ing, the canopy was brought to the Cardinal with the cross and censer, not as usual for a mere Legate, but as if the Pope in person had arrived.
On reaching the high altar the Cardinal kissed the cross, and the ambassadors having seated themselves on a stage placed for them, the Archbishop of Canterbury [Warham] made a laudatory oration, praising the Cardinal vastly. Then [Fisher] the Bishop of Rochester made a speech, in which he com- mended the Cardinal for what he had done against Friar Martin Luther, and said the King would act in like manner. He reprobated the Friar's sayings, and upheld the authority of the pope, and finally published the Papal brief, saying King Henry had written a work* against Luther which Cardinal Wolsey held in his hand, but it was not yet completed. After this the condemnation was published, together with its ap- proval by the King. The ceremony lasted until after 2 p.m.
483. LUTHER TO SPALATIN AT WORMS. Enders, iii, 152. The Mountain (Wartburg), May 14, 1521.
Greeting. I received your letter, dear Spalatin, and those of Gerbel* and Sapidus,* last Sunday, but have purposely not written before for fear that the report of my recent cap- ture should cause someone to intercept the letter. Various opinions of my disappearance are held in this region, the most popular being that I was captured by friends from Franconia.
To-morrow the Emperor's safe-conduct expires. I regret what you write about their savage edict for trying consciences, not so much for my own sake as because they are inviting evil
^ The Assertio Septem Sacramentorum. See English Historical Review, October, 1912.
- Nicholas Gerbel (c. 1485- 1560),. a native of Pforzheim, studied at Cologne
(1506), Vienna (1507), and Bologna (LL.D., isi3)« In >52i he was practicing law at Strassburg; in 1523 was made secretary of the Cathedral chapter, and in 1525 professor of history at the University. He exercised a considerable in- fluence on the course of the Reformation at Strassburg, remaining a friend of Luther and supporting him in the sacramental controversy, even againts Bucer and Capito. See Allen, ii, 120. In March, 1521, he edited a Greek New Testament
- John Witz (i49o-t56i), a native of Schlettstadt. He studied under Lefivre
d'fitaples in Paris, 1506-9, and was rector of the school at Schlettstadt, 1510-25, from which position he was removed because of his outspoken adherence to the Reformation. In 1528 he was entrusted with the task of reorganizing the school at Strassburg, nemaining a teacher there the rest of his life. He was well known as a writer of Latin poems. ADB and Allen, ii, 47.
�� �
