Writing in the voice of England’s poor, Simon Fish petitions Henry VIII against the “greedy sort of sturdy idle holy thieves” he says devour the realm. He tallies tithes, probate fees, mortuaries and friars’ quarterage to show how much wealth the clergy draw off, and argues that they should be stripped of it. Edward Arber’s edition adds a scholarly introduction.
A short, explosive text from the eve of the English Reformation, invaluable for historians of the period. Download the free EPUB.