And this was done in a General Parliament which was held at Segovia in the year 1276. and the two Princes his Nephews were put in Prison but afterwards by the intercession of their Uncle King Philip of France they were releas'd and had certain Lands given them and of them came the Dukes of Medina Coeli and all the rest of the House of Cerda which are of great Nobility in Spain Not long after this Garab lib. 15. 〈◊〉 1. An. 1363. when Don Pedro Sirnamed The Cruel King of Castile was driven out and his Bastard-Brother Henry the Second set up in his place John of Gaunt Duke of Lancaster having Married Dono Constantia the said King Peters Daughter and Heir pretended by Succession to the said Crown of Castile which was really his Right but yet the State of Spain denyed it flatly and defended it by Arms and prevailed against John of Gaunt as did also the Race of Henry the Bastard against his lawful Brother and the Race of Don Sancho the Uncle against his lawful Nephews and this hapned in the third and principal Descent of the Spanish Kings when this Matter of Succession was most assuredly and perfectly establisht and yet who will deny the Kings of Spain who held under the latter Titles To be true and lawful Kings By which it appears how frequently the Line of Succession has been altered in Spain upon any reasonable Consideration which they imagined to be for the Publick good And the like we shall find in France and England which we shall begin to treat of Now concerning the State of France thô since the Entrance of King Pharamond with his Franks out of Germany which was about the year of Christ 419. they have never had any Stranger come to wear the Crown which they attribute to their Salick Law that forbids Womens Reign yet they have twice chang'd their whole Race and Linage of Kings once by the Entrance of King Pepin who put out the Line of Pharamond about the year 751. and again in the promotion of Hugo Capetus who put out the Line of Pepin in the year 988. so as they have had three Descents and Races of Kings as well as the Spaniards Now I 'le pass over all the first Race of the Franch Kings as I also did the Spanish because some men may say That the Commonwealth and Law of Succession was not so well setled in those days as it was afterwards in the time of Pepin Charles the Great and their Descendents Therefore I shall only mention the second Rank which began with the Exclusion and Deposition of their lawful King Childerick the Third and Election of King Pepin in the year of Christ 781 after 22 Kings which had Reigned of the first Line of Pharamond for the space of Three hundred years This King Reigned 18 years being a famous King as all the World knows left his Kingdom by Succession to his eldest Son Charles Sirnamed aster The Great for his Famous and Heroical Acts. And thô the whole Kingdom belong'd to him by right of Succession yet did the Realm of France shew her Authority in his Admission â—â—rard du â—ilan lib 3. as the Historian relates in these Words King Pepin being dead the French chose for their King his two Sons Charles and Carlomon on condition that they should divide the Realm equally betwixt them which was a heavy Condition to the elder Brother to part with half his Kingdom After these Brothers had Reigned together three years King Carlomon died and left many Sons but the Lords Spiritual and Temporal of France Swore Allegiance to Charles without any respect to the Children of Carlomon who by right of Succession should have been preferred After Charles the Great Reigned his Son Lewis the First Sirnamed Debonnaire of his Courtesie who entred with great Applause of all Men for the exceeding grateful Memory of his Father but he was Deposed by the means of his Sons and was put in a Monastery thô after he came to Reign again â—erard lib. 5. â—n 834. and his fourth Son by his second Wife named Charles the Bold succeded him in the Crown after many Battels against his elder Brother Lothair to whom it belong'd by Succession After Charles the Beld succeeded Lewis the Second who was the third Son for the Second died before his Father and the Eldest was put by for his ill Demeanour This Lewis also had like to have been deprived by the States at his Entrance for the Hatred conceived against his Father Gerard. lib. 1. had he not call'd a Perliament at Campeigne and sweetned the People and Nobility with many fair Promises This Lewis left two Bastards by a Concubine who were call'd Lewis and Carlomon as also an Infant newly born of his lawful Wife Adeltrude Daughter to King Alfred of England which Infant was King of France after by the Name of Charles the Simple thô not immediately after the Death of his Fahter For the Nobles of France said They had need of a Man to be King and not a Child and so the whole State of France chose for their Kings the two aforesaid Bastards and they were Crowned most solemnly and divided the whole Realm between them An. 881. and Queen Adeltrude with her Child true Heir of France fled into England to her Fahter and there kept him many years in which time she saw four or five Kings Reign in his place successively Of these two Bastards the Elder named Lewis Reigned but Four years and died without Issue the second named Carlomon lived but one year after him and left a Son called Lewis which succeeded him in the Kingdom by the name of Lewis the Fisth and Sirnamed Faineant for his idle and slothful Life for which as also for his vicious Behaviour and in particular for taking out and Marrying a Nun of the Abby of S. Saveour he was depriv'd and made a Monk in the Abby of S. Denis where he died and in his place was chosen King of France and Crown'd with great Solemnity Charles the Fourth Emperour of Rome who was Nephew to Charles the Bold before mentioned and therefore the French. Historians say That he came to the Crown partly by Succession and partly by Election but for Succession we see it was of no account being Charles the Simple the right Heir was alive in England and as it were forgotten being they had thrice excluded him and would not receive him after they had deprived Charles for his evil Government and rather chose one Odo Earl of Baris and Duke of Angiers and caused him to be Crown'd But after a few years being weary of this Man's Government and moved with Compassion towards the Youth in England they Deposed him while he was absent in Gascony and call'd Charles the Simple out of England and restor'd him to the Kingdom of France leaving only to Odo the State of Aquitain with Title of a Duke wherewith in rine he contented himself seeing
he could get no more But yet his Posterity by virtue of this Election ever after pretended a Title to the Crown of France and never desisted until by Hugo Capetus they got it for Hugh was descended of this King and Duke Odo This Charles the Simple was decoy'd into the Castle of Perene in Picardy where he was made Prisoner and fore'd to resign his Kingdom unto Ralph King of Burgundy and soon after he died in the Castle and his Queen Odin and English Woman fled into England with her little Son Lewis unto her Uncle King Adelstan as Queen Adeltrude had done before But this new King Ralph lived but three years aster and then the States of France considering the Title of Lewis the Lawful Son of Charles the Simple which Lewis was commonly called by the name of d'Outremere that is beyond Sea being he was brought up in England the said States being continually solicited by the Ambassadors of King Adelstan and by William Duke of Normandy in behalf of the young Prince they resolved to call him home as they had done his Father and to admit and Crown him King and so they did and he Reigned Twenty seven years and was a good Prince and died peaceably in his Bed in the year of Christ 945. This Lewis d'Outremere left two Sons behind him the eldest succeeded him by the name of Lothair the First and the youngest he made Duke of Lorrain Lothair dying left one Son named Lewis who succeeded him by the name of Lewis the Fifth but dying without Issue the Crown was to have gone by Lineal Succession to his Uncle Charles Duke of Lorrain second Son of Lewis d'Outremere but the States of France put him byfor mislike of his Person chose Hugo Capetus Earl of Paris and so ended the second Line of Pepin and of Charles the Great and entred the Race of Capetus Now thô all the French Chronicles are carnest defenders of their Law of Succession yet they justifie the Title of Capetus against Charles of Lorrain as may appear by the Words of an ancient and diligent Chronicler of the Abby of S. Denis who defends King Capetus in these Words We may not grant by any means that Hugh Capet should be esteemed an Invader or Vsurper of the Crown of France seeing the Lords Prelates and Princes of the Realm did call him to this Dignity and chose him for their King and Sovereign Lord. Upon which Words Belforest saith as follows Bel. lib 3. cap 1. I have laid besore you the Words and Censure of this good and religious Man for they seem to me to touch the quick for in truth we cannot defend the Title of Capetus by any means from Vsurpation and Felony but by justifying his coming to the Crown by the consent and good will of the Commonwealth And these Instances out of the second Line of France I take to be sufficient proof of our Assertion without going any further for if we do but number these Kings already named of this second Race from Pepin to Capet which are about Seventeen in Two hundred thirty eight years we shall sind that not few but the most part of them did both enter and enjoy their Crown and Dignity contrary to the Law of Lineal Descent and of next Succession by Blood. We shall therefore instance some Examples for our purpose out of the English History and so conclude this Point First then it 's to be noted That the Realm of England hath had as great variety changes and diversity in the Races of their Kings as any Nation in the World For after the Britains it had Romans for their Governours for many years and then of them and their Roman Blood they had Kings of their own as appears by that Valiant King Aurelius Ambrosius who resisted so manfully the Saxons for a time after his they had Kings of the Saxon and English Blood and after them of the Danes and then of the Normans and after them again of the French and last of all of the Scotch of whom King james the Sixth was descended which continues to this day Now I mean to pass over the first and ancient Races of Kings as well of the British and Roman as also of the Saxon Races until King Egbert the First of that Name King of the West Saxons and almost of all the rest of England besides who therefore is said to be properly the first Monarch of the Saxon Blood as he that first commanded the Realm to be called England which ever since has been observ'd Thsi Egbert was banish'd the Realm by King Britricus for the suspected that he might be chosen King by reason of his great Prowess and Valour He lived many years in France under the Famous King Pepin afterwards hearing Britrious was dead he came into England Polydor. lib. 4. and was chosen King by universal Consent of the People and he prov'd one of the best Kings that ever the Saxons had before or perhaps after and he and King Pepin of France began their Reigns as it were together and came both to their Crown by no other Title but the Election of the People This King Egbert left a lawful son behind him named Ethelwolf who succeeded him in the Kingdom and was a Famous a Man as his Fahter This Ethelwolf had four lawful sons who all in their turns succeeded by just and lawful Order in the Crown viz. Ethelbald Ethelbert Ethelred and Alfred and all the latter Three were most excellent Princes especially Alfred who drow Rollo that Famous Captain of the Danes from the Borders of England with all his Company into France where he got the Country then name Neustria and now Normandy and was the first Duke of that Nation from whom our William the Conquerour came afterwards in the 6th Descent This Alfred left one Son behind him named Edward who dying left two Sons lawfully begotten of his Wife Edigna one called Edmond the other Eldred Polydor. lib. 5. â—tow pag. 130. and a third Illegitimate nam'd Adelstan whom he had by a Concubine This last was preferr'd to the Crown before the other two legitimate princes only for his Valour and Conduct This Man dying without Issue his lawful Brother Edmond put back before was admitted to the Crown who Reigned six years and left two lawful Sons but they bing young were both put back and their Uncle Eldred preferr'd before them who after Nine years Reign died without Issue and so his elder Nephew Edwin was admitted to the Crown who after four years was Depos'd for his lew'd and vitious Life and his younger Brother Edgar admitted in his place This King Edgar who entred by Depositio of his Brother was one of the rarest Princes that the World had in his time both for peace and War Justice Piety and Valour He lest two Sons by different Wives Edmond and Etheldred the first was Murther'd after which many good Men of the Realm were of Opinion not to
Kings Now as fro France their ancient Ceremonies of Crowning their old Kings was much after the manner which I noted before out of the Law of Don Pelayo first King of Spain after the Moors But as concerning the principal Point of that Action which is the substance of admitting the King unto his Royal Authority and of Oath by him made of governing well and justly and of the reciprocal Oath of Obedience made to him by his Subjects it was not much different from what is now used The Archbishop of Rhemes being vested in Pontifical Attire and come to the Altar to say Mast 9where the King is also upon a high Seat placed he turns to him and says these sords Sir that which we require at your hands this day is that you promise unto us that you 'l keep all Canonical priviledges Law and Justice due to be kept and defended as a good King is bound to do in his realm To which the King answers I do promise to every one of you that I will keep and maintain all Canonical priviledges Law and Justice due to every Man to the utmost of my power and by Gods help will defend you as a good King is bound to do This being done the king Swears and makes his oath laying his hands upon the gospel in these Words following I do swear and promise to all Christian People subject unto me these Points ensuing First To procure that all my Subjects be kept in union of the Church and I will defend them from all Excess Rapin Extortion and Iniquity Secondly I will take care that in all Judgments Justice shall be kept with Equity and Mercy Thirdly I 'le endeavour as much as possible to chase and drive out of my Realm all such as the Curch hath or shall declare Hereticks as God shall help me and his holy Gospel Thus Sweareth the King and then kisses the Book and immediately is sung Te Deum and then the King 's vested and the Ring Scepter Crown and the other Kingly Ornaments are put on him with Declaration first what they signifie and then particular Prayers are made to God that their signisication may be by the King fulfilled Now England hath particularly taken her Ceremonies from France Belfor in vita Phil. 2. being many of our English Kings have come from thence as William the Conqueror born in Normandy Stephen Earl of Blois and Bullen a French-man and Henry the Second born likewise in France and Son to the Earl of Anjou Now the Arcbishop of Canterbury doth ordinarily perform the Ceremonies at the Coronation in England as the Archbishop of Rhemes doth in France and we may collect the substance of what the Kings of England formerly swore from the Bishops Letter to Henry the Seocnd as also from the Speech of Thomas Arundel Archbishop of Canterbury to Henry the Fourth In the former are these Words Do you remember the Confession which you made and laid upon the Altar at Westminster for keeping and defending the liberty of the Church when you were Consecrated and Anointed King by Theobaldus our predecessor By which it appears that he not only Swears but gave up his oath also in Writing and for more solemnity and obligation laid it down with his own hands upon the Altar That to Henry the Fourth was occasioned by his attempting to take the temporalties from the Clergy wherefore the Archbishop desired him to remember the Oath which he made that he would delend the Church and Ministers thereof and therefore pray'd him to permit and suffer the Church to enjoy the Priviledges and Liberties which it did in the time of his Predecessors and he also desired him to consider his Promise made to the Realm which was That he would preferve unto every Man their Right and Title so far as in him lay At which the King was so moved as he would hear no more of that Bill of Laity but said He would leave the Church in as good or better condition than he feaund it The other conditions of good Government are expresly set down in the king of Englands oath recorded by ancient Writers in these Words Holing p. 47 1005. That he will during his Life bear due reverence unto Almighty God and to his Church and that he will administer Law and Justice equally to them all and take away all unjust Laws Which after he had sworn then did the Archbishop 9turning to the people declare whatthe King has promised and by an Herald at Arms asked their Consents Whether they were content to submit themselves unto this Man as unto their King or no under the Conditions proposed And when they have yielded the Archbishop beings to put on the Regal Ornaments as the Sword Ring Scepter and Crown as in the French Coronation and bids him hold his Place and keep his Oath And this is the sum of the English Coronation which may be read in Stow Stow in the Life of Ric. 2. but especially the Admissions as well of the said henry the Fourth last mentioned as also of King Edward the Fourth at their first Entrances to the Crown for in the Admission of KIng Henry Stow shews how the People were demanded thrice Whether they would be content to take him for their King And then the Archbishop read to them what this new King was bound by oath unto At the Admission also of King Edward the Fourth Staw shews how the Peoples Consent was solemnly demanded in S. Johns Fields by London notwithstanding King Edward had prov'd his title by Succession in the parliament at Weslminster And now the Consent of the people being had or He being thus Elected as Stow's Words are he was with great Royalty convey'd to Westminster Stow in the Lâ—â—â— of Hen. 6. p. 7 and in the Hall set in the Kings Seat with S. Edwards Scepter in his hand and then the people were askt if they would have him King and they cried Yea yea Thus far Stow. Now if any except against these Instances because they entred and began their Reigns upon the deprivation of other Kings then living let them look into the Coronations of Edward the 6th Queen mary and Elizabeth and they will find That the Consent of the People and their Acceptation of those Princes is not only demanded by the publick Cry of a Herald at Arms which stands on the side of the Scaffold whereon the Prince is Crowned and the peoples Answer expected till they cry Yes yes but also that the said Princes gave their Corporal Oath unto the Bishiop who Crowned them to uphold and manintain the true Faith with the Liberties and Priviledges of the Church as also to govern by Justice and Law Which Oath no doubt hath been most solemnly sworn by all the Kings and Queens of England from the days of Edward the Confessor at the least and whosoever would see more Points of these Oaths set down in particular let him read Magna Charta and he 'l
chosen Souldiers to reduce the Rebels as he called them to their Obedience God appeared to one Semia an holy Man and commanded him to go to the Camp of Rehoboam and tell them that they should not fight against their Brethren who had chosen another King but that every Man should go to his House and live quietly under the King they had chosen and so they did and this was the end of that Tumult which God for the Sins of Solomon had permitted and allowed of And thus much I thought good to relate concerning the Jewish Commonwealth for that it may give light to all the rest I am to treat of for if God permitted and allowed this in his own Commonweal that was to be the Example and Pattern of all others that should ensue no doubt but he approveth also the same in other Realms when just occasion offers either for his Service the good of the People or for the punishment of the Sins and Wickedness of some Princes that the Line of Succession should be altered Now then to pass on further and to begin with the Kingdom of Spain which hath had three or four Races or Descents of Kings as France also and England have had First Race And the first Race was from the Goths which began their Reign in Spain after the expulsion of the Romans about the year of Christ 416 to whom the Spaniard referreth all his Nobility as the French doth to the German Franks and the English to the Saxons who entred France and England in the same Age as the others did Spain and the Race of the Gothish Kings endured Three hundred years until Spain was lost unto the Moors The second Race is from Don Pelago Second Race that was chosen first King of Austria after the destruction of the Kingdom by the Moors about the year of Christ 717 which Race continued and added Kingdom unto Kingdom for the space of Three hundred years until the year of Christ 1034 when Don Sancho King of Navarre got the Earldom of Aragon and Castile and made them Kingdoms dividing them among his Children to his second Son Don Ferdinando Sirnamed afterwards The Great he gave not only the Earldom of Castilia but by Marrying also the Sister of don Dermudo King of Leon and Asturia he joyned all those Kingdoms together Third Race and so from that Day began the third Race of the Kings of Navarre to Reign in Castile and so endured for Five hundred years until the year of Christ 1540 when the House of Austria entred to Reign by Marriage of the Daughter of Don Ferndinando Sirnamed The Catholick Fourth Race and this was the fourth Race of the Spanish Kings after the Romans Now in these four Ranks of Regal Descents divers Examples may be alledged for my purpose yet I shall pass by my first Race for that its evident by the Councils of Toledo which were held in those Times That express Election was joyned with Succession for in the 4th Council of Toledo Cap. 74. are these Words Let no man among us snatch the Kingdom by presumption but the former King being dead let the Nobility of the Kingdom together with the Priests and Clergy appoint the Successour of the Kingdom by Common Council Which is as much as if they had said Let no man enter upon the Kingdom by presumption of Succession alone but let the Lords Spiritual and Temporal by Common Voice see what 's best for the Weal-publick Don Pylao the first King after the destruction of the Kingdom by the Moors died and left a Son named Don Favilla who was King after his Father and Reigned two years aftes whose Death none of his Children werre admitted for King thô he left many but Don Alonso was chosen by the unanimous Consent of the Gothish Nation and for no other Reason Ambro. Moral lib. 13. cap. 6. 9. 10. but that the Kings Sons were young and unable to govern and this Alonso proved an excellent King and as Sebastianus Bishop of Salamancha who lived in the same time writes was for his Valiant Acts Sirnamed The Great To this Famous Don Alonso succeeded his Son Don Fruela who was a Noble King for Ten years and had many great Victories over the Moors but after declining to Tyranny he became odious to his Subjects and was Deposed and put to Death Anno Domini 768 Moral l. 13. cap. 17. and tho' he left two Sons yet for the Prejudice conceived against their Father neither of them were admitted by the Realm to succeed him but rather his Cousin Don Aurelio who Reigned Six years and died without Issue and because the Hatred which the Spaniards conceived against the Memory of Don Fruela was not yet extinguish'd they would not yet admit any of his Generation but excluded them a second time and chose Don Silo a Brother-in-Law of his so that the right Heirs of Don Fruela were twice put back for his evil Government But Don Silo being dead without Issue as also Don Aurelio was before him and the Anger of the Spaniards against Fruela being well asswaged they admitted his Son Don Alonso whom they had twice put back But he dying without Issue Don Ramiro his Cousin was chosen Moral cap. 33. and thô Don Ramiro was next in Blood to Alonso yet he was elected by the States as the Historian expresly writes But in the time of Don Ramiro the Law of Succession by propinquity of Blood was much reviv'd and strongly confirm'd and from this time forward the King always caus'd his eldest Son to be named King or Prince and to be always Sworn by the Realm and Nobility yet we shall find this Ordinance to have been frequently broken upon several Considerations As for Example after some Descents from Don Ramiro which were Don Ordonio this Mans Son and Don Alonso the Third Don Garzia and Don Ordonio the Second all four Kings by orderly Succession It hapned that in the year of Christ 924 Don Ordonio the Second dying left four Sons and one Daughter lawfully begotten and yet the State of Spain displaced them all and gave the Kingdom to their Uncle Don Fruela second Brother to their Father and for no other Reason but their being young and not so able to govern as their Uncle was But after a year this Fruela died leaving many Sons of a full Age yet the Spaniards put them all by the Crown and those Don Alonso the Fourth And this shall suffice concerning the Race of Don Pylao first Christian King of Spain after the Entrance of the Moors Now for avoiding prolixity we 'll omit many Instances that are for our purpose and be content to repeat a few of latter Date And First In the year of Christ 1276. Don Sancho Sirnamed El Bravo for his great Valour was chosen and his Nephews who were Heirs apparent put back because he weas a great Warriour and more like to manage better the Matters of War than they