most deutifull manner that I can deuise I humblie beseche your Maiesties at no time to suffer the accustomed heat of your mutuall loue in any one point to coole but that it take such deep holde and daily encrease so muche within your graciouse brestes as it neuer be extinguished eyther by treason of false detractors by the cruell ficklenesse of fortune or by any flagitiouse meanes that the malice of this world may procure So vse the matter as this louying coniunction of your two hartes may be vnto you a brasen wall defend you this wall stoutlye that double tongued Sycophantes may dreed it let this woorke suche an effect in you as all those be out of your fauoures whiche carie in their mouthe a flatteringe woord and in their hand a cruell weapon suche as pretend peace by woord practise warre by deed such as in peace vse deceit and in warre outragiouse violence and so by deceit kill mennes soules and by violence destroye their bodyes Now as touching the exceding tender loue and zeale of mothers towardes their children it is of suche force as hath wrought very much profitt not only to priuate families but also to whole common wealthes yea and to the greatest Empyres Herevpō arose the honorable fame of Eurydice of Dalmatia for that being a banished woman in Illyria well stroken in aige she applyed her mynde wholy to learnyng to the ende she might better instruct her owne children But to come somewhat nearer to your Maiestie my deare Soueraigne ladye if the care of this woman ouer her children and of all other mothers whosouer be compared whith your woonted singular loue towardes your sonne so muche further shall you exceede them all as it hath bene harder in this yron age constantlye to holde that course of vertueouse loue which your Grace with continuall care and great fortitude hath kept and performed towardes his Maiestie But how carefull you haue bene for his safetie beinge your only sonne well beseemyng such a mother as your selfe and right woorthie to be your best beloued your motherly affection hath bene declared many wayes in your owne persone As your great instancie earnest trauaill in commendinge hym to the tuition of such as were thought most faithfull hath giuen good proofe thereof Euen so when those horrible broyles were begonne in your Countrie all thinges by seditiouse tumultes ouerturned and the face of your common wealthe with the administration thereof by violent expulsion of a laufull authoritye and by iniuriouse intrusion of others transeformed and deformed then alas what fear and dreed possessed your tendre hart what anguishe and vexation your carefull mynde endured for his sake that is to you most deare all the worlde may easely iudge and they best of all that knowe what it is to be a mother of an infant beinge vnder the warde of his mortall enemyes But with what faithfull diligēce your Grace dealt for his safetie aswell with the nobilitie as with those whiche had the custodye of hym not by letters onlye but by messengers also and by great rewardes aswell as by other gentle intreatye I my selfe am a present witnesse and as I think no man eyther can better testifie or ought more plainly to manifest the same For at that tyme I was by your Maiesties appointment made priuie to all those matters and in the execution of my commission they passed throughe my handes yea I haue oftentymes with great compassion pitie beholden your Grace shedde abundance of deuout teares kneeling vpon your knees in deuout prayer to God for his wellfare And afterwarde when the matter came to this issue that you might haue bene deliuered vpon certeyn conditions you preferred the honour of your sonne and the aduauncement of his Royall dignitie before all worldly thinges and as I may well saye before your owne lyfe In so muche as euen then you dyd most constantly affirme that you wolde neuer gyue your consent to any thinge that myght be hurtfull or preiudiciall vnto hym albeyt you had bene oftentimes solicited and sore vrged to the contrary An honorable sayeng truely well beseemyng your motherlye pietie and Royall descent and a speciall good proofe of your singular good will towardes your sonne And as to your maiestie most noble kynge of whom the worlde conceyueth so great hope and whose iudgement surmounteth your age when you shall well wegh these and many other greate argumentes of this your mothers naturall loue and pure good will wherof you should haue bene aduertysed long before this time by most trusty messengers and many letters if oportunitie had serued you shall finde good cause to saye to your selfe Doeth neyther Mothers loue nor vertue of thy kynde Force thy desire to treade her steppes aright To bear lyke loue lyke faith lyke pietie in mynde And trust her best aboue eache mortall vvyght But at the least considering your selfe to be so infortunately bereft of so good a mother you may applie vnto your selfe as a dolefull Swannes song that distiche whiche Homer verie fitlie vseth in the persone of Thelemachus bewaling the losse of his brother as a great calamitie in this sorte And me poore youth hathe Ioue so left alone That of my stocke there novve remaines but one Yea more occasion you haue thus to complayn than Thelemachus had For the nearer in bloode a mannes mother is than a brother somuche dearer ought she to be vnto hym Therfore to th ende you maye more reddelye performe such offices as are expected in you ponder with your selfe I humblie beseche you beside her pietie and naturall kyndenesse towardes you what mightie kyngdomes what ample Regions what populous prouinces may by right of successiō fall vnto you from her only and vnder her title if God graunt you that happie longe lyfe whiche we dailye praye for And to make a playne demonstration hereof omitting to speake of your right to the Croune of Scotland whereof no man at home or abrode putteth any doubt at all I thought it mete and that not without good cause to sett downe in writing what maye without cause of offence iustlye and laufully be hoped touching your right and interest to some other kyngdomes and prouinces Now therfore because some men perchaunce bothe forrayners and inhabitantes of the same Countries are kept in suspense and dowbt what to thynke touchinge the succession of so great dominions to the ende that none may be Ignorant of the right title interest which your noble mother before all others and your selfe her Graces onlye sonne and heyr after her hathe to the inheritance and succession of the Croune of England and of all the dominions thereunto annexed or belonginge vpon the decease of the now Quene thereof without laufull yssue of her bodie I present vnto your two Maiesties this Treatise wherein is sett downe the state of the whole cause and the right Title due order course and processe of that succession with a playn confutation of all those
England that the Realme of Scotlande is within the allegeance of England And so is the AntecedeÌ„t or first proposition false And yet that maketh no proufe that the Realme of France likewise should nowe be sayde to be within the allegeance of the Kings of England by reason of the manifest and apparent difference before shewed But what if the antecedent were true as the aduersaries saye it is and all Scotsmen constantly affirme it to be Yet it is very plaine that the sayde consequent and conclusion can not by any meanes be true The causes vvhy the Croune cannot be comprised vvithin the pretended Maxime and that principallye for three causes whereof one is for that neyther the Kinge nor the Croune not being specially mentioned in the said rule or pretended Maxime can be intended to be within the meaning of the same Maxime as we haue before sufficently proued by a great number of other suche like generall rules and Maximes of the lawes An other cause is for that the Croune can not be taken to be within the woordes of the said supposed Maxime and that for twoo respectes one is bicause the rule doth onely dishable Aliens to demaunde any heritage within the allegeance of England VVhiche rule can not be stretched to the demaunde of the Croune of England which is not with in the allegeance of England but is the verie allegeance it selfe As for a like example it is true that all the landes within the Kinges dominion are holden of the Kinge either mediatly or immediatly and yet it is not true that the Croune by whiche onely the Kinge hath his Dominion can be said to be holden of the King VVithout the Croune there can neither be King nor allegeance For without the Croune there can be neither King nor allegeance And so long as the Croune resteth onelye in demaunde not being vested in any persone ther is no allegeance at all So that the Croune can not be saide by any meanes to be within the allegeance of England and therfore not within the wordes of the said rule or Maxime The title of the Croune is also out of the wordes and meaning of the same rule in an other respect and that is bicause that rule doth onely dishable an Alien to demaund landes by descent as heire For it doth not extend vnto landes purchased by an Alien as we haue before sufficiently proued And then can not that rule extende vnto the Croune being a thinge incorporate the right wherof doth not descend according to the common course of priuate inheritance but goeth by succession 40. E. 3. fol. 10. 13. E. 3. Tiâ— Bref 264. 16. E. 3. iurans de sait 166. 17. E. 3. Tit. sâ—iâ—e sac 7. A Deane a Person a Priour being an Alien may demande lande in the right of his corporation An 3. R. 2. 6. C. 3. fo 21. tit droit 26. lib. Ass p. 34. 1â— li. Ass tit enfant 13. H. 8. fo 14. 7. E. 4. fol. 10. 16. E. 3. iurans de â—ait 9. H. 6. fol. 33. 35. H. 6. fol. 35. 5. E. 4 fol. 70. 49. li. Ass A. 88. 22. H. 6. fol. 31. 13. H. 8. fol. 14. as other corporations do No man doubteth but that a Prior Alien being no denizon might alwayes in time of peace demaund land in the right of his corporation And so likewise a Deane or a Person being Aliens no denizons might demaund lande in respecte of their corporations not withstanding the said supposed rule or Maxime as may appeare by diuerse booke cases as also by the statute made in the time of king Richard the secoÌ„d And although the Croune hath alwaies gone according to the common course of a Descent yeth doth it not properly descende but succede And that is the reason of the lawe that although the Kinge be more fauoured in all his doinges then any common person shal be yet can not the King by lawe auoide his grauntes Letters Patentes by reason of his Nonage as other infantes may doe but shall alwayes be said to be of full age in respect of his Croune euen as a Person Vicare or Deane or any other person incorporate shal be VVhiche can not by any meanes be said in lawe to be within age in respect of their corporations although the corporation be but one yere olde Bysides that the Kinge can not by the lawe auoide the Letters Patentes made by any vsurper of the Croune vnlesse it be by acte of Parlement no more then other persones incorporate shall auoide the grauntes made by one that was before wrongfullye in their places and romes whereas in Descentes of inheritance the lawe is otherwise For there the heire may auoide all estates made by the disseasour or abatour or any other persone whose estate is by lawe defeated VVhereby it doth plainely appeare that the King is incorporate vnto the Croune The King is alvvaies at full age in respecte of his Croune hath the same properly by succession and not by Descent onely And that is likewise an other reason to proue that the Kinge and the Croune can neither be sayde to be within the wordes nor yet with in the meaning of the sayde generall rule or Maxime The third and most principall cause of all is for that in the said statute wherupon the said supposed rule or Maxime is gathered The Kings childreÌ„ are expresly excepted from the surmised Maxime the children descendantes and descended of the blood royall by the wordes of Infantes de Roy are expresly excepted out of the sayd supposed rule or Maxime VVhiche wordes the aduersaries do muche abuse in restraining and construing them to extende but to the first degree onely whereas the same wordes may very well beare a more large ample interpretatioÌ„ And that for three causes coÌ„sideratioÌ„s Libe roruÌ„ ff de verborum signific First by the Ciuil lawe this word Liberi which the worde Infantes being the vsuall and originall worde of the statute written in the Frenche toÌ„gue counteruaileth doth comprehende by proper and peculiar signification not onely the children of the first degree L. Sed si de iÌ„ ius vocaÌ„ doinstit de haere ab intist but other descendants also in the lawe As for example where the lawe sayeth That he vvho is manumissed or made free shall not commence any Action against the children of the Patrone or manumissour vvithout licence L. Lucius ff de haere instit L. Iusta L. NatoruÌ„ L. LiberoruÌ„ de uerb signi L. 2. § si mater al S.C. Tertul there not onely the first degree but the other also are conteined The like is where the lawe of the twelue Tables saith The first place and roome of succession after the death of the parentes that die intestate is due to the children there the succession apperteineth as well to degrees remoued as to the first Yea in all causes fauourable as ours is this worde Filius a sonne conteinethe
wise shift but that the Acte without it muste perish and be of no valewe then say they wee vndoe whole Parlamentes aswel in Queene Maries time as in kings Henry the eightes time In Queene Maries time bicause she omitted the Style appointed by Parlamente Anno Henrici octaui tricesimo quinto An. H. 8.35 An. H. 8.33 21. In kinge Henries tyme by reason there was a statute that the kinges royal assent may be geuen to an Acte of Parlamente by his Letters Patentes signed with his hāde though he be not there personally And yet did the saied king supplie full ofte his consente by the stampe only This yet notwithstanding the said Parlamentes for the omission of these formes so exactely and precisely appointed are not destroyed and disannulled An ansvver by the vvay of reioinder to the same After this sorte in effecte haue the Aduersaries replied for the defence of the said pretensed will To this we will make our reioynder saye Firste that our principal matter is not to ioyne an issewe whether the saide kinge made and ordeyned any sufficient will or no. VVe leaue that to an other time But whether he made any Testamēt in suche order and forme as the statute requireth VVherefore if it be defectiue in the said forme as wee affirme it to be were it otherwise neuer so good and perfect though it were exemplified by the great Seale and recorded in Chancerie and taken commonly for his VVil and so accomplished it is nothing to the principal question It resteth then for vs to cōsider the weight of the aduersaries presumptions whereby they would inforce a probabilitie that the Testamēt had the foresaid requisite forme Yet first it is to be considered what presumptions and of what force number do occurre to auoide and frustrate the Aduersaries presumptions and all other like Diuers presumptions reasons against this supposed vvill VVe say then there occurre many likelyhoddes many presumptions many great and weightie reasons to make vs to thinke that as the king neuer had good and iuste cause to minde enterprise suche an Acte as is pretended so likewise he did enterprise no such Acte in deede I deny not but that ther was such authoritie geuen him neither I deny but that he might also in some honorable sort haue practised the same to the honour and wealthe of the Realme and to the good contentation of the same Realme But that he had either cause or did exercise the said authoritie in suche strange dishonorable sort as is pretended I plainely denie For being at the time of this pretēsed will furnished and adorned with issue the late king Edward and the Ladies Marie and Elizabeth their state and succession being also lately by Acte of Parlament established what neede or likelyhod was there for the king then to practise such newe deuises as neuer did I suppose any King in that Realme before and fewe in any other byside And where they were practised commonly had infortunate and lamentable successe VVhat likelyhode was there for him to practise such deuises especially in his later daies when wisdome the loue of God and his Realm should haue bene moste ripe in him that were likely to sturre vppe a greater fier of greeuouse contention and wofull destruction in England then euer did the deadly faction of the read Rose the white lately by the incorporation and vnion of the house of Yorke and Lancastre in the person of his father through the mariage of Ladye Elizabeth eldest daughter of King Edwarde the fourth moste happily extinguished and buried And though it might be thought or said that there vould be no such cause of feare by reason the matter passed by Parlament yet could not he be ignorāt that neither Parlamēts made for Hēry the fourth or cōtinuance of twoo Descentes which toke no place in geuing any Title touching the Croune in King Henry the sixt nor Parlamentes made for King Richard the third nor Parlaments of attainder made against his father could either preiudice his fathers right or releaue other against such as pretended iust right and title And as he could not be ignorant therof so it is not to be thought that he would abuse the great confidence put vpon him by the Parlament and disherite without any apparent cause the next roial blood and thinke all thinges sure by the colour of Parlamēt The litle force whereof against the right inheritour he had to his fathers and his owne so ample benefit so lately and so largely sene and felt And yet if he minded at any time to preiudice the said Lady Marie Queene of Scotland of all times he would not haue done it then when all his care was by all possible meanes to contriue and compasse a mariage betwene his sonne Edward and the said Lady and Queene Surely he was to wise of him selfe and was furnished with to wise Counsailours to take such an homely way to procure and purchase the said mariage by And least of all can we say he attempted that dishonorable disherison for any speciall inclinatiō or fauour he bare to the French Queene his sisters children For there haue bene of his neere priuie Counsaile that haue reported that the King neuer had any great liking of the mariage of his sister with the Duke of Suffolke who maried her first priuily in France and afterward openly in England And as it is said had his pardon for the said priuy mariage in writing Howesoeuer this matter goeth certeine it is that if this pretensed will be true he transferred and transposed the reuersion of the Croune not only from the Queene of Scotland from the Ladie Leneux and their issue but euen from the Lady Francis the Ladie Eleonour also daughters to the Frēche Queene whiche is a thing in a manner incredible and therefore nothing likely I must now gentle Reader put thee in remembrance of two other most pregnant and notable cōiectures and presumptions For among all other inconueniences and absurdities that do and may accompanie this rash vnaduised acte by this pretensed wil inconsiderately mainteined it is principally to be noted The supposed vvill is preiudicial to the Croune of England for the clame of the Croune of France that this Acte geueth apparent iust occasion of perpetual disherison of the Style Title of France incorporated and vnited to the Croune of England For whereby do or haue the Frenchemen hitherto excluded the kinges of that Realme claming the Croune of France by the title of Edward the third fallen vpon him by the right of his mother other than by a politike and ciuil law of their owne that barreth the female frō the right of the Croune And what doeth this pretensed Act of king Henrie but iustifie and strengthen their quarel and ouerthrow the foundatiō bulworke wherby the kings of England maintene their foresaid title and clame For if they may by their municipial lawe of England
touching the Succession They putte their whole trust vpon the King as one whome they thought most earnestly to minde the wealth of the Realme as one that would and could best and most prudently consider and weigh the matter of the Succession and prouide for the same accordingly If the doinges of the King do not plainely and euidently tende to this ende and scope if a Zealous minde to the common wealth if prudence wisdome did not rule measure all these doinges but contrariewise partial affection and displeasure if this arbitrement putteth not away all contentions and striffes if the mind and purpose of the honorable Parlament be not satisfied if there be dishonorable deuises assignements of the Croune in this will and Testament L. 1. ff qui TestameÌ„ta facâ—re if there be a new Succession vnnaturally deuised finally if this be not a Testament and last will such as Modestinus defineth Testamentum est iusta voluntatis nostrae sententia de eo The definition of a Testament quod quis post mortem suaÌ„ fieri velit then though the Kinges hand were put to it the matter goeth not altogether so wel so smothe But that there is good and great cause further to consider and debate vpon it whether it be so or no let the indifferent when they haue wel thought vpon it iudge accordingly The Aduersaries them selues can not altogether denie but that this Testament is not correspondeÌ„t to such expectation as men worthely should haue of it VVhiche thing they do plainly confesse For in vrging their presumptions whereof we haue spoken and minding to proue that this wil whiche they say is commonly called King Henries VVill was no new VVil deuised in his sicknes but euen the very same wherof as they say were diuers olde copies they inferre these wordes saying thus For if it be a nevve vvill then deuised vvho could thinke that either h m selfe vvould or any man durst haue moued him to put therin so many thinges contrary to his honour Much lesse durst they them selues deuise any nevv succession or moue him to alter it othervvise then they found it vvhen they savv that naturally it could not be othervvise disposed VVherein they say very truely For it is certaine that not only the common lawe of that Realm but nature it selfe telleth vs that the Queene of Scotland after the said Kinges children is the next and rightful Heire of the Croune VVherefore the King if he had excluded her he had done an vnnatural act Ye will say he had some cause to doo this by reason she was a forainer and borne out of the Realme Yet this notwithstanding he did very vnnaturally yea vnaduisedly inconsideratly and wrongfully and to the great preiudice and danger of his owne Title to the Croune of France as we haue already declared And moreouer it is well to be weighed that reason and equitie and Ius Gentium doth require craue that as the kings of that Realm would thinke them selues to be iniuriously handled and openly wronged if they mariyng with the heires of Spaine Scotland or any other Countrey where the sucession of the Croune deuolueth to the woman were shutte out and barred from their said right due to them by the wiues as we haue said so likewise they ought to think of womeÌ„ of their royal blood that marie in Scotland that they may wel iudge and take them selues muche iniuried vnnaturally and wrongfully dealt withall to be thruste from the succession of that Croune being thereto called by the nexte proximitie of the royal blood And such deuolutions of other Kingdoms to the Croune of England by foraine mariage might by possibilitie often times haue chaunced and was euen nowe in this our time very like to haue chanced for Scotland if the intended mariage with the Queene of Scotland that nowe is and the late King Edward the sixt with his longer life some issue had taken place But now that she is no suche forainer as is not capable of the Croune we haue at large already discussed Yea I will now say farther that supposing the Parlament minded to exclude her and might rightfuly so doe and that the King by vertue of this statute did exclude her in his supposed will yet is she not a plaine forainer and incapable of the Croune For if the lawfull heires of the said Ladie Francis and of the Ladie Eleonour should happen to faile whiche seeme now to faile at the least in the Ladie Katherin and her issue for whose title great sturre hath lately ben made by reason of a late senteÌ„ce definitiue geuen against her pretensed mariage with the Earle of Herford then is there no stay or stoppe either by the Parlament or by the supposed VVill but that she the said Quene of Scotlande and her Heires may haue and obteine their iust Title and clame For by the said pretensed will it is limited that for default of the lawfull Heyres of the said Ladie Francis Elenour the Croune shall remaine and come to the next rightful Heires But if she shall be said to be a forainer for the time for the induction of farther argument then what saye the Aduersaries to the Ladie Leneux borne at Herbottel in England and from thirtene yeares of age brought vppe also in England and commonly taken and reputed as well of the King and Nobilitie as of other the lawefull Neece of the said king Yea to turn now to the other sister of the King maried to Charles BraÌ„don Duke of Suffolke and her children the Ladie Francis and the Ladie Eleonour why are they also disherited Surely if there be no iust cause neither in the Lady Leneux nor in the other it seemeth the King hath made a plaine Donatiue of the Croune VVhiche thinge whether he could doe or whether it be conformable to the expectation of the Parlament or for the Kinges honour or for the honour of the Realme I leaue it to the further consideration of other Nowe what causes should moue the Kinge to shutte them out by his pretensed will from the Title of the Croune I minde not nor neede not especially seeing I take no notice of any suche will touching the limitation of the said Croune here to prosecute or examine Yet am I not ignorant what impedimentes many doo talke of and some as well by printed as vnprinted Bookes doe writte of VVherein I will not take vpon me any asseueration any resolution or iudgement This onely will I propound as it were by the way of consideratioÌ„ duely depely to be wayghed and thought vpon that is for as muche as the benefitte of this surmised will tendeth to the extrusion of the Queene of Scotland and others altogether and to the issue of the French Queene whether in case the King had no cause to be offended with his sisters the Frenche Queenes Children as the Aduersaries them selues confesse he had not and that there was no lawfull impediment in them to
forrein and Barbarous nation the Englysh Saxons And the lett of that Mariage proceded of the Englyshe whose vse is to seek to wynne that of the Scottes by manacing wordes and force of armes whiche they should desyre by fayr meanes termes of freendlye good will And there wanteth not occasion to suspecte that they dyd it of purpose to the end that by breakyng of that mariage some of them might haue a more reddye accesse to the vsurpation of the Croune of England How soeuer it was the Scottysh Nation was not mynded to yeeld by force and yet scarse able to forbeare were constreyned to craue ayde of the Frenshe whiche they could not obteyne onlesse they sent theyr Queene into Fraunce as an hostage for their fidelitie But there was nothing that the Scottish nation more estemed and desyred at that day than the vnion of those two regions by that mariage as may well be proued by the common opinion and sayeing of the people there before the matter was attempted by way of force and armes vve vnderstand the English mans language sayd the people they oures vve inhabit all one Yland and almost in nothing doe vvee differre but that vvee are gouerned by tvvo seuerall Princes And in dede it is euidently knowne that the Scottishe Nation many yeres before dyd greatlye desyre and wyshe this manner of coniunction in amitye and namely at suche tyme as they maried the noble Lady Margaret the only heire of the croune of Scotlād daughter of Alexander their King to the fyrst Kyng Edward of England By whiche maryage those two kyngdomes had bene vnited had not that noble virgin deceassed before she came to the fyght of her husband Seing then the case thus standeth there is no cause whye eyther the Englysh or Scottishe should vpbraide or reproue one an other but they ought rather to agree all together in one voyce and consent that yf there were none alyue to whome the Soueraigntie of the whole Yland by right could belonged one generall Prince ouer all might be elected by voyce or lott So as at last the whole weale publicque and people might enioye perpetuall peace and be no more with partiall parttakinge sectes factions disturbed Euen as wee rede that the Persians in olde tyme verie prouidently in a like case vsed them selues For as Iustine reporteth when they had slayne their Mages great was their glorie and renowme for the recouerye of their Kyngdome but muche greater for that in contendyng about the gouernement they coulde agree among them selues There was among them many equall in vertue and nobilitie as it was hard for the people to make an election of a gouernour Therfore theyr nobility deuised among them selues an indifferent mean whereby to cōmit the iudgement of their woorthinesse to their goddes They agreed among them selues on a day appointed to lead all theyr horses before the Palace earlye in the mornyng and that he whose horse fyrst dyd neyghe before the rising of the sunne should be kyng The next day after when all were assembled at the houre appointed the horse of Darius sonne of Hydaspes dyd first neygh and gaue that happy signe of good fortune to his maister Immediatlye the modestye of all the rest was suche as vpon the first heearing of the good notice so gyuen they all leapt from their horses and dyd theyr homage to Darius as to their King and all the commons foloweing the iugement of the nobles willyngly confirmed the election accepted hym for theyr Soueraign Thus the kyngdome of Persians wherof at one time there was seuen noble competitors was in a moment reduced to the regiment of one And this they dyd withe suche incredible zeale and pietie towardes theyr Countrye as for the delyuerey therof from trouble and miserye they could haue bene content euery one to haue lost his lyfe Thus farre Iustin Immortall is the honour and renoume of those noble men whiche willinglie preferred the wellfare of their countrey before their priuate ambition But allmightie God hathe eased you well of this doubt For he hathe Layd it open before your eyes what persone it is to whome the Soueraigntie of the whole Yland euen by the lawes of the realm after the decease of the now Queene of England without laufull issue of her body ought to descend and come I mean the most noble Ladye Marye the woorthie Quene of Scotland whose apparēt pietie and vnuincible constancie in aduersitie vniuersally well knowne and talked of through the whole world doeth gyue a plain demonstration how vain and friuolous the Iudgment of those men is which represse and reiect the Regiment of women To this Ladye therfore may the regiment of the whole Yland at length descend according as it was once before to her adiuged by the sentence of her great graundfather Kyng Henry the seauenth and of his Counseill as Polydor reporteth Kyng Iames of Scotland the third saieth he dyd honorably intertein Richard Fox Byshop of durisme Ambassadour sent to him by Kyng Henry the seuēth and at their fyrst meting he showed hym selfe muche greued for the late slaughter of his subiectes but easilie he remitted the iniurie Afterward when they were together alone the Kyng tolde hym how auncient and iust causes of frendshipp had bene betweene Kyng Henry and hym and how greatly he desired the assurance therof that they two myght be tyed together in a more fast knot of loue and amitie whiche out of doubt will folow sayd the Kyng yf King Henry wolde bestow on hym his eldest daughter the Ladye Margaret in Mariage To this the Amhassadour answered coldlie but yet promised his helpe and furtherance and put the Kyng in good hope of the matter if he wold send an Ambassadour directly to that end The Ambassadour vpon hys returne home reported to Kyng Henry the whole matter whiche pleased Kyng Henrye wonderous well as one whiche delyted muche in peace VVithin fewe dayes after this the Ambassadours of Kynge Iames came to request the Ladye Margaret in Mariage Kyng Henrye after audience referred the matter to his Counseil among whome some there were whiche suppected that the kingdome might in processe of tyme be deuolued to the same Ladye Margaret and therfore thought it not good to marie her to a forain Prince whereunto the Kyng made answere and sayd what then Yf any suche thing happen whiche God forbid yet I see our kyngdome should take no harme therby for England should not be added to Scotland but Scotland vnto England as to the farre most noble head of the whole Yland for we see it so fallen owt in all thinges that the lesse is for honour sake euer adioyned to that whiche is farre greater as Normandie in time past came to be vnder the dominion and power of the Kynges of England our auncestors The Kynges Iudgement was greatly commended the whole Counseil approued the matter with a full consent and the sayd Ladye and virgin Margaret was maried to Kyng Iames. Thus
common bond of loue among all Princes generallye I may not herein ouer passe that godlye father which sittethe in the holy Seat and as it is well knowen like a second Samuel will not anoint with holye oyle that is to say confirme by his authoritie any other to be rulers ouer Christians than suche Princes as might well seme to be Sauls and Dauids whiche represented the persones of all laufull Kynges For beside her vndoubted right of Succession which is accounted a kynd of diuine callyng and choyse to a Kyngdome this may speciallie persuade hym to defend her as his daughter whiche neyther by straitnesse of prison nor by any kinde of affliction could be hitherto seduced from honoring him as her father VVhat nede is there to call vpon the most sacred Emperour and other Kynges and Princes in particular sith they are all allied vnto the sayd noble Queene eyther by a sure knot of amitie and frendship or by a most fast bond of consanguinitie and kynred Neyther is it necessarie to proue this by genealogies and pedegrues seing the world allredye knoweth that she is descended both by father and mother from the most noble Princes Kynges and Emperours of the whole Christian worlde As for the nobilitie and Commons of England this should moue them to loue her that she is come so many wayes of English blood and had her great Grandmother out of the Princelie house of Somerset and had for her Grandmother the Lady Margaret eldest daughter to King Henrye the seuenth And is not this muche to moue them further that she was by this meanes so muche affected toward the Englishe Nation as in her troubles afflictions at home she rather hoped for relefe at their handes and therfore trusted the now Queene of England vpon her promises so farre as she made her choyse rather to come for succoure to the Englishe where now she liueth in prison than to other Princes her speciall freends of whome she was assured to haue found relefe and succour Adde this withall that before all other Christian Princes she choase an Englishe man to be her husband and by hym brought foorthe a sonne heyr to the same Kyngdome VVhat should I report of the signes and tokens of her pietie wiche now she showeth in England or of her Courtesie good will and loue towarde the English Nation how freendlye she thinketh of them how honorably she speaketh of them and how nobly she writeth of them yea how that by long conuersing with them she hath now so perfectlie lerned their manners their language and their customes as hauing almost forgot all other fashions she seemeth to be brought in to this world by the prouidence of God iustlie to gouerne the people of England VVherefore sithe this our Queene is the woorthie heir and the righteous heir of the English Croune it standeth agreablie with your charitie whiche you as Kinges are wont to vse toward Queenes and vith those offices of courtesie and kyndenesse whiche you owe as Allies to your freendes or as Cosaines to your kynsewomen to prouide by all possible meanes that she be not defeated of her right nor barred from that dignitie whiche by many titles is due vnto her lest that the harmes whiche fall vpon her by suche losses doe procure great perilles to you and youre posteritie And the better to auoyde all stoppes whiche might brede in you by any obscure or breefe relation I here present vnto your Maiesties with all humilitie this booke conteyning a full discourse of the whole cause whiche during my abode in England about the affaires of my sayd Soueraigne I caused to be published in Englishe to the vse of Englishe menne and haue now augmented it with a Genealogie of the Competitors whiche by discent from two Princelie families in that Realme to wit Yorke and Lancastre pretend title to the Croune And herein the cauilles and surmises of the aduersaries are so refuted their sleightes so discouered and auoided and their argumentes whiche they leane vpon so ouerthrowen as the scruples and dowbtes whiche before neuerthelesse to menne of equall and indifferent iudgementes were playne enoughe may well seme to be remoued and pulled out of the hartes and myndes of the aduersaries I humblie therfore beseche your Maiesties to accept that freendly whiche I present vnto you to mark that attentiuelie whiche in writing I sett downe before you and to performe that Iustlie whiche best beseemeth you So fare ye well and fauour the cause of a most laufull Queene TO THE MOST EXCELLENT AND MOST GRACIOVSE QVENE MARIE AND TO THE MOST noble king Iames her sonne Quene and kyng of Scotland his vndoubted Souereignes Iohn Lesley Byshop of Rosse wisheth all true felicitie O FALL the most excellent guyftes and benefites which God of his goodnesse hathe bestowed vpon mankynde I knowe not whether there be any one for profit more fruitfull or in estimation more excellinge than is the inclination among menne to mutuall loue and amitie For suche is the force thereof in matters of greate importance as the persone in whome it is once well establyshed can not be at any time eyther by counseil seduced by iniquitie of time imbased by fortunes frowning disquyeted nor by any violence shaken muche lesse ouerthrowen or destroyed In somuche as I must nedes saye that whosoeuer wanteh this guyft of nature he is not onlye farre from all commendation of constancie and wysedome in greate affaires but also putteth of all humanitie and is become impious wylde and sauage And this sense or feling of loue and amitie although it be naturally planted in euery man and woman yet is it most especiallye in them that are by blood and kynred most neerly conioyned together VVherfore so often as I consider the tender loue of parents toward their children the pietie of children toward their parents I alwayes acknowleige this naturall inclinatiō to loue and amitie without whiche no common wealth can endure nor any famylie stand to be a speciall benefit of God bestowed vpon mankynde And so often also most graciouse Princes I fynde iust cause to moue me in the behalfes of your Maiesties and of your subiectes to reioyse and to gyue God thankes for that these lawes of nature and guyftes of grace in you by God singularlye planted you haue reserued and kept whole and inuiolate from the iniurie of the time and from the malytiouse stinges of peruerse detractours in suche sorte as you could not by any other occasion haue gyuen a better testimonie of honorable courtesie and vertue nor haue raised in the hartes of your subiectes a more assured hope of the best mean to preserue yea and to enlarge also and amplyfie your kyngdome For to me and to all your louinge subiects nothing can be more gratefull than this firme and fast loue and agrement betwene you nothing that ought to be more acceptable to your selues nothinge more agreable to the generall wellfare of all men Ernestlie therfore and in the
obiections whiche your aduersaries pretend to the contrarie And this trauaille longe agoe whiles I was Ambassadour in England I dyd willynglye take in hand aswell thereby to wynne the good willes of many vnto you as for the honour and generall commoditie of your Countrie VVherein at that time I had muche conference with some of the most expert and skillfullest Iudges best practized counseilers towardes the lawes of that land and after many discourses and muche debatinge I clearly sifted owt their opinions and Iudgementes touching this matter And not longe after vpon mature deliberation whē I had well reuolued these thinges in my mind I thought it euery waye agreable to my deutie towarde your Maiesties your Countrie to contriue in some litle volume what I had learned in so longe tyme being also hereunto induced by the persuasion of diuerse Christian Princes whome after my departure out of England coming to visit them I had made acquainted with this matter whiche they were glad to hear and for their better instruction desirous to be infourmed therof at more length by writing VVherevpon first to satisfie the honorable meanynge of those noble personages I compiled and published a Treatise of this matter in latin And now further to accomplishe my deutie in defence of your Royall Dignities and to setle the myndes of the wauering communaltie and for the generall commoditie of all suche as haue any interest in this matter I haue sett forthe this Treatise in English And I verilye hope suche is your princelie good meanyng my most vndoubted Soueraignes that you will accept in good parte this my trauaile as a testimonie of my duetifull good will reuerence seruice to your Maiesties and that you will construe my intention and aduise to this attempte as in your iudgement agreable to the weight of so great a cause and allowe thereof for the manyfold commodities that therehence may arise Now then as a right and laufull combination of manye Regions by iust title of succession belongyng to you most manifestlie argueth and conuinceth a Regall Soueraigntie deriued vnto you by many famouse kynges your Maiesties Auncestors so doeth the same require and exact of you an vnion and coniunction of mindes and a full consent in the vertue and religion of your forefathers For nothinge can be more agreable with the name and title of a king and with the honour and renoume of so noble a successiō as so fortunatly procedeth from suche a mother to suche a sonne than that with suche an vndoubted title right to rule a kyngdome there be annexed an vniforme profession in sincere Religion To whiche ende as the mother hitherto most religiouslie foloweinge the vertue faith and pietie of her noble progenitoures hathe euermore showed suche constancie as that Sexe scarsely beareth so the yong kyng her sonne in succession goeng with her must diligently foresee that in a sincere profession of one selfe same Catholik religion he be not behynd her but that as he hath truely imitated all her other vertues wherein she woonderfully excelleth her own selfe so he resemble her in true faith and in vniformitie of the Catholique Religion And thus the mother can haue no occasion offered her to remitt any part of her true loue and affection towardes her sonne but by daily encrease of naturall affectiōs betwene them she will so answer hym in courteouse kyndnesse as thoughe she be forestalled of his presence yet shall she enioye great comfort of hym in his absence in so muche as all the world at home and abrode shall admire and wonder at their laudable emulation in offices of naturall zeale and pietie Yea thus it will fall out that your own people moued by your example will induce one an other to peace and amitie and freely of their own accorde without any contention will offer vppe vnto you suche kyngdomes regions prouinces as are or shal be due vnto you by right and desire nothinge more than to be vnder the dominion of them whome they see in one mynde faythe and religion with good lawes and true Iustice moderate their common wealthe VVhiche kyngdomes and the Subiectes thereof God the kynge of all kynges which ruleth the hartes of all Princes graunt you grace well to gouerne to the glorye of his holy name to the propagation of his holy churche and to the maintenance of common peace and tranquillitie Amen A PREFACE CONTEYNING THE ARGVMENT OF THIS TREATISE VVITH THE CAVSES mouyng the Author to wryte the same THE deepe prouidence of Almightie God who of nothinge created all thinges most euidently in this poynt showeth it selfe that by his power ineffable he hath not onlye created all thinges but by the same power hath also endewed euery liuyng creature with a speciall guyft grace to continue to renewe and to preserue eache his owne kynde But in this consideration the condition of man kynde amonge and aboue all earthly thinges hath a pearlesse prerogatiue of witt and reason wherewith he onlye is of God graciously indued and adourned Man by the guyft of vvitt reasō hath a greate fresight of thinges to come For by theese excellent guiftes and graces of witt and reason he doeth not onlye prouide for his present necessitie and sauegarde as doe naturally after their sort all brute beastes and euery other thinge voide of reason but also pregnantlie discoursinge from cause to cause and prudentlie applyeng their seuerall courses euentes he gayneth a greate foresight of the daungers and perilles that many yeres after may happen either to him selfe or to his Countrey and then by diligence and carefull prouision doeth inuent some apt and meete remedies for the eschewinge of suche mischiefes as might outragyously afterward occurre And the greater the fear is of more imminent mischief so muche more care and speedier diligence is vsed to preuent and cutt of the same And it is most certaine by the confession of all the world that this care whiche I speake of ought principally to be imployed of euerie man as oportunitie serueth to this ende that therby the Authoritie of the Prince may be kept whole and sound the publik weal of his countrey assured and the cōmon peace tranquillitie of bothe preserued Subiects ought to loue their kinge and to knovv the heyr apparent to the Croune For the obteining whereof as there are many braunches of policie to be desired so one special parte is for subiectes louinglye and reuerentlye to honour and obedientlie to serue their Soueraigne which for the time hath the rule and gouernement the next to foreknowe to whome they owe their alleageāce after the deceasse of their present prince and Gouernour VVhiche being once certain and assuredly knowen procureth when tyme doeth come readie and seruiceable obedience with great comfort in the mean while and afterwarde vniuersal reast and quietnesse of all good Subiectes as on the contrary part throughe discord variance and diuersitie of mindes and opinions about a Successour the
in the succession of the Croune For the Roial blood where so euer it be found will be taken as a pretious and singular Iewell and will carie with it his worthie estimation honour with the people and where it is dew his right withall Vide Anto CorsetuÌ„ de potest et excell regi q. 100. By the Ciuill lawe the right of the inheritance of priuate persones is hemmed and inched within the bandes of the tenth degre The Blood Roial runneth a farther race so farre as it may be found therfore the great mightie Conquerors are glad faine to ioyne in affinitie with the blood Roial OoÌ„querors glad to ioine vvith the royall blood Henry the first euer fearing the weaknes of their owne bloddie sworde in respect of the greate force and strength of the other For this cause was Henrie the firste called for his learning wisedome Beauclerke glad to consociate and couple him selfe with the auncient Roial blood of the Saxons whiche continueing in the Princely succession from worthie king Alured was cutte of by the death of the good king Edward and by the mariyng of Mathildis being in the fourth degree in lineal descent to the said king Edward was reuiued and reunited From this Edward my sayd souueraine ladie the Queene of Scotland taketh her noble auncient Pedegrue These then and diuers other reasons causes mo may be alleaged for the weighing setting foorth of the true meaning and intent of the said law Now in case these two causes and consideratioÌ„s will not satisfie the aduersaries we wil adioine there vnto an other whiche they shall neuer by any good and honest shift auoid And that is the vse and practise of the Realme as wel in the time foregoing the said statute as afterward VVe stand vpon the interpretation of the common law recited and declared by the said statute L. fin ff de legibus how shal we better vnderstand what the law is therein then by the vse and practise of the said lawe For the best interpretation of the law is custome Common vse and practise the best interpretation of the lavve EodeÌ„ anno Rex cuÌ„ in diebus suis processisset AeldreduÌ„ VigornenseÌ„ EpiscopuÌ„ ad RegeÌ„ Hungariae transmittens reuocauit inde filium fratris sui Edmundi Eduardum cuÌ„ tota familia sua vt vel ipse ver filii eiê° sibi succederent in regnum Flor. histo 1057. But the Realme before the statute admitted to the Croune not only kings children and others of the first degre but also of a farther degre and suche as were plainely borne out of the kinges allegeance The foresaid vse and practise appeareth as wel before as sithens the time of the Conquest Among other king Eduard the Confessour being destitute of a lawful Heire whithin the Realme sent into Hungary for Edward his Nephew surnamed Out law son to king EdmuÌ„d called Ironside after many yeres of his exile to returne into England to the intent the said Outlaw should inherite that Realme whiche neuerthelesse came not to effect by reason the said outlaw died before the sayd king Edward his Vncle. After whose death the said king appointed Eadgar Adeling sonne of the said Outlaw being his next cosen to be his heire as he was of right to the Croune of England And for that the said Eadgar was but of yong and tender yeres and not able to take vpon him so great a gouernement the said king committed the protection as wel of the yong Prince as also of the Realm to Harold Earle of Kent vntil suche time as the said Eadgar had obteined perfit age to be hable to welde the state of a king Flor. bislo 1066. Aelredus Regional leÌ„f de reg AngloruÌ„ ad Regem Henr. â— VVhich Harold neuerthelesse contrary to the trust supplanted the said yong Prince of the kingdome and put the Croune vpon his owne head By this it is apparent that foraine birth was not accoÌ„pted before the time of the Conquest to be a iust cause to repel and reiect any man beinge of the next proximitie in blood from the Title of the Croune And though the said king Edward the Confessors will and purpose tooke no suche force and effect King Stephen and King H. 2. as he desired and the lawe craued yet the like succession tooke place effectuouslye in king Stephen and king Henry the second as we haue already declared Neither will the Aduersaries shift of forainers borne of father and mother which be not of the kings allegeance The aduersaries fond imagination that H. 2. should come to the Croune by compositioÌ„ not by proximitie of blood Rex Stephanus omni haerede viduatus praeter soluÌ„ modo DuceÌ„ Henricum recognouit in conueÌ„tu EpiscoporuÌ„ aliorum de regno Optimatum quod Dux Henr. ius haereditariuÌ„ iÌ„ regnuÌ„ Angliae habebat Et Dux benigne concessit vt Rex Stephanê° tota vita sua suuÌ„ RegnuÌ„ pacifice possideret Ita tamen confirmatuÌ„ est pactuÌ„ quod ipse Rex ipsi tunc praesentes cuÌ„ caeteris regni optimatibê° iurareÌ„t quod Dux Henr. post morteÌ„ Regis si illum superâ—iueret regnum sine aliqua coÌ„ntradictione obtineret Flor. histo An. 1153 The like fond imagination touching King Richardes nephevv Diuersitie of opinions touching the vncle nephue vvhetherof them ought to be preferred in the royall gouuernement help them forasmuche as this clause of the said statute is not to be applied to the kings children but to others as appeareth in the same statute And these two kings Stephen and Henrie the .2 as they were borne in a forain place so their fathers and mothers were not of the kings allegeance but mere Aliens and strangers And how notorious a vaine thing it is that the Aduersaries would perswade vs that the said King Henrie the second rather came in by force of a composition then by the proximitie and nearenes of blood I leaue it to euery man to consider that hath any maner of feling in the discours of the stories of that realm The composition did procure him quietnes and rest for the time with a good and sure hope of quiet and peaceable entrance also after the death of King Stephen and so it followed in deede but ther grew to him nomore right thereby than was due to him before For he was the true heir to the Croune as appeareth by Stephen his Aduersaries owne confession Henry the firste maried his daughter Mathildis to Henry the Emperour by whome he had no children And no dout in case she had had any children by the Emperour they should haue ben heires by successioÌ„ to the Croune of England After whose death she retourned to her father yet did king Henry cause all the Nobilitie by an expresse othe to embrace her after his death as Queene and afrer her her children Not long after she was maried to Ieffrey Plantagenet a Frenchman borne Earle of Aniowe who begat
ere the first yere of his vsurped reigne turned about he was spoiled and turned out of both Croune and his life withal Yea his vsurpatiō occasioned the cōquest of the whole realme by VVilliā Duke of Normandie bastard sonne to Robert the sixt Duke of the same And may you thinke al safe sound now from like dāger if you should tread the said wrong steppes with Harolde forsaking the right and high way of law and iustice VVhat shal I now speake of the cruel ciuil warres betwene king Stephen and king Henry the second whiche warres rose by reason that the said Henry was vniustly kept from the Croune dew to his mother Maude and to him afterwardes The pitiful reigne of the said Iohn who doth not lamēt with the lamentable losse of Normandie Aquitaine the possibilitie of the Dukedome of Britanie and with the losse of other goodly possessions in France whereof the Croune of England was robbed and spoiled by the vnlawfull vsurping of him against his nephew Arthur VVell let vs leaue these greuouse and lothsome remembrances let vs yet seeke if we may finde any later interpretatiō either of the said statute or rather of the common law for our purpose And lo the great goodnes and prouidence of God who hath if the foresaid exāples would not serue prouided a later but so good so sure apt mete interpretatiō for our cause as any reasonable hart may desire The interpretatiō directly toucheth our case I meane by the mariage of the Lady Margaret eldest daughter to King Hēry the vij vnto the fourth king Iames of Scotland and by the opinion of the same most prudent Prince in bestowing his said daughter into Scotlād a matter sufficient enough to ouerthrow all those cauilling inuētiōs of the aduersaries For what time King Iames the fourth sent his Ambassadour to King Henry the seuenth to obteine his good will to espouse the said Lady Margaret Polid. 26. there were of his Counsaile not ignorant of the lawes and Customes of the Realme that did not well like upon the said Mariage saying it might so fal out that the right title of the Croune might be deuolued to the Lady Margaret and her children and the Realme therby might be subiect to Scotland To the whiche the prudent and wise king answered King H. 7. vvith his Counsaile is a good interpretor of our present cause that in case any suche deuolution should happen it would be nothing preiudiciall to England For England as the chief and principal and worthiest parte of the I le should drawe Scotland to it as it did Normandie from the time of the Conquest VVhich answere was wonderfully well liked of all the Counsaile And so consequently the Mariage toke effect as appereth by Polydor the Historiographer of that Realme and suche a one as wrote the Actes of that time by the instruction of the king him selfe I say then the worthy wise Salomon foreseeing that such deuolution might happen was an interpretour with his prudente and sage Counsaile for our cause For els they neaded not to reason of any such subiection to Scotlande if the children of the Ladie Margaret might not lawfully inherite the Croune of England For as to her husband Englād could not be subiect hauing him selfe no right by this mariage to the Title of the Croune of that Realme VVherevpon I may well inferre that the said newe Maxime of these men whereby they would rule and ouer rule the successiō of Princes was not knowen to the said wise king neither to any of his Counsaile Or if it were yet was it taken not to reache to his blood royall borne in Scotlande And so on euery side the Title of my Soueraigne Lady Queene Marie is assured So that now by this that we haue said it may easely be seen by what light and slender cōsideration the aduersaries haue gone about to strayne the worde Infantes or children to the first degree only Of the like weight is their other consideration imagining and surmising this statute to be made bicause the king had so many occasions to be so oft ouer the sea with his spouse the Queene As though diuers kings before him vsed not oftē to passe ouer the seas As though this were a personal statute made of a special purpose and not to be taken as a declaration of the common law VVhiche to say is most directely repugnant and contrary to the letter of the said statute Or as though his children also did not very often repaire to outward Countries The mariages of King E. 3. sonnes as Iohn of Gaunt Duke of Lancastre that Maried Peters the king of Castiles eldest daughter by whose right he clamed the Croune of Castile as his brother Edmund Erle of Camhridge that maried the yongest daughter as Lionell Duke of Clarence that maried at Milaine Violant daughter and heir to Galeatius Duke of Milan But especialy Prince Edwarde whiche moste victoriously toke in battaile Iohn the French King and brought him into England his prisoner to the great triumphe and reioysing of the realme whose eldest sonne Edward that died in short time after was borne beyond the seas in Gascoine and his other sonne Richard that succeded his grandfather was borne at Burdeaux And as these noble King Edwardes sonnes maried with forainers so did they geue out their daughters in mariage to foraine Princes as the Duke of Lancaster his daughter Philip to the King of Portugall and his daughter Catherin to the king of Spaine his Neece Iohan daughter to his sonne Erle of Somerset was ioyned in mariage to the king of Scottes Iohan daughter to his brother Thomas of wodstocke Duke of Gloucester was Queene of Spaine and his other daughter Marie Duchesse of Britānie Now by these mennes interpretation none of the issue of all these noble women could haue enioyed the Croune of England when it had fallen to them though they had bene of the neerest roial blood after the death of their Aūcestours VVhich surely had bene against the auncient presidentes examples that we haue declared and against the common Lawe the whiche must not be thought by this Statute any thing taken away but only declared and against all good reason also For as the kings of England would haue thought that Realme greatly iniuried if it had bene defrauded of Spaine or any of the foresaid countreies being deuolued to the same by the foresaid Mariages so the issue of the foresaide noble women might and would haue thought them hardly and iniuriously handled yf any such case had happened Neither suche friuolous interpretations and gloses as these men nowe frame and make vpon the statute woulde then haue serued nor nowe will serue A fond imagination of the Aduersaries of the statute of 25. E. 3. But of all other their friuolous and folish ghessing vpō the clause of the statute for Infantes de Roy there is one most fond of all For they would make vs beleue
by the force of that surmised will whereby it might any thing appeare that king Henry the eight made any manner of limitation or assignatiō of the Croune to the heires of the Lady Francis VVherevpon it may well be gathered that either they knew of no suche limitation to the children of the Lady Francis by the said supposed will or toke it to be suche as could geue no good and lawfull force and strength to ayde and mainteine their vsurpation for the manifest forgerye of the same And therfore they purposely for ignorance can not be pretended in them kepte backe suppressed in the said Letters Patentes this pretensed limitation surmised to be made for the children of the said Lady Francis VVhiche neuethelesse the Aduersaries do nowe with so great and vehement asseueration blowe into al mens eares yet is it vtterly reiected and ouerthrowen if it were by nothing els than by these letters patēts for the pretensed title of the said Lady Iane. So that we nede to trauaile no further for any more proofe against the said asseueration But yet in case any man do loke for any other and more persuasion and proofe whiche as I sayd neede not ô the great prouidence of God ô his great fauour and goodnes to that Realme of the which it hath bene said Polid. li. 8 Regnum Angliae est regnum Dei and that God hath euer had a speciall care of it ô his great goodnes I say to this Realme euen in this case also For he hath opened and brought to light the verie truth of the matter whiche is burst out though neuer so craftily supressed and kept vnder VVe say then that the King neuer signed the pretensed will with his owne hande neither do we say it by bare hearsay or gather it by our former coniectures and presumptions onely though very effectuall and probable but by good and hable witnesses that auouche and iustifie of their owne certaine knowledge that the Stampe onely was put to the said wil that euen when the King him selfe was now dead or dyeing and past all remembrance The forgerie of this supposed vvill disclosed before the Parlament by the L. Paget The Lorde Paget being one of the priuie Counsaile with Queene Marie of his owne free will and godly motion for the honour of the Realme for reuerence of truth and iustice thoughe in the facte him selfe perhappes culpable but thereto by great authoritie forced did first of all men disclose the matter first to the said Counsaile then before the whole Parlament Sir Edward Mountegue also the chief Iustice that was priuie and present at the saide doinges did confesse the same as well before the Counsaile as before the Parlament Yea VVilliam Clarke ascribed among other pretensed witnesses confessed the premisses to be true And that him selfe put the stampe to the said will and afterward purchased his Charter of pardon for the said fact Vpon the which depositions well and aduisedly weighed and pondered Queene Marie with the aduise of her Counsaile to the honour of God and that Realme to the maintenance of trueth and iustice the rightful successiō of the Croune for the eschewing of many foule mischieffes that might vpon that forgerie ensue A vvorthy deede for a Prince to cancell false Recordes caused the Recorde of the said forged will remaining in the Chancerie to be cancelled defaced and abolished as not worthy to remaine among the true and sincere Recordes of that noble Realme VVhiche her noble facte deserueth immortalitie of eternall prayse and fame no lesse than the fact of the Romaines that abolished the name and memorie of the Tarquinians for the foule acte of Sextus Tarquinius in defiling Lucretia No lesse than the fact of the Ephesians Cicero 3. offic who made a lawe that the name of the wicked Herostratus should neuer be recorded in the bookes of any their Historiographers Sueton. de viris illustrib No lesse thā the fact of the familie of the Manlians at Rome taking a solemne othe that none among them should euer be called Capitolinus bycause M. Manlius Capitolinus had sought to oppresse his Countrey with tyrannie And to come nerer home no lesse than in England their forefathers deserued Bed lib. 3. histor Ecclesiast c. i. whiche quite rased out of the yeares and times the memorie and name of the wicked Apostates Osricus and Eanfridus numbring their tyme vnder the reigne of the good King Oswald The aduersaries therfore are muche to be blamed going about to staine and blotte the memorie of the said Queene and Magistrats as though they had done this thing disorderly and as though there had bene some special cōmoditie therein to them which is apparently falfe For as the said abolition was nothing beneficiall to other Magistrats so if it hadde bene a true and an vndoubted will the said Queene vould neuer haue caused it to be cancelled as well for her honour and conscience sake as for priuate respect seeing her owne royall estate was by the same set foorth cōfirmed Yet would they faine blemish and disgrace the testimonie of the said Lorde Paget and S. Edward Mountague They set against them eleuen witnesses thinking to matche and ouermatche them with the number But here it muste be remembred that though they be eleuen yet they are too slender and weake for the weight and importance of the matter It is againe to be remembred that often times the lawe doth as well weigh the credit as number the persons of the witnesses Aliàs saith Calistratus numerus aliàs dignitas authoritas confirmat rei L. testiū ff de testibus L. Ob carmen ibid. de qua agitur fidem According to this saith also Archadius Confirmabit Iudex motum animi sui ex argumentis testimoniis quae rei aptiora vero proximiora esse compererit Non enim ad multitudinem respicere oportet sed ad sinceram testimoniorum fidem testimonia quibus potius lux veritatis assistit It hath not lightly bene heard or sene that men of suche state vocation in so great and weightie a cause would incurre first the displeasure of God then of their Prince and of some other of the best sorte if their depositions were vntrue and would purchase them selues dishonour slaūder infamie yea disclose their owne shame to their owne no manner of way hoped cōmoditie nor to the commoditie of other their frendes No iust cause to repel the testimonie of the L. Paget and ohers or discommoditie and hurte of their enemies This sufficently doth purge them from all sinister suspicion for this their deposition and testimonie their deposition proceding as it plainly seemeth from no affectiō corruptiō or partialitie but from a zeale to the trueth and to the honour of the Realme And though perchance if they had bene thereof iudicialy conuicted condemned and had not by dew penance themselues reformed some exceptions might haue bene layed
and auoyd all mutuall stryfe contention Lyke answer was made to Scipio surnamed Aphricanê° who hauing by many conflictes daunted the Numantines and broken their great forces asked of Tyresius Prince of the Celtanes how it happened that Numantia whiche so long tyme before had bene inuincible was at the last ouerthrowen bycause sayd Tyresius the amitye and concorde of the Citizens before made them victorious and nowe their discorde hath brought their destructioÌ„ For as there is nothing so weake slender whiche by concorde may not be strengthened so nothing is so strong but discorde can ouerturne it And it is manifestlye knowne what famouse common welthes haue bene defaced and ruyned by discorde and sedition and that no Empire is so wel fortified no Citie so surely established nor house so firmelye builded but that by hatred and dissention it may be ouerturned pulled in pieces dismeÌ„bred and destroyed For discord as Liuie sayeth maketh two Cities of one VVe see how the controuersie bettwene the two brothers Aristobulus and Hircanus brought the kingedome of Iewes in subiection to the Romanes whiles the one called in Pompey for ayd against the other Euenso the dissention of Christian Princes translated the Empire of Constantinople to the TiraÌ„ny of turkes Yea all Syria was by the noble Duke Godfrey of Bullon recouered and had bene submitted to Christianes if a suddain discorde had not frustrated their victorie Sythe then vnanimitie in loue frendshippe is of such importance as therevpon the safetie of a common wealthe dependeth we must endeuour our selfes with all industrie and trauaile to cherishe defend and reteyn concorde among vs. Now therfore when I deeply consider with how many and howe greate benefites and singular guiftes allmightie God hathe endewed your Yland Britaine aboue many other Countries I can not but greatly meruaile what should be the cause whie you are not more carefull to confirme a perpetuall peace and amitie among your selues For you want but this one thinge to make you seeme the most happie people in the worlde This Yland is so full fraught with all thinges necessarie to mannes vse as nothing is there wanting whiche a man may well wishe for First it is furnished with great store of all thinges nedefull eyther for mannes profit or for his pleasure in so much as not only it hath no need of helpe of other Countries but it is also able to supplie the wantes and to serue the turne of forreyners And all this fertilitie and welthe as in a strong Yland enuironed euery waye by sea is sufficiently fenced and fortified by the naturall situation from all foraine incursions inrodes Bysyde all this the commoditie of soyle and eyr be it spoken without offence of other nations bringeth foorth menne and women eyther in respect of comelynesse of personage strengthe of bodye or excellencie of witt so perfect as else where in any place are hardlie to be found Britaine therfore may well be accompted an Yland framed by nature and fashioned not only to defend itselfe but also to beare a great swaye in the worlde And not without cause for the Yle Crete was in auncieÌ„t mennes opinion estemed to be conueniently situated to get and gayne the Empire of Grece by cause it was euery waye enclosed by sea being not farre distant from Peloponese of one syde very neare to Triopio on an other side And by that oportunitie Minos King of Crete became Lord and Soueraign of those seas inuaded the yles adioyning placed in them new inhabitaÌ„tes and if he had not dyed as Aristotle saithe when he went about to conquerre Sicilia he was lyke to haue greatly enlarged the kyndome and dominions of Crete But in how many degrees doeth your Yle excell Crete It is not to be doubted but that your auncestors had achiued famouse interprises with great honour if their naturall helpes and valiant attemptes had not bene frustrated by their Ciuile dissentions VVell reason persuadeth me that a speciall occasion of all your dissentions procedeth from the multitude of Gouernours and from diuersitie of opinions and parties among the communaltye for the regiment of many is verie muche subiecte to stryfe and dissention Therfore Aristotle regarding that consonant vniforme agrement of all thinges whiche appeareth in the whole frame of the world settyth downe this for a conclusion the vvorld vvas made by one God And Homere poetically imagining that there were many Goddes contendyng among them selues about the wellfare and wrecke of Troye whiles some were of opinion to destroye the Citie and some to saue it at last he breaketh out into this exclamation The regiment of many is not profitable let one Gouerne For where the state is suche as many may beare the swaye there oftentimes many controuersies doe growe and verie harde it is for a societie to stand fast and continue bycause the more a man excedeth in haughtinesse or fiercenesse rather of mynde lesse able he is to endure a compere according to that sayeing of the Poet. There is no faithe in peeres of Royall state For none that rules can friendlye brooke a mate Neyther can Caesar yeeld to any one Nor Pompey lyke but aye to rule alone These such like contentions among your Princes haue muche hindered and disturbed your peace more than two thowsand yeres In so much as their inordinate desire to rule whiche is the very seminarie and sede plott of all warres is by your Riches nourished and with your great trauailes paines and bloodeshed fostered and maynteyned Oh miserable people Oh wreched infortunate state which neuer could brooke good fortune neuer wolde be reformed by any necessitie nor was bredde by good destinye but by selfe will and blyndenesse allwayes ouerruled Of trueth it is mere madnesse to preferre the lust and gredynesse of a few Tyrannes before a mans selfe and all that is his and before the safetye and lybertie of his Countrie As they of Sychem dyd whiche vpon the dishonest motion of Abimelech submitted them selues vnto his gouernement Iudic. 9. Methinkes that I heare his troublesome and sediouse speche I am your mouthe sayd he and of your flesh bloode better therfore it vvere for you to take me as your king than my brothers vvhiche are foreyners VVherevpon that fonde people leaned to him and to his rule and gouernement and sayed he is our brother Then Abimelech cruellye dyd fall vpoÌ„ the fiftye laufully borne brothers mordered them that he himselfe a basterd might raigne alone Yet God afterward punished that foule fact in Abimelech hym selfe and requited them of Sichem as they had deserued for the curse of Ioathan fell vpoÌ„ them The lyke wickednesse was in England committed by that mischeuouse parricide the Tyranne Richard who to gain the kingdom neither regarded the honour of his brother then lately deceassed the lyues of his noble Countrie men the blood of his nephewes the right heires of the Croune nor yet the Chastitie of their mother the Queene so great