Search York

Tui studiosissima ac amantissima
Katherina Regina KP.

H.
Queen -Katherine Par to King Henry ; gone iii his expedi-

tion against France.

ALTHOWGH the dyscourse of tyme and accompte of mss. penes

days nether ys long nor many of your Majesties absens, yet'"^*

the want of your presens, so much beloved and desired of

me, maketh me, that I cannot quyetly pleasur in any thyng,

until I hear from your Majestye. The tyme therfor semeth

to me very long wythe a great desire to know how your

Hyeghness hath done, syns your departyng hens. Whos

prosperite and helthe I prefer and desyre more than myne

own. And Avhereas I know your Majesties absens ys never

wythout gret respects of thyngs moost convenyent and

necessary, yet love and affection compelleth me to desyre

your presens. And againe, the same zele and love forceth

me also to be best content wyth that whyche ys your wyl

and pleasure. And thus love maketh me in al thynges to

A REPOSITORY

set apart myne own commodite and pleasure, and to era-

brase moost joyfully hys wyl and pleasure whom I love.

God, the knower of secrets, can juge these words not to be

only wrytten wyth ynke, but moost truly impressed in the

hart. Muche more I omytt, lest I schuld seme to go about

to prayse my self, or crave a thank. Whych thyng to do I

mynde nothyng lesse, but a playn symple relacyon of my

zele and love towards your Majestic, procedyng from the

abundance of the herte. Wheryn I must nedes confesse I

deserve no worthy commendatyon, ha\yng such just occa-

sion to do the same.
I make lyke accompte wythe your Majestic, as I do

wythe God for hys benefyts and gyftes heped upon me

dayly : knowlegyng my self always a gret detter unto hym,

in that I do omytt my dutye towarde hym, not being able to

recompence the leste of hys benefyts. In whyche state I

am certayne and sure to dy. But yet I hope in his gracy-

ous acceptation of my good wyll. And even such confy-

dence I have in your Majesties gentylnes. Knowyng my

34 self never to have done my duty, as wer requysite and mete

to such a noble and worthy Prince ; at whose hands I have

founde and receyved so muche love and goodnes, that wyth

words I cannot express yt. Lest I should be to tedyous

unto your Majestye, I fynysche thys my scrybeled letter,

commyttyng you into the governance of the Lord wyth long

life and prosperous felicite here, and after thys lyf to enjoy

the kyngdom of hys elect. Fi'om Grenwyche.

By your Majesties humble, obedyent,

lovyng M'ife and servant,

Keteryn the Qucne KP.

i

OF ORIGINALS.

333

I.
A Poem, pretended to be writ against the preachers ; en-

titled, A Pore Help.

The bucklar aud defence of mother holy Kyrke,
And weapon to dryve hence al that against her wyrke.

WIL none in al this land.

Step forth and take in hand

These fellows to withstand,

In number like the sand ;

Tliat with the gospel melles.

And wil do nothynge elles.

But tattling tales telles,

Agaynst our holy prelacie,

And holy Churches dignitie.

Saying, it is but papistrie,

Yea, fained and hypocrisie.

Erroneous and heresie :

And taketh their authoritie

Out of the holy Evangelic :

Al customes ceremonial

And rites ecclesiastical,

Not grounded on Scripture,

No longer to endure.

Aud thus j'e may be sure

The people they allure,

Aud draw them from your lore,

The which wil grieve you sore.

Take hede I say therefore,

Your nede was never more.
2.

But sens ye be so slacke

It grieveth me alacke.

To heare behind your backe.

How they wil carpe and cracke.

And none of you that dare

With one of them compare.

Yet some there be that are

So bold to shew there ware.

And is no priest nor deacon,

That yet wil fire his becon.

Against such fellows fraile.

Make out with tothe and nayle,

And hoiste up mainc saile,

And manfully to fyght

In holy prelates rigiit,

"With pen and ynke and paper.

And like no trifling japer.

To touch these fellows daper ?

3.
And I indede am he.
That wayteth for to se,
Wlio dare so hardy be.
To encounter here with me.
I stand here in defence
Of sum that be far hence.
And can both blysse and cense.
And also undertake
Right holy thyngs to make.
Yea, God within a cake ;
And whoso that forsake.
His bread shal be dowe bake.
I openly profess
The holy blissed mess
Of strength to be no less.
Then it was at the first.
But I would see who durst
Set that among the worst.
For he should be accurst,
With boke, and bel, aud candel :
And so I would him handel.
That he should right wel know
How to escape I trow,
So hardy on his head
Deprave our holy bread :
Or else to prate or patter
Against our holy water.
This is a playne matter.
It nedeth not to flatter.
4.

They be such holy thinges,

As hath bene us'd with kings.

Biblioth.

R.D. Joh.
Ep. Elien.

35

334

A REPOSITORY

And j'et these leud loselles

That bragg upon their gospelles,

At ceremonies swelles,

And at our christned belles,

And at your long gownes.

And at your shaven crownes,

And at your tippetts fyne,

The javells wil repyue.

Tliey say, ye lead evil lives

With other mennys wyves.

And wil none of your owne.

And so your sede is sowne

In other mennys grounde,

True wedlock to confounde.

Thus do they rayle and rave,

Calling every priest knave.

That loveth messe to say,

And after idel al day.

They would not have you play,

To drive the time away :

But brabl)le on the Byble,

Which is but unpossible

To he lerned in al your life :

36 Vet therein they be rife,

Which maketh al tiiis strife.

And also the paraphrases,

Much differing from your porteises,

They would have dayly used.

And porteise clean refused.

But they shall be accused.

That have so far abused

Their tongues against such holiness

And holy Churches busines.

Many hundred yeres ago.

Great clcarcks affirm cth so.

And other many mo.

That searched to and fro

In Scripture for to fynd.

What they might leave behind,

For to be kept in mind.

Among the people blindc.

As wavering as the wiudc ;

And wrote therof such bokes,

That whoso on them lokes,

Shal find them to be clarkes.

As provcth by their warkcs.

And yet there be that barke,

And say they be but darke.

But hark, ye loulars, harke.

So wel we shal you marke,

That, if the world shal turn,

A sort of you shal burn.

Ye durst as wel, I saye.

Within this two yeres day.

As sone to run away,

As such parts to play.

When sum did rule and reyne,

And auncient things maintayn,

Which now be counted vayne,

And brought into disdayne.

Such men I say they were.

As loved not this geare.

And kept you stil in feare.

To burn or faggots beare.

Then durst ye not be bold

(Against our lerninges old.

Or images of gold.

Which now be bought and sold ;

And were the laymans boke

Whereon they ought to loke)

One word to speake amisse ;

No, no, yee foles, I wysse,

A thing to playne it is.

6.

Then did these clarks devyne,

Dayly themselves encliffe

To prove and to defyne,

That Christs body above,

Which suffered for our love.

And dyed for our behove.

Is in the sacrament,

Flesh, blonde, and bone, present.

And bread and wine away,

As sone as they shal say

The words of consecration

In time of celebracion.

So must it be indede.

Though it be not in the Credo.

And yet these fellows new

Wil say, it is not true,

Christs body for to view

With any bodyly eye.

That do they playne deny,

And stiffly stand tlicreby :

OF ORIGINALS.

And enterprise to write,

And also to endight
Bokes both great and smal
Agaynst tliese fathers al,
And heresy it cal,
That any man should teach.
Or to the people preach
Such thyngs without their reach.
And some there be that say,
That Christ cannot al day
Be kept within a box.
Nor yet set in the stocks.
Nor hidden like a fox,
Nor prisoner under locks.
Nor clothed with powdred armin.
Nor bredeth stinking vermiu.
Nor dwelleth in an howse,
Nor eatyn of a mowse.
Nor mould or he be spent.
Nor yet in fire be brent.
Nor can no more be slayne.
Nor offered up agayne.
Blessed sacrament ! for thy passion.
Hear and se our exclamation
Agaynst these men of new fashion.
That strive agaynst the holy nacion.
And jest of them in playes.
In taverns and high ways,
And theyr good acts disprayse :
And martyrs would them make
That brent were at a stake.
And sing pipe raerri anuot,
And playof wilnot cannot.
And as for cannot and wilnot,
Though they speke not of it,itskil not.
7-

For a nobler dark of late,

And worthy in estate.

Hath played with them checkmate,

Theyr courage to abate.

And tells them sucli a tale, '

As makes their bonnets vail.

And marreth clean the sale

Of al their whole pastime.

And al is done in rhime.

Oh ! what a man is thys,

That if he could, I wyss.

Would mend that is amyss.

His meaning is indede.

That if he might wel spede.

And beare some rule agayne,

It should be to their payne.

I think they were but worthy.

Because they be so sturdy

To rayl agaynst the wirke

Of our mother holy Kyrke.

Yet some there be in fume,

And prowdly do presume.

Unto this lerned man

To answer and they can ,

And wene they had the grace

His balad to deface.

8.

And trowe you that wil be ?

Nay, nay, beleve ye me,

I take my mark amyss.

If once he did not myss

A very narrow hyss.

Wel, if you come agen.

May happen twelve men

Shal do as they did then.

Have you forgot the bar.

That ever ther you ware.

And stode to make and mar

By God and by the con trey.

You had a narrow eutrey.

Take hede of coram nobis.

We wil reckon with vobis.

If you come agen.

We wil know who pulled the hen.

For al your bold courage.

You may pay for the pottage.

And are you now so bragg

You may come to tagg.

Your hap may be to wagg

Upon a wooden nagg.

Or els a fair fyre

May happ to be your hyre.

Take hede lest you tyre,

And ly downe in the myre.

Hold fast by the main ;

By the masse it is no game.

If my lord wax not lame.

You wil al be tame.

When you heare him next,

Mark wel his text.

^7

336

A REPOSITORY

He hath bene curstly vext,

I fere me he be wext

A Popistant stout.

Surely al the rout,

That heareth him shal doubt,

He wil be in aud out,

Prowling round about,

To get forth the snout.

If prayer may do good.

All the whole brood,

Skurvy, skabbed, and skald.

Shaven, shorn, and bald,

Pore priests of Baal,

We pray for him al.

Unto the God of bread.

For if he be dead,

We may go to bedd,

Blindfold, aud be ledd

Without ragg or shred.

9.

But I am sore adred

I se him loke so red.

Yet I durst ley my head.

As Doctor Fryer said.

He hath sonievvhat in store.

Wei, you shal know more,

Harken wel therfore.

Some shal pay the skore.

He hath bene a pardoner,

Aud also a gardener.

He hath bene a vitayler,

38 A lordly hospitelor,

A noble teacher.

And soso a preacher.

Tho Germyn his man

Were hanged, what than }

Say worse and you can.

Best let him alone,

For Peter, -Tames, and John,

And Apostles every one,

(I give you playne warning,)

Had never no such loarnynge,

As hath this famous clarke.

He is lerncd beyond the mark.
10.
And also Mayster Hiiggarde

Dotli shew himself no sluggard.

Nor yet no drunken drunkard ;

But sharpeth up his wyt.
And frameth it so f)'t.
These yonkers for to hyt.
And wil not them permit
Tn error styl to sit.
As it may wel appeare
By his darkly answere :
The which intitled is,
Agayust what meaneth this.
A man of old sort.
And writeth not in sport.
And answereth ernestly,
Concluding heresy.
And yet as I trowe.
Some bluster and blowe
And crake (as the crowe.)
But netts wil we lay.
To catch them, if we may.
For if I begin
I wil bring them in,
And fetch in my cosyns
By the whole dosens.
And call them coram nobis,
And teach them Dnminus vohis.
With Et cum spiritu tuo,
That holy be both duo,
When they be said and songe
In holy Latine tongue.
And solemne bells be rouug.
But these babes be too yonge ;
Perking upon their pattius.
And fain would have the mattins,
Aud evening song also.
In English to be do.
With mariagc and baptising.
Burials and other thing.
In volgar tongue to say and sing.
And so they do it newly.
In divers pl.accs truly ;
Saying, they do but duely ;
Maynteining it in any wyse.
So should they do theyr service.
11.

Alass '. who would not mone.

Or rather grount or grone.

To se such service gone.

Which saved many one

OF ORIGINALS.

337

From deadly sin and shame,

And many a spot of blame.

From purgatory payne,

And many shower of rayne.

Wei, yet I say agayn,

Some honest men remayne.

And kepe their oustomcs stil,

And evermore wil.

VVherfore indede my read is.

To take yon to your beadis,

Al men and women, I say.

That useth so to pray,

That such good priestcs may

Continue so alway,

Or els none other like,

But al lyeth in the dyke.

And loke ye do not faynt,

But pray to some good saynt.

That he may make restrayut

Of al these straunge fashions

And great abominacions.
Because I may not tary,
I pray to swete Sir Harry,
A man that wil not varjs
And one that is no skulker.
But kua. knyght of the sepulchre,
That he may stand fast,
And be not overcast.
Or els to be the last
Of al them that do yelde
In city, town, or (Velde.
For if he stick therein,
No doubt he shal not blin
Tyl he come to eternitic,
With al his whole fraternilie.
Amen therefore, say ye.
That his partakers be.
Ve get no more of me.

••uoiA^^^aKv

K. 39
Qiieen Katharin Par to the University of Cambridge : ivhich

had addressed to her to intercede with the King for theni^

upon an act, xoherchy the Parliament had given him all

colleges, chantries, and free chapels.
YOUR letters I have receyved, presented on al your mss. penes

belialfes by Mr. Doctour Smy the, your discrete and lernyd '"^"

advocate. And as they be Latynely wrytten, (whych ys so

signifyed unto me by those that be lernyd in the Latyne

tongue,) so I know you could have utteryd your desyres and

opynions famyliarly in our vulgar tonge, aptyst for my in-

telligence. Albeyt you seme to have conceyved, rather

percyally then truly, a favorable estimation both of my

goyng forward and dedycation to Icrnyng. Whych f ad-

vance, or at the lest conserve, you by your letters move me

dyversly : schewynge how agreable yt is to me, beyng in

thys worldly state, not onely for myne owne part to be

studyous, but also a mayntener and cheryscher of the

lernyd state, by beryng me in hand, that I am indued and

VOL. II. r.AKT II. z

338 ¦ A REPOSITORY

perfeited with those qualytes and respects, which ought to

be in a person of jny vocation. Triiely thys your discrete

and polytike document I as thankfully accept, as you desyre

that I scliuld imbrace yt. And for as muche as I do wel

understand al kynde of lernyng doth floryssche aniongest

you in thys age, as yt dyd amongest the Grekes at Athens

long ago, I requyre and desyre you al, not so to honger for

the exquysite knowlege of prophane lernyng, that yt may be

thowght the Grekes university was but transposyd, or now

in England ageyne revy ved, forgettyng our Chrystianity ;

synce theyr excellencye only did atteyne to moral and na-

tural thyngs : but rather I gentylly exhort you to study

and apply those doctrynes, as means and apt degrees to the

atteynyng and settyng forth the better Chrystes reverend

and most sacred doctryne. That yt may not be layd

ageynste you in evydence at the tribunal seat of God, how

ye ware asschamed of Christes doctryne. For thys Latyne

lesson I am taught to say of Saynt Poulc, Non mc pudet

. evangeJii. The syncere settyng forthe wherof I trust

universally in al your vocations and mynysteries, you woU

apply and confourme your sondry gyftes, arts, and studies,

to such end and sort, that Cambrige may be accompted

rather an universitie of divine phylosophy, then of natural

or moral, as Atliens was.

Upon the confydence of whych your accomplyschment to

my expectation, zele, and request, I, accord yng to your de-

syres, attempted my Lord the Kings Majesty for the stay of

your possessions. In whych, notwythstanding hys Ma-

jesties propertie and intrest throwgh the consent of the

high court of Parlemcnt, hys Hyeghness, being sucli a pa-

40tron to good lernyng, he woll rather advance and erect new

occasion therfor, than confound those your colleges : so

that lernyng may hereafter ascribe her very oryginal, hole

conservation, and sure stay, to our sovereyne Lord, hys

only defence, and worthy ornament : the prosperous estate

and pryncely government of whom long to preserve, I doubt

not but every of you woll with dayly invocacyon cal upon

Hym, who alone and only can dyspose al to every creature.

OF ORIGINALS. 339

L.
Queen Katharine to the Lady Wriothesly ; comjbrting her

Jbr the loss of her only so7i.

GOOD my Lady Wresely ; Understandyng yt hath MSS. penes

pkasyd God of late to dysinheryte your sonne of thys

world, of intent he schuld become partener and chosen heyre

of the everlastyng inherytance ; (which callyng and happy

vocatyon ye may rejoyce ;) yet when I consyder you are a

mother by flessche and nature, doubtyng how you can geve

place quyetly to the same ; in as much as Chrystes mother,

indued with al godly vertues, dyd utter a sorrowful natural

passyon of her sons dethe, whereby we have all obtayned

everlastyngly to ly ve : therfore amongest other dyscrete and

godly consolatyons gyven unto you, as wel by my lord your

husband, as other your wyse frendes, I have thowght with

myne own hand to recommend unto you my symple consel

and advyce: dcsyring you not so to utter your natural

afFectyon by inordynate sorow, that God have cause to take

you as a murmurer agenyst hys appoyntments and ordy-

nances. For what is excessyfe sorow but a pleyne evydens

ageynst you, that your inward mynd doth repyne ageynst

Gods doyngs, and a declaratyon, that you are not contented

that God hath put your son by nature, but hys by adop-

tyon, in possessyon of the heavenly kingdom ? Such as have

doubtyd of the everlastyng lif to come, doth sorow and be-

wayle the departure hens : but those whych be persuadyd,

that to dy here ys lyf ageyne, do rather honger for death,

and count yt a felicite, than to bewayle yt as an utter de-

structyon.

How much. Madam, are you to be counted godly wyse,

that wol and can prevent thorow your godly wysdome,

knowlege, and humble submyssyon, that thyng that tyme

wold at length fynyssche. If you lament your sons death,

you do him great wrong, and schew your self to sorow for

the happyest thynge ther ever came to hym, beyng in the

hands of his best Father. Yf you are sory for your own

commodite, you schew your self to lyve to your self. And

z2

340 A REPOSITORY

4 1 as of hys towardnes you could but only hope, hys years war

so yong ; whych could perfourm nothyng, yt semyth that he

was now a mete and pleasant sacryfice for Chryst.
Whcrfor, good my Lady Wreseley, put away al immo-

derate and unjust hevynes, requyryng you with thanks-

gyving to frame your hart, that the Father in heven may

thynk you are moost glad and best contendyd to make hym

a present of hys spyrytual and your only natural son :

gloryfying hym more in that yt hath pleased hys Majesty

to accept and able hym to hys kyngdom, then that yt fyrst

pleased hym to comforth you wyth such a gyft; who can

at hys pleasur recompence your loss with such a lyke juell,

yf gladly and quyetly ye submyt, and refer al to hys pleasur.

M.
A proclamation concerning the irr-everent talkers of the

sacrament. Dated the 9,1th day of December, anno regni

reg. Edward, primo.

Penes Rev. WHERAS the Kyngs Highnes hath of late, with the

Eiien. assent and consent of the lords spiritual and temporal, and

the commons in the Parlament held the day of
in the first year of his most gracious reign, made a good and

godly act and estatute against those who do condempn, de-

spise, or with unsemely and ungodly words deprave and re-