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.

The French king about this time summoned a conuocation of the French cleargie,A schisme be+twéene two popes for the dignitie of [...] Peters cha [...]re to decide and search out the power of the two popes, which of them had fuller right and authoritie in S. Peters chaire, for the schisme and diuision betwéene the two popes was not yet ended. The French clergie wrote in the behalfe of Clement their pope, & cõfirmed their script or writing with the vniuersitie seale of Paris. Which writing Charles the French king sent ouer to Ri|chard king of England, that touching these doubts and difficulties he with (the councell of his cleargie might deliberat. Wherefore king Richard summo|ned a conuocation at Oxford of the lerneder diuines as well regents as not regents of the whole realme; who wrote for and in the behalfe of Urbane their pope of Rome, and confirmed their writing with the vniuersitie seale of Oxford, & sent it ouer sea to Pa|ris vnto the French king. But nothing was doone further in the premisses, both popes, vnder the shrowd or shelter of schisme preuailing betwéene them, iu|stifieng these title & interest. [This is the last record found in Henrie Knighton, who for that which he hath doone touching chronographie, hath written (the blind|nesse of the time wherein he liued, and his order con|sidered) though not so well as the best, yet not so ill as the woorst: and whose collections, if they were laid EEBO page image 485 togither, would affoord a large augmentation to ma|ters of chronicle: but O spite that so abruptlie he brea|keth off, and continueth his an [...]ales no further than this yeare, 1395.]