her King and elder Brother Henry and conjures them also to loyalty to throw away all private Interests and Factions and conclude in a firm peace and union The Confederates perceiving that they wanted an Head and so a main pretence to countenance their Arms to the people and that whatever they had hitherto gained was more by their dissembling then strength that also the Pope Paul II had censured them if they continued in open wars For King Henry was held an obedient son to the Bishops of Rome for which Calixtus III had sent him formerly an Hat and a consecrated Sword which they use to bless upon Christmas-Eve at night laying them upon the Altar where they say Mass And farther they recollected that upon Henries death Isabella was like to be Queen whereby they could procure no favour or benefit to themselves by opposing her peaceable desires Upon these considerations they consented to an Agreement so Articles are drawn up a Peace concluded on Donna Isabella is declared Princess of the c Las Asturias formerly of a larger extent is now â— little Province between Galicia Leon and Biscay lying upon the Cantabrian sea 'T is twofold Asturia de Oâ—iedo and Astur de Santillana As the Heirs of England are called Princes of Wales and those of France les Dauphins so are those to the Crown of Castile call'd Princes of the Asturias Upon what occasion this â—hort Scheme may shew Alphonso XI had amongst other Children Henry a Bastard Earl of Transâ—amara took the Kingdom from the Tyrant Pedro and stab'd him with his dagger he had John I. who had Henry III. Don Pedro el Cruel had amongst others a bastard call'd Constancia she was marryed to John of Gant Duke of Lancaster son to Edward III King of England Upon the death of Don Pedro sirnamed the Cruel though his bastard-Brother Henry II. seised upon the Crown and was acknowledged for King yet John of Gant Duke of Lancaster pretended the right to lye in him by reason of his Wife Constance and made some bustle about it Henry dying there succeeded his son John I. with whom and Lancaster a peace was concluded Lancaster to renounce all his Title to Castile and King John to marry his son Henry to Lancaster's Daughter Catherine which accordingly was accompish'd so both their pretensions united And for more honour Don Henry the young son was to be call'd Prince of the Asturias since which time the eldest sons of Castile were call'd Princes and the younger are titled Infantas This hapned about the year 1388. And so much by the way concerning the Title of Prince of Asturias yet do I finde Jehan Froissart who lived at this time to tell us that Henry was call'd Prince of Gallicia in his French Edition 1530. vol. 3. fol. 96. and fol. 143. In the old English Edition vol. 2. cap. 154. fol. 170. and cap. 176. fol. 214. Asturias and lawful Heir to the Kingdoms of Castile and Leon with their dependants What troubles hapned in Castile after this treaty being not considerable I shall pass over Donna Isabella now declared Heir several matches were consulted of but she secretly joyned her self with Don Fernando Prince of Girona and the eldest son living to John II King of Arragon At this marriage King Henry was greatly vext as being contrary to his desire and without his knowledge But at the long run the King becomes more pacified and at last a 1474. dying she succeeds as Queen of Castile and Leon although some busled for Joane the supposed Daughter of King Henry but she is generally thrown by as a bastard being begot of his Queen Joane by one Don Bertrand de la Cueva afterwards prefer'd for his kindness being created Earl of Ledesma Master of Santiago and Duke of Albuquerque As for Henry himself he is by all esteem'd as frigid and uncapable of such loves Not long after John II King of Arragon b 1479. dying that Kingdom was united to Castile by the fortunate former marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella Here might I descend into the troubles of Navar and tell how Don Carlos Prince of Viana took up Arms against his Father John King of Navar and Arragon Upon which quarrel began the great Factions of those of Beaumont and Grammont the first adhering to the Prince and the latter to the King and the feuds of these two potent Families was one of the main causes of the loss of Navar to the Spaniard those of Beaumont assisting Don Ferdinand in the conquest against their own King and Country Of which more hereafter In short the Prince being not able to keep the field withdrew himself to Naples for sometime thence returns endeavours new troubles upon which he is taken and secuâ—ed Upon this the Catalonians rebel and though Prince Carlos was set at liberty and c Some say he was poyson'd by his Step mother D. Joane to make way for heâ—â—â—son Ferdinando to the Crown of Arragon dyed presently after yet they continue their Treasons The people of Barcelona publickly declare King John an Enemy to his Country and so they would withdraw themselves from his obedience And the Catalonians sent to Henry IV. of Castile to desire him to take them under his protection they being resolved no more to obey the Crown of Arragon Don Henry accepts them so they set up the Banners of Castile At last after a tedious War they are vanquish'd forced to submit and King John giveth them all freely a pardon But of Spain more in the next Century A CONTINUATION OF THE REBELLIONS AND Treasonablepractices OF THE ROMANISTS Particularly in Spain Scotland and Ireland From the year MD. to MDC BOOK VI. CHAP. I. 1. John and Catherine King and Queen of Navar deprived 2. Pope Julius II. Sect. 1. John and Catherine King and Queen of Navar deprived THe Conquest of Navar being acted suddenly we year 1500 shall make the story of it but very short At the beginning of this Century we finde John d'Albret or Don Juan de la Brit and Donna Catherina King and Queen of Navar which had boasted it self a Kingdom almost DCCC years Ferdinand II King of Arragon having by his marrying with Isabella Queen of Castile enlarged his Authority and Dominions as also by his banishing the Jews and subduing the Moores to him in Granado made his Government more secure cast many a greedy a Jo. de Bussieres lib. 15. § 16. Spondan an 1512. § 21. thought upon the seising the Kingdom of Navar and then all of Spain Portugal excepted would be his own At last opportunity good enough as he thought offer'd it self which was thus Pope Julius II. a zealous Hotspur falling out with Lewis XII King of France Fernando sides with the Pope and having rais'd an Army not onely demands passage for it through Albrets Territories but the command of his strongest Castles and Fortifications and which was most the possession and custody of Prince Henry eldest son to Navar
from him our Holinshed I shall say nothing here to the killing of Duncan by Makpender Earl of Mercia nor of the imprisonment of Donald the putting out of his eyes and miserable death in prison because their Titles may be questioned Nor shall I travel more Northward and inlarge upon the g An. 1088. Murder of King Canute of Denmark whilst he was at his Devotions nor enter upon the more frozen parts to insist upon the treacherous end of Ingo the Fourth King of Scotland because Religion was not there in a setled condition Sect. 3. The clashing of Popes and the Emperours power over them at Elections BUt if I would trouble my self at the very Fountain of their Religion viz. Rome we might here shew that obedience yeilds place to sedition and how troubled their Champions are to finde out an Infallible and true Vicar Here might I tell at large how Platina and some others declare Pope Sylvester the Second to be a Magician and to have kept correspondence with the Devil though others at large Apologize for him nor shall I interest my self in the dispute Here could I amuze the honest Roman Catholick by telling him that Benedict the Ninth was once held for the Infallible Head of their Church and yet was but a a Baron an 1033. § 6. boy of ten or twelve years old And here might we puzzle their Succession and make them pump and invent Reasons for a true Pope when at the same time this Benedict said he was Pope Sylvester the Third assured the World that he was Christ's Vicar and also one John affirm'd that he was the onely man that was S. Peters true Successor and every one of these Popes had many Followers And to make up the wonder and number Gregory the Sixth with money hired these men to lay down the Cudgels and so made himself Pope also which Title and Honour he was over-perswaded to yeild up by a b Genebrard Cron. p. 865. Council and yet this man must be a true Pope and no way tainted with Simony and to him by the consent of the Emperour succeeded Clement the Second who being poysoned Benedict the Ninth the third time entred into the Papal Chair but the Emperour hearing of these troubles sent Poppo Bishop of Brescia to Rome who was chosen and succeeded as Pope though his Raign was but short But be it short or long their Authors are here in open War about the legality of his Rule c An. 1048. § 1. Baronius and some others making him legally elected and so a true Pope On the other hand Platina d Pag. 867. Genebrard and some others declare him to be an intruder and so no true Pope And what must be the foundation of his crime but because the Emperour had an interest in his promotion though if this Argument will hold any water they will quite break to pieces the Line of their Succession by throwing aside many Popes formerly elected or confirmed by Emperours and other secular Potentates But fight Dog fight Bear I shall not trouble my self to reconcile them Yet though they now seem so dapperly against the Temporal Authority it is not unworth the notice that no sooner was this Damasus first call'd Poppo dead but the Cardinals and other Romans sent into Germany to the Emperour to desire him to appoint them a new Pope who accordingly sent them Leo the Ninth and whatsoever they tell for excuse of Leo's changing his Opinion at the perswasion of Hildebrand is not much to the purpose since it appears that they durst not refuse him and Hildebrand's policy if true was but a meer trick and juggle And this practice will better appear by the next Vicar for no Platina sooner was Leo dead but the Clergy and others of Rome sent Hildebrand into Germany to the Emperour to desire him to give Baron an 1054. § 53. them a Pope who accordingly yeilded to grant them Victor the Second who by the Imperial Order was elected at Mentz and thence sent to Rome And thus humbly they behaved themselves to the Emperour that they might not offend him nor break their Oaths and Duty which they had made to him And something to this purpose we finde a little after for this Victor the Second and Stephanus the Ninth being dead some at Rome elected and declared for Pope Benedict the Tenth But the Chief of the Romans sent presently an excuse to the Emperour protesting that for their parts they would keep their Allegiance and not acknowledge any Coeffeteau p. 644 645. for Pope but whom he approved of and therefore desired him to send to Rome for Pope whom he pleased who accordingly sent them Nicholas the Second and so Benedict the Tenth was thrust from the Chair as not capable of that honour because he had intruded himself into that Dignity a Qui sine jussu Regis Principum Lamb. Schafnaburg Hist Germ. an 1059. Edict Francof 1583. Qui injussu Regis c. Edict Tubing 15. 33. without the approbation of the Emperour and other Princes But we need not trouble our selves here with many Examples of the secular Authority in the Popes Election having formerly in several other places as they fell in my way hinted at the practice and besides all at this very time they cannot but confess that the very Romans yeilded up their interest in the Election of Popes Genebrard pag. 866. Coqnaeus p. 505. Sigebert an 1046. and gave it to the Emperour and which is more both in Gregory the Sixth's time and Clement the Second his time ingaged themselves by Oath to the Emperour never to chuse or consecrate any for Pope but whom he should approve of and consent to CHAP. II. The troubles and deposing of the Emperour Henry the Fourth by the pride of Pope Gregory the Seventh and other Incendiaries SHould I trouble my self to reconcile all the exceptions that might belong to this Chapter I should be Voluminous to a wonder and possibly not satisfie the Reader But to leave such Disputes in short the question is betwixt the Emperour Henry the Fourth and Pope Gregory the Seventh which of them was in the right and which to blame though one may affirm without offence that both of them had their faults yet Goldastus and from him of late Father a Remonst Hybern part 2. p. 89 90 c. part 5. p. 1 2 c. Caron hath taken a great deal of pains to vindicate the Emperour whilst Gretserus is as large in his several Apologies for the Pope whither I shall refer the curious for farther satisfaction And it was no small misery to Christendom that the Emperour being very young the Popes acted what they pleas'd without controul though at last they drive on so furiously that instead of making the Empire happy by tranquillity they procured its ruine by fomenting new troubles and rebellions For whereas formerly the Emperours had the main hand in making Popes and the
at Canterbury as a premonition that no man for the future should lay violent hands on Bishops or their Possessions But if the Statues of all such sacrilegious people were now to be erected neither the Porches nor Churches themselves in all England and Scotland could contain them Old King Henry was now at Argentan in Normandy when news came to him of the Murther which so afflicted him that he was over-whelm'd Bar. anno 1171. § 4. with tears and lamentations changing his Royalty into Hair cloths and Ashes almost for three days together retiring into his private Chamber not receiving either meat or comfort insomuch that the people about him fear'd he would pine away with grief though for the clearing of his innocency he protested a Omnipotentem Deum se testem invocare in animam suam quod opus nefandum nec sua voluntate nec Conscientia commissum est nec artificio perquisitum Baron As Almighty God should judge his soul that that accursed deed was neither acted by his will or consent nor done by any device of his Neither was this any counterfeit or dissembling grief but real and true and that so great that as a b Sa Penitence fut si grande qu'on nec lit point es Histoires que auâ—un Prince Christien ayt faict Penitence avec plus grande humilité Guil. Gazet Hist des Saincts tom 2. pag 980. Romanist confesseth never could any History afford such an Example of Penance and Humility in a Christian Prince For the King did not onely submit himself to the Papal Censures and as they say reject the ancient and wholesome Constitutions which we are told were not long after c Spelman Consil tom 2. pag. 111. confirmed again in the presence of the Popes Nuntios but also the Pope d Bar. an 1173. § 6 7. having Canonized Thomas for a Saint in Heaven Henry to compleat the rest of the Penance e Speed § 75. Bar. an 1174. § 6. injoyn'd him by the Legats went into England and being come within f Speed ib. three or g Fullers Ch. Hist l. 3. four miles of Canterbury clad onely in one woollen Coat went all that long way bare-footed to the Church the bloud running from his tender feet by the piercing and cutting of the sharp stones and in the Church bestow'd a whole day and night in fasting watching and prayer and the next day return'd without eating and drinking all the while bare-footed as he came Nor was this all for he also received on his bare back from the Monks above fourscore lashes with Rods. To such an height of Extravagancie had the awe of Papal Censures and Absolutions flown over the greatest Monarchs though really no way subject either to them or their brutish-Thunderbolts The Kings purse paid for it also by maintaining a great number of Souldiers by the Popes Order in the Holy-Land And what good-will he really had for Thomas may appear by his charity and care for his Relations one of his Sisters call'd Mary she not intending Fullers Ch. Hist l. 3. § 6â— to marry he made Abbess of Berking-Nunnery and another of his Sisters being married to one of the Botelers or Butlers he transplanted with her Husband and Children into Ireland conferring upon them high Honours and rich Revenues from whom the Dukes of Ormond are descended Nor was this all for he founded an Abbey call'd Thomas-Court in Dublin in memory of our Thomas Becket indowing it with large Revenues Thus have we seen the story of Thomas Becket which we have taken out of the Histories writ by his friends and admirers and followed that which hath most probability of Truth And we cannot but suppose that where a man is declared a Martyr for the Church and a Saint in Heaven but that Church-History will be crouded with his commendations by which we can expect but a partial relation at least little or nothing against him it being held an unpardonable crime not to believe with the Pope or to hint any thing against him whom his Holiness hath thrust into Heaven Yet enough may be gathered not onely from those who most commend but also from some ancient Historians whereby we may justly lay the fault rather upon him than his Soveraign For the King looked upon his cause to be so just having all the other Bishops of his Dominions approving of him that he freely offer'd the Controversie to the Tryal even of the a Speed § â—4 Parisian Divines and the Church of France though their King shew'd himself a great friend to Becket But Thomas was so cunning that he would stand to no mans judgement but his own and the Popes for then he was sure to come off Conqueror And if Thomas durst not stand to the determination of those Churches who in all probability understood the business best and to oppose all his own Country Bishops as if none of them were as wise or honest as himself And farther seeing presently after Thomas his death nay and Canonization too it was a strong dispute amongst the Divines beyond Sea whether Thomas was b Caesarius Hist Memorab l. 8. c. 69. damn'd for his Treason or a true Martyr I see no reason why we should be so confident of his Saintship and merits however as to use his bloud for a means to our Salvation as those do who pray c Horae B. Virg. secundum usum Sarum Paris 1534. fol. 53. b. Tu per Thomae Sanguinem quem pro te impendit Fac nos Christe scandere quo Thomas ascendit For Thomas his bloud sake which he for thee did spend Let us O Christ where Thomas is ascend Again when we consider the malapert humour of Thomas with his betters as because the King would not agree to his humour he must accuse him of d Bar. an 1166. § 45. perverse ways as e Id. anno 1167. § 26. criminous that he f § 34. grows worse and worse that he is a g Id. anno 1170. § 25. jugler a corrupt man and a deceiver Again when we consider how all the other Bishops declared him guilty of h Id. anno 1164. § 29. Perjury of i An. 1167. § 45. injuring the King of ingratitude of his rash and preposterous Excommunications that he by k Ib. § 61. his bitter provocations stir'd up the discord that his actions savour nothing of fatherly devotion or pastoral patience and that to the Pope himself they all l Ibid. vindicate the Kings actions And farther when we see the Peers not onely of England but also of France impute the want of peace to his m An. 1168. § 88. arrogancy and those who had been the very Mediators for his peace yet could not but tell him that he was n Ibid. always proud high-minded wise in his own conceipt a follower of his private fancie and opinion and that it was a mischief to the Church that ever he was