English literature -- Middle English, 1100-1500; Great Britain -- Social life and customs -- 1066-1485 -- Sources
"As I stood there in the pulpit, busying me to teach the commandment of
GOD, there knelled a sacring-bell; and therefore mickle people turned
away hastily, and with great noise ran from towards me. And I seeing
this, say to them thus, 'Good men! ye were better to stand here full
still and to hear GOD's Word. For, certes, the virtue and the mede of
the most holy Sacrament of the Altar standeth much more in the Belief
thereof that ye ought to have in your soul, than it doth in the outward
Sight thereof. And therefore ye were better to stand quietly to hear
GOD's Word, because that through the hearing thereof, men come to very
true belief.' And otherwise, Sir, I am certain I spake not there, of the
worthy Sacrament of the Altar."
+Archbishop.+ And the Archbishop said to me, "I believe thee not!
whatsoever thou sayest, since so worshipful men have witnessed against
thee. But since thou deniest that thou saidest thus there, what sayest
thou now? Resteth there, after the consecration, in the [h]ost, material
bread or no?"
+William.+ And I said, "Sir, I know of no place in Holy Scripture, where
this term, _material bread_, is written: and therefore, Sir, when I
speak of this matter, I use not [_am not accustomed_] to speak of
material bread."
+Archbishop.+ Then the Archbishop said to me, "How teachest thou men to
believe in this Sacrament?"
+William.+ And I said, "Sir, as I believe myself, so I teach other men."
+Archbishop.+ He said, "Tell out plainly thy belief hereof!"
+William.+ And I said, with my Protestation, "Sir, _I believe that the
night before that CHRIST JESU would suffer wilfully Passion for mankind
on the morn after, he took bread in his holy and most worshipful hands,
lifting up his eyes, and giving thanks to GOD his Father, blessed this
bread and brake it, and gave it to his disciples, saying to them_, Take,
and eat of this, all of you! This is my body!
"And that this is, and ought to be all men's belief, MATTHEW, MARK,
LUKE, and PAUL witnesseth.
"Other belief, Sir, have I none, nor will have, nor teach: for I believe
that this sufficeth in this matter. For in this belief, with GOD's
grace, I purpose to live and die: [ac]knowledging as I believe and teach
other men to believe, that _the worshipful Sacrament of the Altar is
the Sacrament of CHRIST's flesh and his blood, in form of bread and
wine_."
+Archbishop.+ And the Archbishop said to me, "It is sooth, that this
Sacrament is very CHRIST's body in form of bread: but thou and thy sect
teachest it to be the substance of bread! Think you this true teaching?"
+William.+ And I said, "Neither I nor any other of the sect that ye damn
[_condemn_], teach any otherwise than I have told you, nor believe
otherwise, to my knowing.
=ST. PAUL, A DOCTOR OF HOLY CHURCH.=
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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