The Pope`s laws rescinded 1534. Certain Acts provided concerning the Pope’s Laws.’ First, as concerning the laws, decrees, ordinances and constitutions made and stablished by the pretended authority of the bishops of Rome, to the advancement of their worldly glory, that whoso did or spake any thing either against their usurped power, or against the […]
Alexander Barclay and “The Ship of Fools” ca 1519. Countering the rapaciousness of some clerics and criticising both them and the dissolute ways of the general populace, were the satirists. Chief among them must be ranked Alexander Barclay a monk, possibly of Scots origin, who had seen for himself how the church had fallen. In […]
Schedule of “dissolved” Monasteries. Extracted “Monks and Monasteries” Samuel Fox. James Burns, London,1845 [ For large image, click on thumbnail, then on expand icon bottom right.] Pages 8-13.
Thomas Benet, Martyr. Cursed by Bell, Book, and Candle. Thomas Benet came from Cambridge where he was also educated and graduated Master of Arts from that university. It is thought possible that he may have been a priest at some stage as in later life he disclosed that he had married and it had been […]
The Protestant Reformation in England and Scotland compared. England became a melting pot for new ideas and the Protestant faith driven along by the likes of John Wyckcliffe (1329-1384) who was in the vanguard of the assault on the Church of Rome. He came to notice as a teacher of philosophy at Oxford and wielded […]
After the break with Rome. Henry VIII (r1509 -1547) established himself as Supreme head of the Church of England but he might as well said it was the Catholic Church in England. His break with the papacy was just that as Henry subsumed to himself the role of the Pope and the church continued for […]
Peaceful co existence of the Presbyterians shattered. Peaceful co existence was shattered by the resurgence of the Bishops seeking control. 1633 was a watershed in Ireland with the appointment of William Laud as Archbishop of Canterbury (picture right) and Thomas Wentworth, later the Earl of Strafford, as Lord Deputy in Ireland. Both these individuals became […]
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED IRISHMEN IN 1791. 1st. This society is constituted for the purpose of forwarding a brotherhood of affection, a communion of rights, and a union of power among Irishmen of every religious persuasion, and thereby to, obtain a complete reform in the legislature, founded on the principles of civil, political, and […]
The Decay and Dissolution of the Monastic System. By the time the Mendicant Friars appeared on the scene in 1221-1224 AD, the established monks were already beginning a downward turn in their level of education. In part this reflected a growing diminution of standards as monasteries and convents became refuges ( and comfortable ones at […]
THE VOLUNTEERS The Treaty of Limerick in 1691 saw thousands of Jacobite supporters leave the country and the soldiers ( the ” Wild Geese “) take up service with France and Spain. This was of itself ominous but it left the vast majority (4/5ths) of the population, Roman Catholic, excluded from the political process. It […]
Sir John Oldcastle, Lord Cobham. Sir John Oldcastle, Lord Cobham, was renowned for his charity and he provided copies of Wyckcliffe`s writings to the people from his home, Cowling Castle, near Rochester, Kent. He was also concerned with providing copies of all of Wickcliffe`s works for John Huss, in Prague, as well as sending copies […]
THE ” TEST ” OF THE UNITED IRISHMEN. In the awful presence of God. I A. B., do voluntarily declare, that I will persevere in endeavouring to form a brotherhood of affection among Irishmen of every religious persuasion, and that I will also persevere in my endeavours to obtain, an equal, full, and adequate representation […]
United Irishmen and other Irish patriots mentioned in “Speeches from the Dock” by T. D., A.M., and D. B. Sullivan. Theobald Wolfe Tone. Founder member of the Society of United Irishmen. b 20.6.1764 Stafford St, Dublin. Liaised with the French and twice raised a force for the invasion of Ireland – at Bantry Bay, December […]
The charges brought against Alexander Leighton. On June 4th, 1630, an information was exhibited against Dr. Leighton, in the Star Chamber, by Attorney General Heath, wherein he was charged with having published and dispersed a scandalous book against the king, peers, and prelates, entitled, Sion’s Plea against Prelacy; in which, amongst other things, he sets […]