French Nation began to take Surnames with de prefixt as at this day is their usual manner The English also took to themselves Surnames but not generally by the Common People till the Raign of Edw. 2. At first for Surnames the English Gentry took the Name of their Birth-place or Habitation as Thomas of Aston or East-Town John of Sutton or South-Town and as they altered their Habitation so they altered their Surname After when they became Lords of places they called themselves Thomas Aston of Aston John Sutton of Sutton The Common People for Surnames added their Fathers Name with Son at the end thereof as Thomas Johnson Robert Richardson They also oft took their Fathers Nick Name or abbreviation with addition of s as Gibs the Nick Name or abbreviation of Gilbert Hobs of Robert Nicks of Nicholas Bates of Bartholomew Sams of Samuel and thence also Gibson Hobson Nickson Batson Samson c. Many also were surnamed from their Trade as Smith Joyner Weaver c. Or from their Office as Porter Steward Sheepheard Carter or from their Place of Abode as Atwood Atwell Athill which since are shrunk into Wood Wells Hill The Normans at their first coming into England brought Surnames for many of their Gentry with de prefixt as the French Gentry doth generally at this day and their Christian Names were generally German they being originally descended from a part of North Germany And some for about 200 years after the Conquest took for Surname their Fathers Christian Name with Fitz or Fils prefixt as Robert Fitz-William Henry Fitz-Gerard c. The Britains or Welsh more lately civilized did not take Surnames till of late years and that for the most part only by leaving out a in ap and annexing the p to their Fathers Christian Name as instead of Evan ap Rice now Evan Price so instead of ap Howel Powel ap Hughe Pughe ap Rogers Progers c. The most ancient Families and of best account for Surnames in England are either those that are taken from Places in Normandy and thereabouts in France and from some other Transmarine Countries or else from Places in England and Scotland as Devereux Seymour Nevile Montague Mohun Biron Bruges Clifford Berkley Darcy Stourton c. which antiently had all de prefixt but of later times generally neglected Of the Government of ENGLAND in general OF Governments there can be but three Kinds for either One or More or All must have the Soveragn Power of a Nation If One then it is a Monarchy If More that is an Assembly of Choice Persons then it is an Aristocracy If All that is the General Assembly of the People then it is a Democracy Of all Governments the Monarchical as most resembling the Divinity and nearest approaching to perfection unity being the perfection of all things hath ever been estemed the most excellent 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For the Transgressions of a Land many are the Princes or Rulers thereof Prov. 28. 2. Of Monarchies some are Despotical where the Subjects like Servants are at the Arbitrary Power and Will of their Soveraign as the Turks and Barbarians Others Political or Paternal where the Subject like Children under a Father are governed by equal and just Laws consented and sworn unto by the King as is done by all Christian Princes at their Coronations Of Paternal Monarchies some are Hereditary where the Crown descends either only to Heirs Male as in France or next of Blood as in Spain England c. Others Elective where upon the death of every Prince without respect had to the Heirs or next of Blood another by Solemn Election is appointed to succeed as in Poland and Hungary and till of late in Denmark and Bohemia Of Hereditary Paternal Monarchies some are dependent and holden of Earthly Potentates and are obliged to do Homage for the same as the Kingdoms of Scotland and Man that held in Capite of the Crown of England and the Kingdome of Naples holden of the Pope others independent holden only of God acknowledging no other Superiour upon Earth England is an Hereditary Paternal Monarchy governed by one Supreme Independent and Undeposable Head according to the known Laws and Customs of the Kingdom It is a Free Monarchy challenging above many other European Kingdoms a freedom from all Subjection to the Emperour or Laws of the Empire for that the Roman Emperours obtaining antiently the Dominion of this Land by force of Arms and afterwards abandoning the same the Right by the Law of Nations returned to the former Owners pro derelicto as Civilians speak It is a Monarchy free from all manner of Subjection to the Bishop of Rome and thereby from divers inconveniencies and burdens under which the neighbouring Kingdoms groan as Appeals to Rome in sundry Ecclesiastical Suits Provisions and Dispensations in several cases to be procured from thence many Tributes and Taxes paid to that Bishop c. It is a Monarchy free from all Interregnum and with it from many mischiefs whereunto Elective Kingdoms are subject England is such a Monarchy as that by the necessary subordinate Concurrence of the Lords and Commons in the making and repealing all Statutes or Acts of Parliament it hath the main advantages of an Aristocracy and of a Democracy and yet free from the disadvantages and evils of either It is such a Monarchy as by a most admirable temperament affords very much to the Industry Liberty and Happiness of the Subject and yet reserves enough for the Majesty and Prerogative of any King that will own his people as Subjects not as Slaves It is a Kingdom that of all the Kingdoms of the World is most like the Kingdom of Jesus Christs whose yoke is easie whose burden is light It is a Monarchy that without interruption hath been continued almost 1000 years and till of late without any attempts of change of that Government so that to this sort of Government the English seem to be naturally inclined and therefore during the late Bouleversations or over-turnings when all the art that the Devil or Man could imagine was industriously made use of to change this Monarchy into a Democracy this Kingdom into a Common-wealth the most and the best of English Men the general Spirit and Genius of the Nation not so much the Presbiterian or Royalist by mighty though invisible influence concurred at once to restore their exiled Soveraign and re-establish that antient Government Of the KING of ENGLAND THe King is so called from the Saxon word Koning intimating Power and Knowledge wherewith every Soveraigne should especially be invested The Title antiently of the Saxon King Edgar was Anglorum Basileus Dominus quatuor Marium viz. the British German Irish and Deucalidonian Seas and sometimes Anglorum Basileus omniumque Regum Insularum Oceanique Britanniam circumsacentis cunctarumque Nationum quae infra eum includuntur Imperator Dominus The Modern Title more modest is Dei Gratiâ of England Scotland France and Ireland King Defender
Second State or Nobility of England p. 405. to p. 457. and therein of their Degrees Priviledges Precedence State Revenues c. p. 417. A Catalogue of all the Peers of England according to their Precedence p. 439. Of the Third State or Commons of England p. 457. Of Knights Esquires Gentlemen Yeomen Citizens Handycrafts c. p. 472. Of the Liberties and Properties of the English Subjects p. 493. Of the Women in England p. 497. Of the Children p. 509. Of the Servants p. 513. OF ENGLAND ENgland the better part of the best Iland in the whole World antiently with Scotland called Britain and sometimes Albion was about 800 years after the Incarnation of Christ by special Edict of King Egbert descended from the Angles a people of the Lower Saxony named Angle or Englelond thence by the French called Angleterre by the Germans Engeland and by the Inhabitants England It is situated between the Degrees 16 and 21 Longitude equal with Normandy and Britany in France and between 50 and 57 Northern Latitude equal with Flanders Zeland Holland Lower Saxony and Denmark The longest day in the most Northern part is 16 hours 44 minutes and the shortest 7 hours 16 minutes It is in length 386 miles in breadth 279 in compass by reason of the many Bayes and Promontories about 1300 miles in shape triangular contains by computation about 30 Millions of Acres about the thousandth part of the Globe and 333d part of the habitable earth almost ten times as big as the United Neatherlands five times as big as the Spanish Neatherlands less than all Italy by almost one half and in comparison of France is as 30 to 82. The Aire is far more mild and temperate if not more healthy than any part of the Continent under the same Climat By reason of the warm vapours of the Sea on every side and the very often Winds from the huge Western Sea the Cold in Winter is less sharp than in some parts of France and Italy though more Southern By reason of the continual blasts from Sea the Heat in Summer is less scorching than in some parts of the Continent that lies more Northern As in Summer the gentle Winds and frequent Showres qualifie all violent Heats and Droughts so in Winter the Frosts do only meliorate the cultivated Soyle and the Snow keep warm the tender Plants It is blessed with a very fertile wholsome Soyle watered abundantly with Springs and Streams and in divers parts with great Navigable Rivers few barren Mountains or craggy Rocks but generally gentle pleasant Hills and fruitful Valleys apt for Grain Corn or Wood. The excellency of the English Soyle may be learnt as Varro advised of old from the Complection of the Inhabitants who therein excell all other Nations or else from the high value put upon it by the Romans and the Saxons who â—ookt upon it as such a precious â—pot of ground that they thought it worthy to be fenced â—n like a Garden Plot with a mighty Wall of fourscore miles â—n length viz. from Tinmoâ—th on the German Sea to Solwey Frith on the Irish Sea whereby the Caledonian Bores might be excluded and with a monstrous Dike of fourscore and ten miles viz. from the Mouth of the River Wy to that of the River Dee whereby the Cambrobritan Foxes might be kept out lastly the excellency of her Soyle may also be learnt from those transcendent Elogies bestowed on her by Antient and Modern Writers calling England the Granary of the Western World the Seat of Ceres c. That her Valleys are like Eden her Hills like Lebanon her Springs as Pisgah and her Rivers as Jordan That she is a Paradise of Pleasure and the Garden of God O fortunata omnibus terris beatior Britannia te omnibus coeli ac soli ditavit Natura tibi nihil inest quod vitae offendat tibi nihil deest quod vita desiderat ita ut alter orbis extra orbem poni ad delicias humani generis videaris O happy and blessed Britanie above all other Countries in the World Nature hath enricht thee with all the blessings of Heaven and Earth Nothing in thee is hurtful to Mankind nothing wanting in thee that is desirable in so much that thou seemest another World placed besides or without the great World meerly for the delight and pleasure of Mankind As it is divided from the rest of the World so by reason of its great abundance of all things necessary for the life of Man it may without the contribution of any other part of the World more easily subsist than any of its Neighbouring Countries Terra suis contenta bonis non indiga mercis First for Food what plenty every where of Sheep Oxen Swine Fallow Deer and Coneys what plenty of Hens Ducks Geese Turkeys Swans Peacocks Phesants Partridges Woodcocks Snipes Plovers Quailes Herons Bustards Heath Cocks or Grouse Thrushes or Throstles Black-birds Veldevers Nightingales Pigeons and Larks What plenty of Salmon Trouts Carps Tench Lampreys Pikes Perches Eeles Crevish Flounders Plaice Shads Mullets What great abundance of Herrings Pilchards Oysters Lobsters Crabs Mackerel Whitings Soles Smelts Sprats Prawnes Ruffes c. What great plenty of Apples Pears Plums and Cherries How doth England abound with Wheat Barly Pulse Beans and Oates with excellent Butter and Cheese with most sorts of Edible Roots and Herbs It wants not Red Deer Hare Goats c. It wants not Wild-Ducks Wild-Geese Puffins Snipes God-wits and many other kind of Sea-fowl It wants not Apricocks Peaches Nectarins Grapes Figgs Melons Quinces c. Walnuts and Hasel-nuts Lastly for Drinks England abounds with Beer Ale Sider Perry and in some places with Metheglin Now of all these things there is such a constant continuance by reason of the Clemency of the Climat that scarce the least Famine which frequenteth other Countries hath been felt in England these 300 years Then for Rayment England produceth generally not onely very Fine Wooll which makes our Cloth more lasting than other Countrey Cloth and better conditioned against Wind Weather but also such great abundance of Wooll that not onely all sorts from the highest to the lowest are clothed therewith but so much hath been heretofore transported beyond the Seas that in honour of the English Wooll that broughâ— heretofore such plenty of Golâ— into the Territories of Charleâ— the puissant and bold Duke of Burgundy where the Staple for English Wooll was then keptâ— he instituted that famous Military Order of the Golden Fleece aâ— this day in highest esteem with the whole House of Austria This abundance and cheapness of Wooll in England proceeds not onely from the goodness of the Soyle but also from the freedom from Wolves and temperateness of Heat and Cold which in other Countries creates a great charge of a constant guarding their Sheep and housing them by Night and sometimes by Day Also for advancing the Manufacture of Cloth that necessary Earth called Fullers Earth
of the Faith The King only is Dei Gratiâ simply i.e. from the favour of none but God and the Archbishops and Bishops that pretend to that Title must understand Dei gratiâ Regis or Dei gratiâ voluntate Regis Defender of the Faith was antiently used by the Kings of England as appears by several Charters granted to the University of Oxford but in the year 1521 more affixt by a Bull from Pope Leo the Tenth for a Book written by Henry the Eighth against Luthers in defence of some points of the Romish Religion but since continued for defence of the Antient Catholck and Apostolick Faith Primogenitus Ecclesiae belongs to the Kings of England because their Predecessor Lucius was the first King that embraced Christianity Christianissimus was by the Lateran Council under Pope Julius the 2d conferred on the Kings of England in the 5th year of Henry 8 though now used only by the French King The Title of Grace was first given to the King about the time of H. 4. to H. 6. Excellent Grace to Ed. 4. High and Mighty Prince to Hen. 8. first Highness then Majesty and now Sacred Majesty after the Custom of the Eastern Emperours that used 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The King of England in his Publick Instruments and Letters stiles himself Nos We in the plural number before King John's time the Kings used the singular number which Custom is still seen in the end of Writs Teste meipso apuâ— Westm In speaking to the King is used often besides Your Majesty Syr from Cyr in the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an Abbreviation o◠〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Dominus much used to the Greek Emperours but Syr or Domine iâ— now in England become the ordinary word to all of better rank even from the King to the Gentleman It was antiently in England given to Lords afterwards to Knights and to Clergymen prefixt before their Christian Names â—ow in that manner only to Baâ—onets and Knights of the Bath and Knights Batchelours yet in France Syr or Syre is reserved only for their King About the time that our Saviour lived on Earth there was a Jewish Sect whose Ring-â—eader was one Judas of Gaile mentioned Acts 5. 37. that would not give this Title of Sir or Dominus to any man affirming that it was proper only to God and stood not unlike our new Fanaticks called Quakers so perversely for such Nominal Liberty being â—n other points meer Pharisees that no penalties could force them to give this honorary Title to any man no not to the Emperour uti videre 〈◊〉 apud Josephum alios Sed hâ—â— obiter The Saxon Kings before the Conquest bare Azure a Crossâ— Formy between four Martlet Or. Afterward the Danish King raigning in England bare oâ— Semi de Harts Gules 3 Lyon Passant Gardant Azure After the Conquest the Kings of England bare two Leopards born first by the Conquerour as Duke of Normandy till the time of Hen. 2 who in right of his Mother annext her Paternal Coat the Lyon of Aquitaine which being of the same Field Mettal and Form with the Leopards â—â—om thence-forward they were â—intly marshalled in one Shield and Blazoned 3 Lyons as at â—resent King Edward the Third in â—â—ght of his Mother claiming â—he Crown of France with the Arms of England quartered the Arms of France which then were Azure Semy Flower â—eluces Or afterwards changed to 3 Flower deluces whereupon Hen. 5. of England caused the English Arms to be changed likewise King James upon the Union of England and Scotland caused the Arms of France and England to be quartered with Scotland and Ireland and are thus blazoned The King of England beareth for his Soveraign Ensigns Armorial as followeth In the first place Azure 3 Flower deluces Or for the Regal Arms of France quartered with the Imperial Ensigns of England which are Gules threâ— Lyons Passant Gardant in Palâ— Or. In the second place with in a double Tressure counter-flowered de lys Or a Lyon Rampant Gules for the Royal Arms of Scotland In the third place Azure an Irish Harp Or Stringed Argent for the Royal Ensigns of Ireland In the fourth place as in the first All within the Garter the chief Ensign of that most Honourable Order above the same an Helmet answerable to His Majesties Soveraign Jurisdiction upon the same a rich Mantle of Cloth of Gold doubled Ermine adorned with an Imperial Crown and surmounted for a Crest by a Lyon Passant Gardant Crowned with the like supported by 〈◊〉 Lyon Rampant Gardant Or Crowned as the former and an unicorn Argent Gorged with a Crown thereto a Chain affixt passing between his foreâ—egs and reflext over his back Or both standing upon a Compartment placed underneath and in the Table of the Compartment His Majesties Royal Motto Dieu mon Droit The Supporters used before the Union of England and Scotland were the Dragon and Lyon The Arms of France placed first for that France is the greater Kingdom and because from the first bearing those Flowers have been alwayes Ensigns of a Kingdom whereas the Arms of England were originally of Dukedoms as beforesaid The Motto upon the Garter Honi soit qui mal y pense that is Shame be to him that evil thereof thinketh was first given by Edward 3 the Founder of that Order upon occasion as some have written of a Garter falling from the Countess of Kent and Salisbury as she danced and taken up by that King whereat the Queen being jealous or the Courtiers observing it the King first uttered those words now upon the Garter whereof the Order was soon after instituted The Motto Dieu mon Droit that is God and my Right was first given by Richard the First to intimate that the King of England holdeth his Empire not in Vassallage of any mortal man but of God only and after taken up by Edward 3. when he first claimed the Kingdom of France King William the Conquerour getting by right of Conquest all the Lands of England except Lands belonging to the Church to Monastenies and Religious Houses into his own hands in Demesne as Lawyers speak soon bestowed amongst his Subjects aâ— great part thereof reserving some retribution of Rents and Services or both to him and his Heirs Kings of England which reservation is now as it was before the Conquest called the Tenure of Lands the rest he reserved to himself in Demesne called Coronae Regis Dominica Domaines and Sacra Patrimonia Praedium Domini Regis Directum Dominum cujus nullus est Author nisi Deus all other Lands in England being held now of some Superiour and depend mediately or immediately on the Crown but the Lands possest by the Crown being held of none can escheat to none being sacred cannot become prophane are or should be permanent and inalienable Which Royal Domaines are by Time the Gift and Bounty of
him Prince of Wales and bestowed on him all the Lands Honours and Revenues belonging to the said Principality The Prince hath ever since been stiled Prince of Wales Duke of Aquitaine and Cornwall and Earl of Chester and Flint which Earldomes are alwayes conferred upon him by his Patent since the Union of England and Scotland his Title hath been Magnae Britanniae Princeps but more ordinarily the Prince of Wales As Eldest Son to the King of Scotland he is Duke of Rothsay and Seneschal of Scotland from his Birth The King of Englands Eldest Son so long as Normandy remained in their hands was alwayes stiled Duke of Normandy Antiently the Princes of Wales whilest they were Soveraigns bare quarterly Gules and Or 4 Lyons passant gardant counterchanged The Arms of the Prince of Wales differ from those of the King only by addition of a Labell of three points and the Device of the Prince is a Coronet beautified with three Ostrich Feathers inscribed with Ich dien which in the German or old Saxon Tongue is I serve alluding perhaps to that in the Gospel The Heir whilest his Father liveth differeth not from a Servant This Device was born at the Battel of Cressy by John King of Bohcmia as serving there under the King of the French and there slain by Edward the Black Prince and since worn by the Princes of Wales and by the Vulgar called the Princes Arms. The Prince by our Law is reputed as the same Person with the King and so declared by a Statute of Henry 8. Corruscat enim Princeps say our Lawyers radiis Regis Patris sui censetur una persona cum ipso And the Civilians say the Kings Eldest Son may be stiled a King He hath certain Priviledges above other Persons To imagine the death of the Prince to violate the Wife of the Prince is made High Treason Hath heretofore had priviledge of having a Purveyor and taking Purveyance as the King To retain and qualifie as many Chaplains as he shall please To the Prince at the Age of 15 is due a certain Aid of Moneys from all the Kings Tenants and all that hold of him in Capite by Knight Service and Free Socage to make him a Knight Yet as the Prince in nature is a distinct person from the King so in Law also in some cases He is a Subject holdeth his Principalities and Seignories of the King giveth the same respect to the King as other Subjects do The Revenues belonging to the Prince since much of the Lands and Demesnes of that Dutchy have been aliened are especially out of the Tinne Mines in Cornwall which with all other profits of that Dutchy amount yearly to the summe of The Revenues of the Principality of Wales surveyed 200 years ago was above 4680 l. yearly a rich Estate according to the value of Money in those dayes At present his whole Revenues may amount to Till the Prince come to be 14 years old all things belonging to the Principality oâ— Wales were wont to be disposed of by Commissioners consisting of some principal Persons of the Clergy and Nobility The Cadets or younger Son of England are created noâ— born Dukes or Earls of what Places or Titles the King pleaseth They have no certain Appanages as in France but onely what the good pleasure of the King bestows upon them All the Kings Sons are Consilii nati by Birth-right Counsellors of State that so they may grow up in the weighty affairs of the Kingdom The Daughters of England are stiled Princesse the eldest of which have an Aid or certain rate of Money paid by every Tenant in Capite Knight Service and Soccage towards her Dowry or Marriage Portion To all the Kings Children belong the Title of Royal Highness All Subjects are to be uncovered in their presence to kneel when they are admitted to kiss their hands and at Table they are out of the Kings Presence served on the Knee The Children the Brothers and Sisters of the King if Plaintiffs the summons in the Process need not have the solemnity of 15 dayes as in Case of other Subjects The Natural or Illegitimate Sons and Daughters of the King after they are acknowledged by the King take precedence of all the Nobles under those of the Blood Royal. They bear what Surname the King pleaseth to give them and for Arms the Arms of England with a Bend Sinister border Gobionnee or some other mark of illegitimation Some Kings of England have acknowledged many and had more illegitimate Sons and Daughters King Henry the First had no fewer than sixteeen illegitimate Children Henry the Eighth amongst others had one by Elizabeth Blount named Henry Fitzroy created by him Duke of Somerset and Richmond Earl of Notingham and Lord High Admiral of England Ireland and Aquitain OF THE PRESENT KING OF ENGLAND THe King now raigning is CHARLES the Second of that Name His Name of Baptisme Charles in the German Tongue signifies one of a Masculine strength or vertue The Royal and also the most princely and antient Families of Europe at this day have properly no Surnames for neither is Burbon the Surname but the Title of the Royal Family of France nor Austria of Spain nor Stuart of England since the coming in of King James nor Theodore or Tudor for his 5 immediate Ancestors in England nor Plantagenet for 11 Generations before as some vainly think for although Geffery Duke of Anjou was surnamed Plantagenet from a Broom Stalk commonly worn in his Bonnet yet his Son H. 2. King of England was surnamed Fitz-empresse and his Son Richard Coeur de Lion So Owen Grandfather to King Henry 7. was ap Meredith and he ap Theodore pronounc'd Tyder Surnames being then but little in use amongst the Cambrobritans So Walter Father to Robert King of Scotland from whom our present King is descended was only by Office Grand Seneschal or High Steward or Stuart of Scotland though of later times by a long vulgar errour it hath so prevailed that they are accounted Surnames of many Families descended from him Steward is a Contraction from the Saxon word Stedeward that is in Latine Locum-tenens in French Lieu-tenant because the Lord High Steward was Regis Locum tenens a Name not unfit for any King who is Dei Locum tenens Gods Stuart or Lieutenant or Vicegerent upon Earth The King now raigning is Son to King Charles the Martyr and the Princess Henretta Maria Daughter of King Henry the Great of France from which two Royal Stocks he hath in his Veins all the Royal Blood of Europe concentred Is descended lineally and lawfully from the British Saxon Danish Norman and Scottish Kings and Princes of this Island From the first British King the 139th Monarch from the Scottish in a continued Succession for almost 2000 years the 109th from the Saxon the 46th and from the first of the Norman Line the 26th King So that for Royal
with special equity considered Hence is it that so many Priviledges Immunities Exemptions and Dispensations have been to the Clergy of England granted in all times Our Ancestors thinking it very reasonable that as Souldiers were wont by the Roman Emperours to be endowed with certain Priviledges for their warding and fighting to preserve the State from external Enemies so the Clergy ought to have certain Immunities and Priviledges for their watching and spiritual Warfare to preserve the State from internal Enemies the World the Flesh and the Devil Ut serventur immunes Clerici quo Castris suis sedulo commorantes vigiles excubias ducentes summo caell â—mperatori illaesos populos repraeâ—entent Legibus effectum est â—t quam plurima iis Privileâ—ia concessa sint tum ad eorum personas tum bona ac res spectanâ—ia Of Priviledges some belong to Archbishops some to Bishops as they are so and some belong to them and to the inferiour Clergy as they are Ecclesiastiques or Churchmen Before the coming of the Savons into England the Christian Britains had 3 Archbishops viz. of London York and Caerleon an antient great City of South-Wales upon the River Uske Afterward the Archiepiscopal See of London was by the Saxons placed at Canterbury for the sake of St. Austin the Monk who first preached the Gospel there to the Heathen Saxons and was there buried The other of Caerleon was translated to St. Davids in Pembroke-Shire and afterward subjected wholly to the See of Canterbury since which all England and Wales reckon but 2 Archbishops Canterbury and York The Archbishop of Canterbury antiently had Primacy as well over all Ireland as England and the Irish Bishops received their Consecrations from him for Ireland had no other Archbishop until the year 1152 and therefore in the time of the 2 first Norman Kings it was declared that Canterbury was the Metropolitan Church of England Scotland and Ireland and the Isles adjacent He was therefore sometimes stiled a Patriarch and Patriarcha was a Chief Bishop over several Kingdoms or Provinces as an Archbishop is over several Dioceses and had several Archbishops under him was sometimes called Alterius Orbis Papa Orbis Britannici Pontifex and matters done and recorded in Ecclesiastical affairs ran thus Anno Pontificatus Nostri primo secundo c. He was Legatus Natus that is a perpetual Legantine Power was annext to that Archbishoprick near 1000 years ago whereby no other Legat Nuncio or Ambassadour from the Bishop of Rome could here exercise any Legantine Power without special Licence from the King He was so highly respected abroad that in General Councils he was placed before all other Archbishops at the Popes right Foot He was at home so highly honoured by the Kings of England that according to the Practice of Gods own People the Jews where Aaron was next in Dignity to Moses and according to the practice of most other Christian States where the next in Dignity and Authority to the Sovereign is usually the chiefest Person of the Clergy he was accounted the Second Person in the Kingdome and named and ranked even before the Princes of the Blood He enjoyed some special marks of Royalty as to be Patron of a Bishoprick as he was of Rochester to Coyn Moneys and to have the Wardships of all those who held Lands of him Jure Hominii as it is called although they held in Capite other Lands of the King a Princely Prerogative even against the Kings written Prerogative In an antient Charter granted by William the Conquerour to Lanfranc Archbishop of Canterbury he is to hold his Lands with the same freedom in Dominico suo as the words are as the King holdeth his in Dominico suo except only in 2 or 3 Cases and those of no great importance It is an Antient Priviledge of the See of Canterbury that wheresoever any Mannors or Advowsons do belong unto that See that place forthwith becomes exempt from the Ordinary and is reputed a Peculiar and of the Diocess of Canterbury The Archbishop of Canterbury by the favour of our Kings is judged fit to enjoy still divers considerable Pre-eminencies He is Primat and Metropolitan over all England and hath a super-eminency and some Power even over the Archbishop of York hath power to summon him to a National Synod and Archiepis Eboracensis venire debet cum Episcopis suis ad nutum ejus ut ejus Canonicis dispositionibus obediens existat The Archbishop of Canterbury is at this day Primus par Regni the first Peer of England and next to the Royal Family to precede not only all Dukes but all the Great Officers of the Crown He is stiled by the King in his Writs directed to him Dei Gratiâ Archiepisc Cant. and writes himself Divina Providentia whereas other Bishops write Divinâ Permissione and he is said to be inthroned when he is invested in the Archbishoprick To Crown the King belongs to him and it hath been resolved that wheresoever the Court shall happen to be the King and Queen are Speciales Domestici Parochiani Domini Ar. Cant. and had antiently the Holy Offerings made at the Altar by the King and Queen wheresoever the Court should happen to be if his Grace was there present Also the Power of appointing the Lent Preachers as thought by our Ancestors much more fit for a Prelate or Spiritual Person to do as in all other Christian Courts then for any Lay Lord as hath been used in England since one Cromwell was by Hen. 8. made Vicar General and placed above the Archbishop of Canterbury The Bishop of London is accounted his Provincial Dean the Bishop of Winchester his Chancellour and the Bishop of Rochester his Chaplain In writing and speaking to him is given the Title of Grace as it is to all Dukes and Most Reverend Father in God He hath the Power of all Probate of Testaments and granting Letters of Administration where the Party dying had Bona Notabilia that is five pounds worth or above out of the Diocess wherein he died or ten pounds worth within the Diocess of London or if the party dying be a Bishop though he hath no Goods out of the Diocess where he died Also to make Wills for all such as die intestate within his Province and to administer their Goods to the Kindred or to Pious Uses according to his discretion which most transcendent Trust and Power is so antiently in England belonging to Bishops that the best Antiquary cannot find the first Original thereof By Stat. 25 H. 8. he hath the Honour and Power to grant Licences and Dispensations in all Cases heretofore sued for in the Court of Rome not repugnant to the Law of God or the Kings Prerogative As to allow a Clerk to hold a Benefice in Commendam or Trust To allow a Son contrary to the Canons to succeed his Father immediately in a Benefice To allow a Clerk rightly qualified to hold two Benefices with
Baron was used for Vir as at this day Baron or Varon in the Spanish Tongue is used for the same so that a Baron is Vir 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vir Notabilis Principalis so the Chief Burgesses of London antiently and still those of the Cinque Ports are called Barons Antiently those Barons only were accounted Peers of the Realm that held of the King per integram Baroniam which consisted of 13 Knights Fees and one third part each Knights Fee being 20 l. which make in all 400 Marks and whoever had so much was wont to be summoned to Parliament Now to hold per Baroniam is to hold per haereditatem Baronis whether greater or less Barons in the beginning of the Raign of H. 3. were not of so much repute as afterwards when that King after that great Rebellion against him was supprest called by Writ unto Parliament only such great men as had continued loyal which the succeeding Kings observing they only were accounted Peers of the Realm that were called by the Kings special Writ and the others lost their Peerage The Earls Palatines and Earls Marchers of England had antiently also their Barons under them as in Cheshire there are yet such Barons but as no Bishops but those that hold immediately of the King are Peers of the Realm for the Bishop of Man holding immediately of the Earl of Derby is no Peer so no Barons but those that hold immediately of the King are Peers of the Realm Caput Baroniae is some Castle or Chief Seat of a Nobleman which is not to be divided amongst Daughters if there be no Son but must descend to the Eldest Daughter caeteris filiabus aliunde satisfactis Lands holden by Barony doth not make the purchaser that is ignoble to be noble although the charge of such Tenure doth lie upon him in respect of the Service of the Realm no more than Lands by Villain Service doth make the Purchaser that is a Freeman a Villain though he shall thereby be bound to his Villain Service due for those Lands Barons are sometimes made by Writ being thereby called to sit in the Higher House of Parliament but most usually by Patent All the fore-mentioned Degrees have the Title of Lord from the Saxon word Laford Dominus All the Lords of England both Spiritual and Temporal are Feudataries to the King and in their Creation and also in their Succession do swear an Oath of Fealty and do Homage to the King their Soveraign and pay certain Duties as Signs and Symbols of their Subjection to their Prince All Honours in England are given by the King who is the sole Fountain of Honour The Law of England prohibiteth all Subjects of the Realm to receive any Title of Honour or Dignity of the Gift of any Forreign Prince King or Emperour Est enim jus Majestatis inter Insignia summae potestatis None of these Honours bestowed by the King on a Family can be lost but by want of Issue or else by some heinous Crime and then that Family cannot be restored to their Blood but by Parliament All Noblemen at their Creation have two Ensigns to signifie two Duties Their Heads are adorned ad consulendum Regem Patriam tempore pacis and they are girt with a Sword ad defendendum Regem Patriam tempore belli The several Degrees of the English Nobility are differenced and distinguisht one from another by their Titles and Ensigns of Honour A Duke hath the Title of Grace and being written unto may be stiled Most High Potent and Noble Prince A Marquiss Most Noble and Potent Prince An Earl Most Noble and Potent Lord. A Vicount Right Noble and Potent Lord. And A Baron Right Noble Lord. Their Coronets are all different A Baron hath a Coronet of 6 Pearls upon the Circle given to that honour by the present King A Vicount hath a Coronet with 8 Pearls without the Circle â—n â—â—arls Coronet hath the Pearls raised The Marquiss a Pearl and Strawbeâ—ry Leaf round And a Dukes Coronet only Leaves without Pearls They are more especially distinguisht by their Robes of Parliament by their several Guards on their Mantles or Short Cloaks about their Shoulders A Baron hath but 2 Guards a Vicount two and and a half an Earl 3 a Marquiss 3 and a half and a Duke 4. The Nobility of England have in all times enjoyed many considerable Priviledges All Peers of the Realm being lookt on as the Kings Hereditary constant Counsellours their Persons out of Parliament time are priviledged as others in Parliament time from all arrest unless for Treason Felony or breach of Peace Condemnation in Parliament or Contempt to the King No Supplicavit can be granted against them No Capias or Exigent sued out against them for Actions of Debt or Trespass No Essoin lies against any Peer of the Realm In Criminal Causes Treason or Felony they cannot be tried by any other Jury but by a Jury of Peers of the Realm who are not as other Juries to be put to their Oath but their Veâ—dict given in upon their Honour sufficeth In Civil Causes they are not to be empanelled upon any Jury nor upon any Enquests de facto though in a matter between two Peers In case any Peer be returned upon any such Jury there is a special Writ for his discharge Upon no case to be bound to the good behaviour nor put to swear they will not break the Peace but only to promise it upon their Honour which was ever counted so sacred as upon no terms to be violated A Peer of the Realm may not be put to the Rack or Torture to discover the truth though accused of High Treason Every Peer of the Realm called to Parliament hath the Priviledge in his lawful absence to constitute a Proxy to vote for him which none of the Commons may do Also in places of trust committed to them they are allowed to make Deputies by reason of the necessity supposed in the Law of their attendance on the Person of the King Though neither Civil Law nor Common Law allow any others Testimony to be valid but what is given upon Oath yet the Testimony of a Peer of England given in upon his Honour without any Oath is esteemed valid and they were wont to be examined upon their Allegeance and the Loyalty of their Chivalry and to put in their Answer to a Bill super honorem without taking an Oath though of later times that Priviledge by the neglect of some Lords hath been infringed sometimes A day of Grace by the favour of the Court is not to be granted to the Plaintiff in any Suit or Action wherein a Peer of the Realm is Defendant and this by Statute Law because the Law presumes that a Peer of the Realm must alwayes be ready to attend the Person of the King and the Service of the Commonwealth and therefore it is not to be delayed longer than the ordinary use of the Court
is no where else produced in that abundance and excellency as in England Beside there is in England great plenty of excellent Leather for all sorts of uses nor wants it Hemp and Flax at least not ground fit to produce them For Building it wants not Timber nor Iron Stone nor Slate Brick nor Tiles Marble nor Alablaster Mortar nor Lime c. Lead nor Glass For Firing either Wood Sea-Coal or Pit-Coal almost every where to be had at reasonable rates For Shipping no where better Oak no where such Knee Timber as they call it or Iron to make serviceable and durable Guns For War for Coach for Highway and Hunting no where such plenty of Horses also for Plow Cart and Carriages insomuch as Mules and Asses so generally made use of in France Italy and Spain are utterly despised in England Moreover England produceth besides a mighty quantity of Tinne Lead and Iron some Brass Copperas Allome Salt Saffron and divers other beneficial Commodities it wants not Mines of Silver yielding more in their small quantities of Ore and so richer than those of Poâ—osi in the West Indies whence the King of Spain hath most of his Silver those yielding usually but one Ounce and a half of Silver in one hundred Ounces of Ore whereas these in Wales Cornwall Lancashire and the Bishoprick of Durham yield ordinarily 6 or 8 Ounces per Cent. â—ut these lying deep are hard â—o come unto and Workmen â—ear which is otherwise in Poâ—osi Vineyards have been heretoâ—ore common in most of the â—outhern and Middle Parts of England and Silks might be â—ere produced as it was once â—esigned by King James but a great part of the Natives prone to Navigation supplying England at a very cheap rate with all sorts of Wine Silks and all other Forreign Commodities it hath been found far better Husbandry to employ English Ground rather for producing Wooll Corn and Cattle for which it is most proper In a word though some Countries excel England in some things yet in general there is no one Countrey under Heaven whose Aire is better stored with Birds and Fowls Seas and Rivers with Fishes Fields with all sorts of â—orn the Pastures with Cattel the Forests Parks and Woods with Wild Beasts onely for Recreation and Food the Mines with Metals Coals and other Minerals where are fewer ravenous and hurtful Beasts fewer venemous Serpents or noisome Flies fewer Droughts Inundations or Dearths fewer Unwholsom Serenes Pestilential Aires Tempestuous Hurricanes or Destructive Earthquakes lastly where there is a greater abundance of all things necessary for mans life and more especially for all kind of Food insomuch that it hath been judged that there is yearly as much Flesh and Beer consumed in England by over plentiful Tables as would well serve three times the number of People Add to all this that being encompassed with the Sea and well furnisht with Ships and abundance of Commodious and excellent Havens and Ports it excels for safety and security which is no small praise all the Neighbouring Countries if not all the Countries in the World It hath been possest by five several Nations and coveted by many more and no wonder so fair and rich a Lady should have many Lovers it being a Countrey as was said of the Tree in the midst of Paradise good for food pleasant to the eyes and to be desired whereas Scotland Wales Biscay Switzerland and other like Countries continue still in the possession of their Aborigines of the first that laid claim unto them none since judging it worth their pains to dispossesse them The first Inhabitants of England are believed to be the Britains descended from the â—auls subdued afterward by â—he Romans who by reason of â—â—eir troubles nearer home â—ere constrained to abandon this Countrey about 400 years afâ—er Christ whereupon the Picts â—ahabitants of Scotland invaâ—â—ng the Britains they call to â—â—eir aid the Saxons who chaâ—ng away the Picts soon made themselves Masters of the Britains but these not able to enâ—ure the heavy yoke of the â—axons after many Battels and Attempts to recover their lost Liberties and Countrey retired â—r were driven most of them â—nto the two utmost Western â—arren and mountainous parts of this Countrey called afterwards by the Saxons Walishland instead of Gaulishland as the Germans still call Italy Walishland because inhabited by the Cisalpine Gauls and the French call our Countrey of Britains Le Pais de Gales The Saxons solely possest of all the best part of this Isle were for a long time infested and for some time almost subdued by the Danes and afterwards wholly by the Normans who drave not out the Saxons but mixed with them so that the English blood at this day is a mixture chiefly of Normaâ— and Saxon not without 〈◊〉 tincture of Danish Romish and Britain Blood The English Tongue being aâ— present much refined exceedingly copious expressive and significant by reason of a liberty taken by the Natives of borrowing out of all other Languages whatever might conduce thereunto is as their blood a mixture chiefly of the Old Saxon a Dialect of the Teutonick and the Old Norman a Dialect of the French not without some savour of the Britains Romans and Danes Languages The Romans possessing England caused their Tongue the Latine once to be generally used in this Countrey The Saxons succeeding introduced their Language wheresoever they seated themselves The Normans afterwards getting possession of England caused the Norman or French Tongue to be learnt at School by the Saxons and for a long time had all Lawes Pleadings Sermons c. in French The Latine Tongue at present is made use of in Court Rolls Processes of Courts in Charters Commissions Patents Writs Bonds c. The Names of all Shires Cities Towns and Villages Places and Men in England are generally Saxon and so are most Nouns Appellative and a great part of the Verbs In French or rather Norman are still written the Common Laws and learnt by young Students thereof Also some Pleadings and all Mootes and Law Exercises are wholly French In Parliaments the King doth in French signifie his assent or dissent to all Bills The Natives of England by reason of the Temperate Climat Mild Aire not rendred unequal by high Mountains nor unhealthy by many Marshes plenty of wholsome food and the use of Beer rather than Wine pour la belle taille le beau teinct au visage as the French say for a just handsome large proportion of body for clear complexions and pleasing features do surpasse all the Nations of the World The English are generally great Flesh-eaters although by the nearness of the Sea and abundance of Rivers and Fish-ponds there is no want of Fish In former times their Table was in many places covered four times a day they had Breakfasts Dinners Beverages and Suppers and every where set Dinners and Suppers until in the late troubles wherein many eminent families were much impoverisht a
our Kings and some Necessities for the preservation of the Weal Publick too much alienated The Antient Dominions of the Kings of England were first England and all the Seas round about Great Britain and Ireland and all the Isles adjacent even too the Shores of all the Neighbour Nations and our Law saith the Sea is of the Ligeance of the King as well as the Land and as a mark thereof all ships of Foreigners have antiently demanded leave to fish and pass in these Seas and do at this day Lower their Top-sailes to all the Kings Ships of War To England Henry 1. annext Normandy and Henry 2. Ireland being stiled only Lord of Ireland till 33 H. 8. although they had all Kingly Jurisdiction before Henry 2. also annext the Dukedomes of Guien and Anjou the Counties of Poictou Turein and Mayn Edward the First all Wales and Edward the Third the Right though not the Possession of all France King James added Scotland and since that time there have been super-added sundry considerable Plantations in America The Dominions of the King of England are at this day in Possession besides his just Right and Title to the Kingdom of France all England Scotland and Ireland Three Kingdoms of large extent with all the Isles above 40 in number small and great whereof some very considerable and all the Seas adjacent Moreover the Islands of Jersey Garnsey and Alderny Parcel of the Dutchy of Normandy besides those profitable Plantations of New England Virginia Barbados Jamaica Florida Bermudos besides several other Isles and Places in those Quarters and some in the East Indies and upon the Coast of Africa also upon the main land of America by right of first discovery to Estoit land Terra Corterialis New found Land Novum Belgium Guiana the King of England hath a Legal Right though not Possession Rex Angliae est Persona mixta cum Sacerdote say our Lawyers He is a Priest as well as a King He is anointed with Oyle as the Priests were at first and afterward the Kings of Israel to intimate that his Person is Sacred and Spiritual and therefore at the Coronation hath put upon him a Sacerdotal Garment called the Dalmatica c. and before the Reformation of England when the Cup in the Lords Supper was denied to the Laity the King as a Spiritual Person received in both kinds He is capable of Spiritual Jurisdiction of holding of Tythes all Extra-Parochial Tythes some Proxies and other Spiritual Profits belong to the King of which Laymen both by Common and Canon Law are pronounced uncapable He is an External Bishop of the Church as Constantine the Emperour said of himself 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But I am constituted Bishop for external things of the Church Rex idem hominum Phaebique Sacerdos He is as the Roman Emperours Christian as well as Heathen stiled themselves Pontifex Max. He is the Supreme Pastor of England and hath not only Right of Ecclesiastical Government but also of Exercising some Ecclesiastical Function so far as Solomon did 1 Kings 8. when he blessed the People consecrated the Temple and pronounced that Prayer which is the Pattern now for Consecration of all Churches and Chappels but all the Ministerial Offices are left to the Bishops and Priests as the determinination of Causes are to the Kings Judges although the King may himself sit in Judgement if the Affairs of State did not alwayes require his Presence at the Helme and the Administration of Sacraments Preaching and other Church Offices and Duties to the Bishops and their Ordained Clergy Of this Sacred Person of the King of the life and safety thereof the Laws and Customs of England are of tender that they have made it High Treason onely to imagine or intend the death of the King And because by imagining or conspiring the death of the Kings Counsellors or Great Officers of his Houshold the destruction of the King hath thereby sometimes ensued and is usually aimed at saith Stat. 3 H. 7. that also was made felony to be punisht with death although in all other Cases Capital the Rule is Voluntas non reputabitur pro facto and an English Man may not in other Cases be punisht with death unless the Act follow the Intent The Law of England hath so high esteem of the Kings Person that to offend against those Persons and those things that represent his Sacred Person as to kill some of the Crown Officers or the Kings Judges executing their Office or to counterfeit the Kings Seals or his Moneys is made High Treason because by all these the Kings Person is represented and High Treason is in the Eye of the Law so horrid that besides loss of Life and Honour Real and Personal Estate to the Criminal his Heirs also are to lose the same for ever and to be ranked amongst the Peasantry and Ignoble till the King shall please to restore them Est enim tam grave crimen saith Bracton ut vix permittitur haeredibus quâ—d vivant High Treason is so grievous a Crime that the Law not content with the Life and Estate and Honour of the Criminal can hardly endure to see his heirs survive him And rather than Treason against the Kings Person shall go unpunisht the Innocent in some Cases shall be punished for if an Idiot or Lunatick who cannot be said to have any will and so cannot offend during his Idiocy or Lunacy shall kill or go about to kill the King he shall be punisht as a Traytor and yet being Non compos mentis the Law holds that he cannot commit Felony or Petit Treason not other sorts of High Treason Moreover for the precious regard of the Person of the King by an Antient Record it is declared that no Physick ought to be administred to him without good Warrant this Warrant to be made by the Advice of his Council no other Physick but what is mentioned in the Warrant ro be administred to him the Physitians to prepare all things with their own hands and not by the hands of any Apothecary and to use the assistance only of such Chyrurgeons as are prescribed in the Warrant And so precious is the Person and Life of the King that every Subject is obliged and bound by his Allegeance to defend his Person in his Natural aswell as Politick Capacity with his own Life and Limbs wherefore the Law saith that the life and member of every Subject is at the service of the Soveraign He is Pater Patriae Dulce erit pro Patre Patriae mori to lose life or limb in defending him from Conspiracies Rebellions or Invasions or in the Execution of his Laws should seem a pleasant thing to every loyal hearted Subject The Office of the King of England according to the Learned Fortescue is Pugnare bella populi sui eos rectissime judicare To fight the Battels of his People and to see Right and Justice done unto them Or according to
Cure of Souls To abolish irregularity gotten without a mans own default as by defect of body or birth or by accidental killing of a man c. To abolish the guilt of Simony To allow a Beneficed Clerk for some certain Causes to be Non-Resident for some time To allow a Lay-man to hold a Prebend c. whilst by study he is preparing himself for the Service of the Church To grant Dispensations to sick to Old People to Women with Child to eat flesh on dayes whereon it was forbidden To constitute Publick Notaries whose single Testimony is as good as the Testimonies of any two other Persons He hath the Power to grant Literns Tuitorias whereby any one that brings his Appeal may prosecute the same without any molestation To bestow one Dignity or Prebend in any Cathedral Church within his Province upon every Creation there of a new Bishop who is also to provide a sufficient Benefice for one of the Chaplains of the Archbishop or to maintain him till it be effected By the Stat. Primo Eliz. it is provided that the Queen by the Advice of the Archbishop might ordain and publish such Rites and Ceremonies as may be for Gods glory for edifying the Church and due reverence of the Sacraments He hath the Prerogative to Consecrate a Bishop though it must be done in the presence and with the assistance of two other Bishops as every Bishop gives Ordination but with the assistance of Presbyters to assign Co-adjutors to infirm Bishops to confirm the Elections of Bishops within his Province to call Provincial Synods according to the Kings Writ alwayes directed to him to be Moderator in the Synods or Convocations to give his Suffrage there last of all to visit the whole Province to appoint a Guardian of the Spiritualties during the Vacancy of any Bishoprick within his Province whereby all the Episcopal Rights of that Diocess belong to him all Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction as Visitation Institutions c. The Archbishop may retain and qualifie 8 Chaplains which is 2 more than any Duke by Statute is allowed to do The Archbishop of Canterbury hath moreover the Power to hold divers Courts of Judicature for deciding of Differences in Ecclesiastical Affairs as his Court of Arches his Court of Audience his Prerogative Court and his Court of Peculiars of all which shall be handled particularly and apart in the Second Part of the Present State of England These and other Prerogatives and Priviledges the Wisdom of our first Reformers thought fit to be retained and added to the Chief Person under the King of the Church of England The next Person in the Church of England is the Archbishop of York who was antiently also of very high repute in this Nation and had under his Province not only divers Bishopricks in the North of England but all the Bishopricks of Scotland for a long time until the year 1470 when Pope Sixtus the 4th created the Bishop of St. Andrews Archbishop and Metropolitan of all Scotland He was also Legatus Natus and had the Legantine Office and Authority annext to that Archbishoprick He hath still the place and precedence of all Dukes not of the Royal Blood and of all Great Officers of State except only the Lord Chancellour hath the Title of Grace and Most Reverend Father hath the Honour to Crown the Queen and to be her perpetual Chaplain He is stiled Metropolitan of England and hath under his Province the Bishopricks of York Durham Carlile Chester and that of the Isle of Man Hath the Rights of a Count Palatine over a certain Territory near York erected by King Rich. 2. into a County Palatine May qualifie also 8 Chaplains and hath within his Province divers other Prerogatives and Priviledges which the Archbishop of Canterbury hath within his own Province The next in place amongst the Clergy of England are the Bishops so called from the Saxon word Biscop and that from the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Speculator Explorator vel Superintendens an Officer amongst the Heathen so called quia praeerat pani victui quotidiano Episcopus enim apud Christionos praeest pani victui spirituali All the Bishops of England are Barons and Peers of the Realm They are Barons by a threefold manner which cannot be said of the Lay Lords they are Feodal in regard of their Lands and Baronies annext to their Bishopricks They are Barons by Writ being summoned by the Kings Writ to Parliament and they are created Barons by Patent which at their Consecration is alwayes exhibited to the Archbishop They have the Precedence of all Temporal Barons under Vicounts In the Parliament have place in the Upper House in a double capacity not only as Barons but as Bishops for before they were Barons they had in all times place in the Great Council of the Kingdome and there ever placed on the Kings right hand not only to give their Advice as the Judges do but ad tractandum ordinandum statuendum definiendum c. They have the Title of Lords and Right Reverend Fathers All Bishops in England have one or two transcendent Priviledges which seem almost Regal as In their own Courts to judge and pass Sentence alone by themselves without any Collegue or Assessor which is not done in other of the Kings Courts for the Bishops Courts though held by the Kings Authority Virtute Magistratus sui are not accounted to be properly the Kings Courts and therefore the Bishops send forth Writs in their own Names Teste the Bishop and not in the Kings Name as all the Kings Courts properly so called do Moreover Bishops have this other transcendent Priviledge To depute their Authority to another as the King doth either to their Bishops Suffragans to their Chancellours to their Commissaries or other Officers which none of the Kings Judges may do All Bishops have one Priviledge above and beyond all Lay Lords viz. That in whatsoever Christian Princes Dominions they come their Episcopal Dignity and Degree is acknowledged and they may quatenus Bishops confer Orders c. whereas no Lay Baron Vicount Marquiss nor Duke is in Law acknowledgeed such out of the Dominions of the Prince who conferred those Honours The Laws and Customs of England are so tender of the Honour Credit Reputation and Person of Bishops our Spiritual Fathers that none might without special Licence from the King first obtained be endited of any Crime before any Temporal Judge Upon severe Penalty by our Laws no man may raise reports whereby Scandal may arise to the Person of any Bishop or Debate and Discord between them and the Commons of England In Civil Trials where a Bishop is Plaintiff or Defendant the Bishop may as well as any Lay Lord challenge the Array 〈◊〉 one Knight at least be not â—eturned of the Jury and it â—hall be allowed unto him as 〈◊〉 Priviledge due to his Peerage In Criminal Trials for life all â—ishops by Magna Charta and â—tat 25 Edw. 3.
be verified of Religion and Gods Service amongst us The time thereof may be Threescore years and ten if it continue till Fourscore it will be but small joy to those that shall then behold the Condition of the English Church and the best read Historian cannot produce one example of a happy State where the Clergy hath been exposed to the peoples Contempt which must needs happen where their Benefices their Maintenance is scandalous and their Persons despicable It is the last Trick saith St. Gregory that the Devil hath in this World when he cannot bring the Word and Sacraments in disgrace by Errours and Heresies he invented this Project to bring the Clergy into contempt and low esteem as it is now in England where they are accounted by many as the dross and refuse of the Nation Men think it a stain to their blood to place their Sons in that Function and Women ashamed to marry with any of them whereas antiently in England as among the Jews the Tribe of Levi was counted Noble above all other Tribes except that of the Royal Tribe of Judah the Function of the Clergy was of so high account and esteem that not only the best Gentry and Nobility but divers of the Sons and Brothers of divers of our English Kings since the Conquest and before disdained not to enter into Holy Orders and to be Clergy-men as at this day is practised in most other Monarchies of Christendome Ethelwolph Son and Successor to Egbert first sole King of England was in Holy Orders and Bishop of Winchester at his Fathers death Odo Bishop of Bayeux in Normandy was Brother to William the Conquerour Henry de Blois Brother to King Stephen was Bishop of Winchester Geofry Plantagenet Son to Henry 2 was Bishop of Lincoln Henry de Beaufort Brother to Henry the 4th was Bishop also of Winchester And of later Times that most prudent Henry 7 had designed his second Son to be a Clergyman to omit many others of Noble Blood Which Policy is still observed even amongst the few Families of the Romish Religion in England wherein are to be found at this day some Brothers or Sons of Dukes Marquisses Earls and Barons in Holy Orders and all the rest of the Stock of Baronets Knights or Gentry and for this cause find respect not only amongst those of their own Opinions but even of the more sober moderate and best civilized Protestants Whilst this Policy lasted in England the Clergy were judged the fittest Persons to execute most of the Chief Offices and Places of the Kingdom according to the Divine Policy amongst Gods peculiar People where the Priests and Levites were the Principal Officers and Judges in every Court to whom the People were to be obedient on pain of death and the Laity did with much reverence and respect submit to them And as then Os Sacerdotis Oraculum erat plebis according to that of Malachi 2. 7. So Os Episcopi Oraculum erat Regis Regni Rex amplectabatur universum Clerum lata fronte ex eo semper sibi eligebat primos a Consiliis primos ad officia Regni obeunda Primi igitur sedebant in omni Regni Comitiis Tribunalibus Episcopi in Regali quidem Palatio cum Regni Magnatibus in Comitatu una cum Comite in Turno cum Vicecomite in Hundredo cum Domino Hundredi sic ut in promovenda Justitia usquequaque gladius gladium adjuvaret nihil inconsulto Sacerdote vel Episcopo ageretur And because the Weal of the Kingdom and the Service of the King depended so much upon them and their presence for that end so oft required at London it was judged expedient that every Bishoprick should have a Palace or House belonging to it in or about London and it is known at this day where stood the Houses of every one except that of St. Asaph which also might probably have had one but more obscure than some other that Bishoprick having been as still very mean Great was the Authority of the Clergy in those dayes and their Memory should be precious in these dayes if we consider that they were the Authors of so great benefits and advantages to this Kingdom that there are few things of any importance for promoting of the welfare of this Church and State wherein the Bishops and Prelats under God have not been the Principal Instruments The Excellent Laws made by King Ina King Athelstan King Edmund and St. Edward from whom we have our Common Laws and our Priviledges mentioned in Magna Charta were all made by the perswasions and advice of Bishops and Archbishops named in our Histories The Union of the 2 Houses of York and Lancaster whereby a long and bloody War was ended was by the most wise Advice and Counsel of Bishop Morton then a Privy Councellour The Union of England and Scotland that inexpressible advantage to both Nations was brought to pass by the long fore-sight of Reverend Bishop Fox a Privy Councellour in advising Henry the 7th to match his Eldest Daughter to Scotland and his Younger to France Most of the Great Publick Works now remaining in England acknowledge their antient and present being either to the sole Cost and Charges or to the liberal Contributions or at least to the powerful Perswasions of Bishops as most of the best endowed Colledges in both our Vniversities very many Hospitals Churches Palaces Castles have been founded and built by Bishops even that famous chargeable and difficult Structure of London-Bridge stands obliged to the liberal Contributions of an Archbishop and it was a Bishop of London at whose earnest request William the Conquerour granted to the City of London so large Priviledges that in a grateful remembrance thereof the Lord Mayor and Aldermen to this day upon some solemn dayes of their resort to St. Pauls Church do go in Procession to the Grave Stone where that Bishop lies interred But above all The Converting England to the Christian Religion the Reforming that Religion when corrupted and since that the maintenance of the Doctrine thereof against all Romish Writers and of the Discipline thereof none of the least good Offices against all the Practices and Power of the Puritan and Presbyterian Factions and all those other Sectaries lineally descended from them all this and more is owing if not solely yet principally to Bishops and Prelats by the late want of whom to sit at the Stern how soon was this goodly Vessel split upon the Rocks of Anarchy and Confusion Even since the late Restauration of Bishops to set down the many considerable Publick Benefits flowing from them and other Dignified Clergy would tire the Reader What Sums of Money have been by them expended in repairing Cathedral Churches Episcopal Houses in founding and building Hospitals in Charity to poor Widdows of Clergymen utterly ruined by the late Rebels for redeeming of poor Christian Slaves at Algier what publick and private Sums for supplying the Kings Necessities at his
Restauration what Expences in Hospitality c. above and beyond the Charity and Bounty of others who have ten times their Wealth and Riches As they have then been beneficial to this Kingdome above and beyond other ranks of men so they have had the highest respect reverence and esteem In all Ages amongst all Nations amongst Turks as well as Jews and Christians it was judged fit that the Principal Domestique Servants of the King of Heaven and Earth either should be of the Chiefest and Noblest upon Earth or at least should be so esteemed Such Reverence our Ancestors bare to that Function that as Selden observes to fall down and kiss the Feet was a Ceremony usual towards other Bishops and Principal Prelates besides the Bishop of Rome Divers of our Saxon and Norman Kings and Nobles so respected them that they constrained them in Publick Grants yet to be seen to sign before the highest of the Lay Nobles and sometimes before the Kings own Sons and Brothers and to rank them before c. In the year 1200. three Kings viz. of England Scotland and of South-Wales to express their pious and courteous respect to Hugh Bishop of Lincoln disdained not with their own Royal Shoulders to bear his dead Corps to the Grave And yet it hath been observed even by Strangers that the Iniquity of the present times in England is such that the English Orthodox Clergy are not only hated by the Romanists on the one side and maligned by the Presbyterian on the other side as the English Liturgy hath also been for a long time by both of them a sure evidence of the excellency thereof and as our Saviour was crucified between two Theeves but also that of all the Christian Clergy of Europe whether Romish Lutheran or Calvinian none are so little respected beloved obeyed or rewarded as the present Pious Learned Loyal Orthodox Clergy of England even by those who have alwayes professed themselves of that Communion O Deus in quae tempora reservasti nos Here followeth a Catalogue of the present Deans in the Provinces both of Canterbury and York In the Province of Canterbury Dr. Turner Dean of Canterbury Dr. Sancrost Dean of Pauls Dr. Dolben Bishop of Rochester and Dean of Westminster Dr. Clark Dean of Winchester Dr. Wilford Dean of Ely Dr. Creyton Dean of Bath and Wells Dr. Williams Bishop of Ossory and Dean Commendatory of Bangor Dr. Fell Dean of Christ-Church Dr. Hardy Dean of Rochester Dr. Gueson Dean of Chichester Dr. Thomas Dean of Worcester Dr. â—redyok Dean of Salisbury Dr. Honywood Dean of Lincoln Dr. Lloyd Dean of St. Asaph Dr. Cary Dean of Exeter Dr. Duport Dean of Peterborough Dr. Crofts Dean of Norwich Dr. Toogood Dean of Bristol Dr. Hodges Dean of Hereford Dr. Brough Dean of Glocester Dr. Wood Dean of Litchfield In the Province of York Dr. Hitch Dean of York Dr. Sudbury Dean of Durham Dr. Carlton Dean of Carlile Dr. Bridgeman Dean of Chester Note That in the Cathedral Churches of St. Davids and of Landaff there never hath been any Dean but the Bishop in either is Head of the Chapter and in the Bishops absence the Chanter at St. Davids and at Landaff the Archdeacon Note also That there are some Deans in England without any Jurisdiction only for honour so stiled as the Dean of the Chappel Royal and Dean of the Chappel of St. George at Windsor Moreover Some Deans there are without any Chapter yet enjoying certain Jurisdictions as the Dean of Croyden the Dean of Battel the Dean of Bocking c. Of the Nobility or Second Estate of England NObiles quasi viri Noscibiles or Notabiles In all Christian Monarchies men that have been Notable for Courage Wisdom Wealth c. have been judged fit and worthy to enjoy certain Priviledges Titles Dignities Honours c. above the Common People to be placed in an higher Orbe and to be as a Skreen between the King and the Inferiour Subjects to defend the one from Insolencies and the other from Tyranny to interpose by their Counsel Courage and Grandeur where common persons dare not ought not to be so hardy to support the King and defend the Kingdom with their lives and fortunes The Nobility of England is called the Peerage of England because they are all Pares Regni that is Nobilitate Pares though gradu impares The Degrees of the English Nobility are onely five viz. Duke Marquiss Earl Vicount and Baron These are all Barons but the four first are for State Priviledge and Precedence above and before other Barons A Duke in Latine Dux a ducendo Noblemen being antiently either Generals and Leaders of Armies in time of War or Wardens of Marches and Governours of Provinces in times of Peace afterwards made so for term of life then held by Lands and Fees at length made Hereditary and Titular The first Duke since the Conquerour was Edward the Black Prince created so by Edward 3 in the 11th year of his Raign A Duke is at this day created by Patent Cincture of a Sword Imposition of a Cap and Coronet of Gold on his Head and a Verge of Gold put into his hand Marchio a Marquiss was first so called from the Government of Marches and Frontier Countries The first that was so created was Robert Vere Earl of Oxford made Marquiss of Dublin in Octavo of Richard 2. A Marquiss is created by a Cincture of a Sword Imposition of a Cap of Honour with a Coronet and delivery of a Charter or Patent Earls antiently called Comites because they were wont Comitari Regem to wait upon the King for Counsel and Advice The Saxons called them Ealdormen the Danes Eorlas and the English Earls They had antiently for the support of their state the third penny out of the Sherives Court issuing out of all Pleas of that Shire whereof they had their Title but now it is otherwise An Earl is created by the Cincture of a Sword a Mantle of State put upon him by the King himself a Cap and a Coronet put upon his head and a Charter in his hand All Earls are stiled by the King Consanguinei nostri Our Cosins and they antiently did and still may use the style of Nos All the Earls of England are local or denominated from some Shire Town or Place except 2 whereof one is personal as the Earl Marshal of England who is not only honorary as all the rest but also officiary The other is nominal viz. Earl Rivers who takes his denomination from an Illustrious Family as the rest do from some noted place Vicecomes quasi vice Comitis gubernaturus Comitatum This Title was first given say some by Hen. 6. in the 18th year of his Raign to John Beaumont though it may be found that 5 H. 5. Sir Robert Brent was by that King created a Vicount A Vicount is so made by Patent In the Laws of the Longobards and of the Normans this Word