eight imprisoned in the Tower of london where he remayned many yeres till the death of king Edward the sixt At whiche time that patterne of singular clemencie Queene Marie dyd not only delyuer hym but also restored hym to his auncient estate of blood and dignitie This yong noble man afterward dyed without issue at Padua in Italie but if he had liued he might with best right haue claimed the Croune of England after the issues of king Henry the seuenth and Queene Elizabeth his wyfe had bene extinguishhed In this Courtney now deceased the progenie of King Edward the fowerth had bene determined as concerning the streight line if the ofspring of king Henry the seuenth and Quene Elizabeth his wyfe were not yet liuing But if that at any tyme faile then must they seke for an heyr in the collateral line Therfore it is to be noted The collaterall lyne of the succession that the before mentioned Richard Plantagenet Duke of York which was slayn by Henry the sixt in the battail of wakefeild and of whose progenie we now speake had three sonnes to witt king Edward the fowerth George Duke of Clarence and Richard Duke of Glocestre Now then for default of issue in lineal descent from Edward the eldest brother we must haue recourse as is before sayd vnto the collateral descent that is to George Duke of Clarenee the second brother and to his succession For to speak any more of Richard the yongest brother whiche dyed without issue it were superfluouse George then duke of Clarēce yonger brother to Edward the fowerth had by his vyfe Isabell Countesse of VVarwik and Sarisbury two children to witt Edward and Margaret This George vpon suspition of treason to affect the kyngdome was by kyng Edward his brother priuilye put to deathe And his sonne Edward being but a child emprisoned in the Tower of lond where he was deteined vntill at last vpon lyke surmise kinge Henry the seuenth stroke of his head But the sayd Lady Margaret Countesse of Sarisburie was maried to Sir Richard pole knight by whom she had diuers sonnes to wytt Henry Arthur Geffray Reinald the same which afterward for his rare vertues and singular wisdome and learning was aduaunced to the dignitie of a Cardinal Cardinal Pole and called Cardinal Pole Henry the eldest brother to omitt the rest had two daughters Catharin Pole the elder sister whiche was maried to Francise Hastinges Erle of Huntingdon and VVenefride the yonger sister Of whiche VVenefride there is no nede to speak any more because there is yet liuing descended of the sayd Ladye Catharin a plentifull generation Thus it is euident and very playn that whan the lineal descent in bloode from king Henry the seuenth and Queene Elizabeth his wyfe shall fayle then must the right of the white Rose that is to saye of the house of Yorke whiche dyd spring of king Edward the fowerth be transplanted and be deriued by a collateral lyne from George Duke of Clarence vnto the house of the Poles and so vnto the house of haftings or Hūtingdon Yet is there an other braunche sprong out of the same stock The novv Emperor and King Philip are descended from King Edvvard the third I mean from Edward the third in a long course of descent And that is Philip the king Catholique of Spayn descended from Iohn of Gaunt Duke of Lancastre third sonne of king Edward the third For the sayd Iohn of Gaunt had two daughters Philipp and Catharin This Ladye Philipp was mother to Edward king of Portugal of whome all other the kings of Portugal sithince that tyme till this day are descended This Edward king of Portugal was father to Eleonor the Emperesse whiche was mother to Maximilian the Emperor father to Philipp king of Castil father to that most victoriouse Emperour Charles the fift father to the most prudent Prince Philipp the King Catholik of Spayn now raigning to the most graciouse Ladye Marie mother to Rudolphus now Emperour But no to omitt any thing which apperteyneth to the Royall succession I think it good to adde a word or two touching the Lady Margaret Duglasse Aunt that is to saye sister to the father of my Soueraign Lady now Queene of Scotland her mean whiche was maried to the Erle of Leneux a mariage verie plausible to king Henrye the eight or he indued her with great possessiōs in England this Ladye Margaret had by the sayd Erle two sonnes Henry and Charles Atferward the same Henry went in to Scotland to visit his father and sing in the Court there a comely yong gentlemā verie personable and of great expectation fownd suche fauour in the sight of that most Gratiouse Queene of Scotland as her Maiestie created hym Duke of Albanie Erle of Rosse And there withal she made a speciall choyse of hym to be her husband thynking therby that because he was born and brought vp in England her right and title might be more fortifyed and all surmised defectes supplied yf any thing there were that coulde be obiected against her Maiestie After this Mariage betwene that most noble Queene and the sayd Henry was solemnized and consummate her Grace had by hym a sonne my said Soueraign now king of Scotland called Iames the sixt A noble Prince of heroical towardnesse and of the best hope the vndoubted laufull heir of that most gratiouse Queene representing allwayes from his infancie a liuely Image of his mother and of her beautie vertues and graces Thus muche in few woordes concerning the succession of the Croune of England and of those persones which clame any interest therein But to the ende that all thinges may be more perfectlye discerned I haue caused to be sett downe in a table hereunto annexed all the degrees of descents both lineal and collaterall from king Edward the third from whome eyther of those two families of York Lancastre doe take their begynning In whiche table the whole order and processe of that noble stocke hanging together in a continuall course of succession may most easily appeare at the first sight Here is to folowe a Table of the sayd Genealogie A table of the Rase and progenye of suche persones as descending from the princely families of Yorke Lācastre doe eyther iustly clame or ambytiously couet the title of successiō to the Croune of Englād VVhere by all men may see by what right and in what course eache of the yssues of King Henry the seauenth and Queene Elizabeth his wife are to be orderly called to the Croune of that Realme A genealogie of the Kinges of Englād from VVilliam Duke of Normandie called VVilliam the cōquerour vntill this present yere of our Lorde 1584. VVhereas some persones ambitiouslie coueting the Croune of England doe practize sinisterly to discredit the right title of the laufull heyres and seke priu ilye to aduaunce I knowe not what new titles of their owne creation Therefore to remoue all scruples that hereupon may growe this table
ere the first yere of his vsurped reigne turned about he was spoiled and turned out of both Croune and his life withal Yea his vsurpatiō occasioned the cōquest of the whole realme by VVilliā Duke of Normandie bastard sonne to Robert the sixt Duke of the same And may you thinke al safe sound now from like dāger if you should tread the said wrong steppes with Harolde forsaking the right and high way of law and iustice VVhat shal I now speake of the cruel ciuil warres betwene king Stephen and king Henry the second whiche warres rose by reason that the said Henry was vniustly kept from the Croune dew to his mother Maude and to him afterwardes The pitiful reigne of the said Iohn who doth not lamēt with the lamentable losse of Normandie Aquitaine the possibilitie of the Dukedome of Britanie and with the losse of other goodly possessions in France whereof the Croune of England was robbed and spoiled by the vnlawfull vsurping of him against his nephew Arthur VVell let vs leaue these greuouse and lothsome remembrances let vs yet seeke if we may finde any later interpretatiō either of the said statute or rather of the common law for our purpose And lo the great goodnes and prouidence of God who hath if the foresaid exāples would not serue prouided a later but so good so sure apt mete interpretatiō for our cause as any reasonable hart may desire The interpretatiō directly toucheth our case I meane by the mariage of the Lady Margaret eldest daughter to King Hēry the vij vnto the fourth king Iames of Scotland and by the opinion of the same most prudent Prince in bestowing his said daughter into Scotlād a matter sufficient enough to ouerthrow all those cauilling inuētiōs of the aduersaries For what time King Iames the fourth sent his Ambassadour to King Henry the seuenth to obteine his good will to espouse the said Lady Margaret Polid. 26. there were of his Counsaile not ignorant of the lawes and Customes of the Realme that did not well like upon the said Mariage saying it might so fal out that the right title of the Croune might be deuolued to the Lady Margaret and her children and the Realme therby might be subiect to Scotland To the whiche the prudent and wise king answered King H. 7. vvith his Counsaile is a good interpretor of our present cause that in case any suche deuolution should happen it would be nothing preiudiciall to England For England as the chief and principal and worthiest parte of the I le should drawe Scotland to it as it did Normandie from the time of the Conquest VVhich answere was wonderfully well liked of all the Counsaile And so consequently the Mariage toke effect as appereth by Polydor the Historiographer of that Realme and suche a one as wrote the Actes of that time by the instruction of the king him selfe I say then the worthy wise Salomon foreseeing that such deuolution might happen was an interpretour with his prudente and sage Counsaile for our cause For els they neaded not to reason of any such subiection to Scotlande if the children of the Ladie Margaret might not lawfully inherite the Croune of England For as to her husband Englād could not be subiect hauing him selfe no right by this mariage to the Title of the Croune of that Realme VVherevpon I may well inferre that the said newe Maxime of these men whereby they would rule and ouer rule the successiō of Princes was not knowen to the said wise king neither to any of his Counsaile Or if it were yet was it taken not to reache to his blood royall borne in Scotlande And so on euery side the Title of my Soueraigne Lady Queene Marie is assured So that now by this that we haue said it may easely be seen by what light and slender cōsideration the aduersaries haue gone about to strayne the worde Infantes or children to the first degree only Of the like weight is their other consideration imagining and surmising this statute to be made bicause the king had so many occasions to be so oft ouer the sea with his spouse the Queene As though diuers kings before him vsed not oftē to passe ouer the seas As though this were a personal statute made of a special purpose and not to be taken as a declaration of the common law VVhiche to say is most directely repugnant and contrary to the letter of the said statute Or as though his children also did not very often repaire to outward Countries The mariages of King E. 3. sonnes as Iohn of Gaunt Duke of Lancastre that Maried Peters the king of Castiles eldest daughter by whose right he clamed the Croune of Castile as his brother Edmund Erle of Camhridge that maried the yongest daughter as Lionell Duke of Clarence that maried at Milaine Violant daughter and heir to Galeatius Duke of Milan But especialy Prince Edwarde whiche moste victoriously toke in battaile Iohn the French King and brought him into England his prisoner to the great triumphe and reioysing of the realme whose eldest sonne Edward that died in short time after was borne beyond the seas in Gascoine and his other sonne Richard that succeded his grandfather was borne at Burdeaux And as these noble King Edwardes sonnes maried with forainers so did they geue out their daughters in mariage to foraine Princes as the Duke of Lancaster his daughter Philip to the King of Portugall and his daughter Catherin to the king of Spaine his Neece Iohan daughter to his sonne Erle of Somerset was ioyned in mariage to the king of Scottes Iohan daughter to his brother Thomas of wodstocke Duke of Gloucester was Queene of Spaine and his other daughter Marie Duchesse of Britānie Now by these mennes interpretation none of the issue of all these noble women could haue enioyed the Croune of England when it had fallen to them though they had bene of the neerest roial blood after the death of their Aūcestours VVhich surely had bene against the auncient presidentes examples that we haue declared and against the common Lawe the whiche must not be thought by this Statute any thing taken away but only declared and against all good reason also For as the kings of England would haue thought that Realme greatly iniuried if it had bene defrauded of Spaine or any of the foresaid countreies being deuolued to the same by the foresaid Mariages so the issue of the foresaide noble women might and would haue thought them hardly and iniuriously handled yf any such case had happened Neither suche friuolous interpretations and gloses as these men nowe frame and make vpon the statute woulde then haue serued nor nowe will serue A fond imagination of the Aduersaries of the statute of 25. E. 3. But of all other their friuolous and folish ghessing vpō the clause of the statute for Infantes de Roy there is one most fond of all For they would make vs beleue
common bond of loue among all Princes generallye I may not herein ouer passe that godlye father which sittethe in the holy Seat and as it is well knowen like a second Samuel will not anoint with holye oyle that is to say confirme by his authoritie any other to be rulers ouer Christians than suche Princes as might well seme to be Sauls and Dauids whiche represented the persones of all laufull Kynges For beside her vndoubted right of Succession which is accounted a kynd of diuine callyng and choyse to a Kyngdome this may speciallie persuade hym to defend her as his daughter whiche neyther by straitnesse of prison nor by any kinde of affliction could be hitherto seduced from honoring him as her father VVhat nede is there to call vpon the most sacred Emperour and other Kynges and Princes in particular sith they are all allied vnto the sayd noble Queene eyther by a sure knot of amitie and frendship or by a most fast bond of consanguinitie and kynred Neyther is it necessarie to proue this by genealogies and pedegrues seing the world allredye knoweth that she is descended both by father and mother from the most noble Princes Kynges and Emperours of the whole Christian worlde As for the nobilitie and Commons of England this should moue them to loue her that she is come so many wayes of English blood and had her great Grandmother out of the Princelie house of Somerset and had for her Grandmother the Lady Margaret eldest daughter to King Henrye the seuenth And is not this muche to moue them further that she was by this meanes so muche affected toward the Englishe Nation as in her troubles afflictions at home she rather hoped for relefe at their handes and therfore trusted the now Queene of England vpon her promises so farre as she made her choyse rather to come for succoure to the Englishe where now she liueth in prison than to other Princes her speciall freends of whome she was assured to haue found relefe and succour Adde this withall that before all other Christian Princes she choase an Englishe man to be her husband and by hym brought foorthe a sonne heyr to the same Kyngdome VVhat should I report of the signes and tokens of her pietie wiche now she showeth in England or of her Courtesie good will and loue towarde the English Nation how freendlye she thinketh of them how honorably she speaketh of them and how nobly she writeth of them yea how that by long conuersing with them she hath now so perfectlie lerned their manners their language and their customes as hauing almost forgot all other fashions she seemeth to be brought in to this world by the prouidence of God iustlie to gouerne the people of England VVherefore sithe this our Queene is the woorthie heir and the righteous heir of the English Croune it standeth agreablie with your charitie whiche you as Kinges are wont to vse toward Queenes and vith those offices of courtesie and kyndenesse whiche you owe as Allies to your freendes or as Cosaines to your kynsewomen to prouide by all possible meanes that she be not defeated of her right nor barred from that dignitie whiche by many titles is due vnto her lest that the harmes whiche fall vpon her by suche losses doe procure great perilles to you and youre posteritie And the better to auoyde all stoppes whiche might brede in you by any obscure or breefe relation I here present vnto your Maiesties with all humilitie this booke conteyning a full discourse of the whole cause whiche during my abode in England about the affaires of my sayd Soueraigne I caused to be published in Englishe to the vse of Englishe menne and haue now augmented it with a Genealogie of the Competitors whiche by discent from two Princelie families in that Realme to wit Yorke and Lancastre pretend title to the Croune And herein the cauilles and surmises of the aduersaries are so refuted their sleightes so discouered and auoided and their argumentes whiche they leane vpon so ouerthrowen as the scruples and dowbtes whiche before neuerthelesse to menne of equall and indifferent iudgementes were playne enoughe may well seme to be remoued and pulled out of the hartes and myndes of the aduersaries I humblie therfore beseche your Maiesties to accept that freendly whiche I present vnto you to mark that attentiuelie whiche in writing I sett downe before you and to performe that Iustlie whiche best beseemeth you So fare ye well and fauour the cause of a most laufull Queene TO THE MOST EXCELLENT AND MOST GRACIOVSE QVENE MARIE AND TO THE MOST noble king Iames her sonne Quene and kyng of Scotland his vndoubted Souereignes Iohn Lesley Byshop of Rosse wisheth all true felicitie O FALL the most excellent guyftes and benefites which God of his goodnesse hathe bestowed vpon mankynde I knowe not whether there be any one for profit more fruitfull or in estimation more excellinge than is the inclination among menne to mutuall loue and amitie For suche is the force thereof in matters of greate importance as the persone in whome it is once well establyshed can not be at any time eyther by counseil seduced by iniquitie of time imbased by fortunes frowning disquyeted nor by any violence shaken muche lesse ouerthrowen or destroyed In somuche as I must nedes saye that whosoeuer wanteh this guyft of nature he is not onlye farre from all commendation of constancie and wysedome in greate affaires but also putteth of all humanitie and is become impious wylde and sauage And this sense or feling of loue and amitie although it be naturally planted in euery man and woman yet is it most especiallye in them that are by blood and kynred most neerly conioyned together VVherfore so often as I consider the tender loue of parents toward their children the pietie of children toward their parents I alwayes acknowleige this naturall inclinatiō to loue and amitie without whiche no common wealth can endure nor any famylie stand to be a speciall benefit of God bestowed vpon mankynde And so often also most graciouse Princes I fynde iust cause to moue me in the behalfes of your Maiesties and of your subiectes to reioyse and to gyue God thankes for that these lawes of nature and guyftes of grace in you by God singularlye planted you haue reserued and kept whole and inuiolate from the iniurie of the time and from the malytiouse stinges of peruerse detractours in suche sorte as you could not by any other occasion haue gyuen a better testimonie of honorable courtesie and vertue nor haue raised in the hartes of your subiectes a more assured hope of the best mean to preserue yea and to enlarge also and amplyfie your kyngdome For to me and to all your louinge subiects nothing can be more gratefull than this firme and fast loue and agrement betwene you nothing that ought to be more acceptable to your selues nothinge more agreable to the generall wellfare of all men Ernestlie therfore and in the
matter groweth to faction and from factiō bursteth out to plain and open hostilitie wherevpō foloweth passing great perilles and oftentimes detestable alterations and subuersions of the plublick state For the better auoyding of suche and lyke inconueniences albeit at the beginning Princes reigned not by descent of blood and succession VVhy all the vvorld almost embraceth succession of princes rather than election but by choyse and election of the worthiest the world was for the most part constreyned to reiect and abandon election and so oftentimes in stead of a better and woorthier to take for their Gouernour some certain issue ofspring of one family though otherwyse perhappes not so mete VVhich defecte is so supplied partly by the greate benefit of the good reast and quyetnesse that the people vniuersally enioye by this course of succession and partly by the industrie and trauail of graue and sage personages whose counseil Princes doe vse in their affaires that the whole world in a manner these many thousand yeres hath embrased successiō by blood rather than by election And all politike Princes wanting issue of their own bodies to succede them haue euer had a speciall care foresight for auoyding of ciuil dissention that the people allwayes myght knowe the true and certain heyr apparent of the Croune specially when there appeared any lykelyhode of varitie of opinions or factions to ensue about the true and laufull succession in gouernement The care of English kinges to haue the successour to be knovvn This care and foresight doeth manifestly appear to haue bene not only in manye Princes of forain Countreis but also in the kynges of England aswell before as after the Conquest namely in S. Edward kyng of England that holie Confessour by declaring and appoynting Edgar Atheling his nephews fonne Flores hist anno 1057 to be his heyre as also in kynge Richard the first who before he interprised his Iourney to Ierusalem Richard Chanon of the Trinitie ī Londō assembled his Nobilitie and Commons together and by their consentes declared Arthure sonne of his brother Duke of Britain to be his next heir and Successour of the Croune Of whiche Arthure flores hist anno 1190 Poli. l. 14. as also of the sayd Edgar Atheling we will speake more hereafter This care also had king Richard the second what time by authoritie of Parlament he declared for heir apparent of the Croune the Lord Edmond Mortymer that Maried Philip daughter and heyr of his vnkle Leonell Polid. l. 20. duke of Clarence And to descend to later times the late kyng Henry the eight shewed as it is knowen his prudence and zelous care in this behalfe before his last voyage in to Fraunce And nowe if almightie God should as we be all bothe prince and others subiecte to mortall chaunces once bereaue the Realme of England of their present Queene the hartes and mindes of men being no better nor more firmely setled and stayed towardes the expectation of a certain succession than they seme now to be then woe alas it woundeth my very hart euen once to thinke vpon the imminent and almost ineuitable perilles of that noble Realme being lyke to be ouerwhelmed with the raiging roaring waues stormes of mutuall discorde and to be consumed with the terrible fire of ciuil dissention The feare whereof is the more by reason that already in these later yeres some flames of this horrible fire haue sparkled and flushed abroad some part of the rage of those fluddes haue beaten vpon the Englishe shores I mean the hote contention that hath there bene sturred in so many places and among so many persones Of bookes also dispersed abroode so many wayes fashioned framed as either depraued affection peruersely lusted or zelous defense of truthe sincerely moued men Seing therfore that there is iust cause of fear and of great daunger lykely to happen by this varietie of mennes myndes and opinions so diuersely affected aswell of the meaner sort of menne as of greate personages I take it to be the parte of euery naturall Englishe man of suche as fauoure them to labour and trauaile eache man for his possibilitie and for suche talent as God hath gyuen hym that this so imminent a mischiefe may be in conuenient time preuented VVe see what witt policye paynes and charges men employe with dammes weares and all kynde of ingenious deuises to prouide that the sea or other riuers doe not ouerflowe or burst the bankes in suche places as are most subiecte to suche daunger VVe knowe also what politike prouision is made in many good Cities and townes that no daungerous fires do aryse through negligence and that the furie therof if any happen may speedilye be repressed with diligence VVherein Augustus the Emperour among other his famours actes is woorthely commended honored for appointing in Rome an ordinary wache of seuen companies in seuerall places to preuent suche mischiefes as come by fyre being hereunto induced by reason that the Citie was set on fire in seuen seuerall places in one daye And shall not then euery man for his part and vocation haue a vigilant care and respect to extinguishe and quenche fuche a fyre alreadye bursten owt as may if the matter be not wyselye looked vnto subuert distroy and consume not one Citie onlye but also a whole Realme Countrye VVhiche to suppresse one ready and commodiouse waye as I thinke is that the Countrey men people of that nation may throughly vnderstand and knowe from time to time in what persone the right of succession of the Croune of that Realme doeth stande and remayne For now many men partly through ignorance of the sayd right title partly through sinister persuasion of some lewd pamphlets whereunto they haue too lightly giuen credit are seduced and caried away quite from the right opinion and good meaning whiche once they had conceiued and from the reuerence and duetie that they other wyse woulde and shoulde haue VVhiche corruption of Iudgement and opinion I doe hartely wishe to be plucked out of the hartes and mindes of men and shall in this Treatise doe my best indeuoure with moste strong reasons and prooses to remoue the same not presuminge vpon my selfe that I am better able than all others this to doe but vpon duety and zeal to open a waye fot the knoulege of trueth whiche by so many indirect meanes is restreined obscured and persecutde after reading and vewing of suche bookes and the argumentes therof as haue bene set forth by the aduersaires to the contrarie whiles I was in England Ambassador for my most gratiouse Soueraigne ladye the Quene of Scotland I attempted this woork not vnrequested of some noble personages then of great accompte nor without the aduise counsail and Iudgement of some verie skillfull in the customes lawes and statutes of that Realme VVherein I verily hope to showe suche good matter for euident demōstration of the truth as semeth to me
is set foorth VVherein it may appearo at first sight how by the Mariage of King Henry the seauenth and Queene Elizabeth his wyfe the vndoubted title of that Croune was shut vp in them two in their issue How they lost but thre children hauinge yssue to witt King Henry the Eight Margaret their eldest daughter wyfe of Iames the .4 King of Scot. And mary wyfe of Charles Duke of Suffolk And that after the decesses of K. Henry the .8 and of his issue the right of succession of the said Croune is to remayn to the yssue of the sayd Margaret before all others And that is to the most gracious Lady Mary now Queene of Scotland and from and by her to the sixt King Iames of Scotland her Graces most noble sonne To the wellwilling Reder Here thou haist wellwilling Reder the cōtinuall Rase processe of Succession of the triumphāt Croune of England set forth before thy eyes not so muche thereby to gratifye my vndoubted Soueraignes as to dissolue all doubtes touching the laufull succession of that Croune to shew some aduise for the dignitie peace and weale publique of the whole yle of Britaine to the ende that all matter of sedition may be extinguished Farewell and take in good parte this my trauail IOHN LESLEY Byshop of Rosse VVilliam Duke of Normandie subdued and slewe in battail at hay stinges Herold the vsurpor in the yere of our lorde 1066. and obteined the kingdome to hym selfe whose posteritye hath enioyed the same till this daye 1. Kyng VVilliam Conquerour 2. Kyng VVilliam Rufus 3. Kyng Henry 1. Maried to Maude daughter of Malcom 3. K. of Scot. Maude daughter of Henry .1 maried to Henry .5 Emperour first husband of Maude Geoffrey Plātagenet second Husband of maude 5 King Henry 2. sonne of maude by G. Pl. 6. Kyng Richard 1. Called cuer de Lyon 7. Kyng Iohn Ioan wyfe of Alexāder .2 Kyng of Scotlād Alexander 2. Kyng of Scotland Alexander 3. Kyng of Scotland 8. Kyng Henry the third The house of Lancastre Edmond Erle of Lancastre Henry Erle of Lancastre Henry Duke of Lancastre Blāche heir of Henry D. of Lancastre vvife of Iohn of Gaunt Margaret wyfe of Alexāder .3 Kyng of Scotland 9. Kyng Eddward the first 10. Kyng Edward the second maried to Isabel daughter of Philip le beau Kyng of France Ioan wyfe of Dauid de bruise king of Scotlād Dauid de bruise Kyng of Scotland 11. King Edward the thyrd Iohn of Gaunt D. of Iāc in right of his wife Philip wyfe of Iohn 1. Kyng of Portugal Edward Kyng of Portugal The line of Poratugl Ferdinand Emanuel Kyng of Portugal Isabel the eldest daughter of Emanuel and vvife of Charles 5 Emper. Philip Kyng of Spayn D. Iames. D. Philip. Eleonor wyfe of Frederik Emperour Maximilian .1 Emperour Philip king of Castill in right of his wife Catharin wyfe of Henry .3 Kyng of Castil The lyne of Castil Iohn Kyng of Castil Elizabeth heyr of Castil vvyfe to the Kyng of Aragon Iohn Quene heir of Castil wyfe of Philip. Charles .5 Emperour and kyng of Spayn Ferdimand Emperour and Archeduke of Austriche Maximilian Emperour Archeduke of Austriche Mary daughter of Charles and vvife of Maximillam Emperour Rudolphe Emperour archeduke of Austriche Anne wife of Philip kyng of Spayn 13. Kyng Henry the foworth 14. King Henry the fift 15. King Henry the sixt Edward Iohn Erle of Somerset Ioan wyfe of Iames .1 king of Scotland Iames .1 Kyng of Scotland The lyne Iames .2 Kyng of Scotland Iames .3 Kyng of Scotland Iames .4 king of Scotland maried to Iohn Duke of Somerset Margaret maried to Edmond Erle of Richemōd 19. Kyng Henry the seauenth maried to Margaret first maried to King Iames 4. and after to Of Scotland Iames .5 Kyng of Scotland Marye Queene of Scotlād maried to Archebald Erle of Angus secōd husbād to Queene Margaret Margaret wyfe of Mathew Erle of Leneux Henry Stuart second husband of Mary Queene of Scotland Iames .6 Kyng of Scotland Mathew Stuart Erle of leneux Charles Stuart maried to Elizabeth Canendish Arbella 20. King Henry the eight 21. king Edward the sixt 23. Queene Elizabeth 22. Queene Marye Edward called the blacke prince 12. King Richard the second Lionel Duke of Glarence Philip maried to Edmōd mortimer Erle of marche The house Edmond of langley Duke of Yorke Richard Erle of Cambridge maried to Anne mortimer Anne mortimer maried to Richard Erle of cambringe Roger mortimer and Eleonor hys sister died vvithout yssue Rogermor timer .4 Erle of marche Edmond mortimer .5 Erle of marche died without isse of Yorke Richard Plantagonet Duke of Yorke 18. King Richard the third Edward dyed without issue George Duke of Glarence Margaret Countise of Sarisbury maried to R. Pole Reinald Pole Cardinal and Geffrey Pole Henry Pole Baron of Montague The house of huntingdon VVenefride wyfe of Barington knight Catharin maried to Frācis Erle of hūtingdon Henry Erle of huntingdon George hastings others Arthur Pole Mary wyfe of Iohn Stannay Margaret wyfe of tho fitzherbert 16. kyng Edward the fowerth Elizabeth maried to king Henry the seuenth The howse of Suffolke Mary daughter of K. Henry 7 maried to Charles Duk of Suffolk Francise wyfe of marques dorcet 1. Iane wyfe of Guilford dudley 2. Catharin Henry sonne of Catharin by the Erle of hereford Edward 3. Mary Eleonor maried to George Erle of cūberlād Margaret maried to the Erle of darby Ferdinand VVillyam Francis 17. Kyng Edward the fyft Adela wife of Stephan Erle of Bloys 4. Kyng Stephan A FVRTHER PROOFE OF THE SAYD TITLE OF SVCCESSION VVITH A RESOLVTION OF the obiections of the Aduersaries VVE SAY THEN and affirme that the next right Heire Successour apparent vnto the Croune of the Realme of England is at this time suche a one as for the excellent guiftes of God and nature in her most princely appearing is worthie to inherit either that noble Realme or any other be it of much more dignitie and worthines But nowe I clame nothing for the worthines of the persone whiche God forbid should be any thing preiudiciall to the iust title of others Yf most open and manifeste right iustice and title do not concurre with the woorthines of the persone then let the praise and woorthines remaine where it is and the right where God and the lawe hath placed it But seing God Nature and the lawe doth call the person to this expectation whose interest and clame I do now prosequute I meane my vndouted soueraine Ladye Marye Queene of Scotlande I hope that when her right and iuste title shal be throughly heard and considered by the indifferent Reader if he be persuaded already for her right he shal be more firmelye setled in his true and good opinion and that the other parties being of a contrarie minde shall finde good causes and groundes to remoue them from the same and to geue ouer and yelde to the truthe Her Graces Title then as it is
Queene of Scotland to the succession of the Croune of England The obiections of the aduersaries touching the pretensed vvill of King Henry the eight are clearlie auoided The statutes of King H. 8. touching the succession of the Croune IT doth appeare by the said statute of .28 of king Henry the eight that there was authoritie geuen him by the same to declare limite appoint assigne the succession of the Croune by his Letters Patentes or by his last VVill signed with his owne hande It appeareth also by the foresaid statute made .35 of the said King that it was by the same enacted that the Croune of that Realme of England should go and be to the said King and to the heires of his body lawfully begotten that is to say vnto his Highnes first sonne of his body betwene him and the Ladie Iane then his wife begotten for default of such issue then vnto the Lady Marie his daughter and to the heires of her body lawfully begotten for defaut of such issue then vnto the Ladie Elizabeth his daughter and to the heires of her body laufully begotten for defaut of such issue vnto suche person or persones in remainder or reuersion as should please the said king Henry the eight and according to such estate and after such manner order and condition as should be expressed declared named and limited in his Letters Patentes or by his last VVill in writing signed with his owne hande By vertue of which said Acte of Parlament the Aduersaries doo alleage that the said late King Henry the eight afterward by his last VVill in writing signed with his owne hand did ordeine and appoint that if it happen the said Prince Edward Ladie Marie and Ladie Elizabethe to dye without issue of their bodies lawfully begotten then the Croune of that Realme of England should goe and remaine vnto the heires of the bodie of the Ladie Francis his Neece and the eldest daughter of the French Queene And for the defaulte of suche issue to the heires of the body of the Ladie Eleonour his Neece second daughter to the French Queene lawfully begotten And if it happened the sayd Ladie Eleonour to dye without issue of her body lawfully begotten to remaine and come to the nexte rightfull heires VVherevpon the aduersaries do inferre that the succession of the Croune ought to go to the chyldren of the said Ladie Francis and to their heyres according to the sayd supposed will of the said king Henry the eight and not vnto Ladie Marie Queene of Scotlande that nowe is To this it is An ansvver to the foresaid statute on the behalf of my said soueraign Lady Marie Queene of Scotland among other things answered that King Henry the eight neuer signed the pretensed will with his own hand and that therfore the said will can not be any whit preiudicial to the said Queene The effect of the aduersaries arguments for the exclusion of the Queene of Scotlād by a pretēsed vvil of King H. 8. Against which answere for the defence and vpholding of the saide will it is replied by the Aduersaries first that there were diuers copies of his wil found signed with his own hande or at the least wise enterlined and some for the most part written with his owne hande out of the whiche it is likely that the original will commonly called King Henry the eightes will was taken fayer drawen out Then that there be great and vehement presumptions that for the fatherly loue that he bare to the common wealth and for the auoiding of the vncerteintie of the succession he well liked vpon and accepted the authoritie geuen him by Parlament and signed with his owne hande the said originall will whiche had the said limitation and assignation of the Croune And these presumptiōs are the more enforced for that he had no cause why he should beare any affectiō either to the said Queene of Scotlād or to the Lady Leneux and hauing withal no cause to be greeued or offended with his sisters the Frenche Queenes children but to put the matter quite out of all ambiguitie and doubte it appeareth they say that there were eleuen witnesses purposely called by the King who were present at the signing of the said VVill and subscribed their names to the same Yea that the chief Lordes of the Counsaile were made and appointed executours of the said VVill and that they and other had greate Legacies geuen them in the said VVill which were paid and other thinges comprised in the VVill accomplished accordingly There passed also purchases and Letters Patentes betwene King Edward and the executors of the said VVill and others for the execution and performāce of the same Finally the said Testament was recorded in the Chancerie VVherefore they affirme that there ought no manner of doubt moue any man to the contrarie and that either we must graunt this VVill to be signed with his hand or that he made no VVill at all bothe must be graunted or both denied If any will deny it in case he be one of the witnesses he shall impugne his own testimonie if he be one of the executours he shall ouerthrow the foundation of all his doinges in procuring the said will to be inrolled set forth vnder the great Seale And so by their dublenes they shall make them selues no mete witnesses Nowe a man can not lightly imagine how any other bysids these two kind of witnesses for some of them and of the executors were suche as were continually wayting vpon the kinges person may impugne this will and proue that the king did not signe the same But if any such impugne the will it would be considered how many they are and what they are it wil be very harde to proue negatiuam facti But it is euidēte say they that there was neuer any such lawful proofe against the said will producted For if it had ben it would haue bene published in the Starrechamber preached at Poules Crosse declared by Acte of Parlamēt proclamed in euerie quarter of the Realm Yea admitting say they that it were proued that the said pretensed will lacked the kinges hande yet neuerthelesse say they the very copies we haue spoken of being written signed or at least interlined with his owne hande may be saide a sufficient signing with his owne hande For seing the scope and final purpose of the statute was to haue the succession prouided for and asserteined whiche is sufficiently done in the said will and seing his owne hande was required but onely for eschewing euil sinister dealing whereof there is no suspicion in this will to be gathered what matter in the worlde or what difference is there when the king fulfilled and accomplished this gratiouse Acte that was loked for at his hādes whether he signed the wil with is owne hāde or no If it be obiected that the king was obliged and bound to a certaine precise order and forme which he could in no
forrein and Barbarous nation the Englysh Saxons And the lett of that Mariage proceded of the Englyshe whose vse is to seek to wynne that of the Scottes by manacing wordes and force of armes whiche they should desyre by fayr meanes termes of freendlye good will And there wanteth not occasion to suspecte that they dyd it of purpose to the end that by breakyng of that mariage some of them might haue a more reddye accesse to the vsurpation of the Croune of England How soeuer it was the Scottysh Nation was not mynded to yeeld by force and yet scarse able to forbeare were constreyned to craue ayde of the Frenshe whiche they could not obteyne onlesse they sent theyr Queene into Fraunce as an hostage for their fidelitie But there was nothing that the Scottish nation more estemed and desyred at that day than the vnion of those two regions by that mariage as may well be proued by the common opinion and sayeing of the people there before the matter was attempted by way of force and armes vve vnderstand the English mans language sayd the people they oures vve inhabit all one Yland and almost in nothing doe vvee differre but that vvee are gouerned by tvvo seuerall Princes And in dede it is euidently knowne that the Scottishe Nation many yeres before dyd greatlye desyre and wyshe this manner of coniunction in amitye and namely at suche tyme as they maried the noble Lady Margaret the only heire of the croune of Scotlād daughter of Alexander their King to the fyrst Kyng Edward of England By whiche maryage those two kyngdomes had bene vnited had not that noble virgin deceassed before she came to the fyght of her husband Seing then the case thus standeth there is no cause whye eyther the Englysh or Scottishe should vpbraide or reproue one an other but they ought rather to agree all together in one voyce and consent that yf there were none alyue to whome the Soueraigntie of the whole Yland by right could belonged one generall Prince ouer all might be elected by voyce or lott So as at last the whole weale publicque and people might enioye perpetuall peace and be no more with partiall parttakinge sectes factions disturbed Euen as wee rede that the Persians in olde tyme verie prouidently in a like case vsed them selues For as Iustine reporteth when they had slayne their Mages great was their glorie and renowme for the recouerye of their Kyngdome but muche greater for that in contendyng about the gouernement they coulde agree among them selues There was among them many equall in vertue and nobilitie as it was hard for the people to make an election of a gouernour Therfore theyr nobility deuised among them selues an indifferent mean whereby to cōmit the iudgement of their woorthinesse to their goddes They agreed among them selues on a day appointed to lead all theyr horses before the Palace earlye in the mornyng and that he whose horse fyrst dyd neyghe before the rising of the sunne should be kyng The next day after when all were assembled at the houre appointed the horse of Darius sonne of Hydaspes dyd first neygh and gaue that happy signe of good fortune to his maister Immediatlye the modestye of all the rest was suche as vpon the first heearing of the good notice so gyuen they all leapt from their horses and dyd theyr homage to Darius as to their King and all the commons foloweing the iugement of the nobles willyngly confirmed the election accepted hym for theyr Soueraign Thus the kyngdome of Persians wherof at one time there was seuen noble competitors was in a moment reduced to the regiment of one And this they dyd withe suche incredible zeale and pietie towardes theyr Countrye as for the delyuerey therof from trouble and miserye they could haue bene content euery one to haue lost his lyfe Thus farre Iustin Immortall is the honour and renoume of those noble men whiche willinglie preferred the wellfare of their countrey before their priuate ambition But allmightie God hathe eased you well of this doubt For he hathe Layd it open before your eyes what persone it is to whome the Soueraigntie of the whole Yland euen by the lawes of the realm after the decease of the now Queene of England without laufull issue of her body ought to descend and come I mean the most noble Ladye Marye the woorthie Quene of Scotland whose apparēt pietie and vnuincible constancie in aduersitie vniuersally well knowne and talked of through the whole world doeth gyue a plain demonstration how vain and friuolous the Iudgment of those men is which represse and reiect the Regiment of women To this Ladye therfore may the regiment of the whole Yland at length descend according as it was once before to her adiuged by the sentence of her great graundfather Kyng Henry the seauenth and of his Counseill as Polydor reporteth Kyng Iames of Scotland the third saieth he dyd honorably intertein Richard Fox Byshop of durisme Ambassadour sent to him by Kyng Henry the seuēth and at their fyrst meting he showed hym selfe muche greued for the late slaughter of his subiectes but easilie he remitted the iniurie Afterward when they were together alone the Kyng tolde hym how auncient and iust causes of frendshipp had bene betweene Kyng Henry and hym and how greatly he desired the assurance therof that they two myght be tyed together in a more fast knot of loue and amitie whiche out of doubt will folow sayd the Kyng yf King Henry wolde bestow on hym his eldest daughter the Ladye Margaret in Mariage To this the Amhassadour answered coldlie but yet promised his helpe and furtherance and put the Kyng in good hope of the matter if he wold send an Ambassadour directly to that end The Ambassadour vpon hys returne home reported to Kyng Henry the whole matter whiche pleased Kyng Henrye wonderous well as one whiche delyted muche in peace VVithin fewe dayes after this the Ambassadours of Kynge Iames came to request the Ladye Margaret in Mariage Kyng Henrye after audience referred the matter to his Counseil among whome some there were whiche suppected that the kingdome might in processe of tyme be deuolued to the same Ladye Margaret and therfore thought it not good to marie her to a forain Prince whereunto the Kyng made answere and sayd what then Yf any suche thing happen whiche God forbid yet I see our kyngdome should take no harme therby for England should not be added to Scotland but Scotland vnto England as to the farre most noble head of the whole Yland for we see it so fallen owt in all thinges that the lesse is for honour sake euer adioyned to that whiche is farre greater as Normandie in time past came to be vnder the dominion and power of the Kynges of England our auncestors The Kynges Iudgement was greatly commended the whole Counseil approued the matter with a full consent and the sayd Ladye and virgin Margaret was maried to Kyng Iames. Thus