An informacion and Peticion agaynst the oppressours of the pore Commons of this Realme, compiled and Imprinted for this onely purpose that amongest them that have to doe in the Parliamente, some godlye mynded men, may hereat take occacion to speake more in the matter then the Authoure was able to write. Esaye lviii. When you suffre none oppression to bee amongest you, and leaue of youre idle talke: then shal you cal vpon the Lord and he shal hear you, you shal crie, and he shal say, Behold I am at hand. n. d. or printer's name. Sixteens. 14 leaves.

A spirited address to the Lords and Commons, from Robert Crowley + the printer, against both clergy and laity requiring an examination and relief for the poor from, tenths and usury, peculation of lease-holders, and. other matters of oppression. As the author was afterwards vicar of St. Giles, Cripplegate, and held other benefices, it may be hoped he acted with more Christian charity than appears in the following relation, which illustrates the manners of the clergy, on a subject noticed in an antecedent article. I

"The Cleargie of the Citie of London, haue for theyr parte

After 1545, probably about 1547, and addressed to the first parliament assembled temp. Edw. VI.

† He is noticed as a preacher in the Commemoration, &c. (ante p. 287.) In the ninth lesson Bonner speaks:

"One morne betime I loked forth,

as ofte as I did before;

And did se a pulpit, in churches wise,
made by my prison dore.

A preacher there was, that Crowly hight,
whiche preached in that place,

A meane if God had loued me,
to call me then to grace.
Hodie si vocem, was his theme,

and harden not thyne barte:
As did the fathers the rebelles old
that perished in desarte.

Thus protestantes haue me slain

with the power of the worde:" &c.

Anie, p. 269.

optayned by Parliament authoritie to ouer tenthes euen after the exem[ple] of the landlordes and leasemongers, and maye by the vertue of the acte requir for double rentes, double tenthes. If the rent of any kynde of housyng or grou de wythin the Citie of Lo don be raised (as ther is indeede veri much) fro x3. to xx3. than may the persone (whoe had before but xvid. ob.) by the vertu of this act demaunde ii'. ixa. the double. Bysydes this the exactions that they take of the pore com ons, is to much beyonde al reason and conscience. No couple can be maried, but these me must haue a dutie, as they cal it. No woman may be purified, but they and theyr ydle ministers must haue some duties of hir. None ca be buried, but they wyl haue a flyese. Not thre monethes before yo. beginnyng of this preset parliamet, I had iust occacion to be at the payment of this dutie for ye, buriyng of an honest pore man, whose fre des wer willyng to haue hys body reuere dly layed in the grounde, and accordyng to the custome, gaue warnynge to the curate that they woulde brynge the deade body to the church: desyryng hym that he wolde do hys dutie and to be ther to receye it, and, accordynge to the custome, to laye it in the grounde But this rauen smellynge the carion, coulde not but reueile it to the other carion byrdes of the same church, and so woulde needes come all together in a flocke to fetch theyr praye, with crosse and holy water as they were wont to do, notwythstandynge the Kynges Iniunctions and late visitacion. The frendes of the deade man refused all this and required to haue no mor but the commune coffen to put the bodye in, agreynge to paye to the keper therof bys accustomed dutie, and in lyke maner to the graue maker and the foure pore men to cary the bodye, so that the whole charges ad ben but viid. But when the corps was buried, wythe out other crosse or holy water sticke, dirige, or masse, with prayers of as small deuo tion, as any pore curate could saye, yet must we nedes pay vid. more. That is to saye, 14. to the curate, which he called an heade pedye, and vid. to ii clarkes that we had no nede of. This was done in Sepulchres paryshe in the Citie of London. And if it shall please any of this noble assemble to trye the trueth of this, I will verifie it where so ever I shall be called, euen in the presence of all the ydle ministers of the same church. This haue I written (most worthy cou saylours) to geue you occasion to set suche an ordre in this and suche other tbynges, that eyther we may haue ministers founde vppon the te thes that we pay yerli to the churches: other els that it may be leafull for vs to do such ministeries our selues, and not to be thus co strained to feede a sorte of carion crowes, whyche

are

are neuer so mery as when we lament the losse of our frendes." *

J. H.

The confession of the fayth of the Sweserlades. Twelves. 15 leaves. n. d. or printer's name.

"This confescion was fyrste wrytten and set out by the ministers of the churche and congregacion of Sweuerland,

16mo.

* A too rigid demand of the burial fees raised a popular outcry against the clergy. It is also noticed in another tract entituled: A supplication of the poore Commons. Prouerbes xxi. Chapiter, Whoso stoppeth his eare at the criynge of the poore, he shall crye bym selfe and shall not be beard. Whereunto is added the Supplication of Beggers. Col. Anno M. ccccc. xlvi. No printer's name. D8. The writer for the poor Commons describes it customary "to se me begge for such dead corpses as haue nothinge to paye the pristes diuitie. Yea it is not longe sence there was in your highnes cytie of Londo a dead corps brought to the church to be buryed, being so poore that it was naked, wythout any cloth to couer it. But these charitable men whiche teache vs, that is one of the workes of mercy to bury the dead, woulde not take the paynes to bury the dead corps, onlesse they had theyr dutye, as they call it. In fyne, they caused the dead corps to be caryed into the strete agayne, and there to remayne tyll the poore people, whych dwelled in the place where the poore creature dyed, had begged so moch as the pristes call theyr dwe." This writer, addressing the king, tells him "a numbre is there of theym that vnder the name of your chaplynes may dispend yerly by bene. fices, some one C some CC some CCC some CCCC. some CCCCC. yea, some M. markes and more. It is a comone saiyng among vs your hyghnes pore comons (he continues) that one of your highnes chapplene not many yeres synce, vsed when he lusted to ride a brode for hys repast, to cary wyth hym a scrowle, wherin wer written the names of the parishes wherof he was parson. As it fortuned, in hys iourney he aspied a churche standynge vpon a fayre hyll pleasauntly beset with groues and playn feldes, the goodly grene meadowes liyng beneth by the banks of a chrystalline ryuer garnished with willouse, poplers, palme troes, and alders, most beautiful to behold. This vigilant pastoure, taken with the syghte of this terestial paradise, sayd vnto a seruaut of his (the clerke of his signet no doubt it was, for he vsed to cary his masters ryng in his mouth) Robin, sayd he, yonder benefice standeth very pleasantly. I would it were myne. The seruaunt aunswered, Why, sir, quoth he, it is your owne benefice, and named the parish. Is it so? quoth your chaplen: and with that he pulled out his scroule to se tor certentie whether it were so or not."

where all godlynes is receyued, and the worde hadde in moste reuerence, and from thence was sent vnto the Emperours maiestie, then holdynge a gryat counsell or parliamet in the yeare of our Lord God, M.v.C, xxxvII. in the moneth of February. Translated out of Laten, by George Vsher, a Scotchman, who was burned in Scotland, the yeare of oure Lorde M.v.C xl. VI..... Of holy matrimony. We judge mariage, which was instytute of God for all men apte & mete therfore, whiche are not called from it by any other vocatio, to repugne to holynes of no ordre, the whiche mariage as the churche auctoriseth it, and celebrates, and solempniseth it with orison and prayer. And therfore we reiecte and refuse this monckely chastite and all hole this slouthful and slouggishe sorte of lyfe of supersticious men, as abominablye inuented and excogitat thynge, and abandon it as a thinge repugnant bothe to the comune weale and to the churche. And so confyrmeth and stablissheth it, so it belo geth to the magistrate to se that it be worthely bothe begonne and worshypped and not broken but for iust cause..... It was our pleasure to vse these wordes at this present tyme that we myght declare our opinion in our religio and worshynenge of God. Finis. The truth wyl haue vpper ha de."

the

Newes concernynge the general coucell holden at Trydent by the Emperoure and the Germaynes wyth all the nobles of Hungarye, Constanople and Rome. Translated oute of Germayne into Englysh by Ihon Holibush. Anno 1548. Cum priuilegio ad Imprimendum Solum. Sixteens. Ten leaves.

This tract commences at back of title, as an epistle, though unaddressed. The following is the speech of the Emperor to the Turkish messengers soliciting peace. "Though it becommeth not our maiestye, to make any appoyntmet with the enemy of our religion, nother hath y. godly maiesty euer left vs aydelesse hetherto, but alway prospereth & helpeth vs to vanquysh our enemyes: so that no man ther is, whych can auaunce and say: I haue ouercome Charles in battayll. For so much also as Almyghtye God bath endued vs wyth so greate puyssance, ryches, men of warre & captaynes, so that we nede pot to be afrayed of any ma in the world: yet for the te der

loue

loue that we owe to our brother the king of the Romanes, Hogary, & Bemes we co desce de, alow & ratifye the truce of fyne yeares but vpo that codicion, y', the Turkysh Emperour do sende vs hys letters & specificacyo concerning this peace.. Wha the Turkyshe messaungers had receaued thys coragious answere of the emperiall maiestye, they are returned to theyr Lorde, which continently sente ouer the foresayde letters, in the whyche he calleth the Emperours maiesty a Lord of the Christen worlde. These letters came here to Ausborowe the xxi day of Nouember, whyche I haue both handeled and sene. These be wrytten wyth greate and vnsemely letters, and on the top sygned with the great Turkes armes of gold. I doubte whether i euer haue scene any suche lyke, they be nother Chalde nor Hebrue letters, the Lord Gerard Veltwick sayth they be Arabyck letters..... Farewell. Wryten from August the syxt daye of December. The yeare of our Lorde. M. D. Xlviji. Imprinted at Londɔ̃, in Saynt Andrewes paryshe, in the ware dropt, by Thomas Raynalde."

**

A Thousand Notable things of sundry sortes' Wherof some are wonderfull, some straunge, some pleasant, diuers necessary, a great sort profitable and many very precious.

This Boke bewrayes that some had rather hide, which who so buyes their money is not lost: For many a thing therin, if truely tride,

wil gaine much more, the twenty such wil cost. And diuers else great secretes will detect, and other moe of rare or straunge effect, It is not made to please some one degree, no, no, nor yet to bring a gaine to few: For each therby, how ritch or poore they bee,

may reape much good, & mischiefes great eschew, The paines and trauell hethertoo is mine: the gaine and pleasure hence forth will be thine.

Imprinted at London by Iohn Charlewood, for Hughe Spooner, dwelling in Lumbardstreele, at the signe of the Cradle. qto. n. d. pp. 302, without introduction.

Dedicated to the Right Honourable, vertuous and affable Lady Margaret, Countesse of Darby," hoping for pardon in

U 4

the