Canon Richard Dixon: History of Church of England from the Abolition of ...

Late 1520s-1532, The early Gospellers were, to mention a few, Stafford, Bilney, Barnes, Crome and Warner. Tyndale was off in Europe and Simon Fish was writing anonymously and with hilarious satiric force that is underappreciated by the humorless (118). Abuses, superstitions, pilgrimages, image worship and the like were thematic and, perhaps, were not as rascally and doctrinally Lutheran as some might suppose. ??. Frith, however, “goes there” on the Eucharist. He's puffed out in 1532. Bilney recants, but reoffends and gets snuffed out. Anglo-Roman Episcopal justice. Latimer had a license to preach through England, but is hauled before in Convocation for some vehemence (120). His recantations before Warham are for “manner” of speech rather than doctrine (121). It may be remembered that Henry, More, Rochester, Warham and others were on the hot hunt for anything sounding and smelling Lutheran. Latimer is let off, but he “brings back his old game back.” A very generic description here by Canon Dixon that leaves a few 1000 questions unadressed. Dixon gives a sketch of the history of “Benefit of Clergy” shielding them from civil courts (123). That old But, this leads to a feud between civil Justices and the Bishops, ever-jealous to guard their prerogatives (125). Acts for passed limited the “benefit of the clergy” (126) One Act prohibited Bishops from citing anyone outside their diocese (128) This was squeezing the jurisdiction of the Metropolitans (129) and Warham was feeling it and trying to stave off future encroachments. The heresy laws were left in place, but the Commons felt that the Churchmen were “cruel” and “abusive.”