Back to History ReportsBack to the Way of Life Home PageWay of Life Literature Online
Catalog
Back to History Reports
Back to the Way of Life Home Page
Way of Life Literature Online
Catalog
THE
HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, from the birth of Christ to the
18th Century: including the very interesting account of the
Waldenses and Albigenses
By William Jones
First Edition 1812
Fourth Edition 1819
Fifth Edition 1826
London: Printed for the Author by W. Myers, 7, Took’s Court,
Castle Street, Holborn
[Note from the publisher. This valuable out-of-print book was carefully formatted for electronic publication by Way of Life Literature. For a catalog of other books, both current and old, in print and electronic format, contact us at P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061-0368, fbns@wayoflife.org (e-mail), http://www.wayoflife.org (web site).]
[Table of Contents for "A History of the Christian Church" by William Jones]
CHAPTER FIVE -- SECTION 7
SOME ACCOUNT OF THE STATE OF THE WALDENSES, FROM THE PERIOD OF THE SUPPRESSION OF THEIR CHURCHES IN FRANCE, TO THE MIDDLE OF THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY, A.D. 1230--1350.
While the demon of persecution was raging with resistless fury against the Albigenses in the southern provinces of France, the inhabitants of the valleys of Piedmont appeared to have enjoyed a large portion of external peace: -- their churches had rest, and walking in the fear of the Lord and the comforts of the Holy Spirit, were edified and multiplied. The kind providence of God appeared in blessing them with a succession of mild and tolerant princes, in the Dukes of Savoy,* who, continually receiving the most favorable reports of them, as a people simple in their manners, free from deceit and malice, upright in their dealings, loyal to their governors, and ever ready to yield them a cheerful obedience in every thing but the concerns of religion, turned a deaf ear to the repeated solicitations of priests and monks, and, from the beginning of the thirteenth century until the year 1487, a period of nearly three hundred years, peremptorily refused to disturb or molest them. [Mr. Robinson, referring to this subject, has the following pertinent remark. "It is a curious phenomenon in politics, that the family which allowed its subjects religious liberty, when all other princes oppressed conscience, should, in a country enthusiastically fond of liberty, become in the end, the most absolute monarchs in the Christian world. Such is the king of Sardinia, who is also duke of Savoy, and to whose eldest son, the heir apparent, the title of the Prince of Piedmont is hereditary." Eccles. Researches, p. 459.]
An effort was made to introduce the Inquisition into Piedmont, but the proceedings in France had sufficiently opened the eyes of the inhabitants to the spirit and principles of that infernal court, and they wisely resisted its establishment among them. An inquisitor of the name of Peter of Verona, had been deputed by the pope to carry the project into effect; but we are told by Ludovicus a Paramo, a Spanish writer of those times, that "the people made a martyr of him either at Turin or Susa." [Limborch, on the authority of Pegna in Eymeric, says, "as he was going from Como to Milan, A.D. 1252, to extirpate heresy, a certain believer of heretics attacked him in his journey, and despatched him with many wounds. He was cannonized and worshipped as a martyr."] At Milan, also, the united power of pope Pius IV and Philip II of Spain, was found insufficient to introduce the Inquisition; the mob rose at the bare proposal of it and flew to arms, exclaiming that it was a system of tyranny, and not of religion. Even the senate protested against it as inimical to trade, repugnant to the free constitution of the cities of Italy, and incompatible with the Milanese forms of law, on which grounds they opposed its introduction. Naples and Venice also successfully resisted the inquisitorial scheme; and, as the populace in almost every part of Italy formed insurrections against the inquisitors, evincing the most determined spirit of hostility against them, the states prudently availed themselves of this temper of mind, and pretended they were afraid of exasperating the people should they introduce the independent power of the holy office.
The scenes of slaughter and devastation which had been carried on against the Albigenses, in the southern provinces of France, for more than twenty years during the former part of the thirteenth century, in which time it has been computed that a million of persons bearing that name were put to death [Mede on the Apocalypse, p. 503, and Newton on the Prophecies, volume 2, p. 257. 8th ed. 1789; Clark in his Martyrology doubles the number], had occasioned many of them to cross the Pyrenees and seek a shelter from the storm in the Spanish provinces of Arragon and Catalonia. Matthew Paris, in his History of the reign of Henry III notices this circumstance, and informs us that in year 1214, during the pontificate of Alexander IV there were great numbers of the Waldenses in these provinces, of which the pope bitterly complained in one of his bulls, saying, that they had permitted them to gain such a footing, and given them such time to increase and multiply, that the evil called loudly for a remedy. He further adds, that they had several churches duly set in order with their bishops and deacons, in which they publicly and boldly preached their doctrine. Thither the vigilance of the inquisitors traced their steps, and accordingly in the year 1232, the Inquisition was brought into Arragon. A further indulgent, indeed, to this was, that the bishop of Huesca, a considerable city of Arragon, was reported to err in matters of faith, and in all probability had so much humanity in his composition, as led him to connive at the residence of heretics in his diocese. The office of making inquisition against them, was committed by pope Gregory IX to a friar of the order of Predicants, named Peter Caderite; and James, the King of Arragon, was magisterially enjoined not to permit him, or any of his assistants, to be molested in the discharge of the duties of the Inquisition. A commission was at the same time given to the archbishop of Tarragona, the metropolitan city of Catalonia, and his suffrages, to constitute a court of inquisition there also, against heretical pravity. The following is a copy of the bull which was issued for that purpose.
"Since the evening of the world is now declining, we admonish and beseech your brotherhood, and strictly command you by our written and apostolic words, as you regard the Divine judgment, that with diligent care you make inquiry against heretics, and render them infamous, by the assistance of the friars Predicants, and others whom you shall judge fit for this business; and that you proceed against all who are culpable and infamous, according to our statutes lately published against heretics, unless they will from the heart absolutely obey the commands of the church--which statutes we send you enclosed in our bull; and that ye also proceed against the receivers, abettors, and favorers of heretics, according to the same statutes. But if any will wholly abjure the heretical plague, and return to the ecclesiastical unity, grant them the benefit of absolution, according to the forms of the church, and enjoin them the usual penance" [Bzovius, A. 1233. sect. 8,9].
Soon after the establishment of the Inquisition in Arragon, a synod was convened at TARRAGONA, when many severe decrees were passed against heretics, and the holy office was erected there also; and, for the space of a century and a half, measures of the greatest rigor were incessantly carried on against the Waldenses in that quarter, before their entire extinction could be effected. The Catholic writers themselves avow these facts, and acknowledge that they owed their ultimate success, in subduing the heretics in that quarter, to the superior talents and exertions of NICHOLAS EYMERIC, a Predicant monk, and author of the directory of the inquisitors, who was created inquisitor-general, about the year 1358, and died January 4th, 1392, having kept up the office of the Inquisition against heretics forty-four years in succession.
The flight of Waldo from the south of France into Germany, and the success that attended him in preaching the gospel in the different cities which are situated on the banks of the Rhine, have been already noticed. We are informed that about the year 1213, Germany and Alsace were full of the Waldenses. [Constans on the Revelation, in Perrin, book 2, chapter 9.] Two considerations may enable us to account for this. One is, the destructive war that was waged against the Albigenses in France, supported by the terror of the Inquisition, which would necessarily drive the disciples of Christ to seek security in other countries. The other is, that a violent quarrel arose about this time between the pope and Frederic II, Emperor of Germany. This latter prince, on his first accession to the throne, had gone eagerly into all the measures of the court of Rome, and issued the most horrid and sanguinary edicts against the Waldenses, as hath been shown in a former section. [See chapter 5, section 5.] But he had now, by some means, incurred the displeasure of Gregory IX who, at the moment that Frederick was prosecuting a war against the Saracens in the east, excited the emperor’s own son Henry, who had been elected king of the Romans, to rebel against his father, in consequence of which, the cities of Lombardy had revolted. The rebellion was, however, suppressed, the prince was confined, and Frederic triumphed--but his troubles were not ended. The pope excommunicated him, and, to sow division between him and the princes of the empire, he (A.D. 1237) transmitted a bull into Germany, in which were the following words, referring to the emperor. "A beast of blasphemy, abounding with names, is risen from the sea, with the feet of a bear, the face of a lion, and members of other different animals: which, like the proud, hath opened its mouth in blasphemy against the holy name; not even fearing to throw the arrows of calumny against the tabernacle of God, and the saints that dwell in heaven. This beast, desirous of breaking every thing in pieces with his iron teeth and nails, and of trampling all things under his feet, hath already prepared private battering rams against the wall of the Catholic faith; and now raises open machines, in erecting soul-destroying schools of Ishmaelites; rising, according to report, in opposition to Christ, the Redeemer of mankind, the table of whose covenant he attempts to abolish with the pen of wicked heresy. Be not, therefore, surprised at the malice of this blasphemous beast, if we, who are the servants of the Almighty, should be exposed to the arrows of his destruction. This King of plagues was even heard to say, that the whole world has been deceived by three imposters, Moses, Christ, and Mohammed; but he makes Jesus far inferior to the other two. ‘They,’ says he, ‘supported their glory to the last, whereas Christ was ignominiously crucified.’ Frederick, on the other hand, drew up an apology to the princes of Germany, in which he terms Gregory, The Great Dragon and Antichrist, of whom it is written, "and all other red horse arose from the sea, and he that sat upon him took peace from the earth" [Russell’s Modern Europe, volume 1, letter 52].
In the year 1245 POPE INNOCENT IV convened the famous council of Lyons, concerning which the following inscription is preserved in the Vatican library at Rome. "The thirteenth general council, and the first of Lyons: Frederic II is there declared an enemy to the church, and deprived of the imperial diadem." To this council Frederic did not fail to send ambassadors to defend his cause, well knowing that he was there to be publicly accused. The pope, who had set himself up as judge at the head of the council, acted also the part of his own advocate; and after strenuously insisting on his right to the temporalities of Naples and Sicily, and to the patrimony of the Countess Matilda, he charged Frederic with having made a peace with the Mahometans--with having had Mahometan concubines--with not believing in Christ--and, in a word, with being a heretic. [Mons. Voltaire drily asks, "How could the emperor be a heretic and an infidel at the same time?" A very pertinent question certainly.] The emperor’s orators harangued in his defense with great spirit and resolution, and in their turn accused the pope of having been guilty of usury and rapine. Ambassadors from England were also sent to attend at this council, and represent the grievances which their countrymen were groaning under from the enormous exactions of the court of Rome. They complained as loudly of the pope as the pope had done of the emperor. "You draw," said they, "by means of your Italian emissaries, above sixty thousand marks yearly out of the kingdom of England; you have lately sent us a legate, who has given away all the church livings to Italians. He raises excessive taxes upon all the religious houses, and excommunicates every body that complains of his extortions. Let these grievances, therefore, be instantly redressed, for we will no longer endure them." The pope blushed, and made no answer, but proceeded to pronounce sentence against the emperor, by which he deprived him of his crown. While the pontiff was pronouncing the sentence, the fathers of the church held in their hands the lighted wax candles, which were immediately extinguished on the sentence being pronounced. As one party signed the decision, the other went out, giving vent to their groans.
The emperor was himself at Turin during these transactions, and, according to report, was greatly agitated on hearing of them. He, however, called for his strong box, which was brought him, and taking out of it the imperial crown, he added "This the pope and his council have not been able to take from me, and before they strip me of it much blood shall be spilt." He then proceeded to write to all the princes of Europe, urging them to support him against the pope. "I am not the first," says he, in his letters, "whom the clergy have treated so unworthily, and I shall not be the last. But you are the cause of it, by obeying these hypocrites, whose ambition, you are sensible, is carried beyond all bounds. How many infamous actions, shocking to modesty, might you not, if you were disposed to it, discover in the court of Rome? While they are abandoned to the vices of the age, and intoxicated with its pleasures, the greatness of their riches stifles in their minds all sense of religion. It is, therefore, a work of charity to deprive them of these pernicious treasures which are their ruin, and it is your duty to assist me in so doing."
These extracts sufficiently show the state of deadly hatred that existed between the pope and emperor, and it produced a flame that raged, with more or less violence, throughout the empire, until the death of the latter in the year 1250. "It was dreadful," says a late writer, "to see the misery to which many thousands were reduced in Germany, by a new and illegal election of another emperor, and by the violences committed in the revolted cities of Italy; in all which the pope was the only one insensible to the operations of Divine justice. In the midst of this confusion, (1254) the Almighty summoned him before his tribunal" [Walch’s History of the Popes]. One beneficial result of this long-pending quarrel was, that it retarded the establishment of the inquisition in different parts of the German empire, and consequently gave the Waldenses an opportunity of propagating their sentiments more extensively. The clergy, no doubt, were generally upon the alert in quest of heretics, and wherever they were discovered, means of one kind or other were not wanting to persecute them, and render their dispersion necessary to avoid its fury. But these things always turned out to the furtherance of the gospel, "because many learned preachers were thereby dispersed abroad to make known the purity of their religion to the world" [Perrin’s History, book 2, chapter 2].
But after the death of Frederic, the establishment of the Inquisition met with less obstruction. The affairs of Germany had been left by him in great disorder. Italy was without a prince, and the Milanese under the control of the pope. "The latter," says Limborch, "now determined to extirpate all heresy, which had greatly increased during the preceding war* [Limborch’s Inquisition, chapter 15. 404].
About the year 130, the Waldenses were grievously harassed and oppressed, in several parts of Germany, by an inquisitor of the name of ECHARD, a Jacobin monk. The circumstance is related by Vignier, in his Historical Library, part the third, where he also records an anecdote of this Echard that is worth mentioning. After inflicting cruelties with great severity, and for a length of time, upon the Waldenses, he was at length induced to investigate the causes and reasons of their separation from the church of Rome. The force of truth ultimately prevailed over all his prejudices--his own conscience attested that many of the errors and corruptions, which they charged on that apostate church, really existed; and, finding himself unable to disprove the articles of their faith by the word of God, he confessed that truth had overcome him, gave glory to God, and entered into the communion of the Waldensian churches, which he had long been engaged in punishing and persecuting even to death. The news of his conversion was soon spread abroad, and reached the ears of the other inquisitors, whose indignation was roused by his apostasy. Emissaries were dispatched in pursuit of him, and he was at length apprehended and conveyed to Heidelberg, where he was committed to the flames. His dying testimony was a noble attestation to the principles and conduct of the Waldenses; for he went to the stake charging it upon the church of Rome as a monstrous and iniquitous procedure, to put to death so many innocent persons, for no other crime but their steadfast adherence to the cause of Christ, in opposition to the delusions of Antichrist. [Vignier’s Bibliotheca Historialis, part 3. Anno 1330, in Perrin’s History, book 2, chapter 2.]
The Waldenses, however, continued to increase throughout Germany, during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Four hundred and forty-three were apprehended by the inquisitors in Saxony and Porecrania, in the year 1391, who confessed that their teachers came from Bohemia, and that they and their ancestors before them had been instructed in the principles they then held. In 1457, a great number of the Waldenses were discovered by the inquisitors in the diocese of Eistein in Germany, who were put to death, and who confessed that they had among them twelve barbes, or pastors, who labored in the work of the ministry. In short, Trithemius relates it as an acknowledged fact, that in those days the Waldenses were so numerous, that in traveling from Cologne to Milan, the whole extent of Germany, they could lodge every night with persons of their own profession, and that it was a custom among them to affix certain private marks to their signs and gates, whereby they made themselves known to one another. [Perrin’s History, book 2, chapter 11.]
In the year 1210, twenty-four persons of the sect of the Waldenses were seized in the city of PARIS, some of whom were imprisoned, and others committed to the flames. In the year 1334, the monks of the inquisition, who were deputed to search after the Waldenses, apprehended one hundred and fourteen of them at Paris, who were burnt alive, sustaining their torture with admirable fortitude. It is also related by the author of a work entitled "The Sea of Histories," that in the year 1378, the persecution against the Waldenses continuing, a vast number of them were burnt in the place de Grave, in Paris. [Perrin, book 2, chapter 15.] These sanguinary proceedings, however, it would seem, were far from eradicating the heresy. For, two years after this, viz. in 1380, we find Francis Borelli, an inquisitorial monk, armed with a bull of pope Clement VII undertaking the persecution of the Waldenses in the same quarter. In the space of thirteen years, he delivered into the hands of the civil magistrates of Grenoble a hundred and fifty persons to be burned as heretics. And in the valley of Fraissiniere, he apprehended eighty more, who were also committed to the flames [Milner’s Church History, volume 3, p. 496].
[There is a passage in the writings of that eminent Catholic Historian, Thuanus, relating to the subject we are now upon, which deserves the reader’s attention, as throwing considerable light upon the history of this dark period, and certainly no writer was more competent to give us information. "Against the Waldenses," says he, "when exquisite punishments availed little, and the evil was exasperated by the remedy which had been unseasonably applied, and their number increased daily, complete armies, were at length raised, and a war of no less weight than what our people had before waged against the Saracens, was determined against them. The result was that they were rather slain, put to flight, spoiled every where of their goods and possessions and dispersed abroad, than convinced of their error and brought to repentance. So that they who at first defended themselves by arms, fled into Provence, and the neighboring Alps of the French territory, and found a shelter for their life and doctrine in those places. Part of them withdrew into Calabia, and continued there a long while, even to the pontificate of Pius IV. Many passed into Germany, and fixed their abode among the Bohemians, and in Poland and Livonia. Others, turning to the West, obtained refuge in Britain." Thuani Praefatio ad Henricum 4, p. 7.]
About the year 1370, a colony of the Waldensian youths of Dauphine sought a new settlement in CALABRIA, probably hoping there to enjoy, with less molestation, their religious privileges. Finding the soil fertile, and the region thinly peopled, they applied to the proprietors of the lands, and stipulated for a settlement among them. The lords of the country cheerfully granted their request, gave them the kindest reception, agreed with them on equitable terms, and let out to them parcels of land for cultivation. By their superior industry, the new colonists speedily fertilized and enriched their respective districts; and by their probity, peaceable manners, and punctuality in the payment of their rents, they ingratiated themselves with their landlords and neighbors in general. The priests alone were dissatisfied. They found they did not act like others in religious matters; they contributed nothing to the support of the church by masses for the dead, or other popish innovations, and they were offended. In particular, they were chagrined at finding that certain foreign schoolmasters, who educated the children of these strangers, were highly respected and preferred to themselves--and that they received nothing from them except tithes, which were paid according to contract with their landlords. Concluding, therefore, that they must be heretics, they signified their intention to complain of them to the pope. The gentry, however, resisted that. "They are just and honest," said they, "and have enriched all the country. Even ye priests have received important advantages from their industry. The tithes alone, which ye now receive, are so much greater than those which were formerly produced from these countries, that you are more than compensated for any losses you may sustain on other accounts. Perhaps the country from whence they came is not so devoted to the ceremonies of the Roman church; but as these people fear God, are generous to the poor, just and beneficent to all men, it is illiberal on your parts to force their consciences. Are they not a temperate, sober, discreet people, and peculiarly decent in their speech? Does any person ever hear them utter a blasphemous expression?"
This prudent counsel was not without its use. The priests, indeed, who felt, or imagined their interests were undermined by these new settlers, murmured, and gave vent to their mortification in private. But the lords of the country had sufficient discernment to estimate the value of their new tenants; and they protected them from the indignation of the clergy. The consequence was, that the Calabrian Waldenses enjoyed security, and the benefits of toleration, until the year 1560, when they formed an union with the church of Geneva, of which Calvin was then pastor. Their history previous to that union is dreadful, on account of the scenes of papal persecution that ensued; but it belongs to a subsequent period, and we must not here enter upon it.
During the period of which we are now treating, THE NETHERLANDS (FLANDERS) exhibited many shocking scenes of slaughter of the Waldenses. It seems probable that when persecuted in France they retreated into that country, where also the intolerant zeal of inquisitors followed, and made dreadful havoc of them. Here they obtained a new appellation, viz. Turilupins, that is, the wolves of Turin. The explanation which their own friends give us of this term is, that being banished from the society of men, and driven to dwell with the beasts of the forest, they, in reference to the place whence they originated, designated them Turlupins, or Turilupins. Our historian, Matthew Paris, informs us, in his Life of Henry III that one Robert Bougre, who had lived among the Waldenses, and professed their faith, apostatized from them, became a Dominican, and was appointed by the pope inquisitor general. This man, knowing their usual places of concealment, apprehended more than fifty of them, in the year 1236, and caused 161 them all to be burned or buried alive. But of the extremes to which this miscreant carried his cruelties, a tolerable notion may be formed from the singular occurrence, that even the court of Rome complained of his abusing the power with which he had been entrusted. He was accused of perverting the authority of his office, of punishing the innocent with the guilty, and of committing various atrocities, in consequence of which he was deprived of his office of inquisitor, and condemned to perpetual imprisonment. [Matthew Paris-Life of Henry III, Perrin’s Hist. book 2, chapter 13.]
We are told by Le Sieur de la Popeliniere, who wrote a History of France, that the religion of the Waldenses spread itself throughout all the countries of Europe, even into Poland and Lithuania; and that ever since the year 1100, they had been propagating their doctrine, which differed but little from that of the modern Protestants. He adds that, notwithstanding the vigorous efforts that have been resorted to, by different princes and powers to suppress their doctrine, they had, even to his times, boldly and courageously maintained it. Vignier, before quoted, mentions, that when the Waldenses were driven from Picardy, through the violence of persecution, several of them retired into Poland. Hence we find, that in the year 1330, the Inquisition followed them there, and that numbers of them were put to death. Matthias Illyrius, in his "Catalogue of the Witnesses of the Truth," says, he had lying before him the forms of the Inquisition made use of on that occasion. [Perrin’s Hist. book 2, chapter 14, and Limborch, chapter 16.]
From these same writers, to whom may also be added the inquisitor Reinerius Saccho, we learn, that the persecutions which took place in the south of France, during the former part of the thirteenth century, drove the Waldenses also into various other countries. "In 1229 they had spread themselves in great numbers throughout all Italy. They had ten schools in Valcamonica alone, which were supported by pecuniary contributions in all their societies, and which contributions were transmitted into Lombardy." Reinerius adds, that about the year 1250, the Waldenses had churches in Albania, Lombardy, Milan, in Romagna, Vincenza, Florence, and Val Spoletine; and, in the year 1280, there were a considerable number of Waldenses in Sicily. In all these places the sanguinary edicts of the Emperor Frederic II were continually suspended, like the sword of Damocles, over their heads. To these, also, were now added the rage of inquisitors and of papal constitutions, through which they were continually exposed to sufferings and misery. In SICILY in particular, the imperial fury raged against them--they were ordered to be treated with the greatest severity, that they might be banished, not only from the country, but from the earth. And throughout Italy, both Gregory IX and Honorius IV harassed and oppressed them with the most unrelenting barbarity, by means of the Inquisition--the living were, without mercy, committed to the hands of the executioner, their houses razed to the ground, their goods confiscated, and even the slumbering remains of the dead were dragged from their graves, and their bones committed to the flames. [Perrin’s History, book 2, chapter 16.]
We are further informed by Reinerius Saccho, that in his time, the Waldenses had their churches at Constantinople and Philadelphia, in Sclavonia, Bulgaria, and Diagonitia. Yignier reports, that after the persecution of Picardy, they dispersed themselves into Livonia and Sarmatin. And, it is added by Matthew Paris, that they had spread themselves as far as Croatia and Dalmatia, where their profession prevailed to that degree, that they had won over several (Catholic) bishops to their party.
It is pleasing to find, that while the Waldenses were thus carrying the light of the gospel of Christ throughout the whole continent of Europe, a gleam of its celestial brightness burst upon our own country, and, in some small degree, served to irradiate the gloom in which it was enveloped. In a former section, we have noticed the emigration of thirty of the Waldenses into England, who were cruelly persecuted and destroyed at Oxford in the year 1166. John Bale, in his Chronicle of London, mentions a person who was burnt at London, in 1210, whose only crime was, that he was tainted with the faith of the Waldenses. But the wars that were carried on against the Albigenses in the south of France about this time, contributed very much to the propagation of the principles of the Waldenses in this country, as indeed, appears from the testimony of Thuanus, lately adduced. For, independent of the contiguity of the two countries, there were circumstances of a political nature that tended very much to keep up the intercourse between them. Guienne was at that time in the possession of the English--to which may be added, that Raymond, Earl of Toulouse, the great patron and protector of the Albigenses, was brother-in-law to the King of England; in consequence of which alliance, our countrymen were frequently employed in assisting the subjects of Raymond in their wars. That the doctrines of the Waldenses had begun to spread themselves here [England] about the close of the thirteenth century, is sufficiently obvious from a fact noticed by Archbishop Usher, viz. that in the reign of Henry III "the orders of the Friars Minorites came into England to suppress the Waldensian heresy."
The most remarkable character that appears in the annals of the English ecclesiastical history during this period, was ROBERT GREATHEAD,* bishop of Lincoln. He was born about the year 1175, at Stradbrook, in the county of Suffolk, and appears to have been a person of obscure parentage. His studies, however, were prosecuted at the University of Oxford, where he acquired an intimate acquaintance with the Greek and Hebrew languages; after which he went to Paris, at that time the first seminary in Europe, where he became a perfect master of the French language. Returning to his native country, he was, in the year 1235, elected, by the dean and chapter, bishop of Lincoln, and King Henry III, ratified the choice. He seems to have possessed, even from his youth, much seriousness of mind; and though at that period of life, immersed in the darkness and superstitions of the age, he was no sooner inducted to his office than he began to reform abuses. He convened the clergy of his diocese at stated times, to whom he preached, and urged them to the duties which devolved upon them from their office. But as the latter had no ear to give to these things, the bishop soon began to be involved in litigations with the monks and other popish agents. In the year 1247, two persons of the Franciscan order were sent into England to extort money for the pope [INNOCENT IV]. They applied to the prelates and abbots, but, as it would seem, not with all the success that was wished. Greathead was amazed at the pomp and insolence of these friars, who demanded six thousand marks as the contribution of the diocese of Lincoln, at the same time giving him to understand that they were vested with the pope’s bull. "Friars," said he, "with all reverence to his holiness be it spoken, the demand is as dishonorable as it is impracticable. The whole body of the clergy and people are concerned in it equally with myself. To give a definite answer, in an instant, to such a demand, before the sense of the kingdom is taken upon it, would on my part be rash and absurd."
[* So his name is written by Bishop Newton, Proph. volume 2; Bishop Hurd calls him Grostete, Introd. to Proph. volume 2; Milner and others call him Grosseteste. The reason of this variation probably is, that he was either of French extraction, or assumed this latter name after his residence in France; for the name of Greathead in English, and Grosseteste in French, are synonymous]
Circumstances of this kind, in process of time, began to open the eyes of the bishop to the domineering influence of the court of Rome. Another thing which struck his mind forcibly was, that in going through his diocese, he found the pope had, by means of his letters, introduced into all the churches, where opulent benefices were to be enjoyed, a set of lazy Italians, who neither understood the language of the country, nor possessed either ability or inclination to instruct the people. These enormities became the objects of his detestation. When the papal bulls, intended to introduce some new evil, were put into his hands, he would indignantly cast them from him, and absolutely refuse compliance with them, saying, that he should prove himself the friend of Satan, were he to commit the care of souls to foreigners. Pope Innocent, however, persevering in the same line of conduct, magisterially ordered him to admit an Italian, totally ignorant of the English language, to a very rich benefice in the diocese of Lincoln; and the bishop refusing to comply, the former suspended him from his functions. But Greathead treated the papal mandate with contempt, and continued to discharge his episcopal duties. In the year 1253, the pope was desirous of preferring his own nephew, an Italian youth, to a rich benefice in the cathedral of Lincoln; and, for this purpose, he, by letter, enjoined the bishop to give him the first canonry that should be vacant. This was to be done by provision, for that was the term employed by the pontiff when he undertook to provide beforehand a successor to a benefice; and on this occasion he seems to have been determined to intimidate the bishop into compliance. He declared that any other disposal of the canonry should be null and void, and that he would excommunicate every one that should dare to disobey his injunction. But Greathead, resolving not to comply, wrote a letter on this occasion, which reflects the highest honor on his memory. "Next to the sin of antichrist," says he, "which shall be in the latter times, nothing can be more contrary to the doctrine of Christ, than to destroy men’s souls, by defrauding them of the benefit of the pastoral office. Those who minister to their own carnal lusts, by means of the milk and wool of the sheep of Christ, and do not strive to promote the salvation of the flock, in the pastoral office, are guilty of destroying the souls of men. Two atrocious evils are in this way committed--they sin against God himself, who is essentially good, and also against the image of God in man, which, by the reception of his grace, becomes partaker of the divine nature. For the holy apostolic see to be accessory to such wickedness, would be a monstrous abuse of power, and argue an entire separation from the glorious kingdom of Christ, and a participation with the two powers of darkness, [meaning probably the devil and Antichrist]. No man can obey such mandates with a good conscience, even though they were seconded by the high order of angels themselves; on the contrary, every faithful Christian ought to oppose them with all his might."
When this epistle reached the hands of the pope, it roused his indignation to the highest pitch. "Who," said he, "is this old dotard, that dares to judge my actions." By Peter and Paul, if I were not restrained by my generosity, I would make him an example and a spectacle to all mankind. Is not the King of England my vassal and my slave? And if I gave the word, would he not throw him into prison and lead him with disgrace?" The cardinals, however, who saw the danger into which the pontiff was about to plunge himself by his rashness, strove to moderate his resentment. One Giles, a Spanish cardinal, in particular, thus addressed him. "It is not expedient for you to proceed against the bishop in that violent manner; for, what he says is certainly true, nor can we with decency condemn him. He is a holy man--much more so than we ourselves are--a man of admirable genius, and of the most exemplary morals--no prelate in Christendom is thought to excel him. It is probable, that by this time the truths expressed in his letter are known to many, and they will excite many against us. The clergy, both in France and England, know the character of the man, nor is it possible to fix any stigma upon him. He is understood to be a great philosopher, an accomplished scholar in Latin and Greek literature, zealous in the administration of justice, a theological lecturer in the schools, a popular preacher, a friend to chastity, and the enemy of simony." In these sentiments Giles was seconded by others, and the whole conclave of cardinals advised the pope to wink at these transactions, lest a tumult should arise in the church; for, said they, "it is an evident truth that a revolt from the church of Rome, will one day take place in Christendom."
But the rage of Innocent IV was not to be allayed; he excommunicated the bishop of Lincoln, and appointed Albert, one of his nuncios, to succeed him. Greathead, supported by a conviction of the rectitude of his conduct, referred his appeal to the tribunal of Christ, and paid no regard to the decree; and what the cardinals foresaw, was realized in the event--the pope’s mandate was universally neglected, and the bishop remained in quiet possession of his dignity.
But this venerable prelate was now fast advancing towards the end of his labors, and in the year 1258, he died (Oct. 9th) at his palace at Buckden. When the pope heard of his death, he exultantly exclaimed, "I rejoice, and let every true son of the church of Rome rejoice with me, that my great enemy is removed." He ordered a letter to be written to the King of England, requiring him to cause the bishop’s body to be taken up, cast out of the church, and burned. The cardinals, however, resisted his project; and the letter, though written, was never sent, owing, probably, to the declining state of the pontiff’s health, for he died in the following year. Matthew Paris, the monk of St. Alban’s, though superstitiously attached to the See of Rome, and not a little prejudiced against the Bishop of Lincoln, on account of the severity with which he treated the monastic orders, has furnished a character of Greathead so honorable, that it deserves to be recorded.
"The holy bishop Robert," says he, "departed this world, which he never loved, and which was always to him as a place of banishment. He was the open reprover of my lord the pope, and of the king, as well as of the prelates. He was the corrector of monks, the director of priests, the instructor of the clergy, the patron of scholars, a preacher to the laity, the punisher of incontinence, the diligent investigator of various writings, and the scourge of lazy and selfish Romanists, whom he heartily despised. In regard to temporal concerns, he was liberal, copious, polite, cheerful, and affable -- in spiritual things he was devout, humble, and contritein the execution of his episcopal office he was diligent, venerable, indefatigable" [Matthew Paris, p.876. See also Pegge’s Life of Greathead].
Greathead’s doctrinal sentiments, considering the darkness of the age in which his lot was cast, appear to have been remarkable for their purity and simplicity. The following is his view of the important article of Divine Grace.
"Grace," says he, "is that good pleasure of God whereby he is pleased to bestow upon us what we have not deserved, and the gift is for our advantage and not his. Hence it is very clear, that all the good we possess, whether it be natural, or freely conferred afterwards, proceeds from the grace of God; because there is no good thing, the existence of which he does not will; and for God to will anything is to do it; therefore there can be no good of which he is not the author. He turns the human will from evil, and converts it to good, causing it to persevere in the same."
Several of his manuscript sermons, it seems, are still extant in the cathedral church of York. One of them is founded upon Luke 6:20. "Blessed are ye poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven." In discussing the subject, he undertakes to describe the poverty recommended in the text; which, by comparing the words with the parallel place in Matthew 5:8, he finds to be poverty of spirit. This poverty, he tells us, is wrought in the heart of the elect, by the Holy Spirit -- its foundation is laid in real humility; which disposes a man to feel that he has nothing but what he has received from above. But that is not all -- for, as he observes, humility in this view belonged to Adam before he fell -- the humility of a sinner hath a still deeper root. The humble man not only sees that he has nothing in himself, but he is stripped of all desire to possess in himself the springs of self-exaltation. Self-condemned and corrupt before God, he despairs of help from his own powers, and finds all he wants in Him, who is the true life, wisdom, and health, and indeed his all in all, even the incarnate Son of God, who condescended to come into our vale of sin and misery, that he might raise us from their depths. By leaning on him alone, every real Christian rises into true life and peace and joy. He lives in his life -- sees light in his light--is invigorated with his warmth -- grows in his strength -- and leaning upon the Beloved, his soul ascends upwards. The lower he sinks in humility, the higher he rises towards God. He is sensible that he not only is nothing in himself, but that he also has lost what he had gratuitously received, has precipitated himself into misery, and so subjected himself to the slavery of the devil; and lastly, that he has no internal resources for recovery. Thus he is induced to place his whole dependence on the Lord Jesus Christ, to abhor himself, and always to prefer others as better than himself. This leads him "to take the lowest seat" as his own proper place. He then calls upon the man who professes to be the subject of humility, earnestly to examine himself, how far he demonstrates in his temper and conduct, this fruit of the Spirit; and even should he find some evidences of it in his soul, to beware that he be not inflated with the discovery, because he ought to know that it is only of God that he is what he is -- and that he ought no more to boast of himself, than the refulgent colors of the prism should glory in that splendor which they derive wholly from the solar rays. He observes that the temptations to self-complacency are the effect of Satanic injections -- and that it behooves him who would not be deceiving himself to see whether he has the genuine marks of humility in his practice -- whether, for instance, he can bear to be rebuked by an inferior --whether he is not rendered insolent by honors -- whether he is not inflated by praise -- whether among equals he is the first to labor, and the last to exalt himself -- whether he can recompense blessings for curses and good for evil. By such methods of self-examination he is to check the ebullitions of vain glory, with which the tempter is apt to inspire those who seem to have made some proficiency in the divine life. If that proficiency be real, let them take care never to conceive of it as something separate from Christ. He alone, dwelling in them by his Spirit, produces all that is good, and to Him alone the praise belongs.