EDOVARDUS Confeſſor Redivivus. THE PIETY and VERTUES Of HOLY Edward the Confeſſor, Reviv'd in the Sacred Majeſty of King James the II. BEING A RELATION of the Admirable and Unexpected finding of a Sacred Relique, (viz. the CRUCIFIX) of that Pious Prince; which was found in Weſtminster-Abby, (the place of his Interrment) 622 Years ſucceeding; and is ſince worn ſometimes by his preſent Majeſty. With a COMMENT thereon. Previous to which Relation, are recited many wonderful caſual Diſcoveries; All of them being Preſagious, or very Effective.
LONDON, Printed by W. D. And are to be Sold by Randal Taylor, near Stationers-Hall. 1688.
PReſently after His Majeſty's moſt happy Inauguration, I heard of that unexpected Bene-ominous Accident, which is the Subject of this preſent Diſcourſe: Not One in Ten, but look'd upon it as a matter meerly Fabulous and Feign'd: For my part, (having been abroad in the World) I have met with ſtrange Paſſages, but read of many more; ſo, for my better ſatiſfaction, I went to a Loving Friend of mine, Mr. J. G. (Famous for Aſtronomical Learning) living near the Abby, who aſſured me of the Truth thereof; and offered to carry me to the very Perſon who was the Diſcoverer thereof, and receiv'd a Royal Reward; which I refuſed, (for that would have looked as if I had diſtruſted my Friends Veracity.) Within two or three days after, my old Friend T. H. Eſq; Windſor-Herald (alſo a near Inbabitant) re-aſſured me of the Truth thereof: Ʋpon which, I Penned this enſuing Diſcourſe; giving it to one, to uſe at his Diſcretion, being a Printer, my Friend; and I thought it would have found no obſtacle in the Impreſſion: But thoſe that were Authoriz'd to Licenſe, obſtinately refuſed it, as ſavouring of down right Popery and Superſtition. So I, having occaſion to retire into the Country, acquieſc'd, and let it lye, (ſubmitting to the Rigour, or Nicety of the Licenſers): But afterward, when I ſaw many notable, and very acceptable Occurrences fall under His Majeſty's Auſpicious Government, (ſuch as are mention'd by Tertullus the Orator, Acts 24.2.) I incited my Friend to move afreſh: Theſe Occurrences are ſuch as,
His Proclamation, April 4. declaring, His Benign Indulging Well-meaning Tender Conſciences in matter of Religion, and Forms and Circumſtances of Worſhip: Certainly, the means to make People live in more Ʋnity, and more free from Envy, that might arrive from ſome, to have more Priviledge, Grace and Favour than others. This cauſed a great rejoycing of all People generally, as Mr. Gadbury well obſerves. Annot. Apr. 88.
Then His paying the Arrears, due to His late Majeſty's Servants; as far as His preſent Majeſty with convenience could do; He having had no Supplies, but His own ordinary Revenues. The Payment of their Arrears is the more to be Commended, in that, after the Meaſure and Quantum was Conſider'd and Determin'd, the performance thereof was as ſpeedy as might be: Qui cito dat, bis dat.
His particular taking into conſideration the Debts due to the City Orphans and Widdows: Strangely have their Monies been ſquandred and embezled by the Step-Fathers of this Renowned City, once ſo Memorable for Piety and Juſtice. Gulielmus Stephanides, Writing of it, ſub. H. 2. made it a City of Prayer. So Robert Fabian, ſub. H. 7. in his Prologue to his Second Chronological Volume: But truly, of late Years, it hath ſhew'd it ſelf Spelunca Latronum Matt. 21.13.
His Intention to ſettle a Regiſtry of Sales of Eſtates and Chattels, Real. About the Year 76 and onward, the Houſe of Commons were upon this Matter; At Satanus impediit & divertit in peiora; 1 Theſ. 2.18. For my part, I Wrote to ſeveral Noblemens Chaplains, deſiring them to perſwade their Lords to Advance it; the Right Reverend the Lords, Biſhops of Gloceſter and Rocheſter can Atteſt this to be True: The Honourable Knights, Sir Winſton Churchil, and Sir Joſeph Williamſon, (then Secretary of State) will acknowledge I put them upon it. — Certainly it would be a mighty ſatiſfaction and Security to all ſorts of People, whom God's Bleſſing, and their own Honeſt endeavour have made capable of Purchaſe; and is the uſage of the Low-Countries, introduc'd by Charles the V. whoſe Memory the Netherlanders greatly Reverence upon this very account. This is mention'd by Sir William Temple, P. 200. of his excellent Diſcourſe of thoſe Parts.
His reſtoring of an antient Order of Knight-hood, many Ages diſ-uſed, viz. The Thiſtle, ſo reviving the Honour of His Antient Kingdom of Scotland (the Nurſe of Brave Men) It was one of the Praiſes of that Good and Great Prince, Humphry Duke of Gloceſter, that Wrote himſelf Son, Brother, and Ʋnkle of Kings, &c. That He was Amator Honoris, a Lover of Honour. (See Weaver, 555.) But our Generous Soveraign is Lapſi Reſtaurator Honoris, a Reſtorer of it when fallen.
But laſtly, and above all, What is mentioned by Mr. John Gadbury, in his Ephemeris for the approaching Year 88. viz. upon the 23 of Aug. His Majeſty began his Royal Progreſs for the Weſt, where he moſt Mercifully vouchſafed to heal many Languiſhing Men, Women, and Children, of the Evil: And this indeed was the main matter I preſumed to Preſage from this diſcourſed Diſcovery.
But to conclude my Preface; Why may not I preſume Vaticiniouſly from that paſſage I borrow from Harêus, (mention'd hereafter, Pag. 24) to add by the By,
Let not my Reader Cenſure this comes out too too long, poſt factum, when as Mr. Payne Fiſher's moſt excellent Latin Panegyrick in Heroick Verſe, upon his Majeſty's Inauguration; Nor Mr. Sandfords much and long expected Proſal Deſcription thereof, have not yet ſeen the Light: The former, I ſuppoſe (and 'tis pity) has been hitherto ſuppreſt, Propter non poſſe pecuniae; Non propter Papiſmum, as was the Fate of Mine.
☞ In Pag. 27. I have a Paſſage relating to St. Brightwald; for the better apprehending the Application whereof, I muſt Inform my Reader, This Holy Man was a great Lover of his Country; and ſeeing St. Edward the Confeſſor had no Heirs of his Body (and knowing the Turbulent Ambitious Temper of the Potent Godwinian Family) was greatly troubled; fore-ſeeing what Calamities might happly follow. It pleaſed God to quiet his Mind by that Viſion, which I mention Page aforeſaid.
SƲETONIƲS tells us, The Aſſaſſination of Julius Caeſar was predenounc'd by evident Prodigies. Certain Men being employ'd to caſt down ſome Antient Monuments; in that of Capys, (Founder of Capua) they found a Brazen-Table, in which was written in Greek Letters this Sentence, Quandoque oſſa Capys, &c. When e're the Bones of Capys ſhould be diſcovered, it ſhould come to paſs, That he that was ſprang from Julius ſhould be Slain by the hand of his own Relations; and that afterward Italy ſhould be Plagued with innumerable Slaughters. And leſt that any ſhould think the matter Fabulous and Commentitious, Cornelius Balbus, one of Caeſar's Familiars, was the Author of this Report, (as ſays the ſaid Author Suetonius). That this came to paſs, all know that have read the Roman Hiſtories, and the Tragedy of Julius Caeſar.
2Herodotus relates, That the Lacedemonians were always overcome by the Tegaeans: They asked advice of the Oracle, how, and by what means they might pleaſe the Gods, that they might overcome their Enemies the Tegaeans? Pythia anſwered, That Oreſtes Bones (who was Son of Agamemnon) were to be brought to Lacedemon. And they doubting, and being uncertain of the place where they were to be found: The Oracle anſwered in Greek to this effect, (as I have Paraphraſtically Tranſlated it;
When no Man could underſtand the Oracle, one Liches came to Tigaea, and ſitting in a Brazier's Shop, wondred at his Work; to whom the Brazier ſaid, Wonder not at this; How would'ſt thou wonder, if thou ſhould'ſt ſee a Sepulchre, (which I diſcovered by digging a Well) where were Bones ſeven Cubits long, which I have again Religiouſly Buried. Then Lyches inſtantly call'd to mind the Oracle, and ruminating much within himſelf, communicated the matter to the Lacedemonians; and ſeigning an eſcape, returned to the Tegaeans, bought the Bones of the Brazier, and carried them to Lacedemon: And then it came to paſs, that the Lacedemonians overcame their Enemies.
There was a City called Libethra, (upon Mount Olympus) near which was Orpheus's Tomb. Now the Oracle had declared to the Libethrans, Their City ſhould be deſtroyed by a Swine, when the Sun ſhould firſt ſee Orpheus Bones. They regarded3 the Oracle the leſs, becauſe they believed not any ſuch Beaſt ſhould have ſo much ſtrength as to deſtroy ſuch a City; for, — Naſcitur â mediis Effectus quilibet aptis.
But when it pleaſed the Gods theſe things ſhould come to paſs, a certain Shepherd at Noon-tide, being weary, laid himſelf down by Orpheus's Tomb, and falling aſleep, began to chant Orpheus's Verſes, in a ſweet and delectable Tone: Some Shepherds and Plow-men, that were hard by, were much taken, and left their Station to hear the Melody of the Sleeping Shepherd; coming near, and juſtling one another, they threw down the Pillar; whereby the Urn was broken, and Orpheus's Bones lay open to the Sun: The Night following fell much Rain, and the River over-flowing its Banks, caſt down the Walls of Libethra, over-turn'd the Holy-Temple and Buildings, and deſtroy'd the Citizens. (My Author has this Story out of Pauſanias his Baeotica). And I muſt not omit the Equivocal meaning of the Oracle, the Stream being called by the name of a Swine.
Xerxes, the Son of Darius, having digg'd up an old Monument of Belus, found an Urn of Glaſs, in which a Corps lay in Oyl; but the Urn was not full. Now, near unto this was a little Column, on which was written, That it ſhould go ill with him that opened the Sepulchre, and did not fill the Ʋrn: Which, when Xerxes had read, he was taken with much Dread and Horror, and commands Oyl to be poured in; which being performed, it was never the fuller, though often reiterated. The Monument being cloſed, he departed with much Grief; and ſoon after was miſerably Aſſaſſinated. Aelianus ex Herodoto, lib. 3.
4There was a Town of the Xanthians, which had a Bridge laid over the ſmall River Lycus; in which were ſaid to have been Brazen Tables, whereon Letters were Ingraven, ſhewing, That the Empire of the Perſians was ſometime to be overthrown by the Grecians. Now, a little before Alexander the Great had Fought at Graviſum, this Bridge was ſhaken down, and the aforeſaid Tables were fallen into the River. Alexander was much moved at the Report of theſe Tables; when as for ſome time he had ſtood doubtful, which way to ſteer the Courſe of his Victories, turned to the Right Hand, and ſubdued, with wonderful ſpeed, all the Sea-Coaſt, from Lydia unto Phoenicia. Plutarchs's Alexand.
Procopius the Tyrant, being Slain by Valens the Emperour, the Walls of Calcedon (becauſe the Citizens thereof had favoured Procopius's Party) were thrown down to the Ground. In one of whoſe Stones was an Oracle found, Engraven; averring, That the ſaid Walls ſhould be converted to the Ʋſe of the Baths in Conſtantinople. Calcedon lay over-againſt Conſtantinople; Now, while the Walls were throwing down, the Citizens of Conſtantinople, viz. the Bithinians, Nicomedians, and Nicaeans, made humble Suit to the contrary; but the Emperour Valens took the Suit in ill part, and commanded the Stones to be carried to the uſe aforeſaid, viz. to build the Baths called, Conſtantiana, [So great is the force of Deſtiny and Fate]. Read Cuſpinian in the Life of Valens, and the Eccleſiaſtical Hiſtory of Socrates Scholaſticus, (lib. 4. ch. 8.) Tranſlated out of Greek by Meredith Hanmer, D. D. who recites the Propheſie in Engliſh Verſe of fourteen Feet, not well reliſhing to our Poetical Palate at this day; or as Camden phraſes it, Apolline minus plenas.
5In the ſixth Year of Juſtine the Great, Edeſſa, that Noble and Bleſſed City of the Oſroenians, was over flown with the Streams of the River Scirtus, that glided by i; inſomuch as many Houſes were carried away with the violence thereof, and multitudes of Men were drowned with the Water: [See Evagrius's Eccleſiaſtical Hiſtory, lib. 4. chap. 8.] And Cedrenus reports, That at the ſame time, in the Bank of the River, a Table of Stone was found, whereon was Written in Egyptian Letters to this effect;
If my Reader be Inquiſitive, why Evagrius calls Edeſſa that Bleſſed City, let him know, 'twas becauſe King Agabarus (that ſo much deſired to ſee our Saviour) lived there: Of which matter, ſee Euſebius, lib. 1. chap. 14. who diſcourſes at large of Agabarus his Letter to our Saviour, and the Anſwer thereunto; the ſending of Thadeus to Him; who Cured his Diſeaſe, and Converted him, and his People.
Rodericus Toletanus writes, That before the Coming of the Saracens into Spain, King Roderick, upon hope of ſome Treaſure, did open a part of the Palace, long being forbidden to be touched; but found nothing but Pictures, which reſembled the Moors, with a Prophecy, That whenſoever that part of the Palace was opened, the People there reſembled ſhould overcome Spain, and ſo it happened. See Heylen after his Catalogue of the Gothiſh Kings of Spain.
In the Time of Ferdinand the Firſt, King of Arragon, the City of Naples was in a moſt Flouriſhing condition, and the Kingdom free from all Calamity. Now, 'tis manifeſt,6 That one Cataldus, about 1000 Years before that Time, had been Biſhop at Tarentinum; the Citizens whereof did Worſhip him as their Patron: In the mid'ſt of the Night he again and again appeared to a Miniſter, (who had lately taken the Order of Prieſt-hood, having been Educated under the Vow of Chaſtity) charging him, That he ſhould, without delay, take out of a certain place, a little Book, which he in his Life-time had Wrote, and privately hid, (containing ſome Divine Writings) and bring it to the King. The Prieſt gave little Credit to the Dream, although he ſaw Cataldus in his Sleep, very often, and always of the ſame ſhape and form. After that, he appeared unto him (being all alone in the Temple, early in a Morning) Apparell'd in ſuch Biſhops Weeds as he uſed in his Life-time, and Adorned with a Mitre; adviſing him, as he deſired to avoid great Puniſhment, That the next day, without further delay, he ſhould digg for the Book which he had Written and Hidden, (as he had formerly ſhewn him by Viſions) and bring it to the King. The Prieſt and People went the next day to the place wherein, for many Years, this little Book had been hidden, and found it Bound with a Leaden Cover, and Claſped; wherein it appeared, that the Deſtruction of the Kingdom, Miſerable Calamities, and Moſt Sad Times were at hand; whereof the King was warned.
We have found, by Experience, (ſays my Author) That this Prophecy was fully Executed, and ſhew'd it ſelf to be ſo Divine, that not long after Ferdinand himſelf, either by the juſtly incenſed Wrath of God Almighty, or other inſcrutable Cauſes of his Divine Will, could not avoid what he was ſo fully admoniſh'd of; but, in the very firſt appearance of War, departed this Life; and Charles the Eighth of France, with a ſtrong Hand, Invaded the Kingdom. And Alphonſus, the Heir of Ferdinand, having but7 newly entred the Kingdoms Government, was thereof deprived, baſely running away, and dying in Flight, as a Baniſh'd Man. Then the Second Son of Ferdinand, (the hopefulneſs of whoſe Youth had indeared him to all Men) to whom the Kingdom fell, was intangled with a miſerable and fatal War, and died in the Flower of his Age: and afterward, the French and Spaniards dividing the Kingdom, made Havock of all, with deplorable Devaſtations. Alexander ab Alexandro, cap. 15. The Diſcourſe of Policy and Religion, by Mr. Fitz-Herbert, mentions this Matter.
We read in the Perſian Hiſtory of one Emande Daule, a great Perſian Prince, that reſting in the Houſe of Tacut, a Prince whom he had Vanquiſhed, he began to be careful for the Payment of his Souldiers, being without Money, and ſeeing their Inſolence to be great, and that they would Mutiny if they were delay'd: Being very Penſive, he laid him down upon a Bed, ſtudying what courſe to take; where, lifting up his Eyes, he eſpyed an ugly Snake at an hole, which did often put forth her Head, and draw it up again: Daule being amazed thereat, commanded they ſhould preſently break up the top of the Houſe, and Kill the Snake; which was done; and in doing of it, they diſcovered a great Treaſure which Yacut had hidden there, and which was ſufficient to Pay the Souldiers. Soon after, there happened another Accident to Daule, which was both Pleaſant and Profitable: Having an intent to make ſome Apparrel, he caus'd a Taylor to be brought unto him; who being before him, inſtead of a Meaſure, he call'd for a Cudgel; the Taylor (who had ſerved Yacut) fearing to be Baſtinado'd, beſought him to Pardon him, and without any Exhortation of the Cudgel, would confeſs the Truth; which was, That he had ſeventeen Coffers in his Houſe, which Yacut had committed8 to his Cuſtody: Daule was joyful of this Diſcovery; and having ſent for the Coffers, they were found full of Cloth of Gold, and all ſorts of Silk of great value; whereof the Taylor had his ſhare.
Jornandes writes, That Attila relied much upon the Sword of Mars, kept along time among the Kings of the Scythians, and diſcovered at firſt, upon this occaſion: A certain Neat-herd ſeeing one of his Beaſts halting, and not knowing how it came, followed the Tract of the Blood; at the end whereof, he finds a Sword, upon which the Beaſt had trod in Feeding: This Sword he takes out of the Ground, and brings it to Attila; who, joyful of ſuch a Preſent, (for which he rewarded the Neat-herd) being a Man of a lofty Courage, conceived in his Mind, the Monarchy of the World was deſigned for him; and that Mars's Sword would bear him out, to make War with every one. Camerarius, lib. 4.
I will not ſay any thing of Alis's Cimitar, ſo renowned among the Turks; but come to Joan of Arc, and her Sword, ſo ſtrangely diſcovered; I will Epitomize it out of Belleforeſt: She was Born of very mean Parentage, in the Country of Barrois: It pleaſed God, by means of her, to deliver, not only the City of Orleance, but the Kingdom of France. This Maid, aged Eighteen, was Sincere and Modeſt; and, fearing God, had many Revelations, by which ſhe was exhorted to an Enterpriſe, differing from, and infinitely above the mean Vacation ſhe follow'd, (which was to look after her Father's Cattle) viz. to go to the King, and Inform him, God had ordain'd her for the Party that ſhould deliver the Kingdom, raiſe the Siege of Orleance, and cauſe his Majeſty to be Sacred at Rheims, in deſpite of the9 Engliſh Force, then in a moſt Victorious Condition. With this Aſſurance, ſhe Addreſſed her ſelf to Robert de Bandriecourt, Governour of Vancoleur, to the end he ſhould Conduct her (accoutred as a Man) to the King; to whom ſhe was ordered to ſay, That ſhe was ſent by God, to Succour Him, and Recover His Kingdom; and Reveal things to Him ſo Secret, that thereby he ſhould know, God, and no other, was Chief of the Enterpriſe ſhe undertook. The Governour, at firſt, was Aſtoniſht, and thought ſhe was Extravagated by ſome Melanchohy Humor: But ſeeing her ſo diſcreet in her Propoſals, adviſed in her Anſwers, and reſolute in what ſhe ſaid, began to have her in Eſteem: But was more ſatiſfied the Work of God was in it, when as the ſame day, the French were Deſeared at Rouveroy; ſhe averr'd, The King had even then received a great loſs, and 'twas time to haſten the buſineſs; and that if ſhe were not Conducted to him, the Kingdom would yet ſuffer more.
The Iſſue of the matter making him ſee the Maid was in the right, he failed no longer to put her in fit Equipage, and to diſpatch her with two Champaign Gentlemen: But they knowing the difficulty, would not (at firſt) enterpriſe the Thing; but Joan of Arc ſo aſſured them, that they condeſcended to her Requeſt, and Accompanied her.
She Arrived at Chinon (where the King then was), in March 1429. and at the very time when the Council had Decreed, (Things being as they were) it were beſt for the King to retire into Dauphine, and preſerve (if Orleance were taken) Languedock, Lionnois, Auvergne, and the ſaid Dauphine, till it ſhould pleaſe God to have Compaſſion of Him, and his People. In fine, She was brought to the King, whom ſhe knew, tho' he retired himſelf behind others, to conceal himſelf: To whom ſhe propoſed her buſineſs, as aforeſaid. Her Promiſes were ſo great, that the10 King remitted her to ſome Lords of the Council, and Doctors in Divinity, to Examine her; to whom ſhe Propoſed her buſineſs, as aforeſaid ſhe had done to His Majeſty; and they found nothing in her worthy of Cenſure, although ſhe diſcourſed of matters of Faith very high (which ſhe did with great Integrity and Eloquence).
Here Belleforeſt makes a Pauſe, and ſays, The greateſt Enemies of France have brought more Honour to the Memory of this Virgin, than many French of our time, who have dared to ſoil her Irreprehenſible Life with their foul Beſpatterings. And he quotes Meyer, a Flemiſh Annaliſt, (No Equitable Judge, ſays he, to the French Nation, but an Enemy to the Blood of their Kings); who affirms, What ever ſhe Propoſed in Words, ſhe made good in Deeds. Quis non videt, &c. (ſays he;) Who ſees not this to be the Work of God? Who can doubt, theſe things were not effected by the Immenſe Clemency of God?
Although the King, and His Council, were aſſured of the Vertue of Joan, and were of reſolv'd Opinion, ſhe was inſpir'd by God; becauſe ſhe had told the King things which he had never Diſcourſed to any Body: Yet, not to go over lightly to work with a thing of ſuch Importance, ſhe was ſent to Poitiers; where Reſided then the Grand Parliament of France, and the Ʋniverſity, (which before was wont to be the Ornament of Paris) to the end the Parliament and the Divines might enquire further of the Propoſals of the Maid, and make Judgment accordingly; who concluded, That the King ought to Believe and Confide in her, and to furniſh her with Monies for her Equipage, to Advance towards the Army. Being returned to the King, he gave her Arms and Horſes; and ſhe requeſted him to ſend and ſearch for a Sword, being in the Church of Saint Katharines of Fierbois, in the Blade of which, near to the Traverſe Bar, or Guard,11 were five Croſſes impreſſed; and that no other Sword but This, could ſerve her turn.
What the Conduct of this Virgin, and her Select Sword (by her ſo wonderfully diſcovered) in a ſhort time effected, I refer to the Engliſh and French Chronologers.
Theſe two Inſtances of Swords anſwer to the latter part of my Title, viz. Effective Conſequence.
In the Preface to my Introductio ad Latinam Blazoniam. I tell my Readers, Arms are the Rewards of Meritorious Deeds, whether Military or Civil, which Deeds ſoon Die, (how Nobly ſoever performed:) But the Rewards are laſting, out-living the Actors; and in their Honorary Symbols, continually from Age to Age, accompanying and dignifying their Deſcendents. Thus Charles the VII. that grateful King of France, rewarded this ſucceſsful Virgin, and her Family, with theſe Arms following:
D'Azure à l'Eſpee, &c. (B. a Sword in pale. Ar. its Guard, Or, Surmounted by a Crown, and Accoſted by two Fleurs lys of the ſame. Her Succeſſors bear the Name of Du Lys. And I ſhall have occaſion to ſpeak of the Alluſion of theſe Enſigns, in a Collection I intend ſuddainly to make Publick, of many of the Arms of the Europian Nations; alluding either to the Name it ſelf, or other Circumſtances of the Bearer.
Sozomenus, Lib. 6. writes, That when Julian the Apoſtate Sacrificed to the Gods of the Gentiles, a Crown'd Croſs was found in the Entralls of the Slain Beaſts; upon which, the Miniſters of the Offering, aſtoniſh'd, cryed out, Illud eſſe Signum Victoriae & Aeternitatis Chriſtianae Religionis: It was a ſign of the Prevalency and Eternity of the Chriſtian Religion.
12Dagobert, the Son of Clotherius, King of France, being Young, pulled from Sadregefillus (a deſerving and worthy Noble-man, whom his Father had deſigned Governour of Aquitain) his Honourable Robe belonging to his Place and Quality, and grievouſly Beat him; out of a Fond Conceit he had not that Reſpect for him, which the Son of a King might expect: Upon this miſ-uſage he went to Clotherius, complaining of the ſame, and ſhewing the Marks of the Blows he received; the King Incenſed, commanded his Son ſhould be taken, and brought to him: The Prince fearing the Anger of his Father, flies from on Secret place to another; at laſt, the King having but one only Son, and bethinking himſelf he had done ſufficient Penance for his Offence, by long Fear and Flight, reſolves to Forgive him, and be Reconciled. Thoſe whom the King ſent to fetch him from the Cave, where he had Abſconded himſelf, were taken with ſuch Fear and Horror, that the Hairs of their heads ſtood upright, and their whole Bodies trembled, and had no Power to go into the Cave; which was a thing much to be wondered at: But in this place lay Buried the Bodies of the Martyrs Dioniſius, Ruſticus, and Eleutherius; which, until that time, was not known to any Man; but they appearing to Dagobert in his Sleep, adviſed him to Build a Church there, which he afterward performed. But I ſhould have told you, The Father ſuppoſing the Meſſengers unwilling to diſtaſte the Son, had (to gratifie him) counterfeited this Fear, was ſain publickly to pronounce his Pardon; and then they could enter, and fetch him out.
Genoueva, a Virgin of Paris, did moſt Reverently frequent the Village Catula, where Holy Dioniſius Died; to whom ſhe had Dedicated a Cathedral Church: She went to certain Prieſts with Collected Monies; but they, fearing further13 Supplies, and having preſent want of ſome, made their excuſe: On the contrary, ſhe (Divinely Inſpir'd) ſaid, I beſeech you go to the Bridge of the City, and what-ever you hear declare it to me. They going forth, while they ſtood attentively in the Market-place, expecting what to hear, two Swine-herds coming towards them, talked together; ſays One, While I ſought a ſtraid Hogg, I found a Furnace of Lime: I alſo, ſays the Other, found another in the Wood: The amazed Prieſts relate to the Virgin what they heard; ſhe Weeps for Joy; and notice being given to the Citizens, Collections were made, and a Magnificent Temple Built, and Dedicated to Dioniſius. Bonfinius, Lib. 5.
There are many over-weaning and credulous Perſons of the Reformed Religion, believe the Pope grants Pardons to ratifie Murders, and perpetrate Crimes. Now, it pleaſed God, in the ſecret diſpoſition of his hidden Judgment, to Reveal the contrary, in this wonderful and unexpected Manner. About the Year 1608. 6 Jacobi l. as the Sexton was digging a Grave in the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, London, to Interr the Corps of Doctor Stanhop, he chanced to light upon the Coffin of one Sir Gerard Braybroke, Knight, Buried there Two hundred Years before; where finding the Cords whole, the Flowers freſh, he eſpied a Charter of Pardon or Indulgence not Conſumed, not Eaten, not Defaced in ſo long time: You may read this Charter in Latin, in the Hiſtoria Eccleſiae Paulinae, Written by my moſt Loving Friend, and fellow Officer, Sir William Dugdale, late Garter King at Arms. I will Recite it here, Tranſlated into Engliſh, Verbatim.
14BOniface, Biſhop, Servant of the Servants of God: To his beloved Son, the Noble Gentleman, Gerard Braybroke the younger, Knight; and to his beloved Daughter in Chriſt, the Noble Lady his Wife, Elizabeth, of the Dioceſs of Lincoln, Salvation and Apoſtolical Benediction. It proceedeth from your Affectionate Devotion, with which you Reverence Ʋs, and the Church of Rome, that We admit Your Petition to a favourable Hearing, eſpecially that which concerns the Salvation of Your Souls. For this cauſe, We being moved to yield to Your Supplications, By the Tenor of theſe Preſents, do grant this Indulgence to Your Devotion: That ſuch a Ghoſtly Father, as either of You ſhall chooſe, ſhall have Power, by Apoſtolical Authority, to grant to You (perſiſting in the Sincerity of Faith, in the Ʋnity of the Holy Church of Rome, and in Obedience and Devotion towards Ʋs, or Our Succeſſors, Popes of Rome, Canonically entring into that Sea) full Remiſſion (only once at the point of Death) of all Your Sins, whereof you ſhall be Contrite and Confeſſed; in ſuch manner, nevertheleſs, that in theſe Caſes, where Satisfaction is to be made to any other, the ſame Confeſſor ſhall enjoyn You to do it by Your ſelves, if You Survive, or by Your Heirs, if You ſhould then Die, which You or They ought to perform, as aforeſaid: And leſt (which God forbid) You ſhould by this Favour, become more prone to commit unlawful Things hereafter, We declare, That if, upon confidence of this Remiſſion or Indulgence, You ſhall commit any ſuch Sins, That this preſent Pardon ſhall not be any help to You, concerning Them. Furthermore, Let it be Lawful for no Man to Infringe this Writing or Grant of Ours, or with whatſoever boldneſs to Contradict it: And if any ſhall preſume to attempt any ſuch thing, let him know, That he ſhall Incurr the Indignation of Almighty God, and of his Bleſſed Apoſtles Saint Peter, and Saint Paul. Given at Rome, at St. Peters, under the Fiſhers Ring, 5o. Junii, in the Second Year of Our Papacy.
15Note, This was Boniface the IX. and the Year was 1400. the Firſt of Henry the IV.
Now, Let all that are Opiniated as aforeſaid, read, and well conſider the Conditions of this Brieve. Firſt, It is neceſſary to Perſiſt in the Sincerity of the Faith. Secondly, To be Sorrowful and Contrite, and to confeſs Our Sins. Thirdly, To make Satisfaction or Reſtitution, if any be needful. Fourthly, Not to Preſume hereby to commit unlawful Things. I pray, who can be Sorrowful, or truly Confeſs, or duly intend to Satisfie, that fully intends to commit Sins? Who can be imboldned to fall into Sin, in hope of a Plenary Indulgence, when this very Hope and Preſumption is a main Bar againſt gaining the ſame. Gregorius Turonenſis, (lib. 1. chap. 14.) tells us, When the Article of our Reſurrection was moſt eagerly Impugned by the Saducean Hereſie, in the days of Theodoſius the Emperour, it pleaſed God to reveal and awake the Martyrs St. Maximinian, Malchus, Martinian, and the reſt, after they had Slept 372 Years: For 'twas concluded, If God could raiſe from Sleep after ſo many Years, He could do it after any Number: and ſo conſequently, having at firſt Created all Things out of Nothing, could again raiſe them out of their own Aſhes.
Baronius in his Annals (Anno Chriſti 357.) relates, That when ſo many Doubts were made about the Martyrdom of St. Foelix, Pope and Martyr, that his Name was in danger to be blotted out of the Calendar; it pleaſed God to Reveal his Body, by means of ſome who digged at Rome, in the Church of St. Coſmus and Damianus, for Treaſure; and, which is very Remarkable, it was the very day before his Feaſt was Celebrated.
Even ſo, The Divine Providence, who with admirable convenience diſpoſeth all things, even then in the Royal16 City of London, in the chiefeſt Church, in the greateſt Recourſe of ſuch who were ſo malevolently Opiniated, diſcloſed this Pardon, in Vindication of the Catholicks, when they were moſt hotly purſued, and moſt wrongfully condemned of Crimes of this Nature: This Diſcovery being as a Witneſs produced from Heaven to acquit Them, as it were by the Sentence of God himſelf.
It will not be amiſs to note here, That this Noble Knight, Sir Gerard Braybroke, was Brother to Biſhop Braybroke, whoſe Skeleton, or Skinny Bony Remains (by the fall of St. Pauls Arched Floor into Sr. Faiths, preiently after the Fatal Fire 1666.) was diſcovered; and is now reſerved in (that our admirable piece of Building) the Conſiſtory, and ſhown as a great Rarity to curious Perſons: And from whence may be Collected, That this Family of Braybroke, had an Egyptian Humor of Deſire, that their bodies might not ſuddainly Decay; but attend, if poſſible, the Re-union of the Soul.
The Juſt Weight of the Scarlet Gown (a Book full of Curioſity) in the Chapter of Cardinal Fabritio Savelli tells us, That a little before Pope Ʋrbane the VIII. Dred, it was verily believed, That the deceaſed Cardinal Savelli (Unckle to this Fabritio) would have been Pope, becauſe he was a Man of an approved good Life, Charitable, and indued with all the Qualities appertaining to an High Biſhop; not fore deemed to be ſuch a Pope as lived in the Time of Sebaſtian Brandt, a German Poet, whom I ſhall quote hereafter, who complains in his Chapter, De Fidei Catholicae & Imperii Caſu, Turcarumque incurſione; Thus,
And this was the rather ſo believed, becauſe that in certain Mountainous places, as one goes towards the Sea-ſhore of Siena, there was a Marble Stone found, with an Inſcription upon it, which ſaid, That in the Year 1645. there ſhould be a Pope of the Family of Savelli: And in the very ſame Stone were the Arms of Savelli Ingraven; which were Bendy Or G. a Chief Ar. charg'd with a Roſe, between two Lyons Rampant confronting one another, of the Second: As I learn from Promptuair Armorial, a French Author, who exhibits a ſhort Alphabet of Arms, of ſundry Nations, and a Copious one of France.
Now, my Reader may object; Here's plain Preſage, but the Effects follow'd not: I anſwer, I will for once make uſe of a Word much in Vogue, whilſt the Excluſive Party raged and imagin'd vain Things, and which I ſufficiently confuted (as to their Senſe and Acceptation) in my Ʋnio Diſſidentium, viz. He was not an Apparent; but Preſumptive Pope: Every body hoping and expecting his Vertues would make Him ſo. But, as to the finding of ſuch a Stone, in ſuch uncouth places, I deem and eſteem it a wonderful Diſcovery, and very worthy of Remarque, as ſtrange an Accident as one ſhall likely read.
Many of theſe Things perhaps may (to ſome) appear difficult to believe; but they are the Reports of worthy Hiſtorians; and, for my part, I profeſs, I dare not diſ-believe Them, having had my Self particular and Perſonal experience of Things as ſtrange and incredible, as any of Their ſaid Relations before-recited. I could Inſtance that Memorable Accident that happened July 1671. at St. Catharines, near18 the Tower of London, of a Maid being ſtruk upon the Arm by an Inviſible Hand, with ſeveral Croſſes of a Sanguineal hew and colour (making together a Rhombular Form, which Heralds call a Lozenge); ſhe was ſtruck more than once; for as they began to wear away, ſhe was re-ſtruck: This was ſeen by my Self, and very many Perſons more, (and ſome of great Quality, that came from White-Hall): For my own part, I have naturally ſuch an Air of Curioſity to things of this Nature, that I gave notice to very many; among the reſt, to One whom Foreign Travel, and all Polite Learning, greatly Adorn; and whoſe Treatiſe, De Ortu & Natura Sanguinis, ſhall make him Memorable, as long as Humane Frailty ſhall have need of Paeonian Aid, and the Influence of Apollo. I ſay, Apollo. — Cujus
He, I ſay, was very Inſtrumental in bringing the Maid to her Health and Senſes, which the Fright had very much impaired and diſordered (as Mr. Robert Garret, Seniour Brother of St. Catharines, and others, can Atteſt.) This then, was no Foolery, or Ridiculous Paſſage, like that of the Croſſes appearing in Auſtry-Church in Warwick-ſhire; which nevertheleſs was Publiſhed in Print, and Viſited by Thouſands; whereas the Author had no other Record, than only the Honeſt and True Report of ſuch as ſaw it, and knew not the Fallacy.
The Croſſes of Auſtry being nothing elſe but certain remaining old ones, Painted in Times paſt in durable Colours; and having been (upon Beautifying the Church) whited over, the White in time began, through continued Humidity19 of the Air, to impair, and wear away; and ſo the under Painting began to appear again. An Accident which I have taken notice of long before, in a Church Mural-Painting, in the County of Suffolk diſcovering the Pourtraicture of the Patron Saint of the Church.
Several were the Opinions concerning this wonderful Percuſſion of the Maid of St. Catharines; ſome thought it the Effect of Witchcraft; others, a Preſage of the Romiſh Religions Reſtitution. The Place where it happened, being within the Precinct of a Colledge, left unſuppreſſed at the general Diſſolution of Henry the VIII. and continuing with Choral Service, even till the latter Times of Queen Elizabeth: The Quire little Inferiour to that of St. Pauls; and diſſolved by the Machination of one Dr. W. the then Maſter: The Stalls yet remain of very Antique Work. As for the ſelf-ended Diſſolver, a ſtrange Judgment followed the Action; for his only Son made away himſelf in his Mothers Abode within the ſame Cloiſters; and ſhe (Ob cauſſas quas dicere nolo, mortua eſt ex Communicata, & non abſque Conatu multo interceſſioneque magna Chriſtianae Sepulturae, Commiſſa; cadavere interea (in faſtigio Eccleſiae plumbeo) faetorem intolerabilem emittente) reſervato: ut audivi à nativis quibuſdam, quibus Parentes haec (horrore) narrârant. So fared it with the Eagle that took a Cole from the Altar, and Fired her own Neſt.
AS Preparation was making for the Coronation of our preſent King's moſt Sacred Majeſty in Weſtminſter-Abby, the Workmen buſied about the building of Scaffolds (either by miſchance, or out of Curioſity of Inſpection) broke the20 Coffin, wherein lay the Remains of Holy Edward the Confeſſor: After the Coronation was Accompliſhed, ſome Officer of the Church, or Servant of the Eccleſiaſticks (as curious of Inſpection as the former) put his Staff into the hole, and ſtirring, perceived ſomething to gingle; and taking it out, found it to be a Golden Crucifix, of very conſiderable Value. This he durſt not conceal, but revealing it to one of the Superiors of the Collegiate Society, it was made known to the King; who, like Himſelf, rewarded the Finder; and ſometimes, in Reverence to the Antient Proprietor; wears this Religious Ornament himſelf.
St. Edward died the Fourth of January, Anno 1066. 621 Years ago. It's remarkable, this Crucifix ſhould lie ſo long quiet and unknown, and at length be ſo ſtrangely diſcovered, and be Preſerved to be Preſented to our preſent Soveraign; as if in Him alone, above all his Predeceſſors, were Vertues agreeable to thoſe of the firſt Proprietor, the ſo Memorable Pious Edward the Confeſſor.
Day-Fatality, ſpeaking of the Auſpicious Fourteenth of October, His Majeſties Birth-Day, concludes a Latin Decaſtich, with this Diſtich;
Verily, This hearty Wiſh hath not been in vain, but hath ſucceeded Proſperouſly; See Day-Fatality concerning the Third of March; as alſo, The Swans-Welcome, and Prince-Protecting Providences. And forget not, That very many took notice, that at His Majeſties Proclamation, at the very Inſtant when 'twas performed at the Royal-Exchange, a great number of Doves were there Flocked together. To21 which is added, The finding of a Sacred Relique, appertaining to a Dove-like Prince.
Let us hear what Authors ſay of King Edward. Stow ſays, (Pag. 94.) For His excellent Holineſs, He is, unto this very Day, called Saint Edward; who, ſo ſoon as he had gotten His Father's Kingdom, releaſed the heavy Tribute of Dane-Gilt.
And (Pag. 95.) he calls Him, Good King Edward, and commends him for his Compaſſion; and relates a Story, as if God had indued Him with the Grace of ſeeing Viſions. The Deſcription of which Viſion, I have often-times beheld in Painted Glaſs, on the South-ſide of the Body of Weſtminſter-Abby Church. And Stow relates it at large, from approved Authors, That when the Officers had Collected the grievous Tribute, called Dane-Gilt, and brought it into the King's Treaſury; The King being called to ſee ſo great an Heap and Maſs, was, at the beholding thereof, much aſraid; proteſting he ſaw the Devil Dancing thereupon, and making exceeding much Joy; and therefore gave Commandment it ſhould be forthwith rendred again to the former Owners thereof; averring, That of ſo cruel an Exaction He would not keep One Farthing to Himſelf, but it ſhould go back from whence it came.
If Pope Nicholas the III. called the Money, drawn and ſqueeſed à Pauperibus Litigantibus, from Poor Litigious People, by cunning Solicitors and Attornies, their very Blood and Souls; How much more, hard Taxes, which eſpecially light upon the Trading part of a Nation; who, of all People, ought to be incouraged; as was the Opinion of Frederick Marquis of Mantua; for Les Eſtate du Monde, tells us, His Subjects lov'd Him much; for He was Liberal, and would Lend them Money without Intereſt, if he fonnd them fit for Traffick; An Heroick and Princely Humor: But I return.
22Stow tells us likewiſe, King Edward was the firſt that Collected from the Ordinances, and Cuſtoms of the Mercians, Weſt-Saxons, Danes, and Northumbers, an excellent Body of Law. Fox in his Martyrology, ſays of them, That being gathered out of the Beſt and Chiefeſt of other Laws, they were ſo Juſt and Equal, and ſo Serving the Publick Profit and Weal of all Eſtates and Conditions of Men, that the People long after did Rebel to have the ſame Laws again.
Matthew Paris tells us, That William the Conqueror, at his Coming in, did Swear to Uſe and Practiſe the ſame Good Laws of King Edward, for the Common Laws of the Realm; but, being Eſtabliſhed in the Kingdom, broke his Word, and placed the Norman Laws in their room. And Stow informs us, That his Son, Henry the Firſt, reſtored the ſaid Laws again, and amended Them where deficient. In the firſt Chapter of the ſaid Laws, the Duty of a King is excellently ſet forth; but I refer you to Fox.
But let us hear the Elogy the aforeſaid Fox gives this Prince (from approved Authors;) He was a Man of a Gentle and Soft Spirit, of Nature and Condition ſo far from all War and Blood-ſhed, that being in His Baniſhment, He wiſhed rather ſo to continue all His Life-time, in that Private Eſtate, than by Blood-ſhed to aſpire to His Kingdom. After He had taken upon Him the Government of the Realm, He guided the ſame with much Wiſdom and Juſtice Twenty Four Years, ſave Two Months; from whom Iſſued (as out of a Fountain) much Godlineſs, Mercy, Pity, and Liberality towards the Poor, Gentleneſs and Juſtice towards all Men; and, in all Honeſt Life, He gave a Vertuous Example to His People.
Wardner, in his Albions England, ſays thus of St. Edward:
Serlo, of Paris, in his Epitaph, begins thus of Him;
Robert of Gloceſter calls him, Edward the Simple (underſtand it not in our worſt Acceptation at this day) but with a reference to Mat. 10.16. As Innocent and Harmleſs as a Dove: or, to the Qualification of Moſes, Numb. 12.3. Who was very Meek above all the Men upon the Face of the Earth. Farther Illuſtrated, Ecclus. 45.1, 2, 3, 4. concluding thus, That God choſe Him for His Faithfulneſs and Meekneſs, out of all Men, &c. Meekneſs being an Attribute our Saviour aſſumes to himſelf, Matt. 11.29. and therefore by no means unbecoming a King; and which Robert of Gloceſter ſhould have called Sweetneſs of Converſation, which was made admirably good in that Story Alluredus Rivalleneſs relates of Him,
That as He lay on a Time Waking in His Bed, it chanced, That His Chamberlain taking Money out of one of the King's Coffers, left it open, and goes his ways: A Young Servitor, that Waited at the King's Table, ſpying the Coffer open, and ſuppoſing the King aſleep, thruſt a good quantity of Money into his Boſome, goes away, and lays it up; comes again, and does the like; and when he came the Third time, and the King knew (as 'twas thought) the Chamberlain was at hand, and willing the Young-Man ſhould avoid the danger, cryed out to him; Thou art too bold, take what Thou haſt, and get Thee gone; for, by God's Mother, if Hugoline come (for that was the Chamberlain's Name, and whoſe Epitaph is mentioned by Weaver, Pag. 483.) he will not leave Thee one Penny; whereupon the Thief made haſt away, and was never diſcovered by the King: Now, when Hugoline came, and perceived much Money to be gone, and by his own negligence,24 he began to ſigh moſt grievouſly; whereupon, the King Riſing, and making as if he knew nothing of what had happened, asked, What he ailed to be ſo Troubled? which, when the Chamberlain had related; the King replyed, Be not Troubled, certainly he that hath it, has more need of it than Thou and I; let him go, that which remains is enough for Ʋs.
Certainly, This is an Inſtance of great Clemency, Mildneſs, and good Humor: And, to which, let me add another out of Haraeus.
The King Reſiding at His Palace, near the Church of St. Peter, there came a certain Iriſh-Man, deprived of the Uſe of both his Feet; and ſeeing Hugoline, the King's Chamberlain, ſaid unto him, Six times (as thou ſeeſt, even creeping) have I Viſited the Threſholds of the Apoſtles, and yet have not deſerved the Reſtoration of my Limbs. But I have received Command from the Prince of the Apoſtles, to go to the King; That He, taking me upon His Sacred Shoulders, bear me to the Church, near His Palace; there to receive my Cure, if ſo be He vouchſafes to do it. (Oh wonderful Humility!) The King takes him on His Shoulders, and carries him: the Man ſtretches out his Leggs, (his Hams being become Flexible) and is Cured. Thus is the Story related by my Author, who Dedicated his Book to Pope Sixtus Quintus.
God Bleſſed theſe his admirable Vertues with the wonderful Gift of Healing the King's-Evil. The Author of the Book called Vita Edovarde, ſays thus: This King Edward, of Famous Memory, before the Day of His Nativity, was Elected of God; wherefore, as we have known, produced by good and ſufficient Witneſſes, God greatly Glorified Him in His Life-time, with wonderful Signs; among the which, this that follows was one: A Young-Woman Married,25 but without Children, &c. had a Diſeaſe about her Jaws, and under her Cheeks, like Kernels; and this Diſeaſe ſo Corrupted her Face with Stench, that, without great ſhame, ſhe could not ſpeak to any body. This Woman was admoniſhed in her Sleep, To go to King Edward, and procure Him to Waſh her Face with Water, and ſhe ſhould be Cured. To the Court ſhe came; and the King, Informed of the Matter, diſdained not to make Tryal: having therefore a Baſon of Water brought unto Him, He dipped His hands therein, and waſhed the Womans Face, oft-times rubbing the Diſeaſed place; ſometimes alſo ſigning it with the Sign of the Croſs. Now, after He had thus Waſhed it, the hard Cruſtation or Swelling was ſoftned and diſſolved; and the King preſſing with His hand the Tumors, out of them came little Worms (of which they were full) as alſo much Corrupt Matter and Blood: The King ſtill perſevered with His hands to bring forth the Corruption. This done, He commanded her a ſufficient Allowance every day, for all things neceſſary, until ſhe had received perfect Health; which was within a Week after: And whereas ſhe was before Barren, ſhe had a Child by her Husband. Ex libro cui Titulus, Vita Edovardi.
Again, Authors affirm, That a certain Man named Ʋlfunius Spillcorne; when he had hewn Timber in a certain Wood, laid him down to Sleep, after his ſore Labour: Now, the Blood and Humors of his Head ſo ſettled about his Eyes, that he was thereof Blind for Nineteen Years: But, admoniſh'd in his Sleep, he went in Pilgrimage to many Churches, to implore the help of God for his Blindneſs; and, laſt of all, he came to Court; where he ſtood at the Entry of the King's Chamber, an earneſt Suitor for his Royal Help. At length, the King being Informed of the Poor Man's Dream, He ſaid, By Our Lady Saint Mary, I would do any thing with a good26 Will, if it would pleaſe God, by Me, to have Mercy upon this Poor Wretch: So, being alſo much put on by His Attendants, He call'd for Water, and waſhed the Blind-Man's Eyes, and ſtrait-ways the Blood dropped plentifully out; and the Man being Healed, cryed out with a chearful Voice, I ſee Thee, O King! Thus having recovered his Sight, he kept the King's Palace at Windſor a long Seaſon (for there he was Healed) after King Edward was Dead; and Deceaſed in the Reign of William the Conqueror. Now, although theſe things ſeem ſtrange, yet the Normans ever averred, That He often did the like in His Youth, while He remained in Normandy in Exile. How much more then, when He came to be a King, in Poſſeſſion (actually a Vicegerent of the Omnipotent God), that, by what means ſoever pleaſes himſelf, works Wonders.
I have been the more large in the Recital of theſe Two remarkable Paſſages, becauſe our Kings of England deduce their Gifts and Faculties of Curing the King's-Evil (called in Latin, Struma, in French, Les Eſcroueles) from Edward the Confeſſor, upon theſe Two Cures. And, becauſe Cured by Our Kings, we call it the King's-Evil; and in our Modern Latin, Morbus Regius. And to this will I make particular Application at the End of my Diſcourſe.
Neither will I omit, from the Recitals aforeſaid, to ſpeak ſomething in ſavour of Dreams: Johannes Spondanus, in his Comment upon Penelopes Dream, (Lib. 14. Hom. Odys) ſays, Re vera hic teſtor, &c. I do avow, (which alſo I have heard made good by Perſons of undoubted Credit, as to themſelves) nothing conſiderable, either Good or Ill, ever happened to me, but I foreſaw it in my Dreams.
He Dedicated his Book to Henry the Third, King of Navarre; which was after King of France, and known by the Name of Henry le Grand; and to whom he durſt not27 have uttered any thing but Truth. Nam Sacra eſt Reverentia Regnum.
I could ſay ſomething as to my own particular, very patt to the purpoſe: But I eſteem it fitter for Private Diſcourſe, than Publick Edition, and return to the Matter in hand.
Theſe, before-recited, were the Vertues, Qualifications, and Endowments of the Prince, whoſe Crucifix was ſo ſtrangely preſerved (which being ſo ſecretly found, and not known of before, might eaſily have been detain'd): But as the Viſion of St. Brightwald (ſometimes Monk of Glaſtenbury, and after Biſhop of Wilton) aſſured him, The Kingdom of England was the Kingdom of God, and He would give it to whom He pleaſed. So, this Regium Cimelium, this Royal Rarity, was ordained for One Elect of God; whom, though the Numerous and Powerful Excluſive Party in England, and a Malevolent Party in Scotland, would have put by; yet, maugre all, He is become Saint Edward the Confeſſor's Succeſſor to His Crown, Scepter, and This Religious Relique, ſo wonderfully preſerved: Which is the more Remarkable, in that the Maſſy Silver Head, belonging to the Royal Image, covered all over with Silver Plate, guilded, which Queen Catharine cauſed to be laid upon the Tomb of Henry the Fifth; was, at the Suppreſſion in Henry the Eighth's Time, when the battering Hammers of Deſtruction made havock almoſt in every Church, Sacrilegiouſly purloined forth Weſtminſter-Abby; though one would think, it being ſo maniſeſt and obvious a thing, it ſhould have Incited and Commanded the Care of the Church Officers to its Security and Preſervation from Sacriledge.
No doubt, the having of this Pious Symbole and Badge, ſo auſpiciouſly come by, is an evident Omen and Preſage, our Soveraign (as was its Priſtine Owner) will be Bleſſed with28 an happy Hand, in the Cure of the King's-Evil; Be as ſparing of heavy Taxes as may be; A great Conſervator of the Laws of he Land; A Pattern of Piety; A Mirrour of Mercy; A Fountain of Pity and Liberality towards the Poor; Gentle and Juſt towards all Men: In a word, an Exchecquer of all Vertue; as was the former Bearer thereof. I have mentioned before, That Wardner ſays of St. Edward, That He ſet His Kingdom free from all Wrongs and Foes.
Serlo, of Paris, ſays of Him to the ſame Effect:
Hear Old Robert of Gloceſter ſpeaking to the ſame effect: Sooth our Lord nouriſhed his Meekneſs, and yat him great Graſe that Men ſhould be addrade of him, that routh not be Wrath; and though Men trowed him to be Slow, he had ſuch Subjects under him, that at his heſt, daunted his Enemies; as Syward Earl of Northumberland, and Leofricus of Hereford, &c.
Our Legiſts tell us, Qui facit per alium facit per ſe, King Edward did His Enemies buſineſs by others. But our Prince (JAMES the Good and Juſt) is able to be His own Conduct; to be Immenſi tremor Oceani, Terrarum Arbiter; the Terror of the Ocean, the Ballance and Arbiter of Nations. Who ſhall dare to raiſe up this Lyon of England? Gen. 49.9.
29Day-Fatality (Edit. 2. P. 1.) tells us, Normandy was Conquered from Duke Robert, that Day Forty Years the Normans had won England. Edward the Confeſſor came from Normandy to Reign in England, His Father's Kingdom, unjuſtly detained by His Maternal Brother: Why may not our Dread Soveraign, the Poſſeſſor of the Holy Confeſſor's Religious Badge (ſo ſtrangely and ominouſly Recovered) go out of England (Si fas ſit ita loqui) into Normandy, and Recover and Annex it to its Priſtine Union, being His rightly deſcended Dukedome? (Nihil loquor de Andegavia, de Comit 'Pontino, Aquitania, &c.) He being a Prince certainly Born for Great Actions, and Bleſſed with a continuation of Lucky Omens.
How Benignly and Courteouſly, by His Means and Incouragement, are the Exiled French Received by Us? A Royal Brief being granted by His Majeſty, for a Liberal Collection towards Their Relief.
I have by me an Antient Book, written at firſt in the German Tongue, by Sebaſtian Brandt, Doctor of both Laws, and Profeſt Orator and Poet; and Stiled by him, the Ship of Fools, laying open the Folly and Frailty of all ſorts and conditions of Men; a Book very expedient and neceſſary to the Reader. This Book Jacobus Locherus Tranſlated into Latin Verſe; and from him one Alexander Barcklay, Canon of St. Mary Ottry, having Peruſed it in Three Languages, Latin, French, and Dutch, (as he Solemnly Profeſſes in his Epiſtle) Tranſlated into Engliſh Meetre. In his Chapter of the Ruine of the Holy Catholick Faith, and Diminution of the Empire, by the Turks, he Exhorts all Chriſtian Princes and Potentates, to joyn Hand in Hand againſt the Incroaching Infidels. Now, whereas Brandt and Locher place all30 their hope in Maximilian, King of the Romans, as a moſt fit Leader: Our Engliſh Canon transfers it (by a Poetical Digreſſion and Diverſion) to the Famous King James the IV. of Scotland. Let us hear firſt the Latin, and after the Engliſh Poetry of that Age; and, firſt, for Lecher.
Now comes in Barcklay, whoſe Tranſlation is Paraphraſtical; and from whom we gather what an Opinion the World had of James the IV. aforeſaid, Predeceſſor to His Preſent Majeſty.
This our Poet concluded his Tranſlation, 1508.23 Henry the VII. as he ſays, Pag. 259. But I perceive, by ſome Marginal32 Notes, 'twas not Printed till Henry the VIII. began His Reign. And I cannot but take notice of his Heraldical Alluſion, expreſſing the two Kings of England and Scotland, the Firſt by His Arms and Supporters; and the Laſt, by the Laſt; which accidently I imitated in a Diſtich I compoſed, when an over-confident Report was of the French King's Death, in Aug. 85.
Now as to the Ʋnicorn of Scotland, and the Poets Alluſion aforeſaid, read Numb. 23.22, and 24.8. and Job 39.9, and 10. Verſes.
But I return to James the IV. He was (as well as very Valiant) a Wiſe and Politick Leader; for, at the Battle of Flodden Field, obſerving the great number of Engliſh Horſe, (and thoſe of large and ſtrong ſize, the Scotch Horſe being ſmall) He told His Nobles and Commanders, We ſhall do no good with our Horſes: We are as Valiant and Strong, as to our Perſons, as our Enemies; We muſt make Foot work of it. Stow deſcribes the Battle at large, and ſays, The Scotch Spears did twice ſore indanger the Engliſh Forces; that the King himſelf, even in the foremoſt Rank, Fought right Valiantly, encouraging His People, as well by Example as Perſwaſions to do their beſt. In fine, the Lord Dacres, with his Horſe, was the cauſe of the Scotch Defeat; and the King moſt Valiantly Fighting, was unfortunately Slain. See Weaver, Pag. 394. We have heard Barcklays Elogiums of this moſt Heroick Prince; and Stow's Teſtimony of His Valour; let us hear what others ſay.
33John Johnſton, in his Hiſtorical Deſcription of the Scottiſh Kings, concludes one of his Stanza's thus, to his Eternal Praiſe:
Again;
And in Camden's Remains we have an Epitaph for him, concluding thus, as if ſpeaking to His Royal Self:
Which intimates That if the Fates had given him a Monument equal to His Great Mind, not a ſmall rais'd-up heap of Earth; [As Antiently was the Cuſtom; See Weaver, Pag. 6. and Virgil, Lib. 7. ſpeaking of Caietas Monument, Aggere compeſito tumulus; and ſo Aeneid 11.
Thus Tranſlated by Doctor Thomas Twine:
See Stone-henge Reſtored, Pag. 27. and 30. quoting Leland: In Egeſtis per campos terrae tumulis, quos Burghos appellamus ſunt Sepulti.] I ſay, Not a ſmall heap of Earth, not a mean Berry or Barrow, but all Britain it ſelf, ſhould have been His Funeral Mole and Pile.
The Magnanimity of our preſent Soveraign cannot make us believe otherwiſe, than that the Virtual and Warlike Genins of this Famous JAMES, is, by Generative Deſcent, I (will not ſay, Pythagorean Tranſmigration) ſtreamed down into himſelf.
34I muſt not omit one thing: The late Duke of Norfolk having the Sword of this Valorous Prince (as an Heir Loom) in his Poſſeſſion, taken by his Anceſtor; beſtow'd it, as a great Rarity, upon the Heralds Office. The preſent Duke, preſently after His Late Majeſty's Deceaſe diſcourſing with His Preſent Majeſty about it, He had a mighty deſire to ſee it; ſo 'twas ſent for, and the King Pois'd it ſeveral times in His hands, with more than ordinary Pathetick Impreſſion; As I have been aſſured by the Porter of the ſaid Office; who, bringing it back, call'd at a place where I was with ſome Friends, to whom this accidental Overture of ſeeing the Sword, was exceeding Acceptable and Diverting: For my part, I have often thought of this Paſſage, When I conſider'd the Vertues of the Prince that wore this remarkable Weapon, viz. James the Fourth; whom our Chanon of Saint Mary Ottry, would have had to have been the Chriſtian Prince's Agamemnon againſt the Infidels. — I have ſaid before, Qui facit per alium facit per ſe. Now, if what the Chanon would have had done by the Predeceſſor, be done by the Arriere-Nephew and Succeſſor, his Wiſh is fulfilled; and in Him; the Lyon and Ʋnicorn are united, viz. Henry the Seventh, and the moſt Valiant James the Fourth, His Royal Names ſake aforementioned.
Poets are a kind of Prophets and Seers. Now, Mr. Payne Fiſher, in an Ode which he made upon his Sacred Majeſty's Inauguraration, concludes thus:
Which I preſume to Engliſh thus:
Which Verſes plainly Import, as if in that Name, ſome ſecret hidden Vertue lay Divinely couched and enſhrined.
35In my Chriſtian Valour Incouraged, ſet out 84. when the Venetians made their Inroad into Morea; I ſtrongly Inſinuate the French King was the Man muſt be mainly Inſtrumental to ruine the Turk: I recited ſeveral Propheſies; but eſpecially that of Joachim:
The Turk ſhall be Deſtroyed by Three Nations; By the French, Propter bonos Equites, for their excellent Cavalry; By the Engliſh, Propter bonos Marinarios, for their excellent Seamen; and, By the Venetians, Propter bonum Conſilium, for their Prudent Councils. This Prophecy is worthy of Remarque; and the French in the Van. I go on, and add: The French Monarch is become Potent in Shipping; but He is not King of the Engliſh Mariners, which muſt make up the Ternary, according to Joachim.
Strange Revolutions have happened to England ſince the Year 78. That Generous Maximus Ma•inus, mentioned in Day-Fatality (once Great Admiral of Arragon; and till the Year 73. High Admiral of England, is now again, at length, re-inveſted in all His Honours; and that in ſpight of that Crew, mentioned in Introductio ad Latinam Blaſoniam, Pag. 165. with ſtrange Prophetical Heraldieal Reflections: He, I ſay, is reſtor'd; Influenc'd by a Divine Power and Favour, and the Benevolent Rays of Fraternal Love; The Love of the greateſt Sea Prince in the World, Charles le bon, & le grand.
Pray God incline the Heart of the Great French Cyrus; The Heart of the Great Charles of Great Britain; And then the French Cavalry, and the Engliſh Mariners, Influenc'd by the Auſpicious Genius and Succeſs of Prince Maximus Marinus. His Royal Highneſs, will be Aſſiſtant to the Venetian Counſels and Undertakings.
Thus I, in my ſaid Little Treatiſe.
Since which (Sic dii voluêre) Charles le bon is departed into another World, and James the Great is become Sole Arbiter of His Brothers Power; and needs none of His Brothers Influence; I ſay, no Influence, but that of God: Which, let's pray He may never want, to Subdue the Enemies of Criſtendome, as well as Thoſe of His own peculiar Kingdoms (faxit Deus).
Thus have I finiſhed This ſmall Piece, Treating of the Wonderful Diſcovery and Finding of that Sacred Relique, belonging to a Royal Confeſſor of that Religion, which our moſt Serene Soveraign has Reſtored, and ſolemnly Profeſſes.
When I had Publiſhed my Day-Fatality, Anno 1679. one whom I am loath to name, (and whom I Anſwered in a Pamphlet Intituled, Mercurius Antiducalis Flagella us; and have alſo mentioned with ſpecial Remark, Pag. 157. of my Introductio ad Latinam Blaſoniam) expoſed me in his Popiſh Courant, as a Red-Letter-Man; and Abus'd me moſt horribly in his Touch of the Times: What will he think of me now? I only gently tell him, and all the World:
I need not Engliſh this to the Author aforeſaid, who began that part of his Popiſh Courant (ſo Picquant to me) with a Quotation out of Horace.
PAge 4. Line ult. for Plenas read Plenus. p. 11. l. 22. for Europian r. European. p. 13. l. 23. for Cords r. Corps. p. 19. l. 19. r. Excommunicata. p. 23. l. 2. for Edovardus r. Edwardus. Ibid. l. 15. for Rivalleneſs r. Rivallenſis. p. 24. l. 26. for Edovarde r. Edovardi. p. 31. l. 27. for Hand is r. Handys. p. 32. l. 5. for accidently r. accidentally.
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