Chapter III: Part 3

Emerita the syster of kynge Lucius, whych is called the first christened kynge, a lady most vertuouse and faythfull for cōstauntly affermynge the veryte of Christ, suffered most tyrannouse death and was brent in the fyre. Helena Flauia, the doughter of kynge Coelus, and mother to great Constantyne the Emprour, was a woman of incomparable bewtie and lernynge. Non coulde be founde lyke her in the artes lyberall, neyther yet in the fyne handelynge of all instrumentes of musyke. She excelled all other in the dyuerse speches of nacyons, specyally in the Latyne, Greke, and Hebrue. She made a boke of the prouydence of God, an other of the immortalyte of the sowle, with serten Greke poemes, epystles, and dyuerse other treatyses. Constantia her doughter, was also a woman of most excellent giftes, had she not in the ende declyned to the detestable secte of the Arryanes, by serten hypocrytysh prestes. Vrsula Cynosura, the floryshynge douter of Dionothus the duke of Cornewale, was so nobylly brougt vp in all lyberall dyscyplyne, that Conanus the kynge of lytle Brytayne desyred her to wyfe, and as she went thydrewarde with .xi. thousande Brytaynes wyues more, by chaūce of wether and vyolence of see rouers both she and they peryshed by the waye.

[Sidenote: Annae duae.]

[Sidenote: Morganis.]

[Sidenote: Hermelinda.]

[Sidenote: Hylda.]

[Sidenote: Tres filiae.]

[Sidenote: Alenora.]

Anna the syster of Aurelius Ambrosius whych was afterwarde marryed to Lotho the kynge of Pyctes, & Anna the twynne syster of kynge Arthure, are of writers magnyfyed, for their dyuerse and excellent graces. Morganis a woman of incomparable loue towardes her parentes, and contraye, so secretly and wysely conuayed the body of kynge Arthure, the most worthy gouernour of the Brytaynes, that the Englysh Saxons coulde neuer come to it, to do their vyolēce theron. Hermelinda, rysynge of the Englysh Saxons bloude, for her excellent bewtie and noble behauer became the wyfe of Cunibertus the kynge of Lombardy. Hylda, a noble woman, both godly, wyse, and lerned, not only dysputed in the open Synode at Streneshalce in the North contraye agaynst the prelates, concernynge their newly founde out celebracyon of Eastre, and their crowne shauynge, with other ceremonyes, but also wrote a treatyse agaynst byshopp Agilbert a Frenche man, the busyest amonge them. The thre doughters of kynge Alphrede, Elfleda, Elfritha, and Ethelgora, were wonderfully experte in the lyberall scyences. Alenor the wyfe of kynge Henry the seconde, was lerned also, & wrote dyuerse epystles to pope Celestyne the thirde, & also to kynge Iohan her yongest sonne.

[Sidenote: Ioanna.]

[Sidenote: Margareta.]

[Sidenote: Elisabeth.]

[Sidenote: Names.]

Ioāna the yongest doughter of the seyd kynge Henry, so moch delyghted in good letters, that before she shulde be marryed to kynge wyllyam of Cycyll, she caused her father to sende ouer .ij. lerned men of Englande, walther and Rycharde with a French doctour called Petrus Blesensis to instruct hym in them, specyally in the arte of versyfyenge. And at her cōmynge thydre, the one of those Englysh men was made archebyshop of Panorme, & the other byshop of Siracusa, in recompēce of their labours. Margarete the noble mother of kynge Henry the .vij. so plenteously mynded the preferment of scyences & goynge forewarde of lernynges, that she buylded in Cambryge for the same porpose, the colleges of Christ & of S. Iohan the Euāgelyst, and gaue landes for their mayntenaunce, as quene Helisabeth ded afore, to the quenes college there. Longe were it to rehearce the excedynge nombre of noble women, whych in thys lande of Brytayne or realme of Englande, haue excelled in bewtie, wytte, wysdome, scyence lāguages, lyberalyte, polycyes, heroycall force, and soch other notable vertues, and by reason of them done feates wonderfull. Eyther yet to sort out their Names and regestre them one by one, whych haue bene marryed out of the same, to Emprours, kynges, dukes, earles, worthy captaynes, Phylosophers, phesycyanes, astronomers, poetes, & other of renomed fame and letters, only for their most rare graces and gyftes.

[Sidenote: Writers.]

[Sidenote: Alenora Cobham.]

[Sidenote: Double honoure.]

Though non in thys lande haue yet done as ded amonge the Grekes Plutarchus, & amonge the Latynes Boccatius with other authours afore named, that is to saye, left beynde them Cataloges or Nomenclatures of famouse and honorable women, yet haue it not at any tyme bene barrayne of them. No, not in the dayes of most popysh darkenesse. As apereth by Alenor Cobham, the wyfe of good duke Vmfrey of Glocestre, brother to kynge Hēry the fift. Whom Antichristes grande captaynes, the byshoppes than of Englāde, in hate of her name and beleue, accused of sorcerouse inchauntmentes and experymentes of Necromancy agaynst their holy horned whorysh churche. And at the last slewe her noble husbande in a false parlement at Bury, by their owne hyred slaughter man Pole, as they neuer are without soch. If they were worthy prayse, whych had these aforenamed vertues syngle, or after a bodyly sort only, we must of congruence graunt them worthy double honoure, whych haue them most plēteously doubled. As now sens Christes Gospell hath rysen, we haue beholden them, & yet se them styll to thys daye in many noble women, not rysynge of flesh and bloude as in the other, but of that myghty lyuynge sprete of hys, whych vanquyshed deathe, helle, and the deuyll.

[Sidenote: Anne Askewe.]

[Sidenote: Noble.]

[Sidenote: Women.]

[Sidenote: Prayer.]

Consydre yet how strongly that sprete in Anne Askewe, set them all at nought with all their artyllery and mynysters of myschefe both vpon the racke and also in the fyre. Whose memory is now in benedyccyon (as Iesus Syrach reporteth of Moses) and shall neuer be forgotten of the ryghteouse. She as Christes myghty membre, hath strongly troden downe the head of the serpent, and gone hence with most noble vyctory ouer the pestyferouse seede of that vyperouse worme of Rome, the gates of helle not preuaylynge agaynst her. What other noble women haue, it doth now, and wyll yet herafter apere more largely by their godly doctryne and dedes of fayth. Marke thys present boke for one, whose translacyon was the worke of her, whych was but a babe at the doynge therof. Marke also the graue sentences, whych she geueth fourth to the worlde, & laude that lyuynge father of our lorde Iesus Christ, whych hath thus taken hys heauenly wysdome from the great graue senyours, that only are wyse in their owne consaytes, and geuen it so largely to chyldrē, Math. 11. That heauenly lorde graūt her and other noble women longe contynuaūce in the same to hys hygh pleasure. That lyke as they are become gloryouse to the worlde by the stody of good letters, so maye they also apere gloryouse ī hys syght by dayle exercyse in hys dyuyne scriptures, Whose nature is in processe of tyme to kyndle their myndes and inflame their hartes in the loue of Christ their eternall spouse, as thys present boke requyreth, So be it.

* * * * *

Thus endeth thys godly Medytacyon of the christen sowle concernynge a loue towardes God and hys Christ, aptely translated into Englysh by the ryght vertuouse lady Elyzabeth doughter to our late souerayne Kynge Henry the .viij.

¶ The .xiij. Psalme of Dauid, called, _Dixit insipiens_, touched afore of my lady Elizabeth.

Fooles that true fayth, yet neuer hod,
Sayth in their hartes, there is no God.
Fylthy they are, in their practyse,
Of them not one, is godly wyse.
From heauen the lorde, on man ded loke,
The knowe what wayes, he vndertoke,
All they were vayne, and went a straye,
Not one he founde, in the ryght waye,
In harte and tunge, haue they deceyte,
Their lyppes throwe fourth, a poysened beyte.
Their myndes are mad, their mouthes are wode.
And swyft they be, in shedynge blode.
So blynde they are, no truth they knowe,
No feare of God, in them wyll growe.
How can that cruell sort be good?
Of Gods dere folcke, whych sucke the blood?
On hym ryghtly, shall they not call,
Dyspayre wyll so, their hartes appall.
At all tymes God, is with the iust,
Bycause they put, in hym their trust.
Who shall therfor, from Syon geue,
That helthe whych hāgeth, in our beleue.
Whan God shall take, frō hys the smart,
Than wyll Iacob, reioyce in hart.
Prayse to God.

Imprented in the yeare of our lorde 1548, in Apryll.