169 



the year. In which he not only preached without any license from the Bishop of 

 Hereford, but also administered the Holy Communion, probably in both kinds, to 

 the laity. 



William de S%vynderby first comes into notice as a priest in Leicestershire» 

 The earliest and fullest account of him is given in the Chronicles of his contem- 

 porary, Henry of Knighton, a canon of Leicester Abbey. Knighton wrote in 

 opposition to the views of the AVycliffites, and some allowance must therefore 

 be made for the tone of his chronicles. 



Swynderby was a disciple and personal friend of "Wycliffe. He seems to 

 have gone to Leicester in a missionary spirit without any oure of souls, or other 

 church appointment, and was shortly afterwards allowed to reside in the abbey. 

 He preached in the chapel of St. John Baptist without Leicester, near the Leper's 

 Hospital, and in the churches of St. Martin and St. Margaret of that town. 

 He did not remain very long as an inmate of the abbey, most probably on account 

 of the very decided manner in which he adopted and preached the new views on 

 the reformation of the Church. 



He was one of the many priests who received the protection of the Duke 

 of Lancaster, John of Gaunt, and lived for several years as a recluse in his park 

 at Leicester. Here he lived a life of great sanctity and self-denial, " refusing the 

 gifts and presents," says Knighton, "which were sent him by some devoiit people 

 of Leicester," and hence he became known as " AVilliam the Hermit. " He 

 continued, however, constantly to preach the Gospel " running sometimes into 

 the town and sometimes going into the country." 



Swynderby was a man of good abilities and well-educated — probably at 

 Oxford. He was gifted with a good voice, with great natural eloquence, and 

 knew by heart much of the Bible in the vulgar tongue. He was simple and 

 unaffected in manner, earnest and pers'^asive, and withal so strict and austere 

 in his own life, as quickly to gain for himself considerable influence with the 

 people. "Wherever he preached crowds flocked to hear him, whether in the 

 streets or in the market places, like the mendicant friars of the period, or in the 

 churches of Leicester and the neighbouring towns which seem at this time to have 

 been open to him. " By his preaching," says Knighton, "he so captivated the 

 affections of the people, that they said they had never seen nor heard any one 

 who so well explained the truth to them ; and so they reverenced him as another 

 God." (fol. 2667). Swynderby is usually represented as a man of little learning 

 but this is certainly a mistake. Not only the common people but learned 

 men were attracted by him, and he was moreover able to keep them 

 in close companionship for long periods of time. His writings it is true are 

 in English, but this was evidently not because he could not write Latin, but 

 because he made it a point to write in the vulgar tongue that every body should 

 understand him. 



Swynderby preached with great boldness and simplicity and yet with a 

 considerable amount of tact and caution. Avoiding the more dangerous topics, 

 he preached against the vanity and pride of the people, a|;ain8t the luxuries &&d 



