The Lollards

As we have seen there is much historical debate about how much opposition there was to the Catholic
Church before the Reformation in England. We do know that there was at least one group that criticised
and rejected the doctrines of the Catholic Church; that group were the Lollards. The had e!isted for
over "#$ ears before the Reformation in England began. %ecause of persecution b the Catholic Church
the were& through necessit& a secretive group and it has been ver hard for historians to accuratel
gauge their numbers and influence.
'ollard began with the teachings of an (!ford academic John Wycliffe in the ")
th
centur& *e was deepl
unhapp with man aspects of Catholic doctrine and Church practice and he wrote pamphlets and academic
te!ts attacking the Catholic Church. +n repl the Church authorities were ,uick to denounce Wcliffe and
'ollard as a heres and persecution began. What was it that the 'ollards said that the Church found so
offensive and dangerous-
The Bible
'ollards believed that the %ible should be translated from 'atin into English. .espite this being illegal
'ollards painstakingl translated and copied out b hand %ibles written in English. Even possession of an
English language %ible was a crime so writing one was even more dangerous These vernacular bibles became
pri/ed possessions of 'ollard communities. 'ollards argued that the %ible was the word of 0od and as such
it took precedence over an church laws or papal proclamations. +f there was a clash between 1cripture
and Church law then the %ible was the ultimate authorit and alwas won. Therefore it was important that
Christians should be able to read the %ible for themselves in their mother tongue. %ibles in 'atin or
Ancient 0reek would be meaningless to all but the highl educated. 'ollards believed that through studing
the %ible the word of 0od would be revealed to them and the would be able to live a more Christian
lifestle and develop a personal relationship with 0od.
The Catholic Church had an e,ual respect for the %ible. The too recogni/ed it as the word of 0od and as
such it was too powerful and hol to be left to the interpretation of the ill educated and ignorant. The
believed that translation could lead to mistranslation and this would lead readers into error and heres. +n
addition& the did not believe 'ollards and other 2heretics3 were working with the best of motives. The
felt that 1atanic forces were behind 'ollard and other 4rotestant groups and that the .evil was using
'ollards to tr and distort and pervert the word of 0od. This was wh the insisted that the %ible remain
in 'atin and therefore restrict its reading to the educated and wealth. The also believed that the
Church and its *ead& the 4ope& was the final authorit on religious matters.
As the 'ollards read their bibles it readil became apparent to them that man of the Church3s practices
and doctrines seemed to have no basis in scripture and this gave them the motivation to protest.
Purgatory
4urgator is a halfwa house to heaven. The Catholic Church taught that when a Christian died their soul
would first have to undergo a period of trial in purgator before he or she went onto eternal happiness in
heaven. 4urgator was a fearful place full of flame and pain& torture b merciless demons until the person
in purgator had paid for their sins. (nl then would ou be released from purgator. *ow long ou would
spend in purgator depended on how man sins ou had to pa for. The Catholic Church taught that there
were a number of was that ones time in purgator could be reduced. 5or e!ample& b going on pilgrimage&
touching hol relics& buing indulgences& having masses said for our soul after ou died etc. The 'ollards
could find no mention of 4urgator anwhere in the %ible and as a result declared that it did not e!ist and
was just a man made superstition e!ploited b the Church to e!tort mone from the gullible and ignorant.
Conse,uentl saing praers for souls in purgator was also false.
That special praers for the souls of the dead offered in our Church& preferring one before another in
name are a false foundation in alms& and for that reason all houses of alms in alms in England have been
wrongl founded.
Indulgences
(ne practice that particularl angered the 'ollards was
the Church3s selling of indulgences. An indulgence was a
document sanctioned b the 4ope that forgave a person
of their sins for a fee. The woodcut left shows the
4ope selling indulgences. +ndulgences also promised to
reduce the time a person would spend in purgator.
+ndulgences could be bought for oneself or for
relatives& even those who were alread dead. 6ou could
spend mone and reduce the time our dearl departed
would spend in purgator. +ndulgences could also be
bought for sins that would be committed in the future&
in effect forgiveness on credit. 'ollards could find no justification for indulgences in the %ible and argued
that forgiveness was free for the trul penitent. The believed that indulgences led to corruption.
Wcliffe had attacked the Catholic Church for dealing in indulgences. +n a pamphlet called 2(n +ndulgences3
he wrote
+n such infinite blasphemies is the infatuated church involved& especiall b the means of the tail of this
dragon 7indulgences8 that is& the friars& who labour in the cause of this illusion& and of other 'uciferian
seductions of the church. %ut arise& ( soldiers of Christ9 %e wise to fling awa these things& along with
other fictions of the 4rince of darkness.
Other clerical abuses
'ollards were also vocal in attacking other corruptions and abuses of the Church. The criticised its
enormous wealth& the la! moralit of some of its priests and bishops. The drinking& gambling and se!ual
promiscuit of monks and nuns was a particular target. +ndeed the argued that monasteries and
monasticism was pointless as the did not accept that the praers that monks said for souls in purgator
were necessar as the did not believe there was a purgator. The saw monks and friars as parasites
sponging off the ordinar lait. The also said that there was no basis in scripture for clerical celibac and
wanted priests to be allowed to marr. The also argued that popes and cardinals were more concerned
with political power and wealth rather than carring out their spiritual duties.
Transubstantiation
(ne of the biggest heresies that the 'ollards e!pounded as far as the Catholic Church was concerned was
their view on transubstantiation. +n short the completel rejected it. 5rom their interpretation of the
:ew Testament the argued that no miracle took place and that the bread and wine were merel smbols
of the bod and blood of Christ. As the 'ollards wrote;<
That the pretended miracle of the sacrament of bread drives all men but a few to idolatr& because the
think that the bod of Christ which is never awa from heaven could b the power of the priest3s word be
enclosed essentiall in a little bread which the show the people.
Idolatry. Statues, paintings and images
As ou can see from the ,uote above one of the reasons that the 'ollards did not like the theor of
transubstantiation was that it led to idolatr because ignorant people would think that 0od was in the
bread and the would worship the bread. +dolatr is the sin of worshiping idols or statues of wood or
stone. +dolatr is specificall prohibited in the Ten Commandments. Therefore 'ollards hated an religious
statues& paintings and icons found in churches because the believed that
people would worship the image rather than 0od. Catholic churches were
stuffed with statues of 1aints& the =irgin >ar and full of religious paintings
and icons. The church believed these images glorified 0od and helped people
to focus in their praer. Also in an age when illiterac was high pictures were
an effective wa of getting across the Christian message. These arguments
were rejected b the 'ollards who wished their places of worship to be plain
and simple and devoid of all statues and images.
Pilgrimages and relics
'ollards could see no basis in scripture for pilgrimage. The did not believe that going on a pilgrimage could
reduce ones time in purgator as the did not believe in purgator. :or did the think that certain places
were more hol than others. The did not accept that Rome or ?erusalem were an closer to 0od than
anwhere else. 5or them& pilgrimages were at best pointless. To make matters worse though the
destination for man pilgrimages were shrines and hol sites at the centre of which were relics. Relics
were the bones of saints or other religious odds and ends that were said to have magical or hol
properties. 5or e!ample vials of the =irgin >ar3s breast milk& the crown of thorns worn b Christ on the
Cross. 1ome were said to cure sickness etc. 'ollards dismissed all this as superstitious nonsense and a
source of corruption and e!ploitation of the ignorant and gullible b an unscrupulous Church.
That pilgrimages& praers and offerings made to blind crosses or roods& and to deaf images of wood or
stone are prett well akin to idolatr and far from charit.
The irgin !ary and the Saints
The Catholic Church taught that the =irgin >ar and the 1aints& of which there were thousands& were in
heaven and able to intercede with 0od and Christ on people3s behalf. Therefore people were encouraged to
pra to the saints and venerate them in the hope of favours and divine help. The 'ollards again saw no
justification for this in the %ible and therefore rejected praers and supplications to the =irgin >ar and
1aints.
"uricular confession
The Catholic Church taught a Christian needed to confess his sins to a priest in the confessional bo!. The
priest would listen to the sinner and offer 0od3s absolution 7forgiveness8 and usuall demand some form of
penance that the confessed had to perform. This penance would be decided upon b the priest. This meant
that the priest& and through him the Church& was the link between 0od and the lait. 'ollards believed that
a Christian could confess their sins directl to 0od in praer and that there was no need to use a priest as
an intermediar. The ,uote below shows the 'ollard view on this topic.
The auricular confession which is said to be so necessar to the salvation of man& with its pretended power
of absolution& e!alts the arrogance of priests and gives them opportunit of other secret collo,uies which
we will not speak of; for lords and ladies attest that& for fear of their confessors& the dare not speak the
truth.
#ommunion in both $inds
The Catholic Church onl allowed the lait to partake of the bread during >ass. (nl the priests were
allowed to drink the wine. 'ollards could see no reason in the %ible to justif this and argued that there
should be communion in both kinds. Everone should get to take the bread and the wine.
The Pope
The 'ollards rejected the 4ope3s claim to be the *ead of the Church. The saw no basis in scripture for
the 4ope to claim an power or jurisdiction outside of the cit of Rome. The often referred to him
insultingl as the 2%ishop of Rome3. The also believed that the pope was ,uite capable of making errors and
indeed man 'ollards were convinced that the pope was in fact the anti Christ and an agent of 1atan. The
Catholic Church which he headed was seen as evil and an instrument of the .evil. The 2Whore of %ablon3
was another one of their names for it. The also rejected the 4ope3s claims to be able to decide who could
or could not get into heaven. The power of e%communication that the pope e!clusivel claimed was
rejected. 1imilarl& the did not accept that the pope had the power to create saints.
The #atholic response
:ot surprisingl the Catholic authorities saw the 'ollards as dangerous and subversive. The believed that
'ollard was evil and needed to be e!terminated.
4ope 0regor @+ had condemned Wcliffe in ver strong terms;<
A..it has come to our ears that ?ohn Wcliffe& rector of the church of 'utterworth& in the diocese of
'incoln& professor of the sacred scriptures 7would that he were not also a >aster of Errors8& has fallen
into such a detestable madness that he does not hesitate to publicl preach& or rather vomit forth from
the recesses of his breast certain propositions and conclusions that area erroneous and false. *e has cast
himself also into the depravit of preaching heretical dogmas which strive to subvert and weaken the
state of the whole Church. *e has polluted certain of the faithful of Christ b besprinkling them with
these doctrines and led them awa from the right paths of the aforesaid faith to the brink of damnation.
The Catholic Church had seen no reason to change its mind about 'ollard in the succeeding "#$ ears and
on the eve of the Reformation was still hunting 'ollards down and burning their %ibles and their bodies on
the pres.
A 'ollard& John Oldcastle being burned for heres
%ut in 0erman in "#"B >artin 'uther and his 4rotestant heresies were to cause even greater trauma for
the Catholic Church. We will stud events on the continent in more depth ne!t.