Stow,
Annals.

P. 1009. ed.
1592.

servation of his realm and subjects, and the quiet both of us
and yourselves, as Master Secretary can well declare unto you:
his Majesty and we of his Council here do not a little marvel
that you stay still with you the said Master Secretary; and
have not, as it were, vouchsafed to send an answer to his Ma-
jesty, neither by him, nor yet by any other. And for ourselves
we do much more marvel, and are right sorry, as we and you
have good cause to be, to see the manner of your doings, bent
with force and violence to bring the King's Majesty and us to
those extremities, which as we do intend, if you will take none
other way but violence, to defend us, as nature and our allegi-
ance doth bind us, to extremity of death, and put it unto God's
hands, who giveth victory as pleaseth him. So if our reason-
able conditions and offers will take no place, as hitherto none
hath been signified unto us from you, nor we do not understand
what ye
do require or seek, nor what ye do mean; and that ye
speak no hurt of the King's Majesty's person: as touching all
other private matters to avoid the effusion of Christian blood,
and to preserve the King's Majesty's person, his realm, and
subjects, ye shall find us agreeable to any reasonable conditions
that you
will require; for we do esteem the King's wealth and
tranquillity of the realm more than all other worldly things,
yea more than our own lives. Thus praying you to send us
determinate answer herein by Master Secretary Peter, or, if ye
will not let him go, by this bearer, we beseech God to give both
you and us grace to determine this matter, as may be to God's
honour, the preservation of the King, and the quiet of us all;
which may be, if the fault be not in you.
And so we bid you
heartily farewell. From the King's Majesty's Castle of Wind-
sor, the 7th day of October, 1549.

2.

After our hearty commendations unto your good Lordships: we have received from the same a letter by Master Hunnings, dated at London yesterday; whereby you do us to understand Todd, Life the causes of your assembly there; and, charging the Lord of CranProtector with the manner of government, require that he withdraw himself from the King's Majesty, disperse the force which he hath levied, and be contented to be ordered according to justice and reason; and so you will gladly commune with us,

mer, vol. ii.

P. 157.

as touching the surety of the King's Majesty's person, and the order of all other things, with such conformity on that behalf as appertaineth; and otherwise you must, as you write, make other account of us than you trust to have cause, and burden us, if things come to extremities.

To the first point we verily believe, that as bruits, rumours, and reports that your Lordships intended the destruction of the Lord Protector induced his Grace to fly to the defence which he hath assembled, excuse your Lordships, hearing that his Grace intended the like destruction towards you, have been moved to do as you have done; so as, for lack of understanding one of another's right meaning, things be grown to such extremities, as if the saving of the King's Majesty's person and the common weal take not more place in his Grace and your Lordships than private respect or affairs, you see we doubt not, as we do, that both our King, our country, and also ourselves shall, as verily as God is God, be utterly destroyed and cast away. Wherefore, might it please you, for the tender compassion of Jesus Christ, use your wisdom, and temper your determination in such sort, as no blood be shed, nor cruelty used, neither of his Grace's part nor of your Lordships': for, if it come to that point, both you and we are like to see presently with our eyes that which every vein of all our hearts will bleed to behold.

Wherefore, as true subjects to the King's Majesty, as faithful counsellors, though unworthy counsellors, to his Majesty and his realm, and as lamentable petitioners, we beseech your Lordships most humbly, and from the bottom of our hearts, to take pity of the King and the realm, whereof you be principal members, and to set apart summum jus, and to use at this time tum bonum et æquum; and think not that this is written for any private fear or other respect of ourselves, but for that undoubtedly we hear and know more of this point, with your favours, than you there do know; yea, and howsoever it shall please you to account of us, we are true men to God, to the King, to the realm, and so will we live and die wheresoever we be; and in respect of them three esteem little any other person or thing, no not our own lives: and having clear consciences, as some whatsoever ill may follow, upon the use of extremity there, that neither now is nor shall be found fault in us; and so quieting ourselves we rest.

Now to that you would have the Lord Protector to do for

his part, his Grace and we have communed herein; and much to our comforts, and yours also, if it shall like you to weigh the case; who is contented, if you will again for your parts use equity, to put that now in execution which many times he hath declared by his words; that is to say, so as the King and the realm may be otherwise well served, he passeth little for the place he now hath. Mary, he doth consider, that by the King's Majesty, with all your advices, and the consents of the nobles of the realm, he was called to the place, (as appeareth in writing under his Majesty's great seal and sign; whereunto your own hands also, and ours, with all others the Lords of the Upper House in the Parliament are subscribed :) and therefore in violent sort to be thus thrust out against his will, he thinketh it not reasonable. He is here with the King's person, where his place is to be; and we be here with him, we trust in God for the good service of the King, the weal of the realm, and the good acquitting both of his Grace and of your Lordships; which we most heartily desire and see such hope here thereof, as, if you be not too sore bent upon the extremities, as is reported, and as equity can take no place, my Lord's Grace may live in quiet, and the King's Majesty's affairs maintained in such order as by his Majesty's counsellors shall be thought convenient.

Mary, to put himself simply into your hands, having heard as both we and he have, without first knowledge upon what conditions, it is not reasonable. Life is sweet, my Lords, and they say you seek his blood and his death; which if you do, and may have him otherwise conformable to reason, and by extremity drive him to seek extremity again, the blood of him and others that shall die on both sides innocently, shall be by God justly required at your hands. And when peradventure you would have him again, upon occasion of service, you shall forthink to have lost him. Wherefore, good my Lords, we beseech you again and again, if you have conceived any such determination, to put it out of your heads, and incline your hearts to kindness and humanity, remembering that he hath never been cruel to any of you, and why should you be cruel to him; as we trust you be not, whatsoever hath been said, but will show yourselves as conformable for your parts, as his Grace is contented, for the zeal he beareth to the King and the realm, to be for his part, as this bearer, Sir Phillip Hobie, will declare unto you; to whom we pray you to give credit, and to return him hither again with

answer hereof. And thus, beseeching the living God to direct your hearts to the making of a quiet end of these terrible tumults, we bid your Lordships most heartily well to fare. From the King's Majesty's Castle of Windsor, the eight of October, 1549.

3.

CLXXII.

It may like your good Lordships, with our most hearty com- Ellis, Orimendations, to understand, that this morning Sir Phillip Hobbey ginal Letters, 1st hath, according to the charge given to him by your Lordships, series, presented your letters to the King's Majesty, in the presence of from Cotus and all the rest of his Majesty's good servants here, which was ton MSS. Calig. B. there read openly, and also the others to them of the chamber and of the household, much to their comforts, and ours also ; Burnet, and, according to the tenours of the same, we will not fail to Ref. vol. ii. endeavour ourselves accordingly.

Now touching the marvel of your Lordships, both of that we would suffer the Duke of Somerset's men to guard the King's Majesty's person, and also of our often repeating the word cruel

although we doubt not but that your Lordships hath been thoroughly informed of our estates here, and upon what occasion the one hath been suffered, and the other proceeded; yet at our convening together, (which may be when and where please you,) we will, and are able to make your Lordships such an account, as wherewith we doubt not you will be satisfied, if you think good to require it of us. And for bycause this bearer, Mr. Hobbey, can particularly inform your Lordships of the whole discourse of all things here, we remit the report of all other things to him, saving that we desire to be advertised, with as much speed as you shall think good, whether the King's Majesty shall come forthwith thither, or remain still here; and that some of your Lordships would take pain to come hither forthwith. For the which purpose, I the comptroller will cause three of the best chambers in the great court to be hanged and made ready. Thus, thanking God that all things be so well acquieted, we commit your Lordships to his tuition. Wyndsor, the xth of October, 1549.

Your Lordships' assured loving friends,

T. Cant. William Paget. T. Smith.

To our very good Lords and others

of the King's Majesty's Privy
Council at London.

vii. f. 412.

App. b. i.

No. 45.

Wilkins, Concilia, vol.iv.p.37.

from Cranm. Regist. fol. 56. b.

XXXVIII.

The King's Order, and the Mandate of the Archbishop of Canterbury, for bringing in Popish Rituals.

THOMAS, permissione divina Cantuariensis Archiepiscopus, totius Angliæ Primas et Metropolitanus, per illustrissimum et invictissimum in Christo principem et dominum nostrum, dominum Edvardum Sextum, Dei gratia Angliæ, Franciæ, Hiberniæ Regem, &c. ad infrascripta sufficienter et legitime fulcitus, dilecto filio Archidiacono nostro Cantuariensi seu ejus officiali, salutem, gratiam, et benedictionem. Literas missivas dicti metuendissimi domini nostri Regis signatas, et nominibus honorabilium virorum dominorum consiliariorum suorum in calce earundem subscriptas, signeto suo obsignatas, nobis inscriptas et datas, nuper cum honore et reverentia debitis accepimus, tenorem subsequentem complectentes e.

By the King. Right reverend Father in God, right trusty and well-beloved, we greet you well. And whereas the book entitled, "The Book of Common Prayers and Administration of the Sacra"ments and other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church, after the 66 use of the Church of England," was agreed upon and set forth by Act of Parliament, and by the same Act commanded to be used of all persons within this our realm; yet nevertheless we are informed, that divers unquiet and evil-disposed persons, sithence the apprehension of the Duke of Somerset, have noised and bruited abroad that they should have again their old Latin service, their conjured bread and water, with such like vain and superstitious ceremonies, as though the setting forth of the said book had been the only act of the said Duke: we therefore, by the advice of the body and state of our Privy Council, not only considering the said book to be our own act, and the act of the whole state of our realm, assembled together in Parliament, but also the same to be grounded upon holy Scripture, agreeable to the order of the primitive Church, and much to the reedifying of our subjects, to put away all such vain expectation of having the public service, the administration of the sacraments, and other rights and ceremonies again in the Latin tongue; which were but a preferment of ignorance to knowledge, and darkness

e [See Burnet, Ref. vol. ii. App. b. i. No. 47; Strype, Memorials, vol. ii. pp. 211-213.]