The Unfortunate Court-Favourites OF ENGLAND Exemplified In some Remarks upon the Lives Actions and Fatal Fall of divers Great Men who have been Favourites to several English Kings and Queens Namely I. Peirce Gaveston Earl of Cornwall II. Hugh Spencer Earl of Winchester â—II Hugh Spencer the Son E. of Glorester â—V Roger Mortimer Earl of March V. Henry Stafford Duke of Buckingham VI. Thomas Woolsey Cardinal of York VII Thomas Cromwell Earl of Essex VIII Robert Devereux Earl of Essex IX George Villiers Duke of Buckingham X. Thomas Wentworth Earl of Stafford By R. B. LONDON Printed for Nath. Crouch at the Bell in the Poultrey 〈◊〉 Cheapside 1695. The Kings and Queens of England to whom the following Unfortunate Great Men were Favourites I. PEirce Gaveston Earl of Cornwal Favourite to King Edward II. II III. Hugh Spencer the Father and Hugh Spencer the Son both Favourites to King Edward II. IV. Roger Mortimer Earl of March Favourite to Queen Isabel Widow to King Edward II. and Mother to King Edward III. V. Henry Stafford Duke of Buckingham Favourite to King Richard III. VI. Thomas Woolsey Cardinal of York Favourite to King Henry VIII VII Thomas Cromwel Earl of Essex Favourite to King Henry VIII VIII Robert Devereux Earl of Essex Favourite to Queen Elizabeth IX George Villiers Duke of Buckingham Favourite to King Charles I. and King James I X. Thomas Wentworth Earl of Stafford Favourite to King Charles I. To the Reader NOthing is more obvious than that Ambition Envy and Emulation are the usual Attendants on the Courts of Princes and that the effects of them have been often very fatal to many Great Men who had the fortune to have a larger share in their Masters affections than others It is likewise as notorious That there are certain Crises of Government wherein Princes have been obliged to Sacrifice their darling Ministers either to their own safety or to the importunity of their People Lastly it is as evident That some Court-Favourites have justly merited the unhappy Fate they met with for their many Rapines Insolencies and Enormities as that others have been ruined meerly from the Caprichio or inconstant Temper of the Prince whom they served Of all these in my opinion the ensuing Favourites are pregnant Instances But I shall leave the Reader to particularise them according to his own Judgment and will only add That they are not all to be condemned as Criminal meerly because they all happened to be unfortunate R. B. Remarks on the Life Actions and Fatal Fall of Peirce Gavestone Earl of Cornwall and Favourite to King Edward the Second THAT Unhappy Prince Edward the 2d was certainly the most Unfortunate in his Favourites of any King of England either before or fince his Reign The first and Fatal Favourite he had was in his Youth before he came to the Crown whose name was Peirce Gaveston born in Gascoigne a Province of France and for the good Service performed by his Father in the Wars in that Kingdom his Son was taken into such Favour at Court that by K. Edward the First 's own appointment he was Educated and made a Companion to the young Prince And indeed his outward Accomplishments seemed to render him worthy of such great Honour being a Person of a sharp Wir an excellent Shape and of a valiant Temper of which he gave notable proof in a Battel against the Scots and for which they afterward bore him a mortal Hatred But all these worthy Qualities were utterly defac'd and clouded by his vicious Incliâ—ations so that as to his Christian and Moral Vertues which are only really commendable in Men Authors are very silent in mentioning them though all give large accounts of his Faults and Immoraâ—ities And King Edward was so sensible that his Son the Prince had been debauched by the corrupt Conversation of Gavestone that some time before his Death he was banished the Kingdom And upon his Death-bed commanding the Prince his Son to repair to him with all speed to Carlisle in Cumberland where he was with a great Army ready to invade Scotland He gave him many worthy Admonitions and much good Advice particularly That he should be merciful just and kind faithful in word and deed an incourager of those that were good and ready to relieve those that were in distress That he should be loving to his two Brothers Thomas and Edmund but especially to honour and respect his Mother Queen Margaret That upon pain of his Malediction and Curse he should not presume without common consent to recall Peirce Gavestone from Exile who for abusing his tender Years with wicked practices by common Decree of the Nobility was banished He also added a strange Injunction for a dying man namely That after his Death the Prince should not presume to take the Crown of England till he had honourably revenged the Injuries his Father had received from the Scots and finisht the present Expedition against them and that he should carry his Father's Bones about with him in a Coffin till he had marched through all Scotland and subdued all his Enemies assuring him that while they were with him he should be always victorious Lastly Whereas by the continual Attempts of Bruce King of Scotland he was prevented from performing his Vow of going in Person for the recovery of Jerusalem and the Holy Land from the Infidels that he should send his Heart thither accompanied with 140 Knights and their Retinue for whose support he had provided Thirty two thousand pounds of Silver That after his Heart was conveyed thither he hoped in God all things would prosper with them Adjuring the Prince upon pain of Eternal Damnation that he should not expend the Money upon any other use After these Admonitions and having taken an Oath of this vain Young Prince to perform his Will he gave up the Ghost After his Father's Death the Son soon made it appear how little regard he had to perform his dying Requests and to shew what his future Behaviour was like to be he in the first place revenged himself upon Walter Langton Bishop of Chester Lord Treasurer of England and Principal Executor of his Father's Last Will whom he imprisoned in Wallingford Castle seizing upon all his Estate no man daring to intercede on his behalf because of the extream hatred which the King shewed against him the Bishop's Crime being only in using a modest freedom in K. Edward's days in gravely reproving 〈…〉 for his 〈◊〉 meanours and not suffering him to have what 〈…〉 he required to waste prodigally upon his 〈…〉 Gavestone against whom he likewise made such great and just Complaints as occasioned the imprisonment of the Prince the banishment of his leud Favourite Soon after the young King married Isabel Daughter to Philip the Fair of France the March being concluded before his Father's death and was now performed with extraordinary Magnificence at Bullen At which Solemnity there were five Kings namely Philip the French King the
consent to the Murther of them However he fell by the same hand that advanced him to be his chief Favourite and Privado And though King Richard now Triumph'd over his Enemies yet in a very short time he lost both his Crown and Life in one day the foundation of his Ruin having been first laid by this unprosperous Conspiracy against him For a while after he was Slain in a Battle at Bosworth in Leicester shire by Henry Earl of Richmond who succeeded him by the name of King Henry the Seventh Remarks upon the Life Actions and Fall of Thomas Woolsey Cardinal of York Favourite to King Henry VIII THE Magnanimity of Spirit which appeared in the Life and Actions of this Great Cardinal doth clearly evince that Persons of Mean Birth may be indued with as generous and lofty Sentiments and be possessors of as much Grandure of Soul as those of Noble Descent which occasioned some to alledge that he must needs be the By-blow of some Prince and not the Issue of such mean Parents as his were generally reckoned For all Historians relate that he was the Son of an honest poor Butcher at Ipswich in Suffolk who in his Childhood being very apt to learn his Father with the assistance of Friends sent him to a Grammar School from whence he in a short time went to the University of Oxford where he was so great a Proficient that at Fifteen Years Old he was made Batchellour of Arts and therefore called the Boy Batchellour He was after made Fellow of Magdalen College and Master of Magdalen School and had the Education of the Marquess of Dorset's Sons committed to him by whose care they so well 〈…〉 in Learning that the Marquess bestowed 〈…〉 in his gift upon this Ingenious School-Maste◠〈…〉 left his Fellowship and came to reside in his Living Where he had not been long when one Sir James Pawlet upon some displeasure set him in the Stocks which affront was not forgotten nor forgiven by Woolsey Who when by the mighty favour of Fortune he came to be Lord Chancellour of England he sent for Sir James and after having sharply reproved him enjoined him not to stir out of the Middle-Temple without Special License from himself which he could not obtain in Six Year time After the Death of the Marquess of Dorset from whom he expected higher preferment his towring thoughts aimed at some greater imployment and since he found he must now make his own Fortune he resolved to take all opportunities to advance himself To this end he became acquainted with one Sir John Naphant an Ancient Noble Knight formerly Treasurer of Callice under King Henry VII to whom he was Chaplain and by his Wisdom and Discretion gained such favour with his Master that he committed all the care and charge of his Office to his Chaplain At length being discharged of his Imployment for his great Age he returned into England but retained so much kindness for Woolsey that by his Interest at Court he procured him to be made one of the Chaplains to King Henry VIII Having thus cast Anchor in the Port of Preferment he rose amain for he had opportunity hereby to be dayly in the King's Eye by reason of his daily attendance and saying Mass before him in his Closet Neither did he squander away his leisure time but would commonly attend those Great Men who were in most favour and power with the King and among others Doctor Fox Lord Thomas Lovell Master of the Wards and Constable of the Tower who perceiving him to be a Man of a very acute wit thought 〈◊〉 a fit Instrument to be imployed in matters of 〈…〉 And King Henry having occasion to send an Ambassadour to Maximilian Emperour of Germany These two Grave Councellours recommended His Chaplain Woolsey to him as proper for so Honourable an Office The King instantly sent for him and discoursing with him about Matters of State he found him endued with so much Eloquence Learning Judgment and Modesty that he caused his Commission and Instructions to be drawn up with all speed Which having received he took his leave of the King at Richmond at Four a Clock in the Afternoon and in Three Hours arrived at Gravesend from thence he Rid Post to Dover and going a board the Passage-boat he arrived next Day before Noon at Callice and the same Night he made such haste that he came to the Emperour's Court at Brussels in Flanders Who having notice of this arrival of the King of England's Ambassadour out of great Affection to his Master gave him Audience the same Evening The Ambassadour having delivered his Message and Credentials and humbly desiring his speedy dismission the Emperour readily granted all his Master's Requests and fully dispatched him the next Day Hereupon he Rides back that Night Post to Callice being attended by several Noblemen by the Emperour's Order and came thither in the Morning before the Gates were opened and the Pacquet Boat being ready to go off he arrived at Dover by Eleven at Noon and the same Night came Post to Richmond and the next Morning presented himself to the King at his coming out of his Bed Chamber to Mass who checked him for not being upon his Journey May it please your Highness said he I have been with the Emperour already and I hope have dispatched my Embassy to your Graces Satisfaction The King admired at his Expedition Asking him whether he met with the Messenger sent after him before he thought him gone from London with further Instructions of weighty Consequence Yes said Woolsey I met with him Yesterday by the way and though I did know his Message yet presuming upon your Highness goodness and judging those Matters very necessary to be done I made bold to exceed my Commission and dispatch them for which I humbly beg your Majesties Pardon The King much pleased herewith replied We not only pardon you but give you also our Royal Thanks both for your discreet management and great Expedition Soon after the King bestowed on him the Deanery of Lincoln being one of the greatest Promotions under the degree of a Bishop and in a short time made him his Lord Almoner wherein he behaved himself with so much discretion that he was advanced to be one of the Lords of the Privy Council and King Henry bestowed on him Bridewell in Fleetstreet one of his Royal Houses for his Residence and Family and he was observed by the People to be a Rising Favourite For the King was Young and much given to pleasure and his Ancient Councellours advising to be sometimes present in Council to consult about the weighty Affairs of the Government his Lord Almoner on the contrary dissuaded him from imbarasing himself in the Troubles and Intreagues of State assuring him that if he would allow him sufficient Authority he would ease him of those Fatigues and manage all Affairs to his content This Advice was quickly received by the Youthful Prince who gave him what Power he
forty thousand pound out of the Exchequer which he carried over to Callice and from thence in 80 Waggons and a Guard of 1200 Horse 60 Mules and Sumpter Horses and attended with a great number of Lords and Gentlemen he conveyed this great Sum to the French Court at Amiens Having before his going hence sent out Commissions to all the Bishops of England to Sing the Litany after this manner Holy Mary pray for our Holy Pope Clement Holy Holy Peter pray for Pope Clement c. And thus was the Cardinal disappointed in advising the King to declare the Duke of Bourbon his General who proceeded farther then he could ever have imagined The Cardinals ambition being unlimited he during the Imprisonment of the Pope sent to the Emperour to use his interest to advance him to the Papacy but receiving a disobliging answer he grew thereupon so furious that he sent the Emperor word That if he would not endeavour his advancement he would make such a rustling among the Christian Princes as there had not been the like for an hundred years before though it should cost him the whole Kingdom of England The Emperour answering this insolent Letter in Print bid the Cardinal have a care of undertaking what might both ruin himself and the Kingdom Hereupon the Cardinal sent private Letters to Clarentius King at Arms to join with the French Herald and proclaim defiance to the Emperour Who suspecting that it was done without the King's knowledge ordered his Ambassadour at London to complain thereof The King much wondered to hear of it and the Cardinal confidently affirmed that he knew nothing of the matter but that it was the fault of Clarenâ—ius who had done it at the request of the French Herald for which he swore he should lose his Head when he came to Callice Clarentius having intelligence hereof instantly Imbark'd at Bullen and coming to Greenwich was introduced by some of his Friends into the King's Presence before the Cardinal knew of it and produced the Cardinals Letters Commission and Instructions for what he had done At which the King was so surprized that he stood some time silent and then said ' O Lord Jesus He that I trusted most hath deceived me and given a false account of my Affairs Well Clarentius for the future I shall take care whom I believe for I now find I have been informed of a great many things as true which I now find to be utterly false And from that time the King withdrew his favour and confidence from him Some time before this the Cardinal sent Letters to Doctor Stephen Gardiner the King's Orator at Rome and afterward Bishop of Winchester urging him to use all manner of means for advancing him to the Papal Dignity which he said nothing could induce him to aspire to but the vehement desire he had to restore and advance the Authority of the Church wherein no Man should be more Zealous and indefatigable than himself He likewise ingaged the French King and King Henry to write to the Cardinals on his behalf that he might succeed after the Death of Pope Clement and vast Sums of Money were wasted in this business but all the Cardinals ambitious thoughts proved abortive and as he already began to stagger in the King's favour so in a short time he fell into his high displeasure For these extravagant expences drained the King's Treasury so low that the Cardinal was compell'd to contrive new ways for filling them again To which end he without the King's knowledge and by his own Authority Issued out Commissions under the Great Seal to every County in England for taking an account of every Man's Estate and he that was worth Fifty Pound was charged to pay Four Shillings in the Pound All that were worth above Twenty and under Fifty Pound Two Shillings in the Pound and those not worth Twenty Pound to pay Twelve pence to be paid either in Money or Plate making himself chief Commissioner for raising the same in and about London The Clergy were likewise charged at four Shillings in the Pound for their Livings These unjust Proceedings were grievous both to the Clergy and People who generally refused to comply alledging That these Commissions were contrary to Law and against the Liberty of the Subject and that it was not possible for those who were worth more yet to raise the half of what they were charged with either in Plate or ready Money and therefore they Petitioned the Cardinal to intercede with the King for remitting it To whom he haughtily replied That he would rather have his Tongue pluck'd out of his Mouth with Pincers then move any such thing and that he was resolved to make them pay the utmost Farthing and the Lord Viscount Lisle one of the Commissioners in Hampshire sending a Letter to the Cardinal that he doubted the raising this Money would occasion an Insurrection he swore deeply that his not following the Instructions given him should cost him his Head But however the discontents of the People were so general that the Cardinal doubting the Event thought fit to recal those Commissions and to issue others whereby he demanded a sixth part of every Mans Estate according to the aforesaid Rates which he did not doubt but they would have complied with but on the contrary they renewed their complaints and cursed the Tyrannical Cardinal for his Arbitrary Proceedings which at length reach'd the King's Ear. who being told that all Places were filled with Clamours Discontents and Mutinies he openly protested that these Commissions were issued out without his Knowledge or Consent and to prevent farther Mischief he by Proclamation vacated them declaring that though his necessities were never so urgent yet he would never force his Subjects to pay any Tax without their own consent in Parliament but that his wants being extream at this time if they would of their own accord by way of Benevolence supply his present exigencies he should accept it as an infallible Proof of their Love and Duty toward their Soveraign The Cardinal perceiving himself obliquely struck at by this Proclamation as the principal Author of these heavy Pressures and publick Grievances he Politickly sent for the Lord Mayor Aldermen and Common Council of London before him to whom he declared That perceiving the former Demands to be grievous to the People he had upon his Knees for the Love and Kindness he bore toward them perswaded the King to annul those Commissions and wholly to relie upon the free Gift of his People and though the King might have justly demanded the former Summs as a due Debt yet he freely released them of the same not doubting but they would equal if not exceed the Rates formerly required of them the Lord Mayor and Aldermen assembled their respective Wards and acquainted them with the King's desire but the Citizens absolutely refused to give any thing alledging that they had pay'd enough already and were able to do no more adding many opprobrious
and their Commission being read the Cryer called Henry King of England who answered Here Then he cried Katherine Queen of England come into the Court the Queen made no answer but rising out of her Chair came to the King and kneeling at his Feet she in broken English spake thus to him ' Sir I beseech you do me Justice and right and take some Pity upon me I am a Poor Woman and a stranger Born out of your Dominions having here no indifferent Council and less Assurance of Friendship Alas Sir how have I offended you that you thus intend to shorten my Days I take God to witness I have been to you a True and Loyal Wife ever conformable to your Will and never contradicting your desires but have always complied and submitted to your Pleasure in all things without the least grudging or discontent For your sake I have loved all Men whom you loved whether they were my Friends or Enemies I have been your Wife these twenty Years by whom you have had many Children and when I first came to your Bed God and your own Conscience knows that I was a Virgin If you can prove any dishonesty by me whereby you may lawfully put me from you I am willing to leave you with shame and rebuke but if I am guilty of none I beseech you set me have Justice at your hands The King your Father was a man of excellent VVisdom in his time and accounted a second Solomon and the King of Spain Ferdinand my Father was reckoned one of the wisest Princes that has reigned there for many years And doubtless they had both as wise Counsellors as any are at this day And who could never have imagined when you and I were Married that such new devises should have been invented as to compel me to submit to the decrees of this Court from whom I may expect to receive wrong and may be condemned for not answering but not to have Right administred to me since I can have no indifferent Council assigned me to plead my Cause but must make choice of your own Subjects who know your Mind and dare not contradict your VVill. Therefore I most humbly beseech you spare till I know how my Friends in Spain will advise me But if you will not you may do your pleasure Then making a low Curtesie to the King she departed out of the Court Upon which the King bid the Crier call her back which he did but she refused to return saying It is no indifferent Court to me I will not go back VVhen she was gone the King declared to the Court that she had been a loyal loving and obedient Wife to him and was endued with all the good qualities and virtues of a Woman either of her Dignity or of any meaner Estate After which Cardinal Woolsey said ' I humbly beseech your Highness to declare to this audience whether I have been the first and chief Mover of this matter to your Highness or not for I am much suspected of all men The King declared he was not but rather advised the contrary but that the special cause that moved him in this matter was a certain scruple of Conscience upon some words spoken by the Bishop of Bayon the French Ambassador upon a debate about a Marriage between the Lady Mary his only Daughter and the Duke of Orleans second Son to the French King and the Bishop desiring time to consult his Master whether the Lady Mary were Legitimate as being born of his Brother Arthur's Wife This discourse so affected him considering he had no Heirs Male they all dying as soon as born that he judged God Almighty was displeased at this match Hereupon considering the state of the Realm and dispairing to have any more Children by his Queen whereby the Kingdom might be endangered for want of a Prince to succeed him and to quiet his own mind which was tossed with the Waves of troublesome doubts he desired to have the opinion of the Learned Prelates and Pastors of the Realm whether by the Laws of God and the Land he might take another Wife if his first Marriage were not Legal by which he might have more Issue Affirming in the presence of God that he had no dislike to the Person nor Age of the Queen with whom he could be content to live if it were the Will of God Nor out of carnal Concupiscence or desire of change but only for the setling of his Conscience After this the Court sate daily where many subtile and learned Arguments and Disputations touching the lawfulness or insufficiency of the Marriage were handled but the Queen Appealing to the Court of Rome for deciding this Question from which she could not be dissuaded The King expected a final â—efinitive Sentence on his behalf the two Legates declined to give it which so iâ—raged the King who now perceived their dissimulation and that they purposely contrived delays that from this time he had a mortal hatred against his false Favourite Woolsey whom from a contemptible Birth and Estate he had prefer'd to be Abbot of St. Albans his Almoner a Counsellor of State Bishop of Winchester Durham Lincoln Bath Worcester Hereford Tournay Archbishop of York an Ambassador to Kings and Princes his Chancellor and a Cardinal who by contriving this business thereby to render himself Gracious with the King and to be revenged of his Enemies brought ruin and destruction at length upon himself For notwithstanding the King excused him from being the Author of this scruple of Conscience yet Woolsey seemed at first very forward in promoting it and to incline to have it determined according to the King's Mind but afterward perceiving the fatal consequences which might ensue thereupon so as at length to shake the Infallibility of the Papal Chair if the Case were decided according to the Scriptures he declined proceeding therein For if the Marriage was unlawful then the former dispensation of Pope Julius was null and void and if it was lawful then the Judgment of so many learned Universities as had given their Opinion to the contrary was false In this difficulty his Collegue Campeius went out of the Kingdom before the day of the final determination of the matter leaving Woolsey to bear all the weight of the King's Indignation Another cause of the Cardinal 's opposing the Divorce was that the King during the Ventilation of this Knotty Case had fallen in love with Mrs. Ann Bullen who he after Married one of the Maids of Honour to Queen Katherine and Daughter to Sir Tho. Bullen afterward Earl of Wiltshire a Lady no way favourable to his Pontifical Grandeur nor to the Superstitions of the Church of Rome So that when the King discovered his great affection for her the Cardinal upon his Knees used many arguments to dissuade him from it Which the Lady had notice of and therefore when the King once entertained him at a great Feast She being present among other discourses said ' Sir is
it not a marvellous thing to think into what great Debt this great Cardinal hath brought you to all your Subjects How so quoth the King Why says she there is not a man in your whole Kingdom worth an hundred pounds but he hath made you a Debtor to him Meaning the Loan which the Cardinal had borrowed for the King some years before and which he procured the House of Commons who were most the King's Servants to discharge without repaying a farthing to the great loss of the People Nay added she how many violencies and oppressions is he guilty of to your great dishonour and disgrace in divers parts of the Realm so that if my Lord of Norfolk my Lord of Suffolk my own Father or any other Nobleman had done but half so much wrong as he they well deserved to lose their Heads Then I perceive said the King that you are no friend of my Lord Cardinal 's Why Sir quoth she I have no cause no more have any others that love the King Neither has your Grace any reason to be kind to him considering his indirect and unlawful actions The King said no more but went away The Council and the Nobility perceiving that the King's Heart was estranged from Woolsey they resolved if possible utterly to depress him for he was generally hated for his excessive Pride insulting Tyranny grievous oppressions monstrous injustice unsatiable covetousness abominable debauchery malicious and cruel revenge and likewise for his secret Intreagues with the Pope and Church of Rome whereby the King's Authority and Prerogative Royal in all things touching the Church and Clergy were made void Hereupon they concluded him guilty of a Praemunire and that consequently he had forfeited all his Promotions Spiritual and Temporal with all the rest of his Estate and likewise his Liberty to the King These crimes the Nobility drew into Articles which were ingrossed and signed with their hands and then delivered to the King Which were as followeth I. That by subtil and indirect means he had procured himself without the King's consent to be made a Legate whereby he deprived the Bishops and Clergy of England of all jurisdiction in Ecclesiastical Affairs II. That in all his Letters to Foreign Princes he used the insolent stile of Ego Rex meus I and my King as if the King were his Inferior or Servant III. That he unchristianly and abominably slandered the Church of England to the Pope affirming That they were Reprobates and without Faith and that there was an absolute necessity for him to be made a Legate to reduce them to the true belief IV. That without the King's consent he carried the Great Seal of England to Flanders only for vain Glory and to the great damage of the Subjects of England V. That he being filthily powdered with the French Pox by reason of his excessive Letchery and Debauched Life did oft presume to discourse with and cast his unwholesome Breath into the King's Face VI. That he caused the Cardinals Hat to be put on the King's Coin VII That to obtain his Dignities he had conveyed out of the Realm 240000 l. at one time and incredible sums at other times And to inrich the K. again had of his own accord sent out Commissions for exacting infinite sums contrary to Law which raised hatred and insurrections among the People against the King These with many other Articles being charged against VVoolsey he with his own Hand freely Subscribed to them confessing all of them to be true throwing himself upon the King's mercy hoping he would have forgiven him but afterward finding that he disposed of his Offices and part of his Estate he secretly procured a Bull from the Pope to Curse and Excommunicate the King unless he would restore to him all his Dignities and Lands who likewise declared that the King himself nor no other authority on Earth but the Pope alone had power to punish any Clergyman for any crime or offence whatsoever This Bull with the Letters sent him by several Cardinals to incourage him not to faint or be discouraged assuring him of his Restoration and that the King should be certainly crost in the business of his Marriage so animated the Cardinal that he did not doubt of his re-advancement if not with yet without the King's consent so that he made great preparations for his in stalment into his Archbishoprick of York which he designed to solemnize with extraordinary Pomp and Magnificence to which purpose he had erected a stately seat of an extraordinary height in that Cathedral resembling the Throne of the King and writ Letters to the Nobility and Gentry of the North wherein he kindly invited them to be present at his Instalment for which he had made extraordinary provision of all manner of Dainties These mighty preparations being made without acquainting the King therewith and seeming to be in contempt of him who had been so kind to allow him the Bishopricks of York and VVinchester though justly forfeited to the Crown caused the King to put a stop to his aspiring purposes so that he sent order to the Earl of Northumberland to Arrest him and deliver him to the Earl of Shrewsbury Lord High Steward of the Houshold The Earl accordingly went to his Mannor of Caywood about seven Miles from York and coming into his Chamber told him he arrested him for High Treason in the King's name The Cardinal was so astonisht that for some time he stood speechless at length recovering himself he said You have no power to Arrest me who am both a Cardinal and a Legate and also a Peer of the See Apostolick of Rome and ought not to be Arrested by any Temporal Power for I am Subject to none and none I will obey Well said the Earl here is the King's Commission and therefore I charge you to submit I remember when I was sworn Warden of the Marches you your self told me that with my staff only I might Arrest any man under the degree of a King and now I am stronger for I also have a Commission for what I have done The Cardinal at length recollecting himself Well my Lord said he I am contented to submit but though by negligence I fell into the danger of a Praemunire whereby I forfeited all my Lands and Goods to the Law yet my Person was under the King's Protection and I was pardoned that offence therefore I much wonder I should be now Arrested especially considering I am a Member of the Sacred College at Rome on whom no Temporal Man ought to lay hands Well I find the King wants good Counsellors about him He was then kept close in one of his Chambers and Dr. Austin his Physician was at the same time Arrested for High Treason and sent to the Tower The Cardinal's Goods were all seized and his Servants discharged And he himself was so dejected that he continually lamented his hard fortune with such a mean and unbecoming forrow as such haughty Spirits are
de gentil Mortimer Good Son Good Son take pity upon the gentle Mortimer For she suspected the King was there though she did not see him Then were the Keys sent for and all the Castle with the Amunition and Provisions were delivered up to the King so secretly that none without the Castle had any knowledge of it but only the King's Friends This was counted a very daring enterprize in regard that Mortimer had usually 180 Knights besides Esquires and Gentlemen as a constant Guard for the security of his Person The next Morning early Roger Mortimer and his Accomplices were carried with mighty shoutings and rejoycings of the Common People the poor Earl of Lancaster though blind making up the cry toward London and was committed to the Tower And soon after in open Parliament at Westminster was Condemned by his Peers without being brought to Tryal by a Law of Mortimer's own contriving whereby the Earls of Lancaster Winchester Glocester and Kent were formerly out to Death The following Articles of High Treason were laid to his charge 1. That he was consenting to the Murther of the King's Father 2. That he Treacherously occasioned much loss and dishonour to the King at Stanhope Park by procuring the escape of the Scots for which he had received a great Sum of Money 3. That he caused several Ancient Deeds and Charters to be burnt wherein the King of Scots was obliged to do homage to the King of England and had made a dishonourable Contract between the King's Sister and David Bruce King Robert's Son 4. That he had prodigally and lewdly wasted the King's Treasures as well as those of the two Spencers 5. That he had been an Evil Councellor to the King and had been too familiarly conversant with the Queen Mother All which Articles are sum'd up in the following ragged Rymes which might very well have been in Prose but for their Antiqutty and brevity I will here insert them Five heinous crimes against him soon were had 1. That he caused the King to yield the Scot To make a Peace Towns that were from him got And therewithal the Charter called Ragman 2. He by the Scots was brib'd for private gain 3. That by his means King Edward of Carnarvan In Berkley Castle Treacherously was slain 4. That with his Prince's Mother he had lain 5. And finally with polling at his pleasure Had rob'd the K. and Commons of their Treasure For these Treasons he was sentenced to be hanged and afterward ignominiously drawn in a Sledg to Tyburn the common place of Execution then called the Elms and there upon the common gallows was as ignominiously Executed hanging by the King's command two Days and two Nights a publick and pleasing spectacle to the wronged People There died with him Sir Simon Bedford and John Deverel Esq as well for the expiation of the late King Edward's detestable Murther as in complement as it were to so great a Man's fall who seldom or never perish without company they suffered in 1330. The King by the advice of Parliament deprived the Queen of her excessive Dowry allowing her only a Thousand Pound a Year and confining her to a Monastery during Life but giving her the honour of a visit once or twice a Year though otherwise judging her scarce worthy to live in regard of her Debaucheries with Mortimer and her many other heinous practices From the sudden ruin of this great Favourite Mortimer we may Remark what Inchantments Honour Riches and Power are to the minds of Men how suddenly how strangely do they blow them up with contempt of others and forgetfulness of themselves And surely the frailty and uncertainty of Worldly felicity is very visible in this Great Person who when he was drunk as it were with all humane happiness so that he seemed to fear neither God nor Man was suddenly overtaken by Divine Justice and brought to utter confusion when he least dreamt of it But it was very equitable that he who would not take example by the wretched Fate of his Favourite Predecessors should himself be made an Example by the like shameful and Ignominious Death Remarks on the Life of Henry Stafford Duke of Buckingham Favourite to King Richard the Third TWO Or three considerable Remarks do naturally result from the following History 1. That Tyrants being but single Persons could never perpetrate the many mischiefs which they are usually guilty of did they not meet with proper Instruments to imploy therein 2. That the pravity of Mankind is so deplorable that the temptations of Honour and Riches too often prevail upon Men and ingage them in the most vile and destructive designs 3. That those who are imployed by Tyrants must never boggle not strain at the greatest Villanies since if they be not as thoroughly wicked as their Master he will account them his implacable Enemies and they are subject to be justly ruined by his unjust and revengeful hand All these Maxims seem to be verified in the Life Actions and Fall of this Great Man Henry Stafford Duke of Buckinham He was Son to Humfry Stafford of Brecknock-shire in Wales who was created Duke of Buckingham and Lord High Constable of England by King Henry VI. Being descended from a Daughter of Thomas of Woodstock youngest Son to King Edward III. His Son succeeded him in his Titles and Honour and was a great Favourite to King Richard III. and very Instrumental in advising him to his Usurped Throne as by the following Relation appears When King Edward IV. died he left behind him two Sons Edward his Successor of thirteen and Richard Duke of York of eleven years of Age. The Young King and his Brother were by their Father's Will committed to the care of the Earl of Rivers the Queens Brother whom he made Protector of the King during his Minority The Court was at this time kept at Ludlow in Wales to retain the Welsh in obedience who began to be unruly and in the mean time the Earl of Rivers disposed of all Offices and Places of Preferment which very much dislatisfied the Duke of Glocester Brother to King Edward IV. and Uncle to the Present King who upon his Brother's Death possed from the North where he then was to London and finding the Queen and her Kindred had the whole Government of affairs about the King he was very much displeased as judging it a main obstacle to his Usurpation and and Advancement to the Throne which it seems he had long before designed for it was reported that the very night wherein King Edward IV. died one Misselbrook came early in the morning to one Potter living in Redcross street near Cripplegate and told him that the King was dead By my Troth man says Potter then will my Master the Duke of Glocester be King For surely if he had not been acquainted with his Master's Intentions he would not have thus spoke But the Duke knowing that a business of such consequence was not to be managed alone he
so weighty a business he made a visit to Mr. Cromwell and giving him an account of the affair he was very importunate with him to accompany him Cromwell knew very well the many Intreagues of the Roman Court and the unreasonable expences they must be at among those Spiritual Cormorants however having some knowledge of the Italian Tongue and being not yet well setled in Religion he was at length prevailed with to adventure with him When they arrived at Rome Cromwell finding it very difficult to get his Pardons dispatcht and being unwilling to spend much time or money he at length perceived that nothing was to be done without making a Present of some Rarity to the Pope and hearing that he was much delighted with delicate new found Dishes he prepared several fine Dishes of Jelly of divers colours according to the English fashion which were not as yet known at Rome Cromwell observing his time when the Pope was newly returned to his Pallace from Hunting he with his English Companions approached him with their Presents which they introduced with singing in English the three Mans Song as it is called The Pope wondring at the Song and understanding they were Englishmen and came not empty handed ordered them to be called in Cromwell making low obeysance presented his jolly junkets being such as he said none but Kings and Princes in England use to Eat desiring his Holiness to accept of them from him and his Companions who were poor Suitors at his Court and had presented them as Novelties proper only for his Table Pope Julius observing the strangeness of the Dishes bid a Cardinal taste them which he liked so well and the Pope after him that inquiring what their business was and then requiring them to give him an account how these Jellies were made he without delay Sealed both the Great and Lesser Pardons and fully dispatcht them All this while Cromwell had no great sense of Religion but was wild youthful and without regard to any thing that was serious as he often declared to Cranmer Archbishop of Canterbury being very diligent with Jeffery Chambers in publishing the Pardons of Boston in all the Churches as he travelled and serving sometime under the Duke of Burbon at the Siege of Rome Thus he continued for some years till at length by learning the New Testament of Erasmus by Heart in his going to and from Rome he began to come to a better understanding About this time Cardinal Woolsey began to grow very great in England ruling all under or rather over the King so that Persons of the briskest Wits and noted Abilities addrest themselves to him for imployments Among whom Thomas Cromwell was by him prefer'd to be his Chancellor and at the same time Sir Thomas More and Stephen Gardiner were likewise taken into the Cardinals Family being all three almost of one Age one standing in Learning not much unequal in Wit and their advancements arising from the same foundation though afterward their Studies Dispositions and Fortune were greatly different The Cardinal designing to erect a famous Colledge in Oxford called then Frideswide now Christ Church obtained leave from the Pope to suppress several small Monasteries and Priories in divers parts of the Realm and to convert the Revenues thereof to his own use He committed the charge of this business to Cromwell who used such industry and expedition therein as was displeasing to some Great Persons both of the Nobility and Clergy But afterward the Cardinal who had risen suddenly began to fall as fast first from his Chancellorship which was bestowed on Sir Thomas More and then falling into a Praemunire his Family was dissolved Cromwel being thereby out of Office endeavoured to be retained in the Kings Service and Sir Christopher Hales Master of the Rolls though an earnest Papist yet had so great a kindness for him that he recommended him to the King as a Man most fit to be imployed by him but Cromwel had been so misrepresented by the Popish Clergy for his forwardness in defacing their Monasteries and Altars that the King abhorr'd the very name of him but the Lord Russel Earl of Bedford being present whose Life Cromwel had saved at Bononia in Italy where he was secretly imploy'd in the King's Affairs and was in great danger to be taken had he not been secured by Cromwel's Policy who not forgetting his Benefactor gave him an account of the whole matter and since His Majesty had now to do with the Pope his great Enemy he was of Opinion there was not a fitter Instrument for the King's purpose than he and told him wherein The King hereupon was willing to speak with him of which Cromwel having Private notice he got in readiness the Oath which the English Bishops took to the Pope at their Consecration and being called in after paying his Duty to the King answered to all Points demanded of him whereby he made it plainly appear that his Royal Authority was diminisht within his own Kingdom by the Pope and his Clergy who having sworn Allegiance to the King were afterward dispensed with for the same and sworn anew to the Pope so that he was but half King and they but half Subjects in his own Realm which was derogatory to his Crown and absolutely contrary to the Common Law of England and that his Majesty might therefore justly make himself rich with their forfeited Estates if he pleased to take the present occasion The King was very Attentive to his Discourse especially the last part of it and demanded whether he would justifie what he said He affirmed he would producing the Oath they had taken to the Pope which the King having read he took his Ring off his Finger and first admitting him into his Service by the Advice of his Council sent him therewith to the Convocation then sitting Cromwel coming boldly with the King's Signet into the Convocation House and placing himself among the Bishops Warham being Archbishop of Canterbury declared to them the Authority of the King and the Obedience due from Subjects especially from Bishops and Clergymen to the Laws of the Land which are necessarily provided for the Benefit and quiet of the Commonwealth which Laws notwithstanding they had all highly transgressed to the great Derogation of the King 's Royal Dignity and thereby brought themselves into a Praemunire not only in consenting to the Power Legantine of the late Cardinal Woolsey but also by Swearing to the Pope contrary to their Allegiance to their Soveraign Lord the King whereby they had forfeited all their Spiritual and Temporal Estates real or personal The Bishops were amazed at first to hear this bold Charge and began to deny it but Cromwell shewing them the very Copy of their Oath taken to the Pope at their Consecration made the matter so plain that they began to shrink and desired time to advise about it but however before they could get clear of this Praemunire the two Provinces of Canterbury and York
his Apostles being now discovered to them they thought it very fit that they should be governed by the King their Supream Head and therefore resigned their Abbies to him So that in the whole one hundred fifty nine Resignations were made to the King before the Meeting of the next Parliament who made an Act for the Total Dissolution of all the Abbies in England the Rents of which were then valued at being one hundred thirty two thousand six hundred and seven pound six shillings four pence but they were worth above ten times as much in true value These Proceedings against the Pope and Holy Church caused the Rude Ignorant and wilful People in Lincolnshire to assemble in Arms to the number of twenty thousand The King levied a strong Army and went in Person to suppress them and approaching them they sent him an humble Petition that if he would reestablish the Monasteries and the Popes Authority they would freely lay down their Arms and return to their Duty hut the King disdaining these Rusticks should dictate Politicks to him rejected their Petition sending them Word that if they did not instantly deliver up a hundred of the principal Rebels into his hands he would immediately fall upon them with the utmost Fury and Sacrifice them all to his resentment This daring Resolution so daunted the Hearts of this undisciplined Multitude that their Leaders expecting each would deliver the other up to the King they secretly deserted them and returned home but Captain Cobler their Chief Commander otherwise Dr. Makarel and some other being taken were executed according to their merits and the Common People being left without Officers made haste home and were pardoned by the King This was succeeded by another Insurrection in the North where 40000 got together upon the same pretences calling themselves ' The Holy Pilgrims who intended nothing but the establishing of the true Religion and restoring the Rights of Holy Church The Dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk were ordered to suppress these brainsick Zealots who seemed very joyful they were to fight not doubting of success in this Religious War but the Night before the intended day of Battel a little Brook which ran between the Armies and might have been passed over dry foot grew so broad by the next Morning by a violent Rain which fell that they could not approach each other which being reckoned by both Parties a great Miracle the Rebels upon promise of free pardon quietly departed home In these commotions those men whose profession was only their Books and their Beeds mistaking the Command of Christ To sell their Coats and buy a Sword came armed into the Field and being taken several Abbots Monks and Priests were executed The Kingdom being again setled in peace Cromwell proceeded in the Work of Reformation and because the People seemed discontented that the abuse of these Monasteries should be turn'd to the utter ruin of them from whence they used to have relief and alms Therefore Cromwell thought fit to make them sensible of the Cheats and Tricks which the Priests had imposed upon them And many Impostures about Relicks and Wonderful Images or Roods were now discovered to which Pilgrimages had been formerly made As at Reading where they shewed the Wing of the Angel that brought over thither the point of the Spear which pierced our Saviour's side And so many pieces of the Cross were found in several Abbies as joined together would have made a large Cross The Rood of Grace at Boxley in Kent which had drawn so many Pilgrims to it was brought to St. Paul's Cross which by many springs used to bow down and lift up it self to rowl the Eyes shake the Head Hands and Feet move the Lips seem pleased or angry by bending the Brows which the credulous multitude imputed to a Divine Power but was now made appear to be a Cheat and the Springs openly shewed that governed its several motions Likewise the Images of our Lady of Walsingham and Ipswich adorned with rich Jewels and divers others both in England and Wales were removed out of the Churches and being brought to London were openly burnt in the presence of the Lord Cromwell at Chelsey The blood of Christ was shewed in a Glass Vial at Hales in Glocestershire and the Priests said it was not visible to any that were in Mortal Sin So that after the People had well paid it became visible to them and the deluded Souls went away well satisfied that they were now free from any damnable transgression But this was proved to be the Blood of a Duck renewed every Week and put into a Glass thick on one side and thin on the other so that till the Pilgrim had offered what the Priest thought fit the dark side was turned to him and afterward the light side Several such Impostures were discovered which tended much to undeceive the People But the richest Shrine in England was that of St. Thomas of Becket that great Rebel to King Henry II. and for whose death he severely whipt himself a great way to the Cathedral of Canterbury where he was killed by four of King Henry's officious Servants and he thereupon Canonized a Saint to whose Altar greater Oblations were made than to that of our Saviour or the Virgin Mary Every fiftieth year there was a Jubilee and an Indulgence granted to all that came and visited his Tomb who were sometimes thought to be an hundred thousand on that occasion he prints of their kneeling and devotion remaining in the Stones to this day So that it was immensly Rich with Gold Jewels Plate and Money the Gold only being so heavy that it filled two Chests which required eight men a piece to carry them out of the Church The Timber work of this Shrine was covered with Plates of Gold Damasked and Imbossed with VVires of Gold garnished with Images Angels great Orient Pearls and Precious Stones the chief whereof was a rich Jewel offered by Lewes seventh of France who came over in Pilgrimage to visit this Tomb and to obtain that for the future no Passenger should be drowned betwixt Dover and Callice It was valued to be the richest Jewel in Europe St. Thomas's Skull which had been so much VVorshipped was proved an Imposture for the true Skull was with the rest of his Bones in the Coffin and were now so mixt with other Bones that it had been a Miracle indeed to have distinguisht them afterwards Then the Axes and Hammers went to work in pulling down the Nests of Superstition and Idolatry whose number as Camden reckons them were six hundred forty five Monasteries ninty Colleges an hundred and ten Hospitals and two thousand three hundred seventy four Chauntries and free Chappels and their Lands and Revenues being by Act of Parliament settled on the Crown the King by the advice of the Lord Cromwell politickly exchanged them for others with his Nobility and Gentry allowing them good Bargains for their Incouragement many of whose Estates do now consist
demolisht the Forts burnt most of the Houses filled their Ships with Plunder and burnt several Spanish Vessels the Fleet returned victoriously home The King of Spain having lost in this Gallant Expedition thirteen of his best men of War forty Merchants Ships from New Spain an hundred Cannon with such vast Stores of Ammunition and Naval Provisions that he was not able to fit out another Fleet for many years after and the Spaniards themselves gave this Character of the brave English That they were Hereticks in Religion but in all other affairs Warlike Politick and truly Noble This happy Success advanced Essex in the opinion both of the Queen Souldiery and Common People though his making so many Knights some of them of very mean fortunes produced this Libel A Gentleman of Wales with a Knight of Cales And a Laird of the North Countree A Yeoman of Kent upon a Rack Rent Will buy them out all three The Queens indulgence increasing by this fortunate Expedition he grew wanton with her favours and was offended if she prefer'd any but those recommended by himself as particularly Sir Francis Vere being made Governour of Brill in Holland and Sir Robert Cecil Secretary of State both which he had designed for other Persons he discovered so severe a resentment for it that his Enemies and Enviers turn'd it at length to his disadvantage After this Essex is made Admiral of a Fleet that were sent against the Islands of Azores belonging to the Spaniard where the Island of Graciosa and Faial yielded to him and likewise Villa Franca And then returning Essex who would be sole Favourite had great contentions with Sir Walter Rawleigh and Cecil c. and likewise with Charles Howard who was now made Earl of Nottingham because the Queen had given him part of the honour of the Victory at Cales However the Queen's affections so blinded her that she passed by many Indignities offered her by him and to pacifie him created him Earl Marshal of England In 1598. Some Proposals being offered for concluding a Peace with Spain the Earl of Essex opposed it urging the Spanish Ambition for gaining the Universal Monarchy his inveterate hatred against the Queen and the Kingdom his Maxim That no Faith is to be kept with Hereticks and that the Pope could dispense with him to break all Leagues when for his advantage these and many such cogent Reasons made a Peace with him impracticable But other great Courtiers whether for Reasons of State or that they had received some Spanish Gold were very much displeased so that the Lord Burleigh told him That he breathed nothing but War and Slaughter and turning to the Psalm he bid Essex read that verse as seeming to presage his future Fate Blood-thirsty men shall not live out half their days Yet many much admired his Conduct as really designing nothing but the honour and security of his Country However the Queen and Essex were of a contrary opinion both as to the Peace and to a fit Person to be sent Lord Deputy into Ireland The Queen judged William Knolles the Earl's Uncle proper for the imployment Essex affirmed George Carew to be much fitter and because he could not persuade the Q. to be of his mind he contemptibly turn'd his back and seem'd to scoff at her At which she growing out of patience stept forward and giving him a sound box on the Ear bid him be gone with a vengeance At which he laid his hand upon his Sword but the Admiral coming up to him he vowed and swore ' That he neither would nor could put up so great an Indignity which he would never have taken from her Father King Henry much less from the hand of a Woman And then in a great rage he withdrew from Court Afterward the Lord Keeper sent him several Letters exhorting him to come and ask the Queen pardon whom if he had justly wronged he could not make her satisfaction and if she had wronged him yet his Prudence Duty and Religion should oblige him to submit himself to so good a Queen since there is a great inequality between a Prince and a Subject Essex answered very haughtily to these Advices and his Followers published his usual expressions upon this account As ' That he appealed for Justice from the Queen to God Almighty That no Tempest rageth more than the indignation of an Impotent Prince That the Queens Heart was hardned I know said he what I have to do as I am a Subject and what as I am an Earl and Marshal of England I cannot live as a Servant and a Bondslave If I should confess my self guilty I should both injure Truth and God the Author of Truth I have received a Dart through my whole body It is absolutely a Sin to serve after having received so great a disgrace Cannot Princes Err Cannot they Injure their Subjects Is their Earthly power Infinite 'T is the Fool says Solomon that being struck laughs They that receive benefit who by the Errors of Princes let them bear the injuries of Princes Let them believe the Queen's Power Infinite believe that God is not Omnipotent As for my part I being rent in pieces by injuries have long enough endured bitterness of Soul for them Yet after all the Queens Passion for him soon admitted of an easie submission so that he was pardoned and restored to favour by her who could be angry with him but could never hate him and soon after made him Lord Deputy of Ireland which was then in an ill condition by the Rebellion of the Natives and impowered him with so ample a Commission as was thought to be contrived by his Enemies on purpose by inflaming his ambition to procure his ruin for he had liberty to pardon or punish the Irish Rebels suitable to his own Will and Power to reward with Lands or Honours all he esteem'd worthy These were such Flowers of the Crown as they seemed designed by his Enemies to deck that head they meant to Sacrifice to their malice and revenge Upon his arrival in Ireland the Earl spent so much time in subduing the petty Rebels while he not only neglected the chief one Tyrone with whom instead of fighting he Treated and made a Truce that the Queen unsatisfied with his dilatory proceedings first reproaches his Conduct and then recalls him Essex was much discontented because the Queen in her Letters had chid him for making the Earl of Southampton General of the Horse and that Cecil his Enemy was prefer'd to be Master of the Wards in his absence So that within a Month after he unexpectedly returned to England having some thoughts to bring so great a force with him as to secure himself from any danger but was dissuaded therefrom by the Earl of Southampton and Sir Christopher Blunt So that only accompanied with six he comes to the Court at Nonsuch to inform the Queen of the affairs of Ireland In the way he met the Lord Grey of Willon his chief Adversary