But this error had in you byn p{ar}doned, yf you had not sett yt downe as your owne, but warranted with the auctorytye of Bale in Scriptoribus Anglie, from whence yo{u} haue swallowed yt. [Sidenote: Gower the poet was not of the Gowers (or Gores) of Stittenham.] Then in a marginall note of this title yo{u} saye agayne oute of Bale, that Gower was a Yorkshire manne; but you are not to be touched therfore, because you discharge yo{ur} selfe in vouching yo{ur} auctor. Wherfore Bale hath muche mistaken yt, as he hath donne infynyte thinges in that Booke de scriptoribus Anglie, beinge for the most parte the collect{i}ons of Lelande. For in truth yo{u}r armes of this S^r Johne Gower beinge argent one a cheuerone azure, three leopardes heddes or, do prove that he came of a contrarye howse to the Gowers of Stytenham in Yorkeshyre, who bare barrulye of argent and gules a crosse patye florye sable. Whiche difference of armes semethe a difference of famelyes, vnlesse yo{u} canne prove that, beinge of one howse, they altered their armes vppone some iuste occas{i}one, as that soome of the howse maryinge one heyre did leave his owne armes and bare the armes of his moother; as was accustoomed in tymes paste. But this differe{n}ce of Cootes for this cause, or anye other, (that I colde yet euer lerne,) shall you not fynde in this famelye of Gower: and therefore seuerall howses from the fyrst originall. Then the marginall note goeth further out of Bale, that Gower had one his hedde a garlande of ivye and rooses, the one the ornamente of a knyghte, the other of a poet. [Sidenote: Gower’s chaplette for knighthood not for poetry.] But Bale ys mystaken, for yt ys not a garlande, vnlest you will metaphoricallye call euerye cyrcle of the hedde a garlande as Crownes are sometymes called garlandes, from whence they had their originall, nether ys yt of Ivye, as any manne whiche seethe yt may well iudge, and therefore not there sett for anye suche intente as an ensigne of his poetrye, but ys symplye a chapplett of Roses, suche as the knyghtes in olde tyme vsed ether of golde, or other embroderye, made after the fasshone of Roses, one of the peculier ornamentes of a knighte, as well as his coller of SSS, his guilte swoorde, and spurres. [Sidenote: The chaplette of roses a peculiar ornament of honour.] W{hi}che chaplett or cyrcle of Rooses was as well attributed to knights, the lowest degree of honor, as to the hygher degrees of Duke, Erle, &c. beinge knyghtes, for so I haue seene Johne of Gaunte pictured in his chaplett of Rooses; and kinge Edwarde the thirde gaue his chaplett to Eustace Rybamonte, only the difference was, that as they were of lower degree, so had the[y] fewer Rooses placed on their chaplett or cyrcle of golde, one ornament deduced frome the Dukes crowne whiche had thee rooses vppon the toppe of the cyrcle, when the knighte had them onlye vppon the cyrcle or garlande ytselfe. of whiche dukes crowne to be adorned with little rooses, [Sidenote: The