acceptabant ipsumque Comitem in Regem eligentes assumentes exclamant dicentes vivat Rex Interrogatus autem postea Archiepiscopus Hubertus quare haec dixisset respondet ve praesagia mente conjecturare quibusdam Oraculis Edoctum Certificatum fuisse quod ipse Johannes Regnum Coronam Angliae foret aliquando corrupturus in magnam confusionem praecipitaturus ne haberet liberas habenas hoc faciendi ipsum electione non successione haereditaria Elegi debere affirmabat That is The Arch-Bishops Bishops Earls and Barons and all others Officers probably required to be there which ought to be present at his Coronation meeting at London The Arch Bishop standing in the middle of them said Hear all of you your Discretion shall know that no Man hath Right to succeed in the Kingdom unless after seeking God he be unanimously chosen by the University of the Kingdom that is those that are here said to meet at London And according to the Eminency of his Endowments pre-elected according the Example and Similitude of Saul the first anointed King whom God set over his People not the Son of a King or of the Royal Line likewise after him David the Son of Jesse This because stout and fit for Royal Dignity the other because holy and humble That so he which exceeded all Men of the Kingdom in Strength or Prowess should be set over all in Power and Government but if an of the Progeny of the dead King did excell others they ought more readily to consent to the Election of him These things we have therefore said in the behalf of the famous Earl John who is here present the Brother of our most illustrious dead King Richard that died without Issue of his Body who is Provident Stout and manifestly Noble whom we having invoked the Grace of the Holy Spirit have all of us unanimously chosen Nor dare any others so much as doubt of these things knowing the Arch-Bishop had not thus decreed this Matter without Cause But Earl John and all there acquiesced in what he had said and chusing or acknowledging and receiving him for their King shouted saying Let the King live But Arch-Bishop Hubert being asked afterward why he said these things answered that he guessed and was taught and ascertained by certain Oracles that John would bring the Kingdom and Crown into great Confusion And therefore lest he might have too much Liberty in doing it he affirmed he ought to come in by Election and not by Hereditary Succession and so was Crowned as before rehearsed This Learned Doctrine and Preachment of the Arch-Bishop asserts not any Right of Election in the Convention of Bishops Earls Barons and others required to be at the Coronation but by his own Answer when he was asked why he said these things it clearly discovers a Design only and Artifice in the Arch-Bishop to cause them to set up and make John King In which also he denies any such Right of Election Hoveden hath none of nor doth mention this Harangue and therefore it seems rather to be an invention of Matthew Paris than a Sermon of the Arch-Bishop Historians commonly make Speeches for other Men they write of Brompton takes no notice of it all he says is that Johannes Lundoniam veniens in Festo ascensionis Domini VI. Kalend Junii Anno Dom. 1199. ab Huberto Contuariensi Archiepiscopo in Ecclesia B. Petri Westmonasterii inungitur in Regem Angliae coronatur assistente Prelatorum Comitum Baronum aliorum Nobilium multitudine infinita John coming to London on Ascension-Day the 27th of June 1199. was Anointed and Crowned king of England By Hubert Arch-Bishop of Canterbury in St. Peter's Church in Westminster an infinite multitude of Bishops Earls Barons and other Noble men assisting him Not one word here or in Hovedon or Paris of the ordinary People And this Doctrine of the Arch-Bishop concerning the Election of Kings if meant according to the Modern Understanding of it was then new for Gervase a Monk of Canterbury in the Year 1122. speaking of the Coronation of Henry the First says It was manifest and known almost to all Men than the Kings of England were only obliged and bound to God for the Possession of the Kingdom and to the Church of Canterbury for their Coronation Manifestum est autem omnibus sere notur Reges Angliae soli Deo obligari teneri exipsius regni adeptione ECclesiae Canturiensi ex Coronatione King John doth say in a Charter dated the first Year of his Reign that he came to the Crown Jure haereditario mediante tam Cleriquam populi unanimi consensu favore By Right of Inheritance and by unanimous Consent and Favour as well of the Clergy as Laity This unanimous Consent of the Clergy and Laity was rather their Acknowledgment and Submission than any thing else for according to Hoveden's Relation of his coming to the Crown which is the most exact extant They submitted and swore Fealty to him against all Men before he came into England some time before his Coronation Nor could it be true that he had an Hereditary Right for Arthur Duke of Britain Son and Heir to his elder Brother Jeffrey and his Sister Eleanor was then living unless ho had regard to the Donation of his brother Richard and so esteemed himself a Testamentary Heir After the death of King John Henry the Third his eldest Son and Heir by the Assistance of the Loyal Barons was Crowned King notwithstanding the Barons which had made War against King John when they were reduced to great Streights called out of France Lewes the King's Son to whom they with the Londoners sware Fealty and advanced him to the Throne and adhered to him against their own Prince until by Force they were reduced and he driven out of the Kingdom This Treasonable calling in of Lewes some that are pertinacious in the fancy of Election will have it to be one Indeed King Henry the Third at this time had no good Hereditary Title and therefore Johannes ex hac vita transmigravit Henricum primogenitum suum regni constituens haeredem And this Donation of his Father or his making him his Heir was his best Title for until that Eleanor the Daughter of his Uncle Jeffrey died in the twenty fifth Year of his Reign he was not true Heir by Right of Blood Obiit Eleanora saith Matthew Paris filia Galfridi Comitis Britanniae in clausura diuturna carceris sub arcta custodia reservata fol. 574. n. 40. 25 H. 3. Anno Dom. 1241. To Henry the Third succeeded his eldest Son Edward the First though the Lancastrians said his second Son Edmund commonly called Crouch-Back was the eldest and laid aside for his deformity on whose Person was originally founded the great Contention between the two Royal Houses of York and Lancaster But that he was really the eldest there can be no pretence
He took Possession of the Kingdom He succeeded He was chosen c. The Danish Kings stayed not long here after Swane had conquered the Kingdom they all four reigned not much above twenty five Years their best Title was the Sword notwithstanding they either brought hither the Custom of the Predecessor naming or giving the Kingdom to his Successor as probably it might have been practised in their own Kingdoms or used it as they found it here practised by the Saxon Kings The Saxons were very weary of the Danish Government and without doubt very forward to set up a King of their own Nation yet the Donation of Harde-Cnute was as great a step for Edward the Consessor to the Throne as the Power and Policy of Earl Godwin and Livingus the Bishop of Worcester Ingulph Secretary to William when Duke of Normandy reports the Donation of England to him very confidently and as if in those times such Gifts were not much questioned Anno eodem Rex Edward senio jam gravatus cernens Clisonis Edwardi nuper defuncti filium Edgarum Regio so lio minus idoneum tarn corde quam corpore Godwini que Comitis multam malamque sobolem quotidie super terram crescere ad cognatum suum Willielmum Comitem Normaniae animum apposuit c. eum sibi succedere in Regnum Angliae voce stabili savivit In the same Year King Edward grown infirm witli Age perceiving Edgar the Son of the late deceased Edward Aetheling neither in Mind or Body fit for the Government nor to bear up against the growing Power and Malice of Godwin's Sons thought upon his Cousin William Earl of Normandy and by a firm Declaration decreed he should succeed him in the Kingdom Norman Succession FRom what hath been said the Pretences and Causes of William Duke of Normandy his succeeding Edward the Confessor and enjoying the Crown of England are very evident as also are the same to his Dukedom He was the only Son of his Father Robert who going on Pilgrimage to Jerusalem called together the Noble-men of his Dukedom and brought his Son William though Illegitimate before them and earnestly exacted of them that in his stead they would chuse him their Lord who though but a Child they forthwith according to the Decree of the Duke acknowledged him for their Prince and Lord swearing Fealty unto him Robertum ergo Archiepiscopum cum optimatibus suis Duc atus accersivit illis velle se appetere Jerosolimitanam pergrinationem manifestavit exponens autem eis Willielmus filium suum quem unicum apud Falesiam genuerat ab iis attentissime exigebat ut hinc sibi loco sui dum eligerent Qui licet sub tenerrima detineretur oetati puerili juxta Decretum Ducis protinus cum prompta viracitate collaudavere principem Dominum pangentes ti fidelitatem non violandis Sacramentis And R. Hoveden affirms it to have been the custom in Norway from whence the Normans came for Bastards to inherit and that in his time it was so Consuetudo Regni Norweiae est usque in hodiernum diem quod is qui alicujus Regis Norweiae dignoscitur esse filius licet sit spurius de ancilla genitus tantum sibi jus vendicat in Regnum gentitus ideo fiunt inter eos proelia indesinenter donec unus eorum vincatur interficiatur And so it happened between the Curators of Duke William in his Nonage and the Pretenders as Heirs to his Grandfather of the Dutchy of Normandy The same Right of Succession as Testamentary Heir to his Father William Rufus had to the Crown of England Metuens Rex ne in Regno tam diffuso repentina oriretur turbatio epistolam de constituendo Rege fecit Lanfranco Archiepiscopo suoque sigillo signatam tradidit Gulielmo Rufo silio suo jubens ut in Angliam transfretaret continuo This was done a little before the Conqueror's Death and he did it for that his Son William always stuck close to him and had in every thing according to the utmost of his power been dutiful and obedient Rufus brought his Father's Epistle by which he had constituted him King of England to Lanfranc Arch-Bishop of Canterbury who having read it hasted with him to London and consecrated him King in the old Church of St. Peter at Westminster on the 26th of September his Father dying the 9th of the same Month Willielmus Willielmi filius saith Malmsbury a patre ultima valetudine decumbente in Successorem adoptatus est accessit favori ejus maximum rerum momentum Archiepiscopus Lansrancus eo quod eum nutrierat militem fecerat quo Authore annitente Die Sanctorum Cosinae Damianae Coronatus est That is William the Son of Willaim was by his Father in his last Sickness adopted his Successor but it was matter of great moment and the greatest Addition to his Success that Arch-Bishop Lanfranc had educated him and made him a Knight by whose Authority and Endeavour he was Crowned on the day of Cesina and Damianus Florence of Worcester who only says that he was consecrated King at Westminster by Arch-Bishop Laufranc hath noted that not long atter his Coronation there arose great Discord and Contention between the chief Men of England for part of the Great and Noble Normans favoured King William but it was the least and the other part of them favoured Robert Duke of Normandy which was the greatest Odo who mortally hated Lanfranc headed the Duke's Party and Lanfranc headed the King's who with the King Congregatio quantum ad presens poterat Normanorum sed tamen maxime Anglorum equestri pedestri licet mediocri exercitu c. Having raised such an Army as he could of Horse and Foot of Normans but the grratest part English though but a mean one and by using the common Bait of Liberty declaring he would relax the rigid Laws give free leave of Hunting c. Also by insinuating into Roger Earl of Arundel and Shrewsbury the chief Person for the Duke next unto Odo Bishop of Baieux and Earl of Kent brought him off to his Party By these means he brake the Force of his Enemies and ever after ruled by an Army More of this story may be seen in Eadmer Ord. Vit. f. 666. c. Florence of Worcester and Malmsbury in the places before cited who all lived at the time Here we see Rufus claimed as Testamentary Heir and by reason of that Claim was advanced to the Throne by the Assistance of Lanfranc's and the Bishops Faction who then swayed the People and ruled by the help of an Army ever after Whoever rightly considers this story cannot call it an Election After the death of Rufus Florence of Worcester only says that Henry his third Brother succeeded him and that the day he was crowned by Maurice Bishop of London he gave great Liberties to the Church and Kingdom and
be true he was Testamentary Heir and had a Testamentary Right and in that Right he was made King But be this story true or false his Advancement to the Throne was as followeth Notwithstanding all the Nobility and amongst them King Stephen himself had sworn Fealty to Maud the Empress yet by the Interest of his Brother Henry Bishop of Winchester and the Pope's Legat without which he could have done nothing he was made King he brought off Roger Bishop of Salisbury a great and powerful Prelate also William de Pout-Arch Keeper of King Henry's Treasure which was 100000 l. in Money And by his own Dexterity the Artifice of his Brother and Roger Bishop of Salisbury and the advantage of this Money he inclined the minds of the Noble Men much towards him and to secure himself raised an Army mostly of Flemings and Britains At his Coronation were only three Bishops the Arch-Bishop of Canterbury the Bishops of Winchester and Salisbury no Abbots and few Noble-men I think this looks not like an Election yet he in his Charter of Liberties which he chiefly granted to the Church says he was elected by the Assent of the Clergy and Laity and confirmed by the Pope Afterwards Stephen using the Bishops roughly lost his Brother Henry's favour who by his Legantine Power called a Council of the Clergy at Winchester to consult of the Peace of the Kingdom Where they conclude that the Right of chusing and ordaining Kings chiefly belonged to them And therefore having first called upon God they chose Maud the Empress Queen Ad Cleri ius potissimum spectat principem eligere ordinare invocata itaque in auxilium Divinitate filiam Regis in Angliae Normanni aeque Dominam eligimus c. But not long after being displeased with Maud he entred into a Confederacy against her and as Legat called another Council at Westminister in which was read the Pope's Bull in favour of Stephen who was then advanced to the Throne again And the Kingdom being wasted and destroyed with continual Wars the Arch-Bishop this Legat and the Bishops mediate a Peace between Stephen and Henry Duke of Anjou Son to the Empress by which it was agreed that Stephen should adopt Henry his Son who after his death should enjoy the Crown and Stephen quietly to wear it during his Life c. Which Agreement is most fully and clearly related by Matthew of Westminister Rex Stephanus omni horede viduatus praeter solummodo Ducem Henricum recognovit in Conventu Episcoporum aliorum de Regno optimatum quod Dux Henricus jus haereditarium in Regnum Angliae habebat Dux benigne concessit ut Rex Stephanus tota vita sua suum Regnum pacifice possideret Ita tamen confirmatum est quod ipse Rex Episcopi tunc praesentes cum caeteris Regni optimatibus jurarent quod Dux Henricus post mortem Regis si illum superviverct Regnum sine aliqua contradictione obtineret that is King Stephen not having an Heir except only Duke Henry did acknowledge in an Assembly of the Bishops and other Chief Men of the Kingdom That Duke Henry had the Hereditary Right to the Kingdom of England and the Duke kindly granted that King Stephen should during his life peaceably enjoy his Kingdom The Agreement was so confirmed that the King himself and the Bishops then present with the rest of the best Men of the Kingdom sware that Duke Henry after the death of the King if he should out-live him should enjoy the Kingdom without all contradiction This Accord afforded Quiet and Tranquillity both to Henry and the Nation with certain Confidence of enjoying the Kingdom after the death of Stephen which he did But as to his Right and Title it added nothing to that it being Hereditary for he was acknowledged the true Heir by his Adversary Stephen in the presence of the Bishops and the best Men of the Kingdom who all likewise acknowledged it by owning the Accord and swearing to observe it On the 24th of October the Year following King Stephen died and on the 19th of December following Henry was Crowned at Westminster by Theobald Arch-Bishop of Canterbury And Maud the Empress being satisfied with the Enthroning of her Son quitted her Pretensions King Henry the Second dying in France July 7. 1189 his eldest Son and Heir Richard was by Walter Arch-Bishop of Roven girt with the Sword of the Dukedom of Normandy on the 20th of the same Month in the presence of the Bishops Earls and Barons of Normandy And before his coming into England every Free-man of the whole Kingdom by the Command of his Mother Alienor sware Fealty to Richard King of England Son of King Henry as to their Liege Lord against all Men. Afterwards coming to London Congregatis ibi Archiepiscopis Episcopis Comitibus Baronibus copiosa Militum multitudine in occursum ejus quorum Consilio assensu ipse Dux 3. Nonas Septembris Consecratus Coronatus est apud Westmonasterium in Regem Angliae a Baldwino Cantuariensi Archiepiscopo c. The Arch-Bishops Bishops Earls Barons and a copious multitude of Knights met him by whose Advice and Assent the Duke was Crowned King of England by Baldwin Arch-Bishop of Canterbury many other Bishops there named assisting Et omnibus fere Abbatibus Prioribus Comitibus Baronibus Angliae astantibus Almost all the Abbots Priors Earls and Barons of England being Spectators Ralph de Diceto then Dean of St. Paul's London who in the Vacancy of that Church and Bishoprick supplied the Office of the Bishop at King Richard's Coronation hath this passage Comes itaque Pictavorum Richardus HAEREDITARIO JURE PRAEMOVENDUS in Ragem post tam Cleri quam Populi solemnem debitam Electionem involutus est triplici Sacramento c. Therefore Richard Earl of Poictou being by Hereditary Right to be made King after the solemn and due Election as well of the Clergy as the Laity sware to three things Scilicet Quod opem impendet pro viribus ut Ecclesia Dei populusque Christianus veram pacem obtinent quod interdicet omnibus Rapacitatem quod in judiciis equitatem praecipiet misericordiam That is to say That he would use his utmost power that the Church of God and Christian People might enjoy true Peace That he would interdict Rapine to all Men That he would command Mercy and Equity to be done in Judgments What can this solemn and due Election signifie here what can it mean further than that Richard being King by Hereditary Right was so owned and recognized by the Clergy and Laity John in his Brother Richard's Life-time had a mind to be King and taking advantage or his Absence in the Holy Land and his Imprisonment in Germany practised with the Nobility and Londoners to that purpose The last sware faithful Service to their Lord King Richard and to
his Heirs and if he should die without Issue Vt reciperent Comitem Johannem fratrem Richardi Regis in Regem Dominum That they would receive Earl John the Brother of King Richard for their King and Lord and swore Fealty to him against all Men saving their Fealty to his Brother King Richard Two Years afterward confederating with the King of France against his Brother and being assisted by him he returned into England and brought many Strangers with him and coming to London demanded the Kingdom of the Arch-Bishop of Roven who was then Justiciary and the other Justiciaries of England Fidelitates Hominum Angliae affirming the King of England his Brother was dead But not believing him they and the other great Men of the Kingdom rejected him Then swelling with Fury he fortified his Castles and places of Strength and seized the Crown-Lands Many came in unto him but being deceived they were punished according to their deserts And for these and other Treasons committed the Year following as combining with the King of France and offering great Sums of Money to the Emperor to keep King Richard in Prison and making new Disturbances in the Nation Per Commune Consilium Regni Definitum est quod Comes Johannes dissaifiretur de omnibus Tenementis suis in Anglia By the Common Council of the Kingdom it was decreed he should be disseized of all he held of the King in England And presently all his Castles were besieged and taken from him Yet for all this the next Year King Richard pardoned his Brother John and restored to him the Earldom of Moreton or Mortaigne the Honour of Eye and Earldom of Glocester except the Castles and for his other Earldoms and Lands allowed him Yearly eight thousand Pounds of Anjou-Money And in the last Year of his Reign Cum Rex de vita desperaret divisit Johanni fratri suo Regnum Angliae omnes alias terras suas fecit fieri praedicto Johanni fidelitates ab illis qui aderant praecepit ut traderentur ei Castella sua tres partes Thesauris sui When the King despaired of Life he devised to his Brother John the Kingdom of England and all other his Lands and made all present swear Fealty to him and commanded that his Castles and three parts of his Treasure should be delivered to him Richard being dead John stayed in Normandy where by Walter Arch-Bishop of Roven he was girt with the Sword of that Dutchy April 25. on St. Mark 's Day and sent Hubert Arch-Bishop of Canterbury and the Pope's Legat and William Marshal Earl of Strigvil into England to keep the Peace together with Jeffrey Fitz-Peter Justitiary of England and other Barons of the Kingdom Qui fecerunt homines regni tam de Civitatibus quem de Burgis Comites Barones libere tenentes jurare fidelitatem pacem Johanni Normannorum Duci filii Henrici Regis filii Matildis Imperatricis contra omnes homines Who made the Homagers of England as well of Cities as Burroughs and Earls Barons and free Tenants to swear Fealty and Peace to John Duke of Normandy the Son of King Henry the Son of Maud the Empress against all Men. Notwithstanding this all the Bishops Earls and Barons which had Castles Manned Victualled and stored them with Arms. But Hubert the Arch-Bishops William Marshal and Jeffrey Fitz-Peter Justiciary of England met at Northampton and called before them those which they most doubted David Brother to the King of Scots Richard Earl of Clare Ranulph Earl of Chester William Earl of Tutesbury and Walran Earl of Warwick Roger Constable of Chester William de Mowbray and many other Earls and Barons to whom they promised and engaged that John Duke of Normandy should restore to every Man his Right if they would keep Faith and Peace with him Súb hac igitur Conventione supradicti Comites c. According to this Agreement the said Earls and Barons swore Fealty and faithful Service to John Duke of Normandy against all Men. This was done while he was in Normandy On the 25th of May following Duke John crossed the Seas from Normandy into England and the next day came to London and there were convened in Expectation of him Hubert Arch-Bishop of Canterbury John Arch-Bishop of Dublin William Bishop of London Gilbert of Rochester John of Norwich Hugh of Lincoln Eustace of Ely Godfrid of Winchester Henry of Exeter Sefrid of Chichester Jeffrey of Coventry Savaric of Bath Herbert of Salisbury Philip of Durham Roger of St. Andrews in Scotland Henry of Landaff Bishops Robert Earl of Leicester Richard Earl of Glare William of Tutesbury Hamelin de Warenn William of Salisbury William de Strigvil Walran of Warwick Roger Bigot William de Arundell Ranulph de Cestre Earls and many Barons And then Hubert Arch-Bishop of Canterbury Consecrated and Crowned the said John Duke of Normandy King of England in the Church of St. Peter at Westminster on the 27th of May being Ascension Day Not one word here of any Election by but only a Submission from the Barons Spiritual and Temporal to King John and a Recognition that he was their King And all this related by Hoveden in all probability an Eye-witness of this Translation Indeed Matthew Paris who died Anno Dom. 1259. was then either unborn or so young as not with Judgment to take sufficient notice of this Affair relates it thus Congregatis in adventu ejus Archiepiscopis Episcopis Comitibus Baronibus atque aliis omnibus qui ejus Coronationi interesse debuerant Archiepiscopus stans in medio omnium dixit audite universi noverit discretio vestra quod nullus proevia ratione alii succedere habet Regnum nisi ab universitate Regni unanimiter invocata Spiritus Gratia electus secundum morum suorum eminentiam praeelectus ad exemplum fimilitudinis Saul primi Regis inuncti quem praeposuit Dominus populo suo non Regis filium nec de Regali stirpe procreatum similiter post eum David Jesse silium Hunc quia strenuum aptum Dignitati Regiae illum quia sanctum humilem ut sic qui cunctos in regno supereminet strenuitate omnibus praefit potestate regimine verum si quis ex stirpe Regis defuncti aliis prepolleret pronius promptius in electionem ejus est consentiendum Haec idcirco diximus pro inclyto Comite Johanne qui praesens est frater illustrissimi nameri Richardi jam defuncti qui haerede caruit ab eo egrediente qui providus strenuus manifeste nobilis quem nos invocata Spiritus Sancti Gratia ratione tam meritorum quom Sanguinis Regii unanimiter elegimus universi nec ausi erant alii super his adhuc ambigere scientes quod Archiepiscopus sine causa hoc non sic diffiniverat verum Comes Johannes omnes hoc
Edmund Mortimer Erle of March had Issue and leefully bare Rogier Mortimer Erle of March her Son and Heir Which Rogier Erle of March had Issue and leefully gate Edmund Erle of Marche Rogier Mortymer Anne and Alianore which Edmund Rogier and Alianore dyed without Issue And the seyd Anne under the Sacrament of Matrymony copled unto Richard Erle of Cambridge the Son of the seyd Edmund Langley fifth-begoten Son of the seyd King Edward as it is afore specified had Issue and leefully bare Richard Plantagenet commonly called Duc of Yorke The seyd John of Gaunt the fourth-goten Son of the seyd King Edward and younger Brother of the seyd Leonell had Issue and leefully gate Hen. Erle of Derby which incontinent after the tyme that the seyd King Richard resigned the Corones of the seyd Reaumes and the seyd Lordship of Ireland unrightwysely entered upon the same then being on live Edmund Mortymer Erle of Marche Son to Rogier Mortymer Erle of March Son and Heir of the seyd Phelippa Daughter and Heir of the seyd Sir Leonell the third Son of the seyd King Edward the Third to the which Edmund the Ryght and Title of the seyd Corones and Lordship by Lawe and Custome belonged Before we pass over these three Usurpers we must take notice of a Passage in Polydore Virgil concerning Henry V. in these Words Princeps Hen. facto Patris funere Concilium Principum ad Westmonasterium convocandum curat in quo dum de Rege creando more mojorum agitabatur Ecce tibi de repente aliquot Principes ultro in EJVS VERBA jurare coeperunt Quod Benevolentiae Officium nulli antea priusquam Rex renantiatus esset praestitum constat adeo Hen. ab ineunte aetate spem omnibus optimae indolis fecit Creatur itaque Rex ad quintum Iduum Aprilis eo Anno quo Pater e vita excesserat Quintus ejus Nominis Henricus dictus est The Author of the Brief History of Succession thus renders this Sentence Immediately upon the death of Hen. IV. a Parliament MET at Westminster and there according to the Custom of the Realm it was debated who should be King But all men had entertained so good thoughts of Prince Henry that without staying till the whole Assembly had declared him King divers of them began to swear Allegiance to him a thing strange and without president as only occasioned by extraordinary Opinion which was generally conceived of him before and the certain Title vested in him by Act of Parliament In his Citation of the Latin he leaves out these Words which belong to this piece of Story and do declare the meaning of it Creatur itaque Rex ad quintum Iduum Aprilis eo Anno quo Pater e vita excesserat c. He was Crowned King on the fifth of the Ides of April the same year his Father died Tho. Walsingham who lived at this time says Hen. IV. died Mar. 20. 1413. And then eodem Anno coronatus Londoniis Henricus Primogenitus Regis Henrici nuper defuncti quinto Iduum Aprilis c. The same Year Henry the First-born of King Henry lately deceased was Crowned at London on the fifth of the Ides or tenth of April By which Words of Walsingham 't is evident he hath mistaken the meaning and falsly translated the Words of Polydore for they ought to be Englished in this manner Prince Henry having buried his Father caused a Council of the Chief Men of the Nation to be called at Westminster in which they treat or debate about Crowning the King according to the Custom of his Predecessors forthwith some of the Great Men began to swear as he dictated to them which officious Benevolence was performed to none before he was declared King such hope he had given from his Childhood of an excellent Disposition therefore he was Crowned King on the fifth of the Ides of April that Year his Father died and was called Henry the Fifth An intelligent Man would wonder how the Writer of the Brief History c. should SQVEEZE his Translation out of these Latin Words But Polydore who as I hinted before was very unfit to write the English History hath very oddly in Latin express'd this Relation as he likewise hath done many other Stories His Character take from Sir Hen. Savile in his Epistle to Queen Elizabeth before his Edition of the old English Writers after Bede Polydorus saith he ut homo Italus in rebus nostris hospes c. quod caput est neque in Republika versatus nec magni alioqui vel judicii vel ingenii pauca ex multis delibans falfit plerumque pro veris amplexus Historiam nobis reliquit cum caetera mendosam tum exiliter sane jejune conscriptam Polydor as he was an Italian and a Stranger in our Affairs and which was the chief matter not understanding our Government and Laws nor otherwise of great Wit or Judgment chusing a few things out of many and oft-times taking false things for true hath left us a very faulty History slightly and pitifully written After the Reign of these three Usurpers and Deposition of Henry the Sixth in the first of Edward the Fourth the Proceedings against Richard the Second are Repealed where 't is said That Henry Earl of Derby afterwards Henry the Fourth temerously ayenst ryghtwisnesse and Justice by Force and Arms ayenst his Faith and Ligeance rered Werre at Flynt in Wales ayenst King Richard the Second him tooke and imprisoned in the Tower of London in great violence and usurped and intruded upon the Royall Power Estate Dignity c. And not therewith satisfyed or content but more grievous thing attempting wickedly of unnatural unmanly and cruel Tyranny the same King Richard King Anointed Crowned and Consecrated and his Liege and most Soveraigne Lord in Earth against Gods Lawe Mans Ligeance and Oath of Fidelity with uttermost punicion attormenting murdered and destroyed with most vile hainous and lamentable Death c. The Commons being of this present Parliament having sufficient and evident knowledge of the said unryghtwyse Usurpation and Intrusion by the said Henry late Earl of Derby upon the said Crown of England knoweing also certainly without doubt and ambiguity the Right and Title of our said Soveraigne Lord thereunto true and that by Gods Lawe Mans Lawe and the Lawe of Nature he and none other is and ought to be their true ryghtwyse and natural Liege and Soveraigne Lord and that he was in right from the Death of the said Noble and Famous Prince his Father very just King of the said Realm of England doe take accept and repute and will for ever take accept and repute the said Edward the Fourth their Soveraigne and Liege Lord and him and his Heirs to be Kings of England and none other according to his said Right and Title And that the same Henry unryghtwysely against Lawe Conscience and Custome of the said Realm of
England usurped upon the said Crown and Lordship and that he and also Henry late called King Henry the Fifth his Son and Henry late called King Henry the Sixth his Son occupied the Realm of England and Lordship of Ireland and exercised the Governance thereof by unryghtwyse intrusion usurpation and no otherwise That the Amotion of Henry late called King Henry the Sixth from the Exercise Occupation Usurpation Intrusion Reign and Governance of the same Realm and Lordship done by our Soveraigne Lord King Edward the Fourth was and is rightwyse lawfull and according to the Lawes and Customes of the said Realme and soe ought to be taken holden reputed and accepted Further Some if not all the Grants made by Henry Earl of Derby called Henry the Fourth the said Henry his Son or the said Henry called Henry the Sixth or by Authority of any pretenced Parliament in any of their days were reputed null and void That the unrightwyse and unlawful Usurpation and Intrusion of the same Henry upon the Crown of England and Lordship of Ireland was to the great and intolerable hurt prejudice and derogation of Edmund Mortimer Earle of Maroh next Heir of Blood of the said King Richard at the time of his Death and to the Heirs of the said Edmomd and to the great and excessive Damage unto the Realm of England and to the politick and peaceable Governance thereof by inward Wars moved and grounded by occasion thereof In the First of Richard the Third the Three Estates after having much faulted the Government Marriage and Person of Edward the Fourth and affirmed That the Right and Title of the Issue of George Duke of Clarence was barred by his Attainder and extolling the Parts Wisdom and Justice of Richard his Brother declared him undoubted Heir of Richard Duke of York Father to Edward the Fourth very Inhaeritor of the Crown of England and Dignity Royal and as in Right King of England by way of Inheritance and therefore having in his great prudent Justice Princely Courage and excellent Vertue singular Confidence did by Writing in all that in them lay chuse him their King and Sovereign Lord to whom they knew of certain it apperteined to be so chosen c. And do further declare That the Right Title and Estate which King Richard the Third had to and in the Crown and Royal Dignity of the Realm of England with all things thereunto within the said Realm and without it annexed and apperteining was just and lawful as grounded upon the Laws of God and Nature and also upon the antient Lawes and laudable Customes of this said Realm as also taken and reputed by all such Persons as were learned in the abovesaid Laws and Customs And then they proceed and say Yet nevertheless forasmuch as it is considered that the most part of the People is not sufficiently learned in the aforesaid Laws and Customs whereby the Truth and Right in this behalf of likelyhood may be hid and not clearly known to all the People and thereupon put in doubt and question And over this how that the Court of Parliament is of such Authority and the People of this Land of such a nature and disposition as Experience teacheth that Manifestation or Declaration of any Truth made by the Three Estates of this Realm assembled in Parliament and by Authority of the same maketh before all other things most faithful and certain quieting of Mens minds and removeth the occasion of Doubts and seditious Language Therefore at the Request and by the Assent of the Three Estates of this Realm THAT IS TO SAY The Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons of this Land assembled in this present Parliament and by the Authority of the same be it pronounced decreed and declared That our said Sovereign Lord the King was and is the very undoubted King of this Realm of England with all things thereunto belonging within the said Realm and without it united annexed and apperteining as well by Right of Consanguinity and Inhaeritance as by lawful Election Consecration and Coronation Haereditary Right and Right of Blood was the Ground of this Establishment Henry the Seventh having no Haereditary Title of his own and being always averse to take upon him the only true and undoubted Title of his Queen eldest Daughter and Heir to Edward the Fourth procured an Act of Parliament That the Inhaeritance of the Crown of the Realms of England and France with all the Preheminencies and Dignities Royal to the same apperteining and the Ligeances to the King belonging beyond the Seas c. shall be rest remain and abide in the most Royal Person of our most Sovereign Lord Henry the Seventh and in the Heirs of his Body lawfully coming perpetually and so to endure and no otherwise It may be noted from these words That the inheritance of the Crown should rest remain and abide in the King c. That he designed not a Declaration or Recognition of his Right but rather an Establishment of that Possession he had gotten by the Sword for not thinking this Act a Sufficient Security for him nor depending on this Parliamentary Title he extended his pretences beyond this Establishment in at much as he procured it to be confirmed the year following by the Bull of Pope Innocent the Eighth in which this Statute with his Titles of Couquest and Descent are mentioned and confirmed The Bull says That the Kingdom of England belonged to him by undubitable right Non modo jure Belli ac notorio indubitato proximo successions Titulo verum etiam omnium prelatorum procerum Magnatum Nobilium totiusque ejusdem Regni Angliae plebis Electione et noto ac decreto statuto et ordinatione ipsius Angliae Regni trium Statuum in ipsorum conventu Parliamento nuncupato That is Not only by the right of War and the notorious and indubitable next Title of Succession but also by the election of all the Prelates and great Men and of the whole Commonalty of the Kingdom of England and by a known and decreed Statute and Ordinance of the Three Estates of the same Kingdom of England their meeting called a Parliament And afterward in the Thirteenth of his Reign he got his Bull renewed and the Act confirmed again by Pope Alexander the Sixth under pain of Excommunication and Curse to such as should upon any pretence whatsoever disturb the peace of the Nation and create trouble against this Title of Henry the Seventh So that notwithstanding this Act of Parliament which was cunningly penned to Establish his possession he had obtained by the sword He thought that and the Popes Bulls of Confirmation his best Title yet not omitting his own pretended indubitable next Right of Succession Henry the Eighth next heir to the Crown by Proximity of Blood as right Heir to his Mother Elizabeth Daughter and right Heir to Edward the Fourth succeeded his Father in