Supremacy of the Pope challenged by John Wyclif

Historical Context Note

Litencyc Editors (Independent Scholar - Europe)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.02: English Writing and Culture: High and Late Medieval, 1066-1485.
Vol. editors: Kate Ash-Irisarri (University of Edinburgh), Rory Critten (Université de Lausanne), David Fuller (University of Durham), Natalie Hanna (University of Liverpool), Hugh Magennis (Queen's University Belfast), Jamie McKinstry (University of Durham), Sarah Peverley (University of Liverpool), Sebastian Sobecki (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen)

Domains

Church of England (Anglicans)

Dates

Date of occurrence 1366

Places

England (Location)
Vatican City (Involved)

Resources

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John Wyclif, reformist theologian and originator of the Lollard movement, had been arguing for some time that spiritual authority lay not with the Pope or the material Church, but in the Bible. Now his doctrines were employed in the service of a political dispute. Since the Pope was currently residing in Avignon, and England was in a longstanding position of being at war with France, existing resentment about paying tithes to the papacy were exacerbated by the particular political situation. The English Parliament declared that they would no longer support payment of the tithe, and employed Wyclif to defend their decision.

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101 words

Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Supremacy of the Pope challenged by John Wyclif". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 31 July 2012 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=9500, accessed 16 April 2024.]

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