History of the Reformation in the Sixteenth Century Volume V Part 5

(Ibid. cap. ii.) He visited the whole island, and taught the right rule of life.

[Sidenote: DISCORD IN THE CHURCH.]

The grand defection now began: the best were sometimes the first to yield. When Theodore met Cedda, who had been consecrated by a bishop who had himself received ordination from the elders of Iona, he said to him: "You have not been regularly ordained." Cedda, instead of standing up boldly for the truth, gave way to a carnal modesty, and replied: "I never thought myself worthy of the episcopate, and am ready to lay it down."--"No," said Theodore, "you shall remain a bishop, but I will consecrate you anew according to the catholic ritual."[89] The British minister submitted. Rome triumphant felt herself strong enough to deny the imposition of hands of the elders of Iona, which she had hitherto recognised. The most stedfast believers took refuge in Scotland.

[89] c.u.m Ceadda Episcopum argueret non fuisse rite consecratum, ipse (Theodorus) ordinationem, ejus denuo catholica ratione consummavit.

(Beda, lib. iv. cap. ii.) When he charged Cedda with not being a regularly ordained bishop, he (Theodore) himself completed his ordination after the catholic manner.

In this manner a church in some respects deficient, but still a church in which the religious element held the foremost place, was succeeded by another in which the clerical element predominated. This was soon apparent: questions of authority and precedence, hitherto unknown among the British Christians, were now of daily occurrence. Wilfrid, who had fixed his residence at York, thought that no one deserved better than he to be primate of all England; and Theodore on his part was irritated at the haughty tone a.s.sumed by this bishop. During the life of Oswy, peace was maintained, for Wilfrid was his favourite; but ere long that prince fell ill; and, terrified by the near approach of death, he vowed that if he recovered he would make a pilgrimage to Rome and there end his days.[90] "If you will be my guide to the city of the apostles," he said to Wilfrid, "I will give you a large sum of money." But his vow was of no avail: Oswy died in the spring of the year 670 A.D.

[90] Ut si ab infirmitate salvaretur, etiam Romam venire, ibique ad loca sancta vitam finire. Beda, lib. iv. cap. ii.

[Sidenote: WILFRED'S DISGRACE AND END.]

The _Witan_ set aside Prince Alfred, and raised his youngest brother Egfrid to the throne. The new monarch, who had often been offended by Wilfrid's insolence, denounced this haughty prelate to the archbishop.

Nothing could be more agreeable to Theodore. He a.s.sembled a council at Hertford, before which the chief of his converts were first summoned, and presenting to them, not the holy scripture but the _canons of the Romish church_,[91] he received their solemn oaths: such was the religion then taught in England. But this was not all. "The diocese of our brother Wilfrid is so extensive," said the primate, "that there is room in it for four bishops." They were appointed accordingly. Wilfrid indignantly appealed from the primate and the king to the pope. "Who converted England, who, if not I? ... and it is thus I am rewarded!"... Not allowing himself to be checked by the difficulties of the journey, he set out for Rome, attended by a few monks, and Pope Agathon a.s.sembling a council (679), the Englishman presented his complaint, and the pontiff declared the dest.i.tution to be illegal.

Wilfrid immediately returned to England, and haughtily presented the pope's decree to the king. But Egfrid, who was not of a disposition to tolerate these transalpine manners, far from restoring the see, cast the prelate into prison, and did not release him until the end of the year, and then only on condition that he would immediately quit Northumbria.

[91] Quibus statim protuli eundem librum canonum. (Ibid. cap. v.) To whom I straightway presented the same book of canons.

Wilfrid--for we must follow even to the end of his life that remarkable man, who exercised so great an influence over the destinies of the English church--Wilfrid was determined to be a bishop at any cost. The kingdom of Suss.e.x was still pagan; and the deposed prelate, whose indefatigable activity we cannot but acknowledge, formed the resolution of winning a bishopric, as other men plan the conquest of a kingdom. He arrived in Suss.e.x during a period of famine, and having brought with him a number of nets, he taught the people the art of fis.h.i.+ng, and thus gained their affections. Their king Edilwalch had been baptized, his subjects now followed his example, and Wilfrid was placed at the head of the church. But he soon manifested the disposition by which he was animated: he furnished supplies of men and money to Ceadwalla, king of Wess.e.x, and this cruel chieftain made a fierce inroad into Suss.e.x, laying it waste, and putting to death Edilwalch, the prelate's benefactor. The career of the turbulent bishop was not ended. King Egfrid died, and was succeeded by his brother Alfred, whom Wilfrid had brought up, a prince fond of learning and religion, and emulous of the glory of his uncle Oswald. The ambitious Wilfrid hastened to claim his see of York, by acquiescing in the part.i.tion; it was restored to him, and he forthwith began to plunder others to enrich himself. A council begged him to submit to the decrees of the church of England; he refused, and having lost the esteem of the king, his former pupil, he undertook, notwithstanding his advanced years, a third journey to Rome. Knowing how popes are won, he threw himself at the pontiff's feet, exclaiming that "the suppliant bishop Wilfrid, the humble slave of the servant of G.o.d, implored the favour of our most blessed lord, the pope universal." The bishop could not restore his creature to his see, and the short remainder of Wilfrid's life was spent in the midst of the riches his cupidity had so unworthily acc.u.mulated.

Yet he had accomplished the task of his life: all England was subservient to the papacy. The names of _Oswy_ and of _Wilfrid_ should be inscribed in letters of mourning in the annals of Great Britain.

Posterity has erred in permitting them to sink into oblivion; for they were two of the most influential and energetic men that ever flourished in England. Still this very forgetfulness is not wanting in generosity. The grave in which the liberty of the church lay buried for nine centuries is the only monument--a mournful one indeed--that should perpetuate their memory.

[Sidenote: Ad.a.m.nAN.]

But Scotland was still free, and to secure the definitive triumph of Rome, it was necessary to invade that virgin soil, over which the standard of the faith had floated for so many years.

Ad.a.m.nan was then at the head of the church of Iona, the first elder of that religious house. He was virtuous and learned, but weak and somewhat vain, and his religion had little spirituality. To gain him was in the eyes of Rome to gain Scotland. A singular circ.u.mstance favoured the plans of those who desired to draw him into the papal communion. One day during a violent tempest, a s.h.i.+p coming from the Holy Land, and on board of which was a Gaulish bishop named Arculf, was wrecked in the neighbourhood of Iona.[92] Arculf eagerly sought an asylum among the pious inhabitants of that island. Ad.a.m.nan never grew tired of hearing the stranger's descriptions of Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and Golgotha, of the sun-burnt plains over which our Lord had wandered, and the cleft stone which still lay before the door of the sepulchre.[93] The elder of Iona, who prided himself on his learning, noted down Arculf's conversation, and from it composed a description of the Holy Land. As soon as his book was completed, the desire of making these wondrous things more widely known, combined with a little vanity, and perhaps other motives, urged him to visit the court of Northumberland, where he presented his work to the pious King Alfred,[94] who, being fond of learning and of the Christian traditions, caused a number of copies of it to be made.

[92] Vi tempestatis in occidentalia Britanniae littora delatus est.

Beda, lib. v, cap. xvi.

[93] Lapis qui ad ostium monumenti positus erat, fissus est. (Ibid.

cap. xvii.) The stone which was laid at the door of the sepulchre is now cleft in two.

[94] Porrexit autem librum tunc Ad.a.m.na.n.u.s Alfrido regi. Ibid. cap.

xvi.

[Sidenote: RESISTANCE OF IONA.]

Nor was this all: the Romish clergy perceived the advantage they might derive from this imprudent journey. They crowded round the elder; they showed him all the pomp of their wors.h.i.+p, and said to him: "Will you and your friends, who live at the very extremity of the world, set yourselves in opposition to the observances of the universal church?"[95] The n.o.bles of the court flattered the author's self-love, and invited him to their festivities, while the king loaded him with presents. The free presbyter of Britain became a priest of Rome, and Ad.a.m.nan returned to Iona to betray his church to his new masters. But it was all to no purpose: Iona would not give way.[96] He then went to hide his shame in Ireland, where having brought a few individuals to the Romish uniformity, he took courage and revisited Scotland. But that country, still inflexible, repelled him with indignation.[97]

[95] Ne contra universalem ecclesiae morem, c.u.m suis paucissimis et in extremo mundi angulo positis, vivere praesumeret. Beda, lib. v, cap.

xvi.

[96] Curavit suos ad eum veritatis calcem producere, nec voluit. Beda, lib. v. cap. xvi.

[97] Nec tamen perficere quod conabatur posset. Ibid. The conversions of which abbot Ceolfrid speaks in chap. xxii. are probably those effected in Ireland, the word Scotia being at this period frequently applied to that country.

When Rome found herself unable to conquer by the priest, she had recourse to the prince, and her eyes were turned to Naitam, king of the Picts. "How much more glorious it would be for you," urged the Latin priests, "to belong to the powerful church of the universal pontiff of Rome, than to a congregation superintended by miserable elders! The Romish church is a monarchy, and ought to be the church of every monarch. The Roman ceremonial accords with the pomp of royalty, and its temples are palaces." The prince was convinced by the last argument. He despatched messengers to Ceolfrid, the abbot of an English convent, begging him to send him _architects_ capable of building a church _after the Roman pattern_[98]--of stone and not of wood. Architects, majestic porches, lofty columns, vaulted roofs, gilded altars, have often proved the most influential of Rome's missionaries. The builder's art, though in its earliest and simplest days, was more powerful than the Bible. Naitam, who, by submitting to the pope thought himself the equal of Clovis and Clotaire, a.s.sembled the n.o.bles of his court and the pastors of his church, and thus addressed them: "I recommend all the clergy of my kingdom to receive the tonsure of Saint Peter."[99] Then without delay (as Bede informs us) this important revolution was accomplished by royal authority.[100] He sent agents and letters into every province, and caused all the ministers and monks to receive the circular tonsure according to the Roman fas.h.i.+on.[101] It was the mark that popery stamped, not on the forehead, but on the crown. A royal proclamation and a few clips of the scissors placed the Scotch, like a flock of sheep, beneath the crook of the shepherd of the Tiber.

[98] Architectos sibi mitti petiit qui juxta morem Romanorum ecclesiam facerent. Beda, lib. v. cap. xxii.

[99] Et hanc accipere tonsuram, omnes qui in meo regno sunt clericos decerno. Ibid.

[100] Nec mora, quae? dixerat regia auctoritate perfecit. Ibid.

[101] Per universas Pictorum provincias....tondebantur omnes in coronam ministri altaris ac monachi. (Ibid.) Throughout all the provinces of the Picts ... all the ministers of the altar and monks had the crown shorn.

[Sidenote: EGBERT THE MONK AT IONA.]

Iona still held out. The orders of the Pictish king, the example of his subjects, the sight of that Italian power which was devouring the earth, had shaken some few minds; but the Church still resisted the innovation. Iona was the last citadel of liberty in the western world, and popery was filled with anger at that miserable band which in its remote corner refused to bend before it. Human means appeared insufficient to conquer this rock: something more was needed, visions and miracles for example; and these Rome always finds when she wants them. One day towards the end of the seventh century, an English monk, named Egbert, arriving from Ireland, appeared before the elders of Iona, who received him with their accustomed hospitality. He was a man in whom enthusiastic devotion was combined with great gentleness of heart, and he soon won upon the minds of these simple believers. He spoke to them of an external unity, urging that a universality manifested under different forms was unsuited to the church of Christ.

He advocated the special form of Rome, and for the truly catholic element which the Christians of Iona had thus far possessed, subst.i.tuted a sectarian element. He attacked the traditions of the British church,[102] and lavishly distributing the rich presents confided to him by the lords of Ireland and of England,[103] he soon had reason to acknowledge the truth of the saying of the wise man: _A gift is as a precious stone in the eyes of him that hath it: whithersoever it turneth it prospereth_.

[102] Sedulis exhortationibus inveteratam illam traditionem parentum eorum. (Beda, lib. v. cap. xxiii.) By his frequent exhortations, he converted them from that inveterate tradition of their ancestors.

[103] Pietate largiendi de his quae a divitibus acceperat, multum profuit. (Ibid. cap. xxvii.) He did much good by the pious distribution of those gifts which he had received from the rich.

[Sidenote: MONKISH VISIONS.]

Some pious souls, however, still held out in Iona. The enthusiast Egbert--for such he appears to have been rather than an impostor--had recourse to other means. He represented himself to be a messenger from heaven: the saints themselves, said he, have commissioned me to convert Iona; and then he told the following history to the elders who stood round him. "About thirty years ago I entered the monastery of Rathmelfig in Ireland, when a terrible pestilence fell upon it, and of all the brethren the monk Edelhun and myself were left alone. Attacked by the plague, and fearing my last hour was come, I rose from my bed and crept into the chapel.[104] There my whole body trembled at the recollection of my sins, and my face was bathed with tears. 'O G.o.d,' I exclaimed, 'suffer me not to die until I have redeemed my debt to thee by an abundance of good works.[105] I returned staggering to the infirmary, got into bed, and fell asleep. When I awoke, I saw Edelhun with his eyes fixed on mine. 'Brother Egbert,' said he, 'it has been revealed to me in a vision that thou shalt receive what thou hast asked.' On the following night Edelhun died and I recovered.

[104] c.u.m se existimaret esse moriturum, egressus est tempore matutino de cubiculo, et residens solus..... Beda, lib. iii. cap. xxvii.

[105] Precabatur ne adhuc mori deberet priusquam vel praeteritas negligentias perfectim ex tempore castigaret, vel in bonis es operibus abundantius exerceret. Ibid.

"Many years pa.s.sed away: my repentance and my vigils did not satisfy me, and wis.h.i.+ng to pay my debt, I resolved to go with a company of monks and preach the blessings of the gospel to the heathens of Germany. But during the night a blessed saint from heaven appeared to one of the brethren and said: 'Tell Egbert that he must go to the monasteries of Columba, for their ploughs do not plough straight, and he must put them into the right furrow.'[106] I forbade this brother to speak of his vision, and went on board a s.h.i.+p bound for Germany. We were waiting for a favourable wind, when, of a sudden, in the middle of the night, a frightful tempest burst upon the vessel, and drove us on the shoals. 'For my sake this tempest is upon us,' I exclaimed in terror; 'G.o.d speaks to me as He did to Jonah;' and I ran to take refuge in my cell. At last I determined to obey the command which the holy man had brought me. I left Ireland, and came among you, in order to pay my debt by converting you. And now," continued Egbert, "make answer to the voice of heaven, and submit to Rome."

[106] Quia aratra eorum non recte incedunt; oportet autem eum ad r.e.c.t.u.m haec tramitem revocare. Beda, lib. iii. cap. xxvii.

A s.h.i.+p thrown on sh.o.r.e by a storm was a frequent occurrence on those coasts, and the dream of a monk, absorbed in the plans of his brother, was nothing very unnatural. But in those times of darkness, everything appeared miraculous; phantoms and apparitions had more weight than the word of G.o.d. Instead of detecting the emptiness of these visions by the falseness of the religion they were brought to support, the elders of Iona listened seriously to Egbert's narrative. The primitive faith planted on the rock of Icolmkill was now like a pine-tree tossed by the winds: but one gust, and it would be uprooted and blown into the sea. Egbert, perceiving the elders to be shaken, redoubled his prayers, and even had recourse to threats. "All the west," said he, "bends the knee to Rome: alone against all, what can you do?" The Scotch still resisted: obscure and unknown, the last British Christians contended in behalf of expiring liberty. At length bewildered--they stumbled and fell. The scissors were brought; they received the Latin tonsure[107]--they were the pope's.

[107] Ad ritum tonsurae canonic.u.m sub figura coronae perpetuae. (Beda, lib. v. cap. xxiii.) To the canonical rite of the tonsure under the form of a perpetual crown.

[Sidenote: FALL OF IONA.]

Thus fell Scotland. Yet there still remained some sparks of grace, and the mountains of Caledonia long concealed the hidden fire which after many ages burst forth with such power and might. Here and there a few independent spirits were to be found who testified against the tyranny of Rome. In the time of Bede they might be seen "halting in their paths," (to use the words of the Romish historian,) refusing to join in the holidays of the pontifical adherents, and pus.h.i.+ng away the hands that were eager to shave their crowns.[108] But the leaders of the state and of the church had laid down their arms. The contest was over, after lasting more than a century. British Christianity had in some degree prepared its own fall, by subst.i.tuting too often the form for the faith. The foreign superst.i.tion took advantage of this weakness, and triumphed in these islands by means of royal decrees, church ornaments, monkish phantoms, and conventual apparitions. At the beginning of the eighth century the British Church became the serf of Rome; but an internal struggle was commencing, which did not cease until the period of the Reformation.

[108] Sicut a contra Brittones, inveterati et claudicantes a semitis suis, et capita ferre sine corona praetendunt. (Beda, lib. v, cap.

xxiii.) Even as, on the contrary, the Britons, inveterate and halting in their paths, expose their heads without a crown.

CHAPTER IV.

Clement--Struggle between a Scotchman and an Englishman--Word of G.o.d only--Clement's Success--His condemnation--Virgil and the Antipodes--John Scotus and Philosophical Religion--Alfred and the Bible--Darkness and Popery--William the Conqueror--Wulston at Edward's Tomb--Struggle between William and Hildebrand--The Pope yields--Caesaropapia.