21.1. The kings message to the rebels of Cornewall and Deuonshire.

The kings message to the rebels of Cornewall and Deuonshire.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 _ALthough knowledge hath beene gi|uen to vs, and our deerest vncle the duke of Summerset gouernor of our person, and protector of all our realms, dominions, and subiects, and to the rest of our priuie councell, of diuerse assemblies made by you, which ought of dutie to be our louing subiects, a|gainst all order of law, and otherwise than euer anie louing or kind subiects haue attempted against their naturall and liege souereigne lord: yet we haue thought it méet, at this verie first time, not to condemne and reiect you, as we might iustlie doo; but to vse you as our subiects, thinking that the diuell hath not that power in you, to make you of naturall EEBO page image 1004 borne Englishmen, so suddenlie to become enimies to your owne natiue countrie of our subiects, to make you traitors, or vnder pretense to relieue your selues, to destroie your selues, your wiues, children, lands, possessions, and all other commodities of this your life. This we saie, that we trust, that although ye be ignorantlie seduced, ye will not be vpon know|ledge, obstinate.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 2 And though some amongst you (as euer there is some cockle amongst good corne) forget God, neg|lect their prince, estéeme not the state of the realme, but as carelesse & desperat men delite in sedition, tu|mults & wars: yet neuerthelesse the greater part of you will heare the voice of vs your naturall prince, and will by wisedome and counsell be warned, and cease your euils in the beginning, whose ends will be euen by God almighties order your owne destru|ction. Wherfore as to you our subiects by ignorance seduced, we speake and be content to vse our prince|lie authoritie like a father to his children, to admo|nish you of your faults, not to punish them; to put you in remembrance of your duties, not to auenge your forgetfulnesse.Disorder in subiects. First, your disorder to rise in multitudes, to assemble your selues against our o|ther louing subiects, to arraie your selues to the war, who amongst you all can answer for the same to al|mightie God, charging you to obeie vs in all things? Or how can anie English good hart answer vs, our lawes, and the rest of our verie louing and faithfull subiects, who in deed by their obedience make our honour, estate, and degrée?

Compare 1577 edition: 1 2 Abusing of the kings name.Ye vse our name in your writings, and abuse the same against our selfe. What iniurie herein doo you vs, to call those which loue vs, to your euill purposes, by the authoritie of our name? God hath made vs your king by his ordinance and prouidence, by our bloud and inheritance, by lawfull succession, and our coronation: but not to this end, as you vse our name. We are your most naturall souereigne lord & king, Edward the sixt, to rule you, to preserue you, to saue you from all your outward enimies, to sée our lawes well ministred, euerie man to haue his owne, to sup|presse disordered people, to correct traitors, théeues, pirats, robbers, & such like, yea to keepe our realms from other princes, from the malice of the Scots, of Frenchmen, of the bishop of Rome. Thus good sub|iects, our name is written, thus it is honored and o|beied, this maiestie it hath by Gods ordinance, not by mans. So that of this your offense we cannot write too much. And yet doubt not but this is inough from a prince to all reasonable people, from a roiall king to all kindharted & louing subiects, frõ the puis|sant K. of England, to euerie naturall Englishman.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 False causes.Your pretense, which you saie, moueth you to doo thus, and wherewith you séeke to excuse this disorder, we assure you is either false, or so vaine that we doubt not, that after that ye shall hereby vnderstand the truth thereof, ye will all with one voice acknow|lege your selues ignorantlie led, and by errour sedu|ced. And if there be anie one that will not, then as|sure you the same be ranke traitors, enimies of our crowne, seditious people, heretikes, papists, or such as care not what cause they haue to prouoke an in|surrection, so they may doo it, nor in deed can wax so rich with their owne labors & with peace, as they can doo with spoiles, with wars, with robberies and such like, yea with the spoile of your owne goods, with the liuing of your labors, the sweat of your bodies, the food of your owne households, wiues and children: such they be, as for a time vse pleasant persuasions to you, and in the end will cut your throtes for your owne goods.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 Baptisme.You be borne in hand, that your children, though necessitie chance, shall not be christened but vpon the holie daies: how false this is, learne you of vs. Our booke which we haue set foorth by free consent of our whole parlement in the English toong teacheth you the contrarie, euen in the first leafe, yea the first side of the first leafe of that part which intreateth of bap|tisme. Good subiects (for to other we speake not) looke & be not deceiued. They which haue put this false opi|nion into your eares, they meane not the christening of children, but the destruction of you our christened subiects. Be this knowne vnto you, that our honor is so much, that we may not be found faultie of one iote or word: proue it, if by our laws you may not christen your children when ye be disposed vpon necessitie, e|uerie daie or houre in the wéeke, then might you be offended: but seeing you may doo it, how can you be|léeue them that teach you the contrarie? What thinke you they meane in the rest, which moue you to breake your obedience against vs, your king & souereigne, vpon these so false tales & persuasions in so euident a matter? Therfore all you which will acknowledge vs your souereigne lord, and which will heare the voice of vs your king, may easilie perceiue how you be de|ceiued, and how subtillie traitors and papists, with their falsehood séeke to atchiue and bring their pur|pose to passe with your helpe. Euerie traitor will be glad to dissemble his treason, and féed it secretlie; e|uerie papist his poperie, and nourish it inwardlie; and in the end make you our subiects partakers of treason and poperie, which in the beginning was pre|tended to be a commonweale and holinesse.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 And how are you seduced by them,Sacrament of the bodie, &c. which put in your heads the blessed sacrament of Christes bodie, should not differ from other common bread? If our lawes, proclamations, and statutes be all to the con|trarie, whie shall anie priuat man persuade you a|gainst them? We doo our selfe in our owne hart, our councell in all their profession, our lawes and statutes in all purposes, our good subiects in all our dooings most highlie estéeme that sacrament, and vse the communion thereof to our most comfort. We make so much difference thereof from other com|mon bread, that we thinke no profit of other bread, but to mainteine our bodies: but this blessed bread we take to be the verie food of our soules to euerla|sting life. How thinke you, good subiects, shall not we being your prince, your lord, your king by Gods appointment, with truth more preuaile, than certeine euill persons with open falsehood? Shall anie sediti|ous person persuade you that the sacrament is despi|sed, which is by our lawes, by our selfe, by our coun|cell, and by all our good subiects estéemed, vsed, parti|cipated, and dailie receiued? If euer ye were sedu|ced, if euer deceiued, if euer traitors were beleeued, if euer papists poisoned good subiects, it is now. It is not the christening of children, nor the reuerence of the sacrament, nor the health of your soules that they shoot at, good subiects: it is sedition, it is high trea|son, it is your destruction they séeke. How craftilie, how pitiouslie, how cunninglie so euer they doo it, with one rule iudge yée the end, which of force must come of your purposes.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 2 3 Almightie God forbiddeth vpon paine of euerla|sting damnation, disobedence to vs your king,Disobedience to a king [...]s disobedience to almightie God. and in his place we rule in earth. If we should be slow, would God erre? If your offense be towards God, thinke you it is pardoned without repentance? Is Gods iudgement mutable? Your paine is dam|nation, your iudge is incorruptible, your fault is most euident. Likewise are ye euill informed in di|uerse other articles, as for confirmation of your chil|dren, for the masse, for the maner of your seruice of mattins and euensong. Whatsoeuer is therein orde|red, hath beene long debated, and consulted by manie learned bishops, doctors, and other men of great EEBO page image 1005 learning in this realme concluded, in nothing so much labour and time spent of late time, nothing so fullie ended. As for seruice in the English toong hath manifest reasons for it, and yet perchance seemeth to you a new seruice,Seruice in [...] English [...]. and yet in déed is none other but the old. The selfe same words in English which were in Latin, sauing a few things taken out, so fond that it had béene a shame to haue heard them in English, as all they can iudge which list to report the truth.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 The difference is, that we ment godlie, that you our subiects should vnderstand in English, being our naturall countrie toong, that which was heretofore spoken in Latine, then seruing onelie them which vnderstand Latine, & now for all you that be borne English. How can this with reason offend anie rea|sonable man, that he should vnderstand what anie other saith, and so to consent with the speaker? If the seruice in the church were good in Latine, it re|maineth good in English: for nothing is altered, but to speake with knowledge,knowledge is [...] than [...]. that before was spoken with ignorance: and to let you vnderstand what is said for you, to the intent you maie further it with your owne deuotion, an alteration to the better, ex|cept knowledge be worse than ignorance. So that whosoeuer hath mooued you to mislike this order, can giue you no reason, nor answer yours, if ye vnder|stand it.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 2 Wherefore you our subiects, remember we speake to you, being ordeined your prince and king by al|mightie God, if anie wise we could aduance Gods honour more than we doo, we would doo it, and sée that ye become subiects to Gods ordinance. Obeie vs your prince, and learne of them which haue autho|ritie to teach you, which haue power to rule you, and will execute our iustice, if we be prouoked. Learne not of them whose fruits be nothing but wilfulnesse, disobedience, obstinacie, & destruction of the realme. For the masse, we assure you, no small studie & tra|uell hath béene spent by all the learned clergie ther|in,The masse. and to auoid all contention thereof, it is brought euen to the verie vse as Christ left it, as the apostles vsed it, as holie fathers deliuered it: indeed somwhat altered from that which the popes of Rome for their lucre brought to it. And although you maie heare the contrarie of some popish and euill men, yet our ma|iestie, which for our honor maie not be blemished nor stained, assureth you, that they deceiue you, abuse you, and blow these opinions into your heads for to furnish their owne purposes.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 And so likewise iudge you of confirmation of children,Confirmation [...] children. and let them answer you this one question. Thinke they that a child christened is damned, bi|cause he dieth before bishopping? Marke good sub|iects, what inconuenience hereof commeth. Our doctrine therefore is founded vpon true learning, and theirs vpon shamelesse errors. To conclude, be|side our gentle maner of information to you, what|soeuer is conteined in our booke, either for baptisme, sacrament, masse, confirmation and seruice in the church, is by parlement established, by the whole cler|gie agréed, yea by the bishops of the realme deuised, & further by Gods word confirmed. And how dare you trust, yea how dare you giue eare without trem|bling, to anie singular person to disalow a parle|ment; a subiect to persuade against our maiestie, or anie man of his single arrogancie against the deter|mination of the bishops, and all the cleargie, anie in|uented argument against the word of God?

Compare 1577 edition: 1 2 But now you our subiects, we resort to a greater matter of your vnkindnesse, a great vnnaturalnes, and such an euill, that if we thought it had not béene begun of ignorance, and continued by persuasion of certeine traitors amongst you, which we thinke few in number, but in their dooings busie, we could not be persuaded but to vse our sword and doo iustice: and as we be ordeined of God for to redresse your errors by auengement. But loue and zeale yet ouercom|meth our iust anger, but how long that will be, God knoweth, in whose hand our heart is; and rather for your owne causes, being our christened subiects, we would ye were persuaded than vanquished, taught than ouerthrowne, quietlie pacified than rigorouslie persecuted.Six articles. Ye require to haue the statute of six ar|ticles reuiued. And know you what ye require? Or know ye what ease ye haue with the losse of them? They were lawes made, but quicklie repented; too bloudie they were to be borne of our people, yet at the first in deed made of some necessitie. Oh subiects how are ye trapped by euill persons? We of pitie, bicause they were bloudie, tooke them awaie, and you now of ignorance will aske them againe. You know full well that they helped vs to extend rigour, and gaue vs cause to draw our sword verie often.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 And since our mercie mooued vs to write our lawes with milke and equitie, how are ye blinded to aske them in bloud? But leauing this maner of rea|soning, and resorting to the truth of our authoritie, we let you wit, the same hath béene adnulled by par|lement with great reioise of our subiects, and not now to be called in question. And dareth anie of you with the name of a subiect, stand against an act of parlement, a law of the realme?The autho|ritie of a par|lement. What is our power if lawes should be thus neglected? Or what is your suertie if lawes be not kept? Assure you most suer|lie, that we of no earthlie thing vnder the heauen make such reputation as we doo of this one, to haue our lawes obeied, & this cause of God to be through|lie mainteined, from the which we will neuer re|moue a heares bredth, nor giue place to anie crea|ture liuing: but therein will spend our whole roiall person, our crowne, treasure, realme, and all our state, whereof we assure you of our high honor. For herein resteth our honor, herein doo all kings know|ledge vs a king. And shall anie one of you dare breath or thinke against our kingdome and crowne?

Compare 1577 edition: 1 In the end of this your request (as we be giuen to vnderstand) ye would haue them stand in force till our full age. To this we thinke, that if ye knew what ye spake, ye would not haue vttred the motion, nor neuer giuen breath to such a thought. For what thinke you of our kingdome? Be we of lesse autho|ritie for our age? Be we not your king now as we shall be? Shall ye be subiects hereafter, and now are ye not? Haue we not the right we shall haue? If ye would suspend and hang our dooings in doubt vntill our full age, ye must first know, as a king we haue no difference of yeares, but as a naturall man and creature of God we haue youth, and by his suffe|rance shall haue age. We are your rightfull king, your liege lord, the souereigne prince of England, not by our age, but by Gods ordinance; not onelie when we shall be one and twentie yeares of age, but when we were of ten yéers. We possesse our crowne not by yeares, but by the bloud and descent from our father king Henrie the eight. If it be considered, they which mooue this matter, if they durst vtter them|selues, would denie our kingdome.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 But our good subiects know their prince, and will increase, not diminish his honor, inlarge his power, not abate it, knowledge his kingdome, not deferre it to certeine yeares. All is one, to speake against our crowne, and to denie our kingdome, as to require that our lawes maie be broken vnto one and twen|tie yeares. Be we not your crowned, annointed, and established king? Wherein be we of lesse maiestie, of lesse authoritie, or lesse state, than our progeni|tors kings of this realme, except your vnkindnes, your vnnaturalnesse will diminish our estimation? EEBO page image 1006 We haue hitherto since the death of our father, by the good aduise and counsell of our deare and intire|lie beloued vncle the duke of Summerset, and gouer|nor and protector, kept our estate, mainteined our realme, preserued our honour, defended our people from all enimies. We haue hitherto béene feared and dread of our enimies, yea of princes, kings, and nations. Yea herein we be nothing inferiour to anie our progenitors, which grace we acknowledge to be giuen vs from God, and how else, but by good obedi|ence, good counsell of our magistrates, and by the au|thoritie of our kingdome?

Compare 1577 edition: 1 England hitherto hath gained honour during our reigne: it hath woone of the enimie, and not lost. It hath béene maruelled that wée of so yoong yeares haue reigned so noblie, so roiallie, so quietlie. And how chanceth that you our louing subiects of that our countrie of Cornewall and Deuonshire, will giue occasion to slander this our realme of England, to giue courage to the enimie, to note our realme of the euill of rebellion, to make it a preie to our old eni|mies, to diminish our honour which God hath giuen, our father left, our good vncle and councell preserued vnto vs? What greater euill could ye commit, than euen now when our forren enimie in Scotland, and vpon the sea seeketh to inuade vs, to doo our realme dishonour, than to arise in this maner against our law, to prouoke our wrath, to aske our vengeance, and to giue vs an occasion to spend that force v [...]on you, which we meant to bestow vpon our enimies, to begin to slaie you with that sword that we drew forth against Scots, and other enimies, to make a con|quest of our owne people, which otherwise should haue beene of the whole realme of Scotland?

Compare 1577 edition: 1 Thus farre we haue descended from our high ma|iestie, for loue to consider you in your simple igno|rance, and haue béene content to send you an instruc|tion like a father, who of iustice might haue sent you your destructions like a king to rebels. And now we let you know, that as you sée our mercie abundant|lie, so if ye prouoke vs further, we sweare to you by the liuing God, ye shall féele the power of the same God in our sword, which how mightie it is, no subiect knoweth; how puissant it is, no priuat man can iudge; how mortall, no Englishman dare thinke. But suerlie, suerlie, as your lord and prince, your on|lie king and maister, we saie to you, repent your selues, and take our mercie without delaie: or else we will foorthwith extend our princelie power, and execute our sharpe sword against you, as against in|fidels and Turks, and rather aduenture our owne roiall person, state, and power, than the same should not be executed.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 2 And if you will proue the example of our mercie, learne of certeine which latlie did arise, as they per|ceiuing pretended some griefes, and yet acknowled|ging their offenses, haue not onelie most humblie their pardon: but féele also by our order, to whome onelie all publike order apperteineth, present redresse of their griefes.A godlie and princelie ad|monition. In the end, we admonish you of your duties to God, whome ye shall answere in the daie of the Lord, & of your duties toward vs, whom ye shall answere by our order, and take our mercie whilest God so inclineth vs, least when ye shall be constreined to aske, we shall be two much hardened in heart to grant it you. And where ye shall heare now of mercie, mercie, and life; ye shall then heare of iustice, iustice, and death. Written the eight of Iulie, in the third yeare of our reigne.