History of England and France Under the House of Lancaster; With an Introductory View of the Early Reformation (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: In compliance with the exigency of these rescripts, Wycliffe was examined before the Bishop of London in the winter of 1377-8, when the Duke of Lancaster and Lord Percy, as has been related, appeared by his side, and even took an active part in his behalf. They had a sharp dispute with Bishop Courtney upon their demanding that Wycliffe should be allowed a chair during his examination. The duke, in his altercation with the prelate, waxed warm, and taunted him with trusting to the influence of his family, who might, peradventure, he said, find it all they could do to maintain their own ground. The populace, who were no friends either of Wycliffe or the duke, rose to revenge the insult which they thought had been put upon their diocesan; they sacked Lancaster's palace, in the Savoy; and he and Percy so narrowly escaped, that a man was killed, being taken for the latter. Nor could the tumult be appeased until the bishop himself, who may well be supposed to have had some hand in exciting it, interposed and besought the multitude to disperse.1 The result of the inquiry was, an order of the prelate's, putting Wycliffe to silence. He was afterwards cited to appear before the Primate and other prelates, at Lambeth; but the humour of the populace now took a different direction, when led on by the citizens of London, always attached to the new doctrine. They broke into the council-chamber, and occasioned so great an interruption to the proceedings, that the bishopyielded to a message from the Dowager Princess of Wales, and affected to be satisfied with Wycliffe's explanations: so that the inquiry dropped altogether during the remainder of Gregory's pontificate. He died in the following spring, and Urban VI., his successor, had not filled the chair of St. Peter six months, when his seat was c...