people in a palpable kynde of darkenesse vp their masses and other sorcerouse witchcraftes as lately apered in the last commocyon of Cornewale and Deuenshyre to reduce them agayne to the olde obedyence of the great Pharao of Rome in y e stynkyng kyngedome of ydolatry But your noble counsell to withstande thys vyolence hath hytherto moste worthelye wrought in the myghtie worde of the Lorde in the stronge power of your regall rodde to dryue thys horryble plage of darkenesse from the face of thys earthe and our good hope is that they wyl gracyously so styll continue Salomon is commended of Iesus y e sonne of Syrach Eccle. xlvij for that the Lorde had hym replenyshed wyth all wysdome for hys sake had dryueÌ„ the enemyes awaye farre of that he myghte buylde an howse in hys name and prepare vnto hym a sanctuary for euer whych al to this daye we behold in youre kyngelye persone fulfylled prayeng vnto God that it maye so styl endure As in your pryncelye begynnynges ye apere vnto as a very Iosias both in youre tendre youthe vertuouse educacyon so our specyal hope is that in your dayly procedinges we wyl styl perseuer the same The lykelyhodes in dede are very aparaunte Gods name be praysed for it For by your gracyouse commaundemeÌ„t hath bene taken awaye the abhomynacyons of the vngodlye Whyche is a playne tokeÌ„ that ye haue dyrected youre noble harte to the lyuynge Lorde intendynge to set vp hys true worshyppynges agayne That we delyuered as Zacharias the marryed prest sayth Luce. i. out of the cruell handes of oure enemyes maye serue hym from hens fourth wythout feare all the dayes of oure lyfe These moste godlye pryncyples refresheth your christen subiectes and so greatly delyteth their obedyent hartes that the onely remeÌ„braunce of youre maiesties name is to them now more plesaunt swete delycyouse than is any other pleasure wordly lyke as was y e name of the fyrst Iosias to the people of that age Eccle. xlix The eternall lyuynge God prospere youre hyghnesse in all kyndes of learnynge vertue and preserue you in longe lyfe vpon earth to y e glorye of hys holye name conforte of your louynge subiectes Amen IohaÌ„ Bale to the Reader IN what estymacion Antyquytees haue bene had amonge men of graue wyttes and iudgementes the hystoryes whyche are as testyfyeth Cicero the mastresses of lyfe exposytours of tymes haue not omytted to declare The most auncyent and authorysable Antiquytees are those whych Moses left to the Hebrues and Berosus to the Caldeanes as moste precyouse treasure and lyuelye memoryalles in wrytinge that both the Iewes and the Gentyles and in them all nacyons of the worlde myghte therby knowe theyr orygynall begynnynges What hath bene done besydes in the partycular Kyngedomes abroade by theyr antique wryters it is knowne to them whyche haue of longe time bene exercysed in the readyng of theyr most auncyeÌ„t chronycles Though Gyldas Badonicus do reporte on the one syde in his fyrst treatise de excidio Britanniae that all the olde monumentes of the Brytaynes hadde peryshed afore hys tyme and were partlye brente by the enemyes and partlye conueyed into other landes by them that fledde from hens And although that Bedas Girminus also on y e other syde in settynge fourth the hystorye of the Englyshe Saxons doth omyt the Antiquytees of the seyd Brytaynes their predecessours partly of hate as it is supposed and partly for want of theyr olde wrytynges Yet remayned there of late yeares in serten lybraryes of thys realme I haue seane parte of them the moste worthye monumentes concernynge Antiquite of Ninianus Patricius Ambrosius Merlinus Gildas Albanius Merlinus Syluester Thelesinus Melkinus Kentigernus Nennius Samuel other lyke of whome the more parte wrote longe afore them But thys is hyghly to be lamented of all them that hath a naturall loue to their contrey eyther yet to lerned Antiquyte whyche is a moste syngular bewty to the same That in turnynge ouer of y e superstycyouse monasteryes so lytle respecte was had to theyr lybraryes for the sauegarde of those noble precyouse monumeÌ„tes I do not denye it but the monkes chanons fryres were wycked both wayes as the oyled Byshoppes and prestes for the more part are yet styll Fyrst for so much as they were the professed souldyours of Antichrist next to that for so muche as they were moste execrable lyuers For these causes I must confesse them most iustly suppressed Yet this would I haue wyshed and I scarsely vtter it wythout teares that the profytable corne had not so vnaduysedly and vngodly peryshed wyth the vnprofytable chaffe nor the wholsome herbes with the vnwholsome wedes I meane the worthy workes of men godly mynded and lyuelye memoryalles of our nacyon wyth those laysy lubbers and popyshe bellygoddes But dyuerse were the workers of thys desolacyon lyke as the thynges dyssypated were dyuerse The veryte and promyse of our eternall God made an ende of the popes dysguysed rable as it wyll do of hys remnaunt whyche are wele knowne by their frutes All plantes sayth Christe whyche my heauenlye father hath not planted shall be plucked vp by the rootes least anye longar the blynde leaders shoulde leade the blynde multytude Math. xi Auaryce was the other dyspatcher whych hath made an ende both of our lybraryes and bokes wythout respecte lyke as of other moste honest commodytees to no small decaye of the commen welthe Cyrus the Kynge of Perseanes as testifyeth Esdras had a noble lybrary in Babylon for the conseruacyon both of the landes Antiquytees also of the prynces actes lawes commaundementes that whan necessyte shoulde requyre it the certentie of thynges myghte there be sought and founde out i. Esdre vi Nehemias the Prophete made a lybrarye also and gathered into it bokes from all contreyes specyally the bokes of the prophetes and of Dauid the epystles and actes of the kynges with serteÌ„ annotacyons and writynges Iudas Machabeus addynge dyuerse vyctoryes to the same ij Maâ—ha ij Thus are buylders of lybraryes commended in the scriptures than must their destroyers haue of the same their iustly deserued infamyes namelye whan couetousnesse is founde the most busy doar whose workes are alwayes to be detested Wherfore Salomon sayth A dyscrete iuste rular muche profyteth a lande where a couetouse rauenour destroyeth it agayne Prouer. xxix O most wycked auaryce Saynte Paule calleth the a worshyppynge of ydolles whyche is a takynge awaye of all godly honour Collos. iij. He sayth thou art suche a temptacyon and snare of the deuyll as bryngeth all to perdycyon Yea he reporteth the to be the roote of all my schefe i. Timot. vi Nothynge vpon earth sayth Iesus Syrach is so euyll as a couetouse man Eccle. x. Neuer had we bene offended for the losse of our lybraryes beynge so many in nombre and in so desolate places for the
workes and sente their good labours vnto him to amplifie the same So ded the printers also the cataloges and regestres of their printed workes to the furtheraunce of good learninge and honest report of their names as vndoubted they all for so doynge are worthye I would to our lord that we had within this lande a nombre of learned men of the same honest zele to letters So shulde our noble Antiquitees and monumentes of learninge be knowne to our posteryte and our people be replenished with all kyndes of good knowledge In all ages of the churche saythe Baptista Mantuanus in Apologetico had we men of eloquence and lernynge so wele whan it was in the Apostles time planted as whan it was in the dayes of the Martyrs watered and vndre the auncyent fathers and doctours noryshed and refreshed Whyche sentence myghte as wele be founde true in thys oure Bryttyshe nacyon as eyther in Asia Palestyne or Rome in Ioseph of Arimathy and hys companyōs which fyrst taught vs the Christen fayth here in Lucius the kynge Amphibalus Aaron and Iulius And last of all in Ninianus Patricius Elcutus Dubrice Dauid Congellus Kentingerne Asaph Gildas and a greate sorte more yf we had not in place of our true Antiquitees moste deuylyshe fables and lyes Whan the boke of Gods lawe whiche Moses wrote was founde in the chest of the Leuytes good kynge Iosias w t the congregacyon of the Lorde very muche lamented the blindnesse and ignoraunce of theyr fathers for the wāt therof and their owne mysfortune as they than thought it that they had ben so longe wythout it ij Parali xxxiiij A notable maner had the Prophane or Ethnyck Prynces and Magistrates in reseruyng the excellent frutes of profounde and rare wyttes for theyr posteryte as are the noble workes of Socrates Plato Cicero Virgyl Arystotle and Pliny The nature of the ignoble and curryshe generacyon of Antichrist hath alwayes ben busied seking contrary wyse to obscure all thynges that contayned any veryte necessarye So come all sciences for the time of his reygne barbarysed darkened and peruerted by the Sophysters and subtyle Summistes besydes their fylthie handelynges of the sacred scryptures Christ condēpned the pharisees not for professynge the knowledge of the lawe but for hydinge and corruptinge the ryght vnderstandinge therof for holdynge the people in a very wycked blyndnesse Math. xxiij And contrary wyse he most amyably perswaded his dere dyscyples and fryndes that they shoulde in no wise hyde or conuaye vndre a bushel the lyghte whyche he had appointed to be shewed fourth abroad Luce. xi Yf we that by a name of Christianyte professe hys relygon in baptym be not wyth hym we are vtterly agaynste hym and so procure to oureselues Mathe. xij Lete one noble man therfore nowe that the scryptures are plēteously spredde bring fourth one noble author and an other emprinte an other to the cōseruacion of Englandes Antiquitees In lyke case lete one ryche merchaunte brynge one worthye worke of an auncyent wryter to lyght and an other put fourth an other to the bewtie of our nacyon Besides the Bryttyshe authors whome I oft named afore lete one bryng fourth Bedas ge gestis Anglorum an other Willyam of Malmesbery de gestis Pontificum Regum Lete an other brynge fourth Simeon of Durham wyth Rycharde and Iohan of Haugustalde an other Aldrede and Wyllyam of Rieuall wyth Marianus the Scott An other Giraldus Cambrensis an other Hēry of Huntyngtō an other Alphrede of Beuerlay an other Florēce of Worcestre and an other Walter of Excestre An other Roger Houedē an other Mathew Parys on other Iohan Beuer an other Radulphus Niger an other Radulphus de Diceto an other William Newburg of Bridlington an other Iohan of Oxforde An other Scala temporum an other Flores historiarum Asserius Obseruus Geruasius Stephanides and Richardus Diuisiensis of winchestre wyth a wonderfull nombre besydes As muche yea rather more is vnfrutefully consumed at one belly bāket than woulde paye the charges of thre of these famouse workes Let all noble hartes consydre the vanyte therof what honest fame might aryse by these doynges as wele to their owne persones as to their maturall contrey Plinius as I remembre hathe thys very notable sentēce that one to helpe an other is a most comelinesse in the mortal kynde of man The Philosopher sayth also the more commen to mannes vse and good thyng is made the more profitable and precyouse it is So wele is he worthy of perpetuall fame that bringeth a good worke to lyghte as is he that fyrst ded make it ought alwaies to be reckened the second father therof For as Vlpianus reporteth in his Pādectes it is all one a thynge not to be and not to apere to the commen vse No edyfyenges on the earth are to be compared to thys yf we haue respecte to durable fame and renoume All the Pantheōs Palaces Amphitheaters Castels Capitols and other monstruouse buyldinges of the worlde are not to vs so notable as is yet the name of one Theophilus a citiezen of Antioche to whom S. Luke in his tyme only dedicated his Gospel and Actes No neyther the Labyrinth of Dedalus nor yet the great pyllers of Hercules neyther yet here in England the Stonheng of Salysbury playne whyche they say was brought thydre from Irelande by Merlyne y e Prophete of Wales What els hath reduced the name of sir Iohan Bourchier the lord Barners to a fame immortal but hys translacyon of frossardes Chronycle from Frenche into Englyshe O that we had now the floryshyng workes of Gildas surnamed Cambrius that moste noble Poete and Historyane of the Britaines which wrote in the tyme of kynge Aruiragus when S. Peter yet preached to the dispersed bretherne The Venecyans more than lxxxviij yeares ago for theyr cōmodite coulde fatche them out of Irelande haue them yet commen both at Venys and Rome accountynge them a very specyal treasure We neyther seke thē couete them nor regarde them though they be of our land the most precyouse Antiquitees and excellent memoryalles of learnynge as testyfyeth both Lilius Gyraldus in uitis poetarum and also Pontius Virunnius in historia Britannica I pray God we may ones rightly way our owne slouthful neglygēce in thynges which myghte be greatlye to our honour Then shoulde we sone perceyue what a poynt it were of ignobylyte to suffre such workes to perysh as we dayly with our eyes beholde I haue hearde it amonge straungers reported that Englysh men are fryndely in thinges which lasteth not as in bankettes and late suppers But lete thys be veryfyed of the vayne and inconstāt Papistes of our nacyon and not of vs Christianes whyche ought to be of a farre other disposycyō Lete vs applye our studyes to geue to our forē Christē fryndes thynges lastyng durable as they haue full learnedly done vnto
The fyrst I woulde wyshe to be folowed as a thynge very necessary to our Englysh commen wealthe The other for the fyrst tyme myghte wele be spared For vndoubtedly authoryte it woulde adde vnto them to apere fyrst of all in their owne simplycyte or natiue colours without bewtie of speche The scriptures are not to be reiected though they for the more part want that same plesaunt order which is commenly sought amonge prophane wryters God hath chosen S. Paule saith the folyshe and weake thynges of the worlde to confounde the wyse and myghtye i. Cor. i. ¶ Iohan Leylande Farther more part of the exemplaries curyously sought by me and fortunately found in sondry places of this youre dominion hath bâ—ne emprynted in Germany and now be in the presses chefely of Frobentus that not alonly the Germanes but also the Italianes themselfe that counte as the Grekes ded full arrogantly all other nacyons to be barbarouse vnlettered sauinge their owne shall haue a direct occasyon openly of force to say That Britannia prima fuit parens altrix addo hoc etiam iure quidem optimo conseruatrix eum uirorum magnorum tum maxime ingeniorum ¶ Iohan Bale Here sheweth Leylande howe the thirde or latter part of hys colleccions out of the Englyshe lybraryes was bestowed to profyte But where as he maketh report here a serten of them to haue bene emprynted in Germany I suppose he partlye speaketh it for the worke of Iosephus Deuonius which he wrote in paraphrasticall verses vpoÌ„ the treatyse of Dares Phrygius concerninge the destruccyon of Troye and in vi bokes dedicated it to Baldewine thaÌ„ archebyshop of CaÌ„terbury whiche worke sayth he in Syllabo antiquarum dictionum was prynted in Germany but very corruptly vnder the tytle of Cornelius Nepos a Romane Wherof Guilhelmus Fastregicus in his fyrste boke de Originibus rerum maketh also mencyon Of the bokes which shoulde be in the handes of Hieronymus Frobenius can I nothyng heare Yet haue I made thydre most instaunt sute and labour by diuerse honeste men at the least to haue had but theyr tytles but I neuer coulde obtayne them Whiche maketh me to thinke that eyther they haue peryshed by the waye or els that they are throwne a syde in some corner and so forgotten Yet Conradus Gesnerus sumwhat conforteth me agayne whyche in the seconde part of hys vnyuersall Biblyotheke fol. clvij. confesseth serten olde Brittyshe hystorianes yet to remayne For so lytle estemynge our true Antiquytees the proude Italyanes haue alwayes holdeÌ„ vs for a Barbarouse nacyon Loke Iohan Boccatius in hys sixt boke de genealogia Deorum Cap. lvij where as he treateth of Syluius posthumus and of our Brute besydes their hystoryans Where as yf we had by all ages set them abroade they had bene iustly occasyoned to haue named Brytayne a mother a nource and a mayntener not only of worthy men but also of moste excellent wyttes ¶ Iohan Leylande And that profyte hath rysen by the aforsayd iourneye in bryngynge full manye thynges to lyght as concernynge the vsurped autoryte of the Byshopp of Rome and hys complyces to the manyfest and vyolent derogacyon of kyngely dygnyte I referre my selfe moste humbly to your moste prudent lerned hygh iudgement to dyscerne my dylygence in the longe volume wherin I haue made answer for the defence of your supreme dygnyte alonly leuynge to the stronge pyllour of holye scripture agaynste the whole college of the Romanystes clokynge their crafty assercyons and argumentes vndre the name of one poore Pighius of Vltraiecte in Germany and standynge to them as to their onlye anker holde agaynst teÌ„pestes that they knowe wyll aryse yf truthe maye be by lycens lette in to haue a voyce in the generall counsell ¶ Iohan Bale By the hystoryes of Antiquyte are the natures of all ages of the worlde manyfested from tyme to tyme also both the prophecyes of Daniel and of S. Iohans reuelacyon more easely of their readers vnderstanded For he that marketh not by the serche of ernest chronycles the dysposycyon of tymes shall neuer beholde those godly prophecyes fulfylled in effect And therfore sayth Leylande here that thys profyte amonge other hath rysen of hys studyouse labour Antichrist and hys mynysters are lyke to be the better knowne and their tyrannouse vsurpacyons perceyued how shamefullye they haue abused the dygnyte of kynges Whose power S. Paul declareth not to be of the proude Romysh popet as they haue bene persuaded by hys false prophetes in euery nacyoÌ„ but immedyatly from the omnypotent God of heauen Roma xiij In all ages haue there bene some godly writers in EnglaÌ„de which haue both smelled out also by theyr writynges detected the blasphemouse fraudes of thys Antichrist Dyuerse of those christen workes ded Leylande fynde and was by them occasyoned to write a great boke called Antiphilarchia agaynst the ambycyouse empyre of the Romysh byshop And in thys he chefely withstode the subtyle assercyoÌ„s sophystycall reasonynges of an ydell brayned papyste called Albertus Pighius sumtyme a catty stayled canoÌ„ in y e great cathedral mynster of vtrecht in Hollande Wherin he wylleth that the veryte maye ones fynde geÌ„tyll hearers agaynst those wycked enemyes ¶ Iohan Leylande Yet herin only I haue not pytched the supreme worke of my labour whervnto your grace moste lyke a kyngelye patrone of all good learnynge ded anymate me But also consyderynge and expendynge with my selfe how great a numbre of excellent godlye wyttes and wryters learned wyth the best as the tymes serued hath bene in thys your regyon Not onely at suche tymes as the Romane emprours had recourse to it but also in those dayes that the Saxons preuayled of the Brytaynes and the NormaÌ„nes of the Saxons coulde not but with a feruent zele and an honest corage commende them to memory Els alas lyke to haue bene perpetually obscured or to haue bene lyghtelye remembred as vncerteyne shaddowes ¶ Iohan Bale Not onelye ded Iohan Leylande collect these frutefull auncyeÌ„t authors togyther that men mgyhte by them inueye agaynste the false doctryne of papystes corruptynge both the scriptures of God and the chronycles of thys realme by execrable lyes fables but also that their wyttye workes myghte come to lyght and be spredde abroade to the whorthye fame of the land For by them maye it wele apere the tymes alwayes consydered that we are no Barbarouse nacyon as contemptuouslye the Italyane wryters doth call vs. Yet Cornelius Tacitus a noble Romane in the lyfe of Iulius Agricola commendeth the bryngynge vp of noble mennys chyldren in the lyberall scyences amonge the Brytaynes and preferreth the pregnauncy of their wittes afore the laboryouse stody of the Galles whome we now call Frenche men Moreouer afore that he reporteth the seyd Brytaynes to be famously remembred of manye worthy writers which is no note of obscuryte or barberousnesse And thys
hys lyfe tyme is now by the same the sonnes ryghte inherytaunce he beynge dead and gone Lete vs therfor in our dayly prayers moste affectuously desyre that our moste redoubted soueraigne Kynge Edwarde the sixte maye haue a prosperouse and longe contynuaunce vpon this earthe wyth frutefull successyon in kyngelye dygnyte whan tyme and age shall requyre it Also for our partes lete vs endeuer our selues to obeye both hym hys magistrates in the true feare of God as those men that of hym hath authoryte and power to represse malefactours and to ayde all vertuouse doers i. Pet. ii Yf we be bounde to do thys to Ethnyckes and Idolaters for the publyque offyce sake muche more lete vs do it to them that be of our christen professyoÌ„ and do dayly seke wyth all dylygence possyble the manyfeste glorye of hys moste holye name The eternall father confirme both them and vs in the puryte of hys worde and graunt that we fashyon our lyues therafter in all mekenesse of sprete through Iesus Christe hys sonne the holye Ghost So be it Ioannes Balaeus ¶ The conclusyon MArke sens y e worldes begynnynge how studyouse dylygeÌ„t men haue alwayes bene for the conseruacyon of noble Antiquytees Yea afore any kyndes of letters were yet in vse For the chyldren of Seth as testyfieth Iosephus admonyshed by Adam of the destruccyon that shulde folowe by water fyer engraued in ij pyllours the necessary memoryals of their age And consydre agayne the wyckednesse of our tyme how vngracyouse and vntowarde we are in the myddes of floryshynge lyterature to exercyse ourselues in that moste worthye offyce Their labour was to holde thynges in remembraunce whych otherwyse had most wretchedly peryshed Our practyses now are to do so muche as in vs lyeth to destroye their frutefull fouÌ„dacyons They were not so ready in settynge vp for their tymes but we in these dayes are as prompte to plucke downe I meane the monumentes of lernynge as though the worlde were now in hys lattre dottynge age nygh drawynge to an ende The Hebrues Grekes and Romanes were neuer so towarde in thys noble veyne of workynge but we haue bene by all ages as vntowarde Notwithstandynge some worthy doars we haue had whose noble workes we muche lesse esteme in these dayes than ded the popysh monkes and prestes for their ydle tymes For they at the least permytted them a dwellynge place in their lybraryes though it were amonge wormes and dust We will not suffre them to abyde wythin our lande but eyther we geue them leaue to rotte in vyle corners or drowne them in our iakes or els we sende them ouer the see neuer to returne agayne Alas I am heauy to tell this tale yet the naturall loue of my coÌ„trey most strongely compelleth me to saye sumwhat therin We sende to other nacyons to haue their commodytees and all is to lyttle to feade our fylthye fleshe But the syngular commodytees within our owne realme we abhorre and throwe fourth as most vyle noysome matter Auydyously we drynke the wynes of other laÌ„des we bye vp their frutes spyces yea we consume in aparell their sylkes their veluettes But alas our owne noble monumentes and precyouse Antiquytees whych are the great bewtie of our lande we as lyttle regarde as y e parynges of our nayles Antiochus Herode Dyoclecyane are wonderfully yet spotted in the most authorysed chronycles haue vpon their heades a double note of tyranny for cruellye destroyenge the monumentes of nacyons specyally of christen relygyon The moste spyghtfull acte of the seyd Dioclecyane Gyldas Badonicus muche lamenteth in hys worke of the destruccyon of Brytayne declarynge how he in the open stretes there brent all the scriptures godlye writynges that myghte anye where be founde Eutropius sheweth in the sixt boke of hys Romane hystory that Achillas a duke sekynge to do myschefe agaynste hys emprour fyered a lybrary of fortie thousande bokes a syngular monument of study of dylygence amonge the Grekes whyche wyth excedynge labour and layser had gathered so wurthye workes of so noble wyttes in so great nombre togyther Iacke Strawe and watte Tyler ij rebellyouse captaynes of the commens in the tyme of Kynge Richarde the seconde brent all the lawers bokes regesters and writynges within the cytie of London as testifyeth Iohan Maior and Fabyane in their chronycles The Anabaptystes in our tyme an vnquyetouse kynde of men arrogaunt without measure capcyose and vnlerned do leaue non olde workes vnbreÌ„t that they maye easely come by as apered by the lybraryes at Mynster in the lande of Westphaly whom they most furyously destroyed An able wytnesse of thys their wycked custome is Petrus Plateanus amonge many others in hys treatyse agaynst their dogged doynges Libros omnes exurunt inquit indignantes se ab alio quam ab ipso suo spiritu doctos uideri Miserum est cernere Bibliothecas non ignobiles ab execranda secta hoc modo aboleri The Anabaptistes burne all bokes sayth he without respect thynkynge scorne of any other sprete to seme learned than of theyr owne fanatycall braynes A wretched thynge it is to beholde the noble lybraryes so to be destroyed of that execrable secte Antonius Coruinus sayth also in hys boke agaynst them Anabaptistarum furor optimos quosque autores acâ—ictustissima uenerande Antiquitatis exemplaria absumpserunt in Bibliotheca Osnaburgensi The fury or frantycke madnesse of the Anabaptistes hath consumed awaye the most excellent writers and the moste noble exemplaryes of honorable Antiquyte in the worthie lybrary of Osnaburg I coulde brynge out a great nombre of lyke testimonyes from Oecolampadius Zuinglius Bullinger Caluyne and Philyppe Melanchton wyth other of the most notable wryters of our age concernynge thys vngracyouse vyolence of these chymney prechers and benche bablers but lete these two rehearced at thys tyme suffyse I wyshe all naturall noble hartes and fryndely men to theyr contrey as wele worldelye occupyers as men of bloude ryall to consydre those myscheuouse examples of these cruell tyrauntes wycked Anabaptistes that they myghte so abhorre them and wyth all endeuour possyble auoyde the lyke And that they maye gather an erneste occasyon so to do I brynge them in here moste worthye examples of theyr forefathers in thys lande to contrary and blemysh theyr frantycke and furyouse factes Nennius Helius that noble Brytayne brother to Cassibellanus and Luddus is reported the fyrst that euer collected the famouse actes of the Britaynes And therto some men saye he was fyrst moued by that he hadde hearde of Reutha the Kynge of Scottes whyche sumwhat afore hys tyme hadde done the lyke concernynge that regyon An other sorte applyeth it vnto the contencyon whiche was betwyn Kynge Luddus hys brother and hym suche tyme as he transposed the cytie of Troynouaunt now called London For in the transposynge therof he chaunged the
vs in most ample maner Suche may be most of al the noble and worthie monumentes of our lande here truly gathered to the manyfolde prayse of our eternall lyuynge God whyche hathe in these lattre dayes visited both theÌ„ vs wyth innumerable giftes of his heauenly grace To whom be glory wythout ende Amen ¶ Thus endeth the laboriouse iourney and searche of Iohan Leyland for Englandes Antiquitees with declaracyons enlarged by Iohan Bale Anno M.D.XLIX ¶ Haue loue to your naturall countrey as had Abraham Isaac Iacob Ioseph Moses Iosue Gedeon Mathathias and other noble capitaynes to the lande of Israel Seke the confort and honor therof as ded these worthy fathers and not the cruel desolacyon as ded Ismael Esau Ouan Nabal Achitofel Antiochus Alchimus Triphon the Prestes of Bahal and other notatable traitours ¶ A wyse man whiche applyeth hys mynde to vnderstande Goddes lawe wyll busy hym selfe to seke wysedome out from all Antiquite and exercyse his wittes in y e prophets He obserueth the sayenges of famouse men and laboureth to perceyue darke sentences of wysdome Ecclesiast xxxix ¶ As I had fynyshed this present Treatyse a frind of Iohan Leylande brought me these verses of hys to emprint them wyth the worke leaste any thinge shulde perysh that came froÌ„ hym And I was as glad to perfourme it as he was to desyre it I woulde I myghte so wele geue vnto my readers the most noble worke of his Epigrammes as these fewe verses folowynge MOlliter hic tumulus Thomae legit ossa Milonis Cui ter quinque Deus lustra uidere dedit Sic uitam instituit sanctam moresque pudicos Illius ut cuncti faâ—ta suprema gemant Sic ornamentis sacra hanc decorauit aedeÌ„ Se dibus ut niteant aurea quaeque suis. Ergo sâ—meritis pateat locus ullus amoenum Inter coelicolas possidet ille locum ☞ De calumniante Croco Me fatuum Curuus fatuorum maximus ille Imperio quodam praedicat esse suo Vt sim me Furiae non torquent illius urgeÌ„t Clade Mathematicum nocte dieque caput A Regystre of the names of Englysh Wryters whome the seconde part of my worke de Scriptoribus Britannicis shall compreheÌ„d as it cometh fourthe ¶ Iohan Bale to the readers AN occasyoÌ„ me thinketh is offered me here to exhybit som part of my studious labours to the vse of my brethreÌ„ I wold I were as able to geue them the whole contentes therof as I coulde fynde in my harte to do it out of hande frely Sens I returned home agayne from Germany where as I both collected and emprented my symple worke de Scriptoribus Britannicis I haue for the full correccyon and further augmentacyon of the same perused many libraries both in Cambridge and Oxforde In the famouse cytye of London is but one knowne library so farre as I can learne whyche also by fauer I haue seane ouer But alas for pytie that it shoulde be reported of so noble a cytie to haue but one lybrary and that to be so slendre a thing as it is The tyme hath bene whan it hath had a great nombre of the noblest libraries in all Christendome their destenecyon at this daye of men godly mynded is muche to be lameÌ„ted Though the acte were most coÌ„mendable to suppresse y e dysgysed sectes of the Romyshe Antichrist and so to bannyshe them hens yet can not the sufferaunce of this so heauy a ruine of Englandes noble monumentes be so iudged of men wyse learned but alas farre otherwyse Their temples for the more parte 〈◊〉 their other buyldynges remayne yet styll vnbroken Alac whie myghte not theyr libraries as wele haue remained to the commen wealth of learnynge vndestroyed Among the stacyoners boke bynders I found many notable Antiquitees of whom I wrote out the tytles tymes and begynnynges that we myghte at the leaste shewe the names of them though we haue not as now their whole workes to shewe Yf the byshop of Romes lawes decrees decretals extrauagantes clemeÌ„tines and other suche dregges of the deuyll yea yf Heytesburyes â—â—phlsmes Porphyryes vniuersals Aristotles olde so gyckes and Dunse dyuynyte wyth such other lowsy legerdemaynes and frutes of the bottomlesse pytte had leaped out of our libraries and so becomeÌ„ couerynges for bokes comminge from the foreÌ„ nacyons we might wele haue ben therwith contented But to put our auncient Chronicles our noble hystoryes our learned coÌ„mentaryes homelyes vpoÌ„ y e scriptures to so homely an office of subieccyon vtter conteÌ„pte we haue both greatly dishonoured our nacyon and also shewed our selues very wycked to our posteryte Now lete me returne to my laboriouse serche for olde and new wryters I haue bene also at Norwyche oure seconde cytie of name and there all the library monumeÌ„tes and turned to the vse of their grossers candelmakers sope sellers and other worldly occupyers so studyouse haue we ben there for a coÌ„men wealth and so careful of good lernyng o negligence most vnfryndly to our nacion I woulde haue bene sory to haue vttered so obscure a facte had not the vngentilnesse of the thing required it to the warnyng of them whiche shall come after for doyng the lyke to the hinderauÌ„ce of the realme As much haue I saued both there in certeÌ„ other places of Northfolke and Southfolke coÌ„cerning the authors names tytles of their workes as I could as much wold I haue done through our y e whole realm yf I had bene able to haue borne the charges as I am not Wherfor my dere coÌ„â—rey men such as are zelouse to their nacion desirouse of good knowledge in y e residue shall accept at thys tyme my good wil for my facte These are the notable writers whose names I haue gathered whose manifold frutes of doctrine I am redy to shew yf y e lord make me of power to perfourme it besides y e diligeÌ„t recognicioÌ„ increacementes of my first labors ¶ The names ADalbertus spaldingeÌ„sis Adamus Cartusiensis Adamus abbas doreÌ„sis Adamus anglicus Cisterciensis Adamus abbas Rieuallis Adamus Saxlyngham Adamus Hemlynghton Adamus Eston Cardinalis Adamus Salthus Adamus de Nidzarde Adamus Mirymouth Adelardus Bathomensis Achardus Anglicus Aegidius de foeno Albertus episcopus Lincolnie Albanus somniator Allexander de S. Albano Alexander Carpentarius Alexander Barkeley Alfricus Archiepiscopus Alphredus Capellanus Alienora Regina Andreas Horne Andreas Ammonius Anglicus Ceriptor Antonius fizherberde Antonius Cooke Antonius Gylby Arnoldus Ciuis Londinensis Arnulphus Abbas Astulphus Monachus Arturius Kelton Atroclius et Isanus ¶ Baldewinus Cantuariensis Bartholomeus Dunelmensis Bartholomeus de Culey Bartholomeus Exoniensis Benedictus Anglicus Bernardus Syluester Bernardus Morlanensis Bylyngham Philosophus Brito Monachus Nordouicensis Bridferthus Ramesiensis Bridlyngtonus quidam Brenkyll Monorita Bocfastus Philosophus Boedanus Anglus Bostonus Buryensis ¶ Canonicus Regularis Caratocus Nancaruan Castertonus Monachus Christophorus Nolhamsensis Christophorus Seyn Iermayn Clemens Lanthoniensis Cornelius Hibernus Chronica Anonymorum Commentatores