for Edmond Ironside their Elder Brother had a Son then alive (e) Brompt 945. whose Name was Edward and who was Father to Edgar Atheling living also at the same time And though this Edward had an undoubted Title to the Crown if proximity of Blood could have given it yet the Confessor was so far from suspecting any danger from such a Title as that he invited his Nephew into England and welcom'd him when he came with the greatest expressions of Joy and entertain'd him with the greatest Confidence Nor had the People any regard to this Royal Bloud upon the Death of the Confessor but elected Harald the Son of Earl Godwin who had no pretence of Kindred to the Saxon Line These few among many other Instances which may be given will shew plainly enough how men entituled themselves to the Crown in those days and that then it was no strange thing to hear of a Parliaments medling with the Successon Therefore I suppose the men who seem astonished at the boldness of a Parliament in presuming to speak of it at this time will say that they ought not to be troubled with Presidents before the Norman Conquest and that though the Saxons might be guilty of preferring a brave and deserving Bastard before a cruel or a silly legitimate Prince and of many other Irregularities yet no such things are to be found in our Histories since the time of William the first whose Reign is the great Epoche from whence we do compute our Kings Let us therefore go on more particularly to observe what has been done since that time and we hall see whether they who wonder so much have any reason to do so William the Conquerour was himself illegitimate and yet succeeded his Father in the Dutchy of Normandy and therefore had no reason to set any great value upon that fort of Title which is derived from a Right of Bloud And it seems he did not much regard it for passing by Robert his eldell he gave the Crown (a) A patre ultima valetudine decumbente in Successorem adoptatus Guil. Malmab lib. 4. fol. 120. Sim. Dunel anno 1087. fol. 213. Brompt f. 980. by his last Will to William Rufus his younger Son disposing only with regard to his own Inclinations the Crown which himself had gain'd But his Son was too wise to rely upon this Disposition as a sufficient Title and therefore had recourse to a more sute one (b) Convocatis terrae magnatibus Brompt 983. Optimates frequentes 〈◊〉 Westmonasterium in Concilium convenere ubi loci post lorgam Consultatinnem Guilielinum Rufum Regem fecere Mat. Paris Flores hist fol. 231. Volentibus omnium Provincianum animis in Regem acceptus Mat. Paris in vit Gull 2. fol. 14. anno 1088. For calling together the Nobles and wise Men of the Kingdom he acquainted them in a full Council with his Fathers Will and desired their Consent to it who after a long Consultation did at last unanimously agree to make him their King and thereupon he was Crown'd by Langfranck Archbishop of Canterbury I cannot but observe one thing farther that though some men make use of the absolute Victory which the Conquerour had made and affirm that thereby the English were wholly broken and all the old Laws and Customs of the Realm were destroy'd yet it is plain that at this time the English Interest was so great that it kept the Crown upon William Rufus's Head in spight of all that the Normans could do in behalf of Robert though they universally joyn'd with him (c) Rex fecit convocare Anglos Sim. Dunelm an 1088. fol. 214. For the King calling together the English and opening to them the Treason of the Normans and (d) Angli cum fideliter juvabant c. Sim. Dun. ubi supra promising them a compleat Resticution of their ancient Laws they stood firm to him and soon put an end to all the Attempts of his Brother and his Norman Accomplices Upon the Death of William Rufus Robert had a fair pretence to renew his Claim to the Crown (a) Hic Robertus semper contraraus adeo innaturalis extiterat Baronibus Regni Angliae quod plenario consersie consilio totius Communitatis Regn◠ipsum refutaverunt pro Rege omnino reousaverunt Henricum fratrem in Regem erexerunt H. de Knyght c. 8. 2374. Post mortem Willielmi Rufi electus est Henricus frater ejus M. Paris 55. in vita H. 1. an 1100. 62. anno 1105 Mat. West 235. Apud Winton in Regem electus est Brempt 997. but that Prince had discover'd too much of the Cruelty of his Disposition of his aversion to the English Nation and of his proneness to Revenge so that by the full Consent and Counsel of the whole Body of the Realm assembled at Winchester he was finally rejected and they did concur to elect the Conqueror's third Son Henry for their King as Mar. Westminster expresses it Nor did they do this but upon Terms for both the Clergy and Laity said that if he would restore them their ancient Liberties and confirm them by his Charter and abrogate some severe Laws which his Father had made they would consent to make him King And this prudent and learned King was not ashamed or unwilling to own this Title for he does at large recite it in his Charter whereby he confirms their Liberties (b) Rich. Hagulstad 310. Brompt 10.21 Mat. Paris 240. Sciatis me misericordia Dei communi consilio Baronum Regni Angliae ejusdem Regni Regem Coronatum esse c. Henry the first you see had reason to believe and own the Power of the Kingdom in setting the Crown upon what head they pleased and therefore he desired to secure it that way to his Posterity To that end in the 13th year of his Reign (c) Coacio Concilio fecit omnes Principes Potentes Anglicani Regni adjurare terram Regnum Willielmo filio suo c. Gervas Cron. 1138. he summon'd a Council and procured all the great and powerful men of the Kingdom to swear that his Son William should succeed him But afterwards this Son of his was unfortunately drown'd and the King dy'd leaving no other Issue but Maud his Daughter who had been married to the Emperor and afterward to Geoffery Plantaginet Earl of Anjou No dispute can be made but that she had all the Right which proximity of Bloud could give yet Stephen Earl of Boloign who was the Son of Adela one of the Conquerors Daughters and whose elder Brother Theobald Earl of Blois was then living stept in before her and by representing to them the Inconvenience of a Feminine Government and promising them to consent to such good and gentle Laws as they should devise prevail'd (d) A primoribus Regni cum fuvere Cleri populi Electus est à Wil. Cant. Archiepiscopo in Regem Consecratur R. Hagulstad an 1156. f. 312. Consentientibus
could make any title to the Crown nisi ab universitate Regni unanimiter Electus And that he who was most worthy ought to be preferred But as he goes on if any one of the Race of the deceased King was more deserving than others as John the Brother of the deceased King was the People ought more readily to elect him than a Stranger to the Royal Bloud This was all the Title King John pretended and this was then sufficient to put by his Nephew And in his (f) Charta Moderationis feodi Magni figilli an 1 Jo. ex vet Reg. in Archivis Arch. Cant. he says he came to the Crown Jure Hereditarin mediante tam Cleri quam Populi unanimi Consensu Favore Charters he does more than once own that he owed his Crown to the election and favour of his Subjects But when King John gave over to dissemble his Nature and went about to change his Religion (g) Nâ—enon Legem Christianum Quam vanam cersuit retinquens Legi Mahometis fideliter adhaereret Mat. Par. 243. for he made offers of that sort to the King of Morocco when he discovered himself not to be that worthy man which the People supposed him to have been they remembred whence he derived his Title and proceeded upon the same reason that they had chosen him to make a new Election (h) Mat. Par. 279. Flo. Hist an 1216. chusing Lewis Son of Philip King of France who was next Heir to the Crown in the right of Blanch his Wife Neece to King John and Daughter to his Sister Elianor both the Children of Geoffery Duke of Britain being dead before that time When King Philip heard of their choice he consented to send his Son being the rather induced thereto by this reason (i) Velens fratrem suum Regem Ricardum à Regno Angliae injuste privare inde de proditiane accusatus coram eo convictus Damnatus fuit per judicium in Curia ipsius Regis Mat. Westm 275. Mat. Par. 281. That John's Bloud being corrupted by an Attainder of Treason in the Life-time of his Brother Richard he was uncapable of taking the Crown by Descent and unworthy to take it any other way Lewis coming to London was there Elected and Constituted King swearing to preserve the Peoples Laws and they swearing Allgiance to him But he soon forgot his Coronation-Oath and attempted several ways to introduce an Arbitrary Government before he was well Established in his Throne which the English assoon resented And King John happening to die very opportunely The Earl-Marshal calling together the Great men of the Kingdom and placing Henry the third then an Infant in the midst of them perswaded them to make him King who was altogether innocent of his Fathers faults (k) Mat. West 275. Hen. de Knyght f. 2426 c. 15. l. 2. The Earl of Gloucester said this was contrary to their Oath to Lewis To which the Marshal replied that Lewis by breaking his Oath had absolved them from theirs and that he despised the English to set up the French and that he would be the destruction of the Realm With whose Reasons the whole Assembly being convinced cried out unanimously Fiat Rex and accordingly they Crown'd King Henry the third and soon after compelled Lewis to re-renounce all pretences to the Crown Henry the Third dying Hen. de Knight f. 2472. c. 16. l. 2. after a long and troublesome Reign his Son Edward the First a Prince of great hopes and whose Life answered the highest expectations succeeded but whether he was the eldest Son of his Father remains a doubt in History The House of Lancaster who derived themselves from his Brother Edmond pretending always that Edmond was the Elder and Edward the Younger Brother and that Edmond was put by the Crown by common Consent for his Deformity After the Death of Edward the First Tho. Walsingh in Vit. Ed. 2. f. 126. his Son Edward the Second succeeded but he degenerating from so great a Father the People grew weary of his Irregular and Arbitrary Government And a Parliament being by him summoned at Westminster Pol. Virg. l. 18. f. 352. as all our Writers say or as Polydor Virgil words it Principes Convocato Concilio pervenerunt Londini which I observe only that we may know what Polydor means when he makes use of the expression of Principes in Concilio Congregati They presently entred into a consideration of the miserable state of the Nation Froissart 1. vol c. 14. Fructus Temporum Part 7. f. 107. Hen. de Knight l. 3. c. 15. f. 2549. and a Paper being publickly read containing many Instances of the King's Misgovernment all which he had confessed they concluded he was unworthy to Reign any longer and that he ought to be deposed and sent to him to let him know their Resolution and to require him to renounce his Crown and Royal Dignity otherwise they would proceed as they thought good And they appointed Commissioners to go to him in their Names The Bishop of Ely for the Bishops The Earl of Warren for the Earls Sir Henry Piercy for the Barons and Sir William Frussel for the Commons to resign their Homage up to him which Frussel pronounced in all their Names and formally deprived him of all Royal Power the form of which is particularly set down by Knighton The King read this sad Sentence with extraordinary grief and many complaints of those evil Counsellors who had seduced him but in the midst of his Sorrow (a) Quod Filium suum Edwardum post se Regnaturum Eligissemt Knyght 2550. he gave them thanks that they Elected his Son to reign after him Thus was that glorious Prince Edward the Third elected King in his Fathers Life-time Et huic Electioni universus populus consensit Walter Arch-Bishop of Canterbury who preached the Coronation-Sermon took this for his Text Vox Populi vox Dei. By this we may see that all his Predecessors were not of Archbishop Lawd's minde but thought there was a Divine Right somewhere else than where he placed it Upon the death of Edward the black Prince there was some Dispute whether John of Gaunt the eldest surviving Son of Edward the Third should Succeed Jure propinquitatis or Richard the Son of the Black Prince whereupon Edward the Third procured the Parliament to confirm the Succession to Richard the Second And afterwards when Edward the Third dyed (b) Pol. Virg. 20. f. 295. (c) Juri Hereditario ac etiam voto communi singulorum H. Knyght l. 5. f. 2630. Polidorus Virgil says Rot. Parl. 1 H. 4. Principes Regni habito Concilio apud Westm you know what Polidor means by principes Richardum Edwardi principis Filium Regem dicunt by their common Suffrages Pol. Virg. l. 5. In the 21 year of Richard's Reign a Parliament being assembled at Westminster they drew up by their common Consent a Form whereby he did resign
to shew that all Conquest does not put the Conquerour into an Absolute Right Though it be most evident in the case of William the First who did by his Sword prosecute a claim of another nature and meant only to acquire that Right and after conquest rested in it He pretended to the Crown as the Gift of King Edward and to vindicate that Title he enter'd with Arms. And though his Relation to the Crown was more remote than that of Edgar Atheling then a child yet his Title was better than Harolds the present Usurper who could pretend no kindred at all and who had himself Sworn to support the Grant to William Nor did he claim a Power by conquest though the name of Conquerour was given him by after times says Daniel but submitted to the orders of the Kingdom desirous rather to have his Testamentary Title than his Sword to make good his succession But I will admit that he made an absolute conquest and then these men will grant that he might himself dispose of this conquer'd Kingdom Therefore if he did not leave it to descend in such a manner as they would have it go nor did institute any such sort of Succession surely this Argument of theirs will fall to the ground Now 't is plain that he never design'd that the Crown should descend but gave it to his second Son and thereby gave an early example of excluding and pretermitting the unworthy Lastly Others object that the Fundamental Laws of the Land against which no Act of Parliament can be of force have so establisht the Succession that the course of it cannot be alter'd This is surely a new discovery unknown to our Fore-fathers as the foregoing History does abundantly prove But let these objectors be asked by what Authority these imaginary Laws were made For if an Authority equal to that which made them be still in being That Authority may certainly repeal them when ever it pleases to exert it self If the King alone made them no doubt but that he may change them too If they will say they were made by the diffusive body of the people they run before they are aware into the guilt of worshipping that Idol The Multitude and make a great step towards placing the foundation of the Government upon contract and consent But then let them produce those Laws or some Authentick memorial of them before it be exacted from us to believe there were ever any such Yes they will say there is such an ancient Law acknowledged by all the Judges and known to every man that the Descent of the Crown purges all Defects whatsoever This Maxim as it is usually repeated is in these words and this might be admitted and yet could not be pertinently apply'd to a case where the Descent it self is prevented by a Law But I will not take advantage of their words but will consider the Objection as it stands in that Book where the first mention of it was made 1 H. 7. f. 〈◊〉 b. Que le Roy fuist person able discharge d'auscun attainder eo facto qu' il prist sur lui le Reign estre Roy. and that is in the Year Book of Henry the Seventh it being said there by the Judges That the King was a person Able and Discharged of any Attainder eo facto that he took upon him the Government and to be King First This was not only an extra-judical opinion but was not pertinent to the Question referr'd to their consideration Whether those who were chosen into the House of Commons and were at that time attainted of Treason might sit in Parliament till their Attainders were Reversed and they all agree that their Attainders should first be annulled But then they proceed to say that there was no necessity that the Kings Attainder should be Reversed for that he might enable himself and needed not any Act of Reversal But surely they said very wisely in what they said for he who had won a Crown in the field had gone a great way towards enabling himself to wear it Most sure it is that if an Act of Reversal were necessary before he could sit that then it was impossible he ever should sit there because no such Act could be made without the Royal Assent Henry the Seventh was then King de facto and in possession of the Throne and it was somewhat of the latest to consider whether he was qualified or not Certainly it had been strange self-denyal in the Judges and a neglect of themselves which is not usual with them to have alledged an Incurable Disability in the King from whom they had their Patents and Authority In the next place let us consider what precedent the Judges cite to justifie this opinion of theirs and how apposite it is Henry the Sixth being driven out of the Kingdom by Edward the Fourth The Conquerour call'd a Parliament and got an Act to pass whereby Henry was disabled to hold the Crown About ten years after Henry regains the Kingdom and upon this re-accession to the Crown as 't is usually call'd This Act is never repeal'd But does not every Child see the Reasons of it For if Henry was Lawful King and before he was not to doubt that The Act it self was void in as much as it wanted the Royal Assent So that for him to have procured an Act of Repeal had been to affirm a Title to the Crown in Edward But without doubt this opinion of the Judges as it is apply'd by the Objectors was new and unheard of before We see the King of France was otherwise informed by the learned men in the time of King John for they thought his Blood corrupted Mat. Westni 275. v. supra and him uncapable of taking the Crown by Descent because he was Attainted of Treason which prevailed with that King to send over his Son Lewis to put in his claim in right of his wife who was the next Heir It also ought to be observed that the true Reason why the generality of the Nation did so long approve the Title of the House of Lancaster was because all the Princes of the House of York were Attainted of Treason and their Blood corrupted But as soon as ever this corruption was purged and Richard Duke of York was declared Heir Apparent by Parliament the people soon forsook the Lancastrians and set the House of York in the Throne Nay the very learned men of the same Age with these Judges though quite otherwise as will appear beyond contradiction in this samous case which follows Richard the Third had two Elder Brothers Edward and George Duke of Clarence Richard designing to secure the Crown to himself had procured the Children of Edward to be declared Illegitimate yet still the Duke of Clarence had Issue living which might pretend But observe what the Parliament say as to this in the first year of Richard the Third V. Sup. Cott. Rec. 709. That in the seventeenth year
A Brief HISTORY OF THE SUCCESSION Collected out of the RECORDS and the most Authentick HISTORIANS Written for the Satisfaction of the EARL of H. MEn generally at present busy themselves in discoursing about the Succession and therefore cannot but be pleased to have a short History of it set before them For by seeing how the Crown has descended and in what manner Caes de Bell. Gall. lib. 5. Tacitus in vitae Jul. Agricolae Strab. lib. 4. and upon what grounds the natural Course of the Descent hath been changed they will be enabled to judge what has been the Opinion of all Ages in this so controverted a Point and thereby may safely direct their Own Nothing certain has come dow to us of the Nature of the Government of this Island before the Romans came hither only this we learn from Caesar and Strabo and Tacitus That the Britans were subject to many Princes and States not confederate nor consulting in common but always suspecting and frequently warring with one another During the Heptarchy whilst every Kingdom was govern'd by different Laws we cannot think they agreed in one Rule of Succession But if that does not I am sure the reading the many Changes and Confusions of those Times must convince any man that their Rule was uncertain or else that they had no Rule at all Those seven Kingdoms were at last united under Egbert But yet our Historians who lived nearest those Times exprest themselves so odly in this Matter and do so constantly mention the Election of almost every King before they tell us of his Coronation that some learned men have doubted whether before the Conquest the Government of this Island was ever grown up into a settled Hereditary Monarchy Surely if it were so yet all must agree that (a) Pol. Virg. Hist Angl. l. 4. in fine Will. Malmes l. 1. c. 2. fol. 16. l. 2. c. 1. fol. 36. then the Succession was not guided by the same Rules as some men believe or pretend it ought now to be Egbert himself the first English Monarch came to the Crown not by Succession but Election being no way related to Brissicu the last of the West-Saxon Kings and when he died he gave the Kingdons of Kent and Essex to his second Son (b) Hen. Hunt l. 5 fol. 348. Will. Malmes lib. 2. c. 3. f. 41. Ethelwolf divided the whole Island between his two Sons Ethelbald and Ethelbert (c) Will. Malmes l. 2. c. 6. f. 48. Athelstan though a Bastard succeeded his Father and was preferred to his ligitimate Brothers (d) Will. Malmes l. 2. c. 6. f. 55. Rog. Hoved. par 1. f. 423. Hen. Hunt l. 5. f. 355. Edred the younger Brother of King Edmond was advanced to the Throne though the deceased Prince had two Sons Edwin and Edgar who did both of them reign afterward successively Edgar left a Son at his Death but yet there hapned a mighty Contest about his Successor (e) De Rege Eligendo magna inter Regni Primores oborta est dissentio Simeon Dunelm an 975. f. 160 Edwardum Elegerunt Electum consecraverunt lin Rogem unxerunt Sim. Dunelm ubi supra some of the great 〈◊〉 contending for the Election of Egelred his Brother But at last the Interest of Edward the Son prevail'd and he was in a full Assembly elected consecrated and anointed King That which Ailredus Abbot of Rievallis in his Life of Edward the Confessor gives an account of seems very remarkable to our purpose King Ethelred (f) Gloriosus Rex Ethelridus Ailred Rievalis fo 372. who was no tame and easie Prince desirous to establish his Successor in his Life-time (g) Fit magnus coram Rege Episcoporum Conventus Reival ubi supra summon'd a great Council expresly for that purpose and proposes the thing to them The Council were divided some of them appearing for Edmond his eldest Son and some for Alfred his second Son by Queen Emma But at last upon some superstitious Fancy they agreed to pass by both of them and elected the Infant that was in the Queens Womb. To which Election the King gave his (h) Praebet Electioni Rex consensum Ailr Ab. Reival ubi supra Royal Assent and the whole Assembly swore Fealty to the Child whilst yet unborn Undoubtedly this Story makes it plain that it was not enough at that time to entitle one to the Crown that he was the Kings Eldest Son for the Ethelred would never have suffer'd a Debate about the Election of a Successor nor summon'd a Parliament expresly for that purpose which you see he though necessary to be done And notwithstanding all his care it seems upon the Death of Ethelred Canutus had so great an Interest that by an unanimous consent in a full (a) Episcopi Abbates Duces Quique nobiliores Angliae in unum congregati pari consensu Canutum in Dominium Regem Eligere omnem progeniem Regis Ethelredi repudiantes Sim. Dunelm an 1016. f. 173. Brompt f. 903. Rog. Hovedon 1 par f. 434. Counsel he was elected King and all the Issue of the last Prince rejected 'T is true the Londoners stood firm to Edmond Ironside the approbation of that renowned City had then no little Influence on the Succession and there were divers Battels fought between them but at last they came to an Agreement and Edmond dying the Dane ruled the whole Island peaceably whilst he lived Immediately upon the Death of Canutus there was assembled at Oxford (b) Placitum magnum de Regni Successione apud Oxonium factum est Brompt 932. Canuto mortuo facta est apud Oxonium magna alteratio de Regni Successione Hen. Knyht de event Angl. Hen. Hunt l. 6. f. 364. a great Council to determine who ought to succeed where notwithstanding all the Interest which Godwin Earl of Kent and the West Saxon great men could make on the behalf of Hardiknute the legitimate Son of the dead King they were over-voted and Harald Harefoot his Bastard begotten on Ailena or Elgiva was elected Harald dy'd in the 5th year of his Reign and (c) Post mortem Heraldi Hardeknute Electus Rex Hen. Hunt l. 6. f. 365. then the People were content to accept of Hardiknute for their King and to that end sent for him out of Flanders but he dying Issueless it was ordained in a (d) Omnes Anglorum magnates ad invicem tractantes de communi Concilio Juramento statuerunt quod nunquam temporibus futuris aliquis Dacus super cos in Angliâ regnaret Brompt 934. General Council that never any Dane should for the future be admitted to Reign in England After which they proceeded to elect Alfred the Son of Ethelred and he being murder'd by the Treachery of Earl Godwin they chose his Brother Edward commonly called Edward the Confessor Nor were these Elections of theirs made with any respect to nearness of Bloud more than those whereof we have heard before
Edward the Fifth who held it not long enough to have it put on him with the usual Solemnity for though he was Proclaimed he was never Crowned King For his Uncle Richard Duke of Gloucester having secured him and his Brother in the Tower did cunningly insinuate the Bastardy of his Nephew and that Edward the Fourth had another Wife living at the time of his Marriage to their Mother and also at the time of their Birth The Report found Credit universally in so much that the Duke of Buckingham coming to him at Baynards-Castle with most of the great Lords and wise men of the Kingdom and the Mayor and Aldermen of London the Duke did in their Names acquaint him that they had unanimously thought fit to elect him King as being Heir to the Royal Blood of Richard Duke of York upon whom the Crown was entail'd by the High Authority of Parliament 'T is very remarkable that in the midst of their highest Flatteries and Courtship to him they tell him only of this great and sure Title by Act of Parliament although if he had been indeed what was pretended the Heir of the House of York his Right by Descent from Edward the Third was unquestionable Richard after some feigned Excuses did at last accept of their Offer and Election and the Parliament being soon after Assembled Cott. Rec. fol. 709. they presented a Bill to this effect Please it your Grace to understand the Consideration Election and Petition under-written of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and of the Commons c. And thereby they Declare the Children of Edward the Fourth illegitimate Bucks Rich. 3. lib. 1. fol. 22. and that his Brother George Duke of Clarence was attainted of High-Treason by Parliament in the 17th year of Edward the Fourth's Reign by reason whereof all the Issue of the said George were and are disabled and barr'd of all Right and Claim that in any case they might have or challenge by Inheritance to the Crown and Dignity Royal of this Realm by the ancient Laws and Customs of the same After which considering that none of the uncorrupted lineal Blood of Richard Duke of York could be found but in his Person say they We have chosen and do choose you our King and Sovereign Lord. Then the Bill proceeds in reciting that all the Learned in the Laws do approve his Title and declaring him King as well by Right of Consanguinity and Inheritance as by lawful Election and entails the Crown on him and the Heirs of his Body and declares his Son Heir Apparent To which the King gave his Royal Assent in these words 〈◊〉 idem Dominus Rex de Assensu dictorum trium Statuum Regni Authoritate praedicta omnia singula praemissa in Billa praedicta contenta concedit ea pro vero indubio pronunciat decernit declarat But the barbarous Murder of his Nephews did soon beget such an universal Detestation of Richard in the minds of the People that they resolved he should no longer Reign over them and so taking hold of a Pretence which Henry Duke of Richmond set up they joyn'd with him against Richard Though Henry's Title was indeed no more than a meer Pretence for not only the Right of the House of York as far as Blood could give Right was before that of the House of Lancaster but also he had no manner of Interest in that Title which the Lancastrian Line had since his Claim was under a Bastard begotten in Adultery and besides his Mother Margaret Countess of Richmond as Heir to whom he pretended he claim'd was then living Therefore Comines the most judicious Writer of that Age and who knew well what was the sence of Europe concerning his Title says plainly though he wrote in the time of Henry the Seventh Qu'il 〈◊〉 Croix ne Pile ne nul Droit comme Jeo Croy 〈…〉 Nevertheless Henry having slain Richard in Bosworth-field the Crown was there put on his Head by the Lord Stanley with the general Acclamation of the People But he was wise enough to think his Title to it was not very good till it was made so by an Act of Parliament and therefore in the first year of his Reign he procured one to pass in these words For the Wealth Bucks Rich. 3. lib. 5. fol. 145. Prosperity and Surety of this Realm of England and for avoiding of all Ambiguities and Questions The wisest of our Princes you see had no little Opinion of the Authority of a Parliament in this point Be it Ordained c. That the Inheritance of the Crown of the Realms of England and France with all the Preheminences and Dignities Royal to the same appertaining and the Ligeances to the King belonging beyond the Seas c. shall be rest remain and abide in the most Royal Person of our Sovereign Lord Henry the Seventh and in the Heirs of his Body lawfully coming perpetually with the Grace of God and so to endure and no other Thus did the wisest of our Kings establish himself Lord Bacon H. 7. f. 11 12. and the best of our Historians mentions it as one of the greatest Instances of his Wisdom That he did not press to have this as a Declaration or Recognition of Ancient Right but onely as an Establishment of the possession which he then had nor to have the Remainder limited to any person after the determination of his Estate but was content with the Settlement upon himself and the Issue of his own Body leaving it to the Law to decide what was to follow upon the failure of such Heirs Nor can any thing be more clear than that Henry the Seventh depended entirely on this Parliamentary Title without extending any pretences of his or his Wives who was Heir of the House of York beyond this Establishment in as much as the Oaths of Allegiance and other publick Tests and Securities which were required at that time of the Subjects were not in general Terms to the King his Heirs and Successors but only to the King Burnet's Hist of the Reformation Collect ad lib. 2. fol. 3 4. and the Heirs Male of his Body lawfully begotten An Instance of this without going any further may be seen amongst the Records Printed at the end of the late History of the Reformation where Cardinal Adrian when he was promoted by Henry the Seventh to the Bishoprick of Bath and Wells renounces all Clauses in the Popes Bulls which may be prejudicial Domini meo supremo Haeredibus suis corpore suo legitime procreatis Angliae Regibus and he does afterwards swear Allegiance to him in the very same Words without taking any notice of Remoter Heirs Henry the Eighth the Heir to this Entail Succeeded his Father and though he attempted as much for Arbitrary Power and used Parliaments with as little respect as any of his Predecessors Yet even he never doubted of their Power in settling the Succession but valued it much and resorted