reluctancy in one so young as himself for he was scarce twelve years of age to be contracted to the Princess his Brother's Widow for which Marriage a Dispensation by advice of the most Learned men at that time in Christendom was by Pope Julius II. granted and so the Marriage was Solemnized soon after at the Bishop of Salisbury's House in Fleetstreet After the Death of his Father he succeeded to the Crown by the name of King Henry VIII His reign was long and full of action but the greatest was his renouncing the Pope's Supremacy and suppressing of many unnecessary Abbeys and Monasteries and thereby laying a Foundation for the happy Reformation that followed He was exceeding tall of Stature very Strong and fair of Complexion A Prince of so many good Parts that it may be wondred he had any ill reither indeed had he many till flattery and ill Counsel in his latter time prevailed upon him His cruelty to his Wives some endeavour to excuse by saying that if they were Incontinent he did but Justice If they were not so yet he thought it sufficient to satisfie his Conscience that he had cause to believe them so and if Marriage be honourable in all in Princes it is sacred In suppressing of Abbeys he shewed no little Piety but great Providence for though they were excellent things being rightly used the most pernicious being abused and then may the use be justly suppressed when the abuse can scarce possibly be restrained To think he supprest them from Covetousness is to make him extreamly deceived in his reckoning for by comparing the profit with the charge he must needs be a great loser by the bargain He was so far from Pride that he was rather too humble At least he conversed with his Subjects in a more familiar manner than is usual with Princes So Valiant that his whole Life almost was exercises of Valour and though performed among his Friends in Jest yet they prepared him against his Enemies in earnest and they that durst be his Enemies found it so It may be said the complexion of his Government for the first twenty years was Sanguine and Jovial for the rest cholerick and bloody so that it is a question whether in the former he were more prodigal of his own Treasure or in the latter part of his Subjects Blood For as he spent more in Masks Shews and Fictions than any other King did in reality so in any Distempes of his People he used no other Physick but to open a Vein But it will be injurious to his Memory to charge all the Blood spilt in his Reign to his account They were the Popish Bishops that made those Bloody Laws and the bloody Bishops that put them in execution the King oftentimes scarce knowing what was done Certain it is when Bishop Gardiner put a Gentlewoman I suppose Mrs. Ann Askew a second time on the Rack the King hearing of it extreamly condemned him for such Barbarous cruelty As for Religion though he brought it not to a full Reformation yet he gave a good beginning thereunto They that charge him with the Vice of Lust let them shew such another example of Continence as was seen in him to lye six months by a young Lady and not to touch her for so he did by the Lady Ann of Cleve It is recorded of him that in his latter time he grew so fat and slothful that Engines were made to lift and remove him up and down but however in the fifty sixth year of his age either by a Dropsie or an Ulcer in his Leg he fell into a languishing Feaver which brought him into such extremity that his Physicians utterly despaired of his Life and yet none durst acquaint him with it till Mr. Denny of his Privy Chamber ventured to tell him of his danger and put him in mind of preparing for Death To which he answered that he confessed his Sins to be exceeding great yet he had such confidence in the Mercy of God through Christ Jesus that he doubted not of forgiveness though they had been much greater And being asked whether he would have a Divine he answered he would willingly have Archbishop Cranmer but not till he had taken a little rest The Archbishop being then at Croyden was sent for but before he came the King was grown speechless only seemed somewhat sensible putting out his hand And the Archbishop desiring him to shew some sign of his Faith in Christ he then wrung him hard by the hand and immediately gave up the Ghost Jan. 28. 1547. in the fifty sixth year-of his age and of his reign the thirty eighth His body with great solemnity was Buried at Windsor under a very stately Tomb begun in Copper and Gilt but never finished XII Edward the only Son and Successor of King Henry VIII was the twelfth Prince of Wales of the English Race He was an excellent Prince in his tender years being committed to the Tuition of Dr. Cox he profited in Learning to admiration attaining in a short time to speak freely several Languages namely Greek Latin French Italian Spanish and Dutch and likewise had great knowledge in many other Sciences so that he seemed rather to be born than to be brought up to them for he was not ignorant of Logick natural Philosophy nor Musick and in the midst of his youthful Recreations be would be always sure to observe his hours for study So that the famous Cardanus coming into England and having often conference with him gives this Character of him That he had an extraordinary insight into the Politicks was well read in Philosophy and Divinity and in a word a Miracle of Art and Nature He would answer Ambassadors on the sudden either in French or Latin He knew the state of Foreign Princes perfectly and his own more He could call all the Gentlemen of Quality in his Kingdom by their Names and all when he had scarce yet attained to the age of fifteen years He was extraordinary zealous in the True Religion banishing Popery and perfecting that Reformation which was but just began in his Father's Reign He was very merciful and averse from taking away the Lives of his Subjects for proof whereof there is this instance One Joan Butcher being condemned to be burnt for notorious Blasphemy and Heresie his whole Council could not persuade him to sign the Warrant for her execution but were fain to get Archbishop Cranmer to prevail with him who using many arguments to persuade him What said he would you have me send her quick to the Devil in her Error But when the Bishop shewed him the necessity of it he signed it weeping and saying Well my Lord I will lay all the blame upon you at the Day of Judgment He was very Charitable and upon a Sermon preached by Bishop Ridley of the excellency of Charity he gave and endowed three Hospitals for the Poor in the City of London 1. Christ's Hospital for poor Children and Orphans 2.
reprove him for it and coming into his presence the King in Courtesie rose from his Royal Throne to take him by the Hand and seat him by him But Dunstan refusing the King's Hand with a stern Countenance and contracted Brow spake thus to him You that have not been afraid to corrupt a Virgin dedicated to Christ how can you presume to touch the Consecrated Hands of a Bishop You have defiled the Spouse of your Maker and do you now think by your flattering service to pacifie the Friend of the Bridegroom No Sir do not mistake your self for I will be no friend to him who hath Christ for his Enemy The King thunder-struck with these dreadful Words and touch'd with remorse of Conscience fell down at the Feet of Dunstan who raising him up began to aggravate his Crime and finding the King pliable to his Instruction he enjoyned him the following Penance for satisfaction That he should wear no Crown for the space of feven years That he should fast twice a week That he should distribute his Treasure left him by his Ancestors liberally to the poor That he should build a Monastery for Nuns at Shaftsbury that since he had robbed God of one Virgin by his Transgression so he should restore to him many again for the time to come Likewise That he should expel Clerks or Priests of evil life meaning those who were married out of the Churches and place Monks in their room All this Edgar performed and the seven years being past Dunstan saith the Historian calling the Nobility with the Bishops Abbots and Clergy together he before all the People set the Crown upon the King's Head at Bath in the thirteenth year of his Reign Dunstan who it seems rul'd all having hitherto hindred it The Nun here mentioned was Wilfrid a Duke's Daâ—ghter by whom he had a Daughter called Editha He had a Son likewise by Elfrida the Earl of Devonshire's Daughter which Dunstan being now grown goood natured Christned The words of the Historian are these The Child also which was gotten of the Harlot he Baptized in the Holy Fountain of Regeneration and giving him the name of Edward adopted him to be the King's Son There are abundance of ridiculous miracles related of this Dunstan One among many others was That a Vision appearing to him required him to take up the Body of Editha the Bastard and Canonize her for a Saint her Tomb being accordingly opened in the Church of Wilâ—on where she was buried her whole Body saith the Monkish Historian was consumed to Dust save only her Thumb her Belly c. whereof she her self shewed the meaning declaring That her Thumb remained entire because she so often used to cross her self therewith and the other Parts did signifie the extraordinary Abstinence and Chastity With such stuff were the People then abused and persuaded to worship for Saints the dead Carcases of those that were many times of very profligate Lives while on Earth In King Edgar's Reign there was a great Famine wherein Ethel wald Bishop of Winchester sold away all the Church-Plate and Vessels of Gold and Silver to relieve the Poor saying There was no reason that the senseless Temples of God should abound in Riches and the lively Temples of the Holy Ghost to be in want of them After the Death of Edgar there was great Diviston many of the Nobility being for Etheldred the true and only legitimate Heir of Edgar but the other Nobles and the Clergy especially Dunstan fearing the Married Clergy should again prevail he with several other Bishops meeting together and carrying the Cross before Edward brought him to the Lords and by many Persuasions prevailed with them to accept him for their King He was accounted a just meek Prince and very charitable to the Poor Yet enjoyed he the Crown but a short space for in the fourth Year of his Reign as he was Hunting near Corf-Castle where his Brother Etheldred and Queen Elfrida his Mother resided while he was discoursing and drinking on Horseback as the Cup was at his Mouth a Servant of the Queens by her contrivance struck him into the Back with a Knife or Dagger at which setting Spurs to his Horse to get away and fainting with loss of Blood he fell from his Horse with one Foot in the Stirrop and was dragged up and down the Woods till at last his Body was left dead at the Gate of Corf-Castle When this Fact was committed the Queen was so struck with remorse that to expiate her Guilt she built two Monasteries Almsbury and Wormwell For as Mr. Fox observes most of these Religious Houses were founded either upon the account of some Publick or Private Murther Edward the Martyr as he was called being thus slain Etheldred his younger Brother the Son of Edgar and Queen Elfrida succeeded He reigned thirty eight years but was very unfortunate and full of Troubles all his time It is related That when Archbishop Dunston Christened Etheldred as he held him over the Font the Child was not very cleanly whereupon the Bishop swore By the Mother of God this Boy will prove an unhappy and slothful Prince which happened accordingly At his Coronation a Cloud appeared half like Blood and the other half like Fire In his third Year the Danes Invaded the Kingdom in several places and the King paid them forty thousand pound yearly for his Quiet which much disobliged his Subjects yea the English were so low that the Danes commanded their Houses Wives Daughters and all they had Whereupon Etheldred contrived that all the Danes were massacred in one day But this did more enrage them so that first Swain and then Canutus came with two hundred Sail of Ships and landed in Cornwal burning and destroying all before him and killing Nine hundred Monks and Nuns at one time the King's Counsels being all betrayed by the Traytor Edrick Whereupon he fled with his Queen Emma and her two Sons into Normandy to Richard Duke thereof who was her Brother But Swain being soon after killed by his own men they made his Son Canutus King After which Etheldred returns again to England and perceiving the several Treasons against him and being unable to withstand their Fury he soon after died Edmund the eldest Son alive of Etheldred succeeded sirnamed Ironside from his great Strength and Courage He was Crowned at Kingston But the Danes were then so powerful in England that Canutus was accepted King at Southampton many of the Clergy and Laity swearing Allegiance to him but the City of London stood firm for Edmund who fought several Battles against the Danes and routed Canutus four times in the plain Field and would in likelihood have freed the Nation from the Danes had not the ever-false Edrick and other perfidious persons of the Clergy and Laity prevented it At length to avoid further Bloodshed they made an Agreement to divide the Kingdom betwixt them but Edmund enjoyed the benefit of this Accord a very short time being soon
it who there fell in love with Rowena the Daughter or Neice of Hengist upon which Match Hengist grew more bold contriving to make the Island his Inheritance and thereupon sent for fresh Forces who at their arrival caused several Quarrels among the Natives dispossessing the people of their estates every Commander reckoning that part of the Country his own where they could over-match the Brittains where they commanded as absolutely as Princes whereby the Country was burdened with seven Kings at once each of them having Soveraign Command within his own limits though still one seemed to be Supreme over all the rest This was usually called the Saxons Heptarchy or seven Kingdoms The first and chiefest was that of Kent only governed by Hengist and his Successors for three hundred seventy two years The next was the Kingdom of the South Saxons containing the Counties of Sussex or Surrey continuing a hundred and thirteen years 3. That of the West Saxons comprehending the Counties of Cornwal Devon Dorset Somerset Wilts Berks and Hampshire it lasted three hundred years 4. The East Saxons Kingdom which was Essex Middlesex and part of Hartfordshire 5. The Kingdom of Northumberland containing the Counties of Northumberland Westmorland Cumberland Durham York and Lancaster continuing three hundred seventy nine years 6. The Kingdom of Mercia which was compos'd of the Counties of Oxford Glocester Worcester Salop Cheshire Stafford Warwick Buckingham Bedford Huntington part of Hartfordshire Northampton Rutland Lincoln Leicester Derby and Nottingham continuing two hundred and two years 7. The last Kingdom was that of the East-Angles containing the Counties of Norfolk and Suffolk which lasted three hundred and fifty three years Yet during the time of this Heptarchy many of the British Princes valiantly defended their lawful Inheritances and with great courage endeavoured to prevent the Saxon Yoke from being imposed upon their Necks Among whom was Vortimer the Son of Vortigern aforementioned for Vortigern after sixteen years Reign deposed from the Government for his kindness to the Saxons his Son Vortimer was chosen King of the Brittains and presently engaged against the Saxons gaining so much in four famous victories over them that they were almost extirpated He erected a Monument in the Isle of Thenta in the place where the Saxons were overthrown which to this day is called the Stowers wherein he commanded his Body to be buried that the Saxons might be terrified with the sight thereof He restored the Christian Religion then much decayed and rebuilt the Churches destroyed by the Pagan Saxons Rowena procured his Death by Poyson after which his Father Vorfigern was re-established in the Government But being oppressed by the Saxons and pursued by Aurelius he fled into Wales where in a Castle which he built by Merlin's Directions in the Mountains he with his Daughter whom he had taken to Wife were burnt to ashes Aurelius Ambrotius was likewise very successful against the Saxons He is said to have built Stonehenge near Salisbury in remembrance of the Massacre of three hundred of the British Nobility who were there slain by the Treachery of the Saxons Vter Pendragon who succeeded him was no less fortunate He was named Pendragon either because at his Birth there appeared a fiery Comet like a Dragons Head or from his Royal Banner wherein was the Picture of a Dragon with a Golden Head He died of Poyson put into a Well wherein he used to drink Arthur his Son and Successor won twelve Battels against the Saxons and chased Colgern their Captain from his Camp in Northumberland to York from whence he escaped into Germany The Relicks of Arthur's Round Table are to this time shewn in Winchester with the Twenty four Seats After him reigned Constantine Aurelius Conantus Vortiporus Malgo Canonus and Careticus This last King raised a Civil War among his own Subjects the Britains which made them forsake him and leave him to the Mercy of the Saxons who pursuing him he fled to Cirencester in Berkshire for safety but his Enemies taking several Sparrows fastned fire to their feet and let them fly into the City who lighting upon straw and thatcht houses burnt the City to the Ground but Careticus escaped and fled for security to the Mountains of Wales where he died After twenty four years Civil Dissention Cadwan was made King During these Troubles Austin the Monk who was sent hither by Pope Gregory to convert the Britains carrying himself very insolently at a Meeting with the British Bishops at a place thence named Austin's Oak in Worcestershire they could come to no Agreement whereupon it is thought Austin contrived this cruel Revenge Cadwallo was victorious over the Saxons slaying Edwin King of Northumberland and his Son Osfride in a bloody Battel He died in peace say the British Writers and was buried at St. Martin's Church in London his Statue on Horseback in Brass being set upon Ludgate for a terrour to the Saxons CAdwalloder the Son of Cadwallo fought manfully against the Saxons but the distractions among his Nobility much hindered his proceedings There was likewise a dreadful Famine in his Reigh so that the common People reckoned Roots and Herbs to be dainty Food This was followed by a woful Mortality which was so raging and sudden that great numbers of People were surpriz'd by Death while they were eating drinking walking and speaking These calamities lasted near eleven years so that the Country was almost depopulated the King and his British Peers being forced to leave the Land who went to his Cousin Alan King of Little Britain in France The Saxons taking advantage of these severe miseries lamentably oppressed the wretched Britains to whose Aid Cadwallader with the Assistance of his Cousin Alan did once design to return but being diverted by a Dream which he had he went on Pilgrimage to Rome and according to the Superstition of that Age he there turned Monk where he soon after died and was buried with whom died all the hopes of the Britains he being the last King of the British Blood whereby the Saxons became Soveraign Lords and Masters of this Island And thus was this unhappy Country a second time conquered by Strangers which hapned about the Year of our Lord 689. The Britains being thus outed of their Country by the Conquering Saxons retired beyond the River Severn and therein fortified themselves which Country thereupon came to be called Wales and the People Walsh or Welchmen not that the word Walsh signified in the Saxon Language a Foreigner or Alien for how could they be called Aliens in their Native Countrey but Wales and Walish from Galles or Gallish by changing G into W according to the custom of the Saxons The Britains being descended of the Gaules kept their own name still though somewhat altered in the Letter as is said before and to this day the French call the Prince of Wales by the name of Le Prince le Galles At first their Chiefs were honoured with the Titles of Kings of Wales and
are these that follow 1. Idwallo in the year of Christ 688. called Iror the Son of Alan 2. Roderick 3. Conan 4. Mervyn 5. Roderick Sirnamed the Great who left Wales between his three Sons allotting unto each his part the Country being divided into North-Wales South-Wales and Powys-Land which had their several Lords and Princes North-Wales fell to the share of Amarawd the eldest Son of Roderick Mawr or the Great the last King thereof with a superiority of Power over both the rest who were but Homagers to this It containeth the County of Merioneth part of Denbigh Flint Carnarvan and the Isle of Anglesey which being the more Mountainous Parts and of difficult access consequently preserved their Liberty longest and do still keep their Language from the Incursions of the English Aberfraw in the Isle of Anglesey was the Princes Palace who were thence sometimer called Kings of Aberfraw South-Wales in the division of the Country fell to Cadel the second Son comprehending the Counties of Glamorgan Pembroke Carmarthen Cardigan and part of Brecknock which though the richâ—â— and most fruitful part of Wales yet Pembrokâ— and Brecknock having their several Kings there remained only Cardigan and Carmarthen under the immediate subjection of the Princes of South-Wales whose principal Seat was at Dynefar or Dynevor Castle not far from Carmarthen who thence were called by their Subjects the Kings of Dynevor Powys-land was bestowed by Roderick upon his youngest Son Mervyn containing the Counties of Montgomery and Radnor with part of Denbigh Brecknock Merioneth and Shropshire His chief Palace was Matraval in Montgomeryshire from whence the Princes thereof were so called This Countrey continued in the Line of Mervyn a long time together but much afflicted and dismembred by the Princes of North-Wales who cast a greedy eye upon it The last that held it entire was Meredith who left it to his two Sons Madoc and Griffith of which Madock died at Winchester in 1160. and Griffith was by King Henry I. created Lord Powys the residue of Powys-land which pertained to Madock depending still upon the fortune of North-Wales In these several Divisions were different Kings and Princes who long strugled with the Saxons for their Liberties But because we find very little mention of their Actions in our Chronicles I shall proceed with the History of the Saxons and Danes and afterward give an account of the actions of some of the Welsh Kings and Princes till that Principality was wholly subdued to the Crown of England The Saxons according to the common fate of Conquerours after they had subdued their Enemies disagreed among themselves and several of their Princes incroached upon the Territories of each other and so became petty Monarchs of some part of Britain These were reckoned to be â—ourteen in number till at last Egbert the eighteenth King of the West Saxons got command over all the seven Kingdoms of the Saxons and so became sole Monarch of England which none of his Predecessors before ever obtained He had War fourteen years with the Cornish and Welch and took West-chester their chief hold from them making a strict Law against any Welcoman that should pass over Offa's Dike or set one Foot within his English Dominions He slew Bernulf King of Mercis in Battel and drove the King of Kent out of his Kingdom The East Angles and East Saxons submitted to him and likewise the South Saxons whereupon he caused himself to be crowned absolute Monarch at Winchester And this Monarchy continued in the Saxons till the Danes first got and then lost it again and the Saxons Issue failing upon their next entrance it then fell to the Normans as by the Sequel will appear In the fourteenth year of Egbert the Danes with thirty three Ships landed in England to whom he gave Battle but had the worst of the day losing two of his chief Captains and two Bishops but the Danes returning two years after into Wales and joyning with the Welch Egbert overcame both Danes and Welch together Ethelwolph his Son succeeded after whom reign'd Ethelbald Ethelbert Ethelred and then Alfred in whose time the Danes under Roll a Nobleman came over with a great Army but by the Valour of Alfred were beaten This virtuous Prince divided the twenty four hours of the Day and Night into three equal parts which he observed by the burning of a Taper set in his Chapel Clocks and Watches being not then in use Eight hours he spent in Contemplation Reading and Prayer other eight for his Repose and the Necessaries of Life and the other eight in Affairs of State He divided the Kingdom into Shires Hundreds and Tythings for the better Administration of Justice and suppressing of Robbers and Felons which had so good effect that the People might Travel with all manner of security yea saith my Author if Bracelets of Gold had been hung in the High-ways none durst have presumed to have taken them away He commanded all his Subjects who possessed two Hides of Land to bring up their Sons in Learning till they were at least fifteen years old asserting That he accounted a man Free born and yet Illiterate to be no better than a Beast a Sot and a Brainless Creature Neither would he admit any into Office that were not so He translated the Holy Gospel into the Saxon Tongue was devout in the Service of God and a great Protector of Widows and Orphans Edward his eldest Son succeeded him against whom his Nephew Ethelwald rebelled His Sister Elfleda had very hard Travel of her first Child whereupon she ever after forbore the Nuptial Embraces alledging it to be an over-foolish Pleasure which occasioned such bitter Pains and listing her self a Souldier under her Brother she performed many valiant exploits against the Danes against whom Edward obtained a great Victory near Wolverhampton wherein two of their Kings were slain with many of the Nobility and a multitude of Common Souldiers which procured him both Fear and Love from the People After his death Ethelstane reigned who is said to be the first Anointed King of this Island He enlarged his Dominions farther than he received them He overthrew Godfrey the Danish King of Northumberland Howell King of Wales and Constantine King of Scotland forcing them to submit to his pleasure after which he again restored them to their Dignities glorying That it was more Honour to make a King than to be a King These actions procured him much renown from his Neighbour Princes who courted his Friendship and sent him curious Presents Othy the Emperor who married his Sister sent him a curiosity richly set with Precious Stones very artificially contrived wherein were Land-skips with Vines Corn and men seeming so naturally to move as if they had been real The King of Norway sent him a sumptuous Ship richly guilt with Purple Sails The King of France sent him a Sword which was said to have been Constantine's the Great the Hilt whereof was all of Gold and therein as they
his men and made good the Bridge till a Soldier in a Boat rowing under the Bridge thrust his Spear through a crevice and so slew this valiant Champion After which the King fell upon the Danes and got an intire Victory over them killing King Harfager and Tosto his own Brother Olave the Son of Harfager and Paul Earl of Orkney were taken Prisoners with abundance more who begging their Lives the King ordered 20 of their 300 Ships to carry them to Denmark with the sad news of the loss of their King and his whole Army No sooner was this Storm over but a worse began for Duke William having prepared a great Army and Navy resolved for England having the free consent of his Nobility for his Voyage many of them assisting him therein But first he sent to Pope Alexander to confirm his Title to the Crown who did it readily and withal sent him a Consecrated banner an Agnus Dei and a Hair of St. Peter with a curse to all opposers to carry in the Ship wherein he himself failed Being thorowly furnished he and his Men embarqued at St. Vallery where they staid a long time for a Wind at length setting Sail Sep. 28. 1066. he arrived with his Fleet at Pevensey in Sussex where as soon as he landed it hapned one of his Feet stuck so fast in the Sand that he fell to the ground whereupon one of his Attendants catching him by the Arm and helping him up said Stand up my Lord and be of good Courage for now you have taken fast footing in England and observing that he had taken up Sand and Earth in his Hand he added You have now taken Livery and Seisin of the Country it being the custom that when Possession is taken of Land a piece of Earth is given to the Possessor A Wizard or Necromancer had told Duke William That he should safely arrive in England with his whole Army without any hindrance from Harold which after it came to pass King William sent for this Conjurer to confer further with him but it was told him That he was drowned in that Ship which alone of the whole Navy miscarried whereupon the Conqueror said He would never put confidence in that Science which was of more benefit to the Ignorant than the Skilful therein for it seems he could foresee my good fortune but not his own misfortune After his Landing the Duke set all his Ships a fire to assure his men that they must either conquer or die He then marched towards Hastings declaring the cause of his coming to be to inherit the Kingdom which was given him by King Edward and strictly charging his Soldiers not to wrong any of the People in the least since they were so soon to become his Natural Subjects He then sent Messengers to Harold either to deliver him up the Country and be subject to him or to fight it out in the sight of both Armies in single combat or lastly to stand to the Pope's Determination But he returned answer That unless he did suddenly depart he would give him cause to repent this his rash Invasion and that the next day it should he tryed by more Swords than One. Accordingly Harold marcheth couragiously against Duke Widiam who put himself into a posture to receive him It happned that the Morning before the Battel William's Armourer by mistake put on his Back-piece before and his Breast-plate behind which being observed by some of his Attendants was judged an ill Omen and therefore they advised him not to fight that day To whom the Duke replied I value not such Fooleries but if I have any skill in Soothsaying as in truth I have none I am of the opinion if doth foretel that I shall change my Condition and of a D. shall this day become a K. The Armies being Marshalled Harold placing the Kentish-men with their heavy Axes or Halberts in the Van the Battel began both Parties fighting bravely one for the Liberty of their Country and the other for a Kingdom The Normans perceiving they could not break the united strength of the English pretended to fly which the English believing pursued them in disorder whereupon the Normans taking the advantage rallied and charging them furiously in that disjoynted Posture made a very great slaughter among the English and among the rest King Harold his Brother and most of the English Nobility fell that day and of the Common Souldiers Sixty seven thousand nine hundred seventy four Others report an hundred thousand were slain Duke William had three Horses killed under him yet received not the least wound his Loss being only as is said Six thousand Men. Thus died King Harold after only nine Months Reign and was buried at Waltham Abby in Essex And it is very remarkable That whereas Harold with his Father Godwin had cruelly murdered Alfred the true Heir to the Crown and his Normans he was now by a Norman Wounded in the left Eye with an Arrow whereof he immediately died This great Battel was fought at Hastings in Sussex on Saturday October 14. 1066. The English after this vast loss had designed to make Edgar Atheling King but it was prevented by their private Animosities And thus ended the Saxon Monarchy in England which from Hengist in 475 to this Year had continued save only some short interruptions by the Danes Five hundred ninety one years During these stupendious Revolutions in the State and Government of England we do not read of much action between the Welsh and the Saxons Danes and Normans It is recorded they had still a Succession of Kings and Princes and among them Leoline ap Sytsill who lived about the year 900 in the Reign of Edward Sirnamed the Elder a Valiant Saxon King and yet free from Pride or Ambition saith the Historian as appears by the intercourse betwixt him and this Leoline who after several Skirmishes thought fit to Treat of Peace The King lay at a place called Austeline and the Prince at Bethesly not far distant Leoline thought it below him to cross the Severn to wait upon Edward whereupon the King went into a Boat to come over to him Leoline observing it and surprized at this great condiscention upon the King's approach to the opposite shoar threw off this rich Robe he had on prepared on purpose for that Royal Assembly and entred the Water Breast high where imbracing the Boat he submissively said Most Prudent and Worthy King your Humility hath overcome my Insolence and your Wisdom hath Triumphed over my Folly Come tread upon my Neck which I have foolishly lifted up against you and enter into my Country this Day with all freedom since your generosity hath made it all your own Having said this he took the King upon his Shoulders and carrying him ashoar caused him to sit down upon his Royal Robe and so putting his hands jointly into his acknowledged Homage and Allegiance to him Ethelstane his Successor had Wars with the Welsh whose Princes and
taken in the Fight should continue Prisoner during Prince David's Pleasure Lastly That David should pay the King only three thousand Marks toward the charges of the War About a year after Prince David made another Insurrection in revenge of those Welshmens Heads whom Hubert de Burg had caused to be struck off in cold Blood and presented to the King for which David burnt several Churches and many Ladies in them whereupon he was solemnly Cursed and Excommunicated at Oxford in the presence of all the Nobility and Clergy and the King raising a great Army went to repress the Welsh but returned without effecting it So that they continued their ravages more than ever Complaints whereof coming daily to the King the Lords of his Council told him how pernicious it would be to him to suffer it who replied That he was not able to suppress them for want of money They being envious at his kindness to Hubert de Burg boldly replied He might well be poor who gave away his Estate to make others Rich and Great and thereupon they drew up many Articles against de Burg one whereof was That he had stoln out of the King's Jewel Office a precious Stone of wonderful value which had virtue to make him that wore it Invincible in Battel and that he had given this Stone to David Prince of Wales the King's Enemy Another was That he by his Letters had caused Prince David to hang the gallant William Bruce But he defeated all their designs against him and recovered the King's favour Afterward Prince David joined with the Earl Marshall in a Rebellion against the King and defeated his Forces But the King at length recovering his power there and giving himself up to Works of Charity and Hospitality caused Prince David to use this notable expression I more fear saith he the Almsdeeds which the King doth than all the men of War that he hath and the whole Clergy put together After this having taken Homage of all his Nobility Prince David voluntarily offered to hold his whole Principality of the Kings of England though with the dislike of his People that he might thereby strengthen himself against the attempts of his Son Griffith who used great endeavours to deprive him of his Royalty Griffith succeeded him and being taken Prisoner by King Henry was committed to the Tower of London from whence endeavouring to make his escape over the Walls by tying the Sheets and Blankets of his Bed together the weight of his heavy Body loosed them and falling down upon his Head he broke his Neck Afterward his Son David being provoked by the many injuries received from the Earl of Hereford made an Inroad into the English Marshes and designed to have freed himself from all Homage to the Kings of England exhibiting his complaint to the Pope and alledging That he was by force and violence unjustly compelled to hold his Principality and Estate of them But the King's Credit and Power prevailed against the weak Allegations of this poor Prince who thereupon continued his depredations Against whom King Henry sent three hundred men at Arms under the Command of Sir Hubert Fitz Matthew but through his own rashness and the valour of the Welsh he and his Party were totally defeated At which the King being much troubled resolved to go against them in Person and after he had fortified the Castle of Grennock in North-Wales and wasted the Isle of Anglesey he was forced by the rigour of the Weather to return home endeavouring to starve the Welsh by prohibiting the Irish and Cheshire men under severe penalties to furnish them with any provisions and if any of them ventured out of their Fastnesses on Snowdon Hills to satisfie their hunger the Garrison of Grennock were ready to surprize them Yea the two Welsh Lords Powys and Bromfield joined with the King against them insomuch that they were in miserable distress about which time Prince David died In 1255. The Welsh being opprest by Geffery Langley Governor of the Marshes fled to Arms whereupon Prince Edward afterward King Edward I. to whom his Father had given that Principality raises an Army to subdue them and wanting Money borrowed large sums of his Uncle Richard and then Marches against Prince Leoline whose Forces consisted in about Ten Thousand Country Horsemen and many more Foot who took a Solemn Oath That they would stand together for the recovery and defence of their Antient Laws Liberties and Countrey counting it better to lose their Lives with Honour than to live in Ignominy and Slavery And indeed they had already performed very notable enterprises under the conduct of their valiant Prince having recovered all the Inland Country of North-Wales and in one Battel kill'd above a thousand English putting the rest to flight and making Irruptions to the very Walls of Chester Neither had Prince Edward any better success for Leoline fell upon his Army with such Courage as obliged them to retire and not attempt any thing farther against him who complaining to his Father of the disgrace he had received What 's that to me says K. Henry I have given the Country to thee and thou must use thy courage to defend it and thereby gain such honour in thy Youth that afterward thine Enemies may stand in fear of thee As for me I have somewhat else to do In the absence of Prince Edward Leoline and his Welsh Forces continued their ravages on the Marshes He likewise Confederated with the English Barons then in Arms against King Henry whom they had defeated and taken Prisoner in a bloody Battel at Lewes in Sussex and carried into Wales with them destroying the Lands of the English in the Counties of Monmouth and Glamorgan under the command of Prince Leoline and Simon Montfort Earl of Leicester Prince Edward perceiving that he must use his utmost power for the recovery of his Father's Liberty and the Kingdom resolved with the assistance of the People of Cheshire Herefordshire Worcester and Shropshire who had been great sufferers in these publick calamities to give the Rebels Battel which he did accordingly in a large Plain near the Town of Eversham in Worcestershire where the Army of the Barons was utterly discomfited with a very great slaughter especially of the Welsh Simon Montfort called the Great Earl of Leicester was also slain at which very minute there was such terrible Thunder Lightning and Darkness as caused much amazement After the Death of Montfort Prince Leoline who had given him great assistance thought fit to make a reconciliation with King Henry and by paying thirty thousand pound Sterling four Welsh Counties taken from him in the Wars were restored to him In 1275. King Edward I. sent for Prince Leoline to attend at his Coronation and do him Homage which he excused or modestly refused He was afterward summoned to appear at the Parliament at Westminster which he likewise declined standing upon terms of safe Conduct doubting to be used as he pretended like his
to him and struck him over the Face Whereat the Judge not at all disturbed rose up and told him That the affront he had offered was not done to him but to the King his Father whom he did there represent And therefore I charge you saith he to desist from proceeding any further in your Lawless designs and I commit you to the King's Bench there to remain during your Father's pleasure for the abuse you have committed and the ill example you have given to those that may hereafter be your own Subjects It was wonderful to see how calm the Prince was in his own cause who had been so violent in that of his Companion for laying aside his Dagger which he had in his hand and with which the People feared he would have killed the Judg he quietly submitted to his Order and went to the King's Bench. At which his Attendants being in a great fury ran instantly with mighty complaints to the King giving him an account of the whole matter King Henry appeared at first a little surprized but recollecting himself he seemed ravished with joy and holding up his hands to Heaven cry'd out O merciful God how much am I bound to thy Infinite goodness that thou hast given me a Judge who is of such Courage as not to be afraid to administer Justice and a Son of such humility that he will submit thereunto However for these and some other Pranks he removed him from being President of the Council and put his younger Brother Lord John in his place This made the Prince so sensible of his Father's anger which some of his Enemies endeavoured to heighten that he thought it necessary to use all means to recover his good opinion which he endeavoured to do by a way as strange as that by which he lost it Of which I shall give an account in the words of the Larl of Ormond who was an Eye and Ear witness of the same During the sickness of the King faith he some ill disposed people endeavoured to raise dissention between him and his Son reproaching the Prince both with the Frolicks of his Youth and for the great concourse of People that continually attended his Court far exceeding those of his Father whereby they insinuated that he designed to usurp the Crown during his Life which raised much jealousie in the King's Mind and greatly alienated his affections from him The Prince had notice thereof by some of his Friends in Court Whereupon he attired himself in a Garment of blew Sattin wrought all with Oylet holes of black Silk at every hole a Needle hanging by which it was sowed and about his Arm he wore a Hound's Collar studded with S S. of Gold Thus strangely apparrell'd with a large Retinue of Young Noblemen he came to his Father at Westminster and his Attendants staying in the Hall by his Order to prevent suspicion he himself with the King's Officers went to wait upon his Father Being admitted into the Presence after due obeysance the Prince desired that he might have Audience of his Majesty in the Privy Chamber Upon which the King caused himself to be carried thither in a Chair where in the Presence of only three or four of his Privy-Council he demanded of the Prince the Cause of his unwonted Habit and Coming The Prince kneeling replied Most honoured Lord and Father I am come to throw my self at your Majestie 's Feet as your most Loyal Subject and Obedient Son to whom nothing is more afflicting than that your Majesty should entertain the least jealousie of my designing any thing against your Royal Dignity or to imagine me so horridly undutiful and ingrateful to a Father who hath always shewed such tender love and affection to me as your Highness hath always done so that I should deserve a thousand deaths if I durst imagine the least harm or damage against your Sacred Person And if it be my bounden duty to hazard my life in your defence against any even the greatest Traytor whatsoever then much more ought I to Sacrifice my self to free your Grace from the fear of any peril or danger from me and upon that account I have this day by confessing my Sins and receiving the Sacrament prepared my self for another World Therefore most Honoured Father I beseech you for God's sake to put an end to my life now lying at your Feet with this Dagger delivering his Dagger to the K. for I had rather be out of the World than continue a day longer in it to give any disturbance to your mind And dear Father in the doing hereof I freely forgive you as I shall do the same before God at the Day of Judgment The King was so moved at these words thaâ— throwing the Dagger away he fell upon his Neck and imbracing him said My dear and truly be loved Son I must confess I had entertained some suspicions but I now find they were altogether causless on your part and since I am now sensible of your fidelity and obedience I do assure you upon my honour I will never hereafter harbour any ill opinion of you whatsoever may be suggested against you And hereupon he was fully restored to the King 's former Grace and Favour The King's weakness of Body increasing daily he oft-times took occasion to give some useful instructions to his Son for the future Governing of his Kingdom to this effect Dear Son I am much concerned for fear that after my decease some difference may arise betwixt you and your Brother Thomas Duke of Clarence whereby great mischiefs may happen to the Kingdom you being both of great Spirits and he of an Usurping Temper which I am sure you will never endure And as often as I think of it I heartily repent me that ever I charged my self with the troubles of a Crown The Prince replied Gracious Soveraign and Father I pray God continue long your Life and Reign to Govern us both but if it please the Almighty that I shall succeed you in the Kingdom I shall honour and love my Brethren above all others so long as they be true and faithful to me their Soveraign Lord. But if any of them shall conspire or rebel against me I do assure you I shall as soon execute justice on them as upon the meanest and most inconsiderable Person in the Nation The King was extreamly pleased with this answer and then proceeded My well beloved Son Thou hast much eased my troubled Mind and I charge thee to do as thou hast said To administer Justice impartially but to be always ready and speedy in relieving the Oppressed And let not Flatterers whose hands are full of Bribes withdraw thy Mind therefrom Delay not to do Justice to day if thou be able lest God should execute Justice upon thee and deprive thee of thine authority Remember that the happiness of thy Soul thy Body and thy Kingdom depends thereupon Yet in some Cases let Justice be tempered with Mercy lest thou be accounted
a Tyrant but be sure that thou take great care to redress the Grievances of thy Subjects and severely punish those that wrong them Hereby shalt thou gain the Englishmen's Hearts and reign prosperously for so long as they freely enjoy their Liberties and Estates thou may'st be sure of their Loyalty and Obedience but if thou strive to slave or impoverish them they will certainly rebel against thee for such is their nature that they will rather chuse to dye Freemen than to live Slaves and Beggars Therefore if thou Govern thein with a mixture of love and fear thou wilt be King over the most Pleasant and Fruitful Countrey and the most Loving Faithful and Valiant People in the World whereby thou wilt be a terror to all thine Enemies My Son when it shall please God to take me out of the World which is the Common Lot of all men I must leave my Crown and Kingdom to thee and I would earnestly advise thee that of all things thou wilt avoid Pride neither be thou bewitcht with worldly honour so as to be exalted in thine own imagination but always remember that the higher thy Dignity is so much greater is the burden that lyes upon thee for the security of thy Kingdom and of every particular Subject therein as being like the Head and Heart in the Body from whence all the Members receive Life and Nourishment Whereby thy People finding they receive so many benefits from thee will be always ready to assist and defend thee for their own preservation as the Members do the Head and Heart But above all things be careful to serve God sincerely and ascribe to him the Glory of all thy Successes against thine Enemies as coming from his goodness and not any merit of thine These and many other good Instructions the King gave to his Son And soon after being at his Prayers at St. Edward's Shrine in Westminster-Abbey he was suddenly taken with an Apoplexy and thereupon removed to the Abbot of Westminster's House where recovering himself and finding he was in a strange place he asked where he was and being told in the Abbot's House in a Chamber called Jerusalem where an Astrologer had formerly told him he should dye He said Nay then I am sure I shall dye though he before thought it would have been in Palestine and was therefore preparing to make a Voyage thither And here he died indeed March 20. 1413. It is observable that during his sickness he always required to have his Crown set upon his Bolster by him and one of his Fits being so strong upon him that all thought him absolutely dead the Prince coming in took away the Crown when suddenly the King recovering his senses and missing it was told the Prince had taken it who being called came back with the Crown and kneeling down said Sir to all our Judgments and to all our griefs you seemed directly dead and therefore I took the Crown as my Right but seeing to all our comforts you live I here deliver it more joyfully than I took it and pray God you may long live to wear it your self Well said the King sighing what Right I had to it God knows But says the Prince If you dye King my Sword shall maintain it to be my Right against all Opposers Well replied the King I leave all to God and then turning about said God bless thee and have mercy upon me And with these words he gave up the Ghost After his Father's Death the Prince was Proclaimed King by the name of Henry V. and proved a better Man of a King than a Subject for till then he was not in his right Orb and therefore no marvel he was exorbitant Those that have taken the height of him parallell'd him with Alexander for Magnanimity and Caesar for his being Invincible and Affectation of Glory but he had something of Caesar that Alexander the Great had not That he would not be Drunk nor Intemperate and something of Alexander that Caesar had not That he would not be flattered and both were short of him in this that Conquering others they could not Conquer themselves but even when they were Lords of the World became Slaves to their own Passions He advanced the former Title of the Right of the Kings of England to the Kingdom of France and sent Ambassadors to King Charles VI. to demand a peaceable surrender of that Crown to him offering to accept his fair Daughter Katherine with the Kingdom and to expect no other Pledge for his Possession till after Charles's Death But the French King being sick his Son the Dauphin who managed the Government instead of another answer scornfully sent the King a Present of Tennis Balls as an intimation that his Youth was better acquainted with the use of them than of Bullets The King whose Wit was as Keen as his Sword returned him this answer That in requital of his fine Present of Tennis Balls it should not be long e're he would toss such Iron Balls amongst them that the best Arm in France should not be able to hold a Racket against them Neither was he worse than his word though his Army seemed very disproportionate for so great a work being only as some Write nine thousand Horse and Foot with which small number he met with the French Army at a place called Agencourt where though the Enemy were above five to one he fought them with such resolution that he took more Prisoners than his own Forces consisted of and kill'd ten thousand of them the Dauphin himself dying soon after of grief with the loss only of six hundred English nay one Author says of not above twenty six in all which made the Victory almost miraculous And which the Religious young King was so sensible of that he caused the Clergy in his Army to sing that Psalm of David When Israel went out of Egypt c and the Souldiers in their Arms responded at every Verse Not unto us O Lord not unto us but unto thy Name be all the Glory And upon his return to England with his Prisoners he commanded that no Ballad or Song should be sung but those of Thank sgiving to God for his happy Victory and Safe return without any reflections upon the French or extolling the English Valour Soon after he returned back to France where many great Cities and Towns were Surrendred to him and the French being unable to make any resistance at length a Treaty of Peace is concluded and he married his beloved Lady Katherine Daughter to the French King Charles being Proclaimed Regent of France during that King's Life and Heir Apparent to that Crown after King Charles his Death He was tall of Stature lean of Body and his Bones small but strongly made somewhat long Neckt black Hair'd and of a very comely Countenance So swift in running that he with two of his Lords would run down a Wild Buck or Doe in a Park He delighted in Songs and Musical Instruments
and used some English Psalms turn'd into verse in his private Chappel And indeed it may be said of him that he had scarce his equal both for Virtue and Valour For he seldom fought a Battel where he got not the Victory and never got Victory whereof he gave not the Glory to God with Publick Thanksgiving He was indeed a great Affector of Glory yet not of the Glory of the blast of Mens Mouths but of that which fills the Sails of Time He died of full years though not full of years If he had lived longer he might have gone over the same again but could not have gone further He fell sick in France and having given necessary instructions to the Nobility about him how to manage affairs he then returned thanks to the Almighty for his many favours and blessings and in the midst of saying a Psalm of David he gave up the Ghost who might have justly prayed God with David Lord take me not away in the midst of my days for he died about the age of thirty six which in David's account is but half the life of Man Being dead his body was imbalmed closed in Lead and laid in a Chariot Royal richly apparelled in Cloth of Gold and then conveyed from Boys de Vincennes where he died to Paris Roan Callice Dover and so through London to Westminster Abbey Upon whose Tomb Queen Katherine caused a Royal Picture to be laid covered all over with Silver Plate gilt but the Head all of Massy Silver which was afterward all stoln away He died Aug. 31. 1422. having reigned about nine and lived about thirty eight years VI. Henry of Windsor his Son and Successor was the sixth Prince of Wales of the English Royal Line but so unlike his Father that had not the virtues of his Mother been so well known as they were the Virtues of his Father would have rendred this Prince justly suspected not to have been his Son and that his Mother begat him all of her self by imagination His Father seemed to have some Prophetick Revelation of the future unhappiness of his Reign and it was thought the knowledg thereof was not the least cause of shortning his days For 't is credibly reported that at the news of the Birth of this Son born at Windsor he in a Prophetick rapture cried out Good Lord Henry of Monmouth shall small time Reign and get much and Henry of Windsor shall long time Reign and lose all But God's Will be done And yet no doubt Henry VI. was a Prince of excellent parts though not of kindly parts for a Prince being such as were neither fit for the Warlike Age he was born in nor agreeable to the Glory he was born to but such rather as better became a Priest than a Prince so that the Title which was sometimes given to his Father with relation to his Piety might better have been applied to the Son That he was Prince of Priests Herein only was the difference betwixt them that the Religion of the one made him bold as a Lion that of the other made him meek as a Lamb. Whereas if he had less of the Dove-like Innocence and more of the Serpentine subtilty 't is probable he had not only been happier whilst he lived but more respected after he was dead whereas now notwithstanding all his Indulgence to the Church and Churchmen there was none of them so grateful after he was Murthered by the Bloody Duke of Glocester to give him Christian Burial but being brought from the Tower to St. Paul's in an open Coffin bare-faced where he bled thence to Black-Friars where he also bled he was carried from thence by Boat to Chertsey Abbey without Priest or Clark Torch or Taper Mass or Mourner Indeed his Burial was so without regard to his Person or Dignity that if his Funerals were any whit better than that which the Holy Writ calls the Burial of an Ass vet they were such that his Competitor and Successor King Edward IV. who denied him the Rights of Majesty living thought him too much wronged being dead and to make him some kind of satisfaction he removed his Corps to Windsor Chapel and there erected a fine Monument over him In this King we may see the fulfilling of that Text Wo to that Nation whose King is a Child for he was not above eight months old when he succeeded his Father in the Kingdom though this Text may be meant as well of a Child in understanding as years The first defect may be supplied by good Governors or Protectors but the last is hardly to be repaired of which in this Prince we have a pregnant instance For so long as he continued a Child in years his Kingdoms were kept flourishing by the Providence of his careful Uncles but so soon as he left being a Child in years and yet continued a Child in Ability of Ruling having not the judgment to conceal his own weakness then presently Faction and Ambition broke in upon the Government so that all things went to wrack both in France and England and we were forced to surrender tamely all our Foreign Acquisitions which we had obtained with so much Reputation and Glory This King being Crowned King of France at Paris in 1431. He was tall of Stature spare and slender of Body of a comely Countenance and in all parts well proportioned For endowments of his mind he had Virtues enough to make a Saint but not a King He was sensible of that which the World calls Honour accounting the greatest honour to consist in humility He was not so stupid not to know Prosperity from Adversity but he was so devout as to think nothing adversity which was not an hindrance to Devotion He had one privilege peculiar to himself that no man could ever be revenged on him seeing he never offered any man injury He was so modest that when at Christmas a show of Women was presented to him with their naked Breasts he presently departed saying Fie Fie for shame forsooth you are to blame So pitiful that when he saw the Quarters of a Traytor over Cripplegate he caused them to be taken down saying I will not have any Christian so cruelly handled for my sake So free from swearing that he never used any other Oath but forsooth and verily So patient that to one who struck him when he was taken Prisoner he only said Forsooth you wrong your self more than me to strike the Lord 's anointed So Devout that on principal Holy-days he used to wear Sackcloth next his Skin In fine let his Confessor be heard who in ten years Confession never found that he had said or done any thing worthy of a Reprimand For all which Christian Virtues King Henry VII would have procured him to be Canonized for a Saint but that he was prevented by Death or perhaps because the charge would have been too great the Canonization of a King being much dearer than that of a private Person He reigned thirty
eight and lived fifty nine years and was murthered in the Tower of London in 1472. VII Edward the only Son of King Henry VI. by Queen Margaret Daughter to the King of Sicily was the seventh Prince of Wales of the Royal Blood of England He Married Anne the Daughter of Richard Nevil called the Great Earl of Warwick After his Father's Army was defeated by King Edward IV. at Tauton Field in Yorkshire he with his Mother were sent into France to pray aid from that King This Battel was the bloodiest that ever England saw King Henry's Army consisting in threescore thousand and King Edward's in about forty thousand men of which there fell that day thirty seven thousand seven hundred seventy six Persons no Prisoners being taken but the Earl of Devonshire Afterward the Queen returns from France with some Forces but before her coming King Edward had defeated the Earl of Warwick who with some other Lords had raised a Party for her assistance at Barnet wherein near ten thousand were slain So that when it was too late she landed at Weymouth and from thence went to Bewly Abbey in Hampshire where the Duke of Somerset the Earl of Devonshire and divers other Lords came to her resolving once more to try their Fortune in the Field The Queen was very desirous that her Son Edward Prince of Wales should have returned to France there to have been secure till the success of the next Battel had been tried but the Lords especially the Duke of Somerset would not consent to it so that she was obliged to comply with them though she quickly repented it From Bewly she with the Prince and the Duke of Somerset goes to Bristol designing to mise what men they could in Glocestershire and to march into Wales and join Jasper Earl of Pembroke who was there assembling more Forces K. Edward having intelligence of their Proceedings resolves to prevent their conjunction and follows Queen Margaret so diligently with a great Army that near Tewksbury in Glocestershire he overtakes her Forces who resolutely turn to ingage him The Duke of Somerset led the Van and performed the part of a Valiant Commander but finding his Soldiers through weariness begin to faint and that the Lord Wenlock who commanded the main Battel moved not he rode up to him and upbraiding his treachery with his Pole-ax instantly knockt out his Brains but before he could bring this Party to relieve the Van they were wholly defeated the Earl of Devonshire with above three thousand of the Queens Men being slain the Queen her self John Beufort the Duke of Somerset's Brother the Prior of St. John's Sir Jervas Clifton and divers others were taken Prisoners All whom except the Queen were the next day Beheaded At which time Sir Rich. Crofts presented to King Edward King Henry's Son Edward Prince of Wales To whom King Edward at first seemed indifferent kind but demanding of him how he durst so presumptuously enter into his Realm with Arms The Prince replied though truly yet unseasonably To recover my Father's Kingdom and my Inheritance Thereupon King Edward with his hand thrust him from him or as some say struck him on the Face with his Gauntlet and then presently George Duke of Clarence Thomas Grey Marquess Dorset and the Lord Hastings standing by fell upon him in the place and murthered him Others write that Crook-back'd Richard ran him into the Heart with his Dagger His Body was Buried with other ordinary Corps that were slain in the Church of the Monastery of the Black Friars in Tewksberry VIII Edward eldest Son of King Edward IV. was the eighth Prince of Wales of the English Royal Blood Of whose short Reign and miserable Death there is an account in a Book called England's Monarchs IX Richard only Son of King Richard III. was the ninth Prince of Wales His Mother was Ann the second Daughter of Richard Nevil the Great Earl of Warwick and Widow of Prince Edward Son of King Henry VI. aforementioned who was Married to King Richard though she could not but be sensible that he had been the Author both of her Husband's and Father's Death but womens Affections are Diametrically opposite to common apprehensions and generally governed by Passion and Inconstancy This Prince was born of her at Midleham near Richmond in the County of York At four years old he was created Earl of Salisbury by his Uncle King Edward IV. At ten years old he was created Prince of Wales by his Father King Richard III. but died soon after X. Arthur eldest Son to King Henry VII was the tenth Prince of Wales of the Royal English Families He was born at Winchester in the second year of his Father's Reign When he was about fifteen years old his Father proposed a Marriage for him with the Princess Katherine Daughter to Ferdinando King of Spain which being concluded the Lady was sent by her Father with a gallant Fleet of Ships to England and arrived at Plymouth Soon after the Princess was openly espoused to Prince Arthur they were both clad in white he being fifteen and she eighteen years of age At night they were put together in one Bed where they lay as Man and Wife all that Night When morning appeared the Prince as his Servants about him reported called for Drink which was not usual with him Whereof one of his Bed-Chamber asking him the cause he merrily replied I have been this Night in the midst of Spain which is a hot Country and that makes me so dry Though some write that a grave Matron was laid in Bed between them to hinder actual Consummation The Ladie 's Dowry was two hundred thousand Duckets and her Jointure the third part of the Principality of Wales Cornwal and Chester At this Marriage was great Solemnity and Roval Justings Prince Arthur after his Marriage was sent into Wales to keep his Country in good Order having several prudent and able Counsellors to advise with but within five Months after he died at his Castle at Ludlow and with great solemnity was Buried in the Cathedral of Worcester He was a very ingenious and learned Prince for though he lived not to be sixteen years old yet he was said to have read over all or most of the Latin Fathers besides many others Some attribute the shortness of his Life to his Nativity being born in the eighth month after Conception XI Henry the second Son to King Henry VII was the eleventh Prince of Wales of the Royal English Line He was born at Greenwich in Kent After the Death of his eldest Brother Prince Arthur the Title of Prince of Wales was by his Father's Order not given to him but his own only of Duke of York till the Women could certainly discover whether the Lady Katherine were with Child or not But after six months when nothing appeared he had his Title bestowed upon him and King Henry being loth to part with her great Portion prevailed with his Son Henry though not without some