Bacon: HISTORIA REGNI HENRICI SEPTIMI REGIS ANGLIAE

Ut in parte recognoscerem debitum infinitum quo celsitudini vestrae obstrictus sum, operam dedi ut honorem exhiberem memoriae regis illus Angliae qui ex progenitoribus regis patris vestri, et vestri ipsius, fuit postremus. Cui regi utraque unio quodammodo attribui possit, quandoquidem illa rosarum in ipso consummata fuit, illa vero regnorum fundata et inchoata. Quinetiam tempora eius celebrari merentur.

So that I might in part recognize the infinite debt by which I am obligated to your Highness, I have taken pains to exhibit honor to the memory of that king of England who, among the progenitors of the king your father, and of yourself, was the last. To which king both unions can in a certain manner be ascribed, since the union of the Roses was consummated in him, and that of the kingdoms was founded and begun. Indeed, his times deserve to be celebrated.

Vir enim prudens fuit et rex egregius, tempora nihilominus sua turbida et mutationum et eventum rariorum plena. Etenim in temporibus idem usuvenit quod in viis, ut alia sint magis acclivia et declivia, alia vero pagis plana et aequabilia. Quorum alterum genus temporum viventibus commodius, alterum scribentibus gratius.

For he was a prudent man and an eminent king, yet his times were turbulent and full of changes and of rare events. For indeed with times the same thing happens as on roads: some are more uphill and downhill, while others are level and even like the country-plains. Of these, the one kind of times is more commodious for those living, the other more pleasing for those writing.

Neutiquam eum assentatione colui, sed imaginem eius ad vivum excepi, quantum fieri potuit, stando tam procul et luce paulo obscuriore. Verum est celsitudinem vestram ante oculos habere exemplar incomparabile regis Iacobi patris vesti; attamen non abs re vobis fuerit unum ex antiquioribus etiam exmplaribus intueri. Deus optimus maximus celsitudinem vestram conservet incolumem.

By no means did I honor him with assentation, but I captured his image to the life, as far as could be done, standing at such a distance and in a light somewhat dimmer. It is true that Your Highness has before your eyes the incomparable exemplar of King James, your father; yet it would not be out of place for you also to behold one of the more ancient exemplars. May God, Best and Greatest, preserve Your Highness unharmed.

Celsitudinis vestrae servus humillimus et devotissimus, FR. S. ALBAN.

Your Highness's servant
most humble and most devoted,
FR. S. ALBAN.

I. POSTQUAM Richardus eius nominis Tertius, de facto rex sed titulo et regimine tyrannus, atque ita hucusque appellatus et habitus, ultione divina exulis expeditionem fortunante, in praelio apud Bosworth victus fuisset et interfectus, successit ei in regno comes Richmondiae, exinde rex Henricus Septimus appellatus. Rex, statim a victoria, ut qui sub matre admodum pia et devota, educatus fuisset, atque naturae suae ductu sacris operandis deditus esset, canticum Te Deum cantari solenniter iussit, toto exercitu praesente, in loco ipso ubi pugnatum fuerat. Ipse autem, magno applausu et laetis acclamationibus, militari quadam electione aut recognitione rex est salutatus.

1. After Richard, of that name the Third, a king de facto but in title and governance a tyrant, and thus hitherto so called and considered, had been defeated and slain in the battle at Bosworth, divine vengeance favoring the expedition of the exile, the earl of Richmond succeeded him in the kingdom, thereafter called King Henry VII. The king, immediately upon the victory—as one who had been reared under a mother exceedingly pious and devout, and by the bent of his nature was devoted to performing sacred rites—ordered the hymn Te Deum to be sung solemnly, with the whole army present, in the very place where the fighting had occurred. He himself, moreover, amid great applause and joyful acclamations, by a certain military election or recognition, was saluted as king.

Interim corpus Richardi post multas iniurias et contumelias (quae pro commemorationibus funebribus et exequiis plebi versus tyrannos esse consueverunt) obscure sepultum est. Etsi enim rex ipse, qua fuit nobilitate, fratribus monasterii de Leicestriae mandasset ut honorifice humaretur, attamen religiosi ipsi (a vulgi affectibus haud immunes) hoc facere neglexerunt. Neque tamen propterea ullius reprehensionem aut censuram subierunt, cum nemo ullum ignominiae aut contumeliae genus in eum virum iniuriosum fuisse existimaret, qui propriis manis Henrici Sexti (principis innocentissimi) carnifex fuisset; qui necem etiam fratris sui Clarentiae ducis procurasset; qui nepotes suos primo iuventutis flore (quorum alter eo tempore rex eius erat legitimus, alter quoque in futuro, si aliquid fratri contigisset) occidisset; qui denique gravi infamia laborasset.

Meanwhile the body of Richard, after many injuries and contumelies (which, in place of funeral commemorations and obsequies, the common people have been accustomed to turn into verses against tyrants), was buried obscurely. For although the king himself, as befitted his nobility, had ordered the brothers of the monastery of Leicester that he be buried honorably, nevertheless the religious themselves (by no means immune from the passions of the crowd) neglected to do this. Nor, however, did they on that account undergo anyone’s reprehension or censure, since no one judged any kind of ignominy or contumely to have been injurious to that man who had with his own hands been the executioner of Henry VI (a most innocent prince); who had also procured the death of his brother, the duke of Clarence; who had slain his nephews in the first bloom of youth (of whom the one at that time was his lawful king, the other likewise would be in the future, if anything had befallen the brother); who, finally, had labored under grievous infamy.

quod uxorem suam veneno sustulisset ut ad incestuosas cum nepti sua nuptias lectum sterneret. Quanquam autem princeps fuisset in militari virtute probatus, atque honoris Anglici assertor strenuus, legislator item bonus, in levamen et solatium vulgi, tamen omnium opinione longe virtutibus et meritis eius praeponderabant patricidia et scelera. Quin et opinione prudentium ipsae illae virtutes habitae sunt potius pro rebus affectatis et fictis, ut ambitioni suae velificaret, quam pro dotibus naturae suae aut iudicio insitis.

that he had taken off his wife by poison, in order to make the bed for incestuous nuptials with his niece. Although, however, he had been approved as a prince in military virtue, and a strenuous assertor of English honor, likewise a good legislator, for the alleviation and consolation of the common people, yet in the opinion of all his parricides and crimes far outweighed his virtues and merits. Nay rather, in the opinion of the prudent, those very virtues were held to be things affected and fictitious, so that he might make sail for his ambition, rather than endowments of his nature or qualities implanted by judgment.

Itaque notatum est a viris perspicacioribus (qui priora gesta eius ad posteriora trahebant) eum, etiam tempore regni fratris sui Edwardi Quarti, in hoc calide et secreto incubuisse, ut fratris regimini invidiam et odium conflaret, cum expectaret et quasi divinaret regem propter luxum et intemperantiam diu non victurum, sed filios suos tenera adhuc aetate relicturum. Tum vero satis noverat quam facilis esset ascensus a fastigio protectoris et primi regii sanguinis principis ad ipsam coronam. Atque ex hoc ambitionis profundae fontis promanasse quod, tam sub tractatum illum pacis et foederis inter Edwardum et Ludovicum Undecimum Galliae regem icti et colloquio utriusque regis apud Piqueneam firmati, quam alias, Richardus tunc Glocestriae dux pacem pro viribus impugnasset et a parte stetisset, existimationem suam in fratris contumeliam attollens, oculos omnium (praesertim nobilium et militum) a fratre in seipsum convertere cupiens, quasi rex vita sua luxuriosa et minus nobili coniugio effoeminatus factus esset, minusque honoris sensu et republicae cura quam regem deceret tangeretur.

Accordingly it was noted by more perspicacious men (who drew his earlier deeds from his later) that he, even in the time of the reign of his brother Edward IV, had hotly and secretly brooded on this: to conflate envy and hatred against his brother’s government, since he expected and as it were divined that the king, on account of his luxury and intemperance, would not live long, but would leave his sons still of tender age. Then indeed he knew well enough how easy the ascent would be from the eminence of Protector and of a prince of the first royal blood to the crown itself. And from this deep fountain of ambition there issued the fact that, both under that treaty of peace and league struck between Edward and Louis XI, king of France, and confirmed by the conference of both kings at Picquigny, and at other times, Richard, then duke of Gloucester, had, to the utmost of his power, assailed the peace and taken the contrary side, exalting his own reputation to the affront of his brother, wishing to turn the eyes of all (especially of the nobles and soldiers) from his brother onto himself, as if the king, made effeminate by his luxurious life and by a less noble marriage, were touched less by a sense of honor and by care for the commonwealth than was befitting for a king.

Quatenus vero ad leges illas salubres et politicas quae eius tempore introductae erant et sancitae, interpretabantur homines eas nihil aliud fuisse quam tyranni inescationes et lenocinia, quibus se populo ostentaret eorumque benevolentiam captaret, cum sibi ipsi conscius esset quod plane deesset sibi verum obedientiae subditorum vinculum, ius scilicet ad regnum legitimum. At Henrico, in introitu in regnum suum et in ipso momento quo corona ad ipsum delata est, occurrit res perplexa prorsus et nodosa, nec facile solubilis, quaequae posset regem vel prudentissimum, praesertim in regni sui novitate, perturbare et in diversas partes trahere, atque eo magis, quod erat huiusmodi res quae moram et deliberationem non pateretur, verum necesse foret de ea simul et deliberare et statuere. Evenit ut in eius persona tres tituli diversi, quibus regnum sibi vendicare posset, concurrerent.

As regards those wholesome and political laws which had been introduced and sanctioned in his time, men interpreted them to have been nothing else than the baits and blandishments of a tyrant, by which he might ostentate himself to the people and capture their benevolence, since he was himself conscious that the true bond of subjects’ obedience was plainly lacking to him, namely the right to a legitimate kingdom. But to Henry, at his entrance into his realm and in the very moment when the crown was delivered to him, there occurred a matter utterly perplexed and knotty, not easily soluble, which could disturb even a most prudent king, especially in the newness of his reign, and draw him into diverse directions—and all the more because it was a matter of such a kind as would not suffer delay and deliberation, but it was necessary about it at once both to deliberate and to determine. It happened that in his person three different titles, by which he could vindicate the kingdom to himself, converged.

Primus erat titulus reginae suae Elizabethae, cui etiam accesserat pactum illud, quo se proceribus quorum auxiliis regnum adeptus est obstrinxerat, de nuptiis cum illa contrahendis. Quod illum in iure eius regnaturum haud obscure subinnuebat. Secundus, vetus ille, et tam iure quam armis disceptatus, titulus inter familias Lancastriae et Eboraci, quarum alteri, Lancastriae scilicet, ipse se pro haerede gerebat.

The first was the title of his queen Elizabeth, to which there had also been added that pact by which he had bound himself to the nobles, by whose aids he had obtained the kingdom, concerning nuptials to be contracted with her. This not obscurely insinuated that he would reign by her right. The second was that old title, contested both by law and by arms, between the families of Lancaster and York, of which of the two—namely Lancaster—he presented himself as heir.

Postremus erat titulus gladii et armorum, quod victoria sibi aditum fecisset, et quod rex qui in possessione regni fuit, in pugna fuit occisus. Horum titulorum primus maxime erat favorabilis, quique animos subditorum sibi potissimum conciliare posset, qui per spatium viginti duorum annorum quibus Edwardus Quartus regnarat, opinionem penitus imbiberat de iure rosae albae sive familiae Eboracensis, atque in eam stirpem propter benignum et gratiosum eiusdem Edwardi, praecipue posterioribus vitae suae annis, regimen propendebant. Attamen observabatur ei ante oculos cogitatio illa, quid si huic titulo inniteretur, precario fere rex futurus fuisset atque matrimoniii potius iure quam vere regio imperaturus, iure regni in persona reginae suae permanente.

Lastly there was the title of the sword and of arms, because victory had opened him a way, and because the king who was in possession of the kingdom had been slain in battle. Of these titles the first was the most favorable, and the one that could especially conciliate to itself the minds of the subjects, who, during the span of 22 years in which Edward IV had reigned, had thoroughly imbibed the opinion of the right of the White Rose, that is, of the House of York, and inclined toward that stock on account of the benign and gracious government of that same Edward, especially in the later years of his life. Yet there stood before his eyes this thought: what if, should he rely on this title, he would be an almost precarious king and would rule rather by the right of matrimony than by a truly royal right, the right of the kingdom remaining in the person of his queen.

Quae si decessisset vel prole relicta vel sine liberis, necesse illi fuisset regno cedere et in fortunam privatam redigi. Et licet magna spes subesset quod comitiorum suffragiis regnum in persona sua, durante vita sua, continuare et stabilire posset, attamen reputabat secum rex prudentissimus haud parum interesse si quis actorum civilium auctoritate in regnum ascitus esset, et si quis regnum iure naturali et iure sanguinis obtineret. Neque defuerunt eo tempore rumores et susurri secreti (qui postea vires nacti sunt validas, et magnas perturbationes pepererunt) quod scilicet duo illi Edwardi Quarti filii (aut saltem ex illis alter) qui in turri Londinensi dicebantur esse sublati, revera mortui non essent, sed clanculum e custodia emissi et adhuc viverent.

Which, if she had deceased either with issue left or without children, it would have been necessary for him to cede the kingdom and be reduced to a private fortune. And although there was great hope underlying that by the suffrages of Parliament he could continue and stabilize the kingdom in his own person, during his lifetime, nevertheless the most prudent king considered with himself that it made no small difference whether one were admitted into the kingdom by the authority of civil acts, or whether one obtained the kingdom by natural right and by right of blood. Nor at that time were rumors and secret whispers lacking (which afterwards acquired strong force, and produced great perturbations), namely that those two sons of Edward IV (or at least one of them) who were said to have been removed in the Tower of London were not in truth dead, but had been surreptitiously let out of custody and were still living.

Quod si verum fuisset, actum esset de titulo uxoris suae Elixabethae. Ex altera parte, si iuri proprio et in persona sua inhaerenti tanquam haerede familiae Lancastrensis insisteret, satis sciebat titulum illum a comitiis parlamentariis iampridem damnatum fuisse, et totius populi praeiudicio exclusum. Quodque haec res ad exhaeredationem familiae Eboracensis, tunc pro indubitatis regni haeredibus habitae, manifesto tendebat.

If that had been true, the title of his wife Elizabeth would have been at an end. On the other hand, if he should insist upon the right proper to himself and inhering in his own person as heir of the Lancastrian family, he well knew that that title had long since been condemned by Parliament, and excluded by the prejudice of the whole people. And that this matter tended manifestly to the disinheritance of the Yorkist family, then held as the undoubted heirs of the realm.

Animoque providebat fore ut, si nullos ex Elizabetha liberos progigneret in quibus iura utriusque familiae coalescerent, tunc veteres illae discordiarum et bellorum intestinorum flammae et incendia iterum redire et, redivivae factae, per omnia grassari possent. Quatenus vero ad ius victoriae et armorum, quamvis Guiliemus Stanelius post militum a praelio acclamationes coronam (non imperialem illam, sed quam ornamenti et ominis causa Richardus secum in bellum attulerat), tunc forte inter spolia repertam, capiti Henrici imposuisset, ac si iure belli regno potitus esset, haud tamen oblitus erat quibus pactis et legibus ad imperium vocatus esset, quodque si iure armorum regnare se praedicasset, non minus suae factionis homines quam alios omnes in magnos metus coniecturus fuisset, utpote quod ei potestatem fecisset leges pro libitu suo abrogandi, et de fortunis ac opibus omnium statuendi, et caeterarum rerum quae absoluti sunt imperii. Quae res tam asperae et odiosae visae sunt ipsi Guilielmo Normanno Angliae regi (quem vulgo vocant Conquestorem) ut, licet victoris iura reipsa exerceret ad Normannos scilicet suos remunerandos, verbo tamen abstinuerit, neque hoc iure se regnum tenere unquam professus sit, sed illud titulari quodam praetextu velaverit in testamento et designatione Edwardi Confessoris fundato.

And in his mind he foresaw that, if he should beget no children by Elizabeth in whom the rights of both families might coalesce, then those ancient flames and conflagrations of discords and intestine wars would return again and, revived, might rage through all things. As regards, however, the right of victory and of arms, although William Stanley, after the soldiers’ acclamations from the battle, had set a crown (not that imperial one, but the one which, for ornament and for omen, Richard had brought with him into the war), then perchance found among the spoils, upon Henry’s head, as if by the right of war he had obtained the kingdom, yet he was not unmindful by what pacts and laws he had been called to the sovereignty, and that if he had proclaimed himself to reign by the right of arms, he would have cast men of his own faction no less than all others into great fears, inasmuch as it would have given him power to abrogate laws at his pleasure, and to determine concerning the fortunes and resources of all, and the other matters which are of absolute dominion. A thing which seemed so harsh and odious even to William the Norman, king of England (whom they commonly call the Conqueror), that, although he in very deed exercised the rights of a victor—namely to remunerate his Normans—yet he abstained from the word, nor did he ever profess that he held the kingdom by this right, but veiled it under a certain titular pretext founded upon the testament and designation of Edward the Confessor.

2. Verum rex pro animi sui magnitudine aleam statim iecit, et incommodis se ex omni parte prodentibus recte appensis, et satis gnarus interregnum aut tituli suspensionem leges regni non permittere, sive amori erga familiam suam reliqua posthabens, sive titulum illum praeoptans qui sese sisteret maxime liberum et independentem, quin et natura atque animi constitutione minime in longum prospicere solitus, sed veluti fortunam ut apud se per diem mereretur conducere, titulo Lancastriae tanquam principali niti decrevit, reliquis autem duobus (videlicet nuptiarum et armorum) pro adminiculis tantummodo uti, priore ad secretam invidiam leniendam, posteriore ad murmura et contradictiones apertas compescendas, minime oblitus ipsum illum titulum Lancastriae per tres continuas regum successiones valuisse atque plane perpetuari potuisse nisi per iudicii debilitatem in principe postremo regnante defecisset. Unde ipso praelii die, qui fuit Augusti vicesimus secundus, suo nomine, nulla facta uxoris mentione, regnum assumpsit. In quo consilio ad extremum usque perstitit, quod multarum ei seditionum et turbarum telam quandam texuit.

2. But the king, in proportion to the greatness of his mind, immediately cast the die, and, with the disadvantages betraying themselves on every side duly weighed, and well aware that the laws of the realm do not permit an interregnum or a suspension of the title, whether setting all else after his love toward his own family, or preferring that title which would present itself as most free and independent—indeed also by nature and temper by no means accustomed to look far ahead, but as if to hire Fortune that she might earn wages with him by the day—resolved to rely upon the title of Lancaster as the principal, and to use the other two (namely of marriage and of arms) only as supports, the former to soothe secret envy, the latter to suppress murmurs and open contradictions, not at all forgetful that that very title of Lancaster had held good through three continuous successions of kings and could plainly have been perpetuated, had it not failed through weakness of judgment in the last prince reigning. Whence on the very day of the battle, which was August the twenty-second, he assumed the kingdom in his own name, no mention being made of his wife. In this counsel he persisted to the very end, which wove for him a certain web of many seditions and disturbances.

3. Rex, harum cogitationum plenus, ante suum a Leicestria discessum Robertum Willoughbeium equitem auratum ad castrum de Sherry Hutton in comitatu Eboracensi misit, ubi in salva custodia iussu Richardi detinebantur tam domina Elizabetha regis Edwardi filia, ad nuptias Henrici destinata, quam Edwardus Plantagenista, filius et haeres Georgii nuper Clarentiae ducis. Edwardus iste traditus fuit a castri praefecto per mandatum regis expressum in manus Roberti Willoughbeii, et per eum magna cura et diligentia turri Londinensi inclusus, ubi in arcta custodia servatus est. Quod factum regis (imperio mero, et politicis rationibus tantummodo subnixum) non ex eo proveniebat, quod rex alicuius momenti putarat esse fabulam illam quam Doctor Shawus ad crucem D. Pauli in concione publicavit de natalibus illegitimis liberorum regis Edwardi, in quo casu Edwardus iste proximus fuisset regni haeres (illa enim fabula iampridem explosa fuit), sed quod in animo fixum et constitututm apud se haberet personas quascunque eminentiores ex linea Eboracensi oriundas deprimere.

3. The king, full of these considerations, before his departure from Leicester sent Robert Willoughby, a knight of the golden spurs, to the castle of Sherry Hutton in the county of York, where by Richard’s order there were held in safe custody both Lady Elizabeth, daughter of King Edward, destined for the nuptials of Henry, and Edward Plantagenet, son and heir of George, lately Duke of Clarence. This Edward was handed over by the governor of the castle, by the king’s express mandate, into the hands of Robert Willoughby, and by him was enclosed with great care and diligence in the Tower of London, where he was kept in close custody. This act of the king (by mere command, and propped only by political reasons) did not proceed from his having supposed that tale which Doctor Shaw published from the cross at St. Paul’s concerning the illegitimate birth of King Edward’s children to be of any moment—in which case this Edward would have been the next heir to the kingdom (for that tale had long since been exploded)—but from his having fixed and settled in his mind to depress whatever persons of higher eminence were sprung from the York line.

In quo instituto rex perpetuo, sive ex affectus sui pertinacia, sive ex iudicii imbecillitate, potius se partibus addictum praebuit quam regii decoris memorem.

In which policy the king continually, whether from the pertinacity of his inclination, or from imbecility of judgment, showed himself rather addicted to parties than mindful of royal decorum.

4. Quatenus autem ad sponsam suam Elizabetham, literas ad eam misit, ut quam primum Londinum se conferret, ibique cum regina vidua matre sua maneret. Quod paulo post illa praestitit, multis ex proceribus et foeminis nobilioribus comitata. Interea rex itineribus exiguis Londinum versus contendit, populi plausibus et acclamationibus eum ubique deducentibus, quae proculdubio fuerunt sincerae et minime simulatae, quod in eo cernere erat, quia tanta alacritate et impetu fundebantur.

4. As for his bride Elizabeth, he sent letters to her that she should repair to London as soon as possible, and there remain with the queen dowager, her mother. This she a little later performed, accompanied by many of the magnates and nobler women. Meanwhile the king, by short stages, pressed on toward London, the people’s plaudits and acclamations everywhere escorting him, which were doubtless sincere and in no wise simulated, as was evident in this, that they were poured forth with such alacrity and impetus.

Recipiebant enim eum veluti principem coelitus demissum, qui inveteratis inter duas illas familias discordiis finem imponerent; quae, licet temporibus Henrici Quarti, Henrici Quinti, et aliquibus annis Henrici Sexti ex una parte, et Edwardi Quarti ex altera, lucidis intervallis et felicibus cessationibus gavisae essent, nihilominus perpetuo, veluti nubes procellosae, regno imminebant, novos motus et calamitates minantes. Et sicut ex victoria eius flexa sunt hominum genua, ita ex nuptiis Elizabethae destinatis etiam et corda.

For they received him as a prince sent down from heaven, who would impose an end upon the inveterate dissensions between those two families; which, although in the times of Henry 4, Henry 5, and for some years of Henry 6 on the one side, and of Edward 4 on the other, had rejoiced in lucid intervals and happy cessations, nevertheless perpetually, like stormy clouds, hung over the kingdom, threatening new commotions and calamities. And just as by his victory the knees of men were bent, so by the destined nuptials of Elizabeth their hearts also.

5. Ipse interim pro summa sua prudentia (affectuum et metuum populi non ignarus) ut opinionem et terrorem de regno debellato dissiparet, praeceperat ut profectio sua nihil militaris simile haberet, sed potius itineris pacifici, quali reges animi causa provincias suas peragrantes uti solent.

5. He meanwhile, by his highest prudence (not ignorant of the people’s affections and fears), in order to dissipate the impression and terror of a kingdom vanquished, had given orders that his progress should have nothing of a military character, but rather of a pacific journey, such as kings, for the sake of diversion of spirit, are wont to use when traversing their provinces.

6. Civitatem Londini die Saturni ingressus est, sicut et in die Saturni victoriam obtinuerat. Quem diem septimanae primum ex observatione eventuum, dein ex memoria et opinione, prae caeteris tanquam sibi faustum et prosperum subinde delegit.

6. He entered the city of London on Saturday, just as on a Saturday he had obtained the victory. That day of the week, first from an observation of the events, then from memory and opinion, he thereafter selected above the others as auspicious and prosperous for himself.

7. Maior Londinensis comitatus fraternitatibus civitatus solenne pompa apud Shoreditch eum recepit. Ex quo loco, magna procerum et virorum primariorum caterva stipatusm urbem ingressus est. Ipse non equo aut aperta aliqua sella aut throno, sed curru clauso vectus est, utpote qui regni universi quondam hostis publicatus et proscriptus satius sibi duxit maiestatem suam tueri, et reverentiam sui populo incutere, quam favorem eius ullatenus aucupari.

7. The London Mayor, with the fraternities of the city, received him with solemn pomp at Shoreditch. From which place, surrounded by a great crowd of nobles and leading men, he entered the city. He himself was conveyed not on a horse or on any open chair or throne, but in a closed carriage, inasmuch as he, once proclaimed a public enemy of the whole realm and proscribed, judged it better to protect his majesty and to instill reverence of himself in the people than in any way to angle for their favor.

8. Primum omnium templum D. Pauli adiit, ubi, minime volens populum citius quam oportebat oblivisci ipsum praelio regnum adeptum, vexillum suum in templo obtulit et reposuit, precibus pro more solennibus interfuit, hymnumqueTe Deum iterum cantari fecit. Deinde ad palatium episcopi Londinensis, ubi hospitium ei paratum erat, se contulit, atque illic per aliquot dies mansit.

8. First of all he went to the Church of St. Paul, where, by no means wishing the people to forget sooner than was fitting that he had won the kingdom in battle, he offered and deposited his standard in the church, attended the prayers according to solemn custom, and caused the hymnTe Deum to be sung again. Then he betook himself to the palace of the Bishop of London, where lodging had been prepared for him, and there he remained for several days.

9. Dum ibi moraretur, sanctius concilium suum, adhibitis etiam aliis magnae dignitatis viris, convocavit, in quorum praesentia pactum suum de ineundo cum Elizabetha matrimonio renovavit. Quod ut faceret illud eum maxime impulit, quia sub discessum suum e Brittania spem nonnullam summo cum artificio iniecerat (prout tunc res suae postulabant) se, si in regno Angliae obtinendo sibi res feliciter cederent, Annam ducatus Britanniae haeredem (quae paulo post Carolo Octavo Franciae nupsit) in uxorem ducturum. Itaque suspicio nonnulla oborta est eum minus sincere aut minus constanter se gerere in tractatu matrimoniae cum Elizabetha, omnium votis vehementer expetitit.

9. While he was tarrying there, he convoked his more sacred inner council, other men also of great dignity having been called in, in whose presence he renewed his pact about entering into matrimony with Elizabeth. What chiefly impelled him to do this was that, upon his departure from Britain, he had, with the utmost artifice (as his affairs then required), injected some hope that, if things should turn out happily for him in obtaining the kingdom of England, he would take Anne, heiress of the Duchy of Brittany (who shortly after married Charles VIII of France), as his wife. Therefore some suspicion arose that he was carrying himself less sincerely or less constantly in the negotiation of the matrimony with Elizabeth, most vehemently desired by the wishes of all.

Quae etiam fama, licet sermonibus tantum hominum iactata, miseram Elizabetham miris modis afflixerat. Verum ille optima fide agebat. Quin et hoc ab omnibus credi expetebat (ut hoc modo invidiam et contradictiones ad ea quae animo revolvebat facilius restingueret), cum tamen apud se secreto statuisset ad consummationem matrimonii non procedere donec solennis sua inauguratio et comitia parliamentaria celebrata essent.

Which rumor also, although tossed about only in the talk of people, had afflicted poor Elizabeth in wondrous ways. But he was acting with the best good faith. Indeed he even sought to have this believed by all (so that in this way he might more easily quench the envy and the contradictions against those things which he was revolving in his mind), although he had nevertheless secretly determined not to proceed to the consummation of the marriage until his solemn inauguration and the sessions of Parliament had been held.

Quorum primo eo spectabat, ne coronatio sui ipsius et reginae coniunctim (ut par erat) facta speciem aliquam participationis in iure regni prae se ferret; alterum, ne in iure coronae stabiliendo in persona sua (id quod comitiorum authoritate se consecuturum confidebat) vota ordinum ullatenus in Elizabetham reflecterent.

Of which the first aimed at this: lest the coronation of himself and the queen conjointly (as was fitting) when done should carry any appearance of participation in the right of the kingdom; the second, lest in establishing the right of the crown in his own person (which he trusted he would obtain by the authority of the parliaments) the votes of the orders should in any way reflect upon Elizabeth.

10. Circa hoc tempus, in autumno versus finem Septembris, grassari coepit, tum in ipsa urbe Londini tum in aliis regni partibus, morbus quidam epidemicus tunc temporis novus. Cui ex natura et symptomatibus eius febris sudorificae nomen indiderunt. Morbus iste breves sortitus est periodos, tam in morbi ipsius crisi quam in tempore durationis ipsius.

10. About this time, in autumn toward the end of September, there began to run rampant, both in the city of London itself and in other parts of the kingdom, a certain epidemic disease then new at that time. To it, from its nature and its symptomata, they gave the name of the sweating fever. This disease had brief periods, both in the crisis of the disease itself and in the time of its duration.

Quippe qui eodem correpti erant, si intra spacium viginti quatuor horarum non morerentur, securi fere et sine metu erant. At quad spatium temporis per quod malitia morbi duravit, incoepit quidem circa vicesimum primum Septembris diem, cessavit autem sub finem Octobris sequentis. Adeo ut festum regi coronationis, quod celebratum est ultimo Octobris, neutiquam procrastinaverit aut impediverit, neque itidem comitia parliamentaria, quae intra septem a coronatione dies successerunt.

Indeed, those who were seized by the same disease, if they did not die within the space of twenty-four hours, were almost safe and without fear. But the span of time during which the malignity of the disease lasted began about the twenty-first day of September, and ceased toward the end of the following October. So that the king’s coronation festival, which was celebrated on the last of October, it in no way postponed or impeded, nor likewise the parliamentary assemblies, which followed within seven days from the coronation.

Fuit iste morbus febris pestilentis genus quoddam, neque tamen (ut videtur) in venis aut humoribus sedem occupans, cum non carbunculi, non pustulae, non purpureae aut lividae maculae sequerentur (massa scilicet corporis intacta). Tantum malignus quidam vapor et aura ad cor advolavit, spiritusque vitales petebat et occupabat, unde natura excitabatur ad eundem per sudores emittendum et exhalandum. Patuit autem per experientiam quod morbus iste naturae potius insidiatrix erat, eamque imparatam opprimebat, quam adversus remedia obstinatus, si in tempore subventum foret. Etenim si aegrotus in aequalibri temperamento quoad vestes et focum detentus esset, tepidumque bibiset et cordialia etiam temperata sumpsisset, unde naturae ipsius opus neque calore irritaretur nec frigore repelleretur, plerunque sanitas sequebatur.

This disease was a certain kind of pestilential fever, yet not (as it seems) taking its seat in the veins or humors, since no carbuncles, no pustules, no purple or livid spots ensued (the mass of the body, namely, being untouched). Rather, a certain malignant vapor and aura flew to the heart and aimed at and seized the vital spirits, whence nature was stirred to eject and exhale the same through sweats. It became clear by experience, moreover, that this disease was rather an ambusher of nature, and crushed it when unprepared, than obstinate against remedies—if aid were supplied in time. For if the sick person were kept in an equable temperament with respect to clothing and the hearth, and drank tepid drink and even took tempered cordials, so that the work of nature itself was neither irritated by heat nor repelled by cold, for the most part recovery followed.

Verum innumeri homines ex eo subito occubuerunt antequam curationis modus et regimen aegroti innotesceret. Opinio erat morbum istum neutiquam ex epidemicis sed a malignitate quadam in ipso aere, ex praedispositione tempestatum et mutationibus coeli crebris et insalubribus impressa, manasse, atque brevis eius mora hoc ipsum indicabat.

But countless people from it suddenly fell dead before the method of cure and the regimen of the patient had become known. The opinion was that this disease arose by no means from epidemics, but had emanated from a certain malignity in the very air, impressed by the predisposition of the seasons and by the frequent and unwholesome changes of the sky; and the brevity of its stay indicated this very thing.

11. In vigilia Sanctorum Simonis et Iudae pransus est rex apud aedes Thomae Bourchieri Archiepiscopi Cantuariae et cardinalis. Et a Lambitha per prata profectus est (pontem transiens) ad turrim Londinensem, ubi die sequenti duodecem eques vexillarios (quos vocantbanarettos) creavit. At creationes nobilium parca manu dispensavit.

11. On the vigil of Saints Simon and Jude the king lunched at the house of Thomas Bourchier, Archbishop of Canterbury and cardinal. And from Lambeth he set out through the meadows (crossing the bridge) to the Tower of London, where on the following day he created twelve knight-bannerets (whom they callbanarettos). But he dispensed the creations of nobles with a sparing hand.

Etenim, licet praelium nuper commissum fuisset et coronationis celebritas prope instaret, tres tantum evexit. Iaspar comes Pembrochiae, regis avunculus, promotus est in ducem Bedfordia, Thomas baro Stanleius, regius socer, factus est comes Derbiae, Edwardus autem Courtneius, Devoniae, quamvis rex etiam tunc apud se statuisset tempore comitiorum in plures nobilitatis gradum conferre, ita rem distribuens ut civiliter admodum et decore huiusmodi magnificentiis partim festum coronationis suae, partim conventum comitiorum, ornaret.

For indeed, although a battle had lately been joined and the celebration of the coronation was close at hand, he elevated only three. Jasper, Earl of Pembroke, the king’s uncle, was promoted to Duke of Bedford; Thomas, Baron Stanley, the king’s father-in-law, was made Earl of Derby; Edward Courtenay, of Devon, was made Earl of Devon—although the king even then had determined that at the time of Parliament he would confer the rank of nobility upon more persons, distributing the matter in such a way that, very civilly and with decorum, by such magnificences he might adorn partly the feast of his coronation, partly the meeting of Parliament.

12. Sequuta post biduum coronatio ipsa tricesidmo die Octobris anno salutis 1485. Quo tempore sedit Innocentius Octavus papa Romanus; Fredericus Tertius imperator Allameniae fuit; Maximilianus autem filius eius nuper electus in regem Romanorum; Carolus Octavus in Galliis regnavit; Ferdinandus et Isabella Hispaniis imperarunt; Iacobus Tertius Scotiae regnum tenuit. Inter quos omnes principes et regem pax et amicitia eo tempore intercessit.

12. The coronation itself followed after two days, on the thirtieth day of October in the year of salvation 1485. At that time Innocent VIII sat as Roman pontiff; Frederick III was emperor of Germany; Maximilian, his son, had recently been elected King of the Romans; Charles VIII reigned in France; Ferdinand and Isabella held sway in Spain; James III held the kingdom of Scotland. Between all these princes and the king, peace and amity at that time obtained.

Quo insuper die (quasi corona capiti imposita formidines animo instillasset) instituit ad maiorem securitatem cohortem quinquaginta sagittariorum sub praefecti reminine qui corpus eius stiparent, per nomen satellitii inferiores. Vertuntamen, ut hoc se fecisse putaretur potius maiestatis suae augendae gratiae, atque imitatione moris illius quem in partibus transmarinis observaverat quam metu quasi rebus suis diffideret, ordinavit hoc pro instituto non temporaneo sed quod etiam apud successores suos retineretur.

On that same day (as though the crown set upon his head had instilled fears into his mind) he instituted, for greater security, a cohort of fifty archers under the prefect’s regimen to throng about his person, as subordinates under the name of the satellitium. Nevertheless, in order that it might be thought that he had done this rather for the sake of augmenting his majesty, and in imitation of that custom which he had observed in transmarine parts, than from fear as though he distrusted his own affairs, he ordained this as an arrangement not temporary but one which should also be retained among his successors.

13. Septimo Novembris rex comitia regni sui inchoavit, quae immediate post adventum suum Londinum summoneri fecit. Consilia eius et fines in comitiis tam propere convocandis fuerunt praecipue tres. Primus, ut regnum in persona suffragiis ordinum stabiliretur.

13. On the seventh of November the king initiated the parliament of his realm, which he caused to be summoned immediately after his arrival in London. His counsels and ends in convoking the parliament so promptly were chiefly three. The first, that the kingdom might be established in his person by the suffrages of the orders.

Secundus, ut condemnationes et proscriptiones eorum qui a partibus suis steterant (quae fuerunt plurimae) rescinderentur, et facta quaecunque hostilia quae ab illis in causa eius fuerunt perpetrata a poena eximerentur, plenaque iis venia fierit, atque ex altera parte ut praecipui ex hostibus suis et potentissimi iudicio ordinum damnarentur. Tertius, ut inferioris conditionis homines qui Richardo adhaeserant (ne forte novis motibus materiam praeberet) remissionem generalem, qualis in fine comitiorum a rege emanare solet, consequerentur, haud immemor quantum regi periculi immineat a subditis suis, cum maxima pars eorum sibi conscia sit periculum sibi imminere a rege. Accedebat et alia caussa comitiorum non parva.

Second, that the condemnations and proscriptions of those who had stood on his side (which were very many) should be rescinded, and that whatever hostile acts which by them in his cause had been perpetrated should be exempted from penalty, and full pardon be made to them; and on the other hand that the foremost and most powerful of his enemies should be condemned by the judgment of the orders. Third, that men of lower condition who had adhered to Richard (lest perchance it provide matter for new tumults) might obtain the general remission which is wont to emanate from the king at the end of parliaments, he being not unmindful how great a danger overhangs a king from his subjects, since the greatest part of them are conscious to themselves that danger overhangs them from the king. There was added also another cause of the parliaments, not a small one.

Nimirum quod ipse tanquam princeps prudens et moderatus, secum reputabat rebus suis convenire ut, mora omissa, manifestum populo suo fieret sibi in animo esse ex norma legum suarum regnare, licet in ore gladii ingressus esset. Nec minus, ut assuefaceret subditos pro rege eum venerare et recognoscere, quem modo pro hoste et exule ducebant. Quod ad stabilimentum coronae, praeterquam quod illud mordicus tenebat, ne sponsae suae ulla prorsus fieret mentio (imo nec quod minimum erat permittens ut liberi ex ea suscepti primi ante omnes succederent), alias magna prudentia et moderatione rem tractavit.

Namely, that he himself, as a prudent and moderate prince, considered with himself that it suited his affairs that, without delay, it should be made manifest to his people that he had it in mind to reign according to the norm of his own laws, although he had entered at the point of the sword. No less, that he might accustom his subjects to venerate and recognize him as king, whom but now they considered an enemy and an exile. As to the stabilization of the crown, apart from this which he gripped tenaciously—that no mention at all should be made of his betrothed (indeed not even allowing the least, that the children begotten of her should be the first before all to succeed)—otherwise he handled the matter with great prudence and moderation.

Neque enim illud urgebat ut per viam declarationis aut recognitionis iuris sui statutum perscriberetur, sicut ex altera parte ut tanquam lex nova sanciretur mimine volebat, sed potius media via institit, simplicis scilicet stabilimenti idque verbis tectis et utrinque nutantibus, his scilicet, ut haereditas coronae resideret, remaneret, et continuaretur in rege etc. Quae verba in utrumque sensum trahi poterant, illud commune habentia, ut scilicet corona in eo stabiliretur, sed utrum hoc ex iure praeexistente (quod in dubium vocabatur) an quod de facto in possessione coronae erat (quod nemo negabat) in medio relinquebatur, ut utramlibet interpretationem reciperet. Quinetiam in propaginis, quae ad successionem admittebatur, limitatione, eam non ultra personam suam et haeredes ex corpore suo extendi volebat, omissa heredum generalium mentione, sed illud legis decisione, qualis ex verbis antedictis elici poterat, subiiciebat. Ita ut stabilimentum istud potius gratiam personalem sibi et liberis suis factam quam familiae Eboracensis exharedationem totalem saperet.

For he did not press that it should be set down by way of declaration or recognition of his right as a statute, just as, on the other hand, he by no means wished that it be sanctioned as a new law; but rather he stood to the middle way, namely of a simple stabiliment—and that with veiled words wavering to either side—namely these: that the inheritance of the crown should reside, remain, and be continued in the king, etc. Which words could be drawn in either sense, having this in common, namely that the crown should be established in him; but whether this from a preexisting right (which was called into doubt) or because de facto he was in possession of the crown (which no one denied) was left in the middle, so that it might receive either interpretation. Nay even in the limitation of the progeny who were admitted to the succession, he wished that it not be extended beyond his own person and the heirs from his body, mention of general heirs being omitted, but he subjected that to the decision of the law, such as could be elicited from the aforesaid words. Thus that stabiliment savored rather of a personal favor done to himself and his children than of a total disinheritance of the House of York.

Atque tali temperamento lex condita et sancita est. Quam legem bulla papali proximo anno muniri procuravit, mentione nihilominus facta, per viam recitationis, reliquorum titulorum tam sanguinis quam victoriae. Ita ut iam triplex ille titulus suus factus esset quintuplex, addita scilicet tribus illis quibus initio nitebatur auctoritate papali et parlamentaria.

And by such a tempering the law was founded and sanctioned. He procured that law to be fortified by a papal bull the next year, mention nonetheless being made, by way of recitation, of the remaining titles both of blood and of victory. Thus that triple title of his had now become quintuple, namely, with papal and parliamentary authority added to those three on which at the beginning he relied.

14. In iisdem quoque comitia rex in rescindendis eorum qui a partibus eius steterant convictionibus, iisdem ab omnibus criminibus et poenis propter ea quae in sua causa commiserant, eximendis, quod voluit obtinuit, sancitaque sunt statuta in eam sententiam. Cum vero statutum illud esset sub incude, intervenit quaestio iuris satis subtilis. Dubitatum est enim utrum suffragia complurium in inferiori consessu tum existentium valida essent et legitima, eo quod proditionis tempore Richardi damnati fuissent, unde incapaces et inhabiles redditi essent in summo gradu.

14. In those same assemblies the king obtained what he wished in rescinding the convictions of those who had stood on his side, and in exempting those same men from all crimes and penalties on account of the things they had committed in his cause; and statutes were sanctioned to that effect. But when that statute was under the anvil, there intervened a quite subtle question of law. For it was doubted whether the suffrages of several then present in the lower house were valid and legitimate, in that they had been condemned for treason in the time of Richard, whence they had been rendered incapable and unfit in the highest degree.

Incongruum enim quiddam videbatur ut illi leges conderent qui ipsi exleges essent. Sic autem se res habuit. Plurimi ex iis qui temporibus Richardi in regis Henrici partes maxime inclinarant pro equitibus et burgensibus parlamenti electi et delegati fuerunt, sive hoc rex secreto procuraverit, sive ex mero populi affectu processerit, quorum plerique temporibus Richardi damnati fuerant et proscripti.

For it seemed somewhat incongruous that those should enact laws who themselves were outlaws. But thus the matter stood. Very many of those who in the times of Richard had most inclined to the party of King Henry were elected and delegated to parliament as representatives for the knights and burgesses, whether the king secretly procured this, or it proceeded from the mere affection of the people; most of these had been condemned and proscribed in the times of Richard.

Rex quaestione ista nonnihil commotus est. Etsi enim gravi et specioso praetextui inniteretur, regis tamen partes haud obscure perstringebat. Sed prudenti admodum consilio se reprimens quaestioni illi satis aequum se praebuit, quasi nihil aliud esset quam controversia quaedam de apicibus iuris.

The king was somewhat moved by that question. For although it rested on a grave and specious pretext, nevertheless it quite plainly censured the king’s side. But, restraining himself with very prudent counsel, he showed himself sufficiently equitable toward that question, as though it were nothing other than a certain controversy about the niceties of law.

Ideoque iudices de ea consulebant, qui in eum finem in scaccharii camera (ubi haberi solet iudicum concilium) convenerunt. Illi autem re maturius deliberata gravem et sobriam sententiam tulerunt ex legum norma et aequitate naturali temperatam. Pronunciarunt enim ut equites et burgenses illi damnati et proscripti a conventu parlamentario abstinerent donec perlata esset lex de convictionibus eorum revocandis.

Therefore the judges consulted about it, who for that purpose had convened in the Exchequer Chamber (where the council of the judges is wont to be held). But they, the matter having been more maturely deliberated, delivered a weighty and sober opinion, tempered by the norm of the laws and by natural equity. For they pronounced that those knights and burgesses who had been condemned and proscribed should abstain from the parliamentary assembly until a law for revoking their convictions had been passed.

15. Eodem quoque tempore mota forte erat quaestio inter iudices (dum de priore quaestione consultarent) quid fieri deberet circa regem ipsum, qui, ut caeteri, condemnationem subierat. Sed fuit unanimi iudicum consensu conclusum et firmatum,coronam ipsam omnes sanguinis oppilationes quae descensum coronae ullatenus impediunt deobstruere. Itaque a quo tempore rex coronam assumpserat fontem sanguinis fuisse expurgatum, omnesque sanguinis corruptiones et impuritates sublatas, ut regi opera parlamentaria non fuisset opus. Veruntamen honoris causa ab ordinibus regni tunc mandatum est ut quaecunque archiva et memoriae condemnationis regis aliquam facerent mentionem obliterarentur, cancellarentur, et penitus abolerentur.

15. At the same time as well, by chance a question had been raised among the judges (while they were consulting about the prior question) as to what ought to be done concerning the king himself, who, like the others, had undergone condemnation. But it was concluded and confirmed by the unanimous consent of the judges,that the crown itself unblocks all occlusions of blood which in any way impede the descent of the crown. And so, from the time the king had assumed the crown, the source of blood had been purged, and all corruptions and impurities of blood removed, so that the king had no need of parliamentary action. Nevertheless, for the sake of honor, it was then mandated by the orders of the realm that whatever archives and records made any mention of the king’s condemnation should be obliterated, canceled, and utterly abolished.

16. Ex parte autem hostium regis, parlamento condemnati sunt nuper dux Glocestriae Richardum Tertium se appellans, dux Norfolciae, comes Surriae, vicecomes Lovellus, baro Ferrerius, baro Zouchus, Richardus Ratcliffus, Guilielmus Catesbeius, et alii complures eminentioris conditionis homines. In quibus statutis condemnatoriis complures insertae sunt clausulae iustae admodum et temperatae reservationis et limitationis liquido indicantes et praemonstrantes qualis esset prudentia regis, qualis temperantia et moderatio eius, quae spem etiam in futurum facere poterant imperii aequabilis et mansueti. Quatenus vero ad condonationem generalem, qua caeteris qui contra regem arma tulerant indulgere in animo habebat, rex secundis usus cogitationibus minus convenire putabat ut a parlamentaria auctoritate promanaret, sed potius, ut cum esset res gratiosa et honorifica, integram beneficii gratiam in seipsum transferret, usus tantum opportunitate consessus parlamenti quo melius in venas universi regni fama rei spargeretur.

16. On the side of the king’s enemies, there were lately condemned by parliament the Duke of Gloucester, styling himself Richard III, the Duke of Norfolk, the Earl of Surrey, Viscount Lovell, Baron Ferrers, Baron Zouche, Richard Ratcliffe, William Catesby, and many others men of more eminent condition. In which condemnatory statutes there were inserted many clauses of very just and tempered reservation and limitation, clearly indicating and premonstrating what the king’s prudence was, what his temperance and moderation, which could also create hope for an equitable and gentle rule in the future. But as regards the general condonation, by which he had in mind to indulge the rest who had borne arms against the king, upon second thoughts the king judged it less fitting that it should emanate from parliamentary authority, but rather, since it was a gracious and honorable matter, that he should transfer the entire favor of the benefice to himself, using only the opportunity of the parliament’s session, whereby the report of the matter might be better spread into the veins of the whole realm.

Itaque durante adhuc parlamento edictum regium promulgavit, veniam praeteritorum et restitutionem fortunarum impertiendo iis qui contra eum arma tulerant aut hostilia machinati erant, modo intra diem praefixum misericordiae suae se submitterent et iuramentum fidelitatis susciperent. Unde multi ex asylis emigrarunt, plures autem ex metu non minus nocentes quam ii qui intra septa asylorum se receperant.

Therefore, while the parliament was still in session, he promulgated a royal edict, granting pardon of past offenses and restitution of fortunes to those who had borne arms against him or had machinated hostilities, provided that within the day fixed by his mercy they submit themselves and take the oath of fidelity. Whence many emigrated from the asylums; more, however, out of fear, no less culpable than those who had withdrawn within the enclosures of the asylums, held back.

17. Quod vero ad pecunias attinet, iudicavit rex tempestivum non esse et minus convenire ut ab ordinibus his comitiis aliquas postularet, tam quia in rebus tanti momenti subditi eius sibi gratificati erant, quam etiam quod eos remunerare nequiverat remissione generali (qualis in parlamentis concedi solet), quia hanc munificentiam sibi praeripuerat similis remissio quae sub coronationem eius paula de more exiit. Maxime autem quia ante oculos omnium observabatur quantus forisfacturas et confiscationes tunc temporis obtinuerat, quae thesauris suis replendis sufficerent, unde casualia illa coronae possent contributionibus subditorum parcere, tempore praesertim quo pacem cum omnibus principibus vicinis coleret. Paucae admodum leges in iis comitiis latae sunt, quasi pro forma tantum.

17. As for monies, the king judged it not timely and less fitting to request any from the estates at this parliament, as much because in matters of such moment his subjects had gratified him, as also because he had not been able to remunerate them with a general remission (such as is wont to be granted in parliaments), since a like remission, which at his coronation shortly thereafter went forth according to custom, had preempted this munificence; and chiefly because it was before everyone’s eyes how large forfeitures and confiscations he had at that time obtained, which would suffice for replenishing his treasuries, whence those casual revenues of the crown could spare the contributions of the subjects—especially at a time when he cultivated peace with all neighboring princes. Very few laws were passed in that parliament, as if for form only.

Inter quas una fuit ut exteri, licet civitate omati, nihilominus vectigalia qualia imponi solent meris exteris solverent. Altera ut mulctae mercatorum Italorum propter pecunias quae proveniebant ex mercibus suis venundatis in nativas regni merces non impensas fisco regio applicarentur. Utraque lex ad pecunias corrogandas spectabat, cuius rei iam a principio regni sui rex immemor non erat, atque ad finem regni felicius ei cessiset si providentia ista matutina (quae ab indigentia omni, propter quam necesse haberet subditos suos gravare, eum muniebat) potuisset una ingenium eius in hac parte fraenare et temperare.

Among which one was that foreigners, although adorned with citizenship, should nonetheless pay those taxes which are wont to be imposed upon mere foreigners. Another was that the fines of the Italian merchants, on account of the monies which proceeded from their goods vended but not expended upon the kingdom’s native wares, should be applied to the royal fisc. Each law looked toward the gathering of monies, a matter of which the king was not unmindful already from the beginning of his reign; and it would have turned out more happily for him at the end of his reign, if that early providence (which was fortifying him against every indigence, on account of which he would have had necessity to burden his subjects) could also have, along with this, reined in and tempered his disposition in this part.

Durante tempore comitiorum addidit et alias creationes nobilium, ut supra innuimus. Baro Chandos de Brittania factus est comes Bathoniae. Aegidius Daubeneius eques auratus factus est baro Danbeneius, et Robertus Willoughbeius eques itidem auratus baro Brookus.

During the time of the parliament he also added other creations of nobles, as we have intimated above. Baron Chandos of Brittany was made Earl of Bath. Giles Daubeney, a knight of the golden spurs, was made Baron Daubeney, and Robert Willoughby, likewise a knight of the golden spurs, Baron Broke.

18. Preaeterea rex summa cum magnanimitate et munificentia (quae virtutes adhuc per vices in eo valebant) Edwardum Staffordum (filium primogenitum Henrici ducis Buckingamiae tempore Richardi condemnati) restituit non solum honoribus et dignitatibus paternis, verum etiam fortunis et possessionibus quae amplissimae fuerunt. Ad quam rem summae certe liberalitatis et decoris inter caetera eum movit grati et generosi animi sensus quidam quod praefatus dux is fuisset qui primum lapidem contra tyrannidem Richardi moverat, et revera pontem regi ad regnum super ruinas proprias straverat. Atque his peractis comitia parlamentaria soluta sunt.

18. Furthermore, the king with the utmost magnanimity and munificence (virtues which still by turns prevailed in him) restored Edward Stafford (the firstborn son of Henry, duke of Buckingham, condemned in the time of Richard) not only to his paternal honors and dignities, but even to the fortunes and possessions, which were most ample. To this deed there moved him—among other motives of the highest liberality and decorum—a certain feeling of a grateful and generous spirit, because the aforesaid duke had been the one who first cast a stone against the tyranny of Richard, and in truth had laid a bridge for the king to the kingdom over his own ruins. And when these things had been accomplished, the parliamentary comitia were dissolved.

19. Solutis comitiis rex confestim pecunias misit ad marchionem Dorcestriae et Iohannem Bourchierum equitem auratum redimendos, quos pignorum loco Parisiis reliquerat pro pecuniis quas mutuo sumpserat cum expeditionem in Angliam susceperat. Atque hac occasione arrepta literas misit ad maiorem et cives Londinenses per manus domini thesaurarii et magistri Braii (quem consiliarii loco habuit), quibus petebat ut ab iis mutuaretur summam quatuor mille librarum, cuius summae post varios sermones utrinque habitos dimidium tantum impetrare potuit. Quod tamen eorum responsum rex in bonam partem accepit, ut facere solent qui pecunias mutuantur antequam eos premat necessitas.

19. The Parliament dissolved, the king forthwith sent moneys to redeem the Marquess of Dorset and John Bourchier, a knight of the golden spur, whom he had left at Paris in the place of pledges for the moneys which he had borrowed when he undertook the expedition into England. And seizing this occasion he sent letters to the mayor and citizens of London by the hands of the Lord Treasurer and Master Bray (whom he held in the place of a counselor), in which he requested that he might borrow from them the sum of 4,000 pounds, of which sum, after various speeches held on both sides, he could obtain only the half. Which reply the king nevertheless took in good part, as those are wont to do who borrow moneys before necessity presses them.

Sub hoc tempus rex in concilium suum sanctius ascivit Iohannem Mortonum et Richardum Foxum, alterum Eliensem, alterum Exoniensem episcopum, homines exsomnes et multi silentii, quique una cum eo excubias quasdam agebant in alios omnes. Uterque negotiis suis admotus fuerat antequam ad regnum ascendisset, et fortunae illius adversae participes. Mortonum istum, paulo post diem suum obeunte Bourchiero, ad episcopatum Cantuariensem evexit.

About this time the king enrolled into his more secret council John Morton and Richard Fox, the one bishop of Ely, the other of Exeter, men sleepless and of much silence, who together with him kept certain vigils over all the rest. Each had been attached to his affairs before he ascended to the kingdom, and sharers in that adverse fortune of his. This Morton he advanced, when Bourchier a little later had met his day, to the see of Canterbury.

Foxum autem custodem privati sui sigilli constituit, et postea gradatim eum transtulit a sede Exoniensi ad Bathoniensem, dein ad Dunelmensem, et postremo ad Wintoniensem. Etsi enim rex ad negotia sua tractanda consueverat episcoporum opera uti, quia cum magnis reditibus gauderent praemia sua secum portabant, attamen per gradus hoc facere amabat, ut primitias episcopatuum sibi accumularet quae per hanc graduum seriem multiplicabantur, licet enim tunc temporis reditus ille ex primitiis reditibus regiis non fuisset annexus, sed tributo papali cesserat. Attamen ipse ita cum collectoribus papae se gerere solebat ut haud parvum inde commodum sibi redundaret.

But he appointed Fox guardian of his Privy Seal, and afterward by degrees transferred him from the see of Exeter to that of Bath, then to Durham, and finally to Winchester. For although the king was wont to employ the services of bishops in the handling of his affairs—because, as they enjoyed great revenues, they carried their own recompense with them—yet he liked to do this by steps, so that he might accumulate for himself the first‑fruits of bishoprics, which were multiplied by this series of grades; for although at that time that revenue from first‑fruits had not been annexed to the royal revenues, but had gone over to the papal tribute, nevertheless he was accustomed so to conduct himself with the pope’s collectors that no small profit therefrom redounded to himself.

20. Verum tandem aliquando, decimo octavo die Ianuarii, secutae sunt nuptiae tam diu expectatae et expetitae inter regem et dominam Elizabetham ei antea desponsatam. Qui quidem dies nuptiarum maiori populi favore et laetitia celebratus est quam fuerant aut regis in civitatem ingressus aut eiusdem coronatio, quod rex notavit potius quam probavit. Verissimum enim est quod per totam deinceps vitam suam quam diu regina in vivis esset (nam illa prior diem suum obiit) haudquaquam se pro marito nimis indulgente gessit, licet illa forma amabilis, obsequio facilis, et puerperiis insignis fuisset.

20. But at length at last, on the eighteenth day of January, the long-expected and much-desired nuptials followed between the king and Lady Elizabeth, previously betrothed to him. And indeed that day of the nuptials was celebrated with greater popular favor and joy than either the king’s entrance into the city or his coronation had been, which the king noted rather than approved. For it is most true that throughout the rest of his life, so long as the queen was among the living (for she first departed this life), he by no means carried himself as an overly indulgent husband, although she was of amiable form, facile in deference, and distinguished by childbearings.

Verum pertinax illa sua familia Eboracensi animi abalienatio tantum apud eum poterat, ut locum reperiret non solum in bellis suis et consiliis, verumetiam in cubili et thoro.

But that pertinacious alienation of mind toward the York family had such power with him that it found a place not only in his wars and counsels, but even in his bed and marriage-bed.

21. Iam autem rex fiduciae plenus, ut princeps qui praelio victor fuisset, neque a comitiis suis ullam omnino repulsam tulisset, quemque adhuc acclamationes et plausus populi recentes circumstrepebant, imperium suum in futurum nihil aliud nisi ludum fore et regni tantummodo fruitionem sine molestiis pro certo sibi persuaserat. Nihilominus, ut princeps cautus et vigilans, constitutum apud se habebat nihil omittere eorum quae ad praesidium et securitatem suam pertinerent, cum ea tamen opinione quod in posterum administrationem regni sui potius cum voluptate et alacritate quam labore et anxietate exercere posset. Itaque indiciis certis edoctus partes regni sui septentrionales non tantum affectu in familiam Eboracensem propensas esse, sed etiam memoriae ipsius Richardi regis devotissimas, cogitabat aestatem proximam melius insumi non posse quam si provincias illas ipse perlustraret, praesentiaque sua, et maiestate simul et comitate, populi illarum partium animos sanaret.

21. Now, however, the king, full of confidence, as a prince who had been victor in battle, and had suffered no rebuff whatsoever from his parliaments, and whom as yet the recent acclamations and applause of the people were resounding around, had persuaded himself for certain that his rule in the future would be nothing else than play, and the mere fruition of the kingdom without annoyances. Nevertheless, as a cautious and vigilant prince, he had it settled with himself to omit nothing of those things which pertained to his protection and security—yet with this opinion, that thereafter he could exercise the administration of his kingdom rather with pleasure and alacrity than with toil and anxiety. Therefore, taught by sure indications that the northern parts of his realm were not only inclined in affection toward the Yorkist family, but also most devoted to the memory of King Richard himself, he was considering that the coming summer could not be better employed than if he himself traversed those provinces, and by his presence, both by majesty and by affability, might heal the spirits of the people of those parts.

Verum rex in fortunae suae supputatione et calculis iudicio suo magnopere falsus est, qua per multos annos continuos variis fluctibus et tempestatibus agitata est et quassata. Quamprimum enim Lincolniam venit (ubi festum Paschatis celebravit) certior factus est baronem Lovellum, Humphredum et Thomam Staffordos (qui antea apud Colcestriam asyli privilegio se muniverant) ex asylo erepsisse, sed quem locum petiissent neminem scire. Quem nuncium rex aspernatus est, et Eboracum usque iter perrexit.

But in the computation and calculations of his fortune the king was greatly deceived in his judgment, which for many continuous years had been driven and battered by various waves and storms. For as soon as he came to Lincoln (where he celebrated the feast of Easter) he was informed that Baron Lovell, Humphrey and Thomas Stafford (who earlier at Colchester had fortified themselves by the privilege of asylum) had slipped out of the asylum, but that no one knew what place they had sought. This message the king spurned, and he continued his journey as far as York.

Eboraci cum esset, recentior et certior accurrit nuncius baronem Lovellum cum copiis magnis prope abesse. Staffordos autem in comitatu Wignorniensi arma cepisse, et ad urbem Wigorniae prope accessisse, eamque oppugnare in animo habere. Rex, utpote princeps magni et profundi iudicii, non multum his nunciis commotus est.

While he was at York, a more recent and more certain messenger arrived that Baron Lovell was close at hand with great forces. The Staffords, moreover, had taken up arms in the county of Worcester and had come near to the city of Worcester, and had in mind to oppugn it. The king, as a prince of great and profound judgment, was not much moved by these reports.

Putabat enim illas copias praelii apud Bosworthum reliquias quasdam esse, neque ad caussam familiae Eboracensis quicquam pertinere. Magis autem sollicitum eum habuit copiarum delectus quibus resisteret rebellibus, quam ipsorum rebellium debellatio, cum in medio populi sibi suspecti veluti obsessus esset. Sed cum res moram non pateretur, magna celeritate copias coegit (quae contra Lovellum mitterentur) ad tria millia, male armatas sed bene animatis (paucis eorum ex ipsius aula et comitatu delectis, reliquis vero ex colonis et famulis illorum quos sibi fidos expertus est) sub ductu Bedfordiae ducis, et more pro suo, quo veniam et gratiam potius ante pugnam quam post impertire solebat, eidem duci potestatem dedit condonationem praeteritorum promulgandi iis qui statim arma deopnerent et se dederent.

For he thought those forces to be certain reliquiae of the battle at Bosworth, and not to pertain in any way to the cause of the House of York. Moreover, the delectus of troops with which he might resist the rebels kept him more solicitous than the debellation of the rebels themselves, since he was, as it were, besieged in the midst of a people suspect to him. But since the matter did not admit delay, with great celerity he gathered forces (to be sent against Lovell) to three thousand, ill-armed but well-animated (a few of them chosen from his own court and retinue, but the rest from the coloni and servants of those whom he had found faithful to himself), under the leadership of the Duke of Bedford; and, in his accustomed manner, whereby he was wont to impart pardon and grace rather before the battle than after, he gave to the same duke authority to promulgate condonation of past offenses to those who should immediately lay down their arms and surrender themselves.

Quod dux, quamprimum ad castra Lovelli appropinquasset, praestitit. Nec regem fefellit expectatio sua. Heraldi enim pro tormentis bellicis erant.

Which the duke, as soon as he had approached Lovell’s camp, performed. Nor did his expectation deceive the king. For heralds were in place of artillery.

Siquidem baro Lovellus hac re perculsus et militibus suis diffisus comitatum Lancastriae fugam cepit, et ad tempus apud Thomam Broughtonum equitem auratum latitans in Flandriam ad ducissam Burgundiae Margaretam post traiecit. Milites autem eius a duce suo deserti confestim duci Bedfordiae se submiserunt. Staffordi quoque et quorum copiae, audito quo loco res Lovelli essent (in cuius successu spem maximam collocarant) etiam ipsi plane desperarunt, et fugam capisseverunt, fratribus duobus ad Colnhamiam, oppidulum prope Abingtoniam, in asylum se recipientibus.

Indeed the baron Lovell, struck by this affair and distrusting his soldiers, took flight into the county of Lancashire, and, hiding for a time with Thomas Broughton, a knight of the golden spur, afterward crossed over into Flanders to Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy. But his soldiers, deserted by their leader, immediately submitted themselves to the Duke of Bedford. The Staffords also, and the forces of those men, when they heard in what state Lovell’s affairs were (in whose success they had placed very great hope), they too utterly despaired and took to flight, the two brothers betaking themselves into asylum at Culham, a small town near Abingdon.

Sed inspecta eius loco charta privilegii per iudices de banco regis, atque ad proditores minime extendere iudicata, Humphredus apud patibulum de Tiburne supplicio affectus est; Thomae autem, utpote a fratre natu maiore allecto, ignotum est. Sicque rebellio haec, ut nubecula quaedam, transiit, atque rex, faecibus et fermento partium septentrionalium aliquantum expurgatis, quae prius in eum non bene animatae erant, Londinum rediit.

But the charter of privilege, examined in its stead by the judges of the King’s Bench and adjudged not at all to extend to traitors, Humphrey was subjected to punishment at the gallows of Tyburn; but for Thomas, as having been enticed by his elder brother, it was overlooked. And so this rebellion, like a certain little cloud, passed away, and the king, the dregs and ferment of the northern parties—who previously were not well-disposed toward him—being somewhat purged, returned to London.

22. Septembri sequente regina filium suum primogenitum peperit; cui rex (in honorem stirpis veterum Britonum a qua ipse erat oriundus) Arthuri nomen indidit, praenomen secutus illius prisci regis Brittonum in cuius rebus gestis asserendis satis invenitur in historia vera et monumentis antiquis, quod illum demptis fabulis magna gloria regnasse testetur. Infans robustus erat et corpore validus, licet octavo mense editus eset, de quo medici et astrologi male ominantur.

22. In the following September the queen bore her firstborn son; to whom the king (in honor of the stock of the ancient Britons from which he himself was descended) gave the name Arthur, following the praenomen of that ancient king of the Britons, in asserting whose exploits it is sufficiently found in true history and in ancient monuments, since, with the fables removed, they attest that he reigned with great glory. The infant was robust and strong in body, although brought forth in the eighth month, about whom physicians and astrologers take ill omens.