And this appeareth euidently by the workes of many learned men, who wrote about the time of _Charlemaines_ raigne in the Empire _Occidentall_, where the Christian Religion, became through the excessive authoritie of Popes, and deepe deuotion of Princes strongly fortified and established by erection of orders _Monastical_ in which many simple clerks for deuotion sake & sanctitie were receiued more then for any learning, by which occasion & the solitarinesse of their life, waxing studious without discipline or instruction by any good methode, some of them grew to be historiographers, some Poets, and following either the barbarous rudenes of the time, or els their own idle inuentions, all that they wrote to the fauor or prayse of Princes, they did it in such maner of minstrelsie, and thought themselues no small fooles, when they could make their verses goe all in ryme as did the Schoole of _Salerno_, dedicating their booke of medicinall rules vnto our king of England, with this beginning. _Anglorum Regi scripsit tota schola Salerni Sivus incolumem, sivis te reddere sanicari Curas tolle graues, irasci crede prophanum Necretine ventram nec stringas as fortiter annum._ And all the rest that follow throughout the whole booke more curiously than cleanely, neuerthelesse very well to the purpose of their arte. In the same time king _Edward_ the iij. him selfe quartering the Armes of England and France, did discouer his pretence and clayme to the Crowne of Fraunce, in these ryming verses. _Rex sum regnorum bina ratione duorum Anglorum regnio sum rex ego iure paterno Matris iure quidem Francorum nuncupor idem Hinc est armorum variatio facta meorum._ Which verses _Philip de Valois_ then possessing the Crowne as next heire male by pretexte of the law _Salique_, and holding our _Edward_ the third, aunswered in these other of as good stuffe. _Praedo regnorum qui diceris esse duorum Regno materno priuaberis atque paterno Prolis ius nullum ubi matris non fuit vllum Hinc est armorum variatio stulta tuorum._ It is found written of Pope _Lucius_, for his great auarice and tyranny vsed ouer the Clergy thus in ryming verses. _Lucius est piscis rex et tyrannus aquarum A quo discordat Lucius iste parum Deuorat hic hom homines, his piscibus insidiatur Esurit hic semper hic aliquando satur Amborum vitam si laus aquata notaret Plus rationis habet qui ratione caret._ And as this was vsed in the greatest and gayest matters of Princes and Popes by the idle inuention of Monasticall men then raigning al in their superlative. So did every scholer & secular clerke or versifier, when he wrote any short poeme or matter of good lesson put it in ryme, whereby it came to passe that all your old Proverbes and common sayinges, which they would have plausible to the reader and easy to remember and beare away, were of that sorte as these. _In mundo mira faciunt duo nummias & ira Molleficant dura peruertunt omnia iura._