life and iust in youre tribunall or iudgements I wold not gladly heare that those that do praise that which you do should complaine of that whiche you say with a Lorde of so high estate and with a iudge of so preheminent an office my pen should not haue presumed to write what it hath written if your Lordship had not commaunded My Lord I saide it bycause if this that I haue here written vnto you shall not like you that it may please you to sende too reuoke the licence that you haue giuen Also you will that I shall write vnto youre Lordship if I haue founde in anye auncient Chronicle what is the cause wherefore the Princes of Castile do call themselues not onely Kings but also Catholique Kings And that also I write vnto you who was the first that called himself Catholique King and what was the reason and the occasion to take this so generous and Catholique title There were ynowe in thys Court of whome you might haue demaunded and of whome you might haue vnderstood in yeares more auncieÌ„t in knowledge more learned in bookes more rich and in writing more curious than I am But in the end my Lord be sure of this one thing that that which I shall write if it be not written in a polished stile at the least it shall be all very true Comming to the purpose it is to be vnderstood that the Princes in olde time did always take proud ouer-names as Nabugodonozer that did intitle him selfe King of Kings Alexander the greate the king of the world the king Demetrius the conqueror of Cities the great Haniball the tamer of kingdomes Iulius Caesar the Duke of the Citie the king Mithridates the restorer of the world the king Athila the whip of nations the king Dionisius the host of all men the king Cirus the last of the Gods the king of England defender of the Church the king of Fraunce the most Christian king and the king of Spaine the Catholique king To giue your Lordship a reckoning who were these kings and the cause why they did take these so proude titles to me it should be painfull to write and to your Lordship tedious to reade it is sufficient that I declare what you commaunde me without sending what you craue not It is to wit that in the yere seuen hundreth fiftie two the fift day of the month of Iuly vpon a sunday ioyning to the riuer Bedalake about Xeres on the frontiers euen at the breake of day was giuen the last and most vnfortunate battell betwixt the Gothes that were in Spaine and the Alarues that had come from Africa in whiche the sorowfull king Sir Rodrigo was slaine and all the kingdome of Spaine lost The Moore that was Captaine and that ouercame this famous battell was named Musa which did know so well to folow his victorie that in the space of eight moneths he did win and had dominion from Xeres in the frontieres vnto the rocke Horadada which is neare to the towne of Onnia And that whiche séemeth to vs most terrible is that the Moores did win in eighte moneths which in recouering was almost eight hundred yeres for so many yeares did passe from the time that Spaine was lost vntill Granado was wonne The fewe Christians that escaped out of Spaine came retiring vnto the mountaines of Onnia neare vnto the rocke Horadada vnto which the Moores did come but from thence forward they passed not either did conquer it for there they found great resistance and the land very sharp And when they of Spaine did see that the king Sir Rodrigo was dead and all the Gothes with hym and that without Lord or head they could not resist the Moores they raysed for king a Spanish Captaine that was named Sir Pelaius a man venturous in armes and of all the people very well beloued The fame being spread thoroughout all Spaine that the mountaine men of Onia had raised for king the good Sir Pelaius all men generouse and warlike did repaire vnto him with whome he did vnto the Moores greate hurt and had of them glorious triumphes Thrée yeares after they had raysed the good sir Pelaius for King hée married one of his daughters with one of the sonnes of the Earle of Nauarn who was named Sir Peter and his sonne was called Sir Alonso This Earle Sir Peter descended by right line of the linage of the blessed King Richardos in whose tyme the Gothes did leaue the sect of the curled Arrius by the meanes of the glorious and learned Archbyshop Leonard The good king Pelaius being dead in the eighteene yeare of his raigne the Castilians exalted for king a sonne of his that was named Fauila the which two yeares after he began to raigne going on a certaine day to the mountaine meaning to flea the Beare the Beare killed him And for that the king Fauila died without children the Castilians elected for king the husband of his sister whiche is to wit the sonne of the Earle of Nauarne who was named Alonso the whiche began his raigne in the yeare .vii. C.lxxij hys raigne endured eightene yeares which was as much tyme as his father in law the good King Sir Pelaius had raigned This good King was the firste that was named Alonso which tooke his name in so good an houre that since that daye amongst all the kings of Castile that haue bin named Alonso we reade not of one that hath bin euill but very good Of thys good king Alonso the historiographers do recite many landable things to recompt worthy to be knowen and exemplars to be followed The King sir Alonso was the first that out of Nauarne entered Galizia to make warre vppon the Moores with whome be had many encounters and battells in the ende he ouercame and droue them out of Astorga Ponferada Villa franca Tuy and Lugo with all their Countries and Castelles This good king Alonso was he that did win of the Moores the Citie of Leon and builded there a royall place to the ende all the Kings of Castile his successors should there be resideÌ„t and so it came to passe that in long time after many Kings of Castile did liue and die in Leon. This good King Alonso was the firste that after the destruction of Spaine began to builde Churches and to make Monasteries and Hospitalles in especially from the beginning the Cathedrall churches of Lugo Tâ—y Astorga and Ribeâ—ew the which afterwards did passe to Mondonedo This good king Alonso did buiâ—d many and very solempne Monasteries of the order of saint Benet and many hospitalles in the way of saint Iames and many particular Churches in Nauarne and in the Countrey of Ebro whiche he endewed all with great riches and gaue them opulent possessions This good King Alonso was the first that did séeke and commaunded to be sought with very great diligence the holy bookes that had escaped the hands of the Moores and as a zelous Prince commaunded that
is spokē is If thou shut thy wife within doores she neuer ceasseth to complayne if thou giue hir leaue to walke at libertie she gyueth occasion for thy neighbours to talke and thy selfe to suspect and if thou do much chide she goeth always with a crooked countenance if thou say nothing none may endure hir if thy dispence be in hir disposition the stocke goeth to wrack if the laying out be in thine owne hands beware thy purse or secret sale of thy goodes if thou kéepe thée much at home she thinks thée suspicious and if thou come late home she will say that thou dost wander and if thou giue hir good garmentes she must go foorthe to be séene if she be not well apparelled thou art bidden to an euill supper if thou shewe thy selfe louing she estéemeth thée little if thou be negligent therein she suspecteth thée to be in loue els where if thou denie what she craueth she neuer ceaseth to be importunate finally if thou vnto hir discouer any secret she cannot but publish it behold here the reason and also the occasion wherefore if in the common wealth there be ten well maried there be a hundred that do liue abhorred and in repentaunce which presently would depart from their wiues house and chamber if they could finish with the Church as they can performe with their conscience If matrimony amongst Christians were as it is amongst the Gentiles to be diuorced at euery mans liking I sweare there would be more hast to the lent of diuorcement than to all the rest of the yeare to be maried That no man do marry but with his equall THe rules and counsels that I will giue here vnto those that are to be married and also vnto such as be already maried if they be not profitable to liue contented at the least they shall serue them to auoyde many displeasures The first holesome counsell is to vnderstande that the woman choose such a man and the man such a woman that there bée equalitie both in bloud and in estate whiche is to witte the Knight with the Knight the merchaunt with the merchaunt the Squier with the Squier and the ploughman with the ploughman For if herein there be disconformitie the more base shal liue most discontented and the other of more worthy degree very much repentant The marchaunt that marieth his daughter vnto a Knight and the riche ploughman that taketh a man of worship vnto his sonne in law I do say and affirme that they bring into their house a proclaymer of their infamie a certaine moth for their garments a tormenter of their fame and also a shortner of their liues In an euill houre hath he maried his sonne or daughter that hath brought into his house such a sonne in lawe or daughter in lawe that is ashamed to name him father whose daughter or sonne he or she hath maried in such mariadges it can not truely be said that they haue brought to house a son but a Deuill a daughter but a Snake not to serue but to offend not children but basilisks not to honour him but defame him Finally I say that he that marieth not his daughter with his equall shall finde it lesse euill to burie than to marie hir for if she die they shall bewayle hir but one day but to be euill maried is to bewayle hir many yeares The rich marchant the poore squier the wise plough man and the good townflike craftes man néedes no daughter in lawe that can frill and paint hir selfe but such as he skilfull very well to spinne for that day that such men shall presume to haue in vre the carpet and pillow that day they spoyle their house and their goods sinketh to the bottome I retourne agayne to say and affirme that such men beware that bringes into their houses a sonne in Lawe that presumeth of woorship and knoweth not but to walke vp downe the streates that accompteth to be a trim Courtier and that is skilfull at cardes and dice or boasteth himselfe for running of horses for in such cases the poore father in lawe must fast to the ende the foolish sonne in lawe may haue to spend in follies But the conclusion of this counsell shall be that al men marry their children with their equall and according to their estate otherwise I doe certyfie before the yeare be out it shall raigne vpon their heades that séeke a foolishe or an inconuenient mariage Also it is a counsell very expedient that euery man choose a wife according to his complexion and condition for if the father marry the sonne or if the sonne do marry of necessitie not at his liking the sorrowfull yong man may not say of a troth that they haue maried him but for euermore haue marrd him To the ende that marriages be perpetual louing and pleasant betwixt the man and the woman there must be a knitting of hartes before stryking of hands it is very conuenient that the Father gyue counsell vnto the sonne that he marry to his contentation but in no wise to vse violence to force him against his lyking for all violent marriages engender hatred betwixt the married contention betwixt the fathers scandall amongst the neyghboures lawe betwixt the parents and quarrelles betwixt the kinred neyther is it my opinion that anye should marry sodainly and secretly as a vayne light yong man for euery mariage done onely in respect of loue without further aduisement most tymes doe ende in sorrowes It is a thing very common that a yong man of small age and lesse experience but of to much libertie knowing not what he doeth loue and muche lesse what he taketh in hand groweth enamoured of a young gyrle and marrieth with hir which at the very instant when he hathe finished to tast hir he beginneth presently to abhorre hir The thing that is most to be procured betwixt the married is that they loue entierly and feruently for otherwise they shall all day goe sorrowing with crooked countenances and the neighbours shall haue no want whereof to speake Also I will aduise them to haue their loues fixed true and sure settling in the hart by little and little for otherwise by the selfe same way that loue came running they shall sée hir returne flying I haue séene many in this world loue in greate haste whiche I haue knowen afterwardes abhorre at great leasure One of the moste painfullest things contained in mans life is that if there be a hūdred permanent and constant in loue there is also a hundred thousand that neuer cease to abhorre It is also to be aduertised that the counsell which I giue vnto the father to make no mariage without consent of his sonne the same I giue vnto the sonne that he marie not against the will of his Father for otherwise it may come to passe to receiue more offence by the malediction of his father than his mariage portion may yéelde him profit
Yong men when they marry in their youth haue no further consideration but of their pleasure and onely content them selues to haue their wiues beautifull but the father and mother for that it toucheth both honor and goods they séeke him a wyfe that shall be wise ritch gentle honest and chast and the last thing they behold is hir beautie The marriages that be made hidden and in secret I say it groweth of greate lightnes and procéedeth of no small crueltie for it giueth to al the neighbours whereof to talke and to their old parents wherfore to wéepe It hapneth many times that the mother ouerwatcheth hir selfe to spinne and the Father to grow old in gathering a sufficiēt portion And at the time they shall entreat or talke of an honest marriage the foolish yong man remayneth secretly married whereof after followeth that the mother remayneth wéeping the father ashamed the kindred offended and the friende scandalized and yet thereof procéedeth a greater griefe which is that the sonne hath chanced to matche with suche a wife that the father holdeth his goods not onely euill employed but is much ashamed to admit hir into his house Also another offence riseth in the like marriage which is many times the fathers doe determine with the sonnes portion to remedie and amend the daughters marriage and as the yong mans most principall intent is to enioye the mayde withoute care of goodes the sister remayneth cast awaye the sonne deceyued and the father derided Plutarche in hys politikes sayeth that the sonne whyche married withoute consente of hys Parentes amongst the Greekes was publikely whipt amongst the Lacedemonians they did not whippe but disinherite Laertius sayeth that vnto suche so married it was a custome amongst the Thebanes not that they should only be disinherited of all goodes but also openly be cursed of their parents Let no man estéeme it light to be cursed or blessed of their elders for in the old time amongst the Hebrewes the children withoute al comparison held more account of their fathers blessing thā of their Grandfathers inheritance That the woman be very shamefast and no babler or full of talke ALso it is a counsell very necessary that the man whyche shall marrie and set vp house do choose a wife shamefast for if forceably there should be in a woman but one vertue the same ought to be only shamefastnesse I confesse that it is more perillous for the conscience but I say lesse hurtfull to honesty that a woman be secretely vnhonest than openly vnshamefast Very many infirmities be couered in a woman only by shamefastnesse and many more suspected in hir that is of ouerbold and of shamelesse countenance Let euery man say what he will but for my part I doe firmely beléeue that in a woman of a bashfull countenance there be fewe things to bée reprehended and in hir that is otherwise there wanteth all things wherefore to be praysed The safety that nature hathe giuen vnto a woman to kéepe hir reputation chastitie honoure and goodes is only shamefastnesse and that day that thereof she hathe not great regard let hir yéeld hir selfe euermore for a castaway When any man shall enquire marriage of any woman the first thing he hath to demaund is not if she be rich but if she be shamefast for goodes is euery daye gotten but shamefastnesse in a woman once lost is neuer recouered The best portion the greatest inheritance and the most precious iewell that a woman can bring with hir is shamefastnesse For if the Father shall sée that his daughter hath lost the fame it shall be lesse euill for him to bury hir than to marry hir The maner is that many women presume to be talkers and to séeme gratious in taunting whiche office I woulde not sée them learne and much lesse put in vre for speaking the troth and also with libertie that which in men we call gratious in women we terme it witlesse babling Newes tales vaine fables and dishonest talkes an honest woman ought not onely shame to speake them but also loth to heare them The graue women of authoritie ought not to care to be skilfull of talke and newes but to be honest and silent for if she much presume of talke and taunting the very same that did laugh at hir deuice will afterwards murmur at hir manners The honour of women is so delicate that many things whiche men may both doe and speake is not lawful vnto women that they once dare to whisper them The gētlewoman or women that will be holden graue ought not onely to kéepe silence in things vnlawfull and vnhonest but also in lawfull things if they bée not very necessary for women seldome erre by silence and by much speach they seldome cease to giue cause of reproche Oh sorrowfull husband whose lot hath chaunced to light on a wife that is a great babler yet would séeme a curious speaker For truly if any such once take in hand to recite a matter or to frame any complaint or quarell she neither admitteth reason or patiently suffereth any woord to be said vnto hir The euill life that women passe with their husbands is not so much for that which they commit with their persons as it is for that which they speake with their tongues if the woman would kéepe silence when the husband beginneth to chide he should neuer haue bad dinner neither she worse supper which surely is not so for at the instant that the husbande beginneth to vtter his griefe she beginneth to scolde and yell whereof doth follow that they come to handy grypes and also call for neyghbours That the wife be a home keeper and auoyding all occasions JT is also a commendable counsel that the wife presume to be honest and an housekéeper for when women in their houses will be absolute they come afterwards to wander the streates dissolute The honest woman ought to be very well aduised in that which she speaketh and very suspicious and doutfull in all thinges she doth bycause suche maner of women as haue no regard to their wordes do afterwards offend in déedes For how simple and ignorant is that man but he easely knoweth the honour of women to be much more tender and delicate than of men and that this is true it appereth most cleare for that a man may not be dishonored but with reason but for a woman to shame hir selfe occasion is sufficient She that is good and presumeth in goodnes to continue may hold it for most certaine that she shal be so much better as she shall haue of hir selfe lesse confidence I say lesse confidence to the ende that she neither aduenture to giue eare to wanton or light words or presume to admit fayned offers Let hir be as she may be and deserue what she may deserue and presume what she thinketh good that if she delighteth to heare and suffer to be serued early or late she shall fall And if they shall
King a Prophet a Sainct and with God so priuate vnderstoode not what to present vnto God for the good things hée had receiued what shall we doe that are miserable that vnderstand not what to say nor haue not what to giue of our selues wée are so weake and our abilitie so small our valure so little and haue so few things that if God do not giue wherwith to giue of our selues we haue not what to giue And what we haue to craue or els that he should giue is his grace to serue him and not licence to offend him In remuneration of so great victory I would not counsell your Maiesty too offer iewels as the women of Rome eyther Siluer or Gold as the Greekes eyther your owne blud as Silla neyther your childrē as Iephtha but that ye offer the inobedience and rebellion against your Maiesty by the commons of Castile For before GOD there is no Sacrifice more accepted than the pardoning of enemies The iewels that we might offer vnto God procéede from our Cofers the Gold from our Chests the bloud from our Veynes but the pardoning of iniuries from our hartes and entrayles where enuie lyeth grinding and perswading reason to dissemble and the hart to be reuenged Much more sure is it for Princes to be beloued for their clemency than to be feared for their chastisements For as Plato sayeth the man that is feared of many hath cause also too feare many Those that offended your Maiestie in those alterations paste some of them bée deade some bée banished some hidden and some be fledde Most excellent Prince it is great reason that in reward of so great victory they maye boast themselues of your pietie and not complaine of your rigor The wiues of these vnfortunate men bée poore their daughters vpon the poynt to be lost their Sonnes are Orphans their kinsfolkes blushe and are ashamed In so muche as the pitie that yée shall vse towardes a fewe redoundeth to the remedie of manie There is no estate in this worlde whiche in case of iniury is not more sure in pardoning than in reuenging for that many times it dothe happen that a man séeking occasion too bée reuenged doth vtterly destroy him selfe The enemies of Iulius Caesar did more enuie the pardoning of the Pompeyans than the killing of Pompeyus himselfe For excellencie it was written of him that he neuer forgot seruice or euer did remember iniurie Two Emperours haue bene in Rome vnlike in name and much more in maners the one was named Nero the Cruell the other Antony the Méeke The which ouernames the Romaines gaue them the one of Méeke bycause he could not but pardon the other of Cruell bicause he neuer ceased to kill A Prince although he be prodigall in play scarce in giuing vncertaine of his woorde negligent in gouernement absolute in cōmaunding dissolute in liuing disordinate in eating and not sober in drinking is termed but vicious but if he be cruel and giuen to reuenge he is named a tyrant As it is sayde by Plutarch He is not a tyrant for the goods he taketh but for the cruelties he vseth Foure Emperours haue bene of this name The first was called Charles the great the second Charles the Bohemian the third Charles the Balde the fourth Charles the grosse the fifth which is your maiestie we wishe to be called Charles the Méke in following the Emperoure Antony the Méeke which was the Prince of all the Romaine Empire best beloued And bicause Calistines would that Princes should be persuaded by few things those very good and woordes well spoken I cōclude and say that Princes with their pietie and clemencie be of God pardoned and of their subiects beloued An Oration made vnto the Emperours Maiestie in a sermon on the day of Kings wherein is declared howe the name of Kings was inuented and howe the title of Emperours was first found out A matter very pleasaunt S. C. C. R. M. THis present day being the day of Kings in the house of Kings and in the presence of Kings it is not vnfitte that wée speake of Kings though Princes had rather be obeyed than counselled And seing we preache this day before him that is the Emperour of the Romains King of the Spaniards it shal be a thing very séemly also very necessary to relate here what this woorde King doth mean and from whence this name Emperor doth come to the end we may al vnderstand how they ought to gouerne vs and we to obey them As concerning this name of King it is to be vnderstood that according to the varietie of nations so did they diuersly name their Princes that is to saye Amongest the Aegyptians they were called Pharaones the Bythinians Ptolomaei the Persians Arsicides the Latines Murrani the Albans Syluij Sicilians Tyrants the Argiues Kings The fyrste king of this world the Argiues doe saye was Foroneus and the Greekes do report to bée Codor Laomor Whiche of these opinions is most true hée only knoweth that is moste high and only true Although we know not who was the first King neither who shal be the laste king of the worlde at the least we know one thing that is that al the Kings past are dead and al those that now liue shal die bicause death doth as wel cal the King in his throne as the laborer at his plow. Also it is to bée vnderstood that in olde time to be a King was no dignitie but onely an office as Maior or Ruler of a common wealth After this maner that euery yeare they did prouide for the office of King to rule as nowe they do prouide a Viceroy to gouerne Plutarke in his booke of Common wealth dothe reporte that in the beginning of the worlde all Gouernours were called tyrantes and after the people did perceiue what difference was betwéene the one and the other they did ordeyn amongst thēselues to name the euill gouernors tyrāts and the good they intituled Kings By this it may be gathered most excellent Prince that this name King is consecrated vnto persons of good deserning and that be profitable vnto the common wealth for otherwise he doth not deserue to bée called King that doth not knowe to gouern When God did establish an houshold for himself did constitute a Common Wealth in the land of the Aegyptians he would not giue thē kings to gouerne but Dukes to defend them that is to say Moses Gedeon Iephtha and Sampson This God did to deliuer them from paying of tributes and that they might be vsed as brethren not as vassals This maner of gouernment amōg the Hebrues did cōtinue vnto the time of Helie the high priest vnder whose gouernance the Israelites required a King to gouerne their cōmon welth and to lead them in their warres Then God gaue them Saul to be their King much against his will so that the last Duke of Israell was Helie and the firste king was
difference betwixt the one and the other is that in the Booke your Lordship may vnderstand my simplicity and in the pen there doth appeare your great bountie No more but that our Lorde be your protectour and giue me grace to serue him From Valiodolid the xix of August 1524. A letter vnto sir Allonso of Albornaz wherin is touched that it is a point of euill maner not too aunswer too the letter that is written vnto him IF the Lady Marina your wife bée as well affected to your person as my penne is offended at your slouthfulnesse you may safely marrie without after repentāce And I think not that I bind my selfe vnto a small matter in saying that in your mariage you shall find no repentance for surely I wish too haue no more contrition of my sinnes than many men haue too think themselues maried To contract matrimonie with a woman is a thing very easie but to sustaine it vnto the end I hold it for very difficult Whereby it comes to passe that those which mary without respect but only for loue liue afterward with sorowe Considering al the displeasures that proceede of the familie then tediousnesse of the wife the care for the children the necessitie of the house the prouision for the seruants the importunitie of the cousins and the sutes of the sonnes in law Although of all these thinges the maried doth not repent him at the least it doth tyre him The Philosoper Mirtho being demaunded why hée did not marry aunswered bycause if the woman whome I take in mariage bée good I shall spill hir if she bée euill I must supporte hir if she bée poore I must maintaine hir if shée bée riche I must suffer hir if she bée foule I shall abhorre hir it she be faire I must watch hir and that which is worst of al for euermore I giue my libertye to hir that shall neuer gratifie mée Riches bréedeth care pouerty sorrow sailing feare eating heauines going wearinesse all which trauelles we se deuided amongst many except amongst the maried where they ioyne altogither For we seldome sée the maried man go without care sorow wearied heauie yea and also sometime astonied I say astonied of that whiche maye happen vntoo him and of that his wife may dare to do The man that doth encounter with a woman that is a dizard foolish a babler light a glutton a chider slouthfull a goer at large vntractable iealouse absolute or dissolute it were better for that man too bée a slaue to some honest man than a husbande too suche a wife It is a terrible thing too suffer a man but there is very much too bée knowen in a woman And for no other cause more than for that they knowe not too vse a measure in louing or giue no ende in abhorring I will not or perchance I dare not saye more in this case For if in the same I should occupie my selfe and giue libertie to my pen I should want time to write but not matter to speake Not without cause I saide my pen was angry with your slothfulnesse since halfe a yeare past I did write vnto you and you haue not as yet answered me And afterwards came Iohn de Occanio and also with him you did not write in suche wise that on the one part I call you sluggish and of the other part note you of negligence Sir you may take it for a rule neuer to leaue him vnanswered that hath taken paine to write vnto you For that the maister of the henchmen which is Harnan Sanz de Minchasa said vnto me that none lost his worshippe for answering vnto a letter To write to our better is of necessitie to answere our equall is of will but to write vnto our inferiour is of pure vertue Alexander the great did write vnto Pulion his bit maker Iulîus Caesar to Rufus his gardiner Augustus to Pāphilo his smith Tiberius to Escaurus his miller Tullius too Mirto his tailer and Seneca to Gipho his rent gatherer wherof it may very wel be inferred that basenesse doth not consist in writing or answering base persones but to will or to do vile things Paulus Aemilius writing vnto his plough man said I haue vnderstood what word thou didst send me by Argeus and the aunswer of the same is that I send thée another oxe to yoke with that firce oxe also I sēd thée a cart redy drest therfore eare that ground well dresse the vines purge the trées and alway haue memorie of the Goddesse Ceres Curius Dentatus béeing in warre with Pyrrhus King of the Epirotes did write a letter vnto a carpenter which said thus Cneius Patroclus certified me that thou dost worke in my house take héed that the timber be dry and that thou make the lightes towardes the south that it be not high that it be cléere the chimney without smoke with two windowes and no more but one dore Alexander the great writing vnto his smith said I send thée a horse which the Athenians sent me he and I did scape wounded from the battaile breath him well euery day cure wel his wounds pare his foreféete let him be vnshod slit his nose wash his necke let hym not growe fat for that no fat horse may well endure with me in the field Of the famous Phalaris the tirant it is read that neuer man did him seruice that he did not gratifye either write him a letter that he dyd not aunswer So high and so great Princes as bere we haue named too haue written to men so base and so vile occupations is not written by historiographers too blemish them but by the same to magnifie them Of which we may gather that basenes doth not consist in wryting or aunswering base persons but in doing thinges scandolous or vnhonest In this matter as in all other thinges you may vse that boldnesse with me as with your selfe but if vniuersally you vse to do the same with all men it may be if your frendes do note you of negligence there shall not want that will accuse you of presumption To be noted angry enuious couetous slothfull wanton gluttonous auaricious certainly is a griefe but to be noted of foolishnes is an infamie which giueth me occasion to saye vnto you that to cal a man presumptuouse by a cunning maner of speach is to call him foole In Caius Caesar there wanted no fortitude for that he ouercame many people either clemencie for he pardoned his enemies either liberaliitie for that he gaue kyngdomes either science for that he wrote many Bookes either fortune for he was Lorde of all men But he wanted good manner which is the foundation of a quiet life Amongst the Romanes it was a custome that when the Senate entred the Emperours house they did vnto him a certaine great obeysance and he did vse vnto them a certaine curtesie in doing whereof as he grew negligent either for that he woulde not
they hope for that which is not giuen them and they procure that which they can not obtaine Suche and so great trauelles as these are although we performe with our bodie that suffereth we can not bring to passe with the heart to dissemble them if the body suffer paynes and the heart bée compassed with anguish sooner dothe the body cease to complain than the hart to sighe Plutarche saithe of Aeschines the Philosopher that being as he was alway sick did neuer complaine of the Splene that did gréeue him and on the other parte hée did muche lament of any sorow that hapned vnto him As a wise man it séemethe your Honor to bée aduised in kéeping your house ouerseeing your landes enioying your goods vnderstanding how to liue and howe to discharge your conscience In suche wise that of affaires in court ye delight to heare flie to sée them For of a troth as all things that doe passe here are fayned vayne voide inconstant and daungerous it is a pastime to vnderstand them and a great despite to behold them Your Lordship will that I write vnto you whether I bée present at any time when the Emperesse doth eate and what things she doth most vse to feed on Now in winter as at this present few Prelates being at Court I my Lord am present euery day at dinner and supper not to sée but to blesse the table And I can tell your Lordship that if I blesse hir I cursse my self bicause at the houre that I departe the Court to go to dinner it is then time very neare to goe to bed There is much lesse trauell in seruing of God than the kyng For the king doth not accept seruice but when it liketh him but our God dothe not only accept when hée will but also when we thinke good To that you demaund what and how the Empresse doth eate I can shew your Lordship that shée eateth that whiche she eateth cold and in the cold alone with silence and that all stand beholding If I be not deceiued these bée fiue such condicions that onely one were suffcient to giue me a very euill repast Sir it is now winter the which naturally is a time very heauie cold melancholike and all men delite to eate their meate by the fire warme accompanied and talking and that none stand to behold for that in time of reioycing when a man neither eateth or serueth but standeth with silence musing with him selfe I dare saye of such a one that he doth not behold vs but rather watch vs To eat in the winter any cold meat is no smal wāt of good diet for meats that are cold do hurt the stomacke giue no apetite A man to eat alone is likwise great solitarnesse in the ende the gentleman doth not so much delite in the meate he eateth as in the mirth he maketh with the company he hath at his table For a man to eate without communication and warmthe I would say the one proceded of filthinesse the other of wretchednesse Princes bée not bound to bée subiect to these rules bycause they are forced to vse great seueritie in their life and great authoritie at their meat My Lord be it as be may and let hir Maiestie eate as shall please hir to commaund for in the end I do more repine at hir pacience than enuie the meat she eateth The meates that are serued at hir table are many and those that shee féedeth on bee very few for if hir Phisiognomie do not deceiue me the Empresse is of a very good condition and of a weake complexion The most that shée eateth of is winter Mellons poudred Beefe fed Pigions minst Bacon great Geese and Capons rosted in suche wise that shée eateth that others do loth and shée abhorreth that for whiche men of the countrey do sighe They set before hir Pecocke Partridge Capōs franked Fesant Manger blāck Pasties Tarts and other variable kind of gluttonies of all whiche shée not only pretendeth a contempt to eate but also sheweth a lothsomnesse to behold In such wise that the contētation doth not cōsist in the much or little that we haue but only in that wherunto we be inclined In all her dinner shée drinketh but once and that is not pure wine but water mixed with wine in suche wise that with hir sippets none may satisfie his apetite and much lesse kill his thirst Shée is serued after the maner of Portingall which is to wit there is placed at the table thrée Dames vppon their knées the one to carue the other twaine to serue in such sort that the meate is braught by gentlemen and serued with Ladies All the other Dames be there present standing vpright not in silence but talking not alone but accompanies so that the thrée Ladies giue the Empresse to eate and the others yéeld their seruaunts sufficient matter both to speake and thinke Authorized and pleasant is the maner of Portingall yet truly notwithstanding that sometimes the Dames do laugh so loude and the gallants do speake so high that they lose their grauitie and also are yrksome to hir Maiestie To that whiche your Lordship doth demaunde that whether bée more the Dames that be sued vnto or the gallants that do serue them to this I aunswere that Esayas did saye Apprehendent septem malieres virum vnum Manye sonnes of Knights and Gentlemen do trauel to sée the Dames to talke with them and to serue them but at the tyme of maryage none doth marrie with them In such maner that Iustice iustice but not at home To that whiche you demaund who gaue the Hat to the Lorde Cardinall it was Sir Frauncis of Mendoza Bishop of Samora And if my diuination deceiueth me not the Lord Bishop had rather haue ben vppon his knées to receiue the same than sitting to giue it They presented the Hat in saint Antonies Church and at the instāt it was giuen him there fell so great tempest of wind and raine that if as he was a Christian hée had bene a Romane either he would not haue receiued it or els haue defered it vntill another daye My Lord it is not to be holden for a iest that at the very present the wind and the raine was so cruell and vehement and the water so great that when the Cardinall went thence made Cardinall he did more profite him selfe of the Hat he brought than of the Hat whiche he receiued The banquet made by the Cardinall was magnificent in expences and of long continuance for that we began to eat at one and made an end at foure As concerning drinking there were found so good wines and also so good drinkers that Toro S. Martin Madrigall and Arenas did cause that some did stauke with vnstedy steppes As concerning my lodging your Lordshippe ought not to aske me if I haue good lodging but if I haue any lodging For I saye many times vnto Iohn de Aiala the harbenger that of God wée obtain
they would craue of God vengeance vpon you Without comparison you ought to haue more feare to doe iniurie vnto the poore than to the riche for the riche doth reuenge himselfe with armes but the poore with teares Also you shall finde in youre Earledome some yong men and maydens that were children of old seruants and the sorowfull orphanes neither haue father to help them neyther good to sustayne them your Lordship ought in suche cases to bring vp the sonnes and to mary the daughters for there is not in this world an almes of God more accepted thā to giue mariage vnto a damsell vpon the point to be cast away As it is a great offence to cause another to sinne so doth hée deserue much glory that takes away the offence for another to fal for certainely we are more beholding to him that kéeps vs from stumbling than vnto him that helps vs vp Also you shall find some men and women of whom they shall say vnto you that they were affectioned to one partialitie and offended at the other and in such cases take no care to make search and much lesse to take vengeance for the noble harts ought neuer to thinke themselues iniured but of such as be mighti◠like themselues If any want of dutie or offence hath bin done vnto you by any of youre estate I holde it for more suretie to dissemble it than to reuēge it for it may so happen that thinking all lawe were ended there mighte arise vnto you other new more indigested angers It is tollerable that the Lords do chastise his vassall but not that he reuenge for it is sure that he will not only defend him selfe but also attempt to offend and the offence shall be raising his countrey and defaming his person If you will be reuenged of such as haue gyuen some occasion be grateful vnto those that did follow and serue you for after this maner they shall remayne recompensed and the other confounded And let it be in this cace for conclusion that in my iudgement and conceit your Lordship ought not to care to remember the iniuries they haue done you but the seruice that now they do you and make no account to make quarells with your vassals for in things of cōmon libertie he that shall séeme most to serue you the same is he that most will sell you That a Knight do minister Iustice in his Countrey ALso it is necessary to the good gouernment of youre vassalles that you leaue them to bee gouerned of vertuous men and of experiēce for ther is no mā in this world so wise that néedeth not the counsell of another We sayd not without graue consideration that you should vse men of experience and sayde not that you shoulde take men of learning For matters in law must be commended vnto the learned but gouernment of the common wealth vnto men of wisedome For we sée euery day by experience what difference or aduauntage there is betwixt hym that hath a good wille and him that knoweth no more but out of Bartlet If you fynde any that ioyntly is both learned and wise leaue not to lay hande vppon him nor let him slip for any price for learning to giue sentence and prudence to gouerne be two thynges that many desire and fewe doe obtayne My Lord you haue to be aduised to commend youre countries to mouthy or brutishe bachelers that come from Salamanca which bringing their science in their lippes and their witte in their sachelles before they can chance to do Iustice they shall escandelise the common wealth and also robbe the whole countrey Those that do procéede from Colledges and from the Vniuersities as they tie themselues to that theyr Bookes do say and not to that whiche theyr eyes doe sée and to that their science doth speake and not to that whiche experience doth find such are good to be aduocates but not to gouerne Sir beléeue me and be out of doubt that the art of gouernment neyther is sold at Paris either is found at Bolloigne neither yet learned at Salamanca but is found out by prudence is defended by Science and conserued by experience Plato in his booke of common wealth sayd these words Consilium peritorum ex apertis obscura ex paruulis magna ex proximis remota ex partibus tota aestimat As if he should haue sayde the man that is wise and of experience the cleare he holdeth for darke the little for great the neare to be far off the gathered together to be cast abrode the certaine for doubtfull Out of these words of Plato there may be gathered the difference betwixt science and experience for that we sée inexpert men holde all things for easie and he that is expert iudgeth all things difficult God dealeth mercifully with suche men as he leaueth not into the hands of proude captaines rash Pilots vnlearned Lawyers foolishe Phisitions and vnexpert Iudges bycause the proude Captayne fighteth out of time the rash Pilots sendes you to the bottome the vnlearned Lawyer looseth youre matter the foolishe Phisition spoyles your life and the vnexpert iudge robbeth your goodes The Iudges to whome you shal put your conscience in trust and commende youre common wealth ought to be honest in their liues vpright in iustice pacient in iniuries measured in their spéech iustified in that they commaund righteous in iudgement and pitifull in their executions Beware of Iudges that be childish foolish ouerbold rash and bloudy which to the end their fame shall sounde at Courte that from thence they may receyue commission of Iustice they wil commit a thousand cruelties in your countreyes and will giue a thousande displeasures to youre persone in suche wise that many times there néedes more reformation for their disorders than for the offences youre vassals shall commit I do lie if it did not happen on a time to me in Arreuallo being warden with a new vnexpert Iudge which bicause I did somewhat aduertise him that he was ouer furious and cruell sayde Father Warden you get youre meate by preaching and I get it by hanging and by your Lady of Gadilupe I do more estéeme to put a foote or a hand to the Pillery than to be Lord of Ventosilla When I heard him mention Ventosilla I replied thys word of my troth master Iustice iustly apertayneth vnto you the Lordship of Ventosa for you may not be contayned in Vētosilla But prosecuting our intent it is to wit that those that the Romaines did call Censors or iudges we do call Corregidores or Correctors and it was amongst them a lawe inuiolable that they made no man a Iudge that was not at the least aboue forty yéeres old he shoulde be maried holden for honest meanely ritch nor infamed with couetousnesse and that in other offices of the common wealth hée had experience Iulius Caesar Octauius Augustus Titus Vespatianus Neruus Coceyus Traian the iust Antony the méeke and the good Marcus Aurelius All these
His rule commaunded that if any knight of the band did vnderstande that within the compasse of thyrtie myles of the Courte there shoulde bée made any Iustes or Turneys he was bounde to go thither to iust and turneye vpon pain to goe one Moneth without his sworde and as much without his bande 34 His rule commaunded that if any knight of the bande shoulde be maried within thrée score miles compasse of the Court al the other Knights of the band should go with him to the King to craue for him some reward and that afterwards they should accompany him to the place of his mariage to the end that there they shoulde do some honorable exercise of chiualrie and knighthood to the end they should offer some iewell vnto his spouse 35 His rule commaunded that on the first sonday of euery moneth the knights of the band should go to Court together very well appointed armed and that there in the Court or in the great hall in the presence of the king and al his Court they should play at all weapons two and two in such wise that no hurt were done for the end that this order was made was bicause they shoulde rather boast themselues of déedes than of the names of knights and were of the kyng therefore much honored 36 His rule commaunded that they shoulde not torney more than thirtie with thirtie and with swordes rebated and at the sounde of a trumpet they shoulde assayle eche other and also at the sound of the Clarion they shoulde all retire vpon paine not to enter more in torney and in one moneth not to go to the Court. 37 His rule commaunded that at the iustes none shoulde run more than euery man his foure courses and should haue for Iudges foure Knights and he that in foure courses brake not a staffe should pay al the costes of the tilt 38 His rule commaunded that at the time that any Knight of the band did fayle or die they shoulde all go to helpe him to die well and after they should go to his buriall and for that he had bin brother and companion of the band they should for one moneth be cladde with blacke after for thrée moneths forbeare to Iust 39 His rule commaunded that two dayes after the knight of the band should be buried al the other knights of the order should assemble and go to the king on the one part to deliuer the king the band that the dead had left and on the other part to make supplication to haue remembrance to rayse in hys place some of his able sonnes if he left anye and to vse hys bountie towards his wife to sustaine and marrie hir children and daughters Behold here my Lord the rule and order of the knightes of the band that was made by the king Alfonso Ioyntly whervnto I will adde all the knights that did first enter into thys order the title of whome said thus These are the most Courteouse the most esteemed the moste renoumed the moste chosen Knights and Infants of the Knightlike order of the Band that our Lord and king Don Alphonso commaunded to be made whome God maintayne The King Don Alfonso that made this order The infant Don Pedro. Don Enrique Don Fernando Don Tello Don Iuan el bueno Don Iuan Nunez Enrique Enriquez Alfonso Fernandez Coronel Lope Diaz de Almacan Fernan perez puerco carrero Fernan Perez ponce Carlos de Gueuara Fernan Enriquez Aluer Garcia Dalbornoz Pero Fernandez Garci Ioffre tenorio Iuan Esteuanez Diego Garcia de Toledo Martin Alfonso de Cordoua Goncalo ruys dela Vega. Iuan Alfonso de Benauides Garci Laso dela Vega. Fernan Garcia Duque Garci Fernandez tello Pero Goncales de Aguero Iuan Alfonso de Carriello Ynigo Lopez de Horozco Garci Gutierez de Graialba Gutierre Fernandez de Toledo Diego Fernandez de Castriello Pero ruyz de Villegas Alfonso Fernandez Alcayde Ruy Goncales de Castaneda Ruy ramirez de Guzman Sancho Martiuez de Leyua Iuan Goncales de Bacan Pero Trillo Suero Perez de Quinones Goncalo Meria Fernan Carriello Iuan de Roias Ptralbarez Osorio Pero Lobez de Padilla Don Gil de Quintana Iuan Rodrigez de Villegas Diego Peres Sarmiento Mendorodrigues de Viezma Iuan Fernandez Coronel Iuan de Cereiuela Iuan Rodrigez de Cisneros Oreion de Liebana Iuan Fernandez del Gadillo Gomez Capiello Beltran de Gueuara vnico Iuan Tenorio Ombrete de Torrellas Iuan Fernandez de Bahamon Alfonso Tenorio THat which is to be noted in all this letter is how in order the Gentlemen and Knights went in those days and how they did exercise them selues in armes and auaunced themselues by deedes of prowes and that the children of good men were in the kings house very well brought vp and were not suffered to be vitious and go lost It is also to be noted in this letter in how little time the world hath made so many changes it is to wit vndoing some and aduauncing others out of the dust bicause fortune neuer dischargeth hir shot but against such as be set aloft My Lord I say this for that ther is to be founde in this order of the band some auncient linages which in those days were noble and famous all which be not only ended but also altogither forgotten What houses or Manors be there now in Spaine of the Albornozes of the Tenorios of the Villegas of the Trillos of the Quintanas of the Biesmas of the Cereiuelas of the Bahamondas of the Coronels of the Cisneros of the Graialbas and of the Horozcos of all these linages there were Gentlemen and Knights very honorable In those days as in the list it doth appeare amōgst those that first entred into the order of the band of al which at this present there is not found any notable Manor neither so much as the name There are nowe in Spaine other Linages the which be Velascos Manriques Enriques Pimenteles Mendozas Cordouas Pachecos Cunigas Faiardos Aguilares Manueles Arellanos Tendillas Cueuas Andradas Fonsecas Lunas Villandrandos Carauaiales Soto maiores and Benauides It is a thing surely to be noted and no lesse to be maruailed that none of the linage of all aboue said is named amōgst the Knights of the band All which in these our days be illustre generouse ritch and much renoumed It is well to bée beléeued that some of these glorious linages were risen in those dayes and if they were not put amongst the knightes of the band it was not bycause they wanted grauitie but for that they had not at that tyme suche authoritie and also bycause though they had sufficient noblenesse they wanted riches Also it is to be thought that of those aunciente and forgotten linages there are inough at thys instant descending and decayed that he noble and vertuous whiche for that we sée they haue little and may do little we hold it for better too kéepe silence than so name them The sonnes of Gentlemen and Knights be they neuer so glorious
aunswere that they do it for pastime and to laugh and be mery to this I reply that of such iestes they vse to remaine all to be iested I aduise and readuise any Gentle woman or other Dame of Citie or towne that she do not venter with cosin or Vncle either with any other of hir kinsmen to encommend hir selfe or go alone for if to be alone with a straunger there is to be feared of that may chaunce with hir Cosin or kinsman let hir doubt what may be spoken Let no honest womā haue confidence in saying the kindred betwixt them is so neare that it is impossible that any may mistrust them for if the malice of mā wil venter to iudge the thoughts it is no credible that he will pardon that which he séeth with his eyes The Gentlewoman or others that shal heare or reade this my writing I would they shuld note this sentēce which is That to a man for that he is a man it is sufficient that hee bee good although it doth not appeare but the woman for that she is a woman it is not sufficient that she be good but that also it be manifest It is to be noted and noted againe that as the prouision of houshold dependeth onely on the husband euen so the honour of all dependeth onely of the woman In suche sorte that there is no honour within thy house longer than thy wife is honorable We do not here intitle honorable such as be onely faire of fare of gentle bloud of comely personage and a keper of goods but onely hir that is honest of life and temperat and aduised in hir spéech Plutarch reporteth that the wife of Thucides the Greeke being demaunded how she could endure the stench of hir husbandes breath aunswered As no other but my husband hath come neare mée I thought all other mens breath had bene of the very same sauor Oh example worthy to be knowne and much more to be followed which is taught vs by that most Noble Greeke that the honest woman is so muche to be aduised that she consent not the haunt of any vnhonest company so neare as to smell his mouth either so much as to touch his garments That the maried woman be not proud or cruell ALso is right worthy counsell that the wife be not cruel and ambitious but milde and suffring for they be two things that giue no small hindrance vnto a woman which is to wit hir much talke and little sufferance and thereof procéedeth that if she be silent all men do esteeme hir if she suffer hir husband she shal be very well maried Oh how vnfortunat is that man that is maried vnto a froward and a cruell woman the hill Aethna doth not whirle out fire so furiously as she throweth poyson out of hir month Without comparison muche more is the fury of a woman to be feared than the ire of a man for the angred man doth but discouer his minde but the fierce woman to scold yell and exclaime can finde no end The amused manne and the woman that presumeth of honestie ought not to contend with any other woman that is furious for at the instant that she loseth hir shamefastnes and kindleth hir choler she onely sayth not what she hath séene or hard but also what she hath dreamed It is vnto me not a litle gracious that when a woman is kindled with a furious rage neither heareth she hir selfe nor vnderstandeth others neyther doth admit excuse nor suffer worde neyther taketh counsell or cometh neare to reason And the worst of all is that many times she leaueth to quarell with whom she was first offended and spitteth hir malice against him that came to make peace When any furious woman brauleth with any man or womā and some other cōmes betwixt to make peace she will not onely afterwards geue him small thanks but also will rayse against him many quarrels Saying that if he had bene the man she thought of he would haue chidde on hir behalfe and also reuenged hir cause The woman that naturally is fierce and crabbed she neuer thinketh to be angry with out a cause neither skoldeth without reason and therfore it is muche better to leane hir than to resist hir I retourne to rectifie my saying whiche is that the house is vnfortunate where the wife is a brawler and quarellous for such a one is alwaies ready to chide and neuer to confesse hir fault The cruell brawling woman is very perillous for she causeth hir husbande to bee fierce she giueth offence vnto hir kinred she is hated of hir cosins and the neighbours flie from hir whereof followeth sometimes that hir husbande méeteth hir body with his féete and combeth hir haire with his fingers Vnto a furious brawling woman on the one side it is a pastim to heare hir chide and on the other part it is terrible to vnderstand what she will not let to speake for if a procession of people shall take in hand to aunswere hir she shall wearie thē al with a letanie of iniuries Vnto hir husbande shée saieth that he is negligent his seruants slothfull the mayds sluttish hir Sonnes glutonous hir daughters windowgazers that friendes be in grate that the enimies bée traitoures the neighboures malicious hir Gossippes enuious and aboue all the rest she sayth that no man dealeth truly with another either obserueth loyaltie with his wife I do lye if I did not sée two honorably maried separate themselues for no other occasion but for that the séely maried man was sometimes sadde at Table and other times did sigh at bed The woman sayd that hir husband had some treason against hir at the Table and for the beauty of some other that he loued hée did sigh in bed and the certaintie of the matter well knowen the troth was that the man was bound in a perillous suertiship and could not be mery but in the ende for any thing that I could intreate preach or chide I could neuer bring them agreed vntill he had sworne and giuen me his fayth not to bée sadde at the Table neither to sigh at bed The woman that is patient and suffering shall be blessed of hir husband well serued of seruants much honored of neighbours and in great reuerence with hir kinred And where it is otherwise let hir hold it for certain that they will all flie from hir house blisse them selues from hir tong When a woman is fierce proude and cruell smal delight hath hir husband that she is descended of gentle bloud of comely personage ritch of goodes and allied into his house but he curseth the day he was maried and blasphemeth the man that first moued the matter That Husbands be not rigorous chiefly when they be new maried IT is also an aceeptable counsell that the husbād be not fierce nor disorder with his wife for betwixt them there shal neuer be concord if the woman doe not learne to