¶ A Supplicacyon for the beggars.   

TO THE KING OVRE souereygne lord.  
MOst lamentably compleyneth their woeful misery unto your highnes your poor daily bedemē the wretched hidous monsters( on whom scarcely for horror any yie dare look) the foul unhappy sort of lepres, and other sore people, needy, impotent, blind, lame, and sick, that live onely by almesse, howe that their nombre is daily so sore increased that all the almesse of all the weldisposed people of this your realm is not half enough for to sustain them, but that for verey constreint they die for hunger. And this most pestilent mischief is comen upon your said poor beedmē by the reason that there is yn the times of your noble predecessors passed craftily crept into this your realm an other sort( not of impotent but) of strong puissant and counterfeit holy, and idle beggars and vagabonds which syns the time of their first entre by all the craft and wiliness of Satan are now increased under your sight not onely into a great nombre, but also into a kingdom. These are( not the herds, but the ravenous wolves going in herds clothing devouring the flock) the bishops, abbots, priors, Deacons, Archedeacons, suffragans, priests, monks Chanons, Freres, Pardoners and Somners. And who is able to nombre this idle ravenous sort which( setting all labour a side) haue begged so importunately that they haue gotten into their hands more then the therd part of all your realm. The goodliest worships, manners, lands, and territories, are theirs. Besides this they haue the tenth part of all the corn, meadow, pasture, grass, wool, colts, calves, lambs, pigs, geese, and chikens. over and bisides the tenth part of every servants wages the tenth part of the wool, milk, hony, wax cheese, and butter. Ye and they look so narrowly upon their proufittes that the poor wives must be countable to them of every tenth eg or elles she gettith not her rights at easter shalbe taken as an heretic, hereto haue they their four of fering daies. what money pull they yn by probates of testaments, privy tithes, and by mennes offerings to their pilgremages, and at their first masses? every man and child that is butted must pay somewhat for masses and diriges to be song for him or elles they will accuse the deeds friends and executours of heresy. what money get they by mortuaries, by hearing of confessions( and yet they will keep therof no counceyle) by halowing of churches altars supper altars chapels and belles, by cursing of men and absolving them again for money? what a multitude of money gather the pardoners in a year? Howe much money get the Somners by extortion yn a year, by assityng the people to the commissaries court and afterward releasing thapparaunce for money? Finally, the infinite nombre of begging freres what get they yn a year? Here if it please your grace to mark ye shall se a thing far out of joint. There are withyn your realm of england .lij. thousand parish churches. And this stonding that there be but ten houshouldes yn every parish yet are there five hundreth thousand and twenty thousand houshouldes. And of every of these houshouldes hath every of the five ordres of freres a penny a quarter for every order, that is for all the five ordres five pens a quarter for every house. That is for all the five ordres .xx. d, a year of every house. Summa five hundreth thousand and twenty thousand quarters of angels. That is .cclx. thousand half angels. Summa .cxxx. thousand angels. Summa totalis .xliij. thousand pounds and .cccxxxiij. li. vi. s. viij. d. sterling. whereof not four hundreth yeres passed they had not one penny. Oh grievous and painful exactions thus yearly to be paid. from the which the people of your nobill predecessors the kings of the ancient Britons ever stood fre And this will they haue or else they will {pro}cure him that will not give it them to be taken as an heretic. what tyrant ever oppressed the people like this cruel and vengeable generation? what subiectes shall be able to help their prince that be after this fashion yearly polled? what good christen people can be able to succour us poor lepres blind sore, and lame, that be thus yearly oppressed? Is it any merueille that your people so compleine of poverty? Is it any marvel that the taxes fiftenes and subsidies that your grace most tenderly of great compassion hath taken among your people to defend them from the threatened ruin of their common wealth haue been so sloughtfully, ye painfully levied? Seing that almost the utmost penny that might haue been levied hath ben gathered bifore yearly by this ravenous cruel and insatiabill generation The danes nether the saxons yn the time of the ancient Briton should never haue ben able to haue brought their armies from so far hither into your land to haue conquered it if they had had at that time such a sort of idle glotons to find at home. The nobill king Arthur had never ben able to have carried his army to the foot of the mountaines to resist the coming down of lucius the emperor if such yearly exactions had ben taken of his people. The greeks had never ben able to haue so long continued at the siege of troy if they had had at home such an idle sort of cormorauntes to find. The ancient Romains had never ben abil to haue put all the hole world under their obeisance if their people had been thus yearly oppressed. The turk now yn your time should never be able to get so much ground of cristendome if he had yn his empire such a sort of locusts to devour his substance. lay then these sums to the forseid therd part of the possessions of the realm that ye may se whether it draw nigh unto the half of the hole substance of the realm or not, So shall ye find that it draweth far above. now let us then compare the nombre of this unkind idle sort unto the nombre of the lay people and we shall se whether it be indifferently shifted or not that they should haue half. Compare them to the nombre of men, so are they not the. C. person. Compare them to men wimen and children, then are they not the. CCCC. person yn nombre. One part therfore yn four hundreth partes divided were to much for them except they did labour. what an unequal burden is it that they haue half with the multitude and are not the. CCCC. person of their nombre? what tongue is able to tell that ever there was any common wealth so sore oppressed sins the world first began?  
¶ And what do al these greedy sort of sturdy idle holy thieves with these yearly exactions that they take of the people? truly nothing but exempt them silues from thobedience of your grace. Nothing but translate all rule power lordishippe authority obedience and dignity from your grace unto them. Nothing but that all your subiectes should fall unto disobedience and rebellion against your grace and be under them. As they did unto your nobill predecessor king John: which forbicause that he wolde haue punished certain traitors that had conspired with the french king to haue deposed him from his crown and dignity( among the which a clerk called Stephen whom afterward against the kings will the Pope made bishop of Caunterbury was one) enterdited his land. For the which matter your most nobill realm wrongfully( alas for shane) hath stand tributary( not unto any kind temporal prince, but unto a cruel deuelisshe blood-supper drunken in the blood of the sayntes and martyrs of christ) ever sins. Here were an holy sort of prelates that thus cruelly could punish such a righteous king, all his realm, and succession for doing right.  
¶ Here were a charitable sort of holy men that could thus enterdite an hole realm, and pluck away thobedience of the people from their natural liege lord and king, for none other cause but for his righteousness. Here were a blessed sort not of meek herds but of bloudsuppers that could set the french king upon such a righteous prince to cause him to lose his crown and dignity to make effusion of the blood of his people, oneles this good and blessed king of great compassion, more fearing and lamenting the shedding of the blood of his people then the loss of his crown and dignity against all right and conscience had submitted him self unto them. O case most horrible that ever so nobill a king realm, and succession should thus be made to stoupe to such a sort of bloudsuppers. where was his sword, power, crown, and dignity become whereby he might haue done iustice yn this maner? where was their obedience become that should haue been subject under his high power yn this matter? Ye where was the obedience of all his subiectes become that for maintenance of the common wealth should haue holpen him manfully to haue resisted these bloudsuppers to the shedinge of their blood? was not all to gether by their policy translated from this good king unto them. Ye and what do they more? truly nothing but apply them silues by all the sleyghtes they may to haue to do with every mannes wife, every mannes daughter and every mannes maid that cukkoldrie and baudrie should reign over all among your subiectes, that no man should know his own child that their bastards might enherite the possessions of every man to put the right begotten children clear beside their inheritance yn subversion of all estates and godly order. These be they that by their abstaining from marriage do let the generation of the people whereby all the realm at length if it should be continued shall be made desert and inhabitable.  
¶ These be they that haue made an hundreth thousand idle hores yn your realm which wolde haue gotten their living honestly, yn the sweet of their faces had not their superfluous richesse illected them to unclean lust and idleness. These be they that corrupt the hole generation of mankind yn your realm, that catch the pokkes of one woman. and bear them to an other, that be brent with one woman, and bear it to an other, that catch the lepry of one woman, and bear it to an other, ye some one of them shall boast among his fellows that he hath meddled with an hundreth women. These be they that when they haue ones drawn mennes wives to such incontinency spend away their husbands goods make the wimen to run away from their husbands, ye, rynne away them silues both with wif and goods, bring both man wife and children to idleness theft and beggeri. Ye who is able to nombre the great and broad botomles ocean see full of evils that this mischievous and sinful generation may lawfully bring upon us vnponisshed. where is your sword, power, crown, and dignity, become that should punish( by punishment of death even as other men are punished) the felonies, rapes, murdres, and treasons committed by this sinful generation? where is their obedience become that should be under your high power yn this matter? is not all to gether translated and exempt from your grace unto them? yes truly. what an infinite nombre of people might haue bē increased to haue peopled the realm if these sort of folk had bē married like other men. what breach of matrimony is there brought yn by them? such truly as was never sins the world began among the hole multitude of the heathen.  
¶ who is she that will set her hands to work to get. iij.d. a day and may haue at lest. xx.d. a day to sleep an hour with a frere, a monk, or a prest? what is he that wolde labour for a groat a day and may haue at lest. xij.d. a day to be bawd to a prest, a monk, or a frere? what a sort are there of theime that mari priests sovereign ladies but to cloak the priests yncontinency and that they may haue a living of the prest theime silues for their labour? Howe many thousands doth such lubricite bring to beggary theft and idleness which should haue kept their good name and haue set them silues to work had not ben this excess treasure of the spiritualtie?? what honest man dare take any man or woman yn his service that hath bē at such a school with a spiritual man? Oh the grievous shipwrak of the common wealth, which yn ancient time bifore the coming yn of these ravenous wolves was so prosperous: that then there were but few thieves: ye theft was at that time so rare that caesar was not compellid to make penalite of death upon felony as your grace may well perceive yn his institutes. There was also at that time but few poor people and yet they did not beg but there was given them enough vnaxed, for there was at that time none of these ravenous wolves to axe it from them as it appeareth yn the acts of thappostles. Is it any merueill though there be now so many beggars, thieves, and idle people? Nay truly.  
¶ what remedy: make laws against them. I am yn doubt whether ye be able: Are they not stronger in your own parliament house then your self? what a nombre of bishops ' abbots ' and priors are lords of your parliament? are not all the learned men in your realm in fee with them to speak yn your parliament house for them against your crown ’ dignity ’ and common wealth of your realm a few of your own learned counsel onely excepted? what lawe can he made against them that may be aduaylable? who is he( though he be grieved never so sore) for the murder of his anucestre ravishment of his wife, of his daughter, robbery, trespass, maiheme, debt, or any other offence dare lay it to their charge by any wey of action, and if he do then is he by and by by their wilynesse accused of heresy. ye they will so handle him or he pass that except he will bear a faggot for their pleasure he shal be excommunicate and then be all his actions dashed. So captive are your laws unto them that no man that they list to excommunicat may be admitted to sue any action in any of your courts. If any man yn your sessions dare be so hardy to endyte a prest of any such crime he hath or the year go out such a yoke of heresy leyd in his neck that it maketh him wish that he had not done it. Your grace may se what a work there is in London, howe the bishop rageth for endyting of certain curates of extortion and incontinency the last year in the warmoll quest. Had not Richard hun commenced action of praemunire against a prest he had been yet a live and none eretik at all but an honest man.  
¶ did not dyvers of your noble progenitors seeing their crown and dignity run into ruin and to be thus craftily translated into the hands of this mischievous generation make dyvers statutes for the reformation therof, among which the statute of mortmain was one? to the intent that after that time they should haue no more given unto them. But what avayled it? haue they not gotten into their hands more lands sins then any duke yn ynglond hath, the statute notwithstonding? Ye haue they not for all that translated into their hands from your grace half your kingdom thoroughly? The hole name as reason is for the ancienty of your kingdom which was bifore theirs and out of the which theirs is grown onely abiding with your grace? and of one kingdom made tweyne: the spiritual kingdom( as they call it) for they will be name first, And your temporal kingdom, And which of these .ij. kingdoms suppose ye is like to ouergrowe the other? ye to put the other clear out of memory? truly the kingdom of the bloudsuppers for to them is given daily out of your kingdom. And that that is ones given them cometh never from them again. such laws haue they that none of them may nether give nor sell nothing. what lawe can be made so strong against them that they other with money or elles with other policy will not break and set at nought? what kingdom can endure that ever gyuith thus from him and receiveth nothing again? O howe all the substance of your realm forthwith your sword, power, crown, dignity, and obedience of your people, rynneth hed-long into the insaciabill whyrlepole of these gredi goulafres to be swallowed and devoured.  
¶ Nether haue they any other colour to gather these yearly exaccions into their hands but that they say they pray for us to God to deliver our souls out of the pains of purgatori without whose prayer they say or at lest without the popes pardon we could never be delivered thence which if it be true then is it good reason that we give them all these things all were it C times as much, But there be many men of great literature and iudgement that for the love they haue unto the trouth and unto the comen wealth haue not feared to put them self into the greatest infamy that may be, in abjection of all the world, ye yn peril of death to declare their opinion in this madder which is that there is no purgatory but that it is a thing invented by the couitousnesse of the spiritualtie onely to translate all kingdoms from other princes unto them and that there is not one word spoken of hit in al holy scripture. They say also that if there were a purgatory And also if that the pope with his pardons for money may deliver one soul thence: he may deliver him aswell without money if he may deliver one, he may deliver a thousand: yf he may deliver a thousand he may deliver them all, and so destroy purgatory. And then is he a cruel tyrant without all charity if he keep them there in prison and in pain till men will give him money.  
¶ like wise say they of all the hole sort of the spiritueltie that if they will not pray for no man but for them that give them money they are tyrants and lakke charity, and suffer those souls to be punished and pained vncheritably for lack of their prayers. These sort of folkes they call heretics, these they burn, these they rage against, put to open shane and make them bear fagottes. But whether they be heretics or no, well I wote that this purgatory and the Popes pardons is all the cause of translation of your kingdom so fast into their hands wherefore it is manifest it can not be of christ, for he gave more to the temporal kingdom, he him self paid tribute to caesar he took nothing from him but taught that the high powers should be alweys obeid ye he him self( although he were most fre lord of all and innocent) was obedient unto the high powers unto death. This is the great scab why they will not let the new testament go a broad yn your moder tongue lest men should espy that they by their cloaked ypochrisi do translate thus fast your kingdom into their hands, that they are not obedient unto your high power, that they are cruel, unclean, unmerciful, and ypochrites, that they seek not the honour of Christ but their own, that remission of sins are not given by the popes pardon, but by Christ, for the sure faith and trust that we haue in him. Here may your grace well perceive that except ye suffer their hypocrisy to be disclosed all is like to run into their hands and as long as it is covered so long shall it seem to every man to be a great ympiete not to give them. For this I am sure your grace thinketh( as the truth is) I am as good a man as my father, why may I not as well give them as much as my father did. And of this mind I am sure are all the loordes knights squire gentlemen and yemen in england, ye and until it be disclosed all your peoole will think that your statute of mortmain was never made with no good conscience seing that it taketh away the liberty of your people in that they may not as lawfully by their souls out of purgatory by giving to the spiritualte as their predecessors did in times passed.  
¶ wherefore if ye will eschew the ruin of your crown and dignity let their hypocrisy be uttered and that shal be more spedfull in this matter then all the laws that may be made be they never so strong. For to make a lawe for to punish any offender except it were more for to give other men an ensample to beware to committe such like offence, what should yt avail. Did not doctor Alyn most presumptuously now yn your time against all his allegiance all that ever he could to pull from you the knowledge of such pleas as long unto your high courts unto an other court in derogacion of your crown and dignity? Did not also doctor Horsey and his complices most heinously as all the world knoweth murder in prison that honest merchant Richard hun? For that he sued your writ of praemunire against a prest that wrongfully held him in ple in a spiritual court for a matter whereof the knowledge belonged unto your high courts. And what punishment was there done that any man may take example of to be ware of like offence? truly none but that the one paid five hundreth pounds( as it is said to the bildinge of your star chamber) and when that payment was ones passed the capteyns of his kingdom( because he fought so manfully against your crown and dignity) haue heped to him bnfice vpon bnfice so that he is rewarded ten times as much. The other as it is said paid six hundreth pounds for him and his complices which for because that he had like wise fought so manfully against your crown and dignity was immediately( as he had obtained your most gracious pardon) promoted by the capiteynes of his kingdom with bnfice vpon bnfice to the value of .iiij. times as much. who can take example of this punishment to be ware of such like offence? who is he of their kingdom that will not rather take courage to committe like offence seeing the promotions that fill to this men for theyre so offending. So weke and blunt is your sword to strike at one of the offenders of this crooked and perverse generation.  
¶ And this is by the reason that the chief instrument of your lawe ye the chief of your counsel and he which hath your sword in his hand to whom also all the other instruments are obedient is alweys a spiritual man which hath ever such an inordinate love unto his own kingdom that he will mainteyn that, though all the temporal kingdoms and commonwealth of the world should therfore utterly be undone, Here leave we out the greatest matter of all lest that we declaring such an horrible carayn of evil against the ministres of iniquity should seem to declare the one onely fault or rather the ignorance of our best beloved minister of righteousness which is to be hide till he may be learned by these small enormitees that we haue spoken of to know it plainly him self. But what remedy to relieve us your poor sick lame and sore bedemen? To make many hospitals for the relief of the poor people? Nay truly. The more the worse, for ever the fat of the hole foundation hangeth on the priests beards. dyvers of your noble predecessors kings of this realm haue given lands to monasteries to give a certain somme of money yearly to the poor people whereof for the ancient of the time they give never one penny, They haue like wise given to thē to haue a certain masses said daily for them whereof they say never one. If the Abbot of westminster should sing every day as many masses for his founders as he is bound to do by his foundation. M, monks were to few. wherefore if your grace will bilde a sure hospital that never shall fail to relieve us all your poor bedemē, so take from them all these things. Set these sturdy lobies a broad in the world to get them wives of their own, to get their living with their labour in the sweet of their faces according to the commandment of god. Gene .iij. to give other idle people by their example occasion to go to labour. tie these holy idle thieves to the carts to be whipped naked about every market town till they will fall to labour that they by their importunate begging take not away the almesse that the good christen people wolde give unto us sore impotent miserable people your bede men. Then shall as well the nombre of our foresaid monstrous sort as of the bawds, hores thieves, and idle people decrease. Then shall these great yearly exaccions cease. Then shall not your sword, power, crown, dignity, and obedience of your people, be translated from you. Then shall you haue full obedience of your people. Then shall the idle people be set to work. Then shall matrimony be much better kept. Then shal the generation of your people be increased, Then shall your commons increase in richesse. Then shall the gospel be preached. Then shall none beg our almesse from vs. Then shal we haue enough and more then shall fuffice us, which shall be the best hospital that ever was founded for us, Then shall we daily pray to god for your most noble estate long to endure.  
Domine saluum fac regem.