Perrow—The Last Will and Testament in Literature. 689 
church as a regular part of the Will. Some of the best ex¬ 
amples of the way in which the church insisted on a testator’s 
confessing its faith are found among the wills of repentant 
Lollards who express repentance for their errors. Sir Thomas 
Latimer (died 1401) and Lewis Clifford (died 1404) both in 
their Last Wills regret their infidelity, and confess their faith 
in the church. 1 Because William ,Trade in his will (1531) re¬ 
fused the intercession of the church in behalf of his soul, trust¬ 
ing only in Jesus Christ, his body was taken up after burial 
and publicly burned by order of the Chancellor of Worcester. 2 
We may now examine a few wills in which the confession is 
especially prominent. The will of Isabelle de Baviere, Queen 
of France (143 5), 3 is a good example of the Will of the fif¬ 
teenth century. She confesses her faith in God and the Catho¬ 
lic Church and recommends her soul to God, Mary, Michael, the 
angels, archangels and all the blessed company of heaven. 
Philippe-le-Bon begins his will (1441) 4 by speaking of the un¬ 
certainty of life. As a good catholic he wishes to make his will. 
He recommends his soul to St. Mary, to St. Andrew, and to all 
the saints of Paradise. Charles, brother of King Louis XI, 
died at the age of twenty-six, from poison. During his illness 
he made his will in which there is a considerable space devoted 
to the confession of faith. 5 The will of Thomas Windham 
(1522) 6 is interesting as one of the last wills in England before 
the breaking in of the Deformation. Like a good catholic, the 
testator recommends his soul to the saints. The schism of 
Henry VIII (1532-4) broke the power of the Roman church 
in England, and in the later English wills we find little trace of 
its influence. The Testament of Melancthon (1560) 7 is purely 
iF. C. Massingberd, The English Reformation, London, 1857, p. 163; 
J. H. Wylie, History of England under Henry IV., Ill, 296, N. 2; W. 
Dugdale, The Baronage of England, London, 1675, I, 341; for the juris¬ 
diction of the church over Wills compare Chaucer, Canterbury Tales , 
D 1305. 
2 Chambers Booh of Bays, II, 429; Massingberd, p. 531. 
3 Peignot, I, 76. 
4 Ibid., I, 101. 
s Ibid'., I, 123. 
6 Ibid., I, 172. 
^ Ibid. I, 205; Seckendorff, Commentarius de Lutheranismo , Frank¬ 
fort and Leipsic, 1692, III, sec. 21, paragraph 78. 
