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corporation decayed, and became now much neglected. A great reason whereof was, because it was not confirmed by this King : now about the month of January, one Anthony, an artillery man, it seems, and his company, took upon them to solicit this business; and Sir Philip Hoby, who was Master of the Ordnance, though now, as was said above, ambas- sador abroad, wrote to the Lord Protector, earnestly putting him in remembrance of this suit, and to take such order in The office it as might be expedient. And being informed how unfur- nlnce ^'^'^ nished of necessary munition his office was, he remembered the Protector also of making timely provision there, lest negligence might be imputed to those, as he wrote, that ought to solicit the same. And he prayed him also to con- sider and take some order for the payments of the debts of the same office of the Ordnance, being about 7000 Z. which caused the officers to lose their credit, and be unable upon their word to make any further provisions before this were cleared. A licence The plenty of this present season made corn so cheap, oveTcoru. that it was thought necessary to have it transported. For allowance and encouragement whereof the King's proclama- Nobieman's tion went forth, dated from Leighs, March 30, to this tenor: Essex. " That where the King's most royal Majesty by his pro- " clamation, bearing date at Westminster the 7th of De- " cember last, had straitly charged and commanded his sub- " jects, that after the publishing of the same they should " not transport, or carry over the seas into any other parts, " any manner of grain, &c. And forasmuch as (thanks be " unto Almighty God) there was at that present great " plenty and abundance of wheat and other corn within the " realm, whereby the farmers and others, which used tilling " and manuring of their lands, might not sell their wheat " and other grain, but at very low prices, to their utter un-
OF KING EDWARD VI. 141 " doing, unless that some remedy might be provided in that CHAP. " behalf; the King's most excellent Majesty, with the ad- ^^' " vice, &c. granted, and by that present proclamation gave Anno i548. " free liberty and licence to all and singular his loving sub- " jects to embark, ship, and carry over the seas, all manner " of wheat and other kinds of grain, oats only excepted, so " long as a quarter of wheat should be under the price of " six shillings and eight pence the quarter ; barley, malt, " and rye five shillings the quarter; pease and beans four " shillings the quarter, at the time of embarking, Sec.'" CHAP. XII. go Slanders raised of the King. 'No preaching zvithout licence. Rebels in Cornwall. Pardo7ied. CommissiGn upon in- closures. Order to the Earl of Sussex to raise men. Exportation of leather Jbrhid. Stipendiaries a7id Chantry Pi^iests.
and ordering of this Church were called,) however pious his proceedings, intent was thereby, namely, that one good uniformity might be had throughout all his realms ; yet gave displeasure to many preachers and priests of the popish sort, who took occasion in confession, and otherwise, to move the King's subjects to disobedience and stubbornness against his or- ders. And other light persons sowed abroad false rumours against him : telling out that they heard say, that the King should take and set upon them new and strange exactions : as, on every one that married, half a crown ; likewise the same duty upon every christening and burial; and such other lying surmises. And hereby many were seduced and brought into such disorder of late, and in some parts in a manner to insurrection and rebellion, as we shall hear by and by.
, ,. . T . , . , forbid vvith- by seditious and contentious preaching. lo prevent the out licence. 142 MEMORIALS ECCLESIASTICAL BOOK further hurt thereof, the King by a proclamation, April 24, charged and commanded that no man hereafter should be Anno 1548. permitted to preach, (however they might read the Homilies,) except he were licensed by the King, the Lord Protector, or the Archbishop of Canterbury, under their seals. And the same licence to be shewed to the Parson or Curate, and two honest men of the parish beside, before his preaching, upon pain of imprisonment, both of the Preacher and of the Curate that suffered him to preach without licence. And a charge was given to all Justices to look to this diligently. So that now no Bishop (except the Archbishop of Canter- bury) might license any to preach in his own diocese, nay, nor might preach himself without licence : so I have seen licences to preach granted to the Bishop of Exeter, an. 1551, and to the Bishops of Lincoln and Chichester, an. 1552. Some have There were also other unlearned and ill-disposed people, two wives. ^ ^ .... who whispered now into men''s ears ill opinions against God's laws, and the good order of the reahn ; as some taught, that a man might forsake his wife and marry another, his first wife yet living, and likewise that the wife might do so to the husband. Others taught, that a man might have two wives, or more, at once ; and that these were prohibited, not by God's law, but by the Bishops of Rome. And so by these fantastical opinions some did marry, and kept 91 two wives. The King understanding this, charged by the proclamation aforesaid all Archbishops and Bishops, and others that had spiritual jurisdiction, to proceed against such as had or should hereafter have two wives, or any that should put away his wife and marry another : and to punish such offlenders according to the ecclesiastical laws, that others might be afraid to fall into such insolent and unlawful acts. And lastly it was required, that all the King's officers should detect such to the Archbishops or Bishops, or others that exercised spiritual jurisdiction, and aid the same to the punishment of such evil doers. The Judges The Judges and Justices of the peace (namely, such as cited to the were then within the cities of London and Westminster, or star-cham- suburbs) Were required by proclamation, dated at West- OF KING EDWARD VI. 143 minster, April 30, to appear before the King's Council in CHAP, the Star-chamber on Friday by eight of the clock in the ^^^' morning; there to know further of his Majesty ""s will and Anno 1 648. pleasure. The reason of this summons, I make no doubt, was because of the suspicion of some disturbances and mu- tinyings in the country, which soon after brake out more openly. And this appeared from the charge (extant in Fox's History) which the Lord Chancellor Rich gave them, when they met in the Star-chamber: which was, among other things, " that they should go down into their several " countries, and there see good order kept, and the King's " laws obeyed : and that if there should chance any lewd or " light fellows to make any routs, riots, or unlawful assem- " blies, or seditious meetings, or uproars, by the motion of " some private traitors, to appease them at the first, and " apprehend the first authors. Not (said he, concealing " however their jealousies at Court) as if we feared any " such thing, or that there is any such thing likely to " chance ; but we give you warning, lest it might. And " for the same purpose he required them to see in their " several countries, that horse and harness, and other fur- " niture of weapons, were ready, according to the laws of " the land.'' And indeed they were already up in Cornwall, and the A rebellion parts thereabouts, even in the month of April, where, by^aii. the means of some popishly affected persons, many idle lying insinuations of the King's doings or intentions were buzzed about into the heads of the people, to blow them up into discontents : chiefly, as it seems, upon the King's pro- ceedings. Which the ignorant people refusing to obey, it came at last to that pass, that they got together in great numbers, and made an open rebellion. And in this con- fusion, one William Body, Gentleman, one on the King's side, was slain. But at length they were quelled, and begged the King's mercy, and obtained it : yet the chief ringleaders were excepted, and reserved for execution. This general pardon was dated at Westminster, May 17, in the second year of the King. And it ran to this purport :
144 MEMORIALS ECCLESIASTICAL ROOK " Albeit that many of the Khig's Highness' subjects and commons, dwelUng and inhabiting in that shire of Corn- Anno 1548. '< wall, oi' in any other place or isle, being reputed, or taken Pardoned. ^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ parcel, or member of the same shire, and " such other the King's subjects inhabiting in other places, " have now of late attempted and committed manifest and " open rebellion against his Majesty within the said shire, " or the limits of the same : whereby was like to have ensued " the utter ruin and destruction of that whole shire ; and " to the high displeasure of Almighty God, who straitly 92 " commandeth you to obey your sovereign Lord and King " in all things, and not with violence to resist his will and " command for any cause whatsoever it be : nevertheless, " the King's most royal Majesty perceiving, by credible " reports, that your said offences proceeded of ignorance " and evil enticements, and by occasion of sundry false tales, " never purposed, minded, nor intended by his Highness, " nor any of his Council ; but most craftily contrived, and " most spitefully set abroad among you, by certain malicious " and seditious persons. And thereupon his Highness, in- " clined to extend his most gracious pity and mercy to- " wards you, having the chief charge over you under God, " both of your souls and bodies ; and desiring rather the " preservation of the same, and your reconciliation by his " merciful means, than by the order of rigor of justice to " punish you according to your demerits ; of his inesti- " mable goodness, replenished with most godly pity and " mercy, and at your most humble petitions and submis- " sions made unto him, is contented and pleased to give " and grant, and by this present proclamation doth give " and grant unto you all, and unto all and every of your " confederates, wheresoever they dwell, of whatsoever estate, " degree, or condition soever, &c. his general and free par- " don for all manner of treasons, rebellions, insurrections, " &c. and for all manner of unlawful assemblies, unlawful " conventicles, unlawful speaking of words, &c. from the " time of the beginning of the said rebellion, when it was, " until the first day of May last past, &c. Provided that
OF KING EDWARD VI. 145 " this general and free pardon shall not extend unto John CHAP. " Williams, William Kilter, John Kilter, John Kehon, ^^^' " Richard Trewela, &c. and about twenty-six or twenty- Anno 1 548 " seven persons more.^'
future, occasioned in a great measure by the poverty and against discontent that reigned in the country by reason of the decay enclosures. of tillage, and the enclosing of land for pasturage ; therefore a commission was granted, to inquire into these abuses: and on the 1st of June there went out a notable proclamation against enclosures, letting houses fall to decay, and unlawful converting of arable ground into pastures, which accompa- nied the Commissioners. It set forth, " that the King, the " Lord Protector's Grace, and the rest of the Privy Council, " were advertised and put in remembrance, as well by di- *' vers supplications and pitiful complaints of the King's " poor subjects, as also by other wise and discreet men, " having care of the good order of the realm ; that of late, " by the enclosing of lands and arable grounds in divers " and sundry places of the realm, many had been driven to " extreme poverty, and compelled to leave the places where " they were born, and to seek them beings in other coun- " tries with great misery and poverty : insomuch as in time *' past ten, twenty, yea, in some places, an hundred or two " hundred Christian people have been inhabiting, and kept " households to the bringing up and nourishing of youth, " and to the replenishing and fulfilling of his Majesty's " realm with faithful subjects, who might serve both Al- " mighty God, and the King's Majesty to the defence of " this realm ; now there is nothing kept but sheep or bul- " locks. All that land which heretofore was tilled and oc- " cupied with so many men, and did bring forth not only " divers families in work and labour, but also capons, hens, " chickens, pigs, and other such furniture of the markets, " is now gotten by unsatiable greediness of mind into one " or two men's hands, and scarcely dwelt upon with one ^3 " poor shepherd. So that the realm thereby was brought " to a marvellous desolation, houses decayed, parishes di- VOL. II. L 146 MEMORIALS ECCLESIASTICAL BOOK " minished, the force of the realm weakened, and Christian people, by the greedy covetousness of some men, eaten A.nnoi548.<4 ^p and devoured of brute beasts, and driven from their " houses by sheep and bullocks. And that although of the " same thing many sundry complaints and lamentations " have been heretofore made, and by the most wise and dis- " creet princes, his Majesty^s father and grandfather, &c. " with the consent and assent of the Lords spiritual and " temporal in divers Parliaments assembled, divers and " sundry laws and acts of Parliament, and most godly or- " dinances in their several times, have been made for the " remedy thereof; yet the insatiable covetousness of men " doth not cease daily to encroach hereupon, and more and " more to waste the realm after this sort, bringing arable " grounds into pasture, and letting houses, whole families, " and copyholds to fall down, decay, and be waste :
" pitiful and tender zeal to his most loving subjects, espe- " cially to the poor, which are minded to labour and travail " for their livings, and forced to live an idle and loitering life; " and of a most necessary regard to the surety and defence " of his realm, which must be defended against the enemy " with force of men and the multitude of true subjects, not " with flocks of sheep and droves of beasts. " And further, it is advertised, that by the ungodly and " uncharitable means aforesaid, the said sheep and oxen " being brought into a few men^s hands, a great multitude " of them being together, and so made great droves and " flocks, as well by natural reason, as also, as it may be " justly thought, by the due punishment of God for such " uncharitableness, great rots and murrains, both of sheep " and bullocks, have lately been sent of God, and seen in " the realm : the which should not by all reason so soon fall, " if the same were dispersed into divers men"'s hands. And " the said cattle also by all likelihood of truth should be " more cheap, being in many men's hands, as they be now " in few, who may hold them dear, and tarry their advantage " of the market. OF KING EDWARD VI. 147 " And therefore he, by the advice of his most entirely CHAP. " beloved uncle, the Duke of Somerset, &c. and the rest of 1_ "his Majesty's Privy Council, hath weighed most deeply Anno 1548 " all the said things, and upon the aforesaid considerations; " and of princely desire and zeal to see that godly laws, " made with great travail, and approved by experience, and " by the wise heads in the time of the said most prudent *' princes, should not be made in vain, but put in ure and *' execution ; hath appointed, according to the said acts " and proclamations, a view and inquiry to be made of all " such as, contrary to the said acts and godly ordinances, " have made enclosures and pastures of that which was *' arable ground, or let any house, tenement, or mease decay " and fall down ; or otherwise committed or done any thing " to the contrary of the good and wholesome articles con- " tained in the said acts. And therefore willeth and com- *' mandeth all his loving subjects, who know any such de- " faults and offences, contrary to the wealth and profit of " this realm of England, and the said godly laws and acts " of Parliament, done and committed by any person, who- 94 *' soever he or they be, to insinuate and give information " of the offence to the King's Majesty's Commissioners, who " be appointed to hear the same, so truly and faithfully, *' that neither for favour nor fear they omit to tell the truth *' of any; nor for displeasure name any man who is not " guilty thereof: that a convenient and speedy reformation *' might be made herein, to the honour of God and the " King's Majesty, and the wealth and benefit of the whole *' realm." So that, that these abuses and hard pressures upon theCommis- poor commons might be the more effectually remedied, poi^^ed^fo^ commissions were now eiven out to divers persons of qua-^"q""T
throughout England. For the counties of Oxon, Berks, Warwick, Leicester, Bedford, Bucks, and Northampton, were appointed Sir Francis Russel, Sir Foulk Grevil, Knts. John Hales, John Marsh, William Pynnock, Roger Amys. And at their meeting for executing this commission, John L 2 148 MEMORIALS ECCLESIASTICAL BOOK Hales made an excellent exhortation or charge to the peo- ple. who were sworn to make presentments. Wherein he Anno 1548. fii'st explained to them the good laws made against these corruptions. Whereof one was, that no man should keep above the number of two thousand sheep : another, that tliose that had the sites of any monasteries suppressed should keep continual household upon the same, and occupy as much of the demeans in tillage as had been occupied within twenty years before. Which notwithstanding were not regarded nor obeyed. Whereby towns, villages, and pa- rishes decayed daily in great numbers ; houses of hus- bandry and poor men's habitations utterly destroyed every where : husbandry, the very nourishment of the whole body of the realm, greatly abated, and the King's subjects won- derfully diminished ; as appeared by the new books of the musters compared with the old, and with the chronicles. And how all this grew through the great dropsy of the realm, that is, the covetousness of many men, given to their own private profit, but passed nothing of the commonwealth. He shewed how the former King Henry VIII. and the present King Edward, for want of their own natural sub- jects to serve them in their wars, were forced to hire Almains, Italians, and Spaniards. And that this was the cause the King was fain to build so many castles and bulwarks by the seaside. And the charges by these means waxing daily greater and greater, he was of necessity driven to ask so great subsidies as he did. He went on, and shewed how these covetous men were disappointed. For they reckoned to leave great possessions to their children, and to make their families noble : whereas many times their children, before their fathers were laid in their graves, consumed and wasted all away upon harlots, gaming, and lewd company. And so, evil got, worse spent. But the whole charge is well drawn up, and containeth in it so many matters proper to give light into these times and affairs, that I have put both P- Q- it and the commission into the Repository. These Commis- sioners went down into the countries, and spent the summer in this necessary business.
OF KING EDWARD VI. 149 But these commissions could not be so carefully and dili- CHAP. Y TT gently executed, but the commons were ready to right '_ themselves; and began to talk boldly, that if remedy were^""o i^4i not presently had for reducing of farms and copyholds to^^l^^^^^^~_ their wonted state, that they would not fail among them- withstand- selves to attempt the reformation thereof. And some of io^rise! ^ them were ready to pull down enclosures, the Commissioners 95 still sitting. But where the Commissioners were discreet, as those were that were appointed for Oxon, Bucks, Berks, &c. stayed them by their good management from their attempts.
casioned letters from the Protector and Council, written in J"j!l^^^.7iJir August, to the Commissioners. Advising them in their re- message tc turn homeward to pass by all the good towns and other notable places, where they had sitten before in commission, and to declare that the King had sent them on purpose to take notice of these grievances, in order to reform them, (which he would do in time convenient for it,) and to assure them of the good-will of the King and Council to them for their benefit, as much as they could wish ; exhorting them therefore to remain good and quiet subjects. But the an- swer which Hales gave to the Protector, dated from Co- ventry, Aug. 25, shewed, that his enemies, whom this com- mission chiefly touched, did rather give out these rumours, than that there was much truth in them. For he assured the Protector the people were in good quiet, and daily resorted to him to take his advice in making their presentments. So that he concluded this to be done to dash the commis- Yüklə 12,09 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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