[1]"That if the Pope collated to any ecclesiastical benefice, or dignity in England, the collation was to escheat to the crown for that term." Anyone who procured "reservations or provisions from the Pope should, on conviction, be fined and imprisoned!" What answer did the Pope give to this? His demands were only increased.
In 1365 a further command was given for the payment of 1,000 marks which had been promised by King John, and thirty-three years' arrears were ordered to be paid as well. The English people decided that neither John nor any other of their kings could bring the English under such servitude and subjection without the consent of Parliament. And this consent, they said, had never been given. That money should be paid to Rome, they added, was contrary to John's coronation oath. In consequence of the demand the king was strong enough to stop the payment of Peter's pence to Rome, and after this, says Professor Green, [2]"The claim of papal lordship over England was never heard of again." This statement, however, is rather premature.
And now, in the last place, I must make only a short reference to the work of John Wycliffe, the "Morning Star of the Reformation," as he has been called. His date extends from 1324-1384. His early days are wrapped in much obscurity. We know most about his life at Oxford as student, graduate, fellow, and professor. He received Holy Orders, and became rector of Fellingham, in Lincolnshire; of Ludgershall, in Bucks; and Lutterworth, where he ended his days. Wycliffe's work, of course, was to oppose the principle of the Romanists that the Pope had supreme
