Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
lord_n	earl_n	knight_n	viscount_n	13,366	5	11.8212	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A15466	A briefe discourse of vvarre. VVritten by Sir Roger VVilliams Knight; vvith his opinion concerning some parts of the martiall discipline. Newly perused	Williams, Roger, Sir, 1540?-1595.	1590 (1590)	STC 25733; ESTC S120635	36,291	65

A Briefe discourse of Warre Written by Sir Roger Williams Knight VVith his opinion concerning some parts of the Martiall Discipline Newly perused Imprinted at London by Thomas Orwin dwelling in Paternoster Row ouer against the Signe of the Checker 1590. TO THE MOST HOnorable my singular and best Lord Robert Earle of Essex and Ewe Vicount Hereford and Bourghchier Lord Ferrers of Chartley Bourghchier and Louayne Master of the Queenes Maiesties horse and Knight of the most noble Order of the Garter Roger Williams wisheth increase of all Honor and Vertue MOst honorable Lord hauing busied my self more than two yeares in writing sundrie actions that passed in our daies especiallie the great actions of the Netherlanders since the first arriuall of Duke D' alua vntill the late sieges of Sluce and Bergis hauing resolued to print and dedicate them vnto your Lordship diuers occasions perswades me to craue pardon for a time assuring your Lordship if health and libertie permits leaue to present them vnto your selfe in the French tongue hoping by those meanes to bee rightlier iudged than I haue been hethervnto In troth but for the negligence of a seruant that lost part of my discourses I would not haue printed any thing without the whole wherefore I haue taken boldnes to present your Lordship with some of my lost papers humblie desiring you to accept them as from a Souldier that hath but smal skill in writing or inditing but could I doo better assuredlie it should bee vnto your selfe and shall bee in any thing I can performe Beare with my faults be assured of my loue and command my life next vnto my sacred Soueraigne deare Countrie Your Lordships most bounden to serue Roger Williams To all men of Warre in generall NOble Souldiers of what qualitie soeuer where I discourse of the vertues and vices that aduanceth and ouerthroweth all actions all that hath their honor to lose may claime part of the vertues neither needes any to bee grieued at the vices vnlesse they condemne themselues guiltie the greatest Captaines of Europe can witnesse that I robbed neither superiour nor companion of his right much lesse hath been euer my thoughts to wrong any generall action the which all or the most of you that knowe me will beare witnesse when my Netherlanders discourses with others comes out I thinke Gonsalua was called the last graund Captaine but I perswade my selfe neither he nor any other before him had euer carried that name without the seconding of a number of braue companions The most worthiest Caesar although hee was highly ambitious notwithstanding in his Commentaries written by himselfe hee imputed part of his honour vnto his Lieftenants and Officers Wherefore should not others doo at the least the like being not worthie to be compared vnto the basest sort of his followers no honorable minds can bee free from honorable ambition but the ambitiō may be such let the minde be neuer so great if hee robbs the honor of his companions he wrongs himselfe and imbates his action Few men of iudgement but knowes it impossible for one man to conduct an Armie without Officers vnpossible for any state to knowe the worth of their Captaines without being in action with great enemies but for that triall the Parisians Gauntois Antwerpians and such would onelie place squadrons in battailes chuse grounds march in what order you would arme men in good order fortifie and discourse with other matters to the shew as though they had been great masters of Campes but when they were tried with the furie of expert executioners their warres prooued but May-games Although I perswade myselfe my Discourse bee Vnpleasant with small iudgement notwithstanding being perswaded by honourable good friends I tooke courage to print it true it is no action ought to be printed without the consent of sundrie Actors or at the least by one Principall which ought to signe his workes with his name otherwise wee finde the most Actors wronged and robbed of the most of their reputation some with enuie or malice others with glorious ambition sometimes you haue most honorable quiet Estates wronged with ambitious follies libells the which are hardlie knowne and found out but being signed by the author deserues hee well the honour is his if ill the shame shall be his Men of Warre ought to bee more open hearted more liberall and more affable than any other profession although their secrets ought to bee but vnto fewe their hearts must be open vnto the multitude and liberall to confesse good deserts as well as with their purses although their resolutions be agreed on by two or three notwithstanding the more affable they shewe themselues vnto the multitude the greater will be their voges and loues Some tearme men wise for not speaking many words true it is idle speaches are windes and a disgrace vnto the speaker but bee they to good purpose the more hee speakes the greater is his praise You must thinke to repeate great actions it requires many words to perswade the fewe expert companions to offend or defend a fewe words will serue but to animate or disswade the rude multitude the more words and the oftner the better Wee doo finde the most Conquerours were greatlie aduanced with the orations of their Orators as well amongst the seruilest sort as the rude multitude without speaches the wise can not be discerned from the foolish nor without triall of gouernement against equall enemies the perfects Captaine cannot bee knowne from the most ignorant Otherwise ignorance will condemne Generalls their followers and actions let them bee euer so great although themselues neuer carried places of reputation either in field or towne nor commanded more than ouer their owne seruants saying wee haue knowne great Potentates Campes and Courts Let no man bee so simple to iudge them worthie to condemne great actions or their actors without being imployed in their great affaires it is hard for men to gouerne themselues well harder to gouerne a few more harder to gouerne many much more a great multitude some can gouerne a houshold and cannot gouerne a towne some can gouerne a towne and not a whole countrie A man may be sufficient to conduct a priuate companie and not sufficient to command a Regiment likewise sufficient for a Coronell and not for a Generall But whether it be for policie or Armes it is an error to thinke men without triall worthie to bee compared vnto the others tried in what place soeuer great or small Diuers play Alexander on the stages but fewe or none in the field Our pleasant Tarleton would counterfeite many artes but hee was no bodie out of his mirths Many haue a vertue few hath many none haue all the most men lookes into their fellowes faults but fewe lookes into their owne beare with mine I will beare with thine loue mee I will loue thee let vs loue each other and God will loue vs all on that condition noble superiours Roger Williams wisheth to you all honour

would grudge by reason all or the most part of these companies belong vnto them For example our Band of horsemen Pentioners did account them the fairest Band of ordinance in Europe for the number because all the men at armes are Gentlemen of qualitie wherefore I doo value this Band better than twice as manie of any other let them bee of what Nation soeuer I may speake it by good experience out of this Band there may be pickt 15. or 20. sufficient to answere so many at all deedes of armes let it be chosen out of any Armie be it neuer so great considering their charges in payes expences in victuals munition and their liberties for dueties I meane to conuoy guard and to watch so many priuate Launtiers as this faire Band musters in all of horses vnder their Ensign or Guydon would excell them my reason is as I said before because euery Launtier is a master and receiues his owne pay To prooue Hargulatiers more seruiceable than Speare men tearmed by vs light Horsemen THE difference betwixt our Northerne Speares Light Horsemen we tearme them and the Light Horsemen tearmed by the strangers Hargulatiers as much to say Hargabushes or Petronels on horseback Touching the mounting and arming of these hargulatiers I shewed you before the seruice of all Light horsemen consists chiefly in marching of great marches Caualgades the strangers terme it I meane to surprise Cōpanies a farre off in their lodgings or marches likewise to defeat conuoyes to conduct conuoyes as much to say direct it to spoyle necessaries that come to furnish their enemies and to conduct necessaries to furnish their own campe or seruice Also to scout and discouer to spare the armed men I meane the Launtiers the other horsemen likewise both to conduct spoile forragers with the like seruices They be neuer commanded to do any exploits on men of Warre without being accompanied with Launtiers or armed Pistolers I meane Curaces on horseback Diuers march with swords without Pistoll or Launce especiallie the Frenchmen For these seruices it is necessarie to haue in armies or troupes for euerie 500. Launtiers or armed Curaces 100. of these kinde of light horse from that rate to the greatest numbers If horsemen bee directed to assaile troupes at their lodgings either in villages streights or fields where it requires too great a march for footemen to keepe companie with the horsemen without doubt these hargulatiers are farre better then the spearemen my reasons are these when the horsemen approach the enemie if it bee in a village lightly they must passe through barriers and narow streights bard with waggons both of victualls of their men of warre where commonlie the Enemie keepes guardes watch If the passage bee such either in entring a village or straight that horsmen cannot finde place to enter and to charge these hargulatiers light on foot do no lesse dutie than foote hargabushiers If the enimie be lodged either too strongly or to manie for the assailants to doo any good on their quarter as ye must think a 1000 stronglie lodged in a village or streight with good guard and order are worth 2000. without let them be of one valure and conduct then the assailant will addresse an ambush perhaps in a passage or narrow streight short of the Enemies quarter where he will also cause all or the most of those Hargulatiers to light then place and hide them in such sort that 100. shot wil spoyle and defend ten times more than themselues vnles the enimies bring shot to displace them if they doo the Ambush may dislodge if hee thinkes the partie vnequal the which he could not were his Hargulatiers Hargabushers without horses beeing ingaged to fight I confesse also the Hargulatiers farre better than the spearemen for this seruice if troupes of armed curaces launtiers or others chance to meete by fortune with the like enemies in a champion the Hargulatiers vnarmed march on both sides of their squadron like wings of shot about a squadron of pikes vntil the launtiers or curaces charge diuers of their Hargulatiers march skirmishing before the squadrons like forelorne men after the Almaine phrase when the squadrons charge they flye on both sides to their fellowes They place their armed Hargulatiers behinde the squadrons they execute more than the Launtiers after the Launtiers break into the enemies squadrons for the armed hargulatiers ought to be as well mounted and armed for curace and caske sauing their beauers as the launtiers the most of them as I shewed you before carrieth a pistoll besides his caliuer or petronell Let it bee for what seruice Captaines can deuise these hargulatiers are better than our sort of speare men that wee tearme Light Horsmen I perswade my selfe that all the warriers in Europe sauing our selues and the Scots will bee found to be of my minde I am sure the Earle of Essex Generall Norris the Lord Willoughbie Sir William Russell Sir Richard Bingham with the most of all that serued against the great Captaines I meane the Prince of Parma and his followers will say and confesse as I doo For example the famous Mounsier de la Nowe commanding chiefe of the warres vnder the Prince of Orange and the States in Flaunders had 5. Cornets of these spearemen all Scotts he finding little seruice with these kinde of arming and mounting changed them vnto Launtiers and Hargulatiers the which afterwards prooued to be seruiceable as braue bāds as any other vnder his charge especially the company of Seaton True it is braue men wil shew themselues valiant with any kind of weapons al maner of ways but the best sort of arming and mounting is the more profitable the more seruiceable Although our two nations I meane English and Scottish may compare in my opinion do excell all the rest of the world in value and strength notwithstanding neyther of both our Nations can compare with the Strangers for the mounting and arming vnlesse we resolue to be Launtiers Pistolers and Hargulatiers as I shewed before Our discipline is to haue 1000. Spearmen and some 200. Launtiers from that rate to the greatest numbers which ought to be 1000. Lantiers and 200. Spearemen Likewise from that rate to the greatest and those 200. ought to be Hargulatiers I know no reason but 2000. Lantiers 2000. Pistolers 1000. Hargulatiers should not Master 20000. Spearemen on horsebacke Likewise from that rate to the lesser numbers you must think the reason was that our kings of England Scotland fought always or the most part on foote because their whole trust was on the footmen and that all strangers mastred them with horsemen Assure our selues let vs keep their discipline with horsmen none shal master vs number to number although they were more Let vs not erre in our ancient customes although our famous Kings Hen. 5. Edw. 3. and Hen. 8. were the most worthiest warriers that our nation euer had notwithstanding you may be assured had they knowne