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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
england_n	king_n	lord_n	richard_n	8,069	5	8.7668	4	true

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

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

to the Defence of the fourth Article and those that followed it with Colonell Fiennes his Commission for Bristoll and some presidents in point resolved in Parliament the Transcripts whereof out of the Parliaments Rols proved upon Oath to bee true Copies hee there delivered to the Councell Colonell Fiennes his Commission the Originall whereof he there produced was read as followeth RObert Earle of Essex c. To Colonell Nathaniel Fiennes By virtue of an Ordinance of the Lords and Commons in Parliament I doe constitute and appoint you Governour of the City of Bristoll as also Commander in chiefe of all the Forces raised or to be raised and imployed for the defence of the said City and the Liberties of the same and of the Garrison there to serve for the defence of the King Parliament and Kingdome These are therefore to will and require you by virtue of this Commission to take the said City and Forces into your charge as Governour in chiefe and by all possible wayes and meanes except in point of Civill Government to provide for the defence and security of the same and to maintaine the same against all enemies and opposition whatsoever and from time to time diligently to exercise the said Forces within the said City and Liberties in Arms commanding all Officers and Souldiers to obey you as their Governour and Commander in chiefe for the service above mentioned according to this Commission given you And you are likewise to observe and follow such further order and direction as you shall receive from my selfe or from both Houses of Parliament Given under my hand and Seale of Armes this first day of May 1643. ESSEX From this Commission it appeares first that Colonell Fiennes was constituted Governour of Bristoll by Commission from his Excellency under his Hand and Seale Secondly that he had the command in chiefe of all the Forces and Garrisons there who were to be imployed FOR THE DEFENCE OF THE SAID CITY and the Liberties of the same and to serve for the defence of the King Parliament and Kingdome Thirdly that he was specially charged by that Commission to take the said City and Forces into his charge as Governour and BY ALL POSSIBLE WAYES AND MEANES TO PROVIDE FOR THE DEFENCE AND SECURITIE OF THE SAME AND TO MANTAIN THE SAME AGAINST ALL ENEMIES AND OPPOSITION WHATSOEVER and that all Officers and Souldiers were there to obey him as their Governour and Commander in chiefe for this service Therefore he and his Officers were expresly injoyned by this commission to defend and keep it against the enemy to the uttermost extremity and were there placed for that very purpose and that he sent for and accepted this Commission upon these very terms and not only to rule his souldiers not to keep the Town and Castle as he falsly at first pretended Fourthly that he was to observe and follow such further order and direction from time to time as he should receive from his Excellency and both Houses of Parliament therefore not to surrender the City and Castle without their speciall order or direction which he never had to doe it as himselfe confesseth His very Commission therefore being expresly violated in all these particulars by this his surrender before he was reduced to utmost extremitie is a sufficient evidence to declare and condemne him for a Traitor by the very Ordinances of War especially since he knew the grand importance of the place for the Kingdomes safety For Presidents adjudged in point I could produce many out of forraign Histories which I shall pretermit because they are no binding evidence in Law Wherefore I shall confine my selfe to such domesticke examples of this nature as have been formerly adjudged in Parliament the supremest Councell of Warre whose judgements must direct all others registred amongst our Parliamentarie Records which cannot be controlled and are the best evidence of any other The Records themselves examined by the Parliament Rolls are long and written in Law-French which perchance some of this Honourable Councell understand not I shall therefore briefly open them in English into which I have faithfully translated them at large in The Doome of Cowardice and Treacherie printed by authoritie of Parliament and apply them to the present case in order as they are opened which course the Councell very well approved The first President is the case of John Lord of Gomineys who in the Parl. of 1. R. 2. n. 38. 40. was indicted and arraigned before the Lords for that he being made Governour of the Town and Castle of Arde in France by K Edward the third to this intent that he should safely keep the same for the King and his heires without surrendring them to any person without their command did yet in King Richard the second his reigne deliver and surrender the same to the Kings enemies without any command from him to the dishonour and dis-inheriting of the King and his Crowne and of the Realme of England against his undertaking aforesaid without any duresse or default of Victuals or Artillerie or of any other things necessary for the defence thereof To which Indictment the Defendant pleaded that the Town and Castle were so weake that he could not well keep them against so great a power of the enemies as was then ready to assaile them Whereupon he assembled all the Knights Esquires and others in the Towne and informed them of the dangers the Town was in and of the enemies forces and by common counsell and consent of them all he entred into a Treaty with the enemies to save the Lieges of the King within the Towne and Castle and thereupon yeelded up the same upon termes of composition receiving no reward at all for surrendring the Towne or Castle But because one Geoffrey of Argentine Knight affirmed in Parliament that he was then in person within the said Towne and Castle in the defence whereof he was alwayes ready to live and dye never consenting to the surrender thereof and because Sir Ralph de Ferrers Knight had valiantly defended them in former times against a great force of the enemy when they were not so strong as at the time they were surrendred And because de Gomineys had undertaken to keep them and if he could not have done it he ought in no wise to have undertaken to keep them and that another should and would have undertaken the safe keeping of them had not he undertaken it and for that he yeelded them up in this sort before utmost extremity when he wanted neither men nor victuals nor ammunition he was adjudged to lose his head notwithstanding his plea that he did it by the advice of a generall Councell of Warre Warre to save the Kings liege Peoples lives and estates and that the Towne and Castle were weake unable to resist the Enemies power This Towne was of far lesse importance to the Realme of England then Bristoll no treachery at all appeared in the surrender made by the vote

of a generall Councell of War yet we see the Governour adjudged to lose his head for not holding it out to the utmost extremity according to his duty And if his plea could not secure him from such a sentence Colonell Fiennes his plea being the very same with his that he surrendred the City and Castle of Bristoll to the enemy before utmost extremity because they were weak and untenable for any long time to save the lives and estates of the Garrison and Parliaments friends and that by the counsell and assent of all the Knights Esquires Souldiers and Inhabitants thereof must needs be frivolous and can no way extenuate his fault nor save his neck from the blocke the rather because Bristoll was of far greater consequence to the Kingdome now and better provided fortified manned victualed and more likely to be relieved then Arde was then The second President was of Pierce de Cressingham and John de Spikesworth Esquires who were arrested and arraigned in Parliament 7 Rich. 2. num 17. for yeelding up the Castle of Drinkham in Flanders to the enemies from whom it was gained by the Bishop of Norwich though it were well and sufficiently stored with victuals and other necessaries and strong enough to be held against the enemies without the will or command of the King or his Lievtenant To which Spikesworth pleaded That he had never the custody of that Castle or any thing to doe therewith but was chased into it by the enemy it being then in the custody of Piers de Cressingham That soone after the enemy assaulting the Barbican he was unhappily routed and one of his Varlets slaine close by him That he had never any thing to doe in the Castle neither as a Souldier thereof nor in any other manner whatsoever but onely continued in it in manner aforesaid till it was surrendred by the said Piers And therefore prayed that it would please the King to have him excused Whereupon it was ordered he should be set at liberty if nothing else could be said against him Piers Cressingham who had the custody of the Castle alledged That upon the yeelding up of the Towne and Castle of Burburgh to the enemy of all the Garrison souldiers he had with him at Drinkham none would continue with him for the safeguard of that Castle but onely five persons by reason of which great necessity he was constrained for the safety of his owne person and people to enter into a Treaty with the enemies to deliver up that Fort and thereupon he yeelded it up and not for any other cause nor in any other manner but onely by constraint of the power of the enemies aforesaid denying that he ever received any thing from the enemies by way of gift or in any other manner Whereupon he conceived that no man ought to impute any manner of blame or reproach unto his person but if it should be thought he had done ill in any manner he most humbly cast himselfe upon the grace of his Liege Lord. But because this excuse was held insufficient he was committed to prison till the King should otherwise declare his opinion concerning him Here was a case of far greater extremity then Bristoll without any apparent mixture of treachery but onely five of the garison left to defend the Castle when as the Defendant had 2300 Souldiers at least in Bristoll and a surrender by common advise for the Governours and Inhabitants safety yet because Cressingham the Governour by virtue of his office was bound to hold it till the utmost extremity he was for the present adjudged to prison and to expect a further sentence afterwards whereas Spikesworth was acquitted because he came casually into the Castle as forced by the enemy and had no charge of it as a Governour Officer or garrison Souldier all which as appeares by this resolution are answerable and punishable for delivering up the smallest Fort before utmost extremity The third president is the case of the Bishop of Norwich accused in Parliament 7. R 2 num 32. for surrendring the Town of Gravelin to the enemy before utmost extremity upon condition that it should be totally demolished To which the Bishop pleaded that by reason of the disobedience of his Captains who quitted the field and betooke themselves to their Forts he was constrained to retire with his Forces to the Towne of Graveling which he would have held out well enough against all men and did hold out till the other Captaines had surrendred their Forts adjoining to the French and after that untill speedy supplies might have arrived from England But because there were sixe or 7000 English-men who came out of the Forts surrendred lying on the sands neare Calice who could not get into the Towne and were in danger to be slaine by the French within two or three dayes the Truce being then expired whose losse would have been charged principally upon him thereupon he was commanded by the King himselfe to render the Towne to the enemies or else to demolish it and then to march to succour the said English and after that towards England to save himself and others of his Army in case they were in any great want of victuals as in truth they were and because it behoved him to abate and void the Towne as it was lawfull for him to doe at his pleasure being gained by his proper conquest from the enemy it seemed to him that he ought to be well excused of what ever was surmised against him for compounding with French to rase the Towne to the ground and to depart whither he would with his bagge baggage and men To which was answered by the Lord Chancellor That there was sufficient victuals in the Towne when the Kings Letter came there after which the King sent other victuals thither in great plenty with Letters importing how he had appointed his Uncle to come speedily to his aid and succour yet notwithstanding he departed thence leaving the Towne to the enemies against the forme of his Indenture by which the King granted him whatever he should conquer not at all to surrender sell or leave the same to the enemy but to hold and possesse it And as for the disobedience and defaults of his Officers and their surrender of the Fortresses they neither could nor ought at all to excuse him seeing they were all named and chosen by himselfe not by the King or his Councell and the Articles of the surrenders sealed between them and the enemies were made without the authority and consent of the King Wherefore by the assent of the Earles Barons and other Lords temporall present in Parliament it was assented and decreed That the Bishop should be in the King mercy who out of his grace would forbeare to lay hands on his body in regard of his function though he might justly have proceeded against him as a Lay-man that he should be put to a fine and ransome according to the quantity and quality of his offence

to suffer for it but that it was not internall is but his own averment which his externall guilt disproves and himselfe confessing that he was externally guilty and for this most justly condemned according to the Letter of the Law he may be as justly executed Fifthly For his pretended mortall equity to extenuate his offence that he must have fired the City to the ground c. it is but a meere groundlesse argument and an insufferable aspertion both to the Parliament and Honourable Councell he being neither accused nor condemned for not firing the Town but for not holding it and the Castle to extremity which he might easily have done without burning it to the ground as the premises demonstrate The last Argument of his guiltlesnesse on which he principally relies is his Excellencies pretended Pardon whereon he hath made a large comentary To which wee shall give these Answers we hope without offence to any First that we are not assured that the Defendant hath any reall Pardon of his Sentence the rather because the House of Commons whereof he is a Member and which referred him to his tryall was never yet acquainted with it nor privie to its granting for ought we finde in the Journall Book as we conceive of right they ought to have been at least wise by the Defendant who hath forfeited the benefit of it by this slighting of the House Secondly Admit he hath a Pardon from his Excellency yet then we may justly question 1. Whether it was not surreptitiously procured upon meer misinformations of the Defendant or his Friends his Lordship being not present at the Tryall which mis-informations over-frequent in all ages nullifie the Kings own Pardons Charters under the Great Seale of England much more his Excellencies by like reason 2ly whether it was not penned at leastwise altered corrected by the Delinquent himselfe or some neare friend of his before it passed his Excellencies signature the whole contexture savouring of his stile containing many expressions verbatim which he used in his defence and his bold Commentary on it giving us some grounds of conjecture that he first made or corrected the Text it selfe before it was Authentick it being frequent in other cases to doe the like 3ly whether the Copy printed by him be agreeable to the originall Pardon the Record whereof being no where extant to our knowledge by which we may compare it and the c. in it assuring us that something is concealed in the printed Copy which would have made for our advantage if recited Now if all or either of these prove true as we doubt not but they will upon due examination that this pretended Pardon was surreptiously obtained by misinformation or perused corrected by the Delinquent or his friends or the printed Copy of it false or maimed his Arguments from and glosse upon it will rather discover his fraud and guiltinesse then vindicate his valour fidelity or innocency in this Action Thirdly we answer that the Pardon recites how his Excellency by vertue of an Ordinance of both Houses of Parliament hath given and granted to the said Colonell a free and full pardon of all manner of offences errours and oversights committed in the said surrender of the City and Castle of Bristol But we never yet heard of any such Ordinance of both Houses authorizing or allowing this Defendants Pardon having cause to believe that the Houses will be very cautelous of granting or allowing any Pardon in this case which so highly concernes both Houses and the whole Kingdomes safet by reason of the ill consequences it may produce We read in Emanuel Meteranus Grimstons History of the Netherlands Thuanus and others Anno. 1587. That Van Hemert a very wise and brave young Noble-man one of the chiefe houses of the Netherlands and Governour of the Town of Grave together with two of his Captaines Du Banck and Korfe were imprisones condemned by a Councell of warre and then beheaded and executed at Bommel by command of Robert Dudly Earle of Leycester Governour of the Law-Countreys under Queen Elizabeth of famous Memory for that they surrendred the said Town of Grave to the Prince of Parma when he had besieged it above three Moneths space with a puissant army and beaten down the wals of it leavell to the ground with perpetuall batteries and assaults And although there appeared no treachery at all nor any intelligence held with the Enemy in this case and that the Governour condescended to a Treaty and surrendred the Town to the Enemy only upon the Citizens importunity who earnestly intreated him upon their knees with teares in their eyes to embrace a Parley for the saving of their lives estates and liberties which were granted them upon the Articles of agreement and although the Garrison souldiers likewise marched away with their Armes which they left behinde them at Bristoll and had all the Articles punctually fulfilled and although himselfe and his potent friends earnestly besought the Earle of Leycester that he might serve the Queen of England either by Sea or Land at his own charges and by his valour and fidelity make recompence of his fault committed only through want of understanding and marshall pollicy contrary to the will and intent of the Earle then Governour Generall under the Queen yet the Earle for upholding martiall Discipline and to prevent all future surrenders of this kinde would on no wise dispence with the execution whereupon they were all there openly beheaded at Bommel Iune 28. 1587 which was held a good example to the great furtherance of marshall discipline which at that time was much decayed And whether these times call not for a like example when so many treacheries and acts of cowardice break forth in sundry places to the endangering of the State and Parliament we submit to the determination of the supreame Councell of the Realme to whose descition it properly belongeth to pertermit or hasten the Defendants execution who shewed farre more cowardice at least if we say not treachery in surrendring Bristol in lesse then nine dayes siege then Van Hemert did who held out Grave above three monthes till the Wals were demolished and yet then marched away withall the Garrison and their armes too and then most Governours else have done the very inconsiderable small Town of Lime standing but in a hole and having no considerable works about it or provisions in it comparable to Bristol together with Warder Castle and other places holding out more moneths against the Enemies stormings and assaults then the great City and Castle of Bristol under his command held out dayes yet hee will needs justifie to the world both in his Answer and printed Pamplets with how little truth or colour let all men judge That he held it out to the utmost point not only of duty but also of Honour that any Souldier could or ought to have maintioned the same Fourthly Wee answer that the suggestions and principall grounds of the