followers. The upshot was that in 1407 the English clergy were forbidden to preach unless they could obtain a license to do so, and we may be sure that anyone who was suspect would not have received one. Those who wanted to hear a sermon could always listen to a visiting friar, and many were sought after for that reason. Little wonder that the Reformation got its greatest support among these people. In the late Middle Ages, preaching was often seen as a potentially subversive and antiestablishment