32 
fluential friends, and under their protection, he met the Bishop of Hereford 
(Trefnant) at Kington, in the parish church, without any formal citation. This 
interview seems to have been friendly, and Swynderby agreed to attend again 
before him—to use the Bishop’s words as translated from the Episcopal Register 
—‘at a day and place for him meet and convenient, of his own choice and free 
“will; that is to say on Friday, being the last day of the same month of June 
“next following, assigned to him at the church of Bodenham of the same our 
*€ diocese, to answer certain cases and articles exhibited to us by many of Christ’s 
‘faithful people, zealous followers of the Catholic faith.” 
These articles were 17 in number, and besides the general charges of heresy 
and schism against him—his attacks on the sins and wicked practices of the 
priests, auricular confession, limiting the usurped power of the Pope, and preach- 
ing without license—they included also his disbelief in the doctrine of transub- 
stantiation, which it is remarkable had not been alluded to at Lincoln, and then 
come the two last charges which refer to Deerfold Forest and its neighbourhood, 
viz. :—*X VI. Item. That the same William, unmindful of his own salvation, 
‘hath many and oftentimes come into a certain desert wood, called Dervolds- 
‘‘wood, of your diocese, and then in a certain chapel not hallowed, or rather in a 
‘* profane cottage, hath, in contempt of the Keys, presumed of his own rashness 
‘*to celebrate, nay rather to profanate. XVII. Item. The same William hath 
‘also presumed to do such things in a certain profane chapel, being situate in the 
‘park of Newton, neigh to the town of Leintwarden, of the same your diocese.” 
(Trans. from Bishop Trefnant’s Register.) 
A copy of these articles was sent to Swynderby who drew up “‘a protestation 
with his answers to the articles” at considerable length. The statement is very 
characteristic of himself. It is written simply, but with considerable ability, and 
with a constant reference to Scripture throughout. He maintains his opinions 
with great boldness, and yet with much greater tact and caution than appears on 
the surface, nor does he hesitate to meet his accusers on their own ground by the 
introduction of a little evasion and special pleading, when it suits his purpose to 
make use of either. His caution is very clearly shown by his passing over without 
notice the articles VI. and VII., which charge him distinctly with holding the 
heretical opinions of the doctrine of transubstantiation, and thus he avoids the 
point which afterwards brought so many of the Lollards to the stake. 
Swynderby attended personally at Bodenham on the day appointed ‘‘about six 
of the clock,” and met there the Bishops and Canons from Hereford. He read his 
Protest and Answers to the Articles ‘‘before all the multitude of faithful Christian 
people.” They were by no means satisfactory. The Bishop evidently felt he had 
been taken at an unfair advantage. He had not sufficiently appreciated Swyn- 
derby’s eloquence. He had summoned a large congregation and come prepared to 
hear a retractation, but instead of this he had to listen in state to the defence of 
the Lollard doctrines by their most eloquent advocate. The Bishop did not like 
it, and in the Report in the Register he goes on to say, with careful precision— 
‘“Which thing being done, the same William (without any more with him) did 
‘depart from our presence, because that we, at the instance of certain noble per- 
