Selected quad for the lemma: england_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
england_n	france_n	great_a	lord_n	3,523	5	3.2381	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A91306	A true and full relation of the prosecution, arraignment, tryall, and condemnation of Nathaniel Fiennes, late colonell and governor of the city and castle of Bristoll, before a councell of war held at Saint Albans during nine dayes space, in December, 1643. Touching his cowardly and traytorly surrendering of this city and castle, with all the canon, ammunition, arms, magazines, prisoners and colours therein to the enemy, in lesse then three whole dayes siege, before any outwork taken, or the least battery or assault agains the city or castle walls; to the ineffable losse, danger and prejudice of the whole kingdom. Set forth at the earnest desire of many persons of quality, to vindicate the verity of this much disguised action, prosecution, tryall, sentence, and some subsequent proceedings; ... / By William Prynne and Clement Walker, Esqs;	Prynne, William, 1600-1669.; Walker, Clement, 1595-1651.	1644 (1644)	Wing P4111; Thomason E255_1; ESTC R210055	195,553	170

the said towne was taken upon the said Robert and two of the Sonnes of the said Robert there slaine in the defence of the same Notwithstanding because that the said Baron himselfe had taken upon him the safeguard of the said towne to the said Grandfather and departed himself from thence without command of the said Grandfather and the said towne of Barwick was lost in the absence of the Baron he being in the company of the said Grandfather in the parts of France as is aforesaid It was adjudged by advice of the said Grandfather the King of Castile who is present the Nobles Dukes and Counts Henry late Duke of Lancaster the late Earle of Northumberland and Stafford and Sir Walter de Manny that the said towne was lost in default of the said Baron and for this cause he had judgement of life and member and that he should forfeit all that he had and to render his judgement in these words the said Sir Walter had a command from the said Grandfather Which things considered and this also that you William surrendred the said castle of Outhrewyke to the enemies of our Lord the King aforesaid without any duresse or want of Victuals against your allegeance and undertaking aforesaid the Lords abovementioned sitting here in full Parliament adjudge you to death and that you shall be drawne and hanged But because that our Lord the King is not yet informed of the manner of this judgement the execution thereof shall be respited untill the King be informed thereof Whereupon it was commanded to the said Constable safely to keep the said William untill he had other command from our Lord the King This case is very punctuall this judgment fatall to the Defendant wherein all his former pleas and far better then he could make are over-ruled against him long since even in full Parliament First this Weston as soon as he heard of the enemies approaches and intent to besiege Outhrewyke castle sent post to the Councell and to the Governour of Calice acquainting them with the weaknesse of the Garrison and craving present aid as the Defendant pretended he sent to his Excellency yet could receive no supplies from either Secondly his Garrison was not halfe enough to resist the enemies great power neither had he meanes to encrease it when as Bristoll garrison was abundantly sufficient to resist the enemy and the Defendant might have doubled it had he pleased there being 6000 or 8000 able men more in the towne whom he might have imployed in its defence Thirdly there were 8400 enemies before it as many or more then were before Bristoll and but 50 men onely in the castle to defend it whereas there were 2000 foot and 300 horse at least to guard Bristoll a vast disproportion Fourthly they had nine great Peeces of battery a great Ram or Morter-peece greater then ever were seen in those parts before with many other Engines as many or more then the enemy had at Bristoll Fifthly the siege battery and assault thereof continued from Munday till Saturday whereas Bristoll was besieged onely from Munday till Wednesday noone not halfe so long and then yeelded upon parley Sixtly all the walls and houses of the Castle were beaten downe and battered exceedingly and the ditches drained of the water by trenches and all their barricado's beaten downe yet they still held it out whereas not one shot at all was so much as made against the Castle or walls of Bristoll but against the Out-works onely Seventhly after the walls and barricado's were thus broken downe and the ditch drained they manfully repulsed the enemy who fiercely assaulted it and slew divers of them with the losse and wounding of some of the garrison whereas Bristoll Castle and the body of the Towne were yeelded up before the least battery Mine or Assault Eighthly they made all things ready for an assault planting all their Ordnance Engines Galleries and Faggots close to the Castle-ditch and sent two severall Heraulds and Messengers to him for a Parley ere he would treat whereas the Defendant before any battery or assault against the City or Castle sent out twice to the enemy for a Parley with so much haste that he would not hearken to any who would beat them out or oppose or delay the Treaty Ninthly twelve of his fifty men were by this time slaine sick and wounded so that he had onely 38 left to make good the castle thus battered and assaulted with so great a power whereas the Defendant lost but eight men at most and had at least 2300 horse and foot when he fell to parley Tenthly he surrendred the Castle by the advice of a generall Councell of War upon better grounds then the Defendant yeelded up Bristoll to wit because the wals were beaten downe the garrison over small to defend it the enemy very likely to force it by the assault no present reliefe neare at hand and to save his owne with the Souldiers lives and goods which else were indangered to be lost none of which the Defendant can justly alledge as we have manifested Eleventhly he made the most of an ill bargaine by selling the Victuals and Prisoners in it to the French for 1500 Franks with which he paid his Souldiers their arrears of wages discharged the debts of the castle owing for Victuals and defrayed the charges of their passage into England whereas the Defendant yeelded up all the Prisoners and Victuals to the enemy gratis with which provisions the ships that brought over the Irish Souldiers were victualled and left the State to pay the Souldiers arreares and other debts contracted by him there amounting to many thousand pounds which ought to be made good out of his owne estate Therefore in these respects he ought to undergoe the selfe same judgement of death and to be drawne and hanged much more justly then he To these Presidents Col. Fiennes Answered 1. That these Governours had all of them Commissions under the great Seale of England to keep these Townes and Castles and that made their offence so great but hee had no such Commission under the great Seale of England to bee Governour of Bristoll and this he conceived differenced the cases much To which Mr Prynne replyed First that the Defendant was much mistaken in this point for these Towns and Castles lying in France if the Commissions of their Governourships were under any Seale it was under the great Seale of France not of England as appeares by the expresse Statute of 14. E. 3. Stat. 4. 1. H. 6. Rot. Parl. Num. 14. 15. Secondly that the great Seal being carried from the Parliament when his Commission was granted he could not expect any such Commission under the great Seal but from the King himselfe in opposition to the Parliament to whom he surrendred Bristoll perchance for want of a Commission under the great Seal to keep it Thirdly if this were a good plea or warrantable distinction then all the Governours of Towns and

for which his Temporalties should be seized and whatever monies he had received from the King and imployed to his owne use he should presently make full paiment thereof into the Kings Treasury without delay or difficulty Had he been a Lay-man his censure had proved capitall and more rigorous Here we have all Colonell Fiennes excuses pleaded to justifie this action First the saving not of a body of 1500 but 7000 English-men to serve the State whose lives were all endangered not in a garrison Towne or Castle well victualed or ammunitioned as those in Bristoll were but lying on the open sands without defence and that not in their owne native soile but beyond the seas in an enemies countrey Secondly Despaire of timely reliefe and greater want of Victuals then was in Bristoll where there was too much plenty Thirdly a Letter from the King himselfe injoining the Bishop to quit the Towne to the enemy in case they wanted Victuals as he alledged they did when as Colonell Fiennes received no such Letter from the Parliament or his Excellency to quit or yeeld up Bristoll Fourthly this Towne was won from the enemy by the Bishop himselfe not immediately committed to him to guard by the King or Parliament as Bristoll was to the Defendant who had lesse right to surrender Bristoll then this Bishop Gravelin being his owne conquest Fifthly he did not yeeld up the Towne with all the Cannon Armes and provisions in it to the enemy as the Defendant did Bristoll but onely demolished it and sleighted the Fortifications departing thence with bag baggage cannon and his men yet notwithstanding all these particulars and the gallant service this martiall Bishop had done in this Expedition he incurred this heavie censure and had his Temporalties seized divers yeers for his Fine and Ransome And if he deserved such a censure no doubt the Defendant deserves a far greater notwithstanding his excuses The fourth president is that of Sir William de Elmham Sir John Tryvet Sir Henry de Ferrers and Sir William de Farendon Knights and Robert Fitz-Ralph Esquire impeached in the Parliament of 7. R. 2. rot Par. n. 24. for surrendring the Towne and castle of Burburgh to the enemy and receiving monies for the Armes Victuals Prisoners and goods within the same To the which Sir William de Elmham and most of the others pleaded that they were enforced to surrender the Towne and castle to the enemy of fine force for the salvation of themselves the Garrison and people therein the enemy having besieged and assaulted it in very great number and set the Towne on fire within who would have taken it by force and taken or slaine all those within it had they not yeelded it by agreement And that the monies they received was onely for the Prisoners Victuals and other goods within the same not for the surrendring of the Towne it selfe Yet notwithstanding this excuse was adjudged insufficient and the parties ordered to make full paiment to the King of all the monies received from the enemy to stand committed to prison to make ransome at the Kings will according to the quantity of their severall offences and Sir William de Farendon left to the Kings mercy both for his body and goods to doe with them what he pleased Here we have a Towne assaulted by a multitude of enemies fired in part and thereupon a surrender upon composition to save the Officers and Souldiers from being taken or slame by the enemy yea a better market then the Defendant made at Bristoll even a sale of the prisoners Victuals and goods in the Towne to the enemy for money when endangered to be all surprised by force yet this was judged no excuse Therefore certainly the Defendants pretended necessity and danger of forcing the Towne by the enemy not halfe so reall as this cannot excuse his crime nor extenuate his guilt nor yet his pretence of saving his Officers and Garrisons lives and estates to doe the Parliament service else where The fift president is that famous case of William de Weston in the Parliament of 1. R. 2 num 38 39 40. The Commons in this Parliament prayed that all those Captaines who had rendred or lost Castles or Townes through their default might be put to answer it in this present Parliament and severely punished according to their deserts by award of the Lords and Barons to eschew the evill examples they had given to other Governours of Townes and castles Whereupon Iohn de Gomineys whose case I began with and William de Weston then detained Prisoners in the Tower because they had lost and rendered the Kings Townes and castles to the enemies were brought by the Constable of the Tower before the Lords in full Parliament in the White chamber where Weston by the Lords command was arraigned by Sir Richard Lescop Steward of the Kings house in manners following William de Weston you took upon you from the most puissant Prince whom God ass●ile Sir Edward late King of England Grand-father to our Lord the King that now is safely to keep to him and his heires Kings of England the castle of Outhrewyke without surrendring it to any one but to the said Grand father or to his said heires or by command from him or from his said heires have you William who are a Liege man of our Lord the King in times of the same our Lord the King who now is true heire to the said Grand-father delivered and surrendred the same to the enemies of our Lord the King without command from him to the dishonour or dammage of him and his Crowne and of the estate of his Realme of England against your allegeance and undertaking aforesaid What will ye say hereunto Whereupon the said William put in his finall Answer in this behalfe To the most sage Counsell of our Lord the King and to the other Lords and Commons of the Parliament supplicates and sheweth William de Weston that albeit he be accused of this that he hath maliciously rendred the castle of Outhrewyke of which he had the custody by delivery and assignment of our Lord the King may it please your sage and just discretion to have the said William excused thereof for these causes ensuing First of all may it please you to remember how that the said William was lately informed by a Spie that a great power of the enemies would come upon him to besiege the said castle with very great and very grievous Ordnances whereupon he the said William presently by his Atturney and by his Letters required of the said Councell that it would please them to re-enforce the said castle with more men for the defence and safeguard thereof in regard that the Garrison of the said castle that then was were not halfe sufficient in respect of multitude to resist so great a force in so large a place but in conclusion for all this he could not have any succour from the said Councell And so the said William not at