.=r- '•';>«• t'*^ «^?i ^'r--'^*?:.^!m% yoAy'-yf*!'. ^^F j>^^^. •?^- ixA^^v??: '^V-%'. fr^i'-^i^V-^' :;=^ i©;rfov& :i:-r:X^i i-w'p:^. 1554. THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA IRVINE EX LIBRIS C. D. OMALLEY, M.D. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/epistolaeacademi02univiala VOL. XXXVI. EPISTOLAE ACADEMICAE OXON. II. Ojcforb HORACE HART, PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY ' EPISTOLAE ACADEMICAE OXON. (Registrum F) A COLLECTION OF LETTERS AND OTHER MISCELLANEOUS DOCUMENTS ILLUSTRATIVE OF ACADEMICAL LIFE AND STUDIES AT OXFORD IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY EDITED BY THE REV. HENRY ANSTEY, M.A. OF queen's college, formerly vice-principal of ST. MARY HALL AND SOMETIME RECTOR OF SLAPTON, BUCKS WITH ILLUSTRATIONS * Ingenuas didicisse fideliter artes Emollit mores, nee sinit esse feros PART II (1457—1509) O;cfovi PRINTED FOR THE OXFORD HISTORICAL SOCIETY AT THE CLARENDON PRESS 1898 LF LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 1. No. 62, page 77, line 9 (fol. 23 a) . ii. Page 192, line i (fol. 55 b) . iii. Page 207, line 3 (fol. 60 b) . iv. No. 153, page 208, line 27 (fol. 61 a) y At end of Part I. V. No. 169, page 230, line 29 (fol. 67 a) vi. Page 257, line 6 (fol. 76 a) . vii. No. 208, page 293, line 29 (fol. 91a) viii. No. 217, page 303, line 32 (fol. 94 b) ix. Page 407, line 21 (fol. 125 a) . X. No. 271, page 424, line 22 (fol. 129 b) xi. No. 370, page 542, line 25 (fol. 159 b) y At end of Part II. xii. No. 399, page 569, line 22 (fol. 165 b) xiii. No. 449, page 604, line 14 (fol. 172 b) xiv. No. 508, page 667, line 10 (fol. 185 b) EPISTOLAE ACADEMICAE OXON. 233. To the Archbishop of Canterbury. Israel would have perished by the wrath of God had not Moses * stood before them in the gap.' We are sure that, as a faithful leader, you also will not fail to standforth in defence of the people committed to your charge, and of the faith of the church in peril ; and we have been assured thatyou have commenced an effort to repress the widening breach in the rule of faith at this time existing, especially among the more ignorant people. Let us not therefore be deemed to impute lukewarmness to your grace, for we solemnly declare we have no such intention ; our aim is only to addfuel to the flame ofyour zeal. We acknowledge that the errors offaith in question had their origin among us, and that we did not at first take active measures to correct them. But now we desire to do so, and we are ready to die, if need be, for the true faith of the Church. In the meantime we beg that the writings of the learned but erring doctor of this University, which are the source of the trouble, may be submitted to usfor discussion and refutation. Reverendissimo in Christo patri et domino, domino Thome, Dei 1457. gracia Cantuariensi Archiepiscopo, tocius Anglie primati. Undecimo die mensis Novembris transmissa fuit quedam littera reverendo patri, domino Thome, Archiepiscopo Cantuariensi, sub forma que sequitur: Reverendo in Christo patri et domino devota Universitas Oxonie obedienciam pariter et honorem. Strenuus in bello miles et preclarus archipontifex, quem unxit Deus unccione misericordie sue, si forte suos in fugam versos conspexerit, jamque hostili gladio trucidari, et si se videat vel solum evadere posse, libet tamen mori magis cum ' illis, sine quibus vivere pudet. Proinde stat in prelio, fortiter propugnat, dimicat et inter cruentos gladios per • sine cum corrected in MS. ^ 338 EPISTOLAE ACADEMICAE. Fol. 105 a. medias acies hac illacque voce et ense adversarios terret ; animat suos, eisque pereuntibus succurrit, mori paratus pro singulis, qui se in eis vivere sentit. Religiosius exemplum ponendum erit, siquidem irato Domino periisset populus Israel propter sua scelera, si non Moyses stetisset, si non obviasset minanti. Denique et objiciens se pro suis ait, 'si dimittis, dimttte, sin autem dele me de libro luo.' Plane dux benignus, qui aut gentem suam salvabit secum, aut non potest nisi idem cum eis subire periculum. Ita vos, perbeate pater, ecclesie nostre spes precipua, hoc ipsum, quod estis, vestraque ne peculiaris Dei populus in fidem tutelamque vestram commissus aliquam, pre- sertim in doctrina Christi, jacturam paciatur, baud dubitamus im- pendere. Nam vestra interest resarcire damna fidei et scandala emergencia in regno Dei. Hec ob eam rem dixerimus, ut discidium, quod in norma fidei nostre, potissime apud indoctum vulgus, nuper exoriri visum est, celerius extinguere curetis ; ne improbitas, que in suis amputanda principiis fuit, decursu temporis et lacior et pertinacior fiat. Quo in negocio laborem illustrem vos feliciter inchoasse sepe- numero audivimus. Prosequamini opus est, et ne languori dederitis. Hoc enim vos immortalitati perenni consecraturum est. Sed ne aliquis nobis succenseat, aut in nos ferat calumpniam, quasi negli- genciam in sanctitate vestra his verbis nostris inconsiderato ausu argueremus et damnaremus ; contestamur palam ilium nobis animum nunquam fuisse, sed ea mente pocius ilia dixisse, ut celestem ignem bone voluntatis vestre, licet ardentem plurimumque ferventem, vel modica face pasceremus. ' Zelus Domini exerciiuum fecit hoc! Jam ad rem accedamus oportet. Per Angliam nostram fama volat, O apostolice vir, crebroque sermone vulgatum est, quendam reverendum patrem, in litteris apprime doctum, atque in Universitate nostra sacre theologie professorem, novam credidisse populis doctrinam ; fidem adinvenisse novam. Quo fit ut crudum rudeque vulgus, novarum rerum semper avidum, fidei sue damna ferat, sustineatque discrimina magna. Huic malo vestram medicinam paratam esse non ambigimus, sed, et unum est quod maxime angit animum nostrum, quia impro- borum hominum plurimi calumpnie infamieque verba in nos minus caute refundunt, asseverantes Universitatem nostram eos, qui jam- dudum, ut incerto rumore fertur, pullularunt errores, excipere, amplecti, fovere. Et vero non tam eorum improbitate quam nostra forsan igrtavia id evenisse bene credimus, eo quod innocenciam nostram paternitati vestre ante hos dies in hoc discriminoso murmure manifestare postposuerimus. Eapropter vel nunc sero rumpimus moras, taciturni- tatem solvimus, et fidem Christi ecclesieque doctrinam nos defensuros ad penas, ad sanguinem, ad mortem usque confitemur. Eciam et eo ' EPISTOLAE ACADEMICAE. 339 silencium nostrum uberiorem meruit veniam, quo nihil certum, ex- ploratum nihil apud nos in premissis opinionibus hucusque habitum est. Hee cause judicio nostro ora eorum clauderent, qui nos inique injusteque falsis suspeccionibus lacerarunt. Profecto cum ejus scripta ad nostram venerint lucem, si vera, si sana, si utilia sint, apud patro- cinium curamque suscipiamus decet. Si vero minus digna veritate re- periantur, quod absit, quantum in nobis virtus aut sciencia aut robur est, refellemus ad plenum, et fundamenta, quibus innituntur^, Deo operante cassabimus. ' Fundamentum enim "^ aliud nemo potest ponere, preter id quod positum est, quod est Christus Jesus! Precamur insuper, optime pater, viscera caritatis vestre, et iterum atque iterum precamur, quatenus, cum gravitati vestre beneplacitum fuerit, prefata opera ad manus nostras veniant tandem. Quibus inspectis, necnon et in nostra scolastice colluctacionis palestra discussis, plenam veritatis nocionem, cumulacio- remque fructum capiamus in Eo, qui uteri virginalis dulcis admodum fructus est; quo vos in eternum perfrui donet ille Jesus Christus. Amen. Ex nostre congregacionis domo, mensis Novembris die undecimo. Humilis oratrix Universitas Oxoniensis. 2341 To Prince Edward. Fol. 105 b. Tlie wisest men have ever considered the moral and intellectual training 0/princes the great safeguard of states ; and the most illustrious princes have in a peculiar degreefavoured those places where virtue and learning are inculcated together. Very rarely do we find in history a successful ruler or general who was not also a patron of letters. Take Philipp of Macedon as an instance, of whom it is said that he thanked the Gods that his son Alexander came into the world at a time when he could receive the instruction of Aristotle. We too have high hopes for your future, and we beg that you will deign to accept the title of Defender of this University, and will also be in deed our protector. Sextodecimo die mensis Decembris deliberata fuit quedam littera et sigillata, transmittenda illustrissimo principi Edwardo, regis Anglie et Francie primogenito, sub hac forma que sequitur. Serenissimo ac nobilissimo principi Edwardo, domini nostri, metuen- 1457. * The abbreviation in the MS. is innititur. ' The word in the MS. is not enim, but appears to be aliud repeated. ' On the upper margin of this folio [105 b] above the following epistle [234] are written the following names, ' Cancellarius domintis Leonellus Wideville, Jacobus Babbe Robertus Lathis,' after which a later hand adds ' officiarii Anno Dotn. 1483, et cur hie positi ? B 2 340 EPISTOLAE ACADEMICAE. dissimi Henrici regis Anglie et Francie, primogenito, defensor! nostro speratissimo. Serenissime princeps, Anglorum monarchic digne futura spes, honorcs celebcrrimos ct sincere devocionis affectum. Florentissimas illas legimus fuisse urbes, quas vel incliti principes felici fortuna rexere, vel nobiles reipublice tutores, adversante fato, hostili ne insperato litteris insultu jacturam paterentur, humanissime protexere ; quos et et morum institutis imbuendos, et in eisdem a primevo sue etatis tempore educandos fore ipsi disertissimi censuere philosophi. Nihil profecto incliti principis magis decet celsitudinem, seu ejus honorem magis