Lollardy Lollard-inspired language about how their bodies are to be plainly buried and permitted to return to the soil whence they came. There is little indication that the Lollard Knights were specifically known as such during their lifetimes; they were men of discretion, and unlike Sir John Oldcastle years later, rarely gave any hint of open rebellion. However, they displayed a remarkable ability to retain important positions without falling victim to the various prosecutions of Wycliffe's followers occurring during their lifetimes Religious and secular authorities strongly opposed Lollardy. A primary opponent was Thomas Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury, assisted by bishops like
Lollardy be a derisive expression applied to various people perceived as heretics—first the Franciscans and later the followers of Wycliffe. Originally the Dutch word was a colloquial name for a group of the harmless buriers of the dead during the Black Death, in the 14th century, known as Alexians, Alexian Brothers or Cellites. These were known colloquially as ' (Middle Dutch for "mumbling brothers"), or ', from ("to sing softly"), from their chants for the dead. Middle English "" (akin to the verb "loll", "lull", the English cognate of Dutch "lollen" "to mutter, mumble") is recorded as an alternative spelling of