¶ About this time, or (as Henrie Knighton saith) in the yeare 1392, maister William Courtenie archbi|shop of Canturburie, brother to the earle of Den|shire visited the diocesse of Lincolne, and on the feast of saint Faith the virgine he visited maister Iohn Bokingham bishop of Lincolne in the cathedrall church of Lincoln [...], with the chapter,Archbishop of Canturbu|ries visitatiõ. and an hundred of the canons, and he came to Leicester abbeie in vi|sitation, the sundaie before the feast of All saints, where he [...] all the tuesdaie, and on the eeue also EEBO page image 484 of All saints being mondaie, calling togither all the canons of the said monasterie, with the chaplines of his owne chappell, euerie of them hauing in their hands burning candels.Wickleuists excommuni|cated. The same archbishop confir|med sentence of excommunication against the Lol|lards or Wickleuists, with their fauourers, which either now mainteined or caused to be mainteined, or hereafter did mainteine or should mainteine the errours and opinions of master Iohn Wickliffe, in the diocesse of Lincolne. On the morrow next after All saints, the same bishop flashed out his sentence of excommunication like lightning in open sight, with a crosse set vpright, with candels burning bright, and with bels roong alowd, and namelie against those of Leicester towne that had too too much defiled and in|fected the said towne and countrie. The archbishop departing from thence, went to saint Peters church, to a certeine anchoresse named Matildis there kept as in a closet, whom he reprouing about the foresaid errors and opinions of the Lollards, and finding hir answers scarse aduisedlie made, cited hir that she should appeare before him, on the sundaie next insu|ing, in saint Iames his abbeie at Northampton, to answer vnto the foresaid erronious and prophane points. Now she appeared at the day appointed, and renouncing hir errours, and hauing penance inioi|ned hir, she went awaie reformed. But till the se|cond day before the feast of saint Lucie, she kept hir selfe out of hir closet, and then entred into the same a|gaine. Other Lollards also were cited, and appea|red at Oxford, and in other places, as the archbishop had commanded them: who renouncing their super|stitious errours, and for swearing their prophane opi|nions, did open penance. Also one William Smith was made to go about the market place at Leice|ster,A ridiculous penance. clothed in linnen [or in a white sheet] holding in his right arme the image of the Crucifix, and in his left the image of saint Katharine, bicause the said Smith had sometimes cut in peeces and burned an image of saint Katharine, whereof he made a fire to boile him hearbes in his hunger.

In those daies there was a certeine matrone in London, which had one onelie daughter, whome ma|nie daies she instructed and trained vp to celebrat the masse, and she set vp an altar in hir priuie or se|cret chamber with all the ornaments therevnto be|longing, and so she made hir daughter manie daies to attire hir selfe like a priest, and to come to the al|tar, and after hir maner to celebrate the masse. Now when she came to the words of the sacrament, she cast hir selfe flat on hir face before the altar, & For the pa|pists saie that the sacrificing préest is the maker of his maker, name|lie God. made not the sacrament; but rising vp, dispatched the rest of the masse euen to the verie end, hir mother helping hir therein, and dooing hir deuotion. This errour a long time lasted, till at last by a certeine neighbour that was secretlie called to such a masse, it was told abroad, and came to the bishops eares, who causing them to appeare before him, talked with them about that errour, and compelled the yoong woman openlie to shew the priestlie shauing of hir haire, whose head was found to be all bare and bald. The bishop sigh|ing and sorrieng that such an errour should happen in the church in his time, made manie lamentations, and hauing inioined them penance, dispatched and sent them away. Thus far Henrie Knighton. [It is not to be doubted, but that in these daies manie of the female sex be medling in matters impertinent to their degrée,Boldnesse of women in ec|clesiasticall matters ta [...]ed. and inconuenient for their knowledge; debating & scanning in their priuat conuenticles of such things as wherabout if they kept silence, it were for their greater commendation; presuming, though not to celebrat a masse, or to make a sacrament; yet to vndertake some publike peece of s [...]ruice incident to the ministerie: whose ouer-saw [...]ie rashnesse being bolstered and borne vp with abbettors not a few, whe|ther it be by ecclesiasticall discipline corrected, I wot not; but of the vniformed presbiterie I am sure it is lamented.]

A certeine thing appeared in the likenesse of fier in manie parts of the realme of England,A fierie app [...]|rition of di|uerse like|nesses. now of one fashion, now of another, as it were euerie night, but yet in diuerse places all Nouember and Decem|ber. This fierie apparition, oftentimes when any bo|die went alone, it would go with him, and would stand still when he stood still. To some it appeared in the likenesse of a turning whéele burning; to other|some round in the likenesse of a barrell, flashing out flames of fier at the head; to othersome in the like|nesse of a long burning lance; and so to diuerse folks at diuerse times and seasons it shewed it selfe in diuerse formes and fashions a great part of winter, speciallie in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire: and when manie went togither, it approched not neere them, but appeared to them as it were a far off. In a parlement time there was a certeine head of war made by the art of necromancie (as it was reported) which head at an houre appointed to speake,A head of wa [...] wrought by necromancie speaketh. vttered these words following at thrée times, and then ceas|sed to speake any more. These be the words; first, The head shall be cut off; secondlie, The head shall be lift vp aloft; thirdlie, The feet shall be lift vp aloft aboue the head. This happened in the time of that parle|ment which was called the mercilesse parlement, not long before the parlement that was named the par|lement which wrought woonders.A fierie dra|gon seen in diuers places. In Aprill there was séene a fierie dragon in manie places of Eng|land; which dreadfull sight as it made manie a one amazed, so it ministred occasion of mistrust to the minds of the maruellors, that some great mischéefe was imminent, whereof that burning apparition was a prognostication. Abr. Fl. out of Thom. Wal [...]. in Rich. 2. pag. 341. In this kings daies (as saith Thomas Walsingham) whose report, bicause I am here dealing with certeine prodigious accidents importing some strange euents, I am the more bold to interlace) about the troublesome time when discord sprang betwéene the king and his youthlie compani|ons with the duke of Lancaster,A coniunctiõ of Iupiter & Saturne. in the moneth of Maie, there happened a coniunction of the two grea|test planets, namelie Iupiter and Saturne, after the which did follow a verie great commotion of kingdoms, as in the processe of this historie may ap|peare.