Bacon: HISTORIA REGNI HENRICI SEPTIMI REGIS ANGLIAE

IX. HOC anno, regis decimo quinto, magna grassata est pestis tam Londini quam in aliis regni partibus. Itaque rex post loca crebro mutata (sive ut a contagione tutior esset, sive ut occasionem colloquii cum archiduce praeberet, sive ob untrunque) Caletum cum regina sua transfretavit. Postquem rex Caletum venisset, archidux statim ad eum honorificam legationem misit, tam ut de adventu regis in eas partes gratularetur quam ut significaret se praesto esse (si regi placeret) praesentia sua obsequium ei deferre.

9. In this year, the fifteenth year of the king’s reign, a great pestilence ran rampant both in London and in other parts of the realm. Therefore the king, after having frequently changed quarters (whether so that he might be safer from contagion, or to afford an occasion of colloquy with the Archduke, or on account of both), crossed over to Calais with his queen. After the king had come to Calais, the Archduke immediately sent to him an honorific legation, both to congratulate on the king’s arrival in those parts and to signify that he stood ready (if it should please the king) to render him service in person.

Sed simul legati regi intimarunt ut locum congressus designaret extra aliquod munitum oppidum aut castellum, quoniam hoc regi Galliae simili occasione denegasset. Quamvis autem (ut aiebat) non exiguum discrimen inter illos duos reges agnosceret, tamen ab exemplo se metuere ne forte illud ipsum a rege quopiam in posterum, cui minus quam regi Henrico fideret, postularetur. Rex comitatem archiducis sibi gratam esse, excusationem autem probatam esse ostendit, et locum ad aedem Sancti Petri extra Caletum colloquio designavit.

But as soon as the legates intimated to the king that he should designate a place of congress outside any fortified town or castle, since he had denied this to the King of France on a like occasion. Although (as he said) he recognized no small difference between those two kings, nevertheless he feared from the precedent lest perchance that very same thing should in future be demanded by some king whom he trusted less than King Henry. The king showed that the Archduke’s courtesy was pleasing to him, that the excuse was approved, and he designated for the colloquy a place at the church of Saint Peter outside Calais.

Simul etiam archiducem legatis a se missis honoravit. Hi fuerunt baro de Sancto Ioanne et unus ex secretariis regis, quos archidux eo honore excepit ut ad missam celebrandam Sancti Audomari profectus medius inter baronem de Sancto Ioanne a dextra et secretarium a sinistra equitaret. Die ad colloquium assignato rex equo vectus ad nonnullum ab aede Sancti Petri intervallum in occursum archiducis perrexit.

At the same time he also honored the archduke with legates sent by himself. These were the baron of Saint John and one of the king’s secretaries, whom the archduke received with such honor that, having set out to Saint-Omer for the celebration of mass, he rode in the middle between the baron of Saint John on the right and the secretary on the left. On the day assigned for the colloquy, the king, mounted on horseback, proceeded to meet the archduke at some distance from the church of Saint Peter.

Cum appropinquasset, archidux propere de equo descendit, et ad stapedem regis tenendum se obtulit. Id rex nullo modo permittere voluit, sed cum et ipse ab equo descendisset, magnis cum amoris indiciis se mutuo complexi sunt, atque in locum in templo ad hoc ornatum ad longum tempus collocuti sunt, non solum tractantes de foederum praeteritorum confirmatione et commerciorum libertate, sed etiam de nuptiis reciprocis inter Henricum ducem Eboraci filium regis secundogenitum et archiducis filiam, et rursus inter Carloum archiducis filium primogenitum et Mariam filiam secundogenitam regis. Verum gemmulae istae immaturarum nuptiarum nihil aliud erant quam vota quaedam principum amicorum et aurae benevolentiae, etsi alterum matrimonium postea tractatu conclusum, sed minime consummatum, fuerit.

When he had approached, the archduke quickly dismounted, and offered himself to hold the king’s stirrup. The king would by no means permit this, but when he too had dismounted, with great tokens of affection they embraced one another, and in a place in the church adorned for this purpose they conversed for a long time, treating not only of the confirmation of past treaties and the freedom of commerce, but also of reciprocal nuptials between Henry, Duke of York, the king’s second-born son, and the archduke’s daughter, and in turn between Charles, the archduke’s firstborn son, and Mary, the king’s second-born daughter. In truth, these little buds of unripe nuptials were nothing else than certain wishes of friendly princes and breezes of benevolence, although the latter marriage was later concluded by negotiation, but was by no means consummated.

Verum toto illo tempore quo principes isti inter se conversebantur in suburbiis Caletis, mira fuit inter eos cordialis et intimi amoris demonstratio, praecipue ex parte archiducis. Qui (praeterquam quod esset princeps humanissimus et moribus suavissimus), conscius sibi quam morose et parum amanter rex a consilio suo tractatus fuisset in negotio Perkini, omnibus modis contendit ut pristinum in regis benevolentia locum recuperaret. Atque insuper patris et soceri sui monitis perpetuo obsessus erat, qui (propter odium suum et suspiciones adversus regem Gallum) semper archiducis aures obtunderunt ut super amicitiam regis Angliae veluti anchoram iaceret.

But during all that time in which these princes were conversing with one another in the suburbs of Calais, there was between them a marvelous demonstration of cordial and intimate affection, especially on the part of the archduke. He (besides being a most humane prince and of most suave manners), being conscious how morosely and with little amity the king had been handled by his council in the affair of Perkin, strove in every way to recover his former place in the king’s benevolence. And moreover he was perpetually beset by the admonitions of his father and his father-in-law, who (because of their hatred and suspicions against the French king) kept dinning into the archduke’s ears that upon the friendship of the king of England he should, as it were, cast anchor.

Hac data occasione eorum monita et praecepta exequi gaudebat, regem appellans patronum suum et patrem et protectorem (nam haec ipsa verba rex literis suis postera inseruit ad civitatem Londini missis, quibus humanitatem archiducis prolixe commendavit) cum aliis verbis honorificentissimis quae amorem suum et observantiam erga regem testarentur. Venerunt etiam Caletum ad regem praeses Picardiae et balivus Amieni a Ludovico rege Gallo missi, tam ut honorem ei exhiberent quam ut certiorem eum facerent de victoria sua et subiugatione ducatus Mediolanensis. Rex visus est sibi complacere in honoribus qui illi durante mora sua Caleti ab exteris exhibiti erant.

Taking this occasion, he rejoiced to execute their admonitions and precepts, addressing the king as his patron and father and protector (for the king later inserted these very words in his letters sent to the city of London, in which he profusely commended the archduke’s courtesy), along with other most honorific words which attested his love and observance toward the king. There came also to Calais to the king the Governor of Picardy and the Bailiff of Amiens, sent by Louis the French king, both to render him honor and to make him certain of his victory and the subjugation of the duchy of Milan. The king seemed to take satisfaction in the honors that were shown to him by foreigners during his stay at Calais.

Etenim Caleto fuse de iis scripsit ad maiorem et senatum Londinensem, quod (haud dubie) caussam multis sermonibus in urbe praebuit. Rex enim, etsi cives sibi conciliare non poterat modis ab Edwardo Quarto usitatis, tamen affabilitate et aliis favoribus regiis eos semper devinciebat seque illis multum dabat.

For indeed at Calais he wrote at length about these matters to the mayor and the senate of London, which (without doubt) provided occasion for many conversations in the city. For the king, although he could not win the citizens to himself by the modes used by Edward IV, nevertheless by affability and other royal favors he always bound them to himself and gave himself to them abundantly.

2. Hoc etiam anno mortuus est Ioannes Mortonus archiepiscopus Cantuarienses et cardinalis, summusque etiam Angliae cancellarius. Vir prudens erat et eloquens, sed ingenio asperio et impersio, regi acceptissimus sed nobilitati invisus, populo itidem odiosus. Neque ex benevolentia aliqua nomen eius omissum est in catalogo adulatorum regis quos edictum Perkini perstrinxit, sed eum nolerunt reliquis admiscere, quoniam imaginem et superscriptionem papae in se habuit, cardinalitus scilicet honore impressam.

2. In this year also John Morton, archbishop of Canterbury and cardinal, and likewise Lord Chancellor of England, died. He was a prudent and eloquent man, but of a somewhat harsh and unpolished disposition, most acceptable to the king but hateful to the nobility, and likewise odious to the people. Nor was his name omitted from the catalogue of the king’s flatterers whom Perkin’s edict lashed out of any benevolence, but they did not wish to mix him with the rest, because he bore upon himself the image and superscription of the pope, namely, impressed by the cardinalitial honor.

Regem sibi obstrinxerat consiliorum occultatione et diligentia, sed praecipue quod regi in fortuna sua minore fidum se praebuit, et simul quod (affectu suo secreto) invetera malitia non vacabat adversus familiam Eboracensem, sub qua calamitates nonnullas subierat. Quinetiam libenter invidiam a rege in se derivabat, etiam plus quam rex vellet. Rex enim subterfugia non quaerebat sed invidiae in os se obiicere solebat, et cupiditates suas aperte praeferre, id quod invidiam contra eum auxit sane sed minus audere effecit.

He had bound the king to himself by the concealment of counsels and by diligence, but especially because he showed himself faithful to the king in his lesser fortune, and at the same time because (by his secret affection) he was not devoid of an inveterate malice against the House of York, under which he had undergone several calamities. Moreover, he willingly derived the envy from the king onto himself, even more than the king wished. For the king did not seek subterfuges, but was accustomed to throw himself into the very face of envy, and to display his desires openly, which indeed increased the envy against him, but made men less daring.

Verum, quatenus ad duras illas regis exactiones, tempus postea prodidit episcopum istum regis ingenio obsequendo illi potius temperavisse. Sub Richardo Tertio custodiae commissus fuerat in domo ducis Buckinghamiae, quem ad defectionem a Richardo secreto impulit. Sed postquam dux negotio se implicaret episcopumque praecipuum sibi in tempestate gubernatorem navis fore sperasset, episcopus in scapham transiliverat et trans mare profugerat.

Yet, so far as concerns those harsh exactions of the king, time afterwards disclosed that this bishop, by complying with the king’s disposition, had rather tempered them for him. Under Richard III he had been consigned to custody in the house of the Duke of Buckingham, whom he secretly impelled to a defection from Richard. But after the duke had entangled himself in the business and had hoped that the bishop would be for him, in the tempest, the chief helmsman of the ship, the bishop had leapt into a skiff and fled across the sea.

Verum utcunque iste vir laudandus aut reprehendus occurrat, certe felicissimam memoriam meritus est, eo quod principale fuerat instrumentum in coniunctione duarum rosarum. Grandaevus admodum mortuus est, sed corpore validus et animi facultatibus integris.

But however this man may appear as praiseworthy or blameworthy, surely he deserved a most felicitous remembrance, in that he was the principal instrument in the conjunction of the two roses. He died very advanced in age, yet with a robust body and his mental faculties entire.

3. Anno sequente, qui fuit sextus decimus regis annusque domini millesimus quingentesimus, iubelaeum Romae celebratum est. Verum papa Alexander, quo impensis et periculo longi itineris ad Romam usque parceret, consultum putavit gratias eas spirituales per viam permutationis transferre ad eos qui certas pecuniae summas solvissent, cum minus grave esse eas in patria quemque sua recipere. Quo nomine in Angliam missus est Iasper Pons Hispanus, papae commissarius, meliore iudicio electus quam fuerant illi qui nonnullis annis post in Germaniam a Leone papa missi sunt.

3. In the following year, which was the sixteenth year of the king and the year of the Lord 1500, a Jubilee was celebrated at Rome. But Pope Alexander, in order to spare the expense and peril of a long journey all the way to Rome, thought it advisable to transfer those same spiritual graces by way of commutation to those who had paid certain sums of money, since it is less burdensome for each to receive them in his own fatherland. Under this designation there was sent into England Jasper Pons, a Spaniard, the pope’s commissary, chosen with better judgment than were those who, several years later, were sent into Germany by Pope Leo.

Etenim negotium magna cum prudentia et specie sanctitatis Pons iste gessit. Ita ut amplissimas pecuniarum summas intra hoc regnum Angliae in usum papae corrogaverit exiguo aut nullo scandalo. Opinio prava increbuerat regem pecuniae participasse.

Indeed, this Pons conducted the business with great prudence and with an appearance of sanctity, such that within this kingdom of England he collected very large sums of money for the pope’s use with slight or no scandal. A perverse rumor had grown rife that the king had participated in the money.

Verum apparet ex literis cardinalis Adriani regis pensionarii ad regem post aliquot annos missis hoc minus verum fuisse. Etenim cardinalis iste a rege adhibitus ut papae Iulio persuadere bullam dispensationis pro matrimonio inter Henricum principem et dominam Catharinam ineundo expedire, papamque in ea concedenda difficiliorem expertus, pro principali argumento merito regis erga eam sedem usus est quod pecuniae illae, quam Pons intra Angliam collegit ne denarium quidem tetigerat. Verum, quo clarius elucesceret (ad populo satisfaciendum) pecuniam istam sacram fuisse, idem nuncius breve regi a papa detulit, per quod rex excitatus et summonitus fuit ut in persona propria bello sacro contra Turcam interesset.

But it appears from the letters of Cardinal Adrian, the king’s pensionary, sent to the king after some years, that this was less true. For this cardinal, employed by the king to persuade Pope Julius that it was expedient to issue a bull of dispensation for entering upon a marriage between Prince Henry and Lady Catherine, and having found the pope more difficult in granting it, used as his principal argument the king’s merit toward that See, namely that of those moneys which Pons collected within England he had not touched even a denarius. But, in order that it might shine forth more clearly (to satisfy the people) that that money was sacred, the same envoy brought to the king from the pope a breve, whereby the king was stirred and summoned to take part in his own person in a holy war against the Turk.

Quoniam papa (ex collicitudine patris univeralis), quasi sub oculis cernens successus et progressus magni illius fidei hostis, multas consultationes in conclavi, praesentibus legatis principum exterorum, circa bellum sacrum et generalem principum Christianorum in Turcam expeditionem suscipiendam habuisset. In quibus consultationibus decretum fuisset ut Hungari, Poloni, et Boemi Thraciam bello invaderent, Galli et Hispani Graeciam, papa vero (promptus ad se immolandum pro caussa Christiana) in persona et comitatum regis Angliae, Venetorum, et aliorum statuum qui mari pollerent navigaret cum classe potentissima per mare Mediterraneum usque ad Constantinopolim. Quodque in hunc finem sanctitas sua nuncios ad omnes principes Christianos misisset, tam ut cessatio fieret omnium dissidiorum et querelarum inter se quam ut apparatus bellici et contributiones pecuniarum sine mora fierent ad sacra hoc incoeptum ad exitum perducendum.

Since the pope (out of the solicitude of the universal father), as if seeing under his very eyes the successes and advances of that great enemy of the faith, had held many consultations in conclave, the legates of foreign princes being present, concerning the sacred war and the general expedition of the Christian princes to be undertaken against the Turk. In which consultations it had been decreed that the Hungarians, Poles, and Bohemians should invade Thrace by war, the French and Spaniards Greece, but the pope (prompt to immolate himself for the Christian cause) in person and with the retinue of the king of England, the Venetians, and other states who were puissant at sea should sail with a most powerful fleet through the Mediterranean Sea as far as Constantinople. And that to this end his Holiness had sent envoys to all Christian princes, both that there might be a cessation of all dissensions and quarrels among themselves and that armaments and contributions of moneys might without delay be made, to bring this sacred undertaking to completion.

4. Huic papali legatione rex (de animo et consiliis papae bene informatus) responsum dedit magis solenne quam serium significans. Nullum in terra principem seipso promptiorem aut obsequentiorem futurum, tam persona propria quam universis suis copiis et fortunis, ad bellum hoc sacrum ineundum. Verum tantam esse locorum distantiam ut nullae maritimae copiae a se apparandae et cogendae nisi duplici sumptu instrui possint et duplici etiam (ad minimum) mora quam posset fieri a regibus quorum territoria magis essent propinquo.

4. To this papal legation the king (well informed about the pope’s mind and counsels) gave a response signifying more the solemn than the serious: that no prince on earth would be more prompt or more obsequious than himself, both in his own person and with all his forces and fortunes, to enter upon this sacred war. But that the distance of the places was so great that no maritime forces to be prepared and mustered by him could be equipped except at double expense, and also with double (at the least) delay, than could be done by kings whose territories were nearer.

Praeterea nec structuram navium suarum (cum nullas haberet triremes) neque experientiam nauarchorum et nautarum suorum illis maribus tam apte convenire posse quam nationum illarum. Itaque consultius facturam suam sanctitatem si ab uno ex regibus illis qui commodius posset impetraret ut se mari comitaretur. Quo pacto omnia et minore impendio et maiore celeritate confici possint.

Moreover, neither the construction of his ships (since he had no triremes) nor the experience of his navarchs and sailors could suit those seas as aptly as that of those nations. And so his Holiness would act more advisedly if he would obtain from one of those kings, who could do so more conveniently, that he be accompanied by sea. In which way all things could be accomplished both with less expense and with greater celerity.

Quinetiam emulatio et divisio circa imperium exercitus quae inter duos reges, Gallum et Hispanum, intervenire fortasse possit, si uterque in bello terrestri super Graeciam procederet, prudenter evitaretur. Se vero pro sua parte auxiliis et pecuniis non defuturum. Nihilominus si uterque rex hoc facere recusaret, se potius quam sanctitas suas sola navigaret, quam primum posset eidem inserviturum, sub conditione tamen ut primo discordias omnes inter principes Christianos depositas et sedatas videret quemadmodum ipse ex sua parte nullis omnino implicatus esset.

Nay even the emulation and division concerning the command of the army, which might perhaps intervene between the two kings, the French and the Spanish, if each advanced in a land-war over Greece, would be prudently avoided. He, for his part, would not be wanting in aid and monies. Nevertheless, if both kings refused to do this, he would rather—than that His Holiness should sail alone—serve him as soon as he could, under the condition, however, that he should first see all discords among Christian princes set aside and pacified, just as he on his own part was implicated in none whatsoever.

Atque simul oppida aliqua munita ad littora Italiae in manus suas traderentur, quae hominibus suis et praesidio et receptui esse possint.

And at the same time that some fortified towns on the shores of Italy be delivered into their hands, which might serve their men both for defense and for retreat.

5. Cum hoc responso reversus est Iapar Pons neutiquam tristis. Attamen haec regis declaratio (utcunque superficialis) ei talem apud exteros existimationem peperit ut non diu post ab equitibus Rhodi electus esset ordinis illius protector, omnibus rebus in multiplicationem honoris cedentibus regi qui tantam obtinuerat famam prudentiae et in rebus civilibus peritiae.

5. With this answer Iapar Pons returned by no means sad. Yet this declaration of the king (however superficial) procured for him such an estimation among foreigners that not long after he was elected by the Knights of Rhodes as protector of that order, all things yielding to the increase of honor for the king who had obtained so great a fame for prudence and expertise in civil affairs.

6. His duobus posterioribus annis in iudicium vocati sunt quidam haeretici, quod tempore huius regis rarum admodum erat et, si aliquando contigerat, poenitentiis potius quam igne luebant. Rex (licet scholasticus non esset) tamen honorem sortitus est ut Cantuariae unum ex iis convinceret et ad sanitatem perduceret.

6. In these two latter years certain heretics were called to judgment, which in the time of this king was very rare, and, if ever it had happened, they expiated by penances rather than by fire. The king (though he was not a scholastic) nevertheless obtained the honor of confuting one of them at Canterbury and leading him back to soundness.

7. Hoc etiam anno, licet rex a spiritibus et illusionibus non esset vexatus, quos aspersione partim sanguinis partim aquae abegerat, attamen apparitionibus quibusdam inquietabatur, semper ab eadem regione se ostentibus, familia scilicet Eboracensi. Evenit ut comes Suffolciae, filius Elizabethae (sororis natu maioris Edwardi Quarti ex Ioanne duce Suffolciae secundo eius marito) et frater Ioannis comitis Lincolniae, qui apud praelium de Stoke occubuerat, vir iracundus et cholericus, hominem in irae fervore occideret, cuius criminis rex ei gratiam fecit. Verum aut ut ei nubem quandam infamiae impingeret, aut ut sensum gratiae suae maiorem incuteret, eum palam in iudicium produxit et diploma condonationis suae aperte allegare voluit.

7. In this same year, although the king was not vexed by spirits and illusions—which he had driven away by a sprinkling partly of blood, partly of water—yet he was disquieted by certain apparitions, always manifesting themselves from the same quarter, namely the Yorkist family. It happened that the Earl of Suffolk, the son of Elizabeth (the elder sister of Edward IV by John, Duke of Suffolk, her second husband), and the brother of John, Earl of Lincoln, who had fallen at the Battle of Stoke—a man irascible and choleric—killed a man in the heat of anger, for which crime the king granted him pardon. But either to fasten upon him a certain cloud of infamy, or to instill a greater sense of his favor, he brought him openly into judgment and wished the letters patent of his pardon to be openly alleged.

Hoc in comite illum effectum peperit quem similibus caussis in animus elatis parere consuevit, nimirum ut ignomina altius insideret quam gratia. Itaque infensus animi clam in Flandriam aufugit ad materteram suam ducissam Burgundiae. Rex hac re turbatus nonnihil est, sed prioribus periculis edoctus ut lenibus et tempestivis uteretur remediis, nunciis benignis ita eum emollivit (ducissa etiam Margareta tot in alchymia sua frustrationibus fatigata, ideoque a novis expermentis facta aliena, partim etiam non nihil dulcorata quod eius nominis in confessione Perkini nulla facta fuerat mentio) ut comes placatus rediret, regique reconciliaretur.

This engendered in the earl that effect which similar causes are accustomed to produce in exalted spirits, namely that ignominy sank deeper than favor. Therefore, hostile in spirit, he secretly fled into Flanders to his maternal aunt, the Duchess of Burgundy. The king was somewhat disturbed by this matter, but, taught by prior dangers to employ gentle and timely remedies, with benign messages he so softened him (the Duchess Margaret also, wearied by so many frustrations in her alchemy and thus made averse to new experiments, and in part not a little sweetened by the fact that no mention of her name had been made in Perkin’s confession) that the earl, appeased, returned and was reconciled to the king.

8. Principio anni sequentis, qui erat regis decimus septimus, domina Catharina, Ferdinandi et Isabellae regis et reginae Hispaniae filia quarta, Angliam appulit ad portum Plimmouthi, secundo die Octobris. Et decimo quarto Novembris insequentis principi Arthuro nupsit, matrimonio in templo D. Pauli solenniter celebrato. Princeps tunc annorum erat circiter quindecim, sponsa autem circiter octodecim.

8. At the beginning of the following year, which was the king’s seventeenth, Lady Catherine, fourth daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, king and queen of Spain, made landfall in England at the port of Plymouth on the second day of October. And on the fourteenth of November following she married Prince Arthur, the marriage being solemnly celebrated in the church of St. Paul. The prince was then about fifteen years old, but the bride about eighteen.

Modus eam in Angliam recipiendi, modus ingressus eius in Londinum, atque nuptiarum ipsarum celebritas magna et vera cum magnificentia peracta sunt, sive sumptus spectetur, sive splendor, sive ordo. Praecipuus vir qui universum apparatum curavit erat Foxus episcopus, qui non solum prudens erat consiliarius in negotiis tam belli quam pacis, verum etiam bonus praefectus operum, bonus itidem magistere caeremoniarum, denique omnia erat quae competerent parti activae et pertinerent ad servitium aulae aut status magni regis. Nuptiarum harum tractatus septem annorum opus erat, cuius partim caussa erat aetas tenera principum, praesertim ipsius Arthuri.

The mode of receiving her into England, the mode of her ingress into London, and the celebration of the nuptials themselves were carried through with great and true magnificence, whether expense be regarded, or splendor, or order. The principal man who cared for the whole preparation was Bishop Fox, who was not only a prudent counselor in affairs of both war and peace, but also a good prefect of works, likewise a good master of ceremonies—finally, he was everything that would befit the active part and pertain to the service of the court or the state of the great king. The negotiation of these nuptials was a seven‑year work, the cause of which in part was the tender age of the princes, especially of Arthur himself.

Sed vera caussa suberat quod hi duo reges, prudentissimi scilicet et profundi iudicii, stabant diu alter in fortunam alterius intuentes, satis gnari tractum ipsum interea opinionem ubique creare arctae inter illos coniunctionis et amicitiae, quod ipsum untrinque utile erat rebus amborum regum, licet liberi adhuc manerent. Verum in fine cum utriusque regis fortuna indies magis prospera et secura evaderet, atque cum circumspectantes nullam invenirent conditionem meliorem, tractatum matrimonii concluserunt.

But the true cause lay beneath, namely that these two kings, most prudent and of profound judgment, stood for a long time, each looking upon the fortune of the other, well aware that the very protraction meanwhile created everywhere the opinion of a close conjunction and amity between them, which thing itself on both sides was useful to the affairs of both kings, although they still remained at liberty. But in the end, as the fortune of each king day by day became more prosperous and secure, and as, being circumspect, they found no better condition, they concluded the marriage treaty.

9. Summa dotis (quae in regem translata erat per viam renunciationis) sunt ducenta millia ducatorum. Quorum centum millia solvi debebant post decem dies a solennizatione matrimonii, altera vero centum millia aequis portionibus proximis duobus annis. Pars tamen poterat per iocalia aut per vasa aurea et argentea repraesentari, et ratio inita est quo pacto iuste et indifferenter aestimarentur.

9. The sum of the dowry (which had been transferred to the king by way of renunciation) is two hundred thousand ducats. Of which one hundred thousand had to be paid after ten days from the solemnization of the marriage, and the other one hundred thousand in equal portions in the next two years. A part, however, could be represented by jewelry or by gold and silver vessels, and a method was entered into whereby they might be valued justly and impartially.

Reditus autem principissae assignatus fuit tertia pars principatus Walliae, et ducatus Cornubiae, et comitatis Cestriae, postea per metas separanda. Verum si contigerit eam reginam Angliae fore, indefinitus relinquebatur, ita tamen ne minor foret quam ulla regina Angliae antehac frueretur.

The revenues of the princess were assigned as a third part of the Principality of Wales, and of the Duchy of Cornwall, and of the County of Chester, thereafter to be separated by metes. But if it should happen that she be Queen of England, it was left indefinite, yet in such a way that it should not be less than any Queen of England had heretofore enjoyed.

10. In spectaculis et triumphalis nuptialibus multa ex astronomia desumpta sunt. Sponsa enim per Hesperum adumbrata est, princeps autem per Arcturum, sed et vetus rex Alphonsus (quin inter reges maximus fuerat astrologus, atque simul ex progenitoribus principissae) introductus est ut fortunam nuptiarum praediceret. Certe quisquis is fuerit qui istas nugas concinnaret ultra pedantium sapit.

10. In the spectacles and the triumphal nuptials many things were taken from astronomy. For the bride was adumbrated by Hesperus, but the prince by Arcturus; and the old king Alphonsus (indeed among kings he had been the greatest astrologer, and at the same time one of the progenitors of the princess) was introduced to foretell the fortune of the nuptials. Certainly, whoever he was who contrived these trifles savors of something beyond the pedants.

Sed pro certo ducas Arthurum illum regem Britannum ad fabulas usque celebrem, atque prosapiam principissae Catharinae a familia Lancastrensi extractam nullo modo oblivione praterita fuisse. Verum (ut videtur) non fausta res est fortunam ex astris petere. Nam princeps iste iuvenis (qui eo tempore in se trahebat non solum spes et affectus patriae suae, verum etiam oculos et expectationem exterorum) post paucos menses ieunte Aprilae apud castrum de Ludlow obiit, quo missus erat ut cum aula sua resideret tanquam princeps Walliae.

But take it for certain that that Arthur, the British king, famed even unto fables, and the lineage of Princess Catherine drawn from the Lancastrian family, were by no means passed over in oblivion. Yet (as it seems) it is not a auspicious thing to seek fortune from the stars. For that young prince (who at that time was drawing to himself not only the hopes and affections of his own country, but also the eyes and expectation of foreigners), after a few months, as April was advancing, died at Ludlow Castle, whither he had been sent to reside with his court as Prince of Wales.

Huius principis eo quod cito mortuus est, et quia in more patri erat liberos suos modice illustrare, exigua manet memoria. Illud tantum traditur, eum bonarum literarum studiosissimum fuisse et magnos in iis profectus fecisse, supra annos suos et supra consuetudinem principum magnorum.

Of this prince, because he died early, and because it was his father’s custom to illumine his children only moderately, scant memory remains. This only is transmitted: that he was most studious of good letters, and made great advances in them, beyond his years and beyond the custom of great princes.

11. Dubitatio quaedam temporibus sequentibus oborta est cum divortium Henrici Octavi et dominae Catharinae tantas turbas in orbe concitaverat, utrum Arthurus carnaliter cognovisset Catharinam uxorem suam, quo ista pars, de cognitione carnale, casui insereretur. Verum autem est Catharinam ipsam rem negasse, vel saltem advocatos illus ei rei institisse, et ut firmamentum causae non contemnendum omitti noluisse, etsi plenitudo potestas papalis in dispendando quaestio fuisset primaria. Ista autem dubitatio per longum tempus duravit respectu duarum reginarum quae successerunt, Mariae et Elizabethae, quarum legitimationes erant inter se incompatibiles, etsi successio ipsarum vigore actus parlamenti stabilita fuisset.

11. A certain doubt arose in the times that followed, when the divorce of Henry VIII and Lady Catherine had stirred up such tumults in the world, whether Arthur had carnally known Catherine his wife, so that that part, concerning carnal cognition, might be inserted into the case. But the truth is that Catherine herself denied the matter, or at least that her advocates insisted on it; and they were unwilling to omit, as no contemptible firmament of the cause, that point—although the plenitude of papal power in granting dispensation had been the primary question. This doubt, moreover, lasted for a long time with respect to the two queens who succeeded, Mary and Elizabeth, whose legitimations were mutually incompatible, although their succession had been established by the force of an Act of Parliament.

Tempora autem quae Maria regina legitimationi favebant, credi volebant nullum fuisse carnalem cognitionem, non quod videri vellent absolutae papae potestati quicquam derogare, vel eo casu dispensandi, sed honoris tantum causa atque ut casus magis esset favorabilis et mollius laberetur. E contra, tempora quae legitimationi reginae Elizabethae favebant (quae et longiora et recentiora fuerunt) contrarium defendebant. Illud certae memoriae est, intercessisse tempus semestre inter mortem principis Arthuri et creationem Henrici in principem Walliae, quod eo pertinere homines interprebantur quo spatium illud temporis in certo poneret utrum Catharina ex Arthuro gravida facta fuisset.

But the times that favored Queen Mary’s legitimation wished it to be believed that there had been no carnal knowledge—not because they would seem to derogate anything from the absolute papal power, or from his dispensing in that case, but solely for honor’s sake and so that the case might be more favorable and proceed more smoothly. By contrast, the times that favored the legitimation of Queen Elizabeth (which were both longer and more recent) defended the contrary. It is a matter of sure record that a half-year’s space intervened between the death of Prince Arthur and the creation of Henry as Prince of Wales, which people interpreted as bearing on this point: that that span of time should set it certain whether Catherine had been made pregnant by Arthur.

Quin et Catharina ipsa novam a papa bullam procurari fecit ad matrimonium melius corroborandum cum clausula illa vel forsan cognitam quae in priore bulla comprehensa non erat. Datum etiam in evidentiis fuit dum caussa divortii tractaretur scomma quoddam facetum, nimirum quod Arthurus mane cum e lecto principissae surrexisset potum postulasset praeter consuetudinem suam. Cumque generosus quidam e cubiculo suo qui potum ei porrigeret subridet remque notasset, princeps iocans ad eum dixisset se in medio Hispaniae, quae calida esset regio, fuisse, iter autem suum sitibundum eum reddidisse, quodque si adolescens ille e tam calido climate venisset potum avidius hausisset.

Indeed, Catherine herself had a new bull from the pope procured, to corroborate the marriage more firmly, with that clause or perhaps known, which had not been included in the former bull. It was also adduced in evidence while the cause of divorce was being handled—a certain facetious sally, namely that Arthur, in the morning when he had risen from the princess’s bed, had asked for a drink contrary to his custom. And when a certain gentleman of his bedchamber, who was handing him the drink, smiled and noted the matter, the prince, joking, said to him that he had been in the midst of Spain, which was a hot region, and that his journey had made him thirsty, and that if that young man had come from so hot a climate he would have drained the drink more eagerly.

Quinetiam princeps fuerat annorum circiter sexdecim, cum mortuus est, et corpore sanus et robustus.

Moreover, the prince was about sixteen years old when he died, and in body sound and robust.

12. Februario sequente Henricus dux Eboraci factus est princeps Walliae, et comes Cestriae et Flintae; etenim ducatus Cornubiae statuto ad eum devolutus est. At rex ingenio tenax et non libenter reditus novis, si alibi nupsisset Henricus, assignaturus, sed praecipue propter affectum, quo et natura et propter rationes politicas Ferdinandum prosecutus est, affinitas prioris continuandi cupidus a principe obtinuit (etsi non absque aliqua reluctatione, qualis ea aetate, quae duodecumum annum nondum complevit, esse poterat) ut cum principissa Catharina contraheretur, secreta Dei providentia ordinante ut nuptiae illae magnorum eventuum et mutationum caussa existerent.

12. In the following February Henry, Duke of York, was made Prince of Wales, and Earl of Chester and of Flint; indeed the Duchy of Cornwall by statute devolved upon him. But the king, tenacious in disposition and not willingly about to assign new revenues if Henry should have married elsewhere, yet especially on account of the affection with which both by nature and for political reasons he favored Ferdinand, desirous of continuing the prior affinity, obtained from the prince (though not without some reluctance, such as at that age, which had not yet completed the twelfth year, could exist) that a contract be made with Princess Catherine, the secret providence of God ordaining that those nuptials should prove the cause of great events and changes.

13. Eodem anno celebratae sunt nuptiae Iacobi regis Scotiae cum Margareta filia Henrici primogenita, quae per procuratorem contractae sunt et apud crucem Divi Pauli publicatae, vicesimo quinto Ianuarii, et hymnus Te Deum solenniter ibi cantatus est. Verum hoc certum est, laetitiam civium Londinensium, per sonitum capanarum, ignes exultationis, et huiusmodi plebis suffimenta monstratam, maiorem fusse quam quis expectare in animum induxisset cum tam gravia et recentia inter nationes odia extitissent, praesertim Londini, quod tam longe fuerat a sensu periculorum et molestiarum ex bellis praecedentibus. Ideoque vere attribui poterat secreto augurio et inspirationi (quae saepenumero influit non tantum in corda regum, verumetiam in pulsas et venas populorum) de faelicitate ex eo coniugio temporibus futuris secutura.

13. In the same year the nuptials of James, king of Scotland, with Margaret, Henry’s firstborn daughter, were celebrated, which were contracted by procurator and published at the Cross of St. Paul on the twenty-fifth of January, and the hymn Te Deum was solemnly sung there. But this is certain: the joy of the citizens of London, shown by the sound of the bells, fires of exultation, and the people’s suffiments of this sort, was greater than one would have brought himself to expect, since such grievous and recent hatreds had existed between the nations, especially in London, which had been so far removed from any sense of the dangers and annoyances from the preceding wars. And so it could truly be attributed to a secret augury and inspiration (which very often flows not only into the hearts of kings, but also into the pulses and veins of peoples) of the felicity to follow from that marriage in the times to come.

Matrimonium hoc mense Augusti sequentis consummatum fuit apud Edinburgum. Rex filiam suam usque ad oppidum de Colliweston comitatus est, ibique eam curiae et famulitio comitis Northumbriae commisit. Qui magno cum comitatu virorum et foeminarum nobilium eam in Scotiam ad maritum suum perduxit.

This marriage was consummated in the month of the following August at Edinburgh. The king accompanied his daughter as far as the town of Colliweston, and there entrusted her to the court and household of the Earl of Northumberland, who, with a great retinue of noble men and women, conducted her into Scotland to her husband.

14. Hoc matrimonium per tres fere annos tractatum est, a temporibus scilicet quo rex Scotiae cum episcopo Foxo arcanum animi sui communicasset. Summa dotis a rege Henrico data fuit decem mille librarum. Reditus autem annui a rege Scotiae in sustentationem uxoris suae assignati fuerunt bis mille librarum post mortem Iacobi, et mille librarum in praesenti.

14. This matrimony was negotiated for nearly three years, namely from the time when the king of Scotland had communicated the secret of his mind to Bishop Fox. The sum of the dowry given by King Henry was ten thousand pounds. Moreover, annual revenues for the sustentation of his wife were assigned by the king of Scotland at two thousand pounds after the death of James, and at one thousand pounds at present.

Traditur cum de hoc matrimonio deliberaretur regem concilio suo sanctiori negotium remisisse. Quosdam vero ex concilio usos consiliariorum liberatate (rege tum praesente) supposuisse si duo regis filii sine haredibus masculis defuncti essent, regnum Angliae ad lineam Scotiae devolutum iri, quod monarchiae Anglorum praeiudicio esse possit. Cui obiectioni rex ipse nihil moratus respondit, si id contigerit Scotiam accessionis loco Angliae futurum, non Angliam Scotiae.

It is handed down that, when this marriage was being deliberated, the king remitted the business to his more sacred council. Some indeed of the council, using the liberty of counselors (the king then being present), supposed that, if the king’s two sons had died without male heirs, the kingdom of England would be devolved to the line of Scotland, which might be to the prejudice of the monarchy of the English. To which objection the king himself, delaying not at all, responded that, if that should happen, Scotland would be in the place of an accession to England, not England to Scotland.

Maius enim regnum minus ad se tracturum, ideoque unionem istam tutiorem futurum quam fuerat illa Franciae. Hoc responsum regis instar oraculi habitum est, et silentium de ea re secutum.

For the greater kingdom will attract the lesser to itself, and therefore this union would be more secure than that of France had been. This reply of the king was held as the likeness of an oracle, and silence on that matter ensued.

15. Annus idem fatalis erat tam funeribus quam nuptiis, idque aequali temperamento. Gaudia enim et festa nuptiarum duarum compensata erant luctibus et funeribus principis Arthuri (de quo iam diximus) et reginae Elizabethae, quae ex puerperio mortua est apud turrim, infante non diu superstite. Mortuus est etiam eodem anno Reginaldus Braius eques auratus, qui notatus est maiorem habuisse apud regem consulendi libertatem quam aliquis alius consiliarius.

15. The same year was fatal as much for funerals as for nuptials, and that with an equal tempering. For the joys and festivities of two weddings were counterbalanced by the griefs and funerals of Prince Arthur (of whom we have already spoken) and Queen Elizabeth, who died in childbed at the Tower, the infant not long surviving. In the same year there also died Reginald Bray, a knight of the golden spurs, who was noted to have had with the king a greater liberty of consultation than any other counselor.

Verum id genus libertatis erat quod adulationem redderet magis sapidam. Attamen plus iusto ex invidia participavit circa regis exactiones.

But in truth, it was that kind of liberty which rendered adulation more palatable. Yet he participated beyond what was just, out of envy, concerning the king’s exactions.

16. Hoc tempore status regis fuit florentissimus, amicitiis Scotiae munitus, Hispaniae roboratus, Burgundiae ditatus, universae turbae intestinae siluerunt, atque omnis belli strepitus (tanquam tonitru ex longinquo) in Italiam delatus. Itaque natura, quae saepenumero vinculis fortunae feliciter constringitur et fraenatur, coepit praevalere et praedominari effroenis in animo regis, affectus suos et cogitationes (tanquam gurgite forti) impellendo ad corrogandos et accumulandos thesauros. Sicut autem reges multo facilius ministros et instrumenta inveniunt qui cupiditatibus eorum inserviant quam qui rebus suis et honori, nactus est duos ministros ex voto suo, aut etiam ultra votum suum, Empsonum et Dudleium (quos populus aestimabat pro sanguisugis suis et expilatoribus) ambos audaces et famae contemptores, quique ex domini sui mulctura haud parum ad se ipsi trahebant.

16. At this time the condition of the king was most flourishing, fortified by the friendships of Scotland, strengthened by Spain, enriched by Burgundy; all the domestic turmoils were silent, and every clamor of war (as if thunder from afar) was carried off into Italy. Therefore Nature, which very often is happily constrained and reined in by the bonds of Fortune, began to prevail and to predominate, unbridled, in the king’s mind, driving his affections and cogitations (as by a strong whirlpool) to gather and accumulate treasures. And as kings find ministers and instruments much more easily who serve their cupidities than those who serve their affairs and honor, he obtained two ministers to his wish, or even beyond his wish, Empson and Dudley (whom the people judged to be their leeches and despoilers), both bold and despisers of reputation, and who from their master’s mulcting drew not a little unto themselves.

Dudleius bona familia ortus fuit, vir eloquens et qui negotia aspera bonis verbis condire poterat. Sed Empsonus, qui filius fuit rudiarii, factum semper urgebat deque eo triumphabat, missis aliis quibuscunque respectibus tanquam inanibus. Hi duo, scientia iuris periti, authoritate consiliarii (quemadmodum corruptio rerum optimarum est pessima) legem et iustitiam in absynthium et rapinam verterunt.

Dudley was sprung from a good family, an eloquent man who could season hard affairs with fair words. But Empson, who was the son of a rough tradesman, always pressed the deed itself and triumphed in it, dismissing all other considerations whatsoever as empty. These two, skilled in the knowledge of the law, by the authority of a Councillor (inasmuch as the corruption of the best things is the worst), turned law and justice into wormwood and rapine.

Primo enim, mos illis erat efficere ut plurimi ex subditis diversorum criminum rei peragerentur, atque eousque iuxta formam legis procedere cum vero billae impetitionis, quae vim tantum accusationes, non decisionis, habebant, verae repertae fuerint, statim eos custodiae tradere. Neque tamen caussam iuridica via prosequebantur, aut eos tempore convenienti ad se defendendum producebant, sed in carcere languere permittebant, et diversis artificiis et terroribus plurimas ab illis mulctas et redemptiones extorquebant, quas compositiones et mitigationes vocabant.

For, first, it was their custom to bring it about that very many of the subjects were proceeded against as defendants on various crimes, and to advance so far according to the form of law that, when the bills of indictment—which had the force only of accusation, not of decision—had been found “true,” they straightway consigned them to custody. Yet they did not prosecute the case by the juridical course, nor bring them forth at a convenient time to defend themselves, but allowed them to languish in prison; and by various artifices and terrors they extorted from them very many mulcts and redemptions, which they called “compositions and mitigations.”

17. Quinetiam usu audaciores facti tandem tam contemptim et incuriose processerunt ut ne dimidiam illam partem (de qua diximus) faciei iusticiae retinerent ut per viam indictamenti procederent, sed praecepta sua et missivae passim volitabant ad homines comprehendendos et coram seipsis et aliis in aedibus suis privatis, colore scilicet commissionis suae, sistendos, ibique via quadam iusticiae summariae et irregulari per examinationem solam, absque duodecim virorum iudicio, caussas terminabant, potestatem sibi assumentes in his iustitiae latebris tam caussas coronae quam controversias civiles dirimendi.

17. And indeed, made bolder by practice, at length they proceeded so contemptuously and carelessly that they did not retain even that half part (of which we have spoken) of the face of justice, namely to proceed by the way of indictment; but their precepts and missives were fluttering everywhere to have men apprehended and, under color of their commission, to have them brought before themselves and others in their own private houses; and there, by a certain summary and irregular way of justice, by examination alone, without the judgment of twelve men, they were terminating causes, assuming to themselves in these hiding-places of justice the power of deciding both causes of the Crown and civil controversies.

18. Praeterea mos illis erat terras et reditus subditorum tenuris foedalibus (quae in capite vocantur) onerare et captivare falsas inquisitiones procurando, atque inde custodias et matrimonia minorum captando, atque etiam liberaturas, primas seisinas, et mulctas pro alienationibus (huiusmodi tenurarum fructus scilicet) exigendo, recusantes sub variis praetextibus et procrastinationibus subditos admittere ad tales falsas inquisitiones iuxta normam legis evincendas. Quinetiam pupillis regis cum ad maiorem aetatem pervenissent non licebat restitutionem terrarum suarum obtinere nisi immanes pecuniarum summas persolverent. Rursos mos illis erat subditos informationibus de intrusione in terras regias vexare calumniis et praetextibus vix probabilibus.

18. Moreover, their custom was to burden and ensnare the lands and revenues of subjects with feudal tenures (which are called in chief) by procuring false inquisitions, and thence to seize wardships and the marriages of minors, and also to exact reliefs, primer seisins, and fines for alienations (to wit, the fruits of such tenures), refusing under various pretexts and procrastinations to admit subjects to defeat such false inquisitions according to the norm of the law. Likewise, the king’s wards, when they had come to greater age, were not permitted to obtain restitution of their lands unless they paid enormous sums of money. Rursos, it was their custom to vex subjects with informations of intrusion into the royal lands, by calumnies and scarcely probable pretexts.

19. Cum vero subditos ob caussas aliquas civiles exleges fieri contigisset, eos chartam condonationis suae de more procurare non passi sunt nisi magnas et intolerabiles pecuniarum summas dedissent, rigori legis innisi, quae utlegatorum bona fisco applicat. Quinetiam de proprio addebat, absque aliquo omnino iuris adminiculo, regi nomine mulctae in casu utlegationis dimidiam partem terrarum et redituum subditorum deberi, durante spacio duorum annorum integrorum. Etiam cum duodecemviris et iuratoribus grandioribus minaciter agere solebant, eosque compellere ut quod sibi libitum esset renunciarent.

19. But when it happened that subjects, on account of certain civil causes, became outlaws, they did not allow them, according to custom, to procure a charter of their pardon unless they had given great and intolerable sums of money, relying on the rigor of the law, which applies the goods of outlaws to the fisc. Moreover, he would of his own (authority) add, without any assistance of right whatsoever, that to the king, under the name of a mulct in the case of outlawry, there was owed one half of the subjects’ lands and revenues, during the space of two entire years. They were also accustomed to deal menacingly with the twelve-men and the greater jurors, and to compel them to return such (a verdict) as was pleasing to themselves.

Quod si minus fecissent, in quaestionem eos adducere, incarcerare, et mulctare consueverunt.

But if they had done less, they were accustomed to bring them to inquest, incarcerate, and mulct them.

20. Has cum multis aliis oppressiones et concussiones exercebant, oblivione potius sepeliendas quam memoriae tradendas, tam sicut accipitres domestici pro domino sui quam sicut accipitres sylvestres pro seipsis praedantes in tantum ut opes amplissimas sibi comparaverint. Praecipuum autem eorum flagellum erat forisfacturae exactae super leges poenales, in quibus processibus nilli pepercerunt neque eminentioris ordinis neque inferioris, neque distinguendo num lex possibilis fuerit an impossibilis, in usu aut obsoleta, sed statuta omnia tam antiqua quam nova tanquam rastris percurrendo, etsi complura ex illis magis in terrorem condita esset quam ut summo iure ageretur. Habebant autem semper circa se catervam de latorum, calumniatorum, et iuratorum pragmaticorum, ita ut quidvis pro arbitruo suo veredicto exhiberi et confirmari efficerent, sive de facto, sive de valore.

20. These oppressions and exactions, together with many others, they practiced—things to be buried in oblivion rather than handed down to memory—both like domestic hawks preying for their lord and like sylvan hawks for themselves, to such a degree that they procured for themselves the most ample wealth. Their chief scourge, moreover, was forfeitures exacted upon penal laws, in the proceedings of which they spared no one, neither of the higher order nor of the lower, making no distinction whether a law was possible or impossible, in use or obsolete, but running through all statutes, both ancient and new, as with rakes, although many of them had been enacted more for terror than to be pursued with the extremity of the law. They always had about them a troop of delators, calumniators, and pragmatic jurors, so that they brought it to pass that anything, at their own arbitrament, should be produced and confirmed by verdict, whether concerning the fact or the value.

21. Manet etiam in hodiernum diem narratio regem quodam tempore fuisse a comite Oxoniae (qui praecipuus ei erat servus tam bello quam pace) magnifice et sumptuose exceptum apud castrum suum de Heveningham. Sub discessu autem regis stabant servi comitis ordine decente, tunicis suis famulitiis cum insignibus comitis utrunque latus regis praetereuntis claudentes. Rex comitem ad se vocavit, et dixit, "Domine mi, multa audiveram de hospitalitate tua, eam autem video fama esse maiorem.

21. There remains even to the present day the narrative that at a certain time the king was magnificently and sumptuously received by the Earl of Oxford (who was his principal servant both in war and in peace) at his castle of Heveningham. But at the king’s departure the earl’s servants were standing in becoming order, in their liveried tunics with the earl’s insignia, closing either side of the passing king. The king called the earl to him and said, “My lord, I had heard much of your hospitality; but I see it to be greater than its fame.”

Isti generosi et probi homines quos ab utraque manu aspicio sunt certe servi tui domestici, nonne?" Comes autem subridens respondit, "Si placet celsitudine vestrae, hoc opes meae non ferrent. Sunt certe illi plerique famuli extraordinii suis viventes impensis qui hoc tempore venerunt ut familiam meam decorarent, praecipue autem ut celsitudinem vestram spectarent." Rex ad haec paulum subsiliit et dixit, "Medius fidius (domine me) de lauto et splendido apparatu quo me excepisti gratias ago, sed pati minime possum leges meas sub conspectu meo violari. Procurator meus tecum aget." Atque simul traditur comitem eo nomine cum procuratore regis non minoris quam triginta mille ducatorum et amplius transegisse.

"These noble and upright men whom I behold on either hand are surely your domestic servants, are they not?" But the earl, smiling, replied, "If it please Your Highness, my resources would not bear this. Those men are for the most part extraordinary servants, living at their own expense, who have come at this time to adorn my household, and especially to behold Your Highness." At this the king started a little and said, "By my faith (my lord), I give thanks for the lavish and splendid apparatus with which you have received me, but I can by no means allow my laws to be violated under my very gaze. My procurator will deal with you." And it is reported that forthwith the earl, on that account, came to a settlement with the king’s procurator for not less than 30,000 ducats, and more.

Atque ut regis incredibilis diligentia in eiusmodi rebus manifestius appareat, memini me multis abhinc annis vidisse librum rationum Empsoni, cuius singulas fere paginas rex propria manu subsignavit, et in aliquibus licis postillae erant etiam ex manu regis. In quo libro fuit memoriola ista Empsoni:

And so that the king’s incredible diligence in matters of this kind may appear more manifestly, I remember that many years ago I saw Empson’s book of accounts, almost every single page of which the king countersigned with his own hand, and in some places there were even postils from the king’s hand. In which book there was this little memorandum of Empson’s:

Item receptae (a tali) quinque mercae propter condonationem A. B. impertrandam, et si condonatio non concedatur, pecunia est rependenda nis eidem alias satisfactum fuerit.

Likewise, five marks received (from such a one) for the condonation of A. B. to be impetrated; and if the condonation be not conceded, the money is to be repaid, unless the same party has otherwise been satisfied.

In margine autem huius memoriolae per manum regis propriam apposita sunt haec verba,

In the margin, however, of this little memorandum, these words were affixed by the king’s own hand,

Alias satisfactum.

Otherwise satisfaction has been made.

Cuius ideo potius mentionem facio quod in rege magnam parsimoniam ostendit, sed tamen cum iustitia coniunctam. Itaque pusillae istae arenulae et granula auri et argenti (ut videtur) haud parum fecerunt ad mirabilem illam struem thesauri constituendam.

I therefore rather make mention of this because it shows in the king great parsimony, yet conjoined with justice. And so those tiny little grains of sand and granules of gold and silver (as it seems) did not a little toward the establishing of that marvelous heap of treasure.

22. Verum interea (ne rex obdormisceret) comes Suffolciae in nuptiis Arthuri propter spendidas vestes et alios sumptus obaeratus, animum iterum adiicit ut fieret eques erraticus et in regionibus exteris nova facinora experiretur, unde cum fratre suo in Flandriam rurus aufugit. Quod animos ei addidit fuit proculdubio universalis murmur populi contra regimen Henrici. Cumque esset vir levis et temerarius, cogitavit ille vapores quosque in tempestates versos iri.

22. Meanwhile, however (lest the king fall asleep), the earl of Suffolk, indebted at the wedding of Arthur on account of splendid garments and other expenses, set his mind again to become a knight-errant and in foreign regions to try new exploits, whence with his brother he fled back again into Flanders. What gave him heart was, without doubt, the universal murmur of the people against the regime of Henry. And since he was a light and rash man, he supposed that every vapor would be turned into tempests.

Neque defuit ei factio nonnulla intra regnum. Etenim murmur populi etiam in nobilibus novarum rerum studium excitat, idque rursus caput aliquod seditionis evocat. Rex ad solitas artes fugiens Robertum Cursonum equitem auratum, castelli de Hammes praefectum (tum trans mare degentem, ideoque minus suspectum cui cum rege consilia misceret), praefecturam suam deserere iussit, seque servum comitis profiteri.

Nor was he lacking a certain faction within the realm. For the murmur of the people even among the nobles excites a zeal for innovations, and that in turn calls forth some head of sedition. The king, resorting to his customary arts, ordered Robert Curson, a knight of the golden spurs, governor of the castle of Hammes (then residing beyond the sea, and therefore less suspected of mixing counsels with the king), to abandon his governorship and to profess himself the earl’s servant.

Eques iste postquam in arcana comitis se sedulo insinuasset, atque ab eo explorasset in quibus fiduciam praecipue reponeret, regem de omnibus quam fieri potuit occultissime certiorem fecit, et nihilo minus eundem locum in confidentia comitis retinuit. Literis et nunciis a Cursono acceptis rex motus comprehendi iussit Guiliemum Courtneium comitem Devoniae, arctissima affinitate cum rege coniunctum (quippe qui in matrimonium duxerat dominum Catharinam Edwardi Quarti filiam), Guilielmum Polum comitis Soffolciae fratrem, Iacobum Tirrellum, et Ioannem Windhamum equites auratos, et nonnullos alios gradus inferioris homines, et in custodia habuit. Eodem quoque tempore comprehensi sunt Georgium baro Abergavennius et Thomas Greenus eques auratus, sed sicut ob leviorem suspitionem comprehensi erant, ita solutiore custodia habiti, et paulo post liberati restituti.

This knight, after he had diligently insinuated himself into the earl’s arcana, and had from him explored wherein he chiefly reposed confidence, made the king acquainted with everything as secretly as could be, and nonetheless retained the same place in the earl’s confidence. Letters and messengers having been received from Curson, the king, being moved, ordered William Courtenay, earl of Devon, joined to the king by a very close affinity (for he had taken to wife Lady Catherine, daughter of Edward IV), William Pole, brother of the earl of Suffolk, James Tyrrell, and John Windham, knights of the golden spur, and several other men of lower rank, to be apprehended, and he kept them in custody. At the same time there were likewise apprehended George, Baron Abergavenny, and Thomas Green, a knight of the golden spur; but as they had been apprehended on lighter suspicion, so they were held in looser custody, and a little later were released and restored.

Ex his comes Devoniae, qui cum sanguine familiae Eboracensis tam alto gradu commixtus erat, ideoque a rege metuebatur sane, licet omnino insons fuerit. Nihilominus tanquam illa persona quae pravorum consiliorum in aliis obiectum esse posset, in custodia turris detentus est durante vita regis. Guilielmus Polus similiter diu incarceratus fuit, etsi minus arcta custodia.

Of these, the Earl of Devon, who had been mingled with the blood of the House of York in so high a degree, and therefore was indeed feared by the king, although he was altogether innocent. Nevertheless, as the sort of person who could be made the object of others’ depraved counsels, he was detained in custody in the Tower during the king’s life. William Pole likewise was long incarcerated, though under a less strict custody.

Sed quantum ad Iacobum Tirrellum (contra quem sanguis principum innocentium Edwardi Quarti et fratris eius sub altare clamabat), et Ioannem Windhamum, et alios inferiores, illi in iudicium adducti et supplicio affecti sunt, equites autem duo decollati. Nihilominus ut Cursono fides confirmaretur (qui, ut verisimile est, nondum omnes artes suas deprompserat, neque quae ab eo agenda erant perfecerat), publicata est apud crucem D. Pauli tempore executionum praedictarum bulla papalis excommunicationis et anathematis in comitem Suffolciae et Thomam Cursonum, et alios quosdam nominatim, ac generaliter in omnes fautores eiusdem comitis. In qua re fatendum certe est coelum ad terram nimis incurvatum fuisse, et religionem rationibus politicis.

But as for James Tirrell (against whom the blood of the innocent princes of Edward IV and of his brother cried out from beneath the altar), and John Windham, and the other lesser men, these were brought to judgment and suffered execution, while the two knights were beheaded. Nevertheless, that confidence might be confirmed to Curson (who, as is likely, had not yet brought forth all his arts, nor completed the things that were to be done by him), at St. Paul’s Cross, at the time of the aforesaid executions, a papal bull of excommunication and anathema was published against the Earl of Suffolk and Thomas Curson, and certain others by name, and generally against all the favorers of the same earl. In which matter it must certainly be confessed that heaven was too much bent down to earth, and religion to political considerations.

Verum haud diu post Cursonus (opportunitatem nactus) in Angliam venit, et simul in pristinam apud regem gratiam, sed maiore cum infamia apud populum. Cuius reditu comes haud parum territus est, seque videns spe omni destitutum (ducissa quoque Margareta tractu temporis et infoelicibus successibus facta tepidiore), post vagas quasdam peregrinationes in Gallia et Germania et pusilla quaedam incoepta, nihilo meliora quam ignes exulis missiles, defessus tandem in Flandriam in protectionem archiducis se demum recepit, qui per mortem Isabellae eo tempore rex Castiliae esset, in iure Ioannae uxoris suae.

But not long after, Curson (having found an opportunity) came to England, and at the same time into his former favor with the king, but with greater infamy among the people. At whose return the earl was not a little terrified, and seeing himself bereft of all hope (the Duchess Margaret too, by the passage of time and by unhappy successes, having become more tepid), after certain wandering peregrinations in France and Germany and some petty inchoate attempts, no better than an exile’s hurled firebrands, at length, wearied, he withdrew into Flanders under the protection of the Archduke, who, by the death of Isabella, was at that time king of Castile, in the right of Joanna his wife.

23. Hoc anno (decimo nono scilicet regni sui) rex comitia ordinum convocavit. Facile autem coniicere erat quam absolutam potestatem se crederet rex habere apud ordinex suos ex hoc, quod Dudleius odiosus ille minister regis factus est prolocutor inferioris consessus. In hoc parliamento paucae admodum latae sunt leges memorabiles circa administrationem regni publicam.

23. In this year (namely the nineteenth of his reign) the king convoked the estates. Moreover, it was easy to conjecture how absolute a power the king believed himself to have with his orders from this: that Dudley, that odious minister of the king, was made prolocutor (speaker) of the lower assembly. In this parliament very few memorable laws were enacted concerning the public administration of the realm.

Quae vero latae fuerunt, regis, ut semper, prudentiae et artis imperandi imaginem impressam habuerunt.

But those that were enacted bore, as always, the imprinted image of the king’s prudence and art of ruling.

24. Lata est lex qua irritae factae sunt omnes dimissiones aut concessiones regis adversus eos qui rite citati ad serviendum regi in bellis suis sive contra hostes sive contra rebelles non venirent, aut sine regis licentia discederunt, cum exceptione tamen quorundam virorum togatorum, ita tamen ut quisque stipendia regis a primo die profectionis suae usque ad reditum in domum suam reciperet. Simile statutum, quatenus ad concessiones officiorum civilium, ante ordinatum erat. Hoc vero sanctionem illam legis etiam ad terras extendebat.

24. A law was passed by which all the king’s remissions or concessions were made null as against those who, having been duly cited to serve the king in his wars, whether against enemies or against rebels, did not come, or departed without the king’s license, with an exception, however, for certain men of the gown, yet in such a way that each should receive the king’s stipends from the first day of his setting out up to his return to his own house. A similar statute, so far as concerned grants of civil offices, had been ordained before. This one, however, extended that sanction of the law to lands as well.

Certe per plurimas leges huius regis tempore conditas liquido apparet regem tutissimum iudicasse leges militares legibus parliamentariis roborare.

Surely, through the very many laws enacted in this king’s time, it clearly appears that the king judged it the safest course to strengthen military laws by parliamentary laws.

25. Alia lex condita est quae prohiberet importationem alicius manufacturae ex bysso vel simplicter vel cum mixtura alterius fili textae. Verum ad pannos integros sericos non extendebat (quoniam eo tempore ars huiusmodi manufacturas conficiendi in usu apud Anglos non erat), verum ad byssum textilem tantum veluti teniolarum, astrigmentorum, reticulorum, ligularum, et cingulorum, etc., quas manufacturas artifices Angliae satis callebant. Lex haec verae regulae nixa est, videlicet ubi materialia extera superflua sint, ibi manufacturae earum apud exteros prohibendas.

25. Another law was enacted to prohibit the importation of any manufacture of byssus (cotton), either pure or woven with a mixture of other thread. However, it did not extend to entire silk cloths (since at that time the art of making such manufactures was not in use among the English), but only to textile byssus, such as tapes, fastenings, nets, laces, and girdles, etc., which manufactures the craftsmen of England well understood. This law rests on a true rule, namely, where foreign materials are superfluous, there the manufactures made from them are to be prohibited from abroad.

Hoc etenim aut superfluitates illas arcebit, aut manufacturam lucrabitur. 26. Lata est etiam lex alia quae chartae regiae de peculiaribus carceribus revocarentur, illique muneri vicecomitis reannecterentur, peculiaribus scilicet et privilegiatis officiariis non minus ad interruptionem iustitiae facientibus quam locis privilegiatis.

For this will either ward off those superfluities, or will profit the manufacture. 26. Another law was also passed, by which the royal charters concerning peculiar prisons were to be revoked, and they were to be re‑annexed to the office of the sheriff, since peculiar and privileged officials contribute to the interruption of justice no less than privileged places.

27. Lata est insuper lex quae leges municipiorum restringeret, quae saepenumero impugnare solebant praerogativam regis, legem communem regni, et libertatem subditorum, huiusmodi municipiis et collegiis nihil aliud existentibus quam fraternitatibus in malo. Ordinatum igitur est ne huiusmodi leges peculiares executioni demandarentur, nisi recognitae fuissent et approbatae a cancellario et thesaurario Angliae ac duobus capitalibus iusticiariis sive eorum tribus, aut etiam a duobus iusticiariis itinerantibus in locis ubi municipium situm esset. 28. Lata est etiam lex alia quae hoc revera agebat, ut argentum regni in monetariam regis adduceretur.

27. In addition a law was enacted to restrict the laws of municipalities, which were often wont to assail the prerogative of the king, the common law of the realm, and the liberty of the subjects, such municipalities and colleges being nothing other than fraternities in evil. It was ordained therefore that such particular laws should not be committed to execution, unless they had been reviewed and approved by the chancellor and treasurer of England and the two chief justices, or by any three of them, or even by two itinerant justices in the places where the municipality was situated. 28. Another law was also enacted which in effect provided that the silver of the realm be brought into the king’s mint.

Ordinabat autem ut omnes nummi argentei tonsi aut diminuti in solutionibus pecuniarum minime reciperentur, ne grani quidem facta gratia, quam remedium vocant, sed tantum cum exceptione attritionis competentis, quae ob incertitudinem exceptio erat quasi illusoria. Adeo ut per consequentiam omnes nummos argenteos in monetariam regis iterum recudendos adduci necesse fuerit, unde rex propter novam cusionem fructum perciperet.

It further ordained that all silver coins that were clipped or diminished should in payments of moneys not be received at all, not even a grain being granted as grace, which they call the “remedy,” but only with the exception of competent attrition, which exception, on account of its uncertainty, was as it were illusory. So that, in consequence, it became necessary that all the silver coins be brought to the king’s mint to be recoined, whence the king would reap fruit (profit) from the new striking.

29. Ordinatum est etiam statutum prolixum contra mendicos et errones, in quo duae res occurrunt notatu dignae. Prima, comitiis displicuisse huiusmodi erronum incarcerationem, utpote quae populo sumptui esset carceres superoneraret, neque publicum exemplum quod in oculos hominum incurreret exhiberet. Altera, quod in statutis huius regis (neque enim hoc statutum anni decimi noni solum est in eo genere) semper copulantur erronum supplicia cum interdictis de alea aut chartis pictis et huiusmodi ludis illicitis a servis et plebeiis utendis, atque una de cauponulis sive cervisiariis supprimendis, cum haec fibrae sint unius radicis, atque ac si alterum absque caeteris extingui posse vana opinio esset.

29. A lengthy statute was also ordained against mendicants and vagrants, in which two things occur worthy of note. First, it displeased Parliament that the incarceration of vagrants of this sort, since it would be a cost to the people, would overburden the prisons, and would not exhibit a public example that would fall under the eyes of men. The second, that in the statutes of this king (for this statute of the 19th year is not alone in that kind) the punishments of vagrants are always coupled with interdicts concerning dice or painted cards and such illicit games to be used by servants and plebeians, and together with one for suppressing small taverns or ale-sellers, since these are fibers of one root, and as if it were a vain opinion that the one could be extinguished without the rest.

30. Quod vero ad turbulentas hominum coitiones et illicta famulitia, vix fuit parlamentum tempore huius regis absque statuto aliquo contra eas lato, rege semper excubias quasdam agente contra magnatum potentiam et populares coetus.

30. As to turbulent gatherings of men and illicit retinues, scarcely was there a Parliament in the time of this king without some statute passed against them, the king always keeping watch against the power of the magnates and the popular assemblies.

31. Concessum etiam regi fuit eo parliamento subsidium pecuniarum tam a laicis quam a clero. Nihilominus ante finem anni exivit commissio ad benevolentiam generalem colligendam, etsi nullum esset bellum, nulli metus. Eodem quoque anno civitas Londini quinque millia mercarum regi dedit pro confirmatione immunitatum suam, res certe quae magis initiis regis conveniret quam temporibus ultimis.

31. It was also granted to the king at that parliament a subsidy of money from both the laity and the clergy. Nevertheless, before the end of the year a commission issued to collect a general benevolence, although there was no war, no fear. In the same year as well the city of London gave the king five thousand marks for the confirmation of its immunities, a matter which certainly would more befit the beginnings of a king than his latter times.

Neque paulum lucri regi accessit occasione statuti recentis de recudendis drachmis et semidrachmis, hodie solidos et monetam sex denariorum aequantibus. Quantum vero ad molendina Empsoni et Dudleii, illa etiam nunc magis quam unquam antea molebant. Ita ut res esset plane stupenda videre quot imbres aurei in regis thesauros simul descenderint.

Nor did only a little profit accrue to the king on the occasion of the recent statute about re-coining drachmas and semidrachmas, which today are equivalent to shillings and the coin of six pence. As for the mills of Empson and Dudley, they were even now grinding more than ever before. So that it was a thing plainly stupendous to see how many golden showers at once descended into the king’s treasuries.

Nam primo solutiones posteriores dotis nuptialis ex Hispania in illud tempus incidebant; subsidium parliamentarium exigebatur; benevolentia colligebatur; adde commodum ex monetis recusis; immunitatum Londini remptiones; casualiae undique emergentia. Haec autem pecuniarum congeries eo magis fuit mirabilis quod rex eo tempore nullis omnino bellis aut motibus implicabatur, quin et unicum tantum filium habuit, filiam etiam unam innuptam. Praeterea rex is fuit qui prudentia excelleret, altosque itidem spiritus gereret, adeo ut gloriam ei ex divitiis petere opus non esset cum aliis rebus plurimus (nisi quod certum est avaritiam sibi materiam ambitionis semper proponere) eniteret.

For, first, the subsequent payments of the nuptial dowry from Spain were falling due at that time; the parliamentary subsidy was being exacted; the benevolence was being collected; add the advantage from the recoined moneys; the redemptions of London’s immunities; casual revenues emerging on every side. This congeries of monies was all the more marvelous because the king at that time was involved in no wars or disturbances at all, nay, he had only a single son, and likewise one daughter unmarried. Moreover, he was a king who excelled in prudence and likewise bore lofty spirits, to such a degree that he had no need to seek glory from riches, since in other matters he strove most abundantly (except that it is certain that avarice always proposes to itself material for ambition).

Ita ut unde tanta pecuniarum cupiditas regem obsiderit non facile quis habeat quod coniiciat. Forsitan amor filii hanc cogitationem animo suo suggessit se tam potens regnum et tantos thesauri tumulos relicturum ut filius arbiter fortunae propriae futurus esset.

So that, as to whence so great a cupidity of money has beset the king, one would not easily have anything to conjecture. Perhaps the love of his son suggested this thought to his mind: that he would leave behind so powerful a kingdom and such heaps of treasure that the son would be the arbiter of his own fortune.

32. Hoc etiam anno festum servientium ad legem celebratum fuit, quod fuit tempore regis huius secundum.

32. In this year also the feast of the Serjeants-at-law was celebrated, which was the second in this king’s time.