Wycliffe's departure from orthodoxy began in 1376 with a course of lectures at Oxford "On Civil
Dominion." He advanced the theory that righteousness alone gives the title to dominion and
property; that unrighteous clergy have no such title; and that the decision as to whether an
ecclesiastic should retain his property or not ought to be taken by the civil power. He taught,
further, that property is the result of sin; Christ and the Apostles had no property, and the clergy
ought to have none. These doctrines offended all clerics except the friars. The English
government, however, favoured them, for the Pope drew a huge tribute from England, and the
doctrine that money should not be sent out of England to the Pope was a convenient one. This was
especially the case while the Pope was subservient to France, and England was at war with
France. John of Gaunt, who held power during the minority of Richard II, befriended Wycliffe as
long as possible. Gregory XI, on the other hand, condemned eighteen theses in Wycliffe's lectures,
saying that they were derived from Marsiglio of Padua. Wycliffe was summoned to appear for
trial before a tribunal of bishops, but the queen and the mob protected him, while the University of
Oxford refused to admit the Pope's jurisdiction over its teachers. (Even in those days, English
universities believed in academic freedom.)
Meanwhile Wycliffe continued, during 1378 and 1379, to write learned treatises, maintaining that
the king is God's vicar, and that bishops are subject to him. When the great schism came, he went
further than before, branding the Pope as Antichrist, and saying that acceptance of the Donation of
Constantine had made all subsequent popes apostates. He translated the Vulgate into English, and
established "poor priests," who were secular. (By this action he at last annoyed the friars.) He
employed the "poor priests" as itinerant preachers, whose mission was especially to the poor. At
last, in attacking sacerdotal power, he was led to deny transubstantiation, which he called a deceit
and a blasphemous folly. At this point, John of Gaunt ordered him to be silent.
The Peasants' Revolt of 1381, led by Wat Tyler, made matters more difficult for Wycliffe. There
is no evidence that he actively encouraged it, but, unlike Luther in similar circumstances, he
refrained from condemning it. John Ball, the Socialist unfrocked priest who was one of the
leaders, admired Wycliffe, which was embarrassing.