haughty mind would no be so pacified for he demanded his Sword also 〈◊〉 which Sir John Newton answered It is the Kings Sword and thou art not worthy to have it neither durst thou 〈◊〉 it of me if there were no more here but thou and I. 〈◊〉 my Faith said Wat Tyler I will never eat till I haâ— thy Head and would thereupon have fallen upoâ— him But at that very Instant William Walworth Loâ—â— Mayor of London a stout Couragious Person accoâ—â— panied with divers Knights and Esquires came 〈◊〉 assist the King to whom he said My Leige it were great shame and such as had never before been heard 〈◊〉 if in such a presence they should permit a Noble Knight 〈◊〉 be shamefully Murdered and that before the face of thâ—â— Severaign therefore he ought to be rescued and Tyler tâ— Rebel to be Arrested The Lord Mayor had no sooner spoke thus but thâ— King though he were very young yet began to takâ— Courage and commanded him to lay hands upon him Walworth being a man of an incomparable Spirit anâ— Courage immediately arrested Tyler with his Mac upon his Head and that in such a manner as he seâ— down at the feet of his Horse and those who attended the King presently encompassed him round thâ— his Companions could not see him and John Caveâ— dish an Esquire of the Kings alighting from his Horse rust his Sword into Tylers Belly Although some â—ite that the Lord Mayor did it with his Dagger many â—hers followed and wounded him in divers places to â—ath and then they drew his body from among the â—ople into St. Bartholomews Hospital The Commons perceiving their Captain to be slain â—yed out Their Captain was Traiterously murdered â—d incouraged one another to fight and revenge his â—eath and bent their Bows Upon which the King 〈◊〉 to them and said What work is this my Men what 〈◊〉 you mean to do Will you shoot at your King Be not â—â—tinous nor concerned for the death of a Traytor and Riâ—ld I am your King I will be your Captain and Leaâ—r follow me into the Field and there you shall have â—hatsoever you desire This the King said for fear in â—eir fury they should fire the Houses in Smithfield â—here there Captain was slain They thereupon followed him intothe open Feild though the Souldiers â—â—at were with him were uncertain whether they â—ould kill the King or whether they would be â—iet and depart peaceably home with the Kings â—harter In the mean time William Walworth the ever reâ—owned Lord Mayor to prosecute his first worthy â—ct which had succeeded so happily went only with â—â—e man with all speed into the City and there beâ—â—n to cry out You good Citizens come to help your â—ing who is in danger to be murdered and succour me â—ur Mayor who am in the same danger or if you will not â—â—lp me yet leave not the King destitute The Citizens who had a great Esteem and Affection or the King no sooner heard this but with a Noble â—nd Loyal forwardness they immediately raised a thouâ—nd Men who being compleatly armed stayed in â—â—e streets for some Commander who with the Lord â—ayor might lead them to the Assistance of the King 〈◊〉 this his great distress when by good chance Sir Robert Knowls a Freeman of the City came at that instant whom they all desired to be their Leader which he willingly accepted and so with the Lord Mayor and some other Knights they were led to the King who with all his Company rejoyced very much at this unexpected Assistance from these brave armed Citizens who all on a sudden incompassed the whole Body of the Commons And here in an instant was a very strange and Remarkable Alteration for the Commons presently threw down their Arms and falling on their knees begg'd Pardon and they who just before boasted that they had the Kings Life in their power were now glad to hide themselves in Caves Ditches and Corn-fields The Knights being desirous of revenge intreated the King that they might be permitted to take off the heads of an hundred or two of them but the King would not grant it but commanded the Charter which they demanded written and sealed to be delivered to them at that time for preventing further mischief as doubting if they were not satisfied the Commons of Essex and Kent might rise again Having got their Charter they departed home The Commons being thus dispersed and gone the King called for the worthy Lord Mayor and with great Honour deservedly Knighted him in the Field and gave him a hundred pound a year in Fee he also Knighted five Aldermen his Brethren girding them about the waste with the Girdle of Knighthood as the manner was in those days but Stow saith it was thus To cause the Person to put a Basenet on his Head and then the King with a Sword in both his Hands to strike him strongly on the Neck And for an Eternal Remembrance of this happy day the King for the Honour of the City granted that a Dagger should be added to the Arms of the City in the right Quarter of the Shield they before this time bearing only a Cross without the Dagger After this the King marched into the City with great Joy and went to His Mother who lodged in the Tower Royal called then the Queens Wardrobe where she had continued two days and nights in great fear and trouble But when she saw the King she was extreamly comforted saying Ah fair Son what great sorrow have I suffered for you this day To whom the King answered Certainly Madam I know it well but now rejoyce and thank God for I have this day recovered mine Inheritance and the Realm of England which I had almost lost Then the Arch-Bishops Head was taken off London Bridge and Wat Tylers set up in the Place Now since some Writers have reported that the Rebel so Valiantly struck down by Sir William Walworth was named Jack Straw and not Wat Tyler it may be necessary to give an Account of the Principal Leaders and Captains of the Commons of whom Wat Tyler was the Cheif as being the first man who judged himself offended there were likewise Jack Straw John Kirkby Allen Thredder Thomas Scot and Ralph Rugg these and divers others were Commanders of the Kentish and Essex men And at the same time there were gathered together to the number of fifty thousand in Suffolk by the incitement of John Wraw a lewd Priest who made one Robert Westbrome take upon him the name of King these fell to destroying Houses but especially those of Lawyers and seizing Sir John Cavendish Lord Cheif Justice of England they beheaded him and set his Head upon the Pillory in St. Edmundsbury The like Commotion of the Commons was at the same time also in Cambridgshire the Isle of Ely and Norfolk conducted by John Litester a Dyer and to countenance their proceedings the more they designed to have brought William Ufford Earl
was furnished formerly with Towers and Bulwarks in due distance from each other and the River of Thames with its Ebbing and Flowing had overthrown the Walls and Towers on the Banks thereof whereupon William the Conquerour for the defence of the City which lay open to the Enemy having taken down the second Bulwark in the East part of the Wall toward the Thames built the Great White Tower which hath been since enlarged at several times with buildings adjoining thereto This Tower in the 4th of William Rufus 1092. was much shaken and defaced by a great Tempest of Wind but was again repaired by William Rufus and Henry the first who likewise built a Castle on the South-side thereof toward the Thames intrenching the same round about Historians say of this William Rufus That he challenged the Investiture of Prelates He pilled and shared the People with Tribute especially to spend about the Tower of London and the Great Hall at Westminster The four first Constables or Keepers of the Tower were Othowerus Acolinillus Otto and Jeffry Magnaville Earl of Essex who was also Sheriff of London Middlesex Essex and Hertfordshire He fortified the Tower of London against K. Stephen but the King seizing him at his Court at St. Albans would not discharge him till he had delivered it up together with the Castles of Walden and Plashey in Essex In 1153 the Tower of London and Castle of Windsor were delivered by the King to Richard de Lucie to be safely kept In 1155 Thomas Becket Chancellor to Hen. 2. caused the Flemings to be banished out of England their Castles lately built to be demolished and the Tower of London to be repaired In the 2. of Rich. first 1190. William Longshamp Bishop of Ely Lord Chancellor by reason of some difference between him and Earl John the Kings Brother who was in Rebellion inclosed the Tower and Castle of London with an outward Wall of Stone embatailed and likewise caused a deep ditch to be made about the same designing as is aforementioned to have invironed it with the River of Thames This inclosure and Ditch took away some ground from Trinity Church in London which King Edward recompenced And a great quantity of Ground likewise was taken from the City upon this Account yet the Citizens had no recompence nor were offended thereat since it was done with their liking as being for the defence of the City But another Historian saith that in 1239 Hen. 3. Fortified the Tower of London to another Purpose and the Citizens fearing it was intended to their detriment complained to the King who answered That he had not done it to their hurt but saith he I will do from henceforth as my Brother doth in building and fortifying Castles who beareth the name of being wiser than I. But the next year all these Noble Buildings of the Stone Gate and Bulwark were shaken as with an Earthquake and fell down which the King commanded to be again built better than before And in the year 1241. Though the King had bestowed above 12000 Marks in the work yet the Wall and Bulwarks irrecoverably fell down at which the Citizens were very well pleased for they were threatned that when this Wall and Bulwarks were built if any of them should contend for the Liberties of the City they should be Imprisoned therein Yet were they again rebuilt and finished by Edward the 1. and the Bulwark at the West-gate now called the Lyon Tower added the Original of which name and of Lyons in England we read was thus Henry the 1. built the Mannor of Woodflock and walled the Park about with stone seven Miles in compass destroying to that purpose divers Villages Churches and Chappels and this was the first Park in England and as the Record saith He appointed therein besides great store of Deer divers strange beasts to be kept and nourished such as were brought to him from far Countreys as Lyons Leopards Linxes Porpentines and such other for such was his Estimation among Outlandish Princes that few would willingly offend him In the year 1235 we read that Frederick the Emperour sent Henry 3. three Leopards in token of his Regal sheild of Arms wherein they were pictured since which time the Lyons and other Creatures have been kept in a part of this Bulwark now called the Lyons Tower In the 16 of Edward 3. One Lyon One Lyonefs One Leopard and two Cattes Lyons were committed to the custody of Robert Boure Edw. 4. Fortified the Tower of London and inclosed a peice of Ground West from the Lyon Tower upon Tower-bill with brick now called the Bulwark And in the 6th year of his Reign he ordered a Scaffold and Gallows to be set upon the Hill for the Execution of Offenders upon which the L. Mayor and Aldermen complained to the King but were answered That it was not done in Derogation of the Cities Liberties and caused Proclamation to be made thereof accordingly Richard the 3. and Henry the 8. repaired this Tower but in the 2. of Edward 6 1548. Nov. 22. A Frenchman lodging in the round Bulwark between the Westgate and the Postern by setting fire to a Barrel of Gunpowder in the night blew up that Bulwark yet burnt none but himself this Bulwark was soon rebuilt again This west Gate of the Tower is the Principal Gate for receiving and delivering all manner of Carriages and without it there are divers Bulwarks and Gates turning to the North within this Gate to the South is a strong Postern for Passengers by the VVard-house over a Drawbridge which is let down and pull'd up at pleasure Next to this on the South side East-ward is a large VVater-gate commonly called Traytors Gate because some have been carried in that way this Gate is partly under a strong Stone Bridge from the River of Thames Beyond which was a small Postern with a Drawbridge seldom let down but for receiving in some Great Persons Prisoners Further to the East was a Great and strong Gate called the Iron Gate but not usually opened And so much for the Foundation building and repairing of the Tower with the Gates and Posterns There are many Fair Houses within the walls of the Tower wherein the Officers belonging thereto and other Inhabitants live there is also a Chappel In the year 1196 William Fitz Ozbet a Citizen seditiously moving the People to stand up for their Liberties and not to be subject to the Rich and Mighty was taken and brought before the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Tower where he was condemned by the Judges and being drawn thence by the Heels to the Elms in East-Smithfield he was there hanged In 1214. King John writ to Jeffery Magnaville to deliver the Tower of London with the Prisoners Armour and all other things found therein belonging to the King to William Archdeacon of Huntington In the first of Henry 3. 1216. the Tower was delivered to Lewes of Franse and the Barons of England In 1206 Pleas of the
in this manner not only our Streets but our Shops and Houses shall never be free from violence and wrong this we neither will nor can endure for it doth not become us And hereupon they approached the Gates with great Fury But the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs having notice hereof came to them and told them That this â—as not Courage but Outrage which they shewed whereby they would procure both danger to themselves and displeasure against the whole City and that though wrong had been done yet they were not the Persons neither was this the way to redress the same Thus partly by perswasion and partly by their Presence and Authority they suppressed the Riot and sent every man home with strict charge to keep the Peace Hitherto there was no great mischeif done and the quarrel might have been ended without any further trouble had not the Bishops stirred in it and kindled the Coals of Contention afresh For the Londoners were at that time not only secretly suspected but openly noted to be Favourers and Followers of Wickliffs Opinions which were contrary to the Pope and Church of Rome and upon that account the Bishops were malicious against them and most of their Actions were interpreted to proceed from other Causes and to tend to worse Purposes than they outwardly seemed to bear yea many accidental matters were charged upon them to be done out of Design and on purpose Whereupon John Waltham Bishop of Salisbury and Lord Treasurer of England made a grievous Complaint against them for this last Attempt to Thomas Arundel Archbishop of York and Lord Chancellor alledging That if upon every slight pretence the Citizens should be suffered in this manner to affront the Bishops without reproof or punishment they would endanger not only the Dignity and State but the Liberty of the whole Church also For said he did they not lately take upon them the punishment of Adulteries and other Crimes appertaining to Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction maliciously alledging That either the Bishops and their Officers were infamous for those Vices themselves and did therefore Connive at the same in others Or else by Covetous Commutation and taking of Money did rather set those sins to Sale than endeavour carefully to suppress them Did they not said he rudely and irreverently break open the doors upon the Archbishop of Canterbury and interrupt his Proceedings against John Aston an open Disciple of Wickliff and do we imagine that this is the last Indignity they will offer no certainly nor yet the least for if this boldness and Insolence be not supprest our Authority will soon fall into Contempt and Scorn and will be made a Common Football for every base and unworthy Citizen to kick at Armed with these furious Arguments they went together to King Richard and so incensed him against the Londoners his Mind being before prepared by former Provocations that he was once resolved to have utterly ruined and destroyed the whole City But being perswaded to use more Moderation he in Revenge first caused the Lord Maior Sheriffs and many of the Principal Citizens to be committed to several Prisons the Lord Mayor to Windsor Castle and others to other Places and then seized the Liberties of the City into his hands declaring that no Lord Mayor should for the future be Elected any more but that the King should at his Pleasure appoint a Warden or Governour over the City And this Office was first committed to Sir Edward Darlington who for his kindness toward the City was soon removed and Sir Baldwin Radington put in his place The King was likewise perswaded by Arundel Archbishop of York to remove the Terms and Courts that is the Chancery Exchequer Kings Bench the Hamper Office and the Common-pleas from London to York where they continued from Midsummer 1393. till Christmas next following to the great dammage and loss of the City of London But at last upon the earnest intreaty of the Dukes of Lancaster and Glocester his Uncles the King sent for the Londoners before him to Windsor where having first terrified them with the sight of a great Number of Souldiers he caused all the Priviledges and Charters of the City both old and new to be produced some of which he restored to them and detained others Yet were not the Citizens received fully into favour neither did they recover the Person or Dignity of their Lord Mayor at that time Shortly after the King went to London at whose coming the Citizens turned all their Greif into Joy the Vulgar being without measure in both entertaining him with such joyful Triumphs and Rich Presents as if it had been the day of his Coronation thinking by all these costly preparations to have pacified all former Anger and displeasure against them but they found themselves much deceived there being no Reconciliation to be made without Money for they were not absolutely restored to their Liberties till they had paid Ten Thousand pound to the King as a Fine Thus did the Londoners shew a strange diversity of Disposition in rashly committing an Offence and patiently induring punishment yet upon this Account as soon as the first occasion was offered against King Richard they shewed themselves either his earnest Enemies or faint Friends as by the sequel appears In 1387. King Richard II. held his Feast of Christmas in the Tower of London And in the year 1399 the same King was sent Prisoner to the Tower which being a very remarkable Transaction it may be necessary to give a breif Account thereof Richard the II. was the only Son of a Renowned Father Edward Sirnamed the Black Prince who died before his Father Edward III. and thereupon Richard was by his Grandfather in his Life-time declared to be his Heir and lawful Successor and accordingly after his Death was Crowned King of England at Westminster July 16. 1377. But being of tender age only eleven years old several Persons were commissioned to be his Protectors or Guardians and soon after a Parliament was called at Westminster wherein Alice Peirce the late Kings Concubine was banished and all her Goods Confiscate and two Tenths of the Clergy and two Fifteenths of the Temporality were granted but so as that two Citizens of London William Walworth and John Philpot should receive and keep it to see it bestowed for defence of the Realm At which time Sir Hugh Calverly Deputy of Callice burnt 26 French Ships in the Haven of Bulloigne But one Mercer a Scottish Pyrate came to Scarborough and took divers Ships committing likewise many Outrages and no Order being taken to repel them John Philpot set out a Fleet at his own Charge and encountring him in his own Person took Mercer and all his Ships and returning home instead of being rewarded for his Service he was questioned for presuming to fit out a Navy without Advice of the Kings Council While the King was in his Minority matters were carried indifferent well but in the year 1387 King Richard begins to enter as we
his hands as far as the Borders of Scotland and then he divides his Army committing one part to his Brother William Earl of Salisbury who was ordered to fall upon London and with the other he himself goes into Yorkshire where most of the Lords had Estates which he miserably destroys with Fire and Sword The Lords being distressed on every side resolved upon a course neither honourable nor safe yet such as Necessity made appear to be both For they send to Philip K. of France requiring him 〈◊〉 send over his Son Lewis to their aid and promisâ— they would submit themselves to be governed 〈◊〉 him and to take him for their Sovereign 〈◊〉 this mention of the Lords King Philip was as forward as themselves which King John understanding sends again to the Pope requiring him to use 〈◊〉 Authority to stay the King of France from coming Who accordingly sent Cardinal Wallo his Legate who threatned the Great Curse in the Council on all who should join with those Excommunicate persons against King John or should enter upon St. Peters Patrimony But King Philip replied That England was no part of St. Peters Patrimony no King having power of himself to alienate his Kingdom and John especially who being never lawful King had no power to dispose thereof and that it was an Errour and a pernicious Example in the Pope and an itching lust and desire after a new and lawless Dominion His Peers likewise swore by Christs death That they would lose their lives rather than suffer a King of himself or with the consent of a few base Flatterers to give away his Crown and enslave his Nobles especially to the Pope who ought to follow St. Peters steps to win souls and not to meddle with Wars and murthering of mens bodies Now the reason of the Popes claiming England as St. Peters Patrimony was upon the account of the Resignation of King John And though the Pope seemed now so zealous for the Interest of King John yet not above five years before he was as much his Enemy For the King being incensed against the Clergy and endeavouring to rectifie some miscarriages about electing Bishops c. the Pope fearing he would intrench upon his Priviledges used his utmost power against him forbidding Mass to be said for some years Excomâ—â—unicating and Cursing him and giving his King 〈…〉 to the French King and stirring up his â—wn Nobility against him freeing them and all the People from their Allegiance to him So that King John being encompassed with Troubles on every side was compelled to submit to whatever the Pope would command him Nay he was forâ—ed to take off his Crown and kneeling on his knees in the midst of his Barons he surrendred it into the hands of Pandulphus the Legate for the Popes use saying Here I resign up the Crown of the Realm of England to the hands of Pope Innocent the Third and lay myself wholly at his mercy and appointment At whose feet he also laid his Scepter Robes Sword Ring and all the Ensigns of Royalty Pandulphus took the Crown from King John and kept it five days and the King giving then all his Kingdoms to the Pope to be held in Farm from him and his Heirs for evermore the Crown was restored King John engaging to pay 700 Marks a year for England and 300 for Ireland half of it at Easter and half at Whitsuntide as Rent for the said kingdoms But this being done out of force and necessity King Philip it seems no more than his own People did not think it of any value Yea Prince Lewis himself beseeched his Father not to hinder him from that which was none of his gift and for which he was now resolved to spend his bloud and would chuse rather to be excommunicated by the Pope than falsifie his promise to the English Barons For upon their sending their Letters of Allegiance confirmed with the Hands and Seals of all the Lords to implore King Philips favour and to send his Son and desiring his Son to accept of the Crown they received a present supply of French Souldiers upon their delivering up fifty English Gentlemen as Hostages for the true performance of the Contract King Philip therefore having received his Holiâ—â— Message with such scorn and contempt so aâ—â—righted the Legate with his stern countenance that he made all possible haste to be gone as fearing some mischief should be done him And Lewâ— as speedily set forth for England with his Fleeâ— of six hundred Ships and fourscore Boats whereâ— with arriving first in the Isle of Thanet and afterward going to Sandwich the Barons came thither to him and joined with him King Johns great Navy wherewith he intended to oppose him was driven Southward by a sudden Tempest and his Souldiers were generally Mercenaries and more inclined as it appeared afterward to Lewis a Foreign Prince than to him whereupon King John thought fit for the present to forbear Battle and went toward Winchester In the mean time Lewis had liberty to take all places thereabout except Dover Castle which John had committed to the valiant Hubert de Burg. Yet Lewis marcheth forward to London where entering with a solemn Procession and with the incredible applause of all he went into St. Pauls Church and there the Citizens of London took their Oaths of Allegiance to him From whence he passed to Westminister and there the Lords and Barons likewise swore to be true to him he himself likewise swearing to restore to all men their Rights and to recover to the Crown whatsoever had been lost by King John Then he chose Simon Langton who had been lately disgraced by the Pope for his Lord Chancello by whose preaching the Citizens of London and the Lords though they were excommunicated and under the Popes curse did yet celebrate Divine Service and drew on Prince Lewis to do the like Whereupon Wallo the Popes Legate who was now with King John denounced heavy and solemn Curses throughout the kingdome against the Londoners and especially against Lewis and his Chancellour by name But Lewis went from London and passeth over 〈◊〉 the Country without resistance but not withâ—ut infinite outrages committed by his Souldiers which was not in his power to hinder In the â—ean time King John finding his Enemies imployed in the Siege of Dover Castle and likewise â—t Odiam Castle wherein 13 English men onely braved Lewis and his whole Army for 15 days together nay sallied out upon them and taking every man a Prisoner to the great admiration of the French they returned safely back again and afterward delivered up the place upon honourable conditions King John thereupon gathers a Rabble of Rascally people about him with which he over-runs all the Country to the ruining of the Barons Castles and Estates in all places And then marching from Lyn in Norfolk on which place he bestowed his own Sword a gilt Bole and divers large Priviledges in testification of their Loyalty to him
and though the Earl of Glocester by his revolt from the Barons and joining with the Prince had greatly furthered this good work and had caused the King to enjoy a happy peace yet was this Earl so little trusted that he found neither favour nor reward but was much slighted and had but cold entertainment at Court which he highly resented and meditated revenge In this fury he came headlong into the City of London and complaining of his ill usage the common people flockt in Troops about him and daringly committed many notorious outrages within the City forgetting the great Calamity they had lately suffered and what favours they had received From thence they went to the Kings Palace at Westminster which they most barbarously rifled spoiled and ransacked This might have produced another Civil War but the Tumult was in a little time dispersed and the Prince again interposed himself an earnest Mediator between the King and all the Offenders and procured a large and free pardon for the Earl of Glocester whereby all things were again appeased and quieted After which the Earl of Glocester and Prince Edward went into the Holy Land where he continued till after the death of his Father It is observed of this King Henry the third that he was never constant in his love nor his hate for he never had so great a Favourite but he cast him off with disgrace nor so great an Enemy whom he received not into favour An example of both which Qualities was seen in his carriage to Hubert de Burgh who was for a time the greatest Favourite yet cast out afterward in miserable disgrace and then no man held in greater hatred yet received afterward into Grace again And it is strange to read what Crimes this Hubert was charged with at his Arraignment and especially one That to dissuade a great Lady from marrying with the King he had said The King was a squint-eyed Fool and a kind of Leper deceitful perjured more faint-hearted than a Woman and utterly unfit for any Ladies Company For which and other crimes laid to his charge in the Kings Bench where the King himself was present he was adjudged to have his Lands Confiscate and to be deprived of his Title of Earl yet after all he was restored to his Estate again and suffered to live quiet There is likewise an instance of his Timorousness in the following passage The King being in his Barge on the Thames on a sudden the Air grew dark and there followed a terrible Shower with Thunder and Lightning of which the King being impatient commanded himself to be put to Land at the next Stairs which was Durham-house where Simon Montford Earl of Leicester lived which the Earl having notice of came to wait on the King saying Sir Why are you afraid the Tempest is now past Whereunto the King with a stern look replied I fear Thunder and Lightning extreamly but by the head of God I fear thee more than all the Thunder and Lightning in the World Whereto the Earl answered My Leige it is injurious and incredible that you should stand so much in fear of me who have been always loyal both to you and your Kingdom whereas you ought to fear your Enemies even those that destroy the Realm and abuse your Majesty with bad Counsels In this Kings Reign the two great Charters of Magna Charta and Charta de Forestae were ratified and confirmed The Pleas of the Crown were likewise pleaded in the Tower of London All Wears in the Thames were in this Kings time ordered to be pulled up and destroyed Also the Citizens of London were allowed by Charter to pass Toll-free through England and to have free liberty of Hunting about London they had likewise licence to have and use a Common Seal It was also ordained that no Sheriff of London should continue in his Office longer than one Yearâ— whereas before they continued many and the City were allowed to present their Mayor to the Barons of the Exchequer to be sworn who before was presented to the King where-ever he were In the 32 year of his Reign the Wharf in London called Queen-Hith was farmed to the Citizens for fifty pounds a year which is scarce now worth fifteen This King caused a Chest of Gold to be made for laying up the Reliques of King Edward the Confessor in the Church of Westminster Hubert de Burgh Earl of Kent was buried in the Church of the Friars Preachers in London to which Church he gave his Pallace at Westminster which afterward the Archbishop of York bought and made it his Inn then commonly called York Place and now Whitchall In the thirteenth year of this King there were great Thunders and Lightnings which burnt many houses and slew both Men and Beasts In his 15. year upon S. Pauls day when Roger Wiger Bishop of London was at Mass at S. Pauls the Sky suddenly grew dark and such a terrible Thunder-clap sell upon the Church that it was shaken as if it would have fallen and so great a flash of Lightning came out of a dark Cloud that all the Church seemed to be on fire so that all the people ran out of the Church and fell on the ground with astonishment In 1233. five Suns were seen at one time together after which followed so great a Dearth that people were forced to eat Horse-flesh and Barks of Trees and in London twenty thousand were starved for want of Bread In 1236. the River of Thames overflowed the Banks so that in the great Pallace at Westminster men rowed with Boats in the midst of the Hall In 1240. many strange Fishes came ashore and among others forty Sea Bulls and one of a huge bigness passed through London Bridge unhurt till he came to the Kings House at Moreclack where he was killed In 1263. the Thames again overflowed the Banks about Lambeth and drowned Houses and Fields for the space of six Miles And the same Year there was a Blazing Star seen for three Moneths In 1264. seven hundred Jews were slain in London their Goods spoiled and their Synagogue defaced because one Jew would have forced a Christian to have paid above two pence a Week for the use of twenty shillings In 1268. there happened a great quarrel between the Goldsmiths and Taylors of London which occasioned much mischief to be done and many men were slain for which Riot twelve of the Ringleaders were hanged In 1269. the River of Thames was so hard frozen from the last of November to Gandlemas that men and Beasts passed over from Lambeth to Westminster and Goods were brought from Sandwich and other Port Towns by Land In 1271. the Steeple of Bow in Cheapside fell down and slew many people both Men and Women About the same time a Child was born near London who is reported at two years old to have cured all Diseases And at Greenwich near London a Lamb was yeaned which had two perfect bodies and but one head King
of Suffolk into their Fellowship but he having notice of their intent suddenly rose from supper and got away Yet they compelled many other Lords and Knights to be sworn to them and to ride with them as the Lord Scales the Lord Morley Sir John Brewis Sir Stephen Hales and Sir Robert Salle the last of whom not enduring their Insolencies had his Brains dashed out by a Countrey-man that was his Bondman The rest terrified by his Example were glad to carry themselves submissively to their Commander John Littester who named himself King of the Commons and counted it a Preferment for any to serve him at his Table in taking Assay of his Meats and Drinks with kneeling humbly before him as he sate at Meat And now these Fellows upon Consultation send two Choice Men namely the Lord Morley and Sir John Brewis with three of their Chief Commons to the King for their Charter of Manumission and freedom from Bondage who being on their way they were met near Newmarket by Henry Spenser Bishop of Norwich who examining if there were any of the Rebels in their Company and finding three of the Chief present he instantly caused their Heads to be struck off and then pursued on toward Northwalsham in Norfolk where the Commons stayed for an Answer from the King and though he had at first but eight Lances and a small number of Archers in his Company yet they so increased as to become a compleat Army with which he set upon the Rebels and routed them taking John Littester and other Principal Ringleaders whom he caused all to be Executed and by this means the Countrey was quieted After this the Lord Mayor of London sate in Judgment upon Offenders where many were found guilty and lost their Heads among others Jack Straw John Kirkby Alane Tredder and John Sterling who gloried that he was the man who had slain the Archbishop Sir Robert Tresilian Chief Justice was likewise appointed to sit in Judgment against the Offenders beforâ— whom above fifteen hundred were found guilty anâ— in divers places put to death and among them John Ball their Priest and Incendiary of whom it is not impertinent to relate a Letter he wrote to his Fellow Rebels in Essex by which we may see how fit an Orator he was for such an Auditory and what strength of perswasion there was in Nonsense John Sheep St. Mary Priest of York and now of Colchester greeteth well John Nameless and John the Miller and John Carter and biddeth them that they beware of Guile in Burrough stand together in Gods name and biddeth Peirce Plowman go to his work and chastize well Hob the Robber and take with you John Trueman and all his Fellows and no moe John the Miller ye ground small small small The Kings Son of Heaven shall pay for all Beware or ye be woe know your Friend from your Foe Have enough and say Hoe and do well and better Elee Sin and seek Peace and hold you therein and so biddeth John Trueman and all his Fellows Neither may it be amiss to declare the Confession of Jack Straw at his Execution The Lord Mayor being present spake thus to him John Behold thy death is at hand without remedy and there is no way left for thy escape therefore for thy Souls health without making any lye tell us what your Intentions were and to what end you Assembled the Commons After some pause John seeming doubtful what to say the Lord Mayor added Surely John thou knowest that if thou perform what I require of thee it will redound to thy Souls Health Being hereupon incouraged he made his Confession to this purpose It is now to no purpose to lye neither is it lawful to utter any untruth especially knowing that my Soul must suffer more bitter Torments if I do so And because I hope for two advantage by speaking Truth First that what I shall say may profit the Common-wealth and Secondly That after my death I trust by your Suffrages to be helped and succoured according to your promises by your Prayers I will therefore speak Faithfully and without deceit At the same time when we were Assembled upon Black-Heath and had sent to the King to come to us our purpose was to have slain all such Knights Esquires and Gentlemen as attended him And for the King we would have kept him amongst us that the People might have more boldly repaired to us since they would have thought that whatever we did was by his Authority Finally when we had got strength enough so as not to fear any attempt made against us we would have slain all such Noblemen as should either have given Counsel or made Resistance against us but especially we would have slain all the Knights of the Rhodes or St. John of Jerusalem and lastly we would have killed the King himself and all men of Estates with Bishops Monks Canons and Parsons of Churches Only we would have saved Friers Mendicants for Ministring the Sacraments to us When we had been rid of all these we would have devised Laws according to which the Subjects of this Realm should have lived For we would have created Kings as Wat Tyler in Kent and others in other Countreys But because this our purpose was disappointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury who would not permit the King to come to us we sought by all means to dispatch him out of the way as at length we did And further the same Evening that Wat Tyler was killed we were resolved having the greatest part of the Commons of the City inclined to join with us to have set Fire in four corners of the City and so to have devided among our selves the Spoil of the chiefest Riches that could have been found And this said he was our purpose as God may help me now at my last end After this Confession he was beheaded and his head was set on London Bridge by Wat Tylers And thus by the happy and prosperous success at London this dangerous Rebellion was fully quieted In 1392. and the Fifteenth of Richard II. there happened some difference between that King and the Londoners One occasion was that the King would have borrowed of them a thousand pound but they feeling much and fearing more the Kings daily Exactions not only refused it but abused a certain Italian Merchant who would have laid down the Money Another occasion was That one of the Bishop of Salisburies Servants named Walter Roman taking an House Loaf out of a Bakers basket in the Streets ran with it into the Bishops House The Citizens demanded the delivery of the Offender but the Bishops men shut the Gates and would not suffer the Constable to enter upon which many people got together threatning to break open the Gates and Fire the House unless Roman were brought forth What said they are the Bishops men Priviledged or is his house a Sanctuary or will he protect those whom he ought to punish if we may be abused