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 ■■'.'/•ij Jta^'-
 
 ColleBanea Anglo'-Minoriticay 
 
 OR, 
 
 A Colledion of the A n t : q.u i t i e s 
 
 Englijh FRANCISCANS, 
 
 O R 
 
 FRIERS MINORS, 
 
 COMMONLY CALL'D 
 
 GRAY FRIERS. 
 
 In Two Parts. 
 
 "With an Appeadix concerning the Englifh Nuns of the Order of 
 
 Sam CLAR E. 
 
 The FirstPart. 
 
 All thefe were honour din their Generations^ and were the Glo» 
 ry of their Times, Ecclcfiafticus, Chap. 44. v. 7. 
 
 Compil'd and Colkaed by A. P. 
 
 LONDO N: Printed by THOMAS SMITH in Siher-fireet, 
 
 Bloomsburjiy 1726.
 
 r^ r^ 
 
 ?, 
 
 At) -i '
 
 m 
 
 1^ if^^^av ^ frf^.iSiBv 5| 
 
 To the READER. 
 
 Courteous Reader^ 
 
 F the Writer of thefe followitig Sheets had prefentecL the World 
 with an Account of the ancient Heathens, and their Manners, 
 Rites, andCuftoms, BudioasMenrvou*d have been ready enough 
 to tarn over the Work, and the Suhjeff tvou*d not have been Scru- 
 pled at, if the Performance had proved to be Ingenious. Should 
 he have Writ of the Flamins, or the Dt aids, from whom fprang the fuperjli- 
 ttous Worfbip of the Britans, he wou'd not have wanted Subfcribers to the 
 Tra£i : Nay, the old Rhyming Bards {Pagans as they were) n>oa''d have found 
 a kind Reception. This gives we Hopes, that he may be permitted to pick up 
 a few Gleanings of Chriftian Hiftory, and may not be blamed for refcuing the 
 Characters of man) re»on';?e<f Englifh Francifcans from Moths and Worms. 
 They were a Society oj tvel-meaning Chriftians, and our Country-Men ; and 
 on thefe Confider at ions, Iprefume, they cannot be difagreeable to all. Jf we 
 are better Men than they were, we have great Reafon to congratulate with 
 ourfelves, and to return Thanks to God ; and if we are not fo good, we may here 
 find ourjelves animated to a due Contempt of this perifhing World, and to the 
 Study of Vertue and Learning, by the Example of thoje that have gone before 
 us : And if nothing of all this will go down with us, it cannot, however, be denied. 
 but that a true {Though imperfeCT) Account of them and their Acis will be an 
 amufing Addition to our Kjiowledge,by informing us what Sort oj Men have, tn 
 Times paH, dwelPd on Englifh Ground. It^s true they were Friers ; but they are 
 dead And gone many a fair Tear ago, and it is Pity, methinks, that all the 
 Memory of their Merits fhou'd die too. I hey were Poor when living, and 
 were (or ONght to have been) fully contented w/thfuch mean Food and Raymtnt 
 as was abjolutely neceffary for the Support of human Life ; Their Religious 
 Profjjioa put them under an Obligation of leading a Life ab/lra^ed from all 
 jordid Liegard to temporal Advantages : So, it may be pie[umed,theyw!re not. 
 
 a 2 very 
 
 6319G9
 
 iv To the R E A DE R. 
 
 I'ery troublefome Guefts in this World then ; nor is the Memory of them re^ 
 commended to the Reader now to d/f^uiet him^or with anyxvorfe View than 
 that of laying bejore him ajuFi Account {from many good Authors) of a Set of 
 godly Merj^ tvhofe Rife and Fall tn our Nation are here related ; not to give him 
 (ntucb lej's any Community pf Men) any Offence ; but for his Entertainment^ 
 or his Edifsalion, refpeilively ; for what is difagreeable to one Perfon, may 
 not be fo to another of a Temper and Difpofition oj Mind different^ either by 
 Nature, or by Principle. I will quote tny Authority jor all 1 advance, and tf 
 that is frojufe fometimes in their Commendation, or the Nature of the Thing 
 requires it, I hope the ColleBor may be excujed. 
 
 Suum cuiq; dccus Pofteritas rependat. 
 
 farewell: 
 
 Thefe Hiftorical Colleftions being made for the Pen-Mans Entertainment at his 
 leifure Hours, in the Year 1720, had the Honour to be read over by Ibme of 
 his Friends, who exprefs'd their good likiiig of the Work ; amongft whom. 
 Two Perfonsof great Learning fand One of Diftindlion) werepleafed to en- 
 courage its being publifli'd, and for that End gave it this their following 
 
 APPROBATION. 
 
 J Have diligently read the Colleflianea Anglo-Minorltica, with the Appendix, in 
 Tchich J found nothing that can be effenftve to any Perfon of what Condition or Profef- 
 fionfoever ; hut, on the contrary, what may be very edifying to all, and mufl be acceptable 
 to fuch as love the Memory of Great Men, value the fious Liberality oj their Anceftors, 
 and have a jufl Rtgard to the immortal Glory of the Englifl) Nation : Wherefore, that a 
 Workfo recommendable and agreeable, faithfully and judicionfly (not without great Rea- 
 ding and Labour) compiled, as this is, highly deferves the frtfs and to be publijh'd, is 
 the Sentiment of 
 
 Given this ^d. Day of April, Mat. P. 
 
 Anno Domini 1724. 
 
 . I t !■ ■ , 11 I -I II I t'^ 
 
 TT catinet but be a great SatisfaBion to every fober Englifh Chriflian to fee, in the 
 CoUeftanea Anglo-Minoritica, how both the Letter and the Spirit of the Gofpel 
 have been praBifed, even in late Ages, by many of their Country-Men, as eminent 
 for their SanUity, as for that Learning which does not Puff up, but Edifies ; encoura- 
 ted by the Afunificence of their Generous, Noble, nay Royal Ancejlors. I do not ejueflion 
 hut the impartial Reader wilt, in the Perufal of this Work, find himjelf very much endebted 
 to the mduftrious and judicious Pen of the learned CoUeftor : Therefore do think that 
 for publick Information and Edijication, This Work, with the Supplement to the firji 
 Part, and the Appendix to the WfJolCj highly deferves to be printed. 
 
 Given this 8th Day of 7«»f, 
 Anno Domini 17 2. 4* F. K.
 
 The PREFACE, v 
 
 THE Friers of the Order of St. Francis, heretofore in our Nit ion ^ 
 made a conftdenble Figure for ho'.h Piety and Learning : Their Heroick 
 Examples and penitential Lives )versfuch as, in thofe Days, not only struck 
 the Minds of the People with Admiration, but alfo moved them effe^uaSf to 
 the real Practice of Christian Vertues. Men of uncommon Holme fs rvere 
 then found in almost every Convent, and the Sanctity of many of them has 
 been atteftedandpublifb^^i (as ^ lis [aid} with unefueftionable Miracles : And^ 
 for Learning, they excelfd ; Witnejs the vaft Number of their Dolors, of 
 Oxford, Cambridge, and Paris, and the almoH numbsrlefs Catalogue of 
 their A'^thors, who have exerted their Talents and Pens {even before the Art 
 of Printing was found out') upon almojl everj Subject of Learning ; ef^ecially 
 upon Peter Lombard us, called tlie Mafter of the Sentences, andtheologi- 
 cal Matters, and chiefly upon the Holy Scriptures ; whereof feveral have writ' 
 ten ExpofitioHS and Commentaries upon every Book of the facred Text. Br. 
 Alexander de Hales, one of this Order and Nation, wasthe frfl Perfon that 
 reduced Theology to a Scholastick Method, ^WScotus and Occham, two others 
 of that Body, were the Founders of two different Schools, or Syftems of Phi- 
 lofophy. The Englifh Francifcans of thofe Days did not only fill the Chairs of 
 their Schools in both our Vntverfities, and in that of Paris, with eminent 
 Profeffo/s, but alfo the Pulpits of their Churches with moJi able and zealous 
 Preachers. In a Word, the Francifcan Province of England was once a 
 bright Star in the Firmament of the Church, and furmflj'd her with many 
 llluflrious Prelates, as well as our KJfJgs,with Excellent Embaffadors. 
 
 If you are in Oue^t of a Great and Good Pope, the Englifh Friers Minors 
 had the Honour to breed up Alexander tiie Fifth in their Habit and Con-, 
 vent 4; Oxford , If you look for Eminent Cardinals, the EnglifJj Friers fup' 
 plied the Church with Br. Sertor Waleys, Br. Peter Peto, SfC. Patriarchs 
 (Jir. Walter Cepton, and Br. Sertor Waleys) f prang out of that vertuous 
 and learned Community .- Apofloltck Legates where heretofore Members of that 
 Nation and Inflitute : Arch-Btjfjops and Bifjjops were the tifual Produst of 
 that renowned Body ; ivhicb alfo headed the whole Order with three Minister Ge- 
 nerals, andfeveral other Provinces with Provincials, and frequently taught 
 foreign Convents by their le^&ned Projeffors. In fine, the Enghfh Francifcans 
 were no lazj Drones, but active good Religious ^len, and fpent their Time well, 
 to the Edification of their Neighbour, as well as for their own Improvement : 
 Some of them indeed were wholly taken up in^ Contemplation and Prater, but 
 others in Study and in teaching, others in preaching and inflruclmg, and affist' 
 trig the Piople in both Spiritual and Corpora! I forks of Mircy^ others in Wri- 
 
 ting
 
 vi The PRE FACE, 
 
 ting out the Labway s of their learned Brethren ; and All, principally^ in the 
 tonjlant Extrcijes of Religion and 4 fervorous Tendency towards Christian 
 Perfection. 
 
 Now, the main Defi^n of this Work is to keep up and tranfmit to Pofterity 
 fame rfmembrance of theje and many other Men of excellent Parts, rrhom the 
 Reader may find htre placed as near the Tears in which they flour iflj'd as can 
 be found out by a Per Jon rvhofranklj acknorvledgeth himfelf to be no way quali- 
 fied for an Hi/lorian, nor furnijb^d with Materials to make This any more than 
 an imperfect Piece. The Records and Regijlers of theje Friers and their 
 Convents (that of London excepted) were involved in the general DeJlru6lion^ 
 and perifhed with their Structures ; So that an exa^t and regular Cataloguey 
 or Succefjionof their Super iours. Provincial of Local, cannot be here reafonably 
 expected : And indeed there is but little remaining of the Men and their Acts 
 in comparifon of the vaft Numbers and memorable Actions of fuch amongst 
 them as were remarkable for their Sanctity, or Learning, or for both. All that 
 can be recovered of them lies fcatter'^d in feveral of our Englifh HtJiorianSy 
 and in tnany of the Writings of Authors of the Order. Thefe Fragments 
 are here pickt up and prefented to the Reader, who (Jt is hoped) cannot reajonably 
 fnd Fault with the Colle£lor for the Pains he has taken to preferve Juch an 
 entertaining Remnant of Antiquity. 
 
 The Second Part contains as good an Account as I can recovr of 
 their Convents and Churches, and of thsir Founders, &c ; whereof till 
 I need to fay here is, that Mr. Weever fpeaks for me, in his EpiUle 
 to the Reader of his Funeral Monuments where he has thefe remark^ 
 able Words of an Apology for his Work, viz.. ' // may feern, Perad- 
 venture, unpleafing to feme for that I do fpeak fo much of, and extol 
 the ardent i^iety of our Forefathers in the erecting of Abbeys, Priories, 
 and fuch like Sacred Foundations : To which I anfwer (^fays he) with Cam- 
 den, that 1 hold It not ft for us to forget that our Anceftors were, and we 
 are of the Chri/lian Profejfion, and that there are not extant any other more 
 confpicuous and certain Monuments of their zealous Devotion towards God 
 than theje Monajleries with their Fndowments for the Maintenance of Reli- 
 gious Perjons, neither any other Seed-Plots bejtdes thefe from whence Lhrifti- 
 an Religion and good Literature were propagated over this IJland; neither 
 is there any other A^ of Piety more acceptable in the Sight of Almighty 
 God than that of building Churches, Oratories, and fuch like Sacred 
 Edifices far the true Service of his heavenl) Majefty.'' So Mr. Weever, as 
 quoted above. 
 
 The Francifcans and their Houfes were (^according to their Rule) incapable 
 of ■ any Femp iral Endowments ; So thafe Friers fubftsiedchieji) by the Chanty 
 of Will difpofed Christians : Moft of their Convents in lingland had no 
 
 other
 
 The PREFACE. vii 
 
 other Income to the very UH ; which made another ProteTiant Author of In- 
 tegrity ajftrtf that none of them ever had any Rents at all ; J mean Mr. Hen- 
 ry Wharton, alias Anthony Harmer, /';; A/j Specimen of fome Errors 
 and Detefts in the Hiftory of the Reformation, mitten ^7 Gilbert Bur- 
 net, D.D. Lord Bifhop of Sarum : That Author^ Page 4J, Numb. j6, 
 of the [aid Specimen, quoteth Burnet Page 189, Line 10, where the 
 Btfhop fpeaks thuSyViz.^ The Orders of Begging Friers at first woud have 
 
 * nothing, no real Eftates but the Ground on which their fioufe Hood ; but 
 
 * afterward OtsiinSiions were found for fatisfying their Confcience in larger 
 
 * Pofffffions,^ So Buvnetf as ai?ove cited. 
 
 To which faid Clau/e, Hzrmerrep/ies thus^ viz. Hereby it is infinuated 
 that the Begging Friers gained tothemfelves and poITefTed other real 
 Eftates befides the Site of their Convents ; But no fuch Thing was done : 
 To the very laft they had no other real Eftates in England. 60 Harmer. 
 
 The Truth of this Matter is^ that feme of them appear in Speed's Cata- 
 logue as if they had an Addition of certain Revenues towards the latter End 
 of their Time, and thefe (I mean Houfes of Francifcanijfballbe accounted for 
 in the Second Part of thefe Colle^ions ; But the greatefl Part of thefe (jf not 
 all) had not wherewitbatl to difcharge the Expences of the Repaires of their 
 Churches and other Buildings ; and if they had any thing at all, it w.n fo 
 very inconfiderablethat it might be reckon* d rather for the yearly Value of the 
 Site of their Houfes, or the Ground within their Inclofures, than any real 
 Rents : Andy notwithjianding thofe of the faid Friers Minors who enjoy'' d 
 any fuch Income were warranted by fpecial Grants of fever al Popes to receive 
 the fame ; jet thefe Profits were fuch a Hu?nbltng Block to others of them that 
 they cou''d not get over it , but they exerted their Zjal for a more pure Ob' 
 ftrvance of their Founders Rule, refafed all Abatements of its primitive R/- 
 goar, though granted by the Pope himfelf, and never deffled from thefe their 
 pious Endeavours till they had wrought a Reformation of the Order on this 
 Score ; as will appear in the Courfe of thefe Collegians, 
 
 One Motive of my publifhing thefe Sheets is, in effe^i, that which Tacitus 
 fays every Hiforiografher ought to propofe to himfelf, viz. ne Virtutes fi- 
 leantur, utq; pravis di£tis fadilq; ekpofteritate metus fit :i« //■'f /•J^^e*" 
 of thefe (that is, in the Faults of the Perjons of whom I am to write) I need 
 not be very foUicitous ; becauje they have been more than fufficisntly magnified 
 and chaflifed already by many too fevere Pens and Tongues. However, as 
 I will not conceal their Wertuesy fo neither will I fparetheir Defects when they 
 fall in my Way. 
 
 The Reader may pleafe to obferve^ that the Englifb Francifcans feldom went 
 by their own Surnames, ejpectally towards the beginning of the Order ; but they 
 commonly look their Names either from the Town^ or the Country wherein they 
 mre born, or where they had their Education ; except they traveli'd tntofcfeign
 
 viii The PREFACE: 
 
 Nations^ and then Anglicusn'4/ uj u ally added (o their Chripian Names^ to 
 demote thuir heiijg Englifhmen, and Wallenfis, Wallius, or Gualenfis, fo 
 tbofe born in Wales. 
 
 in this Work there areffveral CircufnJIances which at firji View may [tern 
 imwatetialand trivial: Jt may therefore be confidered that thefe minute Faf- 
 f*g(s^ however mean in them/elves, become oftentimes confiderable in Rej- 
 pe^i of the Perfons and Things nhich they attend. 
 
 Moreover^ what is difagreeable to one Perfon may not be fo to another : 
 Kjen Stomacks can feed upon Scraps, and find a pleafing Relijb in fuch 
 Fragments as pamper''d yippetites naufeate : Bejides^ Jome Palates are vitia- 
 ted, andfewlhings ni/lgo down with them, efpectally if old, or stale. 
 
 The little Particulars of feverat Mens Lives and Characters and the Repe- 
 tition of Things already known feem dijlalifull to jome, whereas indeed the 
 common Lofs of ancient Arts is to be imputed only to the want of timely Ob- 
 fervation ; for while no Man writes what every Man knows, at laH none know 
 whit none have written. This is Mr. Wood's Obfervation in hts Intro- 
 du£lion to his Second Part of Athen. Oxon: Jndit holds mail Manner 
 of Kjiowledge as well as in that of ancient Arts. 
 
 For the avoiding of Aliftahes, it may be ohfervtd, that there was heretofore in Eng- 
 land an Order of Religious Men call'd Fratres Grifei (^or Gray Friers) who were here 
 before the Con^uefl : But thcfc had na Affinity with the Fraiicifcan Gray Friers, who 
 Citme long after : For the former was called Ordo Sanimacenfis, and was a Branch of St. 
 Benedict's Inflitute, and at lafi went over to the Ciftertians : They heretofore had a 
 Adonaflery at Stratford, in ElTex, founded by the Lord Montfichet, which was gi' 
 ven to the Ciftertians, as were all their other Houfes in England, except one in Here- 
 ford, which was gtven to the Knights Templers, and afterwards to the "Town^ who 
 turned it into an Hofpital, call'd the Hofpital of St- Giles. So Leland : Itiner. Vol. 
 4. part 2. Pag. 67. & Vol. 7. Part i. pag. it. & Vol. 8. Part 2. pag. 66. 
 
 Tljat this Preface may not exceed a due Proportion with the Srnallnefs of the Perfor- 
 mance, no more pall be added to it, but that the charitable Reader is defired to excufe 
 the Meannefs of it, and the Errors committed in it, and to obftrve, from the famous 
 Antiquary Mr. Wood, the numerous Concourfe of thofe of this Order who proceeded Do- 
 lors at Oxford, from the Tear 1500, to the Tear 1530, when all Religious Orders 
 were (inking in England, and he may, even from thence, give fome Guefs at the vaft 
 Number of' their Dotlors and learned Men, from their firfi Settlement here to the Dif- 
 folution of their Convents, and may from thefe beautiful Shreds judge of the Luflre of 
 the whole Piece, and hear with the Colleger if he feems fometimes to exceed in his 
 Commendation of them. 
 
 And now, that the Reader may not harbour any Jealoufy of the Authority whereon the 
 fohwing ColleBions are built, I will here produce my P^ouchcrs for all that is therein advan- 
 ced ; not only naming the Bocks quoted, and ohferving which of them are in my Hands, 
 and which not ; but alfo by giving afJiort Account of the Authors quoted ; which pleafe 
 to lake as they fall in my H^ay^ without any Regard to an Alphabetical Order of their Names. 
 
 A Ca-
 
 IK 
 
 CATALOGUE 
 
 OF THE 
 
 BOOKS and AUTHORS 
 
 Quoted in this WORK. 
 
 A NTHONY a Wood. j4»t'tquitates 
 /\ Oxonienfes, in Litin : And jitheme 
 J^ £S? Fd/?)' Oxonienjes, in Englifh : 
 Large Books in Folio. 
 
 Mr. WooJ was a Mafler of Arts, a Pro- 
 teftant, and the famous Ox/ari^-Antiquary 
 of hi« Time. Thefe two £ooks are in 
 tny Hands. 
 
 3ofc« LilanJ : JiisCoUeHanea, in Latin, and ' 
 his Itinerary, in Englirti. This Leland wa 
 a celebrated Antiquary, and Library Kee- 
 per to King Henry the Sth, and, by a fpeci- 
 alCommiflion from his Majefty, had the 
 Viewing and Searching of all tne Libra- 
 ries and Records \n England. 
 
 He was a Prieft that gave info the Kings 
 Meafures.and complied with thofe Times. 
 But what is to my prefent Purpofe, is, 
 that he writ two very ufeful Works, which 
 are much valued, and are often quoted in 
 thefe Colleilions. I mean his ColleHanea 
 and his Itintrarium, which I have in my 
 Hands as they are lately printed, infe- 
 veral Volumes, by the prefent Oxford An- 
 tiquary Mr. Thomas Hearnt, Mafter of Arts. 
 
 Pits, or Pitf<eus, Dt Illttfhibus Mglite Scrif- 
 ttrihus, cum jipjiendice e'jufdem Operis. 
 
 Pits was a Catholick Doctor of Divini- 
 ty. This Work of the ISuftrlous Writers of 
 England is in my Hands. 
 
 b 
 
 Br. Francis a Sta Clara, 'Dtvenfort. In Hand. 
 He was a learned Englifh Francifcan, 
 taught Divinity for many Years, and was 
 twice or thrice Provincial of his OrdeV, 
 after the Reftoration of the Francifcan 
 Province of England ^He writ many Books j 
 araongfl which I often quote his Hijioria 
 Minor Provincia jinglia Fratrum Minorum, 
 with its Supplement, and fometimes a fmall 
 Tradl which he writ De Pracedentia Anglia j 
 and once or twice WisManuileMiffionariorum. 
 Br. Angelus a Sto. Francifco, Mafon, a learn- 
 ed Francifcan, who taught Divinity many 
 Years, and was more than once Provincial 
 of the reftorec. Province of England. He 
 writ Certamei; Seraphictim ; in the Beginning 
 of which Book is a Traft intitled Df/Vr/ff;o 
 Provincite Angliie Fratrum \linorum, and at 
 the End of the faid Certamen is a Catalo- 
 gue of Engli/h Francifcan Writers, and a 
 Lift of their Ptovincials and Convents htntofore 
 in England ^ in Latin; Which Trait and 
 Catalogue (in Hand) I often quote, being 
 of good Authority- 
 
 Toffinianenjts : In Hand. He was a Cow- 
 vf«f«ii/ Francifcan ; his Name was Peter 
 Rudolphus, call'd Tojfiniantnjis from the Place 
 of his Birth. He writ a large Work, in 
 Folio, containing three Books Hiftoriarum 
 Sera^bifarum : He was a Do^or, many 
 
 Years
 
 Authors and Boo^s quoted. 
 
 Years Profeflor of Divinity at Venice, was 
 Secretary to the Generalot his Unier, and 
 at lall made Biftiop of Sevegalia, in Italy. 
 
 The francifcan Martyrohgy (in my Hands^ 
 written by Br. Arturus aMonaJhrio,w\\.\\ its 
 Hifiorical Comrnentaries and jlnrntattQUSy in 
 Ljtin, ^^ 
 
 He was a 'RecolUn Francifcan, of the 
 Province of St. Venis, in France. 
 
 jinnnles Ordinii MinorHin, written in Latin 
 hy Ht . Luke JVaddlng, an Irijh Francifcan: 
 And Epitome ylnnalium Ordtnis Minor um j done 
 hy Et. Francis Harold, alfoan IriJIj Francif- 
 can. I have the Second Part o( this Epitome 
 in Hand, with a large /«<txof the F;>// } 
 but the y^»Ma/ff themfelves are not wirhin 
 my Reach otherwife than by this copious 
 Index, by Authors of Credit, and by an 
 epiltolary Correfpondence with a Perfon 
 that has a free Accefs to theni, and whom 
 I have confultcd upon thofe Heads that 
 relate to the Francifcan Province of Eng' 
 land. 
 
 The Chronicles of the Friers Minors, in 
 £«5//^, In my Hands j as is likewife the 
 Fourth Part of the Chronicles of the Friers Minors, 
 in French, in feveral Books bound up to- 
 gether. 
 
 Eccltfions Chronicle, MSS. or Hiftoria de 
 ./if'ventu Fratrum Minorum in Angliarn. He is 
 called Thomas Fr.meifcanui, becaufe he was 
 of that Order: But I hare notfeenhis 
 Hiftory as yet otherwife than in Leiand's 
 Works, and as quoted by other Writers 
 of good Authority. 
 
 Matthew Harts, His Hiflory, as quoted 
 by others. 
 
 He was an Englifh Monk of the Abbey 
 of St. y/lhans : But neither a Lover of 
 J'riers, or greatly affefted to the Pope. 
 
 Weever, a PtOtedant, his Funeral Monu- 
 mrwri, in Folio, inmy Hands, 
 
 Somner, a Proteltanf, His .Antiquities of 
 Canterbury, in Englilh. In my Hands. 
 
 Miranda, as quoted. He was a Fran- 
 cifcan, and writ a 1' li Si Su^er RegulamFra- 
 trum Minorum. 
 
 ^ohn Cahaffutius, a Prieft of the Inditute 
 of St. Philip h'erini, called Oratorians : He 
 writ a Book, ur HiAory of the Councils, 
 
 in Latin, intitlcd Notitia Conciliorum, In niy 
 Hands. 
 
 RichardSmith, an Engli/h Man, Titular 
 Bi/hop of Calcidon : His Book intitled the 
 Prudential liallunce. Jn my Hands. 
 
 ^ohn Bale, called the CentHfill : He was, 
 by Proteflion, a Carmelite Frier : Bur, turn- 
 ing with the Times, and /liaking off his 
 Religious Habit, he became a Protcltant, 
 and at lall a dignified Man, and was moit 
 bitter in his Writings agaiiTti the Catho- 
 licks : He is called Foul-mouth' d Bale by 
 Mr. Wood, Athen. Oxon. part i . pag. 60 j and 
 Mr. Wharton is yet more fevere upon him 
 on feveral Occasions. 
 
 Henry Wharton, alias Anthony Harmer, a 
 Proteiiant Clergy-Man j His Anglia Sacra, 
 in L;.tin : In two large Folio's, inmy 
 Hands. 
 
 Br, Bartholomew Pifanus, Lib. Conformitatum, 
 as quoted. He was a Saintly Francifcan, 
 and writ concerning the Affairs of the 
 Order. 
 
 i5V. Antoninus, a Florentine Archbi/hop ; 
 He was a Dominic.trt Frier, and writ iChroniclf 
 of his own Order, and incidently fpeaks 
 of the Francifcms. As quoted by Au- 
 thors of Credit. 
 
 Jeremy Collier, aProteftant Clergy-Man, 
 and a Mafter of Arts ; His Ecckfiajiical 
 Hijlory, in two large Folio's, in Englifli. In 
 Hand. 
 
 Nicholas Harj^sfeld, Htjhria Ecclefiafiica, $J? 
 Hijloria Wiileffana, in Folio. In Hand. 
 
 He was a Catholick Dof^of of the Laws, 
 and heretofore Archdeacon of Canterbury, 
 and died in Prifoft, in London, after a Con- 
 finement of about rwei^ty Years. 
 
 Jlan C'fe, .or Nicholas Harpsfield, />? Unitate 
 Ecclejjce, Sic. as quoted, or in Harpffield. 
 
 DoHor FiiUn, a Proreftant Clergy-Man ; 
 His Church Hiflory, and hi? Worthies of Eng- 
 land: In two large Folio's in Englifli. In 
 my Hands. 
 
 Gilbert Gurnet, D.D- late Bi/hop of 
 Sarum : His Hiflory of the Reformation. In 
 my Hands. 
 
 Francis Gomaga : Hijloria Ordtnis Minorum, 
 as quoted. He was Heretofore Generalot 
 
 the
 
 the Or<1er of St, Framh, and at Uft Bi/hop 
 of Mantua- 
 
 Marcus lll'ilffioner^u, a FraocifcaOi^fOvin- 
 cial of St. ^thonys PiQv;r,*€ in Partuga/, 
 and afterwards (n?5.' ywrjo 1 5S1) made Bi- 
 fiiop of Oporto: He vidted the Order in 
 feveral IMations, and writ a Chronicle of 
 it, in three Volumes. As quoted by Men 
 of Integrity. 
 
 ]faackiOns Chronologiced Table. In my 
 Hands. 
 
 Sir jVilliam Dug^ale's ^Antiquities ofWarwicl^ 
 [hire and his Monajiicott. Both in my Hands. 
 
 Gorlwyn's Catalogue of EngUjli Bijhopit and 
 his Anm)es, Both in Hand. He was a Pro- 
 teiUnt Clergy Man, and at laft a Qi/hop. 
 
 Ciaeoniii!, De Fitisi^ Geilis Summorum Pon 
 tijicum, in two large Folio's. In Hand. He 
 was a Vomimcan. 
 
 Sfondani Annates. In Hand. He was a 
 Bifhop in France, and the Continttator of 
 Baronius's Works, 
 
 The Lord Herbert's Henry the 8ffc. In Hand. 
 
 FpxV ABsand Monuments. In my Hands. 
 
 Authors and Books quoted. 
 
 Thomas Wykt, a Canon Regular of Ofr.ry. 
 
 Michael Hoyer, a learned Augujiiuian. In 
 Hand. 
 
 Sjoffi^ood, a Proteftant ArcKhiniop of St. 
 - yliidrewi : H 1 s TJifhry tftiie Clmrch of Scotland, 
 in Englifh. In my Hands. 
 
 Nicholas 'Sanders, a zealous Clthoiick 
 Prieft, DeFiJibili Menarchia Ecclejia ; and D: 
 Schifmatt Afglicano. Both in my Hands. 
 
 ^ohn Stevem, Gent. His late Additionals 
 to DuTdale's Monajiicon j Jwo Folio's. In 
 Uan^. 
 
 WiUot, a Francifcan ; his Athena Francif- 
 can : PoJJ'ovinus and others. A« quoted by 
 good Authors. 
 
 Tanner's I^otifia Monajiica ; Irl Hand. He 
 is a Proteftant D. D. . a Lbveir of Anti- 
 quities; 
 
 London Francifcan Regijier 5 and other 
 Works, as quoted. Chauncy's Hiliory of Htrt- 
 fordfiirt, 
 
 SpeeJ, HoVmifloead, Heylin, How, Stow, and 
 Other Engli/h Hiftorians ; In my Hands. 
 
 Great and Holy £«^/(/Z; FRANCISCANS. 
 
 FROM thefe foremention'd Authors 
 the Reader will find, in this Work, 
 rhat of the Englifh Francifcans, or of the 
 Order heretofore bred amongft them, 
 there have been One Pope, Two (or more) 
 Cardinals, Tuo Patriarchs, Many Apoflolicl^^ Le- 
 gates J and that One Bi/hop, and Two, or 
 Tfer« v^Worx refign'd their Miters, Four, or 
 Five Lords, Englifh Biirowj, their Coronets, 
 to become Francifcans ; that One Marqutfs, 
 was a Minorite ; and that Two Lords chief 
 Suffices of England, and very many Perfons 
 of Diftinftion and of great Families en- 
 ter'd into that Order in theEngliJh Province, 
 which was alfo illuftrated with many Fri- 
 ers famous for Sanftity ; of which blefied 
 Kumber the Reader will alfo here find 
 about Ninety thit were remarkable for the 
 f^rcit Holinefs of their Lives jbefides above 
 One hundred and Fifty who were put to 
 Death, or died under Hardfiiips fulfer'd 
 
 in former Revolutions here in Englard • 
 Two (or more) fnartyriied ly lnfiJrls,iT\A feve- 
 ral holyConfefjors Miflionarics m divers Fo- 
 reign Parts: Forty Four Archb/fbops and Bi- 
 fbaps, One hundred and Forty BoBorsfine hundrej 
 and Ninety celebrated Scholafficl^ Profeffors, Five 
 or Six Chancellors of Oxford, or of Cambridge, 
 Omof their Archbi/hops i.or<;/L(i'«ff»„«( 0/ 
 Irelartd, Two MiniBers Generals and Two Dijji- 
 nitors Generals of the whole Order, One hiia. 
 dred an J Jourteen famous Writers, or more ; for 
 iWd/oM fays, there were near Forty of them 
 that writ Commentaries upon the Scriptures, and 
 feveral of them u^on every Part of the Sacred 
 Text, neit Fifty who writ upon the Majier 
 of the Sentences, ind ihout Sixty more who 
 writ upon various T/;m/o{;/V<7/ Matters. For 
 the particular Ails and Charafters of 
 thefe and many other Great Men the Rea- 
 der is referred to the fcilowing Collefti- 
 ons. 
 
 b 2 A
 
 Xll 
 
 A 
 
 CATALOGUE 
 
 O F 
 
 Provincial Ministers 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Francifcan PROVINCE 
 
 O F 
 
 ENGL AND: 
 
 -I DR. Agncllus de Pifa. 90 Br. Robert Wilfleede. 
 
 2 •*-' Pr. Albert dc Pifa. 51 Br-. John Mardefton. - , 
 
 3 Br. Haymo de Feverfliaro, D. D. 32 Br. John Marcheley. 
 
 4 Br. William de Nottingham, &». 33 B''. Thomas Heber, 
 
 5 Br. Peter de Teuksbury. 34 £'"• Thomas Burbury. 
 
 6 Br. William de Abingdon. 35 £r. John TyiTington, D. D. 
 
 7 Br. John Anglicus. 3<f Br. Nicholas Fackingham, D. D. 
 
 8 Br. John Stanford, aW^. Stamfield. 37 Br. John Zouch, D. D. 
 
 9 Br. Peter Swynerfled, aWai Swinfield. 38 Er. William Butler, D. D. 
 10 hr. John de Bungey, D. D. 39 Er. Vincent Boij. 
 
 Ji Br. Thomas de Bungey, D. D. 40 Br. William Butler, again, 
 
 13 Br. John Peckham, D. D. 41 Br. Peter RufTcl, D. D. 
 
 I 3 Rr. Hugh de Brampton, altai Bathonia. 42 Br. Thomas Kingsbury, D. D. 
 
 14 Br. Robert Crowcb,a//a>de Cruce.D.D. 4? C". Robert Willeis, ahm Walleyi D. D. 
 li Br. William Geynsborough, D. D. 44 Br. John David, D. D. 
 
 16 Br. Roger Merfton, D. D. 45 ^*'- Roger Dewe, or Day, D. D. 
 
 17 Br. Hugh de Hertilpole, D. D. 46 ^^- Richard Lecke, D. D. 
 
 18 Br. Adam de Lincoln. D. D. 47 Rr. William Goddard,5f«. D. D. 
 
 19 Br. Richard de Compton, D. D. 48 Br. Thomas Raidnor, D. D. 
 
 20 Br. William de Occham, D. D. 49 Br. Peter, named SecunAus. 
 S.I Br. Richard de Connyngton, D. D. 50 Br. Thomas Walleys, D. D. 
 
 22 Br. William de Nottingham, 3«». D.D. 51 Br. Robert Wells. 
 
 23 Br. Roger Donewed, D. D. ^a Br.WiUiam Goddard, >>?. D. D. 
 
 24 Br. John Rndington, D. D. 53 Rr. John Percevall, D. D. 
 
 25 flr. J'.hn de Bronth, D. D. 54 Br. Henry Standifh, D. D. 
 
 16 Br. John Went, <j/m5 Guent, D. D. 55 Br. Richard Brinckley, D. D- 
 
 2- Br. William Tichmach. 5<' Br. Stephen Baron, D.D. 
 
 aS Br. Roger Conway, D.D. 57 Br, William N. Diffinitor Genera!. 
 
 JO Br. Simon Tunfled. 5S Br. John Forrefl, D.D. 
 ^ AN
 
 Xlll 
 
 AN 
 
 INDEX 
 
 TO TH E 
 
 FIRST PART 
 
 ije,^ 
 
 AN Abbot of BeneJiBinei becomes a 
 Frier Minor, andLis reputed a Holy 
 Man. iiio.Numh.i. (jaa^ !fl 
 'im An Abbot of Canon R^ulars enters'into 
 ^fll'^he Order of 6'f. Fy<iw<:/>. 1255. Numh. i. 
 • I Br. M.i>»- of ion!; fent from OyforJ, to 
 '^0^e3ch 3t Lyons '\n France. 1227. Numb. I. 
 Br. Jjain of Exeter fent as a Miffionary 
 / to the Saracens, and dies on the Way. 
 /-ii'^S.Numl!. I. 
 
 Br. jAani GoAJattt, a Profeffbr and Do- 
 flor of Oxfori^, a learned, holy Man, and 
 an Author. 1520.A/KW. i. 
 n Br. Jjain Hovden, a Proffflbr Regent of 
 3*tlie Francifcan Schools at Ox/b>-(/ and Cam- 
 j '^iiitige. 1-3:8. K- I. and 1254. N. ^■ 
 
 Br. yitiam of Lincoln, D.I). Provincial. 
 1313.N. I. 
 
 Br. JJa^n ete Lincoln Profeffbr and Do- 
 flor of Oxford, die;, and is fucceeded 
 )«in the Provincialiliip by Br. RichardCom^- 
 
 ton, D. D. OxoH. I'^iy. hlumb I. 
 
 >-_, Br. j4aam ^iarfb, call'd de Marifco and de 
 
 ' ~Oxoi!ia, xniets into the Order : izzc.Nttmh. 
 
 16. Part of his Charad^er y4nno iii3. 
 
 ^-N. 2. Is made a Dodor of Oxford. 1226. 
 
 N. i • Stands up in Defence of Ho!y Po- 
 
 /^verty. 1230. N. ^'5fid 3. Is nominated Bi- 
 
 /hop, and dies with the Repufation of 
 
 ^ Sanflity, beingalfoa famous Autho.Mij? 
 
 / 
 
 S 
 
 Br. j4tiam Wodeham, a Doflorof Oxford, 
 famous alfo for Vertue j and an Author.- 
 1358. N«»;&. I. 
 
 Br. Adam ~— fent as a Legate into Eng- 
 land. 1 3:9. N. r. 
 
 Br. j4gnellus Je Pifa, made Provincial of 
 England by 5'f. Francis himfelf j his Obe- 
 diential Letters, and how he begin the 
 Province of England. 1219. N. i. Came 
 into England with 8 or 9 Companions. 
 12 19 oi- 1220. N. 2. A great Difagreement 
 of Authors in the Date of their Arrival 
 in England : Ibidem : N. 4. Receiv'd by 
 the King, and placed at Canterbury ■ alfo a 
 Copy of the Pope's recommendjtory Let- 
 ters 1 2 19, or 1220. N. J. Of his receiving 
 Novices and building Convents : ll-ld. N. 
 6. A Ihort Account of Br. ^gntlltts and his 
 8 Companionj. iLid. N. 7. Part of /l^^nel- 
 lus's Character, and bow he was taken into 
 the King's Council : Ibidem. How enfer- 
 tain'd and made Prieft at Canterbury, where 
 the Francifcans are call'd Brothers of the Or- 
 der of the ^(loflUs. 1219, or 1220. JV. 9. 
 He comes to Ox/or</. 1 220. N. 15. AgneHin 
 receives many Perfons into the Order j 
 Men of Birth, Learning, Vertue, &c, J^r- 
 dem. N. 15. Shock'd at certain Arguments 
 ftarted in the Schools. 1221. N. i. .Ignellus 
 departs this Life in the Reputation of 
 Sanctity. 1232, 1233. K. 3. AgneUush- 
 mous after his Death far Miracles done at 
 
 his 
 
 r 

 
 // - 
 
 
 An Index to the firjl Part, 
 
 K 
 
 in = 
 
 zoS 
 
 XIV 
 
 his Toinb, at 0>^fofi l^c j alfo his Bones 
 defended £J/t. 1500,^.2. 
 
 Br. ytlun Redan, a Reader at Oy.forA. 
 1305. N. I. 
 
 Br. Man cf Waktrjield, alfo a Reader. 
 1311. N. I. 
 
 Br. Alktrt of Beverley, a Reader. I33i« 
 K.I. 
 
 Br. j^lbert de Pi fa COmes into England : 
 1219 or 1220. K. 8, Is made Provincial of 
 Ttutonia. 1:23. TV. I. His Vertues, and 
 how he fuececded Br. ^gmllm in the Pro- 
 vincialfhip of England. 1233. N.I. 
 
 Puts up learned Readers in England' 
 1234- N. I. 
 
 Chofcn Minifler General of the whole 
 Order, and dies the fame Year, reckon'd 
 a Holy Mar. 12.39, N. 2. 
 
 Br. Jlhcrt Sartianenfis deputes .Jr. 'John 
 Cafi/?r<i« his Commiflirypn this Side the 
 Mountains, and of England. laii. IS'. I. 
 
 Br. yHiHiindtr yiltnfis, or of Halss, a Do- 
 ^or, and the Miracle of his Time, entets 
 the Order, iziz. N. i. His Death and 
 Charafter, and Call rennrkable. I24). 
 N. I. 
 
 Br. Alexander Barclay, a Bifhop, an Au- 
 thor. 1552. N. I. 
 
 Alexander the 5fb. Pope, a Frier Minor, 
 bred up in the Francifcan Convent at 
 Oxford, J409. N. I. 
 
 Br. Alffbonfiis a Cajiro, a famous Man, 
 King Pfc:/i/i's Confeflbr : His A£is remark- 
 able. 1555. N- I. and 155c. N. i. 
 
 Br. Andrew Bavard, a Benefaftor. 1494. 
 N. I. 
 
 Br. Andrew Bucket, fuppos 'd to have been 
 a Sufifragan Biihop : His Afls remarkable. 
 14*5. N. I. 
 
 Br. Andrew Brockjiey put to Death. 1537. 
 N-3. 
 
 Br. Anthony Pa^udo, a Foreigner. 1527. 
 N. I. 
 
 Br. -^uguHin Nottingham, a Bi/hop. 1259. 
 N. I. 
 
 Auguflinians become Francifcans. 1220. 
 3SI.I7. 
 
 Augujiinians keep the Francifcans Lent. 
 1377. N. I. 
 
 B 
 
 BR. Bartholomew Angfidt!, fatnous abroad. :^u 
 125(5. N. 2. . ■ 
 
 Br. Vuirtholomew GlanviUe, a Man of Qua- ./ ( 
 lity, a Doflor, a Preacher, and an Author. '^'^ 
 135-0. N.:. 
 
 Br. Bartholomew Crojfetamn, a Nuncio in 
 EngUnd, Hands up tor the Church. iz</i. 
 N. I. 
 
 Bfarr/'.v Queen of the Romans buried in 
 the Franciican Church at Oxford. 1275. 
 N. r. 
 
 BtuediBtnes become Francifcans. 12^0. =-/ 
 N. 17. 
 
 St. Bernardine Wcif Gen^til oi the Ot- 
 fervants. 1438. N. 2. He refigns the Ofiice, 
 and St. John Cajiiftran. fucceeds for England 
 
 SSff. 1442- N- I. 
 
 St. BonavtHture refufes the Sec of Yorl^^ ; 
 &c. 1255. N. r. 
 
 Br- Bonaventure Roo differs greatly. 1537. 
 K. 2. 
 
 At Bury St. Edmunds, Francifcanr. 1258. 
 N. 2. 
 
 C . 
 
 AT Camhrid^e, Friers Minors. 1220. N. r/( 
 14. 
 
 Seventy Two Francifcan Doctors of 
 this Place, chief Regents of Studies, 
 Ihid. Notandum 2 do. and 1 2 54. M 2 and 3. 
 A Convent here, 1275. N. i. 
 
 At Canterbury, the firft Convent of the , 
 Orjer in England. Benefaftors who. 122c. ' / 
 N. 10. 
 
 A Convent here new buiitj John Diggs ^ 
 chief Founder £5?f. 127c. K. jV • ■ 
 
 A Convent here for the Obferb«ntr. 14^9. 
 N. I. 
 
 Carthujians become Francifcans: 122c. N, 
 
 17« 
 
 Catharine Queen, her Concern for her 
 Confeffor Br. Dr. John Foreji when con- 
 demn'dto be burn'd to Death 5 with Co- 
 pies of her Letter and his Anfwer, ^d 
 1535. N. 2. 
 
 Chaucer no Friend to the Francifcans, 
 1399. N.I. 
 
 ' Clopton, Lord Chief Juft ice of Eng- 
 land enters into the Order of St. Francis, 
 1426. N' I. 
 
 At
 
 An Incfex io the Firft Part. 
 
 ^^ At Co/chfjtef, Francifcans. 1309. N. I. 
 
 Br. — Collier dies in Prifon. 1590. N. z, 
 
 Comptons Family heretofore devoted to 
 the Order, and have Letters of Filiation. 
 '' t+icvN. i. 
 
 At CoHftance, a Council mikes a Decree 
 for encouraging the Reformation of the 
 Order, and gives the Kf/ormW the Name 
 of 0&/frva«f; and to the others the Appel- 
 lation of Convf«(Kj/;. 14.15. N. I. Several 
 Curious Incidents relating to the Motives 
 of the faid Reformation : Jhidem. 
 
 Convirtts oi Englifb, a Catiloguc. 1229. 
 
 N. 5- 
 
 Cotvents alter'd and enlarg'd. 1252. N. r. 
 Conventuals pin with the Obfervants. 1484. 
 N. I. 
 
 At Coventry a Convent, &c. 1234. N. ;. 
 At Corl(i, a D'ifpute between the Euglijh 
 , Jftid Irrfi ; with a Word of Ireland, ii^i. 
 .^N, 3. I 
 
 D 
 
 BR. David ffilliami Doflor Oxm. 1521, 
 N. 2. 
 Dominicans and Francifcans contend. 
 1243. K. 3. 
 
 At Dumfries, a Murder in the Friers 
 Church 1305, and 1 30^.^ i» 
 Dttm Siottt:. See Jol.'n, 
 
 K 
 Br.EJm«nJErycotD.D. fetves a Parifh. 
 1529. JV. r. 
 
 Br. Edmund Grnfron Reader Oxon, 1342, 
 
 ^^ r. 
 
 ' £^Wdr^ ;J;f F;>/r builds a Convent. 12" 5. 
 K. !• 
 
 The fame King builds another Con- 
 vent. 12S8. N. I. 
 
 Edward the f/V/? makes a Peace with 
 France by the Mediation of the General 
 of the Frincifcanj. 1297. K. 1. 
 
 Edward the 4.th, placeth the Ohfervants 
 af Grtiriiaich. 14(^7. K, I. Efpoufeth the 
 Caufe of the Ohftrvants. 1 471. K. i. Ea- 
 lar^eth the Houl'e oi Obfervants, irGreet)- 
 ii'ich. 1480. N. J., • -^ • \ ^ 
 
 Br. Edward Bafkjrvyle made DtffKof "(Jf 
 Oxford, and was the laft Guardian of the 
 Friers Convent there. i^3r. N^ 3. 
 
 Br. Edward Reyky a Divine Graduate 
 Oxon. 1535. ^'• I. 
 
 xy 
 
 BfEiiat, General of the Order; How 
 
 he let in certain Abufes contrary to Holy 
 Poverty, and was oppos'd by fomeof the 
 Englift I'sieti. His Charaflerj &c. 1230. 
 K. 2 and 3. 
 
 Eliiahtth Barton, a Nun, call'd the Holy 
 Maid oi Kent, put to Death, with two 06- 
 fervant Francifcans, Br. Hugh Rich and Br. 
 Richard Risbey, 8cc. 1 5 34. N. 2. 
 
 Elinaheth, Queen, fupprefleth the Obfer- 
 vantf. I 559. N. I, 
 
 Br. Eflow's bold Speeches before the 
 King &c. 1534.N. ". 
 Efhw Guardian of Greenwich &c.i 5 s'^.N.i. '■ 
 
 England zlwiyi one ow^ Province of the 
 Order. 147 1. AT. r» 
 
 England now a Province of Ohfervants, 
 14(^7. N.I. and more of this Matter again. 
 1484. N. I- 
 
 £«g/j/2>Nobility build Convents for Ob- 
 frvants. 1 48 1. A^. I. 
 
 Englijh Francifcans abate of the flrifteft 
 Obfervanceof holy Poverty by the Popes 
 Condefcenficn. Alfo an Inftance of the 
 faid Relaxation, Sec 1485. N. r. 
 
 Enjiiffi Ohferv.wis have a Provincial of 
 their own, though the Vicar ot Cohgn 
 was their Commifl'ary. 1487. N. i. 
 
 Enflifl} Francifcans imploy'd on Embaf- 
 fic'. 1441. N. I. 
 
 Br. Eufiacede Merc, a holy Man; ia45.N.2. 
 
 Br. Ettfiace de NormanviHe, Do'lor and 
 Chancellor of Oxford. J2j6. N. !• His 
 Charader. 12S0. AT. i. 
 F 
 
 ST. Francis ^ his Birth and Education : 
 His Call to Perfeaion. His Rule, 
 and hovl/ fupported : Preliminaries. N. i. Cer- 
 tain chief Heads of bis Rule,. &c. Ibid. 
 A'; 2. 
 
 Francefcam, Mifltonaries by their Pro- 
 feflton. Manual Labour to be ufed by them, 
 Jbid. N. 3. The Obfervanceof the Gof- 
 pel the Dcfign of their Rule. Hid. N. 4. 
 The Rule approv-'d and the Order begins. 
 lbtJ,N. 5. The Ruk confirm'd by Popes 
 and Councils. Ibid. K. 6, 7, 8, and j. 
 St. Francis lends a Provincial into England, 
 and begins that Province of his Orr. :. 
 1219. JV. I. He departsthis Life. I2:i5. A, 
 3. His Feaft keptin England. 1257. ^ 2. 
 
 His 
 
 22f 
 
 lit 
 u
 
 XVI 
 
 HitTtira Order revived in EnglanJ. ii^6. 
 K. I. 
 
 B', FrantisofSt. Simon, a learned Author. 
 J 511. N. I. 
 
 frana/frtaj do good Oftices in Order to 
 an Agreement between the King and his 
 i3arun.<. 1252. Is'. 1. 
 
 Fraucifcam of Eiig'anel : An Inrtance of 
 their Integrity. 1235- N. i. The Method 
 of their Breeding their Scolaftick Pro- 
 feflors. 1254. N. z.Francifiaas perfecuted 
 by certain Doftors ot Pans who are con- 
 demn'd, and new Favours granted the 
 Friers. 1255. K, 8. The like again revi- 
 Ted againlt them by fifi Ralph, Archbi- 
 /hop of Armagh, with as ill Succcfs to the 
 Author, and as great Advantage co the 
 Englijh Friei!' 1257. N. i. 
 
 FrancifcamvUen made Legate', and now 
 reconcile the Grttl^ to the Latm Church. 
 1272. N.I. Four famous Francilcan Do- 
 ftors, heretofore of M<rfo« College. 1272. 
 Iv'. I. Francifcani, at Oxftrti, have a great 
 Charafter for their Learning. 1280. N. 2. 
 In great Favour at Court : Their great 
 Zeal for the Convcifion of the ^eu-!, who 
 were banifh'd at lafl. 1287. N. i. 
 
 The Names of tu-o and fjitrty Friers 
 prefented to the Bifhop for Faculties to 
 hear Confeflions at Ox/or</. 150c. N- ;. 
 
 Arc not to preach in Parifh Churches 
 when forbidden. ijocN. 4.. Commended 
 by Mr. U'^ooii. i;ic. N. 2. 
 
 Declared to be, in general, true Ob- 
 ferversof theRuleofSr. Francis. 1312. 
 N. I. F>-a«f;/f4«J commended on feveral Oc- 
 cafions. 1323. N. i. and 1350. N. i. Seve- 
 ral nam'd as leading Doctors of Oxford. 
 1328, N.2. 
 
 Many Francifcans flounfh'd about this 
 Time. 1344. H. u Francifcans not toad* 
 mit Youths of the Univerfities before 
 Eighteen. i3<So.N. 4. Chofe Proteftors, 
 for their Defence. I57tf. N- 3- Francifcani 
 condemn 7^r^./^'s Herefy. The Names 
 of fomeof them. 1381.N. i. Other In- 
 ftances of their Zeal againft Wic^clefi 
 Errort. 1391. N. i: A juft Encomium of 
 the Englilh Francifcans, ancient and Mo- 
 dern. 1399. N. 2. Francifcans hang'd for 
 miftaken Loyalty j and various other Inci- 
 
 An Mex to the firjl Part, 
 
 d^ot.', I40r, Nr 5. rr:»Hf;/f<t»(j Rights fup- 
 ported by tfie Popi. 14.42. N. i. 
 
 Francifcaii Provincials j the Catalogue 
 of them broken and iinperfetSl, I44<». Is'-. 
 5. Four Convents for the Englfh in Irt- 
 UnJ, and iume DifHculties on tnat Score. 
 I44(J> N. i- and 1291. X. 3. 
 
 traticijeans admit Liy Pcrfons into a 
 Communication wah them and their Or- 
 der in Spirituals by Letters of Filiation. 
 I 524. N- 4. Francijcan Habit in great Ve- 
 neration 5 &c. 1524. N. 4- 
 
 Francijcans in Enlgand turo'd out of 
 Doors, and their Houfes foon demoIi/h'd> 
 1559. N. I. 
 
 Franc fcans Schools (hut up io 1539, the 
 fad Dellruflion of all Monuments of 
 Learning is here defcrib'd, from feveral 
 Author?. 1 540. N. I. and 155c. N. i. 
 
 FranciJcanSf Englilh, teach abroad. 1 549. 
 N. I. 
 
 Others plunder'd and diflblv'd at TeriL 
 1559. N. 2. 
 
 Another of great Merit dies at Cadit, 
 1588. N. 2. 
 
 Another of a holy Life. His Chara- 
 cter. 1590. N- I. 
 
 Francijcan Province of England reflor'd, 
 and the Minner of its Reftoratior. 11^29. 
 N. I. Its Rank and Place amongft the 
 Provinces of the Order. A Diflertation 
 upon this Head. 1529. N. 2- 
 G 
 
 BR. Gfffriy Fountains, one of the famouj 
 Four DoBors Expofitors of the Rule. 
 1244. N. 2. 
 
 Generals of the Order heretofore for 
 Life. 1 2 59. N. 7. 
 
 Br. George Dennis, a Frier of great Mc' 
 rit. 1585. N. I. 
 
 Br. Gerard Smith, a Graduate Divine. 
 1507. N. 3. 
 
 Et. Gerard Odo,i. Francifcan L^ga/f. 1352^ 
 N. 3. 
 
 Et. Gilbert Cranford, a Reader Theol, 
 1254. N. 2. 
 
 B-. Gilbert Saunders, Doftor Ox»». 1513." 
 
 N.2. 
 
 Br. Gilbert Wyki, clothed at London. Anna 
 
 I2ZC>N« II' 
 
 Br
 
 An Incfex to the Fir/l Part. 
 
 Br. GoJfriy ^onti, a Holy Man, executed. 
 
 I5y8- K. 1. 
 
 At Grtinvich, Obfervants. 1467. N. !• 
 
 1480. N. I. 
 
 Built a new and fill'd with Friers. 155^. 
 K. I. Unerly and finally fupprefs'd by 
 Queen Elii. 1 5 59. N. i. 
 
 Br. Gregory Bojffl, a Reader Theo!. 1254. 
 
 K. 2. 
 
 , Br. Guy Marche, a Vertuous, learned 
 
 Mm. ij'ij-N. I. 
 
 • H 
 
 BR. H.^ymo of Fe-Jtrfium, Doctor, (lands 
 up for Holy Poverty with S;. Antho- 
 ny Sic. I-5C. y. 2 and 5. 
 
 Sent by the Pope to the Patriarch of 
 Oinftantino'fU. 1153. N. 2. Made Provinci- 
 al of England j afterwards General of the 
 whole Order. A holy Min : A learned 
 Author, &c. His Charider. 1239. \. 9,4, 
 5,5. His Zeal for Religion. 1242. N. i- 
 His Death. 1:44. N. i. . 
 
 Br. Henry ^aglicus, a learned Author. 
 1319. N.3. 
 
 Br. Henry A^^letrey, a Regent Profeflbr, 
 'l294« N« 1. 
 
 B • Hc»ry Brijjng^am- D.D. Oxon. i z6l. N. 
 I. His Death : A Do6tor of Oxford and of 
 €ambrUge : An Author. 128c. N. 2. 
 
 Br. H'.nry de Cervife, a Lay Brorher: His 
 CKuafter extraordinary, &c. 1219, or 
 1220. N. 7. F/e. 5. 
 
 Br. Htnry Cojfiy, a Doflor, commended 
 by Mr. H'ood. 132;. N. I. His Charafter 
 uncommon. 153^. N. 5. 
 
 Br.Henry of Cvsntry, Doftor Oxo«. 122c. 
 K. Id. 
 
 Henry fi>f Ttir^ kind to the Francifcans 
 at Ox/br</.- His Grant for enlarging their 
 Indofure. 1245. N. 2. 
 
 A Second Grant from the fame King; 
 1245. N. I. 
 
 A Third Grant. 11^6. N. 2. The fame 
 King builds a Convent at ?Fir»f/pf/?«r. 1249. 
 ^''. I. Receives a Frier Minoj as a Legate 
 from the Pope. 1250. N. i. Builds a Con- 
 vent at Nottingham for the fame Friers. 
 1250. N. 5. Departs this Life. 1272. 
 
 Br. Henry Crucht, Regent Profcflor 
 i}^8 and 1 339< N. i. 
 
 XVII 
 
 King H:nry the Sixth j his Ellcem for the 
 Francifcans. 1441. N. i. He iiaportuncs 
 S-. TobnCafiiRran 10 Comc over into Eng- 
 land, promifiiig to bnild Convents tor the 
 Ohfervants: Alfo a Copy of a Letter from 
 that Holy R.an to the Kmg, concerning 
 Go-jd H'ork.!, and the right Ufe of Rf/zr^ j 
 &r. 1454. N' I. 
 
 Hinry the Seventh, King, builds tvo Con- 
 vents for the O'ojervants Francifcans, and 
 gives them Four other Convents. I495« 
 N. I. Departs this Life. 1509. M. i- 'I hat 
 King's Kindnefs to the Franci/can* Ohfer^ 
 VAnts : Ibidem. 
 
 Br. Henry Holffam, an Ohfervar.t of a great 
 
 C^iaracler j and much elieem'd abroad, 
 
 &c. 1549- N- '• 
 
 B . Hr«rji H;<^, aReader, and an AutLo;. 
 
 13*9. N. 2. 
 
 Br. Henry of Oxford, Doctor, a good Sa« 
 periour, a great Preacher, and an Au- 
 thor of Sermons, &i:. i37t. N- i. 
 
 B% Henry Reresly, a great Man, &c. 
 1231. Is. 2. 
 
 Br. Henry de Pifa, a R.eidetTheot. 1254. 
 N. I. 
 
 Br. Henry Stand'f}, Dodor Oxok. brought 
 into Trouble, and protedled by the King. 
 1515. N. I. Provincial of England ^ then 
 Bifhop of Sr. ^Japh. 1519. N. i. His 
 Death, Legacies and whole Charader. 
 15^5. N. 4. 
 
 Br. Hnry Sutton, Guardian of London. 
 I ^6). N. 2. 
 
 Henry the Eighth, in the Beginning of 
 his Reign, a great Lover of the Obftrvanti : 
 Marksof hisKindnefs to the Order of St. 
 Francis. 1 5i5. N.r. and 1519. N.i.Begins to 
 queflion the Lawfulnefs of his Marriage, 
 which was the Rife of great Trouble to 
 the Francifcans Obfervants.t^zS- N. i.That 
 King now, firft of all, ftyled Supreme Head 
 of the Church of England, and this Title 
 was modifyed at firft. 153c. K. 2. Begins 
 to exert his Indignation againfl the Oi- 
 fervants Francifcans for oppofing his Di- 
 vorce and Headfhip of the Church of 
 England. 1 532. N. I. The King excom- 
 municated, degrades Queen Catharine, &c. 
 1533. N.2, He abrogates the Power and 
 
 He turns 
 aU 
 
 Name of ihe Pope. 1 J34. N.
 
 XVIU 
 
 all the Qhfnvauti out of their Convents, 
 and puts »?;o hiindnd oi them in Prifon- 
 1554- N. :• 
 
 Sends othtt Ohfervanti to Prifon. ifjj- 
 K. r. 
 
 Br. Htrvey Saham, ChancellUr of Oxford. 
 1185 and 1 ii6, N. 2. 
 
 Houfes of the Friers Minors enlarged, 
 &c. i2ip or 2220. N. 14. Some alfo 
 newly built: Ibidem, 
 
 Br. Hu^hBilovt, an Author, and others. 
 1529. N. 4. 
 
 Br. Hugh of Brampton, Provincial, ijcc. 
 N. I. 
 
 Br. Hugh of Hertlefrole, a Proflor inOx- 
 forJ. f2'JE« N. I. MidcProrincial. i;oc. N. 
 1. Prefents 22 of his Friers to the HiHiop, 
 &c, 15C0. N. 2. A Doflor of Oxford^ and 
 by whom fucceeded as Provincial. 151?. 
 J^'. I. 
 
 Br. Hugh of Manchefter, Dodor, His 
 Charafler. 125)8. N. 2. 
 
 Br. Hugh of Nt'jicalile, a DoSor, and an 
 Author. 13 ic, N. 5. 
 
 Br. Hugh Rich, drawc, hang'd, and qtiar- 
 ter'd. I ^;4- N. 2. 
 
 Br. HugbWilhthy, Dodor and Chancellor 
 Oxon. I5 51. \. I. 
 
 Br. Hum^hriy Doflor of Cambridge. 
 
 1254. h'. 2. 
 
 I • 
 
 BR. James VUramont: I2ip, 1220. -N. 7« 
 fig- 9. 
 Br. '3ifff^y Linge, an Hifloriati. 1990. 
 
 Br. Jerom of St.. Mar!(j a Divide, an Au- 
 thor. 1421. N. I. 
 
 Br, JolJm TnoTtthiU, enters at London, 
 1219, 1220. r. II. 
 
 Br. "John of England has the Gift of 
 Tongues, &c. 1549. N. 2. 
 
 Br. John yingUcits, a learned. Holy Man : 
 Part of his Character. 125J. N . i. The 
 Pope's Colltdor in Eni}and. 1 247. N. I, 
 Commijfary of the Engl.ih Friers j after- 
 wards Provincial j a great Divine and Ca- 
 nonirt J ii5(J. N. I. and 2. Traduced by 
 MtUth. Paris ; but clear'd of the Afperfion, 
 &c. 12515. N. 5. He is faid to have been a 
 Cardinal &c. ii-jC, n. 4, y, and 6. Part 
 of his Ccmmiffion when Legati and 
 CoJle^OT.Ibid.N' 4. 
 
 An Index to the firjl Part. 
 
 Br.john yinglicnifthe ad) a Doflorand 
 an Author, i: ;(?. N. 6. 
 
 Br.Jokn Jngttcus^ fihe 3d) remarkable 
 for Vcrrue and Learning, a zealous Sit- 
 tift, and an Author.i59c . N. i. 
 
 Br. John A ihurt and John Bachehr, Di- 
 vines. 1 555. N. T. 
 
 Br. John narvicl{j a Dcdlor, and an Au- 
 thor. 1 524. N. 1. 
 
 Br. John Baffet, P.o^effjr in Oxford. 
 1521. N. I. 1 
 
 Br. John Boroes, a Doftor of Paris. 1329. 
 N.I. 
 
 Br. Jthn Brtnth, D- D. Provincial j S(jc* 
 i34».N. 2. 7 
 
 Br; Jvb'A Br»unt, Doftor. Oxb>i. Xjaj, 
 K. 2. .. . '. ; ■ 
 
 Br. JeknBrityll, Warden of London, t%S). 
 N. 2. 
 
 Bu John Bt!c!i/fy : See Godfrey Jams ^ in 
 this Index. 
 
 Br. John BH«gty, D. D. Pfovincial. 1274^ 
 N. I. By whom fucceeded in the Qftice 
 of Provincial. 127-. N. 1. 
 
 Br. John Canon, Dodor of Oxford mi of 
 P<jr/;, zScorill, fkill'd in the Laws, and a^ 
 Author. 1,20. N. i. 
 
 Br, St John Cupiflran Commiffary Gen^ 
 ral of -the. Obfervants: 1442, N. i. and 
 1445. N. I. A Copy, of that Saints Let- 
 ter 10 the King of England, SiC, 1454. N. I 
 
 Br. John Clotfale, a very Holy.Man. 1 34 J. 
 N'. I. 
 
 B-. John Crombe, a Regent Profeflbr 
 Theo/. 1354. N- 2. 
 
 Bt- JobnCurlellfy D. D. condemns Wul{- 
 lijf. 1381. and i;82. N. i. : 
 
 Br. John'Davrdd, D. D. Provincial. 1450. 
 
 N. I. 
 
 Br. Join de Dina i Legate in England. 
 
 1250. N. I. 
 
 Br. John Duns Seotus, the Sub^!' DoScr f 
 His Vertuesand Learning, his Life» A^s» 
 Chander, .the Manner of' his De*ih, hi| 
 Worksj San^ity,' ard many curious Oc* 
 currences relating, to that great Man 3 as 
 alio his native Country. 1508. N. 2. and 
 ;. FutiuS' Scott ; a Deftruilion of Bocka 
 tzM^^tbtFuneralofScotHs.i^^o. Iv'. !♦• • 
 
 . ■■.,.,-■] ^•\ .-c.
 
 An Index to tJje Firfi Part. 
 
 Br. John Edltf, a Holy Preacher and Di- 
 vine. i4u5. N. r. 
 
 Br. John Eifiov diea in Lower Germsny, 
 t549. N. I. 
 
 iir.' 'JohnEvin, firft a Founder ef the 
 Convent at LonJtu, and then a Lay Bro- 
 ther ther<. 1219, or 121c. N. ii. 
 
 Br. John Ffreff, D.D. Queen Catharines 
 Confeflor, put in Prifon by the King's 
 Commind. i y;^. N. 2. CondeOjn'd to be 
 burn'd to Death. 1535. N. i. A Copy of 
 the faid Queens Letter ro Forrifl, and his 
 Anfwer to that and other Letter?. 1555- 
 N.I. Being Provincial of his Order, and 
 under Sentence of Death, Fireft writ a 
 Book agiintt the King's Supremacy 3 and 
 therefore iiow faffers the Torments of 
 being rojiled to Deafh^. • His Charader, 
 •nkl the Mwiner and Circum+la'nces of bis 
 Death, from Mr, Wood and others. 1538. 
 N.I. 
 
 Br, John Gtwings reflores the Francil- 
 OB PtoTince ot England, and in what 
 manner, itfip. N. i. ' • 
 
 ■'■Br. John Godful^ Bifhop of Land^ff. 
 1'^6i. N. 2. 
 
 Br. John Golfia», a Divine, and an Au- 
 tko'. 1598. N'. r. 
 
 Br. John Gray murder'd fot Religion, 
 ■&<;.i^-9. N. I. 
 
 Br. John Grenlau; a Bifliop Sufffigan. 
 ■»4c{.-N; i;' '-"It i '■ .■ 
 
 Br John Harviy, a Divine and Superi- 
 ou% 15*^4. K.- I.- 
 Br. John Hihort, a Doflor, a Vertuous 
 •Man, a iChampion for his Order, and an 
 
 Author. I^jtf. N. 2. ■' -ijr' 
 
 Br. John Holkote works Miracle*.- '1142. 
 N. .,. , ■■ 
 
 Br, ^hn Horley, a Regent Reader. 1528. 
 N.I. . . . - 
 
 Br. John Havdin D.D. a Regent Readei;. 
 15+2 N. I. . 
 
 Br. Join Httnien D. D. Blfhop of Lattdaf. 
 14-8. N. I. 
 
 Br. John Jofefh, a Graduate Divine. 
 1555. N.I. ^ 
 
 Br. John Kechene'txiide Provincial of the 
 Scot;. i2;i. N. 2.' • ' .:-''i-. ' - 
 
 fir. John of Kenty i Legate, and Author. 
 1258. N. I. 
 
 XIX 
 
 Br. John Kynton made Doftor of Oxford, 
 1 50c. N. I. Made Coromiflary Vice- 
 jChanceJlor of Oxford for three or four 
 "Years. 1502. N. i. 1507. N. j. 151;. N. i. 
 writes againft Luther at the King's Re- 
 queft : i52i,N.r. His Charafter from 
 Mr. Wood. I?; 5. N. ;, 
 
 Br. John uathbery, D.D. Oxom; A holy 
 Man, an Author, a Preacher, a great 
 Scripturift. 140^, N. 2. 
 
 Br, John Lijle, heretofore a Canon. 1354 
 N. I. 
 
 Br. John of London, Frier Bacon's Scho- 
 lar, a Prodigy of Learning and Purity of 
 Life. 129c. N. 2. 
 
 Br. John ^f Malhertborp, a Guardian, 
 15159. N. 2. 
 
 . Br. John Mtrehelif, a Holy Man : Pro- 
 vincial : a learned Author, &c. i^j6.N. i. 
 
 Br. John Mardiffdn, Provincial, ijytf. N. 
 I. 
 
 Br. John of Occham and other great Men. 
 1544. JV. I. 
 
 Br. John Olday a Bi/hop. 1444. N. 2. 
 
 Br.Juhn Olriyt Confcffor to the Earl of 
 Warvicl^. 1298. N.l. 
 
 Br. John Peckham, Doftor of Oxford and 
 Pftr;;, Provincial of England, iii: N. j, 
 Refigns that Office by Order of the Pope, 
 ■who make* him Reader of his Palace at 
 Rome, where his Scholars are Cardinals 
 and Prelates; 1y78.IV. i. Honours paid 
 to Peckham : Ibidem. Peckham confecrated 
 Archbifhop of C\nterhury : IbiAem, Pecl(_- 
 ham gracioufly recei v'd by the King ; calls 
 a Synod at Reading. Ibid. 1279- His Zeal for 
 •Church Difciplinf. Ibid. Peckham made 
 Proteftor of the Englilh Franctfcans, and 
 maintains their Privileges. I27p. N. 2. 
 Remarkable A&s. Ibid. Peckham holds a 
 Synod at Lambeth, hath fomc Variance 
 with certain Abbots : His remarkable Pa- 
 floral Inftru£lions , and other At\s. 1281. 
 N, I. Founds a Collegiate Church. 1282. 
 N.I. Reforms Abufef. 1:8;. N. i. Puni- 
 fhcth Impurity 8ic. 1284.N. i. His Death, 
 Sanflity, Learning, and the Remainder 
 of his Chsrafter ; With a Word or two 
 qorvcerning a Benefice given him at Lyons 
 Sfttt ^he was" noiniriated Archbifhop. 
 129:. N. I' 
 c » Br.
 
 2CX :An Incfex to the Firft Part. 
 
 Br. John Peretvaa, Doftor, Provincial.' Br. ^obnT^Wr kill'd with Imprifoninent 
 
 I50»> N. I. 1557. \. ;. 
 
 B^ John Ptrrot, Doftor Oxo», ijjtf. ii'- 3i>hn Tynmouth, i Diviae ind Bifhop 
 
 ■^• '• &f. 1 524. N. I. 
 
 B . John Ptrjlore^ Regent Reader, i ; 1 8. Br. John Tyfington D.D, a zealou? Oppo- 
 
 -^'• '• kroi Wifklifft and his Error?. 1381 and 
 
 B\ John of Prison, Repent Reader. 1582. N.i. A DoAot ol OxforJ ^ Provin- 
 
 '5 3^. ^" '• "■ cial of Eng/anJ, and a learned Author, 
 
 Br. John RattJol[>h, Confeflor to the 139?. N. i. 
 
 Quern. 1410, N. s. Br. John fillers. Regent Profeflor Oxo», 
 
 Br^ John Rat[orcl, Regent Profcflor. 1558 1545. N. J. 
 
 ^^- I. Br. John Water, a learned Doflor. 1355 
 
 B', John of ReaJing, i famous Abbot of K. i. 
 
 Canon Rtgulars, becomes a Francifcan. Br. >fcM o/Jfa/«, Vertuous and learned. 
 
 1235- N- r. i;5^. N. i. 
 
 , Br. John Jf Reading (another) Reader. Br.JohnWalhys, z Do£\ot o( OxfarJ and 
 
 T3;5. N. ;. of Paris, a great Writer and Preacher 
 
 - B - John Richard Blunt, a Bifhop. 14CC. &y\ed yfrbor ^ita. j 26c. is', :. 
 
 .N. I. Br. John Walliui, a learned Bifhop. 1^16, 
 
 Br> JobnRichel, a Man of uncommon N. i. 
 
 Vfrtu»-. I 59P. N. r. Br. John Wartricenjis, a Doflcr of Ox- 
 
 B'.John RiJevam, D. D. a Preacher and /or</. 1334. N- 2. 
 
 nnd Author. 133^. N. :. Er John Welles, Bi/hop of Landaf. 142}. 
 
 Br. John Kodington, D.D. Provincial, an N. I- 
 
 Author, and a very holy Man, Dr. Oxon. Br. John Went D.D. Provincial, Prea- 
 
 ard Paris. 1348. N. I. cher, an Aurhor, a Holy Man, and a 
 
 Br.5ofc«^f i'orro io/fo D.D. of PcWja very Worker of Mracles. 1348.^,2. 
 
 famous Mithematician, and Author- 125(5. Br. John Wejton, a Regent Reader. 1254. 
 
 M 7. N, 3. 
 
 Br. John Smyth Wide Doftor of Oxford. B- JohnWIcblngham, a Preacher and Au- 
 
 I5ctf.^.^. .thor. i;^;. N. 3. 
 
 Br. John Smith ^another") Doftor of Oxon. Br. John Wilton, a zealous Doctor. 13 14. 
 
 1 5 13. N.:. N. I. 
 
 Br. 3db«3'f<i^or</, aDivineand Hiftorian. Br. John Winchelfy D. D. a holy Mar. 
 
 1380. N. 2. 132^. N. I- 
 
 Br. ^o^w Starrford made Archbifhop of Br. John W'ylton, a Regent Profeffor. 
 
 Dublin and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. 1554. N. 2. 
 
 1^84 K. :. Br- John of Yarmouth, aHoIy Man. 124C. 
 
 Br. John Standijh, a zealous Mairtainer N. 5. 
 
 of the Refpeft due to the Holy Scrip- Br. John Yomton, a Regent Profeffor. 
 
 ture,', r55(f.N. 3. 1535. jV.:. 
 
 Br. John Stanford, Provincial, &c. 12^4. Br. John Zatmefire, or\cc a Knight cf 
 
 N. I. . Faine. 112c. N. ji. 
 
 Joh>2 Storey LL,D, a Lover of ihe Order. Br. John Zoueh D.D. Provincial: .Bilhcp, 
 
 I 5^8- N. 3- 14C8.N. I. 
 
 Br. 3ofc« ^KW'Wfr, a great Mathematician. Br- ^o^a — — call'd the Od Beggar^ a 
 
 i35)c, Nf. I. Holy Mil'. 1 590. /V I- 
 
 Br. John Stafilton, once a rich Mar.. 1352. Br. John ——. a Lay Brother, Marquefs 
 
 K. I. > ; of Winchejitr, 14^)6. N. i. 
 
 Br. John Tkarnhi'J, .Doftor of Oxford. . • ., 
 
 J525.N. I. ' ^-1
 
 An Index to the Firft Part, 
 
 XXI 
 
 L Br. Michel Deacon, Bi/hop of Sr." 
 
 Br. Laurence Je Btlwco, i Lay Brother. j4fa^h. 1495. N.i. 
 
 I1I9, 1220. A'. '-Fil' 6. 
 • i Br. Laurence Briton, Regent Reader. 
 1342. N. I. 
 
 Liu the Tenth, Pope, his Bull of Union, 
 and many Favours to the Obfervunts j now 
 above the Conventuals. 1517. N. I. 151S. 
 N. I. 
 
 Miffiom of Francifcans fent at feveral 
 Times into £«g/<j»(^ after their Provincial 
 j4gnel!tii. 1219, 1220. N. 14. 
 
 y4 Third Mi//fon of Friers into EnglatiJ. 
 1222. N". I. A Fourth Miljioa of Friers come 
 into £n^ /<»»</. 1224. N. I. 
 
 Wljions into Foreign Parts often moft 
 
 Libraries ("Two) of the Francifcans at effedtual when undertaken by Francifcan--, 
 
 Oxford, and their great Induftry in procu- 
 ring all Sorts of Books. 125;. N.2. 
 
 At Lichfield, a Convent begur. 1229. N. 
 5. Burnt down, with a great Part of that 
 Town, accidentally. 1291. iV. :. 
 
 Lord Lijle, Baron enters into the 
 
 Order. 134". ^- 2. 
 
 At London, Francifcans, how receiv'd &c. 
 
 I 219, I2 2C. N. II. 
 
 A new Church here, and by whom. 
 x^o6.N. r.This Houfe enlarged and the 
 Community numerous 136 j N. 2- A Se- 
 cond Convent built here, and by whom- 
 
 1275, and 12"^'.. NT- i. 
 
 whom ?ope Innocent the Fourth declared the 
 moft fit Men to deal with Infidels, for 
 Reafcns here given. 1235. N. 3. 
 N 
 
 B^, "Nicholas— orce a Lay Brother, but 
 being permitted, to ftudy and take 
 holy Orders, is at length promoted, re- 
 garded by the Pope, and made Bifhop. 
 
 1243. N- !• 
 
 At Nevarlij a Convent for Obfervantfi 
 1499. N. I. 
 
 At Nrdcajlle, a Convent for Ohfervantf, 
 Ihidim. 
 
 Br. Nicholas Englifi, ^ Do£lor, and a Bi» 
 
 The Convent mention'd here, though fhop. i2(Jo. N. 4. 
 not diflblv'd till above Six Ti^ears after Br. Nicholas de Burgo, an Italian, D. D. 
 
 this Timr. 155s* N. 2. A new Convent Oxo>?. 1523. N» 2. 
 
 here for the Obfervants, built by Queen Br. Nicholas Fuckjngham, a Do6lor, PrO' 
 
 "Mary, i^^6. N. I. at the Endt vincial. 1395. N,u a great Promoter of 
 
 M Catholick Unity, a learned Author, and 
 
 B^, Manfuetus, a Foreign Francifcan of reckon'd a very holy Mir. 14C7.N. i. 
 great Holinefs, a Legate in England Br. Nicholas Lynne, a mdlt famous Ma- 
 
 at ihe King's Requefi. I2d3' N. i. 
 
 Martin the 5th. favours the Conventuals^ 
 143c. JV. :. 
 
 Br. Martin ^Inevicl^^, D. D- a zealous 
 Author. I3 5(y. N. i. 
 
 thematician, and an Author. HisDifcove* 
 ries are curious. 1550. ^'. s. 
 
 Br. Nicholas de Lyra, D. D. a famous 
 
 Commentator upon the whole Scriprurp, 
 
 1523. A', t. An Englilh Man by Binh and 
 
 Mary, Queen rebuilds the Convent of Parentage, and firft a Jew by Profeffion, 
 
 Obfervants at Greenivich j and builds ano- as mary of the Jews were when They 
 
 ther at London, j'jsd. N. i. anjj i- and He were all turn'd out of England in 
 
 Br, Mittthev; Gayton, once -3 ^owetful Eqr- the Year 1290. His Character, AQs, and 
 
 I220,N. II. Writings. 1544. zV. i. 
 
 Br.. Maurice Fihely, an Irijh Frier of a Br Nelfon, a Miflionary into En^ 
 
 great Chara£ter,bred at Oxfard, afterwards land. itfiF. .V. i. 
 
 Archbifhop of Tua<n. iji;. N. ;. lieve- 
 ral other Friers, Bifhops, bred there. 
 Ihiderrt. 
 
 Mendicants and Monifteries in our Nati- 
 on (in regard to Learning) defcribed by 
 Mr. Collier. i^fC. X. 3. 
 
 Merton-ColUge bred Fcxr Frtncijcau Dor 
 fiors. izii.N. 2, 
 
 Br. Nicholas Occham, D .D. a holy Man, 
 
 &C. 1320. N. T.' ' CI 
 
 Br. Nicholas Sutor, a Bifhop. A Qiiery. * 
 
 &c. 1353. N. 1. 
 
 Nicholas the ^th, Pope, relieves the 
 Francifcans. 145a. N. i. >
 
 An Index to the firjl Tart, 
 
 xxu 
 
 The fame Pope mentions nine Convents 
 of Ohfervants in the ijlands bordering upon 
 Et!V,l<'»(l- Ibid. N. J. 
 
 At Northampton, a Convent begjn. 1229. 
 
 At Norvficb, Friers Minors bcg:n to 
 dwell. izz6. N. i. 
 
 The Guardian there iuipower'd by the 
 Bifhop. 1275. N. I. 
 
 At Nottingham, a Francifcan Convent. 
 1250. N. 5. 
 
 O 
 
 Br. Oliver St anwey LLD. a Frier Minor. 
 1555. N.I. 
 
 At Oxford. Francifcans in Comniunity, 
 &c. 1220. N. 15. 
 
 A Frightful Warning in their Oratory 
 there. 1220. N. 18. 
 
 Their Schools and firft Teachers there. 
 J22I. N. I, 2 and 3. 
 
 The Friers here excell'd all others in 
 School-Learning. 1221. N. 5. They preach 
 and hive a numerous Audience ; Alfo 
 their Founders and Benefaflors here. 
 I22I. N. tf, 7, and 8. Many Friers Mi- 
 nors, in time, proceed DoiSors of this 
 Univerfity. 1229. N. i, and 2. A Cata- 
 logue of the Firft Readers, Chief Re- 
 gents of their Schools here. 1229. N. 5, 
 and 4. Their Libraries &c. defcrib'd. 
 1259. N. 2. Their Publick Profeflors, 
 how train'd up. 12J4. N. 2. Interaients in 
 their Church here. 1275. N. i. A great 
 Charailer of the Friers here. 1280. N. 2. 
 Several nani'd by Doiior Fuller. i;28. N. z. 
 
 Oxford i'ld not favour JVic!{!ejf's Errors, 
 1383. N.I. 
 
 OwcK Gkndowr, the General of the Wdfi, 
 defended by the Francifcans. 1401. N. 5; 
 at thf End. The faid Glendovir now kind 
 to ihe Friers at Catrdiffe- 14C4. N. 2. 
 
 OBSERVANTS. 
 f^Bfervant! encouraged in the reforming 
 ^ of the Order by a Decree of a Coun- 
 cil: Motives for the faid Reformation j 
 with feveral curious Occurrence, &c. 
 1415. N. I. Obfervwts in England before 
 the Council of Cotiflnnce. ii^t6. N. I. 
 Under nNotandufrt. O^fer-jants farther en- 
 couraged in their Zeal for Holy Poverty. 
 J430.N. 2. 1443. N, I. I445i and i44(r. 
 
 N. I. Ohfervants in England encouraged by 
 Kiag Hairy the 6th, &c. 1454. N. 1. Eng- 
 land i Province of rheOi'yf)i»<j>;(f, and fdiue 
 of them fettled atGrww/V/j. 14(^7. hi. i. 
 The King efpoufcth their Cmie with the 
 Pope, 1471. N. 2. Ohfervants at Greenwich, 
 148c. N. I. Three Convents built in £w^- 
 /fl«(^for them. 1481. N. I. All the Engiijj} 
 accept of this Reformation. 1484. N- i. 
 OneMutiveof this Reformation. 1485. 
 N. I. 
 
 Oi/fruawfjfavour'dby our Kings. 1485. 
 N. 1. at the End. 
 
 By whom govern'd 1587. N. i. Con- 
 vents given them by the King. 1499. N. 
 I. Twelve Convents of Oi'/ervawtj in Eng- 
 land, &c. 1499. N. 2 and 3. Ohfervants rulp 
 the Conventi'.ah. 1502. N. 3. call'd RecoVeils. 
 1 505. N.I. Beloved byourKii^s, ifop, 
 JSf. i.and I5itf. N. i. The State of the 
 Francifcan Province of England when the 
 Bull of Union ame out : and how they li- 
 ved upon pure Alms&c. 1517. N. r. Oh- 
 fervants, how exempted Sic. 1519, N. 2, 
 Now hardly ufed by the King. 1523. N. 
 I. Ohfervants refufe to be vifited by Cardi- 
 nal ?Fo/y"f_y : And why. 1524. N. 3. Obfer- 
 vants now feel the heavy Hand of the 
 King. 1552. N. I. All turji'd cut of their 
 Convents, and imprifon'd, 200 of them at 
 once. 1534. N. 4. and 1535. N. i.Some 
 banifli'd ; fome die, and all ill treated. 
 1537. N.I and 1. and 1538. N- 2 and 3. 
 Again at Greenwich, 1553. N. I. Finally 
 fupprefs'd by Queen Eliiabeth.:, yet keep 
 up a Succeffion of Friers &c. i 5 5 9. N. i. 
 How they heretofore hid . Doftprs, an'4 
 now jubilate LeBors: 1580. N. i. 
 
 Oi/trvrt«r; privately in England, i^c 1^x9. 
 N. r. _ • . : 
 
 Obfervant Francifcan Province of Ettg' 
 land re{\ored • and what Place due to it 
 arrongft the Provinces of the Order of 
 St. Francis, oic, 16 zp. n, j. and 2. 
 P 
 
 AT Paris, The Univerfity embrace the 
 Opinion of Duns Scottts about the Im- 
 maculate Conception, and ingage to defend 
 the fame. 1304. n. i. Eighty two DoiJors and 
 all under-Graduates ingage, under Oath, 
 to maintain the faid Opinion, and none 
 
 , to
 
 to be ac^juitted to take Degtees in Divini- 
 ty at Parii upon any ether Terms, by a 
 Solemn Statute. i4</--r. :. 
 
 Br. Peter BaUefuel, Regent Profeflor. 
 I 318. n. I. 
 
 Bi. Peter Effort, a Parifli Prieft, then a 
 Minor. 122^. I . I- 
 
 Br. Piter Gather, a Suffragan Bi/hop. 
 145+. r. 8, 
 
 kr. Peter, a Spaniard, yjatden, of Nortb- 
 amj'tOK. I2;c. n- 14. j , - 
 
 Br, Piter, a Portuguei, bred up at Oxford. 
 ijGtf- n. I. 
 
 Bt.Heter PhilarJus, afterwards Pope, un- 
 der the Name of Alexander ths ^tk, 3 Frier 
 Minor, bred up in the Convent at Oxford. 
 His Charafter. 1409. p. i. 
 
 Br. Pettr Qnefvel, a learned Author- 1299- 
 n- i; 
 
 Br. Peter Ruffel, a Holy Man, an Obftr- 
 vant, an Author, Minilicr Provincial, 
 £^f. 1417, or 141 8. n, I. 
 
 Br. Peter Tewl^ibury^ Provincial. 11 56'. 
 
 'An Index to the fir (i Fart, xxiii 
 
 br. Pbiii[> Pinjon, Bifhop j then Atch- 
 bifhof. 1505. n. i: 
 
 Br. Phtlij; Torrington, Arch bifhop, £iff. 
 1574. r. I. 
 
 Br. Philil> Wallcyi, a Reader, fent to teach 
 abroad. 1227.11. i. Is made Doftor, ^<- 
 1250-1:1.4. 
 
 Pod, Cardinal, confecrated Archbifhop 
 of Cmterhtiry, in the Friers Church at 
 Greenivicb. 1554, r. z. That Prelate, out of 
 the Pope's Favour, and recall'd to Rome, 
 and Frier Peto made Cardinal Legate in 
 his Place. 1557.0. i. 
 
 II- I- 
 
 Br. 
 
 1331- 
 
 Br. 
 r. !• 
 Br. 
 
 Peter Sutton, Regent Profeflor Oxon- 
 n. I. 
 Pettr SivynerJleJ, Provincial. 14^4, 
 
 Peter «■ Suffragan Bi/hop, ^c. 
 1.55:. n. 2. ^ 
 
 Br. Peter fcail'd 5'tf«v<J«.') ProTJncial, and 
 tijdtobea BiHiop in Scotland. A Notan- 
 
 duni, i3(- 144 »■■ '"• 5- 
 
 Br. Ptto, (Peter, or n^illiam) reproved 
 the King : Miny curious Paffages in Si- 
 guel of this Boldnpfs and Br. Elsloiv's 
 fupporii 'g it. 1,5 54. n. 3. and in the Supplnn^ 
 n.9. . 
 
 Br. PfM returns to GnenuUh ^c- 1553. 
 r, I. Is made Cardinal Lf^^r^and Bilhop, 
 gff. i55 7,r.x. 
 
 His Death, and the Remainder of his 
 Character, from Mr TVood and other!. 
 ij^S- r: !• and the Suppletn, r.o. , 
 
 Br. Philij) Uriddiltan D. D. Regent Oxon. 
 I.328' n. I. 
 
 Bt- Philip of London enter* the Order. 
 l£2C.r.. ir. , - i !. I 
 
 Philip Norreys perfecutci the F/iers, l^c% 
 144S« u. u 
 
 ProfeffoTs, Francifcans, the Oeconomy 
 of their being bred up, £j;r. 1254. p- i« 
 Profijfors, Scholallicks, in many ct their 
 Convents in England, 1254. r.. 3. 
 
 Provincials weie for Lite in the Begin- 
 ning of their Order unlefs they refign'd, 
 or incapable- 1239. n. 7. Notandum, 
 R 
 
 Br. Ralph Coleharg, D.D. Oxoti, an Author. 
 12^0. r. I. 
 
 Br. Ralph Ebifach, D.D. retufeth a Bifho- 
 prick, and becomes a Frier Minor on a re- 
 markable Occafion. 1241. n. it Dies, re- 
 puted a »ery holy Man, S^f. 127c. n. 2. 
 
 Br. R<j/^b ——. agreat Divine, a Frier» 
 ^r. 1341. n. 2. 
 
 Br. Ralph Locl-jfliy^ D-D. Oxok. an Au- 
 thor. I 31c. r. I and 2- 
 
 Br. Ralph Maydilon refigns the See of 
 Hereford, and becomes a Frier Minor, and 
 is reckon'd a holy Mar, 1239. n. i. 
 
 Br. Ralph Redtptor D. D. a great E-xpo- 
 fitor, ^c, 1:50. N,2. 
 
 Rr. Ralph Rofe, a grear Preacher, S^f« 
 124c. n. 2. 
 
 Br- Ralph Tofts, a Regent Profeffor Oxom 
 I50I- r. I. 
 
 . Bt.K<i//)/j /^f'3'f/;* condemn* JVitk!t{fe,i^c, 
 1381. r. !• ... 
 
 . Br. Ralph — — fent as a Legatt to . ths 
 Patriarch of ConilantinopU-^ with good Suc- 
 cefs.^f. 1233. r. 2. 
 
 RtioUcili and RecoHiRimt encouraged* 
 I J25. r. 2. 
 
 . RecoHeHs farther encouraged. 1 515. n. j^ 
 andmSi'pi'-ein-
 
 xxiv 
 
 An Inc/ex to the Fir/i Part, 
 
 Br. Reji^luaU Liinhurne, a Duflor. 1354 
 
 Br. Rc^inalJ Lnnghtm D.D, CantaP, i Ifarn- 
 cd Author and Expofiior of Sv.fipturc. 
 i4ic, n. r. and 1254. r. 5. 
 
 Br. Richarti Britan i. grcil Suffer er, tfc, 
 
 1554. '• !• 
 
 Br. RicharJ Brinck^/ty, D. D. Caniah. Pro- 
 vincial. 1 544. n. 1. 
 
 Br. RicharJ Caittr, a great Sufferer, 
 &c. 1557. n. 2. 
 
 Br. Richard Cow/'fow. D. D. Oxon. Pro- 
 vincial. 133c. r, 3. 
 
 B . RickarJ Counington, D, D. Provincial, 
 aPreachcr, an Author, and reckon'd an 
 holy Mar. i3 50. p. j. 
 
 Br. RichitrJ Carnival, D. D. Oxon, an Au- 
 thor, 1152. n. I. 
 
 Br. RUhard Drayto», Regent Ptofeffor. 
 
 1555. r. 2, 
 
 Br. Kichara EJennni, Bifhop of Bangor. 
 1464. P. I'. 
 
 Richard t'it7.-Ra!ph raifes a Storm agiinft 
 the Friers : The whole Cafe and Ariiclcs 
 fairly Stated, 4iff.T357. n. i. 
 
 Br. Richard Gama, 3, Suffragan Bifhop .' 
 1531. r. 2. 
 
 Br- RicharJ Ingeworih, a Divine and 
 Preacher, came into En^^/jw^ with Br. j4^- 
 tiellKi.1119, I22C. n. 7. /f^. :. Sent to Ox- 
 ford, IhiJ- r. 10. how he was repulfed at a 
 Cell near j4hhington. IbiJ. n. 12. receiv'd at 
 OxforJ. IbiJ. v.. iz ind 15. His Charafler. 
 123?. p. 2. 
 
 Br. RicbarJ Knotte, a Frier of LonJoiiy 
 (5r. 1^69. r). 2. 
 
 B'.RiiharJ LeJreJ, Bilhop, 13 17. n. I* 
 and I 3(Jc. n. 5. 
 
 Br. RicharJ Led^e, D. D. Provincial. 
 133c. n. I. 
 
 Br. RicharJ Malevile, Regent Reader. 
 1345. n. !• 
 
 Br. RieharJ Martin, Bi/hop, Suffragan 
 Cuntuar. 1498. n. i. 
 
 Br. RicharJ MJMeton, or Je MsJia Villa 
 p. D. univerfally learned j a great Coiu- 
 ruentator and Preacher : His Charafker, 
 and holy Lite and remarkable Death. 
 
 I50r.n'3- 
 
 B:-Richard Norman, a Venerable Man. 
 
 1220. r. II. 
 
 Br. RieharJ l^orlonJ, D. D. a holy Man, a 
 Preacher, and an Author, i 299. n. 2. 
 
 Br. Rtthara Rijly, drawn, hang'd, and 
 quarter'd. 1 534. n. 2. 
 
 Br. Richard RoJiiort, Dodlor Oxo», r^6i- 
 n. 2. 
 
 Br.RiclarJRufui, a Champion for holy 
 Poverty. 1250, r. 2. and ;. 
 
 He was a Doitor of Oxford and Paris : 
 an Author. 127 . n. i. 
 
 Br. ■ Rt'ljel, Guardian ot London, 
 
 i35</. n. 2. 
 
 B . Richard Ruys, a Divine, and an Au- 
 thor. I5C>5. p. I. 
 
 Br, Richard Sliclibury, infirumental in 
 the founding oi Balliol College. 126?. 
 r. I. And anoihtr Engl'fh Francil- 
 can had a great Hand in the founding 
 of a Hall at Cambridge, and anochcr alfoat 
 Paris, Ihiden:. 
 
 Richard the 5^/, kill'd at Bofworth Tight, 
 and buried(with Difgrace) at the Francif- 
 cans in Leiceffer, 1485. n, 3. 
 
 Br. Richard a holy Man, and a 
 
 great Sufferer. 1619. r. 1. 
 
 Br. Rofc^rr 5Krfo«, Dotlor of Oxford. 1507. 
 n. 4. 
 
 Br. Robert Cotnian, a Doftor of OxforJ, 
 and Chancellor of that Univerfity. 1419. 
 r. I. He was a Holy Man, a great Prea- 
 cher, and an Author. 1428. n. i. 
 
 Br. Robert Coml>ton, Archbifhop : and 
 others. 1344. n. 2- 
 
 Br. Robert Cowton, D.D. Preacher, and an 
 Author. 154c. n. 4. 
 
 Br. RobcrtCrouch, D. D. Oxon. a holy Man, 
 Provincial of his Order in England, and 
 an Author, 13CC. p, t. 
 
 Br. Robert Elij>hat,D- D. a learned Author. 
 1 54c. n. 3. 
 
 Br. Robert Finningham, a learned Author. 
 i4(Jc. p. I. 
 
 Robert Lord Fittivater becomes a Frier 
 Minor io a Convent built by himfelf at 
 Colchefter. I 325. n. i. 
 
 Robert Grojiete, D. D. Bifhop of Lincoln 
 (in which Diocefs Oxford then was) im- 
 ploys the Friers in preaching to his Peo- 
 ple. Alfo his Sentiments concerning the 
 dying Words of a Novice. 1235. n. 2. 
 
 The
 
 An Incfex to the Firfi Tart, 
 
 The faid Prelate', great Elieem of 
 the Francifcans, whom he dcclkr'd the 
 fitteft Perfons to initrufl the People. 
 Ihid. N. 5. Employs the Friers in Prea- 
 ching. 1250. N. !• That famous Prelate's 
 Chariflcr, »nd kind Legacy of his Books 
 to the Frincifcans. II 53. N. I. 
 
 hv.Rohert Ae Hendred, heretofore an Ab- 
 bot of BenediBtnes, reckon'd a very Holy 
 Man 1130. N. i. 
 
 Br. Robert Hylton, Lord Baron Hylton. 
 1351. N. I. 
 
 Robert Ki/warhy, Archbifhop of Canterbu- 
 ry, builds a Convent for the Friers Mi- 
 nors m London, 11-^1, 1274, N. I. That 
 Prelate was at laft a Cardinal, and is, by 
 good Authors, reckon'd a Frier Minor. 
 His Ctiarafler. 128c. .N 4. 
 
 Br. Robert Lamboume, a great Min j an 
 Author, and heretofore Confeflor to ihc 
 Queen, &c. 1345. N^ 3. 
 
 Br. Robert of Leiceffer, a Regent of the 
 Friers Schools at Oxford ^i great Preacher, 
 and an Author. 1335. N. i. 
 
 Robert Lord Li/le, firft a Benefafior, and 
 afterwards a Frier Minor of the Convent 
 of London. 1325. N.I. 
 
 Br. Robert Nigrum, Knight, a Frier 
 Minor. 1347. N. 2. 
 
 Br. Robert Radil>ton, a learned Author. 
 155c. N. 2. 
 
 Br. Robert RedicUve, a Regent Profeflbr. 
 1542. N. I. 
 
 Br. Robert Saunderfon, Do£lor of Oxford. 
 1513. N. 2. 
 
 Br. Robert Turtieham, a famous Preacher, 
 a Scholalh'ck Reader, and an Author, 
 &c. 1180. N. 3. 
 
 Br. Robert Willeis, D. D. Provincial. 145c. 
 K.I. 
 
 Br. Robert WiWeede, Provincial. 1569 
 N. I. «« the End. 
 
 Br. Robert Zengg, a Frier of London, 
 I420»N. 2. 
 
 Br. Rofc^rr Two Englifh Francif- 
 cans, call'd Robert ('whofe Sirnames are 
 not mention'd) made Bifhops ; one, of 
 Tiberias, and a Suffragan ; and the other 
 a Diocefan; in Ireland. See them Both. 
 1444. N. I. 
 
 3fXV 
 
 Br. Roger Ent,lilh, a Miftionary in T^r 1- 
 ry. 1392. N. I.' m 
 
 Br. Roger Bacon enters intcfrhe Order of 
 St.Francr. i'u., of hisCharaaer. 1234. N.2. 
 
 Br. Roger Bacon, tht *.nio js Mjthrma- 
 tician, and Francifcan Dodor .-His Ririh, 
 Educationi'Learnirg, unjaft Perfecurions, 
 C^r. The whole of his remarkable Cha- 
 radfer, &c. n^z.N. z. 
 
 Br. Roger, Lord Lourne, a Francifcan. 
 1334. N. I. 
 
 Br. Roger Convay, D. D. Oxoif. Provinci- 
 al, writ in Defence of bis Order. A Prea- 
 cher, and an Author. 136c. N- i. 
 
 Br. Roger Cradocl{_, Bifhop of Latidaff, 
 i^6z.N. 1. 
 
 Br. Roger Dewe, D. D. Provincial, &r. 
 1450. N. I. 
 
 Br. Roger Donevred. D. D. Cantab. Pro- 
 vincial. i53(J. N. 2. 
 
 Br. Roger Frifeby, D. D, condemns 
 Wukleffe. 1381. N. I. 
 
 Br. Roger Lewes, a Preacher, do's a Mi- 
 racle- 1255. N. 3. 
 
 Br. Roger Merfron, D. D. Provincial. 
 1505. N. r. '• 
 
 Br. Roger Rugge, D. D. an Author. r3 7P. 
 N. I. 
 
 Br. Roger of Ware, D. D. an Author. 
 1290. N. 5. 
 
 Br. Roricl(_ Wition, a Preacher, and an 
 Author. 1412. is. I. 
 
 S 
 
 AT Salisbury, a Convent of the Order. 
 1224. N. I. 
 
 Scots Friers Minors govern'd by the En- 
 glifi. 1231. N. 2. 
 
 Jfotf Vicarfhip united to England ^ and 
 how. 1349. N. 5. 
 
 Scotus. See John Duns, Funus Scoti ££? Sco- 
 tiflarum, or Scotus's Fitneral. A Term of 
 Contempt ufed to exprefs a /hameful De- 
 flruftionof Manufcripty, and Books of all 
 SortSj even mofl Sacred. 155c. N. r. 
 
 Br. SertorWalkys, an Englilh Francifcan 
 Doftor, Minifler General of the whole 
 Order \ Archbifhop j Patriarch j and at 
 laft a Cardinal. 1 3(J2. N. 2. « 
 
 Br. Simon of England, Provincial of ^<ix- 
 OM)'. 1230. N. 4. 
 d Bf;
 
 XX vi An Index to ihefirji Tart. 
 
 Br. Simon Lamlourne, Profeflbr 0%o». Br. Thomas Eccleff*", a learned Francif. 
 
 i^6i' N. !• fi can iuA an Author, often quoted in thefe 
 
 br. Simon Trnjleci, remark ible for Ver- colledions. 1340. N. 2. 
 
 tue and Learning ; PrOvinc'-'Jj <ind an Br. Thomas Feltbam,o{ LonJon, 8(.c. 1^69* 
 
 Auihor.1569. N. I I^^" •■ 
 
 Bt.S:'/-'"" ^'^''""t Provincial and an Au- Br. Thomas Francis, Do^or Oxon. 1520. 
 
 ihor. 15:0. N. I. ., N. 2. 
 
 Br, Stel>hen Fox, forced out of England, Br-Thomas Hales D. D. Preacher and Au- 
 
 goes with twenty Clarijjes, to Lisbone it thor. i;40. N. I. 
 
 Jafi. 1588. JV. I. Br. Thomas HamJen, Doftor Oxon. 1512. 
 
 br. Stephen Fulborn, a BilTiop, &■. 1285. K. i. 
 
 N.I. Br. Thomas Heher, Miniflcr Provincial. 
 
 Bi. Stephen Sore!, a Regent Profeflor. 1576. N.i. 
 
 J542. N.I. Br. Tfcowajo/" 5j(»<j/», the firft Guardian of 
 
 Subertours of the firft Houfes of the the Francifcan Houfe at Cambridge 1219, 
 
 Francifcans in England were, for the mod 1220. N. 14. 
 
 Part, Foreigners that came with, ot Br. Thomas Ingilhy, Bifhop, in Ireland. 
 
 foon after their firft Provincial Bi. Br. 1471.N. i. 
 
 ^gnellus. izig, 1220. N. 8. and N. 14. Bt. Thomas Kyrkham, D. D, O.vo». 152^. 
 
 T N. J. 
 
 BR. Thomas j^ny day, Doflor Oxon. I 5 15. Br. Thomas Langham, Dodor of Paris, 
 
 N. 2. 1580. N.I. 
 
 Br. Thomas BarnueU, a Doflor of Ox- SirT/:omaj Woorj greatly devoted to the 
 
 ford, condemns TVickJeffs Errors. 1381. Order of ^f.Fr<i«f;i, &c, 14P7. N. i. 
 
 j.\'. I. bt. Thomas Otterlurn, a Reader and Au- 
 
 br. Thomas Bekhiam, a zealous Preacher thor. 1411. N: i. 
 
 and an Author, is ftarved to Death in Pri- B . Thomas Packjngton, a great Sufferer, 
 
 for. 1537. N. 5. xj ;7. N. 3. 
 
 Br. Thomas Bowchier, an Oi/frva»r, made Br. Thomas Pont e fraH, Ke gent Profeflor. 
 
 a Do6>or of PnWi. 1580. N. i. A Digref- 1531.N. i. 
 
 fion upon the 0^/frva»rf taking the Degree Br. Thomas Radford, Regent Profeflbr. 
 
 of Dod^or. }hidem. I 345. N. I. 
 
 Br, Thomas Eourchier ('above) born of a Br. Thomas Roidnor, D. D. Provincial, 
 
 noble Family. An Author. His Cha- 1458. N. i. 
 
 f after 1585. N.i. Br. Thomas Rondel, Regent Profeflbr 
 
 Br. Tlomas Bungey, P. D. Provincial^ an 1511. N. I. 
 
 Author and great Mathematician. His Br. T/jo»i<w 5f<i«/7jrtw, Profeflbr Oxo» : an 
 
 Charafler. ijpo. N. I. Author, and remarkable for his exiraor- 
 
 Br. Thomas BHfhury, Provincial. 1385. dinary Piety. 1 34(1. N. i. 
 
 N. I. Bt. Thomas Thomfon Bach. Oxon. 1534. 
 
 B . Thomas Butler, a Suffragan Bifhop. N. I. 
 
 1395. N. 2. Br. Thomas Travecham {Stanfhavi above) 
 
 B'. Thomas Button, Bifhop of the ijle of was Papal Penitentiary at yfvignon, and a 
 
 War. 1455. N. I. famous Expofitorof the Holy Scriptures. 
 
 B-. Thomas Cort, ftarved in Prifon&c, i54[. N. i. 
 
 1537. N.4. Bi. Thomas Wahys, D . D. Provincial ; 
 
 Br. Thomas Deeding, D. D. reckon'd a then P.ifh<.p. 1441?. N. 3. 
 
 #holy Mil. 1270. N. :. b .ThomasWolward, a preat Divine, and 
 
 Br. Thomas of St.DunJlan,Vtoh^QxOX' a ztalous Oppofer of Jf^'ickjef i Here fica. 
 
 on, 1335. N. 2. ^391' N.2. 
 
 Br,
 
 An Index to the firfl Part. 
 
 Bf« TI)ontai of Ytrt^^ D« D* Oxon. and 
 Cantab. lz60' N. 2, 
 
 U V 
 TiR. P^tnant Bois, Provincial. r4.i5.N. i. 
 •*-' At the End. 
 
 Bt'f^incent of Covtntry enters the Order. 
 I120.N. i(f. Put up to teach, with great 
 Succeff. X234. N. I. The firll Francifran 
 Reader, and Do6lorof Cambridge :He was 
 an Author, and reckon'd a Holy Man. 
 j»5i. N. r. 
 
 Univerftties, Oxford and Cambridge, recall 
 a Decree made to the Difadvantage of the 
 Friers, &c. 1-^66. N. i. 
 W 
 
 B^.WaUais, how impower'd by the Pope, 
 £5?f. lajp. N. 2. 
 
 Bi. WattsT Brinckjey, D; D. Oxon- at) Au- 
 thor. 1 5 10. N. 2. 
 
 Br. W'alter Burge enters into the Order. 
 122c. K'. II- 
 
 Walter Hurley, one of Scotus's Scholars, 
 and D. D. Oxon- and a Francifcan, as fome 
 fay. His Charadler. 1 597. N.I. 
 
 Br. WalterCuton,3 great Divine and Ma- 
 thematician, and remarkable fur his ver- 
 tuous Life.i;45. N. 4, 
 
 Br. Waller Caxon, L. L. Doftor ; an Au- 
 thor* 157?- N. N 
 
 Br. Walter Cc^ton, D. D. Oxor. and an 
 Author ; and is faid to have been Patri- 
 arch of y/ntiocb, I 2 56. N. I. 
 
 Br. Walter Certhantort, Profeflbr Oxtn, 
 1338. N.I. 
 
 Br. Walter Foxi/ley, Profeflbr Oxow. 1 5 38. 
 K. I. 
 
 Br. Walter GoodfeU, Doflor of Oxford, 
 151c. N- I. 
 
 B . (falter KnoUe, D« D- Oxon. an Author. 
 131 >. N. !• 
 
 Bt. Walter Wiburn, reuiirkable for his 
 vertuotfs Life ; a great ClalTick, and an 
 Author. 1^6-j. N. I. 
 
 Br. Walter Reader of Divinity bat- 
 
 baroufly murder'd at Hereford. 1:95. ^* '• 
 
 Waruicl^, (^ountefs of, a Devote of the 
 Order. 1459 K. r. 
 
 Br, William of Abbington, Provincial. 
 125 5. N. 2. 
 
 Br. William j4!»e-dick^, D. D. Oxon- re- 
 markably Vertuous, an Author, and a Bi- 
 fhop in Jta'y, 13 J2. N- l» 
 
 d 2 
 
 xxvu 
 
 Br. a ill I am — . an Englifh Man, one of 
 St. Francis's firft Difciple», died in Italy j ij 
 famous for Miracles and reckon'd a Sainr, 
 though not Canonized. 1255. N. i. 
 
 Br. William yffrpledore, D. D. the Kings 
 Conftflbr barbaroufly murder'd.i38c. K.i. 
 
 Br. William Augur, a Superiour, and an 
 Author. 1404. N. I. 
 
 Br. William de Bachinfes fent Into Scotland, 
 a Colleilor of a Subfidy for the Holy War. 
 1148. N.[. 
 
 Br. William Bafings, of the Conven t in 
 London. 13(^9. N. !• 
 
 William de Beau~uhamp, Earl of Warivicl^, 
 buried at the Francifcans at Worceffer, 
 1298. N'. I. 
 
 Br- William Breton, a great Expofitor Sic. 
 1 3 5 (J. N. I ; 
 
 Br. William Brown, a Graduate Divine. 
 1554. n. I. 
 
 Bi> Willi.im Butler, D- D. Oxon. Provinci- 
 al, preaches to the Prelates in a Synod 
 An Author, &c. 1413. N.i. 
 
 Br. William Catton, D- D. an Authc^. 
 153c. N. I. 
 
 Br. William Colevile (whoCe Sifter was a 
 Martyr) was a Dodlor and Preacher before 
 be enter'd into the Order of St. Francis, 
 1257. N. I. 
 
 Br. William Curteis, a Graduate Divine 
 1 5 2 1 . N. J . 
 
 Br. WiUtam Bttjjid, a Suffragan Bi/hop 
 1551. N. 1. 
 
 Br. William de Eboraco (or of ior^) &c. 
 I2iC. N- 1<S. 
 
 Br. William Efebey (by miOake call'd 
 Eton) the firft Guardian at Oxford. 1220. 
 JV. "J. Jig. 4- ""</ ^'- I 5- E'O'i and Ejjebey pro- 
 ved to be tavo different Men. I22I. K. _;.. 
 
 Br. William Eton taught in the Francif- 
 can Si;hoi>ls at Ox/o''^ under the Regency 
 of the famous D'lilor RotVrf Grofrete, and 
 other Regents. 12:1. N.3. 
 
 Er. ?<7//niw £.'o>j reckon'd a holy Man.. 
 \ix6. N. :• 
 
 B". William of Florence, a Lay Bri ther. 
 12 1 9. N. i-fl-l. 
 
 Br. William Folvik, D. D- condemns Tf^icl^- 
 liff's Errors. 1581. N. i. Duftor of Cam. 
 bridge i remarkably Vertuous i Zealnus for 
 his Order J and an Author, &>.• 13^4. 
 N.I. 
 
 Br.
 
 xxviu 
 
 Br. William Germyu^ Doftor of Oxford. 
 151?. p. 2. 
 
 Br. William Gaymhorough, D. D. Provin- 
 cial. 1300, n. I. Made Bifhopof JVjircefier. 
 1302. n. I. 6ent EmbaiVador into France. 
 
 1307. p. I. His Death. He was a famous 
 Doftor, a good Provincial, a Vigilant 
 Bifhop, a great Preacher, and an Author. 
 
 1308. r. !. He is praif'd by the great Anti- 
 quary, Mr. Wuoil. 1 5 10. r. :, 
 
 Br. William Goddard, Sen. D. D. Oxow. 
 Provincial. 1457. n. 1. 
 
 'Br. William Goddard, ]\}P. D. D. Guar- 
 dian of London, iTid afterwards Provincial. 
 1485. p. :. ind 1457. r. r. 
 
 Br. William Hedley, Regent ProKfTor, 
 goes, a Preacher, to the Holy Wars : And 
 why thus imploy'J. 1:84. r. 3. 
 
 Br. William Heriierr, D, D. 0>io>. well born, 
 a famous Preacher, and a learned Author. 
 
 1333. ''.I. 
 
 Br. William Hohns, an Obfervant of great 
 Learning j and an Author, had the Gift 
 of curing Dlfeafe.'. i4i«^. r. I. 
 
 B'. William Hint, a Divine, and an 
 Autho'. 13(^3.0.5. 
 
 Br. William of Leicefier, Regent Profef- 
 for. 1254; r. 2. 
 
 Br. William Lemjier, D. D. Oxon. an Au- 
 thor. I3(J4. n; I. 
 
 Br, WlilUam Liffcy, D. D- Oxon. an Au- 
 thor. 134c. n. 5. 
 
 Br. "William de la Mare, D. D. an Author, 
 and holy. 1290. r. 5. 
 
 B'-. William Norton, a learned Author. 
 I4C5. r. I. 
 
 Br. Willi im of Nottingham, TDide ?rovin- 
 cial, and regiller'd as a holy Man. 124c. 
 r. I. His Death and Character. 1255. r. i. 
 A Word more of him and his Zeal for 
 his Order. I2)-(J. r. i. Br. Ww. Nottingham, 
 ^un. I 323. r. I. 
 
 Br. William d' Nottingham ;?«>^ Dofbr of 
 Oxford, Provincial of his Order, and an 
 Author. I33(y. n. 2. 
 
 Br. William of Occham, heretofore Pro- 
 vincial. 1530.0. i. Bred up firft in Merton 
 College J then became a Francifcan, a 
 Doftor of Oxford, Provincial of his Order, 
 
 An Index to the fir ^ Part. 
 
 and at laii a Djffinitor General of the 
 whole Order. His great Learning, his 
 Misfortunes, and his remarkable Adls &r. 
 1347. n. I. 
 
 Br. W/illiam Pa!iHer,i learned Frier. 1401. 
 N. 2. 
 
 Br. 'William PiHavitnJis, Proftffor Cantal; 
 1254. N. I. 
 
 Br. William Risbroo'i_, a learned Author. 
 
 125: 
 
 N. 
 
 Br. William Scri^tor, a pious Frier. 1220. 
 N. II. 
 
 Br. William Scarjhilte, heretofore Lord 
 Chief Judice of £«g/a«^, enters into the 
 Order. i',^6.N. i. 
 
 Br. William Shirbourn, Regent Profeffor, 
 1354. N. 2. 
 
 Br. William Staney, an Author, Commijfary 
 General of England, deliver'd the Seal ot the 
 Province to Br. 'John Gennings, who re- 
 ftor'd the £ngli/h Francifcan Province 
 i(Ji9. N. I. 
 
 Br. Wi//'a'»Tif/;wjfb, Miniflcr Provinci- 
 al. 1548. N.z. 
 
 Br. William Favafor, Do£ior Oxon. 1500. 
 N. I. 
 
 Br. William Walden, a Martyr. 154:. N'. a 
 
 Br. William Wall made Dodor Oxon, 
 1518. N. 2. 
 
 Br. William of Ware, a Doflor of Oxford 
 and Paris, an Author, and a Bifhop, &c 
 1270 K.4« 
 
 Br. WaiiamWoodford, D. D.Oxon. a great 
 Champion againd Wicl{lejf'$ Errors, Vicar- 
 Provincial, an Author, and a Perfon of a 
 fuperlitive CharaiSer. 1397. N, i. 
 
 Br. William an Englifh Francifcan 
 
 Miflionary, fufifereth Martyrdom ainongft 
 the Mahometan', 1554. N- I. 
 
 Br. William Minilter Provincial 
 
 made Diffinitor General of the whole 
 Order. 1 523. N. i. * 
 
 Winchefter, the Marquefs of, a Lay Bro- 
 ther Francifcan, call'd Br. >fc», &c. 1495 
 
 N. I. 
 
 At Worctjier, The Francifcans carry a 
 Caufe againft the Sacriflan of the Cathe- 
 dral. I2CP0. N.4. 
 
 The Reader may find an Index of the Convents at the Beginning of the Second 
 
 Part of this Work.
 
 Jr. jST^*5*-*.T*****^.cf» ^ ^ ^' J- S- ^ ^ ^^ ir» %-a^ ^ ?• d' W' ^ .t^ *r* fp a* ^ a^ -^ ^•' ^ ^ {^' ■■ ^ .r* /P' .r^ 
 
 THE 
 
 ANTIQUITIES 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Englijh FRANCISCANS. 
 
 PRELIMINARIES. 
 
 Of St. Francis and his Rule, and of the Begin- 
 ning of his Religious Order. 
 
 A J NT F R A N C J S o^ jijfifium^ in the Dutchy o£ Sfoletum^ 
 in Italy, is commonly Styled the Seraphical Father, and his Life 
 is W ritten at large by St. Bonaventure. He was Born in the Year 
 of our Lord 1 182, ot rich Parents, who firft gave him a compe- 
 tent Stock of Learning, and then train'd him up in the gainful 
 Dealings of a Merchant, till about the 27.d. Yearo^ his Age; 
 when, being alarm'd by a dangerous Fit of Sicknefs, and touch'd by the powerful 
 Grace of God, he began to deipife this World, and to Account all things therein ^s 
 I>ung, that he might gain Chrifi : And now employing his Time in Prayer and Hea- 
 venly Meditations, and being Daily more and more warm'd with holy Defires 
 of Chriftian Perfeftion, as he entred on a certain Day into a Church, he heard 
 the Gofpel read wherein our Lord and Saviour fending his Difciples to Preach, 
 prefcribes to them his Rule of an Apoflolical Life, faying, Do not pojfefs Gold, or Sil- 
 ver, nor Money in your Parfes, nor a Scrip for the Way, neither two Coats, neither 
 Shoes, &c. (Math. 10. V. 10. See alfo Mark, 6. v. S. and 9. And Luke, p v. 3.) 
 He took thefe Words as fpoken to himfelf, and was tranfported with an ex- 
 ceeding great Joy, and fo ready to put in Praftice all he had heard, that he im- 
 mediately caft off his Shoes, threw away his Money, and contenting himfelf 
 with one defpicable Coat, with a Capuce, after the Manner of the poor Shep- 
 )ierds in Italy, he Girded himfelf with a knotted Cord, or Rope, and renounced 
 all his Birth-right and Title to the valuable Reverfions of his Father's temporal 
 Polfeilions; not in AjfeElion only Cwhich might feera all that is required for the 
 
 B Imitation
 
 2 Tlje Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans.^ 
 
 Imitation of fome of the primitive Saints^ but alfo in £^fff, leaving All, to take 
 up his Crofs and follow Chrift. So that the Fame of his Heroick Example of a 
 voluntary, rigorous Poverty, did not only ftrike the gazing Populace with Admi- 
 ration, but alfo excited many Sinners to Repentance and worthy Fruits of Penance^ 
 and conduced much to the Reftoring of declining Difcipline,by giving a frefliFer- 
 vourto VVel -meaning Chriftians, of \^\\om (to uk (jx) VVeever s Words^ '* many, 
 •* drawn by his Holinefs, abandon'dthe World and became his Difciples, making 
 •* profeflion of Poverty •, but yet to labour and take Pains for a poor Living". 
 For thefe, and others his Followers, he writ a Rule, wherein he prefcribes not only 
 the three Vows of Obedience, of Chafiity, and of Poverty, which are effential to 
 all Religious Orders; but he moreover adds certain wife Laws, for the more- 
 effeOiual Support of the Obiervanceof the faid Vows. 
 
 IL The very firft Words of the Rule of St. Francis are thefe, viz. "fhisis the 
 Rule and the Life of the Friers Minors^ to obferve the Holy Gofpel of our Lord Jefus 
 Chrifi^ by living in Obedience^ -without Propriety, and in Chafiity. Now, to inforce the 
 Obfervance of Obedience, St. Fr-jwrn ftriftly commands all his Friers to be obe- 
 dient to their Superiours in all thitjgs that arc not againfl their own Conjcience, and con- 
 trary to his Rule : To maintain Chafiity, he forbids all Communication, or Ccnver- 
 fation with Women, that may realbnably give any Sufpicion of a difhoneft Meaning : 
 And to fupport Poverty, he moft ftriftly forbids the receiving of any Coin, or any 
 Vfe of Money : And when any Perfon offers himfelf to enter into the Order, the 
 Minifier Provincial is commanded to bid him go and fell all he has and give it to the 
 Poor ; and the faid Minifter is under a Precept of the Rule to not be felicitous 
 about the Novice's temporal Subfiance ', but to leave him at his Liberty to difpofe freely of all 
 as God is fleas'd to infpire him : Nay, he goes yet further, Commanding all thofe 
 of his Order to Live as Pilgrims and Strangers in this World, without any manner 
 of Dominion, or Propriciry of Houfe, or Place, or Thing, not only in Particular, 
 (like thofe of other Religious Orders) but alfo in Common, which is peculiar to 
 the Francifcans; whom St. Francis wou'd have to becall'd Minors \ not only for 
 their moft perfeft abnegation of all temporal Intereft, but ("to Ipeak in (bj 5ow»fr'/ 
 words) ' from the Humility and Lowlinefs of Mind which, by the Frefcript of 
 
 * their Founder, they ought to have : They are call'd Francifcans, from the 
 
 * Name of their Founder ; Mendicants, becaufe pretending to Evangelical Per- 
 
 * feftion, and therefore profeffing willing Poverty, they Subfifted chiefly upon 
 
 * Alms, which they ufed to ask and receive Oy?/<2f»w;, from Door to Door ; Cray 
 
 * Friers from their Habit, which was a Xon^gray Coat down to their Heels, with 
 
 * a Cowl, or Hood, anda Cord, or Rope about their Loins, inltead of a Girdle'. 
 So Somncr. 
 
 in. In this poor Manner, almoft naked, without either Shirt, or Hofe', with 
 only Sandals on their Feet, and under an Obligation of Wearing but one con- 
 temptible Habit and Capuce, of the coarfefi Cloth, next to their very Skins, Night 
 and Day, they are to preach to the World, by Example firft, and then by Words, 
 
 (a) Funiral MonHmentif Page 133. (^b) AntiquWiesof Canterbury, Pages 5»<) and 100.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans. 3 
 
 inveighing againfi Vice, and extolling Vertue, fromifing a Reward for This, and threat- 
 ening funifltment for That^ in Jhort and well examined Difcourfes. And thofe to 
 whom God has not given the Talent of Preaching, are to fupply that Defedt by 
 a double AiTiduity in Prayer,and in the Exerciles ot a Penitential Life, and to be 
 employed in manual Labour : All living upon the Charity of pious Chriftians ; 
 for, as our Saviour fays, the Workman -is worthy of his Meat •, which the Friers 
 Minors are to beg humbly for GocCs Sake^ in the Manner above mentioned, when 
 not otherwife Supplied. 
 
 IV. Thefe are fome o.f the principal Articles of the Rule of St. Francis ; no 
 politick Invention, or Artifice of human Intereft, or Lazynefs ; but drawn chiefs 
 ly from the Gofpel, the Obfervance whereof is the main Defign of this Order. 
 The Beginning of which Order (a) Eeclefton dates in the Tear 1 2o5, wherein the 
 Holy Man writ the faid Rule, as (b) Tojfinianenfs WitnelTeth. The Annalift of 
 the Order, (c) Br. Luke Wadding begins the Order in 1207 \ but it feems more a- 
 greeable to the Chronology of the General Chapters of the Order, to Date it's 
 Beginning in the Tear 1209, with Miranda (^fuper Regulam) Jojfmianenjir, and others, 
 of which more in it's Place. 
 
 V. The firft Perfon that Petitioned to be admitted into this Order, was an 
 Honourable Citizen of Jlpfum, call'd Bernard de Qitintavalle, a very rich Man, 
 and famous for his great Prudence •, who, having for fbme Time confider'd the 
 extraordinary Change of Lite in St. Francis^ his real Contempt of this World, 
 and his indefatigable Conftancy in bearing all Croffes with Patience, together 
 with his Seraphical Love of God and unparallel'd Humility, and concluding all 
 this to be the wonderful Work of God, refolved to follow him, having firft fold 
 all his worldy Sub{tance,and given it to the Poor, without referve, purfuant to the 
 Counfel of our Lord and Saviour, who fays, If thou wilt be perfeB; go and Sell 
 that thou hafi, and give it to the Poor, and come and follow me. Math. Chap. Jpv. 2f. 
 
 About the fame time alfo, a certain beneficed Clergyman, Named Peter Catancoy 
 renouncing his Canonry, giving whatfbever elfe he had to the Poor, (d) Affociated 
 himfelf to the aforefaid Bernard j to both which Perfons St. Francis gave his 
 penitential Habit in the Tear 1209, Witnefs the Chronicles of the Order ; from 
 which Time moft Writers Date the Beginning of the Order ^ not only becaufe 
 the word Order here imports an Affociacion of divers Perfons United together 
 under the fame Rule, C^c. But alfo becaufe St. Francis himfelf, with thefe two, 
 and feveral others their Companions, made their folemn Profeifion, this very 
 Year, en the ^6th of Jpril, in the Hands of. Pope Innocent the Third, promifug to 
 obferve the Evangelical Rule of Life, which his Holinefs then approved f^ivte r< cis 
 Oraculo, or by Word of Mouth, the Saint (whom the Pope then conftitured ai.d 
 declared Minifter General of the Order) (e) refufing any Bull, or Writing ^and 
 this Calculation feems more congruous than that of Eeclefton and others, who 
 begin the Order from it's Founder's Converfion to a Life of Penance and Aufteri- 
 
 B 2 ties 
 
 (a) De Itt^rejfu Fratrum Mln. in Ak^Hwi, (b) Hijl. Sernpb. Lib. l". Folio Svo. (c) Ihldim Folio 7. 
 (d ToJJinianenfis Hifi. Seraph. Lib. 1° . Folio 61, (c) Seethe Chronltks of theOrdcr in J&nglifli, f.ige 47, 
 and Martp-ohg. Fraadfcan, die 16 Aprilis.
 
 4 The Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans* 
 
 ties upon his hearing of theGt'fpel abovementioned, yi««o 1206, about two Years 
 after his Sicknels •, or of thofe who begia ic Anno i 207, but this difference ot 
 Date is not Material. 
 
 VI. This Order was again approved, and the Rule revifed, approved, and 
 publiih'd by the fltme Pope Innocent the ^d. in the General Council of L.ttemn^ 
 jinno 1215-, Witneis the Regifter of the General Chapters of his Order. So alfo 
 the jinnules, St. Antoninus^ Cottz.ttga and others quoted by (a) Cabajfutius upon the 
 Canons ot the laid Council. Moreover, five other General Councils approved 
 Jikewife of tha faid Rule ^ as is reported by a great (b) Man of the iiime Order, 
 who Names the laid Councils. 
 
 VII. The Rule of this Order was confirm'd^ by a Special Bull, by Pope Hb- 
 mrius ihe Th>rd, Anno 1 224, in the following Form, vix.. (c) IVe condefcend to 
 your pious Petition, (^Beloved Children in our Lord Jefus ChriJ}) which is, that weconfiim 
 the Rule of your Order already approved by our Tredeceffor Innocent the ^d. as is cited 
 in the frefent Letters : And, bj the Apoflolical Authority invejied in us. We J,o noxo 
 confirm the fame, and do ratify tt to you by this prefent Bull. 
 
 \1I1. The General Council of Lyons, under Pope (Jrf^ory the \ath, having tor- 
 bidden the Inftitution of any more new Religious Orders, Anno 1274, '" 23th 
 Canon of the lliid Council adds the following Words in Favour oi the Francif. 
 cans, viz.~ (d) Sane ad Pr^tdicatorum d" A^inorum Ordines, &c. We except chiifiy 
 from this Confiitution, the Orders of the Preachers, and of the Friers Minors, which are 
 declared to be approved by the evident Good that by them accrues to the Vniverfal Church^ 
 
 IX. Pope Nicholas the Third Cchofen Pope Anno ixii) &g^'m confirm d the faid 
 Rule, and publifh'd his Declaration of the true Meaning of it ; which Declaration 
 may be feen in the Canon Law, where the Inftitute is highly commended and con- 
 hrm'd with great Energy. Alfo in ("e) Clementina 5f<». ic is much extoll'd and the 
 Encomium is concluded thus, viz.. This is the Form and Rule of that Heavenly Ltfe 
 prefcribed by the renowned Conftffar of Chrifi St. Francis. In fine, leveral other Popes 
 have explicated, this Rule and honour'd the Order with many Favours and Pri- 
 vileges ; and the faid Rule and Life, lo approved, confirm'd, and declared, has 
 been publifh'd to the Univerfal Church by Gregory the $th. Innocent the 4th, Nicho- 
 las the ^d. Clement the 5^/;, and others. So (i ) To finiaPj But I now leave thefe 
 Preambles, and come to the defign of this Work. 
 
 y 
 Of the Beginning^ Progrefs^ &c. of the Francifcan Frovincs 
 
 of England. 
 
 L O T. Fr4«m held his firft General Chap er, or Congregation of hi? Order in 
 
 i^ the Tear 1215, as fg) one great Au.h)r Writes, or 1217, as (h) others 
 
 affirm •, and he then lent out many of his Friers to Preach by both Example and 
 
 Word, and had the comfort to Hear that his and their Labours were blcfs'd with
 
 7he Antiquities of the EngHfli toncifcans. 5 
 
 9. great Converfion of Sinners to true Penai.ce, with much encreafe of Fervour 
 in Religion and Devotion, and that the Number of his Followers mulciplied^ al- 
 moft Daily. Whereupon, he relblved to call a fecond General Chapter of his 
 Order; which was accordingly convened in the Tear i2i9j at onr Lady's of 
 ^ngils^ call'd Portiuncula\ which was a little Church near Jfi/ium, given liim by 
 the Benedi^ine Monks, and was the very firft Church and Convent of the Order j 
 where the holy Man had the Confolation of feeing Five Thoufand of his Friers 
 affembled in the Fields, (fo Numerous already was the Order !) where they 
 form'd an uncommon fort of an Encampmait, fictir.g upon the Ground, and ly- 
 ing for feveral Nights on the bear Earth, or upon Rufhes, or Matts \ where 
 alfo they were Fed Miraculoujy, as St. Bonaventure and the (a) Chronicles and the 
 Writers of the Order Atteft: And indeed, to have fuch an unexpefted Concourfe 
 of People coming in of their own accord, from all adjacent Parts, and out of pure 
 Charity, bringing in all forts of Provifion, enough for the Support of fuch a 
 Multitude for the ipace of feveral Days, muft be either a A/iracle, or fome 
 thing very iike One. But I return to St. Francis^ who being full of an Apoftoli- 
 cal Zeal for the Salvation of Souls, refolvednow to extend his Mi/fion through- 
 out the whole World, as well P^^a« as Chriftian ^ hoping to bring the One to tha 
 Faith of Jefus Chrift, and the Other to the Primitive Fervour and Piety of the 
 firft Profeffors of that Faith. With this View, and in this Spirit, he then fent 
 feveral of his Friers into different Nations', amongfl which he feems to 
 haveliad a particular regard to England, at that time Mifeiably harafs'd and 
 opprefs'd with a tedious Civil War, between the King and his Barons-, for to 
 this Country he fent Br. Jgnellus de Pifa, and others, (o( whom more hereafter^ 
 Conftituting him the firft Minifter Provincial of his Order in England, by his 
 Letters Patents in the following Form, viz.. 
 
 Cb) Ego Prater Francifcus de ^Jftfoy Minifter Generalise pracipio tibi Fratri yfgnello 
 de Pifit per Obedientiam, ut vadas in Angliam, & ibi facias Officium Minifteriatus; 
 \n\G.Anno 1219. 
 
 Fr.- Francicus de Ajfifio. 
 
 "That is, 
 
 I Brother Francis of Jljfifum, Minifter General, command thee Brother Jg-' 
 nellus de Pifa, in vertue of Obedience, to go to England, and there do the Office 
 of Minifter Provincial. Farewell. 
 
 Br. Francis of Aflifium. 
 
 (c) Br. Fr;««m 4 Sr;<.C/4r4 fays, thefe Original Obedientials were, in his Time, 
 lept in the Palace of the Bifhop of St. Omers, in the Low Countries., but how 
 they came thither he tells HOt: However, thefe Patents were given in the 
 General Chapter ^»W(? 12 19 ; whereby it plainly appears, that St. ^>;?«aV him- 
 felf then laid the ground-work of a Community, and, in effeft, ere£ted the 
 Francifcan Province of England ; as may be feen more fully in the Regifter 
 
 of 
 
 (a) AnnaUs ordinis Anno 1217; &» Clronkla in Englifh, fage 114. (b) Iran, a Sta. Clara, in liifi.. 
 Min.troumt* Angi.jt, pag, 1, (c) Ibidtmjptg.z,
 
 6 The Antiquities of the Englifli Francifcans. 
 
 of the Order, and in the Series of it's General Chapters : And for a per- 
 petual Memorial of tlie Inftitution of thefaid Province, at this time, the Anna- 
 lift of the Order (Br. Luke (A)\Vad^ii!g) fays, that in theConvent of Mount -jitvtrn^ 
 there is preferved a Pifture of Br. j^gtiellus receiving thefe faid Patoits from 
 St. Francis^ and holding them, written in large CharaQers, in his expanded 
 Hands. 
 
 II. St. Francis had an EngUjhman amongfl; his firft Difciples, one hr. William^ 
 Icnowiiby the Name of <y«//e/wai AngUcusy^iA Famous for the great Sanftity of 
 his Life, as Ihall be faid in it's proper place .- This holy Man (as may reafonably be 
 fuppofedj p»'evaird on the Founder of his Order, to fend fome of his Religious 
 Followers into F ngl and i^oonev than into any other Nation on this fide the Moun- 
 tains, except France^ which was made a Province of the Order, Anno i2i6,or 
 1 217, in the firft General Chapter, wherein Br. Pacificus was made Provincial of 
 France^ and the aforefaid Br. Agnellus his Cuftos : However, Br. Agnelltts and his 
 Companions came into England (according to the Chronicon of Marcus VUfflpo- 
 tienfts^ either in the rf<«r ii\9\or 1220, asisalfo Attefted by a MSS. Chronicon 
 of Robert Harcy wherein is a Catalogue of the Mayors and Sheriffs &c. of Z,o«- 
 don (as my (bj Author fays) to be (csn in the Arundel Library. 
 
 III. The Author of the Francifcan Martyrologe placeth the Arrival of the 
 Minorites in England M'^ontht 3^. of May in t\\QTear 1220, and Wadding fays 
 the fame thii:g as to both the Day and the Year, quoting Marianus from fome 
 ancient Chronicles for what he (c) there Afferts. Although, fpeaking his own 
 Sentiments of the matter in the preceeding Year, he Endeavours to prove they 
 came then, that is Anno 1219-, for he Writes thus, (dj t^/j,. " The Fathers ot 
 " the Mi/Tion of £fff/^;7^ made but a fhort Stay\n their Journey, being detain'd 
 " by Men of their own Profeilion, in France, for fome Months-, for the mutual 
 *' Confolation and Affiftance of each Other, c^c". Then he repeats the fame 
 Thing, faying. They flay" d there a few Months only: The fame Author alfoSCre- 
 ruouQy confirms his Opinion from the Authority of Mattheh Paris., who, under 
 tlie.Tf.J'" r243, Speaks of the fWrr/ Mmors thus^lVhich Friers began to Build theirifi 
 Habitations in England fcarce Four and Twenty Tears ago : This is eafily computed, 
 and confirms the Tfuth of the Conjedure, becaufe that Author was the Kings 
 Chronologift and Eye-witnefs of the firft coming of the faid Friers, and may 
 therefore be credited in this Point, efpecially fince hedefign'd them no Favour 
 by what he there writes of Them. 
 
 IV. The (e) Annalift of the Order, owns his being acquainted with the great 
 Diuigreement of Writers in this piece of Chronology, and adds, that F.-ibiaHus and 
 7>/t;f? (Authors of thofe Times) Date the Arrival of the Minorites in England 
 Anno 1221, others »■« 1 223, and others /« 1224^ andl will moreover add, that 
 Mr. Fox, in his 05;rMe/cg-/V.j/ TrfWe, brings them over ^wwo 1221, and Mr. ffaack- 
 fon in his Chronological TMe, and Cooper (quoted, by the (f ) Bifhop of Calcedon) 
 
 Anno 
 
 (a) Anval ord. Mitt. Anvo 1119. (b) Fran, a Sia. Clara, in Hifi. Min. Froviti. An^Hx,p/!g, 5, (c) 
 Annat. oril. Min. Anno iiio. (d) Ihid. An. 1119, num. 42. {c^fVaMn/r. Annal. ord, Min, Anno iziOt 
 (t) Richard imiih Bfpoi of Calcedon, in lis Frudenti,il Ballanee, page jfij.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans- 7 
 
 Anno 1222, and that moft of our Englijh Hiftorians fay they came in the Tear 1224, 
 and the Famous Antiquaries, Leland and Wood-, fay the fame : But as thofe two 
 laft named Authors quote Ecclefion's MSS. Hiftory, it may be prefumed that his 
 Error in the Computation may have been the Occafion of the Miftake both in 
 them, and the reft of our Hiftorians of a late Date. Eccleft-on flourifh'd a- 
 bout the21r^>' 1340, washimfelf a Francifcan; However, 'tis certain, he is thus 
 quoted, and the Miftake is either an over-fight of his Amanuenfis, or he was 
 not acquainted with the Records of his Order, especially in the Divifion of it's 
 Provinces, begun by Br. Haymo de Fever^jam (once Provincial of England^ a<nd 
 foon after General of the whole Order,J and finiih'd by St. Eon.ivcnture^ in the 
 Tear 1 260 j wherein thefetwo Great Men give France the firfi Place, and Er.gland 
 the Second, before all the other Provinces of the Order on this fide tjie ^Ipes ; 
 which wou'd not have been allow'd if England, had not been known to be a Pro- 
 vince of the Order before the end of the Tear 1220 ; becaufe fome other Provin- 
 ces were eretled j4ijno 1221 j and therefore the only lure and true Accour.t '?$ that 
 of Wadding the Annalift and of the other Writers of the Order, Cbefides the 
 Ghronology of it's General Chapters) who calculate the firft coming of the 
 Francifcans into England either in Autumn of the Tear 1219, or in the Beginning 
 of 1220. But of this now enough, if not too much. So 1 go Forwards. 
 
 V. Br. ylgnellus and his Companions Cnine in Number) coming firft into England, 
 Arrived at Dover in Kent j and, as (a^ my Author fays, henigni a Eege Henrico Tir- 
 tio funt fufcepti^ C^ Cantuaria collocati fuere ; tha.t is, "They were received Gracioujly by 
 the King, Henry the Tljirdt and were placed at Canterbury. For the better under- 
 flanding of this Article it is to be obferved, that in all Millions where the chief 
 Rulers are Catholicks, no Perlbns of any new Order, or Religious Inftitute, are 
 (aceording to the Method and common praftice of the Church) to intrude them- 
 felves into the Nation ; but are firft to have the free Confent of the Prince, or 
 Magiftrates, befides an Approbation of thefaid Order by the Apoftolick See, and 
 and a lawful Mifiion on the part of their Superiours^ and therefore Br. jigncllusy 
 loon after his Arrival in England, humbly prefented his Commifiion, or Obedi- 
 entials to the King, who received him Cracioujly ; not only out of his great refpefl 
 for St. Francis yet living, and now famous throughout the World, and for 
 the Purity and Dignity of his Evangelical Rule and Life profefs'd by thefe 
 Friers : but alfo for his regard to the Pope's Recommendatory Letters, which 
 they brought along with them; the Tenor whereof take as follows, viz.. 
 
 Honorius Bijiwp^ Servant of the Servants of Cod, to allCbriJlian Princes, and to our 
 tvell-beloved Brethren, j4rchbifbiips, Bifliops, ylbbots^ Priors, and other Prelates of the 
 Church, Health and j4poftolical Benedt^ion. 
 
 fb) IVljereas our foell-beloved Sons, .2r. Francis 0/ Aififium, and his Companions of 
 the Inflitute and Order of Acinars, defpifing the Vanities of this World, have made 
 Choice of a way of Life defervedly approved by the holy Church ', that after the Exam- 
 fie of the jipojtles they may Travel through divers N.-itioiis to fow the Seed of the Word of 
 
 Cod '. 
 
 (a) Mr. Weever, in Us Funeral Mcn> fage 134. {\>)To^\ma.n. Hifi. Seraph, Lib, i*^ . Folio Bvc, 
 ^ Ibidem Lib, a". Folio 137, <r»rf the QhnmUi of the Orjler in Eoglilh, fgc in.
 
 8 The Antiquities of the Engliih Franclfcans. 
 
 Cod: We intreat you ally and exhort you in the Lord., and moreover command yoUy by 
 our jlpojloltcal Letters, that when foe ver the Bearers of thefe prefents fliall think fit to 
 come to Ton, Tou receive them as Catholicks and true Believers •, ylnd^ that for the //«- 
 nour of God, whofe true Servants they are., and for the ReffeEh you owe to Vs^ You Jhem 
 them Favour and Courtefy. Given at &c. on the "Third of the Ides of June, in the 'third 
 Tear of the Boredom of Honorius the "third. 
 
 This Writing was fign'd by the Cardinal Proteftor of the Order, and other 
 Cardinals, in the Pope's Name, and by his fpecial Command, and the Original is 
 kept in the Inner Sacrifly of the Francifcan Convent at jiffifium, in Italy. So 
 Tojfinian and the Chronicles of the Order. 
 
 VI. Thus fijpported, the Friers Minors came firft into our Nation : and I muft 
 here beg Leave to add a few Words more towards the Clearing of the Conf uflou 
 and Dil'agreement of our Hiftorians ia the Date of their Arrival ; which fome 
 of them laying was about four Years after the Kings Coronation, has (a^ given 
 Occafion of great Miftakes in other Writers of a later Date, who reckon from 
 the lafl Coronation ; For, King Henry the Thirds was Crown'd twice, firft at Glocefler^ 
 on St. Simon and Jude's Day, Anno\x\6, the ninth Day after the Deceafe of his 
 Father King fohn^ ' being then about Ten Years Old : And in theTear 1220, 
 ' (the great Marfhal, Earl of Pemhroh being Deadj Peter^ Bijliop of Winchefler, be- 
 
 * ing made his Proteftor, or Governour, and the young King feeming now to be 
 
 * in a Calm .and fettled Eftate, refolves (for good hope's Sake, as Speed Words 
 
 * It) to be crown d a fecond "time ; which was perform'd by Stephen, Archbiihop of 
 ' Canterbury, at Weflminfler, May the llth, being Whitfunday, Anno 1 220. So 
 
 * Speed, Baker., and others'. So when Authors fay that Br. Agncltus prefented his 
 Obtdientials to the King about /oar T'wrj after his Coronation, they are to be un- 
 derftood to mean the firfi Coronation •, and then the Account agrees Rightly :, for 
 it was about the Year 1220 that thefe Miifionaries were Gracioufly receivd by the 
 King and the Prelates of our Nation. Moreover, a great Cb) Author and in his 
 Time the Chronologer of his Order, pofitively AfTerts, that in the Year 1220, 
 King Henry the Third converfed Familiarly with Br. Agnellus and his Companions, 
 and then Built them a Convent at Cv/or^ ; from whence I infer, that they had 
 been fometime in England before they cou'd reach Oxford (where the King then re- 
 iided) and come to have Interefl; enough at Court to be thus favour'd by his Ma- 
 jefiy. But, be this as it will, it is moll certain that Br. >4^wf//K/, as a Provincial of 
 England, received Novices in France, by which Aft that Province was begun and fuf^ 
 ficiently form'd to take the Denomination of a Community, as will appear in it's 
 proper Place ; in the mean Time, that 1 may goon with fome Method, it may 
 not be improper to make the Reader a little acquainted with thefe firft Fran- 
 cifcans of the Province of England before any more is faid of their Performances, 
 or of their encreafe and fpreadingover the Nation. 
 
 VII. Of the nine Friers Minors, the firft of that Order ever feen in England., 
 Four were Clerk?, and Five were Lay Brothers : Thefe nine were tranfpor- 
 ted from France to Dover, at the Charges of the Monks of Fefchamp, in Nor- 
 mandy i 
 
 (a.) YiiteHi/l, Miv, trovin. Angl.pag. 4. (b) Aittlor of the Efitome Annal, ord. Min. adaamm 1220.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifti Francifcans. 9 
 
 mandy^ and amongrt this fmall Community /4^«f//z</, their Provincial, may juft- 
 ]y lay Claim to the firft Place, as Mr. (a) Wood fays, from whom I am now 
 tranlcribing what is here Written of Them. 
 
 1 . Br. J^nellus (alias Jngclus) was Born at Pifa in 7«y<r.iny,where he became a Frier 
 Minor, in the Tear I2i'i, upon his hearing of the Preaching ot St. Francis^ 
 with whom he afterwards was in great efteem for his Perfe£tion and fingular 
 marks of Virtue : He was a Deacon when he came over, and about thirty 
 Years of Age, and was made Mimfier Provincid of his Order in England in the 
 laft general Chapter fas £cc/f/?«« fays) by St. Fni«m himfelf ; for he had already 
 hteuCiiftos o^ Paris, and had comported himielf with fo much Prudence and Piety, 
 that he had gain'd the repute ot banftity both with his Brethren and with Lay 
 Perfbns. He built a Convent for his Order in Paris during the Time of his Ot- 
 fice there, ar.d was the firft Guardian Cor Warden^ of the laid Convent, and 
 was fo very humble that he refuted to be advanced from Deaconlhip to the Or- 
 der ct Priefthood till he had obtain'd leave from a general Chapter to Autho- 
 rife his Promotion to that facred Dignity •, which, I prefume was granted in 
 the General Chapter j4nno 1219. But I return to Mr. W^oc^, who adds, that 
 after Jgnelks had fettled his Brotherhood in a hopeful way in England, he was 
 advanced into the Kings Council, and was alfo of fo greatAuthority with all Men, 
 that he proved to be very Inftrumental in compofing the moft intricate Difficulties 
 arid Dilfentions between the King and his Barons. The whole o^ Agntllus's Cha- 
 ra£ler is referr'd to the Tear 1232, in which he departed this Life. Now I go 
 on from the famous Antiquary Mr. ylnthonyaWood. 
 
 2. Br. Richard de Ingewurde, or Ingeworih is the next Man. He was a Priefl and a 
 Preacher, more advanced in Years than jigndus, and the firft: Man ot this Order 
 that preach'd the Word of God to the People en this fide theMountains,thatis, 
 on this fide Italy. This Richard, in procefs ot Timej was fent Minifter Pro- 
 vincial into Ireland by John Parens of pious Memory. This Parens was the Perfon 
 who, from being Provincial of S^ain, was chofen to fucceed Br. Elias in the Of- 
 fice of Minifter General ot the whole Order. But, to return to Ingeworih': 
 He fupplied the ?\»ce of Qr. udgne/lus (as his CommilTary in £»^/4w^) whilft he 
 Went to that general Chapter wherein the Ti'anflation of the Relicks of St. 
 Francis was concerted and made j4nno 1230-, and being afterwards eas'd of zU 
 Fuiiftions of Superiority, and excufed from farther Service of that kind by Br. 
 Alhert de Pifa, then General ot the Order, he betook himielf to a more 
 difficult poll of Chriltian Warfare -^ For, being enflamed with an ardenc 
 Zeal of promoting the Faith of Chrift, he went into Syria; where, after 
 a plentiful harvelt of Prolelytes from his great Labours, he ended his Days* 
 (bj .Mr. Wwii takes this /r^fiporr/j to be the Perfon whom Lfland, Bate, and Pits 
 caird Richard KLngfrhorp, or Rtgiofyhanus, of whom the laid Pits (c) ^ys, that 
 being a learned Prieftand an eminent Preacher, he was admitted into the Order 
 of St. Francis by Br. j^gnellus, whom heaccompaiiied out of France, into England,^ 
 
 C But 
 
 (a") Ant\c^u,tat. Oxon. Lib. I'^.pag. (J;, {h) AntiiviUt;, Oxor, Uib. i^-pag. 6]^ic)Fiff*!(s, De iHiifS: 
 Angt. Siripioribft. Anna 1121,
 
 To The Antiquities off/jff Englifh Francifcans. 
 
 But I refer the Reader to zheTear 1238 for the remaining part of his Charafterj 
 and now go on from (a j Mr. Wood. 
 
 3. Br. Rfchard ot Devonjliire {Devonienfis)vjz%9. young Man, an jicolythus, or in 
 Minor Orders only : He is faid to have Travell'd thr )ugh many Nations •, 
 and that, after a Pilgrimage of Fifteen Years his Bodily Strength being almoft 
 wafted with a quartan Ague, he xetivtAxo Romenhde^ where he fpentthe remain- 
 der of Days, bo Wnod, Ibidem. 
 
 4. Br. fVi /a am EJf bey was the Fourth Clerk. Healfowasan EngUjliman., and 
 although but a Novice at prefent, yethe afterwards fuined out in thedifcharge 
 of many Offices in his Order, as a great Pattern of Patience, Obedience, Charity, 
 Humility, &c. But, may I relate (fays Mr. W^W) how Br. Gregory-, the Provin- 
 cial of France^ on a certain Time putting this Queftion to Br. fj^ei^y, viz. Will 
 you go into England? He replied, Father I know not whether I will or Not ; and 
 the faid Provincial wondering at the odd Anfwer, the Brother added, / know 
 not what /will, becaufe my Will unot my oroo, but my Superiours, who m.iy deter- 
 mine it as he pleafeth. I am not Ignorant ffays Mr. Wood) that this Man is call'd 
 William Eton by fome, who moreover fay that he was the Firft Guardian, or Cuftos 
 of the Houfe of the Friers Minors at Oxford, that after he was made Prieft he 
 taught in the Schools nt Oxford : However, 'tis moft certain (fays If'oo^) that 
 this William was call'd EJfebey, and that by his exemplary Life he induced 
 many Perfons to renounce all Worldly Goods and Dignities, and to take the 
 Frantifcan Habit. 
 
 What (b) Bale fays of him, viz.. that he gelded himfelf, the better to keep the 
 Vow he had made of Chaftity, is not mention'd by any other Writer -. Befides, 
 Effebeyt according to the Charafter here given ol him, was a Man of fuch folid 
 Vertueand Auftere Mortification, that he had no need of any fuch Unwarranta- 
 ble Art to keep himfelf within the Bounds ot his Vows ; and therefore the Srory 
 may juftly be rejefted as a fcurrilous calumny, (c) Mr. Wood does not afferC 
 Irom himfelf that EJfebey and Eton were two Names for one and the fame Man, 
 but only fays that He is call'd William Eton by fome ; which I fhall take another 
 occafion to fhew is a miftake. Now to the five Lay -Brothers. 
 
 5. Br. Henry de Cernife, or Cervife, feems to deferve the firft Place amongft 
 thele Lay-Brothers. He was Born \n Lombardy., &n<i was a Man of great PrL> 
 dence, and of moft exemplary and approved Piety, and on that confideration 
 was afterwards commanded to be Guardian of the Convent ot the Friers Minors 
 in London ; which Office he difcharg'd, for feveral Years, witha furprifing Indu- 
 ftry, and no lefs Integrity .• But at laft he laid it down, and return'd into hisNa- 
 tive Country. So (d.) Mr. Wood. 
 
 Here I beg Leave to make a Ihort Digre/Iion to inform the Reader, that, in the 
 Infancy of the Order of St. Francis Lay-Brothers were now and then made Supe- 
 riours of Houfes (as appears in the Regifters of the Order) till Br. Hayrno de Fe^ 
 verjham, the Fifth General of the Order, an EngUJhman, a great Divine and Do- 
 
 ftor, 
 
 (a) lhidem> (b) Cent. 10. mm. 6^. (c) Anton, a ^wrf, Ibidem, (d) Antiqmtat. Oxon» lib. i" 
 pag. 67.
 
 The Antiquities of the EngliOj Franclfcans. 1 1 
 
 ^or,took tJiat Privilege from them in a General Chapter, in theprefence of Pope 
 hiocent the Fourth . 
 
 6. Br. Laurence de 5f/v^fo. (talcing his Name from the Place of his Birth) ha- 
 ving fpent fome Years in England with a commendable Diligence in hi^ V' cation, 
 return'd into Italy to St. Francis; with whom at laft he was in fo great favour 
 that the Holy Man, when dying gave him his Tunick, or under Habit j after 
 which (as 'tisfaidj this Brother came again into England, and there ended his 
 Days. So Wood. Ibid. 
 
 7. Br. William de Florentia, ftay'd no longer in England thzn till there was a 
 competent Number of Lay-Brothers admitted to the Habit and Service of the 
 Order, after which he return'd into France. Wood. Ibidem. 
 
 8. Br. MelicratuSf the fourth Lay-Brother, has nothing recorded of him 
 befides his Name and his coming over into England with Br. u4gnelhs. 
 
 9. Br. 'James Vltra-montanus^ muft here have a place a-mongft thefe Lay-Bro- 
 thers, although there is no more found of him, but that he was only a Novice, 
 or inhis Yearof Tryal, when he came over into. £»^/<«w^ with Br. Ugnellus. So 
 Wood., from Eccleflon. 
 
 Vin. Some Hiftorians (continues Mr. Wood)]o\ri\v\th thefe one Mert de Fifa, 
 who according to them", fucceededBr. yj[^»f//2(j in theProvircialHiip of England^ 
 and was at laft made the Third Minifter General of the whole Order. This is 
 mpft certainly True, and I know not by what Over-fight, or Miftake(friys ano- 
 ther (a) Author) Br: Ecclefion has omitted, the giving of him a Place in the 
 company of Br. Agntlhi ; for it is not to be doubted but that he came from hah 
 with him, as his Companion, as the Annals and Records of the Order bear 
 Witnefs \ and (h) Mr. Wood aUb fays, that Ecclefton^ in his MS. Hifiory of the Fners 
 Minors, makes frequent Mention of him, the faid Albert as of a Man in fome 
 Dignity and Authority, and that he once alTerts that the faid Albert,tnu^ht the 
 Friers in the Convent at London, and that his Own Brother did the like in that at 
 Canterbury^ That (c) Author alfo concludes at laft that nothing can be better at- 
 teRedth^uthuBv. Albert a. Florentin came over into England, at leaft foon after 
 Agtiellus and his Companions. 
 
 This and many other occurrences hereafter, confirm'd from the Annals and 
 Records of the Order, gives juft reafon to believe, that there was a fecond Mif^ 
 fion of Francilcans that came over foon after the firft found themfelves encou- 
 raged and getting footing in our ]jle \ and the foreign Names of fome of their 
 firft Superiours enforce this confefturej for, Br. Peter Hifpanus^ the firft Guardian 
 of Narthampton.,:KX\^BT. Them.ts de Hlfpania the firft Guardian At Cambridge, and 
 Br. Henry de Pifa, (all three mention'd by Mr. T^Wj were neither born nor bred 
 in our Nation, and muft have come over after yf^wf/Z^^ and his companions found 
 themlelves too few to carry on their Settlement^ offer'd them on all Hands; And 
 on thele cccafions 'tis more than probable that many others came over befides 
 thefe mentioned .• And this (if well confider'd) may conduce fomewhat towards 
 
 C 2 reconciling 
 
 {fi) Ttaji- Stti.ChrahBift.Min.Ir^iv, Angt'm.tag.^ta, (h) Anlmiitat. Oxcit. Lib. i<^. p.jg. 6S. 
 
 '^^Hc) mc<1, Ibidem. ^
 
 I -2 The Antiquities of the Englifli Ftanclfcans- 
 
 reconciling the different Accounts of our EngUjh Hiftorians with that of the Re- 
 cords of the Order; the latter fpeaking of the coming of Agnetlui and his eight 
 Companions, and the former of others that came after them. But I now go to 
 tlie Reception of Br. yigmllus &t Canterbury. 
 
 IX. Br. yignelliis and his Companions, being come now to Canterbury, were 
 charitably Harbour'd and kindly Entertain'd by the BenediBwe Monks, in the 
 Priory of ihe Holy Trinity^ for two Days ; after which they were taken in at a 
 certain Hofpital, call'd 7*/;? Poor Triefts Hoffitaly where they continued no longer 
 than whilft a certain part of a School belonging to this Houfe was fitted up for 
 their Reception ; where being placed, they very much edified the Boys (as^a) 
 Mr. Wood writes) with their Religious Difcouries, and iuftrufted them in the 
 
 Way of: Piety. Here they all flay'd till after the Ember-Days 
 * Anno iri^. or in Stftcmber^^ when hv. u4gneUus (who ihen was but a Deacon^ 
 I2Z0. prefented himfelf to be advanced to the Sacerdotal Order, and 
 
 Br. Richard Devonlenfis to Subdeaconfhip, &c. Dr. Stephen Langtorty 
 being at that time Archbifhop ; when the Archdeacon, (according toCuftom) 
 calling tothofethat were to be Ordained, raifed his Voice faying, accedant Fra- 
 tres de Ordlne jipoftolorum^ that is, Draw near ye Brothers of the Order of the Apof- 
 r/f J, ("meaning the Friers Minors) which appellation of ^rorif.-j o/" f/j? Order of 
 the Apofiles, the Francifcans here were Honour'd with for many Year?, as the 
 Annals of the Order (bj report ; and indeed they may very reafonably be fb 
 call'd fince their Rule, for the greateft Part, is the fame (as ^o^e Nicholas the 
 Third aflerts) as Chrift himfelf deliver'd to his Apoftles by both Word and Ex- 
 ample. But I go on 
 
 X. Br. Jgnellus, being made Prieft, (c) fent four of his Friers to London, viz. 
 Br. Richard Ingcwarth, Br. Richard of DevonJJiire, Br. Henry de Cervife, and Br. 
 Aftlioratus ; the two firft being commanded to go forwards to Oxford, leaving the 
 two other Lay-Brothers in London as foon as they fhou'd find themfelves encou- 
 raged to fix a Refidence there ; of whom more hereafter. Agnellus and the other 
 four Friers ftay'd at Canterbury to build their firft Convent, as Sh Richard Baker 
 fays :, in order whereunto a Perfon call'd Alexander, who was tlie Provoft or 
 Mafter pf the above named Poor Priefls Hofpital, (d) gave them a fpot of Ground 
 let out with a convenient Houfe and a decent Chappel, or Oratory, which, by 
 his care ajid charitable Endeavours, were- there built for Them. Here that 
 good Prieft placed the faid Friers Minors ; and this fas Weevcr (e) fays) was the 
 firft Convent of Friers Minors that ever was in England, and was held (as Wood 
 (S ) fays) in the Name of the Corporation, or Community o^ Canterbury, iot the 
 ufe of the faid Friers, they being, by their ProfefTion, incapable of Dominion, 
 or Right to any thing. How long it was before this Convent was Built I can- 
 not find ; but fo religious and exemplary were the Lives and Manners of thefe 
 good Men, that they in time gain'd the efteem of Simon de Longetory Archdeacon, 
 Brother to Stephen Langton, Archbifhop of Canterbury, of Henry Lord Sandwich, 
 
 and 
 
 (a) Anti^u'it- Oxon. Lib. i^.^a^. 68. (b) Annates ord, Min- ad annum 1220. (c) fVofd, Atititjuit, 
 Oxm. Lib. i''.fag,6S. {d) fV'xd Ibidem, {e) Fun- Mon. page i^i^,(S') ifidem.
 
 The Antiquities of the Engliih Francifcarisi 15 
 
 and chiefly of a certain Noble Countefs((ly led by Ecclcftoriy Domina Inclufa de 
 BaggyrJon) who were their great Benefaftors and Patrons. 
 
 In this Houfe the Francifcans lived in great efteem pt all Men, encreafirg 
 almoft daily in Number, as well as in Reputation : And here I will Leave them 
 till the Tear 1270, when I Ihall return again to give an Account of another Con- 
 vent and Church, much larger then the former, built here for them : In the 
 mean while it is now time to follow the four Friers fent to Z-(/«</«» 9.nA Oxford. 
 
 XI. The Friers whom Br. Jgnellus had fent to London were as kindly receiv'd 
 there as the others had been at Canterbury •, for, being come to the City, they 
 were placed in a certain Houle in Corn-hill by a well minded Man, John 'Trevors by 
 name, who hired the ftid Houfe, and with the a/liftance of feme other charitable 
 Citizens, cauled it to be fitted up with Cells conveniently for ihem : But fo 
 great was the Devotion of the People, and fo munificent their Charity towards 
 thele moving Examples of a penitential Life, that they foon removed them to 
 a more proper and open place, in the Market-place, or Butchery of St. Nicholas 
 in Faringdon'Xvard within, where the Citizei,s built them a famous Convent, 
 whofe chief Founder was one Irwin, (by (nj Leland call'd £iri«, and by (b) others 
 Jrein,) who afterwards became here a Lay-Brother of the Order. Br. Ag»ellus 
 faw the Foundations of this Convent laid when he took London in his way to 
 Oxford, in the Tear 1219, or 1220, a little before Chnftmas ^andlguefs, it was 
 finifh'd in fomewhat more than five Years, becaufe (c) Leland fays, that in the 
 Tear 1225, one William Joyner, built the Quire of the Francifcans Church, 
 near Newgate, in London, and thpt in the fame Year William Walleys built the 
 Nave, or main Body of the Church; William Porter, Alderman, the Chapter- 
 houle; Gregory Bohfley the Dormitory, Bartholomew de Caftello the Refeftory ; 
 Teter de H alii and the Infirmary ; and Roger Bond, Herald King of Arms, the Li- 
 brary •, all which Buildings I take to have been finifh'd in the faid Year by the 
 Perfons now named : And of this Houfe, or Francifcan Convent Br. Henry de 
 Cervife., a Lay-Brother already mention'd, was the firft Guardian \ where he gc- 
 vern'd with fo much Zeal and Prudence •, that many Perfons of Rank and Dif^ 
 tinguiih'd Characters, renouncing all temporal advantages, were, in procels of 
 time, cloth'd here with the penitential Habit of St. Francis: amongfl the firfl 
 of thofe who entred the Order at Ltndon, are reckon'd Br. Gilbert deWyke, Br. 
 Thilif of London, Br. Jocivs of Thornhill, youths of an excellent Difpofition : Br. 
 William Scriptor, of excellent Converfation ; Br. Walter de Burgo, a venerable 
 Man ; Br. Richard Norman ; Br. 'John Zatmefire, a Knight of Fame •, Br. Mat' 
 thew Gayton, a powerful Efquire, having fold his Lands, became a Frier Minor; 
 as alio did many others, as well Ecclefiaftical Perfons, as Men of Knightly 
 Honour and great Power and Wealth; as the Reader may fee more at large in 
 Mr. Stevens's firfi- Volume Additional to the Monaflicon, Folio 112, and Sequentibus : 
 But I will now leave thefe and their Numerous and worthy Succeffors till the 
 Tear 1305 ; when 1 fhall return to givefome Account ot the pulling down ot tlus 
 
 Convent 
 
 (O ColUctan. Vol. i.pag. io8. (b) Fran, a Sta, Clava, in Hifior : Mm page 4. (c) Cpllettan, 
 Volum. i.pag. 108. Sp lop.
 
 14 7l>e Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans. 
 
 Convent to make way for another of a Royal Foundatioi ; a more full Relation 
 of which Strufture, as well as of their other Houfes is refer r\l to the S-cw^ 
 Part of thefe Co'len^icns. N<w 'tiy time to follow the two Friers who (as is faid 
 before) were feiit by their Provincial to Oxford. 
 
 XI 1 Br. Rlchird Ingtrvorth and Br. Richard of Devonfhi're being upon their 
 Journey towards Oxford, met with a very remarkable Adventure, which Mr. 
 IFocd relates thus : '■ Thefe two Friers being Strangers, miftook -^heir Way, 
 and Night coming on, and the Rivers overflowing their Banks from a great 
 fall of Rain, they made into a certain Mannor-houfe about fix Miles from Ox- 
 ford, a Grange belonging to the BenediBine Monks of the Abbey of JbbiKgt on ^ 
 which, being fiid- to be ficuated in a great Solitude amongft Woods, and 
 between Balden and Oxford-, muft needs be either Great fliilton, abouc two 
 Miles from B.ilden, where heretofore f^ood a Grange of the faid Monks on the 
 South-fide of the Church ; or Culham, within one Mile of j4hbtngt6n •, which 
 conjefture I ("lays (aj Mr. Wood) rather afTent to, becaufe of it's fituation a- 
 greeing with the Defcription of a Place amongft Woods and Rivers more than 
 the former : But where-ever the faid Cell of BcnediBines was, thefe Friers 
 went to it, being compell'd by the approach of the Night ; and having 
 gently knock'd at the Gate, they humbly beg'd a lodging, for the Love of 
 God, being ready to perifh with Hunger and Cold : The Porter, to whom 
 they made this earneft addrefs, viewirJg this diftreffed couple of Friers, and 
 obferving their beggarly Drefs, their mortified Looks, and their Dialeft fome- 
 what Foreign, and imagining them to be fome perfons in Mafquerade that 
 made Fools of themfelves for the Diverfion of the Speftators, ran immediately 
 to the Prior to tell him the agreeable News \ Whereupon he, with the i>acriP» 
 tar, the Spenfer, and two other younger Monks, madehafleto the Gate, and 
 readily invited the difguifed Strangers to come in, hoping to be diverted 
 with Morrice-dancing, or other tricks of Paftime : But when the Friers, 
 with a compofed grave Look, affured them that they were miftaken, and that 
 they were no fuch Fellows ^ but were Men that had chofen to ferve God in 
 the Inftitute of an Apoftolical Life : The Monks, being thus difappointed of 
 their expefted Merriment, began now to be fevere upon the poor Men, and 
 thruft them out of Doors, with coarfe Treatment : And now the two poor 
 difconfolate Friers, deftitute of any ihelter, and not knowing which Counfel 
 to rake, wandred up and down, and muft have been forced to take what re- 
 pofe they cou'd under fome Tree or other, had not Almighty God infpired 
 one of the Hiid young Monks to take fome care of them now ready ro Perilh : 
 So this young Religious Man prevail'd with the Porter (as foon as the Prior and 
 the other Monks were gone to Reft) to open the Gate to thefe diftrelled 
 Creature?, whom he relieved with a refrefliment, asjeafonable to them as 
 Charitable in it's felf^after which lie Laid them in the May-loft ;and having re- 
 commended himfelf to their Prayers, fwhom he now perceived tn be no Jeflers) 
 he retum'd to his own Lodging. Here I have fome doubt within my felt 
 
 » Cfiys 
 
 (a) Atitiquiiat. Oxort, Lib. i*- fug- 6<?.
 
 The Antiquities of the Engliih Francifcans.^ 15 
 
 fays Mr. Wood^ ibidj whether or no, 1 had beft relate this young Monk's 
 Dream, which may perhaps not pleaie every Reader : But becaufe it may be 
 at leaft a warning in our Times wherein Vertue is declining, though fome are 
 indued with Religion and the Fear of God, I (hysWood) am refolvedto give 
 it You ; Therefore I go on to tell you that when this young Religious Man 
 was tal'ninto a fleep he feem'd tohimfelf as if he faw Chrift our Lord fitting 
 on a Tribunal and pafling the laft Judgment, and that he hear'd him command 
 the Mafters, or Rulers of this Place, or Grange, to be brought before him, 
 and then appear'd over againft him a certain perfon cloth'd in the Habit of a 
 Frier Minor, who accufed the Prior and his three other Monks after the follow- 
 ing Manner : O Juft Judge ! Revenge the Blood of thy Servants, whom the 
 Barbarous Cruelty of thefe Men has turn'd out ot doors, to the Dangers of 
 Cold and Hunger, and a moft bitter Night : Remember, O Lord, that thefe 
 Peribns have refuted the common Reliefs of Life to thy Servants, who have a- 
 bandon'd all Worldly Pleafures to gain Souls, for whom thou haft fuffer'd 
 Death j Reliefs which they would have beftow'd upon Buffoons. Then Chrift 
 turning towards the Prior, asked him, with an Angry Voice, to what Order 
 he beiong'd ? and he replying to St. BenediBs, our Lord ask'd St. BenediH: Cwho 
 ftood near at Hand) if this was True ? and when he anfwer'd that thefe were 
 overthrowers of his Infiitute, whereby he had given a Command that his 
 Houfesfhould always be open to all Strangers, the Sentence vvas immediately 
 pafs'd ^ and (as it was reprelented in this Dream) the Prior, the Sacriftan, and 
 Spenfer were Hang'd on a Neighbouring Elm-tree.- Then Chrift look'd upon 
 the Monk by whole charitable \ftiftance the two poor Francifcans were Re- 
 lieved, and ask'd him what Order he was of ^ But He, fearing to be a Partner 
 in the Puniftment if he own'd the Befiedi^ines^ anfwer'd, that he was of the. 
 Order of that poor Man who ftood there ^ and therefore our B. Saviour pre- 
 fently demanded of the faid foor Man ("who now appear'd to be St. Francis) 
 if that was True ? and St. Francis, running to the young Monk cried out. He 
 is mine, Lord, He is mine, and from this prefent Moment I receive him 
 into my Arms, and into my Family ; and faying this he lb clofely embraced 
 this his new Pupil, that he fuddainiy awaked from his Sleep, and laying hold 
 of his Cloths in Hafte, he ran, half undrefs'd, to the Prior, and found him 
 and the other Monks in fuch a deplorable Condition that they feem'd to be as 
 near being Strangled, as it they had in good earneft been expiring by a Real 
 hanging • but. Struggling as it were with Death, and with much ado awaking, 
 they were feized with a dreadful Fear, at the hearing of the young Monks 
 Dream : and when the young pious Man made hafte to look for his Guefts 
 in the Hay-rick-yard, he found they were already gone off, thinking it not 
 fafe ('it's likely) for them to be caught by the Prior. Infine, from hence fuch 
 an awfull Reverence and religious Refpeft poffefs'd Mens minds towards the 
 Francilcans, that not only this young Man, but alio the Abbot himlelf of 
 Ahbington^ having heard what pafs'd at the aforefaid Grange, went to Oxford^ 
 fome Time after, and there Ca) took upon him the humble Habit of St. 
 
 * Francis^ 
 
 (a) Wooi Antlqmt. Oxjiv, Lib. i".pag. 69.
 
 1 6 The Antiquities of the Englilh Francifcans- 
 
 * Francisy and was a Member of the Francifcan Community there, as foon as 
 
 * they were provided with a Houfe and Church -^ as Ihall be laid hereafter. 
 ' Now, 'cis high Time to return to the two Friers, lugeworth and Dcvonienjisy 
 ' who, early in the Morning, made the beft ot their way to Oxford^ praiiing 
 
 * the Divine Goodnefs with their whole Heart5, and otfering up their Prayers 
 
 * and Vows Co Heaven for a favourable Reception trom the Inhabitants ot that 
 
 * Town •, nor were their fupplications without Saccels •, for, com- 
 
 * Anr.o iii^, or ' ing to Oxford^ * they were moft charitably received anden- 
 
 1220. « tertain'd, and Men were as kind to them here, as others had 
 
 * been hard hearted at Abbington-Gx^Lu^o' . 
 
 XIII. (a) Mr. iVood alfo lays, From fcc/^/w;, that the two mentioned Friers 
 went ftreight to the Dominicats in Oxford, and were by them moft kindly enters 
 tain'd, at Bed and at Board, for the fpace ot eight Days, or,heas exprelTes ic, in diem 
 ufij; oUavam Refe^orij Dormitorijq; PariicipesfiuHt. This may be true according to . 
 (b) Mr. Colliery who lays, the Dominicans, were fettled in E^giwd in iheTear 12T9; 
 but if what Mr. (c) ^Toa^i fays be true, viz.. t\i2itt\\e Dominicans came only in 
 J22I, then this Circumftance of the Francifcans being at their firft coming to 
 Oxford, entertain'd by the Dominicans^ is a miftake becaufe the laid Minors 
 cameftift to OA:/fi?-<^, either ^««o i 219, or 1220, as is witnefs'd by the Records 
 and Annals ('d)of the Minors. However, fFoaiii goes on faying, thefe twoFranciP. 
 cans were not unmindful of their Inftitute, but now began to bend their thoughts 
 and endeavours towards he Procuring of a Place of Refidence, wherein they 
 might lead an Auftere and Penitential Life, according to the Prefcript ot their 
 Founder St. Francis ; and therefore they took a Houfe in the Parilh of St. Elba, 
 between the Church and the Water-gate, which Houfe was let them (if I 
 miftake not, lays Wood) by one Richard Mercer, le Muliner, or Miller, he here^ 
 after calls him a very rich Townfman of Oxford. But, before I fay more of 
 them in this Re-lidence, it may not be improper to follow them yet a ftep 
 further. 
 
 XIV. Br. Ingeworth., and Br. Devonitnfis, having hired the atorefaid Houfe in 
 Oxford, before the Feaft of All-Saints, and the Arrival of Br. Jgntllus at Lon- 
 don went from thence to Northampton ; where being kindly received and taken 
 into a certain Hofpiral in the Parilh of Sr. GUes, they built a Houfe ^ the firft 
 Guardian of which laid Houfe was one Br. Peter Hifpanus, Born, I prefume. in 
 Sfain. Next, thcv went to Cambridge ; where the Townfmen gave them tor a dwell- 
 ing Place an old Synagogue joining to the common Prifon ^ But the Friers finding 
 themfelves heredifturb'd in their Duties of DivineServiceby fucha lioily Neigh- 
 bourhood, they (having' ten Marks fent them for the purpofe from the King's Ex- 
 chequer) procured a Platot Ground, whereon they built a dark and mean Oratory, 
 Such an one as a Carpenter may build in one Day Thus "Nii Wood, ibid, who more- 
 over adds, that one Br. Thomas de Hifpania was tlie firft Guardian here. All this 
 is well attefted .• But the Reader may pleale to Obferve, rhat thefe two Guar- 
 dians 
 
 (a) IbiAem. (b) Eccleftaftical Hi^pary. part I. page 427. (c) A^itiquit. Oxor, Lib, 1°. pag. 61, (d) As- 
 nal. Mtn. ad annum^i 120.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englirti Francifcans. 17 
 
 dians (though now mencion'd here) did not come into England with jignelluf 
 and his Companions ; but were Part of a lecond and third Miffion of Friers, 
 who ('as I have already faid) were ftnt over fome Time after the firft had found a 
 welcom Reception and flood in need of a more numerous Supply ot experien- 
 ced Men to train up, and govern the many EngUjhmen who aimoft daily entred 
 into the Order. It may alfo be noted, that thefe mean Beginnings of Houfes 
 and Oratories were much enlarged by the charitable Afliftance of devout Chri- 
 flians, and fwell'd into convenient Edifices before the faid Guardians cou'd come 
 and enter into their Offices of Superiority ^ by which Time the Order was fo 
 wonderfully encreafed, that there were many large Communities of Francifcans 
 in our Nation ; So that after fome Time, their Benefaftors raifedthem a School 
 at Cambridge ; where many Francifcan Doftors and eminent Readers taught ; of 
 whom there is extant (as (z) Mr. Wood faysj a Catalogue of feaventy three of the 
 chief Regents of their Studies there, an hundred Years before the DilTolution j 
 of whom, as well as of others, I fhall hereafter mention feveral. What I have 
 now to add here is that the Francifcans, having met with fo favourable a Re- 
 ception in hothOxford and Cambndge-^ as well as at Canterbury, London^ and Nor- 
 thampton, were foon invited into other chief Cities and Towns of our Nation i 
 where their exemplary Lives and difintereffed Comportment gain'd fo upon all 
 Ranks of People, that their Order encreafed to an almofl incredible Number of 
 Friers, and their Convents and Churches were built and enlarged in due Prop or- 
 tion ; as I fhall fhew hereafter, when I come to a more particular Account of 
 their Houfes and their Founders : Now 'tis Time to return to Oxford to meet 
 their Provincial. Br yigne/lus de Pifa. 
 
 XV. Br. Agnellus, having taken London in his Way, came now to Oxford \ where 
 he found ^o great Encouragement, that he prefently began to form a Community, 
 ^ and made Br. William Ejfebey the firft Guardian ot the Houfe which Ingexvorth 
 and Devonfhire had hired not long before, (b) Mr. Wood, from Eccleflon, fays, 
 that this Eff'ehey was (adhuc Novitius) yet a Novice •, ai.d it may feem flrange 
 to feme that he was made a Superior before he was a profefs'd Religious 
 Man himfelf ; whereto it is replied by a learned Man (c) of the Order, (who had 
 been feveral Times a Provincial) that they were then beginning a Province, with a 
 very flender Number ^ and that in fuch a Scarcity of Men, there cou'd be no 
 keeping clofe up to every nice Point of Law •, and infiue, that the Prudence and 
 Sanftity of the Man excufed his being made fo foon a Mafler : And I may add, 
 that fjff^fyr being admitted to the Habit in France, mufl in all likelihood have 
 made his folemn Vows before this Time •, it being(fuppofing thisto be 1220) more 
 than a Year fince he firfl entred into the Order ^ and his being faid to be k f a 
 Novice, imports no more than that he was fo when he came over, and was but of 
 a late ftanding, when he was put into the Office of a Guardian : But, be this as 
 it will, there were (fays Wood, ibid.) many vertuous and famous Barchelors, that 
 entred into this Houfe, and here lived together: And when now both the Town 
 
 D and 
 
 iei) Antiquiiat.0xiin.Lib,i°,iag.6'), [h) Arttiquitat, Qxon. Lib, i" fag. ((9. (c) Fran, a St» 
 Clara, in Hifi- min-fag. 5.
 
 iS The Antiquities of the Englilh Francifcans* 
 
 and the Univerfity began to ring with the News of the Arrival of the Friers 
 Minors, ar-d of others alfo of the fame Order that wereexpeiled to follow them 
 in a ihortTime, preat Crouds of People flock'd to the faid Houfe \ either out 
 of Curiofity, or through an eager Defire of knowing Something of the ftrange 
 Rule and Inftituteof thefe Friers -iWhofe Apoftolical Way of living fooii gain'd 
 the Applauie and the Hearts of moft Men •, and their Fame now fpreading daily- 
 many En^lijhmen petition'd to be admitted into this Order ; feveral of whom 
 were eminent for their Birth, ^as (a) Hitrpsficld fays) and others for Learning and 
 other valuable Talents. 
 
 XVI. yincent de Coventry and yliam de Oxonia^ commonly call'd A<f4' 
 ^""' rifcoyTiOvt entred into the Order ot St. Francis \ wherein they after- 
 wards made Ibch furprifing Improvements, that they feemed to be the 
 moft celebiated Doftors of their Time-, the firft at Cd/wtriW^^, and the latter at 
 Oxford-, from which Place for his great Fame he is fomctimes call'd Adum de 
 Oxonia. With thofe alfo entred an other Man ot Note in Oxford •■, and they were 
 loon after follow'd by a DoHor, fas I take it) of the faid Univerficy : The 
 Matter is worded after this Manner by (b; Mr. Wood-, viz. ' At this Time entred 
 '■■ Twce/it de Coventry, who not long after, induced his own Brother, M^fter (or 
 
 * Doftor) Henry to enter into the Order of St. Francis., (Co-opcrante gratia Chnfii) 
 
 * by the Co-operation of theGrace of Chrift. He entred on the Feaftof the Con- 
 
 * -verfion of St. Paul, with Adam de Oxonia of holy Memory, and Mr. William 
 ' de Ehoraco (ox of rorh) a Solemn Batchelor, &c. So Mr. Wood. But more of 
 
 * thefe great Men hereafter. 
 
 XVII. Many other eminent Men of thefe Times follow'd the 
 Ami. 1220. Example of thefe now mention'd ; as is confirm'd by (c) Harp^fieldy 
 who fays that many of the BenediEiine Monks, of the Auguftmian 
 Friers ^ nay and of the very Carthuftans petition'd, and were admitted into the 
 Order of St. Bvwm : And thefe alfo were follow'd not long after Caccording 
 to the Annals of the OrderJ by the Great Alexander Alenfis, or de Hales, 
 famous for Sanftity and Learning, and the firft Flower ot the Seraphical 
 Religion that flourifli'd in the celebrated Univerfity of Paris ^, yet there 
 may be fome Doubt made whether this great Man did not enter'into the Or- 
 der fooner; becaufe the learned Br. WilUamWoodford, (A) htvstohreY icux-Vto- 
 vincial of the Francifcans in England, iJiys that Alexander of Hales was admit- 
 ted into the Order by Agnellus as he pals'd through France (Anno 1 2 1 9^ in his Way 
 to England-, and this is faid to have been the Opinion ot many others. But of 
 Hales more hereafter in its proper Place. 
 
 X VUI. The Annalift of the Order, under this Year 1 220, gives an Account of 
 a ftrange Thing that happen'd in the Friers Oratory, orChappel at Oxford ; which 
 if, that the Friers on a certain Time finging Comfline,iomQo'i them (on whatOccafi- 
 
 on 
 
 t 
 
 (a) Bflor. Ecclejt.ip. S^ciih 13°- (b) Anfiq. Oxon. Lib. i« pa?,. (SS. (c) Hifi. Ecclei. S^a''" ^^-pag. 
 445. (d) Lib, (k 71 iQuaJliomtHi de Eitd'arifiia. f^uafi, 62, QP vitk tract at. de tmedentla* 
 Angl,
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifti Francifcans. 19 
 
 on 'its rot faidj broke out into a misbecoming Laughter ; Whereupon the Holy 
 Kooeij or Crucifix, was immediately obferved to turn its Face towards them, 
 with a moft dreadful Noife ; which was taken for a fpecial Mark of Gods Dif- 
 pleafure \ and in Effeft wrought fo very fenfibly upon fomeof thofe who were 
 guilty of this Levity, that after a few Days they departed this Life. A frightful 
 Warning againft all Irreverence in the divine Worihip / 
 
 L The Francifcans had a School in their firft Place of Refidence 
 at Oxford^ as (a; Mr. Woody from Ecclefion; witnefTeth in thefe Words; Anao iiti. 
 Fecit Fr. A^nellus SchoUm fatis hone flam adificari in Loco Fratrum ; that 
 is, Br. ylgnellus took care to have a decent School built in the Refidence of the 
 Friers: which being finifh'd, he addrefs'd himfelf to the famous Dcftor Robert 
 Cro/fff (alias Crf^jr^frf^/J moft humbly praying him to undertake the charitable 
 Office of teaching the Friers therein ; to which Petition the Doftor gracioufly 
 condefcended, and the School was daily throng'd with a numerous Audience to 
 the great Joy and Satisfaftion of jignellus. ' But indeed, it I miftake not (lays 
 
 * (b)Mr. Wood) Crc/fr? being already a Do£tor, and of his Time the very Glory 
 
 * of the Vniverfity, feem'd plainly to ftoop below his Charailer and Dignity in 
 
 * {trw'm^ Agnetlus, but a Deacon and a Man of mean Literature: But he was re- 
 
 * commended by both the Newnefs ot thelnftitute he brought in, and by the 
 
 * Papal Authority wherewith he was back'd.' Now by the By, it may be worth 
 Obfervation here, that although ^^»f//a/ was but a Deacon when he came into 
 England, yet he was a Prieft before this Time \ unlefs he came to Oxford imme- 
 diately after the two mention'd Friers, and having waited upon the King there, 
 and fettled thefe Affairs returned again to Canterbury, where he was made Prieft ; 
 As I am much inclined to believe he did. But 1 return to (c) Ui^-Wood^who 
 goes on thus, ' Ar.d now jignellus, though no great Scholar, made his Friers 
 
 * go diligently to the Study and LefTons of the Decretals, or the Canon-Law, 
 
 * the Theology of thofe Times ;and being big with Expeihtion of a profperous 
 
 * Succefs from thefe hopeful Beginnings, it came into his Mind (as 'tis faid) to 
 
 * go one Day into the School, in Hopes of being able to give fome Guefsat leaft, 
 
 * at the Proficiencehis Subjeibs had made ; When, to his great Surprife, finding 
 
 * them can vaffing the Queftion ffor Difputation S2i\ie)Vtrum ejfet Deusl Whe- 
 
 * ther or no there is a God ? being led into thefe Concertations occafionally by 
 
 * Grofletet Leftures; The good Man cried out, Hei mihi ! hei mihi ! FratresfmpUces 
 
 * Calos penetrant, d- literati difputant utrum fit Deus ! jilas ! JUas ! Simple Friers 
 
 * penetrate the very Heavens \ and the Learned Difpute if there is a God ! 
 
 * And having thus faid in a Chafe, he flung out of Doors, being much grieved 
 
 * that he had built a School for fuch Debates : But, having compofed his Mind a 
 ' little. He ('by the charitable Afliftance ot the Benefa&ors) fent the Sum of 
 
 * ten Marks to Rome, v/herewith having bought the beft correfted Edition of the 
 
 * Decretals, he charged his Friers to apply themfelves wholly to theJe, laying 
 
 * afide all Sophiftry and Sceptifm : Nor was Dodor Groitete fuperficial in his 
 
 D2 Per- 
 
 {yi Antiq, Oxen* Llh* l^ fag^ 71. (^h) Ibidem* {c) Ibidem*
 
 20 The Antiquities o//^?Fngli(h Francifcans. 
 
 * Performances; For, by his great Learning and daily inculcated Inftruflions, 
 
 * the Friers made exTaordinary Imp'Dvemeiits in order to both D'l'putation and 
 
 * Pieachii g.' So Mr. Wood, lliddn. How long Dr Grvjicie continu'd in this 
 charifible Office of teaching the Friers, I cam.ot exaftly find; But fuppofe it 
 was till he was made Archdeacon of Leicrfter ; from which ( Amo \ii%) he was 
 promoted to the See of Lincoln, in which Uiocefs Oxford at that Time 
 was. 
 
 II.(a^.MrJFi)o:^rays,Doftor Cro/??f?wasrucceeded intheFriersSchool byacertain 
 DotTor named Peter-, who havine dilcharg'd that kind Office for Ibme Time, and 
 being Eminent for Vd tue as well as for Learning, was made a Bifhop in Scotland ; 
 and wa« fucceeded here by Rjger IVefeam, who aifo taught the Friers Minors here 
 till he was made Dean oi Lincoln ^ from which Pofthewasat laft promoted, by 
 the King, to the See of Coventry and Lichfield. Wcfeam was fucceeded in the 
 Friers Schools by 'fhomas Walleys (aWd IVatleus, or IVa/lenfs) heretoiore n Student 
 in Paris, famous for his great Learning, and afterwards prefer'd by Bifhop Gro- 
 ftete, to the Archdeaconry of Lincoln, and at laft advanced to the See ot St. 
 Vavid's'inWales. The fame Author alfo names others who fucceeded thefe as 
 Mafters or chief Regents ot the Friers Schools. 
 
 III. Thefe great Men 1 take to have been of the Secular Clergy •, although (b;^ 
 Br. Fran, a Stu Clara, znd^x. (c) Angelas a Sto Francifco make them Francifcans, 
 and Men of a very different Date from what Ihave here given from Mr. IVood ; 
 For, as to the Doftor caird Peter, and faid by Mr. IVood to have fucceeded 
 Groflete in teaching the Friers.- They tell you 'tis a Miftake, and that neither 
 Peter, or either of the other two named after him had fo much as an Ex'flence 
 in Nature till almoft two Ages after this Time-, but that then there was one 
 Teter (named by them Fr.Petrus 5fcz/«</w) a Frier Minor, who was Provincial of 
 his Order in England about theTear 1440, and then made a Bifhop in Scotland -^ 
 and that one Roger de Wefeam was alfo a Francifcan and Provincial likewife of 
 that Order af:er the r^^r?- 1430, from which Office fas they tell youj he was ad- 
 vanced to the See of Coventry : ThomaslValleys, in like Manner, is by them reckon'd 
 amongft their Provincials, and from that Office preferr'd to the See of St. David's 
 j4tini) 1446. Thefe two Authors were great Men, Veteran Profeffors of Divinity, 
 and Provincials alfo of that Order in their Time -, and they feem to write from 
 the Records ot their Order. LeUnd indeed reckons thefe Men as Wood does -, but 
 it is obfervablethat, in his CalleBaneay he fome Times confounds his own Afler- 
 tions with Eccleftons, and fathers many Things upon him which were not afted till 
 many a fair Year after Ecclejlen's De^th, viz.. Anno 1340. Moreover Leland li'imihlf 
 makes Br. Adam de Marifco the firfl Profeflor of the Francifcans at Oxford, and al- 
 moft in the fame Period gives a true Catalogue of his Succelfors in that Office, 
 although he here brings in Doftor P^Tfr, and the reft abovemention'd fucceeding 
 the famou5Cray?ffe in the Friers Schools. But I will leave this Confufion to be 
 reconciled by better Heads than mine, if any fuch will pleafeto be ar the Trou- 
 ble of it; and in the mean Time 1 dare alTure the curious Reader that I have 
 good Reafons tor afTerting that Br. William Eton (under the Diredion of Dr. 
 
 Groflete 
 
 (a) Ar.ttq.OxoK.Lib, i" ftif. 71. (b) h Ilifi, m'w^Prw. AngU }ag, 34.(0) Br. Francis Mafon, in 
 Calahco Previmialiit'Th.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englilh Francifcans.^ 21 
 
 Gri>(lete) was the firlt Ffancifcan Profeffor that taught in the Friers Convent 
 at Oxford \ and that he was fucceeued bv Brother jlJam de Marifco and che 
 other Friers i.amed in the Catalogue of their ProfefTor'- ^ which I ftiall give when 
 I come up with them i and that the Reafon why the laid Br /4^.^m de Minfco is 
 commonly reckon'd the firft ProfetTor of the Francilcans in Oxford is, becaufe he 
 was truly the firft of the Order that taught alone ; that is, 1 dependent of any 
 Regent; as he may well be'granted to have done : he was (as fa) Srevensikys) 
 a Doitorof Divinity before he became a Frier Minor \ wherea'- Br William Eton 
 taught under Doftor Grofiete and the other great Men above named, who ^through 
 the faid Groflete's Love to, and Care of the Friers) were pleafed,at his Requeft, 
 to be Regents of their Schools, to contenance and protedl them at their firft 
 Appearance, as well as to direft their Studies. To make this more plain, I will 
 here add fome account ot Br. William £ro», who taught under their Direilion. 
 
 IV. Br. William Eton was not the Perfon whom fome Authors, by Miftake, call 
 William Effebey, the Clerk that came over with j4gnel!us : For this Eton was a 
 learned Prieft \ who, after the Example of Br. Richard Ingejvorth, or Kingfihorp, en- 
 tred into the Order of St. Francis in fr^wf, being admitted by the faid y^^«r//«;, 
 in tht Tear 12T9, in his Way to England ; and being then a good Divine and a 
 Preacher, it was not long before he was commanded to follow his Provincial 
 into England, where (as an (b^ Author fays) he began to preach ; firft in London^ 
 and then at Oxford \ where he alio taught. Another (c) Writer alfo lays that 
 Eton coming to Oxford as loon as j4gnellus had provided a convenient School, 
 began to teach there, under the famous Doftor Grofihead \ and I prefume he con- 
 tinued in that Office till Br. Adam de Marifco return'd from his Travels ; ac 
 which Time he refign'd his Chair in the School to the faid Br, Adam, and was 
 afterwards employ'd wholly in Preaching, having a good Talent that Way. 
 So the Catalogue of ProfelTors in the Francifcan Schools at Oxford vmus thus; 
 Firft, Doftor Grofiete their great Mafter •, and next, Br. William Eton under him 
 and the other Regents : Alter whom comes in Br. Adam de Marifco \ who, for 
 fome Time, taught under the Regents, and afterwards had the Ible Government 
 of the Schools \ and therefore is, commonly and properly enough, reckon'd the 
 firft ProfefTor of the Order that taught the Friers Minors at Oxford : after 
 whom follow the other Profeffors in Order, as they ftand in the known Catalogue, 
 which I will give the Reader hereafter. 
 
 V. The Frarjcifcans, under their learned Regents and ProfelTors, made fuch 
 goodUfeof their Time, and fo great Improvements, that it was not very long 
 before many of them became Do£lors ;, and in Procefs of Time, the Friers Minors 
 were juftly efteem'd the moft learnedMen in theNation:,or asCd)Do/?orfz///f/-,after 
 his fporting Way, fays. For Skill in School^Divinity, they beat all other Orders ejuite out 
 of Difiance -.But ot theh great Men more hereafter. And now for the better 
 Method of what is propofed to be faid in this Work, it's proper to leave the 
 Friers to their Studies of Devotion and Learning, and to make a DigrelTion, to 
 ebferve the Growth of their Houfes, efpecially at Oxford, which was the great 
 
 Kurfery 
 
 (a) In the fir fl Volum of his Addition to the Mcnafiicon : page 124. (b) Br. Pitfaus de lliujlr- AngU 
 Sctipior. in ■'fpendire (c) Fran, a Sta ^ laTa,in "TrMt- deirKcet', fg-^Q. &' in H*^' niti. fag,: z» 
 (,d) Fuller's Church-Hifiorj. Book the 6th }age z-]0.
 
 21 The Antiquities of the Engllfli Franclfcans- 
 
 Nurfery of the Order, wherein many of their learned Men imbi,bed their firft 
 Rudiments of Divinity, which throve with them to tl.ac Degree, that in Time 
 they were as able Men as their Mailers, and did not only fill their own Convents 
 with Eminent ProfefTors, but alio were the leading Men in the Univerfity of 
 Paris -^ befides their furniihing of other Provinces of the Order with skil- 
 ful Readers, who were frequently call'd for by their Generals for that Employ- 
 ment. 
 
 VT. Whilft the Friers were taken up, feme with their 
 Ann I22I. Studies •, others in training up their Kovices in the true 
 
 Spirit of Devotion, and in all Zealous Endeavours to im- 
 prove in the Love of God, by a perfeft Renuntiation of all human Rel- 
 peft, or temporal Intereft^ ftriving, with all their Might, to ferve God and 
 edifie their Neighbour, according to the Rules of the Gofpel and the Prefcripts 
 of St. Francis •■, the People, on their Paits, feem'd to vie with each other who 
 fhould do them the moft fignal Service ; and amongft the reft one Richard le 
 Muliner^ or Miller, (as Ca) Wood here truly calls him, though by Miftake he had 
 named him Mercer before) who had Let them a Houfe at their firft coming ^ was 
 row fo charitably atfefted to them, that in a Year or two after, he made -ever this 
 fame Houfe ar<d Tardto the Corporation of Oxford for the Vf* of the Francifcans. This 
 Donationcame very opportunely ; tor >4^«f//ttj had admitted fo very many Per- 
 Ibns into the Order, thut their Number made it neceffary to enlarge the Place of 
 their Refidence :, in order to which Defign Mr. Thomas W^longcsgave them a Plat of 
 Ground, and Doftor Richard de Mcpham another, and Agnes, \.h.e Relift, or Widow 
 of Guy, alfooneSpot of Ground, as it is exprefs'd in the Roll of a general Inquefi 
 of the County and Town of Oxford, (taken the 6th and jth of Edward the FirJ})i, the 
 following Formy viz- I' em Fratres Mmores tenent unam Vlaceam e^uam dedit ejs D. Tho- 
 mas Walonges in pur am (^ perpctuam Eleemofynam, &c. That is Item the Friers 
 Miners hold one Plat of Ground which Mr. Thomas Walonges gave them as a 
 pure (or free) and perpetual Alms ;^ and another Sptce of Ground given them by 
 Mafier Richard de Mepham, and a third Piece of Ground, the Gift of Ae,i>es hereto- 
 fore the Wife of Guy \ which Plat the faid AgneS had hy Dejcent from her Ancef- 
 tors, and on that Account they pay to Walter the Gold-fmith one Pound of Cumin 
 Seed. How much that was worth is net known, &c. This Gift is mentioned 
 under the Tear 1211. So Mr. Wood. 
 
 Vn. (b) Mr. Wood alio fays farther of this tF^/ow/w, that he was not only a 
 very rich Man, but likewife a Perfon that had gain'd a great Reputation and 
 Fame in theNeighbouringCountry,andthat hebeftow'd other charitable LargefTes 
 upon the faid Francifcans. Do^or Mepham, the Second of thele Benefallors, 
 was Arch-deacon of Oxford, either when he beftow'd this Gift upnu the Fri- 
 ers, or foon alter, and was afterwards made Dean of L;«f«/« : And Agnes, the 
 good Widow above mention'd, was lb much devoted to the faid Francifcans 
 that at laft fhe gave the greateft Part of that Ground which was afterwards call'd v 
 T.iradife ; as it appears in ancient Writings. So Mr. Wood, Ibidem. But I go for- 
 wards to their Buildings. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 (ft) Antiqmt, Oxoti.Lib. l^.fage 70. ih) Ibidtm.
 
 The Antiquities of the Engllfh Franclfcans. 25 
 
 VIII. The Munificence of thefe and other wel-minded Chri- 
 ftians having now made Elbow-room for the Friers, they refolve to Anna 122 r. 
 exert their ucmoft Endeavours towards the building of a Houle and ''' =• 
 Church, lar^ie enough tor the great Concourfe ot People that came, not "only 
 to their Scholaftick Difputations, but alfo to the frequent Sermons preach'd'by 
 fome of them ;, chiefly (as Wood lavs'! by Br. Hugh de Baldoch, Br. PW/p de 
 Lorjgeton,2ind]ir. William Efftbey, {Eton I prefume, he means^ who were the firft 
 of this Order (except the afore-mention'd Ligcrrorti}) that ever preach'd the- 
 Gofpel in England : Aid having mark'd out a Place about a Stones-caft from 
 their firft poor Houfe, they found the liberal Effects of the good Will and Cha- 
 rity of- many wealthy Perlor.s who readily contributed to the Work^amongft 
 whom were Ralph M.iydfien that afterwards great Bifhop oi' Htreford, John de 
 Kadyng, Abbot of the Grw,''w Regulars of Oftiey, and Robert de Hendred, the Abbct 
 of the Benedi9ines of Jbbington, who were now great Benefatfcrs and afterwards 
 All three bec;i me Friers Mi r.orsj as fhall be faid elfewhere : But the principal 
 Founder was the King himlelf, who was defirous to have the Convent built as 
 nearas poilible to his Royal Court-, and did not only bear the maiji Expences; 
 but (as the Chronicles (ajof the Order relate^ alfo put his own Hand to the 
 Work, like another Co»/?*7«f;»ff the Great j who with his Spade in his Hand, as 
 Pope Sylvjler witnefTeth ;« his jiEls, was the firft Man that broke Ground in 
 order to the laying of the Foundations of St. Peter s Ch.virch\n Rome\ But to re- 
 turn. King Henry the ihird caufed a Gate to be made through the Wail of the 
 City, that he might have a free Commuriication with the Friers in this new Con- 
 vent, rais'd not only by the Charity, but alfo by the manual Affiflance ar.d La- 
 bour of many Great Men; who, laying afide all Grandeur and diftinguifhing Cha- 
 rafters, ferved the Malbns, with Stones and Mortar (jAS(\i)Wood faysj with a 
 farprifing Humility. In what Year of our Lord this Convent was begun, I do 
 not certainly know-, but I guefs it was about this Time (t/z: i22i)andMr. (c) 
 Wood lays the Francilcans lived and flourilh'd in this Houfe from the Tear 
 1228, to the rM?" I 5 3 9 \ from whence 'tis plain that this Convent was fini/h'd 
 before, or in the faid Year 1228. What remains concerning this Houle, 
 Church, Interments, &c. is referved for the Second Part of thefe Collections ', excep- 
 ting the Library and fome Enlargements of the Inclofure, which 1 Ihall take 
 Notice of as they fall in my Way. 
 
 I. Br. Alexander de Hales, that famous Doftor of Paris and Glo- 
 ry of his Age, commonly call'd ^/fw///, admitted into the Order An»9 iiiz'. 
 jinno 1219, as Woodford and others already quoted allert, or 
 more probably this Year, as the Annals of the Order have it, would have been 
 ' an inexpre/Tible Aid to the promifing Beginnings of the Francifcan Province of 
 England, if the wife Univerfity of Paris had not been too fenfible of his Worth 
 to p;irt \wfth fuch aTreafure. Br. Agnellus indeed hada'ready cloth'd an almoft 
 incredible Number of £w^//j]i Men with the Habit of his Order,and many of them 
 
 were 
 
 (a) \farci Vlyjfipnenp Chnm. 'Xom, l". Lib, J), (b) Antiq, OxM, Lib. l?,page 70. (c) Ibiditnj
 
 24 The Antiquities of the Englifli Franclfcans. 
 
 were Perfons of extraordinavy Learning and Parts, (as has been faid) and not a few 
 of them were moreover experienc'd in the Ways of a Regular Oeconomy, 
 having been commendable Members of other Religious Communities before they 
 became Friers Minors: But, the Inftiture of St. Francis having many Severities 
 in it's DifcipUue that are not common with other Orders, the prudent Provincial 
 thought it more proper to employ, in the Offices of Superiority, fuch Perfons 
 as were fomewhat more experienced than thefe could yet be in this kind ot Ob- 
 fervance-, and therefore hefent into foreign Parts for another frefti Supply of 
 Friers, who (as fome (a) Authors, who take them for the firft, fayj came over 
 into England this Year. 
 
 I. Br. Albert de Tifa, who came over with Br. William Eton 
 
 Amo i2i;. and others foon after Agndlus^ was this Year fentoutot England, 
 by St. Francis himlelf, who made him Minilter Provincial of 
 Teutonia, or Germany ; in which Poft he fucceeded Br. Cafarius Spirenjts, a learned 
 Man, and molt Eminent for his great Zeal of Religion, and for the Holinefsofhis 
 Life ^ who alfo was the firft Minifter of this Province ^ from which Office he was 
 freed by St.f><iw;.f, after two Years, being much impaired in his Health with con- 
 tinual Labours in preaching ana laying the Foundations of the German Province ; 
 the Government and fartherEftablifliment of which faid Province, was committed 
 to this Br. Albert de Pifa in a General Chapter held this Year at Affifium by St. 
 Francis himfelf, on the Feaft of our Lady of Angels, the fecond Day of Augujl. 
 Germany was not then divided into Provinces of the Order, as now it is •, but 
 I'eutonia (as an (b) Author lavs) was the Mother-Province of all that now are 
 there. In this Station Br. Albert gave daily frelh Proofs of his great Prudence, 
 his Angular Zeal for the Obfervance of Regular Difcipline, and his fincere Love of 
 Evangelical Poverty ^ the ftrift Guard whereof he always look'd upon as the di- 
 ftinftive Mark of a true Frier Minor. Br. Albert divided this Province into fe- 
 Tcral Cuftodiesy for the better Oeconomy in the Government of his Subjefts, 
 and many other Regulations for the Support of an exaft Obfervance of their 
 Founders Rule, in the Aufterities of a penitential Life, and the Funftions of A- 
 poftolical Preachers*, by whofe frequent Sermons, enforced by their exemplary 
 Lives, many Sinners were converted; and the Zeal -of the primitive Chriftians 
 flourilh'd afrelh \n Germany. But I return again to England. 
 
 II. Br. Adam de Marifco (or Marjh) went this Year alfo out of 
 
 Anno iizj. Our Nation. This is the Perlon who, as is already faid, was admit- 
 ted into the Order by Br. Agnellus foon after his Arrival at Oxford, (c) 
 Dr. Fa//fr calls him Adam yl/.?r/7j, and another Author Cd) fays, he will' add one 
 
 * Thing of him for the Edification of Pofterity ; which is, that Ad^^m de Marifca 
 
 * was famous tor both exemplary Life and excellent Learning before he changed 
 
 * his State, and was for three Years, Parfon of a certain Parilh Church, call'd 
 
 * iVirmouth, in the Diocefs of Durham j but being divinely infpired with an holy 
 
 » Hatred 
 
 (a) y/aatfon Chronological "fahle ; and the Bifiiop of Calcedon In his Trudent'ial Balance, page 365 ; 
 who alfo cites Cooper, (b) Fran, a Sta. Clara, in Trart. de Priced, pa^. 6 and 7. T'^ide Albert, i* 
 Martyrolo!. Franciftfln. die ida. Se^tembris (c) Fnlltrs fVorlhies »f Somerfet^jirt, (d) Htn. Wharton Ang" 
 lia Sacra. part 2. page. 342.
 
 TI}e Antiquities of the Engli(h Francifcans. 25 
 
 • Hatred of this World, He, of his own free Choice, changed the Manner of his 
 
 * Lite and his Habit, and became a Frier Minor.' The reft of his Charafter 
 fhall be given under the Year, wherein he departed this Life; and in the meau 
 Tim^ let it I'uffice for an Epitome of it, that ('as the fame Author Jays) (a) the 
 Famous and difcerning Dr. Groliete loved htm he ft ^ above all his beloved Francifcans-, 
 and that he was already in luch an univerfal Efteem for his Vertueand Capacity, 
 that his Fame had reach'd as far as Italy, and that St. Francis himfelf lent for 
 him out of England, and recommended him and St. Anthony of Padua to the 
 moft learned Abbot of St. Andrews at Fercelli in Piedmont\ the Univerfity of Pa- 
 w*, being then removed to that City ; Where, with extraordinary Succefs, Br. 
 Adam was inftrufted in facred Learning and myftical Divinity, by the renown'd 
 Benediiiine Abbot aforefaid ; where I will leave him to make farther Improve- 
 ments, after I have told you that this Abbot Cwhofe Name I cannot learnj was 
 one of the greateft Men of the Age he lived in, notoaly for his excellent Learn- 
 ing, but alio for the Holinefs of his Lite, and that he is famous for his Para- 
 fhrafe upon the Works of St. Dams the Ariofagite,vih.\c\\\ie tranflated out of Greek 
 into Latin; as likewife for his Commentaries upon (h) the Canticles, which are 
 fublime and myftical. So Tojfinlanenfs. Adam de Marifco ("as Wood i'i.ys) (c) was 
 Dr. Groflets intimate Friend and Favourite, and the great Efteem that Dcdlor 
 had for him, appears plainly from a Letter he writ to Agnellus, then Provincial of 
 the Friers Minors and refiding in the Convent of the Order at O-vyir,^ , becaule 
 the Doctor, in the laid Letter, expreffeth his great Concern and Regret for his 
 Departure from the holy Society, ('as he is pleas'd to call it) of Agnellus; the faid 
 Adam being at that Time going, or gone on this Journey towards //«/y. 
 
 I. There is fuch a numerous Concurrence of Authors agreeing 
 (as has been faid^ to affert that the Friers Minors came into England Anna 1124. 
 this Year, that if my Defigns were not confined within the Bounds 
 of a collefting of Fragments from fuch Writers-, as are moft likely to be beft ac- 
 quainted with the true State of the Affairs of the Order, and not allow'd to make 
 Hiftorv; I ftiou'd be much inclined to fuggeft, that there was another Recruit of 
 Friers fent over into England, this Year •, and the Thought may perhaps appear noc 
 altogether improbable when it's confidered that the King, Henry the Third, was 
 fo taken with thefe good Men, that he was for placing them in all great Towns 
 of the Nation; and his Affeftion for them fhew'dit lelf in fuch a profufe Muni- 
 ficence, that befides what has been already fiiid, he wasthe chief Founder of fe- 
 veral Convents tor them; and in particular, ot ?iCo\\'ient2.t Salisbury, which I 
 find was built foon after they began to be numerous ; and if I may be permitted 
 to guefs at the Date of it by Circumftances, the Foundations of the Hiid Convene 
 feem to have been laid about this Time : However, the King (as Leland ('d) lays) 
 gave the Ground, and the Church was built by a Man of the Town. 
 
 E I.Ac 
 
 {sOUen. Wharion. Ibidem, (b) ToJftr;iao, Bijl. Serafh, Lib, I? Folio 78. (0 Anti^.Oxoi),Lib, l''/'^* 
 7i. (d) OUictan. 1'om- z.pag- 341.
 
 26 The Antiquities of the Englilh Francifcans* 
 
 I. Al Southampton King Henry the Third, likewife founded a 
 Aflno 1215. Convene for the Francifcans, either this Year, or not long after 
 
 this Time ; although it is faid to have been founded by King Henry 
 the Seventh^ becaule this King either built it anew, or repaired it, and then gave 
 It to thofe Francifcans who were call'd Ohfervants. 
 
 I. This Year the Friers Minors began to dwel in A^'oriv/Vfe , ib 
 Anno iiitf. Wharton '■, (a) who in another Place, (b) (ays, that ont' Peter de Eporty 
 Paftor or Parfon of Stoke in the Diocefs of Worceftery left his Par- 
 fonage, and entred into the Order of St. Francis alfo this Year. 
 
 II. Br. Ad>tm de Marifco return'd this Year from Vercelli., where 
 Anno 1226. he had acquired fuch an uncommon Addition to his former Lear- 
 ning, under the Direftiou of that Prodigy of his Time the Abbot 
 
 of St. jindrews ; that being now return'd to Oxford, it is no wonder that he 
 was placed in the Chair of Profeffor in the Convent of his Order, that Seat 
 being, at this Time willingly refigned up to him by Br. William Eton, who till now 
 had taught the Friers, under the Diretlionof Dr. Cro/fr^ and others above na- 
 med. How long yidam taught here, I cannot tell, ('fays (c) Mr. IVood) but forae 
 Years atrer this, he vvas admitted to the Degree of Doctor of Divinity-, in 
 whofe fefperi£, or preliminary Aft, Dr. G'ro/?ffe, from the Doftors Pulpit, made- 
 a folemn Qi'ation upon this Text, Exemplum efio Fidelium in verba, &c. i.ad Tim. 
 cap. 4. v. M. Be thou an Exempt e of the Faithful, in Word, &c. exhorting this his 
 Pupil and new Graduate with a. fatherly Affedtion, and extolling him (as the- 
 Cuftom is) with due Encomiums^ and Adam, on his part, did fo far improve 
 his natural Talent of Wit and Memory with a great Variety of profound Eru- 
 dition, that Shool-men honour'd him with the Title of DoHior I/lufiratus, and 
 a certain Author gives him the firft Place .amongfl the Oxford-Wiiters of his 
 Order ; as others had given the like Place before to Br. Alexander of Hdes among 
 the Francifcan Writers of Taris. So Mr. Wocd ibidem. 
 
 HI. St. Francis, the Seraphical Father and Founder of the Or- 
 Atirto 1225. der of the Friers Minors, departed this Life now, in the 45th 
 Year of his Age, the 20th of his penitential Life, and of our Lord 
 I22d. So the Chronicles of the Order. 
 
 I. The Francifcans, in their firft poor Houfe and School at Ox- 
 Atim izzj. ford, had follow'd their Studies fb clofely, that many of them 
 were now become Mafters ; Two of which Number (as \j]r\ Mr. 
 Wood fays) viZi Br. Philip Walleys, or Wallenfis, and Br. Adam de Eboraco, or of York 
 were, about this Time fent by Br. Elias, then Minilter General of the Order, 
 with a Defign to have them put up in France there to teach the Sciences they 
 had learned in £^;^/(7Wi Lyons wai the City where I find P/;////) Wallenjts RWmg 
 the Chair of a publick Profeffor for ferveral Years ^ as did alfo his Companion Br 
 
 Adam 
 
 (a) Anglia Sacra. part> i°,}ag.^^a, (b) fVfiarloii, ibid. fag. 47, {o) Ant'iquit, 0>:<>n. Lib. la pag, 
 Jl- {dj Ibidem pag. ■) I, " V" " ,
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans. ' 27 
 
 M<*m de Eboraco (or of IVr^).as Matters of both Philofophy and Divinity. So Mr. 
 (Too*^ /W. who moreover fays of this IValknfiSy that he was F/r cum frimis eruditus \ 
 that is, a Perfon that well deferved to be ranVd in the fir ft Clafs of learned Men. Ma- 
 ny others of the fame Order and Province (fome of whom fhall be mention'd * 
 hereafter,) were lent alfo to teach, not only in the Convents of their own Pro- 
 vince, but alfo into other Nations, Provinces, and Univerfities. 
 I. The New Convent atOAr/or-^jhaving been encouraged by theKing, 
 and carried on by his Royal Munificence, was compleatly finilh'd this Anno mS 
 Year, as I gather from Mr. Wood. (9.) This Work was forwarded by 
 the charitable Aid ofPerlbns of all Ranks; tor the Friers had already gain'd 
 lb great a Reputation, that the Hearts, Purfes, and Hands of Prelates, ('as has 
 been faid) as well as of other Prieftsand Lay Perfons weie bufied in raifiug the 
 Building. But I go on. 
 
 I. About the Time that Roger Wefenham and Thomas Wallenps^ 
 
 above mention'd, taught the Francifcans at Oxford, (as [Jo} Mr. Wood Aimo liij 
 writes) their Scholars were removed from their firft Place of Refi- 
 dence to their newly built Convent; Where their School, being now enlarged in 
 Bulk as well as in Number had the Honour to be a double School, viz, ot both 
 Philofophy and Divinity : The Divinity-School was at the lower End of the 
 Church, where Cowjwfwerj, or thofe Perfons who were to take their Degrees, per- 
 form'd fometimes their Preliminary Exercifes, or Ad:s, (call'd Vejferia) in or- 
 der to their Proceeding. The School ot Philofophy was in the Cloifter, wherein 
 certain Batchelors, or Profeffors ot Arts commonly taught. Several of the 
 ProfefTors inthefe Schools did not only teach, but alfo took their Degrees in Di- 
 vinity, and were made Do£tors of the Univerfity. The Names of Sixty Seven 
 of thefe publick Profeffors in Oxford, the Reader will find below, after I have 
 premifed z Notandum ot two, to give Light into the true Meaning of the Cata- 
 logue. 
 
 II. The Catalogue of 6j Francifcans that were publick ProfefTors in the 
 Convent of their Order at Oxford, is tranfmitted to Poflerity by the famous An- 
 tiquary Mr. Anthony a Wood, from Leland, or from a certain M S. Fr.igmtnt of n 
 Hiftory, which he quotes as /?«/'fr/i'f'fa'M Exemplar Eccleftoni, in whole Name this 
 Lift is carried down as far as the Year 13 50, and farther; whereas 'tis very cer- 
 tain that the faid £cc/f/?o«, aFrancifcan, departed this Life in, or about the 
 Year 1340: But perhaps fome ot them might fpin out their Lives many Years 
 after they had done teaching .- However, Leland is of good Authority, tliough 
 he often advances his own Affertions tor Ecclefton's ; and Mr. Wood^ Word (in 
 
 -this AfTairJ may be depended upon, from whom I fhall tranflate what little he 
 has writ of the faid Profeffors, adding thereto all I can find of them in other 
 Writers : And, becaufe nothing remains of many of them but their Names, I 
 will here give the Names of them as I find them in lc~\ Mr. Wood, and referve 
 
 E 2 the 
 
 [a] Anti<jultat. Oxon. Lib, l^.pag. 80, lb} Ibitl, p<*g. 72. [c] AnHquitat, Oxm. Lib, l%- pag. Ji*
 
 2-8 * The Antiquities 0/"//;^ Fnglifh Francifcans. 
 
 the Charafters which 1 meet with of fome of them tor the Years (as near as I 
 can) wherein they departed this Life. 
 
 III. The great Men of the Secular Clergy faid to have been the firft Profcflors, 
 or Regents of the Francifcan Schools, ar« not here named ^ nor is Br. William 
 Eton mention'd, who taught under the faid Regents: but the firft named in 
 the \\i^\s^r. Adam fie Marifco\ vih.0 (though for lome Time directed by the- 
 fitid Regents) vvas the firft Frier that taught there independent of any Regent, 
 laftly, fome of the following Kamesare uncough after the Fafliion of thofe 
 Times-, but 1 take the Men for the greateft part to be En^tijh,ho\veveT their Names 
 may now and then leem to have a foreign Sound. So I go on to (a) Mr. Woody 
 who takes no Notice ot almoft numberlefs learned Men and tamous Writers 
 amor.gft the En^lifli Francifcans, but gives the following Catalogue of 67 ProfeP- 
 fors that taught in their Convent at Oxford. 
 
 IV. A Catalogue of the Francifcan Frofeflbrs that taught in the Convent of 
 their Order at OA-for^. 
 
 J Vy R- Ad.m de Marifco, DD Ox- 
 \j onienfis. 
 
 2 Br. Ralph Coleburg, Oxon. and Paris. 
 
 3 Br. Euflace de Normanvilky LLD. 
 
 Oxon. and Cant ah. 
 
 4 Br. Thomas de Ehoracoy DD O.xon, and 
 
 Cantah. 
 
 5 Br. Richard RufuSy DD Oxon. and 
 
 Paris. 
 
 6 Br. John W.tlleys, DD Oxon and Paris. 
 
 7 Br. Thomas Docking, DD Oxon. 
 
 8 Br. Henry Brifyngham, DD Oxon and 
 
 Cantab. 
 
 9 Br. William Hedelegusy or Hedlcy, 
 
 Oxon, 
 10 Br. Thomas de Bungey., DD Oxon. 
 
 Cantab and Paris. 
 IT Br. 'John de Peckham, DD. Oxon. 
 
 and Paris. 
 12 Br. Henry de Apfletrey, DD' Oxon. 
 t3 Bt. Robert de Cruce, ot Crowch-, DD 
 
 Oxon. 
 
 14 Br. Ralph deTjft is, Oxon. 
 
 15 Br. Aim de Rodano, Oxon. 
 
 15 Br. Ruger de Merflony DD Oxon. and 
 Cantab. 
 
 1 7 Br. Alan de Walerfeld, Oxon. 
 
 18 Br. Nicholas de Occham, DD Oxon; 
 ip Br. Walter de Knolle^ Oxon. and Can- 
 
 tab. 
 20. Br. W. de Hertipolle, DD Oxbn. 
 2 1 Br. J. de Perfora, or Perfhore, Oxon, 
 
 22 Br. John de Berewycoy or Berwick^' 
 
 DD Oxon. 
 
 23 Br. Thomas de Barn.tbye, Oxon. 
 
 24 Br. Adam de Lyncolne, DD Oxon. 
 2c Br. William de Gesnsborouah DD Oxorri 
 
 26 Br.-^ohn Bajfety Oxonienfis. 
 
 27 Br. Ihomm Rondel, Oxonien, 
 
 28 Br. Adam de Howdenj Oxon, and 
 
 Cantab. DD. 
 
 29 Br. Philip de Briddilton, Oxon. DD. 
 
 30 Br. Peter de Badefwel, Oxonien. 
 
 3 1 Br, John de Horley, Oxonien. 
 
 32 Br. Martin de Alnewick, DD Oxan: 
 
 33 Br. Albert de BeverUcoy Oxon. 
 
 34 Br. Richard de Connyngton, DDi 
 Oxon. and Cantab. 
 
 Br. Thomas de PontefraEioy Oxon, 
 _, _ Rr. Peter de Sutton, Oxonien. 
 
 37 Br. Radulphusde Lockefley, DD Oxon. 
 
 38 Br. William de Shirebourne, Oxon. 
 
 33/ Br.'- 
 
 35 
 36 
 
 (si) Ibidem. }ag. 71, 73, Sp 74. 

 
 The Antiquities of the Englifli Francifcans. 29 
 
 '39 Br. WilUam de Nottingham, DD Oxon. 5+ Br. John de Redevans, DD Oxon. 
 
 40 Br. John delV.ltoti, Oxofiien. 55 Br. Laurence Briton^ Oxonlen. 
 
 41 Br.JohnCromhe, Oxmien. 56 Br. John de Rudington^DD Oxon. 
 
 42 hr. William de Jlnevick, DD Oa-(7- 57 Br. John de Howden^ Oxonien. 
 
 nien. 58 Br.Thcmas Stancham^ Oxonienfis. 
 
 43 Br. William de Hcrherd, DD Oxon. ^g Br. Edmund de Grafton, Oxonienfis' ' 
 
 44 Br. Thomas de Sto Dunftanoy Oxonien. 60 Br. Stephen Sorel, O.xonienf'S. 
 
 45 Br. John de Redingia., Oxonien. 6 1 Bt. JdamWodeham, DD Oxonien. 
 
 46 Br. y^/jw de Jornton, or Torntonj Oxon. 61 Br. Robert de RedecUve^ Oxonien. 
 
 47 Br. Richard de Drayton., Oxonien. 6i Br. Thomas Rat ford, Oxonienjis. 
 
 48 Br. Robert de Leycejiria, Oxonien. 64 Br. John Went, or Guent, DD.Oxa- 
 
 49 Br. Walter de FoxiJIey, Oxonien. nicn. 
 
 50 Br. Henry Cruche', Oxonienfis. 6^ Br. Thomas Ottirbourne, Oxonien. 
 5 I Br. John de Ratforde, Oxonien. 66 Br. John filers, Oxonienfis. 
 
 52 Br John de Prefton, Oxonienfis. 6-j Bt. Richard Alalevile, Oxonien. 
 
 53 Br. Walter de Corthanton, Oxon. 
 
 Here ends Mr. Wood's Catalogue of Francifcan Chief publick ProfefTors, or 
 Regents of their Schools in the Convent of that Order at Oxford-, which that 
 Author fays he found in a continued Order of Succeilion in a certain Manu- 
 Icript. But I have made too wide a Digreilion and now return. 
 
 V. The famous large Convent of Friers Minors at Northampton ^mo m9- 
 began to be built about this Time, or fooner. The Site and 
 Ground icftood on, belong'd to the Town, and the Townfmen were taken for 
 its Founders. At Worcefhr tlMo the Convent of Gray Friers was begun before 
 this Time, the chief Founder being the Earl of Warwick. 
 
 At Litchfield likewife the Franci lean Houfe was begun about this Year, whofe 
 prirxipal Founder was Alexander Sa-vemhy, Bifliop ot that See. My Author, from 
 whom I reckon thefe faid Perfons forFounders of the three mention'd Convents, is 
 Lel.tnJ, from whole Authority, together with the Addition of that of other Wri- 
 ters, 1 fhall be more particular in the. SfcW P^rr : And in the mean Time ha- 
 ving an almoft continual Occafion to mention the Friers Convents in the Courfe 
 of thefe Colleftions, it feems here necelTary to give the Reader the Names of 
 them all at once-, referv/ing a further Account of them for the faid fecond Part. 
 For, although leveral of them were not built till towards the Tear 1400, and 
 fome perhaps after tlaat Time ^ yet it may nor be altogether prepofterous to 
 make a Step forwards,rather than keep the Reader in fufpence by naming fome of 
 them on one Occafion, and fome on another •, when, at the beft, the Date of 
 moft of them is uncertain; And all 1 can learn of them very imperfeft, being 
 little more then a Recital of the Catalogues given of them by Bartholomew dc 
 Pi/a, Anno 1399, and by the Annalift of the Order Anvo T400, with the Ad- 
 dition oi Speed's Catalogue of Religious Houfes, and what was colleitedofthem 
 by Lelandund Weever, which fkall be given hereafter, though 'tis very imperfect 
 
 and'
 
 3© The Antiquities of the Englilh Franclfcans^ 
 
 confufed : However 'tis certain the Fraixifcans ot the Englilh Province were 
 very numerous, and though in fome Cities they had no fix'd Refidences, 
 they had Convents in many of the great Towns of the Nation ; from whence 
 it was their Cuftom to fend fome of their Friers into the lefTcr Towns and 
 A'illage?, upon Sundays and Holydays, toa/Tift theParifh Priefts by their Prea- 
 ching and by Catechizing the Children, by fiying Mafs, and adminiftring the 
 Sacraments of Penance and the holy Eucharift to the People •, and this is all 
 that can be truly meant by what ibme Authors write of them out of Mathev 
 Paris, viz. Quod tot a Anglit de his refertafubito & re-let a f/?, G~ non modo Vrhes ate^; 
 Civitates, fed& »p/» Vici& Pagi frtejutntati^Th^^th^ T)}at all England was fuddenly 
 Bird and re^lenijfi'd with thefe Men •, and not only the larger iowns and Cities^ but 
 the very Villages and Hamlets frequented by them. They had not Convents ia 
 thefe fmaU Places, h\xt freejuented them^orthe Afliftance of the Parilh Priefts in 
 inftrufting of their Flocks, which then was, and ftill is the Praftice of the 
 Order where it flourilhes. But to return ; Br. Francis Harold, (a) the Epitomizer 
 of Br. Luke Waddings Annals of the Friers Minors, fays that when St, Bonaventure 
 held a General Chapter of the Order at N.jrbone,\n France, Anno i258,the Englifh 
 Province of Friers Minors, (even in thofe early Days; is there reckon'dto have 
 had Seven Cufiodies, \)Z 1. London, II- Tork. III. Cambridge. IV. Briflol. V.Oxford. 
 VI. Newcaflle. And VII Worcefter. And Br. Bartholomew Fifan-Anno 1399, enume- 
 rates thele Seven Cufiodies as then comprifmg Sixty Convents, vi^. 
 
 I. L(7«<^ow-Cuftody confifted of thefe iV;«e Convents: I. Of London. 2. of Canter- 
 bury. 3 ot Winchelfey. 4. of Southampton. 5. of Ware. 6. oi Lewes. 7. of Chichcfier. 
 8. of Salisbury. 9- of Winchefler. 
 
 II. ror;t-Cuftody had Seven Convcfits :viz. x.oiTori. l.DoncaJicr. 3, Lincoln. 4^ 
 Boflon. %. Beverley. 6. Scarborough. 7. Grimsby. 
 
 III. Cambridge-Cu{\.ody hadnitie Convents : viz. 1. Cambridge. 2. Norwich. 3. Col- 
 chefler. 4. Bury St. Edmunds. $• Donwich. 6. Walftngham. 7. Yarmouth. 8. Jpfwich. 9. 
 
 Linn. 
 
 W.Brifiol-Cu^ody h-idi Xhe^e Nine Convents', viz. I. Briflol. 2. Glocefler. 3. 
 Bridgwater. 4. Hertford. 5. Exeter. 6. Carmarthen. 7. Dorchefler, 8. Cardiff". 9. 
 Bodmin. 
 
 V. Oxford-CuHody, h^d Eight Convents : viz. 1. Oxford. 2. Reading. 3. Bedford. 
 4. Stanford. 5. Nottingham. 6. Northampton. 7. Leicefler. 8. Grantham. 
 
 VI. Newcafl le-Cuiiody had Nine Convents : viz. I. Newcaflle. 2. Dundee. 3. 
 jDumfrife. 4. Hadington. 5. Carlife. 6. Hartlepoole. 7. Berwick. 8. Roxborough. 9. 
 
 Richmond. 
 
 VII. Worcefler-Cu^ody had Nine Convents : viz. i. Worcefler. 2. Preflpn. 3. 
 Bridgenorth. 4. Shrewsbury. 5. Coventry. 6. Chefler. 7. Litchfield. 8. Laticailer. 9- 
 
 Stafford. 
 
 To thefe faid Sixty Convents were at laft added feveral others, and the Names, 
 or Places of fome of them are as follow, viz. 1. Ailesbury, 2. Beau-maris. 3. 
 
 Brougham. 
 
 (a) Epitome Annal. Ord. mm. In Fine partisfecundx.
 
 TJje Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans. 31' 
 
 Brougham. ^. Greenwich. 5. Greenwich., AWens. 6. London, J. Ludlow. 8. AftVfdflon. 
 g. Newark. 10. Penrith, il. Plymouth. 12. Pent I r a^. i^. Richmond. 1 4. 5f c/lf , under 
 Hamden. 15. Warrington. And others not only in England., but in Ireland alio, 
 andinFr<«»«; which feem to have heretofore been ur^der the Obedience of 
 the Provincial of England, as ihallbe laid in the Second Part of this Work ; 
 where the Reader may find an Account ot all that can be recovered of them : 
 In the mean while I return to their Men. 
 
 1. About this Year, or fooner, (Grf^ory ffce iV/«r/> being Pope^thefa- Anno 1230 
 mous Abbot of the Beneditiine Monks of AWivgton in Berkfjire, whofe 
 Kame, if I miftake not, was Robert de Hendred, gave a fignal Proof of his de- 
 fpifmg Honours •, when for the Love of God, he chofe to come down from his 
 exalted Dignity, and refigned his Miter and Crofier, with all their great Advan- 
 tages, that he might lead a more auftere Courie of Life in the low State of a 
 poor Francilcan :, and being now clothed in the Habit ot a Frier Minor, he lived, 
 in the Repute of Sanftity till about the Tear 1234, when he departed this 
 Life. So Barthol : Pifan : and the Annals of the Order, as to the Faft ; though 
 the Latter feems to date this great Mans entring into the Order of St. Francis 
 before this Time. 
 
 IF. This Year alfo the Englifh Francifcans diftinguifh'd themfelves ^»«o 1230. 
 by a memorable Inftance ot their great Zeal for the ftrift Obfer- 
 vance of their Founders Rule ; for the Support ot which they fent three moft 
 learned and truly Religious Friers to Rome ^ the Firft was Br. H^ymo de Feverfliamy . 
 who was a DoSor of Paris, and a famous Preacher when he entred into the Or- 
 der with other three Doitors of the fame L^niveriity, as Ecclefion witnefTethj 
 the Second was Br. Richard Rufus. a Doftor alfo of Paris, and afterwards of Ox-' 
 ford j as ftiall be faid ^ and the Third was the learned Br. Jdam de Marifco, al- 
 ready mention'd. Thefe Three, in Conjun£lion with St. Anthony of Padua, and 
 many other learned and holy Friers, full of Primitive Fervour, like true valiant 
 Champions of St. Francis ftood up with great Refolution for a ftrift Obfervance 
 of holy Poverty, and humbly reprefented to the Pope the Cafe of the whole 
 Order, opprefs'd by the Tyranny of their then General EUas \ by whole Mal- 
 adminiftration, regular Difcipline began to decline, and who fad ly perfecuted 
 the zealous Obfervers of the Rule of St. Francis; efpecially as to the rigorous 
 Obfervaixe of Poverty ; and the Cafe of Francifcan Poverty was by thefe Men 
 pleaded fo very effectually, that his Holinefs, Pope CJr^'^ory the Ninth, depofed 
 the faid Br. EUas from the Office of Minifter General, this Year, for his letting 
 in of Irregularities contrary to the Simplicity ot an Apoflolical Life, and the 
 Penitential Aufterities requir'd in a Francifcan by their Rule and Profe/lion, So 
 the Annals of the Order under this Year. 
 
 III. And novv for the better Underftanding of this Matter, I beg Antio 1:30. 
 the Reader's Leave to make a fhort Digreirion,that 1 may here bring 
 in a Sketch of the Charafter of the faid EUas or Helyas, who was a Manofcxtraor' 
 dinary Parts^hut of an ambtttous^ rejilefs Timpfr^and no Lover of Mortificatien, S^. Francis 
 
 hinalelf -
 
 32 The Antiquities of the Englifh Franclfcans". 
 
 himfelf firft made Br. Peter Cataneo fthe Canon liis Second Follov/or j Vicar Ge- 
 neral of his Order ; and lie being dead, the fame Saint with the Advice of his 
 Provincials, made this Br. EUa,> General, and would have him call'd Miniftcr Ge- 
 neral i but after the Death of St. Francis^ Elins encouraged a Negleft of Regula- 
 rity, and feem'd to aim at the Deftruflion of the very Defign of the Or- 
 der, founded in Poverty and Humtlity ; For nothing but Riclies, Eafe, and 
 high Things cou'd ferve his Turn ^ and therefore the Order was confounded, and 
 good Men ill treated, till Br. Haymo^ Br. Rufus, St. Anthony de Padua, Br. Adam 
 de Marifco, and Other zealous Friers caufed him to be depofed y^/iw 1230, as 
 ha? been fald ; and he was now fucceeded by Br. John Parens., of holy Memory 
 as the Annalift of the Order truly fays; who moreover adds, that EUas came in 
 again to be ^ylinifter General in the Tear 1236, when for fome Time, he put on a 
 mighty Zeal for Reformation; but his Hypochrify being at lafl deterfed, aad 
 the Pope finding himfelf impoled upon by his ^Subtle Artifice, and Falfe Re- 
 prefentations ; his Holinefs, a fecond Timedepoled him, yi';//o 1239, for admit- 
 ting many Relaxations into the Order, deflruitive of Poverty as by them pro- 
 fefs'd, for perfecuting many of the moft Holy and Zealous Obfervers of their 
 Founder's Rule, and for making his Court to Princes and Potentates. However, 
 after the Death of the faid Pope, Ellas (being always Turbulent^ began to raife 
 new Storms by endeavouring to realTume to himfelf the Government of the Or- 
 der, tin he was finally incapacitated from fuch Adminiftration by a juft Cen- 
 fure of Pope Innocent the Fourth. But it's Time to return. 
 Anm 1250. '^- ^^^^ ^^^^ began with an Abbot, who for the Love of God, 
 
 exchanged a nV/? Miter iompoor Capuce ; and now it ends with a 
 Frier, who laid down his mortal Body to put on an endlefs,and (as may be hoped) 
 a happy Immortality ; I mean Br. Simon AngUcus^ who went under that Ap- 
 pellation after the ufual Cuftom of other Englifhmen, to whofe Chriftian 
 Name, AngUcus was added by Foreigners, to notify the Nation wherein they 
 were born : This Br. Simon had his chief Education in Paris, where he became 
 a learned Man, as appears by his being fent to Afagdeburg, where he taught Divi- 
 nity with great Succefs and Applaufe ; and being alfo avertuous and prudent 
 Man, he was made C:^y?o/ 0/ Normandy., and from thence advanced to the Of- 
 fice of Provincial of G'frwj<2«j', and from that made Provincial oi Saxony ; in 
 which lafl: Poft (to the great Grief of all that knew his Merits) he clofed his 
 Days, being an Honour to his Native Country, and to the Englifh Fraucif- 
 cans. The \nra\\fi(\ir. Luke Wadding) irom whom I have this Account, is 
 profufe in his Commendation for both his Vertue and hia Learning : But I 
 go on. 
 
 Anno i2"i. ^' Br. 5/»7e« ^«^/;cttj above, who died laft Year in the Office of Pro- 
 vincial of 5<iA;oay, was this Year fucceeded in that Miniftry by another 
 famous Englifh Francifcan, call'd JohnAngUcus, a great Divine and Canonift,who, 
 after he had been bred up at Pijm, was Cent into Germany, where he firft taught 
 Divinity, and tlieii was advanced to a Succe/lion of Offices of Superiority, wliich 
 
 he
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifli Fcancifcans. 55 
 
 he difcharged with fo much Prudence and Zeal of the divine Honour, that the 
 then General of the Order, Br. '^ohn Parens^ made him Provincial of Saxony^ 
 at the earneft Entreaty of Br. Jordan ('efleemed a holy Man) Cufios of that Pro- 
 vince, and the reft of the Friers there, who were no S-rangers to the Chara- 
 fter and Merits of the faid Br. Joht Jngllcus. la this Office Br. John conti- 
 nued with great Edification and Advantage to others, and much Reputation to 
 himfelf, till the 7"Mr 1 246, when he was lent into Englandhy Pope Innocent the 
 Fourthy as his Apoftolick Legate j as fhall be faidhereattec, with much more of 
 his memorable Afts. 
 
 II. Br. //f»ry ^frfil'^ flourifli'd about this Time. He was chofen i4«»» 1231. 
 Minifter of Scotland whilft he was Vicar to the Cu(tos of Oxford ; but 
 being prevented by Death, he never entred upon that Superiority, nor reach'd 
 the End of that defigned Journey. He departed this Life at Leiceflcr^ and was 
 fucceeded in the Office, Provincial of Scotland, by Br. John de Kechene, Guardian 
 of London. So (a) Leland.- Here it may not be amifs to remind the Reader 
 of what has already been faid, viz. that the EngUfh Province of Fraixifcar.s 
 being divided into Seven CuH-odies, Scotland was comprehended under the Cufto- 
 dy of Newcaflle ; and fo it continued (with Four Convents^ in the time of Br. 
 Barthol. Pi/an. j4nno 1 399, and the Year following-, as appears in the Cata- 
 logue of theDivifion of Provinces of the Order -, as is alio witneiTed by Fer^ 
 chius, with Waddifig. And therefore by a Minifter of Scotland here is to be un- 
 derftood a Vicar Provincial, or rather a Dcputy-Cufios. So anCb) Author of Cre- 
 dit ^who moreover adds, that Dempfier {a Scots Wrkev) (^dys, the Francifcans en- 
 tred into Scotland in the Tear T231 j whereas the Author of the Epitome of 
 the Annals of the Order afferts, that the Province of Scotland began jinno 
 1224 .• neither of which Accounts agrees with 5/)»f/ip.W, who writes thus, viz.. 
 
 * The Bifhop of St. ./4ff</«iPi return'd now (y^nno 12^9') from France, bringing 
 
 * with him fome of the Order of St. Dominick and fome Francifcans, c^c. Tlie 
 
 * King who look'd no farther than the devout Profefllon they made, gave them 
 
 * a kind Reception. Thefe Orders not being known before in this Church, 
 
 * did, by their winning Infinuations with the People, and the Profeifion they 
 
 * made in leadine an Auftere Life, fupplant the Credit of the Priefts, 
 
 * drawing to themfelves all the Force and Credit of the fpiritual 
 
 * Miniftery.' ('c) So Spotfvoood, Proteftant Archbilhop ot St. uindrews. But 
 Scotland is not the Province I have undertaken. Sol leave thefe various Ac- 
 counts as I found them, and r.ow go on. 
 
 I. Br. William /^w^//ca/ departed this Life now. He was an EngUfli Annoiiii. 
 Frier of extraordinary Learning, and fd j is faid to have been a Do- 
 ftor of Divinity ; but was yet more famous for the Ho'.inefs of his Life ; 
 which was attefted by many undoubted Proofs ^ for, he was a Thaumaturgus for fu- 
 
 F pernatural 
 
 {z)CoUectan.T^ol. z. pa^. 542. (b) Fran, s Sta. Clara in Hijfor. Mm. Prci/irt. An^l. pag. 15. 
 (c) In hij Hijfcry of the Church 0/' Scotland, page 43.' {d) trati. a Sta. Clara, in Hifitr. Mi*, 
 trm. Angl-pag. 2.
 
 g4 The Aiitiquities of the Engliih Francifcans- 
 
 peniatural Gifts and Miracles, both whilft living and after his Departure 
 out of this Life j fo that he feem'd to out-doe his Founder St. Francis.^ One of 
 whole firft Dilciples and Companions he was. He died at j4jftjiuta, i^nd was 
 buried in the lower Church of the Friers Minors there, near the Body ot St. 
 Francis- The Francilcan Martyrologe, on the jth day of March, has this Cha- 
 ratter of him, viz. Beatun Guliclmus, eximl-t Perfcnionis Vir \ cjui SanBitate c^ Mt- 
 r.tculis, tuminFita, turn pofi Obitum, maxime claruit. That Author quotes more 
 V<u:!iers than can be here inferted .- So 1 go forwards. 
 
 II. Aboutthis, or the following Year, being the \ 6th or I'jthoi the Reign of 
 King Henry ffcf T/b/V-u', flouriih'd that renovvn'd Frier Minor whom thefaid King, 
 (■A% Lf/.W (a^ rays)by the Advice of his Privy Council, Tent as his Plenipo- 
 tentiary to treat with the then powerful Rich.ird, Earl Marfhal, who headed the 
 Barons againft his Majefty, to perfwadehim to lubfcribe to certain Articles of 
 Accommodation, and to lay down his Arms, and fubmit to his Sovereign, (h) Lf- 
 l.i>id calls this Frier Fetrus AgnelluT, which I prefurae is a Miftake, becaule ^^- 
 neHus de Pifa, their firft Provincial ("the only y4^«f//«/ mention'd in the Annals 
 of the Order in that Age) was not Pfffr >^^«f//tti ^ Yet, it this was in the Tear- 
 1232, as LeLvid (c) fays it was, it is moft likely to be u4gnc!!us de Pifa ('fo often 
 mention'dj that was fent on this EmbalTy ^ for it was the Year before he 
 died, and the Miftake ot his being call'd Petrus J^nellus might arife from his 
 being written P. Jgnellusy for Pater J.gnelhts, which might eafily be taken for 
 Peter or Petrus Jgnellus : However, our Hiftorians flays (dj Fran, a Sta Clara^ 
 agree with Stow, that the Francifcans and Dominicans did iignal Service to the 
 Mation by making Way for the firft Beginnings of a Peace between the King 
 and his Peers-, Andhere JgneHuSf the Francifcan, was chiefly concern'din good 
 Offices, and took great Pains. • 
 
 Amo 123I. ii33- III Br. AgneUus de Plfa,lhe firft Provincial of the Englifh Fran- 
 cilcans, departed this L.ife now. He, Jgnellus., had admitted to the Habit of St.' 
 Francis, feveral renown'd Prelates, and many Exemplary Religious Men of divers 
 Inftitutes, and an almoft incredible Number of hopeful Novices, and he had 
 the Satisfaftion of feei g his Order and Provir.ce thrive, flourifh, and fpread 
 throughout the whole Nation •, where, in moft of the chief Towns, he had 
 built them Convents by the charitable Alliftance of many dignified Perfons and 
 well meaning Chriftians, and having been very inftrumental (as has been faid) 
 in negotiating a Reconciliation between the King and the Lords, after a dread- 
 ful and bloody War, heat laft found himfelf much impair'd in his Health 
 by tliefe Fatigues-, and his Spirits alfo being much exhaufted with the Aufteri- 
 tiesof a mortified, penitential Life, he exchang'd it fas may bepioufly fuppo- 
 fedj for abetter, on the i^th Day of March I23f j And, as his Life had been 
 a fingular Pattern of Virtue and Holinefs, (0 \y<i.s\{\% Death declared prmVaj in 
 
 the 
 
 (a) Colk.tan Tom* i. {art, 1. fag' 4i3i (*>) ^hidem, (c) Ibidem, Cd) llijior. Miv» Protia. An^li^ 
 pagm.
 
 The Antiquities of the FnglifTi Francifcans. ' 35 
 
 the Sight of the Lord J asftjall be hereafter faid more at large. At prefent no- 
 thing more fhall be added, but that Br. Agnellusj or ^ngelus is rank'd amongft 
 the Holy Men of his Order, in the Francifcan A4artyrol oge ^ on tljr J^th day of 
 March, thus ^Oxonij in jinglia Commemoratio i?f<?M Angel i Filani, Confefforis-, Se- 
 raphici Patris Sti Francifci Difcipuliy epii primus Guar di anus ParifteKjts^ ac Ct ftas Fraud. <, 
 nee non j4nglia Minificr Provincialis ab eodem Pane inflitutus, Ceteris, turn f^ira 
 SanBitate, tnm Signis admiratidisillv.xit. He is mention'd by Mathew P<«m under 
 iheTears i 232, 1 233, and other Authors of his Time, as alfoby many others 
 quoted in the faid Alartyrologe. 
 
 I. Br. Alhert de Pifa,th\$ Year fucceeded yigmRus in the C/Hce of Mi- ^««o ^-1% 
 nifter Provincial o^ England. And here I beg leave to return back, and bring up 
 this Br. Alhert from the I'm?- 1223, when, as I there faid, he was made Pro- 
 vincial of Teutonia, where he continued till that Province was compleatiy efta- 
 blifla'd and fill'd with pious and learned Friers, Anno Hi'j; when he was (a) 
 difcharged of thatMiniftry •, not to have the Eafe of living wholly to himfelf 
 in a retired Cell, but to be as Ufetul to others, as he had already been to the Ger- 
 mans : For, he was fo excellently well qualified for a wife Superior, that it was not 
 long before he was chofen Provincial of Spain : How long he continued in this 
 Poft in Spain, I do not fiad-, but{'b) Rodalphus Tujfinianenjis fays, Br. Albert, was 
 alio Provincial ot Hungary, and of three other Provinces i which is a very great 
 Miftake, and not the only Error of that Author in the fame Place; for he 
 there confounds Br.Agnellus de Pifa,^\A this Br. Albert j as is plain: But I leave 
 the Overfight, andaffert, that it is probable that Br. Albert was employ'd to 
 vifit Hungary, "tufcia, and both the Marchias ; but 'tis not eafily intelligible 
 how he cou'd do theOJKceof Provincial of fo many Places in the fpace of fix 
 Years, viz. between the Tf(?r 1227. where he was difcharg'd of the Province o{ 
 Teutonia, or Germany, and this Tear 1233, when he fucceeded Br. Agnellus in the 
 Provincialfhipof England ; where I leave him to the Difcharge of that Office 
 with as great Prudence and Succefs as in other Provinces of the Order, and now 
 go on to another great Man. 
 
 II. Br. Haymo de Feverjljam, that great Francifcan Doftor, who ('as has ^»o 1255 
 been faid) went to Rome, Anno 1230. had given fuch Proofs of his Pleroick Ver- 
 tueaswell as of his great Learning, and his extraordinary Z-'al for Religion, 
 was now fo confpicuous by his late Defence of Evangelical Poverty and Regular 
 Obfervance, t\\2Lt?o^e Gregory the Ninth judg'd him a fit Perfon to be imploy'd 
 in a Negotiation of greater Importance ; and therefore, purfuant to his Refb- 
 llition ot lending certain Legates to the Patriarch of Confianiinoplc, Anno 1233 
 he appointed for that Purpofe four Perfons, two of whom were Br Haymo ar,d 
 Br. Rodulphus, of the Order of Friers Minois, of the Province of EngUndy 
 whom his Holinefs, in his Bull, ftyles(cj ytros Firtutis Religione Confpicuos^ Mo' 
 
 F 2 rum 
 
 {■J.) Author. Mariyrohgij Frami/cam, Die rda Septembrls. (b) Hifiar, Sernphie, Lib, Zih, folio I'S. 
 (c) Frant aSta.Clara, inUiji. Min.p'ig. 15. &inSupplcm.
 
 3^ The Antiquities o//^eEng!ifli Francifcans. 
 
 rum honeflate PrticUros^ (^ Scnpturarum facrarumfcientia Pneditos, that is, Men, Emi' 
 rent for Religion and f^ertue^ Noted for their good Lives, as well as for their great 
 Learning and Knowledge in the Holy Scriptures : Thefe he impower'd to carry his 
 hettet^ to German the Second Patriarch of ConJlantinopUy wherein he treated of 
 the "Jnity of the Churchy and ot the double Swordy and of the fpiritual and tem- 
 poral Ufe ot them i that is, of Junfdiflion in fpiritual and temporal Affairs, 
 and the Extent thereof. Now thefe great Men being come into the Eaft, were 
 honorably received by the Emperor and the Patriarch, and by the Lafi admitted 
 into a Synod, in which they proved to him and the other Bifliop?, by ftrong 
 and invincible Arguments, as well from the Greek as the Latin Fathers, that 
 the Holy Ghoft proceeds from the father and the Son ; which was the chief Article of 
 their Embidly . And they left tliat Definition of Faith to the whole Eaft-, as 
 may be feen in a Manufcript in the Vatican, attefted with the Subfcriptions of 
 the four Legates above mention'd: VVitnefs Bz,ovius under this Year ^ as alfo 
 the Jnnalili oi the Order and \\\^Epitomiz,er^ who moreover add, that they 
 compcli'd the Greek Fathers to declare the Caufe of their Schifm •, and that They did 
 not only give an Account of the Roman Faith in the Synod, but alfo received 
 the Profejjion of Faith made by the Eafiern Fathers in Writing, to be carried to 
 the Pope, which was afterwards forcibly taken from them by fome of the 
 Greeks \ But that they at laft procured another, which vas Authemick. But I 
 return to the new Provincial, Br. j4lbert. 
 
 \. Amongfl many pious and prudent Regulations made by Br. Albert 
 Atino 1234 ^^ p.j.^ ^j. ,^.^ ^^^ Entrance into his Office of Minifter Provincial of 
 
 England, one was, that he placed certain learned Men of his Order to teach 
 the Friers infeveral Convents of his Province. Br. Fincent de Coventry was 
 one of the chief of thefe ProfefTors: He was one of the Perfons admitted into 
 the Order immediately M^onhr . Agnellush firft coming to Oxford (a.s has been 
 laidj where he was taught by the famous DoStor Robert Groflete, amongft his firft 
 Scholars of the Friers Minors ; under whole Inftru£lions he had made great 
 Progrefs in facred Learning ^ and having finifh'd thefe Studies as a Scholar, he 
 (not yet of middle Age) was lent (a) to London to teach in the Francifcan 
 Convent there ; from whence he wasafterwards lent to Cambridge \ where he 
 difcharged the Office of a publick Reader, with an extraordinary Succefs and 
 Applaule. My Cb) Author alfo adds, that Br. Albert fent his own Brother 
 //if«/-^ to teach the Vnevsi^t Canterbury. This Henry was one of the Friers 
 that came over into England foon after the firft Provincial Agnellus, and had 
 iikewife been bred up under Dr. Grofiete., with fo great Succefs that he was now 
 fit to teach others. 
 
 IL 
 
 {a.)Wocd. Antiqmtat. Oxon, Lib. i" tag. 6S.&11.QP Celkctarit Leiandi "torn- z. tag. za.i, (Jof 
 Wud, Ibidm. .
 
 The Antiquities of the Engliih Francifcans. 37 
 
 II. Br. Roger Bacon, that Prodigy of Wit and Learning, comnDonly ^^^^ ^^^ 
 call'd Frier Bacon, entred into the Order of .St. Francis about this ' 
 Time, as is moft probably conjeftured. fa) Mr. Wood fpeaking of him gives 
 fir ft the Opinion of others and then his own, as to the Time of his becoming 
 a Frier :; for he fays, that after Bacon had been a ProfelTor at Paris, he was 
 made Doftor of Divinity in that Univerfity, under the Tide of DoBor Mi- 
 rabilis, the Marvellous DoSior^ and that thus laden with Learning and an univerfal 
 Applaufe,he return'd to his firfl Nurfe, Oxford \ where without more ado, he was 
 admitted ad eundem Gradum to the fame Degree of Dottor ; after which, (as he 
 there adds) he became a Frier Minor in the Convent of that Order at Oxford, 
 by the Perfwafions, as it feems, of Robert Grofiete. This, as to the date of the 
 Fatt, Mr. PTW advanced from others ; for, he is plainly of another Opinion 
 himfelf, as to the Time of 5^co«'s taking the Friers Habit*, becaufe, in the 
 fame Period, he fays, he htWeves This was done before. But be this as it will, it 
 is moft certain that Roger Bacon was a Frier ot the Order of St. Fr *?««/, and 
 it is not unlikely that he entred into that Order when he was ,« Fellow of Mer- 
 ton College, in Oxford, before he went to P<?m •, which probably might be in this 
 Tear 1234, when his MafterSt. Edmund was advanced to the Archbifhop's See 
 oT Canterbury. However, fwhenever it was) Eccleflon (b^ fays he was cloath'd 
 and profefs'd upon one and the lame Day, which heretofore was fome times 
 praftifed, although fuch hafty Profeffior.s now are invalid. But I jhall have 
 much more to fay of Br. Roger Bacon hereafter, and now goon. 
 
 III. This Year the Friers Minors were fettled at Coventry, in Anr.o 1234. 
 Warwickjhire ; The Account whereof Di^^^(j/e('c) introduces, by 
 fpeaking of them in thefe remarkable Terms, viz..^ Thele Francifcans were, 
 
 * in a fhort Time, fpread over the Chriftian World •, polTeiling nothing but 
 
 * meerly living by the Gofpel •, in Food and Rayment they manifefled their 
 
 * voluntary Poverty; and going bare-foot, girt with a knotted Cord, gave the 
 
 * greateft Example of Humility imaginable.' And, that when they firft lett- 
 Jed in Coventry, * They had not any Charter of Foundation for their Houfe 
 
 * there ; nor indeed any formal Grant in Writing of the Place whereon it flood j 
 
 * which is no Wonder (fays he) confidering that, being not endow'd with Lands, 
 
 * they wholly lived on the Charity of others, as weleethofe beyond .Sea do 
 ' now at this Day, going copftantly by Couples with Wallets on their Shoul- 
 
 * ders to receive Alms: And as for their Habitation here, with the Church; 
 ' 'tis, certain the ftrufture of both was wholly made at the Coft of good People : 
 
 * So great a Refpeft did the World in thofe Days bear towards them, 
 
 * by reafon of their Devout and Auiftere Lives. It appears that in the Tear 
 
 * 123 jf, the 19'^ of Henry the Third, Ralph Fitz. Nicholas, then Sheriff of War- 
 
 ' wickpiire 
 
 (a) Artiij. Oxor. Lib. 1° pag. i;6. (b) md. Hijl. Mm.trom, Angru,pag, 12. (c) Dugdalc'* 
 iVaruickpire, printed Anna 1656, faget 113 &• I15.
 
 ^8 The Antiquities of the Englifti Francifcans- 
 
 ' rvichfliire, in his Accorapts, makes Mention of Shingles allow'd by the King for 
 
 * covering their Oratory here, aiid delivered out of the Woods of Kenilrvorth 
 ' for that Purpofe : The Ground whereon thi'^ Houfe was built being allow'd to 
 ' them by Ranulph the laft of that Name Earl of Chefter out of his Manner of 
 
 * C/;f)/f/wjcrf, as is evident,' So that famous Antiquary Sir William Dugdale^ 
 who gives a much larger Account ot the Friers Church here, which I relerve 
 for the Stcond Part of thefe Colleftions. 
 
 I. This Year the fz.mous 'John de Reading (call'd 'Johannes Radyngus 
 -35' by Mr. Ca j Wood^ or de RadingaJ Abbot of the celebrious Mona- 
 ftery of Ofney, rear Oxford, of Canon Regulars, renounced and left all the ho- 
 nourable Advantages of that high Station to cloathhimlelt with the poor Ha- 
 bit of St. Francis. A Change which one wou'd think cou'd hardly fail under 
 any Cenfure, except that of its being contrary to the Rules of worldly Pru- 
 dence, which does not commonly, by a willing Choice, leave a State of Af- 
 fluence to embrace that of Indigence and Aufterity :, but, fince the Wifdom 
 of this World is FooUpmefs with God j I cannot fee what Grounds (b) Mathew Paris 
 cou'd have to advance whit he has left to Pofterity on this Head, unlefs it 
 was his great Diflike ot the begging Friers, wliich he was pleafed to exprefs 
 on many Occafions : And indeed nothing but an unaccountable Prejudice cou'd 
 have made him here fay, Johannes Radyingus, Csnoblarcha Ofneyenfis, Cordis pufil- 
 lanimitate detrufus, rcliBo Ordine magni DcEioris Augufliniy ad Qrdinem Minorum^ 
 Novitatem volens experiri, tranfmirraijit^ that is, John Reading opprefs'd with a certain 
 Cowardlinefs of Spirit, leaving the Order of the great Dcclor j^ugufiine, went over to 
 the Order of the Friers Minors, being willing to make Tryal of a Novelty. As if, in 
 a melancholy Mood, he had made this Change, or Shifted Habits and Places in a 
 Fit of the Spleen. But it cannot reafonably be doubted, but that the good Ab- 
 bot was influenced by a better Spirit than that of Cowardice, or Dejection of 
 Mind, and had a more Chriftian Motive for what he did in a Matter of fuch 
 Weight, than a Childilh Defire of Novelty. Some Authors by Miftake, make 
 this great Man a Member ot the Francifcan Community in Oxford, whereas a 
 credible Writer (fays (c) Mr. Wood) who cou'd hardly be miftaken in this Affair, 
 becauie he was acquainted with the faid Abbot, affuresus. He was cloth'd a Fri- 
 er at Northampton : I mean 'Thomas Wyke, who in his MS. Chronicles of Ofney, 
 under the Tear IZ3+, fpeaks thus, v\z. The fame Tear Br. John the fir ft y^bbot of 
 Ofney received the Habit of the Order of the Friers Acinars, at Northampton, upon 
 Wednefday after the Feafl of St. Michael, and Br. John de Leeche, was chofen 
 jibbot of Ofney, csrc So Mr. Wooi ibid- from the faid Thomas Wyke, who was 
 a Canon of the fame Abbey, of Ofney it felf . 
 
 . ^_ II. The famous Dodor Robert Groflete, Ele£t Bilhop of Liricoltt^- 
 
 "''' was this Year confecra'ed on St. AfrcW/'.f ^4)'. He was eminent for 
 
 both Vertue and Learning, and employ'd himfeli almoft continually in going 
 
 round 
 
 (a) A/iti^uit. Oxen. LiL. i^/ir. 70. (b) AfudWood, Ibidenh {c) Ibidem,
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifh Prancifcans. 5^ 
 
 round his Diocefs, vifiting his Clergy, and preaching to the common People 
 when he had Lei fu re ; and when he wasotherwife taken up, he committed this 
 Apofloiica! Office oF preaching and inftru£ling the People, to the Friers Mi- 
 nors, having alway&fome of that Order about him for the good of his Soul. 
 So Mr. Hctii-y Wharton^ (a) fr^m whom I goon. This Great Man (Gro/frf) was 
 the firft Perfon that taught the Francifcans at Ox-ford, where he moft chari- 
 tably and liumbly fiU'd'^the Chair of Regent of the Friers Studies in the Con- 
 vent of that Order, till he was advanced to the more honourable Seat of Pre- 
 lacy. During the Time that the Do£lor govern'dthe Francifcan Schools here, 
 a certain young Novice amongftthem fellfick, and being at the point of Death 
 received the ufual Rites of the Church, viz. the Sacraments of Penance^ the 
 ho\y Eucbarifly^in^ Extreme Vrj^ion\\yh\ch. being done, he direfted his Difcourfe 
 to the Community of the Friers on that Occafion there prefent for his Com- 
 fort and Affiltance by their pious Exhortations and devout Prayers, and'he took 
 his laft Leave of them faying, O ye Holy and good A<fen! Igivelhavki to God and 
 to you for my Converfion ; and I do moreover acknowledge my Obligations to you for your 
 holv In(tru^io>is and good Example, and for the Convcrfation I have happily enjoy'd 
 among (} you for thefe twelve Weeks ; And having thus fpoken, hethen return'd to 
 within hirafelf, and continued filentfora good while; and the good Friers won- 
 dring and waiting for the Event, the agonizing Novire cried out with a loud 
 Voice, Lord \ Do not you Ch.iftife ? Do not you flrike ? Tes, Lord, you dofirike, that 
 you may fpare ; Tou Ch.ifi-ife, that you may not punifii. The Friers now imagining 
 that the Devout Youth was delirious, fuggefted to him other Thoughts, more 
 proper fas they conceived) for a Perfon now expiring •, and fo that innocent; 
 Soul departed this Life, to take PofTeflion (as may be pioufly prefumedj of an 
 Eternity of Blifs. Now, the faid Friers relating this PalTage to their Mafler 
 Dr. Crc/^fff, humbly defired hi 3 Thoughts upon the Matter: I think ({aid hej 
 you have atted ralhly, becaufe the Youth read then in the Book of Life, and 
 had he not been interrupted, hewou'dhave taught you many heavenly Se- 
 crets. Wharton-, Ibidem. 
 
 III. Doflor Robert Crcjletc, that truly great Bilhop of Lincoln, was often 
 heard to fay (b) that the Francilcans were (of all Priefts) the moft fit Perlbns 
 to inftruit and reform Chriftian People, by reafon of their perfeft renouncing of 
 the World and all Manr.erof Propriety, as well in Common, as in particu- 
 lar : and Pope /«wocf«f /k /rar//? afterwards had the like Opinion of them as to 
 Infidels, when, for the fame Reafons, he declared the Friers Minors to be the 
 mofl proper Men to be fent into foreign Millions, as he had found by Experience 
 in the great Converfions they had then newly made amongft the Tartars, as ap- 
 pears in the Annals of the Order; under the Tear 124^. And indeed the true Fol- 
 lowers of the Inftitute of St. Francis have never fail'd of giving the whole 
 
 World 
 
 (a) Angl'ta Sacra, Farte ida, pag, 341, Qp 34:. (b) }^tdf Eiji. Miv. Frovirr, AngUx, 
 t^ge, 18.
 
 4© The Antiquities cf the BngViih Francifcans. 
 
 World frefh Proofs ot their being entirely withdrawn from all Intereft in fe- 
 cular Affairs ; and we have a fingular Example of this Truth in our Engliflx 
 Hiftorians, from whence may be inferr'd, how religioufly the Francifcans in 
 £w<7/.?«^ then ftuck to the exaft Obfervance of their Founders Rule. 1 mean 
 their Relblution and Conftancy in refufing a valuable Prerent from the King 
 himfelf: For, King Henry themrdh^d (amongfl many other Things^ wrefted 
 from the Merchants a Cart-load ot Gray VVoUen Cloth, which he (a) gave to the 
 Friers, as moft proper for their Religious Habits ; But they in an humble Man- 
 ner fent back the defigned Alms, procured, as they fufpefted, by the Oppref- 
 lionof the Subje£l-, leaving to Pofterity a notable Inftaiice of their Integrity. 
 This and many other fuch-like Marks ot their being difengaged from all fordid 
 Temporal Views, were (I prefume^ the chief Motives of their being fo much 
 employed as they were both in England, and in other Nations, as Colleftors 
 ^ . of the Subfidies for difcharging the Expences of the holy Wars. 
 Anno ii^y. -phen, it feems, there was no Jealoufy harbour'd of their putting 
 the Money into their own Pockets -, and whilft they continued thus wholly 
 difinterelTed, God gave a BlefUng totheirpious Defigns, as appears by many 
 Examples i whereof one was, that in the Tear 1235, whea ^^^ Crufade was 
 preach'd up by the Francifcans for the Encouragement of the Expedition a- 
 gainft the 'Turks, a Frier Minor call'd Br. Roger de Lewes coming down from the 
 Pulpit, in a Village named Clare ('which 1 take to be Clare in Pirton- Hundred in 
 O.\fordjlnre')onx.hs iMh of June, God was pleafed miraculoufly to cure (h) a 
 lame Woman, whofe Limbs, lamentably contracted for the Space of three 
 Years, return'd to their proper Places and Offices, with fuch a crackling Nolle 
 that was audible to all there prefent, and She that before was a Cripple, being 
 now fet ftreight and upright at the Prayer of the good Frier, went Home found 
 and in perteft Health. So the Amals of the Order, this Year. 
 
 l.'Qr.Gualterus^ or Walter, Cuffow, flourifh'd about this Tittle, as 
 ^wi236. ^j^g Jnnalifl of the Order hys. He was an Englifli Francifcan Doftor 
 ot Divinity of Oxford; and had the Honour to be made Patriarch of jintiochy 
 as is witneiTed by two ("cj very Eminent and Learned Friers Minors, who aiTert 
 it from antient Writer?. He was alio an Author, as (d) Dr. Pits fays, and writ 
 Four Booh upon the Mafier of the Sentences. 
 
 oi''<) ^^-Br. William Eton (\vhom fome by Miftake call EJJebcy) departed 
 
 »«D 115 . ^j^.^ j^.^^ about this Time. He was a learned Man before he entred 
 into the Order, and being a Francifcan, he taught the Friers for fome Time ac 
 O.vV^, under the Regency of Dr. Groflete •, was remarkable for the Holinefs ot 
 his Life, and eminent for his good Talent in Preaching, and is faid to have 
 been an Author, though no Account is given of his Writings, (e) Dr. Pitts 
 
 and 
 
 (a) Fran, a Sta. In Hiji. Mm. pagi 18. (b) ViAe St(pp!em. ejufdem Hiflor. Mln. {_c) Fran, a St a 
 Clara, in HiJl- Min. pair. 14.&' An^elus a Sto. Fran, in Catalogo Senior, froi/in. Angl.Frat. Min. (d) 
 In Apfttidhe lllup. Angl. Hcripf. (e) Ibidem,
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans. 41 
 
 and Br. Angelus a Sto Francifco make mention of him under the Tear 1227. See 
 more of him in this Work, yi»no 1 22 1 . Numb. 3 and 4. 
 
 I. Br. William Colevile Senior, deferves here a Remembrance, being Anno 1237. 
 one of the Three famous Doftors of Paris, that enter'd into the Or- 
 der of St. Francis with Br. Haymo de Feverjham already mentioned. I find no more 
 of him but that he was a great Credit to the Order, and a zealous Promoter -of 
 Religion both by his Learning and his Preaching, as well as by his Exemplary 
 Life; And that he had a Sifter who afterwards died a Martyr, being mofl: bar- 
 baroufly murdered in the Cathedral Church of Chichefier, in Defence of her Cha- 
 itity. (aj Lcland from Ecdefion. The exa£t Date of this Man's Death is not 
 certain. 
 
 IL This Year there was a Council, or Synod held in London ; Annon'^i. 
 where, amongft other Things, it was Decreed that the Feafts of St. 
 DoT?3inick and St. F^<j«m fhou'd be folemnly kept in England-, and that alfo by 
 an exprefs Command of the Pope himfelf, whofe Legate a Latere Otho, Cardinal 
 of St. Nicholas, call'd this Council. This Decree is to be feen in the Afts of 
 this Council ; And I prefume the Annalift of the Order means this Synod, when 
 he fays a Synod held this Year in London, being over-ruled by the King, enafted 
 fome things derogatory to Ecclefiaftical Immunity, which Determinations were 
 afterwards recalled by tlie Sollicitation of fome of the Francifcans ; but he lays 
 not what thefe Afts in particular were. 
 
 I. Br. Adam de Exonia, after his Entrance into the Order, went to ^»«« 1238. 
 Pope Gregory the Ninth, by whom he was fent to preach amongft the 
 Saracens. But he died at Barlette. So Ecdefion in (b) Leland. Now, I cannot 
 think (as fome do) that this was Adam de Marijco, or de Oxonia ; becaufe Exonia, 
 formerly Jfca, and now Exejler, the chief Town in DevorJIiire, where this Adam 
 was born, can have no Affinity with Oxonia ("but by Miftakeof the firft Letter) 
 where the other flourifh'd and never was fent among the Infidels, nor died at 54^-- 
 iette, but at Oxford, where he was Famous. Moreover, Ecdefion ibid, makes Ad.tnt 
 de Exoniai^nd Adam de Oxonia two different Perfons ^ as appears by Jiis bringing 
 in the Latter in the very next Period after he had faid that the firft died at 
 Barlette ; whereby 'tis plain to me that he means two Perfons. 
 ■^ Br. Richard Ingervorth, or Kingfthorf, departed this Life about this Anno 1138 
 time; for al hough Dr. P/r/ gives his Charafter y4«wo 1227, it's cer- 
 tain he was living feveral Years after that ; For, he was CommilTary of his Or- 
 der m England in the Twr 1230, and was afterwards made Provincial of Ireland, 
 ('as has been faid j and he lived fome Years after that Time: But 1 go on to his 
 Chara£ler given by Dr. Pi>/, and to be added to what 15 already faid of him. 
 hr. Richard Ingervorth, or King fihorp, or Re oiofylvanus, was a Perlbn whomoft ex- 
 quifitely join'd Piety with good Learning ; wherein having made great Improve- 
 ments in £«g/<j«(^, he went over into fr<»wcf, where he u fed his utmoft Endea- 
 vours to make a farther Proficience by hard Study, and a conftant Pradice of 
 Vertue, and a continual Commerce with fuch Perfons as were moft famous for 
 
 G both 
 
 (a) CoUeSan. Tom. 1. pag. 342. (b) Leland. Ibldtm.
 
 42 The Antiquities of the Englifh FrancifcanS' 
 
 both Piety and Learning. Whilfl he was in France it fo fell out that Br. jig' 
 fiellus, the firft Provincial of the Englifh Francifcan Province, came that Way 
 on his Journey to England, to whom Ingeworth made his Addrefstobe admitted 
 into the Order of St. Francis, through an ardent Defire of attaining to Evangeli- 
 cal Perfeftion. He was a zealous Preacher, a fervent Religious Man, and a good 
 Scholar, and is fuppofed to have been an Author, though the Titles of bis 
 VN'orks are not to be found. Infine he died an Apoftolick Miffionary in Syria 
 about this Year. 
 
 I. RJfh Mayjfton, that famous Bifhop of Hereford, this Year re- 
 
 " ^"^^' figr.ecl his See, with all the Honours and Advantages of ir, and en- 
 
 rer'd into the Habit and Order of St. Francis. And here, for the better Underftan- 
 
 dingot this memorable Ait, I will make the Reader acquainted with the Man j 
 
 whofe Chara£ler take as fullows. 
 
 R.idulpl'us de Maydenflan, or Ralph Maydfton ('fo call'd from the Place of his 
 Birth, Maidfione in Kent) had his firft Education in the Liberal Arts in the fa- 
 mous Univerfity of Oxford, where he made an uncommon Proficience ; after 
 which he went over" to Paris, where, by a continual Study and a daily Exercife 
 in the publick Schools, he added much to his Improvement, and is much com- 
 mended by our YWi^oxmi Mat hew Paris, for his excellent Learning: But being 
 driven from Paris by a Mutiny among the Students there, he return'd to his 
 native Country, with four other very learned Englifh Men, in the Tear i 229, and 
 getting into the Acquaintance and Favour of King Henry the 7hird,he was by 
 his Majefty promoted to the Epifcopal See of Hereford y4nno 1234, on the 
 Death of Hugh FcUoih ; and having govern'd that Diocefs, with much Holinefs 
 and Prudence, to the Honour of God and the Edification of his Flock, till the 
 fixth Yearof his Confecration, (viz.. 1239; when finding himfelf powerfully in- 
 fluenced with a fervent Defire of a more flrift Life, and being commanded in 
 a Vifjon fo to do, he refolved to lay down his honourable Miter, to put ona poor 
 Capuce i and having obtain'd a Difpenfiition and Leave from Pope Gregory the 
 Ninth (a rare Example indeed .') he refign'd his Bi/hoprick, and was cloth'd in 
 the Habit of a Francifcan, at Oxford; was fucceededin the See of Hereford hy 
 Peter de j^qua bl<mcha, a Savoyard, and lived in the penetential Habit and State 
 of a Frior Minor, in great Holinefs of Life, for the Space of ^^'^ Years and i'^ 
 Bays :, mofl of which time he fpent in the Convent of that Order at Glocefirr ; 
 where nlfo he died, and was buried amongft his Francifcan Brethren, i am 
 very iei.fible that the Account of the Manner of Dr. Ralph Maidfione's CaW to 
 the Order of Sr. Francis, will r.ot be equally agreeable to all Men ^ nor perhaps 
 i^ain Credif withfome ; yer, becaufeic is very extraordinary, and is deliver'd by 
 rio lefs a M;in than St. Antoninus, Archbifhop of Florence (not of the fame Or- 
 der, butj a Dominican, I will venture to relate it out of the iVb^f/ upon the Fran- 
 cifcan Afartyrologe, where it is to be found on the ii^th day of April, as follows. . , 
 At which Time alfof.ottri^i'd that Man of great PerfeB:ion Mr. Ralph, an Englifh 
 
 Man, 
 
 Vide Lcland. hem. Vol, S. part. 2. pag. 69. & CoUectan. ut fupra Wood. Antlq. Ovon. Lih i". 
 ■tag- 70. Wharton Anglia Sacra, part.. i.^<Tge49i. and Godytyn's Catalogue of BiJIjops.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifli Francifcans- 43 
 
 Man, and Eijhop of Hereford, Di>n:or of Divinity, who entered into the Order 
 from this Vifion '. For, when he was on a certain Time at Prayers^ he was in Spirit carried 
 away into Heaven to behold the AianPons of the heavenly Citizem, anU was ftrangely 
 adonifh'd when^ among fl the Saints of divers Orders, he coui not fee fo much as or.e of 
 the Friers Minors for whom he had a great /tffeilion. Then appeared to him as a mifi 
 beautiful Woman Mary the Bleffed Mother of Cod, who asked him the Caufe of his per- 
 plexed Thoughts ? To whom he replied, that he was amazed, that among the Saints of 
 other Orders there was not one Frier Minor to be feen, notwithflanding they were in fuch 
 great Efieem in the Church of God, and were very inflrumental to the Salvation of 
 many Souls : To whom jhe then anfwered, faying. Come along with me, and Iwtll fiew you 
 where they dwell -, and then She let him fee the Friers Minors more clofdy united to Chrtft ; 
 and faid. Look you where they are, under the very Wings of the fudge. Save thy 
 Soul with them. The good Bifhop being return d to himfelf, and having conjidered the 
 Vtpon, entered into the Francifcan Order by theConfentof the Pope. 60 St. Antoninus. 
 Whilft this great Man was Bifhop, he was the firft that ('a; appropriated the 
 Church of Beyjl)am, alias Cellad^ in the County ot Hereford, to the Cathedral 
 Church in Hereford, on Condition that every Canon prefent at Hid,h Mafs 
 fliou'd receive a Imall Retribution of Money. This Prelate alf) (bj bought of 
 one Moum-hault, a Noble Man, a fair Houfe and the Patronage, or Advowfon ot 
 St. Mary Mount-hault, adjoining near Broken Wharf, in London, leaving both to 
 his Succeflbrsin the See of Hereford. This Place is commonly, but corruptly 
 call'd Mount-haw. Know Reader, ('c)CfaysDr. Fuller) that all Englifh Biihops 
 in that Age had Pallacesin London for their Conveniency, in which they rfieded 
 zx-AVf^t great Wo//)/r«/(fy during their Attendance in Parliament: Thomas Wyke 
 (fays Fuller') gives Maydflon this pithy Commendation, viz. a Man of great Lear- 
 ving and a mofl- famous Divine. Infine, the Author of the Francifcan Marty ro- 
 loge gives Maydfion this honourable Remembrance, as a holy Man ; viz. In Eng- 
 land, the Commemoration of Blejfed Ralph, Biftwp and Conf£or, who refigning the Bi- 
 fjoprick of Hereford, entered into the Seraphical Order, and was a mojl bright Ex- 
 ample of Humility, Poverty, Obedience, and all Chnfiian Perfe^ion, and do fed his 
 Life by an holy Death. 
 
 The Anna !<; of the Order, and St. ^/;fo»/«ttj date the Entrance of this holy 
 Man into the Order of St. Francis about the ICear 1230, or fooner ; but all our 
 EnglifhHiftorians calculate it as I have here done after them •, .'X.nd it leems 
 plain that thofe('d) Writers alfo are miftaken, who fliy Ralph M.tydJlon taught 
 Divinity publickly at Paris after he was a Frier ; becaute the Chronicles of the 
 Order diftinguifh that Rnl^h, who was a ProfelTor there at that time, from this 
 R,ilph yl/^_y<^y?o» who refign'd his Miter •, and our Hiftoriar.s exprefily affert that 
 he led a retired Life, in the Convent at Gloccjler, mofl Part of his Time after 
 he had refigned his See, even to his dying Day. So the Error was made (us I 
 take it) by the fecoad Ralph's teaching at Pans, and his becomii g like^vife a 
 Frier Minor not long after; He is known by the Name of Ralph Ebifach, and 
 fhall be mention'd hereafter : But now I go on to a greater Man. 
 
 G 1 II 
 
 (a) Fran, a Sta.Clnaln Hift. Mhi, Provin. An?lx, p.i^ 10. (b) See Gfdioyn! CnttthgMof Pijhopi. 
 & Itin. Leland. {c) Fuller's Wtrtkies, Title Kent (d) Fran: a St.i Chra- fag lo &• AHj-
 
 44 The Antiquities of the Englifli Francifcans.' 
 
 . ^ II. Br. Albert de Pif^, \who was made Minifter of the Province of 
 
 ijp. £„^i^„^ yj„„g 1233, was this Year advanced to the Government of the 
 
 whole Order, aid departed this Lite a few Months after his Promotion. Here 
 (a) Toffmian. goes On with a Miftake as to the Time and Manner of Br. Albert's 
 
 being chol'en General, when he fays Br. Albert de Pifa, Provincial of England, was 
 chofen Geiieral of the whole Order in the Tear 1236, being then abfent : Where- 
 as other more ancient Au hors agree, that he was not advarxed to this Poft before 
 this Tear 1 239, when he was prefent at the General Chapter, where he fung 
 the firft Mafs So the Annals of the Order this Year. How long he govern'd 
 the Englijh 1 cannot juftly tell, becaufe fome Writers of the Order feem to 
 fpealc as if he had refign'd tlie Miniftry of England, and was made Provin- 
 cial elfe^fhere, before he came to the General Chapter held in Rome this 
 Year, wherein the famous EUas was again depofed, and Albert chofen in his 
 Place, General of the whole Order of St. Francis, and was confirm'd in the faid 
 Office by Pope Gregory the Ninth ; but he lived not above four Months in that 
 Miniftry, viz. from the J'yth of May till the Beginning of 5<'pff;«t<'r next follow- 
 ing ^ and therefore thofe (b) Writers are under a Miftake, who fiiy he lived lon- 
 ger in tlieOfHcej efpecially thofe who feem to think he lived two Years after 
 he was Chofen. TJit Author of the Francifcan Martyrologe fays, Br. Albert 
 was a Man of great Perteftion, full of Zeal and Virtue, and one whom Nature 
 had framed for great Performances ;, but that in a tew Months he finifh'dan Ab- 
 bridgment of a lojig Duration \ clofing his Life in the fame Year wherein he 
 was rais'd to the Dignity of General of his Order v and that his Death was la- 
 mented, not only by his Subjefts, but by the Pope himfelf, who had a great Va- 
 lue and Atfeftion tor him, and who, upon his Death, made an Anthem which 
 begins with thefe Word's, viz. Plange Turba paupercula. Infine, this Albert was 
 not Albert Stadenfis, a German, who was firft an Abbot of Benediflines, and after- 
 wards a Frier Mijior and an Hiftorian ; although fome Authors, by Miftake, 
 confound them, as Wadding rightly obferves. Many Authors of the Order 
 make an hoi.orable Mention of him, as may be feen in the Notes upon the 
 Francifcan Martyrologe, whem (on the id. of September') he is reckon'd a very holy 
 Man, under the following Charafter, viz. In Italy, the Commemoration of Blcjfed 
 Albert de Pifay Confcjfor ; CunfpicuoJis for his Piety, Learning, and Zeal for regular Ob- 
 fervance i who, for the great PcrfeBion of his Life, was made Provincial in England, 
 in Germany, and in Spain ;. and at lafl being chofen Minifler General of the whole Se- 
 raphical Order, went foon after to the blejfed Rewards. 
 
 IIL Br. Haymo Ferverpam had honorably acquitted himfelf of the 
 Jnito 1139. £j„j3affy, whereon he was lent by the Pope to Conjlantinople,'&vA had gi- 
 ven fb many plain Proofs of his great Zeal for Fveligion and regular Difcipline, 
 that he was now made Provincial of England ; which (cj Ecclefton fays was done 
 at Rome, in the fame Chapter wherein the General of the Order, Elias, was de- 
 pofed ; and I fuppofe he means in 1 239, when Br. Albert de Ptfa was made Ge- 
 neral, 
 
 (a) Hifor. Seraphic. Lib. zdi>. folio 1 78. (b) 7ofinia}i.JViUot,PoJftvinus, and of rrs rileti in the Eran- 
 li/car) Martyrologe. \,c) Vide LelandiColleSan.iem, 1. pag, 341. ex Chronic. UUjimi.
 
 The Antiquities of the ^ng['\(h Francifcans. 45 
 
 neral, in the depofed EUas's Place ; becaufe the fitme Author fays, Br. Haymo 
 was Provincial of England but tor one Tear before he was Chofen the 6th Miuifter- 
 General ot the whole Order. The Author of the Francifcan Martyrologe fays, 
 Br. AZ-sywo was the 5?/; General, as fume others alfo do ^ but this Difference is 
 not Material : But all the Writers 1 have yet feen agree to calculate Br. H^ymos 
 Advancement to that Dignity in the fame Year as that of his Predeceffor, viz. 
 T239 \ from whence its eafy to infer, that his Year ('as Eccleflon calls it) of 
 Provincialfhip was not compleat •, for, according to rhis Account, it cou'd be 
 no more than from the \^th of May till the Time of his Appearance at Rome, af- 
 ter a legal Citation fent him immediately after Br. Alberts deceafe, in September ; 
 So that the Year muft needs be far fpent before he and other Perfons of the Order 
 concern'd cou'd reach the holy City, unlefs the laid Authors extend the Year 
 as far as the Vernal Equinox; or mean only that Haymo was chofen General 
 within twelve Months after the Death of Albert^ his Predeceffor : However, 
 all Writers ot the Order agree that Haymo was chofen General at Rome^ in the 
 Prefence of Pope Gregory the Ninth, who, in Perlbn, received the Votes of the 
 Eleftors, and confirm'd him in his Office when chofen. And here I beg, the 
 Reader's Leave to fet down all I find of Haymo's Ghara£ler, whether precedent 
 or fubfequent to this Year, to be added to what has already been laid ot him.; 
 IV. Br. Haymo deTeverfljam (de Feverjhino., Willot calls him ; and de Feverefchim, 
 Tojfman.') fo call'd from the Place of his Birth, which was Feverjham, m Kent, 
 was very promifing even in his Childhood ; and growing up-, he ran through 
 his lower Stiidies, in England, with great Succefs and Appiaufe, till he had made 
 himielf perfect in the liberal Arts: And then (after the Example of many of 
 our ingenious Country-men of thofe DaysJ he refolved to make a Tryal ot his 
 Wit araongft Foreigners ; and therefore went over to Paris, to make himfelf 
 Mafter in the higher Studies ; which being finifh'd with great Applicacion and 
 Improvement, and he now an able Divine; He renounced the World with all its 
 fpecious Offers and Advantages, and became a Frier Minor at St. Denys\ in 
 France, devoting himfelf wholly to that facred Order, (as^aj Dr. Pits faysj where- 
 in he was made ProfelTor and Doftor, and fill'd the Doitors Chair for a long 
 time-, giving his Audience daily Proofs of his excellent Wit and Learning, and 
 making fuch an extraordinary Progrefs in the Study of the holy Scripture?, and ot 
 true Piety, that, in regard to the Merit ot his Vertues, his Religious Brethren 
 flyled him theMirrour of all Integrity. He deferved well ot the Univerfity of Paris, 
 having Cas an (b) Author fays) a great Hand in the opening of two famous Schools 
 there. Now although Dr. Pits thinks Haymo was made Doftor after he was a 
 Frier ; yet (c) £fc/(r/?o«'j Authority in this Point, is more to be depended upon; 
 and he fays, Haymo was a Doitor and an eminent Preacher when he-enter'd in- 
 to the Order of St. Francis, (which added much to the Credit of the Order,) 
 there were Three other great Doftors of Divinity alio clothed with him, as has 
 beenfaid; which alfo contributed greatly to the encreafe of Devotion in the 
 
 People, 
 
 (a) De JUupibus M^IU Scriptoriitts, Anno 1260. (.b) Fran. .*t»«. Clara, its Jiifi. Mn, p-»?. 13. 
 iO In CoUectan. Leiand. Tern. 2. » j f o 3
 
 4^ The Antiquities of the Englifh Franclfcans. 
 
 People, who were much edified with fuchheroick Examples, and thereby more 
 effedlually excited to the Praftice of Penance, than by the moft elaborate Ser- 
 mons. But I return to Haymo^ who, having gain'd an univerfal Efteem in France, 
 return'd into England, where he was famous for his Preaching, as well as lor 
 his great Learning, and (as an (aj Author of Credit writes^ Hxymo was one of 
 the publick Profeflbrs ot his Order alfo at Cambridge^ but about what Time 
 he fays not.- However, Ecclefion^ (b) having faid that //;pvff was C«/o^ of Puris^ 
 adds, that he was fentfor into Italy, where he taught, firft at Bononia, and then 
 at Padua ; from whence (being recommended to the Pope by Cardinal Richard 
 Somerton) he was made Reader of the holy PallacCy and was afterwards employ'd in 
 an EmbaiTy to the Patriarch of Conflantimfle^ as is already faid. Haymo having 
 in all thefe Stations given continual Proofs of his great Vertueand Learning, it is 
 no Wonder the Roman Chapter, wherein he was choien General, gave him the 
 Charafter of A mofi excellent Divine and a Mirrour of Integrity •, which he made 
 good, wlien during the five Years of his Miniftry, he led on his Subjeils ra- 
 ther by the light of his exemplary Vertues then by the Power ot Command; 
 For, he that before, in the Schools, had taught m'i.ny the Knowledge thiit puffs uft 
 made it now his whole Bufinefsto teach, in Monafteries, the Chanty that edifiesy 
 and the regular Difcipline and humble Obedience that mortify the Flelh, enli- 
 ven the Spirit, and rejoice the Mind. Infine, Br. H.iymo was univerfally efteem'd 
 as one" of the greateft Men of his Time, not only tor Vertue and Learning, 
 but alfo for a prudent Dexterity in the Management of Affairs of Importance, 
 and was fo very Zealous, that he vifited the greateft Part ot his Order in Perfon, 
 and fo true a Lover of .Self-mortification, that he perform'dall his Journeys on 
 Foot. He was the Perfon that incapacitated the Lay-Brothers from bearing any 
 Offices of Superiority in the Order, as being more conformable to the Rule of 
 St. Francii\ Whereupon Marcantius fays, it was rightly done by the mofllearned Dr. 
 ■ Haymo, becaufe thofe Offices imply a Jurifdiftion, whereof Lay-Brothers feera 
 to be incapable : amongft his Subjefts alfo he reform'd and fettled many Things 
 worthy of fo great a Father, as the Records of the Order bear Witnefs. But 
 this his profperous Government, at laft, had the Misfortune to be interrupted 
 with terrible Shocks •, for, no fooner was Pope Gregory the Ninth departed this 
 L\fe,Anno i 241, but thedepofed General Elias(who had beenfent to ConFlantinofle 
 to make Peace between Frederick, and the Eaftern Emperors j rulh'd out fi-om 
 his Covert of conceal'd Malice and Ambition, and laid Claim to his former 
 Office of Minifter General •, which proved to be a mifchievous Blow to the Fran- 
 cilcan Order, (as my fcj Author faysj which was by this Means divided by a 
 Schifm, whilft fome acknowledg'd Elias^ and others Haymo, for their General and 
 liuvful Superior •, till Pope Innocent the Fourth dikovefd the turbulent, ambitious 
 Spirit ai,d the Fraud ot £//rfj, and thought fit to cut him off from both the Order, 
 and the Communion of the Faithful by a Sentence of Excommunication, and em- 
 braced Haymo, whom he confirm'd atrefh in his Office, and who had not been 
 
 iQle 
 
 (a)Fr<??;. aSta. Clara, ib'J. (b) Fragment. F.cchfionl, in L(lan4. ut fupra. (c)'ToJfinlan.Hif. 
 Seraph, Lib, 2. folio I'fS.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans. 47 
 
 idle during this lad Confufioii, but in Order to a more exaft Ob'ervance of re- 
 gular Dilcipline had taken Care, and given his Command to have the Rule of 
 St. Francis moft pundlually and impartially explicated by Four principal DoUors 
 of the Order, viz. Br, Alexander Alenfis, (or of Hdes) Br. Richard de Media- 
 F'llla, (or MiddletonJ Br. Gaufredus de Ftntihus, (or G^fery Fountains) and Br. John 
 de Rupe/la, the three firft ot which Doftors were Englijlj Men •, which Explica- 
 tion ot the laid Four DoEiors was received by the whole Order in the General 
 Chapter held ?Lt Sonoma, {Anno 1242^ for the pure Obfervance of the Rule, a- 
 gainft the Innovations of Br. Helias and his Adherer.t?. 
 
 V. Br. HayrKo had an Injunftion laid upon him by Pope Alexander the Fourth 
 (as fome (a) Authors lay^ to reduce the Romm Breviary into a better Form .• but 
 it is moft certain that Haymo was Dead above nine Tears before Alexander the ^th 
 was advanced to the Papal Chair. However, the Faft is true i Haymo did cor- 
 reft the Breviary, and bring it into almoft the fame Form of Hours as now it is ; 
 but it was at the Command ot Innocent the Fourth and not Alexander : He alio added 
 to it the Rubricks which are ftill in Ufe, as St. Bonaveniure i&ys(^\vhcm Haymo m- 
 ceived into the Order) and as 5^/? alfo fays, after others ; and hence Br. John de 
 Parma, in a letter written by him to the Province ot Tufcia, whilft he was Mi- 
 nifter General, commanded them to fellow the ordinary Form of the Miffal and 
 Breviary, correded by the pious Labour ot Br. Haymo, my Predecejfor, (lays he^ 
 of holy Memory, and approved by a General Chapter, and confirm'd by the Apo- 
 ftolick See ; which was alfo brought into the whole Roman Church, and again 
 commanded by Pope Nicholas the Third. So Fran, (h) a St a. Clara, from A£ir- 
 cantius. 
 
 VI. Br. Haymo being General, there was a Divifion made of the Provinces 
 of the Order, and the Power of Provincials was limited. He moreover was 
 an Author, and here follow the Titles of his Works, viz. of the Ceremonies of the 
 Mafs, One Book. Vpon the Mafter of the Sentences j Four Books. Sermons through- 
 out the Tear ; One Book. He died, an old Man, at Anagnia, in Italy, m the fifth 
 Year of his Miniftry, viz. Anno 11244, '^"'^ h^-'^ ^^^ Honour to be viflted in his 
 Sicknefs by Pope Innocent the ^h. So Eccltjion, in Letand, Wadding and others. 
 Dr. Pits m^kes Haymo live till the Tear \i6o \ but the Annals and Writers of 
 the Order are againft him. The Author of the Francifcan Martyrologe, on the 
 Sd of OEiober, gives him a great Charafter amongfl the Holy Menot the Order, 
 as alfo his Epitaph, which is very indifferently compofed, viz., . 
 
 Hie jacet Anglorum Decor, Dec us Ay mo Alinorum 
 f^ivendo Frater, hos (juoq; regendo Pater ; 
 Eximius Le^or, Generalis in Ordtne ReBor. 
 
 VII. In tlie Beginning of the Order, the Miniflers General were commonly 
 for Term of L.ife -, unlels they refigii'd the Office or fas 'tis exprefs'd /;; the 
 ^th Chapter of their Rule') it (houd affe.tr to the Generality of the Provincial Minifiers 
 
 and 
 
 (a) Ttts. Argelus a Sto, fwr* in Catalag, Scrip. &> a Sta Clara,, ibid, (b) WJlor. Min. frovlti. 
 Avgt.^.tg, 13.
 
 48 The Antiquities of the Englidi Francifcans. 
 
 and Cujios's^ that the laid Gentralis not fufficientfor l he Service and common Good of the 
 Brethren \ in fuch Cafe the faid Brethren^ to whom the Power of clewing is given, are 
 bound to choofe another in his Place, in the Name of the Lord. In tlie like Manner 
 ic was with the Provincials, till the 48?/;. gcner.d Chapter, undex Pope Leo the Tenth 
 \\\ Bulla Vnionis -^ but they were obliged to renounce, or refign their Offices in 
 every General Chapter :, and for juft Reafonsthey might be depofed in a Pro- 
 vincial Chapter. But I have run forwards too far, and now return. 
 
 I.Br. William de Nottingham was Br Haymo'i Vicar whilft he went 
 Anno iii^o, ^^ f^ome, and f/^ywo being made General of the whole Order in the 
 Chapter there, Br. (r;ft<jn» Jbcceeded him in the Office of Provincial of England. 
 William of Nottingham was a Divine oi^ Oxford, and govern'd the Province about 
 fourteen Years •, -as Eccleflon in LeUnd fays.- And (a) Mr. Wood, adds, that in 
 the Catalogue of their Provincials, he \% ^y\e<i {Fir San^liffimus) a very holy Man. 
 But having now placed him in the Office of Provincial, I will leave the refl of 
 hisCharafter for another Occafion. 
 
 II. Br. Ralph Rofe, or Radulphus de Rofa, flourifh'd under the Reign of 
 Anno U40. j^jng fje„ry the Third. He was a famous Preacher, had the Honour 
 to be admitted into an intimate Familiarity with the faid King, and was after- 
 wards made Penitentiary at Rome by Pope Gregory the Ninth, and departed this 
 Life in the Papal Court, in a venerable old Age. So EccUflon'm Leland. I can- 
 not find when he died ^ but guefs this to be the Time of his being in Office at 
 Rome. 
 
 Br. John of Tarmouth (or de Gemtmuta) flourifh'd in the Beginning 
 Amo 1240. Qf j.j^g fjj.^ ^^^ ^gg ^jf jj^g Order. He was an Englifh Francifcan 
 
 of great Sanftity of Life, and ended his Days at Nottingham ; and was buried 
 among the 5/.jci Canons oi Shelford. So Eccleflon '\n Leland. The Francifcan Con- 
 vent in Nottingham was built by King Henry the Third, but if it was begun be- 
 fore this holy Man departed this Life, it was not, 1 prefumefo far advanced as 
 yet, as to have a Burying-PJace in it •, and therefore he was interr'd amongft 
 the Black Canons here mention'd. 
 
 I. Ralph Maydjton, the mofl illuflrious Bifhop o^ Hereford, who enter'd 
 nnoiz^i. ji^^Q (.j^g Order j4n no 1239, was followM, about this Time, by ano- 
 ther famous Divine of the fame Chriflian-name, Ralph or Rodulphus call'd by the 
 Annalift of the Order and other Writers Radulphus Ebifach; of whom (c^ Tof' 
 finian. and others write, that being defpirited on a certain Time with hard 
 Study, and falling afleep, the DevH appeared to him, andihreatned to take away his 
 Eye-fight, faying., I will blind thee with Dung ; whereupon the DcBor awaked ; Rut 
 being a fecond Time attacked in his Sleep, he boldly fpoke to the Devil, faying thou Pmlt 
 not blind me ; but I will blind thee. Now it fo fell out, that the ne xt Day when the 
 Dc£tor was giving out a'Leffon in the Schools (fie then being a publick Pro- 
 feff^^r of Divinity in Pans) a Letter was brought to him to apprife him that 
 the King of £wg/^«^ offer'd him «nV^ Bidioprick j which the Doftor humbly de- 
 clined 
 
 (a) Antiq. Oxen. Lib. 1" pa^ ^^.{h) Fran, a Sta Clara, in H'ljlor. Min, pa^ 7. (c) Hifior. Sera- 
 phic. Lib. z folio 177. & Fran, a Sta Clara, in Supplem. Hifi. Mn,& Wadding, ad Annum 
 1154.
 
 The A?itiquities of the Englidi Francifcans. 4^ 
 
 clined the accepting of, interpreting Riches to be the Dung, wherewith the Devil 
 had threatned to blind him; Then renouncing all Worldly Preferments and 
 Advantages, and refigning his Publick Lelfon, he enter'd into the Order of St. 
 Ficncis, where he made a great Proficience in the way of Chriftian Perfeftici. 
 So the Authors above quoted. 
 
 IJ. Widi Ebifach, juft now mention'd, there enter'd into the fume A?!!io 1141. 
 Order another Perlbn, famous for both Vertue and Learning, call'd 
 likewife Ralph, or Rodulphus, an Englijh Man, whole Sirname is pafs'd over in Si- 
 lence •, and thefe two Name-lakes were a great Orna.menc and Credit to the 
 Englijl) Province of Francifcans. loffmiaK. Ibidem. 
 
 I. Br. fjaymo of Fever fl> am, that Zealous General of the Order, pre- Anno 1:4;. 
 fided this Year over the General Chapter at Bononia, where the De- 
 claration of the Rule of St. Francis, and the impartial Interpretation thereof 
 made by the Famous Four DoUors of the Order, was approved and received as 
 the true genuine lenfe and meaning of St. Francis. Thefe great Men fnamed be- 
 fore) were appointed and Commiffion'd by a Chapter at Mompelicr,Anno i 240, to 
 undertake this great Work for the Support of a ftrift Obfervance of the laid 
 Rule \ and this their Zealous Performance has recommended their Names to 
 the lateft Pofterity, as well as that of their EngUjli General Haymo, the chief Pro- 
 moter ot it: And indeed it's a iafling Credit, and an Honour to the Evglijlf 
 Francifcans, that of thofe Five exemplary Supporters of Evangelical Poverty, 
 Four were of that Nation, viz. t. Dr. Haymo, the Gereral. xDr. Mexander de 
 Hales. 3 Dr. Richard Middleton^ and 4. Dr. Jeffrey ('a) Fumtains. 
 
 I. About this time the Friers of the whole Order of St. Francis Anno 124J. 
 were agreeably furprifed with the uncxpefted fnccefs ot a Lay-Bro- 
 ther caird Nicholas, an EngUfli Man ; who having (contrary to the Cuftom of that 
 humble State) applied himliilt to the Study of Divinity, was blefs'd with fuch 
 uncommon Proficience, that he was permitted to take holy Orders, and in time 
 gain'd fo great a Reputation, that his Fame reach'd as far as /f/?/y, and being 
 fent for to Rome, he was firft made Confelfor to Pope Innocent the Fourth ; and 
 then, by his Holinefs, ordain'd Biihnp of Ajfiftum. bo Ecclefion. 
 
 This Cafe w«s extraordinary, and feems not to anfwer the delign oi" St. Francis ; 
 who charges (b) the Lav-Brothers of his Order, not to bufy themfelves with 
 the Study ot Learning, but apply their utmoft Endeavours to the acquiring of 
 the Spirit of Devotion, and improving in the humble way ot Chriftian Perfe- 
 ftion ; So that the Lay-Brothers are to be contended in their Vocation, and not 
 to Aim at the Priefthood : But Superiors, it feems, judged it realbnable to per- 
 mit Br. Nicholas to be advanced to that Sacred Dignity :; and the Confequences 
 made it plain, that they were in the Right of it. Now, I have tome Sufplcion, 
 that this Br. Nicholas may be the fame Perlbn with Br. NichoL-is A>iglicu<,oi whom 
 I will fpeak hereafter •, the Time of this Man's being Confelfor to the Pope, 
 Innocent the Fourth, feems to be near the lame: BuC on tlie other Hand, N.ch^Lis 
 Anglicus being a Doftor, a Learned Man, and an Author ; and the other only 
 
 H railed 
 
 (a) Vide Franc, a Sta. Cl.tra, in Hijf, M.n. fag. 9. (b) Qh.ipter the loth o[ the Rule of St. Ft-uxU.
 
 50 The Antiquities of tJje Englifh Franclfcans. 
 
 railed from the State ot a Lay-Brother, gives me reafon fas I think^ to conclude 
 they were two diflin^ Perfons, and fucceeded each other as Papal ConfefTors 
 and Bilhops of yijfifiuvi, the Doftor being thelaftinthe find Pofts. 
 
 II. Br. Euflnce de A'ftrCy (or Mark) an E»glifl) Francifcan, lived alfb 
 
 *"" ^'^^' about this time, and was very Famous for Zeal of Religion, and 
 ilolinefs of Life i of which the particular Inflances are not related by £cc/r/?o«, 
 (in Ldand) who gives his Ch:ira£ler in thefe general Terms, as he commonly does, 
 in his fhort Way, of others. 
 
 Hi. 1 have already given repeated Inftanres of the Vertue and Pro- 
 
 WW I..4V jjijy Qf jj^g Englijli Francifcans ; but here follows a Mark of their be- 
 ing fubjeci to humane Frailties and Defeats. In the Tear 1243, fcarce four and 
 twenty Years after the Frier Minors came over, and began to build their firft Hou- 
 fes, in England, (fdys(R^ M.ithew Paris) there arofe a hot Dlfpute between the^ 
 Friers Minors ar.d the. Friers Prachers, which caufed great Wonder in many, be- 
 caufethefaid Friers leem'd to have chofeii the Way of Perfection, t/Zz,. of Poverty 
 anJ of Patience. The Debate between thefe two contending Parties was which 
 ot the Orders was more perfect.' The ZJow/wV^wj pleaded that they were the 
 Firfi, and therefore the more Worthy •, that theirs was, a comely Habit ; that 
 their Names and Office were defervedly taken from Preaching, that their State 
 had in it more of an Apoftolical Dignity. The Friers ^;»or/ replied, that they 
 had made Choice of a moreauflere and humble Life for the Loveot God ; and 
 therefore a more worthy State, becaufe more Holy ^ and that it was lawful for 
 a Dominican to become a Francifcan, becaufe it was a going over from an infe- 
 riour Inftitute to a moreftrift and fuperiour Order : But this was briskly de- 
 nied by the Dominicansy who afTerted that although the Friers Minors go bare-foot, 
 and poorly clothed and girded with a Rope, yet they were permitted to eat Flelh,. 
 even in Publick, which was forbidden the Dominicans, and therefore they ought 
 not to go over to the Frier Minors as to the ftrifter, or more worthy Order, but 
 rather on the Contrary. Thus far Mathew Paris, who from hence is pleafed to 
 take an Occafion to lafh the Religious of both thefe Orders after an unmerciful 
 Rate \ which 1 take to be no Part of Hiftory, but a Mark of the Frailty, and Per- 
 vernefs of human Kature, as the Difpute now related alfowas. However, the 
 firft Riie of this Contention was {'if I guefs rightj from Ibme of the Dominicans 
 defiring to be admitted into the Order of the Friers Minors ; and that which con- 
 firms me in the Truth of this Conjefture, is the Nature of the Difpute and Ar- 
 guments on both Side?, and another fuch I ike Storm raifed againft the Francifcans 
 on fuch an Occafion by the Auguftinian Friers, feveral of whom are faid to have 
 enter'd into the Order of St. Francis m England. 
 
 J. _ 1. Br. FJaymo de Fcverjham, that Famous Engli^i Francifcan Doftor 
 
 Anr.0 izi^. ^^^ Minifter General of the whole Order of St. Francis, departed 
 this Life this Year \ whofe Charafter is already given, Anno T239, of this Work. 
 
 . II. Br. Galfredus, or Godefridus de Fontibus ('whom we fhou'd now, 
 
 "" '^'**' c?i\] Cefftry, or Godfrey Fountai>/i) was an Englijh Man, as feveral Au-" 
 
 thors 
 
 .{O'^SetthUtaffagt.n Summer j Atiti^uities of Canterbury, pages io8- and 10^
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifli Francifcans. $i 
 
 thors (^) witnefs •, and was commonly ftyled the TenerMe Do^or^ this T'tle be- 
 ing given him for both his Solid Learning, and the Gravity of his Comportmerrf. 
 For his Authority, he was a Man fit to Govern ; and for his great Learning, 
 wellquah'fied for Teaching. He is fome times call'd Czz/w of y^m ^ Cufios being, 
 by Miftake, there defign'd to exprefs his having been heretofore Guardiun ot the 
 Convent of Friers Minors in that City, where he taught Divinity both Privately 
 and Publickly, (with refpeft to different Times) and was the Author of many 
 learned Works, which he publidi'd for the Ufe and Advantage ot Pofterity ^ a- 
 mongft which Dr. Pits reckons thefe, viz. u^on the Mafler of the Soitences, Four 
 Books. Schulaflkk QuoMibets, Several Books- j4n Expifnion of the Rule of the Friers 
 Minors, One Book. Of the Infancy of St. Edmund, One Book, MSS. In the pub- 
 lick Library at Cambridge. He feems(as an (b) Author fiiys) to have been pre- 
 fent vi\th the Four Mafiers, or Do£tors of the Order who explicated the Rule of 
 St. Francis, at the Command of Br. Haymo then General \ and Br. Fran, a Sta Clar4 
 (c) aflerts, without Hefitation, that he was one of the faid Four Doctors. 'Tis not 
 certainly known when this great Man departed this Life •■, but by Circumftances, 
 I guefs he was Living this Tear i 244, and how long after 1 know not. 
 
 I. Br. Alexander de Hales, or Jlenfis, departed this Life now. He Amw 1245. 
 took his Name from the Place ot his Biith, which was Hiles^a. little 
 Town in the County of Glocejier, where heretofore was a Famous Abbey of Gf- 
 tertians ; whofe Monks having the Heroick Charity to teach Youth, Alexander had 
 the Happinefsto be one of their Scholars, and here imbibed the firft Rudiments 
 of Vertue and Learning, with a Succefs proportion'd to his Excellent natural 
 Genius and great Application % after which, being fupported (as Camden fays) by 
 Richard Earl of Cornwal and King of the Romans^ he fpent fome Time, with greac 
 Applaufe, in his Studies at Oxford-^ where he turnifh'dhimfelf with an uncom- 
 mon Stock ot Science, both Human and Divine ; and having a ready Wit, an 
 eloquent Tongue, and a ("olid Judgment, He, in time, became fo very Expert, 
 that he fcarce had his Match amongft either the Philofophersor the Devines or 
 thofe Days. Alexander now having thus, not only laid the Ground-work, but 
 made a hopeful Super-ftrufture of Learning in England', went over into France^ 
 where he continued his Diligence in liard Study, and was fo afliduous in all Scho- 
 laftick Exercifes, that it was not long before he won the Cap, being admitted to 
 the Degree of Do£lor of Divinity in the Univerfity of Taris \ where alio he was 
 honour 'd with the Dignity and OfHce of Kings Profejfor. And, joining a holy Life 
 with his great Learning, he pertorm'd his Charge much to the Honour of God, 
 and lb greatly to the Benefit of his Scholars, that he was the Wonder of his 
 Time, and (for the Solidity of his Proofs in all Manner ot Learning and Ar- 
 gumentation) juftly deferved the HonoratleTitles which were unanimoufly given 
 him, viz. a Fountain of Life, DoBor of DoBors, und Invincible Do^or. So /*;//, IVil- 
 lot, and others. 
 
 H 2 h-.decd, 
 
 (a) Dr Tits, in Appevdice U'.iifr. Ar.gl Script. Angelus Mafin^ In Cataitg. S^ri^t- Frot, Mir. Vrovin 
 Angi QP Aliy. (b) Mafm, ibid, (c) In Hlfl.'Mnt.'p'tg. 9.
 
 52 7l^e Antiquities df the Englifli Franclfcans. 
 
 ■ fndeed, it the Excellence of Scholars adds to the Credit ot" the Mafter, (as 
 certainly it does j I kiiov no greater Man than HMenfij, who for his Difciples had 
 St. Bonaventure^iH.d St. Thonnts Aquinas., and Br. Willi. im f^arro, or d( Ware; the Two 
 firft aftorvvaids Omon'Zid Saints and Doctors of the Church, Famous through- 
 out the Chriftian World, the Firft under the Title of the Seraphical Do^or., and; 
 the Otlier the A-/getical, and the Third not mucK inferior to them, being a!fo a^ 
 great Doilor of the Francifcan Order, as St. Bonaventurs was, who moreover 
 was a Biihop and a Cardinal. Br. WitUnm Farro (cr of Wurre) was Scottish Mafter j. 
 but of him more hereafter. Now I return to Alenps ; Who (if we may 
 relv on a great (a) Author who brings in Dugdde for his Voucher^ was heretofore 
 Arch-deacon ot Coventry: which Jhews ho^v much he was hontiur'd at Home:. 
 My Author indeed takes no Notice of the Time when yiU.vandcr was in his Of- 
 fice •, but why might it not be after he was made Dortor, and before he was pro- 
 moted to the honorable Poft of Regius I'roftjfor ? 'Tis not improbable that his 
 Country-men courted him to come Home, nor unlikely that the French (who 
 Knew his Worth) made him large Offers to S'.ay at, or return to Parif. However, 
 the great Doilor at laft renounced All, and became a Frier Minor, at Piirlsj Anno 
 1 22a, or Iboner as 1 have faid, and is defervedly rank'd amongfl their chief 
 Doftors ■, as appears from his Name having the firft Place (after the Popes and 
 Cardinals) among the Fifteen DoBors whole NaJnas are engraven on Brafs plates 
 about the Tomb of John Duns Scotus, m the old Convent of Friers Minors ac 
 CAogn \ where likewile is the Name o? [Villi am Varro abovemention'd who was 
 Mafier to the Suht'^le Z)ef?ar, and /^.^/fwyji's Scholar. In a Word.^ Br, Alexander 
 //a/fw/7;did not only go before All, or moft of the Francifcan Divines, in both 
 Learning and Time \ but wes reckon'd the very Prince of all the Divines ot the 
 Age he Lived in, and his Writings of Scholaftick Theology furpafs all that went 
 before him, for Method and Order, for Brightnefsof Wit and Solidity of Rea- 
 loning. Dr. Fuller, in his ufual Style, fpeaksof him thus, vItl.. ' As for our Alex- 
 
 * andcr., as he had the Name of that Great Conqueror of the World, fo was he 
 
 * a Graiid Captain and Commander in his Kind ; for as he 6.\d. follow Peter Lom- 
 *' bard., fb did he lead Thom.-is Aquinas and all the reft of the School-men : He was- 
 
 * the firft that wrote a Comment on the Sentences, in a great Volume cali'd The 
 
 * Sum of Divinity, at the Inftance of Pope Innocent the F»urth, to whom he dedi- 
 
 * cated the Same •, and for this and otlier good Services to the Church of Rome, he- 
 
 * received the fplendid Tide of DoBor Irrefragabilis^. So Fuller. 1 his Sum divided 
 into Four Tomes, was approved by Pope Alexander the Fourth, by a Special Bull (kepC 
 in the Franciscan Convent in Paris) fubfcribed by Seventy Two learned Do- 
 dofsof Paris \ and being confirm'd with proper Seals, was by the fame Pope re- 
 commended to all Univerfities. He a^fo writ a Famous learned Treatife of the 
 Conception of the Bleffed Virgin Alary \ whe.rein he proves and defends her Exemp- 
 tion from Original Sin. He likewife writ a Compendium of Divinity , in Six Dooks^ 
 hefides many other Works, to be hereafter named from Dr. Pits. 
 
 The 
 
 (a) Fran, a St a. Clara^ in ILflor. Miv- p^g- ll> S^e the Fraiuifari Martyrologe, October the zotb 
 fer thfe ami mart Voiuhns,
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifii FrancilcanS' 55 
 
 The Manner of j^Uxander'sC^Wto the Francifcan Order is fo very remarkable, 
 that I cannot forbear the giving of it a Place here, Clet Criticks fay what they 
 pleafe) fince it is related by no iefs Men than Sedulius, Wadd-ng^ Poffovinus, Ger- 
 foTi-, and the two famous Billiops, Af.irk of Ltsbone, a Frier Minor, and St. ylnto- 
 ninus, Archbifhop of f/o>-<r«cf, a Dominicany thus : yr]Z. '• ^lexanjer ds Hales enter'd 
 into the Order of St. Francis, under Elias Minifler General c|f that Order, after 
 this Manner : He was a famous Doftor of Paris, and renown'd throughout the 
 World ^ and out of an extraordinary Devotion to the B. F'irgin Mary, had en- 
 gaged himfelfwitha firm Purpofe, never to refufe any thing in his Power that 
 fhou'd be ask'd in her Name: Now, a certain devout Matron (by what means 
 1 know not^ coming to the Knowledge of this, and being much affected to 
 the Carmelites and the Domiriicansy told fome of the former the Secret, bid- 
 ding them go to the Doctor Halenfs and ask him, for the glorious f^irgin A'fnry's 
 Sake, to enter into their Order ; alfuring them that the Doftor wou'd grant their 
 Requeft, The White Friers are Jurprifed at the Thing, confidering the Man, 
 and the elevated Station he was in : But, relying on the Devotion and Integri- 
 ty of the Matron, they go to the Doitor, who received them- with ail the 
 Marks of Civility imaginabla, and they difcours'd with him, on many Heads, 
 for a good while, and then return'd Home, not once CGod having otheiwife 
 appointed^ lb muchas remembring the Bufmefs they came thither for ; which 
 the good Lady took for an Affront, thinking that the Omi/llon was an Eirei:b 
 of either Sleight, or a Misbelief of what fhe had fuggeffed to them ; So fhe 
 let the Dominicans into the Secret, who loon went privately to the Doctor \ ard 
 firfl difcourling with him about indifferent Matters, that they might at laft 
 ufher in their Addrefs in a more courtly Manner : When, behold, in comes a' 
 Frier Minor with his Wallet on his Shoulder, having been begging Bread 
 about the Town for his Brethren^and being now come hither alio to beg a little 
 Bread, and having fix'd his Eyes upon the Doctor as he fate talking with the 
 DominiciwSjhs fimply addrefs'd hirafelfto him in thefe plain Terms : viz. Re- 
 verend Doifor, you are a very great Scholar, and the Fame of your Veftue 
 and Learning is fpreadfarand near •, You fee tiie Poor Order of Friers Mi- 
 nors has as yet but few learned Men in it, and no Doftors ; If you were in it, 
 many Perfons wou'd improve by your Means \ A^id^ therefore I befeech you for 
 the l.oveof God and the Blelfed Virgin Mary, that you will take upon you the 
 Habit of our Order, for the Good of your Soul, and for the Honour of our 
 Inflitute. The Dominicans were amazed to fee themfeives thus prevented \ and 
 the Doftor himfelf at firft feem'd to be in a Conffernation ^ but at lafl reco- 
 vering himfelf, and being inwardly touch'd with the Grace of the Holy Ghofl, 
 and taking the Wonis of the fnnple Brother to be a Call from God, he made 
 this Reply i Go your Ways, Brother, for I will follow you prefently, and will 
 comply with your Requeft. Thus did this great Alexander of Hales bid Adieu 
 to the World, to ihrowd himfelf under the penitential Weed of a Frier Minor; 
 And being afterwards tempted to leave this hard Inftitute and Habit, and to 
 ' return to his former State, St. Francis appeared to him in his Sleep carrying a 
 
 * fxeavy
 
 54 77;^ Antiquities of the Englirti FranCiTcans. 
 
 * heavy wooden Crofs on his Shoulders, and labouring hard to climb up a fteep 
 ' Hill with it j which when the Dorter beheld, he was fill'd with tender Com- 
 
 * paffion, and offer'd his Service to bear a Pxirtof the Burden ; but was rejeited 
 
 * with the fe or the like Words of Indignation ^ Go, Go, thou poor Wretch, 
 
 * Thou arc not able to bear a light Crofs ot Cloth, and wilt thou otfer to carry a" 
 
 * heavy one of Wood .? By vvhich Reproach the Doftor was both rous'd up to a 
 
 * greater Fervour, and encouraged to perfever in his Vocation, as he did to the 
 
 * End of h's Life -^ Of whom I'lme one chanted thus, Hk flacito Superum prog- 
 ntttus Gente Britanna \ Quicj\ Magiflcr erat, fit pius tcce Minor. 
 
 Infine Halenfis wzi^. Fountain of Life ^nd Learning, not only tO the Francilcan, 
 butaUbto the Chriftian Schools; communicating his pure Streams to the Ange- 
 lical DoBor St. Thomas of Aquin, and through him to the Thomilts •, to the Sera- 
 phtc<tl DoBor St. Bonaventure., and by him to his School ; to Doctor William P^arrOf 
 (Ware) and through him to the Subtile DoSlor Duns Scotus, and to many other lear- 
 ned Minorites; and from thel'e to almoft every great Divine of the Chriftiaa 
 World ; who, for their Scholaflick Divinity, are all originally indebted to an 
 Englifhm.in, to a Francifcan, to the Great Alexander of Hales. 
 
 Pope Innocent the li^th had always Six Friers Minors in his Court, whole Service 
 andCounfel heconfiantly madeufe of-, and chiefly of Br. Nicholas EngUfh (An- 
 glicus) his ConfelTor : And Alexandtr de FJ.des (who was an excellent (aj Canoniftj 
 was a great (b) AfTiftant to him thefiiid Pope, as long as his Holinefs ftaid ac 
 Lyons^ to prefide over the General Council, which he held there, in the Tear 
 1245. 
 
 At laft, after Immenfe Labours for the Inftruftion of others ; after many un- 
 queftionable Proofs of his Heroick Vertues, Famous for San^ity., as well as for 
 Learning y4/f.vWfr departed this Life, at Paris Annoti^'), foon after he return'd 
 from the faid General Council of Lyons, on the loth day of OEloh. (not Septembery 
 as lome Miflake it) and lies buried in the Church of St. Francis, before the Cru- 
 cifix, with this Epitaph; which (as an (c) Author truly lays) is written Carmine 
 male poll to, as follows, viz. 
 
 Clauditur hoc Saxo Formam fortitus abunde 
 Gloria DoElorum ; Dec us, Flos Philofophorum. 
 jiuthor Scriptorum f^ir Alexander variorum^ 
 Norma Alodernorum, Fans Veri, Lux Aliorum^ 
 Inclytus Anglorum fuit Archilevita, fed horum 
 Scriptor Clericorum, Frater Collega Minorum 
 Failus Egenorum, fed DoElor Primus eorum. 
 
 There is alio another Tablet at Alexander's Tomb, with an (d) Infcription rela- 
 ting his Aftsand Sayings, which 1 here omit, and will conclude with an (e) Au- 
 thor who lays, Alenfts was fecurely Ihelter'd under the Banner of the Crofs, where 
 his exemplary Life gain'd him the Love and Elteem of all Men ; his pious Con- 
 
 verfation 
 
 (a) Collier's Eciles. Hift. Li^. 5. pag. 452. (b) Epitome Annal. Ori. Min. Anno 1245. CO Ttfftnia/i. 
 llij}. Serj^pb. Lib, 1° Jol. 306. (d) Martyroltg. Erancifcan. 20 Octob. (e) Tojfwian Ibli.
 
 The Antiquities o/z^eEnglifh Francifcans. 55 
 
 rerfation encouraged all in the Purity oT a Chafr Mind^ in ihe Love of Holy Po- 
 -verty^ and in a moii prompt Okdienic -^ Humility was his continual Study and Pra- 
 ftice, well knowing that a Vain-glorious Philofupher can r.ever attain to the Sim- 
 plicity that is in Chrift Jefus. But it's now Time to leave the Man, that I may 
 •give a Catalogue of his learned Works which Dr. (aj Fits delivers thus, viz. 
 On the Five Books of Mofes. On Jofue. On the Booh of Judges. On the Booh of Kings. 
 On the Pfdlms. Printed at p^emce. Ann. I 4^6 and i i^^O.On Jfaias. On Jeremy. On 
 Daniel. On Ez.echiel. On the Twelve Lejftr Prophets, Annotations. Vpon the Chofpds^ 
 Four Books. Vpon all the EpifHes of S'. Paul, in the Publick Library at Oxford. Pvffo- 
 %inus moreover fays, that at Cardinal //<jr«<?waj's in Rome., he faw Four Tomes of 
 uilenfts MMSi). On St. Mark, On St. Luke, upon all St. Paul's Efiflles. Vpon the Apo- 
 c.ilypje of St. John, One Book. A Concord.tnce oj both Tejlaments, One Book. Lt^ures 
 upon the Bible., One Book. On the Book of Job, One Book. On the Ep-ftle to the Ro- 
 niMS, One Book. Of the Myfieries of the Church, One Book. Ihe Sum of Divinity, 
 Four Books •, at Fenice 1 575, and at Neuremberg., i 582. A Leffer Sum of Refulutions, 
 One Book. Queflions on the Sentences, Four Books AiSS, in A'^fip College at O.xford. 
 and in St. Peter^s CoWs^e^tCambridge, and printed -aK Lyons Anno 1515 A Sum, 
 of Fertues, One Book. Sermons to the People, One Book A4ari^.le Ad.jgnum, bix Books. 
 Of the Sacrament of Penance, One Book. Of Negligence, One Book. Of the LawJ ; 
 One Book. A Concordance of both the Laws, One Book. LeBures upon the Sentences, 
 Four Books. A Declaration, or Exfofttion of the Rule of the Friers Minors, One Book. 
 Quejlions of the Soul, One Book, MSS. in St. Peter's College ia Cambridge. Com- 
 mentaries on Arifiotle's Metaphyftcks, printed it Fenice A/ino 157 1 Mahomet\f Acls, 
 One Book. Of exotick Words ; One Book. A Diilionary of Hard Words, One Book. 
 The Life of St. Thomas Archbifhop of Canterbury, One Book. The Life of King Richard; 
 and other Works. So Pits. But I go toother Affairs. 
 
 II. King Henry the Third feem'd to take a Delight in doing Good Annt 124J. 
 to the Francdcans, and in contriving of Things tor their commodi- 
 ous Situation at O.v/or^ ; as appears by his Royal Patents, dated December the 
 lid. in the 29th Tear of his Reign, whereby he granted to them, Ad majorcm 
 Quietem & Securitatem Habitationis jus, &C. Ihat, for the greater Quiet and Security 
 of their Dwelling, they might enclofe the Street (fir Lane) under theWaU of Oxford, 
 from the Gate called the Water-gate, in the Parifh of St. Elba, to the little Poflcrn-gate 
 of the fame Wall towards the Caflle, fo that a Wall with Battlements, like the reff of 
 the Wall of Oxford, be drawn about the Habitation aforefaid% beginning from the Weft- 
 fide of the faid Gate call'd Water-oate extending it felf Southwards as far as the Bank of 
 the River Thames, and thence ftretching along upon the fame Bank Weflwards, as far as the 
 Land of the Abbot of Beck, in the Parifli of St. Bodhoc (alibi St. Benedift^ and then 
 turning Northwards until it joins with the old Wall of the faid Caff le, clofe to the Eafl- 
 fide of the little Pofiern-gate aforefaid. The King alfo gave Leave to the faid Friers Mi~ 
 nors to throw down the eld Wall as far as was needful, to join the new Building with their 
 eld one ; Referving always to himfelf and to his Heirs, the Kings of England, a free Paf- 
 fage through this new Place^ as often as He, and They fhoud be f leafed to come that Way. 
 
 bo 
 
 Ca) De IllHp.Anglia Scriptoribiis.
 
 5^ The Antiquities of the Ejlglifh Frandfcans- 
 
 So ('a) Mr. Wood from the Rolls in the Tower of London •■, from wher.ce alfo I take 
 what here follows. 
 
 I. The fame King, on the icth of February^ this Year, granted, Tljat 
 ' ' the Sn eel which runs alonq^ ittidir the WaII of Oxford, from the Gitte calfd 
 
 the Wuter-gatc in the PariJIiof .St. Ebbe, as far as the little Pvfierii Gate of the fme 
 Wall towards the Cajlle, may ke flrnt up for the greater Security and Quiet oj the Friers 
 Aiinors living near the faid Street, as longas it jliaH fleafi the Lord of the Place, &C. We 
 grant likewife (i^Ays the King again^ that the Nonhfide of the Ch.ippel in the [aid Street 
 built ^ or to be hereafter buildcd, may fiUujf the Gap of the [aid Wall, as far as it paB 
 reach, all other Breaches in the fame W^ II being fully m^de up as they were before, except 
 the little Pojlerngate in the faidWnll, through which the f aid Friers may go and com* 
 between, the old Place where they dwelt before, and the r.ew one where they now live. 
 So (h) Wood. 
 
 II. King Henry the Vjird's Afteaion and Efteem for the Friers Mi- 
 tir.0 it4 . iiors feem'd to encreafe daily, and his Munificence to them left no 
 
 Room to queftion hiyfmcere Value for thofe good Men, as appears by a Third 
 Grant, dated alio this Year, yfpyil the iid. whereby he gives them a certain lit- 
 tle ip.wd between the double Channel ot the River Thames j the Words of the 
 Kings Charter run thus, viz^. yid ampliationem Arex. in ejua de novo hofpitari cdperunt 
 Fratres Ajlinores ikc. that is, For the extending of the Precinils of the Pl.ice, whcrin 
 the F.iers Alinors of Oxford htivc anew began to live. We give them our Ijland^ which 
 we bought of Henry the Son of Henry Simeons, granting Leave to them, and willing them 
 to caufe a Bridge to be made over th.it Arm of the River Tioames which runs between the 
 faid If and find their Houffs, and that they cmlofe the faid Jfland with a Wall, or fome 
 other Fence, as theyjhall think moll proper for the Security of their Houjes, and the Tran- 
 quility of their Religion. So (c)fVo(d, from the Rolls, &c. 
 
 LA certain Francifcan, fent by the Pope, came now into England 
 
 two 247. j.^ colle£t a Subfidy of Money towards the Expences of a War againft 
 the Common Enemies of Lhriftianity •, in which Negociacion (dj Leiand fays, he 
 had very great Succefs ; but that Author neither gives us the Name of the laid 
 Frier, nor tells us what Country-Man he was : So 1 leave him, and go to ano.- 
 ther Frier Colleftor. 
 . .Q H \. \i\: William de Bachinfes,2i Yner lA'moT, w^STtOvr ^tv\t into Scotland 
 
 ""o -4 • *j^ the fame Eirand fas Coileftor) by Br. fchn AngUcus, (Englijl)) a 
 Francifcan Apoftolick Legate then in England ; And the faid Br. William, was 
 gracioufly received by the King of Scots, and carried on that Affair there with 
 good Succefs. But, leA his Reception might prove prejudicial to the Privileges 
 of that Nation, tlie Pope himfelf writ to the King of Scotl.tnd, declaring that 
 He had no Defign that the willing Reception of the faid Br. William, ihou'd breed 
 a.'-.y Deci iment to the Privileges granted to that Kingdom by the Apoftolick S.e. 
 So Fran, (ej a Sta Clara ; but more ot this Man hereafter, when I Jlxall give the 
 Charafl-er and A£ls of the &id John EngUfj. 
 
 I. King 
 
 {a) Aiiti^. Oxen. Lib. 1° p'^g. -,o[h) Ibidtm, (C; Atitlq. O.XDti. Lib- i'' pa^. 71. (d) CelltitM. Tm.l 
 pag. 5 pi. (e) InSupplem. liijl- Min.
 
 The Antiqjiities of the Englilh Francifcans. 57 
 
 I.King Henry the TJurd, about this time, founded the Frar.cifcan /?w:a 1249. 
 Conver;t at Winchefter j ot which I fhall fay more in the Second Part of 
 thefe Coileftions. 
 
 I. Kin^ Henry the TToird had, on many Occafions, given fuch evidenc ■^wo 1150. 
 Proofsof his Affedion and Efteem for the Francifcans, that his Difpo- 
 fitionswere well known to the Pope^ who therefore chofe rather to fend Men of 
 that Inftitute, than any other as his Agents into Engird i And his Holinefs, about 
 this Year fent over into our Nation, one Br. '^ohn de Dina or Dia., a Frier Minor, 
 
 ■as Legate ot the Apoftolick See, (aj Vt ejua emend^da forent refottnaret (as Afaihcm 
 Paris exprelTeth it) that is, with full Power to reform whatever jhoud require an ^mend- 
 mem : But I cannot find what were the EfFe£ts of this defign'd Reformation. 
 
 II. Dr. Robert Grofiete, the famous Bi/hop of Lincoln., this Year, 
 
 made a Speech to the Pope and Cardinals, wherein, amongft other ""'' '''^' 
 Things, he declared that it was his Cuftom in all his Epifcopal Vifitations, to 
 preach in Perfon to his Clergy, and to employ fome Dominican or Fr.wcijcan to 
 preach to the People ; and that afterwards Four Friers hear'd Confelfions and eu- 
 joyn'd Penances. So ^b) Mr. Wharton. 
 
 III. (c) Mr. Ctf///*/- fays that the Mendicants ^onx\{l:C(i very much Amo 1153. 
 about the middle of the Thirteenth Century. His Words are remark- 
 able, and give an Ac<:ount of the Learning heretofore in our Nation •, and there- 
 fore I cannot think it impertinent to let down his ExprefTions, though others are 
 as much concerned herein as the Francifcans .- Colliers Words are thefe, viz.. 
 
 The Monafteries heretofore were the Schools and Seminaries ot ahnoft the 
 whole Clergy, both Secular a.nd Regular -^ For, the Vniverfities (if we had more 
 than onej were then very flender Societies, and the Mufes were confin'd as it were 
 to the Cloifter. hi the Vniverfities grew up, the Monnfleries declined: How- 
 ever, they did notfmktoany fcandalous Degree of Ignorance, but ftill conti- 
 nued to maintain a Character in Learning. 'Tis true about the Middle of the 
 \ ^th Century, the Mendicant Friers, by their Induftry and myfterious Manage- 
 ment, gain'd the Al'cendant: Thus both the Old Religious Orders and the Secular 
 Clergy \o^ Ground: But within 200 Years the /I-Zowj^; and the Seculars began to 
 recover their Credit. .. . And a little before the Reformation, many of the 
 greateft Monafteries were Nurferies of Learning : Their Superiors were Men of 
 Diftinftion this Way, and great Promoters of their own fufficiency in others. 
 So C;//<>r, who names feveral of thole great Men, Cut I return to the Francif- 
 cans. 
 
 IV. Br. Philip Walleys, or Gudinlis, a Francifcan Do£tor, departed Anm 1250. 
 this Life about this time. He was lb remarkable for both Vertue and 
 Learning, even in his younger Days, that his Fame, fpreading beyond the Bounds 
 of his Native Country, reach'd as far as France and Italy ; So that Br. Elins, then 
 Minifter General of the whole Order, fent for him, and Br, Jdam of York (f.s I 
 have already laid j and made them Profeffors at Lyons^ Anno 1 227^ where Br. Phi- 
 
 I l^ 
 
 (a) Hiflor. Min- pa^e. iS, {h) Anglia Sacra, fart. 4, f.ige. 347. (c) EccUi. Hijl. (Ut. 2. 
 page. 19.
 
 58 The Antiqraties of the 'EngWih Francifcans* 
 
 //pfirft taught Philofophy, and afterwards Divinity, for many Years. He i$ 
 laid to have writ many learned Books, but I (lays (a^ Pits) know not as yec 
 any Author, that has given fo much as the Titles of his Works. 
 
 V. The Francilcan Convent at Nottingham was founded by King 
 . hm 1:50. jj^^,^y the Third, this Year, as Jfaackfon has it in his Chronological 
 
 Table. 
 
 I. Br. fincent ds Coventry, a Francilcan Doftor ot Cambridge, de- 
 Anno 1251. pjpj-gj (.|^i<. life about this time : He was one of thefiilt Perfons that 
 enter'd into the Order at Oxford, where he made fuch Froficience in facred Learn- 
 ing, under the Great DoBor GroJJ-cte, that he was firft put up to teach in the Con- 
 vent at I,Wfl« •, from whence he was foon removed to C«jOTtr«<a'^f, where he had 
 this Prerogative (fays (b) Pits) above the reft of the famous Doftors of his Or- 
 der, chat he wasthefiift of them that taught Divinity pubiickly in that Vnivef 
 Jity, where alfo he took the Degree of Dodlor. The lame Author moreover fays^ 
 that Br. Vincent was famous for the Hotinefs of his Life, as well as for his great 
 Learning -^ and that amongfl the Writings which he left to Pofterity, there is 
 v^« Expofition of the holy Mafs, and of every Thing that is done andfaid therein. One 
 Book. Befides Repetitions of Leffons, One Book. He isfuppofed tohave writ many- 
 other Things, whereof the very Titles are loft. The Author of the Epitome of 
 the Annuls of the Or^^r, placeth this Vincent unAer the TV^r 1257-, But if he de- 
 figi'd it for the Date of his Departure out of this Life, I prefume, it is a 
 Miftake. 
 
 \. ^r. Richard deCornwtil-,commOT\\y ciWACornuhienfis-, or Ae Cor nw 
 Anno 1252. y^^ departed this Life about this time. He was a Francifcan Doftor 
 of Oxford, where he ftudied many Years, fand as it feemsj was at laft a publick 
 ProfelTor^ for fome time, in that learned Univerfity. This Man is vot Richard 
 Rufus, (fays (c) Pits) as Letand, by Miftake imagin'd ; for, Rufus was born at Ci~ 
 rence/ler, in Glocefi^erflure, and Cornubienfis in Cornwal. He was an Author, and 
 writ V^on the Mafler of the Sentences, Four Books. Of his other Works I find not 
 fo much as the Titles. But now I go to a much greater Man ^ not a Frier, but 
 of the Secular Clergy, even the Great Bifhopof Lincoln, Doftor Robert Groflete j 
 who was fuch a hearty Lover of the Francifcans, that he was ever ftudying to do 
 them Good, both in his Life-time and upon his Death-bed, as here it wilf 
 appear. 
 
 I. Do^or Robert Grofiae, the Famous Bifhop of i/»fe/«, died this 
 A»«» 1155. Year. He is called by many G"r«^i/»? C^pr, or G'rf<*f-«e<?u', &c. He was 
 a Man of e.xcellent Wifdom and extraordinary Learning, and a Pattern of all 
 Virtue •, who (although born of mean Parentage, in Suffolk, in the Diocefs of 
 Norwich) didlb falhiona good natural Temper by the Rules of the holy Scrip- 
 ture?, that it produced in him a noble Mind. He had a moft fincere Love for 
 both the Dominicans and ihe Fraud fca>is, had fome of them continually in his 
 Company, and was much delighted in conferring with them ot the holy Scrip- 
 tures ; 
 
 (a) Pits, in AfpeKdiee I//iiJIt. Angli* Scrlporum. (*>) P* Ulufir. Ang',. Scriftor. (c) lo Ap^ 
 
 ja'ulce.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englilh Francifcans- 5p 
 
 tures •, but, above all the reft, he was moft intimate with Br. Adamde Marifcot 
 of the Diocefs of Bath., a Frier Minor, an excellent and famous Dcftor o\ Di- 
 vinity j out of his great Affeftion to whom, the good Prelate left all his Bwh and 
 Writings^ by his laft Will and Teftament, to the Convent of Francifcans in 
 Oxford. Thus far ("a) Trt'wf, a Dominican : And Mr. Wharton (b) adds, that this 
 bright Pillar of the C\m(ch.(Gro(iete) was taken from the Light ot th's mortal 
 Life, on the Sth Day of November. But this Author is certainly miftaken, when 
 he goes on faying, that in the fame Year he was followed by Br. yidam de Ma- 
 rifco i who Cas he there fays) yeilded to the common Fate of human Nature, 
 and died Cof Grief for the L.ofs of his Friend; at Lincoln, where he was buried, 
 between the Bifhop and the Southern Wall ^ God fo difpofing Things, that as 
 they had been united in an inviolable dear Friendfhip in their Life time,(o fhou'd 
 they not be parted in Death and the Grave. So Wharton ; who is in an Error about 
 the Time and Manner of Marifco's Death, as Ihall be made out in its place, 
 (c; Leland adds, that the faid Bifhop lies interr'd in the higheft South-Ifle of his 
 Cathedral, under a goodly Tomb of Brafs, and an Image of Brafs over it. But 
 I return to Wharton Jbid.{d)\vho continues to fay,that Robert of Lincoln far furpafs'd 
 ■ all the Men of his Time for Learning, and writ more Books than all the EngHfh 
 Men that went before him. The famous Ro^er Bacon ('fays he^ the moft learned 
 EnglifhMan of his Days, gives this Charafter of the Bifhop, and of Mam de 
 Mari-fco : viz. Ferv have been perfeftly knowing in Philofophy, as S.dornon, and after him 
 jiri/totle, for his Time. In our Days Robert late Bifhop of Lincoln^ and Br. Adam de 
 Marifco ; for the fe were Men of the mofi perfeB: Wifdom. Again, The Bifljop of Lin- 
 coln, Robert Groflete, and Adam de Marifco were the great eft Clerks in the World, and 
 compleatly perfeEl tn Divine and Human Wtfdom. So the great Roger Bacon, vi\th. 
 much more to the fame Purpofe \ efpecially concerning his Skill in the Oriental 
 Languages. Thus f-^x Wharton, who concludes, faying, that Bifhop Groflete gave 
 all his Books by Will to the Friers Minors of Oxford, out of the great; Affecli- 
 on he bare to Ad.tm de Marifco, a Francifcan Doftor of Divinity, whom lie 
 had ahvays with him : And this Addition of Books leads me to the Friers Li- 
 brary. * 
 
 IL The Francifcans at Oxford (as Mr. (e) Wood fays) had two Li- ^""o »»53' 
 braries •, one was the Library of the Convent : the other the Scho- 
 lars Library ; the firfl was for Graduates only •, the latter was open for thof^ 
 Scholars, who, for the fake of L,earning, lived amongfl the Friers, and were cal- 
 led Seculars. I knownot(fays(0 JTtfo^) who built thefe Libraries, but fuppofe 
 it was Groflete ; for at his Death, he left to thefe Friers all the Books of his o^v^ 
 compofing, moft of which were written with his own Hand: 'Tis moft likely 
 fcontinues Wood') that he alfo gave them all the Books he had of other Authors, 
 as well as thofe ot his own Writing-, which laft were guefs'd to be about Two 
 
 I 2 Hundred 
 
 (a) V\deWo>)d, in Antiq. Oxoti. Lib. i' pag. tj. (b) AngU'' Sacra. Part i. p.rg. 942. (c) ColUclait. 
 Vol. 8. part 2. pae,. ^6. &= 37. {d) Vide Wharton in Anglia S.ura.part. 2. pag. 341. & fequentibui 
 {c)Antiq, Oxon. Lib. i°.pag. 77. CO Ihidtm,
 
 6o The Antiquities of the Englirti Franclfcans. 
 
 Hundred In Number-, ai.dit is ei'fy to believe rhac th'S Learned and Rich Bf- 
 lh( p, h;iti g ther'd together at leaft Two ThouCand other Books : But be tliey 
 more or 1( fs, lays he, it's not to be doubted but the Francifcar.s reap'd great Ad- 
 vantages fi cm this great Man's Legacy- To thefewere afterwards added all tha 
 Books of Lr. Roger B^coti •, who ("as Balt{^y%) writ an hundred Treatifes. Thele 
 with mary Volumes writ by other Authors of the fi^me Order wereallb placed 
 here. Iifii e, thefe Libraries were furnilh'd with all forts of Erudition, as may 
 beeafily fuppofedfrom thegreat Diligence of all the Friers, efpecially tlie Fran- 
 cifcans, in procuring every where all Monuments of Literature, and chiefly what- 
 foever related to Divinity and the Laws : And this was one great Article of the 
 Arrhbifhopof Armagh^ complaints againft the Friers; laid before the Pope at 
 Avignon in a Speech m;ide to his Holinefs by the faid Archbiihop, on the %th of 
 November. 1 357, wherein he pleaded, that there was hardly any ufeful Book to be 
 bought of the common Studies of the Faculty of Arts, or Divinity, or of the Ca- 
 r.on Law-, ray, as fome fay; not of Phifick, or the Civil Law; but all were 
 bought up, by the Friers, &c. In a Word, (a) Mr. Wood concludes, that thefe 
 Francifcans u(ed their utmoftlnduftry to procure all Books of excellent Lear- 
 ning. In thefe Libraries at Oxford, the Friers likewife had feme Greek Books, and ' 
 mai.y Hebrew Works ; which laft were bought of the Jews when they were turn'd 
 out o^ En'jLwd. Now I leave it to the unprejudic'd Part of Mankind to judge, 
 whether or no the Friers were juftly blamed by this faid Prelate, for their Indu- 
 ftry in procuring large Colledlions of good Books for their own Improvement, 
 and for the BeneSt of others ; whiHt I go forwards to fpeak of their Learned and 
 pious Men. 
 
 III. Br. William Rishrooh, was an Englifh Francifcan, a pious and 
 i<«»fl 1253. ^ learned Man, His Writings are, 0/"r/;f A?y o/" the Tartars, One 
 Book. An Itinerary into the Eafiern Tarts, One Book, ^5S, in St. Benediil' s CoWege 
 in Cambridge. He lived till about tliis Year, as Pits fays ; who reckons him an Ob- 
 fervant Francifcan, though long before that Reformation. By this RisbrooFs Wri- 
 tiigs, a Man wou'd be apt to believe he had travell'd into the Eaftern Parts of the 
 World : Many of the Englifli Francifcans went at fe\*ral Times with our Armies 
 againft the Saracens, and it is not improbable th^t Risbrook was one of thofe, that 
 were feutw'Mh Willi am Earl of Salisbury, when he joined his Forces with the 
 French {Anno I 245 J commanded by their then K'wg St. Lewis: But this being 
 only aConjefture, from this Authors Writings, and feme other Circumftan- 
 ces, is not pofitively afTerted, though very Credible, as it appears to the Col- 
 leftor. 
 
 1. Br. William PiB.tvienjis was the Second Francifcan ProfefTor that 
 1254- fgygjif. p.jblickly at Cdw^n^^f ; where he fucceeded Br. ^^tncent de Co- 
 ventry already mention'd, and took his Degrees in that learned Univerfity ; where- 
 of alfo he was at laft made a Doftor of Divinity, about: this Time. I fufpedt, by 
 his being call'd PiH-avienfis, he was born at Poiflitrs in France ; but when he de- 
 parted this Life, or whether he was an Author, or not, I cannot find. 
 
 II.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englilli Francifcans. 6i 
 
 II. .It appears from Secular as well as Frai cifcan Monuments, ('as - 
 an (a) Author writes) that Oxford, Cambridge, and Turis were the 
 chief Studies of the Ei glifli Francifcans \ fo ihat fuch able Men as had already 
 taueht Divinity laudably in private Convents, or in other Studies, were appoin- 
 ted by the General and Proviijcial Chapters, or Congregations of the Order, to 
 teach by Turns in the faid Univerficies; as is witnefs'd by the re^iftred Ordi- 
 nances ot feveral of their general Chapters: and (b) Br. Thomas Eccleficn. fays 
 likewife, that no Man, ordinarily fpeaking, was pei milted to teach in thefe 
 j4cademies, that had not already taught in fome other Place j and therefore Br. 
 Gilbert de Pifa, their Second Provincial of England, made Br. f^itictnt de Coventry 
 firft of all Reader in London, and then in Cambridge, and his own Brother, Br, 
 Henry Reader likewife in the Convent at Canterbury ; and fo by degrees, Pro- 
 feffors were placed in moft of their Convents ; For Example, Br. William de 
 Leicefier at Hereford ; Br. Gregory of BofeL at Leicefier ; Br- Gilbert of Cranford at 
 Brifiol, &c : So that there were thirty Friers Minors Readers in England (befides 
 many others fent from thence to teach abroad^ before Br. IVilliam of Nottingham 
 laid down his Office of Provincial, which was either this Year, or the next ; and 
 out of thefe, the Superiors commonly chofe ProfefTors to appear publickly, and 
 teach in the Univerfities^ and this was the prudent Oecouoiny of the Friers, 
 who wifely took Care to fill the moft folemn Chairs with Excellent Maflers ; 
 which made an Author fay, Schools of Divinity were opendi'i the Houfes of other 
 Orders ; but chiefly in that famous College of the Grey Friers, or Francifcans. IVood^ 
 from Leland. Infine, the Englilh Friers Minoi'S alfo furniflied feveral foreign 
 Provinces of their Order with Eminent Readers of Divinity, as appears in 
 their Annals; Br. Philip IVallep and ^t. Jdam of Torh, in the Beginning of 
 their fwarming out, were fent for (as I have faid^ to teach at Lyons, and 
 Br. John Engltjh and his Companion were call'd into Germany for the like Pur- 
 pofe. To be fhort, the Univerfities of France, Germany, and Italy, to this 
 very Day, have fome Monuments remaining amongft them of the great Learning 
 of the Engliili Francifcans ; and the firft Friers Minors ot thofe Countries, are 
 known to have been chiefly inftrufted and direfted by the Englifli in their 
 Studies of Divinity • Witnefs Br. Alexander of Hales^ Br. John Peckham, Br. John 
 Duns Scotus, befides the Perfous already mention'd, and others, too many to be 
 here named ; and it cannot be denied but the Englifli were the moft famous, 
 and the moft learned Doifors of the whole Order •,and might vie with any other 
 Community of Men whatever*, and their Writings, and the Schools th^y were 
 Founders of, are a laftUig Ori:ament to the whole Church. 
 
 III. Having now taken Notice of the Method ufed by the Francifcans in the 
 Education of their ProfefTors, before tliey put them up to teach in any Uni- 
 verfity ; and having already given a Catalogue of their firft Readers, or chief 
 Regents of their Studies at O.vford ; I Ihould be glad to entertain the Reader here 
 with the Names and Characters of thofe of the Order, that were the firft in that 
 honourable Poft at Cambridge; and it might perhaps bethought not Impertinent, 
 
 provided 
 
 (a) Fran, a Sta^Clara,irt Hlfi.Ailn. fag. 9. (b) In Leland. CoUict.in. Tom,!, fag, 342, Qpc,
 
 62 The Antiquities of the Englifh FranciTcans. 
 
 provided I could be fb happy as to meet with aji entire Lift of them, regulated 
 ^according to the refpeftive Times wherein thoy flourifhed ■, but, not being able 
 to recover fo much as the Names of more than fourteen or fifteen of them, 
 and thole too not in a continued ijucce/Iion, but fuU of Breaks and Gaps, I will 
 here give them all at once as I find them in (a) Mr. Wood. 
 
 The Francifcans had feventy three publick Profeflbrs of Divinity of their 
 Order in the Univerfity of Cambridge., one hundred Years before the Difiolu- 
 tion of Religious Houfes in England. Thefe ProfeiTors were (as I take itj chief 
 Regents of the Friers Studies here, under whom were many others not named, 
 becaufe of lefs Account : However, out of the aforefaid Number, take thefe 
 few, 'viz.. 
 
 I. Br. Fincent of Covemryy a Doftor and an Author ; of whom fee more in the 
 Tear M%\. Numb. I. 
 
 II. Br. William TiilavienfiSj a Doftor ^ of whom j4nno. 1254. Numb. I. 
 
 III. Br. Eufiace de Normani^'ille , who was alfo the id ProfefTor Regent at Oxford \ 
 where, after he had been m'ade Doftor of the Laws and of Divinity, he lefc 
 the Chair, by the ComirUind of his Provincial, and refumed the LefTon at 
 Cambridge; and having thfre finifhed his Courfe, he was called back to Oxford, 
 and chofen Chancellor of that Univerfity ; of which more hereafter. 
 
 IV. Br. John Wefton. Here the Fifth is omitted. 
 
 VL Br. Thomas de Eboraco (or of Tori) after he had been the a^th ProfefTor at 
 Oxford., and taken the Decree of Doftor, was fent to Cambridge ; where, after 
 fome Time, he was admitted to the flime Degree : Of him alfo more here- 
 after. 
 
 Here is another Break, and Mr. Wood goes to the t ith. 
 
 XIL Br. Thomas Merfton : Afterwards Provincial of his Order/ in England. 
 
 Xlll. Br. Henry de Erifmgham was alfo a ProfefTor at OAr/orj/, and is ihe Eighth 
 in that Catalogue : His Charafter fhall be given in its proper Place. Here the 
 Fourteenth is omitted. , 
 
 XV. Br. Thomas de Bungey was the \Qth amongft ^t Oxford ProfefTors. Of 
 him more hereafter. 
 
 Mr. Wood goes now to the l^d. 
 
 XXIIl. Br. Walter de Knolle was the \9lh at Oxford. 
 
 Here is another Gap till we come to the i^th. 
 
 XXIX. Br. Adam de Howden^ or Hoveden^ D.D. was the 28th at Oxford. 
 Here again One is omitted. 
 
 XX XL Br. Richard de Conyngton was Regent ProfefTor and Do£l:or in both 
 Univerficies, and has as great a Charafter as any of his Brethren, which ihall be 
 given hereafier, when I come up with him. 
 
 Thefe are all, whofe Names Mr. Wood is plea fed to Mention of the 73 
 Publick ProfefTors, and Regents of the Francifcan Schools at Cambridge ; to 
 whom another (b) Author adds Four more, whom he flihes great Doftors, 
 viz. Br. Humfhery N. Br. Haymo de Feverfliam, Br. William Folvile, and Br. 
 
 Rcgin.ild 
 
 (a) Antiqiiit. Oxon, Lib. 10. fg, <J8. (b) Fran. aSla. Clara, in Hifi. Min- fag. \6,
 
 The Antiquities c///;eEnglilh Frartcifcans. ^5 
 
 Reginald Longham : Dr. Pits alfo brings in fome others of the Francifcan 
 ProfefTors and Dodtors of Cambridge who were Writers ; of whom more 
 in their Places : At prefent it may fuffice to affert C as a known Truth ) 
 that the Friers Minors were Famous for Learning in Cambridge^ after their Con- 
 vent there was finiflied, and moft efpecially when the Univerficy of Oxford was 
 difturb'd ^ as it was above meafure diflrafted fome times by the Quarrels that 
 arofe between the Students of the South, and thofe of the North of England^ 
 and at other times by a Difagreement between the Members of the Vmverfiiyy 
 and thofe of the Corporation \ which unhappy Mifunderftandings drove many ot 
 the befl Wits to Car/ibridge . 
 
 1. Br. William of Nottingham^h^ving honourably acquitted himfelfof 
 the Minifiry of Provincial of England tor almoft fourteen Years, was " '"''' 
 at laft difcharged of that Office-, which I prefume he willingly refign'd, either 
 the laft Year or this in a general Chapter of the Order held at Mctz. in Lorttine; 
 and fbon after died of the Plague at Genoa. So Ecdefton^ in Leland. 
 
 (&) Mr. Wood adds moreover, that in the Lift of their Provincials, he is fiiled 
 Vir SanUiJfimuSy a -very holy Man \, and is laid to be buried qt Aiarfeilles in Province:, 
 which laft muft be a Miftake: However, it's certain, that he was fucceeded in 
 his Office of Minifier of England by lir. Peter of Tewksbury ^ ot whom more here- 
 after, (b) Mr. Wood oblerves very rightly, that there were two great Men 
 call'd William of Nottingham ; and both of them not only Provincials of the 
 Francifcans in their refpeffive Times, but likewife very learned Men and Wri- 
 ters, efpecially the Senior, of whom I have now been fpeaking ^ who was one 
 of the moft famous Authors of his Time^ whence both Bale and Pits ffays Mr. 
 Wood) take them for the fame Man .- Leland indeed (fays he again) only mentions 
 the Senior, and has borrowed of Ecclejion all that he fays of him j although, a- 
 mongft the Books whereof he makes him the Author, fome belong to William 
 the Jun. So Wood, ibidem. Br. William Notingham Sen. (of whom 1 now treat) 
 departed this Lite about the Tear I25<;, and his Jun. Names-fake about 1336: 
 So, as to the Works beftowed upon him by Bale and Pits, 1 will venture to 
 father them upon the Firfl- of that Name, who feems to have the beft Pv.ight 
 to all of them, except fuch as are attributed in particular to the Second, by the 
 London Reg'frer of the Friers Minors, quoted by Wood. The Works of Sen. William 
 are, A Concordance of the Four Goffels, Twelve Books MSS \ in Trinity College 
 .in Oxford, and in Pernhroh Hall i^t Cambridge: This great Work was begun loiig 
 before, and left imperfeft, by Clement de Largton, a Canon ReguUir, and hereto- 
 fore Abbot of Langtony near Glocefier^ who departed this Life about the Tear 
 I170. Commentaries upon the Gofpcls, Four Books, MSS. one of which Books is 
 in Merton, Bahol, Magdalen, and Lincoln Colleges, at Oxford ; and at Cambridge., 
 in the publick, and St. BenediB's Libraries : Quefiions upon the Gofpels, One Book. 
 Sermons upon the Sundays Gofpels throughout the whole Tear, Two Books, MSS ; 'm\ the 
 publick Library at Cambridge. Vpon all St. Paul's Epiftles, Fourteen Books Guefli- 
 ons upon the Lord's Prayer, One Book, MSS ; in Merton College^ at O.vfordT'Vpon 
 
 {a) Antiqiiit, 0x071, Lib, lo p'lg, 75. (.b) ItiJem-
 
 ^4 T^f^^ Antiquities of the Briglifli Francifcans. 
 
 the Afafler of the Sentences, Four Books. Lca-'ira upon the Scriptures., One Book. 
 Ordinary Oue/ltons, One Book, in Pemhroke HJl ac Camhruige. Theolo^icJ DifiinEli- 
 ons. One Book. Of Obedience, One Book. Of ihe Chrifiiurt Larp, One Book Rules 
 of Living, One Book, MSS. in Merton College at Oxford. Againfl the Errors of 
 Pelagius; One Book, MSS; Ibidem. Replies, One Book. Thele are the Works 
 which Pits beftows upon William de Nottingham under the fear I336; whereas 
 they feem to belong to the Perfon I now fpeak of: But lam ready to make 
 Reftitution it 1 find my ielf miftaken. 
 
 . ^ II. Ecclefiori fas quoted by (a) LeUnJ) lays, that, in the Provincial- 
 
 ""o '-55- ^jp pf gj. H.iymo, fome of the Friers Minors Inclolures were en- 
 larged ; and that, during the Miniftry oi Willi am de Abbyngdon, the Friers 
 Houfes in Tork, in Brifiel, in Bridg-water, in Grymmesby, and in Oxford, were 
 alter'd. Thefe Enlargements ot Inclofures and Alterations ot Buildings were 
 occafioned (\ prefumej partly by the Devotion of the People, and partly on the 
 fcore of the great Encreafe of the Number of the Friers ; or perhaps through a 
 well-intended Zeal of the firft Contrivers of them, who reem'd to have a greater 
 (b) Regard to holy Poverty, than to the lubfequent Convenience of their duc- 
 ceJTors. 
 
 Now, I cannot find any William de Abbington in the Catalogue of Francifcan 
 Provincials, nor any Reafbn to guefs at the Time ot his being in that Office ; 
 yet the aforefaid Authority gives juft Reafon to believe there was fuch a Man 
 who made thefe faid Alterations, when Provincial ; though as yet I cannot find 
 who was his PredecelTors or Succeflbrs in that Miniftry, nor where to place 
 him : So go on. 
 
 .1. Br. William de Nottingham, refigning his Provincialfhip, was fuc- 
 »»» 1^5 • ceeded in that Office by Br. Peter of "Tewksbury, of whom all I caa 
 find is i rom ' Ecclefion, and one other (c) Author ^ who fay that Br. William de 
 Nottingham, and Br. Peter Tewksbury were fent to Rome to plead the Caufe of tlia 
 Order before Pope Innocent the Fourth ; to whom they infifted very much upoq the. 
 Favours granted to their Order in Englandhy other Popes ; and they, both 'learn- 
 edly and prudently pleaded the Decrees of his Predeceffors for the Support of 
 their Caufe. This Negotiation was (as is moft likely) in the Tear T245, at 
 the fame Time that Br. John AngUcus (Engltjh') came over, and ruled the Francif- 
 cans here in Quality of Commiffary General for that Year, and the Year following^ 
 being thanalfo the Popes Legate : and my Realbn for this Conjefture ii, that Br.. 
 William of Nottingham was at that Time Provincial, and therefore liad no Su- 
 perior that could /?««/ him ; but he was fent by the faid Br. John Englipi, who, 
 as CommilTary General, had Power to fend him •, and in that Capacity did alfo 
 govern the Engliih Francifcans for the two Tears M^6 and 1247, during moft 
 of which Time the other was abfent. But, be this as it will, the Nature of 
 the Affair fhews, how much thei'e two Perfons were efteemed; becaufe tJiey were 
 chofen out, as fit Champions to go down into the Lift againrt the Great Men 
 
 who 
 
 (a') ' olUHatt. "iom. i- fttg. %^z& fequentlbus. {h) Ibid, (c) Fran, a Sta, Clara, In Hijl. Miti. 
 .fag. 16.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englilh Francifcans. ^5 
 
 who then oppofed the Order, and would have taken from the Religious Pro- 
 feffors ot it, tlie Power of preaching in publick to the People^ and of hearing the Con- 
 fejftons of Lay Perfons, &c. But I return. 
 
 It is certain that this Br. Peter Ae Teuxbury was afterwards made Provincial of 
 his Order in England, during whofe Miniftry the 'third Order of St. Francis (dil- 
 countenanc'd for fome timej was again fa) reftored in a Provincial Chapter at 
 London. How long Teuxbury was Provincial I cannot tell, nor when he departed 
 this Life; but by Circumftances, I guefs he died about x.h.\sTear 1256; according 
 to which Calculation he was not two whole Years in the Office : However, when- 
 ever he departed this Life, he was buried among his Religious Brethren iw the 
 Convent of" his Order at Cb) Bedford. 
 
 IL Br. John Anglicus ^ncceeded. Teu.vbury mthe Office of Provincial Anno. 125^, 
 of the Francifcans of England ; and becaufe I canhot find the exaft 
 Date of his Death, the Reader may pleafe here to take his Charader as follows. 
 He was commonly call'd Aiglicus (or Engltfli) not as a Sir-name of his Family, 
 but an Appellation from the Nation wherein he was born *, for he was an En- 
 glifh Man. He was an excellent Divine, and tilfo a great Mafter of both the 
 Cannon and Civil Laws, and on thefe Confiderations, when Br. j4lbert de Pifa 
 fucceeded that Holy Man Br. Cxfarius Ae Spira hi the Provincialfhip of Germany, 
 or Teutonia (as has been faid) this Br. John jinglicus and one Br. B.rtholomcm 
 u^nglicus two Englifh Francilcan Divines, bred at Paris, and fome other very 
 learned Friers were fent with him into thofe Parts, by the Appointment of a 
 General G'lapter, held at JJfifium , Anno 1223. And thofe two Englifh Friers 
 made their Names Famous to Pofterity, by the great Service they did to their 
 Brethren of the Order in Saxony^ where they were the fiifl that taught Divinity ^ 
 which they performed with great Sfccefs and Applaufe: And Br. John had in 
 Time gained fo great an Efteem, that he was chofen Vicar Provincial of Ger- 
 many in the Chapter held there Anno 1230 ; when the holy Br. John de Piwo 
 Carpini (who fucceeded Br. Albert de Pifa) went to the General Chapter, and the 
 Tranflation of the Body of 5r. Francis at Affifum.. He was well known in Germany^ 
 where he had been employ'd as Vifitor not long before he was chofen Vicar- 
 Provincial of that Province-, as appears from the Words of an Author of an 
 ancient Saxon Chronicle, who Ipeaks thus, ^f.John AngUcus was fent into Germany 
 their firfl f^ifitor ; a cfuiet peaceable Man^ and one who, by his extraordinary Gnodrefs^ 
 did very much excite his Brethren to the Prathice oj all yertues. He was made Pro- 
 vincial o^ Saxony Anno. 1 23 1 ; in which Office he fucceeded Br. Simon AngUcus 
 lately deceafed, (as I have already faid) and here the laid John continued dif- 
 charging this his Miniftry with great Edification to others, and much Reputation 
 tohimfelf, till he was fent into England, where he govern'd the Friers for two 
 Years (vi^^. 2246, and 1247) as Commiflary General, whom Pope Innocent the 
 Fourth, at the fame Time alio, made his Apoflolick Legate and Colledlor; in 
 which Capacity he was accepted of by the King, Henry the ^d^ and (together with 
 
 K Ore 
 
 (a) Fran, a Sta, Clar'%, in Hijl. Min. pag, itf; (b) Angehis a Stct Francifco, in Cualo^o Prtvin^ 
 
 cialiiim
 
 66 The Antiquities o///;^ Englifli Francifcans- 
 
 one Frier Alexander and fome others of the Hime Order) allow'd to colle£l the 
 Charity and pious Aid of Prelates, Clergy, and others, throughout England^ 
 Ireland, and Scotland, towards the difcharging the Expences of the hoiv War, 
 and thedefigned Expedition to Jerufalcm, Purfuant to the Decree of the General 
 Cour.cil of Lyons, held Anno I 245. 
 
 III. Here our Englilli Hiftorian Matthew Paris, (a great Stickler againft the 
 Pope and the Begging Friers, tho' a Monk of St. Albans) is pleafed to exert 
 his Pen in being fevere upon thefe Colleftors, whom he very briskly charges 
 with many Crimes. ' Now, fnys an (aj Author, though I do not defign to 
 ' exculethe ExcelTesof all fuch Minifters,yet I dare venture to oppofe the Envy 
 
 * of this Fa£t. Br. John Anglicus^ one of thofe Perfons was Famous fOr Religion, 
 ' as well as for Learning, a Man ot known Zeal for his Inftitute, and one thac 
 
 * had acquitted himfelf with Honour and Credit, of feveral Offices of Superi- 
 
 * oriry in divers Provinces of his Order : With what Probability thereforedoes 
 
 * Matthew Paris go about to perfwade Men (as he labours to doj that he was a 
 
 * vain, proud, harfh, ill-natured Man, and a Tranfgreffor of his Rule ? Is it 
 
 * likely that wile Men, who knew him thoroughly, would have contended 
 
 * as they did to have him placed at their Head for tiieir Supeiiour, or that ju- 
 
 * dicious Superiours, who were noted holy Men., and well acquainted with his 
 
 * Manners, would have put him into Ports of Truft, if he had been the Man 
 ' that Alatthew Paris defcribes him to have been? Or would the Pope himfelf 
 
 * have thought him the fitceft Man to be intrufted with the chief Charge of 
 
 * Gathering, in three Kingdoms, a Subfidy towards carrying on a War againft 
 
 * the profefs'd Enemies of Christianity, had he been a Villain, or an ill Man? 
 
 * It feems rather, that he was a Perfon of fuch known Integrity, and fo ap- 
 paiently difingaged from^Tll Sufpicion of felf Intereff, that the Pope did not 
 
 * apprehend that Money would flick to his Fingers. In ihort, Br. John EngUJIi was, 
 
 * in .the Opinion of all that knew him, a very holy Man ; as is attefted by the 
 ' Annalifi of the Order^ and by Br, Bernard de Bejfa fthe Great St- Bonaventure's 
 ' Companion^ and others, quoted in the Notes upon the Frandfcan Martyrology^ 
 
 * on the id Day of March. 
 
 I know very well that there were great Complaints made about that Time, 
 againft the many Demands of Money from our Nation by the Popes and their 
 Agents , and that our Hiftorians fay, many Grievances of that Kind were 
 reprefented to the Prelates alTcmbled in the General Council at Lyons; but it 
 js not my Bufmefs here to infift on that Head : So I return to Br. John, who ('as 
 the chief .\gent in this Negotiation and Legate^ (bjfent Br. William de Bachin. 
 fes , on the fame Errand ir.to Scotland, Anno. 1248, where he was gracioully 
 receiv'd by the King, as is already faid under that Year. 
 
 IV. Br. John AngUcus is made a Cardifial by fome of our Englifh Hiftorians; 
 efpecially by (c) Mr. Fox and (dj Mr. Collier, who bring him in making a preffing 
 
 Speech 
 
 t 
 
 (a) Author of the Fr.imi/:an Martyroh^y on the ^d of Alarch- (b) Vran" a Sta. Clara, in Sufplem, 
 JUfi. M'ln. (S) Ads of Monum- under King Hemy the jrf. {d) Ecclef Jlifi about the Xmt 1146^
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans- ^7 
 
 Speech to the Pope, in Favour of his native Country England \ and pleading 
 hard againft any Exaftions upon that Nation *, whereby he gave a convincing 
 Proof ot his being a Zealous Patriot. Now, although I cannot find that any 
 Writer of the Order (except fa) Fran, a St a CLva) fays he was a Cardttul, yet I 
 find it undoubtedly afferred, that he was an Apoftolick Legate •, and in the 
 ^ddttioris to Matthew Paris, there are tour Commiilions given him by the Pope^ 
 and the Preamble to the laft runs thus, viz. Innocemius &c. To our well be- 
 loved Son, Br. John, of the Order of Friers Minors^ Health and AfoftoUcal Beaedi^hn. 
 It is lately come to our Hearing, that moft of the Church Prelates of the Kingdom of 
 England, not confidering that thofe Things which are dedicated to the divine Service., 
 ought not to he applied to ordinary Vfes, &c. Where the Pope {V) gives him a 
 very full Authority overall the Prelates, with a Power to Excommunicate, Sufpendt 
 or Jnterdifl them, and to fupprefs all Manner of Oppofers without any farther 
 Appeal, &c. Matthew Paris makes Mention of Seven Articles ot the Papal 
 Powers granted to Br. John and his Companions^ the Firjl ot which was, that 
 they ihould make Inquiry upon all Ufurers, being yet living, and after all 
 ill-gotten Goods, gain'd per Vfurariam Pravitatem ; and Ihould make Attachmer.t, 
 or Seizure ot all fuch Goods, tor the Ufe and Preparation for this vVar agsinft 
 the Greeks, (fays (c) Mr. Fox) Excommunicating all them, by dillinft Cenfures 
 of the Church, that repugn'd againft it. The otlier Six Articles (^too long for 
 this Place) run chiefly upon all Goods gotten by unjuft Means. I will not pre- 
 tend to anfwer all Objeftions againft thefe Articles : So I leave the Nuncc, 
 or Legate, that I may fpeak of him as Minifter Provincial ;, in which Office of 
 Legate, I have already given a Tranfcript of what is faid of him from the 
 Author of the Francifcan Martyrology, viz. that he govern d the Friers Minors in Eng- 
 land, in the Tears 1 246, and 1247, at the fame Time that he was the Popes CoUeBor ; 
 And he is call'd Provincial ot the Friers then by moft of our Englifh Writers : 
 But I prefume, he was fo call'd becaufe he was then Provincial o? Saxony, and 
 was alfo impower'd by the Minifter General, as his CommifTary, for a Time, 
 over the Order in England, during his Negotiation there, and in the Abfence 
 of their own Provincial, Br. William de Nottingham, then gone to Rome ; or, laftly, 
 becaule he was afterwards made Provincial of the Englifh Province. To clear 
 this Difficulty, obferve 
 
 V. Br. Thomas de Eccleflon makes it Plain, that William Nottingham ^nro. 1255. 
 was Provincial of England at the very Time, when Br. John AngUcus was 
 here as the Popes Legate and CoUeftor, and that he continued in the faid Office of 
 Provincial tor fix or feven Years after ^ and the Catalogue of their Provincials 
 brings in Br, Peter de Teuxhury immediately after him, and then this Great Man Br. 
 John Englifh ; who having executed his difficult Commifiion of Colle£lorfhip, left 
 our Natioti and return'd to his Office of Provincial in Saxony ; and at laft was 
 made Provincial of England, about this r^r 1255. How long he continued in 
 
 K 2 this 
 
 (a) Eifi. Mm. pag. 17. (b) Hijl. Miv. p.%g. 17. (c) Adi & Mnvunu from Matth. Paris, nbom 
 he quotes Folio 105.
 
 68 The Antiquities of the Englifli Francifcans. 
 
 this Office 1 do not find, nor when he departed this Life; but the Place o? his 
 Deceafe was Oxford, where he was buried. 
 
 Now, that 1 may not be thought tocl-hardy, for dilTenting from the m^ny 
 Writers, who made Br. 7oi>«, y/?vg/;fai Provincial of i:wff//iMi^ in ths Ye.irs 1245, 
 1241, let but the patient Reauer obferve, tliat Ecclefton pofi;ively alierts, that 
 Br William Nottingham lucceeded Br. Haymo^ in England Anno 1239, and that 
 he continued Provincial for fourteen Years ; which does not agree with the 
 Account ot Br. "Johni being in that Office for two of thole laid Years ; nay, and 
 fuppofed that he had come in for two Years to govern (as Provincial^ in the 
 Very middle of the Time of Nuttingham's Provincialfhip, tliis could not make 
 him the Sixth Provincial of England, v.or have brought him into the Catalogue 
 after Peter Teuxbury^ who was not Provincial till 'iQ^tn Years after that Time. 
 But enough of this. Willot. in Athen. Francifcan. fays, Br. John EngliJIj was a mofl 
 learned Man, and is fuppofed to have been an Author, but not To much as the 
 Titles of bis Works are recorded. 
 
 VI. There are two other Famous Francifcans of our Nation, whole Names 
 being John, had the Nick-name u^'.gUcus added by Foreigners, amongft whom 
 they lived for many Years i and it is hard to diffingu'ili the Perlon 1 have 
 been fpeaking of, from one of them, the Time when he lived being unknown ; 
 and therefore, to prevent Miflakes, he fhall come in here-, and the-Xhird John 
 ihall be fpoken of under the Tear 1 309, about which Time he fforifh'd. 
 
 The Second Br. John Anglicus was a Francifcan Doftor of Paris, where he 
 taught Divinity for a long Time. Willot fays, he was a Pious and Learned Man, 
 and" an Author, ijome of his Works are tliefe, viz. A Sum of Divinity, One 
 Uook, c:i\Yd Summa Joh.tnnina, from John, the Name of the Author. Vpon the 
 M.ifier of the Sentences, Fear Bocks. Vpon St. John''s Apocalypfe ; One Book. An 
 Handful of Flowers; One Book. Various Sermons; One Book ; I do not find when 
 he flourlfh'd, nor where he was buried ; but what I have here faid of hira 
 is from Ca) Authors of Credit. 
 
 VII. Br. John de Sacrobofco (whom fome call Halifax') imbibed the 
 Anvo i;56. ^^,^ Notions of good Literature, with an uncommon Succefs, in 
 the Vniverfuy of Oxford; from whence he afterwards went to Paris ; where he 
 fpencthe remainder of his Days. So Dr. Pits, who rakes no Notice of his being 
 a Francifcan ; but being reckon'd one of that Order by (b) Harpsfield and (c) 
 Two other great Men, I will venture to give him a Place here. 
 
 He was a great Philofopher, and an excellent Divine, and bad the Honour 
 to be made a Du£tor of that Sacred Faculty by the Univerfity of Paris. He 
 afterwards applied him felf chiefly (as it feems) to the Study of Mathematicks, and 
 become fo very perfect in that Kind of Learning, that he is, to this very Day, 
 univerfally efteem'd as one of the principal Maffers of it, and is ftill Famous 
 in all tlie Scliools of Europe (as Pits iays) for his Performance upon the Sphere 
 
 and 
 
 (a) Tojfman. Hifi. S/iaph. Lib. l«. Folio 5:1. and Pits in Ippanlice. (b) Hijl. Ecclcf. Sac. 14. 
 (c) Angel, a Sta. Franc, in Jiiie Calalogi Scrip. Ord. Min. & Fran, a Sta, Clara, in HiJl. Mwt 
 fag. 52.
 
 The Afitiquities of the Engliih Francifcans. ^^ 
 
 afid the Eccleftafiical Jctoutit \ which were fhort, but fo pithy, that they have re- 
 commended his Name to the lateft Pofterity ; and his Trttil upon the Sphere is not 
 only approv'd, receiv'd,aiid read'in mcft Univerfitie?, but has alio been illuftra- 
 ted with the Comments of many learned ProfefTors of that Science ; as may be 
 ieen in Dr. Ptts^ who gives the following Catalogue of his Works, viz- Of the 
 Sphere of the World, One Book, MSS. iii Merton-College, at Oxford i and at C(?w- 
 ^A-;Vge ill the publick Library, and in the Colleges ot 5f. 5f»f <<?//?, St, Peter^ Cijut 
 (^c. Of the Calculation of the Tear, or the Ecclefaflicd Accowt, One Book, after- 
 wards printed at Paris jinno 1551. De Algorifmo^ One Book. A $u)nmAry of the 
 Lawy One Book. Of the Aftrolabe^ One Book. Of the Ecclejtafncal Computation 
 to the Tear of our Lord 1255. He was this Year living at Paris, where he at laft 
 departed this Life. 
 
 The Authority of the knowing Writers, above quoted, who reckon this Man 
 a Francilcan, feem fufficient to prevail upon any one to give into their Sentiments 
 on that Head; efpecially fince the Engliih Minorite', in the beginning of their 
 Order, are known to have applied themfelves very much to the Study of Ma- 
 thematicks, their firft great Mafter in that Science being the famous Dr. Grcfieie^ 
 afterwards Biihop ot Lifjcoln, who (a) taught Br. Adam de Marifco and others, 
 (why not this John 1) after whom came Rcger Bacon, John Pcckham, and many 
 others of the fame Order, whole learned Works make it plainly appear to Pofte- 
 rity, that the Englifli Friers Minors carried the Bell for many Years in that kii;d 
 of Scholarihip. But now I go to an Affair of a different Nature. 
 
 VIU. About this Time (Alexander the ^th. being Pope) there came Amio izj6. 
 out a pernicious Libel againft the Mendicants, whole State was tradu- 
 ced as Blame-worthy and Damnable. This fcandalous Pamphlet was contriv'd 
 and drawn up by certain Doilors of Paris, whofe RingJeader was (h) Willi am 
 de SanBo Amore, follow'd by Sigerius and fome others of that Univerfity, who 
 fpitefully labour'd to explode the Orders of the Begging Friers, againft whom they 
 quoted feveral Texts ot the holy Scriptures, which they wrefted to a fjreign 
 Senle, to (upport their rafh Affertions, and to prove (as they pretended) that the 
 iaid Friers, ' ought not to be admitted into any Univerfities, and that it was 
 ' not allowable for them to teach, nor to preach to the People, or to hear Con- 
 ' feilions, or to beg, or to live upon Alms.' This Book was at laft prefented to 
 the Pope, who committed the Examination of it to certain learned Dottors, by 
 whom the Malice and Envy of its Authors, were plainly difcover'd. Albcrtus 
 Magnus, St. Thomas Aqtirtas, St. Bon.tveniure, and many other great Men rofe 
 up againft this Libel, and made it appear that all the Arguments alledged by the 
 Parifians were fallacious, and that the State of the A-fendicants was bothple.t^ng to Cody 
 andferviceable to his Holy Church.St. I'homas Aquinas chiefly undertook the Caufe,and, 
 drew his Pen againft William de Sto Amore, whofe Calumnies he detefted and dif- 
 proved. Properly, Learnedly, and Solidly, ina Book intided Ctntra. Impugn.wtcs 
 Religiontm; which Book was approved by the Pope, who condemn'd the Pamph- 
 let, 
 
 (a) Ban. a Sta Clara, in Hifi. Mm, p.tg, 51. (b) "Taffmian- H:flor. Serafiic. Lib, id*. Folia-
 
 70 The A?itiquities of the Englifti Francifcans. 
 
 ler, deprived W.IHam dt Sto Amore and Sigerius ot" their Degrees of Dottor and 
 of all other Dignities, baniih'd them outot" the Univerfity of Paris for their Iirj- 
 pudence ; and gave frefh Ihftances of his approving of the laid Orders of the 
 Mendicant s,hy granting them many new Favours and Privileges. 
 
 The Arguments made ule of by thefe Doilorsof Paris were again invalidated 
 by Si. Thcmas of Acjum in his publick Difputatior.s \n Paris it f elf. And here T 
 beg leave to make a Step forwards to acquaint the Reader that the Arrhbifhnp of 
 Armagh, Fitz-Rnlph, having coi'ceived a Diflike to the Friers, was pleas'd to 
 take up mofl of thecondemn'd Arguments of thele faid Dortors, about an hun- 
 dred Years after they had been exploded ai;d cenl'ured with their Authors : The 
 i'aid Prelate's Niuth Article of his Remonftrance indeed was, that the BuH of 
 Alexander the Fourth., which condemn d the Dolors of Paris, did not Cenftire any of his 
 Seven Lift Conclufions \ But, notwithflanding this AflTertion. the Archbifhops Arti- 
 cles were the fame, either in Terms, or in equivalent, with thefe condemn'd ; as 
 the Reader may fee when I come up to the proper Time ; In the mean while all 
 that I /hall now add is, that the Plea turn'd to the Friers Advantage, and mov'd 
 his Holinefs to confirm their old Privileges, and to grant them New Ones, 
 as the firfl Storm had done. But I have run too far, and now return. 
 ^ I. Br. Adam de Martjco, that famous Francifcan Doftor of Oxford 
 
 fo often mention'd, now departed this Life. Mr. Fuller Ca) calls him, 
 ' Adam of Alarflu and fays he was born in Somerfetfliire^ where there are plenty 
 
 * of Marflies in the Fenny Part thereof: But! take Brent-MarPi (f^yshe)^s the 
 
 * principal, the mofl probable Place of his Nativity, Itfeemsthat a foggie Air 
 ' is no hindrance to a refined Wit, whofe Infancy and Youth in this Place was fb 
 ' full of Pregnancy. He afterwards went to Oxford, and there become Doftor 
 ' of Divinity. It is Argument enough to perfwade any indifferent Man into a 
 
 * Belief of his Abilities, becaufe that Robert Grofthead, that learned and pious 
 ' Bifhop of Lincoln, made ufeof his Pains, that they might jointly perufe and 
 
 * compare the Scripture. He become afterwards a Francifcan Frier in Worce- 
 
 * fler, and f urnifh'd the Library thereof with moft excellent Manufcripts ^ for 
 
 * then began the Emulation in Ew^/^W, betwixt Monafteries, which fhou'd out- 
 
 * vie each other for mofl and the bed Books. He flourifh'd y^»»o 1257. I can- 
 
 * not (fays Fuller^ grieve heartily for this Adam's Lofs of the Bifhoprick of f/y, 
 ' becaufe Hugo de Balfjam, his Corrival, got it from him, the Founder of Peter 
 
 * Houfe in Cambridge.' So Dr. Fuller; To whom I. will here add from fb) Mr. 
 Wood, and (c) others of a more fedate Style, that Adam was of a fingular good 
 natural Temper from his very Childhood, and had a Wit peculiarly framed for 
 Learning, with which Advantages having perfefted his Studies, and being 
 made a Parilh. Prieft (as I have already laid) he was a fingular Pattern ot Virtue, 
 and at laA began to think of morefublime Contemplations, and rf a Religious 
 Stateof Life; which Thoughts he communicated to certain pious and prudent 
 Men, whom he confulted in this weighty Affair, and being more and more con- 
 
 firm'd 
 
 i&^fWorthles of S:mer/etJI}ire. (b) Antiq. Oxon. lib, i" pag. 7J &• 6S. (c) Wharton. In AngUa 
 S»;ra. tart. l. pag, 341.
 
 The Antiquities o///;e1Eng!i{Ti Francilcans. 71 
 
 firm'd in his good Defigiis, he made Choice ^if the Order of St. Francis. He 
 was afterwards a Fellow Student and Tra/eller with St. Amhony of Padua, and 
 had a great ihare in the Friei.dihip of that huly Man. Infine, Br, Jditm Marjli^ 
 had fuchanuuiverfal Reputation and Efteem of all Men for his great Virtue and 
 Learning, that he was impowr'd by Pope Alexander the Fourth^ to examine the 
 Miracle' of St. ^jV/j.tr^, late Biihop ot C7;/Wjf/?f^, ("who departed this Life Anno 
 1253, Afrilthe id-') and to make Report of them to his Holinefs, in order to his 
 Canonization ; and about the lame time Adam was chofen Biihop of Ely ; though 
 he was never confecrated, or admitted into Poffellion, becaufe the Pope had al- 
 ready nominated Hugh BalzMmonto that See. ^at Adam being a Man of known 
 Sanftity, and particularly favour'd by Boniface then Archbiihop of Canterbutyy 
 and Son of the Earl of Sofvoy, his Holinefs did not difmifs him with Difhonour, 
 butient him back into England as his Apoftolick Z-ej<ife, he being then at ^owf, 
 both to make Report of St. Richard^s Miracles, and to procure his Credentials 
 for his Inthronization at Ely \ However he return'd the Year follow ing into England 
 with his Companion Br.JohnCa^itianus, ("of whom the next Year) as the Popes 
 Legates. 
 
 To Conclude; Br. Adam was not fuch a meer Contemplative as to keep his 
 great Piety and Learning to himfelf, but he fwell'd the Friers Library, both in 
 Bulk and Value with his own Writings, which were learned and accurate, 
 well compofed, and worthy of the Man ftyled DcBor Jllujhatus. Some ot his 
 Works are, Comment: upon certain Texts of the holy Scripture, One Book. Vpon the 
 Canticle of Canticles, One Book. A Paraphrafe upon St. Denis the Anopagite^ Oie 
 Book. An Expoftiion of the holy Scripture, One Book. Oue(tions of Diiinity, One 
 Book. Ordinary Lejfons, One Book. Epi files to Robert Grofiete, One Book i befides 
 mar-y other Works. Eccjefion ends his Life in the Year 1157-, but Sixrus Se- 
 nenfis, and Wilkt, fpin it out as far as the Year 1260 •, and indeed'this laft Date or 
 the Time of his Death agrees beft with Codwyns fa) Account o' Br. Adam's being 
 eleibed Bifliop of Ely, Anno 1257, and with the Annals of the Order which 
 bring in Adam examinirg St. ^/r/;4rrt!'s Miracles, or giving an account of them at 
 Rome about the fame Time ; according to which Calculation Bw Adam return'd 
 Legate mio England in the Tear i2$S. But let nice Chronologers refolve the 
 Computation as they think fit, whilft I go on to Br. Adam's ^^Wow- Legate. 
 
 L Br. John of Kent lived till about this Time. He is commonly call'd ", ^,,cg 
 Cantianus from the Country wherein he was born, which was Kent, From 
 his Youth he was inftrufted in the Fear of God, and in the Study of the Libe- 
 ral Arts ; and made fuch Advantagious Improvements in both, that in due Time 
 he became a learned Clerk, as well as a good Man ;, after which, he left the 
 Schools, and the Country wherein he as yet had ftudied, and then travell'd into 
 Aqiiitania-,'\n France, where he took to the Study of the Laws, with great Dili- 
 gence and Application •, and having gain'd the Reputation of a learned Man, as well 
 as the KnoTcledge that really made him ib, he was prefer'd to a Canonfhip in 
 
 the 
 
 Videfitf^Km. de lUufiribtn AngU Script. Ami) 115 7, (a) Godwyn's Catalogue of iijtjops of Ely in the 
 Yewri;j7.
 
 72 The A?itiquities of the EngliOi Francifcans. 
 
 the Cathedral of ths BUffed Virgin Mary, in the City of Algiers: But being at 
 laft weary of this World, and defpifing allies Preferments and Advantages ^ and 
 defiring tofpendhis Time in the Contemplation of heavenly Things, he freely 
 renounced All, and made himfelf Poor for the Love of Chrlfl ^ and embracing 
 the Rulear.dlnftitute of St. Francis, he bow'd down his Neck to the Sweet Take 
 of our Lord, and carried his £./^k ^ar^w, with great Humility and Patience, to 
 the very End of his Life. Some time after he had entred into this Order, Pope 
 jiUxander the 4^/3 fent him as his Legate into England, together witli Br. Adam de 
 Marifco, Calfo his Lf^are) of whom 1 have already given an Account. Br. 7<?/;m 
 of Kent writ feveral Books, chiefly whilft he was a Canon at Algiers. His Works 
 are, 0/ Law-Cafes^ Two Books. Of the Ruhrich, One Book, befides many othet 
 Thing<^. (n) Dr. P«fi, and Br. Fr4w;V fb) Harold, (from whom 1 write) differ in 
 the Date of this Man's Death •, the firft making him end his Days Anno 1248, 
 and the other extending his Lite as far as x.\vzTear 1258, or farther \ which laft 
 is certair.ly the moft true Account, as it plainly appears. 
 
 Amo\ «8 "■ The Francifcans this Year, took PolTeflion of a Dwelling-place 
 * in St. Edmunds Bury^ in SufJk \ as fhall be faid at large in the Second 
 Tart of this Work. 
 
 A , I. Br. Auguflin de Nottingham flourifli'd about this Time. He was 
 
 *' Brother to William of Nottingham Stn. (who was the 4th Provincial of 
 England") and enter'd into the Order of St. Francis at, or about the fame Time 
 with him, as £:cc/f/?(?v fays. TWiS ^\- . A iguflin was a Man of excellent Parts, 
 which, by a fedulous Application, he improved to an excellent Degree of Vir-. 
 tueand Learning*, as appears from the many diftinguifhing Favour.s which he 
 had the Honour to receive from Pope Innocent the ^th, who at laft (c) made him 
 Bifiiop of Laodicea \ And it is very likely that he was a Suffragan to fome one 
 of our Englifti Diocefans, as many others of the fame Order, at different Times, 
 are known to have been. 
 
 There are two Famous Cities of this Name ; one in Cdofyria^ by Mount Lib*- 
 ttus, now Liche, or Liz.z.a; The other of Lydia, in the Lejfsr Afia, call'd hereto- 
 fore Diofpolis, v.ow Laudichia: From this Place St. Paul writ his former Epiftle 
 to Timothy : But of which of tiiefe two Laodiceas tliis Br. Auguftin was made Bi- 
 fhop, 1 know not, nor when he departed this Life. 
 
 i , n. A Frier Minor whom latin Authors call W,ilafcus (IValleys might 
 
 lino 1259 ^^ j^.^ Name) was this Year, impower'd by the Pope to reftore a cer- 
 tain Bi/hop, named Adcmarus, to his See of IVincheficr. So the Annates Min. I 
 take this Bifhop to be Athelmams, the Son of Hugh Earl of March and Ifabel the 
 Queen Mother, ( fo that he was King Henrythe Third's half Brother) who was for- 
 ced to liie out of £w?//fW Anno 1258. with many other Pi^avians his Country- 
 Men i and therefore believe the good Frier W^<?/^/cttj (or Wa!leys')6.\(\ not fucceed 
 effedually in his Negotiation, becaufe I find in Godwyti's Catalogue »f Bilhops, that 
 the Monks of Winchefter^ this Year, proceeded to the Eleffion of a new Bifhop, 
 
 and 
 
 (a) DeWuflr. ingl Script. Anno 1:48. (b) EpHcmi. Annal. Ord. Mm. (c) Eahjion, in Lelani. Col- 
 ledan.lom. 1. fag. 5^1.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifli Francifcans. 75 
 
 and made choice of Henry de Wingham, then Chancellor of England. But I 
 return. 
 
 I. Br. Ralph Coleburg departed this Life now ; Of him (aj Mr. Wood ■^»'>i> n^o 
 writes, that the Fame of his excellent Learning fpreading whilft he 
 was a Reader in the Faculty of Arts at Paris ^ the Minifter General of his Or- 
 der lent him to Oxford, where he finifh'd his Regency in Divinity, to the great 
 Credit of his Order and himfelf. SolVood: To which I will add from (b) Dr. 
 Pits and others, that Coleburg had his firft Education at Oxford^ from whence, 
 after he had made an uncommon Proficience and gain'd very great Applaufe, he 
 was fentover to Paris ; where in Procefs of Time, he gave fuch Demonftrations 
 of his Learning and Skill in Teaching, that he was the Admiration of that famous 
 Univerfity ^ where he continued till that learned ProfeiTor Br. y4dam de M.irifcoy 
 as a well-deferving Veteran, laid down the Office of expounding the Holy Scrip- 
 tures in the Francifcan Schools at Oxford, wherein he was (ucceeded by this Cde- 
 burgy who honourably acquitted himfelf of the Task, after the Example of his 
 great PredecefTor. I cannot find when he began to teach at Oxford, nor {a much 
 as the Titles of his Writings, althoueh Pits fays he was an Author, and left fome 
 Monuments of his great Learning to Poften'ty. He was a Do£tor ot Oxford \, and 
 it's certain he died about this Time, though T»j//j;7»(iff ,• by Miftake, makes him 
 live till the Tear 1 270. 
 
 IL Br. Thomas of Tori, or de Eboraco, flourifh'd about this Time. He Anm 1160. 
 was the ^th in Order, though perhaps the firft in Dignity, amongft 
 the Readers of Divinity in the Friers Convent at Oxford : he was a Man of a 
 Graceful and Perfwafive Elocution, and not left to be commended for his ready 
 Wit and excellent Learning. So Dr. Pits, whole Charafter of this Man is carri- 
 ed on farther by Mr. Jroo«/(c) who fays, .that after Br. 'Thomas had finifli'd his 
 teaching at Oxford, he refumed the Lefture at Cambridge, and washonour'd with 
 the Doftors Cap in both Univerficies, fas his PredecelTor Normanville was) and 
 that he graced the Age wherein he lived with his Writings, which are now all 
 loft except one Book intitled Commentaries ufon Ecclefiafles, mention'd by Dr. Pits. 
 Old Age at laft coming upon him, he return'd to Tor/t, the Place of his Birth, 
 and there ended his Days, in the Convent of his Order. One thing more (fays 
 Wood') I muft not omit concerning this Famous Man ; which is, that when he was 
 about to take the Degree of Doftor in Divinity at Oxford ("Br. Peter de Muners 
 being in the Regent Doftors Pulpit in the ufual Preliminary Difputationsj there 
 was a Stop put to farther Proceedings, and Eboracen/is was then hinder'd- from 
 palling Doftor, becaufe he had not taught in the Faculty of Arts according to 
 the Rigour of the Statutes of that Univerfity. This was about the Tear 1150. 
 So Wood who goes on •, upon thisDifappointment Adam de Marifco \yx\t a Letter 
 to his Provincial, Br. William de Nottingham, much in Commendation of the laid 
 Br. T%omas of Tork, the Subftance of which Letter is as follows. . . . About feven 
 Days before thisprefent Writing, it was agreed on, by the gracious Affcnt of the Chufcel- 
 
 L lor 
 
 {a) Aiiiiquit.Oxon. Lib, 1° fag. -ji. (h) In AppendUe U/uJIr. Angl. S.r'ipt. {c) AmIic, Q dh. Lib.
 
 74 The Antiquities of the Englilh Francifcans* 
 
 tor, and the DoBon of the Vniverfuy of Oxford^ that Br. "thomas of Tork {bleffed he the 
 Name of God) (hou'd be admitted to Afount the Chair of DoElor in Divinity^ for the Ex* 
 cellency of his Mtnners, hisiVit^ his Learning, and his Experience^ trhich make htm ac- 
 ceptable to many , even the Great Ones. But there was a Difficulty fiarted to obflruil the 
 Procedure J from the Ohjeilions of fome^ who pleaded that he had not, (Cathedraliter") in 
 due Form^ taught the Liberal Arts : This Affair is niw depending., and the Event Dubi- 
 ous atthegoin^ off" of this Bearer, &c. What UTue this Cau!e had appears from 
 fome other Letters to the laid William de Nottingham, wherein I find (lays tTW^ 
 that at the Inftance of the (aid Thomas, the Chancellor and the Maftersof Arts, 
 with fome Batchellorsol the fame Faculty, met together, and having choftn 
 fc^Qn Umpires out of this Number, they refolved that, in Condefcenfwn to the 
 Petition of the faid Thomas, heflioud take the Degree of Doflor, notwithftanding tijt 
 Impediment chjeBed againfi him, viz. That he had not regularly given out the Leffon in the 
 Sihool of Arts, Sec. Wood. The Reader may perhaps think it fomewhat ftrange 
 that this Man ('who is thought to have died old this Year) fhcu'd fucceed Br. 
 Eufiace de Normanvilkj who lived till the Year \ 280. To which all that can be faid 
 is, that iVo:7W(«>;W/e began very young to teach, ai.d Ehoracenfis not till he was 
 more advanced in Years-, unlefs there is fome Miftake in the date oi their De- 
 parture out of this Life. However, this feems to confirm Mr. Wood^s Opinion, 
 viz; that Normanvllle was a Frier before he was made Doclor. 
 . UL Br. John Walleys (alias Wallenfis, or Gualenfs) a Francifcan of Wor- 
 
 Anm ii6o- ^^ji^^^ as j3j. p^f^ ^.^y^^ ^jj^j gij-Q this Year ; of whom take what fol- 
 lows, from (a) Mr. Wood. W.iUeys perform'd the Fun£Vion of Profeflbr of both 
 Philofophy and Divinity, with great Applaufe, in the Francifcan School at Ox- 
 ford-^ where having finiih'd, (and taken the Degree of Doftor, fays Pits') he was 
 lent to Paris^ and there, in the fame Exercifes, gain'd the Elteem of all Men for 
 his great Learning ^ and was honour'd with the Title of (Arbor Vita) A Tree of 
 Life; fuch pleiitiful Fruits did he bear of all Manner of Erudition proper for 
 the Nurture of a fpiritual Life. He was, in thofe Days, a Man of that Eloquence, 
 that Quicknefs of Wit, that Sharpnefs and f atnels of Expreffion, that he was 
 able to Difcourfe upon any Subjeft, not only Gracefully, Eloquently, and Clear- 
 ly ; but a'.fo Accutely, Wifely, and Learnedly. So Wood from Leland, with 
 much more in his Commendation. And Dr. Pits moreover adds, that Br. Johns 
 Judgment was as Solid as his Wit was Difcerning, and that he penetrated the 
 moft Obftrufe Myfteries of Learning at firft Sight, and cou'd quickly folve the 
 moft intricate Difficulties, with Wifdom and Energy ; as appears alio by his 
 Writings; which are fo numerous, th^tWood fays there are Tivt>ity Volumes of 
 his Works in Philofophy and Divinity, as is attefted by many Authors-, and 
 Pits gives this Catalogue, viz. Lectures upon the Scriptures, feveral Books. Vpon the 
 M.ifierof the Sentences, Four Books. Vpon the Apocalypfc of St. John, Or.e Book. 
 Sermons of the Time., One Book. Setmons of the Saints, One Book. Vpon the Mythology 
 of St. Fulgentius, One Book. A Summary of Precepts, Ore Book. Of the Vifttation of 
 the Sick, One Book. Of Penance, One Book. Legiloijuium, of the divine Command- 
 
 mtfitSy 
 
 (») Antiquit. Oxen, Lib, i" pag. yi.gp/fjr.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englilh Franclfcans- 75 
 
 Ptents, One Book. Cummumlocjuium, and of the Government of human Life, Seven 
 Books, MSS. in Bafliol College at Oxford, and at Cambridge in St. Peter's College ; and 
 printed ac Lyons Annoi^w Montloquium ieu Col/eLUlotjuium. Four Books. MSS. at 
 Cambridge, in St. Peter's College, and in Pembroke-Hall. Floriloquium, Of the Sayings cf 
 the Phitofophers, One Book, ac Cambridge, MSS. in St. Benedict's College, and in Pem- 
 broh-Hall. Brevilo^uium, Of theWifdom of the Saints, One Book. MSS. at Oxford, 
 in BalHol and Oriel Colleges. Brevilocjuium, Of the Vcrtues of the Ancient Phttofophers, 
 One Book, MSS. in Oriel College, at O.xford- Of the Life and Manners of the Philo- 
 fophers. Ten Books. j4 Summary of Jvflice, or alreatife of the Seven deadly Sins ; out 
 ot Parienfis, Ten Book?, MSS. in Oxford, in Exeter College ; and at Cambridge, in 
 St. Peter's College. Floriloquium, One Book. Of Vnizerfal Providence, Oi.e Book. 
 Of a Common Wealth, Oi.e Book. Of the Fertues of the Ancients, Three Books, 
 MSS. in Oriel College at Oxford. An Hiflorical ColleElion, One Book. Remarkable 
 Additions, One Book, yin Ordinary or an Alphabet of a Religious Life, divided into 
 the three following Parts, v\z. A D/^zry, printed at Ff«/cf, and afterwards at Lyons 
 Anno 15 Tl -^Place-reckonings, One Book. An Itinerary, One Boole. Paftorals, One 
 Book. Indexes of two Works, One Book. Of divers Matters, One Book. Of DifcipUni, 
 One Book. Of brotherly Correftion, One Book. Of Exhortation, One Book. Of the 
 Knowledge of Life, One Book Of the Moral Eye, One Book. Of RcUtions, One 
 Book.O/" Being and Effence, One Book. Commentaries upon Valerius, One Book. 
 Collc6Honsof Ferfes, One Book. MSS. in St. Peter's College in Cambridge. Expofittons 
 of Ovid's Fables, One Book, MSS. Ibidem. Of divers 'things. Fifteen Books. Of the 
 Beginning, Progrefs, and End of Mahomet, and the fourfold Reprobation of his Prophecy, 
 One Book. J fimt DireBion for Curates, One Book, which ("being prevented by 
 Deathj he did not fini^ •, but it was clofed by Br. Thomas of Ireland. Br. Job:t 
 Walleys, lived till the Tear i 260, and then departed this Life at Paris, where he 
 was buried among his Religious Brethren, in the Convent of his Order. 
 
 IV. Br. Nicholas Anglicus, a Famous Englifli Francifcan Doftor of j^^^ ^^^^ 
 Divinity, died likewile this Year. Dr. P//j fa) writes of him, that 
 after he had laid a good Ground-work of V'ertue and Learning in his JsJative 
 Country ; being fpur'd on with an eager Defire of farther Improvements, he tra- 
 vell'dCby the Appointment of his Provincial) firft into France, and afterwards 
 through /f^/y, vifiting every Univerfity of Kote, and converfing daily with the 
 moft learned Meninthofe Parts, and by a Diligent Application, fcumming ojf 
 the very Ci earn of good Literature ^ and coming at laft to Rome, the great Refi- 
 derice of Holy 'and Learned Men ; and his Fame foon fpreading, Cxpit notus effe 
 Pontifici, He became known to the High Prtefi, his excellent Parts introducing him to 
 the Prefence of the then Pope Innocent the ^th ^ who obferving the Man's Learning, 
 his Prudence, his judicious Gravity, and his other Angular Vertues, made Choice 
 of him tor his ConfefTor and Direflior ot his Confcience-, which OfHce he dif- 
 charg'd fo commendably, that it was not long before the laid Pope beftow'd 
 upon him the Bilhoprick of Affifium, in Italy. He is Hiid to have writ feveral 
 
 L 2 Books 1 
 
 (a) In Appendice If/njlr. Script-
 
 7^ 7he A?itiquities of the Englifh Franclfcans! 
 
 Books •, but the Titles of them are not to be found. To this Purpofe Dr. Pits^ 
 quoting Ecrlefion and Leland- He lived till about the Tear i l6o. Here note. 
 
 "ift. 1 have already obferved, in the latter End of ylUxarider Hnles''s Charafter, 
 that Br. Nhi\/l/ts AngUcus was prefent at the Council of Lyons Anno 1245, being 
 then ConfefFor to Pope Innocent the 4th, to whom he was greatly A/Tiftent in many 
 weighty Aflairs, in Conjunftion with the faid Alexander ^ but whether he was, at 
 that Time, Bifhop of J^j^/i/Tuw, or was afterwards advanced to that Dignity, I 
 cannot refolve, though the latter feems the moft likely. 
 
 idly- There was another Englilh Francifcan known alfo by the Name of Nicholas 
 Jltiglicus, who, f:om the State of a Lay-Brother, was admitted to holy Or- 
 ders, became Coi-.felTor to the fiime Pope, and was at laft made Bilhop of 
 yljfifium before this Perfon was, as I have already faid under the Year 1243. 
 Numb. I . 
 
 . • \. Br. Henry Bryfingharrtt one of the Regent ProfefTors of the Fran- 
 
 """ '" '■ cifcan Schools at O.vford, proceeded Doctor of Divinity in that Uni- 
 verfity this Year, according to Mr. ^^W. But I refer his Charafter to the 
 Time of his Departure out of this Life ^ As I do alfo the remarkable Afts 
 of fome others of the Order, for thefe two Years, that they may appear more 
 intelligibly, all at once, when 1 come up to the refpeftive Dates of their 
 Deceal'e. 
 
 g, I. Br. Manfuetus^ a certain foreign Francifcan, was, about this Year, 
 nnoii 1. ^^^ the King's procuring) fent mto England iis a Legate Uom the See 
 of Rome-, as our EnglifhHiftorians bear Witnefs. So (aj Fran, a St a Clara. What 
 the Occafion was of his Majefties defining fuch a Perfon to come over, I find 
 not ^ but I take tliis M.infuetus to be the M«n that heretofore was ConfeflTor to 
 Pope hinccent the ^th aiul his Chaplain, and Plenipotentiary, by whofe Mediation 
 the Inhabitants of Pifa in fr.ily, were (after fome Difagreement) reconciled to the 
 iJee of Rome, jinno T 244. Tojfinianenfis fays, he was famous for the Sanftity of his 
 Life, and for the Gift of Miracles, and upon thefe Confederations was' very 
 much carefs'd by St. Lewis the gth. King of Fr/?we, who admitted him to an inti- 
 mate Familiarity. Pope "L^^trfM the 4f/; imploy'd alfo this Br. ^^»/ttf/a^ in many 
 AfTiu'rs of Weight, as the Annalift of the Order witnelTeth, under the Tear 116^^ 
 about which Time it was, that King Henry the Third of England procured his co- 
 mii.g hither; And indeed almoft numberlefs are the Inftances of the Er.glifh 
 Francifcans being imploy'd both at Home and Abroad, and of Foreign Friers, 
 of the fame Order being fent into England on publick Negotiations of the grea- 
 teft Importance j which the curious Reader may find in the HiAories of thofe 
 Times. 
 
 - ^ J ^ 1. Br. John Stanford died about this Time. All that I can find of 
 
 4. ^.^ .^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^j^^ g^^ Minifter Provincial of the Englifh Fran- 
 cifcans, and fucceeded Br. 7ofc« yfffj/»Va/ in that Office, and that he departed this 
 Life in the Convent of his Order nt Linne, in Norfolk, where he alio was buried 
 amongft his Religious Brethren. But when he was chofen Provincial, or how 
 
 long 
 
 (a) Hifl. Miv, Provln. An^l- pag, 18. Marlynlog, francifcan, on tie 27/Jb of Vecembtr,
 
 The Antiquities of the Engliili Francifcans. 77 
 
 long he held that Mi;iiftry, I know not, nor the Time of his Death more than 
 by a probable Guefs : However, it is certain he was fa^ fucceeded by Br. I'ettr 
 Svpynerjlfd. 
 
 I. Br. Bcnaventure F/W4«2,<j,(afterwards canonized Saint Bonaventure.^nd Anm ii6^. 
 fiyled the Seraphical DoElor of the Church) a Frier Minor, was, this Year 
 nominated Archbiftiop of Tork-, by Pope Clement the 4/fc, who in his Pontifical Let- 
 ters, gives him a great Charafter for his Piety, Prudence and Learning : But 
 neither the h'gh Commendations the Pope was pleafed to give him, nor the Rich 
 Benefice he beftow'd upon him, cou'd then move him from his State of Poverty : 
 For, he went to the Pope, and with great Humility refign'd the Dignity into the 
 Hands that gave it him. St. Bonaventure was cholen Minifter General of the 
 whole Order of Sr. Fr<iw»V ^wo 1256, and was in th>faid Office when he was ap- 
 pointed to the See of Tork ; for he was General eighteen Years, that is, to the 
 Tear I 274, at which Time he was made a Cardinal and Bifhop of A'bano, by Pope 
 Gregory the Tenth., in the Time of the Council of Lyons., 'vherein the faid Pope 
 prefided- in Perfon, being chiefly ailifted by St. Bona.ven<ure,vi\t\\ whom hisHoli- 
 nefs confulted in Matters of the greateft Difficulty and Importance, and by 
 whofe Endeavours and Advice many Things were decreed, and the Greeksy re- 
 turn'd to their Obedience to the Apoftolick See. So(b) ioffwianenfis. (c) Leland 
 agrees, with this Account, as to the Time ; but exprefles the Matter in a diffe- 
 rent Style, faying, ' The Pope made \oid the Eleftion of William, Dean of Tork., 
 
 * elefted to that See, who return'd from Rome about the Feaft of St. Nicholas^ 
 ' and gave the Archbiflioprick to a certain Perfon, of the Order of the Friers 
 
 * Minors, call'd Bonaventure j who being afraid of his Skin, left he ihou'd find 
 
 * the Fury of the EngIiih(not yet entirely at QuierJ dangerous to him, refign'd 
 ' that high Dignity into the Hands of the Pope that gave it him. Leland.' 
 
 I. Tfiefe two Years are chiefly taken up with a fevere Perfecution 
 raifed r.gainft the famous Doflor, Frier Ro^er Bacon, who was traduced arJi%6i! 
 and fiilfely accufed firft to the General of the Order, and then to the 
 Pope, on the Account of fome new Difcoveries, and fome curious and un- 
 common Experiments of the Matheraaticks made by him, which had the Mis- 
 fortune to not be rightly underftood. But I refer thefe to a more proper Place. 
 
 I. The Reader wou'd perhaps be furpris'd if I fhou'd abruptly af- 
 fert, that a Francifcan was very inftrumental in the founding of ' a """ ' 
 College in Oxford \ and therefore I beg leave to go lome Years forwards with this 
 Affair that 1 may make it intelligible by giving it all at once, from the famous 
 Antiquary Mr. (dyWood who delivers it thus, viz,. ' Authors vary about the date 
 
 * of Balliol-Collegexn Oxford. . . . Whatever was done in this Matter by "John de 
 
 * Balliol Knight and Father to the King of Scots, in his Life-Time, ought to be 
 
 * reckon'd in the Tear 1268, or at leaft 1267. This great Man gave Stipends 
 
 * to certain Students in Oxford, which he deiigned to continue to them till he 
 
 ' cou'd 
 
 (a)ViJeCalalor. ProvinctAlium. in fine Cortam. Seraph. (}>) Rift- Seraph. Lib. i'^ Folio 95 & 94. 
 & 'Aid. Lib.iW* FoL 181. CO Collectan lom. id" p.tg. 418. C^) Antiq. Oxon, Lib. i<f. fag, 6$. 
 
 &> 70. ■
 
 78 The Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans. 
 
 cou'd provide them proper Buildings, which be intended to endow with 
 Lands fgr their future Maintenance^ but was prevented by Iiis Death. BalUoi 
 departed this Lite Anno 1269, feme tew Days before Whicfuutide, and upon his 
 Death-Bed earneftly intrtated his Lady and his Executors 110c to let fo noble 
 a Defign drop, but to take Care to continue the Payment of the faid Pei.fions j 
 but after his Deceafe it was debated whether or not it was expedient to perform 
 the Requeftof -the Deceafed, becaule thofe Penfions were to be raifed out of 
 the Pioftts ot his Eftate, a great part whereof confifted in an Income depending 
 on a doubtful Security. However upon the Perfwafion ot Richard Slickbury, 
 (Slickburienfn') a Frier Minor, the Lady DervorguilU^ EjHIoL's Widow, fwliole 
 ConfelTor he was) refolved not only to do what her Husband on his Death- Bed 
 defired, butalfo to carry on the pious Work by him defign'd. 
 * I willaddby the By (fays Mr. K-^co^, ibid.^ that another Frier of the fame 
 Order being afterwards ConfefTor to the Countelsot Pembroke^ perfwaded that 
 Lady to build and endow Pembroke- Hall, in Cambridge, and another Hall in Paris, 
 for Scholars of a meaner Fortune. But I return to Dervo>guill.i (fays Wood^ 
 who being induced, as is already faid, -by the faid Frier, hired a Houfe in the 
 Parilh of St. Magdalen, and in the Street call'd Horfmanger-fireet^ belonging to 
 the Univerfity, and gave it to the faid Scholars to dwell in, purpofing to 
 maintain them there in their Studies out of the Profits of BalUofs Eftate, till 
 the Lands defign'd for that Ufe fhould be intirely itiade over to them, and be 
 firmly fettled for that End for ever. After the Students had ipent fbme Years 
 in this Place, Dfrwr^tf/V/^zfent them funier her Seal) certain Statutes whereby 
 to regulate all the Affairs of the College, and keep the Scholars within the 
 Bounds of their Duty. . . . Which Statutes were, by the laid Lady's Orders, 
 deliver'd to Br. Hugh de Hertipoll and Dr. William Menyl, the firft a Frier Mi- 
 nor, and the other an Oxford Scholar, whom fhe made choice of for Proftors, 
 to govern the Houfe in Conjunftion with a Principal, (from amongft themfelves) 
 whom {he left to the choice of the Members of the College, who were to pre- 
 fent the Perfon fo chofen to the faid Proffer/, without whole Approbation he 
 was not to exercife any Authority. The faid Scholars alfo were obliged by thefe 
 Statutes to take care to have three MalTes faid yearly for the eternal Welfiire 
 of John Bulliol, Kuight, and of his Anceftors, and all the Faithful, and they 
 were likewi'fe (at Grace before Meat every Day) to pray for the Soul of her 
 faid Husband, and for the Proftors above named, d-c.^ SoPVood. 
 This Br. Hugh de Hertifoll, whom the Lady Dervorguilla made firft Proftor of 
 Balliol College, 1 take to be the Perfon who afterwards was a Dodlor of Oxford and 
 Provincial of his Order in England, and am inclined to believe that the Office 
 of Firft Proftor of this College was fill'd with a Succe/fion of Friers Minors, 
 becaufe in theTear 1325, I find one Br. Robert de_ Leicefiria firft Proitor here, 
 who wasa Francifcan Profelfjr of Divinity. It is not unlikely that the Lady 
 Dcrvorguilla might defire that a Francilcan Ihou'd be in Balliol College as firft 
 Proctor, both for the great Efteem fhe had for Men of that Order, as alfo as an 
 Ackncr^vledgment that one of them (viz. Br. Richard SUckbury) had a great Hand 
 in her Fouudir.g of that College. 4uC, be this as it will, the Lady Dervorguifla 
 
 purchafed
 
 The Antiquities o//Ae Engllfli Francifcans, ^^ 
 
 purchafed a Place in Oxford, and having ficted it up with proper Buildings and 
 Outlets. &c. removed WMer de Foderingey, the Princifal, and all his Scholars 
 from the Place call'd for (Diftin£lion Sake) Old Balllol-H.ill, and fettled them in 
 the College, which Ihe endow'd with perpetual Rents, fecured to them and 
 their Succelfors with folemn Formalities, and infured to them alfo by her Son, 
 Jabfj de Riilhol, Knight, ("afterwards King of ScAs) and Oliver Bilhop of Lincoln^ 
 jinno 1 284, two Years after the Statutes were diliver'd to Br, Hu^h fjertlcpod j 
 of whom more hereafter. 
 
 I. Br. .^/cW^ i?B/z^j' departed this Life about this Time. He was Anno ii-o. 
 born at Ctrencefier, in Glocejlerfhire, and in time becam.e a famous Fran- 
 
 cifcan Reader in Oxford, and in Paris j in both which Unirerfities he had the Ho- 
 nour to be made Doctor of Divinity, and is the Fifth amongft the Regent Pro- 
 felTors of that lacred Faculty that taught in the Conventof his Order »t Oxford: 
 And, that^vhich adds much to the Credit of his Memory is. that he was one of 
 thofe zealous Champions, whom his Provincial and Province made choice of, to 
 maintain hisOrder in theOblervance of a rigorous Poverty, and in the Aufte- 
 rities ol a penitential Life, in Oppofition to the Liberties and Indulgence let in 
 by their then General, Br. EUas, by whole Mal-Adminiftration, Regular Difci- 
 pline began to decline, and the Simplicity of an Apoftolical Lifefeem'd to fit 
 uneafy upon Some. But of this Heroick Undertaking I have been more parti- 
 cular in the Charafters of Br. Haymo of Feverfliam and Br. Adam Marpi, and 
 eliewhere^ Si will only add of Rufus, that he was an Author, and writ at 
 Paris, as IVillot fays, moj} learned Commentaries upon the Mujler of the Sentences, 
 Four Books. Opujfcula, One Book. Dr. Pits oblerves rightly, that 'tis an Error 
 to take this Man and Br. Richard of Comwd for one and the fame Perfon*, As I 
 have already fliewn in theCharafter of the laid Comwal. 
 
 II. Br. Ralph Ehifach, an Englilh Francifcan Reader and Doftor ot Atiro 1270. 
 Divinity of Paris died about this Time, in the Reputation of Sanftity, 
 
 and is reckon'd amongft the Holy Men of the Order by the Author of the Fran- 
 cifcan A'fartyrdogy, on the J it h Day of yipril. But that Writer is in an Error, 
 when (againfl the Authority of others^ he takes him for Ralph Coleburg. The 
 Manner of Ehifach' s Ca\] to the Order, and his refufingaBilhoprick. Ihavegiven 
 under theXear 1247. 
 
 III. j5r.7^oOT4/Z)of^<>jj- ended his Days alfo about this Time. He was Anno ii;o. 
 born in Norfolk; where having perfefted himfelf in the Study and 
 Knowledge of Claffick Authors, he betook himfehf to a Religious State of 
 Life, in the Order of St. Francis; vvherein being initiated and inifru£ted in Re- 
 gular Difcipline, and having made his folemn Vows of Powrf^, ChaJ}ity,<ind Obe- 
 dience, he wasfentto Oxford to hnifh his-Studies, and arter great Pains taken in 
 a fedulous Appl'cation to the noble Sciences, for many Years, he was with much 
 A pplaufe admitted to the Degree of Doilor in Divinity, in which Study he had 
 ih happily fucceeded, that he was made a publick ProfefTorand Regent, immedi- 
 ately after the famous Doftor Br. John Walleys, and went as far before his Prede- 
 ceflbr in Learning, ashefollow'd him \nTime \ efpecially in Divir.ity •, though 
 they wete both reckon'd amongft the firft Clafs ot Divines of that Age, and 
 
 were
 
 8o The Antiquities of the Englifli Francifcans." 
 
 were not only great Doftors, but alfo Men of a very Holy Life. So (aj Dr.Pits ; 
 to whofe Character of this great Man much might be added trom Mr. (h) Wood, 
 to whom I refer the curious Reader, and will now only give you Thomas (c)Gaf- 
 coign'% Encomium of him, w'lZ. TIte very bejl of Modem DoBors, and fo very well 
 itri'd in St. Jerom, that he knew no Exfofuor fit to he compared with him ; Kay he 
 even prefers him before the renov\*n'cl Bifhop of Lincoln., Robert Groftete ; and to 
 fpeak the plain Truth, his learned Works proclaim the Fame of the Man, and 
 are as follow, viz. 
 
 On Deuteronomy^ One Book, MSS. in BalUol College^ at Oxford. Commentaries on 
 Job, One Book. Quefitons on "job. One Bock On Ifaiah, One Book, MSS. in Oxford 
 Ibid. Commentaries on St. Luke One Book. Quefiicns on St. Luke., One Book. On St. 
 Paul to the Romans., One Book, MSS, Ibid. On St. Paul to the Corinthians., Two 
 Books, MSS. Ibidem. On St. Paul to the Galatians, One Book, MSS. Ibidem, and in 
 5^. Magdalen s College. On St. Pad to the Ephefians, One Book, MSS. in Balliol CoHtge. 
 On St. Paul to the Philippians, One Bcok, MSS. in the fame Place. On St. Paul to the 
 Coloffians, One Book. MSS. On the fame to the TlHffalpniansy' Two Books. To Ttmothy, 
 Two Books. ToTitus, One Book. To Philemon, One Book. To the Hebrews, One 
 Book. On the Apocalypfe of St. John. AU thefe faid Books, MSS. in BalUol College at 
 Oxford. LeBures upon the Scriptures, Old and New, One Book. On the Ten Command- 
 ments., One Book. On the Majler of the Sentences, Four Books, Ordinary Quejfions., 
 One Book. On Part of Arifl'otle's Philoftphy, Two Books. Dr. Docking left of Tea- 
 ching y4«wo i26t, and lived till about 1270. 
 
 IV. Br . Wtlliam de Ware iiourifh'd about this Time. Some call him 
 Anno 1170. ^^^j,^^ others de Wana, Others Guaro ; nay Willot writes him Oona, and 
 Toffinian, Oana. But let Foreigners name him as they pleafe, the Man, meant 
 by all the mention'd Names, was born at Ware, a Market Toivn in Hartferdfhire, 
 about twenty Miles from London. He was a Francifcan Doctor and Proteflbr of 
 Divinity in Oxford firft, and afterwards at P<im. Amongft other famous Scho- 
 lars and celebrated Doctors that fwarm'dout of Br. William f^arro^s Schco], Br. 
 John Duns Scotus, the Subtile DoUor, may juftly claim the firft Place-, and there- 
 fore this his Mafter Farro is one of thole Fifteen DoBors whofe Names and Sir- 
 names are ingraved in Brals-plates about Scotus's Tomb, in the old Francifcan 
 Convent at Cologn, in Germany:' I ffaysCd) Dr. Pits) have feen and read the In- 
 l^ription, viz. DoBor William Farro, Scotus's Majiir. This Wtlliam Farro, or de 
 Ware, by long Study and conftant Exercife, was very learned in the Arifioteiian, 
 and much more in the Chriflian Philofophy, and was commonly ftyled The ground- 
 ed DoBor, from the Solidity of his Scholarfhip, and is greatly extoll'd by that • 
 learned Count, John Picus of Mirandula, by whom he was flyled a Lamp of the 
 
 Harpsfield and others, quoted and back'd by an Author of (e) Credit, afTert 
 that Br. William Ware was Scholar to Br. Alexander of Hales, and the Annalift ot 
 
 tlie 
 
 {yi')I)e Wuflr.Sclpt. {V) Antiq.Oxon. Lih. 1° pa^. j^. (c) (n fVcotUibid. .A) De lllujlr. Ane.1. 
 Scrip. Anno 1 2 70. (e) Angclui a Sto Framif.o.in defriptme Prov. AnglU Frat. Min. in Principio 
 Ctrtam. Seraph.
 
 The Antiquities of the EngliOi Francifcans. 8i 
 
 the Order fays, he proceeded Duftorat Taris hi the Tear 1304. So that ('except 
 this is a Miftake) he mult have been very Young when he was Hdei's Scholar, 
 and far advarx'd in Years when he was made Do£lor of Par'u : Rut at what 
 Time he departed this Life, I cannot find. The Proofs of this Great Mail's 
 Learning are thefe following Works, viz. On the Majler of the Sentences, Four 
 Books. Leitures of Divinity, One Book. Ordinary Queft ions, Oi!e Book. Ccmmenta- 
 ries upon Artflotle, Several Books. 
 
 DoElor{?i) Pits and Br. (h) Fran, a Sta. Clara afiert, from others, that Br. iViSiam 
 Ware was at lafl made Bilhop of Meath ia Ireland. 
 
 v. This Year John Diggs, an Alderman of Canterbury ^ purchas'd Anm 1170. 
 a certain Ifland between the double Channel of the River Stour, call'd 
 Bynnewith, for the Ufa of the Friers Minors, who were lemov'd thither, as foon 
 as the faid 7/Z<i«i/ was furnilh'd with a Convent and Church for them j whereof 
 the Reader may find more in the Second Part of thefe Colleftions. 
 
 I. Br. Peter Swynerfied, the Ninth Provincial of England-, clos'd Anno. 12 71. 
 his Days about this Time in the Convent of his Order at Leicefier, 
 where he was buried amongft his Religious Brethreji .- Whether he held the 
 Provincialfhip to his dying Day or not, I cannot find •, but he was fucceeded 
 in that Office by Br. John de Bur.gey, a Francifcan Dcftor of Oxford. 
 
 I. It was heretofore an ufuai Praftice of the wifefl: of Popes and Princes to 
 make Choice of Francilcan Friers for their Legates and Plenipotentiaries, whom 
 they frequently fent to foreign Kingdoms and Princes, to negotiate Affairs of the 
 greateft Importance in both Church and State. One Inftance which I am now 
 going to give of the Truth of this Alfertion, has fo far a Relation to the Eng- 
 Jifh Province, that the General of their Order ("whom I fhall hereafter have an 
 Occafion to fiiy more of) was the principal Agent in it, as follows. 
 
 Pope Gregory the Tenth, this Year fent Four Eminent Men of the Anno. 1:72. 
 Order oi St. Francis to Conflaritinofle, to tre^t oi an Accommodation 
 between the Latin and Greek Church, and to haften a happy Union, as Bz.ovius 
 witnelTeth. The Effeft of this Embaffy was the Reduftion of the Greek Empe- 
 ror Paleologus and his eldeft Son Andronicus to the Obedience of the Pope, whom 
 the faid Emperor acknowledg'd to berk Chief Bifliopof the Vniverfal Church, and 
 Succeffor of the Apoflolick See, and declared himfelf his Holinefs's Obedient Son, 
 fending his Letters by his Embaffadors, who (in his Nameaqd Steadj were pre- 
 fent in the Council of Lyons Anno 1274. The Popes Letter, and the Emperors 
 Anfwer, with a Reply from the Pope to both the Emperor and his Son are to be 
 feen in Tojfmianenfts, (cj as they were tranfcribed from the f^aticat. The chief 
 Agent of thefe Four Friers, by whofe Means this Reconciliation was eifeited, 
 was Br. Jerom de t^Efculo, who was cholen Minifter General of his Order, during 
 his Abfence on this Embaffy ,aiid at laft was cholen Pope by the Name cf Nicholas 
 the Fourth. 
 
 M 11: 
 
 (a) In C.xt,xlog. Epifcop (jui fueritnt Scriplorei. (b) In Hift. Mn. pitg 19. (c) Hifi»r, Seraphic-. 
 Lib. zW" fol. 18; &> 184. Seetb« A^i of the Council in Cab.tjfittiti'.
 
 82 The Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans* 
 
 Anmxl■^^ ''• ^^'^ Year (fays (aj Fuller) Walter de Mertoti, Blihop oi Rochefier^ 
 and Chancellor of England, finilh'dthe College of his Name in O.v/crii. 
 The leading Men .Tmoncft the famous Writers of this CoUsge, in this jiuthor^s 
 Cntalogue^a.re i. Roger Bacon. Z.John Duns Scotus., 3. Walter Burhy, 4. William Ocham, 
 of whom more hereafter. Acprefentitmay fuffice to acquaint the Reader that 
 thefe Four prime Men of this College were at laft Francilcans j though there 
 ire fume Objeftioris made againft Burley^s being one of that Order. 
 Antio I'-n ^^'' '^'"S i'i'^^y ^he fhird, z True and Royal Friend to the Francif- 
 cai;5, departed this Life on the i 6th Day of November., this Year, after- 
 he had reign'd 56 Tears and 18 Days. He was fucceeded in the Throne of England, 
 by his Son Edward the Fir ft, Sirnamed Longjlmnks, whom Robert Kilwarby, Arch- 
 bifhop of Gwff^i'ary, G/Z/'^rr Earl of Gloccfter, with Others of the chief Prelates 
 and Peers of the Land, affembling together at the Mip lemfle m London., acknow- 
 ledg'd and proclaim'd their King, He being then ablent at >4co« ^ the Siege of' 
 which City He, with his Englilh Troops, raifed, four Days before it was to have • 
 been furrtnder'd to the Saracens in the Perfon of the Sa/M» of Skbilon^ who, at 
 that Time, had laid clofe Siege to it. So Stow and Speed. 
 
 \. Robert Kilwarby, Archbifhop of Gjwr^i tary, began about this Time 
 Aiim liTy jq make a charitable Colleftion from feveral Hands in Order to 
 Arino i27i. ^^^ building of a Second Convent for the Francifcans in Lo»</o« j , 
 which he finifh'd(as (b) Godrvyn fliys) before he was advanc'd to 
 the Dignity of a Cardinal. . But of this more in the Second Fart of thefe Col- 
 leitions. 
 
 . I. Biatri.v de Falhefton, Queen of the Romans and jilkmaign, third 
 
 ^0 ii75' Wife to Richard, Brother of King Henry the ^d, died this Year, and 
 was buried (c^ at the Gray Friers in O.xford, near the Heart of her faid Hus- 
 band ; both of whom were great Benefaftors to that Church, as fhall hereafter 
 be faid. 
 
 About the fame Time alfo, was begun the noble Convent ot that Order in 
 
 Cambridge, built by King Edward the Firfi, in the Place where Sydney- Hall novf 
 
 ftands. But of this likewife in the fecond Part ot this Work* 
 
 . 1. Br. Euftace de Normanville, a Franclfcaii Doftor of Oxford, had 
 
 we 1276* ^^j„ y^^^.^ the Honour to be made Chancellor of that Uriiverfity. 
 
 So (d) Mr. Wood. 
 
 Tlie fame Year, the Day after Palm-Sunday, Robert Kilwarhy, Afchbiftop of 
 Canterbury, fent his Letters to the Prior of the Dominicans and the Guardian of 
 the Francilcans m Norwich, \y'\th.M\ Power (by his and the Bilhop of Norwich's 
 Authority^ to abfolve all rhofe Perfbnsot that City, who had been excommuni- 
 cated, for beinj^ concerned in the burning of the Monaftery and Church, and> 
 mafTicring the Monks of Mrir/t/;. The horrible Fad may be ken at large in. 
 the Annals of Norwich. So (e ) Mr. Wharton: 
 
 I. Br. 
 
 {n) Church H-flary, Bodk the ^d, fn^e 74. iy> In lis Citaloirue of ^ ijbops. (c) ffboJ. Antiq* 
 OnMi. L'tb. i°p'ge 79. (d) Ibidem, Lib. ida. f4j« 35)1. (c) Atiglia Sacra. part. 1. page 39^.
 
 The Antiquities of the En^W^^tzndkdinS'- 83 
 
 I. Br. John de Bun^ey^ Doftor of Oxford, the Tenth Provincial of the ^^^^ .^ 
 Englifh Minorites, was not above three Years in that Office, before he 
 was fucceeded by another famous Doftor of Oxford, and ProfefTor fucceffively in 
 both our Univerfiries, Br: Thomas de Butigey by Name ; who was, this Year, 
 fucceeded by Br. John Feckham, a Doftor of both Oxford and Paris, and after- 
 wards Archbilhop of Canterbury ; of whom I fhall have Occafion to fay much in 
 its proper Place. 
 
 In the mean while the Reader may obferve, that the Catalogue of their Pro- 
 vincials is fo imperfeft, that there very Names and Order of Succeflion, is 
 fcarce to be depended on j and as to the Time of their entring into, or going 
 out of the Office, I am forced, for the greateft Part, to go by Guefs frdm Cir- 
 cumftances, which, in the prefent Cafe, feem to make it plain, that Br. John Peck- 
 ham was Provincial this Year. 
 
 I. Br. John Peckham being this Year fummon'd to a General Chapter Anm 1278. 
 of the Order at Padua, made a Tour to all the noted Univerfities of 
 Italy ; where his Fame, for both Sanftity and Learning, was foon fo fpread, that 
 it reach'd the Vatican, and the Pope i^ent for him to Rome, caufed him to refign 
 his Office of Provincial of England, and made him Reader of the Sacred Palace to 
 the young Prelates and Dignitaries; where his Exquifite Learning and Religious 
 Comportment fo charm'd the Roman Cc?arf, that Cardinals, Bifhops, and many 
 other Degrees and Orders of Men, Eminent for their Church Dignities and com- 
 mendable Talents, came daily to hear his divine LefTor.s, aJmiring his profound 
 Learning, and dellring to partake of fome Rays of fo bright a Light ; for whom 
 they had now conceived fuchan uncommon Refpeft, that when the Doftor pafs'd 
 through the middle of the School, every Day to his Pulpit or Desk, rhcfe Pre- 
 lates and Uluftrious Ecclefiaflicks never fail'd to arife off their Seats, and con- 
 tinue landing till he had taken his Place. So (a) Toffiman: and (bj others. In a 
 Word ; Peckham's Vertue keeping Pace with his Learning, Pope Nicholas the Third 
 made him Archbifhop of Canterbury and Primatie of England, though fore aguinfi 
 his Inclinations, as an (c) Author fays. 
 
 Godwyn (d) writes that he wasconfecrated upon the firft Sunday in Lent, which 
 ieWxi^ontije 6th day of March M-]^- but Mr. Wharton (e) dates his Coi.feciacion 
 fooner, viz..Vpon the Feaft of the Conver/ion of St. Paul, in the fame Year; after 
 which, returning into Enaland, he applied his utmoft Endeavours towards rhe 
 refioring of Peace and Tranquillity to the Nation, miferably difireiii'd with Dif- 
 fentionsand grievous Troubles both in Church and State, fo that his Predecellor, 
 Robert Kilwarby, after about Six Years governing the See of Canterbury, was forced 
 to fiy from the King's Anger, (as Harpsfield and To^iniar.enfis write) leaving the 
 Nation, and %omgto Rome, to implore the Proteftion of the Pope, who m:^de 
 him a Cardinal and Bifhop of Fortua, in Italy, after he had rcfign'd the Archbifliop- 
 rick of Canterbury: And this made way for Dr. John Pechham, whom his H( li- 
 nefs put into that See, £.v flenitudine Potefiatis, notwithf^anding the Monks (as foon 
 
 M 2 as 
 
 (a) Hijl. S'rnpb. Lib. i?/o/. iiT- (h) Martyroh^, Francifan. z^ta, A{rilis.{c) lojfiiiiat). ibid, (d) 
 Catalogue of BlJIiops. ^c) Angl. SiKra.fart I fag, 117,
 
 84 The Antiquities of the Engiifh Francifcans^ 
 
 as they receiv'd the Ne.vs of Kilrcarby's Refignation_) had already chofen Rahrt 
 Burnd Biihop of Baih^ and at that time Chancellor of EngUmd : However Peck' 
 ham was molt gracioufly rcceiv'd by the King,(£^nM>-<i the Firfi) who was then 
 in FraKce making fome Agreements with the FrenchKn-g. Peckham deliver'd the- 
 Pope's Letters and his own Credentials, wliich his Majerty approv'd and ratifi'd, 
 giving him his free Royal Leave to take PofleiTion of all the Revenues beloiiging 
 to the See of Canterbury, notwithftanding (by an Overfight ) there was no Menti- 
 on (a) made in the Popes Letters, or the Archbiihops Credentials, of any 
 Temporalities being given fo him, as is ufual on the like Occafions ; So that 
 the King mi^ht reafonably have refus'd his entring upon the faid Temporali- 
 ties, at leaft till the Archbifhop cou'd have receiv'd trefh Powers from Rome in 
 due Form. But his Majefty was lb far from infiftir-g on this Claufe, that, he 
 gave his Royal Authority for his Inthronization in the Archiepifcopal Seat of 
 Cunterhury. Peckham now reflecting that he was to be an Example toothers, be- 
 gan his Epilcopal Adminiftration f/V/? with an Addition to his former rigorous 
 Abftinence, Fervent Prayer, and the Praftice of all Vertues, ar.d Next with a zea- 
 lous Reformation of Ecclefiaftical Difcipline throughout every Diocels^ for the 
 better effefting ot which Apoftolical Defign, he CdU'd two celebrated Synods, 
 
 ralities; all Reftors of Parilhes being confin'dtoone Living with Cure ot Souls, 
 and ail Perfons that had any Church Preferments were oblig'd to take Priefts 
 Orders within a Year, (c) Mr. Wharton fays, Archbiihop Peckham cz.mQ'mKo Eng- 
 land, about the Feaft of St, John the B^pufi, and that on the 30th 0/ July, he 
 call'd a Convocation of all the Bilhops of his Province, at Reading in Berkjliiire, 
 where he publifli'd certain general Decrees, and on the Sth of OElober he made 
 his Entry at Canterbury, the Ki) g, the Bifhops, and very many Lords being there 
 prefent. So Wharton. Yet the Decrees of this AlTembly were not fo general, but 
 that the gord frelate, made fume particular Conftitutions, at the Suggeftion ot 
 the then Chancellor cf Oxford, for the Support of the Privileges of tliat famous 
 and learned TJniverfity, and for the Defence of the Students agair.ft all Ir.croach- 
 ments on their temporal Goods, and to dilcourage Breakers of the Peace ar.d 
 other Delinquents, by maintaining the Chancellor in the juft Cenfures and Pe- 
 nalties by him irflidted on luch Perfons^ by which Statutes the Archbifhop (as 
 Wocd{^') fays)gavea fingular Inltance of his being a true Friend, and Encoura- 
 ger of Learnire, as well as a brisk Defer.der of Academical Difcipline. 
 
 1. Br John Peckham was of the Order of St. Frantis^ and his being af^ 
 Arr.o 127?. f^j^jj jjjjo ji^g Hierarchy, for his Merits, his being made Archbifliop 
 ar.d Primate of England, never leffen'd his Lcyeqt the Profelfors of that Inftj- 
 tute ; to whom he was always ready to fhew all Favour, and do all the Service in 
 his Power, and to whole holy Prayers, he always, in molt prefling Term.s, re- 
 
 commcjnded 
 
 (a) Harptfeld. Wftor. Efclefms. Sxculo 13S. (b) Ecchs. Eifi. T^ol. 1. Ba>k. 5. pare 4-Q. (c) h 
 ArgL Sa.r.part. ipag, 503 & JO:^. (d) Afiti^- Oxon, Lib. iS pag. 117.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans. 85 
 
 commended himfelf and his Flock •■, efpecially when they met together in Chap- 
 ter •, openly confefling himfelf to be unwillingly loaded with his Charge. Or.e 
 tnflanceot this great Prelate's Zeal for the Good of his quondam Brethren, was 
 given by him this Year •, For the better underftanding whereof, the Reader may 
 pleafe to kiio'v, that the Pope had made him the Proteftor ot the Francifcans 
 in England, and Defender of the Papal Privileges granted to the faid Order ; 
 in Virtue of which Commi/fion, he manfully oppos'd certain Enemies of that 
 Inftitute (one ot whom was the Abbot ot St. Albans, as (a) Haypifeld writes^ 
 maintaining agaihft them, that the Rule of St. Francis, as interpreted by the De- 
 claration of Pope Gregory the Ninth, was not only free from all juft Blame, but 
 very conducive to an Holy Lite and Eternal Happinels.- This Declaration was 
 received by the whole Order, in a General Chapter held at Bononia, in ItAly, 
 Anno \r\i,Br. Haymo de Feverjham, an Englifh Man, being then General of 
 the whole Order: And, as the laid Declaration was then accepted for the more 
 pure Obfervance of the Rule of St. Francis, ib row this Archbifhop maintains the 
 laid Rule fb interpreted, to be conformable to the Dodtrine and Example of 
 Chrift. Great Numbers ot Religious Men of almoft ail Orders went from their 
 own hiftituce, to embrace that ot the Friers Minors, as more perfect and more 
 conforra'd to the Life of Chrift-and his Apoftles ; and Many of the laid Perlbua 
 being Eminei.t for both Vertue and Learning, the Francifcans were defamed for 
 receiving them, efpecially by the ylugufiiman Friers, fome ot whom made bitter 
 Inveilives againft them in their Sermons, in Oxjord, as Harpifield-, Ibid, writes ; 
 and therefore the Zealous Archbifhop writ to the Chancellor of that Univerfity, 
 to ftop the Mouths of thole Slanderers ^ declaring at the fame Time, that the 
 Friers Minors had afted nothing in this Cafe but what was lawful for them to do, 
 according to the Privileges granted them by the Popes: And when fbmeof the Se- 
 cular Clergy rofe upagainfl them, and endeavour'd to hinder them from either 
 preaching in publick, or adminiftring the Sacrament of Penance to Lay Perfons, 
 Peckham, interpos'd, by producing a Bull of Pope Alexunder the Fourth; in Favour 
 of the Francifcans, whereby there was a full Power given to the Englifh of that 
 Order, To preach in Publick, and hear the Confclfions of all Lay Perfons of either Sex, 
 and a fevere Reprimand given to all fuch Peribns, as /hcu'd dare to oppofe them 
 ill the Execution -of this Faculty, or perfecute 'them in any kind; Of which 
 i^aid Bull, fubfcrib'd by fohn Peckhum, Br. Francis (b) a St.* Clara witnelTeth, that 
 he himfelf had a true Copy out of the Archive of Chichefler :, and he particu- 
 larly infifts upon it, becaufe the friid Prelate, publifh'd the lame indue Form, 
 in the Tear 1 279, though it bears Dace, from the Lateran, yj Calend. j4^rilis,inthe 
 ^d Tear of the Pontificate o!( yflexjnder the :^h. vvliich I take to be in 1 257. 
 
 Now, for the better Underfiandingof this Matter, the Reader may pleafe to 
 know, that tkere were certain Concordats, or Articles agreed on, in thole Days, 
 between the Popes and the Kings of EngUnd, for the better Governing of both 
 Church and State-, amongft which, one was, that no Bull, or Breve, &c. from the 
 Pope, fhou'd have its full Force and Elfeitin our Nation, before it was examin'd 
 • ty 
 
 (a)H(/?. Ecdei, S<e iih ly ex Regijiro C-intuari'V^, (b) Hiji. MiTt.^.j^. 14S(» 15.
 
 t6 The Antiquities of the Engliih Francifcans. 
 
 by fome Bifhops \n Spiritual, and the Sheriffs of the refpeftive Counties, in Civil 
 Refperts^ who were to give their Verditt, that the ('aid Bull, or other Writing 
 whatfoever, contain'd nothing prejudicial to the King's Prerogative, or the Right 
 of the Nation and People, before it cou'd be pleaded as a Law ; After which 
 Verdid, the Bench of Judges, again examin'd it in their Tribunals refpeflively, 
 and accordingly gave their Opinion thereof ^ as appears in the Regifter under 
 King Edward the Firfl, and others of our Kings of thofe Times. 
 
 Now, this Bull of Pope Mexandcr the 4th. in Favour of the Francifcans, had 
 not (1 prefume) been as yet view'd by any Bifhop and Royal Counfelior, in fuch 
 Manner as was requifite for it's legal Publication^ and therefore it was upon this 
 Occafion, read by the Archbifhop Peckham, and being judg'd to be no Ways de- 
 rogatory to the King's Prerogative, or the Rights of the Kingdom, it was pub- 
 lifh'd in due Form, being fubfcrib'd by the Archbifhop Primate's own Hand. 
 ^SJ Fran, a Sta Clara, Ibidem ; Who alfo has the faid Bull at its full Length, 
 in his Traft intitled Munuale Miffionariorum Re^ularium, cap. li. pag. 77, 78, 
 and 7p, 
 
 J „ \. Br. Euftace ds Normanville, departed this Life about this Time. 
 
 »wij 0. fje was born in £»^/4w^, of an honourable Family, and was very Rich 
 before he enter'd into the Order of 5r. fr^wm ; after which he became Mafier of 
 Arts, and then Doftor of the Decretals, and at laft Chancellor of the Uni- 
 yerfity of Oxford. So (ja.") Mr. Wood, who alio adds from Z,W<»«^, that (in that Au- 
 thor's Opinion) £«/<»« was advanc'd to the aforefaid Degrees and Dignity, be- 
 fore he was a Francifcan ; which Conjefture of LeUnds (b^ he difapproves in his 
 Second Book, where he fays, that it feems to him mo/l probable, that Dr. Eufia- 
 chius de NormMville,vi»s made Chancellor after he was a Frier Minora and that 
 he enter'd into that Office in the TV^r 1276 ; DoEbor (c) Pits is likewife of the 
 fame Opinion, and ftyles him DoElor (utriufq, "Juris) Of the Laws, adding with 
 Wood, that he fucceeded Br. Ralph Colehurg in the LefTon of Divinity, in the Con- 
 vent of his Order at Oxford, and is thought to have left fome Writings to 
 Pofterity, aseffedual Proofs of his great Learning ; but he fuppofes thofe Books 
 are lofl through Carelefnefs, or deftroy'd by the Iniquity of the Times. Br. 
 Euflace alfo was a Profeffor in the Francifcan Convent at Cambridge, and is the ^d. 
 m that Lift i and may be reafonably fuppos'd, to have been a Dodlor of Divinity 
 (as well as of the Laws) in both our Univerfities. 
 
 II. Br. Henry Rryfingham, the 2ith Francifcan Profeffor Regent at 
 Anno iiSo. q^^^^j^ ^j^^ ^j^g j^,^ at Cambridge, departed this Life about this 
 Time. He is ftyled,by Leland, A Francifcan of very great Renown, and a Mem- 
 ber of the mofl learned Univerfity of Oxford \ where in his very Youth, he 
 gave plain Demonftrations of his fharp Wit, fupporred by aRipenefsof folid 
 Judgment, above the common Level of others of his Years ; both which Ta- 
 lents, he improv'd to fo vaft an Advantage, by a ftrenuous Application of 
 himlelt to his Studies and an unwearied Diligence in the Search of the mofl 
 
 Noble 
 
 (a) Ariti(f. Oicon,Lib. .^ fag. -ji. (b) Wo'^'ibid, Lib. ido pag. 391. (c) Di lllujlr. .1/igl, Script, 
 Amo 1280.
 
 The Antiquities o/z^eEngliih Francifcans. 87 
 
 Noble Sciences, that he obtain'd not only the C<«f , but alio the Learning of a 
 finifh'd Doftor of Divinity : Nor was that an unhappy Age wherein this D( ftor 
 liv'd, when (as (a^ Mr. Wood brings in Leland) faying the Francifcar.s defervedly 
 laid claim to the chief Chairsand Leffons, in the Expounding of the Holy Scrip- 
 tures, and truly were the moft worthy of that great Honour : At that Time ("as 
 Wood continues) 'tljomas Decking was firft publick ProfefTor in the Frai.cifcaii School 
 at Oxford, Eminent tor both Philofophy and Divinity, But as the Bow muft 
 Ibmetimes be unbended. So it was realbnable that Docking^s continual Labour in 
 teaching, fhou'd be fucceeded and rewarded with a Refrefhrnent of Reft; aiid 
 then ^r^f/Tw^/j^wj fill'd his Place and Office of teaching, which he perform'd with 
 great Induftry and Diligence, graceing the Chair, with an expert Alacrity. The 
 Oxfordians applauded the Performances of this learned Doftor, and not oiily 
 rofe up out of Refpeft to his Merits, but alfo paid great Deference to his Au- 
 thority ; whereby, together with his Theological Leftures, the Fame of the 
 Francifcans was greatly encreas'd. So Wood:, who adds, that amyngfl: many 
 other Works, he writ one Book intitled Summa de Sacramentis ; the reft of lus 
 Writings are loft, even the Titles of them are perilh'd. According to /^/r. W^'noi/, 
 this falls under the 2"i?4r T2<Ji. whereas i)/-. /"/>/, computes it under the Tear 
 1280; but the Firft, means the Time when Bryfingham taught, or proceeded 
 Doftor, at Oxford, and the Latter, the Date of his Departure out of this 
 Life. 
 
 in. Br. Robert 7'ar-?7f/;/jOT died about this Time. He was heretofore AnmiiSo. 
 a Member of the Francilcan Convent in Z/0«i;/c», where he alfo was a 
 ProfefTor of Divinity for fome Time, and taught the young Friers of the liiid 
 Convent. Turneham was a pious and a learned Man, and had an excellent Ta- 
 Jent in preaching •, and therefore Prince Edward-, (afterwards King Edward the 
 Firfi) King Henry the Third's Son, going into Syria upon an Expedition againft 
 the Saracens, and deliring to have with him fome eloquent Orator, to animate his 
 Soldiers in the Way of a Chriftian Life, and able to work them up to brive At- 
 tempts againft their Enemies, by the Energy and engaging Force of his Harangues, 
 made Choice of this rare Man, as the fitteft in the Nation for the Pcrpofe ; And 
 he, being at that Time Guardian of the Convent of his Order at L/«/, in 
 Norfolk, was call'd from that Port to carry the Chriftian Bani}er at the Head of 
 our Englifti Troops, who (under the Badge of the Crofs) were going rewards the 
 Holy Land, againft the common Enemies of Chriftianity. In this Expedirioa' 
 Br. Robert Turneham did fo well acquit himfelf of his Charge, that he even fur- 
 pafs'd the mighty Expeftations, the Prince and his Army had conceiv'd of his 
 zealous Performances. Infine, he is fa id to have liv'd to a very old Age, and 
 to have writ many Things; of which Writings nothing now appears. So the 
 Epitome of tl^e yinnals of the Order, Dr. Pits, and Fran, a Sta Clara, from whom I 
 learn, that many others of the lame Order, went on this and other luch-like 
 Expeditions. 
 
 IV; 
 
 {A'i.Antiq. Oxtp.LibLio.f.ig. -j^.
 
 88 The Antiquities of the Englilh Francifcans. 
 
 . l\J.d>'C. Robert KUwarby, Arclibl/hop of Canterbury^ Cardinal Ofli- 
 
 " ** ■ enf'Sj and Bijhop ot Portua, died now, or fooiicr. 
 1 am not ignorant that Bale I'ays, Kilwarby was a Dumlnican., and that Pits\ 
 I-foo/V, and others follow him in alTerting the fiime Thing: )ivit Parker, (^) Gnd- 
 jvyn, (b) Jfaackfon,{c)Co/lier, (d) Fran, (^e) aStaClara, and otliers are as pofitive 
 in faying he was a Frier Minor : and Richard Smith, Bifhop ot Calcedon (\n his Pru- 
 dential Ballamey pag. 2io) does not barely fay the fame, but he fpeaks in the fol- 
 lowing Terms, viz. Ffe (Ktlrrarby) was a Francifcan Frier., as G'odwyn rightly fays^ 
 iiuA Bale wrongly makes him a Dominican. Thefe I take for fufficient Authorities, 
 for my reckoning Cardinal KUwarby, a Francifcan : nor do I take it for any for- 
 cible Objeition that his Kame is not in Mafoni Catalogue of their Provincials j 
 becaufe that is fo very imperfed, that it can ground no good Argument on that 
 Score: So I go to his Charafter, leaving the Decifion to others, viz. whether a 
 Frier Minor, or Preacher ? KUwarby, was born in England, where having made him- 
 lelf Mafterof lower Schools, he learn'd his Phi lofophy with great .Succefs and 
 Applaufe: and then going to Pans, he there taught the Liberal Arts with great 
 Commendation j after wliich, returning wto England, he enter'd into the Order 
 (not of St De>/iifi!ck, as Pits fays, but) of Friers Minors oi St. Francis, and learn'd 
 his Divinity at Oxford; where in Procefs of Time, he washonour'd with the De- 
 gree ot Dodor of Divinity, and taught that Sacred Science there publlckly in 
 his Convent; and being afterwards made Provincial of his Order, he difcharg'd 
 the Duties of that Office, with a vigilant Care, and a fatherly Solicitude, which 
 was anfwer'd with an equal Advantage and Improvement in thofe under his 
 Charge. In a Word, he defervM fo well of his Order, of his Country, and of 
 tlieCatholick Church, that in Regard of his moft exemplary Life and excellent 
 Learning, he was firft advanced to the high Dignity of being Archbifliop of C<«h- 
 terbury, and Primate of England, and finally being call'd to Rome, by Pope 
 Nicholas the sd. Jnno 1277, as Fits fays, he was made Cardinal of fJoflia, and 
 Bifhop of Porto, or Portua, in Italy, having firft refigr.'d the See of Canterbury. 
 Codwyn, in his Catalogue of Bijhops, fays, ' Robert- Kilw.irby was a great Clerk, and 
 
 * left many IVIonuments of the fame behind him-, an Englifh Man born, brought 
 
 * up in Paris, whence ('having there proceeded Mafter of Arts) he return'd, and 
 
 * became firft a Frier Minor, and then Provincial of that Order here being 
 
 * made Archbifliop of Canterbury, he was cou^QCX'^ttd February the i6th 1272.. . 
 
 * In the firft Year ot his Confecration, he renew'd the Statutes made by his Pre- 
 
 * decefTors for his Court of Arches, and contraded them briefly into five Articles ; 
 
 * then fhortly after, he vifited all his Province, and both the Univerfities, in 
 ' which he difputed excellently, a;.d ilxew'd himfelf in diveis Kinds ol Exer- 
 ' cife. Toward the latter End of his Time, he made a CoHeftion for the Buil- 
 
 * ding of aMonaftery for the Friers Minors in London; and Men contributed lb 
 
 * largely thereunto(and he had the help ot a certain old Toiver which yielded 
 
 * him Stones without Charge) as he finilh'd the fame with other Mens Money, 
 
 ' and 
 
 (a) hi A> tq. Eritattnh. (b) Catalog, of Bijhops. (c) Chreno!. liable, (d) Eales, Hijl. (e) In Supphm. 
 H'lji. Mhi.
 
 The Antiquities of the Engli(h Francifcans. 8p 
 
 * and fill'd his own Purfe well befide.' So Godwyn\v\\o goes on, faying, ' Having 
 
 * been Archbifhop about thefpace of fix Years, he was fentfor to Rome, by Pope 
 
 * Nicholas the sd. and made Cardinal of Hoftia, and Bilhop of Portua. He re- 
 
 * fign'd then his Archbiihoprick, and getting him into Itdy^ within a few Months 
 
 * after fell fick, and died Cof Poifon fome fay J at ^;ffrt»a»», where he was buried. 
 So Gedvuyn. 
 
 Mr. (aj Collier iikewiCe lays, Kilxvarhy fludied in Oxford and Paris, and after- 
 wards enter'd into the Order of the Minorites ^ and that upon his Return from his 
 Afchiepifcopal Vifitation, he founded a Monaftery for the Minorites in London^ 
 and another for the Dominicans in Salisbury. 
 
 Matthew (y) Paris, moreover fys, JT/Ztr^r/y' was accounted very famous for the 
 Holinefsof his Life, as well as for his Learning; and the Continuator of the [aid 
 Hifiorian adds, that after he enter'd into the Order, he gave himfelf intirely over 
 to the Study of the Holy Scriptures, and read over moft of the Holy Fathers ; 
 whofe Writings, efpecially St. j4u£uftin'^, he divided into Hiort Chapters, mark- 
 ii]g in few Words, the Doftrinecf every one of them. But, after his Promo- 
 tion to the See of Canterbury, he was fo taken up with Affairs of greater Impor- 
 tance, that he had no Leifure to review and duly corre£t and publifh, what he 
 heretofore had writ of Theological Matters ;and therefore his Writings of Divi- 
 nity came out more fparingly : However, the Reader lliall here have Ibme of his 
 VVorksfrom Dr. P/fj's Catalogue, viz. On Ez.echiel, One Book. On St. Paul to the 
 Romans, One Bock. On St. Paul to the Corinthians, One Book. Originals of the F.i' 
 thers. One Book, Of the Paffion of Chrifi, One Book, MSS- in St. Benedi.l's College, 
 in Cambridge. Of the Sacrament of the Altar, One Book. On St. Augufiitis Con- 
 feffions. One Book. Remarks upon St. AugujlinsWorks, MSS. in St. Peters College, at 
 Camlridg-e- Summaries of every little Chapter of St. Auguflin^s IVerh, MSS, Ibid, and 
 in Cajus-College, at Cambridge. Vpon the Mafter of the Sentences, Four Books. MSS. 
 jn Merton College, at Oxford- Comment.iries of Divinity, One Book. Diflin^lians of 
 Doilors, Oue Book. An Expojttion of the Letter of the Mi'flcr of the Sentences, One 
 Boi.k. Quodlibcts, Oie Book. 0/ Confcience, One Book. Ouefitons of Confcunce, 
 One Book, in the tublick Library at Oxford. On Bcetius,.of Confolation, Five Books. 
 On the Di'vifions of Boetius, One Book. OiKJlions concerning begging Poverty, One 
 Book, in St. Eenedi^'s College, at Cambridge. Of the Origin of Sciences, One Book, iri 
 Balliol Collige, at Oxford. Befides about an hundred Tradls or Books of Philofo- 
 phy and other Matters (to be feen in Dr. Pits') too numerous for this Place. This 
 illuftrious Prelate left off writing Books (as Pits fays) when he was made Archbi- 
 fliop, and then gave h-mfelf over wholly to the Preaching of the Word of 
 God, and a diligent Care in the Governing of the Church committed to his 
 Charge. He departed this Lite Anno 1280. So Pits. Dr. R.chard Smithy 
 Bifhop of Calcedon, fays alio that Kilrvarby, built a Convent for the Gr.iy Friers, 
 in Land n, aad finally died a Cardinal, at Viterbo, in "tufcany. So 1 return to his 
 Succelfor. 
 
 N \. Pecih.im 
 
 (a) Eccles. HJJl.Cent. iyp'^g. 479. (b) Bifi.pag. 134S.
 
 <^o The Antiquities o///;e Englifii FrancifcanS' 
 
 \. Peckham Archbifhop of C^«/fr/)t/;')t, this Year, call'd a Provincial 
 Amo isSr. gyi^g^j ^t Lambeth, ai:d in his Mandate to Richard Gravefend, Bifliop of 
 London, (I write from (aj Co/Z/V/-^ after having meiition'd the Convening of the 
 Suffragans, he gives him to underfland, that he defign'd to fumraon all the In- 
 teriour Prelates; thofeDignitaries, according to the Canons, being oblig'dto ap- 
 pear in Council. >Jovv, by Inferior Prelates, we are to underftand y^^Wz, Pmr/, 
 DeanSj^wA. Archdeacons : A,nd here it was (as Harpsfield (b) lays) that this great: 
 Prelate met with fome Difficulties from many Abbots^ who refus'd to appear ei- 
 ther in Perfon or by Proxy, pretending they were exempted, by certain Papal 
 Privileges from ai.y Tie of Obedience to the like Summons, or even to any Bi- 
 fliop whatever. The wife Prelate was fomewhac ruffled on this Occafion, and in 
 a Letter to the fM Richard, Bifliop of London, he complains fadly againfl thefe 
 Abbots, alledging that although they had been otherwife Exempt, they ought not 
 however to have refufed Appearing in fuch a Venerable and Auguft Alfembly, 
 nor to have been wanting with their Counfel and Advice, in order to the Govern- 
 ment of the Church, and the Relief of its DiftrefTes and fpiritual Nece/Ticies. 
 But the Monks having many Churches belonging to their Abbeys, the Benefices 
 whereof were Impropriations, the Primate affirm'd thatthefeat leafl were not: 
 exempted from his Jurisditlion •, and therefore commanded the faid Bifhopof 
 London to fequefter them, or flop the Payment of ali fuch Revenues in his Dio- 
 cefs, till the faid Abbots return'd to their Duty ; from which Decree the Abbots 
 of Wfftminfier, St. Albans, St^ Edmund^s, and others appeal'd to the Pope : BuC 
 the Difpute at hift was amicably compoied. So Harpif eld. 
 
 Notwithflanding this warm Debate, it is moft certain, the Archbifhop was a 
 ^reat Champion for theMaiiUaining of the Privileges of every Houfe and Com- 
 munity, as well (in Proportion) as of thofeof the Englifh Church in General. 
 But! return to the Synod of Lambeth, wherein every Parifh Priefl is injoyn'd 
 
 * To explain the fundamental andnecefTary Parts of Religion to the People, in 
 ^plain, intelligible Language, without making Ufe of thel>Jiceties and Diftin- 
 
 * ftioriS of School-Men : The Heads they were to expound are thefe, viz. The 
 
 * Articles of , the Faith; the Ten Commandments; the two Evangelical Pre- 
 
 * cepts of Love ; the Seven Works of Mercy ; the Seven deadly Sins, with thofe 
 
 * which proceed from them •, the Seven principal Vertues ; and the Seven Sacra- 
 
 * ments. And that no Church-men may pretend Ignorance in thefe Matters ; the 
 
 * Car.on gives a brief Recital of theai, viz.. 
 
 * As to the Articles of Faith, Seven of them concern the Myflerics of the Blef- 
 
 * fed Trinity : Four of thefe belong to the -Elfencej-and Properties of the God- 
 
 * head ; and the other Three relate to the Effedh perform'd by that Supreme 
 
 * Being. The Firft is the Ir.divifible Unity of the Divine Elfence in Three 
 ' Perfons, agreeable to this Part of the Creed, / believe in one God.. The Second 
 
 * is to Believe Gcd the Father begotten of none. l~he Third profeffes the Son begotten, 
 
 * and Cod. The Fourth declares the Holy Ghoft to be God, tho' neither begotten, nor 
 
 ' un- 
 
 (a^ F.rriefiap. Hift. Vol. I. Boch 5. Cent. 13. pap,. 480. (b) Biftor. EccJeftaftk. SxcuSo 13". 
 CclJi rs Eccla, Bift. Vol. 1. Boek y ^nt. ij.^/jj. 481.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifti Franclfcans* pi 
 
 unbegotten, but proceeding equally both from the Father and the Son. The 
 F//>^ Article owns the Creation of Heaven and Earth, (that is, ot all vifible 
 and invifible Q'eaturesJ an Elleft of the whole and Undivided Trinity. 
 
 • The Sixth comprehends the Sanftification of the Faithful by the Holy Ghoft j 
 and the Sacraments of Grace, and all other Benefits received within the Com- 
 munion of the Church. From this Branch it appears, that the Sacrameiits, 
 Difcipline, and Authority of the Church, intorced by A/Tiftances of the 
 HAy Ghofi^ are a fufficient Provifion for the Recovery of any Sinner : And 
 that without the Fale of the Church there is no Salvation. 
 
 * The Seventh Article, treats of the RefurreHion of the Body, and of its Re- 
 union with the Soul, and" the Eternal Happinefs of the Saints in the Life to 
 come. And by the different Tendencies of Vertue and Vice, and the Denun- 
 ciations againft Siji in the Gofpel, the Mifery ol the Wicked may be hence 
 inferr'd. 
 
 ' The other Seven Articles relate to the Humanity of our Saviour. The 
 Firfi is his Incarnation, or his taking human Flelhof the Bleifed Virgin, by the 
 Operation of the Holy Ghoft. The Second is the real Birth of God Incar- 
 nate of the Immaculate Virgin. The Third takes in the Palllon of Chrift both 
 God and Man, who fulTer'd Death upon 'the Crofs under Pontius Pilate. The 
 Fourth lets forth the Defcent of Chrift's Spirit into Hell, while his Body re- 
 main'd in the Grave ^ The Defign of which Defcent was to conquer ai/d tri- 
 umph over the Powers below. The Fifth acquaints us with the Refurreftion ot 
 our BlelTed Saviour. By the Sixth we are taught his Afce.ifion ii.to Heaven. 
 And the Seventh inftruits us in the Doftrine of his coming to judge the 
 World. 
 
 ' From hence the Archbilhop in his Conftitvtionst proceeds to treat briefly of 
 the Ten Commandments- The T/?rff firft of thefe according to his Divifion, re- 
 late to God, and conftltute the Ftrfi Table. The remaining Seven concern our 
 Neighbour, and are call'd the Commar,dments oC ths Second Tublc. The FirJ} 
 Commandment is, Thou flult have no other Godi before me: By this Precept all 
 Idolatrous Worfhip is forbidden ; Thus far the Prohibition lies, as it were, upon 
 the Letter; But then by Inference, all Application to Charms, alHuperftitious 
 Chara£l:ers, and depending upon Lots, are likewile forbidden ; In the Second, 
 where 'tis faid, Thoufhalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain ; all He- 
 refy and Error in Religious Belief is principally condemn'd jand, in a fecondary 
 Senfeall Blafphemy, irreverent Mention of the Name of God, and efpecially 
 Perjury, falls under the Prohibition, in the "third Commandment, 'tis fiid. 
 Remember that thou keep holy f/jt Sabbath Day ^ And here the Worfhip of the 
 true God, according to the Forms of his own prefcribing, is commanded ; 
 But then we are to obferve, that the Obligation to reft upon the Jewifh Sab- 
 bath derermin'd with the other legal Ceremonies ; and that now, under the 
 AVip Teflament, the Circumftance of Time is alter'd, and the Meaning ot the 
 Precept transferr'd upon Sunday, and other Holy-days •, and that the Maniier 
 of keeping thefe Days, is to be govern'd by the Canons Ot the Churchy and not 
 * by Tewifli Superftition. 
 
 N 2 The
 
 p2 The Antiquities of the En^\[(h Franclfcans. 
 
 * The FhJ} ComiDandment of the Second Table h, Honour thy Father and thy Mother ; 
 
 * We are commanded by the direit, and more explicite Meaning of this Pre- 
 
 • cept, to treat our Parents with Reverei.ce and Regard ; to fubmit to their 
 Authority, and furnifh them in Cafe of Need wich the Conveniencies of 
 l!ife ; Now the Extent of this Command, reaches much farther than our 
 natural Parents^ For in a reductive Serfe, the Bilhop of the Diocefe, and. 
 the Prieft of the PariJh, may he laid to be our Parents, and the Chunhisour 
 Mother in a fpiritual Sif,n'fication ; Befides all Perfons, according to their dif- 
 ferent Degrees of Diftinftion, and Authority in the State, may challenge a 
 Share of Defereice and SubmiHlon. The Secnnd Precept in this Divifion is, 
 Thou Jiult not Kill\ by which the unauthorized Taking away any Perfons Life, 
 either by committing, encouraging, or confenting to the Murther, is more 
 directly forbidden; But this is not ail : for under thefe Words, all injurious 
 Praftice, and delertingthe Intereft of our Neighbour, is likewife condemn'd : 
 Thus thofe who refufe to relieve the Indigent may be faid to deflroy them .- 
 Thofe likewife who murther a Man's Reputation, are guilty of a Breach of 
 this Commandment, and fb are all fuch wlio harrafs and diflrefs the Innocent, 
 The Third Com,mandment lays, Thou Jhalt not commit Adultery : And here vio- , 
 lating the Rights and Faith of Marriage, is principally condemn'd in the Pro- 
 hibition : Fornication likewife is no lefs intelligibly forbidden, asappears by 
 the Text in Deuteromony, where 'tis faid, There Jliall be no Whore of the Daughters 
 oj Ifrad \ But farther, the Command extends by Way of Reduflion, to all 
 Inflances of Iniobriety and Impurity. The Fourth Commandment declares, 
 Thou fh.ilt not Steal : The mofl obvious Senfe of which Precept, condemns the 
 clandefii; e Conveying away another Man's Property, without his Confent. 
 But' then the Force and Intent of the Law goes yet much farther, and declares 
 apaiiifl feizing what belongs to our Neighbour, ^ther by Fraud or Violence. 
 The Fifth Commandmer.t is, Thou jkalt not Irear falfe Witnefs againfi thy Neigh- 
 bour: Tliis Precept in the firft Place pronourxes againlt Giving of falfe Tefti- 
 mony, to the Damage of our Neiglibour ; But in a fecondary iienfe, the Text 
 may be conftrued, to a Dilfallowing of undue Commendation in Order to the 
 Promoting an unworthy Perfon : I.aftly, under this Command, all Sort of Lyes, 
 but efpecially thofe which are told outof Malice and Milchief, are condemn'd. 
 The Sixth Command is. Thou jliult not covet thy Neighbours Houfe, or, as the 
 Latin, in the C«/y?j>2^;o;7 runs, non conrupifces Rem Froximi tui : By this Com- 
 mand, we are forbidden to defire the Real Eftate of our Neighbour, and el- 
 pecialiy if he is a Chriftian. The Seventh and laft Commandment of the 
 Second TabU is, Thoujlialt not covet thy Neighbour's Wife, nor his ServMt, nor his 
 Maid, nor his O.v, nor his yip, nor any Thing that is his : And here the Coveting 
 our Neighbours Stock, or Pcrfonal Eftale, as the ConfHtution diftinguilhes, is 
 forbidden. 
 
 * To thefe Ten Commandments we are to add thofe Two, principally infjfted on 
 in the Gofpel, The Love of Cody and of our Neighbour. For the Firfi- ; He may 
 be faid to love God, as he ought, who obeys him more up in the Motives of 
 Love, than Fear ^ And as for our Neighbour every one ought to Jove him as 
 
 J himfelf ;
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans. ^3 
 
 ' himfelf-, where the Particle jis^ does not fo much Import Equality, as Sin- 
 ' cerity and Refemblance •, For the Purpole, you are to love your Neighbour, 
 ' as yourfelf, that is, you are to wilh him under no Circumftances, but what 
 
 * may probably turn to his Advantage •■, You are to defire liis befl: Incereft, his 
 ' ReformatioD, his Progrefs in Vertuenolefsfincerely tlianyourown. farther, 
 
 * we are to love our Neighbour as our fel ves,with Refpecl: to Conftancy and Time-, 
 
 * That is in Profperity and Adverficy, in Sicknefsand in Health, and under all 
 ' the Varieties of Age and Condition^ We are to love our Neighbour as our 
 ' felves with refpett to Proportion and Degree-, that is, we are to prefer Men 
 ' to Money, and value our Neighbour above the Confiderations of Intereft and 
 *- Fortune. To proceed, this Duty obliges us to prefer our Neighbour's Salva- 
 
 * tion to our own Lives, If we fail in this Mark of Affeftion, we fall Ihort ot 
 
 * the Extent of the Precept, and do not love him as we ought to love our felves. 
 « Andlaftly, tveought topraftife the Duty in the moft compreheiifive Latitude, 
 
 * taking the whole Species into the Notion, and ailift every Man in their Ne- 
 ' ceifities, as we may defire to be treated our felves, under the lame Condition; 
 
 * All this Atfefl:ion, all thefe kind Oifices, are contain'd in the Precept, Thou 
 
 * palt love thy Neighbour as thy felf. 
 
 ^ ' To proceed •, Six of the Seven IVorh of Mercy., may be learn'd from St. 
 Matthew's Gofpel ; To feed the Hungry \ To give drink to the Thirfty ; To entertain tijc 
 Stranger ; To cloath the Naked ; To vifit the Sick j To adminifier Comfort to thofe in 
 Prifon. The Seventh Work of Mercy., or the Seventh Branch of Charity and 
 good Nature, is to bury thofe who have no Body el fe to perform this laft Of- 
 
 * fke of Humanity to them. Tab. 2. 
 
 ' Farther, The Seven Capital or Deadly Sins, are Pride, Envy, Anger, Hatred , 
 
 * Averiion to Goodneis and Religion, Covetoufnefs, and Epicurilm. To give a 
 ' brief Delcription of thefe Vices : Pride is an over-rating of ones own Excellency. 
 
 * The Produtl ot this Excels of Self-love is Oftentation, pretending to thofe 
 ' good Qiialities and Perfeftions which do not belong to us •, Contempt, Mifunder- 
 ' ftandings, ai^.d fuch like. Envy imports an Averfion for the Happinefsof ano- 
 « ther. Hence comes, Repining, Detraction, Animofities, Prejudii.-e in Opinion, 
 
 * ere. Anger implies a Defire of Revenge, and an Intention of making another 
 
 * fmart under our Paffion ^ This Quality, when it continues upon the Mind, 
 
 * fettles into Hatred j From hence frequently proceed Outrage in Language, 
 ' Quarrels, Murther, and fuch like. Acedia (for 'tis hard to tranflateit into a 
 
 * fingle Word)' is a ftrong Indifpofition tor fpiritual Duties \ it fuppoles us to 
 have no Guft for Devotion, nor take any Delight in the Contemplation of tlie 
 
 * Divire Nature \ the Confequence-of this Vice, makes a Man heavy and difpi- 
 *- rited inthepurfuit of- fiis I^uty, and Dafpair of overcoming the Difficulties 
 
 * in his Way. Avarice is an immoderate Lcve of Riches, and dilcovers it lelf 
 ill unlawful Acquifitions. This Vice-makes Way for many fcandalous Practices, 
 
 * as Circumvention,. Thefti Sacrilege, Simony i^ not to mention many other In- 
 
 * fiances ot Meanefs, Cruelty, and FaHhood. Incerapera:;ce or Gormandizing; 
 
 * is an immoderate Appetite in gratifying the Palate. . And here the Excels may 
 *' bedivided into Five Branches j Virfi wilh Refpeft to Time j when a Man eats 
 
 ' ac 
 
 ( 
 
 I-
 
 P4 T-^^^ Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcansi 
 
 ' at unfeafonable Hours, or too ofceii i. with Ret'pecl to the Qiiality •, when he 
 
 * is too nice in the Choice of his Diet. 3. In the Quantity ^ when he exceeds tiie 
 
 * due Proportion, and gorges h-mlelt with Eating or Drinlcing, beyond the 
 
 * Rules of Health. To load the atomach in this Manner with Meat or Drink, 
 « is the meaneft Sort of Epecurilm : It lays a Weight upon the Conftitution, 
 
 * dofe; the Spirits, and dilibles the Fun£lionsot Life. The Fourth Inf.iiice of 
 
 * this Vice, is a voracious Defue •, chopping too eagerly at RefrelhmenL, and in- 
 ' dulging the Keenefs of the Palate. It is ccmmoniy promoted by the iafl Branch 
 
 * of this Excels, and that is, by an over-curious, aiid exnerfive Preparat'on, 
 ' done on Purpofe to awaken and provoke the Appetite. Laftly, as for Debau- 
 
 * chery, which is frequently the EtFeit of the Intemperance laft mention'd, 
 
 * 'Tis too common not to be known, as well as too fcandaious to dilate upon. 
 
 * To go on. The Seven principal V^rtaes are, F;n'th, Hope, and Charity,' 
 
 * which 'Three^ having God for their Object, are call'd Theological Vertues. The 
 
 * other Four, Prudence, Temperance, Juftice, and Fortitude, relate to our 
 
 * lelvesandour Neighbours. Prudence cor.fifts in taking true Meafures, andpit- 
 
 * ching upon a proper Choice. Juftice teaches us to give every Body that which 
 
 * is their Due. Temperance imports a Command of Appetite, and a Superiority 
 
 * over improper Satistattions. Fortitude enables us to maintain Reafon, and 
 
 * Confcience, and not to defert our Duty upon the Score of Hardftiip. Thefe 
 
 * are call'd the foar Cardinal, that is,theF«Kr priticipal Vertues, becaufe they 
 
 * are the grand Rules of Life, and contain a great many other Precepts of Mo- 
 
 * rality within their general Notion. But fince we defign this Difcourfe chiefly 
 
 * for the Benefit of the plainer, and lefs kno.ving Sortpf People, we fliall enlarge 
 ' no farther upon thefe Heads. 
 
 * The remainii.g Subjeil, in which the Parifh Prieft was to inftruft the People 
 
 * is, ' The Seve>i Sacraments'. Thefe are call'd S.icramenta Gratia, The Conveyances 
 
 * of Grace, or the Means tor fupernutural Aflifiance. Their Number is Seven 
 ' in the Conftitution, and the Power of adminiftring them is committed to tlie 
 
 * Clergy. Five of thefe Sacraments are to be received by all Chriftians in gene- 
 
 * ral \ That is, Baptilm, Confirmation, Penance, the Holy Eucharift, and 
 
 * Extreme Unftion. As to the Eucharift ; in the Second Canon of this Synod, 
 
 * The Parifh Pfiefts, when they adminifter the Holy Communion, are injoyn'd 
 ' to acquaiiit the more ignorant Sort of the Laity, that the Body and Blood of 
 
 * our Saviour, or the Integrity of the Sacrament is contain'd under the fingle Spe- 
 
 * cies of Bread. They are likewife to teach them, that what they receive in the 
 
 * Chalice, is unconfecrated Wine, and given them only that they may fwallow the 
 
 * other Species with more Conveniency. For, as the Canon goes on, the Blood 
 
 * of our Lord, under the Species of confecrated Wine is allow'd only to the 
 
 * Prieft that celebraf-es. But • 
 
 I return to the7'f»r/j Canon, which goes on,' Extreme Unftion is only to be 
 
 * given at the Point of Death \ However the Sick Perfon fhou'd beaftifted this 
 
 * Way, if it maybe, before heisfo far fpent as to lofe the Ufeof his Reafon ; 
 
 * But if he happens to be feized by a Frenzy, this Sacrament ought neverthelefs 
 
 • to
 
 The Antiquities of the Englilh Franclfcans. ^5^ 
 
 * to be admtiiiftred to him, provided he gave any Signs of a Religious Difpofi- 
 
 * tion before his Mind was difturb'd ; under fuch Qualifications, Extreme Unfti- 
 
 * on is believed benelicial to the fick Perlbn (provided he is predeftiriated) and 
 
 * either procures him a lucid Interval, or Ibme Ipiritual Advantage. The other 
 
 * TvooS^cxAmentszxe Orders and Matrimony. The Firfi, reaches no farther than 
 
 * the Clergy •, The Latter ^ *according to the CoKfii tut ion, can be apply'd to none 
 
 * but the Laity.' Thus Mr. Collier (a) who goes on faying,' Thefe are ihe Sub- 
 
 * jefts, in which the Priefts are injoyn'd to inftrufl their Parifliioners. Upon 
 
 * thefe Points of Faith and Praftice, they are bound to preach every Quarter, 
 
 * and oftner too if Occafion fhou'd require. 
 
 Then Mr. Co//;Vr concludes with thefe remarkable Expreffions, v/^. Notavdunr.- 
 
 * I have tranflated this Article of the Lambeth Conjlitutions at large, to fhew the 
 
 * Prudence of the Provifion, and to do fome Juftice to the Church of this Age. 
 ' From hence the ^^.j^fr may eafily difcover, the Bilhops were not fo Forgetful 
 ' of their Peoples Inteceft, nor fo Negligent in the Difcharge of their Office, as 
 ' they are fometimes reprefented.' So Collier ibid, pag 484) and in the three forego- 
 ing pages. 
 
 ' The Convocation for Synod of Lambeth) being ended, the Archbifhop began 
 
 * a general Vifivation of his whole Province; and being defirous to know the 
 
 * State of every Diocefs, went himfelf inPerfonto moft of them, ufing great 
 
 * Lenity and Gentlenefs every where.- For though he was a Man very ftately, 
 
 * both in Gefture, Gate, Words, and all outward Shew ^ Yet of an exceeding 
 
 * meek, facile and liberal Temper of Mind. So Godwyn. And (b) Hx^p-ficld 
 adds, that he went over the greateft Part of England in Perfon, to inform 
 himfelf truly of the exaft State of all Cathedrals, Monafleries, and other 
 Churches, Clergy, and People ; And that he likewife vifited Wales ; though 
 being ftraitned for want of Time, and hinder'd by other difficult Occurrences, 
 he was not able to go through every Part of it ; as he himfelf writes to Lwline 
 (or Lewelin) then Prince of Wales ; to whom he alfo went in Perfon, travelling 
 with him many Days, and taking great Pains to bring him to fubmic, and make 
 Peace with King Edrvard the Firfi ^ but all in Vain •, For, that Unfortunate Prince 
 held out obflir.ate ; and therefore the Archbifhop Casfc) Collier ivA other Hifto- 
 rians write) publifli'd an Excommunication againfl the faid Lewelin and his Abet- 
 tors ; And not lor.g after, the King marching his Forces into Wales^ gave Le- 
 welin Battle, in which that Prir^re's Army was routed and he flain. Soon after 
 this Fight, David, his Brother, was taken Prifoner ; And thus the Wel(h were 
 wholly fubdued, infomuch that the Barons of that Country came to the Par- 
 liament at Northamptoftf and took the Oath of Fidelity and Homage to the 
 King. But to return. 
 
 The Archbifhop finding many Churches not yet confecrated, though made 
 Ufe of for Divine Service, he conl'ecraied them folemnly, according to the 
 ufual Cuftora and Rites of the Church, and was fo difengag'd from all Regard 
 
 to 
 
 (a) From Sfchn.vi. CoticU. fal. z.pv,. 552. & Lind'Oiood, Lib, I, Tit, 7. & 11. (b) HiJl.Eccles. 
 Sxcuto l^^ ex RegipoCastuar.(j:') Ibid 4S4.
 
 p6 The Antiquities of the Englirti Francifcans. 
 
 to Temporal Intereft tor himlclf and others about liim, that having Notice 
 given him ot Tome hard Reflexions that were made, he commanded the Pariihi- 
 oners, under the Cenfure of an Excommunication, to tell him it they knew 
 of any Prieft, or other Perfon of his Retinue, that had receiv'dany Money, or 
 other Preftnt, on the fcore of their Care, Trouble, Labour, c^c. defiguing to 
 make a fevere Example of him, if any Man appear'd to have been guilty of fuch 
 mercenary Views, or fordid Practices. 
 
 He alfo writ to the King, who (as (a) Harpsfield fays) had attempt- 
 Anm 1281. gj j^^i^y Things to the Difadvantage and Prejudice of the Church, 
 andhaddepriv'd Her, andtlie Abbey of IVeJlmmfier, and other Monafteries of 
 their ancient Immunities and Privileges ; and therefore the Zealous Prelate ad- 
 drefs'd his Majefty in prefTing Terms, dilFwading him from the making of any 
 Laws derogatory to the Decrees, Canons, and Sanftionsof the Popes, General 
 Councils, and the Holy Fathers •, inforcing his Arguments with the Examples of 
 Coiiftantine the Greitt, Camtus, St. Edward, and other Kings. 
 
 \. Archbifliop Peckham founded a Collegiate Church at Wmgham m 
 Anno 1162. j^^^^^ ^j. rarher chang'd the Parilh Church there into a Collegiate 
 Church ■, the Head ol which College, or Church, was caW' d (Pr£f eft us) ». Provofti 
 the Iiiftitution of which Prepofiture, together with the Archbiftiops Letters, for 
 the dividing of Wingham Church into Four Parifhes, dated ^two 1282, are ex- 
 tant in the Records of Chrift Churchy where I (fays (b) Somner) have I'een them. 
 This College was indow'd (as valued at the Suppreffion) with 84 /. per Amium, for 
 S\-&SecuUr Canons; Of whom no Man without abfolute Neceillicy was tobeab- 
 fent without a Forfeiture of a proportional Part of his Revenues to the other 
 Canons. Mr. Weevir (s) %s thele were Regular Canons, and that this College 
 was founded about xheTear 1287; But I fuppolehe (peaks ol" iuo compleac Ef^a- 
 blifhment, ^ndSomncrof its Beginnings. Here was a Provoft (lays(d) Lela»d) 
 and Six Prebendaries, befides other Miniflers of the Church. 
 
 This Year alio Archbiihop Peckham held a Provincial Council, after the Feaft 
 of St. M.chael. So Wharton. 
 
 I. kxc\\b\{[\o^ Peckham^ entringthis Year, upon a Provincial Vifi- 
 7^77^1285. {.gj-j^^,.,^ began with the Jtws, and writ to the Bifhop of London to 
 pulldown all their Synagogues. The Rigour (as fomecall it) of this /1^^«^>?« 
 was abated by the King-, and the 'Jews were allow'd one Synagogue in the City : 
 However the Pomp of their Service wasleffen'd, and a great many of their Ce- 
 remonies cut off. So (e; Collier. This good Prelate (fays Harpsfeld) had ufed 
 his utmoft Endeavours with the King to prevail on him, that no Perfon might 
 be prelenteJ to any Ecclefraftical Benefice, but fuch as were fit, for both Vcrtue 
 and Learning, and all other Qualifications-required, to make up a good, ufeful, 
 an.l exemplary Paftor, or Church-man ; ar.d that none of his Royal Chaplains, or 
 other Perfons in Sacred Orders, might be alljw'dto have more than one Bene- 
 fice 
 
 Ca) H//?. Ecdej. S<ec. 159. Ex Pegijlro. Canttiar, Anno: riSl. (b) Art'ttjuitles of Canterbury. 
 (c") I'litt. Monum. fage z66- and 167. (d) Liner. Vol 6. page 1. (e) Eccles. Hijf. Cent. 13. 
 page 4S4.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans. P7 
 
 fice with Cure of Souls, contrary to the Canons of the Church ^ or be abfenC 
 from the Flock ccmmitted to their Charge, on the Account of any Civil Im- 
 ployment impofed on them, even by his Majefty himfelt. So Harp.field ; who 
 goes on : There was at that Time a great Defert in Church- Difciplii:e, com- 
 plain'd of by this truly zealous Prelate, becaufe our Klr.gs very often fill'd the 
 vacant Sees with unfit Perfons. r.otfuffering the Metropolitaiuo do his Duty on 
 the like Occafions .- Thefe Abufes Pedham refolved to put a Stop to •, and there- 
 fore (as Ca) CoHier writes) he afted with great Vigour and Impartiality in his 
 Vifitation, made a thorough Infpeftion into Matters, and exerted his Diici- 
 pHne upon great Numbers of the Clergy and Laity. For the Purpofe ; In the 
 firft Place, he drove ths Canons upon the Pluralifls, and madeUfe of his Autho- 
 rity, againit fome of the moft confiderable in the Church. Upon this Ex- 
 ception, he refufed to confirm Dr. Richard More, and Jcl-jr; Kirkey the King's 
 Chaplain"^, to the Sees of Winchefier and Litchfield^ and made them both lofe the 
 Benefit of their Eleftions; and when they had appeal'd to the Pope, He main- 
 tain'd the Articles againft them, and at laft forced them to fubmit to his Sen- 
 tence, and drop the Caufe. After he had carried his Point over thofe greac 
 Men, he went on to the Inferior Clergy, and compell'd them all to throw up 
 their Pluralities and be contented with a fingle Benefice. 
 
 — I go on from Collier: Neither did he manage his Difciplii:e 
 
 with lefs Striftuefs againft Non-Refidence ; And wliich is commendable, he 
 ftruck at thofe who were beft fortified, and in the higheft Stations : For In- 
 ftance \ the Bifhop of Ltchfeld, being a Foreigner and unacquainted with the 
 Englifh Language, lived commonly out of the Diocefs : To this Prelate the 
 Archbifhop fent a publick Summons to return, and refide upon his See, under 
 the Penalty of Deprivation, and when he came to Lambethy the Archbifhop 
 reprimanded him feverely, and told him that ftnce he had the Misfortune, noc 
 to be qualified to preach to the People, he was rather more obliged to dwell 
 amongfl them, andfpendhis Revenues in Hofpitality, and relieving the Poor. 
 He likewife appear'd with great Courage and Zeal againft Licence and Debauche- 
 ry.- For Example, when he vifi ted the Diocefs of C/)/ffcf/?fr, he impofed three 
 Years Penance upon Roger Ham, a Prieft, convifted of Fornication ; This 
 Penance, which he was fworn to perform, was to confift in Prayers, Fafting, 
 and Pilgrimages ; And, moreover, the Profits of his Living were fequefter'd 
 for the Ufe of the Poor, So Mr. Collier Ibidem, who goes on yet farther j as 
 lollows: 
 
 I. Arch-bifhop Pechham, pafTing through the Counties of Dorfet Anno 1184. 
 and IVilts, was inform'd that one Sir Osburn Gyffrd, Knighr, had 
 carried off two Nuns from the Monaftery of Wilton : He proceeded to Excom- 
 munication againft him j neither could he be prevail'd on to remit the Cenfure, 
 without thefe remarkable Conditions. Firfl, Sir Osburn was obliged never to go 
 into a Nunnery, nor lb much as converle with any Nun: idly. He was to be 
 ftript to the Wafte three Sundays fuccefhvely, in Wilton Parilh Church, and 
 
 O bea- 
 
 {».) Ecclejiajl. Hifi. Vcl. i. pag. 4S5.
 
 5 8 The Antiquities 0/ //;e Engliih Franclfcans* 
 
 beaten with Rods. This Difcipline was to be publickly repeated both in the 
 Market-place, and Parilh Church of 5/;<j/};tar)/: He had likewile a Faft of feve- 
 ral Mont!\s enjoyn'd him-, was barr'd the Liberty of wearing a Sword, or ap- 
 pearing in the Habit of u Gentleman: He was alfo to undergo three Years Pil- 
 grimage in the Holy Lmd: All this Penance he was bound, under Oath, to per- 
 form. The Archbifhop lilcewife took Care to have the Nuns return'd, and put 
 under Difcipline. So Col/ierj Jbidem. But I now leave this Archbifhop, and go 
 to another of the fame Order and Nation, preferr'd in Ireland. 
 Anm i''84 '^' ^^' "^"^^ Stamford-, an Engliih Francifcan, was about this Time 
 advanced to the Archbifhoprick ot Dublin, and made (Trorcx) Lord 
 Lieutenant of /rf/W, and imploy'd in other weighty Affairs. So the Epitor»e of 
 the Annals of the Order, under this Year. 
 
 This I take to be the Perfon of whom Collier (a) fpeaks, when he fays, * The 
 
 * Pope wrote another Letter to tlie King, to recommend John de Sanford., Eleft 
 
 * of Dublin. Th\s Sanford ({^dys he) was an Englifh Man, and Brother to Fulk 
 
 * de S.wfordt the lafl Bifhop but one of that See. John de Sanford, was con- 
 
 * fecrated at Dublin m the Year 1285. K]ng Edward had a great Efteem for this 
 ' Prelate, and made him Lord Jurtice of Ireland. He was afterwards ient Em- 
 
 * baflador to the Emperor ; v/hich Imployment he difcharged to Satisfaftion : 
 
 * He died immediately after his Return. Sir James Ware gives him the Cha- 
 
 * rafter of a Learned Prelate, and that he was remarkable for Capacity and good 
 
 * Conduft. So Collier. 
 
 . 8 '^^" ^^' ^'^^''"^ Hedley departed this Life about this Time. His 
 
 Name is fometiraes vint Hedehgus, or Heddel. He was a Man of 
 bright Parts, and efteem'd one of the leading Doftors of his Time, for both 
 Philofophy and Divinity, and therefore was put up for the Ninth ProfefTor 
 Regent in the Francifcan College, cr Convent at Oa:/«-W, where he taught pub- 
 lickly with great Applaufe, till Princ.e Edward Longjhanks (King Henry the sd's;. 
 Son and SuccefTor^ made Choice of him, for a Divine and a Preacher, to accom- 
 pany his Royal Highnefs into Jffyria, to tlie holy Wars. So (h)Mr. Woody 
 from Ecclcflon and Leland. 
 
 Many other Francifcans were alfo imploy'd (as 1 have already hinted^ in the 
 feveral Expeditions of the Englifh to the holy Wars-, they being efleem'd the 
 raoft proper Perlbns for that Work, both becaufe they were Famous Preachers, 
 and inur'd to Mortifications and Hardihips, and likewile the moft difengag'd 
 from any Intereft of this World. 
 
 Amo i-S? '■ ^^' ^^^P^'^" Fulborn, a Francifcan Frier, who was firft made 
 Bifliop of iVaierfordt and afterwards ('wc. A>mo 1285) Archbifliop of 
 "Tuam, in Ireland, feems by his Name, to have been an Englifh Man ; bui: whe- 
 ther he was lb or not, the Annalift does not fay. So I leave it undetermin'dj 
 though I cannot but think he was born in England. 
 
 ,. „ , , „. 11. Br. Hervey de S.iham, ProfefTor of the Canon Law. 
 Anno iiS^. and Anm 1180. , ^ 1. i- u r^ • i>«- ..• ^ / 1 i j ..t. 
 
 ■' and Guardian ot the Fners Mmors at Oxjord, had the 
 
 Honour 
 
 (a) Ecclejl rftical Hijl. Cent. I J. page 488. (h) Antiq, Oxon. Lib, i^ pag. 75.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englilh Francifcans- pp 
 
 Honour to be chofen Chancellor of that Wife and Learned Univerfity for theft 
 two Years fucceifively. So (a) Mr. Wood. This being a Poft of very great Ac- 
 count, a Dignity feldom conferr'd upon any Man two Years confequently ^ efpe- 
 cially upon a Regular and a Mendicant^ proclaims the Merits of the Man ; And 
 to aid any more to his Charader wou'd be an unpardonable Affront to the Wif- 
 doni of the AfTembly that chofe in'm to that Office. 
 
 I. A certain Author (b) of Credit and Reputation, a Perfon of a Anm izZy 
 confiderable Figure, dwells much upon the Praifes of the Englifh Fri- 
 ef s Minors of this Date j And amongft many Inftances of their Heroick Vertues, 
 he alledges their great Charity to the Jews ^ when he fays, it appear'd hcv 
 greatly the Francifcans were efleem'd by the King and the Peers of Englandy 
 when, to the great Wonder of the whole Nation, they procured a Revocation 
 of the Sentence of Deftruftion folemnly pafs'd upon ihejews, for their repeated 
 Villainies : and that the main Arguments thefaid Friers made ufe of, to obtain 
 a Reprieve from the Execution of the fatal Sentence, was a Promife of their ut- 
 moft Endeavours towards the Converfion of that perverfe Antichriftian People ; 
 the Salvation of whofe precious Souls was their only View in this zealous Re- 
 quefl, and not any temporal Advantage: For, the Fl-ancifcans had generally 
 fliew'd themfelves fo free from all mercenary Regards, that they feem'd to have 
 no other Intereft in this World, befides working out their own Salvation (through 
 the Merits of Chrift) and labouring to contribute to that of their Neighbour. 
 However, I do not find that they made any great Harveft in the prefent Cafe ; 
 Becaufe the King (Edward the Firfi) fetfortha Proclamation, about the ru^^r 1290, 
 for all the Jews to depart the Kingdom before the Feafi of All Saints, under the 
 Penalty of forfeiting not only all their Effe£l:s ; but alio their very Lives .- So 
 they all left the Englilh Nation within the Time prefix'd, and went on board 
 at the Cinque Ports in Number above Fifteen Thoufand. So (c) Collier, in whom 
 the Reader may fee the whole Affair at large, (d) Leland alfo fays the Jews were 
 banifh'd and went out of England, 15060, in Number. But I return to the Fran- 
 cifcans. 
 
 I. Km% Edward the Firfi of JEW^w^built a Convent for theFrancif- Anno 118S 
 cans at Libourne, in Aquitania, about this Time, or fooner. This, and 
 feveral other Convents in France, built by our Kings, or their Subje£ts, whilft 
 the Englifli held their Footing in thofe Parts, were inhabited by many EiigHHi 
 Friers ; as Ihall be faid in the Second Part of this Work. 
 
 L Many memorable Things are this Year recorded of the Englifh Atmo uSp. 
 Francifcans, efpecially of the Two famous Mathematicians, Br. Roger 
 Bacon, and Br. Tloomas Bungey ; Of whofe Aits hereafter. 
 
 L Br. Thomas de Bungey, or de Bungeia, departed this Life about this Anno npo. 
 Time. He was born in Suffolk, in a fmall Town call'd Bungiy^ near 
 the Bank of the River Wavenay, which then belong'd to the Bigots ; and having 
 finiih'd his lower Studies became a Francifcan Frier, and afterwards was fent to 
 
 O 2 Oxford^ 
 
 (a'i Ant'iij. Oxon. Lib. id" page 392. </e Faftis Oxon. (b) nart. a St a Clara. Hijl. Min> fag. ig. 
 Cc) Ecclef. HiJ. Vol. 1. pages 491 & 492. {&)CalleSan. "lorn, 1. part, i.page i^^.
 
 100 The Antiquities of the En^Miln Franclfcans. 
 
 Oxford, where he learn'd his Philofophy and Divinity with fuch Succefs, that 
 in Time, he was admitted to the honourable Degree of Doftor, with i'o great 
 Applaufe (fays (a) Leland) as to gain Immortal Fame by his Performances \ and 
 1 believe (lays he) 5aw^fy likewife went to P^jm, after the then Faihion of the 
 moft Ingenious ot our Countrymen, and frequented the Schools there, with a 
 Succefs proportioii'd to his great Capacity, and diligent Application; at which 
 ' Time the learned Br. William Hedleyy already mention'd, refign'd his Office of In- 
 terpreter of the holy Scriptures, or of Theological Profeffor at Oxford, for the 
 Reafon given, and gave it up into the Hands of this Dr. £a«^fy, a perfeil Mafter 
 in every RefpcfV, and compleatly qualified for that high Imployment. Befides 
 the common Notions ot Philofophy and Divinity, h:. Thomas Bungey was a very 
 great Mathematician, fo knowing in the hidden Secrets of Nature, and fo well 
 skiird in uncommon Experiments of the occult Sciences, that he perform 'd 
 fuch Wonders bv his Wit and Art, as exceeded the Comprehenflonof the Vul- 
 gar, and were Unintelligible even to Men of Letters ; and therefore the Do£tor 
 was by fome traduced as a Perfon dealing in the Black Art, holding a Correfi 
 pondence with Duemons, and in a Word, a Conjurer, and one that had to do 
 wi:h the Devil. 
 
 lam inclined to believe (faysW^ecd, /&/W.)that Bungey was no Stranger to the 
 furprifii g Experiments of his Brother Frier Bacon, (ol" whom hereafter) and 'tis 
 likely he might have had a Sight of his Writings, wherein there is an Infight 
 given into natural Magick, or experimental Philofophy, not well underftodd by 
 many in thofe Days : But neither Frier Bacon^ or Frier Bungey were ever held, by 
 the unprejudiced and learned Part of the World, to be fuch Conjurers, as to be 
 guilty of Necromancy, or of holding a Correfpondeixe, or Communication with 
 evil Spirits, though the ignorant and unlearned Populace, have been known to 
 look upon them as fuch ; Their Experiments exceeded not the lawful Bounds of 
 Nature, however they might furpafs the Reach of the Illiterate, or of the Un- 
 ciicerning Vulgar. The many Wife, Learned, and Holy Men of his Order, did 
 no: fufpeil Dr. Bungty to be guilty of any unwarrantable Praftices •, otherwile 
 they wou'd not have chofen him for their Superiour, or Minifler Provincial of 
 England, as they really did, in which Office, he lucceeded one Br. John Bungey, a 
 Fr'arcifcan Do£tor alio of O-v/ori^, as appears in the Catalogue of their Provin- 
 ci.ils. But 1 go on, or rather turn back, to tell you that Br. Tljomas Bungey 
 was, for fome Time, ProfefTor cf Divinity zU'aAt Cambridge, as (b) Wood lays : 
 but at laft, being advanced in Years, he retir'd to the Convent of his Order at 
 Ncrthamfton. where he clofed his Days, and was buried amongft his Religious 
 Brethren. He was Author of fevcral learned Works, amongft which are, 
 Vpontkc Mdfler of the Sentences, Four Books. Quefiions of Divinity, One Book. 
 Of Natuyd Magick, One Book ; and many other Things, as Dr. Pits,f^ys ; who 
 notwithftandirjg gives not the Titles of tiie refl, which I therefore prefume are 
 deftroy'd, or loft. 
 
 ir. 
 
 (tt) Sec H'oV. Ant't^uil. Oxon. Lib. i", pag. 75. (b) Anlicjuit/iUOxon. Lib. i°pag.j^6^
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans. i o i 
 
 II. Br. John of London (^Londinenf') d\ed alfo about this Time. He A»no 1290. 
 left his Native City, London., in his Youth ; and through an eager De- 
 fire of Learning! traveird to OA-/cr^, where he plentifully imbib'd the Knowledge 
 of Languages, and the Liberal Arts, though his Poverty, forced him to under- 
 go an hard Life, for want of Keceffaries ; however, he purfued his Studies, with 
 an undaunted Refclution. Whilft Joi« was at Oxford, the Richnefsof his Wit, 
 as well as 'he Slendernels of his Fortune, became known to the Famous Br. 
 Roger Bacon, by whole frequent Converfation and Dilcourfe, he was lb very 
 much edified, that he began to take a Liking to the Inftitute of St. Francis -^^nd 
 his Inclinations taking Air, Bacon encouraged him in his pious Difpolitions, and 
 in procels ct Time took care to have him admicted into the Order, andta-jght 
 him the Mathematicks ^ and when afterwards, the faid Roger Bacon., went (being 
 fent by his Superiors now a fecond Time) to Paris., this Br. John accompanied his 
 Mafter, to that learned Univerfity ; where he became fo great a Philofopher, 
 that, for his Age and the Time he had ftudied, the faid Univerfity was not able 
 to produce his Match. So Pits. . , 
 
 This, I fay, was Bacon's fecond Journey to P*?m, fome Time after he had been 
 made a Do£lor of that Univerfity, as well as ofOA./!?r-^.- For, Jchn., who was 
 Bjucon's Scholar at OAr/or^ before he went this Voyage with him, was not bora 
 when his Mafter went his firft Journey to ftudy at Paris. But 1 go on :, and to 
 what has been laid trom Dr. Pits, will add what here follows from the Famous O.v- 
 ford-jinticjuary, Mr. (n) Wood; viz. Th^t Roger Bacon hsid a Mind fo framed for 
 thepublick Good, that he did not only fhew a Readinefs to explicate the moft 
 difficult Parts of the Liberal Sciences to his Scholars, but it was a fingular Joy 
 to him, to meet with any one that had a Genius for Learning, though but in 
 a moderate Degree : One of his moft famous Difciples was John of London., a 
 Youth, towards whom Nature was as Profufe, as Fortitne Niggardly ,and whnfe prc- 
 mifing Looks feem'd to preftge his future Vertues and Pertedions ^ which being 
 obferved by his Mafter, he charitably took liim into his Care, about the Age ot 
 fifteen; by whofe conftant Leftures, Jofcw made iljch uncommon Improvements, 
 that none cou'd come up to him in Learning, that did not exceed him in Years. 
 This was the Young Frier by whom Roger Bacon (when wrongfully acculed) fent his 
 Writings and Mathematical \\\{k:umQi\tsto¥o'^s Clement the Founh, Anno 1267; 
 in one of which Writings, or Letters, he gives a wonderful Charafler of this 
 his Scholar, when, (direfting his Addrefs to the faid Pope_) after many other 
 Things, he goes on laying, ■ 
 
 jind., for this Reafon, J have made choice of a Tcung Aian, whom I have inftruEled 
 the fe five or fix Tears in Languages^ Mathimatichy end Perfpeiiives^ wherein lies ths 
 whole Difficulty of the Things J fendy and have freely taught him with my own Mouth 
 after J had received your Commands, percetving that I cou^d not at pre fent have any other 
 Verfon to my liking :, and therefore I refolved to fend him, that if it might pleafe your 
 Wifdom to make ufe of a Proxy y you may have one at Hand : If not y he might however 
 go to you to prefent my Writings to your Glory ^ For without doubt, there is no one amon^Ji 
 
 )he 
 
 (a) Antiijmt. Oxon, Lib. 1° p.rge J ^6, and 137.
 
 io2 The Antiquities of the Englidi Francifcans. 
 
 the Latins, who in all I write is fo able to make An A'lfwer to Jo many 'HiingSj for the 
 Method I ufe^ andbecaufe I have inflruBed him •^neither that grcA'. Majler, (he means 
 Peter de Aiaharni Oiria, fliys Wood^ nor any one of tbcfe above mention d^ who are unac- 
 quainted with my Method, can jo well explain my Meaning as hi that has I earn' d from 
 my own Mouth, and is infirucled with my Defign. y^nd God is my Witnefs that were 
 it not to jerveyou, I Jboii'd not have mentioned him ; For, if I had font for my own 
 jidvantage, Jcoud eafily have found out others more fit to dij patch any Bufinefs for me j 
 uind, if the Meffengers Profit had been my End, I love others better, and am more 
 obliged to them ; For, to this Man I have no Obligations, either by Tie of Blood, or upon 
 any other Account more than to any other Perfonfrom amongjl the common People ', nay 
 lefs \ becaufe when he came a Boy to me^ J procured htm a Subfifiance, and inftruElcd him 
 for God's Sake, chiefly becaufe I never yet found any Touth fo docible in Study and Adan- 
 ners ', and he is fo jar advanced, that although he is but a Toung Man, of Twenty, or one 
 and Twenty Tears of Jige, or thereabouts, he can provide htmfelf with Neceffuries ho- 
 norably, and indeed in greater Plenty than any Student in all Paris : For, in all Paris there 
 is not any left that knows more of the Roots oj Philofophy, though he has not yet brought 
 forth the Flowers and the Fruits of it, byreafon of his fouthful Age, and becaufe he is 
 not yet experienced in Teaching •, But he has a Fund of Knowledge, large enough to ex- 
 ccll all the Latins, provided he lives to old Age, and goes on improving according to the 
 
 Grounds he already ha<, &c. • And becaufe it is not decent that any Perfon addiB- \ 
 
 ed to Sin flioud re fort to your HoUnefs, therefore will I declare the Fitncfs of this Meffen- i 
 ger as to the State of his Life. Certainly he is not confcious to himfelfof any mortal Sin : 
 But he went from me a mofl pure Virgin, not having his Confcience burden' d with the 
 Guilt of any Deadly Sin from his very Birth : For, this Thing I have inquired into with 
 the greate^ Stri^nefs poffible, both by my felf and others, and I believe my [elf at cer- 
 tain of the 'truth of ir, as I am that you are in Poffcjfion of the Papal Dignity, &C; 
 
 jThen the faid Bacon goes on farther in the Praifes of Br. John, whom he fets 
 of withVertues enough (as it may feem) for a Saint •, which, for Brevity's Sake, 
 I will omit, and only add, from //r. Wood, Ibid, that Br.John having prefented 
 his Mafter's Books, &c. to the Pope, Clement the Fourth, his Holinefs preferr'd 
 him to fome Church-Dignity fwhat that was hefaysnot^ both for Dr. Bacons 
 Sake, and alfo for the great Efteem that Doftor's Encomium had rais'd in him 
 of the laid >/;«. Some Authors write that Br. >/.-« lived many Years, and 
 writ feveral Books ; but that this being afted amongft Foreigners, and far from 
 his own Country, we cannot come to the Knowledge of fo much as the Subjefts 
 he treated of-, the faid Books probably being loft in /r(«/y. Dr. f/n fays, the Pope 
 (whom he chViS Innocent the 4th, by Miftake for C/fw?«f the 4f/j)detain'd Br. John 
 at ^o;»f, for the Sharpnefs of his Wit, his Skill in Languages, and his Know- 
 ledge in Philofophy, which h© had in great Perfection; and that being farther 
 advanced in Tears, he is faid to have writ many Famous Lucubrations ; but that 
 the Works of Strangers are apt to be defpis'd and negiefted by Foreigners, 
 amongft whom they often perifh; which is a plain /wwara^o that he thought Br. 
 John's Writings had the Misfortune to incur that Hard Fate : But his making 
 Br. John live no longer than thsTear \i%». is, I prefume, a Miftake; becaufe ac- 
 cording to this Calculation, he cou!d not write Books in an advanced Age, as was 
 
 juft
 
 The Antiquities 0/ //;e Englifh Francifcans. 10; 
 
 juft now laid : For, he went to Rome Jmo 1267, being then not above one and 
 twenty Years old -, So, if he died in 1280, he cou'd not be advanced to above 
 34 Tears ot Age ; which is not <iy€tas maturior to be brag'd of in an Author ; and 
 therefore I am rather inclined to believe another Writer ('a) of Credit, who 
 from the Authority of others, fpins out his Life to the Tear 1290, or there- 
 abouts, 
 
 III. Br. Roger de Ware, commonly call'd Varro, flourifh'd about this Amo upo- 
 Time. He was born at Ware, in HertfordjJnre, and having enter'd into 
 
 the Order. of St. Francis, made fuch Improvements, that at laft he proceeded 
 Doftor of Divinity ,'and was fo Famous, that his Name is engraven in Brafs upon 
 the Side of Scotus'sTomb, at Cologn'm Germanyy in the Old Church of the Fran- 
 cifcans, (now Conventuals) with Fourteen other Eminent Doftors of the fame 
 Order ; The Infcription is this, viz. Magifler Rogerus Varro^ He is faid to have 
 writ learnedly \ But as yet (fays (b) Dr. ftts) 1 am not come to the Knowledge of 
 the Titles of his Works. 
 
 IV. This Year the Archbifhop of Canterbury gave Sentence in Fa- Anna 1190.- 
 vour of the Francifcans, in a Caufe which had been for fome Time 
 depending between the Cathedral of Worcefler and the Friers of that City. The 
 Cafe, (c) in ftiort, was, that on the Firfi of March Anno 1289, the Sacriftan of the 
 Cathedral Church of Worcejier, carried off by Force, the Corps of a certain Ci- 
 tizen of that Town, (//. Poche by NameJ and buried ft in the Church-yard of 
 that Cathedral, notwithflanding fome Oppofition made by the Friers Minors, 
 whoalledg'd that the Deceas'd defired lobe buried with them, as it appears 
 by their complaining to the Archbifhop of the Wrong done them on this Oc- 
 cafion, and of fome Violence uled towards fome of them, the Noife whereof, 
 asitfeems, reach'd the Ears of the King-, whereupon it was decreed that if at 
 any Time the Friers Minors can make a legal Proof that the Corps of dead Per- 
 fons are left to them by Will, they may freely carry them to be interr'd in their 
 own Place of Burial, after Mafs has been faid for the Deceafedin the Cathedral 
 Church, provided that the faid Church lofes nothing thereby. The Archbifhop 
 was convinced that the Friers had met with fome rough Ulage on this Occafion, 
 and therefore he writ to the Bifhopof r'Forcf/?fr in their Behalf, faying, M^e are 
 refolved not to let this Wichednefs pafs with Impunity ; for we neither ought or can fee the 
 Fi-iers beaten without Jhedding Tears. This was lafl Year: And, this Year, upon' 
 St. Lucy^s I^3y> the Archdeacon's Official acquainted the Prior, by the Arch-, 
 bifhops Letters, that within a Fortnight he was to deliver the Corps of H. Poche 
 to the faid Friers, or from that Day both He, the faid Prior, and all the Seniors 
 of his Community were to be fufpended. Thus ended the Procefs, and the 
 Francifcans buried the Dead. 
 
 V. Br. William do la Mare, ('whom Trithemius, Witlot, Tcffinlan '. and Atino 1290. 
 others call Lamnrcnps^^n Englifh Francifcan Dodlcrof Divinity, and ', 
 a Profeffor of Oxford, was Famous for his excellent Wit and great Lestrning, ' 
 
 and 
 
 (a) Anff.a Sto Vrancifco. inCatahgo Script. Frovin. A»cli.t.{h) In Apfevdiee Wiijlr. Script, (^c)1^har^ 
 ton, In Angl. Sacra, part, I. page 511. Ex Annal, Ecclis. Vigornt
 
 1 04 The Antiquities of the Engliih Francifcans. 
 
 and Remarkable tor the extraordinary Holinefs ot his Life. He v.ns a diligent 
 Follower ot the Seraphical Doftor St. Bonavcnture, and in many Scholaftick Dit^ 
 putationsoppo'edthe Alfertioiis of St. Thomas of Jcjuin. Rv. (-Vi/liam de laMare 
 has made his Name Famous to the lateft Pofteriry by his VViiiings; which are, 
 Vpon the Mufter of the Sentences, Four Books. SchoLifiicd Ldtures., One Book. A 
 Reprehenfory of St. Thomas, One Book. A Defenfory of St. Bonaventure, One Book. 
 Additions upon the fame ^ One Book. Sophifiical Ouodlibets, One Book. Befides Ibme 
 other Traits not named. Some Authors (fays Pits) ihorten this great Doctors 
 Lite very much; and others lengthen it as much: But I (^Pits) following the 
 Middle, wherein Fertue ahvays, and fometimes 7>«//» is feated, am inclined to 
 extend his Life to the tear i ipo, or thereabouts. 
 
 I. Br. Bartholomew Grojfetanus muft have a Place here. What Coun- 
 
 tim 1291. ^^y Man he was I know not ; but he was a Frier Minor, heretofore In- 
 quifitor at Rome, and had been ordain'd Biihopby the Pope himfelf, andfentby 
 his Holinefs, with fome others of the fame Order, to PaUologus the Greek Em- 
 peror Anno 1278 ; was fent by the fame Authority, the laft Year (1290J Nunce to 
 the King of England, with whom he prevail'd to have Ibme Decrees recall'd, 
 which, by his Majefties over-ruling Power, had been made againft Ecclefiaftical 
 Immunity, and derogatory to the Privileges of that Church, in a Synod at London : 
 After which good Succefs, that Prelate departed this Lite, this Year. So the 
 Epitome of the Annals of the Order, under the Tears 1290 and 1291. . 
 
 .II. This Year alfo the Convent of the Friers Minors in the City 
 19 . ^j Litchfield was burnt down ; as were likewife the ether Churches 
 and Houfes in that Town, except the Cathedral and the Clofe. So Mr. 
 Wharton, 
 
 III. The fame Year likewife was held a General Chapter (as 'tis call'dj 
 
 mo IZ91. ^^ ^1^^ Friers Minors, on the \otb day of June, at Corke in Ireland, 
 where the /n]7j Friers, had fome Difputewith the Engl ijh ; But the Strife was at 
 laft adjufted in Favour of the Englilh. 
 „ . The Englifh had Four or more Convents in Ireland^ for fome Time ; 
 
 an urn. ^^^ ^j^^^ Province, in its Infancy, was (aj govern'd by an Englijh Pro- 
 vincial, or Vicar ; as has been already faid in the Charafter of Br. Richard Inge- 
 worth: And, I prefume the Infli were weary of that Take ; and now, in this 
 Chapter defign'd to declare for themfelves, and fet up for a Provincial of their 
 own ; as moft proper for the Peace and Tranquility of their Province. But this 
 is no more than a Conjefture. 
 . ^ I. Br. John Pechham, Archbifhop of Canterbury,zn6. Primate of Eng- 
 
 nr.o izpz. ^^^^^ ^.^^ ^p^.^ Year. To what has been already faid of this great 
 Man, I will here add fomewhat with Reference to his Birth, Education, Vertue, 
 and Afts not yet mention'd. John of Peckam, alias Peccanus, or Pcchamus, but 
 truly (as Camden writes it^ Peckham, was extra£ted from a very private Family in 
 Sujfex, and had his firft Education in the Abbey of Lewes, in the faid County, 
 under the Dirertion and Inftruftion ot the Cluniack Monks there, ^founded by 
 
 William 
 
 (a) Fran, a Sta, Clara, in Sujiphm- Hif> Mia,
 
 The Antiquities of the EnQ\'i(h Vx^ndCc^ns, 105 
 
 William Warren, Earl of Surrey) after which he went to Oxford ; where he was 
 (a) fupported in his Studies by the Charitable Affiftance of the fiiid Abbey and 
 Monks, till he enter'd into the Order of St. Francis •, after which he continued 
 making great Progrefs in his higher Studies ;, But, obferving ('as fb) Leland lays^ 
 thac few, even of the mcft promifing Wits, ever became famous in their o'vn 
 Country, though their Merits may deferve it, and that many going abroad 
 . rais'd themfelves to high Degrees both in Learning and other Perfeftions, he 
 happily went over to Faris-^ (being lent, after the ufual Cuftom, by Superiors) 
 where he follow'd his Studies with fuch Diligence, under the Dire£Hon of the 
 great 5f. Boraventure^ thathe defervedly gain'd the Reputation of a great Phi- 
 Jolbpher and Divine, and then returning to 0.v/e>v^, he was, by that learned Uni- 
 verfity, admitted to proceed Doftor of Divinity, and fucceeded the Famous Do- 
 ftor, Frier Thomas Bungey, in the Chair of Chief Profeffor Regent of the Fran- 
 cifcan Schools there^ and having taught for Ibme Time, he was again lent to 
 Taris, (as (cj an Author faysj where he read publickly the Mafter of the Senten- 
 ces^ expounded the Holy Scriptures, and took the Degree of Doftor, as he h;id 
 done at Oxford \ And, He ftrenuoufly oppofed fome new Opinions then creeping 
 into the Schools ; which Novelties he not only expoled as fufpefted and un- 
 found, but alio confuted and utterly extirpated. Tcffmianenfis fd) lays, Ee was 
 a Credit to the Church, and a Support to the true Faith, and that He fought 
 with Wild Beafls at Paris, in Defence of the Faith and the DoUrine of the Church ; 
 and afterwards, at Oxford., and at London, he bravely oppoled and couragioufiy 
 rooted out all Erronious and Heterodox Opinions. Whilft Pcckham cor.tinued 
 at Paris, he was in great Efteem with the moft Pious Queen of France, Margaret, 
 the Widow of St. Lewis, from whom he fays he received many Charitable Fa- 
 vours. During his Stay abroad, he applied himlelf with great Diligence to the 
 Study of th.e Canon LavD ; knd being again call'd back into England ton Chapter, 
 or Congregation held thereby the Ruling Men of his Order, he wasunanimoul- 
 ]y chofen Provincial Minifter of the Englilh Francifcan Province ; in which 
 Office he gave daily Proofs of his being a true Imitator of the f^ertues of his 
 former Mafter 5f. Bonaventure, as well as of his Learning, wYisch. made Willot (e) 
 fay. He was fo very liice his Mafter, that he feeniM to be the fame Man, govern- 
 ing his Province (as St. Bonaventure did the whole Orderj with an uncommon 
 Prudence, and a Seraphical Zeal for the Obfervance of Repular Difciplii.e.; (lip- 
 porting the wife Conftitutions of his Predeceffors by both Word and Example, 
 to the great Increafe of Religion*, ftriving not only to encourage, but to out-do 
 his Subje£ts in Prayer, Fafting and Holy Watchings, but efpecially in Fafting, 
 in which Penitential Exercife he was fo mortified, that he not or.ly abftain'd 
 from Flefh-meats, butalfofafted the whole Year round, except fome few Fefti- 
 val-Days, and eat no Whit-meats during the common Lent of the Church, nor 
 from the Feaft of ./4U Saints tiW Chrifi-Mafs^ notwithftanding the great Fatigues 
 
 P of 
 
 (a) See Godwin's Catahotie of Efi}liJ!) Bipops, (b) T'^ide Wood. Artiq, Oxon Lib, i'/j.t?. 72. 
 {c) M^trtyrohg. Francifcan. 1410 ApriUs. {d) Uifior. Seraphic. Lib. 1° folio 117. (c) In Libro cut 
 "Titiilut. Atheii. Francifcan,
 
 Jo6 The Antiquities of the Englifli Franclfcans. 
 
 of his office •, in the Adminiftration whereof, knowing himfelf to be placed as 
 an Example toothers, he forbore even I'hings, that were lawful, for Fear of 
 doing ary Thing that might have the leaft Appearance of what was imperfect : 
 And being by his Office obliged to vifit the Religious and the Convents of his 
 whole Province, he travell'd many long Journeys on Foot-, and being call'd into 
 Italy to a General Chapter ot the whole Order, in the Second Year of his Provin- 
 ciallhip, viz. ^nno 1278, he was fo fevere in the Mortification of himfelf, that 
 he perform'd that great Journey alfo on Foot, ("except that Part of it which 
 was by Water) notwithftanding the Rule of St. Francis^ which Forbids his Friers 
 to Ride on Horfe kick without Neccffiry, is fo condefcending as to allow an Afs^ or 
 a Mule, or even a Horfe for the Performance of fuch Journeys, the Fatigues 
 whereof makes the Ufe of fuch Means necefTary. Godwyn (jn) fpeaking of PecHi- 
 ham ia-ys, * He went from Oxford to Pans to itudy Divinity, and after a while 
 
 * to Lyons in France, to get fome Knowledge of the Canon Law ^ without which, 
 
 * Divinity was efleem'd imperfefl iji thofe Days •, At Lyofis he was chofen Canon, 
 
 * or Prebendary of the Cathedral Church, and by that Means being furnifli'd 
 
 * with Allowance to travel for the Increafe of his Knowledge in the Canon 
 
 * Law, he went into /M/y, vifited perfonally all the Univerfities there, and came 
 ' laflly to Rom!\ where his rare Learning being foon perceiv'd, he was, by the 
 
 * Pope, made fReader of the Sacred Palace and) Auditor, or Chief Judge of the 
 
 * Papal Court, and fo continued till his Preferment to the Archbiflioprick of 
 '■Canterbury. So Godwyn. 
 
 In this Relation there are 'two TIjings to be obferv'd by the Reader : The Firfi is, 
 that Peckham went to Paris toftudy his Divinity, and thence to Lyons, (frc. The Second:, that 
 ht traveled through Italy, andfo to Rome : Both which are true indeed with Refped 
 to the different Dates of the Time wherein thefe Things were done , but not if 
 underftood as afted fucceffively, immediately one after the other .- For, it is cer- 
 tain (from all the Writers I can meet with upon this Subjefl:) that Peckham re- 
 turn'd to Oxford after his Studies, and his firft Travels, and had the Publick 
 LefTon and was made Doftor there ; after which he again went to Paris, and 
 had the like Leffon and Cap alfo in that Univerfity, but did not go into Italy 
 till, being Provincial of England, he was lummon'dto appear at a General Chap- 
 ter of the Order, at Padua, and theA it was he viiiced thofe Univerfities. But 
 I go o\-\vi\t\\ Godwyn, who, fliys, * Thirteen Years and alraoft a half this Man 
 ' continued Archbilhop, holding all this while his Prebend, he had firft at Lyons, 
 ' which when divers begg'd of him, he wou'd anfwer, that he might not in any 
 
 * wife fpare it ; for, he look'd every Day when being droven out of England by 
 ' the Kin.g, (agaii.ft whom indeed he often very boldly oppofed himfelf) he 
 
 * fhou'd have 1:0 other Home to take to ; For the fame Caufe belike jt was^w- 
 ' wf.vV unto the See ot Canterbury, and many fucceeding Archbifhops enjoy 'd it a 
 
 * long Time after.' So Godwyn. 
 
 Peckham, fays fb) Collier, had ftudied the Civil and Canon Laws, fucceeded 
 A'r/n'/jr^^in the Provincialfhip over the Francifcans m England-, and was at laft 
 
 fettled 
 
 ^a) In his Catalogue of EvgliJI} Bijhops of Canteie;iry, (b) Eukfiafikal Bifloty. Cent. 13. page 492*
 
 The Antiquities o/z^eEnglilli Franclfcans. 107 
 
 fettled in Rome \ where he was made Auditor of the Chamber to Pope Nicholas 
 the sd' in which Poft he continued till his Promotion to the Archbiihoprick of 
 Canterbury: He had feveral Difputes with the King about the Rights and Privi- 
 leges of his Ste, wherein the Freedom and Refolution of his Defence difobiiged 
 the Court to that Degree, that he was lometimes upon the Verge of being ba- 
 nifli'd ; However he held out his Time, and died at MortUck. Collier. 
 
 By the By, I am inclin'd to believe that the Prebend above mention'd, was not 
 given to PeckkimUW after he was made Archbifhop of Canterbury, and that this 
 Benefice was given him as a Provifion or Refuge, in cafe the King iliou'd not ad- 
 mit him to the See oi Canterbury, ot fliou'd afterwards force him to leave 
 the Nation, as hehadferved his Predeceffor ICilwarby: My Reafonsare*, Firfi, 
 that T-eckham, as a Frier Minor, was incapable of accepting fuch a Benefice ; idly^ 
 Becaufe he wou'd not part with it for Fear he ftiou'd want a Home to go to •, 
 ^dly, Becaufe his SuccefTors enjoy'd it for many Years j which fhews it was an- 
 vex^difis Godwyn words icj to the See \ So not any perfonal Gift to Peckham, nor 
 given him till he was advanced to the Dignity of Archbifliop. 
 
 Peckham was a Father to the Orphans, the Diftreffed, and the Poor •, whom 
 he defended, protefted, and reliev'd in a Munificent Manr.er •, whereof Harps- 
 field (a) gives many fignal Inftances, too long to be here rehearfed ^ as alio of 
 his exemplary Chaftity, and great Purity of Life, &e. 
 
 Infine, Peckham (b) gave daily Proofs of his great Vertue and Apoftolical Zeal 
 fortheCatholick Faith, and Church DifcipHne, like an indefatigable Shepherd 
 journeying from Place to Place to feed his Flock and bring Home the lofV bheep 
 upon his Shoulders ; for the more efFeftual Performance of which good Actions, 
 heevery Day dedicated his early Hours to the Divine Service, before he under- 
 took any other Affair, offering up to Almighty God (with thegreateft Preparati- 
 on oi' Mind imaginable) the Holy Sacrifice of the Altar, unlefs hinder'd by ibme 
 extraordinary Occurrence ^ nor did the Highnefs of his Station prevail on him to 
 indulge himfelf in any Thing •, For though he kept a noble Table fuitable to his 
 Dignity \ Yet, for the greater Mortification of his Body, and to give good Exam- 
 ple to his Subjefts, he forced himfelf to fuffer Hunger in the midft of Plenty, 
 and (refufing the moft delicious MeatsJ contented himfelf with feeding upon fuch 
 Things as were the leaft raftful ; like another St. Paul, keeping his Body under, and 
 bringing it into SubjeBionJejl when he preaclidto others^ He himfelf fiKud be a Cafi- 
 away. Peckham was the Author of an excellent TraB upon the Rule of St. Francis, 
 and compos'd a Solemn Ojfice of the mofi Adorable Trinity, (beginning with thefe 
 Words, Sedenti fuper Solium) which, my (c) Author fays, deferves immortal 
 Praife both for fublime Sentences and the Majefty of the Expreflioi-.s, which, 
 as a lafting Monument of his Devotion and a Profelfion of his Faith, vvas appro- 
 ved by the Pope, accepted by the whole Church, and for many Years laid and 
 fung in all Churches where the Canonical Hours were fud after the common Me- 
 thod of the Roman Breviary. He alfo compiled a Concordance of the Holy Scriptures 
 
 P 2 :'fter 
 
 {a.) Hifl. Eccles. Specula i^^. {h) Tojpma^. Hifi.Seraih. Lib.l2 Folh- ill. (c) Fran- a Sta C{ar* 
 in Hifi, Min-page 15. 
 
 \
 
 io8 The Antiquities of the V.n^\'\(h Francifcans. 
 
 after fuch an eafy Method, that it was very ufeful for Preachers and others to find 
 out any Text of Scripture, upon any Subjeft, or Occafion, without Trouble. 
 He was the firft Perfon that collefted all the Statutes of Synods and Provincial Con- 
 ftitutions, from the Beginning of the Church, into one Volume. So a Sta. Claray 
 
 md. 
 
 Archbifhop Peclhnm departed this L\fe Jnno 1292, and was buried in his Ca- 
 thecral at Canterbury : Of the Place where his Body lies, (a) Somner fpeaks thus 
 VIZ.. ' By a Record in the Church of the Time of the Death, and Place of Burial 
 ' of this Archbifliop, which I have feen, it appears he was laid in parte Aquilo- 
 ' nari, juxta locum Martyrij Beati'thoms Martyris^ that is. On the North-Side, near 
 ' the Place of the Afartyrdom of St. Thomas Martyr. I fear Clays ht) the Author 
 ' of the Tables has done him fome Wrong by hanging Archbi/hop Vfford'i 
 * Table upon that which was rather Peckham^s Tomb than his.' However his 
 Heart (as a Sta Clara, Ibid, lays) was, by his exprefs Will, fent to \\\% Quanda'n 
 Brethren the Francifcans, in London, and was buried in the Church of the faid 
 Friers there, near the High Altar. Pcckham has an honourable Charafter in the 
 Francifcat! Martyrolcgy \ where he is commemorated as a Holy Man, on the li^th day of 
 j-/pn7, and is thc'.e laid to have been Famous for mar.y Miracles. His Life is 
 written by feveral credible Hiflorians, who all ftyle him a Holy Man ; as may 
 be found in the Atithor of the aforefaid j^/ar/jfro/flgy. SpondMus alfo mentions 
 him as a Man of remarkable Sanctity, and a moft worthy Prelate. But I now 
 go to the Proofs of his Learning, his Writings, which are numerous; whereof 
 this is the Catalogue given by Dr. Pits, viz.. 
 
 Annotations vp,2 the Scriptures, Five Books, printed at Cologti, Anno \%i^. Com- 
 mon Places, out of both Teflaments, One Book, yi Pcftili upon the Canticle of Canticles^ 
 Ore Book. Vpon the Lamentations of Jeremy, One Book. Vpon the Mafier of Senten- 
 ces, Four Books. Ouodlibetical OuefHons, Ore Book. Of the Ten Commandments, 
 One Book. Vpon the. Creed, Or.e Book. Queji ions co>Jcerni>ig the Eucharifi, One Book. 
 The Mirrour of the Church, of the Afafs, One Book. The Lcoking-glafs of the Soul, 
 Or.e Book. Comments r.pon St. Mark, One Book Of the Trinity, One Book, MSS. m 
 Lumley Library. A Meditatirn upon the Body of Chrift, One Book, MSS. in St. 
 Benedicts Library in Cambridge. Of the Pajfion of cur Lord, One Book. A Pfalter 
 of Afcditaticns of our Blejfid Lady, One Book. Ordinary Queflions, Or.e Book. Five 
 and Twenty Sermons upon Sundays, Or.e Book. Difcourfes upon all the Sundays through- 
 out the Tear, One Book, A^SS. in Pembroke H.ill, in Cambridge. An Offce of the 
 Holy Trinity, One Book. An Account of the Lords Day, or the Sunday, One Book. 
 Of the ranity of IVordly Things, One Book. Of the Canity of the World, One Book. 
 Of the Deadly Sins, Ov.e Book. Oxford Le^ures, One Book. Scholaflical Quodlibets^ 
 Oi.e Book. Againji the'Unwife Alan, One Book. Of Evangelical PerfeBion, One Book. 
 S'atutes of Synods, Oae Book. Provincial Conftitutions, Or.e Book. Thefe follow ii g 
 Statutes and Conftituticns were written and eiiailed by Archbi/hop Peckham, chiefly 
 ill the .Synods he held at Reading aivd Lambeth, the Titles whereof I will here 
 give the Reader, hoping they may not be dil'agreeable i They are thefe, viz.. 
 
 Of 
 
 (a) .itiiUynitf cf C^nUdury,
 
 The Antiqtdties of the Engliih Francifcans. i op 
 
 of the mod High trinity and the true Faith. Of Conflitutions. Of Extreme VnUion. 
 Of the Sacraments to be iterated. Of Priefts Children. Of the Office or Duty of an 
 jirchdeacon. Tlje Arch-Priefis Office. Of a Procefs. Of Probers. Of Law-Suits. 
 Of the Life and Integrity of Clerks, or the Clergy, Of Non Refident Clergy. Of Pre- 
 bends and Dignities. Of Jnftitutions. Of Things Let and Hired. Of IVills. Of 
 PariJ!ies a/id Paripioners of other Places. Of Regulars. Of Religious Houfes. Of Ad- 
 vowfons. Of the Celebration of Me^ffes- Of Baptifm and its Effell. Of the Keep- 
 ing of the Holy Eucharifl. Of Apofiates. Of One that receives Holy Orders by Stealth. 
 Of Privileges. Of a Canonical Acquitment. Of Pains. Of Penances and Remi{fions. 
 Of the Sentence of Excommunication. He likewife writ E.vpofitioHs upon the Con- 
 fiitutions of Otho andOthoboni, MSS. m Pembroke Hall, nt Cambridge. Of Confeffion 
 made to Friers, One Book. The Poor Maris Treatife, One Book. A Dialogue between 
 Francis and Poverty, One Book. For St. Bonaventure, One Book. Of the Ways of li- 
 ving of the Friers Minors, One Book. Of the Poverty of the Minorites, One Book. 
 Againfl Richard Clapoel, One Book. Again/} a certain Prior of the Ciflertians, One 
 Book. Epifiles to the Oxonians, One Book An Itinerary, One Book. Herefies con- 
 demn' d by himfelf. One Book. Divers Ferfes, One Book. Apologeticon, One Bock. 
 An Apology for the Synodal Statutes, One Book. 0( the Sphere, One Book. Difputattons 
 of Thomas and Peckham, One hook, A<fSS. in Merton College a.t0.vford. Of Numbers, 
 One Book, MSS. in Lincoln College at Oxford. Of the Myfiical Interpretation of 
 the Numbers in the Holy Scriptures, One Book, MSS. Ibidem. An E.vpofition of the 
 Rule of St. Francis, One Book. A Song of Poor Aden, One Book. A common Per- 
 fpeUiive, One Book, MSS. in St. Peter s College at Cambridge, and printed at Ve- 
 nice, with Amendments, Anno l 504. A Particular Perfpe^ive, One Book. Remark- 
 able Articles of Metaphvficks, One Book. The firfi Rules of the Alathematicks, One 
 Book. The Theory of the Planets, One Book. Befides many other Works not nam'd 
 by Dr. Pits, from whom I have tranflated this Catalogue. 
 
 I cannot forbear the adding of one more Thing of this great Man •, of whom 
 it is related by the A/maiiJt of the Order, that before he was taken into the Hie- 
 rarchy to be Archbiftiop, he was traduced by fome invidious Perfon or other, 
 and unjufily reprefented under fome Difadvantagious Charnder to the General 
 of the Order, who at that Time was the Seraphical DoElor St. Bonnventure ; in 
 which mortifying Circumftances the good Man (Peckham) betook himfelf to 
 Prayer, moft humbly reprefenting his Cafe to Jelus Chrift crucified • By whom 
 he was then gracioufly comforted, and encouraged to bear the Injury with a pa- 
 tient Submiifion, in Imitation of our Lord and Saviour, many Circumftances 
 of whofe bitter Pailion were then laid before him, in liich lively and moving 
 Colours, that they wrought his Soul into a State of perfeft Refignation and 
 Peace. 
 
 II. Br. Roger Bacon (whom JFiZ/cf ^ndToJftnian : call Baconitanus') was Anm iigz. 
 born of .^n ancient Family of Gentlemen of his Name, near llcefter 
 (formerly /fchalis) in SomerfetfJure, ar.d being a Youth of an extraordinary Capaci- 
 ty, he added to his great Indowments of Nature an indefatigable Study, and a 
 continual Exercife of his Wit and Memory ; whereby he loon became an ex- 
 cellent Poet, and an Eloquent Orator j after which hopeful Beginnings he applied 
 
 himfelf
 
 1 1 o The Antiquities of the Englifh FrancifcanS' 
 
 himfelf to his Philofophy in A/rrfaw College at Oxford, where the Eyes of all 
 were upon him as a Prodigy of Parts, and wherein Time (as Wood (a) fays) he 
 was chofen a Fellow ot the faid College. His chiet Mafter was the Famous St. £</- 
 «i««i/, who was afterwards Archbifhop of Grwratur)', from the Tear 1234. ''^^ 
 1244, when he departed tliis Life, and whom ?ops Irtnocent the ^th.^ canonized 
 for a Saint, of whom (bj 6Wip)« fays, He nas a Man very well knownj and indeed 
 Famous for his P^crtue and great Learning. Matthew Paris (who lived then) writes 
 much of St Edmund's Miracles ^ which Weflmon fays, were fo many that the Apo- 
 ftles Times feem'd to he returned again, and (c) Bale confefTeth, that with Holy-Water 
 he wrought many Miracles, and that he exercifcd himfelf in all Manner of Learning and 
 Vertue : Nay Mr. FoA-(d) calls him a Saint. 
 
 Under the Inftru£tion of this fo great and holy Man, Roger S^cwpafs'd his 
 Youth •, whofe LelTons and Exerciles he foon made himfelf Mafter of, being 
 taught either by Nature to fuck them in greedily, or by hiduftry to conquer them 
 diligently. And now Bacon having pick'd up a.\nr^e p^inticum or Voyage-Pro- 
 vifionot Learning, goes over to Paris, in Queft of farther Knowledge, in the 
 Company ot feveral other eminent Scholars bound thither on the fame Defign, 
 according to the then Ciiftom of many of our moft ingenious Country- Men •, 
 efpecially fuch as were bred up at Oxford. In Paris, he applies himfelf with 
 frefh Vigour to the Study of Divinity, as alfo to Greek, Hebrew, and other 
 Oriental Languages, to the Mathematicks, the Art of Phyfick, to the Laws 
 both Civil and Canon, and to the Univerfal Knowledge ot all Hiftory, both 
 Ecclefiaftical and other, and to all Venerable Monuments of Antiquity : In all 
 which Studies he made fuch an uncommon Proficience, that he was efteem'd a 
 great Ornament to that Famous Univerfity^ wherein at laft he was a Profeffor 
 and Doftor of Divinity, and defervedly ftyled DoBor Mirahtlis, the Marvelous 
 DoBor. 
 
 'Bt. Roger ^^row enter'd into the Order of St. Francis, before he left Oxford, as 
 1 have already faid • and A^r. (e) Wood writes of him, that having now delpifed 
 andrejefted the very D^y7re of Riches and Honours, wherewith many Mortals 
 are taken, he bends his utmoft Application towards the making of fome new Dif- 
 coveries from the Study of the hidden Secrets of Nature, from the Knowledge 
 of Languages, andot fuch Arts and Sciences as few were acquainted with, even 
 amongft the Learned ; And He fays of himfelf that in his younger Days he had 
 colletted many Things from his various Studies, that might be otUfe to himfelf 
 and others hereafter, which he alfo had reduced into a certain Method, which 
 he I'kewife improved by his fequent Study, and by a clofeConverfation with the 
 moft learned Men he cou'd meet with. In a Word •, He excell'd Cas an Author 
 ff) fays) in all Manner of Learning, and.fcarce ever had his Match in any Libe- 
 ral Art or Science ; So that nothing was wanting to him that cou'd be imngin'd 
 requifife for the making up of a Man thoroughly and univerfally Learned ^ 
 
 which 
 
 {a.) Anticj.O^on.Lib. 1" p.ze. i6<). Qo) Cat^ihgue of Bipops. (c) Cent. ■^. Cap. <)6. (d) Acts & 
 /l^o». /i/r^^. 539. See alfo the Prudevtial BaUatire, Author the Bp. of Cahedon, (e) Ant'ici. Oxorr. 
 Lib. i2. {ag. i3(). (t") Angelus a Sto, francifco, inCatalcgo Script. & in Defcriptioie Frovin. Angl Frat. 
 Aiiti.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englilh Francifcans- 1 1 1 
 
 which gave the more knowing Part of the World this Notion of him, viz.. "tljat 
 he knew and writ all that is knowable to Man in this State of Mortality. Mr. Wood 
 again lays that Roger Bacon, being now qualified to be a Mafter, inftrufted many 
 young Men in the Knowledge of Languages, as alfo of Figures, Numbers, Nu- 
 meral Tables, Mathematical Schemes, and many other ufefal Curiofities, dili-. 
 gently fludying and contriving fuch Inftruments as he thought neceflary for the 
 Performance of his (Mathematical, Chymical, or other) Inventions -, which not 
 being able to purchafe, he often found Friends fb kind and charitable as to buy 
 them for him, defraying the Expences of his faid Contrivances, which never 
 fail'dof anfwering his Defigns. This raifedhim fuch a Fame, that almoft the 
 whole Univerfity ran to hear his Leilures, coveting, above Mealure, to be Eye- 
 Witnefies of hisfurprifing Experiments^ wherein he fo farfurpafs'd allthnthad 
 gone before him, that not only the Mob, but fome Men indifferently learned be- 
 gan to take him for a Conjurer : He had indeed pryed farther into the Secrets 
 and obfcure Receffes of Nature than others had done, and from thence had 
 drawn Confequences till then not heard of, and had made fuch wonderful Infe- 
 rences of hidden Truths, that the gazin^ Multitude flood amazed, chufing ra- 
 ther to attribute his Ingenious Performances and Experiments to the Devil, than 
 to confefs their own Ignorance. In fliort ^ he was look'd upon to deal in the 
 magical Art j and though this Sufpicion took its Rife from either Ignorance, or 
 Ill-will, or perhaps from both \ yet it was heightened by the Envy of fome, who 
 obferving that this Excellent Wit, and mofl Learned Man, had found out many 
 Things above their own Reach, cou'd not bear the Gonfufion of feeing them- 
 felves out-done;, it feem'd a Reproach to them that Difcoveries were made above 
 their Comprehenfion •, atid therefore they cenfur'd every Thing in him that 
 ^either for Want of Induftry, or Capacity,) they cou'd not underftand. 
 
 I am inclined to believe that an exafl: Calculation of the Eclipfes of the Sun 
 and the Moon, the various Conjunftions and Oppofitions of the Planets, with 
 many other Wonders of Aftronomy, together with a Thoufand Difcoveries 
 fViade by the Quadrant and Jacob's Staff, with the Addition of the Microfcope, 
 the Teiefcope, the Barometer, and other fuch like Juggling-Sticks wou'd have 
 gone a great Way towards making a Man a notorious Conjurer in thofe Daj^s, 
 when the common Road of Philolbphy, Divinity, and the Laws were almoil 
 the only Study of the Learned ; But, whether it was for thefe, or other more 
 extraordinary Curiofities, I know not, that Roger Bacon was traduced, and re- 
 prefented under fuch Dillidvantagious Characters to Br. 'jerom de ayffculo, then 
 Minifler General of the Order, and afterwards Pope, under the Name of Niche- 
 las the 4th •, Yet if all is true that is reported of him (with a Ferunt from Dr. P/r/, 
 and Sunt qui dicunt, from Mr. Wood) he was committed to Prifon, in fome Convent 
 of his Order, till he had clear'd himfelf of the falfe Imputation, by fending Br. 
 John ( Londtnenfis) oi London., a young Frier oi. his own Educating already men- 
 tion'd, to the then Pope Clement the 4th, to wnom he fent all his Books and his 
 Writings, his Mathematical Inftruments and other Contrivarces made by his 
 Diredlions, whereby he made it clear, as Noon-Day, that his Mafters great Fault 
 was Jiis being Wifer and more Knowing than others of his Time : For, John 
 
 of
 
 1 1 2 The Antiquities of the Englidi Francifcans. 
 
 of London, 5<«cow's young Difciple ("whofe Charafter I have already given) having 
 prefented to the Pope all his Matters fecret Knowledge and Art, his Schemes 
 and Rules, and all the Dangerous Ir.ftruments fo much complain'd of, his Holinefs 
 foon perceived that Frier Bacon h^d been abus'd and wrong'd, and that it was a 
 Misfortune to him to be more penetrating than the common Rank of Dodtors j 
 after which Difcovery, the faid Pope did not only encourage and carefs the 
 Ingenious Scholar Br. John, but alfo favour'd his Matter Bacon and admitted him 
 to an Intimacy, as the Annalifl of the Order, exprelTes it. 
 
 I khovv that Dr. Fuller (;i) (ays of Roger Bacon, * that he was committed to Pri- 
 
 * fon at Rome by Pope Clement the ^ih, and that he remain'd in Durance a confi- 
 ' derable Time betore his own Innocence, with his Friends Endeavours, cou'd 
 
 * procure his Inlargement.' But, this is defervediy knockt down by the Oxford- 
 ■Aijticjuary Mr. (b) Wood, whofe Words are, I give no Credit to thofe, who give out 
 that the Pope fent for Bacon, and threw him into Prifon after he had examined him upon 
 the Crimes laid to his Charge ', which as he adds. Ibid. ' Has no Appearance of 
 
 * Truth in it, becaufe the fame Pope had not only a great Refpeft for him, but 
 
 * alio a/lifted him with Money to fupport the Expences of his Studies, and be- 
 
 * ftow'd Honours upon his Scholar Br. John, whom he had inftrufted in all his 
 
 * Arts : Moreover, ('as the fame Wood afTerts) Bacon made his Complaints to the 
 
 * faid Pope ot the Hardfliips he had fuffer'd from his Brethren, or others who 
 had taken his Books from him as well as his Writings and other Helps of his 
 
 * Studies.' Now it is not likely that fo wife a Man as 5w«« wou'd have appeal'd 
 to the Pope in his Diftrefs, if the Pope himfelf had been his Enemy or Perle- 
 cutor. 
 
 John Bale (fays (cj IVood^ in the firfl: Edition of his Book intitled, A Summary 
 of the Writers of Great Britain (Ex recepto conviciandi More') after his ufualWay ofrai- 
 lir-g, calls Roger Bacon a Juggler, and a Conjurer, a Necromantick Magician, or a Wi' 
 Xjud, rh.it walked not in the Fear of God ", hut dealt with Evil Spirits, &c. But com- 
 ming to a better Underftanding, he caused thole Words to be left out of his Se- 
 cond Edition, being now fully perfwaded that fo Learned a Man, the Miracle of ^ 
 his Age, ought not to be lb treated by any Man of Letters, however he may » 
 be reprefented by the fcurrilous Mob, pofTefs'd with a vulgar falfe Notion of Frier 
 Bacon''s being a great Conjurer, and fupported in that erroneous Belief, or Per- 
 fwafion, by Half-penny Books and Ballads fung and fold at the Cori.er of every 
 Street, where Fritr BacomvA Frier Bungey ^re, in adoleful Ditty, made devilifh 
 Wizards. Some Perfons ('fays (d)!!''*©^) again have believed that Bacon rmide a 
 Brazen Head, and gave it the Faculty of fpeaking, and a certain Author, who 
 err'd in this Poir.t. alTerts that thole Wonders were wrought whilft Bacon ftudied 
 in Braz.en-Nofe-Hall : But, whether or not, thefe Things were done by Natural 
 Magick, we have Time enough to deliberate, till 'tis ma.^e more plain, that they 
 were Matters of Fatt. So (e) Wcod, who goes on: Indeed Johannes Emeflus 
 Burgravius, in his Book intitled Achilles Redivivus, wherein he treats of fuch 
 
 like 
 
 (a) C/i« h U;i}. Cent. 14. />«?<; 9(5. (b) Antiq.Oxon. Lib. l'^. fag. l^i, (c) Ibidem, pag. 79. 
 (d) Antiq. Oxon.Lib. i°.pag. l^^.rectius. page 137. (e) Ibidem.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englilli l^rancifcans. 1 1 j 
 
 like Wonders, alTerts that they are done by tite' Iiiflience ot the Celeftial Bo- 
 dies by the Means of a certain fecret Sympathy j and of this kind, fays he 
 were the Mercurial Statues and the Brazen Hend^ made and taught to /peak by 
 Aiher'.us Maanus^ or, as others fay, by Roger Bacon ; nor was that any more than 
 Katural M-^gick, which Boetius w^s ib Skilful in, and of the Secrets whereof 
 Cajfiodorus writes to him thu?, -viz.- T^v the Ingenuity of your Arts Mettdsroar^ Dio- 
 medes made of Brafs founds his Trumpet roith a grave Notf ; A brazen Snake hiffe! : Birds 
 are fo framed, that although they have no Voice of their own, they are known to fing mofi 
 fweetly &c. So alfo we read of the Wooden Pigeon which Archytas of 'Tarentum made tofly\ 
 Of Rogiomovt anus's golden Fly \ Of Iflinvs^s Owle ; Of Spiders made of Steel, that woud 
 creep about without any Help ; and of many other Pieces of Clock-Work made by our An' 
 cefiors. However (fays Wood) let it baas it will, whether Frier Bacon was the 
 Founder of the Brazen Head and made it fpeak or not, it is my fteady Senti- 
 ment that the Devil had no Hand at all in the Wonderful Inventions of our 
 Heroe ; But he was a perfefV Mafter, not only of fthe Mathtmaticks in their 
 whole Latitude, but alfo of all Mechanick Contrivances : He knew all the ela- 
 ftick Powers, or the Force of all Sprir.gs and the Nature of al'i Clock-Work ; 
 and by the Means of thefe he framed many furprifing Pieces, which gave Iiim 
 the unjuft Imputation of a Conjurer. 
 
 The famous John Picus, Count of Mirandula, the Glory of his Age, ('amongft 
 many others) gives the cleareft Diftinftion between the two Species of the Ma- 
 gick Art, when he fays that the Operations of one are performed by the Power and 
 Aid of Devils ; and that the other confifls intirely in a perfect K'wwledge of Natural 
 Caufes and their EfftEis '. The Greeks mentioning this laft call it /i^«>5iati' as a per- 
 feft and finifh'd Wifdom •, but the other they call >«m7^«ch' Moreover, ic is to be 
 obferved that Magus (^wkneis Porphyrius) in the Perfian Language, fignifies no more 
 than a Wife Man, or a Searcher into, and an Interpreter of Divine Things ; 
 and in this kind of Magick (as the fame Mirandula faysj the moft experienced of 
 all the Ancients were Homer, Pythagoras, Empedocles, Democritus, Plato, Zamolxis, 
 6cc. To whom we may add, from amongft our Moderns, Alchindus Arabicus, Ko- 
 \er Bacon, and William (,Alvernenfis) Bifliop of Paris ; between the Two which 
 aft there was an intimate Familiarity, and many Letters and otherWritings pals'd 
 too and fro concerning the Operations ot Nature and Art, and of the Foole- 
 ries and Vanity of Magick. 
 
 But to return : Bacon had fb many either ignorant, or envious Oppofers of 
 his Learning, that he was forry he had ever taken Pains in Writing lb mucli to 
 improve the World in Knowledge •, for, fome were ftillaccufing him of Novel- 
 ties, and others of fufpefted Opinions. 
 
 i3«(??(;r P/r; and others Miftake when they write that Roger Bacon fent his Scho- 
 lar Jofc« to Pope /«»oc(?«r f^f 4f/7, with his Books, c^c. For, the laid hmocent was 
 then dead-, and two other Popes his SuccefTors, viz. Alexander the 4f/j, andVrban 
 the ^h, were alfo departed this Life before the Tw 1267, when Bacon 'Cent Br. 
 John to juftify his Writings and Praftices to the Pope, who then was CUm:nt (uot 
 
 Q_ Innoccfit) 
 
 Vide Wood, IB Antiq, Oxtn. Lib. i" pag, ijS.S'' pag. 79. 
 
 f,
 
 1 14 The Antiquities of the Englilh Francifcans. 
 
 Innocent') the ^thj who, as 1 have ftid, was fo well latisfied with both the Dcftri'ne 
 and Prnrtlces, that hecarels'd both theMafterand his Scholar|-, which certainly 
 is a realbnable and lufficient Vindication of them Both, notwichftanding fome 
 others, by Miftake, alTert that poor perfecuted Bacon was again cali'd to an Ac- 
 count, ar.d ciapt up under a clofe Confinement, and died a Prilbner uj.der Pope 
 Nicholas the 4rh. For. all this cannot be true, becaufethat Pope died in the Tear 
 1288, whereas Ro^er Bacon died not till the ~{ear 1292 (on St. Barfiaby''s dsiy) which 
 was three or four Years after; and he was buried in the Frar.cifcan Church at 
 Oxford., where he ended his Days, in the ']%th Tear of his Age. Leland fays, Bacon 
 departed this Life Anno i 248 ; but Mr. Wood telb us that he miAakes him for 
 Robert Bacon., who died that fame Year ; an,d Pits and others atter him, who make 
 him die in i 2S4, labouralfo under an Error. Witnefs Mr. Wood. 
 
 Br. Roger Bacon was very zealous for correSing the Cilendar^ and he gave his 
 Reafbr.sto ?ope Clement the i^th. in feveral Treatifes >4«»o 1267, when he fentto 
 his Holinefsma)iy Volumes which he hoped might prove very ufetul to the Ca- 
 tholick Church : And, if his Care and Indaftry wherewith he endeavour'd to 
 bring the Caiend-^r into a better Form are to be regarded, it muft be acknow- 
 ledge Cfays Mr. Wotd Ibid.') that neither Venerable Bede, Roger Infant., Robert Gro- 
 fieie, nor ar.y otl.er Englifh Man came near him on this Acccurit ;, Kay, Theo- 
 philus, Eufehius, Fi^orius, Cyrillus^ and Other Foreigners, came fhort of him. 
 Mr. Wood, Ibid. 
 
 Our En.gliHi Hiftorian John Speed makes Roger Bacon a famous Preacher in the 
 Tear 1 233, when Ipeaking of King Henry the ^d's bringing Foreigners into England^ 
 and delivering up to them the ftrongeft Holds, and all the Offices of Truft in the 
 Kation by the Inftigation of the Biihop of Wmchefter, who was born in PoiElierSf 
 he writes thus, * The Earls and Barons being by the King's Command fummon'd 
 
 * to another Parliament at Oxford, refufed to come. While the King was there, 
 
 * one Robert B.iccn, who ufed there to preach before the Kirg and Prelates, freely 
 
 * told him that if he did not remove from him Piter Bifhopcf Wincheftcr, and Peter de 
 
 * Rivallis, he cou'd never be ejuiet : The Ki-g did hereupon a little come to him- 
 ' felf •, and Roger Srfco« a Clergyman alfii of a pleafant Wit, did fecond ^st^rr's 
 
 * Advice, telling the King that Petr,t g- Rupes fthat is, Roch and Cragg;) were 
 
 * mofl dangerous Things at Ssa, ?.lluding to the Bifhop's Name, Petrus dc Rupibus, 
 
 * The King therefore, taking that good Advice of Scholars which he wou'd nod 
 
 * of his Peers, fummon'd a Parl-ament to be held at Wtflmmfler., givii;g the 
 
 * World to know with all, that hi? Purpofe wa? to amer.d by their Advice whatfoever 
 
 * ought to be amended.' So Sj:eed Kow, if Mr. Ifoo^/ is not miftaken when he lays 
 Rger Bacon died A':n9 iJy2, in th.e -j^th Tear of his j^ge., he cou'd be but nine- 
 teen Years old ^^w 1233, andtherefore no Preacher. So there mufl be either 
 a Miftike intheChronoloev, or elfe Roger Bacon made this free Expreffion be- 
 fore the King in fome Declamation or speecli; I'oc as a Preacher, but as h young 
 Man of prodigious Parrs, accordir.g to'the Cuftom of the Univerfity •, and I am 
 inclined to give into this Conjefture, becaufe the Speech feems to have been 
 made in Latin, which is more commonly the Language of Youths oi Nineteen 
 
 in
 
 The Antiquities o/zAeEnglifli Francifcans. 115 
 
 in the publick Schools, than of grave Preachers from the Church-Pulpit : Yet (a) 
 Leland from Matthew Paris^ fays, Roger Eacofij with great Freedom, admoniflt^d the 
 Kim, in his Sermons^ to turn ojf evil CounfeSorSy And therefore, I leave this puzzled 
 Affair, and goon. 
 
 One Thing more I cannot'oniit concerning this great Man j It is what he writes 
 of himfelf, direftinghis Difcourfeto Pope Clement the /^th, viz. thatnotwithftan- 
 ding he had fpent forty Years in the Study of Sciences and Languages with 
 almoft infinite Pains, yet he vvou'd (b) undertake to make any diligent and fharp 
 Man, in the Space of a Quarter or Half of a Year, Mafter of all his Knowledge 
 and Learning, provided he might make fome analytick Schemes whereby to 
 guide his Scholar in the Begiiining, and for him to have Recourfe to in the Pro- 
 secution ot his Studies : And moreover, he made no Doubt but that he cou'd 
 Ihew a ftudious Man fuch a Method, as in three Days time, wou'd make hira 
 fo perfeftly ktjowing in the Hebrew Tongue that he wou'd be able to underftand 
 exa£My whatfoever the holy Fathers, or other wife Men ot aixient Times have 
 written in their Explications of the Holy Scriptures .• Kay, he promis'd to require 
 no more than three Days Time to make a Man lb perfeii in the Greek Tongue, 
 that he wou'd clearly comprehend whatfoever has been written in it, not only 
 in Divinity, but alfo in Philofophy : He likewifeoffer'd to make a Man Mafter 
 of Geometry in one Week, and of Arithmatick in another j bui. by what 
 Means in particular he does r.ot tell. So Mr. Wood Ibidem. 
 
 It is now Time to leave the Man, that 1 may come to his Writings, which are 
 almoft Numberlefs ; For, he has left the World lome Tradtate or other in all 
 Arts and Scierxes ; but many of them are curtail'd, and Additions made to 
 others ; whetherthrough Carelefnefs, or on fet Purpofe is not eafy to determine : 
 However, that you may guelsat the Bulk of his Scholarfhip, take this Cata- 
 logue of his Works from Dr. Pits, viz. 
 
 Sermons, One Bock. Commentaries ufon the Mafler of the Sentences, Four Books, 
 MSS, in Lumley Library. An Abridgment of Divinity-Studies, Five Books, MSS. 
 Ibidem. Of Perfpc^ives and Multiplication of Forms, One Book, or Tratt, Ibid. Ano- 
 ther Book of the fame Subjeft Of Multiplying GUJfes. A frguUr Pe-'fpe^ive, One 
 Book. A Difiina PerfpeBive, Three Boois. A continual Pe/fpeH^ive, Que Bock. Of 
 the Impediments of JVJdom. One Book. Of the Site of the Orb, One Bock, MSS. 
 in St. Benediil''s College in Cambridge. Of the Parts of the World, One Book. Of 
 the Situation of Paleftne, One Book. Of the Holy Places, One Book. Of the If on- 
 ders of Things, One Bock. An Anfwev to St. Bonaventures Epifile, Or.e Book, 'to 
 Pope Clement the Fourth^ One Book. Of the Ijfefnllnejs or Adv.tntdge of Sciences, 
 Eleven Books. Of the Caufes of human Ignorance, Or.e Book. Of the Wonderful 
 Power of Art and Natuc. One Book. Of the Philcf^iers Sto'ic, One Book Pe- 
 fcriptions of Places of the World, One Book. Of the hidden Works of Nut'ure, Ore 
 Book. A jhart Grammar, Oi:3 Book. Of the CorifiruElion of Parts, One Book. A 
 Greek Grdmmtr, One Book, in St. Peters Co\]e^e nt C.vnbridge. A Hebrew Gram- 
 mar^ One Book, Ibid. OF the Praifrs of the Art of the Mathematicks, One Book. Of 
 
 Q. ^ f!' 
 
 Ca) CoUeSan. "torn, z, pag. 3 59. (b) Ibidem. In Wood. fag. 155. or 137.
 
 1 1 6 The Antiquities of the Englifti Francifcans. 
 
 the Fifth Part tf the Mathematkh, One Book, MSS. in St. BenediEfs College, at 
 Cambridge. Of the j4rt of Chymifiry. One Book, printed ?t.t Frank ford jinno \6oi. 
 ji Breviary of Chymifiry, One Book, MSS. in Cnjus College at Cambridge. A 
 Afirrour of Chymifiry y One Book. Documents of Chymifiry, One Book. Of the jirtt 
 of the Chymifis, One Book. Experimental Arts, One Book. Of Seven Expirimentt^ 
 One Book. Of Cofmography, One Book. Of Geometry, One Book. Of the Valut 
 of Muftck, One Book. Of the Vfefulnefs of Afironomy, One Book. An fntroduiliott 
 to Aflrology, One Book. Of the Rays of the Sun, One Book. Of the Places of tht 
 Stars, One Book. Of Secrets, One Book. Prognoflich from the Courfe of the Starsj 
 One Book. Of the Afpe^s of the Moon^ One Book. Of the Sight and Looking-Glajfes, 
 One Book. Of the Faculty of the Looking Glafs, One Book. Of the Form reprefented in 
 a Looking GUfs, One Book. Of Burning Glaffes, One Book. Of Intentional Degrees, 
 One Book. Of the hindering of old Age, One Book, A/S5. in the publick Library at 
 Oxford. Of the Vniverfal Goverr.ment of old Men ; One Book. Of the Prolonging of 
 Life, One Book, MSS. m Pembroke Hall at Cambridge. A Prefervative of human 
 Life, One Book, MSS, Ihid. Of the Errors of Phyficians, One Book. Of the hinde- 
 ring of Accidents, One Jiook. Common Things of Natural Philofophy, Four Books. On 
 Natural Philofophy, Eight Books. Natural Accounts, One Book. Of Firft Mattery 
 Materia Prima, One Book. Of the Paffions of the Soul, One Book. Of Vnderjlanding 
 and Things ^ be under flood. Two Books. Of the Heavens and the World, Two Books. 
 Of Sleep and Watching, Two Books. Of the Ebbing and Flowing of the Sea, One 
 Book, of the Flowing of the Britannitk Sea, One Book. Of Wei^ts, One Book. Of 
 the Kings of the World, One Book. Of the Vfefulnefs of Languages, One Book. Of 
 the Preferving of the Senfes, One Book. Rogerina Major, One Book, MSS, in Cajus 
 College at Cambridge, and in IFrf/ffr Co;)f/ private Library. Rogerina Minor, One 
 Book, MSS. Ibid. Logick, One Book. On fame Parts of Ariflotles Philofophy, Two 
 Books. The Rules of A'fultiplicaiion, One Book. Of A/oral Philofophy, One Boole. Of 
 Metaphyficks, One Book. Of Species's, One Book. Of theCaufes of Plenty and Want, 
 One Book. Of the Alaking of Colours by Art, Oi-e Book. Of Things made of Met- 
 tal. One Book. Of Ingravmg in Stone, One Book. Of the Center of heavy Things, 
 One Book. Of Vrnverfals, One Book. Rules of the Quadrant, One Book. Nine Di' 
 ftiriQions of the Wind, One Book. Of the Art of Ademory, One Book. Vpon Avicen- 
 na of the Soul,One Book. Of Plains, Ov.eBook. Vpon V'irgils Works, Several Books. 
 Againfl Necromancy, One Book. Of Divination, One Book, yWS. in Lumley Library. 
 Of hchantments. One Book. Praiiical Magick One Book. 
 
 And many other Books not named. Tcffmian : fays, that Br. Jerom de tA^fculo, 
 then, General of the Order, by the Advice of many Friers, dilapprov'd and 
 rejefted the following Books, written by Bv. Roger Bacon, viz. Of Necromamical 
 Reprefentations. Progmflicat^ions frcmthe Courfe of the Stars. Cf true AJIronomy, ^nd 
 his PerfpeEttves ; which I therefore guefs were the Writings for which he was 
 cenfur'd, and perfecuted by the faid General. But Bacon's Writings agamfi Necro' 
 »»4w«rj feems to fhew plainly enough that he was unjuftly perlecuted, and his 
 clearing ot himfelf before the Pope has made his Reputation unqueftionable ; and 
 fo I now leave him and go to others. 
 
 L Br.
 
 the Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans. 117 
 
 I. Br. Walter N. a Francifcan Reader of" Divinity in the Convent Anno 1293. 
 of his Order at Hereford^ was this Year cruelly murder'd by a certain 
 Man, who having been guilty of (<)me grievous Sin, which in Time, by feme 
 Means or other became publick to his Confufion, and raftily judging that this 
 Br. Walter Cwho was his Conteflbr) had reveal'd his Crime, ran to him in a 
 Rage of Anger, and ("a) clove his Head with an Ax, leaving him Dead on the 
 Spot. 
 
 I. Br. Henry Apfletrey departed this Life about this time. He Anno 1294. 
 was the Twelfth publick Profeffor Regent in the Francilcan Convent 
 at Oxford^ and had the Honour to be made a Doftor of thatUniverfity. 
 
 I. This Year, on the z^th Day of May^ which then was the Feaft of Anno IZ95. 
 the BlefTed Trinity^ the Church and Convent of the Friers Minors at 
 Stafford^ were burnt down by Fire being carelefsiy carried to Even-Song. Whar- 
 ton> Ibidem. 
 
 I. Several remarkable Occurrences concerning the Englifh Francif- Anno 1297, 
 cans fall under this Year \ But I relerve them till I come up- with the 
 Perfons by whom they were afted. 
 
 I. King Edrvard the Fir(i had a great Regard for the Friers ■, where- Anno 1297; 
 of he gave a Notable Inftance, about this time, by his accepting of 
 the Mediation of thbMinifl-er General of the Francifcans, and the Mafler Gene- 
 ral of the Dominicans, fent by the Pope to make a Peace between Him and the 
 ErenchKm% \ which, by their Prudent Management, and Powerful Perfwafions, 
 wasatlaft happily concluded. SoFr<w7. (h) St a. Clara, from Waljingh,m. 
 
 I. William de Btllo-Campo, Beau-Champ, Earl of Warwick, died this Anno 1298. 
 Year, on the 9th of June, and was buried in the Church of the Fri- 
 ers Minors at W^orcr/fr, according to his own Appointment by his laft Will and 
 Teftament. Br. John Olneye, a Frier Minor, was the laid Earl's Confeffor. So 
 (c) Wharton. 
 
 II. Br. Hugh of Manchefter, from his very Childhood, gave moft -^nno 1298. 
 pregnant h^flances of his good Difpofltions and great Genius for Vir- 
 tue and Learning •, in both which he was moft carefully trained up, under the 
 Direftion and Inftruftions of the beft Matters •, and as he grew up in his Youth, 
 he was much pleas'd with the Rule and Inftitute of St. Francis, fo that he embra- 
 ced that Order ('d) ip/V^ his whole Heart ; and being farther educated under the 
 Dilcipline of thofe Fathers, he, in procefs of time, made fo great Proficience 
 in Piety, Learning, Prudence, and other commendable Indowment?, that ftrft he 
 became a Reader of Divinity amongft them, then a Doilor, and afterwards Pro- 
 vincial of the Order. He was greatly favour'd by King Edward the Fvft and his 
 Royal Mother £/««or<», and by them treated as one of their Familiar Friends; 
 as appears plainly from an Embalfy whereon he was fent by the faid King, toge- 
 ther with his Companion and Joint-Envoy Br. Willtam Gainsborough, (alio a Frier 
 Minor, and afterwards Bifliop of Worcefter) being both of them impower''d by 
 
 Royal 
 
 (a) Wharton in AvgUa Sacra, tart, i,*<ig. 514. (b) Eifi, Min. tag, i3. (c) Ibidem. (<J) IhU. 
 J}e IHufir. Script.
 
 ii8 The Aniiquities of the Englilh Francifcans- 
 
 Royal Patents to treat in the King's Name, with Philip King of France, about the 
 Reflitution of certain Lands in yiquiiania\ of which Negotiation Br. //wg/j (as 
 well -if) G ainf borough his Fellow-Embaffadorj honourably acquitted himfelf, jinno 
 12 95- So Dr. Pits \ who feeins to giv'e a Hint as if Br. Hu^h had been firft a i)o- 
 minicany and ih^nheing greatly fle.ts^d with the Infiitiite of St. Francis, embraced that 
 Order with all his Heart. Pcjfovinus, Willut, Tcffinianetifis, and Fran, a Sta Clara 
 reckon Jiim .a Francifcan, and place him among the Writers of their Order, 
 thougfi the laft owns that Walfwgham and fJarpsfield, feem to fay he was a Domini- 
 can j and I will add, that Leland{^) calls him a Black-Frier ^ Aiid fo far I take 
 them to be in the Right, that Br. Hugh was firft a Dominican \ but it feems very 
 plain that at laft he was a Francifcan i becaufe all the Francifcan Writers lean 
 meet with, reckon him without Hefitation, as one of their Order. Infine, his 
 Kame is more memorable to Pofteiity for his Vertues than for the Bulk of his 
 Writings, though he vjut?t Compendium of Divinity., and another Book >^^.-j;«/? f/;ff 
 Ravings of Fanatich, befides lome other Works. To//J»/<j?;y«/;/ (bj fays,"" He was 
 Provincial of the Friers Minors in England., and that he writ a Book agaiiift a 
 certain Impofter; which Book 1 take to be that above, jigaind the Fanaticks; 
 but whatever the Book was, it was writ at tlie Inftance of Philip, King of 
 France. t 
 
 How Dr. Pits makes this good Man bufy in a Royal EmbafTy at the Court of 
 France in the Tear 129^, whereas he allows liim to live no longer than 1294, I 
 cannot otherwife Account for than by ihewing the Error, and calculating the 
 Time of his Death fomewhat later •, and I think there are good Grounds to be- 
 lieve he lived till about thisTear 1 298. 
 
 I. Br- Peter Quefcjuel, or Quefvel^ was an Engl iih Francifcan, lear- 
 " '*^^' ned in the Lavs, Civil and Canon, a great Divine, and a famous 
 
 Writer. He was of the Convent of Norwich, and recommended his Name to 
 Pofterity by feveral judicious and ufeful Pieces of Leari>ing, whereof thefe are 
 the Titles, viz. ./4 DiriB^ory of the Law in the Courts of Confcience, and "Judicial: 
 He divided this Work into Four diftind Books. The Contents of the Fifjl, 
 were. Of the moft Adorable Triiity, and of the Catholick Faith, and of the Seven 
 Sacraments. The Second, Of j4dminif}ring and Receiving the faid Sacraments. The 
 Third, Of the Crimes which hinder the receiving of the Sacraments, and of the Penal- 
 ■ ties to be itijijynd for the fame. The Fourth. "The Method of orderly direBing the 
 Things that relate to Right and Judgment. TJiefe Books were, a long while, kept 
 in Che Library at Norwich. What other Works tliis Author writ I kno'v not, 
 liiys Dr. (c) Pits Br. Luke Wadding, the Annalift of the Order lays, Br. Peter Quefvel 
 
 lived till about the Tf^r I 299- 
 
 II. Br. Richard Porlond, born in Norfolk, and in procefs of time a 
 Anno 1299. p^..^^. j^jjijy^^ in the Convent at Norwich, was famous for both Holi- 
 nefs of Life and great Learning ; of a ready Wit, a folid Judgement, and po- 
 lite Dilcourfe; which Talents, by a diligent Application, and hard Study, were 
 
 {a)Co//fctan Vol. i. Part, l.pag. 538. (b) Eif. Seraph, Lib. 3°. Folio 321. (c) In AppenMce. 
 Illujlr. Angl. Script.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans- i ip 
 
 fo much improved, that he was defervedly promoted to the Dignity as well as the 
 Knowledge of a Doftor in Divinity,and made a Profeflbr of that Sacred Faculty in 
 hisConvent ^ where his conftant Cuftom was to teach the Young Friers on working 
 D;iys, and to preach to the People on Sundays and Holy-days. He was the Author 
 of many excellent Books, moft of which were kept, a long time in the BenediHine's 
 Library in Norwich, even till the fatal Deftruttion of Religious Houfes. Thefe 
 things fays Dr. Pits, 1 have taken out of WiUot's Athen. Francifcan: Who fays the 
 following Works are yet in Being, viz.. Sermons, OntViodk. Of'the Pt^^ionofChrifi, 
 One Book, which begins with thefe Words, Chrif} fuffcr'd for us, &c. Of the reft 
 not lb much as the Titles are now to be found. When this Holy Man departed 
 this Life, I do not find j But, from Circumftances, I guefs ic was about this 
 Time. 
 
 L When^r. John Teckham ^afterwards Archblfhop o? Canterbury) Anno i-^oo. 
 was taken into the Papal Court and refign'd his Provincialftiip, he was 
 Tucceeded in that Office by Br. Hugh de Brampton, of whom I can find no more 
 than that he was the 12th. (or 13th. as I take it) in that Office, wherein he was 
 fucceeded by Br. Robert Crouch or Crouche, who lived not till the End of this Year. 
 hi'. Robert de Cruce, or Crucius^ (vj\iom Pcjfovinus calls Crowche, and we may call 
 Crofs, or O-rac/jJ an Englifh Francifcan, w;is famous in his Time, not only for 
 his great Learning, b"ut alio for the Holinetsof his Lite, as (a) ['Vood fays from 
 Leland : Nor did his Vertue and other rich Indowments of his Mind pnfs un- 
 regarded, or without an honourable Reward ; for he was chofen Minidor Pro- 
 vincial of his Order in £»^/<j?7^ ; which Office he difcharg'd with fo much Pru- 
 dence, that (which feldom falls outj he gain'd a general Applaufe without any 
 Man's Envy ; nor was hb Name buried in Obfcurity, even after his Death ; But, 
 as hisVertues were exemplary while he lived, fo do his learned Works recom- 
 mend his Memory to the lateft Pofterity, So Mr. Wood, Jbid. 
 
 Dr. Fits Cb) fays, He was much delighted with the Study of Philofophy, 
 and applied himfelt much to fuch Speculations for feveral Years ; but at laft be- 
 taking himlelf to the more noble Study of Divinity, he was admitted to the 
 Degree of Do£l:or in that Faculty at OA^or^, and was the '[■>,th ProfeiTor Regent 
 (as Wood alfo lays) in the Convent of his Order there. He departed this Life at 
 Bridge-Water, m Stmerfetjliire, .(^wffo 1 300, or thereabouts, and was there buried 
 amoi;gft his Religious Brethren. His learned Works are the beft Proofs of his 
 Afftftion for the Study of good Literature, and are, 'Zi"/)fl«//)(? y1//»/?fro/ r/;^ Sen.- 
 fences. Four Books. H.<ird Queflions, One Book. Vfon Ariflotlcs Ph^ficks, Eij;ht 
 Books. On his Ethicks, or Moral Philofophy, Ten Books. I cannot find at what time 
 Br. Robert Crouch was chofen Provincial ; but he refign'd that Office many Years 
 before his Death, and was fucceeded by 5r. William Gsynesborough, DD; and he 
 by Br. Ro^er de Merjion, DD. to whom fucceeded Br. HughdeHertelfoU, DD 
 this Year in the Office. 
 
 II. Br. Hughde Hertlepole, Provincial of the Francifcans, this Year Avm 1300. 
 preleuted Two and Twenty of his Religious Subjects to the Bilhopof 
 
 Lincoln 
 
 (a) Antiq. Oxoa- Lib. 1? pa^, 74. (h) Ve lllujlr. Script.
 
 120 The Antiquities of the '£r\^\?n Francifcans. 
 
 Lincoln (\n which Diocefs Oxford then was) to be approved tohearConfe/TIonsin 
 their Convent at Oxford, hec&uCe of the vaft ConcouiTe of People that came 
 daily to the Tomb of the Holy Br. Agnellus de Pif.t^ where God was pleas'd to 
 rcanifeft his own Almighty Power, and the SaiitVity of his faid Servant, by 
 plain Miracles .- For, his Corps being buried in the Francilcau Church at Ox- 
 ford, in a wooden Coffin, and the Friers, after Ibme Years, having a Mind to 
 remove it to a more decent and honorable Sepulchre ; They found his Cnjjin (fays 
 fa) Afr. Wood) full of a Liquor of clear Oyle and of a Balfamick Smtll, and his 
 bare Bones fwimmin^ upon the moft frveet Oyle as if they had been moved by agemle breez.e 
 of Air ; and when they unwarily lifted up the faid Coffin, Cwhich I prefume was rot- 
 ten with long Standing) the Bottom of it (luck fa(i to the Pavement^ and the Oyle 
 ran about with afurprifing Fragrancy. But his Bones were tranjlated with great Reve- 
 rence atid Solemnity to a fair Tomb of Stone prepared for it ; And here Almighty God 
 was pleas'd to make the Sanftity of his Servant known by many nianifeft Mi- 
 racles, to the great Wonder of the Spetlators. 
 
 When Br. Jgnellus'^ Bones were removed I find not ; But that Almighty Power 
 which hasmany Ways made the very Alhes ofhis Saints famous, was here pleas'd 
 that out ot the bare Bones of the Holy Br. Agnellus there fhou'd continually 
 flow a medicinal Liquour to cure the Infirmities of human Bodies, and con- 
 vince the Minds ot the Incredulous , And this is what he perform'd, in a more 
 wonderful Manner, when a Corps, being in a Fright, thrown into the Sepulchre 
 of Elifha (^EliTLeus) the Prophet, it no fooner touch'd the Bones of the Man of 
 ^ God, but the Soul immediately return'd,and the Man that was 
 
 Kin^sibeid. j)g3(J came to Life, and ftood *^^ upon his Feet. The Miracles re- 
 <L.i*.v.2i. latedbySt. Auguftineymh\s ^ooV. Of the City of God) ?ls wrought 
 ' ' * at the Relifts of St. Stephen are unqueftionable, as alfo many other 
 fuch-like are. 
 
 That Power which heretofore made a Fountain of refrefhing Wa- 
 ^ Judges chap, ter to flow out of the Jaw-bone -j- of an A fs, wherewith Samfon 
 15. wr/f. 15. had flain a Thoufand P^/7//?»«/, is not confined within the narrow 
 Bounds of human Rcafonings. But I aft the Part of a Collector of 
 Hiftorical Fragmeiits, and not the Controvertift, So return to the Tomb ot ylg- 
 nellus, the Fame of whofe Sanftity had fo fargain'd upon the World, that Mr. 
 Wood Ibid, fays, there are fome who flick not to affirm that he was ecjual., if not fuperior 
 to St. Francis himjelf, the Seraphical Father and Founder of the Order, as well for San^i- 
 ty, as for Miracles wrought by him, both whilff living and after his Death : So that the 
 bight of thefe Prodigies having tranfported the Beholders with Aftonifhment, 
 the Fame of this new Saint ' fpread far and near, and a great Concourfe of Peo- 
 
 * pie from the neighbouring Countries came daily to his Tomb, being led chief- 
 
 * ly, as we may guels ffays Mr. Wood. Ibid.) by Devotion. And for this Reafon 
 
 * I believe itwas that the Minifter Provincial addrefs'd himfelf tc, the Bifliop of 
 
 * the Diocefs to have Two and Twenty Friers appointed for this Convent to hear 
 
 * Confellions and abfolve thofe that came thither .- And, becaufe I luppofe it 
 
 may 
 
 ^ - ~ ■ — ■— ^' !■■■ I ■ -.1. — ^.^ ,!■ .MM II I -■ r- m 1.1 ■ i n »^m ■ ■ I ■!< 
 
 (a) Ant'ij. Oxon, Lib. 1" pag, 79.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans. 121 
 
 * may not be difagreeable to the Readers, I will here give a more ample Detail 
 
 • of the Regifter vvherein I find the Account of this Petition. i»Q y\4r. Wood \ 
 and in his Marginal Notes he quotes Regiflrumy fve Memoranda Johannis Dalder- 
 hye £pifc. Lincoln fol, l^'^. alms D'aderly, as Co^iP^w writes his Name. Aiemoran- 
 dum, that upon the "/th of Auguft^ in the Tear of our Lord I 300, at Dorchfjier, (about 
 feven Miles from Oxford) Br. Hugh de Hertelpol^ Minifler Prcvincinl of the Friers 
 Minors of the Engliflt Province, appearing in Ptrfon before the BiJIipp (ot Lincoln') pre- 
 ftnted to the faid moft Reverend Father in Gcd^ Two and Twenty Friers of his Order, 
 viz.. Br. John de Codyngton, Guardian (ci the Convent) Adam de Haveden., Philip 
 de BridlyKgton, Doctors of Divinity., William Mincy, William de Newport, Roger de 
 Barnton, Robert de Gaddejlyn, John de Wejlburg, Robert de Mcgynton, John de Sta- 
 pleton, Adam de Corf, Peter de Tadworth, William de Shirebourne^ Peter de Baldefwell, 
 Martin de Alfiewick, John Douns, Walter Bofevile, Robert de Couton, Rsger de AlnC' 
 wyke, John de Horley, Richard de Conyngton, Thomas de Pontefrc.^i., chofen by him (tlie 
 Provincial) as he [aid, to hear Confejjions ; and when it was demanded ot him whether he 
 freferited them for all the Convents in the Diocefs of Lincoln, or for one., or for more 
 Convent, or Convents of the fame ? He anfwered that he prefented fcr the Convent 
 of O.vford only. Then after fame Deliberation upon the Number of the Friers by him 
 presented, the Bi(}iop at Lifl replied that Four were enough for every Convent of the Dio- 
 cefs ; But, in Confideration of the vafi Concourfe of People to their Convent at Oxford, 
 and for the Digrnty of the Place, he condefcended to admit Six whom the Provincial 
 Owu'd think proper to jele£i, to be prifented out of the Number a'orefaid, A"d, when 
 the faid Mmifler replied th.it he inffied on the Prefentation of them All ; Beca'ij'e 
 amongfi the Perfons prefented there were two Doilors of Divinity, the BiJJjop added 
 
 , thefe to the Number of Si.v, in refpe[h to their Rank ; So that the Six named by the 
 faid A'finifter out of the Number of the Friers fi^fi prefented to the BiJIwp. viz.. William 
 A'fincy, WiBiam de Newport, Roger de B.irnton, Robert de Gaddcftyn or Gadhesby, John 
 de Wtfiburg, and Robert de Moq^ynton, the Bijhop added the two DoBors aforefaid, 
 viz.. Adam de Hovede'n, and Philip de Bridlyngton : And he granted that the faid eight 
 PerJonSy by the Leave and Favour and good-liking of the Bifljop, might hear Confejjions 
 in the Archdeaconry of Oxford, and give the Benefit of Abfolution to thofe that Confefs^dy 
 and injcyn them whclfom Ptn.wces in fuch Cafes wherein the giving of Abfolution is (of 
 Right, or) by Law alloxii'd to Curates, or Panfj Priej}s. Thus hr Mr. Wood from the 
 Regifter above mention'd. 
 
 From hence we may learn {Wood continues) that whereas there were 22 Friers 
 prefented to the Bifhop to hear the Confeflions ot the People, his Lordftip, after 
 a ferious Deliberation approved of no more than Eight ot them for that Fuii- 
 ftion, impowering them to en;> v chat f no ways detpifable) Prerogative in the 
 Archdeaconry of O^f/br^/. 1 h,- fame Favour was afterwards confirm'd to the 
 Francifcans by his Succeffo.., with an Addition to the Number ot Friers appro-, 
 ved to hear Confeilior.s , which thing many Perfons (difiifcited to the A^endi- 
 cants) took amifs, as a Concefllon on many Accounts Pernicious. So Wood, who 
 by his adjedtive Perr.iciofum, means, 1 prelume, that this Grant was thought 
 prejudicial to tht Sccidar Clergy ; becaufe Leave given to the Friers to hear Cont'ef- 
 
 R fions^
 
 122 The Antiquities c/ //;e Englifh FranclfcanS' 
 
 /Toff/, was one main Article ot th-> Archbifhop of Aitnigh''% b'peech to the Pope,' 
 on the 2th. day of November, 1357 i Of which more when 1 come up to that 
 Year. 
 
 J. III. Br. Richard Middleton, commonly call'd de Media-Tilla, a lear- 
 
 300. r;e(^ prm-icifcan, was born thher ?it A/iJdIeton-Stony, in Oxford^ure,(j\.s 
 Fuller (\.\) fayfj or at Middlcton Cheny, iu Northamptonfljire, uncertain whether ; 
 However, he gave his Mind to ftudy even when a Boy, and having perfefted 
 himlelf in the Knowledge ot the ClalTick Authors, fpent the Flower of his 
 Youth in the Study of Philofophical Scieices;, wherein he fucceeded fo well, 
 that by a continual Application, and daily Exercifein thiskindof Scholaflick Dif- 
 putations, he both fharpen'd and improved that ready Wit which Nature had 
 liberally beftow'd upon him \ And being advanc'd to the more Koble Study of 
 Divinity, he made fuch a Proficience as cannot be fufficiently applauded, though 
 it was crown'd with the Doftors Cap, fet on his Head by the learPiCd Univerfi- 
 ty of Oxford. After this he betook himfelf to the Study of the whole Canon 
 Law, and then wholly to the Scriptures, both Old and New, reading them Over 
 and Over with fuchir.tenfeConfiderationas to make Commentaries uTpon the grea- 
 teftPartof them. He went from Oxford to Paris -^ where, by his various Lef- 
 fons and Difputations, he got a great Name amongft the Doftors, by whom 
 alfo he was ftyled DoElor Solidus, Copiofus-, Authoratus^ Fundatijfimus, as IViliot 
 lays. 
 
 He was fo well experienced in the Explication of the moft difficult Texts of 
 the Holy Scriptures, that there was fcarce any one to be found in his Time that 
 cou'd with more Sagacity penetrate, more acutely difculs, or more clearly ex- 
 pound the moft abftrufe and latent Senl'e thereof, or with greater Facility folve 
 all occurring Doubts. He was one of the Celebrated Four Mafters or Doctors of 
 the Order, Expofitors of the Rule of St. Francis \ and for that Reafon I be- 
 lieve he did not live fo long as this Year, though Dr. Tits places him under this 
 Date. But be this at it will, there was in his D'i.ys owe Petrus Johannisy^. learned 
 Minor whobroach'd certain New Opinions that feem'd toclalh with the Catho- 
 lick Faith, the Examination of which Novelties was ('by Bona Gratia the Tenth 
 General of the OrderJ committed to Br. Richard de Media f^.lla, who, in Con- 
 junfticn with fome other learned Men of the Order fb) rejefted and ccndemnM 
 them. He is, by HeHor Boetius and others, (c; accounted one of the greateft 
 Doflors of the Age he lived in, and was fo greaUy efteem'd by Pope Nicholas 
 the 4f/j,that in the firft Year of his Pontificate {viz.. 1 288) he made Choice of him 
 as the fittefl; Man to give the finifhirg fd) Stroke to that famous Work intitled 
 SummaTheologis, written by 7?r. Aitxaider of H.ites, who, prevented by Death, 
 had left itimperfeih He alfo was appointed M;ifter to that lUuftrious Frier Mi- 
 nor iBr. I-fip/^, who was Son to the King of Stcily, and kept Hoftage for his Fa- 
 ther, in C4f<j/«»/<« i afterwards Bifhop of Tc/ott/f, and at laft a Canonized baint. 
 The moft Reverend Father in God Thomas Cantipratenfis, Suffragan Biihop oC Mech- 
 
 . lirty 
 
 {i)ChHr.-h Rifory. pa-re 9y (h) Hijl Seraph. Lib. zdo. joU 184. (c) E'fi.M'in.fag. 11. (d) 
 Set Smith, I.ijbpp of Calcedon, in his Ecch^apcal Sijiory,
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans- 1 23 
 
 /;■«, or MalineSy in Brabant, who was intimately acquainted with this Br. Ricktrd 
 Middleton when he was atlourifhing Dottor of Faris, is profufein his Commen- 
 dations and fays of him that he led a moft holy and devout Life, and that as he 
 was preaching on a certain Day at Paris ; He, all on a fudden became filent for 
 an Hour ^ after which refuming his Dilcourfe he took his Leave of all his Au- 
 dience with a moft lerene Countenance, and fo departed this Life in Peace. 
 Infine,that lafting Monument of hisPraife is not to be omitted which is yet to 
 be feen at Cologn in Germany, in the old Convent ot the Francifcans .- \Vhere, 
 with Fourteen chief Doftors of his Order, whole Names are ingraven in brafs 
 Plates about the Tomb of John Dufts Scotus, there is alio in like fort engraven 
 Magifler Richardus de Media- Ftlla. 
 
 But I now come to the Marks of his great Learning, whereby he made his 
 Karae famous to the lateft Pofterity ; for, he was the Author of -many excellent 
 Works. Some fay he writ Commentaries ufon every Part of the Half Scriptures \ 
 However, thefeare known to be his Writings, viz.- One ^ooYVfon each of the 
 Four Gofpels, and Fourteen Books Vpon St. Paul's Epiftles. Vpon the Aiafier of the 
 Sentences^ Four Books, printed at r*w;Vff Anno 1509, and at another Place Anno 
 1 59I, which Pits fays, he had a Sight of at Nancy in the Francifcan Library, and 
 are to be feen MSS-, partly in Mertomnd Ba/lwl College at Oxford, and partly 
 at Pemhroke-Hn]] in Cambridge. Vpon the DijtinElions of the Decretals, One Book, 
 Of the Order of Judgments, One Book. Of the Conception of the B. F. MAry^ Oi;e 
 Book. Opufiula, One Book, MSS, in Merton College &t Oxford. Theological Quod- 
 libetsof<,eightyQueJfion.t, One Book, printed at Venice Anno 1509, and to be feen 
 in the Francifcan Library ^t Nancy, in Lo'-aine. Imperfetl Commentaries, One Book. 
 Vpon the Rule of St. Francis, One Book. Againfl Peter John, One Book. Befides 
 many other Works. Dr. Pits fays he departed this Life about this Year 1 300 •• But 
 I believe he lived not fo long by many Years: However he clofed his Days ac 
 Taris, and was buried there in the Coriventof his Order. 
 
 IV. Pope Boniface the 8r/;, decreed that the Dominicans and the Frar' Anm 1300 
 cifcans Ihou'd not preach in the Parifh Churches before they have ask'd 
 and obtain'd Leave .- And, that the Parilh Priefts may demand a Fourth Part 
 of the Legacies left in any Manner wharever to the Friers. So Mr. (a) (TAvr- 
 ton. This Decree, as to the Uft Tart, was afterwards recalled and made void 
 and ot no Effeit ; as appears in the Annals of the Order. And, as to the 
 fir ft: Part thextoi, St. Franeis, in the gth Chapter of his Rule fpeaks thus, viz.. 
 
 The Brothers are -not to preach in the Diocefs of any Bifliop when they are forbid by 
 Him. And no Brother jliall pre fume to preach to the People, unlefs hehasbeen ex.imin'd 
 and approved by the General Miniftcr of this Brotherhood, and the Offce of Preaching 
 granted him by the faid Mmifter : Which Words of their Rule im.port and re- 
 quire, at the moft, but a Negative, Implicit, and T'/?f /f Approbation of theBilhop, 
 commo!ily worded, Scieiae, nee Ccntradicente Epij'copo. To make this more plain, 
 it is to be obferved, that Francifcan Preachers ("the fame of their Confeffors, as 
 they fay) are Apoflolical Miffioners in, and by Vertue of the Con^rmMion of their 
 
 R 2 Rule, 
 
 (a) Anglia. Sacra- paft^\>
 
 124 ^^-"^ Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans. 
 
 Rule, nnd derive their immediate Authoricy and Jurifdi£lion (not from any Dio- 
 ceian Billiop, butj from the Apollolick See •, who, in Confirming the Rule, char- 
 ge? the Superiors of the Order (and not the Biftiop) with the Examination., Ap- 
 prohaiion, and Deputation of their Subjeds for the Office of Preaching, as in the 
 i;ii(i Rule ^ and confequently the Exprcfs, Poftive., and Immediate Approbation 
 of a Francifcan, l^i KeguU, belongs to the Superiors of the Order refpeftively j 
 So that a Francifcan approved by a Bifliop and not by his own Superior, is guilty 
 of a Breach of his Rule in this Point if he preaches publickly. Hence in the 
 early Days of the Order, a Francilcan having the Teftimonials of his Superi- 
 ors Approbation, cou'd. lawfully, without more adoe, as an Apoftolical Millio- 
 ner, preach in any Diocefs till the Bifhop torbid him •, there being in thole 
 Days, no Decree of th« Church commanding that a Francifcan Preacher fliou'd 
 obtain an Exprefs, Poftive., and Immediate Approbation of the Bifliop upon fuch 
 a Footing as Epilcopal Approbation has been introduced fince .- Then a Bifliop's 
 knowing of a Francifcan's preaching in his Diocefs and faying nothing againft it, 
 wasa furticient Approbation: The Formalities of Epifcopal Approbation, now 
 in Ufa in form'd Dioceiies and Regular Pariihes, were then unknown, though 
 wilely eAablifh'd fince chat Time. 
 A ^ 1- Br. Ralph 7'o/i^i llourilh'd about this .time, or fooner. He was 
 
 ' ' the i4r/; Regent of the Francifcan Studies, or Chief ProfelTor of Di- 
 vinity in the Convent of the Order at Oxford ; in which Office he fucceeded 
 that great and holy Man Br. Robert Crouch^ already mention'd ; but the very 
 Time when he began to teach \ or whether he took the Degree of Doctor or not ; 
 or the exait Date of his Death, I can no where find. 
 . , ^ 1. Br. W^;7//4»j<icC/jyKjWo«^i, a Francifcan ProfefTor Regent and Do- 
 
 ' " £for of Divinity of Oxford, and heretofore Provincial of his Order 
 in England, was this Year, made Bifhop of Worcefler •, of whom hereafter. 
 ^^ ^ J, I. Br. Roger de Merlion died about this time. He was the \6th 
 
 ^ '' Regent ProfelTor amongft the Francifcans at 0;t/W: where he was 
 admitted to the Degree of Doftor in Divinity by that Univerfity ; and was 
 a Man of fuch eminent Merir, that he was chofen Mir.ifter Provincial of his 
 Order in England; in which Office he is the i5//3inthe common Catalogue (in 
 mine the i6r/))and fucceeded Br. IVilUam Gayn/horough above named. Br, (a) yin^ 
 gelus /l/^^« calls him Merfcheton, and fays he departed this Life in the Convent 
 of his Older at Norwich, and was there buried amongfl his Religious Bre- 
 thren. 
 
 Br. jiUn Rodan, the i $?/; Regeiit of the Frar-cifcan Schools at Oxford, has 
 liotliing that I can find recorded of him but his Name and Profelforfliip ; So I 
 pafs him, and go on. 
 J ^ I. Br. John Duns Scotus was at this time ^o Famous, and of fo great 
 
 * Authority, that the learned and wife Univerfity of /"^im being con- 
 vinced of the Truth of his Opinion of the Immaculate Conception of the B, Virgin 
 Mary, and moved by his Arguments, take an Oath to maintain that Opinion, 
 
 and 
 
 (a) In Catahgo Provincialinm, in Fine Certamims Serapiici.
 
 TJje Antiquities of the Englifli Francifcans. 125 
 
 and make a Decree for the yearly Solemnizing of the Feflival of that Myftery 
 So the Epitome of the Annals of the Friers Minors. 
 
 I. Rubert Bruce^ Earl of Karrick^ caus'd a certain. Noble Man, cali'd Amjo 1305. 
 John de Redeccmyn^ to be treacheroufly murder'd in the Church of the 
 Friei-fi Minors at Dumfrije in Scotlandy becaufe he refufed to joyn in, or give his 
 Conlent to the Rebellion then on Foot againft the King of England \ and he gave 
 him the firft mortal Wound before the Altar, (a) Wharton. 
 
 I. Leland (b) dates the above mention'd barbarous Murder this Year. Ann» i3o(J. 
 and calls that Earl Robert Bruys, and the Perlbn murder'd he r.ames 
 Comyn ; But agrees in the Place and Manner of the Fa£t. 
 
 This Year alio, being the ^^th of Edw<ird the Firft, Qijeen A-far^aret, Second 
 Wife of the faid King, commanded the Francifcan Church in London to he pulTd 
 down, and began to build the Quire ot a New One. But of this Royal, and 
 other Munificent Benefactors to this Work, move m my Second Part. 
 
 I. Br. William de Gaynesborongb, a Francifcan Bifaop of Worce[ler^ was, Anno 1507 
 this Year, fent by the King into France^ upon an extraordinary Em - 
 bafly, wherein he fucceeded according to his Majefty's Defire. But of this and 
 his other Aftsmore the next Year, as follows. 
 
 I.Br. William Gayneshorough, Bifhop ofWorce(ler^ departed this Life Anno i'^o%. 
 this Year. He was a Dollor of Divinity of Oxford, where he alfo 
 was the i%th Regent ProfefTor that taught that Science in the Convent of his 
 Order. He was a Perfonof fuch Piety, Prudence, and excellent Learning, that 
 he was both known by thefe Perfections and efteem'd, not only amongft the Vul- 
 gar, but alio by the Nobility, and by the King Himfelf, (Edw.ird the Firft) who 
 had lb great an Opinion of him and Coufideiice in him, that he fent him as his^ 
 Extraordinary Envoy (together with Br. Hugh Manchefier) to King Philip of 
 Fraucey to compofe fbme Difagreements about certain Lands in Af-iitania, ot 
 which Negotiation he acquitted himfelf with Honour and Credit, by bringing 
 the Affairs committed to his Charge to a happy IlTue according to the King's 
 Defire. So Dr. Pits. Leland (cj fays, the King fent him to do Homage to the 
 French King tor Gafcoyne, and that the Earl of Artoys., rook him and his Com- 
 panion going through the Country, and put them in Prilon \ from whence, I 
 prefume they were very loon enlarged. ^t-.Wilham Gayntsborough alfo was cholen 
 Provincial of the Englifh Province of Francilcans \ but whether before or after 
 this EmbalTy, I know not, nor how long he continued in that Office •, but his 
 Fame was fpread fo far, that he was cali'd to ^ofw^, and made Le^or Sacri Pa- 
 latij, where his Name became daily more and more famous, forthe Clearnefs ot 
 his Explication, the Subtility ot his Difputations and Diftinftions, and the Elo- 
 quence and Fervour of his Preaching. He continued ^f<f^fr of the Papal PaNce 
 (_is (d) Wharton fays) till he was made Bifhop of Worcefler^ on the 24//; D^iy of 
 OUober, Anno 130a. by Pope Boniface the'^th^ hy \vhomhe was aUo confecrated 
 a few Days after : But this being done without the previous Coufent or Know 
 
 ledge 
 
 (y,") Antl'ia Sacra, fxrt. \.-pag, -yM^. {h)Colle3a». T^ol. I. p.tge 14. Qc) Ctlteetan, 1'om. 1. part, 
 i.p.ig. j3S- (.<i) Anglia Sitcra, de Eiifcob. Wi^amien, f4g- 531. 
 
 '1i:
 
 1 26 The Antiquities of the Engliih Francifcans, 
 
 ledge of the King, who then was Edward the I'irft, His V.ajclty (though other- 
 wife a great Admirer of Gaynrsborough) was fo grtatly olFended, tliac he made 
 many Difficulties about his eutringinto Poireflhiiiot the '"emporalitie-; of the 
 Bilhoprick, and in Token of his Difpleafure h? laid upon him a Mulft of a 
 thoufand iVIarks before he fulFer'd him to be inverted dviewith. However, the 
 BiHiop at laft was inthroned in the Cathedml of Wui^cefler^ on the gth Day of 
 June, jimio 1 303 ; A'id the King afterwards wa*; f) well pacified and pleas'd with 
 him, that he remitted the above mention'd Fme •, and having jieretotore expe- 
 rienced his Wifdom and Prudence in an Embiffy of Iippoiiance, Me now again 
 makes Choice of him, ^above all his faithful Minillers or State, to treat of a 
 Match torhisEldeft Son, Prince £<^ip^r^, and to that Eiid hefent thegood Bi- 
 ihop once more 'n\to France, to propofe a Marriage between the fa id Prince and 
 the King of France''^ Daughter Jfabc/la, in the Ttar 1 307 ; in which Affair he 
 fucceeded according to the King's Wifhes ^ But, in his Return homewards, both 
 He (the Bilhop) and the greateft Part of his Retinue died fof Poifon, as 'tis be- 
 lieved) in the Beginning of the Year 1 308, as (n) Wharton conjeftures, from whom 
 I now have writ. 
 
 Air (h) Woodt^vovn Eccleflon^ fays, He was buried at Beauvais, m France •, but 
 Wharton^ in the Additions to his fir fl part e/ ^«^//^5.Tcr4, fays, He died at Amiens^ 
 in Picardy, and he there Ipeaks from the Popt's Bull of Refervation. Gaynesbo- 
 roughj fays Godwyn, was a Great Learned Man accounted in thole Times, and 
 writ much ; fome of whofe Works named by Dr. Pits., are thefe, 'viz.. Sermons 
 to the Clergy and to the People, One Book. Subtile Ouefiions, One Book. Difputations, 
 One book i befidesmany other fuch- like Trails. Dr. Pits dates this Prelate's 
 Death in the Year 1310^ But Mr. Wharton writes from the Records of the Bi- 
 ihops o?Worcefler^z.\-id is therefore to have the Preference of Credit. But 1 now go 
 on to the famous 5;-, 7o^« Duns Scotus, the Subtile DoBor., and principal Mafter 
 of the Francifcan Schools, throughout the whole Order. 
 
 II. lir. John Duns Scotus, the Subtile DoB or, was horn in no great Af- 
 " '5° • fluenceof temporal Fortune, and in a great Indigence of a natural 
 Capacity, if all is true that is faid of him by a credible (c) Author, who writes, 
 that when he firft went to School, he was fo ftupid and indocible, that he made 
 little or no Prcficience, till on a certain Time being retired to his Devotions, he 
 moft earneftly beg'd of God, with Sighs and Tears, to clear off that ftupid DuU- 
 uefs, whereof he was very fenfible, and enlighten hisUnderftanding ; that he 
 might make fome Progrefs in the Knowledge of holy Things. Having made his 
 Prayer to God, through the IntercelTion of the Blcffed Tirgin Mary, to whom he 
 was moft fingularly devoted from his very Childhood, the laid B. rirgin appear'd 
 to liim in his Sleep, and encouraged him to go on chearfully in his Studies, pro- 
 iriifu>g to obtain for him Cher fi-ture Championj the Grant of his Requeft ; The 
 Truth ot which Relation I'ecms to be confirm'dby the Sequel, and by that vaft 
 Fund of Knowledge ot almoft Univerfal Learning, which Scotus cou'd hardly 
 
 have 
 
 (_a) lljidcm.pag. 552. (h) A/Hiif Oxon, Li!) i" (ag 74, (c) Author Mwtynhg. Francifcan. in 
 dicii Svam Novcmiris,
 
 The Atitiquities o/Me- Fnglifh Francifcans. 127 
 
 have ncquired without a Miiaile, in fo Ihoi't a Space of Time as he is known to 
 have auain d it. But to return. Scotus^ either by Nature or by a Miracle was fo 
 richly eiidow'd wiiha Q_aick Appreher.fion, a ready Wit, a tenacious Memory, 
 and a folid Judgment, that ha leem'd to have a Genius particularly fitted for Stu- 
 dy, and framed for Learning ; in Order whereunto he was fent very Young to 
 Oxford, that Great Emporium of Literature-, where by a fedulous and continu- 
 al Application, hemadealmoft Miraculous Improvements •, So that he was the 
 Wonder of his Age. He was firft educated in Met ton College -^ where, in time, 
 he was unanimoufly chofen a Fellow, as faj Adr, Wood writes. After this, Scotus, re- 
 turn'd to his Native Country, Northumberland, and having feriouffy confiJei'd the 
 many Dangers Youth is expos'd to in the wide World, (as Dr. Pits writes) he 
 began tocafthi; Eyes and Thoughts upon the Humble Inftitute of St. Francis, 
 then in its firft Fervour and Flourifhing Verdure, from whence were daily 
 Ipringing Men of extraordinary Parts and Merit ; andatlaft herefolved to be- 
 come a Member of that penitential Fraternity, and wasaccordingly clothed in 
 the Habit of a Frier Minor, in the Gonvent of that Order at Newcad^le, in the 
 Bi/hoprick of Durham ; from whence, after his folemn Profe/lion in Religion, 
 he was fenc again to Oxford ; where, under the famous Francifcan Doftor 
 William Ware or Farro, he betook himfelf afrefh to his Studies, the Interrup- 
 tion whereof, had given him a new Eagernefs in the Purfuit of Learning. 
 
 ' Here he afterwards commenced Do£lor of Divinity, ("fays (h) Collier^ and 
 
 * was made Profeflor of that Faculty, and read upon the Mafter of the Sentences. 
 
 * From Oxford hetravell'd to Paris, where he had likewife the Honour of the 
 
 * Divinity Chair. At laft he fettled in the fame Funftion at Co/og«, where he 
 
 * perform'd to a great Degree of Reputation. He had the Diftinftion of the 
 
 * Subtile DoElor ; for, as ftV^ reprefents him. he had the Faculty of penetrating 
 
 * the moft abftrufe Subjefts, and difintangling the moft "difficult Queftions 5 
 
 * infomuch that there was Icarce any Thing too hard for his Underftanding. 
 
 * He was a great Champion of the ImmacuLite Conception, and by the Advan- 
 
 * tage of his publick Difputations upon this Argument, he prevail'd with the 
 
 * Audience to delert Albertus Magnus, and come over to his Sentiment.' So 
 Mr. Collier. 
 
 And I beg the Readers Leave to defcend to a more particular Detail of thefe, 
 and other his Memorable Performances. Scotus was a thorough-paced Mathe- 
 matician, and excellently learned alfo in the Canon and Civil Laws, as well as 
 in the Holy Scriptures. The Author of the Fr.mcifcan MartjroUgy . and other 
 Writers of the Order fay, He appear'd as a publick ProfelTor in Oxford, at the 
 Age of 24, ("an (c) Author lays at Twenty) with fuch an univerfal Admiration 
 at d Applaule, that no Man was eAeem'd a better Philof ipher, or a more learned 
 Divine j So that not only young Scholars ran in Crowds to hear his Leftures, but 
 ancient Doilorsalfo, and the moft expert Profelfors of Divinity, leaving their 
 
 Chairs 
 
 {a) inliij. Oxo». Lib. i" pag. (Jp. {h) Ecclei.Hifiory. Cent- 14. Bo:'k 6. pa«e 506. {c') Michael 
 Hoyer, DoctHS Atigtifiimanm^ in Oration^ Encomia^ica de Scoto prolata in Umverjitate Ditacena, 
 ■Anno 16 j6.
 
 1 28 The Antiquities of the Englilh Francifcans. 
 
 chairs, went frequently to hear tliis Oracle, and be WitnelTcs of his prodigious 
 Learning, for which he was highly efteem'd and refpedted by all Men of Letters. 
 Amidft thefe Univerfal Praifesand Acchimntions, the Doftor isfentfor by Br. 
 Gonfahus, the Minifter General of the whole Order, and placed at Parisy to be 
 there a Profefibr and Regent of Studies by the Decree of a general Chapter (as 
 an(aj Author writesj hc\d at Tola ufe, in Obedience to which Summons, like a 
 true Child of 5f. Francis he immediately begins his Journey; neitlier pleading 
 Excufes, or defiring Delays, being free from any Attach to either the Place 
 wherein he was admired, or to the Perfons by whom he was fo much refpedled : 
 And, asit feems, he was as difingagedalfo fromany Regard to his own Eafe, 
 or Temporal Advantage: For, he was fo real a Lover of holy Poverty, that 
 he took no Care for any Journey-Provifion, but travell'd on Foot, and Cfor the 
 Love of Chriflwhofor us became poor) begg'd, for God's Sake, a Support and 
 Relief on his Way, and his Paffage over the Sea; Fir Summo Pontificitu dijinus^ 
 fays Johannes Af.tjor, A Man that was worthy to he made Pope refufes the kind (Offers 
 of his Benefaftorsai:d Friends, and travels as a Beggar. Scotus, being come to 
 Paris, and placed in the Chair of pubJick Profeflbr of Divinity, loon made good 
 the Character which common Fame had fpread of him •, and there being at that 
 time a Queftion let on Foot, Whether the B. yirgin Alary was conceived in Origi- 
 nal Sin, thovghfanBificd in her Mothers Womb ? Or was preferved from that Stain of 
 general Infeilion, by a fpccial Privilege, on the Frrefight of the Merits of Chrifl^ whom 
 file was to bear ? Jlbcrtus Afagnus and his Followers maintain'd the fir (}, againft 
 many learned Dotlors who defended her Exemption from Original Sin; and the 
 Debate grew fowarm, that itwasjudg'd necelfary to put an End to it by a pub- 
 lick Difputation. 
 
 In this difficult Jur.ilure, Br. J'Jm Duns Scotus is felefted from among thofe 
 many eminent Dcftois, wherewith the Univerfity o^ Paris then abounded, as 
 the moft proper Champion for this Combate. Scotus therefore undertakes the 
 Caule, and ventures to goe down into the Lift, in Defence of the Immaculate 
 Conception, agaii.fl all Oppofers, in the Sight and Hearing of a numerous and 
 grave Affcmbly of the m(>ft learned ar.dwife Men, and in the Pretence of the 
 Pope's Legate?, by whofe Authority ar.d Appointment, this Conflift was under- 
 taken. And now the decifive Day being fix't and come, Scotus, not like the bulky 
 Coliahy armed cap-a-pe and rruffing in his own Strength ; but, as another little 
 David, humbly coi:fiding in the Lord, betakes himfelf firft to his Prayers, ear- 
 neftly imploring the divine AiTiftance, and concluding with this Verficle and 
 Refponfory to the B. Virgin Mary. 
 
 Vers. Dignare me laudare Te, Firgo Sacrata : Refp. Da mihi virtutem contra Hofles 
 tuos : That is, V. Fuuchfafe that I may praife thee, Sacred Firgin : R. Give me (by 
 thy Intercefhon) Force againfi thy Enemies : Which he had no fooner faid, but a cer- 
 tain Sratue of the B. Fhgin Mary, before which he made his Prayer, bow'd down 
 \ts Head towards him, as an Encouragement to the Enterprife, and a Sign that 
 
 his 
 
 (a) Arf^elus a St. Fran, in Defcriptior.e Provincif. AagUxFrat, Mimrum. Michael Hoyer, Ibidem. & 
 M'lrtyolog- rr.iniifa/:.Sia. Novemb.
 
 The Antiquities of //^e Englidi Francifcans. i2p 
 
 his Petition was granted •, which Statue (fays my (a^ Author Anno i(J5(5) remains 
 in the fame bowing Pofture to this very Day as a lafting Monument of the Vir- 
 gin's Purity, and the pious Zeal of the Devout and Learned Scotus^ who came off 
 with Viftory and Triumph \ as plainly appears from the general Approbation 
 and Applaufe of that celebrated Univeifity, who (as a diftingui/hing Mark of 
 Honour) prefented him with the Cap and T'\t\e of the SubtUe Dcflor^ and on 
 this Occafion, unanimouQy agreed upon an A£l, or Decree, to incapacitate any 
 Man from taking his Degrees in Divinity amongft them, before he had folemnly 
 ingaged never to oppofe the Do£lrine of the Immaculate Conception : Nay, another 
 (h") Author goes yet farther, and afferts, that the Sacred Faculty of P.%ris enacted, 
 that no Man Ihou'd commence Do£l:or there, without firft taking an Oath to de- 
 fend and promote the Do£trine of 5cofa^ upon this Head. The like Ail was 
 afterwards agreed upon and made by the following Univerfities, viz.. Cologn^ 
 in Germany \ Salamanca in Spain ; Naples in Italy ; Alentz. in Germany ^ Cam- 
 tlutum (now call'd Akala de Henares) in Spain : Sevil in Spain \ befides fe- 
 veral other venerable and learned Societies, wherein no Man is permitted to 
 proceed Doftor without engaging himfelf to be fo far a Scotifl as never to argue 
 againft the ("now almoft univerially received) Opinion of the BlefTed Virgin's 
 being conceived without Original Sin. 
 
 But I go on. Scotui was made Doftor of Varis^ Anno 1304, before he was full 
 thirty Years of Age; as appears from an authentick Copy of a Letter for that 
 Purpofe, and an Encomium of him from the General of his Order, Br. Gonfdvus^ 
 to one Br. Willtam, then Guardian of Tarisy and to his Vicar, and the Doftors 
 of the Francifcan Convent there \ which may be feen at length in Roddphus (c) 
 Tcjftnianenfis. And now the Fame of the Subtile DoElor having run through the 
 Chriftian World, his School became daily more numerous, by a vafl Refort of 
 Students that came from all Parts to hear the Doftor, not doubting but to im- 
 prove by his facred Leftures of Divinity, to whom all others of that Faculty 
 now vail'd Bonnet as to their Mafter, and the Prince of Divines. How long he 
 continued at Paris I cannot juflly tell. But he was at laft removed to Cologn : 
 And, by the By, I again beg the Reader's Patience, whilft I relate a remarkable 
 Inftance of the Doftor's prompt Obedience,, which is, that being one Day gone 
 out to take the Air with fomeof his Religious Brethren, as they were walking 
 together in Converfation, in a Ground call'd the Clerks Field, a MelTengercame to 
 him with Obediential Letters from the General, ordering him to go to Co- 
 logn ; which he had no fooner read over, but away goes he, without more ado, 
 forwards on his appointed Journey •, and when his Companions prefs'd him to 
 take Leave of his Friends in the Convent, according to the common Rules of 
 Civility on the like Occafions, he replied, pardon me, dear Brethren, if I feem 
 to aft, againft good Breeding \ for, this Letter bids me go to Cologn to oppofe the 
 Adverfaries of the Immaculate Conception, and to labour in theSuppieflion of the 
 new fprung Labards and Beguines, thofe Pefls and Deftroyers of the Chriftian 
 Common-wealth, and not to compliment my Acquaintance with nice Punftilio's 
 
 S of 
 
 (^a) Miihael Hoyer Ibid, {h) Martyrdo^. Fr.iniifcai. Ibidett. {c) Hiji Sna^h Lib. 5". Folio ^ly
 
 130 The Antiquities of the Englidi Francifcans* 
 
 ot Civility ; Thus the devout Scotus chofe rather the Praftice of a ready and 
 fimple Obedience, than a Courtly Comportment : The' he was arrived- at the 
 very Top of good Fame in the Univerfity of Faris, yet he chofe to be reputed 
 unmannerlvj rather than not be as Obedient as was poffible, and therefore left 
 an almoft Infinity of his Acquaintance, without fo much as bidding them Adieu, 
 although, 'tis raoft certain, that at parting, they wou'd have given effeftual 
 Demonftrations^of their great Value and Efteem for him, both with Honours 
 and Prefents. But let Scotus fteal away as privately as he will, he cannot avoid 
 Applaufe •, for the Inhabitants ot the City of Co/o^w having ffrom fome officious 
 J^and or other) received the joyful News ot his Approach, fwarm'd out in a 
 Throng to fee him ; Perfonsof all Ages and Ranks-, Nay, the Magiftrates of 
 the Town, and the Clergy of the Cathedral (a) went out in folemn Pomp, and 
 in all their Formalities to meet him, and they did him the Honour to attend 
 him to the Convent of his Order ; where having open'dhis School, it was fcon 
 fill'd with many Scholars, to whom he read the Mafier of the Sentences^ which 
 healfo illuftrated with his own learned Commentaries, leaving many lafting 
 Monuments to Pofterity of his Wit and Knowledge -^ So that to this very Day, 
 the Name, the Learning •, the Opinions, the*Sentences, the Arguments, the So- 
 lutions, the Iblid Proofs, and the fubtile Diftir.ftions of this excellent Doftor are 
 frefh in their Schools \ where the Memory oi Scotus islacred, and retain'd with 
 Refpeftand Honour, 
 
 Some Authors write ("(ays Pits) that Scotus was the firft Founder of the Univer- 
 fity of Cdogn \ and (b) Tvfft?7ianen(ls and the Author (c) of the Francifcan Martyrology 
 pofitively alTert it : However, it cannot be denied that he was the firft Perfoii 
 that laid the Foundation ot it ^ tho' I find elfewhere, that it was not compleatly 
 eftablifh'd before the Tf^r 1388, under Pope Vrhan the 6th, when it was fettled 
 with convenient Funds and Salaries for Publick ProfefTors, and honour'd with 
 Privileges after the Form and Method of the Univerfity of Paris \ the Begin- 
 nings of which Eftablifliment, may all be juftly attributed to the great Zeal, 
 Learning, and indefatigable Endeavours of the Subtile DoRor ; who here alfo 
 came to the End ot his mortal Life ; After many Labours in Teaching, as a 
 publick Proteffor, in Oxford^ in Tarts, and in Colcgn, he gave up his pretious 
 Soul to God, in the Tear t 308, on the 2th Day of November, and in the 34?/? Tear 
 ot his Age. He departed this Life in the Reputation of Sanftity, and is buried 
 under a goodly Tomb, in the old Fr-ancifcan Church at Co/fl^«, in the middle of 
 the Quire, before the High Altar : His Tomb it fet off with many honourable 
 Infcriptions, and Epitaphs crc. 
 
 Infine, Scotus, from his firfl entring into the Order was a Zealous Follower ot 
 his Seraphical Father 5r. Francis-^ Thofe Vertues which in others are procured 
 by flow Degrees, werefeen to fpring upand flourifh all at once in Duns Scotus •, 
 So that in his very Youth, no Man was more difingaged from the World, or 
 more truly poor in Spirit, none more frrupuloully Obedient, none more Chaft, 
 none more Humble, none more forward in the Praflice of Watching, Faffing, 
 
 and 
 
 (a) Tojftniar. Hif. Seraph. & Michael Hcyer, Ibidem, (b) Ibidem, (c) Die Sva. hovesibris.
 
 TJje Afitiquities of the Englifh Francifcans- 151 
 
 and other Mortifications and penitential Aufterities, none more fervent and ar- 
 duous in Prayer, non6 more zealous for, and ready to contribute to the Salvation 
 of his Neighbour than 'John Duns Scotus \ All his Writings breath Humility 
 and a fubmiilive Difpofition : His lowly Sentiments of himfelf appear in his 
 Manner of treating of the higheft Myfteriesof the Chriftian Faith ^ and when 
 heoppoles the Opinions of others, (however abfurd) he ftill forbears all pungent 
 Expreilions, or Cenfures : It is true he oppoles St. Thomas Aquinas in many School 
 Opinions j but he folves his Arguments with all the Lenity and Modefty Tmagi- 
 nable, and does not fomuch as name his Adverfary above two or three Times 
 in all his Writings •, Witnefs the Author of the Francifcan Martyrologyy in his 
 Notes upon that Work. Scotus was fo great a Contemplative, that he feem'd 
 tobe abforptinGod, and fo much abftra£ted from all corporeal lmaginatior:S, 
 that he fometimes remain'd for the Space of a whole Day, or more, fixt in 
 one Pofture, without either Motion, or any Apparent Senfacion, whilft his Soul 
 was wholly taken up with divine Myfleries : And his continual Practice of Prayer 
 appears even in his Writings, by his concluding, not only whole Books, and 
 large Trafts, but alfo every fhort Matter with a Devout Prayer to God. He 
 begins every Chapter of his Treatife ('«^f Principio) of the Supreme Being, with a 
 devout Raifing of his Mind to God, and clofes his Difcourleot the Divine ^e^ 
 tributes and PerfeUions with a pious Colloquy or Addrefs to God. 
 
 He was moreover favour'd (as ('a) Authors writej with heavenly Apparitions ; 
 for, on a certain Chri(i-Mafs Night, as he was in Contemplation of the wonder- 
 ful Myftery of the -Incarnation, our Lord and Saviour Jefus, in the Form of a 
 tender Infant, vouchfaf'd to appear to him, to fit upon his Arms, and to comfort 
 and carefs him with mofl fweet and repeated Embraces ^ a fure Mark of the In- 
 nocence of his Heart, the Purity of his Mind, and the Sanftity of his Life j 
 which Vertues he endeavour'd to the utmoft of his Power, to communicate to 
 others by his fervent Sermons, whereby the Minds of his Hearers were fill'd with 
 heavenly Sentiments, and tranfported with real Affeftions of true Contrition and 
 the Love of God, who was pleas'd tofhew, by a miraculous Sign, how accep- 
 table the zealous Labours of this his Servant were to his divine Majefty^ for, 
 on a certain Time when a numerous People flock'd to hear him in fuch Crouds, 
 that hecou'd hardly be feen by many that were forced to fland at a Diftance, on 
 a fudden both the Preacher and the Pulpit were feen to be rais'd up on high by 
 a divine Power;, fothat he cou'd eafily be. both feen and hear'd by all ; which 
 Prodigy caus'd great Admiration, and made the prefent Sern]on fink fo deep 
 into the very Hearts of the Audience, that they gave as diligent Attention to 
 his VVords, as if he had been aa Angel lent down from Heaven, and it is 
 not to be doubted, but moft Chriftian and lafting good Difpofitions were 
 wrought in their Souls by the divine Grace, and his fervorous Speeches. 
 
 But fuch is the Perverfnefs of human Nature, that the moft refined Vertue 
 is not fuificient to raife a Man above the Malice and Envjt of evil Minds ^ This 
 appearsfrom the groundlefs and virulent Cenfures and Calumnies ca ft upon 
 
 S 2 Sictus, 
 
 (a) Author Martyrchg. Francifcan- Ibid, Tojfnian, Ibid, Hoyer, ut fnpra. QP Aonal, Ord. Aiiit,
 
 132 The Antiquities of the "En^l'iih Franclfcans. 
 
 Scottts. even in his Grave. His Life was holy, and his Death was fo too, as far as 
 poor dim-fighted Mortals can guefs. He died quietly, and refled peaceably in 
 his Grave for about two hundred Years, till Paulusjovius drew his Penagainft 
 him. The Character of this Author, as he was a Biihop, is facred j but as an 
 Hiftorian, is given by that bright Glory of Flanders^ Auhertus Mirtusy in thefe 
 four Words, viz. Venalis cui Petinafult, that is, y? Mercenary H^riter \ whom other(a) 
 Authors ftyle A Man of doubtful Credit^ and whom Robert Turner defcribes. Scrip- 
 tor male fanus-, cjui laudat, vituperate »on ad normam Ferltatis, fed fro ratione fricmijy 
 that is, an unfound Writer that praifes and difparages j not by the Rule of Truth, but 
 in Proportion to the Reward. Now, this fame Writer reports to the credulous 
 World, that Scctus was feiz'd with a Fit of an Apoplexy, and being hurried to his 
 Grave, toofoon, was buried alive \ but that recovering fomewhat his Spirits, 
 Miferabili edito mugitu, pulfatoque diu Sepulchri Lapide, elifo tandem Capite cnecatui 
 (ft ^ That is, making a lamentable Bellorving, and Knocking a long while at the Stone of 
 the Sepulchre, and at lafl bruifing his Head was kill'd out right -, infinuating ("as it 
 feemsj that lie dafh'd out his Brains through Impatience. A likely Story / Who 
 heard thefe his lamentable Bellowings? Whocou'dbe fo barbaroufly hard-Heart- 
 ed as to hear the melaucholly Noife ol his Thumping fo long at his Grave- 
 Stone without running to his Relief.'' Why truly no Chriftian ever heard any 
 fuch Thing, till about two hundred Years after the Noife was over : Yet Bz.o- 
 vius and fom.e others, feem to give Credit to the groundlefs Calumny, though 
 they have it only from Paulus Jovius, and that meerly upon Truft ; for he quotes 
 no Author for what he alferts. Scotus indeed had many bri'k Oppofers of his 
 School-Opinions, both of his own and other Orders •, For Example, Br. Wil- 
 liam Occham, a Francifcan, and his Followers, the Nominalifts, and St. Thomas 
 yicjuinas and his numerous School oiThomifts •, Yet not a Man of all thele ever ran 
 to Scotus^s Grave to dig for Scandals againft his Perfon, his Life, or the Manner 
 of his Death, As no Article ot his Dodtrine was ever coudemn'd, or cenfur'd 
 by the Catholick Church, fo was not his Perfon defamed before Paulus Jovius pro- 
 duced this black Calumny two Ages after all other Writers of him had aflerted 
 that he died in Peace-,as appears by the Tables at his Tomb,and the Epitaphs and 
 Infcriptions upon it in the Francifcan Church of the Conventuals at Cologn ; where 
 the Year, the Month, the Day of his Death, and the Place of his Interrment are 
 mark'd down, and not the leaft Hint given of this Difafter, by the Writers of 
 Colcgntoi Germany, Or of his Own Order, who were the moft liketoknow, what 
 happeii'd amongft them at home, and who were very punftual in giving down 
 to Pofierity every minute Occurrence of their Time. The World then rang 
 with Encomiums of the Learning of 5<ror«/, and the Sanftity of his Life and Death 
 was a common 1 heam •, there was no News in thofe Days of this malicious 
 Fiftion, which was no fooner fet on Foot but was knock'd down, and has been 
 difproved and invalidated over and over again, and confuted long ago, and proved 
 to be a manifeft Impoflure, by very many Writers of both his own Order and 
 others quoted in the Notes upon the Francifcan Martyrology, and laftly by 
 
 Michael 
 
 {&) PcJfoviriUi, Lipfiii, QP Scaliger, citati in Miriyrchg. Eramljcatt.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans. 153 
 
 Michael (a) Hojtr of the Order of St. Augufiin^ Anno 1655. Nay, the Annalift 
 of the Order, (b^ Br. Luke Wadding, brings many Proofs that were heretofore gi- 
 ven of the Sanftity of Scotus^ even after his Death ; for he fays, that in his 
 Time, there were many Perfons of divers Nations, efpecially in Naples., that 
 piay'd with great Devotion to John Duns Scotus, and that not in vain:; for they 
 had often by Experience, found the Benefit ot hisIntercelHon, in their Necel- 
 fities and Sickneffes ; and that he (Wadding) had been Eye-witnefs of many au- 
 thentick Teftimonies fubfcribed and feal'd by Notaries, whereby Perfons of (e- 
 veral Ranks and Ages made known to the World, that they had received the 
 heavenly Bleffings of a reftor'd Health and other Favours from God, by the 
 divine Power, at the Invocation of Scotus : But the faid Author Hiys, he forbears 
 a Relation of the Particulars of thefe Fafts, till they were confirm'd by the Ap- 
 probation of the Ordinaries, or of the Apoftolick See. 
 
 The Subtile Doctor Scotus, is the chief Mafter of the Francifcan Schools, and 
 by a general Statute of the Order, all their Readers of both Divinity and Philo- 
 * fbphy are bound to give out their Leflrures, (^ad memem Scot/') as near as they can 
 according to the Tenets and meaning of Scotus ^ the Learning, the Number, 
 and the Bulk of whole Writings are very great, confidering theShortnefs of his 
 Life ; The Titles of them are as follow, viz. LeBures upon Genefts, One Book. 
 Of the Beginning of Things, One Book. Of the Sovereign Being and Creator of all 
 Things, Oiie Book, A4SS. in New College, at Oxford, and printed at Venice, Anno 
 1497. CorKmcntartes upon the Gofpels, Four Books. Vponthe Epifiles of St. PmI, Se- 
 veral Books. Sermons of the Saints^ One Book. Sermons of the 'time. One Book. 
 Vpon the Ainfler of the Sentences, Cotnmentaries made at Oxford, Four Books, MSS, 
 in New College, in Mtrton and Balliol Colleges at Oxford ; and at Cambridge, in 
 the publick Library, and in St. Peter's College. "Upon Primum of the Sentences^ 
 One Book, AdSS. mCajus College, at Cambridge. Upon the Mafier of the Sentences^ 
 done at Paris, Four Books, MSS. with mai.y others of his Works, in Balliol, Lin- 
 coln^ and OnW, Colleges, at Oxford. Of the Knowledge of God, One Book. Of the 
 PerfeHion of States, One Bor k, MSS. in St. BenediB''s College in Cambridge. Scho- 
 lafiical Qjwdlihets, One Book, A'tSS. in Aferton, Aiagdden and New Colleges, at O.v- 
 ford; ^.nd^t Cambridge in the publick Library, and in C^jus College. Oueflmis 
 vpon Porphyrins and the old Art of Ariftoile, One Bock, A/55. in the publick Libra- 
 ry, at Oxford. Of the Manners of (ignifying. One Book, MSS. Ibid. On the Books 
 Priorum & Pofieriorum, Two Books, MSS. Ibidem. On Ariflotle's Categories, One 
 Book. Ouefiions of Vniverfals, One Book. Queflions on the Predicaments, One 
 Book, A/^'S. \n Mtrton^nAWichham Colleges, at Oxford; where alfo are many 
 A'lSS. Works of Scotus. Queflions upon Metaphyfiks,T\we\'je Books MSS. in Balliot 
 College, befides Thirteen Books more on Philofophical Subjefts, and one Book, 
 mt\t\ed ImperfeH- Commentaries, ^v.d many other Works. Moreover Eight Volums 
 of his Writings yWSS. are in Mert on and Five in Balliol CoWeges; where likewile 
 are mofl of his Philofophical Tra£Vats-, as alfo in Sr. Peter's College at Cambridge. 
 So Dr. Pits, who adds that Scotus lies under a goodly Tomb, in the middle of 
 
 the^ 
 
 (a) /» oraiione Encomlafka. (b) In fneVittc Scoti. 'Torn, j' Annal.Qrd. Mitt. 
 
 d
 
 134- ^^^^ Antiquities of the Englifli Francifcans. 
 
 the Quire, before the High Altar, in the old Francilcan Church atC%«, in 
 Germany •, about which Tomb are ingraved the Names of Fifteen Doaorsof the 
 Order of St. Francis, viz. Three Popes and Two Cardinals in the upper Part of 
 it : On the Sides of it, Ten Dodlors, whereof Six are Englijli. And at the 
 Feet is this following Epitaph, ingravenon Plates of Brafs. 
 
 ^nte Oculos Saxum Doftorcm deprimit ingens, 
 
 Cujus ad Interitum Sacra Aiinerva gcmtt. 
 Siftegradum LcElor^ fulvo dabis ofcula SaxOy 
 
 Corpus Joannis hdc tenet urna Scott. 
 AnnuFhJidilleno ter Centum cum adderet oEho^ 
 
 Pojlremum Letho cUuflt agente diem. 
 
 There alfo ^re the following Verfes made by Ibme of his Scholars. 
 
 Pariftjs flora, mtfiis incede Lacerms^ 
 
 Htc ferit in toto ^uod volat orbe Decus ; 
 Q Sorbona ! tuis humiles compone CathedraSf 
 
 Cujus ab Jngenijs Fans facer Artis abefi. 
 Straminis in Vico ptacidi Certaminis ord» 
 
 Cefpitaty Heu ! Belli dejinit effe Caput. 
 Fofidere fupremi vaitdo componite luflu^ 
 
 Dodiloqui pulfet trifiia corda pavor. 
 JHunc pofto vullu Uto^ deflete Togatiy 
 
 Difcipulis labor hie omnibus unus erit. 
 
 And on another ancient Table as follows j 
 
 Clauditur hie Rivus., Fans Eccleflt, F'ia, vivus 
 Doctor Jufiitiic, Studijs FloSi ArcaSophiit. 
 IiKrenio fcandenSy Script ur a. Condita pandens, 
 Jn terris tantus fuity ergo memento Joannis. 
 Hunc exornavit, fac calitus ejfe beatum. 
 Pro Patre tranfl^to modulemur peElore gr,tto. 
 Buxfuit hie Cleriy Clauftri, LuXy d" luba Veri. 
 
 Scotus^s Original Manufcripts were preferved to the Church and the Order by 
 the EngUp, who alfo where the firft that (without any Charge to the Order) pub- 
 lifh'd them in Print, Anno 1474, juft ten Years after the Art of printmg was 
 firft uled in England^ Witnels Pits, Brixenius, Br. Angelus Mafon, and others.- 
 AndtheEnglilhFrancilcans were his firft Scholiafts, that writ Commentaries 
 upon his learned Works ; namely Br. John Anglicus, Br. John Canon, Br. Hugh of 
 Ncwcaftle, and others. Scotus alio had many learned Expofitors amongft the 
 Eiiglilli Friers of the Order of St. Auguftine, who heretofore were great Stick- 
 lers for his Dodlrine ; but above all them, one 77^^.-?^ Penketh was foperfeftly 
 vers'd in h'm, that he was reckon'd the Prince of the Scotifls of his Time,, 
 and was blels'd with a Memory fo very tenacious that if all the Copies of 
 &e/«;'s Works, had (by any Misfortune) been deftroy'd, he cou'd have retrie- 
 ved 
 
 J
 
 The Antiquities o//^e Englifli Francifcans. 155; 
 
 Vcd the Lofs by Dint of Memory. V/itneis Harpsfield, Sacuh i^-ta. from Wai- 
 fingham and others. 
 
 III. Now, Jet eager and vigorous Difputants exert their Fire to prove Scotus 
 what Country Man they pleafe •, This I dare ftandto, mz,. that he did his fitft 
 Studies in £«^/4»«/, was a Member of the EngUp Francifcan Pz-ovirjce, and taught 
 hisfirft Courie of Divinity at Oxford. It is one great Inftance of 5cof:<;'s Merit?, 
 that fnotwithftanding the Calumnies mention'dj he has ever been in fuch E- 
 fteem in the World, as the Phxr.ix of Wit and Parts, that his Birth-place has 
 been ftrenuoufly contended for •, not only by & few Cities, as for Homer, the Prince 
 of Poets j but by whole Nations, who have drawn their Pens to prove him 
 their own by Right of Birth. For my own Part, I declare againft all forts of 
 Fighting, am no Man of War, love Peace, and hate all Strife •, and therefore 
 will only venture to relate fome few Heads of what is alledg'd by good Au- 
 thors, whereby any impartial Reader may be convinc'd he was born and bred in 
 England. They are thefe, viz. Dr. Pits from Leland, and Leland from certain 
 old Records of A^tr/oK College \n Oxford, gather evidently, and without Hefi- 
 tation afTert, that Scorw wasan Emltflj M.tn., born in Northumberland-, in the Pa- 
 rish of Emildon, in a Hamlet or Mannour-place belonging to Merton CoWes^e, and 
 call'd Dynftan or Dunflon-^ Whence he who in Baptifm was named John, and by his 
 Father's Sirname 5cor, (Iatine5c«'fz</j was Nick-named I)y«j, by Contraftion, or 
 Duns, from the Place of his Birth, after the common-Ufe of thole Times, 
 wherein mofl of the Francifcans took their Names from their Birth-places .- So 
 the Appellation Z)tt»; 5con^^ is made up of two Names, viz. Scotus from Scoty 
 which was the Sir-Name of his Father and his Family ; and Duns from Dun- 
 y?o«, where he was born. He is call'd Dunflus by fome, and by others commonly 
 Duns Scotus, and fimply Duns'm the Records of Aierton College, v/hichare pre- 
 ferable to all other Monuments and Authorities, both for their Antiquity and 
 fortheSolemnefs of them. Caynden, Harpsfield, and others agree that Hemlldon 
 in Northumberland, is the Place where he was born; and all the Records wherein 
 he ismention'd, both of our Nation and his Order proclaim him an Englilh 
 Man. Some may perhaps wonder that a Perfon of fuch mean Extraftion cou'd 
 have Intereft enough to be made a Fellow oi a College? But 'tis eafiiy anfwer'd, 
 that this was on the Account of his being a Tenants Son ; for, his Parents 
 rented fome Lands belonging to the faid College, and fuch Perfons were more 
 eafiiy admitted than others of equal Parts. Dunflon, where Scotus was born, be- 
 longs to Merton College to this very Day. But, 1 goon to more Ibl id Proofs, 
 Flrfi then ; It is mofl certain that Scotus, was a Fellow of Merton College ; for, 
 in the MSS. Catalogue of Fellorvs, under King Edward the Second, in the Library 
 of the faid College, ^.4. 10. Theolog. in Ouarto : You read thus, Joannes Duns y 
 alias Scotus, a Man of agreat andfubtile IVtt, m.ts declared the Subtile DoElor by the 
 Pope ; He left in Writing many vafl Alonnmtnts of his Subtility. idly. There was a 
 Statute that none but a IWitiTe of England was to be admitted" as a Fellow of 
 Merton College, idly. In a more ancient Catalogue of Fellows of the laid College, 
 
 he 
 
 Vide Fran, a St a. Clara, in ////?. Mln.'png- i<-
 
 13^ The Antiquities of the Engliih Francifcans. 
 
 -he, is regiftred thus, Joannes Scotus, hie DoBor Subtilif, vnlgariter tamtn Duns., 
 Ordinis Aiinorum, that is, John Scot, called here the Subtile DoElor, but vulgarly Duns, 
 of the Order of Minors, ^thly. In many of his Works are clearly mark'd down his 
 Country and the Place of his Birth .- In one Manufcript Folio. D. \.6.Theohg. 
 are thele very Words, viz.. Explicit Leilura DoEloris Subtilis in Vniverfitate O.vo' 
 nierifi, fuper cjuartum Librbm Setitentiarum, Scilicet Domini Joaniiis Duns, nati in (jua~ 
 dam yillula ParochiA de Emyldon,vocata Duvflan, in Comitatu Northumbrian pertinente 
 Domut Scholarium de Aierton Hally in Oxonia, C^ cjuondam Socij diElx Domus ; that is, 
 Here ends the Lecture of the Subtile DoElor in the Vniverfity of Oxford^ upon the 
 Fourth Book of the Sentences, viz. Of Alafler John Dunsy born in a certain Hamlet of 
 the Parifl) of Emyldon, called Dunflan., in the County of Northumberland^ belonging to 
 the Houfe of the Scholars of Merton Hall, in O.xford, and heretofore a Fellow of the 
 faid Houfe. You have the fame in another Manufcript there, D. i: 4. Theolog. 
 Folio, and again in another MSS. D. 1.5, &c. And it is worth the obferving, that 
 what is of the frefheft Date of thele Things was writ almoft three hundred 
 Years ago i as appears by the Amanuenfis, who fubicribes thus, Written by me 
 John Reynbold, in the Tear of our Lord l433f which is about 292 Tears ago. More- 
 over, The almoft continual Wars between the EngUfl] and the Scots, items Proof 
 enough. thatno5cof.r Man cou'd at that Time be admitted Fellow of a College 
 in Oxford y And it wou'd be an Aflfront to that learned and wife Community 
 to imagine that the College was ignorant of the national Defcent of their Fellowsy 
 or that they did not rightly fet them down in their Regifters (as the Cuftom 
 is) taken and kept for that very Purpole: And i{ Scotushiid been difpenfed with 
 as to his native Country, or that being a Scot, or zn Irifii Man by Birth, he had 
 been admitted, contrary to the known Statutes of the Houfe, it is moft certain 
 that both the Difpenfaiion and the Reafon for fo difpenfing (whereof not the 
 leaft Word is to be found) wou'd have been mark'd down in the Regifters them- 
 felves, in large Charafters to Poftericy ^ left a Thing uncommon might here- 
 after be quoted as a Precedent, or drawn into a Cuftom ^ as it is rightly obferved 
 by the Antiquaries of both the College and the Univerfity. Now, if fuch 
 Teftimonies as tiiefe are, may be eluded, all the Authority of Hiftory (which 
 builds upon fuch Monuments as Demonftrations) isrender'd fufpefted by the like 
 Cavils. 
 
 Saint j4ngu[lin''s Method in Controverfies was to examine fuch Authors as had 
 writ before the Debates were fet on Foot ■., accordingly Camden^ Harpifield, PitSy 
 Fran.aSta Clara, Angelus M^fon, the Moft Reverend and Learned Richard Smithy 
 Bifliop of Calcedon, and many others, having diligently fearch'd all the ancient 
 Records, written long before this Difpute was railed, do all unanimoufly afferc 
 that Scotus was an Englijl) Man i and the indefatigable Antiquary John (a) Leland 
 (whom no fuch Monuments of Antiquity cou'd efcape) afterts poficively the 
 lame Thing, 
 
 There is indeed a kind of an Epitaph at Scotus's Tomb, which begins, Scotia 
 me gcnuit &c But that Infcription was put up of late Years ^ as an fb) Author 
 
 attefts, 
 
 (a>/» Bale. Cent. 14- in Jo, Duns, (b) fr.w. a Sta Clara, in Hiji, Min.pnge 24. 
 
 ,
 
 The Antiquities cf the Engli(h Francifcans. 137 
 
 attefts who examin'd into that Matter, and found fbme Friers in his Time living, 
 who remember'd the former Inlcription, and Toffmianenjis, (a) who writ jinno 
 1 586, mentions all the Infcriptioiis that were there in his Time, and has not one 
 Word like Scotia me genuit. &c Befides ^i, Fuller (h) obferves, Scotus being born in 
 Northumberland, (which Kingdom in the Saxon f/fptarchie extended i'rom fJamher 
 to Edenborongh-Frith) it wasaneafy Miftake tor Foreigr.ers to wrire him a Scotch 
 Man upon his Monument. But, I have exceeded on this Head, and now go 
 forwards. 
 
 I. Kobert Lord Fiiz.water, this Year built a Convent for the Friers Anno 1509. 
 Minors at Colcbefter, in EJftx. So A-fr. fc) IVecver -^ But of this and 
 other Convents fee more in the 5»«»^ Part of thefe CoUeftions, 
 
 I. Br. Ralph de Lockejley, whom Pits CnWs Ranulphus, and Leland Ro- Anno i^^o: 
 dulphus Locchtjlegus^ was educated from his Youth in the Study of 
 
 gc^d Literature, and entring into the Order of 5f. Francis, he in Time became 
 lb excellently learned in both Philofophy and Divinity, that he proceeded Do- 
 ftor of Divinity in the UniverfiCy of Oxford., where he had received his firft E- 
 ducationand the Habit of a Frier Minor, and was the 37?^ ProfefTor Regent of 
 the Studies in the Convent of that Order. He gave evident Proofs of h's Me- 
 rits and great Learning by the following Works which he left to Poflerity', viz. 
 Z'pon the Mafter of the Sentences., Four Books. Of Evangelical Poverty, One Book. 
 Vpon feveral of Arifiotles Works, Divers Books \ befides other Writings. He 
 departed this Life this Year, in the Convent of his Order at IVorceJler, and 
 was there interr'd amongft his Religious Brethren. So Dr. (d) Pits, and Mr. (ej 
 IVood. 
 
 II. Br. Walter Brinckley, or Brinhl, wasa Francifcan Reader of Di- Anno i^io. 
 vinity in Oxford, and had the Reputation of a very learned Man in 
 
 that UniverfiCy ; where he was, with a general Confent and Applaufe admitted 
 to proceed Dodor in that facced Faculty, and was ftyled the Good DoBor, and the 
 Ancient DoBor. His Writings declare him to have been a Man of a iharp and 
 fubtile Wit, and one that had a more clear Infight into the Qiiirks of Philofo- 
 phical Difputations (tor which he was Ibmetimes call'd the Sopii//?fr^ and a deeper 
 Penetration into the more grave and folid Arguments of Divinity, than other 
 Doftors commonly had: Nay, he was not only indued with a ready Capacity 
 to underftand the moft fublime Myfteries of Theology, but alfo had fo great a 
 Facility and Perfpicuity in the Explicating of the lame, that the moft knotty 
 Queftions were by his clear Explication?;, made plain and eafy to his Scholars. 
 His Writings are, Vpon the Majier of the Sentences, Four Books. Scholaflical Di~ 
 fiinHions, One Book. Determinations, One Book. Accurate Commentaries upon vari- 
 ous Works of Anfiotle, Several Books ; befides other Works. 
 
 (Q Mr. W^cj^ taking a View of the State of Oxford, when the Wars and Broils 
 in the Nation had funk and almoft put a full Stop to the ufual Courfe of Learn- 
 ing, fpeaks thus •, ' Although, at this time the Bufinefs of Learning was at a 
 
 T low 
 
 (a) L/A. 3''/o/;o 525. (h) page. 9 J. {c') Fun. Moniini. page ii^. (d) ,to» 1310. (e)/!^. 
 CO lb'iden~f pag. ijo.
 
 138 The Antiquities of the Englifli Francifcans* 
 
 * low Ebb ', yet there were not wanting Men who ("even then) illuftrated our 
 
 * Univerfity with Learning ; amongfl; wliommay juftly be reckoii'd ^Tli/ffr Brink' 
 ' ley, the Francilcan call'd the Good Doctor and the SopbiJIer. In great Efteem 
 
 * likewife then were two other Francifcans, viz. Ralph Lockejley, and William 
 
 * Geynesborough, famous for their learned Writings. So Mr. Wood. Br. Walter 
 Brinklcy departed this Life in the Year of our Lord 1 3 10. So Dr. Pits Ibid. 
 
 III. Br. Hugh de Novo-Caflro, lb call'd becaufe born at Ncwcajlls, In 
 ^»wi3io. j^i^yfijumbcrland., was a Francilcan who Ipent the whole Courfe ot his 
 Life in the Study and the Praftice of Vertue and Learning. He was commonly 
 flyled the5cW<?/?/c^ Dvl}or, and was a diligent Follower and a ftrenuous De- 
 fender of John Duns Scotus, the Subtile Dollar. He is one of thofe Fifteen chief 
 Doftors of his Order, whole Names are engraven upon Plates of Brafs about the 
 Tomb of the faid Scotus^ at Cologn ^ where he is named thus, Mafler Hugh of 
 Newcafile. I do not find where he taught, or in what Univerfity he proceeded 
 Doftor. But it appears by his Writings that he was either a publick or a private 
 Profelfor of Scholaftick Divinity. ,His Works are, Vponthe Mafier of the Sen- 
 tences, Four Books. Of the laft Judgment^ One Book. Of Chrifts Fidrory over Auti- 
 ChriH, One Book. He lived till about this Year, as the Author of the Epitome 
 of the Annals ot the Order, has it, who is rather to be depended on in this 
 Affair than Dr. ?»>/, who makes him end his Days about the rf«ir 1284; efpeci- 
 allyfince this laft Date does not agree with what the faid f/fj writes of him be- 
 fore viz that he was a zealous Follower and Defender of Scotus j for the faid 
 Scotus was but a Boy at that Time. 
 
 L Br. Alan de Wakerfield for Wahfield) departed this mortal Life 
 * ''"■ about this Time, after he had made his Name famous by his learned 
 Performances in Oxford, where he was the 17th ProfeiTor Regent of the Fran- 
 cilcan Schools in the Convent and College of that Order ; as appears in Mr. 
 Wood''s Lift of their firft Readers. But whether he took the Degree of Dottor, 
 or was an Author, or not, I cannot find. 
 
 I. Br. Elias, the firft Minifter General of the Order after St. Fran- 
 '""" '^'** cis, had unhappily let in fome Abatements of the rigorous Obfer- 
 vance ot the Rule of their Order, (as has been laid) which gave Scandal to 
 others, and brought a difadvantagious Refieftion on the Order ; to obviate 
 which Difcredit, it was this Year declared in a folemn Confiftory of the Papal 
 Court, (after a general Vifitation of the whole Order, and a ftriit Examination 
 of the Cafej that the Community of the Order of St. Francis, or the Generality 
 of the Friers Minors, had not fwerved from a ftrift Obfervance of their Found- 
 ers Rule ; but that all the Relaxations of the primitive Obfervance had been pra- 
 ftifed by particular Perfons only •, And Pope Clement the ^th. at the fame time 
 extoU'd the faid Order with many Commendations and Encomiums. So the 
 Epitome of the Annals of the Friers Minors. 
 
 I. Br. Hugh de Hertipol, or Hertlepole, was the 20th Regent Profef- 
 rmo 1313. ^^^ .^^ ^j^^ Convent of his Order at 0;v/<?r^, which Office he dilchar- 
 ged with fo good Succels, that he was admitted to the honourable Degree ot 
 Dod\or ot Divinity in that Univerfity, and was in fo great Efleem for both Ver- 
 tue
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifh Franclfcans* i3p 
 
 tue and Learning, that he was unanimoufly cholen Minifter Provincial ot the 
 Friers Minors of the Englifh Province. How long he continued in this Miniftry 
 I cannot tell \ but he was fucceeded in the Provincial/hip by Br. Adam de Lincoln^ 
 a Doftor alfo of Divinity Qof whom hereafter) and foon after went into Italy^ 
 and there ended his Days, and was buried among the Friers of his Order at 
 yljfifium. Br. EccUflon calls this Man IV. de Hertipol ; but Mr.(») Wood fays, he 
 makes frequent Mil^akes in the Names of the Francifcan ProfefTors of Oxford, 
 and that this Hugh is the Man he means. I can find no certain Account of the 
 exact Time of Hertlepole's Death j but I guefs it was about this Year. Being a 
 Reader of Divinity, it is almoft certain he left Ibme Writings to Pofierity •, but 
 of thera nothing now remains. 
 
 I. In the Book of Statutes of the Univerfity of Oxford, AiSS. m -ilmo 1514. 
 the Archives of the Bodleian Library^ An. 1I4. Pag. 29, there'are cer- 
 tain Articles or Theles condemn'd, as erroneous, by the Doftors of Divinity ot 
 Oxford, Anno 1314, where amongft others of that Rank and Faculty, one Doftor 
 John Wilton., of the Order of the Friers Minors, is a Subfcriber to the laid 
 Condemnation. So Fran, (h) a St a. Clara. 
 
 I. Br. Walter de Knolle was a great Scholar, and a Do£tor (as I pre- ^nrio 1315. 
 fume) ot Divinity \ for, he honorably difcharged the Office of a pub- 
 lick Profelfor Regent in that facred Faculty in the Francifcan Convent in Oxford, 
 where he was the 19th Regent of that School, as it appears in Mr. Wood's Lift. 
 Having finilh'd at Oxford, he was removed to Cambridge, where he refumed the 
 Theological Lefture, and came off with great Succeis and Reputation. I can 
 find nothing of his Writings, though 'tis more than probable he was an 
 Author. 
 
 I. Br. John Wallius (oT Wales I prefume^ was very famous for his Anno 131^. 
 great Vertue and excellent Learning. He was a Francifcan of the 
 Province ot England, who having taught Divinity at Paris with great Applaufe, 
 and much to the Improvement of his many Scholars, was at laft made Bifhop 
 ot IVorcefler ; and^to uCe^c) fJarpsfieldsWovdSyWigornienfem hanc Diacefim Joan- 
 nes Wallius, Mlnorita., hoc Sxculo valde illvjlravit, that is, John Wallius, a Minorite 
 greatly itluflrated this Diocefs of Worcefler in thts Age. The fame Author al fo 
 adds, that he Recommended his Name to Pofterity, by his many Learned 
 Writings. 
 
 I do not find this Prelate's Name in Godwyr!s Catalogue of Englifh Biflmps, nor in 
 Wharton's Anglia Sacra: But Br. Luke Wadding, the Annalift of the Order, and his 
 Epitomizer, Br. Francis Harold, are of lufficient Authority to fupport what is 
 here afTerted from Harpsfield. Br. Angdus Mafon in the End of his Catalogue 
 of Englijh Francifcan Writers, placeth this Wallius under the Tear 1315 j as alfo 
 does the Author of the meniion'd Epitome ^ But I find not the Titles ot his 
 Writings. 
 
 I. Br. Richird Ledred, an Englifh Francifcan, was this Year made ^"W" ijn 
 Bilhopof Offory, m Ireland, by Pope John the 2 2</, to whom he writ 
 
 T 2 Letters. 
 
 (a) Antiq.Oxon.Lib: 1" {a^e yjt Qi) Hift, Min-pag. y.. (c)Hift,EccUj.S*(u:o ij" cji^. 23.
 
 140 The^ Afitiquities of the Englifh Francifcans. 
 
 Letters. This Prelate took very great Pains in the Paftoral Care of his Flock 
 and the Affairs of his See till the Tear 1 360. So Fran (s) Sta Clara who a Kb (bj 
 adds, that Pope Benedict the iith. (He mufl; mean the i©f^.) writ two Letters 
 to King Edward of England, to prefs his Majefty to fupport this Biihop againft 
 fome Hereticks, his bitter Enemies. So that Author, from the Anuals of 
 the Order this Year. 
 
 L Br. J. de Terfora, commonly call'd Perfliare, from the Place of 
 "'' * his Birth, and Br. Thomas Barnabye feem (as I guefs from fome Circum- 
 ftancesj not to have lived beyond this Time. They were two of thofe firft Fran- 
 cifcan Profeflbrs, or chief Regents ot the Studies and Schools of the Friers 
 Minors in the Convent of that Order at OAr/or^, where they diichurged the Office 
 of teaching much to the Honour and Credit of the Order, as well as to the Im- 
 provement of their Scholars. The Firfi is the nth and the other the z^th. in 
 the Catalogue which is quoted by Mr. Wood. 
 
 I. Br. jidarn N. a Frier Minor, (whofe Sirname I find not^with 
 """ ''^^ his Companions, was this Yearfentby the Pope to negotiate a Peace 
 between the Kings of EngLtnd^nd Scotland, which my Author lays, he brought 
 to a happy Conclufion. Epitome Annal- Ord. Mln. 
 
 . \. Br. Nicholas de Occham (whom fome by Miftake call A. de Occam.) 
 
 mo 1520 ^^^_ ^ ^xt^t Divine, and graced the Age wherein he lived with feve- 
 ral learned Works. He was no mean Doftor amongft the Francifcans, lays 
 Bale., but was efteem'd above many others, and was the i %th publick Profelfor, 
 chief Regent of the Schools in the Convent of his Order at O.xford. So (c) 
 Mr. Wood. And Dr. Tits (d) adds, that he was a diligent Obferver of the Rule 
 ot St Francis, and a Doftor of Divinity of the Univerfity of Oxford: His Ver- 
 tue and Learning are greatly extoll'd by £c(/f/?o« and Lf/<»«^; and Willot is pro- 
 fufe in his Commendations. His Writings are, t;;)fl« rk Adafter of the Sentences^ 
 Pour Books. Of the Word Incarnate, One Book. Scholaftical Ouodlihets, One Book. 
 Of the Latitude of Oppofitions, One Book. The Judgment of an Aftrologer, One 
 Book. Br. Nicholas Occham departed this Life in the Tear 1320, as Dr. Tits 
 and Mr. WooU agree. 
 
 IL Br. 7o^« C^twK Cwhom fome call Marbres) was an Englifh Fran- 
 Anno 1:^10 ^;^^^^^ Do6lor and ProfeiTor of Divinity oi Oxford, after he had for 
 a long while been 5m:<j's Scholar, iix^^t Oxford, and afterwards at Paris; from 
 whofe religious and learned Inffruflions, Cunoninus made fuch a happy Profici- 
 ence in Vertue and Learning, that, in procefs of time, he attain'd to a great 
 Perfection in both ^ He alfo was very skilful in the Canon and Civil Laws, and 
 a publick Profeffor in Paris for fome Years. Infine Br. John Canon was an Author ^ 
 and for the Improvement of Pofterity, writ feveral learned Books, whereby he 
 gain'd immortal Fame. Some of his Works are thefe v(z. Vpon the Mafler of 
 the Sentences, Four Books. Le^ures, One Book. Difputed Oueftions, One Book. On 
 Ariflotles Fhyftcks, Eight Books, MSS. in Balliol College, at Oxford, and in St. Pe- 
 
 ter^s 
 
 {&)InHifl, Mm. page jy. (b) U Su^fem. Hifl. Mm. {c) Anticf. Oxon.Llb. i" pig-U- id) 
 Dellliijh, AngU Script.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englilli Francifcans. 141 
 
 ter'szt Cambridge. DialeUical Quefitons, One Book. He departed this Life abouC 
 this Time. Vide (a) Pits and ("b) Toffmianen. 
 
 III. Br. yldam Goddam died alio this Year. He was a Francilcan ^ww 1520 
 Dotlor of Divinity, and a Profeffor of that facred Faculty in the Con- 
 vent of his Order at Oxford ; between which Place, London and Norwich, (as Dr. 
 Pits v/rkes) he fpeiit the greateft Part of his Life. Br. ^dam Goddam was a Man 
 ofi a moft exemplary Life, of great Gravity and Discretion, of an excellent 
 Wit, and folid Judgment, and heretofore efteem'd lb great a Divine, that he was 
 often quoted with Honour by Feter Tartaretus and other Do£?:ors-in their Writings j 
 and indeed it is no Wonder.- For, his excellent Learning, joyn'd with many Ver- 
 tues, was greatly refpefted by all Men of Worth and Letters, and his School and 
 Lectures frequented by a numerous Audience. After he gave his Mind and Hand 
 to Writing, he was the Author of many extraordinary Lucubrations, which he 
 Jeft to Pofterity j whereof fome are yet in Being ^ Part of which Works (as Pits 
 fays, from Willot) are kept in the Jefuits Library at Lovain^ and the fame Author 
 alfo fays, he faw fome of them in the Francifcan Library at Nancy in Lorawe : 
 But I can learn the Titles of no more of them than thele, viz. Vpon the Mafter 
 of the Sentences, Four Books, printed at Parisy Anno 1512. Determinations One 
 Book. 
 
 L Br. John Baffety the l6th, and Br. Thomas Rondel, the ijth. Anno ijii. ijii. 
 Francifcan ProfefTors Regents of the Schools in the Convent of 
 their Order at Oxford^ were famous heretofore in that Univerfity for their lear- 
 ned Performances, and leem not to have out-lived this Date: The laft died at 
 London, and was buried there in the Convent of the Friers Minors. I do not: 
 find that they were Doftors, or Authors, but it feems to me probable that they 
 were both. 
 
 I.. The famous OAr/or-^ Antiquary, (c) Afr. Wood w thing oi the State .<»»« 1313. 
 of Learning under this Year, expreifeth himfelf much to the Credit 
 of the Francifcans, when he fays, ' Oxford was illuftrated in thele Times with 
 
 * very many learned Men •, of which ]>iumber were Henry Coffey and VVtlUam 
 
 * Nottingham, Franc ilcans, Walt :r Bur ley, John Duns Scuius's Schohr^ together 
 
 * with William Occham, the Author of the Nommals ; to whom add Nicholas de 
 ' Lyra, that excellent Doctor, who for his great Learning made his Name fa- 
 ' mousto the latefi: Polterity, by his accurate Commentaries upon the Holy 
 
 * Scriptures.' So Mr. Wood, who here Ipeaks of the Times before and after 
 this Date, and mufl be taken in that Latitude. 
 
 I. Br. John of Berwick fcall'd de Berewico, ot Bervicanus, by Leland) Atitio 15:4, 
 was Nicholas OcchamhConttm^oxaxy and diligent Imitatorin the learn- 
 ed Univerfity o^ Oxford \ where he was the xzth. Regent, or Chief ProfeiTor in 
 the Francifcan Schools, taught a long while, ("as £)r. Pits writes) and was at laft 
 honour'd with the Degree of Doftor in Divinity. His learned Works, elpeci- 
 ally his Commentaries upon Peter of Lombardy, the celebrated Majier of the Sentences j 
 
 are, 
 
 (_a) Ad Annum z^io. (h) HiJ}. Seraph. Lib. 1°. folia ^iii (c) Antiq. Oxon. Lib. i" page 169. 
 ad Annum 1523.
 
 142 The Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans. 
 
 are highly commended by ^o/jff LfAw^ ; and his manifold and folid Learning is 
 particularly taken Notice of by John P;cus, Count of Mirandula^ in his uth 
 Book JfgMnJl yjflrologers. His Writings are thefe, viz. Commentaries upon the Ma^ 
 fier of the Sentences, Four BOcks. Schola[iical LeElures, One Book. Ordinary Que- 
 fiionsy One Book. Oueftions of FormSy One Book. Vpon the Prognojlicks of yijlrolo- 
 gers, One Book. He departed this Life, at Stanford, in Lincolnjliire, where he 
 found a Grave among his Fellow Friers. Dr. Pits dates his Death in the 7'ear 
 1 540. But that not agreeing well with the Alfertion of Leland (a) and iVood(h) 
 who fay he was Contemporary \wkh. Br. Nicholas Occham, (of whom ^nno 1320J I 
 rather choofe to place him here, as the moft likely Time of his Departure 
 out of this mortal Life. 
 
 . ,^. I. The l\]i\{{vious Kobert Lovd Fitz.rpater, having built a Convent for 
 
 ''-'■ the Friers Minors at Co/cif/?fr in £j|7>.v, y4nno 1309, ("as I have there 
 
 ■fiid) * enter'd himfelf, this Year, into the faid Order and Houfe, and took 
 
 * upon him, as my (c) Author fays, the Habit of a Religious Votary, wherein 
 
 * he Ipent the reft of his Days. The Fadt is regiftred in the Book of Dmmowy 
 
 * j4nno I 309, thus, Robertus FUius Walteri, Cuflos de Effex, Fundament um pofuit 
 
 * Ecclefu Fratrum Minorum de Colcejtria : And, in the Catalogue of fuch Empe- 
 
 * rors. Kings, Princes, and other potent Perfonages, which from the Beginning 
 
 * have enter'd into this Religious Order, tliis Robert \s reckon'd for one. Thefe 
 
 * are the Words, Frater Dominus Robertus Fitz^water^ Baro, Fandator Convcntus Col' 
 
 * ceflrUt intravit Ordinem, Anno Domini I32<;.' So Weex>er. The like Fact is 
 alfo recorded of another Englifh Baron, viz. Robert Lord Life, who having gfven 
 the Sum of 300 1. towards the Building of a new Church for the Friers Mi- 
 nors in London, became afterwards a Francifcan in that Convent ; as may be leen 
 in the Second Part of thefe Collections, where the Faft is related from Leland^ and 
 Storv^s Surity of London. 
 
 . . . L Br. John Winchelfey, a publick ProfelTor and Doctor of Divinity in 
 '* ' Oxford, was famous for his great Holinefs of Life, as well as eminent 
 for his excellent Learning \ and having gain'd a great Name in the World for 
 his profound Knowledge, and being in his old Age more and more defirousto 
 imitate our Saviour's Humility, and to tend to Chriftian Perfeftion, He embraced 
 the Inftitu te of St. Fr^,vc;V, and with a wonderful Fervour was clothed in the 
 Habit of that Order ; And being yet a Novice m the Conveiit of the Friers 
 Minors at Salisbury, he departed out of this Life into a better, the very fame 
 Year wherein he had exchanged a Secular tor a Religious State. Whilft he lived 
 in the World he was the Author of many learned Works, which he committed 
 to Pofterity ; fome of which Writings are, Sermcns upon the Fffiivals, One Book. 
 T%eohgical Ouodlibets, One Book. Siholafl-ick LeBures, One Viook. Vpon ylriflotles Lo' 
 gick. One Book, He died with the Reputation of Sanftity, in the Convent of 
 the Order at Salisbury, in the Beginning of the Reign of King Edxpard the ThirdA 
 Anno 1325. So Dr. tits. Mr. Wood agrees vtizh Pits in the Date of Winchelfey' s\ 
 
 Death, 
 
 (u) ColUlJan, "Tons. 4. pa?, zui, (b) d/iti^.Oxo>j.Lib, i?. p<»ge 74. {c} fVeever. in Fuit. Monun
 
 The Antiquities oZ/^eEnglifli Francifcans. 143 
 
 Death, and moreover adds, that he was the moft famous Philofopher and Di- 
 vine of his Time, and that at laft he left Atcrton College^ whereof he feems to 
 havebeenaFf/ZtfTO, and took the Habit of St. Francis nt SAhsbury. Antie^. Oxon. 
 Lib- 2.do. fag. 87. 
 
 I. Br. Mam of Lincoln died about this Time. He was the lj,th Re- ^""o i Y-^- 
 gent of the Francifcan Studies, C" chief Profeffor amongft them, at 
 Oxford j where he was admitted by the Univerfity to proceed DoQor of Divini- 
 ty, and was info great Efteem amongft his Religious Brethren, for both Ver- 
 tue and Learning, that he was unanimoufly choleii Minifter Provincial of his 
 Order in England \ But when he enter'd into, or went out of this 'Office, I 
 cannot find •, However, it appears by the Catalogue ot their Provincials, that 
 he was iucceeded in the fame by Br. Richard Comptoriy a Doftor alfo of Diviniry : 
 Br. Adam departed this Life in the Convent of his Order at Lincoln, in whicli 
 City, I prefurae, he was born, and from thence took his Name, after the Cu- 
 ftom of thofe Times. He was not only an excellent Scholar, but had the Repu- 
 tation of a holy Man, and is reported (as ('a) Mr. Wood faysj to have wrought 
 feveral Miracles, as appears recorded in a certain Regifter of the Friers Minors 
 of thole Days. 
 
 I. The Four following Perfbns were heretofore Regents, or chief Anm i-^z^. 
 Profeflbrs fucceflively of the Francifcan Schools, at Oxford, viz. Br. 
 
 Adam Hotoden (Dodtor of both Univerfities) the 28//^ •, Br. Philip Briddittofty 
 DD. Oxon. the 29th •, Br. Peter Baldefwel, the 30//; ; and Br. John Horley, the 
 3 If/7. The exaft Time of the refpeftive Death of thefe learned Men is not cer- 
 tainly known ^ But if we may judge by many of their Juniors being dead before 
 this Year, they feem not to have furvived this Time. However, they had gain'd 
 fo great a Reputation in the Univerfity of Oxford, that their Names are recom- 
 mended to the lateft Poflerity, though their Writings are loft, and the Degrees 
 of theTTTo laft not found recorded, if Doftors ^ as I believe all in the faid Ca- 
 talogue, as well as in that of Cambridge, were. 
 
 II. Of Nine eminent School-Men of the Englifh Nation who flourifli'd in this 
 and the laft Age, ALr. (b) Fuller reckons Five or Six Francifcans, as the leading 
 Men, viz J. Br. Alexander of Hales, dyled Dollor Jrrefr^gabilis. 1. Roger Bacon, 
 named DoBor Afirabilis^ bred in Merton College at Oxford^ and buried in that 
 City. ^. Richard Middleton, or de Media-nila, calFd DoElor Fundatijfimus. 4. John 
 Duns Scotus, DoElor Subtilis, born at Dunfian (contracted £>«»;) in Emildon Pariih, 
 in Northumberland, bred firft at Merton College in O.xford, and buried at Cologn. 
 5. Walter Bur ley, DoB or Approbatus, bred in .^/fr-fo« College, and buried at ?<»m .• 
 Fuller (c) indeed fays, he was a Secular Prieft *, but others reckon him a Francif- 
 can, as 1 will fhew hereafter. 6. William Occktm, DiBor Singularis, or Pater No- 
 minalium, born at Occham, in S«n-fy, bred firft ac Merton College, died at Afu- 
 nick, in Bavaria, of whom alio in his proper Place. So true is the Saying of 
 Alexander MinutianuSy viz. (d) Schelojlick Divinity began-, made its Increafe, and 
 
 was 
 
 (a) Antiq. Oxon. Lib. i" pa,?. 74 ; gp in Inferiori Margine, Ibidem, (b) Chunb Uifiorj ; Book J. pages 
 946=5(5. {c.) Ibidem, (d) See Fuller, laid, page 96.
 
 144 The Antiquities of the Englidi Francifcans. 
 
 WAS brought to PerfeBion by the Englifl} and in England. Thefe School-Men (fays 
 (a) Fuller) did not agree amongft themfelves in their Judgments ^ For Budey 
 being Scholar to 5cofn/, I'erved him a? Anflotled'vl PUto his Mafter, maintaining 
 a coi,cr.;ry Faftion againft him \ Occh.jm alio his Scliolar, F.ither of the Nominab., 
 oppofed his Mafter Scotus the Founder of the Reals •, which two Faftions divided the 
 Schoolmen. So Dr. Fuller. B,ut the Reader may pleile to know that thefe Divifi. 
 ons, as he calls them, were no Breach of Chriflian Charity, or of Catholick 
 Unity, being no Difagreements in Matters ot Faith, nor FaBlons, as he terms 
 them but only certain fcholaftick Difputations for the Exercift and Improve- 
 ment of young Scholars, v«ho were thereby made capable of anfwering all Ob- 
 jiiHons. But 1 goon with Fuller:, who, in the fame Page, add?, that all thefe 
 School-Men were of OA-/er<:/, and mod ot them ^l/f?-fo« College Men .- And that 
 tk'itQr Roger n aeon becan School-Divinity in Merton College, the whole Gang and 
 Genius of that Houfe fucccflively applied their Studies thereunto, and many re- 
 paired thither from all Parts of the Land tor Inftruftion in that Nature. The 
 fame Author, in his Worthies of Oxford^tire., writes thus, viz. There were many 
 Jamous Men firnamed Bacon : Robert Bacon., the Dominican., was look'd upon as 
 the Ser.ior of them ; but all the B.tcons^ (fiiys he) like tributary Screams, difim- 
 bogued themfelves, with all the Credit of their Ai.tions, into Roger Bacon, who 
 in procefs of time has monopolized the Honour of all his Siri-ame-Sakes in O.v- 
 ford. So Dr. Fuller. 
 
 I. Br. 'John Boroes., an Englifli Francilcan Doftor of Paris, lived in 
 AnKD 15I9' great Efteem about this Time, and was a learned Author, as the 
 Annalift ol the Order fays.- but 1 cannot find Co much as the Titles of his 
 
 Works. 
 
 II. Br. Henry Hud, a Frier of the fame Nation and Order flourifh'd 
 Anno 15:9. j^^jQyt this Time alio, and made his Name famous by his learned Com- 
 mentaries upon the Mafier of the Sentences ; From whence it may reafonably be 
 con)ei.tur'd, that he was a Reader ot Divinity, either in one of the Univerfities, 
 or in Ibme private Convent of his Order. 
 
 III. Br. Hcn-ry Anglicvs alio was this Year living, and obliged the 
 1319 learned Part of the World with his excellent VVritirgs, which are 
 
 yarious Ouodlihets, snd other Works not named. This Man flourifh'd chiefly 
 abroad, as appears by the Denomination AngUeus being added inflead of a Sir- 
 name ^ which is a fure Mark of his having refided amongft Foreigners i per- 
 haps at Paris j for, by his Theological Writings, he feems to have been a Pro- 
 feffor. 
 
 IV. Br. Hugh Bilove, a Frier Minor ot the Cuftody of Nervcaflle^ 
 Anno 1319 ^^^ likewifewas very famous for his great Learnir^g, which he pub- 
 lifh'd in Writing ^ but his Works are not named ^ So, I prefume, they were 
 deftroy'd as others were, at tlie DifTolution ot Religious Houfes :, perhaps made 
 up the Pile call'd Funus Scoti. Thefe Four are reckon'd amongft the learned 
 Writersof the Francifcdn Province of England^hy the Annalift of the Order, 
 
 under 
 
 (a) See fu Ihr, Ibidem pag. pp.
 
 The Antiquities of the EngliOi Francifcans. 145 
 
 under this Year, who alio gives the Names of many more of their Authors, 
 whom 1 will omit, becaufe the Titles ot their Writings are not raention'd. See 
 Br. Angelus Mafon, in the Clofe of his Catalogue of Writers of the Francif- 
 can Province of England. 
 
 I. Br. Richard Connyngion, a Frier Minor (call'd Covendunus by Leland) Aurt i^^n, 
 was educated at Oxford, where he had the Advantage of a coiitinual 
 Converfation with moft pious and learned Men ; of whom Ldand, (aj after the 
 DifTolution of Religious Houfes fpeaks thus, viz. Tales enim illud SAculum genuit 
 Fratresy quales jl Pofieritasvidtffet •, amajfct,cele()rajfet,/ufpexijfa : Sed eorum omnium 
 tfi mutatio ; that is, For that jige produced fuch Friers, as Pofterity (had it feenthem) 
 wou'd have lovedt prats' d, admired ^ But now all thofe Things are charged. Conningtony 
 (fays Dr. Pits) from his Childhood feem'd to be of a very promifmg Genius, and 
 being fent to Oxford, and diligently trained up by the befi Mafters in the Exerci- 
 fes of both Vertue and Learning, he anfwer'd the great Opinion and Expeftation 
 his Friend had conceived of him ; for fuch was the Proficience he in time made 
 in Vertue and Learning, that the Harveft of his Improvements furpafs'd his 
 Labours ; Witnefs thegreat Integrity of his Religious Life, and the many learn- 
 ed Works he left to Pofterity. In a Word, he at laflcame up to that Perteftion 
 of an exemplary Lite, and was fuch a great Matter of Religious Dilcipline, that 
 he was feletted out of the vaft Number of famous Men then of his Brotherhood, 
 and unanimoufly chofen Minifter Provincial of his Order in England: In this 
 Office he fucceeded the famous Br. William Occham, whofe PredecefTor was Br. 
 Richard Compton., DD. already mention'd. In that rebellious Contention which the 
 laid Occ/j^/w unfortunately had with Pope 5fo/j« the iid. (of which hereafter^ this 
 good Man, Connington, fluck clofe and faithful to his chief Paflor, and writ 
 fmartly againft his faid PredecefTor, Occham. ConningtonaKow^s remarkably fa- 
 mous for his great Temperance, Modefty, Gravity, Humility, and other Ver- 
 tues : In his Difcourfe he was Courteous and Obliging, Pleafant alfo and Quaint, 
 moderately familiar in all Converfation, and never a troublefome Companion to 
 any one : But, by a certain civil and eafy Addrefs, agreeable to all. * But now I 
 come to the Proofs of his great Learning his Writing?, which are thefe, viz.. 
 Vpon the Maffer of the Sentences, Four Books. Quodlthns, One Book. Vpon the Peni- 
 tential Pfalms, One Book. Solemn Sermons, One Book. On the Quadragefimal, (or Ho- 
 tnilies for Lent) of St. Gregory Pope, One Book. Of Chrifi's Dominion, j4gainfi Occham^ 
 One Book. He was the ^i^th Francifcan publick ProfefTor Regent of the Schools 
 in the Convent of his Order at Oxford, and the ^\th. at Cambridge ; in both which 
 faid Univerfities he had the Honour to proceed Doffor ot Divinity ; and at laft 
 made a holy Conclufion of his mortal Life, in the Convent ol his Order at Gjot- 
 bridge. Anno 1330-, as P»>/, Wadding, and others write. 
 
 li. Br. "John de Ridevans fwhom (h) Wood takes for the Perlbn call'd Anno 1350. 
 Redovallenfis by Leland, and is by Pits named Ridevallus, or de Rideval) 
 was an Engliih Francifcan, and one that gave himfelf fo wholly over totheStu- 
 
 U dy 
 
 (A)VidiWocd^in Antiq.Oxon. Lib. 1° pag. -j^.tx Leland, (b) Ant'iq- Qxon, Lib. it. fage 75.
 
 1^6 The A?itiquiti€s of the Englidi Francifcans. 
 
 dy of both human and divine Learning, {?^'i(^)Wuod fays from Leland) that hii 
 chearfiil Induftiy cou'd not be fruftrared of a proportionable Succefs •, which 
 iellout accordinjily : For although he was moft artful in his Care to avoid Ap- 
 plaufe, yet the Fame ot his great Learning was in Time fpread far and near, 
 and the celebrated Univerfuy of Oxford being fei.fible of his Merits, admitted 
 him to the Degree of Doilorin Divinity*, of which facred Science he was a 
 publick Profeflbr there for fome Time, in the Francifcan Convent •, as appears 
 in the Catalogue of their firft Kegents of their Studies, where he is the 541/; in 
 Order; and therefore 7?r. P/V; was certainly mif^aken when he imagin'd him to 
 have been an yiiigufllniMi Frier. 
 
 This Br. 'Job: Ridevans was an Author, and his Writings are fet off with certain 
 Plowers of Poetry, Hiftory and Rhetorick : which add greatly to the Beauty of 
 his Works, and by pn agreeable Variety, wonderfully delight the Mind of the 
 Reader. He writ feveral ingenious Commentaries upon many Authors, both an- 
 cient and modern,profaneand facred ; all which he to the utmofl of his Power,en- 
 deavour'd to turn to the Love of Vertue,and to the Hatred of Vice ; which chiefly 
 appears in his Expoftions of St. Fulgentius^i Mythologies, and are plain Arguments 
 and Proofs th:it his Vertue kept Pace with his great Learning. His Works are, 
 VfonSt. Avguflive, of the City of God, Two and twenty Books. Vpon the ? falter , 
 One Book. V^on the Canticles, One Book. Vpon St. fohns Gofpel, One Book. Vpon 
 St. Paufs EfiJIles, Fourteen Books. Vpon the Mythologies of St. Fulgemius, Three 
 Books, MSS. in the publick Library at Cambridge. A Moral Expo fition upon Ovicfs 
 Metamorphofis. Vpon 2i8 Fables, MSS. Ibidem. LeBures of the Scriptures, One Book. 
 Sermons throughout the Tear., One Book. Eight Ordinary Oueflions, One Book. Vpon 
 Valerius to Rufinus concerning Not-marrying, One Book. He died this Year. Willot^ 
 Tcjfovinus, Leland, and others agree that he was a Francifcan .- as 'tis mofl: cer- 
 tain he was ^ otherwite he wou'd not have been brought into Ecclejfon^s Catalogue 
 of Regent Profefibrs of the Francifcan Schools at Oxford. 
 
 III. Br. Richard ofCompton, a Doftor of Divinity, and heretofore Mi- 
 
 JjO' nifter Provincial of the Francifcan Province of fw^/rfw^, departed this 
 
 Life now. I do not find when he w^as chofen, nor how long he continued in that 
 
 Office •, but he was fucceeded therein by the famous Br. William Occham, about 
 
 the Tear 1310 ; which Occham, be'wg afterwards made Diifinitor General of the 
 
 whole Order, was fucceeded in the Provinclalihip by Br. Richard Connyngton, Do- 
 
 ftor of Oxford, and Cambridge^ already fpoken of; who alio was fucceeded by 
 
 Br. IVilliam oi' Nottingham, Jwiior, ProfefTor of Divinity and Doftor of Oxford ; 
 
 of whom hereafter in his proper Place. * 
 
 . I. Br. Albert of Beverley, the 33//:;. Br. 'Thomas of Pontefraft., the 
 
 *"" '331- 35;/,; and Br. Peter of Sutton^ the i6th. Regents, or chief FrofefFors' 
 
 in the Francifcan Schools at Oxford, feem not to have fpun out their Lives 
 
 much beyond this Year ; though I can find no certain Account of rhem more, than 
 
 that they were of thofe famous Regents of the Schools of their Order at Oxford^ 
 
 and make a oart of Eccle(lon''s, Lift, and that the laft ot thefe Three died at Stan- 
 
 ■ forct 
 
 (j>i)lbidtmr
 
 The Antiquities of t/te EngVifh Francifcans. 147. 
 
 ford in Lincoln-Jlnriy whereunto may be added, that they were Writerty ef their Di- 
 Rates at leaft, and probably were Doilors at Jaft, 
 
 \. Br. William of Alnewichy born in a Town of that Name in Nor- Anno ijjt.. 
 thumherlandy wzs a Francifcan of very great Learning, and much ad- 
 mired intheUniverfity of Oxford -^ where for his Merits, he was by unanimous 
 Confent admitted to the Degree of Doftor in Divinity ; of which facred Faculty 
 he was the42f^. chief Profeflbr Regent in the Convent of his Order there, and 
 was famous for his great Vertue, as well as for his excellent Learning. Wl-llot, by 
 Miftake calls him j4lmoic, and makes him live till the Tear 1360 ; but fuch Er- 
 rors, as P/r/fays, are excufablein a Foreigner. After he had finiih'd his Le- 
 fture and Regency in Oxford, he went into Italy, and there refumed the Theo- 
 logical LefTon (^v4pud montem Bononiit, lays (?i) Wood) in Naples : and was at laflr 
 made a Bifhop ; not of the Province call'd Terra dc Lahore, as Pits Cays, but of 
 a Diocefs, call'd Giuuenaz.z,o, or Epifcopatus Juuenacier.fis, as the (\i) Annalifl of 
 the Order rightly calls it ; who alio adds, that Robert King of Sicily, writ to his 
 Minifters of juflice in his Behalf, (after his legal Promotion to that See) com- 
 manding them to admit him, and give him their faithful Afliftance towards the 
 Recovery of all the Rights of the faid Church. The fame (c) Author alfo is 
 profufe in the Praifes of this Prelate's great Vertue, as well as of his extraordi- 
 nary Learning: But I go to his Writings ^ fome of which are, Vpon the M^.f^er 
 ef the Sentences, Four Books. A certain Regifler^ One Book, MSS. in St. Benedifl^s 
 College at Cambridge. Vpon yiriflotle's Phyficks, Eight Books. Solutions of fallacious 
 .Argumentations, One Book. He died at Avignon, in Provence^ in theTear 1332. So 
 Wood, Pits, Wadding, and others. 
 
 II. Br. Peter N. (whom Collier ('d) calls Corbarienfts) deip^rted this Anno 1351, 
 Life this Year or the lafl. ' He was (Tays that Author) Chorepifco- 
 
 * pus, or Suffragan to Stephen, Cravefend, Bifhop of London, was of the Order of 
 
 * St. Francis, and a Perfonof a mofl unexceptionable Life. He fupplied the 
 
 * Place of feveral Bifhops of the Province j for the Purpofe, he confecrated 
 
 * Churches, gave Orders, and perform'd all other Functions of the Epiicopal 
 
 * Office.' So Mr. Collier, Ibidem. 
 
 III. Br. Gerard Odo, call'd by latin Authors derardus Odonis, a Anvo 1352. 
 French man, and a Doftor oC Paris, now General of the whole Order 
 
 of St. Francis, was this Year fent by the Pope, as his Legate, or Nuncio, to make 
 a Peace between the Kings of England and Scotland. The Epitomizer of the 
 Francifcan Annals, from whom 1 now write, fays nothing of the Succefs of 
 this Negoriation ; But I prefume the faid General, or Nume return'd Re inftfla, 
 becaufe this very Year, King Edward the ^d. m^t the Scots at the Battle of Ha- 
 lidon-Hll, where his Army, fas 5ron> writes^ flew 8 Earles, 1300 Horfmen, and 
 ot the Common Sort 3500© of them ; and the Year following the faid King, and 
 Henry the Son of the Earl oC Lancafler, went with a great Army beyoiid the 
 Hills of Scotland and fpoiled many Miles. So Stow. 
 
 U 2 But 
 
 (a) Antioj. Oxon. Lib. lo.pa^. 75. (b) Ad Annum 1330. Num. izmo. (c) Anna',. Ord Min. Ann, 
 1334. Num. 16. {d) Eccles, Bi(l. Vol. i, page jji.
 
 148 The Antiquities of the l^n^\'i(h Franclfcans. 
 
 But to l!iy a Word or two more of Br. Gerard Odo, who has a Place here oil 
 the Score of this Affair in England \ He was one of Pope John the 22ffe's. Do- 
 mefticky, and was cholen General of the Order ot St. Francii, Anno 1329, at Pa- 
 risy goveni'd the Order with great Wifdom and Prudence till the ?>4r 1342, and 
 then was made Patriarch (a^ of Antioch, and perpetual Adminiftiator of the 
 Church of Catana, in Sicily, by Pope Clement the Sixth. But I have made too 
 wide a Digreilion, and now return. 
 
 . •! Br. William Herbert, born of an honourable Britifii Family in 
 
 "'' Wales, was firft educated carefully in Chriftian Piety and in his lower 
 Studies, and being then moved with an ardent Defireot greater Perfeftion, he 
 embraced the Rule of St. Francis^ andenter'd himfelf amongft the Friers Mi- 
 nors, at Hereford ; from whence, after his folemn Profeflion, he was fent to 0.v- 
 fcrd, where he made fo great Proficience in Philofophy and Divinity, that he 
 became very famous ; not only for his Skill in Scholaftick Exercifes and Difpu- 
 tations, but alfo for an extraordinary Talent in Preaching. Infine, he was put 
 up to Teach, and was the 43?^. publick Profeffor of Divinity, or Regent of the 
 Studies in the Convent of his Order at Oxford, and had the Honour to be ad- 
 mitted to the Degree ot Doftor in that Univerfity. He writ learned Commenta- 
 ries upon Deuteroncmie, One Book. Vpon the Apocalypfe of St. John, One Book. Scho- 
 lajlical Quodlibets, One Book. Some write his Kame Erhcfi, and others fay he 
 died at Oxford ; both under a Miftake : For, it appears from Mr. Wood, Dr. Pits, 
 and others, that his true Name was Herbert, or Herberd, and that he departed 
 this Life at Hereford, in the Tear 1333- 
 
 . ., I. Br. William N. an Englifh Frier Minor, Sirnamed AngUcus, (by Fo- 
 
 '"""334- reigners, after their ufual WayJ died this Year a Martyr for the 
 Faith of Chrift. This Time produced not many Herefies ; and therefore f'uch 
 Religious Men as were fill'd with the Spirit of an Apoftolical Zeal, went amongft 
 the Mahometans to preach the Gofpel, as St. Francis, and his Companions had done 
 in the foregoing Age : This Br. William, of whom I now write, was one of thofe 
 brave Champions, who being fent into the Eaftern Parts of the World to pro- 
 pagate the Faith, was taken up by the Infidels, for endeavouring to inftruft them 
 in the true Belief, and the Way of Salvation through the Merits of Jefus Chrift 
 crucified, and for condemning Mahomet, and proving him to be a notorious Im- 
 poftor, and his pretended Law deceitful and impious.- For the Confeffion of 
 which faid Truths, Br. William wdis firft inluked and abufed by the People, then 
 Joaded with Chains and caft into a filthy Dungeon •, from whence being taken 
 out and ('after many Cruelties exercifed upon him^ found to perfift with great 
 Conftancy in the maintaining of his firft Aflertions, be was at laft fet upon by 
 the enraged Infidels, whomoft barbaroufly thruft their Swords through his Bo- 
 dy, and finifh'd his glorious Martyrdom, at Salmafira, on the lyh. Day of January ; 
 as the Author of the Francifcan Martyrology relates, from many Authors of 
 unqueftionable Credit. 
 
 Br 
 
 Ca) Tfjftman. Bifl. S(rapb. Lib. zdo.foU l83.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifli Francifcans. 14^ 
 
 Br. and Lord Roger Bourne^ Knight, bury'dinthe Habit of the Friers Minors 
 zt Norwichi I33f. So (3.) Stevens. 
 
 II. Br. John, fiinamed Wartricenjts^ an Englifli Francifcan Doftorof Anno 1534 
 Oxford^ flouriih'd about this Time. So the Author of the Epitome of 
 the Annals of the Order, Br. William Shireboume, Br. John Wylton, and Br. John 
 Crombcj Three of the chief Regents, or ProtefTors of the Francifcan Schools in 
 Oxford^ mention'd in Ecclefton's Catalogue, leem not to have outlived this Time. 
 The laft of the Three died at Oxford., as Mr. Wood writes, who ftys nothir.g of 
 their Degrees in the Uiiiverfity , or of their Writings \ though 'tis likely they 
 were Doftors and Authors. 
 
 I. Br. Robert of Leicefler departed this Life about this Time. He Anno 1354 
 was a Frier Minor of fuch excellent Learning, that he was much ad- 
 mired tor his great Skill in all manner of fcholaftick Exercifes, and was efteem'd 
 a leading Man in Oxford^ not only by Men of his own Order, amongft wiiom 
 he gave out thepublick Leflon of Divinity for feveral Years, but alio by the 
 beft Dottors of that learned and dilcerning Univerfity ; fo that his good Fame 
 wasfpreadover the whole Nation. He moreover was a great Preacher, and on 
 that Account much regarded, even by the Nobility and the Great Ones of the 
 Kingdom. But what Dr. Pits writes of him, viz..lhat he wns greatly ejieetnd and 
 carefs'd(for his Preaching) by Robert Bifhof of Lincoln, cannot well agree with his 
 Gilculation of this Friers Death, if he means Robert Grofiete Biihop of Lincoln^ 
 as I prefume he does •, becaufe the faid Grofiete died j4nno 1 253, and Pits makes 
 Robert of Leicefier live till the Tear 1348, which is 95 Tears after that Prelate 
 died, and too long a Time for a Man to live after fuch a foregoing Age, as is 
 required to be a famous Preacher. What Adr. (b) Wood fays of this Man's Death, 
 goes a little Way towards reconciling the Difficulty ^ his Words are thefe, viz.. 
 Bale and Pits reckon the Death of Robert of Leicefier to the Tear i 348 , hut / believe 
 he diedfooner ; becaufe his Computus dedicated to Richard Swinefeld, Bifhp of Here- 
 ford, was written Anno i 294, as appears from the qth. Chapter of that Manufcnpt •' 
 Befides, 1 gather ("fays Wood again) from a Catalogue of learned Friers Minors 
 Writers, that this Man was Contemporary with Br. William Herbert nhove, who 
 died Anno 1333. But be this as it will, 1 now go to his Writings, which are 
 Lectures upon the Sacred Scriptures, One Book. Commentaries upon the Adafier of the 
 Sentences, Four Books. The Account of the Hebrews, One Book. Ihe Account of the 
 Latines, One Book. Of the Computation of Times, One Book. Of the Poverty of 
 Chrifi, One Book. Various ^odlihets. One Book. DifiinElions, One Book. Divers 
 fmall Works, One Book. He died at Litchfield, in the Convent of his Order, 
 where he was buried amongft his Religious Brethren about this Time, as I guefs 
 from the Reafons above mention'd. 
 
 n. Br. Thomas of St. Dunfi-any Br. John of Reading buried at Avig- Anno 1^^^ 
 non, Br. John of Tornton, Br. Richard of Drayton buried at Shrewf- 
 bury. Thefe were Four of the O.vford Francifcan' Regents, or chief Profefl 
 Ibrs mention'd by Mr. Wood, from Ecclefton's Lift; And if I may be allow'd to 
 
 guefs 
 
 (a) AdditioB. Mmafikoa, Vol, i.page. 114. {Ji>)Ar,tif, Oxon. Lib, l^page 75, '
 
 15© The Antiquities o//^eEngll{h Francifcans' 
 
 guefs by feveral of their juniors being dead fooner, they did not Survive this 
 Year. 
 
 I. Br. A^artin of yilnenick, fo call'd from the Place of his Birth, 
 *"" '35 which was Alnwick in Northumberland^ a Town heretofore ftrongly 
 fjrtified againft the Inroads of the neighbouring Scots. He is call'd AUuntfovicanus 
 by Leland. He became a Frier Minor in his Youth, and took the Habit of the 
 Order in the Convent of Niwcaflle :, from whence, after his foiemn Profe/Tioii, 
 he was fent to Oxford to his Studies of Philofophy and Divinity ;; in both which 
 Sciences he in due time arrived to fo great PerJettion, that he was admitted to 
 the Degree ot Doftor of Divinity by the unanimous Confent and Applaufe of that 
 Univerfity, after he had been the 3 2rfc chief Profeflbr in that Sacred Faculty in 
 the Convent ot his Order there, and had taught for fome Time. He is faid to 
 have publilh'd many of his learned Writings to Pofterity ^ But all wjiofe Titles 
 now remain, are, Vponthc A^aflerof the Sentences, Four Books. DifputAtionsy One 
 Book. CfcroH/„7«, One Book. He departed this Life Anno 1336, and was buried 
 amongft his Religious Brethren, in ihe Convent of his Order at Niwcaflle. So 
 Dr. Pits : Whereunto Mr. Wood moreover adds, that Br. Martin Alnwick was 
 very remarkable for his zealous Exaftnefs in the Imitation of his Founder St. 
 Francis. 
 
 ll.Br.William of Nottingham Junior was firft a Secular Prieft, and a 
 " *33 • Canon of the Cathedral Church at Tork, wherein he was Pracentor, or 
 chief Chanter: He afterwards refign'd thefe honourable and advantagious Pofts, 
 and all future Promotions, and temporal Views, and became a Francifcan, and 
 a publick Profeflbr ot Divinity in the Convent of that Order at Oxford, and in 
 procefs of time was admitted to proceed Doftor in that Univerfity, and was fo 
 remarkable for both Vertue and Learning, that he was chofen Minifter Provin- 
 cial of the Friers Minors in England '■, in which Office he fucceeded Br. Richard 
 Cow»<»^f«« already mention'd, as (a) A/r. Woo^i rightly oblerves. 
 
 B/ile and Pits confound this William de Nottingham, Jun. with another Francif- 
 can of the fame Name, who lived near eighty Years before him, and was alio 
 Provincial of his Order, the j^th in the Catalogue, and continued in the OfHce 
 about fourteen Years, as I have faid. In the Regiflerofthe Friers Minors Lond. 
 MSS. in the Cotonian Library, (fays Wood Ibid.) this Man is mention'd thus, viz. 
 Br. William Nottyngham, Doctor of Oxford, who made a folcmn Poflil upon one of the 
 FourGofpels ; buried at Leycefler ; died in the Tear 1336. It was in this Man's Pro- 
 vincialfhip, that Br. Thom.is Ecclefion, (call'd Thomas Francifcanus) fo often quoted, 
 writ his Hiflory Of the fir(l Coming of the Friers Minors into England j which Work 
 he addrefs'd to Br. Simon Effebey, one of his Fellow Friers. I cannot find 
 at what time Br. William c'^mt into, or went out of the Provincialfliip ; But he 
 was fucceeded in that Office by Br. Roger Donewed, a Doftor of Cambridge ; at 
 which Place the faid Dowfirft/ afterwards was buried j which is all I can find recor- 
 ded of him, the faid Donewed^ DD. 
 
 Ill 
 
 (a) Antiquit.Oxon.Lib. i°.pa?. 75.
 
 The Antiquities of the En^YiihVvanciCcmS' 151 
 
 III. Br. Henry Cojfey was a Francilcan ot the Convent of Oxford^ ■. 
 and as great a Philoiopher as any of his Time, as LeUnd lays. He was ""'' ^^^ 
 alio a Profeffor and a Doitor of Divinity \ a Man of an acute Wit, and one 
 that with an indefatigable Iiiduftry fearch'd into the latent 'Sqw^z of the Holy 
 Scriptures, and with a wonderful iiuccefs penetrated many abftrule Meanings of 
 iacred Myfteries, and explain'd them with clear Commentaries •, nor was he any 
 time at a lofs how to fpeak or write the Thoughts he had conceived, from his 
 continual Contemplation and Meditation upon the facred Text; So that he. 
 publiftt'd 'Thrcejold Commentaries upon the Jpocalypfe of St. John. Here follow the 
 Titles of fome of his learned Works, which Doftor Pits lays he collefted from 
 Authors of Credit, viz. Explanations of many Texts of Holy Scripture, One Book. 
 Expofirions vpon the Ffalter^ One Book. LeEhures upon the u4pocalypfe. One Book. 
 Larger Commentaries upon the fame. One Book, which begins thus, viz. Behold I 
 have explain d it to you after three Ways : Where it appears lays Pits, that or.e is 
 wanting. However, oneofthefe three Expofitions, MSS. is in Pembroke Hall, at 
 Cambridge. He alio was a great Preacher, as appears from a Book of Sermons whkh 
 he communicated to Pofierity. He departed this Life ^mo 1335, in a Con- 
 vent ot his Order at Bahml, ne»r Bury, in Suffolk. 
 
 I. IVal.'er Burley died this Year ; And, feveral good Authors recko- Amo 1357. 
 ning him a Francifcan, 1 can do no lefs than lay a Claim to him in 
 their Behalf, on this Occafion, leaving the Matter to be difputed by fuch as are 
 dilpofed to cor.tend. He was a Uo£lor of Divinity of Oxford, and afterwards 
 approved and admitted to the fame Degree at Paris. He had his firft Educati- 
 on in Merton College, as I have already faid, and was a Fellow of the laid Col- 
 lege in Oxford : In a word, he was a Man of an excellent Wit, and efteem'd the 
 Prince of Philofophers of his Time. W.ilter Burley and the famous Br. iFtlliam 
 Occham were School-Fellows under Scotus, the Shbtile Dc^or ; But Burley, (as wel 
 as the other) became afterwards a very brisk Oppofer of his Mafter Duns. 
 * Thofe whovvrite of this great Man{'ray$ an ("a) Author) conceal his Order ; 
 ' hut Wadding the Annalifl of the Friers Minors, reckoning him among many others 
 ' of Scafttj's .Scholars who were all Francifcans, makes it appear very probable 
 *■ that Burley likewife was one of the fame Order.' His Merits are proclaim'd 
 toPofleri'y in the Title given him by the Learned of thole Days, who ftyled 
 him The Plain and Perfpicuous DjSlor ; and what m.^y reafonably be look'd upon 
 as an Accumulation of his Praifes is, that he was thought to be the molt proper 
 Man to be Pritccptor to the Prince, who afterwards was King Edward the Thirdy 
 as Mr. (bj ^Tao^^i intimates. Moreover, the Writings which he publilh'd to Po- 
 fteiity, are plain Demonftrations of his excellent Knowledge in Philofophy, as 
 well as of his great Wit and Parts. He writ Four Books Vpon the Mafler of the 
 Sentences, and above a hundred and thirty Treatifcs upon divers other SuhjcEls, avd upon 
 aimoj} all the Works of virifiotle,?i Catalogue whereof the Reader may find in I)r. 
 Fits, under this Year. So A^gelus aSto. Francifco, Ibid, who quotes the jinnalifi 
 
 under 
 
 (a) Angelas Aiafen. in Catahgo Script. Frmn, Angl Frat, MiTi. C^) Antiq% 0»tn> Lib: i"- 
 fag. l6i.
 
 1 5 2 The Atitiquities of the Englidi Francifcans. 
 
 under theXear 1338, and others, who take Bar/fyfora Francifcan, as alfodoes 
 Stevens Fol. \.Page \o6. 
 
 I. Br. Walter Fcxifley, Br. Henry Cruche, Br. John R.ttforje, Br. John 
 Anno 133S Prefion, Und Br. Walter Certhanton were five Proteflbrs of Ecclefion's 
 6"° 1339 Catalogue of thechief Regents of the Francifcan Studies and Schools 
 in the Convent and College ot their Order at Oxford, whofe great 
 Learning and ingenious Performances have made their Names Famous to Pofte- 
 rity. I find no Mention made of their Degrees in the Univerfity, or of their 
 Writings, though I have reafon to think they were both Graduates and Authors : 
 And I place their Names here, becaufe it plainly appears that fome of their 
 Juniors in that Station departed this Life before this Time, and thence it feems 
 probable that they did not very longfurvive them. 
 
 I. Br. 'Thomas of Hales v/is an Englifh Francifcan Doftor of Paris '^ 
 Anno 1340. ^ j^^i^ ^j great Fame for both Vertue and Learning ; an excellent Phi- 
 lofopher and an accomplifh'd Divine, a brisk Dii'putant in Schools, and a zea- 
 lous Preacher in the Church ^andonthefe Accounts famous, not only in Eng- 
 land, but in France likewife, and in Italy, (ss Pits fays) and one whom Peter 
 Fincentius, an Italian Dominican, oiten quotes, with great Refpeft, as a Doftor of 
 much Authority. The learned Works which he left to Pofterity are, Of the 
 BltffidFirgin Mary, One Book. Sermons upon the Sundays, One Bo~k. Scholafiick 
 Dtfputations, One Book. The Author of the Epitome of the Annals of the 
 Order writes of Br. 'Thomas Hales, under the Tear i 334, which I prefume was 
 the Time of his greaceft Fame, as this is the Date ot his Death. Witnefs 
 Doilor Pits. 
 
 W. Br Thomas EccUflon (written by himfelf 'Thomas Francifcanus) 
 Anno 1340. frequented both the publick and the Francifcan Schools, for a long 
 while at Oxford \ and in procefs of time, as (a) Wood fays, he became learned 
 above the common Level of other Students •, and being moved with a very great 
 Aflfettion of Piety towards the Founder of his Order Sr. f;-<?»c;.f, he made a dili- 
 gent Search into his Life, his Afls, his Rtile, the Begirinlng of his Order, its 
 Increafe, Progrefs, and Succefs, and committed all accurately to writing •, efpe- 
 cially what was afted by his Religious Brethren in England ; and having with great 
 Care, collected every Thing that made for that Purpofe, he writ a Hiftory of the 
 Friers Minors of the Province of England, from the firft coming over of Br. 
 ^(melius de Pifa, their firft Minifter, to the Provincialfhip of Br. William of 
 Nottingham Jun, who died jinno i 335 •, which faid Hiftory, or Chronicle he dedi- 
 cated to one Br. Simon Effcbey, his Friend and Fellow-Frier, under this Title, 
 viz. 0/ the Coming of the Friers Minors into England &c. One Book, which begins 
 wiMi thefe Words, In dulcedine Domini & Salvatoris, &c. befides which Work he 
 alfo writ One Bookintitled,0/"tfcf Oppo/ing of the Order^ &c. He departed this 
 Life in the Tear 1 340. So Dr. Pits. 
 
 in. Br. Robert Eliph.1t was (as WiBot and others fliy) an Englilh 
 Anno 1540. jTj-ancifcan, bred up from his Youth under a monaffick Difcipline, 
 
 in 
 
 {a.) Ar.t'u}.Oxon,Lib. i^.page -16.
 
 The Antiquities of the Engiifli Francifcans. 153 
 
 in the Exercifes ot Vertue and the Studies of the liberal Sciences ; in both 
 which he made an extraordinary Proficience ; So that having gone through all 
 the Stages ot Philolbphy and Divinity, and made himfelt a learned Mafter iu 
 boththefe Faculcies, he had the Honour to be admitted to the Degree of a Do- 
 ftorin the Univerfity of Parisj and was afterwards very Famous both there and 
 at O;v/or^ tor his great Wit and Skill in School-Difputes. 
 
 He was indefatigable in writing upon the Mafier of the Sentences^ and fwell'd 
 his Works of that kind to a vaft Bulk, which were afterwards abridg'd, at Paris^ 
 by one Peter Caiferbet, a Carmelite of hUnders. His Writings are, Vpon the Afalter 
 of the Sentences, Four Books. Ordinary Concluftons^ One Book. Theological LtElureSy 
 One Book. He departed this Life in the Tear j 340. There are fome flays Pirs^ 
 who write that Br. Robert Eliphat was at laft made Archbi/liop of jirmaghy in he' 
 land. 
 
 IV. Br. Robert Cowton (vihom Pits calls Cor/jw and Conton) enter'd Anno 1340. 
 into the Order of 5f. Francis in his Youth, after he had gone through 
 
 the Study of Cla/fick Authors at Oa/o;-^, where he alto finiJh'dhis Philofophy; 
 and being afterwards lenttoP«jmhe there applied himfelf to the Study of Di- 
 vinity withluch Diligence and Succels, that inJ:imehe was admitted to the ho- 
 nourable Degree of a Doftor in Divinity at the Sorbon, with a general Approbation 
 and Applaufe. He was a Man of a fprightly Wit and a folid Judgment, and in- 
 ferior to tew of his Days for Knowledge ot Theological Learning. He is 
 commonly flyled the Plaifant or agreeable DoFlor. He was a zealous Defender 
 X)f the Immaculate Conception, flrenuoufly maintaining that the Blelfed Virgin 
 was conceived free from the leaft Stain of Original Sin \ which Doitrine inga- 
 ged him in many warm Difputes with thofe who thought the contrary Opinion 
 more probable. This excellent Divine wasalfo a ProtefTor in that Faculty, and 
 a Famous Preacher as appears by his Writings, which are, Sermons at St. Paul's 
 Crofs, in London^ One Book. Commencements upon the fir fl Book of the Sentences, One 
 Book, A-tSS. in Merton College. Vpon the Mafier of the Sentences^ Four Books, 
 MSS. in Balliol, Merton, and New Colleges, at Oxford ; and at St. Peterh and Pem- 
 hroke, in Cambridge, abbreviations upon the fame Sentences, One Book, in Lincoln 
 ^nd Magdalen Colleges at Oxford. Scholafiick Ouodlibets, One Book. Magifterial 
 Dtfceptations, One Book. He departed this Lite Anno 1 340. So Dr. Pits. 
 
 V. Br. William Liffey was a learned Engliih Francifcan, known by ^nm 1540. 
 the honourable Appellation of DoBor EximiusyOrThe Excellent DoElor. 
 
 He fpent the greateft Part of his Life-time (as Willot lays^ in fearching narrow- 
 ly into, and in expounding the Oracles of the Prophets. It's true, he dwelt 
 very much upon the Prophets ^ yet I find he alfo writ mar.y Books of Commen- 
 taries upon other Parts of the Holy Scriptures. His Writings are very learned, 
 but not eloquent^ For, he attended more to the Sinews of Things, and the 
 Energy of ''he Senfe, then to any ornamental Drefs of quaint Expreffions. Lif- 
 fey made Poftils, or expofitory Commentaries upon Jeremy, One Book. Vpon his La- 
 mentations, One Book •, And upon every one of the Tvnelve Lcffer Prophets, each 
 One Book •, which are in Merton College .- He alfo writ Commentaries upon fevird 
 
 X othtr
 
 154 The Antiquities of the EngMthVusLiicikms: 
 
 ether Parts of Holy Scripture^ Divers Books. He departed this Life in the tear 
 1 340. So Dr. Pits and others. 
 
 Anno i-i\ "' ^^' ^^^"'"-^^ Iravecham, an Englifh Minorite, was now Famous 
 ' ■ for his learned and clear Explications of the Holy Scriptures, and 
 was call'J to yivignon, and made Penitentiary to Pope Benedict. 60 Fran, (a) Sta. 
 Clara. But more of him under the Ye,tr i 345. 
 
 , I. Br. Laurence Briton, Br. John Horvden, Br. Edmund Grafton. Br. 
 
 *■*"■ Stephen Soret, and j5>-. Robert Redeclive leem not to have furvived this 
 Time. They were Five ot the firfl chiet Readers, or Regents ot the Francif- 
 can Studies and Schools at Oxford., mention'd in Mr. Woodh Catalogue : BuC 
 whether they cook the Degree of Doi-torlhip, or were Authors or nor, he does 
 not lay. I prefumethey were Graduats and Writers. 
 
 ^ II. Br. IVilliam Waldenzn Englilh Francjifcan, being feiit to preach 
 
 }4i' j.j^g Gofpel in the Eaftern Parts of the World, fufter'd Martyrdom 
 for the Faith of Chrift, being burnt to Death by the Saracens, this Year, in the 
 City of S.ilamafcus in Perfia. So Stevens, (b) from a certain Manufcript writ above 
 three hundred Years ago. 
 
 III. Br. John Holkote was an Englilh Francifcan of a very holy 
 
 7?w ij4i j^jj:^^ whofe Sanftity Almighty God was pleas'd to make known to 
 the World by mai.ifeft Miracles, fever;ii Perfons being raifed from Death to 
 Life by his Prayers whilfl living, and at his InterceJlion after his Death. So Ste- 
 ven's, Ibidem. 
 
 , . , I. Br. John Clotfalcj a Frier of the fame Order and Nation, was Co 
 **' remarkable for the great Holinels of his Life, that he is look'd 
 upon as a Saint beyond the Sea. He departed this Life this Year. Stevens Ibid. 
 
 . , , II. Br. and Lord Robert dc Infula, Br.ron Lyle, enter'd into the Or- 
 * """ *' der in London, and became there Prieft and Profeffor. He died this 
 Year, on the Fourth Day of January. So S: evens, Ibidem. Pa^e 1 24. 
 
 \l\. Br. Robert L^mborne,a. 'p^mous Frier Minor, was for fome time 
 
 *"' '545- Chaplain and Conteffor to Qiieen Ifabel, Kii.g Edward the Second's Royal 
 Confort. Mr. Stevens (Ibidem) fays, this Lamborne was the Son of a Baron, and laft 
 Heir of that Baron, and that he entered into the Order in London; and was af- 
 terwards Cont'eiTor to Q}ieeu Ifabe I. He had heretofore acquitted himfelf, with 
 ■great Reputation, of feveral Ofhcesin the Order ; but being defirous of more 
 Leifare to apply himfelf to heavenly Contemplation, and to his own fpiritual 
 Improvement, he (by the faid Queen's Mediationj procured Leave from the Pope 
 tobeexcufed from all further Imployments of Superiority. Lamborne w^s s. 
 very wife Man, arid it is not unl'kely but he might forefee the evil Conlequences 
 of the Difcontents then in the Nation, ar.d finding himfelf unable to prevent 
 fhem, he left the Court and the Direftion of the Queens COnfcience, (c) ^nna 
 1320, about Four Years before her Majefty was baniJh'd, or forbidden to return 
 into England, and Six before the faid King was depofed. Br., Robert de Lamborne 
 lived ti'.i the 7V.?r T343, as may be feen in the Epitome of the Annals of the 
 
 Order ; 
 
 (a) h Suppkm.ff'f. Mtt). (bj MnaJiim.Vol, i.paFe 122. (c) Hifi. Alk.-^age i3.
 
 77je Antiquities o/MifEngllfh Francifcans. 155 
 
 Order ^ and an Author (?i) of Credit fays, He was a Writer j but names not the 
 Titles of his Works. 
 
 IV. Br. Walter Catton, or Gathon-, a Francifcan oi the Convent of Anno 1345 
 Norwich was a Man of great Fame for his irianifold Learning and his 
 exemplary Vertues : Leland lays, he was an excellent Philofopher and Divine : 
 He alio was a great Mathematician, and he fharply leproves certain Abufes in 
 that Science, and condemns Judiciary Aftroiogy as an evil Praftife hateful to 
 God, and a meer Dev'ce of the Devil. Moreover, in procefs of time, this 
 great Man's Reputation tor Vertue and Learning was fo far fpread abroad, that 
 he was call'd to the Papal Court at Avignotty where the Pope made him Peniten- 
 tiary, and took him for his(b) Cor/effor. By his Writings (upon Peter of Lom- 
 bard)) he feems to have been a Reader for fome time, and to have taught Divini- 
 ty, at leaft in fbme private Convent. Dr Pits gives tljel'e Titles of his Wri- 
 tings, v'z. Vpn the M.tfier of the Sentences^ Four Books, Refolutions of Queftions^ 
 One Book. Of Evangelicd Poverty, One Book. y4gainfi Judiciary yifirologtrs^ One 
 Book. He died at Avignon in the Tear 1 343, 
 
 L Br. fohn Occham was a great Divine, and very learned in the Anm 1344. 
 Laws, bothCivilandCanon, and writ feveral Things ; but I find not 
 the Titles of any of his Works, except one which is a DireBory of the Laws of 
 Equity. The Author of the Epitome of the Annals of the Order places this 
 Br. John Occham under this Year, and faysalfo that very many famous Doftors 
 of the Order of St. Francis^ and of the Province of England flourifti'd about the 
 fame Time, which are not fas he fays) mention'd by Dr. PitSy though feveral 
 of them were Writers : But I prefume the Titles of their Works are not 
 known. 
 
 II. Br. Robert Compton (or Comitonius)\s likewife mention'd about Anno 1544. 
 this time by H^rpsficldj who fays, He was a Francifcan, and was at laft 
 promoted to the Archbifliops See of Armagh in Ireland. The fame Author alio 
 writes of feveral other famous Englifh men of the fame Order who fiourifh'd 
 ih thofe Times ; as may be feen in his Ecclefiaflical Hiftory this Age. 
 
 I. Br. Thomas Ratford, Br. John rilers, and Br. Richard Malevile., Avno i345' 
 three of the famous Francifcan Regents of Studies, or chief Profef- 
 fors ot Scholaftick Divinity in their Convent at Oxford., mention'd in (c) Mr. 
 Wood's Catalogue, are placed here as the moft likely Time of their finilhing 
 their Courfe of Mortality, though the exa£t Time of their Death is not re- 
 corded. 
 
 I.Br. Thomas St anchaw is the Perfon of whom Lf/<?»^ writes thus, Anno 1345. 
 viz. Thomas Stanjthiwe was educated among the learned Francifcans at 
 Oxford, where he at laft became fo great a Philofopher and Divine, that he was 
 both call'd and efteem'd an excellent Scholar i And, that the Fruits of his Studies 
 might be communicated to others, he writ Two Books, one intitled, A Courfe 
 of Morality^ and the other Colleflions upon St. Luke. So Leland, in Wood. He was 
 
 X 2 for 
 
 (a) Angelus Mafon, in C.Uah^. Script, {h) Fran, a Sta, Clara, in Hifi. Alin. f'»ge 30. (c) Aniiq. 
 Qxon, i/6. 1' pag. 7$. (d) Ibidem,
 
 15^ The Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans. 
 
 forfome Time a publick Profe/Torof Divinity in the Francifcan Convent at 
 Oxford, as appears in M>-. IVooH's Catalogue •, where he is the '^Sth in Rank. This 
 isthePerfon whom the Ar.nalift of the Order calls Travccham-^ (mention'd by 
 that Author, and by me, Anno \ 34I,) and Named Stravelhanus, or StrAveJIutp by 
 Dr. Pits., who lays, he was bor.i in the Weftern Parts of E'-.gland, and was clo- 
 thed a Frarcifcan Frier in the Convent of tliat Order at Brifiol i from whence he 
 was lent to 0.v/o)-(^, where he became a great Scholar, and being always remark- 
 ably pious, as well asftudious, lie was highly efteem'd by all vertunusand lear- 
 ned Men of thofe Times. His excellent Works, which i^ave recommended his 
 l>!ameand Fame to Pofterity, are not only the Two Books above named, but alfo 
 ZJvon the yingelical Salutation., One Book. Of the Excellency of the Name of Jefus^ 
 One Book. Cunvertimini ad Dcum, or a Pcrfwafive to Penancey One Book. Sermons^ 
 One Book. A general Table of DoHrors, One Book. Vpon the LeElures of William of 
 Ware., Oiie Book. Vpon Delamare on St. Ttjomas, One Book. Zlpon the LeElures of 
 Robert Cotvton, One Book. He departed this Life Aino 134^, at Avignon, where 
 he was the Pope's Penitentiary, as 1 have already laid under the Tear i 34I. 
 
 ^ i. Br. William of Occham, was born in Surrey, (as Camden lays) and 
 
 ^»»i347 ^ygg call'd de Occham from the Name of the Place of his Birth, after 
 the Falhicn of the Englilh in thofe Diys, efpacially of the Friers Minors. It 
 appears in a certain Catalogue of the Fellows of Merton College, quoted by Mr. 
 Wood, thM William Occham had his firft EJucation in Oxford, and was a Fellom 
 of the laid. College, where he is regiftred as a moft excellent Divine and a lear- 
 ned Writer, and laid to have been ftyled The Invinahle Do^or by the Pope 
 kimfelf, who gave him th;Lt Title as a Mark of his matchlels Quicknefs of Wit. 
 Being aprofels'd Frieramongft the Francifcans, he became Sfo/«/'^ Scholar, and 
 aiterwards was his great Antagonift, being the firft Inventor of the Phiiolbphical 
 Syflemof the School call'd NominaUy as his Mafter the Subtile DoSlor, was of 
 that Part of the Retds call'd Scotijls. Occham was fo famous for his extraordinary 
 Learning in both Philolbphy and Divinity, that he was commonly call'd 7he Vene- 
 rable Inceptor^ and Singular DoBor, and Tlje unparallell'd DoEtor. His Scholaftick Way 
 is imitated by Gabriel Biel the Nominalift, and follow'd by tlie learr.ed Order of 
 the Caked or Shod Carmelites. Tojfinianenfis (n') fays, he was a moft excellent Doftor, 
 the Flower of all the Moderns, the Prince of the Nominals, and a matchiefs Phi- 
 lolbpher and Divine, and profoundly learned in the Holy Scriptures. In a word, 
 He once was lb greatly efteem'd by thofe of his Order, that he was chofen Mi- 
 iiifter Provincial of the Friers Minors of the Province of England, and afte'rwards, 
 Diifinitor General of the whole Order of 5f. Francis, and in that Capacity was 
 prelent at the General Chapter held at Perufium, (^ City in Tufcany^ the Mid- 
 way between Florence and RomeYm the Tear 1322, where his Name is luhlcribed 
 to the Decifions and Afts of tlie faid Chapter immediately after the Miinfter 
 General -., not purely as Diffinitor General, for in that Regard others had a Right 
 to fubfcribe before him, but in Refpeft to his Charafter,for he was then reck- 
 on'd the chiei Dof-lor there pre fent. In this Chapter the Fatliers u ..ai.'moully 
 
 dechned 
 
 {a).Eifi. Si'-fp':!' Lib. 3°. folii) 319,
 
 The Antiquities of the Englidi Francifcans, i «;7 
 
 declared their Adhefian to the Decree publifh'd by Pope Nicholas the id- (Ctpiin 
 Exijr) in his Declaration upon the Rule of 5f. Francis:, Et hinc ilU lachrymal 
 For, Po^e John the 22th. difapproved of the h-terpretation made of this Decree 
 by the Friers Minors, as to the Simple Vfe of Fa^, which his Holinefs declared 
 to be infeperable from the Dominion of Thirgf /pent in the Vfe, as Meat, Drink, &C. 
 and the Confequences proved fatal to Occham, who bein^ over- heated with a 
 too fervent Zeal for his Order, and refolving to ftand it out in Compliance 
 with his General Br. Michael de Cefena^ forgot his Duty to the common Father 
 and chief Paftor of the CImrch, the Pope \ to avo-d the Effe£h of whofe lle- 
 fentments Occhum fled from Avignon, Anno 1 328, and put himfelf under the Pro- 
 teftion of Lewis of Bavaria, who alTumed to himfelt the Title of Emperor. 
 This Flight was a Breach of his Word and Promifeof not ftirringfrom Avig- 
 non without the Pope's Leave, and therefore it much difpleafed his Holinefs, who 
 fent Cardinal Porfafwy?^ to recall him ; but he unfortunately proving difobedienc 
 and refraftory, was therefore excommunicated ^ And upon this Occafion ic was 
 that he is reported to have faid to Lf mi/ of Bavaria, Mo excommunicated, O! 
 Jmperator, Tu me defende Gladio, & ego Te Calamo defend-tm : that i"^ Emj-eror, do you 
 defend me with your Sword:, and I will defend you voithjnyPen : How that Prince ma- 
 nag'd his Srvord is not ray Confideration , but Octbam was' certainly to blame 
 with his Pen, and writ too rafhly and infolently againit the Pope, for which 
 he was greatly condemn'd by his Brethren of the Order, and feverely chaftlfed 
 by Br. Richard Connington, then Provii-^al of the Englifli Francifcans, who ftuck 
 clofe and faithful to the chief Bifhop, and writ fmartly againft the rebellious 
 Occham •, not for his defending the Herefy of the FratricelH •■, for that was a Ca- 
 lumny unjuffly laid to his Charge, a falfe Afperfion caft upon the unhappy Oc- 
 cham by fbme Writers, who perhaps did not obferve that he defended only the 
 profeifed Poverty of his State, and the Francifcan Rule, together with the De- 
 clarations of foregoing Popes, and the Deciilon of the general Chapter of the 
 Order held at Perufium, which was taken out of the Decree of Pope Nicholas the 
 ^d. (jCapite, Exut qui femtnat) But what his Provincial Connington rebuked him fo 
 feverely for, was his rebellious holding out againfl the Decrees of the higheft 
 Authority on Earth, to whom the whole Order of St. Francis art ftriflly bound 
 to he obedient by a particular Precept of their Rule, over and above the commcni 
 Obligation of other Chriftians. Thefe were difficult Circumftances, and fuch as 
 put theObediej.ee of the poor Minors to the Teft i Yet the whole Order de- 
 clared agairift the Schifm in a general Chapter held at Paris, Anno \ 329, and de- 
 cliired their Minifter General, Michael de Cefena, depofed from all Superiority, a 
 .Schifmatick and excommunicated : Ar,d, ' All the World knows fas fa) an A-u- 
 
 * thor writes) what Pains the Englifli Francifcans took to demonftrnte their 
 
 * humble Submininn to the Roman See, during their hard Tryal in the moft intri- 
 
 * cate and perplex'd Controverlies under Pope John the 22th, when King Ed- 
 *• Tpard the Second diid Ifabella his Queen writ to the faid Pope in behalf of their 
 
 * Order. 
 
 Vuie An:!.iles Ord. Min. "Tojfiniar), Hifi, Seraph. Fran a Sta Clara, fage ay.^^Ca) Fran' a Sta Clara, in 
 Hijl. Min- p.^ge ()»
 
 158 The Antiquities of the 'En§,\\{h ^r^nciCc^ni' . . 
 
 * Order.' But I return to William Oceh.im, fome of whole Wricir.gs are defervedly 
 rauk'd in the Index of Forbidden Bocks, as that call'd The iVork of Ninety Dayj, 
 and another, incitled ^ Dialogue &c\ befides which Things, he writ Vpon the 
 M.ifier of the Sentences, Four Books, A^SS. in Balliol and Merton Colleges at Oxford^ 
 and in Ci/«^ College, at C<«OTtr'fl|gf and prinred at Lywj, An'^o 149^. A Compen- 
 dium of Divinity^ Oi e Book. Of the Sacrament of the Altar^ One Book, printed at 
 Venice, Juno \%\6. Of the Body of Chrifi, Oi-e Book, MSS. at Oxfurd, in A/erton 
 College, and printed 'dt Str.ishurg, Anno I49J. Divers Sermons., One Book. Of the 
 Fredcjlination of the Saints , One Book. Of tl:e Poverty of Chrifl., One Book. Of the 
 Toveriy of the Apoflles, One Book. Great Qaodlibets, One Book Seven Ouodlibets^ 
 One Book. A Toeologicd Centilocjuy, or of a hundred Conclufions, One Book. Befides 
 Several Books of Commentaries on all Arif}otleslVoris j and ^1 other £oo^'j of diffe- 
 rent Subjects. 
 
 Occham at laft became Penitent, return'd to his Duty, and was abfolv'd from 
 his Excommunication ■■ How long before his Death it was that he was reconciled 
 I do not find :, but he died at Munich, the Capital of Bavaria, and was there 
 buried in the Convent ot his Order-, as appears by this following Inlcription 
 upon the Marble Stone ot liis Tomb, in the Quire, on the right Hand of the 
 Alter, viz. Anno Domino 1 347, imo. Aprilis, Obijt Eximius DoElor S.icr<t Theologia^ 
 Fr. Gulielmus, diflus Occham, de Anglia. So Dr. Pits, whofe Curiofity led him to 
 write to Kir.Irnanof his own in the Court of the Duke of Bavaria, who was an 
 Eye-witne'.s ot the faid Infcription •, which feems enough to end all Ditagreements 
 in the various Accounts Authors give of the Place ot Occham's Burial. Not- 
 withftandingall thefe Misfortunes, the Kameof Br. William Occham is ingraven 
 in Brafs upon Scotus's Tomb at Cologne witli Fourteen other Doctors of his Order ; 
 And, his Reputation is defended by many grave Author?, efpecially by Wadding., 
 -the Ain.aliftot the Order, under this Year, where the curious Reader may find 
 a great deal faid in his Behalf, and many other great Men quoted alfo upon that 
 Subject ; And a learned Author of our own Nation, (a) Nicholas Sanders by Name, 
 (no Francilcaii) writes thus. Although Occham writ againfl the Pope, yet it was 
 againjr him as a private DoBor only, and not agatnfi the Faith and the Authority of 
 the Church of Rome ; For otherwife he mofl openly confejfes his Faith of the Church in 
 his Prologue of the Book he writ de Sacramento. So Sanders ; and to the fame Purpofe 
 others cited by Br. (h) Angelas Mafon, who make the beft of a bad Matter •, of 
 which all that (i think) ought to be laid, is,, that Occham did very ill, and he re- 
 pentej, and I hope God had Mercy on him. What Dr. Pits writes of Occham viz. 
 that fome Authors fay, he was appointed or chofen Archbilhop of^ Dublin, but 
 was neither received by the Iriflt, nor confirm'd by the Pope, feems to me impro- 
 bable; fince'tis not likely that Occham in Difgrace fhou'd be nominated to fo 
 great an Honour and Dignity. 
 
 II. Br. Robert N'gram, Knight, having enter'd into the Order of St. 
 Anno 1547. p^^„^fj^ departed this Life this Year at Nottingham. So (c) Stevens 
 from an old Manufcript. 
 
 I. Br. 
 
 (a) Devifib. Monarchic Ecclefu, Lib. jw. An.io \^i^; (b) In Catahgo. Script. Frat. Jidin. (c) 
 M>n'Jlicon,l^ol. I. p-ije 114.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifli Francifcans- 15^ 
 
 I, Br. Jchn de Rudinton, or Rodington^ was born in Lincobfhirey and in Anno 134S. 
 procels of tinae became a Frier Minor in the Convene of Stanford., in 
 
 the fame County, from whence after his Religious ProfeFion, he was (ent to 
 Oxford, where he became an eminent Phiiofupher aisd Divire, fo that he was or.e 
 of their Regent Profeflbrsof Divinity in the Convent of his OrJer there, and 
 was at lafl: admitted by that Univerfity to the Degree of Doctor. 
 
 John Major CAys, Rodif/gton brought all his Learning to Perfeftion 2it' Paris \ 
 whence it feems likely that he refumed the Theological Leflon tliere, and pro* 
 ceeded Dodlor alfo of that Univerfi-.y. He was a Man of extraordiiiary Vercue, 
 as well as of great Learning, as it appears from his being chofen Provincial of 
 his Order i which Office hedifcharged with great Prudence and Edification for 
 feveral Years. Infii.e, He was an uncommon Ornament of hts ^ge, as fame of his 
 Writings, which /ffays A^r.(^2L)lVood) have fe en, abundantly declare. Peter F'incentiusy 
 fays Pits, remarks of him that he held the contrary Opinion to 5c(?f«j about the 
 Conception of the B. Firgin ^^^/jy, maintaining that fhe was conceived iri Original 
 Sin : But no I'uch Thing appears in. his Writings ^ which makes me believe that 
 AlTertion a Miftake^ efpecially {met the Opinion of the Subtile DcUom^'m that 
 Bead had fo far prevail'd, as to be generally received by the Order, and in all Uni- 
 verfities : But be this as it will, the Titles of Rodington's learned Works are as fol- 
 lows, viz.Vpon the Mafler of the Sentences^ Four Books. Vponthe Ttxt of the Sen- 
 tences, One Book. Extraordinary Ovtflions, One Book. Great Quodlibets, One Book. 
 Lcfer Ouodlibets, One Book. Scbolajlical Replies, One Book. 
 
 , The Catalogue of Miniffer Provincials (fays (b) Mr. Wood") has this of him, 
 viz. Fr. Juhannes Rodynton, DoUor Oxon. fir Saniliffimus, j'tcet, Bedfordta \ that is, 
 Br. John Rodynton, a DoBor of Oxford., a very holy Man, buried at Bedford. He de- 
 parted this Life about the Tf-ir 1348, though the Annalifl of the Order makes 
 mention of him under the Tear 1350. I can.not find at what time he enter'd 
 into, or went out of the Office of Provincial^ but he fucceeded Br. Roger Do- 
 nevpcd, a Dodior oi Cambridge, and wasflicceeded by Br. J&^w Brcnth, a Dottor of 
 Oxford. 
 
 II. Br. JohnlVcKt, or Guent, born in Wales., &tCafs-Guent., commonly ^'»"> i543 
 call'd Chepflowj in Monmoutkflnre, was a Francifcan, educated amongfi; the learned 
 Menof that Order at OAr/or^ ^ whereas Lf/^w^i fays, he follow'd his Studies with 
 great Vigour and Application, and made fuch Improvements in Learning, that lie 
 was the Wonder of all his Religious Brethren iamongrt whom in Time, he became 
 a great Profefibrof Divinity, aid was alio admitted by that Univerfity to the De- 
 gree of Dodtor in chat facred Faculty. Infine, his extraordinary Vertue and Learn- 
 ing recommending him, he was at- laft chofen Minifler Provinc'al of his Order in 
 England ; which Office he executed with great Vigilance and. Prudence, to the In- 
 creafe of Merit in hi'mfclf,and the Advantage of regular DifcipUne and V'ertue in 
 his aubjeds : And altliough he was much taken up tor many Years in the Schools 
 
 with 
 
 (a) Av't'iq. Oxon, Lib, i«. fage •]6, (b) Ibidem^ M Regi^ro. Frat, Mm, Lond'm, Antiq. Oifon* 
 ^age 7(5. ' ,
 
 1^0 The A?2tiquities of the Eng\i(h Franclfcans. 
 
 with Teaching and Difputation, in the Church with Prayer and frequent Preach- 
 ing to the People, and in his Superiority with the Duties of his Miniftry, yet he 
 found Leifure to recommend his Name and Fame to Poftericy by many learned and 
 pious Works, fome of which are, Commentaries upon the A'fafler of the Sentences., Four 
 Books. Sermons to the People, One Book. Difpuied Quefttousj One Book. He depar- 
 ted this Life \niheTear 1348; was a Mm of extraordinary Holii;efs ot Life, 
 and ended his Days in the Fame of great Sanftity, as appears in the Regifter 
 of the Province^ where, in the Catalogue of Provincials, ('as (a) Mr. tfW fays) 
 he is recorded, word for wotd, thus, vix. FrMer Johannes Went, Doctor Oxon : 
 Qui fecit Mtracula in Fita j jacet Herefordin \ that is, Br. John iVent, a DoBor of 
 Oxford, who did Miracles in his Life-time, buried at Hereford. Br. John Went fuc- 
 ceeded Br. John Bronth, a Do£lnr of Oxford, in the Office of Provincial, and 
 was fucceeded by Br. William iichmach. 
 
 . I. Br. Nicholas de Lyra., or Lyranus, was a learned Francifcan ; but 
 
 '"" ''*^' there is a great Difagreement of Authors about his Native Country, 
 for, fome write that he was born at Lyre in Brabant, near jimnerp, and others 
 more peremptorily affert, that Lyr^, a little Town, or Village in Normandy was 
 the Place of his Birth \ yet a more numerous Train of Writers affirm, and more 
 truly too, ('as a zealous Englifh Man may f ly^ that Nicholas de Lyra was born in 
 England, and his Name Harper; And of this Opinion are Tr/f/jfw/a/, Sixtus Se- 
 foifs, JiicobusCu^Uerus, inTabulaConographica, Saculo z^'^ . where he alfo quotes, 
 Cencbrardus, notwithftanding thefe two lafl are mofl zealous Sticklers for the 
 Glory of their French Nation ^ Harpsfield (h) likewife, and Mr. (c) Wood, Fr.in. 
 (djx Sta. Clara, ^ngelus (e) Majon, and ocher grave Authors reckon him an Eng- 
 lifh Man. Let liOt the Reader therefore wonder to find dt Lyra born in England 
 after he has here found, from fo many Authors of Credit, the great Probability, 
 if not Certainty, of the AlTertion. But I go to his Charafter. Nicholas Harper, 
 or de Lyra, was indefatigable in his Studies of the Holy Scriptures, and by a 
 long Praftice, became mofl Skilful in the Explication of them. He was a fiiiifh'd 
 Mafter of the Hebrew Language, had a ready Wit, and a good Scholaflick Style, 
 and deferved more to be relpedled for his exemplary Life, than for his great Lear- 
 ning, notwithftanding he has made his Name famous to the lateft Pofleriry, by 
 his many excellent Works upon Holy Writ. His Expofitions are not only ufe - 
 ful,but nece/Tary for all that defire to be perfeflly knowing in the Sacred Text; 
 For, (as Willot lavs ot him) he was indued with fuch a Talent in underflanding 
 the true and genuine Senfe ot the Divine Word, that he out-did the moft lear- 
 i:ed Divines of his Time in expounding it, and had the Honour to break the Ice 
 and make way for his Followers in the Interpretation of the univerfal Scriptures 
 So that the vaft Extent of his Learning, fpread tiiruughout fo many large Vo- 
 lumes, can never be fufficiently adm'red. So Br- Aigelus Mafon,Jbid. John Stow, 
 in his Chronicles of our Nation, fays that all Lyranus's Glclfes upon the whole 
 Scriptures in many Tomes, were publilh'dat the Expsnces of a certain Citizen 
 
 of 
 
 (a) Antiijuit. Oxon. L'.b. i°.pA7. -6. {h) Sf.culo l4fo c/tf. 28. (c) Antiq, Osm. Lib: V pag, iCOt 
 (d) Bifl. Min-^age 50. (e) In Catahgo Scrip, Fmin. AngU Frat. Mln.
 
 71)6 Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans. 1 6t 
 
 t)F London \ and the Author of the yipofloUtus (i) Benediflifiorum fays, thntthe 
 Money expended for the copying out the faid Works, amounted to tlie Sum of 
 670 Franks, or Florins : And this 1 take for a corroborating Proof ot his being 
 then reckon'd our Country Man ^ And indeed Harper is no very contemptible 
 Englifh Name. But I come now to a more particular Detail of his Character, 
 from the Author of the Franctfcun Martyrology, on the iith of O^ober, who fays, 
 Nicholas de Lyra WHS born of Jewijh Parents, and bred up ^Jejv, and in time be- 
 came a very learned Rabbin, or Doctor amongft them •, But that througli God's 
 great Mercy, he was converted to the Chriftian Faith, in the ^i^th Tear of hii 
 Age, and the Year following enter'd into the Order of Sf. Francis, in the Con- 
 vent of5r. yi;^«m Apoftle At Ferneuil., in Normandy, wherein he made fuch a 
 happy Proficience, thachewas a flngular Pattern of all Vertues, and made af- 
 terwards fo great Improvements in Learning in the Univerfity of Paris, that 
 Jiewasnot only made a ProfefTor of Scholaftick Divinity, but was honour'd 
 with the Degree ot Doctor, under the Title of the (b^ Venerable, Plain, and 
 Vfeful DoSlor ^ which was not an Appellation of Arrogance, or Oflentation, but 
 a Charafter jufily due to his Merits, efpecially for his learned and folid, as well 
 as W^/w andl/i/f/a/ Expofitions of Holy Scriptures, back'd with the Authorities 
 of the Antient Fathers of the Church, and illaftrated with the Opinions and 
 AlTertions of the Rabbins •, which lafl are of great Weight with the Jews, whofe 
 Impiety and hicredulity he zealouily oppofed, in his Difputations, in his Ser- 
 mons, and in his Writings, making Commentaries upon both the Old and New 
 TeAament to their Reproach and Confufion : For being a great Mafler of the 
 Hebrew Tongue, and of all the Jewifh Laws and Dodrines, he was an invincible 
 Adverfary, being better qualified to argue againft them Ad hominem than any other 
 Doftor ^ And God' was pleas'd to give fuch a Bleffing to his zealous Endeavours, 
 that he brought over to the Faith of Chrift above Six thoufand of the Jervs. 
 Infine, he was efleem'd, not only a learned Man, but a Perfon of great Ho- 
 linefs of Life, and is faid to have died with the Reputation of Sanftity in the 
 Convent of his Order at Paris faged 82, attheleaftj and was there interr'd, in 
 the Middle of the Chapter-Houfe, before the Altar, with this Infcription upon 
 his Tomb, viz. Here lies the F'enerable DoFlor of Divinity Br. Nicholas de Lyra ; the 
 Fame of whofe Life and Learning is fpread over divers Parts of the World. So the 
 Author of the Francifcan Alartyrology^ as above ', where the curious Reader may find 
 an honorable Commemoration of him, and many Things faid in his Commenda- 
 tion. His Writings are 5c/jo/4y?/V^ Poflils, or Commentaries upon all the Volumes and 
 every Part of both the Old and the New Tcfiament, Eighty Five Books. Sermons of the 
 Saints, One Book. Sermons of the "time, again/} the Jews, Several Books. Of the 
 Body of Chrifl, One Book. Vpon the Mafter of the Sentences, Four Books. Ouefiions 
 of the Old and the New Tefiament, One Book. A/any Ouodlibets, One Bot>k."3i/ Trea- 
 tife of the Viftonof the Divine Effcnce, One Book. An Expofition of the Ten Com' 
 mandments. One Book. Of the Fa Minifler, and the worthy Receiver of the Sacra- 
 ment of the Altar, One Book, befides many o±er learned ajid ufeful Works. 
 
 Y II 
 
 fa) Pug. 161. (b)i:)eLyra, Vodor VemrM's, PUnns,^ Vtilis.
 
 i62 . The Antiquities 0///;^ Englilh FrancifcanS" 
 
 II. Br. John of En^ltind (Co fn-named of Foreigi,ei-s, becaiife bom 
 Aiiw 1549. ji^ England) was a zealous Francifcan, who was lent a Mfilionary into 
 ScLvjoila, where he preacli'd rhe Word of God in the Illyrick l.arg;iiage by the 
 IiiCpiratioi: of the Holy Ghoft, having no other Knowledj^e ot that Tongue^ 
 and God was pleafed to confirm his Doftrine by many plain Miracles, to the Edi- 
 fication and Salvation ('as we may pioufly hope) of many of liis Hearers. So the 
 ylnn.ilsofthc O/'^f'' this Year. This is the Perfon mencion'd in the Fmtrth Part of the 
 French Chfonicles of the Order to the following Purpofe, viz. In the Convert of Sr. 
 Nicholas d'' Eltagne,(Stamni^ in Latin^ in the Province of Rngufay'm DJrn.itia, a Part 
 of lllyricum, now cd.Wd Sclavonia, lies buried the Body of a holy Francifcan borji 
 luEvglan/i, ard therefore to his Chriftian Name 7o/j» was added jingUcus. or ab 
 uinglia: This Frier being fent to preach in thofe Countries without any Know- 
 ledge of tb.e Language except from above, wrought great Converfions of that 
 People to a penitential Life by a miraculous Operation of the Holy Ghoft, who 
 infpired either the Preacher with tfie Gift of Tongues, or the Hearers with the 
 Gift of Underftanding. T\\\% holy Man is faid to have wrought many unqueftiona- 
 ble Miracles in his Life-time, and or.e is related of him after his Death \ which 
 is, that a certain Noble Man of that Country, who had been ftark blind for fome 
 Time ; was reftoredto a more perfect Sight then ever he had before enjoy'd, by 
 putting upon his EyesHimeof the DufV taken from this Friers Grave. He is 
 commemorated in the Francifcan Martyrology on the 2th Dny of July. 
 
 III. This Year, the one and"" fortieth general Chapter of the Order 
 Anno 1549. ^j. ^^ Francis was held at f^erona, in Lonihardy\ vvhere Br. William 
 Farinerius, of jicjititaine, w?s chofen Minifter General of the whole Order. In 
 this general Chapter The Vicariate of Scotland was united to the Province of Eng- 
 land : So Toffinian : (a) Now, I am not knowing enough to determine, whether 
 .ihh Vicariate was the whole Body of the Scon Francifcans, or only the Four Co»' 
 i/.'wf J of Sco//;4"^ which are commonly reckon'd in the EngliJJy Cuftody of Nerv- 
 eajlle ? But, I prelume, it wasthelaft ; becaufe I take Scotland to have been a 
 Province of the Order before this time, and not a Vicarfhipotherwife than in 
 thefe faid Four Convents, which were no Part of the Scots Province, but belong.'d 
 to that of England. 
 
 I. Br. Ralfh Radiphor was an Engliih Francifcan Doftor of Divinity 
 Amw zi'io, ^j Oxford, in which (acrCd Faculty his Writings proclaim him to 
 have been for Ibme time, a ProfelTor. He is, by Hiftorians, commonly calfd 
 an Elofunt Apollo, from his fprightly Wit, his quaint Language, the Nimblenefs 
 of his Tor.gueand a wonderful Facility in fpeaking, and Happinefs inexprefling 
 his Thought?, with a good Grace, on any Subjeft. He was greatly delin;hted. 
 with a daily Reading and continual Meditation of the Holy Scriptures, and writ 
 ZJpon divers Texts of both the Old and New T/fiament, Several Books of Commentaries^ 
 befides thefe following Works, Vpon the A-fafter of the Sentences^ Four Books. Scho- 
 Jafiical Le^ures, One Book. Ordinary Ouefiionst One Book. He departed this Life 
 
 in the Tear 13^0. Dr. Pits. 
 
 ^ II. 
 
 (a) Bifi. Seraph. Lib, zdo. folio 241.
 
 TJje Antiquities of the V.n%\\hVnnc\k^n%' 1^3 
 
 W.^x. Robert Radipton, or Radimpton^wnSA very learned Francifcan, Anno 1550 
 and is fiiidtohave writ; feveral Books of Expofttians of divers Parts of 
 the Holy Scriptures^ befides Four Books tipon the Mnfier of the Sentences ^ Or.e Book 
 Of Ordinary Ovefiions\^Vid One Book of Scholafiical LeBures. So Br. ^ngelus and Pof- 
 fcvirius, who reckon this Man as a different Perfon from Ralph Rediptorius above, 
 though the Writings and the Time of his Death are the fame, and the Kame 
 feems to have a kind of Refemblance. 
 
 I. Br. Robert Hylton, Baron Hylton, tooli the Habit of 5f. Francis in the Anno 1551 
 Convent of F,ridgenorth^ in the Cuftody of Worcefler, and was at laft 
 buried before the Altar of the Bleffed Virgin on the North-fide of the Church. 
 So (a) Srevcfis, from an ancient Manufcript. But he mentions no I>ace •, 60 I 
 place him here by guefs. 
 
 I. Br. John Stapilton-, Heir to great Wealth, quittinghis Wife and Anm 135Z. 
 Inheritance, became a Frier Minor. Br. Hugh VVilluby^ Chancellor 
 and Doftor of Oxford^ and Canon of the Church of Tork, did the like. Stevens^ 
 Jbidcm. 
 
 I. In the Annals of the Order, this Year, I find one Thing ex- ^»wi353" 
 prels'd thus, viz. Fr. Nicholnus Sutor, ex AdinoritHy faBus Epfcopus E- 
 horacenfis, S:<cr<e Theologi^. DoElor^ that is, Br. Nicholas Sutor., a Francifcan Doflor of 
 Divinity., made Bifliop of Tork ; If he means Tork, and not fome other See cali'd 
 Eboracerifs : I find no fuch Name in any Catalogue 1 have yet feen of the Arch- 
 bifhop's of York -^ But lie might be nominated to the Archbiilioprick of Tori, 
 and yet be refufed Admittance, being put oif by the Intereft and Power of the 
 King, or by fome other Means, fo as never to take Pofleflion of the See •-, as 'tis 
 not unlikely •, for, the fame Author fays, he was buried at yimiens, in France, 
 on the right Hand of the Quire, in the Church of the Friers Minors, to 
 whom he was a Benefaftor, having alio been a Member of that Community. .- 
 
 I. Br. Reginald Lambourne., Batchelor of Divinity, of Merton Col- A«a 1354 
 lege, afterwards had the Degree of Do£tor, in the Order of St. Bene- 
 dih-y enter'd into the Order of St. Francis, at O.xfordy and at lafl died at 
 Northampton. 
 
 Br. fokm Life, ProfefTor of the Civil Law, and heretofore Canon of Boieland^ 
 alfo left all and became a Frier Minor. Stevens (b) from an ancient Manufcript. ' 
 
 I. Br. John Waler, Doftor of Divinity, f^ourifh'd about this rime:, ^^ 
 
 he was Batchelor of that Faculty in the Univerfity of Oxford.^ before ""'' '^' 
 he came into the Order. 
 
 Br. Oliver Stanvpey, Doftor of both Laws, and Chancellor of Cambridge, was 
 at lafl a Frier Minor. So Stevens^ Ibid, who mentions no Date •, But I place thefe 
 Men here, becaufe now the Order wasmoft flourifliing. 
 
 I ^v. William Breton, horn of the Race of the ancient J?n>o»/, in Anm ijjd. 
 Wales, was a good, pious Francifcan, having firfl been educated de- 
 
 Y 2 voutiy^ 
 
 (a) AMtens to the Monajl'icon. Vol, 1. pages 114. and liy (b) Additions to the Alfiiajlicon, Vol. 
 I. page 125. . ,
 
 1^4 The Antiquities of the En^\i(h Francifcans. 
 
 voutly, and carefully inftrufted from his very Childhood, in the Principles and 
 PiaLlice of Religion and Devotion: He was alio diligently train'd up in the 
 S'^udy of Claflick Authors, and became an excellent Poet and Rhetorician. After 
 hii Religious ProfelTion, in the Order o<^the Friers Minors, he was advanced to 
 Itigher Studies, and in procefs of time was fo famous for both Philofophv and 
 Divinity, that few were equal, and none fupetior to him in thofe noble Scieices. 
 His great Learning indear'd him to the moft eminent Dotlors of his Time^ 
 and his -Writings ('even whilft he wasyet livingj were in very great Efteem 
 wirh many, not only in Englnndy but '\i\ France hkeviliCy and m Italy. Harpsfield 
 (a) reckons Breton for one ot the moft famous ot thofe great Men who, by tJieir 
 elaborate Writings, did Honour to their Country in this Age. Some of his 
 Works are faid to beyet found in thepublick Library in Oxford, &nd in other 
 Libraries in England, France, &nd Italy. BrAVilliam Breton, was a careful Inter- 
 preter of Words, efpecially in his explicating of facred Things, affirming it to 
 be a Matter of Importance to underftand well the proper Senfe and ger.uine 
 S'gnilication of every Word, and the Energy of every Expreilion \ for, alchougli 
 a meraphorical and figurative Manner ot fpeaking may be uied ibmetimes, yet 
 1.0 Man that pretends to be a Scholar ought to be ignorant of the Propriety of 
 Speech; And therefore he took great Pains to make a plain Interpretation of 
 many oblcure Terms, efpecially in the Holy Scriptures ; of which kind Dr. 
 Tits fays he law a certain MSS. Work of his in Parchment, in the Library of 
 tl:e jiuduftinians of the Priory of the Holy Mount, in Loraine, which faid Work 
 treats of the Etymologies of Wordsof the Holy Scriptures ^ and though 'tis 
 written in Prole, yet the Beginning, or Proem of it is in a Kind of Hexameter 
 ihyming Verle, and it is intitled S«W7W(», or an Exfofitton of Words of the Bible^ 
 One Book •, which begins thus, viz. 
 
 Bifficiles fludeo partes ijuas BihUa geflat 
 Tandere :, fed nequeo, latcbras ni(t cjui tnanifejlat 
 Auxiliante Deo, qui cut vuU fingula prajht : 
 Dante jttvamen f<?, nihil infupernblle reftat. &c. 
 
 His other Works are thefe, viz.. The Library of the Holy Fathers^ One Book, 
 MSS. in Balliol College at Oxford, "the fame Work abridged, MSS. in St. Benedi^'s 
 CoWe^e ^t Cambridge. On the Divifcns of Baetius, One Book. On certain Sayings and 
 other Works of Jllex.inder Neccam, One Book, This Neckam, upon whom Breton 
 writes, was a Ctnon Regular and Abbot of a famous Monaftery, in, or near Exeter, 
 m Devonjhire, in the Year 1215, and died y4nno I 227, leaving to Pofterily many 
 learned Commentaries upon the Holy Scriptures both Old and New, befides Ibme 
 other Works of Divinity i upon moft of which Writings Br. Breton made his 
 Kotes and Remarks ; But I go on to his other Works, viz. Certain Grammatical 
 Things, One Book. On Porphyrius's Jfagoges, One Book. And Ten other Books upon 
 jiri'flotWsWooh. He departed this Life, Jnno I35<J, i» the Convent of his Or- 
 der at Grimsby^ iu Lincohjhire. So Ptts and others. 
 
 I. ' About. 
 
 (a) Hiji. EcJefiafl. Utuh 14/p. fg. 583.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englidi Francifcans. 1^5 
 
 I. * About this Time (fays fa) Mr. Collier^ there happen'd a warm . 
 
 * Controverfy between Richard Fiiz.-R^lph, Archbiihop ot Armagh, " ' 
 
 *• commonly call'd ArmachanuSy and the Mendicant Friers. This Richard^ as \Vd- 
 
 * jtvgham reports, maintain'd the Conteft with great Vigour : But at lafl:, Arma.- 
 
 * chanui being deferred by the Englifh Clergy, the Friers got their Privileges 
 ' continued. To fay fomething farther of this famous Fitz.-R.i!ph \ He was of 
 
 * Englilh Extraftion, and born at Dwdalk, in Ireland '. His firft Preferment was 
 
 * the Archdeaconry ot Litchfield. He was Chancellor of Oxford., about the Tear 
 
 * 1333, and afterwards promoted to the Archbilhoprick of Armagh, in 1347. 
 
 * He tiavell'd to v4w^«o« to maintain himfelf in the Controverfy begun at L')k^ 
 
 * </£)«agai lift the Friers /^e»^;V.wf.' So Mr. Collier: To whom I will add frcm 
 ar.other (h) Author, that the Archbi/hopof Armagh having (on a flight Occafi- 
 On at firft) taten a Prejudice againft the Irifl) Francifcai.s, the Englifh Friers, out 
 of a tender Compaffion for their fuffering Brethren, came into their AfliAance v 
 which irritated the good Prelate to a high Degree, and caus'd him to give fjch 
 bitter Marks of his Refentments, that King Edward the ^d. was pleas'd to in- 
 terpofe his Royal Authority by fummoning the Archbifliop to Court, there to 
 anHver for his Conduftinthis Affair: His Majefty, on this Occafion, treated 
 him with fome Warmth andchaller.g'd him to make good his Charge againft the 
 Friers before his Holiuefs, ¥ope Innocent the Sixth, then at Avignon; where he 
 had the Mortification to meet with no better Reception ; as it appears by the 
 Sequel : For, although the Archbiihop had brought in the Englifh Clergy to 
 joyn with him in the Procefs,yet he loft his Caufe, and loon afrer died, (at A-fcns, 
 in Henault,^^ fome fayj in his difhonourable Retreat from the P.ipal Couit. 
 So Br. Fritn. a Sta Clara., Ibid. ■who&X^ozdiAs that Walfmgham, though no Friend 
 to the Friers fays, The Friers, whiljl the Caufe was yet depending, ohtaind their Pri' 
 vileges asbefore^ under a frejh Date; and the Annals of Ireland averr, that the 
 Procefs was intirely dropt. So that Author, Ibid, But I again return to Collier ; 
 who gives more Particulars of the State ot this Cafe when he fays, * The Arch- 
 
 * bifhop complain'd to Pope Innocent the 6th. of the Incroachments the Friers 
 
 * had made upon the Bifhops and Parochial Clergy, and prefs'dfora Revocati- 
 
 * on 01 their Privileges. The Pope receiv'd the Complaint, and appoir.ted Com- 
 
 * miffioners to hear both Parties. 
 
 '• This Prelate writ two Trafts agairft the faid Friers ; one of them entitled 
 *■ A Defence of the Curates againfi the Mendicants., ar.d the otlicr Of the hctrina of 
 
 * Confeffions. His Treatife in Defence of Parifh Priefts, is nothhjg butthe Dilcourfe 
 
 * which he made before the Pope and Cardinals at Avignon. He reports, that 
 ' being at London, he met with fome Doftors engaged in a Difcourfe about the 
 
 * Poverty of our Saviour and his Apoftles : That being invited to preach upon 
 
 * that Subjeft, he laid down Nine Conelu/ions^m Seven or Eight Sermons, at which 
 
 * the Friers Mendicant Sy took check, and brought a Complaint againft him before 
 
 * his Holinefs. 
 
 * His 
 
 (a) Eides.Bifi. Vol, i.Batk, ^p'*ie^^6, (b)Fr<i,';. a St a, Ciira, in Bifi, Mia- f'^. iS.
 
 r66 The Antiquities of the EngliAi Francifcans. 
 
 _ _ * His JSine Conclufious are thefe, viz.. 
 
 * Firfi, i hat if a Quedion be moved about making Confeflion, with Refpeft 
 
 * to Place? In this Cafe the Parifli Church is to be preferr'd before that ot 
 
 * the Friers. 
 
 * Secondly, That the Parifhioners ought rather to apply to a Parfon or Curate 
 
 * for ConteJTioii than to a Frier. 
 
 , * Thirdly, That notwithftanding our Lord Jefus Chrift was poor, when he 
 
 * convers'd upon Earth, yet it does not appear that he afEefted Poverty. 
 
 * Fourthly^ That our Lord Jefus Chrift did never beg, nor make ProfelTion of 
 
 * Voluntary Poverty. 
 
 * Fifthly, That our Saviour never taught People to make Choice and Profeffion 
 
 * of Beggary. 
 
 * Sixthly, That Chrift our Lord held the contrary, that Men ought not to beg 
 
 * by Inclination, nor without being forced to it by Keceflity. 
 
 *• Seventhly, Thzt there is neither Senfe nor Religion, in Vowing voluntary and 
 
 * perpetual Beggary. 
 
 ' Eighthly, That it is not agreeable to the Rule of the Friers Minorites to be 
 
 * under Engagements of voluntary Poverty. 
 
 « Ninthly, That the Dull of Pope .Alexander the ^ih, which coi-.demn'd the 
 
 * Libel of the Doctors of Paris, cenfured none of thefe Seven laft Conclufions. 
 
 * ThisDifcourfe is follow'd with a Sort of Memorial, which he deliver'd into 
 
 * the Pope's Commiifioners : The Purport of it is a Reply to the Reafons which 
 
 * the Friers alledg'd to juftify their Begging. 
 
 * One Roger Conway, then Provincial of the Gray Friers, wrote an Anfwer to 
 
 * Arru.uhanus upon this Subjeft, 
 
 ' ^/-»j<3cfe<i»z// died in the Controverfy at y^wgwoff, in November 1350, So Ce/- 
 lier, as before quoted. 
 
 Kow if the Reader will be pleas'd to turn back to what is faid under the Tear 
 1256, Numb, 8. hewillplainly perceive that the Articles here drawn up by this 
 Prelate are equivalent to thofe condemn'd in the Dcftors of Paris : But as that 
 Storm turn'd to the Advantage of the Friers, So did Ihis alfo conclude in a 
 frelh Concellion of their Privileges : And the Archbiihop of Ann<igh, not- 
 withftanding his Warmth againft the Friers Minors, was forced, in his De- 
 fenfions, to acknowledge not only their great Learning ar^d Scholaftick Au- 
 thority in our Univerficies, but alfo the Santlity of their Lives. So Fran, (a) a 
 Sta. Clara. 
 
 1. Br. Jd.>m Wodeham was a famous Francifcan ProfefTor of Philo- 
 1358. fjphyand Divinity at O.v/o>7/, (as {b) Wood writes; and gain'd very 
 great Fame by his learned Writings. To this may be added, from Dr. Pitsy 
 that he was born in a Town c?t\Vd Wodeham, in the Diocefs of iVinehcfier, and 
 the County of Southampton. He was Scholar to the famous Br. William Occham, 
 and at laft a Doftor of Oxford. He was ore of the mcft f.imous Men of his 
 Days for Piety, as well as for Wit and Learning ; in which laft John Major fas 
 
 Mr. 
 
 {i) H'Jt. M'm.pag.i^, (h) Antl^. Ox on. LiLi^.pag. 16,
 
 The Antiqtdties of theVA-\^\'\(h Francifcans. \67 
 
 yl/r. (a^fFc/i?^ rays)crteem'd him equal to his Mafter Occ/;^^. Hetaught Divinity* 
 in divers Convents of his Order ^ to whofe Lellons there otten was a great Ccn- 
 .courle of Scrangers, and even of Lay Perfons- In a Word ^ He was deferved- 
 Jy reckon'd among the moft learned Men of his Time, the Fame of his Learning 
 .was univerfally fpread abroad, and his Reputation was increas'd by the excellent 
 Writings which he publifh'd to Pofierity \ which are Ccminentaries -upon the Can- 
 ticles, One Book. y?« Expof.tion on EcchjlitlHcui, One Book . Vpon the Alaflcr of the 
 5f«ffwf/, Four Books. Eleven Determinations ^'Qi^e^ook. Decrees of the Council 
 ■of Oxford, One Book. Of the Court of Penance of the Friers, O^ie Book. Jgainf} Ri- 
 (hard Wet her fct. One ^ook. He departed this Life^?;«9 I358, Qm fits ^mi Wood 
 layj in a Convent of his Order at 5./&eirif/, rear £iiy|', in Suffolk, ijume Writers 
 call this Man Cff^^^w ^% MrAVood obferves ; but they certainly are under a Mi- 
 flake^ for Br. AJ-am Gcdham died alraoft forty Years before this Time, viz. 
 yii^no 1320. as may be fecn under that Year, ai:d was a diilerentMan from this 
 Br. Jd.'.m fVodcham. as Pits, IVillot, and others atteft. This Richard VVetherfet, 
 againft whom JfWfiijOT writ, was a learned Man, heretefore Chancellor of the 
 Univerfiry of Cumhridge , He was of the Secular Clergy, and not fond of the 
 Friers, and one with whom IVodeham h^d f jme Difputes. So Dr. Pits, Anna 
 1350. 
 
 L Br. Guy Ah.rche (c&Wd Guido de Marchia, or Aiarchcnfis^ was an Anno i^^^. 
 Engliili Francifcan,and a Man of Letters ; yet he feems to hiive been 
 more pious than learned. In his Time certain Slanderers fpread abroad fome 
 Reports ai.d Lyesagainft the Order of 5f. Francis, endeavouring fas DrPits(b') 
 faysj to blaft the Reputation, and fink the Credit of that holy Society ; and 
 therefore this good Br. Ca^ thought it his Duty to difprove and confute their 
 falfe Stories ^ and, to that End, writ a Defence of his Order, wherein he 
 very patly anfwer'd the Calumnies of its Adverfaries. This Work was com- 
 ^ poled ni Rhyme, and dedicate.! to the Pope ; the Title of it was The Complaint of 
 the World agninfi the Friers, and it was heretofore kept, as'tisfaid, in Queens Col- 
 lege at Oxford. 
 
 The Titles of his other Works, and the certain Time of his Death I find 
 rot. So Dr. Pits, Jhid. Nor has the Collector any other Realbn for the placing 
 of this good Man here, but becaufe the Archbifhop of Armagh's Proceedings 
 againfl the Friers had open'd the Mouths of fome Perfons todifparage them, 
 and 'tis not unlikely that thefe were the Slanderers againft whom Br. Guy thought: 
 fie to write. 
 
 1. ^T . Roger Conway was born in the ancient Town fo named, in Car- A}ir!>\i6o, 
 narvan(l}ire, in Wales. Hefeem'd to be framed by Nature and Grace, 
 with a peculiar Bent towards Learning ar.d Piety •, and early in his Youth he made 
 Choice of a Religious State, and enter'd into the Order of 5f. Francis; wherein, 
 in procefs of time, he made extraordinary Improvements, as appears by the 
 Sequel ; For, having with great Application gone through all theCourfes of his 
 Studies at O;t/or</, he became a ProfefTor there, in the Convent of his Order,and 
 
 was 
 
 (a) Ilidem. (h) In Ap^endke llhifir. AngI, Scri^tor.
 
 1^8 The Antiquities of the Englifli Francifcans. 
 
 •was afterwards admitted to proceed Doftor in Divinity in that Univerfity. He 
 Jtllb was lb eminently famous for his Piety and exemplary Lite, that he was 
 thought the moft fit Perlbn to be Minifter Provincial of his numerous Order in 
 Eiigl.t»d^',mA. was placed in that Office by tlie unanimous Confent aiid ^'otes of 
 his Relig,ious Brethren ^ in which Port Cif I miftake not) he fucceeded Br, William 
 T<c^jw<«f/j already mention'd. 
 
 Whilll Conway was Provincial, an outragious Storm was raifed againft the 
 Friers by Richard Fitz.-RMph, Archbirtiop of jirmAgh^ a violent Oppoler of all 
 the AleudicuntSy and chiefiy of the poor Francifcans ; againft whom that Prebte 
 was pleas'd topublifh his Thoughts in Writing, wherein he appear'd to be very 
 hard upon them, as 1 have already laid under the Tear 1357, where I have given 1 
 the Reader tlie whole State of the Cafe. In that Perfecution Br. Roger Conway % 
 wasintreated by his Friers to ftandfirmas a Wall in Defence of the Houfe of 
 God, and the Province committed to his Care ai.d Proteftion. He readily un- 
 dertook the Caufe, drew his Pen, ftoutly defended his Subjefts, and pithily con- 
 futed all the Charges of his Adverfary in that Controverfy by a Treatife which 
 he writ Of hearing Confejfions, &c. which he intitled, ^gainfl the Informations of 
 jl-machanus, Oi.e Book, AfSS.'m the publick Library, and in 5f. ^ew^^i'*^'/ Colleiie 
 at Cambridge \ and prinred at PAris, in the Years I495 aid i 5 r i. His other Wri- 
 ting* are thefe, vi?^ One Book of Sermons. LeElures^ One Hook. OucjJions of Divi' n 
 nity. One Book. Scholaflical Determinations., One Book. Of the Vnderfi.mding of an f 
 E.xtra'Viig.tnty One Book. He departed this L,ife, at London^ Aiwo 1360, and was 
 buried a~mongft his Religious Brethren in the Convent of his Order. 
 
 Noiandum, That a certain Doftor of Oxford, of the Secular Clergy, who af- 
 terwards was Dean of Sr. Pauls, in London, by Kame Richard ChilUngton, (fublimls 
 tlati(j\ Ingenij) was a fierce Oppot'er of the Friers, chiefiy on the Score- of their 
 hearing Confejfions., which he tuok for an Incroachment on the Parifh Priefts, and 
 therefore inveigh'd againft them in his Sermons, and writ in Defence of the 
 Archbifhop of Armagh, againft the Friers, and ?t%?i\n{\ Qr. Roger Conway \ But 
 their being favour'd with a frefh Grant of all their former Privileges, makes ic 
 as plain as Demonftration, that thefe and all fuch like Clamours were condemn'd 
 by the Church, in it's Head. 
 
 U. Br. Bartholomew GlanvUle, born of the Illuftrious Family of the 
 ^»w 1560. g,^^.|^ ^p 5^^^^^^ learn'd to carry the Yoke of out Lord from his Youth, 
 and dedicated himfelf wholly to the divine Service, under a moft ftrift Obfer- 
 vance of the Rule of St. Francis. He was a Man of great Wit, and of no lefs 
 Applicatii-n andlnduftry : He went through fiis Studies of Philofophy and Di- 
 vinity paitly ill Oxford, and partly in Paris, and at Rome:, from whence returning to 
 Oxford, he was there admitted to the Degree of Doitor in Divinity; Afterwards 
 he a^ain went over all his former Studies, and leifurely ruminated upon rhem, 
 making ule of the moft ieleft and beft Interpreters ot Things both natural and 
 fuperuatural ; whereby he acquired as great an Extent of Knowledge in that 
 kind, as human Wit feem'd capable of, and he gave Proofs of the great Ad- 
 vantages that may bereap'dby making Philofophy be fubfervient to Theology ^ 
 
 For,
 
 The Antiquities o/z^e Englifli Francifcans. i6^ 
 
 For, by a f'ubtile and clear Explication, and a pat Application of the Proprieties 
 of natural Things, he gave an almoft incredible Light in Order to the expound- 
 ing of the moft difficult and abftruie Fropliecies, or the Allegories, or any ether 
 Figures ot divine Oiacles ; and he made all the Figurative Rxprejjjons of the 
 Holy Scriptures much more plain and clear, than any Man ever had done be- 
 fore him ^ and for this Purpofe he publifh'd a vaft Work, containing the very 
 Juice and Marrow of moff of the belt Authors that ever had treated of thof^ 
 Matters: The Title ot this huge Work is, Of the Proprieties of Things^ Nineteen 
 Books, MSS- at Oxford, in BalUol and Afagdjilen Colleges, and ac Cambridge., in 
 the publick Library i and printed at P^m Amo 1574, under this following Ti- 
 tle, viz. /?.»f/jo/<?wf/ y^»^/<c» Allegoru fimul (3" Troplcgi^n inutrumq\ Tefiamentumy 
 which Z)r, /'»>.( (from whom I now write) fays he law printed in Folio, in the 
 Carthufians Library at Cantaw^ near Gulick or JuHers, in Germany, and that it's' 
 commonly found in the Francifcan Libraries •, as at Nancy, in Loraine \ at Namure, 
 in the Lo\v Countries *, and at Brule, near Cologn. His other Writings are, Of 
 the Properties of JSee.i, Oiie Book, in Lincoln College at Oxford. Of the Jiciidcnts nf 
 Things, that hj Of NurnherSj A/eafures, IVeights, and Sounds, One Book. Expositions 
 of the F/uly Scripture, Oi^e B>ok. Sermons, One Book. The Hifiory of the Saints, One 
 Book. Of the I'Vorld, and Heavenly Things, One Book. Againfi Laurence Valla, One 
 Book, -WSS. in £»«//»»/ College ; where alio is Valla s Apdngyto Bartholomew, MSS. 
 PraRicks, One Book, MSS. in the publick Library, and in Balliol College, Oxun. 
 Br. Bartholomew Gtanville departed this Life ^««o 1360, at Norwich^zs 1 1'uppole, 
 becaule faj H-irpsfield fays, he was of that Convent, and that he illuftrated the 
 Diocefsof iVarip/c^ very much with his great Learning. 
 
 III. Br. Nicholas of Lynn, born in the Town of that Name in Nor- Anm i}6o. 
 folk, was a Francilcan Frier, (as my (bj Author laysj bred up at Ox- 
 ford, where he became a very famous Mathematician ^ So that he undertook 
 and went a very hazardous Voyage in Hopes of making fome uletul Dilcoveries, 
 and fail'd beyond the Northern lllands, taking an exad Dimenfion of all thnfe 
 Parts with his Aftrolabe, andwasthefirft Man that left to Pofterity an accurate 
 Defcription ot them. James Cnuyen, of Boifleduc, and from his Itinerary, Mtr- 
 cator and others write, that Br. Nicholas Lynn difcover'd four impetuous Currents 
 of the Sea, in the North, drawn with fo great Violence into an inward Gulph, 
 that Ships being once got into the Stream, cou'd never tack about by the Help 
 of any Wind, which is never high enough thereto turn a Windmill. Br. Ni- 
 cholas of L^wwc writa Delcription of the laid lllands, and dedicated his Book to 
 King Edward the Third, the Title whereof was Inventio fortunata, and it begins 
 from the 34'h Degree, and reacheth to the Pole. Philofophers may ftart the 
 Quefl'on, Whuher thofe immenfe Waters run that are fo drawn in and frctllow d ? 
 My fc) Author's Conjefture is, that the Earth here lying excelTively deep, and the 
 Waters that are alreat'y drawn in, being kept down by an immenfe Weight of 
 frefli Floods pouring in upon them, are never able to rife, but do fpread them- 
 
 Z felves 
 
 (a) Hifi .£«/«. S*cKl« i^to.Caf, ;. ^b) Uijf' Mn> pagi ji. (c)fr<»» aSta.Chra,
 
 1 70 The Antiquities of the Engliih Francifcans. 
 
 felves abroad in the Depths, and blend with the Seas, till they are loft in the 
 Abyfs • and that the Caufeof theie dreadful VVhirl-pooles is no other than a 
 various ar,d impetuous Meeting of the Waters of the Seas. 
 
 But 1 am gone beyond my Bounds, and now return to give the Reader an Ac- 
 count of this Mm from (<ij Dr. Fuller ; wlio, in his ufual Style, writes thus, 
 NichoUs Lynne is generally accounted a Fraud fcMi Frier •, but my Author (fays 
 he, meaning BaU^belngci Carmelite himfelt makes him one of his own Order, 
 aiid all acknowledge him an excellent Ahftcian, ALithematiciAn, and y^flrologer. 
 It is reported of liim how, in \.\\QTear 1330, being the third Year of Kii:;g Ed- 
 ivard the ^d, he failed with others to the moft Northern Iflandsin the World : 
 then leaving hi? Company, and taking his Altrolabe, he went as far as the Pole 
 it (elf, where he difcover'd Four In-draughts of the Ocean from the tour oppofite 
 Quarters of the World ^ from whicli many did conceive as well tbt Florpin^ of 
 the Sea, as Blalls of the Winds to have their Original. Were thefe Thmgs 
 true, and had they been known to the Ancients, as it wou'd have fpared Phi- 
 lofgphers much pains in dilputing the Moor: the Caufe of tlie Motion of the 
 Tide in the Sea, fohad it fpoil'd FirgiCs Fancy in making the Country of zy£o- 
 /«4 the only M.tga2.ine of th^Winds. He died about the tear 1350, and was 
 buried at Lymie^ the Place of his Birth.' So f^/.V/-, Ibid. Dr. Pits-, following 
 Bale in liis Account oi Nicholas of Lynne, makes him a Carmrlite^ and placeth 
 him under theT"i?<«r 1370, and gives this Catalogue of his Writings, viz. For the 
 Sick, One Book. Of divers Generations, One Book. Canons of Tables., One Book. 
 Of Figures and S^gns, One Book. Of the Judicial Sphere, One Book. Of the Nature 
 of the Zodiack, One Book. Of the Houfes of the Planets, One Book. Maxims of 
 Jiflrologers, One Book. 0} the Revolution of the World, One Book. Of the Vfe of 
 the yifirolabe. One Book. Of the Eclypfe of the Sun, One Book Of the Judgments of 
 the Stars, One Book. 
 
 IV. About this Time there were fome Difficulties between the Uni- Anno 1^60 
 verfity of Oxford, and the Friers, on the Account of their admitting 
 
 many of the young Students into their Orders, vfhich the Archbifhop of Ar- 
 magh heretofore, and others now were much offended at, as being a great Di- 
 minution (as was faid) of the KuTiber of their Scholars : Whereupon both this 
 Univerfity and that of C^wW^^f made a Solemn Statute, that none of their Stu- 
 dents ur.der Eighteen Years of Age ihou'd hereafter be received into the faid 
 Orders : which Decree was obferved for Six Years, nctwithftanding Br. William 
 Folvlle, a Frier Minor, writ againft it : But at JafI the Complaints of the faid 
 Friers reach'd the Ears of the King, by whofe Royal Edid the laid Ail was 
 made void and of no Etfei.1. So (b) Mr. Wood. 
 
 V. Br. Rich.od Ledred, an Engliih Francifcan, made Bifhop of Op-v ^r>r.o i-^'io 
 in Ireland, Anno 13 17, departed this Life about this Year, havir.g \o 
 
 long difclmrg'd the Duties of a zealous good Prelate to the Honour of God, the 
 
 great Benefit of his Subjefts, and the Credit of the Erglilii Friers Minors, 
 
 wliereof he was a Member. AnnaU Ord. 
 
 I. Br. 
 
 (a) TuVet's yi'erthies of Ni^folLih) Asti^. Oxon. JLih l^.^ag, iSi.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifh Francircans- 171 
 
 !. Br. Simon Lambaurne, of Merton College, in Oxford, was this A;ino 1-^61 
 Year firft Prottor of that Univerfity ^ then advanced to be a Profef- 
 for of Divinity, became afterwards a Monk, and at laft enter'd into the Order of 
 the Friers Minors.- Sofa) Mr. Wood. 
 
 11. Br. Jchn Godrichj a Frier Minor, was this Year made Bifliop of y^»»« 1351. 
 Lwdaf, and foon after died of the Plague •, as Thomas Pafca/l, h\s Pre- 
 decelfor in that See, had done before him in the preceding Year, viz. 1 35o. (h) 
 Wnarton. 
 
 I. Br. John Cradociy a Frier Minor, was this Year promoted to the Anm 13^1. 
 Bifhoprick of Landajf. Godwyn's Lifi. 
 
 Br. John Godrich above named, is not in Godwynh Catalogue of Bifhops ; the 
 Rea for, whereof, I prelLrae, was, becaufe he di^d very foon after he was elefted, 
 and perhap'^ was not inthronized. His Predecelfor calfd Thomas Pafcall, by IVhar- 
 ton, is named John Pafchall by Godwyn. 
 
 II. Br. Sertor IViiHeys, Sertorius GuHen/iSy or Wallenjts. commonly ^ntio i^Si. 
 bv Yore\p-.G\-sc7iW6. Fortaneriusf^ufellus, was neither of C7^/ro>»y, or of 
 j4(juitaniahy Birth, as fome, through Miftake, alferc ^ Bac, acceding to the 
 Authorities of 7m/'<fw/«/, C/'.<fCff»«J</, Wilht, Pits, Htrpifield, Bale, Fuller, Fran, a 
 Sra Clara., Angelas A'tafun., and many Others, He was born in that Part of the Do- 
 minions of £;7g/<?«^ CAWd Wales, and was a Francifcan fome time of the C-mi- 
 vent of Gorgont. in Afiitania, now call'd Guienne. Sertor was a Man of excelli t 
 Parts •, which he, in Time, improved lb notably, that the Ui ive fi-.y of Lais 
 admitted him to the honourable Degree of Doftorin Y)'^^m\ty Anno 1333 tiis 
 Life alfo was moft exemplary and edifying, and his VVifdom and Prudence fo 
 very remarkable and extraordinary, thit he was made Vicar General of liis 
 Order in the Tear 1 342, and calling a Chaprer of the whole Order at M.irfeilles^ 
 the Year following, he was with unanimous Confent and Applaufe, chofe Minifter 
 General of all the Order oi St, Francis, ^nd at the fame Time gave a lingular In- 
 ftanceof his great Zeal for the pure Obfervance of his Founder's Rule, by pro- 
 curing a Confirmation of St. Bonaventure's Conftitutions, and a Revocation of the 
 Relaxations granted by Pope Benedi^ the Jith. He govern'd the Order with great 
 Care and Prudence, and was fo eminent tor all the Vertues that make up a good 
 Prelate, that in the 7ear T347, he was preferr'd to the Archbilhoprick of Ra- 
 venna, in Italy, but held the Government alfo of the Order, as Minifler Gei:eral, 
 till the Year following, when he call'd a General Chapter of the whole Order of 
 St. Francis, at Verona, and therein refigned that Office to a new General. He 
 was afterwards imploy'dby Po^pe Clement the 6th. to reconcile the Genoefe and the 
 Venetians , In which difficult Negotiation he gave fo great Marks of his Pru- 
 dence, that he was made Patriarch of Grado, in the Territories of the Republick 
 of Venice, and having afterwards reduced the f/<»»»i>/i<wj, or Inhabitants near ^r/- 
 minumy to their Obedience to the Roman See, He was at laft made a Cardinal 
 
 Z 2 Pref- 
 
 (a) ^tiliq. Oxon. Lib. zdo. pag. 397 ©=398. (b) Attglia Sacre, Parte ima }ag. n. Vide Aih 
 Bales Ord. Min, Atwis citatis. &Bifi, Adiu. fag. iS QP 29.
 
 172 The Antiquities of the Englifh Franclfcans- 
 
 Presbiter, y4;/«o 1351, by ?ope Innccent the 6/fc. but is faid to have departed this 
 life before the Cap reach'd his Head. 60 the Amals of the Order and other 
 Writers. 
 
 This great Prelate was al fo a learned Author, and communicated to Pofteri* 
 ty many elaborate Works ^efpecially in the Way of Scholaftick Explanations of mofl 
 of the Books of the Holy Scriptures-^ The Titles of liis Writmgs areas follow, viz. 
 Expofitions upon tnoft of the Books of the Holy Scriptures, many Books. Vpon St. Aw- 
 gufline, of the City of God, Two and Twenty Bocks. Serm'>ns to both the Clergy and 
 the People, One Book. Theological LeBures, One Book. Difputed Quodlthets, One 
 Book. Dr. fits fay«, from St. Antoninus and others, tliat Sertor Walltnfis died at 
 Tadua, Anno 1362, and was there buried in the Francifcan Church of St. 
 Anthony. 
 
 iVof4«^a»», That the Annaliftof the Order fays, he knows not why this great 
 Man is faid to be of the 5/-/f;y/; Nation, firxeallthe Authors he had feen affirm 
 him to have been of Aijuitania, except Ciacconius, who lefs probably alTerts him 
 a Wekh-Mun, born in that Part of the Territories ot England call'd Wales. So 
 Wadding, under the Tear i 347. To this Br. Angelus ('a) Aiafon replies that he can- 
 not believe thefe zvelVaddings own Words, who certainly had feen and read Pits, 
 Harpsfield, Witlot, Pcjfevinus, Sixtus Senenjis, C^ Trithemius, who all are of the fame 
 Opinion with C»Wfo«/aj, viz. that Sertor wus born in the Dominions of England. Hear 
 the fa nous Trithemius, who lived not much above or-e Age after him ; Thele are 
 his Words faithfully made Engli{h,viz. Serto>ius, whom fame call Fortanerius, the 
 Nineteenth Alinifter General oj the Order of the Friers Minors, by Nation an Englifh 
 Afan, by Country IVelJh ; afterwards Arcbbifl}op of Ravenna, then Patriarch of Gradoy 
 and at la^ Cardinal of the Roman Church, C^c. commonly (lyled, the Enlightened Doctor. 
 The other Authors abovemention'd are as plain as This, and being Men of Piety, 
 Learning, and Integrity, there is no Queftion to be made ot the Truth of what 
 they here aflfert. Befides no Man can reafonably make a Wonder of Serto/s be- 
 ing faid to be an Englifh Man, or Ar^glo-Britan though he lived chiefly abroad, if 
 he pleafeto obferve that it was a common Practice of the General Superiours, in 
 the firft Ages of this Order, to fend (b) for the Englifh Friers of the moft bright 
 Parts toother Provinces and Nations to be Profelfors, and fometimes Provincials-, 
 as all the Records of the Order bear Witnefs, and has been made plain in thefe 
 Colledlion?. Moreover, ^^«/r<j«;4 r^here 5f>-/o>- livedo was at that time pofTefs'd 
 and govern'd by the £«|//YJ;, and perhaps 5.'rror was matriculated into that Pro- 
 vince, as many other Englifh Men were into That and others ; Nay, and it is 
 r.ot unlikely that the Provincial of England then had the governing of fuch Con- 
 vents, as were in thofe Parts built by the £??g/(7?;, as miv be feen in the id- Part 
 of this Work : For, iVadding himfelf (c)owns that the Kings of England founded 
 the Convent oi Reola, in At^uitania, and it's certain that Kir.g Henry tlie Third I'd) 
 ipent great Suras of Money on the like Occafions in thofe Parts: And King 
 
 Edward 
 
 ' ' » 
 
 (a) In Catah^a Script. Ord. Mip> la /»« Certminii Seta^h. (b) Uifi. Mn. fag. 28. (c) Undent 
 pig. 2J>, (d) Ibidem,
 
 The Antiquities of the 'En§\'\(h Francifcans. 173 
 
 idwardthe Third, built the Francifcan Convent at Bourdeauxy cnWd St. Edward's^ 
 in Honour of the King ConfelTor of that Name : Ko wonder then if fuch emi- 
 rent Fathers, as Sertor was, were placed in thofe Countries, elpecially whilft they 
 belong'd to our Kings. But I return home to England. 
 
 III. Br. 'Jo'-on Wichingham entered into the Order ot St. Francis, very Anno ii6i 
 young, in the Convent of Norwich^ in which City he had firft learn'd 
 his Humanity \ and in procefs of time being (ent to Cambridge, he there ftu- 
 died Philofophy and Divinity wirh an extraordinary Succefs, anfwerable to his 
 diligent Application and excellent Natural Genius . Afterwards he betook him- 
 felf to the fublime Study of the Holy Scriptures, and preach'd frequently to 
 the People with great Fervour and Zeal, teaching them to avoid Vice and em- 
 brace Virtue. He publifti'd to Pofterity One Bock Of Sermons for proper Seafons. 
 Difputations of mofl difficult Points, One Book : Befides many other Works ot the 
 like Nature, whofe Titles Dr. Pits fays, he was not able to recover. He depar- 
 ted this Life inthelV^r 1362. 
 
 l.Br.Wttliam //afr,*a learned Francifcan Divine, writ a Book inti- Anno 1^6^. 
 tied Serpens Antiijuus, or the Old Serpet. t j Of the Seven Deadly Sins. Pits, 
 in j^ppendice. The Date of his Death is not certainly known. 
 
 I: Br. William Lemfitr, born in the County of Hereford, was a Anno i^6i. 
 Francifcan Dcftor of Oxford, excellently learned in Philofophy and 
 Divinity •, in both which Sciences he is faid to have writ accurately many Things, 
 which heretofore were greatly admired and much in Ufe both at Oxford and 
 London. Amonft many other Works, he writ Collations upon the M.^fler of tbt 
 Sentences, Tour Books. Ouefiiotis of Divinity, One Book ; and other fuch Works. 
 So Dr. Pits, in j4ppendice. The Time when this Dof^or flourifh'd is not cer- 
 taii.ly known ; but, by his Writings, he feems to have been a ProfeiTor of Di- 
 vinity. 
 
 I. Br. Richard Ruys was a great Divire, and a Man ot an excel- Anno 15^5. 
 lent and fubtiie Wit. He feems to have been a ProfeiTor of Divinity ; 
 for he made himlelf famous to Pofterity by his Four learned Books of Com* 
 mentitries upon the Mafler of the Sentences. His other Works, and the exa£l Time 
 when he flourifh'd are not known. Pits in Appendice. 
 
 I. This Year the Two \]myex£it\ti,Oxford,nnd.Camhridge, prefen- Anno ii66.- 
 ted to the King in Parliament a Petition againft the Mendicant Fri- 
 ers ;, in Purfuit whereof the Chancellor and Proftors of each Univerfity, and 
 the Provincials of the Four Orders of Mendicants vfertfummoTid to appear in 
 the faid Parliament ; to whofe wife Decifions all Parties concern'd referr'd their 
 Grievances, unanimoufly agreeing to ffand to tkeir Determination and Sentence; 
 viz. That the Chancellors of both Vniverfties, and the DoBors Regent and not P'gent^ 
 Jhou'd here^jfcer treat the faid Friers in a friendly Manner, both in the Favours by them 
 asVd, and in the Performances of their Exercifes ; jind, that the Decree agreed upon 
 and publijh^d by both the /aid Vniverfties againfi the Admittance of any of the Studerjj 
 
 into 
 
 Vide Woid. Axfiq. QxBVi Lib. i'* f ^. iSi,
 
 r74 7he Antiquities of the Englifli Francifcans. 
 
 into any of the faid Four Orders before tie Age of eighteen fwhich liad been obferved 
 tor Six Years) jfcott'^^ hereafter he of no Force ; And., that all other Statutes ma/ie to 
 the Dlfidvmtage of the Fners fxjuld alfo be void a»d of no Eff'll for the future. Provi' 
 ded neverihelejs on the other Side^ that the faid Friers fl}oud not hereafter petition for 
 any Bulls from Rome a^airji either of the faid ZJniverfitieSy or any Afember or Scholar 
 thereof ; But that all Fallings out hereafter, and all Penalties of Delinauents, Jhould be re- 
 ferred to the King and his Privy Counfel. Thus ended all the Ditpates between the 
 Univerfities anU the MtudicaKts So Mr. Wood. 
 
 . ^, I. ^r ■ Walter IViburn (vihova ioms ciWWimhurn) made his Religious 
 
 * ' Profeflionof the Ilule of St. Francis in the Convent of that Order 
 at Norwich:, as is faid: But be that as it will, certain it is th^t he was a 
 Frier Minor ; And Leland is more than commonly profufe in his Comme;^dati- 
 onsfor the Elegancy of the Books he writ : For, he was eloquent and quaint in 
 the Latin Tongue, in both Verfe aid Prole, and moreover extraordinary pious, 
 and devout towards God and his Saiiits. He writ Of Chrijl our L'rrd arid of the 
 Bit ffcd Ftrgin Mary, in Heroick Verfe and in Rhime : His Works are of the B. 
 Virgin Mary., in Hexameter Verfe, One Book. Of Jefus Chrifl and the fame Firgirt 
 Mary., One Book. An Encomium of the Motl.er of Chrijl.^ One Book. 0/ the Pro-^ 
 fertits of the Holy Land, One Book. Verfes of feveral SortSy One Book. He depar- 
 ted this Life about therf.«r i 367. Br. Pits. 
 
 ^, I. Br. John Wallis, or Wallenfis, born in W^^/?/, flourifli'd about this 
 
 ' * Time amongft the Francifcans, and was famous for his Religious 
 Life and great Learning. This is all 1 find of him. Annal.Ord. 
 
 . , 1. ]5r. Simon "funfied, or deTun/lede, was born in the City of Nor- 
 
 ' ip/rfc, where he afterwards took upon himfelf the Religious Habit of 
 St. Franciij after he had perfefted himfelf in the Study of Claflick Authors. 
 He was a very great Lover of Piety and Learning, took much Pains in the Pur- 
 fuit oj the Liberal Sciences, and became a finifh'd Mafter in Philofophy ; efpeci- 
 ally lu the Mathematicksand in Mufick, and on the I e CoiTiderations gain'd a 
 grear Namein the World. In natural Philofophy nothing pleas'd him fo much 
 as the Speculation of Meteors, and the Situation of Celeftial Bodies : Thefe Stu- 
 dies rais'd his Mind to more fublime Contemplations, fo that he ieem'd to dwell 
 continually in the Third Heaven. He is highly commended by fome Writers 
 of h/s own Order, and declared to be a moft knowing Man in all Sciences : Some 
 alfo extol his great Prudence and Dexterity in the managing of Affairs of Im- 
 portance ; others praife him for his Gravity and the Compofure of his Mind, and 
 Jet him off for a Perfonof great Worth and Authority. Having feriouflyweigh'd 
 all I have read of him, (fays Dr. Pits) he feems to me to have been a Man not 
 only of uiiCommon Learning, but alfo eminently perfect in all manner of Ver- 
 tues ^ as appears likewife from the great Opinion his Brethren had of him, 
 who efteem'd him the moft worthy Man amongft them to be chofen, by their 
 unanimous Votes, Minifter Provincial of the numerous Francifcan Province of 
 England- I cannot find at what time Tunfled came into, or went out of this Of- 
 fice ; but he fucceeded Br. Roger Conrpay, DD. already mention'd, and was fuccee- 
 
 ded
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifii Francifcans. 1 75 
 
 ded by Br. Robert WUfieede- He fpent much of his younger Days in the Study 
 and Explication of Arijlotlis Writings of Meteors, and Jiich JikeSubjefts, and 
 it may realbnably be prefumed, rhac he aftervv.irds exerted hib Talents and Pen in 
 Matters of higher Learning ^ but nothing now remains except thele Titles of his 
 Works, viz. Vpsn Anjhtle's Meteors^ Four Books. Of the Four Prtficipal, OiiC 
 Book. 7'?(??,^f(i departed this Life, A/ino 1369, at B>uJ!i-yard ^ Moi;aftery of Re- 
 ligious Women of the Order of St. Clare, in Snjfolk. Dr. Pits. 
 
 II. The Devotion of the People and the Number ot the Friers in -^nno 131J9. 
 the Convent at London increafing, the fir//, about this Time, enlar- 
 ged the Houfeand i is Offices for the L^itter i who were feldom fewer than one 
 hundred Friers, So a (aj late Author ^ who alfo fays, that in the Tear 130^, one 
 Br. Thomas Felthnm, a Frier Minor, and Br. William Bufings, alfo a Miior, pro- 
 cured Friends to be great Benefadlors to the faid Francifcan Convent : A;-d that, 
 Anno 1302, Br. Hygh Hertelpolle being Minifterof the Friers Minors in E'/gLmd, 
 Br. George CuHos of London, and ^r. Henry Sutton Ga^fdhn of London, the Sum 
 of one hundred Pounds was paid for the Ufe of the Minors of that Convent by 
 the Executors of Arnold Tedemar^ Citizen of London, who left them that Legacy 
 by Will : That the faid Br. Henry Sutton, Warden, rais'd them many Benefactors 
 to this Convent, fbme of whom had die Charity to glaze their Windows. 
 Item, That the Buttery, the Lodging for Guefts, with the Chambers towards 
 the Infirmary, were procured by Br. Richard Knotte, and the Friers had many 
 other Advantages by his Procurement from one William Alhon. Item, That John 
 Ptf/r^r, once a Citizen of London, and a Benefaftor to the Francifcans, became af- 
 terwards a Frier in that Houfe, and lived many Years a ProfelTd Minorite. Item, 
 That Br. N. Ruffel, heretofore Guardian of London, procured Benefadtors to that 
 Convent ^ as hkewife did Br. John Malherthorp, who was Warden of that Con- 
 vent, Antjo 1368, and after him one Br. John Bruylly Warden alfo of the lame 
 Houle.- So Stevens. 
 
 1. Br. Henry of Oxford was a Francifcan Doftorof Oxford; a Per- ^"no 1370. 
 fon greatly Experienced in all Learning, both Sacred and Prophanc, 
 of wonderful Piety alfo, and of equal Authority amongft his Religious Brethren •, 
 and on thefeConfiderations much rel'peiled and efteem'd of all Men, and appoin- 
 ted to govern ethers, as Pits fays ; from whence it may realonably be luppoled 
 that he laudably difcharg'd fome Offices of Superiority. He alfo was a famous 
 Preacher ; and in all Stations behaved himfelf as a Man of extraordinary Vertue, 
 Learning, and Relblution *, efpecially in the Pulpit, in his Sermons, wlierein 
 ^when the Honour of God was concern'dj he never was afraid of reproving any 
 Perfon, even of the firft Rank. To the lafting Memory of his Name, and 
 the Improvement of Poflerity, he publilh'd One Book of Sermons vpon the Fejlivals, 
 another Book of 5erw?o».f tipon the Sundays, and a Third Book of Sermons upon the 
 Week-days ; which faid Works are lai.l to have been kept in the Convent of St. 
 Francis J at Reading, Berks., till the DiiTolution of Religious Houfes. Pits fays, 
 
 that 
 
 ^— -■ -■■■ ...i-.-i^. — — .^ , I _■ „ ■■■ ■^,-^— , ■■ ' ^ .11 — —.. !■ I I ■ a ■■ I i^i^i^M^a^iiP— ^ ■! wt f« »'i»mm^^m 
 
 (a) St€V€ns^in bis Additions to tU Aipnajiitcn* i\$h Framif^afis* "
 
 1 7^ The Antiquities of the Englidi Francifcans, 
 
 that the Time when this good Man llourifli'd is uncertain \ But Br- Angelus Mn' 
 fon brings him into his Catalogue of Englifh Francifcan Writers about this Year, 
 and I doubt not but he had good Keal()ns for it. 
 
 For Want oi an Opportuiiity of a free Accefs to proper Books, I find nothing 
 material concerning the Englilh Francifcaas for thefe rhree Years forwards but 
 what will be better reterr'd to another Date : And therefore go on. 
 
 1. Br. Philip Torririgtotiy an Englilh Frr.ncifcan, was advanced to 
 Anno 15 74' ji-,^. Archiepilcopal See of Caflnl, in hcUnd, abcut this Year. Br. 
 Fran- ("a) a Sta CUra puts him in this high citation j4nno 1514, which is certainly 
 an Errourof the Prefs, becaufe he quotes the Epitame of the Annals of the Order j 
 whereas the Author of the faid Epitome makes this Br. Philip "torrington Arch- 
 bifhop of C^/?jf/ '\u(htlCear 1 374. And, Anno 137^, the lame Author alio tells 
 you, that Prelate then was the Patron and Defender of the Papal Privileges 
 granted to the Francifcans in Ireland: And it is not likely that this laft Author 
 was miftaken in his Chronology of this Matter, he being an Irifl] Man. 
 
 I, Br. John Marcheley was remarkably famous for both the Holinefs 
 tim III ■ Qf j^jg Lite and his great Learnings and therefore was unanimoully 
 
 chofen Minifter Provincial of his Order in England. In his Time there was a 
 great Controverfy between the Dominicans and the Francifcans, about the Imma- 
 culate Conception of the Blcffed Tirgin Mary :, For, one William Jordan, & Dominican, 
 following the Opinion of St, Thomas Acjuinas, eagerly maintain'd that Ihe was 
 conceiv'd in Original Sin •, and he was as briskly oppos'd by Br. Jol'n Mar- 
 cheley, boih. in publick Difputations in the Schools, and in Books written by 
 him to maintain the contrary Opinion: And this Scholaflick Debate between 
 the Two Orders lafted for many Years, Marcheley, all his Life-time flanding up 
 floutiy (as the Standard-bearer of the Francilcansj in the Defence of the pious 
 Opinion of Scotus and his Order, and, as the Conqueror, writing a Book, Of ths 
 Conception of the Bleffid Firgin Mary : Befides which Work he alfo writ another 
 Book, intitlcd P^arious Oueflions. He departed this Life, Anno 1376, at Torhy 
 where he was buried amongft his Religious Brethren, in the Convent of his Or- 
 der. So Pits and Mafon^ from Willot and Leland. 
 
 Notandum, That Br. Robert Wilfieede^s Provincialfhip being expired, he was 
 fucceeded by Br. John Mardeflon, and He by Br. John Marcheley, to whom fuccee- 
 ded Br. Thomas Heher. 
 
 II. Br. John Hilton, a Francifcan Doftor of Oxford, was very fa- 
 "" '^' ■ mous for his holy Life and great Leariiiag, and gain'd a general Ap- 
 
 plaufe at Oxford for his fubtile Difputations in the Schools He maintain'd the 
 Honour and Credit of hiii Order, like a zealous and learned Champion, againfl 
 one Vtrtd Bolton, a BenediBine Monk, (who though otherwife a learned good Man) 
 feem'd to fome, asP/rjfays, to havecafta Blemifh upon his own Reputation by 
 drawing his Pen againft the State of the Mendicants-.^ But be this as it will, Br; 
 John Hilton oppofed him, on this Occafion, by writing certain Solemn Determina- 
 tions, 
 
 (a) b» Suppkminto Hifi. Min, Provh, Angl Frat. Mm
 
 77;e Antiquities o//^^ Englifh Francifcans« 177 
 
 timSy intitled, Of the Poverty of the Friers, One Book Of the State of the Friers Mi- 
 nors, One Book. He departed this Life, ylnno 1 375, and was buried in the Con- 
 vent of his Older at Norwich. The curious Reader may find the Character o^ 
 the faid Vtred Bolton in Pits, Anno 1380. 
 
 III. This Year alfo the Francifcans made (a) choice oi certain Annoiy,6. 
 eminent Perlbns, of great Merit for both Vertue and Learning, to be 
 their Protefctors and Defenders againft the Attacks of fome Engiifh Bilhops 
 who, as it feems, were not well affedted towards their State of Life. 
 
 L The yiuguftinian Friers were (as it leems) either forbidden by ^"rio 1577 
 their Conftitutions to eat Flefh, or had introduced among themfelves 
 a pious Cuftom of continual Abftinence •, as it appears by a Difpenfation (b) pro- 
 cured, this Year, from the Pope for them to eat Flefh, on Condition that they 
 ihou'd keep the Lentot the Friers Minors before Chrift-Mafsj which Faft is 
 prefcribed by the Rule of St. Francis, and s as ftriftly oblerved in the Convents 
 of his Order as the common Lent ot the univerfal Churchj and lafts from the 
 Feaft of All-Saints till Chrift-Mafs Day exclufively. 
 
 The Dominicans Mo in England had to the fame Eflfeft, ask'd and obtain'd a 
 Difpenfation from the Pope, Jnno 1374, that they might not be troublefom, 
 or burdenfom to Seculars, or to their Benefa£1:ors : But whether, or net, this 
 Difpenfation was granted on the lame Condition of obferving the laid Francifcan 
 Faft, as the other was, I do not find. 
 
 \. Br. Walter Caxton {\vhom Stevens c?i\\i John) 2l famous Francif- Anno 1578 
 can Do£tor of the Laws, Canon and Civil, was the Author of a lear- 
 ned Work, the Tide whereof is A Sum of Confejfigns, One Bock, AfSS. in Oriel 
 College, at Oxford. Dr. Pits fays, In his Appendix, that the Time is urxertain 
 when this Man flourifh'd ; But the Study of the Laws was not much follow'd by 
 Religious Men when Scholaftick Divinity had taken Place of it in their Schools, 
 (as before this Time it had) which makes me believe that Dr. Caxton did not 
 furvive this Date. 
 
 I. Br. Roger Rugge (or de Ruggo) was a famous Francifcan Doftor of Anno 1379. 
 Divinity, and feems to have been a ProfefTor in that facred Facul- 
 ty ;, For, he writ Four Books of Commentaries upon the Mafler of the Sentences^ 
 befides other VVorks, the Titles whereof are, Some Small Theological Trails, One 
 Book. Commentaries upon the Books of the Soul, One Book. Of the Great efi and the 
 Leaft, One Book. The Two firft Manufcripts are faid to be in the Archives of 
 Cajus and Gonel Colleges, at Cambridge. Pits, in Appendice. His Time is not cer- 
 tainly known ; but he is placed here by guefs. 
 
 L Br. William Appledore, ox Applet on., a famous Francifcan Doftor, /^««a 1580 
 and Confeflor (c^ to King Richard the Second, was this Year, moft bar- 
 baroufly murder'd, together with that holy Prelate Simon Sudbury, or Tibold 
 
 A a Arch- 
 
 (a) Fran, a Sta Clara, in Appendice H'lft. Mm. (b) Leland. CoUeSan. Vol. 1. part. 2, fag. 30S/ 
 ^c) Vide Fran, a Sta' Clara, in Hifi. Mn.fag. 29.
 
 178 The Antiquities of the Englilh Francifcaqs. 
 
 Kxc\\h\(\i0^o^ Can: erhury J and Robert Holies, Pr'or of St. John''s\ being all three 
 beheaded upon To-vcr-hi II, in Lindon, by thofe villanous Rebels Wat T)ler and 
 'ja'k Straw, and their Accomplices, Sixty Thoufand in Number, who, like an 
 impetuous Torrent, bore down all before them ^ as may be feen in our Eng- 
 lifti Hiftories. Slam's Chronicles abridged record this bloody Faftthis Year, and 
 Codrryn in the Year following. See hit. Catalogue of Bijhops. 
 
 g^ l\. Br. John St. ijford, born at SM/»r^, enter'd into the Order of 5/. 
 
 ""^ ' ■ Francis in his Youth; and having finilh d his Studies of Fhilolbphy 
 and Divinity with good Succefs, he (as Lf/rf«^ writes) fpent fome ot his leiliire 
 Kours in the readuig of Hiftory, and being by Degrees accuftom'd to that kind 
 of^tudy, he began to fir.d a Delight and an Improvement therein, and tlierefore 
 thought it worth his while, not only to read tiie Lives and Afts of great and 
 famous Men for the prefent Eiitertainment of his own Mind, but alfo to 
 writedown what he had read for the common Benefit and Improvement of others; 
 And obferving that England had the Honour to abound withdomeftick Exam- 
 pies of heroick Vertue?, he judg'd that his Labour wou'd be beft imploy'd in 
 Penning the Hiftories ot his native Country; ar.d therefore he fet himfclf to 
 that Work, and writin Latin, not unhandfomly, as /'/fj exprelTes it. His Work 
 it. intided, fJijloria j^igUca, or A H:ftory of England^ One Book. He departed 
 this Life about this Time. So Dr. Pits. 
 
 I.Br. John Tyjfington, a famous Francifcan Doftor,(whore Charafter 
 
 ""'' > '• I will give hereafrer) was this Year one of thofe leading Doftors of 
 Oxford who, together with William Berton^ Chancellor of that Univerflty, con- 
 demn'd JohnWicklejf of Herefy. This Wickleff was Parfon of Lutterworth, m 
 LeiceJ}erJ}]ire^ who advanced many heterodox and pernicious Opinions, to the great 
 Scandal of the Nation. The Francifcan Friers gave fignal Proofs ot their great 
 Zeal for the Catholick Faith, in Oppofition to this deteftable Herefy ; as ap- 
 pears in a certain Oxford Manufcript, page 55, where fas my (aj Author fays^ it is 
 recorded that to the Refolutions aiid Decifions of this fii ft Convocation held in 
 London, on this Occafion, (/1/<jy f/jf nth. 1382J for the Condemnation of John 
 Wicklejfs Two and Twenty Conclufions, thefe followii g Dcftors were Subfcribers, 
 \i\z.Br.JohnCurlelle,-Ai\A Br, Thomas Barnxvcl, Doctors of Divinity o{ Oxford, 
 Br. Willi.im Fol-vtle and Br. Ro^er Frysby, Doctors of Divinity ot Cambridge, and Br. 
 Ralph Wiche Batchelor of Divinity ; All of the Order of St. Francis. 
 
 In the fame Manulcript, 3^o/3n Ridden, a Doftor of Cambridge, lubfcribes to 
 the fifth Convocation ; and page 66, there is a Letter from the Guardian of 
 the Friers Minors of Oxford and the Priors ot the three other Orders of Mendi' 
 cants to John Duke ot Lancafter, againft one Nicholas Hereford, Z Wicklcffifi, da- 
 ted February the iSth 1381. So Fran, a Sta. CUra, Ibid. But more of their Zeal in 
 this Caule hereafter. 
 
 I The 
 
 (a) Fra». a Sta Clara, inBiJl.Min, pag, 51.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englidi Francifcans. i j^ 
 
 I. The learned Univerfity of Oxford is fa id to have been tradu- /<«w 1383. 
 ced, as it" they had given into Wicklejf'siiQveiy \, ]i\it Thomas G/tfcoign, 
 (a) clears them of that dilhonourable Imputation by difcovering an important 
 Truth ; which is, that a certain Letter which was lent from Oxford (as an Aft 
 ot that Univerfityjto /'r<«g-w,in Bohemia, in behnlf of Wicklef's Errors, was npC 
 genuine •, but was counterfeited by one Pffcr F^^wf, who by Stealth, had got the 
 Univerficy's Seal, wherewith he figned the faid forged Letter. This an Author 
 (b)of Credit writes from Tiryw, and he relates it for the Honour of the faid 
 Univerfity, againft thofe Slanderers who, deceived by the Sham-Letter, gave out 
 that Oxford then favour'd Wickltff^ and declared themfelves tor his Errors. 
 
 I. Br. William FolviUy born in Linalnjhire, made fuch Improve- Ak>io 1584. 
 ments after he became a Member of the Order of St. Francis^ that 
 he was admitted to the honourable Degree of Doftor of Divinity, at Cambridge ; 
 and not undefervedly, for he was famous for his manifold Learning, and had 
 alfo a great Name for his vertuous Life, as LeLand and Willot atteft. in this 
 good Man's Days the Univerfity-Men were greatly offended at the Friers, efpe- 
 cially the Francifcans, becaufe they often admitted Youths, little more thaa 
 Boys, into their Order ^ and therefore they made a Decree, or Statute, that no 
 Perfon under eighteen Years of Age fhou'd be received by them out of either of 
 the Univerficies; which faid Aft the Friers wou'd not allow to ftand good, al- 
 ledging that it was derogatory to their Privileges, and notably prejudicial to 
 their State ; So Br. William Folvilewvk againft it, in behalf of his Order, and 
 intitledhis Work, For the Clothing of Boys, One Book. He departed this Life in 
 the Convent of hh Order at Stanford in Lincolnjljire^ y4w«o 1384, Dr. Pits. This 
 Statute continued in Force no longer than Six Years j as I have already faid, un- 
 "der the Tears is6o and 1^66. 
 
 I. Br. 'Thomas Burbury, about this time, was Minifter Pro- Anm 1385. 
 vincial of the Englifh Province of Francifcans. It appears not at 
 what time he was chofen into this Office ^ but he lucceeded Br. Thomas Htbery 
 and was fucceeded by Br. John T)jfi»gton, DD. 
 
 I. Br. William ScharjJiiHe, once 5fa/?icf of King Edward the Thirds Anno 11S6. 
 quitting all temporal Affairs, enter'd into the Order ot St. Francisy 
 with great Honour, at Oxford. So Stevens, from an ancient Manulcript ; but 
 mentions no exaft Date. 
 
 Nothing memorable occurrs concerning the Fr^cifcans in the three following 
 Years. So I go on. 
 
 i. Br. John Summer, or Somer (Sonnir, (jz) Davenport C2i\\s him) JVfZS Anm 1390. 
 a Francifcan of the Convent of Bride-water, in Somerfetjh:re, from 
 whence he afterwards was fent to Oa;/("-<^, where he wer,t through all his hi >;her 
 Studies, and made fuch an advantagious Progrefs in Philofophical Learnii.g, fas 
 Leland writes^ efpecially in the Mathematicks, that in his Time there hardly was 
 
 A a 2 any 
 
 (a) In DiBionario ^eokgico. (b) Bifi-Min, ^a^. 31- ©" 3j. C<^) iHP- Mm. Provin. Avgl. 
 Yrat. Mln- pag. 31.
 
 i8o The Antiquities of the Englilh Francifcans* 
 
 any Man in England fit to be compared with him, and none that excell'd him. ' 
 He applied hinifelf more particularly to Aftronomy , in which kiud, partly 
 trom chebeft Authors, and partly from his own Wit and indefatigable Indurtry, 
 he made many wife Obfervations, and compos'd I'everal very commendable 
 Schemes of the Solar Cycles and the Ecclefiaftical Computation ; which he re- 
 viled, reduced into a proper Method, and publiih'd (about ten Years before his 
 Death) for the Benefit ot Pofterity, andto his own lafting Fame, notwichftand- 
 ii,g his great Humility which wou'd not permit him to make his Works fee 
 the Light, but at the Command of Br. Tijomas Heber, his Provincial, and the 
 Requeft Q^ 'Joanna., Princefs of WaUmnA jit^uitaniay who was King Richard the 
 Second's Moi\\ex^ and was afterwards buried in the Church of the Friers Minors at 
 Stanford. But 1 return to Br. "John Summer^ whofe Writings are thefe, viz. 
 Canons of the Stars., One Book. Of the Quantity of the Tear, One Book. CorreBioni 
 of the Calendar^ One Book. A I'nird Calendar, One Book Of the Metrical Faeultyy 
 or the Art oj Poetry, One Book. Befides many other Works. He departed this 
 Life, j4nno 1390. P/V^, Davenport, Mafon, and others. 
 
 II. ^tv.fohn Anglicus,zx\Ey\%\\i\i Francifcan, whom Wiilot calls by 
 """ '*'"' no other is^ame was a Man of great Vertueand excellent Learning; 
 a Follower of the Subtile DcHor Scotus, and a Writer of leveral Works, whereof 
 the very Titles were not known to Dr. Pits, being loft, I prefume, by the Ini- 
 quity of the Times, except One Book Vpon Scot ut'sVniverf alia, printed it yenice 
 Anno 1511. He departed this Life in the J'if.ir 1390. 
 
 Notandum, There are Two other famous Francifcans of the fame Appellation, 
 whofe Charafters I have given under the T>4r 1255, each ot whom had AngUcus 
 added to 7«//j« inftead of a Sirname, the EngUfh being commonly fo named by 
 Foreignets, amongft whom thefe Three lived many Years, at Paris andelfe- 
 where. 
 
 IIL Br.Ctfrey LingefGalfridus Ltngius) vj3.\ of the Francifcan Con- 
 ^«»o 1390. ^g^^j. ^^ j\j^rji>icb. He took great delight in Hiftory, and made a dili- 
 gent search into the Antiquities of his own Nation •, and having, for a long 
 Time, and with much Labour, read over almoft all the beft Authors of that 
 kind, he gave his Mind and Hand to the writing of a Chronicle, be^mmn^ from 
 the Creation of the World, or perhaps rather from the Arrival of Brutus in 
 Great Britain. This Work was intitled C^ro«/M, or Chronicles ; for 1 find not 
 whether it was in Latin, or Englifli. His other Writings are not known. He 
 departed this Life in the Tear i 390. 
 
 1. This Year the Francifcans gave frefli Demonftrations of their 
 /"w i3P> Orthodoxy and great Zeal for the holy Catholick Faith ^ efpecially 
 Br. John Tyffington, m the Council held at Stanford, in Lincolnjhire : But of this 
 M^ni and his Afts more under the 7V<ir 1395. 
 
 I. Br Roger firnamed AngUcus by Foreigners becaufe an EngiiJh Man, 
 
 »»o 1392. ^^,as a famous Miilionary in T^rr^jr^ •, from whence he was, this Year, 
 
 fenttothe Pope, by the Emperor ot thole raft Dominions .- But, i 6t having an 
 
 Opportunity ct iteing the Annals of the Order at large, I do not find wJiat was the 
 
 Purport
 
 The Ayitiquities of the "EngYifh Francifcans. i8i 
 
 Purport, or the Effetb of this Embafly as tothefaid Emperor himfelfi though 
 many of his People were converred to the Chriftian Faith about this Time •, as 
 very many others of the fime Empire had alfo been about the Tear 1245, by the 
 indefatigable Zeal and Preaching ot the Francifcan Friers. So the Epitome of the 
 jinnals of the Order. 
 
 I: Br. John T)(fington was a Francifcan ProfefTor of Divinity and a Anno 1595. 
 Doftor of Oxford •, a Perfiin of great Merit and Worth, as appears 
 by his being afterwards chofen Provincial of his Order in England \ in which 
 Office he fucceeded Br. Thomas Burbury., and he comported himfelf with fo much 
 Zeal and Prudence, that he gain'd the general good-liking and Applaufe of All, 
 fo that he was continued therein for his Life, to the great Satisfaftion and Im- 
 provement of his Subjefts, and the Edification of the World •, for, he ihew'd 
 his extraordinary Zeal, not only for the Support of regular Difcipline, but likewife 
 for the Catholick Faith, and continued to give frefh Proofs thereof even to his 
 dying Day. He was a pious and a learned Man, Cas Leland and Wi/lot atteft) and one 
 whofe Merit had juftly gain'd an univerfal Efteem. (a.) Mr. Wood records his 
 Name amongft thofe chief Doftors of O.v/ar^ who, in the 7><«r 1381, condemn'd 
 WickUff^ iVL^'!t{\t% \ And, in the Tear 1391, lyffington was an aftive Man in the 
 Council held at Stan'ord, in Lincolnfhire, in the Prefence of King Richard the Se- 
 cond, when, by the Bifhops and Doftors, the faid Herefy, with all it's Fol- 
 lowers and Abettors, was publickly and folemnly condemn'd •, where this Apo- 
 ftolical and brave Man gave plain Demonftrations of his being fas another David) 
 an Enemy to the Enemies ot God-, as his excellent Writings againft thofe Seft- 
 aries abundantly teftify. So Dr. Pits. And, here, for the clearer Underftanding 
 of this Matter, and the Credit and lafting Reputation of this Great Good Man, 
 I will add, that in the Caie of IVickleff, when the Chancellor of Oxford, William 
 Btrton, thought proper to lelefl: Twelve of the moft learned and famous Do- 
 ctors o( that Univerfity to examine the faid Wickleff's Propofitions, and to cenfure 
 them according to their Deferts, Tyjftngton was appointed as thechief Man amongft 
 them, both at Oxford arA a.t Stafford. So Fran. (b)aSta. Clara. 
 
 The fame Author alfo adds Leland's Ch^raiker of him, viz. By how muchOxfordf 
 that fruitful City of noble Sciences, excells all other Cities for Academical ExercifeSy 
 So much methinks, does Tyffingtons Learning furfafs that of other Dehors. Infine, 
 Tyjftngton and his Francifcan Province were fo grearly valued by the Apoftolick 
 See, that ?o^e Boniface the Ninth, (m?ide Pope in 1389, and ruled till i^o^Jhya. 
 Bull which begins withthefe Words ^«<j»«'://j, prout ex injunH-i c^c. fc^ gave him 
 a Commiilion impowering him to delegate two Friers ot his Province of Eng- 
 land, whom he fhou'd think fit, tovifit, correft, and put an End to the great 
 Difficulties which at that Time embroil'd the Francifcan Province of St- James 
 in Spain, on the Account whereof feveral Appeals had been made to the holy 
 See.- And the Pope was very felicitous about that AfTair, as appears in the faid 
 
 Bull, 
 
 (a) A/itiq. Oxov. Lib. i«, fag, 1S5). (b) Biff- Miv. ^ag. ji. (c) Vavevpcrt, Ibiiem, 
 pag. 31.
 
 i82 The Antiquities of the Englilh Francifcans. 
 
 Bull, wherein he blames the Minifter General of the Order, becaufe he had not 
 put an End to theie Complair.ts and Grievances, though prels'd to it by his Ho- 
 linefs i and therefore he took the whole Caule out of the General's Hands, and 
 committed it intirely to the Provincial of England "fylJlngton^ and to two of his 
 Subjefts, whom he iliou'd judge proper to be imploy'd as his Delegates for that 
 I'urpole. /y.?rp.(/?f/«/(a^rays, 73'//?wjfo« wasone of thofe learned Doftors that writ 
 againft WickUjf yet living, and Pits gives us thefe following Titles of his 
 Works, viz. y« Defence of the Evcharifl, One Book, wluch P/V/ took tor the fiime 
 Manufcript, which is in St. BcnediWs College, in Cambridge. Of the Sacrament of 
 the Altar^ One Book. Of the Sacraments, One Book. For auricular Confejfion, One 
 Book. j4£ainfi IVicklefs Confeffio//, One Book. Scholajiick Difputations, One Book. 
 Be departed this Life, Anno iSP"?, in the great Convent of his Order at 
 London, and was fucceeded in the Office of Provincial by Br. Nicholas Packing- 
 ham, a learned ProfelTor ot Divinity and Dodtor of Oxford, of whom more 
 hereafter. 
 
 II. Br. Voomas Buttiler {Ruttler, I prefume) Bifliop of Chrifionople^ 
 "foi^^y y^]^Qj^ (]jg Author of the Epitome of the Annals ptaceth under this 
 Year, feems by his Name to have been an Englilh Man ^ and probably might 
 have been a Suliragan to fome of our Diocefans, as many others of the Order 
 were : But if he was not, I am ready to reftore him, or any other Man, to his 
 native Country. 
 
 I. ^r. William Woodford, a Francifcan Doftorof OAr/or</, was famous 
 n>'o\'!,9-i. ^^^ both Piety and Learning, a mighty Lover ot Catholick Unity^ 
 and a declared Oppoler of all Errors, Seds, and Herefies, That learned and 
 famons Carmelite, Thomas Waldenfn, calls Woodford his Mafter ; and Leland fays of 
 him, that he learn'd his Philofophy and Divinity with fuch Induftry and Appli- 
 cation, that he defervedly may, and ought to be rank'd amongft Men of the 
 preateft Learning ; and the Argument he brings to confirm the Truth ot this 
 his AfTertion, is, that when the poylbnous Doftrineof Wickleff had fpread it felf 
 abroad, and had taken fo deep Root in the Minds of many, that a Council was 
 jjdg'd necefTary for it's Extirpation, a Synod was accordingly call'd at London, 
 wherein WickUjfs Herefy was again condemn'd in a moft folemn Manner, and 
 Br. William Woodford was the Perfon chofen out, by the unanimous Votes of that 
 Venerable AfTembly, as the moft learned and fit Man, to write an Anfwer to 
 Wicklcff's Trialfgne ("a Book containing his principal Errors) and to confute it 
 with Iblid and nervous Arguments. This important Injunftion IFo(;^/o>-^ chear- 
 fully undertook at the Inftance ot the Archbifhop of Canterbury, Arundel; And 
 he did not only anfwer the great Expeftations the faid learned Cour.cil had con- 
 ceived of his Performances, by confuting Wickhjf's TriaUgue, but he likewife 
 writ many Things, moft learnedly, againft his other Works, and againft his fe- 
 duced Followers j moft of which Writings he dedicated either to Thomas Arun- 
 del 
 
 (*) In Siflor. fVicklff. caf. 15. Vide Pits, Armo 1597 . Vide Hifi. Mm- pag. 33.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifli Francifcans- 1 83 
 
 del^ Archbifliop of Canterbury, Primate of England and Legate of the Apofto- 
 lick See, or to John Treuevant (ox Trefrant) Bifliop of Hereford \ and he addiels'd 
 the Fruits ot his Labours to thefe two moft Reverend Prelates, both to confound 
 the Adverfaries ot the Faith by the Support oi lb great Authority, and alio to 
 animate thele two famous Bifliops to ule all their Might in the Oppofing of all 
 Manner ot Heretical Opinions. Har^sfield^wes Woodford t\\\s f^xcAt Charailer, 
 viz. that he was v?« Author made up wholly of Bones and Sinews, intimating, by this 
 Metaphorical ExpreiTion, the great Strength ot his Arguments and Realbnings. 
 Woodford anfwer'd every Particular of Wicklcjf's Errors ^ and Dr. Pits gives us 
 this Catalogue oi his Woxks, -viz.- Vpon Ecclef.jfies, One Book. On fome Places of 
 Ez.echiel, One j3ook. Fur the Introit of the Bible, One Book. Comments upofi St. A^a- 
 ihew, upon St. Luke, and upon St. Paul to the Romans^ each One Book. Divers Str- 
 mons. One Book. Dttermin.itions againfi Wicklcff's Trialogue, One Book, MSS. in 
 the publick Library, and in Merton, and New Colleges at Oxford. Againfi Wick- 
 leff's Dialogues, One Book. Againfi him, of Religion, One Book, MSS. in the publick 
 Library at Oxford. Againfi his Eighteen Articles, One Book, printed at CoUgn, An- 
 no I53S' Ag-wjfi thcWickleffists, One Book- OfTythes and Oblations., againfi Walter 
 Britt, One Book. Againfi the Herefies in the Reign of King Richard the Second, One 
 Book.Oy Conformity towards Chrifi, One Book. Of the Condemning of Wickleff, One 
 Book. Vpon the Caufes for Condemning his Articles, One Book, MSS.in Mertcn Col- 
 lege. Againfi his Articles already Condemn d, One Book, MSS. in the publick Library, 
 and in New College, at Oxford. Seventy Two Ouefiions concerning the Eucharifl, Or.e 
 Book, MSS. in Exeter College in Oxford. Of the Poffeffions of the Clergy, One Book. 
 Of Civil Dominion, Three Books. Of the Priefihood of the New Teftament, One 
 Book. Of the Dignity of Priefihood, One Boole. A Defence of Begging, againfi Ar- 
 magh, One Book, MSS. in Magdalen College, at Oxford. An ExtraEl of the Errors 
 of Armagh., One Book, MSS. in New College. On ArifiotWs Phyficks, Eight Books; 
 befides many other Works. Wuoiiford departed this Life at Clocefier, Anno 
 J 397, or not long after, in the Weaji of the unhappy Reign ot Richard the id. 
 This great Man is fometimes call'd Wydford, and fbme-imes Wideford, and Wodeford: 
 But he writes himfelf an Engliih Man in the Dedication of his Works addrefs'd 
 to the Archbilhop ot Canterbury, and his Name and the Rank he held amongft 
 his Religious Brethren are beft exprefs'd in one ot his Manufcripts in the Bodleian 
 Library, (Numb. 9.) ^t Oxford, where it appears that in the Tear 1390, he was 
 Vicar-Provincial of his Order under the Minifter Provincial of England : For, the 
 Tranicriber of the faid Manufcript concludes that Work thus, viz. Explicit De- 
 terminatio Quarta Domini Egregij (^ Fratrts W. Woodford^ de Ordinc Almorum, pro 
 tunc ficarij Miniftri Provincialis, quam determinavit Oxon. Anno 13 90. So Fran. ^_a) 
 a St a. Clara, 
 
 11. Bx. Thomas Wolward was another learned Francilcan who zea- Anm 139/. 
 louily join'd with Woodford : and thefe Two, by their excellent Wri- 
 tings, confuted the pernicious Errors of Wtckleff after his Death •, as Br. John 
 
 • — ■ • "■ — ' * '■ . . . I ^-. 
 
 (jn) Urfi Adiii. {ag, 11.
 
 184 ^^^^ Antiquities of the Engli(Ti Francifcans. 
 
 Tyiftrgtotty their Provincial, had alfo done whilft the faid unhappy WichUJf was 
 yec living, (a) Har^i field. 
 
 I. Br. jfo/)/; C"o//?o«, a very learned Francifcan, educated at Oxford, 
 Anna 1398. flourilh'd about this Time : He is mentiun'd by (b) Harpi(ield»s if he 
 had made his Name famous to Pofterity by his Writings: But I cannot find the 
 Titles of his Works. 
 
 I. I cannot here forbear giving the Reader an Account of an odd 
 Auno\-,99' Rencounter, which Dr. Fuller, (c) \n hii ufuai Style, tells thus, * I 
 
 * find our famous Poet Cfc^««r fined, in the Temple, two Shillings, forftrikinga 
 
 * Francifcan Frier, mFleet-flreet ; And it feems his Hands ever after itch'd to 
 
 * be reveng'd, and have his Penny-Worths out of them j as appears in fome of 
 
 * his Writings. So that merry Man, Fuller. 
 
 II I have now given an imperfeft Draught of the Cha rafters of 1 
 ifwwijpp. jQpne of thole many famous Francifcans who lived and flourifhed 
 before the Tear \^co\ from whence the Reader may frame an Idea of the Dig- 
 nity of the ancient Province of the Englifh Friers Minors, which has produced 
 a numerous Succe/Iionof Men of uncommon banility of Life, and of iuch Ex- 
 cellent Parts and Eminent Knowledge in all Manner of Learning, that it is but 
 a Tribute of Juftice due to their Merits and illufliious Memories toalTert, that 
 they have not only been a Credit co our Nation, but alfo an Ornament to the 
 Church of God, and have greatly contributed to the Improvement of rhe Com- 
 mor-Wealth of Learning. And it may with Truth be added, that the fmall 
 Remainder of the EngliJI) of that Order have the Honour to inherit all the beft 
 Talents of thefe their Anceftors ; And, if the Sentiments of a certain learned 
 XJniverfity ('WitnefTesof their Education^ were required, I have Reafon to be- 
 lieve that the Charafter of the Englifh Francifcans wou'd be found to rife as 
 high as that of any other Order, or Community of Englifti Church-men what- 
 ever confidering the Fewnefs of their Number .• But they are too modeft to 
 glory in any thing but their Poverty. They will blufh at this Truth •, and there- 
 fore I will nottrefpafs farther upon them j but return to their PredecefTors, and 
 go forwards with my Collections. 
 
 I. Br. John Richard Blunt is this Year mention'd by the Annalift of 
 Anno 1400. ^^^ Q^^^^ ^Q|. j^jg jjgjjjg xnT^dt Bifhop of Jcon, or Acre, heretofore Pto- 
 lemais \ which being in Partihus Infidelium, or amongft the Infidels, makes me believe 
 he was a Suffragan Bifhop to fome of our Diocefans, if he was an Englifh Man ; 
 for which I have no other Proof befides his Name. 
 
 I. Br John Crenlaw, an Englifh Frier Minor, was this Year confti- 
 Amu i^oi- tuted Suffragan Bifhop of Bath ?iX\A Wells, on the 9th Day of December., 
 by the moft Reverend Father in Chrift, Henry Bowet, y,\(tio^oi that See ; the 
 faid CrenLm., having a little before been confecrated Bifhop Soltanienfis, by John 
 Sorenps and Ihomas Confiantienfis^ Two Other Titular Bifliops, as appears by their 
 foreign Titles. (A) Wharton. 
 
 (a) Uifi-Wickliff cap. 15. {h) Hift. Eccles. Sxcuh ^^to cap. 28. (c) Church Hi fi. page 152. (d) 
 In Anglia Sacra- Farte xma. tag. ili.ln inferiori MArgine.
 
 The Antiquities o//^eEnglifli Francifcans. 185 
 
 II. Br. William Palmer., a learned and an eloquent Francifcan, 4«no 1401 
 was now very famous-, which is all I can find of him, in the Epitome 
 
 of the Annals of the Order, under this Year. 
 
 III. This Year was fatal to the poor Francifcans; for, the depo- Atino n'.i. 
 fed King, Richard the Second, dy\n^ in Pomfret-Caftle, on St. f^ahntine's 
 
 Day 1399, the People for the moft part were uneafy under the Government of 
 his SuccelTor, Henry the Fourth, znA. {6me'PsT{on5,viho(&s Speed fays j were hat- 
 ching a Confpiracy againft his Life, rais'd a Report that King Richard was ftill 
 alive ^ whicnfomuch exafperated the King that he relblved to fpare no Man 
 upon whom the Crime of Concealment was found : Several Perfons were put 
 to Death on this Score •, and the Gray Friers, it feems, gave Credic to the falfe Re- 
 port, viz. that King Richard was yet living, and being therefore look'd upon as 
 difafiefted Co the prefent Ruler, feveral of them were taken into Cuftody ^.a- 
 niongft others one Br. Richard Frifeby, a Doftor of Divinity, was infnared, and 
 being ask'd IVhat he woud do if King Richard were living, and prefent ? Hs confident- 
 ly andfioutly anfxver^d that hewoudfioht for him till Death againfi any Man xvhomfo- 
 ever; which unwary (chough loyal) Anfwer cofl him his Life, being drawn 
 and hang'd in his Friers Weed. So Stow. Not long after, eight Francifcan Fri- 
 ers, or Minorites (fays Speedy were taken, convifted, hang'd, and headed for the 
 like Caufes, viz. for reporting that King Richard was alive ; which made the 
 King a heavy Lord to that whole Order. Thefe poor wel-meanlng Friers really 
 believed that King Richard was ftill living, (which was their Misfortune) and 
 therefore thought it a Part of their Duty to fpeak for him as their rightful So- 
 vereign. Afr. Speed, in the Tear 14O4, relates a Paffage which feems to take off 
 the Imputation of Imprudence from thefe Friers for this their Procedure : The 
 Story is this; ' This Tear 1404, fays he, one John Cerle, who kill'd the Duke 
 
 * (Glovernia) of Glocefter, was taken up by the Englifhin Scotland : This Mancon- 
 ' fefs'd that, in ff'^^/f/, he had ftolen Kin^ Richard's Signet, with which he afrer- 
 
 * wards had fign'd many Letters to the faid King's Friends, which gave them good 
 
 * Caufe to believe his Majefty was ftill living, and was the Occafion of the 
 
 * Death of many. Cerle at laft was hang'd.' So Speed. This I take to be the 
 lecret Caufe of all the mention'd Misfortunes that befell the Poor Friers, as 
 well as of the untimely Death of (everal others of the fame Order, t.vo of whom 
 were likewife hang'd, at Leicefier, this Year, for the lame Caufe. Alio a. Frier 
 Minor of Aylesbury being convicted of having fpread the Report that King Ri- 
 chard ftill lived, was hang'd at Tyburn. So('aj Ltland ; who alfo adds that, the 
 fame Year likewife, the Afajler (Guardian I fuppofe he means^ of the Friers Minors 
 of Leicf(ler, being convifted of the like Treafon, was hang'd tit Jybum, toge- 
 ther with King Richard the Second's Baftard Brother. This laft Perfon, 1 prefume, 
 was Dr. Richard Frifeby above mention'd : And Mr. Collier (bjcan mean no other 
 Man when he fays * that a certain Frier Minor being interrogated what he wou'd 
 ' have done if King ^/'cW^i had been living and in the Field ? boldly anfwer'd, 
 
 B b ' 'he 
 
 (a) CcUedan, Vol. I. fart, z.pag. 311, (b) Both ^tb jag, ^iS*
 
 I 
 
 1 $6 The Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans. 
 
 he would have veiitur'a his Life for him againft any Perfon whatfoever, and 
 upon this Declaration was brought in guilty, and drawn and hang'd in his Ha- 
 bit : However, his Fraternity prevail'd fo far as to get his Body, and give 
 it Chriltian Burial.' So Collier. But I now go into Wales to look after the 
 Franci leans there .- For, 
 
 * This Year, fays (aj LelanJ,the rFfZ/Jj rebell'd againft King /^f«ry, and plun- 
 der'd the Englifli on all Sides, and therefore the King himfelt march'd into 
 North-lVJes, and into the Ifle of Anglefey^ where the Friers Minors of the 
 Convent of L^jw^yw (^LLanvaiiy near Beau-marii) and the W^e//Z> and others op- 
 pofed his Majefly ^ and therefore the King's Army kill'd Ibme of thole Friers, 
 and took others of them Pri loners, and plunder'd the Convent .• But Owen 
 Glendour not appearing, the King return'd liome, and left the Government of , 
 that Country to the Lord Gray : And his Majefty releafed the Friers that were 1 
 imprifon'd, and gave Orders that every Thing fhou'd be reftored to the Con- 
 vent that had been taken from thence ^ intimating withall that it was his 
 Will that the faid Convent, for the future, ihou'd be inhabited by the Eng- 
 lifh Francifcans. Leland- 
 
 L Br. William Norton Cvvhom fbmecall Morton^ a Francifcan of the 
 r.vo 1403. (;;;o,^vg,^t of Coventry^ was an extraordinary Scholar, onethat foar'd 
 above the common Sphere of Learned Men, both in Philofophy and Divinity, 
 although mofl of his Writings are loft, as ^t'/7/or fays, except one learned Work 
 which he writ Vpon Br. Nicholas de Lyras Expofuions of the Holy Scriptures, under 
 this Title, viz. Repertorium Lyr*, One Book, MSS- in Lincoln College, at Oxford. 
 He departed this Life Anno 1403. So Dr. Pits. 
 
 .. L Br. William Auger y after many Years Study at Oxford, and great 
 
 nno 404. Jnjprovements in both Vertue and Learning, was by his Superiours 
 call'd into SomerfetJIiire, and there made Guardian of the Convent of his Order 
 at Bridgwater •, where, at his leifure Hours, he call'd over all his former Notions, 
 ruminating upon what he had often heretofore read, hear'd, and learn'd, or 
 difputed upon in the Schools •, efpecially in the Holy Gofpels ^ in the frequent 
 Reading and Meditation whereof he found a great deal of Spiritual Guft ; and 
 therefore, after a mature Deliberation, he writ and publifh'd a Book of Comment 
 tMtes vpon the Gofpel of St. Luke^ to the lafting Fame of his Name and the Im- 
 provement of Pojlenty. So Dr. Pits. Infine, Auger departed this Life Anno I404, 
 and was buried amongft his Religious Brethren in the faid Convent of Bridgwater^ 
 and is not only taken Notice of as a very learned Frier, but is alfo much com- 
 mended by /f<ir/j{/jf/<^ Hifl. Eccles. S£Culo \%to.pag. 6^'^. 
 
 IL ' This Year (fays(b) Leland^tht Welflj General, Owen Glendour, 
 Ai:vo 140^ , ^^^^^ ^j^g Southern Parts of Wales, and befieg'd the Town and Ca- 
 
 * ftleof Cairdijf: The Befieg'd fent to the King for Succour; but he neither 
 
 * came in Perfon, or fent them any AiMance ; So Owen took the Town and burnt 
 
 * it all except one Street wherein the Friers Minors dwell'd j which together 
 
 * with 
 
 I 
 
 (a)iW«w. {\>)Qolledati,YoUi.paTtz.pag.y^, ~ " 
 
 \ 
 
 J 
 1 
 
 I
 
 The Antiquities of the Engllfii Franclfcans* 1 87 
 
 t * with their Convent, he left ftanding, for the Love of the faid Friers. He 
 
 * madehimfelf Mafter alfoof the Caftle, aad deftroy'd it, carrying off a rich 
 
 * Booty.- But when rhefaid Friers addrefs'd him, petitioning for their Books and 
 
 * Chalices which they had iodg'd in the Caftle^ he replied, Why did you put your 
 
 * Goods in the Caftle ? If you had kept them in your Convent they woud have been Safe. 
 So Leland. 
 
 This Owen Glendour ('whom Stovo calls Glendoverdewe) was a Wel^i Gentleman 
 and Mafter of the Lordfhip of Glendowr, in Merionithjhire : The Welfli call him 
 the Son of Griffith Vachan^ defcended of a younger Son of Gruffithap Madoc, Lord 
 of Bromfietd. Heatfirft was a Student of the common Laws, and an utter Bar- 
 rifter, did afterwards ferve the late unhappy King ^/cW<i in Place of an Efquire, 
 and was well beloved of him. But I refer the curious Reader to Speed's Hiftory, 
 and now return to the Englifh Francifcans. 
 
 I. Br. John Edey, born of an ancient good Family in Here for dfhlre, Ame 140^. 
 was clothed a Frier Minor in the Convent of that Order at Hereford^ 
 and in procefs of time became very famous for both Religion and Learnings 
 For, being fent to Oxford, he there made iuch uncommon Improvements, 
 that (being then but in the Flower of his Youthj he writ \Vi%Qn\o\i% Commentaries 
 vpon moft of Artflotle's Works \ and his Proficience in Theological Studies was 1 ot 
 Jeisthanin Philofophy : Butatlaft leaving the Univerfity, he return'dto Here^ 
 ford \ where, by his exemplary Vertues and great Learning, he gain'd (0 great a 
 Refpsft from all Men, that it was not long before he was cholen Warden of that: 
 Convent \ which Office he difcharg'd with great Prudence and Edification, im- 
 ploying fiis Time and Talents both in a diligent Care in the governing of his 
 Community, and in frequent Meditations upon the Holy Scriptures, and in of- 
 ten preaching to the People, who reap'd great Improvements from his zealous 
 Labours, in order to the Praftice of true Piety .-His fervent Words and chari- 
 table Inftruftions and Admonitions made deep and lafting Impreflions in the 
 Mindsof his Hearers, to the Honour of God and the great Benefit of their own 
 Souls. He left many learned Lucubrations to Pofterity, which are plain De- 
 monftrations of his Vertue, as well as of his Scholarlhip. The Titles of fume 
 of his Works are thefe, viz. A LeElure upon the Apocalypfe^ One Book, Vpon the 
 Mafier of the Sentences^ Four Books. TraQs of Divinity ^ One Book, MSS. in the 
 publick Library i^t Oxford, f^arious Sermons., One Book. A Lexicon of Originals., 
 One Book. A Bundle of Vertues and Vices, One Book. On Ariftotle's Logick, One 
 Book. On his Phyficks, Eight Books ; befides many other Writings not named by 
 Tfodior Pits. Edey feems by his Works to have been a ProfelTor of both Philo- 
 fophy and Divinity •, but be this as it will, he departed this Life in the Time of 
 his Superiority, at Hereford, Anno 1405, and was buried in that Convent amongft 
 his Religious Brethren. Pits, Mafon, and Others. 
 
 n. Br. John Lathhery, of the Francifcan Convent of Reading, in Anno 1^06. 
 Berks, was a Doftor of Divinity of Oxford^ and is greatly commen- 
 ded by Leland for his manifold Learning both lacredand Prophane ; for, he di- 
 ved into the hidden Secrets of natural Thirgs, and was a finiih'd Philofopher ; 
 
 Bb a he
 
 188 The Antiquities of the "English FrancifcanS' 
 
 he exceird alio in the Knowledge of Theological Learning, and gave frequent , 
 publick Demonftrationsof his great Penetration into facred MyfterieSjefpecialiy 
 whenever Occafions offer'd of Scholaftick Difputations. Many Authors com- 
 mend him, chiefly for his folid and clear Explications of the Holy Scriptures: 
 For, after he was of a middle Age, his confiant Cuftom was to read almoft conti- 
 nually the Sacred Text, and to meditate. Day and Night, upon the Law of our 
 Lord •, and in thefe holy Exercifes and Contemplations he moft fweecly fpent 
 his Life, preaching fometimes to the People from this his Treafure of facred 
 Knowledge, left he might feem to live fo wholly to God and himfelf as to 
 j!egle£t the fpiritual Good and Salvation of his Neighbour. Thefe following 
 Writing? are the Frodutts of his great Piety,. Wit, and Learning, s'xl. An Ex- 
 foftion of the Pfalmiy OviQ^ooV.. Commentaries on the Prophet Jeremiah^ One Book. 
 On his Lamentations, One Book, MSS. in Braz.en-nofe College, at Oxford, and 
 printed Anno i48i. Vpanthe Acts of the Apofiles, One Book. I.tffons of the Scriptures^ 
 One Book. Sermons, One Bock. Theological Diflinclions, One Book, A^SS. in St. /'f- 
 ters Co\]e^e ^t Ctimbridge. A Moral Alphabet, One Book, A'fSS. Ibidem. He depart- 
 ed this Lite Anno 1 406. Pits, Mafon, and Others. 
 
 . I, Br. Nicholas Fackingham, horn in Norfolk, wasa Franci(canDo£l:or 
 
 4 /• Qf Qxj-gy^.^ where he alfo was a publick Profeffor of Divinity, a long 
 while, in the Convent ot his Order. Ke vvas excellently learned in all Sciences, 
 both Sacred and Philofophical ; and therefore, partly fc'r his Dignity of Doftori 
 iliip, partly in Confideration of his long Services done to the Order in teaching, 
 and chiefiy for his exemplary Life, great Prudence, and other commendable 
 Qualifications, he was fo greatly efteem'dby his Religious Brethren, that they 
 uiianimoufly chofe him for their Minifler Provincial \ In which Office he fo com- 
 ported himfelf, t+iat (as Leland writes) he did mofl vigilantly regard the fpiritual 
 Improvements of his Subjefts and the religious Advantage of hi<; Order ^ and 
 alfo directed all his Aftionsand utmoft Endeavours to the Honour of God and 
 the publick Good of the Univerfal Church j and befo exercifed all his Autho- 
 rity as it he had ftudied rather to edify his Subje£ls with his Humility, than to 
 rjle them with an Air of Severity; For, being become a Patern of Vertue to 
 his Flock, he had nothing fo much at Heart as to fhew them their Way by the 
 Light of his own good Example. He was well known and greatly beloved by 
 K'n.e, Richard the Second, at whofe Inftance he writ many things for the publick 
 Good. Fackingham wasa Man of a meek and mild Difpofition, and one upon 
 whom there are juft Reafbns to believe that the Holy Ghoft, by a fpecial Grace, 
 refted. Piety was his continual Study and daily Practice •, Charity (that never 
 failing Vertuej was his conflant Exercife on all Occafions, and towards all Per- 
 fons ; he was Peaceable, and a great Lover of Concord and Union, 'fo that you 
 might thereby have known him to be an adopted Child of God. It was with 
 the greateft Grief of Mind imaginable that he beheld the Troubles, the Divi- 
 fions, and the Schifms that in his Days difturb'd the Peace of the Caiholick 
 Church, that loofen'd and almoft disjointed her indiflbluble Unity ; For the 
 Cure of which Evils, and that, like a truly pious Son, he might coiilble his 
 
 Mother
 
 The Antiquities of the "En^i^ Francifcans. i8p 
 
 , Mother the Church, he writ many Things very properly, and well adapted for 
 the working of a haj)py Reconciliation \ whereunto if the difagreeing Parties 
 had given a due Regard, they wou'd foon have return'd to their Duty in a Catho- 
 ]ick Union, nor had theSchifm ipread it fe if farther, or been of any longer 
 Duration. So Dr. Pits. Infine, a knowing (^) Author fays of Fackingham, that he 
 had the Honour to be declared, in his Time, Proto-M'gifier, or chief Do£l:or ot 
 his Order 'n\ EfigUnd : And thefe following are the Titles ot his learned Works 
 viz. Of Chri/fian Brotherhood, One Book. Of the Schifms of the Church, One Book. 
 Of the Vriion of the Church, One Book. Of the F'dlae of the A/afs, One Book. Of 
 the Suffrages of Pilgrims in this World, One Book. Of Prayer, One Book ; and fe- 
 veral other Things, which heretofore loudly proclaim'd the Author's Zeal and 
 Merits. He departed this Life, in the Reputation of Sanftity, in the Convent of 
 his Order at Colchefler, Anno I407. How long FacUngham was in the Office of 
 Provincial appears not \ but he was fucceeded therein by Br. fohn Zouch a Do- 
 £torof Divinity ; of whom in the next Article. 
 
 I. Y)X.Tohn Zouch, a Francifcan Doftor of Divinity, and Provincial Anno 140S. 
 of his Order in England, was made Bifhop of Landajf, in Wales, this 
 Year, or in the Clofe of the laft. G odwyn (h') c».\\s him la Zouche, ('though 'tis 
 certain he was an Englilh Man) and he adds, that ' it fhou'd feem that this Man 
 
 * built a great Part, or elfe happily all the Houfe at ^.jf/^fm, near Chepffow, the 
 •'only Houfe that is now left the Bifhop of that See to put his Head in : 
 
 * His Arms fix'din divers Places of the Walls and Windows, to my Judgment 
 ffays Codwyn) import as much.' When Br. John Zouch, for his great Merits of 
 Vertue and Learning, was preferr'd to the See of Landaff, he was fucceeded in 
 the Office of Minifter Provincial of the Engliih Province ot Francifcans by 
 Br. William Butler, a Protelfor and Dodor ot Oxford ■■, of whom hereafter. 
 
 I. Br. Peter Philardus, or Philaretus, a learned Francifcan educated Anno I4C5>. 
 at Oxford, was this Year made Pope, under the Name of Alexander 
 the Fifth ; and muft have a Place here, becaufe the Engliih Friers Minors had 
 the Honour to teach him his Divinity and Part of his Philofophy. He is faid 
 to have been born in the Ifland of Greet, in Greece, now call'd Candy, fituated in 
 the Mouth of the zy£gean Sez, between Rhodes ?md Pelopennefus now call'd Alorea,- 
 belonging to the Venetians ; But fc) Tojfmanerifls reports, that this Pope, upon 
 his Death-Bed, declared he was born in the Territories of Bologna, in the Papacy, 
 ot poor Parents, and that a certain great Man of Venice carried him over to- 
 Candia, or Greet., whence he was reckon'd to have been born there ^ However, 
 be this as it will, hewasapoor Boy ; but he had the good Fortune to betaken 
 Kotice of by a certain Francifcan Frier, who, finding him a promifing witty Lad, 
 took the Pains to teach him his Grammar, Claffick Authors, and Logick, 
 wherein he made fuch an uncommon Proficience, that, having firft made his Re- 
 ligious Profeffion in the Order of St. Francis.^ he was lent out of Italy to 0.v- 
 ford ; 
 
 (a) Fran. aSta. Qant, in Hiji. Mm. fa^. jo. (b) In his Bifio^s. (c) Hiff. Strath. Ltb. jJv^
 
 ipo The Antiquities of the Englifh Franclfcans. 
 
 ford \ where he went on with his Studies of fliilofophy and Divinity with 
 great Application, lor feveral Years, in the Convent ot his Order, arrived to a 1 
 great Degree of Perte£tion in both Sciences, became a publick (;<) Proteifor in 
 tlie laid Convent, and at laftwas admitted Batchelor of Divinity in the Uni- 
 verfity of Oxford^ (as (h) Mi-. Wood fays) from whence he atterwards went over 
 to P<»rw, where he gave Demonftration« of his great Learning by his excellent 
 Commentaries upon the Four Books of the Sentences, wh'ch he gave out to his Scholars 
 whilft he taught in that Univerfity ; where he at laft was made Doftor of Di- 
 vinity, and became a great Preacher, and an Author of Sermons and of many 
 other Writings. He was reckon'd a great Orator, an excellent Speaker, and 
 being a Man framed for great Things, * He(as(c) P/<jf/«/< faysj was lent for by 
 
 * John Galeatusy Duke of Milan, and made his chief Counlellor •, Alterwards, at 
 
 * the faid Galeatus's Requeft, he was made Bifhop of f^incenz.a, then tranQated to 
 ' ATtft/^f*?, and laft of all, being made Archbifhop o^ Milan., he was created Car- 
 
 * dinalot thtTwelve Apoflles by Pope Innocent the Jth ; from which Step he rofe 
 
 * to the Pontifical Dignity, by the marvellous Confent and Agreement of all 
 the Cardinals then affembled at Pifa in order to the putting an End to the 
 unhappy Schifm ; as they elfeftually did m this Council, by depofing (d) G'tgorj 
 the 1 2th and Benedifl the 13^/;, (the Two Perlons contending for the Triple 
 CrownJ and choofing this yilexander the %th, whom they feared in the Papal 
 Chair, on the qth of July, to the general Satisfiiftion ot All ■■, tor, he was ^ 
 famous for the Holinefs of his Life, as on the Account of his great Wifdom and 
 Learning, as Platina fays, whoalfo adds, that ' he wasdefervedly named Alexan- 
 
 * </fr, becaufe he might compare with any Prince for Liberality and Greatnefs of 
 
 * Mind •, tor, he was ^o munificent to the Poor, and to all that deferv'd his 
 
 * Bounty, that in a fhort Time he left himfelt nothing •, which made him ufe 
 
 * to fay in a joke, that he was a rich Bifijof, a poor Cardinal, and a beggarly Pope ; 
 
 * being free from that Defire of getting which ufually increafes with a Man's 
 
 * Eftate and Age.' So Platina, done into Englifl} by Paul Rycaut Efq; This good . 
 Pope reign'd no longer than ten Months and eight Days, departed this Life at ^ 
 Bologna, m Italy, and was there buried in the Francilcan Church, on the hfj 
 Hand ol the High AUar. But I return to England. 
 
 L Br. Reginald Langham, a Francifcan of the Convent of Norwich^ 
 1410. jjg^ j.j^jg Year. He was a very learned Man, a ProfefTor of Divinity, 
 and a Doctor of Cambridge ; a Man of a fharp Wit •, but he feems to have been 
 of a Temper fomewhat Litigious. He had the Charafter of an excellent School- j 
 man, being moft expert in all Scholaftick Difputations, andaccuftom'd to argue ' 
 fmartly and learnedly, todiftinguifh fubtilely, to explicate clearly, and to con- 
 clude folidly. But 1 know not (fays Dr. Pits) whether it proceeded from the En- 
 vy ot others, which ofren attends the greateft Wits, or from his own Fault, that 
 he had many learned Adverfaries of almoft all Religious Orders that writ againft 
 
 him ; 
 
 (d) H.J}. Min. p 11!^ 54. {h']piv.':T. y^ntiq.Oxon. in Infffhri Margine, & Speed, pag. "jSo, 
 (c) Hift. and Live, t; P s. [dj tiucconius deFit.^ Gejiis Ponlif. jpag. 851 SJ? 852.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifh Franclfcans. i^l 
 
 him ; to whom he return'd the Courtety by writing likewife againft them, as 
 appears, by theie following Titles of his Works, viz. Jgainfi Edmund^ a Monk 
 of Bury, One Book. Againft Andrew Bingham, a Dominican, One Book. j4gainli 
 John Avidon, a Carmelite, One Book. Thele moreover are his Writings, viz. Thirty 
 Lcclures on the Bible, One Book. Vpon the Mafier of the Sentences, Four Books. 
 Determinations, One Book. Difputed Quefiions, One Book ; and feveral other 
 Things not named by i)*'. P;>/>«/, from whom I have here writ. 
 
 I. \it. Thomas Otterborne, having apphed himfelt to the Studies of Anno 1411, 
 Piiik)lophy and Divinity with great Diligence and a proportioi;abIe 
 Succefs, became very learned, as well as a pious Man ; and was for fometime 
 a Profeffor ot Divinity in the Convent of his Order at Oxford. Having finifh'd 
 his Ledlures, and being under no particular Injunction of hii Superiours either 
 to learn or to teach, he betook himfelf to the reading of Hiftory, knowing it 
 to be a Means that eafily informs a Man in the Ways of a good Life, and deterrs 
 him from the Paths of Vice, by the Examples of others. After other Duties 
 of greater Importance Ottorbome made an exaft Scrutiny of the Antiquities ot 
 our Nation with fuch a remarkable Diligence, thuthe reduced the Affairs of Eng- 
 land into a hand fame Order, and writ a Hiftory of them. So (aj Mr. W^ood. Dr. 
 Pits fays^ Otterbourne is thought to have fpun out his Lite to the Tear I4I1, 
 and therefore I place him here, though I believe he was dead many a fair Year 
 b*fore this Time, becaule he is the 6^th. Francifcan Regent ProfelTor in the 
 Convent at Oxford ; as it appears in the Catalogue given by Mr. Wood. How- 
 ever, his Writings are thele, viz. An Hifiory of the Englijh Affairs, One Book. 
 Of the Succejfwn of the Earls of Northumberland, One Book. Divers Small Trails^ 
 One Booki behdes fome other Works, the Titles whereof are not named. William 
 Nicholfon, Bifhop ot Carlifle, m the fir ft Part o^ h\s late Book intitled the Englijh 
 Hiftortcal Library, page 67, reckon's this Otterburn amongft the ordinary Scriblers 
 of this Age •, yet fays, his MSS. Hiltory is faid to be in the publick Library at 
 Oxford- But Orff/Ww'j Work is approved by Mr. Wood, who is a better Judge 
 of Hiftory. 
 
 I.Br. RoderickWittonviA%& Francifcan Divine, and a famous Prea- Anm i^\z, 
 cher , and publiih'd to Pofterity a Book of Sermons of the Time, from 
 the Bfginmng of Advent till Eafter, as Pits fays : But there is little faid of his 
 other Writings, and nothing ot the Time when he flourifh'd •, So he is placed 
 here by guefs- Pits, in Appcndice. 
 
 I. Br. William Butler, a Francifcan Doftor ot Oxford and a Profef- ^uno 1413. 
 for, was very famous for Piety and Learning, and fo univerfally 
 efteem'd for his Prudence, Iblid Judgmer.t, and great Worth, that, on thefe Con- 
 fiderations, he is very much commended on every Occafion by Authors of the 
 beft Credit : Leland is protufe in his Encomiums ot him .• The moft learned Men 
 of Oxford heretofore efteem'd him (fays Pits') as the chief Flower of their Uni- 
 verfity ; and his Order gave a plain Demonftration of the Value they had for 
 
 him 
 
 ("a) ^nt'ii. Oxen, Lib, i^. page •]6,
 
 ip2 The Antiquities of the Englidi Francifcans. 
 
 him when they unanimoufly chofe him Minifter of the Englifh Francifcan Pro- 
 vince. Butler w^s in this Office of Provincial jinno 1408, when a Synod being 
 heldby the Archbilhop ot Canterhuiy, ^tSt.Pauh^ in Londo"^ he was the Perfon 
 appointed to preach before that Venerable Affembly met in a National Council 
 ior the SuppreiTion of the Schifm, and ro put a Scop to the Spreading of IFick- 
 lejf's tiereiy. Fulkr (A)cMsb)mJohn Botel, and ^^bj fjarpsfield Botelius, by mi- 
 stake-, and both the fe Writers ftyle him General of the Francifcans on this Oc- 
 cafion-, either for the Largenefs of the Province whereof he then was Minifter, 
 or rather (as a knowing (c) Author believed) becaufe at that time he was near, 
 or Commiffury General ofhis Order in England^ by a fpecial Commi/Tion from the Ge- 
 neral of the whole Order. However Botliler^ or Butler came off here with the 
 general Applaule ot all thofe learned Prelates, to whom he preach'd upon this 
 Text, \\7.. Tee are called in one Body. Davenport (d) fays, i?af/fr had the Honour 
 to be CoHeague to Pope Alexander the ^th. in the Profefforfhip ot Divinity at Ox- 
 ford ; and the Annalift (ejofthe Order reports, that the faid Pope approved ot 
 hisWritings, and commended his Zeal in oppofiiig a Verfion of the Bible wliich 
 proved a Scandal to Weak-Ones .- For, in his Time the Holy Scriptures were 
 tranflated into Englip, and fo handed about by ignorant Peafants, Artificers, 
 Women, andPerlons of all States and Conditions; and whofoever cou'd make 
 aflilftto read thought himfelf fufficiently qualified to underftand them ^ And, 
 this Alfuranceproved to be the Rife of a great Contempt of Sacred Myfteries, 
 the Caufe of infinite Errors, mcft foolifh interpretations, intolerable Abufes, 
 and grievous Scandals. Now, to put a Stop in time to thele Evils, Br. IVi/ham 
 Butler refolved to exert his Zeal •, which he did by all Means po/Iible, exciting 
 alfo other learned Men to join with him in the Work; So that (as Pits writes^ 
 there was a publick Decree and Proclamation ifTued out for the burning of all 
 the Copies of the faid Englifli Tranflationof the Scriptures, left the illeterate 
 Peoplebeing left to themfelve?, might thence unwarily draw Poyfon,from whence, 
 by following the Guidance of their Paftors, they might have reap'd eternal 
 Blifs. Ihe faid Books being on this Occafion and Account burnt, Butler ^'dve 
 Reafons for that Procedure in Writing, and publiiVd a learned Work, the Title 
 whereof was, j^gninfl the Englifh Tranflation of the Scriptures j befides which Work 
 he wr\t upon the Mafier of the Sentences, Four Books. Of Indulgences granted hy the 
 Tope, One Book. Divers Queftions, One Book, and many other Tradts. He died 
 in the Convent of his Order at Reading, in Berkfhire. Br. William Butler, defiring 
 rather to obey than to command, reftgn'd the Office of Provincial in the Tear 
 I410, and Br. Vincent Bois was cholen in his Place ; But the Men of his Pro- 
 vince were, it feems, fo defirous to have Butler for their Superiour that they 
 had Recourleto/Iowff, and they ib afted in the Matter, that, in the Tear 141 3, 
 he was forced to refumethe Provincialfliip, byanexprefs Command of the Pope. 
 This is related by the Annalift of the Order under the faid Year, and is the 
 
 Motive 
 
 (a) Church Hijhry, p.^e i6o. (b) S^culo lyo. (c) Fran. aSta.Clara, in Hiff. Mi». fag, 33. 
 {d)HiJi. MtH.pag. 34. (e) ^nnal. Or J. Min. Mm I4i(r.
 
 The Antiquities of the Engiifh Francifcans. ip^ 
 
 Motive of my placing him here. How long he continued Provincial nOw this 
 fecond Time, or how long he lived, I do not find ; but he was at laft fucceeded in 
 that Office by Br. Peter Rujfel, a Dortor of Oxford ; of whom hereafter. 
 
 I. This Year the Council of Conflame made a Decree for the Encou- Anne 1415. 
 ragement of the Reformation of the Order of St. Francis. For the 
 better Underftanding of this Affair, the Reader may pleafe to know that before 
 this time mauy of the Francifcans had flacken'd the Rains of the primitive Obler- 
 vance of their Founders Rule in Matters of Poverty •, and Pope Innocent the 4th (a^ 
 gave his Approbation to many Pradlices by degrees crept into the Order contra- 
 ry to the Letter of the Francifcan Law •, and Pope Alexander the Fourth, abated (h) 
 the Rigour ot the Rule in many things relating to the Obfervance of Poverty ; 
 So that the Cloth of the Friers Habits was now finer than heretofore, the Fur- 
 niture of their Churches and Convents more valuable, and a few temporal In- 
 comes (not unlike Rents) where here and there admitted of by fome of them; 
 and ?o^s Martin the jfth. ('chofen Pope about the 7>,«r 1 28 1 ) difpenfed (c) with 
 the Friers in fome things of this Nature : But thefe Relaxations, though warran- 
 ted by the Condefcenfion of leveral Popes, wpre zealoufly oppofed by many 
 Great and Holy Men of the Order, who wou'd not accept of any fuch Abate- 
 ments, or Privileges, but ftood up for the Rigorous Obfervance of the Rule 
 cfSr. Francisy and labour'd hard to keep up the Striilnefs of Religious Dilci- 
 pline clofe to the Letter of their Founder's Prelcripts. Thefe brave Champions 
 of Francifcan Poverty had already begun a Reformation of the Order, and were 
 by degrees form'd into a Body of Friers, under the Name of Obfervants, as the 
 others, for Diftinftion Sake, were call'd Conventuals. The Reformation was a 
 long time ftruggled for before it cou'd be effefted, and there was fome Uneafi- 
 nefs in the Order upon this Score. Before the 2"Mr i^sOjO"^ Br. Gentilii a Spo- 
 letOf with Ibme others, ('d)addref9'd himfelf to Pope Clement the 6th. to grant 
 them fome Places wherein they might obferve their Rule to the Letter, and with- 
 out any Glofs, and his Holinefsaflign'd them Four Houfes : And in the Time of 
 Pope Gregory the i\th. (^<s. great Lover of the Order and its ObfervanceJ the 
 Reform'd met with more Encouragement than before, being alio favour'd by Br. 
 Leonard Gifonenfis, who was chofen General of the whole Order A?wo 1373, in a 
 General Chapter held at Thouloufe, wherein the faid Pope prefided in Perfon r 
 In the Time of this General, the Reform'd, or Obfervantsincrea.i'dand fpread very 
 much, and were by him committed to the Care and Government of one Br. 
 Paul de Fulgineo, or Paulutius Vagnotij, fo call'd from his Father's Name, who 
 was a Noble Man of /r^/y. Br. Henry J4lferus de Afla, chofen General in 1387, 
 continued (e) the faid Br. Paulutius in the Office of Superiour (as his Com- 
 mifl[ary, or Vicar) over the ^f/or»jV,' who then had fifteen Houfies in ftalj; 
 and were almoft daily increafiig in other Nations ; For, the Fame of their holy 
 Lives began to fill the World, and many Princes built (f) Convents and Chur- 
 
 C c ches 
 
 ■ . . — i„ I ■ — . '■ fc 
 
 (a) "Tajfimav. Uifi. Ser^fh. Lib, zdo. folic 151. (b) T'JJiniaa. Itidim, {c) Ibidem, {d) Ibidtrnf 
 /o/zo 188. {e) Tojfwian, Ibid, folio 1Z9. (J) liidem.
 
 1^4 The Antiquities of the Englifli Francifcans. 
 
 ches for this Little Flock \ who, being perfecuted by others that oppofed the 
 Reformation, were forced to addrefs (aj themfelves to the Council of Conjlance^ 
 this Year;, where they were gracioufly received by ihe Fathers of that Venera- 
 ble AlTemijly ; who granted them Three Provinces, and difcharged (b) them from 
 the ordinary Obedience of the Minifter General, and appoii,ted them a F'icar 
 General by a Decree ot the faid Council. This being premifed, to give LighC 
 into this Affair, I now return to England ■, where the greateft Part of the Con- 
 vents refufed their A'fent to this Separation, although fas a knowing (c) Author 
 fays) they were in Effect, Obfervants, living indeed in Community with the Con- 
 ventuals, but renouncing all Temporals ^ as ihuU hereafter be made to appear: 
 Yet the more fervently zealous Friers amongft them gave into this Reformation 
 with all their Hearts, and in a little time gave fuch Heroick Examples of 
 a rigorous Obfervance, that our Princes eipoufed their Caufe ; Of which in it's 
 Place. 
 
 - - I. Br. William Holms was an Obfervant Francifcan, and is defervedly 
 
 n»o 141 . j^jjpjj commended by Leland and Willot^ both for his great Vertues 
 and his excellent Learning. After he had, with great Succefs, made nn end 
 of his publick Studies (at Oxford, I prefume) he retired home to liis Convent, 
 where he privately fpent fbmetime in the Study of Phyfick ^ that lb he might 
 be qualified, not only to apply proper Remedies to Mens infirm .Souls, but alfo 
 to their difealed Bodies^ nor did he thus proceed without good Motives for 
 Jo doing, nor without good Succefs in his Performances. He drew his Skill in 
 Phyfick from his great Knowledge of natural Things •, wliich, by a diligent 
 Application, he had learn'd in Philofophy : And fwhich ought to be chiefly 
 confider'd) it leems very plain by the Effefts, that he had received from God 
 the Gift of curing Diftempers •, and therefore was wonderfully fuccefsful in all 
 his Praftice of that kind, and very often cured Difeafes which feem'd naturally 
 incurable. Such was his Charity, that he negleflred not any Perfon, even of the 
 meaneft Circumflances :i Poor and Rich, High and Low were indifferently ad- 
 mitted by him ^ he was equally Iblicitous for all Ranks, and ufed his utmoft 
 Care to cure all, withoutany Expefl^ation of temporal Profit to himfelf; For, 
 his Endeavours were perform'd gratis ; and on this Account he was both admired 
 and beloved by the common People, and alfo greatly efleem'd by Perfons of 
 Quality, and thofe of even the fir fl Rank. He compofedand publifli'd >4 com- 
 pleat Volume of Simple Medicines ^ which Work, as (d) Leland fays, is in St. Peter''s 
 College at Cambridge. Of his other Writings 1 find nothing. He departed this 
 Life ^nno I415, in the Reign of Henry the Fifth. 
 
 Notandum^ This hr. William Holms is reckon'd an Obferva-'t hy theAnnalifl of 
 the Order, as well as by Dr. Pits and others j which is a fure Proof that the 
 Reformation of the Order had got footing in England, even before the Council of 
 Coriflance j For, it cannot be imagin'd that this was the only Man of the Reformed 
 
 \n 
 
 (a') Ibidem- {h) Ibidem, folk lyx, {c) Fran, a Sta Clara, in Hifi.Min. pag, 35. (.d) ColleSan 
 Tern, i" pitg, 21.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifli Francifcans. i^i; 
 
 in the Nation, though not under the Name of Obfervants ^\yh.\ch.\v2iS an Appel- 
 lation given them in the faid Council : That greac Work began early in our Na- 
 tion, and was carried on with fo much Zeal, that England was reckon'd a Pro- 
 vince ot OhfervMts in the Tear 1457 (as fhall be laid hereafter_J although, as 
 to Separation of Dwelling, or an entire Reformation of Parts, not fo foon \ nor 
 indeed was Olifervance much to be reform'd there. 
 
 I. Br. Peter Rujfel was a Doftor of Divinity of Oxford, and adili- Anvo 141 7. 
 gent Searcher after the moft noble Sciences, and yet more fedulous <>»• i4i8« 
 in the Praftice of Vertue ; and on thefe Confiderations he was cho- 
 fen Provincial of his Order throughout England, by the unanimous Votes of the 
 Perfbns concern'd in the like Eleftions. In reference to his Learning ^ He gave 
 himfelf up very much to the Reading and Meditation of the Holy Scriptures, 
 and being inflamed with a pious Devotion towards his particular Patron St. Peter, 
 he writ a Commentary^ or Paraphrafe, in Two Books, upon both St, Peters Epiftles j and 
 other Works. 
 
 Notandum, Br. Peter Rujfel is by Dr. Pits placed under the Tear 1410, though 
 he there gives a Hint that LeUnd is not pofitive in afferting that to have been 
 the Time of his Death, as I find it was not j for, he fucceeded Br. H/i7//,«fM ^«f- 
 ler in the Provincial fiiip after the Tear 1413, as I have there fliid • And, more- 
 over he was an Obfe/vant (as Pits alfofays, from Leland) which is a plain Proof 
 of his living fome time after the Council of Cotifiance, wherein that Name was 
 firft given to the Reform'd, or the ftrift Obfervers of the Rule of St. Francis. 
 This alfo fliews that the chief Francifcans of the Englifh Province were well 
 affeSed towards the Reformation of the Order, otherwife they wou'd not have 
 luffer'd an Obfervanty as he was, to have been at their Head as their Provincial. 
 Rupl was fucceeded by Br. Robert IVilleisy a Do^lor of Divinity, or rather by 
 Br, Thomas Kingsbury, a Doftor of Oxford. 
 
 I. Br. Robert Colman, a Francifcan of the Convent of iVbrip/c^, was Anno\i^i^. 
 this Year chofen Chancellor of the Univerfity of Oxford 5 which Of- 
 fice he refigued not long after that Honour had been conferr'd upon him. So 
 Mr. fa) Wood. ColmamUo was a Doftor of Oxford: But more of him hereafter 
 under the Tear 1428, wherein he departed this Life. 
 
 II. Br. John Randolph, a famous Francifcan, who was ConfefTor Anno 1419 
 to Queen Joan, (h) llourifh'd alfo about this time. This Queen 
 
 Joan was Mother to King Henry the ^th. 
 
 I. Br. Francis (c) a Sta. Clara (^Davenport) (ays, he met with a Vene- Anno 1410. 
 rable Monument of Antiquity in the Ancient Family of the Comp- 
 tons, from which the Earls of Northampton are defcended. It was the Original 
 Hand-writing of the Vicar-General of the Englifli Francifcans ^ that is, of the 
 Perfbn then commi/Iion'd by the General of the whole Order to aft in his Stead 
 over thole of the Order in England, and who, in Vertue of this Power, had gi- 
 
 C c 2 ven 
 
 (a) Aniiij.Oxon. Lit, ido. pag. ^0^. (b) Fr<iB a Sta. Clara, in Uifl. Mn. }a^, ji. (c) Hijl. 
 Mm.pag. 55.
 
 'p<^ The Antiquities of the EngliOi Francifcans. 
 
 veil his Letters Patents to the faid Family, with his Seal of Pewter hanging 
 t'lereco : Tho'the Iir.preffionof theSeal was almoft worn out ; but the Patents 
 (ill Litin) were written before the Separation of the Ohfervants^ as appears by the 
 Date ; a: d the Teiiour of them is as follows, viz. 
 
 ** i'oour wel-be!oveci in Chrift, Ihomas Comfton i^v.d "Joan his Wife, Br. Tl:o' 
 *' pj^i.r, the Minifter Geneial's Vicar in the Province of the Friers Minors in 
 *' England, Greeting, and that through the Merits of Chrifl in this Life they 
 " may attain eternal Joy. 
 
 " Confidering, with tender Sentiments of Charity, the great Affeftion and 
 " Devotion which, for God's Sake, you bear towards our Order, and being de- 
 *' firous to make you a fuicable Return .- We, by thele prefent Letters, admit 
 *' you, both in Life and Death, to a particular Communication in all and every 
 *' one of the Prayers of the Friers under our Government in England ■■, granting 
 " you (as far as it fhall pleal'e God) a full Participation of the fpiritual Ad- 
 *' vantages of all the good Works which the Mercy of our Lord will vouchfafe 
 *' to be perform'd by the faid Brothers under our Charge .- Adding moreover, 
 *' as a fpecial Favour, that whenever the News of your Departure out of this 
 *' Life, together with thefe PatentSj fhall be laid before our Provincial Chap- 
 *' ter, allthofe Offices fhall be done for you, throughout the whole Francifcan 
 *' Province of England^ which are ufually perform'd for our Brothers of the Or- 
 " der, and for the Friends and Benefaftors of our Order deceas'd that are there 
 *' recommended. Farewel happily in our Lord Jefus Chrift and his Mother the 
 " Glorious Virgin. Given in our Provincial Chapter at Cowwrry, on the Feaft of 
 *' the ^jfttw/J'/ow of the Glorious Virgin, in the Year of our Lord I42®. 
 
 So Davenport, who, in another (a) Place, fays, thefe Letters Patents were fign- 
 ed by Br. 'Tloomas Kwgshury, a Dcdtor of Oxford, and then Vicar Ger.eral of the 
 Englijl) Francifcans, and actual Minifter Provincial of the lame ; who was at laft 
 buried at Nottingham. 
 
 II. Br. Robert Zengg, a Francifcan of the Convent of London, pro- 
 
 " '*"°' cured good Benefailors to thatHoufe •, and this Year the Ciftern for 
 
 wafhing in the Cloifter was repaired with the Money, at his Requeft, by thera 
 
 depofited for that End. The total Expence of this Work was 27/. 9 ;. 1^. 
 
 So Stevens in his late Additions to DugdaWs Monaflkon. 
 
 I. Br. Jerome of St. Af/irk, an Englifh Ohfervant Francilcan, and 
 
 «** I42-'' gjj^ 2 Batchelor of Divinity of Oxford, was a learned Man, and writ 
 
 a certain Ccmpendium of Logich, the Title whereof is Little Logick. Dr. Pits, in 
 
 his Appendix, fays, He can find nothing of his other Works, or of the time 
 
 when he died : So he is here by guefs. 
 
 J . ^- Br. John Welles was at this time Bilhop of Landaf, in Wales.' 
 
 4ij. ^yi(-,,g(-^ the Author of the £/i;;wnf 0/ the Atinals of the Order. God- 
 rpyn calls him John Wellys, and fays, he was a Minorite, and a Doctor of Divi- 
 nity,
 
 The Antiquities o/z^eEnglifii Francifcans. 1^7 
 
 iiity, and fucceeded Br. JohnU Zouch^ another Francifcan Doftor, m that See- 
 He is alfo mention'd by ("aj Leland^ who names him Welles. 
 
 l.N. Clopton, Knight and Lord Chief Jufticeof England, this Year Amo 142^. 
 left the World and all its charming Pretences, all its Pleafures, Ho- 
 nours, Preferments, and Profits \ and, tor the Love of Jefus Chrift, enter'd into 
 the poor and penitential Order of St. Francis •, in which Inftitute he alfo perle- 
 ver'd conf^antly and religioufly to the End of his Life. So the Annals of the 
 Order, Dr. f b) Pits., and (c) others. A rare Example indeed ! that a Perfon rais'd 
 to fohigha Station, io forcibly engaged to the World by the mofl; bewirchii.g 
 Ties of Honour, Pleafure, and Profit, fhou'd freely abandon All, to embrace a 
 voluntary, and a moft rigorous Poverty .- But, the powerful Grace of God^ which 
 drew St. Mathew from the Cuftom-Houle to follow our Lord and Saviour, feems 
 to have wrought this wonderful Change in Clopton for the fame End of God's Ho- 
 nour, as a lafling Example to Pciterity. 
 
 1. Sr. Robert ColmanzFra.nai'c^n ot the Convent of Norwich, and ^«»fl 1428. 
 a Doclor of Oxford, departed this Life this Year. He was a Perfon 
 on whom Nature had beftow'd mofl excellent Endowments ; which, by a liberal 
 Education and hard ftudy, were improved to a great Perfection in Learning. The 
 divine Goodnefs had alfo been liberal towards him in the Gifts of his Grace ^ 
 For, he was exemplarly Vertuous, remarkably Grave, Modefl-, Chaft, and Tem- 
 perate J and on thefe Confiderations univerially valued and relpefted ; So that 
 he was, with a general Applaufe, chofen Chancellor of O.vford (as I have already 
 faid) by the wile Councel of that learned Univerfity. Thefe wife Men, it feems 
 (lays Pits') were defirous to teflify their grateful Acknowledgments by giving the 
 firft Placeof Honour amongfl them to him who had much added to the Splendor 
 and Fame of their Univerfity. It was by this good Man's Piety, Mildnefs, In- 
 tegrity, and commendable Example of all ChriflianVertues, that N. Cloptonj 
 Knight, and Lord Chief Juftice of £»g/<j»^, was induced to contemn all worldly 
 Pomps and Vanities, and bend his Shoulders, in his advanced Years, to carry the 
 Crofs of Chrifl in the lowly State of a Francifcan. Br. Rohert Coleman writ and 
 publifh'd to Ptfterity One Book of ^frwwj. Sacred Lejfons, One Book. Sundry 
 Poems, One Book ; and other Works. So Dr. Pitfeus. 
 
 I. Br. Roger de We was at this time Minifter Provincial of the Anno 1450* 
 Francifcan Order in England ^ as I find in the Epitome of the yinnds. 
 This is the Perfon whom Br. j4ngelus Mafon, more rightly, calls Roger Dewe^ 
 or Days., who was a Doftor of Divinity. So the SuccefTion of their Superiours 
 about this time ran thus ^ viz. The Provincialfhipof Br. 'Thomas Kingsbury, DD. 
 being expired, he was fucceeded by Br. Robert Willeis, DD. He by Br. John David, 
 DD. whofe Office, being likewife difcharg'd, was fill'd by this Br. Roger Dewe, 
 a Doftor alfo of Divinity : So that there were four Provincials in the Space of 
 about thirteen Years, if I miftake not : From whence there is reafon to believe 
 
 that 
 
 (a) C«//sS^». Tjw. i.^aft. X, ptg.y\%. (h) De Illu^r, Script. Anno 1428, Tiluh Colman, (c39 
 Bifi.Mirt.fag. J2,
 
 i5>8 The Antiquities of the Efiglifli Francifcans. 
 
 that the Proviucialfhip now was for the moft part Quadriennial, or perhaps Tri- 
 ennial i and that the Time of Br. Roger Dewes Authoricy was in like manner ex- 
 pired about this Time \ when he was fucceeded by Br. Richard Leeke^ a Dodtor 
 of Divinity. 
 
 II. Pope Martin the Fifth, a little before his Death, this Year, 
 " '^'°' granted divers Privileges to the Cof?ventuals, abating much of the Ri- 
 gour of St. Francis'' sKu\e, efpecially as to the Obfervance ot holy Poverty. So 
 the j4nnals. Now, this and other fuch-like Grants were not accepted of by the 
 Obfervants, who zealouily refolved to live up to the StriCtnefsot every Point of 
 their Founder's Prefcripts : AndThefe were encouraged in their Zeal •, for Pope 
 Eugcnius the Fourth, who fucceeded the faid Martin the 5^/7, granted many Favours 
 to the Obfervants for the better carrying forwards of the Reformation -^ in parti- 
 cular, his Holinefs impower'd them to call their Brethren to Provincial Chaprers, 
 and that every Province of Them might have a Vicar-Provincial of the Reform'd 
 to govern them. 
 
 I. Br. Peter Gather Cwhom I take for an Engliih Man) was now made 
 Arno 1494. gj^Qp ^a^ Saharifienfis ; and 'tis not unlikely that he was conftituted 
 a Suffragan to fome of our Englifh Diocefans •, as many others of the fame Or- 
 der and Province were^ fame of whom I ihall have Occafion to mention 
 hereafter. 
 
 I. Br. William Goddard Sen. whom Mr. {h^Wood calls The famous Br. 
 ""o i4}7' finiiiam Goddard, was Provincial ot the Francifcans when he depar- 
 ted this Life, O^ob. the soth T437. He was buried in the Church belonging to 
 his Order at London, on the right Side of the Tomb of Sir John Hajlyngs. So 
 thatl ({\ys Q3) Mr. Wood') believe Two, or Three, or more, were Provincials 
 between this Goddard's Death and the time when Dodor 'John PercevaH, took 
 the Provincialfhip upon him. This is faid by Mr. Wood to fhew that Author 
 was miftaken who made Dr. Percevall fucceed Dr. William Goddard in the Office 
 of Provincial. This Goddard Sen. fucceeded Br. Richard Leeke in the faid Office 
 about the Tear 1434 : So that he died before his four Years of Superiority 
 were expired; and the Year beii-,g far fpent, I prefume, was the Reafon why 
 the Friers deferr'd the Eleftion of his SuccelTor till the Beginning of the follow- 
 ing Year, it it was deferr'd at all. 
 
 I. hr. Thomas ^o/W»cr was this Year Provincial of the Englifh Pro- 
 Atitio 143S. ^j|,^g ^^ Francifcans, Witnefs the Author of the Epitome of the y^n- 
 rials. His Name is writ R.tdney, or Raidnor in A^afons Catalogue of Provincials, 
 and that learned and knowing Man reckons him a Doftorof Divinity ; but id 
 feems, he knew nothing of his Predeceffor Dr. Goddard Sen. for he takes no No- 
 tice of any fuch Perfon. D.tvenport fays, Raidnor was a Doftor of Oxford, and 
 that hewasathft buried at ^f^J/wj- ; and that of his ripo Predeceffors, Dr. Roger 
 Dirvey and Dr. Richard Lecke, the Firfi was buried at Oxford, and the Second at 
 
 Lcichfield. 
 
 (^i) Epitcm. Annal.Ord. Mr. /!n»o 1434. (b) Atker<t 0*m. Part. J. page 4. {c) Ibidem.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifli Franclfcans- ip5> 
 
 Leichfield. So Fran, a Sta CUra, Davenport, in Supplem, Hifl. Mm. Imprtfs. ^ma 
 157 1. 
 
 II. Br. Bernardine of Siena, afterwards Saint Bernardinej was this Avno 145S. 
 Year made Vicar, or CommifTary- General over the Obfervants on the 
 other Side of the Mountains, by a fpecial Deputation from Br. William a Cn- 
 fali^ the Minifter General of the whole Order ^ as appears by his Patents, dared 
 this Year, July the zith. So the Annals Ord. Min. 
 
 I. About this time the Countefs of Warwick, Wife of Richard Anno 1459. 
 Beauchamp, the Fifth Earl of iVarnick, (who in tlie Reign of King 
 Henry the 6th of England, had the Government of France and Normandy) gave 
 a iignal Demonftration of her great Value and Efteem for the Francifcans by 
 her choofiiig to be carried to the Convent of that Order in London (or as ne^r 
 it as cou'd be permitted) in her laft Sicknefs •, where alfofhe departed this Life ; 
 having, as may reafonably be fuppofed, one of that Order for her Confeifor. 
 So Fran, a Sta. Clara-, (a) Davenport. 
 
 I. About this time one Phillip Norreys, who took upon himfelf Amo 1440. 
 the Title of Doftor of Divinity in the Diocefs of Dublin, refumed 
 the old thread-bare Arguments, condemn'd long before in John a PoUaco, the Do- 
 ftors of Paris, and the Archbifhop of Armagh, and made War againft the 
 Afendicants, preaching publickly againft them both in Ireland, and in England, al- 
 ledging many things that were extravagant and erroneous ; which beiig legall^r 
 examin'd at ^owf, were condem'd by the Judges appointed tor that Caufe, ar^d 
 the Sentence ratified by the Pope himfelf, (b; who cenfur'd thefaid Prcpofitions 
 as Erroneous, Falfe, Scandalous, and bordering upon Herefy ; and his Holinefs 
 compell'd the Author and his FoUowers to recant ; as appears in two Bulls of 
 Pope Engenius the ^h, rehears'd at length by the Annalift of the Order, under 
 this Year. 
 
 I. This Year Pope Eugenius the 41/; granted to King Henry the 6th Anno 1441. 
 of England, and to feveral other Princes their Requeft to have lome 
 of the Francifcans to refide conftantly about their Royal Courts, with Leave 
 alfo to fend'them, upon Occafions, to other Princes, to negotiate their more im- 
 portant Affairs. So the Epitome of the Annals, this Year. 
 
 The fame Year, alio the General of the Order, appointed certain ProfefTors 
 of Divinity to x.ezc\\\a Cambridge, and in other Places. Ibidem. Num. w . 
 
 I. Saint Bernardine of Siena, this Year prevail'd with the Pope to Anno 1442. 
 accept of his Refignation of the Office ot Vicar General of the Ob- 
 fervants, after five Years moft commendable Adminiftration : And his HoHnefs 
 conftituted Br. Albert Sartiancnfis Wear Gev.et^l of the whole Reform'd Order, 
 who (on the pfi of September) deputed St. John Capiffran his Sub-Commilfary, Vi- 
 fitor, and Pveformer of the Provinces of Turone, France, Burgundy, England, and 
 Ireland, and others on this Side the Mountains j Ar.d he was confirm'd in that 
 
 Office 
 
 (a)Hi/2.Mff. fn^. 34. (b) AnnaLQri. Min,
 
 200 Tlie Antiquities of the Englifli Francifcans* 
 
 office by the Pope himfelf, notwithftandlng his great Unwillingnefs to accept of 
 it. So the Epitome of the Annals. 
 
 II. Some of the Doftors of P<jm were, about this time, labou- 
 Anno 1441. j.jj^g to deprive the Menchcants of their ancient Privileges and Rights 
 of taking their Degrees, and being publick ProfelTors in that Univerfity .- But 
 this Year ?o^t Eugenius the 4?/; decermin'd the Difpute in Favour of the Friers j 
 as appears in his Apoftolick Letters recited by the Annalift. 
 
 I. Br. Anthony Rofcouius, a Conventual^ was now cholen (at Padua) 
 mo 1443. jviinifter General of the-whole Order ot St. Francis, contrary to. the 
 Inclinations of the Pope, who defired Br. Albert Sartianen/is, an Obfervant : How- 
 ever, his Holinels confirm'd the Eleftion, on Condition that St. John Capiflran 
 ftou'd be his Vicar-General over the Ob fervants on th.& other Side of the Moun- 
 tains, and Br. John Maubertus his Vicar General over that Family on this Side Italy ^ 
 and that the whole Government of the fi.\diObfervants, fhou'd be left entirely to the 
 faid Vicars refpeftively ^ which was agreed to and granted by the General, 
 and inforced by Letters Patents from the Pope himfelf. So Annal. Ord. Min. 
 
 I. Br. Robert N. An Englifh Francifcan, (to whom the Annalift, 
 Anno 1444- i„ftead of a Sirname adds Anglus) was this Year madeBifhop of T*- 
 hcrias., m G al'tUy: And, he adds, that this fame Perfon, or another of the fame 
 Chriftian Name, was fome time before Bifhop Imelacenfis a Diocefs under the 
 Archbilhop of Crf/;^/, in Ireland. Now, it feems very plain that here were Two 
 Men \ becaufe that Englilh Francifcan call'd Robert., who was Bifhop Imelacenfis., 
 was fucceeded in that See by one Thomas, and He by one Br. Cornelius O Cunlisj 
 an IriJ!i Minorite this Year in that See, and may therefore be reaionably fuppo- 
 fed to be either dead, or tranflated to fome other Diocefs : For, it cannot be 
 imagin'd that he was taken out of the Poffeflion ot a Diocefs to be made a Titular 
 Biftiop, as the other now was, who might probably bealfo a Suffragan to fome 
 EnglifK Diocefan. 
 
 U. Br.JohnOlday (who by his Name feems tobean Englilh Manj 
 ^Hwi444. ^vas, this Year alfo, made Bilhop of Cluanum, now Kddom, Klloom^ 
 or Clon, a City in Connacht, under the Archbiihap ot Armagh, in Ireland. Epitom. 
 Amal. Ord. Min. 
 
 IIL Br. TIjomas Raidnor, DD made Provincial Anno 1338, or in the 
 Anno 1444- qj^j-^ ^j ^j^g foregoing Year, was, before this time, fucceeded in that 
 Office by one Br. Peter (named Secundus in Mafon's Catalogue) who was takeii- 
 from that Miniflry into the Hierarchy, and made a Bifhop in Scotland, and was 
 fucceeded in the Provincialfhip by Br. Thorn's Watleys, DD. Oxon. 
 
 \. Pope Eugcniusthe Fourth, being a great Lover and Encourager of 
 Anno 1445. ^j^g obfervants, beltow'd upon them, this Year, the great Convent in 
 Rome call'd A>a Cdi, which was accordingly deliver'd up to them by the Con- 
 ventuals, who were compell'd to refign it : And this (as the Annalift fays) is the 
 firft time that the Fraixifcans of a lefs ftritt Obfervance were, in any Papal 
 
 Letters, cMd Conventuals. 
 
 I. Pope
 
 The Antiquities of the Englidi Francifcans. 20 r 
 
 I. Pope Eugene the Fourtht this Year decreed that the Vicar General Anm 144^ 
 of the Ohfervants on this Side the Mountains, fhould, near the End 
 of the third Year of his Office, fummon all the Vicars-Provincials and Diicreets 
 under his Obedience to a General Chapter, wherein they were to choofe a Suc- 
 ceffor Vicar- General, whom fbeing canonically elefted and prefented to the 
 Minifter General) the faid Minifter ftiou'd be obliged to confirm in his OiKce, 
 within the fpace of three Days, and to communicate to him all his Power over 
 the Ohfervants on this Side the Mountains, to the end that he might exercife 
 all Afts of Jurifdiftionover them as the Minifter himfelf cou'd. Amtd. Ord. 
 Min- 
 
 \\. Br. Willi am Iraglllich, made Provincial of 7?-f/W by the Minifter Anno 1^6. 
 General of the Order, was this Year confirm'd in that Office, not- 
 withftanding the Oppofition of fome Friers of the E»glijh Nation who were 
 unwilling to have this Man rule over them. So the Epitome of the Annals of the 
 Order. 
 
 From this Paftage it is evident as Br. Fran, a Sta. Clara obferves, that there 
 was a Body of Englifli Friers Minors then living in Ireland, and that they had 
 fome Convents there ; For, particular Perfons occafionally reiiding there cou'd 
 not have pretended to any Exemption from the Jurifdi£bion of anlriJI) Provincial, 
 or to objeft againft his ruling over them ; And the fame Author alfo writes, that 
 He was told by fome grave Fathers, Trijh Francifcans ot Vlfier^ that the Friers 
 Minors of the Province of England had heretofore Four Convents in ZJlfter. 
 The faid Author's Hiftoria Minor was writ in the Tear 1655, and he has this 
 Paffage in his Supplement to that Work, wherein he alfo adds, that the laid 
 Four Convents were under the Obedience of the Provincial of England^ and 
 made a Part of the EngHjl) Francifcan Province .- Aiid, in a fecond Supplement, 
 printed Anno \ 6^1, he repeats the fame, and moreover adds, that fome of the 
 Irijl} Fathers exprefs'd to him their Defires of having the faid Convents exemp- 
 ted from the reft of the Irijh, and fubjefted to the Province of England ; And, 
 that they treated with him about it. His very Words are thefe, viz. Quidam 
 graves Patres Vltonienfes retulerunt nobis, Anglos Fratres Quatuor Conventus in Vltonid 
 olimpo/fedijfe, ejuos, ante paucos Annos^ libenter valebant Hit Hiberni tximl a relicjuii 
 Htbernitisy (^ nofira Provincia fubdiy C^ ea de re mecum tra^arunt. So Da-' 
 lienport. 
 
 III. Br. "Tliomas Watleys, Wallenfis., or of Wales, mention'd Anno I444, ^""o i44'S. 
 Number ^y?iS Provincial of the Francifcans, was this Year advan- 
 ced from the Provincialfhip to the Bifhoprick o^ St. Davids, in Wales; as my 
 (a) Author fays ; who moreover (b^ adds, that this Walleys was a Doftor of Ox- 
 ford; that he was Vicar-General, as well as Provincial, of his Order in Eng- 
 land, that he writ mnch upon the Scriptures, and alfo upon Philofophy and Divi- 
 nity : And, laftly, that he died in France ; which laft may perhaps be the Rea- 
 
 D d " fon 
 
 (a) Fran, a Sta, Clara, in Hi^. Min< fag, 34. (b) h Suo^km, Bifi. Mhi, Impnjfa 
 Anno 167 1.
 
 202 The Antiquities of the Englllh Francifcans. 
 
 fon why he is not mention'd in Godwyn's Catalogue of Englifh Bifliops. However, 
 wlien Walkys was made Bilhop Menevenfls, he was fucceeded in the Proviiicial- 
 fliip by Br. Kobert Wells. 
 
 I. In the Regifter of the Univerfity of Oxford^ this Year, there 
 j<«»o 1449. jg ^ Supplication of one Br. 'John Argentine^ a Frier Minor, praying 
 to be (a j admitted to the Reading oi the Book of the Sentences: From whence ic 
 feems plain that the Francifcans, even Foreigners (as 1 prefume this Man wasj 
 were lometimes admitted to be publick Profeffors in the Univerfity it felf; and 
 this Teems to have been an ufual Condition previous to an Admiifion there to the 
 proceeding Graduats, or taking of Degrees in Divinity. 
 
 I. Pope Nicholas the Fifth, this Year, declared that the Friers Minors 
 ^«»» 1451. ^^Q^■>^j. not he obliged to give to the Parfons of their refpedive Pari- 
 shes the Fourth Part of the Alms they received from Funerals, Legacies, An- 
 jiiverfaries, or Mafles for the Faithful Departed. So the Amials of the Order. This, 
 as has been elfewhere faid, had been a Cuflom and Praftice of the Secular Clergy, 
 which the Friers had fubmitted to for fome confiderable Time, both in Eng- 
 land, and fome other Parts, till his Holinefs was now pleas*'d to redrefs the 
 Grievance. 
 
 II. Pope Nicholas the %th makes mention of fome Convents of 
 nno I4J2. Qljfgy^^yjf^ Jn the Jflands between Normandy^ Britany, and England^ 
 
 which his Holinefs declares to be independent of the Miniftersot the common 
 Provinces of the Order. Now, the larger Jfatjds \n the GalHck Sen are adjoyning 
 to England, and in thefe Jflands there were Nine Cowifwfj which the faid Pope fe- 
 pa rated from the Provinces, this Year, by a fpecial Bull, which begins thus, 
 viz. Sacra Religioms, G~c. So Fran, (b) a Sta. Clara; who adds, that from hence 
 'tis plain that the Obfervants at this time were here ; that is, the Reformation of 
 the Order had made fome Frogrefs in our Jflands., and by degrees got footing oa 
 the Terra firma ; as fhall hereafter be more fully made appear. 
 
 I. This Year, King /:/f«ryr/;fS/.v//) ufed all the preillng Arguments 
 """ '^'■^' imaginable to prevail upon St. John Cafifiran (Vicaf General of the 
 Obfervants) to come over into England; And, to infbrce this his Requeft, he 
 courted his Kinfman, the Marquefs of Baden., to importur.e the holy Man to a 
 Compliance •, promifing to welcome his Arrival with the Building of Ibme Con- 
 vents in his Kingdom for the Obfervants; And, in c^fe Capiffran cou'd not come 
 in Perfon, he defired of him that at leaft he wou'd fend him fome of the Re- 
 licks of St. Bernardineof Siena. His Majefly at that time labour'd under fome 
 Diftemper (as the v^wW'j? writes,} and the Fame of the almoft numberlefs Mi- 
 racles then wrought by Almighty God at the Interceilion of that Saint, had, I 
 piefume, given him hopes of a Recovery by his means .- But, Capftran not being in 
 Circumflances to come iiito England fent the King a Letter wherein he excufed his 
 not complying with his Majeflies kind Invitation, and exhorted him to Pa- 
 tience 
 
 (a) Hiji. Mm. pag. 35. (b) Ibidm. fag. ^6.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifli Francifcans, 203 
 
 tience in his fulTering the Inconveniences of his lllnefs, and eaniellly importun'd 
 him to fend a powerful Aid againft the Turh. 
 
 Of the Convents offer'd by the King, and of the right Ule of Relicks, the 
 
 holy Man writes to his Majefty thus, ■ 
 
 — Moreover^ concerning the budding of new Monafleries to the Honour of Cod 
 
 and the Memory of Saint Bernnrdine, I add no more to your pious Difpofition, but that 
 (as I havefaid) Faith without good Works is not available : Wherefore, if you are pleas'd 
 to build the faid A-fonafieries, 1 wou^d have you to inow that you build (not for me^ or for 
 others^ but^ for your f elf fo many eve- laf^in^ Palaces in Heaven : For, our Days are 
 Jlwrtyand in a little fpace of Time Death cuts us off from all that is here below, and 
 We (poor Wretches !) carry nothing away with us but the Virtues and Vices, the Good 
 or Evil which we have ailed in this Life. Jf therefore your Majefiy intends to provide 
 for your Soul by building the faid Places, or Monafieries, for the Obfervants, J will write 
 tothemoft Revd. Father Vicar of France, and to fome Guardian in the Neighbourhood, 
 whom I do mofi earnrflly recommend to your Afajefiy to confult with in this Affair. More~ 
 over^ at the Jnflance of the faid Marque fs, (of Baden whom he had mencion'd before^ 
 J here (end you fome of the Relicks of St. Bernardine, which I had by me : For, if you. 
 defire them with very great Fervour of Devotion and Faith, they may, through the Divine 
 Mercy, conduce to your Recovery; Bui, if your Faith fails you, the munificent Hand of 
 a merciful God will alfo befliortend towards you : Tour Majefly therefore mufl have Faith 
 if you defire the Recovery of your Health ; Faith^ I fay, with good Works; for the Apa- 
 file fays. Faith without Works is dead. He therefore that has Faith loves God above all 
 Things, keeps his Commandments, forbids Plays, caufeth Tables, Dice, Cards, and all fuch 
 pernicious lufirumetits of Gaming to be burnt ; bani(Iieth the Jews, forbids Vfury, roots 
 out evil Cufioms and PraElices, introduces good ones, promotes good Men, punifiies and dif- 
 countenances the Wicked, frequents Confeffion, hears A'faffes, makes Religion his Pra^ice^ 
 gives Alms, relieves the Poor and D.ftreffcd, loves Juflice^ and hates all Vices. Thefe 
 Things I advife for the obtaining of Faith, for the gaining of Health and Salvation. Let 
 not your Highnefs omit thefe Things, for the Honour of God, and the Edification of your 
 Neighbour. O .' how earnefily do J wifii that I coud have waited upon you in England : 
 But the Defence of the Faith, which obliges me to go into Hungary, will eafily cxcufe 
 me to your Highnefs, C^cthe 2^\.th. 1454. 
 
 From hence the Epitomiz.er of the Annals inferrs, that the Reformation cf the 
 Order was not yet brought into England : But, under Favour, I think it only 
 imports that the Obfervants had not as yet many Houfes wherein they coa'd dwell 
 apart from the Conventuals : For, it I'eems as clear as Noon-day that there were 
 at that time many Obfervants in the Nation, otherwile the building of Convents for 
 the Obfervants wou'd have been building Houfes for no-body. They were not yet 
 form'd into a feparate Body under proper Superiors of their Reformation; and that 
 I take to be the Reafon why the Vicar of France was to be confulted about the 
 building of Convents for the Obfervants in England- It teems to be very certain 
 that the Obfervants were in England in the Reign of this King,and the ChroniclesCa) 
 
 D d 2 of 
 
 (i) Vide Fran. aSta.Clara, in Hi^, Min. pa^, ^6.
 
 204 Tlje Antiquities of the Englifti Franclfcans. 
 
 of rhe Nation, collefted by Caxton and others, fay as much ^ and the Truth 
 of that Aflertion is inforced by this Paffage. 
 
 . I. Br. "Thomas Button, an Engliih Francifcan, was this Year made Bi* 
 
 ihop of the IJle of Man, or Sodorenfs. This is one of the JnJ'uU He 
 
 Ivides, or Weftern Illands between Scotland and Ireland- This See is under the 
 
 Archbifliopof lo/'/t, and the Biihop's Seat here was the Monaftery and Church 
 
 6i St.Columha. So the Epitnmiz.€r of the Annals. 
 
 . 1. Br. William Goddardj a Frier Minor, and a Doftorof Divinity of 
 
 Oxford, is mention'd this Year by (aj IFW. He was a zealous Oppofer 
 of certain Heterodox Opinions broach'd, and unfound Propoiitions advanced by" 
 Regintdd Pecocke, BiJhopof Chichefier. This Pecoiie afterwards recanted, and all 
 his Writings were publickly burnt in St. Paul's Church-yard, in London, before rhe 
 Author's Face ; in the pre fence of the Archbifliopot Canterbury, Thomas Bouchier; 
 tlie Bi/hop of Lincoln Tloomas Kempe -^John Low Bilhop of Rochejier, and Laurence 
 Booth BiJhop of Durham, ('by whom thefe Books were condemn'd j befides many 
 thoufands of Perfons of all Rarks, who were Spectators of this Execution of 
 erroneous Novelty. All the Copies likewifeof the laid Bifhop Pecocke'sWrWmgs 
 were foon after burnt, at the Quater vols, in Oxford, in the preience of Thomas 
 Chaundter, Ch'inceWoT, and the whole Univerfity, in all their Formalities. So (b^ 
 Mr. Wood. But, to return .- This is Br. William Goddard Jun. of whom more 
 under the Tear 1485 
 
 . , I. Br. Robert Finingham, born in Norfolk, and clothed in the HabiC 
 
 mo 14 . ^j.. ^^ pfa>icis in the Convent at Norwich, was educated from his Youth 
 in the Study of all the Liberal Arts and moft noble Sciences .- He finifli'd his 
 Phi lofophy with great Succefs, and in Divinity made fuch an uncommon Profici- 
 ence, that he fcarce had his Fellow in that Sacred Faculty. But, the Learning 
 wherein he moft of all excell'd was the Canon Law ; in the Study whereof, Leland 
 fays, it can hardly beexprefs'd what Pains he took •, for, he diligently read over 
 many Volumes, collaring the Opinions of the beft Authors and moft learned and 
 expert Doftors : He examin'd and fifted out many things of that kind, both 
 by himfelf and in conjundion with others: he alfo writ very fuccefsfully of (e- 
 veral Subjects ; and in the firft place he had to do with certain Slanderers, againft: 
 whom he writ and publifti'd a Treatile Of the State and Dignity of the Order of 
 St. Francis, ftewing atter what manner thefe Friers profefs Evangelical Pertefti- 
 on ; praying continually for them felves and others ; preaching to the Penple, 
 and begging their Food and Clothing ; and finally, having nothing, and fffffing 
 all things. The Titles of his Works are, Fjr the Order of the Friers Minors^ 
 One Boo](. For the Dignity of their State, One Bouk. Cafes of the Councils of Eng- 
 land, One Book. Of Cafes of Decrees, One B tok. Of Cafes of Decretals, Oi e B..,'k. 
 Of Cafes referv'd to the Pope, One Book. Of Extravagants, One Book. Of Ex- 
 eommunications. One Book. He alfo writ fome other thii gs, the lirles of 
 which Works were not known to Dr. Pits j who adds, that he, eparted this Life 
 
 in 
 
 (^i) Jntij, Oxen. Lib. i^./'a^. ajl. {h)lhid, ^a^e ziz. andiz^.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifh FrancifcanS' 205 
 
 in the Tear 1 460, about that nick of time when King Henry the 6th Joft the 
 Crown of England. 
 
 1. Br. Richard Rodnore, a Frier Minor, was this Year admitted to Amo 146a. 
 proceed Doftor of Divinity in the UiJverfity of Oxford, notwithftand- 
 
 ing Ibme Objedlion made agair.ft it by one of his Fellow Friers call'd y 
 
 Roby, The moft Revd. Father in God Dr. George {NevUl') Biihop of Exeter^ 
 Chancellor, being then prelent. So i,a) Mr. Wood. 
 
 I. This Year the Art of printing was convey'd into England; aiid Anno 14^} 
 was fee up at Oxford Rrfi ^ and not long after at PVeJlminfier, St. yil- 
 hansy Worcefter^ and at Other Monafteries of Note. This by the By, from (b) 
 Collier. 
 
 1. Br. Richard Edevam, a Francifcan Doftor of Divinity, was this ^»'» i4^4 
 Year made Bifhop of Bangor., in IVales, under the Archbirtiop of 
 Canterbury. 
 
 I. Br. Andrew Ducket was a Francifcan Frier, as(b) Parker fays, Anno 1465. 
 in his Sceletos Cantabngenfis : But, he was either a Titular Bifhop, or pri- 
 vileged by fome fpecial Grant from the Pope to aft as he did for the greater Good, 
 notwithftanding his Profeffing of the Rule of St. Francis ^ or I am at a Lofs howr 
 to reconcile what is recorded of him with the Charafter he bears, which is, 
 Vir iniegerrimus dr prvdtns, A Mun of very great Integrity, and Prudent. The Story 
 is this ■.'■Andrew Ducket was the chief Promoter of the building of Queens College 
 
 * in Cambridge, iouw^^di., Anno ^ ^^S,hy Margaret of Anglers, Daughter of Reine* 
 
 * rius Duke of Anglers and Titular King of SicUy, and Jerufalemy and Wife of the 
 
 * moft devout Prince Benry the 6th, and finifh'd, in the rear 1465, by Queen 
 
 * Elizabeth, Wife of King Edward the Fourth. Andrew Ducket, being Reftor, or 
 
 * Parfon of St. Botulph's Church in Cambridge, was made choice of by Afargaret 
 ^ the Foundrels, to be the firft Warden of this her College ; in which Office he 
 
 * continued for the fpace of forty Years ^ during which time he addrefs'd him- 
 
 * felf to every Koble Man that feem'dtobeof a generous Mind, and begg'd 
 
 * a great Sum of Moi.ey towards the enlarging of the Building of the faid 
 
 * College •, Ar.d he was io very zealous in this Affair that he prevail'd with 
 
 * many to contribute towards the carrying on of that Work, efpecially George 
 
 * Plantaganet, Duke of Clarence ^.the Lady Cicily, Dutchefs of fork, and others. 
 
 * In a Word, Andrew Ducket w^s not only the firft Mafier oi this College, but 
 
 * aUbthe chief Promoter of its being built.' So Parker, Ibid. But what that 
 Author means by this Exprefhon, Frater antea Minorita, or heretofore a Frier 
 Minor, I cannot otherwife account for than by fuppofing Ducket to have been 
 taken out of the Order and placed in the Hierarchy by being made a Titular 
 Bifhop, or Suffragan ^ and that his Parfonage, and the Wardenfhip of Queen's 
 College in Cambridge were beftow'd upon him both for his Deferts, and to fup- 
 
 porC 
 
 (a) Jntiq. Oxun. Li!. i<^' f i_^. 226- (c) Eecles. Hijl.^a^t <?8o. (c^ Fiae S^rf. I. J^^endiiit 
 CalietlM, Leland.^a^. zaj, 22.6, JJ? aay.
 
 2o6 The Antiquities of the Englifli Francifcans* 
 
 port his Dignity and Charailer. And, if this is an erronious Conjefture I fhou'd 
 be glad to be better inform'd .- Though it feemsto me very probable. 
 
 ,, 1. From what has been already faid, ur.der the Year 1454, it may 
 "w 14 /• reafonably beprefum'd i\\7itK\\ig Henry the 6th. was as good as his 
 X^'ordto St. JohnCapifiran, and built fome fort ot Refidences, or Convents for 
 the Ohferz'ants : And his Succeffor, Edxv-trd the Fourth^ afierwards importuned (a) 
 the Vicar General of the Obfervants to little fome more of his reform'd Friers 
 in his Kingdom ^ which was done accordingly, as it feems ^ becaufe £w^/<j»<i is, 
 this Year, (b^ reckon'd a Province ot the Ol'/trx/;j»fj, in the General Chapter 
 Montis Lucij, in Burgundy ; as it again was, j4nno I470, in the General Chap- 
 ter then held at Placentia. This King alfo, viz. Edw.ird the Fourth made a Re- 
 fidence for the Obfervants, with a Chappel of the Holy Crofs, at Greenrrich, as 
 IVeever fdys, and brought them firft thither ; and they in a little time became 
 fo very Famous for their holy Lives, that they were much encourag'd, and 
 their Number increas'd daily. 
 
 I. Br, Thomas Ingilby^^ Francifcan ProfelTor of Divinity, was this 
 Anno 14-1. Year promoted by the Pope, Paul the Second, to the Epifcopil See of 
 Rachlure{R(ichlurenfis')\n Ireland, under the Archbiftiopot Ai-magh. Annal. Ord. 
 This Promotion was made in the Beginiiing of the Year, before the Death of the 
 faid Pope Paul, who wasfucceeded by 5/.vruj f/'f 4r/;, ot whom I ihall have an 
 Occafion to fpeak under the next Number this fame Year. 
 
 II. The Obfervants Francifcans were now in fo great Credit and 
 mo i/^ii. £^ggjj^ -j^ jj^g Nation that our Princes elpous'd their Caule in the 
 
 Court ot Rome, as it appears in the Forty fecond General Chapter of the 
 Order, where it is recorded that King Edward the Fowth of England, toge- 
 ther with a certain Noble Lady ffuppos'd to be his Majefty's Sifter) writ to 
 Pope Sixtuf the Fourth in fuch preffing Terms, that he declared to Him (c^ 
 He woud rvithdravD himfelf from his Obedience to his Holinefs, and arm againfi 
 him in Cafe he fubjeHred the Obfervants to the Conventuals. From whence it plain- 
 ly appears, as my (d) Author fays, that the Obfervants in -EngUnd had before 
 this time form'd themfelves into a Body apart from the Conventuals : For, 
 had they then been under the Government of the faid Conventuals, the King's 
 Anger and Refentments had been unreafonable. Something of an hinovation 
 was now defign'd by the Pope to the Difadvantage of the Obfervants, which made 
 his Majefty ftand up in this maimer in their Defence. The Pope was but newly 
 advanced to the Papal Chair when he fignified his Intention ot fubjefting the 
 Obfervants to the Conventuals, to whom he was greatly affeiled, having hereto- 
 fore been a Member of that Body himfelf, and their Minifter General : And 
 this Defign of his is what his Majefty refolved to oppole, and was the Motive 
 of his writing in fuch high Terms to his Holinefs, to deter him from any fuch 
 Procedure, and to encourage the zealous Obfervants in their religious Endea- 
 vours 
 
 (A^Tran. a Sta.Clara. in Hifi.Mm. ^ag.i6, {\>) Ibidem, (c) Hrji. Min. fag. 35. (d) Fran. 
 a Sta. Clara, Ibid, pag. 36.
 
 The Antiquities of the Engliih Francifcans. 207 
 
 vours to bring all their Brethren to a thorough Reformation j as in Effeft they at 
 laft did. 
 
 I. Br, John Hunden, a Frar.cifcan Doftor of Divinity, and Bifliop Anno 147S. 
 of Landnf, departed this L.ife this Year or the next, as 1 guefsby the 
 Conlecration of his Succeifor John Marjh.il, which was y^^Ho 1479. Godrvyn fays, 
 Hunden was a Minorite \ but what that Author means by his faying that Ha/iden 
 was Prior of Kings- Langley I cannot accounc for, unlefs there was a Convent 
 of Friers Minors at that Place, and he heretofore Guardian of it j which is 
 not unlikely. 
 
 I. ' King Edward the 4th being much afFefted and edified, with AKno 1480. 
 
 * the great Fame of the exemplary Lives of the Ol^ferv.wts^ feni tor 
 
 * Br. IVilliam Bertholdi, their Vicar General on this Side the Mountains, and 
 
 * treated with him about the bringing of that fort of Religious Men into 
 
 * Tw^/^vi^, and gave them their lirft Place of Abode in the Town of Greenwich^ 
 ' which Pope Sixtus the Fourth, this Year^ gave them Leave to accept. >4«- 
 n4 Ord. 
 
 Notandum. Now, by this Expreffion, bringing the Obfervants into England, a. M.^n 
 wou'd be inclin'd to believe that fome Foreigners were brought over hither to 
 begin the Reformation of the Order ; as was afterwards done in Scotland : 
 Whereas Cas to £«^/^«^^ nothing of that kind appears upon Record ; and there- 
 fore the Annalifl of the Or<ier can mean no more than that his Majefty ufed all 
 means poffible to encourage thofe Friers who were already reform'd \n England^ 
 and labour'd to fettle them in a feparate Body, hopeing by that Expedient to 
 bring them all up to the primitive Obfervance ot their Founders Rule, without 
 any Acceptance of the Papal Conceilions for an Abatement of that Rigour. 
 Moreover it is to be obferved that Greenwich was a fmall Refidence of Obfervants 
 before this time, and perhaps might be the 'firft of their feveral Refidences ; 
 but it is more particularly faid to be their fr/}- Place of Abode, becaufe it was the 
 firft of their Regular. Convents, made now a Guardianfhip, and accepted of as 
 fuch this Year, it having till now been no more than a Vicarlhip at the moft, 
 being a flender Community. 
 
 I. This Year Sixtus the ^th gzve a Grant to certain Perfbns of the ^»*» i48r. 
 Englifh Nobility to build Three Convents for the Obfervants in Eng- 
 land. So the Epitome of the Annals. Thefe were the Three Convents which ano- 
 ther (a) Author fays were, this Year, built by Margaret, Dutchefs of Burgundy^ 
 (King Edward the Fourth'' s SifterJ and fome other Perlbns of the Englifh Nobility ; 
 as he brings in our Hiftorians to bear witnefs : But where thefe Convents were 
 placed the CoUeftor has not vet found. 
 
 I. This Year Cbeing the Firft after King Richard the Tliird had made Anno 14S4 
 his Way through much Blood to the Throne of £»^/<«»^) the Englifh 
 Francifcan Province was incorporated amongft the Obfervants in the General 
 Chapter held at Burgos, in Sfain^ where it accepted ot the Reformation, under the 
 
 Deno-
 
 2o8 The Antiquities of the Englilh Franclfcans. 
 
 Denomination of Obfervants. So (ji) Mark of Lif hone : From whence it may rea- 
 Ibiiably be concluded that the Provincial at lealt was an Obfervant, and there- 
 fore 'tis faidthe Province had accepted of the Reformation, which cou'd not 
 ctherwife be true: Yet the Reader may perceive by that which now follows 
 rhat this great Work went forwards gradually, and was not yet come toPer- 
 fiftion. 
 
 . p I. One Iiiftance of a Deviation from the ftrift Obfervance of the 
 
 '"*''' Rule of St. Francis was a certain Tripartite Inftrument, or Deed, in 
 Form ot Law ("dated this Yearj wherein there are feveral Articles of Agree- 
 ment between one John Byconill, Knight, and Br. John Lofsy Guardian of the 
 Francifcans at jDorc^f/?*)', and his whole Community or Convent, who accept of 
 the yearly Revenues ot certain Mills upon the River in their Neighbourhood, on 
 Condition of their performing leveral fpiritual Offices for the faid Byco- 
 nill Knight, their Benefaftor, who gave them the laid Mills, allotting cer- 
 tain Shares of the Rents to particular Friers amongft them in Confideration 
 of their performing the faid Offices, &c. This Deed was inforced and con- 
 firm'd with the Seal of the Convent, and ratified on the Part of the Friers 
 by Williettn Goddard, Doctor of Divinity, and Minifter Provincial of the 
 Friers Minors of the Provir.ce of England, with the Advice and AiTentot 
 Br. John Wlnteficld, ProfelTor of Divinity, and Cuftos of the Francifcan Cufto- 
 dy of Briftol. The whole Agreement may be feen at length, in Fran, (b) a Sta. 
 Clara, who lays, the Original of this Contraft was kept with great Refpe£l in 
 the Family of the Donor: But it gave great Offence to the more zealous Fri- 
 ers, as feveral other fuchlike Incomes before this had done, notwithftanding 
 Xheir being enjoy'd by the Warrant of feveral Grants from Rome : For, amongft 
 o:her Reafons for a Reformation it was alledg'd that the Friers,hy their Importunity, had 
 procured many Grants and exceffive Bulls of Abatement from the Rigour of the Infiitute^ 
 from feveral Popes :, which Favours were rejcEled by others who looked upon them as Null, 
 and of no Effe^ ; becaufe (as thefe faid) Subreptitioujly procured. So Marcantius, (c) 
 vel jiuthor Firmamcnti and (d^ others .- And, thele were the Motives that induc'd 
 our Kings and other Peribnsof the firft Rank to fhew their Zeal inefpoufingthe 
 Caule and pious Defigns of the Obfervants^ who labour'd to reform thefe Abufts. 
 - \\. Br. WtUiam -Goddard Jun. was a Francifcan Doftor of Oxford, 
 
 """ ^^ ^' of whom Mr. Wood (e) fays, it is to be noted that whereas a learned 
 Author, viz. Br. Francis a Sta. Clara, tells us that John Percevall ^mention'd jlnno 
 I 502 : numb. 2. ) fucceeded one William Goddard, a Doctor ot Oxford', in the ho- 
 norable Office of Provincial, it is a great Miftake ^ For, that William Goddard 
 whom he reckons to have been Provincial Minifter, was only Warden or Guar- 
 dian of the Houfe or College of Francifcans at London (to which he was a Be- 
 nefactor) who dying o» the l6th of September I485, was buried in the Chapptl of 
 the yipoflles joining to the Church of the faid Houfe. So Mr. Wood, Ibidem. Yet, 
 
 with 
 
 (a; hChron. OrJ. Mm. Tom. 3«. Lib. 6to cat. 41. (b) fT'fi. Mi».pag. 57 and 38. (c^Trafl. i. 
 parr. 2. folio tfj. (^d) HiJ}ur. Min.fag. 37, (e) yithen. Oxon. part. i. page 4.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englidi Francifcans. 2 op 
 
 with refpeit to ^ir. Wood's kuthouty^ I think it pretty plain that this younger 
 Goddard was alfo Provincial of his Order \ becaule one of that Name fub- 
 fcribes, as fuch, to the Jripanite Deed of Contraft mention^ this Year in the 
 laft Article above ; and the Sen. G'oi/^/rfr^ departed this Life u^nno 1437, as may 
 tJiere be feen ; and therefore 1 conclude this Jun. Goddard was made Provincial 
 alter he had been Guardian of London^ and was fucceeded iji that Miniftty by Br. 
 'John Perceval/. DD. of whom in his Place y4n»o 1502. 
 
 Notandum. It appears not who was this Junior Goddard^s Predeceflor in the 
 Provincialihip : For, Br. Robert Wells who was made Provincial y^nno 1445, when 
 his PredecefTor Dr. Thomas Walieys was made a Bifhop, muft have been Dead, or 
 out of his Office long before this time, and I find not by whom he was fucceeded 
 in that Poft, or indeed any more of the Names of their Provincials till I come 
 up to this Goddard. 
 
 III. King Richard the Tliird (or rather the Duke of Glocefier') ha- Anno 1485. 
 ving waded through a Flood of Royal Blood to the Throne of Eng- 
 land, was kill'd, this Year, on the 22th of Augufl, at ^«/ipor/fc-Fight, in Lei- 
 ceflerjlure, and carried off the Field of Battle in an inglorious and indecent Man- 
 ner (being laid all naked a-crofs thebackof a Horfe) to Leicefier^ from whence 
 he came but the Day before with the greatefl Pomp and Magnificence, and was 
 there buried, dilhonourably, in the Church of the Gray Friers, after he had 
 ufurp'd the Crown for two Years and two Months. So Stow and others. 
 
 I. This Year the Ohfervants on this Side Italy held a General Anno 1487. 
 Chapter at T(7/o«/f, in France, where one Br. Oliver Maijlard, of the 
 Province of jlcjuitatiia, waschofen Vicar General, being a Perfon of extraordi- 
 nary Piety, Prudence, and Learning. In this Chapter (as the Annalift fays) it was 
 decreed that the Convents of the Ohfervants in England ihoa'd he i'ub]iiii-o the 
 Vicar of the Province of Cologn untill they were forra'd into a Province. Now, 
 the Reader may fee plainly from what has been already faid that the true Mea- 
 ning of thisClaufe can amount to no more than this, viz- that the Vicar of the 
 Province of Colagn was now, by the Vicar General, deputed to be his Commif^ 
 fary over theilTicar and Convents of England, that in the Abfence of the laid 
 General (then full of Bufinefs) the Englijh might have Recourfe to him upon any 
 extraordinary Occafion or Emergence, till they were better eftablilh'd ar.d eas'd 
 of the many Difficulties then daily occurring from the Oppofitions made agaii;ft 
 the Reformation : For, it cannot reafonably be doubted but the Englifh Ohfervants 
 had, before this time, a Vicar ot their own. 
 
 Br. jindrew Bav.ird, a Francifcan ProfelTor ot Divinity, finding the Anno 1494. 
 Quire of the Friers Minors of London not well furnifh'd with Choir- 
 books, conceived that the Alms of his Friends cou'd not be better expended 
 than in procuring fuch Books for the Honour of God and the continuing of his 
 Divine Service and Praife : and therefore he hired an jimanuenjis, who writ 
 for him one Legendary in two Parts, one Antiphonal in two Parts, OKe Plalter, 
 and one Gradual, and another was printed, and many others repair'd. So Stevens. 
 
 E e 1. Br.
 
 2 1 o The Antiquities of the Engliih Francifcans. 
 
 . I. Br. Michael Deacon^ an Engliih Francifca'n, was this Year pro- 
 
 49J. j^pj^j J.Q the See ot St. j^fuphs, in ir.des. He was a learned Man, 
 
 having formerly been a P-rofefTor ot Divir.ity, and was in fuch Efieem for his 
 
 great Vertue and Prudence, that he now was ConfefFor to King Henry the Se- 
 Vf>ith. So iht Author of the Epitome of tljc yirinals of the Order., who writes his 
 Isame D;<jfo« .- Aslbme other Authors alio do, 
 
 i g . ^ I. About this time (as I gueG) it was that the Honour and Title of 
 ' Marquefs oi Winchejler ieW to ^ Francifcan Frier call'd Br.Jvhn, who 
 (thougfi but a Lay-Brother, ar,d Porter of a Converjt) was the only Heir-Male 
 then remaining of that Illuftrious Family ; Upon which Confideration, my Au- 
 thor (a) lays, the Pope was pleas'd to dilpenle with the faid Br. John ; and he . 
 marry 'd a LaJy of the Family of the Barons of St. John o? Bafmge, and rais'd Heirs 
 to the Houfe of ir;«f/jf/?«- •, in Teftimony and Memory whereof ihe Arms of 
 that Honourable Family were afterwards encircled with a Francifcan Cord (or 
 knotted Rope, luch as thofe Friers wear for a Girdlej ar.d the Porter's Key hang- 
 ing thereat. So Br. Fran, a Sta. Clara, who alfo (b) maintains the Lawfulnels of this 
 Difpenlation, as being no more than a Releafing of an Obligation oj a Church-Law, 
 for a p(l Motile., by a Ptrfan that has the Pomr of Jurifdtilion : On the other 
 Hand, Caron and P,.ncius, two learned Irijl) Fiancifcans, being of an Opinion that 
 the Solemnity of the row of Chaflity induces ^n Obligation of Divine Right, condemn 
 this Fiift, or rather queftiou the Truth of the Story. No Authority under God 
 can releafe the Obligation of a divine Law : But the Obligation of a Religious 
 Frofefh on being a Church-Law only (as fomelayjis here, for a juft Caufe, dif- 
 penledwith. But 1 have nothing to do with fuch Controverfies .- Nor can I 
 as yet learn why the Earls of Lindfcy, and the Berties have a Francifcan Frier 
 (with his Habit decently tuck'dup, for walking, and his SiafF in his Hand) for 
 one of the Supports of their Arms. So I go forwards. 
 
 . I. About the latter End of this Age the Famous Sir Thomas Moore^ 
 
 out ot the great Devotion he bare to the Order, had a mind to -be- 
 come a Francifcan •, as leveral Author's write : But Dr. Stnpleton fays, he was 
 decer'd from lo doing by the Difficulty of the Vow of Chaftity :|j|ther Writers, 
 bv Miftake, frame other Reafons : However, his Second Lady was one of- the 
 "third Order, or at leaft of the Confraternity of the Cord of St. Francis. So Fran. 
 (c) a Sta. Ctar.t, who alfo quotes Camden, 
 
 j,^ ^ II. This Year, on the I'jthof September, Eighty Two Doilors and 
 
 497- all other Graduats of the Theological Faculty of Paris, being fo- 
 lemnly affembled, with unanimous Confent rei.ew'd the ancient Statute, that no 
 Perfon Ihou'd be admitted to take his Decrees amongftthem without engagir.g 
 himfelf by an O.ith to maintain and defend the Opinion of the Suhile DoElor, 
 Duns Scotus, concerning the Immaculate Conception, viz. that the BUffd Firgin Mary 
 was always prejerved free from the Stain oj Original Sin. All there p; efent took the 
 
 faid 
 
 (a) Fran, a Sta, Clar.t, in Hifl. Min. {>a^. 40. (bj Ihiiiem, (c) H'Jl. Min, pig. 40.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans. 2 1 1 
 
 laid Oath ; and rnoft of the Univerfities of Europe, follow'd this Examplrj 
 and enter'd into the like Obligation. So the Epitome of the Annals of the Order. 
 
 I. Br. Richdrd Martin was Guardian of the Francifcan Convent at . 
 Canterbury, and Suffragan Biihop to the Primate Archbifhop of that See. " ^^^ 
 He made his laft Will and Teftament this Year, and left good Legacies to the fajd 
 Convent. He had no Title, but ftyles himfelf B.piop of the CathoUck Churchy 
 in his Will, or Epifcopus Vniverfalis. So Mr. Wharton, in his Additions to his fir ft 
 Part of Anglta Sacra, Somner adds, that this Richard Martin was al(b Parlon 
 of Ickham and Vicar of Lyd, in Kent,, and that he writ himfelf Bifljop of the 
 IJniverfd Church, having no' particular Charge to intend, but generally officia- 
 ting as Blfhop in any Part of the Chriftian Church, and concludes by faying that 
 thefe Titular Bifhops were frequent with us thofe Days. 
 
 Notnndum. Now, this Martin being a Frier Minor, and heretofore Guardian 
 of the Francifcan Convent at Canterbury, it may reafbnably be prefumed that, 
 being taken out of that Order into the Hierarchy, he was favour'd with the faid 
 Benefices of Ickham and Lyd to enable him to fupport his Epifcopal Dignity :, 
 the Surplus whereof he gave to his (quondam Brothers, the Francilcans, and to 
 their Church and Convent in Canterbury. 
 
 I. King Henry the Seventh of England was a great Admirer ai:d ^"w i45'9' 
 Lover of the Obfervants^ and had incourag'd that Reformation with 
 
 an Addition to them of bix Convents which he gave them, not only by his ovn 
 Royal Authority, butalfb by a fpecial Grant from the Pope, viz. Alexander the 
 6th, who, this Year, (a) confirm'd and inforced the faid Grant to his Majefty in re- 
 gard to thofe Convents which were taken from the Conventuals and beflow'd on the 
 ■Obfervants, v\z. Southampton, Canterbury, Newcafilc, s.nd Newark, though the An- 
 nalift fays, withfome others, that this lafl was built from the Ground by this 
 King, who alfo built them two other Convents, one ^.t Greenrvich, and the other 
 at Richmond, both (b) adjoyning to His Royal Pallaces in the faid Towns ^ and all 
 finifh'd (as I take it^ before this time. 
 
 II. This Year alio, there was a General Chapter of the Obfervants Amo 1499. 
 held at Mechlin in the Low Countries, wherein Br. Oliver Maillard was 
 
 ('the third timej chofen Vicar-General ; And here it was unanimoufly refolved 
 that the Province of England^ having now a competent Number of Convents, 
 Ihou'd hereafter have two Votes in all general Chapters, after the Manner of 
 other Reform'd Provinces. So Annal. Ord. Min. 
 
 In this Chapter it was (as a knowing (c) Author fays^ that the EngHjJj Ob- 
 fervants were compleatly and folemnly form'd into a Province, with the Confent 
 of all its Parts ; So that the whole Francifcan Province of England, made up of 
 a Coalition of the Conventuals and Objervants, was now incorporated in the Ob- 
 fervance, and hereafter had two Votes in all General Chapters ; as appears in the 
 Afts of the faid Chapters : And thus the Province continued till the Decree of 
 
 E e 2 L^o 
 
 {a.)Annal. Ord. Mm, Anvo 1455- (b) Iran, a Sta Clara, in Hifi. Min, pag. 59. {c) Ibid, 
 pig. 5(J. & 57-
 
 212 The Antiquities of the Englilh Francifcans, . 
 
 Lc'j the Tenth, \r).t\t\e<i Bulla Concordix, & LiiertV'iionis, yinno \'^i']^ when the 
 whole Order of the Ohfervants prevail'd aud got the buperioricy over the Cort' 
 ventuals. However the Engli(l) Francifcans were always one finale Body, or Province 
 cf Friers : For, neither the Chronology of General Chapters, or the Hiftories 
 of our Nation lay, that the 0&/}ri'.<«r; ever withdrew themfelves from the Obe- 
 aieiiceof the Order, though they liv'd in feparate Houfos ; But, on the contrary, 
 the Cotjveniuals m Etigland united themfelves with the Ohfervams : Ho that the Vi- 
 car-Provincial of the Obfervants was at firft fubjeft to the Provincial of the 
 Conve>:tuAls, and at laft the Cunvet/tuals were made b'ubje£ls of the Provincial of 
 the Obfervants^ without any difunion of the Order, having All and ^fcvays one 
 Minifter Provincial upon whom All had a Dependance ; as Ihall be laid more 
 fully hereafter. But to return. 
 
 G»nz.aga m.akes mention ot Twelve Convents in EnalavdhuWt for, or given to the 
 Obfervants, befidesall the Convents inhabited by fuch Friers who (though they 
 ftill went under the Name of Conventuals) were in efFeft true Obfei vers of their 
 Founder's Rule, and made up one Community, or Body with them, as has 
 beeu faid, and is yet farther inforced by Pope Leo the Tenth^s BuB of Vnion^ where- 
 his Holinefsmakes this Declaration, v\7.. Our Will is, and We declare, that all and 
 every one of tbofe who obferve the Rule of St. Francis Purely, Simply, and Truly, are 
 comprehended under the N(ime of the Reformed ; not only thofe of the Family of the 
 Obfervants, but alfo thofe of the Reformed who yet continue under the AfiniJIers of the 
 Cunvetttuals. The Truth of the thing is, that few of the Francifcan Convents 
 in England er,]oy''d any Rents, and therefore it waseafy enough for mofl of them 
 to join in the Reformation ; as in efTeft they did, though they continued in their 
 own Convents, by reafon of the different Degrees of their Reformation and 01> 
 fervanceot the Rule of 5f. Francis. So Br. Fran, fa) a Sta. Clara. 
 
 III. This Year likewife, ?o^e Alexander the 6th declared, that the 
 "" ^^'^' Francifcans of Regular Obfervance might, with a fafe Confcience, make 
 ufeot fine and rich Church-furniture and Prieftly Veftments when fuch are of- 
 ferM and given them. j4nnak Ord. Mm. This, as (b) Davenport fays, was a 
 Privilege and Favour granted in particular to the Englilh, by the Mediation of 
 King Henry the Seventh and Elizabeth his Queen, who were great Lovers and Pa- 
 trons of the Obfervants. 
 
 I. Br. William Favafor, Guardian of the Houfe, or College of Fran- 
 nno 1500. j.jfj.j,^ Friers nt Oxford, and Br. John Kynton, another famous Mino- 
 rite, were this Year licenced to proceed in Divinity •, as Mr. Wood (cj writes, that 
 is, wereadmitted to be compleatlyhonour'd with the Cap and Degree of Dodtor 
 in that Univerfity, at the Term or Aft following. 
 
 1. ^T-John Kynton, above raention'd, was new in fo great Efteem at 
 
 wo 1501. Q^.fgy^^ that he (together with /l/r. 7o^« Thomden) wns appon.ted to 
 
 liipply the Place and Office of Chancellor of that Ui iveifity, this Year, in the 
 
 Ablcnce of Dr. Ruhard Fitz.-James, Bilhop of Rochffier, then Chancellor. Thele 
 
 Perlons 
 
 'ii)Eifi.Mv- p-^g. ^z. (J3)ljidem'pag, no, (jc) Atben. Oxcs. ^art. i. page 6^-
 
 The Antiqjiities o//^eEngli(h Francifcans. 215 
 
 Perfbns were call'd Commiflaries, which, z% Mr. Wood {a) {■Ay s., were certain Pro- 
 felTors of Divinity who did the Office of V ice-Chancellor by Commi/non. Kynton 
 was three or four Years ii; the Office. 
 
 II. Br. John Percevall, Doftor of Divinity of Oxford, and by Order ^w'?" 150^' 
 a Frar.cifcan or Gray Frier, was a Perfon of Worth amor,g his Bre- 
 thren, V'ho made choice of him for their Provir.cial Minifter. T\\\s John Per ce- 
 vali died at Londoriy and was buried in the Church of the Francifcans, now com- 
 monly cali'd Chrlfi- Church, vihhin iVirip^^re ^ whereupon Henry Stmdifli, Do£lor of 
 Divinity (whom 1 fhali fpeak of elfewhere) fucceeded him in the Provincial- 
 fhip. So (h) Mr. Wood. Whereto I add, that I cannot learn at what time this 
 Fer<:evall died j but he was made Doitor of OA-/cr^ this Year, being then actually 
 Provincial, according to Mr.Wood,(c)\y\\ovix\te% thus, viz. Br. John Percevall 
 the i^-jth Mitiifitr Provincial of the Minorites, or Gray Friers in England, did pro- 
 ceed in Divinity about this Year. So Mr. Wood, who miflakes the numeral 
 Rank of Percevalfs being in the Office of Provincial, as appears by the Cara- 
 Jogue ; but is not to be queftion'd in what relates to the Univerfity of Oxford ; 
 being their Antiquary. 
 
 III. The Conventuals in England had, before this time, fubmit- Anno 1502. 
 ted themfelves to the 0'ofervants\ that is, to their Vicars-Ge- 
 nerals, or Provincials, and were fo much their Subjects that they were, this Year, 
 c<>»M;i?//'^(asour Hifloriansexprefs itj by the Ohfervants at Greenwich., to change 
 their Religious Habits ^ not fo much as to the Colour, though now fomewhac 
 more dusky, being fpun with white and black Wool as it came off the Sheep, 
 without any Dye ; but in regard to the Price and Finenefs of the Cloth, where- 
 in lay the main Difficulty : For, whereas the Co«ti?«fa<i/.f ufed Cloth, of four, or 
 five, or fix fhillings an Ell, they were now brought to courfe, rough Cloth, of 
 two Shillings an Ell, which was more liaitable to their State: Where the Reader 
 may pleafe to obferve, th^t one Shilling then was as valuable as three or f»ur noWf 
 for the Scarcity of Coin in thofe Days \ as our fliftorians remark. 
 
 But to return : This Aft of Jurisdiftion neceffarily prefuppoles a certain 
 Subjeftion, and proves that they were all Members of one ard the fame Pro- 
 vince, made up of Conventuals and Ohfervants, by the Authority of the Af ofto- 
 lick See, at the Ir;ftance of our Kings, long before the famous Bull of Union 
 came out; asha-ialfo been fhew'd Auno 1484, when the Provincials were chofen 
 from amongft the Ohfervants. The Debate was not about Triflles ; but the Oh- 
 fervants, contended for a more ftrift Obfervanceof Evangelical Poverty, accor- 
 ding to the Prefcriptsof the Rule of St. Francis:, which Defign they fo far ef- 
 fefted, that all the Conventuals, as well as Ohfervants, ufed the fame forCof a 
 Courfe Gray Habit till the Suppreifion of the Religious Houfes in England. 
 
 Not-mdum. Now, for the better Underflanding of the Premifes, the Reader- 
 may pleafe to know, that the Francifcan Province of England was (b very Nume- 
 rous 
 
 (a) Widem, page 646. (b) Uidtm, page 4. (c) liidem, page 637. Klik B'fi. Mln. pag. 
 49. & 50.
 
 214 The Antiquities of the Englifli Francifcans. 
 
 rousand of futh a vaft Extent, thar the Generalof the whole Order commonly 
 u fed to impower feme Father of that Nation, as his CommiJVary, to aft in his 
 ftead in Affairs of n^ore weighty Importance-, as has been fiid : And, in fequel 
 of this Method, there was a Commiifary overall the FrancxCcuns of England 
 at the time when the Rcformnttou began to get footing amoiigft them ; And, 
 this Office was, by the Papal Authority, and the King's Favour, committed to 
 the Care of feme one of the Ohfervants'^ and it is very probable (as my Author 
 (aj writes) that the Provincial of the Obfervants, who refided at Greenwich, had 
 now both the Powers ot Commiifary General and Vicar Provincial, on the Score 
 of the many Difficulties frequently occurring from the Conventuals und Ohfervants 
 living amongft each other, el'pecially in fome of their ConTents not yet perfectly 
 reform'd. Fran- a Sta.Clara. 
 
 . IV. This Year moreover, or the next, there was a General Chap- 
 
 1502. ^^^ ^j. ^j^g ^hoie Order held at Trayes (the chief City oi Champagne) 
 ill France, by the General, Br. vy^gidius Delphini ; And this is reckoii'd the Firjt 
 General Chapter of the Reform'' d : not for Priority of 'Time ; For, there had al- 
 ready been one, or two, or more Congregations ot the Ohfervants before this 
 Year^ but tor its Dignity^ becaufe the chief Superiours there chofen were Ohfer- 
 vants \ And from this Chapter Provincials of the Obfervance\^ere lent to feve- 
 ral Parts to undertake the Government of Provinces(to carry on the great Work 
 of the Reformation) efpecially into England, where the King was a zealous Pro- 
 moter of it. Fran, a Sta. Clara, Davenport, Ibidem. 
 
 . I. Br. Philip Phifon, an Englifh Man, ftudied amongfl the Mino- 
 
 '' rites, or Gray Friers for a time, in their Houfe in Oxfcrd, of which 
 Order he was a learned Brother ; But, whether, or not, he took the Degree 
 of Doftor of Divinity in that Univerfity, Mr. (b) Wood ('from whom I now write) 
 lays he cou'd meet with no Regifter that Ihews it. Afterwards, Pinfon became 
 Suffiau,an Biflxop to Jdrian df Caflello Bidiop of Hereford and afterwards of Bath 
 and Wells, by whofe Endeavours, but chiefly by thofe of King Henry the 'jthy 
 he was advanc'd, at Rome, to the Archbilhoprick of Tuam, in Ireland, on the 
 2d Day of December, Anno \ 503 ', and three Days after died of the Plague. So 
 (c) Mr. Wood \ who in the foregoing Page fays that after Pinfvns Death, the See 
 of Tuamw^s vacant two Years, and then was conferr'd upon Br. Maurice O f/-| 
 hely, an /njj; Man, and a Francifcan Frier alfo, mention'd in thefe CoHeftions 
 Anno 1 51 3. The Author of the Epitome of the Annals of the Order fays likewife, 
 that Br. Pioilip Pinfon was, this Year, promoted to the Archbifhoprick of luam 
 and the See united thereunto, call'd Epifcopatus Enachdunenjis. So the Annals this 
 Year : Num. 5. 
 
 . ^ II. This is the firfl Year wherein (d) I find the Ob fcrv ants, call'd I 
 
 '"'" '^°'" RecollcEls i which Name was given them on the Account of a Sta-1 
 tute made amor.gff them obliging every Province ot the Reformation to have fome 
 
 Cou- 
 
 {A)Fr(in.aSta,Clma,lhid, (b) Atkep, Oxen, fart, 1, fag. 551. {c) Ibidem, {^d) Annal, Ord. 
 Mw, Anno i]oi,Num, Sw.
 
 The A?ttiquities of the Englifh Francifcans* 2 1 5 
 
 Convents of ^ffo//^ff/o» particularly appointed for fuch as were defirous to g;ve 
 theinlelves up wholly to divine Contemplation, moft rigorous Mortification, 
 and the ftrifteft Obfervai.ce of their Foui)der's Rule. Thefe RecolkEis were no 
 feparate Body diftin^t from the reft of the Obfervams, but made up a Part ot 
 th?Lt Rf format ion, giving themlelves firft to the Contemplative Life as the mofl 
 proper Preparation for the better difcharging of the Duties of the A£tive •, as 
 alio for recovering their Spirits when difljpated by preacliing, teaching, rulii?g 
 as Superioufs, or other iuch-like Exerciles of Obedience to their Superiours, 
 and Charity towards their Neighbours. See the Supplement, at the End of this 
 Part .■ Numbers 5, <5, 7, and 8. 
 
 I. Bf. John Smyth, a Francifcan, was this Year honour'd with the ^"na i?c<J. 
 Cap and Degree of Doftorof Divinity in the Univerfity of Oxford. 
 So (Ti^l'Food j who adds, that Br. Peter Lufttanus, alfo a MiiiOrite, was now ad- 
 mitted to be an Opponent in Divinity in the fame Univerfity •, that is, he was li- 
 cenced to oppofe in Theological Difputations in the publick School belonging to 
 that Faculty, in order to his being admitted to the Degree of Batchelor of Divi- 
 nity. Mr. Wood fays, this was a learned Man j and I fuppofe he was a Foreig- 
 ner, a Pcrtuguez.e. 
 
 I. Br, fohn Kyntoti^ DD, was this Year ("tor the third, or fourth time) Amo 1507. 
 made one of the Commiffaries, or Joint-Vice-Chancellors of the 
 Univerfity of Oxford. Mr. Wood, Ibidem. 
 
 II. Br. I^rf/rfr Coo^^f/^, a Francifcan, was, this Year alfb, admitted Anna 1507. 
 for an Opponent in Divinity, in order to his taking the Degree of 
 Batchelor iu that Faculty, in the Univerfity of Oxford, (b) Wood. 
 
 III. Br. Gerard Smyth, a Frier of the fame Order, was now alfo Amo ijoj. 
 admitted to the Degree of Batchelor of Divinity at O.vford. 
 
 Woodt Ibidem. 
 
 IV. Br. Thomas Anyden., or Anyday, Batchelor of Divinity, and a Anno 1507. 
 Winorite, fupplicated this Year tobe admitted to proceed Doftor at 
 
 Oxford, (c) Wood. 
 
 V. Br. Robert Burton, a Frier Minor alfo, petition'd this Year Axno 1507. 
 to be admitted to the Degree of Dodor of Divinicy at Oxford. This 
 
 Br. Robert Bur tor: at the lame time was Guardian of the Francilcan College in 
 the South-Suburb of that City, and had ftudied Diviincy in Oxford and Cam- 
 bridge for thelpace of twenty Years. So A<fr. Wood, Ibidem. 
 
 I. Br. Walter Goodfiild, mention'd laftYear, was now a Supplicant Anno ijoS. 
 to be admitted to take the Degree of Doftor of Divinicy at Oxford. 
 So (d) Mr. Wood. 
 
 Nctandum. Our Englifh Univerfities have not the Degree of Ltcenciat(lnp \n 
 Divinity, as in foreign Univerfities^ but Perfons rile immediately from the 
 Degree of Batchelor to that of Dodor. 
 
 I. This 
 
 (a) Athen. Oxon. Tart I. p.tge 6j^i\. (,b) Atbin, Oxftj, Iart> I. pAge ^45. (c) Ibidem, page 6^6* 
 {<S] Ibidem, pag. 647.
 
 21 6 The Antiquities of the Englifn Francifcans- 
 
 I. This Year King Henry the Seventh o^ England Qepaiced this Lifei 
 Anm i')0<). famous for his Juftice, Prudence, and Piety, and a ve:y great hi- 
 tron and zealous Promoter of the Francifcan Friers of Regular Obfcrvance in his 
 Kingdom : For, He built them Three Convents horn the Foundatiors, viz. 
 Gretnwich, Newark, and Richmond^ and caus'd Three others to be deliver'd up 
 to them by thtConvemualSj svi. Canterbury, Nnvcajlle., ?ind Southampton. Annal. 
 Ord. Min. 
 
 I. Br. PValter Goodfield, mcnuon'd y^nno 1508, was this Year graced 
 A»no 1510. ^viththeCap and honourable Degree of Doftorof Divinity at Oa-- 
 fordjonthe \ith Day of May. He was Guardian of the Francifcan Convent in 
 that City either when he proceeded Doctor, or a little before this time. So 
 (a; Mr. Wood. 
 
 I. Br. Fravcis of St. Simon, de Pi/is, firnam'd de Empolim, is men- 
 Anno 15 II. tion'd by feveral Authors as a Francifcan bred up at O.v/or<i, though 
 his Name feems plainly to import he was a Foreigner, one, 1 prefume, that 
 came to our learned Univerfity (as many others did) for Education and Improve- 
 ment. He writ a learned Book, the Title whereof, given by (b) Mr. Wood and 
 lofftnian: (c)\^ Certain learned and refolvd Determinations. He lived for fometime • 
 ill die Francifcan Convent at Oxford: But I find not that he proceeded Do- 
 ftor, nor when he flouriih'd \ So 1 place him- here by guefs, for the lake of 
 his being educated amongft the Englifh, as a Fellow Frier, at Oxford. 
 
 I. Br. Thomas Hamdcn, a Frier Minor, Batchelor of Divinity 
 Anno 15 1 2. ^j. Q^i-g^^^ fupplicated this Year to be admitted to pafs Doctor in 
 that Sacred Faculty, in the fame Univerfity. So (d) Mr. Wood. 
 
 I. Br. John Kynton, DD. was again, this Year, one of the Com- 
 ""'' ''''■ milfaries to do the Office of Yice-Chancellor of the Univerfity of 
 
 Oxfoid. So(e) Mr. Wood. Such Offices were not commonly beftow'd upon Re- 
 JigiousMen ; and therefore it was the greater Honour done to Kynton j efpeci- 
 ally he being four or five times placed in that Poft : Which is a lufficient Cha- 
 rafter of the Man. 
 
 II. Br. Thomas Anyday, Br. -Robert Saunderfon, Br. Gilbert Saunders, 
 -^»«»i5»3- Br. John Smyths and Br. John Browne, Five Friers Minors, Batchelors 
 of Divinity, were this Year honour'd with the Cap, and proceeded Dottors in 
 that Sacred Faculty in the Univerfity of Oxford j the Four firft on the i-jth of 
 February, and the Fifth o» the 19th of November, (i) Wood- * 
 
 HI. Br. Maurice Fihdy, or Mauritius de Portu, was born near the 
 J 5 '5- Haven call'd Baltimore, m Ireland, and for his great Vertue and Lear- 
 ning, was ftyled The Flower of the Iforld : After his Religious Profefiion in the 
 Order of St. Francis, he had his firft Education in the Convent of his Order ac 
 Oxford, wherein the Subtile DoBor, Duns Scotus (whole Works he admir'd above 
 
 all 
 
 (a) Ibidem, page 650. (b) Antiq. Oxo?i. Lib. l.pagel6- (c) H//?. Seraph. Lib. 3". /0//0 gKj. 
 (d) Atleti. Oxtn. Part. 1. page 65}. (e) Ibidem. {i)lbid.pa2,e {J54. See Mturitins de Portu, in^Athen. 
 OxcK.pigei S and^.
 
 The Antiquities o///;eEngli{h Francifcans. 217 
 
 t\\ others) had heretofore fpent Ibme Years in Religion and Learnings and in 
 the Library of which Place many of his Writings had been religioufly pre- 
 ferv'd. Vrom Oxford\).s vient to FaAua, where he took the Degree of Doitor in 
 Divinity : Afterwards he became known to, and efteem'd by Pope Julius the 2d, 
 who for a Reward of his Vertue and Learning, conferr'd upon him the Arch- 
 biflioprick of Tuam, in IreUndj j4>ino 1505. InthelV^r 1512, he wasprefentat 
 the two firll Seflions of the Council of Laterafi. He departed this Life at Gal' 
 Joway, Anno 1513, in his Return, before he cou'd reach Tuam, to the great Grief 
 of all learned Men. His Body was buried in the Church of the Francilcans atT 
 Calloway. He was the Author of many learned Works, efpecially of many Cow- 
 mentaries upon the whole DoBrine of Scotus \ befides which, he writ An Enchiri- 
 dion of Faith, printed Anno 1 509 j A DiEtionary of Holy Scripture-, very ufeful 
 and neceffAry for all Preachers ; and feveral other Things. So Wood. 
 
 Many other Iripi Francifcans, afterwards Bilhops, were educated in the Con- 
 vent of Engliih Minorites at Oxford ^ as may he leen in Mr. IFood's Fajfi Oxo- 
 nienfes, at the End of the flrft Part of his Athena: But, I forbear to mention 
 them, or others of the fame Order, becaufe I fuppofe they were not Members 
 of the Englifh Province, though they lived and Itudied for fome time amongit 
 the Englijh 
 
 I. Br. John Harvey., a Minorite, was this Year made Batchelor Ama 1514. 
 of Divinity in the tjniverficy of Oxford, on ths 10th of January, being 
 at the fame time Guardian of the Francifcan Convent in that City -, in which 
 Office he fucceeded Br. Walter Goodfield, above mention'd. So Mr. Wood. 
 • I.Br. Henry Standifb^ Guardian of the great Convent of Francif- v^»»fl 1J15 
 cans of London, and afterwards Provincial, and at laft Biihop of St. 
 Afaph, was this Year brought into fome Trouble (as Mr. (a) Wood relates it) on 
 the Occafion of a Sermon preach'd at St. Pauls Oofs by Richard Kedermyfler, Abbot 
 (of the BenediBins) of Winchcomb, in Gloceflerflnre, who therein, while the Par- 
 liament fate, maintain'd the Exemption of the Clergy, from temporal Judges, 
 at which time were great Agitations between the Clergy, and Seculars concer- 
 iiing divers Ecclefiaftical Liberties; whereupon arifing great Difpute between 
 thole Parties, one Doctor Henry Standifh, Guardian of the Convent of Fran- 
 cifcans in London y did in an Altembly of Bifhops, Judges, and others, main- 
 tain the contrary. Soon after, there was a Grand Committee of Biflxops and 
 Judges in the Houfeot the Black Friers, in London, affembled to difcufs that Mat- 
 ter ; which being ended, Articles were exhibited againfl the laid Standijh. So Mr. 
 Wood,Ihidem. This Relation is carry'd fomewhat farther by Mr. Collicr;{b) who fays, 
 this Dotlor Srandijh was one of the King's fpiritual Couiicel, and that on a certain 
 Occafion having advanced that the Profecuting of Clerks before temporal Judges in crimi- 
 nal Caufes, was by no Means inconfiflent with the Laws of God, nor the Liberties of the Hily 
 Church : And, that fuch Profecutions being Cuflomary PraBice, and conformable to the 
 
 F f L^.ws 
 
 (a) Athen.Oxon. Fart. 1. page 2J\. (b) Etclesi Hifl, Part. z. P-vk. i. pages 4, 'j,and;, as 
 above noted. 
 
 i
 
 21 8 The Antiquities of the Engliih Francifcans. 
 
 Lams of the Kingdom^ they ought not to he over yul''d, was oppos'd by the Council for the 
 Spiritii.'Jtty ■, (p'ge 4) But the Dodlor perceiving thnt IVarham., Archbifhop of 
 Canterbury, and the Convocation were difaffe^led to him, Ind apprehending the 
 Confequer.ce, applied to the King for Proteilioii; After this, the Temporal 
 Lords a;.d judges, at the Inftance of the Houfe of Commons made their Re~ 
 queft to the King to maintain his Royal Jurisdiction, and that his MajeAy 
 wou'd be pleas'd to fhelter Dr. Standifl) from the Malice (as they call it^ ot the 
 Clergy ^ (page 5) upon this the Bifhops promifed the King that Dr. Stnndifh 
 ihou'd bedilrnifs'd trom farther Trouble in the Cawi/oMfiow, which was done ac- 
 cordingly, /><?§? 7. So Collier AS here quoted. 
 
 1. King Henry the Eighth, began his Reign on the 2Zth of April 
 Avno 1516. j^op^ at the Age of 18, and was at firft a great Lover of the Or- 
 der of St. Francis, and a very zealous Promoter ot the Caufe of the Obfervamsy 
 as appears from his addre/Tinghimfelf to the Apoftolick See in their Behalf^ as 
 fhall be hereafter faid : Nay, the Obfervants had fo great Power with his Majefty, 
 rhat, at the Requefl of the Friers of Greenvcich, he gave his Letters Patents, dated 
 Novirtther the rith Anno \%\6., whereby he granted a yearly Penfionof a thoufand 
 Crowns towards the Maintenance of the Friers Obfervants who keep the Place 
 of the Hdy Sepulchre of our Lord, in Palefline \ which charitable Allowance 
 was accordii gly paid for feveral Years, before that King fell off from the 
 Pope : The Grant begins thus, viz. Jnnatum Studium ejuo erga vejlram Familiam ah 
 ineur.te 's./Etate fumus affect, ob Evangelica Vit& Imitationem, &c. that is, T'he tnbred 
 lit fpcS which from our very Touth We have horn towards your Family (of Obfervants^ 
 en the Account of your following the Evangelical Ltfe^ c^c 
 
 Thefe Patents may be I'een at full length in the Annals of the Order writ by 
 Br. Luke Wadding, who had the Originals, and indeed they are full of Piety, 
 and give a great Character of the Obfervants- So Fran (a) a Sta. Clara \ who adds, 
 that the moft UluftriousC/irW/wro/ Auflria, K'm^ Henry the %th''s Queen, was of 
 the Third Order of St. Francis, and was accuftom'd to rife at Mid-night to the Di- 
 vine Office, and be prefent in the Francifcan Church, ^t Greenwich during the 
 Time that the Friers were fmging or reading their Matins and Lauds, to the 
 great Edification of her Subjefts. 
 
 I. This is a moft memorable Year, and reckoned as it were a new- | 
 /ino 1517. j^^^ throughout the whole Order of St. Francis, becaufe Pope Leo the^' 
 T(P«ffc now caus'd robe united in one Body of Regular Obfervance all the feveral 
 different Branches or Congregations of the Reformed Francifcans that relolved 
 to live in a ftrid Obfervance of their Founc'er's Rule, according to the Letter of . 
 that I aw, without any Difpenfations or Abatements, making a Coalition of them | 
 AH ui.der one immediate Superiour ot the lame Obfervance, and feparating 
 them from the Co«^•fHfM.^/J who wou'd not renounce the Privileges granted them 
 by feveral Popes, difpei fing with them in fome Precepts ot the Rule which 
 were judg'd to be eiTeatial ^ efpecially as to the Obfervance of Francifcan Po- 
 verty. 
 
 k— • . II ■ ■!■ ■ « 
 
 va) In mjl. M^n. Irovin. hr.gl. Frat.Alm. pag.^u
 
 The i4w//^«/>/« 0/ Me Englifh Francifcans- 2ip 
 
 verty. For theCe Conventuals his Holinefsalfo appointed a proper Superiour, under 
 whom they were permitted to live in the Enjoyment of the faid Papal CondeH- 
 cenfions and Conce/fions. Thus were ended all the Difputes between the Conven- 
 tuals and the Obfervants i And then came out that Famous Bull of Vmon, which 
 begins with thefe Word?, he Vosin Fineam meant &c. Dat. 4. Calcnd. Junij^ where- 
 by not only thofe Friers who lived under the Vicars ot the Obfervants apart, but 
 thofe alio who, living amongft the Conventuals under their Minifter-Provincials, 
 oblerved the Rule purely and fimply, were united in one Body, and were com- 
 prehended in the faid Vnion, to all Intents and Purpoles. And now Br. Bernardine 
 aPrato, aConventualy was by the Popedifcharg'd of the Office of Mmifter Gene- 
 ral, 9.ndBr. Chriftofher Numajus Forolivienfis, (afterwards a Cardinalj now f^icar 
 General of the Obfervants^ was duly and canonically chofen Minifler General of 
 the Order, by the unanimous Agreement and Votes of all the Reforrn'd .- And 
 to this new Mimfier General (by this means become the lawful Succeflbr of St. 
 iv-<»w») the Pope himfelt gave the ancient Seal of the Order, which his Holinefs 
 took from the faid Br, Bemardir.e a Prato, and which had been uled by all the 
 General Minifters ever fince St. Francish Time. Thus Br. Chriftopher Numajus and 
 his Succefibrs (to be chofen by the Obfervants only) follow legally in the Lift of 
 the Minifier Generals of the Order : And the Superiours of the Conventuals were, 
 from this Time forwards, by the Pope's Command and Bull^ to be call'd by a 
 Name or Title as yet unhear'd of among the Francifcans, viz. ALigifiriCenerales^ 
 and Magiflri ProvincialeSy or Mafler Generals^ and Mafler Provincials, and thefe 
 Superiours, when chofen by the Conventuals, were to be confirm'd in their refpe- 
 ftive Offices by the Obfervants \ that is, the Maffier-General by the Mmifler-Generalj 
 and the Mafier- Provincial by the Minifier-Provincial. Thefe and many other 
 Articles were agreed on in that moft General Chapter held this Year at Rcme, in 
 the great Convent call'd Ara Call, by both Parties, and confirm'd by another 
 Conflitution of the faid Pope, call'd the Bulla Concordia, which begins with thele 
 Words, viz. Omnipotens Dcus &c. Dat. Prid. Id. Junij. And, for the avoiding 
 of any future Difputes about Precedence, his Holinefs decreed that the Obfer- 
 vants fhou'd take Place of the Conventuals in all Proceffions, Funerals, and upon 
 all other fblemn Occafions. So the Author of the Epitome of the Annals of the 
 Order, this Year. 
 1 \. Notandum. By this Bull of Vnion^ moft of the Francifcans in England 
 were, in Effett, united in one Body of Obfervants \ becaul'e very few of their 
 Houfes enjoyM any Rents, and ^// renounced their Temporalis ; So their Cafe 
 was very different from that of other Provinces of the Order .• And here the 
 Conventuals came over, for the greateft Part, and fubjefted themfelves to the 
 Obfervants. ^ But, I go on a Step farther in this Affair. For, 
 
 2. Notandum. It appears in Speed's Catalogue of Religious Houies, that Few 
 ot the Francifcan Convents in England ever had any Revenues ; and fome of 
 thofe to whom he gives Rents were fo very inconfiderably indow'd that their In- 
 
 F f 2 - comes 
 
 AnnaU Ord, Mm.
 
 2 20 The Antiquities of the Engliih Francifcans* 
 
 romes were in Truth no more than what were neceirary for the Repairs of their 
 Ciiurches and other Bjildings, or rather the yearly Value of the site of their 
 Houfes and the Cjround wiiliin their Inclolures, than any real Rents; as it ap- 
 pears of the ^tSAt Convent (now Chrijl-Churih Holpital) in London^ and others •, 
 elpecially the Conver.t in CWwrr)', whkh SirlVilliiim(a) Dugdale fayf, never had 
 ai.v Rents, but always lived out ot pure Alms, even till the iJuppreifion of thac 
 Houfe, for, when the King's Officers inquired into their Means, Anfwer was 
 made by the Guardian and the Friers, thac they always lived of Alms, without 
 ar.y Rents at all •, as Du^dale reports from the Royal Records. So thefe and 
 Other fuch like, havir.g no claim to Temporals, were, by Vertueof the Bull 
 of Vnion^ made fubjeil in full Right to the 0&/f)x/4^/f; ; and therefore, after the 
 Publication of the faid Bully our Hiftorians make no Mention of any Provin- 
 cial of the Conventuals^ nor of their Chapters, or ot Two Provinces^ ot Fran- 
 cilcans in England \ which made Mvk of Lisbone fay, (Anno I484J the Province 
 of England was incorporated in the Ohfervance : He does not fay, Some Parts of tht 
 Province, as in the Province of France and others. Inline, Ance the Popes and 
 our Kings were fo very zealous for the Encouraging of the Obfervants in Eng~ 
 land, that through their Means the Conventuals were brought under the Obedience 
 of the faid Obfervants long before this general "Union, as has been obferv'd, it can- 
 not reafonably be imagin'd butthat, tor the Eftabliftiment of the laid z;;;w/, the 
 Conventuals, were made wholly fubjefl to the Obfervants, although they re- 
 main'd ftill in their Refpeftive Convents ontlie Account of their different De- 
 grees ot Reformation, and Obfervance, forae being more ftridt than others. So 
 (b) a Sta. Clara. 
 
 3. Ni'tandum. Moreover, the Francilcans of the Province of England fubilft- 
 ed chiefly by a charitable and free Donation of Five pence once in three Months, 
 from every Houfe or Family, as Sfced writes from the Royal Records. Now-, 
 this Alms and Contribution, coiifidering the Number of the People, was fu/Hci- 
 ent tor the Support of the Friers, and no great Burden to the People ; and it 
 ftems to have Ibme Refemblance of the ancient Apoftolirk Way ot living 
 exprefs'd in their Canons, (c) and does not appear to be contrary to the Rule of 
 St. Francis; efpecially if the faid Alms is put into the Hands of iheir Syn^/f4, 
 who is commiffion'd by the Apoltolick See to manage fuch Alms for the Ule 
 of the Fraucifcans, in the Name of the Pope, or of the Donors. Thib being 
 fo, it^asealy for iiicli togo over to the Obfervants, or to join and unite with 
 them in one Body, under the Denomination of the Refortnd. Ho Fran, {d") a 
 Sta. Clara. 
 
 4. Notandum- Now, as a Return for thefe Charities, the Friers on their Part 
 did all the Services in their Power-, For, they preach'd frequently to the Peo- 
 ple, tookgveat Pains to inltruft the Ignorant and Children, and were always 
 ready at a Call to watch with the Sick, to hear Confeiiions, and to aJlift and 
 
 comfort 
 
 (a") 'DiifdaUi Warivtclfuire, Anno z6. Regn'i Hen. 8. {h) Bifi^ Mm- pag. ji. (c) Canon 41. 
 A^ofoi. (^i) Htji. Min.pag. 52.
 
 The Antiquities of the 'En^i^ Francifcans. 221 
 
 comfort all Perfons in Diftrefs, even in th« Times of Battles, or Seiges, Prifons 
 or Dungeons, or in the moft peftilential or contagious Diftempers. 
 
 5. Notandum. Before I dole this Article, I muft do that Juftice to the 
 Memory of King Henry the Eighth as to obferve that he was one of thofe zea- 
 lous Prirxes who writ to the Pope in Behalf of the Ob/ervantsi and by whole 
 Mediation the Famous ^«// o/I^w/aw came forth and was publifh'd to the who'e 
 Order, this Year, in the general Chapter, at Rome, as Pope Leo the Jcth there- 
 in bears witnefs ; at which time the Oh ferva^^t Francifcan Provir.ce of £»j/.W 
 had Twelve Convents there reckon'd (the Provincial thereof beii;g then prc- 
 fent) thofe Convents only being counted wherein the Obfervants lived, to di- 
 ftinguifh them from the many more that were inhabited by the Ccnventuds, or 
 iuch Friers as were not yet reform'd to the utmoft Striftnefs of the Oblervance 
 of the Rule of St. Francis. S^ (a^ Fran. Davenport. 
 
 I. Pope Leo the Tenth, this Year alfo, granted many Favours to Anno 1518. 
 the Order ^ amongft the reft one was, that he put an End to the 
 Controverly which had been long debated between the Metjdicants and the Par- 
 fons of Parifhes, about the hearing of ConfelTions, about Burials, and hearing 
 Mafs in the Churches of the Mendicants \ upon all which faid leveral Heads, 
 his Holinefs now gave a final declaratory Sentence in Favour of the Friers 
 Minors. So the j^uthor of the Epitome of the Annals of the Order^ under this 
 Year. 
 
 ll.hr. William Germyn., <^x\d'QT. Willi am Wall, Two Francifcan Bat- Anno 1518- 
 chelors who had fupplicated for the Cap jlnno 151^, were thi'? 
 Year admitted to proceed, and accordii;gly took the Degree of Dodor of Divi- 
 nity in the Univerfity of Oxford. So(b) Mr. Wood. 
 
 I.Br. Henry Standifl}, an Eminent and learned Francifcan Doftor Anno I5I5^ 
 of both our Univerfities, and Provincial of hi"; Order, was this Year 
 nominated Bi/hop of 5r. Afaph, and received Conlecration thereunto in the Fran- 
 cifcan Church at Oxford, on the nth of July, the fame Year. So (c) Mr. Wood, 
 This Standjh \s mention'd in the Tear 151 5, and the Reader m;;y find the reft 
 of hisCharadter in the Tear 1535, in thefe Collections. He was fucceeded in 
 the Provir.cialfhip by Br. Richard Bryncley Doftor of Cambridge, of whom more 
 jinno 1524- 
 
 Notandum, That the Succe/Tion of Provincials is here very confufed, the Mi.- 
 nifiers, and Ficars being not rightly dilHnguifh'd, on the Score of the Refor- 
 mation of the Order and new Regulation of the Provincials of each Family, 
 lb that it feems as if there had been three Provincials near the lame Time, after 
 a long Break or Gap in the Succe/Tion ; which I will endeavour to fet in as a 
 true a Light as I can when I come up with them. 
 
 II. This Year alfo. Pope Leo the Tenth exempted the Francifcan Pro- Anno 1519. 
 vince of England from the lurifdidtion of all Prelates, even of Apo- 
 
 ftolick 
 
 (a) /» Hijl. Mm. trovin, AitgU* Frat» Min. ^<ig»44. Qi^ Atlxn>- Oxon^ fM, ^i. tage66o, 
 (c) ilidem, }age j(J,
 
 22 2 The Antiquities of the Engliih Francifcans. 
 
 ftoUck Legates. Annal. Ord. A learned ('a) Writer fays, this Privilege of 
 Exemption was granted at the Requeft ot King Henry the 2th, to whom the 
 Pope was then well alfefted, as Helikewife was to the Pope, and both ot them 
 fmcere Lovers of the Obfcrvant Francifcans, and great Encouragers of that 
 Reformation. 
 
 \. Br. Sffpfcf» 5<iro« is plac'd under this Year in Dr. P»V/s Catalogue 
 Artno 1 5 10. ^^ Writers, though he feems to have furviv'd this Time : How- 
 ever, he was fo greatly famed for his Piety, Leariuiig, and Prudence, that he 
 was made Provincial ot his Order in England, and was Confelfor to King Henry 
 the Sth before that Prince fell off from the Pope, or began to queftion the Law- 
 fulnefsot his Marriage with Qiieen Catharine. Baron alfo was a famous Preacher, 
 and flourilh'd long at Cambridge in that Evangelical Imployment. He was a 
 very learned Man, and writ an excellent Treatife, intitled Of the Government of 
 Princes, which Book he addrefs'd to the faid King ot England, befides a Book of 
 Sermons preach'd at Cambridge, and other Works. Br. Fran, a St a. Clara (b) fays, he 
 had the good Fortune to procure thefe two Books, and he adds, that it appears 
 by their Title-pages that Stephen Baron was firft Vicar-Provincial of the Ohfervants^ 
 and afterwards Mimjler : Which makes me believe he was f^icar of the Obfervants 
 jinno 1517, and being prefent that Year in the moft general Chapter of the 
 Order at Rome, was therein declar'd Minifier Provincial, and fo is faid to fuc- 
 ceed Br. Richard Brinlley who was before Minifier, and was here fubjefted to Br. 
 Stephen Baron, or perhaps declared Mafier Provincial, as others of the Conventuals 
 then were, b^ the Pope's exprefs Command. But, be this as it will, Br. Stephen 
 Baron was fucceeded in the Office of A^finifier Provincial of the Ohfervant Englifh 
 
 Province of Francilcans by one Br. William- Whofe Sirname I find not. 
 
 Brinkley fhall be fpoke to hereafter, as well as the faid Br. WtlUam N. 
 
 II. Br. Thomas Francis^ a Frier Minor, took the Degree of Doftor 
 Avno \<, 10. of Divinity, this Year, in the Univerfity of OAr/(;r<i, vpon the z'Sth 
 Day of February, (c) Wood. 
 
 I. Br. John Kynton, DD. Oxon. often mention'd, gave this Year a 
 A»no i52(. j.|,g^ Demonftration of his excellent Learning and great Zeal for the i 
 Catholick Faith, by a Book which he writ, at the King's Suggeffion, againft i 
 the Doftrine of Martin Luther :, This Work was intitled Contra DoHrinam Mar- 
 tini Luiheri. Vide (d) Wood. 
 
 IL Br. David Williams, a Francifcan, took the Degree of Doftor 
 Anno I'yii. Qf Qiyii^ijy 2Lt Oxford, this Year; and Br. William Curteis, of the 
 fame Order, Batchelor of Divinity, lupplicated alfo this Year, to be admitted 
 to the Degree of Doftor of the fame IJniverfity. (ej Wood. 
 
 \. Br. William N- Minifter Provincial of England, was this Year, 
 1513- ^^^Q Diffinitor General of the whole Order, in a General Chapter 
 
 of 
 
 {^a.)Fra». a Sta. Clara, inHJl. Min. pag. 43. (b) Hijl. Mn. Provin. Angl. Frat. Min. 
 pag. 44. (c) Ath.tt. Oxon. [ait. i. page 66z. (^d) Ibidem, ^ag. C'^'j. {c) Ibidem, fag, 66^
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifli Francifcans. 223 
 
 of the Obfervantst held at Burgos^ in Spain^ and he fubfcrib'd to the Afts of the 
 faid Chapter before the Provincial oi Saxony, ^nnal. Ord. I cannot learn this 
 Man's Sirname j But his Predecelforin the Provincialfhip was 5r. Stephen Barony 
 (mention'd yinno 7520^ as Davenport (a) fays, who alfo adds, that the Provin- 
 cials of the Englifh Obfervants appear'd not above twice more in any General 
 Chapters of the Order Cviz. ^««o '529> and yinno 1535) during the Reign of 
 King Henry the %th,'\n whofe time the Ol'/"frz/<««^j were perfecuted and difpers'd ; 
 Ibme dying in Prifon, others executed under the Imputation of Treafon, others 
 forced to fly, and the whole Body of them being reduced to almoft Kothing •, as 
 I ihall hereafter have Occafions to ihew. But, to return .- I cannot find how long 
 this Br. WUllam continued in the Office of Provincial, nor by whom he was there- 
 in fucceeded .- For, the Regifters are imperfeft and confuied. 
 
 II. Br. Nicholas de BurgOy an Italian Minorite, having taken the De- Anm 1523 
 gree of Batchelor of Divinity at Parity came over to Oxford, where 
 he ftudied for fome time in the Francilcan Convent, and was this Year admit- 
 ted to proceed Doftor in that Univerfity. He fucceeded Dr. 'Thomas Brynknell In 
 the Reading of Cardinal W^oZ/^^'s Divinity- Lefture, lately erefted at Oxford. He 
 was a very learned Man. So (b) Wood. 
 
 II!. Br. Chriftopher Numajus^tbe firft Minifter General of the Obfervants^ Anno 1515 
 being made a Cardinal, and his two SuccefTors, Br. Francis Lychetus 
 and Br. Paul Soncinnas, dead, Br. Francis Quignovius., call'd Francis ah j4ngeUs (of 
 a Noble Family in 5/?<«/«, and afterwards a Cardinal^ was this Year cho fen Mini- 
 fter General, and being zealous for the moft ftri£t Obfervance of the Rule ot 
 Sf. Francis, he drew up certain Rules, or particular domeftick Conftitutions for 
 thofe that defir'd to Ipend their Time moAly in Prayer and Divine Contempla- 
 tion. For thefe Cwhom he wou'd have to be call'd RecolkBs) he appointed cer- 
 tain Convents to be allotted in every Province for that Purpofe ^ as had in Part 
 been done Anno IS03. yinnal.Ord. Min. In the lame General Chapter, it was 
 inafted, that no Frier of the Obfervants Ihou'd hereafter be made Doftor of Di- 
 vinity except in thofe Places that are reckon'd General Studies of the Provinces of 
 the Order refpeftively. So the Epitome of the Annals of the Order. 
 
 I. Br. John Tynmouth, a Gray Frier, heretofore ot the Convent Anno 1524. 
 of Lynne,\n Norfolk, was educated in Theological Learning amongft 
 thofe of his Fraternity at Cambridge, and afterwards among thofe at Oxford, 
 and at length was made a Suffragan Bifhop, under the Title of Bifhop of Argosj 
 then in Partibus Infidelium- He departed this Life in the Tear 1524, and was bu- 
 ried in the Church- Yard at Boflon, in Lincolnflnre^ ('of which Place he was Vicar) 
 right againftthemidftof the High Altar ; to the End chat his loving Pariihio- 
 ners, when they Ihou'd happen to fee his Grave and Tomb, might be fooner 
 mov'dtopray for his Soul. At the time of his Death he gave to the Hou- 
 
 fes 
 
 (a^ In Hi/}. Min.pag. ^1^. (h) yttheu. Oxon. part. l> ^"^t 66]. Sit RecoUeBt,in the Sttp^U- 
 mtnt, at the Endof this Part ^ Numbers 5, 6, 7> ^ 8»
 
 224 ^-^-^ Antiquities of the Englifh FranciTcans. 
 
 fes of Gray Friers in Lynne^ Cambridge^ and Oxford Five Pounds a piece. So (a) 
 Jl4r. Wood> 
 
 U. Br. Richard Bryncleyy or Brinkley, a Francifcan Doftor of Divi- 
 Anno 15:4. j^ijy ^jj Cambridge^ and (as the Publick Regifter of Oxford fays) Ge- 
 veral Mimfter of the A<finoritts throughout England, was tilis Year incorporated in 
 the Univerfity of Oxford, being there admitted to the fame Degree of Doctor. 
 His Supplication, which, as Wood writes, was grar.ted Simplicitcr^ and In's In- 
 corporation are fet down in the faid Regifter under this Year. In the /aid Ge- 
 rerallhip, or Provincialfhip, he fucceeded Dr. Henry Standlfh, and w.'s fuccee- 
 ded by Stephen Baron, a Cambridge- A^jn, Confeffor to King Henry the 2th and 
 an eminent Preacher of his Time. So (b) Afr. Wood. See more of him, 
 Anno 1520. 
 
 Notandutn. Now, it may here beobferv'd, that if this Brinkley was a Con- 
 ventual, he was Majler-Vrovincial \ but it he was an Obfervam, it is probable he 
 had a Deputation from the Minifter General of the whole Order to aft as his 
 CommifTary in England, and might, for that Reafon, be call'd General : But, 
 thefe are no more than Conjectures. And, Br. Fran, a Sta. Clara Ceems to fet ic 
 in the trueft Light when he fays, (c) that Brinkley is, in feveral Catalogues, 
 reckon'd to be the Laft Mimfter Provincial before the Bull of Vnion •, Whence I 
 infer, that he was now Mafter Provincial of the Conventuals, undlocaWd General. 
 He is buried at Cambridge. So Davenport, Ibidem. 
 
 ^ III. This Year, on the laft Day of Auguft, the Ohfervant Francifcans 
 
 »«« 1/14. QppQjg^ Cardinal Wolfey, and when he wou'd have vifited their 
 Convents, they refus'd him Entrance. Pope Adrian the Sixth had given this 
 great Prelate a Legantine Power, or the Powers of a Legate u Littere, from five 
 Years to five Years, which his SucceiTor Pope Clement the qth made perpetual. So 
 the Lord Herbert, in his Henry the 2th. By the Vertueof this Power the Cardinal 
 vifited the Monafteries of every Order till he was refus'd Admittance by the 
 Obfervants; not only becaufe they were exprefsly excepted by the Pope, but alfo 
 becaufe that Order (as a learned Writer (d) afTerts) is exempted from the Vifits 
 of any Perfon that has f^f Power of a Legate, and fubje£l only to Legates, (non 
 funt vifttandi ab habcntibus Poteftatem Legati, fed duntaxat a Legatis') according to 
 feveral Privileges granted them by Popes ; as it was afterwards refolv'd in a Paral- 
 lel Cafe by the Doftors of the Laws of the learned Univerfity of Lovain. So 
 Fran, a Sta. Clara, Ibidem. But it may be replied that the Cardinal, fFoZ/fy, was 
 really a Legate a L<»rfr« *, yet granted he was fo, as our Hiftorians bear witnefs. 
 All that thence can be inferr'd is, ih^t the Ob fervantsm England were exemp- 
 ted from the Jurisdidion of a Legate a Latere by Pope Leo the Tenth, as I have 
 faid under the Tear 1519, otherwii'e they wou'd have been blam'd and reprov'd 
 by the Pope for fuch a Iblemn Repulfe of his Legate ; whereas they were not j 
 but, on the contrary, the Cardinal defifted at laft from any fuch Attempts, and 
 
 acquiefced, 
 
 (aj .^thtn. Oxnn.part. r. pa^. ^66. (b) lUdem, page 610. (i) In Sitpplcm. Hiji, Min.pag. 7. 
 ( ■') Fran, a Sta- Clara, in Hifl. Mi:.' [ag. 43. 
 
 I
 
 The Antiquities o///;e Englifli Francifcans. 225 
 
 ftcquiefced, without any farther Profecution of the Matter j which certainly, he 
 wou'd not have done had the Friers been in the Wrong. 
 
 IV. ^i. Francis de Angelis, Mir.ifter General of the whole Order, Anmi^n- 
 granted, this Year, Letters of FiHationtoa certain Englifli Knight 
 and his Family, Sir John Kirkham, ot the County of Devon : The Purport of 
 which Letters was a full Communication with the whole Order in Spirituals, and 
 as it were an Incorporating of the Family into the Order ot 5f. Francis, in 
 Confideration ot their great Devotion and Charity to it ; as appears from the 
 faid original Letters, which were kept with great Relpeft, in the laid Family, 
 and were i'een by Br. Fran. Davenport, in this Form, viz. To our mofi dearly beloved 
 in Chrifi, and our mofi dear Children^ John Kirkham, Knight, together with his Wife 
 and his Children^ and his Parents and Kinsfolks, devoted to God and to St. Francis : Br 
 Francis de A^^gelis, Minifler General of the whole Sacred Order of the Friers Minors^ 
 tpiflieth Health and Peace in our Lord, &c. 
 
 Such Communications of the Merits of Religious Orders, or receiving of 
 Lay Perfons, as Fellow-Brothers and Copartners of all fpiritual Goods, are to 
 be found heretofore granted by one Peter, Abbot of Cluny, to Cajus John, Empe- 
 rour of the Greeks ; and it was the Praftice then of the Ciflercians, as appears 
 from a Letter Q'nSt. Bernard's Works) ot Stephen, Abbot ot Cifieaux, to Lewis, 
 King of France, 
 
 Natandum- The greateft Monarchsand Princes heretofore ufed to take upon 
 themfelves the Habit of fome Religious Order in their SicknefTes ; either to fig- 
 nify that, if they recover'd, they defign'd to ferve God in that Habit (as Bald- 
 win, King of Jerufalem, didj or to be Benefactors to the faid Order ; or as a 
 Markot their fincere Penance, as was done by Stephen King of Hungary ; both 
 which laid Princes are mention'd by Barcnius nndex th& Tear 1131 ^ and this pi- 
 ous Cuftomiskept up with many to this Day ; and it was heretofore a common 
 Praftice of the Nobility and Perfons of Diftinftion in England to be buried in 
 the Habit of St. Francis. So Frar aSta. Clara- Qd) Davenport. 
 
 I. Br. John Jhornhil, a Francifcan Frier, took the Degree of Doctor Anno 1515 
 of Divinity, in tl:e Univerfity of Oxford, this Year, So (b) Mr. 
 
 Wood. 
 
 ' X.Br.John Perrot, Guardian of the Francifcan Convent z.t Bofton, Anm i^i6. 
 in LincolnOiire, had the Honour this Year, to proceed Doftor of Di- 
 vinity at Oxford, (c) Wood. 
 
 II, Br. Thomas Kyrkham, Guardian of the Francifcan Convent at Anno I'jiC. 
 Doncafler, in Torkjhire, was alfo this Year made Doftor of Oxford- 
 He afterwards was a very zealous Man againff the Divorce of King Henry the Sth 
 from his Queen, Catharine of jiujiria. Wood, Ibidem. 
 
 G g I. Br. 
 
 (a) Hijt. Min.pag.i^l. (b) Athente, fu Fafti Oxon. f^'ge 6]z. (c) Ibidem, ^agt 674.
 
 226 The Antiquities of the Engli(h Francifcans. 
 
 . I. Br. Jntkony Papudo, a Portuguez.e by Birth, and a Minorite bjT 
 
 i5i7- profelfioii, was this Year made Batchelorof Divinity, at Oxford. 
 Wvodj Ibidem. 
 
 I. King //f«ry the Eighth began now to call into Queft ion the Law- 
 **" '^' ' fulnefs of his Marriage with Queen Catharine (Daughter of Ferdi- 
 nand Kirgof Spain) after he had been marry'd to her r.ear Twenty Years, and 
 had by her Two Sons and One Daughter. H^^rvi upon Ston>, and others. 
 
 I. Br. Edmund Frycot, a Francifcan, was admitted to the honoura- 
 
 jip. j^jg Degree of Doftor ot Divinicy, at Oxford., this Year, en the 
 
 Tirfi of Fihu-iry, Tiiis Brycot was the lame, if I miftjike not (Tays (a) Mr. 
 
 Wood) wi'h Dodor Brycot Parfon of Hadham, in Hertfordfliire^ in the Reign of 
 
 Queen M^ry. 
 
 Notandum, That when Queen Mary came to the Throne of England there 
 TOas a Scarcity of fit Men for the Care of Souls, and it is not unlikely that Dr. 
 Brycot might have the Charge of a Pariih for iome time, notwithftanding his 
 being a Francifcan. 
 
 I.Br. JT/V/mot C<jf^o« departed this Lite this Year. He was a Pro- 
 
 »w 1530. fgffor and a Doftor of Divinity, an excellent School-Man, and moft 
 
 exquifitly skilfd in Scholaftick Dilputations ot Theological Thefes. He wric 
 
 very learnedly Vpon the M^fler of the Sentences., Four Books, and one Book of 
 
 Divinity- Ouefiions. So Dr. Pits. 
 
 ^ ^ II. ' The whole Clergy of England being judg'd by the King's 
 nno 1530. ( learned Counfel to be in a Premiinire^ for maintaining the Power Lega- 
 
 * tive of Cardinal Wol(ey^ werecall'd by Procefsto the Kings Bench, toanfwer.* 
 
 * Wherefore, in their Corivocation^ they concluded a Submi/Tion, wherein they 
 
 * call'd the King Sufream Head of the Church of England.' So Stow akrid£d. 
 The Lord Herbert, in his Henry the ith, exprefieth this Affair thus, viz. ' The 
 
 * Clergy in Convocation, in their Petition, give the King the Title of Eccleftt 
 
 * & Cleri Anglicani ProteBor (^ Supremum Caput j that is. The ProteBor and Supream 
 
 * Head of the Church and Clergy of England : But this being demurr'd on, this 
 
 * Ciaufe was added, viz. Quantum per Chri(H Legem lieet \ that is, j4s far as is con' 
 ^ fiflent with the Law of Chrifi \ and then Nine Bifhops and Fifty two Abbots 
 ' and Priors confented thereunto, as did alio the Major Part of the Lower 
 
 * Houfe. So the Lord Herbert. 
 
 The Confequences ot thefe Proceedings were fatal to the Obfervants. But 
 I go on. 
 
 I.Br. William Duffid, an Englifh Francifcan, v»as this Year made 
 Atm Mji; gi^^p of jfcalgn Cvulgarly Scalona) in Palefltne., and Suffragan to the 
 Bifhop of St. jifaph, in Wales. Epitom. yinnal. Ord. Min. 
 
 II. Br. Richard Gama, of the fame Kationand Order, was alfo thii 
 Amo 1531. Year made Bilhop ot Tiberias in Galilee^ and Suffragan to the Bifhop^ 
 
 cf Durham. Ibidem. 
 
 III. Br, 
 
 \ 
 
 (^) Ibidem ffa^e 6]f.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifli Francifcans* 227" 
 
 III. Br. Edward Bashrvyle vjslS made Doftor of Divinity, zt Ox- Amo 155; 
 ford^ this Year. So (a) Mr. IVood, who alfo adds, that he was Guar- 
 dian of the Francifcan College and Convent at Oxford about this time. But (un- 
 der Favour) I believe it was afterwards, becaufe he was in that Office at the 
 time of the Suppreffion of that Houfe, and Guardians commonly were not 
 above Three Years, or Four at the moft, in that Poft : Yet, the whole Nation 
 being in iuch a Contufion as then it was, the Francifcans poilibly might omit 
 their ufual Chapters, and leave the Guardians longer in their Offices, in Hopes 
 of better Times. However, 1 go on. 
 
 I. Br. Paul Pifotus, Minifter General o! the whole Order of St. A/ino 15}!. 
 Francis^ being this Year at Paris^ received there a Letter from King 
 Henry the Eighth of England^ who, for the Sake of Peace fas he faidj and good 
 Agreement between his Majefty ^-i^.thsOhfervants in his Kingdom, defir'd that 
 the Englifh Provincial of that Order might be turn'd out of his Office, and 
 that the faid General wou'd fend, as his Commiflary and Minifter in the other's 
 Place, one Br. John de Haye^ of the Province of Flanders, whom the King knew 
 and liked. To whom Pijfotus replied, that it was not in his Power to inftitute 
 Minifters of Provinces •, but that he wou'd lend the laid Father de Haye as his 
 CommilTary. Now the Occafion of the King's Indignation was, that the faid 
 Ot/frz/itwn had already ihew'd themfelves openly in oppofing the Divorce, and 
 fome of them, being encourag'd by their Provincial, had, both in their publick 
 Sermons and in their Writings, uled many Arguments to fhew the Lawfalnefs 
 of the King's Marriage wkhQueen Catharine, the King of Spain^s Daughter, and 
 Aunt to the Emperour Charles the Fifth. So the Annals of the Order. I cannoc 
 juftly tell who now was the Provincial of the Francifcans Obfervants \n England; 
 butam inclin'd to haWevsxtw^s Dr. John For eft, the Queen's GonfefTor, who at 
 laft felt the Smart of the King's Relentments, as fhall hereafter be faid more 
 fully. 
 
 II.* This Summer (as (b) Co//<Vr writes^ the King enlarged and Anno 1532. 
 c and ornamented White-Hall, lately forfeited to the Crown by the 
 t Premunire driven upon Cardinal Wolfey ; and to make his Relidence in Town 
 c more Commodious, he procured a Conveyance of the Manour of Sr. J.^mes's, 
 . and built that Pallace. The Houfe was then a Hofpital ; but the King compoun- 
 ( ded with the Sifters for a Penfion during Life. Not long after, he fupprefs'd the 
 c Priory of Chriji-Church, London. Thele Religious, being Francifcans, were 
 c difpos'dof in other Houfes of that Order. The Lands and Church-plate 
 ( were beftow'd on Sir Thomas jiudley now Chancellor ; Sir Thotaas More having 
 J lately given up the Broad-Seal.' So Mr. Collier. 
 
 Notandum. When this Convent was fupprefs'd (viz. ^wwo 1539, as appears 
 in Stow's Survey of London) there was no other Cotnent of that Order left, where- 
 in thefe Friers cou'd be J;ypo/f^ 0/, as Mr. Collier, by miftake, hereaffertsi and 
 by Priory here, he mult mean Friery *, and by Lands, nothing elfe can be inten- 
 
 G g 2 ded 
 
 (j) Atltn. Oxon. part, I pa^t. (J8l. (b) Ecda. H:j}. Fel. 2. pa^e 7i.
 
 228 The Antiquities of the Englilh Francifcans- 
 
 ded but the Jndofure and Site of the Convent \ for they had no other Lands 
 ID this Place : as Ihall be hereafcer made plain, in my Second Part. I 
 
 1. Br. John Jrtloure, Br. Edward Reylty, Br. John Jofeph, and Br. John 
 "' '533- ^^cheler^ Four Francifcans, fupplicated this Year to be admitted to pro- 
 ceed Barchelors ot Divinity in the Univerfity of Oxford. The laft of thefe, 
 viz. Br. John Bacheler was Sub-Guardian of the Francifcan College in Oxford. 
 So (a) Mr. Wood j who, by the Term Sub-Guardian, can mean no other Office 
 than that of f^icar of the faid Convent, or College, where the Schools flourilh'd 
 tin fhuc up by the King. 
 
 II. This Year, Pope Clement the 'jth gave a Definitive Sentence 
 ''WI533- againft King Henty the 2th, declaring his Marriage with Queen Ca- 
 
 * tharine to have been lawful ai,d good, and condemning his fecond Marriage 
 
 * with y4//«e 5o/f« as invalid, and their Commerce Adulterous, and their Cbil- 
 
 * dren Baflards, and excommunicating the faid King in Cafe he did not put 
 
 * off yi^we Bolen and reflore Queen Catl anne to her former State before the firfi 
 
 * Day of OElober. This Sentence (fays 5<i»<^f«^ was fo far from working upon 
 
 * the King to accept of the Time allow'd him for Repentance, that it exafpe- 
 
 * rated his Mind to the utmofl Degree of Rage againft his lawful Queen, whom 
 « he look'd upon as the Caufe of this Decree, and therefore he put out his Roy- 
 
 * al Proclamation, forbidding (under the molt fevere Penalties) all Perfons whom- 
 
 * foever giving her the Title of Queen, or any other Honour than what was 
 < due to her as the JFiWffip of Prince Arthur, which was to be her Title from this 
 
 * Time forwards ^ And then being appris'd by Anne Bullen (to whom he was pri- 
 
 * vately married) of her being with-Child and near her Time ot Delivery, his 
 
 * Majefty alfodifrobed Qiieen G»fW/»« Daughter Mary (^\\o was now feventeeii 
 
 * Years of Age, and had till this Time enjoy'd the Title of Princefs of Wales) 
 
 * and deprived her of all the Marks of Royalty given her before as the appa- 
 
 * rent Heirefs to the Crown, and fent her, as Illegitimate, to lead a private 
 
 * Life, with the Queen her Mother: And, for a Terrour to others, he exer- 
 
 * ted his Indignation againft that very Reverend and Learned Man Br. Jjhn I 
 
 * Forefl, ot the Order of St. Francis, ot the Obfervance, who had been Con- 
 
 * fefforto Queen Catharine : Him hecaft into Prifon, under Pretence of hisoppo- 
 
 * fing Hr^h Latimer when he was inveighing againft the Pope in the King's Pre- 
 
 * fence.' So Sanders. 
 
 Notandum. Another Author (b) adds, that the King feem'd to be particularly 
 pick'd agair.ft this Father, becaufe his Majefty fuppos'd it was in his Power to 
 have prevail'd with the Queen (being her Con felfor) to forbear any Appeal to 
 the Pope, and to retire, and fhut heilelt up in fome Monaftery, as he defired. 
 But I return to S<i»(^rrj, who goes or, laying, ' This Year, o» the yth of September^ 
 
 * was boin the Princefs (afterwar.ls Queen') Elizabeth, wh<-m the King took Care 
 
 * to have baptiz'd, with great Solemnity and Pomp, in the Church of the 
 
 ' Friers 
 
 Q\) yJiheu, fit Fasti Oxen, fart, I. {a^e 6'i^. (bj Fran, a Sta. Clara, Hi;f. Min.^age 41.
 
 The Antiquities of the 'Englifh Franclfcans. 23;^ 
 
 * Friers Minors of the Ohfervanctj at Greenwich ; which afterwards' appeat'd to 
 
 * have been unfortuViare to all that Order in England^ becaufe eleven Months 
 
 * after (nothing then being decreed agaii,ft any other Order) all the Friers Obj'tr- 
 
 * vants throughout the whole Kation were turn'd out of their Convents, and 
 ' j4ugujltn:an Friers then taken into them \ And when EUz^abeth afterwards came 
 ' to the Throne, Ihe again deftroy'd this Convent, ('which had been rebuilt and' 
 
 * reftor'd to the Order by Queen Mary') and turn'd the Buildings to other 
 
 * Ufes of her Pallace, whereunto they were adjoyring. So Sanders, de Schifm. 
 Angl- Lib. 1. 
 
 I. Br. llilli.mt Browne and Br. Thomas "fhomfon^ two Francifcan Anno 1554. 
 Friers, were this Year made Batchelors of Divinity in the Univer- 
 
 fity of Oxford. So Wood. 
 
 II. ' Great now Cfays SAnderi) was the Name of a certain Nun, A""" 153!. 
 
 * cnWd Elizabeth Barton, who for the Fame ot her Sar.ftity wascom- 
 
 ' monly ^y\ed the Holy Maid of Kent. This Nun afferted, that " King Henry 
 *■ the Sth. was now no longer a King, becaufe he did not rule according to God ^ And, 
 *' that Mary, Queen Catharines Daughter, who was now defpis^d as if Jlie had been 
 " unlawfully begotten, woud in time come to fway the Scepter due to her by Right : 
 
 * For which VVords fhe was caird to an Account, and being attainted in Pariia- 
 
 * ment, together with two Benedifline Monks, viz. Edward Bochin^ and John Bering ^ 
 
 * two Francifcan Friers, viz. Br. Hugh Rub, Guardian of Canterbury, and Br. 
 
 * Richard Rifbey, Guardian of Richmond, and two Secular Priefts, viz. Richard 
 f Mafters and Henry Gold, who all believ'd her to be guided by the Holy 
 : Ghoft, Sentence of Death was pals'd upon lier and them by an Aft of Par- 
 
 * liament ; and, after they had undergor.e the Mockicgs and Infults of the Mobb, 
 
 * they all lufFer'd Death, with great Magnanimity and Conftancy, on the loth of 
 
 * April. This Prophetefs having, with the moft nice Diligence, been examin'd 
 
 * by the Bifliop of Rochefter (f/]J;frj and by Sir "Thomas Moore, both thefe greac 
 
 * Men deciar'd that they cou'd not, by any Indication, find out that She was 
 
 * Jed on by a Fanatick Spirit, as fome reported; For which Reafon the King faC- 
 
 * pefted that they gave into her Prediilions, and the faid Bilhop wa?, by name, 
 < accus'd of that Crime before the Parliament :, and John Adifon, his Lordlhip's 
 
 * Chaplain, together with the Notary of Canterbury and two Lay Gentlemen, 
 
 * viz. Thomas Gold and Edmund Thwaite, were for the fame Reafon thrown into 
 ' Prifon. Yet it appear'd by the Sequel that thofe Things came to pals which 
 ' She foretold, however improbable when predicted ; for, the Princefs Afary 
 
 * wasadvaixed to the Throne before £/;z.<«tf//>, although ac this time Eliz.aheth 
 
 * was preferr'd before her. So Sanders, Ibidem. 
 
 The Author of the Francifcan Martyrology, reckons thefe two Fathers, 
 Rich and ^/itf^, amoiigft the Martyrs of the Order, and aflerts, that the chief 
 Caufe of their being drawn, hang'd, and quarter'd was their openly oppoiji.g 
 the Kii/g's Divorce, and their refofmg to acknowledge his Majefly ifor the Su. 
 freme Head of the Church of England ; and he moreover add?, that their Lives 
 were offer'd them in Cale they wou'd have renounc'd the Pope, and fub- 
 
 Icrib'd
 
 230 The Antiquities of the Englllh Francifcans. 
 
 fciib'd to the Kiiig's Supremacy ^ which they refufed to do, at the Place of 
 Execution ; And, the fourth Part of the ChronkUs of the Order, written in 
 French, fays the fame thing, and adds, that they were both alive when cue 
 down, and that Br. Hugh Rid) fpoke to the Hang-Man when he laid holdot his 
 Hearty and faid to hinti That which thou hafl- in thy Hand is confecrated to God. 
 
 Thefe two Obftrvants are, by raiftake, placed on the Ihird of June in the faid 
 Martyrology. 
 
 * The fame Year (fays Sanders again) the King procur'd an Aft of Parlia- 
 ment declaring the frincefs Mary illegitimate, and depriving her of all 
 Right of Succe/Iion to the Crown, and giving all her Honours and Rights to 
 the Princefs £/;j,<j&ff^ : And moreover, that all Power and Jurisdiftion over 
 the Engliflj and IriJJi fhou'd be for ever taken from the Pope, and that any 
 Perfon whatJbever giving any Honour hereafter or Authority to the Apo- 
 ftolick See fhouM be deem'd guilty of High Treafon •, And laftly, that the 
 Kinj alone Jhoiid be the Supream Head of the Church of England^ to whom alone be- 
 longs a moft full Power and Authority to correft and reform all Errors, He- 
 refies, and Abufes whatfoever, and that all the F;ry? fr^^/rj, or firft Years Rent 
 of all Church Benefices, fhou'd hereafter be paid to hisMajefty ; as likewife 
 the Tenths of all Ecclefiaftical Benefices. So Nicholas Sanders, Ibid. Thus, 
 by an A£l of Parliament, ("fays^fow continued by Hows) the Pope, with all 
 his Authority, was clean banifti'd thefe Realms, and order taken that he 
 fhou'd no more be call'd Pope, but Bi(l)op of Rome, and the King to be taken 
 and reputed as Supreme Heiidof the Church of England, having full Authority to 
 reform all Errors, Herefies, and Abufes in the lame. It alfo was farther 
 decreed, by another Ait of Parliament, that no Perfon fhou'd appeal, for any 
 Caufe, out of this Realm to the Court of Rome; but, from the CommifTary, 
 to the Bifhop ; from the Bifhop, to the Archbifhop ; from the Archbjlhop, 
 to the King ^ and all the King's Caufes to be tried in the Vpper-houfe of Par- 
 liament, c^c. 
 
 * The fame Day that the Hand-maid of our Lord, (Sanders fpeaks, meaning 
 the Holy Maid of Kent) with her Fellow-Sufferers, was drawn out to Execu- 
 tion, the Lord Mayor and all the Aldermen of the City of Low^ew were com- 
 manded to appear before the Archbifhop 0-4««»fr, Audley the Chancellor, Se- 
 cretary Cromwel, and others of the King's Council, where a new Oath was 
 tender'd them, and they all fwore rhatrfcf King^s Second Marriage was lawful, and 
 that the Child born thereof, Elizabeth byname, was the Heirefs of the Kingdom, with 
 Exclufion to Princefs Mary, as not being born of I awful Wedlock', which iiiid Oath, - 
 as being, for many Reafons (as Sanders writes^ moft unjuft, was refufed to 
 be taken by the Bifhop of RocheJlerXFiJher) and Str Thomas Moore ^&nd fome others, ' 
 who, on that Account, were taken into Cuftody. And, now when the Friers 
 Minors, commonly call'd Obfervants, moved by this Injuftice, talk'd boldly, 
 both in their publick Difputations, and in their Sermons, and moft eagerly 
 defended the Lawfulnels of the Marriage with Queen Catharine (efpecially 
 
 * the
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans. 231 
 
 * the two mo ft learned Fathers Elfion and Paytony or Elftow aid Peto) the whole 
 ' Order had on this Account incurr'd his Majefty's higheft Difpleafure, ar.d he 
 
 * exerted his Refentments againft them. So Sanders' 
 
 And, now having given the Reader a Height Sketch of the Situation of Re-- 
 ligious Affairs at this time in England^ I will go down to fome Particulars ot 
 the laid Friers Minors. 
 
 111. Thefirft Perfons that publickly reprov'd the King for his late Anno 1534. 
 Proceedings were the Francifcans, efpecially one Peto, an Obfervant, 
 then Guardian of Grtenrvich, who p; caching before the King, made a ftrong 
 Inveftive againft his Second Marriage. Stow relates this PalTage with all its Cir- 
 cumftances, which being too long for this Place, I defire the Reader to take ic 
 here in Mr. Colliers Words, ' It was ffays (a) he) in the Chappel Royal iu 
 Greenwich ; his Text was the Prophet Elijah's Reproot of j^hab, where the 
 Fate of that Prince is denounced in thefe Words, In the Place 
 where Dogs lick'd the Blood of Naboth, (hah Dogs lick thy Blood, f The third (or 
 even thine, -f- P^o quickly difcover'd his Meaning in taking this f<ry?) Book of 
 Text, and drove the Application ftrong upon the King : He Kingiychap. 21. 
 told him that, notwithftanding the Countenance and Opii i- verfe ,9. 
 on ot learned Men, his Second Marriage was altogether Un- 
 lawful. As for himfelf, he was refolv'd, l\ke Aficajah, to deliver fome unac- 
 ceptable Truths, though he wa^ lenfible he fhou'd fuffer for his plain Dealing : 
 he expefted the Bread of j4ffiiaion and the Water of Sorrow, but pretended a 
 divine Commiffion for his Freedom .- Upon the Prefumption of this Warrant, 
 he told the King, his Highnefs was furnifh'd with a great many Preachers to 
 juftify his Marriage with j4nne BoUyn\ but that thefe were Men of no Since- 
 rity, that they courted the King's Fancy, and applied to his Inclinations, for 
 Wealth and Promotion in the Church ; that thefe were the four hundred Pro- 
 phets poffels'd with the Spirit of Lying, that their Bufinefs was to deceive, 
 and make their Intereft outot his Highneffes Misfortunes : But he conjured the 
 King not to be fway'd by their Encouragement ; letting him know withall that 
 being expos'd to Flattery was thegreateft Unhappinefs in a Prince's Station. 
 Thefe were extraordii ary Sallies. However, the King bore the Reprimand 
 with great Temper, and fuffer'd Prro to go off without Trouble : But to pre- 
 vent an ill Impreflion, upon the jiudience, he order'd one Doftor Curwyn to 
 preach off the Malignity of Peto's Sermon ; He came up in the fame Place 
 the next Sunday {on the Sth of May) and executed his Commiifion with Vehe- 
 mence enough .• He call'd Peto Dog, and feveral other courfe Names : And 
 after having harangued in Commendation of the King's late Marriage, he 
 call'd out ioT Peto, and challe:ig'd him to defend his intemperate Difcourfe: 
 and not being anfwer'd, he charg'd him with Cowardice and Confcioufnefs of 
 his Misbehaviour : But Peto was not within hearing \ he was gone to Canterbury 
 
 * to 
 
 (i) Ecrla. Hiji. Vd, a. /-a^j 8(J.
 
 2^2 The Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans, 
 
 * ton Coundl: However, one Elftow, a Frier of the Tame Order, excufed his 
 ' Abiei.ce, and appear'd for liim. 
 
 •■ TJiis ElfioTv undertook Currvynt Sermon, proceeded with the fame Topicks 
 ' with Peto, and rather excee:ied in his Boldnefs and Refolution •, neither was 
 
 * there aiy ftopping him till the King commanded him to hold his Peace. The 
 
 * next Day this Frier and Peto were brought before the Privy Council and re- 
 
 * primanded there-, particularly the Eirl of EJf:x told them iheydeferv'd to be 
 
 * put into a Sack and thrown into theThames-, at this Elflow fmiling, replied ; 
 
 * my Lord, lays he, be pleas'd to frighten your Court-Epicures with fuch 
 
 * Sentences as thefe j Men that have loft their Courage in their Palate, and 
 
 * (bften'd their Minds with Pomp and Pleafure .- Such People who are tied by 
 
 * their Senfes thus clofe to the World, are more likely to yield to ar.y thing ; 
 
 * as for us, fuch Menacing makes no impre/non^ we count it an Honour to fulfer 
 
 * for our Duty, andblefj. God for keeping us firm under Tryal; And, as for* 
 
 * your Thames: the Road to Heaven lies as near by Water as by Land; and 
 
 * therefore it is indifTerent to us which Way we go thither. So (^^ ) CoHier ; 
 
 * who a 'ds, that thefe bold Remor.ftrances were made laft Year, Ibme little 
 
 * time before the Marriage with Queen j4nne was publickly own'd : 'Tis pro- 
 
 * bable therefore ("fays Co///frJ the Friers might think their Difcourfes were not 
 
 * too late, and that the King was not paft retrieving.' 
 
 Notandum. But others place thefe bold Speeches under this Year, a little 
 belore the Obfervants were expell'd their Houfes \ nor was this too Ute in the 
 faid Friers Opinion, who believ'd the Second Marriage abfoiutely unlawfull, 
 ynd their Cohabitation adulterous ; for, they knew it was never too late to amend, 
 and poffibly might entertain Ibme little Hopes that the King might not be 
 fo far paft Retrieving as net to be touch'd with Remorfe, put olT Ame Bollen 
 (who in their Opinion, cou'dnot be his lawful Wife) and reftore Queen Catha' 
 rine to his Favour and his Bed. 
 
 JSz<r«ff Cb) fays, Thefe two Friers being reprov'dand dilmifs'd by the Council, 
 went beyoi.d Seas, where they cor.tinued til Queen M'jrys Days \ and in another 
 Place 5tt/-wf (c) alio fays, that this Sermon, thefe Remonftrances and lome other 
 Steps taken by the 0^/"ofrf«f/, in Oppofition to the Divorce, * drew a Vifitatioa 
 *! upon them at Richmond, which was made by Rowland Lee Bilhop of Lichfield 
 and Coventry and Thomas Bedyl, who tender'd them fome Conclufions; amongft 
 which this was one, viz. That the Pope has no greater JurisdiH-ion in this Kingdom y 
 by the Lav of God, than any other foreign Bifttop j This, they laid, was 
 fublcribed by feveral Bifhops, Heads of Houfes, and other learned Clerks 
 of the Realm ; and therefore they defired thofe Friers to refer the Mat- 
 ter to Four Seniors of the Houfe, and acquiefce to what they ihou'd do ; 
 but they excus'd it.' So Burnet in his Hifiory of the Reformation, as quoted. 
 IV.' The King (^Cnys Mr. Collier) refolving to feel the People's 
 ^5;4- Pulfe touching rk D>Jfolution of Religious Houfes, made a gentle At- 
 
 tem.pC 
 
 (a) Ibidem, {age Z-j. {h) Vol, z. ^a^e ^16. {c)Vol. I. {ag.iiz.
 
 The Antiquities o//^eEngli{h Francifcans, 235 
 
 * tempt that Way. Now, the Obfervant Friers having been noted to be the 
 
 * moft cJamorous againft the Court-Meafures, he fupprefs'd thofe Fraternities 
 
 * at Greenwich, Canterbury, Richmond, and eHewhere, and fill'd their Places with 
 
 * Augufiinians.^ So Mr. Collier. This Sentence was executed upon the poor Friers 
 at Greenwich firft of all, who were turn'd out oF Doors, on the wthof Auguji j 
 and the Blow was follow'd to all the Obfervant s in the Nation ; who were then for 
 prefeutly after) expell'd their Convents, and many of them lent into the Houfes 
 of the Conventuals, as cur Hiftorians bear Witneis : Not that the King, having 
 taken from them their leffer Houfes, gave them the larger Places of the Conven- 
 tuals, as the Lord Herbert (a) obferves is, by Miftake, alTerted by HoUng^iead, 
 Stow, and others •, but making them Subjeft to the Conventuals, and confining fome 
 of them to their Convents, as Sanders and other Writers of thole Times remark, 
 and is rightly taken Notice of by Br. Fran, (b) a Sta. Clara. 
 
 Thus his Majefty punilh'd the Obfervants tor oppofii:g his Supremacy and main- 
 taining the Lawfulnefs of his firft Marriage with Q.ueen Catharine : And this was 
 not AlH This was not the worft Effedt of the King's Anger ; For, although fome 
 of the Obfervants were thruft into the Houfes of the Conventuals tor a time ; Yet 
 the principal of them were caft into faft Hold ^ about Two hundred of them 
 being thrown into divers Prifons ; as the Annals of the Order atteft from our Eng- 
 lifh Hiftorians : And therefore Dr. Fuller (c) fays, that the whole Order of the 
 
 * Friers Obferv*nts was fupprefs'd, and Augufiinian Friers fubftituted in theic 
 
 * Places. And, that King /^^wr/s Frowns outed t\\o\'e (Obfervants') as De- 
 
 * linquents, by a violent Expulfion. Yea, probably fome of them had been 
 
 * expell'd their Lives, as well as their Livings (two hundred of them being at 
 
 * once imprifon'd) had not Sir 'Thomas Wriothejley, their great Friend and Bene- 
 
 * factor, feafonably interceeded for them to the King, on Hopes of fome of their 
 
 * future Conformity to his Majefties Defires. So Fuller. 
 
 I. The Methods taken by the King to compafs a Divorce from ^""o i535 
 Queen Catharine were the chief Rife of that Train of Revolutions in 
 the Church which changed the whole Face of Religion in his Dominions •, For, the 
 Followers of Luther'' t new Syftems taking the Occafion of the Debates between his 
 Majefty and the Pope, came over from foreign Parts, and by Degrees made great 
 Innovations, whilft the King feiz'd upon the Monafteries and Religious Houfes 
 and their Revenues, abolith'd the Power, and even the Name of the Pope in his 
 Kingdom, and took upon himfelf the Title of Supreme Head of the Church of 
 England, and bore a heavy Hand upon thofe Religious that oppos'd thefe Procee- 
 dings, or declar'd their Dillike of his Second Marriage, andretus'd to condemn 
 his^r/?, asunlawfull andnull : And, the Francifcans cv^Wd. Obfervants ; above all 
 others, felt the dire Effefts of his Refentments, for their having more boldly 
 maintain'd the faid Queen's Caufe, and the Obedience to the Apoftolick See; 
 For, notwithftanding their being already turn'd out of all their Convents, yet 
 row as many of them as cou'd be found were caft into Prifon, and divers Ways 
 afflifted (as the Annalifi of the Or</fr fays) after an unhuraan Manner-, although 
 
 H h as 
 
 Qa) In h'ls Hewry the Sth, Anno j 554. (b) Jiifl, Mn. fag. 50, £p 5 1. (c) Hif. Btoh 6.p.ige joS. 
 
 k
 
 234 ^^^ Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans. 
 
 as yet 1.0 mote of them than the two already named (viz. Fich and Riihey) 'had 
 been put to Death •, either becaule that, many of them now being clofeiy confi- 
 ned, they cou'd not makefo loud an Oppcfition as heretofore, or that (as others 
 tJiii li) their great Friend Sir Thcmtis Wriothejlty had, by his good Offices with the 
 King, ftaved off theiatal Stroke. However, the Queen's CorifefTor Br. Dr. John 
 Forefi, after two Ye^rs Imprifor.mentamongft common Malefa^!:ors, was now con- 
 demn'd to be hatig^d alive over a Fire, and fo hurv'd to Death, becaufe ('as the 
 jinnari of the Order atteft) he wou'd not fvoear that the King was the Supreme Head 1 
 of the Church of E»glti7id. 6oihe Epitome of the Annals of the Order. 
 . _,, II. Amongft the many Calamities under which Queen C«fW/«f !a- 
 
 55J- bour'j after the Divorce, one of the moft (enfible was (zsSatjders 
 writes) the unhuman Hardfhips and Severities praflis'd by the King's iVTmifters 
 upon that Venerable old Man Br. "John Forefi, her former ConfelTor, and who had 
 been firft confin'd in Prifon upon her Account ; For, now after two Years clofe 
 Confinement wherein 'the holy Man had fufier'd very much, her Majeffy had 
 the Mortification to hear that the cruel Sentence was pafs'd upon him, viz. that 
 he was to be hatgd andburri'd alive ^ and being moved with a moft tender Compaf-' 
 fion of her Heart for her fpiritual Father, She cou'd not forbear the exprelling 
 of her Mir.d to him in Writing, although with great Danger to herfelf ; and 
 therefore She fent him the following Letter to Kewgate Prifon, where he then 
 lay, in London. 
 
 My Reverend Father, 
 'V* O V, who have been accufiotn'd to give Jidvice to others under hard Circumfiancet^ 
 cannot be at a Lofs of what is moft prof er tobe fuggefledto yourfelf now you are to 
 he put to the Tryal for Chrifi's Caufe. If you will bear thefe few and fiort Torments 
 whereunto you are condemn d, you will {as you know very wel) receive an everlafiing Re- 
 ward ^^ which whofoever will choofe to lofe for any Tribulation of this Life, fcems to be 
 whclly void of all Sence and Reafon. But, you my happy Father, to whom God has 
 granted the Blejfing of knowing this above many Mortals, and of finljhing your Life and 
 ihe Courfe of your Labours by thefe Chains, by thefe Torments, and by this moft cruU 
 Death for Chrifi ! And., me, your wretched Daughter, who, in this fad lime of my 
 Diflrefs and Solitude, am to be deprived of fuch a Monitor and a Father fo beloved in 
 the Bowds of Jefus Chrifi. And truly, if I may freely confefs my mofl earnefl Deftres, 
 in this Matter, to you, to whonr^I have always (^as fought') laid open all the Secrets of my 
 very Heart and Confcicnce, 1 acknowledge to you that my mofl ardent Wtflies are to die 
 with you, or before you, and that alfo with the greatejl Torments imaginable, provided 
 it were pleafing to the divine VVtll, to whom I always fubmit all my Defircs mofi wil- 
 lingly, as alfo my Life itfelf ; So far am I from any Enjoyment of this unhappy World 
 after thofe are ^one whom the World was not worthy of. But perhaps 1 have talked like 
 one of the Foolijh Women, fmce God feems to have fo decreed it. Go before me 
 therefore (my Revd. Father') happily and couragioufly, and be importune with Chrifi in your 
 Prayers, that by this, though difficult Way, I may foon, without Fear, follow you: And in 
 the mean time I defire this as your lafi Blejfing in this Life, that I may be a Partaker of 
 your Holy Labours, of your Torments, and oj your ConfiiEls ; And, after your Suffering 
 and your Crowtit J ^all expeil more pUntifull Favours from Heaven by ^our Interccjfion : 
 
 And
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans- 235 
 
 And I think it fu^erfiuous to inimate you to that immortal Reward preferable to all other 
 Goods, though purchased rvtth the mofi cxcejfive Pains ^pu, who, by your Birth, are inti- 
 tled to a generous Mind't youy who are endowed with fuch an excellent Knowledge of D- 
 vine Myfieries \ you., who, from your very Touth, have (which is the Alairi) been trained 
 up in the holy Religion and Pnfeffion of a Francifcan. Tet, fince to fujfer for Goo£s Sake 
 is the greatejl Happinefs be flowed upon Man in this Life^ 1 will implore his Divine Ma- 
 jefty, with continual Prayers^ Tears, and penitential Labours, that you may happily 
 finijh your Courfe, and may obtain a never fading Crown of eternal Life. Farewel, my 
 Rd- Father, and be always mindful of me with God both on Earth and in Heaven. 
 
 Your Sorrowtull Daughter 
 Cath.jrir:e. 
 The Religious Con^eiior Forefi (rays(aj Sanders) xecsWi this Letter with great 
 Joy of Mind, and having got Paper and an Opportunity of Writing, he an- 
 Iwer'd the Queens Letter, from his Prifon, after the following Manner. 
 
 Moft Serene Princefs, my Sovereign Queen, and my Daughter in Jefus Chriji. 
 'V* O V R Majefiy's *Servant deliverd to me your moft Gracious Letter, which was 
 not only a great foy and Confolation to me, but alfo a frep) Encouragement to Pa- 
 tience and Confiancy in this my AjfiiElion and continual Expectation of Death : For^ 
 though I plainly fee that pot only all perijhing Goods, but likewife allrhe Miferies and Evils 
 of this World are to be defptfs'dfor the future Glory which will be reveafd in us if we 
 fight a good Fight ; yet J find my Soul, which (as ^lis ufual with human Nature on the 
 like Occafions) was fomewhat heavy and penfive on the near f^iew of Death, and not with- 
 out fame Fear and Solicitude on the Confideration of its own ZJnwtrthine/s and Frailty, is 
 now enlivened by thofe mofi pious Exprejjlons of your grciit Charity, avd wonderfully ani- 
 mated in the Contempt of all Torments, and infpirited with a frejh Fervour in the Hopes 
 and Contemplation of future Joys. My Sovereign Lady and well boloved D.iughter'y 
 may Jefus Chrifi reward your Goodnefs with eternal Glory and Blifs for this Confola- 
 tion ; and I do mofi earneftly befeech you to recommend my approaching Sufferings, Con- 
 fliB, and j4gony to the Divine Mercy, and to affifi me therein by your continual Prayers: 
 And for the refi, I do mofi humbly intreat you not to doubt of my Confiancy, nor to be 
 troubled for the Grievoufnefs of the Torments appointed for me : For, it does not becone 
 my gray Hairs to he difmrb^d, in Go£s Caufe, with fuch Childifl} Buabears ; it does -icc 
 become a Man to fly from Death bafely after he has lived Sixty four Tears ; much lefs 
 does it become a Religious Man not to love God and with his utmofi Endeavours^ al'pire to 
 heavenly Things after he has been for four and forty Tears in the H.ihit of St. FrunciSy 
 learning and teaching the Contempt of all that is earthly. I will he 7nindful of you (jny 
 Sovereign Lady and Daughter in Chrill)both in this Life and m the next, and will never 
 ceafe from praying to the God of Mercy to give you, according to the Greatnejs of ytur 
 Sorrows, all Grace and Comfort. Jn the mean time vouch fafe to pray mofi earneftly for 
 me your devoted Servant and Beadfman^ efpecially at that Hour when you fljull undeijland 
 I am to be labouring under thofe dreadful Torments prepared for me. I pre fume ta make 
 you a poor Prefent of my Beads, having, as Misgiven oat, but three Days longer tt live on 
 Earth, &c. 
 
 H "h i * Mrs. 
 
 (a.) De Sihfm. Anil. Lib. i". and tie Cbror.icks of ibs Orde. hi Fnn:b : F-irt, 4.
 
 2^6 The Antiquities of the Englilh Francifcans* 
 
 * Mrs. £liz.abeth H.tmmond, one of the Queen's Ladies of Honour, writ alfo 
 
 * to che fiid Fr. Forefl, acquainting him with the continual Tears and Grief 
 ' of her Miftrifs, the Queen, fiiice fhe was apprifed of the moft cruel Death 
 
 * and ir.tollerable Tormenrs to which (as 5rf«^?r^ writes) the holy Man was con- 
 
 * demji'd ;, and conjuring him, if he defir'd a Continuation of her Majefty's 
 ' Life on Earth, to ufe his utmoft Incereft and Endeavours, tliat by Friends and 
 
 * Mediators, if polTjbie, he might find out fome Means to efcape the Tor- 
 
 * meijts appointed for him ^ alfuring him it wou'd he impoilible for the Queen to 
 
 * furvive his fufferii-g fuch dreadful Pains, efpecially now that Ihe perceiv'd the 
 
 * King's Fury was become excellive. &c. So SAnden. 
 
 ' To t\\\s (?isS.inders writes) the holy Man replied, that hecou'd rot fuffici- 
 
 * ently woi^.derthat a Peribn of her Faith and Religion, and one that had been 
 
 * fb long taught both by the Admonitions and Example of a moft Vertuous 
 
 * Queer), wou'd have fuggefted that fhe defir'd him to avoid Death or any Pain 
 
 * whatfoever to be inflifted upon him for the Faithand Juftice ; as if (faid he^ 
 
 * there was not to be a Refurreftion to Glory, and that fo much the more full ir» 
 
 * Proportion to the more cruel Torments and greater Degrees of Patience where- 
 ' with a Man goes out of this Life. As to my Sovereign Lady and Queen, flaid 
 « he) as I wou'd, to be a Comfort to her, willingly continue in this Life, if God 
 
 * had fo appointed ; fo am I more willing (and 'tis better tor both her Good and 
 
 * mine^ to die for the Juftifying of her Caufe and in the Maintaining of my due 
 
 * Obedience to God ; &c. Sanders again goes on much to the fame Purpofe and in 
 
 * the like pious Style did this good Man write alio to one yWr. AbeL^hh Fellow- 
 
 * Prifoner, and to fome other Perlbns of the Queens Domefticks \ which, for 
 
 * Brevity Sake, I here omit. Ibidem. When thefe Letters were writ (lliys 5/w- 
 
 * ders) the Martyr of Chrifb thought he was to have fuffer'd and gone to the 
 
 * Crown of Glory long before his Miftrifs, the Queen ^ but the Divine Provi- 
 
 * dence had otherwife appointed ^ For, this Father's Execution was put off, till 
 t;he Tear 1 538, and her Ma^efties Days, through God's great Mercy, were fhor- 
 ten'd \ fo that She departed this Life in January following; partly through 
 the Unwholfomnels of the Air, and chiefly by a continued SucceiTion of Sorrows 
 and Calamities. She died at iT/wiW/ow, in Huntingdonfinre, as the Lord Herbert 
 iays, y^wz/^ry 153J. *«/k 50ffc Year of her Age, and the 33^/3 after her coming 
 into England, and was, as the King appointed, buried in the Monaftery at /'«fr- 
 horough. So the Lord Herbert, in his Hemy the Eighth. 
 
 IIL Br. John Kyf7ton, often mentioi.'d, died this Year. Of him Mr. 
 ^""0 *5?5 ^3^ Wood writes thus; He was by Rule or Order, a Minorite or 
 Gray-Frier, and being a Man of Parts, and noted for his being an excellent Di- 
 vine, the Society ot Magd-ilen CoWe^e. in Oxford, madecho'ceof him to be 
 theii Reader in that Faculty withm their Houfe *, which Office he perform'd 
 wih great Honour for feveral Years, and had gaia'd lb gitat Reputation, that 
 the Doitors and Batchelors of Divinity of the Univerfity chofe him Margaret- 
 
 Pro- 
 
 (3)/4t.'.i». 0x9». fngi. S^j,
 
 The Afitiquities of the Englifli Francifcans. 237 
 
 Tfoftfff^ ill the Place of John Roper \, being then Doftor ot Divinity, and a Per- 
 fonof great Note and Repute in the Univerfity. So Mr. Woody Ibidem. 
 
 Now, for the better Underftanding of this great Doftor's Charafter, the Rea- 
 der may pleafe to know from Mr.(ii)\Vood, thac the Lady M^irgaret., Counrefs 
 of Richmond and King Henry the Seventh^} Motlier, having the Leave of the 
 King her Son, made a Foundation, Jnno 1496, for a publick Profeflbr of Divi- 
 nity in OA,/«r</, to be chofen by the Doftors and Batchelors of that Faculty, in 
 the Convocation •, and this Br. John Kynton (though a Frier Minorj was the 
 third Perfon fo elefted. When he began to reach in this Chair I know nor, 
 (fays Mr. Wood) but he refign'd that Poll on the <^ihof OEioher 1530. He was 
 a Man of fo uncommon Efteem for Learning, that he was one of thole Cham- 
 pions madechoifeof by this Univerfity to write againft Martin Luther. So(b) 
 Mr. Wood: But whether that learned Work, or any thing elfe that he did write, 
 was ever printed or publilh'd, this Author lays he knows rot : But he at laft 
 was buried in Durham-Ch^^pd, now Trinity-College, m Oxford \ and in Mr, 
 Wood's Time there was remaining a little Grave-Stone with this Infcription, 
 Obijt Johannes Kynton, Frater Minor, S. Tkeol. Profejfor, IC""' Januarij- jinno 1535- 
 So Mr. Wood. 
 
 IV. Br. Henry Standijh, already mention'd, departed this Life this Anro 1535 
 Year. His Charafter is given by (c^ Mr. Wood thus, viz. Henry Stan- 
 dijlj, defcended from a right ancient Family ot his Name in Lancafljire, became 
 when Young a Francifcan or Gray-Frier ; but in what Convent I know nor, fays 
 Wood •■, but he ftudied for fome time in the Convent of his Order at Oxford^ and 
 partly at Camhridget and proceeded Doftor of Divinity, as a certain Regifter be- 
 longing to his Order tells us; was made Guardian of the Francifcan Convent 
 &t London, Provincial ot his Order-, and ^nno 1519, being nominated Bifhop 
 of St.^faphj received Confecration thereunto in the Conventual Church of the 
 Francifcans at Oxford, on the 1 1 th of July, the fame Year. In the Tear i 5 26, 
 He and Sir John Baker were fent Embalfadors to Denm.vrh ; And, in 1530, he 
 was one of the Bifliops that aJlifted and direfted Queen Catharine m the Suit/ 
 concerning the Divorce from King Htnry the Eighth. He was efteem'd a learned 
 Man of his Time, and a moft 2iealous Favourer and AlTertor of the Catholicl 
 Religion-, for which, had he lived longer, he wou'd have fuffer'd much. Fe 
 has writ feveral Sermons preached to the People, and alfo yi Treatife a^Ainji Enf- 
 mus'^Tr.inflatiin of the NervTeflament, and other Things. He gave up the Gloft 
 at London, in the Beginning of ^wg«/? 1 53 5. Whereupon his Body was buried 
 in the Church ot the Francifcans, commonly call'd the Gray Friers, in the laid 
 City, now known by the Name of Chrifl-Chnrch : Over his Grave was foon after 
 a Tomb erefted with the 13/. 6s.Zd. which Jie bequeath'd for that Pu^poi^ 
 He gave 40 /• to pave the Choir of the Cathedral of St. ^f^ph and tor other Ne- 
 celTaries ; Five Marks to the Francifcans at Oxford, to be pray'd for ; Ttn 
 Marks alfo for the Reparation of their Churcli, and forty pounds for the Baild- 
 
 "'g 
 
 (a> Ani'Ki, Ox»i,Lib< z<{e. pag. ^i,& 33, (b) Atlee* Oxtn.tart.l, fagt 6}j. (c) lii/lem.
 
 238 The Afiti qui ties of the Englifh Francifcans. 
 
 jng of an I(le adjoining to the faid Church. For the Exhibition of Scholars in 
 Oxford, 4.0 l; belides Legacies to one Ralph St.vidi^t, Lord of Standiflji in Lancnflnre, 
 his near Kinfman ; To yignes IVorthington liis ;3ilber, and to William Stundifii his 
 jKitural Brother. So (ti) Mr. Wood. Statidljli alfo was a Doitor of Cambridge ^ asic 
 appears in Parker^s Sceletos Cantrabrigienfsy in the ^th Top:e of Leland's ColhSianea. 
 
 Notandum, from (b) Mr. Wood, that about the latter End of the Tear 1535, 
 Dr. Standtfh was fucceeded in the See of St. ylfaph by William Barlow, who a lit- 
 tle before ('in the fame Year) was fent into Scotland, with one Holcroft, about 
 Points of Religion againft the Pope ; at which time he, the faid Barlow, was 
 flyled Prior of Bijliam: He was alio fent, foon after, wxthWUliam Lord Howard, 
 into the fame Country ; at which time he went by the Title of Bi/hop of St. 
 yifaph. So A^r. Wood : But 1 return to the Francifcans. 
 
 , ^ L The Execution of many ot the Francifcans 0^/f?-i;4«t/ (In Prifon 
 
 "W" '5j7. ever fmce 1534, or i 535 j having been dehiy'd by the Mediation of 
 thek Fv'iend Sir Thomai Wriothefley, and not one of them coming into the King's 
 Meafures, or fubfcribing to his Supremacy, &c. it was now propoled to his 
 Majef^y (as Sanders writes) that they fhou'd be, fome Way or other, difpos'd ofi, 
 left others, by their Example, might become more reiblute .- And now, though 
 the King feem'd inclined to have them all cut oif, orhang'dat once, yet being 
 appreheiifive of the Infamy of fuch a FatV, becaufe they were numerous, and 
 being willing to fhew fome Favour to his Privy Counfellor Wriothepy, who had 
 pleaded hard for them, he fpared fome of them, who went into Banifhment, 
 partly into the Low Countries, and others into Scotland, as an (c) Author fays : 
 But thirty two of the fame Order were removed out of the Prifons of London, 
 and being coupled two and two together with iron Chains, were fent into di- 
 vers other diftant Prifons ot the Nation, that they might there perifli with lefs 
 Murmuring and Difturbance ot the People ; for, the Author ot the Francifcaii 
 AfartyrologyC^d^Uys, there was fucli an univerlal Difcontent amongft the King's 
 Subjefts, and fuch loud Out-cries, even of Perfons of Quality on the Account 
 ot the Imprifonment ot all the Obfervants, that his Majefty thought fit to fet fome 
 cf them at Liberty, and that thefe 32 were referv'd to be made Examples ot. 
 Befides thefe, others were ftarved with Hunger, as an Author (e) writes, and 
 ot\iers fufibcated with the intollerable Stench of loathfome Prifons, or periihM 
 by the Inconveniences and Hardfliips of their Confinement. 
 . II. Br. Thomas Packingtoii, Br. Bonawnture Roo, Br. JuhnTuit, and Br. 
 
 '' Richard Carter, or Cartaret, were fome of thofe Obfervants that fuiTer'd 
 very much in Prifon, ftom whence they were releas'd this Year by the King's 
 Command ; But the Hardfliips they had undergone in their Confinement had 
 fu'ik them fo low,^ that they were not able to recover : So they all four died in 
 a ft-w Days after their Enlargement; as is laid in the Fravcifcan Martyrology, on 
 the sth of u4ugvj}, where they are commemorated with Honour, as Perfons who 
 (in t'aat Author's Opinion; loft their Lives in Defence ot a good Caufe. They 
 
 are 
 
 {a) Athen.OxdJ. p.rrt. l.pajr. 56. (b) Ibidem, page y,i, (c) Annal, Ord. Min. {d) ^l. Ju/ij. 
 (c) Fran, a St a. Clara, in Hijl. Mm, fag, ro.
 
 € 
 
 t 
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans. 25^ 
 
 are alfo meiition'd by Adafon, in his Defcription of the Francifcan Province of Eng- 
 land^ at the Beginiiing of his Cerf^rwew 5f>-^^/7u«w. Three others ot the Fraucil- 
 cans Ohferuants were mark'd out for more exemplary Punilhments, viz. Br. j4h- 
 thony Brockbcy, or Brorbe, Br. Thomas Cort^ and Br. TlioTnas Belchiam, of whom 
 I find rhele further Paiticukiis. 
 
 III. * The Revd. Father (Mr. (,») Wood's Words; Anthony Brockhey^ a y^nno 1537, 
 
 * Francifcari, well read in Divinity, and learned in the Greek and 
 
 ' Hebrew Tongues, fometimes a Student in5f. vl/<?ry Mngddtn^s College, at Ox- 
 ford^ futfer'd Death this Year, on the 19th ofj.ily, by hanging-, tor Ipeaking 
 
 * againft the King's Proceedings in extirpating the Pope's Power, and demoli- 
 ' fhing the Religious Houfes. I (IFeod) put this Obfervation under the Year of 
 ' his Death, becaufe that he being reported by one (Thomas Bonrchi:r') to be a 
 
 * Licentiate in Divinity, and by another (<? 5'm. C7.jr<«) to bea Profeffor of Divi- 
 nity of this Univerfity, I Cfays yl/r. I-^W) cannot find any fuch thing in our 
 
 * publick Regifters, which are imperfeft in feveral Years before this Tirne, 
 
 * efpecially in the Year 1517. So Wvod. 
 
 This Acknowledgment of the Deficiency of the O.v/oj'W-Regifters leaves Room 
 for Credit to be given to the Author of the Francilcan Martyrology when he 
 fays that Br. Jnthony Brorhey or Brockbey was not only a perfeft Mafter of the 
 Greek and Hebrew Languages, butalfo a Doftor of Divinity of Oxford^ and a 
 publick Profedor in that Sacred Faculty, in Magdalen College. The fame Au- 
 thor alfo affirms that Brockbey was a great Preacher, and that being in the Pulpic 
 on a certain Time in St. Laurence's Church in London^ he inveigh'd againfl the 
 late Proceedings of Kmg Henry^ he 2th ^ for which bold Speeches he was taken up 
 by his Majefly's exprefs Command, and being caft into a loathfome Prifon, was 
 put to the Rack, fo that his Nerves and Joints were violently extended and 
 diflocated in a deplorable Manner : All which Tortures Brockbey fulTer'd with 
 a wonderful Courage and Confiancy, often expreiling an ardent Defiie of un- 
 dei going yet more cruel Torments for the Love of God .- In the mean time 
 he was quite difiibled by thefe Hardfhips, and render'd fo Ufelefs that not being 
 able to lift his Hand up to his Head or Mouth, he was fain to be nurf'd by a 
 devout Woman, who, with great Charity, fed him, for the Space of Five and 
 twenty Daysj after w/hich time an Executioner was fentto him in Prifon, who 
 put an End to all his Pains and Miferies by ftrangling him with his Cord, or Rope 
 which he wore about his Middle for a Girdle, according to the Ufe and Cu- 
 ftom of the Order of St. Francis. So the Author of the Francifean Martyrology, ii 
 his Notes on the i gth Day of July. 1 
 
 IV. Br. Thomas Cort, faid to have been a Noble Man, which imports Anm i^'^/i 
 at leaff that he was born of an honourable Family of Gentlemen, was / 
 fo forward in his Zeal againft the Proceedings of King Henry the 2th, that-ne 
 publickly blamed his Majefty's Condutt, both in the Cafe of the Divorce ^nd 
 for his withdrawing himfelf from his Obedience to the Pope, and afTuminpthe 
 Title of Supreme Head of the Church of England : For which bold Invertiv<s the 
 
 " ^ ^ ^ faid 
 
 (a) Atben, Oxon. fart, I. fage 6fo.
 
 n^o The Afttiquities of the Englidi Francifcans. 
 
 faid Cort wascaft into a filthy Prifon ; where, partly through the Naftinefs of 
 the Jail, and partly through exceffive Hunger, he at laft ended his Days,o» the 
 2-ihej July ; at whole Departure out of this Life the whole Prifon was fiU'd 
 with an unufual light, which was luppos'd to be heavenly and miraculous ^ 
 Whereupon the King gave his Command to have him decently buried. So the 
 Author of the Fmncifcan Mitrtjrology a.nd Sanders, from credible Writers. 
 
 v. Br. Thomas Belchiam^ a very learned Man, a Prieft of theOrder 
 " ''^^' of St. Francis^ and a Preacher at the i%th Tear oi his Age, oppofed 
 the King's Proceedings (as an Author (a) writes) with a great deal of Zeal and 
 Courage, openly declaring his Majefty an Heretick ; And, to confirm this his 
 bold Affertion with the greater Force, he writagainft him, addrefling to the 
 Friers his Book, which begins with this Text, viz. They that wear f oft Clothing are 
 in Kin£s Houfes. Math 1 1, verfe 8. In this Work he difplays the Manner of 
 Life which is but too common in the Courts of great Princes ; for, ordinarily 
 fpeaking (as he laid) fuch a filthy Sink of Vice is their to be found as gave 
 Rife to that threadbare, but true Proverb, He that will he godly muji depart the 
 Court \ for, you are (fays he) fo far from finding there any Examples ot a re- 
 ligious Comportment, that on the contrary 'tis too often fuch a Field ot Licen- 
 tioufnefs, that Vices of all Sorts and Sizes not only bud forth plentifully, but 
 alfogrow up daily. To this purpofe i?e/c/7;'4w •, who likewife declar'd himfelf 
 to be not a little oflended at the Avarice of the Englifh Clergy, and he inveighs 
 with great Freedom againft the faid Vice, expre/Iing his Deteftation of a Crime lb 
 unbecominga Church-Man, who ought to outdo all others in Hofpitality and a cha- 
 litable Liberality ; nor does he there fpare the Bifhops themfelves, but he ve- 
 hemently charges them with Inconftarxy and Cowardice, who for temporal Ad- 
 vantages and the Goods of this perifhing Life, chufe rather to incur the juft 
 Anger of God himfelf than to lay open the plain Truth to the King as they 
 ought in Duty to do, even with the Hazard ot their Lives. He left one Copy 
 of this Book (which is faid to be a very learned Workj in the Hands of his 
 Brethren, the Friers Mmoxi Oh fervants at Greenwich, and another in the Prifon 
 where he departed this Life, being ftarved to Death with Hunger, which 
 was fo exceiiive that all his Strength being exhaufled, there remain'd no- 
 thir;g but Skin and Bones ; fo unhumanly was he refufed all Surtenance, even 
 abfolutelv iieceffary for the Support of his Life. This laft Copy of Belchiarns 
 Book, left in Prifon, was carried to the King, who (though above Mea/ure en- 
 raged againft thefe Friers) had not yet his Mind fo very much blinded as to be 
 quite free from all Remorfe, but that reading the faid Trai,t, he was tendered 
 ind moved to Tears, fo that burfting out into Weeping, he bitterly lamented 
 iisown Mifery, but the Impreflion was of no long Continuance \ for by his 
 Rajefly's Command, the faid Book was at laft committed to the Flames. As 
 to the other Copy \ it was carefully preferv'd by fomeof the Friers, who de- 
 figi'd to have it printed ; but my Author (Mafon Ibid) fays, he cou'd never 
 heai it was publifh'd ; But, he relates one uncommon Accident which fell out. 
 
 at 
 
 (a) An^lus Mafen^ ijiCatalogo Sir'i^t, [rat.Min.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans- 241 
 
 at the Death of Bekhiam ; which was, that a certain Fool, vvho had never been 
 favour'd with the ufe of Reafon, William Sommer by Name, ran through all 
 the King's Court crying out with the utmoft Vehemence, T/;e plain Dealing of one 
 Beggar bajfles the King's Anger. This, you'l fay, is but a foolilh Story •, So I re- 
 turn to Belchiam :, who being at the Point of Death, as he was recommending his 
 Soul to God with" great Fervour of Mind, rais'd by a Chriftian Hope ot eCernnl 
 Glory through the Merits ot Chrift, it fo fell out that the Frame of the Eaith 
 gave fuch a furprifing Shock, that the Jail-Keepers were afrighted, and ic 
 was thought to be an univerfal Earth-quake. He died in Prifon, withthefelaft 
 Words on his Lips, In Jbeey O Lord^ have I pur my Tru[i, let me never he confounded : 
 Ffal. 31.1. The Author of the Francifcan Martyrology mentions him on the ^ath 
 of Augufty and Sanders on the ^d. The Title ot Belchiam' s Book was, Ad Fratres :, 
 Contra Henricum OElavum :, or To the Brethren ; ag.tinfi Henry the 8th^ who had fo 
 far harden'd his Heart, thathe order'd the faid Book to be burnt, which ought 
 to have been preferv'd among the Records, or placed in fome famous Library, 
 or rather to have been printed andpubiifh'd to the whole World. It is faid the 
 King gave Orders for the Burial ot Belchiam, his Majefty being ftarcled at the 
 uncommon Accidents that happen'd at his Departure out of this Life. But I 
 now go on to a more difmal Scene : I mean the cruel Execution ot Br. John Forefi, 
 
 * who (ks Sanders writes) was referv'd by the King and his Minifler Oomrvel [or 
 
 * more exquifite Torments ; he was (as it feems)defign'd to be feiit a more rug- 
 
 * ged Way to Heaven, becaule Queen CifW;»e had a great Value tor him, and 
 
 * he was faid to have oppos'd the King's Supremacy with more Boldnefs than 
 
 * any other ot his Religious Brethren. 
 
 I,' Br. John Forefi., or Forreft (as (ji) Mr. Wood writes) was, from Anr.o 153S. 
 
 * liis Childhood, educated in Piety and Learning. Afterwards, when 
 
 * he attain'd to the5«7;fMfff«r^ Tear of his Age, he took upon him the Habic 
 
 * of 5f. Francis, at Greenwich, as it feems ; and at about twenty fix Tears of Are, 
 
 * was inftrufted in Theological Studies for a time amongft the Brethren of tnat 
 
 * Order living 2X\Vater-gate'\Ti the South- Suburb of Oa/o?-^. What Decree he 
 
 * took here it appears not \ yet fure I am Cdiys Woodf) that in order to his taking 
 ' the Degree ot Batchelor of Divinity he fupplicated the Venerable Regents 
 
 * that he might be admitted to oppofe in that Faculty. So Mr. Wood; who 
 fays, that it appears not that Forreft took the Degree of Doftor in either of 
 ' our Univerfities. But, that Author having obferv'd, on another Occafion, 
 
 * ih?it the Regijters of Oxford were imperfenr, efpecially about the Tear I517, makes 
 me believe he might be a Doftor though his taking the Cap is not there mark'd 
 down, or perhaps he was a Doftor of Paris : However, that he was a Dodtor is 
 attefted by our Hiftorians, viz. Stow, Godwyn^ How, Holinpead, and others, as 
 Davenport ikys; So I go on with Mr. Wood. ' Afterwards F<)rr«/? was taken into 
 
 * the. Service of Queen Catharine, the Confort ot King Henry the Sth, whole 
 
 * Love being great cowards Vertue and Learning, She made him her Confeiror i 
 
 * about which Time he was conftituted Minifter Provincial of his Order; in 
 
 I i ' which 
 
 I 
 
 (a^ jithen. Oxon. part, i.paus ^z ^ 43
 
 242 The Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans. 
 
 which Office he is laid to have fucceeded Br. Srephefi B.iron, formerly Coiifef. 
 lor to King Henry the 2ih, and fometimes a frequent Preacher in the Univer- 
 ficy of" Cambrid^^e. Soon after, when that good Qiieen was to be divorced 
 frt>m the faid King, this our Author Forefl (to fpeak in Wood's own Words) 
 lliew'd himfelt a zealous Enemy againft it, and in a few Years after, when 
 riie Kitg was intent to ejeft the Pope and his Power from Ergland, He, ouC 
 of a paiiior.ate Zeal which he had for the Catholick Religion, did in Secret 
 Confelfion declare to many of the King's 5'ubjei.h that the King was not Su- 
 preme Head of the Church ■ Thefe Matters coming to the Knowledge 
 
 of the King's Councel, he was examin'd by certain Perlbns appointed by them 
 
 . Afterwards being further accufed of divers heretical Opinions (as 
 
 they were then call'd, lays Wood) he fubmitted himfelf to the Punifkment of 
 the Church. So that his Abjuration being lent to him to be read, he utterly 
 refufed it : Whereupon Iiis Confinement in the Prilbn calFd Newgate being 
 made more clofe, tliefe Verfes, were writ on him by a Proteftant, viz. 
 
 " Forefi the Fryer that ohftinate Lyer, 
 
 " that Kidfully will he dead, 
 
 " Incontinently^ the Gofpel doth denye^ 
 _ " 'The King to he Supreme Heade. 
 *■ About the fame Time he took a great Deal of Pains in writing a Book 
 
 * Cwhetherin Englilh or Latin 1 know not, fays Wood) intitled by Latin Wri- 
 •• ters, De yiuthoritate Ecclefu & Tontificii Maximi •■, that is, Of the Authority of 
 ' the Church and of the Pope \ the Beginning of which Treatii'e is this, AVwo 
 ' fumat filfi Homrem nif fuerit vocatus a Deo tancjuam Aaron &c . that is, Let na 
 
 * Man ajfume to himfelf the Honour unlefs he he calFd as Aaron ^ In which Book he 
 
 * inveigh'd much againft the Pride and Impiety of the King, becaule that, 
 
 * without any Call, he did not fcruple to entitle himfelf The Head of the 
 ' Church of England, and to take upon him that which he was not capable of y 
 
 * whereas if he had thought himfelf a true Member of the Catholick Church, 
 
 * helhou'd have given God Thanks that he was fo, and to have refted therein, 
 
 * without endeavouring to tear it to Pieces, &c. So Mr. Woody who goes on. 
 
 The Contents of this Book coming to the Knowledge of certain Inquifitors, 
 and at length to the King's Ear, he was forthwith condemn'd to die, and ha- 
 ving fome Days allow'd him to make his Peace with God and Men, he writ fe- 
 vefal Letters, fome of which I ffays JFo«J) have feen printed in Latin \ as ^r/?, 
 
 * his Anfwer to the Letter which Queen Catharine lent to him : idly, an A-rifwer 
 
 * to the Letter written to him by Eliaaheth Hammon, Maid to the faid Queen : 
 »■ idly. An Anfwer to the Letter of Thomas Abell, who was executed two 
 » Year] after for denying the King's Supremacy •, with feveral others which he 
 
 * writ to comfort the afflifted Catholicks. So Mr. Wood., Ibidem. 
 
 Notandum. Here 1 beg leave to make a Ihort DigrelTion to fet tbe Reader 
 ill a right Light as to the Date of thefe Letters and the Time wheuForeft had 
 the Sentence of Death pa fs'd upon h'm : Know then (as I have already laid 
 fn.m good Authors>that Forefi w^s laid in Prilbn in the Year I533> and that he 
 wascondemu'd to di^ Anno 1535 ; and then it was that he writ thole Letters. 
 
 The
 
 The Antiquities of the Englilh Francifcans. 243 
 
 The Queen died in January 153^, and Abel was executed in 1 $37 i and it can- 
 not be imagin'd that Forefi wou'd anfwer their Letters after they were dead : So 
 thefe Letters were writ in 1535 ; which was "twoTears before Thomns Abel was 
 put to Death, (as Wood rightly fays) and that Condemnation which was that Year 
 pronounced againft him and had been in fufpence ever fince, was now order'd to 
 be executed upon him by the King's Command, upon his hearing of this Book 
 being writ by the laid Foreft. Now this leeming Occafion of a Miftake being 
 thus re^lified, I return again to Mr. Wood ^ who adds, that Forrfi was at length 
 
 * drawn upon a Sledge from his Prifon to Smithfietd, where a Pair of Gallows 
 
 * was fet up to receive him, and he was hang'd thereon, by the Middle and 
 
 * Arm-pits, quick, and under the Gallows a Fire being made, he was burnt and 
 
 * utterly confum'd to Afhes, on the iid Day of May, \ 538. At the Time 
 
 * he was to fuffer, and before he went up the Ladder, Hugh Latymer, BiOiop of 
 
 * Worcefter, did, from a Pulpit fet up there near to the Gallows, preach a Sermon 
 
 * purpofely to move him to Repentance; but allavail'd nothing. He had then 
 
 * feveral Difcourfes with that Biihop, which were wrW/w taken by fome of the 
 
 * Brethren of his Order. In Conciufion L^r^wfr a?k'dhim what Stare he wou'd 
 
 * dye in ? Whereupon Foreft, with a loud Voice anfwer'd, If an Angel (hou'd 
 
 * come down from Heaven to teach him any other Do^rine than what he had received 
 
 * and believed from his Touth, he wou'd not now believe him j and that if his Body, 
 
 * Jhoud be cut Joint after Joint, or Member after Member, hang'd, burnt, or what 
 
 * Pain foever might he done to his Body, he woud never turn from his old Profe/Iion, 
 ' &c. And he added, that Seven Tears paft. He (^Latymer^ durft not have made fuch 
 
 * a Sermon for his Life. This being faid, he was conduced from the Place where 
 
 * he flood (which was eredted above the People) to the Gallows, and there 
 
 * fuffer'd.' So Mr. Wood, Word for Word, fave only that in the Place of 
 the Break or Gap above, that Author fays that Foreft had heretofore [worn to the 
 Kings Supremacy v which I am apt to believe is a Miftake, becaufe he was 
 put into Prifon fometime before the Parliament had made the King Head of the 
 Church, and he needed not to have laid in Jail for almofb five Years if he had 
 complied fo fur as to take that Oath .- Befides, Sanders and Bourchier, who were 
 almoft his Contemporaries, mention no fuch Compliance, and what Air. Wood 
 himfelf has here faid feems to prove Forefi more refolute than that comes to. 
 However, if Foreft ever did fubfcribe to the Kin£s Supremacy (i think he did 
 not) it was with the Addition of the modifying Claufe annex'd thereur.to by the 
 Convocation, Anno 1530. As far as is allow' d by the Law of Chrift; for there was 
 no other Form till after Foreft was clapt up •, and many great Prelates fubfcrib'd 
 to this Form who refufed toacknowledge the ^/»^'j5«/)rf>Wiicy in its whole Lati- 
 tude \ and if Forefi was then drawn in, he now makes an honourable Ameiidi^ 
 DoBor Pits fays, Foreft was a Doftor of Divinity, and a Man ot a moft yar^ 
 tuous Life, and very zealous for the Support of theCatholick Faith aid Refrgi-- 
 on, and that he labour'd, taught, and writ, with an indefatigable Induflrv, in 
 Oppofition to the fatal Schifm begun by King Henry the ^tb, and for the Au- 
 thority of the Church and ot the Pope ;, And his Book upon this Subjc^i^t was 
 
 . an unpardonable Addition to his denying of the King's Supnm.icy i eTpecially 
 
 I i 2 when
 
 244 ^^^^ Antiquities of the Englifii Francifcans. 
 
 whc'ii he rcfLis'dto retract what he had aflerted therein, as the Author of the 
 Francifcan Martyrolojy fays j who alio adds, that being brought to the Place of 
 Execution, aid feeing a great Pile of Faggots and Straw prepar'd, he cried 
 outv.'iLh an undaunted Courage and a loud Voice, O Lord, God ! Neither Fire y 
 •tier Galtows, nor any Torments wh.ii/oever (Jjall pirt me from Tiote : And having lb 
 laid, he was girded about the Middle and under his Arm-pits with a ftrong 
 iron Chain, and fo haiig'd up over a Fire, which was placed at his Feet, tliathis 
 Torments might be the more lading, as indeed it proved ■, for the Wind driving 
 the Flame from his Body, he continued hanging alive and praying with great 
 Fervour, in that painful Condition, till both he and tlie Gibbet were thrown 
 
 ' down into the Fire, which then foon put an End to all his Suiferings. His 
 Life and Ails are written by Br. Thomas Bourchier und oihen quoted in the 
 Islotes upon the laid A-fartyrology^onthe }^th of May. 
 
 There was a great wooden Statue (a Crucifix of a large Bulk) brought up from 
 South-Wales, becauie it was faid to be of two great Veneration. The Inhabi- 
 tants call'd it DAPJ^ELL GATHAREN, of which an old Prophecy went, fas 
 Codwyti (9.) and Fuller (h) write^ that it fhou'd one Day hum a Forrefi. Islow it fo 
 fell out that when DoEl or Forrefi, a Frier O/'/fr-yiewt, was hang'd up by the Arm- 
 pits upon a new Pair of Gallows to be burn'd to Death, this Image made a Part 
 of the Fire wherewith the laid forr^y? was tar«'<i ar.d c-ow/awV, and fo made good 
 the Prophecy. So Godwyn and Fullery Ibidem. 
 
 11. The Thirty two Francifcan Ohfervants that were laft Year re- 
 ""'' '^' ■ moved from the Prifons in London and lent coupled with heavy 
 Chains into other Prifons of the Nation, met with fuch hard Ufage, that they 
 were not able to furvive this Year, as the Author of the Francifcan Martyrology 
 writes •, who regifters their Death on the lafi Day of July \ where he makes an ho- 
 nourable Commemoration of them, as of Perfons who laid down their Lives 
 for the Faith of Chrift. 
 
 IIL Twenty two Ohfervants (as Senders (c) writes^ departed this 
 " '^' * Life, in one Prifon or other, about this time, for denying and oppo- 
 i\ugt\\e King's Supremacy; but whether thefe were Part of the foregoing Number 
 or not, 1 cannot tell, nor how many there were in all that died under the like 
 Calamities .• But another Author (d) fays the Ohfervants were all put into Prifon 
 and feverely ufed, becaufe they wou'd not affent to the King's affuming to him- 
 felf the Headlhip of the Church. In a Word: Thtt Ohfervants mcwr'd his Ma- 
 
 "jefty's Difpleafurefirft of all by maintaining the Lawfulnefs ot his firft xMar- 
 riage, and inveighing againft his Second \ for which Boldnefs they were all 
 turn'doutof their Convents before any other Religious Men were fo ferved j 
 and when they afterwards talk'd and preach'd and writ agaii ft his letting himfelf 
 up tor the ^Supreme Head of the Church of Engl.ind, his Mi,efty was exafperated 
 againft them to that Degree that he was ever after implacaby bent upon their 
 utter Deftruftion j and their Sufferings, a^ they are delcrib'd by Br. Bourchier 
 
 and 
 
 (a) Amal.of England, Anno 1538. (h) Church Hlji. Book, 6. page 334. (,c) dt Sihifni.Angl 
 Lib. 1' .Inter. Nomina Martpum, {d.) Alan Cope, feu Sarf'f eld. Pialog, 6to,
 
 The Antiquities of the Englilh Francifcans. 241; 
 
 and Sunders and others, were many and grear •, Yet thefe Writers, who were 
 Feiiow-ilufferers with them, bear witnefs that they held their Integrity ii viola- 
 bly to the very laft.^ And Cardinal Ca) PovU, Aim Cope, (b) and others Cc) write, 
 that not lb much as cue Man of all the Obfervants fell, or apoftatiz'd Irom his 
 Order, in all that Time of Tryal. However, by the Iniquity of thofe Times, 
 the quondam mod renown'd Englifh Francifcan Province was torn topieces; Ibme 
 dying in Priibn, others by the Hands ot publick Executioners, and others, who 
 elcaped thefe Hardfliips, found means to get over into Flaridcrsi Lower Germany, 
 and other Foreign Parts, where they ended their Days, and where there Memv - 
 ries are efteemM pretious to this very Day. 
 
 I. The Francifcan Church and Convent at 0;f/tfr^, with all their In- Aniio 1539. 
 clofures, c^c, were this Year feiz'd upon for the King, the Commu- 
 nity diflblv'd, and the Friers entirely turn'd out of Houfeand Harbour, to ex- 
 perience the utmoft Hardfliips of the Beggary by them profefs'd. Their Guar- 
 dian at that time was Br. Edward Baskervyle, a Doftor of Divinity of that Uni- 
 verfity. So (d) Mr. Wood. The fame Year likewife all the Franclfcan Convents 
 in the Nation were taken into the King's Hands, and the Friers turn'd out of 
 Doors to fliift for themfelves j and not long after, all their Houfes and Churches 
 were demolifli'd. But thete Buildings and their Deft ru£bon are the Subjedb of 
 the Second Part of this Work. So now I follow fome tew of the fcatter'd Re- 
 mainder of the Englifli Francifcans and their Affairs till the Refloration of 
 this once flourifliing Province. 
 
 I. Mr. (e) Wood fpeaking of the Schools of Religious Houfes which Anno 1540. 
 heretofore flourilh'd and made a great Figure in Oxford, fays, that 
 Schools ot Divinity in Times paft were open'd in them, And chi-efy in that fa- 
 mous College of the Gray Friers, or Francifcans: Which feems to import that the 
 Francifcan Schools excell'd all others. But now the Cafeisalter'd : The Religi- 
 ous Houfes are no longer Nuiferiesot Learning, their Schools are now fliut up, 
 the Famous Franci lean DWwes^ even the Subtile Scotus himfelf, fet at nought^ 
 as appears from what Mr. Wood relates, v'^x-thzx. Richard Layton, or Leighton, S. 
 Theol. Sac and JVfcw LWaw, LLDD, having afted the Part of Vifitors at Oxford, 
 writ from thence, in a jocofeand ridiculous Style, to the King's chief Secretary 
 and Vifitor-General, Thomas Cromwely to acquaint him that they had bound Duns 
 Scotus in Bocardo (a Prifon in O.xford fo call'd) and that they had rid the Uni- 
 vevfity o( Him and of aO hisobfiure Glofes; adding withall, that the fiid Philo- 
 fopher was now reduced to mean OiHces, and was like to be ufefuU to even the 
 Joweft Rank of the People upon necefary Occafions •, as it appears fquoth theyj by 
 his being of late found at the Door of every Houfe of Offce. Yet this Scotus 
 is the Author (iiiys Mr. Wood) from whence DoSior Kyntoii and many other famous 
 Scholars acknowledge they had after many Years Study, imbibed all their Learn- 
 ing. Mr. Collier {^y oblerves that moft ot the learned and valuable Records 
 
 ' of 
 
 (j^jdeVnitateEcclefi*. (h) Ibidem, ul fiipra. {c'i D.wenp0rt, in Hift. Mm. pag. 10. {A) Anti^. 
 Oxov. Lib. \nio. pag. 80. [Cj Ibidem, Lib, lib. pag. ioma, (S) Ibidem, Lib, 17. pag, i60' (§)• 
 Eicles. Hifi. Fart. z. Bofk. ^.page 166,
 
 24^ ^^e Antiquities of the Englifh Franclfcans- 
 
 of tliefe Times were lodg'd in Religious Houfes, ar.d that Prirting, then but 
 a late Invention, Jiad lecur'd but a tew Books in comparifon of the reft : The 
 main Leaniii.g (lays tliat Author) lay m Manufcrifts, and the moft confidera- 
 bleot thefe, both for Number and Quality, were in the Polfeirion ot Religious 
 Men. Now, thele Houfes, at the Dilfolution, falling into the Hands ot thofe 
 who underftood no farther than the £/?.if*; ^ the Libraries were miferably dif- 
 pos'd of; The Book?, inftead of being removed to Royal Libraries, were 
 frequently thrown-in to the Grantees^ as Things of flender Confideration : Now 
 thefe Men often proved a very ill Proteftion for Learning and Antiquity .- Their 
 Avarice was fometimes fo mean, and their Ignorance fo undiftinguifhing, that 
 when the Covers were fomewhat rich, and wou'd yield a little, they pull'd 
 them oiV, and threw away the Books, or turn'd them to wafte Paper. Thus 
 many noble Manufcripts (as Collier faysj were deftroy'd, to a publick Scandal, 
 and an irreparable Lofs of Learning. Mr. Wood goes on. John Bale, the 
 Ccnturlfi, a Man remarkably averfe to Popery and the monaftick Infti- 
 tuiion (though heretofore a profeis'd Carmelite himfelf) remonftrates againft' 
 this Barbarity in pretty ftrong Language, to King Edward the Sixth. The 
 Reader fhall have it in his own Words, as deliver'd by Fu/ler (a) and Collier, (b) 
 " Covetoufnefs was at that time fo bufy about private Intereft, that publick 
 ' Wealth was not any where regarded. A Number of them which purchas'd 
 * thofe fuperftitious Manfions referv'd of thofe Library Books, fometoferve 
 their Jakes, fome to Icowr their Candlefticks, and fome to rub their Boots, 
 and fome they fold to the Grocers and Soap-Sellers, and fome tliey feiit over Sea 
 to the Book-binders ; not in fmail Numbers, but, at times, whole Ships full. 
 Yea, the Univerfities of this Realm are not all clear in this Faft ; But cur- 
 fed is the Belly which feeks to be fed with fo ungodly Gains, and lb deeply 
 fhameth his natural Country. I know a Merchant Man (which fliall at this 
 Time be namelefsj that bought the Contents of two noble Libraries for forty 
 Shilliiigs Price; A fhame it is to be fpoken. This Stuff hath he occupied, in- 
 ftead of gray Paper, by the Space of more than thefe ten Years, and yet he 
 hath Store enough for as many Years to come. A prodigious Example is this, 
 and to be abhorr'd of all Men which love their Nation as they fliou'd do. 
 ' Yea, what may bring our Realm to more .Shame and Rebuke than to have 
 ' it nois'd abroad that we are Defpifers ot Learning ? I judge this to be true, 
 ' and utter it with Heavinefs, that neither the Britains under the Romans and 
 ' Saxons, nor yet the Engiijh People under the Danes and Nrrm^nsy had ever 
 ' fuch Damage of their learned Monuments as we have feen in our Time. Our 
 ' Pofterity maywellcurfe this wicked Fait of our Age, this unrealbi.able Spoil 
 ' of England'smo^ noble Antiquities." So B/?/f as quoted. 
 • DoH-or Fuller likewife breaks out into a paflionate Declamation upon this Oc- 
 cafion, ('lays Collier) and complains that all Arts and Sciences fell under this 
 common Calamity. How many admirable Manufcripts of the f^rkr/, School- 
 
 ' Men 
 
 (a) (.bunh, WJl, BodL 6 fagt 33 5. (b) Eccles. Hijl.part. 2. Book. 3- p^'ge 166. 

 
 The Antiquities o///;eEngli(h Francifcans. 247 
 
 * Men, and Commentators were deftroy'd by this Means? What Numbers of 
 
 * Hiftorians of all Ages and Countries ? The Holy Scriptures themfelves. as 
 ' much as thefe Cofpelkrs pretended to regard them, underwent the Fate of the 
 ' reft. If a Book h;id a Crols on it, it was condemn'd for Popery, and thole 
 
 * with Lines and Circles were interpreted the black- Art, and deftroy'd for Cor.- 
 ' jaring. And thus, as Fuller goes on, Divinity was prophan'd, Mathematicks 
 
 * iulier'd for Correfpondence with Evil Spirits, Phyfick was maim'd, and a Riot: 
 ' committed on the Law it felf.' bo Mr. Colher, from Fuller and Bale, a» above 
 quoted. But 1 have made this Digrefiion too large ; So I return to the Fran- 
 cifcans. 
 
 I. Br. Hinry Holjlam was one of thofe Englilh Francifcans who Anno 1549. 
 lived abroad in Banijhment. He, being driven out of England \\\ the 
 Reign of King Henry the Eighth, found a kind Recept'on in the Province of 
 Brabant or Lower Germany, where he was in Very great Efteem, as appears from 
 his being made Vifitor of the laid Province, y4nno 1544, by the Deputation 
 of Br. John Calvus-, then Minifter General of the whole Order ; which Com- 
 mi/fion he executed with fuch Prudence, univerfal Apprcbation, and App'aufe, 
 that in Confideration of this Service and his many diftinguifhing Merits, he was 
 afterwards chofen Minifter Provincial of the ftid Province, in the tear 1549, 
 (beitigthe third or fourth of Edward the 6th') and after he had laudably acquitted 
 himfelf of this Charge, he was, a fecord Time made Vifitor of the fame Province 
 of Lvwir Germany^ by the Commiftion of the moft Rev. Father Infutanus, Gene- 
 ral of the Order ; as appears in the Regifter of the Province. Thefe are fome 
 of the many hiftances that might be produced of this Man's eminent Merits and 
 exemplary Life, and they are related by (a) Davenport, who adds, that many 
 other Englifh Francifcans diftinguifh'd themlelves in the fame Province ; fume of 
 whom were put up to teach Divinity in the Convent of the Order at Lovain, 
 "where they came off with fuch Succefs and Applaule that one Br. Pinchariius, 
 Leftor Jubilate, and afterwards Minifter of that Province, own'd to the laid 
 D^t/fw^orf that they were indebted to the EngUjI} for their Learning. Br, John 
 FJfiow and many others ended their Days in that Province ; as may be feen in the 
 Defcription of the Englijlj Province, at theBeginnhig of Certamen Seraphicum, writ 
 by Br. Angelus Mafon., heretofore Provincial of the Refior'd Francifcan Province 
 of England. 
 
 1. In this Reign, of young King Edward the Sixth, the Reformation (as ^»»« i JSO- 
 'tis call'd) of Religion gain'd Ground apace in England, and moft of 
 the Marks of Popery were torn to Rags, or rather utterly deftroy'd. I have 
 already given fome Account of the ftrange Havock and Spoil made of valuable 
 Books, Records, andManufcripts .- But, it feeras, all Thingsof that kind were 
 jiot yet quite made away .- For, now many Writings of learned Authors were 
 gather'd together, and condemn'd to the Flanaes, and amongft the reft of the 
 Labours of Scholaftick Writers, the learned Works of the famous Duns Scotus 
 were now brought to the Stake in Oxford ; where many Leads of I'uch like Vo- 
 lumes 
 
 (a.) la Hi^. Min, tmitr. AngU irai.Mht. tag. jj.
 
 248 7 he Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans, 
 
 lumes were carry'd about the Town as a ludicrous Shew, and then made up into a 
 vaft Pile, and Fire put to them, in the publick Market-place, where they were 
 burnt down to Afhes : And, to add to the Solemnity ot the Execution, many 
 mournful Songs and doleful! Ditties were at the fiime Time lung in Dirifion by 
 feme ot the Spedlators. 1 his Piece of Pageantry was call'd Fanus, feu Execjuix 
 Scott or Scotiflarum, The Funeral Pile, or the Burial of Scotus and the Scotifls ; as 
 if the Preeminence among the Scholafticks, and the Right of Preference in the 
 Schools had been due to (thole zealous Sticklers againft Innovations^ the Subtile 
 DoBor Duns Scotus and his Followers. So Br. Fran, a Sta. Clara, Davenport. In Hifl, 
 Min. Pdg. 52. 
 
 The famous Oxford-Anticjuary Mr. Wood (a) exprefles his Diflike of thefe Pro- 
 ceedings in thele following Terms, viz. ' That nothing might be wanting to the 
 
 * making up ot the utmoft Impiety and Folly, and to the expre/fing ot an ex- 
 
 * celTive Contempt of Ancient Writers, great Heaps of Books written by thofe 
 
 * Authors were carried upon Biers to the publick Market-place, (in 0.\/or<^)and 
 
 * there committed to the Flames by fome untoward Youths, who call'd this 
 
 * Confumption of Books and Learning Funus Scoti & Scotiflarum : Which Faft 
 
 * was a Grief to every good Man, a great Affliftion to every one that was truly 
 
 * learned, and a very pat Prelude to the Performances of the Schools for fome 
 
 * Years following ^ For, during the whole Time of the Reign of King Edward 
 
 * the 6th, there was nothing to be found at 0.v/«r^ but lome trifling Pamphlets 
 ' of Poetry, or Grammar, and other impertinent Fooleries of an Idle Academy.' 
 So Mr. Wood \ who alfo gives, this Year, a melancholly Delcription of the 
 Deftruftion ot Books and the vile Ufes many famous Works of the Learned 
 were put to ; Whence he makes no Wonder that we are in fuch Ignorance of 
 what has been written and tranfafted informer Times ^ and it rafly be reafonably 
 fuppos'd, that many Records of Religious Orders and Regiftersot their Hou- 
 fes were confumed on this and other fuch like Occafions ; So that now we know 
 little of them, or their Men, or their memorable Acts. But I have dwell'd too 
 long upon this melancholly Subjeft ; and therefore return to the Francilcans. 
 
 . ^ I. Br. Alexander Barcley, born in Devonjhire, where he vvas firft a 
 
 """ 55- Secular Prieft ot Sf. Af<«'-^V //f Orfrry, became afterwards a BenediBine 
 Monk, and at laft a Francifcan Frier. He was well learned in the liberal Sci- 
 ences, and exceird in Poetry and Rhetorick. In a Word, He was a Peribn of 
 fuch uncommon Vertue and Learning, that he firft became Chaplain lo Thomas 
 Corniflj Blthop Tavenenfis, and was afterwards made alfo a Bifhopai.d Sufiragan to 
 theBilhopot Bath. He fpent a good Part of his Time in pious Exercifes, and 
 in reading and writing the Hiftoriesof the Saints Lives. He writ fome Things 
 cf his own ;, but translated many more out ot Latin into Englifli, viz. Manicus, 
 Of fertue. One Bock. The Life of St. Margaret, Ov.t Book. The Life of Ethelred, 
 One Book. The Life of St. Catharine, Three Books. Tlje Life of St. George, One BooJc. 
 Five Eclogves. Tl}e Caflle of Labour. Codrus's Bucolick, One Book- A Ship of 
 Fools ; One Book, to Bithop Thomas Cornifli. Againfl Sceltoti, One Book. Of the 
 
 Miferies 
 
 (a) Anti<]> Oxon.Lib. 1°. pag.z]zad Annum i^^o. 
 
 J
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifli FrancjTcans* 24^ 
 
 Mlferies of the Courtiers, One Book. Salufl. of the Jugurthin IVar, One Book. Of 
 the Pronunciation of French, One Book : And many other Works. He departed 
 this Life, this Year, diiCroyden, and was buried at the fame Place. So Dr. Pits. 
 
 This Year alfo, the Religious Houfe of the Gray Friers in London^ was pre- 
 paring for poor Orphans. Collier. 
 
 I. The poor Remainder of the Ohfervant Francifcans, being now Anno 1553. 
 encouraged by the Acceffion of Queen Mary to the Throne of Eng- 
 Ittndy began again to appear in publick.- For (zs Bifhop (a) Burnet fdys) ' the Ob- 
 
 * fervants, having been the firft expell'd, were now again the firft reflor'd by Queen 
 
 * Mary to Greenrvichy a Year before She reftor'd the other Religious Orders j And 
 
 * She built them alfo another Houfe ni London, jdnno 1555. So Burnet ; who in 
 another (b) Place fliys, ' Peto and Elfiow, during their Abfence out of England, 
 
 * had (it feems) been attainted by Parliament, which Attainder the Queen now 
 
 * caus'd to be repeal'd by the fame Authority •, And Peto was then made the 
 
 * Queen's ConfelTor, and Elfiow Guardian of Greenwich.'* But (as Collier (c) 
 fays)' The Misbehaviour of fome People about this Time feems to have fowr'd 
 
 * the Humour of the Court,' whereof the faid Co/Z/er gives feveral Inflances of 
 Provocations given, and then adds, that ' a Letter was fent to the Lord Treafu- 
 
 * rer, with another Inclos'd to the Queen, from Father Elfian Warden of the 
 
 * Francifcan Convent at Greenwich. He complains that himfelf and Father 
 
 * Peyto were ftoned by feveral Perfons in their Paffage from London to Greenwich. 
 
 * His Lordfliip is defir'd by the Council to get the Offenders apprehended, and 
 
 * to require the Lord Mayor to make a Proclamation with a Reward for thofe thac 
 
 * fhall difcover them. So Mr. Collier^ Ibidem. 
 
 Notandum. This Perlbn was Frier Elftow fo much fpoken of : And from this 
 Paffage I infer, that the 0^/>rz/^»n return'd to Greenwich as foon as ever Queen 
 ^^ry came to the Crown,and that they had now begun to form a Community there, 
 whereof Elftan or Elflow was the Guardian \ though they were not perfeftly 
 there eftablifh'd till the IV<jr 15^5, when her Majefly rebuilt their Convent, and 
 fill'd it with all the Friers of the Obfervance that cou'd be gather'd together y as 
 ihall be more fully faid under that Year. 
 
 I. Br. Richard Britan enter'd the Order of the Francifcans Obfer- Anno 1554. 
 vants^bout this Time, after he had luffer'd a tedious Imprifonment 
 for the Pope's Supremacy •, vvhich Article hemofl ftiffly maintain'd, in the fore- 
 going Reigns, by both Word and Writing. This Perlbn is faid to have been a 
 very good Divine at the Age of four and twenty ; when, being in Oxford, he 
 began toftie-v himfelf fo very zealous in Defence of the Supremacy of the Apo- 
 ftolick See, that he maintain'd the fame in publick Court, as if he had a Mind 
 to fuffer Death for it. He was a Man of wonderful Auflerity, Mortification, 
 and Abflinence, living upon Bread only, and that too in a fmall Quantity, as is 
 witnefs'd by (dj 5<i^^tfrx, who lived in the fame College with him, and fays he 
 writes no more than what hehadbeen Eye-witnefsof. This Britan was clothed 
 
 K k a Fran- 
 
 co J^oU 2. f/T^e 340. Oi)page 516, ani his Abridgement, P^trt. i. page 28 J. (c) Eccles, Hijl: 
 tart. 2. page 379. (^d) Lib, jmo. De iiifib. Monarch, pag. 6S2- &> Hijl, Mm.pag. 53.
 
 250 The Antiquities of the Englifli Francifcans- 
 
 a Francifcanat Greenwich, in the Reign of Queen Mary^ and departed this life 
 in the fame Place, liot long after he enter'd into the Order. 
 . II. Cardinal Pool^ being fiift ordain'd Prieft (he was but Deacon 
 
 w J55J' when he came into £;7^/,jw^J was, this Year, conlecrated Ai:chbilhop of 
 Cwtc'hury, by Hcith Archbifhop ot I'crk and Six othei* Bifhops, the Queen' 
 heiTelt being prefent thereat, in the Secor.d Year ot herMajefty's Reign, on the 
 22d of Aiarchf in the Francilcan Church at Greenwich. So Dr. Fuller, (a) who 
 a!(b (after his light Way) adds, that this was one of the Bankrupt Convents which 
 her Grace had let up again. 
 
 J _ I. Some remarkable Severities had been inflifled on thofe who call'd 
 
 !i5)' themfelves the /?f/«r»j'<i : And' fince the Queen (as Ci7///>r (b) writes) 
 
 had atfirfl declar'd againft forcing her Religion upon her Subjedts, it was 
 
 thought unreafonable to charge the Perlecution upon her. It was belicv'd She 
 
 was over-rul'dfrnce her Marriage, and that thefe Fires were kindled by King 
 
 Philip. . . . The King, it leems, had no Mind to lie under this Imputation ^ as 
 
 may be colledted from a Sermon preach'd before him by his ConfeiTor yllphonfus:, 
 
 For, this Preacher, who was a Francilcan, declaim'd ftrongly againft taking 
 
 away People's Lives for Religion: He fpent fome Satyrical Expreflions upon 
 
 the Bifhops for thele Severities: He laid the Scripture prefcrib'd tiiem quite 
 
 different Methods, taught them to (»,/?r«(f? ?/;»/> in Meeknefs that opposed them, 
 
 and not to hale them to Execution, and burn them, ber aufe they cou'd believe 
 
 no better. The Bifhops were lurpris'd to find their Proceedings condemn'd by 
 
 the Spaniards ; And, Co do them Juftice, they did not feem to like it themfelves j 
 
 And, that they might not be mifreprefented, they openly declar'd againft 
 
 thele fanguinary Methods. So Mr, Collier, Ibidem. 
 
 This Spatiijh Francifcan, call'd Br. y^lphonfus a Caftre, was (if I miftake not) 
 
 one ot thole Perfons that undertook todifcourfe Cr.wmer when in Prifon, this 
 
 Year, for his heterodox Opinions ; when(as Ce///fr (cj fays) ' Latimer Ai^d Rid- 
 
 lev were brought to the Stake at Oxford, on the North-Side of the Town, 
 
 in the Ditch, over againft 5.i///"o/-College ; at which time as Ridley came near ' 
 
 Bocardo, where Cranmer was a Prifoner, he- look'd up in Hopes to have leen 
 
 the Archbifhop and taken his Leave; but Cranmer, being then engaged 
 
 in Difpute with fome Spanijh Friers, forgot to appear at the Window. So 
 
 Collier, who, a little farther, adds (d) that one of thefe Francilcans who la- 
 
 bour'd to reconcile the Archbifhop ot Canterbury, Cranmer, to the Church of 
 
 Rome by hx\\'.i.\n^ him to retratt his Opinions was Br. de FillaGarcina^ 
 
 who was a principal Manager ; And, that Cranmer fi^n'd a Recantation, wherein he 
 acknowledg'd the Pope's Supreme ry to the utmofi Extent, as well as other Arti- 
 cles profefs'd by the Church of Rome. But Cranmer afterwards relaps'd, and 
 was at laft brought to the Sta'.e, where he underwent the litme Fate as Nicholas 
 Ridley, Bifhop of London, and Hugh Laiimery Bifhop of Worcefier., had fuffer'd 
 before. 
 
 I. The 
 
 (aj O-urch Hiftory, Bool(_ 8. pa.e 1 5. (b) Etclis. H.ff. part z. pa^e 381. (c) EccUs. Htfiory j 
 P,ut. z.pagt^S^. (d)/«2f/ 59I.C5' 3?i-
 
 The Jntiqriit/es of the En^\'i(h Fnnclfcar.s, 25;i 
 
 I. The Obfervnm Francilcans, after many Years Baniihmer.t, were Atino i_^6. 
 now recall'd, firft ot all tlie Religious, by King Philip^rA Queen M>vy, 
 and plac'd in the Convent at Greenwich j or, as HeylinQxj writes, Q;.ieen Mrry^out 
 of Gratitude to the Ohfervants for their zealous Courage in oppofing the Divorce 
 of her Royal Mother Q,ueen Catharine, was at the Expenceof repairing their 
 Convent at Greemvich, wherein bhe placed as many of the Friers of that Inftitute 
 as cou'd be got together. Co/Her (h) alio, under this Year, fays, ' The Queen 
 * now rebuilt this Convent, and brought in as many ot the Fraternity as cou'd 
 ' be met with, and recruited them with new ones, to a competent Kumber.' 
 Now it is plain from what I have already faid, that the. Ohfervants had a Com- 
 munity and a Guardian in this Place immediately after this Queen came to the 
 Throne in the Tear i 553, and now her Majefty waspleas'd to rebuild and enlarge 
 this Convent, and to fill it with fuch Friers as had fufTered Hardfhips in the late 
 Reigns of her Royal Father and her Brother. This Convent a Ifo was graced 
 with the Refidence of the King's ConfefTor, Br. Alphonfus a Caflro^ and one Br. 
 Pymander, Spaniards, Two learned Francifcans ; as appears in their Writings 
 (lays (c) Davenport) and with fome other eminent Friers of the fame jSlation 
 and Order, who likewiferefided here, and belong'd to King Philip's Chappel. 
 
 ir. This Year a Ifo, Tas 5«w« Cd) writesj the Queen built a Houfe »„ oi'i-6 
 lor the Francifcans in London, and had begun another Houfe for the 
 fame Friers alfo, the Year before, at Greenwich. But I now leave their Convents 
 and come to fome of their Men. 
 
 III. Br. Jc/;« 5m»^/]7j (Nephew to Br. Henry Standifl], Bilhop of St. Anno 1556. 
 Afaph) was a Francifcan Do£lor of Divinity, famous for his great 
 Learning, Piety, Faith, and Zeal for the Divine Honour. This good Man had 
 his firft Education in England, where he took the Habit of St. Francis, before 
 the Diflolution of Religious Houfes : But being forc'd to fly out of his native 
 Country, he found a kind Reception at Paris, where he took his Degrees in 
 Divinity. Whether he was made Doftorof Oxford or not, before the Revolu- 
 tions, 1 do not find ; but being now return'd into England-, he obferv'd, with 
 great Grief of Mind, the intolerable Abules which arofe from the rafli and 
 falfe Interpretations of the Holy Scriptures, made by Wom.en and illiterate 
 Men, who were then indifferently permitted to read thole Sacred Books in 
 their Mother Language; and he ufed his uj:moft Endeavours to have this weighty 
 Affair laid before the Parliament, to obviate for the future all fuch abominable 
 Irreverences being done to the Word of God, to hinder fuch Prophanations of 
 the Sacred Text, and to prevent theerronious and dangerous Imprefiions apt to 
 be made on the Minds of the Ignorant People by the ridiculous Explications 
 of Taylors, Weavers, Coblers, filly Women, and all Sorts of Mechanicks, who 
 fill'd the Thoughts of their unwary Hearers with fuch Remarks as were un-" 
 worthy the holy Myfteries of the Chriftian Faith. On thefe important Con- 
 fiderations Standi^} writ and publiAi'd a Book upon this Subjeft, and intitled 
 
 K k 2 his 
 
 (a) Hiji. of Reform, (b) /Wfwj, fa^es ^^-j rtWsjS, (c) Hifi, Mm. pag. 54. (d) Hijl. 
 of Reform, part. 2, y4»Ko'i^^6,
 
 2«;2 The Antiquities of the Englilh Francifcans. 
 
 his Work, Of not fublifi>ing the Bible in vulgar Languages : He alfo writ another 
 Book, in Englilh, Ofrl-^e Vnity of the Churchy which he dedicated to Cardinal Poole, 
 and was printed ^t London this Year; He likewife publifh'd a Book j^gainjl 
 Bari;es^v)hon\\\^ {iy\es 3i Heretici ■■, bcfides feveral other Writings not particu- 
 larly named by Dr. Pits. Davenport fays, this Br. fohn Standifl} was admitted to 
 the Degree of Doftor at O.v/Vr^in the Reign of Qoeen Mary. 
 J _^ I.' The Pope being offended at Cardinal foo/if, his Legantine Coni- 
 
 "'" ' miffion was revoked ("as Collier (a.) writes) and Himfelt" cited to ap- 
 
 * pear before the ///ijKi/;f/e« at ^owf. • And, that Poo/f might have no Pre- 
 tence of Church-Bufinefs in Englandy William Peto, an Englifh Francifcan, and 
 
 * afterwards Bifhop oi' Salisbury, was made Cardinal Legate in his Place. This 
 
 * Peyto was a ftrong Roman Catholick , and a Man of regular Behaviour.' 
 VVhen the Queen was inform'd of the Pope's Intention, She ufed her utmoft En- 
 deavours to defend and fuppoit Cardinal Pool, who on his Part was notunartive 
 in this Affair, but difpatch'd his Friend Omiaret to Rome to pur ^e himfelf, to 
 give his Holinefs an Account of his Adminiftration, and to acquaint him with 
 the State of Religion in England. At laft by the Queen's Remonftrances and 
 Mediation, and an Alteration of Circumftances, the Pope laid down his Refent- 
 ments, ' and told Ormaret that he was now fatisfied Pool had been mifrepre- 
 
 * lented, and that no Body living cou'd becover'd from Calumny. As for Car- 
 
 * dinal Peyto, tliough he took the Title ot Legate to keep the Pope in Humour, 
 
 * (a!i Collier exprelTes it^' yet he never exercis'a the Charge, but treated Pool with 
 
 * the lame Regard as formerly. This Year alfo the Duke of jiha made a 
 
 * Peace with the Pope in the Name of his Mafter Philip King of Spain, whofe Ge-f 
 ' reral he then was ^ and 'tis faid that, by one of the Secret Articles, Cardinal 
 
 * Pool was reflor'd to his Legantine Authority, as (b) Collier writes, who alf5 
 
 * adds, that this feems not improbable, confidering the Queen's Refolution not to 
 
 * admit of any other with the fame Character : For, when Cardinal Peyto was 
 
 * upon his Journey to England, with his Bulls and Faculties, the Queen forbad 
 ' him coming into her Dominions at his Peril, and Pfy^obeing willing to ac- 
 
 * quiefce, iiopt in France, and died therein j4pril following. So Colliery as above 
 quoted. 
 
 Godwyn, in his Catalogue of Bifhops of Salisbury, Title Johnjerpel, under the 
 Tear I ^60, writes of Filer Peto in the following Terms, viz^ * Pope Paul the 
 
 * Fourth, ibon after his Advancement to the Papacy, beftow'd a Cardinal's Hac 
 
 * upon one Peter Petow, an Ohfervant Frier, and a Gentleman of an ancient 
 ' Houfe, whom he xnAde ?l\ f a h\i Legate a Later e., ex Plenitudine Potefiatis, gave 
 
 * him tfie Biihoprick of Salisbury, and fent him into England, to confront Cardi- 
 
 * nal Poole, but Qijeen yl/^ry flood fo ftoutly in Defence ot her Kinfman, as 
 
 * She wou'd not fuffer this new Legate either to enter the Realm as Legate,or to 
 
 * enjoy the Bifhoprick the Pope had affign'd him. While this Matter hung 
 
 * thus in Queftio!', Frier Peto died firft, and Queen Mary foon after, and this 
 
 ♦ Bifhoprick 
 
 (a)£cf/«. Hijl.pa.t, i. fage 555, {b) Eecles- HiJ}. part. 2. page 40 j.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englllh Francifcans. 253 
 
 * Biflioprick was given, hy Qjitsn Ellzjiheth ^ to John Jewel, Batchelor in Divi- 
 
 * nity, A,ino\<,%9^. SoGodwyn. 
 
 Notandum. Authors differ about this Prelate's Name: Tcjfmian: makes him 
 Bifhop under the Name of Wdliam Peti, and in the fame Page, he writes him 
 Cardinal by the Name ot Peter Peto, and folio 230. he placeth Peier Pacta over 
 his Cardinals Coat of Arms.- And our Englifh Hiftorians write him, Ibme 
 Petery fome William Peto,Pcyto, Payton, or Peyton: But all mean one and the fame 
 Man^ the very Perfonthatfo greatly diftinguifh'd himfelf in the Tear i 534, by 
 his bold Sermon to the King in the Friers Church at Greenwich, ot whom Air. 
 Wood writes thus. 
 
 I, Br. Peter Peto (whom fome call William Peto) was born of, and def- Anno 1555. 
 cended from the ancient Family of the Frfo'x living at Chefierton, 
 in Warwickjhire, educated for a time, for the Sake of Learning at Oxford, 
 amongft the Gray Fryers, of which Order he was a zealous Brother .- But if he 
 took a Degree in that Univerfity, it does not appear, unlefs he did it under 
 another Name, as fome have done. Afterwards he became Chaplain (it I 
 miftake not, fays (a) Wood) to Queen Catharine^ in whofe Defence he ihew'd him- 
 felf a ftout Champion when King Henry the ^th was about to divorce her, as 
 alfo againft the King's Marriage with ^fjna BuUeyne. In 1557, June the i yh, he 
 was made a Cardinal by Pope Paul the ^h, and at the fame Time Legate a Latere 
 in England (Cardinal Pole being call'd to Rome) and foon after Biihop ot S^Z/'j- 
 ^j^ry, on the Death of John Salcot , alhs Capon: But Queen A/^ry, albeit She was 
 moft affeftionately devoted to the Church of Rome, interpos'd, or rather op- 
 pos'd her felt fothat Peto was forbidden to enter into England, and the Power 
 Legantineleft entire and whole to her Coufin Po/f. Whereupon /'«» continu- 
 ed in France, where he died m j4pril 1558, leaving then behind him the Cha- 
 rafter of a very godly and devout Man. So (bj Mr. Wood. 
 Jojfmianenfis fays,(c) Pfto died in England, and fd) Davenport (who ftyles Peto 
 a moft learned Man) confirms that Aflertion with the Addition of a remarkable 
 Circumftance, which the Reader may pleafe to take as follows, ' I am not igno- 
 
 * rant fays he, th<it Spondanus , under the 2><i>- 1557, afferts that the faid P^ro, being 
 
 * made a Cardinal, departed this Life before he return'd into England, and was 
 
 * therefore preveiited from taking upon him the Execution of the Honours be- 
 
 * ftow'd upon him, both as Legate and as Bifliop of Salisbury, which fas 
 
 * Spondiinus rightly obferves) he had accepted of with very great Difficulty and 
 
 * Reluftance, for the profour.d Refpe^V he bore to Cardinal Pool : But Spondtnus 
 
 * ismiftaken(fays he j when he imagins that Pffo did not enter into Englar.d after 
 
 * he had receiv'd thefe Dierities ; For, he took up his Abode privately at 
 
 * Greenwich wliere he remain'd, as nominated Bifhop of Srf/;Vttt>y, till on a certain 
 
 * Time, haviiig ventur'd out to London, as he was getting into a Boat to return 
 ' to Greenwich, he was fet upon by an infolent Mobb, who pelted him with 
 ' Stones after fuch an unmerciful Rate that he wou'd have certainly been kill'd 
 
 * on 
 
 (a) /*/6f». OA-w.Jirtr/. i./<Jge 587. {b) Ibidem, (^c ) J^Jl. Serafb, Lib, ith, folio sjo. i^d) Hifi- 
 Mui. pag, 54.
 
 254 ^/^^ Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans. 
 
 * on the Spot had he rot leap'd haftily into a Cocli-boat and put pfF from the 
 
 * Shoar alrer they had broken lome of his fliorc Ribs in the liifulc, of which 
 
 * Hurt he foon after died ; as was related by fome Perfons of his worfhipful Fa- 
 
 * mily. So Fran. aStst.CUra, Davenport. 
 
 NotarJum- But, ui'.der Favour, I prefime this lenrnei Author her-e makes a Mi- 
 ftake^ tor, it is not likely that Peto wou'd offer to come over into Enghmd when the 
 Queen had forbid him upon his Peril \ nor wa§ it po/Tible fif he had been lb hardy) 
 that he cou'd lie conceal'd at Greenwich :, and therefore I take it for a certain 
 Truth that thislnfultof the Populace upon Peto was the very fame 1 mention'd 
 in the Tear 1553, and that Peto might at laft die the fooner for tlie Hurt he re- 
 ceived when he was io rudely treated. But all other Authors agree that he 
 finiih'd his mortal Courfe in France. The Reader may find a more full Account 
 of Peto and Frier Elftow in the Su^plementj at the End of this Part of thefe 
 Colleftions, Number 9. 
 
 I. This Year Qjieen Elizabeth utterly (a^ fupprefs'd the Francifcan 
 '559- Convent at Greenwich wherein She had receiv'd her Paptifm, and 
 
 which had been repair'd and reftor'd to the Order by her Royal Sifter Qiieen 
 Mary: And now the poor expell'd Friers were again forc'd to take Refuge in 
 Flanders., or Lower-Germany, orelfewhere: And hence Darknefs over'pread the 
 whole Province of the Englifh Francifcans; yet the fcatter'd Remainder of 
 the Obfervants ftiW lived, either in Exile abroad, or in a hazardous Confinemenc 
 and Obfcurity at home, and kept up a continued Succeflion of Friers of their 
 Order and Province. So Fran, a Sta. CLira, Ibidem. 
 
 II. This Year alfo the Francifcans and other Religious Houfes at 
 1559- p^,^ij^ J,-, Scotland, were plunder'd and gutted by the Mobb, who 
 
 attack'd the Monafteries, pull'd down the Buildings, and made Prize and Plun- 
 der of what they found. Thus the Francifcans ore. were undone at a Heat. So 
 (b) Mr. Collier. 
 
 I. Br. John Gray, born of a Noble Englilh Family (though by 
 »"<> 1579- ^Qj^g reckou'd a 5m) being expell'd the Nation after the finaLDifTo- 
 lution of Religious Houfes, rerir'd into the Low Countries, where he was kind- 
 ly receiv'd, and cain'd a great Reputation for the Holir.efsof his Life, in the 
 Convent of his brder at ^ri'j^e// ; But at laft the C^j^jW/, breaking into the laid 
 Town, and bearing down all before them, came to thefaid Conver-t, where they 
 abufed, beat, and kick'd this Venerable old Man, andtoclofe the tragical Scene, 
 they cut him twice in the Head, and gave him two Wounds in his Breaft as he 
 kncel'd before the High Altar, in the Church belonging to the Convent, pray- 
 ing fnr his Enemies and himfelf in thefe Words, Lord, forgive them, and receive 
 my Soul, and fb he expired ; on the %th Day of June, in the Tear 1579. After 
 thefe barbarous Ruffians were gone, the People of the Town throng'd in great 
 Crowds to the Convent, to fee the Body of this Martyr of Chrift (as they be- 
 liev'd him to be^ and one of them, labouring under a Diftemper of Body 
 
 which 
 
 (a) Hijf. Miti. f»i. ^^.frm Hru:, Fttller, Sanders, &c. (b) Eieles. SUfi.parP, l. fage 447.
 
 The Antiquities of the Ibn^ih Francifcans. 255 
 
 which was reckon''d iiicurable, was reftor'd to perfect Soundnefs of Health by 
 kiffiiig of a Cloth dipt in his Blood ; which Cure being wrought inanlnftauc, 
 contrary to the Courle of Nature, was look'd upon to be lupernatural and mira- 
 culous. 6oConz.aga, Bourchiery and others quoted in the Francifcan Mtirtyrologyy 
 on the "^rh of June. 
 
 I. Br. Thomas Bourchier and Br. Thomai Langton^ two EnglifK Frarcif- ^""o 1380 
 ■dw'iOhfeY'vants^ touk the Degree of Doctor ot Divinity at P^w about 
 this Time. 
 
 This Promotion, the Reader may perhaps fay, feems to be a mariifeft Breach 
 of the Decree of the General Chapter of the Order held at Burgos, in Sp-ih^ 
 jinno 1523, wherein it was enafted that, from that Time forwards, no more Doctors 
 Jlrju'd be mAde either by Univerflties, or by the General Minifters of the Or- 
 der, except in thofe Places where they had General Studies. In anfwer to this Ob- 
 jeftion the Reader may pleafe to obferve that the Francifcan Province of £^'j- 
 /<»Wenjoy'd the Privileges ot their Two moft General Studies of Oxford and Cnm- 
 bridge, as appears in the Regifters of the General Chapters of the Order, and 
 therefore the Friers of that Province continued (even after this Statute) to take 
 the Degree of Doftcrfhip as before. All our Hiftorians, lays Fran, (a) a Sta. 
 Clara-, ?isGodwyn, How, Holingfiead and others, fay, Br. John Fore fi was a. Doitcr 
 of Divinity •, as was alfo Br. Henry Standifiiy who under the Title of Dodtor 
 was chofenasa proper Judge in Queen Cif^<jn»f'i Behalf in the important Cafe 
 of the Divorce ; Afterwards Br. John StandiPi (Nephew to the former) was made 
 Doftor in Queen Afary's Reign, about the Tear \%%6:, and after him thele Two, 
 Bourchier and Z-(«ffgra« ("the Province almoft extindt) living in Exile, were made 
 Doftors of Pi:ris : A'l Obfervants. From thefe Ir.ftances it appears that the 
 Francifcan Province of England expired in a full PolfefTion of its ancient Right 
 of taking Degrees in Divinity, as well as ot all other Rights and Privileges 
 heretofore enjoy'd by the Conventuals and confiflent with the Obfervance : All 
 which were granted to the Obfervants by the Popes Leo the \c.th and Vrban the 
 8r/^, and accepted by the Two General Chapters of Rome and Toledo. So true, to 
 the very laft, was the Saying of Blti^^dhv. Bartholomew Pi fan: viz. Tlje Province 
 of England always had great Plenty of Dehors and of good Men. Pope Martin the 5'/> 
 (elected y^»no 14I7) granted to the Reform'd Francifcans the Privilege of ta- 
 king Degrees in Divinity, provided that they obferv'd the statutes of the Order • 
 and the fame Pope afterwards granted Power to a General Chapter to inftitute 
 Doftors, provided they had taught laudably in IbmeUniverfity ; and Pope Eu- 
 gene the Fourth (who {acceeded j^nno f^io) confirm'd the laid Grant of his Pre- 
 decefTor. But in the 'S^th General Chapter of the Order, held Anno 1547, ic 
 was enacted, that hereafter none may be promoted, in Provinci.il Chaffers, to the De- 
 gree of DoHorftnf : But the Englijh were then difpers'd and gone ^ and none of that 
 Province being prefentwhen this Decree was made, it was not reckon'd as a 
 Law binding them to their difadvantage .• So they had (as 1 am inform'd; Do- 
 ctors ftill amongft them, which were made, in their Provincial Chapters, out 
 
 ot 
 
 (tt) Hiji- Adhi, trovln. Angl, Fraf. Min.fage 48,
 
 25^ tlje Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans^ 
 
 ot fuch learned Men as had laudably taughc three or tour Courfes ot Divinity •, , 
 And this Practice continued till of late that a Statute was agreed upon and 
 made amoiigft them that no fuch Promotions ftiould hereafter be granted to anv : 
 And fo 1 leave them ; as learned (their Number confider'dj as ever j though, 
 rot fo full of DoElors as heretofore, becaufe they humbly refufe that fplendid 
 Title, as all others call'd Recollects alfo do. Yet, for an Encouragement to 
 Learning, and a Reward to fuch as undergo the Fatigues of a continued Tea- 
 ching, they have Jubilate Readers amongft them \ which is a Title given to 
 fuch Pertbns as have taught Divinity for Fifteen Years fucceflively, or at leaft 
 have taught oneCourfe of Philofophy, and twelve Years Divinity fucce/fively ; 
 and thefe LeBores Jubilati were ufed to have a Vote in all their Provincial 
 Chapters, as a Mark of Diftinftionand Merit, and an Honour done them for the 
 Services they have done to the Order. But, I return from this DigrelTion ^ and 
 now go forwards. 
 
 I. Bf- George Demisyhorn of a worfliipful Family of Gentlemen in 
 >5 5- j)evorijlnre, was heretofore Royal Standard-bearer to King Henry the 
 8rfc, in the TVrfr 1545, at the S\e^t o^ Bologne. But afterwards defpifing all 
 temporal Advantages for the Love of God, and refolving to fpend the Remain- 
 der of his Days in the holy Exercifes of a penitential Life, he enter'd amongft 
 the ObfervantSidilA was cloth'd in the Francifcan Habit, at Greenwich, yinno i 558, 
 juft before the Death ot Queen Mary ■, and that Convent being lupprefs'd by 
 Queen Eliz.abetht:he Summer following, Dennis (though yet a Novice^ was fo full 
 ot Fervour that he chofe to go into Exile rather than quit his poor Habit of a 
 Frier Minor, as then he might lawfully have done : So he retired out 
 of his native Country with other Friers of the lame Order and Houfe, and 
 went firft into Brabant^ and afterwards to Liege, where, after many Years 
 fpent in a religious and edifying Comportment amongft his Brethren of the 
 Order, he departed this Life, about the Tear i 585, and was buried in the Cloy- 
 fter of the Convent, where Br. Fran. aSta. Clara fays he formerly had teen his 
 Epitaph, though now taken away, and that he had this Account of Br. George 
 Dennis from his own Brother, who was a worthy Gentleman and a vertuous 
 Chriftian, and had been an Eye-witnets of the Chief Acts ot his Life. So a 
 Sta. CUra^ (a) Davenport. 
 
 - I. Br. Jhomas Bourchier (raention'd Jnno i 580J was an Englifh Ob- 
 ' ' fervanty and one or thofe that took the Habit of St. Francis at Green- 
 rvich, (b) towards the Clofeof Queen ^^^ry'j Reign ; after which, he went over 
 iuio France, where he fpent fome Years in hard Study, and was at laft made a 
 Dof^or of the Sothon-, at Paris ; from whence he afterwards went to Rome^ and 
 lived for fome time in the great Convent of the Order call'd Ara Ctcli, where Dr. 
 Pits l;\ys, he fiiw him more than once, and he was at laft advanced to the Poft of 
 Penitentiary in the Church of St. John ot Lateran, and died at Rome, about this 
 Time. He was a Man ot extraordinary Piety, as well as of excellent Learning 
 (as Pits writes) and deferved well of his Order, of his Country, and of the 
 
 Church 
 
 {a) Hijf. M», pag. ^$. (h) Ibidem, ptg. ^4. 
 
 I
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans. 257 
 
 church of Chrift. In his Banifhment for the Catholick Faith, he writ many 
 Things-, hue few of his Works came to Vits's Knowledge, except a certain Txu\ 
 of Ecclefiaftical Hiftory, Concerning the Friers of his Order, that were fut to Death 
 from the Tear 1536, to the Tear 1582, partly in England and Ireland, in the Reigns 
 of King Henry the ?,th and Queen Elizabeth \ and chiifLy in the Low Countries, tinder 
 the Prince of Orange. But to lity fomewhat more of this great Man •, I will now 
 give the Reader his Character from Mr. Wuod. (h) viz. 
 
 * Thomas Bourchier was defcended from thofe of his Name who were Earls of 
 Bath i but in what Country born, I cannot yet tell, lays ('0) Mr. Wocd. He 
 received fome Parts of Literature in the Univerfity of Oxford^ particularly in 
 Magdalen CoWe^t:^ yet took no Degrees there, unlefs in the Reign of Edward 
 the 6th, when the common Regifter of the Univerfity was in a manner totally 
 neglefted. Afterwards, upon Pretence of his being weary of the Herely (us 
 he call'd it) that in his Time was praftis'd in England, he went beyond the 
 Seas, fettled in Paris, took upon him then, it not before, the Habit of St. 
 Francis, and lived as a Brother in the Houfe of that Order there, where alfo 
 others of his Country lived ^ and at Length became a Doctor of Divinity of 
 the Sorbon; at which time he was held in great Efleem for his Religion and 
 Learning. Afterwards going to Rome, he lived among thofe of his Order in 
 the Monaftery call'd by latin Authors ylraCali, and at lad became Penitentiary 
 to the Church oi^ St. John Lateran there. He writ a Book of certain Martyrs 
 of his Order, which was printed at Paris, in OUavo, immediately after 'twas 
 writ, and again yinno i'^^6, and at Ingolftade Anno 1583, in Duodecimo. 
 The Names of thofe Englifh Men that fuffer'd Martyrdom in England 
 where Father Anthony Brorbe, or, as fome call him, Brockby, Thomas Cortt, Tho- 
 mas Belchiam, znd Fa.ther John Forefi ; all which were executed in 15 37 aijd 
 1538. What other Things our Author Bourchier has written, I cannot tell, 
 fkyslVood, nor any thing elfe of him, only that he departed this Life about 
 the 7><»r 1585, and was buried either in the Church of St. John Lateran, or 
 in that belonging to the Monaflery call'd Ara Cali^ before mention'd. So Mr. 
 Wood, as quoted above. 
 
 \. By. Stephen Fox, departed this Life this Year. Mafon (c) calls him Anno 15SS. 
 Cufios Crenovicenfis \ whence I prefume he was either Cuftos of the Pro- 
 vince of the Englifh Obfervants, and refided at Greenwich, or elfe was Guardian 
 of that Convent. Cut, be this as it will ^ Br. Stephen Fox w^seyi^eWd the Eng- 
 lifh Nation by the Command of Q.ueen Eliz.abeth, in the Second Year of her 
 Reign, and went to the Convent of St. Francis at Antwerp, where he continued 
 till, by the over-heated Zeal of thofe arm'd Pretenders to a Reformation of Re- 
 ligion, who at that time roved about and plunder'd that City, he was forced to 
 be gone from thence, with about twenty Englifh Religious Women of the Order 
 of St. Clare, with whom he went firft to Roan, in Normandy ; and afterwards to 
 Lisbone, in Portugal', where he found King PM/)) f/;ff Second, of Spain; who gra- 
 ^ LI ciouily 
 
 (a) Athen. Oxon. part, 1. fag. 1S5. {h) Ibidem, {c) In Vefriptiotie Provin. A/igl. Frat. Mi». in 
 Certarrt, Seraph.
 
 258 The Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans* 
 
 ciouily received thofe poor, diftrefled Ladies, and gave his Royal Command to 
 have a Monaftery builded for them ; in whofe Church this Br. S'/rpfefw fw.v found 
 tlie Place of his Burial Jmo 1 588. So Br. Angelas a Sto. Francifco^ Mafon. 
 
 Notandam. How long thefe poor Nuns ftaid at La^wf, or whither they went at 
 laft, or whether thefe afterwards came to 5f. Omers (as fome did) and then went 
 and lettledat Cr^t-fZ/w^, are Qiieftions which I fhou'd be glad to refolve; But 
 as yetl can meet with no Writer that gives ar.y fatisfadtoiy Account ot them. 
 So 1 go forwards. 
 
 J „. II. I cannot here omit an Account of a certain Gentleman, born in 
 the Bilhriprick of Durham (his Name my (a) Author tells not^ who 
 ran the Rilque of his own Neck out of his great Charity in endeavouring to lave 
 others from the Gallows. This Gentleman being in Z-cw^ow after the Defeat of 
 the SpaKtfl) Fleet th\sYenT, and hearing that many of the infolvent Prifoners, then 
 univerlally hated in England, were like to be hang'd, at the Inftigation of a 
 Perlon whofe Name was MerrUke, to whom the Earl of E/f(.vhad given all the 
 Profits of the Ranfom of the Captives ; He went boldly to the laid Earl, and 
 pleaded fo flrongly in Behalf of the poor 5/>.m.W/, that he procured for them 
 a Reprieve, which he found Means to throw fecretly into A^ferricke's Chamber in 
 the Nick ot Time juft before the fatal Hour. Mem'cke finding this authentick 
 Repiieve and Letters from the Earl of £//< a- forbidding the Execution of the 
 Spaniards^ turn'd the Edge of his Anger againlt the Bearer of the Reprieve, for 
 whom he caus'd a ftrift Search to be made .- But the Gentleman found out a Place, 
 near Hampton Court, where he lay conceal'd for three Days without Food, and 
 by that Mear-s efcap'd the Revenge of Mcmcke. Thefe Spaniards were after- 
 wards ranfom'd, and this laid Gentleman (their Deliverer) leaving a plentiful 
 Eftate, and dying his Hair black, to look like a Spaniard, went thus dilguiled^ 
 along with them, in Jnccaniio, \uto Spain, where he enter'd ir^tothe Order of 5r. ' 
 Frafiiis,a\:d lived in great Efteem in the Francifcan Convent at Cadiz., where he 
 at laft departed this Life, in a very old Age. Br. Francis a Sta. Clara, Ibidem 
 lays, he had this Relation from the laid Gentleman's own Mouth, he being at 
 .the lame Time a Cripple, occafion'd by fome Hardfl^ipsfthe Rack this Author 
 faysjhe heretofore had lufTer'd for r.he Catholick Faith, in the Tower of Lon- 
 don, MCid'xz. his Memory is flill Pretious for his vertuous, exemplary Life and 
 pious Death. 
 
 III. John Story, or Storey, a very Famous Do£lor of the Laws, and 
 ijbb. }jgrg;ofore Kii^g's-Profeifor in Oxford and Chancellor to the Bifhopot 
 that See, was a great Admirer, Lover, and Friend of the Friers, and devoted 
 to the Order of St. Francis, and u as fo much edified with the Vertue and Con- 
 ftancy of the Francifcans Objervants, that he earneflly defir'd to be admitted 
 amongft them-, but he was hinder'd by the Timesat firft, and afterwards mar- 
 ried, and at iafi wa^ put to Death for the Faith, in the Reign of Queen Eliz.a- 
 beth : But whether he fufi'er'd this Year or not, I do not certainly know; How- 
 ever 
 
 (a)Frfla. « Sta, Clara, ia HiJi.Mtn' pig. 55 S" 56.
 
 The Antiquities o/"//;^ Fnglllh Francifcans, 2^^ 
 
 ever he is reckou'd a Francifcan in f^oto, or Defire •, as I find I'a the Chronicles 
 of the Order 1 written m French \ and the Author of that Work is profufe in 
 his Comn3endatioi:s ar-d Charafter ct the faid John Storey in the 6th Book of his ^th 
 Fart of it. 
 
 I. Amongft the Francilcar.s who, with great Zeal, ferved the poor Atrno 1590. 
 Catholicks in E>i^lancl., in the Reign of Queen Eliz.d'eth, I will here 
 
 take Notice of one, of whom Br.(^)Jngeluj MafctJ gives the following remarkable 
 Relation, -which he fays, he had from the Mouth of a good Religious Prieft. 
 
 Frier John ■ who was commonly known by the Name of the Old Pe^gar, 
 
 had embraced and follow'd the Inftituteand Order of St. Francis^ and he lived in 
 the Houfe of one Roger Locktvoady u^onTerpimGreen, in the Parifh of LayUnd, 
 in the County of Lancafler j and was fo note for his many great Vertues and 
 his penitential Way of Living, that the Earl of Darby, beir.g moved with 
 the Holinelsot his Life, prevail'd with Queen £//'s,^^f//7 to grant him Letters of 
 her Royal Proteftion, whereby he was authorized to wear his Religious Habit 
 in publick, even in thofe Times when the penal Laws were frefh and in full Force 
 againft the Catholicks. This Holy Man was tavour'd with a particular divine 
 Gift of curing all forts of Difeafes j fo that being at laft corfin'd to his Cham- 
 ber, not only by a decrepid old Age, but alio with great Pains in his Limbs, oc- 
 cafion'd by the Aufterities of maiiy Years fevere Mortification ar-d penitential 
 Life, the People fiock'd to him in great Numbers from all the Northern Parts 
 of England., bringing with them their Children and Friends, nay and even their 
 Diftemper'd Beafts and Herds, to be cured by him. 
 
 The BenediBines (as 'tis faid) reckon him one of theirs, for this only Reafon, 
 viz. That upon his Grave Stone he is call'd a Triefl and a Monk : But this Infcrip- 
 tion can ground no Proof, becaufe the Friers Minors are alfo Ityled Monks, or 
 Monachi, by almoft all Writers : Befides, the good Woman that was his Nurfe 
 in his Sicknefs, and is yet living (faid my Author Anno 16x9) is ready to bear 
 witnefs that he never receivd, or touched any Alomy, and that he declared to her 
 that he vj'a.s ^ Mendicant and a Be^gar^ as he was commonly calfd. Moreover, 
 it may alfo be added, that one {F/A<«w Jl-Wrow (heretofore one of his Penitents) 
 declar'd to the faid Monks that this good M?tnwer.t h.ire-foot, and wore a Gray H.i- 
 hit, and a Cord of St. Francir for his Girdle. He departed this Life about the 
 Tear 1 590, and was buried in the Church-yard at LayLvid, at the South-door of 
 the Church, before the Chancel-door. So Mafon. 
 
 II. Br. Co///fr, a Zealous Francifcan, was taken up, about Anna 15510. 
 
 this Time, on the Score of Religion, and laid clofely confin'd in Pri- 
 
 fon, where he ended his Days through the Hardihips he fulfer'd in that Con- 
 finement. Angelus Mafon ; Ibidem 
 
 I. Br. John Buckley ('alias G"o^/r 91 (b) 5'w«j)an Englifh Francifcan, lea- Avno 159S. 
 ving his Native Country, went firft into France, and afterwards into 
 Italy, to Rome, where he ftaid a while in the great Convent of O'ofervants, calfd 
 uiraCdi. He was a Conventual when he firft came to this Place j but, by the good 
 
 L 1 2 Example 
 
 (a) Vide Mafon, in Vefrlptione Froiin. AngU Frat. Alin. (b) Ah>i)>clag, Er.indfcan, \i Jni}- Chnr.. 
 Ord. Mafon, ^c.
 
 26o The Antiquities of the Englifli Francifcans. 
 
 Example of thefe Friers and the powerful Grace of God, he became fo fer- 
 vouroufly animated with a great Zeal for a more ftrift Obfervance of his Founder's 
 Rule, that he made himfelf a Member of theReforrnd Friers, or Obfcrvantt of 
 the Roman Province, in theTear i 591, with whom he refiJed one Year, and then 
 begt,'d his Superiour's leave to return into England^ to aJlift the Catholicks there 
 in the Way of Salvation, elpecially his Parents, Kindred, and Friends.- And now 
 having their Confenc inforced with Obediential Patents for this Mi/Hon, he went 
 to p;iy his Duty to the Pope, Clement the S:h. to whom he freely declared the 
 Motives of his intended Journey, and humbly craved his Apoftolical Benedifti- 
 on ; And his Holinefs oblerving his Heroick Courage and the extraordinary 
 Fervour of his Spirit, was much rejoiced, and inclofing Godfrey's Face between 
 both his Hands, as a fpecial Mark of his Favour, he embraced him, and gave him 
 his Bielfing, adding thefe moft tender Expre/Iions, Go ^ for J verily believe you are 
 a true Religious Child of St. Francis ; And pray to God for me and for the Holy Church. 
 Then Godfrey came into England, where he was foon taken up and caft into Prifon, 
 aiid lay intHat Confinement for four or five Years, in almoft extreme Want of 
 all Neceffaries, and opprefsM with great Calamities ^ All which Affliilions he 
 underwent with an invincible Patience, giving daily Inftances ot his extraordinafy 
 Vertues and wonderful Holinefs ot Life; So that perfifting, withan Apoftolical 
 Refolution, in the conftant Confeilion ot the Catholick Faith, he was at laft 
 drawn out to Execution ^ where, after divers Infults and Ignominies, he was put 
 to Death, on the i ith of July (the lid new Style) Anno 1 59S. So the Author of 
 the Francifcan Martyrology and others, who reckon him a Martyr. 
 
 I. Br. 7oi[?« /?;c;jf/ departed this Life, about this time, in the Fran- 
 " v.''' cifcan Convent ^t Lovain, where he had lived many Years in great 
 Efteem for his vertuous Life and religious Comportment. He was ConfelTor to 
 the Lady Elungerford, an Exile for her Religion, at Lovain, and to her Sifter the 
 Dutrhefsoi Ftri.i (in Spain) being both of them of the Honourable Family of 
 the Dormers, and both of the Third Order of St. Francis. Richel fpun out his Life 
 to a very great Length, being near an hundred Years of Age, and a Jubilanan^ 
 not only of the Order, but alio ot Priefthood, for he lived feventy two Years 
 in the Order of St. Francis: So he was 22 Tears ^ jubilarian, and died at the 
 Age of 97 Years ; a^- appears in the Regifter of the Frnncifcan Convent in Lc 
 vain. He is laid to have been a Profefs'd Frier of Greenwich •, and Davenport writes, 
 that he was acquainted with two Perfons at 5ra/f<'/i who hctd heretofore been this 
 good Fathers Penitents, or fpiritual Children, directed by him both in England 
 and in the Low-Countries. 
 
 1. Br. Richard was (as my Author (a) fays) one of thofe 
 
 " ' '^' EngliH-. Francifcans who, for their Religion and Character, were driven 
 out of their Nat"' . Counrry, where he haafuffe.'d great Hardftiips in a long 
 Imprifoi-.mcnt and feveral Perfecutions, in the Reign cf t^ueen Elizabeth, for 
 the Confeihon ot the Catholick Faith, and for his zealous Endeavours in la- 
 bouring 
 
 (ay Mafon, in Defcripiiorie Frovin, AngU Frat. A£n.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifh Franclfcans- 2^1 
 
 bouring to bring back his Countrymen to the Profe/Iion of their primitive Be- 
 liet •, for which at lad he wasbamfh'dout of Endand, and went \nto Spain, where 
 he found a kind Reception amorgft the Friers of his Order, of the Province 
 cali'd Provincia BaticA^ where he departed this Life in the Tear i5i9. The In- 
 habitants of Herez. de la Fro»tera (the Town wherein he died) had lb great an 
 Opinion of him for the extraordinary Sai.ilityof his Lite, that before he was 
 interr'd, they cut fome Part of his Habit of Religion from off his Corps for 
 Relicks. So j4n^ : Mafon. 
 
 Notandum, That this Father and many other Obj'ervants enter'd into the 
 Order after King Henry the Sth had fupprefs'd theic Houfes : Several of them 
 were clothed in Queen Mary's Reign ; as Iprefume this Perfon was ; and others 
 were profefs'd during the Reign of Queen EHzayeth ; Some in foreign Pares •, 
 from whence, after their Studies, they return'd into £»^/4»^ it felf; where the 
 Poor Frarxifcans cou'd not indeed keep up all the Parts and Forms ot a Province 
 as heretofore ; yet were not fo utterly extinft but that they kept up a continued 
 Succeflion of Regular Superiours, who admitted Perfons into the Order and 
 profefs'd them privately, even in the mofl; fevere and dangerous Times ; and 
 fo continued a conftant Series of Friers Minors from time to time, both at 
 Home and Abroad, if not a regular Province in the moft ftrl£l Acceptation ot 
 the Word Province : Though it fometimes fell out that Prifons were their Con- 
 vents, and Dungeons their Ce/ls ; yet the Englifli Francifcans had ftill a Being. 
 
 I. Br. • Nelfon enter'd into the Order in Queen Mary's 
 
 Reign, and was a Francifcan of great Piety and cf an exemplary " ^^'^' 
 
 Life. He lived privately in England duriijg the whole Reigns of Queen Eli- 
 zabeth and King James the Firfl, and at lafV^eparted this mortal Life yl/mo 1628, 
 in the Houfe of a certain Catholick Gentleman about two Miles from Hereford, 
 where he had chiefly refided for the Space of thirty Years. So Mafon, from 
 the Relation of a good Religious Prieft. 
 
 Infine, there were feveral other Englifh Francifcans, both fecretly in their 
 own Country, and openly in foreign Parts, who furvived the Province ot Ena- 
 land, and lived in anabandon'd Condition, for Religion Sake, long after the to- 
 tal Deftrudtion of all their former and heretofore flourifhir.g Convents. 
 
 I. From all thefe foremention'd Ruins of Convents, this DilTolu- Anno i6ig, 
 tion of a moft flourifhing Province of the Order of St. Francis, 
 and the Deflruftion, or Difperfion of its Members, what cou'd be reafonably 
 expefted but a total Extirpation of the fm.ill Remainder of the Englijl) Fran- 
 cifcans fcatter'd about th" World? Yet the invent ftiews that Almighty God was 
 not: p'eas'd to have itfo- For, on the contrary, he rais'd a Man by whofe pious 
 Zealand Endeavours :ic Uefign'd to revive the Seraphick Spirit and Francifcan 
 Prov' ce ot EngLmd.^'J^hn Cennings by Name, born of a good Family, and edu- 
 cated in his lower Schools in che College of the Secular Clergy of his Nation 
 at Dtf«4y, or Fhcmet., in his h5?h?r Studies in tht Englilh College at Rr^me, who 
 bei"-: made Prieft, re'-'rn'd a ZchIous Aiijnonary into England, where his owit 
 Bi other Edmard Genniugs hid, fonie Years before, been drawn, hang'd, and quar- 
 ter'd for Prieithood. Here this pious Man, John Cemings^ out ot his great De- 
 fir^
 
 262 The Antiquities of the Englif}) Franclfcans. 
 
 fire of higher Perfeftion, be^g'd the Habit of S/-. Francis, of Br. IVilliam Stancy, who 
 was Famous for his great Vercue and Religious Lite, and publifh'd a devout 
 Book in Engliili, the Title whereof is, A Treatife of the Ihifd Order of St. 
 Francis y commonly calfd the Order of Penance, for theVfe of ihofe who defire to lead 
 ai holy Life and do Penance in their own Houfes. This Book was printed at Douay^ 
 Anno I6i7i ai-,d, in the Epiftle to the Reader of it, Br. William Staney tells us 
 he was at that time Commijf.iry General of the Francifcan Province of England. In 
 Vertue of this Authority, or Ci!)7MW7/^(?/7, he clothed the (Wxdjohn Genninq^s in the 
 Habit of the Order v^wo 1514, or in the following Year; And, obferving in 
 him an extraordinary Zeal for the Reftoring of the Englifh Francifcan Province, 
 he wastranfported with Joy % and conceiving great Hopes of good Succefs from 
 his Piety and laborious Endeavours, He ('thefald Staney') delivered (a) into his 
 Hands the Sedof the Province of England, preferved, almofr ir.iraculoufly, as it on 
 purpofe for this Junfture of Time, it having been handed down from one Frier of 
 Authority fuccelTively to another, till it was put into the Cuftody of BcGodfiey 
 Jones Cexecuted for Priefthood in theReifjnof Qiieen Eliz.abeth, as Ihavefaid) 
 bv whom it wasdeliver'd to ^t. William Staney, who now at iaft gives it to Br. 
 John Gemiings, the Zealous Reftorer of the Province- 
 
 This new Province, rais'd from the Ruins of the old one, was begun by the 
 faid Gennings immediately after his Religious PiofeiTion, and was compleat- 
 ly eftablifh'd in all its Parts, and confirm'd in all it Rights and Privileges in the 
 Tear 1629. But I will not, go beyond my prefixed Bounds ot the Old Province .- 
 bo I leave the Hiftory of the New one for a better Head and Pen than mine are. 
 One Truth I dare venture toalTertof it; which is, that, confidering the Time 
 of its Date and flender Number of its Members, it is as Holy and as Learned 
 as the Former, and may vie with any Community ot Englifh Religious Men. 
 Now, for a Conclufionof this Firfi Part of thefe Collegians, I cannot forbear 
 Jetting the Reader know that the Francifcan Province oi England was hereto- 
 fore reckon'd the Second amongft the many Provinces of the Order that are 
 on tliis Side the Mountains Cor Italy) and that, being now reftor'd to all its 
 former Rights and Privileges, it has a jufl Claim to the fame Rar.k of Prece- 
 dence : For, 
 
 IL As to the Order ot Precedence ; (h) If the Stations of Pro- 
 ' ""* ' *^' vinces were to be rank'd according to the Date of their receiving 
 the Reformation ot theObfervance, it is manifeft that the Proviixe ot England 
 ought to have the Precedence of F-ance it lelf, which neverthelefs is rightly 
 counted the Fir ft on this Side the Mountains. The Truth of this Affertion is 
 made plain from the Difpute between Br. Boniface de Seva, Minifter of France, a 
 CunventuaU •'ind Br. John Sylvcfler, Vicar ot the Ohfervants ot the lame Province 
 fout of which fprang the Province of fr/T«ce call'd Franco- Pari fienfis) before the 
 chief Parliament of P^m, Anno I'^io, wherein the faid Br. Boniface eude?iwom'd 
 to prove that the Rule of St. Francis was obferv'd as ftriftly by his Subjects, then 
 
 call'd 
 
 (a) Ak^. Mafon, In D.ftrlpt. Prrjiii. Angh Prat. Mn. (b) Fran, a Sta. Clara, hi Traflatu dt 
 trAcedentia.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifti Francifcans. 2^3 
 
 call'd Conventuals^ as by thoi'e cMd Obfervatits : Whereas the Francifcan Province 
 of EngUnd was united in the Obfervame Jnno I484 at leaft, if not much fooner, 
 as I have already faid : Nay, Br. Nicholas Denisy in the Beginning and the 
 End of his Book intitied Gemma Tradicantium, owns himfelf no more than Vi- 
 car- Provincial of Fr^mce 1517.- So that, ever, then fr^»« v\ a' not a Province of 
 the Ohferv.-tnce, as my Author (aj fiiys, who aifo adds, that the Cc>ne>:tu.ds m 
 frrfwf did not fubmit themielves to the Obedience of thzObftrvants before the 
 General Chapter of Lyons in the Tear 1518, though England (sa I have i'tidj was 
 form'd intoa Province of the Obfervance lor.gheiore, and had then its Adinifler' 
 Provincial, as of old. Whence it appears that Precederxe is not to be t.'.ken 
 trom the Date of the Reformation of Province-;, but from the Time of their 
 being firft erefled ; and from this Principle, the Province of Saxony of the HAy 
 G-o/j was reftor'd to its ancient Right and Place in the Roman OnTi'^x.er Amo 1625, 
 and by the fame Rule of Seniority tlie Province of England had, and liillhas a 
 Right to take Place of, and go before all thofe Provinces of the Order that were 
 fet up fince the 2>4r liip, which was the Year wherein the Province of Eng- 
 /4»;<^ began, two 'Year-s, cr thereabouts, after that of fr^ewf, according to the Re- 
 cords of the Order. 
 
 For a farther Proof of this Right of Precedence, it is neceffary to obferve 
 the Aftsof General Chapters and the Order and Series of Provinces, that from 
 thence it may appear that £ff^/^?«^ has always kept its firft Right of Precedence, 
 and that the Order has always reckon'd this Precedence according to the refpe- 
 ftive Seniority of the Inftituiion of every Province. Now, in the Divirion 
 of the whole Order, begun by Br. Haymo (z-w Englifh Man) Mirifter General, 
 and coiitinued by his Scholar 5r. BonAventure, alio Miriifter General, ^««i3 1 j6o, 
 the Order is divided into Seventeen Provinces on the other Side the Mountains, 
 and as many on this Side \ and amongft thofe on this Side, France ^as the f«r/f 
 Place ^ after which the Province of St. James ^nd Cologn are brought in, by Mi- 
 ftake, and then the Province of England is reckon'd in the Fourth Place. Here 
 the curious Reader jnav pleafe to obferve, th?it Germany, in th? Beginning of 
 the Order, was not divided into Provinces, but there then was only one Province 
 call'd Provincia Tcutonica, under the Government of Br. Ca/arius Spirenfis^ent 
 thither, as Minifter, by St. Francis himfelf This Province was begun two Years 
 after that of England -^ For, the faid defarius, after he had lived in Germany 
 two Years, was treed from his Office in tlie Tear 1223, as the Author of the 
 Francifcan Martyrology bears Witnefs from other more ancient Writers and 
 Records i whereas the Provincial of England was inftituted by St. Francis j^rino 
 1219, as has been faid and made good-, and therefore C(logn,\yh\ch. came after 
 Germany, cannot be fo ancient as England, which was two Years before it. Ai:d, as 
 for Sp.iin it was h&^Mmhtv Germany, and was but or.e only Province in St. Fran' 
 cis's Time, and therefore, at that time, there was no Province of St. James •, Nay, 
 and, after 5/?4;« was divided into Provinces, the Province of 5f. James is always 
 placed after the Province of G// ///(?, and therefore is much younger than Eng- 
 land, 
 
 («) Eraa, a Sta, Clara, Ibid,
 
 2^4 ^^^^ Antiquities of the Englifh Franclfcans. 
 
 i'tnd. So it is manifeft that the Intirpofition of thele two Provinces is a Wrong 
 done to St. Bonavemure's Catalogue, and makes it plain (the Error being deteil- 
 edj that EngLmd ought to be reckon'd the Second Province on this Side the Moun- 
 tains, as it is placed in other arcient Catalogues. The Holy Br. Bartholcmerp Pi- 
 fan : in his Catalogue, Jfino 1400, placeth Eiglund immediately after France^ 
 which laft is acknowledg'd by the whole Order to have been the f/V/? Province 
 on this Side the Mountains i But the Catalogue and Order of Provinces which 
 was drawn up in that moft I'olemn 44?/^ General Chapter held at Imeramna, or 
 Terani, in Vmbriay j4nno 1500, ought to have the Preference of all other Lifts of 
 that Kind, becaule it is not barely written or tranfcrib'd from other Chapter- 
 Tables, but was made, on fet purpofe, by the whole Chapter, as a ftanding Law 
 and lafting Statute, and is therefore placed in the Body ot the Acts of the faid 
 Chapter. Here the whole Order declare that the Province of England ought 
 to have the Foarr/?/'/^ce among all the Provinces of the Order •, that is, the Second 
 Place among thofe on this ijide the Mountains. In the Paragraph Of the Keeping 
 of a General Chapter, the very Words are thete, viz. The Order of the Minifters 
 Provincials in Sitting in their General Chapters. The Firfi after the General, is to be the 
 A'finifler of the Province of St. Francis : The Second, the Provincial oj France : The 
 Third, the Provincial of the Roman Province : The Fourth, the Provincial of England. 
 Now, in Sequel of the receiv'd Rule of appointing the Places of the Provinces 
 according to the refpeftive Seniority of their being firft founded, it is manifeft 
 that the Province of England has an unqueftionable right to the Place here allotted^ 
 becaufe the Provinces incorporated in the Obfervance retain'd the ancient Precedence 
 of the Conventuals, as well as all their other Rights that are compatible with the 
 Reformation, as appears plainly in the Bull of Union. This alio is inforced by 
 the Deed of Concord, whereby the Obfervants are, by the Pope's Authority, let 
 info all the Rights of the Conventuals ; So that thele are made Subjeft to the 
 Former, and (by an Inverfion of the former Order) it is declared, that the Ob- 
 Jervants ought, from that time forwards, to take PoffeiTion of all the Preceden- 
 ces that were heretofore due to the Cc»«w«/k<///. Moreover, there is a particular 
 Reafon for the Englifh ; becaufe that Province was wholly chang'd and incorporated 
 in the Obfervance long before this Statute of the 44^/3 General Chapter yinno 1 500 ; 
 and therefore there is no room to queftion the Right of the Englifh Province 
 to the Second Place Tixnong^ the Provinces of the Order on this Side the Moutj- 
 tains whether the Cafe is calculated from the Antiquity ot its Reformation, or 
 it's firft Inftitution by Sf. Francis himfelf^ And confequently no Law needs to 
 be better fupported by Reafon and Equity than the Decree made in its Behalf 
 by the General Chapter held at Rome Anno 162$, wlierein, by a Ipecial Aft, The' 
 Province of England is reflor^d to its former Honour and Place. 
 
 liifine, though the Englifh Francifcans have, lor.g ago, defifted from any fuch 
 Preteufions, yet it was heretofore thought fit, for the Honour of their Country, 
 that they fhou'd put in their C'aim to this their Right of Precedence ;, And I 
 find that the whole Order gave into their Reafons, and in a General Chapter 
 heldat^tfwf, Aino 1564, having call'd all tlie other Provinces, (as it had been 
 pruclaim'd before in a General Chapter at FdadoUd, Anno i66\, that all Per- 
 
 fons
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans. 2^5 
 
 fons that had any thing to objefl: againft it fhou'd bring in their Reafons to 
 the next General Chapter^ and having now maturely weighed all that was aliedg'd, 
 put an End to the Controverfy, in thefe following Terms, (as they are faith- 
 fully tranflatedj viz. As to the Petition prefented in Behalf of the Province of Eng- 
 land laying Claim to the Second PUce among ft the Provinces of that Family which the 
 Italians call (Vltramontanam) beyond the MountainSy after a full Relation of that Affair y 
 heard, and duly weighed, the General Difjinitory, on the \^th of June^ 166 4.^ decla- 
 reth, that the Province of England ought to he reftor^d to the Place required. So Fran. 
 a Sta. Clara, Davenport, in the Places quoted. 
 
 The learned Author, above mention'd, from whom I have collefted all that 
 is here advanced concerning Precedence, is profufe on this Subjeft ; But what I 
 have already faid ot it is more than can be ufeful to any one, and may perhaps 
 not be entertaining to many ; And therefore, as the poor Engliih Francifcans 
 are too humble to contend for Precedence, and too lowly to arrogate to them- 
 felves Honours as due to their Merits, although they, in Truth, are very de- 
 lerving ; So I wiUleavethem to poflefs their Souls in Peace and Patience, 
 under the Severities of a Life of Penury and Mortification, which they by 
 Choice have undertaken, that being dilingaged from all Aflfeftion to the Things 
 of this World, they may increafe daily and improve in the Love of God, and 
 at laft, through the Merits ot our Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift, happily ar- 
 rive at the higheft Perfedion of it in everlafting Glory, 
 
 The End of the First Part. 
 
 M m
 
 C 2^7 ) 
 
 m^ mm mm mmm^^mm m.mr<m gssi^ 
 mm mm mm mmmmmmmmmm mmmm 
 
 A SHORT 
 
 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 I. r)R- Gonfalvusde Valbotia, a Spaniard, ?i very Holy Mar, a Do- 
 Amoi'^os,. 1^ aorof Divinity, and Provincial of C^/?///e, being this Year 
 
 chofen Minifter General of the whole Order of 5r. f/-^«oi, in a General Chapter 
 held at Affifium., was a zealous Maintainer of Evangelical Poverty, and a great 
 Promoter of a moft ftrift Obfervance of the ancient Conftitutions and Statutes 
 ot the Order \ for which Purpofe hevifited moftof the Provir.ces of the In- 
 ftitute, and wherever he found any Abufes crept in, he/eform'd them, by 
 obliging all his Subjefts to renounce and refign every fuch temporal Income as 
 feem'drobe contrary to the Purity of their Rule, notwithftanding their being 
 warranted by the Condefcenfion of fome of the Popes \ And, during the Space of 
 nine Years that he was their General, he retrench'd all ExcelTes in Points of holy 
 Poverty, expropriated tlie whole Order, and reduced it to its primitive rigorous 
 Obfervance •, and at laft departed this Life in the Reputation of Sarility,, at Pa- 
 risy j4nno 1 3 1 3, as may be ^f^en more fully in the Kotes upon the Francifcan Mar' 
 tyrology on the ^^th Day of April •, where 'tis faid that he appear'd to fome ot the 
 Friers after his Death, fitting in a Throrje of Glory, with a Crown upon his 
 Head and a Sceptre in his Hand, given him by our L.ord and Saviour, for his 
 zealous Endeavours in promoting the pure Obfervance of his Founder's Rule. 
 . 11. Br. John de Fallibus, born in the Valley of SpcUtum, is reckon'd 
 
 the fix ^ '^eikorex oi ReguUr Obfervance m Italy, where having obcaiird 
 Leave of ^r. Gerard Odonis, Minifter General of the Order, he began the Re- 
 formation call'd O^/Vr-y^wf/, in the Year 13-^4, at P;y?».», or B>uliaiia, r.ear Came- 
 rino, where he lived with the holy Br.Gcntilis a SpnUto and other fervnumus and 
 holy Minorites, and having conquer'd very many Oppofitions, and UlfHculcies in 
 this great Work, he dep:irted this Life, Juno 13^1, in the Fame of great 
 Sanftity, vvhich was attef^ed, after his Death, by many Miracles wrought at 
 his Tomb. So tlie Author of the Francifcan Mar tyrology, on the nth of Janums. 
 
 M m 2 ' III-
 
 2^8 A Jhort Supplement. 
 
 III. Br.Gtntilis aSpoltto, in Vmbria, after the Death of the above ^nno ijyi, 
 mention'd Br. John de yalhbus (whofe Companion he had been) la- 
 
 bour'd, vvirh great Zeal and Courage, in carrying on the Reformation of the 
 Order begun by that holy Man ^ wherein he alfo met with great Oppofition ^buc 
 the Holinefs of his Life and the good Example given by his Followers foon 
 gain'd him the Favour ot fome Perfons of Note and Rark, and he was encou- 
 raged by Pope Clement the Sixth who granted him the Houfe (at firft pol'fefs'd by 
 Br. John de rMlibus and himlelfj and three other Place?, wherein his Holinefs 
 allow'd him to have twelve Friers of the Reform' d in each Houfe ; yetthefV 
 hopeful Beginnings were afterwards interrupted by the Suggefiions of Br. IVt/Ham 
 Fiiri//e>io, a fucceeding General of the Order, who prevailed upon Pope /;;»o«»f 
 the 6th to difcountenance the pious Work: However, Br. Centilis died, famous 
 foe Sanftity, in the Tear 1362 j as may be {^^n more fully in the Franctfcan Mar' 
 tyrolo^y, February the Sixth. 
 
 IV. Br. Paul of Fulgineoi calTd Pauluiiuj Trincius, a Noble Man of ^fno i^ss- 
 J'aly^ entring into the Order of St. Francis ^ at the Age of 14, Anno 
 
 1323, arrived at laft to a great Degree of Perfeftion, fo that he was famous 
 throughout all 7f;i/y forhis extraordir.ary Sar.ftity •, and being fiUd v/ith a ijera- 
 phical Zeal for the Reformation of the Order Cbegun and carried on as above 
 faid) join'd his Endeavours wiih thofe of fome other holy Difciples of the afore- 
 iiiid Saintly Men, and in the Tear 1 3$ 5, he met with fuch Encouragement from 
 Perfons of Rar.k and Diftinftion, that he began to build feveral little poor 
 Houfes for his zealous Followers, who lived in a moll ftri£b Obfervar.ce 
 of holy Poverty, and at laft increas'd in Number, as well as in Holinel'', 
 ib that the General of the Order and his Succeffors, confented to allow them 
 more Houfes ; which being loon fiU'd with holy Frier?, Br. Paulatius Trincius 
 (caird r'-jgwori;, from his Father's Name) was inftituted their Commiflary Ge- 
 r.eral by the Minifter General ot the whole Order Br. Henry Alferus de Jfia^ 
 Anno}^^^:, in which Office Paulutius continued ruling his poor humble Flock, 
 with admirable Sanftity and Prudence*, till the r^r 1391, when he departed this 
 Life in the 81)? Year of his Age, and67tiof Religion, being Famous for un- 
 queftionable Miracles both before and after his Deceafe •, as may be feen in the 
 Notes upon the Franctfcan M.^.rtyrology., on the 1']th of September. 
 
 Notandum. The ufe of CUgs, inftead of Sandals, was firft introduced a- 
 mongft the Obfervants by this holy Man, for the Meanefs and Cheapi.efs of 
 them. 
 
 V. John a Popvla, or, in Spanifj, de la Puehla, call'd alfo a Sotto Anno 1478. 
 Majcre, the eldeft Son of the llluftrious Alphonfus a Sotto Aiajore, 
 Count of Bellalcazjir^ fucceeded his Father in that Honour and almoft immen:e 
 Riches thereur.to belonging; But an heroick Degree of the Love of God being 
 more prevalent in him than any Aifedtion to Grandeur and Affluence., he defpis'd 
 Tr.efe that he might be the more free and difmgaged to improve in That, ai;d 
 ia:.kon'd all as dung, that he might f<«;» Chrijl^ for whofe Sake he renounced the 
 
 World 
 
 i
 
 A fhort Suppleme7it, 26^ 
 
 World arid all its fpecious Offers, and received the poor Habit of St. FrAnasy 
 from the Hands of Pope Sixtus the ^th, and in this low State lived for lometime 
 m Italy ^ in the Province of St. Francis, in Vmhha \ from whence, by the Com- 
 mand of the laid Pope, ^wno 1476, he return'd into 5p»w, to take care of his 
 Kephew, the Count ot Bdhlcaz.ar, an Infant ^ In Obedience to which Injunftion 
 he ftaid for fome time in the Province of Caftilk •, But remembring his ProfelTion, 
 and being inflamed with an effeftua! Defire of a moreflrifl. Life, he began a Re- 
 formation of the Order in 5pm, under the Name of RecollcH^s, in the Time of the 
 faid Pope S/.vfttj f^f 4f/j ; which Branch of the Reformation was afterwards ap- 
 proved by the Apoflolical Letters of Pope Innocent the 8rfc, from whom this 
 holy M.7iX\hr.Johndela /'a<t/<j, obtain'd a Papal Bull, Jnno 1489, for the erect- 
 ing of fome Houfes, wherein he and his Followers might live up to the ffrifteft 
 Rigour of holy Poverty, in the Oblervance of the Rule of St. Francis-., For 
 the farther Propagation of which Obfervance, he afterwards went to the Con- 
 vent ot RochdUt of the Province of Turonia, to notify his Credentials to Br. 
 John Chroyn, Vicar General of the Ohfervants of the Family on this Side the 
 Mountains, and to the other Friers there affembled in Chapter •, from whence 
 returning into Spain, he there built a poor mean Houfe (named 5f. Mary of An' 
 gtls) for his RecolUBs., which was the firfi: Convent of the Province of A>^gels ^ 
 afcer which Model other Houfes were afterwards built for tbefe Reform'd Friers, 
 whereof he was Cuftos, or Superiour, for the Remainder of his mortal Life, 
 whichhe at laft clofed inthefaid Convent, Anno 1495, Famous for his many 
 Vertues and great Sanftity, and follow'd in the Manner of hislnftitute by moft of 
 the Ohfervants now call'd Recolleils. So the Author of the Prancifcm Martyrology^ 
 on the 6th of OHobtr. 
 
 VI. Br. Francis Dozjechi (born in yiquitania^ a Frier of extraordi- 
 '"" '^ '■ nary SandHty, was the Firft chief Promoter of this Reformation in 
 France, about the Tear 1 583, being the Founder of the Ca/?(?af)i (afterwards Fro- 
 %ince')oi RecolleHs oi the Immaculate Conception, in Aijuitania, which was reform'd 
 by him according to the Tenor of a certain Bull heretofore given out by Pope 
 Clement the 'jth^ ar,d whereof he was chofen the Firft Cufios, and in that Capa- 
 city went to the General Chaprer of the Order held at KilladoUd, Anno 1593, 
 ar.d foon after departed this Life in great Santtity iasisattefted by many infuir;g 
 Miracles. So the Author of the Martyrology, on the 29th of July. 
 
 VH. Br. Francis Stmonis, a Francifcan of great Holinefs of Life was a Zealous 
 Afljftent to Doziechi in this pious Work of Reforming, and a great Promoter 
 of the RecolleHis ; and his Aits andSanftity are recorded in the faid Martyrology^ 
 on the I4f/j of OBoher. 
 
 VIII. Br. Robert Frevoff, another French Frier, Companion to the 
 
 593' above-nam'd Br. Francis Simons, was likewife a great Promoter of 
 
 the Recollects in France^ efpecially in Aquitania, where he was Famous for his 
 
 many Vertues and his great Zeal for holy Poverty ar.d the exaft Obfervance of 
 
 his Founder's Rule ; ajidat laft departed this Life in the Reputation of Saiiftit/ 
 
 Anno
 
 270 A fhort Supplement, 
 
 jintio 1557 •, a«may be (een more fully in the Notes upon the ftid Martyrolo^y\ 
 on the lot h of October. 
 
 I omit many others who, in divers Nations made their Names famous to the 
 lateft Pofterity by their Seraphical Zeal in this Kind. Thel'emay fuffice to give 
 Light into what 1 have writ concerning the Reformation of the Order. 
 
 " IX. The firft that openly refifted or reprelierded the King Anno 1553. 
 " (^Hinry the Sth) touchirg his iMarriage with j4fi»e Boloigne.^ was one 
 *' Frier Pcto, a fimple Man (\^ys Stow) yet very devout^ of the Order of the 
 " Ohfervants- This Man pieachir.gat Crfcwn'/V/;, upon the 22ft Chap, of the third 
 " Book of Kings, viz. the laft Part of the Story of y^f/;<»t, faying even where the 
 *' Dogs licked the Blood of N.iboth, c-jtn there fri.ill the Dogs lick thy Blood /?//«, O 
 " King i and therewithal! fpoke of the lying Prophets which abuftd the Kivig, 
 ** (^c, J am, quoth he, th.it Micheas whom.thou wilt hate, hecaufe I muft tell thee tru~ 
 *' lythntthis Marriage ii unlawfully and 1 know I Puiil eat the Bread of j4ffli[lton, and 
 *' drink the Water of Sifrrow, yet hecaufe the Lord hath put it in my Aiouth J muji 
 '■^ fpeakit^ and when he had ftrongly inveigh'd agalnft the King's Second Mar- 
 *' riage, to diAvade him trom it, he alfo fiiid, There are many other Preachers, 
 *' Tea too muny, which preach and pcrfwade 7hee otherwife^ feeding thy Felly and frail 
 *' j^ffeBions, upon Hope of their own worldly Promotion, aid hy that Means they betray 
 •' thy Soul, thy Honour and Pojferity, to obtain fat Ben'fices, to become rich Abbats,and 
 *^ get F.pifcopal JurifdJlion, and other Ecclc/iafiical Dgnities; Thefe, I f-*y, ere the 
 *' Four hundred Prophets, who, in the Spirit of Lyings feek to deceive thee \ but take good 
 ** Heed, Ufi you being ft duced, you find yichab^s Punipiment, which was to have his Blood 
 «* licked up by Dogs ; laying it was the greateft MKery in Princes to be daily abuled 
 *' by Flatterers, &c. The King being thus reproved, endured it patiently, and 
 *' did no Violence to Petv ; But the next Sui day, being the ^th of May, Dr. 
 *' Curwyn preach'd in the fa.ne Place, who moft Iharply reprehended Pcto 
 *' and his preaching, and call'd him Dog, Slanderer, bale, beggarly Frier, 
 *' clofe Man, Rebel and Traytor •, faying, tliat no Subject ihou'd fpeak fo 
 *' audacioufly to Princes. And having Ipoke much to that Elleft, and in Com- 
 " mentiation of the King's Marriage, thereby to efiablifh his Seed in his Seat 
 " forever, &c ; he then fuppofing to have utterly fupprels'd Feraand his Pwrta- 
 *' kers, he lifted up his Vo'ce and faid, Ifpeakto thee, Peio, which mabfl thy felf 
 *■ Micheas, that thou mnyfl fpeak evil of Kin<rs ; but now thou art not to be found-, being 
 *' Jied for Fear and Shame, as being unable to anfwer my Aiguments, .And whilfl he 
 " thus fpoke there was one Elf vw, a Fellow Flier to /*?/<?, ftanding in the Rood- 
 *' loft, who, with a bold Voice, faid to Dr. Curwyn: Good Sir, you know, that 
 *' Father Peto, as he was commanded, is now gone to a Provincial Council holden at 
 *' Canterbury, and not fled for Fear of you, for to Aforrow he will return again ; in 
 " the mean Time I am here as another Micheas, and will l^y down my Lije to prove 
 *' all thofe Things true which he huth taught out of the Holy Scripture ; and to this 
 * Combat I challenge thee, before God and all enjual Judges, even unto thee Curwyn, 
 " //ty, which art one of the Four hundred Prophets, into whom the Spirit of Lyi"g '-f 
 
 enter d
 
 A fhort Supplement. 271 
 
 ** enter' di and feehfi hy Adultery to effahlijh Sutcejfwn, betraying the King into endlefs 
 *' Perdttiony more for thy own vain Glory and Hope of Promotion, than for Difcharge 
 •' of thy clog^dConfcience^ and the King's Salvation. This Eljlotp waxt hot, and 
 ** fpake very earneftly, fo as they cou'd not make him ceafe his Speech, untill 
 •' the King himfelf bad him hold his Peace, and gave Order that he and /'ffi? 
 " fhou'd be convented before the Council ; which was done the next Day •, and 
 " when the Lords had rebuk'd them, then the Earlof £/7fA: told them, that they 
 *' had deferved to be put into a Sick and caft into the Thames : Wliei eunto 
 *' Eljiow fmiling iaid. Threaten the fe Things to rich and dainty Folk, which are clothed 
 *' in Purple, fare delicioitjly, and have their chiefejl Hope in this World, for we efleem 
 *' them not, hut are joyful that jor the Difcharge of our Duties we are driven hence, 
 ** and with Thanks to God, we know the Way to Heaven to be as ready by Water as by 
 *' Land, and therefore we care not which Way we go. 
 
 " Thefe Friers and all the reft ot their Order were banifh'd fhortly after, 
 *' and after that, none durft openly oppofe themlelves a'gainft the King's Af- 
 *' feftions. Dr. Curwyn was made Dean of Hereford, and alter that Archbi/hop 
 " of Dublin, in Ireland. Thus 5fo7P, Anno 1533. 
 
 " Others report, flays Stevens) that Frier Feto, in his Sermon, prophefy'd 
 
 * to the King, thatunlefs he took another Courfe, there wou'd be none left of 
 
 * his Race to pifs againft a Wall ; which afterwards proved true. For thefe 
 
 * Realbns the Friers of this Order were loon after turn'doutof all their Mona- 
 
 * fteries, and committed to feveral Prilbns ^ So that above Two hundred of them 
 
 * were under Confinement at the fame Time ; where feveral of them died, ha- 
 
 * ving been long fpared in Favour of Sir Thomas Wriothejley, whofe Intereft was 
 ' great with the King, and who interceeded for them. At length, wlien no 
 
 * Oiie of them cou'd be prevail'd on to approve of the King's Proceedings, either 
 ' as to the Marriage, or the Supremacy, fome of them were put to Death ; 
 
 * and about 7??;>J^ of the reft, coupled with Chains by Two and Two, lent to 
 
 * diftant Goals to end their Days in Mifery. So Stevens Monaflicon. 
 
 X. The Publifhers of the Compleat Hifiory of England fprinted at Londm^ 
 Anno 1706, in three Volumes, in fo//ff) place feveral Francifcans amongft the moll 
 eminent Men for Learning of their relpeftive Times. The curious Reader 
 may find them at the End of the Reigns of the following Kings, drawn (as I take 
 it) from the Animadverfions and Notes of John Strype, Mafler of Arts, who is 
 laid to write out of Authentick Manulcripts. 
 
 XL In the Reign of King Henry the Third ('viz. from the Year i2r5, till 
 Mil) flourilh'd thefe following Francifcans,Br. Alexander Hales, an excellent Di- 
 vine, and Mafter to St. Thom.ts Acjuinas and St. Bon.tventure : Roger B.tcon, the 
 Aflronomer, thought to be a Conjurer by Vulgar Sort of People; John a Sacro- 
 JBjfcp, who wrore of the Sphere : And Vincent of Coventry. 
 
 XII In rhe Reign of Edward the tirfl (j\z. from the Tear 1272, till t 307) 
 flourifli''! Haymo of Feve>fl)am : William of Ware: Thomas Docking: John Peckham^ 
 of Si.Jfcx, Arclibifhop of Canterbury : Robert Crouch: Richard ^Middleton : Adam 
 Marifio, or Mareis, a Somerfetjhire M:in, a Famous Divine ; fhomas Bungey, and 
 Hugh of Newcajtle, Philofoplaers and Mathematicians, 
 
 xia.
 
 272 Ajhort Supplement. 
 
 XIII. In the Reign of King Edward the Second (viz. from the TV^r I 307, till 
 I327J Hountti'd Jilm Duns, fir Mni'd Scot us, the School-Man: Nicholas de Lym^ 
 an Engli/h Convert Jew, who writ feveral Treatifes againft the Rabbins .• William 
 Occham, who writ a^^'mR John Scotus, and againft the Pope in Behalf of the Em- 
 perour Lewis of Bavaria : Ralph Lockejley : IVilliam Gainsborough : John Canon : 
 John Goldfion : 'John Winchelfey, and Frier Bnnkley. 
 
 XUMn the Reign of Edward the Third (v')Z. from 1327, till 1377) famous 
 for Vertiie and Learning were William j4lnwtck: WiHiam Herbert'. John Ridewall : 
 Henry Coftfay : William Nottingham : John Berwick : Thomas de Hales : Robert Eliphat : 
 Walter Cotton : Thomas Ecclcfion : William Sijfy : Thomas StavefliaWy of Bnfiol : Ro- 
 bert Leicejler : JohriGuent, !i WclJIj-man, Provincial of the Francifcans : Rodulph 
 Radiptorius : William Breton : Adam Woodham : Roger Conway : Bartholomew Glan- 
 vilky defcended from the Family of that Name Earls of Suffolk: John Tinmouih: 
 John Ridington, of Stafford : Sertorius Gualenfis (General of the whole Order, and 
 at laft a Cardinal) a Weljhman : Simon de Tunfied, of Norfolk, Provincial of the 
 Gray Fliers: John of Stafford : John Hilton : John Wickengham. 
 
 XV. In the Reign of Richard the Second {viz. iiom the Tear 1377, t'H I399) 
 flourifh'd John Hilton : John Markly : William Folleville, of Lincolnshire : William 
 Woodford, ». chofen Champion for the Papacy againft Wickliff: John Somers, of 
 Bridgewater, an Enemy to the Wicklivifls : John Tiffwgton, a Champion againfl 
 WickUff: William Shtreburn : Men noted in thole Days for their great Learning and 
 good Preaching. 
 
 XVI. In the Reign of Henry the Fourth fviz. from the Ti?<tr 1399, fo 1413) 
 fiourifh'd John Ecclo of Herefordjhire : Dr. Nicholas Halkingham, of Norfolk, an 
 excellent Divine and Philofopher, Provincial of the Gray Fners .- John Lai hbury^ 
 of Reading: Reginald Langham, of Norwich: William //o/w, a Phyfitian : William 
 Norton, of Coventry : WUliam Augur, oi Bridgewater'. Peter Ruffel, Provincial of 
 the Gray Friers. 
 
 XVII. In the Reign of Henry the Fifth (viz. from the Year 1413, to 1422) 
 fiourifh'd Thomas Otterbum: There were many others, not here mention'd. 
 
 XVIII. In the Reign of Henry the Sixth (viz. from theTear 1422, to 1451) 
 fiourifh'd Robert Coleman, of Norwich, Chancellor of Oxford j and Robert Fin- 
 ningham, alfo of Norwich. 
 
 XIX. In the Reign of Edward the Fourth ('viz. from the Tear I45l, to I483J 
 fiourifh'd Dr. Richard Porland, a Francifcan Frier, of Norfolk. 
 
 Not one more is mention'd, except Frier Roch was one, who ^though born in 
 London") ftudied at Paris, and was a Poet, as ray Authors fay, who carry down the 
 faid Catalogue no lower than this Reign ; and indeed mention but a Few of the 
 great Number of Francifcans that were famous for both Veitue and Learning 
 during the refpedive Reigns ot the aforefaid Kings. 
 
 THE 
 
 I
 
 ^^///i^/Y^ /7/'E^'anc^a7/i !:4Q/7. n/ilA /i^r7//an/^
 
 ColleBanea Angh-Minoritica^ 
 
 OR, r 
 
 A Colledlion of the A n i i Q,u i t i e s 
 
 O F T H E 
 
 English Franciscans, 
 
 O R 
 
 FRIERS MINORS, 
 
 COMMONLY CALL'D 
 
 GRAY FRIERS. 
 
 The Second Part. 
 
 "With an Appendix concerning the Englifh Nuns of the Order of 
 
 Saint CLJR E. 
 
 VeftruSiion upon VeJlruUion is criei/ j 
 for the whole Land is fpoilec/ : 
 Suddenly are my Tents (poiled, 
 Jeremy. Chap. 4. Vcrf. 20. 
 
 Compil'd and Colleded by A. P. 
 
 LONDO N: Printed by THOMAS SMITH in Siher-fireet, 
 
 Bloomsburj^ 1726.
 
 The PREFA'CE. 
 
 't M 7 H A "T has already been faid, by way of Preface to the Firft Part of thefe 
 m/K/ ColUEllons-, might fe em enough toexcufe me here from any fuch Preamble^ but 
 f f that the Reader xvoud be aft to expert greater Matters in this Second. Part than 
 he is like to find, did 1 not obviate his jwelling ExpeEhations by telling him 
 (once more^ that all I can recover of the Francifcan Convents heretofore in England 
 (^the Subjefi I have now in hand') is very imperfe^l ; beings for the great eji Part, a Re- 
 petition 0/ the Catalogues given of them by the Holy Br. Bartholomew de Pila, Anno 
 1399, and by Wadding, the Annalift of the Order ^ Anno 1400. with the Addition 
 of a Draught out of Speed's Catalogue of fupprefs'd Religious Houfes^ and what is 
 co/leBed out of Weeirer's Funeral Monuments, and fome other Writers, and chiefly 
 out of the famous Antiquary Mr. John Leland, which is imperfeEl alfo and confus'd^ 
 though he was employed onfet Purpofe to go through the Nation to keep up fome Remem- 
 brance at leaft of the Old Site of Religious Houfes. Leland, was impower^d by a fpe- 
 cial Commijjion from King Henry the 8th, under the broad Sent, to fearch the Libra- 
 ries, the Records, the Regifters, and aH other Monuments oj Antiquity relating to the 
 faid Houfes ; Tet fuch was the Misfortune of thofe Times, that the fame King who had 
 authoriz^ed their Dijfvlution, cou'd not recover a true avd full Account of their Founda- 
 tions and other Circumfiances of thefe StruBures, unlefs it were of the great Monafle- 
 ries, which being of a more valuable Cotifideration, might probably be vifted firfl by Le- 
 land, who began his Circuit about the Time that the Diirolution was upon the Anvil 
 (^as Collier expreffes it) and was fix Tears in his Perambulation ; during which Time the 
 Religious were outed, their Books made away, their Regiflers deflroy'd, their Records 
 lofi, and all other Monuments of Antiquity /old, or demolifh'd; efpecialty thefe of the 
 Francifcans; whofe fmall, or no Endowments, made them Icfs regarded- However, I 
 will give the Reader all I can find of them, having firfi premised what Dr. Tanner 
 (in the Preface to his Hotkh Mo\^»Rka) fays of Religious Houfes in general, viz. 
 
 * The Dcftgn of this Work is to fatisfy the Curiofity of thofe who are willing to know, 
 
 * when, and by whom, and for whom thefe Religious Houfes were founded (the Maje- 
 
 * fty of whofe very Ruins flrike Travellers with Admiration) to preferve fome Remem- 
 
 * hrance of thefe Structures, once the Glory of our Englifli Nation, and of their Foun- 
 
 * ders that fo highly defervdof thefeveral Ages thcyliv'din : Though I am not igno- 
 
 * rant the Generality of People, ever fince the Diffolution, have, through a miftaken 
 
 * Zeal and falfe Prejudice, thought, that the very Memory of thofe Great Men who 
 ' ercEled thefe Places ought to be buried in the Rubbijh of thofe StruBures that they de- 
 
 * figndflioud perpetuate their Names to Eternity. Thus they have always cenfurd, as 
 
 * Well-wiflters to the introducing of Popery, thofe who endeavoured to give any Account 
 
 * of Monafi-eries. Suchunjufi and ill-Natur^d Reflexions have been the principal Rea- 
 *fons that have deferred feveral of our Hifiorians from difcourfing fo largely about them 
 
 as
 
 iv The Preface, 
 
 ' as they coudy or indeed thtir Occafions required, and have been the thief Caufes why 
 
 * fo few have treated purpofely of them, or publijlj'd any things immediately reUting to 
 ' them, or their Lands. 'Tis well Iknown that Mr. Camden and Mr. Weever were 
 ' forced to apalagiz.e for barely mentioning the Monajleries, and what Out-cries were 
 ' made upon the Publication of that glorious Work the Monafticon ? Infomuch that a 
 
 * very learned and ingenious Perfon Qjc means Dr. Bathurft, Prefdent of Trinity- 
 
 * College, Oy.on.) wrote a Latin Letter to Dr. l.angbaiii (ra whom Dugdale had 
 
 * lommunicated his CotietHons') to encourage the Defign, by fljewing the great VJe of fuch 
 
 * a IVork, and removing ajl ObjeUions that coud be raised again]} it •, which is printed 
 ' in fame few Copies of the firfl Folume. Nay, fo much are fome People pofftffed 
 *■ againfi them, that the leafi Mention is odious and ungratefuU. But there are no 
 ' Grounds for it., feeing thefe Religious Places were, by the well-intended Charity of the 
 
 * Founders and Benefaflors, built, endowed, and advanced (^how much foever they were 
 ' afterwards abused") to the Glory of God and the Service of Religion, and the Relief of 
 
 * poor Chrifiians.^ 5a Dr. Tanner, Ibidem, Word for Word. The fame Author alf'o 
 ' fays, that in his Work, the Houfes of the Friers are purpofely omitted, becaule 
 
 * not endow'd with Lands (Page the pth of his Preface) and, page the 17th, 
 he adds, that the Francifcans cou'd never be polTefs'd of Lands, or Rents : And^ 
 the late Author of the Summary of Religious Houfes, Si.c, gives the fame Reafon 
 for his omitting of the Houfes of the Friers, viz,. Becaale they were not endow'd. 
 Doftor VuWer alf ofays ' The Friers had nothing in Propriety, «or/>> Common, but 
 ' being M.end\c2Lnts,begg^d all their Suh^id^nce from the C\\Ax\ty of others. True it 
 ' is (fays be") they had Cells, or Houfes to dwell in, or rather hide themftlves in. So 
 ' the Foxe;. have Holes and the Birds of the Air have Nefts) but all this went 
 
 * for nothing, feeing they had no Means belonging thereunto. It will 
 
 *■ be objected (continues Fuller) that many Convents of Friers had large and ample 
 ' Revenues, as it will appear by perufing the Catalogue in Speed's Tables. — J (Jays he) 
 
 * have nothing to return tn Anfwer hereunto, fave only that olim vero non fuit fic, 
 
 * From the Beginning (of the Infiitute of the Friers') it was not fo -, thefe Additi- 
 
 * ons of Lands unto them are of a later Date, and, believe it, not of their Seeking, but 
 
 * their Benefatlors cafiing upon them-' 5o Dr. Fuller, m /ju Church- Hiftory, Book 
 the 6th. Page 269. Now, the Reader mayphafe to ohferve that Fuller here fpeaks of 
 the Friers in General., as comprehending all the Four Orders ot the Mendicants : 
 But 1 have to do with only the Francifcans, fhall account for fuch Huufes of theirs as 
 
 feem to have enjoy d Rents, and now go on to their Convents •, In the Treating whereof, 
 if it is fometimes neceffary to make Repetitions of Things already mentioned, I hope it may 
 be (xcufed. 
 
 The Francifcans, by their Profeffion, are incapable of any Propriety : Their Rule de- 
 clares them Pilgrims in this World, without any Right to Hmfe or Home ; and 
 therefore the impartial Reader cannot reafonably be fcandaliz^ed if fome of them are faid 
 to have farrender''d the Convents which they had no jiriEl Right to, were none of their 
 own, but belonged to the Commonalty, or their Founders, who gave Way to the Times. 
 Other Religious Men had a Right to their Dwelling-Places, which the Francifcans had 
 not j their hard Circumjlances in thatjun^ure crave Compaffmj rather than Cenfure. 
 
 Aa 
 
 I
 
 An Alphabetical INDEX 
 
 Of the Towns and Places where heretofore ftood the 
 Convents belonging to the Englifh Francifcan Province ; 
 intcrmix'd with fome Convents in France buitt by the 
 Euglijh, and feeming to have had fome Dependance 
 upon the Provincial of England-^ with a Mark upon fuch 
 of them as (at the Suppreffion) were reckon'd to have 
 Rents, and fuch as had none, but fubfifted wholly upon 
 the Alms of Benefadors. 
 
 I A Ilefhury^ in Buchnghamfhire \ 
 f\ Valued at 3I. 2s. 5d. for the 
 Houfe and its Site. No Revenues of 
 Lands. Page 37. j<[. i. 
 
 2 Anglifey, an Idand of Wales, 
 LLanvais^ near Beau-maris^fuhfi{\ed up- 
 on Alms, and had no Valuation put 
 upon it at the Diffolution. P, 37. N. 2. 
 
 B 
 
 3 Bedford, the County Town •, va- 
 lued at no more than 5 /. So, no Rents. 
 rage 16. N. S- 
 
 . 4 Berwick^ in Northumberland i No 
 Rents were here accounted lor. Page 
 31. N- 7. 
 
 5 Beverley, in Torkjhire. No Valu- 
 ation recorded as put upon this Con- 
 vent. Page i6. N. 5. 
 
 6 Bodmin, the County Town of 
 Cornvpal. No Revenues of Lands, Page 
 23. N. 9- 
 
 7 Softony in Lincolnjliirt. No Rents, 
 or Lands accounted for to this Houfe. 
 P4gt 15. A". 4. 
 
 8 Bourdeax, in France, the Fran- 
 cifcans Convent built by the King of 
 England, &c. Page 41. ISf. 1. 
 
 9 Bridgenorth, in Shropjhire. Valued 
 at 4 /. for Buildings &c. No Rents. 
 Page 32 N. 3. 
 
 10 Bridgewater, in Somerfetjliire. Va- 
 lued at 120/. I s)i. I ^. Yearly Revenues. 
 Page 21. N. 3. 
 
 11 Briftol in Glocefierjlnre, Not ra- 
 ted •, no Lands, or Rei.ts belong'd to 
 this Houfe. Page 20. N. i . 
 
 I 2 Brougham^ or Brough-, in Weflmore- 
 land. No Valuation regiftred : No 
 Rents. Page 38. iV. 3. 
 
 1 3 Bury St. Edmunds, or Babervel, in 
 Suffolk. No Valuation mention'd : No 
 Rents. P^^ff 18. iV. 4. 
 
 14 Caerdi^e, in Wales-, Npt rated: 
 No Rents. Page 23. N. 8. 
 
 I S Caermarthen, in Wales. Valued at 
 174 /. 8 s. in Speed's Catalogue i which 
 feems to be a Miftake*, as may be feeu. 
 Page 22. N. 6,
 
 An Index of Places and Conuents. 
 
 VI 
 
 \6 Camhridge, the County Town. 
 No Valuation upon Record . No Rents. 
 Fage \6. N. 1. 
 
 17 Ctnterhury^ the Conventuals l)ore 
 are rated at 39 /. 1 2 j. 8 d. ob. But the 
 Obfe>vuntshzyeno Valuation put upon 
 them. Vage 7. N. 2. 
 
 18 Carlifle^ the County Town of 
 CumberUnd. No Valuation accounted 
 for. Ro Rents. Page 30. N- 5. 
 
 1 9 Chefter^ the County Town. Not 
 rated, Page 35. N- 6. 
 
 20 Chichejhrj in S.vjffJt. Not rated. 
 Prf^f 1 4. N. 7. 
 
 21 Colcheflery m Epx. No Rents. 
 ?rf^ei8. N. 3. 
 
 22 Condcm, in ^tjuitdnia, built by 
 an Englifh Nobleman. P<jjf 41, A'^. 2. 
 
 23 Coventry, in IVarwicijhire. No Re- 
 venues, or Rents of Lands ^ lived 
 upon Alms.P^jf33- iV, 5, 
 
 ... iji. _ D 
 
 24 DomAJier^'m Torkjlnre. Ko Rents. 
 Tage 15 A1 2. 
 
 25 Dorchefter^ the County Town of 41.^. 3 
 
 32 Crtenwichf in /uTwr. No Rents. 
 Page 38. iV. 4. 
 
 33 Greenwich^ Aliens, No Valuation. 
 P.ige 38. A^. 5, _ 
 
 34 Grimsby, in Lincolnjhire. Not ra- 
 ted, P.ige 16. N.T- 
 
 H 
 
 3 5 Haddiugton, in Scotland. Not ra- 
 ted. P/ig^e 30. iV. 4: 
 
 }5 HameUy'in Hampjhire. Not rated. 
 P<?^f 40. A'. I. 
 
 37 Hartlepaole,\n the B'fhoprick of 
 Durham. No Valuation upon Record. 
 P^^f 3 1 . A". 6. 
 
 38 Hereford, the County Town. 
 Rated at 121 /. 3 /. 3<i. oi>. But this is 
 fhew'd a Miftake. Page 2\. N. ^. 
 
 39 Ipfmich, in Suffolk. Not rated. 
 Page 20. A^. 8. 
 
 40 Lancafier, the County Town. No 
 Rents. Page 37. N. 8. 
 
 4! Libourne, in jit^uitania, &c. /'^^f 
 
 Dorjetjhire. Not rated in Speed's Cata- 
 logue, /"rf^e 23. AT. 7. 
 
 2d Dumfreife in Scotland. Not rated. 
 P<8ge 30. AT. 3. 
 
 '27 Dundee, in Scotland. No Rents, 
 f^r^e 30. A^. 2. 
 
 28, Dunwich, in Suffolk. No Rents. 
 P<«gc 19. AT. 5. 
 
 42 Lichfield, in St afford (hire. No 
 Rents. p<«^f 3<5. AT. 7. 
 
 43 I-mc/^r, the County Town. No 
 Rents. Page 29. A7. 7. 
 
 44 Lewes, in 5«/fA:. No Valuation, 
 ^ff 13.7V. 5. 
 
 45 Lincoln, the County Town. Not 
 rated, /'^^e 15- ^- 3- 
 
 45 Linne,\a Norfolk. No Valuation. 
 
 29 Exeter, the County Town of Page 20. A^. 9. 
 Devonfiiirt. Rated at 102 /. 12 j. 9 ^. in 47 London, Valued at 32 /. 19 s. od. 
 
 Speed's Catalogue •, but thefe Rents be- 
 long'd to the Black Canons, for whom it 
 was endow'd after the Friers lett it. 
 Page n.N. 5. 
 
 30 Gloceji-er, the County Town. 
 No Valuation accounted to this Friery. 
 Pag€ 21. N. 2. 
 
 31 Grantham, in LiMolnJhirt, Not 
 .^ Kited. Page 29. N. 2. 
 
 Page 1. N- I. 
 
 48 London, a 2d. Convent. Not valu- 
 ed. Page 38. A". 6. 
 
 49 Ludlow, in Shropflnre. No Rents. 
 
 Page^9.N.l. 
 
 M 
 
 50 Marlborough, in WiltJIiire. Not ra- 
 ted. F*^* 40. AT. 2. 
 
 51 Maydfton, in A'f»r. Kot rated. 
 Prfjf 39. iV. 8.
 
 An Index of T laces and Conuents. 
 
 52 Miltoutti in Dcr/et(hire. Not ra- 
 ted. Page 40. N. 3. 
 
 53 Mount Fernanda in Foreign Parts. 
 Tage 41. N. 4. 
 
 N 
 
 54 Newark., in KJottinghamdire : Oh- 
 fervants : No Revenues upon Record. 
 Page 39. iV. 9. 
 
 55 NewcaftUy in Nor thumber land ; 
 
 Vil 
 
 ; Ohfervants. 
 
 67 Rtchmondt in 5ar>"^ 
 No Rents. /'^^^ 39. AT. 13. 
 
 68 Roxborozigh, in Scotlaid, belong'd 
 to the Provihce of England. Noc indow'd 
 Prf^f 3l.iV. 8. 
 
 (Jp Salisbury^ in Wilijlure. Not valu- 
 ed. Prf^f I4. iV. 8. 
 
 70 Scarborough, in Torkfhire. Not ra- 
 
 firft Conventual s ; thenObfervants •, and ted. P^^f 15. iV. 6 
 
 h^ly Conve?:tuals : But no Valuation re- 71 Sljrewsbury, the County Town. 
 
 corded. No Rents. Page^o.N.i. Not rated. P^^? 32. N. 4. 
 
 56 Northam^toa, the Qounty Town. '^l Southampton, the County Town of 
 
 Valued at 5 /. 7 j. 4 d. for the Inclo- Hampfliire. Sometime Obfervants. No Va- 
 
 fure, &c jSo no Rents. Page 29. iVT. 6. lue. Page 12. N. 4 
 
 57 Nottingham^ the County Towi:. 
 No Rents. P^^f 29, i\7. 5. 
 
 58 Norwich^ the County Town. No 
 Rents. Page 17. JV. 2. 
 
 O 
 
 59 Oxford., the County Town. Not 
 rated. Page 23. N I. 
 
 P 
 
 5o Pwr/f^ or Pereth^'m Cumberland. 
 Not rated. P/gf 39- AT, 19. 
 
 61 Plimouth, in DtvoKpiire. Not ra- 
 ted. Page '39. i\r. IT. 
 
 61 Pontfra^ in Yorijhire. No Value. 
 Page 39. iV. 12. 
 
 73 Stafford, the County Town. Va- 
 lued, at the Suppreffion, at 35. 13. 10. 
 Page 37. N. 9. _ 
 
 74 Stanford, in Lincolnflnre. Not va- 
 lued. /'<j^f ij. N. 4. 
 
 75 5fo/^e. !^^«r Hamden- Church, in 
 Somerfetflnre. No Valuation recorded. 
 /'<?fe40. iV. 14. 
 
 W 
 
 76 WalCtngham, in Norfolk. Not Va- 
 lued. P.*^? 1 9. N- 6. 
 
 77 W<jre, in Hertfordfliire. Not ra- 
 ted. Page 11. N 5. 
 
 78 ir-«rm;^fow, in Lancajhire. No 
 
 63 Prefion^ iu Lancajhire. No Value. Value. P4j< 40. N^. 15. 
 
 P««g<r 32. N.2. 
 
 Not rated. 
 
 R 
 
 64 Reading, the County Town of 
 Berks. No Valuation put upon this 
 Houfe. No Rents. Page 26. N. 2. 
 
 6$ Reole, in France., built by the 
 Engltjh, &c. P^^e 42. A^. 5. 
 
 66 Richmond., the County Town ot 
 RichmondJI)ire. No Revenues accounted 
 for. Page ji. N, 9. 
 
 79 iVinchelfey, in Suffcx. 
 Page 12. N. 3. 
 
 80 IVuKhefier, in fj^lmpjhire. 'No Va- 
 lue. /"(Jff 14. iV/- 9- 
 
 81 Worcefter, the County Town. NoC 
 rated. Page 32. N. 1. 
 
 82 T.irmouth,in Norfolk. Not Valued. 
 Page 2C. N. 7- 
 
 83 York, the County Town. Not ra- 
 ted. Page l\. N, I, 
 
 The
 
 viii An Index of Places an^ Convents. 
 
 ri^HE Englifh Fraiicifcan Provincial had ("as 'tis ilxxd) Four, or more, Convents 
 
 X in Ireland, whofe Names I cannot learn ;So cannot make them Part of this 
 Index. The Obftrvants likewile had Twelve Convents in England, of which 
 Kumber I have named S/at; the other S/.xrare not named in particular.- But, 
 from hence, I guefs that the Francifcan Provincial of England had, under his 
 Obedience, Ninety Convents, or thereabouts, befides Vicarfhips, Refidences, 
 and Nunneries. 
 
 Thefe Convents were ruled by Guardians^ or Wardens, who were the Imme- 
 diate Superiours of thefaid Convents ; which wefe divided into feveral Cuflo- 
 dies ; a Cuftody being a certain Number of thele Convents under the Govern- 
 ment of a Superiour, call'd a Cuftos ; who was cholen to that Office (as the 
 Guardians to theirs were) by the Plurality of the Votes of the Friers in their 
 Provincial Chapters ; wherein likewile was choCen a Mtnifier Provincial, under 
 whofe Obedience and Government were the Ca/?o^«, Guardians^ and every Per- 
 fon of the whole Province. 
 
 The Religious Women, or Nuns, of the Order of Saint CUre, heretofore in 
 England, having not above Six or Seven Houfes whofe Names are come to my 
 Knowledge, 1 refer the Reader to the yippendix for them ; too little being faid 
 of them to require an Index' 
 
 NOtANDV M. 
 
 Every one of the Francifcan Convents had a Seal belonging to the Office of 
 tht Guardian oi each Houfe refpeclively : But the Memory of thefe is now lofl, 
 except of thefe following, viz. l. Of Greenwich, where the Seal was The Holy 
 Name of Jefus. 1. London ; St. Francis. 3. York ; St. Thomas, Martyr. 4. Cambridge ', 
 The Stigma^ s of St. Francis. %. Briflol ; Saint Anthony of Padua. 6. Oxford; St. 
 Agnellus, or Angelus. 7. Newcaple ; Saint Francis, with a Crofs in his Hand. 8. 
 Worcefter ^ St. Bernardine. The Seals of the other Convents (that heretofore 
 were) 1 have not found •, nor am I certain whether thefe, above' men- 
 tion'd, were the Enfigns and Seals of the Guardians of the faid Convents, 
 or of the Cvflos% of the named Cujiodies ; but I believe they wereufed 
 for Both, and only diftinguifh'd by the Inlcription on the. Rim of the 
 Seal ; one being the Seal of fuch a Cujiody, and the other of fuch a Convent : feu 
 Sigttlum Cujiodis C^c. vel Sigillum Cuardiani ConvcntuSy &c. 
 
 THE
 
 ^^ r7y7Vr\y^h^77; p/^C^r7//r//ra/7 //'/Y/i A/'j ?///?/ ^/"/e.
 
 (> ) 
 
 ! ^#. '^ it *'is ^ > 'f ^ I A O'^' ji o -f .^ 'O? .^ f >. '^ * f is f ji f is -f is ^ * e 'f * 'UtOJ S 
 ^^ 
 
 THE 
 
 SECOND PART 
 
 0/ the Convents, Churches, &c, of the Francif- 
 cans heretofore in England, and elfewhere, be- 
 longing to the Englifli Province oj the Friers 
 Minors, 
 
 j'jR. Francis (jA) Harolct^ the Epitomizer of Waddingh Annals of the 
 Friers Minors, writes that when St. Bonaventure held a General 
 Chapter of the Order at iV^jrWe, in France., Anno 1258, the Eng- 
 li(h Province of the Friers Minors feven in thofe early DaysJ is 
 there reckon'd to have 5ezie« C!/y?o,^»(r/, viz I.London. II. Torh III. 
 Cambridge. IV. Brifiol. V. Oxford. VI. Nervcafile. VII. Worcefier. 
 And 5r. Bartholomew (h^dePifa, Anno 1399, und J'Vadding-, Anno I4CO, enume- 
 rate thefe Seven Cuflodies as then comprifing Sixty Convents, viz; 
 
 I. The Cuftody of Z.oWo« confifted of Xhek Nine Convents, viz. I. OC London. 
 2. Of Canterbury. 3. Of Winchelfey. 4. O^ Southampton. 5. Of Ware. 6. Oi Lewes. 
 7. Of Chichefler. 8. Of 5<«//jW>'. 9- Of IVi'.chefier. 
 
 II. The Cuftody of Tork hAd Seven Convents ; viz. I. Tork. 2. Doncajier. 3. £««- 
 co/». 4. .5o/?a« 5. Beverley. 6. Scarborough. 'J. Grimsby. 
 
 III. The Cuftody of Cambridge had Nine Conventi ; viz. I. Cambridge. 2. Nort- 
 nich. s- Colchefter. .^. Bury St. Edmunds. 5. Donwich, 6.WalJingham. 7. Tarmouth. 8. 
 Jpfwich. 9. Lynne. 
 
 IV. The Cuftody of Brifiol hzd Nine Convents ; viz. i. .Sny?o/. 2. Glocefter. 3. 
 Bridgewater. 4. Hereford. 5. Exeter. 6. Caermarden. 7. Dorchefier. 8. Cardiffe. p. 
 
 V. The Cuftody of Oxford had £«^k Convents ; viz. I. Oxford. 2. Reading. 3. 
 Bedford. 4. Stanjord- 5. Nottingham. 6, Northampton. 7. Leicelier. 8. Grantham. 
 
 N n VI. 
 
 (a) /» f»»e P<»r</j 2rf<. (b) Lii. Conformit.
 
 2 The Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans. 
 
 VI. The Cuftody of Newcaftle had ISltne Convents •■, viz. I. Nervcafile. 2. Dundee. 
 S- Dumfnfe. 4. Hadington. $ Carlile. 6. Hartlepoole. 7. Berwick. 8. Roxborough. 9. 
 Klchmond. 
 
 VII. The Cuftody of Worcefter had Nine Convents ;viz. I. Worcejler. l. Trejion. 
 3. Bridgenorth. 4. Shrewsbury. ^. Coventry. 6. Chejter. 7. Litchfield. 8. Lancnfter. 9. 
 
 To this faid Number of Sixty Convents, feveral others were at laft added ; and 
 the Names and Places of fome of them are as follow, viz, I. AUesbury. 2. Beau- 
 maris. 3, Greenwich- 4. Greenwich, Aliens. 5. Brough. 6. London. 7. Ludlow- 8. 
 Maydfion. 9. Milton. 10. Newark. 11. Penrith. 12. Plymouth. I 3. Pontfra[l. T4. .^;ci- 
 mond- \%. Stoke under //<iw,^fff, and others, which fhall hereafter be named. 
 
 Thefe Convents were i.oc come to the Knowledge of Pifanus, Anno \ 399, 
 when he writ of the others, and 'tis very probable that fome of them were noc 
 then built.- Of the other Convents belonging to this Province I fhall fpeak in 
 their Place, and now go to thefe already mention'd; not obferving an alphabeti- 
 cal Order, or the Date of their being built ^ But as 1 find them regiftred in the 
 Catalogues above named-, after which, I will go on to the reft, giving as good 
 an Account as I can learn of their Site, their Founders, their Benefaftors, In- 
 terments in their Churches, &c j as alfo which of them are faid to have re- 
 ceived Rents, and which not, according to Mr. Speed, who, at the End ot his 
 Hiftory of the Reign of King Henry the 2ih, has fet down a Catalogue which 
 is laid to be a true Copy of that which was taken by a fpecial CommiJIion and 
 given in to that King by the famous Antiquary Mr. John Leland, at the Time ot 
 the DifTolution of the Religious Houfes in England : There feems indeed to be 
 fome Miftakesmade by the Publilher of the laid Catalogue \ but thefe (as far 
 as they relate to the Francifcans) ihall be here fairly ftated, and correfted by 
 Mr. Weever, Doflor Tanner, and the late Author of a Summary of the Religious 
 Houfes in EngLmd and Wales^Scc. Printed &t London, in the Year 1717- 
 
 I. A particular Accourtt of the Francifain Convents of the Province of Eng- 
 land, and firrt of the great Convent of London, and the other Convents 
 of that Cuftody. 
 
 I. T Ondon. When the Francifcans came firft to this City, they werepla- 
 
 I J ced in a certain Houfe in Comhitl, by one Trevers (John Travars he is 
 
 call'd by Stow, C^) who fays he was one <^f the Sheriffs of London) who hired 
 the laid Houfe for them, and with the Aiil'^^nce of fome other charitable Citi- 
 zens, caus'd it to be fitted up with Cells conveniently lor them: And fo greac 
 was the Edification which thefe Friers gave, that the Citizens, infpirited with 
 Devotion, foon took Care to remove them to a more open and proper Place, in 
 in the Market, or Shambles of St. Nicholas, in Farringdon-Wurd Within ; where 
 they b'jilt them a famous Convent, whole chief Founder was John Ewin Mercer, 
 who purchas'd the Ground, and was at a great Part of the Expences of the 
 
 Bu'kiings, 
 
 (ji)Sti.ie's Survey of London. '
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcansi 3 
 
 Buildings, which he appropriated, or made over to the Commonality of the 
 City (as Stow writes) and then entred into the fame Order of Friers, as a Lay 
 Brother. 
 
 WilUam Juyner^ Lord Mayor of London^ built (aj the Quire of the Francifcan 
 Church, near NewgatCy which Stow calls a Chappel, and adds, that it coft him 
 200 I. Sterling, and is Part ot the Chancel as it now ftands. William Walleys., 
 vihom Stow caWs Henry Walleis^ Lord Mayor of London, built the Nave, or main 
 Body of the Church, which afterwards was pull'd down, and made it as it 
 now is. William Porter, Alderman of London, made the Chapter-Houfe, and 
 gavefeveral VefTels of Brafs for the Kitchin, andalfo built their Offices. Tho- 
 mas Felcham bailt the Veftry-Houfe. Gregory Bohjley, or Rnkefley, built the 
 Dormitory. Bartholomew de Caftello, or Caftle, built the Refeftory. ?eter de 
 Baliland, the Infirmary i 9.vA Roger Bond, Herald and King at Arms, built the 
 Library and the studies. 
 
 Queen Margaret, fecond Wife to Edward the Firft, began the Quire of their 
 New Church, Anno 1^06 \ to the Building whereof, in her Life-time, {he gave 
 2000 Marks, and loo Marks more by her laft Will and Teftament. John Britaine, 
 Earl of Richmond, hu\\t the Body of the Church, to the Charges of 300 1. and 
 gave many rich Jewels and Ornaments to be ufed in the fame. Mary de St. Pauly 
 Countefsof Pembroke, gave 70 1. Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Glocefier, gave twenty 
 great Beams of Timber out of his Forreft of Tunbridge, in Kent, and 20 1. Ster- 
 ling in Money. EUanore, Lady Spencer, and Eliz.abeth de Burgh, Countels of Olfery 
 Sifter to Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Chcefter^ gave great Sums of Money towards 
 the Work, as alio did divers Citizens, as Arnold deToUnea, or ToUman, gave 
 20 1. Sterling. Robert, Lord Baron Lijle gave 300I, and afterwards became a 
 Frier Minor here. Bartholomew of Almaine gave 50 I. f/Z^^^w/?, Queen, Mother 
 to Edward the 3d gave 70 1. Philippa, Queen, Wiie to Edward the ^d gave 62 1. 
 This Work was finifh'd in the Space of twenty one Years, viz. Anno 1337' 
 
 The Windows of this Church were made at the Expence of divers Perfons.' 
 The Vault, or arch'd Roof of the Quire, was made of Wainfcot, by many Bene- 
 faftors, at the Coft of 200 Marks ; and the Painting of the Church, alfo by 
 feveral, at the Charges of <^o Marks. The Lady Margaret Segrave, Countefs of 
 Norfolk, wasat the Expences of making new Seats or atalls in the Quire, to the 
 Value of 350 Marks, about the Tear 1380. Their Water-courfe, Conduit-head, 
 and Water-houfe were given them by William Tayler^ King Henry the ^us Shoe- 
 maker, fays Leland, Stow CaysTailor. 
 
 Richard Whittington, Knight, and Lord Mayor of London, Anno 1429, built 
 the Library, 119 Foot long, and 31 foor broad, wainfcoted all about, having in it 
 28 Desks and eight double Settles of Wainfcot •, which, in the Year followiflg, 
 was wholly finift'd in building j and within three Years after, furnifh'd with 
 Books, to the Charges of 556/. \o. s. whereof the faid Richard Whittington hire 
 400I. and the reft'was born by Doftor Thomas Winchelfey, a Frier here ; And for the 
 
 N n 2 writing 
 
 (a^i Colledan.Vol. I. pag. 10% & 109.
 
 4 The Antiquities of the Englifli Franclfcans! 
 
 writing out of Br. Dodlor de Lyras Works, in two Volumes, to be chained 
 there, loo Marks. So Lelatid zxA Srorv, in the Places above quoted. 
 
 Notandtim. It may be prefumed that tliis Br. Doilor Wmchdfey procured the 
 laid Sums of Money from certain Benefaftors who were willing to contribute to 
 fo good a Work .- Which is all that can be meau'd by his being laid to have 
 given fo much. 
 
 The Frauciican Church here was dedicated to the Honour of God (as all 
 Churches are) and St. Francis was the Title and fpecial Patron thereof^ And it 
 contain'd in Length 300 Foot \ in Breadth 89 Foot -^ and in Heigth, from the 
 Ground to the Root, 69 Foot and 2 Inches. 
 
 This Convent, at thegeneral Suppreilion, was ratedat 32/. \gs tod- as 'tis 
 Valued in Speed's Catalogue \ which is fo very inconfiderable, that it cannot realb- 
 tiably be accaunted any more than a Ground-Rent arifmg afterwards from the 
 Sice of the Buildings and the Ground within the Precinfts of the Inclofure; 
 Islow an Holpital for the Education of Blue-coat- Boys : And, wou'd to God none 
 of the other Religious Houfes had been worfe ufed. 
 
 This Church (fays A/r. (?i)ii^ecver) has been honour'd with the Sepulture of 
 Four Queens, Four Dutchejfes, Four Counteffes, One Duke, Two Earls, Eight Barons^ 
 and fome "Thirty five Knights\ and in all, from the firfl Foundation unto the 
 ^ Dilfolution, 5/.V hundred Sixty and three Perfons of Quality were here interr'd. 
 
 In the Quire were nine Tombs of Alabafter and Marble, inviron'd with 
 Barrs or Strikes of Iron;, and Seven Score Grave-Stones of Marble, in divers 
 Places ; All which were pull'd down, taken away, and fold for Fifty Pounds, or 
 thereabouts, by Sir Martin Bowes, Mayor of London, Anno 1545. The refl of 
 the Monuments are now wholly defaced, not one remaining at this Day, lave fuch 
 which are of later Time. So Weever, Ibidem. 
 
 Some of thole who have Patience enough to read over thele ColleEHons may 
 perhaps defire to know who the Perfons were that here found their Places of Bu- 
 rial, and therefore 1 will now give the Names of fome of them, as they are re- 
 lated in Stew's Survey of London, omitting the Date of their relpeftive Deaths, 
 which may be found in that Author. 
 
 The now defaced Monuments in this Church were thefe.- Ftrft ; in the Quire ; 
 of Queen Margaret, Daughter of Philip the Hardy, King of France, and Second 
 Wifeto£<3'iP.^r^ the Firfl of England, Foundrefs of this Church. Ifahel, Q,aeen, 
 Wife to Edward the Second of England- Joan of the lower. Queen of Scots, Wife ot 
 David Bruife, Daughter to Edward the Second of England. William Fitz.waren, and 
 Ifabel, his Wife, fome time Queen of the j^fo/ Man. Ifabel, Daughter to Edward 
 the ■id, wedded, to theLoxdiCoufe, of Francs, afterwards created Earl of Bedford. 
 Eleanore, \N\ietoJohn, Duke of Britain: Ih.h'John I take to be the Father of 
 fohn Britain, Earl ot Richmond, above mention'd, who built the Bo.v of this 
 Church, at the Expence ot 300 /, whx> (as iVeever fav«) was John de Dxux, Second 
 So . of John Duke of Britaine, by Re<'jrice, his Wife, naughtc" of Henry the 
 Ihird. Sir Robert Life, Baron j the Lady Lifle •, and M.i'^aret de R,vtrs, C'lun- 
 
 tefs 
 
 (a) Funeral Monuments, in thtDiocels of London, ^ag, 5S3.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans-^ 5 
 
 tefs of Devonjhire : All under one Stone. Hoger Mortimer^ Earl of March. Patar^ 
 Bifhop of Carbon^ in Hungary. Gregory Rockfley, Lord Mayor of London. Sir John 
 Devereux, Knight. John H-iflings, Earl of Pembroke. Margaret, Daughter of 
 Thomas Brotharton, Earl Marfhal : She was Dutchefs of Norfolk., and Countefs 
 Marlhal, and Lady Segrave. Richard Havering, Knight. Robert Trifilian, Knight, 
 Chief Juflice. John Philpot, Knight, Mayor ot London, and the Lady Jane Stam- 
 ford, his Wife. John, Duke of Burbon and j4ngue. Earl of Claremondznd Montpen" 
 cier, and Baron Beangen ; who was taken Prifoner at Jgencourt, and held Prifoner 
 for the Space ot eighteen Years. Robert Chaions,Kn'\^ht ; and John Chalons. Sir 
 Nicholas Brembar, Mayor ot London. Elizabeth Nevil, Wife to John, Son and 
 Heir to Ralph Earl of Weflmorland, and Mother to Ralph Earl of WeflmorUnd, 
 and Daughter of Thomas Holland, Earl of Kent. Edward Bumel Son to the 
 Lord Burnel. 
 
 In Allh allows Chappel; 
 James Fines, Lord Say, and Helenore his Wife. John Smith, Blihop of Lan-' 
 dajf. John, Baron Hilton John, Baron Clinton. Richard Hafiings, Knight, Lord 
 oi Willoughby ^xiAWells. Robert Lifle, Son and Heir to the Lord Life. 
 
 In our Lad)'*s Chaff el. 
 John Gifors, of London, Knight, and Lord Mayor. Humphrey Stafford, Efqr, 
 of Worctflerfhire. Robert Bartram, Baron of Bothel. Ralph Barons, Knight. IVil- 
 liam Afleton, Knight. Reynold de Cambrey, Knight. John Butler, Knight. Adam 
 de Huwton, Knight. Reinfrede Arundel, Knight. Bartholomexo Cafter, Knighc. iTjo- 
 mas Covil, Efqr; and Thomas Beaumond, Son and Heir to Henry Lord Beaumond. 
 
 In the AposiWs Chappel. 
 Walter Blunt, Knight of the Garter, and Lord Mount joy, Tre^iCnrer of England, 
 Son and Heir to T. Blunt, Knight, Treafurer ot Normandy ; and E. Blunt, 
 Lord Mountjoy. Alice Blunt, Mountjoy, fome time Wife of William Browne, Mayor 
 of London, and Daughter ot H- Kebel, Mayor ;, and John Blunt, Knight ; and 
 Rowland Blunt, Ef^r. Anne Blunt, Daughter of John Blunt, Knight, Lord A^untjoy j 
 and Elizabeth Blvnt, Wife of Robert Curfon, Knight. William Blunt, Efqr, Son 
 and Heir to {•{'<«/fer £/«»r, Captain of Gwynes. John Blunt, Lord Moumioy, Captain 
 of Gwynes and Hames. Ba tholomew Burwajh, and John Burwajh, his 6on. Nicho- 
 las Clifton, Knight •, and Francis Chape. John Dinham, Baron, fom2 time Trea- 
 furer of England, Knight ot the Garter. Eleanore, Ducchefs of Buckingham, 
 Sir 7 Greene, Knight, and Thomas Malory, Knight. Sir ^lle:t Cheiny, Knight. 
 Two Sons of Allayne Lord Cheiny ; and John, Son and Heir ta the fame. Lord 
 AUayne Cheiny, K^'ght, and Allayne Cheiny, Knight. John Robfart, Knight of the 
 Garter. Walter Wrotfey Ki.igiit., of W.irwickjhire, &nd Rob/rt Bradbury. Thomas 
 Ton^, a Jeiltice of the BeiiCh. John Baldwin, Fellow of Grays Inn, and common 
 Sergeant ot London. Sh Stefhen Jennings, Mayor. Thomas a Par, &nd John Wilt- 
 water, flain at B .met-Fidd, Robert Elkenton, Knight. Nicholas Poynez, Etqr; John 
 Water, A Us 7'orke^ ii&iiid. John More y^VidiS Nory, King of Arms, and George 
 Ho^ton, Knighc
 
 S The Antiquities of the EngliOi Francifcans. 
 
 Between the Quire and the Altur. 
 
 Ralph Spiganel, Knight. John Moyle, Gentleman, of Grays-Inn. John Cohham^ 
 a Baron of Kent. William Huddy, Km^ht. John Mortaine^ Knight. John Deyncort^ 
 Knight. John Norbury, Efcjr^ high Treafurer ot England, and Henry Norhury, his 
 Son, Efqr. John Southlee, Knight. Thomas Sackvile, Knight. Thomas Lucy, Knight. 
 Hugh Par/all Knight. Alexander Kirketon, Knight. Thomas Aialmaynas, Efqr, and 
 Nicholas Malmaynas. Robert de la Rivar^ Son of Maurice de la Rivar^ Lord of Tor- 
 mertor. 
 
 In the Nave, or Body of the Church. 
 
 William Paulet, Efqr. Sir Bartholomew Emfield, Knight. Sir Bernard St. Peter, 
 Knight. Sir Ralph Sandwich, Knight, Cuftos of London. 
 
 Belldes many others nam'd by Stow, in his Survey of London, who concludes 
 his long Catalogue, faying, All thefe, and five times fo many more have been buried 
 there, whofe Monuments are wholly defaced. So Stow. 
 
 Notandum. I do no where find that the Friers here had any Lands ; nor do's 
 Letand (a) lay they enjoy'd Rents ; but, fpeaking of this Church, he writes, 
 that, at the Time ot its SupprelHon, it was reckon d to fpend yearly (difpendere 
 annuatim) 32 1. 19 s. which feems to have Reference to the Expencesof its Re- 
 parations rather than to the Maintenance of the Community of Friers, who 
 might be fupported by the Charity ot free Givers, or from fome Fund rais'd by 
 their Benefaftors for that Purpofe : And, that the Friers here did fubfift after 
 this Manner, feems very plain, by the not mentioning of any Lands or Revenues ; 
 as will appear hereafter. In the mean time the curious Reader may fee much 
 more ot this Convent and Church in Steven s Monafi icon, F'ol. T. 
 
 This Houfe was fupprefs'd or furrender'd (by the Warden Br. Thomas Chapman, 
 DD. and 25 Friers, Burnet (b) ikys) on the \2th Day of November 1539 i The 
 Ornaments and Goods being taken to the King's Ufe, the Church, was fhut up 
 for a. time, and ufed for a Store Houfe for Goods taken Prizes from the French. So 
 Stow, ts above quoted ; who goes on thus, viz. 
 
 In tht.lCear 1546, on the 3^ of January, it was again fetopen; on which Day 
 preach'd, at St. Paulas Crofs, the Bifbop ot Rochefler, where he declared the 
 King's Gift thereof to the City, for the relieving of the Poor ; which Gift 
 was granted by P<jre»f J, and an Agreement was made between the King and the 
 Mayor and Commonality of London, by which the faid Gift of the Gray Friers 
 Church, v/hh all the Edifices and Ground, the Fratry, the Library, the Dortor 
 and Chapter-Houfc, the great Cloifter and the LefTer ; Tenements, Gardens, 
 and vacant Grounds,. Lead, Stone, Iron, crc, was confirm'd. 
 
 Notandum. This was the proper Place and Time, to have raention'd the 
 Friers Lands, or Rents, if they had poflefs'd any ; But not one Word is faid of 
 any fuch Thing, but only of their Buildings, Gardens, &c ; all which were va- 
 lued at no more than 32/. i^s. ood. although their Inclofute was large and their 
 Offices many. This Value was fo iucoi-fiderable, that the King, defigning to 
 
 make 
 
 (a) ColleQan. Vol. i. f4rt. I. fag. 108. and 109. (b) Uifi. of Reformation, part. I. Booh 3.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifli Francifcans. ^, 
 
 mate this a Parifh Church, was forced to endow it with the Addition of St Bar- 
 tholomew's Hofpitalj'm SmithfieldM^ely valued at 305 1.6 s.'] d^ and furrender'd to 
 his Majefty, and the Church of the fame, the Lead, Bells, and Ornaments of the 
 laid Hofpital, with all the MelTuages, Tenements, and Appurtenances ; as alfo 
 the Parifhes of 5ir. Nicholas and of St. Evin., and lo much of St. Pulchers Parifh 
 as is wkhin Newgate 1, which were all made into one Parifh, in the Church of the 
 Francifcans, now call'd Chrifi Churchy founded by King Henry the Eighth. A 
 wry odd Foundation {'fays Stevens) to let two Churches of Four flan d^ fubverting the 
 other Two., and agood Hofpital, and to call htmfelf a Founder ! But his Majefty more- 
 over gave 500 Marks yearly for ever, in Land, for the Support of this Ne\v 
 Parifh. 
 
 \nth&Tear 1552, began the Repairing of the Gray-Friers-Houfci for poorfa- 
 therlefs Children : And, in the Month of November^ the Children were taken in- 
 to the fame, to the Number of almofl 400, and upon Chriftmafs-Day, they 
 all appear'd in one Livery of Ruffet Cotton, 34c in Number ; And, at Eafier 
 next, they were in Blue at the Hofpital, and fo have continued ever fince. So 
 Stow, Ibidem. 
 
 From hence may be conjeftured what a numerous Community of Friers 
 hereiofore dwell'd in thisHoufe, which is large enough to hold /oar /^aw^r^^^ Boys.^ 
 befides many other Perfons, as Mafters, Direftors, Servants, and others. 
 
 1 will conclude this Article of the Francifcan Convent here with Mr. FuDer, 
 (a) who (as 'tis his Way) makes himfelf merry with a Joke upon the poor 
 Friers, Thus, * They have a ftrong Fancy that Chrifi-Church, in London, fhall 
 ' once be theirs at the next return of Times. The Beft is, being to go bare-foot by 
 ' the Rules of their Order, they are well provided to wait for dead Men's Shoos.' 
 So that Author. 
 
 Now, who cou'd have thought that a grave Do£tor wou'd have been guilty of 
 fuch a Levity as to offer to obtrude upon the World a Notion that the Friers 
 are fo very filly as to harbour fuch an ungrounded Fancy ? But it is plain the Doftor 
 only aim'd to bring in the merry Conceit of barefooted Friers waiting for dead Mens 
 Shoos : So he has lugg'd it in by Head and Shoulders •, whilft the poor well- 
 meaning Friers, contented under the Aufterities of a devout, penitential Life, 
 and abftradled from all worldly Views, give themfelves no Leiliire to harbour 
 any fuch airy and groundlefs Fancies •, they know full well that they are but Pil- 
 grims on Earth, and their main Bufinefs is to aim at that lafling Abode prepared 
 for them in Heaven. 
 
 II. Canterbury. The Francifcans that firfl came mto EnglandyVteie Bd. Br. 
 j4griellus de Pifa, their Provincial, and his Companions; who, being come to 
 Canterbury, were charitably harbour'dand entertain'd, for two Days, by the Btne- 
 diEline Monks, in the Priory of the Holy Trinity •, after which, they were taken in 
 at a certain Hofpital, call'd r/;? Poor Priefts HoFfital ; where they continued no 
 longer than whilft a Part of the School belonging to this Houfe was fitted up 
 for their Reception ; where being placed, they very much edified the Boys (as 
 
 Wocd 
 
 {&j tbuub Eipry, Bock tie 6th, page 566.
 
 8 TJoe Antiquities of the Engllfh FrancIfcanS' 
 
 Wood (aj fays) with their religious Comportmenr, ai.d ('Ibme of them being EngUjli) 
 iiiflrufted the Youths in the way of Piety. Here fome of them ftaid to build 
 their firft Convent ^ in Order whereunto, one Alexander, the Provoft, or Mafter 
 of the abovemention'd Poor Priefis Hofpital, gave a Spot of Ground, let out 
 with a convenient Houfe and a decent Chappel, or Oratory, which, by his Care 
 and charitable Endeavours, were there built for them. Here that good Man 
 placed the faid Friers ^ And, This (as IVeever (b) Czys) was the firft Convent 
 of the Friers Minors that ever was in £»^/4«^, and was held as W^tfi?^ (c) fays, 
 in the Name of the Corporation, or Community of Canterbury, for the \3Ce of 
 the (aid Friers^ They being, by their Profeilion, incapable of any Dominion, or 
 Right to any Thing. How long it was before this Convent was built 1 cannot 
 find ; But fo very religious and exemplary were the Lives and Manners of thefe 
 good Men, that they gain'd the Efteem of all Perfons, and were much in the 
 Favour of Stephen Lmgton, at that time Archbifhop of Canterbury, of Dr. Henry 
 Langton, that Prelate's Brother and Archdeacon, of Henry Lord Sandwich^ 
 and chiefly of a certain Noble Countels, living, I prefume, retired in fo.ne Mo- 
 naftery, becaufe Ityled, by Ecclejlon, Domina Ir.clufade Bagington: Thefe were 
 their firfl: great Benefactors and Patrons. See IVood, as above quoted \ though 
 this Convent in our Annals, is faid to have been built by King Henry the Third* 
 InthisHoule the Friers lived many Years, eiicreafuig, almoft daily, in Num- 
 ber, ai well as in Reputation : And, amongft the reft of their Admirers, they 
 were in great Favour with a certain devout and worthy Citizen ('as Mr. Somner 
 (d) fays) of a flourifhing Family then in Canterbury (as ftill in the County) 
 one John Digg, or Diggs, then an Alderman, who, in the Tear 1270, purchas'd 
 for them the Ifland in Canterbury call'd Bennewith, and the Place at the Gate of 
 Srour-Street, and in due Time remov'd the faid Friers thither. So Somner^ 
 Ibidem \ who adds, that this >/;« Z)/^^ was alfo an Alderman twelve Years be- 
 fore, and one of the Bailiffs of the City of Canterbury three Years after-, and 
 that Weever, by Miftake, calls him Sir John Diggs ; and farther fays, this Ifland 
 was call'd Binnewith from the Saxon words bmnan. Within^ and Wuh, an IJland^ 
 or between the Water, hecauie lying and inclos'd within, or between the double 
 Channel of the River Stour, bounding it on each Side ; whence the Land book of 
 Cenulpb the Mercian, who gave that Ground heretofore to the Church, defcribes 
 it \y\n^ inter duos gremiales Rlvos Fluminis quod dicitur Stour. 
 
 But, to return ; This was one of the topping Convents the Francijcans had, 
 and there was (as the Place ftill has) a double Way, or two Gates to it j the 
 one cali'd the Eaft Gate; the orher the North-Gate; That, in Stour-Street-, in ^ll- 
 Saints Panfli •, This, in the Hgh-Street, in St. Peter^s Parijh. 
 
 Here Mr. Somner (e) is very fevere upon the poor Friers on the Score of fome 
 fmall Parcels of Ground lying within their Inclofure, as if they had wrongfully 
 detain'd them from the Monks of Chnft-Chureh, to wi;om they really belong'd. 
 
 The 
 
 {&) Antiq. Oxon, Lib. i, pa: 63- (h) I uner.il Momtm. page 1 34. {c) Antij. Oxen, Ibidem, (d) 
 Antiquities of Canterbury , page lOC {e) ibidem, page loz.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans, p 
 
 The Reader fhall firft hear his hard Reflexions, and afterwards the real Truth 
 of the Matter ; and then he may better judge of it. The Cafe (fays Somner) was 
 this, viz. ' The Friers being here feated, and many Houfes and much Ground 
 of the Fee of Chrifi- Church Monks lying within the ylmhitus or Precini-t of 
 their Monpftery, They, itfeems, made bold to ufurp them as their own, be- 
 caufe within the Confines of their Seat, and fo de faElo made themfelves abfo- 
 lute Lords and PoireiTors of the Ifland- The Monks, feeiiig the common Peo- 
 ple much inclin'd to favour the Friers and not willing to incur theirs, leflit 
 might bring with it the People's Difpleafure alfo, make a Vertue of as ic 
 w"re a Neceflity i and to fhew themfelves as forward in Charity towards them 
 as the common People, after the Friers fby their Connivance 'tis likej had 
 been a pretty while in Pofle/fion without paying or yieldirg to the Monks their 
 accuftom'd Rents and Service which their quondam Tenants were bound to pay, 
 remit to them by Compofition {^nao 1294) ^'^ the Arrerages and Duties 
 paft, gratis, or intuitu Charitatis, as they phrafe it, and for the future make 
 them an Abatement of almoft the Moitie of the Rent ^ as the Compofition 
 will fhew •, which I here propofe, tranfcrib'd from the Records of the Cathe- 
 dral. So Somner. 
 
 Now, before I rehearfe the mention'd Deed, I beg leave to make a fhort Di- 
 greffion in Favour of the Francifcans ^ whofe whole Rent for the PremiiTes was 
 no more than Five Shillings and one Fa/thingyenr]yt according to the Cuftom of all 
 former Tenants to the fame .- But (as Somner ftates the Cafe) here is an unjuft 
 Polfeflion indeed j an Ufurpation with a Vengeance : The Monks fee themfelves 
 robb'd, but dare not for their Lives cry out 5rop-7'^/e/ ^ nay are glad to come off 
 with a Releafement of all the Arrears, and to fign an Agreement to be con- 
 tented for the future with a Part of the ufual Rents : that is, with Vjree Shillings 
 fer Annum, inftead of Five Shillings and one Farthing. But, obferve the Cale 
 rightly ftated. 
 
 The Truth ot the Story I take to be this ; viz. The Friers here paid no Rent 
 for leveral Years for the Grounds lying within the Precinft of their Inclolure ; 
 but did not ufurp them as their own, or, de faElo, make themfelves ahfolute Lords and 
 Tojftffors of the I/land, as Somner writes ^ but only made ufe of the laid Grounds 
 dependant on the Ccnceifion of the two late Archbifhops, Robert Kilw.trby, and 
 John Peckham, who requir'd no Rent from the Friers, and who had an unqueftio- 
 rable Right to remit the Rent if they thought fit •, at leafl for their own Time ; 
 as, defaRo, they did ; and where is the Wonder ? both thefe Prelates f though 
 fome call the firft & Dominican) were profefs'd Fr4w</c4w, and had been Provin- 
 cials of their Order, and now having the Power, they alfo had the fVill to be kind 
 to their quondam Brethren, and to let them have a fmall Share of what they had 
 a Right to for the Support of their Dignity as Abbots of the Monaftery ; ef- 
 pecially with the Confent of the Monks, by whom it was freely granted, as ic 
 plainly appears by this Covenant, whereby they forgive the Arrears to the Fri- 
 
 O o ers ; 
 
 Smner'i Afltiquitits of Ciinttriury,page 10 J,
 
 lo The Antiquities of the Englilh Franclfcans. 
 
 ers ; which is alfo confirmed by their requiring no more than fuch an eafy Rent 
 for the future as Turee Shillings per Annum. 
 
 Kilwarly was elefted Archbifhop Anno 1172, foon after the Friers had the 
 IJljiKfi •■, And Peckham fucceeded him in 1178, and departed this L.ife Anno 1292, 
 two Years before this Agreement was made ;, and it cannot reafonably be pre- 
 fiim'd that the Monks wou'd have torborn lb long without a Demand of iheir 
 Rent, had not their Charity to the Friers (and not any Fear from the People) in- 
 duced them to it. But here follows the afore mention'd Deed of Agreement, 
 trar.flated from the Origiiial Latin. 
 
 A Compoficion between the Mo/tks of Chrifi-Church, and the Friers 
 
 Minors at Canterbury. 
 *' "D E it known to all Men prefent and to come, That on the Feaft of St. John 
 O " Baptifl, in the Year of our Lord 1294, and the 22^ of King f^/wW, 
 " this Agreement was made between the Prior and Convent of Chrifi-Chunh^ in 
 ** Canterbury, on the one Part, and the Guardian and Convent of the Friers Minors^ 
 *' at Cantirbury on the other, viz.. That whereas feveral Tenements were contain'd 
 *' within the Precinft of the faid Friers, belonging to the Fee of the laid Prior and 
 " Convent, viz. The Tenement which was once held by Samuel the Dyer, for 
 *' which there was due yearly 7 <i^. Item; For the Tenement late of Berenger in 
 "*♦ With., for which Md. Item :, For the Tenement of the fame at Ottemed, for 
 '* which ^d. Item •, For the Tenement formerly of Seron de BoBon, for which 
 " 6 d. hem \ For the Rent of Wibert., formerly Prior of Chrift- Church aforefaid, 
 *' rear O^ffiPf/, for which \id. Item; For the Tenement of Stephen., the Son of 
 *' Ltvpen Samuel, for which \% d \ the aforefaid Prior and Convent have remitted 
 " and quitted Claim forever to the faid Friers and their SuccelTors, of all the 
 *' Arrears due to them for the faid Tenements for Charity. Yet fo, that the 
 " fame Friers and their SuccefTors fhall, for the future, by their Attorneys, 
 *' duely caufe to be paid yearly to the aforefaid Prior and Convent, in their 
 " Treafury, 3 s. of yearly Rent for all the laid Tenements, viz. the one half at 
 " Eafier., and the other half at the Feaft of St. Michael, in lieu of all Services 
 •' and fecular Demands to them the Prior and Convent on the Account of the 
 " fame Tenements appertaining. And if it fhall happen that the faid Attorneys 
 " (^Syndich^^AWht deficient in the Payment of the faid yearly Rent twenty Days 
 " after they fhall be call'd upon, it fhall be lawful! for the faid Prior and Con- 
 •• vent and their Officers to diftrain all the aforefaid Tenements for the Arrears 
 " that fhall be behind of the faid yearly Rent. In Teftimony whereof the Seal 
 " of Chrifl-Church aforefaid, and the common Seal of the faid Friers are alter- 
 " nately affixt to this written Inftrument. Given at Canterbury, the Day and Year 
 " aforelaid. 
 
 Here again Mr. Somner is very fcrupulous in Behalf of the faid Friers, becaufe 
 (as he fays truly) they are clearly, by their Rule, debarr'd of all Propriety , and 
 therefore he did not fee how This cou'd fland with the Purity of their Foi - 
 der's Prercripts,or their own Vow of Poverty. But, under Favour, a Fri' of 
 this Order will reply, that this was not a Legaly but only n Penal Conv . n, 
 and that this Deed gave them no ftrift Riebt to the PremifTes, but only la • m 
 
 uuaer
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifli Francifcans. 1 1 
 
 under the Penalty of forfeiting the Advantages which the Monks had fo charitably 
 given them, in cafe their Spiritual Friends or Benefactors fliou'd not pay to the 
 Jkid Monks the Rent demanded. 
 
 But, to make the Cafe of the Friers yet more intelligible, let the Reader 
 fuppofe that fome poor Man or other is permitted to have a Houfe and Garden 
 as long as the Parifhfhall continue to pay a fmall Rent to the Owner, in Behalf 
 of the poor Creature, who has nothing of his own- The poor Man has no 
 Right to the Houfe by dwelling in it ; no Propriety in the Garden by his digging 
 in it ; but muft turn out whenfoever his Benefaftors will no longer pay for his 
 Houfe-room. Here is no Pro/jmry ; but only a bare "LVe, dependent on the free 
 Charity of others. The like is the Cafe of the Francifcans in all they poffefs : 
 they have no^»^/;rto Houfe or Home, but live upon the good Will of others 
 in the Places where they abide, and muft turn out when the Proprietors will have 
 it fo done. But I return again to Semner (a) and his Friers here. 
 
 As for Benefaftors to this Houfe, fays he, I find thefe : One William WoodUnd^ 
 of HolyCrofs Parifl}, j4ntJo i^-^Oy by his Will, gave Five pounds towards the Re- 
 paration of the Church, and 6ve Marks befide to the Repairing of their Dor- 
 mitory. Hamon Beale^ a Citizen, and in his Time twice Mayor of Canterbury^ 
 chofe their Church for the Place ot his Burial, as IfabH his- Wife had formerly 
 done, and gave Forty Shillings in Money to the Convent. Indeed (to be Ihortj 
 almoft every teftate dying Man of the City and neighbouring Parts, of any 
 Worth remember'd thefe Friers. So Somner : Who alio adds, that Br. Richard 
 Martin^ heretofore Guardian of this Convent, and at laft Suffragan Bifhop to the 
 Archbifhop here, gave confiderably to this Houfe ^ as maybe feen in the F/Vy? 
 Fart of thefe Culleilions, under the Tear I498. 
 
 There is an authentick Record ffays (b) Somner) of many worthy Perfonages, 
 andot worfhipfull Families that have been here interr'd, the Catalogue of whom 
 Weever(c)\\i^% coUefted and delivers ; but under a wrong Title, faying, they 
 were buried in the White^ whereas he fhou'd have laid the Gray Friers, as I can 
 make good, to the Satisfaftion of any that make a Doubt thereof. So Somner \ 
 whole Authority on this Occafion, is confirm'd by Weever himfelf, who calls 
 them Friers Oh/ervantSj and fays, that Religious Houfe was founded by one John 
 Biggs \ which cannot be truly faid of any other than the Francifcans here ; So 
 fhat'tis plain the Word White was a Miftake ^ and therefore here follow the 
 Names of the Perfons buried here; viz. 
 
 Bartholomew, Lord Badltfmore, Steward of the Houfehold to King Edward the 
 Second : Sir Giles Badlefmore^ Knight, his Son : Dame Eliz.abeth Lady of Chilham : 
 Sir William Mauflon, Knight : Sir Roger Maufion, his Brother : Sir Thomas 
 Brockhall, Knight, and the Lady Joan, his Wife : Sir Thomas Brockhall, Knight, 
 Son to the former, and Lady Editha, his Wife : Sir Falcon Payferer, Knight ; Sir 
 Thomas Dayner, Knight : Lady yilict of Afaryms : Lady Candlin : Sir jilan Pen- 
 nington oi in Z-(i«c<jyZ)i>f, Knight, who coming from the Wars beyond Seas, 
 
 O o 2 died 
 
 (a) Antii}. of Cmterhury; page 105 ; Ex Regifiri) Cantuarierfi. (b) Antiq. of Camnbury: fage 
 104. lc]Fun. Moa.f.z^^.
 
 1 2 The Antiquities of the Englifli Francifcans. 
 
 died in this City : Lady Ladric of f^alence : Sir William Trufell^ Sir William Sa- 
 loyle. Sir Bartholomew jipiburnham^ Knights j and Sir 'John Montenden, Knight, «* 
 Frier of this Houfc. 
 
 Air. Weever (aj lays, this Houfe &c, at the SuppreiHon, was valued at 39I. 1 2s. 
 8d. 0^ i yearly Revenue ^ but he Ipeaks of the Convent founded by John Digg^ 
 jimo 1270, the Site whereof whs efteem'd to be worth fo much \ and S^eed^ in 
 hi? Cataloi'jUe, means the fame Convent as founded for, or given to the Fran- 
 cifcans Ohjervants (by K\ng, Henry the 'Jth) who had no temporal Eftate, but li- 
 ved wholly upon Alms \ as I believe the others formerly here alfo did, notwich- 
 ftanding Mr. W^<rfifr's Valuation ^ which 1 take to amount to no more than that 
 the bite of this Houfe and the Ground within the Inclofure were afterwards 
 Let for that Rent ;, And I am confirm'd in this Opinion by 5/)f<r<i's putting no 
 Value upon it. The Title, or Patron of this Convene was Saint Francis. 
 
 III. WiNCHELSEY, mSuffex. Here was a Convent of Francifcans, and it is 
 reckon'd the 77;jV<i in the Cuftodyoi London., as appears in the Catalogues of the 
 Order •, from whence I inter, that it was built before the Year 1399 ; butbjr 
 whom, or under what Title, 1 find not : However, it feems certain that this 
 
 . Houle was not endow'd ; For if it had enjoy'd any temporal Eftate, Leland^ 
 Speed., or fome other Englifli Writer wou'd have thought it worth his while 
 to have let the World know it ^ whereas they make no Mention of any fuch 
 Thing ■, nor indeed is this Convent fo much as named by any of them that I 
 have yet ^een. 
 
 IV. Southampton, the County Town of Hampjlure. * Here Clays (h) Le^ 
 
 * Und) was a College of Gray Friers, in the South-Eaft Part ot the Town, tou- 
 
 * chiiig to the Town-wall, between the Eaft and the South-Eaft Gates.' 
 
 King Henry the Third began to build this Convent for the Friers Minors about 
 the7f.tr 1225 •, and King Henry the Seventh afterwards gave it to the Francifcans 
 OhfervantSj or elfe built them a new one in the fame Town ^ and for that Reafoii 
 Speed lays, this King was the Founder of the Francifcans here : But he accounts 
 for no Revenues ; So it may reafonably be fuppofed that this Houfe, from the 
 firft to the laft, fubfified by the Charity of the People, without any temporal 
 Endowments ot Lands contrary to the ftrift Rule of St. Francis. The Title here 
 was St, Mary. 
 
 V.Ware, in Hertfordjhirc. Here was a Convent of Francifcans, which is 
 mention'd by Mr. Weever (c) by Miftake, thus, at the isorth-end of this Town 
 ' wasaFriery, whofe Ruins, not altogether beaten down, are to be feen at this 
 
 * Day ; It was founded by Baron Wake, Lord of this Town, about the Reign of 
 
 * King johi}^ dedicated to St. Francis, and furrender'd on the 9th of May, the x6th 
 f of Henry the Eighth.' So Weever. 
 
 But this cannot be ; For, King John died before St. Francis ; and the Francif- 
 cans did not come into England till three or four Years after his Reign ; and 
 therefore Weever either miftakes the Name of the King that ruled when this 
 
 Houfe 
 
 [a] i'uneral AJotitments, page 139. [b] Itinerar. Vol. ^.pag, 7,-. [c] Fun. M>num. page 544,
 
 The Antiquities of the 'En^\i(h Francifcans." 13 
 
 Houfe was built, or it was firft founded for fome other Order, and afterwards 
 given to the Friers Minors, as Tome others were. The Author of the Summary 
 of Rdigious Houfes makes mention of a Priory of Aliens here ; and perhaps this 
 was given to the Francifcans when King Henry the Fifth fent all the Aliens out 
 of his Kingdom, and then the Friers might give it the Title of their Patron St. 
 Francis. But thefe are no more than Conjectures .• And I take the true Account 
 of the Prancilcan Convent here to be given by Mr. Cbauncy, in his Hi[hry of 
 the Antiquities of Hertfordjhire , f.ige ioZ., as it here follows. 
 
 ' About the i8rl? Tear of the Reign of King Hemy the Third, and of our 
 
 * Lord 1233, Margaret ^ Convitsk q( Leiccder, and Lady of the Manour of IF'.-jrf, 
 
 * founded a Monaftery for Francilcan Friers, in the North Part of the 
 ' Town of Ware, dedicated the fame to 5f. fr;?»c».f, and gave the Tithes of tl)e 
 
 * Church there, and of that of Thunderick, to the Maintenance ot them and 
 
 * their Houfe \ which they enjoy'dtill the gth of May Anno 1534, the i6th of 
 
 * Henry the Sth, when that Houle was, after the Manner of that Time, furren- 
 
 * der'd into the Hands of the King, who convey'd it from the Crown to Thomas 
 
 * Byrch, who held it in the Time of Edward the Sixth, by the yearly Rer.t of 
 
 * three Shillings. Afterwards it was fold to fames Stanley^ Citizen and Scrivener of 
 
 * London. So Chauncy, as above quoted . 
 
 Here are no Rents accounted tor more than of three Shillings, and certain Tithes 
 mention'd, which I prefume were not more than to bear the Charges of the 
 Repaires of their Church and Convent, if fo much ; for no Rents are accounted 
 for by LeUnd, Speedy and others. They lived upon Alms. It may be here ob- 
 ferv'd, that both thefe Writers, viz. Weever and C/;<ia«cy, agree in afferting that 
 the Francifcans were expell'd out of their Convent at Ware in the i6ih Tear of 
 the Reign of King Henry the Eighth, viz. Anno i 53+ ^ which wzsfour Tears before 
 any other Religious (but the Obfervants') were turn'd out. I cannot think thefe 
 two Hiftorians were miftaken in the Calculation of the Year ^ and therefore con- 
 clude, that the Friers ot this Houfe were more zealous than ordinary in oppo- 
 fing the King's Supremacy, or were reckon'd Obfervants^ and fuffer'd with them.: 
 Which is not unlikely: However, here were buried T/;ow;?/ Heton, and Joan, his 
 
 Wife: foyce : William Litlebury^ and EUzjtbeth, his Wife ; &c. So Weever^ 
 
 as above quoted. The Lord Wake (jn^ might he the firft Founder of this Houfe, 
 and Margaret, Countels of Leicefier, the Rebuilder, Repairer, or a great B^ 
 jiefaftrefs ; and thus both thele Accounts are reconciled ; allowing for Mr. Wee- 
 -vers Miftake in the Date of its firft Foundation. 
 
 VL Ltwts, in Sufftx. The authentick and receiv'd Catalogues (of 1399 and 
 1400) of Convents Regifter'd by the Order, reckon the Francifcan Houfe here 
 as the 6th Convent in the Cufiody of London ; which is all I can find of it. This 
 Houfe may realbnably be fuppos'd to have enjoy'd neither Rents, nor temporal 
 Income otherwife than Alms from the free Charity ot Benefaiirors ; for had not 
 the Friers here fubfifted wholly by Alms, fome of our Englilh Writers wou'd 
 have difcover'd their Funds, and told us of their Revenues j whereas none of 
 
 them 
 
 (a) Ajigelin a Sto. Francifco^ Mafon^ in Cat.tkgo Conventuttm,
 
 14 The A?itiquitiei of the EngliQi Franclfcans. 
 
 them has named their Title, or Patron, or even thought the Place worth the be- 
 ing mention'd for a Refidence of Minorites. 
 
 VII. Chichester, in Sufftx. Here, Mr. Speed lays, there was a Convent 
 ot Gray Friers, Title, 5f. Ptter : But he names not the Founder, or makes any 
 Valuation of the Premiffes, or Account ot Rents .- So I prefume the Friers of 
 this Place lived wholly upon the Alms of Benefaitors. 
 
 VIII. Salisbury, IniViltfltire. King Henry the Third (fiys (a) Leland) granted 
 to the Friers Minors a Plat of Ground whereon to build a Convent at 5<j///^ay( 
 vulgo Sarum. Their Church there was built by a certain Citizen call'd Richard 
 Pende ; Pude, LeUnd writes it, mark'd as here 4=;. Afterwards the Citizens alfo of 
 that Place removed the faid Friers from Old Sarum into the City of Salisbury^ 
 
 where they built them a Convent, whereof the principal Founder was . 
 
 Bifliop of Salisbury. So Lelandy who tells us not the Kame of this Bifliop ; 
 but fays, the Friers Minors continued here untill the Diffolution of Religious 
 Houfes. Saint Fr4wc« was the Title, or Patron ot this Convent, and no Rents 
 are here accounted for by Leland, in Speed's Catalogue .• And hence may be con- 
 cluded that the Friers of this Houfe lived upon the Alms of Benefaftors. 
 
 IX. Winchester, in Hampjhire. King Henry the T»»V</, was the chief Founder 
 ot this Convent here, about the Tear 1249. And Leland (bjdefcribes the Situation 
 of it, faying, ' Entering into [Vinchefler by the Eaft-Gate, there was hard within 
 * the Gate, on the right Hand, an Houfe of Gray Friers.' The Title, or Patron 
 here was St. Francis., and the Friers had no other Subfiftance than from the free 
 and great Charity of their Benefaftors •, as may be gather'd from Speed's Cata- 
 logue, where no Valuation is put upon this Houfe. 
 
 Edmund., Earl ot Kent (fays (c) Leland) was buried in the Francifcan Church 
 in Winchefter, in the Beginning of the Reign of King Edward the Third : This 
 Earl, buried here, ^«wi328, was Edmund Woodftock., the King''s Uncle, be- 
 headed by the Procurement ot Queen //<»tf/, the King's Mother, and the Lord 
 Roger A'fortimery Earl of March-Wales:, which ^orf/wffr was alfo condemn'd and 
 hang'd the Year following. So Stow, abridged. 
 
 II. Of the Convents of the Cuftody of York. 
 
 I. XT o R K. Here was a Convent of Franclfcans, not far from the Caftle, 
 \_ the Title, or Patron whereof I cannot learn : But the Friers here had 
 no Lands, or Revenues ; their Subfiftance was wholly from the Charity of the 
 People. Henry Lacy., Earl of Lincoln (^s Leland (d) writesj and one Nunny, his 
 Almoner, were great Benefactors to this Houfe ; and the faid Nunny was at lafl 
 buried at that Convent, in Tork ; which 1 have Reafon to believe was built ber 
 fore the Year 1 290, as is infinuatedby Fran, a Sta. Clara, (e) from the Annals of 
 the Order. Burnet (i)i^ys, this Convent was furrender'd on the i-jthof Novem- 
 
 ber 
 
 (a) ItiH. Vol. 3. page 61. t3 ColliHan. Vol. z. pagf^i^i. (b) Ifiw. Vol. i,. page 70. (c) 
 Co'liH. Vol. I. part. 2. p. 477. (d^ hin. Vol. i. pagi z^.{e) In Supp/eni. Hiji. Min. (fj 
 Itin. Vol. 1. page 3c. , ., ,, .
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifli Francifcans. 1 5 
 
 her^ m the jof/? Tear of the Reign of King Henry the Sth^ by the Warden and 
 fifteen Friers ; there being at that Time in the Houfe, five Kovices. Ko Va- 
 luation, or Rents are reck on'd to this Convent. 
 
 Notmndum. What Credit the Account ot thefe Surrenders may deftrve, I leave 
 to bedetermin'd by the Reader, when I have told him that Burnet himrelf(from 
 whom they are drawn) fays Some of the Surrenders of the Begging Friers had no Seals 
 to them 1, perhaps ((a.ys he) they had none. As if ever there was any Religious Houfe 
 without a Seal. And again he fays, fome of the Surrenders ("as that of Bedford^ 
 and that of Stamford) are inrsU'd in the Augmentation Oftice-, but the Ori- 
 ginals are lolt. See his Third Book of the firft Part of his Reformation : Pages 
 145, &c. 
 
 II. DoNCASTER, in Torkfhire. Ail that I can find of the Francifcan Convent 
 here, is from Leland, who mentions no Title, or Revenues ■, but fays, ' Here 
 
 * was a Houfe ot Gray Friers, at the North-End of the Bridge, containing 
 
 * three Arches ot Stone.' From Davenport^ (a) who fays, this Houfe was built 
 in the Tear 1290^ and from Burnet Ibid j who adds, that it was furrender'd by 
 the Warden, Six Friers, and Three Novices-, on the 20th of November, in the 
 ^oth Tear of the Reign of King Henry the ith^ that is, ^nno 1 5 39. No Rents 
 are liere mention'd. 
 
 Nntandum. This is another Objeftion againfl the Authority of thefe Surren- 
 ders, viz.. That Burnet brings in the Novices as Subfcrlbers, or Parties concerned j 
 whereas They cou'd have no Pretence to interfere, or Right to be named in an 
 Aft of this Nature . And, for this and many other Reafons, I conclude, that 
 what this Author is pleas'd to c&W Surrenders, were no more, in plain Englifti, 
 than that the Friers v/ere forcibly turn'd out of their Convents, and the Faft 
 is fet off with a canting Form of a. Surrender, drawn up for the Purpole, and 
 recorded as a voluntary Act of the poor Friers, with the Names of fome of 
 them then forced out of their refpeftive Houfes. 
 
 J. 111. Lincoln, the County Town. ' Reginald Miller, a wealthy Merchant and 
 *■ Citizen of London, was Founder of the Gray Friers here. Henry Lacy, Earl 
 
 * of Lincoln, and one iV«w/y, a Prieft, and Chaplain to that Earl, were notable 
 
 * Benefaftorsto this Houfe.' So (h) Leland. This Earl and his Almoner are 
 the fame Perfonsthat were (afterwards, as I take it) great Benefactors to the Fran- 
 cifcans at Tori. Mr. Speed reckons (c) one John Pickering of Stampvoike as a. Joint- 
 Founder, or confiderable Benefactor of this Houfe, the Title whereof was St. 
 Francis : But no Lands, or Rents are mention'd by him, Leland, or any other 
 Writer lean meet with. They lived upon the charitable Alms of well difpos'd 
 Chriftians. 
 
 IV'. Bosroti, or St. Botolph^s Town, in Lincohdire. Here was a Convent of 
 Francifcans, fuppbrted by the charitable Contribution of well dispos'd Chriftians. 
 Z,f/<i»^ (d^ writes of this Place thus, viz. ' Here were Four Colleges of Freres^ 
 J Merchants of the Stiliard coming by all Parts by Eft were wont greatly to 
 
 * haunt 
 
 C0^» ■S«fi>lem. H'J}, Mitt, (b) lUn, F9I, l. fa^e y,, (cj Cmlo^ne, (d) Um, m. <},
 
 1^ The Antiquities of the Englifh Francifcans. 
 
 * haunt BoJIon ^ And the Gray Freres took them in a Manner for Founders of 
 
 * their Houfe ^ and many Efterlings were buried there. There lay alio at the 
 
 * Gray Friers fome of the Mountevi/les, Gentlemen ^ and Six or beven of the 
 
 * IVithamsy Gentlemen alfo. So Leland, who, m another Place, fiiys, (a) * The 
 
 * Ttlneys were taken for the Founders of the three or fourHoufesof Friers at 
 ' Bojion." Whence I infer, that they were either Founders, or great Benefaftors 
 ot the Gray Friers in that To.wn. No Rents are here mention'd •, No Va- 
 luation accounted for: The Friers here lived wholly upon Alms. 
 
 V. Beverley in Torijhire. The Convent of tihe Francifcans, or Gray Friers 
 here ' was (as Xf/<«n^ Cb) faysj of the Foundation of the noble Family of the 
 ' Huthomes of Scarborough, rear Leckingfield : The laft Earl of Northumberland 
 
 * faveonein the Reign of Henry the Seventh ^vive for the Patronage of it.' So 
 Leland. One John de Hightmede is mention'd, by 5/)^?^, as a principal Beneta-- 
 ftor to this Convent, the Title whereof is not named, or any Lands, or Reve- 
 nues accounted for ; the Friers here fubfifting wholly upon Alms, 
 
 V'l. Scarborough, inTorkjkire. Here wasa Convent of Francifcans, built in 
 the Tear 1290, as Davenport (c) fays ; It is regiftred in the Catalogues of the Or- 
 der as the 6ffe Convent in the Cuflodyoi Tork. Leland alfo writes, that there was 
 a Houfeot Grey Friers in this Town ; And Stevens, page 16. of the j4ppendix to 
 hit Second Volume of his Monafticon, has a Copy of a Grant, from the Knights 
 Hofpitalers of St. 'John of Jerufalem, to the faid Convent, of a MelTuage, or 
 Piece of Ground in the Town of Scarborough ; which I guefs was either for the 
 Building of their Houfe, or Church, or for the Enlarging of their Inclofure 
 there; The faid Grant is dated on St. ^^rw^t/S Day, in the r^r 1300. But, I 
 find nothing of any Valuation put upon this Place ;, and therefore fuppofe the 
 Friers here fubfifted wholly upon Alms^ without any Endowment of Rents, or 
 fettled Income. 
 
 VII. Grimsby, \n Lincolnfhire. The Francifcan Convent here was not endow'd ; 
 otherwife we ll\ou'd have hear'd fomewhat of its Valuation ; whereas I find ic 
 not named but in the Catalogues of the Convents of the Order ; unlefs it is in 
 Burnett Colleftion of Records, where he fays, this Friery was fupprefs'd, or 
 furrenderd by the Warden and Friers, on the ^thof October, in the ^oth Tear of 
 the Reign of King Henry the 2th:, that is, j4nno 15 39- The Founder and Title 
 of this Houfe are not recorded, nor any Rents mention'd by any Author I have 
 leen. The Friers here lived upon Alms. 
 
 III. Of the Convents in the Cuftody of Cambridge. 
 
 L /""CAMBRIDGE, the County Town. King Edward the f/V/? was the chief 
 \^ Founder of the Francifcans in Cambridge \ For, although they had a 
 fmali Refidence there from the Time of their firft coming into the Nation, yet 
 it was this King that gave them more Room by building them a topping Con- 
 vent, in the Place where Sydney Hall now ftands. Of this Convent Afcham, in 
 
 his 
 
 (a) itltt.VoL -J. part. 2. pa^e iz6. (b) Itm. Vol. Lpa^e. 40. (c) In Supplcm. Hiji. Min. 
 tx Annalihus Ord, MinorHtn.
 
 c_ ' /; ^yY///r-/.>'rv7// S ^vr/' //////r/'. r/' //y/v//^/'///' 
 
 // ■////. •/// ///.^ t //,/////,• ••/' / '/< '/f/' ■ .
 
 The Antiquities of the "En^i^ Francifcans. 17 
 
 his Epiftles, fpeaks thus, viz. ' The Houfe of the Francifcans is not only the 
 
 * Grace and Ornament of the Univerfity, but alfo has in it great Conveniencies of 
 
 * holding the AfTembles and doing all the Buiiiie's of that learned Body \ which 
 ' is fotrue, that (as Parhri:iys) Convocations were commonly held here, bcho- 
 » laftick Exercifes perform'd, and the r«//'«)'/<« and Inauguration of Graduats and 
 
 * Doftors folemnis'd in this Church, for the Largenefs of it.' The Title, or 
 Patron-Saint of this Houfe was St. Francis •, and I find no mentioa made of 
 
 * any Rents, \n LeUnd, Speed, or di^y othtx\VntQV. Burnet fays, this Convent 
 
 * WHS furrender^d by the Guardian and twenty three Friers ^ but he confefTes that 
 this Surrender had no Date ; which flill confirms me in the Opinion that thefe Surren- 
 ders of his amount to no more than a violent Expulfton , as certainly they were 
 in regard of the Francifcans, who had no Propriety feven in Common) or Right 
 to Houfe, or Home ; fo cou'd not contend when difpoffefsM. 
 
 Notandum, King Richard the Second writ to the Univerfities of Oxford and Cam- 
 bridge in Behalf of the Friers Minors, forbidding all his Subjects, both here and 
 throughout the whole Kingdom, under fevere Penalties, to fpeak difrefpeft- 
 fully of the faid Friers Minors, or their State of Life, or to mifi:<terpret, or 
 depreciate the Privileges and Favours granted them by the Apoftolick See, and 
 the Kings of England ; and declaring, that his Majefty, both for himfelf and 
 his SuccelTorS, takes upon himfelf the Prote^ion and Defence of the fliid Friers 
 and their Privileges, as alfo of their Houies, and whacfoeverthey poffefs, and 
 commanding all his Subjects to treat them kindly, &c. This Letter was dared, at 
 Wejiminfier, on the \yh of February, in the nth Year of his Reign, viz. jinno 1 383, 
 fign'd by the King, under his private Signet, and direfted to the Chancellors ot 
 both Univerfities, and to the Sheriffs, Mayors, Bailiffs, and to all other Offi- 
 cers, and to all his Subjefts of the whole Nation.- And the Charter of King 
 Henry the Fourth recites this Royal Letter, and confirms it, by a Brief, or Writ, 
 under the private Signet, %\ve\\2itWe(iminfter, ^nno ix^oi. An authentick Copy 
 of this Letter may be ieen in the i-jth and zSth Pages of Steven's Appendix to the 
 2d f^olume of his Additions to Dugdale's Monajlicon. 
 
 II. Norwich, the County Town of Norfolk. The Convent of Francifcans, 
 or Gray Friers here was founded by John de Hajlyngford ; of which Foundation 
 (fays (aj Weevcr) I find no farther. Mr. Speed names the fame Founder, and adds, 
 that the Title of this Houfe was St. Francis ; But he fays not one Word of any 
 Rents belonging thereunto •, So it may reafonably be prefum'd that the Friers 
 here lived wholly upon Alms as they ought. Mr. Willis, in his Hiflory of Abbeys, 
 Vol. 1. page 329, gives the following Dimenfions of this Church. 
 
 The Length of the Choir of the Church of the Friers of St. Francis at Nor- 
 wich contains 60 Paces. The Length of the Interfp:ice of the Belfry, the Quire 
 Door, and the Gates of the Nave of the Church, contains 74 Paces. The 
 Length of tfie Nave of the Church from the Weft to the firft Gates Eaftward, 
 
 contains Paces, and contains 35 Rods, or 150 Foot. The Breadth of the 
 
 laid Church contains 31 Paces. The Lsngtli ot the Cloifter on the Side of the 
 
 P p Chapter- 
 
 i.a) Funeral MoKumenti, page 8oj. '
 
 1 8 The Antiquities of the Engllfti Franclfcans. 
 
 Chapter-Houfe contains <S I Paces ; But the afore laid Breadth of the Church, 
 from the Weft to the firft Gates of the Church, contains 35 Rods, that is, 105 
 Feet, by my Mealure witha Rod three Foot long. The Length of the Nave 
 of 5r. F><i>:cis^s Church at Norrviih, from the Weft End ot the Choir to the Weft 
 Window, contains 82 Paces; the Breadth 32 Paces. So IVi/lis -^literally tranflated 
 frcm the Latin. 
 
 in. Colchester, in Ejfex. The moft llluftrious ' Robcrty Lord Fitz.water^ 
 
 * in the ItAr 1309, founded here a Convent for Friers Miiiors (fays ('a) Wccver) 
 
 * into which Orderand Houfe he enter'd himfelf >^/»wo 1325, and then thera 
 
 * took upon himlelt the Habit of a Religious Votary, wherein he .fpent the 
 
 * Reftot his Days. " Jmo 1 309 (fays the Book of IJ/<«we7P; Rohertui FtUuslVal- 
 *' teri^ Cnflos de Effix, FundAtntntum fojuit Ecdcfft, Fratrum Minorum de Cokejlria : 
 ' And in the Catalogue of fuch Emperours, Kii gs, Princes, and other potent 
 
 * Perfonages which, from the Begim ing, have enter'd into this Religious Order, 
 
 * this Robert is reckon'd for One : Thelearethe Words, " Fr,uer Dominus Ro- 
 ** bertus Fitz.water, Baro, Fundato^ Cattventus ColrefirtJt, intravit Ibidem Ordinem 
 *' Anno Domini 1325. SoWeever, Page 6\l., who concludes this Article with 
 a great MiAake, when he fays, this Convent, atthe Suppre/Tion, was valued ac 
 113 1. lis. 8 d. of yearly Revenues •, For, Weever there takes the Canons of 
 St. j4uguftine for thele Friers, as any Man may plainly lee that will take the 
 Pains to look into Speed^s dttilogue, and the late Summary of Religious Hovfes, un- 
 der the Title Cdclnjicr, where (in both thefe Authors) he will find the faid Ca- 
 nons er.dow'd with the mention'd Revenues, to one Penr.y •, and not one Word 
 of tlie Friers Minor?, or their hicome •, For they lived here wholly upon Alms, 
 and had r.o Rents. 
 
 * Whether this Religious Houfe was within the Walls of this Town, or 
 
 * without, 1 cannot find ^ (f^ys (h) Newcourt) but am apt to believe, that the 
 
 * Houfe beyond the Caftle, near the Eafl-Gate, wich'n the Walls, now commonly 
 
 * calKd the Friers^ • may be this Houfe of Gray-Fners •■, for after the 
 
 •■ Supprelfion, I find, that, in Queen Eli^mbetli's Time, or.e William Watfon held 
 
 * all that Site calld the Gray Friers in Colchefier, of the Qucen^ in Capite^ by 
 
 * Knights Service, and died feiz'd thereof, i •^to. Eliz. : John Watfon being then 
 
 * his Son and Heir, who, the lame Year, held, by like Service, all that Mef^ 
 fuage call d the Gray Friers in Colchrfler, by his Livery: And, in the 2^th of 
 Eliz; the Queen pardon'd William Wi fon^ for that he had acquired the Site of 
 Le- Grey Friers, in OlchrJIer, wnhout Licence. 
 
 IV. Bury St. Edmunds. Many Inftances might be given to prove how great- 
 ly the Francifcans were admir'd, relpciled, and beloved by all Ranks of People ; 
 Amongft others, it may be reckon'd for one, that they were admitted into the 
 Town of St. Edmund's Bury, by a Grant from the Pope, by a Command from 
 the King, and by the unanimous Defire of the People, Notwithflanding all the 
 Oppofition made by the Abbot and Monks of that Town. The Cafe was de- 
 teimin'dby a Iblemii Procefs, or Law. Suit, in the Reign of King //f»>;y the 3.'/. 
 
 and 
 
 (a) Fniieral Mor.umints, {age Soy. ^b)Ko/. z. {age 167. and Stevens, Vol. J. page 155.
 
 The Antiquities of //?^ EngLHi Francifcans. i^ 
 
 and the Sentence given, with a general Applaufe, in Favour of the Friers ^ and, 
 \nt\\eTear 1258, (as (a) Ldand writes) the faid Friers Mii.ors took Poi'feflion of 
 a certain Place in 5f.£^waw^/; but, becaufe the Monks pretended thnt this was 
 contrary to the Liberties and Privileges of that Church, at length, in t\\e Tear 
 1263, they prevail'd that the Friers fhou'd withdraw themfelves out of the 
 Town, and they were put into Poffe/fion of a Place aihgn'd rhem beyond tlie Four 
 Crops, and then the Houfe waspuil'd down which the Friers had lefr. 
 
 The Francifcans, being thus remov'd from their former Refidei.ce, had a Con- 
 vent built for them at a Place call'd Babervel, near St, Edmund's Bury, whereof 
 Mr. VVeever writes thus, ' Here fome time flood a Monaftery of Gray Friers, 
 
 * firft founded by Mafter Mam de Lincoln, who gave the Fourderlhip to the 
 
 * Honour of Clare ; St. Clare, I prefume, Mr. Weever (b) muft mean. 
 
 Here lay buried Sir William Trnmfington, and Dame Anne his Wife .- Nicholas 
 Drury, and Jave liis Wife ; and Alargaret Peyton. So A'fr. (c) IVeever^ who 
 fays not one Word of any Endowments of Rents; and therefore in may bepre- 
 fum'd the Friers here lived by the Charity of well difpos'd Chriftians. 
 
 V. DoNwiCH, in Suffolk. Here (fays (d^iPFrfffr) were two Houfes of Friers 
 (Gray.^ and Black) very fair Churches and Building, wall'd round about with a 
 Stone Wall, with divers fair Gates-, as yet there maybe leen. The Gray Fri- 
 ers were of the Order of St. Francis, and call'd the Friers Minors. So IVeever ; 
 who, in another Place, (e) adds, that the Gray Friers Houfe here was founded 
 firft by one Richard Fuz. John, and Alice his Wife, and afterwards by King Henry 
 the sd, of which I (fays he) have no further Knowledge. Here lay interr'd the 
 Bodies of Sir Robert Faience : Dame Idcu of Ilketijhal : Sir Peter A-fe/iis, and Dame 
 
 Anne, his Wife ; D^me'Bert, of Fur ni vail : -^nfti", of Cales, and Jmw 
 
 his VVife : "John Falleys, and Beatri.x his Wife, and Augujline his Son ■ 
 
 Walexenes : Sir H'^gh Dernford : Catharine, Wife of William Phellip : Margaret^ 
 Wife of Richard Phellip, And I^eter Codum ; and the Heart of D^me Hawife Ponyn- 
 ges. So('fj Weever ;who alfo (g) fays Dawip/V^fieretofore was a Bifhop's See(which 
 was afterwards remov'd to AVir/c^) and was a very large City, till the greateft 
 Part of it was unfortunately drown'd by the Breaking in of the Sea. But to re- 
 turn. There was alfo a Chappelof St. Francis in Dunwich, which was pull'd down 
 when (as Mr. (h) VVeever expreffes it) all the Houfes of Religion were put 
 down. No Rents menrion'd reckon'd to this Houle. 
 
 VI. Walsingham, in Norfolk. The Francifcan Refidence here was founded 
 by K\ng Edward the sd, who, in the Tear 1345, proCOred Leave of Pope Cle- 
 ment the 6th CO build a Convent for the Friers Minors in the Town of Walftng- 
 ham; which, at that time, was a famous Place of Devotion and pious Pilgri- 
 mage in Honour of God and the B. Virgin Mary. So Fran, a Sta. Clara, (i) who, 
 fays, the Title here was St. Mary .- But no Rents are found accounted for as 
 belonging to this Houfe, which therefore may reafonabiy be fuppos'd to have fub- 
 fifled wholly from the Charity of devout Chriftians. 
 
 P p 2 VII. 
 
 (a) Itin. J-^ol. 6. page 15. Videetiam Hijf. Miri. pag. 14. (b) Fut. Aiomim. paev -6o. (c) Hid. (i) 
 lhid,page 7i8.(e) tage ^^u (I) Ibidem, {^) Ibidem. 717. (h) lbid,pag.-i^. {i)'HiJl. Mm. pig. 7.
 
 20 The Antiquities of the Englifti Francifcans. 
 
 VII. Yarmouth, in Norfolk. The Francifcan Convent here was founded by 
 Sir William Gerbrigge : Title, St. Framis. So (a) Weever and Spied., who menti- 
 on no Rents hereunto belonging; yet the Place ("it leeins) was not altogether 
 defpicable •, For, Sir William Dugdale (b) fays the Francifcan Convent at Tarmoutby 
 with its whole Site and Circuit of Inclofure, was given to Tljomas Cromnelj 
 Vice-Gerei.t and Vifitor-General, who obtain'd from the King (^Henrythe^rh) 
 a fpecial Grant thereof, with all the Buildings thereunco belonging. So Dugdale. 
 
 VIII. Ipswich, in Suffolk. The Convent of the Gray Friers here was founded 
 by the Lord Tiptoth ; as Weever (c) lays ; who adds, that he cou'd find no farther 
 Account of it than of its Foundation •, But that there lay buried Sir Robert Tip- 
 toth, Kr.ight, and Dame Vtia, his Wife : The Heart of Sir Robert Feere, the 
 Elder : Margaret, Countefs of Oxford, Wife of Sir Robert reere, the Younger, 
 Enlo{ Oxford : D^me Elizabeth, Wife of Sir Robert Vjford, Daughter of the 
 Earl of Warwick : Sir ^o^frr Jiptoth : Robert Tiptoth, Efquire : Elizabeth Vfford: 
 Elizabeth, Lady Spenfer, wedded to Sir Fhellip Spenfer, Daughter of Sir Robert Tip- 
 toth : Phellip, George, Elizabeth, Children of Sir Phellip Spenfer : Joan, V&u^htet 
 of Sn Hugh Spenfer : Sir Robert Warefham, and Dame Joan, his Wife: John^ 
 Son of Sir William Claydon : Sir Thomas Hardell, Knight; Dame Elizabeth, Wife 
 of S\r Walter Clopton, of JHadUy. S'xr William Laynham : S\r Hugh Peach : and Sir 
 Hugh Peach; and Sir John Lovelock, Knights .■ Item, the Heart of D^me Petromll 
 Vjford : Dame Beatrix Bottler : Dame jiveline Ouatefeld : Dame Margery, Aunt 
 to' Sir Robert Vfford ; and Dame JUce, Widow of Sir John Holbrok: So Mr. Wee- 
 ver^ Jbid. Mr. Speed reckons one Robert lilbot as a prime Benelaftor to the Fran- 
 cifcan Convent at Ipfwich ; the Title whereof wns St . Francis : But he fees down 
 no Valuation of the Premiffes ; he accounts for no Rents here. 
 
 IX. Linn, in Norfolk. The Francifcan Convent here was founded by one 
 Thomas Fellefcham ; Title, St. Francis. No Rents mention'd by Speed, or others, as 
 belonging to this Houle ; which was built befoi'e the Tear 1264; For, about 
 that Time, Br. John Stanford, one of their Provincials, was buried in it ; as has 
 beenalready faid, in the firf} Part of thefe ColleBions. Burnet lays, this Convent 
 was furrender'd by the Warden and Kine Friers, on the firfi of Goober, in the 
 ^oth Year of the Reign of King Henry the Eighth. 
 
 Sir Elenry Spelman, in his Hiflory of SacrlUge, gives- feveral Inflances of God's 
 Judgments upon the Purchafers and PofTeffors of this Place and other Religious 
 Houfes ('or the Site of them) in Linn ; which the curious Reader may find in 
 that Author. 
 
 IV. Of the Convents in the Cuftody 0/ Briftol. 
 I, TlRiSTOLjin Glocefterfhire. Of this Houfe I find no more fthe Dimenfions 
 
 Jl3 of the Church excepted^ than that it was the Head Convent of this 
 Cuflody, as the Catalogues of the Order fliew •, And, that /,f/,*w^ (d) lays, the 
 Gray Friers Houfe was on the right Bank of Frome Water., not far from St. Bar^ 
 //>o/oOTfw's Hofpital. But nothing is recorded of any Revenues enjoy'd by the 
 
 Friers 
 
 (a) Fun. Mcmim. page 863. (b) In bis Baronage, Vol, ». (c) Funeral Monuments, page 750. (d) 
 Itw.yol 7. part. Z.page 74.
 
 The Antiquities o/MeEnglifli Francifcans. 21 
 
 Friers here: So I prefume they had none \ but Jived upon Alms. Mr. Willis 
 (z) fays, the Church and Convent of the Friers of St. Francis^ at Brifiol^ ftood 
 in Lewenyfme-Street, in the Parifh of Saint James, and that the Choir of the 
 Church contain'din Length 28 Rods, or 50 Paces : The Breadth ot the Quire 
 contain'd Nine Rods, or 1 8 Paces : The Length of the Nave of the faid Church, 
 with the two great Wir.gs, contain'd 27 Rods, or 52 Paces, The Breadch ot 
 the Belfry Square Tower contains 4 Rods, or 7 Paces, There are four Arches 
 in the Norch-lde of the faid Church, and as many in the South. SoVVilHs. 
 
 IL Glocester, the County Town. The Gray Friers College (fays fb) 
 Le land) Hood within the Town, not far from the South-Gate. This Place, 
 fays he, isnowturn'd to a Brew-houfe; One of the Lords Berkley w3.s the Foun- 
 der of it. So Leland ; who neither makes mention of the Titular Patron Sainc, 
 nor of any temporal Endowments. In this Convent lived the famous Br. Ralfh 
 Maidfion, after he had refign'd the Bifhoprick of Hereford, and here alfo he de- 
 parted this Life, in the general Efteem of Sanftity \ as may be leen more fully 
 in the fir ft Part of this Work, under the Tear 1239. 
 
 IIL Bridgewatbr, m Somerfetftiire. The Patron here was 5f. Francis: Foun- 
 der not mention'd. The Friers of this Houfe feem'd to have receiv'd Rents, 
 as it appears in 5pff/s Catalogue, where this Houfe, at the Suppreffion, was 
 valued at 1 20 /. 19/. 1 d. To which all that can be faid, is, that this was one 
 of the Motives of the Reforming of the Order \ which was at laft efTefted by 
 the more zealous Friers, who wou'd not accept of any Abatements of the pri- 
 mitive rigorous Obfervance of tlieir Founder's Rule, notwithftaading the Con- 
 defcenfion of fbme Popes, who difpenfed with them in fome particular Cafes of 
 Poverty ^ as I prefume it was here done. 
 
 IV. Hereford, theCounty Town. This City had Six Gates, whereof that 
 which ftands to the Weft is call'd the Friers Gate-, from the Gray Friers Houfe 
 ftanding without: It was founded by Sir William Pembruge, (Pembrigge, or Pern- 
 hrung) Knight. The Bifhop of Hereford ffl.^t them fome Lands, (perhaps for the 
 enlarging ot their Inclofure) Here lay buried fome of the two honorable Fami- 
 lies of the Lords Chandois, and Cornwalles. So (c) Leland ; who, in ar.other Place, 
 (d) fays, here alfo lies Owen Meredith, alias Tuder, Father of Edward Earl of 
 Richmond., and Grand-Father to King Henry the Seventh, buried in a Chappel, in 
 the North-Side ot the Body of the Church. Speed calls the Founder of this 
 Convent Henry de Pembrigge^ Title St. Guthlak ; and he adds, that, at theSup- 
 preflionjit was valued at 121 /. 03 j. 3^. ob. Whereas the Author of the Summa- 
 ry of Religious Houfes reckons the faid Revenues to a BenediBine Nunnery here; 
 which makes me believe there is a Miflake in Speed's Catalogue, in this Point and 
 that the Friers here were not endow'dwith Lands. 
 
 V. Ex ETtR, the County Town of DevonfJnre. The Francifcan Convent here 
 was founded by (?;7Wf, and John Long, Son oi one John Long, Merchants ; Title, 
 St. John-Baptift. ThisHoufe (fays (e) Leland) ftood betwixt the North and the 
 
 Weft 
 
 (a) Hi/}, of Abbeys. T'^ol. i.pa^e 3 id. (b) Itin. Vol. ^-page 60, <c) ltir.,V>>U 4. ^art z. page 66, 
 id) Vol. S. p.xrti.page6-, (e) Itln. Vol. 3, page 38.
 
 S3 TJje A?itiqmties of the 2i\§\iih '£nnc\k^ns. 
 
 Weft Gates, near the Town Wall ; now a plain Vacant Ground, call'd Ferenbay^ 
 or Frerenlny. Bytteti, Biihop of Exeter, remov'd ther.c.e the Gray Friers, and 
 built them an Houfe a little without tlie South-Gate. So (a) Leland- It is re- 
 ported , by Godwytj,thu the BiHiop who was PredecefTor to this Thomas Byt ten, or 
 Bittm, in the See of Exttcr,by mm& Peter Quwil, hid promis'd the Kiiig(£<rf- 
 rvArd the Firfl) that he wou'd remove the faid Friers from tlie Town to a more 
 whoHbme Place without the South-Gate, and that the laid Prelate, in Order 
 thereunto, had defir'd the Warden ot the Convent (Deodatus by name) to look 
 out for a proper Place j but that the King had not been long gone from Exeter 
 before the Bifhop changM his Mind, and utterly retus'd to perform his Promife, 
 and forbad the faid Friers to build within his See, or Liberty. Ouivil was 
 made Bifhop of Exeter, Anno 128 1. But I goon \v\thGod-wyn, who fays,' Some 
 •• time after, the Bifliop kept a great Feaft, upon the Sunday next before St. Fran- 
 ' c/;'s Day, and, among others, there was prefent with him one Walter Winborne, 
 '■ one ot the King's Chief Juftices of the Bench, who was prefent when the Bi- 
 
 * fhop, at the King's Requeft, promis'd to further and help the Francifcans. 
 •■ He now, in their Behalf, did put the Bifhop in Mind thereof, and requefted 
 ' him to have a Confideration both of his own Promife, and their Diftrefs. The 
 
 * Bifhop, miiliking this Motion, waxed angry, and did not only deny to yield 
 
 * thereunto, but wiilied himfelf to be c/jo^/te^ what Day foever he did confent 
 
 * unto it. It fortuned that the fame Week, and upon St. Francis's Eve, the 
 
 * Bifhop took a certain Syrup to drink, and in too hafly fwallowing thereof, his 
 
 * Breath was ftopped, and lie forthwith died, Anno 1191. So Godrryn, in his 
 Catalogue of Bifhops ; who, there alfo, adds, that the Francifcans, or Gray Friers 
 of this City imputed his Death to his hard Dealing with them. However, 
 Quhil's Succeffor, Thomas Bitten, was more favourable to thefe Friers, and built 
 them a Convent, as i^ already above faid. 
 
 Nntandum. The Author of the Summary of Religious Houfes Sec, printed at 
 London, in 17 T7, makes mention of a Priory of Canons of St. Auguftine,dedicA- 
 ted to St. John, in Exeter ; which I take for no other than the Houfe which the 
 Friers had left, and was afterwards endow'd tor the faid Canons, being, ac 
 the Suppreffion, valued at T02 1. 12 s. pd •, and Speed values the faid Houfe at 
 that fame Rate, and under the Name of Francifcans, becaufe (as 1 guefsj ic was 
 firft built for thefe Friers, and they had heretofore lived therein ; whereas the 
 faid Francifcars, at the Suppreffion of Religious Houfes, were not in Exeter, 
 ■ but in their Convent out of the South-gate of that City.- And 1 cannot find 
 any Valuation put upon that Houfe, and therefore fuppofe the Friers there had 
 no Revenues ^ but according to their Rule, lived wholly upon Alms, or manual, 
 or fpiritual Labours. 
 
 VL CAtRMARTHEN, m Wales. Here once was a Convent of Francifcans: 
 But, what Mr. Speed means by his placing of thele Friers, and a Priory of 
 Augujliman-Canons under one Line, from Leland, I cannot guefs •, except the 
 former were in Time removed from hence cut of Town, and fucceeded here by 
 
 the 
 
 [a] UAdem.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifli Francifcarrs. 25 
 
 the fitid Camns \ as I believe they were ; becaufe this Houfe, at the Suppre/Iioii, 
 was valued at 174I. 8s. oo d., belonging, 1 prefume, to the Canons above men- 
 tion'd, and not to the Friers. 
 
 VII. DoRcHtsTER, the County Town of DarfaPvre. The Francifiran Con- 
 vent here, was (as an Author (aj lays) chiefly founded by the Anceftors of bir 
 'John Chediok, Knight. Mr. S{>eed lays, the Title here was St. Francis ^ and he 
 accouiits not for any Revenues belonging to this Houfe ; But, the Reader may 
 find, under the r^r 1485, in the firft Part of this Work, that the Friers of this 
 Convent accepted of the yearly Rents, or Profits, of ce:tain Mills, made over to 
 them by Sir John Byconi/I, Knight •, whereby they gave great Oiience to others of 
 their Brethren, who flood up for the primitive AnQ: Oblervance of the Rule 
 of St. Francis, and wou'd not (as thefe had done) accept of any Relaxations, 
 although granted by the Popes themfelves, as this is fuppos'd to have been. 
 
 VIII. CAhRDiFFt, in fFrf/e-/. The Founder of the Francifcan Convent here, 
 is not named in any Author I can find*, nor are any Revenues mention'd as be- 
 longing to this Houfe, whereof the Title was St. Francis. This I 'take to be 
 LelancCs (h) Cairtaphe, the principal Town of Glamorganpire ; where, he fays, 
 the Gray Friers had a Houfe in the biggeft Suburb of the Tov/n, calld Crokerton\ 
 which is all I can find of it. 
 
 IX. Bodmin, in Cornwall. ' Here (fays (c) Z,^/.tW_) was a good Place of Gray 
 
 * Friers, in the,South-Side of Bodmin-Town. One John^ a Merchant, of London, 
 
 * was the Beginner of this Houfe ^ and Edward, Ecir\ of Cornwall, augmented it. 
 
 * There lay buried, in the Gray Friers Church, Sir Hugh, irA Sir Thotnas Be- 
 ' vfrf//e, Knights, and Ber.etaiVors to the Houfe.' So Leland; who mentions not 
 the Titular Patron-Saint, orar.y Revenues belonging to this Friery . Whence 
 it is very plain, that there is a M'tiinke \n Speed's Catalogue., where the Monafte- 
 ry of St. Petrok, in Bodmin, is faid to have been firft poltels'd by Black-Canons^ 
 and afterwards by the Gray Friers ; which Monaftery was founded firft by Kir.g 
 yidilflan, y^wwo 935, afterwards by a Noble Man, call'd Jlgarus, with the Help 
 of [Villiam VVarervefl, Bilhop of Exeter., Anno 1124-, and afterwards, King John 
 was aBenefaftor: Which does not agree with the Account I have here given, 
 from Ltland, of the Frier? Convent in Bodmin : And therefore I take the Error 
 in Afr. Speed to be correfled by the late Author of the Summary of Religious Houfes, 
 who fays, The Monafteiyof St. Petrok, \n Bodmin, belong'd firft to the Sf«f^»- 
 [Ih.e Monks^ and laftof all to the Black Canons : So not to the Gray Friers. 
 
 V. Of the Convents in the Cuftody of Oxford. 
 I. /"^ X F o R D, the County Town. The Francifcans here were firft harbour'd 
 VV '"^ Houfe Let them by ore Richard Mill.ir, who was fo charitably afl 
 feQed towards them, that, about a Year or two afrer their coming to that Town, 
 he made over the faid Houfe, and Out let to the Corporation of Oxford for the 
 U(e of the laid Francifcans. This Place was loon afrer enlarg'd with othe; 
 Donations; for, one Thomas IValonges ^nye theim. Plat of Ground, and D^ ■ 
 
 Riri 
 
 [a] Aneelus a Sto.^ Francifco, iMafon] In Catalog* Conventuunu [b] ///'». Vol, 4'page 73. [ellti. .
 
 24 ^/^^ Antiquities of the Englidi Francifcans. 
 
 Richard AfepljamJLXxotbeT, and j^gnes, theRelift, or Widow of Guy^ a Third ; 
 befides other Largelfes ot the lame Nature befiow'd by thefe laft named Perfons, 
 as is laid more fully in the firfi Part of thtfe Colkclions, where the Reader may 
 find a true Copy of Two Grants from King Henry the 3-5/, who then refided at 
 Oxford-, and was the chief Founder of the Convent, which he order'd to be 
 built about the Diftance of a Stones-caft from their firft poor Houfe, and as near 
 as pofiible to his Royal Court : The King himfelf put his Hand to the Work, 
 was the firft Man that broke Ground for the Building, and gave his Command for 
 a Gate to be made through the Wall of the City, that he might have a free 
 Communication with the Friers in this new Convent, which was rais'd, not only 
 by the Charity, but alfo by the manual Affiftance and Labour of feveral Great 
 Men, who, laying afide all Grandeur and diftinguifhing Charaiters, ferv'd the 
 Mafons with Stones and Mortar, with a wonderful! Humility. So (aj Mr. Wood^ 
 who alfo fays, (b) the Francifcans lived and flourifh'd in this Houle from the 
 2V./r J228, till the 7"m>- 1539 ^ Whence 'tis plain that this Convent was finifh'd 
 before, or in the faid Twr 1 228. The Church here was fo little at firft, that it 
 wascall'd a Chappelonly •, but it afterwards was much enlarg'd and beautified 
 by Richardj King of the Romans (Brother to King fJmry the Third) and his Q_ueen 
 Beatrix, and others, interr'd afterwards therein : For in this Church lay buried 
 many llluftrious Perlbns fas Mr, IVood ^c) hyfi) amongft whom the Firft Place 
 i'eeir.s due to Br. ^^nellus de Pi fa, their firft Minifter Provincial, famous for the 
 Sanftity of his Life and the many Miracles faid to have been wrought by him, 
 both whilft living, and at his Tomb after his Deceale : 3.. Beatrix de Falkefton (or 
 de Famefiaiz, Queen of the Romans, bis third Wife, buried before the High Altar, 
 near the Heart of her faid Husband, Richard, King ot the. Romans ar,d j4lkma' 
 via, which was here allb honorably depofited, under a fumptuous Pyramid ot 
 wonderful fine Work. 3. The famous Doftor, Frier Roger Bacon. 4. Wtlham 
 Golafrey, Efejr, Son of John Golafre, Knight. 5. JohnGolafre, Knight: Befides 
 many other Perfons of Note and Diftinftion, whole Marble Tombs were a great 
 Ornament to this Church, which alfo was much frequented by a numerous Con- 
 courle of People, who came from all Parts out of Devotion (as may be pre- 
 fum'd)to the Tomb of the Holy Brother Jgnellus de Pifa, where Almighty God 
 was pleas'dto work many Miracles. 
 
 The Chief Benefaftors to this Convent, were King Henry the ^d, and his 
 Brother i^/c/7/ir^, King of tht Romans, and his Queen ; The Abbots ot Jbbington 
 and Ofney, and Ralfh Maydfton, Bifhop of Hereford (the Three laft afterwards 
 Francifcans) and others already mention'd ; befides whom, Mr. WoodCd) reckons 
 the Family of Golafreys, and fays, the Names of very many others are not to be 
 recover^ ^ but that the Warden and the Monks of Durham-College, in Oxford, 
 gave to the Francifcans of that Town fifty Shillings yearly ; the firft Giver of 
 which Charity he cou'd not find out : And, that King Henry the Sih (after the 
 Example of his Anceftors, or PredecefTors, as^^W llippofes) gave them, ad 
 placitum, the Sum of fifty Marks yearly, from the firft Year of his Reign, to 
 '^ the 
 
 (a) Anii'j. Oxen. Li). i.p'^£. 70. [b] Ibid.pag, 80. [c] Ibid.p. 79. [dj Antiq. Oxon.LU: i.pag. So.
 
 TJ}e Antiquities of the Englidi Francifcans. 25 
 
 the DiflTolution of this Houfe ^ whofe main Income, he fiiys, was from Legacies 
 left them by dying Perfons. The Title of this Convent was St. Francis \ and r.o 
 Revenues of Lands are here accounred for in Speeds Catalogue : Whence I conclude, 
 that the Friers here fubfifted by the Means above mention'd, with the Addition 
 of other Alm.sand Gifts of well difpos'd Chriftians. 
 
 The Francifcan Convent at OA-/ffri was diiToIv'd in theYear 1539, and the Fri- 
 ers ei:tirely turn'd out of Doors, to Experience Cas JFW fa) writes^ the utmoft 
 Hardfhips of the Beggary by them protefs'd. Their Guardian, at this fad Time, 
 was Br, Edward Bttskervyle, a. Doftor of Divinity. The Buildings, with their 
 Courts, and a pleafant Grove, about five Acres in Compafs fviz. the Ifland 
 given them by King Henry the ^d.) were Let to William Freer and johri Pye, Al- 
 dermen of O.x/or^, for twenty Shillings per Aiinum^to be paid to the King. The 
 Cloifter, or Place of Burial, with a Plat of Ground inclos'd therein, was alfo 
 Let to Bicbard Guntery Alderman of Oxford, for three Shillings and Six pence 
 Yearly Rent. The Orchard, or Garden calFd Paradife.,\'^\th another Garden call'd 
 Boteham, or Bateham, was likewife let to IVilHam Thomas., alias Plomer of Oxford 
 for 6s. Sd-fer j^nnum. The Rents atorefnid continued to be yearly paid to the 
 King untill the i6th Year of his Reign (viz. 1545) when his Majefty fold the 
 Premifles to Richard Andrews and fohn Howes •, of whom the above-named ^;- 
 churd Gunter and his Wife Joane bought them all not long after ; And then down 
 went the Trees, and the Grals-Plats were every where trodden out of all Form : 
 Kay, the Church it felf was entirely puU'd down, and the Stones, and Statues, 
 and the very Monuments of the Dead efcap'dnot, but were wholly demoliflx'd, 
 taken away, and difpos'd of, for any Ufe that cou'd make the Sale of them 
 brii:g in a Penny. So Mr. Wood, Ibid: Who goes on with the following melan- 
 choHy Apoftraphe, viz.. 
 
 Go now, yee Great Commanders of Armies, and Lords of the Earth :Go^ 
 and engrave your Names and Trophies on Marble Pyramids, and Monuments of 
 Brafs ; in vain you boaftof your conquer'd Nations ^ In vain you labour to per- 
 petuate, to future Ages, the Memory of your Conquefl and Triumphs j For, 
 not the leaft Remembrance had now remain'd of you, Great Men, who heretofore 
 were the Glory and Ornaments of pafl Ages (both for Feats of Valour, Proofs 
 of Learning, and Marks of Sanftity) had not your Names and Afts been re- 
 commended to Pofterity rather by Writings, than by Infcriptions: Alors etiam 
 Saxis, Nominibufq^ venit. Nay, liad the learned Works of our Anceltors been 
 fpared, it had been tolerable ^ But thefe alfo being deftroy'd. Men fo die that 
 future Ages can by no Marks learn that fuch Perfons ever had a Being in this 
 World, But I go on. 
 
 This Convent of the Friers Minors was in the South Suburb of Oxford, 
 Situated without the Little-South-Gate, commonly call'd Water Gate, where 
 row a Brecver flays Wood) and a Tanner, befides other People, live •, And the 
 Gardens and Grove belonging thereunto, fituated on the Weft-Side of the 
 Convent, or faid College are now call'd by the Name of Paradife Garden. 
 This College was one of the moft famous Places for learned Friers in the 
 Chriftian World; and therein did Ro^er Bacon fometimes live, the Miracle 
 
 QLq _ of 
 
 — - ■ •■'"'■■■■■ I '■ " t' " ■■ -w*^ — ■■—1 " IfcW ■ [■■l«—^»^— ■ I "• I 
 
 i^.) Ibidem^ pag.^o, , ' " "* ' * .-^-.-*
 
 26 The Antiquities of the Englifti Francifcansi 
 
 of li!s Age for Leariiing ; and here alio he died in the Habit ot a Francifcani 
 The Suhtilf Dcihr, "John Duns Scotiis, that Prodigy of his Time, did alio here- 
 tofore live, and ftudy, and teach in this Houfe, which was a Kurfery of Lear- 
 muz, wherein Pope /Hexander the Fifth and many other eminent Men, already 
 fjpckcnof, had their firfb Education. 
 
 The Buildings here, were, according to the Mode of thofe Times, ftately 
 and magnificent, their Church large and decent, their Refedtory, Cloifter, and 
 L.ibraries, all proportioiable thereunto. This I write from Mr. Wood^ who 
 allbadds. that all tliatis now remaining of thefe Edifices, is a little, old, and 
 decrepit Building (the lower Windows touching the Ground) which while we were 
 Frefhmen, (fayshej Tradition toldus'cwas Roger BaconSy ^nd Thomas Bungey's 
 Study: The Ruins of this College are going to Ruin, and almoft lodg'd in 
 Obfcurity. So Mr. Wood, in a Manulcript of his own Writing quoted by 
 Stevens., in the firft Tome of his .Monajlicon^ who, from the fame Author, fays, 
 Br. Jgnel!usvj^5 the fifft Guardian of this Convent, and after him .Br. William 
 Efibye, then Br. j4dam de Marifcoy after him Br. Hnveus de Saham Anno 1285, 
 who was alio Chancellor of our Univerfity \ (fays Wood) then Br. John de Co- 
 drr.fiton, Anuo 1300*, as alfb Br, John de Ochampton Anno I+°. Edvp. 3. with 
 Others, the l.ifl: of whom, being imperteft, is here broke off by Mr. Wood- 
 To what has been faid, I have only to add the following Dimenfions from 
 Mr. Willis'' s Hljiory of Abbeys, Fol. 2. Page 33. I give them as I find them, 
 thous^h to me they are unintelligible. However, take them, thus ; viz. 
 The Length of the Choir of the Church of 5f. Francis, at Oxford., 68 Paces. 
 The Length from theChoir-Door to the Weft- Window, contains 90 Paces; and 
 thus the whole Length contains 1 50 Paces. The Length of the Nave of the 
 Church on the Eafl Side (this certainly ought to be the North Sldcy fays Stevens') 
 contains 28 Paces. The Length of the Nave of the Church on the South 
 Part to the North Gate, contains only 90 Paces.- And there were Jen Chaff els in 
 the North Ifle of the Church. The Breadth of the North Church contains 20 
 Paces. The Breadth of each Chappel contains (5 Paces : And thus the Breadth 
 of the whole Nave of the Church on the North Side, with the Ten Chappeh^ 
 contains 26 Paces, and each Chappel contains in Length fix paces, and ia 
 B'eadth Paces : And each Glafs Window of the laid Ten Chappels^ con- 
 tains three Days glazed. So Willis, as he is faithfully tranflated by Stevens: p. 137. 
 
 II. Reading, the County Town of Berklhlre. Here wasa famous Convene 
 of Francifcans, furnifh'd with a good Library, as I find in Mr. Wood (a) and 
 others.- But cannot learn who was the Founder here, what was the Title of the 
 Houfe, or that it had any Endowment of Lands •, and therefore prefume the 
 Friers here fubfifted wholly upon Alms. That old Building which now is 
 Bridem^, or the floufc of CorreHion, in Readings I take to have heretofore been a 
 Part of the Francifcan Convent there. 
 
 III. Bedford, the Countv Town. * The very original Foundrefs of the Gray 
 * Friers zt Bedford (Czys (h) Le!'ind)\vns Mitbil PatejJjul, Lady of Blettejho, where 
 ' now S\r John St. John dwells, and of Sfoke^ as fome fay, in LincolnOnte, four 
 
 Miles 
 
 (a)CoMj«. P'ol. 5. page J 7, 55? «liii. (b) hlii. Fol. i. page pi.
 
 The Antiquities of MeEnglifb Francifcans. 27 
 
 * Miles on this Side Gramham, ^nd this Stoke belongs now to Mr. St. John. This 
 ' Mahil was buried here, on the South-Side of the High Altar, under an 
 
 * Arch, wich this Infcription upona flat Stone, Hie jctcet Domina MakilU Paic- 
 
 * Jlju/ky Domina de Blettefljo, pritna Fundatrix hujus Domus. There was alfo buri- 
 
 * ed, on the North-Side ot the High Altar, under a plain Stone, one of the 
 
 * Lord Morvbrays: And one Queen £/f»o>e right afore the High Altar, under a 
 ' flat Stone ot Marble, with an Image oi plain Plate of Brafs encrown'd. Richard 
 
 * HaftingSy Efqr, Chamberlain to Edward the ^d, was buried on the North-Side 
 ' of the Quire, in a low Tomb. Sir Richard Irencefler, as it is laid, made tlie 
 ' Body ot the Church of the Gray Friers here. Blake St. John, of Jate Time, 
 
 * was buried in the Quire by Hafttngs. Thefe Friers ftand fiat in the North- 
 
 * Eaft of the Town.' So Leland, Ibidem. This Foundrefs is call'd Ad.irgaret de 
 Patteflial m Speed's Catalogue, where the Title, or Patron-Saint, is not named, or 
 any Rents mention'd ; for, this Place, at the Suppreflion, is valued at no high- 
 er a Rate than five Pounds; which may reafonably be fuppos'dto be what the 
 Site was let for when fupprels'd. Burnet lays, this Houfe was furrender'd on 
 the id of OBob. T539, by the Warden; but this is one of the Surrenders which 
 hefaysare enroH'd in the Augmentation Office ; but the Originals are loft. They 
 lived upon Alms here. 
 
 IV.- Stanford, \n Lincolnjhire. The Francifcan Convent in this Town was 
 heretofore the Refidence ot many eminent Friers, famous for both Vertue and 
 Learning, and living wholly upon the Charity of the People •, as may be fup- 
 pos'd by its having no Valuation put upon it at the Suppreifion •, and therefore it 
 leems fomewhat ftrange that fuch a Stir was made about the Surrenderiiig of 
 this Place: But the Convents that were not endow'd were, it feems, to flue no 
 better than the Monafteries that enjoy'd large PofTeflions ; and there was r Form 
 to be ufed, to give a better Face to the Procedure. Mr. Fuller (») defcribes the pre- 
 vious Difpofitions tol'uch-like Sarrf«(^frj thus, viz " Sanders fnys, that the King 
 *' fent a large Inftrument to every Monaftery, fairly ingrofs'd in Parchment, en- 
 *' joining them all to fubfcribejfign and feal the fame with their Seal Conventual, 
 *' upon the Pain of his Difpleafure." — It was alfo prelVd upon the (aid Monks, 
 
 * Friers, and Nuns that they being obnoxious to the King's Anger, This mi^he 
 
 * and wou^dbedone without their Confent ; So that it was better for them, Rebus 
 
 * Jic flantibus., or in the prefent Poflure of Affairs, to make a Vertue of Nereility; 
 
 * the rather becaufe this Complement conduced nothing to tlie King's Right (on 
 
 * whom the Parliament had already beftow'd thefe Abbey-Lands) but might add 
 
 * much to their own Advantage, as being the Way whereby their Penfions might 
 
 * the moreeafily,be procur'd, largely allotted, and furely fatisfied unto them. 
 *•■ The Premiiles made fuch Impreflions on the Parties concern'd therein, that 
 
 * fearing the Lag wou'dbe look'd upon with bad Eye?, they ran as it were a 
 
 * Race in their Relignations who fliou'd be firft and foremoft therein. However 
 
 * they ufed feveral Forms. So Dr. Fuller. 
 
 Now, the poor Francifcans having no Right to any Thing, and nothing to lofe 
 but a dwelling-Place and the Alms of the People, and cou'd not reafonably ex- 
 
 Q.q 2 ptft 
 
 ia.) Church Hijlcry, Book the 6th, pages n^ and ^10,
 
 28 The Antiquities of the Englilli Francifcans. 
 
 peil any Penfions to be fettled upon them •, yet (as 'tis confidently reported^ the 
 Friers ot the Convent of St. Fmw»;, at Sf4«/er^, were fo bamboozled by thefe 
 amazing Circumftances, that they TubfcribM to a ridiculous Form of a Surrender^ 
 on the 8f<i> of Octob : T $ 39, as their Brethren ot the Convent ot Coventry had done 
 three Days before them. Burnet fas often quoted^ makes mention ot the Guar- 
 dian only as fubfcribing to the 5arrf«</fr, the Original whereof (as he adds) is loft ; 
 But Fuller fa) gives the following Names of the Friers who, he lays, were Sub- 
 fcribers at Stanford ; viz. . 
 
 Br. John Schemyj Guardian. 
 Br. John Robards. Br. John Jarmun. 
 
 Br. John Cbadworth. Br. John Tong. 
 
 Br. Richard Pye. Br. John Lovell. 
 
 Br. John Clarke. Br. IVilltam lomfon. 
 
 Br. John Ouoyte. 
 The Form of this pretended Surrender the Reader fhall have, from Sir William 
 Dugdale, whenlcome up to the Convent of Coventry : In the mean Time, there 
 are three Things which ("as Stevens (y) writes) are worthy to beconfider'd. ' f/V/?, 
 Whether this, and feveral other fuch like Refignations were not entirely for- 
 ged, Avichout theConfentor Knowledge of any of the Parties therein nam'd. 
 Secondly., That if fuch Perfons did fo far comply as to fubfcribe to fuch Refig- 
 
 * nations, 'tis almoft outof Difpute that they were compell'd to it through Fear 
 
 * and Dread, as well for their Reputation, as Life, well ]:nowing that no Me- 
 thods, though ever fo infamous, were fpared to defame th em \ and that the 
 King wou'd ufeno Moderation towards them if they oppos'd him. Thirdly, 
 That it is certain there were very few Monafteries of Francifcans, and parti- 
 cularly that of Stanford Cwhich is known to have been very large) that con- 
 
 * tain'dfo fewasten Friers, the Number of Subfcribers above ; So that it will 
 
 * appear, that if ever fuch Inftruments werefubfcrib'd at all, the fime was not 
 
 * done by one Fourth Part of the Perfors concern'd. Ihele Particulars are all 
 ' the more probable in theFrancircans,becaufeall our Hiftorians agree that they 
 
 * were the boldeft inoppofingof King //f«ry the 2th, wherein they out-did ail 
 
 * other Religious Orders ; for which they were (in Part) the fii ft fupprefs'd j 
 
 * and even before their total Suppreffion, above two hundred of them were im- 
 
 * prifon'd throuehout all England." So Stevens ; who aifo, from a certain Ma- 
 nufcript, gives this farther Account of this Convent; viz.- ' It was feated a 
 " little Way out of Stanford, on the Ealt-Side of it, and North of St. Leo- 
 *' nard'sMona{\ery ; but when, or by whom founded, I have not been able to 
 " find, nor any other Particulars concerning the fame, befides what follows. 
 " In the Town-CoiTer of Stanford, is preferv'd this Memorial ; That in the 
 " ^Sth Tear of King Edward the sd, William de Stone, Guardian of the Friers 
 ". Minors, and the Convent of the Hime in Staunford, did make an Exchange of 
 " a Fountain at Stacyes Milne, call'd Efiwelljlieved, with the Town of Stanford^ 
 '' John Brown being then Alderman, for another Fountain lying in what is now 
 " call'd Emblens Clofe, juft oppofite to them, whereby the Water was convey'd 
 *' to them by leaden Pipes, at aneafy Charge." So Stevensy Ibid. p. 155. V. 
 
 fa) Church Hi/lory, B9ol{ the 6th,page 320. (b) Additions to the Mondfilam, Vol. i.p<i^e 1$:-
 
 The Antiquities 0/ //;e Englifli Francifcans. 2p 
 
 v. Nottingham, the County Town. The Francifcan Convent here was 
 founded by King Henry the Thirdy Title 5? Francis ^ as in Mr- Speed, who accounts 
 for no Revenues belonging thereunto. This Houfe, according to Ifaacfons Chro- 
 nologkd Table^ was built in the r^r 1250^ and flood (as Z,f/rf«^ fa) fays) towards 
 the Weft-part of the Town, and not far from the Caftle. ^Kr«fr (b) adds, that 
 this Place wns furrender'd by the Warden and Seven Friers, en the <^th of Feb. 
 1539. In plain Englifh, they were turn'd out of Doors \ and having no Right 
 to any Thing, as poor Friers, 'twas to nopropofefor them to aim at {landing ic 
 out with the King. 
 
 VI. Northampton, the County Town.' The Francifcans had a Houfe builc 
 here for them immediately after their firft corning into the Nation; But their 
 Number encreafing fo that this Place was too little for them, they found Friends 
 that (about the Tear 1228J founded them a much better in the Parifti of St. 
 Giles \ Whereof Leland (c) fpeaks thus, viz. " The Gray Friers Houfe in North- 
 
 * ampton wasthebeft built, and the largeft Houfe of all the Places of the Fri- 
 
 * ers, and flood a little beyond the chief Market-Place, almoft by flat North. 
 ' The Site and Ground whereon it flood belong'd to the City; whereupon the 
 
 * Citizens were taken for Founders of it. There lay two of the Salyshcriis bu- 
 ' ried in this Houfe of Gray Friers ; and as I remember (fays Leland, Ibid.') it 
 
 * was told me that one of the Siilysberie''s Daughters was Mother to Sir H^ilUam 
 
 * /"^rand his eldeft Brother. So Leland. 
 
 Saint Francis was the Title of this Convent, as it appears in Speed's Catalo^ucy 
 where it is rated at no more than 6/. 17 /. 4 «/ : whence itmay be luppos'd to 
 have been wholly fupported by the Charity of the People. In this Convent it 
 was that the famous Abbot of Canon Regulars, of Ofney, was cloath'd in the Ha- 
 bit of St. Francis, in the Tear 1 235, as may be feen more fully in the firfl Part of 
 this Work, under the (aid Year. Burnet ikys, this Houfe was furrender'd, on 
 the i2thof 08ob. 1539, by the Warden and ten Friers. Mr. Willis fnys, on the 
 2Qtb of Oilob. and that the Name of thatlaft Guardian was John Windlowe. H.fi. 
 of Abbeys : Vol- 2. p. \6o. 
 
 VII. Leicester, the County Town. The Francifcan Convent here flood at 
 the End of the Hofpital of Mr. Wigcfton : Simon Montefort, as I learn'd (lays (d) 
 Leland) was the Founder thereof .- And here were buried King Richard tlye 
 Tijird (upon whofe Tomb Baker's Chronicle makes feveral curious Remarks) and 
 a Knight calfd Mutton, fometime Mayor of Leicefler. So Iceland, Ibidem. 
 The Title here was St. Fr,incis, as in Speed's Catalogue, where no Revenues are ac- 
 counted for as belonging to this Houle ^ which therefore may reafonably be fup- 
 pos'd to have fubfifted wholly upon Alms. 
 
 £«r«fr lays, this Convent was furrender'd <?« the 10th of Novemb. 'l$i9, by the 
 Guardian fBr. William Gyles by Name) and Seven other Friers. 
 
 VIII. GRANTH.AM,in L(V7co/w_/7;/Vf. This Conv( lit is in the common Catalogues 
 of the Order; and Br. Francis aSta. Clara, (e) Davenport, fays, it was built in the 
 Tear 1290 ; which is all I can find of it; which feems to be a good Proof that 
 it had no temporal Endowments o make it confiderable enough to be taken No- 
 tice 
 
 {i)Inn.Vol. I. p. 8(y. (h)HiJ}. Reform. Booi ^.p"gt 145, iSc (i) Ititi, Ttl. i. (a^e 7, 
 (dj It in. Vol. 1. page iz. (e) In Supplim. Hiji. Min.
 
 30 The Antiquities of the Engliih Franclfcans. 
 
 tice ot by our Englifli Raters of Church Revenues ; Nor is the Title^ or Patron 
 Saint named. 
 
 \1.0f the Convents in the Cuftody of Newcaftle. 
 
 I. NtwcASTiE, in Northumberland. ' The Convent of Gray Friers here 
 
 * (lays (aj Leland) was of the Foundation ot the Cairluellesy origii.ally Merchants 
 
 * of the fame Town, and afterwards Men of Land. TheT'hir^illes, of the PVold 
 
 * of Torkjhire^ have now, by Heirs-general, Cairluclles Lands. So Leland^ /bid. 
 The Obftrv.ints had a Convert in this Town, whereof Leland fpeaks, (h) laying, 
 
 * The bbfervant Friers Houfe ftood by Pandon-Gate, and was a very fair Thing.' 
 King fjer.ry the Seventh placed the Obfervants in this Seat ; But whether it was 
 a new Houfe built for them by that King, or the old Convent of the Conventuals^ 
 refign'd to them by his Majefty's Command, I do not find :; but believe it was 
 the latter j and that the laid Conventuals again took Poffellion of it when the 
 Obfervants were turn'd out of this, as well as out of all their other Houfes, by 
 \\'w^ Henry the 2th Anno T<;34: And that which confirms me in this Opinion, is, 
 that ^arw« fays, this Houfe was /arrfWrr'*/, in the ^zth Tear oi the Reign of 
 King Her.ry the Sth, by the Warden and eight Friers, two Novices •, which was 
 five Years after the Obfervants viere fupprefs'd and violently expell'd out of all 
 their Houfes. 
 
 The Title here, or Patron-Saint, was St. Francis^ and no Valuation was put 
 upon this Houfe at the Suppreffton^ as may be Ceen in Speed's Catalogue ^ whence it 
 may be f uppos'd to have fubfiited by the Charity of good Chriftians. 
 
 In this Convent, the famous Subtile DoH-or, John Duns Scotus, was firfl cloathed 
 in the Habit of a Francifcan, and he lived and died in that State, a true Frier 
 Minor. 
 
 II. Dundee, m Scotland. Here was a Convent belonging to the Englifh Pro- 
 vince ot Francifcans, and in the Cvfiody oi NtwcaftU, as it is reckon'd in t?ie 
 common Catalogues of the Convents ot the Order. Who was the Founder of 
 this Houfe, I find not, nor what Saint the Patron, or that it had any Revenues j 
 and therefore conclude it was fupported by Alms. 
 
 III. DuMFRis, or DuNFREisE, in Scotland. This Convent was under the 
 Obedience and Jurifdidtion of the Englifli Provincial, and in the Cuftody of 
 Newcaflle ; which is all I can find recorded of it j except that R>bert Bruce, Earl 
 ot Karrtck, caus'd a certain Gentleman of Note, c^WdJohn de Redecomyn^ to be 
 murder'd in the Church of the Friers Minors in Dumfrife, tor his Fidelity to 
 the King of England ■, and he gave him the firfl mortal Wound before the Altar, 
 .Anno 1305 So(cJ Wharton. 
 
 IV. Hadincton, \vi Scotland- This Convent alfo belong'd to the Francifcan 
 Province of England, and was one of the Nine Houfes in the Cuftody of Nervca- 
 file, as appears in the common Catalogues of the Order ; where neither Title, or 
 Relets are mention'd. 
 
 V. Carlisle, the County Town of Cumberland- This Convent is regifler'd 
 as the other ^ and Leland (d) fays, there were Gray Friers at Cairluel : And this 
 
 is 
 
 (a^ hin. Vol. 6. f'>ge ^6. (h) km. Vol. S.purt 2. [age 4c. (c) jinglia Sacra, part 1. pag. 514. 
 (d) Uin.Vol, 7. fart. i.page^S.
 
 The Antiquities of the Englifli Francilcans. 3 1 
 
 is all I can find of this Houfe ^ and therefore prefume the Friers here- fubfifted 
 by the Means ot Alms, which made them lb iiiconfiderable in the Eyes of the 
 World, that they are notmention'd otherwife than that once there were I'uch 
 Perfons in the World, living at Ctrlile, and turn'd out thence at laft. 
 
 VI. Hartlepool, in the Bifhoprick of Durham. Here again the Francifcan 
 Convent had been forgotten, but that it appears in the common Catologues ot 
 the Order. If the Friers of this Houfe had liv'd upon Rents, they wou'd have 
 been entitled to a Place iu Speed's Catalogue ; but not appeariiig there, they may 
 be fuppos'd to have fubfirted wholly upon the Charily of their Benefa£i:ors, as 
 moft ot their Religious Brethren of the Province ot England ha etoiove zealouf- 
 ly did. 
 
 VII. Berwick, on the Borders of Scotland. Here was a Convent of Francifcans, 
 which may reafonably be fuppos'd to have enjoy'd no Rents ot Larids, becaufe 
 no mention is made ot it, or of them, in Speed''s Catalogue, or elfewhere, unlefs ic 
 is in the common Catalogues of the Order, where it is named one of the Con- 
 vents ot the Cuftody of Newcaftle ^ which is all I can find of it, except a Charter 
 ot King Edward the Third of England, confirming an Allowance of twenty 
 Marks yearly, fettled on the Friers of this Convent of Berwick., by the Kings 
 ot Scotland : This Gift is declai'd to be beftow'd as a free Charity, and a pure 
 ^Ims, for the Support of thefe poor Friers ^ as may be ken by the Tenor 
 of the Charter it feif, in the 2^- Volume of Stevens Monailicon, page 2$ of the 
 appendix. 
 
 VIII. RoXBOROOGH, in Scotland. This is the fourth Scots Convent in the Ca- 
 J^ody of Newcaflle^ and heretofore under the Jurifdiftion and Obedience ot the 
 
 Provincial of England, and Part of the Englifh Francifcan Province : Which is 
 all I can find recorded of it. 
 
 IX. Richmond, in Richmondflnre. Of this Convent LdmA (a) writes thus, 
 viz. ' At the Back of the French Gate, ftood the Houfe of the Cray Friers, a 
 ' little without the Walls: Their Houfe, Meadow, Orchard, and a little Wood 
 
 * are wall'd in : Men go from the Market-place to it by a Poftern-Gate. There is 
 
 * a Conduit of Water at the Gray Friers, elfe there is none in Richmond. Not 
 ' far trom the Friers Wall, is a Chappel of St. Anthony.^ So Lei and, who, in ano- 
 ther fb) Place, fays, feveral of the Families of the Scroopes, ot the Plejfyes, and 
 
 * of the Frankes were buried at the Gray Friers, in Richmond-^ But he mentions 
 no Rents belonging to them, or to their Convent ; Whence it m.'.y be concluded 
 that the Site of their Houfe, and what lay within the Precinft of their Inclo- 
 fure was all the temporal Eflate thofe poor Men had j So that their main Support 
 was from Alms. 
 
 Burnet fays, this Houfe was furrender'd, by the Warden and fourteen Friers, 
 on the i9ffc of January, 1539-, and I think it may, with Truth, be aided, that 
 thefe Surrenders (if there really were any luch) were only defign'd tor Form- 
 fake, and to quiet the People, then much difturb'd <!t theft furprtdng Methods (^ 
 Proceedinf. 
 
 ^ VII. 
 
 (a) Itin.Vol. 5. ^a^e 96. (.b) It'w Vol. 8. f'-'t -<p^g' 4<J»
 
 52 The Antiquities of the Englifh Franclfcans. 
 
 VII. Of the Convents in the CuHody of Worcefter. 
 I, \ XTOrchester, the Comity Town. ' The Gray Friers Houle (rays('a) 
 VV ' Lelanei) Aood w a Low Marifh Ground, in thebuburb, without St. 
 
 * Martin's-G^ze, and was of the Foundation of the E;irls of^Varwick.' And I guefs, 
 from fome Circumftances, that the Buildii:g of this Convent was begun about 
 the iV^r 1227. Speed's Gif<?/ofj^c mentions not the Title, nor is there any Valua- 
 tion put upon it at the Suppre/fion •, whence it may reafonably be luppos'd 
 that thele Friers had no Rents, but lubfifted wholly by the Charity and Alms 
 of the People. 
 
 II. Preston, in Lancafi)ire. ' The Gray Friers Houfe (fays ("b) Leland) in 
 
 * the North- Weft Side of the Town, was let in the Soile of a Gentleman 
 
 * dwelling in the Town it (e\ioi Pre ft on, and whofe Kame alfo was Prejlon \ and 
 ' a Brother, or Son of hisconfirm'd the firA Grant of the Site of the Houfe : 
 
 * And one of thefe Two was afterwards a Man of great PoffeiTions, and Vifcounc 
 
 * of Gurmaflon, in Ireland, as I heard fay. ' So Leland, who, moreover adds, 
 that ' Divers of the Prtftons were buried in this Convent .• But the Original and 
 
 * great Builder of this Houfe was Edward Ea.\-\ ot Lancafter, Son to King Henry 
 *■ the 3d. Sir Robert Holland, that accus'd Ihomas Earl of Lancafter of Treafon, 
 
 * was a great Benefactor to this Houfe, in which heatlaftwas buried. There 
 
 * alio lay in the Gray Friers at Prcfton divers of the Shirbums, and Daltons^ 
 
 * Gentlemen.' So Leland, Ibidem. The Patroii-Saint is not here nam'd -^ nor was' 
 this Convent thought worth the being placed in Speed's Catidcgue; which feems 
 to be a good Inflance of its Poverty, and its not being endow'd witlj Rents of 
 Lands. 
 
 III. Bridgenorth, in Shropfjire. The Francifcan Convent here was founded 
 hy John Talbot, Earl ot Shrewfbury, Coufm and Heir to Ralph Strange : Tit]e St. 
 Francis. This Place, at the Supprellion, was valued at no more than 4 1, as it 
 appears in Speed's Catalogue ; which I take to be what the Site of the Convent 
 WHS Let for when fupprels'd, and not any Rent belonging to the Friers, who 
 therefore may be prefum'd to have liv'd, to the Rigour of their Rule, upon Alms. 
 
 IV. Shrewsbury, the County Town of Shropftjire. 0(th\s Convent Leland (c") 
 writes thus,v)Z.The Gray Friers here were founded by the Charlctons. Here lay the 
 
 * Lady Charleton, whom they took as their Foundrefs : And this Houfe flood 
 upon the Severne Bank, a little above the Bridge of five Arches. One Dodor 
 Francis, a Frier, of late Days, rebuilt (almoft) a great Part of this Friers 
 Houfe.' So Leland, who, in another (d) Place, Hiys, ' The chief of the 
 Lords Charletons were the Founders of the Gray Friers in Shrewsbury -^ Where- 
 as, in Speed''s Catalogue, one Geffrey, Lord Powis, is reckon'd the Founder here, 
 
 becaufe,as I prefume, he was a Notable great Benefaftor to this Place. The 
 Title, or Patron-Saint of this Convent was St- Francis, and no Revenues of 
 Lands are accounted for as belonging hereunto : For, although one of the Friers, 
 nam'd above, is faid to have rebuilt a Part of the Houfe, yet that Way of Speech 
 
 imports 
 
 (a) Itm. Vol. 4. part i./zrgeSj. (b) hit). Vol 4. page I2t (c) ltir..Vol. 4- ?<"■' !• t''S' 78. (d) 
 Vol. 8' part a. page 84.
 
 The Antiquities 0/ /^e Engliih Francifcans. 33 
 
 Jmports no more here than that it had Intereft enough with certain Benefaftors 
 to prevail upon them to repair the decaying Buildings. 
 
 V. Coventry, inWarwickjinre. The Reader ihall have this whole Article 
 from Sir Wtlliam (a) DugdaU^ who writes thus. "When the Francifcans firft fix'd in 
 •■Coventry, they had no Charter of Foundation for their Houfe there ^ nor indeed 
 any formal Grant in Writing of the Place whereon it floods which is no won- 
 der, fays he, confiderjng, that, being not endow'd with Lands, they wholly liv'd 
 on the Charity of others. And, as for their Habitation here, with the Church ; 
 'tis certain that the Structure of both was wholly m^de at the Coft of good Peo- 
 ple; So great a Refpeft did the World, inthofe Days, bear towards them, by 
 reafon of their devout and auftere Lives : For it appears, that, in the Tear 
 \2-}^,the$thof Henry the 3^, Ralph Fitz. Nicholas, then Sheriff o^ Warwickflnre^ 
 in his Accounts, makes mention of Shingles allow'd by the King for covering 
 their Oratory here, and deliver'd out ot the Woods at Kenilworth for that Pur- 
 pofe. The Ground whereon this Houfe was built was allow'd unto them by 
 Hanulfh, the laft of that Kame, Earl of Chefler, out of his Mannour of Cheyles- 
 more, as is evident. It feems that thefe Friers had afterwards alio many good 
 Benefaftors-, For, fofaira Church as that has been, by the View of the Steeple 
 yet Handing, cou'd not be built without very great Coft : But that the fame 
 Strufture was made in Edward the Thirdh Days, I (fays DugdaW) am inclin'd to 
 believe, partly for the Form of its Fabrick, and partly becaufe I find that Edward, 
 Prince of lf'^^/?j (commonly call'd the Black Prince') by his Charter, bearing 
 Date the ^J\th of December, the 32^h of Edward the ^d, gave Leave to thefe 
 Friers('of whom, as the Grant exprefleth, he was a PatronJ for to take fo much 
 Stone out of his Quarry at Cheylefmore, as they fhou'd have Occafion for, to ufe 
 about their Building and Walls ^ And likewife Libertj'to have a Poftern from 
 their Manfion into the Park, to carry out any of their Convent that might be 
 lick, or Infirm ; lo that they were to go no farther than the faid Qjjarry \ the 
 Key of wiiich Door was to be always kept by the Warden of the fame Friers, 
 or his Subftitute, and no other to pafs that Way but fuch as were fick. And as I 
 ("fays Dugdale) am of Opinion that then was the Time of its Building, (fo do I 
 imagine that fome of the /y^y?«wf/Cnow Earls of Huntington') were good Benefa- 
 ftors thereto, in regard that divers of them lay buried in a Chappel of the 
 lame Church, and fbme in the very Habit of Friers Minors : So great an 
 Effeem had they of this Order." Thus the famous Antiquary Sir William Dug- 
 dale, who goes on with an Account ot the Arms of the H^fiingj^SytheCantilupes, 
 the Valences, and the Spenfers, which heretofore were in the Windows of a Chap- 
 pel of this Church, call'd Hafl'ings's Chappel, and then he gives the following In- 
 scriptions which were there in Latin, and are (in plain Englifhj thus, viz. The 
 Lord Henry de HajUngs, with the Lady Joane his Wife, the Daughter ot William 
 de Cantilupe, and Sifter to St. Thomas of Hereford; undjohn de Hafiings, their 
 Son, with 7/"<jW his Wife, the Yy^\i^hteT o^ Wtliiamde Valence, Earl of Pembroke 
 iadWexford^h\xriK(\ in the Habit of the Friers Minors; At whofe right Haud 
 Wesjoan de Huntingfeldy Daughter of the faid John and Ifabel: Item, Robert df 
 
 R r Shotefirooh 
 
 »^»_^— ■■ ■ .-I ■ 
 
 iji)Antiq. of iVarwhkJbire, facjti I13, and lij, ard n6.
 
 34 ^^^^ Antiquities of the Englifii Francifcans^ 
 
 ShotefhropJt, a moft valiant Efquire, heretofore Standard-Bearer to the faid Lord 
 Henry, and afterwards his Senelcal, or Steward ot his Houfe. And here alfo 
 Jay John, Edmund, and Henry, the Sons of the Lord William de Haflings, Son 
 cf the Lord John de Hafiings ; and John de Hunttngfeld, the Son of William da 
 //i/w/«^/f/W and tlie Lady ^o4« his Wife. So Dugdale, who alio fays, John de 
 HAJlingi, above, departed this Life on the pth of March 1311, and Ijahel his Wife, 
 on the id ofOciob. 1305, which was before Edward the ^d came to the Throne, 
 and cannot be reconciled to hisafferting that this Church was built in the Reign 
 of that King, unlefs it be by fiying, thofe Interments were made in fome Chap- 
 pel here built before the Main Body of this Church was begun: But I go on 
 with Dugdale, who adds, that this Order of Friers was very much efteem'd 
 and reverenced by all Sorts of People is evident enough ■, for whofoever ihali 
 take Notice of fuch Bequefts as by the Teftaments of moft Men and Women 
 were made in ancient Time, may find, that, as they feldom neglefted to give 
 more orlefsto one or other Religious Houfe of this Rule, So, it they were 
 Perfons of Quality, they did frequently make choice of their Sepultures in them. 
 So Dugdale, who again goes on. Before the Supprellion of Monafteries, this 
 City was very famous for the Pageants that were afted therein upon Corpus Chrifii 
 Day, which occafion'd very great Confluence of People thither from far and near, 
 and was of no 1 mall Benefit thereto ; which Pageants being aded with mighty 
 State and Reverence by the Friers of this Houfe, had Theatres for the feveral 
 Scenes, very large and high, placed upon Wheels, and drawn to all the emi- 
 nent Parts of the City, for the better Advantage of the Spe£lators, and con- 
 tain'd the Hillory of the Old and New Teflament, compos'd in old EngliJI) Rhyme 
 . as appears by an ancient Manulcript intitled Ludus Coventrite, So Dugdale. 
 Thefe Pageants, fays Afr. Stevens, were facred Reprefentations, wherein were 
 exhibited the Hiftories of the Old and New Teftament, the Perfons therein 
 mention'd being brought upon the Stage, whom the Poet, according to hi's 
 Fancy, brings in talking to one another, in old Englilh Metre, ccmpos'd by the 
 Friers Minors, and acVed by their Direflion, and were both edifying and jh- 
 ftruftive to the People, and were call'd the Play of Corpus Chrifli, or the 
 Tlay of Coventry : The whole is a large Quarto, andwou'd be too long for this 
 Place : Stevens gives a Specimen of this Play, or Plays, in fourteen Pages of 
 his Monajiicon, m Fulio, beginning in Page 1 39 of the firft Volume of that Work, 
 And the whole Manufcript is ftill in the Cotton Library, fuh Effigie Vefpaftan. D. 
 ^7/7. But I go onv/ith Dugdale, who fays, The next Thii:g whereof I ana tp 
 take Notice, in Relation to this Friery, is King Henry the Eighth's Survey in the 
 26ih Tear of his Reign : At which Time it did appear that They had no Lands^ 
 nor other Poffcffions, Spiritual or Temporal, but only a Liberty in the Country to re- 
 ceive the Charity of good People. This being (b (i'^ys Dugdale)! expeti that 
 fome may demand why it was not diffolv'd in the z'jth of Henry the Sth when 
 the LelTer Houfes went to wrack ? Whereuntol anfwer ('f^ivs he) that the Aft- 
 for that Purpofe extended only unto Monks, Canons, and Nuns: But if it be 
 ask'd, why thefe were then Co fhelter'd from the firft Storm ? the Reafon, I think, 
 i? apparent ; viz. T%ere was nothing to he got by their Rum, forafmuch as they h.id no 
 
 £rdo-wmetit of Laiidj, &c. -^ which gave thefe poor Friers Liberty to breath 
 
 here
 
 Tlje Antiquities of the Englifli Francifcans^ 55 
 
 here a while longer, in Expeftation of their Ruin, viz- till the ^oth of Henry 
 the Sth that all the great Houfes were dilfolv'd ; They being then forced to fub- 
 
 fcribe an Inftrument, whereunto their coirmon Seal is affix'd, whereby 
 
 they furrender'dthis Houfe into the faid King's Hands; as the Copy thereof 
 doth manifeft. So Dugdule. 
 
 Before I give the faid Copy, I defire the Reader wou'd be pieas'd to obferve, 
 that the Friers do not acknowledge any perfonal Crime, nor even fo much as 
 any Fault, or Misbehaviour, on their own Part j nor do \ find that any fuch 
 Thing was laid to their Charge \ And that this canting Form and its leveral 
 Claufes were not Expre/lions of their own Sentiments, but what they, being 
 over-aw'dand baffled, were/orcfn^ to fubfcribe. I will aUb venture to trefpafs 
 fo far upon my Reader's Patience as to make fomefhort Remarks thereon, in the 
 marginal Notes. So here follows the Form ot Surrender^ in its old Drefs and 
 Language, being the fame, mutatis mutandis^ as that fubfcribed by the Carme- 
 lites and others. 
 
 For as moche as We the Warden and Freers of the Houfe of Saynt Francis in Co~ 
 ventre, in the County of Warwick, commonly caltyd the Grey Freers in Coventre, 
 doo profoundly conftder, that the PerfeElion ofChriftian Livinge do the not confifi in dume 
 Ceremonies, werynge of a Grey Coot, ^ l) dif- C 
 
 gearing our Selfe aftur flraunge Fa.fions, The Frifrt were not fuch Fools as to 
 dokynge, noddynge, and heckynge, in lurd- ^^'Xf' f ^"^ Time believed that ChrUl- 
 yngolr Selves wythe a Curdle fulle of -n Pertefl.on confi h .n dumb Ceremo- 
 rr ,^ I ; ■' , I n /2- I Vt Dies, Of many outward Drefs : But this 
 
 Knotts and other l,ke Pap,fi,cal Ceremo- ^^^ j-^jj for them. 
 
 nits, wherein we hade, ben moofte principally f, ) 
 
 fra^tfed and (2) mijlyd in Times pafle ; h is inipoflible that the Friers cou'd be 
 
 but the very tru Waye to plefe God, and to fo grofly mijl/d as is here exprefs'd in this 
 
 live a tru Chrijiian Mon, rvitheout all Tpo- form, coiupos'd by others for them. 
 crifie,andfayneddifeymulation,is(^^)fin- C?) 
 
 cerely declared unto us by our Maifier Chri- , ^!°"%°V '''t,^''"*^°"''^,="/"y "'"= 
 
 fte, iis EvangeUfles, and Apofieles : Being ^J>'f- ° t'rJrl"^ ' I ^^ J $ "",'' 
 ^ J J , r r ,, ' , /- ^ God IS to be lerv d ;« Spirit and in Truth : 
 
 myndyd hereaftur to followe the fame, con- 3,, „,^„ (-before thefe Times) had heard 
 fcrmynge our Selfe unto the Will and Pie- ,hat (4; a Lay Perfon cou'd be the Head 
 fure of our Supreme Hedde (4J under Code of the Church, &c; 
 en Erthe, the Kynges Majefiie, and not to 
 
 followe, henfeforth the fuptrftitius Traditions of ony Forinfecall Potentate^ or feere \ with 
 mutual jijfent and Confent, (<^) doofurren- (5) 
 
 dre and yelde up into the Hondes of the Forced, fays Dk^^^/?. 
 
 fame, all our jeide Houfe of Saynt Francis ^ in the City efCoventre, commonly callyd the 
 Grey Freers in Coventre, nythe alle the i,^) 
 
 Londes, (5) Tenements, Gardens, Medowesy This it for Form-fake : For it was well 
 Waters^ Pondiards, Fedynges, Failures ^^"0*° ^^^^ 'he Friers here had no 
 Commens, Rents, Reverftons,and alle other h^f'' T.e"^'"^"'^' '^'^ i whatever /* 
 our Jnterefl, Ryghts, or Titles, appertaining "* '" '**" *"'"• 
 
 unto the fame. Moofie humbly befeechinge his mofi noble Grace to difpofe of us, and of 
 thefame,asbefte piallfionde wythe his moofte gracious Plefure : And further fr.-ly to 
 
 R r 2 graufite
 
 3 6 The Antiquities of the En^\i(h Frarrcifcans. 
 
 grttunteuntneviryonofus,ht!(j')Lictr>[ey ^ (i) 
 
 under wretynge and Sceate^ to chaunge our '^^e Friers beinR no longer to bcal. 
 
 HMtn into Secular F^ion, and to receve '''*'^ "J R". '" '^'^ H^l^',' "» '^ur Order, , 
 
 r I r T .1 c I are niuic here to aik 'hev niav weir the; 
 
 fuche mamier of Ltvemes as othir Secular ri r r <? i " ""^ ""^y "'*> **'^''^ '"«'- 
 
 ' . „ , I r A . A J Drcfs of Secular Priclh. 
 
 PrKfts commonly be prejerred unto- uind 
 
 We alle f^tithfully fl)itll fray unto jilmigkty Code long topreferve his mooflt noble Grace 
 
 wythe, Jncrefe of mochc Felicitie and Hcn'ir. And, tn Witneft of alle and fingulnr 
 
 the Premijfts, We the feide Warden and Convent of the Grey Freers in Covenire., to 
 
 thes Prefences have putte our Ccvent Seealie, thefivithe Day of OBober., in the thirtythe 
 
 Xea'^e of the Raynge afour moofie Soveraynge Lord King Henry the Eyghte : OiAano 1 3 39. - 
 
 John Stafford, Gardian. 
 
 Thomas Mailer. 1 Th imas jiucochi 
 
 Thomas Sanderfon. 
 John MeU. 
 John Woode. 
 Roger Lilly. 
 
 Mat hew Walker. 
 Rohart Walker^. 
 Thomas Bangflt. 
 William Gojnelle. 
 
 This Form was made by the King's Orders, and lent to the Friers here, who Jtre 
 faid to have lubfcrib'd ir, fearing (as rnay be prefum'd) that a Refulal wou'd • 
 exafperate his Majefiy, and put him upon other more fevere Methods in the 
 prefent Junfture of Affairs. This Houfe, or Site, was, in the ^j^th of Henry ths 
 8^^, granted by the King (iwrf)- (j//^) to the Mayor, Bailiffs, and. Commonalty 
 of this City and their Succeflbrs tor ever. So DugdaU, \vho^\lb(Page 113) fays. 
 The Place where this e^uondam Religious Houfe ftood, is very well known to all 
 that have obferv'd any Thing of Coventry in regard the Spire-Steeple, which' 
 was Part thereof, is yet landing, giving Occafion to Strangers tliat pafsthrough- 
 theTovvn, to think there is ftilla Church in that [Mace. So H'wWilltam Dugdale. 
 
 The Ground-Floor of this Belfry, or Steeple, is at this Time made ufeof 
 for a Barn, and the Publifher ot thefe Collections has I'een a Tasker threihing 
 in it. Thus it fares with the poor Remainder of this once famous Convent of 
 Francifcans heretofore in Coventry. 
 
 VI. Chester, the County Town. The Francifcan Convent here Jeems to 
 h^ve been firft built for feme other Religious Order •, becaufe Mr. Speed reckons 
 King 5fo/;« for the Original Founder of it^ whereas that King was dead before 
 the Friers Minors came into England : And therefore I fuppofe tliis Houfe was 
 afterwards left by its firft Poffeflors (perhaps ^//rw, fent away by Henry the <^th) 
 iiijd being beftow'd upon the Francilcans, had then the Title of St. Francis given 
 to it, but no Lands, or Revenues. 
 
 VII Lichfield, in St ajfordfiii re. • There was an Houfe of Gray Friers in 
 
 * Lichfield fas (a^ Ldand- writes) in the South-Weft Fart ot the Town. Jlcx- 
 
 * ander, Biihop of Lichfield^ gave firft certain free Burgages in the Town for to 
 
 * fet this Houie on, and was the firft Founder of it. There comes a Conduft of 
 
 * Water out of an Hill, brought in Lead to the Town, and has two Well-heads 
 
 * io th-e Town ; one in the Eaft-Wall of the Friers Clofe, on the Street-Side, 
 
 * ai'.other about the Market- Place.' So Leland. This Bifliop was Alexander de Sa.^ 
 vtflsky (Gavensby^ Speed Cdlhhim, &nd Bale Alex^der Wendocke) who was ctn» 
 
 fecra- 
 
 ^) hi.\ Vol. 4. pan i./**^. pa.
 
 The Antiquities of the EngliOi FrancifcanSr 37 
 
 fecrated Ca) Bilhop yinm 1224, and died /« 1238, having built the Francifcan 
 Convent m Lichfield about the Tear 1 229, or iboner .- WJiich Convent, at the 
 SupprelTion, was found to have no Lands, or Revenues. The Title here was 
 St. Francis. But what A/r. 5/Jiff^ means by this his ExpreHion, viz. Cniy fWer^, 4/7^ 
 Uiely Cunons, in St.Ch.idde^ the Cathedral Church, in Lichfield, I CJinnoc fivA oucj 
 but luppofe it is (bme Blunder, or Miflake of the Printer, which I leave to 
 others to correft. 
 
 VIII. Lancaster, the County Town. The Francifcan Convent here flood near 
 the River, and not far from the Bridge .- The Founder and Title are not- 
 now known : But the Site of this Houfe belonged to Afr. Dalton of Thimham in 
 the Year 1714, and was let to one Henry We ftby,ii.yil\\\<i'c and Gardiner, who had 
 been Tenant there for many Years, at the Rent of three pounds per Annum., 
 with a Houfe. The old Wall of this Inclolure is yet ftanding, and good ^ but 
 little elle remains, nor cou'd I then, upon Er.quiry, learn that the Friers Houle 
 here ever had any Lands, or Revenues belonging to it. 
 
 IX. Stafford, the County Town. ' The Gray Friers here were at the End 
 » of the Town, beyond the River.' So(\i) Leland:, which is all that he fiys 
 of this Houle, the Title whereof was S'/ . A/^ry, as appears in Mr. Speed's Cna- 
 /fl^w, where it is valued at 3^/. i^t. 10 d. But whether that is a Computation of 
 certain Rents receiv'd by the Friers of this Place, or the. Rents its Site was Let 
 for after they were turn'd out, I know not. 
 
 Thefe are the Francifcan Convents of the Province of England, reckon'd and 
 regiftred by Bd. Br. Bartholomew de Pifa., Anno 1 399, and by Br. Luke IVaddin^t' 
 the Annalift of the whole Order, in the r^^r 1400; Befides which fixid Coi- 
 vents, there are many more, not then come to their Knowledge, and Tome of 
 them perhaps not then built, belonging to the \'n\d Seven Cujiodies refpeilively, 
 the. Names and Account whereof fas far as I can inform my felf of them) the^ 
 Reader may pleafe to take as they here follow. 
 
 I. A\its^\JT{\-,'\n Buckinghamlhire. Friers Minors, founded by £«/;>^, Daugh-- 
 cer of Frewald, ihys- Speed :Tk\e St. Francis^ This Place, at the Suppreifion,. 
 was rated at 3 /. 2. s. -yd, which I take to be the Valuation of the Site of 
 the Houfe after the Friers were turn'd out, ai.d not any Rents receiv'd by- 
 them. Leland (cj adds, that the Houfe of the Gray Friers in this Town flood 
 towards the South, and was founded about the Time of King Richard the Second. 
 This, Convent, as Burnet fays, was furrender'd by the Warden and Six Friers, 
 on the Brft Day of OEi-ober, in the 30:/) r^^ir of the Reign of King Henry the Si!}f> 
 Anno 1539. 
 
 II. Anglesey, an Iflandot Wales. ' There was a Convent of Francifcans 
 
 * near Beaumaris, caWd LLanvais (is Leland (d) writes^ whereunto the Kings. 
 
 * of England were the principal Benefailors, both for the Sandlity of_ thele 
 
 * Friers, and for that a Daughter of K\ngJohn, a Son of the King of Den-- 
 
 * mark, the Lord Clifford, and many Barons, Knights, and Noblemen, kill'd. 
 
 (a) Godwyn's Catalogue of Bijhops, (h) Itip. VqU T.patt l-fagt 24. (c) Um.Vol.Oi'partl.pa^e ioo» 
 (d^ Colhilaa. Vol. 1. ('age 55,
 
 38 TJje Antiquities of the Englifli Franclfcans. 
 
 * in the l/'7;c/> Wars, were therein intomb'd.' Another Author (a) fays, The 
 Fraiicifcanswere in luch great Efteem, and fo numerous, that there was a famous 
 Monaftery of theirs in the tartheft Part of Wales, vear Beaumarisy at LLanvais, 
 and that fome Ruins ot the Walls of this famous Convent remain yet to be 
 ieen, and '.ilnncfl the whole Church entire, though now applied to prophaioe 
 XJlcs-, And, that the Kings or£"^/<<«^ fupplied the Friers of this Place with 
 Alms neceflary for their Maintenance ; and that, after the Suppreifion of this 
 Houfe, lome few of the moft noted and fumptuous Tombs were remov'd from 
 the liiid Friery to the Pariih-Church of Beaumnrisy where my Author (bj fays, 
 they remain'd in Camden^s Days. Mr. Sperd fays, the Title here was St. Fran- 
 cis ^ but he accounts for no Revenues-, Korean I find what was allow'd by the 
 laid Kings towards the Support of thefe Friers: But, this Monaftery being 
 much ruin'd by the Wars, King Henry the fifth repaired the fame, and ap- 
 pointed, that there fliou'd be always Eight Friers in it, of which Number Trvo 
 were to be of the Nation of [Vales, on the Account of their getting Necefla- 
 ries for their Maintenance, or as the Words of the Charter run, Quorum aui- 
 dern oEto Fratrum f^olumus ejuod Duo fnt de Natione Wallenfi-, ratione f^illus fui C^ ali- 
 orum ad Suflentiitionem fui nrceff.iriorum ade^uirendorum. So the King's Charter, da- 
 ted Amio 14I4 •, to be Ieen, Page the Z^th, of Stevens'' s Appendix to the Second Vo- 
 lume of his Monaflicon : Where Note, that this Place is call'd Llamajfi j but is 
 the fame with ilw LLanvais. 
 
 III. Brougham, or Brough, in Weflmorland. * Here was a Convent of Gray 
 
 * Friers,' as Lelmd (c) writes ; which is all 1 can find of it : Whence it may 
 reafonably be fuppos'd to have fubfifted wholly upon Alms, which made it lb 
 inconfiderable as not to be reckon'd worth the being taken more Notice of. 
 
 IV. Greenwich, in Kent^ * Here (as Weever^d) writes) fbmetime flood a 
 
 * Houfe cf Oh fervant Friers., who came hither about the latter End of the 
 
 * Reign of King Edward the ^th (who died Anno I483J at whofe Hands they 
 
 * obtain'd a Cliantrie, with a little Chappel of the HolyCrofs: A Place yec 
 
 * extant in the Town. And King Henry the ']th built for them an Houfe ad- 
 
 * joyning to his Palace, which is there yet to be feen.' So Weever. Theie Ob- 
 /erz/iiwr-Francilcans had no Rents any where. 
 
 V. Greenwich. * Here in this Town (fays (e) Weever) was another Mo- 
 
 * naftery ot Friers Minorites, v^//Vwt, founded by King Edward the Third and Sir 
 
 * John Norbury, Knight. This Houfe was otherwifedifpos'd of by King Henry 
 ' the Fifth, who. on the Occafion of his making War with France, expell'd all 
 
 * the y^/<f«j his Kingdom.' So Weever. Speed ^dds, that this. Houfe was founded 
 Anno \ii6, by the laid King and Knight ; Tit\e St. Dominick', but he accounts 
 for no Lands, or Revenues. 
 
 VI. London, The Francifcans had z fecond Convent built for them in London^ 
 by a Colleftion of Alms for that Purpole, made by Robert KUwarby, Archbifhop 
 of Canterbury ^\n the Reign of King Edward the Firfi. In Godwyn's Catalogue of 
 B'fhojs, you may find, that /r//ip<?r^^ was confecrated ^ww 1272, and died within 
 
 fix 
 
 (a) Fran, a St.t. Clara, Uift. Min- fag. 7, (b) a Sta. Clara, Ibidem, Cc) Uin. Vol, S. part i.paga 
 51' {d) fun, Aion.p. '^^9. (fi) Ibidem.
 
 7T)e Antiquities of the Englifb Francifcans. 3^ 
 
 fix Years after. Richard Smithy (a) Bi/hop of Calcedon, writes of ICUrvarby thus, 
 viz. This great Man was a Francifcan Frier, as Godwyn fays rightly (although 
 Bale makes him a Dominican) ^nd. Provincial of their Order in England., and built 
 t\\Q Gray Friers Houfein London, and finally was a Cardinal. 60 Smith. This 
 Houle (it I miftnke noC) flood in Smithfield, and fubfifted wholly upon Alms : And 
 this I cake to be the Convent whereof Burnet Qo) fpeaks under the Tear 1556, 
 when he fays, Queen Mary built a Houfe tor the Francifcans in London, and had 
 begun another Houle of Francifcans alfo, the Year before, at Greenwich. So 
 Burnet \ meaning (I prefume) that the faid Queen then repair'd, or rather re- 
 built thofe two Convents. 
 
 VII. Ludlow, in Shropjhire. Of this Convent (c) LelandfaySy * The Gray- 
 
 * Friers Church was a fair andcofily Thing, and flood without Corn-Gate, by 
 *• North, alrnofV at the End of that Suburb : One Ludlowe, a Knight, 
 
 * Lord of Stoke-Cajlle, or Pyle, towards Bijhop's Cajile, was the Original Founder 
 
 * of it : rernon, hy an Heir-general afterwards Owner of Stoke, was fomeciraes 
 ' taken as Founder of this Houfe.' So LeUndy who makes no mention of ei- 
 ther Title, or Rents belonging thereunto. ^ 
 
 VIII. Maydston, in Kent. Here formerly was a Convent of Francifcans, 
 fbunded by King Edward the Third and his Brother Jafew, Bax\q^ Cornwall, about 
 the Tear 1331. So (dj Fran. a Sta Clara, who alio (e) adds, that the Pope gave 
 the Friers Leave to accept ot the faid Convent j no mention is made of either 
 Title, or Revenues. 
 
 IX. NbwARK, in NottinghamJJjire. Here was a Convent of Francifcan-0^- 
 fervants founded by King flenry the Seventh, without any Revenues .- The faid 
 King built this Houfe from the Foundations (as our Hiflorians agree to fay^ 
 and alfo placed the O'ofervants at Newcaflle : But whether his IVIajefly built them 
 a New Convent there, or only repair'd the old one of the Conventuals, And fet- 
 tled the Obfervants therein^ I cannot certainly refolve, as I have already faid. 
 
 X. Penrith, or pERbTn, in Cumberland. Here was a Convent of Gray 
 Friers, as Leiand (Q bears Witnefs : And that is all I can find ot it; No Tide 
 named ; No Rents recorded. 
 
 XI. Plymouth, in DevonJJiire. Here formerly was a Convent of Fran- 
 cifcans j Title 5r. Francis ; us it appears in Speed's Catalogue -y where no Reve- 
 nues are accounted for at the Supprellion of this Houfe. 
 
 XII. PoNTFR.\CT : ' A fair, large Market-Town in TorkjhirCy wherein there 
 
 * was a Place ot Gray Friers.' So (%) Leiand ; who mentions not the Title ; nor 
 are there any Rents recorded as belonging to this Houle. 
 
 XIII. Richmond, in Surry. The Francifcan Convent here was built, torthe 
 Ohfervants, hy.Kin^ Henry the Seventh, near to his Roy^^l Palace. This King alfo 
 placed Ibme ot the Gbfervantsnt Canterbury, and at Southampton: And for that 
 Realbn Speed reckons him the Founder of thole two Convents .• But it does not 
 appear plainly tome that the laid King built them New Convents in thofe PJa- 
 
 (_»,) Prudential BMlayice, pa^e lio. \\>) Hijl- of Peformation, part z.{c)Itiri. VoU 4. part i. pa-{e 
 75- (,<i)Hifi. Mn.pag'T, (c) h 'Sttpplcm, Hijl, M'm. {i) Itlri' VdU 1- fart> I. page t^g. (s,) itiai 
 Vol. j.pa^ 84.
 
 v4o The A?itiquities of the Englifh Francifc^ns! 
 
 ces •, but only fettled them in the Houfes that before were inhabited by ''the 
 Conventuals : Although fome Writers affirm, that he built fix Convents new, for 
 the Obfcrvants : But be this as it will, tlie Obfervants had no Rents, either hfere 
 or in any other of their Houfes. 
 
 XIV. Stoke, under Hnmden-Church^ in Somerf^jhire. The Francifcans had 
 here a Convent, whereof LeUnd (a) fpeaking, fays, '• IVilliam Uruer, Junior, 
 
 * made the Gray Friers: Boireaux's Heart buried at the Gray Friers ; and the 
 
 * IMy Botreaux there a Ifo buried." So LeUnd, who, in another (b) Place, adds, 
 *' All I can find of this Botreaux, is, that my Lord of Huntendune has a Place call'd 
 
 * the Park, where Botreaux had a fair Mannour-Caftle, fix Miles, by South, from 
 
 * Botreaux. This Town, call'd ^arr^aaA:, is eighteen Miles from fJarteland" So 
 Lelandj who mentions no Revenues belonging to this Convent, of which I take 
 the Lord Botreaux to have been a great Benefaflor. 
 
 XV. Warrington, in Lancafliire. Leland (c) faysj There was a Houfe of 
 
 Friers at lVarriy}gton; and I believe thefe were Gray Friers, becaufe that 
 
 Author goes abruptly from an Account of the Gray Friers zt Prefton, to thefe, 
 as if of the fame Inftitute ^ And it is farther confirm'd by Br. Fran. Davenport.^ 
 who feys, there was a Convent of Francifcans at [Varrington : But 1 find nothing 
 
 ■of the Founder, the Title, or of any Revenues of this Place. 
 
 Befides the^ Converits alreaiy mention'd^ its probable there were feveral 
 
 others more, viz.. 
 
 I. TTAmele, in Hampfljire. Here Br. yiigelus a Sto- Francifco, (d) Mafon, fays, 
 
 X. X there was a Convent of Francifcans \ whom Speed calls Gray Aionksy 
 
 Title St. Andrew \ But he accounts for no Rents. 
 
 n. M> ■ — " 
 
 certain; fo I leave it dubiou?. 
 
 III. Mi LTOUN, in Dorfetfliire. * This (fays (f) Leland) was a privileged Mayor- 
 
 * Town, not far from IVeymouth :, and here was a fair Houfe of Friers, in the 
 
 * Eaft.Part of the Town •, And the chief Houfe of the Rogers, in Dorfetjhire, 
 
 * was the Founder and Patron thereof. " So Leland, who does not i'dy, they 
 were, or were not Francifcans, though 'tis probable they were. 
 
 O Ver and above all thefe named, there were fome other Convents which feem 
 to have heretofore belong'd to the Francifcans in England : Thefe I will here 
 omit, ai.d now take a Step beyond the Seas, in Quefl of fome Francifcan- Hou- 
 fes there, wherein the Province of England feems to have had an Intereft. 
 Some of our Kings of England heretotore were in Poffe/Iionof feveral Provin- 
 ces ot France; and it is very probable that, during the Government of the 
 Englifl} there, the Francifcans of their Nation had divers Convents in thofe 
 Parts, efpecially in the Dukedome of yiquitania, now caird Guienne, in the Pof- 
 
 feffioii 
 
 (a) Itin. Vol. ;. pagis OJ l^ 51. (h) Ibidem, pn^e 9^. (c) Itin Vol. ^ pa^e 12. (d) Jn Catj/o- 
 gc CoKVfKtiuim } in lint Certam. Seraph, (e). Itin. Vol. 7. [xirt. z.^agt 61. (0 ^"''' ^^^' S-/"- J*.
 
 Tlie Antiquities of the Englifli Francifcans. 41 
 
 feifionot the £«^/'ife for abou: three hundred Years. Thele Countries came to 
 the Crown ot England., as Dukes of j4quitania, in the Height of Eleamre, the 
 Daughter and Heirefs of Lewis the -jih of that Houfe : She was firft married 
 to the King of France, and, in i 157,, to Henry, afterwards, x\\Q Second of Eng- 
 land, by whom this Dukedom wasmoft firmly annex'd to the Crown oi^ Eng- 
 land (which alfo had feme Right, and PcfleiTion too, before this time)a nd 
 i'o continued untill wrefted from \th'j Charles iht qth of France. 
 
 This Henry the id was the Son of Geffrey Plantagenet, and Mawd the Emprefs, 
 the Daughter of Henry the Firft : He came to the Crown of England Anno i i 54., 
 having been married to E/f^worf of Acjuitaine \n the Tear 1152, and was the firft 
 King of England that v,on this footing) was Duke of Ac^uitania, \ And King Hen- 
 ry the 6th was the Laft. But I go on to the Francifcans and their Convents here 
 built chiefly by the Englijh. 
 
 I. BouRDEAUX, the Capital Cky ot Guiennc. The Francifcan Church in 
 this City was ("a) built by King Edward the Tnirdoi England. Whereof take the 
 following Account. The Magiftrates and Corporation of Bourdeaux, in the Tear 
 1230, built a Convent for the Friers Minors, and a Church, which, being run 
 up in hafl, prov'd too little : However it ftood for above an hundred Years, 
 and the good Friers \vere contented with its Meannefs and Poverty. 1 find in- 
 deed, that, in the Tear 1 247, a certain devout Inhabitant of the fame City 
 Ccall'd Peter") was fo charitable that he beftow'd upon them a Piece of Ground 
 for a Place of Burial, and whereon to make a much larger Church \ yet the 
 old one, 1 prefume, was only enlarged till King Edward the ■^d built them one 
 Kew, to the Honour of God and Sr. Edward the Confcjfor, about the Tear 1360, 
 or (boner: And this Convent was alio much enlarg'd and beautified by other 
 Kings of England, as appears in the Annals of the Order, under the Tear 1247. 
 So Br. Fran, a Sta. Clara, (b) Da-venport. This Houle was (I prefume) inhabited 
 chiefly by the EngUpij during the Time that our Kings govern'd here, and 
 its very probable that this and other Convents built in thefe Countries by the 
 Englijh., made a Part of the Francifcan Province of Englmd. 
 
 II. Condom, \n Aejuitania. Here was a Convent of Francifcans built, in the 
 Tear 1291, by 'John, Earl of Condom, an Englifh Man ^as a knowing Au'hor Cc) 
 writes, from the Annals and Records of the Order. And here, for tlie better 
 underf^anding of what is faid, the Reader may pleafe to know, that Aciuitaniay 
 which washeretoforepoflels'dby our Kings, is no. V divided into Eleven Parts, 
 viz. Bourdtlois, Bazadois, Condomois, Armagnac, Beam, Gafcogne, Bafcjues, Bigorre^ 
 Comminges, Baionne,!knd Albret. So the Geographical Din:ionary, begun by Ed- 
 mund Bohuny Efquire, and finifh'd by John Auguftine Bernard, fometimes Fel- 
 low of Bra7.en-Nofe College in Oxford ; under the Word Gafcotgne. The Fourth 
 Edition, printed at London, Anno I695. 
 
 III. LiBOuRNE, in y?^a;>j»«;<j. Here alfo was a Convent of Francifcans, built 
 by K'm^ Edward the Firft oi England, before tlie 7V<»>- 1 287 j as the Annalifl of 
 the Order writes. So Fran, a Sta. Clara, Davehport : Ibidem. 
 
 IV. Mount-Fernand, in the Territories (as I take it) of Aquitania. The 
 Francifcan Cor.vent Montis Fernandi was built by a certain Engliih Gentleman, 
 
 S f Wiliam 
 
 (a) Frsn, » Sta. Clara, in Hijl. Min. fag. 7. (b) Ibidem, (c) Fran, a Sta. Clara, in Stiff Urn. Hilt. Win.
 
 42 The Antiquities of the 'EnQ\'\(h Franclfcans." 
 
 WilU.im Flizhrbert by Name, in the Tear 1235 ; as 'tis recorded in the jinnats 
 of the Order., under the laid Year. 
 
 Moreover, I find three Charters of King Edward the ^d of Engl.indln Favour 
 of the Francilcans of a certain Convent, call'd the Convent of St. Macharius, in 
 rheDiocefsof Boitrdeaux\ By the Firfi he grants to the Guardian and Friers of 
 that Houfe twemy Shillings (ot the Coin of that Country) per Week., as a pure 
 Alms, revocable at his Will and Pieafure. Dated »tlVeJ}minfier 12. Febr. Anno 
 Regni iltno. that is, 1338. The Second is dated on the \2th0f July, j4nno 1248, 
 beii;g the i id Tear of his Rcigti, wherein he continues and confirms the laid 
 Charity to the Francilcans ot the Convent of St. Macharius., and gives exprefs 
 Orders for the Payment of the Arrears of this Allowance, which, ic Teems, 
 then amounted to the Sum of one hundred and twenty Livers, of the Coin ot 
 Bourdciux. By the Third Grant his Majefty again renews the fame Donation to the 
 Francifcans of Si. Macharius, in Confideration of the great Poverty of that 
 Country, occafion'd by the Wars, recommending himfelf, at the fame Time, 
 to their Prayers &c. Thefe Charters, or Grants, may be feen in the 16th and 
 Z'Jth Pages 0? Mr. Stevens's Appendix to the Second Folume of iiis Monaflicon. 
 
 V. La Reole, in Aquitania. Here was a Convent of Francifcans built by 
 feme of tlie Kings of England, Who (as the Annalifi of the Order vixltss) were 
 tlie Fou!.ders of alllhe Religious Houfes and Convents in this Town .• And 
 King Henry the ^d (as another fa) Author fays) expended vaft Sums of Mo- 
 rey in thefe Parts on the like Occafions •, And therefore it is no Wonder that Br. 
 SertorH'atrys, or Fortanerius, and many other eminent Francifcans of the Eng- 
 lifh Nation were lettled in y^^ttj^oM, nor that feyeral great Men of the fame 
 Nation and Order were found refiding heretofore in Normandy, Picardy, and 
 other Provinces of France, during the Time that the Kings of England were 
 in Poffeilion ot them ^ when it feems mcft likely that the Convents of the 
 Countries here ruled by the Englifl) belonged to the Province of England, which 
 furiiilh'd them with Men of Parts for their Superiours of the faid Houfe;. So 
 much for France. Add to all this, that the Francifcan Province of England 
 heretofore had fome Convents in Ireland, viz. Four, in the Province of Vljler^ 
 as a certain (b) Author writes ; whereof the Reader may find more faid in the 
 Firfi Fart of thefe Cclli^ions, and attefted by the faid Author, who had con- 
 verled with fome Francifcans ot that Nation in Dilcourfe upon that Subjeft. 
 
 Now I have follow'd the £«_^/i/fc Francifcans to my utmoft defigned Length .- 
 T.Heir Men are dead and gone, their Houfes deftroy'd, or turned over to Strangersy 
 and the fmall Remainder of the Friers ot that Nation and Inftitute remember 
 that St. Francis (c) commanded them to not appropriate to themfehes either Houfe, or 
 Place, or any other Tbir.g ; But to live in this World as Pilgrims and Strangers, ferving 
 God in Poverty, and in Humility . So, that Poverty is their Portion on Earth •, Ver- 
 tue and Learning, their Study j the Service of God and their Neighbour, 
 their Pradice \ to the End that, in the Obfervance of the Holy Gofpel, which 
 tKey have lolemnly promis'dtoGod, they may, "throii/ .heMeritsof Chrift, 
 obtain eternal Glory. 
 
 THE 
 
 {a)Ftj„. a Sta.Ciara.in Hifi. M.tt.fa£.is. {b) Iiiim, in SufpUvf. Hijl- Mill, (c) Chafttr the Cth> 
 tftkeBulcef St, francis.
 
 THE 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 CONCERNING THE 
 
 Englifh NUNS, 
 
 OF THE 
 
 ORDERof St.CL^/^£. 
 
 AN D 
 
 Their Houfes heretofore in ENGLAND. 
 
 A Voice of Lamentation is heard out of Sion ; 
 
 How are wefpoiPdj and exceedingly confumed ! 
 
 Becaufe We have forfaken the Land ; be^ 
 
 caufe our Dwellings are caji down, 
 
 Jeremy, Chap, 9. Verfe 19. 
 
 Anno Domini 1726.
 
 THE 
 
 PRE FACE. 
 
 Q A I N T FRANCIS, having founded thi Friers Minors, dU 
 j^^ alfo injlitute <» Second Order, 0/ Religious Wome;}, which. was ap' 
 proved hy tbeP-opes, Innocent the Third, <i«<^ Alexander the Fourth, and 
 made themfubjeil to the Friers Minors. Saint Clare was the First Per- 
 fonof this h^titute, and fror/i her that Order takes its Denomination'. She 
 was horn of honourable Parents at Aflifium /» Italy, and was admitted to 
 the Order, by St. F runc'is himfelf o/»?^e 19th of March, Anno 1212, a»d 
 was foon follow'^d by many other}, for whom St. Francis wrote a Rale, full of 
 Jiultertties and penitential Mortifications ; efpeciallj in Matters of Holy 
 Poverty ; which was fo fevers, that Pope' Gregory the Ninth abated fome- 
 what of its Rigour • tvhofe mild Condefcenfion (r ejected by St. Clare and 
 others') was accepted by fome : And this was the Rife of that Divtrfity of 
 Ohfervance pra^ifed amongB thofe who are caWd ClarelTes, or Minorefles, 
 of whom Some, heretofore in England, enjoyed Revenues of Lands, and 
 ethers wou^d not admit of anyfuch Endowments, ^ut depended wholly on the 
 Providence of God, and the Charity of the People, for their Maintenance, 
 /i./,i Pope Innocent the Fourth, obferving that this InsUtute was too hard for 
 many, was pleas'" d to difpenfe with the Profeffors of it tn fever al Points of 
 the Rigour of holy Poverty; and his Succefjor, Alexander the Fourth, (a) :"r 
 approved and confirmed the Inflitute of the ChreC^es of a lefs rigorous Ob- 
 fervance, begun by St. Ifabel, {Sifter to St. Lewis Kjng of France) and af- 
 terwards called '\Jrh?iv{\QiSy from Pope Urban the Fourth, who (between the 
 Years 1 26 1 and- 1 265) made fever al Regulations amongft them, and granted 
 thetp-dtvers Privileges, as may befeeninthe Annals of the Friers Minors. 
 Saint Clare departed this Life Anno 125 J, and was canonized two Tears 
 after, by Pope Alexander the 4th. 
 
 The C[AreSesheretoforeinling\a.nd,Jeem,for the greatejl Part, to have 
 been Urbanilfs, becaufe moH of them received Rents. But J now go to a 
 particular Account of All I know of J hem, or of their Houfes, which is indeed 
 Tjo little to require a longer Preface. 
 
 See ToJJinian. H'-jl. Seraph. Lib. I. Fo/. 151 an3 135, (a) See Adrien S(hoonenheek^s Court 
 D'Jcri^nou dts Ordrei del Femmts £i? Filld Religimfei, In hand.
 
 O F T H E 
 
 ENGLISH N U N S, a^c. 
 
 U R Engli/h Hiflorians write fo very little of the Religious Women of 
 the Order of St. Clare, that I believe they had not many Monafteries 
 in En%latiJ. A knowing (a) Author aflerts indeed, that they had fcveral 
 Houfes, both endow'd, and not endow'd ; But I cannot find more than 
 Four, or Five of the Former, and but One or Two of the Latter. The 
 Revenues of the firft recommended fume Remembrance of them to 
 Pofterity, and the Poverty of the others made them fo inconfiderable in 
 the Sight of the World, that they were not judg'd worthy of a Place in the Common 
 Catalogues of Religious Houfes. However, the Reader may pleafe to take All I 
 can find written of them, as follows. 
 
 II. LoNDOM, Without Ald^ate. Here was a famous Monaftery of Clarejps, or M/«9- 
 rfj^es (the Place to this Day call'd The Minories) built in the 2 ith Year (b) of the Reign 
 of Edward the FirB, viz. Anno 1295, to the Honour of God, and the Memory of St. 
 Mary, and St. Francis, by the Lady Blanch, Queen ofN^ivarre, and her Husband Edmund, 
 "Eirloi Lancafter, Leicejier, and Durhy, Son of King Henry the ^d, and Brother to 
 King Edward the Firft, One Simon Fitt-M.iry, heretofore Sheriff of London, is, by Mr. 
 Sfeed, reckon'dagreat Benefaiftorto this Houfe, the Situation &c. whereof (c) Mr. 
 Stow defcribes thus; From the Weft Part of the Tower to Al^^ati, being a long conti- 
 nual Street, amongft other fmaller Buildings in that Row, there was fometime an 
 Abbey of Nuns, of the Order of St. Clare, call'd the Minoria ; the Length of which 
 Abbey contain'd fifteen Perches andfeven Foot, near unto the King's Street, or High- 
 way, as appears by a Deed, dated ^«Mo 1503. A Plague of Pcftilence being in this 
 City, in the Year i j 1 5, there died in ihis Houfe, of Nuns profefs'd, to the Number of 
 z7, befides other Lay- People that were Servants in the Houfe. 
 
 In the Place of this Houfe of Nuns, there are now built divers fair and large Store- 
 Houfes for Armour, and Habilements of War, with divers Work-Houfes ferving to the 
 fame Purpofe. Thereisalfoa fmall Pari fh-Church for the Inhabitants of the Clofe, 
 call'd Holy Triii'ty. Near adjoyning to this Abbey, on the South-Side thereof, was fome- 
 time a Farm belonging to the faid Nunnery, upon which the Farmer, in dto-a's Da)t, 
 liv'd like a Gentleman. 
 
 Note, That this Farm appears to be the fame lately calld Gooiiman's Field', fince 
 built into handfome Streets j (or Stow fays it belong'd to one Goodman, and was by him 
 let out to Grazing. 
 
 Befides this Farm, another Author (d)fays, that this Houfe, was endow'd with tb^e 
 Poffeflionof the Church of Hertingdon, and all its Revenues, which were an Advow- 
 fon beloiiping to, and in the Gift of their Founder, Edmund, Earl of Lane.ijier, Bro- 
 ther to King Edward. So Fran, a Sta. Clara, Ibidem, who adds, that this Monaftery was 
 favour'd with fcveral great Privileges from the Popes, and was call'd To? HouJ'e of Grxct 
 ef St. Mary, as it appears in the .<4««<i/f 0^ the Friirs Minors: Andthdt Qnccn Eliuiheth, 
 
 Mother 
 
 (a) Fran, a Sta. Clara, inHft. Min. fag. 18. (b) Tanner^s notitia monaftica, (c} SHr j.'i of 
 London, pa^e u8^ (dy) Fran, a Sta. Climty in SH^plem. Hiji. Ma,
 
 2 Of the Englijh Nuns of the Order of St. CLARE. 
 
 Mother of King EJiiardthe ^J, died in this Order, and was buried in the Francifcan 
 Church in London. This Monaftery, at the Suppreffion, was valued todifpend yearly 
 418/. 8^ 5^. and was furrcndcr'd by Dame tlijiabttb Savage, thcldR Abbefsthcreot, unto 
 Yiing Henry the Eighth, in the ^otbYearof his Reign. So (a) Uland, (h) Weever, and 
 S^ecd. The Two Charters of King Edward the FirJ}, Licenfingthe Founding, and En- 
 dowing of this Nunnery, are to be feen in Page i6 of Stevens's yipfendix to the id Volume of 
 his Monafticon. 
 
 In theYear 1294, and by hisfaid MnjcAy's (Edward the Firfi) Licence and Authority, 
 there was another Monaftery built and endow'd, in Cambridgt/fjire, tor the Nuns of the 
 Order of St. Clare, who were fent for, from out of foreign Parts (out of France, I be- 
 lieve) by the Foundrefs ; as it appears in Dugdah's Mon.iffuon, where the King's Grant, 
 or Charter, may be feen at large. Tanner {ays, it was founded in the iid /far of this 
 Reign, that is, j4nno 1294, though others will have it ^nno 12515 : Eut of this Houfe, 
 take the following Account. 
 
 III. VJ A.rZRB^ci]n,il\ Camhridgejhire. Dtonyfia de Monte Canifo, ot Moncbe»Jay,Ijady o£ 
 ^nejly, in the County of Giwfcr/^g^, began, in the I'm*- 129;, or 1294, to build a Church 
 and many Offices for the Ufe of the Sifters of the Order of ^f. Cl.tre (to the Honour 
 of ^f. "Mary, fays Mr. Tanmr) in her Manour of fVatnbeche, which fhe bellow'd upon 
 the faid Sirters : And of this Monaftery Sifter Joan de Nyvemis (or de Never-) was the 
 firft Abbefs. So (c) Leland, who alfo gives the Names of the Witnefles to this Dona- 
 tion, which are as follow, viz. William, Bifhop of Ely ; Robert de Fere, Earl o{ Oxford, and 
 Hugh his Son ; The Lord Reginald de ylrgemew j Hugh de Walington, then Sheriff of Cam- 
 bridge/hire ; Richard de trevile -^ Henry Co/evile j JVilUam de Crit^ecot j John de ff^anth.iump j Tfc«- 
 tnas de Scalarijs ^ Henry L^cy ^ Ralph Fitz.-Felton, und Simon de Gradcnham, Eight Knights. 
 This Nunnery of Waterbeche, ioMnAe.A by Dionyjia, the Lady of y^nfly, as I have already 
 faid, was tranflated to Denny (or D.-Mf^f^ in the fame County o( Cambridge, \n the i6th 
 iVaj-of the Reign of Edward the s,d(v'iz. Anno 1542) hy Mary de St. Paul, Daughter of 
 Guy de ChafUllon, Earl of St. Paul, Widow of Aimer de Faience, Earl of Prmhro'^e. Some of 
 the chief Benefaftors to this Houfe, were Sir PhilipTilmy, Knight j Sir Richard Oglethorpe, 
 Knight j J^ohn Browne, and Walter Godurd. So Mr. Sj>eed. But of thcfe Benefactors, more 
 
 •■hereafter. 
 
 Richard Parkier, in his Sceletos Cantairigienjii, (d) ftyles this Foundrefs, The Lady Mary 
 de Valentia, Countefs of Pembroke, Baronefs of VeiJJtr and MontenaU (the Daughter of 
 Guy de Chaflilion, Earl of Sc, Paul, in France, and Mary his Wife, the Daughter of John 
 the id. Duke of Britany, Earl of Richmond, by his Wife Beatrice, Daughter to King 
 Henry the 51^ of F«g/.iw<Vj the Third Wife of Audomarus de Valentia, Jiarl of Pembroke^ 
 who was a Maid, a Wife, and a Widow, in one and the fame Day, her Husband being 
 •unfortunately kill'd, on the very Day of his Marriage, in a Turnament, or Martial 
 Exercife, then in Ufe, of running at Tilt. After which fad Difaftre, the Lady, his 
 Widow, confecrated her whole Life to God, and gave her temporal Eftatc to the Poor 
 and the Church, her faid Husband having made her his Executrefs, and left her endow'd 
 with rich Pofleffions. So Parker, Ibidem. But I goon to the founding of Denmy. 
 
 IV, Denney, in Cambridge/hire. Mr. Tanner (e^ fays, This Houfe was firft a Priory 
 of BenediBine Monkj, fubordinate to the Abbey of Ely, and founded by one Robert, who 
 was Chamberlain to Con.in, Duke of Britain, and one Athtriius Picot, about the Year 1 160 j 
 And, that, afterwards, viz. in the zoth (others fay the i6ih) of Edward the ^d, it was 
 changed into a Monaftery of Nuns of the Order of St. Clare, by Mary de St. Paul, 
 
 Countefs 
 
 (a) CoHeHan, Vol. I. part i, pag. 107 : and part 2. pag. 5 5<J. (h) Fun. Monum. page 425. 
 (c) ColleBan Vol. I , pari j. pag. 442. (d) See Sceletos Canfabr. ill Leland. Colledan. Vol. 5. 
 pag. ipj). (c^Notitia Monoflica in Cambridge/hire.
 
 Of the English Nuns of the Order of St. CLARE. 3 
 
 Countcfsof Pembiokj, and was dedicated to God, in Honour of St. ya»iis and St. 
 Leonard, the Houfe of Waterheche being annex'd thereunto. So Tanner. Leiand (-a.) alfo 
 writes, that Mary de St. I' aid, CountcCs of Pcmhrol^e, obtain'd a Grant from King A, V- 
 u-ard, to remove the Nuns, with all their Pofleflions and Effefts, from Wunbuhe to 
 the Abbey of Denny, whereof She was the firft Foundrefs, and by that means an Uni- 
 on was made of thofc two Houfes ; And the fame Author moreover adds, that I'hi- 
 li^Tylney, Knight 5 John In^uldtjiorj;, John Broue, and iValter Goddard (LeLnd here means 
 Tylnty, Oglethoriie, Broune, and Godard, as named above) give the Manour of 
 Hijhn to this Abbey of Denny, in the Reign of King Richard the Second. This Deed of 
 Gift was witneffed by the Lord Hugh de laZouche ; WiUiam Cheny, Knight 5 John Htniham, 
 Knight 3 JVitt'am de Pa^uorth, Knight j Balduin St. George, Knight j William deCaJielbaler, 
 Knight 5 Richard Stiitiely, Knight ; Rohert Paris and Simon de JVithoii. The Intention of 
 the Foundrefs is exprefs'd in a Charter, or Deed of Gift of the Church of Goderjion, 
 (as Ltland (h) continues to fayj in the County of No>/o/(', in the following Terms, viz. 
 JVe, Mary of St. Paul, Countefs of Pembroke, Lady of Weyfeford and Montmaii &c. 
 
 For the Benefit of the Soul of the Lord Adamarui (Judomarus, or Aimer') de Va'.entia, late Earl 
 of Pembrol^e, our Husband, and for the Souls of Guy de Caflelton, heretofore Earl of St. Paul, 
 eiir Father, and Mary deSorBamen (alias Britain") my Mother, ^c. Adamarus Difcallis was one 
 of the Witnefles. 
 
 Sifter S/ii.rtfcff/j'nirq^worfoM was fometime A bbefs of Denney, the Religious Commu- 
 nity of which Houfe had Poffeffion of the Manour of Highall in the County of C.iw- 
 bridge, and the Manour of 6'rroo</f, or ^froK</, in Kent. Mary de St. Prt«/ alfo gave the faid 
 Nuns all her Manour of Denny, and afterwards lived in her Manour of Dujie ( Monajitry, 
 Stevens calls i t) in the County of Hertford : Which faid Manour of Denny, or Deniye, was, 
 amongfl other Things, given to the faid Countefs, by the King, for the free Surrender 
 She made to his Majefly of all her Right and Claim to the Manours of Hertford, Haver- 
 ford, Hegham Ferrers, Monemttth, and Henenak,. The Manour of Stroode, in Kent, near 
 Rochefier, was given to the faid Mary de St. Paul for her Care of '3oane of WodeftokSt the 
 King's Daughter, whom fliehad prudently bred up, and conftantly attended. So Leiand, 
 Ibid ; who, in another (c) Place, fays, the Countefs Pembroke lived to a great Age, 
 andwasatlaft buried in her Abbey of Denny, in a Tomb of Touch-Stone, between 
 the Quire of the Nuns, and that of Seculars. So Leiand. 
 
 This Houfe, at the Suppreffion, was valued at 2 1 8 /. i ei. ob. as it appears in Speed^s Ca- 
 talogue ^ though Mr. Tanner, in his N<7f/'r/rt Mo»?(r/?/f<i, rates it no higher than 171 /. 8j ^t^.ob, 
 
 V. Bri5eyard, orBRusEYARD, in Suffolk,. Here was a Monaflery of Religious 
 Women of the Order of St. Clare, call'd Minoreffes, dedicated to God, in Honour of the 
 Biejfed Virgin Ma>y j of which Houfe, Leiand {"ays, (d) the Duke of Clarence was the chief 
 Founder. The late Author of the Summary of Religious Houfes fays, TW\s Monaftery was 
 firfl: a Priory, and afterwards changed into a Nunnery of St. Clare ■ And Wcever adds, 
 (e) that, at the Suppreffion, it was valued a.t^6l.zs,id, per Annum, and was furrender'd 
 on the i-jth of February In the ^oth Year of the Reign o( K.mg Henry the 8f '.' ; that is, 
 Anno 15-39. 
 
 Speed agrees in this Valuation, as alfo does Mr. Tanner, who adds, that BurJLyard was 
 firfl: a College for a Warden and four Priefts, founded by Mau'd de Lancafler, Countefs of 
 Vlton (Ulfler in Ireland) Anno 1 3 54, and then he concludes, faying, This Priory was, not 
 long after, changed into a Nunnery of the Order of St. Clare. 
 
 (aj ColleBan. Vol. i. part 1. pag. 98. £5? 99. (b) ]bidem (c) CoHeilan. Vol. 5./''»g. 2CJ» 
 Cd) ColleBan, Vol. i.part i, pag. 6z. (6) Fun, Man. p. 76a.
 
 4 Of the Englijh Nuns of the Order of St. CLARE. 
 
 ■ VI. Pope Urbanthe $th, about the Year i ^61, gave Leave to a Noble Englifli Lady, 
 named Matilda it Lancajlna, to go into the Order of St, Clare, tVom the Order of the 
 Canotitjjes of St. yiujujiin, wherein flic had made her Religious Profeffion, after the 
 Death of her Husband. So the ^nyial 1 of tl e Fnen Minon, under this faid Year : And, 
 I prefume, this llluOrious Lady was Maw J of Lam,iihr (Countefs of Uljier) above 
 mention'd, or fome other Perfon of that honourable Family. 
 
 Vll. The fame Pope, Urhun the yh, alfo gave Leave to an Englifli Nobleman, call'd 
 William di la Role, to build a Monaftery for Religious Women of the Order of St. dart, 
 in the Diocefs of Yorl(j about the /'<>»■ 1^66 : And my (a^ Author, from the Annals of 
 the Order, faysj this Houfe was feated in Territono Brug^finn -. But I am not wife 
 enough to know where that is ; for there is no mention made of this Monaltery in any 
 other of our Englifli Writers that I have yet feen : Whence it may reafonably be 
 prefum'd that this was a Place of Poor Clarejfes, and was not endow'd; otherwife we 
 ihou'd have heard more faid of it j And the Revenues belonging thereunto, wou'd 
 have been recorded : But it had no Rents. 
 
 I find in Tanner's Notitia Monaftica, jhat Michael de la Pole, Earl of SiiJfolk_, founded a 
 Priory of Canhujians nHuU, in Yorl^shire, Jnxo 13785 and am indin'd to believe, that 
 th\slVilliamde la Pole, Founder ot this Houfe of Poor Clarefj'ts, was of that fame honou- 
 rable Family. 
 
 • VIII. London. Br. framis Harold, the Epitomizer of the yinnah of the Friirs Mino:s, 
 under the yir<jr 1 507, makes mention of a Monallery of Clarrjje! in London, x\\q. Titular- 
 Saint, or Patronefs whereof, was St. Agatha ; which I take for a plain Proof that the 
 Order had two Houfes in London ; and this lall (being not named among the Religious 
 that were endow'd) feems to have been a Community of Poor Carefjes -. And therefore 
 I am apt to think, thefe were the Perfons of whom Br. Anitlus a Sto. Francifeo (h) Majon 
 fpeaks when he fays, Br. Stephen fox-, a Francifcan, and CuJIot ("perhaps Wardm') of 
 6>f/«u;V/;, was expeird the Englifli Nation, by Queen ^//tai^fft, in the fecond Year of 
 her Reign, viz. ylnno 1559, and went over to j4nt\ie)f, where heremain'd till that City 
 was plunder'd by the ovcr-hcated Zeal of thofe who then pretended to reform the 
 Chriliian Religion ; by which Means Br. Stephen Fox was forced to be gone from thence 
 with about twenty Religious Women, of the Engli/h Nation, and of the Order of St^ 
 Clare, with whom he firft went to Roan, in Normandy, and afterwards to Lishne, in Portu- 
 gal, where he found King Philip the Second, of Spain, who gracioufly receiv'd thefe 
 diflrefs d Ladies, and gave his Royal Command tor the Building ot a Monaftery for 
 them j in whofe Church the faid Br. Stephen Fox found at lail the Place of his Burial, in 
 the Year 1 588. So Mafon. How long thefe Englifh Clanffes ftaid at Lisbone ? Or whether 
 they went at laft ? Or whether thofe once at St. Omen, and afterwards fettled at Gra- 
 vel.ng, were any Part of them ? Are Queftions which I Ihou'd be glad to refolve, were 
 I knowing enough j but as yet I can meet with no Writer that gives any fatisfaclory 
 Account of them 5 nor can I find any thing more of them, or of their Monafleries here- 
 tofore in England. So I conclude this poor Piece of Patch'd-work, which, as it has 
 nothing to recommend it felf but its good Meaning, has no Right to a favorable Re- 
 ception but from the Charity and Patience of the wel- meaning Reader. 
 
 (a) Fran, a Sta. Clara, inSitpplem. HiJ}. M«. (b)I« Defcri^tione Proviacia Frar. Mi». 
 Initio Libri cut Tilulus Certamen Seraphicum. 
 
 FINIS.
 
 %cy'^. 
 
 J^^^^jQiom 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
 Los Angeles 
 
 This book is DUE pn the last date stamped below. 
 
 MAY 4 198? 
 
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