branches spring From wrinkled furrowes of times ruining Euen as the hungry vvihter-starued earth vvhen she by nature labours towards her birth Still as the day vpon the darke world creepes One blossome forth after another peepes Till the smal flower whose roote is now vnbound Gets from the frostie prison of the ground Spreading the leaues vnto the powerfull noone Deck'd in fresh colours smiles vpon the sunne Neuer vnquiet care lodg'd in that brest vvhere but one thought of Rosamond did rest Nor thirst nor trauaile which on warre attend Ere brought the long day to desired end Nor yet did pale Feare or leane Famine liue vvhere hope of thee did any comfort giue Ah what iniustice then is this of thee That thus the guiltlesse doost condemne for me vvhen onely she by meanes of my offence Redeemes thy purenes and thy innocence vvhen to our wills perforce obey they must That iust in them what ere in vs vniust Of what we doe not them account we make The fault craues pardon for th' offenders sake And what to worke a Princes will may merrit Hath deep'st impression in the gentlest spirit If 't be my name that doth thee so offend No more my selfe shall be mine owne names friend And if 't be that which thou doost onely hate That name in my name lastly hath his date Say t is accurst and fatall and dispraise it If written blot it if engrauen raze it Say that of all names t is a name of woe Once a Kings name but now it is not so And when all this is done I know t will grieue thee And therefore sweet why should I now belieue thee Nor should'st thou thinke those eyes with enuie lower vvhich passing by thee gaze vp to thy tower But rather praise thine owne which be so cleere vvhich from the Turret like two starres appeare Aboue the sunne doth shine beneath thine eye Mocking the heauen to make another skye The little streame which by thy tower doth glide vvhere oft thou spend'st the wearie euening tide To view thee well his course would gladly stay As loth from thee to part so soone away And with salutes thy selfe would gladly greete And offer vp those small drops at thy feete But finding that the enuious banks restraine it T' excuse it selfe doth in this sort complaine it And therefore this sad bubling murmur keepes And in this sort within the channell weepes And as thou doost into the water looke The fish which see thy shadow in the brooke Forget to feede and all amazed lye So daunted with the lustre of thine eye And that sweet name which thou so much doost wrong In time shall be some famous Poets song And with the very sweetnes of that name Lyons and Tygers men shall learne to tame The carefull mother from her pensiue brest vvith Rosamond shall bring her babe to rest The little birds by mens continuall sonnd Shall learne to speake and prattle Rosamond And when in Aprill they begin to sing vvith Rosamond shall welcome in the spring And she in whom all rarities are found Shall still be sayd to be a Rosamond The little flowers which dropping honied dew vvhich as thou writ'st doe weepe vpon thy shuâ— Not for thy fault sweet Rosamond doe mone But weepe for griefe that thou so soone art gone For if thy foote tuch Hemlock as it goes That Hemlock's made more sweeter then the Rose Of Ioue or Neptune how they did betray Nor speake of I-o or Amimone vvhen she for whom Ioue once became a Bull Compar'd with thee had beene a tawny trull He a white Bull and she a whiter Cow Yet he nor she neere halfe so white as thou Long since thou knowst my care prouided forâ— To lodge thee safe from iealous Ellenor The Labyrinths conueyance guides thee so vvhich onely Vahan thou and I doe know If she doe guard thee with a hundred eyes I haue an hundred subtile Mercuries To watch that Argus which my loue doth keepe Vntill eye after eye fall all to sleepe Those starres looke in by night looke in to see vvondring what star heere on the earth should be As oft the moone amidst the silent night Hath come to ioy vs with her friendly light And by the curtaine help'd mine eye to see vvhat enuious night and darknes hid from mee vvhen I haue wish'd that she might euer stay And other worlds might still enioy the day vvhat should I say vvords teares and sighes be spent And want of time doth further helps preuent My campe resounds with fearefull shocks of war Yet in my breast the worser conflicts are Yet is my signall to the battailes sound The blessed name of beautious Rosamond Accursed be that hart that tongue that breath Should thinke should speake or whisper of thy death For in one smile or lower from thy sweet eye Consists my life my hope my victorie Sweet VVoodstocke where my Rosamond doth rest Blessed in her in whom thy King is blest For though in Fraunce a while my bodie be Sweet Paradice my hart remaines in thee Notes of the Chronicle Historie Am I at home pursued with priuate hate And warre comes raging to my Pallace gate RObert Earle of Leicester who tooke part with young King Henry entred into England with an Armie of 3. thousand Flemmings spoiled the Countries of Norfolke and Suffolke being succoured by manie of the Kings priuate enemies And am I branded with the curse of Rome King Henry the second the first Plantaginet accused for the death of Thomas Becket Archbishop of Canterburie slaine in the Cathedrall Church was accursed by Pope Alexander although hee vrg'd sufficient proofe of his innocencie in the same and offered to take vpon him any pennance so he might escape the curse and interdiction of the Realme And by the pride of my rebellious Sonne Rich Normandie with Armies ouer-runne Henry the young King whom King Henry had caused to be crowned in his life as he hoped both for his owne good and the good of his Subiects which indeede turned to his owne sorrowe and the trouble of the whole Realme for he rebelled against him and raising a power by the meanes of Lewes King of Fraunce and William king of Scots who tooke part with him inuaded Normandie Vnkind my children most vnkind my wife Neuer King more infortunate then King Henry in the disobedience of his children first Henry then Geffrey then Richard then Iohn all at one time or other first or last vnnaturally rebelled against him then the iealousie of Ellinor his Queene who suspected his loue to Rosamond which grieuous troubles the deuout of those times attributed to happen vnto him iustly for refusing to take vppon him the gouernment of Ierusalem offered vnto him by the Patriarcke there which country was mightilie afflicted by the Souldane Which onely Vahan thou and I doe know This Vahan was a Knight whom the King exceedingly loued who kept the Pallace at Woodstock much of the Kings iewels treasure to whom the
triumpheth in my fall For her great Lord may water her sad eyne vvith as salt teares as I haue done for mine And mourne for Henry Hotspur her deere sonne As I for my sweet Mortimer haue done And as I am so succourlesse be sent Lastly to taste perpetuall banishment Then loose thy care where first thy crowne was lost Sell it so deerely for it deerely cost And sith they did of libertie depriue thee Burying thy hope let not thy care out-liue thee But hard God knowes with sorrow doth it goe vvhen woe becomes a comfort to woe Yet much me thinks of comforter I could say If from my hart pale feare were rid away Some thing there is which tels me still of woe But what it is that heauen aboue doth know Griefe to it selfe most dreadfull doth appeare And neuer yet was sorrow voyde of feare But yet in death doth sorrow hope the best And with this farewell wish thee happy rest Notes of the Chronicle Historie If fatall Pomfret hath in former time POmfret Castle euer a fatall place to the Princes of England and most ominous to the blood of Plantaginet Oh how euen yet I hate these wretched eyes And in my glasse c. When Bullingbrooke returned to London from the West bringing Richard a prisoner with him the Queene who little knew of her Husbands hard successe stayd to behold his comming in little thinking to haue seene her Husband thus ledde in tryumph by his foe and nowe seeming to hate her eyes that so much had graced her mortall enemie Wherein great Norfolks forward course was stayd She remembreth the meeting of the two Dukes of Herforde and Norfolke at Couentry vrging the iustnes of Mowbrayes quarrell against the Duke of Herford the faithfull assurance of his victorie O why did Charles relieue his needie state A vagabond c. Charles the French King her father receiued the Duke of Herford in his Court and releeued him in Fraunce beeing so neerely alied as Cosin german to king Richard his sonne in Lawe which he did simply little thinking that he should after returne into England and dispossesse King Richard of the Crowne When thou to Ireland took'st thy last farewell King Richard made a voyage with his Armie into Ireland against Onell Mackemur which rebelled at what time Henry entred here at home and robd him of all kinglie dignitie Affirm'd by Church-men which should beare no hate That Iohn of Gaunt was illegitimate William Wickham in the great quarrell betwixt Iohn of Gaunt and the Clergy of meere spight and malice as it should seeme reported that the Queene confessed to him on her death-bed being then her Confessor that Iohn of Gaunt was the sonne of a Flemming that she was brought to bed of a woman child at Gaunt which was smothered in the cradle by mischaunce and that she obtained this chylde of a poore woman making the king belieue it was her own greatlie fearing his displeasure Fox ex Chron. Albanâ— No bastards marke doth blot our conquering shield Shewing the true and indubitate birth of Richard his right vnto the Crowne of England as carrying the Armes without blot or difference Against theyr fayth vnto the Crownes true heire Their noble kindsman c. Edmund Mortimer Earle of March sonne of Earle Roger Mortimer which was sonne to Lady Phillip daughter to Lionell Duke of Clarence the third sonne to king Edward the third which Edmund king Richard going into Ireland was proclaimed heyre apparant to the Crowne whose Aunt called Ellinor this Lord Fiercie had married O would Aumerle had suncke when he betrayd The complot which that holy Abbot layd The Abbot of Westminster had plotted the death of king Henry to haue been done at a Tylt at Oxford of which confederacie there was Iohn Holland Duke of Excester Thomas Holland Duke of Surrey the Duke of Aumerle Mountacute Earle of Salisbury Spenser Earle of Gloster the Bishop of Carlile Sir Thomas Blunt these all had bound themselues one to another by Indenture to performe it but were all betrayd by the Duke of Aumerle Scroope Greene and Bushie die his fault in graine Henry going towards the Castle of Flint where King Richard was caused Scroope Greene Bushie to be executed at Bristow as vile persons which had seduced this king to this lasciuious wicked life Damn'd be the oath he made at Doncaster After Henries exile at his returne into England he tooke his oath at Doncaster vpon the Sacrament not to claime the crown or kingdom of England but onely the Dukedome of Lancaster his own proper right and the right of his wife And mourne for Henry Hotspur her deere sonne As I for my c. This was the braue couragious Henry Hotspur that obtained so many victories against the Scots which after falling out right with the curse of Queene Isabell was slaine by Henry at the battaile at Shrewsburie Richard the second to Queene Isabell. WHat may my Queene but hope for from that hand Vnfit to write vnskilful to command A kingdoms greatnes hardly can he sway That wholesome counsaile neuer did obey Ill this rude hand did guide a Scepter then VVorse now I feare me gouerneth a pen How shall I call my selfe or by what name To make thee know from whence these letters came Not from thy husband for my hatefull life Hath made thee widdow being yet a wife Nor from a King that title I haue lost Now of that name proud Bulling brooke may boast vvhat I haue beene doth but this comfort bring That no woe is to say I was a King This lawlesse life which first pâ—ocur'd my hate This tong which then denounc'd my regall state This abiect mind that did consent vnto it This hand that was the instrument to doe it All these be witnes that I doe denie All passed hopes all former soueraigntie Didst thou for my sake leaue thy fathers Court Thy famous Country and thy virgine port And vndertook'st to trauaile dangerous waves Driuen by aukward winds and boyst'rous seas And left 's great Burbon for thy loue to me vvho su'd in marriage to be linck'd to thee Offring for dower the Countries neighbouring nie Of fruitfull Almaine and rich Burgundie Didst thou all this that England should receaue thee To miserable banishment to leaue thee And in my downfall and my fortunes wracke Forsaken thus to Fraunce to send thee backe VVhen quiet sleepe the heauie harts reliefe Hath rested sorrow somwhat lesned griefe My passed greatnes vnto minde I call And thinke this while I dreamed of my fall vvith this conceite my sorrowes I beguile That my fayre Queene is but with-drawne awhile And my attendants in some chamber by As in the height of my prosperitie Calling aloud and asking who is there The Eccho answering tells me VVoe is there And when mine armes would gladly thee enfold I clip the pillow and the place is cold vvhich when my waking eyes precisely view T is a true token that it is too true
As many minutes as in the houres there be So many houres each minute seemes to me Each houre a day morne noone-tide and a set Each day a yeare with miseries complet A vvinter spring-time sommer and a fall All seasons varying but vnseasoned all In endlesse woe my thred of life thus weares By minutes houres dayes monthes and ling'ring yeares They praise the Sommer that enioy the South Pomfret is closed in the Norths cold mouth There pleasant Sommer dwelleth all the yeere Frost-starued-winter doth inhabite heere A place wherein dispaire may fitly dwell Sorrow best suting with a clowdie Cell VVhen Herford had his iudgement of exile Saw I the peoples murmuring the while Th' vncertaine Commons touch'd with inward care As though his sorrowes mutually they bare Fond women and scarse speaking children mourne Bewaile his parting wishing his returne Then being forc'd t' abridge his banish'd yeeres vvhen they bedew'd his footsteps with their teares Yet by example could not learne to know To what his greatnes by this loue might grow vvhilst Henry boasts of our atthieuements done Bearing the trophies our great fathers wone And all the storie of our famous warre Now grace the Annalls of great Lancaster Seuen goodly siens in their spring did flourish vvhich one selfe root brought forth one stocke did nourish Edward the top-braunch of that golden tree Nature in him her vtmost power did see vvho from the bud still blossomed so faire As all might iudge what fruit it meant to beare But I his graft of eu'ry weede ore-growne And from the kind as refuse forth am throwne From our braue Grandsire both in one degree Yet after Edward Iohn the young'st of three Might princely VVales beget an Impe so base That to Gaunts issue should giue soueraigne place That leading Kings from Fraunce returned home As those great Caesars brought their spoyles to Rome vvhose name obtayned by his fatall hand vvas euer fearefull to that conquered land His fame increasing purchasd in those warres Can scarcely now be bounded with the starres VVith him is valour quite to heauen fled Or else in me is it extinguished vvho for his vertue and his conquests sake Posteritie a demie God shall make And iudge this â—ile and abiect spirit of mine Could not proceed from temper so diuine VVhat earthly humor or what vulgar eye Can looke so low as on our miserie VVhen Bulling brook is mounted to our throne And makes that his which we but call'd our owne Into our Counsels he himselfe intrudes And who but Henry with the multitudes His power disgrad's his dreadfull frowne disgraceth He throwes them downe whom our aduancement placeth As my disable and vnworthie hand Neuer had power belonging to command He treads our sacred tables in the dust And proues our acts of Parlament vniust As thougâ— he hated that it should be said That such a law by Richard once was made VVhilst I depresd before his greatnes lie Vnder the waight of hate and infamie My back a foot-stoole Bulling brook to raise My loosenes mock'd and hatefull by his praise Out-liu'd mine honour buried my estate And nothing left me but the peoples hate Sweet Queene I le take all counsell thou canst giue So that thou bid'st me neither hope nor liue Succour that comes when ill hath done his worst But sharpens greefe to make vs more accurst Comfort is now vnpleasing to mine eare Past cure past care my bed become my Beere Since now misfortune humbleth vs so long Till heauen be growne vnmindfull of our wrong Yet they forbid my wrongs shall euer die But still remembred to posteritie And let the crowne be fatall that he weares And euer wet with wofull mothers teares Thy curse on Percie angry heauens preuent vvho haue not one cuise left on him vnspent To scourge the world now horrowing of my store As rich of woe as I a King am poore Then cease deere Queene my sorrowes to bewaile My wounds too great for pittie now to heale Age stealeth on whilst thou complainest thus My greefes be mortall and infectious Yet better fortunes thy fayre youth may trie That follow thee which still from me doth flie Notes of the Chronicle Historie This tongue which first denounc'd my regall flate RIchard the second at the resignation of the Crowne to the Duke of Herford in the Tower of London deliuering the lame with his owne hand there confessed his disabilitie to gouerne vtterly denouncing all kingly dignitie And left'st great Burbon for thy loue to me Before the Princesse Isabell was married to the King Lewes Duke of Burbon sued to haue had her in mariage which was thought hee had obtained if this motion had not fallen out in the meane time This Duke of Burbon sued againe to haue receiued her at her comming into Fraunce after the imprisonment of King Richard but King Charles her Father then crost him as before and gaue her to Charles sonne to the Duke of Orleance When Herford had his iudgement of exile When the combate should haue beene at Couentrie betwixt Henâ—ie Duke of Herford and Thomas Duke of Norfolke where Herâ—ord was adiudged to banishment for tenne yeares the Commons exceeding lamented so greatly was he euer fauoured of the people Then being forc'd t' abridge his banish'd yeeres When the Duke came to take his leaue of the King being then at Eltham the King to please the Commons rather then for any louâ— he beare to Herford repleaded foure yeeres of his banishment Whilst Henry boasts of our atchieuements done Henry the eldest Sonne to Iohn Duke of Lancaster at the first Earle of Darby then created Duke of Herford after the death of the Duke Iohn his Father was Duke of Lancaster and Hereford Earle of Darby Leicester and Lincolne and after he had obtained the Crowne was called by the name of Bullingbrooke which is a towne in Lincolneshire as vsually all the Kings of England bare the name of the places where they were borne Seauen goodly syens in their spring did flourish Edward the third had seuen Sonnes Edward Prince of Wales after called the blacke Prince William of Hatfield the second Lionell Duke of Clarence the third Iohn of Gaunt Duke of Lancaster the fourth Edmond of Langley Duke of Yorke the Fifth Thomas of Woodstocke Duke of Gloster the sixth William of Windsore the seuenth Edward the top-branch of that golden tree Truly boasting himselfe to bee the eldest Sonne of Edward the blacke Prince Yet after Edward Iohn the young'st of three As disabling Henry Bullingbrooke being but the sonne of the fourth brother William and Lionell beeing both before Iohn of Gaunt That leading Kings from Fraunce returned home Edward the black Prince taking Iohn King of Fraunce prisoner at the battell of Poictâ—â—s brought him into England where at the Sauoy he died Whose name atchiued by his fatall hand Called the black Prince not so much of his complexion as of the famous battell hee fought as is shewed before in the Glosse vppon the Epistle of Edward
sencelesse stones were with such musick drownd As many yeeres they did retaine the sound Let not the beames that greatnes doth reflect Amaze thy hopes with timerous respect Assure thee Tudor maiestie can be As kinde in loue as can the mean'st degree And the embraces of a Queene as true As theyrs might iudge them much aduaunc'd by you vvhen in our greatnes our affections craue Those secret ioyes that other women haue So I a Queene be soueraigne in my choyse Let others fawne vpon the publique voyce Or what by this can euer hap to thee Light in respect to be belou'd of mee Let peeuish worldlings prate of right and wrong Leaue plaints and pleas to whom they doe belong Let old men speake of chaunces and euents And Lawyers talke of titles and discents Leaue fond reports to such as stories tell And couenaunts to those that buy and sell Loue my sweet Tudor that becomes thee best And to our good successe referre the rest Notes of the Chronicle Historie Great Henry sought to accomplish his desire Armed c. HEnry the fift making clayme vnto the Crowne of Fraunce first sought by Armes to subdue the French and after sought by marriage to confirme what he got by conquest the heate and furie of which inuasion is alluded to the fixtion of Semele in Ouid which by the craftie perswasion of Iuno requested Ioue to come vnto her as he was wont to come vnto his wife Iuno who at her request hee yeelding vnto destroyed her in a tempest Incamp'd at Melans in wars hote alarmes First c. Neere vnto Melans vpon the Riuer of Scyne was the appoynted place of parley betweene the two Kings of England and Fraunce to which place Isabell the Queene of Fraunce and the Duke of Burgoyne brought the young Princesse Katherine where King Henry first saw her And on my temples set a double Crowne Henry the fift and Queene Katherine vvere taken as King and Queene of Fraunce and during the life of Charles the French King Henry was called King of England and heire of Fraunce after the death of Henry the fift Henry the sixt his son then being very young was crowned at Paris as true and lawfull king of England Fraunce At Troy in Champaine he did first enioy Troy in Champayn was the place where that victorious king Henrie the fift maried the Princesse Katherine in the presence of the chiefe nobilitie of the Realmes of England and Fraunce Nor these great tytles vainely will I bring Wife daughter Mother c. Few Queenes of England or Fraunce were euer more princelie alied then this Queene as it hath been noted by Historiographers Nor thinke so Tudor that this loue of mine Should wrong the Gaunt-borne◠c. Noting the descent of Henry her husband frō Iohn Duke of Lancaster the fourth son of Edward the third which Duke Iohn was sirnamed Gaunt of the citty of Gaunt in Flaunders where he was borne Nor stir the English blood the sunne and Moone T'repine c. Alluding the greatnes of the English line to Phoebus Phoebe fained to be the children of Latona whose heauenly kind might scorne to be ioyned with any earthlie progenie yet withall boasting the blood of Fraunce as not inferiour to theirs And with this allusion followeth on the historie of the strife betwixt Iuno and the race of Cadmus whose issue was afflicted by the wrath of heauen The chyldren of Niobe slaine for which the wofull mother became a Rock gushing forth continually a fountaine of teares And Iohn and Longshanks issue both affied Lhewellin or Leolin ap Iorwerth married Ioane daughter to King Iohn a most beautifull Lady Some Authours affirme that shee was base borne Lhewellin ap Gryfith maried Ellenor daughter to Simon Montfort Earle of Leicester and Cosin to Edward Longshanks both which Lhewellins were Princes of Wales Of Camilot and all her Pentecosts A Nephewes roome c Camilot the auncient Pallace of King Arthur to which place all the Knights of that famous order yeerely repaired at Penticost according to the lawe of the Table and most of the famous home-borne Knights were of that Countrie as to this day is perceiued by theyr auncient monuments When bloody Rufus sought your vtter sacke Noting the ill successe which that William Rufus had in two voyages he made into Wales in which a number of his chiefe Nobilitie were slaine And oft return'd with glorious victorie Nothing the diuers sundry incursions that the Welchmen made into England in the time of Rufus Iohn Henry the second Longshankes Owen Tudor to Queene Katherine WHen first mine eyes beheld your princely name And found from whence this friendly letter came As in excesse of ioy my selfe forgot vvhether I saw it or I saw it not My panting hart doth bid mine eyes proceede My dazeled eye inuites my tongue to reede Mine eye should guide my tongue amazed mist it My lips which now should speake are dombe and kist it And leaues the paper in my trembling hand vvhen all my sences so amazed stand Euen as a mother comming to her child vvhich from her presence hath beene long exil'd vvith tender armes his gentle necke doth straine Now kissing him now clipping him againe And yet excessiue yoy deludes her so As still she doubts if this be hers or no At length awak'ned from this pleasing dreame vvhen passion som-what leaues to be extreame My longing eyes with their faire obiect meete vvhere euery letter 's pleasing each word sweete It was not Henries conquests nor his Court That had the power to win me by report Nor was his dreadfull terror-striking name The cause that I from VVales to England came For Christian Rhodes and our religious truth To great atchieuements first had wone my youth Before aduenture did my valour proue Before I yet knew what it was to loue Nor came I hether by some poore euent But by th' eternall Destinies consent vvhose vncomprised wisedomes did fore-see That you in marriage should be linck'd to mee By our great Merlin was it not fore-told Amongst his holy prophecies enrold vvhen first he did of Tudors fame diuine That Kings and Queenes should follow in our line And that the Helme the Tudors auncient Crest Should with the golden Flower-delice be drest And that the Leeke our Countries chiefe renowne Should grow with Roses in the English Crowne As Charles fayre daughter you the Lilly weare As Henries Queene the blushing Rose you beare By Fraunce's conquest and by Englands oth You are the true made dowager of both Both in your crowne both in your cheeke together Ioyne Tethers loue to yours and yours to Tether Then make no future doubts nor feare no hate vvhen it so long hath beene fore-told by Fate And by the all-disposing doome of heauen Before our births vnto one bed were giuen No Pallas heere nor Iuno is at all vvhen I to Venus giue the golden ball Nor when the Graecians wonder I enioy None in reuenge to kindle fire in
our renowned seate To raze the auncient Trophies of our race vvith our deserts theyr monuments to grace Nor shall he leade our valiant marchers forth To make the Spensers famous in the North Nor be the Gardants of the Brittish pales Defending England and preseruing VVales At first our troubles easily recul'd But now growne head-strong hardly to be rul'd vvith grauest counsell all must be directed vvhere plainest shewes are openly suspected For where mishap our error doth assault There doth it easiliest make vs see our fault Then sweet represse all fond and wilfull spleene Two things to be a woman and a Queene Keepe close the cyndars least the fire should burne It is not this which yet must serue our turne And if I doe not much mistake the thing The next supply shall greater comfort bring Till when I leaue my Princesse for a while Liue thou in rest though I liue in exile Notes of the Chronicle Historie Of one condemn'd and long lodg'd vp in death ROger Mortimer Lorde of Wigmore had stoode publiquely condemned for his insurrection with Thomas Earle of Lancaster and Bohun Eale of Herford by the space of three moneths and as the report went the day of his execution was determined to haue beene shortly after which he preuented by his escape Twice all was taken â—twice thou all didst giue At what time the two Mortimers this Roger Lord of Wigmore and his vncle Roger Mortimer the elder were apprehended in the West the Queene by meanes of Torlton Bishop of Hereford and Becke Bishop of Duresme and Patriarke of Ierusalem being then both mightie in the state vpon the submission of the Mortimers somewhat pacified the King and now secondly she wrought meanes for his escape Leauing the cords to tell where I had gone With strong ladders made of cords prouided him for the purpose he escaped out of the Tower which when the same were found fastened to the walls in such a desperate attempt they bred astonishment to the beholders Nor let the Spensers glory in my chance The two Hugh Spensers the Father and the Sonne then beeing so highly fauoured of the King knew that their greatest safety came by his exile vvhose high and turbulent spirit could neuer brooke any corriuall in greatnes My Grandsire was the first since Arthurs raigne That the round-table rectifi'd againe Roger Mortimer called the great Lorde Mortimer Grandfather to this Roger which was afterward the first Earle of March reerected againe the Round-table at Kenelwoorth after the auncient order of King Arthurs table with the retinue of a hundred Knights a hundred Ladyes in his house for the entertayning of such aduentures as came thether from all parts of Christendome Whilst famous Longshanks bones in Fortunes scorne Edward Longshanks willed at his death that his body should bee boyled the flesh from the bones and that the bones should be borne to the warres in Scotland which he was perswaded vnto by a prophecie which told that the English should still be fortunate in conquest so long as his bones were carried in the field The English blood that stained Banocksburne In the great voyage Edward the second made against the Scots at the battell at Stâ—iueling neere vnto the riuer of Banocksburne in Scotland where there was in the English campe such banquetting excesse such riot and misorder that the Scots who in the meane time laboured for aduantage gaue to the English a great ouerthrow And in the Dead-sea sincke our houses fame From whose c. Mortimer so called of Mare Mortuum and in French Mortâ—mer in English the Dead-sea which is said to be where Sodome Gomorra once were before they were destroyed by fire from heauen And for that hatefull sacriligious sin Which by the Pope he stands accursed in Gaeustelinus and Lucas two Cardinalls sent into England froÌ„ Pope Clement to appease the auncient hate betweene the King and Thomas Earle of Lancaster to whose Embassy the King seemed to yeeld but after theyr departure he went back from his promises for which hee was accursed at Rome Of those industrious Romaine Colonies A Colony is a sort or number of people that come to inhabite a place before not inhabited whereby hee seemeth heere to prophecie of the subuersion of the Land the Pope ioyning with the power of other Princes against Edward for the breach of his promise Charles by iâ—uasiue Armes againe shall take Charles the French King mooued by the wrong done vnto hys sister ceazeth the Prouinces which belonged to the King of England into his hands stirred the ratheâ— thereto by Mortimer who solicited her cause in Fraunce as is expressed before in the other Epistle in the glosse vpon this poynt And those great Lords now after theyr attaints Canonized among the English Saints After the death of Thomas Earle of Lancaster at Pomfret the people imagined great miracles to be doone by his reliques as they did of the body of Bohun Earle of Herford slaine at Borough bridge FINIS ¶ To my worthy and honoured friend Maister VValter Aston SIR though without suspition of flatterie I might in more ample and freer tearmes intymate my affection vnto you yet hauing so sensible a tast of your generous and noble disposition which without this habit of ceremony can estimate my loue I will rather affect breuitie though it shoulde seeme my fault then by my tedious complement to trouble mine owne opinion setled in your iudgement and discretion I make you the Patron of this Epistle of the Black-Prince which I pray you accept till more easier howers may offer vp from me some thing more worthy of your view and my trauell Yours truly deuoted Mich Drayton Edward the blacke Prince to Alice Countesse of Salisburie ¶ The Argument Alice Countesse of Salisburie remaining at Roxborough Castle in the North in the absence of the Earle her husband who was by the Kings commaund sent ouer into Flaunders and there deceased ere his returne This Lady being besieged in her Castle by the Scots Edward the blacke Prince being sent by the King his Father to relieue the North-parts with an Armie and to remoue the siege of Roxborough there fel in loue with the Countesse when after she returned to London hee sought by diuers and sundry means to winne her to his youthfull pleasures as by forcing the Earle of Kent her Father her Mother vnnaturally to become his Agents in his vaine desire where after a long and assured trial of her inuincible constancie hee taketh her to his wife to which end hee onelie frameth this Epistle REceiue these papers from thy wofull Lord vvith far more woes then they with words are stor'd vvhich if thine eye with rashnes doe reproue They 'le say they came from that imperious loue In euery Letter thou maist vnderstand vvhich Loue hath sign'd and sealed with his hand And where no farther processe he refers In blots set downe for other Characters This cannot blush although you doe refuse it Nor will reply
my counsell yet this comfort is It cannot hurt although I thinke amisse Then liue in hope in tryumph to returne vvhen cleerer dayes shall leaue in clowdes to mourne But so hath sorrow girt my soule about That that word hope me thinks comes slowly out The reason is I know it heere would rest vvhere it would still behold thee in my brest Farewell sweete Pole faine more I would indite But that my teares doe blot as I doe write Notes of the Chronicle Historie Or brings in Burgoyne to ayde Lancaster PHillip Duke of Burgoyne and his sonne were alwayes great fauorites of the house of Lancaster howbeit they often dissembled both with Lancaster and Yorke Who in the North our lawfull claime commends To win vs credite with our valiant friends The chiefe Lords of the North-parts in the time of Henry the 6. withstoode the Duke of Yorke at his risingâ— giuing him two great ouerthrowes To that allegeance Yorke was bound by oath To Henries heyres and safetie of vs both No longer now he meanes records shall beare it He will dispence with heauen and wil vnsweare it The duke of Yorke at the death of Henry the fift at this kings coronation tooke his oath to be true subiect to him and his heyres for euer but afterward dispensing therewith claymed the crowne as his rightfull and proper inhearitance If three sonnes faile shee 'le make the fourth a King The duke of Yorke had foure sonnes Edward Earle of March that afterward was duke of Yorke and king of England when he had deposed Henry the sixt and Edmond Earle of Rutland slaine by the lord Clifford at the battell at Wakefield George duke of Clarence that was murthered in the Tower and Richard duke of Glocester vvho was after he had murthered his brothers sonnes King by the name of Richard the third 〈◊〉 that 's so like his Dam her youngest Dicke That foule â—fauoured crookback'd Stigmaticke c. Till this verse As though begot an age c. This Richard whom ironically she here calls Dicke that by treason after his Nephewes murthered obtained the crowne was a man low of stature crookeback'd the left shoulder much higher then the right of a very crabbed sower countenaunce his mother could not be deliuered of him he was borne toothed with his feete forward contrarie to the course of nature To ouershadow our vermilian Rose The redde Rose was the badge of the house of Lancaster and the white Rose of Yorke which by the marriage of Henry the seauenth with Elizabeth indubitate heyre of the house of Yorke was happilie vnited Or who will muzzell that vnrulie beare The Earle of Warwicke the setter vp and puller downe of Kings gaue for his Armes the white Beare rampant the ragged staffe My Daysie flower which erst perfum'd the ayre Which for my â—auour Priâ—â—â—es once did were c. The Daysie in French is called Margaret which was Queene Margarets badge where-withall the Nobilitie and chiualrie of the Lande at the first arriuall were so delighted that they wore it in theyr Hats in token of honour And who be starres but Warwicks bearded slaues The ragged or bearded staffe was a part of the Armes belonging to the Earledome of Warwick Slaundring Duke Rayner with base baggary Rayner Duke of Aniou called himselfe King of Naples Cicile and Ierusalem hauing neither inhearitance nor tribute from those parts was not able at the marriage of the Queene of his owne charges to send her into England though he gaue no dower with her which by the Dutches of Glocester was often in disgrace cast in her teeth A Kentish Rebell a base vpstart Groome This was Iacke Cade which caused the Kentish-men to rebell in the 28. yeere of Henry the sixth And this is he the white Rose must prefer By Clarence daughter match'd to Mortimer This Iacke Cade instructed by the Duke of Yorke pretended to be descended from Mortimer which married Lady Phillip daughter to the Duke of Clarence And makes vs weake by strengthning Ireland The Duke of Yorke being made Deputy of Ireland first there beganne to practise his long pretended purpose strengthning himselfe by all meanes possible that he might at his returne into England by open warre claime that which so long he had priuily gone about to obtaine Great Winchester vntimely is deceas'd Henry Beuford Bishop and Cardinall of Winchester sonne to Iohn of Gaunt begot in his age was a proude ambitious Prelate fauouring mightily the Queene the Duke of Suffolke continually heaping vp innumerable treasure in hope to haue beene Pope as himselfe on his death bed confessed With Fraunce t' vpbrayd the valiant Somerset Edmund Duke of Somerset in the 24. of Henry the sixt was made Regent of Fraunce and sent into Normandie to defend the English territories against the French inuasions but in short time hee lost all that King Henry the fifth won for which cause the Nobles and the Commons euer after hated him T' endure these stormes with wofull Buckingham Humfry duke of Buckingham was a great fauorite of the Queenâ— Faction in the time of Henry the sixt And one fore-told by water thou should'st die The Witch of Eye receiued aunswer by her spirit that the duke of Suffolke should take heede of water which the Queene forwarnes him of as remembring the Witches prophecie which afterward came to passe FINIS To the Right Worshipfull Sir Thomas Munson Knight SIR amongst many which most deseruedly loue you though â— the least yet am loth to be the last whose endeuours may make knowne howe highly they esteeme of your noble and kind disposition Let this Epistle Sir I beseech you which vnworthily weares the badge of your woorthy name acknowledge my zeale with the rest though much lesse deseruing which for your sake doe honour the house of the Mounsons I know true generositie accepteth what is zealously offered though not euer deseruingly excellent yet for loue of the Art froÌ„ whence it receiueth resemblance The light Phrigian harmony stirreth delight as well as the melancholy Doricke moueth passion both haue theyr motion in the spirit as the liking of the soule moueth the affection Your kinde acceptance of my labourâ— shall giue some life to my Muse which yet â—ouers in the vncertainetie of the generall censure Mich Drayton Edward the fourth to Shores wife ¶ The Argument This Mistres Shore king Edward the fourths beautious paramour was so called of her husband a Goldsmith dwelling in Lombard streete Edward the fourth sonne to Richard Duke of Yorke after hee had obtained the crowne by deposing Henry the sixth which Henry was after murthered in the Tower by Richard Crookeback after the battel fought at Barnet where the famous Earle of VVarwicke was slaine and that King Edward quietly possessed the crowne hearing by report of many the rare and wonderfull beautie of the aforesaid Shores wife commeth himselfe disguised to London to see her where after he had once beheld her he was so
insolencie was punished in him his posterity as if it were fatall to the conquerour to doe his soueraigne such loyall seruice as a thousand such seuere censurers were neuer able to performe Since Scottish blood discoloured Floden field The battell was fought at Bramstone neere to Flodden hill beeing a part of the Cheuiot a mountaine that exceedeth all the mountaines in the North of England for bignes in which the wilfull periurie of Iames the fifth was punished from heauen by the Earle of Surrey being left by King Henry the eyght then in Fraunce before Turwin for the desence of his Realme Nor beautious Stanhope whom all tongues report To be the glory c. Of the beautie of that Lady he himselfe testifies in an Elegie which he writ of her refusing to daunce with him which he seemeth to alegorize vnder a Lyon and a Wolfe And of himselfe he saith A Lyon saw I late as white as any snow And of her I might perceiue a Wolfe as white as Whalls bone A fairer beast of fresher hue beheld I neuer none But that her lookes were coy and froward was her grace And famous Wyat who in numbers sings Sir Thomas Wyat the elder a most excellent Poet as his Poems extant doe witnes besides certaine Encomions written by the Earle of Surrey vpon some of Dauids Psalmes by him translated What holy graue what worthy Sepulcher To wyats Psalmes shall Christians purchase then And afterward vpon his death the said Earle writeth thus What vertues rare were tempred in thy brest Honour that England such a Iewell bred And kisse the ground whereas thy corps did rest At Honsdon where those sweet celestiall eyne It is manifest by a Sonnet written by this noble Earle that the first time he beheld his Lady was at Hunsdon Honsdon did first present her to mine eyne Which Sonnet beeing altogether a description of his loue I do alledge in diuers places of this glosse as proofes of what I write Of Hampton Court and Windsore where abound All pleasures c. That hee enioyed the presence of his faire and vertuous mistris in those two places by reason of queene Katherines vsuall aboad there on whom this Lady Geraldiue was attending I proue by these yerses of his Hampton me taught to wish her first for mine Winsor alas doth chase me from her sight And in another Sonnet following When Winsor walls sustaind my wearied arme My hand my chin to ease my restles head And that his delight might draw him to compare Winsor to Paradice an Elegy may proue where he remembreth his passed pleasures in that place With a Kings sonne my childish yeeres I pass'd In greater feast then Priams sonne of Troy And againe in the same Elegie Those large greene Courts where we were wont to roue With eyes cast vp vnto the maydens Tower With easie sighs such as men draw in loue And againe in the same The statelie seats the Ladies bright of hue The dances short long tales of sweet delight And for the pleasantâ—es of the place these verses of his may tosusie in the same Elegie before recited The secret groues which we haue made resound With siluer drops the meads yet spread for ruth As goodly flowers from Thamisis doe grow c. I had thought in this place not to haue spoken of Thames beeing so oft remembred by me before in sundry other places on this occasion but thinking of that excellent Epigram which as I iudge either to be done by the said Earle or Sir Frauncis Brian for the woorthinesse thereof I will heere insett which as it seemes to me was compiâ—ed at the Authors beeing in Spayne Tagus farewell which Westward with thy streames Turn'st vp the graines of gold already tride For I with spur and sayle goe seeke the Thames Against the sun that shewes her wealthy pride And to the towne that Brutus sought by dreames Like bended Moone that leanes her lustie side To seeke my Country now for whom I liue O mighty Ioue for this the winds mee giue FINIS Geraldine to Henry Howard Earle of Surrey SVch greeting as the noble Surrey sends The same to thee thy Geraldine commends A maydens thoughts doe check my trembling hand On other termes or complements to stand vvhich might my speech be as my hart affords Should come attired in farre richer words But all is one my faith as firme shall proue As hers that makes the greatest show of loue In Cupids Schoole I neuer read those bookes vvhose lectures oft we practise in our lookes Nor euer did suspitions riuall eye Yet lie in waite my fauours to espie My virgine thoughts are innocent and meeke As the chast blushes sitting on my cheeke As in a Feauer I doe shiuer yet Since first my penne was to the paper set If I doe erre you know my sexe is weake Feare proues a fault where mayds are forc'd to speakeâ— Doe I not ill ah sooth me not heerein O if I doe reproue me of my sinne Chide me infaith or if my fault you hide My tongue will teach my selfe my selfe to chide Nay noble Surrey blot it if thou wilt Then too much boldnes should returne my guilt For that should be euen from our selues conceal'd vvhich is disclosd if to our thoughts reueal'd For the least motion more the smallest breath That may impeach our modestie is death The Page that brought thy Letters to my hand Me thinks should meruaile at my strange demaund For till he blush'd I did not yet espie The nakednes of my immodestie vvhich in my face he greater might haue seene But that my fanne I quickly put betweene Yet scarcely that my inward guilt could hide Feare seeing all feares it of all espide Like to a Taper lately burning bright Now wanting matter to maintaine his light The blaze aâ—cending forced by the smoke Liuing by that which seekes the same to choke The flame still hanging in the ayre doth burne Vntill drawne downe it back againe returne Then cleere then dim then spreadeth and then closeth Now getteth strength and now his brightnes looseth As well the best discerning eye may doubt VVhether it yet be in or whether out Thus in my cheeke my diuers passions show'd Now ashy pale and now againe it glow'd If in your verse there be a power to moue It 's you alone who are the cause I loue It 's you bewitch my bosome by mine eare Vnto that end I did not place you there Ayres to asswage the bloody Souldiors mind Poore women we are naturally kind Perhaps yow 'll thinke that I these termes enforce For that in Court this kindnes is of course Or that it is that honey-steeped gall vve oft are said to bayte our loues withall That in one eye we carry strong desire The other drops which quickly quench the fire Ah what so false can Enuie speake of vs But shall finde some too vainly credulous I doe not so and to adde proofe thereto I loue in faith in faith sweet Lord I do