III. IX. and Innocent IV., was a direct breach of the canons of HENRY the fourth council of Lateran: for by this synod it was de- K. of Eng. creed, that none should make use of a foreign confessor, Paris, p. without leave from the parish priest. 693 et deinc. sent to the Rome. This year the king sent forth a proclamation, to prohibit list of those who brought bulls for papal provisions, to travel about grievances the kingdom, and make money by these instruments; and if court of any person was found with this tackling about him, he was to be apprehended, and committed to prison. By the way, Ibid. provisions were papal grants of benefices, to take place upon the next vacancy. This year, in Mid-Lent, the king convened a parliament to London: at this session he laid a list of the encroachments of the court of Rome before the bishops and barons: they are digested into several articles. The first article sets forth, that the pope not contented with the contribution of the Peter-pence, had wrested a great sum of money from all the English clergy; and that he was endeavouring to continue the same impositions, and make them heavier; and that all this, being done without the king's consent, was a manifest breach of the ancient customs, liberties, and privileges of the kingdom, and in direct contradiction to the remonstrance made by the English agents at the council of Lyons. The second article complains of the encroachment upon the right of patronage by papal provisions. The third declares against charging the clergy with pensions to be paid out of their respective preferments: and adds, that the pope had promised in a late bull, not to dispose of more than twelve benefices for the future, but that his holiness had very much failed in the performance. The fourth grievance was, that Italians succeeded each other in Church preferments, and that by the pope's authority, the English were summoned out of the kingdom, and cited into foreign courts: that this practice was contrary to the customs of the realm, and indeed to all law and equity; inasmuch as no persons ought to be forced to refer their rights to judges of partiality and prepossession, or try their title in an enemy's court. In the fifth article, they complain of the misbehaviour of the beneficed Italians, and their misapplication of the Church Ll VOL. II. BONI- revenue that, by these promotions, the endowments were Abp. Cant. altogether mispent: that these foreigners neither relieved the poor, nor maintained hospitality; neither preached, nor performed divine service: in short, they failed in almost every branch of their function, kept their churches unornamented, and suffered them to run to ruin. The king, the barons, They complain farther, that the pope had lately sent his briefs to several English prelates, commanding some of them to find five, some ten, and some fifteen gentlemen, to serve on horseback in the pope's troops, and to subsist and pay them for one year at their own charge:-that such military service was due to none but the king, and the great lords of the kingdom; and that the imposition was altogether unprecedented. And to prevent the king's providing against this oppression, the nuncios bound the English prelates to secrecy under the menaces of excommunication: and charged them not to discover what money was wrested from them by the court of Rome, till half a year after it was paid. And lastly, they remonstrate against the archbishop of Canterbury's having a grant of the profits of all the vacant benefices of the province of Canterbury for a year: and that, by this grant, the rights of patronage were invaded. These grievances were laid before the pope, and delithe bishops, vered by a solemn embassy. And to make the remonstrance &c. write to more effectual, the king, the bishops, the barons, and the pope for redress. abbots, wrote each of them a letter to the pope upon this subject. 454. The king acquaints the pope with the danger of the conjuncture; that the impositions of his holiness's agents had discontented his subjects to the last degree: that he was very uneasy under their complaints; and that, unless there was a speedy stop put to these oppressive practices, the consequence was likely to prove very unfortunate both to the court of Rome and himself. The bishops' and abbots' address is much to the same purpose. They tell the pope that the exactions of his ministers had made a terrible commotion in England, and compared it to the wind in Job, "that smote the four corners of the house;" that the face of the Church was perfectly overcast, and mirth changed into mourning; that unless III. they were treated with a gentler hand, and a remedy pro- HENRY vided, it was to be feared the discontents of the people K. of Eng. might grow to an insurrection, and make them forget their duty both to his holiness and the crown; that they were already upon the verge of rebellion, and, without speedy satisfaction, disposed to throw off their allegiance; that in case the Church preferments were disposed of to Italians, the great men threatened to seize the endowments, and revoke the munificence of their ancestors. And, in short, unless matters were differently managed, the Church must suffer extremely, and all things run into confusion. Paris, p. The remonstrance from the barons and commonalty, both clergy and lay, speaks still louder. In this address, after a preamble of ceremony and respect, they give the pope to understand, that unless their grievances were redressed, they should be forced to undertake the matter themselves, and interpose for the common liberty; that hitherto, out of regard to the apostolick see, they had forborne the use of such an expedient; but now they could suffer the Church and kingdom to be harassed no longer; and therefore, unless his holiness put a check to these disorders, he might be assured that the interest of the court of Rome would be so far embarrassed in England, that it would be a very difficult matter to restore it to its former condition. The pope being unwilling to lessen his revenues, or lose Annal. Moany part of the advantage he had lately gained, continued nast. Burton p. 306 et his impositions upon the English. To put a stop to these deinc. encroachments, the king wrote to the prelates and abbots not See Reto suffer the pope's agents to levy any money upon them, 36. under the penalty of forfeiting their baronies. The pope, notwithstanding this opposition and remon- The pope strance, was resolved to stand the hazard and pursue his continues inflexible. point. And to this purpose, he ordered the bishop of Norwich to collect the money, and excommunicate those who refused to pay their proportion; all privileges, grants, and canons of general councils to the contrary notwithstanding. cords, num. Paris, p. 707, 708. The English were surprised at these arbitrary proceed- The king ings at a time when they expected redress. And the king, collecting compliant as he had been to the court of Rome, was any money for the pope. much displeased at this usage. He therefore sent a strict' FACE, BONI- charge to the bishops commissioned by the pope, not to Abp. Cant. collect the tax; and if they had received part of it, to keep it by them till farther order, and not to suffer it to be carried Paris, 708. out of the kingdom. These counter-orders of the king and pope perplexed the clergy and religious, and put them to a stand which way to act. Had they been assured of the king's steadiness, they would have adhered to him; but knowing him to be a person of a flexible temper, and that it was no difficult matter to make an impression upon his courage, they went over many of them to the pope. And now, the ambassadors returned from Rome with a very rugged incompliant answer. The pope was resolved not to make the least abatement of his demands, seemed very much disconcerted with the ambassadors, and received them with an air of stiffness and grandeur. And when they complained of the oppressions of the Church and kingdom, the pope told them, that the king began to grow restive and Recalcitrat turn Frederick. "But he is at liberty," said he, "to take et Frederi- his own measures; and I shall take mine." And now, the zat. But afterwards yields to the en croachment. English were under a great discountenance at the court of Rome, and looked upon as little better than schismaticks; and if they had any business depending, they were scarcely allowed to dispatch it. The king and the great men were very angry, as they had reason, at this treatment. And an order was immediately issued to make proclamation in all towns, courts, and publick meetings throughout the kingdom, not to contribute a penny to the pope's assistance. This defence of property enraged his holiness, who immediately wrote a menacing letter to the English prelates to see the money collected, and paid in to his nuncio upon the 15th of August; and that under the penalty of being suspended and excommunicated. And now, when the matter was brought to the test, and there was a handsome appearance of making a stand against the Roman encroachments, the king's courage sunk, and gave way. It is said, he was overawed into this mean compliance by his brother, Richard, earl of Cornwall, by the bishop of Worcester, and some other prelates in the pope's interest. And thus the noble design of the bishops and barons miscarried, the hopes of English liberty were lost, and III. cardinal's ing speech 455. the Church and state became a prey to Roman avarice. HENRY However, the pope being not yet informed of his success, K. of Eng. broke out into a great passion at the English obstinacy, and resolved to take his revenge by an interdict. When John, an English cardinal, perceived his holiness disposed to these extremities, he accosted him in this manner:-"Sir," An English says he, "for God's sake moderate your anger; and, if I reprimandmay be allowed to say so, check these sallies of indiscretion. to the pope. I beseech you, consider the distemper of the times, and that the days are evil; consider, the Holy Land is in danger of being swallowed up by the infidels; the Greek Church has taken her leave of you, and the emperor Frederick, the most powerful prince in Christendom, is in the field against us; consider that yourself and your conclave of cardinals are banished from your see and forced to retire into a foreign country; that Hungary and the neighbouring provinces are terribly threatened by the Tartars, and that Germany is almost torn in pieces by a civil war. As for the French, sir," says he, "we have beggared them to such a degree, that they are almost ready to rise upon us. And then, as to England, we have treated that people so long like beasts of burthen, spurred and kicked them so unmercifully, that at last they begin to surprise us with their clamours, and break out into complaints like Balaam's ass. In short, we lie under a general odium, and have in a manner made ourselves the aversion of all Christendom." The pope, instead of relenting after this advice, was rather transported to a greater rage, and resolved to push his point, and proceed to enforce discipline. But as it happened, he had no occasion to exert himself, for now his nuncios arrived, and brought him the acceptable news of the compliance in England. Paris, 715. claim to the intestate I have already observed, that the pope laid claim to the The pope assets of the clergy who died intestate. Now, by his de- gives up his cretal, a clergyman was said to die intestate when he was goods of the surprised by any violent disease to such a degree, that he clergy. could not give any clear or methodical instructions for making his will: but desired some friend who had been preacquainted with his mind to draw it for him. Now such a disposition as this the pope would not allow: but the person was reputed to die intestate, and the goods were seized by |
