Selected quad for the lemma: land_n
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A03251
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A true description of His Majesties royall ship, built this yeare 1637. at Wooll-witch in Kent To the great glory of our English nation, and not paraleld in the whole Christian world. Published by authoritie.
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Heywood, Thomas, d. 1641.
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1637
(1637)
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STC 13367; ESTC S106217
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19,030
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56
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appeare by his many battailes and victories yet the Chronologers of those times gave him the Characters of Iust and Peaceable for that is the true end of Warre to prepare and confirme a constant and setled peace He was first crowned at Kingstone upon Thames by Otho Arch-bishop of Canterbury in the yeere of our Redemption according to Fabian and others 940. in the fift yeere of Lotharius King of France and yet not admitted for absolute King till twelve yeeres after when he was againe crowned and annointed in the Citty of Bath by Dunstane Arch-bishop of Canterbury and Oswald Arch-bishop of Yorke The cause why his annointing was so long delay'd as the most write was by reason the King grew much inamored of a beauteous Virgin call'd Wilfryd who to avoyd his many temptations put on her selfe the habite of a Nunne who notwithstanding was at length brought to the Kings Bed for which act he was by Bishop Dunstane enioyned seven yeeres pennance c. Concerning those Kings whom you may perceive to lye prostrate under his Horses hoofes they were Kynadus King of the Scots Malcolme King of Cumberland and of the petry Kings of Wales Dufnall Grifith Huval Iacob Iudithil He moreover surprised by Sea a Prince of the Romans whose name was Maxentius who had done many out-rageâ— upon the Ocean and was the greatest Arch-pirate that those times afforded He also compelled Ludwallus prime Prince and King of Cambria which is Wales because he would have all the ravenous and dammageous beasts to be destroyed through his Land to pay unto him yearely by way of Tribute three hundred Wolves skinnes by reason whereof within the space of foure yeares after in England or Wales both which but especially Wales who before were miserably infested with that kind of beast there was scarcely to be found one Woolfe alive and so much for the Princes over which he had sâ—le dominion His Navy Royall consisted of three thousand and six hundred Ships such as they used in those dayes yet not any of them but serviceable either for Fight or bearing victuall and munition to furnish the Navy which hee divided into three parts appointing to every of them a severall Squadron and this hee did to secure Navigators from Enemies and Sea-Rovers as also from all other neighbour Princes who might challenge any interest in these our foure Seas And therefore every Spring and Summer he in person sayled with those in the East-parts to them that lay hovering in the West And sending them backe againe with their charge would with the West quadrant saile into the North and after with the Northerne fleete compasse into the East by which the Maine Ocean rounding those Ilands of which he was sole Prince and Monarch being at his only charge both quieted and secured he did as iustly he might write himselfe Lord of the Foure Seas And therefore his sacred Maiesty claiming this unquestionable Title from Him and being his true and undoubted Successour and this claime being this thousand and odd yeares not any way controversied I do not see but this Motto Ab Edgaro quatuor Maria vindico may genuinly to Him be approbriated and to Him alone But if any man shal either maliciously or peevishly make the least scruple of this His Maiesties iust and undoubted challenge Let them but read Polâ—dore Virgill Guido Ranulphus Hidgim in his Polycronicon Guliâ—lmus Malmsbury Florentius Landulphus Marianus Hovedaine Harding Mathew Paris Mathew of Westminster Froysart Fabian Holinshed Speed c. all of them Authentick and approved Chronologers and hee shall finde that they all agree and consent in this Musicall Harmonie And as they comply in the premisses whosoever shall truely examine them shall finde also that they differ not at all in the subsequence which as in the former I study brevity namely That being at Chester he provided him selfe of a most Princely Barge which was to be rowed with Oares which were silvered all over with whâ—ch hee entred into the River Dee and sitting at the Sterne tooke the charge of the Helme and caused eight of the before-named Contributary Kings to rowe him up and downe the River unto the Chuâ—ch of Saint Iohns from and unto hâ—s Pallace distant three miles to let the World know that Hee was Lord and Kingâ—f â—f so many provinces For his Religion he favoured Church-men above all the Princes before him and gave to them great immunities and priviledges building and reparing no lesâ—e than threescore decayed Churches and Monasteries within the compasse of sixteene yeeres for hee reigned not longer For his Iustice he used such rigor yet intermixed with mercy that never before his dayes was used lesâ—e oppression and robbery For his Temperance hee was of such contiuency that when the Danes who were then frequent in the Land had brought in drunken healths to â—he evill example and hurt of his Commons and Subiects he made a Law and or dayned certaine Cups of severall sizes with pinnes and nayles driven into them and whosoever drank past that marke or pin was to forfeit a certaine peece of money whereof one halfe fell to the Accuser and the other halfe to the Bayliffe or governour of that Burrough to distribute to the use of the poore but nothing to his owne private use or benefit Concerning his particular valour it is further thus reported of him One of those subiected Kings whom the History calleth Kinadus a very personable and proper Gentleman and of a strong and able constitution rowing upon the River when King Edgar himselfe being but of a low stature and as wee phrase it a middle-siz'd man steered the Barge whispered to him who sate next him and sayd Observe you not the insolence and pride of this Dwarfe whom Fortune not Valour hath raised to this Eminence I vow if I had him singly and alone in the field I would cut him into peeces and eate him after This being told the King he seemed to take no further notice thereof than to say That losers had liberty to speake freely and no question but hee was able to performe as much as he had boasted neither did hee once change his countenance upon him who had thus threatned him but calling one of his owne servants unto him whom he most trusted commanded him to provide two swords of equall size and fashion suitable to his strength and such as hee was well able to weild which done he layd them aside and the next day he invited Kinadus to a Feast and gave him more than ordinary welcome Much familiar discourse past betwixt them and more than custome Dinner being ended the King desired him to walke abroad and take the ayre to which the other willingly assented neither of them having more than one servant to attend them All the way they enterchanged pleasant discourse till at length comming to a Grove King Edgar commanded those who then waited upon them to retire and leave them When entring
no discourse offered but it either began or ended with Pugnandum non dormiendum that is Now is a time to fight not to sleepe to be famous for our couâ—age not branded for our cowardise which was almost no sooner spoken than suddenly put in action But I must ingeniously confesse that for many yeeres together there hath beene a long cesâ—ation of Armes neither hath iust occasion beene ministred wherein our noble Nation might give any full expression of the hereditary valour and virtue of their Ancestors till of late And now me thinks I heare all our brave Heroick spirits as our High-Admirall Vice-admirall Captaines Commanders and oâ—her Nautick Officers as being so long kept from their wished imployments with a loud unanimous voice acclaime and say Steriles transmissimus annos Nunc ô nunc tempus in hostes Neither have I exposed those before named invincible Generals to their view that they might Admirando desperare but Imitando superare Not by admiring them despaire to arrive unto their height but rather by imitating them â—antecell them in their honour Of which there is no doubt or diffidence to be made considering how forward and indulgent his sacred Maiesty hath beene and still is not onely in the repairing but increasing his Royall Navy above all the Princes that have preceded him But in this last incomparable structure hee hath made an inimitable president for all the Kings and Potentates of the Christian World or else where No River no Flood no Sea whether Mare Fretum Aequor Caeruleum Pontus Salum Altum Hadria Pelagus Oceanus that could ever boast of the bearing so glorious a Vessell which considering and withall his Royall Maiesty at whose great and almost infinite charge and expence her building is undertaken it put into my thoughts this fortunate and auspicious presage Quicquid habitabile tellus Sustinet hujus erit pontus quoque serviet illâ— And concerning the Ship it selfe at my first view of her bulke onely being yet unperfected it compelled me to breake out suddenly into this Epigrammaticall rapture which followeth An Epigram upon his Majesties Great Ship lying in the Docke at Wooll-witch WHat Artist tooke in hand this Ship to frame Or who can guesse from whence these tall Oâ—â—s came Vnlesse from the ful grown Dodonean grove A Wildernesse sole sacred unto Jove What Eye such brave Materials hath beheld Or by what Axes were these Timbers feld Sure Vulcan with his three Cyclopean Swaines Have forg'd new Metalls from their active braines Or else that Hatchet he hath grinded new With which he cleft Joves skull what time out flew The arm'd Virago Pallas who inspires With Art with Science and all high desires Shee hath no doubt raptur'd our Vndertaker This Machine to devise first and then make her How else could such a mighty Mole be rais'd To which Troyes horse by Virgil so much prais'd Whose bulke a thousand armed men contein'd Was but a toy compar'd and that too feign'd For she beares thrice his burden hath roome where Euceladus might rowe and Tition steere But no such Vessell could for them be made Had they intent by Sea the gods to invade The Argoe stellified because 't was rare With this Ships long Boat scarcely might compare Yet sixty Greeke Heroes even in that With Oares in hand upoâ— their Transtrae sate Her Anchors beyond weight expanst and wide Able to wrestle against Winde and Tyde Her big-wrought Cable like that massie Chaine With which great Xerxes boundâ—d in the Maine 'Tweene Sestos and Abidos to make one Europe and Asia by that Lyne alone Her five bright Lanthorns luster round the Seas Shining like five of the seven Hyades Whose cleare eyes should they by oft weeping fayle By these our Sea men might finde Art to sayle In one of which which beares the greatest light Ten of the Guard at once may stand upright What a coâ—spicuous Ray did is dart then What more than a Tiâ—anian Luster when Our Phoebus and bright Cinthia joyntly sphear'd In that one Orbe together both appear'd With whom seven other Stars had then their station All luminous but lower Constellation That Lampe the great Colosse held who bestrid The spacious Rhodian Sea-arme never did Cast such a beame yâ—t Ships of tallest size Past with their â—asts erect betweene his thighes Her maine Mast like a Pyramis appeares Such as the Aegâ—pâ—ian Kings were many yeeres To their great charge erecting whilst their pleasure To mount them hie did quite exhaust theâ—r treasure Whose brave Top top-top Royall nothing barres By day to brush the Sun by night the Staâ—res Her Mâ—ine-sayle if I doe not much mistake For Amphitrite might a Kirtle make Or in the heate of Summer be a Fanne To coole the face of the great Ocean Shee being angry if she stretch her lungs Can rayle upon her enemy with more Tongues Loâ—der than Steâ—tors as her spleene shall rise Than ever Junoes Aâ—gus saw with eyes I should but loose my selfe and craâ—ze my braine Striving to give this glory of the Maine A full description though the Muses nine Should quaffe to me in rich Mendaeum Wine Then O you Marine gods who with amaze On this stupendious worke emergent gaze Take charge of her as being a choise Jemme That much out-valews Neptunes Diadem Semper bona causa triumphat Before I come to give you a true and exact dimension of her Bulke burden c. it is necessary that I make some satisfaction to the world concerning those Decorements which beautifie and adorne her and to râ—nder a faire account of mine owne invention and fanâ—y concerning the carving worke the figures and Mottoes upon them which some perhaps have too liberally taxed Thus therefore to any who have formerly either doubted of their property or are at this present desirous to understand their imagined obscurity I thus freely deliver my sâ—lfe Vpon the Beak-head sitteth royall King Edgar on horse-backe trampâ—ing upon seven Kings now what hee was and who they were I shall brieâ—ly relate unto you rendring withall a full satisfactory reason to any unpartiall reader why they are there and in that manner placed This Edgar was the second sonne of King Edmund who having reigned two yeeres over the Mercians and Northumbers in the dayes of Edwin his elder Brother at sixteene yeeres of age was by an unanimos consent elected to succeed in all his Dominions being indeed the first that could truely write himselfe an absolute Monarch of this Island for there were divers Reguli in those times who were small Kings and had absolute Dominion over divers Provinces I shall not need to tell you how or into what parts this Land was divided let it suffice to know so much onely That hee by his valour made himselfe sole Soveraigne and all the rest were his Liegemen and Tributaries The entire Monarchy and all the royall Titles of the Kingdome falling under his Scepter Hee was the Thirteenth King from Brute and though a great Souldier as may