Lollards

Lollards, members of a religious sect in 14th- and 15th-century England. They were led by the English theologian and religious reformer John Wycliffe and followed the doctrines he preached. Lollards held the Bible to be the only authentic rule of faith; exhorted the clergy to return to the simple life of the early church; and opposed war, the doctrine of transubstantiation, confession, and the use of images in worship. In the last decades of the 14th century Lollards were numerous; their number decreased, however, during the reign of King Henry IV because of their vigorous persecution by the English prelate Thomas Arundel. The Lollards remained numerous enough to be a formidable group at the accession to the throne of King Henry V. Their most prominent supporter at that time was the English martyr Sir John Oldcastle, who was executed under the 1417 statute De Haeretico Comburendo (On the Burning of the Heretic). During the early years of the reign of King Henry VI, the Lollards were persecuted in London and the eastern counties, and some members of the sect were burned at the stake. The persecution continued after the accession to the throne of King Henry VII, but in the time of King Henry VIII the Lollards began to merge with the rising forces of Protestantism.