The vnmasking of all popish monks, friers, and Iesuits. Or, A treatise of their genealogie, beginnings, proceedings, and present state. Together with some briefe obseruations of their treasons, murders, fornications, impostures, blasphemies, and sundry other abominable impieties. Written as a caueat or forewarning for Great Britaine to take heed in time of these romish locusts. By Lewis Owen.

Of the Benedictin Monks.

AFterwards about the yeere of our Lord 567. being two hundred and six yeeres after the death of Saint Anthony, one Benedictus Nursinus (whom the Eng∣lish Papists vulgarly call Saint Benet) a man borne in Ʋmbria, a Region in Italy, hauing led some certaine yeeres a solitary life in those desart places, at length retired to Subl••cum, a towne distant forty miles from Rome, whi∣ther many people (by reason of the great fame of his inte∣grity and holinesse of life) resorted vnto him: but within a while he departed thence and repaired to Cassinum, an an∣cient City in that Region, where he built a Monasterie, and in a very short time gathered together all such Monks as then wandred here and there in the Woods and Desarts of Italy; and gaue them certaine rules and statutes to obserue and keepe: And withall bound them to three seuerall Vowes; the which were neuer heard of, before that S. Basil had ordained them in the East Country to his Monks, which was about the yeere 383. for Basil was the first that gaue Rules or Orders vnto Monks. Among other Lawes and Statutes, hee ordained, that after that a Monk had remained the space of one whole yeere in his Abbey (if so be that he was willing to continue there still) hee should make three seuerall solemne Vowes: first to liue chastly, (but with this Prouiso, Si non castè, tamen cautè, that is to say, if he could not liue chastly, he should goe about his bu∣nesse warily. Secondarily, to possesse nothing. And thirdly, to obey his Superiours in what thing soeuer they should command him. Which decree of Benet (or rather of Ba∣sil, but receiued and allowed of by Benet) was ratified by the Church of Rome for an Euangelicall Law or Decree.

Againe Benet gaue his Monklings a new kinde of foolish habit; appointing them also a certaine forme of praying;

allowing them but meane Commons, and withall a new manner of Abstinence, that was likewise neuer heard of before.

But now the world is altered with them; for whosoeuer will suruay or view them well, shall see that they liue like Princes, and farre more like Epicures than Religious men, as all those that are, or haue beene acquainted with them, can testifie.

This Congregation of Saint Benet grew, by little and lit∣tle, to be so great, that it is almost incredible. Yet in the end there hapned such a Schisme among them, that it was and still is diuided into many families, as Cluniacenses, Ca∣malduenses, Ʋallisumbrenses, Montoliuetenses, Grandimon∣tenses, Cistercienses, Syluestrenses Coelestini, and diuers others, who are now adaies either vnited with other Or∣ders, or else quite extirpated and abolished.

All these seuerall Sects of Monks (who apply their minds to nothing else but to sloth, idlenesse, gluttony, idolatry, whordome, fornication, and the like impietie (vnlesse it be to inuent and bring in daily more new Sects of Monks and Friers) are reported to haue proceeded from the first Family of Saint Benet. Those that were first instituted by this Saint (as they themselues confesse) are those that now adaies weare a blacke loose Coat of stuffe reaching downe to their heeles, with a Cowle (or hood) to couer their bald Pates, which hangs downe to their shoulders; and their Scapular shorter than any other of these Monks; and vnder that Coat another white Habit as large as the former, made of Stuffe or white Flannen. They shaue the haires of their heads, except one little round circle which they leaue round about their heads, which they call Corona, their Crowne forsooth, because they would bee honoured as Kings and Princes. By the rule that their Patron gaue them, they are bound to abstaine perpetually from flesh, vnlesse, when they are sicke. And therfore these immodest moderne Monks (who doe eat Flesh daily, except the time of Lent,

and other fish daies) must of necessity be alwaies sicke, vn∣lesse they will impudently confesse (as indeed they cannot deny) but that they obserue not the Lawes and Statutes of their Patron Saint Benet, and therein haue infringed and falsified one of their vnlawfull Vowes. Where you may obserue that this Monasticall Institution, being but hu∣mane, and not grounded or warranted by the Word of God, did not continue long inuiolated; the nature of men being inclined (yea in the best things) to wax daily rather worse than better. And therefore the Benedictin Monks haue contaminated their former Piety and Deuotions with the Mammon of this world, as Promotions, Sloth, Glut∣tony, and all manner of Luxury; which was the cause that this one Family was so rent and diuided into so many Sects and Schismes as daily experience teacheth vs. How religi∣ously they haue liued heretofore, and still liue, those that are conuersant in their owne Histories, and haue trauelled in forraigne Countries, can best tell, to their perpetuall shame; although our new vpstart English Benedictin Monks would haue the world beleeue that their Order first planted the Christian Religion in this Land, and that the Monks of their Order were euer godly and religious men, and there∣fore not to be ranked with the Iesuites who are great States∣men; for they (good Monks) meddle not with matters of State, or with Kings affaires: but for all their counterfeit ho∣linesse let me tell them in their eares, that an English Bene∣dictin of Swinsteed Abbey poisoned King Iohn; for the which fact he was, and still is highly honoured by all Pa∣pists in generall. And one saith of him thus, * 1.1 Regem perimere meritorium ratus est, he thought it a meritorious deed to kill the King.

The Monks that are called Cluniacenses, being formerly of the Congregation of Benet, were first instituted in Bur∣gundie by one Otho an Abbot of that Congregation, vnto whom William (surnamed the Godly) Duke of Aquitaine, gaue a certaine Village called Mastick, and other lands to∣wards

their maintenance, which was about the yeare of our Lord DCCCCXVI.

* 1.2Not long after the Camalduenses Monks started vp; the Author of it was one Romoaldus, who had beene formerly a Monk of Benets Order in a Cloister neare Rauenna in Italy, from whence he made an escape, to the Prouince of Hetru∣ria, which is now the Duke of Florence his Dominion, where, hauing obtained a cōuenient place of one Modulus, he built a Monastery on the top of the Appenine hills, and there erected another new Family. These Monks weare a white habite, and professe to lead a very austere kinde of life; but, to say the truth, all is but meere hypocrisie.

* 1.3In the other side of those former hilles, at a place called Vallis-Vmbrosa, in the yeare of our Lord 1060. one Iohn Gualbertus, a Florentine, instituted another new Family of Monks, who did weare a purple habite.

* 1.4The Monteliuetenses began to peepe out about the yeare 1047. at the same time when there were three seuerall Popes liuing, who troubled all Christendome for the Papacie. The Institutor of this Family of Monks, was one Bernardus Pto∣lomeus, they liued at the first at Sienna, a Citie in Tuscan in Italy; but afterwards (hauing gathered their crummes to∣gether) they built an Abbey on the top of an high hill not farre from thence; they weare a white habite, this Family was approued by Pope Gregory the twelfth.

* 1.5The Author or Institutor of the Grandimontensian Monks, was one Stephen, a Noble-man borne in Auernia in France, who gaue them (much about that time) large possessions and reuenues to maintaine themselues withall.

* 1.6And about the very selfe-same time one Robert, Abbot of Molismenia, perceiuing how the old Benedictin Monks had then almost quite left and forsaken the ancient rule and dis∣cipline that Benet had giuen them, accompanied with more than twentie other Monks, repaired to a place called Sister∣cium in Burgundie, being an horrible stupendious place and not inhabited, and there erected another new Family, and

called them Sistercienses of the place he built his first Abbey. In the yeare of our Lord MXCVIII. * 1.7 Saint Bernard be∣ing a man nobly descended in Burgundie, and one that be∣fore that time had vndertaken this Monastical life; at Cister∣cium aforesaid became very famous as wel for his learning as for his sanctitie of life; and therefore was chosen to bee Abbat of the Abbey of Claranallensis, which Abbey one Robert a Noble-man of that Countrey had then lately built, and then began the Order of the Monks of Saint Bernard: but to say the truth, the Cistercensian Monks, and the Ber∣nardine are all one, sauing a little in their habite; for the Ber∣nardins weare a blacke gowne ouer a white coat, and the Cistercians all white, and yet the Bernardins weare (most commonly) euery festiuall day the habite of the Cisterci∣ans, to shew the beginning of their Order, as Seb. Franckin witnesseth. * 1.8 These Bernardine Monks haue their Abbeyes, for the most part, in some pleasant valley neare to some riuer side accommodated with woods and groues, as an ancient Poet well obserued in these verses:

Semper enim valles Syluestribus vndi{que} cinctos Arboribus, Diuus Bernardus, amaena{que} prata Et fluuios, &c.—amabat.

That is to say:

In valleyes and groues neare some riuer side The Bernardine Monks doe loue to reside.

* 1.9About some fourescore and foure yeares after, one Petrus Moronēus (who had beene formerly an Anchorite, and af∣terwards Pope, and called Caelestinus the fift) erected an Or∣der of Monks, and called them Caelestini. His Order was confirmed in the Councell of Lyons by Pope Gregory the tenth, who gaue them many priuileges and indulgences, they obserue the rule of Saint Benet. * 1.10 This Sect or Family did afterwards increase so fast, that within few yeares, hee himselfe did consecrate six and thirty Cloisters for them in Italy, wherein were six hundred Monks: afterwards they came to inhabite all Christendome. Their first comming in∣to

England was in the yeare 1414. * 1.11 Ʋide Tho. Walsingham, George Lilyus, and Balaeus, Centuria 7. cap. 50. in Appendice.

There is also a Confraternitie or Brotherhood of this Or∣der. Their Institutor gaue his Monks, among other things, this caueat, Tunc Caelestinus eris, si caelestia mediteris, that is to say, Thou shalt be a Caelestin in deed, (that is, a heauenly man) if thou wilt alwaies meditate vpon heauenly things. They weare a kinde of a Skie-coloured habite ouer a white coat, and doe neuer or seldome eat flesh; and haue their Mona∣steries in some fertile and pleasant soile, and most commonly a mile or two from any Towne or Citie.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Iohannes Maior de gestis Scoto∣rum lib. 4. c. 3. Cluniacenses.
• * 1.2

  Camalduenses.
• * 1.3

  Vallis-vmbre∣senses.
• * 1.4

  Monteliuetenses.
• * 1.5

  Grandimonten∣ses.
• * 1.6

  The Cistercien∣ses, or Bernanardin Monks.
• * 1.7

  The Bernardin Monks.
• * 1.8

  Seb. Fran. Chron. folio 470.
• * 1.9

  The Celestine Monks.
• * 1.10

  An. Dom. 1294.
• * 1.11

  Surius in Caele∣stino, tom. 3. de vitis Sanctorū.