Abstract
The Image of both Churches after the most wonderful and heavenly Revelation of Saint John the Evangelist, containing a very fruitful exposition or paraphrase upon the same, wherein it is conferred with the other scriptures and most authorized histories. Compiled by John Bale, an exile also in this life for the faithful testimony of Jesus.
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Notes
- 1.
Gen 19.14, Rev 18.4, Jer 50.8. Part 1 of the present edition reproduces the images and placement of the 1548 text; instances where the subject matter or placement differs in the 1545 text are indicated in the footnotes.
- 2.
fiercely] 1545, 1570; fercely then 1548, 1550; fearcely they 1550(W).
- 3.
figure = the image, likeness, or representation of something material or immaterial (OED 9a).
- 4.
This is the first of many references to Augustine’s City of God in the Image. For the relationship between these works, see Introduction 2–5.
- 5.
peculiarly = in a way which is particular to an individual person, place, thing, etc., and not to others; specifically, distinctively, exclusively (OED 1).
- 6.
Mt 5.15.
- 7.
premie = reward, prize, gift. OED lists only this and one other instance from Bale’s King Johan (l. 2214) as examples of the word.
- 8.
That = That which. Bale often uses ‘that’ in order to mean ‘what’ or ‘that which’. In cases where the meaning is potentially confusing for modern readers, a footnote is supplied.
- 9.
clearness] 1548, 1550, etc.; clearance Christmas.
- 10.
proponed = put forward, proposed.
- 11.
Despite the mention of Domitian, Bale envisions John as being in the midst of priests and bishops (a typical anachronism in this work).
- 12.
Haymo (d. 853) was a German Benedictine monk who served as bishop of Halberstadt. He authored several commentaries, including In Apocalypsim libri septem, which Bale is referencing here.
- 13.
All of these commentators on Revelation (except Victorinus) are mentioned in Eusebius’ Church History. For details on these individuals, see below and Appendix 3.
- 14.
naught is it not = it is not for nothing.
- 15.
Bale was in exile on the continent from 1540–47. His position as a perpetual exile is a common motif in his work, which he emphasizes partially to establish parallels between himself and John of Patmos.
- 16.
Justin Martyr converted to Christianity c. 130 C.E. and became a Christian apologist throughout Asia Minor and Rome, where he was martyred c. 165.
- 17.
Melito of Sardis was a bishop and ecclesiastical writer in the latter half of the 2nd century. Spurious writings include ‘Catena in Apocalypsin’, a forgery compiled after 1200, and ‘De passione S. Joannis Evangelistae’, post-7th century. Eusebius lists The Revelation of John among Melito’s works (4.25).
- 18.
Irenaeus was a 2nd-century bishop of Lyons and an early church father and apologist; his Against Heresies concludes with apocalyptic material. Jerome’s Illustrious Men says that Justin and Irenaeus interpreted the Apocalypse, but this seems to refer to expositions of Apocalyptic passages found in their works, rather than to discrete commentaries.
- 19.
Hippolytus, presbyter of the Church of Rome, the first antipope, and a prolific writer, was exiled to Sardinia in 235 and died a martyr. His apocalyptic works are On Christ and Antichrist and Apology for the Apocalypse (the latter only in fragments).
- 20.
Bale means Victorinus of Poetovio (or Pettau; in modern-day Slovenia), who was martyred during the persecutions of Emperor Diocletian (c. 304). His Commentaries on the Apocalypse (c. 260–300) is the earliest surviving complete commentary on Revelation and expresses chiliastic views. Chiliasm, also known as millennialism, is the belief that there will be a golden age of 1000 years in which Christ will reign prior to the final judgement. This belief was declared heretical in the 4th century.
- 21.
Tyconius was a North African Donatist writer who introduced the antimillennial view of eschatology which Augustine later adopted. Tyconius wrote a commentary on the Apocalypse (c. 385) which explains the Apocalypse in light of his seven rules of interpretation; it survives in fragments and through others’ quotations (he is also quoted by Bede, Primasius, Beatus of Liebana, and others).
- 22.
Jerome (c. 347–420), church father and Bible translator, revised Victorinus’ commentary on the Apocalypse in 398, endeavouring to remove passages that were chiliastic. The work was prefaced by a letter to Anatolius.
- 23.
This could be a reference to book 20 of Augustine’s City of God, which discusses the Book of Revelation and the Last Judgement, or a spurious Augustinian work about the Apocalypse. See 396n.
- 24.
Primasius of Utica, Bishop of Hadrumetum (in modern-day Tunisia) flourished in the 6th century (thus Bale’s date is off by 100 years). Around 540 Primasius wrote a commentary on the Apocalypse that was based on Tyconius and Augustine.
- 25.
Apringius, bishop of Pace (Béja, Portugal) wrote a Tract on the Apocalypse (c. 531–48).
- 26.
Flavius Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator (c. 485–585), commonly known as Cassiodorus, was a Roman statesman and writer, serving in the administration of Theodoric the Great. He composed his Brief Explanations on the Apocalypse shortly before his death. Petrus Equilinus, better known as Petrus de Natalibus, was a 14th-century Italian bishop and hagiographer.
- 27.
Isidore of Seville (c. 560–636) was Archbishop of Seville and historian active in converting Visigothic Arians to Catholicism. A work entitled Handbook on the Apocalypse of the Apostle John circulated under both his and Jerome’s names in the 7th century.
- 28.
In the following list, Bale organizes the information mostly by branches of monasticism. The list includes the name, the title, the nationality, the number of books, and the first line (which was the way of organizing medieval book catalogues). Sources that Bale cites elsewhere in the Image are footnoted here with the name as it is listed in Appendix 3, where more information is provided.
- 29.
‘from the Benedictine monks’.
- 30.
Bede.
- 31.
Alcuin.
- 32.
Haymo (see footnote above).
- 33.
Walafrid Strabo Fuldensis.
- 34.
Rabanus Maurus.
- 35.
Ambrosius Ausbertus.
- 36.
Rupert of Deutz.
- 37.
Joachim of Fiore.
- 38.
‘from the Canons Regular’. Canons Regular follow the Augustinian Rule and share their property in common, but unlike monks their purpose is to engage in public ministry.
- 39.
‘from the Carthusian monks’.
- 40.
‘from the secular priests’.
- 41.
Probably a reference to a pseudonymous work by Ambrose of Milan.
- 42.
Berengar of Tours.
- 43.
Gilbert of Poitiers.
- 44.
Hus, Jan.
- 45.
Unknown, though mentioned also in Part 3 (396) and in Bauckham, 34 n.16.
- 46.
‘from the Carmelites’. This is the order to which Bale belonged before his conversion.
- 47.
Baconthorpe, John.
- 48.
Unknown, though mentioned also in Part 3 (396) and in Bauckham, 34 n.16.
- 49.
Tilney, John.
- 50.
‘from the Augustinians’.
- 51.
‘from the Dominicans’.
- 52.
Albert the Great.
- 53.
Annius of Viterbo.
- 54.
Savonarola, Hieronymus.
- 55.
‘from the Franciscans’.
- 56.
Nicholas of Lyra (though he was French, not German).
- 57.
Johannes de Rupescissa.
- 58.
Titelmans, Francis.
- 59.
‘from the new (writers)’.
- 60.
Luther, Martin.
- 61.
Meyer, Sebastian.
- 62.
Aemilius, George.
- 63.
Lambert, Francis.
- 64.
Zwingli, Ulrich.
- 65.
Brentius, John.
- 66.
Calvin, John.
- 67.
Hoffman, Melchior.
- 68.
Nimrod is mentioned in Gen 10.9 as ‘a mighty hunter before the Lord’, but the word later became synonymous with a tyrannical ruler. OED lists this instance as the first usage in this sense (though it erroneously sites this passage as being from the second part of the Image). ‘Winchester’ refers to Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester from 1531–51. Although Gardiner supported Henry VIII’s case for royal supremacy, he was a staunch opponent of Reformation theology and an enemy of Thomas Cromwell and Thomas Cranmer. Bale frequently mentions Gardiner (as Winchester) in this text.
- 69.
Coventry was a center of Lollard activity beginning in the 15th century; between 1512 and 1522 seven men and two women were executed there for Protestant beliefs. Anne Askew, Robert Barnes, and many other Henrician martyrs were executed in London.
- 70.
starkle] 1545 (starcle), 1548, 1550, etc.; start Christmas. starkle = to make a stir; to use threatening gestures; to show signs of fear, quake, be afraid. Bale also used this word in Votaries II. 93b (OED).
- 71.
Jer 8.15.
- 72.
thirteenth] 1545 (xiii); xiiii 1548.
- 73.
termagant = a savage, violent, boisterous, overbearing, or quarrelsome person (OED 2; definition 1 points out that this word originates from the name of an imaginary deity believed to be worshipped by Muslims).
- 74.
See Num 22–4.
- 75.
mitre = a tall headdress worn by a bishop as a symbol of episcopal office.
- 76.
cope = the special dress of a monk or friar (OED n. 1 b)
- 77.
cruet = a small vessel to hold wine or water for use in the celebration of the Eucharist (OED 2).
- 78.
poppet = an idolatrous image (OED n. 1c, citing this passage as the first usage). For Bale, the word might also pun on ‘pope’.
- 79.
naught = nothing.
- 80.
moody = angry; given to anger; wrathful (OED adj. 3).
- 81.
not but] 1545, 1570; not 1550(W); no 1548, 1550.
- 82.
ambage = dark or obscure language, ambiguity (OED 2).
- 83.
unbelief’s] 1545 (unbeleues), 1548; unbeleuers 1550, 1570.
- 84.
that = what.
- 85.
figurate = figurative (OED 1b).
- 86.
porteous = a portable breviary (OED 1a).
- 87.
religion = a religious order or house (OED 2a).
- 88.
Bale seems to believe that the Muslims are not particular or skillful in their architecture.
- 89.
boast] 1545, 1570; beast 1548, 1550.
- 90.
benefice = an ecclesiastical living (OED n. 6).
- 91.
Koran] 1545 (Alchorane), 1548, etc. ‘Alcorane’ was a common early modern spelling for the Koran (frequent in this text and not noted in subsequent instances).
- 92.
The 1545 text includes a picture of John with an eagle at this point, along with the biblical verse ‘Set yourselves at large and bear not the stranger’s yoke with the unbelievers’ (2 Cor 6).
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Minton, G.E. (2013). The Image of Both Churches. In: Minton, G. (eds) John Bale’s 'The Image of Both Churches'. Studies in Early Modern Religious Tradition, Culture and Society, vol 6. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7296-0_2
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