John Wycliffe gives his Bible translation to Lollard followers

Lollardy was the political and religious movement of the Lollards from the mid-14th century to the English Reformation. The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th century England by which the Church of England first broke away from the authority of the Pope Lollardy was supposed to have evolved from the teachings of John Wycliffe, a prominent theologian at the University of Oxford beginning in the 1350s - however, it is possible that the Lollards actually predated Wycliffe. John Wycliffe (ˈwɪklɪf also spelled Wyclif, Wycliff, Wiclef, Wicliffe, or Wickliffe) (mid-1320s – 31 December Theology is the study of a god or the gods from a religious perspective The University of Oxford (informally "Oxford University" or simply "Oxford" located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England is the Its demands were primarily for reform of the Roman Catholic Church. It taught that piety was a requirement for a priest to be a "true" priest or to perform the sacraments, and that a pious layman had power to perform those same rites, believing that religious power and authority came through piety and not through the Church hierarchy. In spiritual terminology piety is a Virtue. While different people may understand its meaning differently it is generally used to refer either to religious devotion A priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites in particular rites of sacrifice to and propitiation of a deity or deities A sacrament, as defined in Hexam's Concise Dictionary of Religion is "a Rite in which God is uniquely active Similarly, Lollardy emphasized the authority of the Scriptures over the authority of priests. It taught the concept of the "Church of the Saved", meaning that Christ's true Church was the community of the faithful, which overlapped with but was not the same as the official Church of Rome. It taught a form of predestination. Predestination (also linked with Foreknowledge) is a religious concept which involves the relationship between God and His creation It advocated apostolic poverty and taxation of Church properties. It also denied transubstantiation in favour of consubstantiation. See also Eucharist (Catholic Church On the related belief that Christ is present in the Eucharist in body blood soul and divinity see Real Presence. Consubstantiation is a theological doctrine that (like Transubstantiation) attempts to describe the nature of the Christian Eucharist in concrete metaphysical

Etymology

Lollard, Lollardi or Loller was the popular derogatory nickname given to those without an academic background, educated if at all only in English, who were reputed to follow the teachings of John Wycliffe in particular, and were certainly considerably energised by the translation of the Bible into the English language. John Wycliffe (ˈwɪklɪf also spelled Wyclif, Wycliff, Wiclef, Wicliffe, or Wickliffe) (mid-1320s – 31 December By the mid-15th century the term lollard had come to mean a 'heretic' in general. The alternative, Wycliffite, is generally accepted to be a more neutral term covering those of similar opinions, but having an academic background.

The term was coined by the Anglo-Irish cleric, Henry Crumpe, but the origin of the term is uncertain. " Anglo-Irish " was a term used historically to describe a privileged Social class in Ireland, whose members were the descendants and successors of the Henry Crumpe, Anglo-Irish Cleric, fl 1380-1401 Henry Crumpe was an Oxford -based cleric from Ireland. Four possibilities suggest themselves:

1. the Dutch word, lollaerd, meaning someone who mutters, a mumbler. Dutch ( is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people 22 million of which are from the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname This is also related to the Dutch word, lull or lollen, as in "a mother lulls her child to sleep", or "to sing or chant";
2. the Latin lolium, tares (as a noxious weed mingled with the good Catholic wheat);
3. after the Franciscan, Lolhard, who converted to the Waldensian way, becoming eminent as a preacher in Guienne. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Common Vetch ( Vicia sativa L also known as Tare or Vetch, is a Nitrogen fixing leguminous plant The term Franciscan is commonly used to refer to members of Catholic General description The earliest Waldensians believed in poverty and austerity promoting true poverty public preaching and the personal study of the scriptures Aquitaine (Aquitània Akitania archaic Guyenne / Guienne (Occitan Guiana) is one of the 26 Regions of France, in the south-western part of That part of France was then under English domination, influencing lay English piety. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. He was burned at Cologne in the 1370s;
4. the Middle-English loller, "a lazy vagabond, an idler, a fraudulent beggar", likely a later usage.

The Dutch derivation is the most likely, due to the influence on Lollardy of the informal lay communities, originating in Deventer in Overijssel around the teaching of Gerhard Groote, in the last two decades of the fourteenth century; but the Latin lolium (tares) is an interesting alternative. Deventer is a Municipality and City in the Salland region of the Dutch Province of Overijssel. Overijssel (Transiselania is a Province of the Netherlands in the central eastern part of the country Geert Groote (October 1340 &ndash 20 August 1384) otherwise Gerrit or Gerhard Groet, in Latin Gerardus Magnus, was a Dutch

Beliefs

Map of Lollardy's influence

Although Lollardy can be said to have originated from interest in the writings of John Wycliffe, the Lollards had no central belief system and no official doctrine. John Wycliffe (ˈwɪklɪf also spelled Wyclif, Wycliff, Wiclef, Wicliffe, or Wickliffe) (mid-1320s – 31 December Likewise, being a decentralized movement, Lollardy neither had nor proposed any singular authority. The movement associated itself with many different ideas, but individual Lollards did not necessarily have to agree with every tenet.

Fundamentally, Lollards were anticlerical, meaning that they disapproved of the allegedly corrupt nature of the Catholic Church and the belief in divine appointment of Church leaders. Believing the Roman Catholic Church to be perverted in many ways, the Lollards looked to Scripture as the basis for their religious ideas. To provide an authority for religion outside of the Church, Lollards began the movement towards a translation of the bible into the vernacular which enabled more of the English peasantry to read the Bible. Vernacular refers to the Native language of a country or a locality Wycliffe himself translated many passages until his death in 1384.

One group of Lollards petitioned Parliament with The Twelve Conclusions of the Lollards by posting them on the doors of Westminster Hall in February 1395. The Twelve Conclusions of the Lollards was a document containing statements by followers of the English Medieval sect the Lollards. While by no means a central authority of the Lollards, the Twelve Conclusions reveal certain basic Lollard ideas. The first Conclusion rejects the acquisition of temporal wealth by Church leaders as accumulating wealth leads them away from religious concerns and toward greed. The fourth Conclusion deals with the Lollard view that the Sacrament of eucharist is a contradictory topic that is not clearly defined in the Bible. A sacrament, as defined in Hexam's Concise Dictionary of Religion is "a Rite in which God is uniquely active Whether the bread remains bread or becomes the literal body of Christ is not specified uniformly in the gospels. The sixth Conclusion states that officials of the Catholic Church should not concern themselves with secular matters when they hold a position of power within the Church because this constitutes a conflict of interest between matters of the spirit and matters of the State. In the eighth Conclusion points out the ludicrousness, in the minds of Lollards, of the reverence that is directed toward images in the Catholic Church. As Anne Hudson states in her Reformation Ideology, "if the cross of Christ, the nails, spear, and crown of thorns are to be honoured, then why not honour Judas's lips, if only they could be found?" (306).

The Lollards stated that the Catholic Church had been corrupted by temporal matters and that its claim to be the true church was not justified by its heredity. Part of this corruption involved prayers for the dead and chantries. Chantry is the English term for the establishment of an institutional Chapel on private land or within a greater church where a priest would chant masses These were seen as corrupt since they distracted priests from other work and that all should be prayed for equally. A priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites in particular rites of sacrifice to and propitiation of a deity or deities Lollards also had a tendency toward iconoclasm. Iconoclasm, Greek for "image-breaking" is the deliberate destruction within a culture of the culture's own religious Icons and other symbols or monuments Lavish church fixtures were seen as an excess; they believed effort should be placed on helping the needy and preaching rather than working on lavish decoration. Icons were also seen as dangerous since many seemed to worship the icon rather than God, leading to idolatry. An icon (from Greek εἰκών eikōn, "image" is a religious work of art most commonly a painting from Eastern Christianity. Idolatry is usually defined as Worship of any Cult image, Idea, or object, as opposed to the worship of a monotheistic God.

Believing in a lay priesthood, the Lollards challenged the Church’s ability to invest or deny the divine authority to make a man a priest. The universal priesthood or the priesthood of all believers, as it would come to be known in the present day is a Christian doctrine believed to be derived from several Denying any special authority to the priesthood, Lollards thought confession unnecessary since a priest did not have any special power to forgive sins. The confession of one's Sins is a religious practice important to many faiths e Sin is a term used mainly in a religious context to describe an act that violates a moral Rule, or the state of having committed such a violation Lollards challenged the practice of clerical celibacy and believed priests should not hold political positions since temporal matters should not interfere with the priests’ spiritual mission. Clerical celibacy is the practice in various religious traditions, in which Clergy, Monastics and those (of either sex in religious orders adopt a

Believing that more attention should be given to the message in the scriptures rather than to ceremony and worship, the Lollards denounced the ritualistic aspects of the Church such as transubstantiation, exorcism, pilgrimages, and blessings. A ceremony is an activity infused with Ritual significance performed on a special occasion This article refers to the religious act For the album by Michael W See also Eucharist (Catholic Church On the related belief that Christ is present in the Eucharist in body blood soul and divinity see Real Presence. Exorcism (from Late Latin exorcismus, from Greek exorkizein - to adjure is the practice of evicting Demons or other evil In Religion and Spirituality, a pilgrimage is a long journey or Search of great Moral significance These focused too much on powers the Church supposedly did not have and led to a focus on temporal ritual over God and his message.

The other Conclusions deal with gospel teachings against killing as punishment for a crime (capital punishment), rejection of religious celibacy, and belief that members of the Clergy be accountable to civil laws. The Conclusions also rejected pilgrimages, ornamentation of churches, and religious images because these were said to take away from the true nature of worship: focus on God. Also denounced in the Conclusions were war, violence, and even abortion. War is an international relations Dispute, characterized by organized Violence between National Military units Violence is the exertion of force so as to injure or abuse The word is used broadly to describe the destructive action of natural phenomena like Storms and Earthquakes An ^[1] Outside of the Twelve Conclusions, the Lollards had many beliefs and traditions. Their scriptural focus led Lollards to refuse the taking of oaths. An oath (from Anglo-Saxon āð, also called plight) is either a Promise or a Statement of Fact calling Lollards also had a tradition of millenarianism. Millenarianism (sometimes spelled millenarism or millennarism) is the belief by a religious social or political group or movement in a coming major transformation Some criticized the Church for not focusing enough on Revelation. Revelation is the act of revealing or disclosing (see etymology or in the theological perception making something obvious and clearly understood through active or passive communication Many Lollards believed they were near the end of days, and several Lollard writings claim the Pope to be the antichrist. History See also History of the Papacy Catholics recognize the Pope as a successor to Saint Peter, who Jesus named as the "shepherd" and For other uses see Antichrist (disambiguation In Christian eschatology, the Antichrist or anti-Christ means a person office In actuality, Lollards did not believe that any one Pope , as a human being, was the antichrist. They believed that the papal system was, however (citation needed).

History

Beginning of the Gospel of John from a pocket Wycliffe translation that may have been used by a roving Lollard preacher (late 14th century)

Immediately upon going public, Lollardy was attacked as heresy. Heresy, as a blanket term describes a practice or belief that is labeled as unorthodox At first, Wycliffe and Lollardy were protected by John of Gaunt and anti-clerical nobility, who may have been interested in using Lollard-advocated clerical reform to create a new source of revenue from England’s monasteries, as Henry VIII would finally succeed in doing. John of Gaunt 1st Duke of Lancaster (second creation 1st Duke of Aquitaine (6 March 1340 &ndash 3 February 1399 was a member of the House of Plantagenet, the third This article concerns the buildings occupied by monastics. For the life inside monasteries and its historical roots see Monasticism. Henry VIII (28 June 1491 &ndash 28 January 1547 was King of England and Lord of Ireland, later King of Ireland and claimant to the Kingdom of The University of Oxford also protected Wycliffe and allowed him to hold his position at the university in spite of his views on the grounds of academic freedom, which also gave some protection to the academics who supported it within that institution. The University of Oxford (informally "Oxford University" or simply "Oxford" located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England is the Academic freedom is the belief that the freedom of inquiry by students and faculty members is essential to the mission of the academy Lollardy first faced serious persecution after the Peasant’s Revolt in 1381. While Wycliffe and other Lollards opposed the revolt, one of the peasants’ leaders, John Ball, preached Lollardy. John Ball (c 1338 - 15 July 1381) was an English Lollard priest who took a prominent part in the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. The royalty and nobility then found Lollardy to be a threat not just to the Church, but to all the English social order. A royal family is the extended family of a monarch. Generally the head of a royal family is a king or queen regnant Nobility is a government-privileged title which may be either hereditary (see Hereditary titles) or for a lifetime The Lollards' small measure of protection evaporated. This change in status was also affected by the removal of John of Gaunt from the scene, when he left England in pursuit of the throne of Castile, which he claimed through his second wife. The Crown of Castile, as a historic entity is usually considered to have begun in 1230 with the third and definitive union of the two kingdoms of León and Castile

Lollardy was strongly resisted by both the religious and secular authorities. Among those opposing it was Thomas Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury. Thomas Arundel (1353 - 19 February 1414 was Archbishop of Canterbury in 1397 and from 1399 until his death an outspoken opponent of the Lollards The Archbishop of Canterbury is the chief bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the King Henry IV (despite being John of Gaunt's son) passed the De heretico comburendo in 1401, not specifically against the Lollards, but prohibiting the translating or owning of the Bible and authorising the burning of heretics at the stake. Henry IV (3 April 1367 &ndash 20 March 1413 was King of England and Lord of Ireland (1399&ndash1413 The De heretico comburendo was a law passed by King Henry IV of England in 1401 forbidding the owning or producing of a translation of the Bible and punishing Execution by burning has a long history as a method of Punishment for Crimes such as Treason, Heresy and Witchcraft

Sir John Oldcastle being burnt for insurrection and Lollard heresy

In the early 15th century, Lollardy went underground after more extreme measures were taken by the Church and State. Sir John Oldcastle (d December 14, 1417) English Lollard leader was son of Sir Richard Oldcastle of Almeley in northwest One measure was the burning at the stake of John Badby, a layman and artisan who refused to renounce his Lollard views. John Badby (died 1410 one of the early Lollard Martyrs was a tailor (or perhaps a blacksmith in the west Midlands and was condemned by the Worcester diocesan court His was the first execution of a layman in England for the crime of heresy. Capital punishment, the death penalty or execution, is the Killing of a person by judicial process as Punishment.

The Lollard Knights were a group of gentry active during the reign of Richard II, known either during their lives or after for an inclination to the religious reforms of John Wycliffe. Richard II (6 January 1367 &ndash ca 14 February 1400 was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399 John Wycliffe (ˈwɪklɪf also spelled Wyclif, Wycliff, Wiclef, Wicliffe, or Wickliffe) (mid-1320s – 31 December Henry Knighton, in his Chronicle, identifes the principal Knights as Sir Thomas Latimer, Sir John Trussel, Sir Lewis Clifford, Sir John Peachey, Sir Richard Storey, and Sir Reginald Hilton. (Disambiguation you may be looking for Arthur Henry Knighton-Hammond, the English artist Thomas Walsingham's Chronicle adds William Nevil and John Clanvowe to the list, and other potential members of this circle have been identified by their wills, which contain Lollard-inspired language about how their bodies are to be plainly buried and permitted to return to the soil from whence they came. Thomas Walsingham (d c 1422 was an English chronicler Life He was probably educated at St Albans Abbey at St Albans, Hertfordshire There is little indication that the Lollard Knights were specifically known as such during their lifetimes; they were men of discretion, and unlike Sir John Oldcastle years later, rarely gave any hint of open rebellion. Sir John Oldcastle (d December 14, 1417) English Lollard leader was son of Sir Richard Oldcastle of Almeley in northwest What is remarkable about them is how long they managed to hold important positions without falling victim to any of the several prosecutions of the followers of Wycliffe during their lifetimes. John Wycliffe (ˈwɪklɪf also spelled Wyclif, Wycliff, Wiclef, Wicliffe, or Wickliffe) (mid-1320s – 31 December Unfortunately, Henry IV turned out to be a very enthusiastic opponent of the Lollards, and through legislation such as the Act De haeretico comburendo of 1401, showed himself virulently opposed to any such sentiments. Henry IV (3 April 1367 &ndash 20 March 1413 was King of England and Lord of Ireland (1399&ndash1413 Lollardy was the political and religious movement of the Lollards from the mid- 14th century to the English Reformation. The De heretico comburendo was a law passed by King Henry IV of England in 1401 forbidding the owning or producing of a translation of the Bible and punishing

Sir John Oldcastle, a close friend of King Henry V (and the basis for Falstaff in the Shakespearean history Henry IV) was brought to trial in 1413 after evidence of his Lollard beliefs was uncovered. Sir John Oldcastle (d December 14, 1417) English Lollard leader was son of Sir Richard Oldcastle of Almeley in northwest Henry V (16 September 1386 &ndash 31 August 1422 was one of the most significant English warrior kings of the 15th century Sir John Falstaff is a Fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare as a companion to Prince Hal the future King Henry V. Traditionally the plays of William Shakespeare have been grouped into three categories tragedies, comedies, and histories. Henry IV Part 1 is a History play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597 Oldcastle escaped from the Tower of London and organized an insurrection, which included an attempted kidnapping of the king. Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London (and historically as The Tower) is a historic monument in central London The Kings of Wessex, who conquered Kent and Sussex from Mercia in 825 became increasingly dominant over the other kingdoms of England during The rebellion failed, and Oldcastle was executed. Oldcastle's revolt made Lollardy seem even more threatening to the state, and the persecution of Lollards became more severe. Sir John Oldcastle (d December 14, 1417) English Lollard leader was son of Sir Richard Oldcastle of Almeley in northwest A variety of other martyrs for the Lollard cause were executed over the following century, including Thomas Harding who died at White Hill, Chesham, in 1532, one of the last Lollards to be persecuted. The term martyr ( Greek μάρτυς martys "witness" is most commonly used today to describe an individual who sacrifices their life (or personal freedom Thomas Harding was a sixteenth century English religious Dissident who was burnt at the stake as a Lollard heretic in Chesham in 1532 Chesham (pronounced traditionally and locally "Chess-am" or "Chezz-um although "Chesh-am" has become more common in usage is a Market town in A gruesome reminder of this persecution is the 'Lollards Pit' in Thorpe Wood, Norfolk, where men are customablie burnt. ^[2]

Lollards were effectively absorbed into Protestantism during the English Reformation, in which Lollardy played a role. Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. The Protestant Reformation was a reform movement in Europe that began in 1517 though its roots lie further back in time Since Lollardy had been underground for more than a hundred years, the extent of Lollardy and its ideas at the time of the Reformation is uncertain and a point of debate. However, many critics of the Reformation, including Thomas More, associated Protestants with Lollards. Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535 from 1935 Saint Thomas More, was an English Lawyer, author and statesman who in his lifetime gained Leaders of the English Reformation, including Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, referred to Lollardy as well, and Bishop Cuthbert of London called Lutheranism as the "foster-child" of the Wycliffite heresy. The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th century England by which the Church of England first broke away from the authority of the Pope Cuthbert Tunstall (or Tonstall) (1474&ndash November 18, 1559) was an English church leader twice Bishop of Durham during the reigns ^[3] Whether Protestants actually drew influence from Lollardy or whether they referred to it to create a sense of tradition is debated by scholars. The extent of Lollardy in the general populace at this time is also unknown, but the prevalence of Protestant iconoclasm in England suggests Lollard ideas may still have had some popular influence if Zwingli was not the source, as Lutherans did not advocate iconoclasm. Iconoclasm, Greek for "image-breaking" is the deliberate destruction within a culture of the culture's own religious Icons and other symbols or monuments Huldrych (or Ulrich) Zwingli (1 January 1484 &ndash 11 October 1531 was a leader of the Reformation in Switzerland. Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the teachings of the sixteenth-century German reformer Martin Luther The similarity between Lollards and later English Protestant groups such as the Baptists, Puritans and Quakers also suggests some continuation of Lollard ideas through the Reformation. Baptist is a term describing individuals belonging to a Baptist church or a Baptist denomination. A Puritan of 16th and 17th century England was an associate of any number of religious groups advocating for more "purity" of Worship and Doctrine,

See also

• Piers Plowman
• Waldensians
• William Langland
• John Huss
• Nicholas Love (monk)

References

• Duffy, Eamon. Eamon Duffy is an Irish Professor of the History of Christianity at the University of Cambridge, and former President of Magdalene The Stripping of the Altars. The Stripping of the Altars Traditional Religion in England 1400–1580 is a work of history written by Eamon Duffy and published in 1992 by Yale University Press Yale University Press, 1992. Yale University Press is a book Publisher founded in 1908. It became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but remained
• Hudson, Anne. The Premature Reformation: Wycliffite Texts and Lollard History. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1988.
• McFarlane, K B. The Origins of Religious Dissent in England. 1952.
• Rex, Richard. The Lollards: Social History in Perspective. New York: Palgrave, 2002.
• Lollards of Coventry, 1486-1522, ed. and trans. Shannon McSheffrey and Norman Tanner, Camden Fifth Series 23 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press for the Royal Historical Society, 2003).
• Shannon McSheffrey, "Heresy, Orthodoxy and English Vernacular Religion 1480–1525," Past & Present, 186, 2005, № 1, 47-80.
• Robert Lutton, Lollardy and Orthodox Religion in Pre-Reformation England (Woodbridge and Suffolk, U. K. : Boydell and Brewer, 2006).

External links

• The Lollard Society - society dedicated to providing a forum for the study of the Lollards
• The Lollards - a sympathetic view of the Lollards from an Anabaptist perspective
• Lollards in the Catholic Encyclopedia - Lollardy as a heresy, from the Roman Catholic perspective. Anabaptists ( Greek ανα (again twice + βαπτιζω (baptize thus "re-baptizers" are Christians of the Radical Reformation
• Lollards - essay on Lollards on Medieval Church website, including extensive list of secondary sources.