Chapter 15

[299][The nature of the arguments used by Alesius in this epistle may be learned from the lengthy extracts quoted in Christopher Anderson's Annals of the English Bible, 1845, ii. 430-437.][300][This reply by Cochlaeus, which is dated 6th June 1533, is entitled: "An Expediat Laicis, legere Noui Testamenti libros lingua Vernacula? Ad Serenissimvm Scotiæ Regem Iacobum V. Disputatio inter Alexandrum Alesium Scotum, & Iohannem Cochlæum Germanum. Anno dn̄iM.D. XXXIII." A beautiful copy of this very rare work was secured at the Laing sale for the library of the Church of Scotland. There is also a copy in the Signet Library. A few extracts may be found in Anderson's Annals, ii. 439-441.][301][A beautiful copy of this excessively rare tract was also secured for the Church library at the Laing sale.][302][For a translation by Dr Mitchell of that part of the Responsio which relates to the opinions of Alesius, see AppendixE.][303][Dr Mitchell possessed copies of several of the other tracts of Cochlaeus, as well as of this: "Pro Scotiae Regno Apologia Iohannis Cochlei, adversvs personatum Alexandrum Alesium Scotum. Ad Sereniss. Scotorū regē.M.D.XXXIIII." It ends: "Excusum Lipsiae apud Michaelem Blum."][304][Alesius says: "I was at Antwerp whan a contryman of myne, whose name was John Foster, did send a somme of mony unto Cochleus by a marchant from the Bisshop of S. Andrews, which geveth him yerely so long as he liveth a certen stipend. And it chanced by the goodnes of God, wherby He discloseth the wickednes of these hipocytes (sic), that a pistle of Cochleus which he sent unto a certen bisshop of Pole came unto my handes, wherin he complayneth that he hath gret losse and evel fortune in setting forth of bokes, for as moch as no man wil wetesaue to rede his bokes. And he beggeth a yerely stipend of the bisshops of Pole, saing that he hath bene nobly rewarded of the King of Scottys and of the Archbisshop of S. Andrews and of the Bisshop of Glasguo" ('Of the Auctorite of the Word of God').][305][From the Treasurer's Accounts, as quoted by M'Crie, it appears that the servant who brought over his book received £10 (M'Crie's Knox, 1855, p. 321 n.).][306][15th March 1542-43 (Acts of Parliament, ii. 415).][307][The title is: "De Avthoritate Verbi Dei Liber Alexandri Alesij, contra Episcopum Lundensem. An.M.D.XLII." The preface is dated: "Francfordiae ad Oderam. Calend. Maijs. an. DominiM.D.XL." The colophon is: "Argentorati apvd Cratonem Mylivm an.M.D.XLII.mense Septembri." The translation, which is in black-letter, bears no date, place, or printer's name. For a copy of its title, seeinfra, p.268 n.][308][Alesius says that he was the bearer of the Loci Theologici, which he had persuaded Melanchthon to dedicate to Henry VIII. (Foreign Calendar, Elizabeth, i. 525).][309][He was in London during the time of the trial and execution of Anne Boleyn. He sent Elizabeth an account of a dream or vision which he then had. See AppendixF.][310][There is "great uncertainty" as to whether this meeting took place in 1536 or 1537 (Hardwick's Reformation, 1883, p. 182 n.). The year 1537 is given by Alesius in his 'De Avthoritate Verbi Dei' (p. 18), and is repeated in the translation. In the latter it is said: "Contrary to all my expectacion I chanced to fall agayn into such a disputacyon as I was in before, and in maner with like adversarys.... Unto this disputacion I came sodenly unprepared, for as I did mete bi chance in the streate the right excellent Lord Crumwel going unto the Parlament Howse in the yeare 1537, he whan he sawe me called me unto him, and toke me with him to the Parlament House to Westmyster (sic), where we fownd all the bisshops gathered together."][311]Cattley's Foxe, v. 381-384. [The whole of this account, as Cattley points out, is taken by Foxe almostverbatimfrom a statement made by Alesius himself in his rare tract entitled,Of the Auctorite of the Word of God agaynst the Bisshop of London, wherein are conteyned certen disputacyons had in the Parlament Howse betwene the Bisshops, abowt the nomber of the Sacraments, and other things very necessary to be known: made by Alexander Alane Scot and sent to the Duke of Saxon. Christopher Anderson says that this translation of the tract De Authoritate Verbi Dei Liber was made by EdmundAllen. So completely had the original name of Alesius dropped out of knowledge that Anderson actually charges the printer with committing "a strange blunder in the title." Believing thatAleswas the real name of Alesius, he thought that the printer had divided the name of the author between the author and the translator ('Annals of the English Bible,' ii. 479 n.).][312][For the circumstances of his departure, see AppendixG.][313][For M'Alpine, see Gau's Richt Vay, Introd., p. xii.][314]"I owe much," he says, "to your father, who received me most hospitably at my first coming hither, and, in name of Duke Maurice (now Elector of Saxony), invited me to give my services to this famous university, and retained me here some years after, when I was called elsewhere" (i.e., probably Königsberg), "promising me the favour and grace of the most illustrious prince elector. Finally, after the war, he encouraged me, then hesitating, to write to the elector to beg the restitution of my books and other effects, which I had lost at the time of the siege of this city, kindly offering his best services in rendering my supplicatory letter to the prince, by which, however, he only succeeded in securing that the elector, when departing from his own dominions to attend the imperial diet, should give instructions on the matter to his counsellors whom he had left at home, and should deliver to be sent on to me a letter full of kindness through Damianus Sybothendorff, secretary to his highness."[315]On the former of which occasions he inscribed the following paragraph in the matriculation book of the university: "AnnoMDLV, die 23 Aprilis, qui Divo Georgio sacer est, et quo existimo me natum esse, supputatis retroLVannis, ego Alexander Alesius, gente Scotus, Patriâ Edinburgensis, atavis consulibus, qui duobus regibus, Jacobo Quinto, et Henrico Octavo, et quatuor electoribus, Johanni Friderico, Mauricio et Augusto, Ducibus Saxoniae, et Joachimo Electori Brandeburgensi inservivi, invitus suscepi officium rectoris universitatis scholae in inclytâ urbe Lipsiâ."[316]Lorimer's Scottish Reformation, 1860, pp. 112, 113. [The Perth martyrs are noticed above, pp.53,54. See also Laing's Knox, i. 117, 118, 523-526.][317]Lorimer's Scottish Reformation, 1860, pp. 115, 116. [The quotations from the Cohortatio which follow agree substantially with those given by Dr Lorimer, but many of the variations in the phraseology show that Dr Mitchell had the original as well as Lorimer's translation before him when he wrote.][318]See AppendixH.[319]M'Crie's Knox, 1855, p. 462.[320]Anderson's Annals of the English Bible, 1845, ii. 485. For a list of the published writings of Alesius see AppendixI.[321][This is taken from a paper on "St Mary's College," contributed by Dr Mitchell to the "Student's Handbook to the University of St Andrews," 1895, pp. 12-15.][322][In Crumwell's accounts there are payments of £5 to Alesius on each of the following dates: 4th January 1536-37, 28th March, 28th May, and 24th October 1537; of 10 merks, on 19th February 1537-38; and of £5, on 13th October 1538, to Ric. Morison, which he gave "by my lord's command" to Alesius (Letters and State Papers, Henry VIII., vol. xiv. part ii. 328-338).][323][Alesius arrived at Wittenberg on the 9th of July 1539, and from thence informed Crumwell that he was encouraged to hope that he would receive a post in the University there (Letters and State Papers, Henry VIII., vol. xiv. part i. 583, 584). Melanchthon wrote to the Elector's chancellor, on the 1st of December 1539, recommending him for the University of Frankfort (Corpus Reformatorum, iii. 842-844).]

[299][The nature of the arguments used by Alesius in this epistle may be learned from the lengthy extracts quoted in Christopher Anderson's Annals of the English Bible, 1845, ii. 430-437.]

[300][This reply by Cochlaeus, which is dated 6th June 1533, is entitled: "An Expediat Laicis, legere Noui Testamenti libros lingua Vernacula? Ad Serenissimvm Scotiæ Regem Iacobum V. Disputatio inter Alexandrum Alesium Scotum, & Iohannem Cochlæum Germanum. Anno dn̄iM.D. XXXIII." A beautiful copy of this very rare work was secured at the Laing sale for the library of the Church of Scotland. There is also a copy in the Signet Library. A few extracts may be found in Anderson's Annals, ii. 439-441.]

[301][A beautiful copy of this excessively rare tract was also secured for the Church library at the Laing sale.]

[302][For a translation by Dr Mitchell of that part of the Responsio which relates to the opinions of Alesius, see AppendixE.]

[303][Dr Mitchell possessed copies of several of the other tracts of Cochlaeus, as well as of this: "Pro Scotiae Regno Apologia Iohannis Cochlei, adversvs personatum Alexandrum Alesium Scotum. Ad Sereniss. Scotorū regē.M.D.XXXIIII." It ends: "Excusum Lipsiae apud Michaelem Blum."]

[304][Alesius says: "I was at Antwerp whan a contryman of myne, whose name was John Foster, did send a somme of mony unto Cochleus by a marchant from the Bisshop of S. Andrews, which geveth him yerely so long as he liveth a certen stipend. And it chanced by the goodnes of God, wherby He discloseth the wickednes of these hipocytes (sic), that a pistle of Cochleus which he sent unto a certen bisshop of Pole came unto my handes, wherin he complayneth that he hath gret losse and evel fortune in setting forth of bokes, for as moch as no man wil wetesaue to rede his bokes. And he beggeth a yerely stipend of the bisshops of Pole, saing that he hath bene nobly rewarded of the King of Scottys and of the Archbisshop of S. Andrews and of the Bisshop of Glasguo" ('Of the Auctorite of the Word of God').]

[305][From the Treasurer's Accounts, as quoted by M'Crie, it appears that the servant who brought over his book received £10 (M'Crie's Knox, 1855, p. 321 n.).]

[306][15th March 1542-43 (Acts of Parliament, ii. 415).]

[307][The title is: "De Avthoritate Verbi Dei Liber Alexandri Alesij, contra Episcopum Lundensem. An.M.D.XLII." The preface is dated: "Francfordiae ad Oderam. Calend. Maijs. an. DominiM.D.XL." The colophon is: "Argentorati apvd Cratonem Mylivm an.M.D.XLII.mense Septembri." The translation, which is in black-letter, bears no date, place, or printer's name. For a copy of its title, seeinfra, p.268 n.]

[308][Alesius says that he was the bearer of the Loci Theologici, which he had persuaded Melanchthon to dedicate to Henry VIII. (Foreign Calendar, Elizabeth, i. 525).]

[309][He was in London during the time of the trial and execution of Anne Boleyn. He sent Elizabeth an account of a dream or vision which he then had. See AppendixF.]

[310][There is "great uncertainty" as to whether this meeting took place in 1536 or 1537 (Hardwick's Reformation, 1883, p. 182 n.). The year 1537 is given by Alesius in his 'De Avthoritate Verbi Dei' (p. 18), and is repeated in the translation. In the latter it is said: "Contrary to all my expectacion I chanced to fall agayn into such a disputacyon as I was in before, and in maner with like adversarys.... Unto this disputacion I came sodenly unprepared, for as I did mete bi chance in the streate the right excellent Lord Crumwel going unto the Parlament Howse in the yeare 1537, he whan he sawe me called me unto him, and toke me with him to the Parlament House to Westmyster (sic), where we fownd all the bisshops gathered together."]

[311]Cattley's Foxe, v. 381-384. [The whole of this account, as Cattley points out, is taken by Foxe almostverbatimfrom a statement made by Alesius himself in his rare tract entitled,Of the Auctorite of the Word of God agaynst the Bisshop of London, wherein are conteyned certen disputacyons had in the Parlament Howse betwene the Bisshops, abowt the nomber of the Sacraments, and other things very necessary to be known: made by Alexander Alane Scot and sent to the Duke of Saxon. Christopher Anderson says that this translation of the tract De Authoritate Verbi Dei Liber was made by EdmundAllen. So completely had the original name of Alesius dropped out of knowledge that Anderson actually charges the printer with committing "a strange blunder in the title." Believing thatAleswas the real name of Alesius, he thought that the printer had divided the name of the author between the author and the translator ('Annals of the English Bible,' ii. 479 n.).]

[312][For the circumstances of his departure, see AppendixG.]

[313][For M'Alpine, see Gau's Richt Vay, Introd., p. xii.]

[314]"I owe much," he says, "to your father, who received me most hospitably at my first coming hither, and, in name of Duke Maurice (now Elector of Saxony), invited me to give my services to this famous university, and retained me here some years after, when I was called elsewhere" (i.e., probably Königsberg), "promising me the favour and grace of the most illustrious prince elector. Finally, after the war, he encouraged me, then hesitating, to write to the elector to beg the restitution of my books and other effects, which I had lost at the time of the siege of this city, kindly offering his best services in rendering my supplicatory letter to the prince, by which, however, he only succeeded in securing that the elector, when departing from his own dominions to attend the imperial diet, should give instructions on the matter to his counsellors whom he had left at home, and should deliver to be sent on to me a letter full of kindness through Damianus Sybothendorff, secretary to his highness."

[315]On the former of which occasions he inscribed the following paragraph in the matriculation book of the university: "AnnoMDLV, die 23 Aprilis, qui Divo Georgio sacer est, et quo existimo me natum esse, supputatis retroLVannis, ego Alexander Alesius, gente Scotus, Patriâ Edinburgensis, atavis consulibus, qui duobus regibus, Jacobo Quinto, et Henrico Octavo, et quatuor electoribus, Johanni Friderico, Mauricio et Augusto, Ducibus Saxoniae, et Joachimo Electori Brandeburgensi inservivi, invitus suscepi officium rectoris universitatis scholae in inclytâ urbe Lipsiâ."

[316]Lorimer's Scottish Reformation, 1860, pp. 112, 113. [The Perth martyrs are noticed above, pp.53,54. See also Laing's Knox, i. 117, 118, 523-526.]

[317]Lorimer's Scottish Reformation, 1860, pp. 115, 116. [The quotations from the Cohortatio which follow agree substantially with those given by Dr Lorimer, but many of the variations in the phraseology show that Dr Mitchell had the original as well as Lorimer's translation before him when he wrote.]

[318]See AppendixH.

[319]M'Crie's Knox, 1855, p. 462.

[320]Anderson's Annals of the English Bible, 1845, ii. 485. For a list of the published writings of Alesius see AppendixI.

[321][This is taken from a paper on "St Mary's College," contributed by Dr Mitchell to the "Student's Handbook to the University of St Andrews," 1895, pp. 12-15.]

[322][In Crumwell's accounts there are payments of £5 to Alesius on each of the following dates: 4th January 1536-37, 28th March, 28th May, and 24th October 1537; of 10 merks, on 19th February 1537-38; and of £5, on 13th October 1538, to Ric. Morison, which he gave "by my lord's command" to Alesius (Letters and State Papers, Henry VIII., vol. xiv. part ii. 328-338).]

[323][Alesius arrived at Wittenberg on the 9th of July 1539, and from thence informed Crumwell that he was encouraged to hope that he would receive a post in the University there (Letters and State Papers, Henry VIII., vol. xiv. part i. 583, 584). Melanchthon wrote to the Elector's chancellor, on the 1st of December 1539, recommending him for the University of Frankfort (Corpus Reformatorum, iii. 842-844).]

Back to Index Next