England 1382 to 1428: persecution of the Lollards, burnings of heretics, ban on the English Bible, Wyclif's bones dug up and burned

What happened to the people

Who was affected? Victims and numbers

1. The first to be burned, in March 1401, was the London priest William Sawtrey, because he refused to declare his belief in transubstantiation or to recognise the authority of the Church. In 1410 the artisan John Badby followed. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia eleven heretics were burned from 1401 to 1485; others were executed as traitors. According to the Britannica the victims usually belonged to the lower classes. Sir John Oldcastle was condemned as a heretic and, according to the Britannica, burned as an obstinate heretic in December 1417.
   Evidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 9 (1910), Artikel Lollards, Abschnitt Outline of the history of the Lollards

   „Its passing was immediately followed by the burning of the first victim, William Sawtrey, a London priest . He had previously abjured but had relapsed, and he now refused to declare his belief in transubstantiation or to recognize the authority of the Church .“

   Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Artikel Lollards

   „The victims usually belonged to the lower classes. In 1410 John Badby, an artisan, was sent to the stake.“

   Evidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 9 (1910), Artikel Lollards, Abschnitt Outline of the history of the Lollards

   „Eleven heretics were recorded to have been burnt from 1401 to the accession of Henry VII in 1485. Others, it is true , were executed as traitors for being implicated in overt acts of rebellion.“

   Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Artikel Lollards

   „In the end Oldcastle was burnt for an obstinate heretic (Dec. 1417).“

How were they charged and sentenced?

1. In 1382 a council in London under Archbishop Courtenay condemned 24 of Wyclif's conclusions, ten as heresies and fourteen as errors. Little was done against Wyclif himself, but a determined effort was made to purge the University of Oxford; his leading followers had to appear before the archbishop and abjure.
   Evidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 9 (1910), Artikel Lollards, Abschnitt The beginnings of Lollardy

   „In 1382 a council in London presided over by Archbishop Courtenay condemned twenty-four of Wyclif's "Conclusions": ten of them as heresies , fourteen as "errors."“

   Evidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 9 (1910), Artikel Lollards, Abschnitt The beginnings of Lollardy

   „Though little was done against Wyclif himself, a determined effort was made to purge the university .“

2. In 1401 the State came to the support of the Church with the statute De haeretico comburendo (on the burning of heretics). It empowered the bishops to arrest, imprison and examine suspects and to hand over to the secular authorities those who had relapsed or refused to abjure; the condemned were to be burned "in an high place" before the people. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia the act was probably due to Archbishop Arundel; according to the Britannica it was proposed by the court party and the clergy.
   Evidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 9 (1910), Artikel Lollards, Abschnitt Outline of the history of the Lollards

   „It empowered the bishops to arrest, imprison, and examine offenders and to hand over to the secular authorities such as had relapsed or refused to abjure . The condemned were to be burnt "in an high place" before the people. This Act was probably due to the authoritative Archbishop Arundel“

   Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Artikel Lollards

   „The court party and the clergy proposed statutes for the suppression of heresy, and twice at least secured the concurrence of the Commons. One of these was the well-known statute De heretico comburendo passed in 1401.“

3. A synod at Oxford under Archbishop Arundel (1407 according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, 1408 according to the Britannica) passed constitutions on preaching and on the translation and use of the Scriptures. No one was to preach without a bishop's licence, preachers to the laity were not to rebuke the sins of the clergy, and Lollard books and the translation of the Bible were to be searched for and destroyed. Possession of portions of the English Bible by unauthorised persons was one of the accepted evidences of Lollardy.
   Evidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 9 (1910), Artikel Lollards, Abschnitt Outline of the history of the Lollards

   „In 1407 a synod at Oxford under Arundel's presidency passed a number of constitutions to regulate preaching, the translation and use of the Scriptures“

   Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Artikel Lollards

   „that no one was to be allowed to preach without a bishop’s licence, that preachers preaching to the laity were not to rebuke the sins of the clergy, and that Lollard books and the translation of the Bible were to be searched for and destroyed“

   Evidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 9 (1910), Artikel Lollards, Abschnitt Lollard doctrines

   „the possession of portions of the English Bible, generally with Wycliffite prefaces, by unauthorized persons was one of the accepted evidences of Lollardy“

What happened to those affected?

1. The persecution continued: in 1440 the priest William Wych was executed, in 1511 two heretics were burned on one day, and ten years later there were many prosecutions and some executions in the home counties.
   Evidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 9 (1910), Artikel Lollards, Abschnitt Outline of the history of the Lollards

   „William Wych, a priest , was indeed executed, in 1440“

   Evidence: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Bd. 9 (1910), Artikel Lollards, Abschnitt Outline of the history of the Lollards

   „two heretics were burnt on one day, in 1511, and ten years later there were many prosecutions in the home counties and some executions“