The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation Volume I Part 16

The world was defrauded, it betyde right so.

Farewell Harflew: lewdly it was a go.

Nowe ware Caleis, I can say no better: My soule discharge I by this present letter.

[Footnote 10: Harfleur, which was lost in 1449.]

[Footnote 11: Rouen]

After the Chapitles of commodities, of diuers lands, sheweth the conclusion of keeping of the sea enuiron, by a storie of King Edgar and two incidents of King Edward the third, and King Henrie the fifth. Chap. 11.

Now see we well then that this round see To our n.o.ble by pariformitee Vnder the ship shewed there the sayle, And our king with royal apparayle, With swerd drawen bright and extent For to chastise enimies violent; Should be lord of the sea about, To keepe enimies from within and without; To behold through Christianitee Master and lord enuiron of the see: All liuing men such a prince to dreed, Of such a regne to bee aferd indeed.

Thus proue I well that it was thus of old; Which by a [*] Chronicle anon shalbe told, Right curious: but I will interprete It into English, as I did it gete: Of king Edgar: O most marueilous Prince liuing, wittie, and cheualerous: So good that none of his predecessours Was to him liche in prudence and honours.

Hee was fortanate and more gracious Then other before, and more glorious: He was beneth no man in holines: Hee pa.s.sed all in vertuous sweetnes.

[Marginal note *: Dicit Chronica, quod iste Edgarus cunctis praedecessoribus suis faelicior, nulli sanct.i.tate inferior, omnibus morum suauitate praestantior fuerit Luxit ipse Anglis non minus memorabilis quam Cyrus Persis, Carolus Francis, Romulus ver Romanis.]

Of English kings was none so commendable To English men no lesse memorable: Then Cyrus was to Perse by puissance, And as great Charles was to them of France, And as to the Romanes was great Romulus, So was to England this worthy Edgarus.

I may not write more of his worthines For lacke of time, ne of his holines: But to my matter I him exemplifie, Of conditions tweyne and of his policie: Within his land was one, this is no doubt, And another in the see without, That in time of Winter and of werre, When boystrous windes put see men into fere; Within his land about by all prouinces Hee pa.s.sed through, perceiuing his princes, Lords, and others of the commontee, Who was oppressour, and who to pouertee Was drawen and brought, and who was clene in life, And was by mischiefe and by strife With ouer leding and extortion: And good and badde of eche condition Hee aspied: and his ministers als, Who did trought, and which of hem was fals: Howe the right and lawes of the land Were execute, and who durst take in hand To disobey his statutes and decrees, If they were well kept in all countrees: Of these he made subtile inuestigation Of his owne espie, and other men's relation.

Among other was his great busines, Well to ben ware, that great men of riches, And men of might in citie nor in towne Should to the poore doe non oppression.

Thus was he wont in this Winter tide, On such enforchise busily to abide.

This was his labour for the publike thing, Thus was hee occupied: a pa.s.sing holy King Nowe to purpose, in the Sommer faire Of l.u.s.ty season, whan clered was the aire, He had redie shippes made before Great and huge, not fewe but many a store: Full three thousand and sixe hundred also Stately inough on our sea to goe.

[Sidenote: Dicit Chronica praeparauerat naues robustissimas numero tria millia s.e.xcenta: in quibus redeunte aestate omnem insulam ad terrorem extraneorum & ad suorum excitationem c.u.m maximo apparatu circ.u.mnauigare consueuerat.]

The Chronicles say, these shippes were full boysteous: Such things long to kings victorious.

In Sommer tide would hee haue in wonne And in custome to be ful redie soone, With mult.i.tude of men of good array And instruments of werre of best a.s.say.

Who could hem well in any wise descriue?

It were not light for eny man aliue.

Thus he and his would enter shippes great Habiliments hauing and the fleete Of See werres, that ioyfull was to see Such a nauie and Lord of Maiestee, There present in person hem among To saile and rowe enuiron all along, So regal liche about the English isle; To all strangers terrours and perile.

Whose fame went about in all the world stout, Vnto great fere of all that be without, And exercise to Knights and his meynee To him longing of his natall c.u.n.tree For courage of nede must haue exercise, Thus occupied for esshewin of vice This knew the king that policie espied; Winter and Somer he was thus occupied.

Thus conclude I by authoritee Of Chronike, that enuiron the see Should bene our subiects vnto the King, And hee bee Lord thereof for eny thing: For great worship and for profile also To defend his land fro euery foo.

That worthy king I leue, Edgar by name, And all the Chronike of his worthy fame:

[Sidenote: Dicit Chronica &c. vt non minus quantum ei etiam in hac vita bononum operum mercedem donauerit: c.u.m aliquando ad maximam eius festiuitatem, reges, comites multarumque, prouinciarum protectores conuenissent, &c.]

Saffe onely this I may not pa.s.se away, A worde of mighty strength till that I say, That graunted him G.o.d such worship here, For his merites, hee was without pere, That sometime at his great festiuitee Kings, and Erles of many a countree, And princes fele were there present, And many Lords came thider by a.s.sent.

To his worship: but in a certaine day Hee bad shippes to be redie of aray: For to visit Saint Iohns Church hee list Rowing vnto the good holie Baptist, Hee a.s.signed to Erles, Lords, and knights Many ships right goodly to sights: And for himselfe and eight kings moo Subiect to him hee made kepe one of thoo, A good shippe, and entrede into it With eight kings, and downe did they sit; And eche of them an ore tooke in hand, At ore hales, as I vnderstand, And he himselfe at the shippe behinde As steris man it became of kinde.

Such another rowing I dare well say, Was not seene of Princes many a day.

Lo than how hee in waters got the price, In lande, in see, that I may not suffice To tell, O right, O magnanimitee, That king Edgar had vpon the see.

An incident of the Lord of the sea King Edward the third.

Of king Edward I pa.s.se and his prowes On lande, on sea yee knowe his worthines: The siege of Caleis, ye know well all the matter Round about by land, and by the water, Howe it lasted not yeeres many agoe, After the battell of Crecye was ydoe: Howe it was closed enuiron about, Olde men sawe it, which liuen, this is no doubt.

[Sidenote: Caleis was yeelded to the English 1347.]

Old Knights say that the Duke of Borgoyn, Late rebuked for all his golden coyne; Of ship on see made no besieging there, For want of shippes that durst not come for feare.

It was nothing besieged by the see: Thus call they it no siege for honestee.

Gonnes a.s.sailed, but a.s.sault was there none, No siege, but fuge: well was he that might be gone: This maner carping haue knights ferre in age, Expert through age of this maner language.

[Sidenote: King Edward had 700. English ships and 14151. English mariners before Caleis.]

But king Edward made a siege royall, And wanne the towne: and in especiall The sea was kept, and thereof he was Lord.

Thus made he n.o.bles coyned of record; In whose time was no nauie on the see That might withstand his maiestie.

Battell of Scluse,[12] yee may rede euery day, Howe it was done I leue and goe my way: It was so late done that yee it knowe, In comparison within a litle throwe: For which to G.o.d giue we honour and glorie, For Lord of see the king was with victorie.

[Footnote 12: The battle of L'Ecluse.]

Another incident of keeping of the see, in the time of the marueilous werriour and victorious Prince, King Henrie the fifth, and of his great shippes.

[Sidenote: The great ships of Henry the fift, made at Hampton.]

And if I should conclude all by the King Henrie the fift, what was his purposing, Whan at Hampton he made the great dromons, Which pa.s.sed other great ships of all the commons, The Trinitie, the Grace de Dieu, the holy Ghost, And other moe, which as nowe bee lost.

What hope ye was the kings great intent Of thoo shippes, and what in minde hee meant?

It was not ellis, but that hee cast to bee Lorde round about enuiron of the see.

And when Harflew had her siege about, There came caracks horrible great and stoute In the narrow see willing to abide, To stoppe vs there with mult.i.tude of pride.

[Sidenote: Great caracks of Genoa taken by the Duke of Bedford.]

My Lord of Bedford came on and had the cure, Destroyed they were by that discomfiture.

[Sidenote: 1416.]

This was after the king Harflew had wonne, Whan our enemies to siege had begonne: That all was slaine or take, by true relation, To his worshippe, and of his English nation.

[Sidenote: The French nauie thus ouerthrowen was of fiue hundred saile.]

There was present the kings chamberlaine At both battailes; which knoweth this in certaine; He can it tell other wise then I: Aske him, and witte; I pa.s.se foorth hastily What had this king of his magnificence, Of great courage of wisedome, and prudence?

Prouision, forewitte, audacitee, Of fort.i.tude, iustice, and agilitee, Discretion, subtile auisednesse, Attemperance, n.o.blesse, and worthinesse: Science, prowesse, deuotion, equitie, Of most estate, with his magnanimitie Liche to Edgar, and the saide Edward, As much of both liche hem as in regard.

Where was on liue a man more victorious, And in so short time prince so marueilous?

By land and sea, so well he him acquitte, To speake of him I stony in my witte Thus here I leaue the king with his n.o.blesse, Henry the fift, with whom all my processe Of this true booke of pure policie Of sea keeping, entending victorie I leaue endly: for about in the see No prince was of better strenuitee.

And if he had to this time liued here, He had bene Prince named withouten pere:

[Sidenote: The Trinitie, the Grace de Dieu, the holy Ghost]

His great ships should haue ben put in preefe, Vnto the ende that he ment of in cheefe, For doubt it not but that he would haue bee Lord and master about the round see: And kept it sure to stoppe our enemies hence, And wonne vs good, and wisely brought it thence: That no pa.s.sage should be without danger, And his licence on see to moue and sterre.

Of vnitie, shewing of our keeping of the see: with an endly or finall processe of peace by authoritie. Chap. 12.

[Sidenote: Exhortatio generales in custodiam totius Angliae per diligentiam custodiae circutus maris circa littora eiusdem: quae debet esse per vnanimitatem Consilariorum regis, & hominum bonae voluntatus.]

Now than for loue of Christ, and of his ioy, Bring it England out of trouble and noy: Take heart and witte, and set a gouernance, Set many wits withouten variance, To one accord and vnanimitee.

Put to good will for to keepe the see.

First for worship and profite also, And to rebuke of eche euill willed foe.

Thus shall worship and riches to vs long.

Than to the n.o.ble shall we doe no wrong, To beare that coyne in figure and in deede, To our courage, and to our enemies dreede: For which they must dresse hem to peace in haste, Or ellis their thrift to standen and to waste.

As this processe hath proued by and by All by reason and expert policy; And by stories which proued well this parte: Or ellis I will my life put in ieoparte, But many londs would seche her peace for nede, The see well kept: it must be doo for drede.

Thus must Flanders for nede haue vnitee And peace with vs: it will non other bee, Within short while: and amba.s.sadours Would bene here soone to treate for their succours.

[Sidenote: Tres sunt causae praedictae custodiae scilcet, honor commodum regnum, & opprobrium inimicis.]