, starting with a large letter "I" in blue, from a pocket Wycliffe translation. It may have been used by a roving Lollard preacher Although Lollardy was denounced as a
heresy by the Catholic Church, initially Wycliffe and the Lollards were sheltered by politically-influential nobleman
John of Gaunt and other anti-clerical nobility, who may have wanted to use Lollard-advocated clerical reform to acquire new sources of revenue from England's monasteries. The
University of Oxford also protected Wycliffe and similar academics on the grounds of academic freedom and, initially, allowed such persons to retain their positions despite their controversial views. Two primary religious opponents of the Wycliffites were
Archbishop of Canterbury William Courtenay and his successor
Thomas Arundel, assisted by bishops like
Henry le Despenser of
Norwich, whom the chronicler
Thomas Walsingham praised for his zeal. Historian T. Waugh suggests the Lollard movement was small with little appeal to the upper classes, who liked the anti-clerical politics but not the religious doctrines. "Notices of Lollardy after the death of Wycliffe are scattered and meagre. Sixteenth century Protestantism invested the Lollards with a posthumous renown, but there can be little doubt that, when their first energy had spent itself, they speedily became an obscure sect, destitute of living leaders, and vaguely re-echoing the teaching of a deceased founder whom they only half understood."
Oxford Lollards The initial Lollards were a small group of scholars, particularly at
Merton College, Oxford University, some with important positions, who came under the influence of Wycliffe in the 1360s and 1370s. After Wycliffe's natural death, all of them eventually submitted to Archbishop of Canterbury
William Courtenay to renounce Wycliffe's contentious doctrines, and none suffered long-term consequences. These notably included
Nicholas Hereford, who is usually named as the translator of most of the Old Testament of the Wycliffean
Middle English Bible.
Peasants' Revolt Lollards first faced serious persecution after the
Peasants' Revolt in 1381. While Wycliffe and other Lollards opposed the revolt, one of the peasants' leaders,
John Ball, preached Lollardy. Prior to 1382, Wycliffite beliefs were tolerated in government as they endorsed in
royal superiority to bishops. However, the government and royals were hesitant, as they did not want to encourage subjects to criticize religious powers.
Lollard Knights A group of gentry active during the reign of
Richard II (1377–99) were known as "Lollard Knights" either during or after their lives due to their acceptance of Wycliffe's claims.
Henry Knighton, in his Chronicle, identifies the principal Lollard Knights as Thomas Latimer, John Trussell, Lewis Clifford, Sir John Peche (son of
John Peche of Wormleighton), Richard Storey, and Reginald Hilton.
Thomas Walsingham's Chronicle adds William Nevil and
John Clanvowe to the list, and other potential members of this circle have been identified by their wills, which contain Lollard-inspired language about how their bodies are to be plainly buried and permitted to return to the soil whence they came. There is little indication that the Lollard Knights were specifically known as such during their lifetimes. They were men of discretion, and unlike Sir
John Oldcastle years later, rarely gave any hint of open rebellion. However, they displayed a remarkable ability to retain important positions, without falling victim to the prosecutions of Wycliffe's followers during their lifetimes.
Legal response Religious and secular authorities strongly opposed Lollardy. In eventual response to the revolting Lollards, the law
De heretico comburendo was enacted in 1401 during the reign of
Henry IV; traditionally heresy had been defined as an error in theological belief, but this statute equated theological
heresy with
sedition against political rulers. It was associated with Lollard missionary William White.
Late Lollardy in the 1500s Lollards were effectively absorbed into
Protestantism during the
English Reformation, in which Lollardy played a role. Since Lollards had been underground for more than a hundred years, the extent of Lollardy and its ideas at the time of the Reformation is uncertain and a point of debate. Ancestors of
Blanche Parry, the closest person to
Elizabeth I for 56 years, and of
Blanche Milborne, who raised Edward VI and Elizabeth I, had Lollard associations. Many critics of the Reformation, including
Thomas More, equated Protestants with Lollards. Leaders of the
English Reformation, including Archbishop
Thomas Cranmer, referred to Lollardy as well, and
Bishop Cuthbert Tunstall of London called
Lutheranism the "foster-child" of the Wycliffite heresy. Scholars debate whether Protestants actually drew influence from Lollardy, or whether they referred to it to create a sense of tradition. Late Lollards had little direct connection to Wycliffe's ideas. Other
martyrs for the Lollard cause were executed during the next century, including the
Amersham Martyrs in the early 1500s and
Thomas Harding in 1532, one of the last Lollards to be persecuted. A gruesome reminder of this persecution is the 'Lollards Pit' in Thorpe Wood, now
Thorpe Hamlet, Norwich, Norfolk, "
where men are customablie burnt", including
Thomas Bilney. Despite the debate about the extent of Lollard influence there are ample records of the persecution of Lollards from this period. In the
Diocese of London, there are records of about 310 Lollards being prosecuted or forced to abjure from 1510 to 1532. In Lincoln diocese, 45 cases against Lollardy were heard in 1506–1507. In 1521, there were 50 abjurations and 5 burnings of Lollards. In 1511,
Archbishop Warham presided over the abjuration of 41 Lollards from Kent and the burning of 5. In 1529,
Simon Fish wrote an incendiary pamphlet
Supplication for the Beggars, including his denial of
purgatory and teachings that priestly
celibacy was an invention of the
Antichrist. He argued that earthly rulers have the right to strip Church properties, and that
tithing was against the
Gospel, Protestant views that echo the Wycliffite/Lollard teaching. He advocated closing of all monasteries, and notably provided economic estimates of the revenues of various monastic and church institutions. The extent of Lollardy in the general populace at this time is unknown. The prevalence of Protestant
iconoclasm in England suggests Lollard ideas may still have had some popular influence if
Huldrych Zwingli was not the source, as Lutheranism did not advocate iconoclasm. Lollards were persecuted again between 1554 and 1559 during the
Revival of the Heresy Acts under the Catholic
Mary I, which specifically suppressed heresy and Lollardy. The similarity between Lollards and later English Protestant groups, such as the
Baptists,
Puritans, and
Quakers, also suggests some continuation of Lollard ideas through the Reformation. ==Representations in art and literature==