Abstract
[1] And I saw when the lamb opened one of the seals [2] and I heard one of the four beasts say, as it were the noise of thunder, [3] ‘Come and see’. [4] And I saw, and behold, there was a white horse, [5] and he that sat on him had a bow, [6] and a crown was given unto him, [7] and he went forth conquering and for to overcome.
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Notes
- 1.
In the 1545 text the picture of the beast’s destruction is placed here.
- 2.
for why = for.
- 3.
stomach = to inspire with resentment, fury, or courage; to incite (OED v. 4, citing this passage as one example).
- 4.
The antecedent to ‘It’ is God’s word.
- 5.
The 16th-century texts print a #1 here as well as at the first paragraph of this paraphrase. From this point forward in the Image Bale often provides an introductory comment before proceeding to the paraphrase. When this occurs, the #1 is omitted from the introductory piece in the present edition.
- 6.
Except for Bartholomew and Thaddeus, this list of spurious texts is given by Eusebius (3.25), although Eusebius interestingly includes Revelation among the disputed texts in this chapter as well. In his preface to his Matthew commentary Jerome gives a similar list, which includes the gospel of Bartholomew.
- 7.
Over half of the people listed in this first grouping are New Testament examples of false teachers and those who have turned away from the teachings of Christ. Hymeneus, Philetus, Alexander, and Hermogenes are mentioned in the epistles of Timothy (see 1 Tim 1.20, 2 Tim 1.15 and 2.17), where the focus is those who deny the bodily resurrection. Nicholas of Antioch and Elymas (also known as Bar-Jesus, a false magician) are both mentioned in Acts (6.2 and 13.6 respectively); see above, 63 for more about Nicholas. Among the other names on this list, Carpocras, Cerinthus, and Ebion (founder of the Ebionites) had already been grouped together by Bale as early heretics (Gnostics) who denied the divinity of Christ (see above, 52). Bale’s marginal references here point to passages that warn against false teachers, especially those who would deny that Christ came in the flesh. Helion does not seem to be a historical individual, but is a name for the sun-god, and thus probably associated with Gnosticism in Bale’s mind.
- 8.
This list is comprised almost entirely of 2nd-century Gnostic heretics. As the margin indicates, Bale was referring to Eusebius for knowledge about these people; in fact, they are all listed in chapters 4 and 5 of Eusebius’ Church History, with the single exception of Heracleon (who also falls into the category of 2nd-century Gnostics, although he is not mentioned by Eusebius).
- 9.
As was clear from the introductory paragraph, Bale equates the second seal with the first two centuries after Christ, in which heresies developed and early Christian apologists fought against them.
- 10.
Ignatius of Antioch, 1st-century apostolic father who was martyred in Rome.
- 11.
Theophilus of Antioch] 1545 (Theophilus, Antiochenus).
- 12.
Agrippa Castor] 1545 (Agrippa, Castorius).
- 13.
Theodotion, though a contemporary of the others on this list, seems to be unrelated in other ways. He was a Jewish proselyte and translator who is mentioned by Eusebius (5.8, 6.16), but he was certainly not a Christian apologist.
- 14.
Miltiades] 1545 (Melcyades).
- 15.
This list is a litany of Christian apologists from the 2nd century, and once again Eusebius (especially chapters 3–5) is clearly Bale’s primary source for this information. Read in conjunction with the previous list of the Gnostic heretics, this list highlights those who fought for orthodoxy in the early church: Agrippa Castor wrote against Basilides; Irenaeus against Valentinus; Justin Martyr, Polycarp, and Theophilus against Marcion; Rhodo against Marcion and Apelles; and Apollinarius, Apollonius of Ephesus, and Miltiades against Montanism.
- 16.
The calf that is sacrificed is appropriate imagery, considering that several of these apologists were martyred (e.g. Polycarp, Justin Martyr, Ignatius).
- 17.
ravening = rapacious, voracious, bloodthirsty; ravenously hungry (OED).
- 18.
Bale does not miss the opportunity to equate the red horse with the red Cardinals’ robes (the anachronism is not out of keeping with his exegesis).
- 19.
As Bale’s margins indicate, these episodes in which Paul is troubled by enemies come from Acts 13, 19, 23–4, and 2 Tim 4.
- 20.
The ‘deputy’ is the governor Antonius Felix, procurator of Judea, 52–58 C.E., before whom Paul is accused in Acts 23 and 24.
- 21.
See 3 Jn.
- 22.
Marcus Aurelius.
- 23.
Septimius Severus.
- 24.
Maximinus Thrax.
- 25.
These Roman emperors are listed in historical order (from 54–361 CE), though there are many others in between. Like the names of the heretics and the apologists, this list seems to be mainly inspired by Eusebius (though Hermann of Reichenau is also mentioned in the margin here).
- 26.
at] Christmas; and 1545, 1548, etc.
- 27.
thirty-two] 1545, 1548, etc.; thirty-five Christmas.
- 28.
Sylvester I was Bishop of Rome from 314–35 and the supposed recipient of the Donation of Constantine. Sylvester was the 33rd pope, so Bale is indicating that every pope between Peter and Miltiades (who preceded Sylvester) was martyred (as many, though not all, of them were).
- 29.
taken up his room] 1545 (take up his Rome), 1548 (take up his roome), etc. The sense of the passage is that preaching is shoved out of its normal place and pride has taken over instead.
- 30.
The list here concentrates on heresies of the church from the 3rd to the 5th centuries, especially those centered on the Christological controversy. Sabellianism (also known as Monarchianism) denies the theology of three distinct persons in God. Arianism denies the divinity of Christ, and Eunomianism and Macedonianism profess similar beliefs. Nestorianism is the doctrine that there are two separate persons in the incarnate Christ (one human and one divine). Eutychianism (also known as Monophysitism) denies the two natures of Christ. Priscillianism alone on this list is not a Christological heresy, but instead one related to Gnostic-Manichaean dualism.
- 31.
These are three of the most prevalent heresies in the 3rd to 5th centuries. The radical dualism of Manichaeism rejected the Old Testament because it was replaced by the ‘light’ of the New Testament; the Donatists were rigorists who held that the sacraments, including baptism, were invalid; the Pelagians rejected the idea that original sin tainted human nature, focusing on the will as capable of attaining good, thus obviating the need for grace.
- 32.
Not Constantine the Great, but Constantine II, antipope from 767–8.
- 33.
Sergius III.
- 34.
Gregory V and antipope John XVI. During Gregory’s reign a rival faction proclaimed John XVI pope, but the Council of Pavia in 997 settled in Gregory’s favour; the antipope was hunted down and deprived of his nose, ears, tongue, and eyes.
- 35.
This incomplete list of papal schisms covers the period from 355 to 998. Most of Bale’s information seems to derive from Bartolomeo Platina’s 1479 Lives of the Popes. Bale also cites chroniclers such as Johannes Nauclerus (World Chronicle), Hartmann Schedel (Nuremberg Chronicle), Jacobus Bergomensis, also known as Giacomo Filippo Foresti (Supplementum chronicarum), and Abbas Urspergensis, also known as Konrad Of Lichtenau (Ursberger’s Chronicle).
- 36.
cautel = trick, sleight, deceit (OED 1, obsolete).
- 37.
subtlety] 1545 (subtylte); subtyle 1548, 1550. Christmas combines this with the previous word (‘craft subtle’).
- 38.
weigh] 1545 & 1570 (waye); wayte 1548; wait Christmas. ‘Weigh’, basically a synonym for the ‘consider’ that comes before it, also anticipates the balances held by the rider on the black horse. The alternative reading, ‘wait’, would emphasize the patience required by John, but is less appropriate in this context.
- 39.
Christopher = a bearer, as St. Christopher was of Christ (OED 2, listing this as the only example).
- 40.
douzepers = illustrious nobles or grandees (OED).
- 41.
The following lists of Greek and Latin authors cover the period from the late 2nd to the early 8th centuries. These names are derived from Jerome’s Illustrious Men, along with the continuations of Gennadius, Isidore of Seville, and John Trithemius (all listed here in Bale’s margins). For more information on these writers, see Appendix 3.
- 42.
Cyril of Jerusalem.
- 43.
Hilary of Poitiers.
- 44.
Old = i.e., Old Testament.
- 45.
Raise = the action or an act of raising something (OED n. 1 2a, citing Bale’s God’s Promises as the first usage).
- 46.
was] 1545; that was 1548.
- 47.
blemished] 1545, 1570; finished 1548, Christmas.
- 48.
commonalty = community, commonwealth.
- 49.
John the Faster, Patriarch of Constantinople (582–95), who assumed the title ‘Ecumenical Patriarch’.
- 50.
Boniface III was pope for just a few months in 607, but during this time he worked to ensure that the title of ‘Universal Bishop’ belonged exclusively to the Bishop of Rome.
- 51.
Prester John was a legendary Christian patriarch who was reportedly descended from one of the magi and reigned somewhere in Asia. The legend was first fully recorded by Otto von Freising in the 12th century.
- 52.
As Christmas notes, ‘cream’ refers to chrism (oil mingled with balm, consecrated for use as an unguent in the administration of certain sacraments—OED chrism).
- 53.
paschal = a large candlestick used by the Roman Catholics at Easter (OED).
- 54.
pax = a tablet of gold, silver, ivory, etc., with a projecting handle, depicting the crucifixion or other sacred subject, which is kissed by the celebrating priest and then by the other participants at a mass. Christmas chooses the definition in which a pax is the kiss or sign of peace in the worship service (OED n. 1 2), but the former meaning is more likely what Bale has in mind because it suggests idolatry.
- 55.
ware = articles of merchandise or manufacture; the things which a merchant, tradesman, or pedlar, has to sell; goods, commodities (OED n. 3 1).
- 56.
blake (or bleyke) = pale, pallid, wan (OED).
- 57.
The question mark, not in the 16th-century texts, is added by Christmas.
- 58.
gaud = a trick or prank (OED n. 2). The word is also connected to showy ornaments and ceremonial toys, having developed from the word for ornamental beads placed in a rosary (OED n. 1).
- 59.
suffragan = an assistant or subsidiary bishop (OED n. 2).
- 60.
were] 1545, 1570, Christmas; om. 1548, 1550, 1550(W).
- 61.
as they were = as the previous martyrs (‘fellows and brethren’) had been.
- 62.
In the 1545 text, the picture of the four horsemen is placed here.
- 63.
Paulicians] Christmas; publycanes 1545, 1548 (publicanes). Christmas notes that ‘Publicans’ is a ‘corruption of Paulicians, of whom the Albigenses were a branch’. Albigensians were another name for Cathars. See also OED Publican n. 2 and next note.
- 64.
Bale sees all of these groups as forerunners of the Reformers. Berengar of Tours was an 11th-century theologian who argued that the doctrine of transubstantiation was contrary to reason and unsupported by scripture. The Waldensians were a sect that originated in the 12th century and promoted poverty and austerity. Many were burned as heretics, and in the 16th century they joined the Genevan Reformers. The Paulicians were a Gnostic and dualistic sect that flourished between 650 and 872 in the Byzantine Empire. Although the Gnostic elements of this sect could hardly have appealed to Bale, he is likely mentioning them here because of their opposition to ecclesiastical hierarchy, sacraments, and ritual (and for these reasons some have considered them proto-Protestants). They also objected to the term ‘Catholic’ on the grounds that the Roman (Catholics) are people who obey the Roman emperor, and not Christ. Although the Paulicians were suppressed, their influence lived on in later movements, most notably the Cathars/Albigensians. This sect, also Gnostic and dualistic, flourished in France from the 11th to the 13th centuries. The anti-Cathar ‘Albigensian Crusade’ and the inquisition that followed it caused a genocide in the south of France, leading many to consider the Cathars as martyrs.
- 65.
of = by.
- 66.
Despite the periodization of history Bale associates with the seal-openings, his inclusion of ‘so well as at all other times since Christ’s ascension’ suggests a backing away from this framework.
- 67.
covert = cover, protection.
- 68.
cloister] 1545 (cloyster), 1548, 1550, 1570; cluster 1550(W), Christmas. OED gives ‘cloyster’ as a possible spelling of ‘cluster’, so both word are appropriate. The ‘cloister’ spelling has the added benefit of alluding to monasteries.
- 69.
be ere] 1545, 1570, Christmas; beare 1548, 1550; be eare 1550(W).
- 70.
scathe = an injury, damage, or loss for which legal compensation is claimed (OED n. 4).
- 71.
‘This revengement…name’. Bale’s point is that the faithful are not seeking revenge for their own injuries, but instead for the injuries done to God’s name and truth.
- 72.
endue = endow (OED 8a).
- 73.
temerously = rashly, foolishly.
- 74.
motions] Christmas; mocyon 1545, 1548, etc.
- 75.
blood-supper = a bloodthirsty person (OED, which cites this passage as the second instance).
- 76.
Out of = Away from.
- 77.
In the 1545 text, the picture of the falling stars is placed here.
- 78.
Bale is careful not to identify a particular historical pope, but instead attacks the office itself. Unlike many other exegetes, he is not interested in limiting his interpretation to specific historical individuals. See Introduction 11–15.
- 79.
decretal = pertaining to, of the nature of, or containing, a decree or decrees (OED 1).
- 80.
consistory = ecclesiastical court. Bale’s exegesis here connects to the popular terms for the English synod that took place on 21 May 1382—the ‘Earthquake Synod’. This synod was led by William Courtenay and condemned the opinions of John Wycliffe and his Lollard followers. London did experience an earthquake during this synod, leading many to believe that God was objecting to the anti-Wycliffite rulings.
- 81.
The Council of Constance was held from 1414–18; among other significant acts (e.g. ending the Western Schism), this Council condemned Jan Hus (the Czech proto-Protestant) and ordered his execution in 1415. The next year his follower Jerome of Prague suffered a similar fate. Both of these martyrdoms are depicted in extensive detail in Foxe’s Acts and Monuments.
- 82.
wanted = lacked.
- 83.
and] 1545; of 1548.
- 84.
Turning his attention to England, Bale focuses on the Lincolnshire Rising and an uprising in York known as the Pilgrimage of Grace (which Bale is pointedly calling the ‘pilgrimage without grace’). The former was a Catholic uprising in objection to Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries in 1536. Although this movement was quickly suppressed, it gave rise to a more widespread movement two weeks later—the Pilgrimage of Grace in York. The Catholics objected to a variety of issues, but most were centered upon the dissolution of the monasteries, the divorce with Catherine of Aragon, and the rise of Thomas Cromwell.
- 85.
‘Bow’ could refer to the weapon, but also to the provisions of a benefice granted by the pope (OED n. 5). As with ‘bills’ in this sentence, Bale is playing on the double meaning of papal authority and weapons.
- 86.
to = against (i.e., the abundance of weapons on the papal side vs. the poor Bible on Christ’s side).
- 87.
be holden] Christmas; beholde 1545, 1548
be holden = be withheld.
- 88.
The list here represents the founders or writers of the rules of early monastic orders: Benedict (Benedictine), Bernard of Clairvaux (Cistercians), Bruno (Carthusian), Albert (Rule of St. Albert), Francis (Franciscan), and Dominic (Dominicans). Bale’s point that, although these men erred, they were still worthy of salvation, is in keeping with his historical perspective that the Roman Catholic Church became increasingly corrupt as history progressed.
- 89.
Dan 3.
- 90.
sententioner = sententiary (a compiler of sentences or opinions of doctors of the church on theological questions). This is the only instance of ‘sententioner’ cited in OED.
- 91.
summist = the author of a summa of religious doctrine (OED 1). The following names are all examples of the men whom Bale labels sophisters, sententioners, school doctors, canonists, and summists—all of whom lived in the 13th and/or 14th centuries. In this list, Bobius, Roxius, and Barlett are unknown.
- 92.
Duns Scotus, Nicholas Dorbell (Nicholas d’Orbellis), and Durand of Saint-Pourçain.
- 93.
Gerard Groote (founder of the ‘Brethren of the Common Life’, 14th century); or perhaps Gerard of Abbeville (d. 1272), a theologian at the University of Paris and an opponent of the mendicant orders who argued that extreme emphasis on poverty contradicted the Aristotelian doctrine of the mean and undermined the basis of pastoral work.
- 94.
Bale likely means Guido Terrena, the 14th-century Carmelite scholastic theologian.
- 95.
Baldus de Ubaldis.
- 96.
Probably Nicolaus de Tudeschis (also known as Panormitanus), a 14th-15th-century Italian Benedictine canonist.
- 97.
Probably the 11th-12th-century French theologian Roscelin.
- 98.
Bernardine of Siena and Vincent of Beauvais. In the following pairings, Bale plays upon the parallel sounds, attempting to highlight the ridiculousness of medieval sermons and practises.
- 99.
The 15th-century Hungarian Temesvári Pelbart gathered homilies together under the title Sermones Pomerii de Sanctis, and Conrad of Brundelsheim’s collection was called Sermones Soccii de tempore.
- 100.
Maillard] this edn; Mallyarde 1545, 1548; Malliard Christmas. Bale is probably referring to Olivier Maillard, the 15th-century Breton Franciscan preacher.
- 101.
Jacob de Voragine, a 13th-century Italian chronicler and the compiler of the Golden Legend.
- 102.
Hungaria] 1545, 1570; Hugaria 1548, 1550. Perhaps a reference to Michael Osvald Lasko de Hungaria’s Sermones de sanctis perutiles.
- 103.
Discipuli is a short form of the prayer to the saints, including Omnes sancti Discipuli Domini (‘all the holy disciples of the Lord’); Dormi Secure (‘sleep without care’) was a popular collection of sermons in the late medieval period by John of Verden.
- 104.
a] 1545; all 1548.
- 105.
Bale is noting that the Roman Catholics are now being ‘compelled’ to change their doctrine because of the ‘open verity’ of the scriptures. He sees this as a positive development, but assures his readers that such changes will not bring the Catholics closer to salvation, since they are making these changes against their will.
- 106.
annuary = a priest who says annual masses (OED, citing this as the only example of this meaning).
- 107.
Bale puts extensive words into the mouths of the wicked, as he did so successfully in his dramas.
- 108.
placebo = vespers in the office for the dead; requiem aeternam = mass for the dead.
- 109.
trental = a set of thirty requiem masses; the payment made for these (OED 1).
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Minton, G.E. (2013). The Sixth Chapter. In: Minton, G. (eds) John Bale’s 'The Image of Both Churches'. Studies in Early Modern Religious Tradition, Culture and Society, vol 6. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7296-0_8
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