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[7] Immediately after that this truce was thus concluded betwixt ye two
Realmes,A Parliament. king Iames cauſed the three
eſtates to aſſemble in Parliamẽt at Edinburgh ye firſt of October in the yere
.1487.1487 in the which order was takẽ, yt
iuſtice [...]ares ſhuld be holden through all partes of the Realm,No pardon [...]o be graunted to offendors ſet the ſpace of ſeuen yeeres. Ambaſſadors
ſent to the King of Ro|manes. & that no pardons ſhuld be
granted for any great crime that ſhuld be cõmitted for the ſpace of ſeuẽ
yeres to come, ſo that the king began to vſe ſharp exe|cution of Iuſtice in all
parts, which was righte diſpleſant to many. The ſame time was an Am|baſſador
ſent to the king of Romans, for the cal|ling [page 407] in of a letter
of Marque, which had bin grã|ted againſt Scottiſh Merchants, at the ſuite and
inſtance of certayne Hollanders & Burgonions, and was ſhortly after
herevpon reuoked. After ye Parliament was ended, the King remoued vnto
Striueling,The King gi|ueth himſelfe to t [...]fie his [...] in keping [...] and gathering [...]eaſure. leauing his wife the Queene, and hir ſonne the Prince
in Edenburgh Caſtell, whileſt he keeping perſons about him of meane calling,
gaue himſelfe to take his pleaſure with women, and to gather vp golde and
ſiluer, greatly to the offence of his
ſubiects. Yet in the mean time now after the death of king Richarde, whether it
was by treaſon or appoyntment,After the deth [...] King Ri|chard Dunbar is [...]eliuered. the Caſtell of Dun|bar was deliuered to the hands of
king Iames, & that to his greate ioy and high contentation: for he that
ruled his kingdome more with rigor than with any tractable mean of fauorable
iuſtice, ſtood euer in feare of ſome troubleſome tumult yt might be raiſed by
his own people, if occaſiõ were mini|ſtred either through hope of forrayn aide
or other|wiſe. So long therefore as this
Caſtell was in ye Engliſhmens handes, he doubted, leaſt through practiſe ſome
conſpiracie ſhould be contriued be|twixt his own ſubiects and the Engliſh
nation, greatly to the anoyance of his eſtate, and thervp|pon he was the more
deſirous to reduce the ſame Caſtell into his poſſeſſion.The
meane whereby King [...]ares might haue auoyded [...]a [...]nger of death by his ſubiects. But the only mean to haue
aſſured himſelfe from the handes of ſuch as ſought his life, had bin to haue
changed his wil|ful maner of gouernemẽt, and to haue leaned vn|to ſuch councell as would haue aduiſed him for ye
wealth of his whole Realme, & not vpon deſire to pleaſe, haue
maynteyned his vndiſcret opiniõs to ye wronging aſwel of his commõs as of
ye nobles & peeres of his Realm: for ye nobilitie of Scotlãd,
namely, the Earles of Angus, Argile, & Lennox, the Lords Halis, Hume,
Drowmound, Grey and others, perceyuing themſelues oppreſſed by ſuche as frõ
baſe birth had riſen, (without worthy de|ſeruing) to the degree of coũſellors,
and therwith aduanced to ſo high
authoritie,The conſpi|racie of the Scottiſh Lords [...] King [...] the [...]. as al things were ordered at their appoyntment, conſpired
togither, & determined by force of armes to ſee a reforma|tion in ſuch
a diſordred manner of gouernement: but yet bycauſe it ſhould not be thought
that they minded the deſtruction of their countrey, but ra|ther ye aduancement
thereof, they made the Lorde Iames Duke of Rothſay ſonne to the King (a child
borne to goodneſſe & vertue) the chiefe Cap|tayne in this their
enterpriſe, & that in manner a|gainſt
his wil, hereby openly proteſting, that they minded & purpoſed the
ſuppreſſing & confuſion of an euil king, & not ye ſubuerſion
of their natiue cũ|trey. By which their craftie imagined inuention, they
thought to remoue all ſuſpition of their pur|poſed vntroth & ſhamefull
diſloyaltie. They had ſente to the Earle of Dowglas, who remayned priſoner (as
ye haue heard) in the Abbey of Lun|doris, and required him to aſſiſt them in
their be|gun enterpriſe, promiſing that they would reſtore him againe to his
lands and former dignitie, and honor him as principall of their faction. But
that noble, wiſe, & ancient Erle, being already ſchooled with troubles,
and hauing learned by experience to his great griefe what ſuch matter meant,
refu|ſed to breake his warde, or to aſſiſt them in any wiſe, diſwading them
from their enterpriſe, by|cauſe it ſeemed to him neither godly nor honora|ble,
ſithence both himſelfe and his friends had ta|ſted for ye like, great
hinderãce, which might be an enſample to him & others to beware in
time to come. The King being once enformed of this re|belliõ &
conſpiracie againſt him, was ſore diſqui|eted in his mind, & to meete
their miſcheuo [...]s at|tempts,King Iames gathereth an army.
gathered an army. Yet before the vſing of any force, he ſent meſſengers to his
ſon, & to the nobles wt him, to trie if he might come to ſome
a|greemente with them.He ſendeth letters to the Kings of
Eng|land & France He ſente alſo letters to the king of
England, & to the French king, requiring thẽ to take ſome paines in
ye mater, to procure an atonement betwixt him and his nobles. And be|ſides
this, he wrote to Pope Innocent for ye ſame purpoſe, praying him to intermedle
his authori| [...]ie by ſending ſome legate into Scotlãd, to apeaſe the troubles thereof.
But the Scottiſh nobilitie, & ſuch of the people as were vp in armour
againſte him, were ſo deſperately ſet & wholly bent on re|uẽge, that
no wholeſom counſell nor medicinable aduice might apeaſe their furious rage, ſo
that for anſwere to his meſſengers, they ſent him worde,The
anſwere of the Rebels to the kings meſſage. that if he would reſigne
the title of his Crowne & Realm, & depoſe himſelfe of his whole
regall dig|nitie, then they would come to ſome cõmunicati|on with him, or elſe
not. The like anſwere was giuẽ to ye Ambaſſadors of England and France, that
were ſente vnto them from ye Kings of both thoſe Realmes, which ſore lamented
the fortune of their friend & alie the Scottiſh king. But Adri|an ye
Biſhop of Romes Legate came too late, as who ſhuld ſay, a day after ye fayre:
for when their groũded malice & ſpiteful hatred cõceyued againſt him
mighte not beẽ qualified by any manner of meanes, but yt they wer now cõming
forward wt al their puiſſance to Striueling where he then re|mayned, he would
not ſtay til ye Erles of Hũtley Errole, Athole, Crawfort, Rothus, Sutherlãd,
Cathnes, & Marſhall, the Barõs Forbes, Ogil|uy, Granth, Frayſer and
other, were arriued with their powers, amounting to the number of fortie
thouſand men with the which they were cõming forth of ye North partes to his
aide, but raſhly, & without good aduice he iſſued out of the town,
a|companied with the Erles of Glencarne & Mon|tros, the Lordes Graham,
Ruthuen, Maxwell, and certayne others, and foorthwith ioyned battell with hys
aduerſaries at Bannockeſ|burne, [page 408] within two miles of
Striueling: and ſo when nothing mighte quiet them, at length they met thus in a
pitched fielde,
They meete in a pitched fielde. The King is put to the woorſe. He is ſlayne.