in the I le of Britain Just according to the ancient Greek Poet 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Many Lords are not good let there be but One. Now from that time to this the King of Britain had and hath as Souveraign and incontroulable a sway as any 'T is true that he admits others sometimes to share with him in Counsel but not in Power by a kind of Influence he gives Light and Command to others but he himself receives none from any In the Neighbouring Monarchies it cannot be said so and particularly in France and Spain where it may be said ther is Regnum in regno ther is another Power à Legatus de latere that in a Court of Plea sways ore the Ecclesiastiques who make a considerable part of the Peeple Touching the latter the King of Spain is Feodary either to the Pope the Emperour or to France for all the Countries he hath The Kingdomes of Navarre and Granada were made Feodary to the Pope under Iulius the second Aragon to Innocent the third as also Sardinia in formula fiduciae Sicilia is relevant from the Church as also both the Indies and the Canary Ilands For the Kingdome of Naples and Calabria he sends a Mule with a Purse-full of Gold as a Heriot to Rome evry year for fear of an Excommunication the next day at the receit whereof the Pope says Sufficiat pro hac vice He holds the Dukedome of Milan from the Empire and most of the Provinces in the Netherlands from France whereof he is a double Peer as he is Duke of Burgundy and Earl of Flanders Now 't is questionable among the Civilians whether a Feodary or Homager may be call'd an Absolut Prince specially when Appeals may be made from him to another Court as the Spanish Clergy may from the King to Rome in divers cases The Kings of ENGLAND are free from Subordinations of that kind as the Fundamental Laws of the Land and all the ancient Learned Judges do evidence 'T is a Principle in the English Laws which is confirm'd by Baldus and other great Forren Jurists That Rex neminem habet in Dominiis suis nec Superiorem nec Parem The King in his own Dominions hath neither Superior nor Equal He may be said to be both Caesar and Pompey There is another Omnes sub Illo Ille sub nullo All under Him He under none Another yet Satis habet Rex ad poenam quod Deum expectet Ultorem 'T is enough for the King that God is to be his Judge which is expressed in this Distic Subditus in Regem peccat Legemque Fidemque At Rex in Solum Rex quia nempe Deum Ther are divers others that are conducing hereunto As The King must not be put to do any thing per aspertè but of his free plesure The King never dies but the Heir apparent is King Inchoative as soon as the former dies and the Coronation is but a meer Ceremony not Essential for divers Kings as Hen. 5. and others had Alleageance sworn unto them before they were Crowned There are more Maximes yet That the King can do no wrong but his Ministers may through whose mouths he pronounceth sentence Moreover Nullum tempus occurrit Regi Ther 's no Immemorial or Prescription against the King It is High Treson not only to contrive but to imagine ill against the King By the Kings Prerogative Life it self may be leased c. But that Traverse twixt King Iohn and the Legat Pandolpho when they say he transferred the Crown to the Pope is much insisted upon wherunto t is thus answered That ther are four great things whereof the Records cannot be found The first is that wherin the Emperour Constantine gave Rome to the Pope The second is that wherin Venice hath the Dominion of the Adriatic or Illyrian Gulph The third is the Salique Law The fourth is that Instrument wherby King Iohn pass'd over his Crown and made the Pope Lord Paramount of England Sir Thomas More who was so far devoted to Rome that he is canoniz'd for one of her Martyrs denieth absolutly that King Iohn either did or could make England Feudetary to the Pope because without the consent of his Barons an Act so much prejudicial to his Royal Successors was not valid and that the Peter-pence which they hold to be a Tribut relating to the foresaid Act was but a meer Alms which was given by King Ina 500 years before Moreover put case ther had been such an Act yet it stands upon good record that Innocentius the third did give a Release in these words Per Praeceptum Domini Papae 7 Iulii Homagium relaxatur omninò The Rome-scot also was but Regis larga benignitas the Kings bountiful kindness Adde hereunto that when the Pontificial Power was here at the highest pitch no Legat de latere was allowed but the Archbishop of Canterbury his Subject who by his Dignity is perpetual Legat de latere He is Legatus natus as he of Toledo is in Spain and the Primat of Armagh in Ireland and in point of Precedence at the Council of Clermont anno 1096. a Prerogative was given him for ever to sit at all general Councils at the Popes right foot Pope Urban at that time declaring in these terms Includamus hunâ—… in Orbe nostro tanquam alterius Orbis Pontificem Maximum Let us include him in our world as Pope of another world 'T is true ther have been other Legats de latere upon extraordinary occasions admitted but it was with the Kings leave and with this Proviso That he hath no Authority to hold Plea in the Realm prejudicial to the Laws thereof or derogatory to the King Thus it appears that no Extern power hath any thing to do in Great Britain and as the Pope so the Peeple neither whether consider'd Diffusively Collectively Representatively or Vertually partake any thing of the Souverain Power ther is no power either Co-ordinat Co-equal Corrival or Collateral with it The Kings of England have had always by the known Laws of the Land a pure underived Power not depending upon Pope or Peeple or any other Prince whatsoever They are Kings by the Grace of God which implies no earthly Dependency It stands upon good record how King Ina in the Preamble to his Laws for he was a great Legislator begins I Ina by the Grace of God King c. and this was above a thousand years ago about two hundred years before Charlemain in whose time that stile of Dei Gratia came first in use in the Empire And as on Land the King of Great Britain hath such a Latitude and Independence of Supreme Power so by Sea he hath the like which is such that without disparagement much less any injustice to any I may avouch no other Prince hath the like The greatest claim of Sea-Dominion that France makes is to the Coasts of Armorica or little Britany and a few Leagues in the Mediterranean The Spanish Laws are for the
of England and Iohn 2. of Denmark and Norway 1490. England is put before France as for example Sancitum est quod Mercatores Homines Ligii Piscatores quicunque alii Reg. Angliae Franciae subditi liberè possint temporibus futuris in perpetuum ad Insulam Tyle i. e. Islandiam c. Augustus de Cavallis who is no obscure Author infers the Queen of England from her Ancestors both in respect of Inheritance Conquest and Gift to be Queen of France de Iure In the Treaty twixt Hen. the 7. and Philip of Castile 1506. the English Commissioners subsign'd first As also in the Treaty of Marriage with Queen Mary Anno 1533. the first Signature is given to the English Ambassadors When Queen Elizabeth employed the Earl of Derby the Lord Cobham Sir Iames Crofts Doctor Dale and Doctor Rogers in quality of Ambassadors with their Assistants to Ostend anno 1588. Dignitatis Praerogativa incedendo sedendo The Prerogative of going and sitting was given her Ambassadors In the Treaty at Bullen twixt England and Spain for renewing the Burgundian League Queen Elizabeth sent Sir Hen. Nevil Sir Iohn Herbert Robert Beale and Tho. Edmunds who in their Instructions had command in no case to give Precedence to the Spanish Ambassadors but being met ther was a Contest happend The English produc'd a Certificat procur'd privatly from Rome out of the Book of Ceremonies there which according to the Canon giveth the Rule in such cases That the King of England is to have place before the King of Castile That the English quietly held this Right in the Councils of Basil Constance and others They alledg'd also that the Kingdom of Castile which is the Spaniards first Title is but an upstart-in regard of England for it had no Kings but Earls till the year 1017. Moreover Pope Iulius 3. gave sentence for Hen. 7. of England against Ferdinand of Spain in this particular c. Furthermore for Eminency of Title Great Britain is oftentimes calld an Empire by Forren Authors nay Pope Urban terms it a World of it self at the Council of Clermont almost a thousand years since wherin the Archbishop of Canterbury is call'd Alteterius Orbis Papa The Pope of another World What wold he say now that Ireland and Scotland are added Some of the Saxon Kings stil'd themselfs Emperours as Ego Ethelredus Ego Edgarus Anglorum Induperator c. William the Conqueror writ Ego Willielmus Rex Anglorum ab incarnatione Domini 1089. 2 Anno mei Imperii This is found upon record in his Charter to the Monastery of Shaftsbury In Hen. 8. Raign the eighth year thereof England was declar'd an Empire in Parlement where he had also these Epithets Metuendissimus Praepotentissimus and London was call'd the Imperial Chamber But most memorable is that of King Edgar in the Charter that he gave the Church of Worcester Which Charter is yet extant and runs thus Altitonantis Dei largifluâ clementiâ qui est Rex Regum Ego Edgarus Anglorum Basileus omniumque Regum Insularum Oceanique Britanniam circumjacentis cunctarúmque Nationum quae infra Eam includuntur Imperator Dominus Gratias ago ipsi Deo omnipotenti Regi meo qui meum Imperium sic ampliavit exaltavit super Regnum Patrum meorum Qui licet Monarchiam totius Angliae adepti sunt à tempore Athelstani qui primus Regnum Anglorum omnes Nationes quae Britanniam incolunt sibi Armis subegit nullus tamen Illorum ultra ejus fines Imperium suum dilatare aggressus est Mihi autem concessit propitia Divinitas cum Anglorum Imperio omnia Regna Insularum Oceani cum suis ferocissimis Regibus usque Norwegiam Maximamque Partem Hiberniae cum sua nobilissima Civitate Dublinia Anglorum Regno subjugare Quos etiam omnes meis Imperiis colla subdere Dei favente gratia Coegi Quapropter ut Ego Christi Gloriam laudem in Regno meo exaltare ejus servitutem amplificare devotus disposui per meos Fideles Fautores Dunstanum Archiepiscopum Ayeliolanum ac Oswaldum Archiepiscopos quos mihi Patres Spirituales Consiliarios elegi magna ex parte disposui c. Facta haec sunt anno Dom. 964. Indictione 8 Regni Ego Alfrye Regina consensi signo Crucis confirmavi ✚ This being so ancient a Record and of so high a Tenure I thought good to render it into English for the satisfaction of the Common Reader By the clemency of the high-thundring God who is King of Kings I Edgar King of the English and of all Kings of Ilands and of the Ocean circumjacent to Britain and of all Nations which are included within her Emperour and Lord I give thanks only to Almighty God my King that he hath amplified and exalted my Empire above the Kingdome of my Fathers who although they had obtain'd the Monarchy of all England from the time of Athelstan who was the first that subdued the Kingdom of the English and all Nations who inhabit Britain yet none of them attempted to dilate his Empire beyond its bounds But propitious Divinity hath granted unto me to subjugat together with the Empire of the English all the Kingdomes in the Iles of the Ocean with their most ferocious Kings as far as Norway and most part of Ireland with her most Noble City of Dublin All whom I compell'd to bow their Necks to my Commands the Grace of God so favouring me c. This King Edgar though very little of stature was so magnanimous and successful that he was Row'd upon the River of Dee by four subjugated Kings whereof Kennad King of Scots was one Ther is also a very remarkable and authentic story of King Canutus afterwards who being upon Southampton-Strand at the flowing of the Sea he sate in a Chair of State which was brought him upon the sands and the Billows tossing and tumbling towards him he gave the Sea this command Thou art my Subject and the Earth wheron I sit is mine and ther was none yet that ever resisted my Command who went unpunish'd Therefore I command Thee that Thou come not up upon my Earth nor presume to wet the Garment or the Body of thy Lord. But the Sea continuing his cours dash'd and wetted his feet and thighs illfavouredly without any reverence or fear whereupon the King stepping back declar'd That none is worthy of the Name of a King but only He whose Nod both Sea and Earth observd And as the story hath it he never wore the Crown of Gold again but being fix'd to a Cross did consecrat it to the Image of our Saviour Ther have been also Titles of Dignity given to our Kings in the Abstract which hath more of State and Substance in it then the Concret as Celsitudo Tua Magnitudo Tua given by the Pope in his Letters to Ed. 2. And Edward the 4. was us'd to write Nostra Regia Majestas though indeed that word
up to the English Battail where the young Prince was The fight grew hot and doubtful insomuch that the Commanders sent to the King to come up with more power The King asking the Messengers Whether his Son was hurt or slain and being answerd No he replies Then tell them who sent you that so long as my Son is alive they send no more to me for my Will is that he have the honor of the day So the Fight on both sides growing very furious the French King having his Horse kill'd under him withdrew which being known by the English it added so to their courage that they soon after won the Field This was the first considerable Battail the English had of the French which was so sanguinary that ther were none made Prisoners but all put to the Sword and the number of the slain French surmounted the whole Army of the English for the number of the slain were about 30000. the chief whereof was Alenson the Kings Brother the Dukes of Bourbon and Lorain the Earl of Flanders the Dauphin de Viennois Son to Imbert who after gave Dauphine to the King of France provided his First Son shold still be calld the Dauphin which hath continued ever since This signal Victory was seconded the same yeer about six weeks after with another the Queen of England got against the Scots then confederat with the French where David the Scots King was taken Prisoner but this is reserv'd for another place because for a more methodical order we will hasten to the second great Victory in France the Battail of Poitiers The Battail of Poitiers The Black Prince being taperd up now to a good growth was sent by advice of Parlement to Gascony whence the Truce being expird he oreran and ravagd all the Country as far as Tourayne Iohn the French King raiseth a potent Army more numerous then that at Cressy and going to find out the Prince of Wales found him about Poitiers having not much above 10000 effect if men in his Army wheras the French had six times as many whereupon being advisd to make for Bourdeaux he was prevented by the French Army on all sides so a Battail being intended two Cardinals came from the Pope to mediat a Peace but the French King wold hearken to none unless that he wold as a Vanquish'd Man send him four Hostages and give up himself and his Army to discretion The Prince answerd That he was willing to restore what places he had taken of His in good War but without prejudice to his Honor wherof he was accountable to the King his Father c. Iohn not hearkning to this but being resolvd to fight the Prince also resolvd to part with his Life upon as high a rate as he could being reducd to this streight therfore he providently makes use of the Position of ground and finding that the main Army of the French consisted in Horse he entrenchd among the Vineyards where when the French Cavalry entred being wrapd and encomberd among the Vines the English Archers did so ply and gall them that being therby disorderd and put to rout the whole Army was soon totally defeated But it seems this Battail was not so fierce as that of Cressy where no quarter was given for in this Prisoners were made among whom was King Iohn himself whom the Prince brought to England and as the French Historians themselfs confess he was so civil to him all the while that he knew not whether he was a Free King or a Captif Besides Lords ther were slain 2000 of the French Nobless as Froissard hath it in this Battail and as at Cressy more French slain then the whole English Army was in number We will now to Agencourt Agencourt Battail Henry the Fifth that Man of men and mirror of Princes being come to the Crown he did cast his Eyes presently towards France for claiming of his Title In order wherunto he alterd in his Arms the bearing of Semy de Luces and quarters the three full Flower de Luces as the King of France himself did bear them He sends the Duke of Exceter with the Archbishop of Dublin and sundry other Noblemen in a magnificent Ambassy attended by 500 Horse to Paris to demand the Crown but receiving no satisfactory answer but rather a kind of jeer the Dauphin sending him a Sack full of Racket-court-Balls to pass away his time He replyed That for evry one of those Balls he had so many fiery Bullets to shoot at the proudest Turrets in France as he shold shortly find And he was as good as his word for he presently got over and encountring the French Army at Agencourt he gave it an utter overthrow and took more prisoners then his own Army had Soldiers which was upon a Sunday-morning about Ten of the Clock whereof having sent notice to England before and that extraordinary Masses shold be sung then in all Churches he stood upon the defensive part till that hour but then making a Speech of encouragement to his Army and among other strains telling how all England was praying for them at that time he carried away a compleat Victory he himself leading the main Battail with the Duke of Glocester his Brother c. But besides the foresaid Piety ther was Policy also usd for the King to prevent the fury of the French Cavalry appointed divers Stakes studded with Iron at both ends of six foot long to be pitch'd behind the Archers and ordred that Pioners shold attend to remove them as they shold be directed which invention conduc'd much to the success of the Action The King himself charg'd the Duke of Alenson and beat him off his Horse who therupon was slain so ther was a compleat and glorious Victory obtain'd We come now to the Battail of Spurs so calld because the French-men trusted more to their Spurs in fleeing away then to their Swords and Lances It was before Terwin in Hen. 8. Raign when Maximilian the Emperour servd under his Banner and receavd pay Ther came 8000 French Horse to relieve the place and a hot Dispute happend but they were all routed and put shamefully to flight so the Town was taken by the English Ther were a world of other Warlike Encounters and Skirmiges twixt the English and French whereof the stories are full and t is observd that the English at most were but half in number to the French in all Engagements insomuch that by pure prowess and point of the Sword they possessd two parts in three of that great Kingdome We read that when the English were at the height of their power in France the Pope came then to keep his Court at Avignon and ther was a common saying among the Peeple which since is grown to be a kind of Proverb Ores le Pape est devenu Francois Iesus Christ est devenu Anglois The Pope is turnd French-man and Jesus Christ is become an English-man which was spoken in regard we had such prodigious
meum apponerem consuetum Testes qui fuerunt praesentes ad ista unà mecum sunt Dom. frater Martinus Lupi Magister Militiae Domus de Alcantara Ordinis Cistern Rogerus Dom. de la Wara Gomeicus dicti Dom. Regis Magister Paulus Gabrielis Civis Ispalensis Iohannes Guttern Decanus Ecclesiae Segobien Magister Robertus Fregand Notarius Cancellarius Domini Principis Aquitaniae Walliae supradicti Then the Great Seal of Castile and Leon was affixd By vertue of this Charter legally made to King Edward and the Prince his Son and to their Heirs and Successors Kings and Princes of England for ever it is therby granted that whensoever it shold please them to be in person in the Wars with any King of Castile against the King of Granada or any other Enemy of the Christian Faith They shold have the First place in the Vangard above all other Princes of Christendom and although neither of them were present yet ther shold be always provided by the Kings of Castile and their Successors a Standard of the Arms of England to be born in the same place This Instrument was made after that the Black Prince had done the Work and restord Don Pedro to his Kingdom therfore he passd it as a Monument of eternal Gratitude unto him But before the Prince uudertook the business ther was also a Bond from the King to pay so much money for defraying the Princes Army and in consideration also of this undertaking it was legally agreed that the Prince shold have the Castle of Vermeo de la Quet Bilbo Biscay and the Castle of Ordials A tenir perpetuellement à li ses Heirs Successeurs pour doner là où luy plerrà to be held perpetually by Him and his Heirs and Successors and to give to whom he pleasd All which was ratified under the Great Seal of Castile and confirmd by Oath upon the holy Sacrament in the great Church of Burgos The Original of which Instrument remains yet in Thes. Regio apud Westm. We will pass over the Exploits done in Armorica or Little Britany and cross over to a tougher Peeple the Scot who though Conterranean and our neer Neighbours yet they did always confederat with the French against England and England still boar up single and victoriously against both of them For when Scotland was at the highest pitch of power when she had active and boysterous Kings to her Generals and the French for her Coadjutors and Auxiliaries as also the Danes in Ages past yet the English carried away many fair Victories with divers of their Kings Prisoners As will appear by a short Survay we shall take of such Battails and Warlike Encounters which intervend from time to time twixt the two Nations We will begin with that famous Battail twixt King Athelstan and them when they had a great Army of Danes joynd with them and being twice in number more then the English yet King Athelstan obtaind a signal Victory both by Prowess and Policy for the two Armies being ready to joyn the English made semblance to flee away leaving their Bagage behind which as the Scot and Dane were a sharing the English did suddenly wheele about by the advantage of a Woody Hill and finding them in disarray and laden with Booty they rushd upon them with such a Resolution that above 40 thousand of them and as Buchanan their chief Chronologer hath it the flower of their Nobility perishd there at that time The first Fire-ball of War which was thrown twixt both the Nations since the Norman Invasion was in William Rufus his Raign when the Scot having made divers Incursions into the English Borders Moubray Earl of Northumberland was sent against them who incountring their King Malcolm with his eldest Son in the Field they were both slain and the whole Army overthrown In King Stephens days Thurston then Archbishop of York was sent with an Army against the Scot who meeting the King himself in the head of his Forces utterly routed him with the death of above 10000 of his Men. Henry the second employd only the Knights of Yorkshire as Humphry-vile Scuttvil and Vescy to make head against the Scot which they did with such Valour and Success that they took the King in the Field and as a Trophy of their good Service and Victory they presented him Prisoner to the King at Northampton whence he carried him along to attend him in his French VVars William the Scots King attended Richard the Lion-hearted at his second Coronation when he returned from the Holy Land and carried the Sword before him bare-headed Edward the first calld in story and as his Tomb in Westminster tells us Scotorum Malleus the Hammer of the Scots summond King Baliol to Newcastle to swear Fealty unto him but fleeing afterwards to the French King at his return King Edward summons him again to Berwick where he re-submitted himself with all his Nobles in open Parlement which King Edward held there and for Caution brought Baliol along with him leaving the Earl of Surrey Warden of Scotland Then started up a notable Blade one Wallis who notwithstanding that King Baliol was Prisoner in England gatherd such a strength that causd King Edward to go again in person and at Fonkirk Battail killd outright 200 of their Nobles and Gentry with about forty thousand Common soldiers Then he summons a Parlement at Edinburgh where all the Scots Nobles swore Fealty to him and then he carried away thence their Great Charter calld the Ragman-Roll the Black-Cross and the Stone wherein they believe the Fate of Scotland is fixd Then ther was a third Provocation offer'd for le Bruce was crownd King of Scotland wherupon the Earl of Pembrook was sent against him who utterly defeated him at Iohnston yet all was not quiet but King Edward was forcd to make a fourth expedition thither in person when he constraind le Bruce to flee away to Norway where he blew on his Nayls while King Edward liv'd But Bruce being come back and Usurping during Edward the seconds time who we read was so infirm and infortunat a King his Father Edward the third restord Baliol by force of Arms and made him swear Fealty to England again But some yeers after King Edward being deeply engagd in the French Wars David the next Scots King rush'd into England with about sixty thousand men being confederat with the French King to divert the War there But Queen Philippa with the Archbishop of York and the Lords and Knights of the North encounterd this huge Army and utterly defeated it one Copland taking the Scots King Prisoner whom he he reservd for a present to give King Edward when he came from France and to keep company with Iohn the French King who also was taken Prisoner by the Black Prince And there were but six weeks difference of time twixt both Victories In Richard the seconds Raign the French King sent his High Admiral with a thousand
whatsoever He did being done by fear duresse and compulsion was of no better force then a Covenant extorted by violence or made in prison by a private man which when he is at liberty he is not bound by Law to perform if it tend to his damage To this t is answerd That the case is far different twixt Souverain Princes and privat men for between the one ther fall out but Processes and Suits in law if they disagree or not perform what is a greed upon But between Princes bloud and Wars fire and Sword death and destruction somtimes of whole Countries and millions of human soules do Ensue Therfore when a King by the propitiousness of Heven and his own prowess by the hazard of his life loss of his peeple with infinit pains and expence of Tresure hath gaind a Victory by the justness of his Cause and Divine decree or reduâ—…d his Enemy to a streight All the Civilians concur in one unanimous opinion that he may make the best advantage he can of his good successes and reduce his Enemy to what terms he please And the Articles which shall then be capitulated consented and sworn unto are to be exactly performd otherwise there wold be no end of any War Now rhe French Chroniclers themselfs acknowledg that Henry the 5. might at that conjuncture of time and fortune have destroyed the whole Realm of France and taken the King prisoner or driven him quite out But he was so far from doing so that he sufferd him to enjoy the Kingdom while he livd and by taking his daughter to wife made her Issue therby capable not only of the French but also of the English Crown with all the Dominions thereunto annexed Whence some Authors observ that the English have bin usd in all Treaties and Stipulations to be over-reasonable merciful plain and downright But the French crafty double minded inhumane high and subdolous upon all advantages Insomuch that t is a question which was sharper the English blade or the French brain I will conclude this digressive discours with another argument of the French viz. That Charles the sixth could not legally disinherit his eldest son being Heiâ—… apparent to the Crown of France To this may be answerd that neither Charles the sixth was rightful King nor consequently his son heir apparent for since Edward the third of England all the French Kings were but Usurpers they were Kings de facto not de jure Moreover ther are many Examples how the eldest sons of the Kings of France have bin disinherited We read that Robert made his second son Henry King of France by disinheriting Robert his eldest who for compensation was made Duke of Burgundy Lewis le Gros with the consent of all the Peers and Estats of France made also Lewis his second son King and gave Robert his eldest the Earldom of Dreux Dagobert made Clouis his second son King of France by putting by Sigisbert his eldest son I have bin somwhat long in discours of this great Transaction twixt England and France because the chief aim of this Work being at Precedence the discerning Reader may regulat his judgment accordingly We will now go on to conclude this Paragraph the main scope wherof being Antiquity and continuance of Royal Bloud The Genealogical Tree of the Kings of this Iland as all other Countries hath had various Stems the first were Britains now calld Welsh who may contend for Antiquity and may be said to be coetaneous with the Iland it self yea before it was an Iland for ther want not some who hold that it was at first a continent or a peninsula tied to Gallia by an Isthmos or neck of land stretching from Dover to Bullen for the Rocks on both coasts being of a colour and shape look as if they were slented one out of the other Before the Romans took footing here which was neer upon 200 yeers before they could do it peaceably the Britains did still so bear up against them wheras Gallia or France was fully conquerd in less then 10 yeers I say before the Roman Eagle fixd his talons here ther had bin 65 Kings of the British Bloud But then that Race being interrupted by the Romans for above 400 yeers the Iland being freed of Them some of the old British Bloud came to be Kings again among whom some were very famous as 〈◊〉 and Arthur his son the chief Christian Worthy who was the first Founder of Warlike honour conferrd upon his Knights of the Round Table And this Race of the old British Kings lasted till the raign of Cadwallader Anno 689 yet ther were Welsh Princes that swayd still as among other Howel Dha the Great Legislator and stood stoutly for their Liberty until the raign of Edw. 1. in whose raign Leolâ—… the last Prince of the British Bloud being slain in battel his head was brought to King Edward who commanded it to be crownd with Iâ—…ie confessing that he had met with more valour in the Welsh then the Scots for he had fierce Wars with both But Cadwallader being dead the British Race was interrupted again till Owea Tewdors time who descended from Cadwallader as shall be shewd by a Gâ—…rman peeple inhabiting the lower Circuit of Saxony and so calld Saxons by the Welsh and Irish to this day They had a 〈◊〉 a long time but Egbert by conquest reduâ—…d them to a Monarchy and he was the first who calld himself King of England Then that English Race alâ—…o of Kings had two short Interruptions one by the Danes wherof ther raigned here three Kings but all their raigns extended not to â—…5 yeers Then by William of Normandy and that Interruption â—…asted about 40 yeers till Henry the first married the lady Matilda daughter to Malcolme King of Scotland by the Lady Margaret sister to Edgar Athelâ—…g wherby the English Bloud Royal was restord Then by a marvellous providence the British Royal Bloud after about 800 yeers Interruption was restoâ—…d by Owen Tewdor who married the Queen Dowager Katherine and so was Granfather to Hen. 7. which Tewdor by an exact 〈◊〉 that was made by the British Bards and confirmed by the English Heralds came lineally from the foresaid King Cadwallader and Leolin so ther were three Kings viz. Hen. 7. Hen. 8. Edw. 6. with two Queens viz. Mary and Elizabeth all Tewdors Then came in the Royal Race of Scotland by the Lady Margaret Tewdor eldest daughter to Hen. 7. and first branch of the two Roses Now by a due computation made of the premises it will be found that take British or English the source and series of the Bloud Royal of England is above a thousand yeers since And if from Cadwallader you go to the British Kings before the Romans interrupted the Royal succession therof it will be neer upon 3000 yeers which no kingdom â—…ls can say Moreover the Bloud Royal of Scotland some hundreds of yeers before was incorporated in the British for the mother of the first
choice men at Arms in a Fleet of 60 Sayl of Ships with Arms for 12000 men more into Scotland Therupon an English Army being raisd it struck into Scotland like a Whirlwind and piercing the very heart of the Country advancd as far as Dundee and returnd Victorious Henry the Fifth took Iames the first Prisoner and carried him over to attend him in his French VVars In Hen. 8. time the Scots King although his Brother-in-Law taking his advantage when he was in France battring the Walls of Bullen with the flower of the English Nobility raisd the greatest Army that Scotland could make for invading England therupon King Harry sent a Commission to the Earl of Surrey to raise Forces accordingly The two Armies met at Flodden-field where the Scots King and the Archbishop of Saint Andrews his Brother were slain with twelve Earls 14 Barons and 12000 more Not long after Solmosse Battail was fought where eight Scots Earls were taken Prisoners with 200 Gentlemen and others insomuch that as the story saith ther was never an English soldier but had his couple of Scots Prisoners Four and thirty yeers after the same day both of the month and the week as the Historians observe Musselborough-Battail was fought which because it was the last and one of the most signal and sanguinary great Battails from the Conquest that was fought twixt the English and the Scots I will here particularize but with as much brevity as may be The Duke of Somerset was General of the English the Earl of Warwik his Lieutenant the Lord-Admiral Clinton had 60 ships of War which were to hold cours with the Land-forces the whole Army consisted but of about 13000 Foot 1200 men at Arms 2500 Light-horse 16 Peeces of Ordinance evry Peece having a Gard of Pioners who came to about 1400. From Berwick they entred Scotland and marchd as far as Musselburgh far within the Country they seizd upon three small Castles as they passd and with infinit pains overcame the Natural and Artificial Difficulties of the Ways They understood that the Scots Army far exceeded them in number and ther came Recreuts dayly unto it For the Fire-cross was carried about by the Heralds through all parts which is two Firebrands upon the point of a Spear that all above sixteen and under sixty yeers shold repair to the General Rendevous insomuch that the Scots Historians themselfs do mention that ther were above thirty thousand in the whole Army which was twice the number of the English The Battail was fought with much resolution and cagerness on both sides yet notwithstanding that the Scot was at his own home and that the English were tir'd by a long difficult march they obtaind an absolute Conquest ther were slain of the Scots about 14000 out-right upon the place wherof ther were 3000 Kirk-men as Fryars and Monks Huntley with other great Lords were taken Prisoners 30 Peeces of Ordinance were taken and shippd for England with 30000 Iacks as the Record says and the English plunderd the Country five days march further and did what they wold We will conclude with the late Battail at Dunbar still fresh in memory where ther were not much more then 8000 English and the Scot had them at a great advantage yet the English making a Vertu of Necessity utterly overcame an Army of about 24000 Scots an Army that had been long a moulding and consisted of many of their Nobility and Gentry they lost both Bag and Bagage Artillery and Arms ther were above 3000 slain 10000 taken Prisoners whereof ther were 260 Officers 15000 Arms and 30 Peeces of Ordinance and neer upon 200 of their Colours were brought to hang in Westminster-Hall for Trophies Out of what hath been said this Inference may be made That in all those Traverses and Encounters of War that England had with Scotland which were neer upon an hundred since the Conquest take small and great together the English did always foyl the Scot except in Ed. 2. time as shall be said hereafter In some Battails we may find how they carried away more Captives then they were common soldiers themselfs driving them as it were like sheep before them And observable it is that the greatest Battails were fought in Scotland it self after that the English had been tir'd and dispirited by long marches over uncouth and strange places being ignorant both of the Advenues and Advantages of them Tru it is that in Ed. 2. Raign they won two or three Victories wherof that at Bannocks-Battail was the greatest where Gilbert de Clare Earl of Glocester and about 40 Barons with 700 Knights and English Gentlemen were killd In Hen. 8. Raign they got also a small Victory when Sir Ralph Evers was slain In the time of the Long Fatal Parlement they did likewise many Insolencies and rush'd far into England but those Invasions may be rather termd Invitations by some spurious and unworthy-degenerated English-men who had contrivd their coming in long before whose memories will stink in the Nostrils of all Posterity But the English have taken four of their Kings Captives killd two other in the field carried away their Crown with the chiefest Ensignes of Royalty c. Nor were such high Exploits performed by the Kings of England on Land only but by Sea they have been as glorious Historians say how King Edgar had a Navy of three thousand six hundred ships and bottoms of all sorts which he divided to three Fleets that usd to coast about and scowre the Seas as far as Norway evry year and he in person would go often Admiral himself and be all the Summer abroad Philip the French King not long before the Battail of Cressy to hinder Edward the thirds return into France got a mighty Navy in Equippage of 200 sayl of ships besides Gallies in the Haven of Sluce wherof King Edward being advertised prepared such another Fleet and encounters the French with such resolution and success having the Wind and the Sun for him that he utterly defeated the whole Navy slew about thirty thousand men and so returned with mighty triumphs and the admiration of all Europe Philip the second of Spain having as he conceavd endured divers Affronâ—…s and Injuries from Queen Elizabeth conceald his Discontents a long time until he had provided the Invincible Armada as it was calld wherewith he hoped to have swallowed all England It was three years preparing it consisted of above 150 sayl wherof most of them were Galeons they were mannd by 8000 Mariners they carried 20000 Listed soldiers besides Volunteers they had 1600 Brass Cannons 1000 of Iron and 120000 Granado's with other Fireworks of all sorts This Prodigious Fleet stood the King of Spain in 10 Millions first and last from the time that she set sayl out of Lisbonne as t is found in their Annals she lookd like a Forest at Sea as she steerd along Q Elizabeth had first news hereof from Hen. 4. of France But then how did that Masculine Queen
kinred Nemo debet his puniri pro uno delicto No man is to be punishd twice for one offence Nemo potest plus juris in alium conferre quà m Ipse habet No man can transfer a greater power to any other then he hath himself Nemo tenetur prodere seipsum No man is bound to betray himself Omnia quae movent ad mortem sunt Deo danda All things which cause death are forfeit to God Qui non habet in aere luat in corpore Where the purse cannot let the body suffer Qui peccat ebrius luat sobrius Who offends when he is drunk let him be punishd when he is sober Qui sentit commodum sentire debet onus Who receive the benefit ought to feel the burden Quod semel meum est ampliùs meum non est That which was mine is none of mine Stat praesumptio donec probetur in contrarium A presumption stands till the contrary be provd Ubi non est principal is ibi non potest esse accessarius Where ther 's no principal ther can be no Accessary Unumquodque dissolvitur eo ligamine quo ligatur Evry thing is untyed as it is bound Par in parem non habet Imperium Equals cannot command one another Nemo dat quod non habet No man can give that which he hath not And this doth hold also in Heraldry therfore the Knighthoods with other Honors that Cromwel was so free to confer are void in Law because he was never Knight himself By these few Principles with multitudes more it appeers that the Common Law hath much affinity with the Civil wherof ther are as learned Professors in England as any where els Whence it may be inferrd that the King of Great Britain is supplied with more helps for the administration of Justice then any Nation in the world besides For in regard that England is an Iland having such a great Trade at Sea and so great dealing with divers other Nations Having also besides Land-matters both Temporal Ecclesiastical and Maritime which are not so proper for the Common Law He allows of the Civil Law answerable to the quality of the Case which hath bin practised in England beyond the memory of man or the reach of any Record And though ther happen oft some Emulations and high Contests betwixt these two Professions yet such hath bin the prudence of the Souvrain Prince to keep them both in as equal a Balance as could be and not to suffer the one to insult or encroach upon the other but to have the same freedom of study and practice to the universal good of Forreners as well as of his own Subjects And so much concerning the National Law and Prudential Constitutions of England The Tenth and last Paragraph Touching the greatness of Power of Military Might and Puissance by Land and Sea as well Defensive as Offensive c. of the King of Great Britain THe Duke of Rohan in his Book calld Les Interests des Princes The Interests of Princes saith that England is like a great Animal that cannot die unless he kill himself He acknowledgeth Her also to be Latroiseâ—…e Puissance the third Power of Christendom But by the Arguments that shall be producd in this Paragraph I believe it will appeer to any discerning and unbiassd Reader that England taking her Kingdoms annexd along with her strength at Sea as well as shore will be inferior to none Ther was a Comparison made long since That Gallia Hispania sunt quasi lances in Europae libra Anglia est lingula sive libripendens That France and Spain were as the Scales of the great Balance of Europe and that England was the Toung or Beam of the Balance which keeps it in aequilibrio in an even counterpoise that neither side shold be trabâ—…ccant This hath bin often verified specially in the Raign of Henry the eighth whose Motto was Cui adhaereo praeest He to whom I adhere prevails He wold somtimes make Francis the first to weigh down somtimes Charles the fifth And touching the former He acknowledgd King Henry under God to be the chiefest Deliverer of Him and his Children from his captivity in Spain And so likewise did Pope Clement when he was freed from the Castle of St. Angelo where Charles the Emperour had coopd him up Therfore was Henry of England calld Liberator Orbis by the whole Confistory at Rome as he was before Protector of the great Clementine League And indeed the Arbiter of all Christendom in his time Touching the Martial Might of the King of Great Britain we will first examine that of England which we must distinguish into Intrinsecal or Terrene And into Extrinsecal or Maritime Concerning the first ther are five Counties alone can put into the Field fourty thousand men all armd for so many are listed in the Muster-makers Book as Traind-Band-men viz. the County of York 12000 Kent 8000 Norfolk 〈◊〉 and Devonshire above 6000 apiece And the rest of the Counties whereof ther are fourty seven may have twice as many at least which come to a hundred and twenty thousand Soldiers eâ—…olld and ready upon all occasions either for general service or privat in the Counties where they are for assisting the Sheriff and other Officers in the execution of the Law in case of any resistance therfore are they calld Posse Comitatuâ—… The power of the County So that in time of peace England alone hath an hundred and twenty thousand Soldiers enrolld besides those in Ireland and Scotland And in time of War the late bloudy Rebellion bleeding yet in the purses and estates of many thousand poor Cavaliers hath sufficiently tryed the strength and wealth of England For ther was a computation made at one time of those that were in actual Arms for King and Parlement and they came to neer upon two hundred thousand fighting men under Commission wherof ther were about fifty thousand Horse and Dragoons And I do not remember to have read that in the time of the famous Ligue in France ther were so many take in strangers and all Hence we see that the King of Great Britain may be said to have a constant standing Army in time of peace of which he hath the sole disposing For the Sword is his as much as the Scepter and the Crown which are inalienable from his power and incommunicable to any other but by his Royal Commissions And indeed t is the Sword that makes all Kings powerful The Crown and the Scepter are but impotent and poor unweildy things they are but naked Indefensible badges without it Ther 's none so filly as to think ther 's meant hereby an ordinary single sword such as evry one carrieth by his side Or some Imaginary thing or Chymera of a sword No t is the publik Polemical Sword of the whole Nation It may be calld an Aggregative or compound Sword made up of all the Ammunition the Artillery Pikes Muskets Helmets Headpeeces with all kind of armes
we think that Right to appertain still to the Crown of England notwithstanding that the Territories and Dominions of the Kingdome of Spain be propagated and amplified which in the right estimation of things prevails not or ought to prevail twixt Christian Princes touching this question For then other Kings and Princes would assume a right of Precedence above others to whom now they grant it ever and anon if their Dominions increase Moreover touching this present controversie about Precedence ther is another thing which doth not unworthily offer it self to be examined by your Judgements which is That one of Us which the most serene Queen our Mistress hath chosen her Ambassador to conclude this Treaty of Peace is one who daily resides in that quality in the Court of the most Christian King which Dignity with all Prerogatives he retains as long as he sojourns in France But the first of you although he be Ambassador to the Catholick King with the most serene Archduke and being out of the Dominions therof he puts off that quality and dignity We think also that our Ambassador in whom this Dignity is multiplyed and shines more ought by right to be preferred before any that is appointed by a single and bare title onely for this great Treaty Therfore if you please let this Question be pretermitted with deep silence and let this Prerogative remain and dwell in the most serene Queen our Mistress to whom it justly belongs and appertains so we shall more cheerfully apyly our selfs to the business for which we are come All this we desire may be candidly and frendly accepted according to the prudence and moderation of your illustrious and magnificent Lordships as proceeding from the Observances and Religion of our Office not with any dessein to consume time or raise contentions Bullen 26 Maii 1600. Henry Nevil Iohn Harbert c. The Spanish Ambassadors made an answer herunto which we reserve for the third Section wherin the Arguments of Spain for Precedence are set down wherof one of the strongest he urgeth is the Multiplication and encrease of Dominions which according to Besoldus and Cassaneus with other great Civilian Jurists is no Argument at all in regard it doth not hold among ordinary Nobility As for example He of Arundel is first Earl in England He of Angus in Scotland And He of Kildare in Ireland by the Laws of Heraldry and Hereditary Right Put case that some other of their fellow Earls in either Kingdome shold grow richer and have more Mannors Possessions and Lordships yet they will not offer to take place or precedence so the Argument may hold A minori ad majus For if it be so among Noble-men much more shold this Rule have validity among Souvrain Princes I will go on with a passage that happend in Paris a little above twenty years since Hugo Grotius residing at Paris in quality of Ambassador for the Crown of Sweden attempted to make his Coaches go before those of the Earl of Leicester pretending a right of Precedence because the King of Sweden whom he represented was King of the ancient Goths and Vandals c. which was under favor but a feeble Argument For ther were Kings of Great Britain thousands of years before the Goths or Vandals were scarce known to the Christian world nor do any stories make mention of them until a little after the declinings of the Roman Empire about the year 350 from the Incarnation nor came they to be Christians till a long time after And it is the Position of Grotius himself in his Book de Iure Belli Inter Reges quâ—… primo Christianismum professi sunt praecedunt Who first professd Christianity ought to precede Moreover the King of Denmark entitles himself King of the Goths and Vandals as well But my Lord of Leicester carried himself so like himself that our Swedish Ambassador was put behind with a Disgrace somewhat answerable to his Presumption and to the explosion of the Spectators Now Let the prudent and unpassionat Reader weigh with leasure the foregoing Particulars and reserve his Judgement till he hath run through the Reasons and Arguments of the other two Kings in order to a Precedency T is time now to cross over to France and produce the Arguments of that King faithfully extracted out of the most receavd and celebrated Authors who assert his Right to sit next the Emperour upon all occasions As Cassanaeus Ferhaut Besoldus Carolus de Grasseliis Hierome Bignon Pierre Matthieu c. And let this be a close to the First Section The second Section Consisting of the Reasons wherby the French King pretends and claims Priority of Place and Proximity of Session next the Emperour at all Solemn Meetings and in all publik Transactions of State c. Which Reasons In regard they lie confusd and scatterd in other Authors we will reduce to Ten Heads or Arguments wherof the first shall be drawn 1. A Nobilitate Regni from the Nobleness of the Kingdome 2. The second A Nobilitate Regionis from the Nobleness of the Country 3. The third A Noblitate Regiminis from the Nobleness of the Government 4. The fourth A Religione Nobilitate Ecclesiae from Religion and the Nobleness of the Church 5. The fifth A Nobilitate Gentis multitudine Subditorum from the Nobleness of the Nation and multitude of Subjects 6. The sixth A plenitudine Regiae Potestatis from the absolutness of Regal Authority 7. The seventh A Potentia ipsius Regni from the Power of the Kingdome it self 8. The eighth Ab opulentia ipsius Regni from the Riches thereof 9. The ninth A Fortitudine Rebus in Bello gestis from Valour and Exploits done in the War 10. The tenth and last Argument shall be drawn ab Exemplo Antiquitate from Examples and Antiquities Of the first Argument A Nobilitate Regni from the Nobleness of the Kingdome THer is a speech drawing neer to the nature of a Proverb Great Britain for an Iland France for a Kingdome Milan for a Duchy and Flanders for a County or Earldome are preferrable before all other They are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in their kind this shews the supereminence of the Kingdome of France Ther is also a signal saying of the Emperour Maximilian the first who being in some Critical Discourses with his Lords about the Dominions of Europe broke out into this high Encomium of France That if it could stand with the Order of Nature and the Plesure of the Almighty that any mortal Man were capable to be a God of the Elementary world and that I were He I would so make my last Will and Testament in the disposing of my Estate That my eldest Son shold be God after me but my second shold be King of France This saying or excess of speech must be interpreted with a sane sense for the Emperour meant nothing els hereby but to intimate his opinion touching that potent and noble Kingdom which Kingdom hath continued an Heredetary
whom I refer the Reader We will conclude this Paragraph with some further inspections into the Laws of England concerning Ambassadors In the 13 of Queen Elizabeth it was gravely debated in the Bishop of Rosse his case who was Ambassador here for Scotland An Legatus qui Rebellionem contra Principem ad quem Legatus concitat Legati privilegi is gaudeat an ut hostis poenis subjaceat Whether an Ambassador who raiseth Rebellion against the Prince to whom he is sent is to enjoy the privileges of an Ambassador or whether he is to lie under a punishment as an Enemy It was resolved by all the Judges of the Land that he had lost the privileges of an Ambassador and was punishable by the Law of the Land Herupon Mendoza the Spanish Amdassador was commanded away because he fomented a Rebellion c. Moreover as my Lord Coke hath it and therin he agreeth with the Civilians If an Ambassador committeth a delect contra Ius Gentium as Treason Felony Adultery c. he loseth the privilege of an Ambassador and may be punished in England as any privat Alien and not to be remanded but upon courtesie But committing any thing against the privat Municipal Law and Customes of England which is not Malum in se Iure gentium He is not punishable The breaking of Truces and Safe-conducts was once High Treason by the Laws of England but that was mitigated 2 Hen. 5. Furthermore my Lord Coke holds in his fourth Institut That if one be namd but Agent in his Credentials from a King yet he is an Ambassador The ninth Paragraph Concerning the wise Compliances and Witty facetious Sayings and Carriage of divers Ambassadors during the time of their Negotiation c. AS it is a principal quality in an Ambassador to be serious abstruse and reservd in the discharge of his Function so it is a mighty advantage for him to be Witty as well as Wise to be facetious and play the Drol sometimes for the Italian says Non è saggio chi non sà esser pazzo He is not wise who knows not how to play the Fool sometimes Apt pleasant and sudden Reparties discover a great deal of wit An Ambassador being sent to the King of Morocco whose Law we know is not to eat Swines Flesh be brought him Letters wherin all his Titles were not given him The King said Sus has Literas peperit A Sow begat these Letters The Ambassador suddenly answerd Ne iis Vescaris It was done that you shold not eat them The Town of Agrigentum as Herodotus reports having sent Gellias a very hard-favord man Ambassador to Centuripe a low dirty Town in Sicily and being jeerd and stard upon at his audience he answerd Ne Miremini Centuripini ut Urbes sunt ita Cives mei Legatos mittunt pulchros ad pulchras deformes ad deformes Do not wonder O you of Centuripe at me for my Masters of Agrigentum send their Ambassadors as the Cities are Faiâ—… to Faiâ—… Foul to Foul. Don Pedro de Toledo being employd Ambassador to Henry the 4. of France ther were many traverses between them at one privat audience and Don Pedro magnifying much the power of the Spanish Monarchy King Henry said That it was much like the Statue of Nebuchadnezzar composd of divers peeces but having Feet of clay Don Pedro then replying somewhat high the King rejoynd that if he were provokd he wold carry flames even to the Escurial and if that he once mounted he wold be soon in Madrid Don Pedro answerd Indeed King Francis was there meaning Francis the first who was taken at the Battail of Pavia and remaind Prisoner in Madrid divers yeers The King going on further to tax the King of Spain for usurping divers Countries of his and namely the Kingdome of Navarre which he might live to recover Don Pedro answerd That the Iustice wherby the King his Master held Navarre wold help him to defend it The King replyd Your reason is good till I be in Pampelona Don Pedro therupon rising hastily and going towards the door The King askd whither went he so hastily He answerd To provide entertainment for your Majesty at Pampelona A French Ambassador Monsieur de Tilliers as I take it residing here and being invited one day to Dine with King Iames the King being well disposd began a Health to him saying The King of France drinks the French Kings Health The Ambassador answerd as pleasantly Le Roy mon Maitre est bon Lieutenant Il tient bien la France de Luy The King my Master is a good Lieutenant he holds France well from him But of any that I have heard or read of Don Diego de Acunia Count of Gondamar had an extraordinary faculty this way and besides he had well studied the Genius of King Iames in whose Raign he resided here how he was pleasd with sudden plesant Reparties therfore he did Seria jocose he did dispatch serious things in a merry way When Sir Walter Rawleigh was gone with a Fleet to Guiana and when news was broght that he had taken San Toma plunderd the place and killd the Governor which was as some say beyond the bounds of his Commission wherin he was restraind from doing any Acts of hostility upon the firm Land Gondamar came early one morning to the King desiring to speak but only one word to his Majesty being admitted he cryed out Pyratas Pyratas Pyratas intimating that Sir Walter Rawleigh was turnd Pyrat but that word was so fatal that it took off Sir Walters head though upon an old score Another time having discoursd of many things with the King in a privat audience in French the King askd him whether he understood Latin or no Yes Sir said Gondomar I understand it and speak it Discoursing afterwards in Latin of divers things in a free and facetions way it happend that Gondamar spoke false Latin once or twice the King smiling said How comes it to pass that you being an Ambassador to so great a King who shold be exact in all things how comes it that you break Priscians head so often Gondamar replyed Sir I speak Latin like a King and your Majesty speaks Latin like an Ambassador Count Gondamar having bin outragd by the Rabble in London who threw Tobacco-pipes into his Litter and did him other affronts coming after to have a privat audience and the King taking notice of it he said La Harina de Ingalatierra es muy delgada y fina pero el afrecho es muy grossero Sir the Flowre of England meaning the Gentry is very fine but the Bran is very coorse meaning the common peeple Another time being to dispatch a Courrier to Spain and the old Countess of Buckingham being then in extraordinary high favor that most Suters made their address unto her he writ in a Postscript to Count Olivares That ther were never greater hopes then now that England wold turn Roman Catholik for the Mother was more worshippd
sides what Law shall please himself which may reasonably be feared if no cours be timely taken for preservation of their rights by treaty or otherwise On the other side you may lay before him the power yet remaining in the puissant house of Austria with the dependance of Bavaria and other German Princes and how both sides are supported by forren assistants those with the money and countenance of Spain these with the actual arms of France besides the diversions of the Low Countries and Italy so as in all probability the War is like to last long and the balance may be swayd as other Princes put to their hands And the King of Swede having lately moved both the Princes and States of his alliance and others to joyn league for the liberty of Germany and for peace and inviting us to joyn therin and the Emperour also discovering on his side an inclination to treaty and to peace you must entreat for our better information our Uncles sound advice and how he stands affected and whether he be engaged in any such treaty with whom and how far and whether our conjunction with the rest will be desired To which we may by him be perswaded to apply our selves so as by the treaty the full restitution of our Brother and Sister to their Patrimonial Dignities and Estates being the only interest of our engagement may be effectually provided for If upon these intimations the King shall reveal unto you any overtures of a treaty already in hand and that therin our conjunction will be desired you shall with speed give us account of the particulars and of the grounds therof with all the circumstances of persons times and places that therupon we may send you such further powers and instructions for your proceedings with our Uncle and other Princes as with the advice of our Council we shall think meet Besides this main business other occasions may be apprehended there by you for the advantage of our service for iâ—… by conference with Avery you shall understand of any impediment or obstruction of the trade of our Merchants residing in Hamborough caused by any difference betwixt that King and the Town or by his pretence of commanding the River of Elve you shall do Offices in our name betwixt our Uncle and the Town to remove offences and to settle good agreement upon honorable terms for the King and so as an Innovation may not be made which may prejudice the intended treaty or which may restrain our Merchants from that freedome of trade there which they have enjoyed so many yeers And wheras by occasion of the War betwixt Poland and Sweden new Impositions are raised in the Pellow and elsewhere with other restraints of trade which in the end will force our Merchants and the Low Country-men also to seek the Commodities of Eastland in America to the great detriment of the Kings Customes at Elsenore you shall in this regard advise with our Uncle how the ancient freedom in like manner may be restored in that trade For Island you shall signifie to our Uncle that in conformity to his late Letters we have prohibited our subjects that Fish in those Seas or fetch Hawks from those parts either to export or import any Merchandise to hinder his Farmers not doubting of his gracious reciprocal favor to our said subjects in their lawful proceedings Concerning our Coller of Rubies which hath formerly bin engagd to raise moneys you shall inform your self by Avery how the case now stands and shall proceed as upon further advice therof we shall direct You shall keep good correspondence with our Ambassadors and Agents in all parts as occasion shall be offered but especially with Sir Henry Vane who is employed with the King of Sweden and with Sir Robert Anstruther at the Emperours Court. IOHN COKE By these two Presidents of Commission and Instructions we may see how exact and curious the English Court is in this point how quaintly such Publik Dispatches are couchd not so plain and flat with such superfluity of speech as I have seen the Instructions of other Princes stuffd withal We will to the Reception Attendance Treatments Gifts Lautia composing of Differences with other high civilities usd towards Forren Ambassadors in the English Court. Touching the first Ther are no Ambassadors whatsoever receavd more splendidly and with greater state both by water and land then in England For first he is brought in Royal Barges a good way upon a Noble Navigable River through a Forest of main Masts on both sides and landed at the stairs of a huge Tower in sight of a stupendious Bridg such as I may well say the world hath not the like Then is he conducted in the Kings Coach with a great number besides through the centre of the City of London to a house expresly provided for him if he comes extraordinary where he is magnificently treated for divers days upon the Kings charge Now the Rule of the Court is That the Ambassador of a King is to be brought in by an Earl at least an Ambassador from Dukes and Republiks to be brought in by a Baron T is a Rule also that no Ambassadors be allowd this honor at privat Audiences but only at the first and last publik or when any are invited to Dine with the King Moreover that no Ambassador except a Kings is to be met with the Kings Coach further off then the Tower-wharf And wheras the Coaches of other Ambassadors residing upon the place were usd to go to accompany the new-landed Ambassador from Tower-wharf which gave occasion of clashing for Precedeâ—…ce of Coaches as happened the last yeer twixt the Spanish Ambassador the Baron of Batteville and Monsieur Lestrade the French which flew so high that it went to effusion of blood and killing as it is mentiond before in the last Paragraph of the first Section more particularly Ther is an Act of State passd that all Forren Ambassadors shall forbear for the future from that complement of sending their Coaches to that purpose Well the new Ambassador being so housd is visited by persons of Quality as also by other Ambassadors Now it is a Maxime among Ambassadors That the first come is to visit the last come Touching Presents ther 's no Court goes beyond that of England It was a Rule that the French and Spanish Ordinaries were to have 4000 Ounces of Gilt Plate at their departure The Venetian Ambassador 2000 The Archdukes 1600 c. But by the Examples of other Courts ther was a retrenchment herof and it began first with Monsieur Buisseaux in King Iames his Raign who had but 2000 Ounces sent Him the Venetian 1600 and the Archdukes 1000 c. Touching divers sorts of Clashes Contestations Differences and Punctilios betwixt Ambassadors ther have bin as prudent and preventing courses taken in the English Court from time to time as in any other as will appeer in the printed Observations of that worthy Knight Sir Iohn Finets to