Friars; Monasticism and religious orders -- England
¶ Here were a charitable sort of holy men that coude thus enterdite an
hole realme, and plucke awey th[e] obedience of the people from theyre
naturall liege lorde and kinge, for none other cause but for his
rightuousnesse. Here were a blissed sort not of meke herdes but of
bloudsuppers that coude set the frenche king vppon suche a rightuous
prince to cause hym to lose his crowne and dignite to make effusion of the
bloude of his people, oneles this good and blissed king of greate
compassion, more fearing and lamenting the sheding of the bloude of his
people then the losse of his crowne and dignite agaynst all right and
conscience had submitted him silf vnto theym. O case most horrible that
euer so nobill a king Realme, and succession shulde thus be made to stoupe
to suche a sort of bloodsuppers. where was his swerde, power, crowne, and
dignitie become wherby he mought haue done iustice yn this maner? where
was their obedience become that shuld haue byn subiect vnder his highe
power yn this mater? Ye[a] where was the obedience of all his subiectes
become that for mainteinaunce of the comon welth shulde haue holpen him
manfully to haue resisted these bloudsuppers to the shedinge of theyre
bloude? was not all to gither by theyre polycy translated from this good
king vnto theim. Ye[a] and what do they more? Truely nothing but applie
theym silues by all the sleyghtes they may haue to do with euery mannes
wife, euery mannes doughter and euery mannes mayde that cukkoldrie and
baudrie shulde reigne ouer all emong your subiectes, that no man shulde
knowe his owne childe that theyre bastardes might enherite the possessions
of euery man to put the right begotten children clere beside theire
inheritaunce yn subuersion of all estates and godly ordre. These be they
that by theire absteyning from mariage do let the generation of the people
wher by all the realme at length if it shulde be continued shall be made
desert and inhabitable.
¶ These be they that haue made an hundreth thousand ydell hores yn your
realme whiche wolde haue gotten theyre lyuing honestly, yn the swete of
theyre faces had not theyre superfluous rychesse illected theym to vnclene
lust and ydelnesse. These be they that corrupt the hole generation of
mankind yn your realme, that catche the pokkes of one woman. and bere
theym to an other, that be brent wyth one woman, and bere it to an other,
that catche the lepry of one woman, and bere it to an other, ye[a] some
one of theym shall bo[a]st emong his felawes that he hath medled with an
hundreth wymen. These be they that when they haue ones drawen mennes wiues
to such incontinency spende awey theire husbondes goodes make the wimen to
runne awey from theire husbondes, ye[a], rynne awey them silues both with
wif and goods, bring both man wife and children to ydelnesse theft and
beggeri.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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