Henry Knighton, writing in the time of Richard II., declares,
with the exaggeration of impatience, that every second man
you met was a Lollard, or "babbler," for such was the
nickname given to these free-thinkers, of whom the most




,' /



1/



JdUX W\C[.IF



eminent was John Wyclif, professor at Oxford, and rector of
Lutterworth, greatest scholar of the age. The career of this
man is a striking commentary upon the difference
between England and continental Europe in the and the
Middle Ages. Wyclif denied transubstantiation,
disapproved of auricular confession, opposed the payment of
Peter's pence, taught that kings should not be subject to
prelates, translated the Bible into English and circulated it
among the people, and even denounced the reigning pope



36 THE BEGINNINGS OF NEW ENGLAND

as Antichrist ; he could do all this and live, because there
was as yet no act of parliament for the burning of heretics,
and in England things must be done according to the laws
which the people had made.^ Pope Gregory XI. issued five
bulls against him, addressed to the king, the archbishop of
Canterbury, and the university of Oxford ; but their dicta-
torial tone offended the national feeling, and no heed was
paid to them. Seventeen years after Wyclif's death, the
statute for burning heretics was passed, and the persecution
of Lollards began. It was feeble and ineffectual, however.
