EDOVARDUS Confessor Redivivus. THE PIETY and VERTUES Of HOLY Edward the Confessor, Reviv'd in the Sacred Majesty of King James the II. BEING A RELATION of the Admirable and Unexpected finding of a Sacred Relique, (viz. the CRUCIFIX) of that Pious Prince; which was found in Westminster-Abby, (the place of his Interrment) 622 Years succeeding; and is since worn sometimes by his present Majesty. With a COMMENT thereon. Previous to which Relation, are recited many wonderful casual Discoveries; All of them being Presagious, or very Effective.
LONDON, Printed by W. D. And are to be Sold by Randal Taylor, near Stationers-Hall. 1688.
Ad Regiam Majestatem Jacobi Secundi, (Inclytissimi Regis Jacobi quarti Seri sed veri Nepotis.)
THE PREFACE, Without Reading which, the Discourse and Design of the ensuing Treatise cannot well be understood.
PResently after His Majesty's most happy Inauguration, I heard of that unexpected Bene-ominous Accident, which is the Subject of this present Discourse: Not One in Ten, but look'd upon it as a matter meerly Fabulous and Feign'd: For my part, (having been abroad in the World) I have met with strange Passages, but read of many more; so, for my better satisfaction, I went to a Loving Friend of mine, Mr. J. G. (Famous for Astronomical Learning) living near the Abby, who assured me of the Truth thereof; and offered to carry me to the very Person who was the Discoverer thereof, and receiv'd a Royal Reward; which I refused, (for that would have looked as if I had distrusted my Friends Veracity.) Within two or three days after, my old Friend T. H. Esq; Windsor-Herald (also a near Inbabitant) re-assured me of the Truth thereof: Ʋpon which, I Penned this ensuing Discourse; giving it to one, to use at his Discretion, being a Printer, my Friend; and I thought it would have found no obstacle in the Impression: But those that were Authoriz'd to License, obstinately refused it, as savouring of down right Popery and Superstition. [Page]So I, having occasion to retire into the Country, acquiesc'd, and let it lye, (submitting to the Rigour, or Nicety of the Licensers): But afterward, when I saw many notable, and very acceptable Occurrences fall under His Majesty's Auspicious Government, (such as are mention'd by Tertullus the Orator, Acts 24.2.) I incited my Friend to move afresh: These Occurrences are such as,
His Proclamation, April 4. declaring, His Benign Indulging Well-meaning Tender Consciences in matter of Religion, and Forms and Circumstances of Worship: Certainly, the means to make People live in more Ʋnity, and more free from Envy, that might arrive from some, to have more Priviledge, Grace and Favour than others. This caused a great rejoycing of all People generally, as Mr. Gadbury well observes. Annot. Apr. 88.
Then His paying the Arrears, due to His late Majesty 's Servants; as far as His present Majesty with convenience could do; He having had no Supplies, but His own ordinary Revenues. The Payment of their Arrears is the more to be Commended, in that, after the Measure and Quantum was Consider'd and Determin'd, the performance thereof was as speedy as might be: Qui cito dat, bis dat.
His particular taking into consideration the Debts due to the City Orphans and Widdows: Strangely have their Monies been squandred and embezled by the Step-Fathers of this Renowned City, once so Memorable for Piety and Justice. Gulielmus Stephanides, Writing of [Page]it, sub. H. 2. made it a City of Prayer. So Robert Fabian, sub. H. 7. in his Prologue to his Second Chronological Volume: But truly, of late Years, it hath shew'd it self Spelunca Latronum Matt. 21.13.
His Intention to settle a Registry of Sales of Estates and Chattels, Real. About the Year 76 and onward, the House of Commons were upon this Matter; At Satanus impediit & divertit in peiora; 1 Thes. 2.18. For my part, I Wrote to several Noblemens Chaplains, desiring them to perswade their Lords to Advance it; the Right Reverend the Lords, Bishops of Glocester and Rochester can Attest this to be True: The Honourable Knights, Sir Winston Churchil, and Sir Joseph Williamson, (then Secretary of State) will acknowledge I put them upon it. — Certainly it would be a mighty satisfaction and Security to all sorts of People, whom God's Blessing, and their own Honest endeavour have made capable of Purchase; and is the usage of the Low-Countries, introduc'd by Charles the V. whose Memory the Netherlanders greatly Reverence upon this very account. This is mention'd by Sir William Temple, P. 200. of his excellent Discourse of those Parts.
His restoring of an antient Order of Knight-hood, many Ages dis-used, viz. The Thistle, so reviving the Honour of His Antient Kingdom of Scotland (the Nurse of Brave Men) It was one of the Praises of that Good and Great Prince, Humphry Duke of Glocester, that Wrote himself Son, Brother, and Ʋnkle of [Page] Kings, &c. That He was Amator Honoris, a Lover of Honour. (See Weaver, 555.) But our Generous Soveraign is Lapsi Restaurator Honoris, a Restorer of it when fallen.
But lastly, and above all, What is mentioned by Mr. John Gadbury, in his Ephemeris for the approaching Year 88. viz. upon the 23 of Aug. His Majesty began his Royal Progress for the West, where he most Mercifully vouchsafed to heal many Languishing Men, Women, and Children, of the Evil: And this indeed was the main matter I presumed to Presage from this discoursed Discovery.
But to conclude my Preface; Why may not I presume Vaticiniously from that passage I borrow from Harêus, (mention'd hereafter, Pag. 24) to add by the By,
Let not my Reader Censure this comes out too too long, post factum, when as Mr. Payne Fisher's most excellent Latin Panegyrick in Heroick Verse, upon his Majesty's Inauguration; Nor Mr. Sandfords much and long expected Prosal Description thereof, have not yet seen the Light: The former, I suppose (and 'tis pity) has been hitherto supprest, Propter non posse pecuniae; Non propter Papismum, as was the Fate of Mine.
☞ In Pag. 27. I have a Passage relating to St. Brightwald; for the better apprehending the Application whereof, I must Inform my Reader, This Holy Man was a great Lover of his Country; and seeing St. Edward the Confessor had no Heirs of his Body (and knowing the Turbulent Ambitious Temper of the Potent Godwinian Family) was greatly troubled; fore-seeing what Calamities might happly follow. It pleased God to quiet his Mind by that Vision, which I mention Page aforesaid.
Edovardus Confessor Redivivus: OR, Pious Edward the Confessor REVIV'D in His Present Majesty.
SƲETONIƲS tells us, The Assassination of Julius Caesar was predenounc'd by evident Prodigies. Certain Men being employ'd to cast down some Antient Monuments; in that of Capys, (Founder of Capua) they found a Brazen-Table, in which was written in Greek Letters this Sentence, Quandoque ossa Capys, &c. When e're the Bones of Capys should be discovered, it should come to pass, That he that was sprang from Julius should be Slain by the hand of his own Relations; and that afterward Italy should be Plagued with innumerable Slaughters. And lest that any should think the matter Fabulous and Commentitious, Cornelius Balbus, one of Caesar's Familiars, was the Author of this Report, (as says the said Author Suetonius). That this came to pass, all know that have read the Roman Histories, and the Tragedy of Julius Caesar.
Herodotus relates, That the Lacedemonians were always overcome by the Tegaeans: They asked advice of the Oracle, how, and by what means they might please the Gods, that they might overcome their Enemies the Tegaeans? Pythia answered, That Orestes Bones (who was Son of Agamemnon) were to be brought to Lacedemon. And they doubting, and being uncertain of the place where they were to be found: The Oracle answered in Greek to this effect, (as I have Paraphrastically Translated it;
When no Man could understand the Oracle, one Liches came to Tigaea, and sitting in a Brazier's Shop, wondred at his Work; to whom the Brazier said, Wonder not at this; How would'st thou wonder, if thou should'st see a Sepulchre, (which I discovered by digging a Well) where were Bones seven Cubits long, which I have again Religiously Buried. Then Lyches instantly call'd to mind the Oracle, and ruminating much within himself, communicated the matter to the Lacedemonians; and seigning an escape, returned to the Tegaeans, bought the Bones of the Brazier, and carried them to Lacedemon: And then it came to pass, that the Lacedemonians overcame their Enemies.
There was a City called Libethra, (upon Mount Olympus) near which was Orpheus's Tomb. Now the Oracle had declared to the Libethrans, Their City should be destroyed by a Swine, when the Sun should first see Orpheus Bones. They regarded [Page 3]the Oracle the less, because they believed not any such Beast should have so much strength as to destroy such a City; for, — Nascitur â mediis Effectus quilibet aptis.
But when it pleased the Gods these things should come to pass, a certain Shepherd at Noon-tide, being weary, laid himself down by Orpheus's Tomb, and falling asleep, began to chant Orpheus's Verses, in a sweet and delectable Tone: Some Shepherds and Plow-men, that were hard by, were much taken, and left their Station to hear the Melody of the Sleeping Shepherd; coming near, and justling one another, they threw down the Pillar; whereby the Urn was broken, and Orpheus's Bones lay open to the Sun: The Night following fell much Rain, and the River over-flowing its Banks, cast down the Walls of Libethra, over-turn'd the Holy-Temple and Buildings, and destroy'd the Citizens. (My Author has this Story out of Pausanias his Baeotica). And I must not omit the Equivocal meaning of the Oracle, the Stream being called by the name of a Swine.
Xerxes, the Son of Darius, having digg'd up an old Monument of Belus, found an Urn of Glass, in which a Corps lay in Oyl; but the Urn was not full. Now, near unto this was a little Column, on which was written, That it should go ill with him that opened the Sepulchre, and did not fill the Ʋrn: Which, when Xerxes had read, he was taken with much Dread and Horror, and commands Oyl to be poured in; which being performed, it was never the fuller, though often reiterated. The Monument being closed, he departed with much Grief; and soon after was miserably Assassinated. Aelianus ex Herodoto, lib. 3.
There was a Town of the Xanthians, which had a Bridge laid over the small River Lycus; in which were said to have been Brazen Tables, whereon Letters were Ingraven, shewing, That the Empire of the Persians was sometime to be overthrown by the Grecians. Now, a little before Alexander the Great had Fought at Gravisum, this Bridge was shaken down, and the aforesaid Tables were fallen into the River. Alexander was much moved at the Report of these Tables; when as for some time he had stood doubtful, which way to steer the Course of his Victories, turned to the Right Hand, and subdued, with wonderful speed, all the Sea-Coast, from Lydia unto Phoenicia. Plutarchs's Alexand.
Procopius the Tyrant, being Slain by Valens the Emperour, the Walls of Calcedon (because the Citizens thereof had favoured Procopius's Party) were thrown down to the Ground. In one of whose Stones was an Oracle found, Engraven; averring, That the said Walls should be converted to the Ʋse of the Baths in Constantinople. Calcedon lay over-against Constantinople; Now, while the Walls were throwing down, the Citizens of Constantinople, viz. the Bithinians, Nicomedians, and Nicaeans, made humble Suit to the contrary; but the Emperour Valens took the Suit in ill part, and commanded the Stones to be carried to the use aforesaid, viz. to build the Baths called, Constantiana, [So great is the force of Destiny and Fate]. Read Cuspinian in the Life of Valens, and the Ecclesiastical History of Socrates Scholasticus, ( lib. 4. ch. 8.) Translated out of Greek by Meredith Hanmer, D. D. who recites the Prophesie in English Verse of fourteen Feet, not well relishing to our Poetical Palate at this day; or as Camden phrases it, Apolline minus plenas.
In the sixth Year of Justine the Great, Edessa, that Noble and Blessed City of the Osroenians, was over flown with the Streams of the River Scirtus, that glided by i; insomuch as many Houses were carried away with the violence thereof, and multitudes of Men were drowned with the Water: [See Evagrius's Ecclesiastical History, lib. 4. chap. 8.] And Cedrenus reports, That at the same time, in the Bank of the River, a Table of Stone was found, whereon was Written in Egyptian Letters to this effect;
If my Reader be Inquisitive, why Evagrius calls Edessa that Blessed City, let him know, 'twas because King Agabarus (that so much desired to see our Saviour) lived there: Of which matter, see Eusebius, lib. 1. chap. 14. who discourses at large of Agabarus his Letter to our Saviour, and the Answer thereunto; the sending of Thadeus to Him; who Cured his Disease, and Converted him, and his People.
Rodericus Toletanus writes, That before the Coming of the Saracens into Spain, King Roderick, upon hope of some Treasure, did open a part of the Palace, long being forbidden to be touched; but found nothing but Pictures, which resembled the Moors, with a Prophecy, That whensoever that part of the Palace was opened, the People there resembled should overcome Spain, and so it happened. See Heylen after his Catalogue of the Gothish Kings of Spain.
In the Time of Ferdinand the First, King of Arragon, the City of Naples was in a most Flourishing condition, and the Kingdom free from all Calamity. Now, 'tis manifest, [Page 6]That one Cataldus, about 1000 Years before that Time, had been Bishop at Tarentinum; the Citizens whereof did Worship him as their Patron: In the mid'st of the Night he again and again appeared to a Minister, (who had lately taken the Order of Priest-hood, having been Educated under the Vow of Chastity) charging him, That he should, without delay, take out of a certain place, a little Book, which he in his Life-time had Wrote, and privately hid, (containing some Divine Writings) and bring it to the King. The Priest gave little Credit to the Dream, although he saw Cataldus in his Sleep, very often, and always of the same shape and form. After that, he appeared unto him (being all alone in the Temple, early in a Morning) Apparell'd in such Bishops Weeds as he used in his Life-time, and Adorned with a Mitre; advising him, as he desired to avoid great Punishment, That the next day, without further delay, he should digg for the Book which he had Written and Hidden, (as he had formerly shewn him by Visions) and bring it to the King. The Priest and People went the next day to the place wherein, for many Years, this little Book had been hidden, and found it Bound with a Leaden Cover, and Clasped; wherein it appeared, that the Destruction of the Kingdom, Miserable Calamities, and Most Sad Times were at hand; whereof the King was warned.
We have found, by Experience, (says my Author) That this Prophecy was fully Executed, and shew'd it self to be so Divine, that not long after Ferdinand himself, either by the justly incensed Wrath of God Almighty, or other inscrutable Causes of his Divine Will, could not avoid what he was so fully admonish'd of; but, in the very first appearance of War, departed this Life; and Charles the Eighth of France, with a strong Hand, Invaded the Kingdom. And Alphonsus, the Heir of Ferdinand, having but [Page 7]newly entred the Kingdoms Government, was thereof deprived, basely running away, and dying in Flight, as a Banish'd Man. Then the Second Son of Ferdinand, (the hopefulness of whose Youth had indeared him to all Men) to whom the Kingdom fell, was intangled with a miserable and fatal War, and died in the Flower of his Age: and afterward, the French and Spaniards dividing the Kingdom, made Havock of all, with deplorable Devastations. Alexander ab Alexandro, cap. 15. The Discourse of Policy and Religion, by Mr. Fitz-Herbert, mentions this Matter.
We read in the Persian History of one Emande Daule, a great Persian Prince, that resting in the House of Tacut, a Prince whom he had Vanquished, he began to be careful for the Payment of his Souldiers, being without Money, and seeing their Insolence to be great, and that they would Mutiny if they were delay'd: Being very Pensive, he laid him down upon a Bed, studying what course to take; where, lifting up his Eyes, he espyed an ugly Snake at an hole, which did often put forth her Head, and draw it up again: Daule being amazed thereat, commanded they should presently break up the top of the House, and Kill the Snake; which was done; and in doing of it, they discovered a great Treasure which Yacut had hidden there, and which was sufficient to Pay the Souldiers. Soon after, there happened another Accident to Daule, which was both Pleasant and Profitable: Having an intent to make some Apparrel, he caus'd a Taylor to be brought unto him; who being before him, instead of a Measure, he call'd for a Cudgel; the Taylor (who had served Yacut) fearing to be Bastinado'd, besought him to Pardon him, and without any Exhortation of the Cudgel, would confess the Truth; which was, That he had seventeen Coffers in his House, which Yacut had committed [Page 8]to his Custody: Daule was joyful of this Discovery; and having sent for the Coffers, they were found full of Cloth of Gold, and all sorts of Silk of great value; whereof the Taylor had his share.
Jornandes writes, That Attila relied much upon the Sword of Mars, kept along time among the Kings of the Scythians, and discovered at first, upon this occasion: A certain Neat-herd seeing one of his Beasts halting, and not knowing how it came, followed the Tract of the Blood; at the end whereof, he finds a Sword, upon which the Beast had trod in Feeding: This Sword he takes out of the Ground, and brings it to Attila; who, joyful of such a Present, (for which he rewarded the Neat-herd) being a Man of a lofty Courage, conceived in his Mind, the Monarchy of the World was designed for him; and that Mars's Sword would bear him out, to make War with every one. Camerarius, lib. 4.
I will not say any thing of Alis's Cimitar, so renowned among the Turks; but come to Joan of Arc, and her Sword, so strangely discovered; I will Epitomize it out of Belleforest: She was Born of very mean Parentage, in the Country of Barrois: It pleased God, by means of her, to deliver, not only the City of Orleance, but the Kingdom of France. This Maid, aged Eighteen, was Sincere and Modest; and, fearing God, had many Revelations, by which she was exhorted to an Enterprise, differing from, and infinitely above the mean Vacation she follow'd, (which was to look after her Father's Cattle) viz. to go to the King, and Inform him, God had ordain'd her for the Party that should deliver the Kingdom, raise the Siege of Orleance, and cause his Majesty to be Sacred at Rheims, in despite of the [Page 9] English Force, then in a most Victorious Condition. With this Assurance, she Addressed her self to Robert de Bandriecourt, Governour of Vancoleur, to the end he should Conduct her (accoutred as a Man) to the King; to whom she was ordered to say, That she was sent by God, to Succour Him, and Recover His Kingdom; and Reveal things to Him so Secret, that thereby he should know, God, and no other, was Chief of the Enterprise she undertook. The Governour, at first, was Astonisht, and thought she was Extravagated by some Melanchohy Humor: But seeing her so discreet in her Proposals, advised in her Answers, and resolute in what she said, began to have her in Esteem: But was more satisfied the Work of God was in it, when as the same day, the French were Deseared at Rouveroy; she averr'd, The King had even then received a great loss, and 'twas time to hasten the business; and that if she were not Conducted to him, the Kingdom would yet suffer more.
The Issue of the matter making him see the Maid was in the right, he failed no longer to put her in fit Equipage, and to dispatch her with two Champaign Gentlemen: But they knowing the difficulty, would not (at first) enterprise the Thing; but Joan of Arc so assured them, that they condescended to her Request, and Accompanied her.
She Arrived at Chinon (where the King then was), in March 1429. and at the very time when the Council had Decreed, (Things being as they were) it were best for the King to retire into Dauphine, and preserve (if Orleance were taken) Languedock, Lionnois, Auvergne, and the said Dauphine, till it should please God to have Compassion of Him, and his People. In fine, She was brought to the King, whom she knew, tho' he retired himself behind others, to conceal himself: To whom she proposed her business, as aforesaid. Her Promises were so great, that the [Page 10]King remitted her to some Lords of the Council, and Doctors in Divinity, to Examine her; to whom she Proposed her business, as aforesaid she had done to His Majesty; and they found nothing in her worthy of Censure, although she discoursed of matters of Faith very high (which she did with great Integrity and Eloquence).
Here Belleforest makes a Pause, and says, The greatest Enemies of France have brought more Honour to the Memory of this Virgin, than many French of our time, who have dared to soil her Irreprehensible Life with their foul Bespatterings. And he quotes Meyer, a Flemish Annalist, ( No Equitable Judge, says he, to the French Nation, but an Enemy to the Blood of their Kings); who affirms, What ever she Proposed in Words, she made good in Deeds. Quis non videt, &c. (says he;) Who sees not this to be the Work of God? Who can doubt, these things were not effected by the Immense Clemency of God?
Although the King, and His Council, were assured of the Vertue of Joan, and were of resolv'd Opinion, she was inspir'd by God; because she had told the King things which he had never Discoursed to any Body: Yet, not to go over lightly to work with a thing of such Importance, she was sent to Poitiers; where Resided then the Grand Parliament of France, and the Ʋniversity, (which before was wont to be the Ornament of Paris) to the end the Parliament and the Divines might enquire further of the Proposals of the Maid, and make Judgment accordingly; who concluded, That the King ought to Believe and Confide in her, and to furnish her with Monies for her Equipage, to Advance towards the Army. Being returned to the King, he gave her Arms and Horses; and she requested him to send and search for a Sword, being in the Church of Saint Katharines of Fierbois, in the Blade of which, near to the Traverse Bar, or Guard, [Page 11]were five Crosses impressed; and that no other Sword but This, could serve her turn.
What the Conduct of this Virgin, and her Select Sword (by her so wonderfully discovered) in a short time effected, I refer to the English and French Chronologers.
These two Instances of Swords answer to the latter part of my Title, viz. Effective Consequence.
In the Preface to my Introductio ad Latinam Blazoniam. I tell my Readers, Arms are the Rewards of Meritorious Deeds, whether Military or Civil, which Deeds soon Die, (how Nobly soever performed:) But the Rewards are lasting, out-living the Actors; and in their Honorary Symbols, continually from Age to Age, accompanying and dignifying their Descendents. Thus Charles the VII. that grateful King of France, rewarded this successful Virgin, and her Family, with these Arms following:
D'Azure à l'Espee, &c. (B. a Sword in pale. Ar. its Guard, Or, Surmounted by a Crown, and Accosted by two Fleurs lys of the same. Her Successors bear the Name of Du Lys. And I shall have occasion to speak of the Allusion of these Ensigns, in a Collection I intend suddainly to make Publick, of many of the Arms of the Europian Nations; alluding either to the Name it self, or other Circumstances of the Bearer.
Sozomenus, Lib. 6. writes, That when Julian the Apostate Sacrificed to the Gods of the Gentiles, a Crown'd Cross was found in the Entralls of the Slain Beasts; upon which, the Ministers of the Offering, astonish'd, cryed out, Illud esse Signum Victoriae & Aeternitatis Christianae Religionis: It was a sign of the Prevalency and Eternity of the Christian Religion.
Dagobert, the Son of Clotherius, King of France, being Young, pulled from Sadregefillus (a deserving and worthy Noble-man, whom his Father had designed Governour of Aquitain) his Honourable Robe belonging to his Place and Quality, and grievously Beat him; out of a Fond Conceit he had not that Respect for him, which the Son of a King might expect: Upon this mis-usage he went to Clotherius, complaining of the same, and shewing the Marks of the Blows he received; the King Incensed, commanded his Son should be taken, and brought to him: The Prince fearing the Anger of his Father, flies from on Secret place to another; at last, the King having but one only Son, and bethinking himself he had done sufficient Penance for his Offence, by long Fear and Flight, resolves to Forgive him, and be Reconciled. Those whom the King sent to fetch him from the Cave, where he had Absconded himself, were taken with such Fear and Horror, that the Hairs of their heads stood upright, and their whole Bodies trembled, and had no Power to go into the Cave; which was a thing much to be wondered at: But in this place lay Buried the Bodies of the Martyrs Dionisius, Rusticus, and Eleutherius; which, until that time, was not known to any Man; but they appearing to Dagobert in his Sleep, advised him to Build a Church there, which he afterward performed. But I should have told you, The Father supposing the Messengers unwilling to distaste the Son, had (to gratifie him) counterfeited this Fear, was sain publickly to pronounce his Pardon; and then they could enter, and fetch him out.
Genoueva, a Virgin of Paris, did most Reverently frequent the Village Catula, where Holy Dionisius Died; to whom she had Dedicated a Cathedral Church: She went to certain Priests with Collected Monies; but they, fearing further [Page 13]Supplies, and having present want of some, made their excuse: On the contrary, she (Divinely Inspir'd) said, I beseech you go to the Bridge of the City, and what-ever you hear declare it to me. They going forth, while they stood attentively in the Market-place, expecting what to hear, two Swine-herds coming towards them, talked together; says One, While I sought a straid Hogg, I found a Furnace of Lime: I also, says the Other, found another in the Wood: The amazed Priests relate to the Virgin what they heard; she Weeps for Joy; and notice being given to the Citizens, Collections were made, and a Magnificent Temple Built, and Dedicated to Dionisius. Bonfinius, Lib. 5.
There are many over-weaning and credulous Persons of the Reformed Religion, believe the Pope grants Pardons to ratifie Murders, and perpetrate Crimes. Now, it pleased God, in the secret disposition of his hidden Judgment, to Reveal the contrary, in this wonderful and unexpected Manner. About the Year 1608. 6 Jacobi l. as the Sexton was digging a Grave in the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, London, to Interr the Corps of Doctor Stanhop, he chanced to light upon the Coffin of one Sir Gerard Braybroke, Knight, Buried there Two hundred Years before; where finding the Cords whole, the Flowers fresh, he espied a Charter of Pardon or Indulgence not Consumed, not Eaten, not Defaced in so long time: You may read this Charter in Latin, in the Historia Ecclesiae Paulinae, Written by my most Loving Friend, and fellow Officer, Sir William Dugdale, late Garter King at Arms. I will Recite it here, Translated into English, Verbatim.
BOniface, Bishop, Servant of the Servants of God: To his beloved Son, the Noble Gentleman, Gerard Braybroke the younger, Knight; and to his beloved Daughter in Christ, the Noble Lady his Wife, Elizabeth, of the Diocess of Lincoln, Salvation and Apostolical Benediction. It proceedeth from your Affectionate Devotion, with which you Reverence Ʋs, and the Church of Rome, that We admit Your Petition to a favourable Hearing, especially that which concerns the Salvation of Your Souls. For this cause, We being moved to yield to Your Supplications, By the Tenor of these Presents, do grant this Indulgence to Your Devotion: That such a Ghostly Father, as either of You shall choose, shall have Power, by Apostolical Authority, to grant to You (persisting in the Sincerity of Faith, in the Ʋnity of the Holy Church of Rome, and in Obedience and Devotion towards Ʋs, or Our Successors, Popes of Rome, Canonically entring into that Sea) full Remission (only once at the point of Death) of all Your Sins, whereof you shall be Contrite and Confessed; in such manner, nevertheless, that in these Cases, where Satisfaction is to be made to any other, the same Confessor shall enjoyn You to do it by Your selves, if You Survive, or by Your Heirs, if You should then Die, which You or They ought to perform, as aforesaid: And lest ( which God forbid) You should by this Favour, become more prone to commit unlawful Things hereafter, We declare, That if, upon confidence of this Remission or Indulgence, You shall commit any such Sins, That this present Pardon shall not be any help to You, concerning Them. Furthermore, Let it be Lawful for no Man to Infringe this Writing or Grant of Ours, or with whatsoever boldness to Contradict it: And if any shall presume to attempt any such thing, let him know, That he shall Incurr the Indignation of Almighty God, and of his Blessed Apostles Saint Peter, and Saint Paul. Given at Rome, at St. Peters, under the Fishers Ring, 5 o. Junii, in the Second Year of Our Papacy.
Note, This was Boniface the IX. and the Year was 1400. the First of Henry the IV.
Now, Let all that are Opiniated as aforesaid, read, and well consider the Conditions of this Brieve. First, It is necessary to Persist in the Sincerity of the Faith. Secondly, To be Sorrowful and Contrite, and to confess Our Sins. Thirdly, To make Satisfaction or Restitution, if any be needful. Fourthly, Not to Presume hereby to commit unlawful Things. I pray, who can be Sorrowful, or truly Confess, or duly intend to Satisfie, that fully intends to commit Sins? Who can be imboldned to fall into Sin, in hope of a Plenary Indulgence, when this very Hope and Presumption is a main Bar against gaining the same. Gregorius Turonensis, ( lib. 1. chap. 14.) tells us, When the Article of our Resurrection was most eagerly Impugned by the Saducean Heresie, in the days of Theodosius the Emperour, it pleased God to reveal and awake the Martyrs St. Maximinian, Malchus, Martinian, and the rest, after they had Slept 372 Years: For 'twas concluded, If God could raise from Sleep after so many Years, He could do it after any Number: and so consequently, having at first Created all Things out of Nothing, could again raise them out of their own Ashes.
Baronius in his Annals ( Anno Christi 357.) relates, That when so many Doubts were made about the Martyrdom of St. Foelix, Pope and Martyr, that his Name was in danger to be blotted out of the Calendar; it pleased God to Reveal his Body, by means of some who digged at Rome, in the Church of St. Cosmus and Damianus, for Treasure; and, which is very Remarkable, it was the very day before his Feast was Celebrated.
Even so, The Divine Providence, who with admirable convenience disposeth all things, even then in the Royal [Page 16]City of London, in the chiefest Church, in the greatest Recourse of such who were so malevolently Opiniated, disclosed this Pardon, in Vindication of the Catholicks, when they were most hotly pursued, and most wrongfully condemned of Crimes of this Nature: This Discovery being as a Witness produced from Heaven to acquit Them, as it were by the Sentence of God himself.
It will not be amiss to note here, That this Noble Knight, Sir Gerard Braybroke, was Brother to Bishop Braybroke, whose Skeleton, or Skinny Bony Remains (by the fall of St. Pauls Arched Floor into Sr. Faiths, preiently after the Fatal Fire 1666.) was discovered; and is now reserved in (that our admirable piece of Building) the Consistory, and shown as a great Rarity to curious Persons: And from whence may be Collected, That this Family of Braybroke, had an Egyptian Humor of Desire, that their bodies might not suddainly Decay; but attend, if possible, the Re-union of the Soul.
The Just Weight of the Scarlet Gown (a Book full of Curiosity) in the Chapter of Cardinal Fabritio Savelli tells us, That a little before Pope Ʋrbane the VIII. Dred, it was verily believed, That the deceased Cardinal Savelli (Unckle to this Fabritio) would have been Pope, because he was a Man of an approved good Life, Charitable, and indued with all the Qualities appertaining to an High Bishop; not fore deemed to be such a Pope as lived in the Time of Sebastian Brandt, a German Poet, whom I shall quote hereafter, who complains in his Chapter, De Fidei Catholicae & Imperii Casu, Turcarumque incursione; Thus,
And this was the rather so believed, because that in certain Mountainous places, as one goes towards the Sea-shore of Siena, there was a Marble Stone found, with an Inscription upon it, which said, That in the Year 1645. there should be a Pope of the Family of Savelli: And in the very same Stone were the Arms of Savelli Ingraven; which were Bendy Or G. a Chief Ar. charg'd with a Rose, between two Lyons Rampant confronting one another, of the Second: As I learn from Promptuair Armorial, a French Author, who exhibits a short Alphabet of Arms, of sundry Nations, and a Copious one of France.
Now, my Reader may object; Here's plain Presage, but the Effects follow'd not: I answer, I will for once make use of a Word much in Vogue, whilst the Exclusive Party raged and imagin'd vain Things, and which I sufficiently confuted (as to their Sense and Acceptation) in my Ʋnio Dissidentium, viz. He was not an Apparent; but Presumptive Pope: Every body hoping and expecting his Vertues would make Him so. But, as to the finding of such a Stone, in such uncouth places, I deem and esteem it a wonderful Discovery, and very worthy of Remarque, as strange an Accident as one shall likely read.
Many of these Things perhaps may (to some) appear difficult to believe; but they are the Reports of worthy Historians; and, for my part, I profess, I dare not dis-believe Them, having had my Self particular and Personal experience of Things as strange and incredible, as any of Their said Relations before-recited. I could Instance that Memorable Accident that happened July 1671. at St. Catharines, near [Page 18]the Tower of London, of a Maid being struk upon the Arm by an Invisible Hand, with several Crosses of a Sanguineal hew and colour (making together a Rhombular Form, which Heralds call a Lozenge); she was struck more than once; for as they began to wear away, she was re-struck: This was seen by my Self, and very many Persons more, (and some of great Quality, that came from White-Hall): For my own part, I have naturally such an Air of Curiosity to things of this Nature, that I gave notice to very many; among the rest, to One whom Foreign Travel, and all Polite Learning, greatly Adorn; and whose Treatise, De Ortu & Natura Sanguinis, shall make him Memorable, as long as Humane Frailty shall have need of Paeonian Aid, and the Influence of Apollo. I say, Apollo.—Cujus
He, I say, was very Instrumental in bringing the Maid to her Health and Senses, which the Fright had very much impaired and disordered (as Mr. Robert Garret, Seniour Brother of St. Catharines, and others, can Attest.) This then, was no Foolery, or Ridiculous Passage, like that of the Crosses appearing in Austry-Church in Warwick-shire; which nevertheless was Published in Print, and Visited by Thousands; whereas the Author had no other Record, than only the Honest and True Report of such as saw it, and knew not the Fallacy.
The Crosses of Austry being nothing else but certain remaining old ones, Painted in Times past in durable Colours; and having been (upon Beautifying the Church) whited over, the White in time began, through continued Humidity [Page 19]of the Air, to impair, and wear away; and so the under Painting began to appear again. An Accident which I have taken notice of long before, in a Church Mural-Painting, in the County of Suffolk discovering the Pourtraicture of the Patron Saint of the Church.
Several were the Opinions concerning this wonderful Percussion of the Maid of St. Catharines; some thought it the Effect of Witchcraft; others, a Presage of the Romish Religions Restitution. The Place where it happened, being within the Precinct of a Colledge, left unsuppressed at the general Dissolution of Henry the VIII. and continuing with Choral Service, even till the latter Times of Queen Elizabeth: The Quire little Inferiour to that of St. Pauls; and dissolved by the Machination of one Dr. W. the then Master: The Stalls yet remain of very Antique Work. As for the self-ended Dissolver, a strange Judgment followed the Action; for his only Son made away himself in his Mothers Abode within the same Cloisters; and she (Ob caussas quas dicere nolo, mortua est ex Communicata, & non absque Conatu multo intercessioneque magna Christianae Sepulturae, Commissa; cadavere interea (in fastigio Ecclesiae plumbeo) faetorem intolerabilem emittente) reservato: ut audivi à nativis quibusdam, quibus Parentes haec (horrore) narrârant. So fared it with the Eagle that took a Cole from the Altar, and Fired her own Nest.
☞ But now to the Matter of Holy Edward the Confessor, Relating to His Present Majesty.
AS Preparation was making for the Coronation of our present King's most Sacred Majesty in Westminster-Abby, the Workmen busied about the building of Scaffolds (either by mischance, or out of Curiosity of Inspection) broke the [Page 20]Coffin, wherein lay the Remains of Holy Edward the Confessor: After the Coronation was Accomplished, some Officer of the Church, or Servant of the Ecclesiasticks (as curious of Inspection as the former) put his Staff into the hole, and stirring, perceived something to gingle; and taking it out, found it to be a Golden Crucifix, of very considerable Value. This he durst not conceal, but revealing it to one of the Superiors of the Collegiate Society, it was made known to the King; who, like Himself, rewarded the Finder; and sometimes, in Reverence to the Antient Proprietor; wears this Religious Ornament himself.
St. Edward died the Fourth of January, Anno 1066. 621 Years ago. It's remarkable, this Crucifix should lie so long quiet and unknown, and at length be so strangely discovered, and be Preserved to be Presented to our present Soveraign; as if in Him alone, above all his Predecessors, were Vertues agreeable to those of the first Proprietor, the so Memorable Pious Edward the Confessor.
Day-Fatality, speaking of the Auspicious Fourteenth of October, His Majesties Birth-Day, concludes a Latin Decastich, with this Distich;
Verily, This hearty Wish hath not been in vain, but hath succeeded Prosperously; See Day-Fatality concerning the Third of March; as also, The Swans-Welcome, and Prince-Protecting Providences. And forget not, That very many took notice, that at His Majesties Proclamation, at the very Instant when 'twas performed at the Royal-Exchange, a great number of Doves were there Flocked together. To [Page 21]which is added, The finding of a Sacred Relique, appertaining to a Dove-like Prince.
Let us hear what Authors say of King Edward. Stow says, ( Pag. 94.) For His excellent Holiness, He is, unto this very Day, called Saint Edward; who, so soon as he had gotten His Father's Kingdom, released the heavy Tribute of Dane-Gilt.
And ( Pag. 95.) he calls Him, Good King Edward, and commends him for his Compassion; and relates a Story, as if God had indued Him with the Grace of seeing Visions. The Description of which Vision, I have often-times beheld in Painted Glass, on the South-side of the Body of Westminster-Abby Church. And Stow relates it at large, from approved Authors, That when the Officers had Collected the grievous Tribute, called Dane-Gilt, and brought it into the King's Treasury; The King being called to see so great an Heap and Mass, was, at the beholding thereof, much asraid; protesting he saw the Devil Dancing thereupon, and making exceeding much Joy; and therefore gave Commandment it should be forthwith rendred again to the former Owners thereof; averring, That of so cruel an Exaction He would not keep One Farthing to Himself, but it should go back from whence it came.
If Pope Nicholas the III. called the Money, drawn and squeesed à Pauperibus Litigantibus, from Poor Litigious People, by cunning Solicitors and Attornies, their very Blood and Souls; How much more, hard Taxes, which especially light upon the Trading part of a Nation; who, of all People, ought to be incouraged; as was the Opinion of Frederick Marquis of Mantua; for Les Estate du Monde, tells us, His Subjects lov'd Him much; for He was Liberal, and would Lend them Money without Interest, if he fonnd them fit for Traffick; An Heroick and Princely Humor: But I return.
Stow tells us likewise, King Edward was the first that Collected from the Ordinances, and Customs of the Mercians, West-Saxons, Danes, and Northumbers, an excellent Body of Law. Fox in his Martyrology, says of them, That being gathered out of the Best and Chiefest of other Laws, they were so Just and Equal, and so Serving the Publick Profit and Weal of all Estates and Conditions of Men, that the People long after did Rebel to have the same Laws again.
Matthew Paris tells us, That William the Conqueror, at his Coming in, did Swear to Use and Practise the same Good Laws of King Edward, for the Common Laws of the Realm; but, being Established in the Kingdom, broke his Word, and placed the Norman Laws in their room. And Stow informs us, That his Son, Henry the First, restored the said Laws again, and amended Them where deficient. In the first Chapter of the said Laws, the Duty of a King is excellently set forth; but I refer you to Fox.
But let us hear the Elogy the aforesaid Fox gives this Prince (from approved Authors;) He was a Man of a Gentle and Soft Spirit, of Nature and Condition so far from all War and Blood-shed, that being in His Banishment, He wished rather so to continue all His Life-time, in that Private Estate, than by Blood-shed to aspire to His Kingdom. After He had taken upon Him the Government of the Realm, He guided the same with much Wisdom and Justice Twenty Four Years, save Two Months; from whom Issued (as out of a Fountain) much Godliness, Mercy, Pity, and Liberality towards the Poor, Gentleness and Justice towards all Men; and, in all Honest Life, He gave a Vertuous Example to His People.
Wardner, in his Albions England, says thus of St. Edward:
Serlo, of Paris, in his Epitaph, begins thus of Him;
Robert of Glocester calls him, Edward the Simple (understand it not in our worst Acceptation at this day) but with a reference to Mat. 10.16. As Innocent and Harmless as a Dove: or, to the Qualification of Moses, Numb. 12.3. Who was very Meek above all the Men upon the Face of the Earth. Farther Illustrated, Ecclus. 45.1, 2, 3, 4. concluding thus, That God chose Him for His Faithfulness and Meekness, out of all Men, &c. Meekness being an Attribute our Saviour assumes to himself, Matt. 11.29. and therefore by no means unbecoming a King; and which Robert of Glocester should have called Sweetness of Conversation, which was made admirably good in that Story Alluredus Rivalleness relates of Him,
That as He lay on a Time Waking in His Bed, it chanced, That His Chamberlain taking Money out of one of the King's Coffers, left it open, and goes his ways: A Young Servitor, that Waited at the King's Table, spying the Coffer open, and supposing the King asleep, thrust a good quantity of Money into his Bosome, goes away, and lays it up; comes again, and does the like; and when he came the Third time, and the King knew (as 'twas thought) the Chamberlain was at hand, and willing the Young-Man should avoid the danger, cryed out to him; Thou art too bold, take what Thou hast, and get Thee gone; for, by God 's Mother, if Hugoline come (for that was the Chamberlain's Name, and whose Epitaph is mentioned by Weaver, Pag. 483.) he will not leave Thee one Penny; whereupon the Thief made hast away, and was never discovered by the King: Now, when Hugoline came, and perceived much Money to be gone, and by his own negligence, [Page 24]he began to sigh most grievously; whereupon, the King Rising, and making as if he knew nothing of what had happened, asked, What he ailed to be so Troubled? which, when the Chamberlain had related; the King replyed, Be not Troubled, certainly he that hath it, has more need of it than Thou and I; let him go, that which remains is enough for Ʋs.
Certainly, This is an Instance of great Clemency, Mildness, and good Humor: And, to which, let me add another out of Haraeus.
The King Residing at His Palace, near the Church of St. Peter, there came a certain Irish-Man, deprived of the Use of both his Feet; and seeing Hugoline, the King's Chamberlain, said unto him, Six times (as thou seest, even creeping) have I Visited the Thresholds of the Apostles, and yet have not deserved the Restoration of my Limbs. But I have received Command from the Prince of the Apostles, to go to the King; That He, taking me upon His Sacred Shoulders, bear me to the Church, near His Palace; there to receive my Cure, if so be He vouchsafes to do it. (Oh wonderful Humility!) The King takes him on His Shoulders, and carries him: the Man stretches out his Leggs, (his Hams being become Flexible) and is Cured. Thus is the Story related by my Author, who Dedicated his Book to Pope Sixtus Quintus.
God Blessed these his admirable Vertues with the wonderful Gift of Healing the King's-Evil. The Author of the Book called Vita Edovarde, says thus: This King Edward, of Famous Memory, before the Day of His Nativity, was Elected of God; wherefore, as we have known, produced by good and sufficient Witnesses, God greatly Glorified Him in His Life-time, with wonderful Signs; among the which, this that follows was one: A Young-Woman Married, [Page 25]but without Children, &c. had a Disease about her Jaws, and under her Cheeks, like Kernels; and this Disease so Corrupted her Face with Stench, that, without great shame, she could not speak to any body. This Woman was admonished in her Sleep, To go to King Edward, and procure Him to Wash her Face with Water, and she should be Cured. To the Court she came; and the King, Informed of the Matter, disdained not to make Tryal: having therefore a Bason of Water brought unto Him, He dipped His hands therein, and washed the Womans Face, oft-times rubbing the Diseased place; sometimes also signing it with the Sign of the Cross. Now, after He had thus Washed it, the hard Crustation or Swelling was softned and dissolved; and the King pressing with His hand the Tumors, out of them came little Worms (of which they were full) as also much Corrupt Matter and Blood: The King still persevered with His hands to bring forth the Corruption. This done, He commanded her a sufficient Allowance every day, for all things necessary, until she had received perfect Health; which was within a Week after: And whereas she was before Barren, she had a Child by her Husband. Ex libro cui Titulus, Vita Edovardi.
Again, Authors affirm, That a certain Man named Ʋlfunius Spillcorne; when he had hewn Timber in a certain Wood, laid him down to Sleep, after his sore Labour: Now, the Blood and Humors of his Head so settled about his Eyes, that he was thereof Blind for Nineteen Years: But, admonish'd in his Sleep, he went in Pilgrimage to many Churches, to implore the help of God for his Blindness; and, last of all, he came to Court; where he stood at the Entry of the King's Chamber, an earnest Suitor for his Royal Help. At length, the King being Informed of the Poor Man's Dream, He said, By Our Lady Saint Mary, I would do any thing with a good [Page 26]Will, if it would please God, by Me, to have Mercy upon this Poor Wretch: So, being also much put on by His Attendants, He call'd for Water, and washed the Blind-Man's Eyes, and strait-ways the Blood dropped plentifully out; and the Man being Healed, cryed out with a chearful Voice, I see Thee, O King! Thus having recovered his Sight, he kept the King's Palace at Windsor a long Season (for there he was Healed) after King Edward was Dead; and Deceased in the Reign of William the Conqueror. Now, although these things seem strange, yet the Normans ever averred, That He often did the like in His Youth, while He remained in Normandy in Exile. How much more then, when He came to be a King, in Possession (actually a Vicegerent of the Omnipotent God), that, by what means soever pleases himself, works Wonders.
I have been the more large in the Recital of these Two remarkable Passages, because our Kings of England deduce their Gifts and Faculties of Curing the King's-Evil (called in Latin, Struma, in French, Les Escroueles) from Edward the Confessor, upon these Two Cures. And, because Cured by Our Kings, we call it the King's-Evil; and in our Modern Latin, Morbus Regius. And to this will I make particular Application at the End of my Discourse.
Neither will I omit, from the Recitals aforesaid, to speak something in savour of Dreams: Johannes Spondanus, in his Comment upon Penelopes Dream, ( Lib. 14. Hom. Odys) says, Re vera hic testor, &c. I do avow, (which also I have heard made good by Persons of undoubted Credit, as to themselves) nothing considerable, either Good or Ill, ever happened to me, but I foresaw it in my Dreams.
He Dedicated his Book to Henry the Third, King of Navarre; which was after King of France, and known by the Name of Henry le Grand; and to whom he durst not [Page 27]have uttered any thing but Truth. Nam Sacra est Reverentia Regnum.
I could say something as to my own particular, very patt to the purpose: But I esteem it fitter for Private Discourse, than Publick Edition, and return to the Matter in hand.
These, before-recited, were the Vertues, Qualifications, and Endowments of the Prince, whose Crucifix was so strangely preserved (which being so secretly found, and not known of before, might easily have been detain'd): But as the Vision of St. Brightwald (sometimes Monk of Glastenbury, and after Bishop of Wilton) assured him, The Kingdom of England was the Kingdom of God, and He would give it to whom He pleased. So, this Regium Cimelium, this Royal Rarity, was ordained for One Elect of God; whom, though the Numerous and Powerful Exclusive Party in England, and a Malevolent Party in Scotland, would have put by; yet, maugre all, He is become Saint Edward the Confessor's Successor to His Crown, Scepter, and This Religious Relique, so wonderfully preserved: Which is the more Remarkable, in that the Massy Silver Head, belonging to the Royal Image, covered all over with Silver Plate, guilded, which Queen Catharine caused to be laid upon the Tomb of Henry the Fifth; was, at the Suppression in Henry the Eighth's Time, when the battering Hammers of Destruction made havock almost in every Church, Sacrilegiously purloined forth Westminster-Abby; though one would think, it being so manisest and obvious a thing, it should have Incited and Commanded the Care of the Church Officers to its Security and Preservation from Sacriledge.
No doubt, the having of this Pious Symbole and Badge, so auspiciously come by, is an evident Omen and Presage, our Soveraign (as was its Pristine Owner) will be Blessed with [Page 28]an happy Hand, in the Cure of the King's-Evil; Be as sparing of heavy Taxes as may be; A great Conservator of the Laws of he Land; A Pattern of Piety; A Mirrour of Mercy; A Fountain of Pity and Liberality towards the Poor; Gentle and Just towards all Men: In a word, an Exchecquer of all Vertue; as was the former Bearer thereof. I have mentioned before, That Wardner says of St. Edward, That He set His Kingdom free from all Wrongs and Foes.
Serlo, of Paris, says of Him to the same Effect:
Hear Old Robert of Glocester speaking to the same effect: Sooth our Lord nourished his Meekness, and yat him great Grase that Men should be addrade of him, that routh not be Wrath; and though Men trowed him to be Slow, he had such Subjects under him, that at his hest, daunted his Enemies; as Syward Earl of Northumberland, and Leofricus of Hereford, &c.
Our Legists tell us, Qui facit per alium facit per se, King Edward did His Enemies business by others. But our Prince ( JAMES the Good and Just) is able to be His own Conduct; to be Immensi tremor Oceani, Terrarum Arbiter; the Terror of the Ocean, the Ballance and Arbiter of Nations. Who shall dare to raise up this Lyon of England? Gen. 49.9.
Day-Fatality (Edit. 2. P. 1.) tells us, Normandy was Conquered from Duke Robert, that Day Forty Years the Normans had won England. Edward the Confessor came from Normandy to Reign in England, His Father's Kingdom, unjustly detained by His Maternal Brother: Why may not our Dread Soveraign, the Possessor of the Holy Confessor's Religious Badge (so strangely and ominously Recovered) go out of England (Si fas sit ita loqui) into Normandy, and Recover and Annex it to its Pristine Union, being His rightly descended Dukedome? ( Nihil loquor de Andegavia, de Comit' Pontino, Aquitania, &c.) He being a Prince certainly Born for Great Actions, and Blessed with a continuation of Lucky Omens.
How Benignly and Courteously, by His Means and Incouragement, are the Exiled French Received by Us? A Royal Brief being granted by His Majesty, for a Liberal Collection towards Their Relief.
I have by me an Antient Book, written at first in the German Tongue, by Sebastian Brandt, Doctor of both Laws, and Profest Orator and Poet; and Stiled by him, the Ship of Fools, laying open the Folly and Frailty of all sorts and conditions of Men; a Book very expedient and necessary to the Reader. This Book Jacobus Locherus Translated into Latin Verse; and from him one Alexander Barcklay, Canon of St. Mary Ottry, having Perused it in Three Languages, Latin, French, and Dutch, (as he Solemnly Professes in his Epistle) Translated into English Meetre. In his Chapter of the Ruine of the Holy Catholick Faith, and Diminution of the Empire, by the Turks, he Exhorts all Christian Princes and Potentates, to joyn Hand in Hand against the Incroaching Infidels. Now, whereas Brandt and Locher place all [Page 30]their hope in Maximilian, King of the Romans, as a most fit Leader: Our English Canon transfers it (by a Poetical Digression and Diversion) to the Famous King James the IV. of Scotland. Let us hear first the Latin, and after the English Poetry of that Age; and, first, for Lecher.
Now comes in Barcklay, whose Translation is Paraphrastical; and from whom we gather what an Opinion the World had of James the IV. aforesaid, Predecessor to His Present Majesty.
This our Poet concluded his Translation, 1508.23 Henry the VII. as he says, Pag. 259. But I perceive, by some Marginal [Page 32]Notes, 'twas not Printed till Henry the VIII. began His Reign. And I cannot but take notice of his Heraldical Allusion, expressing the two Kings of England and Scotland, the First by His Arms and Supporters; and the Last, by the Last; which accidently I imitated in a Distich I composed, when an over-confident Report was of the French King's Death, in Aug. 85.
Now as to the Ʋnicorn of Scotland, and the Poets Allusion aforesaid, read Numb. 23.22, and 24.8. and Job 39.9, and 10. Verses.
But I return to James the IV. He was (as well as very Valiant) a Wise and Politick Leader; for, at the Battle of Flodden Field, observing the great number of English Horse, (and those of large and strong size, the Scotch Horse being small) He told His Nobles and Commanders, We shall do no good with our Horses: We are as Valiant and Strong, as to our Persons, as our Enemies; We must make Foot work of it. Stow describes the Battle at large, and says, The Scotch Spears did twice sore indanger the English Forces; that the King himself, even in the foremost Rank, Fought right Valiantly, encouraging His People, as well by Example as Perswasions to do their best. In fine, the Lord Dacres, with his Horse, was the cause of the Scotch Defeat; and the King most Valiantly Fighting, was unfortunately Slain. See Weaver, Pag. 394. We have heard Barcklays Elogiums of this most Heroick Prince; and Stow's Testimony of His Valour; let us hear what others say.
John Johnston, in his Historical Description of the Scottish Kings, concludes one of his Stanza's thus, to his Eternal Praise:
Again;
And in Camden's Remains we have an Epitaph for him, concluding thus, as if speaking to His Royal Self:
Which intimates That if the Fates had given him a Monument equal to His Great Mind, not a small rais'd-up heap of Earth; [As Antiently was the Custom; See Weaver, Pag. 6. and Virgil, Lib. 7. speaking of Caietas Monument, Aggere compesito tumulus; and so Aeneid 11.
Thus Translated by Doctor Thomas Twine:
See Stone-henge Restored, Pag. 27. and 30. quoting Leland: In Egestis per campos terrae tumulis, quos Burghos appellamus sunt Sepulti.] I say, Not a small heap of Earth, not a mean Berry or Barrow, but all Britain it self, should have been His Funeral Mole and Pile.
The Magnanimity of our present Soveraign cannot make us believe otherwise, than that the Virtual and Warlike Genins of this Famous JAMES, is, by Generative Descent, I (will not say, Pythagorean Transmigration) streamed down into himself.
I must not omit one thing: The late Duke of Norfolk having the Sword of this Valorous Prince (as an Heir Loom) in his Possession, taken by his Ancestor; bestow'd it, as a great Rarity, upon the Heralds Office. The present Duke, presently after His Late Majesty's Decease discoursing with His Present Majesty about it, He had a mighty desire to see it; so 'twas sent for, and the King Pois'd it several times in His hands, with more than ordinary Pathetick Impression; As I have been assured by the Porter of the said Office; who, bringing it back, call'd at a place where I was with some Friends, to whom this accidental Overture of seeing the Sword, was exceeding Acceptable and Diverting: For my part, I have often thought of this Passage, When I consider'd the Vertues of the Prince that wore this remarkable Weapon, viz. James the Fourth; whom our Chanon of Saint Mary Ottry, would have had to have been the Christian Prince's Agamemnon against the Infidels. — I have said before, Qui facit per alium facit per se. Now, if what the Chanon would have had done by the Predecessor, be done by the Arriere-Nephew and Successor, his Wish is fulfilled; and in Him; the Lyon and Ʋnicorn are united, viz. Henry the Seventh, and the most Valiant James the Fourth, His Royal Names sake aforementioned.
Poets are a kind of Prophets and Seers. Now, Mr. Payne Fisher, in an Ode which he made upon his Sacred Majesty's Inauguraration, concludes thus:
Which I presume to English thus:
Which Verses plainly Import, as if in that Name, some secret hidden Vertue lay Divinely couched and enshrined.
In my Christian Valour Incouraged, set out 84. when the Venetians made their Inroad into Morea; I strongly Insinuate the French King was the Man must be mainly Instrumental to ruine the Turk: I recited several Prophesies; but especially that of Joachim:
The Turk shall be Destroyed by Three Nations; By the French, Propter bonos Equites, for their excellent Cavalry; By the English, Propter bonos Marinarios, for their excellent Seamen; and, By the Venetians, Propter bonum Consilium, for their Prudent Councils. This Prophecy is worthy of Remarque; and the French in the Van. I go on, and add: The French Monarch is become Potent in Shipping; but He is not King of the English Mariners, which must make up the Ternary, according to Joachim.
Strange Revolutions have happened to England since the Year 78. That Generous Maximus Ma [...]inus, mentioned in Day-Fatality (once Great Admiral of Arragon; and till the Year 73. High Admiral of England, is now again, at length, re-invested in all His Honours; and that in spight of that Crew, mentioned in Introductio ad Latinam Blasoniam, Pag. 165. with strange Prophetical Heraldieal Reflections: He, I say, is restor'd; Influenc'd by a Divine Power and Favour, and the Benevolent Rays of Fraternal Love; The Love of the greatest Sea Prince in the World, Charles le bon, & le grand.
Pray God incline the Heart of the Great French Cyrus; The Heart of the Great Charles of Great Britain; And then the French Cavalry, and the English Mariners, Influenc'd by the Auspicious Genius and Success of Prince Maximus Marinus. His Royal Highness, will be Assistant to the Venetian Counsels and Undertakings.
Thus I, in my said Little Treatise.
Since which (Sic dii voluêre) Charles le bon is departed into another World, and James the Great is become Sole Arbiter of His Brothers Power; and needs none of His Brothers Influence; I say, no Influence, but that of God: Which, let's pray He may never want, to Subdue the Enemies of Cristendome, as well as Those of His own peculiar Kingdoms (faxit Deus).
Thus have I finished This small Piece, Treating of the Wonderful Discovery and Finding of that Sacred Relique, belonging to a Royal Confessor of that Religion, which our most Serene Soveraign has Restored, and solemnly Professes.
When I had Published my Day-Fatality, Anno 1679. one whom I am loath to name, (and whom I Answered in a Pamphlet Intituled, Mercurius Antiducalis Flagella us; and have also mentioned with special Remark, Pag. 157. of my Introductio ad Latinam Blasoniam) exposed me in his Popish Courant, as a Red-Letter-Man; and Abus'd me most horribly in his Touch of the Times: What will he think of me now? I only gently tell him, and all the World:
I need not English this to the Author aforesaid, who began that part of his Popish Courant (so Picquant to me) with a Quotation out of Horace.
ERRATA.
PAge 4. Line ult. for Plenas read Plenus. p. 11. l. 22. for Europian r. European. p. 13. l. 23. for Cords r. Corps. p. 19. l. 19. r. Excommunicata. p. 23. l. 2. for Edovardus r. Edwardus. Ibid. l. 15. for Rivalleness r. Rivallensis. p. 24. l. 26. for Edovarde r. Edovardi. p. 31. l. 27. for Hand is r. Handys. p. 32. l. 5. for accidently r. accidentally.