad ve¦rum.
• * 1.11

  Agatho the fyrste / & Con∣stātine the iiii assembled the vi. synode at Cōstātinople of ccixxx. bys¦shoppes.
• * 1.12

  Bonifac. 1
• * 1.13

  The empero∣urs were al∣wayes in pos¦session of 〈◊〉〈◊〉 these thynges neither dyd the popes e∣uer make any clayme to an•• percels of the afore ••he tim•• of Pipin and pope Steuen the seconde.
• * 1.14

  Gratiā knew no thynge of the donation of Cōstātine / & therfore it is nat put in the olde decre¦es of his col∣lection.
• * 1.15

  The chapi. in the decrees / Cōstātin{us}. &c. is takē of the legēde of saīt Siluester.
• * 1.16

  A goodly and a worshipfull approbation.
• * 1.17

  There a•• ma¦ny & sondrye 〈◊〉〈◊〉 of saint Silue∣ster.
• * 1.18

  Pope Martin. 1
• * 1.19

  Paulus & Sergius heretikes
• * 1.20

  Vincēt••{us}.
• * 1.21

  Constantine▪ as saint Ie∣rome sayth) 〈◊〉〈◊〉 his wy¦•••• 〈…〉〈…〉 dayes 〈…〉〈…〉
• * 1.22

  Melchiades predecessour to Siluester
• * 1.23

  Constanly was Chri••t ī Melchia•• his tyme ••••••ter the myn of saynt Au¦gustyne.
• * 1.24

  Leo the .viii. restored to Otto all the landes which Pipin Char∣les & Roberto had gyuen to the church Rome.