Raphael Holinshed

“ The law of nature will the mother to kéepe hir child, God's law priuilegeth the sanctuarie, and the sanctuarie my sonne, sith I feare to put him in the protectors hands that hath his brother alreadie, and were (if both failed) inheritor to the crowne. The cause of my feare hath no man to doo to examine. And yet feare I no further than the law feareth, which (as learned men tell me) forbiddeth euerie man the custodie of them, by whose death he maie inherit lesse land than a kingdome. ”

“ Womanish feare, naie womanish frowardnesse (quoth the duke of Buckingham.) For I dare take it vpon my soule, she well knoweth she néedeth no such thing to feare, either for hir son or for hir selfe. For as for hir, here is no man that will be at war with women. Would God some of the men of hir kin were women too, & then should all be soone in rest. Howbeit there is none of hir kin the lesse loued, for that they be hir kin, but for their owne euill deseruing. ”

“ I am not so proud, to looke therefore that yée should reckon my words of as great authoritie as the preachers of the word of God, namelie a man so cunning and so wise, that no man better woteth what he should saie, and thereto so good and vertuous, that he would saie the thing which he wist he should not saie, in the pulpit namelie, into the which no honest man commeth to lie. ”

“ For whereas now euerie lord loued other, and none other thing studied vpon, but about the coronation and honor of the king: if the lords of hir kindred should assemble in the kings name much people, they should giue the lords, betwixt whome and them had béene sometime debate, to feare and suspect, least they should gather this people, not for the kings safegard, whom no man impugned, but for their destruction, hauing more regard to their old variance, than their new attonement. ”

“ The residue, sith so long ago, I wote néere what pope, and what prince more pitious than politike, hath granted it, & other men since, of a certeine religious feare, haue not broken it, let vs take a paine therewith, and let it a Gods name stand in force, as farre foorth as reason will, which is not fullie so farre foorth, as may serue to let vs of the fetching foorth of this noble man to his honor and wealth, out of that place, in which he neither is, nor can be a sanctuarie man. ”

“ Edward reuenging his fathers death, depriued king Henrie, and atteined the crowne. George duke of Clarence was a goodlie noble prince, and at all times fortunate, if either his owne ambition had not set him against his brother, or the enuie of his enimies [2] his brother against him. For were it by the quéene and lords of hir bloud, which highlie maligned the kings kinred (as women commonlie not of malice, but of nature hate them whome their husbands loue) or were a proud appetite of the duke himselfe, intending to be king ”

“ The cardinall made a countenance to the other lord, that he should harpe no more vpon that string; and then said he to the quéene, that he nothing doubted, but that those lords of hir honorable kin, which as yet remained vnder arrest, should vpon the matter examined, doo well inough: and as toward hir noble person, neither was nor could be anie maner ieopardie.
Whereby should I trust that (quoth the quéene) in that I am giltlesse? As though they were giltie, in that I am with their enimies better loued than they? When they hate them for my sake, in that I am so néere of kin to the king? ”

“ Not verie well content (quoth the quéene) and yet the case is not like, for the tone was then in health, and the tother is now sicke. In which case, I maruell greatlie, that my lord protector is so desirous to haue him in his kéeping, where if the child in his sicknesse miscarried by nature, yet might he run into slander and suspicion of fraud. And where they call it a thing so sore against my childes honor, and theirs also, that he bideth in this place: it is all their honours there to suffer him bide, where no man doubteth he shall be best kept ”

“ This knight bringing them out of the prison to the scaffold, and shewing to the people about that they were traitors (not suffering them to declare & speake their innocencie, least their words might haue inclined men to pitie them, and to hate the protector and his part) caused them hastilie, without iudgement, processe, or maner of order to be beheaded, and without other earthlie gilt, but onelie that they were good men, too true to the king, and too nigh to the quéene. ”

“ A sanctuarie serueth alwaie to defend the bodie of that man that standeth in danger abroad, not of great hurt onlie, but also of lawfull hurt: for against vnlawfull harmes, neuer pope nor king intended to priuilege anie one place, for that priuilege hath euerie place. Knoweth anie man, anie place wherein it is lawfull one man to doo another wrong? That no man vnlawfullie take hurt, that libertie, the king, the law, and verie nature forbiddeth in euerie place, and maketh (to that regard) for euerie man euerie place a sanctuarie. ”

“ The lord cardinall, perceiuing that the quéene waxed euer the longer the farther off, and also that she began to kindle and chafe, and spake more biting words against the protector, and such as he neither beléeued, and was also loth to heare, he said to hir for a finall conclusion, that he would no longer dispute the matter: but if she were content to deliuer the duke to him, and to the other lords present, he durst laie his owne bodie & soule both in pledge, not onelie for his suertie, but also for his estate. ”

“ I would not be a king with that condition, to forbeare mine owne libertie in choise of mine owne mariage. As for possibilitie of more inheritance by new affinitie in strange lands, is oft the occasion of more trouble than profit. And we haue alreadie title by that meanes vnto so much, as sufficeth to get and kéepe well in one mans daies. That she is a widow, and hath alreadie children; by Gods blessed ladie, I am a bacheler, and haue some too, and so ech of vs hath a proofe that neither of vs is like to be barren. ”

“ And if some folks fréendship had not holden better place with the king, than anie respect of kinred, they might peraduenture easilie haue betrapped and brought to confusion some of vs yer this. Why not as easilie as they haue doone some other alreadie, as néere of his roiall bloud as we? But our Lord hath wrought his will, and (thanks be to his grace) that perill is past. Howbeit as great is growing, if we suffer this yoong king in our enimies hand, which without his witting might abuse the name of his commandement, to anie of our vndooing, which thing God [defend] and good prouision forbid. ”

“ This fault not greatlie gréeued the people: for neither could anie one mans pleasure stretch and extend to the displeasure of verie manie, and was without violence, and ouer that in his latter daies lessed, and well left. In which time of his latter daies this realme was in quiet and prosperous estate, no feare of outward enimies, no warre in hand, nor none toward, but such as no man looked for. The people toward the prince, not in a constrained feare, but in a willing and louing obedience: among themselues the commons in good peace. ”

“ But if you doo appoint your selfe to tarrie héere, then thinke they it more conuenient that the duke of Yorke were with the [Pg 375] king honourablie at his libertie, to the comfort of them both: than héere as a sanctuarie man, to their both dishonour and obloquie, sith there is not alwaie so great necessitie to haue the child to be with the mother: but that occasion may sometime be such, that it should be more expedient to kéepe him elsewhere. ”

“ For no woman was there anie where, yoong or old, rich or poore, whome he set his eie vpon, in whome he anie thing liked, either person or fauour, spéech, pase, or countenance, but without anie feare of God, or respect of his honour, murmur or grudge of the world, he would importunelie pursue his appetite, and haue hir, to the great destruction of manie a good woman, and great dolor to their husbands, and their other fréends ”

“ For as the worshipfull man groundlie made open vnto you, the children of king Edward the fourth were neuer lawfullie begotten, forsomuch as the king (leaning his verie wife dame Elizabeth Lucie) was neuer lawfullie maried vnto the quéene their mother, whose bloud, sauing that he set his voluptuous, pleasure before his honor, was full vnméetelie to be matched with his; and the mingling of whose blouds togither, hath béene the effusion of a great part of the noble bloud of this realme. ”

“ In which meane time the earle of Warwike tooke out of prison, and set vp againe king Henrie the sixt, who was before by king Edward deposed, and that much what by the power of the erle of Warwike, which was a wise man, and a couragious warriour, and of such strength, what for his lands, his aliance, and fauor with all people, that he made kings and put downe kings almost at his pleasure, and not impossible to haue atteined it himselfe, if he had not reckoned it a greater thing to make a king than to be a king. ”

“ For Richard the duke of Glocester, by nature their vncle, by office their protector, to their father beholden, to themselues by oth and allegiance bounden, all the bands broken that bind man and man togither, without anie respect of God or the world, vnnaturallie contriued to beréeue them, not onelie their dignitie, but also their liues. ”

“ If I saie he shall not; if I aske the priuilege but for my selfe, I say he that against my will taketh him out, breaketh the sanctuarie. Serueth this libertie for my person onelie, or for my goods too? Yée may not hence take my horsse fro me: and may you take my child fro me? He is also my ward: for as my learned councell sheweth me, sith he hath nothing by descent holden by knights seruice, the law maketh his mother his gardian. Then may no man I suppose take my ward fro me out of sanctuarie, without the breach of the sanctuarie. ”

“ Which thing was doone in the presence, and by the order of sir Richard Ratcliffe knight, whose seruice the protector speciallie vsed in that councell, and in the execution of such lawlesse enterprises, as a man that had béene long secret with him, hauing experience of the world, and a shrewd wit, short & rude in spéech, rough and boisterous of behauiour, bold in mischiefe, as far from pitie as from all feare of God. ”

“ As though they were not to be trusted with the kings brother, that by the assent of the nobles of the land, were appointed as the kings néerest fréends, to the tuition of his owne roiall person. The prosperitie whereof standeth (quoth he) not all in kéeping from enimies, or ill viand, but partlie also in recreation, and moderate pleasure: which he cannot (in this tender youth) take in the companie of ancient persons, but in the familiar conuersation of those that be neither farre vnder, nor farre aboue his age: and neuerthelesse of estate conuenient to accompanie his noble maiestie. ”

“ Men come not to sanctuarie, as they come to baptisme, to require it by their godfathes, he must aske it himselfe that must haue it, and reason; sith no man hath cause to haue it, but whose conscience of his owne fault maketh him fane, néed to require it. What will then hath yonder babe, which and if he had discretion to require it, if néed were, I dare say would now be right angrie with them that kéepe him there? And I would thinke without anie scruple of conscience, without anie breach of priuilege, to be somewhat more homelie with them that be there sanctuarie men in déed. ”

“ Euerie man answered him faire, as though no man mistrusted the matter, which of truth no man beléeued. Yet for the further appeasing of the peoples minds, he sent immediatlie after diner in all the hast one herald of armes, with a proclamation to be made through the citie in the kings name, conteining, that the lord Hastings, with diuerse other of his traitorous purposes, had before conspired the same day to haue slaine the lord protector, and the duke of Buckingham sitting in the councell ”

“ What Cooke, your owne worshipful neighbour, alderman and maior of this noble citie, who is of you so either negligent that he knoweth not, or so forgetful that he remembreth not, or so hard hearted that he pittieth not that worshipful mans losse? What speake we of losse? His vtter spoile and vndeserued destruction, onelie for that it hapned those to fauour him whome the prince fauoured not. ”

“ Finallie, in manie weightie sutes she stood manie a man in great stead, either for none or verie small rewards, and those rather gaie than rich; either that she was content with the déed it selfe well doone; or for that she delighted to be sued vnto, and to shew what she was able to doo with the king; or for that wanton women and wealthie be not alwaies courteous. I doubt not some shall thinke this woman too slight a thing to be written of, and set among the remembrances of great matters: which they shall speciallie thinke, that happilie shall estéeme hir onelie by that they now sée hir. ”

“ For if one go to sanctuarie with another mans goods, whie should not the king, leauing his bodie at libertie, satisfie the partie of his goods, euen within the sanctuarie? For neither king nor pope can giue anie place such a priuilege, that it shall discharge a man of his debts, being able to paie. ”

“ Which if they should (as God forbid) find you at variance, might hap to fall themselues at warre, yer their discretion would serue to set you at peace. Ye sée their youth, of which I reckon the onelie suertie to rest in your concord. For it sufficeth not that all you loue them, if ech of you hate other: if they were men, your faithfulnesse happilie would suffice. But childhood must be mainteined by mens authoritie, and slipper youth vnderpropped with elder counsell, which neither they can haue but ye giue it, nor ye giue it if ye gree not. ”

“ And if she would giue them a resolute answer to the contrarie, he would foorthwith [Pg 377] depart therewithall, and shift who so would with this businesse afterwards: for he neuer intended more to mooue hir in that matter, in which she thought that he & all other also (saue hir selfe) lacked either wit or truth: wit, if they were so dull that they could nothing perceiue what the protector intended: truth, if they should procure hir sonne to be deliuered into his hands, in whom they should perceiue toward the child anie euill intended. ”

“ But go to, suppose that she feare (as who maie let hir to feare hir owne shadow) the more she feareth to deliuer him the more ought we feare to leaue him in hir hands.
For if she cast such fond doubts, that she feare his hurt: then will she feare that he [Pg 372] shall be fet thence. For she will soone thinke, that if men were set (which God forbid) vpon so great mischiefe, the sanctuarie would little let them: which good men might (as me thinketh) without sin somewhat lesse regard than they doo. ”

“ For which cause they should assemble on the other partie much people againe for their defense, whose power she wist well far stretched: and thus should all the realme fall on a rore. And of all the hurt that thereof should insue, which was likelie not to be little, and the most harme there like to fall where she least would, all the world would put hir and hir kindered in the wight, and saie that they had vnwiselie and vntrulie also broken the amitie & peace that the king hir husband so prudentlie made, betwéene his kin and hirs in his death bed and which the other partie faithfullie obserued. ”

“ Wherefore, with whome rather, than with his owne brother?
And if anie man thinke this consideration light (which I thinke none thinks that loues the king) let him consider, that sometime without small things, greater cannot stand. And verelie, it redoundeth greatlie to the dishonor both of the kings highnesse, and of all vs that béene about his grace, to haue it run in euerie mans mouth, not in this realme onlie, but also in other lands (as euill words walke far) that the kings brother should be faine to kéepe sanctuarie. For euerie man will wéene, that no man will so doo for naught. ”