the Reformers had been striving during the last half of a century. They were now released by law from the tyranny of Rome, and their separation from the Catholic Church was formally acknowledged.

While the events which we have recorded, were taking place in Germany, the Reformation was successfully prosecuted in Switzerland, and introduced to a greater or less extent into must of the countries of Europe. In Great Britain also opposition to the papal authority early showed itself, and England and Scotland withdrew from the Romish Church. The Reformation in these two latter kingdoms is, for many reasons, deserving of a separate notice; and the remainder of this volume will be devoted to a brief account of its rise and progress.

CHAPTER XIII.

REFORMATION IN ENGLAND WICKLIFFE JOHN

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HUSS THE LOLLARDS-WILLIAM SAUTRE-JOHN BALBY-LORD COBHAM. 1234 - 1417.

As an introduction to the story of the Reformation in England, it will be well to look back for a moment, to a period much earlier than that of Luther; for the separation of the ecclesiatical affairs of the English Church, from the dominion of Rome, was facilitated by those who, probably, never dreamed, that such a result was, in part, to be brought about by their agency. Still, in the opposition of a single individual to the hard oppression and gross errors of the papal system, may be found, not only the commencement of that train of events, which ended in the destruction of the Pope's authority in England, but also the impulse which worked out the great change, already described, on the continent.

The eminent man referred to was John Wickliffe, who was born in a village of the same name on the river Tees, about the year 1324. Of the earlier part of his life, little is known. He was educated at Oxford, and from his diligent attention to the study of Scripture, obtained the title of the Gospel Doctor; an honorable name in an

age, when, as he himself says, "it was no uncommon thing for men to call God Master, forty, three score, or four score years, and yet remain ignorant of his ten commandments."

Wickliffe first appeared as a Reformer in an attack upon the Mendicants, or Begging Friars. The indolent and luxurious lives of the monks who resided in the monasteries, and of the other regular clergy, brought great scandal upon the Church. To remedy this difficulty, the order of Mendicants was established in the 13th century, who bound themselves to a life of poverty and abstinence, and were favored by the Popes, with some peculiar privileges. They were exempted, for instance, from the jurisdiction of the bishops, and from the secular authorities; they might demand alms of every body out of the monasteries; they might preach, hear confessions, say mass, and perform other offices, any where, and without regard to the parish priests. The court of Rome rejoiced in this army of wandering dependents, thus raised up to increase its power and execute its commands. But it was not long before these new servants forgot their vows. As their numbers increased, they swarmed all over Christendom, and became ambitious of power and covetous of wealth. They interfered with the other clergy, obtained great political influence, insinuated themselves into the universities,

and caused trouble wherever they came.

The

College at Oxford suffered so much from their intrigues, and their efforts to enlist the students, that parents were afraid to trust their sons at that institution; and the number of scholars was at one time reduced from thirty to six thousand.

Wickliffe, indignant at these proceedings, attacked the Mendicants with boldness and vigor, and they became his bitter and relentless foes. A single anecdote will show the state of feeling, which existed between the Reformer and the Friars. In the year 1379, when Wickliffe was dangerously sick, some of the Mendicants paid him a visit, hoping to frighten him into concessions in their favor. When they had finished their threats and exhortations, he ordered his servants to raise him in bed, and said; "I shall not die but live still further, to declare the evil deeds of the Friars."

It would be foreign from our purpose to follow in detail the course of "the Morning Star of the Reformation," as Wickliffe has been called. Besides his opposition to the Mendicants, he supported the English government in its resistance to the inordinate demands of the Pope, and fearlessly exposed and denounced the corruptions of the Church. He was once sent, like Luther, on an embassy to Rome, and from what he saw

there, became also, like Luther, more decided and zealous in his exertions for a reform. He was frequently summoned to answer for his rebellious conduct and heretical opinions, by the officers of the Pope; but his followers were so numerous, and his popularity with the king and his countrymen so great, that he escaped with slight punishment, and died a natural death. While engaged in the services of public worship, in his church at Lutterworth, he was struck with the palsy, and expired soon after he was taken home, December 29, 1384, in the sixty-first year of his age.

The character of Wickliffe was by no means faultless, and many of his opinions would now be deemed absurd and erroneous. But he deserves respect for his denial of the infallibility of the Pope, his reverence for the Scriptures as the rule of life and faith, and the courage he displayed by exposing the falsehoods of the Romish Church. Among other good works, by which he aided the Reformation, his translation of the Bible was, without doubt, the most important. This served to open the eyes of the people at large to the abuses of the clergy and to the errors of their creed. It may gratify the curiosity of the reader to see a specimen of this work; and therefore, we subjoin his version of the Thirteenth Chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthians.