Search York

" have for your disobedience, men to be your governors
*' that are dissolute, rash, wanton, and careless: yea, men 378
" unexpert, and unexperienced in princely affairs, and men
" which will not regard your commonwealth, but follow
*' their own lusts. Wo be to such a land, saith Solomon,
" that hath so childish rulers. And all these childish ways
" be detestable in a king ; yet is not the childhood of youth
'' in him to be reproved : for so might King Josias have
'' been reproved, which began his reign in the eighth year
" of his age. — Then he comes closer to this Papist, so blas-
" phemously reporting the noble and worthy King Edward
*' (then in the fifteenth year of his age, and the fifth of his
" reign) without all honour and reverence. He added, his
" worthy education in liberal letters, and godly virtues, and
" his natural aptness in retaining of the same, plenteously
" declared him to be no poor child, but a manifest Solomon
" in princely wisdom. His sober admonitions, and open
" example of godliness at that day, shewed him mindfully
" to prefer the wealth of the commons, as well ghostly as
" bodily, above all foreign matters. Mark what his Ma-
" jesty hath done already in religion, in abolishing the most
" shameful idolatry of Antichrist, besides his other acts for
" public affairs, and ye shall find at this day no Christian
" prince like to him."
This book the author dedicated to the Duke of Northum-

berland, with this title. To the right high and mighty

Prince Johan Duke of Northumberland, Lord Great Master

of the King's most Iwnourable Household, and Lord Presi-

dent of his Majesty'' s most honourable Privy Council. In

this epistle he set him forth as a singular favourer and pa-

triot of the true religion ; which yet, as it appeared after-

wards, influenced him no more than as it served to forward

his worldly interest. For thus Bale addressed to him :

" Considering in your noble Grace the same mighty, fer-

D 4

40 MEMORIALS ECCLESIASTICAL

BOOK «« vent, and relimous zeal in GocVs cause, which I have di-

ll. . .

' '* li

Anno 1552. a pQ^yJ^ Expostulation am I, your poor orator, so much the

" bolder to dedicate to your Highness, in that I have al-

" ways known the same a most mighty, zealous, and ardent

" supporter, maintainer, and defender of God's lively word.

" — Jesus Christ, whose invincible verity your Grace hath

" hitherto most fervently favoured."
Vocation of The same author, John Bale, set forth this year his Vo-

cation to the Bishopric of Ossory in Ireland^ and his perse-

cution in the same, and his final deliverance.
Orckr for Here I shall subjoin a privilege granted to William
th'eVrlmer. Seres, Stationer, to print all books of private prayers, called

Primers, as should be agreeable to the Book of Common

Prayer established by Parliament : and that none else

printed the same, upon pain of forfeiture thereof. Provided,

that before the said Seres and his assigns did begin to print

the same, he should present a copy thereof, to be allowed

by the Lords of the Privy Council, or by the Lord Chan-

cellor for the time being, or by the King's four Ordinary

Chaplains, or two of them. And when the same was, or

should be, from time to time printed, that by the said Lords,

and others of the Privy Council, or by the Lord Chancellor,

or with the advice of the wardens of the occupation, the

reasonable price thereof to be set, as well in the leaves, as

being bound in paste or board : in like manner as was ex-

pressed in the end of the Book of Common Pra^^er. This

privilege was dated March the 4th.

.ST'O I cannot here omit the mention of the death of the most
Leiand dies learned antiquarian, John Leland, which happened in April

this year, after he liad been a year and upwards distracted,

to the deplorable frustration of his noble designs of illustrat-

ing the history of this ancient nation. Being bereft of his

wits, he became the King's care ; who connnitted the keep-

ing of him either to his father or uncle, I suppose, (for he

was one of the same name,) John Leyland, or Leland, senior,

together with all his lands, and rents, and profits wliatso-

evcr, in as ample manner as John the younger, being in his

OF KING EDWARD VI. 41

right mind, enjoyed them, for the better svistentation of cHAP.

him. This grant was in the month of March, 1550. This ^V^-

Leland, who had the care of this poor gentleman, Hved, I Anno 1552.

suppose, in Paternoster-row, which belonged to the parish

of St. Michael the Quern, in which church, not much above

a year after, he was buried.
He being a Londoner born, had his education under His school-

Lilly, the famous grammarian, and first master of the free '"f**^*^!^,. 'I"'*

*' '^ ^ _ _ schooltel-
school near St. Paul's. He had divers contemporaries, which, lows.

by their learning and advancement afterwards, added lustre

both to the school where all of them were bred, and to the

city where some of them were born : as namely, Sir William

Paget, afterwards secretary of state, and made Lord Paget

of Beau Desert, and honoured with the Garter. To whom

Leland, addressing a copy of verses, speaks thus of Lilly,

their common instructor :

Notior ille tibu notior ille mihi :

and makes mention of something which he [Paget] wrote

in vindication of their master, against one Gonel, a learned

man. Another of his schoolfellows was Sir Edward North,

after also Lord North, and a privy counsellor, a citizen

born. To him Leland dedicated some verses, mentioning

therein their learning together :
Imbibimus Iceti litterulasque simul.
Sir Anthony Denny, gentleman of the privy chamber to

King Henry, and a great favourer of the professors of the

gospel, and as great a scholar, was also Leland"'s mate in

this learned school : of whose wittiness and ingenuity there

he speaks in a piece of his poetry, written to him. Sir Tho-

mas Wriothesly, afterwards Lord Wriothesly, and Lord

Chancellor of England, was also a Londoner born, and so

Avas his father, and a great friend of our Leland, and was

probably of the same school with him, being a man brought

up in letters. In honour of whom did Leland also exer-

cise his curious vein of poetry.
From this nursery of St. Paul's he was transplanted to

the University of Cambridge ; where, in learned studies,

42 MEMORIALS ECCLESIASTICAL

BOOK and converse with ingenious men, he took great delight,

^^' and made great improvements.

Anno 1552. Appluusit studus Gi'mitci heata meis.
But afterwards, it seems, he studied at Oxford, and was

there preferred, and made fellow of All Souls. His patrons

and friends, besides those mentioned before, were Archbi-

shop Cranmer, Sir Brian Tuke, Sir John Mason, Dr. Legh,

Dr. Cox, Dr. Haddon ; all men of fame in their days.

3gQ CHAT. XVII.

Commissioners Jroyji France. Corruptions at Court. Paget.,

and Beaumont, and the Earl of' Arundel, their submis-

sions. The university of' Rostock to the King: The

King's diligence, and good example. Free schools by him

Jhunded.
The French ± HIS year came commissioners from France, Monsieur

lapour. ^uiji-ey and Monsieur du Val ; the one lieutenant civil

of Paris, the other an advocate unto the French King. An

agent of the King's, whose name was Barnaby, met with

them at London. They came about some matters of resti-

tution to some English merchants, for ships and goods

taken, pretending they belonged to the Spaniard, because

they were not carried in English bottoms. They told Bar-

naby, in a vapouring sort, (which that nation was then

much addicted to,) how little harm England in their wars

was like to do them ; and that in the last war, wherein

King Henry, together with the Dukes of Norfolk and Suf-

folk, invaded them, and took Bulloign, we did but spend

all our riches, and destroyed a great number of subjects,

and left all our money in Flanders and Artois, and could

not now shew one town we had taken.

The way Upon this occasion Barnaby, in a letter to Sir William
to distress *¦ i i i i • i • d
France, and Cecyl, the secretary, related, by his own long experience ot

fitriand ^'^'^ country, (having made twenty-eight voyages thither,

OF KING EDWARD VI. 43

employed by King Henry, and Crumwell,) how we might CHAP,

effectually distress that country : namely, by this one thing,

increasing mariners in England. Whereas, for want of ships Anno 1552.

and shipmen, our commodities of our own growth were '^'"PP'"^'

fetched away from us for very small prices by French ves-

sels, to their exceeding enriching. He had seen going out

of Rye at one tide thirty-seven hoys, laden with wood and

timber, and never an English mariner among them. He

had heard great complaints for want of English ships, to

lade goods for Spain, and other places, and none to be had.

Great benefit also might be made of our fishing, if we had

ships ; but especially of our Newcastle coals. This last,

the French could not live without : it maintained those in

France that wrought in steel, and metals, and wire, and

made guns; and likewise their goldsmiths. The French

custom was, that after their fishing was done, three or four-

score ships of Normandy and Britain were sent for coals ;

the gain whereof was pi-odigious. Coals were bought at

Newcastle for two shillings and two pence a chaldron, and

sold again in France for thirteen nobles.
These things considered, Barnaby's advice was, that the A project

King of England should take coals into his own hands, (as Kin*'^to

the French King had taken salt,) and bring them into Kent, take coals

and there make a staple of them. And that no goods what-own hands,

soever should be carried out of England, but in English

bottoms. By this means an infinite number of mariners

would be set awork, and it would prove a great strength to

the realm. And hereby England, in respect of trade and 381

seamen, might no longer be so inferior to France, which did

at that present so much outdo it. For in these times there

would sometimes come out at one tide from Diep five hun-

dred boats, and more, and in every boat ten or twelve men ;

whereby the maritime towns maintained themselves, their

towns and ports, by fishing, and grew very rich by trade.

Whereas in England, Sandwich, Dover, Hyde, Hastings,

Winchelsea, were decayed exceedingly for maintenance,

and hardly any mariner in those ports : and Barnaby would

undertake to set six or seven thousand mariners awork, in

44 MEMORIALS ECCLESIASTICAL

BOOK carrying coals only. But I betake the reader to Barnaby"'s

^^' letter, where he may read this, and other things worth not*-

Anuo 1552. ing, of the state of the nation, more at large.

^" The Court was very corrupt, and extremely covetous,
rup'timrof especially towards the declining of the King's reign ; raking

the Court, continually from the King, (who was fain to borrow,) for the

enriching of tliemselves, and making preys also one of an-

other. The Lord Paget, chancellor of the duchy, and

Beaumont, master of the rolls, and Whaley, receiver of

Yorkshire, Avere in the month of May discovered to have

K.EdvvarJ's grossly wronged the King. Paget had sold away lands, and

Journ.p.55.^g^^. j-j^jjijgj. woods, and had taken great fines of the King's

lands, to his particular profit and advantage, never turning

any of it to the King's use. He made leases in reversion

for more than twenty-one years. All this he confessed be-

fore the Privy Council, and surrendered his ofiice, (which

was after conferred upon Sir John Gates,) and submitted

himself to what fines shovild be laid upon him. Beaumont

bought lands with the King's money, lent the King's mo-

ney, and kept it from the King, to the value of 9000Z. and

above, and 11,000Z. obligations. And being judge in a

cause in chancery between the Duke of Suffolk and the

Lady Powis, he took her title, and went about to get it into

his hands, paying a sum of money, and letting her have a

farm of a manor of his ; and caused a false indenture to be

made, with the old Duke's counterfeit hand to it ; (by which

pretended indenture the said Duke gave these lands to the

Lady Powis;) and went about to make twelve men perjured ;

and lastly, had concealed the felony of his man, to the sum

of 200Z. All this he confessed; and for these things sur-

rendered all his offices, lands, and goods to the King, and

gave thej King an obligation under his hand and seal for

See the his debt of 20,861Z. and upwards. Whaley lent the King's

Repository, jjioney upon gain : he paid one year's revenue with the ar-

rearages of the last : he bought the King's land for himself

with the King's own money : in his accounts he made many

false suffffestions. At the time of the fall of money, he

borrowed divers sums of money, and had allowance for it

OF KING EDWARD VI. 45

after: by which he gained 5001 at one crying down, the CHAP,

whole sum being 2000/. and above. All this he confessed,

surrendered his office, and submitted to fines. Anno 1552.

The Lord Paget and Beaumont, June 16, were brought r^^set and

into the Star-chamber. There the former declared his sub- f,",,.' ^o,--

mission by word of mouth, and delivered it in writing : he ['^'['^'"("^

was fined 6000Z. But Beaumont had denied his former into the

confession before the Council : but now being called before ,^*'^'"*^ '^"*"

the Council, he acknowledged a fine of his lands, and signed

an oblio^ation and surrender of all his goods. And on the

20th day, being brought again to the Star-chamber, he

confessed all.
When the Council had discovered all this corruption, on 382

the 18th of June, from Greenwich, they wrote the news ofT''7^"y".

' -^ . render their
it to the Duke of Northumberland, Earls of Huntingdon goods and

and Pembroke, and Secretary Cecyl, who were in a journey, ^''"''*"

going down to the borders of Scotland, upon many disor-

ders there, and negligent looking to the forts, the Duke

being lord warden of the marches. Beaumont had surren-

dered his goods and lands to the King ; but the King was

not to be the better for them; some of them being pre-

sently begged by the Duke of Northumberland and Earl

of Pembroke, for the Earl of Huntingdon. And Hunting-

don another time will do the like courtesy for them, if need

be. That which they asked for this Earl was, the custody of

Gracedieu, the parsonage of Dunington, and the manor of

Throuston and Swanington, parcel of the said Beaumont's

possessions, with all his goods and chattels in and upon the

said house and lands. And when order should be taken

for the delivery of any of the lands of the Lord Paget, in

satisfaction of part of his fine, they prayed the Council, that

the Earl of Huntingdon and the Lord Chamberlain might

not be forgotten; the one to have the custody of his house See this let-

at Drayton, and the other of that at London. And as these depository,

things before mentioned came under the keeping of Hun- ^i.

tingdon, so the next year be became the proprietor of

them : for in June 1553 the King granted him the scite,

46 MEMORIALS ECCLESIASTICAL

BOOK circuit, and precinct, and also tlie manor of Gracedlcu in

Leicestershire with divers other lands, to the yearly value

Anno 1552. of 158/. 8*. 5(Z.

The con- The conclusion with the Lord Paget, after he was thus

wittlThe censured, and had also made his submission for being privy

L. Paget, to the late Protector's practice against Northumberland,

was in December following, when he had a general pardon

of all offences and transgressions, and other negligences,

except debts due to his Majesty in the Court of Exchequer,

the Augmentation, the Wards, and the First-fruits and

Tenths. And an indenture was made between the King"'s

Majesty and the Lord Paget, for the assurance unto his

Majesty of 100/. by year, and for the payment also of 2000Z.

that is to say, lOOOZ. at Christmas next, and the other at

Christmas following. Yet not long after, he came into some

favour at Court. For in February he had a discharge for

the payment of the 2000/. imposed on him as a fine. And

the month ensuing he had a special grant for his coat of

arms, which before was taken away from him, upon pre-

tence that it was given him by a king of arms that could

not crive it. But now the same coat was confirmed to him

by patent, granted to him by the name of William Lord

Paget, of Beaudesert, and his posterity for ever.

The Earl The third day of this month of December (that same

of Arundel ^^ twelvemonth the Duke of Somerset was tried and con-

m prison. -' ^ n i -rr-
demned) did the Earl of Arundel appear before the King,

and make his humble submission by word of mouth. He

had been lord chamberlain, and of the Privy Council, but

upon some occasion put out of both places : whereat he grew

malecontent, and was dealt with to come into the late plot

of the Duke of Somerset, against certain of the great nobles

that bore the sway : yet he would not meddle, but concealed

it, and chose to be a looker on, thinking to have his malice

executed by other hands ; but it cost him dear. For Octo-

ber 20, 1551, Crane, one of them in this plot, did confess,

that the Earl knew of the matter, about inviting those no-

383 bles to the Lord Pagefs house to a banquet, and then to

OF KING EDWARD VI. 47

have cut off their heads: and that Stanhope was the mes- cHAP.

senger that went to the Earl. Upon this, November 8, ^VII.

the Earl, with Stoadly and St. Alban, his men, was com- Anno 1552.

mitted to prison ; and that because Crane did disclose more
and more of him : and having been a prisoner above a
twelvemonth, December 3, he was fain to make a submission,
and submit to a fine. His submission was in these words,
as they are taken out of the Council-Book, and there said to
be by order of Council entered into the said book.
" It may please your most excellent Majesty to under- His sub-

" stand, that whereas I, Henry Earl of Arundel, now pri-™ouncii-

" soner in the Tower, have been charged to be one of the ^(^ok.

" confederates and conspirators with Edward late Duke of

" Somerset, lately attainted, and with others, for the appre-

" hension and imprisonment of divers noblemen, then and

" yet being of yovir Majesty's privy council : and foras-

" much as upon my examination taken during the time of

" my imprisonment in the Tower of London, before John

" Duke of Northumberland, John Earl of Bedford, Wil-

" liam Lord Marquis of Northampton, William Earl of

" Pembroke, and Sir Philip Hoby, knt. and otherwise, it

" doth appear, that I, the said Henry Earl of Arundel,

" was privy and of knowledge of the said dangerous con-

" spiracy, practised by the said Duke and others, to the

" peril of the state of this your realm : and forasmuch also as

" I, the said Earl of Arundel, did not, according to my most

" bounden duty, reveal so much as I did know of the said

" Duke''s intents to your Highness, or to some others of

" your Majesty's privy council, but did conceal and keep

" the same secret ; whereby I do confess and acknowledge,

*' that I have not only worthily deserved this mine impri-

" sonment, but also that the same my said offence and con-

" cealment should be dangerous unto me, without your

" Majesty's clemency : for the mitigating therefore of the

" same, I do most humbly acknowledge, by this my sub-

" mission, my said offence, and do crave and desire your

" most gracious pardon for the same : and further, do sub-

48 MEMORIALS ECCLESIASTICAL

BOOK " mit ni^'self for the premises to tlie most merciful order of

" your Highness, and of your most honourable Council."

Anno 1552. After this submission, the Earl of Arundel appeared the

And fine, sa^^g ^g^y before the Council : where the Lords informed

him, that he was fined 6000 marks, to be paid in six years,

at 1000 marks a year. And he was bound in a bond of

10,000 marks to pay the said fine : and was set at liberty,

being admonished by the Lords to behave himself according

to the duty of a nobleman, and to be indeed what he pro-

fessed in words.
But the Earl found favour afterwards : for. May 10, a

grant was made him, that he sliould pay 3221/. l^s. 2d. at

the Augmentation, in form following ; viz. at Easter next,

221Z.12*. 2cl. and after, yearly at the same feast, 333Z. 6s. 8d.

until the whole sum were satisfied and paid. And July 2

following, (that is, but four days before the King''s death,

being then also, as it appears, of the Privy Council,) a par-

don and discharge was sealed to him for 10,000 marks, ac-

knowledged by him to owe it to the King^s Majesty by re-

cognisance, upon certain considerations in the same ex-

pressed. This, we may conclude, was Northumbcrlancrs

doing, his policy being to gain as many noblemen his

384 friends as he covild, in the great intrigue he was then upon,

to bring the crown into his family. But Arundel deceived

him.

The univer- This nation was now become renowned abroad for its

toJk°to tbe countenance to true religion and good learning, and King-

King. Edward for a right nursing father to both. While eveiy

where in Germany, and all other countries, the gospel and

learning was oppressed and discouraged, England was tlie

common asylum for all good and learned men to fly to :

and hither they came daily, both for shelter and for sub-

sistence. Among the rest I find one ^^'^o]fgang Porister, a

Prussian, of the university of Rostock, who, by a letter