The Holinshed Project

Holinshed Project Home

The Texts
1587

Previous | Next

Compare 1577 edition: 1 Archbishop Rafe was contented to satisfie the request of king Alexander in that behalfe, and obtei|ning the consent of king Henrie, he sent the said E|admer into Scotland with letters of commendati|on vnto the said king Alexander, who receiued him right ioiullie, and vpon the third daie after his com|ming thither (being the feast of the apostles Peter & Paule) he was elected archbishop of S. Andrews by the clergie and people of the land, to the great re|ioicing of Alexander, and the rest of the Nobilitie. The next daie after the king talked with him secret|lie of his consecration, and vttered to him how he had no mind to haue him consecrated at the hands of Thurstan archbishop of Yorke. In which case when he was informed by the said Eadmer, that no such thing needed to trouble his mind, since the arch|bishop [...] Canturburie, being primate of all Bri|taine, might consecrate him as reason was; the king could not away with that answer, bicause he would not heare that the church of Canturburie should be preferred before the church of S. Andrews. Herevp|on he departed from Eadmer in displeasure, and cal|ling one William (sometime moonke of S. Ed|mundsbury) vnto him, a man also that had gouerned (or rather spoiled) the church of S. Andrews in the va|cation: this William was commanded to take vpon him the charge thereof againe, at the kings pleasure, whose meaning was vtterlie to remooue Eadmer, as not worthie of that roome. Howbeit, within a moneth after (to satisfie the minds of his Nobles) he called for the said Eadmer,Eadmer re|ceiueth his staffe from an altar. and with much adoo got him to receiue the staffe of that bishoprike, taking it from an altar whereon it laie (as if he shuld haue that dignitie at the Lords hands) whereby he was inuested, & went streight to S. Andrews church, where he was receiued by the quier, the schollers, and all the people, for true and lawfull bishop.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 In this meane while Thurstan nothing slacking his sute in the popes court, obteined such fauour (wherein the king of England also was greatlie la|boured vnto) that he wrote letters thrice vnto the king of Scotland, and once vnto the archbishop of Canturburie, that neither the king should permit Eadmer to be consecrated, nor the archbishop of Canturburie in any wise consecrate him if he were therevnto required. Herevpon it came to passe, that finally Eadmer, after he had remained in Scot|land twelue moneths or thereabouts, and perceiued that things went not as he would haue wished (for that he could not get the kings consent that he shuld be consecrated of the archbishop of Canturburie, as it was first meant both by the archbishop and E|admer) he departed out of Scotland, and returned a|gaine to Canturburie, there to take further aduice in all things as cause should mooue him. In like ma|ner king Henrie,King Henrie returneth into England. hauing quieted his businesse in France, returned into England, where he was re|ceiued and welcomed home with great ioy and tri|umph; but such publike reioising lasted not long with him. For indéed, this pleasantnesse and m [...]rth was changed into mourning, by aduertisement giuen of the death of the kings sons, Ran. Higd. wil. Malm. Polydor. Matth. Paris. The kings sonnes and his daughter with other Nobles are drowned by shipwracke. William duke of Nor|mandie, and Richard his brother, who togither with their sister the ladie Marie countesse of Perch, Ri|chard earle of Chester, with his brother O [...]well go|uernour to duke William, and the said earle of Che|ster his wife the kings neece, the archdeacon of He|reford, Geffrey Riddle, Robert Manduit, William Bigot, and diuerse other, to the number of an hun|dreth and fourtie persons, besides fiftie mariners, tooke ship at Harflew, thinking to follow the king, and sailing foorth with a south wind, their ship tho|rough negligence of the mariners (who had drunke out their wits & reason) were throwne vpon a rocke, and vtterlie perished on the coast of England, vpon the 25. of Nouember, so that of all the companie none escaped but one butcher, who catching hold of the mast, was driuen with the same to the shore which was at hand, and so saued from that dangerous ship|wracke. Wil. Malm. Duke William might also haue escaped verie well, if pitie had not mooued him more than the regard of his owne preseruation. For being gotten into the shipboat, and lanching toward the land, he heard the skréeking of his sister in dredfull danger of drowning, and crieng out for succour; wherevpon he commanded them that rowed the boat to turne backe to the ship, and to take hir in. But such was the prease of the companie that stroue to leape in with hir, that it streightwaies sanke, Wil. Malm. Matth. Paris. so that all those which were alreadie in the boat were cast awaie.

¶ Here (by the way) would be noted the vna [...]i|sed speech of William Rufus to the shipmaister,Looke in page 23. columne 2. against the number 60. whome he emboldened with a vaine and desperat persuasion in tempestuous weather and high seas to hoise vp sailes; adding (for further encouragement) that he neuer heard of any king that was drowned. In which words (no doubt) he sinned presumptuous|lie against God, who in due time punished that of|fense of his in his pos [...]eritie and kinred, euen by the same element, whose fearsenes he himselfe séemed so little to regard, as if he would haue commanded the stormes to cease; as we read Christ did in the gospell by the vertue and power of his word. Here is also to be noted the variablenes of fortune (as we com|monlie call it) or rather the vncerteine and change|able euent of things, which oftentimes dooth raise vp (euen in the minds of princes) troblesome thoughts, and gréeuous passions, to the great empairing of their quietnesse: as here we sée exemplified in king Henrie, whose mirth was turned into mone, and his pleasures rellished with pangs of pensifenes, con|trarie to his expectation when he was in the midst of his triumph at his returne out of France into England. So that we see the old adage verified, Miscentur tristia Laetis; and that saieng of an old poet iustified;

Saeua nouerca dies nunc est, nunc ma [...]er amica. Hesiod. in lib. cui [...]i [...]. opera & dies.

Previous | Next