TO THE RIGHT HO|norable sir Henrie Sidneie knight, lord deputie of Ireland, lord president of Wales, knight of the most noble order of the garter, and one of hir maiesties priuie councell within hir realme of England.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 2 3 4 _HOw cumbersome (right honorable) and dangerous a taske it is, to ingrosse & divulge the dooings of others, especiallie when the parties registred or their issue are liuing: both common reason sufficientlie acknowledgeth, and dailie ex|perience infalliblie prooueth. For man by course of nature is so parciallie affected to himselfe and his bloud, as he will be more agreeued with the chronicler for recording a peeuish trespasse, than he will be offended with his friend for committing an heinous treason. Ouer this, if the historian be long, he is accompted a trifler: if he be short, he is taken for a summister: if he com|mend, he is twighted for a flatterer: if he reprooue, he is holden for a carper: if he be pleasant, he is noted for a iester: if he be graue, he is reckoned for a drooper: if he misdate, he is named a falsifier: if he once but trip, he is tearmed a stumbler: so that let him beare himselfe in his chronicle as vprightlie and as conscionablie as he may possible, yet he shall be sure to find them that will be more prest to blab foorth his pelfish faults, than they will be readie to blaze out his good deserts. Others there be, that although they are not able to reprooue what is written, yet they will be sure to cast in his dish what is forgotten. Heere, saie they, this exploit is omit|ted: there that policie is not detected: heere this saieng would haue beene inter|laced: there that trecherie should haue beene displaied. These & the like discom|modities, with which historiographers are vsuallie cloid, haue borne backe diuers and sundrie willing minds, who taking the waie to be thornie, the credit slipperie, the carpers to be manie, would in no case be medlers, choosing rather to sit by their owne fire obscurelie at home, than to be baited with enuious toongs openlie abroad.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 2 3 4 5 6 Others on the contrarie side, being resolute fellowes, and trampling vnder foot these curious faultfinders, would not sticke to put themselues foorth in presse, and maugre all their hearts, to buskle forward, and rush through the pikes of their quipping nips, and biting frumps. But I taking the meane betweene both these ex|tremities, held it for better, not to be so faint and peeuish a meacocke, as to shrinke and couch mine head for euerie mizeling shoure, nor yet to beare my selfe so high EEBO page image 81 in heart, as to pranse and iet like a proud gennet through the street, not weighing the barking of currish bandogs. And therefore, if I shall be found in mine historie sometime too tedious, sometime too spare, sometime too fawning in commending the liuing, sometime too flat in reproouing the dead: I take God to witnesse, that mine offense therein proceedeth of ignorance, and not of set wilfulnesse. But as for the passing ouer in silence of diuerse euents (albeit the law or rather the liber|tie of an historie requireth that all should be related, and nothing whusted) yet I must confesse, that as I was not able, vpon so little leasure, to know all that was said or doone; so I was not willing for sundrie respects, to write euerie trim tram that I knew to be said or doone. And if anie be ouerthwartlie waiwarded, as he will sooner long for that I haue omittted, than he will be contented with that I haue chroni|cled; I cannot deuise in my iudgement a better waie to satisfie his appetite, than with one Dolie, a peintor of Oxford, his answer: who being appointed to tricke out the ten commandements, omitted one, and pourtraied but nine. Which fault espied by his maister that hired him, Dolie answered, that in verie deed he peinted but nine: howbeit, when he vnderstood that his master had well obserued and kept the nine commandements that alreadie were drawne, he gaue his word at better leisure throughlie to finish the tenth. And truelie so must I saie: I haue laid downe heere to the reader his view, a breefe discourse, wherof I trust he shall take no great surfet. And when I am aduertised, that he will digest the thin fare that heere is disht before him: it may be (God willing) heereafter, that he shall find my booke with store of more licorous deinties farsed and furnished; leauing to his choise, either nicelie to pickle, or greedilie to swallow, as much as to his contentation shall best beseeme him. Wherefore my good lord, sith I may not denie, but that the worke is painfull, and I doo forecast that the misconstruction may be perilous: the toile|somnesse of the paine I refer to my priuat knowledge, the abandoning of the pe|rill, I commit to your honorable patronage, not doubting thereby to be sheel|ded against the sinister glosing of malicious interpretors. Thus betaking your lordship to God, I craue your attentiuenes, in perusing a cantell or parcell of the Irish historie that heere insueth.

RICHARD STANIHVRST.

A continuation of the Chronicles of Ireland, comprising the reigne of king Henrie the eight.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 2 _GIrald Fitz|girald earle of Kildare, son to Thomas Fitz|girald, of whõ mention hath béene made in the latter end of the former storie, a migh|tie man of sta|ture, full of ho|nor & courage, who had béene de [...]e [...] iustice of Ireland first & last 33 yéeres, 1514 deceased at Kildare the third of September, & lieth intoomed in the queere of Christes church at Dublin, in a chappell by him founded. Betwéen him & Iames Butler earle of Ormond (their owne gelousies fed with enuie & ambition, kindled with certeine lewd factious abettors of either side) as generallie to all noblemen, so especiallie to both these houses verie incident, euer since the ninth yeare of Henrie the seuenth, bred some trouble in Ireland. The plot of The occasion of the dissen|tion betwéene Kildare and Ormond. which mutuall grudge was grounded vpon the fac|tious dissention, that was raised in England be|tweene the houses of Yorke & Lancaster, Kildare cleaning to Yorke, and Ormond relieng to Lanca|ster. To the vpholding of which discord, both these no|ble men laboured with tooth and na [...]e to ouercrow, and consequentlie to ouerthrow one the other. And for somuch as they were in honour peeres, they wrought by hooke and by crooke to be in authoritie superiours. The gouernement therfore in the reigne of Henrie the seuenth, being cast on the house of Kil|dare; Iames earle of Ormond a deepe and a farre reaching man, giuing backe like a butting ram to strike the harder push, deuised to inueigle his aduer|sarie by submission & courtesie, being not then able to ouermatch him with stoutnesse or preheminence. Wherevpon Ormond addressed his letters to the deputie, specifieng a slander raised on him and his, that he purposed to deface his gouernement, and to withstand his authoritie. And for the cleering of him|selfe and of his adherents, so it stood with the deputie his pleasure, he would make his spéedie repaire to Dublin, & there in an open audience would purge himselfe of all such odious crimes, of which he was wrongfullie suspected.