III. Annales, pars prior, A.D. 793. 66 CHAP. "noured with kisses, and the offering of lights and incense, though not with that true worship which pertains "to the divine nature alone." But how contrary this was to the faith and practice of the then Church of England, may be observed from the account given us of the sending this synodical decree into England, by our annalist Roger de Hoveden: Charles King of the Franks, says he, sent A. D. 791. over into Britain a synodical book, directed to him from Matt.West. Constantinople; in which book were found many thing: inconsistent with and contrary to the true faith; but especially it was decreed by the unanimous consent of almost all the eastern Doctors, however of not less than 300 or more Bishops, that images ought to be adored, quod omnino Ecclesia Dei execratur, which the Church of God utAlcuinus. terly abominates. Matt. of Westminster adds, that Albinus wrote a wonderful letter against this decree of the Councils, and together with the synodical book which had been sent hither, carried to the French King in the names of the Bishops and Princes of the realm. This shews what a sense they had of this decree, and how resolved they were not to receive it. 19. When carved or graven images were first introduced Inett's Orig. into the churches of England, and honoured with a religious Anglicana, vol. i. p. worship, I am not certain. But by what has been observed 210, &c. of the French, and particularly of the Normans, that they were very fond of the worship of images, and therefore separated from their Bishops, because they were so far from indulging them in their humour of setting up more images in their churches, that they pulled down those which were already there; it seems, that though the English had in their churches the pictures of saints, and representations of the sacred history, they had no graven or molten images, nor paid any sort of adoration to them, till they were here Abp. Cran- introduced by the Normans after the Conquest: then incles of Visi- deed there were images set up in churches, and the people were taught to light candles before them, to creep to them, and kneel before them, to kiss and deck them with gay garments, and to pray and offer to them. They had images in the body of the church, and the image of the saint to mer's Arti tation, &c. III. Provinc. p. whom the church was dedicated, in the high chancel over CHAP. the high altar, besides the image of Christ on the cross called the roode, or the rood Mary and John, because, I Lynwood's suppose, of the carved images of the blessed Virgin and 252, 253. that disciple standing at the bottom of the cross, as they are commonly pictured. These images were solemnly blessed by a prayer to God, in which it was rehearsed, that, "he did not condemn the carving or painting the Rituale Ro"images of his saints; and he was prayed to bless and manum. "sanctify that particular image, and to grant, that whoso"ever shall humbly kneel before it, and desire to worship "and honour the saint represented by it, may by that "saint's merits and attainments obtain from him grace for "the present, and eternal glory for the future." After which the images were sprinkled with holy water. To History,&c. these images, their altars, and the lights burning before them', legacies used to be left; these were sometimes in 81, 35, 41, money, viz. two pence, four pence, six pence, eight pence, 115. &c. sometimes wax, barley, &c. Legacies were likewise left to purchase palls for the several altars, and towels, &c. for the roode. To persuade the common people, that the saints were personally present with these their images, or however with some of them, the images were so contrived as to move their eyes, &c. and to seem to change their countenances, to weep, smile, &c. witness the crucifix commonly called the roode of grace, at Boxley in Kent, "which," according to Mr. Lambard's description of it, of the Isle of Tenet, p. 45,62,100, tion of was able to bow down and lift up itself, to shake and Perambula"stir the hands and feet, to nod the head, to roll the eyes, Kent, &c. "to wag the chops, to bend the brows, and finally to re- p. 228. k Item, paid a joiner in Canterbury for making the rood Mary and John, and painting the same s. d. xi 0 For setting up the rood Mary and John, and for paper and thread to trusse the same i 6 Church Book of Crundal in Kent. 1 Lego ymagini crucifixi ibidem 6d. Item, Altari beate Marie 6d. Item, ymagini Katherine ibidem 3d. Ult. Test. Alice Pococke de St. Nicolao in Taneto. 1396. CHAP. III. Theologi 66 present to the eye both the proper motion of each mem"ber of the body, and also a lively, express, and signifi"cant shew of a well contented, or displeased mind; biting "the lip, and gathering a frowning, froward, and disdainful "face, when it would pretend offence; and shewing a "most mild, amiable, and smiling cheer and countenance, "when it would seem to be well pleased." All which was performed by wires, &c. as was publicly shewn at St. Paul's, where this image was taken to pieces, before a multitude of people there assembled. Much the same account is Rosetum given us by Peter de Medrano, a Spanish Jesuit, of the cum Scho- images of our Lady del Aviso, and of Pity, in the colleges lasticum, of Lima, and Callaya in Peru, which, he says, non semel in &c. Hispal. miraculosum sudorem, lacrymasque resolutæ sunt. But above all, he tells us, is the miraculous image of our Lady del Rosario, the patroness of the royal city of Lima, and of the whole circuit of Peru, which is in the famous temple of the Dominicans, which, as he describes it, sæpe refulsit auricomis solaribus radiis; atque in varios aspectus, veneratione, amore, et timore dignos, divinum vultum transmutavit: no doubt of it, by the same miracle that the roode of grace changed its countenance, and either looked cross or pleasant, as its keepers were pleased or displeased with the offerings of its superstitious worshippers. 1702. p. 311. 20. They had likewise images of the holy Trinity, two of which I have represented in the adjoining plate, taken from the Salisbury Primer. All which the followers of Wiclif condemned as savouring of idolatry m. Thus they m In how great peril of idolatry the members of the Romish communion are, or they who join in the religious service of that corrupt Church, appears very plain from the following rubric, in the canon of the mass in the Manual after the use of Sarum, printed at Antwerp, 1542.-Hic erigat sacerdos manus et conjungat, et postea tergat digitos et elevet hostiam parumper; ita quod videatur a populo, et sic debet tenere quosque dixerit verba consecrationis; quia si ante consecrationem elevetur et populo ostendatur, sicut fatui sacerdotes, faciunt populum idololatrare adorando panem purum tanquam corpus Christi.But now the words of consecration are ordered to be pronounced secretly, so that it is impossible for the people to know whether the bread be consecrated or not. expressed themselves in a little book which they presented CHAP. to the Parliament 18 Richard II. A. D. 1394. 66 66 "The III. JohnWiclif, p. 340. prayers and offerings made to blind crosses or roodys, Life of Dr. "and deaf images of wood and stone, are near akin to "ydolatry, and far from charity. And although those pro"hibited and imaginary things are a book of error to the lay people, the usual image of the Trinity is most abo"minable." From hence they inferred, that " the service "of the cross performed twice a year in the Church of "England is full of ydolatrie." They added, that, "if "those nails with which Christ was fastened to the cross, "and the spear which pierced his side, ought to be so highly honoured as they were, then should the lips of "Judas, which kissed Christ, if one could have them, be very good reliques." What they called the usual imagen of the Trinity, is the first of these two figures, where the three divine Persons are represented by a man's face seen in a prism, where it appears treble. Now it was pretended, that," the catholike Churche hath alwayes, even from the Bp. Eonner's profit"begynnyng, put greate difference betweene an idol and able and nean image, utterly abhorryng and detesting the one, and cessary Doc"devoutly and godly receyuinge and allowing the other. 1555 "Since, the origynalls, first formes and patternes of idoles, "to represent by are very untrue and clerely false; where"as the originals, first formes, or paternes of the ymages ❝ to represent the very thing signified by them, are faith"ful and true." But if this distinction be allowed, this representation of the holy Trinity must be an idol, since n That of one head with three faces, or one body with three heads, Molanus saith, is much more common than the other, and is wont to be set before the office of the holy Trinity. It seems as if the famous Dr. Michael Servetus had this image in his thoughts, when he styled the Trinity a three-headed Cerberus. • It were better for them, the Papists, to erect altars to an unknown God, than to make those absurd, scandalous, and horrible representations of the mysteries of the Trinity; from whence some of the Anti-trinitarians have taken occasion to expose that sacred mystery to scorn and contempt, and have pubJished a book on purpose to set forth the images of the Trinity, which are publicly seen and allowed in the Roman Church.-Molanus and Thyræus men trine, &c. CHAP. no one dares to say, that this is a faithful and true representation of the divine originals. But to proceed: III. Life of Dr. Wiclif, &c. p. 175. 21. The service of the cross, here mentioned as performed twice a year, is that done on the two festivals of the invention and exaltation of the holy cross, viz. on May 3, and September 14; on which, according to the present Roman Breviary, the cross is invocated to save the present congregation that day assembled in his praises. 22. Dr. Wiclif himself thought, that "though images "which truly represented the poverty and passion of Je"sus Christ, and other saints, were lawful, and the books "of ignorant men; and might be worshipped in a manner, as for signs of saints, or as books of ignorant men, or as "a wife keepeth cheerly her wedding ring for love of her "husband; yet false images that represented worldly pride "and glory, as if Christ and other saints had lived thus, "and deserved bliss by pomp and glory of the world, were false books, and to be amended or burnt as books open heresy, against the Christian faith; that to wor"ship them as Christ or his saints was plain idolatry; that "neither Christ nor his Apostles commanded nor coun“selled such images to be made; and, that if simple or “ignorant people did idolatry by them, in placing their 66 of hope or trust in them, or giving the honour to them "that is due to God alone, as swearing by them, or offer"ing to them, they should be broken or burnt." Repressour, 23. Bishop Pecock in justifying this governance, and p. ii. c. 2. shewing, that the lay people over-myche and untreuly blamed the Clergy, on account of the having and using of images, no way pretended to plead for the costly adorning of them, and the offerings made to them, or for people's giving the honour to them, that is due to God only. So far from it, that he owns "rebuke is given in Scripture to "men which taken and holden graven images to be their tion four sorts of images of the Trinity that have been used in the Roman |