The Lollards were a pre-Protestant Christian movement that existed from the mid-14th century to the English Reformation. The Lollards were followers of John Wycliffe, a renowned theologian and early proponent of reform in the Catholic Church. Here is an overview of the Lollards and their beliefs:
Origins
The term “Lollard” likely derived from the Middle Dutch word “lollaert”, meaning “mumbler” – a reference to their habit of muttering prayers. The word later took on the connotation of “heretic.”
John Wycliffe was an English scholastic philosopher and theology professor at the University of Oxford in the 1370s. He was critical of many Catholic doctrines and began emphasizing the authority of scripture over papal authority. Wycliffe argued that scripture was the only reliable guide to the truth about God and that Christians needed the Bible in their own language to properly understand their faith.
Wycliffe trained his followers as “poor preachers” who traveled and spread his ideas. His followers came to be known as Lollards. Prominent early Lollards besides Wycliffe included Philip Repingdon, Henry Crumpe, and John Aston.
Beliefs
The Lollards’ teachings aligned with many of the doctrines later espoused in the Protestant Reformation. Their key beliefs included:
- The Bible should be available to Christians in their own language, not restricted to Latin.
- People should be taught directly from the scriptures.
- Faith in Jesus, not sacraments or church affiliation, is the key to salvation.
- The Catholic church had become corrupted through pursuit of wealth and power.
- Many Catholic practices, like confession to priests, veneration of saints, and transubstantiation lacked Biblical justification.
- Indulgences, pilgrimages, invoking saints, worship of relics, and other traditions were useless for gaining salvation.
- The church hierarchy, including the Pope, had no Biblical basis.
- The Lollards rejected the medieval feudal system and believed in empowerment of the common man.
In essence, the Lollards wanted to return Christianity to its simple Biblical roots and grant lay people more power in the church. They were branded as heretics and persecuted for threatening Catholic orthodoxy.
Persecution
The Catholic church moved swiftly to suppress the spread of Wycliffe and Lollard teachings. In 1382, just a few years after Wycliffe’s death, the Blackfriars Council in London formally condemned his writings. The church banned unauthorized preaching and prohibited translation of the Bible into English.
Beginning in the early 15th century, secular and church authorities worked together to root out Lollard adherents. In 1401, England’s parliament passed the De heretico comburendo act which allowed burning heretics at the stake. Lollards faced arrest, interrogation, and execution if they continued teaching Wycliffe’s ideas.
Some prominent Lollards were tried and executed as heretics, including William Sawtrey in 1401 and John Badby in 1410. They were burned at the stake for refusing to renounce their unorthodox views.
Jan Hus, a key predecessor of the Protestant Reformation in Bohemia, brought Lollard writings to Prague University in the early 1400s. This helped spread Wycliffe’s ideas across Europe.
Suppression and Decline
By the early 15th century, the organized Lollard movement was largely extinguished in England due to severe persecution. However, their ideas survived clandestinely for over a century.
In 1521, Thomas More noted that the “tares and cockle of the Lollards” continued to spread, though secretly. Some tradesmen and merchants kept Lollard books and teachings alive.
King Henry VIII’s break from the Catholic church in the 1530s briefly revitalized the Lollard movement. Cromwell and Cranmer appointed known Lollards to academic positions where they could promote Protestant reforms.
However, when Henry VIII shifted back toward conservatism in the 1540s, the last vestiges of Lollard activity were snuffed out. Remaining Lollards were absorbed into the wider English Reformation.
Legacy
Though the Lollards were suppressed in England, their influence spread to Europe and helped plant seeds for the coming Protestant Reformation.
Wycliffe and the Lollards made early contributions to Protestant thought and practice:
- Translating the Bible and emphasizing scripture as the supreme authority.
- Criticizing the Pope, priestly mediation, transubstantiation, indulgences, relics, and other non-Biblical practices.
- Preaching that faith in Christ alone was needed for salvation.
- Empowering lay people and chanting for church reform.
- Questioning the privileged status and wealth of the clergy.
In many ways, the Lollards laid theological groundwork that anticipated Luther, Calvin, Tyndale, and other major 16th century Reformers. The Lollard movement revealed a hunger for vernacular scripture, a simplified Biblical faith, and resistance to clerical control that foreshadowed key Protestant doctrines.
Though condemned as heretical in England, the Lollards helped plant seeds of dissent and yearning for reform within the medieval church. They were important precursors and pioneers of Protestantism in the century before Martin Luther.