Lollardy

Lollardy, also known as Lollardism or the Lollard movement, was a pre-Protestant Christian religious movement that existed from the mid-14th century to the English Reformation. It was initially led by John Wycliffe, a Roman Catholic theologian who was dismissed from the University of Oxford in 1381 for criticism of the Roman Catholic Church. The Lollards' demands were primarily for reform of Western Christianity. They formulated their beliefs in the Twelve Conclusions of the Lollards.I say sothe thorowe trewe redeHis flesh and blode, through his mastryIs there/ in the forme of bredeHowe it is there/ it nedeth not stryveWhether it be subgette or accydentBut as Christ was/ when he was on-lyveSo is he there verament.I say the truth through true understanding: His flesh and blood, through his subtle works, is there in the form of bread. In what matter it is present need not be debated, whether as subject or accident, but as Christ was when he was alive, so He is truly there. Lollardy, also known as Lollardism or the Lollard movement, was a pre-Protestant Christian religious movement that existed from the mid-14th century to the English Reformation. It was initially led by John Wycliffe, a Roman Catholic theologian who was dismissed from the University of Oxford in 1381 for criticism of the Roman Catholic Church. The Lollards' demands were primarily for reform of Western Christianity. They formulated their beliefs in the Twelve Conclusions of the Lollards. Lollard, Lollardi or Loller was the popular derogatory nickname given to those without an academic background, educated (if at all) only in English, who were reputed to follow the teachings of John Wycliffe in particular, and were certainly considerably energized by the translation of the Bible into the English language. By the mid-15th century, 'lollard' had come to mean a heretic in general.The alternative, 'Wycliffite', is generally accepted to be a more neutral term covering those of similar opinions, but having an academic background. The term is said to have been coined by the Anglo-Irish cleric Henry Crumpe, but its origin is uncertain. The earliest official use of the name in England occurs in 1387 in a mandate of the Bishop of Worcester against five 'poor preachers,' nomine seu ritu Lollardorum confoederatos. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, it most likely derives from Middle Dutch lollaerd ('mumbler, mutterer'), from a verb lollen ('to mutter, mumble'). The word is much older than its English use; there were Lollards in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 14th century, who were akin to the Fraticelli, Beghards and other sectaries of the recusant Franciscan type. Originally the Dutch word was a colloquial name for a group of the harmless buriers of the dead during the Black Death, in the 14th century, known as Alexians, Alexian Brothers or Cellites. These were known colloquially as lollebroeders (Middle Dutch for 'mumbling brothers'), or Lollhorden, from Old High German: lollon ('to sing softly'), from their chants for the dead. Middle English loller (akin to the verb loll, lull, the English cognate of Dutch lollen 'to mutter, mumble') is recorded as an alternative spelling of Lollard, while its generic meaning 'a lazy vagabond, an idler, a fraudulent beggar' is not recorded before 1582. Two other possibilities for the derivation of Lollard are mentioned by the Oxford English Dictionary, Lollardy was a religion of vernacular scripture. Lollards opposed many practices of the Catholic church. Anne Hudson has written that a form of sola scriptura underpinned Wycliffite beliefs, but distinguished it from the more radical ideology that anything not permitted by scripture is forbidden. Instead, Hudson notes that Wycliffite sola scriptura held the Bible to be 'the only valid source of doctrine and the only pertinent measure of legitimacy.' With regard to the Eucharist, Lollards such as John Wycliffe, William Thorpe, and John Oldcastle, taught a view of the real presence of Christ in Holy Communion known as 'consubstantiation' and did not accept the doctrine of transubstantiation, as taught by the Roman Catholic Church. The Plowman's Tale, a 16th-century Lollard poem, argues that theological debate about orthodox doctrine is less important than the Real Presence: Wycliffite teachings on the Eucharist were declared heresy at the Blackfriars Council of 1382. William Sawtry, a priest, was reportedly burned in 1401 for his belief that 'bread remains in the same nature as before' after consecration by a priest. In the early 15th century a priest named Richard Wyche was accused of false doctrine. When asked about consecration during his questioning, he repeated only his belief in the Real Presence. When asked if the host was still bread even after consecration, he answered only: 'I believe that the host is the real body of Christ in the form of bread'. Throughout his questioning he insisted that he was 'not bound to believe otherwise than Holy Scripture says'. Following the questioning, Wyche eventually recanted, after he was excommunicated and imprisoned. A suspect in 1517 summed up the Lollards' position: 'Summe folys cummyn to churche thynckyng to see the good Lorde - what shulde they see there but bredde and wyne?' Lollard teachings on the Eucharist are attested to in numerous primary source documents; it is the fourth of the Twelve Conclusions and the first of the Sixteen Points on which the Bishops accuse Lollards. It is discussed in The Testimony of William Thorpe, the Apology for Lollard Doctrines, Jack Upland, and Opus Arduum.