waxe grow as well in the bush of haire that it had on the head as also in the length and stature of the members and bodie it selfe By meanes whereof it came to passe that whereas the fruites of the Benefice weare hardly able to susteine the Incumbent nowe by the benefite of this inuention which was in papistrie Nouum genus aucupij the Parson there was not onely furnished by the offering to liue plentifully but also well ayded towarde the makinge of a Hoorde or increase of Wealthe and Riches But as Ephialtes and Octus the Sonnes of Neptune who as the Poets feigne waxed nine inches euerie moneth being heaued vp with opinion and conceits ceipt of their owne length and hantines assaulted heauen intending to haue pulled the Gods out of their places and were therefore shot through slayne with the arrowes of the Gods Euen so when Popish Idolatrie was growne to the full height and measure so that it spared not to rob God of his due honour and most violently to pull him as it were out of his seate then this growing Idole and all his fellowes were so deadly wounded with the heauenly arrowes of the woorde of God Qui non dabit gloriam suam sculptilibus that soone after they gaue vp the ghost and least vs. Betwéene this Towne and Depeforde which is the whole bredthe of the Shyre on the west ende I finde nothing committed to hystorie and therefore let vs hast and take our next way thither ¶ Depeforde in Latine Vadum profundum and in auncient Euidences West Greenewiche THis towne being a frontier betwene Kent and Surrey was of none estimation at all vntil that King Henrie the eight aduised for the better preseruation of the Royall Fléete to erect a Storehouse and to create certaine officers there these he incorporated by the name of the Maister and Wardeines of the Holie Trinitie for the building kéeping and conducting of the Nauie Royall There was lately reedefied a fayre Bridge also ouer the Brooke called Rauensbourne whiche ryseth not farre of in the Heath aboue Bromley ¶ Greenewiche in Latine Viridis finus in Saxon grenapic that is to say the Greene Towne In auncient euidences Eastgreenewiche for difference sake from Depforde which in olde Instruments is called westgreenewiche IN the time of the turmoyled Kinge Ethelred the whole fléete of the Danish army lay at roade two or thrée yeares together before Greenewich And the Souldiours for the moste parte were incamped vpon the hill aboue the towne now called Black-health Duringe this time they pearced this whole Countrie sacked and spoyled the Citie of Canterburie and brought frō thence to their ships Aelphey the Archbishop And here a Dane called Thrum whom the Archebishop had confirmed in Christianitie the daie before strake him on the head behinde and slewe him because he woulde not condiscend to redéeme his lyfe with thrée thousande poundes which the people of the Citie Diocesse were contented to haue geuen for his raunsome Neither would the rest of the Souldiours suffer his bodie to be committed to the earth after the maner of Christian decencie till such time saieth William of Malmsb as they perceiued that a dead stick being annointed with his bloud waxed gréene againe and began the next day to blossom But referring the credite of that and suche other vnfruitfull miracles wherwith our auncient monkish stoaries doe swarme to the iudgement of the godly and discréete Readers most assured it is that aboute the same time such was the storme and furie of the Danish insatiable rauine waste spoyle and oppression with in this Realme besides that of two and thirtie Shyres into which number the whole was then diuided they herried and ransacked sixtéene so that the people being miserably vexed the Kinge himselfe to auoyde the rage first sent ouer the Seas his wyfe and children afterward compounded and gaue them a yerely tribute and lastly for verie feare forsooke the Realme and fled into Normandie himselfe also They receiued besides daylie victuall fourtie eight thousande poundes in ready coyne of the subiectes of this Realme whilest their King Swein lyued twentie one thousand after his death vnder his sonne Canutus vpon the payment whereof they made a corporall oth to serue the King as his feodaries against al strangers and to liue as fréendes and allies without endamaging his subiectes But how litle they perfourmed promise the harms that daily folowed in sundry parts and the exalting of Canutus their owne countrieman to the honour of the Crowne were sufficient witnesses In memorie of this Campe certeine places within this parishe are at this day called Combes namely Estcombe Westcombe and Midlecombe almoste forgotten For Comb and Compe in Saxon being somewhat declined from Campus in Latine signifieth a field or Campe for an Armie to soiourne in And in memorie of this Archebishop Aelpheg the parish Church at Greenewiche being at the first dedicated to his honour remaineth knowne by his name euen till this present day Thus much of the antiquitie of the place concerning the latter hystorie I reade that it was soone after the conquest parcel of the possessions of the Bishop of Lysieux in Fraunce and that it bare seruice to Odo then Bishop of Baieux and Earle of Kent After that the Manor belonged to the Abbat of Gaunt in Flaunders till such time as Kinge Henrie the fift seising into his handes by occasion of warre the landes of the Priors Aliens bestowed it togeather with the manor of Lewsham and many other lands also vpon the Priorie of the Chartrehouse Monks of Shene whiche he had then newly erected to this it remayned vntill the time of the reigne of Kinge Henrie the eight who annexed it to the Crowne whervnto it now presently belongeth The Obseruant Friers that sometime lyued at Greenewiche as Iohn Rosse writeth came thither about the latter end of the reign of king Edward the fourth at whose handes they obteined a Chauntrie with a litle Chapel of the holy crosse a place yet extant in the towne And as Lilley saith Kinge Henrie the seuenth buylded for them that house adioyning to the Palaice which is there yet to be séene But now least I may séeme to haue saide much of small matters and to haue forgotten the principall ornament of the towne I must before I end with Greenewiche say somewhat of the Princes Palaice there Humfrey therefore the Duke of Gloucester Protectour of the Realme a man no lesse renowmed for approued vertue and wisdome then honoured for his high estate and parentage was the first that layde the foundations of the faire building in the towne and towre in the Parke and called it his Manor of pleasance After him Kinge Edward the fourthe bestowed some cost to enlarge the woorke Henrie the seuenthe folowed and beautified the house with the addition of the brick front toward the water side but King Henrie the eight as he excéeded all his progenitours
the thinges that I had to remember in Eltham And to make an end of all these be the places whereof I ment to make note in this my Xenagogie and perambulation of Kent the first and only Shyre that I haue described wherin although I haue not spoken of sundrie Towns not inferiour at this present in estimation to a greate many that I haue handled and happely equall with them in antiquitie also yet I think I haue neither pretermitted many that be much worthie of obseruation nor scarcely omitted any that be mentioned in such bookes of Hystorie as be easily to be had and obteined but as for the Feodaries and Tenures of land Genealogies Armes of men Ebbes Floudes Tides of the Sea and Riuers Flattes Barres Hauens such other things although somewhat might haue béen seuerally said concerning eache of them yet haue I wittingly and without touche lept ouer them all Partly for the incertentie partly that I scatter not any séede of dissention and enuie and partely least whilste by disclosing secretes I labour to serue the curiositie of some fewe I either offend many of the sadder sort or deserue euill of the whole estate Nowe therfore I will deliuer you and rest me wishing that some other man of greater profite in reading deapth in iudgement and dexteritie in penning would take in hand to amend the description of this and to adde the residue For as I at the first assayd it to proue my self to prouoke some and to pleasure and profite others So hauing nowe atchieued it according to my slender skill if any man shall like to take this my base metall drawne out of a fewe Sowze into many Sheetes as you sée shall hammar it to some further and finer fashion I wil not only not enuie it but most hartely thanke him and gratulate to our Countrie that so good a tourne benefite And as touching the description of the rest of the Realme knowing by the dealing in this one that it wil be harde for any one man and muche more for my selfe to accomplishe all I can but wishe in like sorte that some one in eache Shyre would make the enterprise for his owne Countrie to the end that by ioyning our pennes and conferring our labours as it were Ex symbolo wée may at the last by the vnion of many parts and papers compact a whole and perfect bodie and Booke of our English antiquities The Customes of Kent ALthough good order would haue borne the rehersall of the Auncient Customes of this Shyre in that generall discourse whiche we had in the beginning as touching the estate of this whole Countie the rather for that it was there shewed by what meanes and policie they were conserued yet least the recitall of the same being of themselues large and manyfolde might haue béene thought too great a Parenthesis or rather an interruption of the Hystorie wherein we were as then but newly entred I thought it better to reserue them for this place to the end that bothe the one and the other might appeare without breache or confusion These Customes therefore being for the most part discrepant from the common lawes of our Realme and annexed to suche landes within this Shyre as beare the name of Gauelkinde are commonly called Gauelkinde Customes for that they preuaile and haue place in landes of Gauelkinde nature In whiche respect it shall not be amisse to shewe for what reason those landes were at the first so termed and why they do yet hitherto continue the name Two coniectures I haue of the reason of this name the one grounded vpon the nature of the discent and inheritance of these landes themselues the other founded vpon the manner of the duetie and seruices that they yeald bothe whiche I will not sticke to recite and yet leaue to eache man frée choice to receaue either or to refuse bothe as it shall best lyke him I gather by Cornelius Tacitus and others that the auncient Germans whose ofspring we be suffred their landes to descend not to the Eldest Sonne alone but to the whole number of their male Children I finde in the 75. Chap. of Canutus law a King of this Realme before the Conquest that after the death of the father his heires shoulde diuide bothe his goods and his landes amongst them Nowe for as muche as all the nexte of the kinred did this inherite together I coniecture that therfore the land was called eyther Gauelkyn in meaning Giueall kyn bycause it was giuen to all the nexte in one line of kinred or Giue all kynd that is to all the male children for kynd in Dutche signifieth yet a male childe Besides this the Welshmen also who but now lately lost this custome doe in their language call this discent Gwele and in their Latine Recordes Lectus progenies gauella of their owne worde Gefeilled whiche signifieth Twyns or suche as be borne together bicause they doe all inherite together and make as it were but one heire and not many And here by the way I cannot omit to shew that they of this our Kentish cuntrey do yet cal their partition of land shifting euen by the very same worde that the lawe of Canutus many yeares since termed it namely Scyftan in Latine Herciscere that is to shift depart or diuide lande My other coniecture is raysed vpon the consideration of the rent and seruices going out of these landes for it is wel knowne that as Knights seruice lande required the presence of the tenant in warfare and battaile abroad So this lande being of Socage tenure cōmaunded his attendance at the ploughe and other the Lordes affaires of husbandry at home the one by manhoode defending his Lords life and person the other by industrie mainteining with rent corne and victuall his estate and familie This rent and customarie payment of works the Saxons called gafol and therof as I think they named the lande that yealded it gafolette or gafolcynd that is to saye lande Letten for rent or of the kinde to yealde rent In this sense I am sure that the rents customes and seruices whiche the tenantes of London pay to their land lords were wont and yet are to be recouered by a writ thereof called Gauellet as by an auncient statute made in the tenthe yeare of King Edward the second intituled Statutum de Gaueleto in London and by dayly experience there it may well appeare Thus much then as concerning the Etymon of this word Gauelkind being said let vs procéed further It hath already appeared how the Kentishmen immediatly after the Conquest obteined the continuation of their customes and it is very manyfest by auncient writers that the same for the more part haue bene in vre and exercise euer since For omitting that which Thomas Spot hath written concerning the same matter for as much as it is already recited at large Glanuile a learned man that flourished in the reigne of king Henrie the second in his
enfranchise villaines sondrie other things whiche bycause they be to long to be rehearsed at large and lye not fitly in the way of my purpose I will omit and descend to the Wardeins of the Portes reciting in a short Catalogue the names of so many of them as I haue found to gouern sithence the arriuall of King William the Conquerour And although it be no doubt but that the Portes were vnder the gouernement of some before the tyme of the conquest also yet bycause King William was the first so farre as I haue read that made the office perpetuall and gaue it the title whiche it now beareth the name Wardein I meane whiche came from Normandie and was not at all knowen to the Saxons I thinke best to begin at his time Againe for asmuche as the Constableship of the Castle of Douer and this office haue ben alwayes inseperably matched together and for that I shal haue fitte place to speake of that hereafter when I shall come to Douer I will respit the rehersall of bothe their originalles til then and here in the meane season set down the race of the Wardeins by name only Iohn Fynes created by William the Conquerour Wardein of the Portes and Constable of Douer by gifte of inheritance Iames Fines his Sonne whiche dyed ot Folkston Iohn Fynes his Sonne Walkelm who deliuered it to King Stephan and immediatly after his death abandoned the charge and fled into Normandie Allen Fynes restored by King Henrie the second Iames Fynes his Eldest Sonne Mathew Clere as it should séeme by Mat. Par. Williā Petite who imprisoned Godfrey the Archbyshop of Yorke in Douer castle as vnder that title shal appeare William of Wrotham Hubert of Burgh the Earle of Kent who being deposed Bartram of Cryol succéeded Richard Gray appointed by the Barons that warred against King Henrie the third who was depriued of his office by Hugh Bigot bicause he let in the Popes legate by the Kings licence and against the minde of the Nobles Henrie Braybrooke Edward the first in the lyfe of his father who made Henrie Cobham his deputie whose Sonne Heire called Iohn founded Cobham College Roger Leyborne in the tyme of King Edward the first Stephan Penchester in the tyme of Edward the first Syr Robert Asheton Hugh Spenser the younger in the tyme of Edward the second Edmund of Woodstock the Earle of Kent Reginald Cobham in the time of Edward the third Bartholmew Burwhasse or Burgehersh one of the first companions of the ordre of the Garter Iohn Beauchampe the Earle of Warwike Syr Robert Herle in the latter ende of King Edward the third Edmund the Earle of Cambridge Syr Simon Barley whome Thomas of Woodstocke beheaded Lord Henrie Cobham the Sonne of Reginald Cobhā Syr Iohn Enros Syr Thomas Beaumont Edward the Duke of Aumarle and Yorke whom King Henrie the fourth remoued and substituted in place Syr Thomas Erpingham for a season but afterward he gaue the office to Prince Edward his Sonne who when he was King in possession bestowed it vpon Humfrey the Duke of Gloucester Iames Fines Lord Saye whom Iacke Cade beheaded Edmond the Duke of Somerset Humfrey the Duke of Buckingham Simon Mountford vnder King Henrie the sixt Richard Neuel the Earle of Warwike William the Earle of Arundel Richard the Duke of Gloucester called afterward King Richard the third Sir William Scotte Henrie the Duke of Yorke Iames Fines the Lord Saye Henrie in his Fathers lyfe afterward the eight King of that name Arthur Plantagenet Vicount Lisle Bastard Sonne to King Edward the fourth Sir Edward Poynings Henrie the younge Earle of Richemond Sir Edward Guldeford George Boleyn Vicount Rocheford Sir Thomas Cheynie Treasurour of the houshold Sir Wiliam Cobham Lord Cobham Thus much of the v. Portes in general Now of Sandwiche the first of them in the order of my iourney and then orderly of so many of the residue as lye within the Shyre that I haue presently in hand Sandwiche is called in Latine Sabulouicum or Portus Rutupinus in Saxon Sondƿic that is to say the Sandie Towne because the coast therabout aboundeth withe Sande THis Towne as it appeareth by the report of Leland and as it may séeme also by the name it selfe being méere Saxon began by the Saxons after the fall of poore Richeborowe which was in price while the honour of the Britons stood vpright and was eyther abated dy the furie of the Saxons when they wonne that coast from them or els came to ruine by the alteration and vicissitude of the Sea whiche peraduenture choked the hauen thereof with light sande as it hathe since that time done this at Sandwiche also King Canutus gaue as some write to Christes church in Canterbury Sainct Bartholmews arme if happely it were not a chaungeling for Kings great men were oftentymes after that sort deluded though they in the meane time bought such reliques dearely and thought that kinde of gifte moste princely he gaue also a riche Pall a Crowne of Golde and this hauen of Sandwiche together with the royaltie of the water on eache side so farre as a shippe being on flote at the full Sea a man might caste a shorte hatchet out of the vessell vnto the Banke The place it selfe grewe in tyme to be wel peopled and of worthynesse to be one of those Portes that foūd fauour of priuilege in consideration of their seruice at the Sea for it appeareth by the booke of Domesday that this was the estate of Sandwiche It laye in a hundreth belonginge to it selfe it did to the King suche like seruice by tenure as Douer did It was of the possessiōs of Christes Churche as I haue shewed and was appointed for the apparell of the Monkes of that house to the whiche it yealded fourtie thousand herrings besides certaine money and had in it thrée hundreth and seuen houses inhabited And I finde not but that the Towne continued in the like plight long after the Conquest being somewhat amended also by the Staple whiche King Edward the first for a season remoued thither euen vntil the time of King Henrie the sixt in whose dayes Peter Brice the Steward of Normandie landed at Sandwiche and with fire and sworde wasted the Towne in manner to ashes and slewe the inhabitants almoste to the last man Since whiche time partly by the smarte of that wounde but chiefly by the aboundaunce of the light Sande wherewith the Sea hath glutted the hauen it is declined to great decay and were like to fall to extreme ruine were it not that nowe presently it is somewhat relieued by the repaire of suche as haue abandoned their Countrie for the fréedome of their consciences whose aboade howe long it will bée the Lorde onely knoweth for whose cause they suffer banishment There was in this Towne before the generall suppression a house of Carmelites whereof I read none other good thing saue that it brought foorthe one learned man called
Martins night the Englishe men should all at once set vpon the Danes before they had disgested the surfaite of that drunken solemnitie and so vtterly kyll and destroy them This his commaundement was receaued with suche liking entertained with such secreacie and executed with such spéede and celeritie that the Danes were sodainly in a manner wholly bothe men women and children like the Sonnes in Lawe of Danaus oppressed at once in a night only a fewe escaped by Sea into Denmarke and there made complaint of King Etheldreds boucherie For reuenge whereof Sweyn their King bothe armed his owne people waged forreigne aide and so preparing a houge armie tooke shipping and arriued first here at Sandwiche and after in the Northe Countrie the terrour of whose comming was suche that it caused the Countrie people on all sides to submitte them selues vnto him in so muche that King Etheldred séeing the cause desperate and him selfe destitute fled ouer into Normandie with his wife and children friendes familie After whiche his departure although both he him selfe returned and put Canutus the next King of the Danes to flight and Edmund his Sonne also fought sundrie great battailes with him yet the Danes preuailed so mightely vpon them that thrée of them in succession that is to say Canutus Haroldus and Hardicanutus reigned Kings here in England almoste by the space of thirtie yeares together so muche to the infamous oppression slauery and thraldome of the English Nation that euery Dane was for feare called Lord Dane and had at his commaundement wheresoeuer he became bothe man and wyfe and whatsoeuer else he found in the house At the lengthe God taking pitie vpon the people tooke sodainly away King Hardicanute after whose death the Nobilitie CoÌ„mons of the Realme ioyned so firmely and faithfully both hartes and hands with their naturall and Liege Lord King Edward that the Danes were once againe and for euer expulsed this Countrie in so much that soone after the name Lord Dane being before tyme a woord of great awe and honour grewe to a terme and bywoord of foule despight and reproche being tourned as it yet continueth to Lourdaine besides that euer after the common people in ioye of that deliuerance haue celebrated the annuall day of Hardicanutus deathe with open pastime in the streates calling it euen till this oure time Hoctuesday in steade as I thinke of Hucxtuesdaeg that is to say the skorning or mocking Tuesday And nowe thus muche summarily being saide as concerning the trueth of the Danes being here who ruled in this land almoste thirtie yeares and raged without all rule aboue three hundreth and fiftie I will returne to Sandwiche disclosing therein suche occurrents of the Danishe doings as perteine to my purpose In the yeare eight hundreth fiftie and one after Christ Athelstane the Sonne of Ethelwulfe King of Kent whome Mathewe of Westminster taketh or rather mistaketh for a Bishop fought at the Sea before Sandwiche against a great Nauie of the Danes of whiche he tooke nine vessels discomfited the residue Against another Fléete of the Danes whiche landed at Sandwiche in the yeare one thousand and sixe King Etheldred made this prouision that euerie thrée hundreth and ten Hydes of Land whiche Henrie Huntingdon Mathewe Parise and others expound to be so many plowlands should be charged with the furniture of one ship and euery eight Hydes should finde one iacke and sallet for the defence of the Realme By whiche meane he made redy a mighty nauie to the Sea But what through the iniurie of sudaine tempest and what by the defection of some of his Nobilitie he profited nothing King Canutus also after that he had receaued the the woorse in a fight in Lincolneshyre whiche drewe to his ships that laye in the hauen at Sandwiche there moste barbarously behaued himselfe cutting of the handes and féete of suche as he had taken for hostage and so departed al wrothe and melancholike into Denmarke to repaire his armie The same man at his returne hither tooke land with his power at this towne and so did Hardicanutus his sonne after him Furthermore in the dayes of King Edward the confessour two Princes or rather principall Pirates of the Danes called Lochen and Irlinge landed at Sandwiche and laded their ships with riche spoyle wherewith they crossed ouer the seas to Flaunders and there made money of it At this place landed Lewes the FreÌ„ch Dolphine that ayded the Englishe Nobilitie against King Iohn as we shall hereafter haue cause to shewe more at large Finally in the reigne of King Richard the seconde certeine Frenche ships were taken at the Sea whereof some were fraught with the frame of a timber Castle suche another I suppose as WilliaÌ„ the Conquerour erected at Hastings so soone as he was arriued whiche they also ment to haue planted in some place of this Realme for our anoyaunce but they failed of their purpose for the Engyne being taken from them it was set vp at this Towne vsed to our great safetie and their repulse Eastrye HAuing somewhat to say of Eastrye I trust it shal be no great offence to turne oure eye a little from the shoare and talke of it in our way to Deale It is the name of a Towne and Hundreth within the Last of Sainct Augustines and hath the addition of East for difference sake from Westrye coÌ„monly called Rye nere to Winchelsey in Sussex Mathewe of Westminster maketh report of a murther done at it which because it tendeth much to the declaration of the auncieÌ„t estate of the town I will not sticke to rehearse so shortly as I can After the deathe of Ercombert the seuenth King of Kent Egbert his Sonne succéeded in the kingdome who caused to be vertuously brought vp in his Palaice which was then at this Towne two young Noble men of his own kinred as some say or rather his owne Brethren as William of Malmesbury writethe the one being called Ethelbert and the other Etheldred these Gentlemen so prospered in good learning courtlike manners feates of actiuitie méete for men of their yeares and parentage that on the one side they gaue to all wel disposed persons and louers of vertue great expectation that they would become at the length men worthie of muche estimation and honour and on the other side they drewe vpon them the feare mislyking and vtter hatred of the naughtie wicked and malicious sort Of the whiche nuÌ„ber there was one of the Kings owne houshold called Thunner who as vertue neuer wanteth her enuiers of a certaine diuelishe malice repyning at their laudable increase neuer ceassed to â—lowe into the Kings eare moste vntrue accâ—sations against them And to the end that he might the rather prouoke the King to displeasure he persuaded him of great daunger toward his estate and person by them and for as muche as the common people who more commonly worship the Sunne rising then going downe
so vsed the matter that he obteined iudgemēt for his part but he for all that neuer had execution by reasō that he died in his returne toward home yet you may here sée by the way that in those dayes there was no Lawe in England to rule the proude Prelacie withall no not so muche as in things méere Lay and temporall To be short the same King Hērie not long before the battel at Lewes in Sussex burned the Citie of Rochester and tooke this Castle by a soudaine surprise wherein he found amongst other the Countesse of Gloucester But it was not long before he stored the Castle with men of warre and restored the Ladie to her former libertie There was somtime neare to this Castle a Pryorie whereof the Earles of Gloucester and their Heires were reputed the first Authors and Patrones And in our memorie there was erected a faire Frée Schoole by the honest liberalitie of Syr Androw Iudde a Citizen and Maior of London whiche submitted the same to the order and ouersight of the company of Skinners there whereof himselfe had béene a member Round about the Towne of Tunbridge lyeth a territorie or compasse of ground commonly called the Lowy but written in the auncient Recordes and Hystories Pencata or Lenga and being in déede a French League of ground whiche as I finde in the Chronicles of Normandie was allotted at the first vpon this occasion following There was in Normandie a Towne and land therevnto adioyning called Bryonnie whiche was of the auncient possession of the Dukedome and had continually remained in the handes of the Dukes there till suche time as Richard the second Duke of that name gaue it amongst other Landes to Godfrey his natural brother for his aduauncement in liuing This Godfrey enioyed it all his lyfe and left it to one Gislebert his Sonne whiche happely was Gilbert the Capitain of Tunbridge Castle of whom we had mention before who also held it so long as he liued But after the death of Gislebert Robert the Duke of Normandie and Eldest Sonne to King William the Conquerour beeing earnestly laboured to bestowe it vpon on Robert Earle Mellent whose ofspring were sometimes Earles of Leycester within this Realme seazed it into his owne hands pretending to vnite it to the Dukedome againe But when Richard the Sonne of Gislebert vnderstoode of this he put to his claime and making his title by a long continued possession euen from Godfrey his graundfather so encountred the suite of Earle Mellent that to stoppe Richards mouthe withall it was by the deuice of the Earle and by the mediation of Duke Robert which he made to his Brother William Rufus brought to passe that Richard should receaue in recompence the Town of Tunbridge in England and so much land about it as Bryonnie it selfe conteined in circuit And to the end that the indifferencie of the dealing might appeare and his full satisfaction be wrought they caused Bryonnie and the land about it to be measured with a line whiche they afterward brought ouer with them into England and applying the same to Tunbridge and the land adioyning laide him out the very like in quantitie in so much that long time after it was a common and receaued opinion in Normandie that the Leagues of Bryonnie and Tunbridge were all one in measure and compasse This together with the Towne and Castle came at the length as you haue séene to the handes of the Earles of Gloucester betwéene whome and the Archebishops of Canterbury there arose oftentimes contention bothe for the limits of this league and for the preeminence of their priuileges At the last Boniface the Archebishop next but one in succession after Richard of whome we spake before and Richard the Earle and Heire to Gilbert agréed in the reigne of King Henrie the third vpon a perambulatiō to be made betwéene them and so the strife for their boundes was brought to an end But as touching their priuileges and iurisdiction in the place it fell out by inquisition in the time of King Edward following that the Archebishop had nothing to do within the league that the Earle had returne of writtes creation of certain Officers an especiall sessions in Eire c most of whiche things the Towne hath not these many yeares enioyed But yet it was agréed after the perambulation so made betwéene Boniface and the Earle Richard that the Earle and his heires should holde the Manors of Tunbridge Vielston Horsmund Melyton and Pettys of the Archebishop and his successours by the seruice of 4. Knightes fées and to be highe Stewardes and highe Butlers to the Archebishops at the great feast of their inthronizations taking for their seruice in the Stewardship seuē competent Robes of Scarlet thirtie gallons of wyne thirtie pound of waxe for his light liuery of Hay and Oates for fourescore Horse by two nights the dishes and salt which should stand before the Archebishops in that Feast and at their departure the dyet of thrée days at the costes of the Archbishops at foure of their next Manors by the foure quarters of Kent wheresoeuer they would Ad minuendum sanguinem So that they repaired thither but with fiftie Horses only And taking also for the Office of Butlership other seuen like Robes 20 Gallons of wyne fiftie pound of waxe like liuery for thréescore Horses by two nights the cuppe wherewith the Archebishops should be serued all the emptie hogsheads of drinke and for sixe tunne of wyne so many as should be dronke vnder the barre also The Articles of whiche their composition were afterward accordingly perfourmed firste betwéene Gilbert Earle of Gloucester and Robert Winchelsey the Archebishop next betwéene the same Earle and the Archebishop Reignoldes Then betwéene Hughe Audley the Earle of Gloucester and the Archebishop Iohn Stratford After that betwéene the Earle of Stafford to whome the Lordship of Tunbridge at the length came and Simon Sudbury Archebishop in that Sée and lastly betwéene William Warham the Archebishop and Edward the late Duke of Buckingham who also executed the Stewardship in his owne person and the Butlership by his deputie Syr Thomas Burgher Knight the whole pompe and Ceremonie whereof I haue séen at greater length set forth and described then is méete for this time place to be recounted Asherst in Saxon Acsehyrst that is the Wood consisting of Ashes IN the Southwest corner of this Shyre towarde the confines of Sussex and Surrey lyeth Asherst a place now a daies so obscure for it is but a Towne of two houses that it is not worthy the visiting but yet in olde time so glorious for a Roode that it had of rare propertie that many vouchsafed to bestowe bothe their labour and money vpon it It was beaten forsooth into the heades of the common people as what thing was so absurde which the Clergie coulde not then make the world to beleeue that the Roode or Crucifix of this church did by certaine incrementes continually
for Hy ðrittig to the thither same place for them thirtie mancys goldes markes of golde and and aenne one sÆ¿eor collar neckbracelet beaH on of feoÆ¿ertig fourtie mancysan markes and and a ane cuppan Cuppe seolfrene of syluer and and Healfne a halfe head band couered with golde baend gyldenne bend gilden And And caelce euerie geare yeare to at Heora their gemynde mynde yeares mynde tÆ¿egra two daga feorme dayes ferme from rent corne and victuall of of HaeslHolte Haselholte and and tÆ¿egra of Æ¿oðringaberan and ij of baerlingan two dayes of from Watringbery and two dayes out of Berling and ij of HaeringeardesHam and two dayes out of Hertesham And to cristes circan And to Christes church lx 60. mancys goldes markes of golde xxx þam biscope thirtie to the Bishop Archebishop and and xxx þam Hirode thirtie to the Couent And And aenne a sÆ¿eor necke beaH bracelet collar on of lxxx 80. mancys markes and and tÆ¿a two cuppan cuppes seolfrene of syluer and and þaet the land aet land at MeapaHam Mepham And And to to Sct. Sainct Augustine Augustine xxx 30. mancys markes goldes of golde and and ij two cuppan cuppes seolfrene of syluer and and Healfne halfe a baend bend gyldene gilt And And þaet the land land aet at derentan Darnt byrHÆ¿ara to Byrware His for daeg his life dayes And And aefter after Hire his daege dayes into to Sct. Sainct Andree Androes for for unc vs and and uncre our yldran elders auncetors And And barlâ—ngas Berling to Æ¿ulfeHe Wulfee and and He he selle .x. shall giue a Hund peninga thousand pence into Sct. to Sainct Andree Androes for for unc vs and and uncre our yldran elders And And Æ¿ulfsie to Wulfsie Æ¿oðringabiras Wateringbyrye innon within ê§ that gecynde kinred And And syrede HeselHolt innon ê§ gecende to Syred Haselholt within that And Æ¿ulfege and Aelfege And to Wulfei and Elfey His his breðer brother HerigeardesHam Hartesham innon within ê§ that gecynde kinred to to Æ¿ulfege Wulfee ê§ the inland inland demeanes and and Aelfege to Elfey ê§ Ã»tland the outland tenancie And And Æ¿ulfstane to Wulfstane uccan Vcca Æ¿olcnestede Walkenstede innon within ê§ that gecynd kinred And And an a Hanðsecs hatchet dagger on of ðrym three pundan pounds And þa tyn Hyda on Straettune And those ten plowlands at Streiton into to þaem the mynstre mynster church to at Æ¿olcnestede Walkenstede And ê§ land aet fealcanHam And the land at Falcham aftre after byrHÆ¿ara Byrwares daege dayes into to Sct. Sainct Angree Androes for for Aelfric Elfrices Hire soule Hlaford their Lord and His yldran and his auncetors sÆ¿a euen Heora as their cÆ¿ide will Æ¿aes was And And bromleaH Brumley aeftre after briHtÆ¿ara Britwares daege into dayes to life Sct. Sainct Andree Androes sÆ¿a as Aelfric Elfric Hyre their Hlaford Lorde it Hit becÆ¿aeð bequeathed for for Hine him and and His yldran his elders auncetors And And Snodingeland Snodland eac also into to S. Andree aeftre Hire daege sÆ¿a Aelfere Hit becÆ¿aeð Sainct Androes after their dayes euen as Elfere it bequethed Aelfrices faeder and He seoðan on geÆ¿itnesse Eadgife being Elfrices father and he afterward in the witnesse hearing presence of Edgiue ðaere the Hlaefdian Ladie and and Odan of Odo Aercebisceopes the Archebishop and and Aelfeges of Elfey Aelfstanes Elfstanes sunu sonne and and Aelfrices of Elfric His his broðor brother and and Aelfnoþes pilian of Elfnothe pilia and godÆ¿ines aet faecHam and of Godwine of Facham and and of Eadrices Eadric aet of Ho. Hoo and and Aelfsies of Elfsie the preostes priest on of Crogdaene Croyden And And Æ¿ulfstane to Wulfstane lx 60. mancas markes goldes of gold to to daelanne deale for for unc vs and and uncre our yldran and elders and oðer other sÆ¿ile suche 60. mâ—rkes Æ¿ulfsige to Wulfsie to to daelanne deale betweene God and them be it and and Haebban haue Heom they Æ¿ið with god God gemaene together gif if Hy they Hit it ne do don not And And Æ¿ulfsige tydices eg to Wulfsie Titaesey and and ðam boc the writing innon within ê§ that gecynde kindred ij spuran on iij pundaÌ„ And ic bidde and two spurres of three pound And I pray for for godes Gods lufan loue minne my deere leofan leefe Hlaford ê§ He ne Lorde that he doe not þafige suffer ê§ aenig man uncerne cÆ¿ide aÆ¿ende that any man our testament doe breake turne aside And And ic I bidde praye ealle all godes Gods freond friendes ê§ Hi Æ¿Hrto filstan that they thereto helpe Haebbe Æ¿ið god gaemaene Æ¿e Hit brece god Haue they it with God together Betweene them and God be it that it do breake and God sy Him symle milde þe Hit Healdan be to them alwayes mylde mercifull that it holde keepe Æ¿ille will. It shall suffice for the moste parte of the matters worthy obseruation in this Testament that I haue already poynted at them with the finger as it were for that they appeare and shew themselues manifestly at the firste sight Onely therefore touching the estate and degree of this Testator I wyll for the more light and discouery thereof borrow a few wordes of you He himself here calleth Aelfric his Lord natural Lord saieth further that Aelfere was Father to this Aelfric Now what Aelfere Aelfric were it is not hard to finde for all our auncient Hystorians tell vs that in the dayes of King Edgar of King Edward the Martyr of King Ethelred these men were by birth cousines of the bloud royall by state Eorles which word we yet reteine in English and which we commonly cal Comites in Latine for that at the first they were parteners and companions as I may say with the King in takeing the profits of the Shyre or Countie that they were also by dignitie Ealdormen that is Senators and Gouernours of all Mercia or midle England And finally that they were of such great power and credit that Alfer the Father immediatly after the death of King Edgar restored al such priests thorowout midle England to their houses as the King by aduice of Dunstane the Monke had in his lyfe expulsed for the placeing of his Monks And that Aelfric the sonne resisted king Ethelred in that siege of Rochester whereof you heard when we were there For as much therefore as Aelfric was Hlaford or Lorde to our Testator and that Hlaford and Ãegn that is to say Lorde and Seruiteur be woordes of relation I gather that he was Ãegn which signifieth properly a Minister or frée Seruiteur to the Kinge or some great personage but vsually at those times taken for the verie same that we call now of the Latine woord Gentilis a Gentleman that is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a man wel borne or of a good stock and familie Neither doth it detract any thing from his Gentrie at al that I said he was a Minister or Seruiteur For I meane not thereby that he was Seruus whiche woord straightly
toward Sennocke Holmes Dale that is to say the Dale betweene the wooddie hilles THere are as yet to be séene at Reigate in Surrey the ruines of an auncient Castle somtime belonging to the Earles of Surrey whiche Alfrede of Beuerley calleth Holme and whiche the Countrie people do yet terme the Castle of Holmesdale This tooke the name of the Dale wherin it standeth whiche is large in quantitie extending it selfe a great length into Surrey and Kent also and was as I coniecture at the first called Holmesdale by reason that it is for the moste part Conuallis a plaine valley running betwéene two hilles that be replenished with stoare of woode for so muche the very woord Holmesdale it selfe importeth In this Dale a part of whiche we nowe crosse in our way to Sennocke the people of Kent being encouraged by the prosperous successe of Edward their King the Sonne of Alfrede and commonly surnamed Edward the Elder assembled thēselues and gaue to the Danes that had many yeares before afflicted them a moste sharpe and fierce encountre in the which after long fight they preuailed and the Danes were ouerthrowne and vanquished This victorie the like euent in an other battaile giuen to the Danes at Oxford which stādeth in this same valley also begate as I gesse the cōmon by word vsed amongst the inhabitants of this vale euen till this present day in whiche they vaunt after this manner The vale of Holmesdale Neuer wonne nor neuer shal Sennocke or as some call it Seauen oke of a number of trees as it is coniectured ABoute the latter end of the reigne of King Edward the third there was foūd lying in the stréetes at Sennocke poore childe whose Parents were vnknowne and he for the same cause named after the place where he was taken vp William Sennocke This Orphan was by the helpe of some charitable persons brought vp and nourtured in such wise that being made an Apprentice to a Grocer in London he arose by degrées in course of time to be Maior and chiefe Magistrate of that Citie At whiche time calling to his minde the goodnes of Almightie God and the fauour of the Townesmen extended towardes him he determined to make an euerlasting monument of his thankfull minde for the same And therefore of his owne charge builded bothe an Hospitall for reliefe of the poore and a Frée Schoole for the education of youthe within this Towne endowing the one and the other with competent yearely liuing as the dayes then suffered towards their sustentation maintenance But since his time the Schoole was much amended by the liberalitie of one Iohn Potkyn whiche liued vnder the reigne of King Henrie the eight now lately also in the reigne of our souereigne Ladie through the honest trauaile of diuers the inhabitants there not only the yearely stipend is much increased and the former litigious possessions quietly established but the corporation also chaunged into the name of two Wardeins and foure assistants of the frée Schoole of Quéene Elizabeth in Sennocke The present estate of the Towne it selfe is good and it séemeth to haue béene for these many yeares together in no worse plight And yet finde I not in all hystorie any memorable thing concerning it saue onely that in the time of King Henrie the sixt Iack Cade and his mischeuous meiny discomfited there Syr Humfrey Stafford and his Brother two Noble Gentlemen whome the King had sent to encounter them Eltham ANthonie Becke that Bishop of Durham whiche in the reignes of King Henrie the third of King Edward his Sonne builded Aucland Castle in the Bishopricke of Durham Somerton Castle in Lincolneshyre and Durham place at London was by the report of Iohn Leland either the very Author or the first beautifier of this the Princes house here at Eltham also It is noted of that man that he was in all his life and Port so gay glorious that the Nobility of the Realme disdained him greatly therefore But they did not consider belike that he was in possession Bishop of Durham which had Iura Regalia the Prerogatiues of a petie Kingdome and that he was by election Patriarche of Ierusalem whiche is néere Cousin to a Popedome in whiche respectes he might well inoughe be allowed to haue Domus splendidas luxu Regali his houses not only as gay as the Noble mens but also as gorgeous as the Kinges To say the trueth this was not to builde vp the spirituall house with liuely stones resting on the chiefe corner to Heauen and to Godward but with Mammon and Material stuffe to erect warrelyke Castles for the nourishment of contention and stately Palaces for the maintenaunce of worldly pride and pleasure towardes Hell and the Deuill Howbeit this was the whole studie of Bishops in the Popishe Kingdome and therefore letting that passe let vs sée what became of this piece of his building King Henrie the third saith Mat. Parise toward the latter end of his reigne kept a Royall Christmas as the manner then was at Eltham being accompanied with his Quéene and Nobilitie and this belike was the first warming of the house as I may call it after that the Bishop had finished his worke For I doe not hereby gather that hitherto the King had any property in it forasmuch as the Princes in those days vsed commonly both to soiourne for their pleasures and to passe their set solemnities also in Abbaies and Bishops houses But yet I beléeue verely that soone after the deathe of that Bishop the house came to the possession of the Crowne for proofe wherof I pray you heare and marke what followeth The wyfe of King Edward the second bare vnto him a Sonne at this house who was therof surnamed Iohn of Eltham What time King Iohn of Fraunce whiche had béen prisoner in England came ouer to visite King Edward the third who had moste honourably intreated him the King and his Quéene lay at Eltham to entertaine him King Henrie the fourth also kept his last Christmas at Eltham And King Henrie his Sonne and successour lay there at a Christmas likewise when he was faine to depart soudainly for feare of some that had conspired to murder him Furthermore Iohn Rosse writeth plainely that King Edward the fourthe to his greate cost repaired his house at Eltham at whiche time also as I suppose he inclosed Horne parke one of the thrée that be here and enlarged the other twaine And it is not yet fully out of memorie that king Henrie the seauenth set vp the faire front ouer the mote there since whose reigne this house by reason of the néerenesse to Greenewiche whiche also was muche amended by him and is through the benefite of the Riuer a seate of more commoditie hath not béen so greatly estéemed the rather also for that the pleasures of the emparked grounds here may be in manner as well enioyed the Courte lying at Greenewiche as if it were at this house it selfe These be
to his tenants any alteration of this olde custome and manner For as the pleading is Quod terrae praedictae sunt de tenura natura de Gauelkind euen so the trueth is that the present tenure onely guideth not the discent but that the tenure and the nature together do gouerne it And therefore as on the one side the custome can not attache or take holde of that which was not before in nature subiect to the custome that is to say accustomably departed So on the other side the practise of the custome long time cōtinued may not be interrupted by a bare alteration of the tenure And this is not my fantasie but the resolution of all the Iustices as Iudge Dalison him selfe hath left reported 4. 5. Philippi Mariae And also of the court 26. H. 8. 5. where it was affirmed that if a man being seised of Gauelkind lande holden in Socage make a gift in tayle create a tenure in Knights seruice that yet this land must descend after the custome as it did before the chaunge of the tenure Moreouer as the chaunge of the tenure can not preuaile against this custome So neither the continuance of a contrary vsage may alter this prescription For it is holden 16. E. 2. Praescription 52. in Fitzherbert that albeit the eldest sonne onely hath and that for manye discentes together entered into Gauelkynde lande and occupyed it without any contradiction of the younger brothers that yet the lande remayneth partible betwéene them when so euer they will put to theyr claime Againste whiche assertion that whiche is sayde 10. H. 3. in the title of Praescription 64. namely of the issue taken thus Si terra illa fuit partita nec ne is not greatly forceable For althoughe it be so that the lande were neuer departed in déede yet if it remayne partible in nature it may be departed when so euer occasion shall be ministred And therefore euen in the forme of pleading vsed at this day Quod terra illa a toto tempore c. partibilis fuit partita it is plainly taken that the worde partibilis onely is of substaunce and that the worde partita is but a word of forme and not materiall or trauersable at all Yea so inseparable is this custome from the lande in whiche it obteyneth that a contrarie discent continued in the case of the Crowne it selfe can not hinder but that after such time as the lande shall resorte agayne to a common person the former inueterate custome shall gouerne it As for the purpose Landes of Gauelkynde nature come to the Quéenes handes by purchase or by eschete as holden of her Manor of A. Nowe after her deathe all her sonnes shall inherite and diuide them But if they come to her by forfayture in Treason or by gifte in Parleament so that her grace is seised of them in Iure Coronae then her eldest sonne onely whiche shall be King after her shall inioye them In whiche case althoughe those landes whiche the eldest sonne being King did possesse doe come to his eldest sonne after him being King also and so from one to another by sundry discents Yet the opinion of Syr Anthonie Browne was 7. Elizab. that if at any time after the same landes be graunted to a common person they shall reuolte to their former nature of Gauelkynde and be partible amongst his heyres males notwithstanding that they haue runne a contrarie course in diuers the discentes of the Kings before But muche lesse maye the vnitie of possession in the Lorde frustrate the custome of Gauelkynde discent as it may appeare 14. H. 4. in the long Recordare Only therefore these two cases I doubt of concerning this point and therevpon iudge them méete to be inquired of That is to say first if a tenancie in Gauelkynd eschete to the Lord by reason of a Ceasser as hereafter it shall appeare that it may or if it be graunted vnto the Lord by the tenant without any reseruation which Lord holdeth ouer by fee of Haubert or by Serieancie both which I take to be Knights seruice whether now this tenancy be partible amongst the heires males of the Lord or no. For the auncient treatise of the Kentishe Customes so determineth but I wote not whether experience so alloweth The other dout is this if it be so that any whole towne or village in Kent hath not at any time that can be shewed bene acquainted with the exercise of Gauelkynde discent whether yet the custome of Gauelkinde shal haue place there or no. Towarde the resolution of which later ambiguitie it shal tende somwhat to shew how farre this custome extendeth it self within this our countrey It is commonly taken therefore that the custome of Gauelkind is generall and spreadeth it selfe throughout the whole Shyre into all landes subiect by auncient tenure vnto the same such places only excepted where it is altered by acte of Parleament And therfore 5. E. 4. 18. and. 14. H. 4. 8. it is sayd that the custome of Gauelkind is as it were a cōmon law in Kent And the booke 22. E. 4. 19. affirmeth that in demaunding Gauelkind lande a man shall not néede to prescribe in certeine and to shew That the Towne Borowe or Citie where the landes be is an auncient towne borowe or citie and that the custome hath bene there time out of mynd that the lands within the same towne borow or citie shuld descend to al the heires males c. But that is sufficient inoughe to shewe the custome at large and to say That the land lyeth in Kent and that all the landes there be of the nature of Gauelkynde For a writte of partition of Landes in Gauelkinde saithe Maister Litleton shal be as generall as if the landes were at the Common lawe although the declaration ought specially to conteine mention of the Custome of the Countrie This vniuersalitie therefore considered as also the straite bonde whereby the custome is so inseperably knit to the land as in manner nothing but an acte of Parleament can clearely disseuer them I sée not how any Citie Towne or Borowe can be exempted for the only default of putting the Custome in vre more then the Eldest Sonne in the case before may for the like reason prescribe against his yonger Brethren But here before I conclude this part I thinke good first to make Maister Litletons aunswere to suche as happely wil demaund what reason this custome of Gauelkinde discent hathe thus to diuide land amongst al the Males contrarie to the manner of the whole Realme besides The younger sonnes saith he be as good gentlemen as the Elder they being alike deare to theyr cōmon auncestor from whom they claim haue so much the more néede of their friendes helpe as through their minoritie they be lesse able then the elder Brother to help them selues secondly to put you in remembrance also of the statute of Praerogatina Regis Ca. 16. Where it
quilz pusent lour terres in that which shal be needeful And that they may their landes lour their tenementz tenements doner vender sauÌ„z conge demauÌ„der a giue and sell without licence asked of their lour seignerages sauues a seignorages les rentz Lords Sauing vnto the Lordes the rentes and e les the seruices seruices dues des mesmes le tenementz due out of the same tenements Et que touz e chescun And that al and euery of them puseit per Brë le roy may by writ of the kyng ou or per by pleynt plainte pleder pur lour plede for the obteining drou purchaser auxibien de lour Seignerages come des auters of their right as well of their Lordes as of other men gentz Et clament auxi que la Commune de Gauylekendeys And they clayme also that the communaltie of GauelkindmeÌ„ que ne tenent mes que tenemenz Gauylekendeys which hold none other then tenements of Gauelkind nature ne deiuent venir a la comune Somonse del Eire oug t not to come to the common Summonce of the Eire mes but ke per Borgesaldre only by the Borsholder and iiij foure homeÌ„s men de of la the Borghe Borowe hors except pris les villees que deiuent responder per xij hoÌ„mes en le Eire the townes which ought to aunswere by twelue men in the Eire Et And they clament clayme auxi also que sil nul tenant en Gauylekend seit atteint that if any tenant in Gauelkinde be attainted de of felonie felonie per que for the which il he suffre suffreth Iuyse de mort iudgement of death eit le Râ—y the King touz ses chateux shal haue all his goods e son heire eir heire meintenant foorthwith apres after sa his mort death seit shal enherite de touz be inheritable to all ses his terres landes tenemenz tenements que which il he tient held en in Gauylekende Gauelkind en in fee fee e en heritage e les tiendâ—a perâ—â—â—â— les in inheritance and he shall holde them by the same seruices seruices et customes customes sicoÌ„e ses auÌ„cestres les tyndroÌ„t dont est dist as his auncestors held theÌ„ whervpoÌ„ it is said en in Kenteis Kentish þe the fader father to to þe the boghe boughe and þe the son son to þe plogh to the plough And if Et he si il eit haue a femme wife meintenant seit dowe forthw t be she endowed by ê‘ the le heir heire sil seit dage if he be of age de of la the meytie one half de touz les terres e tenemeÌ„z que son Baroun tint of al the landes tenements which her husband held de of Gauylekend Gauelkind nature en in fee fee a auer e a tener solonc la fourme de to haue to hold according to the forme suthdyte hereafter declared Et And de of tiels such terres lands le the Roy King ne auera An shal not haue the yere ne nor wast wast mes tant soulmeÌ„t les chateux sicome il est auaÌ„tdit Et si but only the goods as is before said And if any man of nul Gauylekendeis Gauelkind either pur felonie either for felonie ou or pur for Ret suspitioÌ„ de of felonie felonie se suthtres A drawe him de la pees out of the country e scit en counte demande com il appent be demauÌ„ded in the countie as he ought e puis be vtlagheâ—ou sil se met en scinte eglise et foriure la terre one afterward vtlawed or put him self into the holy church abiure the le Reaume le Roy auera lan e le wast de ces terres de land the King shal haue the yere that wast of his lands of touz all ses his tenemenz tenements ensemblement oue touz together with all his goods ces and chateus chattels issint que apres lan e le tour le plus ê“cheyn Seigâ—ou Seigneurs So that after the yeare the day the next Lord or Lordes eyent shall leur haue their eschetes Eschetes de celes terres e tenemenz of those landes and tenementes chescun euery Seigneur Lorde ceo that que whiche de is luy est tenu immediatly sans holden men of him E clament And they claime auxi also que that si if ascun any tenant tenant en in gauylekende Gauelkind murt dye et seit and be an enherite inheritour de of terres landes e de and tenemenz tenementes de in Gauylekende Gauelkinde que touz ses fitz that all his sonnes shall partent parte cel that heritage inheritaunce per by ouele equall porcioun portions Et And si nul heir if there be no madle ne seit seit la partye feit entre les females sicome heiâ—e male let the partition be made betweene the females euen entres les freres as betweene brothers Et la mesuage seit autreci entre eux And let the messuage also be departed departi mes le astre demorra al pune betweene them but the Astre shall remaine to the youngest sonne ou or al punee daughter e la value seit de ceo liure a chescun des And be the value therof deliuered to eche of the parceners parceners de of cel that heritage heritage a. from xl fourtie pes de cel Astre si feete from that Astre if le the tenement tenement le will peut so suffrir suffer E And donkz then le eyne frere eit let the eldest brother haue la primere electioun e les autres apres per degree the first choyce the others afterward according to their degree Ensement Likewise de of mesons houses que whiche serront shall be trouets founde en in tieus suche mesuages Messuages seient departye entre les heirs per ouele porcioun let them be departed amongst the heires by equal portions Ceo est that is asauoir per peies sil est mistier Sauue le couert del Astre to weete by foote if neede be Sauing the Couert of the Astre que remeynt al pune which shal remain to the yongest son ou al punee sicome il est auandist or daughter as is before said issi que nequedont que le punc face renable gre a ces So neuerthelesse that the yongest make reasonable amendes to his parceners de la partye que a eux appent parceners for the part which to them belongeth per agard de by the award of bone good gentz meÌ„ E des auaunditz tenemenz dont vn soule Sute And of the aforesaid tenements whereof one only suite tant soulement soleit estre feit auaut ne seit per la resoun de la was wont to be made before time be there not by reason of the partition partye fo rs vn soule sute faite sicome soleit auant but one sole suite made as it was before accustomed
had them in great admiration and reuerence hee desired the King that either he would send them out of the Realme or be contented to winke at the matter if any his friends for the loue of him and suertie of his estate should procure to dispatche them The King somewhat prouoked by feare of his owne peril though nothing desirous of their destruction eueÌ„ as a litle water throwen into the fire increaseth the flame so by a colde denial gaue courage to the attempt therfore Thunner espying fitte time slewe the children and buried their bodies in the Kings Halle vnder the clothe of his estate But it was not long but there appâ—ared in the house a bright shining piller replenishing eache corner with suche terrible and fearefull light that the seruauntes shriked at the sight thereof and by their noyse awaked the King who as soone as hee sawe it was touched with the conscience of the murther wherevnto he had a litle before in hart consented calling in great haste for Thunner examined him straightly what was become of the children and when he had learned the trueth he became moste sorowfull and penitent therfore charging himselfe with the whole crime of their deathes for that it lay wholly in him to haue saued their liues Then sent he for Deodat the Archebishop and desired to vnderstand by him what was best to be done for expiatioÌ„ of the fault this good father thinking to haue procured some gaine to his Church by veneration of the dead bodies if happely he might haue gotteÌ„ them thither persuaded the King to incoffen them to commit them to honourable buriall in Christeschurche at Canterbury but saith mine Author when the hearse was readie it would not be moued by any force toward that Church as truly I thinke as the crosse of Waltham with twelue Oxen and so many Kyne could not be stirred any other way but toward the place appointed or as the Image of Berecinthia which the Romanes had brought out of Asia could not be remoued till the Vestal virgin Claudia had set to her hand Hereupon the companie assayed to conuey it to Sainct Augustines but that all in vaine also at the last they agreed to leade it to the Monasterie of Watrine and then forsoothe it passed as lightly saith he as if nothing at al had béene within it The obsequies there honourably perfourmed the King gaue the place where this vision appeared to his sister Ermenburga who hauing a longing desire to become a veiled Nonne had a litle before abandoned her housbands bed and chusing out seuentie other women for her companie erected there a Monasterie to the name and honour of these two murthered Brethren William of Malmesbury addeth moreouer that the King gaue the whole Isle of Thanet also to his Mother to appease the wrathe that she had conceaued for the losse of her Children Dele Dela in Latine after Leland I coniecture that it tooke the name of the Saxon woord þille whiche is a plaine flooer or leuel by reason that it lyeth flat and leuel to the Sea. THe Chronicles of Douer as Leland reporteth for I neuer sawe them haue mencion that Iulius Caesar being repulsed from Douer arriued at this place and arraied his armie at Baramdowne whiche thing how wel it may stand with Caesars owne reporte in his coÌ„mentaries I had rather leaue to others to decide then take vpon me to dispute being wel contented where certentie is not euident to allowe of coniectures not altogether vehement Only of this I am well assured that King Henrie the eight hauing shaken of the intollerable yoke of the Popishe tyrannie and espying that the Emperour was offended for the diuorce of Queene Katherine his wife and that the Frenche King had coupled the Dolphine his Sonne to the Popes Niece and maried his daughter to the King of Scots so that he might more iustly suspect them all then safely trust any one determined by the aide of God to stand vpon his owne gardes and defence and therefore with all spéede and without sparing any cost he builded Castles platfourmes and blocke-houses in all néedefull places of the Realme And amongest other fearing least the ease and aduauntage of descending on land at this part should giue occasion and hardinesse to the enemies to inuade him he erected neare together thrée fortifications whiche might at all tymes kéepe and beate the landing place that is to say Sandowne Dele and Wamere This whole matter of Dele Iohn Leland in Cygnea cantione comprehendeth feately in these two verses Iactat Delanouas celebris arces Notus Caesareis locus Trophaeis Renowmed Dele doth vaunt it selfe with Turrets newly raisd For monuments of Caesars hoste A place in stoarie praisd But what make I so long at Dele since Douer the impreignable Porte and place so muche renouned for antiquitie is not many myles of I will haste me thither therefore and in the sight thereof vnfolde the singularities of the place Douer called in Latine Dorus Durus Doueria Dubris and Dorubernia In Saxon Sofra All whiche names be deriued either of the Brittishe word Dufir whiche signifieth water or of the word Dufirha whiche betokeneth highe or steepe for the situation of the place beeing a highe rocke hanging ouer the water might iustly giue occasion to name it after either THe treatise of this place shall consist of thrée speciall members that is to say the Towne the Castle and the Religious buildings The Towne was long since somewhat estimable howebeit that whiche it had as I thinke was both at the first deriued from the other two and euer since also continually conserued by them But whether I hitte or misse in that coÌ„iecture certaine it is by the testimonie of the recorde in the Exchequer commonly called Domesday booke that the Towne of Douer was of abilitie in the time of King Edward the Confessour to arme yerely 20. vessels to the Sea by the space of 15. dayes together eache vessell hauing therein 21. able men For in consideration thereof the same King graunted to the inhabitants of Douer not onely fréedome from payment of Tholl and other priuileges throughout the Realme but also pardoned them all manner of suite and seruice to any his Courts whatsoeuer The Towne it selfe was neuerthelesse at those dayes vnder the protection and gouernauÌ„ce of Godwine the Earle of Kent for I read that it chauÌ„ced Eustace the Earle of Bolloine who had maried Goda the Kings sister to come ouer the seas into EnglaÌ„d of a desire that he had to visite the King his Brother and that whiles his herbenger demeaned him selfe vnwisely in taking vp his lodgings at Douer he fel at variance with the Townesmen and slewe one of them But Nocuit temeraria virtus For that thing so offended the rest of the inhabitants that immediatly they ranne to weapon and killing eightéene of the Earles seruauntes they compelled him and all his meiney to take their feete and to séeke redresse
may yet sée in the booke of Domesday it self which notwithstanding that it was written within a few yeares after the arriual of the Conquerour yet being penned by Normans it reteineth very few letters of the Saxon Alphabet Thus farre by occasion of the water Stoure in Suffolke as touching the course of our owne Riuer of the same caling which bothe giueth the present name of Stourey Stouremouthe and the olde name to Canterbury also I will referre you wholy to the Map of this Shyre VVingham BEsides the statelie and Princelike Palaices at Canterbury Maidstone Otford Knoll Croyden and Lamb-hythe which the Archbishops of this Shyre kept in their handes bothe to perfourme their set solemnities of housekeping and to soiourne at with their whole traines when they traueiled toward the Court and Parleament or remained for busines about the same they had also of auncient time diuers other Manor houses of lesse cost and capacitie planted in diuers partes of this Countrie in whiche they vsed to breathe themselues after their great feasts and affaires finished and to lodge at when they trauailed the Countrie to make their visitations Of this number amongst other were Foorde Charte Charing Charteham Tenham and this our Wingham at the whiche Baldwyne the Archebishop in the Reigne of King Henrie the second lay at suche time as he had contention with his couent of Christes Church for making a Chappell at Hakington as in fitte place you shall finde more largely disclosed In the meane season I will only tel you that as the Annales of Saint Augustines reporte when two of his Monkes came to this house on horsbacke in great hast to serue the processe of that suite vpon him he receiued the Processe dutifully but he caused them to dismount and to walke home on foote faire and softly At this house also King Edward the first rested for a seasō with Robert of Winchelsey then newly made Archebishop whilest he tooke order for the defence of the Sea Coastes charging bothe the spiritualtie and commons with horse and armour according to the quantities of their liuelyhoodes and possessions And here was he aduertised that one of his familie called Syr Thomas Turbeuille whom hee had sent into Gascoine with commission was fallen into the hands of the French King his enemie and imprisoned in Paris and that for his deliuerance he had conspired with the Frenche King and promised to betraie the King his maister wherevpon king Edward caused suche diligent watche to be laide for him that he was taken and suche speedie and seuere iustice to be executed vpon him that he was foorthwith condemned drawen thorowe London and hanged on liue Of this man a Poet of that age alluding to his name made this verse folowing and some other Turbat tranquilla clam Thomas Turbida Villa c. Our things now in tranquillitie Thom. Turbuill troubleth priuilie It is no small token of the auncient estimation of this place that it giuethe the name to the whole hundrethe in whiche it is situate for that is moste vsuall bothe in this Shyre and elswhere that the whole territorie be it Lathe Wapentake or Hundreth most commonly beareth the name of some one place moste notable and excelling other within the same at the time of the name imposed although happely at this day some other place doe muche excéede it To make an end here was sometime a religious College the gouernour whereof was called a Prouost whiche I suppose to haue béene founded by some of the Archebishops and I finde to haue béene valued at fourescore and foure pounds of yearely reuenue Watling streete in Saxon ƿeatlingastrete of one Weatle whome the printed booke of Mat. West calleth vntruly Wading KIng Molmutius the Brittish Solō first Law maker decréed amongst other things that such as were found praying in the Temple labouring at the plough or trauailing in the highe waies should not be impeached by any officer but that they should enioy peaceable fréedome and libertie bothe for their goods persons But forasmuche as he had not in his life time described those wayes that he would haue thus priuileged great contention arose after his death which wayes should be taken for highe and royall and whiche not and therefore Belinus his Sonne and successor to cease all controuersie limited in certaine foure especiall highe wayes whereof the first was called Erming-streete and lead after the opinion of some from South-hampton to S. Dauids in Wales or as others write to Carlile in the Northe the second was named Fosseway and extended from Cathnes in the North of Scotland to Totnes a cape of Cornewall The third Ikeneled or as others write it Rekeneld and reached from East to West as Huntingdon affirmeth but as others will from Tinmouth to S. Dauides whiche is from Northeast to Southwest Watlingstreete where we nowe are was the fourth and it beganne at Douer after the opinion of Ralfe Higden passed through the midst of Kent crossed the Thamise at the West end of London howbeit others to whom I rather incline thinke that it ranne through London and there left the name to Watlingstreet there frō thēce to S. Albons Dūstable Stretford Towcester Lilburne Wrecken thence ouer the riuer of Seuerne to Stretton so through the midst of Wales to Cardigan and to the banke of the Irishe Sea. And this is the common and receyued opinion although in deede there be diuers touching the firste beginning and description of this way But Simon the Chaunter of Durham and he that made the continuation to the Hystorie of Asserus Meneuensis both very good authours ascribe bothe the beginning and the name also of this way to the sonnes of a Saxon King whome they called Weatle which their opinion as I doe not greatly receiue bycause I finde not that name Weatle in any Catalogue of the Kings that I haue seene So will I not rashely reiecte it for the estimation that I otherwise reteine of the writers them selues But doe leaue the Reader to his frée choice to take or leaue the one or the other And as there is difference concerning the first beginning and name of this way So al agrée not in the trace and true course of the same For Henrie the Archedeacon of Huntingdon affirmeth that it stretched from Douer to Chester And this Simon reporteth that it extended it selfe from the East Sea to the West Whiche third and laste opinion may well inough stand eyther with the firste or the seconde But nowe as touching this priuilege graunted by Molmutius althoughe it continue not altogether in the same plight yet some shadowe thereof remaineth euen to this daye as by the lawes of King Edward the Confessour whiche confirmed the protection of the foure wayes by name and by the Statute of Marlbridge whiche forbiddeth distresses to be taken in any the Kings highe wayes or common stréetes and by the Statute called Articuli Cleri whiche commaundeth that such as
Sainct Augustines and fearing that he shoulde be deceiued of the bodye of Bregwine as Aldhun his predecessour had béene beguiled of Cuthberts before he came appoynted with armed men determining to take it awaye by force if he might not by faire meanes obtaine it But the craftie Monkes of Christes Church had buried the body before he came so that he was driuen to depart home frustrate of his desire and to séeke his amendes by action in the lawe Notwithstanding bycause they perceiued hereby that he was a man of good courage and therfore very méete in their opinion to be their Captaine they shortly after chose him Archebishop in hope that he woulde haue mainteined their quarrell but he neuerthelesse tooke suche order that he was buried in S. Augustines with the rest of his predecessours Thus you sée howe soone after the foundation these houses were at dissention and for howe small trifles they were ready to put on armes and to moue greate and trouble some tragedies Neyther doe I finde that euer they agréeed after but were eyther at continuall brawling within them selues eyther suing before the King or appealing to the Pope and that for matters of more stomacke then importaunce As for example whether the Abbat of Sainct Augustines should be consecrate or blessed in his owne Churche or in the others whether he ought to ring his belles to seruice before the other had rong theirs whether he and his tenaunts ought suite to the Bishops Courte and suche like wherein it can not be doubted but that they consumed inestimable treasure for maintenaunce of their moste peuishe and Popishe pryde and wilfulnesse If any man delight to knowe the particulars let him reade the writing of Thorne and Spot their own Chroniclers as for my selfe I thinke it too long to haue sayde thus muche in generall and therefore will haste me to the rest After the death of Ethelbert Eadbaldus his sonne at the instance of Laurence the Archebishop builded a faire Churche in this Monasterie whiche he called Sainct Maries In whiche place many yeares after if at the leaste you will beléeue Thomas Spot Sainct Dunstane sensibly hearde and sawe our Lady Sainct Adryan and a sorte of Angels singing and dauncing together After Eadbaldus King Canute the great Monarch of this Realme Egilsine the Abbat the fled for feare of the Conquerour Scotlandus whome the same King put in Egelsins place Hugo de Floriaco that was of kinred to king William Rufus by him made Abbat were the persons that chiefly increased the building some bestowing Churches and Chapels some Dorters and dyning places and others other sortes of edefices The Saincts whose deade bodies and reliques brought to this church great veneration and gaine were these specially Adryan Albin Iohn c. religious persons Eadbald Lothar Mul Wightred sometimes Kings S. Sexburg S. Myldred of Thanet whose body was giuen then by King Canute And Sainct Augustine their founder him self Of this last man to let slip a many of others this one myracle they reporte that at suche time as the Danes entred Kent and spoyling this Citie ransacked almoste euery corner thereof this house of Sainct Augustines onely of all other was neuer touched By reason say they that when a Dane had taken holde of Sainct Augustines Pall or cloake wherewith his tumbe was couered it stacke so fast to his fingers that by no meanes possible he coulde lose it till he came and yealded himself to the Monkes and made sorrowfull confession of his faulte Much like to this it is written that at the ouerthrow of Carthage the hande of one that woulde haue spoyled the God Apollo of his Mantel was founde amongst the fragments This our good felowe was not so cunning belike as Dionysius for he tooke a goldeÌ„ cloke â—rom Iupiter and had no hurt at all thereby But eyther this our Pall was weaued Ex auro Tholosano or els which I rather beléeue this Canterbury tale was forged A rabula Romano Besides all these the Monkes séeing howe litle their reliques were estéemed in comparison of Thomas Beckets and beleeuing as the Romanes somtimes did of Dea Pessenuntia that their house should be highly aduaunced if they might get thither so glorious a God as he was they made a foule shift for a péece of him also There was a Monk of Christs Church called Roger who had in charge to kéepe the Altar where Becket was slaine This man they chose to their Abbat in hope sayth mine authour that he woulde bring somewhat with him in whiche doing they were not altogether deceiued For he conueyed to them a greate part of Thomas his bloude that was shed and a péece of his Crowne that was pared off But here by the way marke I beséeche you the grose iugling that these slow bellyed syres vsed to delude the worlde withal Erasmus in his Colloquies writeth that the whole face of S. Thomas being sumptuously set in golde was religiously kept within a Chapell beyonde the highe altar and that they tolde him the rest of the body lay in a shryne of golde and of great Maiestie which they shewed besides But the truth is that at suche time as the late godly and most Christian Archebishop Cranmer and the wise and noble counseler Cromwell were at Canterbury in commission for defacing of this Shryne they fouÌ„d an entier body and complete in all his partes within the same as some yet on liue and then present can testifie so that eyther this their great God was a bishop Biceps and lacked but one head more to make him Cerberus or Chimaera or else whiche is most certaine these Monks were marueylous and monstruous magnifiers of suche deceiuable trumperie and wanted nothing at all to make them Cretenses or Cecropes But to my purpose againe as touching the priuileges possessions estimation and maiestie of this house it were too muche to recite the one halfe and therefore I will onely let you knowe that of auncient time the Abbat had allowance of a Coynage or Mynte within him selfe by graunt of King Ethelstane That he had place in the general couÌ„sell by gift of the Pope Leo That the house had fiue Couents conteining in all sixtie fiue Monkes And finally that besides iurisdiction ouer a whole Last of thirtéene Hundreds it had possession of liuelyhoode to the value of eight hundreth and eight pounds by yeare Nowe besides these two great houses there were in Canterbury some other also of lesse note As S. Gregories a Churche of Chanons belonging to the Hospital that Lanfranc built whiche was fired in the time of King Stephan and valued in the Recordes at thirtie poundes by the yeare The Hospital of S. Laurence edified by Hughe the Abbat of S. Augustines for his sicke Monkes and rated at twentie poundes yearely S. Iames Hospital erected by Eleonor the wife of King Henrie the thirde S. Sepulchres a house of Nonnes prepared belike to serue the
Norton Wilmus de Sutton For such as we call nowe Iohn Norton and William Sutton and amongst the Gentlemen of Chesshyre euen to this day one is called after their maner Thomas a Bruerton another Iohn a Holcrost and suche like for Thomas Bruerton Iohn Holcrost c. as we here vse it Thus muche shortly of mine owne fantasie I thought not vnmeete to impart by occasion of the name of Norwood and now forward to my purpose againe Leedes in Latine of some Lodanum of others Ledanum Castrum RObert Creuequer was one of the eight that Iohn Fynes elected for his assistance in the defence of Douer Castle as we haue already shewed who taking for that cause the Manor of Leedes and vndertaking to finde fiue Warders therefore builded this Castle or at the least an other that stoode in the place For I haue read that Edward thē Prince of Wales and afterward the first King of that name being Wardein of the Fiue Portes and Constable of Douer in the life of Henrie the third his Father caused Henrie Cobham whose ministerie he vsed as substitute in bothe those offices to race the Castle that Robert Creuequer had erected bicause Creuequer that was then owner of it Heire to Robert was of the number of the Nobles that moued and mainteined warre against him Whiche whether it be true or no I will not affirme but yet I thinke it very likely bothe bicause Badlesmere a man of another name became Lord of Leedes shortly after as you shall anone sée and also for that the present woorke at Leedes pretendeth not the antiquitie of so many yeares as are passed since the age of the conquest But let vs leaue the building and goe in hand with the storie King Henrie the first hauing none other issue of his bodie then Maude first married to Henrie the Emperour whereof she was called the Empresse and after coupled to Geffray Plantaginet the Earle of Angeow fearing as it happened in déed that after his death trouble might arise in the Realme about the inheritance of the Crowne bycause she was by habitation a straunger and farre of so that she might want bothe force and friends to atchieue her right And for that also Stephan the Earle of Boloine his sisters sonne was then of greate estimation amongst the noble men and abiding within the Realme so that with great aduauntage he might offer her wrong he procured in full Parleament the assent of his Lordes and Commons that Maude and her heires shoulde succéede in the kingdome after him And to the ende that this limitation of his might be the more surely established he tooke the fidelitie and promise by othe bothe of his Clergie and Laytie and of the Earle of Boloine him selfe Howbeit immediatly after his decease Stephan being of the opinion that Si ius violandum est certe regnandi causa violandum est If breache of lawes a man shall vndertake He must them boldly break for kingdomes sake Inuaded the Crowne and by the aduice of William the Archebishop of Canterbury who had first of al giuen his fayth to Maude by the fauour of the common people whiche adheared vnto him and by the consent of the holy father of Rome whose will neuer wanteth to the furtheraunce of mischiefe he obtained it whiche neuerthelesse as William of Newborowe well noteth being gotten by patterne he held not past two yeres in peace but spent the residue of his whole reigne in dissention warre and bloudshed to the great offence of God the manifest iniurie of his owne cousine and the grieuous vexation of this countrie and people For soone after the beginning of his reigne sundry of the Noble men partely vpon remorse of their former promise made and partly for displeasure conceiued bycause he kepte not the othe taken at his Coronation made defection to Maude so soone as euer she made her challenge to the Crowne So that in the end after many calamities what by her owne power and their assistaunce she compelled him to fall to composition with her as in the storie at large it may be séene Nowe during those his troubles amongst other things that muche annoyed him and furthered the part of Maude his aduersarie it was vpon a time sounded by his euil willers in the eares of the cōmon sort that he was dead And therewithall soudenly diuers great men of her deuotion betooke them to their strong holdes and some others seised some of the Kings owne Castles to the behalfe of the Empresse Of whiche number was Robert the Earle of Gloucester and bastarde brother to Maude who entred this Castle of Leedes mynding to haue kept it But King Stephan vsed against him suche force and celeritie that he soone wrested it out of his fingers King Edwarde the seconde that for the loue of the two Spensers incurred the hatred of his wife and Nobilitie gaue this Castle in exchaunge for other landes to Bartilmew Badelesmere then Lorde Stewarde of his housholde and to his heires for euer who shortly after entering into that troublesome action in whiche Thomas the Duke of Lancaster with his complices maugre the King exiled the Spensers bothe loste the Kings fauour this Castle and his life also For whilste he was abroade in ayde of the Barons and had committed the custodie thereof to Thomas Colpeper and left not onely his chiefe treasure in money but also his wife and children within it for their securitie It chaunced that Isabell the Kings wife mynding a Pilgrimage towards Cāterbury and being ouertakē with might sent her Marshal to prepare for her lodging ther. But her officer was proudly denyed by the Captaine who sticked not to tell him that neyther the Quéene ne any other shoulde be lodged there without the commandement of his Lord the owner The Queene not thus aunswered came to the gate in person and required to be let in But the Captain most malepertly repulsed her also in so much that shee complained greauously to the king of the misdemenour and he forthwith leuied a power and personally sumoned and besieged the peice so straightly that in the end through want of rescue and victuall it was deliuered him Then tooke he Capitaine Colpeper and houng him vp The wife and children of the Lord Badelesmere he sent to the Towre of London The treasure and munition he seised to his owne vse and the Castle he committed to such as liked him But as the last acte of a Tragedie is alwayes more heauie sorowful thē the rest so calamitie woe increasing vpō him Badelesmere him self was the yere folowing in the company of the Duke of Lancaster and others discomfited at Borowbrig by the Kings armie and shortly after sent to Canterbury and beheaded I might here iustly take occasion to rip vp the causes of those great and tragicall troubles that grewe betwene this King his Nobilitie for Peter Gaueston these two Spensers the rather for that the common sort of
that of the countrey people assembled by hue and crye For then sayth the custome Se that his wende Se his lende But corruptly for in true Saxon letters it stādeth thus Se þat Hire ƿende Se Hire lende That is to say He that dothe turne or wende her Let him also giue vnto her or lende her And thus the custome making like estimation of both the cases depriueth her of her liuing as well for honest marriage as for filthy fornication In whiche behalfe as I must néedes confesse that the later condition hath reason bycause it tendeth though not fully to the correction of sinne and wickednesse So yet dare I affirme that the former is not onely not reasonable but meerely leud and irreligious also For although the Ethnickes did so much magnifie wydowhood that as Valerius reciteth Faeminas quae vno matrimonio contentae erant corona pudicitiae honorabant and although that the common law also being directed by the Popishe Clergie whiche therin followed the errour of Ierome dothe in another case by the name of Bigamie dislike of a womans seconde marriage Yet Sainct Paule sayth plainely Mulier si dormierit maritus eius libera est vt cui vult nubat modò in Domino But yet for all this séeing that our treatise of vsages reciteth it séeing also that common experience of the countrey approueth it and that the common lawe of the Realme as it may be read Praerogatiua Regis Cap. 16. 2. H. 3. in Praescription 59. admitteth it let vs also for this place and purpose be cōtented to number it amongst our customes and so procéed with the residue It appeareth by that whiche is already sayde that the common lawe and this custome differ in two things concerning Dower One in that the common lawe giueth but a thirde parte whereas the custome vouchsafeth the halfe Another in that this custome giueth conditionally whereas the gifte of the common lawe is frée and absolute Nowe therefore there remaine to be shewed certeine other pointes wherein they varie also As if the husband commit Felonie at the common law his wife hath lost her title of Dower but by the custome of this countrey she shall not loose her Dower for the faulte of her husbande but only in suche case where the heire shall loose his inheritance for the offence of his father Which thing is manifest both by the treatise of our Kentishe customes and by the opinion of the Court 8. H. 3. Praescription 60. At the common lawe also the wife shall be endowed of a possession in lawe but as me thinketh she shall haue no Dower by this custome but onely of suche landes whereof her husband was actually and really seised For the wordes be Des tenements dount son Baron morust seiset et vestu which word vestu being cleane omitted in the imprinted booke inforceth a possession in déede and not in lawe only And therefore if landes in Gauelkinde descend to a married man whiche dyeth before he make his entrie into the same inquire whether it be the manner to endowe his wife therof or no for vse is the only Oracle that in this case I can sende you vnto Againe at the common law a woman shal be endowed of a faire or of any such other profit But for as muche as the wordes of this customarie Dower be terres tenements and for that all customes shall finde a literall and streight interpretatiō the opinion of Maister Parkins is that no Dower lyeth of a faire by this custome Furthermore if the wife recouer her Dower at the common law she ought of necessitie to be endowed by metes and boundes But in Dower after this custome sayth the same authour she may very well be endowed of a moitie to be holden in common with the heire that inioyeth the other half Lastly this custome besides Dower of the one halfe of the husbandes lande prouideth Dower of the moitie of suche goods also as he dyed possessed of if he had no children and of the thirde part though he leaue issue wheras the common lawe at the least in common practise at this day hath no consideration of any suche endowmēt These then be the differences betwéene the common lawe of the Realme and the particular custome of this countrey concerning Dower the comparison whereof and whether sort of Dower is more beneficiall I will not now attempt and much lesse take vpō me to determine least I my selfe might séeme rashly to preiudicate in another thing wherin I most gladly desire to be iudged by other men namely whether a woman intituled to Dower in Gauelkind may waine her Dower of the moitie after this custome and bring her action to be endowed of the thirde at the common lawe and so exempt her selfe from all danger of these customarie conditions or no The Resolution of whiche doubte will depend chiefly vpon comparison whether it be more aduauntage to her to haue the thirde at the common lawe absolutely or the moitie by the custome conditionally For if the Dower at the common law be better for her then it séemeth reasonable that she should stande to the worse whiche is the custome euen as tenant by the curtesie must take the moitie that the custome giueth and not aske the whole as Common lawe appointeth And yet thereto it may be replyed that the cases be not like for so muche as that of Dower is much more to be fauoured I my selfe once heard two reuerend Iudges of opinion that the woman was at libertie to aske her Dower of the Thirde or of the Moitie But bycause it was vttered by them in a passage of soudaine speache and not spoken vpon studied argument I will not vse the authoritie of their names to get the matter credite with all but leaue it at large to be better inquired of After the husbande and the wife there followeth next in order of our diuision the childe and his Gardein whom also since they be Relatiues as the other be and that their interests carrie a mutuall and Reciproquè eye eche hauing respect to other we will likewise couple together in one treatise And bycause the custome was wont to commit the custodie not of the landes only as the common lawe doth but of the goods and chattels also we will first shewe what portion of goods did growe to the childe by the death of his parent The manner of this countrey somtime was as it appeareth by our olde treatise that after the funeralles of the deade man perfourmed and his debts discharged the goods should be diuided into thrée equall portions if he lefte any lawfull issue behinde him of whiche three one parte was alotted to the deade for performance of his legacies another to the children for their education and the thirde to the wife for her sustentation and maintenance But if he had no children left on liue then was the diuision into two partes onely of whiche the one belonged to the wife