#lollards

With just one word, we can evoke a world of assumptions, stereotypes, and even accusations, clearly marking the difference between who’s in and who’s out. And when it comes to legal terminology, the stakes are even higher. This week, Danièle speaks with Erin Wagner about what late medieval people meant when they used the word heresy, how the usage evolved, and how medieval people applied ideas of heresy beyond the borders of Christianity.

Back in February I went on a blog tour. Yay!

My guest post for On the Tudor Trail

My guest post about the Lollards

Along time ago in a church not so far away from me a movement was born. This movement would set in train a series of events that would lead ultimately to the reformation and the birth of the protestant church, the movement was called the Lollard's.

The Lollard's believed in one of the first forms of Sola Scriptura (scripture alone) this is the belief that all doctrine of the church must come from the bible, this set the the movement at odds with the catholic church.

the movement followed the teachings of John Wycliffe an Oxford academic and theologian how translated parts of the bible into English and pointed out various problems with the structure and doctrines of the catholic church. 

the main problems where that of authority of the pope being not based on scripture and the many other practices like confession, pilgrimages, papal pardons and the idolatry of Mary. There was a long list of complaints but 12 of them became part of a petition to parliament called “the twelve conclusions of the Lollard's”  that was nailed to the door.

The Twelve conclusions are available on Wikipedia and definitely worth a read if you get a chance, but the main one i want to highlight is the Universal priesthood which is a very biblical doctrine that basically puts a congregation above the authority of the church, Martin Luther also suggests this with his “Priesthood of believers” but that’s a few hundred years later.

1 Peter 2:9 says, "You are a royal priesthood and a priestly kingdom," and Revelation 5:10, "Through your blood you have made us into priests and kings."

these verses are pretty damning of the church structure of the time, and should also serve as warning to any organized denomination that their structures must be biblical or they are wrong in the eyes of God.

So the main result of the petition was getting the movement branded as heretical and various people where arrested and i know at least one was burned at the stake, John Badby a layman and a craftsman who was burned at the stake for refusing to reject Lollardy and for denial of transubstantiation .

John Wycliffe died of natural causes but was posthumously declared a heretic and exhumed and burned and his ashes cast into a river as a symbol to others.

This movement died out in England but its message did not, a Czech theologian called Jan Hus started a movement called the Hussite’s and was burned at the stake after being declared a “Wycliffe and a heretic” this movement was very similar to the Lollard’s in all but name.

This started the Hussite wars and a crusade and everything starts to spiral towards the reformation from that point.

So that’s the Story of the Lollard’s and the reformation before the reformation.

i have also written a post on the five Sola’s of the Reformation if you would like more info on the origins of the protestant movement and the core beliefs of the protestant churches.

Well, I think the Sparrows are more analogous to the various anti-corruption heresies of Europe than the Ikko-Ikki. I think the Ikko are too loosely associated with Rennyo’s teachings to be considered a close enough analogue to the more tightly-led Sparrows, and I’d instead look to heresies like the Lollard movement.

Thanks for the question, Anon.

/ˈlɒl.ə.di/ Detailed Explanation Lollardy refers to a religious reform movement that emerged in England during the late 14th century, primarily associated with the followers of John Wycliffe, a theologian and early critic of the Catholic Church. The movement called for a return to the simplicity of early Christianity, rejecting the wealth and perceived corruption of the medieval Church. Lollards,…

The Stirring of Reforms in England

In the years well before the 16th century Protestation Reformation in Germany, things were already afoot in England and Czech lands of the Holy Roman Empire. Among those helping to “stir the pot” was John Wycliffe (1320-1384), most often noted for his early translation of the Latin Vulgate scripture into English. Working with several others, they produced the “Wycliffe Bible” which, although…