21.1. A letter of the lord protectors to the councell at London.

A letter of the lord protectors to the councell at London.

[1] The protec|tors letter to the lords._MY lords we commend vs heartilie vnto you. And wheras the kings maiestie was informed that you were assembled in such sort as you doo, and now remaine, and was aduised by vs and such other of his councell as were then here about his person, to send master secretarie Peter vnto you with such a message, as whereby might haue insued the suertie of his maie|sties person, with the preseruation of his realme and subiects, and the quiet both of vs and your selues, as master secretarie can well declare to you: his maie|stie and we of his councell here doo not a little mar|uell, that you staie still with you the said master se|cretarie, & haue not as it were vouchsafed to send an|swer to his maiestie, neither by him nor yet by anie other. And for our selues we doo much more maruell and are sorie, as both we and you haue good cause to be, to see the maner of your dooings bent with force of violence, to bring the kings maiestie & vs to these extremities.

[1] No word hi|therto sent from the lords to the lord protector what they re|quired of him to doo.Which as we intend, if you will take no other waie but violence, to defend (as nature and allegiance dooth bind vs) to extremitie of death, and to put all to Gods hand, who giueth victorie as it pleaseth him: so if that anie reasonable conditions & offers would take place (as hitherto none hath béene signified vn|to vs from you, nor we doo not vnderstand, what you doo require or séeke, or what you doo meane) and that you doo séeke no hurt to the kings maiesties person, as touching all other priuat matters, to auoid the ef|fusion of christian bloud, and to preserue the kings maiesties person, his realme and subiects, you shall find vs agréeable vnto anie reasonable conditions that you will require. For we doo estéeme the kings wealth and tranquillitie of the realme more than all other worldlie things, yea than our owne life. Thus praieng you to send vs your determinate answer herein by master secretarie Peter, or if you will not let him go, by this bearer, we beséech God to giue both you and vs grace to determinate this matter, as maie be to Gods honor, the preseruation of the king, and the quiet of vs all: which maie be, if the fault be not in you. And so we bid you most hartilie farewell. From the kings maiesties castell of Windsor the seuenth of October, 1549.

Your lordships louing friend Edward Summerset.