The English Church in the Middle AgesHunt, William
History
The English Church in the Middle Ages
Hunt, William
Church history -- Middle Ages, 600-1500; Great Britain -- Church history
standing by each other, and the alliance failed.
[Sidenote: Extortion and remonstrance.]
Innocent IV. made at least as large demands on England as Gregory had
done, and treated her with more cynical insolence. His envoy, Martin, was
like him, and at last goaded the long-suffering nation to violence. Fulk
Fitz-Warin came to him with the short message, "Leave England, and begone
forthwith." "Who bids me? Did any one send you?" asked the legate. Fulk
told him that he was sent by the baronage assembled in arms at a
tournament, and warned him that if he delayed to depart till the third day
he and all his "would be cut to pieces." The trembling legate complained
to the king. Henry, however, told him that he could not restrain his
barons. "For the love of God and the reverence of my lord the Pope, give
me a safe-conduct!" the legate prayed. "The devil give you a safe-conduct
to hell, and all through it!" was the answer of the perplexed and petulant
king. A strong remonstrance, in the form of a letter from the people of
England, was read by the English representatives at the Council of Lyons,
in which it was stated that Italian ecclesiastics drew over 60,000 marks a
year from the country. For a while Henry, who was thoroughly alarmed at
the state of affairs, wished to check the drain of money to Rome, and
wrote to Grosseteste complaining that the bishops had undertaken to
collect a tallage which the Pope had laid on the clergy. Grosseteste
replied that they were bound to obey their spiritual father and mother
(the Pope and the Church) then in exile and suffering persecution, for the
papal court was still in exile at Lyons. This view was taken by many
noble-minded churchmen, and especially by the friars, who, though they
proved themselves the friends of constitutional freedom, strongly
maintained the duty of supporting the Popes in their struggle with the
Empire.
[Sidenote: Robert Grosseteste's letter to Innocent IV., 1253.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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