against their grand master, who had highly of. CEN T. fended him. Historia Templariorum Amstelod 1703, in 8vo. If the reader has opportunity, he would do well to consult Steph. Baluzius, Vit. Pontif. Avenion. tom. i. p. 8. 11, 12, & Germ. du Bois, Histor. Eccles. Paris. tom. ii. p. 548. The prin cpl cause of King Philip's indelible hatred against the Templars, was, that, in his quarrel with Boniface VIII. the knights espoused the cause of the pope, and furnished him with money to carry on the war; an offence this, which Philip could neyer pardon. XIV. SECT. II. VOL. III. Ce THE THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY, PART I. The External HISTORY of the CHURCH. CHAPTER I. Concerning the prosperous events that happened to the church during this century. CENT.I. THH PARTI. altogether unworthy of that sublime title, unless we and Jews proftitute it by applying it to those who made an converted external, though insincere, profession of Christiain Spain by nity. Ferdinand, surnamed the Catholic, by HE new subjects, that were added to the kingdom of Chrift in this century, are 'The Moors force. the conqueft of Granada in the year 1 492, entirely overturned the dominion of the Moors, or Saracens, in Spain. Some time after this happy revolution, he issued out a sentence of banishment against a prodigious multitude of Jews, who, to avoid the execution of this severe decree, dissembled their sentiments, and feigned an assent to the Gospel of Chrift [a]: and it is well known that, to this very day, there are both in Spain and Portugal a great number of that dispersed and wretched people, who wear the outward mask of Christianity, to secure them against the rage of persecution, [a] Jo. de Ferreras, Hift. Generale d'Espagne, tom. viii. P. 123, 132, &c. XV. persecution, and to advance their worldly interests. C EN T The myriads of Saracens, that remained in Spain PARTI. after the dissolution of their government, were at first solicited by exhortations and intreatjes to embrace the Gospel. When these gentle methods proved ineffectual to bring about their conversion, the famous Ximenes, archbishop of Toledo, and prime-minister of the kingdom, judged it expedient to try the force of the secular arm, in order to accomplish that salutary purpose. But even this rigorous measure was without the desired effect: the greatest part of the Mahometans persisted, with astonishing obstinacy, in their fervent attachment to their voluptuous prophet [b]. Indians II. The light of the Gospel was also carried in The Saniothis century among the Samogetæ and the neigh-gete and bouring nations, but with less fruit than was ex- converted. pected [c]. Towards the conclusion of this age, the Portuguese, who cultivated with ardor and success the art of navigation, had penetrated as far as Ethiopia and the Indies. In the year 1492, Christopher Columbus, by discovering the islands. of Hispaniola, Cuba, Jamaica, opened a passage into America [d], and after him Americus Vesputius, a citizen of Florence, landed on the continent of that vast region [e]. The new Argonauts, who discovered these nations that had been hitherto unknown to the inhabitants of Europe, judged it their duty to enlighten them with the knowledge of the truth. The first attempt of this pious nature was made by the PorCc 2 tuguese (b) Esprit Flechier. Histoire du Cardinal Ximenes, p. 89. -Geddes, History of the Expulsion of the Moriscoes, in his Miscellaneous Tracts, tom. i. p. 8. (c) Jo. Henry Hottinger, Hist. Ecclesiaft. Sac. xv. p. 856. (d) See Charlevoix, Histoire de l'Isle de St Domingo, tom. i. p. 64. (e) See the Life of Americus Vefputius, written in Italian by the learned Angeli Maria Bandini. XV. CENT. tuguese among those Africans, who inhabit the PART 1 kingdom of Congo, and who, together with their monarch, were converted all of a sudden to the Roman faith in the year 1491 [f]. But what must we think of a conversion brought about with such astonishing rapidity, and of a people which all at once, without hesitation, abandon their ancient and inveterate prejudices? Has not such a conversion a ridiculous, or rather an afflicting, aspect? After this religious revolution in Africa, Alexander VI. gave a rare specimen of papal presumption, in dividing America between the Portuguese and Spaniards; but shewed at the same time his zeal for the propagation of the Gospel, by the ardor with which he recommended to these two nations the instruction and conversion of the Americans, both in the isles and on the continent of that immense region [g]. In consequence of this exhortation of the pontif, a great number of Franciscans and Dominicans were sent into these countries to enlighten their darkness, and the success of their missions is abundantly known [b]. (f) Labat, Relation de l'Ethiope Occidentale, tom. ii. p. 366. -Jos. Franc. Lafitau. Histoire des decouvertes des Portugais dans le nouveau Monde, tom. i. p. 72. (g) See the Bull itself, in the Bullarium Romanum, tom. i. p. 466. (b) See Thom. Maria Mamachius, Orig. et Antiquitat. Christianar. tom. ii. p. 326. where we have an account of the gradual introduction of the Christian religion into America.See also Wadding. Annal. Minor. tom. xv. p. 10. CHAP. CHAP. II. Concerning the calamitous events that happened to the Church during this century. IN XV. ART I. of Christi 1. TN the vast regions of the eastern world, c E N T. Christianity lost ground from day to day, p and the Mahometans, whether Turks or Tartars, united their barbarous efforts to extinguish its The decline bright and salutary lustre. Asiatic Tartary, Mo-anity in the gol, Tangut, and the adjacent provinces, where East. the religion of Jesus had long flourished, were now become the dismal seats of superstition, which reigned among them, under the vilest forms. Nor in these immense tracts of land were there at this time any traces of Christianity visible, except in China, where the Nestorians still preserved some scattered remains of their former glory, and appeared like a faint and dying taper in the midst of a dark and gloomy firmament. That some Nestorian churches were still subsisting in these regions of darkness is undoubtedly certain; for in this century the Nestorian pontif, in Chaldea, sent missionaries into Cathay and China, who were empowered to exercise the authority of bishops over the Christian assemblies, which lay concealed in the remoter provinces of these great empires []. It is at the same time almost equally certain, that even these assemblies did not survive this century. by the II. The ruin of the Grecian empire was a new Constantisource of calamities to the Christian church in the nople taken greatest part of Europe and Asia. When the Turks, Turks headed by Mahomet II. an accomplished prince Cc3 and (i) This circumstance was communicated to the author in a letter from the learned Mr Theophilus Sigifred Bayer, one of the greatest adepts in Eastern History and Antiquities, that this or any other age has produced. |
