To the Readers studious in histories.

_THe order obserued in the description of Britaine, by reason of the necessarie diuison thereof into bookes and chapters growing our of the varietie of matters therein conteined, seemed (in my iudgement) so conuenient a course deuised by the writer, as I was easilie in|duced thereby to digest the historie of England immediatlie following into the like method: so that as in the one, so likewise in the other, by summarie contents foregoing euerie chapter, as also by certeine materiall titles added at the head of euerie page of the said historie, it is a thing of no difficultie to com|prehend what is discoursed and discussed in the same.

Wherein (sith histories are said to be the registers of memorie and the monu|ments of veritie) all louers of knowlege, speciallie historicall, are aduisedlie to marke (among other points) the seuerall and successiue alterations of regi|ments in this land: whereof it was my meaning to haue made an abstract, but that the same is sufficientlie handled in the first booke and fourth chapter of the description of Britaine; whereto if the seuenth chapter of the same booke be also annexed,Pag. 5, 6, 7, 8, 15. 16, 28, 29, of the description: and pag. 202 of the historie of England. there is litle or no defect at all in that case wherof iustlie to make com|plaint.

Wherfore by remitting the readers to those, I reape this aduantage, namelie a dischage of a forethought & purposed labour, which as to reduce into some plausible forme was a worke both of time, paine and studie: so seeming vnlike|lie to be comprised in few words (being a matter of necessarie and important obseruation) occasion of tediousnes is to and fro auoided; speciallie to the rea|der, who is further to be aduertised, that the computations of yeares here and there expressed, according to the indirect direction of the copies whense they were deriued and drawne, is not so absolute (in some mens opinion) as it might haue beene: howbeit iustifiable by their originals.