in gret hevynesse.
With youre longe peked schone.
Therfor your thrifte is almost don,
And with youre long here into your eyen
Have brought this londe to gret pyne."

There is a good satire written on a priest about the time of the
Reformation, showing considerable humour both in matter, language and
versification. It is called "Doctor Doubble Ale."

A little episode is given arising from the priest's ignorance--

"His learning is exceeding
Ye may know by his reading,
Yet coulde a cobbler's boy him tell
That he red a wrong gospell
Wherfore in dede he served him well,
He turned himselfe as round as a ball,
And with loud voyce began to call,
'Is there no constable among you all
To take this knave that doth me troble?'
With that all was on a hubble shubble,
There was drawing and dragging,
There was lugging and lagging,
And snitching and snatching,
And ketching and catching,
And so the pore ladde,
To the counter they had,
Some wolde he should be hanged,
Or else he shulde be wranged;
Some sayd it were a good turne
Such an heretyke to burn."

A great many of the humorous poems written against the church were
republished at the time of the Reformation to show that for centuries
the misdoings of the clergy had been a source of comment. In "the Sak
full of Nuez"--a rare book[46] referred to in 1575, containing a
collection of humorous pieces of a rough and rude character--we find
several hits at the expense of the church.

"A friar used to visit the house of an old woman, who, when he was
coming, very prudently hid whatever she had to eat. One day coming with
some friends, he asked her if she had not some meat. And she said,
'Nay.' 'Well,' quoth the friar, 'have you not a whetstone?' 'Yea,' quoth
the woman, 'what will you do with it?' 'Marry,' quoth he, 'I would make
meat thereof.' Then she brought a whetstone. He asked her likewise if
she had not a frying-pan. 'Yea,' said she, 'but what the divil will ye
do therewith?' 'Marry,' said the fryer, 'you shall see by and by what I
will do with it;' and when he had the pan, he set it on the fire, and
put the whetstone therein. 'Cocks-body,' said the woman, 'you will burn
the pan.' 'No, no,' quoth the fryer, 'if you will give me some eggs, it
will not burn at all.' But she would have had the pan from him, when
that she saw the pan was in danger; but he would not let her, but still
urged her to fetch h