Treatise on Simony

A critical edition of John Wycliffe's Tractatus de Simonia, first published in 1898 by the Wyclif Society (London) and edited by Herzberg-Fränkel and Michael Henry Dziewicki. The text, written c. 1379–1380, is a sustained attack on simony in the Church, arguing that the buying and selling of spiritual goods is a heresy rooted in clerical endowment. Wycliffe treats simony broadly, encompassing not only the exchange of money for sacraments and benefices but also papal provisions, annates, and the corrupt practices of religious orders. The edition is based on nine manuscripts from Vienna, Prague, and Trinity College Dublin. This reprint (1966) is from the Boston College library.