Of relucent honowre, In olde commemoracion Most royall Englyssh nacion. Now all is out of facion, Almost in desolation; I speke by protestacion: 1040 God of his miseracyon Send better reformacyon! Lo, for to do shamfully He iugeth it no foly! But to wryte of his shame, He sayth we ar to blame. What a frensy is this, No shame to do amys, And yet he is ashamed To be shamfully named![224] 1050 And ofte prechours be blamed, Bycause they haue proclamed His madnesse by writynge, His symplenesse resytynge, Remordynge and bytynge, With chydyng and with flytynge,[225] Shewynge him Goddis lawis: He calleth the prechours dawis, And of holy scriptures sawis He counteth them for gygawis, 1060 And putteth them to sylence And[226] with wordis of vyolence, Lyke Pharao, voyde of grace, Dyd Moyses sore manase, And Aron sore he thret, The worde of God to let; This maumet in lyke wyse Against the churche doth ryse; The prechour he dothe dyspyse, With crakynge in suche wyse, 1070 So braggynge all with bost, That no prechour almost Dare speke for his lyfe Of my lordis grace nor his wyfe, For he hath suche a bull, He may take whom he wull, And as many as him lykys; May ete pigges in Lent for pikys, After the sectes of heretykis, For in Lent he wyll ete 1080 All maner of flesshe mete That he can ony[227] where gete; With other abusyons grete, Wherof for[228] to trete It wolde make the deuyll to swete, For all priuileged places He brekes and defaces, All placis of relygion He bathe them in derisyon, And makith suche prouisyon 1090 To dryue them at diuisyon, And fynally in conclusyon To bringe them to confusyon; Saint Albons to recorde Wherof this vngracyous lorde Hathe made him selfe abbot, Against their wylles, God wot. All this he dothe deale Vnder strength of the great seale, And by his legacy, 1100 Whiche madly he dothe apply Vnto an extrauagancy Pyked out of[229] all good lawe, With reasons that ben rawe. Yet, whan he toke first his hat, He said he knew what was what; All iustyce he pretended, All thynges sholde be amended, All wronges he wolde redresse, All iniuris he wolde represse, 1110 All periuris he wolde oppresse; And yet this gracelesse elfe, He is periured himselfe, As playnly it dothe appere, Who lyst to enquere In the regestry Of my Lorde of Cantorbury, To whom he was professed In thre poyntes expressed; The fyrst to do him reuerence, 1120 The seconde to owe hym obedyence,[230] The thirde with hole affectyon