The Life of a Lollard

Sitting at home yesterday waiting for some digital transcription work to arrive, I thought I’d start a local history article and, for some totally inexplicable reason, the word ‘Lollard’ came into my mind!  I could vaguely remember hitting on the subject when I was at primary school some 40 years ago and I knew that the Lollards had been part of the Norwich, England history but I’d totally forgotten who they were and what they believed so did a bit of delving and discovered their grizzly history!

Picture this – a girl is led over Bishopbridge (above), through a throng of ’spectators’ and tied to a stake.  She’s surrounded by wood and other flammable materials and then a naked flame is cruelly inserted into the pyre.  The crowd that had gathered for the spectacle watched as the flames surrounded the choking, screaming girl.  Before long the once beautiful young woman is nothing more than a heap of charred bones.  The baying crowd were now silent and began drifting away from the area hoping that there’d be another similar spectacle later in the week.  Once the crowds had dispersed the undertakers would arrive to gather what was left of the girl and bury it amongst the ashes that remained in the pit.

No, it’s not a scene from a Vincent Price movie.  The girl had been a Lollard – a follower of John Wycliffe who in essence was an early humanitarian and socialist – and therefore regarded as a heretic.  The name ‘Lollard’ appears to derive from a Dutch word for ‘mumbler’ or ‘mutterer’ – lollaert, possibly on account of their method of prayer, but this has never been confirmed or otherwise. 

Today, Bishopbridge, within a stone’s throw of the regal Norwich Cathedral, still remains and if you take a walk over it, it’s difficult to imagine it’s bloody history.  Likewise, the site of Lollard’s Pit can still be found although sadly it’s now part of a pub car park.

John Wycliffe was born in the mid 14^th century and lived to relative old age for those hard times. He died when he was in his mid 60s which was a pretty good innings.  He had studied theology at Balliol College, Oxford and became a tad disenchanted with the catholic church.  The pope was becoming involved in worldly affairs which influenced the thinking of the Catholic people, whereas John considered that the pope’s role should be purely spiritual and totally unbiased.  He also thought that the monasteries were becoming increasingly greedy and felt it was about time that someone gave them a good, sound talking to and be reminded that they were there for spiritual reasons rather than for gathering taxes to pay for pretty objet d’art to decorate their places of worship.  He considered that the church, via the pope and the monasteries, were exploiting their powers specifically for personal gain but, quite rightly so, the only power that should be exerted on the people was the power of God.