Chapter XV: Part 15

Moreouer, such were preferred to bishoprikes, and other ecclesiasticall liuings, as neither could teach nor preach, nor knew any thing of the scripture of God, but onelie to call for their tithes and duties; so that they were most vnworthie the name of bishops, being lewd and most vaine persons disguised in bishops apparell. Furthermore, there reigned abundantlie the filthie sinne of leacherie and fornication, with abhominable adulterie, speciallie in the king, but most chéefelie in the prelacie, whereby the whole realme by |869| such their euill example, was so infected, that the wrath of God was dailie prouoked to vengeance for the sins of the prince and his people. How then could it continue prosperouslie with this king? against whom for the fowle enormities wherewith his life was defamed, the wrath of God was whetted and tooke so sharpe an edge, that the same did shred him off from the scepter of his kingdome, and gaue him a full cup of affliction to drinke; as he had doone to other kings his predecessors, by whose example he might haue taken warning. For it is an heauie case when God thundereth out his reall arguments either vpon prince or people.

Thus haue ye heard what writers doo report touching the state of the time and doings of this king. But if I may boldlie saie what I thinke: he was a prince the most vnthankfullie vsed of his subiects, of any one of whom ye shall lightlie read. For although (thorough the frailtie of youth) he demeaned himed himselfe more dissolutelie than séemed conuenient for his roiall estate, & made choise of such councellors as were not fauoured of the people, whereby he was the lesse fauoured himselfe: yet in no kings daies were the commons in greater wealth, if they could haue perceiued their happie state: neither in any other time were the nobles and gentlemen more cherished, nor churchmen lesse wronged. But such was their ingratitude towards their bountifull and louing souereigne, that those whom he had chéeflie aduanced, were readiest to controll him; for that they might not rule all things at their will, and remooue from him such as they misliked, and place in their roomes whom they thought good, and that rather by strong hand, than by gentle and courteous meanes, which stirred such malice betwixt him and them, till at length it could not be asswaged without perill of destruction to them both.

The duke of Glocester chéefe instrument of this mischéefe, to what end he came ye haue heard. And although his nephue the duke of Hereford tooke vpon him to reuenge his death, yet wanted he moderation and loialtie in his dooings, for the which both he himselfe and his lineall race were scourged afterwards, as a due punishment vnto rebellious subiects; so as deserued vengeance seemed not to staie long for his ambitious crueltie, that thought it not inough to driue king Richard to resigne his crowne and regall dignitie ouer vnto him, except he also should take from him his guiltlesse life. What vnnaturalnesse, or rather what tigerlike crueltie was this, not to be content with his principalitie? not to be content with his treasure? not to be content with his depriuation? not to be content with his imprisonment? but being so neerelie knit in consanguinitie, which ought to haue moued them like lambs to haue loued each other, wooluishlie to lie in wait for the distressed creatures life, and rauenouslie to thirst after his bloud, the spilling whereof should haue touched his conscience so, as that death ought rather to haue beene aduentured for his safetie, than so sauagelie to haue sought his life after the losse of his roialtie.

But to let this passe to the consideration of the learned: according to our order, I will shew what writers of our English nation liued in his daies, as we find them in Iohn Bales centuries. First Henrie Bederic, otherwise surnamed of Burie, after the name of the towne where he is thought to haue béene borne, an Augustine frier; Simon Alcocke, Vthred Bolton a moonke of Durham, borne in the borders of Wales beyond Seuerne; William Iordan a blacke frier, Iohn Hilton a frier Minor, Iohn Clipton a Carmelite frier in Notingham, Henrie Daniell a blacke frier and a good physician, Ralfe Marham, Iohn Marcheleie a graie frier or cordelier as some call them, Thomas Broome a Carmelite frier of London, John Bridlington borne in Yorkeshire, William Thorne an Augustine frier of Canturburie, an historiographer, Adam Meremouth a canon of saint Paules church in London, that wrote two tretises of historicall matters, the one intituled Chronicon 40 annorum, and the other Chronicon 60 annorum; Simon Bredon borne in Winchcombe a doctor of physicke and a skilfull astronomer, Iohn Thompson borne in Norfolke in a village of that name, and a Carmelite frier in Blacknie.

More, Thomas Winterton borne in Lincolnshire, an Augustine frier in Stamford; |870| William Packington secretarie sometime to the Blacke prince an excellent historiographer, Geffraie Hingham a civilian, Iohn Botlesham borne in Cambridgeshire a blacke frier, William Badbie a Carmelite frier, bishop of Worcester, and confessor to the duke of Lancaster; William Folleuil a frier Minor borne in Lincolnshire, Iohn Bourgh parson of Collingham in Notinghamshire a doctor of diuinitie, and chancellor of the Vniuersitie of Cambridge; William Sclade a moonke of Buckfast abbie in Deuonshire, Iohn Thoresbie archbishop of Yorke and lord chancellor of England, was admitted by pope Vrbane the fift into the college of cardinals, but he died before K. Richard came to the crowne, about the eight and fourtith yeare of king Edward the third, in the yeare of our Lord 1374. Thomas Ashborne an Augustine frier, Iohn Astone an earnest follower of Wickliffes doctrine, and therefore condemned to perpetuall prison; Casterton a moonke of Norwich and an excellent diuine, Nicholas Radcliffe a moonke of saint Albons, Iohn Ashwarbie a diuine and fauourer of Wickliffes doctrine, Richard Maidstone so called of the towne in Kent where he was borne, a Carmelite frier of Ailesford.

[Sidenote: _Adunensis episcopus._]

Adde to these Iohn Wardbie an Augustine frier, and a great diuine; Robert Waldbie excellentlie learned as well in diuinitie as other arts, for the which he was first aduanced to a bishoprike in Gascoigne, and after he was admitted archbishop of Dubline; William Berton a doctor of diuinitie, & chancellor of the Vniuersitie of Oxford, and aduersarie to Wickliffe; Philip Repington abbat of Leicester a notable diuine and defender of Wickliffe, Thomas Lombe a Carmelite frier of Lin, Nicholas Hereford a secular priest, a doctor of diuinitie, and scholer to Wickliffe; Walter Brit also another of Wickliffes scholers wrote both of diuinitie & other arguments, Henrie Herklie chancellor of the Vniuersitie of Oxford, an enimie to Wickliffe, and a great sophister; Robert Iuorie a Carmelite frier of London, and the twentith prouinciall of his order here in England; Lankine a Londoner, an Augustine frier, professed in the same citie, a doctor of diuinitie, an aduersarie to Wickliffe.

More, William Gillingham a moonke of saint Sauiours in Canturburie; Iohn Chilmarke a fellow of Marton colledge in Oxford, a great philosopher and mathematician; Iohn Sharpe a philosopher, and a diuine, wrote manie treatises, a great aduersarie to Wickliffe; Richard Lauingham borne in Suffolke, and a frier of Gipswich, an excellent logician, but a sore enimie to them that fauoured Wickliffes doctrine; Peter Pateshull, of whome ye haue heard before: it is said that he was in the end constreined for doubt of persecution to flie into Boheme; William Woodford a Franciscane frier, a chosen champion against Wickliffe being now dead, procured thereto by the archbishop of Canturburie Thomas Arudnell; Iohn Bromyard a Dominicke frier, both a notable lawyer & a diuine, a sore enimie also to Wickliuists; Marcill Ingelne an excellent philosopher and a diuine, one of the first teachers in the Vniuersitie of Heidelberge, which Robert duke of Bauier and countée palantine of the Rhene had instituted about that season; Richard Northall sonne to a maior of London (as is said) of that name, he became a Carmelite frier in the same citie; Thomas Edwardson prior of the friers Augustines at Clare in Suffolke, Iohn Summer a Franciscane frier at Bridgewater, an enimie to the Wickliuists; Richard Withée a learned priest & an earnest follower of Wickliffe, Iohn Swafham a Carmelite frier of Lin, a student in Cambridge who became bishop of Bangor, a great aduersarie to the Wickliuists.

Finallie, and to conclude, William Egumond a frier heremit of the sect of the Augustins in Stamford; Iohn Tissington a Franciscane frier, a mainteiner of the popes doctrine; William Rimston or Rimington a moonke of Salleie, an enimie also to the Wickliuists; Adam Eston well séene in the toongs, was made a cardinall by pope Gregorie the eleauenth, but by pope Vrban the sixt he was committed to prison in Genoa, and at the contemplation of king Richard he was taken out of prison, but not fullie deliuered till the daies of Boniface the ninth, who restored him to his former dignitie; Iohn Beaufu a Carmelite of Northampton, proceeded doctor of diuinitie in Oxenford, and was made prior |871| of his house; Roger Twiford aliàs Goodlucke, an Augustine frier; Iohn Treuise a Cornishman borne, and a secular préest and vicar of Berklie, he translated the bible; Bartholomew De proprietatibus rerum; Polychronicon of Ranulph Higden, and diuerse other treatises, Rafe Spalding a Carmelite frier of Stamford; Iohn Moone an Englishman borne, but a student in Paris, who compiled in the French toong the Romant of the Rose, translated into English by Geffrie Chaucer, William Shirborne; Richard Wichingham borne in Norffolke, and diuerse other.

Thus farre Richard of Burdeaux, whose depriuation you haue heard; of his lamentable death hereafter, to wit, pag. 516, 517.

[In the present Edit. Vol III. pages 13 & 14.]

THE END OF THE SECOND VOLUME.

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE

Original spelling and grammar are generally retained, with a few exceptions noted below. Original italics _look like this_. Superscript is marked like this: y^e. Original page numbers look like this: |735|.

This transcription is based almost exclusively on scanned page images from an edition with publication date 1807. The title page information, together with Part 1 of this Volume II, is located in Project Gutenburg ebook#16738. The page images used herein probably were private, not available on the internet; but Google has made page images from the same edition available―see [Title: Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland, Volume 2 Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland, Raphael Holinshed. Author: Raphael Holinshed. Publisher: Johnson, 1807. Original from: the Bavarian State Library. Digitized: Nov 25, 2009.] book ID=4r0_AAAAcAAJ, at books.google.com. This 1807 edition seems to be closely based on the 1587 edition of the _Chronicles_, printed in blackletter. Page images from the 1587 edition are available from the University of Pennsylvania. Vol. II, part 12 is at http://sceti.library.upenn.edu (textID=holinshed_richII). In a very few instances listed below, corrections have been made, or questions have been answered, by referring to the 1587 edition.

Current ebook software does not lend itself optimally to the original close association of sidenotes with specific lines of text. Therefore, sidenotes are now assigned to specific paragraphs rather than to lines. Moreover, the original sidenotes were often printed in a manner which makes it impossible to distinguish one sidenote paragraph from the next. One example of this occurred on page 850, with a sidenote printed like this:

_Abr. Fl._ out of
_Thom. Wals._
pag. 395.
_Polydor._

It turns out, proven by comparison with the 1587 edition, that _Polydor._ is a separate paragraph from the rest. But there are many similar instances, both in this 1807 edition and in the 1587 edition, none of which have been checked.

Page 735. In “the denied to paie for hir” _the_ was changed to _she_, to agree with the 1587 edition.

Page 739. In “cruell proceedings of those rude & baee people”, change _baee_ to _base_, to conform with the 1587 edition.

Page 763. The extra _the_ was removed from “heard the the friers information”.

Page 767. From “An other day 72 French ships (as they”, the unmatched left parenthesis mark was removed.

Page 772–773. Two sidenotes appear similar; the first is partially illegible, and is herein made the same as the second. The second is less illegible, and appears to be “_Abr. Fl._ out of _Henrie Knighton_ canon of Leicester abbeie”.

Page 776. The sidenote attached to the last paragraph was partly illegible, and is herein rendered “The king of Armenia sueth for”.

Page 788. In “to hurt them, or or cause any hurt”, removed the extra _or_, per the 1587 edition.

Page 790. In “to tarie louger, as one despairing”, changed _louger_ to _longer_, per the 1587 edition.

Page 798. In “the state of the meanest peason”, changed _peason_ to _person_, to comform with the 1587 edition.

Page 801. In “one of the heires to to Iohn Scot”, removed the extra _to_.

Page 803. From “which (according (as I haue seene noted) was”, removed the second left parenthesis, to agree with the 1587 edition.

Page 804. In “deliuered by the mouth of Walter Langhton”, retained, the _n_ should probably be _u_, making the word _Laughton_.

Page 807. In “saluo iure alterius cuiuscunq;.”, the text in the 1587 edition shows the “semicolon” as subscript, although it is retained herein as shown unsubscripted in the 1807 edition. Together with the q, this might be a ligature for que. There are several other instances of words ending in "q;", none of which have subscripted semicolons in this 1807 edition.

Page 829. From “more bold to interlace) about”, removed the unmatched right parenthesis.

Page 834. Original “prease on London bridg [*missing*] by reason thereof”, changed to “prease on London bridge, that by reason thereof”, per the 1587 edition.

Page 842. In “foure thousand nobles yéere e paid out of”, changed _yéere e_ to _yéerelie_, per the 1587 edition.

Page 844. In ‘than well.” “No |845| more said the king,’, removed the unmatched left quotation mark from _No_.

Page 845. The unmatched right double quotation mark was removed from the phrase ‘it could not be so brought to passe, his honor saued.’

Page 847. A matching right double quotation mark was added to the end of the sentence beginning ‘The proclamation ended, an other herald cried’.

Page 857. In “but the earle rode before, at it were”, changed _at_ to _as_, per the 1587 edition.

Page 869. In “God thundereth out his reall arguguments”, changed _arguguments_ to _arguments_, per the 1587 edition.