Chronicles (3 of 6): Historie of England (1 of 9): Henrie IVHolinshed, Raphael
History
Chronicles (3 of 6): Historie of England (1 of 9): Henrie IV
Holinshed, Raphael
Great Britain -- History -- Henry IV, 1399-1413; Middle Ages
The archbishop herewith turning to the knights and burgesses of the
parlement, said vnto them; “You, and such other as you be, haue giuen
counsell vnto the king and his predecessors, to confiscate and take into
their hands the goods and possessions of the celles, which the Frenchmen
and Normans possessed here in England, and affirmed that by the same he
and they should heape vp great riches, and indéed those goods and
possessions (as is to be prooued) were worth manie thousands of gold;
and yet it is most true, that the king at this day is not halfe one
marke of siluer the richer thereby, for you haue begged and gotten them
out of his hands, and haue appropriated the same vnto your selves, so
that we may coniecture verie well, that you request to haue our
temporalties, not to aduance the kings profit, but to satisfie your owne
greedie covetousnesse, for vndoubtedlie if the king (as God forbid he
should) did accomplish your wicked purposes and minds, he should not be
one farthing the richer the yeare next after: and trulie, sooner will I
suffer this head of mine to be cut off from my shoulders, than that the
church should lose the least right that apperteineth to it.”
The knights said little, but yet they procéeded in their sute to haue
their purpose forward, which the archbishop perceiuing (as an other
Argus, hauing his eie on each side, to marke what was doone) laboured so
to disappoint their dooings, that he wan the favour of certeine of the
temporall lords to assist him, who constantlie auouched by their
consents, that the church should neuer be spoiled of the temporalties,
and herein they acquited the archbishop and prelats, one pleasure for an
other, which they had doone for them before, when the commons in this
parlement required, that all such lands and reuenues as sometime
belonged to the crowne, and had béene giuen awaie, either by the king,
or by his predecessors king Edward, and king Richard, should be againe
restored to the kings vse; vnto which request, the archbishop and other
the prelats would in no wise consent: [Sidenote: _Abr. Fl._ out of
_Thom. Walsi._ _Hypod._ pag. 167.] thus by the stout diligence of the
archbishop Arundell that petition of the commons, touching the spiritual
temporalties, came to none effect. [Yea the knights themselues, who
verie instantlie had stood in this error, acknowledging their
maliciousness & guiltinesse herein, besought the archbishop of
Canturburie to pardon them; and gaue thanks that by his couragiousnesse
the church in this so troublesome a time reuiued, calling to mind the
saieing of an ethnike, by way of application, to the said archbishops
his praise:
-------sub principe duro
Temporibúsq; malis ausus es esse bonus.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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