his men and made good the Bridge till a Soldier in a Boat rowing under the Bridge thrust his Spear through a crevice and so slew this valiant Champion After which the King fell upon the Danes and got an intire Victory over them killing King Harfager and Tosto his own Brother Olave the Son of Harfager and Paul Earl of Orkney were taken Prisoners with abundance more who begging their Lives the King ordered 20 of their 300 Ships to carry them to Denmark with the sad news of the loss of their King and his whole Army No sooner was this Storm over but a worse began for Duke William having prepared a great Army and Navy resolved for England having the free consent of his Nobility for his Voyage many of them assisting him therein But first he sent to Pope Alexander to confirm his Title to the Crown who did it readily and withal sent him a Consecrated banner an Agnus Dei and a Hair of St. Peter with a curse to all opposers to carry in the Ship wherein he himself failed Being thorowly furnished he and his Men embarqued at St. Vallery where they staid a long time for a Wind at length setting Sail Sep. 28. 1066. he arrived with his Fleet at Pevensey in Sussex where as soon as he landed it hapned one of his Feet stuck so fast in the Sand that he fell to the ground whereupon one of his Attendants catching him by the Arm and helping him up said Stand up my Lord and be of good Courage for now you have taken fast footing in England and observing that he had taken up Sand and Earth in his Hand he added You have now taken Livery and Seisin of the Country it being the custom that when Possession is taken of Land a piece of Earth is given to the Possessor A Wizard or Necromancer had told Duke William That he should safely arrive in England with his whole Army without any hindrance from Harold which after it came to pass King William sent for this Conjurer to confer further with him but it was told him That he was drowned in that Ship which alone of the whole Navy miscarried whereupon the Conqueror said He would never put confidence in that Science which was of more benefit to the Ignorant than the Skilful therein for it seems he could foresee my good fortune but not his own misfortune After his Landing the Duke set all his Ships a fire to assure his men that they must either conquer or die He then marched towards Hastings declaring the cause of his coming to be to inherit the Kingdom which was given him by King Edward and strictly charging his Soldiers not to wrong any of the People in the least since they were so soon to become his Natural Subjects He then sent Messengers to Harold either to deliver him up the Country and be subject to him or to fight it out in the sight of both Armies in single combat or lastly to stand to the Pope's Determination But he returned answer That unless he did suddenly depart he would give him cause to repent this his rash Invasion and that the next day it should he tryed by more Swords than One. Accordingly Harold marcheth couragiously against Duke Widiam who put himself into a posture to receive him It happned that the Morning before the Battel William's Armourer by mistake put on his Back-piece before and his Breast-plate behind which being observed by some of his Attendants was judged an ill Omen and therefore they advised him not to fight that day To whom the Duke replied I value not such Fooleries but if I have any skill in Soothsaying as in truth I have none I am of the opinion if doth foretel that I shall change my Condition and of a D. shall this day become a K. The Armies being Marshalled Harold placing the Kentish-men with their heavy Axes or Halberts in the Van the Battel began both Parties fighting bravely one for the Liberty of their Country and the other for a Kingdom The Normans perceiving they could not break the united strength of the English pretended to fly which the English believing pursued them in disorder whereupon the Normans taking the advantage rallied and charging them furiously in that disjoynted Posture made a very great slaughter among the English and among the rest King Harold his Brother and most of the English Nobility fell that day and of the Common Souldiers Sixty seven thousand nine hundred seventy four Others report an hundred thousand were slain Duke William had three Horses killed under him yet received not the least wound his Loss being only as is said Six thousand Men. Thus died King Harold after only nine Months Reign and was buried at Waltham Abby in Essex And it is very remarkable That whereas Harold with his Father Godwin had cruelly murdered Alfred the true Heir to the Crown and his Normans he was now by a Norman Wounded in the left Eye with an Arrow whereof he immediately died This great Battel was fought at Hastings in Sussex on Saturday October 14. 1066. The English after this vast loss had designed to make Edgar Atheling King but it was prevented by their private Animosities And thus ended the Saxon Monarchy in England which from Hengist in 475 to this Year had continued save only some short interruptions by the Danes Five hundred ninety one years During these stupendious Revolutions in the State and Government of England we do not read of much action between the Welsh and the Saxons Danes and Normans It is recorded they had still a Succession of Kings and Princes and among them Leoline ap Sytsill who lived about the year 900 in the Reign of Edward Sirnamed the Elder a Valiant Saxon King and yet free from Pride or Ambition saith the Historian as appears by the intercourse betwixt him and this Leoline who after several Skirmishes thought fit to Treat of Peace The King lay at a place called Austeline and the Prince at Bethesly not far distant Leoline thought it below him to cross the Severn to wait upon Edward whereupon the King went into a Boat to come over to him Leoline observing it and surprized at this great condiscention upon the King's approach to the opposite shoar threw off this rich Robe he had on prepared on purpose for that Royal Assembly and entred the Water Breast high where imbracing the Boat he submissively said Most Prudent and Worthy King your Humility hath overcome my Insolence and your Wisdom hath Triumphed over my Folly Come tread upon my Neck which I have foolishly lifted up against you and enter into my Country this Day with all freedom since your generosity hath made it all your own Having said this he took the King upon his Shoulders and carrying him ashoar caused him to sit down upon his Royal Robe and so putting his hands jointly into his acknowledged Homage and Allegiance to him Ethelstane his Successor had Wars with the Welsh whose Princes and
Lands belonging to them being alienated from the Church for ever Another Monastery of great account was at Basing-wark in this County near the famous Ditch made by Offa K. of the Mercians which begun in this place running through North-Wales nigh the mouth of the River Dee and from thence along the Mountains in the South and ended near Bristow at the fall of the Wye The Tract whereof is yet to be seen and called to this Day Clawd Offa or Offa's Ditch Congellus or Comgallus is challenged by the Welsh for their Countryman as being first Abbot of Banchor though Archbishop Vsher makes him the first Abbot of Bangor in the North of Ireland He was of a pious life wrote Learned Epistles and Died in 600. Elizabeth the seventh Daughter of King Edward I. and Queen Eleanor was born at Ruthland Castle where antiently a Parliament was kept This Princess at 14 years of age was Married to John Earl of Holland Zealand c. and after his death to Humfrey Bohun Earl of Hereford and Essex High Constable of England by whom he had a numerous Issue she died 1316. and was buried in the Abbey Church of Saffron Walden in Essex Owen Glendour Esquire was born in his antient Patrimony of Glendour Wye in this County was bred in London a Student of the Common Law till he became a Courtier and Servant to King Richard II. after whose death being on the wrong side of preferment he retired into Wales where there arose a difference between him and the Lord Grey of Ruthen about a Common upon which many spur'd on his posting ambition by telling him he was the true Heir of all North-Wales and he was likewise incouraged therein by those who pretended to interpret some Propheâ—s of the famous Merlin in his favour persuading him the time was come wherein he should recover the Welsh Principality All these allurements meeting with an aspiring mind and the English being at variance among themselves He in 1402. and the third year of K. Henry IV. endeavoured to draw the Welshmen to a general defection assuring them they had now a fair opportunity to shake off the English Yoke and to resume their own antient Laws and Customs To whose persuasions the Welshmen hearkning they constituted him their Prince and Captain General Having got some Forces together he falls first upon his old Adversary Reynold Lord Grey and takes him Prisoner yet with promise of releasment if this Lord would Marry his Daughter which offer though the Lord Grey at first not only refused but scorned yet was at last obliged to accept thereof though his treacherous Father in Law delayed his inlargement till he died The Welsh much animated with this first success break furiously into the Borders of Herefordshire plundring and destroying all before them being opposed only by the Lord Edmund Mortimer who had formerly withdrawn himself to the Castle of Wigmore He having assembled what Forces he was able gave them Battel and was taken Prisoner and then fettered cast into a deep and filthy Dungeon It was thought that if Glendour had as well known how to use his Victory as to get it he might at this time have much endangered the English Dominion over the Welsh But having killed 1000 English he thought he had done enough for that time and so giving over the pursuit retired The inhumanity of the Welsh Women was here memorable who stript the dead Carcasses of the English and then cut off their Privy Parts and Noses whereof the one they thrust into their Mouths the other they pressed between their Buttocks King Henry was compell'd to suffer these affronts at this time from the Welsh being ingaged in a dangerous War with Scotland that K. having Invaded England with a great Army but with very ill success his Forces being first defeated by the Earl of Northumberland And afterward by Henry Piercy his Kinsman called Hot-spur and George Earl of March who at a place called Hamilton kill'd 10000 Scots and took 500 Prisoners In the mean time Glendour had solicited the French King for aid who sent him 1200 men of quality but the Winds were so contrary that they lost 12 of their Ships and the rest returned home The English deriding this ill success of the French so exasperated the French K. that presently after he sent 12000 more who landed safely and joined with the Welsh but when they heard of the approach of the English Army whether mistrusting their own strength or suspecting the Welshmens faithfulness they ran to their Ships disgracefully went home Although King Henry IV. was advanced to the Crown by the Parliament of England who Deposed King Richard II. for his misgovernment yet many of those who were instrumental therein grew in a short time discontented upon one account or another as is usual in such cases insomuch that several Conspiracies were made against him Among others the Peircies Earls of Northumberland and Worcester with Henry Hot-spur began about this time to fall off from him one reason whereof was because the King at their request as well as of several other Noblemen refused to redeem their Kinsman Mortimer from Glendour's slavery for Henry was deaf of that Ear and could rather have wished both him and his two Sisters in Heaven for then he should be free from concealed Competitors And another cause was his denying them the benefit of such Prisoners as they had taken of the Scots whereupon they went of themselves and procured Mortimer's Delivery and then entred into a League Offensive and Defensive with Glendour and by their Proxies in the House of the Arch-Deacon of Bangor they agreed upon a Tripartite Indenture under their Hands and Seals to divide the Kingdom into three parts whereby all England from Severn and Trent South and Eastward was to be given to Edmund Mortimer Earl of March All Wales and the Land beyond the Severn West were assigned to Owen Glendour and all the remaining Land from Trent to the North to be the Partition of the Lord Piercy Wherein Glendour persuaded them they should accomplish an old Welsh Prophecy against the Mole or Mouldwarp of England That K. Henry was this Mouldwarp cursed of God's own Mouth and they were the Lion the Dragon and the Wolf which should divide the Land among them At this time King Henry utterly unacquainted with this Conspiracy published a Proclamation intimating that the Earl of March had voluntarily caused himself to be taken Prisoner to the end that the Welsh Rebels having him in their custody might have some pretence for their Insurrection and therefore he had little reason to be concerned for his Redemption Upon this the Piercy's assisted with some Scots and drawing to their Party the E. of Stafford Rich. Scroop Archbishop of York and many others they drew up certain Articles against King Henry and sent them to him in writing namely That he had falsified his Oath given at his landing That he came but only to recover his
Edward called the Confessor succeeded next in 1042. who was an absolute Englishman and the youngest Son of Etheldred and Queen Emma being invited from Normandy by all the English Nobility who disdained the Danish Subjection and was entertained with great Joy He first remitted that heavy Danish Tax of Forty thousand pound a year called Dane gilt imposed by his Father and paid forty years by all but the Clergy who are exempted Because the Kings reposed more confidence in the Prayers of the Holy Church than in the Power of Armies It is reported Edward forgave that Tax upon this occasion A great Sum of that Treasure being brought into his Chamber and laid in a heap he being called to see it was at first sight much affrighted protesting he saw the Devil dancing with great Joy upon the same and therefore commanded it should be again restored to his Subjects and released them from it for ever after He married Editha Earl Godwin's Daughter but never had any Conjugal Society with her though she was a Lady accomplished with all excellent Endowments both of Mind and Body so that this old Veâ—â—â—â—â— written on her Sicut Spina Rosam Genuit Goduinus Editham From prickled Stalk as sweetest Rose So Editha fair from Godwin grows Edward himself confessed upon his Death-bed That openly she was his Wife but in secret Embracings as his own Sister But whether it were Infirmity or Chastity it seems he was willing to have her accused of Incontinency whereof if she were guilty he could not be innocent it being a great injury to put his Wives vertue to so Tyrannical a trial After this some differences arose between him and Earl Godwin and Forces were raised on both sides but by the Intercession of the Nobility an Agreement was made Yet Godwin escaped not Divine Vengeance for being charged by the King for the Munder of Alfred he wished if he were guilty he might never swallow down a bit of Bread again which happened accordingly for the first bit of Bread he put into his Mouth choaked him as he sate with the King at Table A dreadful Instance of God's Severity against Perjury This King is blamed for his Cruelty to his Mother in forcing her to pass over nine burning Plow shares bare-foot and blind-fold for a Trial of her Continency which yet she performed without the least damage He is said to be the first King that cured the Disease called the King's-Evil It is related that this King lying on his Bed one Afternoon with the Curtains drawn a pilfering Courtier coming into his Chamber and finding the King's Casket open which Hugoline his Chamberlain had forgot to shut he took out as 〈◊〉 Money as he could well carry and went away But finding success he came a second and a third time still carrying off more At which the King who had observed all called to him to be gone with all speed since he had enough if he could be contented For said he if Hugoline should come and catch thee thou wilt go nigh to lose all thou hast got and may'st get a Halter into the Bargain The Fellow was no sooner gone but Hugoline came in and finding the Casket open and a great deal of Money taken out he was much incensed But the King bid him not be moved For said he he that hath it hath more need of it than we When this King Edward was hastning out of Normandy with a great Army to recover England from the Danes being ready to give Battel his Captains assured him of Victory and that they would not leave one Dane alive God forbid said Edward that the Kingdom should be recovered for me who am but one Man by the death of so many thousands better it is that I should live a private and unbloody Life than to be a King by such a Slaughter and Butchery This King having no lisue of his own sent for Edward the Son of Edmund Ironside out of Hungary who for his long absence was called the Outlaw but he dying soon after he declared Edgar the Outlaw's Son to be Heir and sirnamed him Atheling or Adeling a Term appropriated to the presumptive Heirs of the Crown He had also a Daughter named Matilda who was married to the King of Scots and was Mother to David King of Scotland and Maud Queen of England When King Edward was on his Death-bed he observed all present weeping and lamenting for him to whom he said If you loved me you would forbear weeping and rejoyce because I go to my Father with whom I shall receive the Joys promised to the Faithful not through my Merits but by the free mercy of my Saviour who sheweth mercy on who he pleaseth After the Death of Earl Godwin Harold his Son grew into great Favour with King Edward and was by him made Lieutenant of his Army against the Welch who with his Brother Tosto or Toston utterly subdued that Rebellion After which Harold still increasing more in favour with the King there grew such hatred between the two Brethren that Tosto coming to Hereford slew all his Brother's Servants and cutting them in pieces salted them and put them into powdering-tubs It hapned afterward that Harold going beyond Sea was by Tempest â—â—â—ven into Normandy and being seised and carrâ—â—d before Duke Wiliam he made him promise That after the death of King Edward he would secure the Kingdom for him according to King Edward's Will Which Oath having taken Harold came back and told King Edward what he had done who seemed well content therewith saith the Historian which if it were true he had surely forgot his former Declaration concerning Edgar Atheling However after the death of King Edward Harold neither regarding his Oath to Duke William nor Edgar's Right whom he dispised for his tender Age caused himself to be Proclaimed King without any great Ceremony or Celebration none much approving or disapproving thereof and to ingratiate himself with the People he eased them of several severe Taxes laid upon them by his Predecessor and was affable and kind to all But this was a short calm before a great storm for soon after Duke William sent his Ambassadors to him to mind him of his Oath but he returned answer That it was extorted from him in his Imprisonment and therefore was no way obliging At this Answerthe Duke was much inraged and prepared Forces for gaining the Kingdom by force Neither was Harold idle but made provision to withstand him At which time a dreadful Comet appeared in the Heavens which was then judged and after proved to be a fatal Omen During these Preparations Tosto Brother to Harold and Harfager King of Denmark with three hundred Ships invaded the Country landing in Yorkshire Harfager claiming the Crown as Son of Canutus but the Nobility of those parts opposing them were routed which Harold hearing march'd against them and at Stamford-Bridge he encountred them where his whole Army was withstood by one single Dane who slew forty of
Rulers he brought to be his Tributaries who at Hereford entred into Covenants to pay him yearly twenty pound weight in Gold three hundred weight of Silver and two thousand five hundred Head of Cattel with a certain number of Hawks and Hounds Toward the payment of which by the Statutes of Howel Dha the King of Aberfraw was charged at sixty six pounds the Prince of Dynever and the Prince of Powys the like Sums This Ethelstane confined the Britains who hitherto had enjoyed the City of Exeter with the same right as the Saxons into the furthest Promontory of Cornwall enlarging his Dominions beyond any Saxon King before him In the time of King Edward the Confessor 1053 the Irish with 36 Ships entred the River Severne and with the assistance of Griffith King or Prince of North-Wales burnt and destroyed all they met with Against whom Alfred Bishop of Worcester marching with considerable force was defeated many of his Souldiers being slain and the rest put to flight which much elevated the Welsh so that Rice the Brother of Griffith made many Incursions into the English Territories and carried away great Booties till at length he was routed and slain at Bulenden and his Head presented to King Edward at Glocester Two years after the King having banished Algar the Son of Leofrike Earl of Chester without cause he with the assistance of the Welsh and Irish under Grissith who had Married his Daughter much indamaged the English defeating Rodulf Earl of Hereford with the slaughter of five hundred men defacing that City and burning the Minster with many other mischiefs Against whom Harold Son to Earl Godwin afterward King and slain by William the Conqueror was sent who prosecuted the War with much courage and conduct pursuing his flying Enemies and passing through North-Wales Incamped upon Snowdon Hills but the Earl and Griffith not daring to come to an Engagement fled from thence to South-Wales and again took possession of Hereford of which Harold having notice marched thither with all diligence and soon recovering the City fortified it with a deep Trench and an high Rampire and for preventing of Bloodshed and ingratitude to Algar who had freely resigned his Earldom to Harold upon his return from Exile a peace was concluded and at Harold's request King Edward pardoned both him and Griffith But Algar raising fresh disturbances and again assisted by his old friend Griffith recovered his Earldom of Chester by Arms at which the King was highly offended especially with Griffith who was always ready to appear against him and Harold was a second time made General and with a great Army entred North-Wales without sight of an Enemy whereupon he burnt down the stately Palace of Prince Griffith and so returned to the King But the Welsh were not long quiet and Griffith inflamed with revenge with the greatest strength he could raise made Inroads into ihe English Borders Upon which Harold is sent a third time against them who burst into Wales with such mighty Forces that Prince Griffith doubting the Success withdrew secretly from his Camp leaving his Souldiers to fight for themselves if they pleased who finding their Prince had deserted them the whole Army yielded themselves to Harold's mercy and having seized upon Gaiffith they cut off his Head and sent it to Harold giving him Hostages for their future obedience and for payment of the ancient Tribute which for some time had been denied After which King Edward kept a severe Eye over the Welsh making a Law that if any of that Nation should pass armed over Offa's Ditch his Right Hand should be cut off In the Reign of William the Conqueror Roger Earl of Hereford raising a Rebellion against him in that Country was assisted by the Welsh but it being soon supprest and the Earl taken and banisht into Normandy the King used great severity against the Welsh putting out the Eyes of some Hanging others upon Gibbets and they that escaped best were forever banisht their Country and afterwards entring Wales with a great Army he obliged the Princes thereof who were unable to resist to do him Homage at St. Davids and taking Hostages for their peaceable demeanour he returned as a Victorious Conqueror In 1095. William Rufus finding the Welsh often attempting mischief against the English resolved to make a full Conquest of them and redoubling his usual Forces drew into the Marshes of Wales and their Incamped calling a Council of War to consult how to prosecute his design against them who finding their own weakness to oppose they according to their usual manner secured themselves in their Woods and Mountains and other inaccessible places Upon which the King sent Hugh Montgomery Earl of Shrewsbury and Hugh Lupus Earl of Chester into the Isle of Anglesey who there executed great cruelty on the People cutting off the Hands Noses and Arms of the Resisters sparing neither Age Sex nor place Sacred or Prophane from Destruction At which very time Mâ—gous King of Norway landed there in hope to Conquer the Island whom the English Earls opposed with all their might armed at all points yet Montgomery through the sight of his Beaver was shot with an Arrow into the right Eye whereof he died In 1107. those Flemings which his Brother Rufus had setled in Cumberland whose Lands the Seas had overwhelmed some years before were by King Henry I. removed into Ross in Wales both to free the Inland Country from such a burden and to keep the Welsh in obedience which project answered his expectation For saith Giraldus they were a Colony of stout men enured to the Wars and likewise Clothiers and Husbandmen as time and place required and most loyally devoted to the Crown of England whereby they kept the Country in subjection for some time Yet 1114. Griffith ap Conan Prince of North-Wales and Owen ap Cadogan Prince of South-Wales made Inroads upon the Lands of Gilbert Strangbow Hugh Earl of Chester and other English Gentlemen and so incensed the King by these Outrages that in a rage he vowed he would not leave one alive in North or South Wales and going thither in Person divided his Army into three parts to catch if possible these nimble Combatants who at his approach were got again to their old Recesses however with much difficulty he pursued and kill'd many of them in their Hills and Woods and the rest yielded to King Henry who returned home with much satisfaction In 1121. King Henry was again disquieted by the Welsh under Meredith ap Beldin Prince of Powis-Land and the three Sons of Cadogan who broke into the Marshes of Cheshire and burnt two Castles against whom the King marched with strong Forces sending the main of his Army and Carriages the Common Road but himself with a select company took a nearer way through the Streights and Mountains which the Welshmen having notice of they laid an Ambush who couragiously set upon them and rained down Showers of Arrows on them from the higher grounds
whereby many of the English were slain and one Arrow aimed at the King shot him on the Breast but by his Armour was hindred from doing farther mischief whereat he was little concerned only swore By our Lord's Death his usual Oath that he was sure that Arrow was shot by own of his Followers and not by a Welshman At length finding he should gain little and might lose much of the honour he had gained in this barren Country he concluded a Peace with the Welsh Princes giving them a thousand head of Cattel and so returned to London In 1138. Owen and Cadwallader the Sons of Griffith ap Conan Prince of Wales made an Irruption into the Pale and did much damage carrying away much spoil of Goods Horses Arms and other Habiliments of War which King Stephen was not able to revenge being sufficiently incumbered in defending his Crown which Maud the Empress upon pretence of a better Title endeavoured to deprive him of under the Conduct of her Brother in Law Robert Earl of Glocester King Stephen Besieged Ramilph Earl of Chester and Earl Robert in Lincoln who issued out of the City resolving to give the King Battel being assisted with a great number of Welsh as well as Englishmen Before the fight the Earl of Chester animated his Souldiers by telling them That he gave them unfeigned thanks for hazarding their lives in so just a cause against a faithless King and that he himself would lead them amidst the strongest Troups of the Enemy and seemed already in his own thoughts to be breaking through them and trampling on the necks of their Chief Captains yea piercing with his Sword the very Heart of King Stephen himself not doubting but they would follow their Leader and by his example quickly put their persidious adversaries to flight On the other side Baldwin King Stephen's General told his men That the Justice of their Cause obliged them to defend their valiant King to whom they had sworn Allegiance and whose Presence Courage and Conduct ought more to encourage them than thousands of men What is Robert the Bastard their General says he but a boasting Coward who can speak big but perform little hath a Lion's Voice but the Heart of an Hare and what is Chester's Earl but an hair-brain'd audacious man without Judgment or Courage and what are the Welshmen which he has with him are they not fitter for our contempt than fear who being naked unarmed and without any military Discipline run headlong like wild Beasts upon the Javelins and Spears of the Hunter and the rest are only straglers and runagates who will never endure the force of your puissant Arms. After this a bloody Battel was fought but at length King Stephen's Horse giving way and the Foot being thereby exposed they allfled together leaving the King almost alone in the Field A strange sight it was saith the Historian to see King Stephen left almost alone and yet none durst approach him who grinding his Teeth and foaming like a furious wild Boar with his Battel Ax drove whole Troops before him cutting down great numbers of them to the eternal Renown of his Courage so that if but an hundred like himself had stood by him a whole Army had not been able to surprize his Person yet he still defended himself till first his Battle-ax and then his Sword flew in peices by his irresistible blows so that being left Weaponless he was struck down with a great Stone and taken Prisoner Yet he afterward regained his Liberty and his Crown and Died a King after having Reigned near 19 years In 1170. The Welsh surprized the Town of Cardigan under Rice ap Griffith Prince of South-Wales and took therein the Governour Robert Fitz Stephens a valiant Norman who could not procure his Liberty upon any other terms than by forever renouncing all Right and Title to his Estate and Possessions in the Principality of Wales which hard condition he was obliged to accept and joining with Dermot one of the five Kings of Ireland who at that time came over to crave aid from King Henry II. was instrumental in conquering that Kingdom and annexing it to the Crown of England In 1199. King Richard I. resolving to make a Voyage for the recovery of the Holy Land or Jerusalem he resolved to leave all quiet at home and Rice ap Griffith Prince of South-Wales being then in amity came as far as Oxford to wait upon him but because the King who was there went not out of the City in Person to meet him as his Father Henry had done though Earl John the King's Brother had conducted him from the Marshes with all the marks of honour and esteem this haughty Welsh Prince took it in such great scorn and indignation that he presently returned back into his Countrey without once seeing or saluting King Richard who by this disrespect lost Rice's love and favour As upon the like omission and superorlousness the stately Monk Austin formerly lost the affections of the Monks of Bangor Rice's own Countrymen in another part of Wales In 1211. Leolin ap Jorwith Prince of Wales though he had a while before made his submission to King John plundred several English Towns in the Marshes which caused the King to raise a great Army to reduce him to obedience whereupon Leoline ordered all his People to convey their Cattel and Goods of Value to the almost inaccessible places upon Snowdon Hills however the English pursued them with so much speed vigor and revenge for their continual losses that their Prince and Chief Lords were compelled to accept of what terms the King would allow them whereby they were obliged both by Oath Homage and Hostages and likewise by granting all their Lands to the King to be held of him forever to buy their peace and save themselves from being utterly extirpated out of their Country In 1230. King Henry III. having given the Castle of Montgomery to his great Favorite Aubert de Burgh the English Garrison issued out with intent to root up all the Trees near a Wood about five Mile long where Travellers used to â—erobbed and murdered which the Welsh would by no means permit falling upon the Souldiers and driving them into the Castle Upon which the King Marches thither and not only suppresseth these Mutineers but sets the whole Forrest in a Flame From hence he pierceth farther into Wales and burns a place called Cridia and then begins to raise a new Fort for bridling the Natives which whilst he was doing David Prince of Wales marched toward him with his Forces being encouraged by many great men in King Henry's Army who were confederates with him and a great Battel was fought where many were slain on both sides and afterward by the treachery of these English Barons Provisions grew so very scare that the King was compelled to yield to a dishonourable Peace namely To raze to the ground the new Fort now almost finisht That William Bruce a valiant Commander
Invading England his Army is routed and himself taken Prisoner King Edward III. was of Stature indifferent tall with sparkling Eyes and of a comely and manly countenance no man was more mild when there was submission nor none more fierce if opposed He had a command over his Passions as well as People being never so loving as to be fond nor so angry as to be irreconcileable But this must be understood of him when he was a man for in his old age he became a Child again and was Master of neither He was Fortunate and Valiant both which were heightened in the estimation of the World as reigning between two unfortunate Princes his Father to whom he was Successor and his Grandson Richard II. to whom he was Predecessor His disposition was so martial that his very Recreations were Warllke for he delighted in none more than in Justs and Turnaments and among the rest in the fourth year of his Reign a solemn Turnament was held in Cheapside between the great Cross and the great Conduit which lasted three days where his Queen Philippa with many Ladies fell from a Stage erected for them to behold the Justing and though they were not hurt at all yet the King threatned to punish the Carpenters for their negligence till the Queen intreated pardon for them upon her Knees as she was always ready to do all good Offices of mercy to all People To discover his Devotion one example may be sufficient for when neither Cardinals nor Counsellors could move him to make Peace with France a Tempest from Heaven did it To which may be added That he never won a great Battel but he presently gave the Glory of it to God by publick Thanksgiving He outlived the best Wife and the best Son that ever King had and to say the truth he out-lived the best of himself leaving all Action and bidding adieu to the World Ten Years before he went out of it declining so fast from the Fortieth year of his Government that it may rather be said his Son the Prince Reigned than he and happy 't was for him that when his own Understanding failed him he had so good a supporter And the grief for the loss of him besides the Fatigues of War was thought to hasten his Death together with the trouble for the loss of the benefit of his Conquests in France of all which he had at last little left but the Town of Callice Being oppressed thus in Body and Mind he was drawing his last breath when his Concubine Alice Pierce who was so confident sometime before as to sit in Courts of Justice and overawe the Judges packing away what she could catch even to the Rings of his Fingers left him and by her example others of his Attendants seize on what they could meet with and march away yea all his Counsellors and Courtiers forsook him when he had most occasion for them leaving his Bed-Chamber quite empty Which a poor Priest in his Palace observing approached to his Bed-side and finding him yet Breathing called upon him to remember his Saviour and to beg Mercy for his Offences which none about him before would do But now moved by the Voice of this Priest he shews all signs of Contrition and at his last Breath he pronounceth the Name of Jesus Thus died this Victorious King at his Manour of Sheen now Richmond June 21. 1377. in the 64 year of his Age having reigned above 50 years His Body was conveyed from Sheene by his four Sons having had seven in all and five Daughters and the Nobility and solemnly interred in Westminster Abbey where his Monument is to be seen and likewise his Sword which it is said he used in Battel being eight pound in weight and seven foot in length III. The Third Prince of Wales of the Blood Royal of England was Edward commonly called the Black Prince but why so named is uncertain for to think it was because of his dreadful actions as Speed saith has little probability neither do the Historians of that Age ever give him that name nor mention that he was so called He was eldest Son to King Edward III. by the fair Philippa Daughter to William Earl of Henault and Holland and born at Woodstock July 15. 1329. in the third year of his Father's Reign He was afterwards created Prince of Wales Duke of Aquitain and Cornwall and Earl of Chester He was likewise Earl of Kent in the right of his Wife Joan Daughter of the Earl of that Name and Brother by the Father's side to King Edward II. the most admired beauty of that Age. King Edward was very careful of his Education providing him the most able Tutors to educate him both in Arts and Arms. When he was but fifteen years old his Father passing over into France with a gallant Army took his Son along with him making him a Souldier before he was a Man being willing to try his Metal and loth to omit any thing that might give reputation to that Battel wherein two Kingdoms were laid at Stake In 1345. King Edward with a Fleet of about a Thousand Sail landed an Army of Two Thousand Five Hundred Horse and Thirty Thousand Foot most of them Archers in Normandy making devastation of all before him even to the very Walls of Paris In the mean time Philip the French King was not idle having raised as brave an Army as France had ever seen consisting in near an Hundred and Twenty Thousand Fighting Men K. Edward's Army being loaden with the rich Spoils of the ruined Countrey he was unwilling to retreat neither indeed was he able being got into the Heart of the Enemies Countrey between the two fine Rivers of Scin and Soan so that he began to inquire how he might find a passage out of these straits which the French having notice of looked upon as an intended flight and King Edward was willing they should nourish that opinton The River Soan between Abbeville and the Sea was fordable when the Tyde was out of which the French were aware and therefore guarded the passage with a Thousand Horse and Six Thousand Foot commanded by Gundamar de Foy a Valiant Norman Lord. King Edward coming to this place plunges into the River crying out He that loves me will follow me as resolving either to pass or dye This so animated his Souldiers that the Passage was won and Du Foy defeated by the undaunted courage of the English almost before he was fought with carrying back to King Philip. Two Thousand less than he brought beside the terror of the English Arms the Souldiers resolving to live and dye with such a gallant Soveraign King Edward was now near Crescy in the Province of Pontheiu between the Rivers Soam and Anthy a place unquestionably belonging to him in right of his Mother where he provided all necessaries for a Battel King Philip inraged at the late defeat and by his numerous Forces growing confident of success marches furiously to fall upon
eight and lived fifty nine years and was murthered in the Tower of London in 1472. VII Edward the only Son of King Henry VI. by Queen Margaret Daughter to the King of Sicily was the seventh Prince of Wales of the Royal Blood of England He Married Anne the Daughter of Richard Nevil called the Great Earl of Warwick After his Father's Army was defeated by King Edward IV. at Tauton Field in Yorkshire he with his Mother were sent into France to pray aid from that King This Battel was the bloodiest that ever England saw King Henry's Army consisting in threescore thousand and King Edward's in about forty thousand men of which there fell that day thirty seven thousand seven hundred seventy six Persons no Prisoners being taken but the Earl of Devonshire Afterward the Queen returns from France with some Forces but before her coming King Edward had defeated the Earl of Warwick who with some other Lords had raised a Party for her assistance at Barnet wherein near ten thousand were slain So that when it was too late she landed at Weymouth and from thence went to Bewly Abbey in Hampshire where the Duke of Somerset the Earl of Devonshire and divers other Lords came to her resolving once more to try their Fortune in the Field The Queen was very desirous that her Son Edward Prince of Wales should have returned to France there to have been secure till the success of the next Battel had been tried but the Lords especially the Duke of Somerset would not consent to it so that she was obliged to comply with them though she quickly repented it From Bewly she with the Prince and the Duke of Somerset goes to Bristol designing to mise what men they could in Glocestershire and to march into Wales and join Jasper Earl of Pembroke who was there assembling more Forces K. Edward having intelligence of their Proceedings resolves to prevent their conjunction and follows Queen Margaret so diligently with a great Army that near Tewksbury in Glocestershire he overtakes her Forces who resolutely turn to ingage him The Duke of Somerset led the Van and performed the part of a Valiant Commander but finding his Soldiers through weariness begin to faint and that the Lord Wenlock who commanded the main Battel moved not he rode up to him and upbraiding his treachery with his Pole-ax instantly knockt out his Brains but before he could bring this Party to relieve the Van they were wholly defeated the Earl of Devonshire with above three thousand of the Queens Men being slain the Queen her self John Beufort the Duke of Somerset's Brother the Prior of St. John's Sir Jervas Clifton and divers others were taken Prisoners All whom except the Queen were the next day Beheaded At which time Sir Rich. Crofts presented to King Edward King Henry's Son Edward Prince of Wales To whom King Edward at first seemed indifferent kind but demanding of him how he durst so presumptuously enter into his Realm with Arms The Prince replied though truly yet unseasonably To recover my Father's Kingdom and my Inheritance Thereupon King Edward with his hand thrust him from him or as some say struck him on the Face with his Gauntlet and then presently George Duke of Clarence Thomas Grey Marquess Dorset and the Lord Hastings standing by fell upon him in the place and murthered him Others write that Crook-back'd Richard ran him into the Heart with his Dagger His Body was Buried with other ordinary Corps that were slain in the Church of the Monastery of the Black Friars in Tewksberry VIII Edward eldest Son of King Edward IV. was the eighth Prince of Wales of the English Royal Blood Of whose short Reign and miserable Death there is an account in a Book called England's Monarchs IX Richard only Son of King Richard III. was the ninth Prince of Wales His Mother was Ann the second Daughter of Richard Nevil the Great Earl of Warwick and Widow of Prince Edward Son of King Henry VI. aforementioned who was Married to King Richard though she could not but be sensible that he had been the Author both of her Husband's and Father's Death but womens Affections are Diametrically opposite to common apprehensions and generally governed by Passion and Inconstancy This Prince was born of her at Midleham near Richmond in the County of York At four years old he was created Earl of Salisbury by his Uncle King Edward IV. At ten years old he was created Prince of Wales by his Father King Richard III. but died soon after X. Arthur eldest Son to King Henry VII was the tenth Prince of Wales of the Royal English Families He was born at Winchester in the second year of his Father's Reign When he was about fifteen years old his Father proposed a Marriage for him with the Princess Katherine Daughter to Ferdinando King of Spain which being concluded the Lady was sent by her Father with a gallant Fleet of Ships to England and arrived at Plymouth Soon after the Princess was openly espoused to Prince Arthur they were both clad in white he being fifteen and she eighteen years of age At night they were put together in one Bed where they lay as Man and Wife all that Night When morning appeared the Prince as his Servants about him reported called for Drink which was not usual with him Whereof one of his Bed-Chamber asking him the cause he merrily replied I have been this Night in the midst of Spain which is a hot Country and that makes me so dry Though some write that a grave Matron was laid in Bed between them to hinder actual Consummation The Ladie 's Dowry was two hundred thousand Duckets and her Jointure the third part of the Principality of Wales Cornwal and Chester At this Marriage was great Solemnity and Roval Justings Prince Arthur after his Marriage was sent into Wales to keep his Country in good Order having several prudent and able Counsellors to advise with but within five Months after he died at his Castle at Ludlow and with great solemnity was Buried in the Cathedral of Worcester He was a very ingenious and learned Prince for though he lived not to be sixteen years old yet he was said to have read over all or most of the Latin Fathers besides many others Some attribute the shortness of his Life to his Nativity being born in the eighth month after Conception XI Henry the second Son to King Henry VII was the eleventh Prince of Wales of the Royal English Line He was born at Greenwich in Kent After the Death of his eldest Brother Prince Arthur the Title of Prince of Wales was by his Father's Order not given to him but his own only of Duke of York till the Women could certainly discover whether the Lady Katherine were with Child or not But after six months when nothing appeared he had his Title bestowed upon him and King Henry being loth to part with her great Portion prevailed with his Son Henry though not without some
the Title of Baron to Henry Lord Herbert PEMBROKE-SHIRE is bounded by Carnarthen on the East and Cardigan shire on the North-East On all sides else it is surrounded by the Sea In length 26. in breadth 20. and in circumference 93 Miles It was antiently Peopled by the Dimetree as well as Cardigan and Carmarthen-shires part of this County was after inhabited by the Flemmings sent thither by King Henry I. who lost their Country by the breaking in of the Sea whereby a great part of Flanders was drowned and whose Posterity continue there to this day and speak so good English that their Division is called Little England beyond Wales The Commodities of this shire are Corn Cattel Sea-fish and Fowl and in the days of Giraldus Cambrensis they had Wines for sale the Havens being so commodious for Traffick particularly Tenby and Milford the last of which is so large a Port that sixteen Creeks five Bays and thirteen Roads distinguisht by particular names are all contained within it Pembroke is the Shire Town which appears more antient than it is it was formerly Walled and had three Gates with a large Castle and a Causey leading over to the decayed Priory of Monton The Town consists principally of one long street on a long narrow Point of a Rock and hath within the Walls thereof two Churches St. David's is a Barren old City having neither Trees to defend it nor is it pleasant with Fields or Meadows but lyes exposed to Winds and Storms It is now the seat of a Bishop but was once an Archbishoprick in the British Church At the first planting of the Gospel in the reign of King Lucius there were three Archbishops Seats appointed London York and Caerleon The last in the Reign of Arthur King of the Britains was translated from thence to St David's as being farther off from the Saxon's fury Twenty seven of them retained the Title of Archbishops the last whereof was Samson who removed the Archi-episcopal Dignity to Dâ—le in Bretaign a Province in France Yet his Suceessors though they lost the name retained the power of the Archbishop the Welsh Bishops being consecrated by him till the Reign of King Henry I. when Bernard the 47th Bishop of this See was forced to submit himself to the Church of Canterbury The Cathedral here hath been often ruined by the Danes Norwegians and other Pirates as standing near the Sea in an extream Corner of this County that which we now see was built by Bishop Peter and by him dedicated to St. David In the middle of whose Quire Edmund Earl of Richmond Father to King Henry VII lies buried whose Monument secured the Church from being defaced in the Reign of King Henry VIII The roof of this Church is higher than any in England Calphurnius a British Priest who Married Concha Sister to St Martin and had St. Patrick the Apostle of Ireland to their Son was born at St. David's Likewise Justinian a Noble Britain with his own Inheritance built a Monastery in the Island of of Ramsey in this County where many Monks dwelt happily under his Jurisdiction until three of them Murdered him out of envy and emulation for his Plous Life His Body was brought to 〈◊〉 or St. David's and there interred and his Tomb afterward much famed for many supposed Miracles Giraldus Cambrensis whose Sirname was Barry some write Fitz Girald the Welsh Historian was born at Tenby in this County being Son to William Barry an Englishman by his Wife Angareth daughter of Nesta Daughter of Rhese or Rice Prince of South-Wales He was Nephew to David the second Bishop of St David's by whom he was made Arch-Deacon of Brecknock He was wont to complain That the English did not love him because his Mother was a Welshwoman and the Welsh hated him because his Father was an Englishman Though by his excellent Writings he deserved of England well of Wales better and of Ireland best of all making an exact description of all three and acting in the last as Secrety to King John with great industry and expence Having Travelled to Jerusalem he writ a Book of the Wonders of the Holy Land He had no great success at Court and therefore attained to no considerable Dignity till at length he was offered a very mean Bishoprick in Ireland and his highest Preferment was to this of St. David's of which he gives the true reason That he was looked upon with a Jealous Eye because being a Welshman by the Mother the furer side he was thought to have a natural antipathy against the English since it was believed no good Subject could come out of Walee Being now Bishop of St. David's he went to Rome and there was very importunate for an exemption of that Diocess from the Authority of Canterbury whereby he highly offended Hubert the Archbishop thereof Whereupon being rather overborn with bribes than overcome in his Cause he returned without effecting it and dying was buried in his own Cathedral about 1215. When King Henry II. was at St. David's in this County and from thence in a clear day discovered the Coast of Ireland in an huffing bravado he said I with my Ships am able to make a Bridge thither if it be no farther Which Speach of his being related to Murchard King of Lemster in Ireland he asked whether he did not say He would do it with the help of God and being told no he chearfully answered Then I fear him the less since he trusted more to himself than to the help of God The same King Henry coming back from Ireland arrived at St. David's where being told that there is an old Prophecy of Merlin's That the Conqueror of Ireland returning that way should dye upon a stone called Lechlaver near the Church-yard He thereupon before a multitude of People passed over it unhurt and reproving the Welshmen said Now who will hereafter credit that Lyar Merlin The County of Pembroke hath been fortified with sixteen Castles besides two Block-houses or Forts Commanding the Mouth of Milford Haven and hath five Market Towns is divided into seven Hundreds wherein are forty five Parish 〈◊〉 It gives the Title of Earl to Thomas Lord Herbert who is also Earl of Montgomery RADNOR-SHIRE hath Monmouth on the North Hereford and Shropshire on the East Brecknock on the South and Cardiganshire on the West In length twenty four in breadth twenty two and in circuit ninety miles The Air is sharp and cold as generally it is through all Wales whereby the Snow lies long unmelted under those vast Mountains Hills and Rocks that overshadow the Valleys yet the East and South parts are somewhat fruitful indifferently stored with Woods and watered with Rivers and Mears The riches of the North and West consist chiefly in the Cattel which they produce The antient Inhabitants were the Silures who by their own courage and the assistance of their inaccessible Mountains preserved their freedom very long against all the attempts of the Romans These Rocks
Grandfather Griffith whom he intimated was murdered in the Tower of London and not kill'd by accident yet he sent a message to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York That if the King pleased to appoint Commissioners to receive his Oath and Homage he was very ready to give it or if he would name some indifferent place and give Prince Edward the Earl of Glocester and the Lord Chancellor as Hostages for his safe return he would wait upon him in Person The King dissembled his anger at these arrogant demands but a while after coming to the Castle of Chester on the Border of Wales he again sent for him and Leoline again denied to come At which the King resolved for preventing all future disturbances on that side to make an absolute Conquest of the Countrey And on the contrary the Welsh having always a custom at every change of Princes in England to try conclusions expecting one time or other to change their Yoke of Bondage into Liberty were in great hopes of doing it at this time having now a valiant Prince to command them But an accident happened which somewhat took off their edge for the Lady Eleanor Daughter of Simon Earl of Montfort whom Prince Leoline extreamly loved Sailing out of France into Wales was by the way taken by some English Ships and brought to King Edward and for the Love of her Prince Leoline was willing to submit to any conditions so that besides his Promise of submission to the Government he agreed to pay down Fifty thousand pounds Sterling and a thousand pound a year during life Upon these Terms he Married his beloved Lady and the Wedding was solemniz'd in England the King and Queen being present thereat Three years Leoline continued faithful and obedient in which time David one of his Brothers staying in England and being found by the King to be of a stirring Spirit was much honoured by him Knighted and Match to a Rich Widow Daughter of the Earl of Derby to which the King added the gift of the Castle of Denbigh with a thousand pound a year though it was at length discovered that he lived here only as a Spy For Prince Leoline's Lady dying soon after and he contrary to his engagements taking up Arms his Brother David notwithstanding these favours from the King went and joined with him and they together enter into England seizing the Castles of Flint and Ruthland with the Person of the Lord Chief Justice Clifford who was sent thither as a Judge and in a great Battel the Welsh overthrew the Earls of Northumberland and Surrey with the Slaughter of many English King Edward was at the Vizes in Wiltshire when news coming of this revolt and overthrow he raises an Army to revenge it In his way he goes to visit his Mother Queen Eleanor who lay at the Nunnery of Almesbury with whom while he was discoursing a Person was brought into the Chamber who pretended that being formerly blind he had received his Sight at the Tomb of King Henry III. When the King saw him he knew him and that he was a most notorious lying Villain and intreated his Mother not to give the least credit to him but the Queen who was glad to hear of this Miracle for the glory of her Husband finding her Son unwilling that his Father should be a Saint fell suddenly into such a rage that she commanded him out of her sight which the King obeys and going forth meets with a Clergyman to whom he tells the story of this Impostor adding merrily That he knew the Justice of his Father to be such that he would rather pluck out the Eyes being whole of such a wicked wretch than restore him to his sight In the mean time the Archbishop of Canterbury went of himself to Prince Leoline and his Brother David endeavouring to persuade them to submission but in vain for Leoline was so animated with an old British Prophecy of Merlin's That he should shortly be Crowned with the Diadem of Brute that he had no Ear for Peace and shortly after no head for the Earl of Pembroke first took Bere Castle which was his usual residence from him he then gave him Battel and his Party being defeated his Head was cut off by a Common Souldier and sent to King Edward who caused it to be Crowned with Ivy thereby in some part unluckily fulfilling his Welsh Prediction And this was the end of Leoline the last of the Welsh Princes betrayed as some write by the men of Buelth Soon after his Brother David flying into Wales and being destitute of help or relief he was at length taken with two of his Sons and seven Daughters as some Authors write all which were brought before the King David was committed to Chester Castle and afterward in a Parliament at Shrewsbury was convicted of Treason and sentenced to an ignominious death namely to be first drawn at a Horse Tail about the City of Shrewsbury then to be beheaded and quartered his Heart and Bowels burnt His Head to accompany his Brothers was put upon the Tower of London and his four Quarters were set up in four Cities Bristol Northampton York and Winchester A manifold Execution and the first shewed in this kind in this Kingdom in the Person of the Son of a Prince or any other Nobleman that we read of in our History Some have observed that upon King Edward's thus totally subjecting Wales he lost his Eldest Son Alphonsus a Prince of great hopes about twelve years of Age and had only left to succeed him his Son Edward lately born at Carnarvan and the first of the English Royal Families that was Intituled Prince of Wales but no Prince worthy either of Wales or England After this the rest of the Welshmen as well Nobles as others submitted themselves to King Edward and all the Countrey and Castles therein were surrendred to him who then annexed that Country to the Crown of England and built two strong Castles at Aberconway and Carnarvan to secure their obedience He also gave several Lands and Castels to Englishmen as the Lordship of Denhigh to Henry Lacy Earl of Lincoln Of Ruthen to Reginald Lord Grey and divided Wales into Counties and Hundreds establishing the Government thereof agreeable to the Laws of England This happened in the twelfth year of his Reign 1284. Remarks upon the Lives of the Princes of Wales of the Royal Families of England PART II. THough King Edward I. had subjected the Principality of Wales and afterward annexed it to the Crown of England yet he could never induce that People freely to own him as their King but upon condition that he would come and reside among them or at least appoint them a Prince of their own Nation to Govern them for the Welchmen having experienced the rigorous and severe Treatment of the English Governours and being sensible that the King would rule them by an English Deputy they could not with patience bear the thoughts of it so that
oftentimes when the King charged them with affronting his Lord Lieutenants they unanimously answered That they were very willing to be subject to any Prince he should nominate provided he were a Welshman born The King perceiving their inflexible temper resolved to gratifie them by a Politick Stratagem He thereupon sends secretly to the Queen who was then big with Child that she should come to him with all speed to Carnarvan and when she was nigh her time of Delivery He ordered all the Welsh Nobility and Gentry to appear before him at Ruthland Castle to consult about the Publick welfare of their Country When they were come he detained them till he had notice that the Queen was delivered of a Son at Carnarvan and then calling them together he told them That they having often Petitioned him to have a Prince to rule them he being now going out of their Countrey would nominate one to them provided they would promise to accept and obey him The Welshmen answered they would be willingly obedient to him provided he were their own Countryman Ay says the King I will assure you that he was born in Wales That he can speak never a word of English and that he never did any wrong to man Woman or Child The Welshmen were very joyful of their good fortune promising true subjection to him Whereupon he named his own new born Son Edward firnamed Carnarvan from the place of his Birth and from that time the Eldest Sons of the Kings of England have been Intituled Princes of Wales This Prince succeeded his Father by the name of King Edward II. He was a comely Person and of great strength but much given to Drink which made him often disclose his Secrets For his other conditions his greatest fault was his inordinate love to Garestone and the Spencers who being Persons of lewd Lives endeavoured to debauch him with Wine and Women and occasioned many mischiefs and grievances in the Kingdom of which the Nobility and People were so sensible that when they found him irreclaimable they resolved to depose him and set his young Son Edward on the Throne his Queen likewise joining with the Lords therein who going over to France she there Contracted a Marriage between her Son Edward and Philippa Daughter to the Earl of Heynault by whom being aided with Forces she landed at Orwell near Harwich in Suffolk The Lords immediately resorted to her and the Londoners inclining to take her part the King found his evil Counsellors the Spencers and others could do him little service Therefore Shiping themselves for the Isle of Lundy they were by Tempest cast upon the Coast of Wales and the King secured himself in a Monastery in Glamorganshire But soon after both he and his Favourites were taken from thence They were Hanged and Quartered and he himself was deposed by Parliament having been first persuaded to make a formal resignation of the Crown And at length he was committed a Prisoner to Berkley Castle near Bristol where he was miserably murdered by having a red hot Iron or Spit thrust up into his Body II. Edward of Windsor so called from the place of his Birth the Son of this unfortunate King was the second Prince of Wales of the English Royal Blood Upon the Deposing of his Father by the Parliament it was resolved that he should be advanced to the Throne which this young Prince refused unless his Father resigned the Government which he was obliged to do and so his Son was Proclaimed King by the name of Edward III. who afterward proved a Glorious and Renowned Prince His Minority being but four years old when he was Crowned though it may Palliate cannot so take off the scandal of not preventing his Death who gave him Life but that there remains a great blemish upon his memory For being a Master of so much reason as to pause upon it as he did upon the first motion of putting his Father to Death it may be thought he had power enough to have prevented the execution it being a violation of the Law of Nature and likewise of ill example since the People might use him in the same manner if he outlived their affections or his own discretion But his revenge upon Mortimer seems to declare him really innocent or that he abhor'd the World should think otherwise Whereby he so far reconciled himself to the opinion of the Vulgar that he seldom wanted Friends during his long Reign as he never wanted an occasion to make use of them He was a Prince of that admirable composure of Body and Mind that Fortune seemed to have fallen in love with him elevating him so far above the reach of Envy or Treachery that all the Neighbour Princes dazled with the splendor of his Glory gave place to him who from the very first Ascent to the Throne had a prospect of two Crowns more than he was born to The one placed within his reach which was Scotland The other that of France which was more remote To the attaining the first there was a fair opportunity offered by the irreconcileable contest of two Rival Kings David Bruce and Edward Baliol whose Right and Interest were so evenly poized that King Edward's power could easily turn the Scale To the recovery of France there was yet a fairer opportunity given him by the revolt of Philip of Artois a Prince of the Blood Royal and Brother in Law to Philip of Valois the present French King who upon discontent came over and discovered all the Secrets of the French Counsels to King Edward assuring him of the Affections of several of the French Nobility And now the two Kings set up their Titles to the Kingdom of France Edward was nearest by Blood but drew his Pedigree from a Female Philip was farther off but descended of all Males and because the Law Salique which excludes Women from Reigning in France was conceived as well to exclude all Descendants from Females therefore was Philip's Title accepted the French obstinately declaring That they would never tye the Succession of that Crown to a Distaff To which King Edward replied That he would then tye it to his Sword With the English took part the Emperor and the chief Princes of Germany With the French the King of Bohemia the two Dukes of Austria the Earl of Flanders the Duke of Savoy and divers Princes of Italy together with his inraged Neighbour David Bruce King of Scots a weak but restless Enemy against whom King Edward had set up Edward Baliol as Competitor and to whose assistance he sends an Army toward Scotland and at Hallydown Hill near Berwick the Scots are utterly defeated about Thirty Two Thousand Souldiers being slain with a great number of Nobility and Gentry After this King Edward gained a Glorious Victory over the French at the Battel of Cressy and another at Poictiers wherein John King of France was taken Prisoner And David King of Scots with an Army of Threescore Thousand men a second time
Edward rejoyced in the excellent Vertues and Actions of his Son and People Charles the French King warned by so many calamities as his Dominions had sustained by the English War and earnestly coveting to recover the Honour of his Nation betook himself to secret practices Never adventuring his own Person in the Field but executing all by his Deputies and Lieutenants especially by the valour and service of Bertram de Glequin Constable of France who from a low estate was raised to this height for his prudent and magnanimous Conduct in War And our truly Noble King without suspicion of craft reposing himself upon the Rules of Vertue and Magnanimity did not reap the stable effects of so great and important victories nor of the Peace so Ceremoniously made that in the World's opinion it could not be broken without the manifest violation upon one side of all Bonds both divine and humane The Prince of Wales by Letters advised his Father not to trust to any fair words or overtures of further Amity made by the French because as he said they entertained Practices underhand in every place against him But his counsel was not hearkned to because he was judged to write out of a restless humour delighting in War though the event shewed that his words were true For now King Charles having by quick payments and other means got home all the Hostages which had been delivered for performance of the Articles of Peace set all his wits on work to abuse the King of England's credulity He courted him with loving Letters and Presents and in the mean time surprized the County of Ponthieu our King 's undeniable inheritance before King Edward heard thereof Who hereupon calls a Parliament declares the breach craves aid and hath it granted And then again claims the Crown of France and sent over his Son John Duke of Lancaster and Humfrey de Bohun Earl of Hereford with a great Army to Calice to invade France Among the States and Towns made over to the English at the Treaty of Bretigni which had revolted to the French was the City of Limosin Thither did the Prince march and sat down with his Army before it And not long after came unto him out of England his two Brethren the Duke of Lancaster and the Earl of Cambridge with a fresh supply of Valiant Captains and Souldiers The City held out to the utmost and was at last taken by storm where no mercy was shewed by the inraged Soldiers but Sword and Fire laid all desolate After this Service the Prince's health failing him more and more he left his Brethren in Aquitain to prosecute the Wars and himself taking Ship came over to his Father in England his eldest Son Edward being dead a little before at Bourdeaux and brought over with him his Wife and his other Son Richard The Prince having left France his Dominions were either taken or fell away faster than they were gotten Gueschlin entred Poictou took Montmorillon Chauvigny Lussack and Moncontour Soon after followed the Country of Aulnis of Xantoyn and the rest of Poictou Then St. Maxent Neel Aulnay Benaon Marant Surgers Fontency and at last they came to Thouras where the most part of the Lords of Poictou that held with the Prince were assembled At this time the King Prince Edward the Duke of Lancaster and all the Great Lords of England set forward for their relief But being driven back by a Tempest and succour not coming Thouras was yielded upon composition In fine all Poictou was lost and then Aquitain all but only Burdeaux and Bayon And not long after Prince Edward died and with him the Fortune of England He was a Prince so full of Virtues as were scarce to be matcht by others He died at Canterbury upon Trinity Sunday June 8. in the forty sixth year of his Age and the forty ninth of his Father's Reign and was buried in Christ's-Church there 1376. Among all the Gallant men of that Age this our Prince was so worthily the first He had a sumptuous Monument erected for him upon which this Epitaph was engraven in Brass in French thus Englished Here lyeth the Noble Prince Monsieur Edward the Eldest Son of the thrice Noble King Edward the third in former time Prince of Aquitain and of Wales Duke of Cornwal and Earl of Chester who died on the Feast of the Trinity which was the eighth of June in the year of Grace 1376. To the Soul of whom God grant mercy Amen After which were added these verses in French thus Translated according to the homely Poetry of those times Who so thou art that passest by Where these Corps entombed lye Understand what I shall say As at this time speak I may Such as thou art sometime was I Such as I am such shalt thou be I little thought on the hour of Death So long as I enjoyed Breath Great Riches here I did possess Whereof I made great Nobleness I had Gold Silver Wardrobes and Great Treasures Horses Houses Land But now a Caitiff Poor am I Deep in the Ground lo here Ilye My beauty great is all quite gone My Flesh is wasted to the Bone My House is narrow now and throng Nothing but Truth comes from my Tongue And if you should see me this Day I do not think but ye would say That I had never been a Man So much altered now I am For God's sake pray to th' Heavenly King That he my Soul to Heaven would bring All they that Pray and make Accord For me unto my God and Lord God place them in his Paradise Wherein no wretched Caitiff lies The Death of this Prince saith an ingenious Historian was a heavy loss to the State being a Prince of whom we never heard ill never received any other note but of goodness and the Noblest performance that Magnanimity and Wisdom could ever shew insomuch as what Praise could be given to Virtue is due to him I shall only add this short Remark That the Captivity of two Kings at the same time namely John King of France and David Bruce King of Scotland demonstrated at once the Glory and Power of King Edward and his magnanimous Son The French King continued Prisoner in England five years enough to have determined the fortune of that great Kingdom and dissolved their Cantoned Government into Parts had it not been a body consisting of so many strong Limbs and so abounding with Spirits that it never fainted notwithstanding all its loss of blood but scorned to yield though King Edward came very near the Heart having wounded them in their most mortal part the Head At length he recovered his liberty by paying three millions of Crowns of Gold whereof six hundred thousand were laid down presently four hundred thousand more the year after and the remainder the next two years following The Scots King could not gain his Freedom in twice the time being the less able to redeem himself for that he was upon the matter half a King the
a Tyrant but be sure that thou take great care to redress the Grievances of thy Subjects and severely punish those that wrong them Hereby shalt thou gain the Englishmen's Hearts and reign prosperously for so long as they freely enjoy their Liberties and Estates thou may'st be sure of their Loyalty and Obedience but if thou strive to slave or impoverish them they will certainly rebel against thee for such is their nature that they will rather chuse to dye Freemen than to live Slaves and Beggars Therefore if thou Govern thein with a mixture of love and fear thou wilt be King over the most Pleasant and Fruitful Countrey and the most Loving Faithful and Valiant People in the World whereby thou wilt be a terror to all thine Enemies My Son when it shall please God to take me out of the World which is the Common Lot of all men I must leave my Crown and Kingdom to thee and I would earnestly advise thee that of all things thou wilt avoid Pride neither be thou bewitcht with worldly honour so as to be exalted in thine own imagination but always remember that the higher thy Dignity is so much greater is the burden that lyes upon thee for the security of thy Kingdom and of every particular Subject therein as being like the Head and Heart in the Body from whence all the Members receive Life and Nourishment Whereby thy People finding they receive so many benefits from thee will be always ready to assist and defend thee for their own preservation as the Members do the Head and Heart But above all things be careful to serve God sincerely and ascribe to him the Glory of all thy Successes against thine Enemies as coming from his goodness and not any merit of thine These and many other good Instructions the King gave to his Son And soon after being at his Prayers at St. Edward's Shrine in Westminster-Abbey he was suddenly taken with an Apoplexy and thereupon removed to the Abbot of Westminster's House where recovering himself and finding he was in a strange place he asked where he was and being told in the Abbot's House in a Chamber called Jerusalem where an Astrologer had formerly told him he should dye He said Nay then I am sure I shall dye though he before thought it would have been in Palestine and was therefore preparing to make a Voyage thither And here he died indeed March 20. 1413. It is observable that during his sickness he always required to have his Crown set upon his Bolster by him and one of his Fits being so strong upon him that all thought him absolutely dead the Prince coming in took away the Crown when suddenly the King recovering his senses and missing it was told the Prince had taken it who being called came back with the Crown and kneeling down said Sir to all our Judgments and to all our griefs you seemed directly dead and therefore I took the Crown as my Right but seeing to all our comforts you live I here deliver it more joyfully than I took it and pray God you may long live to wear it your self Well said the King sighing what Right I had to it God knows But says the Prince If you dye King my Sword shall maintain it to be my Right against all Opposers Well replied the King I leave all to God and then turning about said God bless thee and have mercy upon me And with these words he gave up the Ghost After his Father's Death the Prince was Proclaimed King by the name of Henry V. and proved a better Man of a King than a Subject for till then he was not in his right Orb and therefore no marvel he was exorbitant Those that have taken the height of him parallell'd him with Alexander for Magnanimity and Caesar for his being Invincible and Affectation of Glory but he had something of Caesar that Alexander the Great had not That he would not be Drunk nor Intemperate and something of Alexander that Caesar had not That he would not be flattered and both were short of him in this that Conquering others they could not Conquer themselves but even when they were Lords of the World became Slaves to their own Passions He advanced the former Title of the Right of the Kings of England to the Kingdom of France and sent Ambassadors to King Charles VI. to demand a peaceable surrender of that Crown to him offering to accept his fair Daughter Katherine with the Kingdom and to expect no other Pledge for his Possession till after Charles's Death But the French King being sick his Son the Dauphin who managed the Government instead of another answer scornfully sent the King a Present of Tennis Balls as an intimation that his Youth was better acquainted with the use of them than of Bullets The King whose Wit was as Keen as his Sword returned him this answer That in requital of his fine Present of Tennis Balls it should not be long e're he would toss such Iron Balls amongst them that the best Arm in France should not be able to hold a Racket against them Neither was he worse than his word though his Army seemed very disproportionate for so great a work being only as some Write nine thousand Horse and Foot with which small number he met with the French Army at a place called Agencourt where though the Enemy were above five to one he fought them with such resolution that he took more Prisoners than his own Forces consisted of and kill'd ten thousand of them the Dauphin himself dying soon after of grief with the loss only of six hundred English nay one Author says of not above twenty six in all which made the Victory almost miraculous And which the Religious young King was so sensible of that he caused the Clergy in his Army to sing that Psalm of David When Israel went out of Egypt c and the Souldiers in their Arms responded at every Verse Not unto us O Lord not unto us but unto thy Name be all the Glory And upon his return to England with his Prisoners he commanded that no Ballad or Song should be sung but those of Thank sgiving to God for his happy Victory and Safe return without any reflections upon the French or extolling the English Valour Soon after he returned back to France where many great Cities and Towns were Surrendred to him and the French being unable to make any resistance at length a Treaty of Peace is concluded and he married his beloved Lady Katherine Daughter to the French King Charles being Proclaimed Regent of France during that King's Life and Heir Apparent to that Crown after King Charles his Death He was tall of Stature lean of Body and his Bones small but strongly made somewhat long Neckt black Hair'd and of a very comely Countenance So swift in running that he with two of his Lords would run down a Wild Buck or Doe in a Park He delighted in Songs and Musical Instruments
all or any of which Books I refer the Reader for farther satisfaction being unwilling to repeat or that any should pay twice for the same matter Remarkable Observations upon the most Memorable Persons and Places in Wales And an account of several considerable Transactions and Passages that have happened for many hundred years past Together with the Natural and Artificial Rarities and Wonders in the several Counties of that Principality PART III. GReat Britain comprehends the Kingdoms of England and Scotland and is an Island in the Ocean divided by Antiquity into three Parts the first and greatest called Loegria is contained within the French Seas the River Severne Dee and Humber to the German Ocean now called England The second containeth all the Land Northward from Humber to the Deucalidonian Seas now called Scotland The third lyes between the Irish Seas and the Rivers Severne and Dee and was called Cambria now Wales Some Authors add a fourth division called Cornubia now Cornwall the Inhabitants of all four differing in Language humor and Customs among themselves My design at present is to give an account of Wales having already treated of England in a Book called Admirable Curiosities Rarities and Wonders in every County thereof And I intend to proceed in the same method in this Principality Wales is situated on the West and Northwest part of England over against the Kingdom of Ireland and appears like a Promontory oâ— Foreland being surrounded by the Sea almost on every side except on the South-East part where it is divided from England by the River Severn and by a Ditch drawn from the Mouth of the River Dee to the mouth of the River Wye being an hundred Miles from East to West and an hundred and twenty Miles from North to South The forenamed Ditch is called Claudh Offa because made by Offa King Mercia of a great depth and breadth thereby to confine the Welsh into narrower limits who enacted That if any Welshman were found on the East side of this Ditch he should forfeit his right hand but that Law is long since repealed and the Loyal and Valiant Welsh have for several ages past enjoyed the same Liberties and Privileges with the other Subjects of the Crown of England It was divided into three parts that is North-Wales South-Wales and powis-Powis-Land by Roderick the Great in 877. as you have heard which proved the confusion of Wales their Princes being commonly at War with the English or among themselves to inlarge and defend their several Dominions Of these three North-Wales was the chief being left to Amarawd the eldest Son of Roderick the Princes whereof by way of eminency were stiled Princes of Wales and sometimes Kings of Aberfrow their Chief Residence and paid to the King of London as well as the Princes of South-Wales and Powis-Land sixty three pounds yearly as a Tribute Yet South-Wales called by the Inhabitants Dehenbarth or the right side as being nearer the Sun was the largest most fruitful and rich but more subject to the Invasions and Depredations of the English and Flemings and therefore North-Wales being secured by its Hills and Mountains was prefer'd before it and retaineth more of the purity of the Welsh Tongue However this makes the soil lean and hungry but that is supplied by the large quantity thereof which occasioned this pleasant passage An English Gentleman in discourse with a worshipful Knight of Wales boasting that that he had in England so much ground worth 40 s. an Acre the Welsh Gentleman replied You have ten yards of Velvet and I have two hundred yards of Frize I will not exchange with you There are likewise in Wales very pleasant Meadows Watered by fine Rivers and as the sweetest Flesh is said to be near the Bones so the most delicious Valleys are interposed betwixt these Mountains The Natives are generally healthy strong swift and witty which is imputed to the clear and wholesome Air of the Mountains the cleanly and moderate Diet of the People and the hardship to which they are inured from their Childhood The Ancient Britains painted their naked Bodies with Pictures of living Creatures Flowers Sun Moon and Stars thereby as they imagined to appear terrible to their Enemies yet some more civil were clothed and as a great Ornament wore Chains of Iron about their Wasts and Neck and Rings on their middle Fingers They wore the Hair of their Head long which was naturally curled in many All other parts they shaved only wore long Whiskers on their upper Lip They had ten or twelve Wives a piece who lived in common among their Parents and Brethren yet the Children were only accounted his who first married the Mother while she was a Maid They were brought up in common among them They were moderate in their Diet as Milk Roots and Barks of Trees and a little thing no bigger than a Bean which for a great while took away both Hunger and Thirst Neither would they eat Hens Hares Geese nor Fish yet would often Dine upon Venison and Fruits Their usual Drink was made of Barly They are reported by Plutarch to have lived very long many to an hundred and twenty years They were Idolatrous Heathens as to their Religion using Man's Flesh in their Sacrifices and adoring a multitude of Idols Their Priests were called Druids who managed their Sacrifices and likewise acted as Temporal Judges in all Civil Matters and it was highly criminal not abide by their Judgment They were excused from the Wars and all contributions They had a Primate who commanded over them in chief Their Divinity was That the Soul is immortal and passeth from one Body to another which Doctrine they taught not out of Books but by word of Mouth Their Buildings were low mean Cottages like those of the Gauls or Boors of France yet they fortified several thick Woods with Rampires and Ditches which they called Towns Brass and Iron Rings were the Coin they used which were of a certain weight but afterward they grew more civil by Traffick and had both Gold and Silver Money Their chief Trade was in Chains Wreaths Ivory Boxes Bitts and Bridles with some Toys of Amber and Glass Neither was their Shipping more considerable their cheif Vessels being made of light wood covered over with Leather Their usual way of Fighting was in Military Chariots neither did they engage in great bodies but had still fresh men to succeed those who retired or were weary Their weapons were Shields and short Spears at the lower end whereof was fastned a round Bell of Brass with which they terrified their Enemies Many times they fought under the Conduct of Valiant Women who were extraordinary couragious They managed their Chariots so dexterously that running downa steep Hill with all speed they could stop them in the middle of their course The Principality of Wales produceth Mines and among others Royal Mines of Silver in Cardiganshire in the Mountains of Cosmelock Tallabant Gadarren Bromfloid Geginnon and Cummerrum The
As to his birth Humfry Lloyd a Welsh Writer affirms that his Mother before Marriage was a Noble Virgin and that his Father for his great knowledge in the Mathematicks and other abstruse Learning was in those ignorant times reputed by the Common People to be a Conjurer and his Son Merlin to be begotten by an Evil Spirit or Male Devil who in the likeness of Men are said to have the Carnal use of Women Many wonderful things are attributed to Merlin as that by his assistance Aurelius Ambrosius erected that stupendous Monument near Salisbury called Stonehenge those vast Stones being brought by Magick Art from Africk into Ireland and from thence to this Plain through the Air. That Vter Pendragon the Brother and Successor of Ambrosius falling in love with the Duke of Cornwall's Wife Merlin by his Necromantick skill made Vter appear to her in the exact form and shape of her Husband Duke Gorlois by which means he enjoyed this fair Lady on whom he begot the renowned King Arthur At the birth of this Vter it is reported a Comet appeared somewhat like the Head of a Dragon whereupon Merlin declared that it presignified the Birth of Vter then new born and from thence he was called Vter Pendragon Others to his honour relate that many of his Predictions were fulfilled as that which runs thus Since Virgin gifts to Maids he gave ' Mongst blessed Saints God will him save This is interpreted to be meant of King John who built several Monasteries for Nuns in divers parts of the Kingdom Another says The sixth shall overthrow the Walls of Ireland and reduce their Countrys into a Kingdom This was thought to be accomplished under King James VI. of Scotland and I. of England who dismantled their Fortresses and Castles which were the Irish Walls and Courts of Justice were set up through all the Land Though the Welsh Proverb contradicts this foreknowledge which says Namyn Dduw nid oes Dewin that is Besides God there is no Diviner Robert Ferrar Bishop of St. David's was made a Martyr in this County He was prefer'd by the Duke of Somerset Lord Protector in the Reign of King Edward VI. a man not unlearned but somewhat indiscreet or rather uncomplying so that he may be said with St. Lawrence to be broyled on both sides being persecuted both by Protestants and Papists Some conceived that his Patron 's fall was his greatest guilt and incouraged his Enemies against him In the Reign of Q. Mary he was sent for and examined about his Faith by Gardiner Bishop of Winchester who told him that the Queen and Parliament had altered Religion and therefore required him to imbrace the same To which he answered That he had taken an Oath never to consent or agree that the Bishop of Rome should have any Jurisdiction in this Realm At which the Bishop of Winchester called him Knave and Forward Fellow and so returned him to Prison again He was afterward examined before Henry Morgan pretended Bishop of St. David's who requiring him to subscribe to several Articles he absolutely refused it or to recent any thing whereupon the sentence of degradation was read against him and he was delivered to the Secular Power by whom he was carried to Carmarthen to be burnt A while before his Execution there came one to visit him who much lamented the painfulness of his death to whom Bishop Ferrar answered If you see me once stir or move in the pains of my burning then never give any credit to the truth of the doctrine which I have formerly taught And he was as good as his word standing so patiently in the midst of the Flames that he never moved holding up the stumps of his Arms till one with a Halbert dasht him on the head whereby he fell down and quietly resigned up his Spirit to God Sir Rice ap Thomas little less than a Prince and called the Flower of the Britains was born in this Shire When the Earl of Richmond afterward King Henry VII landed at Milford Haven with contemptible Forces this Sir Rice with a considerable accession of choice Souldiers joined and marched with him to Bosworth Field where he behaved himself with much Courage and in reward of his good service was made Knight of the Garter He rebuilt Emeline in this County and called it New-castle being one of his Principal Seats and one of the latest Castles in Wales In the fourth of King Henry VIII he conducted 500 Horse to the Siege of Theroene in France Walter Devereux created Earl of Essex by Q. Elizabeth was born in the Town of Carmarthen Being a Martial Man he Articled with the Q. to maintain such a number of Souldiers at his own cost in Ireland and to have the fair Territory of Clandebuy in the Province of Vlster for the Conquering thereof To maintain this Army he sold his fine Inheritance in Essex Over he goes into Ireland with a noble Company of Kindred Friends and Supernumerary Volunteers above the proportion of Souldiers agreed on Sir William Fitz William's Lord Deputy of Ireland doubting he should be Eclipsed by this great Earl solicites the Q. to maintain him in the full power of his Place Hereupon it was ordered that the Earl should have his Commission from this Lord Deputy which with much importunity and long attendance he hardly obtained and that with no higher Title than Governour of Vlster After many attempts not very successfully made in Vlster he was ordered to march to the South of Ireland where he spent much time to little purpose From Munster he was sent back to Vlster where he was forbidden to make use of the Victory he had gotten and soon after his Commission was Vacated and he reduced to be Governour of 300 men He received all these affronts with undaunted constancy Pay days in Ireland came very quick Money out of England very slow his noble Associates began to withdraw common men to mutiny and himself was soon after recalled home He was afterward sent back with the Title of Earl Marshal of Ireland where he fell into a strange Flux not without suspicion of Poyson and died 1576. of his Age 36. His Estate much impaired descended to his Son Robert his body was brought over and buried in Carmarthen His Father and Grandfather died about the same age to which his Son Robert never attained being beheaded by Q. Elizabeth on the Tower Green on Ashwednesday Feb. 25. 1600. Carmarthen-shire hath 28 Rivers and Rivulets is divided into six Hundreds hath six Market Towns 87 Parish Churches and had formerly nine Castles and gives the Title of Marquess to the Lord Osborn eldest Son to the D. of Leeds CARNARVAN-SHIRE hath Merioneth on the South Anglesey divided by the River Menai on the North Denbigh-shire on the East and the Irish Sea on the West from North to South 40 from East to West 20 and in compass 110 miles The Air is sharp and piercing by reason of the high Mountains which may be properly
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THE English Heroe Or Sir Francis Drake Revived Being a full Account of the dangerous Voyages admirable Adventures notable Discoveries and Magnanimous Atchievements of that Valiant and Renowned Commander As I His Voyage in 1572. to Nombre de Dios in the West-Indies where they saw a Pile of Bars of Silver near 70 foot long 12. foot broad and 10. foot high II. His incompassing the whole World in 1577. which he performed in two years and ten months gaining a vast quantity of Gold and Silver III. His Voyage into America in 1585. and taking the Towns of St. Jago St. Domingo Carthagena and St. Augustine IV. His last Voyage into those Countries in 1595. with the manner of his Death and Burial Revised Corrected and very much inlarged reduced into Chapters with Contents and beautified with Pictures By R. B. Price One Shilling 12. TWo Journeys to Jerusalem Containing first An account of the Travels of two English Pilgrims some years since and what Admirable Accidents besel them in their Journey to Jerusalem Grand Cairo Alexandria c. 2. The Travels of 14 English-Merchants in 1669. from Scanderoon to Tripoly Joppa Ramah Jerusalem Bethlehem Jericho the River of Jordan the Lake of Sodom and Gomorrah and back again to Aleppo To which is added a Relation of the great Council of the Jews assembled in the plains of Ajayday in Hungary 1650. to examine the Scriptures concerning Christ By S. B. an English-man there present With the notorious delusion of the Jews by a counterfeit Messiah or false Christ at Symrna in 1666 and the event thereof Lastly The Extirpation of the Jews throughout Persia in 1666. Epistle of Agbarus to our Saviour with our Saviour's Answer Beautified with Pictures Pr. 1s 13. EXtraordinary Adventures of several Famous Men With the strange Events and signal mutations and changes in the Fortunes of divers Illustrious places and persons in all Ages being an acount of a multitude of stupendons Revolutions accidents and observable matters in divers States and Provinces throughout the World With Pictures Pr. 1 s. 14. THE History of the Nine Worthies of the World Three whereof were Gentiles 1. Hector Son of Priamus King of Troy 2. Alexander the great King of Macedon and Conquerour of the World 3. Julius Caesar first Emperor of Rome Three Jews 4. Joshua Captain General and Leader of Israel into Canaan 5. David King of Israel 6. Judas Maccabeus a valiant Jewish commander against the Tyranny of Antiochus Three Christians 7. Arthur King of Britain who couragiously defended his Countrey from the Saxons 8. Charles the Great K. of France and Emperor of Germany 9 Godfrey of Bullen King of Jerusalem Being an account of their glorious lives worthy actions renowned Victories and Deaths Illustrated with Poems and the Pictures of each Worthy By R. B. Price One shilling 15. FEmale Excellency or the Ladies Glory Illustrated in the Worthy Lives and Memorable Actions of nine Famous Women renowned either for Virtue or Valour in several Ages As 1. Deborah the Prophetess 2. The valiant Judith 3. Q. Esther 4. The virtuous Susannah 5. The Chast Lucretia 6. Boadicia Q. of Britain in the Reign of Nero with the Original Inhabitants of Britain Of Danus and his fifty Daughters who murdered their Husbands in one Night Of the valour of Boadicia under whose conduct the Britains slew 70 thousand Romans with many other remarkable particulars 7. Mariamne Wife of K. Herod 8. Clotilda Queen of France 9. Andegona Princess of Spain The whole adorned with poems and pictures to each History By R. B. Price One Shilling 16. WOnderful Prodigies of Judgment and mercy discovered in above 300. memorable Histories containing 1. Dreadful Judgments upon Atheists Blasphemers and Perjured Villains 2. The miserable ends of many Magicians c. 3. Remarkable predictions and presages of approaching Death and how the event has been answerable 4. Fearful Judgments upon bloody Tyrants Murderers c. 5. Admirable Deliverances from imminent dangers deplorable distresses at Sea and Land Lastly Divine goodness to penitents with the dying thoughts of several famous Men concerning a future state Pr. 1 s. 17. UNparallell'd Rarities or the Mathchless Actions and