EEBO page image 912The king was not well contented with the sai|eng of the bishop, yet he gentlie answered the spea|ker, that he would send for the bishop, and send them word what answer he made, and so they departed a|gaine. After this the king sent for the archbishop of Canturburie and six other bishops, and for the bishop of Rochester also, and there declared to him the grudge of the commons; to the which the bishop an|swered, that he meant the dooings of the Bohemians was for lacke of faith, and not the dooings of them that were in the common house.The bishops excuse to the kings ma|iestie. Which saieng was confirmed by the bishops being present, who had him in great reputation: and so by that onelie sai|eng the king accepted his excuse, and thereof sent word to the commons by sir William Fitz Willi|ams knight, treasuror of his houshold; which blind excuse pleased the commons nothing at all.Hard hold be|twéene the lords spiritu|all and tem|porall about the probats of willes and mortuaries. After diuerse assemblies were kept betwéene certeine of the lords, and certeine of the commons, for the billes of probats of testaments, and the mortuaries; the temporaltie laid to the spiritualtie their owne lawes and constitutions; and the spiritualtie sore defended them by prescription & vsage, to whom this answer was made by a gentleman of Greies inne: The v|sage hath euer beene of théeues to rob on Shooters hill, ergo is it lawfull?

With this answer the spirituall men were sore of|fended, because their dooings were called robberies. But the temporall men stood still by their saiengs, insomuch that the said gentleman said to the archbi|shop of Canturburie, that both the exaction of pro|bats of testaments, and the taking of mortuaries, as they were vsed, were open robberie and theft. Af|ter long disputation, the temporall lords began to leane to the commons: but for all that the billes re|mained vnconcluded for a while. In the meane sea|son,The loane of monie released to the king, which he borowed in anno reg. 15. there was a bill assented to by the lords, and sent downe to the commons: the effect whereof was, that the whole realme by the said act did release to the king, all such summes of monie as he had borrowed of them at the loane, in the fiftéenth yeare of his reigne (as you haue heard before.) This bill was sore argued in the common house, but the most part of the commons were the kings seruants, and the other were so laboured to by other, that the bill was assen|ted vnto.

When this release of the loane was knowen to the commons of the realme, Lord so they grudged & spake ill of the whole parlement. For almost euerie man counted it his debt, and reckoned suerlie of the paiment of the same. And therefore some made their willes of the same, and some other did set it ouer to other for debt, and so manie men had losse by it, which caused them sore to murmur, but there was no reme|die. The king like a good and discréet prince, séeing that his commons in the parlement house had relea|sed the loane, intending somewhat to requite the same, granted to them a generall pardon of all of|fenses; certeine great offenses and debts onelie ex|cepted: also he aided them for the redresse of their griefes against the spiritualtie, and caused two new billes to be made indifferentlie, both for the probats of testaments and mortuaries; which billes were so reasonable, that the spirituall lords assented to them all,The matter of testaments and mortua|ries modera|ted by the king. though they were sore against there mindes, & in especiall the probats of testaments sore displeased the bishops, and the mortuaries sore displeased the par|sons and vicars.