Scotland which could not be now for anie earledome did homage to the sonne of Henrie the second with a reseruation of the dutie to king Henrie the second his father Also the earledome of Huntingdon was as ye haue heard before this forfeited by Malcolme his brother and neuer after restored to the crowne of Scotland This William did afterward attend vpon the same Henrie the second in his warres in Normandie against the French king notwithstanding their French league and then being licenced to depart home in the tenth of this prince and vpon the fiftéenth of Februarie he returned and vpon the sixtéenth of October did homage to him for the realme of Scotland In token also of his perpetuall subiection to the crowne of England he offered vp his cloake his faddle and his speare at the high altar in Yorke wherevpon he was permitted to depart home into Scotland where immediatlie he mooued cruell warre in Northumberland against the same king Henrie being as yet in Normandie But God tooke the defense of king Henries part and deliuered the same William king of Scots into the hands of a few Englishmen who brought him prisoner to king Henrie into Normandie in the twentith yeere of his reigne But at the last at the sute of Dauid his brother Richard bishop of saint Andrews and other bishops and lords he was put to this fine for the amendment of his trespasse to wit to paie ten thousand pounds sterling and to surrender all his title to the earldome of Huntingdon Cumberland Northumberland into the hands of king Henrie which he did in all things accordinglie sealing his charters thereof with the great seale of Scotland and signets of his nobilitie yet to be seene wherein it was also comprised that he and his successours should hold the realme of Scotland of the king of England and his successours for euer And herevpon he once againe did homage to the same king Henrie which now could not be for the earledome of Huntingdon the right whereof was alreadie by him surrendred And for the better assurance of this faith also the strengths of Berwike Edenborough Roxborough and Striueling were deliuered into the hands of our king Henrie of England which their owne writers confesse But Hector Boetius saith that this trespasse was amended by fine of twentie thousand pounds sterling and that the erledome of Huntingdon Cumberland and Northumberland were deliuered as morgage into the hands of king Henrie vntill other ten thousand pounds sterling should be to him paid which is so farre from truth as Hector was while he liued from well meaning to our countrie But if we grant that it is true yet prooueth he not that the monie was paid nor the land otherwise redéemed or euer after came to anie Scotish kings hands And thus it appeareth that the earledome of Huntingdon was neuer occasion of the homages of the Scotish kings to the kings of England either before this time or after This was doone 1175. Moreouer I read this note hereof gathered out of Robertus Montanus or Montensis that liued in those daies and was as I take it confessor to king Henrie The king of Scots dooth homage to king Henrie for the kingdome of Scotland and is sent home againe his bishops also did promise to doo the like to the archbishop of Yorke and to acknowledge themselues to be of his prouince and iurisdiction By vertue also of this composition the said Robert saith that Rex Angliae dabat honores episcopatus abbatias alias dignitates in Scotia vel saltem eius consilio dabantur that is The king of England gaue honors bishopriks abbatships and other dignities in Scotland or at the leastwise they were not giuen without his aduise and counsell At this time Alexander bishop of Rome supposed to haue generall iurisdiction ecclesiasticall through christendome established the whole cleargie of Scotland according to the old lawes vnder the iurisdiction of the archbishop of Yorke In the yeare of our Lord 1185 in the moneth of August at Cairleill Rouland Talmant lord of Galwaie did homage and fealtie to the said king Henrie with all that held of him In the two and twentith yeare of the reigne of king Henrie the second Gilbert sonne of Ferguse prince of Galwaie did homage and fealtie to the said king Henrie and left Dunecan his sonne in hostage for conseruation of his peace Richard surnamed Coeur de Lion because of his stoutnesse and sonne of this Henrie was next king of England to whome the same William king of Scots did homage at Canturburie for the whole kingdome of Scotland This king Richard was taken prisoner by the duke of Ostrich for whose redemption the whole realme was taxed at great summes of monie vnto the which this William king of Scots as a subiect was contributorie and paied two thousand markes sterling In the yeare of our Lord 1199 Iohn king of England sent to William king of Scots to come and doo his homage which William came to Lincolne in the moneth of December the same yeare and did his homage vpon an hill in the presence of Hubert archbishop of Canturburie and of all the people there assembled and therevnto tooke his oth and was sworne vpon the crosse of the said Hubert also he granted by his charter confirmed that he should haue the mariage of Alexander his sonne as his liegeman alwaies to hold of the king of England promising moreouer that he the said king William and his sonne Alexander should keepe and hold faith and allegiance to Henrie sonne of the said king Iohn as to their chiefe lord against all maner of men that might liue and die Also whereas William king of Scots had put Iohn bishop of saint Andrew out of his bishoprike pope Clement wrote to Henrie king of England that he should mooue and induce the same William and if néed required by his roiall power and prerogatiue ouer that nation to compell him to leaue his rancor against the said bishop and suffer him to haue and occupie his said bishoprike againe In the yeare of our Lord 1216 and fiue twentith of the reigne of Henrie sonne to king Iohn the same Henrie and the quéene were at Yorke at the feast of Christmasse for the solemnization of a marriage made in the feast of saint Stephan the martyr the same yeare betwéene Alexander king of Scots and Margaret the kings daughter and there the said Alexander did homage to Henrie king of England for all the realme of Scotland In buls of diuerse popes were admonitions giuen to the kings of Scots as appeareth by that of Gregorie the fift and Clement his successor that they should obserue and trulie kéepe all such appointments as had béene made betwéene the kings of England and Scotland And that the kings of Scotland should still hold the realme of Scotland of the kings of England vpon paine of cursse and interdiction After the death of Alexander king of Scots Alexander his sonne
the one part nor the other was minded to giue ouer in so much that the horssemen alighting on foot and putting their horsses from them entered the battell amongst the footmen and thus they continued with equall aduantage till night came on which parted the affraie being one of the sorest foughten fields that had beene heard of in those daies To whether partie a man might iustlie attribute the victorie it was vtterlie vncerteine with so like losse gaine the matter was tried ended betwixt them With the semblable chance of danger and glorie seuen times that yéere did the English and Danes incounter in batell as writers haue recorded At length when their powers on both parts were sore diminished they agreed vpon a peace with these conditions that the Danes should not attempt anie further warre against the Englishmen nor bring into this land anie new supplie of souldiers out of Denmarke But this peace by those peacemakers was violated and broken in so much as they ment nothing lesse than to fall from the conceiued hope which they had of bearing rule in this land and of inriching themselues with the goods possessions rents and reuenues of the inhabitants The same yéere the Danes soiorned in the winter season at London according as they had doone often times before Rollo a noble man of Denmarke with a fresh power entreth England and beginneth to waste it king Alured giueth him batell Rollo saileth ouer into France who first inhabited Normandie and whereof it tooke that name the Danes breake the peace which was made betwixt them and Alured he is driuen to his shifts by their inuasions into his kingdome a vision appeereth to him and his mother king Alured disguising himselfe like a minstrell entereth the Danish campe marketh their behauiour vnsuspected assalteth them on the sudden with a fresh power and killeth manie of them at aduantage the Deuonshire men giue the Danes battell vnder the conduct of Haldens brother and are discomfited Alured fighteth with them at Edanton they giue him hostages Gurthrun their king is baptised and named Adel stan a league concluded betwixt both the kings the bounds of Alureds kingdome The xiiij Chapter ABout the same time or shortlie after there came into England one Rollo a noble man of Denmarke or Norway with a great armie and notwithstanding the peace concluded betweene the Englishmen and the Danes began to waste and destroy the countrie King Alured hearing these newes with all spéed thought best in the beginning to stop such a common mischiefe and immediatlie assembling his people went against the enimies and gaue them battell in the which there died a great number of men on both sides but the greater losse fell to Rollo his armie Yet Matthew Westmin saith that the Englishmen were put to flight After this it chanced that Rollo being warned in a dreame left England sailed ouer into France where he found fortune so fauourable to him that he obteined in that region for him and his people a countrie the which was afterwards named Normandie of those northerne people which then began to inhabit the same as in the histories of France you maie sée more at large The Danes which had concluded peace with king Alured as before you haue heard shortlie after vpon the first occasion brake the same and by often inuasions which they made into the countrie of Westsaxons brought the matter to that passe that there remained to king Alured but onelie the three countries of Hamshire Wiltshire Summersetshire in so much that he was constreined for a time to kéepe himselfe close within the fennes and maresh grounds of Summersetshire with such small companies as he had about him constreined to get their liuing with fishing hunting and other such shifts He remained for the most part within an I le called Edlingsey that is to say the Iland of noble men enuironed about with fennes and mareshes Whiles he was thus shut vp within this Iland he was by dreame aduertised of better hap shortlie to follow for as it hath béene said saint Cuthbert appéered to him as he laie in sléepe and comforted him declaring to him that within a while fortune should so turne that he should recouer againe his kingdome to the confusion of his enimies And to assure him that this should prooue true he told him that his men which were gone abroad to catch fish should bring home great plentie although the season was against them by reason that the waters were frosen and that a cold rime fell that morning to the hinderance of their purpose His mother also at that time being in sleepe saw the like vision And as they had dreamed so it came to passe for being awakened out of their sleepe in âame his men with so great foison of fish that the same might haue sufficed a great armie of men for the vittelling of them at that season Shortlie after king Alured tooke vpon him the habit of a minstrell and going foorth of his closure repaired to the campe of the Danish king onelie accompanied with one trustie seruant and tarrieng there certeine daies togither was suffered to go into euerie part and plaie on his instrument as well afore the king as others so that there was no secret but that he vnderstood it Now when he had séene and learned the demeanour of his enimies he returned againe to his people at Edlingsey and there declared to his nobles what he had séene and heard what negligence was amongst the enimies and how easie a matter it should be for him to indamage them Wherevpon they conceiuing a maruellous good hope and imboldened with his words a power was assembled togither and spies sent foorth to learne and bring woord where the Danes lodged which being doone and certificat made accordinglie king Alured comming vpon them on the sudden slue of them a great number hauing them at great aduantage About the same time the brother of king Halden came with thirtie and three ships out of Wales into the countrie of Westsaxons on the coast of Deuonshire where the Deuonshire men gaue him battell and slue him with 840 persons of his retinue Other write that Halden himselfe was present at this conflict with Inguare otherwise called Hungar and that they were both slaine there with twelue hundred of their companie before a certeine castell called Kinwith receiuing as they had deserued for their cruell dealing latelie by them practised in the parties of Southwales where they had wasted all afore them with fire and swoord not sparing abbeies more than other common buildings King Alured being with that good lucke the more comforted builded a fortresse in the I le of Edlingsey afterwards called Athelney and breaking out oftentimes vpon the enimies distressed them at sundrie times with the aid of the Summersetshire men which were at hand About the seuenth wéeke after Easter in the seuenth yéere
tributes and paiments He caused indeed eight markes of siluer to be leuied of euerie port or hauen in England to the reteining of 16 ships furnished with men of warre which continued euer in a readinesse to defend the coasts from pirats To conclude with this Harold his spéedie death prouided well for his fame bicause as it was thought if his life had béene of long continuance his infamie had been the greater But after he had reigned foure yeeres or as other gathered three yéeres and thrée moneths he departed out of this world at Oxford was buried at Winchester as some day Other say he died at Meneford in the moneth of Aprill and was buried at Westminster which should appeare to be true by that which after is reported of his brother Hardiknoughts cruell dealing and great spite shewed toward his dead bodie as after shall be specified Hardicnute is sent for into England to be made king alteration in the state of Norwaie and Denmarke by the death of king Cnute Hardicnute is crowned he sendeth for his mother queene Emma Normandie ruled by the French king Hardicnute reuengeth his mother exile vpon the dead bodie of his stepbrother Harold queene Emma and erle Goodwine haue the gouernment of things in their hands Hardicnute leuieth a sote tribute vpon his subiects contempt of officers deniall of a prince his tribute sharpelie punished prince Edward commeth into England the bishop of Worcester accused and put from his see for being accessarie to the murthering of Alfred his restitution procured by contribution Earle Goodwine being accused for the same trespasse excuseth himselfe and iustifieth his cause by swearing but speciallie by presenting the king with an inestimable gift the cause why Goodwine purposed Alfreds death the English peoples care about the succession to the crowne moonke Brightwalds dreame and vision touching that matter Hardicnute poisoned at a bridall his conditions speciallie his hospitalitie of him the Englishmen learned to eate and drinke immoderatlie the necessitie of sobrietie the end of the Danish regiment in this land and when they began first to inuade the English coasts The xv Chapter AFter that Harold was dead all the nobles of the realme both Danes Englishmen agréed to send for Hardiknought the sonne of Canute by his wife quéene Enma and to make him king Héere is to be noted that by the death of king Canute the state of things was much altered in those countries of beyond the seas wherein he had the rule and dominion For the Norwegians elected oen Magnus the sonne of Olauus to be their king and the Danes chose this Hardiknought whome their writers name Canute the third to be their gouernor This Hardiknought or Canute being aduertised of the death of his halfe brother Harold and that the lords of England had chosen him to their king with all conuenient speed prepared a nauie and imbarking a certeine number of men of warre tooke the sea and had the wind so fauorable for his purpose that he arriued vpon the coast of Kent the sixt day after he set out of Denmarke and so comming to London was ioifullie receiued and proclaimed king and crowned of Athelnotus archbishop of Canturburie in the yere of our Lord 1041 in the first yéere of the emperour Henrie the third in the 9 yeere of Henrie the first of that name king of France and in the first yéere of Magâânloch alià s Machabeda king of Scotland Incontinentlie after his establishment in the rule of this realme he sent into Flanders for his mother queene Emma who during the time of hir banishment had remained there For Normandie in that season was gouerned by the French king by reason of the minoritie of duke William surnamed the bastard Moreouer in reuenge of the wrong offered to quéene Emma by hir sonne in law Harold king Hardicnute did cause Alfrike archbishop of Yorke and earle Goodwine with other noble men to go to Westminster and there to take vp the bodie of the same Harold and withall appointed that the head thereof should be striken off and the trunke of it cast into the riuer of Thames Which afterwards being found by fishers was taken vp and buried in the churchyard of S. Clement Danes without Temple barre at London He committed the order and gouernement of things to the hands of his mother Emma and of Goodwine that was erle of Kent He leuied a sore tribute of his subiects here in England to pay the souldiers and mariners of his nauie as first 21 thousand pounds 99 pounds and afterward vnto 32 ships there was a paiment made of a 11 thousand and 48 pounds To euerie mariuer of his nauie he caused a paiment of 8 marks to be made and to euerie master 12 marks About the paiment of this monie great grudge grew amongst the people insomuch that two of his seruants which were appointed collectors in the citie of Worcester the one named Feader and the other Turstane were there slaine In reuenge of which contempt a great part of the countrie with the citie was burnt and the goods of the citizens put to the spoile by such power of lords and men of warre as the king had sent against them Shortlie after Edward king Hardicnutes brother came foorth of Normanâie to visit him and his mother quéene Emma of whome he was most ioifullie and honorablie welcomed and interteined and shortlie after made returne backe againe It should appeare by some writers that after his comming ouer out of Normandie he remained still in the realme so that he was not in Normandie when his halfe brother Hardicnute died but here in England although other make other report as after shall bée shewed Also as before ye haue heard some writers seeme to meane that the elder brother Alfred came ouer at the same time But suerlie they are therein deceiued for it was knowne well inough how tenderlie king Hardicnute loued his brethren by the mothers side so that there was not anie of the lords in his daies that durst attempt anie such iniurie against them True it is that as well earle Goodwine as the bishop of Worcester that was also put in blame and suspected for the apprehending and making away of Alfred as before ye haue heard were charged by Hardicnute as culpable in that matter insomuch that the said bishop was expelled out of his see by Hardicnute and after twelue moneths space was restored by meanes of such summes of monie as he gaue by waie of amends Earle Goodwine was also put to his purgation by taking an oth that he was not guiltie Which oth was the better allowed by reason of such a present as he gaue to the king for the redéeming of his fauour and good will that is to say a ship with a sterne of gold conteining therein 80 souldiers wearing on each of their armes two braceiets of gold of 16 ounces weight
so at length by their diligent trauell the matter was taken vp and the armies being dismissed on both parts earle Goodwine was restored to his former dignitie Herevpon were pledges deliuered on his behalfe that is to say Wilnotus one of his sonnes and Hacun the sonne of Swanus the eldest sonne of Goodwine These two pledges were sent vnto William duke of Normandie to be kept with him for more assurance of Goodwines loialtie Some write that Swanus the eldest sonne of Goodwine was not reconciled to the kings fauour at this time but whether he was or not this is reported of him for a truth that after he had attempted sundrie rebellions against king Edward he lastlie also rebelled against his father Goodwine and his brother Harold and became a pirate dishonouring with such manifold robberies as he made on the seas the noble progenie whereof he was descended Finallie vpon remorse of conscience as hath béene thought for murthering of his coosine or as some say his brother erle Bearne he went on pilgrimage to Hierusalem and died by the way of cold which he caught in returning homeward as some write in Licia but others affirme that he fell into the hands of Saracens that were robbers by the high waies and so was murthered of them At what time William duke of Normandie came ouer into England king Edward promiseth to make him his heire to the kingdom and crowne the death of queene Emma earle Goodwine being growne in fauor againe seeketh new reuenges of old grudges causing archbishop Robert and certeine noble Normans his aduersaries to be banished Stigand intrudeth himselfe into archbishop Roberts see his simonie and lacke of learning what maner of men were thought meet to be made bishops in those daies king Edward beginneth to prouide for the good and prosperous state of his kingdome his consideration of lawes made in his predecessours times and abused the lawes of S. Edward vsuallie called the common lawes how whereof and wherevpon institured the death of earle Goodwine being sudden as some say or naturall as others report his vertues and vices his behauiour and his sonnes vpon presumption and will in the time of their authorities his two wiues and children the sudden and dreadfull death of his mother hir selling of the beautifull youth male and female of this land to the Danish people The fourth Chapter THe foresaide William duke of Normandie that after conquered this land during the time of Goodwines outlawrie ãâ¦ã to this land with ãâ¦ã of men and ãâ¦ã receiued of the king ãâ¦ã great chéere Now after he had taried a season hereturned into his countrie not without great gifts of iewels and other things which the king most liberallie bestowed vpon him And as some write the king promised him at that time to make him his heire to the realme of England if he chanced to die without issue ¶ Shortlie after or rather somewhat before queene Emma the kings mother died and was buried at Winchester After that earle Goodwine was restored to the kings fauour bicause he knew that Robert the archbishop of Canturburie had beene the chéefe procurer of the kings euill will towards him he found means to weare him out of credit and diuers other specially of the Normans bearing the world in hand that they had sought to trouble the state of the realme to set variance betwixt the king and the lords of the English nation whereas the Normans againe alledged that earle Goodwine and his sonnes abused the kings soft and gentle nature would not sticke to ieast and mocke at his curteous and mild procéedings But howsoeuer the matter went archbishop Robert was glad to depart out of the realme and going to Rome made complaint in the court there of the iniuries that were offred him but in returning through Normandie he died in the abbeie of Gemmeticum where he had bene moonke before his comming into England Diuerse others were compelled to forsake the realme at the same time both spirituall men and temporall as William bishop of London and Ulfe bishop of Lincolne Osberne named Pentecost and his companion Hugh were constreined to surrender their castels and by licence of earle Leosrike withdrew thorough his countrie into Scotland where of king Mackbeth they were honorablie receiued These were Normans for as partlie ye haue heard king Edward brought with him no small number of that nation when he came from thence to receiue the crowne and by them he was altogither ruled to the great offending of his owne naturall subiects the Englishmen namelie earle Goodwine and his sonnes who in those daies for their great possessions and large reuenues were had in no small reputation with the English people After that Robert the archbishop of Canturburie was departed the realme as before ye haue heard Stigand was made archbishop of Canturburie or rather thrust himselfe into that dignitie not being lawfullie called in like manner as he had doone at Winchester for whereas he was first bishop of Shireborne he left that church and tooke vpon him the bishoprike of Winchester by force and now atteining to be archbishop of Canturburie he kept both Winchester and Canturburie in his hand at one instant This Stigand was greatlie infamed for his couetous practises in sale of possessions apperteining to the church He was nothing learned but that want was a common fault amongest the bishops of that age for it was openlie spoken in those daies that he was méet onelie to be a bishop which could vse the pompe of the world voluptuous pleasures rich rament and set himselfe foorth with a iollie retinue of gentlemen and seruants on horssebacke for therein stood the countenance of a bishop as the world then went and not in studie how to haue the people fed with the word of life to the sauing of their soules King Edward now in the twelfth yeare of his reigne hauing brought the state of the realme quite from troubles of warre both by sea and land began to foresée as well for the welth of his subiects as for himselfe being naturallie inclined to wish well to all men He therefore considered how by the manifold lawes which had beene made by Britaines Englishmen and Danes within this land occasion was ministred to manie which measured all things by respect of their owne priuate gaine and profit to peruert iustice and to vse wrongfull dealing in stead of right clouding the same vnder some branch of the lawe naughtilie misconstrued Wherevpon to auoid that mischiefe he picked out a summe of that huge and vnmesurable masse and heape of lawes such as were thought most indifferent and necessarie therewith ordeined a few those most wholesome to be from thenceforth vsed according to whose prescript men might liue in due forme and rightfull order of a ciuill life These lawes were afterwards called the common lawes and also saint Edward his lawes so much esteemed of the
of a giant that was 46. cubits in length after the Romane standard and by diuerse supposed to be the bodie of Orion or Aetion Neuerthelesse I read that Lucius Flaccus and Metellus did sweare Per sua capita that it was either the carcase of some monster of the sea or a forged deuise to bleare the peoples eies withall wherein it is wonderfull to see how they please Goropius as one that first deriued his fantasticall imagination from their asseueration oth The said Plinie also addeth that the bodie of Orestes was seuen cubits in length one Gabbara of Arabia nine foot nine inches and two reserued In conditorio Sallustianorum halfe a foot longer than Gabbara was for which I neuer read that anie man was driuen to sweare Trallianus writeth how the Athenienses digging on a time in the ground to laie the foundation of a new wall to be made in a certeine Iland in the daies of an emperour did find the bones of Macrosyris in a coffin of hard stone of 100. cubits in length after the accompt of the Romane cubit which was then either a foot and a halfe or not much in difference from halfe a yard of our measure now in England These verses also as they are now translated out of Gréeke were found withall Sepultus ego Macrosyris in longa insula Vitae peractis annis mille quinquies which amounteth to 81. yeares foure moneths after the Aegyptian reckoning In the time of Hadrian the emperour the bodie of the giant Ida was taken vp at Messana conteining 20. foot in length and hauing a double row of teeth yet standing whole in his chaps Eumachus also in Perigesi telleth that when the Carthaginenses went about to dich in their prouince they found two bodies in seuerall coffins of stone the one was 23. the other 24. cubits in length such another was found in Bosphoro Cymmerio after an earthquake but the inhabitants did cast those bones into the Meotidan marris In Dalmatia manie graues were shaken open with an earthquake in diuerse of which certein carcases were found whose ribs conteined 16. els after the Romane measure whereby the whole bodies were iudged to be 64. sith the longest rib is commonlie about the fourth part of a man as some rouing symmetricians affirme Arrhianus saith that in the time of Alexander the bodies of the Asianes were generallie of huge stature and commonlie of fiue cubits and such was the heigth of Porus of Inde whom the said Alexander vanquished and ouerthrew in battell Suidas speaketh of Ganges killed also by the said prince who farre exceeded Porus for he was ten cubits long What should I speake of Artaceas a capitaine in the host of Xerxes afore remembred whose heigth was within 4. fingers bredth of fiue cubits the tallest man in the armie except the king himselfe Herod lib. 7. Of Athanatus whom Plinie remembreth I saie nothing But of all these this one example shall passe which I doo read of in Trallianus and he setteth downe in forme and manner following In the daies of Tiberius th' emperor saith he a corps was left bare or laid open after an earthquake of which ech tooth taken one with another conteined 12. inches ouer at the least Now forsomuch as in such as be full mouthed ech chap hath commonlie 16. teeth at the least which amount vnto 32. in the whole needs must the widenesse of this mans chaps be welneere of 16. foot and the opening of his lips fiue at the least A large mouth in mine opinion and not to eat peason with Ladies of my time besides that if occasion serued it was able to receiue the whole bodies of mo than one of the greatest men I meane of such as we be in our daies When this carcase was thus found euerie man maruelled at it good cause why A messenger was sent to Tiberius the emperour also to know his pleasure whether he would haue the same brought ouer vnto Rome or not but he forbad them willing his Legate not to remooue the dead out of his resting place but rather somewhat to satisfie his phantasie to send him a tooth out of his head which being done he gaue it to a cunning workeman commanding him to shape a carcase of light matter after the proportion of the tooth that at the least by such means he might satisfie his curious mind and the fantasies of such as are delited with nouelties To be short when the image was once made and set vp on end it appéered rather an huge colossie than the true carcase of a man and when it had stood in Rome vntill the people were wearie throughlie satisfied with the sight thereof he caused it to be broken all to peeces and the tooth sent againe to the carcase froÌ whence it came willing them moreouer to couer it diligentlie and in anie wise not to dismember the corps nor from thencefoorth to be so hardie as to open the sepulchre anie more Pausan. lib. 8. telleth in like maner of Hiplodanus his fellowes who liued when Rhea was with child of Osyris by Cham and were called to hir aid at such time as she feared to be molested by Hammon hir first husband whilest she remained vpon the Thoumasian hill In ipso loco saith he spectantur ossa maiora multo quà m vt humana existimari possunt c. Of Protophanes who had but one great and broad bone in steed of all his ribs on ech side I saie nothing sith it concerneth not his stature I could rehearse manie mo examples of the bodies of such men out of Solinus Sabellicus D. Cooper and others As of Oetas and Ephialtes who were said to be nine orgies or paces in heigth and foure in bredth which are taken for so many cubits bicause there is small difference betwéene a mans ordinarie pace and his cubit and finallie of our Richard the first who is noted to beare an axe in the wars the iron of whose head onelie weighed twentie pound after our greatest weight and whereof an old writer that I haue seene saith thus This king Richard I vnderstand Yer he went out of England Let make an axe for the nones Therewith to cleaue the Saracens bones The head in sooth was wrought full wee le Thereon were twentie pound of steele And when he came in Cyprus land That ilkon axe he tooke in hand c. I could speake also of Gerards staffe or lance yet to be seene in Gerards hall at London in Basing lane which is so great and long that no man can beweld it neither go to the top thereof without a ladder which of set purpose and for greater countenance of the wonder is fixed by the same I haue seene a man my selfe of seuen foot in height but lame of his legs The chronicles also of Cogshall speake of one in Wales who was halfe a foot higher but through infirmitie and wounds not able to beweld himselfe I might if
obeisance to this Cadwallo during eight and twentie yeares Thus Cadwallo reigned in the whole monarchie of great Britaine hauing all the seuen kings thereof as well Saxons as others his subiects for albeit the number of Saxons from time to time greatlie increased yet were they alwaies either at the first expelled or else made tributarie to the onelie kings of Britons for the time being as all their owne writers doo confesse Cadwallader was next king of the whole great Britaine he reigned twelue yeares ouer all the kings thereof in great peace and tranquillitie and then vpon the lamentable death of his subiects which died of sundrie diseases innumerablie he departed into little Britaine His sonne and cousine Iuor and Iue being expelled out of England also by the Saxons went into Wales where among the Britons they and their posteritie remained princes Upon this great alteration and warres being through the whole dominion betwéene the Britons and Saxons the Scots thought time to slip the collar of obedience and therevpon entred in league with Charles then king of France establishing it in this wise 1 The iniurie of Englishmen doone to anie of these people shall be perpetuallie holden common to them both 2 When Frenchmen be inuaded by Englishmen the Scots shall send their armie in defense of France so that they be supported with monie and vittels by the French 3 When Scots be inuaded by Englishmen the Frenchmen shall come vpon their owne expenses to their support and succour 4 None of the people shall take peace or truce with Englishmen without the aduise of other c. Manie disputable opinions may be had of warre without the praising of it as onlie admittable by inforced necessitie and to be vsed for peace sake onelie where here the Scots sought warre for the loue of warre onelie For their league giueth no benefit to themselues either in frée traffike of their owne commodities or benefit of the French or other priuilege to the people of both What discommoditie riseth by loosing the intercourse and exchange of our commodities being in necessaries more aboundant than France the Scots féele and we perfectlie know What ruine of their townes destruction of countries slaughter of both peoples haue by reason of this bloudie league chanced the histories be lamentable to read and horrible among christian men to be remembred but God gaue the increase according to their séed for as they did hereby sowe dissention so did they shortlie after reape a bloudie slaughter and confusion For Alpine their king possessing a light mind that would be lost with a little wind hoped by this league shortlie to subdue all great Britaine and to that end not onelie rebelled in his owne kingdome but also vsurped vpon the kingdome of Picts Whervpon Edwine king of England made one Brudeus king of Picts whom he sent into Scotland with a great power where in battell he tooke this Alpine king of Scots prisoner and discomfited his people And this Alpine being their king found subiect and rebell his head was striken off at a place in Scotland which thereof is to this daie called Pasalpine that is to saie the head of Alpine And this was the first effect of their French league Osbright king of England with Ella his subiect and a great number of Britons and Saxons shortlie after for that the Scots had of themselues elected a new king entered Scotland and ceassed not his war against them vntill their king and people fled into the Iles with whome at the last vpon their submission peace was made in this wise The water of Frith shall be march betwéene Scots and Englishmen in the east parts and shall be named the Scotish sea The water of Cluide to Dunbriton shall be march in the west parts betwéene the Scots and Britons This castell was before called Alcluide but now Dunbriton that is to say the castle of Britons and sometimes it was destroied by the Danes So the Britons had all the lands from Sterling to the Ireland seas and from the water of Frith Cluide to Cumber with all the strengths and commodities thereof and the Englishmen had the lands betwéene Sterling and Northumberland Thus was Cluide march betwéene the Scots and the Britons on the one side and the water of Frith named the Scotish sea march betwéene them and Englishmen on the other side and Sterling common march to thrée people Britons Englishmen and Scots howbeit king Osbright had the castle of Sterling where first he caused to be coined Sterling monie The Englishmen also builded a bridge of stone for passage ouer the water of Frith in the middest whereof they made a crosse vnder which were written these verses I am free march as passengers may ken To Scots to Britons and Englishmen Not manie yeares after this Hinguar and Hubba two Danes with a great number of people arriued in Scotland and slue Constantine whom Osbright had before made king wherevpon Edulfe or Ethelwulfe then king of England assembled his power against Hinguar and Hubba and in one battell slue them both but such of their people as would remaine and become christians he suffered to tarie the rest he banished or put to death c. This Ethelwulfe granted the Peter pence of which albeit Peter Paule had little need and lesse right yet the paiment thereof continued in this realme euer after vntill now of late yeares But the Scots euer since vnto this daie haue and yet doo paie it by reason of that grant which prooueth them to be then vnder his obeisance Alured or Alfred succéeded in the kingdome of England and reigned noblie ouer the whole monarchie of great Britaine he made lawes that persons excommunicated should be disabled to sue or claime anie propertie which law Gregour whome this Alured had made king of Scots obeied and the same law as well in Scotland as in England is holden to this daie which also prooueth him to be high lord of Scotland This Alured constreined Gregour king of Scots also to breake the league with France for generallie he concluded with him and serued him in all his warres as well against Danes as others not reseruing or making anie exception of the former league with France The said Alured after the death of Gregour had the like seruice and obeisance of Donald king of Scots with fiue thousand horssemen against one Gurmond a Dane that then infested the realme and this Donald died in this faith and obeisance with Alured Edward the first of that name called Chifod sonne of this Alured succéeded his father and was the next king of England against whome Sithrtic a Dane and the Scots conspired but they were subdued and Constantine their king brought to obeisance He held the realme of Scotland also of king Edward and this dooth Marian their owne countrieman a Scot confesse beside Roger Houeden and William of Malmesberie In the yeare of our Lord 923 the same king Edward was president and gouernour of
all the people of England Cumberland Scots Danes and Britons King Athelstane in like sort conquered Scotland and as he laie in his tents beside Yorke whilest the warres lasted the king of Scots feined himselfe to be a minstrell and harped before him onelie to espie his ordinance and his people But being as their writers confesse corrupted with monie he sold his faith and false heart together to the Danes and aided them against king Athelstane at sundrie times Howbeit he met with all their vntruthes at Broningfield in the west countrie as is mentioned in the ninth chapter of the first booke of this description where he discomfited the Danes and slue Malcolme deputie in that behalfe to the king of Scots in which battell the Scots confesse themselues to haue lost more people than were remembred in anie age before Then Athelstane following his good lucke went throughout all Scotland and wholie subdued it and being in possession thereof gaue land there lieng in Annandale by his deed the copie wherof dooth follow I king Athelstane giues vnto Paulam Oddam and Roddam al 's good and al 's faire as euer they mine were and thereto witnesse Mauld my wife By which course words not onelie appeareth the plaine simplicitie of mens dooings in those daies but also a full proofe that he was then seized of Scotland At the last also he receiued homage of Malcolme king of Scots but for that he could not be restored to his whole kingdome he entered into religion and there shortlie after died Then Athelstane for his better assurance of that countrie there after thought it best to haue two stringes to the bowe of their obedience and therefore not onelie constituted on Malcolme to be their king but also appointed one Indulph sonne of Constantine the third to be called prince of Scotland to whome he gaue much of Scotland and for this Malcolme did homage to Athelstane Edmund brother of Athelstane succéeded next king of England to whome this Indulph then king of Scots not onelie did homage but also serued him with ten thousand Scots for the expulsion of the Danes out of the realme of England Edred or Eldred brother to this Edmund succéeded next king of England he not onelie receiued the homage of Irise then king of Scots but also the homage of all the barons of Scotland Edgar the sonne of Edmund brother of Athelstane being now of full age was next king of England he reigned onelie ouer the whole monarchie of Britaine and receiued homage of Keneth king of Scots for the kingdome of Scotland and made Malcolme prince thereof This Edgar gaue vnto the same Keneth the countrie of Louthian in Scotland which was before seized into the hands of Osbright king of England for their rebellion as is before declared He inioined Keneth their said king also once in euerie yéere at certeine principall feasts whereat the king did vse to weare his crowne to repaire vnto him into England for the making of lawes which in those daies was doone by the noble men or péeres according to the order of France at this daie He allowed also sundrie lodgings in England to him and his successours whereat to lie and refresh themselues in their iourneies whensoeuer they should come vp to doo their homages and finallie a péece of ground lieng beside the new palace of Westminster vpon which this Keneth builded a house that by him and his posseritie was inioied vntill the reigne of king Henrie the second In whose time vpon the rebellion of William king of Scots it was resumed into the king of Englands hand The house is decaied but the ground where it stood is called Scotland to this daie Moreouer Edgar made this law that no man should succéed to his patrimonie or inheritance holden by knights seruice vntill he accomplished the age of one and twentie yéeres because by intendment vnder that age he should not be able in person to serue his king and countrie according to the tenor of his deed and the condition of his purchase This law was receiued by the same Keneth in Scotland and as well there as in England is obserued to this daie which prooueth also that Scotland was then vnder his obeisance In the yeere of our Lord 974 Kinald king of Scots and Malcolme king of Cumberland Macon king of Man and the Iles Duuenall king of Southwales Siferth and Howell kings of the rest of Wales Iacob or Iames of Gallowaie Iukill of Westmerland did homage to king Edgar at Chester And on the morrow going by water to the monasterie of saint Iohns to seruice and returning home againe the said Edgar sitting in a barge and stirring the same vpon the water of Dée made the said kings to row the barge saieng that his successors might well be ioifull to haue the prerogatiue of so great honour and the superioritie of so manie mightie princes to be subiect vnto their monarchie Edward the sonne of this Edgar was next king of England in whose time this Keneth king of Scots caused Malcolme king of Scotland to be poisoned Wherevpon king Edward made warre against him which ceased not vntill this Keneth submitted himselfe and offered to receiue him for prince of Scotland whome king Edward would appoint Herevpon king Edward proclamed one Malcolme to be prince of Scotland who immediatlie came into England and there did homage vnto the same king Edward Etheldred brother of this Edward succéeded next ouer England against whome Swaine king of Denmarke conspired with this last Malcolme then king of Scots But shortlie after this Malcolme sorrowfullie submitted himselfe into the defense of Etheldred who considering how that which could not be amended must onelie be repented benignlie receiued him By helpe of whose seruice at last Etheldred recouered his realme againe out of the hands of Swaine and reigned ouer the whole monarchie eight and thirtie yéeres Edmund surnamed Ironside sonne of this Etheldred was next king of England in whose time Canutus a Dane inuaded the realme with much crueltie But at the last he married with Emme sometime wise vnto Etheldred and mother of this Edmund Which Emme as arbitratrix betweene hir naturall loue to the one and matrimoniall dutie to the other procured such amitie betwéene them in the end that Edmund was contented to diuide the realme with Canutus and keeping to himselfe all England on this side Humber gaue all the rest beyond Humber with the seigniorie of Scotland to this Canutus Wherevpon Malcolme then king of Scots after a little accustomable resistance did homage to the same Canutus for the kingdome of Scotland Thus the said Canutus held the same ouer of this Edmund king of England by the like seruices so long as they liued togither This Canutus in memorie of this victorie and glorie of his seigniorie ouer the Scots commanded Malcolme their king to build a church in Buchquhan in Scotland where a field betweene him and them was fought to be dedicated to Olauus patrone
being nine yeares of age was by the lawes of Edgar in ward to king Henrie the third by the nobles of Scotland brought to Yorke and there deliuered vnto him During whose minoritie king Henrie gouerned Scotland and to subdue a commotion in this realme vsed the aid of fiue thousand Scotishmen But king Henrie died during the nonage of this Alexander whereby he receiued not his homage which by reason and law was respited vntill his full age of one and twentie yeares Edward the first after the conquest sonne of this Henrie was next king of England immediatlie after whose coronation Alexander king of Scots being then of full age did homage to him for Scotland at Westminster swearing as all the rest did after this maner I. D. N. king of Scots shall be true and faithfull vnto you lord E. by the grace of God king of England the noble and superior lord of the kingdome of Scotland and vnto you I make my fidelitie for the same kingdome the which I hold and claime to hold of you And I shall beare you my faith and fidelitie of life and lim and worldlie honour against all men faithfullie I shall knowlege and shall doo you seruice due vnto you of the kingdome of Scotland aforesaid as God me so helpe and these holie euangelies This Alexander king of Scots died leauing one onelie daughter called Margaret for his heire who before had maried Hanigo sonne to Magnus king of Norwaie which daughter also shortlie after died leauing one onelie daughter hir heire of the age of two yeares whose custodie and mariage by the lawes of king Edgar and Edward the confessor belonged to Edward the first whervpon the nobles of Scotland were commanded by our king Edward to send into Norwaie to conueie this yoong queene into England to him whome he intended to haue maried to his sonne Edward and so to haue made a perfect vnion long wished for betwéene both realmes Herevpon their nobles at that time considering the same tranquillitie that manie of them haue since refused stood not vpon shifts and delaies of minoritie nor contempt but most gladlie consented and therevpon sent two noble men of Scotland into Norwaie for hir to be brought to this king Edward but she died before their comming thither and therefore they required nothing but to inioie the lawfull liberties that they had quietlie possessed in the last king Alexanders time After the death of this Margaret the Scots were destitute of anie heire to the crowne from this Alexander their last king at which time this Edward descended from the bodie of Mawd daughter of Malcolme sometime king of Scots being then in the greatest broile of his warres with France minded not to take the possession of that kingdome in his owne right but was contented to establish Balioll to be king thereof the weake title betwéene him Bruse Hastings being by the humble petition of all the realme of Scotland coÌmitted to the determination of king Edward wherein by autentike writing they confessed the superioritie of the realme to remaine in king Edward sealed with the seales of foure bishops seuen earles and twelue barons of Scotland and which shortlie after was by the whole assent of the three estates of Scotland in their solemne parlement confessed and enacted accordinglie as most euidentlie dooth appeare The Balioll in this wise made king of Scotland did immediatlie make his homage and fealtie at Newcastell vpon saint Stéeuens daie as did likewise all the lords of Scotland each one setting his hand to the composition in writing to king Edward of England for the kingdome of Scotland but shortlie after defrauding the benigne goodnesse of his superiour he rebelled and did verie much hurt in England Herevpon king Edward inuaded Scotland seized into his hands the greater part of the countrie and tooke all the strengths thereof Whervpon Balioll king of Scots came vnto him to Mauntrosse in Scotland with a white wand in his hand and there resigned the crowne of Scotland with all his right title and interest to the same into the hands of king Edward and thereof made his charter in writing dated and sealed the fourth yeare of his reigne All the nobles and gentlemen of Scotland also repaired to Berwike and did homage and fealtie to king Edward there becomming his subiects For the better assurance of whose oths also king Edward kept all the strengths and holdes of Scotland in his owne hands and herevpon all their lawes processes all iudgements gifts of assises and others passed vnder the name and authoritie of king Edward Leland touching the same rehearsall writeth thereof in this maner In the yeare of our Lord 1295 the same Iohn king of Scots contrarie to his faith and allegiance rebelled against king Edward and came into England and burnt and siue without all modestie and mercie Wherevpon king Edward with a great host went to Newcastell vpon Tine passed the water of Twéed besieged Berwike and got it Also he wan the castell of Dunbar and there were slaine at this brunt 15700 Scots Then he proceeded further and gat the castell of Rokesborow and the castell of Edenborow Striuelin and Gedworth and his people harried all the land In the meane season the said king Iohn of Scots considering that he was not of power to withstand king Edward sent his letters and besought him of treatie and peace which our prince benignlie granted and sent to him againe that he should come to the towre of Brechin and bring thither the great lords of Scotland with him The king of England sent thither Antonie Becke bishop of Durham with his roiall power to conclude the said treatise And there it was agreed that the said Iohn and all the Scots should vtterlie submit themselues to the kings will And to the end the submission should be performed accordinglie the king of Scots laid his sonne in hostage and pledge vnto him There also he made his letters sealed with the common scale of Scotland by the which he knowledging his simplenes and great offense doone to his lord king Edward of England by his full power and frée will yeelded vp all the land of Scotland with all the people and homage of the same Then our king went foorth to sée the mounteins and vnderstanding that all was in quiet and peace he turned to the abbeie of Scone which was of chanons regular where he tooke the stone called the Regall of Scotland vpon which the kings of that nation were woont to sit at the time of their coronations for a throne sent it to the abbeie of Westminster commanding to make a chaire therof for the priests that should sing masse at the high altar which chaire was made and standeth yet there at this daie to be séene In the yeare of our Lord 1296 the king held his parlement at Berwike and there he tooke homage singularlie of diuerse of the lords nobles of Scotland And for a perpetuall memorie of the same they
made their letters patents sealed with their seales and then the king of England made William Warreine earle of Surrie and Southsax lord Warden of Scotland Hugh of Cressingham treasuror and William Ormesbie iustice of Scotland and foorthwith sent king Iohn to the Tower of London and Iohn Comin and the earle Badenauth the earle of Bohan and other lords into England to diuerse places on this side of the Trent And after that in the yeare of our Lord 1297 at the feast of Christmas the king called before him the said Iohn king of Scots although he had committed him to ward and said that he would burne or destroie their castels townes and lands if he were not recompensed for his costs and damages susteined in the warres but king Iohn and the other that were in ward answered that they had nothing sith their liues their deaths and goods were in his hands The king vpon that answer mooued with pitie granted them their liues so that they would doo their homage and make their oth solemnelie at the high altar in the church of the abbeie of Westminster vpon the eucharist that they and euerie of them should hold and keepe true faith obedience and allegiance to the said king Edward and his heires kings of England for euer And where the said king of Scots saw the kings banner of England displaied he and all his power should draw therevnto And that neither he or anie of his from thencefoorth should beare armes against the king of England or anie of his bloud Finallie the king rewarding with great gifts the said king Iohn and his lords suffered them to depart But they went into Scotland alwaie imagining notwithstanding this their submission how they might oppresse king Edward and disturbe his realme The Scots sent also to the king of France for succour and helpe who sent them ships to Berwike furnished with men of armes the king of England then being in Flanders In the yeare of our Lord 1298 the king went into Scotland with a great host and the Scots also assembled in great number but the king fought with them at Fawkirke on S. Marie Magdalens daie where were slaine thréescore thousand Scots Willain Walleis that was their capteine fled who being taken afterward was hanged drawen quartered at London for his trespasses After this the Scots rebelled againe and all the lords of Scotland chose Robert Bruse to be king except onelie Iohn Commin earle of Carrike who would not consent thereto bicause of his oth made to the king of England Wherefore Robert Bruse slue him at Dumfrise and then was crowned at Schone abbeie Herevpon the king of England assembled a great hoast and rode through all Scotland discomfited Robert Bruse slue eight thousand Scots tooke the most part of all the lords of Scotland putting the temporall lords to deth bicause they were forsworne Edward borne at Carnaruan sonne of this Edward was next king of England who from the beginning of his reigne enioied Scotland peaceablie dooing in all things as is aboue said of king Edward his father vntill toward the later end of his reigne about which time this Robert Bruse conspired against him and with the helpe of a few forsworne Scots forswore himselfe king of Scots Herevpon this Edward with Thomas earle of Lancaster and manie other lords made warre vpon him about the feast of Marie Magdalene the said Bruse and his partakers being alreadie accurssed by the pope for breaking the truce that he had established betwixt them But being infortunate in his first warres against him he suffered Edward the sonne of Balioll to proclame himselfe king of Scots and neuerthelesse held foorth his warres against Bruse before the ending of which he died as I read Edward borne at Windsore sonne of Edward the second was next king of England at the age of fifteene yeares in whose minoritie the Scots practised with Isabell mother to this Edward and with Roger Mortimer earle of the March to haue their homages released whose good will therein they obteined so that for the same release they should paie to this king Edward thirtie thousand pounds starling in three yeares next following that is to saie ten thousand pounds starling yeerelie But bicause the nobilitie and commons of this realme would not by parlement consent vnto it their king being within age the same release procéeded not albeit the Scots ceased not their practises with this quéene and earle But before those thrée yeares in which their menie if the bargaine had taken place should haue béene paied were expired our king Edward inuaded Scotland and ceassed not the warre vntill Dauid the sonne of Robert le Bruse then by their election king of Scotland absolutelie submitted himselfe vntohim But for that the said Dauid Bruse had before by practise of the quéene and the earle of March married Iane the sister of this king Edward he mooued by naturall zeale to his sister was contented to giue the realme of Scotland to this Dauid Bruse and to the heires that should be be gotten of the bodie of the said Iane sauing the reuersion and meane homages to this king Edward and to his owne children wherewith the same Dauid Bruse was right well contented and therevpon immediatlie made his homage for all the realme of Scotland to him Howbeit shortlie after causelesse conceiuing cause of displeasure this Dauid procured to dissolue this same estate tailée and therevpon not onelie rebelled in Scotland but also inuaded England whilest king Edward was occupied about his wars in France But this Dauid was not onelie expelled England in the end but also thinking no place a sufficient defense to his vntruth of his owne accord fled out of Scotland whereby the countries of Annandale Gallowaie Mars Teuidale Twedale and Ethrike were seized into the king of Englands hands and new marches set betwéene England and Scotland at Cockbuânes path Sowtrie hedge Which when this Dauid went about to recouer againe his power was discomfited and himselfe by a few Englishmen taken brought into England where he remained prisoner eleuen yeares after his said apprehension During this time king Edward enioied Scotland peaceablie and then at the contemplation and wearie suit of his sorowfull sister wife of this Dauid he was contented once againe to restore him to the kingdome of Scotland Wherevpon it was concluded that for this rebellion Dauid should paie to king Edward the summe of one hundred thousand markes starling and there to destroie all his holdes and fortresses standing against the English borders and further assure the crowne of Scotland to the children of this king Edward for lacke of heire of his owne bodie all which things he did accordinglie And for the better assurance of his obeisance also he afterward deliuered into the hands of king Edward sundrie noble men of Scotland in this behalfe as his pledges This is the effect of the historie of Dauid touching his delings Now let vs sée what was doone
by Edward Balioll wherof our chronicles doo report that in the yéere of our Lord 1326 Edward the third king of England was crowned at Westminster and in the fift yeare of his reigne Edward Balioll right heire to the kingdome of Scotland came in and claimed it as due to him Sundrie lords and gentlemen also which had title to diuerse lands there either by themselues or by their wiues did the like Wherevpon the said Balioll and they went into Scotland by sea and landing at Kinghorns with 3000 Englishmen discomfited 10000 Scots and flue 1200 and then went foorth to Dunfermeline where the Scots assembled against them with 40000 men and in the feast of saint Laurence at a place called Gastmore or otherwise Gladmore were slaine fiue earls thirtéene barons a hundred and thrée score knights two thousand men of armes and manie other in all fortie thousand and there were staine on the English part but thirtéene persons onelie if the number be not corrupted In the eight yeare of the reigne of king Edward he assembled a great hoast and came to Berwike vpon Twéed and laid siege therto To him also came Edward Balioll king of Scots with a great power to strengthen aid him against the Scots who came out of Scotland in foure batels well armed araied Edward king of England and Edward king of Scots apparrelled their people either of them in foure battels and vpon Halidon hill beside Berwike met these two hoasts and there were discomfited of the Scots fiue and twentie thousand and seauen hundred whereof were slaine eight earles a thousand and thrée hundred knights and gentlemen This victorie doone the king returned to Berwike then the towne with the castell were yéelded vp vnto him In the eight yeare of the reigne of king Edward of England Edward Balioll king of Scots came to Newcastell vpon Tine and did homage for all the realme of Scotland In the yeare of our Lord 1346 Dauid Bruse by the prouocation of the king of France rebelled and came into England with a great hoast vnto Neuils crosse but the archbishop of Yorke with diuerse temporall men fought with him and the said king of Scots was taken and William earle of Duglas with Morrise earle of Strathorne were brought to London and manie other lords slaine which with Dauid did homage to Edward king of England And in the thirtith yeare of the kings reigne and the yeare of our Lord 1355 the Scots woone the towne of Berwicke but not the castell Herevpon the king came thither with a great hoast and anon the towne was yéelded vp without anie resistance Edward Balioll considering that God did so manie maruellous and gratious things for king Edward at his owne will gaue vp the crowne and the realme of Scotland to king Edward of England at Rokesborough by his letters patents And anon after the king of England in presence of all his lords spirituall and temporall let crowne himselfe king there of the realme of Scotland ordeined all things to his intent and so came ouer into England Richard the sonne of Edward called the Blacke prince sonne of this king Edward was next king of England who for that the said Iane the wife of the said king Dauid of Scotland was deceassed without issue and being informed how the Scots deuised to their vttermost power to breake the limitation of this inheritance touching the crowne of Scotland made foorthwith war against them wherein he burnt Edenbrough spoiled all their countrie tooke all their holds held continuallie war against them vntill his death which was Anno Dom. 1389. Henrie the fourth of that name was next king of England he continued these warres begun against them by king Richard and ceassed not vntill Robert king of Scots the third of that name resigned his crowne by appointment of this king Henrie and deliuered his sonne Iames being then of the age of nine yeares into his hands to remaine at his custodie wardship and disposition as of his superiour lord according to the old lawes of king Edward the confessor All this was doone Anno Dom. 1404 which was within fiue yeares after the death of king Richard This Henrie the fourth reigned in this estate ouer them fouretéene yeares Henrie the fift of that name sonne to this king Henrie the fourth was next king of England He made warres against the French king in all which this Iames then king of Scots attended vpon him as vpon his superiour lord with a conuenient number of Scots notwithstanding their league with France But this Henrie reigned but nine yeares whereby the homage of this Iames their king hauing not fullie accomplished the age of one twentie yeares was by reason and law respited Finallie the said Iames with diuerse other lords attended vpon the corps of the said Henrie vnto Westminster as to his dutie apperteined Henrie the sixt the sonne of this Henrie the fift was next king of England to whome the seigniorie of Scotland custodie of this Iames by right law and reason descended married the same Iames king of Scots to Iane daughter of Iohn earle of Summerset at saint Marie ouer Ise in Southwarke and tooke for the value of this mariage the summe of one hundred thousand markes starling This Iames king of Scots at his full age did homage to the same king Henrie the sixt for the kingdome of Scotland at Windsore in the moneth of Ianuarie Since which time vntill the daies of king Henrie the seuenth grandfather to our souereigne ladie that now is albeit this realme hath béene molested with diuersitie of titles in which vnmeet time neither law nor reason admit prescription to the preiudice of anie right yet did king Edward the fourth next king of England by preparation of war against the Scots in the latter end of his reigne sufficientlie by all lawes induce to the continuance of his claime to the same superioritie ouer them After whose death vnto the beginning of the reigne of our souereigne lord king Henrie the eight excéeded not the number of seauen and twentie yeares about which time the impediment of our claime of the Scots part chanced by the nonage of Iames their last king which so continued the space of one and twentie yeares And like as his minoritie was by all law and reason an impediment to himselfe to make homage so was the same by like reason an impediment to the king of this realme to demand anie so that the whole time of intermission of our claime in the time of the said king Henrie the eight is deduced vnto the number of thirteene yeares And thus much for this matter Of the wall sometime builded for a partition betweene England and the Picts and Scots Chap. 23. HAuing hitherto discoursed vpon the title of the kings of England vnto the Scotish kingdome I haue now thought good to adde here vnto the description of two walles that were in times past limits vnto both the said regions and therefore to
and called after their names as lord Henrie or lord Edward with the addition of the word Grace properlie assigned to the king and prince and now also by custome conueied to dukes archbishops and as some saie to marquesses and their wiues The title of duke commeth also of the Latine word Dux à ducendo bicause of his valor and power ouer the armie in times past a name of office due to the emperour consull or chéefe gouernour of the whole armie in the Romane warres but now a name of honor although perished in England whose ground will not long beare one duke at once but if there were manie as in time past or as there be now earles I doo not thinke but that they would florish and prosper well inough In old time he onelie was called marquesse Qui habuit terram limitaneam a marching prouince vpon the enimies countries and thereby bound to kéepe and defend the frontiers But that also is changed in common vse and reputed for a name of great honor next vnto the duke euen ouer counties and sometimes small cities as the prince is pleased to bestow it The name of earle likewise was among the Romans a name of office who had Comites sacri palatij comites aerarij comites stabuli comites patrimonij largitionum scholarum commerciorum and such like But at the first they were called Comites which were ioined in commission with the proconsull legate or iudges for counsell and aids sake in each of those seuerall charges As Cicero epistola ad Quintum fratrem remembreth where he saith Atque inter hos quos tibi comites adiutores negotiorum publicorum dedit ipsa respublica duntaxat finibus his praestabis quos ante praescripsi c. After this I read also that euerie president in his charge was called Comes but our English Saxons vsed the word Hertoch and earle for Comes and indifferentlie as I gesse sith the name of duke was not in vse before the conquest Goropius saith that Comes and Graue is all one to wit the viscont called either Procomes or Vicecomes and in time past gouerned in the countie vnder the earle but now without anie such seruice or office it is also become a name of dignitie next after the earle and in degrée before the baron His reléefe also by the great charter is one hundred pounds as that of a baronie a hundred marks and of a knight flue at the most for euerie fée The baron whose degrée answered to the dignitie of a senator in Rome is such a frée lord as hath a lordship or baronie whereof he beareth his name hath diuerse knights or fréeholders holding of him who with him did serue the king in his wars and held their tenures in Baronia that is for performance of such seruice These Bracton a learned writer of the lawes of England in king Henrie the thirds time tearmeth Barones quasi robur belli The word Baro indéed is older than that it may easilie be found from whence it came for euen in the oldest histories both of the Germans and Frenchmen written since the conquest we read of barons and those are at this daie called among the Germans Liberi vel Ingenui or Freihers in the Germane toong as some men doo coniecture or as one saith the citizens and burgesses of good townes and cities were called Barones Neuerthelesse by diligent inquisition it is imagined if not absolutelie found that the word Baro and Filius in the old Scithian or Germane language are all one so that the kings children are properlie called Barones from whome also it was first translated to their kindred and then to the nobilitie and officers of greatest honour indifferentlie That Baro and Filius signifieth one thing it yet remaineth to be séene although with some corruption for to this daie euen the common sort doo call their male children barnes here in England especiallie in the north countrie where that word is yet accustomablie in vse And it is also growne into a prouerbe in the south when anie man susteineth a great hinderance to saie I am beggered and all my barnes In the Hebrue toong as some affirme it signifieth Filij solis and what are the nobilitie in euerie kingdome but Filij or serui regum But this is farre fetched wherefore I conclude that from hensefoorth the originall of the word Baro shall not be anie more to seeke and the first time that euer I red thereof in anie English historie is in the reigne of Canutus who called his nobilitie and head officers to a councell holden at Cirnecester by that name 1030 as I haue else-where remembred Howbeit the word Baro dooth not alwaies signifie or is attributed to a noble man by birth or creation for now and then it is a title giuen vnto one or other with his office as the chéefe or high tribune of the excheker is of custome called lord chéefe baron who is as it were the great or principall receiuer of accounts next vnto the lord treasuror as they are vnder him are called Tribuni aerarij rationales Hervnto I may ad so much of the word lord which is an addition going not seldome and in like sort with sundrie offices and to continue so long as he or they doo execute the same and no longer Unto this place I also referre our bishops who are accounted honourable called lords and hold the same roome in the parlement house with the barons albeit for honour sake the right hand of the prince is giuen vnto them and whose countenances in time past were much more glorious than at this present it is bicause those lustie prelats sought after earthlie estimation and authoritie with farre more diligence than after the lost shéepe of Christ of which they had small regard as men being otherwise occupied and void of leisure to attend vpon the same Howbeit in these daies their estate remaineth no lesse reuerend than before and the more vertuous they are that be of this calling the better are they estéemed with high and low They reteine also the ancient name lord still although it be not a littie impugned by such as loue either to heare of change of all things or can abide no superiours For notwithstanding it be true that in respect of function the office of the eldership is equallie distributed betwéene the bishop and the minister yet for ciuill gouernements sake the first haue more authoritie giuen vnto them by kings and princes to the end that the rest maie thereby be with more ease reteined within a limited compasse of vniformitie than otherwise they would be if ech one were suffered to walke in his owne course This also is more to be maruelled at that verie manie call for an alteration of their estate crieng to haue the word lord abolished their ciuill authoritie taken from them and the present condition of the church in other things reformed whereas to saie trulie
and yet may with farre more ease and lesse cost be prouided from other countries if we could vse the meanes I will not speake of iron glasse and such like which spoile much wood and yet are brought from other countries better chéepe than we can make them here at home I could exemplifie also in manie other But to leaue these things and procéed with our purpose and herein as occasion serueth generallie by waie of conclusion to speake of the common-wealth of England I find that it is gouerned and mainteined by thrée sorts of persons 1 The prince monarch and head gouernour which is called the king or if the crowne fall to the woman the quéene in whose name and by whose authoritie all things are administred 2 The gentlemen which be diuided into two sorts as the baronie or estate of lords which conteineth barons and all aboue that degree and also those that be no lords as knights esquiers simple gentlemen as I haue noted alreadie Out of these also are the great deputies and high presidents chosen of which one serueth in Ireland as another did sometime in Calis and the capteine now at Berwike as one lord president dooth gouerne in Wales and the other the north parts of this Iland which later with certeine councellors and iudges were erected by king Henrie the eight But forsomuch as I haue touched their conditions elsewhere it shall be mough to haue remembred them at this time 3 The third and last sort is named the yeomanrie of whom their sequele the labourers and artificers I haue said somewhat euen now Whereto I ad that they be not called masters and gentlemen but goodmen as goodman Smith goodman Coot goodman Cornell goodman Mascall goodman Cockswet c in matters of law these and the like are called thus Giles Iewd yeoman Edward Mountford yeoman Iames Cocke yeoman Herrie Butcher yeoman c by which addition they are exempt from the vulgar and common sorts Cato calleth them Aratores optimos ciues rei publicae of whom also you may read more in the booke of common wealth which sir Thomas Smith sometime penned of this land Of gentlemen also some are by the prince chosen and called to great offices in the common wealth of which said offices diuerse concerne the whole realme some be more priuat and peculiar to the kings house And they haue their places and degrées prescribed by an act of parlement made An. 31 Henr. octaui after this maner insuing These foure the lord Chancellor the lord Treasuror who is Supremus aerarij Anglici quaestor or Tribunus aerarius maximus the lord President of the councell and the lord Priuie seale being persons of the degrée of a baron or aboue are in the same act appointed to sit in the parlement and in all assemblies or councell aboue all dukes not being of the bloud roiall Videlicet the kings brother vncle or nephue And these six the lord great Chamberleine of England the lord high Constable of England the lord Marshall of England the lord Admirall of England the lord great master or Steward of the kings house and the lord Chamberleine by that act are to be placed in all assemblies of councell after the lord priuie seale according to their degrées and estats so that if he be a baron then he is to sit aboue all barons or an earle aboue all earles And so likewise the kings secretarie being a baron of the parlement hath place aboue all barons and if he be a man of higher degrée he shall sit and be placed according therevnto The rehearsall of the temporall nobilitie of England according to the anciencie of their creations or first calling to their degrees as they are to be found at this present The Marquise of Winchester The earle of Arundell The earle of Oxford The earle of Northumberland The earle of Shrewesburie The earle of Kent The earle of Derbiâ The earle of Worcester The earle of Rutland The earle of Cumberland The earle of Sussex The earle of Huntingdon The earle of Bath The earle of Warwike The earle of Southampton The earle of Bedford The earle of Penbrooke The earle of Hertford The earle of Leicester The earle of Essex The earle of Lincolne The viscont Montague The viscont Bindon The lord of Abergeuennie The lord Awdeleie The lord Zouch The lord Barkeleie The lord Morleie The lord Dacres of the south The lord Cobham The lord Stafford The lord Greie of Wilton The lord Scroope The lord Dudleie The lord Latimer The lord Stourton The lord Lumleie The lord Mountioie The lord Ogle The lord Darcie of the north The lord Mountegle The lord Sands The lord Uaulx The lord Windsore The lord Wentwoorth The lord Borough The lord Mordaunt The lord Cromwell The lord Euers The lord Wharton The lord Rich. The lord Willowbie The lord Sheffeld The lord Paget The lord Darcie of Chichester The lord Howard of Effingham The lord North. The lord Chaundos The lord of Hunsdon The lord saint Iohn of Bletso The lord of Buckhirst The lord Delaware The lord Burghleie The lord Compton The lord Cheineie The lord Norreis Bishops in their anciencie as they sat in parlement in the fift of the Queenes maiesties reigne that now is The archbishop of Canturburie The archbishop of Yorke London Durham Winchester The rest had their places in senioritie of consecration Chichester Landaffe Hereford Elie. Worcester Bangor Lincolne Salisburie S. Dauids Rochester Bath and Welles Couentrie and Lichfield Excester Norwich Peterborough Carleill Chester S. Assaph Glocester And this for their placing in the parlement house Howbeit when the archbishop of Canturburie siteth in his prouinciall assemblie he hath on his right hand the archbishop of Yorke and next vnto him the bishop of Winchester on the left hand the bishop of London but if it fall out that the archbishop of Canturburie be not there by the vacation of his see then the archbishop of Yorke is to take his place who admitteth the bishop of London to his right hand and the prelat of Winchester to his left the rest sitting alwaies as afore that is to saie as they are elders by consecration which I thought good also to note out of an ancient president Of the food and diet of the English Chap. 6. THe situation of our region lieng néere vnto the north dooth cause the heate of our stomaches to be of somewhat greater force therefore our bodies doo craue a little more ample nourishment than the inhabitants of the hotter regions are accustomed withall whose digestiue force is not altogither so vehement bicause their internall heat is not so strong as ours which is kept in by the coldnesse of the aire that from time to time speciallie in winter dooth enuiron our bodies It is no maruell therefore that our tables are oftentimes more plentifullie garnished than those of other nations and this trade hath continued with vs euen since the verie beginning For before the
to supplie those turnes with no lesse skill than their husbands which is an hard worke for the poore butcher sith he through this means can seldome be rich or wealthie by his trade In like sort the flesh of our oxen and kine is sold both by hand and by weight as the buier will but in yoong ware rather by weight especiallie for the stéere and heighfer sith the finer béefe is the lightest wheras the flesh of buls and old kine is of sadder substance and therefore much heauier as it lieth in the scale Their hornes also are knowne to be more faire and large in England than in anie other places except those which are to be séene among the Paeones which quantitie albeit that it be giuen to our bréed generallie by nature yet it is now and then helped also by art For when they be verie yoong manie grasiers will oftentimes annoint their budding hornes or tender tips with honie which mollifieth the naturall hardnesse of that substance and thereby maketh them to grow vnto a notable greatnesse Certes it is not strange in England to sée oxen whose hornes haue the length of a yard or thrée foot betweene the tips and they themselues thereto so tall as the heigth of a man of meane and indifferent stature is scarse equall vnto them Neuerthelesse it is much to be lamented that our generall bréed of catell is not better looked vnto for the greatest occupiers weane least store bicause they can buie them as they saie far better cheape than to raise and bring them vp In my time a cow hath risen from foure nobles to foure marks by this means which notwithstanding were no great price if they did yearelie bring foorth more than one calfe a péece as I heare they doo in other countries Our horsses moreouer are high and although not commonlie of such huge greatnesse as in other places of the maine yet if you respect the easinesse of their pase it is hard to saie where their like are to be had Our land dooth yéeld no asses and therefore we want the generation also of mules and somers and therefore the most part of our cariage is made by these which remaining stoned are either reserued for the cart or appointed to beare such burdens as are conuenient for them Our cart or plough horsses for we vse them indifferentlie are commonlie so strong that fiue or six of them at the most will draw thrée thousand weight of the greatest tale with ease for a long iourneie although it be not a load of common vsage which consisteth onelie of two thousand or fiftie foot of timber fortie bushels of white salt or six and thirtie of baie or fiue quarters of wheat experience dailie teacheth and I haue elsewhere remembred Such as are kept also for burden will carie foure hundred weight commonlie without anie hurt or hinderance This furthermore is to be noted that our princes and the nobilitie haue their cariage commonlie made by carts wherby it commeth to passe that when the quéenes maiestie dooth remooue from anie one place to another there are vsuallie 400 carewares which amount to the summe of 2400 horsses appointed out of the countries adioining whereby hir cariage is conueied safelie vnto the appointed place Hereby also the ancient vse of somers and sumpter horsses is in maner vtterlie relinquished which causeth the traines of our princes in their progresses to shew far lesse than those of the kings of other nations Such as serue for the saddle are commonlie gelded and now growne to be verie déere among vs especiallie if they be well coloured iustlie limmed and haue thereto an easie ambling pase For our countriemen séeking their ease in euerie corner where it is to be had delight verie much in these qualities but chieflie in their excellent pases which besides that it is in maner peculiar vnto horsses of our soile and not hurtfull to the rider or owner sitting on their backes it is moreouer verie pleasant and delectable in his eares in that the noise of their well proportioned pase dooth yéeld comfortable sound as he trauelleth by the waie Yet is there no greater deceipt vsed anie where than among our horssekeepers horssecorsers and hostelers for such is the subtill knauerie of a great sort of them without exception of anie of them be it spoken which deale for priuat gaine that an honest meaning man shall haue verie good lucke among them if he be not deceiued by some false tricke or other There are certeine notable markets wherein great plentie of horsses and colts is bought and sold and wherevnto such as haue néed resort yearelie to buie and make their necessarie prouision of them as Rippon Newport pond Wolfpit Harborow and diuerse other But as most drouers are verie diligent to bring great store of these vnto those places so manie of them are too too lewd in abusing such as buie them For they haue a custome to make them looke faire to the eie when they come within two daies iourneie of the market to driue them till they sweat for the space of eight or twelue houres which being doone they turne them all ouer the backs into some water where they stand for a season and then go forward with them to the place appointed where they make sale of their infected ware and such as by this meanes doo fall into manie diseases and maladies Of such outlandish horsses as are dailie brought ouer vnto vs I speake not as the genet of Spaine the courser of Naples the hobbie of Ireland the Flemish roile and Scotish nag bicause that further spéech of them commeth not within the compasse of this treatise and for whose breed and maintenance especiallie of the greatest sort king Henrie the eight erected a noble studderie and for a time had verie good successe with them till the officers waxing wearie procured a mixed brood of bastard races whereby his good purpose came to little effect Sir Nicholas Arnold of late hath bred the best horsses in England and written of the maner of their production would to God his compasse of ground were like to that of Pella in Syria wherin the king of that nation had vsuallie a studderie of 30000 mares and 300 stallions as Strabo dooth remember Lib. 16. But to leaue this let vs sée what may be said of sheepe Our shéepe are verie excellent sith for sweetnesse of flesh they passe all other And so much are our woolles to be preferred before those of Milesia and other places that if Iason had knowne the value of them that are bred and to be had in Britaine he would neuer haue gone to Colchis to looke for anie there For as Dionysius Alexandrinus saith in his De situ orbis it may by spinning be made comparable to the spiders web What fooles then are our countrimen in that they séeke to bereue themselues of this commoditie by practising dailie how to transfer the same to other nations in
all persons right and iustice all the daies of his life and lastlie being growne to great age died when he had reigned now this third time after most concordance of writers the tearme of foure yeares and was buried at Caerleill A Chapter of digression shewing the diuersitie of writers in opinion touching the computation of yeares from the beginning of the British kings of this Iland downewards since Gurguintus time till the death of Elidurus and likewise till king Lud reigned in his roialtie with the names of such kings as ruled betweene the last yeare of Elidurus and the first of Lud. The eight Chapter HEre is to be noted that euen from the beginning of the British kings which reigned here in this land there is great diuersitie amongest writers both touching the names and also the times of their reignes speciallie till they come to the death of the last mentioned king Elidurus Insomuch that Polydor Virgil in his historie of England finding a manifest error as he taketh it in those writers whome he followeth touching the account from the comming of Brute vnto the sacking of Rome by Brennus whome our histories affirme to be the brother of Beline that to fill vp the number which is wanting in the reckoning of the yeares of those kings which reigned after Brute till the daies of the same Brenne Beline he thought good to change the order least one error should follow an other and so of one error making manie he hath placed those kings which after other writers should séeme to follow Brenne and Beline betwixt Dunuallo and Mulmucius father to the said Beline and Brenne and those fiue kings which stroue for the gouernement after the deceasse of the two brethren Ferrex and Porrex putting Guintoline to succéed after the fiue kings or rulers and after Guintoline his wife Martia during the minoritie of hir sonne then hir said sonne named Sicilius After him succéeded these whose names follow in order Chimarius Danius Morindus Gorbonianus Archigallo who being deposed Elidurus was made king and so continued till he restored the gouernement as ye haue heard to Archigallo againe and after his death Elidurus was eftsoones admitted and within a while againe deposed by Uigenius and Peredurus and after their deceasses the third time restored Then after his deceasse followed successiuelie Ueginus Morganus Ennanus Idunallo Rimo Geruntins Catellus Coilus Porrex the second of that name Cherinus Fulgentius Eldalus Androgeus Urianus and Eliud after whom should follow Dunuallow Molmucius as in his proper place if the order of things doone the course of time should be obserued as Polydor gathereth by the account of yeares attributed to those kings that reigned before and after Dunuallo according to those authours whom as I said he followeth if they will that Brennus which led the Galles to Rome be the same that was sonne to the said Dunuallo Mulmucius and brother to Beline But sith other haue in better order brought out a perfect agréement in the account of yeares and succession of those kings which reigned and gouerned in this land before the sacking of Rome and also another such as it is after the same and before the Romans had anie perfect knowledge thereof we haue thought good to follow them therein leauing to euerie man his libertie to iudge as his knowledge shall serue him in a thing so doubtfull and vncerteine by reason of variance amongst the ancient writers in that behalfe And euen as there is great difference in writers since Gurguintus till the death of Elidurus so is there as great or rather greater after his deceasse speciallie till king Lud atteined the kingdome But as maie be gathered by that which Fabian and other whome he followeth doo write there passed aboue 185 yeares betwixt the last yeare of Elidurus and the beginning of king Lud his reigne in the which time there reigned 32 or 33 kings as some writers haue mentioned whose names as Gal. Mon. hath recorded are thâse immediatlie héere named Regââ the sonne of Gorbolian or Gorbonian a worthie prince who iustlie and mercifullie gouerned his people Margan the sonne of Archigallo a noble prince likewise and guiding his subiects in good quiet Emerian brother to the same Margan but far vnlike to him in maners so that he was deposed in the sixt yeare of his reigne Ydwallo sonne to Uigenius Rimo the sonne of Peredurus Geruntius the sonne of Elidurus Catell that was buried at Winchester Coill that was buried at Nottingham Porrex a vertuous and most gentle prince Cherinus a drunkard Fulginius Eldad and Androgeus these thrée were sonnes to Chercinus and reigned successiuelie one after another after them a sonne of Androgeus then Eliud Dedaicus Clotinius Gurguntius Merianns Bledius Cop Owen Sicilius Bledgabredus an excellent musician after him his brother Archemall then Eldol Red Rodiecke Samuill Penisell Pir Capoir after him his sonne Gligweil an vpright dealing prince and a good iusticiarie whom succeeded his sonne Helie which reigned 60 yeares as the forsaid Gal. Mon. writeth where other affirme that he reigned 40 yeares and some againe say that he reigned but 7 moneths There is great diuersitie in writers touching the reignes of these kings and not onlie for the number of yéeres which they should continue in their reignes but also in their names so that to shew the diuersitie of all the writers were but to small purpose sith the dooings of the same kings were not great by report made thereof by any approoued author But this maie suffice to aduertise you that by conferring the yéeres attributed to the other kings which reigned before them since the comming of Brute who should enter this land as by the best writers is gathered about the yéere before the building of Rome 367 which was in the yéere after the creation of the world 2850 as is said with their time there remaineth 182 yéeres to be dealt amongst these 33 kings which reigned betwixt the said Elidure Lud which Lud also began his reigne after the building of the citie of Rome as writers affirme about 679 yéeres and in the yéere of the world 3895 as some that will séeme the precisest calculators doo gather Polydor Virgil changing as I haue shewed the order of succession in the British kings in bringing diuerse of those kings which after other writers followed Beline and Brenne to precéed them so successiuelie after Beline and Brenne reherseth those that by his coniecture did by likelihood succéed as thus After the decesse of Beline his sonne Gurguntius being the second of that name succeeded in gouernment of the land and then these in order as they follow Merianus Bladanus Capeus Ouinus Sicilius Bledgabredus Archemallus Eldorus Rodianus Redargius Samulius Penisellus Pyrrhus Caporus Dinellus and Helie who had issue Lud Cassibellane and Neurius Of king Helie who gaue the name to the I le of Elie of king Lud and what memorable edifices he made London sometimes called Luds towne
where he should remaine for a time and then to returne againe and reigne in as great authoritie as euer he did before might well perceiue themselues deceiued in crediting so vaine a fable But yet where it might otherwise be doubted whether anie such Arthur was at all as the British histories mention bicause neither Gyldas nor Beda in their woorks speake anie thing of him it may appéere the circumstances considered that suerly such one there was of that name hardie and valiant in armes though not in diuerse points so famous as some writers paint him out William Malmesburie a writer of good credit and authoritie amongst the learned hath these woords in his first booke intituled De regibus Anglorum saieng But he being dead meaning Uortimer the force of the Britains waxed féeble their decaied hope went backward apace and euen then suerlie had they gon to destruction if Ambrosius who alone of the Romans remained yet aliue and was king after Uortigerne had not kept vnder and staied the loftie barbarous people that is to say the Saxons by the notable aid and assistance of the valiant Arthur This is the same Arthur of whom the trifling tales of the Britains euen to this day fantasticallie doo descant and report woonders but woorthie was he doubtlesse of whom feined fables should not haue so dreamed but rather that true histories might haue set foorth his woorthie praises as he that did for a long season susteine and hold vp his countrie that was readie to go to vtter ruine and decaie incouraging the bold harts of the Britains vnto the warre and finallie in the siege of Badon hill he set vpon nine hundred of the enimies and with incredible slaughter did put them all to flight On the contrarie part the English Saxons although they were tossed with sundrie hops of fortune yet still they renewed their bands with new supplies of their countriemen that came out of Germanie and so with bolder courage assailed their enimies and by little and little causing them to giue place spread themselues ouer the whole I le For although there were manie battels in the which sometime the Saxons and sometime the Britains got the better yet the greater number of Saxons that were slaine the greater number of them still came ouer to the succour of their countriemen being called in and sent for out of euerie quarter about them Héere is also to be noted that where the British historie declareth that Gawaine or Gallowine being slaine in the battell fought betwixt Arthur and Mordred in Kent was buried at Douer so that his bones remained there to be shewed a long time after yet by that which the foresaid William Malmesburie writeth in the third booke of his volume intituled De regibus Anglorum the contrarie maie séeme true his woords are these Then saith he in the prouince of Wales which is called Rosse the sepulture of Gallowine was found who was nephue to Arthur by his sister not going out of kind from so woorthie an vncle He reigned in that part of Britaine which vnto this day is called Walwichia a knight for his high prowesse most highlie renowmed but expelled out of his kingdome by the brother and nephue of Hengist of whome in the first booke we haue made mention first requiting his banishment with great detriment and losse to those his enimies wherein he was partaker by iust desert to his vncles woorthie praise for that he staied for a great manie yéeres the destruction of his countrie which was now running headlong into vtter ruine and decaie But Arthurs graue no where appéereth yet the others toome as I haue said was found in the daies of William the conqueror king of England vpon the sea side and conteined in length fouretéene foot where he was as some say wounded by his enimies and cast vp by shipwracke But other write that he was slaine at a publike feast or banket by his owne countriemen Thus saith William Malmesburie ¶ But heere you must consider that the said Malmesburie departed this life about the beginning of the reigne of king Henrie the second certeine yéers before the bones of Arthur were found as ye haue heard But omitting this point as néedles to be controuerssed letting all dissonant opinions of writers passe as a matter of no such moment that we should néed to sticke therein as in a glewpot we will procéed in the residue of such collections as we find necessarilie pertinent to the continuation of this historie and now we will say somewhat of quéene Guenhera or Guenouer the wife of the foresaid king Arthur Some iudge that she tooke hir name of hir excellent beautie bicause Guinne or Guenne in the Welsh toong signifieth faire so that she was named Guennere or rather Guenlhean euen as you would say the faire or beautifull Elenor or Helen She was brought vp in the house of one Cador earle of Cornewall before Arthur maried hir and as it appeareth by writers she was euill reported of as noted of incontinencie breach of faith to hir husband in maner as for the more part women of excellent beautie hardlie escape the venemous blast of euill toongs and the sharpe assaults of the followers of Uenus The British historie affirmeth that she did not onelie abuse hir selfe by vnlawfull companie with Mordred but that also in Arthurs absence she consented to take him to husband It is likewise found recorded by an old writer that Arthur besieged on a time the marishes neere to Glastenburie for displeasure that he bare to a certeine lord called Melua who had rauished Gueneuer and led hir into those marishes and there did kéepe hir Hir corps notwithstanding as before is recited was interred togither with Arthurs so that it is thought she liued not long after his deceasse Arthur had two wiues as Gyraldus Cambrensis affirmeth of which the latter saith he was buried with him and hir bones found with his in one sepulchre but yet so diuided that two parts of the toome towards the head were appointed to receiue the bones of the man and the third part towards the féet conteined the womans bones apart by themselues Here is to be remembred that Hector Boetius writeth otherwise of the death of Arthur than before in this booke is mentioned also that Gueneuer being taking prisoner by the Picts was conueied into Scotland where finallie she died and was there buried in Angus as in the Scotish chronicles further appeareth And this may be true if he had thrée sundrie wiues each of them bearing the name of Gueneuer as sir Iohn Price dooth auouch that he had Now bicause of contrarietie in writers touching the great acts atchiued by this Arthur and also for that some difference there is amongst them about the time in which he should reigne manie haue doubted of the whole historie which of him is written as before ye haue heard ¶ But others there be of a constant beléefe who hold it for
forward courage hasted to incounter his enimies the which receiued him so sharplie and with so cruell fight that at length the Englishmen were at point to haue turned their backs But herewith came king Ethelred and manfullie ended the battell staied his people from running away and so encouraged them and discouraged the enimies that by the power of God whom as was thought in the morning he had serued the Danes finallie were chased and put to flight losing one of their kings that is to say Basreeg or Osréeg and 5 earles Sidroc the elder and Sidroc the yoonger Osberne Freine and Harold This battell was sore foughten and conâinued till night with the slaughter of manie thousands of Danes About 14 daies after king Ethelred and his brother Alured fought eftsoones with the Danish armie at Basing where the Danes had the victorie Also two moneths after this they likewise fought with the Danes at Merton And there the Danes after they had béene put to the woorse pursued in chase a long time yet at length they also got the victorie in which battell Edmund bishop of Shireborne was slaine and manie other that were men of woorthie fame and good account In the summer following a mightie host of the Danes came to Reading and there soiourned for a time ¶ These things agrée not with that which Polydor Virgil hath written of these warres which king Ethelred had with the Danes for he maketh mention of one Iuarus a king of the Danes who landed as he writeth at the mouth of Humber and like a stout enimie inuaded the countrie adioining Against whome Ethelred with his brother Alured came with an armie and incountring the Danes fought with them by the space of a whole day togither and was in danger to haue béene put to the woorse but that the night seuered them asunder In the morning they ioined againe but the death of Iuarus who chanced to be slaine in the beginning of the battell discouraged the Danes so that they were easilie put to flight of whome before they could get out of danger a great number were slaine But after that they had recouered themselues togither and found out a conuenient place where to pitch their campe they chose to their capteines Agnerus and Hubba two brethren which indeuored themselues by all meanes possible to repaire their armie so that within 15 daies after the Danes eftsoones fought with the Englishmen and gaue them such an ouerthrow that little wanted of making an end of all incounters to be attempted after by the Englishmen But yet within a few daies after this as the Danes attended their market to spoile the countrie and range somewhat licentiouslie abroad they fell within âhe danger of such ambushes as were laid for them by king Ethelred that no small slaughter was made of them but yet not without some losse of the Englishmen Amongest others Ethelred himselfe receiued a wound whereof he shortlie after died Thus saith Polydor touching the warres which king Ethelred had with the Danes who yet confesseth as the trueth is that such authors as he herein followed varie much from that which the Danish writers doo record of these matters and namelie touching the dooings of Iuarus as in the Danish historie you may sée more at large But now to our purpose touching the death of king Ethelred whether by reason of hurt receiued in fight against the Danes as Polydor saith or otherwise certeine it is that Ethelred anon after Easter departed this life in the sixt yeare of his reigne and was buried at Winborne abbey In the daies of this Ethelred the foresaid Danish capteins Hungar otherwise called Agnerus and Hubba returning from the north parts into the countrie of the Eastangles came vnto Thetford whereof Edmund who reigned as king in that season ouer the Eastangles being aduertised raised an armie of men and went foorth to giue battell vnto this armie of the Danes But he with his people was chased out of the field and fled to the castell of Framingham where being enuironed with a siege by his enimies he yéelded himselfe vnto them And because he would not renounce the christian faith they bound him to a trée and shot arrowes at him till he died and afterwards cut off his head from his bodie and threw the same into a thicke groue of bushes But afterwards his friends tooke the bodie with the head and âuried the same at Egleseon where afterward also a faire monasterie was builded by one bishop Aswin and changing the name of the place it was after caââed saint Edmundfburie Thus was king Edmund put to death by the cruell Danes for his constant confessing the name of Christ in the 16 yeare of his reigne and so ceased the kingdome of Eastangles For after that the Danes had thus slaine that blessed man they conquered all the countrie wasted it so that through their tyrannie it remained without anie gouernor by the space of nine yeares and then they appointed a king to rule ouer it whose name was Guthrun one of their owne nation who gouerned both the Eastangles and the Eastsaxons Ye haue heard how the Danes slue Osrike and Ella kings of Northumberland After which victorie by them obteined they did much hurt in the north parts of this land and amongest other cruell deeds they destroied the citie of Aââuid which was a famous citie in the time of the old Saxons as by Beda and other writers dooth manifestlie appeare Here is to be remembred that some writers rehearse the cause to be this Osbright or Osrike king of Northumberland rauished the wife of one Berne that was a noble man of the countrie about Yorke who tooke such great despight thereat that he fled out of the land and went into Denmarke and there complained vnto the king of Denmarke his coosin of the iniurie doone to him by king Osbright Wherevpon the king of Denmarke glad to haue so iust a quarell against them of Northumberland furnished foorth an armie and sent the same by sea vnder the leading of his two brethren Hungar and Hubba into Northumberland where they slue first the said king Osbright and after king Ella at a place besides Yorke which vnto this day is called Ellas croft taking that name of the said Ella being there slaine in defense of his countrie against the Danes Which Ella as we find registred by writers was elected king by such of the Northumbers as in fauour of Berne had refused to be subiect vnto Osbright Alfred ruleth ouer the Westsaxons and the greatest part of England the Danes afflict him with sore warre and cruellie make wast of his kingdome they lie at London a whole winter they inuade Mercia the king whereof Burthred by name forsaketh his countrie and goeth to Rome his death and buriall Halden king of the Danes diuideth Northumberland among his people Alfred incountreth with the
Danes vpon the sea they sweare to him that they will depart out of his kingdome they breake the truce which was made betwixt him and them he giueth them battell and besides a great discomfiture killeth manie of their capteines the Danes and English fight neere Abington the victorie vncerteine seuen foughten fieldes betwixt them in one yeare the Danes soiourne at London The xiij Chapter AFter the decease of king Ethelred his brother Alured or Alfred succéeded him and began his reigne ouer the Westsaxons and other the more part of the people of England in the yeare of our Lord 872 which was in the 19 yeare of the emperour Lewes the second and 32 yeare of the reigne of Charles the bald king of France and about the eleuenth yeare of Constantine the second king of Scotland Although this Alured was consecrated king in his fathers life time by pope Leo as before ye haue heard yet was he not admitted king at home till after the decease of his thrée elder brethren for he being the yoongest was kept backe from the gouernement though he were for his wisdome and policie most highlie estéemed and had in all honour In the beginning of his reigne he was wrapped in manie great troubles and miseries speciallie by the persecution of the Danes which made sore and greeuous wars in sundrie parts of this land destroieng the same in most cruell wise About a moneth after he was made king he gaue battell to the Danes of Wilton hauing with him no great number of people so that although in the beginning the Danes that day were put to the woorse yet in the end they obteined the victorie Shortlie after a truce was taken betwixt the Danes and the Westsaxons And the Danes that had lien at Reading remoued from thence vnto London where they lay all the winter season In the second yeare of Alured his reigne the Danish king Halden led the same armie from London into Lindseie and there lodged all that winter at Torkseie In the yeare following the same Halden inuaded Mercia and wintered at Ripindon There were come to him thrée other leaders of Danes which our writers name to be kings Godrun Esketell Ammond so that their power was greatlie increased Burthred king of Mercia which had gouerned that countrie by the space of 22 yéeres was not able to withstand the puissance of those enimies wherevpon he was constreined to auoid the countrie and went to Rome where he departed this life and was buried in the church of our ladie néere to the English schoole In the fourth yeare of king Alured the armie of the Danes diuided it selfe into two parts so that king Halden with one part thereof went into Northumberland and lay in the winter season néere to the riuer of Tine where hee diuided the countrie amongest his men and remained there for the space of two yeares and oftentimes fetched thither booties and preies out of the countrie of the Picts The other part of the Danish armie with the thrée foresaid kings or leaders came vnto Cambridge and remained there a whole yeare In the same yeare king Alured fought by sea with 7 ships of Danes tooke one of them chased the residue In the yeare next insuing the Danes came into the countrie of the Westsaxons and king Alured tooke truce with them againe and they sware to him which they had not vsed to doo to anie afore that time that they would depart the countrie Their armie by sea sailing from Warham toward Excester susteined great losse by tempest for there perished 120 ships at Swanewicke Moreouer the armie of the Danes by land went to Excester in breach of the truce and king Alured followed them but could not ouertake them till they came to Excester and there he approched them in such wise that they were glad to deliuer pledges for performance of such couenants as were accorded betwixt him and them And so then they departed out of the countrie and drew into Mercia But shortlie after when they had the whole gouernment of the land from Thames northward they thought it not good to suffer king Alured to continue in rest with the residue of the countries beyond Thames And therefore the thrée foresaid rulers of Danes Godrun Esketell and Ammond inuading the countrie of Westsaxons came to Chipnam distant 17 miles from Bristow there pitched their tents King Alured aduertised hereof hasted thither and lodging with his armie néere to the enimies prouoked them to battell The Danes perceiuing that either they must fight for their liues or die with shame boldlie came foorth and gaue battell The Englishmen rashlie incountered with them and though they were ouermatched in number yet with such violence they gaue the onset that the enimies at the first were abashed at their hardie assaults But when as it was perceiued that their slender ranks were not able to resist the thicke leghers of the enimies they began to shrinke looke backe one vpon an other and so of force were constreined to retire and therewithall did cast themselues into a ring which though it séemed to be the best way that could be deuised for their safetie yet by the great force and number of their enimies on each side assailing them they were so thronged togither on heaps that they had no roome to stir their weapons Which disaduantage notwithstanding they âlue a great number of the Danes and amongest other Hubba the brother of Agner with manie other of the Danish capteins At length the Englishmen hauing valiantlie foughten a long time with the enimies which had compassed them about at last brake out and got them to their campe To be briefe this battell was foughten with so equall fortune that no man knew to whether part the victorie ought to be ascribed But after they were once seuered they tooke care to cure their hurt men and to burie the dead bodies namelie the Danes interred the bodie of their capteine Hubba with great funerall pompe and solemnitie which doone they held out their iournie till they came to Abington whither the English armie shortlie after came also and incamped fast by the enimies In this meane while the rumor was spread abroad that king Alured had béene discomfited by the Danes bicause that in the last battell he withdrew to his campe This turned greatlie to his aduantage for thereby a great number of Englishmen hasted to come to his succour On the morrow after his comming to Abington he brought his armie readie to fight into the field neither were the enimies slacke on their parts to receiue the battell and so the two armies ioined and fought verie sore on both sides so that it séemed by Englishmen had not to doo with those Danes which had béene diuerse times before discomfited and put to flight but rather with some new people fresh and lustie But neither
castell which they besieged till the Danes within it gaue hostages and couenanted to depart out of the kings land The king caused the coasts about Seuerne to be watched that they should not breake into his countrie but yet they stale twise into the borders neuerthelesse they were chased and slaine as manie as could not swim and so get to their ships Then they remained in the I le of Stepen in great miserie for lacke of vittels bicause they could not go abroad to get anie At length they departed into Northwales and from thence sailed into Ireland The same yéere king Edward came to Buckingham with an armie and there taried a whole moneth building two castels the one vpon the one side of the water of Ouse and the other vpon the other side of the same riuer He also subdued Turketillus an earle of the Danes that dwelt in that countrie with all the residue of the noble men and barons of the shires of Bedford and Northampton In the 12 yéere of king Edwards reigne the Kentishmen and Danes fought togither at Holme but whether partie had the victorie writers haue not declared Simon Dunelm speaketh of a battell which the citizens of Canturburie fought against a number of Danish rouers at Holme where the Danes were put to flight but that should be as he noteth 8 yéeres before this supposed time as in the yéere 904 which was about the third yéere of king Edwards reigne After this other of the Danes assembled themselues togither and in Staffordshire at a place called Tottenhall fought with the Englishmen and after great slaughter made on both parties the Danes were ouercome and so likewise were they shortlie after at Woodfield or Wodenfield And thus king Edward put the Danes to the woorse in each place commonlie where he came and hearing that those in Northumberland ment to breake the peace he inuaded the countrie and so afflicted the same that the Danes which were inhabitants there gladlie continued in rest and peace But in this meane time Ericke the king of those Danes which held the countrie of Eastangle was about to procure new warre and to allure other of the Danes to ioine with him against the Englishmen that with common agréement they might set vpon the English nation and vtterlie subdue them King Edward hââing intelligence héereof purposed to preuent him and therevpon entering with an armie into his countrie cruellie wasted and spoiled the same King Ericke hauing alreadie his people in armor through displeasure conceiued heereof and desire to be reuenged hasted foorth to incounter his enimies and so they met in the field and fiercelie assailed ech other But as the battell was rashlie begun on king Ericks side so was the end verie harmefull to him for with small a doo after great losse on both sides he was vanquished and put to flight After his comming home bicause of his great ouerthrow and fowle discomfiture he began to gouerne his people with more rigor sharper dealing than before time he had vsed Whereby he prouoked the malice of the Eastangles so highlie against him that they fell vpon him and murthered him yet did they not gaine so much hereby as they looked to haue doone for shortlie after they being brought low and not able to defend their countrie were compelled to submit themselues vnto king Edward And so was that kingdome ioined vnto the other dominions of the same king Edward who shortlie after annexed the kingdome of Mercia vnto other of his dominions immediatlie vpon the death of his sister Elfleda whom he permitted to rule that land all hir life Elfleda the sister of king Edward highlie commended for gouernment what a necessarie staie she was vnto him in hir life time what townes she builded and repared hir warlike exploits against the Danes hir death and buriall the greatest part of Britaine in K. Edwards dominion he is a great builder and reparer of townes his death the dreame of his wife Egina and the issue of the same what children king Edward had by his wiues and how they were emploied the decay of the church by the meanes of troubles procured by the Danes England first curssed and why a prouinciall councell summoned for the reliefe of the churches ruine Pleimond archbishop of Canturburie sent to Rome bishops ordeined in sundrie prouinces dissention among writers what pope should denounce the foresaid cursse a succession of archbishops in the see of Canturburie one brother killeth an other The xviij Chapter NOt without good reason did king Edward permit vnto his sister Elfleda the gouernment of Mercia during hir life time for by hir wise and politike order vsed in all hir dooings he was greatlie furthered assisted but speciallie in reparing and building of townes castels wherein she shewed hir noble magnificence in so much that during hir gouernment which continued about eight yéeres it is recorded by writers that she did build and repare these towns whose names here insue Tamwoorth beside Lichfield Stafford Warwike Shrewsburie Watersburie or Weddesburie Elilsburie or rather Eadsburie in the forrest of De la mere besides Chester Brimsburie bridge vpon Seuerne Rouncorne at the mouth of the riuer of Mercia with other Moreouer by hir helpe the citie of Chester which by Daâes had beene greatlie defaced was newlie repared fortified with walls and turrets and greatlie inlarged So that the castell which stood without the walls before that time was now brought within compasse of the new wall Moreouer she boldlie assalted hir enimies which went about to trouble the state of the countrie as the Welshmen and Danes She sent an armie into Wales and tooke the towne of Brecknocke with the queene of the Welshmen at Bricenamere Also she wan from the Danes the towne of Darbie and the countrie adioining In this enterprise she put hir owne person in great aduenture for a great multitude of Danes that were withdrawen into Darbie valiantlie defended the gates and entries in so much that they slue foure of hir chiefe men of warre which were named wardens of hir person euen fast by hir at the verie entrie of the gates But this notwithstanding with valiant fight hir people entered and so the towne was woon she got diuerse other places out of their hands constreined them of Yorkeshire to agree with hir so that some of them promised to become hir subiects some vowed to aid hir and some sware to be at hir commandement Finallie this martiall ladie and manlie Elfleda the supporter of hir countriemen and terrour of the enimies departed this life at Tamwoorth about the 12 of Iune in the 18 or rather 19 yéere of hir brother king Edwards reigne as by Matth. West it should appeere But Simon Dunelm writeth that she deceassed in the yeere of Christ 915 which should be about the 14 yéere of king Edwards reigne Hir bodie was conueied to
Edward vnderstanding that Sithrike went about some mischiefe toward him persuaded his daughter to poison hir husband the said Sithrike Then Aulafe or Aualassus and Godfrie the sonnes of Sithrike finding out by diligent examination that Beatrice was of counsell in poisoning hir husband they caused hir to be apprehended and put to death on this wife She was set naked vpon a smithes cold anuill or stithie and there with hard rosted egs being taken out of the hot imbers were put vnder hir armepits and hir armes fast bound to hir bodie with a cord and so in that state she remained till hir life passed from hir King Edward in reuenge of his daughters death mooued warre against the two brethren Aulafe and Godfrie and in battell finallie vanquished them but was slaine in the same battell himselfe Thus haue the Scotish chronicles recorded of these matters as an induction to the warres which followed betwixt the Scots and Danes as confederates against king Adelstane but the truth thereof we leaue to the readers owne iudgement For in our English writers we find no such matter but that a daughter of king Edward named Edgitha or Editha after hir fathers deceasse was by hir brother king Adelstane about the first yéere of his reigne giuen in mariage as before ye haue heard vnto the foresaid Sithrike king of Northumberland that was descended of the Danish bloud who for the loue of the yoong ladie renounced his heathenish religion and became a christian but shortlie after forsaking both his wife and the christian faith he set vp againe the worshipping of idols and within a while after as an apostata miserablie ended his life Whervpon the yoong ladie hir virginitie being preserued and hir bodie vndefiled as they write passed the residue of hir daies at Polle swoorth in Warwikeshire spending hir time as the same writers affirme in fasting watching praieng and dooing of almesdéedes and so at length departed out of this world Thus our writers differ from the Scotish historie both in name and maner of end as concerning the daughter of king Edward that was coupled in mariage with Sithrike Adelstane subdueth Constantine king of Scots Howell king of Wales and Wulferth king of Northwales the Scots possesse a great part of the north countries Adelstane conquereth the Scots for aiding Godfrie his enimie a miracle declaring that the Scots ought to obey the king of England king Adelstane banisheth his brother Edwin he is for a conspiracie drowned in the sea Adelstane repenteth him of his rigour in respect of that misfortune against his brother Aulafe sometimes king of Northumberland inuadeth England he disguiseth himselfe like a minstrell and surueieth the English campe vnsuspected he is discouered after his departure he assaileth the English campe Adelstane being comforted with a miracle discomfiteth his enimies he maketh them of Northwales his tributaries he subdueth the Cornishmen his death the description of his person his vertues of what abbeis monasteries he was founder his estimation in forren realmes what pretious presents were sent him from other princes and how he bestowed them a remembrance of Guy the erle of Warwike The xx Chapter AFter that king Adelstane had subdued them of Northumberland he was aduertised that not onelie Constantine king of Scots but also Huduale or Howell K. of Wales went about a priuie conspiracie against him Herevpon with all conuenient spéed assembling his power he went against them and with like good fortune subdued them both and also Uimer or Wulferth R. of Northwales so that they were constreined to submit themselues vnto him who shortlie after moued with pitie in considering their sudden fall restored them all three to their former estates but so as they should acknowledge themselues to gouerne vnder him pronouncing withall this notable saieng that More honorable it was to make a king than to be a king Ye must vnderstand that as it appeareth in the Scotish chronicles the Scotishmen in time of wars that the Danes gaue the English nation got a part of Cumberland and other the north countries into their possession and so by reason of their néere adioining vnto the confines of the English kings there chanced occasions of warre betwixt them as well in the daies of king Edward as of this Adelstane his sonne although in déed the Danes held the more part of the north countries till that this Adelstane conquered the same out of their hands and ioined it vnto other of his dominions constreining as well the Danes of whome the more part of the inhabitants then consisted as also the Englishmen to obey him as their king and gouernour Godfrie as is said being fled to the Scots did so much preuaile there by earnest sute made to king Constantine that he got a power of men and entring with the same into Northumberland besiged the citie of Duresme soliciting the citizens to receiue him which they would gladlie haue doone if they had not perceiued how he was not of power able to resist the puissance of king Adelstane and therefore doubting to be punished for their offenses if they reuolted they kept the enimies out King Adelstane being sore moued against the king of Scots that thus aided his enimies raised an armie and went northward purposing to reuenge that iniurie At his comming into Yorkshire he turned out of the way to visit the place where saint Iohn of Beuerlie was buried and there offered his knife promising that if he returned with victorie he would redéeme the same with a woorthie price and so proceeded and went forwards on his iournie and entring Scotland wasted the countrie by land vnto Dunfoader and Wertermore and his nauie by sea destroied the coasts alongst the shore euen to Catnosse and so he brought the king of Scots and other his enimies to subiection at his pleasure constreining the same K. of Scots to deliuer him his son in hostage It is said that being in his iournie néere vnto the towne of Dunbar he praied vnto God that at the instance of saint Iohn of Beuerlie it would please him to grant that he might shew some open token whereby it should appeare to all them that then liued and should he ãâã succéed that the Scots ought to ãâã subiect vnto the kings of England Herewith the king with his sword sâote vpon a great stone standing néere to the castle of Dunbar and with the stroke there appeared a clift in the saine stone to the length of ãâã which remained to be shewed as a ãâã backe to ãâã he redeemedes es year after At his ãâ¦ã his knife with a large price as before he had promised After this was Edwin the kings brother a coused of some conspiracie by him begiââ against the king wherevpon he was banished the land and sent out in an old rotten vessell without rower or mariner onelie accompanied with one esquier so that beingstanding néere to the castle of Dunbar and with
friuolous and wholie impertinent to our purpose onelie this I read that through declaring of his dreames and visions he obteined in the time of king Edgar first the bishoprike of Worcester after the London last of all the archbishoprike of Canturburie But leauing Dunstane and the fond deuises depending vpon the commemoration of his life we will now returne to the dooings of Egelred and speake of such things in the next chapter as chanced in his time The Danes inuade England on each side they are vanquished by the English Goda earle of Deuonshire slaine the Danes in a battell fought at Maldon kill Brightnod earle of Essex and the most of this armie ten thousand pounds paid to them by composition that they should not trouble the English subiects they cease their crueltie for a time but within a while after fall to their bloudie bias the English people despaire to resist them Egelred addresseth a nauie against the Danes vnder the erles Alfrike and Turold Alfrike traitorouslie taketh part with the Danes his ship and souldiers are taken his sonne Algar is punished for his fathers offense the Danes make great wast in many parts of this Iland they besiege London and are repelled with dishonor they driue king Egelred to buy peace of them for 16000 pounds Aulafe king of Norwey is honorablie interteined of Egelred to whome he promiseth at his baptisme neuer to make warre against England the great zeale of people in setting forward the building of Durham towne and the minster The second Chapter SHortlie after the decease of Dunstane the Danes inuaded this realme on each side wasting and spoiling the countrie in most miserable wise They arriued in so manie places at once that the Englishmen could not well deuise whither to go to encounter first with them Some of them spoiled a place or towne called Wichport and from thence passing further into the countrie were met with by the Englishmen who giuing them battell lost their capteine Goda but yet they got the victorie and beat the Danes out of the field and so that part of the Denish armie was brought to confusion Simon Dunel saith that the Englishmen in déed wan the field here but not without great losse For besides Goda who by report of the same author was Earle of Deuonshire there died an other valiant man of warre named Strenwold In the yeere 991 Brightnod earle of Essex at Maldon gaue battell to an armie of Danes which vnder their leaders Iustine and Guthmond had spoiled Gipswich and was there ouercome and slaine with the most part of his people and so the Danes obteined in that place the victorie In the same yéere and in the 13 yeere of king Egelreds reigne when the land was on each side sore afflicted wasted and haried by the Danes which couered the same as they had béene grashoppers by the aduise of the archbishop of Canturburie Siricius which was the second of that séee after Dunstane a composition was taken with the Danes so that for the sum of ten thousand pounds to be paied to them by the king they should couenant not to trouble his subiects anie further This monie was called Denegilt or Dane monie and was leuied of the people Although other take that to be Danegilt which was giuen vnto such Danes as king Egelred afterwards reteined in his seruice to defend the land frm other Danes and enimies that sought to inuade his dominions But by what name so euer this monie which the Danes now receiued was called true it is that herevpon they ceassed from their most cruell inuasions for a time But shortlie after they had resfreshed themselues and recouered new strength they began to play their old parts againe dooing the like mischéefe by their semblable inuasions as they had vsed before By reason hereof such feare came vpon the English people that they despaired to be able to resist the enimies The king yet caused a nauie to be set foorth at London whereof he appointed earle Alfrike whome before he had banished to be high admerall ioining with him earle Turold This nauie did set forward from London toward the enimies who hauing warning giuen them from Alfrike escaped away without hurt Shortly after a greater nauie of the Danes came and incountered with the kings fléet so that a great number of the Londoners were slaine and all the kings ships taken for Alfrike like a traitor turned to the Danes side ¶ Matt. West maketh other report of this matter declaring that Alfrike in déed being one of the chiefe capteins of the fléet aduertised them by forewarning of the danger that was toward them and that when they should come to ioining the same Alfrike like a traitor fled to the Danes and after vpon necessitie being put to âlight escaped away with them but the other capteins of the kings fléet as Theodred Elstan and Escwen pursued the Danes tooke one of their ships and slue all those that were found therein The Londoners also as the same Matt. West saith met with the nauie of the Danish rouers as they fled away and slue a great number and also tooke the ship of the traitor Alfrike with his souldiers armor but he himselfe escaped though with much paine hauing plaied the like traitorous part once before and yet was reconciled to the kings fauor againe Upon this mischiefe wrought by the father the king now tooke his sonne Algar and caused his eies to be put out About the same time was Bambrough destroied by the Danes which arriued after in Humber and wasted the countrie of Lindsey and Yorkeshire on either side that riuer And when the Englishmen were assembled to giue them battell before they ioined the capteines of the English armie Frena Godwin and Fredegist that were Danes by their fathers side began to flie away and escaped so giuing the occasion of the ouerthrow that lighted on their people But by some writers it should appéere that after the Danes had destroied all the north parts as they spred abroad without order and good arraie the people of the countrie fell vpon them and slue some of them and chased the residue Other of the Danes with a nauie of 94 ships entered the Thames and besieged London about our ladie daie in September They gaue a verie sore assault to the citie and assaied to set it on fire but the citizens so valiantlie defended themselues that the Danes were beaten backe and repelled greatlie to their losse so that they were constreined to depart thence with dishonor Then they fell to and wasted the countries of Essex Kent Sussex and Hamshire and ceassed not till they had inforced the king to compound with them for 16 thousand pounds which he was glad to pay to haue peace with them Moreouer whereas they wintered that yéere at Southampton the king procured Aulafe king of the Norwegians to come vnto Andeuer where at
kinds of sicknesses vexed the people also as the bloodie flix and hot burning agues which then raged through the land so that manie died thereof By such manner of meanes therefore what through the misgouernance of the king the treason and disloialtie of the nobilitie the lacke of good order and due correction amongst the people and by such other scourges and mishaps as afflicted the English nation in that season the land was brought into great ruine so that where by strength the enimie could not be kept off there was now no helpe but to appease them with monie By reason hereof from time of the first agréement with the Danes for 10 thousand pounds tribute it was inhanced to 16000 pounds as you haue heard after that at 20000 pounds then to 24000 pounds so to 30000 pounds lastlie to 40000 pounds till at length the relme was emptied in maner of all that monie and coine that could be found in it In this meane time died Elgina or Ethelgina the quéene Shortlie after it was deuised that the king should be a suter vnto Richard duke of Normandie for his sister Emma a ladie of such excellent beautie that she was named the floure of Normandie This sute was begun and tooke such good successe that the king obteined his purpose And so in the yeare of our Lord 1002 which was about the 24 yeare of king Egelreds reigne he maried the said Emma with great solemnitie This mariage was thought to be right necessarie honorable and profitable for the realme of England because of the great puissance of the Norman princes in those daies but as things afterward came to passe it turned to the subuersion of the whole English state for by such affinitie and dealing as hapned hereby betwixt the Normans and Englishmen occasion in the end was ministred to the same Normans to pretend a title to the crowne of England in prosecuting of which title they obteined and made the whole conquest of the land as after shall appeare Egelred being greatlie aduanced as he thought by reason of his mariage deuised vpon presumption thereof to cause all the Danes within the land to be murthered in one day Herevpon he sent priuie commissioners to all cities burrowes and townes within his dominions commanding the rulers and officers in the same to kill all such Danes as remained within their liberties at a certeine day prefixed being saint Brices day in the yeare 1012 and in the 34 yeare of king Egelreds reigne Herevpon as sundrie writers agree in one day houre this murther began and was according to the commission and iniunction executed But where it first began the same is vncerteine some say at Wellowin in Herefordshire some at a place in Staffordshire called Hownhill others in other places but whersoeuer it began the dooers repented it after But now yer we procéed anie further we will shew what rule the Danes kept here in this realme before they were thus murthered as in some bookes we find recorded Whereas it is shewed that the Danes compelled the husbandmen to til the ground doo all maner of labour and toile to be doone about husbandrie the Danes liued vpon the fruit and gaines that came thereof and kept the husbandmens wiues their daughters maids and seruants vsing and abusing them at their pleasures And when the husbandmen came home then could they scarse haue such sustenance of meats and drinkes as fell for seruants to haue so that the Danes had all at their commandements eating and drinking of the best where the sillie man that was the owner could hardlie come to his fill of the worst Besids this the common people were so oppressed by the Danes that for feare and dread they called them in euerie such house where anie of them soiourned Lord Dane And if an Englishman and a Dane chanced to méet at anie bridge or streight passage the Englishman must staie till the Lord Dane were passed But in processe of time after the Danes were voided the land this word Lord Dane was in derision and despight of the Danes turned by Englishmen into a name of reproch as Lordane which till these our daies is not forgotten For when the people in manie parts of this realme will note and signifie anie great idle lubber that will not labour nor take paine for his liuing they will call him Lordane Thus did the Danes vse the Englishmen in most vile manner and kept them in such seruile thraldome as cannot be sufficientlie vttered A fresh power of Danes inuade England to reuenge the slaughter of their countrimen that inhabited this Ile the west parts betraied into their hands by the conspiracie of a Norman that was in gouernement earle Edrike feined himselfe sicke when king Egelred sent vnto him to leuie a power against the Danes and betraieth his people to the enimies Sweine king of Denmarke arriueth on the coast of Northfolke and maketh pitifull spoile by fire and sword the truce taken betweene him and Vikillus is violated and what reuengement followeth king Sweine forced by famine returneth into his owne countrie he arriueth againe at Sandwich why king Egelred was vnable to preuaile against him the Danes ouerrun all places where they come and make cruell waste king Egelred paieth him great summes of monie for peace the mischiefes that light vpon a land by placing a traitorous stranger in gouernement how manie acres a hide of land conteineth Egelreds order taken for ships and armour why his great fleet did him little pleasure a fresh host of Danes vnder three capteines arriue at Sandwich the citizens of Canturburie for monie purchase safetie the faithlesse dealing of Edrike against king Egelred for the enimies aduantage what places the Danes ouerran and wasted The fourth Chapter VPon knowledge giuen into Denmarke of the cruell murder of the Danes here in England truth it is that the people of the countrie were greatlie kindled in malice and set in such a furious rage against the Englishmen that with all spéed they made foorth a nauie full fraught with men of warre the which in the yeare following came swarming about the coasts of England and landing in the west countrie tooke the citie of Excester and gat there a rich spoile One Hugh a Norman borne whome queene Emma had placed in those parties as gouernour or shirife there conspired with the Danes so that all the countrie was ouerrun and wasted The king hearing that the Danes were thus landed and spoiled the west parts of the realme he sent vnto Edricus to assemble a power to withstand the enimies Herevpon the people of Hampshire and Wiltshire rose and got togither but when the armies should ioine earle Edricus surnamed de Streona feigned himselfe sicke and so betraied his people of whome he had the conduct for they perceiuing the want in their leader were discouraged and so fled
The Danes followed them vnto Wilton which towne they rifled and ouercame From thence they went to Salisburie and so taking their pleasure there returned to their ships because as some write they were aduertised that the king was comming towards them with an huge armie In the yeare next insuing that is to saie 1004 which was about the 24 yeare of K. Egelreds reigne Sweine or Swanus king of Denmarke with a mightie nauie of ships came on the coast of Northfolke and there landing with his people made toward Norwich and comming thither tooke that citie and spoiled it Then went he vnto Thetford and when he had taken and rified that towne he burnt it notwithstanding a truce taken by Uikillus or Wilfketell gouernor of those parties with the same king Swaine after the taking of Norwich In reuenge therefore of such breach of truce the same Uikillus or Wilfeketell with such power as he could raise assaulted the host of Danes as they returned to their ships and slue a great number of them but was not able to mainteine the fight for his enimies ouermatched him in number of men And so he was constrained in the end to giue backe and the enimies kept on their waies to their ships In the yeare following king Swaine returned into Denmarke with all his fléet partlie constrained so to doo as some write by reason of the great famin want of necessarie sustenance which in that yeare sore oppressed this land In the yeare of our Lord 1006 king Swaine returned againe into England with a mightie huge nauie arriuing at Sandwich and spoiled all the countrie néere vnto the sea side King Egelred raised all his power against him and all the haruest time laie abroad in the field to resist the Danes which according to their woonted maner spared not to exercise their vnmercifull crueltie in wasting and spoiling the land with fire and sword pilfering and taking of preies in euerie part where they came Neither could king Egelred remedie the matter because the enimies still conueied themselues with their ships into some contrarie quarter from the place where they knew him to be so that his trauell was in vaine About the beginning of winter they remained in the I le of Wight in the time of Christmasse they landed in Hampshire and passing through that countrie into Barkeshire they came to Reading and from thence to Wallingford and so to Coleseie and then approching to Essington came to Achikelmeslawe and in euerie place wheresoeuer they came they made cleane worke For that which they could not carie with them they consumed with fire burning vp their innes and sleaing their hoasts In returning backe the people of the west countrie gaue them battell but preuailed not so that they did but inrich their enimies with the spoile of their bodies They came by the gates of Winchester as it were in maner of triumph with vittels and spoiles which they had fetched fiftie miles from the sea side In the meane time king Egelred lay about Shrewsburie sore troubled with the newes hereof and in the yeare next insuing by the aduise of his councell he gaue to king Swaine for the redeeming of peace 30000 pounds In the same yeare K. Egelred created the traitor Edrike earle of Mercia who although he had maried Edgiua the kings daughter was yet noted to be one of those which disclosed the secrets of the realme and the determinations of the councell vnto the enimies But he was such a craftie dissembler so greatlie prouided of sleight to dissemble and cloake his falshood that the king being too much abused by him had him in singular fauour whereas he vpon a malicious purpose studied dailie how to bring the realme into vtter destruction aduertising the enimies from time to time how the state of things stood whereby they came to knowledge when they should giue place and when they might safelie come forward Moreouer being sent vnto them oftentimes as a commissioner to treat to peace he persuaded them to warre But such was the pleasure of God to haue him and such other of like sort aduanced to honor in this season when by his diuine prouidence he meant to punish the people of this realme for their wickednesse and sinnes whereby they had iustlie prouoked his wrath and high displeasure In the 30 yeare of king Egelreds reigne which fell in the yeare of our Lord 1008 he tooke order that of euerie thrée hundred and ten hides of land within this realme there should one ship be builded and of euerie eight hides a complet armor furnished In the yeare following the kings whole fléet was brought togither at Sandwich and such souldiers came thither as were appointed to go to sea in the same fléet There had not béene seene the like number of ships so trimlie rigged and furnished in all points in anie kings daies before But no great profitable péece of seruice was wrought by them for the king had about that time banished a noble yoong man of Sussex called Wilnot who getting togither twentie sailes laie vpon the coasts taking prices where he could get them Brithrike the brother of earle Edrike being desirous to win honor tooke forth foure score of the said ships and promised to bring in the enimie dead or aliue But as he was sailing forward on the seas a sore tempest with an outragious wind rose with such violence that his ships were cast vpon the shore and Wilnot comming vpon them set them on fire and so burned them euerie one The residue of the ships when newes came to them of this mishap returned backe to London and then was the armie dispersed and so all the cost and trauell of the Englishmen proued in vaine After this in the haruest time a new armie of Danes vnder the conduct of thrée capteines Turkill Henning and Aulafe landed at Sandwich and from thence passed forth to Canturburie and had taken the citie but that the citizens gaue them a 1000 pounds to depart from thence and to leaue the countrie in peace Then went the Danes to the I le of Wight and afterwards landed and spoiled the countrie of Sussex and Hampshire King Egelred assembled the whole power of all his subiects and comming to giue them battell had made and end of their cruell harieng the countrie with the slaughter of them all if earle Edrike with forged tales deuised onelie to put him in feare had not dissuaded him from giuing battell The Danes by that meanes returning in safetie immediatlie after the feast of saint Martine returned into Kent and ladged with their nauie in the winter following in the Thames and oftentimes assaulting the citie of London were still beaten backe to their losse After the feast of Christmasse they passed through the countrie and woods of Chilterne vnto Oxford which towne they
commanded that to his armie lodged at Gréenewich wages and vittels sufficient should be deliuered for the finding releeuing succouring and susteining thereof Swaine vsed the victorie verie cruellie against the Englishmen oppressing them on each hand to the intent that them being brought low he might gouerne in more suertie The yéere in which he obteined the rule thus of thus realme and that king Egelred was constreined to flie into Normandie was in the 35 yeere of the same Egelred his reigne and after the birth of our Lord 1014. Swaine being once established in the gouernment did not onelie vse much crueltie in oppressing the laitie but also stretched foorth his hand to the church and to the ministers in the same fléecing them and spoiling both churches and ministers without anie remorse of conscience insomuch that hauing a quarell against the inhabitants within the precinct of S. Edmunds land in Suffolke he did not onelie harrie the countrie but also rifled and spoiled the abbeie of Burie where the bodie of saint Edmund rested Wherevpon shortlie after as he was at Gainesbrough or Thetford as some say and there in his iollitie talked with his Nobles of his good successe in conquering of this land he was suddenlie striken with a knife as it is reported miraculouslie for no man wist how or by whome and within three daies after to wit on the third of Februarie he ended his life with grieuous paine and torment in yelling and roring by reason of his extreame anguish beyond all measure There hath sproong a pleasant tale among the posteritie of that age how he should be wounded with the same knife which king Edmund in his life time vsed to weare Thus haue some of our writers reported but the Danish chronicles report a farre more happie end which should chance to this Swaine than is before mentioned out of our writers for the said chronicles report that after he had subdued England he tooke order with king Egelred whome they name amisse Adelstane that he should not ordeine any other successor but onlie the said Swaine Then after this he returned into Denmarke where vsing himselfe like a right godlie prince at length he there ended his life being a verie old man Notwithstanding all this when or howsoeuer he died immediatlie after his deceasse the Danes elected his sonne Cnute or Knought to succeed in his dominions But the Englishmen of nothing more desirous than to shake off the yoke of Danish thraldome besides their necks shoulders streightwaies vpon knowledge had of Swaines death with all spéed aduertised king Egelred thereof and that they were readie to receiue and assist him if he would make hast to come ouer to deliuer his countrie out of the hands of strangers These newes were right ioifull vnto Egelred who burning in desire to be reuenged on them that had expelled him out of his kingdome made no longer tariance to set that enterprise forward But yet doubting the inconstancie of the people he sent his elder son named Edmund to trie the minds of them and to vnderstand whether they were constant or wauering in that which they had promised The yoong gentleman hasting ouer into England and with diligent inquirie perceiuing how they were bent returned with like spéed as he came into Normandie againe declaring to his father that all things were in safetie if he would make hast King Egelred then conceiued an assured hope to recouer his kingdom aided with his brother in laws power and trusting vpon the assistance of the Englishmen returned into England in the time of Lent His returne was ioifull and most acceptable to the English people as to those that abhorred the rule of the Danes which was most sharpe and bitter to them although Cnute did what he could by bountifulnesse and courteous dealings to haue reteined them vnder his obeisance And of an intent to procure Gods fauour in the well ordering of things for the administration in the common wealth he sought first to appease his wrath and also to make amends to saint Edmund for his fathers offense committed as was thought against him insomuch that after he had obteined the kingdome he caused a great ditch to be cast round about the land of saint Edmund and granted manie fréedoms to the inhabitants acquiting them of certeine taskes and paiments vnto the which other of their neighbours were contributarie He also builded a church on the place where saint Edmund was buried and ordeined an house of moonks there or rather remooued the canons or secular priests that were there afore and put moonks in their roomes He offered vp also his crowne vnto the same S. Edmund and redéemed it againe with a great summe of monie which maner of dooing grew into an vse vnto other kings that followed him He adorned the church there with manie rich iewels and indowed the monasterie with great possessions But these things were not done now at the first but after that he was established in the kingdome For in the meane time after that king Egelred was returned out of Normandie Cnute as then soiourning at Gainesbrough remained there till the feast of Easter and made agréement with them of Lindsey so that finding him horsses they should altogither go foorth to spoile their neighbors King Egelred aduertised thereof sped him thither with a mightie host and with great crueltie burned vp the countrie and slue the more part of the inhabitants bicause they had taken part with his enimies Cnute as then was not of power able to resist Egelred and therefore taking his ships which lay in Humber fled from thence sailed about the coast till he came to Sandwich and there sore gréeued in his mind to remember what mischéefe was fallen and chanced to his friends and subiects of Lindsey onelie for his cause he commanded that such pledges as had béene deliuered to his father by certeine noble men of this realme for assurance of their fidelities should haue their noses slit and their eares stuffed or as some write their hands and noses cut off When this cruell act according to his commandement was doone taking the sea he sailed into Denmarke but yet tooke not all the Danes with him which his father brought thither For earle Turkill perceiuing the wealthinesse of the land compounded with the Englishmen and chose rather to remaine in a region replenished with all riches than to returne home into his owne countrie that wanted such commodities as were here to be had And yet as some thought he did not forsake his souereigne lord Cnute for anie euill meaning towards him but rather to aid him when time serued to recouer the possession of England againe as it afterwards well appeared For notwithstanding that he was now reteined by K. Egelred with fortie ships and the flower of all the Danes that were men of warre so that Cnute returned but with 60 ships into his countrie yet
made away the worthiest bodie of the world I shall raise thy head aboue all the lords of England and so caused him to be put to death Thus haue some bookes Howbeit this report agreeth not with other writers which declare how Cnute aduanced Edrike in the beginning of his reigne vnto high honor and made him gouernor of Mercia and vled his counsell in manie things after the death of king Edmund as in banishing Edwin the brother of king Edmund with his sonnes also Edmund and Edward But for that there is such discordance and variable report amongst writers touching the death of king Edmund and some fables inuented thereof as the manner is we will let the residue of their reports passe sith certeine it is that to his end he came after he had reigned about the space of one yéere and so much more as is betwéene the moneth of Iune and the latter end of Nouember His bodie was buried at Glastenburie neere his vncle Edgar With this Edmund surnamed Ironside fell the glorious maiestie of the English kingdome the which afterward as it had beene an aged bodie being sore decaied and weakened by the Danes that now got possession of the whole yet somewhat recouered after the space of 26 yéers vnder king Edward surnamed the Confessor and shortlie therevpon as it had béene falne into a resiluation came to extreame ruine by the inuasion and conquest of the Normans as after by Gods good helpe and fauorable assistance it shall appeare So that it would make a diligent and marking reader both muse and moorne to see how variable the state of this kingdome hath béene thereby to fall into a consideration of the frailtie and vncerteintie of this mortall life which is no more frée from securitie than a ship on the sea in tempestuous weather For as the casualties wherewith our life is inclosed and beset with round about are manifold so also are they miserable so also are they sudden so also are they vnauoidable And true it is that the life of man is in the hands of God and the state of kingdoms dooth also belong vnto him either to continue or discontinue But to the processe of the matter Cnute vndertaketh the totall regiment of this land he assembleth a councell at London the nobles doo him homage he diuideth the realme into foure parts to be gouerned by his assignes Edwin and Edward the sonnes of Edmund are banished their good fortune by honorable mariages King Cnute marieth queene Emma the widow of Egelred the wise and politike conditions wherevpon this mariage was concluded the English bloud restored to the crowne and the Danes excluded queene Emma praised for hir high wisedome in choosing an enimie to hir husband Cnute dismisseth the Danish armie into Denmarke Edrike de Streona bewraieth his former trecherie and procureth his owne death through rashnesse and follie the discordant report of writers touching the maner cause of his death what noble men were executed with him and banished out of England Cnute a monarch The xj Chapter CAnute or Cnute whome the English chronicles doo name Knought after the death of king Edmund tooke vpon him the whole rule ouer all the realme of England in the yéere of our Lord 1017 in the seuentéenth yeere of the emperour Henrie the second surnamed Claudus in the twentith yéere of the reigne of Robert king of France and about the 7 yeere of Malcolme king of Scotland Cnute shortlie after the death of king Edmund assembled a councell at London in the which he caused all the nobles of the realme to doo him homage in receiuing an oth of loiall obeisance He diuided the realme into foure parts assigning Northumberland vnto the rule of Irke or Iricius Mercia vnto Edrike and Eastangle vnto Turkill and reseruing the west part to his owne gouernance He banished as before is said Edwin the brother of king Edmund but such as were suspected to be culpable of Edmunds death he caused to be put to execution whereby it should appeere that Edrike was not then in anie wise detected or once thought to be giltie The said Edwin afterwards returned and was then reconciled to the kings fauor as some write but shortlie after traitorouslie slaine by his owne seruants He was called the king of churles Others write that he came secretlie into the realme after he had béene banished and kéeping himselfe closelie out of sight at length ended his life and was buried at Tauestocke Moreouer Edwin and Edward the sonnes of king Edmund were banished the land and sent firt vnto Sweno king of Norweie to haue bin made away but Sweno vpon remorse of conscience sent them into Hungarie where they found great fauor at the hands of king Salomon insomuch that Edwin maried the daughter of the same Salomon but had no issue by hir Edward was aduanced to marie with Agatha daughter of the emperour Henrie and by hir had issue two sonnes Edmund and Edgar surnamed Edeling and as many daughters Margaret and Christine of the which in place conuenient more shall be said When king Cnute had established things as he thought stood most for his suertie he called to his remembrance that he had no issue but two bastard sonnes Harold and Sweno begotten of his concubine Alwine Wherefore he sent ouer to Richard duke of Normandie requiring to haue quéene Emma the widow of king Egelred in mariage and so obteined hir not a little to the woonder of manie which thought a great ouersight both in the woman and in hir brother that would satisfied the request of Cnute herein considering he had beene such a mortall enimie to hir former husband But duke Richard did not onelie consent that his said sister should be maried vnto Cnute but also he himselfe tooke to wife the ladie Hestritha sister to the said Cnute ¶ Here ye haue to vnderstand that this mariage was not made without great consideration large couenants granted on the part of king Cnute for before he could obteine queene Emma to his wife it was fullie condescended agréed that after Cnuts decease the crowne of England should remaine to the issue borne of this mariage betwixt hir Cnute which couenant although it was not performed immediatlie after the deceasse of king Cnute yet in the end it tooke place so as the right séemed to be deferred and not to be taken away nor abolished for immediatlie vpon Harolds death that had vsurped Hardicnute succéeded as right heire to the crowne by force of the agréement made at the time of the mariage solemnized betwixt his father and mother and being once established in the kingdome he ordeined his brother Edward to succéed him whereby the Danes were vtterlie excluded from all right that they had to pretend vnto the crowne of this land and the English bloud restored thereto chieflie by that gratious conclusion of this mariage betwixt king Cnute and quéene Emma For the
a triple habergion guilt on their bodies with guilt burgenets on their heads a swoord with guilt hilts girded to their waââes a battell are after the maner of the Daues on the left shoulder a target with bosses and mails guilt in their left hand a dart in their right hand and thus to conclude they were furnished at all points with armor and weapon accordinglie It hath beene said that earle Goodwine minded to marie his daughter to one of these brethren and perceiuing that the elder brother Alfred would disdaine to haue hir thought good to dispatch him that the other taking hir to wife hée might be next heire to the crowne and so at length inioy it as afterwards came to passe Also about that time when the linage of the kings of England was in maner extinct the English people were much carefull as hath béene said about the succession of those that should inioie the crowne Wherevpon as one Brightwold a moonke of Glastenburie that was afterward bishop of Wincester or as some haue written of Worcester studied oftentimes thereon it chanced that he dreamed one night as he slept in his bed that he saw saint Peter consecrate annoint Edward the sonne of Egelred as their remaining in exile in Normandie king of England And as he thought he did demand of saint Peter who should succéed the said Edward Wherevnto answer was made by the apostle Haue thou no care for such matters for the kingdome of England is Gods kingdome Which suerlie in good earnest may appeare by manie great arguments to be full true vnto such as shall well consider the state of this realme from time to time how there hath béene euer gouernours raised vp to mainteine the maiestie of the kingdome and to reduce the same to the former dignitie when by anie infortunate mishap it hath beene brought in danger But to returne now to king Hardicnute after he had reigned two yéeres lacking 10 daies as he sat at the table in a great feast holden at Lambeth he fell downe suddenlie with the pot in his hand and so died not without some suspicion of poison This chanced on the 8 of Iune at Lambeth aforesaid where on the same day a mariage was solemnized betwéene the ladie Githa the daughter of a noble man called Osgot Clappa and a Danish lord also called Canute Prudan His bodie was buried at Winchester besides his fathers He was of nature verie curteous gentle and liberall speciallie in keeping good chéere in his house so that he would haue his table couered foure times a day furnished with great plentie of meates and drinks wishing that his seruants and all strangers that came to his palace might rather leaue than want It hath béene commonlie told that Englishmen learned of him their excessiue gourmandizing vnmeasurable filling of their panches with meates and drinkes whereby they forgat the vertuous vse of sobrietie so much necessarie to all estates and degrées so profitable for all common-wealths and so commendable both in the sight of God and all good men In this Hardicnute ceased the rule of the Danes within this land with the persecution which they had executed against the English nation for the space of 250 yeres more that is to say euer since the tenth yeere of Brithrike the king of Westsaxons at what time they first began to inuade the English coasts Howbeit after others they should séeme to haue ruled here but 207 reckoning from their bringing in by the Welshmen in despite of the Saxons at which time they first began to inhabit here which was 835 of Christ 387 after the comming of the Saxons and 35 néere complet of the reigne of Egbert ¶ But to let this peece of curiositie passe this land felt that they had a time of arriuall a time of inuading a time of ouerrunning and a time of ouerrunling the inhabitants of this maine continent Wherof manifest proofes are at this day remaining in sundrie places sundrie ruines I meane and wastes committed by them vpon the which whensoeuer a man of a relenting spirit casteth his eie he can not but enter into a dolefull consideration of former miseries and lamenting the defacements of this I le by the crueltie of the bloudthirstie enimie cannot but wish if he haue but Minimam misericordiae guttam quae maiorest spatioso oceano as one saith and earnestlie desire in his heart that the like may neuer light vpon this land but may be auerted and turned away from all christian kingdomes through his mercie whose wrath by sinne being set on fire is like a consuming flame and the swoord of whose vengeance being sharpened with the whetstone of mens wickednesse shall hew them in péeces as wood for the fornace Thus farre the tumultuous and tyrannicall regiment of the Danes inferring fulnesse of afflictions to the English people wherewith likewise the seuenth booke is shut vp THE EIGHT BOOKE of the Historie of England Edward the third of that name is chosen king of England by a generall consent ambassadours are sent to attend him homewardes to his kingdome and to informe him of his election William duke of Normandie accompanieth him Edward is crowned king the subtill ambition or ambitious subtiltie of earle Goodwine in preferring Edward to the crowne and betraieng Alfred the Danes expelled and rid out of this land by decree whether earle Goodwine was guiltie of Alfreds death king Edward marieth the said earles daughter he forbeareth to haue carnall knowledge with hir and why he vseth his mother queene Emma verie hardlie accusations brought against hir she is dispossessed of hir goods and imprisoned for suffering bishop Alwine to haue the vse of hir bodie she purgeth and cleareth hir selfe after a strange sort hir couetousnesse mothers are taught by hir example to loue their children with equalitie hir liberall deuotion to Winchester church cleared hir from infamie of couetousnesse king Edward loued hir after hir purgation why Robert archbishop of Canturburie fled out of England into Normandie The first Chapter IMmediatlie vpon the deth of Hardiknought and before his corps was committed to buriall his halfe brother Edward sonne of king Egelred begotten of quéene Emma was chosen to be K. of England by the generall consent of all the nobles and commons of the realme Therevpon where ambassadours sent with all spéed into Normandie to signifie vnto him his election and to bring him from thence into England in deliuering pledges for more assurance that no fraud nor deceit was ment of the Englishmen but that vpon his comming thither he should receiue the crowne without all contradiction Edward then aided by his coosine William duke of Normandie tooke the sea with a small companie of Normans came into England where he was receiued with great ioy as king of the realme immediatlie after was crowned at Winâhester by Edsinus then archbishop of Canturburie on Easter day in the yeare of our Lord 1043
Iohn the Euangelist But to conclude such was the opinion conceiued of his holinesse of life that shortlie after his decease he was canonized amongst the number of saints and named Edward the Confessor Whilest he lay sicke of that sicknesse whereof at length he died after he had remained for two daies speechlesse the third day after when he had laine for a time in a slumber or soft sléepe at the time of his waking he fetched a déepe sigh and thus said Oh Lord God almightie if this be not a vaine fantasticall illusion but a true vision which I haue séene grant me space to vtter the same vnto these that stand héere present or else not And herewith hauing his speech perfect he declared how he had seene two moonks stand by him as he thought whome in his youth he knew in Normandie to haue liued godlie and died christianlie These moonks said he protesting to me the they were the messengers of God spake these words Bicause the chéefe gouernors of England the bishops and abbats are not the ministers of God but the diuels the almightie God hath deliuered this kingdome for one yéere and a day into the hands of the enimie and wicked spirits shall walke abroad through the whole land And when I made answer that I would declare these things to the people and promised on their behalfe that they should doo penance in following that example of the Niniuites they said againe that it would not be for neither should the people repent nor God take anie pitie vpon them And when is there hope to haue an end of these miseries said I Then said they When a grene trée is cut in sunder in the middle and the part cut off is caried thrée acres bredth from the stocke and returning againe to the stoale shall ioine therewith and begin to bud beare fruit after the former maner by reason of the sap renewing the accustomed nourishment then I say may there be hope that such euils shall ceasse and diminish ¶ With which words of the king though some other that stood by were brought in feare yet archbishop Stigand made but a ieast thereof saieng that the old man raued now in his sickenesse as men of great yéeres vse to doo Neuerthelesse the truth of this prophesie afterwards too plainlie appeared when England became the habitation of new strangers in such wise that there was neither gouernor bishop nor abbat remaining therein of the English nation But now to make an end with king Edward he was of person comelie of an indifferent stature of white haire both head and beard of face ruddie and in all parts of his bodie faire skinned with due state and proportion of lims as was thereto conuenient In the yéere before the death of king Edward a blasing starre appeared the which when a moonke of Malmesburie named Eilmer beheld he vttered these words as it were by way of prophesieng Thou art come saith he thou art come much to be lamented of manie a mother it is long agone sith I saw thée but now I doo behold thee the more terrible threatening destruction to this countrie by thy dreadfull appearance In the person of king Edward ceased by his death the noble progenie of the Westsaxon kings which had continued from the first yeare of the reigne of Cerdike or Cerdicius the space of 547 yeeres complet And from Egbert 266 yéeres Moreouer sith the progenie of the Saxon kings seemeth wholie to take end with this Edward surnamed the Confessor or the third of that name before the conquest we haue thought good for the better helpe of memorie to referre the reader to a catalog of the names as well of those that reigned among the Westsaxons who at length as ye haue heard obteined the whole monarchie as also of them which ruled in the other seuen kingdomes before the same were vnited vnto the said kingdome of the Westsaxons which catalog you shall find in the description of Britaine pag. 17 18 19. Here is to be remembred that as partlie before is expressed we find in some old writers how the first kings of seuen kingdomes of the Germane nation that bare rule in this I le fetcht their pedegrées from one Woden who begat of Frea his wife seuen sonnes that is to say 1 Uecta of whome came the kings of Kent 1 Fethelgeta or Frethegeath from whome the kings of Mercia descended 3 Balday of whose race the kings of the Westsaxons had their originall 4 Beldagius ancestor to the kings of Bernicia and the Northumbers 5 Wegodach or Wegdagus from whome came the kings of Deira 6 Caser from whome procéeded the kings of the Eastangles 7 Nascad alià s Saxuad of whome the kings of the Eastsaxons had their beginning And here you must note that although the kings of the eight kingdome that is of the Southsaxons or Sussex were descended of the same people yet were they not of the same line By other it should séeme that Woden had but fiue sonnes as Uecta great grandfather to Hengist Wepedeg ancestor to the kings of the Eastangles Uiclac from whome proceeded the kings of Mercia Saxuad from whom the kings of Essex came and Beldag of whose generation proceeded the kings of the Southsaxons Westsaxons and the Northumbers Moreouer there be that bring the genealogie from Noe or Noah the sonne of Lamech which Noe was the 9 in descent from Adam and Woden the 15 from Noe as you shall find in the historie of England lib. 6. pag. 141. col 2. Noe was the father to Sem the father of Bedwi the father of Wala the father of Hatria or Hathra the father of Itermod the father of Heremod the father of Sheaf or Seaf the father of Seldoa or Sceldua the father of Beatu or Beau the father of Theathwtj alià s Tadwa or Teathwy the father of Geta reputed for a god among the gentiles the father of Fingodulph otherwise Godulph the father of Fritwolfe otherwise Frâuin the father of Frâolaf alià s Freolater the father of Frethwold or Friderwald the father of the aforenamed Woden or Othen The peeres are in doubt to whome the rule of the land should be committed why they durst not that Edgar Edeling should vndertake it though he was interessed to the same how William duke of Normandie pretended a right to the crowne Harold the sonne of earle Goodwine crowned proclaimed and consecrated king his subtill and adulatorie meanes to win the peoples fauour duke William sendeth ambassadors to Harold to put him in mind of a promise passed to the said duke for his furtherance to obteine the crowne Harolds negatiue answer to the said ambassage as also to the marieng of the dukes daughter which was Harolds owne voluntarie motion he prouideth against the inuasions of the enimie as one doubting after-claps a blasing starre of seuen daies continuance The eight Chapter KIng Edward being thus departed this life the péeres of the land were in great doubt
perplexitie to whome they might best commit the roiall gouernement of the realme For there was not anie among them that had iust title thereto or able and apt to take the charge vpon him For although Edgar surnamed Edeling the sonne of Edward the outlaw that was sonne of Edmund Ironside was at the same time latelie come into England with his mother and sisters out of Hungarie where he was borne yet for that he was but a child not of sufficient age to beare rule they durst not as then commit the gouernement of the realme vnto him least as some haue thought his tendernesse of age might first bréed a contempt of his person and therewith minister occasion to ciuill discord wherby a shipwracke of the estate might ensue to the great annoie and present ouerthrow of such as then liued in the same But what consideration soeuer they had in this behalfe they ought not to haue defrauded the yoong gentlemen of his lawfull right to the crowne For as we haue heard and séene God whose prouidence and mightie power is shewed by ouerthrowing of high and mightie things now and then by the weake and féeble hath gouerned states and kingdomes oftentimes in as good quiet and princelie policie by a child as by men of age and great discretion But to the purpose beside the doubt which rested among the lords how to bestow the crowne the manifold and strange woonders which were séene and heard in those daies betokening as men thought some change to be at hand in the state of the realme made the lords aâraid and namelie bicause they stood in great doubt of William duke of Normandie who pretended a right to the crowne as lawfull heire appointed by king Edward for that he was kin to him in the second and third degree For Richard the first of that name duke of Normandie begot Richard the second and Emma which Emma bare Edward by hir husband Ethelred Richard the second had also issue Richard the third and Robert which Robert by a concubine had issue William surnamed the bastard that was now duke of Normandie and after the death of his coosine king Edward made claime as is said to the crowne of England Whilest the lords were thus studieng and consulting what should be best for them to doo in these doubts Harold the son of Goodwine earle of Kent proclaimed himselfe king of England the people being not much offended therewith bicause of the great confidence and opinion which they had latelie conceiued of his valiancie Some write among whome Edmerus is one how king Edward ordeined before his death that Harold should succéed him as heire to the crowne and that therevpon the lords immediatlie after the said Edwards deceasse crowned Harold for their king and so he was consecrated by Aldred archbishop of Yorke according to the custom and maner of the former kings or as other affirme he set the crowne on his owne head without anie the accustomed ceremonies in the yéere after the birth of our sauiour 1066 or in the yéere of Christ 1065 after the account of the church of England as before is noted But how and whensoeuer he came to the seat roiall of this kingdome certeine it is that this Harold in the begining of his reigne considering with himselfe how and in what sort he had taken vpon him the rule of the kingdome rather by intrusion than by anie lawfull right studied by all meanes which way to win the peoples fauour and omitted no occasion whereby he might shew anie token of bountious liberalitie gentlenesse and courteous behauiour towards them The gréeuous customes also and taxes which his predecessors had raised he either abolished or diminished the ordinarie wages of his seruants and men of warre he increased and further shewed himselfe verie well bent to all vertue and goodnesse whereby he purchased no small fauor among such as were his subiects Whilest Harold went about thus to steale the peoples good willes there came ouer vnlooked for sundrie ambassadours from William the bastard duke of Normandie with commission to require him to remember his oth sometime made to the said William in the time of his extremitie which was that he the said Harold should aid him in the obteining of the crowne of England if king Edward should happen to die without issue This couenant he made as it is supposed in king Edwards daies when by licence of the same Edward or rather as Edmerus writeth against his will he went ouer into Normandie to visit his brethren which laie there as pledges Howbeit at this present Harolds answer to the said ambassadors was that he would be readie to gratifie the duke in all that he could demand so that he would not aske the realme which alreadie he had in his full possession And further he declared vnto them as some write that as for the oth which he had made in times past vnto duke William the same was but a constreined no voluntarie oth which in law is nothing since thereby he tooke vpon him to grant that which was not in his power to giue he being but a subiect whilest king Edward was liuing For if a promised vow or oth which a maid maketh concerning the bestowing of hir bodie in hir fathers house without his consent is made void much more an oth by him made that was a subiect and vnder the rule of a king without his souereignes consent ought to be void and of no value He alledged moreouer that as for him to take an oth to deliuer the inheritance of anie realme without the generall consent of the estates of the same could not be other than a great péece of presumption yea although he might haue iust title therevnto so it was an vnreasonable request of the duke at this present to will him to renounce the kingdome the gouernance whereof he had alreadie taken vpon him with so great fauor and good liking of all men Duke William hauing receiued this answer and nothing liking thereof sent once againe to Harold requiring him then at the least-wise that he would take his daughter to wife according to his former promise in refusing whereof he could make no sound allegation bicause it was a thing of his owne motion and in his absolute power both to grant and to performe But Harold being of a stout courage with proud countenance frowned vpon the Norman ambassadors and declared to them that his mind was nothing bent as then to yéeld therevnto in any maner of wise And so with other talke tending to the like effect he sent them away without anie further answer The daughter of duke William whome Harold should haue maried was named Adeliza as Gemeticensis saith and with hir as the same author writeth it was couenanted by duke William that Harold should inioy halfe the realme in name of hir dower Howbeit some write that
this daughter of duke William was departed this life before the comming of these ambassadors and that Harold therevpon thought himselfe discharged of the oth and couenants made to duke William and therefore sent them away with such an vntoward answer But howsoeuer it was after the departure of these ambassadors king Harold doubting what would insue caused his ships to be newlie rigged his men of warre to be mustered and spéedilie put in a readinesse to the end that if anie sudden inuasion should be made and attempted by his enimie he might be able to resist them ¶ About the same time also and vpon the 24 of Aprill whilest Harold was making prouision to withstand the Norman force there appeared a blasing starre which was séene not onelie here in England but also in other parts of the world and continued the space of seuen daies This blasing starre might be a prediction of mischéefe imminent hanging ouer Harolds head for they neuer appeare but as prognosticats of afterclaps To be resolutelie instructed herein doo but peruse a treatise intituled A doctrine generall of comets or blasing starres published by a bishop of Mentz in Latine and set foorth in English by Abraham Fleming vpon the apparition of a blasing starre séene in the southwest on the 10 of Nouember 1577 and dedicated to the right worshipfull sir William Cordell knight then maister of hir maiesties rolles c. Earle Tostie afflicteth his brother Harold on sea and land he taketh the repulse and persuadeth Harfager king of Norweâe to attempt the conquest of England against Harold Harfager Tostie with their powers arriue at Humber they fight with the Northumbers vnder the conduct of Edwine and Marchar and discomfit them Harold leuieth an armie against them the rare valiantnes of a Norwegian souldior Harfager and Tostie slaine in battell the Norwegians are foiled and flie Harolds vnequall and parciall diuiding of the spoile he goeth to Yorke to reforme things amisse The ninth Chapter WHilest Harold desirous to reteine and verie loth to let go his vsurped roialtie had crackt his credit with the duke of Normandie and by his lewd reuolting from voluntarie promises ratified with solemne othes had also kindled the fire of the dukes furie against him it came to passe that the proud and presumptuous man was to begin withall vexed in his owne flesh I meane his owne kinred For Tostie the brother of king Harold who in the daies of king Edward for his crueltie had béene chased out of the realme by the Northumbers returning out of Flanders assembled a nauie of ships from diuers parts to the number of 60 with the which he arriued in the I le of Wight there spoiled the countrie and afterward sailing about by the coasts of Kent he tooke sundrie preies their also and came at the last to Sandwich so that Harold was now constreined to appoint the nauie which he had prepared against the Normans to go against his brother earle Tostie Whereof the said Tostie being aduertised drew towards Lindsey in Lincolnshire and there taking land did much hurt in the countrie both with sword and fire till at length Edwine earle of Mercia and Marchar earle of Northumberland aided with the kings nauie chased him from thence and caused him to flie into Scotland not without some losse both of his men and ships This trouble was scarse quieted but streightwaies another came in the necke thereof farre more dangerous than the first For Tostie perceiuing that he could get no aid in Scotland to make anie account of sailed forth into Norweie and there persuaded Harold Harfager king of that realme to saile with an armie into England persuading him that by meanes of ciuill dissention latelie kindled betwixt the king and his lords which was not so it should be an easie matter for him to make a conquest of the whole realme and reigne ouer them as his predecessors had done before Some authors affirme that Harold king of Norwey tooke this enterprise in hand of his owne mind and not by procurement of Tostie saieng that Tostie méeting with him in Scotland did persuade him to go forward in his purposed busines and that the said Harold Harfager with all conuenient spéed passed foorth with a nauie of 300 saile entered into the riuer of Tine where after he had rested a few daies to refresh his people earle Tostie came also with his power according to an appointment which should be made betweene them They ad furthermore that they sailed forth alongst the coast till they arriued in the mouth of Humber then drawing vp against the streame of the riuer Owse they landed at length at a place called Richhall from whence they set forward to inuade the countrie néere vnto Yorke on the north-side of the citie they fought with the power of the Northumbers which was led by the earls Edwine and Marchar two brethren and there discomfited and chased them into the citie with great slaughter and bloudshed Harold king of England being aduertised of this chance made the more hast forward for he was alreadie in the field with his armie intending also to come towards his enimies so that vpon the fift day after he came to Stamford bridge finding there the said king Harfager and Tostie readie imbattelled he first assailed those that kept the bridge where as some writers affirme a Norwegian souldier with his axe defended the passage mauger the whole host of the Englishmen and slue fortie of them or more with his axe might not be ouercome till an Englishman went with a boat vnder the said bridge and through and hole thereof thrust him vp into the bodie with his speare yet Matt. West saith that he was slaine with a dart which one of king Harold his seruants threw at him so ended his life Which bridge being woone the whole host of the Englishmen passed ouer and ioined with their enimies and after a verie great and sore battell put them all to flight In this conflict Harold Harfager king of the Norwegians was slaine so was Tostie the king of England his brother besides a great number of other as well in the battell as in the chase neither did the Englishmen escape all frée for the Norwegians fought it out a long time verie stoutlie beating downe and killing great numbers of such as assailed them with great courage and assurance The residue of the Norwegians that were left to keepe their ships vnder the guiding of Olaue sonne to the king of Norwaie and Paule earle of Orkneie after they vnderstood by their fellowes that escaped from the field how the mater went with Harfager and Tostie they hoised vp their sailes and directed their course homewards bearing sorowfull newes with them into their countrie of the losse of their king and ouerthrow of all his people Some write that
or Elfer duke of Mercia departed this life Alfrike or Elfrike duke of Mercia Fabian Wil. Malm. Matt. West Vita Dunstani Iohn Capgr Osborne Ran. Higd. Polychron Wil. Malm. Matt. Westm. The Danes inuade this land Alias Wecederport H. Hunt Simon Dun. Danes vanquished Simon Dun. Goda earle of Deunonshire slaine Matt. VVest 991 Ten thousand pounds paid to the Danes Danegilt Wil. Malm. 992 Hen. Hunt A nauie set forth Alfrike a traitour to his countrie Matth. West Henr. Hunt The son punished for his fathers offense 993 Simon Dun. Polydor. Matth. West Aulafe king of Norway Swein king of Denmarke were capteins of this fleet as saith Simon Dun. 994 Hen. Hunt Wil. Malm. The king compoundeth with the Danes for monie Matt. West Simon Dun. Aulafe king of Norwey baptised His promise Iohn Leland Simon Dun. 995 The church of Durham builded Earle Uthred Durham town and minster builded 997 The Danes inuade the west parts of this land Tauestocke 998 999 The Danes arriue in the Thames 1000 1001 Exmouth Pentho Disagréement with councellors what ãâã fruit it bringeth The misgouernement of the king Sicknesse vexing the people Treason in the nobilitie The inhancing of the tribute paid to the Danes The death of quéene Elgina Emma Hen. Hunt 1002 Emma daughter of R. duke of Normandie maried to K. Edgar 1012 The 13 of Nouember The murder of the Danes Hownhill or Houndhill a place within Merchington parish beside the forest of Néedwood somewhat more than two miles from Utoxcester The miserable state of this realme vnder the thraldome of the Danes Hector Boet. Lordane whereof the word came Hen. Hunt Simon Dun. The Danes returne to inuade England Excester taken 1002 Hugh a Norman conspireth with the Danes The counterfeit sicknesse of duke Edrike Wilton spoiled Simon Dun. 1004 Swein king of Denmarke Norwich taken by the Danes Thetford burnt Uikillus or Wilfeketell gouernour of Norffolke Hen. Hunt 1005 Swaine returned into Denmarke Simon Dun. 1006 Hen. Hunt Swaine returned into England The Danes winter in the I le of Wight They inuade Hampshire Barkeshire c. Winchester 1007 36000 pound saith Si. Dun. Edrike de Streona made duke or earle of Mercia Wil. Malm. Henr. Hunt Simon Dun. An hundred acres is an hide of land 1008 Prouision for ships and armour Matt. West Danes land at Sandwich 1009 3000 pound saith Si. Dun. Sussex and Hampshire spoiled The Danes returne into Kent 1010 Oxford burnt Stanes Gipswich in Suffolke Simon Dun. Caput formicae Thetford Cambridge Hen. Hunt She Danes arriue in the Thames 1011 Northampton burnt by Danes How manie shires the Danes wasted The king senbeth to the Danes Simon Dun. 1011 Canturburie woone by Danes Fabian ex Anâonino The archbishop Elphegus taken Hen. Hunt Antoninus Vincentius Wil. Lamb. ex Asserio Meneuensi alijs 1112 Henr. Hunt The archbishop Elphegus murthered Miracles Elphegus buried in London Translated to Canturburie Wil. Malms Turkillus held Norffolk and Suffolke 48 thousand pound as saith Sim. Dun. and M. West Henr. Hunt Matth. West Gunthildis the sister of K. Swaine murthered Wil. Malm. Turkillus discloseth the secrets of the realme to K. Swaine Simon Dun. Swaine prepareth an armie to inuade England He landeth at Sandwich 1013 Gainsbourgh The Northumbers yeeld to Swaine The people of Lindsey yeeld themselues to him Simon Dun. South Mercia Sim. Dunel Swaine assaulteth London Polydor. Wil. Malm. Erle of Deuonshire as saith Matt. West Polydor. Swaine returneth into Denmarke Swaine returneth into England to make warre King Egelred discomfited in battell King Egelred determineth to giue place vnto Swaine He sendeth his wife and sonnes ouer into Normandie Richard duke of Normandie Simon Dun. Hen. Hunt Turkill 1014 King Egelred passeth into Normandie Swaine handleth the Englishmen hardlie Fabian S. Edmund fighteth for the wealth but not for the slaughter of his people Simon Dun. 1115 Albertus Crantz Saxo Granamaticus Wil. Malm. H. Hunt Canute or Cnute Egelred sent for home Edmund K. Egelreds eldest sonne King Egelred returneth into England Cnutes endeuor to establish himselfe in the kingdome S. Edmunds ditch Polydor. Fabian Cnute driuen to forsake the land He was driuen thither by force of contrarie winds as should appeare by Matth. West The cruell decrée of Cnute against the English pledges Will. Malmes This Turkill was reteined in seruice with Egelred as I thinke Encomium Emmae 1015 Matt. VVest Simon Dun. Wil. Malm. Matth. West A councell at Oxford Sigeferd and Morcad murdered Edmund the kings eldest sonne marrieth the widow of Sigeferd Cnute returneth into England ãâ¦ã Wil. Malm. Hen. Hunt Matth. West Sim. Dun. King Egelred sicke Matth. West Edrike de Streona ââeth to the Danes Simon Dun. The west countrie The people of Mercia would not yéeld Matth. West Hen. Hunt 1016 Warwikeshire wasted by the Danes King Egelred recouered of his sicknesse He assembleth an armie in vaine Wil. Malm. Edmund king Egelreds sonne Cnute what countries he passed through Earle Utred deliuered pledges to Cnute Alâds Egricus Cnute prepareth to besiege London King Egelred departed this life Simon Dun. Matth. West He is buried in the church of S. Paul at London The pride of king Egelred alienated the harts of his people Sée the historie of Cambriae pag. 62 63 Edmund Ironside The kingdom goeth where the spiritualtie fauoureth The author of the booke intituled Encomium Emmae saith that it was reported that Edmund offered the combate vnto Cnute at this his going from the citie but Cnute refused it 1016 Ran. Higd. Hen. Hunt Simon Dun. London besieged Cnute at Galingham in Dorsetshire put to flight Polydor. Salisburie besieged Simon Dun. Matt. West Wit Malm. I battell with equall fortune An other battell with like successe Edrike de Streona his treason Simon Dun. Twentie thousand dead bodies The armies dislodged The Danes ouercome at Brentford Wil. Malm. Hen. Hunt Fabian Caxton Polydor. Hent Hunt The riuer of Medwaie King Edmunds diligence The battell is begun The Danes put to flight The number of Danes slaine Polydor. Fabian Ran. Higd. Matt. West Hen. Hunt Will. Malmes Noble men slaine at the battell of Ashdone Simon Dun. Wil. Malm. King Edmund withdraweth unto Glocestershire Polydor. Matth. West Simon Dun. Matth. West saith this was Edrike The two kings appoint to try the matter by a combat Oldney Matt. Westm. Cnute of what stature he was Cnute ouermatched Cnutes woords to Edmund H. Hunt They take vp the matter betwixt them selues Wil. Malm. Encomium Emmae This is alleged touching the partitioÌ of the kingdome K. Edmund traitorcuster slaine at Oxford Fabian Simon Dan. This is allged againe for the proofe of Edmunds natural death Fabian Ranul Hig. Hen. Hunt Some thinke that he was duke of Mercia before and now had Essex adioined thereto Diuerse and discordant reports of Edmunds death Ran. Higd. Will. Malm. Canute Knought or Cnute 1017 Wil. Malm. Ran. Higd. King of chârles Wil. Malm. Ran. Higd. Polydor. King Cnute maried to quéene Emma the widow of Egelred in Iulie anno 1017. Polydor.
The couenants made at the mariage betwixt Cnute and Emma The english bloud restored The praise of quéene Emma for hir wisdome Encomium Emmae Matth. West Wil. Malm. 1018 Edrike put to death Simon Dân ãâ¦ã Hen. Hunt Lords put to death A taxe raised 1019 King Câââpasseth into Denmarke Earle God wen his seruice in Denmarke Cnute had the Englishman in estimation for their good seriuce 1028 Cnute ãâã againe into Denmarke Will. Male. Matth. West Albernus Crance Magnus Olauus Fabian Polydor. Hen. Hunt Other say that he went forth of Denmarke to Rome Simon Dun. Anno 1013. 1032 Wil. Malm. Matth. West 1033 Scots subdued Hen. Hunt Anno 1035. Wil. Malm. The death of king Cnute Hen. Hunt Alb. Crantz The large dominion of K. Cnute Hen. Hunt Alb. Crantz Grants made to the benefit of Englishmen at the instance of king Cnute Fabian Polydor. Matt. West He caused his chaire to be set there as Matth. West saith Hen. Hunt The saieng of king Cnute Zealouslie inough if it had bm according to true knowledge Ran. Higd. Polydor. Matth. West Polydor. Flatterie reproued Polydor. Alb. Crantz Polydor. Fabian Which is supposed to be Barelow for Aâhdone it selfe is halfe a mile from thence 1020 Simon Dun. Leofrike earle of Chester King Cnutes lawes Harold Matth. West Wil. Malm. Controâeâsâ for the crownâ Simon Dun. The realme diuided betwixt Harold and Harticnute The authoritie of earle Goodwine H. Hunt The refusall of the archbishop Elnothus to consecrate king Harold 1036 Harold why he is surnamed Harefoot Harold euill spoken of Ran. Higd. ex Mariano Matth. West âan Higd. Sée maister Fox acts and monuments pag. 112. Simon Dun. A counterfet letter Goodwin was suspected to do this vnder a colour to betray him as by writers it séemeth Not onelie Goodwine but other such as king Harold appointed took Alfred with his Normans Simon Dun. Quéene Emma banished Polydor. Harold degenerateth from his father Hen. Hunt A name in a readinesse Euill men the longer they liue the more they grow into miserie Wil. Malm. Hen. Hunt Wil. Malm. Hardicnute or Hardiknought Alteration in the state of things Simon Dun. â Matt. West say that he was at Bruges in Flanders with his mother when he was thus sent for being come thither to visit hir 1041 Quéene Emma sent for The bodie of king Harold taken vp and throwen into Thames S Clement Danes A tribute raised Hen. Hunt Simoâ Dun. Wil. Mâlm Matth. West Sim. Dun. Matt. West Ran. Higd. Marianus Polydor. The bishop of worcester accused for making away of Alfred Earle Goodwin excuseth himselfe The gift which earle Goodwiâ gaue to the king Polydor. The death of K. Hardicnute Sim. Dunel Matth. West 1042 K. Hardicnute his conditions and liberalitie in housekéeping Hen. Hunt Of whom the Englishmen learned excessiue féeding The end of the Danish rulers Edward Hen. Hunt Polydor. Henâ Hunt Wil. Malm. The third of Aprill 1043 Ran. Higd. ex Mariano Alb. Crantz Polydor. Danes expelled Simon Dun. Goniââ néece to K. Swaine Polydor. K. Edward marieth the daughter of earle Goodwine Polydor. K. Edward absteineth from the companie of his wife K. Edward dealeth strictlie with his mother quéene Emma Quéene Emma despoiled of hir goods She is accused of dissolute liuing Ran. Higd. She purgeth hir selfe by the law Ordalum Wil. Malm. Ran. Higd. Robert archbishop of Canturburie Frenchmen or Normans first entered into England 1047 ãâ¦ã ãâ¦ã This Bearne was the sonne of Uâius a Dane vncle to this Swaine vp his mother the âââter of K. Swaine H. Hunt Hen. Hunt The Danes spoile Sandwich Rise â Griâfin princes of wales 1049 Simon Dun. Hermanus Contractus Ia. Meir Simon Dun. Fabian 1051 Matth. West ãâ¦ã ãâ¦ã ãâ¦ã ãâ¦ã The earle ãâã to the king Earle Goodwine offended with the king for fauouring strangers A councel called at Glocester Siward earle of Northumberland Leofrike earle of Chester Rafe earle of Hereford Will. Malmes Earle Goodwine meaneth to defend him selfe against the king Swaine Ran. Higd. Matth. West Simon Dun. Harold Simon Dun. Wil. Malm. Swaine eldest sonne to Goodwine banished Earle Goodwine fled the realme Goodwine and his sonnes proclaimed outlawes The king put awaie his wife Editha 1052 Hen. Hunt Griffin king of wales destroieth Herefordshire Harold inuadeth the shires of Dorset and Summerset Simon Dun. It séemeth that earle Goodwine was well friended Ran. Higd. Matth. West Simon Dun. Wil. Malm. Ran. Higd. Will. Malmes William duke of Normandie commeth ouer into England Polydor. K. Edwards promise to duke William The archbishop of Canturburie banished Normans vanished the realme ãâã archbishop of Canturburie Ranul Hig. Fabian Stigand infamed of simonie What maner of men méet to be bishops in those daies Polydor. The lawes of S. Edward instituted 1053 or 1054 Hector Boet. Polydor. Will. Malmes Matth. West Ran. Higd. ex Mariano Simon Dun. This is the likeliest tale Hen. Hunt Polydor. Will. Malm. Matth. West 1054 Hector Boet. Simon Dun. M. West Matth. West 105â Hent Hunt 1055 Matth. West Simon Dun. The welshmen obteine the victorie against Englishmen and Normans Stratcluid Snowdon The citie of Hereford fortified by Harold The deceasse of Siward earle of Northumberland Ran. Higd. Edward the outlaw departed this life 1057 Leofrike earle of Chester departed this life Ran. Higd. Mat. West Couentrie made frée of toll and custome Churches in Chester built Hent Hunt Algar earle of Chester exiled 1058 Simon Dun. 1063 Simon Dun. Mat. West Wales destroied and harried by the Englishmen The welshmen agrée to pay their accustomed tribute 1064 Wil. Malm. Simon Dun. Wil. Malm. Harold goeth ouer into Normandie Polydor. Edmerus Mat. West Wil. Malm. Harold is presented to william duke of Normandie Hen. Hunt Harold was highlie welcomed of duke William Matth. West Duke William promised to Harold his daughter in marriage Polydor. When the promise was made by king Edward to make ãâã William ãâã heire Hen. Hunt Matth. West Fabian Falling out betwixt brethren The cruell dealing of earle Tostie The Northumbers râbell against Tostie their earle Wil. Malm. Marcharus made earle of Northumberland It Edward departed this life Simon Dun. K. Edward his maners and disposition of mind described A diuell fetching gambols A tale of a ring King Edward canonized for a saint Wil. Molms Matt. Westm. Matt. West Simon Dun. Io. Textor Harold K. Edward departed this life An Christi 1065 after the account of the church of England Matth. West Polydor. Edeling that is a noble man and such one as is come of the kings bloud Dukes of Normandie Harold proclaimed king of England Edmerus Matth. West Harold séeketh to win the peoples hearts Sim. Dunel An ambassage from Nââmandie K. Harolds answer Eâdmerus Matth. West Duke William eftsoones sendeth to king Harold Gemeticensis Wil. Malm. Polydor. Rog. Houed Simon Dun. Tostie séekes to disquiet his brother Matt. VVest saith but 40. Polydor. Ran. Higd. Sim. Dun. Wil. Malm. Tostie repelled Polydor. Ran. Higd. Harold Harfager king of Norweie Matt. West Simon Dun. Simon Dun. saith 500. The Norwegians arriue in Humber Richhall Hen. Hunt The English men discomfited This battell was fought on the the euen of S. Matthew the apostle as saith Si. Dun. Wil. Malm. Hen. Hunt Matt. West The Norwegians discomfited The king of Norwaie and Tostie slaine This battell was fought on the 25 of September as saith Si. Dun. Matth. West Simon Dun. M. West Unequell diuiding of the spoile Wil. Malm. Ia. Meir Baldwine earle of Flanders aided duke William to conquere England Wil. Geme The chronicles of Normandie haue 896 ships Duke william landed at Peuensey now Pemsey Hen. Hunt Wil. Lamb. The pope fauored duke Williams enterprise Matth. West Gemeticensis Wil. Malm. Matth. West Normans berds shauen Wil. Malm. Hen. Marle Girth would not haue his brother king Harold fight himselfe Gemeticensis Tibul. lib. 1. Will. Malmes The order of the Englishmen Matth. West The arraie of the Normans Hen. Hunt Will. Malmes Polydor. The battell betwixt king Harold and duke William is begun The policie of duke William to disorder his enimies H. Hunt Will. Malm. A sore foughten battell King Harold slaine Wil. Malm. Matth. West The Englishmen put to flight Chron. de bello Wil. Geme The Normans fall into a ditch Giral Camb. Wil. Malm. Hen. Hunt Matth. West Floriac Simon Dun. Henr. Hunt Polydor. The chronicles of Normandie haue of English men slaine 67974 and of Normans 6013. Ex 6. libro Polycraticon siue de nugis curialââm Iohn Saâish 1069 Ye must note that there was one Richard duke of Normandie before Rollo Wil. Malm. lib. 3. cap. 1. Ranulph lib. 6. cap. 19. Wil. Malm. lib. 3. cap. 1. Ranulph lib. 6. cap. 19. Ran. li. 6. ca. 19. Wil. Malm. lib. 3. cap. 1. Ran. ibib Ran. ibid. Ran. ibid. Wil. Mal. idem Ran. idem Britaine inhabited by Brute 1 Britaine conquered by the Romans 2 Britaine conquered and ouercome by the Saxons 3 Britaine conquered and ouercome by the Danes 4 Britaine conquered and possessed by the Normans
of the Flatholme about foure or fiue miles the first also a mile and an halfe the other two miles or thereabout in length but neither of them a mile and an halfe in breadth where they doo seeme to be the broadest It should séeme by some that they are not worthie to be placed among Ilands yet othersome are of opinion that they are not altogither so base as to be reputed amongst flats or rocks but whatsoeuer they be this is sure that they oft annoie such passengers and merchants as passe and repasse vpon that riuer Neither doo I read of any other Iles which lie by east of these saue onlie the Barri and Dunwen the first of which is so called of one Barroc a religious man as Gyraldus saith and is about a flight shot from the shore Herin also is a rocke standing at the verie entrance of the cliffe which hath a little rift or chine vpon the side wherevnto if a man doo laie his eare he shall heare a noise as if smithes did worke at the forge sometimes blowing with their bellowes and sometimes striking and clinking with hammers whereof manie men haue great wonder and no maruell It is about a mile in compasse situat ouer against Aberbarry and hath a chappell in it Dunwen is so called of a church dedicated to a Welsh woman saint called Dunwen that standeth there It lieth more than two miles from Henrosser right against Neuen and hath within it two faire mils great store of conies Certes if the sand increase so fast hereafter as it hath done of late about it it will be vnited to the maine within a short season Beyond these toward the coast of Southwales lie two other Ilands larger in quantitie than the Holmes of which the one is called Caldee or Inis Pyr. It hath a parish-church with a spire steeple and a pretie towne belonging to the countie of Pembroke and iurisdiction of one Dauid in Wales Leland supposeth the ruines that are found therein to haue béene of an old priorie sometimes called Lille which was a cell belonging to the monasterie of S. Dogmael but of this I can saie nothing The other hight Londy wherein is also a village or towne and of this Iland the parson of the said towns is not onelie the captaine but hath thereto weife distresse and all other commodities belonging to the same It is little aboue sixteene miles from the coast of Wales though it be thirtie from Caldée and yet it serueth as I am informed lord and king in Deuonshire Moreouer in this Iland is great plentie of sheepe but more conies and therewithall of verie fine and short grasse for their better food pasturage likewise much Sampere vpon the shore which is carried from thence in barrels And albeit that there be not scarslie fourtie housholds in the whole yet the inhabitants there with huge stones alredie prouided may kéepe off thousands of their enimies bicause it is not possible for anie aduersaries to assaile them but onelie at one place and with a most dangerous entrance In this voiage also we met with two other Ilands one of them called Shepes I le the other Rat I le the first is but a little plot lieng at the point of the Baie before we come at the Blockhouse which standeth north of the same at the verie entrie into Milford hauen vpon the eastside By north also of Shepes I le and betwéene it Stacke rocke which lieth in the verie middest of the hauen at another point is Rat I le yet smaller than the former but what commodities are to be found in them as yet I cannot tell Schalmey the greater and the lesse lie northwest of Milford hauen a good waie They belong both to the crowne but are not inhabited bicause they be so often spoiled with pirates Schoncold I le ioineth vnto great Schalmey and is bigger than it onlie a passage for ships parteth them whereby they are supposed to be one Leland noteth them to lie in Milford hauen Beside these also we found the Bateholme Stockeholme Midland and Gresholme Iles and then doubling the Wellock point we came into a Baie where we saw saint Brides Iland and another in the Sound betwéene Ramsey and the point of all which Iles and such rocks as are offensiue to mariners that passe by them it may be my hap to speake more at large hereafter Limen as Ptolomie calleth it is situat ouer against S. Dauids in Wales wherevnto we must néeds come after we be past another little one which some men doo call Gresholme lieth directlie west of Schalmey In a late map I find this Limen to be called in English Ramsey Leland also confirmeth the same and I cannot learne more thereof than that it is much greater than anie of the other last mentioned sithens I described the Holmes and for temporall iurisdiction a member of Penbrookeshire as it is vnto S. Dauids for matters concerning the church Leland in his commentaries of England lib. 8. saieth that it contained thrée Ilets whereof the bishop of S. Dauids is owner of the greatest but the chanter of S. Dauids claimeth the second as the archdeacon of Cairmarden dooth the third And in these is verie excellent pasture for sheepe and horses but not for other horned beasts which lacke their vpper téeth by nature whose substance is conuerted into the nourishment of their hornes and therefore cannot bite so low Next vnto this I le we came to Mawr an Iland in the mouth of Mawr scant a bow shoot ouer and enuironed at the low water with fresh but at the high with salt and here also is excellent catching of herings After this procéeding on still with our course we fetched a compasse going out of the north toward the west and then turning againe as the coast of the countrie leadeth vntill we sailed full south leauing the shore still on our right hand vntill we came vnto a couple of Iles which doo lie vpon the mouth of the Soch one of them being distant as we gessed a mile from the other and neither of them of anie greatnesse almost worthie to be remembred The first that we came vnto is called Tudfall and therein is a church but without anie parishioners except they be shéepe and conies The quantitie thereof also is not much aboue six acres of ground measured by the pole The next is Penthlin Myrach or Mererosse situat in maner betwixt Tudfall or Tuidall and the shore and herein is verie good pasture for horsses wherof as I take it that name is giuen vnto it Next vnto them we come vnto Gwelyn a little I le which lieth southeast of the fall of Daron or Daren a thing of small quantitie and yet almost parted in the mids by water and next of all vnto Bardsey an Iland lieng ouer against Periuincle the southwest point or promontorie of Northwales where Merlin Syluestris
barnacls questioned with diuers persons about the same I haue red also whatsoeuer is written by forren authors touching the generation of that foule sought out some places where I haue béene assured to sée great numbers of them but in vaine Wherefore I vtterlie despaired to obteine my purpose till this present yeare of Grace 1584. and moneth of Maie wherein going to the court at Gréenewich from London by bote I saw sundrie ships lieng in the Thames newlie come home either from Barbarie or the Canarie Iles for I doo not well remember now from which of these places on whose sides I perceiued an infinit sort of shels to hang so thicke as could be one by another Drawing néere also I tooke off ten or twelue of the greatest of them afterward hauing opened them I saw the proportion of a foule in one of them more perfectlie than in all the rest sauing that the head was not yet formed bicause the fresh water had killed them all as I take it and thereby hindered their perfection Certeinelie the feathers of the taile hoong out of the shell at least two inches the wings almost perfect touching forme were garded with two shels or shéeldes proportioned like the selfe wings and likewise the brestbone had hir couerture also of like shellie substance and altogither resembling the figure which Lobell and Pena doo giue foorth in their description of this foule so that I am now fullie persuaded that it is either the barnacle that is ingendred after one maner in these shels or some other sea-foule to vs as yet vnknowen For by the feathers appearing and forme so apparant it cannot be denied but that some bird or other must proceed of this substance which by falling from the sides of the ships in long voiages may come to some perfection But now it is time for me to returne againe vnto my former purpose There hath sometime beene and yet is a bishop of this I le who at the first was called Episcopus Sodorensis when the iurisdiction of all the Hebrides belonged vnto him Whereas now he that is bishop there is but a bishops shadow for albeit that he beare the name of bishop of Man yet haue the earles of Darbie as it is supposed the cheefe profit of his sée sauing that they allow him a little somewhat for a flourish notwithstanding that they be his patrons and haue his nomination vnto that liuing The first bishop of this I le was called Wimundus or Raymundus and surnamed Monachus Sauinensis who by reason of his extreame and tyrannicall crueltie toward the Ilanders had first his sight taken from him then was sent into exile After him succéeded another moonke in king Stephens daies called Iohn and after him one Marcus c other after other in succession the sée it selfe being now also subiect to the archbishop of Yorke for spirituall iurisdiction In time of Henrie the second this Iland also had a king whose name was Cuthred vnto whome Vinianus the cardinall came as legate 1177. and wherin Houeden erreth not In the yeare also 1228. one Reginald was viceroy or petie king of Man afterward murthered by his subiects Then Olauus after him Hosbach the sonne of Osmond Hacon 1290. who being slaine Olauus and Gotredus parted this kingdome of Sodora in such wise that this had all the rest of the Iles the other onelie the I le of Man at the first but after the slaughter of Gotredus Olauus held all after whom Olauus his sonne succeeded Then Harald sonne to Olauus who being entered in Maie and drowned vpon the coastes of Ireland his brother Reginald reigned twentie and seuen daies and then was killed the first of Iune whereby Olauus aliàs Harald sonne to Gotred ruled in the I le one yeare Next vnto him succéeded Magnus the second sonne of Olauus and last of all Iuarus who held it so long as the Norwaies were lords thereof But being once come into the hands of the Scots one Godred Mac Mares was made lieutenant then Alane thirdlie Maurice Okarefer and fourthlie one of the kings chapleines c. I would gladlie haue set downe the whole catalog of all the viceroyes and lieutenants but sith I can neither come by their names nor successions I surcesse to speake any more of them and also of the I le it selfe whereof this may suffice After we haue in this wise described the I le of Man with hir commodities we returned eastwards backe againe vnto the point of Ramshed where we found to the number of six Ilets of one sort and other whereof the first greatest and most southwesterlie is named the Wauay It runneth out in length as we gessed about fiue miles and more from the southeast into the northwest betwéene which and the maine land lie two little ones whose names are Oldborrow and Fowlney The fourth is called the Fouldra and being situate southeast of the first it hath a prettie pile or blockhouse therin which the inhabitants name the pile of Fouldra By east thereof in like sort lie the Fola and the Roa plots of no great compasse and yet of all these six the first and Fouldra are the fairest and most fruitfull From hence we went by Rauenglasse point where lieth an Iland of the same denomination as Reginald Wolfe hath noted in his great card not yet finished nor likelie to be published He noteth also two other Ilets betwéene the same and the maine land but Leland speaketh nothing of them to my remembrance neither any other card as yet set foorth of England and thus much of the Ilands that lie vpon our shore in this part of my voiage Hauing so exactlie as to me is possible set downe the names and positions of such Iles as are to be found vpon the coast of the Quéenes Maiesties dominions now it resteth that we procéed orderlie with those that are séene to lie vpon the coast of Scotland that is to saie in the Irish the Deucalidonian the Germans seas which I will performe in such order as I may sith I cannot do so much therin as I would Some therefore doo comprehend and diuide all the Iles that lie about the north coast of this I le now called Scotland into thrée parts sauing that they are either occidentals the west Iles aliàs the Orchades Zelandine or the Shetlands They place the first betwéene Ireland and the Orchades so that they are extended from Man and the point of Cantire almost vnto the Orchades in the Deucalidonian sea and after some are called the Hebrides In this part the old writers in déed placed the Hebrides or Hemodes which diuers call the Hebudes and the Acmodes albeit the writers varie in their numbers some speaking of 30 Hebudes and seuen Hemodes some of fiue Ebudes as Solinus and such as follow his authoritie Howbeit the late Scottish writers doo product a summe of more than 300 of these Ilands in all which
of the Danish race And from thence vntill we came vnto the coast of Norffolke I saw no more Ilands Being therfore past S. Edmunds point we found a litle I le ouer against the fall of the water that commeth from Holkham likewise another ouer against the Claie before we came at Waburne hope the third also in Yarmouth riuer ouer against Bradwell a towne in low or little England whereof also I must néeds saie somewhat bicause it is in maner an Iland and as I gesse either hath béene or may be one for the brodest place of the strict land that leadeth to the same is little aboue a quarter of a mile which against the raging waues of the sea can make but small resistance Little England or low England therefore is about eight miles in length and foure in bredth verie well replenished with townes as Fristan Burgh castell Olton Flixton Lestoft Gunton Blundston Corton Lownd Ashebie Hoxton Belton Bradwell and Gorleston and beside this it is verie fruitfull and indued with all commodities Going forward from hence by the Estonnesse almost an Iland I saw a small parcell cut from the maine in Oxford hauen the Langerstone in Orwell mouth two péeces or Islets at Cattiwade bridge and then casting about vnto the Colne we beheld Merseie which is a pretie Iland well furnished with wood It was sometime a great receptacle for the Danes when they inuaded England howbeit at this present it hath beside two decaied blockehouses two parish churches of which one is called east Merseie the other west Merseie and both vnder the archdeacon of Colchester as parcell of his iurisdiction Foulenesse is an I le void of wood and yet well replenished with verie good grasse for neat and sheepe whereof the inhabitants haue great plentie there is also a parish church and albeit that it stand somewhat distant from the shore yet at a dead low water a man may as they saie ride thereto if he be skilfull of the causie it is vnder the iurisdiction of London And at this present master William Tabor bacheler of diuinitie and archdeacon of Essex hath it vnder his iurisdiction regiment by the surrender of maister Iohn Walker doctor also of diuinitie who liued at such time as I first attempted to commit this booke to the impression In Maldon water are in like sort thrée Ilands inuironed all with salt streames as saint Osithes Northeie and another after a mersh that beareth no name so far as I remember On the right hand also as we went toward the sea againe we saw Ramseie I le or rather a Peninsula or Biland likewise the Reie in which is a chappell of saint Peter And then coasting vpon the mouth of the Bourne we saw the Wallot Ile and his mates whereof two lie by east Wallot and the fourth is Foulnesse except I be deceiued for here my memorie faileth me on the one side and information on the other I meane concerning the placing of Foulenesse But to procéed After this and being entered into the Thames mouth I find no Iland of anie name except you accompt Rochford hundred for one whereof I haue no mind to intreat more than of Crowland Mersland Elie and the rest that are framed by the ouze Andredeseie in Trent so called of a church there dedicated to saint Andrew and Auon two noble riuers hereafter to be described sith I touch onelie those that are inuironed with the sea or salt water round about as we may see in the Canwaie Iles which some call marshes onelie and liken them to an ipocras bag some to a vice scrue or wide sléeue bicause they are verie small at the east end and large at west The salt rilles also that crosse the same doo so separat the one of them from the other that they resemble the slope course of the cutting part of a scrue or gimlet in verie perfect maner if a man doo imagine himselfe to looke downe from the top of the mast vpon them Betwéene these moreouer and the Leigh towne lieth another litle Ile or Holme whose name is to me vnknowne Certes I would haue gone to land and viewed these parcels as they laie or at the least haue sailed round about them by the whole hauen which may easilie be doone at an high water but for as much as a perrie of wind scarse comparable to the makerell gale whereof Iohn Anele of Calis one of the best seamen that England euer bred for his skill in the narow seas was woont to talke caught hold of our sailes caried vs forth the right waie toward London I could not tarie to sée what things were hereabouts Thus much therefore of our Ilands so much may well suffice where more cannot be had The description of the Thames and such riuers as fall into the same Cap. 11. HAuing as you haue séene attempted to set downe a full discourse of all the Ilands that are situat vpon the coast of Britaine and finding the successe not correspondent to mine intent it hath caused me somewhat to restreine my purpose in this description also of our riuers For whereas I intended at the first to haue written at large of the number situation names quantities townes villages castels mounteines fresh waters plashes or lakes salt waters and other commodities of the aforesaid Iles mine expectation of information from all parts of England was so deceiued in the end that I was fame at last onelie to leane to that which I knew my selfe either by reading or such other helpe as I had alreadie purchased and gotten of the same And euen so it happeneth in this my tractation of waters of whose heads courses length bredth depth of chanell for burden ebs flowings and falles I had thought to haue made a perfect description vnder the report also of an imagined course taken by them all But now for want of instruction which hath béene largelie promised slacklie perfourmed and other sudden and iniurious deniall of helpe voluntarilie offered without occasion giuen on my part I must needs content my selfe with such obseruations as I haue either obteined by mine owne experience or gathered from time to time out of other mens writings whereby the full discourse of the whole is vtterlie cut off and in steed of the same a mangled rehearsall of the residue set downe and left in memorie Wherefore I beséech your honour to pardon this imperfection and rudenesse of my labour which notwithstanding is not altogither in vaine sith my errors maie prooue a spurre vnto the better skilled either to correct or inlarge where occasion serueth or at the leastwise to take in hand a more absolute péece of worke as better direction shall incourage them thereto The entrance and beginning of euerie thing is the hardest and he that beginneth well hath atchiued halfe his purpose The ice my lord is broken and from hencefoorth it will be more easie for
also it goeth vnto Bruerne Shipton vnderwood Ascot Short hamton Chorleburie Corneburie parke Stonfield Longcombe and southeast of Woodstocke parke taketh in the Enis that riseth aboue Emstone and goeth to Ciddington Glimton Wotton where it is increased with a rill that runneth thither from stéeple Barton by the Béechin trée Woodstocke Blaidon so that after this confluence the said Enis runneth to CasuÌnton and so into the Isis which goeth from hence to Oxford and there receiueth the Charwell now presentlie to be described The head of Charwell is in Northamptonshire where it riseth out of a little poole by Charleton village seuen miles aboue Banberie northeast and there it issueth so fast at the verie surge that it groweth into a pretie streame in maner out of hand Soone after also it taketh in a rillet called the Bure which falleth into it about Otmere side but forasmuch as it riseth by Bincester the whole course therof is not aboue foure miles and therefore cannot be great A friend of mine prosecuting the rest of this description reporteth thereof as followeth Before the Charwell commeth into Oxfordshire it receiueth the Culen which falleth into the same a little aboue Edgcote and so descending toward Wardington it méeteth with another comming from by north west betweene Wardington and Cropreadie At Banberie also it méeteth with the Come which falleth from fennie Conton by Farneboro and afterwards going by kings Sutton not far from Aine it receiueth the discharge of diuerse rillets in one bottome before it come at Clifton The said water therfore ingendred of so manie brookelets consisteth chiefelie of two whereof the most southerlie called Oke commeth from Oke Norton by Witchington or Wiggington and the Berfords and carieng a few blind rils withall dooth méet with the other that falleth from by northwest into the same within a mile of Charwell That other as I coniecture is increased of thrée waters wherof each one hath his seuerall name The first of them therefore hight Tudo which comming betwéene Epwell and the Lée by Toddington ioineth about Broughton with the second that runneth from Horneton named Ornus as I gesse The last falleth into the Tude or Tudelake beneath Broughton and for that it riseth not far from Sotteswell in Warwikeshire some are of the opinion that it is to be called Sotbrooke The next water that méeteth without Charwell beneath Clifton commeth from about Croughton and after this is the Sowar or Swere that riseth north of Michaell Tew and runneth by nether Wotton The last of all is the Reie alià s Bure whose head is not far aboue Burcester alià s Bincester and Burncester and from whence it goeth by Burecester to Merton Charleton Fencote Addington Noke Islip and so into Charwell that holdeth on his course after this augmentation of the waters betwéene Wood and Water Eton to Marston and the east bridge of Oxford by Magdalene college and so beneath the south bridge into our aforesaid Isis. In describing this riuer this one thing right honorable is come vnto my mind touching the center and nauill as it were of England Certes there is an hillie plot of ground in Helledon parish not far from Danberie where a man maie stand and behold the heads of thrée notable riuers whose waters and those of such as fall into them doo abundantlie serue the greatest part of England on this side of the Humber The first of these waters is the Charwell alreadie described The second is the Leme that goeth westward into the fourth Auon And the third is the head of the Nene or fift Auon it selfe of whose courses there is no card but doth make sufficient mention and therefore your honour maie behold in the same how they doo coast the countrie and also measure by compasses how this plot lieth in respect of all the rest contrarie to common iudgement which maketh Northampton to be the middest and center of our countrie But to go forward with my description of the Ouse which being past Oxford goeth to Iflie Kennington Sanford Rodleie Newnham and so to Abington somtime called Sensham without increase where it receiueth the Oche otherwise called the Coche a little beneath S. Helens which runneth thither of two brooklets as I take it whereof one commeth from Compton out of the vale and west of the hill of the White horsse the other from Kings Letcombe and Wantage in Barkshire and in one chanell entreth into the same vpon the right side of his course From Abington likewise taking the Arun withall southwest of Sutton Courtneie it goeth by Appleford long Wittenham Clifton Wittenham the lesse beneath Dorchester taketh in the Thame water from whence the Isis loseth the preheminence of the whole denomination of this riuer and is contented to impart the same with the Thame so that by the coniunction of these two waters Thamesis is producted and that name continued euen vnto the sea Thame riuer riseth in the easterlie parts of Chilterne hils towards Penleie parke at a towne called Tring west of the said parke which is seauen miles from the stone bridge that is betweene Querendon and Ailsburie after the course of the water as Leland hath set downe Running therefore by long Merston and Puttenham Hucket and Bearton it receiueth soone after a rill that commeth by Querendon from Hardwike and yer long an other on the other side that riseth aboue Windouer in the Chilterne and passing by Halton Weston Turrill Broughton and Ailsburie it falleth into the Tame west of the said towne except my memorie doo faile me From this confluence the Tame goeth by Ethorpe the Winchingtons Coddington Chersleie Notleie abbeie and comming almost to Tame it receiueth one water from southeast aboue the said towne and another also from the same quarter beneath the towne so that Tame standeth inuironed vpon thrée sides with thrée seuerall waters as maie be easilie séene The first of these commeth from the Chiltern east of Below or Bledlow from whence it goeth to Hinton Horsenden Kingseie Towseie and so into the Tame The other descendeth also from the Chilterne and going by Chinner Crowell Siddenham and Tame parke it falleth in the end into Tame water and then they procéed togither as one by Shabbington Ricot parke Dracot Waterstoke Milton Cuddesdon and Chiselton Here also it taketh in another water from by-east whose head commeth from Chilterne hils not farre from Stocking church in the waie from Oxford to London From whence it runneth to Weston and méeting beneath Cuxham with Watlington rill it goeth on to Chalgraue Stadham and so into the Tame From hence our streame of Thame runneth to Newenton Draton Dorchester sometime a bishops see and a noble citie and so into the Thames which hasteth in like sort to Bensington Crowmarsh or Wallingford where it receiueth the Blaue descending from Blaueburg now Blewberie as I learne Thus haue I brought the Thames vnto
that runneth thither from Dent towne beneath Sebbar they continue their course as one into the Burbecke from whence it is called Lune From hence it goeth to Burbon chappell where it taketh in another rill comming from by east then to Kirbie Lansdale and aboue Whittenton crosseth a brooke comming from the countie stone by Burros and soone after beneath Tunstall and Greteie which descending from about Ingelborow hill passeth by Twiselton Ingleton Thorneton Burton Wratton and néere Thurland castell toucheth finallie with the Lune which brancheth and soone after vniteth it selfe againe After this also it goeth on toward New parke and receiueth the Wennie and the Hinburne both in one chanell of which this riseth north of the crosse of Greteie and going by Benthams and Roberts hill aboue Wraie taketh in the Rheburne that riseth north of Wulfecrag After this confluence also aboue New parke it maketh his gate by Aughton Laughton Skirton Lancaster Excliffe Awcliffe Soddaie Orton and so into the sea Thus haue you both the descriptions of Lune make your conference or election at your pleasure for I am sworne to neither of them both The next fall is called Docker and peraduenture the same that Leland dooth call the Kerie which is not farre from Wharton where the rich Kitson was borne it riseth north of Docker towne and going by Barwtjc hall it is not increased before it come at the sea where it falleth into the Lune water at Lunesands Next of all we come to Bitham becke which riseth not far from Bitham towne and parke in the hilles where about are great numbers of goates kept and mainteined and by all likelihood resorteth in the end to Linsands Being past this we find a forked arme of the sea called Kensands into the first of which diuerse waters doo run in one chanell as it were from foure principall heads one of them comming from Grarrig hall another froÌ by west of Whinfield ioining with the first on the east side of Skelmere parke The third called Sprot or Sprota riseth at Sloddale commeth downe by west of Skelmer parke so that these two brookes haue the aforesaid parke betwéene them fall into the fourth east of Barneside not verie farre in sunder The fourth or last called Ken commeth from Kentmers side out of Ken moore in a poole of a mile compasse verie well stored with fish the head whereof as of all the baronie of Kendall is in Westmerland going to Stauelope it taketh in a rill from Chappleton Inges Then leauing Colnehead parke by east it passeth by Barneside to Kendall Helston Sigath Siggeswijc Leuenbridge Milnethorpe and so into the sea Certes this Ken is a pretie déepe riuer and yet not safelie to be aduentured vpon with boates and balingers by reason of rolling stones other huge substances that off annoie trouble the middest of the chanell there The other péece of the forked arme is called Winstar the hed wherof is aboue Winstar chappell going downe almost by Carpmaunsell Netherslake it is not long yer it fall into the sea or sands for all this coast a gulfe from the Ramside point to the Mealenasse is so pestered with sands that it is almost incredible to sée how they increase Those also which inuiron the Kenmouth are named Kensands but such as receiue the descent from the Fosse Winander and Sparke are called Leuesands as I find by sufficient testimonie The mouth or fall of the Dodon also is not farre from this impechment wherefore it is to be thought that these issues will yer long become verie noisome if not choked vp altogither The Winander water riseth about Cimbarlrasestones from whence it goeth to Cangridge where it maketh a méere then to Ambleside and taking in yer it come there two rilles on the left hand and one on the right that commeth by Clapergate it maketh as I take it the greatest méere or fresh water in England for I read it is ten miles in length Finallie comming to one small chanell aboue Newbridge it reacheth not aboue six miles yer fall into the sea There is in like sort a water called the Fosse that riseth néere vnto Arneside and Tillerthwates and goeth foorth by Grisdale Satrethwate Rusland Powbridge Bowth and so falleth with the Winander water into the maine sea On the west side of the Fosse also commeth another through Furnesse felles and from the hilles by north thereof which yer long making the Thurstan lake not far from Hollinhow and going by Bridge end in a narrow chanell passeth foorth by Nibthwaits Blareth Cowlton Sparke bridge and so into the sea Hauing passed the Leuen or Conisands or Conistonesands or Winander fall for all is one I come to the Lew which riseth at Cewike chappell and falleth into the sea beside Plumpton The Rawther descending out of low Furnesse hath two heads whereof one commeth from Penniton the other by Ulmerstone abbeie and ioining both in one chanell they hasten into the sea whither all waters direct their voiage Then come we to another rill southwest of Aldingham descending by Glaiston castell and likewise the fourth that riseth néere Lindell and running by Dawlton castell and Furnesse abbeie not farre from the Barrow head it falleth into the sea ouer against Waueie and Waueie chappell except mine aduertisements misleade me The Dodon which from the head is bound vnto Cumberland and Westmerland commeth from the Shire stone hill bottome and going by Blackehill Southwake S. Iohns Uffaie parke Broughton it falleth into the faltwater betwéene Kirbie and Mallum castell And thus are we now come vnto the Rauenglasse point and well entred into Cumberland countie Comming to Rauenglasse I find hard by the towne a water comming from two heads and both of them in lakes or pooles whereof one issueth out of Denocke or Deuenocke méere and is called Denocke water the other named Eske from Eske poole which runneth by Eskedale Dalegarth and soone after meeting with the Denocke betwéene Mawburthwate and Rauenglasse falleth into the sea On the other side of Rauenglasse also commeth the Mite brooke from Miterdale as I read Then find we another which commeth from the hils and at the first is forked but soone after making a lake they gather againe into a smaller chanell finallie meeting with the Brenge they fall into the sea at Carleton southeast as I wéene of Drig The Cander or as Leland nameth it the Calder commeth out of Copeland forrest by Cander Sellefield and so into the sea Then come we to Euer water descending out of a poole aboue Coswaldhow and thence going by Euerdale it crosseth a water from Arladon and after procéedeth to Egremond S. Iohns and taking in another rill from Hide it is not long yer it méeteth with the sea The next fall is at Moresbie whereof I haue no skill From thence therefore
the crowne Being risen it hasteth directlie to old Saling Brainctrée crossing a rillet by the waie comming from Raine blacke Notleie white Notleie Falkeburne Wittham and falleth into the Blackewater beneath Braxsted on the south Beside this the said Pant or Gwin receiueth the Chelme or Chelmer which ariseth also in Wimbech aforesaid where it hath two heads of which the one is not farre from Brodockes where master Thomas Wiseman esquier dwelleth the other nigh vnto a farme called Highams in the same paroch and ioining yer long in one chanell they hie them toward Thacsted vnder Prowds bridge méeting in the waie wish a rill comming from Boiton end whereby it is somewhat increased Being past Thacsted it goeth by Tilteie and soone after receiueth one rill which riseth on the north side of Lindsell falleth into the Chelmer by northeast at Tilteie aforesaid another coÌming from southwest rising southeast from Lindsell at much Eiston From thence then holding on still with the course it goeth to Candfield the more Dunmow litle Dunmow Falsted Lies both Waltams Springfield and so to Chelmeresford Here vpon the south side I find the issue of a water that riseth fiue miles or thereabouts south and by west of the said towne from whence it goeth to Munasing Buttesburie there receiuing a rill from by west to Ingatstone Marget Inge Widford bridge Writtle bridge and so to Chelmeresford crossing also the second water that descendeth from Roxford south west of Writtle by the waie whereof let this suffice From hence the Chelmer goeth directlie toward Maldon by Badow Owting Woodham water Bilie and so to Blackwater northwest of Maldon receiuing neuerthelesse yer it come fullie thither a becke also that goeth from Lée parke to little Lées great Lées Hatfield Peuerell Owting and so into Blackwater whereof I spake before as Maldon streame dooth a rill from by south ouer against saint Osithes and also another by Bradwell After which the said streame growing also to be verie great passeth by the Tolshunts Tollesbie and so foorth into the maine sea néere vnto Merseie betwéene which fall and the place where Salute water entreth into the land Plautus abode the comming of Claudius sometime into Britaine when he being hardlie beeset did âând unto him for aid and spéedie succour who also being come did not onelie rescue his legat but in like manner wan Colchester and put it to the spoile if it be Camalodunum The Burne riseth somewhere about Ronwell and thence goeth to Hull bridge south Fambridge Kirke shot ferrie and so to Foulnesse And as this is the short course of that riuer so it brancheth and the south arme thereof receiueth a water comming from Haukewell to great Stanbridge and beneath Pakesham dooth méet by south with the said arme and so finish vp his course as we doo our voiage also about the coast of England Thus haue I finished the description of such riuers and streames as fall into the Ocean according to my purpose although not in so precise an order and manner of handling as I might if information promised had been accordinglie performed or others would if they had taken the like in hand But this will I saie of that which is here done that from the Solueie by west which parteth England Scotland on that side to the Twede which separateth the said kingdoms on the east if you go backeward contrarie to the course of my description you shall find it so exact as beside a verie few by-riuers you shall not need to vse anie further aduise for the finding and falles of the aforesaid streames For such hath beene my helpe of maister Sackfords cardes and conference with other men about these that I dare pronounce them to be perfect and exact Furthermore this I haue also to remember that in the courses of our streames I regard not so much to name the verie towne or church as the limits of the paroch And therefore if I saie it goeth by such a towne I thinke my dutie discharged if I hit vpon anie part or parcell of the paroch This also hath not a little troubled me I meane the euill writing of the names of manie townes and villages of which I haue noted some one man in the description of a riuer to write one towne two or thrée manner of waies whereby I was inforced to choose one at aduenture most commonlie that séemed the likeliest to be sound in mine opinion and iudgement Finallie whereas I minded to set downe an especiall chapter of ports and créeks lieng on ech coast of the English part of this Ile and had prouided the same in such wise as I iudged most conuenient it came to passe that the greater part of my labour was taken from me by stealth and therefore as discouraged to meddle with that argument I would haue giuen ouer to set downe anie thing therefore at all and so much the rather for that I sée it may prooue a spurre vnto further mischéefe as things come to passe in these daies Neuerthelesse because a little thereof is passed in the beginning of the booke I will set downe that parcell thereof which remaineth leauing the supplie of the rest either to my selfe hereafter if I may come by it or to some other that can better performe the same Of such ports and creeks as our sea-faring-men doo note for their benefit vpon the coasts of England Chap. 17. IT maie be that I haue in these former chapters omitted sundrie hauens to be found vpon the shore of England and some of them serued with backe waters through want of sound and sufficient information from such as haue written vnto me of the same In recompense whereof I haue thought good to adde this chapter of ports and creekes whereby so farre as to me is possible I shall make satisfaction of mine ouersights And albeit I cannot being too too much abused by some that haue béerest me of my notes in this behalfe bring my purpose to passe for all the whole coast of England round about from Berwike to the Solue yet I will not let to set downe so much as by good hap remaineth whereby my countriemen shall not altogither want that benefit hoping in time to recouer also the rest if God grant life and good successe thereto In Northumberland therefore we haue Berwike Holie Iland Bamborow Bedwell Donstanborow Cocket Iland Warkeworth Newbiggin Almow Blithes nuke and Tinmouth hauen In the bishoprijc Sonderland Stocketon Hartlepoole These In Yorkeshire Dapnam sands Steningreene Staies Runswike Robinhoods baie Whitbie Scarborow Fileie Flamborow Bricklington Horneseie becke Sister kirke Kelseie Cliffe Pattenton Holmes Kenningham Pall Hidon Hulbrige Beuerleie Hull Hasell Northferebie Bucke creeke Blacke cost Wrethell Howden In Lincolneshire Selbie Snepe Turnebrige Rodiffe Catebie Stockwith Torkeseie Gainsborow Southferebie Barton a good point Barrow a good hauen Skatermill a good port Penningham Stalingborow a good hauen Guimsbie a good port Clie
Shooters hill which rising east of London and not farre from the Thames runneth along the south side of the Iland westward vntill it come to Cornewall Like vnto these also are the Crowdon hils which though vnder diuers names as also the other from the Peke doo run into the borders of Scotland What should I speake of the Cheniot hilles which reach twentie miles in length of the blacke mounteines in Wales which go from to miles at the least in length of the Cle hilles in Shropshire which come within foure miles of Ludlow and are diuided from some part of Worcester by the Teme of the Grames in Scotland and of our Chiltren which are eightéene miles at the least from one end of them which reach from Henlie in Oxfordshire to Dunstable in Bedfordshire and are verie well replenished with wood and corne notwithstanding that the most part yéeld a sweet short grasse profitable for shéepe Wherein albeit they of Scotland doo somewhat come behind vs yet their outward defect is inwardlie recompensed not onelie with plentie of quarries and those of sundrie kinds of marble hard stone and fine alabaster but also rich mines of mettall as shall be shewed hereafter In this Iland likewise the winds are commonlie more strong and fierce than in anie other places of the maine which Cardane also espied and that is often séene vpon the naked hilles not garded with trées to beare and kéepe it off That grieuous inconuenience also inforceth our nobilitie gentrie and communaltle to build their houses in the vallies leauing the high grounds vnto their corne and cattell least the cold and stormie blasts of winter should bréed them greater annoiance whereas in other regions each one desireth to set his house aloft on the hill not onlie to be seene a farre off and cast forth his beames of statelie and curious workemanship into euerie quarter of the countrie but also in hot habitations for coldnesse sake of the aire sith the heat is neuer so vehement on the hill top as in the vallie because the reuerberation of the sunne beames either reacheth not so farre as the highest or else becommeth not so strong as when it is reflected vpon the lower soile But to leaue our buildings vnto the purposed place which notwithstanding haue verie much increased I meane for curiositie and cost in England Wales and Scotland within these few yeares and to returne to the soile againe Certeinelie it is euen now in these our daies growne to be much more fruitfull than it hath béene in times past The cause is for that our countriemen are growne to be more painefull skilfull and carefull through recompense of gaine than heretofore they haue béene insomuch that my Synchroni or time fellows can reape at this present great commoditie in a little roome whereas of late yeares a great compasse hath yéelded but small profit and this onelie through the idle and negligent occupation of such as dailie manured and had the same in occupieng I might set downe examples of these things out of all the parts of this Iland that is to saie manie of England more out of Scotland but most of all out of Wales in which two last rehearsed verie little other food and liuelihood was woont to be looked for beside flesh more than the soile of it selfe and the cow gaue the people in the meane time liuing idelie dissolutelie and by picking and stealing one from another All which vices are now for the most part relinquished so that each nation manureth hir owne with triple commoditie to that it was before time The pasture of this Iland is according to the nature and bountie of the soile whereby in most places it is plentifull verie fine batable and such as either fatteth our cattell with speed or yéeldeth great abundance of milke and creame whereof the yellowest butter and finest chéese are made But where the blue claie aboundeth which hardlie drinketh vp the winters water in long season there the grasse is spearie rough and verie apt for bushes by which occasion it commeth nothing so profitable vnto the owner as the other The best pasture ground of all England is in Wales of all the pasture in Wales that of Cardigan is the cheefe I speake of the same which is to be found in the mounteines there where the hundred part of the grasse growing is not eaten but suffered to rot on the ground whereby the soile becommeth matted and diuerse bogges and quicke moores made withall in long continuance because all the cattell in the countrie are not able to eat it downe If it be to be accompted good soile on which a man may laie a wand ouer night and on the morrow find it hidden and ouergrowen with grasse it is not hard to find plentie thereof in manie places of this land Neuertheles such is the fruitfulnes of the aforsaid countie that it farre surmounteth this proportion whereby it may be compared for batablenesse with Italie which in my time is called the paradise of the world although by reason of the wickednesse of such as dwell therein it may be called the sinke and draine of hell so that whereas they were woont to saie of vs that our land is good but our people euill they did but onlie speake it whereas we know by experience that the soile of Italie is a noble soile but the dwellers therein farre off from anie vertue or goodnesse Our medowes are either bottomes whereof we haue great store and those verie large bicause our soile is hillie or else such as we call land meads and borowed from the best fattest pasturages The first of them are yearelie often ouerflowen by the rising of such streames as passe through the same or violent falles of land-waters that descend from the hils about them The other are seldome or neuer ouerflowen and that is the cause wherefore their grasse is shorter than that of the bottomes and yet is it farre more fine wholesome and batable sith the haie of our low medowes is not onelie full of sandie cinder which breedeth sundrie diseases in our cattell but also more rowtie foggie and full of flags and therefore not so profitable for stouer and forrage as the higher meads be The difference furthermore in their commodities is great for whereas in our land meadowes we haue not often aboue one good load of haie or peraduenture a little more in an acre of ground I vse the word Carrucata or Carruca which is a waine load and as I remember vsed by Plinie lib. 33. cap. 11. in low meadowes we haue sometimes thrée but commonlie two or vpward as experience hath oft confirmed Of such as are twise mowed I speake not sith their later math is not so wholsome for cattell as the first although in the mouth more pleasant for the time for thereby they become oftentimes to be rotten or to increase so fast in bloud that the garget and other
neither regarding either maners or obedience doo oftentimes come to confusion which if anie correction or discipline had béene vsed toward them in youth might haue prooued good members of their common-wealth countrie by their good seruice and industrie I could make report likewise of the naturall vices and vertues of all those that are borne within this Iland but as the full tractation herof craueth a better head than mine to set foorth the same so will I giue place to other men that list to take it in hand Thus much therefore of the constitutions of our bodies and so much may suffice How Britaine at the first grew to be diuided into three portions Cap. 21. AFter the comming of Brutus into this Iland which was as you haue read in the foresaid treatise about the yeare of the world 2850 or 1217 before the incarnation of Christ although Goropius after his maner doo vtterlie denie our historie in this behalfe he made a generall surueis of the whole Iland from side to side by such means to view and search out not onelie the limits and bounds of his dominions but also what commodities this new atchiued conquest might yéeld vnto his people Ferthermore finding out at the last also a conuenable place wherin to erect a citie he began there euen the verie same which at this daie is called London naming it Trenouanton in remembrance of old Troie from whence his ancestors proceeded and for which the Romans pronounced afterward Trinobantum although the Welshmen doo call it still Trenewith This citie was builded as some write much about the tenth yeare of his reigne so that he liued not aboue fiftéene yeares after he had finished the same But of the rest of his other acts attempted and doone before or after the erection of this citie I find no certeine report more than that when he had reigned in this Iland after his arriuall by the space of foure and twentie yeares he finished his daies at Trenouanton aforesaid being in his yoong and florishing age where his carcase was honourablie interred As for the maner of his death I find as yet no mention thereof among such writers as are extant I meane whether it grew vnto him by defect of nature or force of gréeuous wounds receiued in his warres against such as withstood him from time to time in this Iland and therefore I can saie nothing of that matter Herein onelie all agree that during the time of his languishing paines he made a disposition of his whole kingdome diuiding it into three parts or portions according to the number of his sonnes then liuing whereof the eldest excéeded not eight and twentie yeares of age as my coniecturs giueth me To the eldest therefore whose name was Locrine he gaue the greatest and best region of all the rest which of him to this daie is called Lhoegres among the Britons but in our language England of such English Saxons as made conquest of the same This portion also is included on the south with the British sea on the est with the Germane Ocean on the north with the Humber and on the west with the Irish sea and the riuers Dee and Sauerne whereof in the generall description of this Iland I haue spoken more at large To Camber his second sonne he assigned all that lieth beyond the Sauerne and Dee toward the west which parcell in these daies conteineth Southwales and Northwales with sundrie Ilands adiacent to the same the whole being in maner cut off and separated from England or Lhoegria by the said streams wherby it séemeth also a peninsula or by-land if you respect the small hillie portion of ground that lieth indifferentlie betweene their maine courses or such branches at the least as run and fall into them The Welshmen or Britons call it by the ancient name still vnto this day but we Englishmen terme it Wales which denomination we haue from the Saxons who in time past did vse the word Walsh in such sort as we doo Strange for as we call all those strangers that are not of our nation so did they name them Walsh which were not of their countrie The third and last part of the Iland he allotted vnto Albanact his yoongest sonne for he had but three ill all as I haue said before whose portion séemed for circuit to be more large than that of Camber and in maner equall in greatnesse with the dominions of Locrinus But if you haue regard to the seuerall commodities that are to be reaped by each you shall find them to be not much discrepant or differing one from another for what soeuer the first second haue in plentie of corne fine grasse and large cattell this latter wanteth not in excéeding store of fish rich mettall quarries of stone and abundance of wild foule so that in mine opinion there could not be a more equall partition then this made by Brute and after the aforesaid maner This later parcell at the first tooke the name of Albanactus who called it Albania But now a small portion onelie of the region being vnder the regiment of a duke reteineth the said denomination the rest being called Scotland of certeine Scots that came ouer from Ireland to inhabit in those quarters It is diuided from Lhoegres also by the Solue and the Firth yet some doo note the Humber so that Albania as Brute left it conteined all the north part of the Iland that is to be found beyond the aforesaid streame vnto the point of Cathnesse To conclude Brute hauing diuided his kingdome after this maner and therein contenting himselfe as it were with the generall title of the whole it was not long after yer he ended his life and being solemnelie interred at his new citie by his thrée children they parted each from other and tooke possession of their prouinces But Scotland after two yeares fell againe into the hands of Locrinus as to the chiefe lord by the death of his brother Albanact who was slaine by Humber king of the Scithians and left none issue behind him to succéed him in that kingdome After what maner the souereigntie of this I le dooth remaine to the princes of Lhoegres or kings of England Chap. 22. IT is possible that some of the Scotish nation reading the former chapter will take offense with me for meaning that the principalitie of the north parts of this I le hath alwais belonged to the kings of Lhoegres For whose more ample satisfaction in this behalfe I will here set downe a discourse thereof at large written by diuerse and now finallie brought into one treatise sufficient as I thinke to satisfie the reasonable although not halfe enough peraduenture to content a wrangling mind sith there is or at the leastwise hath beene nothing more odious among some than to heare that the king of England hath ought to doo in Scotland How their historiographers haue attempted to shape manie coloured
domini papae cognoscetis non tepidè non lentè debitum finem imponatis ne tam nobilis ecclesia sub occasione huiusmodi spiritualium quod absit temporalium detrimentum patiatur Ipsius námque industria credimus quòd antiqua relligio formadisciplinae grauitas habitus in ecclesia vestra reparari si quae fuerint ipsius contentiones ex pastoris absentia Dei gratia cooperante eodem praesente poterint reformari Dat. c. Hereby you sée how king Stephan was dealt withall And albeit the archbishop of Canturburie is not openlie to be touched herewith yet it is not to be doubted but he was a dooer in it so far as might tend to the maintenance of the right and prerogatiue of holie church And euen no lesse vnquietnesse had another of our princes with Iohn of Arundell who fled to Rome for feare of his head and caused the pope to write an ambitious and contumelious letter vnto his fouereigne about his restitution But when by the kings letters yet extant beginning thus Thomas proditionis non expers nostrae regiae maiestati insidias fabricauit the pope vnderstood the botome of the matter he was contented that Thomas should be depriued and another archbishop chosen in his sted Neither did this pride state at archbishops and bishops but descended lower euen to the rake-helles of the clergie and puddels of all vngodlinesse For beside the iniurie receiued of their superiors how was K. Iohn dealt withall by the vile Cistertians at Lincolne in the second of his reigne Certes when he had vpon iust occasion conceiued some grudge against them for their ambitious demeanor and vpon deniall to paie such summes of moneie as were allotted vnto them he had caused seizure to be made of such horsses swine neate and other things of theirs as were mainteined in his forrests They denounced him as fast amongst themselues with bell booke and candle to be accurssed and excommunicated Therevnto they so handled the matter with the pope and their friends that the kings was faine to yéeld to their good graces insomuch that a meeting for pacification was appointed betwéene them at Lincolne by meanes of the present archbishop of Canturburie who went oft betweene him and the Cistertian commissioners before the matter could be finished In the end the king himselfe came also vnto the said commissioners as they sat in their chapiter house and there with teares fell downe at their feet crauing pardon for his trespasses against them and heartilie requiring that they would from thencefoorth commend him and his realme in their praiers vnto the protection of the almightie and receiue him into their fraternitie promising moreouer full satisfaction of their damages susteined and to build an house of their order in whatsoeuer place of England it should please them to assigne And this he confirmed by charter bearing date the seauen and twentith of Nouember after the Scotish king was returned into Scotland departed from the king Whereby and by other the like as betweene Iohn Stratford and Edward the third c a man may easilie conceiue how proud the cleargie-men haue beene in former times as wholie presuming vpon the primassie of their pope More matter could I alledge of these and the like brotles not to be found among our common historiographers howbeit to seruing the same vnto places more conuenient I will ceasse to speake of them at this time and go forward with such other things as my purpose is to speake of At the first therefore there was like and equall authoritie in both our archbishops but as he of Canturburie hath long since obteined the prerogatiue aboue Yorke although I saie not without great trouble sute some bloudshed contention so the archbishop of Yorke is neuerthelesse written printate of England as one contenting himselfe with a péece of a title at the least when all could not be gotten And as he of Canturburie crowneth the king so this of Yorke dooth the like to the quéene whose perpetuall chapleine he is hath beene from time to time since the determination of this controuersie as writers doo report The first also hath vnder his iurisdiction to the number of one and twentie inferiour bishops the other hath onlie foure by reason that the churches of Scotland are now remooued from his obedience vnto an archbishop of their owne whereby the greatnesse and circuit of the iurisdiction of Yorke is not a little diminished In like sort each of these seauen and twentie sées haue their cathedrall churches wherein the deanes a calling not knowne in England before the conquest doo beare the chéefe rule being men especiallie chosen to that vocation both for their learning and godlinesse so néere as can be possible These cathedrall churches haue in like maner other dignities and canonries still remaining vnto them as héeretofore vnder the popish regiment Howbeit those that are chosen to the same are no idle and vnprofitable persons as in times past they haue béene when most of these liuings were either furnished with strangers especiallie out of Italie boies or such idiots as had least skill of all in discharging of those functions wherevnto they were called by vertue of these stipends but such as by preaching and teaching can and doo learnedlie set foorth the glorie of God and further the ouerthrow of antichrist to the vttermost of their powers These churches are called cathedrall bicause the bishops dwell or lie néere vnto the same as bound to keepe continuall residence within their iurisdictions for the better ouersight and gouernance of the same the word being deriued A cathedra that is to saie a chaire or seat where he resteth and for the most part abideth At the first there was but one church in euerie iurisdiction wherinto no man entred to praie but with some oblation or other toward the maintenance of the pastor For as it was reputed an infamie to passe by anie of them without visitation so it was a no lesse reproch to appeare emptie before the Lord. And for this occasion also they were builded verie huge and great for otherwise they were not capable of such multitudes as came dailie vnto them to heare the word and receiue the sacraments But as the number of christians increased so first monasteries then finallie parish churches were builded in euerie iurisdiction from whence I take our deanerie churches to haue their originall now called mother churches and their incumbents archpréests the rest being added since the conquest either by the lords of euerie towne or zealous men loth to trauell farre and willing to haue some ease by building them neere hand Unto these deanerie churches also the cleargie in old time of the same deanrie were appointed to repaire at sundrie seasons there to receiue wholesome ordinances and to consult vpon the necessarie affaires of the whole iurisdiction if necessitie so required and some image hereof is yet to be seene in the north parts
in diuerse colors like plaiers or in garments of light hew as yellow red greene c with their shooes piked their haire crisped their girdles armed with siluer their shooes spurres bridles c buckled with like mettall their apparell for the most part of silke and richlie furred their cappes laced and butned with gold so that to méet a priest in those daies was to behold a peacocke that spreadeth his taile when he danseth before the henne which now I saie is well reformed Touching hospitalitie there was neuer anie greater vsed in England sith by reason that mariage is permitted to him that will choose that kind of life their meat and drinke is more orderlie and frugallie dressed their furniture of houshold more conuenient and better looked vnto and the poore oftener fed generallie than heretofore they haue béene when onlie a few bishops and double or treble beneficed men did make good cheere at Christmasse onelie or otherwise kept great houses for the interteinment of the rich which did often see and visit them It is thought much peraduenture that some bishops c in our time doo come short of the ancient gluttonie and prodigalitie of their predecessors but to such as doo consider of the curtailing of their liuings or excessiue prices whervnto things are growen and how their course is limited by law and estate looked into on euery side the cause of their so dooing is well inough perceiued This also offendeth manie that they should after their deaths leaue their substances to their wiues and children wheras they consider not that in old time such as had no lemans nor bastards verie few were there God wot of this sort did leaue their goods and possessions to their brethren and kinsfolks whereby as I can shew by good record manie houses of gentilitie haue growen and béene erected If in anie age some one of them did found a college almeshouse or schoole if you looke vnto these our times you shall see no fewer déeds of charitie doone nor better grounded vpon the right stub of pietie than before If you saie that their wiues be fond after the deceasse of their husbands and bestow themselues not so aduisedlie as their calling requireth which God knoweth these curious surueiors make small accompt of in truth further than thereby to gather matter of reprehension I beséech you then to looke into all states of the laitie tell me whether some duchesses countesses barons or knights wiues doo not fullie so often offend in the like as they for Eue will be Eue though Adam would saie naie Not a few also find fault with our thred-bare gowns as if not our patrones but our wiues were causes of our wo. But if it were knowne to all that I know to haue beene performed of late in Essex where a minister taking a benefice of lesse than twentie pounds in the Quéenes bookes so farre as I remember was inforced to paie to his patrone twentie quarters of otes ten quarters of wheat and sixtéene yéerelie of barleie which he called hawkes meat and another left the like in farme to his patrone for ten pounds by the yéere which is well woorth fortie at the least the cause of our thred-bare gownes would easilie appeere for such patrons doo scrape the wooll from our clokes Wherfore I may well saie that such a thred-bare minister is either an ill man or hath an ill patrone or both and when such cookes cobling shifters shall be remooued and weeded out of the ministerie I doubt not but our patrons will prooue better men and be reformed whether they will or not or else the single minded bishops shall sée the liuing bestowed vpon such as doo deserue it When the Pragmatike sanction tooke place first in France it was supposed that these enormities should vtterlie haue ceased but when the elections of bishops came once into the hands of the canons and spirituall men it grew to be farre worse For they also within a while waxing couetous by their owne experience learned aforehand raised the markets and sought after new gaines by the gifts of the greatest liuings in that countrie wherein as Machiauell writeth are eightéene archbishoprikes one hundred fortie and sixe bishoprikes 740 abbies eleuen vniuersities 1000700 stéeples if his report be sound Some are of the opinion that if sufficient men in euerie towne might be sent for from the vniuersities this mischiefe would soone be remedied but I am cleane of another mind For when I consider wherevnto the gifts of felowships in some places are growen the profit that ariseth at sundrie elections of scholars out of grammar schooles to the posers schoolemasters and preferrers of them to our vniuersities the gifts of a great number of almeshouses builded for the maimed and impotent souldiors by princes and good men heretofore mooued with a pittifull consideration of the poore distressed how rewards pensions and annuities also doo reigne in other cases wherby the giuer is brought somtimes into extreame miserie that not so much as the roome of a common souldior is not obteined oftentimes without a What will you giue me I am brought into such a mistrust of the sequele of this deuise that I dare pronounce almost for certeine that if Homer were now aliue it should be said to him Túque licèt venias musis comitatus Homere Si nihil attuleris ibis Homere foras More I could saie and more I would saie of these and other things were it not that in mine owne iudgement I haue said inough alreadie for the aduertisement of such as be wise Neuerthelesse before I finish this chapter I will adde a word or two so brieflie as I can of the old estate of cathedrall churches which I haue collected togither here and there among the writers and whereby if shall easilie be seene what they were and how neere the gouernment of ours doo in these daies approch vnto them for that there is an irreconciliable ods betwéene them and those of the papists I hope there is no learned man indéed but will acknowlege and yéeld vnto it We find therefore in the time of the primitiue church that there was in euerie see or iurisdiction one schoole at the least whereinto such as were catechistes in christian religion did resort And hereof as we may find great testimonie for Alexandria Antioch Rome and Hierusalem so no small notice is left of the like in the inferior sort if the names of such as taught in them be called to mind the histories well read which make report of the same These schooles were vnder the iurisdiction of the bishops and from thence did they the rest of the elders choose out such as were the ripest scholars and willing to serue in the ministerie whome they placed also in their cathedrall churches there not onelie to be further instructed in the knowledge of the word but also to invre them to the deliuerie of the same vnto
the people in sound maner to minister the sacraments to visit the sicke and brethren imprisoned and to performe such other duties as then belonged to their charges The bishop himselfe and elders of the church were also hearers and examiners of their doctrine and being in processe of time found meet workmen for the lords haruest they were forthwith sent abrode after imposition of hands and praier generallie made for their good proceeding to some place or other then destitute of hir pastor and other taken from the schoole also placed in their roomes What number of such clerks belonged now and then to some one sée the chronologie following shall easilie declare and in like sort what officers widowes and other persons were dailie mainteined in those seasons by the offerings and oblations of the faithfull it is incredible to be reported if we compare the same with the decaies and ablations séene and practised at this present But what is that in all the world which auarice and negligence will not corrupt and impaire And as this is a paterne of the estate of the cathedrall churches in those times so I wish that the like order of gouernment might once againe be restored vnto the same which may be doone with ease sith the schooles are alreadie builded in euerie diocesse the vniuersities places of their preferment vnto further knowledge and the cathedrall churches great inough to receiue so manie as shall come from thence to be instructed vnto doctrine But one hinderance of this is alreadie and more more to be looked for beside the plucking and snatching commonlie séene from such houses and the church and that is the generall contempt of the ministerie and small consideration of their former paines taken whereby lesse and lesse hope of competent maintenance by preaching the word is likelie to insue Wherefore the greatest part of the more excellent wits choose rather to imploy their studies vnto physike and the lawes vtterlie giuing ouer the studie of the scriptures for feare least they should in time not get their bread by the same By this meanes also the stalles in their quéeres would be better filled which now for the most part are emptie and prebends should be prebends indéed there to liue till they were preferred to some ecclesiasticall function and then other men chosen to succéed them in their roomes whereas now prebends are but superfluous additaments vnto former excesses perpetuall commodities vnto the owners which before time were but temporall as I haue said before But as I haue good leisure to wish for these things so it shall be a longer time before it will be brought to passe Neuerthelesse as I will praie for a reformation in this behalfe so will I here conclude this my discourse of the estate of our churches and go in hand with the limits and bounds of our seuerall sées in such order as they shall come vnto my present remembrance Of the number of bishoprikes and their seuerall circuits Chap. 2. HAuing alreadie spoken generally of the state of our church now will I touch the sées seuerallie saieng so much of ech of them as shall be conuenient for the time and not onelie out of the ancient but also the later writers and somewhat of mine owne experience beginning first with the sée of Canturburie as the most notable whose archbishop is the primat of all this land for ecclesiasticall iurisdiction and most accompted of commonlie bicause he is néerer to the prince and readie at euerie call The iurisdiction of Canturburie therefore exected first by Augustine the moonke in the time of Ethelbert king of Kent if you haue respect to hir prouinciall regiment extendeth it selfe ouer all the south and west parts of this Iland and Ireland as I haue noted in the chapter precedent and few shires there are wherein the archbishop hath not some peculiars But if you regard the same onelie that was and is proper vnto his see from the beginning it reacheth but ouer one parcell of Kent which Rudburne calleth Cantwarland the iurisdiction of Rochester including the rest so that in this one countie the greatest archbishoprike and the least bishoprike of all are linked in togither That of Canturburie hath vnder it one archdeaconrie who hath iurisdiction ouer eleauen deanries or a hundred sixtie one parish churches in the popish time in sted of the 3093 pounds eighteene shillings halfepenie farthing which it now paieth vnto hir maiestie vnder the name of first frutes there went out of this see to Rome at euerie alienation 10000 ducates or florens beside 5000 that the neâh elect did vsuallie paie for his pall each ducat being then worth an English crowne or thereabout as I haue béene informed The sée of Rochester is also included within the limits of Kent being erected by Augustine in the 604 of Grace and reigne of Ceolrijc ouer the west-Saxons The bishop of this sée hath one archdeacon vnder whose gouernment in causes ecclesiasticall are thrée deanries or 132 parish churches so that hereby it is to be gathered that there are 393 parish churches in Kent ouer which the said two archdeacons haue especiall cure charge He was woont to paie also vnto the court of Rome at his admission to that see 1300 ducats or florens as I read which was an hard valuation considering the smalnesse of circuit belonging to his sée Howbeit in my time it is so farre from ease by diminution that it is raised to 1432 crownes c or as we resolue them into our pounds 358 pounds thrée shillings six pence halfe-pennie farthing a reckoning a great deale more preciselie made than anie bishop of that sée dooth take any great delight in He was crosse-bearer in times past vnto the archbishop of Canturburie And there are and haue béene few sées in England which at one time or other haue not fetched their bishops for the most part from this see for as it is of it selfe but a small thing in déed so it is commonlie a preparatiue to an higher place But of all that euer possessed it Thomas Kempe had the best lucke who being but a poore mans sonne of Wie vnto which towne he was a great benefactor grew first to be doctor of both lawes then of diuinitie and afterward being promoted to this sée he was translated from thence to Chichester thirdlie to London next of all to Yorke and finallie after seauen and twentie yeares to Canturburie where he became also cardinall deacon and then preest in the court of Rome according to this verse Bis primas ter praeses bis cardine functus Certes I note this man bicause he bare some fauour to the furtherance of the gospell and to that end he either builded or repared the pulpit in Paules churchyard and tooke order for the continuall maintenance of a sermon there vpon the sabaoth which dooth continue vnto my time as a place from whence the soundest doctrine is alwaies to be looked for and for such
alienation 1800 ducats at the least but in my time it paieth vnto hir maiesties cofers 768 pounds ten shillings ten pence halfe penie farthing In this sée there was a bishop sometime called Iohn Bruton vpon whome the king then reigning by likelihood for want of competent maintenance bestowed the keeping of his wardrobe which he held long time with great honour as his register saith A woonderfull preferment that bishops should be preferred from the pulpit to the custodie of wardrobes but such was the time Neuerthelesse his honorable custodie of that charge is more solemnlie remembred than anie good sermon that euer he made which function peraduenture he committed to his suffragane sith bishops in those daies had so much businesse in the court that they could not attend to doctrine and exhortation Lichefield wherevnto Couentrie was added in the time of Henrie the first at the earnest sute of Robert bishop of that see hath Staffordshire Darbishire part of Shropshire and the rest of Warwikeshire that is void of subiection to the sée of Worcestershire It was erected in the time of Peada king of the south Mercians which laie on this side the Trent and therein one Dinas was installed about the yeare of Grace 656 after whom Kellac first then Tunher an Englishman succéeded this later being well learned and consecrated by the Scots In the time of the bastard I wot not vpon what occasion one Peter bishop of this sée translated his chaire to Chester and there held it for a season whereby it came to passe that the bishops of Lichfield were for a while called bishops of Chester But Robert his successor not likeing of this president remooued his chaire from Chester to Couentrie and there held it whilest he liued whereby the originall diuision of the bishoprike of Lichfield into Lichefield Chester and Couentrie dooth easilie appeare although in my time Lichfield and Couentrie be vnited and Chester remaineth a bishoprike by it selfe It paid the pope at euerie alienation 1733 florens or as some old bookes haue 3000 a good round summe but not without a iust punishment as one saith sith that anno 765 Edulfe bishop there vnder Offa king of Mercia would by his helpe haue bereaued the archbishop of Canturburie of his pall so did in déed vnder pope Hadrian holding the same vntill things were reduced vnto their ancient forme Before the time also of bishop Langton the prebends of this see laie here and there abroad in the citie where the vicars also had an house of which this honest bishop misliked not a little for sundrie causes wherefore he began their close and bestowed so much in building the same and pauing the stréets that his hungrie kinsmen did not a little grudge at his expenses thinking that his emptie cofers would neuer make them gentlemen for which preferment the freends of most bishops gaped earnestlie in those daies King Iohn was the greatest benefactor vnto this sée next vnto Offa and it is called Lichfield Quasi mortuorum campus bicause of the great slaughter of christians made there as some write vnder Dioclesian Howbeit in my time the valuation thereof is 703 pounds fiue shillings two pence halfepenie farthing a summe verie narrowlie cast by that auditor which tooke it first in hand Oxford hath Oxfordshire onelie a verie yoong iurisdiction erected by king Henrie the eight where in the time of quéene Marie one Goldwell was bishop who as I remember was a Iesuit dwelling in Rome and more conuersant as the constant fame went in the blacke art than skilfull in the scriptures and yet he was of great countenance amongst the Romane monarchs It is said that obseruing the canons of his order he regarded not the temporalities of that sée but I haue heard since that he wist well inough what became of those commodities for by one meane and other he found the swéetnesse of 354 pounds sixtéene shillings thrée pence halfe penie yearelie growing to him which was euen inough if not too much for the maintenance of a frier toward the drawing out of circles characters lineaments of imagerie wherein he was passing skilfull as the fame then went in Rome and not vnheard of in Oxford Elie hath Cambridgshire and the I le of Elie. It was erected 1109 by Henrie the first being before a rich and wealthie abbeie One Heruie also was made bishop there as I haue found in a register belonging sometime to that house being translated from Bangor Finallie it paid to the pope at euerie alienation 7000 ducats as the registers there do testifie at large Albeit that in my time I find a note of 2134 pounds sixteene shillings thrée pence halfe penie farthing whose disme ioined to those of all the bishopriks in England doo yéeld yearelie to hir maiesties coffers 23370 pounds sixtéene shillings thrée pence halfe penie farthing whereby also the huge sums of monie going out of this land to the court of Rome dooth in some measure appéere Ethelwold afterward bishop of Winchester builded the first monasterie of Elie vpon the ruines of a nunrie then in the kings hands howbeit the same house whereof he himselfe was abbat was yer long destroied by enimies and he in lieu of his old preferment rewarded by king Edgar with the aforesaid bishoprike from whence with more than lionlike boldnesse he expelled the secular préests and stored with moonkes prouided from Abandune néere Oxford by the helpe of Edgar and Dunstane then metropolitane of England There was sometime a greeuous contention betwéene Thomas Lild bishop of this see and the king of England about the yeare of Grace 1355 which I will here deliuer out of an old record because the matter is so parciallie penned by some of the brethren of that house in fauour of the bishop for that I was also abused with the same in the entrance thereof at the first into my chronologie The blacke prince fauoring one Robert Stretton his chapleine a man vnlearned and not worthie the name of a clearke the matter went on so farre that what for loue and somewhat else of a canon of Lichfield he was chosen bishop of that see Herevpon the pope vnderstanding what he was by his Nuncio here in England staied his consecration by his letters for a time and in the meane season committed his examination to the archbishop of Canturburie and the bishop of Rochester who felt and dealt so fauourablie with him in golden reasoning that his worthinesse was commended to the popes holinesse to Rome he goeth Being come to Rome the pope himselfe apposed him and after secret conference vtterlie disableth his election till he had prooued by substantiall argument and of great weight before him also that he was not so lightlie to be reiected Which kind of reasoning so well pleased his holinesse that Ex mera plenitudine potestatis he was made capable of the benefice and so returneth into England when he came home this bishop being in the kings
presence told him how he had doone he wist not what in preferring so vnméet a man vnto so high a calling With which speach the king was so offended that he commanded him out of hand to auoid out of his presence In like sort the ladie Wake then duchesse of Lancaster standing by and hearing the king hir cousine to gather vp the bishop so roundlie and thereto an old grudge against him for some other matter dooth presentlie picke a quarrell against him about certeine lands then in his possession which he defended in the end obteined against hir by plée and course of law yer long also afore hapned in a part of hir house for which she accused the bishop and in the end by verdict of twelue men found that he was priuie vnto the fact of his men in the said fact wherfore he was condemned in nine hundred pounds damages which he paid euerie penie Neuerthelesse being sore grieued that she had as he said wrested out such a verdict against him and therein packed vp a quest at hir owne choise he taketh his horsse goeth to the court and there complaineth to the king of his great iniurie receiued at hir hands But in the deliuerie of his tale his speech was so blockish termes so euill fauoredlie though maliciouslie placed that the king tooke yet more offense with him than before insomuch that he led him with him into the parlement house for then was that court holden and there before the lords accused him of no small misdemeanor toward his person by his rude and threatening speeches But the bishop egerlie denieth the kings obiections which he still auoucheth vpon his honor and in the end confirmeth his allegations by witnesse wherevpon he is banished from the kings presence during his naturall life by verdict of that house In the meane time the duchesse hearing what was doone she beginneth a new to be dealing with him and in a brabling fraie betweene their seruants one of hir men was slaine for which he was called before the magistrat as chiefe accessarie vnto the fact But he fearing the sequele of his third cause by his successe had in the two first hideth himselfe after he had sold all his moouables and committed the monie vnto his trustie friends And being found giltie by the inquest the king seizeth vpon his possessions and calleth vp the bishop to answer vnto the trespasse To be short vpon safe-conduct the bishop commeth to the kings presence where he denieth that he was accessarie to the fact either before at or after the deed committed and therevpon craueth to be tried by his péeres But this petition was in vaine for sentence passeth against him also by the kings owne mouth Wherevpon he craueth helpe of the archbishop of Canturburie and priuileges of the church hoping by such meanes to be solemnlie rescued But they fearing the kings displeasure who bare small fauour to the clergie of his time gaue ouer to vse anie such meanes but rather willed him to submit himselfe vnto the kings mercie which he refused standing vpon his innocencie from the first vnto the last Finallie growing into choler that the malice of a woman should so preuaile against him he writeth to Rome requiring that his case might be heard there as a place wherein greater iustice saith he is to be looked for than to be found in England Upon the perusall of these his letters also his accusers were called thither But for so much as they appéered not at their peremptorie times they were excommunicated Such of them also as died before their reconciliations were taken out of the churchyards and buried in the fields and doong-hilles Vnde timor turba saith my note in Anglia For the king inhibited the bringing in and receipt of all processes billes and whatsoeuer instruments should come from Rome such also as aduentured contrarie to this prohibition to bring them in were either dismembred of some ioint or hanged by the necks Which rage so incensed the pope that he wrote in verie vehement maner to the king of England threatening far greater cursses except he did the sooner staie the furie of the lady reconcile himself vnto the bishop and finallie making him amends for all his losses susteined in these broiles Long it was yer the king would be brought to peace Neuerthelesse in the end he wrote to Rome about a reconciliation to be had betwéene them but yer all things were concluded God himselfe did end the quarrell by taking awaie the bishop And thus much out of an old pamphlet in effect word for word but I haue somewhat framed the forme of the report after the order that Stephan Birchington dooth deliuer it who also hath the same in manner as I deliuer it The see of Norwich called in old time Episcopatus Donnicensis Dononiae or Eastanglorum was erected at Felstow or Felixstow where Felix of Burgundie sometime schoolemaster to Sigebert of the east-Angles by whose persuasion also the said Sigebert erected the vniuersitie at Cambridge being made bishop of the east-Angles first placed his sée afterward it was remooued from thence to Donwich thence to Helmham Anno 870 about the death of Celnothus of Canturburie thirdlie to Theodford or Thetford finallie after the time of the Bastard to Norwich For iurisdiction it conteineth in our daies Norffolke and Suffolke onelie whereas at the first it included Cambridgeshire also and so much as laie within the kingdome of the east-Angles It began about the yéere 632 vnder Cerpenwald king of the east-Saxons who bestowed it vpon Felix whome pope Honorius also confirmed and after which he held it by the space of seauenteene yéeres It paid sometimes at euerie alienation 5000 ducats to Rome But in my time hir maiestie hath 899 pounds 8 shillings 7 pence farthing as I haue been informed In the same iurisdiction also there were once 1563 parish churches and 88 religious houses but in our daies I can not heare of more churches than 1200 and yet of these I know one conuerted into a barne whilest the people heare seruice further off vpon a greene their bell also when I heard a sermon there preached in the gréene hanged in an oke for want of a stéeple But now I vnderstand that the oke likewise is gone There is neuerthelesse a litle chappellet hard by on that common but nothing capable of the multitude of Ashlie towne that should come to the same in such wise if they did repaire thither as they ought Peterborow sometimes a notable monasterie hath Northampton and Rutland shires vnder hir iurisdiction a diocesse erected also by king Henrie the eight It neuer paid first fruits to the pope before queene maries daies if it were then deliuered wherof I doubt because it was not recorded in his ancient register of tenths and fruits although peraduenture the collectors left it not vngathered I wot not for what purpose it yéeldeth now foure hundred and fiftie pounds one penie abated
alwaies wide open vnto reprehension and eies readie to espie anie thing that they may reprooue and carpe at I would haue doone so much for euerie see in England if I had not had consideration of the greatnesse of the volume and small benefit rising by the same vnto the commoditie of the readers neuerthelesse I haue reserued them vnto the publication of my great chronologie if while I liue it happen to come abrode Of Vniuersities Chap. 3. THere haue béene heretofore and at sundrie times diuerse famous vniuersities in this Iland and those euen in my daies not altogither forgotten as one at Bangor erected by Lucius and afterward conuerted into a monasterie not by Congellus as some write but by Pelagius the monke The second at Carlbeon vpon Uske neere to the place where the riuer dooth fall into the Seuerne founded by king Arthur The third at Theodford wherein were 600 students in the time of one Rond sometime king of that region The fourth at Stanford suppressed by Augustine the monke and likewise other in other places as Salisburie Eridon or Criclade Lachlade Reading and Northampton albeit that the two last rehearsed were not authorised but onelie arose to that name by the departure of the students from Oxford in time of ciuill dissention vnto the said townes where also they continued but for a little season When that of Salisburie began I can not tell but that it flourished most vnder Henrie the third and Edward the first I find good testimonie by the writers as also by the discord which fell 1278 betwéene the chancellor for the scholers there on the one part and William the archdeacon on the other whereof you shall sée more in the chronologie here following In my time there are thrée noble vniuersities in England to wit one at Oxford the second at Cambridge and the third in London of which the first two are the most famous I meane Cambridge and Oxford for that in them the vse of the toongs philosophie and the liberall sciences besides the profound studies of the ciuill law physicke and theologie are dailie taught and had whereas in the later the laws of the realme are onlie read and learned by such as giue their minds vnto the knowledge of the same In the first there are not onelie diuerse goodlie houses builded foure square for the most part of hard fréestone or bricke with great numbers of lodgings and chambers in the same for students after a sumptuous sort through the excéeding liberalitie of kings quéenes bishops noblemen and ladies of the land but also large liuings and great reuenues bestowed vpon them the like whereof is not to be séene in anie other region as Peter Martyr did oft affirme to maintenance onelie of such conuenient numbers of poore mens sonnes as the seuerall stipends bestowed vpon the said houses are able to support When these two schooles should be first builded who were their originall founders as yet it is vncerteine neuerthelesse as there is great likelihood that Cambridge was begun by one Cantaber a Spaniard as I haue noted in my chronologie so Alfred is said to be the first beginner of the vniuersitie at Oxford albeit that I cannot warrant the same to be so yong sith I find by good authoritie that Iohn of Beuerleie studied in the vniuersitie hall at Oxford which was long before Alfred was either horne or gotten Some are of the opinion that Cantabrigia was not so called of Cantaber but Cair Grant of the finisher of the worke or at the leastwise of the riuer that runneth by the same and afterward by the Saxons Grantcester An other sort affirme that the riuer is better written Canta than Granta c but whie then is not the towne called Canta Cantium or Cantodunum according to the same All this is said onlie as I thinke to deface the memorie of Cantaber who doâââting from the Brigants or out of Biscaie called the said towne after his owne and the name of the region from whence he came Neither hath it béene a rare thing for the Spaniards heretofore to come first into Ireland and from thense ouer into England sith the chronologie shall declare that it hath béene often seene and that out of Britaine they haue gotten ouer also into Scithia and contrariwise coasting still through Yorkeshire which of them also was called Brigantium as by good testimonie appeareth Of these two that of Oxford which lieth west and by north from London standeth most pleasantlie being inââroned in maner round about with woods on the hilles aloft and goodlie riuers in the bottoms and vallies beneath whose courses would bréed no small commoditie to that citie and countrie about if such impediments were remooued as greatlie annoie the same and hinder the cariage which might be made thither also from London That of Cambridge is distant from London about fortie and six miles north and by east and standeth verie well sauing that it is somewhat néere vnto the fens whereby the wholesomenesse of the aire there is not a litle corrupted It is excellentlie well serued with all kinds of prouision but especiallie of freshwater fish and wildfoule by reason of the riuer that passeth thereby and thereto the I le of Elie which is so néere at hand Onlie wood is the chéefe want to such as studie there wherefore this kind of prouision is brought them either from Essex and other places thereabouts as is also their cole or otherwise the necessitie thereof is supplied with gall a bastard kind of Mirtus as I take it and seacole whereof they haue great plentie led thither by the Grant Moreouer it hath not such store of medow ground as may suffice for the ordinarie expenses of the towne and vniuersitie wherefore the inhabitants are inforced in like sort to prouide their haie from other villages-about which minister the same vnto them in verie great aboundance Oxford is supposed to conteine in longitude eightéene degrees and eight and twentie minuts and in latitude one and fiftie degrées and fiftie minuts whereas that of Cambridge standing more northerlie hath twentie degrees and twentie minuts in longitude and therevnto fiftie and two degrées and fifteene minuts in latitude as by exact supputation is easie to be found The colleges of Oxford for curious workemanship and priuat commodities are much more statelie magnificent commodious than those of Cambridge and therevnto the stréets of the towne for the most part more large and comelie But for vniformitie of building orderlie compaction and politike regiment the towne of Cambridge as the newer workmanship excéedeth that of Oxford which otherwise is and hath béene the greater of the two by manie a fold as I gesse although I know diuerse that are of the contrarie opinion This also is certeine that whatsoeuer the difference be in building of the towne stréets the townesmen of both are glad when they may match and annoie the students by incroching vpon
learning or of good and vpright life as bishop Fox sometime noted who thought it sacrilege for a man to tarrie anie longer at Oxford than he had a desire to profit A man may if he will begin his studie with the law or physike of which this giueth wealth the other honor so soone as he commeth to the vniuersitie if his knowledge in the toongs and ripenesse of iudgement serue therefore which if he doo then his first degrée is bacheler of law or physicke and for the same he must performe such acts in his owne science as the bachelers or doctors of diuinitie doo for their parts the onelie sermons except which belong not to his calling Finallie this will I saie that the professors of either of those faculties come to such perfection in both vniuersities as the best students beyond the sea doo in their owne or else where One thing onlie I mislike in them and that is their vsuall going into Italie from whense verie few without speciall grace doo returne good men whatsoeuer they pretend of conference or practise chiefelie the physicians who vnder pretense of séeking of forreine simples doo oftentimes learne the framing of such compositions as were better vnknowen than practised as I haue heard oft alledged and therefore it is most true that doctor Turner said Italie is not to be séene without a guide that is without speciall grace giuen from God bicause of the licentious and corrupt behauiour of the people There is moreouer in euerie house a maister or prouost who hath vnder him a president certeine censors or deanes appointed to looke to the behauior and maners of the students there whom they punish verie seuerelié if they make anie default according to the quantitie and qualitie of their trespasses And these are the vsuall names of gouernours in Cambridge Howbeit in Oxford the heads of houses are now and then called presidents in respect of such bishops as are their visitors founders In ech of these also they haue one or moe thresurers whom they call Bursarios or Bursers beside other officers whose charge is to sée vnto the welfare and maintenance of these houses Ouer each vniuersitie also there is a seuerall chancelor whose offices are perpetuall howbeit their substitutes whom we call vicechancelors are changed euerie yeare as are also the proctors taskers maisters of the streates and other officers for the better maintenance of their policie and estate And thus much al this time of our two vniuersities in each of which I haue receiued such degree as they haue vouchsafed rather of their fauour than my desert to yeeld and bestow vpon me and vnto whose students I wish one thing the execution whereof cannot be preiudiciall to anie that meaneth well as I am resolutelie persuaded and the case now standeth in these our daies When anie benefice therefore becommeth void it were good that the patrone did signifie the vacation therof to the bishop and the bishop the act of the patrone to one of the vniuersities with request that the vicechancellor with his assistents might prouide some such able man to succeed in the place as should by their iudgement be méet to take the charge vpon him Certes if this order were taken then should the church be prouided of good pastors by whome God should be glorified the vniuersities better stored the simoniacall practises of a number of patrons vtterlie abolished and the people better trained to liue in obedience toward God and their prince which were an happie estate To these two also we may in like sort ad the third which is at London seruing onelie for such as studie the lawes of the realme where there are sundrie famous houses of which thrée are called by the name of Ins of the court the rest of the chancerie and all builded before time for the furtherance and commoditie of such as applie their minds to our common lawes Out of these also come manie scholers of great fame whereof the most part haue heretofore béene brought vp in one of the aforesaid vniuersities and prooue such commonlie as in processe of time rise vp onelie through their profound skill to great honor in the common-wealth of England They haue also degrées of learning among themselues and rules of discipline vnder which they liue most ciuilie in their houses albeit that the yoonger sort of them abroad in the streats are scarse able to be bridled by anie good order at all Certes this errour was woont also greatlie to reigne in Cambridge and Oxford âetweene the students and the burgesses but as it is well left in these two places so in forreine counteies it cannot yet be suppressed Besides these vniuersities also there are great number of Grammer schooles through out the realme and those verie liberallie indued for the better reliefe of poore scholers so that there are not manie corporat townes now vnder the quéenes dominion that hain not one Gramar schoole at the least with a sufficient liuing for a maister and vsher appointed to the same There are in like maner diuerse collegiat churches as Windsor Wincester Eaton Westminster in which I was sometime an vnprofitable Grammarian vnder the reuerend father master Nowell now deane of Paules and in those a great number of poore scholers dailie mainteened by the liberalitie of the founders with meat bookes and apparell from whence after they haue béene well entered in the knowledge of the Latine and Gréeke toongs and rules of versifieng the triall whereof is made by certeine apposers yearelie appointed to examine them they are sent to certeine especiall houses in each vniuersitie where they are receiued the trained vp in the points of higher knowledge in their priuat hals till they be adiudged meet to shew their faces in the schooles as I haue said alreadie And thus much haue I thought good to note of our vniuersities and likewise of colleges in the same whose names I will also set downe here with those of their founders to the end the zeale which they bare vnto learning may appeare and their remembrance neuer perish from among the wise and learned Of the colleges in Cambridge with their founders Yeares of the foundations Colleges  Founders 1546 1 Trinitie college by King Henrie 8. 1441 2 The kings college K. Henrie 6. Edward 4. Henrie 7. and Henrie 8. 1511 3 S. Iohns L. Margaret grandmother to Henrie 8. 1505 4 Christes college K. Henrie 6. and the ladie Margaret aforesaid 1446 5 The queenes college Ladie Margaret wife to king Hentie 6. 1496 6 Iesus college Iohn Alcocke bishop of Elie. 1342 7 Bennet college The brethren of a popish guild called Corporis Christi 1343 8 Pembroke hall Maria de Valentia countesse of Pembroke 1256 9 Peter college Hugh Balsham bishop of Elie. 1348 1557 10 Gundeuill and Cauius college Edmund Gundeuill parson of Terrington and Iohn Caius doctor of physicke 1354 11 Trinitie hall William Bateman bishop of Norwich 1326 12
persons called pledges as I said or ten denaries or tithings of men of which ech one was bound for others good abering and laudable behauiour in the common-wealth of the realme The chiefe man likewise of euerie denarie or tithing was in those daies called a tithing man in Latine Decurio but now in most places a borsholder or burgholder as in Kent where euerie tithing is moreouer named a burgh or burrow although that in the West countrie he be still called a tithing man and his circuit a tithing as I haue heard at large I read furthermore and it is partlie afore noted that the said Alfred caused ech man of frée condition for the better maintenance of his peace to be ascribed into some hundred by placing himselfe in one denarie or other where he might alwais haue such as should sweare or saie vpon their certeine knowledge for his honest behauior and ciuill conuersation if it should happen at anie time that his credit should come in question In like sort I gather out of Leland and other that if anie small matter did fall out worthie to be discussed the tithing man or borsholder now officers at the commandement of the high constable of which euerie hundred hath one at the least should decide the same in their léetes whereas the great causes were referred to the hundreds the greater to the lathes and the greatest of all to the shire daies where the earles or aldermen did set themselues make finall ends of the same according vnto iustice For this purpose likewise in euerie hundred were twelue men chosen of good age and wisedome and those sworne to giue their sentences without respect of person and in this manner as they gather were things handeled in those daies Which waie the word wapentake came in vse as yet I cannot tell howbeit the signification of the same declareth as I conceiue that at the chiefe towne the soldiers which were to serue in that hundred did méet fetch their weapons go togither from thence to the field or place of seruice by an ordinarie custome then generallie knowen amongst them It is supposed also that the word Rape commeth a Rapiendo as it were of catching and snatching bicause the tenants of the hundred or wapentakes met vpon one or sundrie daies made quicke dispatch of their lords haruest at once and in great hast But whether it be a true imagination or not as yet I am vncerteine and therefore it lieth not in me to determine anie thing thereof wherefore it shall suffice to haue touched them in this maner In my time there are found to be in England fourtie shires and likewise thirtéene in Wales and these latter erected of late yeares by king Henrie the eight who made the Britons or Welshmen equall in all respects vnto the English and brought to passe that both nations should indifferentlie be gouerned by one law which in times past were ordred by diuerse and those far discrepant and disagreing one from another as by the seuerall view of the same is yet easie to be discerned The names of the shires in England are these whereof the first ten lie betwéene the British sea and the Thames as Polydor also dooth set them downe Kent Sussex Surreie Hampshire Barkeshire Wilshire Dorsetshire Summerset Deuon Cornewall There are moreouer on the northside of the Thames and betwéene the same and the riuer Trent which passeth through the middest of England as Polydor saith sixtéene other shires whereof six lie toward the east the rest toward the west more into the mddest of the countrie Essex somtime all forrest saue one hundred Middlesex Hartfordshire Suffolke Norffolke Cambridgeshire in which are 12 hundreds Bedford Huntington wher in are foure hundreds Buckingham Oxford Northampton Rutland Leircestershire Notinghamshire Warwike Lincolne We haue six also that haue their place westward towards Wales whose names insue Glocester Hereford Worcester Shropshire Stafford Chestershire And these are the thirtie two shires which lie by south of the Trent Beyond the same riuer we haue in like sort other eight as Darbie Yorke Lancaster Cumberland Westmerland Richemond wherein are fiue wapentaxes when it is accompted as parcell of Yorkeshire out of which it is taken then is it reputed for the whole Riding Durham Northumberland So that in the portion sometime called Lhoegres there are now fortie shires In Wales furthermore are thirtéene whereof seuen are in Southwales Cardigan or Cereticon Penmoroke or Penbrooke Caermardine wherein are 9. hundreds or commots Glamorgan Monmouth Breckenocke Radnor In Northwales likewise are six that is to saie Angleseie Carnaruon Merioneth Denbigh Flint Montgomerie Which being added to those of England yéeld fiftie and thrée shires or counties so that vnder the quéenes Maiestie are so manie counties whereby it is easilie discerned that hir power farre excéedeth that of Offa who of old time was highlie honored for that he had so much of Britaine vnder his subiection as afterward conteined thirtie nine shires when the diuision was made whereof I spake before This is moreouer to be noted in our diuision of shires that they be not alwaies counted or laid togither in one parcell whereof I haue great maruell But sith the occasioÌ hath growen as I take it either by priuiledge or some like occasion it is better briefelie to set downe how some of these parts lie than to spend the time in séeking a iust cause of this their od diuision First therefore I note that in the part of Buckinghamshire betweene Amondesham Beconsfield there is a peece of Hartfordshire to be found inuironed round about with the countie of Buckingham and yet this patch is not aboue three miles in length and two in breadth at the verie most In Barkeshire also betwéene Ruscombe and Okingham is a péece of Wilshire one mile in breadth and foure miles in length whereof one side lieth on the Loden riuer In the borders of Northamptonshire directlie ouer against Luffeld a towne in Buckkinghamshire I find a parcell of Oxfordshire not passing two miles in compasse With Oxfordshire diuerse doo participate in so much that a péece of Glocestershire lieth halfe in Warwikeshire halfe in Oxfordshire not verie far from Horneton Such another patch is there of Glocestershire not far from long Compton but lieng in Oxford countie a péece of Worcestershire directlie betwéene it Glocestershire Glocester hath the third péece vpon the north side of the Winrush neere Falbrocke as Barkeshire hath one parcell also vpon the selfe side of the same water in the verie edge of Glocestershire likewise an other in Oxfordshire not verie farre from Burford and the third ouer against Lach lade which is parted from the main countie of Barkeshire by a little strake of Oxfordshire Who would thinke that two fragments of Wilshire were to be seene in Barkeshire vpon the Loden and the riuer that falleth into it whereof and the like sith there are verie manie
whereby they may be set on worke a man should not haue heard at one assise of more than two or thrée Nisi priùs but verie seldome of an atteinct wheras now an hundred more of the first and one or two of the later are verie often perceiued and some of them for a cause arising of six pence or tweluepence Which declareth that men are growen to be farre more contentious than they haue béene in time past and readier to reuenge their quarels of small importance whereof the lawiers complaine not But to my purpose from whence I haue now digressed Beside these officers afore mentioned there are sundrie other in euerie countie as crowners whose dutie is to inquire of such as come to their death by violence to attach present the plées of the crowne to make inquirie of treasure found c. There are diuerse also of the best learned of the law beside sundrie gentlemen where the number of lawiers will not suffice and whose reuenues doo amount to aboue twentie pounds by the yeare appointed by especiall commission from the prince to looke vnto the good gouernement of hir subiects in the counties where they dwell And of these the least skilfull in the law are of the peace the other both of the peace and quorum otherwise called of Oier and Determiner so that the first haue authoritie onelie to heare the other to heare and determine such matters as are brought vnto their presence These also doo direct their warrants to the kéepers of the gailes within their limitations for the safe kéeping of such offendors as they shall iudge worthie to commit vnto their custodie there to be kept vnder ward vntill the great assises to the end their causes may be further examined before the residue of the countie these officers were first deuised about the eightéene yeare of Edward the third as I haue béene informed They méeting also togither with the shiriffes doo hold their aforesaid sessions at foure times in the yeare whereof they are called quarter sessions and herein they inquire of sundrie trespasses and the common annoiances of the kings liege people and diuerse other things determining vpon them as iustice dooth require There are also a third kind of sessions holden by the high constables and bailiffes afore mentioned called petie sessions wherein the weights and measures are perused by the clarke of the market for the countie who sitteth with them At these méetings also vittellers and in like sort seruants labourers roges and tunnagates are often reformed for their excesses although the burning of vagabounds through their eare be referred to the quarter sessions or higher courts of assise where they are iudged either to death if they be taken the third time haue not since their second apprehension applied themselues to labour or else to be set perpetuallie to worke in an house erected in euerie shire for that purpose of which punishment they stand in greatest feare I might here deliuer a discourse of sundrie rare customes and courts surnamed barons yet mainteined and holden in England but for somuch as some of the first are beastlie and therefore by the lords of the soiles now liuing conuerted into monie being for the most part deuised in the beginning either by malicious or licentious women in méere contempt and slauish abuse of their tenants vnder pretense of some punishment due for their excesses I passe ouer to bring them vnto light as also the remembrance of sundrie courts baron likewise holden in strange maner yet none more absurd and far from law than are kept yearlie at Kings hill in Rochford and therfore may well be called a lawlesse court as most are that were deuised vpon such occasions This court is kept vpon wednesdaie insuing after Michaelmasse daie after midnight so that it is begun and ended before the rising of the sunne When the tenants also are altogither in an alehouse the steward secretlie stealeth from them with a lanterne vnder his cloke and goeth to the Kings hill where sitting on a mole-hill he calleth them with a verie soft voice writing their appéerance vpon a péece of paper with a cole hauing none other light than that which is inclosed in the lanterne so soone as the tenants also doo misse the steward they runne to the hill with all their might and there answer all at once Here here wherby they escape their amercements which they should not doo if he could haue called ouer his bill of names before they had missed him in the alehouse And this is the verie forme of the court deuised at the first as the voice goeth vpon a rebellion made by the tenants of the honour of Raibie against their lord in perpetuall memorie of their disobedience shewed I could beside this speake also of some other but sith one hath taken vpon him to collect a number of them into a particular treatise I thinke it sufficient for me to haue said so much of both And thus much haue I thought good to set downe generallie of the said counties and their maner of gouernance although not in so perfect order as the cause requireth bicause that of all the rest there is nothing wherewith I am lesse acquainted than with our temporall regiment which to saie truth smallie concerneth my calling What else is to be added after the seuerall shires of England with their ancient limits as they agreed with the diuision of the land in the time of Ptolomie and the Romans and commodities yet extant I reserue vnto that excellent treatise of my fréend W. Cambden who hath trauelled therein verie farre whose worke written in Latine shall in short time I hope he published to the no small benefit of such as will read and peruse the same Of degrees of people in the common-wealth of England Chap. 5. WE in England diuide our people commonlie into foure sorts as gentlemen citizens or burgesses yeomen which are artificers or laborers Of gentlemen the first and chéefe next the king be the prince dukes marquesses earls viscounts and barons and these are called gentlemen of the greater sort or as our common vsage of spéech is lords and noblemen and next vnto them be knights esquiers and last of all they that are simplie called gentlemen so that in effect our gentlemen are diuided into their conditions whereof in this chapiter I will make particular rehearsall The title of prince dooth peculiarlie belong with vs to the kings eldest sonne who is called prince of Wales and is the heire apparant to the crowne as in France the kings eldest sonne hath the title of Dolphine and is named peculiarlie Monsieur So that the prince is so termed of the Latine word Princeps sith he is as I may call him the cheefe or principall next the king The kings yoonger sonnes be but gentlemen by birth till they haue receiued creation or donation from their father of higher estate as to be either visconts earles or dukes
better hope in the beginning than of Bladudus and yet I read of none that made so ridiculous an end in like sort there hath not reigned anie monarch in this I le whose waies were more feared at the first than those of Dunwallon king Henrie the fift excepted and yet in the end he prooued such a prince as after his death there was in maner no subiect that did not lament his funerals And this onelie for his policie in gouernance seuere administration of iustice and prouident framing of his lawes and constitutions for the gouernment of his subiects His people also coueting to continue his name vnto posteritie intituled those his ordinances according to their maker calling them by the name of the lawes of Mulmutius which indured in execution among the Britons so long as our homelings had the dominion of this I le Afterward when the comeling Saxons had once obteined the superioritie of the kingdom the maiestie of those lawes fell for a time into such decaie that although Non penitùs cecidit tamen potuit cecidisse videri as Leland saith and the decrêes themselues had vtterlie perished in déed at the verie first brunt had they not beene preserued in Wales where they remained amongst there likes of the Britons not onlie vntill the comming of the Normans but euen vntill the time of Edward the first who obteining the souereigntie of that portion indeuoured verie earnestlie to extinguish those of Mulmutius and to establish his owne But as the Saxons at their first arriuall did what they could to abolish the British lawes so in processe of time they yéelded a little to relent not so much to abhorre and mislike of the lawes of Mulmutius as to receiue and imbrace the same especiallie at such time as the said Saxon princes entered into amitie with the British nobilitie and after that began to ioine in matrimonie with the British ladies as the British barons did with the Saxon frowes both by an especiall statute and decrée wherof in another treatise I haue made mention at large Héerof also it came to passe in the end that they were contented to make a choise and insert no small numbers of them into their owne volumes as may be gathered by those of Athelbert the great surnamed king of Kent Inas and Alfred kings of the west Saxons and diuerse other yet extant to be séene Such also was the lateward estimation of them that when anie of the Saxon princes went about to make new ordinances they caused those of Mulmutius which Gildas sometime translated into Latine to be first expounded vnto them and in this perusall if they found anie there alreadie framed that might serue their turnes they foorthwith reuiued the same and annexed them to their owne But in this dealing the diligence of Alfred is most of all to be commended who not onelie chose out the best but gathered togither all such whatsoeuer the said Mulmutius had made and then to the end they should lie no more in corners as forlorne bookes and vnknowne to the learned of his kingdome he caused them to be turned into the Saxon toong wherein they continued long after his decease As for the Normans who for a season neither regarded the British nor cared for the Saxon statutes they also at the first vtterlie misliked of them till at the last when they had well weied that one kind of regiment is not conuenient for all peoples and that no stranger being in a forren countrie newlie brought vnder obedience could make such equall ordinances as he might thereby gouerne his new common-wealth without some care trouble they fell in with such a desire to sée by what rule the state of the land was gouerned in time of the Saxons that hauing perused the same they not onelie commended their maner of regiment but also admitted a great part of their lawes now currant vnder the name of S. Edwards lawes and vsed as principles and grounds whereby they not onelie qualified the rigor of their owne and mitigated their almost intollerable burden of seruitude which they had latelie laid vpon the shoulders of the English but also left vs a greeat number of the old Mulmutian lawes whereof the most part are in vse to this daie as I said albeit that we know not certeinlie how to distinguish them from others that are in strength amongst vs. After Dunwallon the next lawgiuer was Martia whome Leland surnameth Proba and after him John Bale also who in his Centuries dooth iustlie confesse himselfe to haue béene holpen by the said Leland as I my selfe doo likewise for manie things conteined in this treatise Shée was wife vnto Gutteline king of the Britons and being made protectrix of the realme after hir husbands deceasse in the nonage of hir sonne and séeing manie things dailie to grow vp among hir people worthie reformation she deuised sundrie and those verie politike lawes for the gouernance of hir kingdome which hir subiects when she was dead and gone did name the Martian statutes Who turned them into Latine as yet I doo not read howbeit as I said before of the lawes of Mulmutius so the same Alfred caused those of this excellentlie well learned ladie whome diuerse commend also for hir great knowledge in the Gréeke toong to be turned into his owne language wherevpon it came to passe that they were dailie executed among his subiects afterward allowed of among the rest by the Normans and finallie remaine in vse in these our daies notwithstanding that we can not disseuer them also verie readilie from the other The seuenth alteration of lawes was practised by the Saxons for I ouerpasse the vse of the ciuill ordinances vsed in Rome finallie brought hither by the Romans yet in perfect notice among the Ciuilians of our countrie though neuer generallie nor fullie receiued by all the seuerall regions of this Iland Certes there are great numbers of these later which yet remaine in sound knowlege and are to be read being comprehended for the most part vnder the names of the Martian and the Saxon law Beside these also I read of the Dane law so that the people of middle England were ruled by the first the west Saxons by the second as Essex Norffolke Suffolke Cambridgeshire and part of Herfordshire were by the third of all the rest the most inequall and intollerable And as in these daies what soeuer the prince in publike assemblie commanded vpon the necessitie of his subiects or his owne voluntarie authoritie was counted for law so none of them had appointed anie certeine place wherevnto his people might repaire at fixed times for iustice but caused them to resort commonlie to their palaces where in proper person they would often determine their causes and so make shortest worke or else commit the same to the hearing of other and so dispatch them awaie Neither had they any house appointed to assemble in for the making of their ordinances as
iustices of peace to assigne so that the taxation excéed not twentie shillings as I haue béene informed And thus much of the poore such prouision as is appointed for them within the realme of England Of sundrie kinds of punishments appointed for malefactors Chap. 11. IN cases of felonie manslaghter roberie murther rape piracie such capitall crimes as are not reputed for treason or hurt of the estate our sentence pronounced vpon the offendor is to hang till he be dead For of other punishments vsed in other countries we haue no knowledge or vse and yet so few gréeuous crimes committed with vs as else where in the world To vse torment also or question by paine and torture in these common cases with vs is greatlie abhorred sith we are found alwaie to be such as despise death and yet abhorre to be tormented choosing rather frankelie to open our minds than to yeeld our bodies vnto such seruile halings and tearings as are vsed in other countries And this is one cause wherefore our condemned persons doo go so chéerefullie to their deths for our nation is frée stout hautie prodigall of life and bloud as six Thomas Smith saith lib. 2. cap. 25. de republica and therefore cannot in anie wise digest to be vsed as villanes and slaues in suffering continuallie beating seruitude and seruile torments No our gailers are guiltie of fellonie by an old law of the land if they torment anie prisoner committed to their custodie for the reuealing of his complices The greatest and most gréeuous punishment vsed in England for such as offend against the state is drawing from the prison to the place of execution vpon an hardle or sled where they are hanged till they be halfe dead and then taken downe and quartered aliue after that their members and bowels are cut from their bodies and throwne into a fire prouided neere hand and within their owne sight euen for the same purpose Sometimes if the trespasse be not the more hainous they are suffered to hang till they be quite dead And when soeuer anie of the nobilitie are conuicted of high treason by their peeres that is to saie equals for an inquest of yeomen passeth not vpon them but onelie of the lords of the parlement this maner of their death is conuerted into the losse of their heads onelie notwithstanding that the sentence doo run after the former order In triall of cases concerning treason fellonie or anie other greeuous crime not confessed the partie accused dooth yéeld if he be a noble man to be tried by an inquest as I haue said and his péeres if a gentleman by gentlemen and an inferiour by God and by the countrie to wit the yeomanrie for combat or battell is not greatlie in vse and being condemned of fellonie manslaughter c he is eftsoons hanged by the necke till he be dead and then cut downe and buried But if he be conuicted of wilfull murther doone either vpon pretended malice or in anie notable robberie he is either hanged aliue in chaines néere the place where the fact was committed or else vpon compassion taken first strangled with a rope and so continueth till his bones consume to nothing We haue vse neither of the whéele nor of the barre as in other countries but when wilfull manslaughter is perpetrated beside hanging the offendor hath his right hand commonlie striken off before or néere vnto the place where the act was doone after which he is led foorth to the place of execution and there put to death according to the law The word fellon is deriued of the Saxon words Fell and One that is to say an euill and wicked one a one of vntamable nature and lewdnesse not to be suffered for feare of euill example and the corruption of others In like sort in the word fellonie are manie gréeuous crimes conteined as breach of prison An. 1 of Edward the second Dissigurers of the princes liege people An. 5. of Henrie the fourth Hunting by night with painted faces and visors An. 1. of Henrie the seuenth Rape or stealing of women maidens An. 3. of Henrie the eight Conspiracie against the person of the prince An. 3. of Henrie the seuenth Embesilling of goods committed by the master to the seruant aboue the value of fourtie shillings An. 17. of Henrie the eight Carieng of horsses or mares into Scotland An. 23. of Henrie the eight Sodomie and buggerie An. 25. of Henrie the eight Stealing of hawkes egs An. 31. of Henrie the eight Coniuring sorcerie witchcraft and digging vp of crosses An. 33. of Hen. 8. Prophesieng vpon armes cognisances names badges An. 33. of Hen. 8. Casting of slanderous bils An. 37. Hen. 8. Wilfull killing by poison An. 1. of Edw. the sixt Departure of a soldier from the field An. 2. of Edward the sixt Diminution of coine all offenses within case of premunire embeselling of records goods taken from dead men by their seruants stealing of what soeuer cattell robbing by the high waie vpon the sea or of dwelling houses letting out of ponds cutting of pursses stealing of déere by night counterfeitors of coine euidences charters and writings diuerse other needlesse to be remembred If a woman poison hir husband she is burned aliue if the seruant kill his master he is to be executed for petie treason he that poisoneth a man is to be boiled to death in water or lead although the partie die not of the practise in cases of murther all the accessaries are to suffer paines of death accordinglie Periurie is punished by the pillorie burning in the forehead with the letter P the rewalting of the trées growing vpon the grounds of the offendors and losse of all his mooueables Manie trespasses also are punished by the cutting of one or both cares from the head of the offendor as the vtterance of seditious words against the magistrates fraimakers petie robbers c. Roges are burned through the eares cariers of sheepe out of the land by the losse of their hands such as kill by poison are either boiled or skalded to death in lead or séething water Heretikes are burned quicke harlots and their mates by carting ducking and dooing of open penance in shéets in churches and market stéeds are often put to rebuke Howbeit as this is counted with some either as no punishment at all to speake of or but smallie regarded of the offendors so I would wish adulterie and fornication to haue some sharper law For what great smart is it to be turned out of an hot shéet into a cold or after a little washing in the water to be let lose againe vnto their former trades Howbeit the dragging of some of them ouer the Thames betwéene Lambeth and Westminster at the taile of a boat is a punishment that most terrifieth them which are condemned therto but this is inflicted vpon them by none other than the knight marshall and that within the compasse of his iurisdiction limits onelie Canutus was the first
that gaue authoritie to the cleargie to punish whoredome who at that time found fault with the former lawes as being too seuere in this behalfe For before the time of the said Canutus the adulterer forfeited all his goods to the king and his bodie to be at his pleasure and the adulteresse was to lose hir eies or nose or both if the case were more than common whereby it appéereth of what estimation mariage was amongst them sith the breakers of that holie estate were so gréeuouslie rewarded But afterward the cleargie dealt more fauourablie with them shooting rather at the punishments of such priests and clearkes as were maried than the reformation of adulterie and fornication wherein you shall find no example that anie seueritie was shewed except vpon such laie men as had defiled their nuns As in theft therfore so in adulterie and whoredome I would wish the parties trespassant to be made bond or slaues vnto those that receiued the iniurie to sell and giue where they listed or to be condemned to the gallies for that punishment would proue more bitter to them than halfe an houres hanging or than standing in a shéet though the weather be neuer so cold Manslaughter in time past was punished by the pursse wherin the quantitie or qualitie of the punishment was rated after the state and calling of the partie killed so that one was valued sometime at 1200 another at 600 or 200 shillings And by an estatute made vnder Henrie the first a citizen of London at 100 whereof else-where I haue spoken more at large Such as kill themselues are buried in the field with a stake driuen through their bodies Witches are hanged or sometimes burned but théeues are hanged as I said before generallie on the gibbet or gallowes sauing in Halifax where they are beheaded after a strange maner and whereof I find this report There is and hath beene of ancient time a law or rather a custome at Halifax that who soeuer dooth commit anie fellonie and is taken with the same or confesse the fact vpon examination if it be valued by foure constables to amount to the sum of thirtéene pence halfe penie he is foorthwith beheaded vpon one of the next market daies which fall vsuallie vpon the tuesdaies thursdaies saturdaies or else vpon the same daie that he is so conuicted if market be then holden The engine wherewith the execution is doone is a square blocke of wood of the length of foure foot and an halfe which dooth ride vp and downe in a slot rabet or regall betwéene two péeces of timber that are framed and set vpright of fiue yardes in height In the neather end of the sliding blocke is an ax keied or fastened with an iron into the wood which being drawne vp to the top of the frame is there fastned by a woodden pin with a notch made into the same after the maner of a Samsons post vnto the middest of which pin also there is a long rope fastened that commeth downe among the people so that when the offendor hath made his confession and hath laid his necke ouer the neathermost blocke euerie man there present dooth either take hold of the rope or putteth foorth his arme so neere to the same as he can get in token that he is willing to sée true iustice executed and pulling out the pin in this maner the head blocke wherein the ax is fastened dooth fall downe with such a violence that if the necke of the transgressor were so big as that of a bull it should be cut in sunder at a stroke and roll from the bodie by an huge distance If it be so that the offendor be apprehended for an ox oxen shéepe kine horsse or anie such cattell the selfe beast or other of the same kind shall haue the end of the rope tied somewhere vnto them so that they being driuen doo draw out the pin wherby the offendor is executed Thus much of Halifax law which I set downe onelie to shew the custome of that countrie in this behalfe Roges and vagabonds are often stocked and whipped scolds are ducked vpon cuckingstooles in the water Such fellons as stand mute and speake not at their arraignement are pressed to death by huge weights laid vpon a boord that lieth ouer their brest and a sharpe stone vnder their backs and these commonlie hold their peace thereby to saue their goods vnto their wiues and children which if they were condemned should be confiscated to the prince Théeues that are saued by their bookes and cleargie for the first offense if they haue stollen nothing else but oxen sheepe monie or such like which be no open robberies as by the high waie side or assailing of anie mans house in the night without putting him in feare of his life or breaking vp of his wals or doores are burned in the left hand vpon the brawne of the thombe with an hot iron so that if they be apprehended againe that marke bewraieth them to haue beene arraigned of fellonie before whereby they are sure at that time to haue no mercie I doo not read that this custome of sauing by the booke is vsed anie where else than in England neither doo I find after much diligent inquirie what Saxon prince ordeined that lawe Howbeit this I generallie gather thereof that it was deuised to traine the inhabiters of this land to the loue of learning which before contemned letters and all good knowledge as men onelie giuing themselues to husbandrie and the warres the like whereof I read to haue beene amongst the Gothes and Uandals who for a time would not suffer euen their princes to be lerned for weakening of their courages nor anie learned men to remaine in the counsell house but by open proclamation would command them to auoid whensoeuer anie thing touching the state of the land was to be consulted vpon Pirats and robbers by sea are condemned in the court of the admeraltie and hanged on the shore at lowe water marke where they are left till three tides haue ouer washed them Finallie such as hauing wals and banks néere vnto the sea and doo suffer the same to decaie after conuenient admonition whereby the water entereth and drowneth vp the countrie are by a certeine ancient custome apprehended condemned and staked in the breach where they remaine for euer as parcell of the foundation of the new wall that is to be made vpon them as I haue heard reported And thus much in part of the administration of instice vsed in our countrie wherein notwithstanding that we doo not often heare of horrible merciles and wilfull murthers such I meane asiare not sildome séene in the countries of the maine yet now and then some manslaughter and bloudie robberies are perpetrated and committed contrarie to the lawes which be seuerelie punished and in such wise as I before reported Certes there is no greater mischéefe doone in England than by robberies the first by yoong shifting
gentlemen which oftentimes doo beare more port than they are able to mainteine Secondlie by seruingmen whose wages cannot suffice so much as to find them bréeches wherefore they are now and then constreined either to kéepe high waies and breake into the wealthie mens houses with the first sort or else to walke vp and downe in gentlemens and rich farmers pastures there to sée and view which horsses féed best whereby they manie times get something although with hard aduenture it hath béene knowne by their confession at the gallowes that some one such chapman hath had fortie fiftie or sixtie stolne horsses at pasture here and there abroad in the countrie at a time which they haue sold at faires and markets farre off they themselues in the meane season being taken about home for honest yeomen and verie wealthie drouers till their dealings haue been bewrated It is not long since one of this companie was apprehended who was before time reputed for a verie honest and wealthie townesman he vttered also more horsses than anie of his trade because he sold a reasonable peniworth and was a faire spoken man It was his custome likewise to saie if anie man hucked hard with him about the price of a gelding So God helpe me gentleman or sir either he did cost me so much or else by Iesus I stole him Which talke was plaine inough and yet such was his estimation that each beleeued the first part of his tale and made no account of the later which was the truer indeed Our third annoiers of the common-wealth are roges which doo verie great mischeefe in all places where they become For wheras the rich onelie suffer iniurie by the firât two these spare neither rich nor poore but whether it be great gaine or small all is fish that commeth to net with them and yet I saie both they and the rest are trussed vp apace For there is not one yeare commonlie wherein three hundred or foure ãâã of them are not deuoured and eaten vp by the gallowes in one place and other It appeareth by Cardane who writeth it vpon the report of the bishop of Lexouia in the geniture of king Edward the sixt how Henrie the eight executing his laws verie seuerelie against such idle persons I meane great theeues pettie théeues and roges did hang vp thréescore and twelue thousand of them in his time He seemed for a while greatlie to haue terrified the rest but since his death the number of them is so increased yea although we haue had no warres which are a great occasion of their breed for it is the custome of the more idle sort hauing once serued or but séene the other side of the sea vnder colour of seruice to shake hand with labour for euer thinking it a disgrace for himselfe to returne vnto his former trade that except some better order be taken or the lawes alreadie made be better executed such as dwell in vplandish townes and little villages shall liue but in small safetie and rest For the better apprehension also of theeues and mankillers there is an old law in England verie well prouided whereby it is ordered that if he that is robbed or any man complaine and giue warning of slaughter or murther committed the constable of the village wherevnto he commeth and crieth for succour is to raise the parish about him and to search woods groues and all suspected houses and places where the trespasser may be or is supposed to lurke and not finding him there he is to giue warning vnto the next constable and so one constable after serch made to aduertise another from parish to parish till they come to the same where the offendor is harbored and found It is also prouided that if anie parish in this businesse doo not hir dutie but suffereth the théefe for the auoiding of trouble sake in carrieng him to the gaile if he should be apprehended or other letting of their worke to escape the same parish is not onlie to make fine to the king but also the same with the whole hundred wherein it standeth to repaie the partie robbed his damages and leaue his estate harmlesse Certes this is a good law howbeit I haue knowne by mine owne experience fellons being taken to haue escaped out of the stocks being rescued by other for want of watch gard that théeues haue beene let passe bicause the couetous and greedie parishoners would neither take the paines nor be at the charge to carrie them to prison if it were far off that when hue and crie haue béene made euen to the faces of some constables they haue said God restore your losse I haue other businesse at this time And by such meanes the meaning of manie a good law is left vnexecuted malefactors imboldened and manie a poore man turned out of that which he hath swet and taken great paines for toward the maintenance of himselfe and his poore children and familie Of the maner of building and furniture of our houses Chap. 12. THe greatest part of our building in the cities and good townes of England consisteth onelie of timber for as yet few of the houses of the communaltie except here there in the West countrie townes are made of stone although they may in my opinion in diuerse other places be builded so good cheape of the one as of the other In old time the houses of the Britons were slightlie set vp with a few posts many radels with stable and all offices vnder one roofe the like whereof almost is to be séene in the fennie countries and northerne parts vnto this daie where for lacke of wood they are inforced to continue this ancient maner of building It is not in vaine therefore in speaking of building to make a distinction betwéene the plaine and wooddie soiles for as in these our houses are commonlie strong and well timbered so that in manie places there are not aboue foure six or nine inches betwéene stud and stud so in the open and champaine countries they are inforced for want of stuffe to vse no studs at all but onlie franke posts raisins beames prickeposts groundsels summers or dormants transoms and such principals with here and there a girding whervnto they fasten their splints or radels and then cast it all ouer with thicke claie to keepe out the wind which otherwise would annoie them Certes this rude kind of building made the Spaniards in quéene Maries daies to woonder but chéeflie when they saw what large diet was vsed in manie of these so homelie cottages in so much that one of no small reputation amongst them said after this maner These English quoth he haue their houses made of sticks and durt but they fare commonlie so well as the king Whereby it appeareth that he liked better of our good fare in such course cabins than of their owne thin diet in their princelike habitations and palaces In like sort as euerie countrie house is thus apparelled on the out side
his terme if he haue not six or seuen yeares rent lieng by him therewith to purchase a new lease beside a faire garnish of pewter on his cupbord with so much more in od vessell going about the house thrée or foure featherbeds so manie couerlids and carpets of tapistrie a siluer salt a bowle for wine if not an whole neast and a dozzen of spoones to furnish vp the sute This also he taketh to be his owne cléere for what stocke of monie soeuer he gathereth laieth vp in all his yeares it is often séene that the landlord will take such order with him for the same when he renueth his lease which is commonlie eight or six yeares before the old be expired sith it is now growen almost to a custome that if he come not to his lord so long before another shall step in for a reuersion and so defeat him out right that it shall neuer trouble him more than the haire of his beard when the barber hath washed and shauen it from his chin And as they commend these so beside the decaie of housekéeping whereby the poore haue beene relieued they speake also of thrée things that are growen to be verie grieuous vnto them to wit the inhansing of rents latelie mentioned the dailie oppression of copiholders whose lords séeke to bring their poore tenants almost into plaine seruitude and miserie dailie deuising new meanes and séeking vp all the old how to cut them shorter and shorter doubling trebling and now then seuen times increasing their fines driuing them also for euerie trifle to loose and forfeit their tenures by whome the greatest part of the realme dooth stand and is mainteined to the end they may fléece them yet more which is a lamentable hering The third thing they talke of is vsurie a trade brought in by the Iewes now perfectlie practised almost by euerie christian and so commonlie that he is accompted but for a foole that dooth lend his monie for nothing In time past it was Sors pro sorte that is the principall onelie for the principall but now beside that which is aboue the principall properlie called Vsura we chalenge Foenus that is commoditie of soile fruits of the earth if not the ground it selfe In time past also one of the hundred was much from thence it rose vnto two called in Latine Vsura Ex sextante thrée to wit Ex quadrante then to foure to wit Ex triente then to fiue which is Ex quincunce then to six called Ex semisse c as the accompt of the Assis ariseth and comming at the last vnto Vsura ex asse it amounteth to twelue in the hundred and therefore the Latines call it Centesima for that in the hundred moneth it doubleth the principall but more of this elsewhere See Cicero against Verres Demosthenes against Aphobus and Athenaeus lib. 13. in fine and when thou hast read them well helpe I praie thée in lawfull maner to hang vp such as take CentuÌ pro cento for they are no better worthie as I doo iudge in conscience Forget not also such landlords as vse to value their leases at a secret estimation giuen of the wealth and credit of the taker whereby they séeme as it were to cat them vp and deale with bondmen so that if the leassée be thought to be worth an hundred pounds he shall paie no lesse for his new terme or else another to enter with hard and doubtfull couenants I am sorie to report it much more gréeued to vnderstand of the practise but most sorowfull of all to vnderstand that men of great port and countenance are so farre from suffering their farmers to haue anie gaine at all that they themselues become grasiers butchers tanners shéepmasters woodmen and denique quid non thereby to inrich themselues and bring all the wealth of the countrie into their owne hands leauing the communaltie weake or as an idoll with broken or féeble armes which may in a time of peace haue a plausible shew but when necessitie shall inforce haue an heauie and bitter sequele Of cities and townes in England Cap. 13. AS in old time we read that there were eight and twentie flamines and archflamines in the south part of this I le and so manie great cities vnder their iurisdiction so in these our daies there is but one or two fewer and each of them also vnder the ecclesiasticall regiment of some one bishop or archbishop who in spirituall cases haue the charge and ouersight of the same So manie cities therefore are there in England and Wales as there be bishopriks archbishopriks For notwithstanding that Lichfield and Couentrie and Bath and Welles doo séeme to extend the aforesaid number vnto nine and twentie yet neither of these couples are to be accounted but as one entier citie and sée of the bishop sith one bishoprike can haue relation but vnto one sée and the said see be situate but in one place after which the bishop dooth take his name It appeareth by our old and ancient histories that the cities of this southerlie portion haue beene of excéeding greatnesse and beautie whereof some were builded in the time of the Samotheans and of which not a few in these our times are quite decaied and the places where they stood worne out of all remembrance Such also for the most part as yet remaine are maruellouslie altered insomuch that whereas at the first they were large and ample now are they come either vnto a verie few houses or appeare not to be much greater in comparison than poore simple villages Antoninus the most diligent writer of the thorough fares of Britaine noteth among other these ancient townes following as Sitomagus which he placeth in the waie from Norwich as Leland supposeth wherin they went by Colchester to London Nouiomagus that lieth betwéene Carleill and Canturburie within ten miles east of London and likewise Neomagus and Niomagus which take their names of their first founder Magus the sonne of Samothes second king of the Celtes that reigned in this Iland and not A profunditate onelie as Bodinus affirmeth out of Plinie as if all the townes that ended in Magus should stand in holes and low grounds which is to be disprooued in diuerse cities in the maine as also here with vs. Of these moreouer sir Thomas Eliot supposeth Neomagus to haue stood somewhere about Chester George Lillie in his booke of the names of ancient places iudgeth Niomagus to be the verie same that we doo now call Buckingham and lieth farre from the shore And as these and sundrie other now perished tooke their denomination of this prince so there are diuerse causes which mooue me to coniecture that Salisburie dooth rather take the first name of Sarron the sonne of the said Magus than of Caesar Caradoc or Seuerus as some of our writers doo imagine or else at the least wise of Salisburge of the maine from whence some Saxons
he they teach you to repent too late of your great gentlenesse Caietanus in his common-wealth hath finallie no liking of them as appéereth in his eight booke of that most excellent treatise But what haue I to deale whether they be profitable or not sith my purpose is rather to shew what plentie we haue of them which I will performe so far as shall be néedfull There haue béene in times past great store of castels places of defense within the realme of England of which some were builded by the Britons manie by the Romans Saxons and Danes but most of all by the barons of the realme in about the time of king Stephan who licenced each of them to build so manie as them listed vpon their owne demeasnes hoping thereby that they would haue imploied their vse to his aduantage and commoditie But finallie when he saw that they were rather fortified against himselfe in the end than vsed in his defense he repented all too late of his inconsiderate dealing sith now there was no remedie but by force for to subdue them After his decease king Henrie the second came no sooner to the crowne but he called to mind the inconuenience which his predecessour had suffered and he himselfe might in time sustaine by those fortifications Therefore one of the first things he did was an attempt to race and deface the most part of these holds Certes he thought it better to hazard the méeting of the enimie now and then in the plaine field than to liue in perpetuall feare of those houses and the rebellion of his lords vpon euerie light occasion conceiued who then were full so strong as he if not more strong and that made them the readier to withstand and gainesaie manie of those procéedings which he and his successours from time to time intended Herevpon therefore he caused more than eleuen hundred of their said castels to be raced and ouerthrowne whereby the power of his nobilitie was not a little restreined Since that time also not a few of those which remained haue decaied partlie by the commandement of Henrie the third and partlie of themselues or by conuersion of them into the dwelling houses of noble men their martiall fronts being remooued so that at this present there are verie few or no castels at all mainteined within England sauing onelie vpon the coasts and marches of the countrie for the better kéeping backe of the forren enimie when soeuer he shall attempt to enter and annoie vs. The most prouident prince that euer reigned in this land for the fortification thereof against all outward enimies was the late prince of famous memorie king Henrie the eight who beside that he repared most of such as were alreadie standing builded sundrie out of the ground For hauing shaken off the more than seruile yoke of popish tyrannie and espieng that the emperour was offended for his diuorce from quéene Catharine his aunt and thereto vnderstanding that the French king had coupled the Dolphin his sonne with the popes neece and maried his daughter to the king of Scots whereby he had cause more iustlie to suspect than safelie to trust anis one of them all as Lambert saith he determined to stand vpon his owne defense and therefore with no small spéed and like charge he builded sundrie blockehouses castels and platformes vpon diuerse frontiers of his realme but chieflie the east and southeast parts of England whereby no doubt he did verie much qualifie the conceiued grudges of his aduersaries and vtterlie put off their hastie purpose of inuasion But would to God he had cast his eie toward Harwich and the coasts of Norffolke and Suffolke where nothing as yet is doone albeit there be none so fit and likelie places for the enimie to enter vpon as in those parts where at a full sea they may touch vpon the shore and come to land without resistance And thus much brieflie for my purpose at this present For I néed not to make anie long discourse of castels sith it is not the nature of a good Englishman to regard to be caged vp as in a coope and hedged in with stone wals but rather to meet with his enimie in the plaine field at handstrokes where he may trauaise his ground choose his plot and vse the benefit of sunne shine wind and weather to his best aduantage commoditie Isocrates also saith that towres walles bulworkes soldiers and plentie of armour are not the best kéepers of kingdomes but freends loue of subiects obedience vnto martiall discipline which they want that shew themselues either cruell or couetous toward their people As for those tales that go of Beston castell how it shall saue all England on a daie and likewise the brag of a rebellious baron in old time named Hugh Bigot that said in contempt of king Henrie the third and about the fiftith yeare of his reigne If I were in my castell of Bungeie Vpon the water of Waueneie I wold not set a button by the king of Cockneie I repute them but as toies the first méere vaine the second fondlie vttered if anie such thing were said as manie other words are and haue béene spoken of like holds as Wallingford c but now growen out of memorie and with small losse not heard of among the common sort Certes the castell of Bungeie was ouerthrowen by the aforesaid prince the same yeare that he ouerthrew the walles and castell of Leircester also the castels of Treske and Malesar apperteining to Roger Mowbraie and that of Fremlingham belonging likewise to Hugh Bigot wherof in the chronologie following you may read at large I might here in like sort take occasion to speake of sundrie strong places where camps of men haue lien and of which we haue great plentie here in England in the plaine fields but I passe ouer to talke of any such néedlesse discourses This neuerthelesse concerning two of them is not to be omitted to wit that the one néere vnto Cambridge now Gogmagogs hill was called Windleburie before time as I read of late in an old pamphlet And to saie the truth I haue often heard them named Winterburie hilles which difference may easilie grow by corruption of the former word the place likewise is verie large and strong The second is to be séene in the edge of Shropshire about two miles from Colme betwéene two riuers the Clun or Colunus and the Tewie otherwise named Themis wherevnto there is no accesse but at one place The Welshmen call it Cair Carador and they are of the opinion that Caractatus king of the Sillures was ouercome there by Ostorius at such time as he fled to Cartimanda quéene of the Brigants for succour who betraied him to the Romans as you may sée in Tacitus Of palaces belonging to the prince Chap. 15. IT lieth not in me to set down exactlie the number names of the palaces belonging to the prince nor to make anie description of hir graces
imagine himselfe to come into some publike schoole of the vniuersities where manie giue eare to one that readeth than into a princes palace if you conferre the same with those of other nations Would to God all honorable personages would take example of hir graces godlie dealing in this behalfe and shew their conformitie vnto these hir so good beginnings which if they would then should manie grieuous offenses wherewith God is highlie displeased be cut off and restreined which now doo reigne excéedinglie in most noble and gentlemens houses wherof they sée no paterne within hir graces gates I might speake here of the great traines and troopes of seruing men also which attend vpon the nobilitie of England in their seuerall liueries and with differences of cognisances on their sléeues whereby it is knowen to whome they apperteine I could also set downe what a goodlie sight it is to sée them muster in the court which being filled with them dooth yéeld the contemplation of a noble varietie vnto the beholder much like to the shew of the pecocks taile in the full beautie or of some medow garnished with infinit kinds and diuersitie of pleasant floures But I passe ouer the rehearsall hereof to other men who more delite in vaine amplification than I and séeke to be more curious in these points than I professe to be The discipline of firme peace also that is mainteined within a certeine compasse of the princes palace is such as is nothing inferiour to that we sée dailie practised in the best gouerned holds fortresses And such is the seuere punishment of those that strike within the limits prohibited that without all hope of mercie benefit of clergie or sanctuarie they are sure to loose their right hands at a stroke and that in verie solemne maner the forme whereof I will set downe and then make an end of this chapter to deale with other matters At such time therefore as the partie transgressing is conuicted by a sufficient inquest impanelled for the same purpose and the time come of the execution of the sentence the sergeant of the kings wood-yard prouideth a square blocke which he bringeth to some appointed place and therewithall a great beetle staple and cords wherewith to fasten the hand of the offendor vnto the said blocke vntill the whole circumstance of his execution be performed The yeoman of the scullarie likewise for the time being dooth prouide a great fire of coales hard by the blocke wherein the fearing irons are to be made readie against the chiefe surgeon to the prince or his deputie shall occupie the same Upon him also dooth the sergeant or chiefe farrour attend with those irons whose office is to deliuer them to the said surgeon when he shall be redie by searing to vse the same The groome of the salarie for the time being or his deputie is furthermore appointed to be readie with vineger and cold water and not to depart from the place vntill the arme of the offendor be bound vp and fullie dressed And as these things are thus prouided so the sergeant surgeon is bound from time to time to be readie to execute his charge and seare the stumpe when the hand is taken from it The sergeant of the cellar is at hand also with a cup of red wine and likewise the chiefe officer of the pantrie with manchet bread to giue vnto the said partie after the execution doone and the stumpe seared as the sergeant of the ewerie is with clothes wherein to wind and wrap vp the arme the yeoman of the poultrie with a cocke to laie vnto it the yeoman of the chandrie with seared cloths and finallie the maister cooke or his deputie with a sharpe dressing knife which he deliuereth at the place of execution to the sergeant of the larder who dooth hold it vpright in his hand vntill the execution be performed by the publike officer appointed therevnto And this is the maner of punishment ordeined for those that strike within the princes palace or limits of the same Which should first haue beene executed on sir Edmund Kneuet in the yeare 1541. But when he had made great sute to saue his right hand for the further seruice of the king in his warres and willinglie yeelded to forgo his left in the end the king pardoned him of both to no small benefit of the offendor and publication of the bountifull nature that remained in the prince The like priuilege almost is giuen to churches and churchyards although in maner of punishment great difference doo appeere For he that bralleth or quarelleth in either of them is by and by suspended Abingressu ecclesiae vntill he be absolued as he is also that striketh with the fist or laieth violent hands vpon anie whome so euer But if he happen to smite with staffe dagger or anie maner of weapon the same be sufficientlie found by the verdict of twelue men at his arrainement beside excommunication he is sure to loose one of his eares without all hope of release But if he be such a one as hath beene twise condemned and executed whereby he hath now none eares then is he marked with an hot iron vpon the chéeke and by the letter F which is seared déepe into his slesh he is from thencefoorth noted as a common barratour and fraie maker and therevnto remaineth excommunicate till by repentance he deserue to be absolued To strike a clearke also that is to saie a minister is plaine excommunication and the offendor not to be absolued but by the prince or his especiall coÌmission Such also is the generall estate of the excoÌmunicate in euery respect that he can yéeld not testimonie in anie matter so long as he so standeth No bargaine or sale that he maketh is auaileable in law neither any of his acts whatsoeuer pleadable wherby he liueth as an outlaw a man altogither out of the princes protection although it be not lawfull to kill him nor anie man otherwise outlawed without the danger of fellonie Of armour and munition Chap. 16. HOw well or how stronglie our countrie hath beene furnished in times past with armor and artillerie it lieth not in me as of my selfe to make rehersall Yet that it lacked both in the late time of quéen Marie not onlie the experience of mine elders but also the talke of certeine Spaniards not yet forgotten did leaue some manifest notice Upon the first I néed not stand for few will denie it For the second I haue heard that when one of the greatest péeres of Spaine espied our nakednesse in this behalfe and did solemnelie vtter in no obscure place that it should be an easie matter in short time to conquer England bicause it wanted armor his words were then not so rashlie vttered as they were politikelie noted For albeit that for the present time their efficacie was dissembled and femblance made as though he spake but merilie yet at the verie enterance of this our gratious quéene
their capacities and moulds It shall not be amisse therefore to begin at the nauie of Xerxes of which ech meane vessell as appéereth by Herodot was able to receiue two hundred and thirtie souldiers and some of them thrée hundred These were called triremes and were indéede gallies that had thrée rowes of ores on euerie side for the word Nauis is indifferentlie applied so well to the gallies as ship as to the conuersant in histories is easie to be found In old time also they had gallies of foure rowes fiue rowes six seauen eight nine twelue yea fifteene rowes of ores on a side iudge you then of what quantitie those vessels were Plinie lib. 7. noteth one Damasthenes to be the first maker of the gallies with two rowes called biremes Thucidides referreth the triremes to Ammocles of Corinthum the quadriremes were deuised by Aristotle of Carthage the quinquiremes by Nestchthon of Salamina the gallie of six rowes by Xenagoras of Syracusa from this to the tenth Nesigiton brought vp Alexander the great caused one to be made of twelue Ptolomeus Soter of fiftéene Demetrius the sonne of Antigonus of thirtie Ptolom Philad of fortie Ptol. Triphon of fiftie all which aboue foure were none other in mine opinion than vnweldie carts and more seruing for pleasure and to gaze vpon than anie vse in the wars for which they should be deuised But of all other I note one of fortie rowes which Ptolo. Philopater builded conteining 200 and eightie cubits in length and eight and fortie cubits in breadth it held also foure thousand ores foure hundred mariners and three thousand souldiers so that in the said vessell were seauen thousand and foure hundred persons a report incredible if truth and good testimonie did not confirme the same I must needs confesse therefore that the ancient vessels far exceeded ours for capacitie neuerthelesse if you regard the forme and the assurance from perill of the sea and therewithall the strength and nimblenesse of such as are made in our time you shall easilie find that ours are of more value than theirs for as the greatest vessell is not alwaies the safest so that of most huge capacitie is not alwaies the aptest to shift and brooke the seas as might be seene by the great Henrie the hugest vessell that euer England framed in our times Neither were the ships of old like vnto ours in mould and maner of building aboue the water for of low gallies in our seas we make small account nor so full of ease within sith time hath ingendred more skill in the wrights and brought all things to more perfection than they had in the beginning And now to come vnto our purpose at the first intended The nauie of England may be diuided into three sortes of which the one serueth for the warres the other for burden and the third for fishermen which get their liuing by fishing on the sea How manie of the first order are mainteined within the realme it passeth my cunning to expresse yet sith it may be parted into the nauie roiall and common fleete I thinke good to speake of those that belong vnto the prince and so much the rather for that their number is certeine well knowne to verie manie Certes there is no prince in Europe that hath a more beautifull or gallant sort of ships than the quéenes maiestie of England at this present and those generallie are of such exceeding force that two of them being well appointed and furnished as they ought will not let to encounter with thrée or foure of those of other countries and either bowge them or put them to flight if they may not bring them home Neither are the moulds of anie forren barkes so conuenientlie made to brooke so well one sea as another lieng vpon the shore in anie part of the continent as those of England And therefore the common report that strangers make of our ships amongst themselues is dailie confirmed to be true which is that for strength assurance nimblenesse and swiftnesse of sailing there are no vessels in the world to be compared with ours And all these are committed to the regiment and safe custodie of the admerall who is so called as some imagine of the Gréeke word Almiras a capiteine on the sea for so saith Zonaras in Basilio Macedone Basilio Porphyriogenito though other fetch it from Ad mare the Latine words another sort from Amyras the Saracen magistrate or from some French deriuation but these things are not for this place and therefore I passe them ouer The quéenes highnesse hath at this present which is the foure and twentith of hir reigne alreadie made and furnished to the number of foure or fiue and twentie great ships which lie for the most part in Gillingham rode beside thrée gallies of whose particular names and furnitures so far foorth as I can come by them it shall not be amisse to make report at this time The names of so manie ships belonging to hir maiestie as I could come by at this present The Bonaduenture Elizabeth Ionas White Beare Philip and Marie Triumph Bull. Tiger Antlope Hope Lion Victorie Marie Rose Foresight Swift sute Aid Handmaid Dread nought Swallow Genet Barke of Bullen Achates Falcon. George Reuenge It is said that as kings and princes haue in the yoong daies of the world and long since framed themselues to erect euerie yeare a citie in some one place or other of their kingdoms and no small woonder that Sardanapalus should begin finish two to wit Anchialus and Tharsus in one daie so hir grace dooth yearelie build one ship or other to the better defense of hir frontiers from the enimie But as of this report I haue no assured certeintie so it shall suffice to haue said so much of these things yet this I thinke worthie further to be added that if they should all be driuen to seruice at one instant which God forbid she should haue a power by sea of about nine or ten thousand men which were a notable companie beside the supplie of other vessels apperteining to hir subiects to furnish vp hir voiage Beside these hir grace hath other in hand also of whom hereafter as their turnes doo come about I will not let to leaue some further remembrance She hath likewise thrée notable gallies the Spéed well the Trie right and the Blacke gallie with the fight whereof and rest of the nauie roiall it is incredible to saie how greatlie hir grace is delighted and not without great cause I saie sith by their meanes hir coasts are kept in quiet and sundrie forren enimies put backe which otherwise would inuade vs. The number of those that serue for burden with the other whereof I haue made mention alreadie and whose vse is dailie séene as occasion serueth in time of the warres is to mée vtterlie vnknowne Yet if the report of one record be anie thing at all to be credited there are 135 ships that exceed 500 tun topmen vnder 100
and aboue fortie 656 hoies 100 but of hulkes catches fisherboats and craiers it lieth not in me to deliuer the iust account sith they are hardlie to come by Of these also there are some of the quéenes maiesties subiects that haue two or three some foure or six and as I heard of late one man whose name I suppresse for modesties sake hath bene knowne not long since to haue had sixtéene or seuentéene and emploied them wholie to the wafting in and out of our merchants whereby he hath reaped no small commoditie and gaine I might take occasion to tell of the notable and difficult voiages made into strange countries by Englishmen and of their dailie successe there but as these things are nothing incident to my purpose so I surcease to speake of them Onelie this will I ad to the end all men shall vnderstand somewhat of the great masses of treasure dailie emploied vpon our nauie how there are few of those ships of the first and second sort that being apparelled and made readie to sale are not woorth one thousand pounds or thrée thousand ducats at the least if they should presentlie be sold. What shall we thinke then of the greater but especiallie of the nauie roiall of which some one vessell is woorth two of the other as the ship wrights haue often told me It is possible that some couetous person hearing this report will either not credit it at all or suppose monie so emploied to be nothing profitable to the queenes coffers as a good husband said once when he hard there should be prouision made for armor wishing the quéenes monie to be rather laid out to some spéedier returne of gaine vnto hir grace bicause the realme saith he is in case good enough and so peraduenture he thought But if as by store of armour for the defense of the countrie he had likewise vnderstanded that the good kéeping of the sea is the safegard of our land he would haue altered his censure and soone giuen ouer his iudgement For in times past when our nation made small account of nauigation how soone did the Romans then the Saxons last of all the Danes inuade this Iland whose crueltie in the end inforced our countrumen as it were euen against their wils to prouide for ships from other places and build at home of their owne whereby their enimies were offentimes distressed But most of all were the Normans therein to be commended For in a short processe of time after the conquest of this Iland and good consider at ion had for the well kéeping of the same they supposed nothing more commodious for the defense of the countrie than the maintenance of a strong nauie which they spéedilie prouided mainteined and thereby reaped in the end their wished securitie wherewith before their times this Iland was neuer acquainted Before the comming of the Romans I doo not read that we had anie ships at all except a few made of wicker and couered with buffle hides like vnto the which there are some to be seene at this present in Scotland as I heare although there be a little I wote not well what difference betwéene them Of the same also Solinus speaketh so far as I remember neuerthelesse it may be gathered by his words how the vpper parts of them aboue the water onelie were framed of the said wickers and that the Britons did vse to fast all the whiles they went to the sea in them but whether it were doone for policie or superstition as yet I doo not read In the beginning of the Saxons regiment we had some ships also but as their number and mould was litle and nothing to the purpose so Egbert was the first prince that euer throughlie began to know this necessitie of a nauie and vse the seruice thereof in the defense of his countrie After him also other princes as Alfred Edgar Ethelred c indeuoured more and more to store themselues at the full with ships of all quantities but chieflie Edgar for he prouided a nauie of 1600 alià s 3600 saile which he diuided into foure parts and sent them to abide vpon foure sundrie coasts of the land to keepe the same from pirats Next vnto him and worthie to be remembred is Etheldred who made a law that euerie man holding 310 hidelands should find a ship furnished to serue him in the warres Howbeit and as I said before when all their name was at the greatest it was not comparable for force and sure building to that which afterward the Normans prouided neither that of the Normans anie thing like to the same that is to be séene now in these our daies For the iourneies also of our ships you shall vnderstand that a well builded vessell will run or saile commonlie thrée hundred leagues or nine hundred miles in a wéeke or peraduenture some will go 2200 leagues in six wéekes and an halfe And suerlie if their lading be readie against they come thither there be of them that will be here at the west Indies home againe in twelue or thirteene wéekes from Colchester although the said Indies be eight hundred leagues from the cape or point of Cornewall as I haue beene informed This also I vnderstand by report of some trauellers that if anie of our vessels happen to make a voiage to Hispaniola or new Spaine called in time past Quinquezia and Haiti and lieth betwéene the north tropike and the equator after they haue once touched at the Canaries which are eight daies sailing or two hundred and fiftie leages from S. Lucas de Barameda in Spaine they will be there in thirtie or fourtie dates home againe in Cornewall in other eight wéekes which is a goodlie matter beside the safetie and quietnesse in the passage But more of this elsewhere Of faires and markets Chap. 18. THere are as I take it few great townes in England that haue not their wéekelie markets one or more granted from the prince in which all maner of prouision for houshold is to be bought and sold for ease and benefit of the countrie round about Wherby as it coÌmeth to passe that no buier shall make anie great iourneie in the purueiance of his necessities so no occupier shall haue occasion to trauell far off with his commodities except it be to séeke for the highest prices which commonlie are néere vnto great cities where round and spéediest vtterance is alwaies to be had And as these haue béene in times past erected for the benefit of the realme so are they in many places too too much abused for the reliefe and ease of the buier is not so much intended in them as the benefit of the seller Neither are the magistrats for the most part as men loth to displease their neighbours for their one yeares dignitie so carefull in their offices as of right and dutie they should bée For in most of these markets neither assises of bread nor orders for goodnesse and swéetnesse of graine and
or load at the first for marring the market but by the bushell or two or an horsseload at the most therby to be séene to keepe the crosse either for a shew or to make men eger to buie and so as they may haue it for monie not to regard what they paie And thus corne waxeth doere but it will be déerer the next market daie It is possible also that they mislike the price in the beginning for the whole yeare insuing as men supposing that corne will be litle worth for this of better price in the next yeare For they haue certeine superstitious obseruations where by they will giue a gesse at the sale of corne for the yeare following And our countriemen doo vse commonlie for barleie where I dwell to iudge after the price at Baldocke vpon S. Matthewes daie and for wheat as it is sold in séed time They take in like sort experiment by sight of the first flockes of cranes that flée southward in winter the age of the moone in the beginning of Ianuarie such other apish toies as by laieng twelue cornes vpon the hot hearth for the twelue moneths c whereby they shew themselues to be scant good christians but what care they so they may come by monie Herevpon also will they thresh out thrée parts of the old corne toward the latter end of the summer when new commeth apace to hand and cast the same in the fourth vnthreshed where it shall lie vntill the next spring or peraduenture till it must and putrifie Certes it is not dâintie to sée mustie corne in manie of our great markets of England which these great occupiers bring foorth when they can kéepe it no longer But as they are inforced offentimes vpon this one occasion somwhat to abate the price so a plague is not seldome ingendred thereby among the poorer sort that of necessitie must buie the same wherby manie thousands of all degrees are consumed of whose deaths in mine opinion these farmers are not vnguiltie But to proceed If they laie not vp their graine or wheat in this maner they haue yet another policie whereby they will séeme to haue but small store left in their barnes for else they will gird their sheues by the band and stacke it vp of new in lesse roome to the end it may not onlie séeme lesse in quantitie but also giue place to the corne that is yet to come into the barne or growing in the field If there happen to be such plentie in the market on anie market daie that they cannot sell at their own price then will they set it vp in some fréends house against an other or the third daie not bring it foorth till they like of the sale If they sell anie at home beside harder measure it shall be déerer to the poore man that bieth it by two pence or a groat in a bushell than they may sell it in the market But as these things are worthie redresse so I wish that God would once open their eies that deale thus to sée their owne errours for as yet some of them little care how manie poore men suffer extremitie so that they may fill their purses and carie awaie the gaine It is a world also to sée how most places of the realme are pestered with purueiours who take vp egs butter chéese pigs capons hens chickens hogs bakon c in one market vnder pretense of their commissions suffer their wiues to sell the same in another or to pulters of London If these chapmen be absent but two or thrée market daies then we may perfectlie sée these wares to be more reasonablie sold and therevnto the crosses sufficientlie furnished of all things In like sort since the number of buâtermen haue so much increased and since they trauell in such wife that they come to mens houses for their butter faster than they can make it it is almost incredible to see how the price of butter is augmented whereas when the owners were inforced to bring it to the market townes fewer of these butter buiers were stirring our butter was scarslie woorth eighteene pence the gallon that now is worth thrée shillings foure pence perhaps fiue shillings Wherby also I gather that the maintenance of a superfluous number of dealers in most trades âillage alwaies excepted is one of the greatest causes why the prices of things become excessiue for one of them doo coÌmonlie vse to out bid another And whilest our countrie commodities are commonlie bought and sold at our priuate houses I neuer looke to see this enormitie redressed or the markets well furnished I could saie more but this is euen inough more peraduenture than I shall be well thanked for yet true it is though some thinke it no trespasse This moreouer is to be lamented that one generall measure is not in vse throughout all England but euerie market towne hath in maner a seuerall bushell and the lesser it be the more sellers it draweth to resort vnto the same Such also is the couetousnesse of manie clearkes of the market that in taking view of measures they will alwaie so prouide that one and the same bushell shall be either too big or too little at their next comming and yet not depart without a fee at the first so that what by their mending at one time and empairing the same at another the countrie is greatlie charged and few iust measures to be had in anie stéed It is oft found likewise that diuerse vnconscionable dealers haue one measure to sell by another to buie withall the like is also in weights and yet all sealed and bronded Wherefore it were verie good that these two were reduced vnto one standard that is one bushell one pound one quarter one hundred one tale one number so should things in time fall into better order and fewer causes of contention be mooued in this land Of the complaint of such poore tenants as paie rent corne vnto their landlords I speake not who are often dealt withall very hardlie For beside that in the measuring of ten quarters for the most part they lose one through the iniquitie of the bushell such is the gréedinesse of the appointed receiuers thereof fault is found also with the goodnesse and cleannesse of the graine Wherby some péece of monie must néeds passe vnto their purses to stop their mouths withall or else my lord will not like of the corne Thou art worthie to loose thy lease c. Or if it be cheaper in the market than the rate allowed for it is in their rents then must they paie monie and no corne which is no small extremitie And thereby we may see how each one of vs indeuoureth to fléece and eat vp another Another thing there is in our markets worthie to be looked vnto and that is the recariage of graine from the same into losts and sollars of which before I gaue some intimation wherefore if it were ordered that euerie
noted and not vniustlie to degenerate from true nobilitie and betake themselues to husbandrie And euen the same enormitie tooke place sometime among the Romans and entred so farre as into the verie senate of whome some one had two or thrée ships going vpon the sea pretending prouision for their houses but in truth following the trades of merchandize till a law was made which did inhibit and restraine them Liuie also telleth of another law which passed likewise against the senators by Claudius the tribune and helpe onelie of C. Flaminius that no senator or he that had beene father to anie senator should possesse anie ship or vessell aboue the capacitie of thrée hundred amphoras which was supposed sufficient for the cariage and recariage of such necessities as should apperteine vnto his house sith further trading with merchandizes and commodities dooth delcare but a base and couetous mind not altogither void of enuie that anie man should liue but he or that if anie gaine were to be had he onelie would haue it himselfe which is a wonderfull dealing and must néeds proue in time the confusion of that countrie wherein such enormities are exercised Where in times part manie large and wealthie occupiers were dwelling within the compasse of some one parke and thereby great plentie of corne and cattell séene and to be had among them beside a more copious procreation of humane issue whereby the realme was alwaies better furnished with able men to serue the prince in his affaires now there is almost nothing kept but a sort of wild and sauage beasts cherished for pleasure and delight and yet some owners still desirous to inlarge those grounds as either for the bréed and feeding of cattell doo not let dailie to take in more not sparing the verie commons whervpon manie towneships now and then doo liue affirming that we haue alreadie too great store of people in England and that youth by marrieng too soone doo nothing profit the countrie but fill it full of beggars to the hurt and vtter vndooing they saie of the common wealth Certes if it be not one curse of the Lord to haue our countrie conuerted in such sort from the furniture of mankind into the walks and shrowds of wild beasts I know not what is anie How manie families also these great and small games for so most kéepers call them haue eaten vp and are likelie hereafter to deuoure some men may coniecture but manie more lament sith there is no hope of restraint to be looked for in this behalfe because the corruption is so generall But if a man may presentlie giue a ghesse at the vniuersalitie of this euill by contemplation of the circumstance he shall saie at the last that the twentith part of the realme is imploied vpon déere and conies alreadie which séemeth verie much if it be not dulie considered of King Henrie the eight one of the noblest princes that euer reigned in this land lamented oft that he was constreined to hire forren aid for want of competent store of souldiors here at home perceiuing as it is indeed that such supplies are oftentimes more hurtfull than profitable vnto those that interteine them as may chéeflie be seene in Ualens the emperor our Uortiger and no small number of others He would oft maruell in priuate talke how that when seauen or eight princes ruled here at once one of them could lead thirtie or fortie thousand men to the field against another or two of them 100000 against the third and those taken out onelie of their owne dominions But as he found the want so he saw not the cause of this decaie which grew beside this occasion now mentioned also by laieng house to house and land to land whereby manie mens occupiengs were conuerted into one and the bréed of people not a little thereby diminished The auarice of landlords by increasing of rents and fines also did so wearie the people that they were readie to rebell with him that would arise supposing a short end in the warres to be better than a long and miserable life in peace Priuileges and faculties also are another great cause of the ruine of a common wealth and diminution of mankind for whereas law and nature dooth permit all men to liue in their best maner and whatsoeuer trade they be exercised in there commeth some priuiledge or other in the waie which cutteth them off from this or that trade wherby they must néeds shift soile and séeke vnto other countries By these also the greatest commodities are brought into the hands of few who imbase corrupt and yet raise the prices of things at their owne pleasures Example of this last I can giue also in bookes which after the first impression of anie one booke are for the most part verie negligentlie handled whereas if another might print it so well as the first then would men striue which of them should doo it best and so it falleth out in all other trades It is an easie matter to prooue that England was neuer lesse furnished with people than at this present for it the old records of euerie manour be sought and search made to find what tenements are fallen either downe or into the lords hands or brought and vnited togither by other men it will soone appéere that in some one manour seuentéen eightéene or twentie houses are shrunke I know what I saie by mine owne experience notwithstanding that some one cotage be here and there erected of late which is to little purpose Of cities and townes either vtterlie decaied or more than a quarter or halfe diminished though some one be a little increased here and there of townes pulled downe for sheepe-walks and no more but the lordships now standing in them beside those that William Rufus pulled downe in his time I could saie somewhat but then I should swarue yet further from my purpose wherevnto I now returne Wée had no parkes left in England at the comming of the Normans who added this calamitie also to the seruitude of our nation making men of the best sort furthermore to become kéepers of their game whilest they liued in the meane time vpon the spoile of their reuenues and dailie ouerthrew townes villages and an infinit sort of families for the maintenance of their venerie Neither was anie parke supposed in these times to be statelie enough that conteined not at the least eight or ten hidelands that is so manie hundred acres or families or as they haue béene alwaies called in some places of the realme carrucats or cartwares of which one was sufficient in old time to mainteine an honest yeoman King Iohn trauelling on a time northwards to wit 1209 to warre vpon the king of Scots because he had married his daughter to the earle of Bullen without his consent in his returne ouerthrew a great number of parkes and warrens of which some belonged to his barons but the greatest part to the abbats and prelats of the cleargie
In monte fracto where Iacobus de Voragino bishop of Gene Ioachimus Vadianus in Pompon Melam doo also make mention sith I take them but for fables far vnworthie that anie good man should staine his paper with such friuolous matters as are reported of them being deuised at the first by Satanas the father of lies for the holding of the ignorant credulous in their superstitions and errors Such also is the tale that goeth of Wenefrids well nothing inferior to that of Mercurie néere to port Caperia in Rome wherein such as went by would dip branches of baie and sprinkle the same vpon themselues and so manie as stood about them calling vpon Mercurie and crauing pardon for their sinnes as if that ceremonie had bene of force vnto forgiuenesse and remission of their trespasses And so it appeareth partlie by Cicero who being a man neither thinking well of their owne gods nor liking of the augures dooth write in his first De legibus except my memorie faile me aspersione aquae labem tolli corpoream castimoniam corporis praestari which maketh me to thinke further that they thought it equall with our late holie-water wherewith it maie be compared I might further also if I would make relation of diuerse welles which haue wrought manie miracles in time of superstition as S. Butolphs well in Hadstocke S. Germans well at Falkeburne Holie well at S. Albones and London and sundrie other in other places but as their vertues are now found out to be but baits to draw men and women vnto them either for gaine vnto the places where they were or satisfaction of the lewd disposition of such as hunted after other gaine so it shall suffice to haue touched them far off Onlie this will I ad that we haue no hurtfull waters no not vnto our shéepe though it please Cardan to auouch otherwise for our waters are not the causes but the signes of their infections when they drinke as I elsewhere haue noted in the chapter of cattell as also that we haue a spring neere Saffron Walden and not farre from the house of the lord Audleie which is of such force that it looseth the bodie of him that drinketh therof in verie genelt maner and beside that is verie delectable pleasant to be taken as I haue found by experience I heare also of two welles néere London of which the one is verie excellent water the other will beare no sope and yet so situat that the one is hard by the other And thus much of waters Of woods and marishes Chap. 22. IT should séeme by ancient records and the testimonie of sundrie authors that the whole countries of Lhoegres and Cambria now England and Wales haue sometimes béene verie well replenished with great woods groues although at this time the said commoditie be not a little decaied in both and in such wise that a man shall oft ride ten or twentie miles in ech of them and find verie little or rather none at all except it be néere vnto townes gentlemens houses villages where the inhabitants haue planted a few elmes okes hasels or ashes about their dwellings for their defense from the rough winds and keeping of the stormie weather from annoiance of the same This scarsitie at the first grew as it is thought either by the industrie of man for maintenance of tillage as we vnderstand the like to be doone of late by the Spaniards in the west Indies where they fired whole woods of verie great compasse therby to come by ground whereon to sow their graines or else thorough the couetousnesse of such as in preferring of pasture for their shéepe and greater cattell doo make small account of firebote and timber or finallie by the crueltie of the enimies whereof we haue sundrie examples declared in our histories Howbeit where the rocks and quarrie grounds are I take the swart of the earth to be so thin that no tree of anie greatnesse other than shrubs and bushes is able to grow or prosper long therein for want of sufficient moisture wherewith to feed them with fresh humour or at the leastwise of mould to shrowd staie vpright and cherish the same in the blustering winters weather till they may grow vnto anie greatnesse and spread or yéeld their rootes downe right into the soile about them and this either is or may be one other cause wherefore some places are naturallie void of wood But to procéed Although I must needs confesse that there is good store of great wood or timber here and there euen now in some places of England yet in our daies it is far vnlike to that plentie which our ancestors haue séene heretofore when statelie building was lesse in vse For albeit that there were then greater number of mesuages and mansions almost in euery place yet were their frames so slight and slender that one meane dwelling house in our time is able to counteruaile verie manie of them if you consider the present charge with the plentie of timber that we bestow vpon them In times past men were contented to dwell in houses builded of sallow willow plumtree hardbeame and elme so that the vse of oke was in maner dedicated wholie vnto churches religious houses princes palaces noblemens lodgings nauigation but now all these are reiected and nothing but oke anie whit regarded And yet sée the change for when our houses were builded of willow then had we oken men but now that our houses are come to be made of oke our men are not onlie become willow but a great manie through Persian delicacie crept in among vs altogither of straw which is a sore alteration In those the courage of the owner was a sufficient defense to kéepe the house in safetie but now the assurance of the timber double doores lockes and bolts must defend the man from robbing Now haue we manie chimnies and yet our tenderlings complaine of rheumes catarhs and poses Then had we none but reredosses and our heads did neuer ake For as the smoke in those daies was supposed to be a sufficient hardning for the timber of the house so it was reputed a far better medicine to kéepe the goodman and his familie from the quacke or pose wherewith as then verie few were oft acquainted Of the curiousnesse of these piles I speake not sith our workemen are growne generallie to such an excellencie of deuise in the frames now made that they far passe the finest of the old And such is their husbandrie in dealing with their timber that the same stuffe which in time past was reiected as crooked vnprofitable and to no vse but the fire dooth now come in the fronts and best part of the worke Wherby the common saieng is likewise in these daies verified in our mansion houses which earst was said onelie of the timber for ships that no oke can grow so crooked but it falleth out to some vse that necessarie in the nauie It is
a world to sée moreouer how diuerse men being bent to building and hauing a delectable veine in spending of their goods by that trade doo dailie imagine new deuises of their owne to guide their workemen withall and those more curious and excellent alwaies than the former In the procéeding also of their workes how they set vp how they pull downe how they inlarge how they restreine how they ad to how they take from whereby their heads are neuer idle their purses neuer shut nor their bookes of account neuer made perfect Destruunt aedificant mutant quadrata rotundis saith the poet So that if a man should well consider of all the od crotchets in such a builders braine he would thinke his head to haue euen inough of those affaires onelie therefore iudge that he should not well be able to deale in anie other But such commonlie are our workemasters that they haue beside this veine afore mentioned either great charge of merchandizes little lesse businesse in the common-wealth or finallie no small dealings otherwise incident vnto them wherby gaine ariseth and some trouble oft among withall Which causeth me to wonder not a little how they can plaie the parts so well of so manie sundrie men whereas diuerse other of greater forecast in apparance can seldome shift well or thriue in anie one of them But to our purpose We haue manie woods forrests and parks which cherish trées abundantlie although in the woodland countries there is almost no hedge that hath not some store of the greatest sort beside infinit numbers of hedgerowes groues and springs that are mainteined of purpose for the building and prouision of such owners as doo possesse the same Howbeit as euerie soile dooth not beare all kinds of wood so there is not anie wood parke hedgerow groue or forrest that is not mixed with diuerse as oke ash hasell hawthorne birch béech hardbeame hull sorfe quicken aspe poplers wild cherie and such like wherof oke hath alwaies the preheminence as most méet for building and the nauie whervnto it is reserued This tree bringeth foorth also a profitable kind of mast whereby such as dwell néere vnto the aforesaid places doo cherish and bring vp innumerable heards of swine In time of plentie of this mast our red and fallow déere will not let to participat thereof with our hogs more than our nete yea our common pultrie also if they may come vnto them But as this abundance dooth prooue verie pernicious vnto the first so these egs which these latter doo bring foorth beside blackenesse in color and bitternesse of tast haue not seldome beene found to bréed diuerse diseases vnto such persons as haue eaten of the same I might ad in like sort the profit insuing by the barke of this wood whereof our tanners haue great vse in dressing of leather and which they buie yearelie in Maie by the fadame as I haue oft séene but it shall not néed at this time to enter into anie such discourse onlie this I wisââ that âur sole and vpper leathering may haue their due time and not be hasted on by extraordinarie slights as with ash barke c. Whereby as I grant that it séâmeth outwardlie to be verie thicke well doone so if you respect the sadnes therof it dooth prooue in the end to be verie hollow not able to hold out water Neuerthelesse we haue good lawes for redresse of this enormitie but it coÌmeth to passe in these as in the execution of most penall statutes For the gaines to be gotten by the same being giuen to one or two hungrie and vnthriftie persons they make a shew of great reformation at the first for a litle while till âhey find that following of sute in law against the offendors is somwhat too chargeable and tedious This therefore perceiued they giue ouer the law and fall to the admission of gifts and rewards to winke at things past and when they haue once gone ouer their ground with this kind of tillage then doo they tender licences and offer large dispensations vnto him that shall aske the same thereby to doo what him listeth in his trade for an yearelie pension whereby the bribour now groweth to some certeine reuenues the tanner to so great libertie that his lether is much worse than before But is not this a mockerie of our lawes manifest illusion of the good subiect whom they thus pill poll Of all oke growing in England the parke oke is the softest and far more spalt and brickle than the hedge oke And of all in Essex that growing in Bardfield parke is the finest for ioiners craft for oftentimes haue I seene of their workes made of that oke so fine and faire as most of the wainescot that is brought hither out of Danske for our wainescot is not made in England Yet diuerse haue assaied to deale without okes to that end but not with so good successe as they haue hoped bicause the ab or iuice will not so soone be remoued and cleane drawne out which some attribute to want of time in the salt water Neuerthelesse in building so well the hedge as the parke oke go all one waie and neuer so much hath beene spent in a hundred years before as is in ten yeare of our time for euerie man almost is a builder and he that hath bought any small parcell of ground be it neuer so little will not be quiet till he haue pulled downe the old house if anie were there standing and set vp a new after his owne deuise But wherevnto will this curiositie come Of elme we haue great store in euerie high waie and elsewhere yet haue I not séene thereof anie togither in woods or forrests but where they haue béene first planted and then suffered to spread at their owne willes Yet haue I knowen great woods of béech and hasell in manie places especiallie in Barkeshire Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire where they are greatlie cherished conuerted to sundrie vses by such as dwell about them Of all the elms that euer I saw those in the south side of Douer court in Essex néere Harwich are the most notable for they grow I meane in crooked maner that they are almost apt for nothing else but nauie timber great ordinance and béetels and such thereto is their naturall qualitie that being vsed in the said behalfe they continue longer and more long than anie the like trées in whatsoeuer parcell else of this land without cuphar shaking or cleauing as I find Ash commeth vp euerie where of it selfe and with euerie kind of wood And as we haue verie great plentie and no lesse vse of these in our husbandrie so are we not without the plane the vgh the sorfe the chestnut the line the blacke cherrie and such like And although that we inioy them not in so great plentie now in most places as in times past or the other afore remembred yet haue we sufficient of them all for our
viewed and wherein the compasse of the verie wall with the places where the gates stood is easie to be discerned the like also is to be séene at a place within two miles south of Burton called the Borow hils In these therefore and such like and likewise at Euolsburg now S. Neots or S. Needs and sundrie other places especiallie vpon the shore and coasts of Kent as Douer Rie Romneie Lid c is much of their coine also to be found and some péeces or other are dailie taken vp which they call Borow pence Dwarfs monie Hegs pence Feirie groats Iewes monie by other foolish names not woorthie to be remembred xsAt the comming of the Saxons the Britons vsed these holds as rescues for their cattell in the daie and night when their enimies were abroad the like also did the Saxons against the Danes by which occasions and now and then by carieng of their stones to helpe forward other buildings néere at hand manie of them were throwne downe and defaced which otherwise might haue continued for a longer time and so your honour would saie if you should happen to peruse the thickenesse and maner of building of those said wals and borowes It is not long since a siluer saucer of verie ancient making was found néere to Saffron Walden in the open field among the Sterbirie hils and eared vp by a plough but of such massie greatnesse that it weighed better than twentie ounces as I haue heard reported But if I should stand in these things vntill I had said all that might be spoken of them both by experience and testimonie of Leland in his Commentaries of Britaine and the report of diuerse yet liuing I might make a greater chapter than would be either conuenient or profitable to the reader wherefore so much onelie shall serue the turne for this time as I haue said alreadie of antiquities found within our Iland especiallie of coine whereof I purposed chiefelie to intreat Of the coines of England Chap. 25. THe Saxon coine before the conquest is in maner vtterlie vnknowne to me howbeit if my coniecture be anie thing I suppose that one shilling of siluer in those daies did counterpeise our common ounce though afterward it came to passe that it arose to twentie pence and so continued vntill the time of king Henrie the eight who first brought it to thrée shillings and foure pence afterward our siluer coine vnto brasse copper monies by reason of those inestimable charges which diuerse waies oppressed him And as I gather such obscure notice of the shilling which is called in Latine Solidus so I read more manifestlie of another which is the 48 part of a pound and this also currant among the Saxons of our Ile so well in gold as in siluer at such time as 240 of their penies made vp a iust pound fiue pence went to the shilling and foure shillings to the ounce But to procéed with my purpose After the death of K. Henrie Edward his sonne began to restore the aforesaid coine againe vnto fine siluer so quéene Marie his successour did continue his good purpose notwithstanding that in hir time the Spanish monie was verie coÌmon in England by reason of hir mariage with Philip king of Spaine After hir decease the ladie Elizabeth hir sister and now our most gratious quéene souereigue and princesse did finish the matter wholie vtterly abolishing the vse of copper and brasen coine and conuerting the same into guns and great ordinance she restored sundrie coines of fine siluer as péeces of halfepenie farding of a penie of three halfe pence péeces of two pence of thrée pence of foure pence called the groat of six pence vsuallie named the testone and shilling of twelue pence whereon she hath imprinted hir owne image and emphaticall superscription Our gold is either old or new The old is that which hath remained since the time of king Edward the third or béene coined by such other princes as haue reigned since his deceasse without anie abasing or diminution of the finesse of that metall Therof also we haue yet remaining the riall the George noble the Henrie riall the salut the angell and their smaller peeces as halfes or quarters though these in my time are not so common to be séene I haue also beheld the souereigne of twentie shillings and the peece of shirtie shillings I haue heard likewise of péeces of fortie shillings three pounds fiue pounds and ten pounds But sith there were few of them coined and those onelie at the commandement of kings yearelie to bestow where their maiesties thought good in lie of new yeares gifts and rewards it is not requisit that I should remember them here amongst our currant monies The new gold is taken for such as began to be coined in the latter daies of king Henrie the eight at which time the finesse of the mettall began to be verie much alaied is not likelie to be restored for ought that I can see and yet is it such as hath béene coined since by his successors princes of this realme in value and goodnesse equall and not inferiour to the coine and currant gold of other nations where each one dooth couet chiefelie to gather vp our old finer gold so that the angels rials and nobles are more plentifullie seene in France Italie and Flanders than they be by a great deale within the realme of England if you regard the paiments which they dailie make in those kinds of our coine Our peeces now currant are of ten shillings fiue shillings and two shillings and six pence onelie and those of sundrie stamps and names as halfe souereigns equall in weight with our currant shilling whereby that gold is valued at ten times so much siluer quarters of souereigns otherwise called crownes and halfe crownes likewise angels halfe angels and quarters of angels or if there be anie other in good sooth I know them not as one scarselie acquainted with any siluer at all much lesse then God it wot with any store of gold The first currant shilling or siluer péeces of twelue pence stamped within memorie were coined by K. Henrie the eight in the twentith yeare of his reigne those of fiue shillings and of two shillings and six pence the halfe shilling by king Edward the sixt but the od péeces aboue remembred vnder the groat by our high and mightie princesse quéene Elizabeth the name of the groat penie two pence halfe penie and farding in old time the greatest siluer monies if you respect their denominations onelie being more ancient than that I can well discusse of the time of their beginnings Yet thus much I read that king Edward the first in the eight yeare of his reigne did first coine the penie and smallest péeces of siluer roundwise which before were square and woont to beare a double crosse with a crest in such sort that the penie might easilie be broken either into halfes or
quarters by which shift onelie the people came by small monies as halfe pence and fardings that otherwise were not stamped nor coined of set purpose Of forren coines we haue all the ducats the single double and the double double the crusadoes with the long crosse and the short the portigue a péece verie solemnelie kept of diuerse yet oft times abased with washing or absolutelie counterfeited and finallie the French and Flemish crownes onlie currant among vs so long as they hold weight But of siluer coines as the soules turnois whereof ten make a shilling as the franke dooth two shillings and thrée franks the French crowne c we haue none at all yet are the dalders and such often times brought ouer but neuerthelesse exchanged as bullion according to their finenesse and weight and afterward conuerted into coine by such as haue authoritie In old time we had sundrie mints in England and those commonlie kept in abbaies and religious houses before the conquest where true dealing was commonlie supposed most of all to dwell as at Ramseie S. Edmundsburie Canturburie Glassenburie Peterborow and such like sundrie exemplificats of the grants whereof are yet to be seene in writing especiallie that of Peterborow vnder the confirmation of pope Eugenius wherevnto it appeereth further by a charter of king Edgar which I haue that they either held it or had another in Stanford But after the Normans had once gotten the kingdome into their fingers they trusted themselues best with the ouersight of their mints and therefore erected diuerse of their owne although they afterward permitted some for small péeces of siluer vnto sundrie of the houses aforesaid In my time diuerse mints are suppressed as Southwarke Bristow c and all coinage is brought into one place that is to saie the Tower of London where it is continuallie holden and perused but not without great gaine to such as deale withall There is also coinage of tin holden yearelie at two seuerall times that is to saie Midsummer and Michaelmas in the west countrie which at the first hearing I supposed to haue béene of monie of the said mettall and granted by priuilege from some prince vnto the towns of Hailestone Trurie and Lostwithiell Howbeit vpon further examination of the matter I find it to be nothing so but an office onlie erected for the prince wherin he is allowed the ordinarie customes of that mettall and such blocks of tin as haue passed the hands of his officers are marked with an especiall stampe whereby it is knowne that the custome due for the same hath ordinarilie béene answered It should séeme and in my opinion is verie likelie to be true that while the Romans reigned here Kingstone vpon Thames sometime a right noble citie and place where the Saxon kings were vsuallie crowned was the chiefe place of their coinage for this prouince For in earing of the ground about that towne in times past and now of late besides the curious foundation of manie goodlie buildings that haue béene ripped vp by plowes and diuerse coines of brasse siluer and gold with Romane letters in painted pots found there in the daies of cardinall Woolseie one such huge pot was discouered full as it were of new siluer latelie coined another with plates of siluer readie to be coined and the third with chaines of siluer and such broken stuffe redie as it should appeere to be melted into coinage whereof let this suffice to countenance out my coniecture Of coins currant before the comming of the Romans I haue elsewhere declared that there were none at all in Britaine but as the Ilanders of Scylira the old Romans Armenians Scythians Seritans Sarmatians Indians and Essences did barter ware for ware so the Britons vsed brasse or rings of iron brought vnto a certeine proportion in steed of monie as the Lacedemonians Bisantines also did the Achiui as Homer writeth who had saith he rough peeces of brasse and iron in stéed of coine wherewith they purchased their wines The contents of the third booke 1 Of cattell kept for profit 2 Of wild and tame foules 3 Of fish vsuallie taken vp on our coasts 4 Of sauage beasts and vermines 5 Of hawkes and rauenous foules 6 Of venemous beasts 7 Of our English dogs and their qualities 8 Of our saffron and the dressing thereof 9 Of quarries of stone for building 10 Of sundrie minerals 11 Of mettals to be had in our land 12 Of pretious stones 13 Of salt made in England 14 Of our accompt of time and hir parts 15 Of principall faires and markets 16 Of our innes and thorowfaires Of cattell kept for profit Chap. 1. THere is no kind of tame cattell vsually to be séene in these parts of the world wherof we haue not some and that great store in England as horsses oxen shéepe goats swine and far surmounting the like in other countries as may be prooued with ease For where are oxen commonlie more large of bone horsses more decent and pleasant in pase kine more commodious for the pale shéepe more profitable for wooll swine more wholesome of flesh and goates more gainefull to their kéepers than here with vs in England But to speke of them peculiarlie I suppose that our kine are so abundant in yéeld of milke wherof we make our butter chéese as the like anie where else and so apt for the plough in diuerse places as either our horsses or oxen And albeit they now and then twin yet herein they séeme to come short of that commoditle which is looked for in other countries to wit in that they bring foorth most commonlie but one calfe at once The gaines also gotten by a cow all charges borne hath beene valued at twentie shillings yearelie but now as land is inhanced this proportion of gaine is much abated and likelie to decaie more and more if ground arise to be yet déerer which God forbid if it be his will and pleasure I heard of late of a cow in Warwikshire belonging to Thomas Bruer of Studleie which in six yéeres had sixtéene calfes that is foure at once in three caluings and twise twins which vnto manie may séeme a thing incredible In like maner our oxen are such as the like are not to be found in anie countrie of Europe both for greatnesse of bodie and swéetnesse of flesh or else would not the Romane writers haue preferred them before those of Liguria In most places our grasiers are now growen to be so cunning that if they doo but sée an ox or bullocke and come to the féeling of him they will giue a ghesse at his weight and how manie score or stone of flesh and tallow he beareth how the butcher may liue by the sale and what he may haue for the skin and tallow which is a point of skill not commonlie practised heretofore Some such grasiers also are reported to ride with veluet coats and chaines of gold about them and in their absence their wiues will not let
carieng ouer their rams ewes to breed increase among them The first example hereof was giuen vnder Edward the fourth who not vnderstanding the botome of the sute of sundrie traitorous merchants that sought a present gaine with the perpetuall hinderance of their countrie licenced them to carie ouer certeine numbers of them into Spaine who hauing licence but for a few shipped veris manie a thing commonlie practised in other commodities also whereby the prince and hir land are not seldome times defrauded But such is our nature and so blind are we in déed that we sée no inconuenience before we féele it and for a present gaine we regard not what damage may insue to our posteritie Hereto some other man would ad also the desire that we haue to benefit other countries and to impech our owne And it is so sure as God liueth that euerie trifle which commeth from beyond the sea though it be not woorth thrée pence is more estéemed than a continuall commoditie at home with vs which far excéedeth that value In time past the vse of this commoditie consisted for the most part in cloth and woolsteds but now by meanes of strangers succoured here from domesticall persecution the same hath béene imploied vnto sundrie other vses as mockados baies vellures grograines c whereby the makers haue reaped no small commoditie It is furthermore to be noted for the low countries of Belgie know it and dailie experience notwithstanding the sharpenesse of our lawes to the contrarie dooth yet confirme it that although our rams weathers doo go thither from vs neuer so well headed according to their kind yet after they haue remained there a while they cast there their heads and from thencefoorth they remaine polled without any hornes at all Certes this kind of cattell is more cherished in England than standeth well with the commoditie of the commons or prosperitie of diuerse townes whereof some are wholie conuerted to their féeding yet such a profitable sweetnesse is their fléece such necessitie in their flesh and so great a benefit in the manuring of barren soile with their doong and pisse that their superfluous numbers are the better borne withall And there is neuer an husbandman for now I speake not of our great shéepemasters of whom some one man hath 20000 but hath more or lesse of this cattell séeding on his fallowes and short grounds which yéeld the siner fléece as Virgil following Varro well espied Georg. 3. where he saith Si tibi lanicium curae primùm aspera sylua Lappaequae tribulique absint fuge pabula laeta Neuerthelesse the sheepe of our countrie are often troubled with the rot as are our swine with the measels though neuer so generallie and manie men are now and then great losers by the same but after the calamitie is ouer if they can recouer and kéepe their new stocks sound for seauen yeares togither the former losse will easilie be recompensed with double commoditie Cardan writeth that our waters are hurtfull to our shéepe howbeit this is but his coniecture for we know that our shéepe are infected by going to the water and take the same as a sure and certeine token that a rot hath gotten hold of them their liuers and lights being alredie distempered through excessiue heat which inforceth them the rather to séeke vnto the water Certes there is no parcell of the maine wherin a man shall generallie find more fine and wholesome water than in England and therfore it is impossible that our shéepe should decaie by tasting of the same Wherfore the hinderance by rot is rather to be ascribed to the vnseasonablenes moisture of the weather in summer also their licking in of mildewes gossamire rowtie fogs ranke grasse full of superfluous iuice but speciallie I saie to ouer moist wether whereby the continuall raine pearsing into their hollow felles soketh foorthwith into their flesh which bringeth them to their baines Being also infected their first shew of sickenesse is their desire to drinke so that our waters are not vnto them Causa aegritudinis but Signum morbi what so euer Cardan doo mainteine to the contrarie There are peraduenture no small babes which are growne to be so good husbands that they can make account of euerie ten kine to be cléerelie woorth twentie pounds in coÌmon and indifferent yeares if the milke of fiue shéepe be dailie added to the same But as I wote not how true this surmise is bicause it is no part of my trade so I am sure hereof that some housewiues can and doo ad dailie a lesse proportion of ewes milke vnto the chéese of so manie kine whereby their cheese dooth the longer abide moist and eateth more brickle and mellow than otherwise it would Goats we haue pântie and of sundrie colours in the west parts of England especiallie in and towards Wales and amongst the rockie hilles by whome the owners doo reape no small aduantage some also are cherished elsewhere in diuerse stéeds for the benefit of such as are diseased with sundrie maladies vnto whom as I heare their milke chéese and bodies of their yoong kids are iudged verie profitable and therefore inquired for of manie farre and néere Certes I find among the writers that the milke of a goat is next in estimation to that of the woman for that it helpeth the stomach remooueth oppilations and stoppings of the liuer and looseth the bellie Some place also next vnto it the milke of the ew and thirdlie that of the cow But hereof I can shew no reason onelie this I know that ewes milke is fulsome sweet and such in tast as except such as are vsed vnto it no man will gladlie yéeld to liue and féed withall As for swine there is no place that hath greater store nor more wholesome in eating than are these here in England which neuerthelesse doo neuer anie good till they come to the table Of these some we eat greene for porke and other dried vp into bakon to haue it of more continuance Lard we make some though verie little because it is chargeable neither haue we such vse thereof as is to be séene in France and other countries sith we doo either bake our meat with swéet suet of beefe or mutton and bast all our meat with sweet or salt butter or suffer the fattest to bast it selfe by leisure In champaine countries they are kept by herds and an hogherd appointed to attend and wait vpon them who commonlie gathereth them togither by his noise and crie and leadeth them foorth to féed abroad in the fields In some places also women doo scowre and wet their cloths with their doong as other doo with hemlocks and netles but such is the sauor of the cloths touched withall that I cannot abide to weare them on my bodie more than such as are scowred with the reffuse sope than the which in mine opinion there is none more vnkindlie fauor Of our tame bores we make
brawne which is a kind of meat not vsuallie knowne to strangers as I take it otherwise would not the swart Rutters and French cookes at the losse of Calis where they found great store of this prouision almost in euerie house haue attempted with ridiculous successe to rost bake broile frie the same for their masters till they were better informed I haue heard moreouer how a noble man of England not long since did send ouer an hogshead of brawne readie sowsed to a catholike gentleman of France who supposing it to be fish reserued it till Lent at which time he did eat thereof with verie great frugalitie Thereto he so well liked of the prouision it selfe that he wrote ouer verie earnestlie with offer of great recompense for more of the same fish against the yeare insuing whereas if he had knowne it to haue beene flesh he would not haue touched it I dare saie for a thousand crownes without the popes dispensation A fréend of mine also dwelling sometime in Spaine hauing certeine Iewes at his table did set brawne before them whereof they did eat verie earnestlie supposing it to be a kind of fish not common in those parties but when the goodman of the house brought in the head in pastime among them to shew what they had eaten they rose from the table hied them home in hast ech of them procuring himselfe to vomit some by oile and some by other meanes till as they supposed they had clensed their stomachs of that prohibited food With vs it is accounted a great péece of seruice at the table from Nouember vntill Februarie be ended but chéeflie in the Christmasse time With the same also we begin our dinners ech daie after other and because it is somewhat hard of digestion a draught of malueseie bastard or muscadell is vsuallie droonke after it where either of them are conuenientlie to be had otherwise the meaner fort content themselues with their owne drinke which at that season is generallie verie strong and stronger indéed than in all the yeare beside It is made commonlie of the fore part of a tame bore set vp for the purpose by the space of a whole yere or two especiallie in gentlemens houses for the husbandmen and farmers neuer franke them for their owne vse aboue thrée or foure moneths or halfe a yéere at the most in which time he is dieted with otes and peason and lodged on the bare planks of an vneasie coat till his fat be hardened sufficientlie for their purpose afterward he is killed scalded and cut out and then of his former parts is our brawne made the rest is nothing so fat and therefore it beareth the name of sowse onelie and is commonlie reserued for the seruing man and hind except it please the owner to haue anie part therof baked which are then handled of custome after this manner The hinder parts being cut off they are first drawne with lard and then sodden being sodden they are sowsed in claret wine and vineger a certeine space and afterward baked in pasties and eaten of manie in stéed of the wild bore and trulie it is verie good meat the pestles may be hanged vp a while to drie before they be drawne with lard if you will and thereby prooue the better But hereof inough and therefore to come againe vnto our brawne the necke peeces being cut off round are called collars of brawne the shoulders are named shilds onelie the ribs reteine the former denomination so that these aforesaid péeces deserue the name of brawne the bowels of the beast are commonlie cast awaie because of their ranknesse and so were likewise his stones till a foolish fantasie got hold of late amongst some delicate dames who haue now found the meanes to dresse them also with great cost for a deintie dish and bring them to the boord as a seruice among other of like sort though not without note of their desire to the prouocation of fleshlie lust which by this their fond curiositie is not a little reuealed When the bore is thus cut out ech peece is wrapped vp either with bulrushes ozier péeles tape inkle or such like and then sodden in a lead or caldron togither till they be so tender that a man may thrust a brused rush or soft straw cleane through the fat which being doone they take it vp and laie it abroad to coole afterward putting it into close vessels they powre either good small ale or béere mingled with veriuice and salt thereto till it be couered and so let it lie now and then altering and changing the sowsing drinke least it should wax sowre till occasion serue to spend it out of the waie Some vse to make brawne of great barrow hogs and séeth them and sowse the whole as they doo that of the bore and in my iudgement it is the better of both and more easie of digestion But of brawne thus much and so much may seeme sufficient Of wild and tame foules Chap. 2. ORder requireth that I speake somewhat of the foules also of England which I may easilie diuide into the wild tame but alas such is my small skill in foules that to say the truth I can neither recite their numbers nor well distinguish one kind of them from another Yet this I haue by generall knowledge that there is no nation vnder the sunne which hath alreadie in the time of the yere more plentie of wild foule than we for so manie kinds as our Iland dooth bring foorth and much more would haue if those of the higher soile might be spared but one yeare or two from the greedie engins of couetous foulers which set onlie for the pot purse Certes this enormitie bred great trouble in K. Iohns daies insomuch that going in progresse about the tenth of his reigne he found little or no game wherewith to solace himself or exercise his falcons Wherfore being at Bristow in the Christmas insuing be restreined all maner of hawking or taking of wildfoule throughout England for a season whereby the land within few yeares was throughlie replenished againe But what stand I vpon this impertinent discourse Of such therefore as are bred in our land we haue the crane the bitter the wild tame swan the bustard the herron curlew snite wildgoose wind or doterell brant larke plouer of both sorts lapwing teele wigeon mallard sheldrake shoueler pewet seamew barnacle quaile who onelie with man are subiect to the falling sickenesse the notte the oliet or olife the dunbird woodcocke partrich and feasant besides diuerse other whose names to me are vtterlie vnknowne and much more the taste of their flesh wherewith I was neuer acquainted But as these serue not at all seasons so in their seuerall turnes there is no plentie of them wanting whereby the tables of the nobilitie and gentrie should séeme at anie time furnisht But of all these the production of none is more maruellous in my mind than that of the
barnacle whose place of generation we haue sought oft times so farre as the Orchades whereas peraduenture we might haue found the same neerer home and not onelie vpon the coasts of Ireland but euen in our owne riuers If I should say how either these or some such other foule not much vnlike vnto them haue bred of late times for their place of generation is not perpetuall but as opportunitie serueth and the circumstances doo minister occasion in the Thames mouth I doo not thinke that manie will beleeue me yet such a thing hath there béene seene where a kind of foule had his beginning vpon a short tender shrub standing néere vnto the shore from whence when their time came they fell downe either into the salt water and liued or vpon the drie land and perished as Pena the French herbarian hath also noted in the verie end of his herball What I for mine owne part haue séene here by experience I haue alreadie so touched in the chapter of Ilands that it should be but time spent in vaine to repeat it here againe Looke therefore in the description of Man or Manaw for more of these barnacles as also in the eleuenth chapter of the description of Scotland I doo not doubt but you shall in some respect be satisfied in the generation of these foules As for egrets pawpers and such like they are dailie brought vnto vs from beyond the sea as if all the foule of our countrie could not suffice to satisfie our delicate appetites Our tame foule are such for the most part as are common both to vs and to other countries as cocks hens géese duckes peacocks of Iude pigeons now an hurtfull foule by reason of their multitudes and number of houses dailie erected for their increase which the bowres of the countrie call in scorne almes houses and dens of theeues and such like wherof there is great plentie in euerie farmers yard They are kept there also to be sold either for readie monie in the open markets or else to be spent at home in good companie amongst their neighbors without reprehension or fines Neither are we so miserable in England a thing onelie granted vnto vs by the especiall grace of God and libertie of our princes as to dine or sup with a quarter of a hen or to make so great a repast with a cocks combe as they doo in some other countries but if occasion serue the whole carcasses of manie capons hens pigeons and such like doo oft go to wracke beside béefe mutton veale and lambe all which at euerie feast are taken for necessarie dishes amongest the communaltie of England The golding of cocks whereby capons are made is an ancient practise brought in of old time by the Romans when they dwelt here in this land but the gelding of turkies or Indish peacocks is a newer deuise and certeinlie not vsed amisse sith the rankenesse of that bird is verie much abated thereby and the strong taste of the flesh in sundrie wise amended If I should say that ganders grow also to be gelded I suppose that some will laugh me to scorne neither haue I tasted at anie time of such a foule so serued yet haue I heard it more than once to be vsed in the countrie where their géese are driuen to the field like heards of cattell by a gooseheard a toie also no lesse to be maruelled at than the other For as it is rare to heare of a gelded gander so is it strange to me to sée or heare of géese to be led to the field like shéepe yet so it is their gooseheard carieth a rattle of paper or parchment with him when he goeth about in the morning to gather his gostings togither the noise whereof commeth no sooner to their eares than they fall to gagling and hasten to go with him If it happen that the gates be not yet open or that none of the house be stirring it is ridiculous to sée how they will peepe vnder the doores and neuer leaue creaking and gagling till they be let out vnto him to ouertake their fellowes With vs where I dwell they are not kept in this sort nor in manie other places neither are they kept so much for their bodies as their feathers Some hold furthermore an opinion that in ouer ranke soiles their doong dooth so qualifie the batablenesse of the soile that their cattell is thereby kept from the garget and sundrie other diseases although some of them come to their ends now and then by licking vp of their feathers I might here make mention of other foules producted by the industrie of man as betwéene the fesant cocke and doonghill hen or betwéene the fesant and the ringdooue the peacocke and the turkie hen the partrich and the pigeon but sith I haue no more knowledge of these than what I haue gotten by mine care I will not meddle with them Yet Cardan speaking of the second sort dooth affirme it to be a foule of excellent beautie I would likewise intreat of other foules which we repute vncleane as rauens crowes pies choughes rookes kites iaies ringtailes starlings woodspikes woodnawes rauens c but sith they abound in all countries though peraduenture most of all in England by reason of our negligence I shall not néed to spend anie time in the rehearsall of them Neither are our crowes and thoughs cherished of purpose to catch vp the woormes that bréed in our soiles as Polydor supposeth sith there are no vplandish townes but haue or should haue nets of their owne in store to catch them withall Sundrie acts of parlement are likewise made for their vtter destruction as also the spoile of other rauenous fouls hurtfull to pultrie conies lambs and kids whose valuation of reward to him that killeth them is after the head a deuise brought from the Goths who had the like ordinance for the destruction of their white crowes and tale made by the becke which killed both lambs and pigs The like order is taken with vs for our vermines as with them also for the rootage out of their wild beasts sauing that they spared their greatest beares especiallie the white whose skins are by custome priuilege reserued to couer those planchers wherevpon their priests doo stand at Masse least he should take some vnkind cold in such a long péece of worke and happie is the man that may prouide them for him for he shall haue pardon inough for that so religious an act to last if he will till doomes day doo approch and manie thousands after Nothing therefore can be more vnlikelie to be true than that these noisome creatures are nourished amongst vs to deuoure our wormes which doo not abound much more in England than elsewhere in other countries of the maine It may be that some looke for a discourse also of our other foules in this place at my hand as nightingales thrushes blackebirds mauises ruddocks redstarts or dunocks larkes tiuits kingsfishers buntings turtles white
other like creatures could not haue extended into our Ilands For that anie man would of set purpose replenish the countrie with them for his pleasure and pastime in hunting I can in no wise beléeue Of foxes we haue some but no great store and also badgers in our sandie light grounds where woods firzes broome and plentie of shrubs are to shrowd them in when they be from their borrowes and thereto warrens of conies at hand to féed vpon at will Otherwise in claie which we call the cledgie mould we sildom heare of anie bicause the moisture and toughnesse of the soile is such as will not suffer them to draw and make their borrowes déepe Certes if I may fréelie saie what I thinke I suppose that these two kinds I meane foxes and badgers are rather preserued by gentlemen to hunt and haue pastime withall at their owne pleasures than otherwise suffered to liue as not able to be destroied bicause of their great numbers For such is the scantitie of them here in England in comparison of the plentie that is to be seene in other countries and so earnestlie are the inhabitants bent to root them out that except it had béene to beare thus with the recreations of their superiors in this behalfe it could not otherwise haue béene chosen but that they should haue béene vtterlie destroied by manie yeares agone I might here intreat largelie of other vermine as the polcat the miniuer the weasell stote fulmart squirrill fitchew and such like which Cardan includeth vnder the word Mustela also of the otter and likewise of the beuer whose hinder féet and taile onlie are supposed to be fish Certes the taile of this beast is like vnto a thin whetstone as the bodie vnto a monsterous rat the beast also it selfe is of such force in the téeth that it will gnaw an hole through a thicke planke or shere thorough a dubble billet in a night it loueth also the stillest riuers it is giuen to them by nature to go by flockes vnto the woods at hand where they gather sticks wherewith to build their nests wherein their bodies lie drie aboue the water although they so prouide most commonlie that they tailes may hang within the same It is also reported that their said tailes are a delicate dish and their stones of such medicinable force that as Vertomannus saith foure men smelling vnto them each after other did bleed at the nose through their attractiue force procéeding from a vehement sauour wherewith they are indued ther is greatest plentie of them in Persia chéefelie about Balascham from whence they and their dried cods are brought into all quarters of the world though not without some forgerie by such as prouide them And of all these here remembred as the first sorts are plentifull in euerie wood and hedgerow so these latter especiallie the otter for to saie the truth we haue not manie beuers but onelie in the Teisie in Wales is not wanting or to séeke in manie but most streams and riuers of this I le but it shall suffice in this sort to haue named them as I doo finallie the marterne a beast of the chase although for number I worthilie doubt whether that of our beuers or marterns may be thought to be the lesse Other pernicious beasts we haue not except you repute the great plentie of red fallow déere whose colours are oft garled white and blacke all white or all blacke and store of conies amongst the hurtfull fort Which although that of themselues they are not offensiue at all yet their great numbers are thought to be verie preiudiciall and therfore iustlie reprooued of many as are in like sort our huge flocks of shéepe whereon the greatest part of our soile is emploied almost in euerie place and yet our mutton wooll and selles neuer the better cheape The yoong males which our fallow deere doo bring foorth are commonlie named according to their seuerall ages for the first yéere it is a sawne the second a puckot the third a âârell the fourth a soare the fift a bucke of the first head not bearing the name of a bucke till he be fiue yéers old and from hencefoorth his age is commonlie knowne by his head or horns Howbeit this notice of his yéers is not so certeine but that the best woodman may now and then he deceiued in that account for in some grounds a bucke of the first head will be so well headed as another in a high rowtie soile will be in the fourth It is also much to be maruelled at that whereas they doo yéerelie new and cast their horns yet in fighting they neuer breake off where they doo grife or mew Furthermore in examining the condition of our red déere I find that the yoong male is called in the first yéere a calfe in the second a broket the third a spaie the fourth a stagon or stag the fift a great stag the sixt an hart and so foorth vnto his death And with him in degrée of venerie are accounted the hare bore and woolfe The fallow déere as bucks and does are nourished in parkes and conies in warrens and burrowes As for hares they run at their owne aduenture except some gentleman or other for his pleasure doo make an inclosure for them Of these also the stag is accounted for the most noble game the fallow déere is the next then the roe whereof we haue indifferent store and last of all the hare not the least in estimation because the hunting of that seelie beast is mother to all the terms blasts and artificiall deuises that hunters doo vse All which notwithstanding our custome are pastimes more méet for ladies and gentlewomen to exercise whatsoeuer Franciscus Patritius saith to the contrarie in his institution of a prince than for men of courage to follow whose hunting should practise their armes in tasting of their manhood and dealing with such beasts as eftsoones will turne againe and offer them the hardest rather than their horsses féet which manie times may carrie them with dishonour from the field Surelie this noble kind of hunting onelie did great princes frequent in times past as it may yet appéere by the histories of their times especiallie of Alexander who at vacant times hunted the tiger the pard the bore and the beare but most willinglie lions because of the honorable estimation of that beast insomuch that at one time he caused an od or chosen lion for force and beautie to be let foorth vnto him hand to hand with whome he had much businesse albeit that in the end he ouerthrew and killed the beast Herevnto beside that which we read of the vsuall hunting of the princes and kings of Scotland of the wild bull woolfe c the example of king Henrie the first of England who disdaining as he termed them to follow or pursue cowards cherished of set purpose sundrie kinds of wild beasts as bears libards ounces lions at Woodstocke one
for saffron but frost and cold doo kill and keepe backe the floure or else shrinke vp the chiue And thus much haue I thought good to speake of English saffron which is hot in the second and drie in the first degrée and most plentifull as our crokers hold in that yéere wherein ewes twin most But as I can make no warrantize hereof so I am otherwise sure that there is no more deceit vsed in anie trade than in saffron For in the making they will grease the papers on the kell with a little candle grease to make the woorst saffron haue so good a colour as the best afterwards also they will sprinkle butter thereon to make the weight better But both these are bewraied either by a quantitie thereof holden ouer the fire in a siluer spoone or by the softnesse thereof betwéene the fore finger and the thumbe or thirdlie by the colour thereof in age for if you laie it by farre worse saffron of other countries the colour will bewraie the forgerie by the swartnesse of the chiue which otherwise would excell it and therevnto being sound remaine crispe brickle and drie and finallie if it be holden néere the face will strike a certeine biting heat vpon the skin and eies whereby it is adiudged good and merchant ware indéed among the skilfull crokers Now if it please you to heare of anie of the vertues thereof I will note these insuing at the request of one who required me to touch a few of them with whatsoeuer breuitie I listed Therefore our saffron beside the manifold vse that it hath in the kitchin and pastrie also in our cakes at bridals and thanksgiuings of women is verie profitably mingled with those medicins which we take for the diseases of the breast of the lungs of the liuer and of the bladder it is good also for the stomach if you take it in meat for it comforteth the same and maketh good digestion being sodden also in wine it not onelie kéepeth a man from droonkennesse but incorageth also vnto procreation of issue If you drinke it in sweet wine it inlargeth the breath and is good for those that are troubled with the tisike and shortnesse of the wind mingled with the milke of a woman and laied vpon the eies it staieth such humors as descend into the same and taketh awaie the red wheales and pearles that oft grow about them it killeth moths if it be sowed in paper bags verie thin and laid vp in presses amongst tapistrie or apparell also it is verie profitablie laid vnto all inflammations painefull aposthumes and the shingles and dooth no small ease vnto deafnes if it be mingled with such medicins as are beneficiall vnto the eares it is of great vse also in ripening of botches and all swellings procéeding of raw humors Or if it shall please you to drinke the root thereof with maluesie it will maruellouslie prouoke vrine dissolue and expell grauell and yéeld no small ease to them that make their water by dropmeales Finallie thrée drams thereof taken at once which is about the weight of one shilling nine pence halfepenie is deadlie poison as Dioscorides dooth affirme and droonke in wine saith Platina lib. 3. cap. 13. De honesta voluptate dooth hast on droonkennesse which is verie true And I haue knowne some that by eating onelie of bread more than of custome streined with saffron haue become like droonken men yet otherwise well known to be but competent drinkers For further confirmation of this also if a man doo but open and ransake a bag of one hundred or two hundred weight as merchants doo when they buie it of the crokers it will strike such an aire into their heads which deale withall that for a time they shall be giddie and sicke I meane for two or three houres space their noses and eies in like sort will yéeld such plentie of rheumatike water that they shall be the better for it long after especiallie their eiesight which is woonderfullie clarified by this meanes howbeit some merchants not liking of this physike muffle themselues as women doo when they ride and put on spectacles set in leather which dooth in some measure but not for altogither put by the force thereof There groweth some saffron in manie places of Almaine and also about Uienna in Austria which later is taken for the best that springeth in those quarters In steed of this some doo vse the Carthamus called amongst vs bastard saffron but neither is this of anie value nor the other in any wise comparable vnto ours Whereof let this suffice as of a commoditie brought into this Iland in the time of Edward 3. and not commonlie planted till Richard 2. did reigne It would grow verie well as I take it about the Chiltern hils in all the vale of the White horsse so well as in Walden and Cambridgeshire if they were carefull of it I heare of some also to be cherished alreadie in Glocestershire and certeine other places westward But of the finenesse and tincture of the chiue I heare not as yet of anie triall Would to God that my countriemen had béene heretofore or were now more carefull of this commoditie then would it no doubt haue prooued more beneficiall to our Iland than our cloth or wooll But alas so idle are we and heretofore so much giuen to ease by reason of the smalnesse of our rents that few men regard to search out which are their best commodities But if landlords hold on to raise the rents of their farms as they begin they will inforce their tenants to looke better vnto their gains and scratch out their rent from vnder euerie clod that may be turned aside The greatest mart for saffron is at Aquila in Abruzo where they haue an especiall weight for the same of ten pounds lesse in the hundred than that of Florens and Luke but how it agréeth with ours it shall appéere hereafter Of quarries of stone for building Chap. 9. QUarries with vs are pits or mines out of which we dig our stone to build withall of these as we haue great plentie in England so are they of diuerse sorts and those verie profitable for sundrie necessarie vses In times past the vse of stone was in maner dedicated to the building of churches religious houses princely palaces bishops manours and holds onlie but now that scrupulous obseruation is altogither infringed and building with stone so commonlie taken vp that amongst noble men gentlemen the timber frames are supposed to be not much better than paper worke of little continuance and least continuance of all It farre passeth my cunning to set downe how manie sorts of stone for building are to be found in England but much further to call each of them by their proper names Howbeit such is the curiositie of our countrimen that notwithstanding almightie God hath so blessed our realme in most plentifull maner with such and so manie quarries apt and meet for piles
of longest continuance yet we as lothsome of this abundance or not liking of the plentie doo commonlie leaue these naturall gifts to mould and cinder in the ground and take vp an artificiall bricke in burning whereof a great part of the wood of this land is dailie consumed and spent to the no small decaie of that commoditie and hinderance of the poore that perish oft for cold Our elders haue from time to time following our naturall vice in misliking of our owne commodities at home and desiring those of other countries abroad most estéemed the cane stone that is brought hither out of Normandie and manie euen in these our daies following the same veine doo couet in their works almost to vse none other Howbeit experience on the one side and our skilfull masons on the other whose iudgement is nothing inferiour to those of other countries doo affirme that in the north and south parts of England and certeine other places there are some quarries which for hardnesse and beautie are equall to the outlandish greet This maie also be confirmed by the kings chappell at Cambridge the greatest part of the square stone wherof was brought thither out of the north Some commend the veine of white frée stone slate and méere stone which is betwéene Pentowen and the blacke head in Cornewall for verie fine stuffe Other doo speake much of the quarries at Hamden nine miles from Milberie and pauing stone of Burbecke For toph stone not a few allow of the quarrie that is at Dresleie diuerse mislike not of the veines of hard stone that are at Oxford and Burford One praiseth the free stone at Manchester Prestburie in Glocestershire another the quarries of the like in Richmont The third liketh well of the hard stone in Clee hill in Shropshire the fourth of that of Thorowbridge Welden and Terrinton Whereby it appeareth that we haue quarries inow and good inough in England sufficient for vs to build withall if the péeuish contempt of our owne commodities and delectations to inrich other countries did not catch such foolish hold vpon vs. It is also verified as anie other waie that all nations haue rather néed of England than Eugland of anie other And this I thinke may suffice for the substance of our works Now if you haue regard to their ornature how manie mines of sundrie kinds of course fine marble are there to be had in England But chieflie one in Staffordshire an other neere to the Peke the ãâ¦ã to the lord Chaindois the fift at Eglestone which is oâ blacke marble spotted with graie or white spots the sixt not farre from Durham Of white marble also we haue store and so faire as the Marpesian of Paris I le But what meane I to go about to recite all or the most excellent sith these which I haue named alredie are not altogither of the best nor scarselie of anie value in comparison of those whose places of growth are vtterlie vnknowne vnto me and whereof the blacke marble spotted with greene is none of the vilest sort as maie appeare by parcell of the pauement of the lower part of the quire of Paules in London and also in Westminster where some péeces thereof are yet to be séene and marked if anie will looke for them If marble will not serue then haue we the finest alabaster that maie elsewhere bée had as about saint Dauids of Wales also neere to Beau manour which is about foure or fiue miles from Leicester taken to be the best although there are diuerse other quarries hereof beyond the Trent as in Yorkeshire c and fullie so good as that whose names at this time are out of my remembrance What should I talke of the plaister of Axholme for of that which they dig out of the earth in sundrie places of Lincolne and Darbishires wherewith they blanch their houses in stead of lime I speake not certes it is a fine kind of alabaster But sith it is sold commonlie but after twelue pence the load we iudge it to be but vile and course For my part I cannot skill of stone yet in my opinion it is not without great vse for plaister of paris and such is the mine of it that the stones thereof lie in flakes on vpon an other like plankes or tables and vnder the same is an excéeding hard stone verie profitable for building as hath often times béene prooued This is also to be marked further of our plaister white and graie that not contented with the same as God by the quarrie dooth send and yéeld it foorth we haue now deuised to cast it in moulds for windowes and pillers of what forme and fashion we list euen as alabaster it selfe and with such stuffe sundrie houses in Yorkshire are furnished of late But of what continuance this deuise is like to proue the time to come shall easilie bewraie In the meane time sir Rafe Burcher knight hath put the deuise in practise and affirmeth that six men in six moneths shall trauell in that trade to sée greater profit to the owner than twelue men in six yeares could before this tricke was inuented If neither alabaster nor marble dooth suffice we haue the touchstone called in Latine Lydius lapis shining as glasse either to match in sockets with our pillers of alabaster or contrariwise or if it please the workeman to ioine pillers of alabaster or touch with sockets of brasse pewter or copper we want not also these mettals So that I think no nation can haue more excellent greater diuersitie of stuffe for building than we maie haue in England if our selues could so like of it But such alas is our nature that not our own but other mens do most of all delite vs for desire of noueltie we oft exchange our finest cloth corne tin and woolles for halfe penie cockhorsses for children dogs of wax or of chéese two pennie tabers leaden swords painted feathers gewgaws for fooles dogtricks for disards hawkeswhoods and such like trumperie whereby we reape iust mockage and reproch in other countries I might remember here our pits for milstones that are to be had in diuerse places of our countrie as in Angleseie Kent also at Queene hope of blew gréet of no lesse value than the Colaine yea than the French stones our grindstones for hardware men Our whetstones are no lesse laudable than those of Creta Lacedemonia albeit we vse no oile with them as they did in those parties but onelie water ãâã the Italians and Naxiâââ ãâ¦ã thâirs whereas they that grow in Cilicia must haue both oile and water laid vpon them or else they make no edge These also are diuided either into the hard greet as the common that shoomakers vse or the soft gréet called hones to be had among the barbars and those either blacke or white and the rub or brickle stone which husbandmen doo occupie in the whetting of their sithes In like maner slate of sundrie colours is euerie
where in maner to be had as is the flint and chalke the shalder and the peble Howbeit for all this wée must fetch them still from farre as did the Hull men their stones out of Iseland wherewith they paued their towne for want of the like in England or as sir Thomas Gresham did when he bought the stones in Flanders wherwith he paued the Burse But as he will answer peraduenture that he bargained for the whole mould and substance of his workemanship in Flanders so the Hullanders or Hull men will saie how that stockefish is light loding and therfore they did balasse their vessels with these Iseland stones to keepe them from turning ouer in their so tedious a voiage And thus much brieflie of our quarries of stone for building wherein oftentimes the workemen haue found strange things inclosed I meane liuelie creatures shut up in the hard stones and liuing there without respiration or breathing as frogs todes c whereof you shall read more in the chronologie following also in Caius Langius William of Newburie Agricola Cornelius of Amsterdam Bellogius de a quatilibus Albert the great lib. 19 cap. 9. De rebus metallicis and Goropius in Niloscopio pag. 237 c. Sometime also they find pretious stones though seldome and some of them perfectlie squared by nature and much like vnto the diamond found of late in a quarrie of marble at Naples which was so perfectlie pointed as if all the workemen in the world had coÌsulted about the performance of that workemanship I know that these reports vnto some will séeme incredible and therefore I stand the longer vpon them neuerthelesse omitting to speake particularlie of such things as happen amongst vs and rather séeking to confirme the same by the like in other countries I will deliuer a few more examples whereby the truth hereof shall so much the better appeare For in the middest of a stone not long since found at Chius vpon the breaking vp thereof there was seene Caput panisci inclosed therin very perfectlie formed as the beholders doo remember How come the grains of gold to be so fast inclosed in the stones that are haue béene found in the Spanish Baetis But this is most maruellous that a most delectable and sweet oile comparable to the finest balme or oile of spike in smell was found naturallie included in a stone which could not otherwise be broken but with a smiths hammer Goropius dooth tell of a pearch perfectlie formed to be found in Britaine but as then committed into hard stone vpon the top of a crag Aristotle and Theophrast speake of fishes digged out of the earth farre from the sea in Greece which Seneca also confirmeth but with addition that they are perillous to be eaten In pope Martins time a serpent was found fast inclosed in a rocke as the kernell is within the nut so that no aire could come to it and in my time another in a coffin of stone at Auignion wherein a man had beene buried which so filled the roome and laie so close from aire that all men woondered how it was possible for the same to liue and continue so long time there Finallie I my selfe haue séene stones opened and within them the substances of corrupted wormes like vnto adders but far shorter whose crests and wrinkles of bodie appeared also therein as if they had bene ingraued in the stones by art and industrie of man Wherefore to affirmeâ that as well liuing creatures ãâ¦ã stones gold c are now and then found in our quarries shall not hereafter be a thing so incredible as manie talking philosophers void of all experience doo affirme and wilfullie mainteine against such as hold the contrarie Of sundrie minerals Chap. 10. WIth how great benefits this Iland of ours hath béene indued from the beginning I hope there is no godlie man but will readilie confesse and yéeld vnto the Lord God his due honour for the same For we are blessed euerie waie there is no temporall commoditie necessarie to be had or craued by anie nation at Gods hand that he hath not in most aboundant maner bestowed vpon vs Englishmen if we could sée to vse it be thankefull for the same But alas as I said in the chapter precedent we loue to inrich them that care not for vs but for our great commodities and one trifling toie not woorth the cariage coÌming as the prouerbe saith in thrée ships from beyond the sea is more woorth with vs than a right good iewell easie to be had at home They haue also the cast to teach vs to neglect our owne things for if they see that we begin to make anie account of our commodities if it be so that they haue also the like in their owne countries they will suddenlie abase the same to so low a price that our gaine not being woorthie our trauell and the same commoditie with lesse cost readie to be had at home from other countries though but for a while it causeth vs to giue ouer our indeuours and as it were by and by to forget the matter whereabout we went before to obteine them at their hands And this is the onelie cause wherefore our commodities are oft so little estéemed of Some of them can saie without anie teacher that they will buie the case of a fox of an Englishman for a groat and make him afterward giue twelue pence for the taile Would to God we might once wax wiser and each one indeuor that the common-wealth of England may flourish againe in hir old rate and that our commodities may be fullie wrought at home as cloth if you will for an example and not caried out to be shorne and dressed abroad while our clothworkers here doo starue and beg their bread and for lacke of dailie practise vtterlie neglect to be skilfull in this science But to my purpose We haue in England great plentie of quicke siluer antimonie sulphur blacke lead and orpiment red and yellow We haue also the finest alume wherein the diligence of one of the greatest fauourers of the common-wealth of England of a subiect hath béene of late egregiouslie abused and euen almost with barbarous inciuilitie of no lesse force against fire if it were vsed in our parietings than that of Lipara which onlie was in vse somtime amongst the Asians Romans wherof Sylla had such triall that when he meant to haue burned a tower of wood erected by Archelaus the lieutenant of Mithridates he could by no meanes set it on fire in a long time bicause it was washed ouer with alume as were also so the gates of the temple of Ierusalem with like effect and perceiued when Titus commanded fire to be put vnto the same Beside this we haue also the naturall cinnabarum or vermilion the sulphurous glebe called bitumen in old time for morter and yet ãâ¦ã the chrysocolla coperis and minerall stone whereof petriolum is made and that which is most strange the minerall
all the world with abundance of that mettall the iorneie also was short and performed in foure or fiue moneths which was a notable incouragement But to proceed Tin and lead mettals which Strabo noteth in his time to be carried vnto Marsilis from hence as Diodorus also confirmeth are verie plentifull with vs the one in Cornewall Deuonshire else-where in in the north the other in Darbishire Weredale and sundrie places of this Iland whereby my countriemen doo reape no small commoditie but especiallie our pewterers who in time past imploied the vse of pewter onelie vpon dishes pots and a few other trifles for seruice here at home whereas now they are growne vnto such exquisit cunning that they can in maner imitate by infusion anie forme or fashion of cup dish salt bowle or goblet which is made by goldsmiths craft though they he neuer so curious exquisite and artificiallie forged Such furniture of houshold of this mettall as we commonlie call by the name of vessell is sold vsuallie by the garnish which dooth coâeine twelue plaiters twelue dishes twelue saucers and those are either of siluer fashion or else with brode or narrow brims and bought by the pound which is now valued at six or seuen pence or peraduenture at eight pence Of poringers pots and other like I speake not albeit that in the making of all these things there is such exquisite diligence vsed I meane for the mixture of the mettall and true making of this commoditie by reason of sharpe laws prouided in that behalfe as the like is not to be found in any other trade I haue béene also informed that it consisteth of a composition which hath thirtie pounds of kettle brasse to a thousand pounds of tin whervnto they ad thrée or foure pounds of tinglasse but as too much of this dooth make the stuffe brickle so the more the brasse be the better is the pewter and more profitable vnto him that dooth buie and purchase the same But to proceed In some places beyond the sea a garnish of good flat English pewter of an ordinarie making I saie flat bicause dishes and platters in my time begin to be made déepe like basons and are indéed more conuenient both for sawce broth and kéeping the meat warme is estéemed almost so pretious as the like number of vessels that are made of fine siluer and in maner no lesse desired amongst the great estates whose workmen are nothing so skilfull in that trade as ours neither their mettall so good nor plentie so great as we haue here in England The Romans made excellent looking glasses of our English tin howbeit our workemen were not then so equisite in that feat as the Brundusiens wherefore the wrought mettall was carried ouer vnto them by waie of merchandize and verie highlie were those glasses estéemed of till siluer came generallie in place which in the end brought the tin into such contempt that in manner euerie dishwasher refused to looke in other than siluer glasses for the attiring of hir head Howbeit the making of siluer glasses had béene in vse before Britaine was knowne vnto the Romans for I read that one Praxiteles deuised them in the yoong time of Pompeie which was before the comming of Caesar into this Iland There were mines of lead sometimes also in Wales which indured so long till the people had consumed all their wood by melting of the same as they did also at Comeristwith six miles from Stradfluer and I suppose that in Plinies time the abundance of lead whereof he speaketh was to be found in those parts in the seauentéenth of his thirtie fourth booke also he affirmeth that it laie in the verie swart of the earth and dailie gotten in such plentie that the Romans made a restraint of the cariage thereof to Rome limiting how much should yearelie be wrought and transported ouer the sea And here by the waie it is worthie to be noted of a crow which a miner of tin dwelling néere Comeristwith as Leland saith had made so tame that it would dailie flie and follow him to his worke and other places where soeuer he happened to trauell This labourer working on a time in the bottome or vallie where the first mine was knowne to be did laie his pursse and girdle by him as men commonlie doo that addresse themselues to applie their businesse earnestlie and he himselfe also had vsed from time to time before The crow likewise was verie busie flittering about him and so much molested him that he waxed angrie with the bird in his furie threatened to wring off his necke if be might once get him into his hands to be short in the end the crow hastilie caught vp his girdle and pursse and made awaie withall so far as hir wings could carrie hir Héerevpon the pore man falling into great agonie for he feared to vse peraduenture all his monie threw downe his mattocke at aduenture and ran after the bird curssing and menacing that he should lose his life if euer he got him againe but as it fell out the crow was the means whereby his life was saued for he had not béene long out of the mine yer it fell downe and killed all his fellowes If I should take vpon me to discourse and search out the cause of the thus dealing of this bird at large I should peraduenture set my selfe further into the briers than well find which waie to come out againe yet am I persuaded that the crow was Gods instrument herein whereby the life of this poore labourer was preserued It was doone also in an other order than that which I read of another tame crow kept vp by a shoomaker of Dutch land in his shop or stoue who séeing the same to sit vpon the pearch among his shoone verie heauilie and drousie said vnto the bird What aileth my iacke whie art thou sad and pensiue The crow hearing his maister speake after this sort vnto him answered or else the diuell within him out of the psalter Cogitaui dies antiquos aeternos in mente habui But whither am I digressed from lead vnto crowes from crowes vnto diuels Certes it is now high time to returne vnto our mettals and resume the tractation of such things as I had earst in hand Iron is found in manie places as in Sussex Kent Weredale Mendip Walshall as also in Shropshire but chéeflie in the woods betwixt Beluos and Willocke or Wicberie néere Manchester and elsewhere in Wales Of which mines diuerse doo bring foorth so fine and good stuffe as anie that commeth from beyond the sea beside the infinit gaines to the owners if we would so accept it or bestow a little more cost in the refining of it It is also of such toughnesse that it yéeldeth to the making of claricord wire in some places of the realme Neuerthelesse it was better cheape with vs when strangers onelie brought it hither for it is our qualitie when we get anie commoditie to
most places they descend no lower than the halfe quarter or quarter of the houre and from whence they proceed vnto the houre to wit the foure and twentith part of that which we call the common and naturall daie which dooth begin at midnight and is obserued continuallie by clockes dialles and astronomicall instruments of all sorts The artificiall varietie of which kind of ware is so great here in England as no place else in mine opinion can be comparable therein to this I le I will not speake of the cost bestowed vpon them in perle and stone neither of the valure of mettall whereof they haue béene made as gold siluer c and almost no abbeie or religious house without some of them This onelie shall suffice to note here as by the waie that as antiquitie hath delighted in these things so in our time pompe and excesse spendeth all and nothing is regarded that bringeth in no bread Of vnequall or temporall houres or daies our nation hath no regard and therefore to shew their quantities differences and diuisions into the greater and the lesser whereof the later conteineth one vnequall houre or the rising of halfe a signe the other of a whole signe which is in two houres space wherof Marke seemeth to speake cap. 15 c 25 as the rest of the euangelists yea and he also ibid. vers 33 doo of the other Matth. 27 e 45 Luke 23 e 44 Iohn 19 b 14 it should be but in vaine In like sort wheras the elder Aegyptians Italians Bohemians latter Atheniens and Iews begin their daie at the sun set ouer night the Persians Babylonians Grecians and Noribergians at the sun rising ech of them accompting their daies and nights by vnequall houres also the elder Atheniens Arabians Dutchmen Umbers Hetrurians and Astronomers at high noone and so reckon from noone to noone we after Hipparchus and the latter Aegyptians or to speake more properlie imitating the Roman maner vsed in the church there of long time choose the verie point of midnight from whence we accompt twelue equall houres vnto middaie insuing and other twelue againe vnto the aforesaid point according to these verses Manè diem Graeca gens incipit astrasequentes In medio lucis Iudaeis vespere sancta Inchoat ecclesia media sua tempora nocte And this is our generall order for the naturall daie Of the artificiall we make so farre accompt as that we reckon it daie when the sun is vp and night when the sun leaueth our horizon Otherwise also we diuide it into two parts that is to saie fore noone and after noone not regarding the ruddie shining burning and warming seasons of thrée vnequall houres a péece which others séeme to diuide into spring time summer autumne and winter in like curious manner and whereof I read these verses Solis equi lucis dicuntur quatuor horae Haec rubet haec splendet haec calet illa tepet Indéed our physicians haue another partition of the daie as men of no lesse learning no doubt than the best of forren countries if we could so conceiue of them And herein they concurre also with those of other nations who for distinction in regiment of our humors diuide the artificiall daie and night in such wise as these verses doo import and are indéed a generall rule which ech of them doth follow Tres lucis primas noctis tres sanguinis imas Vis cholerae medias lucis sex vendicat horas Dátque melam primas noctis tres lucis imas Centrales ponas sex noctis phlegmatis horas Or thus as Tansteter hath giuen them foorth in his prelections A nona noctis donec sit terita lucis Est dominus sanguis sex inde sequentibus horis Est dominans cholera dum lucis nona sit hora Post niger humid inest donec sit tertia noctis Posthaec phlegma venit donec sit nona quietis In English thus in effect Three houres yer sun doo rise and so manie after blud From nine to three at after noone hot choler beares the swaie Euen so to nine at night swart choler hath to rule As phlegme from thence to three at morne six houres ech one I saie In like sort for the night we haue none other parts than the twilight darkenight midnight and cocks crowing wheras the Latins diuide the same into 7 parts as Vesper or Vesperugo as Plautus calleth it as Virgil vseth the word Hesper the euening which is immediatlie after the setting of the sun Crepusculum the twilight which some call Prima fax because men begin then to light candles when it is betwéene daie and night light and darkenesse or properlie neither daie nor night Concubium the still of the night when ech one is laid to rest Intempestum the dull or dead of the night which is midnight when men be in their first or dead sléepe Gallicinium the cocks crowing Conticinium when the cocks haue left crowing Matutinum the breach of the daie and Diluculum siue aurora the ruddie orenge golden or shining colour séene immediatlie before the rising of the sun and is opposite to the euening as Matutinum is to the twilight Other there are which doo reckon by watches diuiding the night after sun setting into foure equall parts Of which the first beginneth at euening called the first watch and continueth by thrée vnequall houres and so foorth vntill the end of the ninth houre whereat the fourth watch entreth which is called the morning watch bicause it concurreth partlie with the darke night and partlie with the morning and breach of the daie before the rising of the sun As for the originall of the word houre it is verie ancient but yet not so old as that of the watch wherof we shall read abundantlie in the scriptures which was deuised first among souldiors for their better safegard and change of watchmen in their camps the like whereof is almost vsed among our seafaring men which they call clearing of the glasse and performed from time to time with great héed and some solemnitie Here vnto the word Hora among the Grecians signified so well the foure quarters of the yéere as the foure and twentith part of the daie and limits of anie forme But what stand I vpon these things to let my purpose staie To procéed therefore Of naturall daies is the wéeke compacted which consisteth of seauen of them the fridaie being commonlie called among the vulgar sort either king or worling bicause it is either the fairest or foulest of the seauen albeit that I cannot ghesse of anie reason whie they should so imagine The first of these entreth with mondaie whereby it commeth to passe that we rest vpon the sundaie which is the seauenth in number as almightie God hath commanded in his word The Iews begin their wéeke vpon our saturdaie at the setting of the sun and the Turks in these daies with the
naperie bedding and tapisterie especiallie with naperie for beside the linnen vsed at the tables which is commonlie washed dailie is such and so much as belongeth vnto the estate and calling of the ghest Ech commer is sure to lie in cleane sheets wherein no man hath béene lodged since they came from the landresse or out of the water wherein they were last washed If the traueller haue an horsse his bed dooth cost him nothing but if he go on foot he is sure to paie a penie for the same but whether he be horsseman or footman if his chamber be once appointed he may carie the kaie with him as of his owne house so long as he lodgeth there If he loose oughts whilest he abideth in the inne the host is bound by a generall custome to restore the damage so that there is no greater securitie anie where for trauellers than in the gretest in s of England Their horsses in like sort are walked dressed and looked vnto by certeine hostelers or hired seruants appointed at the charges of the goodman of the house who in hope of extraordinarie reward will deale verie diligentlie after outward appéerance in this their function and calling Herein neuerthelesse are manie of them blame worthie in that they doo not onelie deceiue the beast oftentimes of his allowance by sundrie meanes except their owners looke well to them but also make such packs with slipper merchants which hunt after preie for what place is sure from euill wicked persons that manie an honest man is spoiled of his goods as he trauelleth to and fro in which feat also the counsell of the tapsters or drawers of drinke and chamberleins is not seldome behind or wanting Certes I beleeue not that chapman or traueller in England is robbed by the waie without the knowledge of some of them for when he commeth into the nine alighteth from his horsse the hostler forthwith is verie busie to take downe his budget or capcase in the yard from his sadle bow which he peiseth slilie in his hand to féele the weight thereof or if he misse of this pitch when the ghest hath taken vp his chamber the chamberleine that looketh to the making of the beds will be sure to remooue it from the place where the owner hath set it as if it were to set it more conuenientlie some where else whereby he getteth an inkling whether it be monie or other short wares therof giueth warning to such od ghests as hant the house and are of his confederacie to the vtter vndoing of manie an honest yeoman as he iournieth by the waie The tapster in like sort for his part dooth marke his behauiour and what plentie of monie he draweth when he paieth the shot to the like end so that it shall be an hard matter to escape all their subtile practises Some thinke it a gay matter to commit their budgets at their comming to the goodman of the house but thereby they oft bewraie themselues For albeit their monie be safe for the time that it is in his hands for you shall not heare that a man is robbed in his inne yet after their departure the host can make no warrantise of the same sith his protection extendeth no further than the gate of his owne house and there cannot be a surer taken vnto such as prie and watch for those booties than to sée anie ghest deliuer his capcase in such maner In all our innes we haue plentie of ale béere and sundrie kinds of wine and such is the capacitie of some of them that they are able to lodge two hundred or thrée hundred persons and their horsses at ease therto with a verie short warning make such prouision for their diet as to him that is vnacquainted withall may seeme to be incredible Howbeit of all in England there are no worse in s than in London and yet manie are there far better than the best that I haue heard of in anie forren countrie if all circumstances be dulie considered But to leaue this go in hand with my purpose I will here set downe a table of the best thorowfaires and townes of greatest trauell of England in some of which there are twelue or sixtéene such innes at the least as I before did speake of And it is a world to sée how ech owner of them contendeth with other for goodnesse of interteinement of their ghests as about finesse change of linnen furniture of bedding beautie of roomes seruice at the table costlinesse of plate strength of drinke varietie of wines or well vsing of horsses Finallie there is not so much omitted among them as the gorgeousnes of their verie signes at their doores wherein some doo consume thirtie or fortie pounds a méere vanitie in mine opinion but so vaine will they néeds be and that not onelie to giue some outward token of the inne kéepers welth but also to procure good ghests to the frequenting of their houses in hope there to be well vsed Lo here the table now at hand for more of our innes I shall not néed to speake The waie from Walsingham to London FRom Walsingham to Picknam 12. miles From Picknam to Brandonferie 10. miles From Brandonfarie to Newmarket 10. miles From Newmarket to Brabram 10. miles From Brabram to Barkewaie 20. miles From Barkewaie to Puchrich 7. miles From Puchrich to Ware 5. miles From Ware to Waltham 8. miles From Waltham to London 12. miles The waie from Barwike to Yorke and so to London FRom Barwike to Belford 12. miles From Belford to Anwike 12. miles From Anwike to Morpit 12. miles From Morpit to Newcastell 12. miles From Newcastell to Durham 12. miles From Durham to Darington From Darington to Northalerton 14. miles From Northalerton to Toplife 7. miles From Toplife to Yorke 16. miles From Yorke to Tadcaster 8. miles From Tadcaster to Wantbridge 12. miles From Wantbridge to Dancaster 8. miles From Dancaster to Tutford 18. miles From Tutford to Newarke 10. miles From Newarke to Grantham 10. miles From Grantham to Stanford 16. miles From Stanford to Stilton 12. miles From Stilton to Huntington 9. miles From Huntington to Roiston 15. miles From Roiston to Ware 12. miles From Ware to Waltham 8. miles From Waltham to London 12. miles The waie from Carnaruan to Chester and so to London FRom Carnaruan to Conwaie 24. miles From Conwaie to Denbigh 12. miles From Denbigh to Flint 12. miles From Flint to Chester 10. miles From Chester to Wich 14. miles From Wich to Stone 15. miles From Stone to Lichfield 16. miles From Lichfield to Colsill 12. miles From Colsill to Couentrie 8. miles And so from Couentrie to London as hereafter followeth The waie from Cockermouth to Lancaster and so to London FRom Cockermouth to Kiswike 6. miles From Kiswike to Grocener 8. miles From Grocener to Kendale 14. miles From Kendale to Burton 7. miles From Burton to Lancaster 8. miles From Lancaster to Preston 20. miles From Preston
sea at the corner of Wirhall and so comming about to the riuer of Dee that passeth by Chester the same riuer bounded it on the west from Wales and likewise Seuerne vp to Bristow on the south it had the riuer of Thames till it came almost to London And in this sort it conteined Lincolneshire Notingam-shire Derbishire Chesshire Shropshire Worcestershire Glocestershire Oxfordshire Buckinghamshire Hertefordshire Bedfordshire Huntingtonshire Northamptonshire Leicestershire and Warwikeshire ¶ Thus haue ye heard how the Saxons in processe of time remoouing the Britains out of their âeats dailie wan ground of them till at length they got possession of the best part of this I le and erected within the same seuen kingdoms which were gouerned by seuen seuerall kings who continued vntill the kings of Westsaxon brought them all at length into one monarchie as after shall appeere Matth. Westmin reckoneth eight kingdoms as thus The kingdom of Kent the kingdom of Sussex the kingdom of Essex the kingdom of Eastangle the kingdom of Mercia the kingdom of Westsex and the kingdom of Northumberland which was diuided into two kingdoms that is to say into Deira and into Bernicia wherevnto W. Harison addeth the ninth in the first part of his chronologie and calleth it Wales AFter that Malgo or Maglocune was departed this life one Careticus or as some write him Caretius was made king of the Britains and began his reigne in the yéere of our Lord 586 which was in the third yéere of the emperour Mauricius and thirtéenth of Chilperike king of France This Careticus was a nourisher of ciuill warre and dissention amongst his owne people the Britains so that he was hated both of God and man as writers testifie The Saxons vnderstanding that the Britains were not of one mind but diuided in partakings so as one was readie to deuoure an other thought it good time for them to aduance their conquests and ceassed not to pursue the Britains by force and continuall warre till they had constreined them for refuge to withdraw into Wales And as some haue written the Saxons meaning to make a full conquest of the land sent ouer into Ireland requiring one Gurmundus a king of the Affricans to come ouer into Britaine to helpe them against the Britains This Gurmundus appointing his brother Turgesius to pursue the conquest of Ireland came and arriued heere in Britaine making such cruell warre in aid of the Saxons against the Britains that Careticus was constreined to kéepe him within the citie of Chicester or Cirencester and was there besieged and at length by continuall assalts and skirmishes when he had lost manie of his men he was glad to forsake that citie and fled into Wales This Gurmundus tooke Cirencester or Chichester and destroied it in most cruell maner Some write that he tooke this citie by a policie of warre in binding to the féet of sparrowes which his people had caught certeine clewes of thred or matches finelie wrought tempered with matter readie to take fixe so that the sparrowes being suffered to go out of hand flue into the towne to lodge themselues within their neasts which they had made in stacks of corne and eues of houses so that the towne was thereby set on fire and then the Britains issuing foorth fought with their enimies and were ouercome and discomfited But whilest the battell continued Careticus stale away and got him into Wales After this the foresaid Gurmundus destroied this land throughout in pitifull wise and then deliuered it in possession to the Saxons the which thankfullie receiued it and because they were descended of those that first came ouer with Hengist they changed the name of the land and called it Hengistland accordinglie as the same Hengist had in times past ordeined the which name after for shortnesse of spéech was somewhat altered and so lastlie called England and the people Englishmen But rather it may be thought that sith a great part of those people which came ouer into this land out of Germanie with the said Hengist and other capteins were of those Englishmen which inhabited Germanie about the parts of Thoringhen they called this land England after their name when they had first got habitation within it and so both the land and people tooke name of them being called Angli a long time before they entered into this Ile as before is shewed out of Cornelius Tacitus and others But now to returne where we left Of this Gurmundus the old English writers make no mention nor also anie ancient authors of forren parties and yet saith the British booke that after he had conquered this land and giuen it to the Saxons he passed ouer into France and there destroied much of that land as an enimie to the faith of Christ. For which consideration he was the more readie to come to the aid of the Saxons who as yet had not receiued the christian faith but warred against the Britains as well to destroie the faith of Christ within this land as to establish to themselues continuall habitations in the same There be that omitting to make mention of Gurmundus write thus of the expelling of the Britains out of this land at that time when with their king Careticus they got them into Wales In the yéere of Grace 586 Careticus a louer of ciuill warre succéeded Malgo an enimie to God and to the Britains whose inconstancie when the English and Saxon kings perceiued with one consent they rose against him and after manie battel 's chased him from citie to citie till at length incountering with him in a pight field they droue him beyond Seuerne into Wales Héerevpon clerks and priests were driuen out of their places with bright swoords brandishing in all parts and fire crackling in churches wherewith the same were consumed The remnant of the Britains therefore withdrew into the west parts of the land that is to say into Cornwall and into Wales out of which countries they oftentimes brake out and made insurrections vpon the Saxons the which in maner aforsaid got possession of the chiefest parts of the land leauing to the Britains onlie three prouinces that is to say Cornwall Southwales and Northwales which countries were not easie to be woone by reason of the thicke woods inuironed with déepe mareshes and waters and full of high craggie rocks and mounteins The English and Saxon kings hauing thus remooued the Britains inlarged the bounds of their dominions There reigned in that season within this land beside the Britaine kings eight kings of the English and Saxon nations as Ethelbert in Kent Cissa in Sussex Ceauline in Westsex Creda or Crida in Mercia Erkenwine in Essex Titila in Estangle Elle in Deira and Alfrid in Bernicia In this sort the Britains lost the possession of the more part of their ancient seats and the faith of Christ thereby was greatlie decaied for the churches were destroied and the archbishops of Caerleon Arwiske London and Yorke
the vniuersitie of Cambridge founded by him he resigneth his kingdome and becometh a moonke he and his kinsman Egric are slaine in a skirmish against Penda king of Mercia The xxx Chapter AFter that king Oswald was slaine his brother Oswie being about 30 yeares of age tooke vpon him the rule of the kingdome of Northumberland gouerning the same with great trouble for the space of 28 yeares being sore vexed by the foresaid Penda king of Mercia and his people which as yet were pagans In the first yeare of his reigne which was in the yeare of our Lord 644. Pauline the bishop of Rochester which had beene also archbishop of Yorke departed this life and then one Thamar an Englishman of the parties of Kent was ordeined bishop of Rochester by Honorius the archbishop of Canturburie King Oswie had one Oswin partener with him in gouernment of the Northumbers in the first beginning of his reigne which was sonne to Osrike so that Oswie gouerned in Bernicia and Oswin in Deira continuing in perfect friendship for a season till at length through the counsell of wicked persons that coueted nothing so much as to sowe discord and variance betwixt princes they fell at debate and so began to make warres one against an other so that finallie when they were at point to haue tried their quarrell in open battell Oswin perceiuing that he had not an armie of sufficient force to incounter with Oswie brake vp his campe at Wilfaresdowne ten mile by west the towne of Cataracton and after withdrew himselfe onelie with one seruant named Condhere vnto the house of earle Hunwald whome he tooke to haue béene his trustie friend but contrarie to his expectation the said Hunwald did betraie him vnto Oswie who by his captaine Edelwine slue the said Oswin and his seruant the forsaid Condhere in a place called Ingethling the 13 kalends of September in the ninth yeare of his reigne which was after the birth of our Sauiour 651. This Oswin was a goodlie gentleman of person tall and beautifull and verie gentle of spéech ciuill in manners and verie liberall both to high low so that he was beloued of all Such a one he was to be breefe as bishop Aidan gessed that he should not long continue in life for that the Northumbers were not woorthie of so good and vertuous a gouernour Such humblenesse and obedience he perceiued to rest in him towards the law of the Lord in taking that which was told him for his better instruction in good part that he said he neuer saw before that time an humble king The same Aidan liued not past 12 daies after the death of the said Oswin whome he so much loued departing this world the last daie of August in the seuenteenth yeare after he was ordeined bishop His bodie was buried in the I le of Lindesferne After Aidan one Finan was made bishop in his place a Scotishman also and of the I le of Hui from whence his predecessor the foresaid Aidan came being first a man of religion professed in the monasterie there as some writers doo report IN the meane time after that Kinigils or Cinigilsus king of the Westsaxons had reigned 31 yeares he departed this life Anno 643 leauing his kingdome to his sonne Cenwalch or Chenwald who held the same kingdome the tearme of 30 yeares or 31 as some write in manner as his father had doone before him In the third or as others saie in the fift yeare of his reigne Penda king of Mercia made sharpe warre against him because he had put awaie his wife the sister of the said Penda and in this warre Chenwald was ouercome in battell driuen out of his countrie so that he fled vnto Anna king of the Eastangles with whome he remained the space of a yeare or as other say thrée yeares to his great good hap for before he was growen to be an enimie to the christian religion but now by the wholesome admonitions and sharpe rebukes of king Anna he became a christian and receiued his wife againe into his companie according to the prescript of Gods law and to be bréefe in all things shewed himselfe a new man imbracing vertue auoiding vice so that shortlie after through the helpe of God he recouered againe his kingdome Now when he was established in the same there came a bishop named Agilbertus out of Ireland a Frenchman borne but hauing remained in Ireland a long time to reade the scriptures This Agilbert comming into the prouince of the Westsaxons was gladlie receiued of king Chenwald at whose desire he tooke vpon him to exercise the roome of a bishop there but afterwards when the said king admitted another bishop named Wini which had béene ordeined in France and knew the toong better than Agilbert as he that was borne in England Agilbert offended for that the king had admitted him without making him of anie counsell therein returned into France and there was made bishop of Paris within a few yeares after the foresaid Wini was expelled also by king Chenwald who got him into Mercia vnto king Uulfhere of whome he bought the bishoprike of London which he held during his life and so the countrie of Westsaxon remained long without a bishop till at length the said Agilbert at the request of king Chenwald sent to him Elutherius that was his nephue YE haue heard that after Carpwald his brother Sigibert succéeded in rule of the Eastangles a man of great vertue and woorthinesse who whilest he remained in France as a banished man being constreined to flée his countrie vpon displeasure that king Redwald bare him was baptised there and after returning into his countrie and obteining at length the kingdome those things which he had séene well ordered in France he studied to follow the example of the same at home and herevpon considering with himselfe that nothing could more aduance the state of the common-wealth of his countrie than learning knowledge in the toongs began the foundation of certeine schooles and namelie at Cambridge where children might haue places where to be instructed and brought vp in learning vnder appointed teachers that there might be greater numbers of learned men trained vp than before time had béene within this land to the furtherance of true religion and vertue So that England hath good cause to haue in thankfull remembrance this noble prince king Sigibert for all those hir learned men which haue bin brought vp come foorth of that famous vniuersitie of Cambridge the first foundation or rather renouation whereof was thus begun by him about the yeare of our Lord 630. At length when this worthie king began to grow in age he considered with himselfe how hard a matter and how painefull an office it was to gouerne a realme as apperteined to the dutie of a good king wherevpon he determined to leaue the charge thereof to other of more conuenient yéeres and to
reported to be martyrs because it was knowen they died innocentlie he mocked them and made but a iest at it although his brother in acknowledging his fault repented him thereof and gaue in recompense to their mother a part of the I le of Thanet to the building of a monasterie THe foresaid Edrike after Lother was dead got the dominion of Kent and ruled as king thereof but not without ciuill warre insomuch that before he had reigned the full terme of two yeares he was slaine in the same warre Then Ceadwalla king of the Westsaxons being thereof aduertised supposing of the time now to be come that would serue his purpose as one still coueting to worke the Kentishmen all the displeasure he could entred with an armie into theri covntrie and began to waste and spoile the same on ech side till finallie the Kentishmen assembled themselues togither gaue battell to their enimies and put them to flight Mollo brother to Ceadwalla was driuen from his companie and constrained to take an house for his refuge but his enimies that pursued him set fire thereon and burned both the hosue and Mollo within it to ashes Yet did not Ceadwalla herewith deaprt out of the countrie but to wreake his wrath and to reuenge the griefe which he tooke for the death of his brother he wasted and destroied a great part of Kent yer he returned home and left as it were in occasion to his successor also to pursue the quarell with reuenging Wherein we sée the cankerd nature of man speciallie in a case of wrong or displeasure which we are so far from tollerating forgiuing that if with tooth and naile we be not permitted to take vengeance our hearts will breake with a full conceit of wrath But the law of nature teacheth vs otherwise to be affected namelie per te nulli vnquam iniuria fiat Sed verbis alijsque modis fuge laedere quenquam Quod tibi nolles alijs fecisse caueto Quódque tibi velles alijs praestare studeto Haec est naturae lex optima quam nisiad vnguem Seruabis non ipse Deo mihi crede placebis Póstque obitum infoelix non aurea sydera adibis Which lesson taught by nature and commanded of God if these men had followed as they minded nothing lesse in the fier of their furie they would haue béene content with a competent reuenge and not in such outragious maner with fier and sword haue afflicted one another nor which is more than tigerlike crueltie haue ministred occasion to posterities to reuenge wrongs giuen and taken of their ancestors But we will let this passe without further discourse meaning hereafter in due place to declare the processe The Kentishmen being destitute of a king after that diuers had coueted the place and sought to atteine thereto as well by force as otherwise to the great disquieting of that prouince for the space of 6 yeares togither at length in the 7 yeare after Edricks death Withred an other of the sonnes of king Egbert hauing with diligent trauell ouercome enuie at home with monie redéemed peace abroad was with great hope conceiued of his worthinesse made king of Kent the 11 of Nobuember 205 after the death of Hengist he reigned 33 yeares not deceiuing his subiects of their good conceiued opinion of him for ouercomming all his aduersaries which were readie to leuie ciuill warre against him he also purchased peace of Inas king of the Westsaxons which ment to haue made him warre till with monie he was made his friend A little before that Withdred was confirmed in the kingdome of Kent there reigned two kings in that countrie Suebhard and Nidred or rather the same Withred if the printed copie of Bedas booke intituled Ecclesiastica historia gentis Anglorum haue not that name corrupted for where he sheweth that the archbishop Theodorus being of the age of 88 yeares departed this life in the yeare of our Lord 690 in the next chapter he declareth that in the yeare 692 the first daie of Iulie on Brightwald was chosen to succéed in the archbishops sée of Canturburie Withredus and Suebhardus as then reigning in Kent but whether Withredus gouerned as then with Suebhardus or that some other named Nidred it forceth not for certeine it is by the agréement of othere writers that till Withdred obteined the whole rule there was great strife and contention moued about the gouernement and diuers there wre that sought and fought for it But this ought to be noted that the forenamed Brightwald was the eight archbishop in number and first of the English nation that sat in the sée of Canturburie for the other seuen that were predecessors to him were strangers borne and sent hither from Rome ¶ Here endeth the line and gouernement of the Britains now called Welshmen which tooke that name of their duke or leader Wallo or Gallo or else of a queene of Wales named Gales or Wales But howsoeuer that name fell first vnto them now they are called Welshmen which sometime were called Britains or Brutons and descended first of the Troians and after of Brute and lastlie of Mulmucius Dunwallo albeit they were mingled with sundrie other nations as Romans Picts c. and now they be called English that in their beginning were named Saxons or Angles To conclude therefore wiht this gouernement so manie times intercepted by forren power it appeareth by course of histories treating of these matters that the last yeare of Cadwallader was the yeare of our Lord 686 which makes the yere of the world 4647. So that as Fabian saith the Britains had the greater part of this land in rule reckoning from Brute till this time 1822 yeares Which terme being expired the whole dominion of this realme was Saxonish Thus farre the interrupted regiment of the Britains ending at the fift booke THE SIXT BOOKE of the Historie of England Inas king of the Westsaxons the whole monarchie of the realme falleth into their hands Inas for a summe of monie granteth peace to the Kentishmen whom he was purposed to haue destroied he his coosen Nun fight with Gerent king of the Britains and Cheolred king of Mercia and Ealdbright king of Southsaxons the end of their kingdoms Inas giueth ouer his roialtie goeth in pilgrimage to Rome and there dieth his lawes written in the Saxon toong of what buildings he was the founder queene Ethelburgas deuise to persuade Inas to forsake the world he was the first procurer of Peter pence to be paid to Rome king Ethelred king Kenred and king Offa become moonks the setting vp of images in this land authorised by a vision king Ethelbalds exploits he is slaine of his owne subiects by the suggestion of Bernred the vsurper Boniface his letter of commendation to King Ethelbald nuns kept for concubines their pilgrimage The first Chapter AFter tht Ceadwalla late K. of the Westsaxons was gone to Rome where he departed this
Moreouer fortie of their ships or rather as some write 45 were reteined to serue the king promising to defend the realme with condition that the souldiers and mariners should haue prouision of meate and drinke with apparell found them at the kings charges As one autor hath gathered Swaine king of Denmarke was in England at the concluding of this peace which being confirmed with solemne othes and sufficient hostages he departed into Denmarke The same author bringeth the generall slaughter of Danes vpon S. Brices day to haue chanced in the yéere after the conclusion of this agréement that is to say in the yéere 1012 at what time Gunthildis the sister of king Swaine was slaine with hir husband hir sonne by the commandement of the false traitor Edrike But bicause all other authors agrée that the same murther of Danes was executed about ten yéeres before this supposed time we haue made rehearsall thereof in that place Howbeit for the death of Gunthildis it maie be that she became hostage either in the yéere 1007 at what time king Egelred paied thirtie thousand pounds vnto king Swaine to haue peace as before you haue heard or else might she be deliuered in hostage in the yéere 1011 when the last agréement was made with the Danes as aboue is mentioned But when or at what time soeuer she became hostage this we find of hir that she came hither into England with hir husband Palingus a mightie earle and receiued baptisme héere Wherevpon she earnestlie trauelled in treatie of a peace betwixt hir brother and king Egelred which being brought to passe chieflie by hir sute she was contented to become an hostage for performance thereof as before is recited And after by the commandement of earle Edrike she was put to death pronouncing that the shedding of hir bloud would cause all England one day sore to rue She was a verie beautifull ladie and tooke hir death without all feare not once changing countenance though she saw hir husband and hir onelie sonne a yoong gentleman of much towardnesse first murthered before hir face Turkillus the Danish capteine telleth king Swaine the faults of the king nobles commons of this realme he inuadeth England the Northumbers and others submit themselues to him Danes receiued into seruice vnder Egelred London assalted by Swaine the citizens behaue themselues stoutlie and giue the Danish host a shamefull repulse Ethelmere earle of Deuonshire and his people submit themselues to Swaine he returneth into Denmarke commeth back againe into England with a fresh power is incountred withall of the Englishmen whose king Egelred is discomfited his oration to his souldiers touching the present reliefe of their distressed land their resolution and full purpose in this their perplexitie king Egrlred is minded to giue place to Swaine lie sendeth his wife and children ouer into Normandie the Londoners yeeld vp their state to Swaine Egelred saileth ouer into Normandie leauing his land to the enimie The sixt Chapter NOw had Turkillus in the meane time aduertised king Swaine in what state things stood here within the realme how king Egelred was negligent onlie attending to the lusts pleasures of the flesh how the noble men were vnfaithfull and the commons weake and féeble through want to good and trustie leaders Howbeit some write that Turkillus as well as other of the Danes which remained héere in England was in league with king Egelred in somuch that he was with him in London to helpe and defend the citie against Swaine when he came to assalt it as after shall appéere Which if it be true a doubt may rise whether Swaine receiued anie aduertisement from Turkillus to mooue him to rather to inuade the realme but such aduertisements might come from him before that he was accorded with Egelred Swaine therefore as a valiant prince desirous both to reuenge his sisters death and win honor prepared an huge armie and a great number of ships with the which he made towards England and first comming to Sandwich taried there a small while and taking eftsoones the sea compassed about the coasts of the Eastangles and arriuing in the mouth of Humber sailed vp the water and entering into the riuer of Trent he landed at Gainesbourgh purposing to inuade the Northumbers But as men brought into great feare for that they had béene subiect to the Danes in times past and thinking therefore not to reuolt to the enimie but rather to their old acquaintance if they should submit themselues to the Danes streightwaies offered to become subiect vnto Swaine togither with their duke named Wighthred Also the people of Lindsey and all those of the northside of Watlingstreet yéelded themselues vnto him and deliuered pledges Then he appointed his sonne Cnutus to haue the kéeping of those pledges and to remaine vpon the saâegard of his ships whiles he himselfe passed forward into the countrie Then marched he forward to subdue them of south Mercia and so came to Oxford to Winchester making the countries subiect to him through out wheresoeuer he came With this prosperous successe Swaine being greatlie incouraged prepared to go vnto London where king Egelred as then remained hauing with him Turkillus the Dane which was reteined in wages with other of the Danes as by report of some authors it maie appeare and were now readie to defend the citie against their countriemen in support of king Egelred togither with the citizens Swaine bicause he would not step so farre out of the way as to go to the next bridge lost a great number of his men as he passed through the Thames At his comming to London he bagan to assault the citie verie fiercelie in hope either to put his enimie in such feare that he should despaire of all reliefe and comfort or at the least trie what he was able to doo The Londoners on the other part although they were brought in some feare by this sudden attempt of the enimies yet considering with themselues that the hazard of all the whole state of the realme was annexed to theirs sith their citie was the chiefe and metropolitane of all the kingdome they valiantlie stood in defense of themselues and of their king that was present there with them beating backe the enimies chasing them from the walles and otherwise dooing their best to kéepe them off At length although the Danes did most valiantlie assault the citie yet the Englishmen to defend their prince from all iniurie of enimies did not shrinke but boldlie sallied foorth at the gates in heapes togither and incountered with their aduersaries and began to fight with them verie fiercelie Swaine whilest he went about to kéepe his men in order as one most desirous to reteine the victorie now almost gotten was compassed so about with the Londoners on each side that after he had lost a great number of his men he was constreined for his safegard to breake out through the
prepared to receiue whensoeuer the Englishmen approched and heerewith bringing his men into araie he came foorth to méet his enimies Then was the battell begun with great earnestnesse on both sides continued foure houres till at length the Danes began somewhat to shrinke which when Cnute perceiued he commanded his horssemen to come forward into the forepart of his dawnted host But whilest one part of the Danes gaue backe with feare and the other came slowlie forward the arraie of the whole armie was broken then without respect of shame they fled amaine so that there died that day of Cnutes side foure thousand and fiue hundred men and of king Edmunds side not past six hundred and those were footmen This battell was fought as should appéere by diuerse writers at Okefort or Oteford It was thought that if king Edmund had pursued the victorie and followed in chase of his enimies in such wise as he safelie might haue doone Edriks counsell he had made that day an end of the warres but he was counselled by Edrike as some write in no condition to follow them but to staie and giue time to his people to refresh their wearie bodies Then Cnute with his armie passed ouer the Thames into Essex and there assembled all his power togither and began to spoile and waste the countrie on each hand King Edmund aduertised thereof hasted foorth to succour his people and at Ashdone in Essex three miles from Saffron Walden gaue battell to Cnute where after sore and cruell fight continued with great slaughter on both sides a long time duke Edrike fled to the comfort of the Danes and to the discomfort of the Englishmen Héerevpon king Edmund was constreined in the end to depart out of the field hauing first doone all that could be wished in a woorthie chiestaine both by woords to incourage his men by deeds to shew them good example so that at one time the Danes were at point to haue giuen backe but that Cnute aduised thereof rushed into the left wing where most danger was and so relieued his people there that finallie the Englishmen both wearied with long fight and also discouraged with the running awaie of some of their companie were constreined to giue-ouer and by flight to séeke their safegard so that king Edmund might not by anie meanes bring them againe into order Héere vpon all the waies and passages being forelaid and stopped by the enimies the Englishmen wanting both carriage to make longer resistance and perceiuing no hope to rest in fléeing were beaten downe and slaine in heapes so that few escaped from that dreadfull and bloudie battell There died on king Edmunds side duke Edmund duke Alfrike and duke Goodwine with earle Ulfekettell or Urchell of Eastangle and duke Aileward that was sonne to Ardelwine late duke of Eastangle and to be briefe all the floure of the English nobilitie There were also slaine at this battell manie renowmed persons of the spiritualtie as the bishop of Lincolne and the abbat of Ramsey with others king Edmund escaping awaie got him into Glocestershire and there began to raise a new armie In the place where this field was fought are yet seuen or eight hils wherein the carcases of them that were slaine at the same field were buried and one being digged downe of late there were found two bodies in a coffin of stone of which the one laie with his head towards the others féet and manie chaines of iron like to the water-chains of the bits of horsses were found in the same hill But now to the matter London other great cities townes submit themselues to Cnute be hasteth after Edmund with his power both their armies being readie to incounter by occasion are staied the oration of a capteine in the hearing of both hosts the title and right of the realme of England is put to the triall of combat betweene Cnute and Edmund Cnute is ouermatâched his woords to king Edmund both kings are pacified and their armies accorded the realme diuided betwixt Cnute and Edmund king Edmund traitorouslie slaine the dissonant report of writers touching the maners of his death and both the kings dealing about the partition of the realme Cnute causeth Edrike to be slaine for procuring king Edmunds death wherein the reward of treason is noted how long king Edmund reigned and where he was buried the eclipsed state of England after his death and in whose time it recouered some part of it brightnesse The tenth Chapter IN the meane while that Edmund was buâie to leauie a new armie in Glocester and other parties of Mercia Cnute hauing got so great a victorie as before is mentioned receiued into his obeisance not onelie the citie of London but also manie other cities and townes of great name and shortlie after hasted forward to pursue his enimie king Edmund who was readie with a mightie host to trie the vttermost chance of battell if they should eftsoones ioine Héerevpon both the armies being readie to giue the onset the one in sight of the other at a place called Dearehurst neere to the riuer of Seuerne by the drist of duke Edrike who then at length began to shew some token of good meaning the two kings came to a communication and in the end concluded an agreement as some haue written without anie more adoo Others write that when both the armies were at point to haue ioined one of the capteins but whether he were a Dane or an Englishman it is not certeinlie told stood vp in such a place as he might be heard of both the princes boldlie vttered his mind in former following The oration of a capteine in the audience of the English and Danish armie WE haue most woorthie capteins fought long inough one against another there hath beene but too much bloud shed betweene both the nations and the valiancie of the souldiers on both sides is sufficientlie seene by triall either of your manhoods likewise and yet can you beare neither good nor euill fortune If one of you win the battell he pursueth him that is ouercome and if he chance to be vanquished he resteth no till he haue recouered new strength to fight eftsoones with him that is victor What should you meane by this your inuincible courage At what marke shooteth your greedie desire to beare rule and your excessiue thirst to atteine honour If you fight for a kingdome diuide it betweene you two which sometime was sufficient for seuen kings but if you couet to winne fame and glorious renowme and for the same are driuen to try the hazard whether ye shall command or obeie deuise the waie whereby ye may without so great slaughter and without such pitifull bloudshed of both your guiltlesse peoples trie whether of you is most woorthie to be preferred Thus made he an end and the two princes allowed well of his last motion and so order was taken that they should
which fell also about the fourth yeare of the emperour Henrie the third surnamed Niger in the 12 yeare of Henrie the first of that name king of France and about the third yeare of Macbeth king of Scotland This Edward the third of that name before the conquest was of nature more méeke and simple than apt for the gouernement of the realme therefore did earle Goodwine not onelie séeke the destruction of his elder brother Alfred but holpe all that he might to aduance this Edward to the crowne in hope to beare great rule in the realme vnder him whome he knew to be soft gentle and easie to be persuaded But whatsoeuer writers doo report hereof sure it is that Edward was the elder brother and not Alfred so that if earle Goodwine did shew his furtherance by his pretended cloake of offering his friendship vnto Alfred to betraie him he did it by king Harolds commandement and yet it may be that he meant to haue vsurped the crowne to him selfe if each point had answered his expectation in the sequele of things as he hoped they would and therfore had not passed if both the brethren had béene in heauen But yet when the world framed contrarie peraduenture to his purpose he did his best to aduance Edward trusting to beare no small rule vnder him being knowen to be a man more appliable to be gouerned by other than to trust to this owne wit and so chieflie by the assistance of earle Goodwine whose authoritie as appeareth was not small within the realme of England in those daies Edward came to atteine the crowne wherevnto the earle of Chester Leofrike also shewed all the furtherance that in him laie Some write which seemeth also to be confimed by the Danish chronicles that king Hardiknought in his life time had receiued this Edward into his court and reteined him still in the same in most honorable wise But for that it may appeare in the abstract of the Danish chronicles what their writers had of this matter recorded we doo here passe ouer referring those that be desirous to know the diuersitie of our writers and theirs vnto the same chronicles where they may find it more at large expressed This in no wise is to be left vnremembred that immediatlie after the death of Hardiknought it was not onelie decreed agreed vpon by the great lords nobles of the realme that no Dane from thenceforth should reigne ouer them but also all men of warre and souldiers of the Danes which laie within anie citie or castell in garrison within the realme of England were then expelled and put out or rather slaine as the Danish writers doo rehearse Amongst other that were banished the ladie Gonild neece to king Swaine by his sister was one being as then a widow and with hir two of hir sonnes which she had then liuing Heming and Turkill were also caused to auoid Some write that Alfred the brother of king Edward came not into the realme till after the death of Hardiknought and that he did helpe to expell the Danes which being doon he was slaine by earle Goodwine and other of his complices But how this may stand considering the circumstances of the time with such things as are written by diuers authors hereof it may well be doubted Neuerthelesse whether earle Goodwine was guiltie to the death of Alfred either at this time or before certeine it is that he so cleared himselfe of that crime vnto king Edward the brother of Alfred that there was none so highlie in fauour with him as earle Goodwine was insomuch that king Edward maried the ladie Editha the daughter of earle Goodwine begotten of his wife Thira that was sister to king Hardiknought and not of his second wife as some haue written Howbeit king Edward neuer had to doo with hir in fleshlie wise But whether he absteined because he had happilie vowed chastitie either of impotencie of nature or for a priuie hate that he bare to hir kin men doubted For it was thought that he estéemed not earle Goodwine so greatlie in his heart as he outwardlie made shew to doo but rather for feare of his puissance dissembled with him least he should otherwise put him selfe in danger both of losse of life and kingdome Howsoeuer it was he vsed his counsell in ordering of things concerning the state of the common wealth and namelie in the hard handling of his mother queene Emma against whome diuers accusations were brought and alledged as first for that she consented to marie with K. Cnute the publike enimie of the realme againe for that she did nothing aid or succour hir sons while they liued in exile but that woorse was contriued to make them away for which cause she was despoiled of all hir goods And because she was defamed to be naught of hir bodie with Alwine or Adwine bishop of Winchester both she and the same bishop were committed to prison within the citie of Winchester as some write Howbeit others affirme that she was strictlie kept in the abbie of Warwell till by way of purging hir selfe after a maruellous manner in passing barefooted ouer certeine hot shares or plough-irons according to the law Ordalium she cleared hir selfe as the world tooke it and was restored to hir first estate and dignitie Hir excessiue couetousnesse without regard had to the poore caused hir also to be euill reported of Againe for that she euer shewed hir selfe to be more naturall to the issue which she had by hir second husband Cnute than to hir children which she had by hir first husband king Egelred as it were declaring how she was affected toward the fathers by the loue borne to the children she lost a great péece of good will at the hands of hir sonnes Alfred and Edward so that now the said Edward inioieng the realme was easilie iuduced to thinke euill of hir and therevpon vsed hir the more vncurteouslie But hir great liberalitie imploied on the church of Winchester which she furnished with maruellous rich iewels and ornaments wan hir great commendation in the world and excused hir partlie in the sight of manie of the infamie imputed to hir for the immoderate filling of hir coffers by all waies and meanes she could deuise Now when she had purged hir selfe as before is mentioned hir sonne king Edward had hir euer after in great honor and reuerence And whereas Robert archbishop of Canturburie had béene sore against hir he was so much abashed now at the matter that he fled into Normandie where he was borne But it should séeme by that which after shal be said in the next chapter that he fled not the realme for this matter but bicause he counselled the king to banish earle Goodwine and also to vse the Englishmen more strictlie than reason was he should Why Robert archbishop of Canturburie queene Emmas heauie friend fled out of England the Normans first
entrance into this countrie dearth by tempests earle Goodwines sonne banished out of this land he returneth in hope of the kings fauour killeth his coosen earle Bearne for his good will and forwardnes to set him in credit againe his flight into Flanders his returne into England the king is pacified with him certeine Danish rouers arriue at Sandwich spoile the coast inrich themselues with the spoiles make sale of their gettings and returne to their countrie the Welshmen with their princes rebelling are subdued king Edward keepeth the seas on Sandwich side in aid of Baldwine earle of Flanders a bloudie fraie in Canturburie betwixt the earle of Bullongne and the townesmen earle Goodwine fauoureth the Kentishmen against the Bullongners why he refuseth to punish the Canturburie men at the kings commandement for breaking the kings peace he setteth the king in a furie his suborned excuse to shift off his comming to the assemblie of lords conuented about the foresaid broile earle Goodwine bandeth himselfe against the king he would haue the strangers deliuered into his hands his request is denied a battell readie to haue bene fought betweene him and the king the tumult is pacified and put to a parlement earle Goodwines retinue forsake him he his sonnes and their wiues take their flight beyond the seas The second Chapter YE must vnderstand that K. Edward brought diuerse Normans ouer with him which in time of his banishment had shewed him great friendship wherefore he now sought to recompense them Amongst other the forenamed Robert of Canturburie was one who before his comming ouer was a moonke in the abbeie of Gemeticum in Normandie and being by the king first aduanced to gouerne the sée of London was after made archbishop of Canturburie and bare great rule vnder the king so that he could not auoid the enuie of diuerse noble man and ãâã of earle Goodwââe as shall appeare About the third yeere of king Edwards wigne Osgot Clappa was banished the realme And in the yéere following that is to say in the yeere 1047 there fell a marvellous great snow couering the ground from the beginning of Ianuarâe vntill the 17 day of March. Besides this there hapned the same yeere such tempest and lightnings that the corne vpon the earth was burnt vp and blasted by reason whereof there followed a great dearth in England and also death of men cettell About this time Swame the sonne of earle Goodwine was banished the land and fled into Flanders This Swaine kept Edgiua the abbesse of the monasterue of Leoffe and forsaking his wife ment to haue married the foresaid abbesse Within a certeine time after his banishment he returned into England in hope to purchase the kings peace by his fathers meanes and other his friends But vpon some malicious pretense he slue his coosen earle Bearne who was about to labour to the king for his pardon and so then fled againe into Flanders till at length Allered the archbishop of Yorke obteined his pardon and found meanes to reconcile him to the kings fauour In the meane time about the sixt yéere of king Edwards reigne certeine pirats of the Danes arriued in Sandwich hauen and entring the land wasted and spoiled all about the coast There be that write that the Danes had at that time to their leaders two capteins the one named Lother and the other Irling After they had béene at Sandwich and brought from thence great riches of gold and siluer they coasted about vnto the side of Essex and there spoiling the countrie went backe to the sea and sailing into Flanders made sale of their spoiles and booties there and so returned to their countries After this during the reigne of king Edward there chanced no warres neither forren nor ciuill but that the same was either with small slaughter luckilie ended or else without anie notable aduenture changed into peace The Welshmen in déed with their princes Rise and Griffin wrought some trouble but still they were subdued and in the end both the said Rise and Griffin were brought vnto confusion although in the meane time they did much hurt and namelie Griffin who with aid of some Irishmen with whome he was alied about this time entred into the Seuerne sea and tooke preies about the riuer of Wie and after returned without anie battell to him offered About the same time to wit in the yéere 1049 the emperor Henrie the third made warres against Baldwine earle of Flanders and for that he wished to haue the sea stopped that the said earle should not escape by flight that waie foorth he sent to king Edward willing him to kéepe the sea with some number of ships King Edward furnishing a nauie lay with the same at Sandwich and so kept the seas on that side till the emperor had his will of the earle At the same time Swaine sonne of earle Goodwine came into the realme and traitorouslie slue his coosen Bearne as before is said the which trauelled to agrée him with the king Also Gosipat Clappa who had left his wife at Bruges in Flanders comming amongst other of the Danish pirats which had robbed in the coasts of Kent Essex as before ye haue heard receiued his wife and departed backe into Denmarke wiâh six ships leauing the residue being 23 behind him About the tenth yéere of king Edwards reigne Eustace earle of Bullongne that was father vnto the valiant Godfrey of Bullongne Baldwin both afterward kings of Hierusalem ãâ¦ã England in the moneth of September to ãâã his brother in law king Edward whose sister named Godâ he had maried she then being the ãâã of Guaâter de Maââât He found the king at Glocester and being there ãâã receiued after he had once dispatched such matters for the which he therefore came he tooke leaue and returned homeward But at Canturburie one of his heâângers ãâã roughlie with one of the citizens about a lodging which he sought to haue rather by force than by in treatance occasioned his owne death Whereof when the erle was aduertised he hasted thither to revenge the slaughter of his seruant and fiue both the citizen which had killed his man and eighteene others The citizens héerewith in a great furie got them to armor and set vpon the earle and his returne of whom they slue twentie persons out of hand wounded a great number of the residue so that the earle scarse might escape with one or two of his men from the fraie with all spéed returned backe to the king presenting gréeuous information against them of Canturburie for their cruell vsing of him not onlie in fleaing of his seruants but also in putting him in danger of his life The king crediting the earle was highlie offended against the citizens and with all spéed sending for earle Goodwine declared vnto him in greeuous wise the rebellious act of them of Canturburie which were
the king of England permitted them franklie to depart with 20 ships hauing first caused them to deliuer such hostages as they had receiued of the citizens of Yorke Harold reioising in that he had atteined so glorious a victorie and being now surprised with pride and couetousnesse togither he diuided the spoile of the field nothing equallie but to such as he fauored he distributed liberallie and to other though they had much better deserued he gaue nothing at all reteining still the best part of all to himselfe by reason whereof he lost the fauor of manie of his men who for this his discourtesie did not a little alienate their good willes from him This doone he repaired to Yorke and there staied for a time to reforme the disordered state of the countrie which by reason of those warres was greatlie out of frame ¶ But Harold being more presumptuous and foole-hardie than prouident and wise in his enterprise bending all his force to redresse enormities in those quarters of Yorkeshire much like vnto him whom the Comediographer marketh for a foole Ea tantùm quae ad pedes iacent contemplans non autem ventura praeuidens neglected the kinglie care which he should haue had of other parts of his realme from the which he had withdrawen himselfe and as it is likelie had not left sufficientlie prouided of a conuenient vicegerent to gouerne the same by his warranted authoritie and such fortifications as might expell and withstand the enimie Which want of foresight gaue occasion to the enimie to attempt an inuasion of the English coasts as in the next chapt shall be shewed William duke of Normandie prepareth to inuade England and to conquere it the earle of Flanders and the French king assist him the number of his ships his arriuall at Peuensey in Sussex vpon what occasions he entred this realme the pope liked well duke Williams attempt why king Harold was hated of the whole court of Rome why duke William would not suffer his souldiers to wast the countries where they came Harold goeth towards his enimies why his vnskilfull espials tooke the Normans being old beaten souldiers for priests Girth dissuadeth his brother Harold from present incountering with the duke where note the conscience that is to be had of an oth and that periurie can not scape vnpunished The tenth Chapter WIlliam duke of Normandie hauing knowledge after what maner K. Harold was busied in the north parts of his realme and vnderstanding that the south parts thereof remained destitute of due prouision for necessarie defense hasted with all diligence to make his purueiance of men and ships that he might vpon such a conuenient occasion set forward to inuade his enimie And amongest other of his friends vnto whome he laboured for aid his father in law Baldwine earle of Flanders was one of the chiefest who vpon promise of great summes of monie and other large offers made did aid him with men munition ships and victuals verie freelie The French king also did as much for his part as laie in him to helpe forwards this so high an enterprise Wherefore when all things were now in a readinesse he came to the towne of S. Ualerie where he had assembled tigither an huge nauie of ships to the number as some authors affirme of three hundred saile and when he had taried there a long time for a conuenient wind at length it came about euen as he himselfe desired Then shipping his armie which consisted of Normans Flemings Frenchmen and Britains with all expedition he tooke the sea and directing his course towards England he finallie landed at a place in Sussex ancientlie called Peuensey on the 28 day of September where he did set his men on land prouided all things necessarie to incourage and refresh them At his going out of his ship vnto the shore one of his féet slipped as he stepped forward but the other stacke fast in the sand the which so soone as one of his knights had espied and séeing his hand wherevpon he staied full of earth when he rose he spake alowd and said Now sir duke thou hast the soile of England fast in thy hand shalt of a duke yer long become king The duke hearing this tale laughed merilie thereat and comming on land by and by he made his proclamation declaring vpon what occasions he had thus entered the realme The first and principall cause which he alleged was for the chalenge his right meaning the dominion of the land that to him was giuen and assigned as he said by his nephue king Edward late ruler of the same land The second was to reuenge the death of his nephue Alured or Alfred the brother of the same king Edward whome Goodwine earle of Kent and his adherents had most cruellie murthered The third was to be reuenged of the wrong doone vnto Robert archbishop of Canturburie who as he was informed was exiled by the meanes and labor of Harold in the daies of king Edward Wherein we haue to note that whether it were for displeasure that the pope had sometime conceiued for the wrong doone to the archbishop or at the onlie sute of duke William certeine it is that the pope as then named Alexander the second fauored this enterprise of the duke and in token thereof sent him a white banner which he willed him to set vp in the decke of the ship wherein he himselfe should saile In déed as writers report the pope with his cardinals and all the whole court of Rome had king Harold euer in great hatred and disdaine because he had taken vpon him the crowne without their consent or anie ecclesiasticall solemnitie or agréement of the bishops And although the pope and his brethren the said cardinals dissembled the matter for the time yet now beholding to what end his bold presumption was like to come with frowning fortune they shewed themselues open aduersaries inclining streightwaies to the stronger part after the manner of couetous persons or rather of the réed shaken with a sudden puffe of wind Duke William at his first landing at Peuensey or Pemsey whether you will fortified a péece of ground with strong trenches and leauing therein a competent number of a men of warre to kéepe the same he sped him toward Hastings and comming thither he built an other fortresse there with all spéed possible without suffering his souldiers to rob or harrie the countrie adioining saieng that it should be great follie for him to spoile that people which yer manie daies to come were like to be his subiects K. Harold being as yet in the north parts and hearing the duke William was thus landed in England sped him southward and gathering his people togither out of the countries as he went forwards at length came néere his enimies and sending espials into their campe to vnderstand of what strength they were the vnskilfull messengers regarding smallie
quicklie into arââie began to charge them againe afresh and so hauing them at that aduantage they slue them downe on euerie side The Englishmen on the other part fought sore and though their king was beaten downe among them and slaine yet were they loth to flée or giue ouer so sharpe was the battell that duke William himselfe had thrée horsses slaine vnder him that day and not without great danger of his person Some of the Englishmen got them to the height of an hill and beate backe the Normans that forced themselues to win the hill of them so that it was long yer the Normans could preuaile being oftentimes driuen downe into the botome of the vallie beneath At length the Englishmen perceiuing themselues to be ouermatched and beaten downe on euerie side and therevnto greatlie discouraged with slaughter of their king began first to giue ground and after to scatter and to run away so that well was he that might then escape by flight When they had fought the most part of all that saturday the Normans followed the chase with such eger rashnesse that a great number of them falling with their horsses and armour into a blind ditch shadowed with reed and sedges which grew therein were smouldered and pressed to death yer they could be succoured or get anie reliefe The next day the Normans fell to gathering in the spoile of the field burieng also the dead bodies of their people that were slaine at the battell giuing licence in semblable manner to the Englishmen to doo the like Of the death of Harold diuerse report diuerslie in so much that Girald Cambrensis saith that after king Harold had receiued manie wounds and lost his left eie he fled from the field vnto the citie of Westchester and liued there long after an holie life as an anchoret in the cell of S. Iames fast by S. Iohns church and there made a godlie end But the saieng of Girald Cambren in that point is not to be credited bicause of the vnlikelihood of the thing it selfe and also generall consent of other writers who affirme vniuersallie that he was killed in the battell first being striken thorough the left eie by the scull into the braine with an arrow wherevpon falling from his horsse to the ground he was slaine in that place after he had reigned nine moneths and nine daies as Floriacensis dooth report He was a man of a comelie stature and of a hawtie courage albeit that for his valiancie he was highlie renowmed and honored of all men yet through his pride and ambition he lost the harts of manie There were slaine in this battell besides king Harold and his two brethren Girth and Leofrike what on the one side and on the other aboue twentie thousand men The bodie of king Harold being found among other slaine in the field was buried at Waltham within the monasterie of the holie crosse which he before had founded and indowed to the behoofe of such canons as he had placed there with faire possessions Uerelie as some old writers haue reported there was nothing in this man to be in anie wise dispraised if his ambitious mind could haue beene staied from coueting the kingdome and that he could haue béene contented to haue liued as subiect Among other manifest proofes of his high valiancie this is remembred of him that being sent against the Welshmen as before is partlie mentioned knowing their readie nimblenesse in seruice and how with their light armed men they were accustomed to annoie and distresse those that should assaile them he likewise to match them prepared light armed men for the purpose so being furnished with such bands of nimble men and light souldiers entered vpon the mounteins of Snowdon and there remained amongst the enimies for the space of two yéeres He sore afflicted the Welsh nation tooke their kings and sent their heads vnto the king that sent him about his businesse and proceeding in such rigorous maner as might mooue the hearers to lament and pitie the case he caused all the male kind that might be met with to be miserablie slaine and so with the edge of his swoord he brought the countrie to quiet and withall made this lawe that if anie Welshman from thencefoorth should presume to passe the limits ouer Offas ditch with anie weapon about him he should lose his right hand To conclude by the valiant conduct of this chieftaine the Welshmen were them so sore brought vnder than in maner the whole nation might séeme to faile and to be almost vtterlie destroied And therefore by permission of the king of England the women of Wales ioined themselues in marriage with Englishmen Finallie héereby the bloud of the Saxons ceassed to reigne in England after they had continued possession of the same from the first comming of Hengist which was about the yéere of our Sauiour 450 or 449 vntill that present yeere of king Harolds death which chanced in the yéere 1069. So that from the beginning of Hengist his reigne vnto Harolds death are reckoned 916 yéeres or after some 617 as by the supputation of the time will easilie appeere By all the which time there reigned kings of the Saxons bloud within this land except that for the space of twentie yéeres and somewhat more the Danes had the dominion of the realme in their possession for there are reckoned from the beginning of K. Swaines reigne which was the first Dane that gouerned England vnto the last yéere of K. Hardicnute the last Dane that ruled heere 28 yéeres in which meane space Egelred recouering the kingdome reigned 2 yéeres then after him his sonne Edmund Ironside continued in the rule one yéere so that the Danes had the whole possession of the land but 25 yéeres in all Touching this alteration and others incident to this Iland read a short aduertisement annexed by waie of conclusion to this historie comprising a short summarie of the most notable conquests of this countrie one after an other by distances of times successiuelie The rule of this realme by Gods prouidence allotted to duke William his descent from Rollo the first duke of Normandie downewards to his particular linage he was base begotten vpon the bodie of Arlete duke Roberts concubine a pleasant speech of hirs to duke Robert on a time when he was to haue the vse of hir person a conclusion introductorie for the sequele of the chronicle from the said duke of Normandies coronation c with a summarie of the notable conquests of this Iland The twelfe Chapter NOw forsomuch as it pleased God by his hid and secret iudgement so to dispose the realme of England and in such wise as that the gouernance therof should fall after this maner into the hands of William duke of Normandie I haue thought good before I enter further into this historie being now come to the conquest of the realme
made by the foresaid duke of Normandie to set downe his pedegrée thereby to shew how he descended from the first duke of that countrie who was named Rollo and after by receiuing baptisme called Robert The said Rollo or Rou was sonne to a great lord in Denmarke called Guion who hauing two sons the said Rou and Gourin and being appointed to depart the countrie as the lots fell to him and other according to the maner there vsed in time when their people were increased to a greater number than the countrie was able to susteine refused to obeie that order and made warre there against the king who yet in the end by practise found meanes to slea the foresaid Guion and his sonne Gourin so that Rou or Rollo hauing thus lost his father and brother was compelled to forsake the countrie with all those that had holpe his father to make warre against the king Thus driuen to séeke aduentures at length he became a christian and was created duke of Normandie by gift of Charles king of France surnamed le Simple whose daughter the ladie Gilla he also maried but she departing this life without issue he maried Popée daughter to the earle of Bessin and Baieulx whome he had kept as his wife before he was baptised and had by hir a sonne named William Longespée and a daughter named Gerlota William Longespée or Longaspata had to wife the ladie Sporta daughter to Hubert earle of Senlis by whome he had issue Richard the second of that name duke of Normandie who married the ladie Agnes the daughter of Hugh le grand earle of Paris of whome no issue procéeded but after hir deceasse he maried to his second wife a gentlemwoman named Gonnor daughter to a kinght of the Danish line by whom he had thrée sonnes Richard that was after duke of Normandie the third of that name Robert and Mauger He had also by hir three daughters Agnes otherwise called Emma married first to Egelred king of England and after to K. Cnute Helloie otherwise Alix bestowed vpon Geffrey earle of Britaine and Mawd coupled in marriage with Euldes earle of Charters and Blais Richard the third of that name maried Iudith sister to Geffrey earle of Britaine by whome he had issue thrée sonnes Richard Robert and William and as manie daughters Alix married to Reignold earle of Burgogne Elenor married to Baldwine earle of Flanders and the third died yoong being affianced to Alfonse king of Nauarre Their mother deceassed after she had beene married ten yéeres and then duke Richard married secondlie the ladie Estric sister to Cnute king of England and Denmarke from whome he purchased to be diuorsed and then married a gentlewoman called Pauie by whome he had issue two sonnes William earle of Arques and Mauger archbishop of Rouen Richard the fourth of that name duke of Normandie eldest sonne to Richard the third died without issue and then his brother Robert succéeded in the estate which Robert begat vpon Arlete or Harleuina daughter to a burgesse of Felais William surnamed the bastard afterward duke of Normandie and by conquest king of England Of whose father duke Robert his paramour Arlete take this pleasant remembrance for a refection after the perusing of the former sad and sober discourses In the yéere of Christ 1030 Robert the second sonne of Richard the second duke of Normandie and brother to Richard the third duke of that name there hauing with great honour and wisedome gouerned his duke dome seuen yéeres for performance of a penance that he had set to himselfe appointed a pilgrimage to Ierusalem leauing behind him this William a yoong prince whome seuen yeeres before he had begotten vpon his paramour Arlete whom after he held as his wife with whose beautifull fauour louelie grace and presence at hir dansing on a time then as he was tenderlie touched for familiar vtterance of his mind what he had further to say would néeds that night she should be his bedfellow who else as wiuelesse should haue lien alone where when she was bestowed thinking that if she should haue laid hir selfe naked it might haue séemed not so maidenlie a part so when the duke was about as the maner is to haue ãâã vp hir linnen the in an humble modestie staid hir lords hand and rent downe hir smocke asunder from the collar to the verie skirt Heereat the duke all smiling did aske hir what thereby she ment In great lowlines with a feate question she answerd againe My lord were it méet that any part of my garments dependant about me downeward should presume to be mountant to my souereignes mouth vpward Let your grace pardon me He liked hir answer and so and so foorth for that time This duke before his voiage calling at Fiscam all his nobilitie vnto him caused them to sweare fealtie vnto his yoong sonne Willliam whome he then at his iournie betooke vnto the gouernance of earle Gilbert and the defense of the gouernance vnto Henrie the French king So Robert passing foorth in his pilgrimage shewed in euerie place and in all points a magnanimitie and honour of a right noble prince and pleasant withall who once in Iurie not well at ease in a litter was borne toward Ierusalem vpon Saracens shoulders méeting with a subiect of his that was going home toward Normandie Friend quoth he if my people at thy returne aske after me tell them that thou sawest their lord carried to heauen by diuels The Norman nobilitie during duke Roberts life did their dutie to the yoong prince faithfullie but after they heard of his fathers death they slackened apace euerie one shifting for himselfe as he list without anie regard either of oth or obedience toward the pupill their souereigne Whereby not manie yéeres after as Gilbert the gouernour by Rafe the childes coosine germane was slaine the dukedome anon by murther and fighting among themselues was sore troubled in all parts Thus much a litte of duke Robert the father and of prince William his sonne for part of his tender yéeres A notable aduertisement touching the summe of all the foresaid historie wherein the foure great and notable conquests of this land are brieflie touched being a conclusion introductorie as is said in the argument IN the former part of this historie it is manifest to the heedfull reader that after the opinion of most writers Brute did first inhabit this land and called it then after his owne name Britaine in the yéere after the creation of the world 2855 and in the yéere before the incarnation of Christ 1108. ¶ Furthermore the said land of Britaine was conquered by C. Iulius Cesar and made tributarie to the Romans in the 50 yéere before the natiuitie of Christ and so continued 483 yéeres So that the Britains reigned without tribute and vnder tribute from Brute vntill the fourth yeere of the reigne of king Cadwalladar which was in the yéere of our Lord
686. And so the Britains had continuance of the gouernement of this land the space of 1794 yéeres Then was the realme of Britaine an heptarchie that is diuided into seuen kingdoms And Britaine receiued the faith of Christ in the 7 yéere of the reigne of king Lucius which was in the 187 yéere after the birth of Christ. ¶ Next after the Britains entered the Saxons in the third yéere of king Uortiger and in the yéere of our Lord 450 and they gouerned vntill the last yéere of king Athelstane which was in the yéere of Christ 938. So that the time of the Saxons first entrance into this realme and the time of their regiment was the space of 487 yéeres ¶ Howbeit in the time of their gouernement that is to say in the 9 yéere of king Britricus which was in the yéere of our Lord 387 the Danes entred into this land spoiling and persecuting the people therin most gréeuouslie At the last Sweno or Swaine the Dane obteined possession roiall in the yéere of Grace 1012 whose time of regiment lasted about three yéeres After whom his sonne Canutus succéeded and reigned 19 yéeres After him Harold his sonne who ruled thrée yeeres and after him Hardicnute the sonne of Canutus whose gouernement continued but thrée yeeres This Hardicnute was the last king of the Danes at which time the Danes were expelled and hunted out of the realme which was in the yeere of our Lord 1042. So that it may appeare by this collection that the Danes ruled as kings in this land by the space of 28 yéeres Hereby also it is euident that from the time of the first entrance of the Danes into this realme vntill their last expulsion riddance was 255 yéeres ¶ Finallie the Normans entred this land likewise and conquered the same as before is expressed in the yéere of our Lord 1067 which is since vntill this present yéere of our Lord 1585 drawing néere to the number of 600 and od yéeres Now let these alterations of regiments be remembred touching the which read a notable animaduersion in the description of Britaine pag. 28 29 and teach vs that therein the iudgements of God reuealed themselues to speciall purposes And whatsoeuer hath béene mentioned before either concerning the subuersion of people the desolation of prouinces the ouerthrow of nobles the ruine of princes and other lamentable accidents diuerslie happening vpon sundrie occasions let vs I say as manie as will reape fruit by the reading of chronicles imagine the matters which were so manie yéeres past to be present and applie the profit and commoditie of the same vnto our selues knowing as one wisely said Post sacram paginam chronica viâum veritatis typum gerere that next vnto the holie scripture chronicles doo carit credit But now to the sequele and first to duke William of Normandie Thus farre the historie of England from Noah and his sonnes c to William duke of Normandie Hereafter followeth a chronologicall continuation beginning at the first yeere of the said dukes reigne ouer this land vntill the 25 yeere of the Queenes most excellent maiestie Elizabeth c whose daies God in mercie prolong like the daies of heauen in peace and prosperitie c. Wil. Conqu Wil. Rufus Henricus 1. Stephanus Henricus 2. Richardus 1. Ioannes Henricus 3. Eduardus 1. Eduardus 2. Eduardus 3. Richardus 2. Henricus 4. Henricus 5. Henricus 6. Eduardus 4. Eduardus 5. Richardus 3. Henricus 7. Henricus 8. Eduardus 6. Phil. Mar. Elisabeth Loydus Lelandus Prisius Stous Holinshedius Lambardus Morus Camdenus Thinnius Hallus Vocalis aliâs Hookerus Graftonus Foxius Harrisonus Hardingus Gildas Staniherstus Beda Neuillus Flemingus Parkerus Noah first diuided the earth among his sonnes The diuision of the earth not yet certeinâie knowne Uariance among the writers about the diuision of the earth The earth diuided into fiue parts whereas Belforrest hath but foure in Prefat lib. 4. Cape di bonâ Speranzae The formâ of the fift part Unto what portion Britaine is referred How Britaine lieth from the maine The longitude and latitude of this I le Longest day The compasse of Britaine The ãâã Promontories of Britaine The distaÌce from the maine Dis Samothes Neptimus Marioticus The first conquest of Britaine Britaine vnder the Celts 341. yeares Neptune God of the sea The maner of dressing of ships in old time Lestrigo Ianigenes were the posteritie of Noah in Italie Neptune had xxxiii sonnes Lomnimi Geriones Galathea Galates or Kelts Bergion Pomponius Mela cap. de Gallia Strabo lib. 4. Yet Timeus Ephorus and some of the Grecians know the name Britannia as appeareth also by Diodorus c before the comming of Cesar. Of this opinion is Belforest lib. 3. cap. 44. Samotheans Britains Chemminits Romans Scots Picts Of the Picts The hurt by forren aid Danes The Normans The cause of the conquest by the Normans Archbishop of Can. exiled and the rest of the French Erle Goodwine slandered by the French writers The miserie of the English vnder the French The cause of our miserie In this voiage the said Harald builded Portaschith which Caradoch ap Griffin afterward ouerthrew and killed the garrison that Harald left therein * Esay 30. vers 25. Antheus Lucane lib. 4. in fine Corineus Gomagot Cap. 6. vers 5. Anti. li. 1. ââ cap. 13. verse 33 34. Deut. 3. vers 11. Og of Basan Cap 17. ver 4 5 6. Goliah Cap. 21. ver 26 17 c. De ciuitate Dei lib. 15. cap. 9. Iohannes Boccacius A carcase discouered of 200. cubits Mat. Westmon Iohannes Leland Mafieus Lib. 14. Triuet Mat. West Hector Boet. Geruasius Tilberiensis Sir Thomas Eliot Leland in Combrit Richard Grafton The Symmetrie or proportion of the bodie of a comelie man Syluester Gyraldus Constans fama Gallorum Briat In vita Seriorij de Antheo Philostrate Lib. 7. Trallianus A mouth of sixteene foot wide A counterfect made of a monstrous carcase by one tooth taken out of the head This man was more fauorable to this monster than our papists were to the bodies of the dead who tare them in peeces to make money of them Grandiáque effossis mirabitur ossa sepulchris Vis vnita fortior est eadem dispersa Cap. 3 36. 4. Esd. cap. 5. British Small difference betweene the British and Celtike languages British corrupted by the Latine and Saxon speeches The Britons diligent in petigrees Latine The Saxon toong The French toong The helpers of our English toong Englishmen apt to learne any forren toong The Cornish toong Scottish english The wild Scots Redshanks Rough footed Scots Irish scots Irish speech Britaine at the first one entire kingdome Wales diuided into three kingdomes Gâinhed Venedotia Anglesei Arfon Merioneth Stradcluyd or Tegenia Powisy Bangor Mailrosse Fowkes de Warren Helene Mellent The originall of Fitz-Henries Demetia Cair Maridunum Pictland Scotland Picts Scots Kent Henghist South sax Esta Eastsaâ Erkenwiin Westsax Cerdiic Brennicia alià s Northumberland Ida. Deira
bread is verie ill kept or not at all looked vnto in the countrie townes and markets Browne bread Panis Cibarius Summer wheat and winâer barâeie verie rare in England Drinke Malt. Making of malt Bruing of beere Charwoore Cider Perrie Metheglin Mead. Hydromel Lesse time spent in eating than heretofore Canutus a glutton but the Normans at the last excéeded him in that vice Long sitting reprehended * That is at thrée of the clocke at afternoone Li. 4. epig. 8. Andrew Boord Strange cuâs Much cost vpon the bodie and little vpon the soule Beards Excesse in women Ezeâh 16. Attire of merchants The parlement house diuideth the estate of the realme into nobilitie and the commons Time of summons Of the vpper house Places of the peeres Of the lower house Speaker Petitions of the speaker Clerke of the parlement Of the nether house Samothes Albion Brute Mulmutius The praise of Dunwallon Martia Martian law Saxon law Dane law Ordalian law Fire Water The cup yet in vse Water Ciuill law Canon law Lawiers of England not alwaies constant in iudgment Parlement law Number of congregates in the parlement Common law Customarie law Prescription Terme Deceipt Manie of our lawiers stoope not at small fées Poore men contentious Promooters séeke matters to set lawiers on worke withall The times of our termes no hinderance to iustice Thrée sorts of poore A thing often séene At whose hands shall the bloud of these men be required Thomas Harman Halifax law Mute Cleargie Pirats Three things greatlie amended in England Chimnies Hard lodging Furniture of household This was is the time of generall idlenesse By the yeare Six and twentie cities in England Sitomagus Nouiomagus Neomagus Niomagus Salisburie of Sarron Sarronium Sarrous burg Greater cities in times past when husbandmen also were citizens The cause of the increase of villages Leouitius placeth yorke in Scotland de eclipsibus A legion conteined sixtie centuries thirtie manipuli thrée cohortes Cair Segent stood vpon the Thames not farre from Reding When Albane was martyred Asclepiodotus was legat in Britaine Sullomaca and Barnet all one or not far in sunder This soundeth like a lie The best keepers of kingdomes The wandles in time past were called windles King Hen. 8. not inferior to Adrian and Iustiman White hall S. Iames. Oteland Ashridge Hatfield Enuéeld Richmond Hampton Woodstocke ãâã Gréenewich Dartford Eltham Of the court ãâ¦ã Traines of attendants Striking within the court and palace of the prince ãâ¦ã The Britons fasted all the while they were at the sea in these ships Suborned bodgers Bodgers licenced Tillage and mankind diminished by parkes The decaie of the people is the destruction of a kingdome Gipping of going vp to anie place Pegened Lespegend Nunc sortè Tringald Ealdermen Tineman Michni Hundred law Warscot Muchehunt Ofgangfordell Purgatio ignis triplex ordaliâ Pegen Forathe Helfehang Pere Pite Gethbrech Ealderman Staggon or Stagge Frendlesman Bubali olim in Anglia Ilices aliquando in BritaÌnia nisi intelligatur de quercu Greihounds Uelter Langeran Ramhundt Pretium hominis mediocris Pretium liberi hominis Great abundance of wood sometime in England Desire of much wealth and ease abateth manhood ouerthroweth a manlie courage The like haue I séene where hens doo féed vpon the tender blades of garlike * This gentleman caught such an heate with this sore loade that he was faine to go to Rome for physicke yet it could not saue his life but hée must néeds die homewards Marises and tennes Chap. 25. The Pyritis is found almost in euerie veine of mettall in great plentie diuersities and colour and somtimes mixed with that mettall of whose excrements it consisteth Crosse bath Common bath King bath Hot houses in some countâres little âetter than brodels Colour of the water of the baths Taste of the water Fall or issue of the water Hot good to enter into baths at all seasons Sterbirie a place where en armie hath lien Copper monie Siluer restored Old gash New gold Oxen. Athenaeus lib. 10. cap. 8. Horsses Geldings Shéepe Shéepe without hornes Goats Swine Bores Brawne of the bore Baked hog Flat fish Round fish Long fish Legged fish Woolfes Tribute of woolfes skins Foxes Badgers Beuers Marterns Stags Hinds haue béene milked * Galenus de Theriaca ad Pisonem * Plin. lib. 10. cap. 62. Adder or viper Sée Aristotle Animalium lib. 5. cap. vltimo Theophrast lib. 7. cap. 13. Snakes Sol. cap. 40. Plin. lib. 37. cap. 11. Todes Frogs Sloworme Efts. Swifts Flies Cutwasted whole bodied Hornets Waspes Honie Sée Diodorus Siculus Homelie kind of dogs Tie dogs Some ãâ¦ã Some bite and barke not Occasion of the name Paung Gathering Sée ãâã Raising The lord Mountioy Gold Siluer Tin Lead Iron Copper Stéele Geat Laon. Chalchonvtle Triall of a stone Lib. 7. A common plague in all things of anie great commoditie for one beateth the bush but another catcheth the birds as we may see in batfowling Priuileges doo somtimes harme Night Vesper Crepusculum Concubium Intempestum Gallicinium Conticinium Matutinum Diluculum Watches Houre weeke * Ferias Moneth Triuethus in Antartico Britannia Pag. 5 6 7 8 15. 16 28 29 of the description and pag. 202 of the historie of England The originall of nations for the most part vncerteine whither Britaine were an Iland at the first Geog. com lib. No Ilands at the first as some coniecture In the first part of the acts of the English votaries Britaine inhabited before the floud Genesis 6 Berosus ant lib. â Noah In comment super 4. lib. Berosus de antiquit lib. 1. Annisus vt supr Iaphet and his sonnes Iohannes Bodinus ad fac hist. cogn Franciscus Tarapha Britaine inhabited shortlie after the floud Theophilus episcop Antioch ad Anâol lib. 2. The words of Theophilus a doctor of the church who liued an Dom. 160. Gen. 2. De migr gen Cent. 1. Anti. lib. 1. Bale script Brit. cent 1. Caesar commenâ lib. 8. In epithes temp De aequiuocis contra Appionem Lib. de Magic success lib. 22. Script Brit. cent 1. De ant Cant. cent lib. 1. This I le called Samothes Magus the son of Samothes Lib. 9. Annius in coâ men super ââdem Geogr. De diui lib. 1. DE fastis li. 5. H. F. Sarron the sonne of Magus De ant Cant. lib. 1. Bale script Brit. cent 1. Lib. 6. Druis the son of Sarron De morte Claud Anti. lib. 5. Annius super euândem De bello Gallico lib. 9. De belio Gallico 6 Hist. an lib. 1. De diui lib. 1. Hiât Sâoti li. 2. Demigr gen ãâã 2. Marcellinus Anna. B oiorum lib. 22. De ant Caut. Bardus the sonne of Druis Berosus ani lib. 2. Annius in comâen super eurâdem Ant. Cant. li. 1. script Britain cent 1 Nonnius Marcel Strabo Diodor. Sicul. lib. 6. âarol Stepha ân dict hist. Bale Iohn Prise Lucan lib. 1. H. F. Iohn Bale script Britan. cent 2. Iohn Prise defen hist. Brit. Caius de ant Cant lib. 1. Iohn Leland syllab an
vnto the possession of the crowne they were so prouidentlie called to remembrance and such spéedie reformation sought of all hands for the redresse of this inconuenience that our countrie was sooner furnished with armour and munition from diuerse parts of the maine beside great plentie that was forged here at home than our enimies could get vnderstanding of anie such prouision to be made By this policie also was the no small hope conceiued by Spaniards vtterlie cut off who of open fréends being now become our secret enimies and thereto watching a time wherein to atchieue some heauie exploit against vs and our countrie did there vpon change their purposes whereby England obteined rest that otherwise might haue béene sure of sharpe and cruell wars Thus a Spanish word vttered by one man at one time ouerthrew or at the least wise hindered sundrie priuie practises of manie at another In times past the chéefe force of England consisted in their long bowes But now we haue in maner generallie giuen ouer that kind of artillerie and for long bowes in déed doo practise to shoot compasse for our pastime which kind of shooting can neuer yéeld anie smart stroke nor beat downe our enimies as our countrie men were woont to doo at euerie time of néed Certes the Frenchmen and Rutters deriding our new archerie in respect of their corslets will not let in open skirmish if anie leisure serue to turne vp their tailes and crie Shoote English and all bicause our strong shooting is decaied and laid in bed But if some of our Englishmen now liued that serued king Edward the third in his warres with France the bréech of such a varlet should haue beene nailed to his bum with one arrow and an other fethered in his bowels before he should haue turned about to sée who shot the first But as our shooting is thus in manner vtterlie decaied among vs one waie so our countrie men wex skilfull in sundrie other points as in shooting in small péeces the caliuer and handling of the pike in the seuerall vses whereof they are become verie expert Our armour differeth not from that of other nations and therefore consisteth of corslets almaiâe riuets shirts of maile iackes quilted and couered ouer with leather fustian or canuas ouer thicke plates of iron that are sowed in the same of which there is no towne or village that hath not hir conuenient furniture The said armour and munition likewise is kept in one seuerall place of euerie towne appointed by the consent of the whole parish where it is alwaies readie to be had and worne within an houres warning Sometime also it is occupied when it pleaseth the magistrate either to view the able men take note of the well kéeping of the same or finallie to sée those that are inrolled to exercise each one his seuerall weapon at the charge of the townesmen of each parish according to his appointment Certes there is almost no village so poore in England be it neuer so small that hath not sufficient furniture in a readinesse to set foorth thrée or foure soldiors as one archer one gunner one pike a bilman at the least No there is not so much wanting as their verie liueries and caps which are least to be accounted of if anie hast required so that if this good order may continue it shall be vnpossible for the sudden enimie to find vs vnprouided As for able men for seruice thanked be God we are not without good store for by the musters taken 1574 and 1575 our number amounted to 1172674 and yet were they not so narrowlie taken but that a third part of this like multitude was left vnbilled and vncalled What store of munition and armour the quéenes maiestie hath in hir store-houses it lieth not in me to yéeld account sith I suppose the same to be infinit And whereas it was commonlie said after the losse of Calis that England should neuer recouer the store of ordinance there lest and lost that same is at this time prooued false sith euen some of the same persons doo now confesse that this land was neuer better furnished with these things in anie kings daies that reigned since the conquest The names of our greatest ordinance are commonlie these Robinet whose weight is two hundred pounds and it hath one inch and a quarter within the mouth Falconet weigheth fiue hundred pounds and his widenesse is two inches within the mouth Falcon hath eight hundred pounds and two inches and a halfe within the mouth Minion poiseth eleauen hundred pounds and hath thrée inches and a quarter within the mouth Sacre hath fiftéene hundred poundes and is three inches and a halfe wide in the mouth Demie Culuerijn weigheth three thousand pounds and hath foure inches and a halfe within the mouth Culuerijn hath foure thousand pounds and fiue inches and an halfe within the mouth Demie Canon six thousand pounds and six inches and an halfe within the mouth Canon seauen thousand pounds and eight inches within the mouth E. Canon eight thousand pounds and seauen inches within the mouth Basiliske 9000 pounds eight inches and thrée quarters within the mouth By which proportions also it is easie to come by the weight of euerie shot how manie scores it doth flée at point blanke how much pouder is to be had to the same finallie how manie inches in height ech bullet ought to carrie The names of the greatest ordinance  Weight of the shot Scores of cariage Pounds of pouder Height of bullet Robinet hath 1. li. 0 ½ 1 Falconet 2. li. 14 2 1 2 4 Falcon. 2. ½ 16 2 ½ 2 ¼ Minion 4. ½ 17 4 ½ 3 Sacre 5 18 5 3 ¼ Demie Culuerijn 9 20 9 4 Culuerijn 18 25 18 5 ¼ Demie canon 30 38 28 6 ¼ Canon 60 20 44 7 ¾ E. Canon 42 20 20 6 ¾ Basiliske 60 21 60 8 ¼ I might here take iust occasion to speake of the princes armories But what shall it néed sith the whole realme is hir armorie and therefore hir furniture infinit The Turke had one gun made by one Orban a Dane the caster of his ordinance which could not be drawen to the siege of Constantinople but by seauentie yokes of oxen and two thousand men he had two other there also whose shot poised aboue two talents in weight made by the same Orban But to procéed As for the armories of some of the nobilitie whereof I also haue séene a part they are so well furnished that within some one barons custodie I haue séene thrée score or a hundred corslets at once beside caliuers handguns bowes sheffes of arrowes pikes bils polaxes flaskes touchboxes targets c the verie sight wherof appalled my courage What would the wearing of some of them doo then trow you if I should be inforced to vse one of them in the field But thanked be God our peaceable daies are such as no man hath anie great cause to occupie them at all but
onelie taketh good leisure to haue them in a readinesse and therefore both high and lowe in England Cymbalae pro galeis pro scutis tympanaâ pulsant I would write here also of our maner of going to the warres but what hath the long blacke gowne to doo with glistering armour what sound acquaintance can there be betwixt Mars and the Muses or how should a man write anie thing to the purpose of that wherewith he is nothing acquainted This neuerthelesse will I adde of things at home that seldome shall you sée anie of my countriemen aboue eightéene or twentie yéeres old to go without a dagger at the least at his backe or by his side although they be aged burgesses or magistrates of anie citie who in appeerance are most exempt from brabling and contention Our nobilitie weare commonlie swords or rapiers with their daggers as dooth euerie common seruing man also that followeth his lord and master Some desperate cutters we haue in like sort which carrie two daggers or two rapiers in a sheath alwaies about them wherewith in euerie dronken fraie they are knowen to worke much mischiefe their swords daggers also are of a great length and longer than the like vsed in anie other countrie whereby ech one pretendeth to haue the more aduantage of his enimie But as manie orders haue béene taken for the intollerable length of these weapons so I sée as yet small redresse but where the cause thereof doth rest in sooth for my part I wote not I might here speake of the excessiue staues which diuerse that trauell by the waie doo carrie vpon their shoulders whereof some are twelue or thirtéene foote long beside the pike of twelue inches but as they are commonlie suspected of honest men to be theeues and robbers or at the leastwise scarse true men which beare them so by reason of this and the like suspicious weapons the honest traueller is now inforced to ride with a case of dags at his sadle bow or with some pretie short snapper whereby he may deale with them further off in his owne defense before he come within the danger of these weapons Finallie no man trauelleth by the waie without his sword or some such weapon with vs except the minister who coÌmonlie weareth none at all vnlesse it be a dagger or hanger at his side Seldome also are they or anie other waifaring men robbed without the consent of the chamberleine tapster or ostler where they bait lie who féeling at their alighting whether their capcases or budgets be of anie weight or not by taking them downe from their sadles or otherwise see their store in drawing of their purses do by and by giue intimation to some one or other attendant dailie in the yard or house or dwelling hard by vpon such matches whether the preie be worth the following or no. If it be for their turne then the gentleman peraduenture is asked which waie he trauelleth and whether it please him to haue another ghest to beare him companie at supper who rideth the same waie in the morning that he doth or not And thus if he admit him or be glad of his acquaintance the cheate is halfe wrought And often it is séene that the new ghest shall be robbed with the old onelie to colour out the matter and kéepe him from suspicion Sometimes when they knowe which waie the passenger trauelleth they will either go before and lie in wait for him or else come galloping apace after wherby they will be sure if he ride not the stronger to be fingering with his purse And these are some of the policies of such shrews or close booted gentlemen as lie in wait for fat booties by the high waies and which are most commonlie practised in the winter season about the feast of Christmas when seruing men and vnthriftie gentlemen want monie to plaie at the dice and cards lewdlie spending in such wise whatsoeuer they haue wickedlie gotten till some of them sharplie set vpon their cheuisances be trussed vp in a Tiburne tippet which happeneth vnto them commonlie before they come to middle age Wherby it appéereth that some sort of youth will off haue his swinge although it be in a halter I might also intreat of our old maner of warfare vsed in and before the time of Cesar when as the cheefe brunt of our fight was in Essedis or wagons but this I also passe ouer noting neuerthelesse out of Propertius that our said wagons were gorgeous and gailie painted which he setteth downe in these foure verses insuing Arethusae ad Lycotam lib. 4. eleg 3. Te modò viderunt iteratos Bactra per ortus Te modò munito Sericus hostis equo HibernÃque Getae pictóque Brittannia curru Vstus Eoa discolor Indus aqua Of the nauie of England Chap. 17. THere is nothing that hath brought me into more admiration of the power and force of antiquitie than their diligence and care had of their nauies wherein whether I consider their spéedie building or great number of ships which some one kingdome or region possessed at one instant it giueth me still occasion either to suspect the historie or to thinke that in our times we come verie farre behind them For what a thing is it to haue a ship growing on the stub and sailing on the sea within the space of fiue and fiftie daies And yet such a nauie was to be séene in the first war of Carthage led thither by Duellius the Romane In the warres also against Hieron two hundred and twentie tall ships bare leafe saile within fiue and fortie daies In the second warre of Carthage the nauie that went with Scipio was felled in the wood and séeme to saile on the sea fullie furnished in sixe weekes which vnto them that are ignorant of things doth séeme to be false and vnpossible In like maner for multitude we find in Polybius that at one skirmish on the sea the Romans lost seauen hundred vessels which bare ech of them fiue rowes of ores on a side and the Carthaginenses fiue hundred And albeit the formes and apparell of these vessels were not altogither correspondent to our ships and gallies made in these daies yet the capacitie of most of them did not onelie match but farrre excéed them so that if one of their biremes onlie conteined so much in burden as a ship of ours of six hundred tun what shall we thinke of those which had seauen rowes of ores walking on a side But least I should séeme to speake more of these forren things than the course of the historie doth permit without licence to digresse giue me leaue I be séech thee gentle reader to wade yet a little further in the report of these ancient formes kinds of vessels For albeit that the discourse hereof maketh little to the description of our present nauie in England yet shall the report thereof not be vnprofitable and vnpleasant to such as shall reade among the writings of