As it is A worke of the Lawe of Nature and of nations of humane and devyne Lawe to burye the Dead Soe it is to ad minister that which necessarilye conduceth to it/ The Place & office of Buriall/ yf A Man were soe ympious as not to afford itt: the Earthe to shew his shame will doe itt/ shee will open the powers of her Bodie and take in the Blood: Shee will send Forth hir Chil= dren the wormes to bringe in the Flesh of their Brother and with her Mantle the Grasse as with A wynding Sheet, Shee will infould the Bones and burye alltogither in her Bosome. Men (in passion) refuse oft Tymes to doe it to their Enemyes to wicked persons & Notorious Offenders, but shee as A Naturall Mother that can forget none of her Children, doth this For them all both good and badd, teaching vs thereby what wee should doe for our Brethren, & brandoning those with ympietie that aunswereth with Cayne/ Am I my Brothers Keeper

The direction of my Speech tendeth to the reproffe of a Custom growne vpp amongst vs Christians, not heard of as I suppose amongst the Barbarians selling of Graves, And the Dutye of Buriall wherein I desire a little libertie to expresse my selfe somewhat at large as being one of the Motives that led mee rather to this discourse

There seemeth if not A warrant yet A precident For it in the Booke of Genesis Cap:23: where Ephron selleth a buryall place to Abraham, and St Ierome censureth Ephron very hardly touching that Matter, euen as thoughe hee had Comitted some point of Symonie or of greate ympietie, and sayth that for this taking of Monye for the Burying place, O the letter of perfection was Strucke out of his name and that insteed of Ephon which signifieth perfect hee was afterwards called Ephrm that is vnperfect The Scripture I confesse maketh noe such mencion, nor Josephus, nor anye other auntient that I can finde, I blame not therefore Calvin; that hee accepted itt not butt for that hee sleighteth that Noble Father soe sleightly as to tearme it A very Toye; I hould Meras Unges Calvin much inferior to Austen, yett Austen professed himselfe inferior to Ierome, where Ierome had I knowe not, all men take him For noe ymposter I suppose (and so might Calvin) that hee had it from the Rabbins, because he Entituleth that Booke of his, fol: 214: 6 questions and tradicions Hebracia in Geursuine but all are not of Calvins Mynd manye of the Fathers & Counceles do well accept it

For myne owne parte I inclyne with Calvin to the excusing of Ephron For both hee and the Hettites as though it were against Nature to take anye thinge for the burying of the dead in theire Soyle, gaue Abraham free Libertie not onlye to bury, but to doe it where he would even in the Cheiffest of theire Sepulchers This Contented not Abraham hee would not onlye haue vsio fructum fructum rei the Fruition of buriall: but Dominium loci, the Inheritaunce of the Sayle it selfe

To sell this I should thinke it Lawfull though not the other Fi:de Relige Rt Sumpt funeris l: funeris in anye Case lawfull to sell the Patronadge of A Church, nott the presentation, Institution or Induction Precium loci in quo humandus. Est A man maye take by the Civill Lawe But there was a necessitie that Abraham must haue the verye Soyle proper and solie to himselfe for the Circumcized might neither dead or alive mingle with the vncircumcized, as this daye the Christians not with the Infidells, the Faithfull not with the heritiques or excomunicated persons, In this allsoe Ephron was contented to satisfye Abraham. And whereas hee requested noe more then the Cave of Matchepelah Ephron not onlye graunted him the Cave, but the whole Field allsoe wherein the Cave was & that as A Free guift, if Abraham would soe accept it, But Abraham refusing to haue it bought the whole Field and by right of Precedencie had the Cave with itt/ Nothing doe I see in all this but Noblenes and bountie in Ephron, nor anye Iust impediment whye hee might not at First haue demaunded the price of the Feilde much lesse whie hee might not take it being pressed vpon him aswell as Iramiath tooke more money of David for the threshing Floure where he was to build an Altar and to sacrifice vnto God, All this notwithstanding because the scope of the Monye taken by Ephron was for buriall of the Bodye that then wanted it & not for the Soyle of the field but for Acts :7: 16: / the Sepulcher as St Stephen testifieth Ierome vtterlye con= dempneth itt, and the rather perhapps for that Adam and Eve were said to be buried there For of such Monuments he was somewhat curious, yet did hee not soe much reproue this taking by Ephron as the Vice and Sinne of the Tyme in requiring and exacting money for buriall, which beginning then to creepe into the World, gaue the Church A iust occasion both to censure & con= dempne it by many Constitucions Cannons, and decrees wher of I will recite some which I conceaue are att this daye in force (as touching the Substance of them) in our Church though neglected and not observed

Cannon 1:/ Nereida A noble Woman complaining to Gregorye the Greate that Januarius the Bishopp of Sardinia would haue au 100s for the buryall of her daughter, Gregorye by A De= cretall Epistle to him saith we haue vtterlye Forbidden this Vice in our Church , and doo not suffer soe badd A Custome should in any Case be vsurped

If Ephron a Pagon were so considerate as to refuse it howe much more ought wee to doe itt that are called Preists wee therefore Admonish that from henceforth none attempte this Vice of Covetuousnes in any Churches, Butt if att anye Tyme you permitt anye to bee buryed in your Church and that his next Kinsman or heires will of there owne accord offer anye thinge for lights wee forbid not that to be taken But to exact or aske any thing wee vtterlye forbidd, least that ( which were most irreligious) the Church peradventure might be said to be sould ( which God Forbidd) and you allsoe to seeme gladd of mens deathes if you reape any Comoditie out of their Carkases

Cannon 2: But A blowe or two could not kill this Serpent for Iniquity hath manie heads some as it seemeth in the Councell of Triburie vtrum terra cumiferiata vendi possit pro Sepultura wh whether whether Monye might be taken for Graves in the Churchyard The Councell answered noe In Ecclesiastico namque etc For it is written in Ecclesiasticus denye not Curtisye vnto the dead for wee shall all dye

And agayne all thinges that are of Earthe doe returne to Earthe, Earthe whye sellest thou Earthe, remember that thou art Earthe, and thou shalt goe to Earthe, that thou must dye & death is coming towards thee and lingereth not, Remember that the Earthe is not Mans, but as the Psalmest sayth the Earthe is the Lords and they that dwell therein, if thou sellest this Earth thou art guiltie of invading the goods of another, Thou hast receaved it freely from God, geue it freelye for his sake, Wee therefore absolutely forbidd all Christian people to sell Earthe for the dead and denye buryall due vnto them, vnlesse the kindred or Freindes of the dead person (in the name of the Lord & for the redemption of his Soule will of their owne accord giue anye thinge

Cannon 3:/ The Councell of Nans recited by Burchard, & the Councell of Varens alias Vasens delivered by Gracian doe both in the selfe same words thus condempe it Praecipiend etc It is comanded saye they according to the Authoritie of the Cannons, that for Graves and the buriall of men noe reward be Exacted vnlesse hee that is dead did whilest hee lived appoint some what of his goods to be given to the Church in the Church yard wherein he is buryed or that those to whom the bestowing of his Almes after his death is committed will out of there owne accord give somewhat of his goods but nothing maye in anye Case be Exacted by the Preists there or by them that haue the government of the place/ Itt is allsoe to bee constitu Commaunded according to the Constitutions of our Elders that none vpon anye Cause be buryed in the Church but in the yeard Poarch or Vault in the Church

Cannon 4:/ The Councell of Taures vunder Alexander 3: Cap non satis . Sayth for Sepulture and receaving Nurture and Oyle, let noe man attempt to receave any kinde of Reward, nor to defend his Offence therein, by colour of anye kinde of Custome, for the length of Tyme doth not dyminish Synnes but increase them, It is true that all these were but Provinciall Synods & constitucions yet their Iudgements did determyne this pointe to be a grevious Synne, and seemed to bee so Orthodoxall that they are since taken into the Bodye of the Comon Lawe, and nowe as Powerfull ge= nerall and obligatorie as the other parte thereof, But we will rise higher and see what generall Councells haue conceaved and declared herein

Cannon 5: The 12: general Councells wherein both the Church & Greeks and Lattin were assembled by the same Alexander at Latterane in the yeere 1180 cap: cum in Ecclesia Corpore sayth, the burying and selling that is reported to be in some Churches is too horible as that some what is required for installing Bishopps Abbotts and all kinde of Ecclesiasicall persons in their Seats for inducting Preists into their Churches, and for Sepulture & Funerall Rights, For the benediction of the Marryed Couple and for other Sacraments. verilye manye thinke it Lawfull because they sup pose the Law of Custome hath gott authoritie by long continuance and considering that offences are soe much more greevious By howe much the Longer they haue insnared the wicked Soule of Man.

Therefore least theis Things should be done hereafter we streightly Streightlie forbidd anye thinge to be Exacted either for induc tinge Ecclesiasticall persons to their Seates or for institutions of Preists by buryall of the dead, or benedictions of them that marry or other Sacraments either conferring or Collated. But if anye man shall presume to doe contrarye lett him knowe he hath his portion with Geheryi, that is that he standeth accursed ( as the Glosse inter= preteth it) that he is A Symonest

Cannon 6:/ The next generall Councell. A verye great one in the same place vnder Innocentius 3: Anno comtynueth the same prohibition touching buryall Fees, but because the former brydleth the Clergie in taking that was not their due, this curbeth allsoe the perversnes of the Layetie withoulding their Iust duties the wordes bee theise Ad Apostolicam etc It is common to the Apostolique Eare by frequent Relation that some Clarks by burying the dead and blessinge the marryed Couple doe exact and extort Mony, and if in chance, that their Covetuous desire but not satisfyed they fraudulently alleadge some fayned impediment

One the other syde, laymen leavened with Heretiques Pravitie vnder the pretence of Canonicall pietie doe endeavour to breake a laudable Custome brought into the Church by A godlye devotion of the Faithfull, heerevpon wee forbidd all Exactions to bee made & Command all godlye Customes to be observed that Ecclesiasticall Sacraments be freelye conferred, but that they which doe maliciously endeavour to chang a laudable Custome maye vpon knowledge of the Matter be suppressed by the Bishopp of the place note that the Customes exacted by the Cannons must be godly & laudable/

Cannon 7:/ As for the Abolenda which aymeth cheifelye at those whoe like the Mouncks of Mounte Pessulau will not suffer the ground too be broken before they be payed for the grave, I purposed to passe it over supposing none that serveth in the house of God to bee soe Covetuous or Cautelous as not to staie for his mony till hee had delivered his Ware, but in the meane Tyme A complaint was brought vnto vs, of A Churchman (since deceased) & his Clarke that came togither to one of his parishe whoe was then newlye dead and speaking with the Executor would not suffer the Bodye to be brought out of the house till he had 14: pounds paid, and the parish officers according to the bill of particulers then shewed vnto them, nor could the Executor compound with them for anye abatement more then 10s in the Clarkes share, and payed them therevpon £13 10s Against such among other is the Cannon vnder the Rubricke terra Caemite riata pro Sepultura vendi non debit in the words Abolenda ea consuetudinis perversitas etc There is growne vpp as is reported A perverse Custome that must bee abolished at Mounte Pessuliau, where they will not suffer the grave to be digged open for them that dye, till there be A certeyne price for the grownd, wherein they are to be buryed, payed vnto the Church, we Comaund that you being Bishopp of the place doe prohibite the Clarks from exacting any thinge at all. In this case the Complaint was for exacting Monye before the Grave was opened, but the Cannon forbiddeth it both before and after

Nota (sayth the Glosse) quod pro terra in qua Sepeliendi sunt defuncti nihil est exigendur decretal Gregory lib 3: T: D:39 de Parodiis 13: It might as the phrase is grande Canoueni produce many other Authorities whereby this Sinne is vehementlye im= pugned and cryed downe, but I will not Ioyne those Constitutions which for the most parte are Nationall and provinceall with theise I haue recited being generall either by their birth as springing from generall Councells, or by Adoption as taken from Provinciall Provinciall Councells and decrees into the Bodye of the Common Lawes and made thereby as generall and obligatorye as the rest, with all the parts of the Cannon Law that are not repugnant to the Lawes and religion of the Kingdome, or repealed by the Statute of H: 8: or of latter Tyme against papall vsurpacion are still in Force (as I conceave) and as was latelye seene in two greate cases wherein everye Corner of the Comon Lawe as well remote as obvious auntient as the latter were searched out, either pro or contra

As for the 30: Comissioners that by the Statute of 25: Hen: 8: cap: 19: and 3: Ed: 6: cap: 11: should haue pruned the Comon Lawe & cutt of the vnnecessarye Braunches, Nothing was done therevpon soe that it still remayneth as it was before, but admitt that neither theise nor anye other positive Constructions extended to our My= nisters will they not bee A Lawe vnto themselves & abtayne from that which is declared to be wicked and uniust, but soe many godlye men soe many Fathers Councells and decrees of the Church

Lett vs then consider the Councells and Cannons that we haue recited, and see first what opynion they haue of monye taken for buryalls, And Secondlye how they censure & decree touching it

Cannon 1: Greg: / First for their opynion they declare it to bee a Vice of Covetuousnes, A badd Custome that maye be said most irreligious as the selling of the Church A cause of ioye to the Person when men Regist: lib: Epistl/ 2 dye and A reaping of Comoditie out of the dead carcases

Cannon 2: concerning Generall Tribus ta: 2 A discourtesie to the dead by him that must dye, A sellinge of Earthe by him that is Earthe, A selling of that is none of his owne Selling of that was given freely, to give freely A denyall of Buryall

Cannon 2; concerning generall Latteran/ A Thinge to horrible that bringeth the pro co of Geheryi vppon the Offender, that is the brand of Symonie (as the Glosse expoundeth itt) A curse and an vncleanenes & cause of seperation from Comonn societie

Cannon ver Concerning Jucum Cannon 5: conc general Lat / Lastlye as Maladies are the Most greevious & contagious that continewe longest, soe they conclude this to be soe much the more grevious, by how much the longer it hath continued and declare it to bee Abolenda consuetudines peruersitus the perversitie of A Custome it is to be abolished

Cannon 5: 11: Lib 3: 28: Cap:13/ I am loath to peruse theise heavie Tearmes of Agravacion yet they proceed not from mee but from the Clergie themselves aganst the Clergie themselves es from the Bodye against the member From the Fathers the docters of that Church & great generall Councells against some private perticuler incorrigible Offenders

The some of their Censure and decree is this /

1) cap:abolenda ver sepultur Col:1207:/ That nothing be exacted or required for any sepulture with wordes the Glose declareth to Comprehend the ground or place of buryall and the Ministrie of the preists or Personne about the same and in some of the Cannons it is soe Expressed/

(2 That all the Customes for siech taking are evill ympious & Nilde

(3:) That the offence in taking is Symonye

(4) That the Cognizance belongeth to the Bishopp of the place

That guifts of Pietie for the vse of the Church maye Not withstanding be taken

(5: That none shall be buried in the Bodye of the Churche

6:) There is A Fiction that Achilles fighting with Hercules and not able to resist his force, shifted himselfe into divers Formes thereby to illude it, Soe the Canonists trie manye Eva= sions to helpe theyre Master of The Clergie in this pointe of taking by distinguishing the places of buryall the persons that take the the Tyme of taking and the manner of demaunding

For the place they saye there bee three Sortes, Locus Purus, Locus Religiosus, et Locus Sacer

Locus Purus According to the Civill Lawe Locus Purus is that which is our secu= ler grownd & is never vsed for buryall nor having any kind of consecration

To this they saye the Cannons doe not extend For that it is some private mans and the owner may if he will take monye for a grave For Nemo tenet de Suo beneficium facere, Noe man is tyed to giue his Land Grownd to Charitable vse

Locus Religiosus Is that which is assigned to the same Office of Religion & nomina telye where the Bodye of A dead person hath bine buryed, For by the verye buryall of the Bodye the nature of the Soyle is chaunged from seculer and in reverence of this new function counted to bee Religious, And now therefore by the Cannons Nothing maye be taken for anye more Graves there

Some such places (I suppose are about this Cittie adioyninge to Churchyardes for enlarging thereof For which the owners doe take a yeerelye Rent of the parrish that vseth it, letting it vnto them to sowe Dead mens Carkases in, as it were to sowe Corne, and like as the Carkasies should growe vp like the Fable ofCadmus and brings them a Cropp to paye the rent with

This the Cannons doe meerelye forbidd as doth all soe the Civill Lawe, and Lawe of humanitie, the Fathers, the Councells, and the opynion of St Jerome in the Case of Ephron

For my owne parte I take it to bee a kinde of Vsurie to lett that for monye whereof the hyrer can make noe kinde of profitt. It might bee said they might haue chosen when they First hireth itt whether they would haue vsed itt soe or not, And it is true but after the thing is done, and the place become religious ground by beinge made A burying place now to lett it in that kind as I say against the Cannons

Locus consecratus / Is that which by the devotion of the owner is setled vpon God and the Church for some devine and Ecclesiasticall Service and then Con= secrated thereto by the Bishopp, and is thereby severed from humane propertie as be our Churches and Churchyards. The moore propertie whereof which wee call Fee Simple is sayd to bee in unbilus & obesaunce though the Person Patron or Ordinarie For necessities sake maye make a Conveyance of them, But to dispose them or anye part of them contrarie to the will of the donor of the nature of the guift & the glorye of him that is the supreame owner God allmightie, as by thos Cannons, Sacriledge and extreame ympietie, there must therefore bee noe buying nor selling & in this Noe doubt the Canonist is right

Thus much For the place of Sepulture

Of the parties

Touching the Parties that take monye For the Office or Mi= nisterie of buryall, they saye that the Cannons extend not vniversally to all Clergie men, but to such onlye as are beneficed, or haue pecons for doing the Church duties serving the Cure, not to those whoe are Sine titulo Sine Selario without Benefice or Stipend, And that they maye take therefore what they can gett, For it is inconvenient sayth the Glosse that A Clarke should sell his paynes having nothing irec inconuenient qve cler:licet paras Suos cum non her vnde vivat decr Greg: lib 5: 29/ver pro Exequiis / whereon els to live. The rest of the Clergie they live vnder the Cannons yet with such shelter and with soe manye starting holes as the Cannons maye playe vpon them but not hurte them for as Tyme changeth soe they change the Case observing A difference in taking monye before buryall and in taking after

To take aforehand (say they is vtterlye vnlawful for that ymployeth ymployeth A Buying and Selling by Example of Tradsmen whoe First take their Monye and then deliver their Wares Butt Expleto officio , when the duetie is once performed they maye take what is voluntarilye given them without daunger of the Cannons, which wee shall Further examine in the next paragrave yet marke Nereida Complayned that the Bishopp velit Exigere £100 of her for the buriall of her daughter which complaynt must needs be after the buriall it being in Sardinia, And St Gregorye writting from Rome or those parts, yet Expleto Officio the buryall beinge past Gregorye would suffer nothing to be taken, noe not vpon voluntary guifte to the vse of the Bishopp but for the publique vse of the church. as for Lights etc Hee allowed that to be taken that was voluntarily offered and noe other wise doth the Cannon Precipiendum or third Cannon, The Second Cannon allsoe giveth libertie to offer somewhat for the Soule of him that is dead, but nothing to be given for the grave

Of the Manner

The manner of taking is of three Sortes (Vizt)1: Exaction 2: demaunding, and 3: voluntarye Guiffte

Exaction is ordinarilye said to be A wringing of that which is due from the partie, or of more then is due, like the Muncks of Mounte Pessulau to refuse to burye the Bodye till they had the pretended duties. Or els like them in the Cannon Apostolicum that alleadgeth fayned ympediments & excuses to rayse the market by delaying the buryall or when the Buriall is past like Ianuarius the Bishopp of Sardinia to vrge and insist vpon the demand These are sharp exactions but they would includeth smooth Courses

That Simonica fir= mit verb exigitur lib: 4: Etimologia et deuisio iuris viners Exposit Jo: Caluin abul abluble legit / Lynwood expoundeth it to require or take A Nolenti of him that would not parte with itt Calvin sayeth that Hactantius vseth it for Convenienter postulare, John Beroinus that Exigere est petere exactis est petitio And that the exactores tributorum nere soe called Apetendis tributis which the Lexicon of the Cannon and Civill Lawe doth allsoe deliver. Soe that to exact is not only to wring itt from the partie but to demand or require is to exacte

In this Mannor the First Cannon either vseth Symonically or complayneth of an Abuse in the preamble or provideth against another in the decree, To put it out of doubt the First Cannon vseth both the Wordes petitionere aliquod and exigi omnino prohebimus we vtterly forbidd anye thinge to be asked or exacted, And it setteth Exigi in the latter place as though Exigere were lesse then petere or (As Hactantius taketh itt) Convenienter postulare, Note allso that this Cannon was made against asking or exacting after the Buryall as before wee haue touched / All this notwithstanding I must truelye confesse, For deale with Argus and Bryanus them that haue all perspiciencie and assistance that there is noe expresse worde in anye of those Cannons against giving or taking symplye thoughe I thinke there be Enough to satisfye indiffent Iudgmets.that if there be A default fecte in them I haue helpe for itt at home in our owne Provinciall Constitutions wherein A Senode at assembled by Richard Archbishopp of Cant. I finde it thus decned vnderthe Rubricke Ne quid Exigatur pro Sacramentis conferendis adictum est etc

Statuimus ergo ut dexter / Wee therefore Ordayne that from hence Forth neither for Ordina cion nor for Chrisme, nor For Baptismee nor for the Communion, nor For Benediction anye thinge be exacted But the guift of Christ be given with Free dispensation Soe that if they must be given freely, nothing suerlye must be taken for them either either Ex obliquo or by evasion

It maye be sayd they require nothing by waye of price for the ground or Sepulture, For the 4: Cannon is vt nulla cuius quam precii Exactio attenfatur, but as A reward from the partie by way of gratuitie whoe knoweth not that precium signifieth A rewarde as well as A price And for myne owne parte I doubt not but that the Cannon doth soe intend itt yett to cleare the pointe the word of the third Cannon doth soe intend it are expresse vt in his numeris Exigatur that noe reward be required

I suppose by this Tyme the offenders in this kinde haue lost the playne Feilds of the Cannons and take themselves to their last hope & Castle of refuge Custome and prescription where it now resteth to beate them out, Everye man knoweth that evill Customes are in their owne nature to bee abolished, and those that be good, if there be a positiue Lawe against them, they are allsoe voyde the nature of this Custome by the Collection wee haue made out of the Cannons is not onlye de= clared to bee excessivelye badd: but by the great Generalls of Latteran to be verye horrible, and consequentlye to bee abolished but being possitivelye against the Cannon it is in ipso loc directlye, and although there were noe Clause or provision in them soe too denounce them yett ad maiorem cantelam in the 4:& 5 Cannons doe vtterlye overthrowe that Custome and besydes doe brand it with this note of infamie the Elder the worse and the longer it hath continued the more grevious

The Persons haue nowe A shrende Crowe to pull For the Canonist themselves will confesse all this to be true, what then remayneth with Achebous Seu verture dolis seu certo occumbere Corax, must nowe helpe them with A querke to cosen the Cannons and to slide from them or they are vndone/ Well here John de Athen one of the Polestarrs of the English Cannonists lett him (saith hee) that asketh anye thinge in this Case take heed to himselfe for if hee aske and take it for his dutie, or for the ground, or for the Sepulture he is gone, For it is Symonie, and for proofe thereof al= leadge some of the Cannons wee haue before recited with divers others and the opinion of Hostiensis

And sayeth Further that A Custome will then doe him noe good as appeareth by the Canon of Otho, which Hee is therein hand with And that of non Satis in the Extravagant by vs allsoe expressed But saith hee /if hee demaund when his dutie is done in this manner for that everye one that dyeth or is installed hath vsed to giue so much to the Preist or Church, then he shall prevayle and hath iustly required For confirmation whereof hee produceth the resolution of Innocentius and other authorities, and that Hostiensis sayeth infallibly that this is true touching the duetie of the Layetie toward the Church insomuch as though the exhibition of the laye men tending to the over filling of the bellye of the Clarkes, yet it maye be demaunded as hee noteth in the extravagant Fir Sunonica Jacobus, And Athen saith that hee beleeveth it to be true not respecting the Moderate gluttonie butt the right of the Church alleaging other authorities to confirme it Tit 1:

Linwood / To the same purpose is the opinion of Linwood another Polestarre of our English Cannonists & with the same words in parte Tit Simonica cap:1

Sepulture (saith hee) must not bee sould & citing 8:9:2:5: Item quoritur pro fo.vt Co: in sequentibus de Sepultura Ca. abolenda saith that it appeareth there in the Text and glosse that in A sacred place as in A churche or Churchyard nothing must be required for Sepulture noe nor yett for the Office of buriall as Barnard there noteth and this is true as touching his office because A Clearke by reason of his Office is tyed therevnto, butt itt is otherwise otherwise if hee bee not tyed thereto by Reason of his benefice and soe that hee doth not contract to haue itt For then itt is Symony extra rod,ca:etc in tantum Secundium hosiensis et ca: nor satis yet the Glosse saieth in the End of the said Chapter Abolenda that though Clarkes maye not require anye thing for such sepulture, yet the Layetie maye be compelled to observe godlye and lawdable Customes, and marke according to the note of Hostiensis in the same Chapter that hee that requireth to haue the Custome performed to him must take heed to himselfe, For if he demaund itt For the Grounde or for his duetie, Hee is downe, and it pro fiteth him no= thinge to alleadge. Vt dicto capite Abolenda But if hee sayeth that for everye dead Bodye soe much hath beene vsually given to the Preist or to the Church then hee shall abtayne it as in Cap: ad Apostolicum extra eundum vide Glosse hic sionileni 13:42: Item que= ritus Linwood vlid 201: Heere is A left hand waye to epp by all the Cannons lett vs Consider it maye be the Parsons, frame their Customes as they list

It is like A Protens or Hestian Ruler are they not tyed to the manner and Forme of Payment as they made it Figue & onlye vni= versitie observacons lett them be well advised in lying their Customes soe least the Jurye Finde an ignoramus, It hath fallen on me to be an vnworthie Instrument of that most Noble and most gratious Commission of Exacted Fees and inovated Offices and thereby too haue notice by Certificate of divers persons Viccars & Cheife Parishioners of most of the greatest parishes in London yet none of them hitherto to my remembrance haue made any such clayme nor knowe I how they should prove it if they did, I will steale noe Coales nor prosecute this suite noe further For the duetie Love honor and greate observation I beare vnto them/ But I in= treate with Vehemencie that they with the rest of theire Coate will thinke Seriouslie of it, and if not allwayes yet when in their Sermons they Justlye fall vpon the oppressions extortcions raysing of Rents etc by Landlords and laye men, For this Bird of theirs is A winged Sinne hatcht of late within the Cittie but next all= readye into the neighbour Townes, and will shortlye flye (if the winge be not clipt in Tyme) over all the kingdome O lett not that Jeromie Cap 13: verse 15: of Jeromie be once spoken of in this noble Cittie from the Prophets of Jerusalem, is wickedness gone For the into all the Land as this Synne and the Cannons lye Sore vpon the Ministers for takinge monye for graves in the Cancell and for their paines in burying the Corps whersoever, Soe doe they vpon some others whoe little dreame of itt, as the Church Wardens of the parishes that sell Graues in the Church and Churchyards like ware in their Shops, and when they thinke fitt make Lawes in their Vestrie For raysing the price, as they doe in their Halls for the price of their Wares, If they looke into the Third Cannon they shall Finde themselves there contayned vnder A Fayre Stile, Them that haue the goverment of the place meaning of the Church and Churchyard and Parrish Soe that though they be laye men, yet by misvsinge things of the Church they fall into the same Offence respectively that Churchmen doe, and haue their Portion assigned them with Gehezi (as in the First Cannon, I haue heard some of them an= swere, that it is noe benefitt to our Selves, It is good for the Parrish For the repayring the Church Bells or Steeple to help out some extraordinarye Charge that falls vpon the parrish (And And it or) Guest house dynner

It is on Agape or Feast of love which noe man will require or gather grutch at our predecessors did it before our Tyme & our Successors will die it when we are gone, All is done by an assembly of the Vesterye, by consent of the Masters and cheiffe of the parishe subscribed and testified vnder their handes, Well lett theire Vesterye on gods name bee A Certificate for well ordering of the thinges of the Church it is fitt it should bee soe But lett it not be A Parliament 12: or 16: private persons (I will not meddle with their Trade or quallitie) should Change or abrogate anye su= perior constitutions much lesse that of Synods & generall Councells nor to make Orders to binde like a Lawe the rest of the parrish that consented not

What they haue used to doe Tyme out of mynde I call in= to question, but theise Vestures that within these thirtye yeeres or thereabouts haue left there auntient Forme supported by a late full prescription and continued to themselves A new societye, power and Jurisdiction over the Rest Countenanced by an Iust rumt from the Ordinarye vnder the Seale of his Chancellor And newe things must haue newe names, Soe they are Comonly stiled selected Vesteryes, I see the Bishopps names are vsed in them whether with theire assents and knowledge I am doubtfull / I assure my Selfe their Lordshipps would doe nothing against the Lawe, and I vn= derstand not by what lawe they maye at this daye erect suche societie, or endow then with such authoritie as is pretended But to deale plainelye I thinke theise Instruments conferre more mony vpon the Chauncellor then authoritie vpon the Vesteries, For by these that I haue seene the Bishopps and Chancelor graunted nothing to them, but to relating that they haue considered the Forme of a Vestrie desired by some of the parrish, they allowe approve & confirme itt, and yet noe other wise then quantum in nobis est as farr forth as lawfullye they maye and noe otherwise

Nor have they this shaddow of Authoritie noe otherwise then vpon Condition That they shall doe nothing that may trench vpon the iurisdiction or profitt of the Ecclesiasticall Courte when they cann neither iustifie the Clayming of their Fees or duties either by the one or the other, And the Vesterie men perhapps maye be in daunger of our vnlawfull assemblye to chang lawes or to haue their offences screnied very high if seuritie should examyne it

November 24: 1627: Giue mee leave to present vnto you what I finde in a vestery constitution latelye made and subscribed by the person & Church Wardens with 23: more of that Assemblie, confirrmed by the Bishopp approved by his Chauncellor declared to be A Lawdable Custome of that parrish , and in Testimonye thereof entred as A solempe Acte in the principall Registrie of the Lord Bishopp of the diocesse and fynallye ratefied with the Chauncellors hand & seale of Office I maye saye vide perudintque videre, But here the parcells touchinge the Parsons and Church Wardens for the point in hand

In the Chauncell

Whosoever wilbe buried in the Chauncell shall pay) agrement to the person as shall be agreed on betweene them)

In the Iles of the Chauncell

To the Church Wardens For the ground - 1-6-8

To the person For enteiring the Corps - 0-6-8