The descrip wife. before had most misse) that her great shame wan her much praise. And many good folke also, that hated her liuing, and glad wer to se sin corrected, yet pitied thei more her penance, then rejoyced therein, when thei considred that 5 the protector procured it, more of a corrupt intent then ani vertuous affecion. This woman was born in cion of Shores London, worshipfully frended, honestly brought vp, and very wel maryed, sauing somewhat to sone, her husbande an honest citezen, yonge and goodly 10 and of good substance. Proper she was and faire; nothing in her body that you wold haue changed, but if you would haue wished her somewhat higher. Thus say thei that knew her in her youthe. Albeit some that now se her (for yet she liueth) deme her neuer to haue ben wel visaged. Whose 15 jugement semeth me somwhat like as though men should gesse the bewty of one longe before departed, by her scalpe taken out of the charnel house; for now is she old, lene, withered, and dried vp, nothing left but ryuilde skin and hard bone. And yet being euen such, whoso wel aduise 20 her visage, might gesse and deuise which partes how filled wold make it a faire face. Yet delited not men so much in her bewty, as in her plesant behauiour. For a proper wit had she, and could both rede wel and write, mery in company, redy and quick of aunswer, neither mute 25 nor ful of bable, sometime taunting without displesure and not without disport. In whom the king therfore toke special pleasure. Whose fauour, to sai the trouth, (for sinne it wer to belie the deuil) she neuer abused to any mans hurt, but to many a mans comfort and relief: 30 where the king toke displeasure she would mitigate and appease his mind: where men were out of fauour, she wold bring them in his grace. For many that had highly offended, shee obtained pardon. Of great forfetures she gate men remission. And finally in many weighty sutes, she stode many men in gret stede, either for none, or very smal rewardes, and those rather gay then rich; either for that she was content with the dede selfe well done, or for that she delited to be suid vnto, and to show what she was able to 5 do wyth the king, or for that wanton women and welthy be not alway couetouse. I doubt not some shal think this woman to sleight a thing to be written of and set amonge the remembraunces of great matters; which thei shal specially think, that happely shal esteme her only by that thei 10 now see her. But me semeth the chaunce so much the more worthy to be remembred, in how much she is now in the more beggerly condicion, vnfrended and worne out of acquaintance, after good substance, after as gret fauour with the prince, after as gret sute and seking to with al those that 15 those days had busynes to spede, as many other men were in their times, which be now famouse, only by the infamy of their il dedes. Her doinges were not much lesse, albeit thei be much lesse reme[m]bred, because thei were not so euil. For men vse if they haue an euil turne, to write it in marble: 20 and whoso doth vs a good tourne, we write it in duste, which is not worst proued by her: for at this daye shee beggeth of many at this daye liuing, that at this day had begged if she had not bene. other beheaded. Now was it so deuised by the protectour and his 25 counsel, that the self day in which the lord Chamberlen was behedded in the tower of London, and The Lord about the selfsame hower, was there, not with- Riuers and out his assent, behedded at Poontfraite, the fore-remembred lordes and knightes that were taken from 3ɔ the king at Northampton and Stony Stratford. Which thinge was done in the presence and by the order of syr Richard Ratcli knight, whose seruice the protector speci Sur Richard ally vsed in the counsel and in thexecucion of such lawles enterprises, as a man that had ben long secret with him, hauing experience of the world and a shrewde wit, short and rude in speche, rough and bous5 tiouse of behauiour, bold in mischief, as far from pitie as from al fere of God. This knight bringing them out of the prison to the scafold, and shewing to the people about that thei were traitors, not suffring them to speke and declare their innocence, lest their wordes might haue in10 clined men to pity them, and to hate the protectour and his part, caused them hastly without jugement, processe, or maner of order to be behedded, and without other earthly gilt, but only that thei were good men, to true to the king and to nigh to the quene. Now when the lord 15 Chamberlen, and these other lordes and knightes were thus behedded and ridde out of the way: then thought the protectour, that while men mused what the mater ment, while the lordes of the realme wer about him out of their owne strenghtis, while no man wist what to thinke nor 20 whome to trust, ere euer they should haue space to dispute and disgest the mater and make parties, it wer best hastly to pursue his purpose, and put himself in possession of the crowne, ere men could haue time to deuise ani wais to resist. But now was al the study, by what meane thys 25 matter being of it self so heinouse, might be first broken to the people, in such wise that it might be wel taken. To this counsel they toke diuerse, such as they thought metely to be trusted, likely to be indused to the parte, and able to stand them in stede, either by power or policy. Among whom, they made of counsail Edmond Shaa knight, then Maier of London, which, vpon trust of his owne aduauncement, whereof he was of a proud hart highly desirouse, shold frame the cite to their 30 Edmunde Shaa, Maier of London. appetite. Of spiritual men thei toke such as had wit, and were in aucthoritie among the peple for oppinion of ther lerning, and had no scrupilouse consience. Among these had thei John Shaa clerke, brother to the Maier, Doctour Shaa. and freer Penker, prouincial of the Augustine freers, both doctors of diuinite, both gret prechars, both of more learning then vertue, of more fame then Frere Penker. lerning. For thei were before gretly estemed 5 among the peple, but after that neuer. Of these two the tone had a sermon in praise of the protectour before the 10 coronacion, the tother after, both so ful of tediouse flatery, that no mans eares could abide them. Penker in his sermon so lost his voice that he was faine to leaue of and come downe in the middes. Doctour Shaa by his sermon lost his honestie, and sone after his life, for very shame of the 15 worlde, into which he durst neuer after come abrode. But the frere forced for no shame, and so it harmed him the lesse. Howbeit some dout and many thinken that Penker was not of counsel of the mater before the coronacion, but after the comen maner fell to flattery after, namely 20 sith his sermon was not incontinent vpon it, but at S. Mary hospytall at the Ester after. But certaine is it, that Doctour Shaa was of counsel in the beginning, so farre forth that they determined that he should first breke the mater in a sermon at Poules Crosse, in whiche he shold, by the 25 aucthorite of his preaching, encline the peple to the protectours ghos[t]ly purpose. But now was al the labour and study in the deuise of some conuenient pretext, for which the peple should be content to depose the prince and accept the protector for kinge. In which, diuerse thinges 30 they deuised. But the chief thing and the weighty of al that inuencion rested in this that they should allege bastardy, either in king Edward himself, or in his children, or both. So that he should seme dishabled to inherite the crowne by the duke of Yorke, and the prince by him. To lay bastardy in kynge Edward sowned openly to the rebuke of the protectours owne mother, which was mother 5 to them both; for in that point could be none other colour, but to pretend that his own mother was one aduouteresse which notwithstanding, to farther this purpose, he letted not; but natheles he would that point should be lesse, and more fauorably, handled, not euen fully plain and directly, 10 but that the matter should be touched aslope craftely, as though men spared in that point to speke al the trouth for fere of his displeasure. But the other point concerning the bastardy that they deuised to surmise in king Edwards children, that wold he should be openly declared and 15 inforsed to the vttermost. The coloure and pretext wherof cannot be wel perceiued, but if we first repete you some thinges longe before done about king Edwardes mariage. After that king Edward the fourthe had deposed kinge Henry the sixt, and was in peasyble possession of the 20 realme, determining himself to mary, as it was requisite bothe for himself and for the realme, he sent ouer in embassiate the Erle of Warwike with other noblemen in his company vnto Spaine, to intreate and conclude a mariage betwene king Edward and the kinges doughter of 25 Spain. In which thing the Erle of Warwik founde the parties so toward and willing, that he spedely, according to his instruccions, without any difficulty, brought the matter to verye good conclusion. Now happed it that in the meane season, there came to make a sute, by peticion to 30 dame Elizathe king, dame Elizabeth Gray which was after beth Gray. his quene, at that tyme a widow borne of noble blood, specyally by her mother, which was Duches of Bedford ere she maried the lord Wodefeld her father. Howbeit |
