CHAP. I. " holpen, and therfore he wold go take him at some other "place, for he had heard some say since he came, that St. "Albony's body should be at Colon.-But when the King " was come, and the towne full, suddenly this blinde man "at St. Albony's shrine had his sight agayne, and a mi"racle solemnly rongen, and Te Deum songen, so that " nothing was talked of in all the towne but this miracle. " So happened it then that Duke Humfrey of Gloucester, * honour. "having greate joye to see such a miracle, called the poor " man unto him. And first shewing himself joyous of "God's glory so shewed in the gettyng of his sight, and " exhorting him to meekness, and to none ascribing of "any part of the * worship to himself, nor to be proud " of the peoples praise which would call him a good and with great 66 66 a godly man thereby; at last he looked well upon his eyen, and asked whither he could never see nothing at "all in his life before. And when as well his wife as him "self affirmed fastly, no, then he looked advisedly upon + Firmly, "his † eyen agayne, and sayd, I beleve you very well, for " methinketh that ye cannot see well yet. Yes, Sir, quoth "he, I thanke God and his holy martyr, I can see now as well as any man. Ye can! quoth the Duke; what assurance. 66 I presently. " colour is my gowne? Then I anon the begger told him. "What colour, quoth he, is this man's gown? He told "him also; and so forth, without any sticking, he told "him the names of all the colours that could be shewed cheat. "him. And when my lord saw that, he bad him walke § vagabond, " § faytoure, and made him be sett openly in the stockes : "for, though he could have seen sodainly by miracle the "difference between diverse colours, yet could he not by "the sight so suddenly tell the names of all these colours, " || but if he had know them before, no more than the " names of all the men that he should suddenly see." || unless. 8. By this we may see, that this nobleman was far from being a bigot to usurped authority, and resigning his understanding to an implicit belief of feigned and pretended miracles, and so far agreed in his judgment with Mr. Pecock. But it was his great misfortune to be so far I. Chron. fol. 2. b. blinded either with ambition or doting for love, as to marry CHAP. the Lady Jaquet, or Jacomin, daughter and sole heir to William of Bavier Duke of Holland, who was lawful wife Hall's to John Duke of Brabant then living: which marriage was Reign of not only wondered at by the common people, but also de- Hen. VI. tested of the Nobility, and abhorred of the Clergy. But had not this been his case, his thus detecting the pious frauds and superstitious forgeries with which that dark age abounded, we may well conclude made this great man abundance of enemies among those who were engaged both by zeal and interest to support the credit of such lying wonders. So that it is not at all strange, that we find him suspected as no friend to the Church, and, that by the contrivance of the Cardinal Bishop of Winchester, who then headed the Clergy, his Duchess Eleanor was convented for witchcraft and sorcery, and indicted for treason, in order to reproach and cast a slur on the Duke. But to return to Mr. Pecock. 9. In the year 1431 he was made Master of the college Wharton de of St. Spirit and St. Mary in the city of London, founded Episc Asaph. a little before by Sir Richard Whitington, several times Lord Mayor of London. By the statutes of this college Newcourt there was to be a Master, four Fellows, Masters of Arts, RepertoriClerks, Conducts, Chorists, &c. The Master was to be i. p. 493. chosen in one month after every vacancy by the four Fellows or Chaplains of the college, and to be Rector of the church of f St. Michael in Riola, near to which this college was builts. They were accordingly to certify their choice under their common seal to the Wardens of the Mercers' company, who were made conservators of the um, &c. vol. f Whitenton College church standing in the street called Tower Ryall, a little above the Three Cranes, in the Vintree. Discourse of Peter's Life, &c. by Chr. Carlile. g Mr. Newcourt has omitted Mr. Pecock's name in the account he gives of the Masters of the college of St. Spirit, &c. and Rectors of St. Michael, as not finding it, I suppose, in the Bishop's register. But he was the fourth Master of this college. Repertorium, &c. I. CHÁP. said college, and who were to nominate the person so elected and admitted to the Prior and Chapter of Christ Church Canterbury, who were to present the same person to the Ordinary to be instituted and admitted to this church, according to a composition made between the said Prior and Chapter, and the executors of Sir Richard and the Wardens of the Mystery of Mercers aforesaid. Mr. Pecock was accordingly presented to this church by the said Prior and Chapter, July 19 this year. In the instrument of his presentation he is styled Bachelor of the Sacred Page, and Master of the college in the church of St. Michael in Riola in London. 10. It seems as if after this, Mr. Pecock was promoted in the diocese of St. David's in his own country, since in the Pope's bull of provision of Mr. Pecock to the bishopric of St. Asaph, he is styled a Presbyter or Priest of the diocese of St. David's; unless this only relates to his being a native of that part of the country, as I have hinted already. This seems plain, that if Mr. Pecock was promoted in this diocese, it was to some benefice compatible with his mastership, &c. since of that he seems to have been possessed at the time of his advancement to the bishopric of St. Asaph, as will be seen by and by. 11. By the account given us of Mr. Pecock's activeness in writing and publishing, it should seem as if about this time he applied himself to study the controversy betwixt the Church and the dissenting Lollards, since we are assured that for above twenty years he was thus employed. Whether he was led to this by the nature of his promotion, and a sincere desire to satisfy the doubts and remove the scruples of his dissenting parishioners of St. Michael's in Riola; or for what other reason he applied himself to these studies, it seems as if the foundation of all his future De Script. troubles and misfortunes was laid in them. Leland tells Brit. &c. p. 458. us he was not careful enough in his interpretation of Scripture, to follow the approved opinion of the Orthodox, but would make use of his own sense and judgment, by which I. means he fell into error. But in order to form a judgment CHAP. of Mr. Pecock's conduct, it will not be improper to observe, that 12. Dr. Wiclif dying at Lutterworth, h Dec. 31, 1384, his followers were soon after distinguished, or rather reproached, by the nickname of Lollards, and very much harassed and persecuted. But notwithstanding this, and the death and loss of several of their great friends, they were not at all disheartened, but on the contrary their opinions Life of Dr. so much prevailed, and the numbers of those who em-chap. x. braced them were so increased in several parts of the kingdom, that Knighton assures us, if two persons were met De Event. Angliæ, travelling on the road, it was much if one of them was not coll. 2666. a Wiclifite, and, that this sect was very much honoured and respected. They themselves, in the papers which M. Parkeri about this time they put on the church-doors and other public places, boasted of their being a body of a hundred thousand men at least; which occasioned the following reflection, made afterwards by Sir Thomas More, that English this noising, as he termed it, that the realm was full of 915. coll. 2. heretics was an artifice of theirs to embolden their party, and intimidate the Catholics; but now things were taking Wiclif, Inquisitores dicunt, quod dicta ecclesia de Lutterworth incepit vacare ultimo die Decemb. ultimo preteriti 1384 per mortem Johannis Wycliff ultimi rectoris ejusdem. Reg. Bokyngham, &c. i Our Canonist Lyndwood tells us, that this made word was derived from the Latin lolium, which signifies cockle; because as that weed is a great damage to the wheat [infelix lolium Georg.] among which it grows; so the Lollards, their enemies said, corrupted and spoiled the well-meaning faithful among whom they were conversant. To this derivation of the word or name, our poet Chaucer alludes in the following words : This Loller here woll preche us somewhat, Antiq. Works, p. * sprinkle. Squire's Prologue. Others derive the name from one Walter Lolhard, a German. Beausobre Dissert. sur Adamites, &c. Others again from Lullard, or Lollards, the praises of God, a sect so named, which was dispersed through Brabant. Picteti Oratio, p. 29. I. CHAP. another turn to the Wiclifites great prejudice. Not only their great advocate Dr. Wiclif, but the Queen and Queen mother, who had done them many favours, were dead. The Duke of Lancaster, Dr. Wiclif's great friend and patron, had left the kingdom to take possession of the principality Hom. on of Guienne. Of the knights, who, Dr. Wiclif said, "favered Mat. xi. MS. " much the Gospel, and had wille to rede in Englishe the See Knighton de "Gospel of Christ's life," and who protected and defended Life of Dr. the Wiclifites against the insults and forcible attempts of Event. and Wiclif. their zealous enemies, some were dead, and others overawed by the King's authority, and fear of his displeasure : for now the King himself, to support the steps he had taken towards looseness and arbitrary power, made his court to, and tried to ingratiate himself with the Clergy and Religious, whose influence and power was now so great on account of the vast estate of which they were possessed, that they were a body of men formidable to even the crown itself. This he did by expressing a very flaming zeal against the Wiclifites, who, he knew, were hated by the Religious, &c. and persecuting those who favoured and encouraged their condemned opinions, which he suffered himself to be persuaded were very much to the prejudice of his royal state and dignity, and contributing to the disturbance of the peace and quiet of his realm. 13. As the fautors of Dr. Wiclif's tenets were so numeCourtney, rous, so they had now actually separated themselves from 1896. the communion of the established Church, and had not only religious assemblies of their own appointing, but Parker's 1. Sir Lewis Clifford, a younger son of Sir Roger de Clifford of Hert and Hertness in the bishopric of Durham, and Knight of the most noble order of the Garter, died about 1404. 2. Sir John Peccke or Peche, son and heir of Sir John Peche, Knight, Warden of the Cinque Ports, and governor of Corfe Castle in Dorsetshire, died 1886. 3. Sir William Nevyle died 1367. 4. And Sir John Montacute, 1388. 5. Sir Richard Story, or Stury, was compelled by the King to retract or recant the opinions of Wiclif. See Dugdale's Baronage, vol. i. ii. Isti erant hujus secte promotores strenuissimi-qui militari cingulo ambiebant ne a recte credentibus aliquid opprobrii aut dampni propter eorum prophanam doctrinam sortirentur. Knighton de Event. |