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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A68197	The first and second volumes of Chronicles. [vol. 1] comprising 1 The description and historie of England, 2 The description and historie of Ireland, 3 The description and historie of Scotland: first collected and published by Raphaell Holinshed, William Harrison, and others: now newlie augmented and continued (with manifold matters of singular note and worthie memorie) to the yeare 1586. by Iohn Hooker aliàs Vowell Gent and others. With conuenient tables at the end of these volumes.; Chronicles of England, Scotlande, and Irelande. vol. 1	Holinshed, Raphael, d. 1580?; Stanyhurst, Richard, 1547-1618.; Fleming, Abraham, 1552?-1607.; Stow, John, 1525?-1605.; Thynne, Francis, 1545?-1608.; Hooker, John, 1526?-1601.; Harrison, William, 1534-1593.; Boece, Hector, 1465?-1536.; Giraldus, Cambrensis, 1146?-1223?	1587 (1587)	STC 13569_pt1; ESTC S122178	1,179,579	468

diseases doo consume manie of them before the owners can séeke out any remedie by Phlebotomie or otherwise Some superstitious fooles suppose that they which die of the garget are ridden with the night mare and therefore they hang vp stones which naturallie haue holes in them and must be found vnlooked for as if such a stone were an apt cockeshot for the diuell to run through and solace himselfe withall whilest the cattell go scotfree and are not molested by him But if I should set downe but halfe the toies that superstition hath brought into our husbandmens heads in this and other behalfes it would aske a greater volume than is conuenient for such a purpose wherefore it shall suffice to haue said thus much of these things The yéeld of our corn-corne-ground is also much after this rate folowing Through out the land if you please to make an estimat thereof by the acre in meane and indifferent yeares wherein each acre of rie or wheat well tilled and dressed will yeeld commonlie sixtéene or twentie bushels an acre of barlie six and thirtie bushels of otes and such like foure or fiue quarters which proportion is notwithstanding oft abated toward the north as it is oftentimes surmounted in the south Of mixed corne as peason and beanes sowen togither tares and otes which they call bulmong rie and wheat named miscelin here is no place to speake yet their yéeld is neuerthelesse much after this proportion as I haue often marked And yet is not this our great foison comparable to that of hoter countries of the maine But of all that euer I read the increase which Eldred Danus writeth of in his De imperio Iudaeorum in Aethiopia surmounteth where he saith that in the field néere to the Sabbatike riuer called in old time Gosan the ground is so fertile that euerie graine of barleie growing dooth yéeld an hundred kernels at the least vnto the owner Of late yeares also we haue found and taken vp a great trade in planting of hops whereof our moorie hitherto and vnprofitable grounds doo yeeld such plentie increase that their are few farmers or occupiers in the countrie which haue not gardens and hops growing of their owne and those farre better than doo come from Flanders vnto vs. Certes the corruptions vsed by the Flemings and forgerie dailie practised in this kind of ware gaue vs occasion to plant them here at home so that now we may spare and send manie ouer vnto them And this I know by experience that some one man by conuersion of his moorie grounds into hopyards wherof before he had no commoditie dooth raise yearelie by so little as twelue acres in compasse two hundred markes all charges borne toward the maintenance of his familie Which industrie God continue though some secret fréends of Flemings let not to exclaime against this commoditie as a spoile of wood by reason of the poles which neuerthelesse after three yeares doo also come to the fire and spare their other fewell The cattell which we breed are commonlie such as for greatnesse of bone swéetnesse of flesh and other benefits to be reaped by the same giue place vnto none other as may appeare first by our oxen whose largenesse height weight tallow hides and hornes are such as none of anie other nation doo commonlie or may easilie excéed them Our shéepe likewise for good tast of flesh quantitie of lims finesse of fléece caused by their hardnesse of pasturage and abundance of increase for in manie places they bring foorth two or thrée at an eaning giue no place vnto anie more than doo our goates who in like sort doo follow the same order and our déere come not behind As for our conies I haue séene them so fat in some soiles especiallie about Meall and Disnege that the grease of one being weighed hath peised verie néere six or seuen ounces All which benefits we first refer to the grace and goodnesse of God and next of all vnto the bountie of our soile which he hath indued with so notable and commodious fruitfulnesse But as I meane to intreat of these things more largelie hereafter so will I touch in this place one benefit which our nation wanteth and that is wine the fault whereof is not in our soile but the negligence of our countriemen especiallie of the south partes who doo not inure the same to this commoditie and which by reason of long discontinuance is now become vnapt to beare anie grapes almost for pleasure shadow much lesse then the plaine fields or seuerall vineyards for aduantage and commoditie Yet of late time some haue assaied to deale for wine as to your lordship also is right well knowen But sith that liquor when it commeth to the drinking hath bin found more hard than that which is brought from beyond the sea and the cost of planting and keeping thereof so chargeable that they may buie it far better cheape from other countries they haue giuen ouer their enterprises without anie consideration that as in all other things so neither the ground it selfe in the beginning nor successe of their trauell can answer their expectation at the first vntill such time as the soile be brought as it were into acquaintance with this commoditie and that prouision may be made for the more easinesse of charge to be imploied vpon the same If it be true that where wine dooth last and indure well there it will grow no worse I muse not a little wherefore the planting of vines should be neglected in England That this liquor might haue growne in this Iland heretofore first the charter that Probus the emperour gaue equallie to vs the Galles and Spaniards is one sufficient testimonie And that it did grow here beside the testimonie of Beda lib. 1. cap. 1. the old notes of tithes for wine that yet remaine in the accompts of some parsons and vicars in Kent elsewhere besides the records of sundrie sutes commensed in diuerse ecclesiasticall courts both in Kent Surrie c also the inclosed parcels almost in euerie abbeie yet called the vineyardes may be a notable witnesse as also the plot which we now call east Smithfield in London giuen by Canutus sometime king of this land with other soile there about vnto certeine of his knights with the libertie of a Guild which therof was called Knighten Guild The truth is saith Iohn Stow our countrie man and diligent traueller in the old estate of this my natiue citie that it is now named Port soken ward and giuen in time past to the religious house within Algate Howbeit first Otwell the Archouell Otto finallie Geffrie erle of Essex constables of the Tower of London withheld that portion frō the said house vntill the reigne of king Stephan and thereof made a vineyard to their great commoditie and lucre The I le of Elie also was in the first times of the Normans called Le Ile des vignes And good record appéereth that the

couered with streined canuasses vpon a soft fire wherby and by the weight that is laied vpon them they are dried and pressed into cakes and then bagged vp for the benefit of their owners In good yeeres we gather foure score or an hundred pounds of wet saffron of an acre which being dried dooth yeeld twentie pounds of drie and more Whereby and sith the price of saffron is commonlie about twentie shillings in monie or not so little it is easie to sée what benefit is reaped by an acre of this commoditie towards the charges of the setter which indeed are great but yet not so great as he shall be thereby a looser if he be anie thing diligent For admit that the triple tillage of an acre dooth cost 13 shillings foure pence before the saffron be set the clodding sixtéene pence the taking of euerie load of stones from the same foure pence the raising of euerie quarter of heads six pence and so much for clensing of them besides the rent of ten shillings for euerie acre thirtie load of doong which is woorth six pence the load to be laid on the first yéere for the setting three and twentie shillings and foure pence for the paring fiue shillings six pence for the picking of a pound wet c yea though he hire it readie set and paie ten pounds for the same yet shall he susteine no damage if warme weather and open season doo happen at the gathering This also is to be noted that euerie acre asketh twentie quarters of heads placed in ranks two inches one from an other in long beds which conteine eight or ten foot in breadth And after thrée yeeres that ground will serue well and without compest for barleie by the space of eightéene or twentie yéeres togither as experience dooth confirme The heads also of euerie acre at the raising will store an acre and an halfe of new ground which is a great aduantage and it will floure eight or ten daies togither But the best saffron is gathered at the first at which time foure pounds of wet saffron will go verie neere to make one of drie but in the middest fiue pounds of the one will make but one of the other because the chiue waxeth smaller as six at the last will doo no more but yéeld one of the dried by reason of the chiue which is now verie leane and hungrie After twentie yeeres also the same ground may be set with saffron againe And in lieu of a conclusion take this for a perpetuall rule that heads comming out of a good ground will prosper best in a lighter soile and contrariwise which is one note that our crokers doo carefullie obserue The heads are raised euerie third yeare about vs to wit after Midsummer when the rosse commeth drie from the heads and commonlie in the first yéere after they be set they yéeld verie little increase yet that which then commeth is counted the finest and greatest chiue best for medicine and called saffron Du hort The next crop is much greater but the third exceedeth and then they raise againe about Walden and in Cambridge shire In this period of time also the heads are said to child that is to yéeld out of some parts of them diuerse other headlets whereby it hath béene séene that some one head hath béene increased though with his owne detriment to three or foure or fiue or six which augmentation is the onlie cause whereby they are sold so good cheape For to my remembrance I haue not knowne foure bushels or a coome of them to be valued much aboue two shillings eight pence except in some od yéeres that they arise to eight or ten shillings the quarter and that is when ouer great store of winters water hath rotted the most of them as they stood within the ground or heat in summer parched and burnt them vp In Norffolke and Suffolke they raise but once in seuen yéeres but as their saffron is not so fine as that of Cambridge shire and about Walden so it will not cake ting nor hold colour withall wherein lieth a great part of the value of this stuffe Some craftie iackes vse to mix it with scraped brazell or with the floure of Sonchus which commeth somewhat neere indeed to the hue of our good saffron if it be late gathered but it is soone bewraied both by the depth of the colour and hardnesse Such also was the plentie of saffron about twentie yeeres passed that some of the townesmen of Walden gaue the one halfe of the floures for picking of the other and sent them ten or twelue miles abroad into the countrie whilest the rest not thankfull for the abundance of Gods blessing bestowed vpon them as wishing rather more scarsitie thereof because of the kéeping vp of the price in most contemptuous maner murmured against him saieng that he did shite saffron therewith to choake the market But as they shewed themselues no lesse than ingrat infidels in this behalfe so the Lord considered their vnthankfulnesse gaue them euer since such scarsitie as the greatest murmurers haue now the least store and most of them are either worne out of occupieng or remaine scarse able to mainteine their grounds without the helpe of other men Certes it hath generallie decaied about Safton Walden since the said time vntill now of late within these two yeares that men began againe to plant and renew the same because of the great commoditie But to procéed When the heads be raised and taken vp they will remaine sixteene or twentie daies out of the earth or more yea peraduenture a full moneth Howbeit they are commonlie in the earth againe by saint Iames tide or verie shortlie after For as if they be taken vp before Midsummer or beginning of Iulie the heads will shirnke like a rosted warden so after August they will wax drie become vnfruitfull and decaie And I know it by experience in that I haue carried some of them to London with me and notwithstanding that they haue remained there vnset by the space of fortie dais and more yet some of them haue brought foorth two or thrée floures a peece and some floures thrée or fiue chiues to the greeat admiration of such as haue gathered the same and not béene acquainted with their nature and countrie where they grew The crokers or saffron men doo vse an obseruation a litle before the comming vp of the floure and sometime in the taking vp at Midsummer tide by opening of the heads to iudge of plentie and scarsitie of this commoditie to come For if they sée as it were many small hairie veines of saffron to be in the middest of the bulbe they pronounce a fruitfull yeare And to saie truth at the cleauing of ech head a man shall discerne the saffron by the colour and sée where abouts the chiue will issue out of the root Warme darke nights swéet dews fat grounds chéeflie the chalkie and mistie mornings are verie good

POSSIDETE ANIMAS VESTRAS NH THE First and second volumes of Chronicles comprising 1 The description and historie of England 2 The description and historie of Ireland 3 The description and historie of Scotland First collected and published by Raphaell Holinshed William Harrison and others Now newlie augmented and continued with manifold matters of singular note and worthie memorie to the yeare 1586. by Iohn Hooker aliàs Vowell Gent. and others With conuenient tables at the end of these volumes Historiae placeant nostrates ac peregrinae 1574 To the Right Honorable and his singular good Lord and Maister S. William Brooke Knight Lord Warden of the cinque Ports and Baron of Cobham all increase of the feare and knowledge of God firme obedience toward his Prince infallible loue to the common wealth and commendable renowme here in this world and in the world to come life euerlasting HAuing had iust occasion Right Honorable to remaine in London during the time of Trinitie terme last passed and being earnestlie required of diuers my freends to set downe some breefe discourse of parcell of those things which I had obserued in the reading of such manifold antiquities as I had perused toward the furniture of a Chronologie which I haue yet in hand I was at the first verie loth to yeeld to their desires first for that I thought my selfe vnable for want of skill and iudgment so suddenlie with so hastie speed to take such a charge vpon me secondlie bicause the dealing therein might prooue an hinderance and impechment vnto mine owne Treatise and finallie for that I had giuen ouer all earnest studie of histories as iudging the time spent about the same to be an hinderance vnto my more necessarie dealings in that vocation function wherevnto I am called in the ministerie But when they were so importunate with me that no reasonable excuse could serue to put by this trauell I condescended at the length vnto their yrkesome sute promising that I would spend such void time as I had to spare whilest I should be inforced to tarie in the citie vpon some thing or other that should satisfie their request and stand in lieu of a description of my Countrie For their parts also they assured me of such helps as they could purchase and thus with hope of good although no gaie successe I went in hand withall then almost as one leaning altogither vnto memorie sith my books and I were parted by fourtie miles in sunder In this order also I spent a part of Michaelmas and Hilarie termes insuing being inforced thereto I say by other businesses which compelled me to keepe in the citie and absent my selfe from my charge though in the meane season I had some repaire vnto my poore librarie but not so great as the dignitie of the matter required and yet far greater than the Printers hast would suffer One helpe and none of the smallest that I obtained herein was by such commentaries as Leland had somtime collected of the state of Britaine books vtterlie mangled defaced with wet and weather and finallie vnperfect through want of sundrie volumes secondlie I gat some knowledge of things by letters and pamphlets from sundrie places shires of England but so discordant now and then amongst themselues especiallie in the names and courses of riuers and situation of townes that I had oft greater trouble to reconcile them one with an other than orderlie to pen the whole discourse of such points as they contained the third aid did grow by conference with diuers either at the table or secretlie alone wherein I marked in what things the talkers did agree and wherin they impugned ech other choosing in the end the former and reiecting the later as one desirous to set foorth the truth absolutelie or such things in deed as were most likelie to be true The last comfort arose by mine owne reading of such writers as haue heretofore made mention of the condition of our countrie in speaking wherof if I should make account of the successe extraordinarie cōming by sundrie treatises not supposed to be extant I should but seeme to pronounce more than may well be said with modestie say farder of my selfe than this Treatise can beare witnes of Howbeit I refer not this successe wholie vnto my purpose about this Description but rather giue notice thereof to come to passe in the penning of my Chronologie whose crums as it were fell out verie well in the framing of this Pamphlet In the processe therefore of this Booke if your Honor regard the substance of that which is here declared I must needs confesse that it is none of mine owne but if your Lordship haue consideration of the barbarous composition shewed herein that I may boldlie claime and challenge for mine owne sith there is no man of any so slender skill that will defraud me of that reproch which is due vnto me for the meere negligence disorder and euill disposition of matter comprehended in the same Certes I protest before God and your Honour that I neuer made any choise of stile or words neither regarded to handle this Treatise in such precise order and method as manie other would haue done thinking it sufficient truelie and plainelie to set foorth such things as I minded to intreat of rather than with vaine affectation of eloquence to paint out a rotten sepulchre a thing neither commendable in a writer nor profitable to the reader How other affaires troubled me in the writing hereof manie know and peraduenture the flacknesse shewed herein can better testifie but howsoeuer it be done whatsoeuer I haue done I haue had an especiall eye vnto the truth of things and for the rest I hope that this foule frizeled Treatise of mine will prooue a spur to others better learned more skilfull in Chorographie and of greater iudgement in choise of matter to handle the selfe same argument if in my life time I doo not peruse it againe It is possible also that your Honour will mislike hereof for that I haue not by mine owne trauell and eysight viewed such things as I doo here intreat of In deed I must needs confesse that vntill now of late except it were from the parish where I dwell vnto your Honour in Kent or out of London where I was borne vnto Oxford Cambridge where I haue bene brought vp I neuer trauelled 40. miles foorthright and at one iourney in all my life neuerthelesse in my report of these things I vse their authorities who either haue performed in their persons or left in writing vpon sufficient ground as I said before whatsoeuer is wanting in mine It may be in like sort that your Honour will take offense at my rash and retchlesse behauiour vsed in the composition of this volume and much more that being scambled vp after this maner I dare presume to make tendour of the protection therof vnto your Lordships hands But when I consider the singular affection that your

of a giant that was 46. cubits in length after the Romane standard and by diuerse supposed to be the bodie of Orion or Aetion Neuerthelesse I read that Lucius Flaccus and Metellus did sweare Per sua capita that it was either the carcase of some monster of the sea or a forged deuise to bleare the peoples eies withall wherein it is wonderfull to see how they please Goropius as one that first deriued his fantasticall imagination from their asseueration oth The said Plinie also addeth that the bodie of Orestes was seuen cubits in length one Gabbara of Arabia nine foot nine inches and two reserued In conditorio Sallustianorum halfe a foot longer than Gabbara was for which I neuer read that anie man was driuen to sweare Trallianus writeth how the Athenienses digging on a time in the ground to laie the foundation of a new wall to be made in a certeine Iland in the daies of an emperour did find the bones of Macrosyris in a coffin of hard stone of 100. cubits in length after the accompt of the Romane cubit which was then either a foot and a halfe or not much in difference from halfe a yard of our measure now in England These verses also as they are now translated out of Gréeke were found withall Sepultus ego Macrosyris in longa insula Vitae peractis annis mille quinquies which amounteth to 81. yeares foure moneths after the Aegyptian reckoning In the time of Hadrian the emperour the bodie of the giant Ida was taken vp at Messana conteining 20. foot in length and hauing a double row of teeth yet standing whole in his chaps Eumachus also in Perigesi telleth that when the Carthaginenses went about to dich in their prouince they found two bodies in seuerall coffins of stone the one was 23. the other 24. cubits in length such another was found in Bosphoro Cymmerio after an earthquake but the inhabitants did cast those bones into the Meotidan marris In Dalmatia manie graues were shaken open with an earthquake in diuerse of which certein carcases were found whose ribs conteined 16. els after the Romane measure whereby the whole bodies were iudged to be 64. sith the longest rib is commonlie about the fourth part of a man as some rouing symmetricians affirme Arrhianus saith that in the time of Alexander the bodies of the Asianes were generallie of huge stature and commonlie of fiue cubits and such was the heigth of Porus of Inde whom the said Alexander vanquished and ouerthrew in battell Suidas speaketh of Ganges killed also by the said prince who farre exceeded Porus for he was ten cubits long What should I speake of Artaceas a capitaine in the host of Xerxes afore remembred whose heigth was within 4. fingers bredth of fiue cubits the tallest man in the armie except the king himselfe Herod lib. 7. Of Athanatus whom Plinie remembreth I saie nothing But of all these this one example shall passe which I doo read of in Trallianus and he setteth downe in forme and manner following In the daies of Tiberius th' emperor saith he a corps was left bare or laid open after an earthquake of which ech tooth taken one with another conteined 12. inches ouer at the least Now forsomuch as in such as be full mouthed ech chap hath commonlie 16. teeth at the least which amount vnto 32. in the whole needs must the widenesse of this mans chaps be welneere of 16. foot and the opening of his lips fiue at the least A large mouth in mine opinion and not to eat peason with Ladies of my time besides that if occasion serued it was able to receiue the whole bodies of mo than one of the greatest men I meane of such as we be in our daies When this carcase was thus found euerie man maruelled at it good cause why A messenger was sent to Tiberius the emperour also to know his pleasure whether he would haue the same brought ouer vnto Rome or not but he forbad them willing his Legate not to remooue the dead out of his resting place but rather somewhat to satisfie his phantasie to send him a tooth out of his head which being done he gaue it to a cunning workeman commanding him to shape a carcase of light matter after the proportion of the tooth that at the least by such means he might satisfie his curious mind and the fantasies of such as are delited with nouelties To be short when the image was once made and set vp on end it appéered rather an huge colossie than the true carcase of a man and when it had stood in Rome vntill the people were wearie throughlie satisfied with the sight thereof he caused it to be broken all to peeces and the tooth sent againe to the carcase frō whence it came willing them moreouer to couer it diligentlie and in anie wise not to dismember the corps nor from thencefoorth to be so hardie as to open the sepulchre anie more Pausan. lib. 8. telleth in like maner of Hiplodanus his fellowes who liued when Rhea was with child of Osyris by Cham and were called to hir aid at such time as she feared to be molested by Hammon hir first husband whilest she remained vpon the Thoumasian hill In ipso loco saith he spectantur ossa maiora multo quàm vt humana existimari possunt c. Of Protophanes who had but one great and broad bone in steed of all his ribs on ech side I saie nothing sith it concerneth not his stature I could rehearse manie mo examples of the bodies of such men out of Solinus Sabellicus D. Cooper and others As of Oetas and Ephialtes who were said to be nine orgies or paces in heigth and foure in bredth which are taken for so many cubits bicause there is small difference betwéene a mans ordinarie pace and his cubit and finallie of our Richard the first who is noted to beare an axe in the wars the iron of whose head onelie weighed twentie pound after our greatest weight and whereof an old writer that I haue seene saith thus This king Richard I vnderstand Yer he went out of England Let make an axe for the nones Therewith to cleaue the Saracens bones The head in sooth was wrought full wee le Thereon were twentie pound of steele And when he came in Cyprus land That ilkon axe he tooke in hand c. I could speake also of Gerards staffe or lance yet to be seene in Gerards hall at London in Basing lane which is so great and long that no man can beweld it neither go to the top thereof without a ladder which of set purpose and for greater countenance of the wonder is fixed by the same I haue seene a man my selfe of seuen foot in height but lame of his legs The chronicles also of Cogshall speake of one in Wales who was halfe a foot higher but through infirmitie and wounds not able to beweld himselfe I might if

catch at all times an infinite deale of fish wherewith they liue and which maketh them also the more idle Being past this about sixtie miles we come vnto the Rona or Ron which some take for the last of the Hebrides distant as I said about fortie miles from the Orchades and one hundreth and thirtie from the promontorie of Dungishe The inhabitants of this I le are verie rude and irreligious the lord also of the soile dooth limit their number of housholds hauing assigned vnto them what numbers of the greater and smaller sorts of cattell they shall spend and inioie for their owne prouision they send the ouerplus yéerlie vnto him to Lewis Their cheefe paiments consist of a great quantitie of meale which is verie plentifull among them sowed vp in shéepes skins Also of mutton and sea foule dried that resteth ouer and aboue which they themselues do spend And if it happen that there be more people in the Iland than the lords booke or rate dooth come vnto then they send also the ouerplus of them in like maner vnto him by which means they liue alwaies in plentie They receiue no vices from strange countries neither know or heare of anie things doone else-where than in their owne Iland Manie whales are taken also vpon their coasts which are likewise replenished with seale and porpasse and those which are either so tame or so fierce that they abash not at the sight of such as looke vpon them neither make they anie hast to flie out of their presence Beyond this I le about 16 miles westward there is another called Suilscraie of a mile length void of grasse and without so much as heath growing vpon hir soile yet are there manie cliffes and rocks therein which are couered with blacke mosse whereon innumerable sorts of foules do bréed and laie their egs Thither in like sort manie doo saile from Lewissa to take them yoong in time of the yeare before they be able to flie which they also kill and drie in eight daies space and then returne home againe with them and great plentie of fethers fathered in this voiage One thing is verie strange and to be noted in this Iland of the Colke foule which is little lesse than a goose and this kind commeth thither but once in the yeare to wit in the spring to laie hir egs and bring vp hir yoong till they be able to shift for themselues then they get them awaie togither to the sea and come no more vntill that time of the yéere which next insueth At the same season also they cast their fethers there as it were answering tribute to nature for the vse of hir mossie soile wherein it is woonderfull to sée that those fethers haue no stalkes neither anie thing that is hard in them but are séene to couer their bodies as it were wooll or downe till breeding time I saie wherein they be left starke naked The Orchades whose first inhabitants were the Scithians which came from those Iles where the Gothes did inhabit as some sparks yet remaining among them of that language doo declare lie partlie in the Germaine and partlie in the Calidon seas ouer against the point of Dunghisbie being in number eight and twentie or as other saie thirtie one yet some saie thirtie thrée as Orosius but Plinie saith fortie and now belonging to the crowne of Scotland as are the rest whereof héeretofore I haue made report since we crossed ouer the mouth of the Solueie streame to come into this countrie Certes the people of these Islands reteine much of their old sparing diets and therevnto they are of goodlie stature tall verie comelie healthfull of long life great strength whitish colour as men that feed most vpon fish sith the cold is so extreame in those parts that the ground bringeth foorth but small store of wheate and in maner verie little or no fuell at all wherewith to warme them in the winter and yet it séemeth that in times past some of these Ilands also haue béene well replenished with wood but now they are without either trée or shrub in stéed whereof they haue plentie of heath which is suffered to grow among them rather thorough their negligence than that the soile of it selfe will not yéeld to bring foorth trées bushes For what store of such hath beene in times past the roots yet found and digged out of the ground doo yéeld sufficient triall Otes they haue verie plentifullie but greater store of barleie wherof they make a nappie kind of drinke and such indéed as will verie readilie cause a stranger to ouershoot himselfe Howbeit this may be vnto vs in lieu of a miracle that although their drinke be neuer so strong they themselues so vnmeasurable drinkers as none are more yet it shall not easilie be séene saith Hector that there is anie drunkard among them either frantike or mad man dolt or naturall foole meet to weare a cockescombe This vnmeasurable drinking of theirs is confessed also by Buchanan who noteth that whensoeuer anie wine is brought vnto them from other soiles they take their parts thereof aboundantlie He addeth moreouer how they haue an old bole which they call S. Magnus bole who first preached Christ vnto them of farre greater quantitie than common boles are and so great that it may séeme to be reserued since the Lapithane banket onelie to quaffe and drinke in And when anie bishop commeth vnto them they offer him this bole full of drinke which if he be able to drinke vp quite at one draught then they assure themselues of good lucke and plentie after it Neuerthelesse this excesse is not often found in the common sort whom penurie maketh to be more frugall but in their priests and such as are of the richer calling They succour pirats also and verie often exchange their vittels with their commodities rather for feare and want of power to resist their Ilands lieng so scattered than for anie necessitie of such gains as they doo get by those men for in truth they thinke themselues to haue little need of other furniture than their owne soiles doo yéeld and offer vnto them This is also to be read of the inhabitants of these Ilands that ignorance of excesse is vnto the most part of them in stéed of physicke and labour and trauell a medicine for such few diseases as they are molested and incombred withall In like sort they want venemous beasts cheefelie such as doo delight in hotter soile and all kinds of ouglie creatures Their ewes also are so full of increase that some doo vsuallie bring foorth two three or foure lambes at once whereby they account our anelings which are such as bring foorth but one at once rather barren than to be kept for anie gaine As for wild and tame foules they haue such plentie of them that the people there account them rather a burthen to their soile than a benefit to their tables they haue

March chappell Saltfléete Wilgripe Mapleford saint Clements Wenfléete Friscon Toft Skerbike Boston Frompton Woluerton Fossedike a good hauen In Northfolke Linne a good hauen Snatchham Hitchham Desingham good Thunstone Thorneham good Brankester good Burnham good with diuers townes and villages thereto belonging Welles good Strikeie Marston Blakeleie towne Withon Claie Blakelie hauen good Salthouse créeke Sheringham hith Roughton Cromer Beston Trinningham Mounsleie Bromwall Haseborow Wakesham Eckelles Winterton Custer Helmesleie Okell Upton Waibridge Yarmouth good all the waie to Norwich with diuerse villages on the riuer side In Suffolke Becles Bongeie Southton Corton Gorton Laistow a good port Kirtill Pakefield Kasseldon Bliborow Coffe hith Eston Walderswijc Donewich Swold hauen Sisewell Thorpe Alborow Orford a good hauen Balseie good Felixstow Colneie Sproten Ypswich Downambridge good Pinnemill Shoteleie Cataweie Barfold In Esse● we haue Dedham Maning trée Thorne Wrabbesnes Ramseie Harwich Douercourt Handford Okeleie Kirbie Thorpe Brichwill Walton mill Walton hall Ganfléete Newhauen good S. Osithes Bentleie good Bricleseie Thorlington where good ships of a hundred tun or more be made Alsford Wiuenhall Colchester Cold hith Rough hedge Fingering ho east Merseie west Merseie Salcot Goldanger Borow Maldon Stanesgate Sudmester S. Peters Burnham Crixseie Aldon Clements gréene Hulbridge Pacleston Barling litle Wakering much Wakering south Sudburie Wakeringham Melton Papper hill or Lee Bea●●fléete Pidseie range Fobbing Hadleie good Mucking Stanford and Tilberi● ferrie In Kent Harling Cliffe Tanfleete Stokehow Snodlond Melhall Maidston Ailessord New hith Rochester Gelingham Reinham Upchurch Halsted Quinborow Milton Feuersham Whit●●aple Herne Margate Brodestaier Ramsgate and manie of these good créekes also Sandwich Douer Hide reasonable ports although none of the best In Sussex we haue Smalade with the créekes adioining to the same Ridon Appledoure Rie a good hauen and Winchelseie nothing at all inferiour to the same and so manie shires onelie are left vnto me at this time wherefore of force I must abruptlie leaue off to deale anie further with the rest whose knowledge I am right sure would haue beene profftable and for the which I hoped to haue reaped great thankes at the hands of such sea-faring-men as should haue had vse hereof Desunt caetera Of the aire soile and commodities of this Iland Cap. 18. THe aire for the most part throughout the Iland is such as by reason in maner of continuall clouds is reputed to be grosse and nothing so pleasant as that is of the maine Howbeit as they which affirme these things haue onelie respect to the impediment or hinderance of the sunne beames by the interposition of the clouds and oft ingrossed aire so experience teacheth vs that it is no lesse pure wholesome and commodious than is that of other countries and as Caesar himselfe hereto addeth much more temperate in summer than that of the Galles from whom he aduentured hither Neither is there anie thing found in the aire of our region that is not vsuallie seene amongst other nations lieng beyond the seas Wherefore we must néeds confesse that the situation of our Iland for benefit of the heauens is nothing inferiour to that of anie countrie of the maine where so euer it lie vnder the open firmament And this Plutarch knew full well who affirmeth a part of the Elistan fields to be found in Britaine and the Iles that are situate about it in the Ocean The soile of Britaine is such as by the testimonies and reports both of the old and new writers and experience also of such as now inhabit the same is verie fruitfull and such in deed as bringeth foorth manie commodities whereof other countries haue néed and yet it selfe if fond nicenesse were abolished néedlesse of those that are dailie brought from other places Neuerthelesse it is more inclined to féeding and grasing than profitable for tillage and bearing of corne by reason whereof the countrie is woonderfullie replenished with neat and all kind of cattell and such store is there also of the same in euerie place that the fourth part of the land is scarselie manured for the prouision and maintenance of graine Certes this fruitfulnesse was not vnknowne vnto the Britons long before Caesars time which was the cause wherefore our predecessors liuing in those daies in maner neglected tillage and liued by féeding and grasing onelie The grasiers themselues also then dwelled in mooueable villages by companies whose custome was to diuide the ground amongst them and each one not to depart from the place where his lot laie a thing much like to the Irish Criacht till by eating vp of the countrie about him he was inforced to remooue further and séeke for better pasture And this was the British custome as I learne at first It hath béene commonlie reported that the ground of Wales is neither so fruitfull as that of England neither the soile of Scotland so bountifull as that of Wales which is true for corne and for the most part otherwise there is so good ground in some parts of Wales as is in England albeit the best of Scotland be scarselie comparable to the meane of either of both Howbeit as the bountie of the Scotish dooth faile in some respect so dooth it surmount in other God and nature hauing not appointed all countries to yéeld foorth like commodities But where our ground is not so good as we would wish we haue if néed be sufficient helpe to cherish our ground withall and to make it more fruitfull For beside the compest that is carried out of the husbandmens yards ditches ponds doouehouses or cities and great townes we haue with vs a kind of white marle which is of so great force that if it be cast ouer a péece of land but once in thrée score years it shall not need of anie further compesting Hereof also dooth Plinie speake lib. 17. cap. 6 7 8 where he affirmeth that our marle indureth vpon the earth by the space of fourescore yeares insomuch that it is laid vpon the same but once in a mans life whereby the owner shall not need to trauell twise in procuring to commend and better his soile He calleth it Marga and making diuerse kinds thereof he finallie commendeth ours and that of France aboue all other which lieth sometime a hundred foot déepe and farre better than the scattering of chalke vpon the same as the Hedui and Pictones did in his time or as some of our daies also doo practise albeit diuerse doo like better to cast on lime but it will not so long indure as I haue heard reported There are also in this Iland great plentie of fresh riuers and streames as you haue heard alreadie and these throughlie fraught with all kinds of delicate fish accustomed to be found in riuers The whole I le likewise is verie full of hilles of which some though not verie manie are of exceeding heigth and diuerse extending themselues verie far from the beginning as we may see by

Howbeit at the last they fell generallie to allow of suppers toward the setting of the sunne in all places bicause they would haue their whole familie to go to meat togither and wherevnto they would appoint their guests to come at a certeine length of the shadow to be perceiued in their dials And this is more to be noted of antiquitie that if anie man as Plutarch saith did féed before that time he incurred a note of reprehension as if he had beene gluttonous and giuen vnto the bellie 8. Sympos 6. Their slaues in like sort were glad when it grew to the tenth foot for then were they sure soone after to go to meat In the scripture we read of manie suppers few dinners onelie for that dining was not greatlie vsed in Christs time but taken as a thing latelie sproong vp when pampering of the bellie began to take hold occastoned by idlenes and great abundance of riches It is pretie to note in Iuuenal how he taunteth Marius for that he gaue himselfe to drinke before the ninth houre of the daie for thinking three houres to be too little for the filling of his bellie he began commonlie at eight which was an houre too soone Afterwards when gurmandise increased yet more amongst the Romans and from them was dispersed vnto all nations vnder their subiection it came to passe that six houres onlie were appointed to worke and consult in and the other six of the daie to feed and drinke in as the verse saith Sex horae tantùm rebus tribuantur agendis Viuere post illas littera Zetha monet Wherevnto Maximus Planudes except my memorie faile me addeth this scholie after his maner saieng that from morning vnto noone which is six of the clocke after the vnequall accompt each one dooth trauell about his necessarie affaires that being doone he betaketh himselfe to the refreshing of his bodie which is noted and set downe by the Gréeke letters of the diall wherewith the Romane horologies were marked as ours be with their numerall letters whereby the time is described for those which point 7 8 9 and 10 are written with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and being ioined yéeld 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which in English signifieth so much as liue as if they should meane eat that thou maist liue But how Martial diuided his daie and with him the whole troope of the learned wiser sort these verses following doo more euidentlie declare Prima salutantes atque altera 〈…〉 Exercet raucos tertia causidicos In quintam varios extendis Roma labores Sexta quies lassis septima finis erit Sufficit in nonam nitidis octaua palestris Imperat extructos frangera nona thoros Hora libellorum decima est Eupheme meorum Temperat Ambrosias cum tua cura dapes Et bonus aethereo laxatur Nectare Caesar Ingentíque tenet pocula parca manu Tunc admitteiocos gressu timet ire licenti Ad matutinum nostra Thaleia Iouem Thus we sée how the ancient maner of the Gentils was to féed but once in the daie and that toward night till gluttonie grew on and altered this good custome I might 〈◊〉 remember also their maner in pulling off their shooes when they sat downe to meat whereof Martial saith Deposui soleas affertur protinus ingens Inter lactucas oxygarmúque liber c. And Tullie also remembreth where he saith Seruum à pedibus ad te misi which office grew of the said custome as Seruus ad limina did of kéeping the doore though in most houses both these were commonlie one mans office also Ad pocula of attending on the cup. But bicause the good writers of our time haue obserued these phrases and such like with their causes and descriptions in their infinite and seuerall treatises I shall not need to discourse anie farther vpon them With vs the nobilitie gentrie and students doo ordinarilie go to dinner at eleuen before noone and to supper at fiue or betweene fiue and six at afternoone The merchants dine and sup seldome before twelue at noone and six at night especiallie in London The husbandmen dine also at high noone as they call it and sup at seuen or eight but out of the tearme in our vniuersities the scholers dine at ten As for the poorest fort they generallie dine and sup when they may so that to talke of their order of repast it were but a néedlesse matter I might here take occasion also to set downe the varietie vsed by antiquitie in their beginnings of their diets wherin almost euerie nation had a seuerall fashion some beginning of custome as we doo in summer time with salets at supper and some ending with lettice some making their entrie with egs and shutting vp their tables with mulberies as we doo with fruit and conceits of all sorts Diuerse as the old Romans began with a few crops of rue as the Uenetians did with the fish called Gobius the Belgies with butter or as we doo yet also with butter and egs vpon fish daies But wheras we commonlie begin with the most grosse food and end with the most delicate the Scot thinking much to leaue the best for his meniall seruants maketh his entrance at the best so that he is sure therby to leaue the worst We vse also our wines by degrees so that the hotest commeth last to the table but to stand vpon such toies would spend much time and turne to small profit wherfore I will deals with other things more necessarie for this turne Of their apparell and attire Chap. 7. AN Englishman indeuoring sometime to write of our attire made sundrie platformes for his purpose supposing by some of them to find out one stedfast ground whereon to build the summe of his discourse But in the end like an oratour long without exercise when he saw what a difficult péece of worke he had taken in hand he gaue ouer his trauell and onelie drue the picture of a naked man vnto whome he gaue a paire of sheares in the one hand and a peece of cloth in the other to the end he should shape his apparell after such fashion as himselfe liked sith he cuold find no kind of garment that could please him anie while togither and this he called an Englishman Certes this writer otherwise being a lewd popish hypocrite and vngratious priest shewed himselfe herein not to be altogether void of iudgement sith the phantasticall follie of our nation euen from the courtier to the carter is such that no forme of apparell liketh vs longer than the first garment is in the wearing if it continue so long and be not laid aside to receiue some other trinket newlie deuised by the fickle he aded tailors who couet to haue seurall trickes in cutting thereby to draw fond customers to more expense of monie For my part I can tell better how to inueigh against this enormitie than describe anie certeintie of our attire sithence such is our mutabilitie that

to supplie those turnes with no lesse skill than their husbands which is an hard worke for the poore butcher sith he through this means can seldome be rich or wealthie by his trade In like sort the flesh of our oxen and kine is sold both by hand and by weight as the buier will but in yoong ware rather by weight especiallie for the stéere and heighfer sith the finer béefe is the lightest wheras the flesh of buls and old kine is of sadder substance and therefore much heauier as it lieth in the scale Their hornes also are knowne to be more faire and large in England than in anie other places except those which are to be séene among the Paeones which quantitie albeit that it be giuen to our bréed generallie by nature yet it is now and then helped also by art For when they be verie yoong manie grasiers will oftentimes annoint their budding hornes or tender tips with honie which mollifieth the naturall hardnesse of that substance and thereby maketh them to grow vnto a notable greatnesse Certes it is not strange in England to sée oxen whose hornes haue the length of a yard or thrée foot betweene the tips and they themselues thereto so tall as the heigth of a man of meane and indifferent stature is scarse equall vnto them Neuerthelesse it is much to be lamented that our generall bréed of catell is not better looked vnto for the greatest occupiers weane least store bicause they can buie them as they saie far better cheape than to raise and bring them vp In my time a cow hath risen from foure nobles to foure marks by this means which notwithstanding were no great price if they did yearelie bring foorth more than one calfe a péece as I heare they doo in other countries Our horsses moreouer are high and although not commonlie of such huge greatnesse as in other places of the maine yet if you respect the easinesse of their pase it is hard to saie where their like are to be had Our land dooth yéeld no asses and therefore we want the generation also of mules and somers and therefore the most part of our cariage is made by these which remaining stoned are either reserued for the cart or appointed to beare such burdens as are conuenient for them Our cart or plough horsses for we vse them indifferentlie are commonlie so strong that fiue or six of them at the most will draw thrée thousand weight of the greatest tale with ease for a long iourneie although it be not a load of common vsage which consisteth onelie of two thousand or fiftie foot of timber fortie bushels of white salt or six and thirtie of baie or fiue quarters of wheat experience dailie teacheth and I haue elsewhere remembred Such as are kept also for burden will carie foure hundred weight commonlie without anie hurt or hinderance This furthermore is to be noted that our princes and the nobilitie haue their cariage commonlie made by carts wherby it commeth to passe that when the quéenes maiestie dooth remooue from anie one place to another there are vsuallie 400 carewares which amount to the summe of 2400 horsses appointed out of the countries adioining whereby hir cariage is conueied safelie vnto the appointed place Hereby also the ancient vse of somers and sumpter horsses is in maner vtterlie relinquished which causeth the traines of our princes in their progresses to shew far lesse than those of the kings of other nations Such as serue for the saddle are commonlie gelded and now growne to be verie déere among vs especiallie if they be well coloured iustlie limmed and haue thereto an easie ambling pase For our countriemen séeking their ease in euerie corner where it is to be had delight verie much in these qualities but chieflie in their excellent pases which besides that it is in maner peculiar vnto horsses of our soile and not hurtfull to the rider or owner sitting on their backes it is moreouer verie pleasant and delectable in his eares in that the noise of their well proportioned pase dooth yéeld comfortable sound as he trauelleth by the waie Yet is there no greater deceipt vsed anie where than among our horssekeepers horssecorsers and hostelers for such is the subtill knauerie of a great sort of them without exception of anie of them be it spoken which deale for priuat gaine that an honest meaning man shall haue verie good lucke among them if he be not deceiued by some false tricke or other There are certeine notable markets wherein great plentie of horsses and colts is bought and sold and wherevnto such as haue néed resort yearelie to buie and make their necessarie prouision of them as Rippon Newport pond Wolfpit Harborow and diuerse other But as most drouers are verie diligent to bring great store of these vnto those places so manie of them are too too lewd in abusing such as buie them For they haue a custome to make them looke faire to the eie when they come within two daies iourneie of the market to driue them till they sweat for the space of eight or twelue houres which being doone they turne them all ouer the backs into some water where they stand for a season and then go forward with them to the place appointed where they make sale of their infected ware and such as by this meanes doo fall into manie diseases and maladies Of such outlandish horsses as are dailie brought ouer vnto vs I speake not as the genet of Spaine the courser of Naples the hobbie of Ireland the Flemish roile and Scotish nag bicause that further spéech of them commeth not within the compasse of this treatise and for whose breed and maintenance especiallie of the greatest sort king Henrie the eight erected a noble studderie and for a time had verie good successe with them till the officers waxing wearie procured a mixed brood of bastard races whereby his good purpose came to little effect Sir Nicholas Arnold of late hath bred the best horsses in England and written of the maner of their production would to God his compasse of ground were like to that of Pella in Syria wherin the king of that nation had vsuallie a studderie of 30000 mares and 300 stallions as Strabo dooth remember Lib. 16. But to leaue this let vs sée what may be said of sheepe Our shéepe are verie excellent sith for sweetnesse of flesh they passe all other And so much are our woolles to be preferred before those of Milesia and other places that if Iason had knowne the value of them that are bred and to be had in Britaine he would neuer haue gone to Colchis to looke for anie there For as Dionysius Alexandrinus saith in his De situ orbis it may by spinning be made comparable to the spiders web What fooles then are our countrimen in that they séeke to bereue themselues of this commoditie by practising dailie how to transfer the same to other nations in

carieng ouer their rams ewes to breed increase among them The first example hereof was giuen vnder Edward the fourth who not vnderstanding the botome of the sute of sundrie traitorous merchants that sought a present gaine with the perpetuall hinderance of their countrie licenced them to carie ouer certeine numbers of them into Spaine who hauing licence but for a few shipped veris manie a thing commonlie practised in other commodities also whereby the prince and hir land are not seldome times defrauded But such is our nature and so blind are we in déed that we sée no inconuenience before we féele it and for a present gaine we regard not what damage may insue to our posteritie Hereto some other man would ad also the desire that we haue to benefit other countries and to impech our owne And it is so sure as God liueth that euerie trifle which commeth from beyond the sea though it be not woorth thrée pence is more estéemed than a continuall commoditie at home with vs which far excéedeth that value In time past the vse of this commoditie consisted for the most part in cloth and woolsteds but now by meanes of strangers succoured here from domesticall persecution the same hath béene imploied vnto sundrie other vses as mockados baies vellures grograines c whereby the makers haue reaped no small commoditie It is furthermore to be noted for the low countries of Belgie know it and dailie experience notwithstanding the sharpenesse of our lawes to the contrarie dooth yet confirme it that although our rams weathers doo go thither from vs neuer so well headed according to their kind yet after they haue remained there a while they cast there their heads and from thencefoorth they remaine polled without any hornes at all Certes this kind of cattell is more cherished in England than standeth well with the commoditie of the commons or prosperitie of diuerse townes whereof some are wholie conuerted to their féeding yet such a profitable sweetnesse is their fléece such necessitie in their flesh and so great a benefit in the manuring of barren soile with their doong and pisse that their superfluous numbers are the better borne withall And there is neuer an husbandman for now I speake not of our great shéepemasters of whom some one man hath 20000 but hath more or lesse of this cattell séeding on his fallowes and short grounds which yéeld the siner fléece as Virgil following Varro well espied Georg. 3. where he saith Si tibi lanicium curae primùm aspera sylua Lappaequae tribulique absint fuge pabula laeta Neuerthelesse the sheepe of our countrie are often troubled with the rot as are our swine with the measels though neuer so generallie and manie men are now and then great losers by the same but after the calamitie is ouer if they can recouer and kéepe their new stocks sound for seauen yeares togither the former losse will easilie be recompensed with double commoditie Cardan writeth that our waters are hurtfull to our shéepe howbeit this is but his coniecture for we know that our shéepe are infected by going to the water and take the same as a sure and certeine token that a rot hath gotten hold of them their liuers and lights being alredie distempered through excessiue heat which inforceth them the rather to séeke vnto the water Certes there is no parcell of the maine wherin a man shall generallie find more fine and wholesome water than in England and therfore it is impossible that our shéepe should decaie by tasting of the same Wherfore the hinderance by rot is rather to be ascribed to the vnseasonablenes moisture of the weather in summer also their licking in of mildewes gossamire rowtie fogs ranke grasse full of superfluous iuice but speciallie I saie to ouer moist wether whereby the continuall raine pearsing into their hollow felles soketh foorthwith into their flesh which bringeth them to their baines Being also infected their first shew of sickenesse is their desire to drinke so that our waters are not vnto them Causa aegritudinis but Signum morbi what so euer Cardan doo mainteine to the contrarie There are peraduenture no small babes which are growne to be so good husbands that they can make account of euerie ten kine to be cléerelie woorth twentie pounds in cōmon and indifferent yeares if the milke of fiue shéepe be dailie added to the same But as I wote not how true this surmise is bicause it is no part of my trade so I am sure hereof that some housewiues can and doo ad dailie a lesse proportion of ewes milke vnto the chéese of so manie kine whereby their cheese dooth the longer abide moist and eateth more brickle and mellow than otherwise it would Goats we haue p●ntie and of sundrie colours in the west parts of England especiallie in and towards Wales and amongst the rockie hilles by whome the owners doo reape no small aduantage some also are cherished elsewhere in diuerse stéeds for the benefit of such as are diseased with sundrie maladies vnto whom as I heare their milke chéese and bodies of their yoong kids are iudged verie profitable and therefore inquired for of manie farre and néere Certes I find among the writers that the milke of a goat is next in estimation to that of the woman for that it helpeth the stomach remooueth oppilations and stoppings of the liuer and looseth the bellie Some place also next vnto it the milke of the ew and thirdlie that of the cow But hereof I can shew no reason onelie this I know that ewes milke is fulsome sweet and such in tast as except such as are vsed vnto it no man will gladlie yéeld to liue and féed withall As for swine there is no place that hath greater store nor more wholesome in eating than are these here in England which neuerthelesse doo neuer anie good till they come to the table Of these some we eat greene for porke and other dried vp into bakon to haue it of more continuance Lard we make some though verie little because it is chargeable neither haue we such vse thereof as is to be séene in France and other countries sith we doo either bake our meat with swéet suet of beefe or mutton and bast all our meat with sweet or salt butter or suffer the fattest to bast it selfe by leisure In champaine countries they are kept by herds and an hogherd appointed to attend and wait vpon them who commonlie gathereth them togither by his noise and crie and leadeth them foorth to féed abroad in the fields In some places also women doo scowre and wet their cloths with their doong as other doo with hemlocks and netles but such is the sauor of the cloths touched withall that I cannot abide to weare them on my bodie more than such as are scowred with the reffuse sope than the which in mine opinion there is none more vnkindlie fauor Of our tame bores we make

Britains their nimblenesse the painting of their bodies with diuerse colours their furniture their great sufferance of hunger cold c diuerse conflicts betweene the Romans and the Britains their subtile traines to deceiue their enimies the Romans pitifullie distressed Seuerus constreineth the Caledonians to conclude a league with him he falleth sicke his owne sonne practiseth to make him away the Britains begin a new rebellion the cruell commandement of Seuerus to kill and slea all that came to hand without exception his age his death and sepulchte Bassianus ambitiouslie vsurpeth the whole regiment he killeth his brother Geta and is slaine himselfe by one of his owne souldiers The xxij Chapter THe emperour Seuerus receiuing aduertisment from the lieutenant of Britaine that the people there mooued rebellion wasted the countrie with roads and forraies so that it was néedful to haue the prince himselfe to come thither within great power to resist the enimies he of an ambitions mind re●oised not a little for those newes bicause he saw occasion offered to aduance his renow●e and fame with increase of new victories now in the west after so manie triumphs purchased and got by him in the east and north parts of the world Héerevpon though he was of great age yet the desire that he had still to win honour caused him to take in hand to make a iournie into this land and so being furnished of all things necessarie he set forwards being carried for the more part in a litter for his more ease for that beside his féeblenesse of age he was also troubled with the gout He tooke with him his two sonnes Antoninus Bassianus and Geta vpon purpose as was thought to auoid occasions of such inconuenience as he perceiued might grow by discord mooued betwixt them through flatterers and malicious sycophants which sought to set them at variance which to bring to passe he perceiued there should want no meane whilest they continued in Rome amidst such pleasures idle pastimes as were dailie there frequented and therefore he caused them to attend him in this iournie into Britaine that they might learne to liue soberlie and after the manner of men of warre Seuerus being thus on his iournie towards Britaine staied not by the waie but with all diligence sped him foorth and passing the sea verie swiftlie entred this Ile and assembled a mightie power togither meaning to assaile his enimies and to pursue the warre against them to the vttermost The Britains greatlie amazed with this sudden arriuall of the emperour and hearing that such preparation was made against them sent ambassadours to him to intreat of peace and to excuse their rebellious dooings But Seuerus delaieng time for answere as he that was desirous to atchiue some high enterprise against the Britains for the which he might deserue the surname of Britannicus which he greatlie coueted still was busie to prepare all things necessarie for the warre and namelie caused a great number of bridges to be made to lay ouer the bogs and mareshes so that his souldiers might haue place to stand vpon and not to be incumbered for lacke of firme ground when they should cope with their enimies for the more part of Britaine in those daies as Herodianus writeth was full of fens maresh ground by reason of the often flowings and washings of the sea tides by the which maresh grounds the enimies being thereto accustomed would run and swim in the waters and wade vp to the middle at their pleasure going for the more part naked so that they passed not on the mud and mires for they knew not the vse of wearing cloths but ware hoopes of iron about their middles and necks esteeming the same as an ornament and token of riches as other barbarous people did gold Moreouer they marked or as it were painted their bodies in diuerse sorts and with sundrie shapes and figures of beasts and fowles and therefore they vsed not to weare anie garments that such painting of their bodies might the more apparantlie be séene which they estéemed a great brauerie They were as the same Herodianus writeth a people giuen much to war and delighted in slaughter and bloudshed vsing none other weapons or armour but a slender buckler a iaueline and a swoord tied to their naked bodies as for headpéece or habergeon they estéemed not bicause they thought the same should be an hinderance to them when they should passe ouer anie maresh or be driuen to swim anie waters or flée to the bogs Moreouer to suffer hunger cold and trauell they were so vsed and inured therewith that they would not passe to lie in the bogs and mires couered vp to the chin without caring for meate for the space of diuerse daies togither and in the woods they would liue vpon roots and barks of trées Also they vsed to prepare for themselues a certeine kind of meate of the which if they receiued but so much as amounted to the quantitie of a bea●e they would thinke themselues satisfied and féele neither hunger nor thirst The one halfe of the I le or little lesse was subiect vnto the Romans the other was gouerned of themselues the people for the most part hauing the rule in their hands Seuerus therefore meaning to subdue the whole and vnderstanding their nature and the manner of their making warre prouided him selfe of all things expedient for the annoiance of them and helpe of his owne souldiers and appointing his sonne Geta to remaine in that part of the Ile which was subiect to the Romans he tooke with him his other sonne Antoninus and with his armie marched foorth and entred into the confines of the enimies and there began to waste and forrey the countrie whereby there insued diuerse conflicts and skirmishes betwixt the Romans and the inhabitants the victorie still remaining on the Romans side but the enimies easilie escaped without anie great losse vnto the woods mountains bogs and such other places of refuge as they knew to be at hand whither the Romans durst not follow nor once approch for feare to be intrapped and inclosed by the Britains that were readie to returne and assaile their enimies vpon euerie occasion of aduantage that might be offered This maner of dealing sore troubled the Romans and so hindered them in their procéedings that no spéedie end could be made of that warre The Britains would oftentimes of purpose laie their cattell as oxen kine shéepe and such like in places conuenient to be as a stale to the Romans and when the Romans should make to them to fetch the same awaie being distant from the residue of the armie a good space they would fall vpon them and distresse them Beside this the Romans were much annoied with the vnwholesomnesse of the waters which they were forced to drinke and if they chanced to straie abroad they were snapped vp by ambushes which the Caledonians laid for them and when they were so féeble that they could