[ 7 ] ce'ifary to bridle them : And then better Princes rook it for their Chief .Piety to advance them, who were all taken for facred Perfons, Men of-God: And after the Saxom overthrow of the ·Brittains, the Countrey being Heathens, aad long in Con– verting, it rnuil: needs be that ignorance' mufi be ;predominant for a long time: And theCure ofit was greatly hindered by the continual Wars of the Saxon Kings among tbemfelves, and after bv. the Danijh Wars and Conquefi. And under the Normans the Bia1ops were :grown fo firong by their dependance on the Pope, who was then grown to the heighth of his Ufur– pation, as that they were almoft in continual Con– tefls with their Kings. The Ignorance of theEn. gliil1 Clergy was fo great that the Kings were put .to fetch their chief Bifi1ops fi·om other Lands,. where they had got more learning than was found at home,and fo had been trained up in the heighth , · ofPopery : And even thofe that were the moft :famous for Learning and fuch Piety as then pre– vailed, were yet mofi Zealoufly addieted to the Pope, and learnt of Rome to fl:rive for Gran– ,deur. V/ilfrid ofYork._who is magnified by Malmesbury .and others after Beda, was fo zealous to be the foie Bilbop in that large Northern Countrey, when the King and the A. 13iiliop of Canterbttry faid there was work enough for four, and decreed a di-vifion, that in relifl:ance of the King and_ the A. Bifhop he appealed to the Pope, and went di– vers times himfelf to Rome, and once at Seventy years of age, ratter thanhave his vail Bifhoprick · ~ividecl. ' .B 4 ' And •
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