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A07333
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The victorious reigne of King Edvvard the Third Written in seven bookes. By his Majesties command.
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May, Thomas, 1595-1650.
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1635
(1635)
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STC 17719; ESTC S112550
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75,194
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204
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Strikes England so yet this they comfort call Into the hands of man they shall not fall b Sad growes the time nor with her wonted cheare Or usuall dressing does the Spring appeare No cleansing gale of Zephyre moves the ayre While rising fogs obscure the welk in faire Without his showres contagious Auster blowes And painted Summer no kind fruit bestowes Nor does the Sunne as if inflam'd with ire Send out that wholesome and prolifique fire He us'd to doe but beames of mortall heat And from the bosome of the twins as great Combustion kindles here as if he then Vpon the Nemean Lion's backe had beene Within the farthest Easterne Lands from whence Day breakes breakes forth the fatall pestilence As if with rising Titan it begunne And follow'd thence the motion of the Sunne To Europe then does th hot contagion flye Raging through euery part of Italy And France that bled so late is forc'd to see Beside warres stroke a new mortality But most of all o're England's mourning face The sad infection spreads and Death apace In his pale Chariot rides through all the land No age nor sexe escape his vengefull hand Young men in prime of all their strength are strooke And yeeld The sucking Infant what he tooke From Nature soone is summon'd to repay From those soft limbs untimely fleets away The new-come Soule before it can be growne Acquainted with the tender mansion The aged man not because aged goes But onely ' cause he had a life to lose The mourning grave becomes a marriage bed To beauteous maids praeposterously dead One father wailes his sonne another all His houshold carries in one funerall And for so many deaths one mourning serves If one be left to mourne No care preserves Nor antidote can save from this disease Their greatest hope is but to dye in peace For oft the fiery sicknesse did invade Reasons coole seat and there prevailing made A strange distraction worse then losse of breath For which their friends wish'd as a cure their death The face oft burn'd no moisture had the eye Nor could by teares expresse their misery Some while their dearest friends they doe entombe Before that pious office done become Themselves a funerall Death makes him to be An hearse that came a mourning obsequy Nor does this venemous contagion Worke the destruction of mankind alone The sheepe and cattell perish as if growne On earth quite uselesse since the men are gone Wast lye the Lawnes the fields of tillage now Are desolate while the forsaken plow Nor men nor cattell scarce can exercise The Oxe in midst of all his labour dyes And leaves behind his mourning fellow now Dismist from toyle and service of the plow Who takes no comfort now in shady woods In flowery meadowes or cleare Chrystall floods That destiny alas for him remaines Although at rest The warrelike horse disdaines The pleasant streames and sicke forgetteth quite His food or th' honour of a race or fight Even Toads and Vipers dye acquainted growne With venome farre more mortall then their owne Twice through th' Horrizon had Hyperion runne Since first the fatall Pestilence begunne Before th' Almighty did his sword restraine And with his favour visit earth againe He now is pleas'd to cast a gracious eye On this distemper'd world her misery He cures and makes her former beauty come With kindly fruits he fills earth's fertile wombe And makes sweet blasts to move the wholesome ayre The people find at last their humble prayer Is heard and now the teares are wip'd away Due praise and thankes before his Altar pay Annotations upon the fourth Booke a Those that would see at large the actions of the Earle of Darby in Guyenne Aquitaine and Normandy let them read Froissard where they shall see them fully though not elegantly related This Earle of Darby a man of great worth and neere in blood to King Edward was afterwards by him created Duke of Lancaster the first Duke that ever was in England and left behind him no other issue but one daughter who being his sole heire was married to Iohn of Gaunt the Kings sonne and brought to him a large dowry together with the title of Duke of Lancaster b This wonderfull mortality which it pleased God in his wrath to send upon the wretched earth happened in the 22. yeare of King Edward immediately after the taking of Calleis a greater pestilence wee can scarce read of in any particular land or kingdome much lesse so great and with all so generall as this was For not onely England but France Italy and most of the Easterne and Southerne kingdomes were visited at that time and felt the rod most heavy and sad on them The fore-runner of this great sicknesse was immoderate raine for our Chronicles agree in generall that from Midsummer to Christmas it rained every day or night The yeare following it is noted that there dyed in London betweene Ianuary and the end of July seven and fifty thousand persons Other Cities and Townes suffered the like according to their proportions insomuch that some writers of those times were of opinion that halfe the inhabitants of the Land dyed for we must not beleeve Walsingham who sayes there was not above a tenth part of mankinde left alive As great a death of Cattell happened both that and the yeere following Thie was the greatest but not the onely plague which happened during the reigne of this King Edward For twelve yeeres after England was visited with another which our Chronicles called the second great Plague In that many of the Nobility dyed and among the rest that noble Henry Duke of Lancaster a chiefe actor in all the warres and victories of Edward and a maine Pillar of the state at that time THE REIGNE OF KING EDWARD THE THIRD The fifth Booke Argument V. Prince Edward levyes forces to maintaine Against the French his right in Aquitaine The King wasts Scotland Poictiers field is fought From whence King Iohn of France is prisoner brought PHilip of France had left the earth and John The eldest Sonne as in his father's Throne So in his sad mis-fortunes does succeed Who what the Fates in vengeance had decreed Against his Realme by rashnesse hastens on And gainst all right on Charles his eldest sonne Conferres the stile of Duke of Aquitaine Great Edward bound in honour to maintaine His owne inheritance creates his Sonne Young Edward Prince of that Dominion Exhorts him bravely to defend his right And ' gainst the French for his just Title fight For which Prince Edward armes and with a traine Of valiant Lords prepares for Aquitaine Never did Fortune with more favour smile On any armes nor from this martiall Ile Did ever army crosse the Seas before That more triumphant did returne or wore A richer Garland from Bellona's tree There to maintaine young Edward's signiory Brave Warwicke armes who neare the Prince his side When Crescy field his mayden prowesse try'd Before had fought and Suffolke whose renowne
face of woes Eustace a rich and noble Burgesse rose Who when the people 'gan a silence make Thus with a voyce and looke undanted spake Since Countreymen you know King Edward's doome Let me be bold to claime my proper roome The wealthiest men must suffer nor will I Strive now to hide that wealth and dignity That made me honour'd in our peacefull time Nor e're be guilty of so foule a crime As not to come a willing sacrifice For all I thanke the English King in this That though a generall pardon he deny He is so just in his severity To make those men that most indebted were Vnto their Countrey pay the most for her Besides he gives us privilege in the case The low the impotent and poore alas Looke on the generall slaughter of the Towne And mixt with publike ruine feare their owne Since Edward makes their lives too cheape a price To be for all th' appeasing sacrifice They onely feare but no election know And must endure what fortune we bestow But to the nobler ranke of Burgesses Though death be nearer yet our feares are lesse Election's left to us and power to make That vantage thence which others cannot take For we gaine honour if we freely dye And not abandon this brave liberty If we refuse their deaths will be the same With ours and yet no choyce to purchase same Is given to them We ought our lives to give In gratitude for this prerogative Why should so many thousand people dye When six the foes demand will satisfie Had he beene pleased to accept of one I then had spared this Oration Because my selfe had had the power to be What now I cannot without company But howsoever Eustace will be one That freely comes to this oblation A generall applausive shout was heard And many passions ' mongst the rout appear'd Mov'd with his love and noble piety The Commons weepe the Burgers instantly Present themselves and make it now a strife Who first shall offer his devoted life Daire first steps in to Eustace side to whom Two Wyssons brethren Iames and Peter come Forth in a moment the whole number stands Six of the wealthiest Burgesses whose hands The weeping people kisse and to the skye Extoll their pious magnanimity The keyes of Calleis are by Eustace borne And on they march undaunted halters worne About their necks instead of cheines are beene Yet honour'd more then chaines of gold had beene Whom to the gates the people all attend And thousand prayers for their safety send Their prayers are heard and God preserves their lives At Calleis Edward's vertuous Queene arrives Queene Philip great with child who pleas'd to make Their lives the boone she crav'd For her deare sake Though Edward srown'd at first and bade them dye He smoothes his brow and to her clemency And pleasure onely he commits the men Shee freely pardons and rewards them then An action fit for that brave Queene to doe And fitter farre for Edward to allow Then doe himselfe whom sternnesse then became No lesse then pitty did the royall Dame Thus with his family could he divide His owne renowne and give as erst hee did The fame of Crescy's conquest to his Sonne To her the thankes of this compassion In Calleis Castle proud to entertaine So great a Monarch with his warrelike traine The Conquerour feasts his vertuous Queene where she To give the Castle greater dignity Or take more firme possession then before A Princely daughter to great Edward bore Whence some presaged that that conquer'd place Should long remaine to Edward's royall race Soone o're that channell into England flyes The fame of Edward's glorious victories Of Crescy battell of faire Calleis wonne And all the other high atchievements done Where France in severall parts had felt the force Of English armes Such is the glad discourse In every part of Edward's kingdome now Some speake of France some Scotland's overthrow One tells what Dagworth had in Brittaine done Or what in Gascoyne noble Darby wonne Themselves enrich'd secur'd on every side Oft had the Moone renew'd her waned pride Since daily newes had beene of some successe Of some rich triumph or new happinesse Since they so oft had to their Temples gone And oft payd thankes to God's caelestiall Throne Oft friendly feastings did expresse their joyes The Countrey Damsels danc'd and sporting Boyes Abroad in fields by chosen companies Would act before their pleased parents eyes The late-fought battels and the story show Of Edward's conquest Philip's everthrow Such were the triumphs such the sports of Rome When newes was from victorious Scipio come Of Zama's prosperous battell and the fall Of their long terror Libyan Hanniball Faire Summers pride began to fade away And night encroach upon the houres of day When Fortune does as if in spite of time Shee meant to make in England's joyfull clime Another Summer to the people bring The long wish'd presence of their conquering King Oh how from Dover-landing all the way Along to London as his progresse lay Was strew'd with branches how the ayre was rent With acclamations which the people sent When with himselfe in highest Majesty The Queene and that young flower of Chevalry Prince Edward rode with all the valiant traine Of Lords and Knights return'd from France againe With noble Prisoners with warre 's wealthy prize And captive Ensignes of their enemies Now happy London is the Theater Of triumph growne the souldiers every where Taste the sweet fruits of their successefull toyles And fill their native Countrey with the spoyles That ransack'd France has lost On beds from thence Of richest worke lye London Citizens While every house a clothing new puts on In all their largest roomes are hangings showne Of fairest tapistry which heretofore Faire Caranton or Caen or Calleis wore At feasting tables they carouse in wine In ancient plate on which engraven shine Armes of some Norman Lord or Gascoyne Peere And their lost jewels English Ladies weare To please new Lovers whilest each Lad can decke With Peales of France his mistris beautious necke While other neighbouring Countrys curse the chance Of their successelesse warres while wretched France Beholds her losses with a mourning eye And Scotland wailes her Kings captivity England alone is fill'd with joy that sees The gaine of warre and not the miseries And thus is all the winters season spent In revels feasts and jolly merriment But oh how soone fades earthly blisse away And clouds of griefe o'recast the fairest day How soone that land that seem'd in surest state Of happinesse growes sad and desolate Such must the mourning change of England be Although no sword of forreine enemy Nor stroke of warre shall shake her quiet state Though Edward's sword continue fortunate And on his standard victory attend Yet other arrowes the great God can send To wound a kingdome That Almighty hand That wounded Israel once his chosen land With David's choyce for David's high offence Not with mans sword but his owne pestilence