then brooding between the two Crowns being dead he was succeeded by Don Diego Gusman de Sylva who being a wise Man and sensible how damageable the Courses his Predecessors had taken were to both Parties he endeavoured to heal up the Breaches and by his mediation procured the Commerce to be restored and all that had been Decreed and Proclaimed on both sides to be suspended The most remarkable Action which attended the Queen's return from Cambridge was the preferring Sir Robet Dudley to the Titles of Lord Denbigh and Earl of Leicester she having before made him Knight of the Garter Master of the Horse and Lord Chancellour of the University of Oxford and these Honours were conferred upon him for the better qualifying him to be Husband to the Queen of Scots And now Leicester for the better screwing himself into that Queens favour immediately accused to Queen Elizabeth the Lord Keeper Bacon who was looked upon as an Enemy to the Queen of Scots and an Opposer of her Title to the Succession In the mean time the Queen of Scots knowing her Title to be disputed in England and being grown jealous of the Practices of the Earl of Murray her Bastard Brother and others at home she thought it her interest to recall the Earl of Lenox to his Native Countrey from whence he had been driven in the time of King Henry by whose great Power and Influence she hoped to ballance the Authority of the Mutineers This Lord being of Royal Extraction King Henry to engage him the more in his Interests had given him in Marriage the Lady Margaret Douglas Daughter of Queen Margaret his Eldest Sister by Archibald Dowglas Earl of Angus lier second Husband of which Marriage amongst others was the Lord Darnly Now Lenox being returned into Scotland after twenty Years Abode in England he sends for the Lord Darnley to that Court Where being arrived and being a Person Graceful Lovely and of a Gentile Carriage and not yet full Twenty Years old he quickly insinuated himself into that Queens Affections She fancied she had now met with a Man who was pleasing to her Heart and conducible to her Interests for that both their Pretensions being joyned together her Title to the Crown of England would be the better secured Now Queen Elizabeth having got some notice of this Design of the Scottish Queen she advised her to think of some other Match saying that this would have so incensed the Parliament that she was forced to Prorogue them least they should have acted something against her Title to the Succession Wherefore she again recommended unto her the Earl of Leicester for a Husband to which purpose she sent Commissioners to Berwick to treat with those of the Queen of Scots about a Match But this Queen had given such Instructions to her Deputies they maintained That it did not stand with the Dignity of their Queen to enter into such Measures after having refused the Offers of several great Princes of Christendom Wherefore they broke up without coming to any Conclusion And the Queen being intent upon her Marriage with the Lord Darnly it was at length consummated And of this Marriage was born James the Sixth in the Palace of Edenborough on the 19 of July in the Year 1566 Solemnly crowned King of the Scots on the same day of the Month in the Year 1567 and joyfully received to the Crown of England on the 14 of March in the Year 1602. But not only the English but the Scots themselves being displeased with this Match the Scots raised some Commotions with design to have prevented it but being over-powered were forced to take Refuge in England where by Connivance they were allowed a safe Retreat During these Transactions the great Renown and Glory of Queen Elizabeth's Reign having invited Corcille Sister to the King of Sweden and Wife to Christopher Marquess of Baden to come tho' big with Child from the farthest Places of the North to see the Lustre of her Court and observe the Wisdom of her Government after a tedious Voyage by Sea and Land she at length arrived at Dover where she was received with all possible Magnificence and Respect and entertained by the Queen all the while she stayed here with all the Tenderness Affection and Splendour imaginable Within a few days after her Arrival she fell in Labour and was delivered of a Son whom the Queen christned in her own Person by the Name of Edwarduâ— Fortunatus Edward in Memory of her dearly beloved Brother and Fortunatus in regard of his being born after a painful Journey Having remained here they were dismiss'd with many rich Presents and an Annual Pension from the Queen During their Entertainments here a French Ambassador came hither to be installed Knight of the Garter in the Place and Person of that King and to present the Order of St. Michael the principal Order of France to the Duke of Norfolk and the Earl of Leicester which were performed with the Ceremonies State and Pomp usual on such occasions In the mean time Queen Elizabeth was again sollicited to Marry by those who were fearful that the Protestant Religion in this Kingdom might be extirpated by the Pretensions and authority of the Queen of Scots should she come to the Crown and amongst other offers the Emperour Maximilian did very seasonably renew the Proposals of a Match between her Majesty and his Brother Charles About the same time there arose great Dissentions at Court between the Earls of Sussex and Leicester the former favouring this Marriage and the other opposing in regard of his own hopes and pretensions but were at length at least seemingly reconciled by the Queen About the same time came likewise into England Donald Mac Carty More a Lord of great Authority and large Territories in Ireland which were confirmed to him and his Heirs Males by the Queen who likewise conferred new Honours both upon him and his Son by making the Father Earl of Clencarn and the Son Baron of Valentia and so engaged them by Gifts and Presents that they procured great Opposers of the Innovations designed by Desmond Now Sir Nicholas Arnold being called from the Government of Ireland Sir Henry Sidney was sent in his stead as Justice of that Kingdom The English Vicegerents there being at first so termed and since Deputies or Lieutenants accoring to the pleasure of the Prince Sidney at his Arrival finding great confusion through the Discord of the Earles of Ormond and Desmond the Queen to prevent any further mischief through their Dissentions thought fit to send for the latter into England And now the Parliament being met they again move the Queen either to marry or declare her Successour which her Majesty looking upon as an Imposition she checked both Houses for what had passed in them upon this occasion and though they had offered far greater Sums than were usual upon Condition she would nominate a Successour yet she flatly refused that extraordinary offer remitting the fourth payment of
THE HISTORY OF THE GLORIOUS Life Reign and Death Of the ILLUSTRIOUS Queen ELIZABETH CONTAINING An Account by what means the Reformation was promoted and established and what Obstructions it met with the Assistance she gave to all Protestants abroad the several Attempts of the Papists upon her Life the Excommunications of Rome Bishop Jewel's Challenge to the Papists the several Victories she gained and more particularly that in 1588 with all the other Remarkable Occurrences of that time By S. CLARK Illustrated with Pictures of some considerable matters curiously ingraven in Copper Plates London Printed for Henry Rodes next door to the Bear Tavern near Bride Lane in Fleet-street 1682. TO THE READER Reader I Here present thee with the Glorious Life and Reign of the ever Renowned Queen Elizabeth a Piece as full of various Occurrences and Transactions as can well be comprehended in so small a Volume Thou hast here an Account of the many Persecutions she suffered both under the Reign of her Father and that of her Sister from her Mortal Enemies the Blood-thirsty Papists and how after that it had pleased God to shield her from all their Execrable Designs and Attempts Being placed upon the Throne of her Ancestors she introduced the Reformed Religion regulating it according to the Word of God the General Consent of the Fathers the Practice of the Primitive Times and the Example of such Churches as were freest from Superstition and Idolatry Here is likewise a Relation of the several Commotions in England Scotland and Ireland and by what means raised and suppressed Thou art here also entertained with a Faithful Narrative of the Supplies she gave to those of the Reformed Religion abroad and the Courses she took to defend and promote Protestantism in the Dominions of her Neighbours The whole Affair of the Queen of Scots is herein couched the several Conspiracies of the Papists against her Life during her Reign inserted and the utter Defeat of the so called Invincible Armado in Eighty Eight represented with all her other Victories both over the French and Spaniard and an Account of the Veneration and Respect that the Great Turk himself and the most barbarous Princes of that time had for this Illustrious Queen with all the other material Circumstances of her Victorious Life and Reign wherein if thou meetest with that Satisfaction I desire thee I shall think my Endeavours well bestowed S. CLARK THE HISTORY OF THE Life and Glorious Reign OF Queen ELIZABETH ELizabeth the youngest Daughter of King Henry the Eighth was born at Greenwich on the 7th day of September 1533. Her Mother being Queen Anne Bollen the Eldest Daughter of Thomas Bollen Earl of Wiltshire and of Elizabeth his Wife one of the Daughters of Thomas Howard Duke of Norfolk and Earl Marshal of England Now Anne Bollen in her tender years attending on Mary the French Queen to the Court of France was after that Queens return placed in the Retinue of the Dutchess of Alanzon where she got in perfection both the French Language and Air. She so abounded in all the Gifts of Nature that she became the most celebrated Beauty of that Court and returned to her own Countrey with all those Advantages that the French Breeding can add to an English Beauty Whereupon being admitted amongst the Queen's Maids of Honour at the Age of two and twenty years King Henry being thirty eight years old and overcome with the Excellency of her Charms and the gracefulness of her Behaviour endeavoured to make her his Wife in hopes of Issue Male. Now some time before this Ladie 's return from France King Henry being after seventeen years Marriage something disgusted with the Bigottry Reservedness and Spanish Gravity of Queen Katharine he became very susceptible of the Doubts and Scruples that were insinuated by the Ministers of the French King concerning the lawfulness of his Marriage with Queen Katharine his Brother Arthur's Wife The like being started by those of the Emperour concerning the Legitimation of the Lady Mary and all these fomented by Cardinal Wolsey who being disappointed of the Popedom and the Archbishoprick of Toledo both which the Emperour had flattered his hopes with He resolved to promote a Divorce for the better effecting his Revenge on the Emperour and the Measures he had taken with France by proposing a Match between Henry and that King's Sister and concluding a League with the French when they were at the lowest Ebb of Fortune In consideration of which the English remitted unto them a Debt of 500000 Crowns partly accruing by some former Contracts and partly for the payment of the Forfeiture incurred by Charles the Emperour with which the French King had charged himself by the Capitulations Hereupon the King maketh it his Request to the Pope that he would send Delegates into England to hear and examine this Business To which end the Pope appointed the Cardinals Campeius and Wolsey But the Pope did privily deliver a Bull to Campeius wherein seeming to be favourable to the King's Request he granted all things in case it should happen that the Marriage contracted with Queen Katharine were declared Null and no Marriage But this Bull was either to be concealed or published according to the Success of the Emperour's Affairs in Italy Now were Questions every where started and handled Whether it were allowed of by God's Law for the Brother to take to Wife the Brother's Widow and if this were forbidden by the Law of God whether it might not be made Lawful by the Pope's Dispensation But when several of the Universities of Christendom as likewise many of the Learned men of that Age had asserted such a Marriage to be repugnant to the Sacred Laws of both Testaments notwithstanding the Pope's Dispensation the King became daily more charmed with Anne Bollen which being discovered by Wolsey it not only cooled his Zeal in promoting the Divorce but made him endeavour and procure of the Bishop of Rome not to confirm the Judgments of the Universities by reason that Anne Bollen being extremely addicted to the Doctrine of the Protestants had conceived a great Aversion against him for his Pride and Ambition Whereupon the Pope notwithstanding the Supplications of the Prelates Nobility and Clergy of England for the confirming by his Apostolical Authority what the two Universities of this Land that of Paris and several others as well as divers Just and Learned men had affirmed to be true and were ready to maintain and defend as well by Word as Writing I say notwithstanding such manifold Assertions the Cause being prolonged and delayed both at Rome and in England without Consideration had to the King 's having defended the Apostolick See by his Sword Pen Word and Authority the King grows exasperated at the Court of Rome and resolves to make way through all Obstacles which might stand betwixt Him and the accomplishment of his Desires wherefore he first sends back Campeius an Alien born then caused Wolsey to be Indicted and
Attainted in a 〈…〉 nire and not long after by the counsel of Thomas Cromwel who â—â—d formerly sollicited the Cardinal's Business iâ— the Legantine Court involves the whole Body of the Clergy in the same Crime with him By the Instigations and â—â—â—swasions of this man he requires the Clergy to acknowledge Him for Supreme Head on Earth of the Church of England nor that any new Canons or Constitutions could be made or executed otherwise than by his Consent and Allowance Thus the King being grown more confident in the Equity and Justice of his Cause by the Determinations of most of the Universities abroad and his own Clergy at home and wanting no Encouragement from the French King for the promoting of his business he advanced Anne Bollen to the Honour of Marchioness of Pembroke took her to Wife and gave Order for her being inaugurated Queen By this Marriage as we have already said was born the Lady Elizabeth And shortly after the said Marriage contracted with Queen Katharine was by the Authority of the Parliament judged void and incestuous and this with Queen Anne lawful and agreeeable to the Word of God the Crown to be entayled on the Kings Heirs Males to be begotten on her Body and for default oâ— such Issue on the Princess Elizabeth and Queen Katharine's Daughter the Lady Mary was declared illegitimate an Oath was likewise devised in defence of the said Succession and some Persons executed for the refusal of that Oath And Pope Paul the Third designing to renew His Sentence against this Marriage the States of the Realm assembled in Parliament confirmed what the Clergy had before declared that is That the King was Supream Head of the Church of England with all manner of Authority to reform Errors Heresies and Abuses in the same However She had scarce been fully married three Years than that miscarrying of a Son the King grew extreamly discontented looking upon it as an Argument of Gods displeasure as being as much offended at this second Marriage as he was at the first And though she used all lawful Arts of Love and Entertainment for the inflaming his Passion he grew as weary of her gay and merry Humour as he had been formerly at the Gravity and Reservedness of Katharine So that falling in love with Jane Ser 〈…〉 one of the Queens Maids of Honour and a person of extraordinary Peâ—â—â—y He put in practice all the cruel Acts that His Jealousie and Aversion to the present Queen could inspire him with and at length to make way for his New Passion he caused Queen Ann to be brought to her Tryal as being accused of Adultery and Incest And being condemned though she made so good a defence as perswaded all the world of her Innocenee she went to the Scaâ—fold with great Chearfulness Praying most fervently for the King and asserting her Innocence to the very last The King the very next day after marryeth Jane Seymour and causeth a Solemn Instrument to pass under the Seal of the Arch-bishop of Canterbury by which the Marriage with Anne Bollen is declared null and void and the Lady Elizabeth the only Issue of this Marriage to be illegitimate which Sentence was pronounced at Lambeth on the 17th of May following in the presence of several of the Principal Ministers Nobility and Clergy and was afterwards confirmed by Authority of Parliament Queen Jane fell in labour of Pri 〈…〉 Edward and died presently after the Prince was brought into the World who was cut out of her Womb and succeeded his Father in his Kingdom The King being little concerned at his Wives Death looks out for New Amours both in France and Italy that he might thereby procure Friends and strengthen himself by Alliances For that he was grown fearful of the Nobility lest they who had already influenced several Commotions and Rebellions at home should likewise joyn with a foreign Enemy for which reason he caused several of them to be executed He likewise put frequently to Death Religious Men for their stiff and resolute Asserting the Pope's Authority and causeth the great as well as he had already done the small Abbeys to be demolished and confiscated their Wealth to his own use which he did by reason of vicious Lives and dissolute Courses they led in those Religious Houses and he likewise causeth the Protestants to be burned as Hereticks by a Law called the six Articles made against those who â—mpugned the Doctrine of the Church of Rome touching Transubstantiation one â—ind of the Eucharist the unmarried life of Priests Vows private Mass and Auricular Confession By these means being grown terrible to his own Subjects and being looked upon as Tyrannical by Foreigners he was both rejected by Mary of Lorrain Daughter to the Duke of Guise whom he demanded in marriage and was Rival therein to James King of Sootland and likewise by Christiana of Denmark Dutchess of Millain Neece to Charles the 5th who declared That she would willingly give an Arm but was loth to purchase with her Head the Honour and Happiness of being Queen of England At length after much difficulty he obtained Anne of Cleve to Wife while he made it his business to acquire the friendship of the Protestants in Germany But she far from being charming was accused of certain Female Weaknesses and having likewise formerly been betrothed to the Duke of Lorraine's Son he put her away and married Katharine Howard Daughter to Edmund Howard and Neece to the Duke of Norfolk Whom within a year after he caused to be beheaded as convicted of Incontinency before Marriage and took to Wife Katharine Parr the Daughter of a Knight whom he left a second time a widow And now finding that the intemperance of his Youth had much decayed his Body and being inraged against the French for that they had underhand given Aid to the Scots against the English he made a League with the Emperour Charles against the most Christian King thereupon designing to invade France and thought convenient to settle first the Succession to which end he proposed to the two Houses of Parliament that if he and his Son Prince Edward should decease without Issue first the Lady Mary and if she should fail of Issue then the Lady Elizabeth should succeed to the Crown But in case all these should die without issue that then the Crown of England should be devolved upon those whom he should assign it to either by his Letters Patents or by his last Will and Testament which was unanimously agreed to and enacted upon pain of high Treason After his reâ—â—â—â— home from the taking of Bolloign finding his Exchequer drained by that Expedition and England distracted through the new Opinions that daily arose and the People dissatisfied to see the Wealth of the Land exhausted to so little Advantage their Ancient Structures demolished the Blood of the Nobility and others both Papists and Protestants promiscuously spilt and the Countrey incumbred with a Scottish War taking all these
Circumstances to heart and being grown extraordinary Corpulent he died of a Virulent Inflammation in his Leg in the beginning of the Year 1547. He was succeeded by Prince Edward his Son though not fully ten years old of whose Person the Earl of Hartford his Unkle was made Governour and Protector of the Kingdom until he should have attained the Age of Eighteen years and as such was proclaimed in all Parts of London It was under his happy Government that the English gained a great Victory over the Scots whilst they were demanding with Sword in hand the performance of a Treaty touching a Match between King Edward and Mary Queen of Scotland the severe Law of the Siâ— Articles and others were repealed that were made by Henry the Eighth against the Protestants those for abolishing the Pope's Authority are confirmed the Mass is abrogated Images are taken out of Churches the Books of both Testaments printed in English Divine Service celebrated in the same Tongue and both kinds ministred in the Sacraments At which the Romanists being inraged they put in practise all their Arts for the making a stop to such fair beginnings caused Dissention to be sowed amongst the Nobility and thereby the loss of several considerable Places both in France and Scotland promoted Tumults Factions debasing of Money and all other things that might stir up the People to Rebellion procured the Protector to be accused condemned and beheaded for Felony and at length removed the King himself by an untimely Death whether by Poyson or otherwise is uncertain apprehending and hating him for his extraordinary Virtues which much surpassed what could have been expected from his tender years During these sad Occurrences the Duke of Northumberland being â—ound by the Papists to be the fittest Instrument for the effecting their Designs as being of their own Religion under a Protestant Mask they made Use of him for the bringing about their Ends by sowing Distraction in the Nation by setting the Protector and his Brother Thomas Seymour at variance which he effected through a Female Emulation between the Dutchess of Somerset the Protector 's Wife and the Queen Dowager the Wife of Thomas And amongst other Articles of High Treason that were laid to Thomas his charge was that of intending to seize the King and of taking the Lady Elizabeth the King's Sister to Wife But she being wholly ignorant of this business and freeing her self from all suspicion and advancing towards a mature Age she was not onely extremely beloved by the King her Brother who never call'd her by any other Name than his sweet Sister Temperance but likewise by the Nobility and the whole Nation in general King Edward by the Practices of the Duke of Northumberland having declared the Lady Jane Gray for his Successor she was immediately after his Decease publickly proclaimed Queen of England and for the maintaining her in that Degree pretensions were put forward as first the Invalidity of the Lady Mary's and Elizabeth's Mother's Marriage both being made void by Legal Sentences of Divorce and those Divorces ratified by Acts of Parliament which Acts of the Lady Mary's and Lady Elizabeth's Illegitimation were never duely repealed Notwithstanding that the King their Father had by the same Act declared that they should succeed in order after Edward the Sixth in case he failed of Issue Secondly It was pretended that these two Sisters being but of half Blood to the Deceased King admitting them to have been born in lawful Wedlock were not in a capacity by the Common Law to be Heirs unto him or to succeed in any part of that Inheritance which came un-unto him by his Father Now the Lady Jane's Mother being the Lady Frances Daughter and one of the Co-heirs of Charles Brandon the late Duke of Suffolk by Mary his Wife Queen Dowager to Lewis the Twelfth of France and youngest Daughter to King Henry the Seventh Grand-father to King Edward now deceased Now I say the Lady Frances her Mother might seem both by the Law of Nature and the Right of Succession to have precedency in Title before her yet she received no injury because she was willing to pass by all her personal Claims for the Preferment of her Daughter It was also given out that Henry the Eighth by his last Will and Testament conveyed the Title of the Crown to the Lady Jane Gray and moreover Politick Reasons and Pretexts were used as that there was an unavoidable danger of reducing this Kingdom under the Vassalage and Servitude of the Bishop of Rome in case either of the King 's two Sisters should marry with a Foreign Prince of that Religion or otherwise of themselves revoke the Bishop of Rome's Authority and subject the English to a Popish Yoke But through the extraordinary Affection the Nobility and Commons had for the Daughters of King Henry the 8th this great Storm was dispersed within the space of twenty dayes to the fatal End of the Duke of Northumberland and the Lady Jane and the Lady Mary was proclaimed Queen throughout all England And at her coming to London with an Army the Lady Elizabeth met her with five hundred Horse notwithstanding the offers that had been made her by the Duke of a vast Sum of money and certain Lands if she would resign her Title to the Crown lest she should fail her Sister 's and her own Cause which was then in hand Queen Mary caused in the first Parliament that she held all those Acts to be repealed that had been made against the Marriage of Queen Katharine her Mother and King Henry the 8th and the Marriage was judged to be agreeable to the Laws of God and to all intents valid and available The same Form also of Religion and Service of God and Administration of the Sacraments which had been in use at the Death of Henry the 8th were re-established however without any acknowledgment or mention at all of the Pope's Authority notwithstanding all the Efforts of the Queen and Cardinal Pool for the Parliament were very unwilling to admit and acknowledge the Authority of the Bishop of Rome which was now shaken off Neither would they suffer that the Queen should lay down the Title of Supream Head of the Church of England unto which most of the Nobility Bishops and Commons had sworn to Henry the 8th his Heirs and Successors But the Queen was very desirous to lay down this Title as believing that her Pretensions to the Crown had no better Foundation than the Authority of the Bishop of Rome who had maintained her Cause after that her father had procured her to be declared Illegitimate And indeed at this time the apprehensions of the English were so great of Popery and of being inslaved by it's means and by the Match that was concluded with Phillip to the Yoke of Spain as that it caused some to break out into Rebellion as Wyat and others But notwithstanding the Papists had got their will by procuring after much opposition the Roman
Religion to be established in the Kingdom by authority of Parliament and those Acts to be repealed that had been made against the See of Rome in the time of Henry the 8th and Edward the sixth yet there being no Issue to be expected from the Queen seeing she was fourty Years old Weak and Infirm they stood in fear of the Lady Elizabeth who had gained the hearts of all the Nation by her Loyal and Prudent Conduct being the Admiration of her Age both for her Beauty and the Qualities of her Mind and was so indefatigable in Study that before she had attained to the Age of Seventeen Years she had acquired to Perfection both Greek Latin and other ancient Languages and French Italian and other Modern Tongues and had likewise gained all other Accomplishments that are necessary to the composing a Perfect Princess Thus being looked upon as a Miracle of Learning and Prudence as well by Foreigners as the English the Papists were sensible how much it was their Interest to remove out of the way a Princess who seemed threatning the Fall of their Superstitions here in England they used all their Arts to dispose Queen Mary to take away her Life which the Queen refused to do notwithstanding they would have perswaded her that she was obliged to do every thing though never so unjust that was requisite and necessary for the promoting and settling the Catholick Religion And Sir Thomas Wyat Sir Peter Carew and others having stirred up some Commotions the Papists most maliciously set Rumours on Foot that the Lady Elizabeth did countenance and was privy to those Tumults and that she was to be marryed to the Earl of Devonshire Hereupon they caused her to be put into Prison and notwithstanding they would have forced several of the Tumultuaries by Torture to have declared her Accessory to their Rising yet the Rack was not able to make them wrong her Innocence and such as had seemingly accused her in hopes of Advantage cleared her at the time of their Execution But the Papists having got that Princess into Prison they were so far from putting an End to their Persecutions notwithstanding her Innocence that they used her with all the Barbarity imaginable Insomuch that the French and Danish Kings thought it convenient to comfort her by making her great Offers Promises of doing all that lay in their Power in her Behalf But this did but the more inflame the Rage of her Popish Enemies who were resolved to take away her Life either by accusing her of High Treason or of Heresie Hereupon they forced her to hear Divine Service after their Superstitious manner and to go likewise to Confession yet Cardinal Pool Bonner and others of the Bishops were not satisfied with this severe and cruel Treatment but declared that it was requisite she should dye for the Security of the Catholick Religion insomuch that this harsh Usage moved the Spamard himself to pitty and King Philip Queen Mary's Husband interceeded in her Favour and admiring her extraordinary Virtues would have marryed her to his Son Charles or as others say designed her for himself maugre the different Principles of Religion And for this Reason he broke off the Proposals that were made for the marrying her to Emanuel Philibert Duke of Savoy However he was not able to gain her for his Son finding that the People of England would never permit that the next Heir of the Crown should be sent out of the Kingdom In the mean time Queen Mary's Hatred daily increasing against her Sister Elizabeth this Lady's Ruine must have been certain had not it pleased God to divert the thoughts of it by the War that Queen Mary declared against France in favour of her Husband Philip. During this War and the Scots Excursions into England Calice and several other considerable Places being lost and the Queen finding her self neglected laid all these things so to heart and having lain languishing under a Tympany and six Months Fever which then raged over all the Land she departed this Life on the 17th of November 1558. having reigned five Years and four Months During her Reign there are said to have perished by the Flames five Bishops twenty one Divines eight Gentlemen eighty four Artificers one hundred Husbandmen Servants and Labourers twenty six Wives twenty Widows nine Virgins two Boyes and two Infants the one springing out of the Mothers Womb as she was at the Stake and most inhumanely flung into the Fire in the very Birth Besides several others that were whippe◠to death perished in Prisons and others that were condemned for their Faith and lay ready for Execution if they had not been delivered by the seasonable Death of Queen Mary and the auspicious Entrance of Queen Elizabeth Elizabeth the onely Child then living of King Henry the Eighth succeeded her Sister in the Throne on the 17th of November 1558. And a Parliament having been convened some time before Queen Mary's Death after her Dissolution had been for some hours concealed the News thereof was carried to the Lords then sitting in the House of Peers who after a short Debate amongst themselves sent a Message to the Speaker of the House of Commons desiring him and all the Members of that House to come immediately to them And they being come Heath Arch-bishop of York and Lord Chancellor of England signified unto them that the Lord had been pleased to take to his Mercy the late Queen Mary that by Right of Succession the Crown did belong to the Princess Elizabeth and that therefore they were desired to concurr in the proclaiming the new Queen with all possible Expedition which being unanimously agreed to by the House of Commons she was incontinently proclaimed Queen of England France and Ireland Defendress of the Faith in the Palace-yard o◠Westminster in the presence of the Lords and Commons and presently after in Cheap-side in the presence of the Lord Mayor Aldermen and Principal Citizens with great Acclamations and extraordinary joy of the People It was not long before some of the Lords brought her the News of her Sisters Death with the General acknowledgment of her just Title to the Crown Whereupon she prepared to remove from Hatfield where she had been under Consinement and set forward with a splen◠did and Royal Train for London being met all along upon the way by the Nobles Bishops and crowds of others to a◠whom she made so affable a Reception as confirmed the general Opinion of h◠benign Disposition The first-Publick Testimony she gave of her Discretion after her coming 〈…〉 the Crown being then twenty five 〈…〉 old was the Choice she made of a Council picking out such of Queen Mary's Council as were well known to be able men and such as were firm Pursuers of the True Interests of the Nation adding such others as might moderate and temper them for the Protestant Religion She likewise caused new Commissions and Instructions to be sent to the several Ambassadors as resided
all the French Forces should immediately depart out of Scotland except sixty men only to bâ— left in Dunbar and as many in the Fo 〈…〉 of Nachkeeth that they should be transported for their greater Security in English Bottoms that all matters of Religio 〈…〉 should be referred to the following Parliament that an Act of Oblivion should be passed for the Indemnity of all who ha 〈…〉 borne Arms on either side that a general Bond of Love and Amitâ— should bâ— made betwixt the Lords and their 〈…〉 râ—nts of both Religions And 〈…〉 amongst many other Particulars That n 〈…〉 ther the Queen of Scots nor the French King should from thence forward 〈…〉 the Titles and Arms of England 〈…〉 Articles being signed for both Kin 〈…〉 the French 〈…〉 Scotland 〈…〉 English Army being returned home was thereupon disbanded Shortly after which the Earls of Morton and Glencarn were sent by the Congregation to pay their most 〈…〉 mble Thanks and Acknowledgments to â—er Majesty for her ready and successful Assistance and to implore the Continuation of her Favour and Protection in case they should be invaded by the French or any other Enemies Whereof having received gracious Assurances and being 〈…〉 obly entertained and bountifully rewarded with Gifts and Presents they returned with such Joy and Satisfaction to â—he Congregation that for these Reasons and for the further engaging her Protection they obliged themselves by their Subscription to embrace the Liturgy with all the Rites and Ceremonies of the Church of England which for a time remained the only Form of Worship retained in the Kirke of Scotland After which they caused a Parliament to be called in Pursuance of the Articles of the Pacification from which no Person w 〈…〉 ed who had any Right of Suff 〈…〉 ose Authority three Acts pa 〈…〉 g wholly to the promoting and establishing of the Reformation The first was for the abolishing the Pope's Jurisdiction and Authority within that Realm the second For the annulling all Statutes made in former Times for maintenance of Idolatry and Superstition and the third for the Punishments of the Sayers and Hearers of Mass. And now let us return to England where the Earl of Arrain being recommended by the Protestants of Scotland for a Husband to Queen Elizabeth by that means to have united the two Crowns this Match was handsomly rejected by her and with great Commendation of the Person The like Address was made by the King of Denmark in Favour of Adolph Duke of Holstein a Prince who had gained great Honours by the Wars and who came himself over for that purpose but was dismissed by the Queen with the Honour of the Garter and a yearly Pension whereby she bound him for ever to her Interests At home Sir William Pickering the Earl of Arundel and Robert Dudley the Duke of Northumberland's younger S 〈…〉 statter'd themselves with the hopes 〈…〉 taining unto the Honour of being her Husband In the mean time the Lord Vicount Montacute the Queens Ambassador in Spain represents to that King the Necessity of the Scotish War endeavours to free the Scots from all Aspersions of Rebellion proving though a zealous Catholick that the Religion that was now introduced into England was wholly consonant to the Sacred Scriptures and the four first General Councils and demanded that the League of Burgundy might be renewed Whereto that King replyed That the confirming of the League was in no wise necessary bemoaneth the Change of Religion in England is troubled at the Expedition into Scotland sendeth back the Order of the Garter and taketh unkindly some Repulses in things of small Moment and though he gave some necessary Cautions as to Clauses to be inserted in the Treaty of Edenborough and for a while opposed the French Practiâ—â— at Rome who endeavoured to proâ—â—â—rt Queen Elizabeth to be excommunicated yet his Ministers incensing him 〈…〉 more and more against the Engl 〈…〉 Affronts were offered to the Queens Ambassador at his Court and he is likewise said to have then endeavoured to perswade the new elected Pope to thunder out his Bulls of Excommunication against her Majesty But the Court of Rome being sensible how little she valued those empty Crackers instead of complying with the Spaniard sent to her the Abbot Vincentio Papalia with secret Instructions and fawning Letters whereof you have here an Abstract To our most dear Daughter Elizabeth Queen of England OUR most dear Daughter in Christ greeting and Apostolical Benediction How greatly We do desire according as our Pastoral Office requireth to take care of your Salvation and to provide as well for your Honour as the Establishment of your Kingdom both God the Searcher of our Hearts knoweth and you your self may understand by the Instructions which we have given to this Our beloved Son Vincentio Papalia Abbot of St. Saviour a man known unto you and of Us well approved to be by him imparted unto You. We do therefore most Dear Daughter exhort and admonish your Highness again That rejecting bad Councellors â—â—â— love not you but themselves and serve their own Deâ—â—â—s You would take the Fear of God to counsel and acknowledging the time of your Visitation oâ—ey Our Fatherly Admonitions and wholsome Advices and promise to your self all things concerning Us which you shall desire of Us not onely for the Salvation of your Soul but also for the establishing and confirming of your Royal Dignity according to the Authority Place and Function committed to Us by God who if you return into the Bosoâ— of the Church as We wish and hope you will are ready to receive you with the same Love Honour and Rejoycing wherewith that Father in the Gospel received his Son who returned unto him although our Joy shall be so much the greater than his in that he rejoyced for the Salvation of one onely Son but You drawing with you all the people of England shall not only by your own Salvation but also by the Salvation of the whole Nation replenish Us and all our Brethren in General whom God willing you should hear shortly to be congregated in an Oecumenical and General Council for abolishing of Heresies and the whole Church with joy and gladness Yea you shall also glad Heaven it self and purchase â—y somemorable a Fact admirable Glory to your Name and much more renowned than that Crown you wear But of this matter the same Vincentio shall treat with you more at large and shall declare unto you our Fatherly affection whom we pray your Highness that you will graciously receive diligently hear and give the same Credit to his Speech which you would do to Our Self Given at Rome at Saint Peters c. The 1.5 day of May 1560. In our first year Notwithstanding all this Cajoslery Queen Elizabeth kept firm to her Motto viz. Always the same insomuch that the Pope was deceived in his hopes The proposals that the Pope is said to have designed to have made by this Abbot were That he would
thirtieth part of the Livings that were liable to the Benevolence and the twentieth part of those that were not By which means that Work was so hastned and furthered that in a short time it was compleated and finished In the mean time great Preparations were making for the opening and holding of the Council of Trent to which the Pope endeavoured to procure that Divines might be sent from England To which end he dispatched to the Queen a Nuncio who being come into the Low Countries stayed there in hopes of procuring leave to be admitted into England for that it was provided by an ancient Statute that the Pope's Nuncio should not come into this Realm without Leave first obtained But the Queen having absolutely refused to admit the Nuncio most of the Princes of Christendom endeavoured to perswade her by then Letters to refer her self in matters of Religion to the Occumenical Council of Trent Whereto she made Answer That she was very desirous of an Occumenical Council but she would not send Deputies to a Popish Council that she had nothing to do with the Bishop of Rome whose Authority was expelled England by Act of Parliament and that it did not belong to the Pope but to the Emperour to call Councils nor could nor would she acknowledge any greater Authority in him than in any other Bishop Much about this time the Queen of Scots being sollicited by the Popish Party to return into that Kingdom and being grown weary of France since the Death of the late King her Husband she caused Queen Elizabeth to be desired to grant her free passage thither pretending that she could not ratifie the Treaty of Edinborough without the Advice of the Nobility of Scotland But Queen Elizabeth suspecting that some dangerous Practises were contriving against England for the preventing them not only thought fit to deny her her Request but to send Sir Thomas Randolph into Scotland to exhort the Nobility to mutual Amity and to keep firm to the Promises he had made her and he found them and the Congregation so well resolved to adhere to her that she was under no Apprehensions from the Scottish Queen or her Party However it was judged safe to intercept her if possible in her passage thither To which end a Squadron of Men of War was fitted out though under other Pretexts yet the Queen of Scots her self by the favour of a great Fog escaped unperceived by the English and landed safe in Scotland though some of the Ships that attended her in that Voyage were taken and brought into England That Queen being now in Scotland sends an Envoy with Letters to Queen Elizabeth wherein she expressed a great deal of Love and Kindness to her as her dearest Friend and Sister and desired that all true and sincere Friendship and Correspondence might be maintained between them Queen Elizabeth receiving Letters at the same time to the same effect from most of the Nobility of that Kingdom But this was not the whole Errand of this Envoy for the Queen of Scots did likewise by him demand to be declared Heir Apparent to this Kingdom as being she said the surest way to continue Amity and Friendship between the two Crowns Whereto the Queen could not be prevailed with to make any other Answer than that she would do nothing to the Prejudice of her Cousin of Scotland's Title leaving the rest to be considered of at a Personal Conference that was to be held at York shortly after which Interview was however broken off by Popish Contrivances lest it might be a means towards the creating in the Queen of Scots an inclination to the Reformed Religion And now finding that tho' she had made all the fair offers imaginable to the Spaniard and treated the Guises with all possible Kindness and Honour yet her Ministers at the Courts of Spain and France instead of meeting with fair Returns and Civilities received affronts upon all Occasions wherefore though she had found her Treasure all exhausted yet she began to make all imaginable Warlike preparations for the security of her self and Subjects And amongst other her Provisions for that purpose having caused a many Pieces of great Ordnance of Iron and Brass to be cast God favouring all she undertook caused a most rich Vein of rich and Native Brass to be discovered at the same time as was likewise the Stone called Lapis Calaminaris first found out in England being very necessary for Brass Works Her Majesty caused likewise Gun-powder to be made here at home being the first that had been made in England the English before having been obliged to beg hard and pay dear for it to Foreigners She also caused the several Garisons belonging to the Kingdom to be better strengthened with new Works Men and Fortifications She likewise increased the Pay of the Souldiers and took Care to provide for those that had been maimed in the Service of the Land She added to and provided her Fleet with all manner of Necessaries making it the best Navy that ever belonged to Brittain insomuch that all Foreigners did truly term her The Restorer of the Glory of Shipping and the Queen of the North Sea She caused all manner of People to furnish themselves with Arms and to use Martial Discipline and Exercise She gave all manner of Encouragement to Husbandry and Tillage by permitting the Transportation of Grain And by a Proclamation she prohibited the Merchants from supplying the Emperour of Russia with Ammunition against the Polanderâ— and caused the Officers of her Exchequer to pay duely the Pensions to such Religious Men as had been cast out of Abbeys She revoked the Commissions of the Purveyors both for the Garrisons and Fleet and designed to have done the same with those of her Household She augmented the Stipends of the Judges And though she was extreamly liberal and bountiful to desert yet she took Care not to alienate the Domain In the mean time the Civil War broke forth in France the Faction and Family of the Guises aiming at that Crown they were sensible that they should never compass their Designs as long as the Hugonots were in Being wherefore they used all manner of means to extirpate those Protestants insomuch that they were forced to take Arms both in Defence of their Sovereign and themselves Now Queen Elizabeth well knowing the Practises of the House of Guise to advance the Interests and Pretensions of the Queen of Scots she supplyed the Protestants of that Kingdom with Money Corn and Ammunition for the Service of the French King and for the defending the Protestant Religion and hindring the Dukedom of Normandy from being possessed by the Guises who might from thence with more Ease have executed their Designs upon England She obliged her self to aid the Prince of Conde and his Associates who headed the Protestants with her Forces both by Land and Sea for the taking in of such Castles Towns and Ports as were possessed by the Faction of the House of Guise
of the young French King and the recovering of Calice they granted the Clergy one Subsidy and the Laity another with two Fifteens and Tenths During these Occurrences at home the Prince of Conde was intercepted and taken Prisoner in that memorable Battel of Dreux as was likewise Sir Nicholas Throgmorton who shortly after paying his Ransome was set at Liberty But the Admiral Chastillon Commanding both the English and French Forces had beetter Success by taking in of Caen and other considerable Places which so startled those of the Guisian Faction that they agreed unto an Edict of Pacification by which the French Princes were restored to their Kings favour Conde lured with hopes of the Lieutenancy General of France and a Marriage with the Queen of Scots the Hugonots allowed the free exercise of their Religion and all things setled for the present to their full satisfaction And having thus agreed among themselves and treacherously abandoned the English they join their Forces and contrive how to drive them out of New-haven in case they would not evacuate it upon demand Now sometime before this agreement the Hostages for Calice endeavoured to make their escape with Ribald a Famous Pilot who had been sent secretly into England for that purpose but were discovered and seized just as they were ready to take shipping The Queen having secret notice of the French designs upon New-haven offered to exchange it for Calice Which being refused War was Proclaimed on both sides And such an extraordinary great Fleet of the English scoured the Seas as not only shut up the French in their Havens but the Spaniards likewise and their Pyracies upon them being very great the Queen caused her Ambassadour to make Excuses at the Court of Spain and restrained them by Proclamation In the mean time New-haven being close Besieged and hard pressed by the French and the Pestilence raging horribly in the Town the English were forced to capitulate and render up that Place hoping that by leaving it they should escape the Plague but instead thereof they brought it with them into England where it sorely afflicted the whole Kingdom and especially the City of London where there dyed of it Twenty one Thousand one Hundred and thirty Persons The Fathers at Trent were very much displeased with Queen Elizabeth both for assisting the French Hugonots against their King and passing the Statute for Punishing all those who countenanced and maintained the Popes Authority within her Dominions which so incensed the Pope that he sent a Commission to those Fathers to proceed to an Excommunication of the Queen of England But the Emperour being by his Ministers sed with hopes of a Marriage betwixt the Queen and his Son the Arch-Duke Charles he by Letters to the Pope and his Legates disswaded them from proceeding to such Extremities and caused the Pope to revoke the Commission he had sent to his Legates in Trent Shortly after which that Council broke up but were so far from having re-united the Church that on the contrary the Breach was become greater and the Discords inreconcilable In the mean time the Cardinal of Lorrain fearing without any Reason a Match between Queen Elizabeth and Charles of Austria to divert it proposeth the said Charles for a Husband to his Neece the Queen of Scots who imparting this Business to Queen Elizabeth she advised her to marry but not the Arch-Duke and recommended to her for a Husband Robert Dudley and promised her That if she would marry him She should by Authority of Parliament be declared her Sister or Daughter and Heir of England in case she should dyeâ— without Issue But assoon as the Queen Mother and her Uncles in France had notice hereof they disswaded her from it promising if she would reject it and persist in the French Amity they would pay her her Dowry Money and lured the Scots with hopes of confirming their ancient Liberties and granting them new ones And though the Queen of Scots took all imaginable Care to gain the Love of her Subjects and keep them at Peace yet they insulted her frequently nor was she able to suppress the Commotions The Spaniard now grew daily more enraged against the English for that his Ambassador here had been confined to his House and subjected to Examinations and publick Reprehensions for that the English Privateers had invested the French upon the Coast of Spain and intended to set forth a Voyage to the West Indies And the King of Spain manifested his Displeasure by causing Proclamation to be made in Antwerp and other places though under Pretext of the Pestilence being in England that no English Ship with Cloaths should come into any part of the Low Countries causing the Goods of English men to be confiscated upon very light Causes and by new Edicts certain Merchandise were forbidden to be transported the Passage through the Low Country Provinces with Horses Salt Peter and Gunpowder out of Germany and Italy was forbidden Whereupon and at the earnest Suit of the Merchant-Adventurers the Queen prohibited the Transporting of Wool unwrought and the Mart or Staple of Cloaths or English Merchandizes was removed to Emden upon the River Ems in Friezland The Apprehension that these and other Circumstances gave the Queen of the Councils of Spain made her the more willingly hearken to a Peace with France which was concluded upon these Terms which were as advantageous as the Juncture would afford That neither Party should invade the other The one shall not aid any that invade the other Private Mens Facts shall bind themselves only Commerce shall be free Traytors and Rebels shall not be received Letters of Reprisal shall not be granted Injuries shall be buried in Oblivion Reservation of Rights and Titles also Actions Demands and Claims which they have or pretend to have one against the other respectively shall remain to them safe and whole and in like manner Defences and Exceptions shall be reserved A certain Sum of Money shall be repayed to Queen Elizabeth at times prefixed Upon the Payment of six hundred and twenty thousand Crowns the Hostages shall be delivered out of England and Throckmorton shall return free into his Country after Confirmation of the League Which Treaty being ratifyed on both sides the French King was invested with the Order of the Garter Being now at Peace with France and in fair-seeming Terms with the King of Stain she resolved to take the Diversion of a Progress in the Course of which she made a visit to Cambridge where she was received with all the Respect Ceremony and Acclamation imaginable and to her own as well as their extraordinary satisfaction and the like Honour she did to Oxford being attended with the same Circumstances Don Alvarze a Quadra Bishop of Aquila and Spanish Ambassadour here a Man zealously addicted to Popery had fed the Papists here with hopes of having the Romish Superstitions again restored in England and had been a Grand Promoter of the Distrusts and Dissatisfactions that were
Religion also Which the Queen answering in the Affirmative he immediately began to prepare for War against the Protestants and Alanzon being engaged in the adverse Party there was no Talk of a Match for a long time During these Occurrences Requesens the Spanish Governour of the Low Countries finding how much his Predecessors neglect of Marine Affairs was prejudicial to his Master's Interests he made his Request to Queen Elizabeth that he might take up Ships and Marriners for his Majesties Service That the English Fugitives in the Low Countries might serve the King of Spain against the Hollanders and have free Access to the Ports of England and that the Dutch who were Rebells against the King of Spain might be banished England But for several Reasons she thought not fit to grant any of these Particulars yet to preserve inviolate the old Burgundian League she put out a Proclamation wherein she commanded that the Ships of the Dutch that were made ready should not go forth of the Haven nor yet the Dutch who had taken up Arms against the King of Spain enter into the Ports of England and by Name the Prince of Orange and fifty other of the principal of that Faction In Return of which Favour the English Seminary at Doway was dissolved and the Earl of Westmerland and other English Fugitives were Banished the Dominions of the King of Spain In the mean time the Prince of Orange and the Confederated States finding their Forces too small to oppose the King of Spain they consulted to whose Protection they might most securely betake themselves The French they saw then engaged in a Civil War the Princes of Germany were loath to part with their Money could seldom agree amongst themselves and were not altogether of a mind with them in Religion whereupon knowing none more powerful nor capable of protecting them than England they sent an Honorable Embassy of several Persons to the Queen offering her the Soveraignty of Holland and Zealand forasmuch as she was descended from the Earls of Holland by Philippa Wife of Edward the Third Daughter of William of Bavaria Count of Hannonia and Holland by whose other Sister the Hereditary Right of those Provinces came to the King of Spain Of this Offer the Queen took time to consider and after mature deliberation she made answer after that she had thanked them for their good Intentions towards her that she held nothing more glorious than Justice that as she could not with the safety of her Honour and Conscience receive those Provinces into her Protection much less assume them into her Possession yet she would use her endeavours with the King of Spain that a good Peace might be concluded Shortly after Requesens dying the States of the several Provinces took upon them the ancient Administration of the Government which the King of Spain was fain to Confirm unto them till such time as John of Austria was arrived whom he designed for a Successor to Requesens In the mean time the Queen by her Ministers endeavoured to compose Matters in those Countries but the minds of the Factions were so exasperated against one another that all her efforts in that kind proved Abortive Yet he continued to intercede with the King of Spain in their behalf and the Ambassador she sent for this purpose to that Court finding that that King's Ministers would not admit in the Queens Title the Attribute of Defender of the Faith he demanded it with that Courage and Prudence that he thereby gained the favour of the King of Spain himself who desired him that the Queen might know nothing of this Dispute and gave severe Command that the Title should be admitted About this time there happened some disorders upon the Borders of Scotland which having been favoured by the Ministers of the Regent Queen Elizabeth would in no wise be satisfied until the Regent himself came into England to make his Submissions to the Earl of Huntingdon the English Commissioner Much about the same time the Earl of Essex received a great affront for amidst his great Exploits and Victory in Ireland through the Practises of his Enemies at Court He was of a sudden recalled home and ordered to resign his Authority in Ulster But Leicester being jealous of his Presence at Court caused him to be sent back thither with the empty Title of Earl Marshal of Ireland for grief whereof he fell into a Bloody Flux and ended his days in grievous Torments but not without suspicion of Poyson by the Earl of Leicester's means for that he had marryed his Widdow immediately after his Death In the mean time the Confusions increased in the Low Countries which the Queen endeavoured very much to remedy and though the States had offered themselves to the French yet she sent them twenty Thousand Pounds Sterling upon Condition they should neither call in the French into the Low Countries nor change their Prince nor their Religion nor refuse a Peace in case it were offered by Don John of Austria upon reasonable Conditions And that Governour being now arrived Queen Elizabeth sent a Person of Quality to congratulate his coming thither and to offer him her assistance if the States called in the French into the Low-Countries The Seas being now extreamly infested with Pyrates the Queen caused several Men of War to put forth to scoure them which they did to that purpose as to take Two Hundred of them and to put them in Prisons all along the Coast. She likewise caused the Zelanders to make Restitution and Satisfaction of the English Goods they had taken and confiscated And now all the World courting the Prosperity of England and the prudent Conduct of it's Queen the Portugals requested that the Commerce might be restored that had been now for some time prohibited between the two Nations and the Conditions which they offered and were accepted were as much or more to the English as their Advantage About the same time Martin Forbisher undertook a Voyage for the discovery of the Northern passage to Cathaia but his and that which was undertaken two years after for the same purpose proved in vain And now a great Friend and Ally of Queen Elizabeth's the Emperour Maximilian being dead she sent Sir Philip Sidney to his Son Rodolphus to condole his Fathers Death and congratulate his Succession causing the same Offices to be done with the surviving Son of the then newly deceased Electoâ— Palatine In Ireland fresh Rebellions breaking out about this time the prudent Conduct of the Queen and her Ministers was such that all those Commotions were suddenly suppressed and that Nation brought to a greater Subjection than it had ever been before but her Ministers proceeding to lay new Taxes she gave Order for the moderating them â—aying that she would have her Subjects shorne not devoured But the Papists still continuing their Practices against her Majesty had perswaded Don John of Austria to endeavour the Escape of the Queen of Scots which when he should