Lord 1582. when Don Philip now King of Spain re-united again unto that Crown the Kingdom of Portugal which was the last piece that remained seperated and this was almost 900 years after Spain was first lost But now to our purpose the Chronicler of Spain named Ambrosio Morales doth record in his Chronicle a certain Law written in the Gothish Tongue and left since the time of this Don Pelayo the first King after the universal Destruction of Spain and the Title of the Law is this Como se an de levantar Rey in Espua y como el ha de jurar los fueros that is to say How men must make their King in Spain and how he must swear to the Priviledges and Liberties of that Nation And then he putteth the Law whereof the first saith thus Before all things it is Established for a Law Liberty and Priviledge of Spain that the King is to be placed by voices and consent perpetually and this to the intent that no evil King may enter without consent of the people seeing they are to give him that which with their Bloud and Labours they have gained from the Moors Thus far goeth this first Article which is the more to be marked for that divers and those most ancient Spanish Authors do say That from this Don Pelayo the Succession of Kings descended ever by propinquity of Bloud and yet we see that Election was joyned therewithall in express terms The second part of the Law containeth the manner of Ceremonies used in these old days at the admission of their Kings which is expressed in these words Let the King be chosen and admitted in the Metropolitan City of this Kingdom or at least wise in some Cathedral Church and the night before he is exalted let him watch all night in the Church and the next day let him hear Mass and let him offer at Mass a piece of Scarlet and some of his own Money and after let him Communicate and when they come to lift him up let him step upon a Buckler or Target and the chief and principal men there present hold the Target and so lifting him up let them and the people cry with a lowd voice Real Real Real Then let the King command some of his own Money to be cast among the people to the quantity of a hundred shillings And to the end he may give all people to understand that none now is above him let himself tie on his own Sword in the form of a cross and let no Knight or other Man bear a Sword that day but only the King This was the old fashion of making Kings in Spain which in effect and substance remaineth still though the manner thereof be somewhat altered for that the Spanish Kings are not Crowned but have another Ceremony for their admission equal to Coronatron which is performed by the Archbishop of Toledo Primate of all Spain as the other Coronations before-mentioned are by the Archbishop of Moguntia to the Emperour and by the Archbishop of Guesna to the King of Polonia and by the Archbishop of Prague to the King of Bohemia and the Archbishop of Braga to the King of Portugal and by the Archbishop of Canterbury to the King of England and by the Archbishop of Rhemes to the King of France of which Realm of France we may not omit to say somewhat in particular seeing it is so good a Kingdom and so near to England not only in Scituation but also in Laws Manners and Customs And as the Race of English Kings have come from them in divers manners since the Conquest so may it be also supposed that the principal Ceremonies and Circumstances of this Action of Coronation have been received in like manner from them First then touching the act of Coronation and Admission of the King of France even as before I have said of Spain so also in this Kingdom do I find two manners of that action the one more ancient which the French do say hath endured in substance from their first Christian King named Clodoveus unto this day which is about 1100 years for that Clodoveus was christened in the year of our Lord 490 in the City of Rhemes by St Remigius Bishop of that City and Anointed also and Crowned King by same Bishop which manner and order of Anointing and Coronation endured for about 600 years unto the time of Henry the first and King Philip the first his Son both Kings of France At what time which is about 500 years ago both the Chroniclers and Cosmographers of France do testifie that there was a peculiar Book in the Library of the Church of Bevais containing the particular Order of this Action which had endured from Clodoveus unto that time Which order for so much as toucheth the solemnity of Officers in the Coronation and other like Circumstances was far different at that time from that which is now for that in those days there were no Peers of France appointed to assist the same Coronation which now are the chief and the greatest part of that solemnity Yea Girard du Hailan Secretary of France in his third Book of the Affairs and State of that Kingdom saith That the Ceremonies of Crowning their old Kings was much after the fashion which I have noted a little before in this very Chapter out of the Law of Don Pelayo first King of Spain after the Moors for that they were lifted up and carried about upon a Target by the chief Subjects there present as the Spaniards were 〈…〉 But as touching the principal point of that action which is the substance of admitting the King unto his Royal Authority and Oath by him made of governing well and justly and of the reciprocal Oath of Obedience made to him again by his Subjects it was not much different from that which now is as shall appear by the Coronation of the aforesaid Philip the first who was Crowned in the life and presence of his Father King Henry after the fashion then used in the year of Christ 1059. and it was as Nâ—ngis and Tollet both Authors of great Authority among the French do recount it and Francis Belforest out of them both repeateth the same at large in manner following King Henry the first of this Name seeing himself very old and feeble made an assembly of all the States of France in the City of Paris in the year of Christ 1059. where bringing in his young Son and Heir Philip that was but nine years of age before them all he said as followeth Hitherto my dear Friends and Subjects I have been the Head of your Nobility and Men at Arms but now by mine Age and Indisposition of Body I must be separated from you and therefore I do desire you that if ever you have loved me you shew it now in giving your Consent and Approbation that this my Son may be admitted for your King and apparelled with the
Nation that was lawfully and orderly preferred to the Imperial Seat after that it passed from the Children of Charles the Great and there be divers points worthy the noting in this example and among other that albeit he were lawful King and Emperor by Succession as also by appointment of his Father Yet was he chosen and admitted again by the Prince and People and that he Swore to fulfil all those points and conditions which the signification of the Emperial Ornament did bind him unto After this about sixteen years or more Pope Gregory the fifth in a Synod holden in Rome did by the consent of Otho the third Emperour and Nephew unto this other Otho of whom we have now treated appoint a certain Form of Election for the time to come of the German Emperour to wit that he should be chosen by six Princes of Germany three Ecclesiastical which are the Archbishops of Moguntia Colen and Trevires and three Temporal Lords to wit the Duke of Saxony the Count Palatine of Rhene and the Marquess of Brandeuburg and when these six voices should happen to be equally divided then that the Duke of Bohemia for then it was no Kingdom should have place also to determine the Election All which was determined in the year of Christ 996. in Rome and approved afterward by all the Princes of Germany and allowed by all other Christian Princes and States of the World and so endureth unto this day And among all other points this of his Coronation and his Oath to be taken for his well Government was and is most exactly set down and recorded by many Historiographers of that time and since But I shall aledge them out of John Sleydan as the most convenient Author for this our time and purpose First of all then he Writeth that after any Man is chosen Emperour he is to be called only Caesar and the King of the Romans and not Emperour until he be Crowned and the Conditions which he Sweareth unto presently after his Election Are to defend the Christian and Catholick Religion to defend the Pope and Church of Rome whose Advocate he is to Minister Justice equally to all to follow Peace to keep and observe all Laws Rights and Priviledges of the Empire not to alienate or engage the possessions of the Empire to condemn no Man without hearing his cause but to suffer the course of Law to have its place in all and whatsoever he shall do otherwise that it be void and of no Validity at all Unto all these Articles he Sweareth first by his Legates and then he giveth a Copy of his Oath in Writing to every one of the six Electors and after this he goeth to the City of Aquis-grun to be Crowned in that great Church where about the middle of the Mass the Archbishop of Colen goeth unto him in the presence of all the People and asketh whether he be ready to Swear and promise to observe the Catholick Religion defend the Church Minister Justice protect the Widdows and Fatherless and yield dutiful Honour and Obedience to the Pope of Rome Whereunto he answering That he is ready to do all this The Archbishop leadeth him to the high Altar where he Sweareth in express words all these Articles which being done the said Archbishop turning himself to the Princes of the Empire and People there present doth ask them Whether they be content to Swear Obedience and Fealty unto him Who answering Y a He is Annointed by the said Archbishop before the Altar and then do come the other two Archbishhps of Moguntia and Treviers and do lead him into the Vestery where certain Deacons are ready to Apparel him in his Robes and do set him in a Chair upon whom the Archbishop of Colen sayeth certain Prayers and then delivereth him a Sword drawn and putting a Ring upon his finger and giveth him a Scepter in his hand and then all the three Archbishops together do put on the Crown upon his head and leading him so Crowned and Apparreled unto the high Altar again He Sweareth the second time That he will do the part of a good Christian and Catholick Emperor Which being ended he is brought back and placed in the Emperial seat and Throne where all the Princes of the Empire do Swear obedience and faith unto him beginning with the three Archbishops and continuing on with the three other Electors and so all the rest in order which is a notable and magestical manner of admitting and authorising of a Prince as you see and it is to be marked among other things that the Emperour Sweareth three times once by his Deputies and twice by Himself before his Subjects Swear once unto him and yet will Belloy as you have heard needs have Subjects only bound to their Princes and the Prince nothing at all bound to them again In Polonia which being first a Dukedom was made a Kingdom about the same time that this form of electing of the German Emperour was prescribed the manner of Coronation of their King is in substance the very same that we have declared to be of the Emperour For first of all the Archbishop of Guesua Metropolitant of all Polonia cometh to the King standing before the high Altar and sayeth unto him these words Whereas you are right Noble Prince to receive at our hands at this day who are thought unworthily in place of Christ for execution of this Function the sacred Anointing and other Ceremonies Ensigns and Ornaments appertaining to the Kings of this Land it shall be well that we admonish you in a few words what the charge importeth which you are to take upon you c. Thus he beginneth and after this he declareth unto him for what end he is made King what the obligation of that place and dignity bindeth him unto and unto what points he must Swear what do signifie the Sword the Ring the Scepter and the Crown that he is to receive and at the delivery of each of these things he maketh both a short exhortation unto him and prayer unto God for him And the Kings Oath is in these Words Promitto coram Deo Angelis ejus I do promise and Swear before God and his Angels that I will do Law and Justice to all and keep the Peace of Christ his Church and the union of his Catholick Faith and will do and cause to be done due and Canonical Honour unto the Bishops of this Land and to the rest of the Clergy and if which God forbid I should break my Oath I am content that the Inhabitants of this Kingdom owe no Duty or Obedience unto me as God shall help me and Gods holy Gospels After this Oath made by the King and received by the Subjects the Lord Martial General of the whole Kingdom doth ask with a loud voice of all the Councellors Nobility and People there present Whether they be content to submit
themselves unto this King or no. Who answered Yea. The Archbishop doth end the residue of the Ceremonies and doth place him in the Royal Throne where all his Subjects do Homage unto him And thus for Polonia In Spain I do find that the manner of admitting their Kings was different and not the same before and after the destruction thereof by the Moors but yet that in both times their Kings did Swear in effect the self same points which before have been mentioned in other Kingdoms For first before the entring of the Moors when Spain remained yet one General Monarchy under the Goths it is recorded in the fourth national Councel of Toledo which was holden in the year of our Lord 633. according to Ambrosio Morales the most Learned and diligent Historiographer of Spain though others do appoint it some few years after in this Councel I say it is said that their new King Sissinandus who had expelled Suintila their former King for his evil Government This King Sissinandus I say coming into the said Councel in the third year of his Reign accompanied with a most magnificent number of Nobles that waited on him did fall down prostrate upon the ground before the Archbishops and Bishops there gathered together which were 70. in number and desired them with Tears to pray for him and to determine in that Councel that which shou'd be needful and most convenient both for maintaining of Gods Religion and also for upholding and prospering the whole Commonwealth whereupon those Fathers after matters of Religion and Reformation of matters which they handled in 72. Chapters In the end and last Chapter they come to handle matters of Estate also And first of all they do confirm the Deposition of Kings Suintila together with his Wife Brother and Children and all for his great Wickedness which in the Councel is recounted and they do deprive them not only of a Title to the Crown but also of all other goods and possessions moveable and immovable saving only that which the new Kings mercy should bestow upon them And in this Councel was present and subscribed first of all other Sâ— Isidorus Archbishop of Sivil who Writing his History of Spain dedicated the same unto this King Sissinandus and speaketh infinite good in the same of the Vertues of King Suintila that was now Deposed and condemned in this said Councel whereby it is to be presumed that he had changed much his life afterwards and become so wicked a Man as here is reported After this the Councel confirmeth the Title of Sissinandus and maketh Decrees for the defence thereof but yet insinuateth what points he was bound unto and whereupon he had Sworn when they said unto him Te quoque praesentem regem ac futuros aetatum sequentium principes c. We do require you that are our present King and all other our Princes that shall follow hereafter with the humility which is convenient that you be meek and moderate towards your Subjects and that you govern your People in Justice and Piety and that none of you do give sentence alone against any man in case of Life and Death but with the consent of your publick Councel and with those that be Governours in matter of Judgment And against all Kings that are to come we do promulgate this sentence that if any of them shall against the reverence of our Laws exercise cruel authority with proud domination and Kingly pomp only following their own concupiscence in wickedness that they are condemned by Christ with the sentence of Excomunication and have their seperation both from him and us to everlasting Judgment And this much of that Councel But in the next two years after the end of this Councel King Sissinandus being now dead and one Chintilla made King in his place There were other two Councels gathered in Toledo the first whereof was but Provincial and the second National and they are named by the names of the fifth and sixth Councels of Toledo In the which Councils according to the manner of the Goths who being once converted from the Arian Heresie were very catholick and devout ever after and governed themselves most by their Clergy and not only matters of Religion were handled but also of State and of the Commonwealth especially about the Succession to the Crown safety of the Prince provision for his Children Friends Officers ond Favourites after his death and against such as without Election or Approbation of the Commonwealth did aspire to the same all these points I say were determined in these Councils and among other points a severe Decree was made in the sixth Council concerning the King's Oath at his admission in these words Consonam uno corde ore promulgamus Deo placituram sententiam We do promulgate with one heart and mouth this Sentence agreeable 〈◊〉 pleasing unto God and do decree the same with 〈◊〉 consent and deliberation of the Nobles and Peers of this Realm that whosoever in time to come shall be advanced to the Honour and Preâ—erment of this Kingdom he shall not be placed in the Royal Seat until among other conditions he have promised by the Sacrament of an Oath that he will suffer no man to break the Catholick Faith c. Thus far that Synod or Council By which words especially those among other conditions is made evident that those Princes swear not only to keep the Faith but also such other Conditions of good Government as were touched before in the fourth Council And these things were determined while their King Chintilla was at Tolledo as Ambrosio Morales noteth And thus much of Spain before the entrance of the Moors and before the dividing thereof into many Kingdoms which happened about 100 years after this to wit in the year of our Lord 713. and 714. But after the Moors had gained all Spain and divided them into divers Kingdoms yet God provided it so that within four or five years the Christians that were left and fled to the Mountains of Asturias and Biscay found a certain young Prince named Don Pelayo of the ancient Bloud of the Gothish Kings who was also fled thither and miraculously saved from the Enemies whom they then chose to be their King and he began presently the recovery of Spain and was called first King of Asturias and then of Leon and afterwards his Successors got to be Kings also of Castilia and then of Toledo and then of Aragon Barcelona Valentia Murcia Jaen Cordua Granado Sivil Portugal and Navar all which were different Kingdoms at that time so made by the Moors as hath been said And all these Kingdoms were gained again by little and little in more than seven hundred years space which were lost in less than two years and they never came again indeed into one Monarchy as they were under Don Rodrigo their last King that lost the whole until the year of our
power of the Party Puritan and much of the Protestant this Earl was thought to be in very great forwardness But now these great Pillers being failed and no Issue yet remaining by the said Countess his Wife no man can assure himself what the success will be especially seeing that of the three Bodies of different Religions before described it is thought that this Earl hath incurred deeply the hatred of the one and perhaps some jealousy and suspicion of the other but yet others do say and no doubt but that it is a matter of singular importance if it be so that he is like to have the whole Power of London for him which City did prevail so much in advancing the Title of York in King Edward the IV. his time as it made him King twice to wit once at the beginning when he first apprehended and put down King Henry the VI. and the second time when he being driven out of the Kingdom by his Brother the Duke of Clarence and Richard Earl of Warwick he returned from Flanders upon hope of the favour of the Londoners and was in deed received favoured and set up again by them especially and by the helps of Kent and other places adjoining and depending of London and so it may be that the Favourers of this Earl do hope the like success to him in time by this potent City For the Houses of Britanny and Portugal I shall joyn them both together for that they are strangers and the Persons thereof so nigh linked in kindred affinity and friendship as both their Titles Forces and Favours may easily be joyned together and imparted the one with the other as to themselves shall best appear convenient The Lady Infanta of Spain pretendent of the House of Britanny is eldest Daughter of King Philip as all the World knoweth and dearly beloved of him and that worthily as all men report that come from thence for that she is a Princess of rare parts both for Beauty Wisdom and Piety The two young Princes of Parma I mean both the Duke and his Brother the Cardinal are Imps in like manner of great expectation and divers ways near of kin to the said King for that by their Fathers side they are his Nephews that is the Children of his Sister and by their Mothers side almost as near for that they are Nephews of his Uncle Prince Edward Infant of Portugal In like nearness of Blood are the Dutchess of Bragansa and her Children unto the said King which Children are many as hath been shewed and all of that rare vertue and valour and of that singular affection unto the English Nation as it is wonderfull to hear what men write from those Parts and what others do report that have travelled Portugal and seen those Princes and tasted of their magnificent liberality so as I have heard divers rejoyce that are affected that way to understand that there do remain such Noble Off-spring yet in Foreign Countries of the true and ancient Blood Royal of England What the Powers and Possibilities of all these Princes of the House of Portugal be or may be hereafter for pursuing their Right shall not need to be declared in this place for that all the World doth know and see the same yet all seemeth to depend of the Head and Root which is the King of Spain himself and the young Prince his Son whose States and Forces how and where they lie what alliance friends subjects or followers they have or may have it is easy to consider but what part or affection of men they have or may have hereafter in England it self when time shall come for the determining of this matter no man can tell at this present and what Plots agreements compartitions or other conclusions may be made at that day time only must teach us so as now I know not well what to say further in this Affair but only commend it to God's High Providence and therefore I pray you quoth the Lawyer let me end with this only that already I have said and pardon me of my former promise to put my opinion or guess about future matters and what may be the success of these Affairs for besides that I am no Prophet or son of Prophet to know things to come I do see that the very circumstances of Conjecture which are the only Foundation of all Prophecy which in this case can be made are so many and variable as it is hard to take hold of any of them Thus he said and fain would have left off here but that the whole Company opposed themselves with great vehemency against it and said that he must needs perform his promise made at the beginning of this Speech to give his censure and verdict in the end what he thought would be the Success of all these Matters whereunto he answered that seeing no nay would serve he briefly quit himself by these few words following First of all said he my opinion is that this Affair cannot possibly be ended by any possibility moral without some War at least wise for some time at the beginning whereof my Reasons be these that do ensue This matter cannot be disputed and determined during the life of the Queen that now is without evident danger of her Person for the reasons that all men do know importing such perils as are wont to follow like cases of declaring Heirs apparent especially her Majesty the present possessor growing now to be old and without hope of Issue This declaration and determination of the Heir apparent to the Crown if it should be made now would move infinite humours and affections within the Realm and it were to stirr coals and to cast firebrands over all the Kingdom and further perhaps also which now lie raked up and hidden in the Embers This dâ—â—â—rmination though it should be made now by Parliament or Authority of the present Prince would not end or take away the root of the controversy for albeit some that should be passed over or put back in their pretences would hold their peace perhaps for the time present yet afterward would they both speak and spurn when occasion is offered This declaration now if it were made would be hurtful and dangerous for him that should be declared for on the one side it would put the Prince regnant in great jealousy and suspicion of him and on the other side would joyn and arm all the other pretenders and their favourers against him and so we read that of two or three only that in all our Histories are recounted to have been declared Heirs apparent to the Crown they being no Kings Children none of them ever came to reign as namely Duke Arthur of Britanny Roger Mortimer Earl of March and John de la Poole Earl of Lincoln and Henry Marquess of Exeter as before hath been declared Again the multitude of Pretenders being such as it is and their pretentions so
Children or next in Blood All these things I say are not by Law either Natural or Divine for then as hath been said they should be all one in all Countries and Nations seeing God and Nature is one to all but they are ordained by particular positive Laws of every Country as afterwards more largely shall be proved But now that Sociability in mankind or inclination to live in company is by Nature and consequently ordained by God for the common benefit of all is an easie thing to prove seeing that all ground of Realms and Common-wealths dependeth of this point as of their first Principle for that a Common-wealth is nothing else but the good Government of a multitude gathered together to live in one And therefore all Old Philosophers Law-makers and Wise men that have treated of Government or Common-wealths as Plato in his ten most Excellent Books which he wrote of this matter Intituling them Of the Common-wealth and Marcus Cicero that Famous Councellor in other six Books that he Writ of the same matter under the same Title And Aristotle that perhaps excelleth them both in eight Books which he called his Politiques all these I say do make their entrance to treat of the Commonwealth Affairs from this first principle to wit That man by Nature is Sociable and inclined to live in Company Whereof do proceed first all Private Houses then Villages then Towns then Cities then Kingdoms and Common-wealths This ground and Principle then do they prove by divers evident reasons as first for that in all Nations never so wild or barbarous we see by experience that by one way or other they endeavour to live together either in Cities Towns Villages Caves Woods Tents or other like manner according to the custom of each Country which universal instinct could never be in all but by impression of Nature it self Secondly They prove the same by that the use of Speech is given to man for this end and purpose for that little available were this priviledge of Speaking if men should live alone and converse with none Thirdly Not only Aristotle but Theophrastus also Plutarch and others do confirm the same by the poor estate and condition wherein man is born more infirm then any other creature though by Creation he be Lord and Governour of all the rest for whereas each other Creature is born in a certain sort Armed and Defended in it self as the Bull with his Horns the Bore with his Tusks the Bear and Woolf with their Teeth the Bird with her Feathers against the Cold and with her Wings to fly away the Hart and Hare with their Swiftness and the like only man is born Feeble and Naked and not able to provide and defend himself in many years but only by the help of others which is a token that he is born to live in Company and to be holpen by others and this not only for his necessity and help at his Beginning whilst he is in his Imbecility but also for his more Commodious living in the rest of his days afterwards seeing no man of himself is sufficient for himself and he that liveth alone can have no benefit of others or do any to others wherefore wittily said Aristotle in the second Chapter of his Book of Politiques That he which flieth to live in Society is either Deus aut Bellua a God or a Beast for that either he doth it because he hath no need of any which is proper to God or else for that he will do good to none and seeleth not that Natural Instinct which man hath to live in Conversation which is a sign rather of a beast then of a man Cicero doth add another reason for this purpose to wit the use of certain principal vertues given unto man but principally Justice and Friendship which should be utterly in vain and to no utility if man should not live in company of others for seeing the office of Justice is to distribute to every one his own where no number is there no distribution can be used as also neither any act of Friendship which yet in the Society of man is so necessary and usual says this excellent man Vt nec aâ—ua nec igne nec ipso sole pluribus in locis utamur quam amicitia that we use neither Water nor Fire nor the Sun it self in more places or occasions then Friendship And to this effect of using Friendship Love and Charity the one towards the other do Christian Doctors also and especially St. Augustine in his Book of Friendship reduce the institution of this natural instinct of living in Company which seemeth also to be confirmed by God himself in those words of Genesis Dixit quoque Dominus Deus non est bonum hominem esse solum faciamus ei adjutorum simile sibi God said it is not good that man should be alone let us make unto him a help or assistant like unto himself of which words is deduced that as this first society of our first Parents was of God and for so great purpose as here is set down the one to be holpen by the other So all other Societies in like manner which grow of this first stand upon the same ground of Gods ordination for the self same end of mans utility And I have been the longer in speaking of this natural instinct to Society for that it is the first fountain of all the rest that ensueth in a common-wealth as hath been said For of this come Families Villages Towns Castles Cities and Common-wealths all which Aristotle in his Books before-named doth prove to be of nature for that this first inclination to live together whereof all those other things do spring is of nature as hath been declared Out of this is the second point before mentioned deduced to wit that Government also Superiority and Jurisdiction of Magistrates is likewise of nature for that it followeth the former and seeing that it is impossible for men to live together with help and commodity of the one to the other except there be some Magistrate or other to keep order among them without which order there is nothing else to be hoped for as Job sayeth But Horror and Confusion as for example wheresoever a multitude is gathered together if there be not some to repress the insolent to assist the impotent reward the vertuous chasten the outragious and minister some kind of Justice and Equality unto the Inhabitants Their living together would be far more hurtful then their living asunder for that one would consume and devour the other and so we see that upon living together followeth of necessity some kind of Jurisdiction in Magistrates and for that the former is of nature the other also is of nature All which is confirmed also by the consent and use of all Nations throughout the world which general consent Cicero calleth ipsius vocem
the first Race for that it is evident by the Councils of Toledo before-alledged which were holden in that very time that in those days express Election was joined with Succession as by the deposition of King Suintilla and putting back of all his Children as also by the Election and Approbation of King Sisinando that was further off by Succession hath been insinuated before and in the Fifth Council of that age in Toledo it is decreed expressly in these words Si quis taliâ— meditatus fuerit talking of pretending to be King quem nec electio omnium perfecit nec Gothicae gentis nobilitas ad hunc honoris apicem trahit sit consortio Catholicorum privatus Divino anathemate condemnatus If any man shall imagin said these Fathers or go about to aspire to the Kingdom whom the Election and Choice of all the Realm doth not make perfect nor the Nobility of the Gothish Nation doth draw to the height of this Dignity let him be deprived of all Catholick Society and damned by the Curse of Almighty God By which words is insinuated that not only the Nobility of Gothish Bloud or nearness by Succession was required for the making of their King but much more the Choice or Admission of all the Realm wherein this Council putteth the Perfection of his Title The like determination was made in another Council at the same place before this that I have alledged and the words are these Nullus apud nos presumptione regnum arripiat sed defuncto in pace Principe optimates Gentis cum sacerdotibus successorem regni communi concilio constituant Which in English is thus Let no man with us snatch the Kingdom by presumption but the former Prince being dead in peace let the Nobility of the Nation together with the Priests and Clergy appoint the Successor of the Kingdom by Common Council Which is as much as to say as if he had said Let no man enter upon the Kingdom by presumption of Succession alone but let the Lords Temporal and Spiritual by common voice see what is best for the Weal-Publick Now then according to these antient Decrees albeit in the second race of Don Pelayo the Law of Succession by propinquity of Bloud was renewed and much more established than before as the antient Bishop of Tuys and Molina and other Spanish Writers do testify yet that the next in Bloud was oftentimes put back by the Commonwealth upon just causes these Examples following shall testify as briefly recounted as I can possibly Don Pelayo dyed in the Year of our Lord 737 left a son named Don Favilla who was King after his Father and Reigned two Years only After whose death none of his Children were admitted for King though he left divers as all Writers do testify But as Don Lucas the Bishop of Tuy a very antient Author writeth Aldefonsus Catholicus ab universo populo Gothorum eligitur that is as the Chronicler Moralis doth translate in Spanish Don Alonso sirnamed the Catholick was chosen to be King by all voices of the Gothish Nation This Don Alonso was son in Law to the former King Favilla as Morales saith for that he had his daughter Ermenesenda in Marriage and he was preferred before the King 's own Sons only for that they were young and unable to Govern as the said Historiographer testifyeth And how well this fell out for the Commonwealth and how excellent a King this Don Alonso proved Morales sheweth at large from the tenth chapter of his thirteenth Book unto the seventeenth and Sebastianus Bishop of Salamanca that lived in the same time writeth that for his Valiant Acts he was sirnam'd the Great To this Famous Don Alonso succeeded his son Don Fruela the first of that name who was a Noble King for ten Years space and had divers excellent Victories against the Moores but afterwards declining to Tyranny he became hateful to his Subjects and for that he put to death wrongfully his own Brother Don Vimerano a Prince of excellent parts and rarely beloved of the Spaniards he was himself put down and put to death by them in the Year of Christ 768 And albeit this King left two goodly children behind him which were lawfully begotten upon his Queen Dona Munia the one of them a son called Don Alonso and the other a daughter called Dona Ximea yet for the hatred conceived against their Father neither of them was admitted by the Realm to succeed him but rather his Cousin German named Don Aurelio brothers son to Don Alonso the Catholick was preferred and reigned peaceably six years and then dying without issue for that the hatred of the Spaniards was not yet ended against the memory of King Fruela they would not yet admit any of his Generation but rather excluded them again the second time and admitted a Brother in Law of his named Don Silo that was married to his sister Dona Adosinda daughter to the foresaid Noble King Catholick Alonso So that here we see twice the right Heirs of King Don Fruela for his evil Government were put back But Don Silo being dead without issue aâ— also Don Aurelio was before him and the Spaniards anger against King Fruela being now well asswaged they admitted to the Kingdom his foresaid son Don Alonso the younger sirnamed afterwards the Chast whom now twice before they had put back as you have seen but now they admitted him though his Reign at the first endured very little for that a certain bastard uncle of his named Don Mauregato by help of the Moores put him out and reigned by force six years and in the end dying without issue the matter came in deliberation again whether the King Don Alonso the chast that yet lived and had been hidden in a Monastery of Galatia during the time of the Tyrant should return again to Govern or rather that his Cousin-german Don Vermudo son to his Uncle the Prince Vimerano whom we shewed before to have been slain by this mans Father King Fruela should be elected in his place And the Realm of Spain determined the second to wit that Don Vermudo though he were much further off by propinquity of Bloud and within Ecclesiastical Order also for that he had been made Deaconâ— should be admitted partly for that he was judged for the more Valiant and Able Prince than the other who seemed to be made more acquainted now with the Life of Monks and Religious men than of a King having first been brought up among them for ten or twelve Years space whilst Don Aurelio and Don Silo reigned after the death of his Father King Fruela and secondly again other six Years during the Reign of the Tyrant Mauregato for which cause they esteemed the other to be fitter as also for the different memories of their two Fathers King Fruela and Prince Vimerano whereof the first was hateful and the
Children we shall see the like course continued for we shall see put to death within the space of four years all these following by Name the Duke of Somerset the Duke of Suffolk the Duke of Northumberland and the Lord Admiral of England Sir Miles Partridge Sir Ralph Vane Sir Michael Stanhope Sir Thomas Arundel Sir John Gates Sir Thomas Palmer Knights with divers other Gentlemen of their Retinue and all these by Natural Domestical and Home-born Princes whereas I dare adventure the greatest Wager that I can make that you shall not find so many put to death of the Nobility by any strange Prince State or Commonwealth Christian in any Foreign Dominion that they possess in many Ages together and the reason thereof is evident by that I said before neither were it policy or wisdom nor could the causes be so often nor ordinarily given by the Nobility to a Prince that were absent from them to use such Severity so as by this it may also appear that to be under a Foreign Government even in the worst kind thereof that can be devised which is to be as a Province or piece of another Kingdom and to come under it by very Conquest it self is not so dangerous a matter as at the first shew it may seem and much less to be under Foreign Government by other sweeter means of Succession or Composition as the present case of England seemeth to import in respect of those foreign Princes which do pretend to the Succession thereof And this is not only shewed and declared by the state and condition of Flanders before their tumults but in like manner it is seen by the present state of Britanny Normandy Aquitaine Provence and other Dukedoms and Countries in France that were wont to have their own particular Princes and now are much more commodiously under the Crown of France The like is seen by the States of Naples Millain Sicily Sardinia and other parts and Countries of Italy which were wont to be under Kings and Princes of their own and now are under the Crowns of Aragon and Castile with infinite odds of peace rest security and wealth then they were before when they had domestical Princes and so themselves do confess I mean the wise and dispassionate among them for of the Vulgar in this case no account is to be made and if they should deny it yet the thing speaketh it self and the publick Histories of their Countries would convince them wherein it is to be read what Phalaris what Dionysius and other homeâ—born Tyrants Sicily for example hath had and suffered and with what infinite cruelty they and divers others of their own Governours have exercised upon them as also what continual turmoils there were in the City of Naples and in all that Kingdom for many years together after it self fell from the Government first of the Roman Empire and then of the Grecian until it came to the Crown of Aragon I mean between their own domestical Kings now of the Blood of Italians now of the Normans now of the Hungarians and now of the French for of all these Lines there have reigned among them and the Realm was a perpetual prey to Souldiers and the very like may be said of Millain after their fall from the Roman Empire under which they lived quiet and prosperously until they came again to be under the Crown of Spain they passed infinite Tribulations first by the contention of their common People against their Nobility and then by the Bloody falling out of their chief Families the one against the other to wit the Furiani Visconti Marcelli Castilioni and Ssorzi which Family last of all prevailed he I say that shall remember this and then behold the present state with the quiet peace safety and riches wherein they now live will now live wiâ—l easily confess that they have changed for the better though they be under Foreign Government and thus much of this point There remaineth to speak a word or two about the second part of the Question before proposed and included partly in this which already hath been treated to wit whether it be better to be under a little or great King which question though it may be decided in part by that which before hath been alledged about being under a foreign Prince yet more particularly to make the same plain these men do say that the reasons be many and evident to prove that the subjection to a great and mighty Monarch is far better First for that he is best able to defend and protect his Subjects And secondly for that he hath least need ordinarily to pill and pole them for that a little King be he never so mean yet must he keep the State of a King and his subjects must maintain the same and if they be but few the greater will the burthen be of every one in particular And thirdly for that a great and potent Prince hath more to bestow upon his Subjects for reward of Vertue and Valour than hath a poor and seeing that every particular subject born within his Princes Dominions is capable of all the Prefermenes which Princes State or Kingdom do yield if he be worthy of the same it is a great Prerogative say these men to be born under a potent Prince that hath much to give which they declare by this example following A man that is born in the City of Genoua or Geneva for both are Cities and States within themselves let him be of what ability or worthiness soever yet can he hope for no more preferment than that Commonwealth and State can give and if there should be many worthy men born there at one time then were this his condition worse for then must he part also with other men though there were not sufficient for himself and the most he could aspire unto if he were an Ecclesiastical man were the greatest Benefice within that State and on the other side if he were a Temporal man he could not hope for much for that the State hath it not to bestow but another that is born under a great Monarch as is the King of France or Spain in these our dayes that hath so many great Bishopricks for Examples sake and other Spiritual Livings to bestow upon the Clergy and so many high Governments and Employments both of War and Peace to give unto Temporal men that can deserve the same This man I say hath a great Advantage of the other in respect of preferment at this day but much more was it in old time to be born under the Roman Empire when it had the preferments of all the World to bestow for that every subject thereof was capable of all the said preferments so far forth as he could make himself worthy and deserve the same For better explication of which point yet I have thought good to cite in this place the words of a certain Learned Knight that in our dayes hath written the Lives