Historia Regis Henrici Septimi by Bernado Andrea

The Dedication of Bernard André of Toulouse.

Bernardi Andreæ Tholosatis Dedicatio.

To His Royal Highness

REGIÆ CELSITUDINI.

That Cato the Elder, most invincible of kings, wrote at the beginning of his Origins that regard must be had for leisure no less than for public business, by minds both great and small. This saying, since I see that it has pleased learned men, our Cicero in particular embraces it; he testifies in the speech in which he defends Plancus that it always seemed to him magnificent and illustrious. This is something that I too must take care of—whether in accordance with the modest measure of my talent, or with no modest desire for glory (if indeed I have not yet fully subdued that desire by self-control and reason).

CATO ille Senior, invictissime regum, non minus, otii quam negotii rationem, tam claris quam pusillis ingeniis habendam esse, in primordio suarum scripsit Originum. Quod [quidem¹] dictum dictum quum placuisse videam doctis viris, tum præcipue Cicero noster amplectitur; magnificum sibi semper ac præclarum visum esse in ea qua Plancum defendit oratione testatur. Id mihi quoque, si vel pro ingenii mediocritate, vel pro non mediocri gloriæ cupiditate, (si tamen hanc nondum fræno animi ac ratione perdomui) providendum est.

What should I first strive to accomplish, if not that, just as I keep myself at a distance from public business, so too idleness may in no way be allied with my leisure? And if by chance I write anything destined to endure, I shall inscribe it especially to those by participation in whose glory I may myself shine forth and be able to withstand the shadows that the murky depth of time and forgetful posterity, devourer of illustrious names, threaten against me.

Quid primum præstare nitar nisi ut, sicut ego a negotiis, sic ab otio modo procul absit inertia? Et si quid forte mansurum scripsero, his potissimum inscribam, quorum gloriæ quadam velut participatione clarescere tenebrisque resistere valeam, quas mihi temporum fusca profunditas et nominum consumptrix illustrium obliviosa posteritas intentat.

As I often turned these matters over in my mind, your most sacred name would indeed frequently present itself—so radiant in itself and so deserving in regard to me—that whether I were embracing what is illustrious or what is dear to me, it could not be passed over without a certain grave injustice. Added to this is the fact that, from my special and dutiful devotion toward your serenity, just as others owe tithes of their crops, so I seem to owe you the tithes of my leisure and the first fruits of my vigils. Therefore it is my intention each year to render payment to you, more or less according to the fertility or barrenness of my yearly talent; so that, like one of your tenants, I may be understood to acknowledge good faith by at least these fruits which my little plot yields.

Quod versanti animo sæpe equidem tuum sacratissimum nomen occurrit, et usque adeo fulgidum in se atque ita de me meritum ut seu præclara seu mihi cara complectar, præteriri sine gravi quodam non possit injustitia. Accedit quod ex mea erga tuam serenitatem peculiari servilique observantia, ut frugum cæteri, sio ego tibi decimas otii debere videor, primitiasque vigiliarum. Itaque tibi quotannis, plus minusve, pro ingenii ubertate vel sterilitate annua persolvere est animus; quo, velut unus e colonis tuis, his saltem fructibus quos agellus meus fert agnoscere intelligar bonam fidem.

What then should you chiefly expect from me at this moment, other than that which I have always had both on my lips and in my heart, and which the solitary place now before my eyes itself urges upon me: the praise of King Henry the Seventh? This I have often in former times attempted alone, and especially now with myself, lest idleness lull my senses into torpor—an undertaking indeed unequal to my powers. Yet as a kind of prelude, as Papinius did in his Achilleid, I venture to test what I may be capable of, though I have never before undertaken so lofty and magnificent a work.

Quid vero nunc prius ex me potissimum speres, quam, quod et in ore et in corde semper habui, et ipse qui modo sub oculis est locus hortatur solitarius, Regis Henrici Septimi præconium, quod cum sæpe olim solus, tum maxime hoc tempore mecum, ne mihi torpentem sopiret inertia sensum, describere ausus sum; rem profecto meis viribus imparem. Sed præludio quodam, ut Papinius in Achille, quid possim experiar, nunquam antea tam excellens tamque magnificum opus aggressus.

To your most excellent majesty, therefore, by means of this epistolary preface, I humbly offer a kind of foretaste of my studies, begging only this: that whatever I may have set down in your royal life outside the strict order of events or of time, your Jovian humanity may not take offense at me for it. For while dictating these things I was able to find no counsellor other than myself. And so, like one walking blind in the dark, I thought I would be accused by you rather of boldness than of negligence.

Tuæ igitur excellentissimæ majestati, hac epistolari præfatione, prægustationem quamdam studiorum meorum suppliciter offero; hoc unum obsecrans ut, quicquid præter rerum aut temporum ordinem in ipsa tua regia vita apposui, non mihi succenseat tua Jovialis humanitas. Nam dum hæc dictarem neminem præter meipsum consultorem invenire potui. Quare, ut cæcus in tenebris ambulans, audaciæ potius quam negligentiæ abs te accusatum iri potevolui.

But if you should perceive the roughness and quality of my style, and should thereafter declare that material for writing is to be supplied to me, then, if not splendidly, at least truthfully and faithfully, and to whatever extent I am able, I shall strive to write it clearly with all my industry, by the favor of the Lord Jesus Christ, who may always grant success to your royal prayers.

Sed cum styli mei ruditatem qualitatemque deprehenderis, ac mihi posthac scribendi materiam præstari edixeris, si non egregie, at vere, fideliterque, quantulacumque possum, industria mea idipsum luculenter scribere tentabo, annuente Domino Jesu Christo, qui regia semper tua vota secundet.

Note 1. This word is written in the margin in a contemporary hand and appears intended to be inserted here.

Preface

Præfatio

For one who is about to write most truthfully the life and deeds of Henry the Seventh, most fortunate and most victorious king of England and of France, it seems to me above all worth the effort, on account of the greatness of the deeds undertaken, to preface for readers an apology, as the Greek historian Plutarch says in the Life of King Alexander and of Caesar: that he has nothing else to place before them than an excuse, lest, if with many things cut away we do not set forth each and every one of the most famous deeds in full number, they reproach us, since it is not so much a history as a life that we have in mind to write.

HENRICI SEPTIMI, Angliæ ac Franciæ Regum faustissimi victoriosissimique vitam ac gesta perquam veridice scripturo, mihi imprimis operæ pretium videtur ob propositam rerum gestarum magnitudinem, ut Plutarchus Græcus historiographus in Regis Alexandri Cæsarisque vita inquit, "nihil aliud quam excusationem lectoribus præfari; ut si, amputatis plurimis, haud unamquamque rerum famosissimarum in numerum explicamus, ne nos carpant, quum non tam historiam quam vitam perscribere in animo sit.

Note 1. Sic, pro jocusque.

Moreover, not always do the most famous deeds most clearly reveal virtues and vices; but a small thing in itself, or a word, or some chance circumstance, more often lays open character than countless enemies slain in battle, vast battle-lines, and captured cities. Just as therefore painters, the other parts having been neglected, take likenesses from the face and from the form of the countenance, from which the signs of character are evident, so we too must be allowed to trace the signs of the soul, making known through them the life of so great a king, while leaving his greatness and military deeds to others.

Præterea non usquequaque clarissima gesta clarissima gesta virtutem flagitiaque declarant; verum exigua per se res, ac verbum locusque¹ quispiam mores magis aperit quam hostes infiniti prælio cæsi, ingentes acies et expugnata oppida. Quemadmodum igitur pictores, neglectis cæteris partibus, ex facie a vultus forma, unde morum indicium extat, similitudines capiunt, sic et nobis indulgendum est ut animorum signa ineamus, per ea tanti Regis vitam significantes, ejus amplitudinem ac res bellicas aliis relinquentes."

Moreover, that great splendour of Macedonia, Alexander, is reported to have replied to Choerilus, who desired to write his deeds, "I would rather be Thersites in Homer than Achilles in Choerilus"; and with good reason the same may be turned back against me, although Valerius is a suitable witness that Homer too was deprived of his sight.

Adde quod Macedoniæ ille fulgor magnus Alexander Cherilo sua gesta scribere cupienti respondisse fertur, " alo Homeri Thersites esse quam Cherili Achilles," merito in me idem retorqueri poterit, quamvis Homerum quoque oculis captum fuisse Valerius idoneus testis est.

I return to Alexander, who, as the same Plutarch relates, issued an edict that no one should paint him except Apelles, nor should anyone else cast bronze for him except Lysippus; for the one was an outstanding painter, the other an outstanding sculptor. What of that most valiant Hector in Naevius? Does he in any way glory most of all in being praised for his father Priam, the most powerful ruler of Asia?

Redeo ad Alexandrum qui, ut idem Plutarchus narrat, edictum fecit ne quis se præter Apellem pingeret, aut alius Lysippo duceret æra; alter enim pictor, alter statuarius fuit egregius. Quid Hector ille fortissimus apud Nævium? Numquid parente suo Priamo Asiæ Regnatore potentissimo sese laudari maxime gloriatur?

Therefore, with such and so great outstanding praisers, although I myself, a mere little man, was by no means to be compared with them, yet, by unshaken loyalty to this most prudent king, and at the same time by a well-known affection, beneficence, and due reverence toward him, pricked and stirred, and, so that I may speak more truly, kindled and inflamed by the splendor of his admirable virtues, I had brought myself in mind to undertake the plan of my purpose, namely the work, although unequal to my powers, more boldly than so great a subject would demand.

Talibus itaque ac tantis eximiis laudatoribus etsi homuncio ipse minime conferendus eram, fide tamen inconcussa huic prudentissimo regi, compertissima simul affectione, beneficentia ac debita observantia in ipsum punctus, stimulatus, et, ut verius dicam, admirabilium virtutum suarum splendore accensus et inflammatus, propositi mei rationem, opus, videlicet, tametsi viribus meis impar, audentius quam tanta res expostularet aggrediendum mihi in animum induxeram.

After therefore the quiet for my studies had been obtained, which for four years I had expended in instructing Arthur, most noble and most learned prince of Wales and firstborn of the aforesaid king, I began to write concerning the life and deeds of the said most excellent prince, his father—namely in the year of grace one thousand five hundred, in the tenth year of the pontificate of the most blessed Alexander the Sixth, and in the sixteenth year of the reign of the said king.

Post igitur impetratam studiis meis quietem, quam per quatuor annos Arturo Walliæ principi nobilissimo literatissimoque et prædicti regis primogenito erudiendo impenderam, de vita atque gestis præfati jam principis genitoris excellentissimi scribere sum exorsus, anno videlicet gratiæ quingentesimo supra mille, Beatissimi Alexandri Sexti pontificatus anno decimo, et memorati regis regni anno sextodecimo.

For which reason, for the sake of excusing my weakness, as I have said, I would wish readers to be humbly entreated, that if they should discover anything less learned or wrongly set down (which indeed is very easy to happen) in this royal life, they should attribute it not to my lack of justice, but to the loftiness of history; and let them remember that saying of Jerome, “great subjects do not bear small talents, and in the very attempt they succumb when they have dared things beyond their strength.” But, as the blessed Augustine says, “It is a great and arduous work, but our God is a helper.”

Quocirea excusandæ, ut prædixi, imbecilitatis meæ gratia, lectores suppliciter oratos velim, ut si quid minus eruditum aut perperam positum (quod quidem factu facillimum est) in hac regia vita deprehenderint, ne id justitiæ meæ, sed historiæ sublimitati ascribant, meminerintque Hieronimianum illud, grandes materias ingenia parva non perferunt, et in ipso conatu rerum supra vires ausa succumbunt. Verum, ut inquit beatus Augustinus, "Magnum opus et arduum, sed Deus noster adjutor est."

Wherefore, lest I exceed the proper measure of a preface, that which Sallust—most illustrious prince in the truth of history, as he himself declares to please Augustine—truly says of himself, I have judged it not inappropriate to appropriate here also for myself in this place: "But to me indeed, although by no means does equal glory attend the writer and the doer, nevertheless it seems above all arduous to write deeds; first, because actions must be matched by words; then because many think that the faults which you have censured are spoken out of malice and envy; while, when mindful of the great virtue and glory of good men, they accept with fairness of mind those things which each thinks easy for himself to do; but things beyond these they regard as though invented and take them as false."

Quapropter, ne præfationis modum excedam, id quod Sallustius, ut ipsi placet Augustino, historiæ veritate princeps clarissimus, de se vere prædicat, mihi quoque haud abs re hoc in loco usurpandum censui: "At mihi quidem, tametsi haudquaquam par gloria sequatur scriptorem et auctorem, tamen imprimis arduum videtur res gestas scribere; primum quia facta dictis exæquanda sunt; dehinc quia plerique delicta quæ reprehenderis malevolentia et invidia dicta putant; ubi de magna virtute atque gloria bonorum memores, quæ sibi quisque facilia factu putat æquo animo accipit; supra ea veluti ficta pro falsis ducit."

Therefore, when my mind had found rest from many miseries, and I resolved that the remainder of my life should be kept far from the court, it was not my plan to waste good leisure in sloth and idleness, but, returning to that study from which evil ambition had held me back at the beginning, I determined to write the deeds of King Henry the Seventh piecemeal, as each thing came to my memory, without any instructor, just as they seemed to me worthy to be written down; all the more because my mind at that time was entirely free. Wherefore concerning his life and deeds I shall complete my account as truthfully as I can, in brief. Of the royal origin of both his parents a few things must first be explained, from which, Christ as guide, I shall now begin my discourse.

Igitur ubi animus ex multis miseriis requievit, et reliquam ætatem a curia procul habendam decrevi, non fuit consilium socordia atque desidia bonum otium conterere, sed a quo incepto studio me ambitio mala detinuerat, eodem regressus, statui res gestas Regis Henrici Septimi carptim, ut quæque memoriæ mihi occurrentia, absque ullo instructore, digna mihi videbantur, perscribere; eo magis quod mihi animus liberrimus tunc erat. Quapropter de vita atque gestis ipsius quam verissime potero paucis absolvam. De cujus regali utriusque parentis origine pauca prius explananda sunt : a quibus jamjam Christo duce initium dicendi faciam.

On the royal origin of both of his parents.

De Regali utriusque parentis ipsius origine.

Tracing the royal lineage of both parents, most noble by far, from Brutus and from all the royal princes descended from him in times past, on the father’s side, to whom belonged the name Edmund, earl of Richmond, father of Henry VII.

Regiam utriusque parentis prosapiam longe nobilissimam ducens a Bruto cunctisque ab illo retroactis Royal deprincipibus ex parte patris, cui Edmundo Richemondiæ Henry VII. comiti nomen fuit.

But on the mother’s side, from Catherine, from the kings of France, Castile, Portugal, and Scotland, and from very many emperors of Germany, his descent, illustrious with a lineage outstanding in nobility, is such that he surpasses all Christian princes, both of earlier times and of his own age, in antiquity and excellence of nobility.

Ex parte vero matris a Katherina Franciæ, Castellæ, Lusitaniæ, Scotiæque regibus et plurimis Alemanniæ imperatoribus descensus ejusdem nobilitatis præcellenti stemmate illustrissimus est; usque adeo omnes et superioris et suæ ætatis Christianos principes antiquitate et excellentia nobilitatis excellit.

And, in order that I may briefly touch upon the descent of his father from the ancient kings of the Britons, if I mention a few things out of the many most illustrious deeds of Saint Cadwaladr—whom after long intervals of time the same Henry lawfully succeeded—and of Cadwallon, the father of the aforesaid Cadwaladr, I shall omit, lest I exceed the proper measure of history, the earlier kings of the Britons from whom the same king traced his origin, down to the present time.

Atque, ut sui genitoris ab antiquis Britannis regibus descensum breviter attingam, Sancti Cadvaladri, cui post longa temporum intervalla idem Henricus legitime successit, et Cadvalonis præfati Cadvaladri genitoris, si pauca de multis illorum præclarissimis gestis attigero, priores Britonum reges, ne historiæ modum excedam, a quibus idem rex originem duxit, præsens in tempus omittam.

Meanwhile, as far as Saint Cadwaladr is concerned, first of all that occurs as worthy of memory: that after the father of Cadwaladr, Cadwallon son of Cadfan, killed King Edwin of the Northumbrians, son of King Æthelfrith, and that by his command also Penda, king of the Mercians, put Saint Oswald to death, the same Cadwallon subdued all the kings of England and made them all tributary to himself, and he reigned for forty-seven years; whose body, to the terror of the Saxons, was placed in a bronze image upon a bronze horse at the western gate of London, and these two verses were inscribed and engraved:

"The king Cadwallon lies on the London wall,

who with a harsh sword subjected the English to death.”

Interim quod ad Cadvaladrum sanctum attinet, imprimis illud memoria dignum occurrit quod postquam Cadvaladri pater, Cadvalo filius Caduani, Eduynum regem Northumbrorum filium regis Ethelfridi interfecit, ejus quoque jussu Penda rex Merciorum Sanctum Odvaldum peremit, idem Cadvalo omnes reges Angliæ subjugavit, cunctosque sibi tributarios fecit, regnavitque annis quadraginta septem; cujus corpus ad terrorem Saxonum in imagine ænea super equum æneum ad occiduam Londoniæ portam collocatum est, inscriptique sunt et insculpti hi duo versus:

"Rex jacet in muro Cadvalo Londoniensi,

Angligenas duro qui funere subdidit ensi."

This Cadwallon, as I said before, had a son Cadwaladr, and he succeeded his father in the kingdom of Britain, which we now call England. In his time, however, famine and dreadful mortality fell upon the British people, to such an extent that the living who survived were scarcely able, because of the multitude, to bury their dead. But the king, by God’s command fleeing death together with many Britons, went to Alan, king of Lesser Britain; where at length, having been advised by divine admonition, renouncing the world he set out for Rome, and, having been confirmed by Pope Sergius in his holy purpose, after a short time he departed this life, and, his life’s probity and miracles shining far and wide, he was canonically declared a saint by the same blessed pontiff and by the whole venerable college of cardinals.

Hujus Cadvalonis, ut ante dixi, filius Cadvaladrus erat, successitque patri in regno Britanniæ, quam nunc Angliam vocamus. Hujus autem tempore fames et mortalitas dira Britannum populum invaserunt; adeo quod vivi qui superaverant suos sepelire mortuos præ multitudine minime poterant. Rex vero cum multis Britonibus Dei jussu mortem fugiens Alanum Britanniæ Minoris Regem adiit; ubi tandem, divina admonitione consultus, sæculo renuncians Romam profectus est, et a Sergio Papa in sancto proposito confirmatus, parvo post tempore vita functus est, sanctusque vitæ suæ probitate ac miraculis longe lateque coruscantibus ab eodem beato pontifice ac toto venerabilium Cardinalium Collegio canonice declaratus.

From that time onward, up to the coming into England of Henry the Seventh, that lawful successor, the kingdom of the Britons was interrupted by the savagery of the English, and the English began to rule. After therefore the death of the aforesaid Cadwaladr, and with the kingdom of the Britons having been set aside up to Henry the Seventh, the Britons lost their name, and were called Welsh from their leader Wallo, over whom Arthur the Second, firstborn son of the previously named king, was ruling at the time when I was writing these things.

Tempore jam ex illo usque ad Henrici Septimi illius legitimi successoris in Angliam adventum Britonum regnum Anglorum sævitia intercalatum est, et Angli regnare cœperunt. Post itaque prædicti Cadvaladri obitum usque ad Henricum Septimum Britonum regno intermisso, Britones vocabulum amiserunt, et Wallenses ab eorum duce Wallone sunt cognominati; quibus Arturus secundus, antenominati regis primogenitus princeps, cum hæc scriberem dominabatur.

How therefore the king stands in the degree of consanguinity, and through the maternal line with France, Navarre, the dukes of Orléans, the Bourbons, the house of Anjou, the house of Anjou again, the emperors of Portugal and of Burgundy, and likewise with the queen of Castile, the king of Scotland, and the Twelve Peers of France and the greater men of Britain, and also with the estates and the greatest lords of his own realm subject to his most sacred majesty, to recount would be too long. But since concerning this genealogy very many booklets exist in this realm, most recently composed with the utmost exactness after examination of the truth by the most skilled men of the kingdom, I shall begin from Catherine, wife of Henry the Fifth and daughter of France, who was afterwards joined in lawful marriage to Owen, the aforesaid king’s paternal grandfather previously mentioned, successor of the kings of the Britons.

Quomodo igitur rex in consanguinitatis gradu existat and by the materno genere cum Francia, Navarra, ducibus Aurelianis, Borboniis, domo Andegaviæ, domo Andegaviæ, imperatoribus Lusitaniæ et Burgundiæ, et item cum regina Castellæ, rege Scotiæ, ac Duodecim Paribus Francia et majoribus Britanniæ, necnon cum statibus et maximis dominis regni sui sacratissimæ suæ majestati subditis, enarrare perlongum esset. Sed quia de hac genealogia libelli hoc in regno plurimi extant novissime ad examen veritatis absolutissimeque ab regni peritissimis compositi, a Katherina Henrici Quinti conjuge et filia Franciæ, postea Eduyno præfati regis avo paterno antememorato, ab regibus Britannis successore, legitimo matrimonio copulata initium faciam.

Accordingly, the descent of the royal lady his mother, Margaret, a most noble woman, endowed from heaven both with integrity of life and with holiness, I shall set forth briefly. And lest meanwhile the descent of the lady mother slip from memory: John duke of Lancaster, Philip king of Portugal, Eleanor the Empress, Elizabeth duchess of Burgundy, Charles her husband, Mary duchess of Burgundy, wife of Maximilian of Austria, Edward king of Portugal, Maximilian king of the Romans and emperor, John earl of Somerset, John duke of Somerset, father of Margaret countess of Richmond and royal mother. From whom Henry the Seventh, king of England and of France, of whom our discourse now treats, made illustrious the noble lineage of that same king. And of his most illustrious genealogy thus far.

Regiæ itaque dominæ matris Margaretæ feminæ nobilissimæ, tum vitæ integritate, tum sanctimonia cœlitus dotatæ, descensum paucis expediam. Et ne interea dominæ matris descensus memoria excidat, Joannes dux Lancastriæ, Philippus rex Lusitaniæ, Alienor Imperatrix, Elizabeth duxissa Burgundiæ, Karolus ejus maritus, Maria Burgundiæ duxissa Austria uxor MaxiIlis birth, miliani, Eduardus rex Lusitaniæ, Maximilianus Romanorum rex et imperator, Joannes comes Sumbreset, Joannes dux de Somberset pater Margareta comitissæ Richemondiæ et regiæ matris. Ex qua Henricus Septimus rex Angliæ ac Franciæ, de quo nunc sermo noster est, ipsius regis egregium genus nobilitatum illustravit. Et de ipsius clarissima genealogia hæc hactenus.

On the place and time of the birth of Henry the Seventh.

De loco et tempore nativitatis Henrici Septimi.

On the place where he was born.

De loco ubi natus est.

The place, moreover, which in the vernacular is called Pembroke, is the head of a stream. For indeed the castle, most strongly fortified, in the southern region of Wales, sloping toward the sea, most clearly demonstrates that his birthday was auspicious and fortunate on account of the nature of its position.

Locus autem cui torrentis caput vernacule Pembrouc nomen est. Castrum siquidem in meridionali Walliæ plaga ad mare vergens munitissimum ipsius natalem diem faustum et felicem propter situs naturam fuisse clarissime demonstrat.

On the place where he was brought up.

De loco ubi nutritus fuit.

The place of his upbringing, for the healthfulness of the air and of the body, as is customary for infant princes, was varied and manifold in Wales, to such a degree as the differing seasons of the year required for the safeguarding of health. And because in tender age he was often sickly, he was brought up gently by his guardians, men otherwise upright and prudent.

Educationis locus illi pro aëris et corporis salubritate ut infantibus assolet esse principibus, varius in Wallia ac multiplex fuit, usque adeo anni temporibus variis pro tuenda valetudine ita exigentibus. Et quia in tenella ætate sæpe valetudinarius fuit, tenere a suis nutritoribus educabatur, viris alioquin probis atque prudentibus.

Afterwards, when he had already begun to have understanding, he was handed over to be instructed in the first elements of letters by the best and most approved teachers; and he was endowed with such keenness of intellect and with so great a gift of liveliness and capacity, that all things which pertained to divine worship he learned in a short time and unexpectedly to the thought of all, while still a little boy, without great labor on the part of his teachers. At that time indeed, in the boy there shone forth a very great natural disposition to virtue, since he was so attentively devoted to the divine office, both in reading and in hearing it, that to all who beheld him a presage of future probity and happiness was indicated.

Post ubi jam sapere cœpisset optimis probatissimisque præceptoribus primis litterarum elementis erudiendus traditur; qui tanta ingenii acrimonia tantoque vivacitatis et capacitatis dono præditus erat, ut omnia quæ ad cultum divinum pertinerent, brevi et inopinato omnium cogitatu, parvulus adhuc sine magno docentium labore didicerit. Quo quidem tempore in puero summa virtutis indoles prælucebat, quandoquidem divinum adeo attentus et legebat et audiebat officium, ut videntibus cunctis futuræ probitatis ac felicitatis præsagium indicaretur.

But after he was initiated, as a youth, into the rudiments of literary discipline, he surpassed all his contemporaries in the same speed of understanding as in his first characters. And so indeed I myself remember that his most learned and excellent teacher, Master Andrew Scot, whose soul may rest with the blessed, then teaching sacred letters at Oxford, used to say to me that he had never heard of a boy at that age so capable of learning with such swiftness. Moreover, such was the ornament of noble character, such the grace and charm of a royal countenance, and such the beauty present in him, that most happily, in him, now a most victorious triumphator, like a peaceful Solomon, he held forth, in clear light, a pattern of condition to all mortals of that age.

Postquam vero ephebus literariæ disciplinæ primordiis initiaretur, eadem qua in primis characteribus, intellectus velocitate coævos omnes anteibat. Itaque memini equidem. literatissimum et optimum præceptorem suum magistrum Andream Scotum (cujus anima quiescat cum beatis) tunc Oxonii sacras litteras profitentem, mihi dicere solitum, nunquam tantæ celeritatis illa ætate capacem doctrinæ puerum se audivisse. Morum præterea nobilium tantus decor, tanta vultus regii venustas et gratia, tanta pulchritudo ei inerat, ut felicissime, in quo nunc victoriosissimus triumphator ut pacificus Salomon statum omnibus illius ætatis mortalibus luce clara protenderet.

On his sudden departure from here.

De repentino ipsius hinc abitu.

Therefore, while Henry the Sixth of most happy memory was reigning, as I have said, a malignant spirit, envious of the tranquillity of his realm, stirred up against this same now-named King Henry the best those hostile furies which in former ages he had long exercised in this realm, Saxons against Britons. But indeed divine grace was not absent from the earl of Richmond, advancing and persevering in the service of God and in the study of letters.

Regnante igitur felicissimæ recordationis Henrico. ut prædixi Sexto, malignus regni sui tranquillitati spiritus invidens, quos superioribus sæculis furores hosticos hoc in regno Saxones inter Britones atque diu exercuerat adversus hunc quoque jam nominatum Henricum regem optimum concitavit. Verum enimvero comiti Richemundiæ in Dei servitio et litterarum studio proficienti perseverantique divina non abfuit gratia.

On the divine forewarning concerning Henry the Seventh, and on the heavenly protection of the boy, the earl of Richmond, deprived of his parent.

De ipsius Henrici Septimi divino præsagio, atque ipsius pueri comitis Richemundiæ orbati parente coelesti custodia.

Therefore, after the most illustrious Edmund of Richmond, the father of our king, had died, his excellent mother Margaret carefully administered the care of her son. But because, on a certain day when Henry the Sixth was holding a most splendid banquet with the nobles and leading men of the realm, that same king, called the Prophet, while washing his hands, with the earl of Richmond having been summoned, foretold that he would one day take up the helm of the kingdom and would have all things in his own hand, as now we see he happily possesses them, by the counsel of the aforesaid good king the earl of Richmond was secretly sent across the sea, so that he might escape the savage hands of enemies.

Defuncto igitur regis nostri genitore clarissimo Edmundo Richemundiæ, optima ejus genitrix Margareta filii sui curam sagaciter administravit. Sed quia, Henrico Sexto quadam die cum proceribus et optimatibus regni convivium amplissimum agente, idem Prophecy rex inter lavandum manus, comite Richemundia of Henry accito, prædixerat illum aliquando regni gubernacula suscepturum, omniaque manu sua (ut nunc videmus feliciter possidet) habiturum, præfati boni regis consilio comes Richemundiæ, ut hostium truculentas manus evaderet, trans mare secreto mittitur.

On the constancy of the king’s mother.

Regiæ genitricis constantia.

When now, by divine oracle and at the command of the holy king, it had been decreed that the earl himself, although still a boy, should withdraw to distant shores, then the motherly spirit toward him appeared firm and steadfast beyond what womanly frailty would demand, in the presence of several of her most approved counsellors; and although she understood that she would endure his departure not without sorrow, after having for a long time pondered many things here and there within her mind, she addresses apart the most illustrious lord, the elder brother¹ of her former husband, the lord Edmund of Richmond, namely the most renowned lord, the earl of Pembroke, in these words:

Cum jam divino oraculo, rege sancto jubente, decreesset ut comes ipse, quamvis puer adhuc, in longinquas secederet oras, tunc maternus in illum animus, supra quam muliebris fragilitas posceret firmus et constans, præsentibus aliquot suis probatissimis consultoribus apparuit; et quamquam non sine moerore discessum illius se laturam intelligeret, post multa hinc inde diu secum animo contemplata, illustrissimi domini olim mariti sui, domini Edmundi Richemundiæ, fratrem natu majorem clarissimum dominum comitem de Pembrouc, talibus seorsum alloquitur:

Note 1. Jasper Tudor was the younger brother of King Henry VII's father Edmund.

The address of the same mother to the lord of Pembroke.

Ejusdem matris ad dominum de Pembrouc allocutio.

The Earl of Pembroke’s response.

Domini Comitis de Pembrouc Responsio.

"Indeed, most wisely, my most prudent lady and dearest sister, in this calamitous time your prudence has foreseen what things seem to be followed and what avoided; for you have truly provided for all matters so circumspectly and so shrewdly that no place for further speech has been left to me. Therefore, to dispatch the matter briefly, the crossing seems to me above all necessary. This task then I shall willingly undertake out of my love toward you, and I shall take care to apply to your son, my nephew, such diligence that, if he were my own son, I could show no greater."

"Sapienter profecto, prudentissima domina soror mea carissima, in hoc calamitoso tempore quænam sequenda quæque fugienda videantur prudentia vestra prævidit: quæ sane tam circumspecte tamque sagaciter omnia prospexit, ut mihi alius dicendi locus non sit derelictus. Quare, ut paucis expediam, trajectio mihi imprimis necessaria videtur. Hanc igitur libens pro amore erga vos meo provinciam aggrediar, curaboque in filium vestrum nepotem meum tantam diligentiam adhibere ut si meus esset filius non majorem præstare possem."

When these matters had been prolonged back and forth, .... men were summoned indeed, endowed with unimpaired loyalty and outstanding wisdom, who, directing so great a business of this kind, might watch over the boy, the earl of Richmond, with the greatest care. There assembled, moreover, those to whom either the cruel hatred of the tyrant or sharp fear was present. Therefore the time, the place, and the ships were provided, and thus, with very few being privy to it, the voyage was ready and prepared.

His ultro citroque protractis .... accersuntur viri siquidem integra fide et præstanti sapientia præditi, qui hujusmodi grande negotium dirigentes puerum comitem Richemundiæ accuratius observent. Convenere autem quibus aut odium crudele tyranni aut metus acer erat. Tempus itaque, locus, navesque providentur, sicque paucis admodum consciis navigatio præsto et parata fuit.

But with favorable omens and with Juno favorable, Henry commits himself to the sea, intending deliberately to seek France; yet, with the south winds raging, they were at last driven into Lesser Britain.

Bonis autem avibus et Junone secunda pelago se Henry committunt, Galliam consulto petituri; verum furentibus austris in Britanniam Minorem tandem ejecti sunt.

Francis¹, duke of Brittany, a prince at that time most excellent and most benevolent, received him with the greatest joy, giving thanks to God, the Best and Greatest; for he knew, for so he had learned from others, that he would one day reign in England. Him therefore he began to treat with every duty of humanity, courtesy, beneficence, and liberality, and to esteem him so highly that nothing could be added to the sum; and to his companions he thus reported in calm speech:

Dux Britannia Franciscus, princeps ætate illa optimus benignissimusque, summo cum gaudio illum excepit, Deo Optimo Maximo gratulabundus; quippe qui sciret (sic enim ab aliis acceperat) illum quandoque in Anglia regnaturum. Hunc, igitur, omnibus humanitatis, comitatis, beneficentiæ ас liberalitatis officiis prosequens tanti facere coepit, ut nihil ad cumulum addi posset; suisque comitibus placido sic retulit ore:

Note 1. Francis II, Duke of Brittany, 1433-1488. Succeeded as Duke of Brittany in 1458. His daughter Anne succeeded as Duchess of Brittany in 1488, and through her marriage to Kings Charles VIII and Louis XII of France, Brittany was absorbed into the Kingdom of France.

The speech of Francis, Duke of Brittany.”

Francisci Britanniæ Ducis Oratio.

When he had said these things, graciously taking him by the hand, he led him into his palace with great cheerfulness, and ordered that thereafter all things necessary be supplied to him and to all his followers, just as to his other intimates and to the nobles closely related to him by kinship.

Hæc ubi dixit, illum manu gratiose apprehendens, in regiam suam cum magna hilaritate perduxit, jussitque deinceps sibi ac suis omnibus ita necessaria ministrari ac reliquis sibi intimis ac consanguinitate propinquis optimatibus.

Of Edward, Earl of March.

De Comite Marchia Eduardo.

Meanwhile, England itself began to blaze with great and most grievous dissensions and storms. And Edward¹, earl of March, son of the duke of York, stirred up and inflamed by some Fury, I know not which, aspired to the tyranny of the kingdom, and first with secret, then with open hatreds, pursued that most excellent king, Henry the Sixth. But God, the observer of all things and the most just judge, did not allow the plots against the holy man to remain hidden. Therefore, having perceived the malice and treachery of him and of his followers, he no longer trusted himself to them.

Interea magnis gravissimisque dissensionibus atque procellis flagrare cœpit ipsa Anglia. Et comes Marchi Eduardus ducis Ebourachi filius, nescio qua stimulatus accensusque Furia, ad regni tyrannidem aspiravit, regemque illum optimum Henricum Sextum primo clandestinis, post apertis prosecutus est odiis. Sed Deus omnium speculator et æquissimus judex non passus est sanctum virum insidias latere. Quare perspecta illius suorumque malignitate ac perfidia, non se illis credebat amplius.

Note 1. Edward, Earl of March, subsequently King Edward IV. Brother of George, Duke of Clarence, and Richard, Duke of Gloucester, subsequently King Richard III.

But the more the fire is covered, the more fiercely it burns, and pale Tisiphone¹ kindles deadly torches, by which she incites them to violate faith and oath. Now all places of the realm resound with arms, wars are stirred up on every side, and destructions are prepared against the holy king. Wondrous to say is the power of hidden fate, by which some are driven headlong toward good, others toward evil. Hence not without cause the tragic poet cries out, "For Fate The willing leads, the unwilling drags along."²

Sed quo magis tegitur magis æstuat ignis, et pallida Tisiphone faces accendit mortiferas, quibus illos ad violandum fidem ac jusjurandum excitat. Jam omnia armis regni loca resonant, bella undiquaque cientur, et in sanctum regem parantur exitia. Mirum dictu est quid sit occulti potentia fati; quo alii ad bona, alii ad mala feruntur præcipites. Unde non injuria tragicus exclamat, "Fata nolentem trahunt, volentem ducunt."

Note 1. Tisiphone, 'Avenger of Murder', one of the three Furies in Greek Mythology. She and her sisters Alecto and Megaera punish crimes of murder: parricide, fratricide and homicide. Possibly a reference to King Edward IV's execution of his brother George, Duke of Clarence.

Note 2. Seneca's 'Letters from a Stoic' in which he quotes Cleanthes.

But before I climb to higher matters, it is very necessary for me to make use of a digression in this place, by which I may first lay open the detestable mutual conflict and furious struggle among them. In this part I would ask the readers to hold me excused, if I do not pursue the storms of those times through the full sequence of events. For in those times I was not present, nor had I previously heard anything of these matters with my own ears.

Sed priusquam ad altiora conscendam, digressione hoc in loco utendum mihi peropus est, qua prius detestabilem illorum mutuo conflictationem ac furibundam concertationem inter se aperiam. Qua in parte lectores. rogatos velim ut me excusatum habeant, si illorum temporum procellas per gestorum seriem non exequar. Nam illis ego temporibus non aderam, neque antea quicquam de his auribus acceperam.

Moreover, as I said in the preface, I recount not so much a history as a life, and would that I were fit to embellish it with its praises and commendations. Certainly, while I was writing these things, I had no narrator or reviewer at hand who might propose to me, as I had wished at the beginning, the material to be spoken of.

Præterea, ut in præfatione dixi, non tam historiam quam vitam enarro, atque utinam ad illam expoliendam suis laudibus atque præconiis idoneus essem. Certe dum hæc scriberem relatorem sive recensorem quempiam non habebam, qui mihi, ut principio optaveram, dicendorum materiam mihi proponeret.

Therefore, like a blind man walking in darkness without a guide, I have nothing beyond what I have heard. To this is added a dull mind and memory, blunted by misfortunes, when dealing with matters so great. For these reasons, if I touch upon individual things with little order and only piecemeal, I humbly beg pardon from those who will read these writings. For these are preludes, as it were first tastings, devised by me alone to pass the time and leisure. Therefore, with bold undertakings, let us pursue what remains here and there in haste, just as bees are accustomed to light upon various flowers.

Quare ut cæcus in tenebris ambulans sine ductore, nihil præter auditum habeo. Ad hæc accedit hebes tantarum rerum et obtusa malis mens atque memoria. Quas ob res si parum ordinate singula carptimque non attigero, ignoscant mihi precor humillime qui nostra legent. Nam præludia sunt hæc, et quasi prægustamenta, et ad fallendum tempus et otium a me solo præmeditata. Audacibus itaque coeptis, quæ restant cursim hincinde, ut apes solent per varios incidere flores, prosequamur.

On civil wars.

De Intestinis Bellis.

These civil wars, as I have said, by what order I should chiefly relate them I am driven in different directions. But as each matter offers itself to imagination and memory, separately and without order, so they are reported by me. There was in those days the earl of Warwick¹, a man most dear to the people and most powerful in war, who, then fighting stoutly for King Henry, was slain in the field ….

Hæc ego, ut prædixi, bella intestina quo potissimum ordine exequar diversus agor. Sed ut quæque phantasiæ et memoriæ sese offerunt discriminatim sine ordine, a nobis referuntur. Fuit illis diebus comes Warwici, vir populo carissimus belloque potentissimus, qui pro Henrico Rege tunc strenue militans in campo interemptus est ....

Note 1. Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury, and Earl of Warwick by right of his wife Anne Beauchamp. The combined Earldoms gave him vast wealth and power. In the 16th Century historians began to give him the epiphet 'Kingmaker'. His elder daughter Isabel married King Edward IV's brother George, Duke of Clarence. His younger daughter Anne married Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, son of King Henry VI and Queen Margaret of Anjou, who was killed at the Battle of Tewkesbury on 4th May 1471, and secondly, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, brother of King Edward IV, subsequently, King Richard III. Originally supporter of the House of York, he became disaffected following the marriage of King Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, and transferred his allegiance to the House of Lancaster. He was killed at the Battle of Barnet on 14th April 1471.

By which means, as they say, King Henry himself was led by the one who had now usurped the crown, after victory had been gained. In that battle two illustrious brothers fell while fighting bravely, namely the aforesaid earl [of Warwick] and the marquess of Montagu. Afterwards, when affairs had been settled, the king himself, Edward, I mean, that earl of March whom we have above named, now shining with royal honour, was pondering what he should do with the blessed King Henry the Sixth. And after much reflection, it at last seemed best to be done that he should hand him over to death. I cannot in this place restrain myself from tears, while I revolve in my mind the savagery, the inhumanity, and the cruelty toward the holy man; wherefore, turning aside a little from my undertaking, not without great testimony of grief, it pleases me to cry out.

Quo, ut aiunt, rex ipse Henricus ab illo qui coronam jam usurpaverat, post partam victoriam adducitur. Quo bello illustres duo germani, comes videlicet præfatus, et marchio Montis Acuti, fortiter pugnando ceciderunt. Rex ipse postea rebus compositis, Eduardus, inquam, ille comes Marchiæ a nobis. supra cognominatus, jam regio fulgens honore, quid cum Henrico Sexto Rege beato faceret meditabatur. Post vero multa versanti tandem optimum factu visum est ut illum morti traderet. Non possum hoc in ioco me lacrymis abstinere, dum mecum in sanctum virum truculentiam, immanitatem, crudelitatem, secreta mente revolvo; quare paululum ab incepto divertens non sine magno doloris testimonio exclamare libet.

Note 1. The Battle of Barnet, 14th April 1471.

The author’s tearful exclamation.

Auctoris lacrymosa exclamatio.

Almighty eternal God, who created all things out of nothing; who, governing this world by everlasting reason, have apportioned kingdoms throughout the whole earth, in which now You humble one man, now You exalt another. You exalt, I say, the humble, You raise the lowly from the dust; what cause from eternity has moved You, with regard to this kingdom of the English, that You permit them to rejoice unpunished amid so great a succession of upheavals?

Omnipotens æterne Deus qui cuncta creasti ex nihilo; qui mundum hunc perpetua ratione gubernans, per totum orbem regna partitus es; in quibus modo illum humilias, modo istum exaltas. Exaltas, inquam, humiles, tollis de pulvere viles; quænam tibi ab æterno hujus regni Anglorum causa te movit ut illos tanta perturbationum vicissitudine impune gaudere permittas?

Good God, although from the beginning of the world You have foreseen and foreknown all things, yet by prolonging for some the long impunity of their crimes, You bring others into astonishment; who, when they see every most wicked man obtain the desire of his wickedness, marvel at it, and indeed most of all suspect that mortal affairs are scarcely cared for by You. For the good and innocent are punished, the evil grow bold. This king always obeyed Your commandments, just, pious, innocent; and yet You permit the sceptre of the kingdom to be violently torn from his hands and to be usurped by one who, through evil ambition, relies on no right.

Bone Deus, etsi ab mundi exordio omnia prævidisti præscivistique, tamen quibusdam longam criminum suorum impunitatem protrahens, alios in stuporem adducis; qui cum sceleratissimum quemque videant improbitati suæ votum habere mirantur, sane maxime a te mortalia vix curari¹ suspicantur. Nam boni et innoxii plectuntur, mali præsumunt. Rex iste tuis semper mandatis obedivit justus, pius, innocens; et permittis tamen sceptrum regni a manibus suis violenter abstrahi, et ab illo qui ambitione mala nullo jure nititur usurpari.

But struck by so great a love, I have wandered toward You further than our plan requires, not without reason, since the cruel end of so good a prince, so pleasing to God, disturbs me deeply. Nevertheless, to You, O Ordainer and Ruler of kingdoms and of kings, it has so pleased You that through many anxieties of this life we should at last come to You. And thus it is now at length known to have been done also in the case of that holy king, who, though wrongly deposed from the royal throne, is crowned with a heavenly diadem among the kings above. But those who tormented him pay penalties fitting their deserts. But let us return to the most excellent king himself.

Sed longius quam institutum nostrum exigat ingenti perculsus amore pervagatus sum ad Te; non sine ratione, siquidem tam boni principis tam Deo grati me crudelis turbat exitus. Verumtamen Tibi, ô regnorum regumque Ordinator et Rector, ita Tibi complacitum est ut per multas hujus vitæ anxietates ad Te denique perveniamus. Sic et in isto rege sancto factum esse nunc demum compertum est, qui regali solio perperam depositus, cœlesti diademate cum supernis regibus coronatur. Illi autem, qui illum cruciavere, pœnas suis meritis condignas luunt. Sed ad ipsum regem optimum revertamur.

On the cruel death of the holy king.

De crudeli Sancti Regis morte.

When for many times past the king, having been despoiled of his rightful authority, was held in prison, and was lamenting both the exile of his most illustrious consort, Queen Margaret, and the untimely death of his most valiant son, the prince (for he had fallen a little before, fighting in the battle at Bernard’s Field at Tewkesbury), nevertheless he laboured daily in prolonged prayers to God, that God, having freed him from so great evils, might by divine prompting deliver him, lest he should behold the final ruin of the kingdom. And, to set forth briefly the things which that same good king then prayed, I have inserted here the effect of his prayer.

Cum per multa retro tempora rex jure suo spoliatus in carcere detentus esset, lugeretque tum consortis suæ clarissimæ Margaretæ reginæ exilium, tum strenuissimi filii sui principis mortem intempestam (is enim paulo ante Bernardi campum in Theoxberye prælio belligerens ceciderat), diuturnis nihilominus ad Deum precibus quotidie laborabat ut Deus illum a tantis absolutum malis, ne extremam regni ruinam cerneret, divino se nutu liberaret. Atque, ut paucis quæ tunc idem rex bonus orabat expediam, orationis ipsius effectum hic inserui.

The Prayer of Saint Henry.

Divi Henrici Oratio.

"If, for so many and so great evils, sweetest Jesus, just as for good things, I do not give You thanks, I am plainly ungrateful. For how many fortunes, both good and bad, You have given me in this course of life is not hidden from You. Both good things and bad alike I have willingly received from Your hand, You who make Your sun to rise upon the good and the evil, and rain upon the just and the unjust. The prosperities which You have bestowed upon me I recall not for boasting, but for the giving of thanks. You gave me both parents, begotten from a most noble and most ancient lineage of kings. But to recount in this place the almost countless deeds of my father in France would perhaps be demanded by the occasion. Yet my discourse hastens on to other matters. This one thing concerning myself I shall relate for the glory of God."

"Si pro tot tantisque malis, dulcissime Jesu, perinde ac pro bonis, tibi gratias non agam, sum plane ingratus. Quantas etenim mihi in hoc vitæ cursu fortunas tum bonas tum malas dederis non clam te est. Bonas autem pariter et malas de manu tua libenter suscepi, qui solem tuum facis oriri supra bonos et malos et pluis super justos et injustos. Prosperitates quas mihi contulisti non jactantia, sed pro gratiarum actione repeto. Parentem utrumque mihi dedisti regum progenie nobilissima antiquissimaque procreatum. Genitoris autem mei in Gallia innumera pene gesta referre locus iste fortassis expostularet. Verum ad alia properat oratio. Unum illud de me ad Dei gloriam recusebo."

"I was crowned in the most flourishing city of Paris; afterwards I was given a most chaste wife, Margaret, the most wise daughter of the king of Sicily; and from her I received a son, Edward, a prince; and having governed the kingdom peacefully for so many years, it is surely more fitting for me to give thanks than to lament. And although I am now overwhelmed by every evil, if I endure them patiently, all things will redound to merit. Therefore whatever adversity God may lay upon me, I shall endure; nor is long patience owed to those who have committed many crimes; nor does anything make death bad except what follows after death, for death is not to be considered evil when a good life has gone before it." These things and very many like them that king steadfastly declared to his guards …

"Pariseorum urbe florentissima coronatus sum, postea pudicissima conjuge donatus Margareta Regnati Siciliæ regis filia sapientissima, ex eaque filio Eduardo. principe suscepto, et regno tot annos pacifice gubernato, gratulandum mihi profecto melius est quam dolendum Et licet nunc malis omnibus obruar, si patienter illa perpetior, ad meritum omnia redundabunt. Quicquid igitur sinistri Deus in me contulerit patiar, nec longa patientia his qui multa commisere flagitia: nec facit malam mortem nisi quod sequitur mortem; mors enim mala putanda non est quam bona vita præcesserit." Hæc et hujusmodi permulta Rex ille constanter prædicabat custodibus suis ....

How great the calamities and evils were that afterward followed this savage killing, almost the whole world bears witness. For indeed innumerable calamities followed after it, heaped up in addition. For even that Edward the Fourth, a king otherwise most powerful and most magnificent, after his death was punished in his children, whom he had entrusted to his aforesaid brother Richard to be protected; and while he lived he often feared that this our king Henry the Seventh would be his successor. Terrified by prophetic testimonies of certain persons, he often strove with Francis, duke of Brittany, by price and by prayers, with great promises, that he should bring back the earl of Richmond into his country. But his mother, a most prudent woman, foreseeing the deceit, continually forbade his return by secret communications of messengers and letters.

Quanta hujus truculentam necem postea secuta sunt Calamities mala totus pene mundus testatur. Calamitates siquidem ad cumulum innumerabiles post illa consecutæ sunt. Nam et Eduardus ille Quartus rex alioquin potentissimus magnificentissimusque post mortem suam in liberis suis, quos prædicto Richardo fratri suo commiserat protegendos muletatus est; qui dum viveret et successorem hunc Regem nostrum Henricum Septimum fore sæpius formidaret. Propheticis quorumdam testimoniis exterritus, apud Franciscum Britanniæ ducem pretio precibusque sæpe contendit magnis pollicitationibus ut Richemundiæ comitem in patriam revocaret. Sed mater illius, mulier prudentissima, dolum prospiciens, secretis nuntiorum ac litterarum alloquiis ne rediret assidue prohibebat.

Richard therefore, called and declared protector by the king, first ordered the sons of his brother to be summoned from Wales, disguising the tyranny which he had already conceived in his mind. But Queen Elizabeth, wife of King Edward, a most prudent woman, looking out for herself and for her children, took up residence in places sacred by the immunity of privilege. Why say much?

Richard Richardus, ergo, protector a rege vocatus et declaratus, primum filios fratris ex Wallia accersiri jussit, dissimulans quam animo tyrannidem jam conceperat. Sed regina Elizabeth Eduardi Regis conjunx prudentissima, sibi suisque prospiciens loca immunitate privilegii sacra incolebat. Quid multa?

Meanwhile, he [King Richard III], usurping the crown, was raised to the throne of the kingdom. Meanwhile new reports about the things done in England were sent to the earl of Richmond through messengers of his mother. He, relying on prudent counsel, took counsel with Francis, duke of Brittany, about what course of action he should pursue. That duke, thinking that if he were to send the earl back with Richard’s favor he would accomplish his own purpose, considered how he might win the goodwill of King Richard. But indeed, when the earl of Richmond together with his companions had understood this plan, it was decided secretly to turn aside from that course.

Coronam interea ille usurpans ad regni solium sublimatus est. Interim ad Richemundiæ comitem nova per matris nuntios de peractis in Anglia mittebantur. Ille prudenti fretus consilio cum Britanniæ duce Francisco quid rerum exequatur consilium capit. Ille si comitem cum Richardi gratia remitteret rem suam perficere ratus, de captanda Richardi regis benevolentia cogitat. Verum enimvero cum hujusmodi cogitatum Richemundiæ comes unacum suis familiaribus intellexisset, declinandi a via clamculo consilium fuit.

The Earl of Richmond’s prayer before the crossing.

Richemundia Comitis ante trajectionem Oratio.

"This is that day, most merciful God, on which, by Your command, it is in my mind to board the ship; yet, as You are my best witness, not out of desire, not out of ambition, nor finally out of thirst for human blood do I undertake this journey. But, pitying the long and calamitous captivity of England and of the peoples of the realm, thither I proceed. You know, most good God, that upon my blood savage men have raged sufficiently, to such a degree that scarcely any remnant of my lineage has been left which they have not wholly destroyed by sword and proscription. One thing alone remains to me, my most dear mother, who on my account endures great sufferings, and those indeed long-lasting. Grant, therefore, most just Judge, if I am worthy of that to which I come, the power; but if the right of the kingdom is not owed to me, I humbly beseech You that You provide and guide us toward what is better from this day forward, so that we may not depart from Your will."

"Hæc est illa dies, misericordissime Deus, in qua tuo jussu navem conscendere in animo est; verum, ut mihi optimus testis es, non cupiditate, non ambitione, non denique humani sanguinis siti, istud iter aggredior. Sed Angliæ regnique populorum longam miseratus calamitosam captivitatem illuc accedo. Novisti, optime Deus, in sanguinem meum a truculentis hominibus satis fuisse debacchatum, usque adeo quod nihil ferme reliquiarum generis mei relictum est quin totum ferro ac proscriptionibus perdiderint. Tantum restat mihi carissima genitrix mea, quæ propter me magnos, et eos quidem diuturnos, dolores patitur. Dabis, igitur, justissime Judex (si mereor ad quod venio) potentiam quod si jus mihi regni non debetur, Te precor humillime ut in melius consulas dirigasque nos ex hoc die, quatenus a voluntate tua non discedamus."

When he had said these things, all with one voice, all with one and the same heart, directed their vows unanimously to the most illustrious and most faithful earl of Oxford, for the making of a reply. To their desires the earl himself, graciously and sufficiently, as he was wont in all things, and with courtesy, acceding, with knee placed upon the ground, humbly addressed the earl of Richmond in these words:

Hæc ubi dixit, omnes uno ore, omnes uno eodemque pectore ad clarissimum fidissimumque Oxonii comitem pro responsione facienda vota sua unanimiter contulerunt. Quorum desideriis comes ipse gratiose satis, ut omnia solet, humaniterque faciens, genu ad terram posito, talibus ad Richemundiæ comitem humiliter usus est:

The Earl of Oxford’s¹ loyal and gracious reply on behalf of the entire army.

Oxoniensis Comitis pro toto exercitu fidelis sane et benigna Responsio.

Note 1. John de Vere, 1442-1513. Succeeded as 13th Earl of Oxford in 1463; his father was hanged at Tower Hill for his involvement in a plot to murder King Edward IV. He married, in or before 1465, Margaret Neville, sister of Richard 'the Kingmaker' Neville. He commanded the Lancastrians at the 1471 Battle of Barnet at which his two brothers-in-law, Richard and John Neville were killed. He escaped to Scotland, thence to France where he engaged in privateering. Captured in 1474 he was imprisoned at Hamnes Castle, part of the Calais defences, from where he escaped to and joined Henry, Earl of Richmond. He fought at Bosworth after which he was appointed Lord Admiral, Constable of the Tower of London and Great Chamberlain. He bore King Henry's train at his coronation.

These things having thus been openly set forth by him from his courageous breast, all the companies assented, and promised that whatever hands he should call to war they would lift high. So great a shout went up to the heavens, as great as when the Thracian Boreas has pressed upon the crags of pine-bearing Ossa, the sound comes from the bent timber as it is crushed, or again from the forests as they return back into the air. When the prince sees the war so welcome to his eager soldiers, and that the fates were answering him, lest by any delay he should linger while fortune was calling, he at once ordered all to go aboard the ships; and, the saints of the island of Britain being invoked before God to intercede for him and for his army, a favouring breeze opened a prosperous course for the voyage. Therefore, loosening the anchors under happy southern winds and with a propitious divine power, .... they made landfall in England¹.

His ita ab illo animoso pectore palam expositis, cunctæ assensere cohortes, elatasque alte quæcumque ad bella vocaret promisere manus. It tantus ad æthera clamor, quantus, piniferi Boreas cum Thracius Ossæ rupibus incubuit, curvato robore pressæ fit sonus, aut rursus redeuntis in æthera silvæ. Princeps ut videt tam acceptum pronis militibus bellum, fataque sibi respondere, ne quo languore moretur fortunam se vocantem in naves illico cunctos jussit introire; vocatisque apud Deum Sanctis insula Britanniæ indigetibus ut pro se exercituque suo interpellarent, aura secunda navigationi prosperum iter aperuit. Solventes igitur felicibus austris et numine dextro ancras, .... in Angliam appulerunt.

Note 1. Henry Tudor landed at Mill Bay, in the very westernmost part of Pembrokeshire.

And thither, as he had promised, .... first and foremost they assembled.

Illuc autem, ut pollicitum fuerat, .... imprimis convenere.

And counsel having been shared concerning the matters to be carried out, the place and the time, and all those things which had been prepared on the other side by Richard likewise having been understood, the battle-line was drawn up by the great-souled prince, and its chief command was entrusted to the aforesaid Earl of Oxford. He, not unskilled in arms, urged that regard be had for the discipline of warfare together with the prince himself and the other nobles. There were present, as I mentioned above, with the prince himself, by command of the aforesaid King Charles, several noblemen and valiant knights, of whom the foremost was the lord of Chandée, a man endowed with military learning.

Communicatoque in teste de rebus gerendis, loco et tempore, cunctis etiam quæ a Richardo parata contra fuerant intellectis, acies a magnanimo principe extruitur, ejusque summa præfato Oxoniensi comiti commendatur. Ille, armorum non ignarus, disciplinæ militaris rationem habendam cum ipso principe cæterisque proceribus suadet. Aderant, ut supra memoravi, cum ipso principe jussu præfati Regis Karoli nobiles aliquot et strenui milites, quorum præcipuus dominus de Chandea vir militari doctrina præditus.

These and other matters having been set in order in the battle-line, the Earl of Oxford himself, from the port of Wales which …. which is called so, he is the first to set out upon the way boldly and without fear. Nor does it seem to me that there should be passed over in this place the pious and, for such a prince, fitting greeting to England, when first he caught sight of her from the ship, and, when he had touched the land, the most just exhortation to his own men.

His atque aliis in acie constitutis ipse comes Oxonii ex portu Walliæ qui .... nuncupatur, viam primus intrepide aggreditur. Non prætermittenda hoc loco mihi videtur pia et tali principe digna quum primum illam e navi prospexit ad Angliam salutatio, et dum terram attigisset ad suos justissima exhortatio.

The Earl of Richmond’s greeting to England, and his second and just exhortation to his own men.

Richemundia Comitis ad Angliam salutatio, ad suosque secunda justaque exhortatio.

Of the rumour carried to Richard.

De Rumore ad Richardum delato.

While these things are being done in the aforesaid camp, behold, rumour, flying on swift wings, passes over to the tyrant and reports beyond doubt that the Earl of Richmond has landed in Wales with many forces, and is hastening to wage battle, that he may not delay engaging with the enemy; that he has returned to his own rightful claims, due to him both by paternal and maternal right, and is unwilling to wait any longer, but wishes to join battle with him; that the time for vengeance has come, and that God, who avenges slowly, is at last moving more heavily against the wicked. Hearing these things and many others of the same sort, the tyrant, like a serpent fed upon noxious weeds, is inflamed and kindled into fury and madness, no otherwise than a Hyrcanian tigress or a Marsian boar when it feels its wounds. And so, bursting suddenly into a furious outcry, he thus addresses his men:

Dum hæc in castris jamdictis geruntur, ecce fama præpetibus ad tyrannum pennis transvolans refert dubio procul Richemundiæ comitem in Wallia cum multis copiis descendisse, properareque ad bellum quominus cum hoste gerendum; ad propria se rediisse jura tam paterno quam materno jure sibi debita, nec cunctari velle diutius, sed cum ipso confligere; tempus advenisse vindictæ, lentoque gradu Deum ulcisci, tandem gravius in sceleratos animadvertere. Hæc et hujusmodi permulta audiens, tyrannus, ut coluber mala gramina pastus, in furorem ac rabiem inflammatur atque accenditur, non secus ac Hyrcana tigris aut Marsus aper ubi vulnera sentit. Itaque repentinum in clamorem erumpens furibundus ita suos alloquitur:

The tyrant’s furious address to his followers.

Tyranni in suos furibunda oratio.

The author’s excuse.

Auctoris excusatio.

Note. A page and a half left blank here.

The Earl of Richmond’s thanksgiving to God after the triumph.

Post triumphum ad Deum Richemundia Comitis gratulatio.

What else I should say I do not know: I am worn down by so great a joy and by so great a sorrow. By joy first, because I have happily led you, O my fellow-soldiers, back to your ancestral homes. Yet I grieve, beholding the slaughter of so many brave men, whom nevertheless I wish to commit to burial with honour. Above all, of King Richard himself, in …. I judge that he should be buried with all reverence.

Quid dicam aliud nescio: tanta lætitia tantoque mærore conficior. Lætitia primum, quia vos, ô commilitones mei ad patrios lares feliciter perduxi. Moreor tamen tot fortiorum virorum stragem conspiciens, quos tamen honorifice mandare sepulturæ velim. Imprimis ipsius Richardi Regis in .... cum omnimoda reverentia sepeliendum sentio.

After these things, carefully carrying out those commands, they took care that all were buried.

Post hæc illi mandata diligenter exequentes omnes humandos curaverunt.

These things having been performed most honourably, the Earl of Richmond is hailed as king again and again by the one and same voice and will of all, with loud acclaim. Then the hearts of his subjects, long shut fast by fear and dread, are loosened; then each man opens his heart to the king now so named, and swears allegiance, which before he had not dared to profess, that he will keep it inviolate. Moreover, princes were taken captive in that battle. .... and they were ordered to be held in public custody until, matters having been settled and pacified, the king himself might be able to attend to them more freely.

His honorificentissime præstitis Richemundiæ comes una eademque omnium voce ac voluntate Rex iterum iterumque claris vocibus salutatur. Tunc subditorum corda timore diu ac formidine præclusa laxantur, tune quisque regi jam nominato cor suum aperit, juratque fidem, quam antea profiteri non audebat, se inviolatam servaturum. Capti sunt autem eo bello principes. .... et publica jussi custodia detineri quousque compositis pacatisque rebus, rex ipse liberius illis intendere posset.

Concerning the Royal Coronation.

De Regia Coronatione.

A Sapphic Poem on the King’s First Victory.

De Prima Regis Victoria Carmen Sapphicum.

In this most joyful entry you could have heard the voices of all, praising and blessing the angelic countenance of the prince, and lifting the royal name of Henry up to the stars. The king then, weary and worn from the long journey (for he had indeed set out from St Albans), rested that night in the episcopal palace in London. Thereafter counsel was taken concerning the coronation, and on the day appointed by the royal advisers the king proceeded to the Tower of London. And what deeds he there accomplished, adorning distinguished men with military and heroic honours, would be too long to relate here. But when I shall have been more fully informed concerning matters of this kind, I shall write at greater length. Therefore it has been my intention to pass over this interval also. ....

In hoc jucundissimo ingressu voces omnium audisses angelicum principis vultum prædicando benedicendoque, regium nomen Henrici ad sidera tollentes. Rex deinde longo fessus fatigatusque itinere (ex Sancto Albano quidem profectus erat) in palatio episcopali Londini illa nocte quievit. Deinceps de coronatione consulitur, et die a regiis consiliariis instituta arcem Londiniam rex adiit. Et quid inibi rerum at the cogesserit insignes viros decorans honoribus militaribus atque heroicis hic narrare perlongum esset. Verum ubi de hujusmodi rebus certior factus fuero prolixius scribam. Quare hic spatium quoque prætermittere consilium fuit. ....

Of the royal banquets and tournaments celebrated in the coronation itself with regal splendour.

De Regalibus Conviviis et Torneamentis in ipsa coronatione regio luxu celebratis.

Here too, Muse, restrain your step. Whither, rash one, whither do you prepare to go? You are unequal to writing and illuminating matters so great. And therefore, until I shall have learned from others how each thing was done, I have likewise deliberately passed these matters over.

Hic etiam, Musa, pedem cohibe. Quorsum, temeraria, quorsum ire paras? Tantis impar es conscribendis illustrandisque rebus. Itaque donec ex aliis ut quæque gesta fuerint intellexero illa similiter consulto prætermisi. ....

Of his royal marriage.

De Regali ejusdem conjugio.

Meanwhile the king, most excellently crowned, deliberates counsel concerning the taking of a wife. And although before his journey thither Duke Francis of Brittany himself had often pressed him with entreaties to marry his eldest daughter Anne, the king himself, most prudent, refused to accomplish anything without the counsel of his own. To this was added also the just and almost importunate solicitation of Edward the Fourth, while he yet lived, on behalf of his eldest daughter Elizabeth. And indeed, as the outcome later proved the matter, that most noble and most prudent daughter was most chastely preserved for King Henry by the providence of the aforesaid Edward.

Interea de uxore ducenda rege excellentissime coronato consilium deliberat. Et quamquam ante suam istuc profectionem dux ipse Franciscus Britanniæ cum Anna filia sua primogenita ipsum regem maritare sæpius orando contendisset, rex ipse prudentissimus sine suorum consilio quicquam peragere recusabat. Ad hæc accedebat Eduardi Quarti pro Elizabeth primogenita quoque filia sua dum vita fungebatur justa atque importuna pene solicitatio. Et sane, ut postea rei comprobavit eventus, de nutu prædicti Eduardi nobilissima ac prudentissima filia Henrico regi pudicissime servabatur.

Praise of Elizabeth, firstborn daughter of Edward IV.

Elizabeth Eduardi Quarti primogenitæ laus.

I cannot pass over in silence the praises and commendations of the aforesaid daughter of Edward IV, while she was still a girl; therefore of many things I have set down a few here. From her very earliest years there was in her a fear of God and a marvelous devotion to His service; toward her parents a wonderful obedience; toward her brothers and sisters an almost incredible love; toward the poor and the ministers of Christ a reverent and singular affection.

Non possum silentio præterire ipsius antememoratæ Eduardi Quarti filiæ dum adhuc puella esset laudes atque præconia: quare de multis pauca hic apposui. Inerat illi ab unguiculis Dei timor et servittum admirabile, in parentes vero mira observantia, erga fratres et sorores amor ferme incredibilis in pauperes Christique ministros reverenda ac singularis affectio.

When she had pondered these things secretly in her mind, God, just and most good, especially assenting to so just a desire in a young girl, at last permitted that the mind of the prince, having heard of the girl’s integrity, faith, and probity, should be inclined to love her.

His secum secreta mente reputatis, Deus Justus et Optimus tam justo præsertim puellari desiderio annuens tandem permisit ut principis animus, audita integritate, fide ac probitate puellæ, ad se amandum inclinaretur.

After the royal marriage had been celebrated, a great joy arose throughout the whole realm. For previously, as I have said, a fierce and unending hatred had almost laid waste those illustrious houses. But after they heard that they had been joined by so happy a union, the people far and wide kindled fires of rejoicing, and with dances, songs, and banquets celebrated in many ways throughout the city of London, all persons of both sexes prayed to God, the Best and Greatest, for the prosperous success of the king and queen, and that, once offspring had at last been conceived and a young prince brought forth, their joys might be heaped upon joys.

Post celebratas regales nuptias, ingens toto regno lætitia exorta est. Nam antea, ut dixi, vehemens et immortale odium præclaras domos illas pene vastaverat. Sed postquam tam felici connubio conjunctas audiere, populi longe lateque gaudiorum ignes exstruxerunt, et choreis cantibus conviviisque per urbem Londinum multifariam concelebratis Deum Optimum Maximum omnes utriusque sexus regis et reginæ prosperos güccessus precabantur, utque prole tandem suscepta ac novello principe edito illorum gaudia gaudiis cumularentur.

The Lord Jesus Christ, assenting to these prayers, permitted not many days later that the most serene queen should be made fruitful with the long-desired offspring. Then for the most happy king a new happiness arose; for the queen, great delight; for the Church, the highest joy; for the court, immense cheerfulness; and finally for the whole realm an incredible pleasure. Nor indeed was this without cause; for, as events themselves later showed, not England alone, but truly the whole world (had the fates granted him a longer stay in the light), would have had reasons for everlasting joy in so great a pledge. But God, who governs all things, in whose hand are the sceptres of kingdoms and the measures of the lives of kings, ordained otherwise concerning him.

Quorum precibus annuens dominus Jesus Christus non multis post diebus serenissimam reginam ex optata prole fœtam esse permisit. Tune felicissimo regi nova felicitas, reginæ magna jucunditas, ecclesiæ summa lætitia, curiæ ingens hilaritas, toti denique regno incredibilis voluptas orta est. Nec abs re quidem ; nam, ut postea res ipsa indicavit, non Anglia solum, imo vero totus (si majores in luce moras sibi fata dedissent) mundus de tanto pignore sempiternæ lætitiæ causas habuisset. Verum Deus qui cuncta gubernat, in cujus manu regnorum sceptra regumque vitæ modi sunt, aliter de illo disposuit.

Of the birth of Prince Arthur.

De Arturo principe nato.

A prophecy at the coronation of the queen.

Regina Coronatæ prænosticum.

The sweetest and most fragrant roses, namely the purple one and the snow-white, Arthur himself, springing forth from one and the same stock, so furthered with such prosperity that his renowned virtue, if it did not surpass the fame of all former princes, at least surely equalled it.

Suavissimas flagrantissimasque rosas, purpuream videlicet ac niveam Arturus ipse uno eodemque stipite pululans tanta prosperitate secundavit ut omnium retro principum reliquorum famam ejus inclyta virtus, si non exsuperaverit, æquavit certe.

Of Arthur, reborn at the sacred font.

De Arturo sacrosancto fonte regnato.

After so favorable a star of Arthur had been bestowed upon the then barren world of newborn princes, all the Furies of Erebus were driven far away. For when the star Arcturus arose, which according to the astrologers rises on the twelfth day before the Kalends of October [20th September 1486], Prince Arthur too was born. In celebration of his birth, a hundred poems were composed by us, which, because of their length, we have omitted here; the beginning of which is as follows:

Post tam prosperum sidus Arturi sterili tunc novellorum principum mundo collatum omnes Erebi Furiæ longe profligatæ sunt. Orta enim Arcturi stella, quæ secundum genetliacos xij. calend. Octobris oritur, Arturus quoque princeps natus est. In cujus natalis gratulatione centum a nobis carmina composita sunt, quæ propter prolixitatem hic omisimus; quorum initium tale est:

And the remaining matters which follow; which, while I consider the happiness they promised, and again the calamity, and the tearful tempest for the whole realm that unexpectedly befell it through the prince’s untimely death, my tongue, by heaven’s truth, sticks to my palate. Nevertheless I shall proceed, lest I interrupt the course of the history, and I shall leave to others the task of writing the pomp, the celebration, and the most magnificent display of him who was reborn at the sacred font.

Et reliqua quæ sequuntur; quæ dum felicitatem quam protendebant, et rursus calamitatem, lacrymosamque toti regno tempestatem insperato contingentem ob ipsius immaturam principis mortem considero, hæret mediusfidius lingua pallato. Prosequar nihilominus, ne historiæ tenorem prætermittam, ipsiusque sacro fonte regnati pompam festivitatem magnificentissimumque apparatum aliis conscribenda relinquam.

Of the happy progress of virtues.

De felicibus virtutum successibus.

Of the creation of Prince Arthur.

De Arturi principis creatione.

For this reason I have placed here the poems on his creation after his birth, although I knew that events had not followed in this order of time, so that I might proceed more fittingly and coherently to the illustration of the king’s immortal fame.

Hæc ideo de creatione carmina post ipsius natalem hic apposui quamquam scirem non eo ordine tempora fuisse consecuta, ut possem consequenter ad ipsius regis famam immortalem illustrandam opportunius aggredi.

[Pope] Innocent sends splendid gifts to the most invincible king.

Mittit Innocentius ad Invictissimum Regem egregia munera.

On the various embassies of princes.

De varia principum legatione.

At that time envoys were sent to the most prudent king from various regions, men of distinguished lineage, outstanding intellect, and remarkable abundance of experience, who had come to offer congratulations, drawn by the fame of the illustrious king that was flying far and wide throughout the world. Above all came Gauls, Iberians, Teutons, Burgundians, Lusitanians, Pannonians, and Caledonians, dispatched by their most illustrious kings to him as to the father, as it were, and emperor of all kings. All of these the most gentle king received, according to the dignity of their persons and the antiquity of their nobility, so courteously, so wisely, so magnificently, that he left nothing lacking to the fullness of honour, splendor, and generosity. And so, after he had heard each of them individually as they delivered their embassies, he dismissed them with great goodwill. They in turn hastened back swiftly to their own sovereigns.

Fuere ea tempestate ad prudentissimum regem variis ex regionibus oratores destinati; insigni stemmate, excellenti ingenio, eximia plurima rerum copia præditi, qui ob inclyti regis famam longe lateque per orbem terrarum volitantem gratulatum advenerant. Galli imprimis, Iberi Teutones, Burgundi, Lusitani, Pannonii, Caledoniique a suis illustrissimis regibus ad regum omnium tamquam patrem atque imperatorem destinati; quos omnes pro dignitate personarum ac nobilitatis antiquitate, adeo humaniter, adeo sapienter, adeo magnifice suscepit mansuetissimus rex ut nihil ad cumulum honoris amplitudinis et liberalitatis reliquerit. Hos itaque omnes ubi singulariter orantes audivit magna cum gratulatione dimisit. Illi ad suos se celeriter contulere.

On the death of the Earl of Northumberland.

De Nortumbrorum comitis nece.

The king therefore took the news of the earl’s death most grievously, and, having gathered a force, advanced into the northern regions and severely punished all who had risen in revolt, according to their deserts. From there, shortly afterward, another act of unrest and treason against the king was attempted in Ireland.

Rex itaque audita comitis nece molestissime tulit, collectaque manu boreales partes adiit atque in omnes qui insurrexerunt severe pro meritis animadvertit. Inde paulo post in Hibernia novitatis aliud ac proditionis in regem molitum est.

Of the Irish conspiracy.

De Conjuratione Hibernica.

.... himself did not hesitate to believe the same. And since he traced his descent from the stock of Edward himself, Lady Margaret, formerly the wife of Charles, the most recent duke of Burgundy, and sister of [King] Edward, summoned him to herself by letter. He, fleeing secretly from here and with only a few privy to so great a treason, quickly made his way to her. And, to dispatch the matter briefly, by the agency and counsel of the aforesaid woman the Irish and the northerners were called forth to this sedition. And so, an expedition having been assembled of both Germans and Irish, with the same lady always lending her aid, they soon crossed over into England and made landfall on the northern coast.

.... idem credere non ambigeret. Et quoniam ex ipsius Eduardi stirpe ductum habebat, domina Margareta olim Karoli novissimi ducis Burgondionum uxor Eduardique germana illum per litteras ad se vocavit; qui furtim hinc fugiens ad illam, paucis tantæ proditionis consciis, celeriter est profectus. Atque ut rem paucis breviter expediam, qua opera et consilio prædictæ mulieris Hiberni borealesque ad hanc seditionem evocantur. Collecta itaque tam Teutonum quam Hibernorum expeditione, opitulante semper jamdicta domina, in Angliam brevi trajiciunt, oramque borealem appellunt.

On the Second Triumph of Henry the Seventh.

De Secundo Henrici Septimi Triumpho.

The king, always trusting in divine providence, when he heard these things, without any alarm but with steadfast and noble spirit, addressed his followers privately in this manner:

Rex divino semper numine fretus, ubi hæc audivit sine ulla trepidatione, sed constanti præstantique animo suos ita seorsum alloquitur:

The King’s Speech.

Regis Oratio.

When the most unconquered king was returning from victory, the legate of the Supreme Pontiff was present in the city of London, who announced that a crusade, granted by the most blessed Father himself, had been proclaimed against the enemies of the Church. This the most humane king, just as is his custom, received most graciously and with joy; and, as the most dutiful son obeys a father, he complied with the commands of the Roman Pontiff, and immediately ordered that this same crusade be proclaimed throughout his whole realm. And concerning the arrival of this legate as well, these verses were composed by us extempore [without preparation]:

Redeunti de victoria invictissimo regi Summi Pontificis legatus in urbe Londino adfuit, qui adversus hostes ecclesiæ cruciatam ab ipso beatissimo patre concessam nunciavit. Quam benignissime ut solet omnes humanissimus rex cum gaudio suscepit, jussisque Romani Pontificis tamquam patri filius obedientissimus paruit, et illico ipsam cruciatam per totum suum regnum divulgari imperavit. Et de hujus quoque legati adventu versus a nobis hi extemporaliter editi sunt:

King's Speech

Regis Oratorio