Chapter VIII: Part III (5)

And therefore, _Baldwine_, eyther speake vpright[1097]
Of our affayres, or touch them not at all:
As for my selfe I way all thinges so light,
That nought I passe how men report my fall:
The truth whereof yet playnly shew I shall,
That thou mayst write and others thereby rede,
What thinges I did whereof they should take heede.

7.

Thou hast heard of[1098] _Tiptoft’s_ earles of _Worcester_,
I am that lord that liu’d in _Edwarde’s_ days
The fourth, and was his friend and counsaylour,
And butcher to, as common rumor sayes:
But people’s voyce is neyther shame nor prayse,
For whom they would aliue deuoure to day,
To morow dead they will[1099] worship what they may.

8.

But though the people’s verdit go by chaunce,
Yet was there cause to call mee as they did:
For I, enforst by meane of gouernaunce,
Did execute what euer[1100] my king did bid,
From blame herein my selfe I cannot rid:
But fye vpon the wretched state, that must
Defame it selfe, to serue the prince’s lust.

9.

The cheifest crime wherewith men doe me charge,
Is death of th’[1101] earle of _Desmund’s_ noble sonnes,
Of which the kinge’s charge doth me clere discharge,
By strayt commaundement and iniunctions:
Th’effect whereof so rigorously runnes,
That eyther I must procure to see them dead,
Or for contempt as a traytour loose my head.[1102]

10.

What would mine enemies[1103] doe in such a case,
Obay the king or proper death procure?
They may well say theyr fancy for a face,
But life is sweete, and loue hard to recure:
They would haue done as I did, I am sure,
For seldom will a welthy man at ease
For other’s cause his prince in ought displease.

11.

How much lesse I, which was lieuetenaunt than
In th’[1104] _Irish_ isle, preferred by the king:
But who for loue or dread of any man,
Consents t’[1105] accomplish any wicked thing,
Although chiefe fault thereof from other spring,
Shall not escape God’s vengeance for his deede,
Who scuseth none that dare doe ill for drede.

12.

This in my king and mee may well appeare,
Which for our faultes did not escape the scourge:
For whan wee thought our state most sure and clere,
The wynd of _Warwicke_ blew vp such a sourge,
As from the realme and crowne the king did pourge,
And mee both from mine office,[1106] friendes, and wife,
From good report, from honest death and life.

13.

For the earle of _Warwicke_, through a cancarde grudge[1107]
Which to king _Edward_ causelesse hee did beare,
Out of his realme by force did make him trudge,
And set king _Henry_ agayne vpon his chaire:
And then all such as _Edwarde’s_ louers were,
As traytours tane were greuously opprest,
But chiefly I, because I lou’d him best.

14.

And, for[1108] my goods and liuinges were not small,
The gapers for them bare[1109] the world in hand
For ten yeares space, that I was cause of all
The executions done[1110] within the land:
For this did such as did not vnderstand
Mine enmies drift, thinke all reportes were true:
And so did[1111] hate mee worse then any Jewe.

15.

For seldom shall a ruler lose his life,
Before false rumors openly be spred:
Wherby this prouerbe is as true as rife,
That ruler’s rumors hunt about a head,
Frowne fortune once, all good report is fled:
For present shew doth make the mayny blind,
And such as see dare not disclose their minde.

16.

Through this was I king _Edward’s_ butcher named,
And bare the shame of all his cruell deedes:
I cleare me not, I worthely was blamed,
Though force was such I must obay him needes:
With hiest rulers seldome well it speedes,
For they be euer nerest to the nyp,
And fault who shall, for all feele they the whip.

17.

For whan I was by parliament attaynted,
King _Edward’s_ euils all were counted mine:
No truth auayled, so lies were faste and painted,
Which made the people at my life, repine,
Crying, “_Crucifige_, kill that butcher’s lyne:”
That when I should haue gone to _Blockham_ feast,
I could not passe, so sore they one me preast.

18.

And had not bene the officers so strong,
I thinke they would haue eaten[1112] me aliue,
Howbeit, hardly haled from the throng,
I was in the flete fast shrouded by the shriue:
Thus one daye’s life theyr malice did mee gieue,
Which whan they knew, for spite the next day after
They kept them calme, so suffered I the slaughter.

19.

Now tell mee, _Baldwine_, what fault dost thou finde
In mee, that iustly should such death deserue?
None sure except desire of honour blinde,
Which made mee seeke in offices to serue:
What minde so good that honours make not swerue?
So mayst thou see it only was my state
That caus’d my death, and brought mee so in hate.

20.

Warne therfore all men wisely to beware,
What offices they enterprise to beare:
The hiest alway most maligned are,
Of people’s grudge, and prince’s hate in feare.
For prince’s faults his faultors all men teare:
Which to auoyde, let none such office take,
Saue he that can for right his prince forsake.

[This earle’s[1113] tragedy was not so soone finished, but one
of the company had prouided for another of a notable person,
lord _Tiptoft’s_ chiefe enemy: concerning whom hee sayd: “Lord
God what trust is there in worldly chaunces? what stay in any
prosperity? for see the earle of _Warwicke_ which caused the
earle of _Worcester_ to be apprehended, attainted, and put to
deth, triumphing with his old imprisoned and new vnprisoned
prince, king _Henry_, was by and by after, and his brother
with him, slayn at _Barnet_ field by king _Edward_, whom hee
had before time damaged diuers wayes. As first by his friendes
at _Banbury_ fielde, where to reuenge the death of his cosin
_Henry[1114] Neuill_, syr _Iohn Coniers_, and _Iohn Clappam_, his
seruauntes, slue fiue thousand _Welshmen_, and beheaded theyr
captaynes, the earle of _Pembroke_ and syr _Richard Harbert_ his
brother, after they were yeelded prisoners: of whom syr _Richard
Harbert_ was the tallest gentilman both of his person and handes
that euer I read or heard of. At which time also, _Robin_ of
_Ridsdale_,[1115] a rebell of the earle of _Warwicke’s_ raysing,
tooke the earle _Riuers_, king _Edwarde’s_ wiue’s father, and
his sonne _Iohn_, at his manour of _Grafton_, and carried them
to _Northampton_, and there without cause or proces beheaded
them. Which spites to requite, king _Edward_ caused the lord
_Stafford_ of _Sowthwike_, one of _Warwicke’s_ chiefe frendes,
to be taken at _Brent march_, and headed at _Bridgewater_. This
caused the earle shortly to raise his power, to encounter the
king which came against him with an army, beside _Warwicke_ at
_Wolney_, where hee wan the field, tooke the king prisoner, and
kept him a while in _Yorkeshire_ in _Middleham_ castle: whence
(as some say) hee released him againe, but other thinke hee
corrupted hys keepers and so escaped. Then through the lords
the matter was taken vppe betweene them, and they brought to
talke togeather, but because they could not agree, the earle
araised a new army, whereof he made captayn the lord _Welles’_
sonne, which broile king _Edward_ minding to appease by pollicy,
fouly distained his honour, committing periury: for hee sent
for the lord _Welles_ and his brother sir _Thomas Dymocke_,
vnder safe conduite promising them vpon his fayth to keepe them
harmelesse. But after, because the lord _Welles’_ sonne would not
dissolue his army, beheaded them both and went with his power
into _Lincolnshire_ and there fought with sir _Robert Welles_,
and slewe ten thousand of his souldiers (yet ran they away so
fast, that casting of their clothes for the more speede, caused
it to bee called _Lose coate fielde_) and tooke sir _Robert_ and
other, and put them to death in the same place. This misfortune
forced the earle of _Warwicke_ to saile into _Fraunce_ where
hee was entertained of the king a while, and at last with such
poore helpe as hee procured there of duke _Rainer_ and other,
hee came into _England_ againe, and encreased such a power in
king _Henrie’s_ name, that as the lord _Typtofte_ sayd in his
tragedy, king _Edward_ vnable to abide him, was faine to flie
ouer the washes in _Lincolnshire_ to get a ship to saile out
of his kingdome to his brother in lawe the duke of _Burgoine_.
So was king _Henry_ restored againe to his[1116] kingdome. All
these despites and troubles the earle wrought against king
_Edward_. But _Henry_ was so infortunate that ere halfe a yeare
was expired, king _Edward_ came backe againe, and enprisoned him
and gaue the earle a fielde, wherein hee slewe both him and his
brother. I haue recounted thus much before hand for the better
opening of the story, which, if it should haue beene spoken in
his tragedy, would rather haue made a volume then a pamphlete.
For I entend onely to say in the tragedy, what I haue noted in
the earle of _Warwicke’s_ person, wishing that these other noble
men, whome I haue by the way touched, should not bee forgotten.
And therefore imagine that you see this earle lying with his
brother in _Paule’s_ church[1117] in his coate armoure, with such
a face and countinaunce as he beareth in portraiture ouer the
dore in _Paule’s_, at the going down to _Iesus_ chappell from the
south end of the quier stayres, and saying as followeth.”]

How Sir _Richard Neuill_ Earle of Warwicke,
and his brother _Iohn_, Lord Marquise
_Montacute_, through their too
much boldnesse were slaine at
Barnet, the 14 of Aprill,
Anno 1471.[1118]

1.

Among the heauy heape of happy knightes,
Whome fortune stald vpon her staylesse stage,
Oft hoyst on hie, oft pight in wretched plights,
Behold mee, _Baldwine_, _a per se_ of my age,
Lord _Richard Neuill_, earle by maryage
Of _Warwicke_ duchy, of _Sarum_ by discent,
Which erst my father through his mariage hent.

2.

Wouldst thou beholde false fortune in her kinde?
Note well my selfe, so shalt thou see her naked:
Full faire before, but too too foule behinde,
Most drowsy still whan most shee seemes awaked:
My fame and shame her shift full oft hath shaked,
By enterchaunge, alow, and vp aloft,
The lysard like, that chaungeth hew full oft.

3.

For while the duke of _Yorke_ in life remaynde,
Mine vncle deare, I was his happy hand:
In all attempts my purpose I attaynde,
Though king, and queene, and most lordes of the land,
With all their power did often mee withstand:
For God gaue fortune, and my good behauiour
Did from their prince steale mee the people’s fauour.

4.

So that through mee in fieldes right manly fought,
By force myne vncle tooke king _Henry_ twise:
As for my cosin _Edward_ I so[1119] wrought,
When both our siers were slaine through rash aduice,
That hee atchiefde his father’s enterprise:
For into _Scotland_ king and queene wee chased,
By meane whereof the kingdome hee embraced.

5.

Which after hee had enioyed[1120] in quiet peace,
(For shortly after was king _Henry_ take,
And put in prison)[1121] his power to encrease,
I went to _Fraunce_ and match[1122] him with a make
The _French_ kinge’s daughter, whome hee did forsake:
For while with paine I brought this sute to passe,
Hee to a widdowe rashely wedded was.

6.

This made the _French_ king shrewdly to mistrust,
That all my treaties had but ill pretence,
And when I sawe my king so bent to lust,
That with his fayth hee past not to dispence,
Which is a prince’s honour’s chiefe defence:
I could not rest till I had found a meane
To mend his misse, or els to marre him cleane.

7.

[Wherefore] I mee allied[1123] with his brother _George_,
Incensing him his brother to maligne,
Through many a tale I did against him forge:
So that through power that wee from[1124] _Calais_ bring
And found at home, wee frayed so the king,
That hee did flie to[1125] _Freseland_ ward amayne,
Whereby king _Henry_ had the crowne againe.

8.

Than put wee th’earle[1126] of _Worcester_ to death,
King _Edward’s_ friend, a man to foule[1127] defamed:
And in the while came _Edward_ into breath:
For with the duke of _Burgoine_ so hee framed,
That with the power that hee to him had named,
Unlooked for hee came to _England_ streight,
And got to _Yorke_, and tooke the towne by sleight.

9.

And after through the sufferaunce of my brother,
Which like a beast occasion fouly lost,
Hee came to _London_ safe with many other,
And tooke the towne to good king _Henrie’s_ cost:
Who was through him from post to piller tost,
Till th’earle[1128] of _Oxforde_, I, and other more,
Assembled power his freedome to restore.

10.

Whereof king _Edward_ warned came with speede,
And camped with his hoast in _Barnet_ towne,
Where wee right fearce encountred him in deed
On _Easter_ day, right earely, on the downe:
There many a man was slaine and stricken downe,
On eyther side, and neither part did gaine,
Till that I and my brother both were slaine.[1129]

11.

For wee to hart[1130] our ouermatched men,
Forsooke our steedes, and in the thickest throng
Ran preacing forth on foote, and fought so then
That downe wee draue them were they neuer[1131] so strong:
But ere this lucke[1132] had lasted very long
With nomber and force wee were so fouly cloyed,[1133]
And rescue faylde, that quite wee were destroyed.

12.

Now tell mee, _Baldwine_, hast thou heard or read
Of any man that did as I haue done?
That in his time so many armies led,
And victory at euery voyage won?
Hast thou euer[1134] heard of subiect vnder sonne,
That plaast and baast his soueraignes[1135] so oft
By enterchaunge, now low, and than aloft?

13.

Perchaunce thou thinkst my doinges were not such
As I and other doe affirme they were:
And in thy minde I see thou musest much
What meanes I vsde, that should mee so prefer:
Wherein, because I will thou shalt not erre,
The truth of all I will at large recyte,
The short is this: I was no hypocrite.

14.

I neuer did nor sayd saue what I ment,
The common weale was still my chiefest care:
To priuate gayne or glory was I neuer bent,[1136]
I neuer past[1137] vpon delicious fare:
Of needefull food my bourd was neuer bare,
No creditour did curse mee day by day,
I vsed playnnesse, euer pitch and pay.

15.

I heard poore[1138] souldiers and poore workemen whine
Because theyr dutyes were not truely[1139] payde:
Agayne I saw how people did repine
At those through whom theyr payment was[1140] delayde:
And proofe did oft assure (as scripture sayd)
That God doth wreke the wretched people’s greues,
I saw the polls cut of fro polling theues.

16.

This made mee alway iustly for to deale,
Which whan the people playnly vnderstoode,
Because they saw mee mynd the common weale,
They still endeuoured how to doe mee good,
Ready to spend theyr substaunce, life, and bloud,
In any cause where to I did them moue:
For sure they were it was for theyr behoue.

17.

And so it was: for when the realme decayed
By such as good king _Henry_ sore abused,
To mend the state I gaue his enemies ayde:
But when king _Edward_ sinfull prankes still vsed,
And would not mend, I likewise him refused,
And holp _Henry_, better[1141] of the twayne,
And in his quarell (iust I thinke) was slayne.

18.

And therefore, _Baldwine_, teach by proofe of mee,
That such as couet people’s loue to get,
Must see theyr workes and wordes in all agree,
Liue liberally and keepe them out of det,
On common welth[1142] let all theyr care be set:
For vpright dealing, dets payd, poore sustayned,
Is meane whereby all heartes are throwly gayned.[1143]

[As soone as the earle had ended this admonition: “Sure,”
sayd[1144] one, “I thinke the earle of _Warwicke_ (although
hee were a glorious man) hath sayd no more of himselfe then
what is true. For if hee had not had notable good vertues, or
vertuous qualities, and vsed laudable meanes in his trade of
life, the people would neuer haue loued him as they did: but God
be with him, and send his soule rest, for sure his body neuer
had any. And although he dyed, yet ciuil warres ceased not.
For immediately after his death came queene _Margaret_ with a
power out of _Fraunce_, bringing with her her yong son prince
_Edward_: and with such friends as she found here, gaue king
_Edward_ a battayl at _Tewkesbury_, where both she and her son
were taken prisoners with _Eadmund_ duke of _Somerset_ her chiefe
captayne: whose son lord _Iohn_, and the earle of _Deuonshyre_
were slayn in fight,[1145] and the duke himselfe with diuers
other immediately beheaded. Whose infortunes are worthy to be
remembred, chiefly prince _Edward’s_, whome the king for speaking
trueth cruelly stroke with his gauntlet, and his brethren
tyrannously[1146] murdered. But seing the time so far spent, I
will passe them ouer, and with them _Fauconbridge_ that ioly
rouer beheaded at _Southampton_: whose commotion made in _Kent_,
was cause of sely _Henrye’s_ destruction. And seing king _Henry_
himselfe was cause of the destruction of many noble princes,
being of all other most infortunate himselfe, I will declare what
I haue noted in his vnlucky life: who wounded in prison with a
dagger, may lament his wretchednesse in maner following.”]

How King _Henry_ the sixte, a vertuous Prince,
was, after many other miseries, cruelly
murdered in the Tower of London, the
22 of May, Anno 1471.[1147]

1.

If euer woefull wight had cause to rue his state,
Or by his ruefull plight to moue men mone his fate,
My piteous plaint may please my mishap to reherse,
Whereof the least most lightely heard, the hardest hart may perce.

2.

What hart so hard can heare of innocence opprest
By fraud in worldly goods, but melteth in the brest?
Whan guiltlesse men bee spoilde, imprisoned for their owne,
Who waileth not their wretched case to whom the case is knowen?

3.

The lyon licks[1148] the sores of seely wounded shepe,
The dead man’s corse may[1149] cause the crocodile to wepe,
The waues that waste the rocks refresh the rotten redes,
Such ruth the wrack of innocence in cruell creatures bredes.

4.

What hart is then so hard but will for pity blede,
To heare so cruell lucke so cleare a life succede?
To see a seely soule with wo and sorrow sounst,[1150]
A king depriude, in prison pent, to death with daggers
dounst.[1151]

5.

Would God the day of birth had brought me to my bere,
Then had I neuer felt the chaunge of fortune’s chere:
Would God the graue had gript me in her greedy woumbe,
Whan crown in cradle made me king with oyle of holy thoumbe.

6.

Would God the rufull tombe had bene my royall throne,
So should no kingly charge haue made me make my mone:
O that my soule had flowen to heauen with the ioy,
Whan one sort cryed, God saue the king, another, _Viue le Roy_.

7.

So had I not bene washt in waues of worldly wo,
My minde to quiet bent, had not bene tossed so:
My frendes had ben aliue: my subiects not opprest:[1152]
But death, or cruell destiny, denied me this rest.

8.

Alas, what should we count the cause of wretches cares,
The starres do stirre them vp, astronomy declares:
Our[1153] humours, sayth the leache, the double true deuines
To th’[1154] will of God, or ill of man, the doubtfull cause
assignes.

9.

Such doltish heades as dreame that all things driue by haps,
Count lacke of former care for cause of after claps,
Attributing to man a power fro God bereft,
Abusing vs, and robbing him, through their most wicked theft.

10.

But God doth guyde the world, and euery hap by skill,
Our wit, and willing power, are payzed by his will:
What wit most wisely wardes, and will most deadly vrkes,
Though all our powre would presse it downe, doth dash our
warest workes.

11.

Than desteny, our sinne, God’s will, or else his wreake,
Doe worke our wretched woes, for humours be too weake,
Except wee take them so, as they prouoke to sinne,
For through our lust by humours fed all vicious deedes beginne.

12.

So sinne and they be one, both working like effect,
And cause the wrath of God to wreake the soule infect,
Thus wrath and wreake deuine, man’s sinnes and humours ill,
Concurre in one, though in a sort, ech doth a course fulfill.

13.

If likewise such as say the welkin fortune warkes,
Take fortune for our fate and starres thereof the markes,
Then desteny with fate and God’s will all bee one:
But if they meane it otherwise, skath causers skies be none.

14.

Thus of our heauy haps, chiefe causes bee but twayne,
Whereon the rest depend, and vnder put remayne:
The chiefe the will deuine, calde desteny and fate,
The other sinne, through humour’s holpe, which God doth
highly hate.

15.

The first apoynteth payne for good men’s exercise,
The second doth deserue due punishment for vice:
This witnesseth the wrath, and that the loue of God,
The good for loue, the bad for sinne, God beateth with his rod.

16.

Although my sondry sinnes doe place mee with the worst,
My haps yet cause mee hope to bee among the fyrst:
The eye that searcheth all and seeth euery thought,
Is iudge how sore I hated sinne, and after vertue sought.

17.

The solace of my soule my chiefest pleasure was,
Of worldly pomp, of fame, or game, I did not passe:
My kingdomes nor my crowne I prised not a crum:
In heauen were my riches heapt, to which I sought to com.

18.

Yet were my sorrowes such as neuer man had like,
So diuers stormes at once, so often did mee strike:
But why, God knowes, not I, except it were for this,
To shewe by paterne of a prince, how brittle honour is.

19.

Our kingdomes are but cares, our state deuoide of stay,
Our riches ready snares, to hasten our decay:
Our pleasures priuy prickes, our vices to prouoke,
Our pompe a pumpe, our fame a flame, our power a smouldring smoke.

20.

I speake not but by proofe, and that may many rue,
My life doth cry it out, my death doth try it true:
Whereof I will in brefe rehearse the[1155] heauy hap,
That, _Baldwine_, in his woefull warpe, my wretchednes may wrap.

21.

In _Windsore_ borne I was, and bare my father’s name,
Who wonne by warre all _Fraunce_ to his eternall fame,
And left to mee the crowne, to bee receiued in peace
Through mariage made with _Charles_ his heyre, vpon his
life’s decease.

22.

Which shortly did ensue, yet died my father furst,
And both the[1156] realmes were mine, ere I a yeare were nurst:
Which as they fell too soone, so faded they as fast:
For _Charles_, and _Edward_, got them both or forty yeares
were past.

23.

This _Charles_ was eldest sonne of _Charles_ my father in lawe,
To whome as heire of _Fraunce_, the _Frenchmen_ did them draw,
But _Edward_ was the heire of _Richard_ duke of _Yorke_,
The heyre of _Roger Mortimer_, slaine by the kerne of _Korke_.

24.

Before I came to age _Charles_ had recouered _Fraunce_,
And kild my men of warre, so happy was his chaunce:
And through a mad contract I made with _Raynerd’s_ daughter
I gaue and lost all _Normandy_, the cause of many a slaughter.

25.

First of mine vncle _Humfrey_, abhorring sore this act,
Because I thereby brake a better precontract:
Than of the flattering duke that first the mariage made,
The iust rewarde of such as dare theyr princes ill perswade.

26.

And I poore sely wretch abode the brunt of all,
My mariadge lust so sweete was mixt with bitter gall:
My wife was wise and good, had she ben rightly sought,
But our vnlawfull getting it, may make a good thing nought.

27.

Wherefore warne men beware how they iust promise breake,
Least proofe of paynfull plagues do cause them wayle the wreake,
Aduise well ere they graunt, but what they graunt performe:
For God will plague all doublenes although we feele no worme.

28.

I falsly borne in hand, beleued I did well,
But all thinges bee not true that learned men doe tell:
My clergy sayd a prince was to no promise bound,
Whose wordes to be no gospell tho, I to my griefe haue found.

29.

For after mariage ioynde queene _Margaret_ and mee,
For one mishap afore, I dayly met with three:
Of _Normandy_ and _Fraunce_, _Charles_ got away my crowne,
The duke of _Yorke_ and other sought at home to put mee downe.

30.

Bellona rang the bell at home and all abroade,
With whose mishaps amayne fell fortune did mee lode:
In _Fraunce_ I lost my forts, at home the foughten field,
My kinred slayn, my friendes opprest, my selfe enforst to yeeld.

31.

Duke _Richard_ tooke mee twise, and forste mee to resine
My crowne and titles, due vnto my father’s lyne:
And kept mee as a warde, did all thinges as him list,
Till that[1157] my wife through bloudy sword had tane me
from[1158] his fist.

32.

But though we[1159] slew the duke my sorrowes did not slake,
But like to _Hydrae’s_ head still more and more awake:
For _Edward_, through the ayde of _Warwicke_ and his brother,
From one field draue mee to the _Scots_, and toke me in another.

33.

Then went my friendes to wracke, for _Edward_ ware the crowne,
From[1160] which for nine yeares space his pryson held me downe:
Yet thence through _Warwicke’s_ worke I was agayne releast,
And _Edward_ driuen fro the realme, to seeke his friendes by east.

34.

But what preuayleth paine, or prouidence of man,
To help him to good hap, whom destiny doth ban?
Who moyleth to remoue the rocke out of the mud,
Shall myre himselfe, and hardly scape the swelling of the flud.

35.

This all my friendes haue founde, and I haue felt it so,
Ordaynd to be the touch of wretchednes and woe:
For ere I had a yeare possest my seat agayne,
I lost both it and liberty, my helpers all were slaine.

36.

For _Edward_ first by stelth, and sith by gathred strength,
Arriude, and got to _Yorke_ and _London_ at the length:
Tooke mee and tyed mee vp, yet _Warwicke_ was so stout,
Hee came with power to _Barnet_ fielde, in hope to helpe mee out:

37.

And there, alas, was slaine, with many a worthy knight:
O Lord, that euer such lucke should hap in helping right:
Last came my wife and sonne, that long lay in exile,
Defied the king, and fought a fielde, I may bewaile the while.

38.

For there mine onely sonne, not thirteene yeares of age,
Was tane, and murdered straight by _Edward_ in his rage:
And shortly I my selfe, to stint all furder strife,
Stabde with his brother’s bloudy blade in prison lost my life.

39.

Lo, here the heauy haps which happened mee by heape,
See here the pleasaunt fruites that many princes reape,
The painefull plagues of those that breake theyr lawfull bandes,
Their meede which may and will not saue their friendes fro
bloudy handes.

40.

God graunt my woefull haps, too greeuous to rehearce,
May teach all states to knowe, howe deepely daungers pearce,
How fraile all honours are, how brittle worldly blisse,
That warned through my fearefull fate, they feare to doe
amisse.[1161]

[This tragedy ended, another sayd: “Either you or king _Henry_
are a good philosopher, so narowly to argue the causes of
misfortunes? but there is nothing to experience which taught,
or might teach the king this lesson. But to proceede in our
matter, I finde mention here, shortly after the death of this
king, of a duke of _Excester_ found dead in the sea betweene
_Douer_ and _Calais_, but what hee was, or by what aduenture hee
died, maister _Fabian_ hath not shewed, and maister _Hall_ hath
ouerskipped him: so that except wee be friendlier vnto him, hee
is like to be double drowned, both in sea, and in the gulfe of
forgetfulnes.” About this matter was much talke, but because
one tooke vpon him to seeke out that story, that charge was
committed to him. And to bee occupied in the meane while, I haue
found the story of one drowned likewise, and that so notably,
though priuely, that all the world knew of it: wherefore I sayd:
“Because night approacheth, and that wee will lose no time, yee
shall heare what I haue noted concerning the duke of _Clarence_,
king _Edward’s_ brother, who all to bee washed in wine, may
bewayle his infortune after this maner.”]

How _George Plantagenet_, third sonne of the Duke
of Yorke, was by his brother King _Edward_
wrongfully imprisoned, and by his
brother _Richard_ miserably
murdered the 11 of Jan.
An. 1478.[1162]

1.

The foule is fowle, men say, that files the nest:
Which makes me loth to speke now, might I chuse,
But seyng time vnburdened hath her brest,
And fame blowne vp the blast of all abuse,
My silence rather might my life accuse
Than shroude our shame, though fayne I would it so,
For truth will out, although the world say no.

2.

And therefore, _Baldwine_, hartely I[1163] thee beseche
To pause a while vpon my heauy playnt,
And vnneth though[1164] I vtter speedy speche,
No fault of wit nor folly makes[1165] mee faynt:
No heady drinkes haue gieuen my tongue attaint
Through quaffing craft: yet wine my witts confound,
Not of which I dranke,[1166] but wherein I drownd.[1167]

3.

What prince I am, although I neede not shewe,
Because my wine betrayes mee by the smell:
For neuer creature was[1168] soust in _Bacchus_ dew
To death, but I, through fortune’s rigour fell:
Yet that thou maist my story better tell,
I will declare as briefly as I may,
My welth, my woe, and causers of decay.

4.

The famous house surnamde _Plantagenet_,
Whereat dame fortune frowardly did frowne,
While _Bolenbroke_ vniustly sought to set
His lord king _Richard_ quite beside the crowne,
Though many a day it wanted due renowne,
God so preserved[1169] by prouidence and grace,
That lawfull heyres did neuer fayle the race.

5.

For _Lionell_, king _Edwarde’s_ eldest childe,[1170]
Both eame[1171] and heyr to _Richard_ yssulesse,
Begot a daughter _Phillip_, whom[1172] vndefilde[1173]
The earle of _March_ espousde, and God did blesse
With fruite assinde the kingdom to possesse:
I meane syr _Roger Mortimer_, whose heyre,
The earle of _Cambridge_, maried _Anne_ the fayre.

6.

This earle of _Cambridge_, _Richard_ clept by name,
Was sonne to _Edmund Langley_ duke of _Yorke_:
Which _Edmund_ was fift brother to the same
Duke _Lionell_, that all this lyne doth korke:
Of which two howses ioyned in a forke,
My father _Richard_, prince _Plantagenet_,
True duke of _Yorke_, was lawfull heyr beget.

7.

Who tooke to wife as yee shall vnderstand
A mayden of a noble house and olde,
_Raulfe Neuil’s_ daughter, earle of _Westmerland_,
Whose sonne earle _Richard_, was a baron bolde,
And had the right of _Salisbury_ in holde,
Through mariage made with good earle _Thomas_ heyre,
Whose earned prayses neuer shall appayre.

8.

The duke my father had by this his wife
Four sonnes, of whom the eldest _Edward_ hight,
The second _Eadmund_, who [in youth] did loose his life,[1174]
At _Wakefielde_ slayne by _Clyfford_ cruell knight:
I _George_ am third, of _Clarence_ duke by right:
The fourth, borne to the mischiefe of vs all,
Was duke of _Glocester_,[1175] whom men did[1176] _Richard_ call.

9.

Whan as our sire in sute of right was slaine,
(Whose life and death himselfe declared earst)
My brother _Edward_ plyed his cause amayne,[1177]
And got[1178] the crowne, as _Warwicke_ hath rehearst:
The pride whereof so deepe his stomacke pearst
That hee forgot his friendes, dispisde his kin,
Of oth or office passing not a pyn.[1179]

10.

Which made the earle of _Warwicke_ to maligne
My brother’s state,[1180] and to attempt a way
To bring from prison _Henry_, seely king,
To helpe him to the kingdome[1181] if hee may,
And knowing mee to bee the chiefest stay
My brother had, hee did mee vndermine
To cause mee to his treasons to encline.[1182]

11.

Whereto I was prepared long before,
My brother had beene to mee so vnkinde:
For sure no cankar fretteth flesh so sore,[1183]
As vnkinde dealing doth a louing minde:
Loue’s strongest bandes vnkindnes doth vnbinde,
It moueth loue to malice, zeale to hate,
Chiefe friendes to foes, and brethren to debate.

12.

And though the earle of _Warwicke_, subtile sire
Perceiude I bare a grudge against my brother,
Yet toward his feate to set mee more on fire,
Hee kindled vp one firebrand with another:
For knowing fancy was the forcing rother
Which stirreth youth to any kinde of strife,
Hee offered mee his daughter to my wife.

13.

Where through, and with his crafty filed tongue,
Hee stale my heart that earst vnsteady was,
For I was witlesse, wanton, fond and yong,
Whole bent to pleasure, brittle as the glasse,
I can not lye, _In vino veritas_:
I did esteeme the bewty of my bryde
Aboue my selfe, and all the world beside.

14.

These fond affections ioynd with lacke of skill,
(Which trap the heart, and blind the eyes of youth,
And pricke the minde to practise any ill)
So tickled mee, that voyde of kindly truth,
(Which if it want all wretchednes[1184] ensueth)
I stinted not to persecute my brother,
Til time hee left his kingdom to another.

15.

Thus carnall loue did quench the loue of kinde,
Till lust were lost through fancy fully fed:
But whan at length I came vnto my minde,
I saw how lewdly lightnes had mee led,
To seeke with payne the perill of my heade:
For had king _Henry_ once beene setled sure,
I was assurde my dayes could not endure.

16.

And therefore, though I bound my selfe with[1185] oth
To help king _Henry_ all that euer[1186] I might,
Yet at the treaty of my brethren both,
Which reason graunted to require but right:
I left his part, whereby hee perisht quite:
And reconcilde mee to my brethren twayne,
And so came _Edward_ to the crowne agayne.

17.

This made my father[1187] in law to fret and fume,
To stamp and stare, and call mee false forsworne,
And at the length with all his power, presume
To help king _Henry_, vtterly forlorne:
Our friendly proffers still hee tooke in scorne,
Refused peace, and came to _Barnet_ fielde,
And there was kild, because hee would not yeelde.

18.

His brother also there with him was slayne,
Whereby decayed the keyes of chiualrye:
For neuer liu’d the matches of them twayne,
In manhood, power, and martiall pollecy,
In vertuous thewes, and friendly constancy,
That would to God, if it had bene his will,
They might haue tournde to vs and liued still.

19.

But what shalbe, shall bee: there is no choyse,
Thinges needes must driue as desteny decreeth,
For which wee[1188] ought in all our haps reioyce,
Because the eye eterne all things foreseeth
Which to no ill at any tyme agreeth,
For ills, to ill to vs, be good to it,
So far his skill’s exceede our reach of wit.

20.

The wounded man which must abyde the smart
Of stitching vp, or searing of his sore,
As thing to bad, reproues the surgeon’s art
Which not withstanding doth his health restore.
The childe likewise to science plied sore,
Counts knowledge ill, his teacher to be wood,
Yet surgery and sciences be good.

21.

But as the pacient’s griefe and scholer’s payne,
Cause them deme bad such things as sure be best,
So want of wisdome causeth vs complaine
Of euery hap, wherby we seme opprest:
The poore doe pine for pelfe, the rich for rest,
And when as losse or sicknesse vs assayle
We curse our fate, our fortune we bewayle.

22.

Yet for our good, God worketh euery thing:
For, through the death of these two noble peres,
My brother liu’d and raynde a quiet king,
Who, had they liued, perchaunce in course of years
Would haue deliuered _Henry_ fro the breres,
Or holpe his sonne t’[1189]enioy the carefull crowne,
Wherby our line should haue bene quite put downe.

23.

A carefull crowne it may be iustly named,
Not onely for the cares thereto annext,[1190]
To see the subiect well and duly framed,
With which good care few kings are greatly vext,
But for the dred wherwith they are perplext,
Of losing lordship, liberty, or life:
Which wofull wracks in kingdoms happen ryfe.

24.

The which to shun while some to sore haue sought,
They haue not sparde all persons to suspect:
And to destroy such as they gilty thought,
Though no apparaunce proued them infect.
Take me for one of this wrong punisht sect,
Imprisonde first, accused without cause,
And done to death, no processe had by lawes.

25.

Wherin I note how vengeaunce doth acquite
Like yll for yll, how vices vertue quell:
For as my mariage loue did me excite
Agaynst the king my brother to rebell,
So loue to haue his children prosper well,
Prouoked him, agaynst both law and right,
To murder me, his brother, and his knight.

26.

For by his queene two princelyke sonnes he had,
Borne to be punisht for their parent’s synne:
Whose fortunes kalked made the father sad,
Such wofull haps were found to be therin:
Which to auouch, writ in a rotten skin,
A prophesie was found, which sayd, a G
Of _Edward’s_ children should destruction bee.

27.

Mee to bee G, because my name was _George_,
My brother thought, and therefore did mee hate,
But woe be to the[1191] wicked heads that forge
Such doubtfull dreames to breede vnkinde debate:
For God, a gleue, a gibbet, grate, or gate,
A Gray, a Griffeth, or a Gregory,
As well as George, are written with a G.

28.

Such doubtfull riddles are no prophesies:
For prophesies, in writing though obscure,
Are playne in sence, the darke be very lies:
What God foresheweth is euident and pure,
Truth is no harold nor noe sophist sure:
She noteth not men’s names, their shieldes, nor creasts,
Though she compare them vnto byrds and beasts.

29.

But whom she doth forshewe shall rayne by force,
She tearms a wolfe, a dragon, or a beare:
A wilfull prince, a raynlesse ranging[1192] horse:
A bold, a lion: a cowarde much in feare,
A hare or harte: a crafty, pricked eare:
A leacherous, a bull, a goate, a foale:
An vndermyner, a moldwarpe, or a mole.

30.

By knowen beastes thus truth doth playne declare
What men they be of whom shee speakes before:
And who so can men’s properties compare
And marke what beast they doe resemble more:
Shall soone discerne who is the griesly bore:
For God by beastes expresseth men’s condicions,
And not theyr badges, haroldes supersticions.

31.

And learned _Merlyne_, whom God gaue[1193] the sprite
To know and vtter princes actes to come,
Like to the Iewish prophets, did recite
In shade of beastes, theyr doings all and some,
Expressing plaine by maners of the dome,
That kinges and lordes such propertyes should haue
As haue the beastes whose name he to them gaue.

32.

Which while the foolish did not well consider,
And seeing princes gaue, for difference
And knowledge of theyr issues mixt together,
All maner beastes for badges of pretence,
There tooke those badges to expresse the sence
Of _Merlyne’s_ minde, and those that gaue the same,
To bee the princes noted by theyr name.

33.

And hereof sprang the false namde prophesies,
That goe by letters, siphers, armes, or sines:
Which all bee foolish, false, and crafty lyes,
Deuisde by gesse, or guiles vntrue deuines:
For whan they saw that many[1194] of many lynes
Gaue[1195] armes alyke, they wist not which was hee
Whom _Merlyne_ ment the noted beast to bee.

34.

For all the broode of _Warwicke’s_ gaue the beare,
The _Buckinghams_ doe likewise gieue the swan:
But which beare bearer should the lyon teare
They were as wise as _Goose_ the fery man:
Yet in theyr skill they ceased not to scan,
And to bee deemed of the people wise,
Set forth theyr gloses vpon[1196] prophesies.

35.

And whome they douted openly to name
They darkely tearmed or by some letter ment,
For so they thought, how euer the world did frame,
Preserue themselues from shame, or being shent:
For, howsoeuer contrary it went,
They might expound their meaning otherwise,
As haps in things should newely still arise.

36.

And thus there grewe of a mistaken truth,
An art so false as made the true suspect:
Whereof hath come much mischiefe, more the ruth
That errours should our mindes so much infect,
True prophets[1197] haue fowly beene reiect:
The false, which breede both murder, warre, and strife,
Beleeued to the losse[1198] of many a good man’s life.

37.

And therefore, _Baldwine_, teach men to discerne,
Which prophecies be false and which bee true:
And for a ground this lesson let them learne,
That all bee false which are deuised newe:
The age of thinges are iudged by the hue:
All riddels made by letters, names or armes,
Are yong and false, far worse then witche’s charmes.

38.

I knowe thou musest at this lore of mine,
How I, no studient, should haue learned it:
And dost impute it to the fume of wine
That stirs the tongue, and sharpneth vp the wit:
But harke, a friend did teach mee euery whit,
A man of mine, in all good knowledge rife,
For which hee guiltlesse lost his learned life.

39.

This man abode my seruaunt many a day,
And still in study set his whole delight:
Which taught mee more then I could beare away
Of euery arte: and by his searching sight
Of thinges to come hee would foreshew as right,
As I rehearse the pageants that were past:
Such perfectnes God gaue him at the last.

40.

He knew my brother _Richard_ was the bore,
Whose tuskes should teare my brother’s boyes and me,
And gaue me warning therof long before:
But wyt nor warning can in no degree
Let thinges to hap, which are ordainde to bee:
Witnesse the painted lionesse, which slue
A prince imprisoned, lyons to eschewe.

41.

He told me eke[1199] my yoke fellow should dy,
(Wherin would God he had bene no deuyne)
And after her death I[1200] should woo earnestly
A spouse, wherat my brother would repine,
And finde the meanes she should be none of[1201] mine:
For which such malice should among vs ryse,
As saue my death no treaty should decise.

42.

And as he sayd, so all things came to passe:
For whan king _Henry_ and his sonne were slaine,
And euery broyle so throughly quenched was
That the king my[1202] brother quietly did raygne,
I, reconciled to his loue agayne,
In prosperous health did leade a quiet lyfe,
For fiue yeares space with honours laden rife.

43.

And to augment the fulnesse of my blisse,
Two louely children by my wife I had:
But froward hap, whose maner euer is
In chiefest ioy to make the happy sad,
Bemixt my sweete with bitternes too bad:
For while I swam in ioyes on euery side,
My louing wife, my cheifest iewell dyed.

44.

Whose lacke whan sole I had bewaylde a yeare,
The duke of _Burgoine’s_ wife, dame _Margarete_,
My louing sister willing me to chere,
To mary[1203] agayne did kindely me intreate:
And wisht me matched with a mayden nete,
A step daughter of her’s, duke _Charles’_ hayre,[1204]
A noble damsell, yong, discrete and fayre.

45.

To whose desire because I did enclyne,
The king my brother douting my degree
Through prophesies, against vs did repyne,
And at no hand would to our wills agree:
For which such rancoure pearst both him and mee,
That face to face we fell at flat defiaunce,
But were appeased by frends of our aliaunce.

46.

Howbeit my mariage vtterly was dasht:
Wherin because my seruant sayd his minde,
A meane was sought wherby he mought[1205] be lasht:
And, for they could no crime agaynst him fynd,
They forgde a fault the people’s eyes to blinde,
And told he should by sorceries pretend
To bring the king vnto a spedy ende.

47.

Of all which poynts he was as innocent
As is the babe that lacketh kindely breth:
And yet condemned by the king’s assent,
Most cruelly put to a shamefull death:
This fierd my hart, as foulder doth the heath:
So that I could not but exclame and cry,
Agaynst so great and open iniury.

48.

For this I was commaunded to the tower,
The king my brother was so cruel harted,
And when my brother _Richard_ saw the hower
Was come, for which his hart so sore had smarted,
He thought it best take time before it parted:
For he endeuoured to attayne the crowne,
From which my life must nedes haue held him downe.

49.

For though the king within a while had died,
As nedes he must, he surfayted so oft,
I must haue had his children in my guyde,
So _Richard_ should besyde the crowne haue coft:
This made him ply the while the wax was soft,
To finde a meane to bring me to an ende,
For realm-rape spareth neyther kin nor frend.

50.

And whan hee sawe how reason can asswage
Through length of time my brother _Edward’s_ ire,
With forged tales hee set him newe in rage,
Till at the last they did my death conspire:
And though my truth sore troubled their desire,
For all the world did knowe mine innocence,
Yet they agreede to charge mee with offence.

51.

And, couertly, within the tower they calde
A quest, to geue such verdite as they should:
Who what with feare and what with fauour thralde,
Durst not pronounce but as my brethren would:
And though my false accusers neuer could
Proue ought they sayd, I guiltlesse was condemned:
Such verdites passe where iustice is contemned.

52.

This feate atchiued, yet could they not for shame
Cause mee bee kild by any[1206] common way,
But like a wolfe the tyrant _Richard_ came,
(My brother, nay my butcher I may say)[1207]
Unto the tower when all men were away,[1208]
Saue such as were prouided for the feate:
Who in this wise did straungely mee entreate.

53.

His purpose was with a prepared string
To strangle mee: but I bestird mee so,
That by no force they could mee therto bring,
Which caused him that purpose to forgo:
Howbeit they bound mee, whether I would or no,
And in a but of malmesey standing by,
Newe christned mee, because I should not cry.[1209]

54.

Thus drownde I was, yet for no due desert,
Except the zeale of justice bee a crime:
False prophecies bewitcht king _Edward’s_ hart,
My brother _Richard_ to the crowne would clime:
Note these three causes in thy rufull rime,
And boldly say they did procure my fall,
And death of deaths most straunge and hard of all.

55.

And warne all[1210] princes prophecyes to eschue,
That are to darke and doubtfull to be knowen:
What God hath sayd, that cannot but ensue,
Though all the worlde would haue it ouerthrowne:
When men suppose by fetches of theyr owne
To fly[1211] theyr fate, they furder on the same,
Like quenching blastes which[1212] oft reuiue the flame.

56.

Will princes therefore, not to thinke by murder
They may auoyde what prophecyes behight,
But by theyr meanes, theyr mischiefes they may furder,
And cause God’s vengeaunce heauier to alight:
Woe worth the wretch that striues with God’s foresight:
They are not wise, but wickedly do arre,
Which thinke yll deedes due destenies may barre.

57.

For if wee thinke that prophecyes be true,
We must beleue it cannot but betyde,
Which God in them foresheweth shall ensue,
For his decrees vnchaunged doe abide:
Which to be true my brethren both haue tryed,
Whose wicked warkes warne princes to detest,
That other’s harmes may keepe them better blest.[1213]

[By that this tragedy was ended, night was so nere come that wee
could not conueniently tary together any longer: and therefore
sayd maister _Ferrers_: “It is best my maisters to stay here.
For wee be come now[1214] to the end of _Edward_ the fourth’s
raigne.[1215] For the last whom wee finde vnfortunate therein,
was the duke of _Clarence_: in whose behalfe I commend much that
which hath bene noted. Let vs therefore for this time leaue with
him, and this day seauen nights hence, if your busines will so
suffer, let vs all meete here together[1216] agayne. And you
shall see that in the meane season I will not only deuise vpon
this my selfe, but cause diuers other of my acquayntance, which
can doe very well, to helpe vs forwarde with the rest.” To this
euery man gladly agreed. “Howbeit,” sayd[1217] another, “seing
we shall end at _Edward_ the fourth’s end, let himselfe make an
ende of our daye’s labour, with the same oration which maister
_Skelton_ made in his name, the tenour whereof, so far as I
remember, is as foloweth.”][1218]

Howe King _Edward_ the fourth[1219] through his
surfeting and vntemperate life, sodaynly
dyed in the middest of his prosperity,
the nynth of Aprill, Anno 1483.

1.

_Miseremini mei_ yee that bee my frendes,
This world hath formed mee downe to fall:
How may I endure whan that euery thing ends?
What creature is borne to be eternall?
Now there is no more but pray for mee all,
Thus say I, _Edward_, that late was your king,
And twenty-two[1220] yeares ruled this imperiall,[1221]
Some vnto pleasure and some to no lyking:
Mercy I aske of my misdoyng,
What avayleth it frendes to bee my foe?
Sith I cannot resist, nor amend your complayning,
_Quia ecce[1222] nunc in puluere dormio_.

2.

I sleepe now in mould as it is naturall,
As earth vnto earth hath his reuerture:
What ordayned God to bee terrestriall,[1223]
Without recourse to the earth by nature?
Who to liue euer may himselfe assure?
What is it to trust to mutability?
Sith that in this worlde nothing may endure:
(For now am I gone that was late in prosperity)
To presume thereuppon it is but[1224] vanity:
Not certayne, but as a chery fayre full of wo:
Raigned not I of late in great prosperity?[1225]
_Et ecce in nunc puluere dormio._

3.

Where was in my life such an one as I,
While lady fortune had with me[1226] continuaunce:
Graunted not shee mee to haue victory,
In _England_ to raigne and to contribute _Fraunce_?
Shee tooke mee by the hand and led me a daunce,
And with her sugred lips on mee shee smyled,
But what for dissembled countenaunce,
I could not beware till I was beguyled:
Now from this world shee hath mee exiled,
Whan I was lothest hence for to goe,
And am in age as[1227] (who sayth) but a childe,
_Et ecce nunc in puluere dormio._

4.

I had enough, I held mee not content,
Without remembraunce that I should dye:
And moreouer to encroch redy was I bent,
I knew not how long I should it occupye,
I made the towre strong, I wist not why:
I knew not to whom I purchased _Tartersall_:
I mended _Douer_ on the mountayne hye:
And _London_ I prouoked to fortify the wall:
I made _Notingham_ a place full royall:
_Windsore_, _Eltam_, and many other mo,
Yet at the last I went from them all,
_Et ecce nunc in puluere dormio_.

5.

Where is now my conquest and victory?
Where is my riches and royall array?
Where be my coursers and my horses hye,
Where is my myrth, my solace, and my play?
As vanity to nought all[1228] is wythered away:
O lady _Bes_ long for mee may you call,
For I am departed vntill dome’s day:
But loue you that lord that is soueraine of all:
Where bee my castles and buildings royall?
But _Windsore_ alone now haue I no moe,
And of _Eton_ the prayers perpetuall,
_Et ecce nunc in puluere dormio_.

6.

Why should a man bee prowde or presume hye?
Saint _Bernard_ thereof nobly doth treate,
Saying a man is but a sacke of stercory,
And shall retourne vnto wormes meate:
Why, what became of _Alexander_ the great?
Or else of strong _Sampson_, who can tell?
Were not wormes ordaynde theyr flesh to freate?
And of _Salomon_ that was of wit the well,
_Absolon_ preferred his hayre for to sell,
Yet for his bewty wormes eate him also,
And I but late in honoures did excell,
_Et ecce nunc in puluere dormio_.

7.