Friars; Monasticism and religious orders -- England
superaltares chapelles and belles, by cursing of men and absoluing theim
agein for money? what a multitude of money gather the pardoners in a yere?
Howe moche money get the Somners by extorcion yn a yere, by assityng the
people to the commissaries court and afterward releasing th[e] apparaunce
for money? Finally, the infinite nombre of begging freres whate get they
yn a yere? Here if it please your grace to marke ye shall se a thing farre
out of ioynt. There are withyn youre realme of Englond. lij. thousand
parisshe churches. And this stonding that there be but tenne houshouldes
yn euery parisshe yet are there fiue hundreth thousand and twenty thousand
houshouldes. And of euery of these houshouldes hath euery of the fiue
ordres of freres a peny a quarter for euery ordre, that is for all the
fiue ordres fiue pens a quarter for every house. That is for all the fiue
ordres. xx.d. a yere of euery house. Summa fiue hundreth thousand and
twenty thousand quarters of angels.
That is. cclx. thousand half angels. Summa. cxxx. thousand angels. Summa
totalis. xliij. thousand poundes and. cccxxxiij. li. vi.s. viij.d.
sterling. wherof not foure hundreth yeres passed they had not one peny. Oh
greuous and peynfull exactions thus yerely to be paied. from the whiche
the people of your nobill predecessours the kinges of the auncient Britons
euer stode fre And this wil they haue or els they wil procure him that
will not giue it theim to be taken as an heretike. whate tiraunt euer
oppressed the people like this cruell and vengeable generacion? whate
subiectes shall be abill to helpe theire prince that be after this facion
yerely polled? whate good christen people can be abill to socoure vs pore
lepres blinde sore, and lame, that be thus yerely oppressed? Is it any
merueille that youre people so compleine of pouertie? Is it any merueile
that the taxes fiftenes and subsidies that your grace most tenderly of
great compassion hath taken emong your people to defend theim from the
thretened ruine of theire comon welth haue bin so sloughtfully, ye[a]
painfully leuied? Seing that almost the vtmost peny that mought haue bin
leuied hath ben gathered bifore yerely by this rauinous cruell and
insatiabill generacion The danes nether the saxons yn the time of the
auncient Britons shulde neuer haue ben abill to haue brought theire armies
from so farre hither ynto your lond to haue conquered it if they had had
at that time suche a sort of idell glotons to finde at home. The nobill
king Arthur had neuer ben abill to haue caried his armie to the fote of
the mountaines to resist the coming downe of lucius the Emperoure if suche
yerely exaction had ben taken of his people. The grekes had neuer ben
abill to haue so long continued at the siege of Troie if they had had at
home suche an idell sort of cormorauntes to finde. The auncient Romains
had neuer ben abil to haue put all the hole worlde vnder theyre obeisaunce
if theyre people had byn thus yerely oppressed. The Turke nowe yn youre
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