XXVII. This dreadful flame continued to spread till it invaded the whole Franciscan order, which, in 1321, had revived the old contentions concerning the poverty of Christ and his apostles. A certain Beguin, or monk of the third order of St. Francis, who was apprehended this year at Narbonne, taught, among other things, "That neither Christ nor his apostles ever possessed any thing, whether in common or personally, by right of property or dominion." John de Belna, an inquisitor of the Dominican order, pronounced this opinion erroneous; but Berengarius Taloni, a Franciscan, maintained it to be orthodox, and perfectly consonant to the bull, Exiit qui seminat, of Nicolas III. The judgment of the former was approved by the Dominicans; the determination of the latter was adhered to by the Franciscans. At length the matter was brought before the pope, who prudently endeavoured to put an end to the dispute. With this view he called into his council Ubertinus de Casalis, the patron of the Spirituals, and a person of great weight and reputation. This eminent monk gave captious, subtle, and equivocal answers to the questions that were proposed to him. The pontiff, however, and the cardinals, persuaded that his decisions, however ambiguous, might contribute to terminate the quarrel, acquiesced in them, seconded them with their authority, and, at the same time, enjoined silence and moderation on the contending parties.†

proceeded against as heretics. And surely by the pope's order, apprehended as many of nothing could make them appear viler heretics these people as they could find, condemned in the papal eye, than their venturing thus them to the flames, and sacrificed them withaudaciously to oppose the authority and ma- out mercy to papal resentment and fury: so jesty of the Roman see. As for Delitiosi, who that from this time a vast number of those zeais sometimes called Delli Consi, he was im-lous defenders of the institute of St. Francis, prisoned, and died in his confinement. Four viz. the Minorites, Beghards, and Spirituals, of his adherents were condemned to the flames, were most barbarously put to death, not only in 1318, at Marseilles;* and this horrible sen- in France, but also in Italy, Spain, and Gertence was accordingly executed without mercy.many.* XXV. Thus these unhappy friars, and many more of their fraternity, who were afterwards cut off by this cruel persecution, suffered merely for their contempt of the decisions of the pontiffs, and for maintaining that the institute of St. Francis, their founder, which they imagined he had established under the|| direction of an immediate inspiration, was the very Gospel of Christ, and therefore ought not to be altered by the pope's authority. The controversy, considered in itself, was rather ridiculous than important, since it did not affect religion in the least, but turned wholly on these two points, the form of the habits to be worn by the Franciscan order, and their granaries and store-houses. The Brethren of the Community, or the less rigid Franciscans, wore long, loose, and good habits, with ample hoods; but the Spirituals went in short, scanty, and very coarse ones, which they asserted to be precisely the dress enjoined by the institute of St. Francis, and what therefore no power upon earth had a right to alter. And whereas the former, immediately after the harvest and vintage, were accustomed to lay up a stock of corn and wine in their granaries and cellars, the latter resolutely opposed this practice, as entirely repugnant to that profession of absolute poverty which had been embraced by the Fratricelli or Minorites. In order to put an end to these broils, the pope, in this very year, published a long mandatory letter, in which he ordered the contending parties to submit XXVIII. But the Dominicans and Francistheir disputes, upon the two points above- cans were so exceedingly exasperated against mentioned, to the decision of their superiors.† each other, that they could by no means be XXVI. The effects of this letter, and of brought to conform themselves to this order. other decrees, were prevented by the unsea- The pope, perceiving this, permitted them to sonable and impious severity of John, whose renew the controversy in 1322; and he himself cruelty was condemned and detested even by proposed to some of the most celebrated divines his adherents. For the Spiritual Franciscans of the age, and especially to those of Paris, and their votaries, being highly exasperated at the determination of this point, namely, "Whe the cruel death of their brethren, maintained, ther those were to be deemed heretics, who that John, by procuring the destruction of maintained that Jesus Christ, and his apostles, these holy men, had rendered himself utterly had no common or personal property in any unworthy of the papal dignity and was the thing they possessed?" The Franciscans, who true Antichrist. They moreover revered their || held an assembly in that year at Perugia, havfour brethren, who were burned at Marseilles, ing gained intelligence of this proceeding, deas so many martyrs, paying religious venera-creed that those who held this tenet were not tion to their bones and ashes; and inveighed yet more vehemently than ever against long habits, large hoods, granaries, and store-houses. The inquisitors, on the other hand, having, * Baluze, Vitae Pontif. Avenion. tom. i. p. 116; tom. ii. p. 341, et Miscellan. tom. i. p. 195, 272. Wadding, tom. vi. p. 267. Martenne, Thesaur. Anecdotor. tom. v. p. 175. Martinus Fuldensis, in Eccardi Corpore Histor. medii Ævi, tom. i. p. 1725, et Herm. Cornerus, ibid. tom. ii. p. 981. Histoire generale de Languedoc, tom. iv. p. 179. Argentre, Collectio Judicior. de novis errorib. tom. i. p. 294.

† It may be seen in the Jus Canon. among the Extravag. communes de verbor. signif. See also Wad. ding, tom. vi.

*Beside many other pieces that serve to illustrate

the intricate history of this persecution, I have in my possession a treatise, entitled, Martyrologium Spiritualium et Fratricellorum, which was delivered to the tribunal of the inquisition at Carcassone, A. D. 1454. It contains the names of 113 persons of both sexes, who, from the year 1318 to the time of Innocent VI., were committed to the flames in France and Italy, for their inflexible attachment to the poverty of St. Francis. I reckon that from these and other records, published and unpublished, we may make out a list of two thousand martyrs of this kind. See Codex Inquis. Tolosanæ.

† Wadding, tom. vi. p. 361. Baluzii Miscellan. tom. i. p. 307. Ger. du Bois, Histor. Eccles. Paris. p. 611."

heretics, but maintained an opinion that was || edict, that all who maintained that Christ, and holy and orthodox, and perfectly agreeable to his apostles, had no common or special properthe decisions and mandates of the popes. They ty in any of their possessions, should be deemalso sent a deputy to Avignon, to defend this ed heretics, and corrupters of the true religion.* unanimous determination of their whole order Finding, however, that the Franciscans were against all opponents whatever. The person not terrified in the least by this decree, he pubwhom they commissioned for this purpose was lished another yet more flaming constitution, F. Bonagratia, of Bergamo, who also went by about the end of the year 1324, in which he the name of Boncortese,* one of their fraterni- confirmed his former edicts, and pronounced ty, and a man famous for his extensive learning. that tenet concerning the expropriation of John, being highly incensed at this step, issued Christ and his apostles, 'a pestilential, erronea decree, wherein he espoused an opinion dia-ous, damnable, and blasphemous doctrine, hosmetrically opposite to that of the Franciscans, tile to the catholic faith,' and declared all such and declared them to be heretics, for obstinately as adhered to it, obstinate heretics, and rebels maintaining “that Christ and his apostles had against the church. In consequence of this no common or personal property in what they merciless decree, great numbers of those who possessed, nor a power of selling or alienating persisted in asserting that Christ and his aposany part of it." Soon after, he proceeded yet tles were exactly such mendicants as Francis farther, and, in another constitution, exposed would have his brethren to be, were apprehendthe weakness and inefficacy of those argued by the Dominican inquisitors, who were imments, commonly reduced from a bull of Nicolas III., concerning the property of the Franciscan possessions being transferred to the church of Rome, whereby the monks were supposed to be deprived of what we call right, and were only allowed the simple use of what was necessary for their immediate support. In order to confute this plea, he showed that it was absolutely impossible to separate right and property from the lawful use of such things as were immediately consumed by that use. He also solemnly renounced all property in the Franciscan effects, which had been reserved to the church of Rome by former popes, their churches and some other things excepted. And whereas the revenues of the order had been hitherto received and administered by procurators, on the part of the Roman church, he dismissed these officers, and abolished all the decrees and constitutions of his predecessors relating to this affair.

placable enemies of the Franciscans, and committed to the flames. The histories of France and Spain, Italy and Germany, during this and the following century, abound with instances of this atrocious cruelty.

XXX. The zealous pontiff pursued this affair with great warmth for several years; and, as this contest seemed to have taken its rise from the books of Pierre d'Olive, he branded with infamy, in 1325, the Postilla and other writings of that author, as pernicious and heretical. The next step he took, was to summon to Avignon, some of the more learned and eminent brethren of the Franciscan order, of whose writings and eloquence he was particularly apprehensive, and to detain them at his court: and then, to arm himself against the resentment and indignation of this exasperated society, and to prevent their attempting any thing to his prejudice, he kept a strict guard over them in all places, by means of his friends XXIX. By this method of proceeding, the the Dominicans. Michael of Cesena, who redexterous pontiff entirely destroyed that boast-sided in Italy, and was the head of the order, ed expropriation, which was the main bulwark could not easily dissemble the hatred he had of the Franciscan order, and which its founder conceived against the pope, who therefore orhad esteemed the distinguishing glory of the|dered him to repair to Avignon, in 1327, and society. It was therefore natural, that these measures should determine the Franciscans to an obstinate resistance. And such indeed was the effect they produced: for, in 1323, they sent their brother Bonagratia in the quality of legate to the papal court, where he vigorously and openly opposed the recent constitution of John, boldly affirming, that it was contrary to human as well as divine law. The pope, on the other hand, highly exasperated against this audacious defender of the Franciscan poverty, threw him into prison, and ordained, by a new

* I insert this caution, because I have observed

that some eminent writers, by not attending to this

circumstance, have taken these two names for two different persons.

†These constitutions are recorded in the Corpus Juris Canonici, and also among the Extravagantes, tit. xiv. de verbor. signific. cap. ii. iii. p. 1121. For an account of the transaction itself, the reader should chiefly consult that impartial writer, Alvarus Pelagius, de Planctu Ecclesiæ, lib. ii. cap. 60. as also Wadding, tom. vi. p. 394. Both these authors blame pope John.

Wadding, tom. vii. p. 2, 22. -Alvar. Pelagius, de Planctu Ecclesiæ, lib. ii. p. 167.-Trithemius, Annal. Hirsaug. tom ii. p. 157.-Theod. de Niem, in Eccardi Corpore Histor. med. Ævi, t. vii. p. 1491.

there deprived him of his office.§ But, prudent as this rigorous measure might appear at first sight, it served only to inflame the enraged Franciscans more than ever, and to confirm them in their attachment to the scheme of absolute poverty. For no sooner did the bitter and well-known contest, between John XXII. and Louis of Bavaria, break out, than the principal champions of the Franciscan cause, such as Marsilius of Padua, and John of Genoa, fled to the emperor, and under his protection published the most virulent pieces imaginable, in which they not only attacked John personally, but also levelled their satire at the power

*Wadding, tom. vii. p. 36.-Contin. de Nangis, in D'Acherii Spicilegio, tom. iii. p. 83.-Boulay, tom. iv. p. 205.-Benedictinor. Gallia Christiana, tom. ii. p. 1515.

This constitution, and the two former already mentioned, are published among the Extravagantes, tit. xiv. de verbor. signif. Wadding, (t. vii. p. 36, vigorously opposed this last; which is rather extraor dinary in a man so immoderately attached to the cause of the popes as he was.

Wadding, tom. vii. p. 47.-Eccardi Corpus His tor. medii Ævi, tom. i. p. 592, and 1491. § Wadding, tom. vii. p. 69, 74.

and authority of the popes in general.* This example was soon followed by others, particularly by Michael of Cesena, and William Occam, who excelled most men of his time in subtlety and acuteness of genius, and also by F. Bonagratia of Bergamo. They made their escape by sea from Avignon, in 1328, went first to the emperor, who was at that time in Italy, and thence proceeded to Munich. They were soon joined by many others, such as Berengarius, Francis de Esculo, and Henry de Halem, who were highly and deservedly esteemed, on account of their eminent parts and extensive learning. All these learned fugitives defended the institute of their founder in long and laboured treatises, in which they reduced the papal dignity and authority within a very narrow compass, and loaded the pontiffs with reproaches and invectives. Occam surpassed them all in the keenness and spirit of his satire; and hence his Dialogues, together || with his other productions, which were perused with avidity, and transmitted to succeeding generations, gave a very severe blow to the ambition and majesty of the Roman pontiffs.

XXXII. The rage of the contending parties subsided greatly from the year 1329. The pope ordered a diet of the Franciscans to be holden in that year at Paris, where, by means of Cardinal Bertrand, who was president of the assembly, and by the efforts of the Parisian doctors, who were attached to his interests, he so far softened the resentment of the greatest part of the brethren, that they ceased to defend the conduct of Michael of Česena and his asșociates, and permitted another president, Gerard Odo, to be substituted in his room. They also acknowledged John to be a true and lawful pope; and then terminated the dispute concerning the poverty of Christ in such an ambiguous manner, that the constitutions and edicts of Nicolas III. and John XXII., however contradictory,maintained their authority.* But, notwithstanding these pacific and mutual concessions, there were great numbers of the Franciscans in Germany, Spain, and Italy, who would by no means consent to this reconciliation. After the death of John, Benedict XII. and Clement VI. took great pains to close the breach, and showed some clemency and tenderness toward such of the order as thought the institute of their founder more sacred than the papal bulls. This lenity had some good effects. Many who had withdrawn themselves from the society, were hereby induced to return to it, in which number were Francis de Esculo and others, who had been some of John's most inveterate enemies.† Even those who could not be prevailed on to return to their order, ceased to insult the popes, observed the rules of their founder in a quiet and inoffensive manner, and would have no sort of connexion with those Fratricelli and Tertiaries in Italy, Spain, and Germany, who condemned the papal authority.‡

XXXI. On the other hand, Louis, to express his gratitude to these his defenders, not only made the cause of the Franciscans his own, but also adopted their favourite sentiment concerning the poverty of Christ and his apostles; for, among the heresies and errors of which he publicly accused John, and for which he deprived him of the pontificate, the principal and most pernicious one, in the opinion of the emperor, was his maintaining that the poverty of Christ did not exclude all right and property in what he used as a subsistence. The Fratricelli, Beghards, Beguines, and Spirituals, then at variance with the pope, were effectually protected by the emperor, in Germany, against the attempts of the inquisitors; XXXIII. The German Franciscans, who so that, during his reign, that country was were protected by the emperor Louis, held overrun with shoals of Mendicant friars. There out their opposition much longer than any of was scarcely a province or city in the empire the rest. But, in 1347, their imperial patron that did not abound with Beghards and Be-being dead, the halcyon days of the Spirituals, guines; that is, monks and nuns who professed the third rule of St. Francis, and placed the chief excellence of the Christian life in a voluntary and absolute poverty.§ The Dominicans, on the other hand, as enemies to the Franciscans, and friends to the pope, were treated with great severity by his imperial majesty, who banished them with ignominy out of several cities.||

* Luc. D'Acherii Spicilegium, tom. iii. p. 85. Bullar. Roman. tom. vi. p. 167. Martenne, Thesaur. Anecdotor. tom, ii. p. 635, 704. Boulay, tom. iv. p. 216. There is a very noted piece on this subject written by Marsilius of Padua, who was professor at Vienna, and entitled, Defensor Pacis pro Ludovico Bavaro adversus usurpatam Romani Pontificis jurisdictionem.

Wadding, tom. vii. p. 81.-Martenne, Thesaur. Anecdotor. tom. iii. p. 749, 757.-Trithemii Annal. Hirsaug. tom. ii. p. 167.-Boulay tom. iv. p. 217.Eccardi Corpus Histor. tom. ii. p. 1034.-Baluzii Miscellan. tom. i. p. 293, 315.-The reader may also consult those writers who have compiled indexes and collections of Ecclesiastical historians.

I See Processus Ludovici contra Johannem, an. 1328, d. 12. Dec. datus, in Baluzii Miscellaneis, t. ii. p. 522, and also his Appellatio, p. 494.

§ I have many pieces upon this subject that were never published.

Mart. Diefenbach, de mortis genere, quo Henri

as also of their associates the Beghards_or Tertiaries, were at an end in Germany. For Charles IV., who, by the interest of the pope, had been declared king of the Romans in 1345, was ready, in his turn, to gratify the desires of the court of Rome, and accordingly supported, both by his edicts and by his arms, the inquisitors who were sent by the Roman pontiff against his enemies, and suffered them to apprehend and put to death all obnoxious individuals who came within their reach. These ministers of papal vengeance acted chiefly in the districts of Magdeburg and Bremen, Thuringia, Saxony, and Hesse, where they extirpated all the Beghards and Beguines, or Tertiaries, the associates of those Franciscans, who held that Christ and his apostles had no property in any thing. These severe mea

cus VII. obiit, p. 145, and others.-Eccardi Corpus Hist. t. i. p. 2103.-Boulay, t. iv. p. 220.

*Wadding, tom. vii. p. 94.-D'Acherii Spicilegium, tom. iii. p. 91.

† Argentre, Collectio Judicior. de novis erroribus, tom. i. p. 343.-Boulay, tom. iv. p. 281.-Wadding tom. vii. p. 313.

Wadding, tom. vii. p. 116, 126.-Argentre, tom. i p. 343, &c.

Bures were approved by Charles IV., who then || Spirituals and the followers of Pierre d'Olive, resided at Lucca, whence, in 1369, he issued whose scattered remains were yet observable several edicts, commanding all the German in several places, joined themselves gradually princes to extirpate out of their dominions the and imperceptibly to this party. And, as the Beghards and Beguines, or, as he himself inter- number of those who were fond of the severe preted the names, the voluntary beggars,* as discipline continually increased in many proenemies of the church, and of the Roman em- vinces, the popes thought proper to approve pire, and to assist the inquisitors in their pro- that institute, and to give it the solemn sancceedings against them. By another edict, pub- tion of their authority. In consequence of this, lished not long after, he gave the houses of the Franciscan order was divided into two the Beghards to the tribunal of the inquisition, large bodies, namely, the Conventual Brethordering them to be converted into prisons for ren, and the Brethren of the regular observance. heretics; and, at the same time, ordered all the Those who neglected the strict sense of the effects of the Beguines to be publicly sold, and expressions in which the institute of their the profits thence arising, to be equally divided founder was conceived, and adopted the modiamong the inquisitors, the magistrates, and the fications given of them by the pontiffs, were poor of those towns and cities where such sale called by the former name; and the council of should take place. The Beghards, being re- Constance conferred the latter upon those who duced to great distress, by this and other man- chose to be determined by the words of the dates of the emperor, and by the constitutions institute itself, rather than by any explications of the popes, sought a refuge in those provinces of it.* But the Fratricelli and the Beghards of Switzerland that border upon the Rhine, absolutely rejected this reconciliation, and perand also in Holland, Brabant, and various sisted in disturbing the peace of the church parts of Germany. But the edicts and man- during this and the following century, in the dates of the emperor, together with the papal marquisate of Ancona, and in other districts. bulls and inquisitors, harassed them in their most distant retreats; and, during the reign of Charles IV., all Germany (except the provinces bordering upon Switzerland) was thoroughly purged of the Beghards, or rebellious Franciscans, both perfect and imperfect.

XXXIV. But no edicts, bulls, or inquisitors, could entirely pluck up the roots of this inveterate discord; for so ardently were many of the brethren bent upon observing, in the most perfect and rigorous manner, the institute of St. Francis, that numbers were to be found in all places, who either withstood the president of the society, or at least obeyed him with reluctance. At once, therefore, to satisfy both the lax and the rigid party, after various methods had been tried to no purpose, a division of the order was agreed to. Accordingly, in 1368, the president consented that Paulutius Fulginas, the chief of the more rigid Franciscans in Italy, together with his associates, who were numerous, should live separately from the rest of the brethren, according|| to the rules and customs they had adopted, and follow the institutes of their founder, in the strictest and most rigorous manner. The * Called, in the German language, die wilgen Ar

men.

I have in my possession this edict, with other laws of Charles IV. enacted on this occasion, as also many of the papal constitutions, and other records which illustrate this affair, and which undoubtedly deserve to see the light. It is certain that Charles himself, in his edicts and mandates, clearly characterizes those people, whom he there styles Beghards and Beguines, as Franciscan Tertiaries, belonging to that party of the order then at variance with the pope. "They are (to use the emperor's own words, in his edict of the 18th of June, 1369) a pernicious sect, who pretend to a sacrilegious and heretical poverty, and who are under a vow, that they neither ought to have, nor will have, any property, whether special or common, in the goods they use;" (this is the poverty of the Franciscan institute, which John XXII. so strenuously opposed) "which they extend even to their wretched habits."-For so the spirituals and their associates used to do.

See Odor. Raynaldus, Annal. Eccles. ad an. 1372, sect. xxxiv. See also the books of Felix Malleolus, written in the following century against the Beghards of Switzerland.

XXXV. This century gave rise to other religious societies, some of which did not long subsist, and the rest never became famous. John Colombini, a nobleman of Sienna, founded in 1367, the order of the Apostolic clerks, who, because they frequently pronounced the name of Jesus, were afterwards called Jesuates. This institution was confirmed by Urban V., in the following year, and subsisted till the seventeenth century, when it was abolished by Clement IX.† The brethren belonging to it professed poverty, and adhered to the institute of St. Augustin. They were not, however, admitted to holy orders, but assisted the poor by their prayers and other pious offices, and prepared medicines for them, which they distributed gratis. But these statutes were in a manner abrogated when Clement dissolved the order.

XXXVI. Soon after the commencement of this century, the famous sect of the Cellite Brethren and Sisters arose at Antwerp; they were also styled the Alexian Brethren and Sisters, because St. Alexius was their patron; and they were named Cellites, from the cells in which they were accustomed to live. As the clergy of this age took little care of the sick and dying, and deserted such as were infected with those pestilential disorders which were then very frequent, some compassionate and pious persons at Antwerp formed themselves into a society for the performance of these religious offices, which the sacerdotal orders so shamefully neglected. In the prosecu→ tion of this agreement, they visited and comforted the sick, assisted the dying with their prayers and exhortations, took care of the interment of those who were cut off by the plague, and on that account forsaken by the terrified clergy, and committed them to the

*See Wadding, tom. viii. ix.

In the year 1668.

Helyot, Hist. des Ordres, tom. iii. p. 411.-Pagi Breviar. Pontif. tom. iv. p. 189.-Bonanni, and others, who have compiled histories of the religious

orders.

grave with a solemn funeral dirge. It was with reference to this last office, that the common people gave them the name of Lollards.* The example of these good people had such an extensive influence, that in a little time societies of the same kind, consisting both of men and women, were formed in most parts of Germany and Flanders, and were supported,

* Many writers have given us copious accounts concerning the sect and name of the Lollards; yet none of them can be commended for their fidelity, diligence, or accuracy, on this head. This I can confidently assert, because I have carefully and expressly || inquired into whatever relates to the Lollards, and from the most authentic records concerning them, both published and unpublished, have collected copious materials from which their true history may be compiled. Most of the German writers, as well as those of other countries, affirm, that the Lollards were a particular sect, who differed from the church of Rome in many religious points; and that Walter Lolhard, who was burned in this century at Cologne, was their founder. How so many learned men came to adopt this opinion, is beyond my comprehension. They indeed refer to Jo. Trithemius as the author of this opinion: yet it is certain, that no such account of these people is to be found in his writings. I shall therefore endeavour, with all possible brevity, to throw all the light I can upon this matter, that they who are fond of ecclesiastical history may have a just notion of it.

partly by their manual labours, and partly by the charitable donations of pious persons. The magistrates and inhabitants of the towns, where these brethren and sisters resided, gave them peculiar marks of favour and protection on account of their great usefulness to the sick and needy. But the clergy, whose reputation was not a little hurt by them, and the Walter, who was burned at Cologne, and whom so many learned men have unadvisedly represented as the founder of the sect of the Lollards, is by some called a Beghard, by others a Lollard, and by some a Minorite. The Franciscan Tertiaries, who were remarkable for their prayers and other pious exercises, were frequently called Lollards; and the Cellite Brethren, or Alexians, whose piety was very exemplary, no sooner appeared in Flanders, about the beginning of this century, than the people gave them the title of Lollards. A particular reason indeed for their being distinguished by this name was, that they were public singers, who made it their business to inter the bodies of those who died of the plague, and sang a dirge over them in a mournful and indistinct tone as they carried them to the grave. Among the many testimonies that might be alleged to prove this, we shall confine ourselves to the words of Jo. Bapt. Gramaye, a man eminently skilled in the history of his country, in his work entitled Antwerpia, lib. ii. "The Alexians," says he, "who constantly employed themselves about funerals, had their rise at Antwerp; at which place, about the year 1300, some honest pious laymen formed a society. On account of their extraordinary temperance and modesty, they were styled Matemanni, (or Moderatists,) and also Lollards, from their attendance on funeral obsequies. From their cells, they were named Cellite brethren." To the same purpose is the following passage in his work entitled Lovanium: "The Alexians, who were wholly engaged in taking care of funerals, now began to appear. They were laymen, who, having wholly devoted themselves to works of mercy, were named Lollards and Matemanni. They made it their sole business to take care of all such as were sick, or out of their senses. These they attended both privately and publicly, and buried the dead." The same learned author tells thus, that he transcribed some of these particulars from an old diary written in Flemish rhyme. Hence we find in the Annals of Holland and Utrecht, in Ant. Matthæi Analect. vet. Evi, tom. i. p. 431, the following words: "Die Lollardtjes die brochten de dooden by een, i. e. the Lollards who collected the dead bodies;" which passage is thus paraphrased by Matthæus: "The managers of funerals, and carriers of the dead, of whom there was a fixed company, were a set of mean, worthless creatures, who usually spoke in a canting mournful tone, as if bewailing the dead; and hence it came to pass, that a street in Utrecht, in which most of these people lived, was called the Loller street." The same reason that changed the word Beghard from its primitive meaning, contributed also to give, in process of time, a different signification to that of Lollard, even to its being assumed by persons that dishonoured it; for, among those Lollards who made such extraordinary pretensions to piety and religion, and spent the greatest part of their time in meditation, prayer, and the like acts of piety, there were many abominable hypo

The term Lollhard, or Lullhard, (or, as the ancient Germans wrote it, Lollert, Lullert,) is compounded of the old German word lullen, lollen, lallen, and the well-known termination hard. Lollen, or lullen, signifies to sing with a low voice. It is yet used in the same sense among the English, who say, lull a-sleep, which signifies to sing any one into a slumber with a sweet indistinct voice. See Franc. Junii Etymologicon Anglicanum. The word is also used in the same sense among the Flemings, Swedes, and other nations, as appears by their respective dictionaries. Among the Germans, both the sense and pronunciation of it have undergone some alteration; for they say, lallen, which signifies to pronounce indistinctly, or stammer. Lolhard, therefore, is a singer, or one who frequently sings. For, as the word beggen, which universally signifies to request any thing fervently, is applied to devotional requests or prayers, and, in the stricter sense in which it is used by the Germans, denotes praying fervently to God; in the same manner the word lollen, or lullen, is transferred from a common to a sacred song, and signifies, in its most limited sense, to sing a hymn. Lolhard, therefore, in the vulgar tongue of the ancient Germans, denotes a person who is continually praising God with a song, or singing hymns to his honour. Hocsemius, a canon of Liege, has well apprehended and expressed the force of this word in his Gesta Pontificum Leodiensium, lib. i. cap. xxxi. in Jo, Chapeauvilli Gestis Pontificum Tungrensium et Leodiensium, tom. ii. p. 350. "In the same year," (1309,) says he, "certain strolling hypocrites, who were called Lollards, or praisers of God, deceived some women of quality in Hainault and Brabant.". Because those who praised God generally did it in verse, to praise God, in the Latin style of the middle ages, meant to sing to him; and such as were fre-crites, who entertained the most ridiculous opinions, quently employed in acts of adoration, were called religious singers; and, as prayers and hymns are regarded as a certain external sign of piety toward God, those who aspire to a more than ordinary degree of piety and religion, and for that purpose were more frequently occupied in singing hymns than others, were, in the popular language, called Lollhards. Hereupon this word acquired the same meaning with the term Beghard, which denoted a person remarkable for piety; for in all the old records, from the eleventh century, these two words are synonymous: so that all who were styled Beghards are also called Lollards, which may be proved to a demonstration from many authors.

The Brethren of the free spirit, of whom we have already given a large account, are by some styled Beghards, by others Lollards. The followers of Gerard Groote, or Priests of the community, are frequently called Lollard Brethren. The good man

and concealed the most enormous vices, under the specious mask of this extraordinary profession. But it was chiefly after the rise of the Alexians, or Cellites, that the name Lollard became infamous. For the priests and monks, being inveterately exasperated against these good men, propagated injurious suspicions of them, and endeavoured to persuade the people, that, innocent and beneficent as the Lollards seemed to be, they were in reality the contrary, being tainted with the most pernicious sentiments of a religious kind, and secretly addicted to all sorts of vices. Thus by degrees it came to pass, that any person, who covered heresies or crimes under the appearance of piety, was called a Lollard. Hence it is certain, this was not a name to denote any one particular sect, but was formerly common to all persons and all sects, who were supposed to be guilty of impiety toward God and the church, under an external profession of extraordinary piety.