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I
PROCEEDINGS AND ORDINANCES
OF THE
PRIVY COUNCIL OF ENGLAND.
VOLUME VI.
22 HENRY VI. MCCCCXLIIL
TO
39 HENRY VI. MCCCCLXI.
EDITED BY
Sir HARRIS NICOLAS,
Cmancellor and Knight Commander of the Order of
Saint Michael and Saint George.
vp PRINTED BY COMMAND
HIS MAJESTY KING WILLIAM IV.
IN PUR8UANCB OP AN ADDRESS OP THB BOVSB OF COMMONS OF GttSAT BHITAIN ; AJTB VXOSm TWI OlASCTiei* ov
TUB COMMISSIONERS ON THB PUBLIC RECOBDS
OF THB KINGDOM.
1837.
^ /«?^ %
<^^'-tc t'e-jyi' '.r^ :'jf}r-^e /^i f-^c
.-/
RECORD COMMISSION,
MoanJi 1831.
THIS BOOK
IS TO BE
PERPETUALLY PRESERVED
IN
THE LIBRARY OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY.
C. P« CoOPER>
Jpril 1837. Sec. Cam, Pub. Rec,
A
COMMISSIONERS
ON
THE PUBLIC RECORDS OP THE KINGDOM,
APPOINTED BY
HIS MAJESTY'S COMMISSION
or THE
\2ih rf March 1831.
HIS ORACB THE ARCHBISHOP OF CAMTBRBUBY.
THS RIOHT HONOUBABLB LORD BROUGHAM axd VAUX.
THB RIGHT HONOURABLE THE SBCRBTART OF STATE FOR THE HOME
DEPARTMEMT. THB RIGHT HONOURABLE THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. THS RIGHT HONOURABLE THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER. THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE MASTER OF THE ROLLS. THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE LORD CLERK REGISTER OF SCOTLAND.
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE EARL OF ABERDEEN, K.T.
THB RIGHT REVEREND THE LORD BISHOP OF LLANDAFF.
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THOMAS ORENYILLS.
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE CHARLES WATKIN WILUAMS WYNN, M. P.
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE HENRT HOBHOUSE.
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE MR. BARON PARKE.
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE BOSANQUET.
SIB ROBERT HARRY INGLIS^ BART., M. P.
XOUI8 HAYES PETIT, ESQUIRE.
BEHRY BELLENDEN KER, ESQUIRE.
HENRY HALLAM, ESQUIRE.
JOHN ALLEN, ESQUIRE.
EDWARD PROTHBROB, ESQUIRE.
EDWARD VERNON UTTERSON, ESQUIRE.
WILLIAM BROUGHAM, ESQUIRE.
CHARLES PURTON COOPER, ESQUIRE. SECRETARY.
PREFACE.
It was stated in the Preface to the First Volume,
that this work would contain such Proceedings of the King's Council from the time of King Kichard the Second to the close of the reign of King Henry the Sixth, as are preserved in the British Museum ; and this volume, which is the last of that series, con- sists of the Minutes of the Proceedings of the Privy Council between the 26th of August, 22 Hen. VI. 1443, and the 28th of January, 39 Hen.VL 1460.
The General Register, or, as it was termed, " Book of the Council," does not appear to have been continued after the 13th Hen.VL 1435; and from that time until the latter part of the reign of King Henry the Eighth no regular record of its Proceedings is preserved ; and all which can be done is, therefore, to collect the few scattered papers that are now extant.
Though by no means so numerous or im-* portant as might be expected, many of the articles in the following sheets are, nevertheless, of con-
voL. VI. a
u PREFACE.
siderable Historical value, and some of them tend to illustrate points of Constitutional law. Of the former as much will be said as may appear neces- sary to bring the information they contain to the notice of Historians, whilst advantage will be taken of the latter, to submit some remarks on the Office of King's Secretary or Secretary of State, and of King's Chamberlain, about which little, it may almost be said nothing, has hitherto been written. Although the same observation cannot be applied to the Great Seal and to the King's other Seals, it is nevertheless presumed that the facts which will be found respecting them, and the observations which will be made on the responsi- bility of the Lord Chancellor and Lord Privy Seal, in reference to the King's grants, will fully justify the digression on those subjects, inasmuch as many of those facts escaped the attention of Lord Coke, Selden, and Prynne, and are absolutely necessary to render some of the Proceedings of the Council properly understood.
22 Hen-Vl. The Only Proceedings of the Council in the
22nd of Henry the Sixth, 1443, of any interest, are those which relate to the affairs of Brittany, and to the Earl of Suffolk's appointment, as chief of an embassy to negociate a peace with France.
Francis duke of Brittany succeeded his father John the Sixth, on the 28th of August 1442, and he soon after sent his brother Giles (who came to England about ten years before, for the purpose of
PREFACE. iii
being brought up with Henry the Sixth*) and other 22 Hen.vi. Ambassadors to this country, to renew the claim of his ancestors to the Earldom of Richmond.^ On the 26th of August 1443, at Henley on the Heath, the King gave his answers to the pro- positions submitted by the Breton Ambassadors. After expressing his satisfaction at the arrival of Giles of Brittany, he stated, in reply to the de- mand that the Duke should have the Earldom of Richmond on rendering homage for it by proxy, that he had never before heard of the Duke's pretensions ; but that, wishing to render justice to every one, he would cause the records to be examined, and if the claim was well founded he would willingly receive his homage for the Earl- dom, according to the laws and customs of England. He thanked the Duke for offering to use his good offices in promoting a peace between this country and France, and reminded him, as well as all other Catholic Princes, of the efforts which had been made by his father and himself to obtain that object. He assured him that he would always be ready to listen to any pacific overtures ; that he gladly accepted the Duke's mediation ; and Henry added, that he intended to send his Ambassadors to France, who would declare to him the earnest desire which he felt to put an end to
1 Vide Proceedings of the Privy Council^ voLiv. pp.xlizy Ixxviii, 128, 151, 181; and/>0«fea, p. 16. Foedera, voL xL p. 48.
2 Vide Proceedings of the Privy Council, vol. i. pp. 6, 17, 37, 4S-45, 47, 49, 64, 91 .
a 2
iv PREFACE.
^ Hen.vi- the war, promising, in the event of peace, that the
Duke should be honorably included in the treaty.
To the Duke of Brittany's demand for restitu- tion of seizures made by the English from the Bretons, the King replied, that he had received repeated complaints from his subjects of the aggres- sions of the Bretons, about which he had often written to the late Duke, as well as to himself, but that he had not heard of any satisfaction having been rendered for them ; and that though three years before Commissioners were appointed on both sides to settle these matters, nothing had been done on the part of the Duke. Nevertheless, Henry proposed that Commissioners should again be appointed, and that proclamations should be immediately issued in all the sear-ports of their respective dominions, forbidding their subjects respectively, to offer any molestation or injury to those of the other party.*
Some weeks afterwards, the King informed the Breton Ambassadors that he had caused all the records to be carefully examined respecting the Earldom of Richmond, and that it clearly ap- peared that it had been held by King Edward the Third, who bestowed it upon his son the Duke of Lancaster, by whom it was enjoyed for some time, and who, for certain considerations, restored it to King Richard the Second ; that it was assigned by that Monarch to Anne his Queen
pp. Uy^postea.
PREFACE. V
as part of her dowry, and that on her decease it 22 Hen.VL reverted to the Crown, in the person of King Henry the Fourth ; but that if, nevertheless, the Duke of Brittany could shew a right title to the Earldom, ftdl justice should be done to him. To the Duke's proposal, that his brother Giles should represent him in performing homage for that ter- ritory, Henry replied that he was very desirous of shewing the Duke every favour which was pro- perly in his power, but that, according to the most ancient laws and customs in England, who- ever owed him hotnage must perform it in person ; and that neither he nor his predecessors had ever received it in any other manner, even from their sons, their brothers, or the nearest of their lineage ; and he repeated his promise that Brittany should be included in any treaty of peace with France. ^
Another memoir on behalf of the Duke of Brittany was submitted to the Council, towards the close of the year, which stated that the King of France had written to request that the Duke vould be present when the Earl of Suffolk and Henry's other Ambassadors arrived, to assist in concluding a peace ; and he promised him that he should be comprised in the treaty, and his rank guaranteed in the same manner, as to other Lords of his blood ; but the Duke said he had deferred complying with the French Monarch's wishes until he knew Henry's pleasure on the subject. The
» pp. 7-9, postecu a 3
vi PREFACE.
22 Hen.vi. Duke of Brittany then represented, that, notwith- standing the peace, the Duke of Somerset had entered his dominions with numerous soldiers, and had committed many and enormous cruelties, as though Brittany were a conquered country, al- though the English had been received as friends and allies ; that they had pillaged and destroyed the town of La GuercheS and had refused to quit Brittany unless the Duke gave Somerset twenty thousand crowns, of which sum ten thousand had actually been paid, and bonds granted for the pay- ment of the remainder before Christmas ; and the Duke said he had consented to that agreement only to prevent a continuance of such aggressions on his people, hoping that when the King became aware of the facts he would cause restitution to be made, inasmuch as such aggressions were contrary to the existing treaty.^
1 Vide Lobineau*s Histoire de Bretagne, tome i« p. 623.
^ pp. 11-13, postea, A letter, dated on the 2nd of December, from the Council to the Duke of Brittany, which was sent by Garter King of Arms, occurs among the preceding documents^ and has therefore been printed with them (p, 13, postea) ^ but it is not certain that it belongs to the same year ; and as the subject to which it relates is not noticed in the other letters and proceedings, it is more likely to be a copy of a letter written in December, 11 Hen. VI., 1433, when it was intended to send Garter to the Duke of Brittany. Vide Proceedings of the Council, voL iv. pp. 136, 146, 147.
The Council complained in that letter, in the strongest terms, of the outrages which the Duke's people had committed on the King's English and French subjects, both by land and sea, especially on those employed in fishing ; that whenever they found a vessel with only a few persons on board, they entered her, and either cruelly murdered the crew, threw them overboard, or placed them in such close confinement (*' crueuses, horri-
PREFACE, vii
TTie Council took the Duke of Brittany's 22 Hen.vi.
Teinonstrance into consideration on the 12th of
December. In reply to his intimation that the
King of France wished him to be present during
the negociation for peace, they referred him to
his Majesty's former letter on the subject ; but
that letter, which was not written until the 17th of
the same month, contains little besides verbose
assurances that the Duke should be included in the
treaty with France/ His complaints against the
Duke of Somerset were sent to that nobleman,
*^ Ues, et esiroittes prisons ") that some died of the excessive hardships to which they were exposed, whilst others offered such exorbitant ransoms to escape from their torments that it was impossible to raise the money, and that on failing to pay it, they were dragged through the streets and public places, amidst the jeers of the populace, and then inhumanly put to death ; that the holy sacraments had been denied to those who died, and their bodies refused Christian burial ; that the survivors were so heavily ironed that their limbs had mortified ; and, in short, that cruelties had been perpetrated which Christians had not even met with from Saracens. The Council expressed their opinion that the Duke's subjects had consented to the peace for their own advantage only, and with the view of deceiving otheis ; that the King did not suppose that he could he aware of these excesses, because it would tend too greatly to his dis- honor if he knew of them and did not provide a remedy ; that the Council could not possibly submit to such conduct without dishonor to thdr Sovereign and his realm, and offence to the Almighty, because the blood of the victims cried to them unceasingly for vengeance. The Dnke was therefore requested immediately to inform the Council, by the bearer, whether those facts had been done with his knowledge and assent ; and, if not, that he would with all haste take such measures for preventing the repetition of them as would be satisfactory to God and their Sovereign ; and he was desired to give his answer so speedily, as it might appease the people of this country, or produce such arrangements as God might suggest (pp. IS-I61 postea.) ^ 'p.20^ poHea.
a 4
viii PREFACE.
22 Hen-vi. with the expression of the King's serious displea- sure; and he was commanded to repair all the injuries which had been committed by his troops, and forbidden, in the most positive manner, to permit them to be repeated.^
In these communications with the Duke of Brittany, it seems to have been the policy of the Government to conciliate him as much as possible ; and, with the intention of attaching him still more closely to the interests of England, the Council were extremely anxious to secure the services of his brother Giles. Letters were written by the King to that personage ; and Lord Sudeley was sent to him with various offers to induce him to comply with their wishes. He ac- cordingly came to England, and soon after gave a written reply to their propositions. To the in- quiry as to what services he would render the King, he said that it was not for him to choose, but for his Majesty to command. Being asked whether he would serve the King in peace and war, he declared that he should be happy to serve him in any manner, saving his own honor, provided a suitable maintenance were granted to him, so that it might not be necessary for him to seek one else- where ; for if he once took up arms for the King he should be precluded from obtaining support from other Princes. He expressed much surprise at its being proposed to him to swear to certain
^ ]^ 23, postea.
PREFACE. ix
strong obligations, because, he said, that having 22Hen.vi. alwajs manifested the best intentions towards the King, and having served him without pay, the more Henry bestowed upon him the more obliged he should consider himself; adding, that he desired to serve him more in deeds than in words. He said, that although the offers which had been made to him were greater than his merits, they were nevertheless insufficient to maintain his rank, with regard either to the King's honor or his own, as he should be compelled to relinquish all other advantages ; but ' that, in submission to Henry's pleasure, and to gratify his desire to see his Mar- jesty, he had purposely come to England ; and he concluded by entreating a speedy decision upon these matters.^
The subject having been taken into considera- tion by the Council, an annual pension of one thousand marks was assigned to him ; and a gold cup of the value of one hundred marks, filled with one hundred pounds, was presented to him by the King's express commands ; a silver cup, one hun- dred crowns, and a piece of damask cloth being at the same time given to one of the Duke of Brit-
' PP' ^Ih postea. For an account of the unhappy fate of Giles of Brittany, who became the victim of his attachment to the interests of England, see ** L'art de verifier les Dates," tome iii. p. 908 ; Mon- strelet, ed. 1586, tome iii. p. 31^; and the Rolls of Parliament, vol. v. p. 179. MoDstrelet states that Giles of Brittany had offended his brother the Duke of Brittany and the King of France, by accepting the Order of the Garter from Henry the Sixth ; but he is not included in the lists of the Knights of that Order by Ashmole or Anstis.
X PREFACE.
22 Hen. VI. tanv's Ambassadors.^ As the claim to the Earldom
1443.
of Richmond does not appear to have been again brought forward, the Duke was probably aware that his pretensions would not be admitted. 1444. It has long been known, from an instrument
printed by Rymer, that William de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk, one of the most eminent statesmen of the time, either felt, or pretended to feel, great reluc- tance in undertaking the management of the nego- ciation for a peace with France, to which embassy he was appointed on the 11th of February 1444^; and that he obtained letters patent on the 20th of that month, pardoning every error of judgment which he might commit on the occasion.^ Histo- rians have imputed Suffolk's conduct, not, as he professed, to a sense of his own inability, but to the fear of the Duke of Gloucester's resentment, or more probably, to apprehensions of certain arti- cles of a treaty concluded by Henry the Fifth and confirmed by Parliament, which made it a high offence in any man to conclude a peace with Charles, except with the consent of the three estates of both realms.* The Minutes of the Council of the 1st of February, eleven days be- fore Suffolk's appointment, contain, however, the reasons which he himself assigned for his un- willingness to be one of the Ambassadors to
1 pp. 1 6, 1 7, postea. 2 Foedera, voL xi. pp. 60, 63. ^ Ibid, p. 53.
4 Lingard's History of England, vol. v. p. 57. This provision was declared null and void by Parliament in the 23rd Hen. VI. Rot. Pari., vol. V. pp. 102, 103.
PREFACE. xi
France. Addressing himself to the King, in a 22 Hen.vi. Council held at Westminster, at which Gloucester and nearly all the other members were present, Suffolk reminded his Majesty that he had become known to the French Princes, and other personages of distinction, when he was a prisoner in France, and that he had had many conversations with the Duke of Orleans whilst the Duke was in his cus- tody in England, which he thought rendered it improper that he should be employed in the pro- posed embassy, especially as the French themselves had suggested his appointment to it He said that these facts had exposed him to public animadver- sion in London, since it was known that he was selected for that mission ; that some Lords of great influence and property had been employed on similar negociations, who had performed their duty with wisdom and prudence, but who had never- theless been censured by the people, as well as in Parliaments and elsewhere, " full heavily to their " great charge and burthen in all ;" and that if this were to happen to him it would be insupportable, on account of the difference between their "estates" and his own.
The Lord Chancellor, by the King's com- mand, then acquainted Suffolk that it was his Majesty's pleasure he should proceed on the em- bassy; upon which he requested that, since such was the King's orders, he might be associated with " sad and circumspect men," and with such as could and would " bear with him for the King's
xii PREFACE.
22 Hen. VI. u worship," SO that the French might perceive, that though the embassy consisted only " of men of easy " degree and few in number," yet that they pos- sessed the necessary ability. He further desired, in the event of the negociation not being successful, " that therefore no charge be laid upon him, neither " that he therefore run into any danger or heaviness ^* of the King, nor on any other behalf nor wise, «* but that he may stand alway in the King's good " conceit and grace." The Chancellor replied, by the King's command and with the advice of the Council, that in case the mission failed, no charge should be laid by his Majesty, his heirs, councillors, officers, or any of his people, upon Suffolk, his heirs or executors, nor upon any person going in the said embassy ; " neither that " therefore he run into any danger or heaviness of " him, nor on any other behalf nor wise, and will " that in this behalf he should stand in his good " conceit and grace ; and furthermore the King " willed him and commanded such charge as he " would lay upon him that he should receive it, " take it, and execute it." Suffolk then thanked the King, said he would obey his commands, and desired letters patent to that effect, which were accordingly granted.^
This document throws some light upon a transaction which has hitherto been very mysterious. It is evident that the people disapproved of Suf-
1 pp. 33-35, postea.
PREFACE. xiii
folk's being chosen to conduct the treaty, on ac- 22 Hen.VL
count of his supposed connection with the French
interests, and that he fully expected the obloquy
by which he was afterwards assailed for consenting
to do so. Dr. Lingard's conjecture* does not seem
well grounded, because Suffolk did not allude to the
Act of Parliament before mentioned ; and the Duke
of Gloucester appears not only to have approved
of his appointment, but to have joined with the
other members of the Council in pressing it upon
him. The most curious fact connected with the
affair relates, however, to Henry's marriage. It
does not appear from their Commission that the
Ambassadors were to negociate an alliance of that
nature, nor is it expressly adverted to either in
Suffolk's address to the Council, or in the
King's answers to his several requests. But there
can be little doubt that the "charge" which the
King specially commanded him to "receive, take,
" and execute," and which is obscurely alluded to
in the Chancellor's answers, referred to the marriage,
because in the letters patent which were issued to
Suffolk, the following words occur : " Volumus quod
" ob integerrimum illud et singulare nostrse mentis
*' desiderimn ad bonum pacis, personceque nostrce
" matrimonium^^^ &c., a fact which, as Rapin^ has
well observed, shews that the accusation subse*
quently brought against Suffolk, of having con-
1 p. X, anUa* ^ Foedera, voL zi. p. 53.
3 Ed. 1732, voL L p. 568.
xiv PREFACE.
22Hen.vi. tracted that alliance without sufficient authority, was unfounded. Nor was it one of the crimes of which he was impeached by the Commons, in 1450, though he was then accused by them of having " above his instructions and powers" promised to the King of Sicily, the Queen's father, the deliver- ance of the provinces of Maunce and Maine. ^
It is far from improbable that Suffolk was really unwilling to undertake the mission to France, on account of the suspicion which existed of his bias towards the French interests ; that he foresaw the King's marriage with Margaret of Anjou would not be popular in this country ; and that he was aware his connection with the alliance would in- crease the clamour against him.
Although that affair was only indirectly alluded to in the Privy Council, Suffolk nevertheless con- trived to get it expressly mentioned in the patent, thereby securing himself from danger for having negociated it. The Council seem, therefore, to have determined upon the measure, though the whole obloquy was thrown upon the agent whom they employed ; and Suffolk displayed sagacity and prudence in endeavouring to cast the responsibility upon those who had sanctioned, even if they had not originally proposed the marriage. If it be admitted that Suffolk did not act without authority, it is reasonable, (in ignorance of his instructions,) to infer that he had also the necessary powers for
» Rot Pari., vol. V. p. 178.
PREFACE. XV
accomplishing the object, upon the terms which 22Hen.vi. were afterwards made the grounds of his impeach- ***' ment His caution at the commencement of the mission was strikingly displayed ; and it is unlikely that he should have afterwards committed the im- prudence, if not the treason, which has been imputed to him.
A truce was concluded with France at Tours on the 28th of May 1444, to subsist from the 1st of June in that year to the 1st of April 1446, in .which, according to the promise of Henry's ministers^, Brittany was comprised ; though, ac- cording to the Historian of that province^, they made a pretence to include the Duke, as a subject of the English Crown, with the view of establishing a right to the Duchy.^
In October 1444, Henry was contracted by 2SHen.vi. proxy at Nancy to Margaret of Anjou, daughter of ^^^^ Rene titular King of Sicily and Jerusalem ; and Suf- folk, who had been raised to a Marquisate on the 14th of September preceding, was his Sovereign's representative on the occasion. Towards the end of the year. Commissioners were sent into several counties to borrow money for the expences of conducting the Queen to England, and for her coronation/ Suffolk escorted the royal bride to 1445. this country in April in the following year. She
1 p. ▼, aniecL ^ Lobineau, tome L p. 62S.
3 PiBdera, toL xL p. 64.
^ See their Instructions in pp. S22-3259 poUea.
xvi PREFACE.
23Hen.vi. WES married to the King in person at Titchfield on the 22nd of that month^, and was crowned at Westminster on the 30th of May,
The Marquess of Suffolk, not content with the protection which he had already received, induced the Commons to petition the King, on the 4th of June 1445, in his favor. After pointing out his eminent services, particularly in concluding the
recent truce with France, in promoting the King's
^--- — - -..
1 It appears from the following curious letter from the King to the Lord Chancellor, that the Queen was taken ill upon her arrival in England :
" By the King. " Right reverend fader in God^ right trusty and right wel- " beloved * We grete you wel * and suppose that ye have wel in ^^ knowleche j how that oure moost dere and best beloved wyf the ^^ Quene is yet seke of the labour and indisposicon of the see ^ ^^ by occasion of which the pokkes been broken out upon hir, *^ for which cause we may not in oure own personne holde the <^ feste of Saint Greorge at oure castel of Wyndesore * upon Saint " Georgf day next comyng, Wherfore we wol J>* ye make owt <^ our tres of comission * under oure greei seel in due forme yeving " power by the same unto oure right trusty and entirely wel- ^^ beloved cousins the Duke of Excestre and Bukf j and eyther of <^ thejmfi * to holde the sayd feste in oure behalve at \e day and " place abovesaydj with othr lordes 1 knightf of the gartier " such as we have comanded to be there ^ and that herinne be no ^^ defaulte as ouif greet trust is in you. Yeven under our signet " at Southwyk 4 the xvj. day of Avril.
•* To the right reverend &der in God oure right trusty
" 1 right welbeloved tharchebissop of Canterbury *
" oure Chancettr of Englande."
Ex. Orig. in Turr. London. Thb letter is printed in the introduction to Anstis' Register of the Order of the Garter.
PREFACE. xvii
marriage, and in conducting the Queen^ at his S3Heii.vr. own expence, to England, they prayed the Lords to beseech His Majesty to ** repute, accept, declare, " and take" him to his grace ; and desired that the declarations which he had made to the Lords two days before, together with his labours and conduct, might be enacted in that Parliament, " to " his true acquittal, and discharge and honor of " him in time to come." The Duke of Gloucester and many other Lords then rose from their seats, and supported the request of the Commons, to which the King, through the Chancellor, granted his most gracious assent ; and it was so enacted accordingly.^ This proceeding, which is one of the most solemn and complete ratifications by Parliament of the conduct of a Minister upon record, did not, however, protect him from im- peachment a few years afterwards for the very measures which the Legislature had thus formally sanctioned and approved.
The earliest of the few records extant of 24.Hen.v1. the Proceedings of the Council in the 24th of ^**^ Henry VL are some letters dated in March 1446, respecting the conduct of a Friar of Coventry, of the name of John Bredon, who had preached against the right claimed by the Prior and Convent of the Cathedral Church of St. Mary in that City, that the bodies of those who died within its precincts
J Rot Pari. voL v. pp. 73, 74f. VOL. VI. b
jl^y^ll PREiFACE*
^ Hen. VI. should be first brought to that Church with " ap- " parel of wax," and then buried wherever the de- ceased might have directed; and that the said " apparel of wax " should become the property of the Cathedral, Bredon asserted, on the con- trary, that all offerings belonged to those who ad- ministered the sacraments to the parishioners, and that neither the Pope " nor all the world'' could compel a man to offer any thing in the Cathedral Churchy or prevent a free man from disposing by his will of the lights which surrounded his corpse; He therefore advised the people to bear the lights to whatever Church they pleased, adding that there was not so " bond " a city in England as Coventry in that respect, or so covetous a place as the Priory of Coventry, and that no usage could make a pre- judicial custom lawful. It seems that he had also attached bills to the Church doors, promising to deliver the City from the thraldom of Pharoah. As soon as the Council were apprised of his con- duct, they adopted very summary measures against him. He was commanded instantly to quit Co- ventry, and to place himself at the disposition of his Superior, who was directed to remove him from his Convent to some other of the Order, forty or fifty miles distant, and to forbid him from entering that City again. A serjeant-at-arms was dispatched to the Mayor of Coventry, ordering him to com- pel the contumelious Friar to read a recantation, which was forwarded by the same messenger, on two festival days, from the pulpits of all the Churches
PREFACE. xix
there, on pain of imprisonment should he refuse, £4Hen.vi:
or say more or less than was set down for him.
In the letter to the Minister Provincial of the Friars
Minors of England on that occasion, it is said that
the King was bound to support the rights of the
Cathedral of Coventry, because " We be their Sove-
*^ reign Lord and Patron, and forasmuch as We
" would have all our subjects to live in rest and
*^ peace after Grod's law and ours, and nothing to
^ be shewed or preached unto them but that that
^ might sowne [tend] to good, and be to rest and
** weal of Our people."^
It having been determined that Henry should proceed to France in the ensuing October, to treat in person with Charles for a final peace be- tween the two Countries, Commissioners were sent into Suffolk, Norfolk, £ssex, and Herts in July, to raise money for the King's expences, he being then, as their instructions state, in his ^^ greatest ^ necessity."^
Fragments of the original Minutes of the Council in the latter part of July 1446 are pre- served ; but the only material facts shewn by them are, that the citizens of London had remonstrated against certain taxes and other grievances, among which was the erection of several places wherein people played " at the ball, cleche, and dice ;" that the Council wished the convention between the Kings of England and France to be held on the
1 pp. 40A5ypMte€u
^ pp. 46-5I9 postea ; Vide Foedera, voL xL pp. 1S9> 150^ 157.
b 2
XX PREFACE.
24 Hen. VI. liver between Maunt and Melant j that Eleanor
Cobham, the wife of the Duke of Gloucester, was ordered to be conveyed to the Isle of Man, in custody of Sir Thomas Stanley; that ships were impressed for the King's voyage to France ; and that the Earl of Ormond, who was accused of treason by the Prior of Kilmaine in Ireland^ was strictly prohibited from going above forty miles from London, without the King's permission, ex- cept on a pilgrimage to Canterbury, and he was likewise directed to be ready to appear before the Council whenever be should be summoned to do so, which directions he swore to obey.^
25 Hen.vi. Upon the affairs of this country in the 25th of 1446. Henry VI. scarcely any information is afforded by
the few scanty notices of the Privy Council which have been collected in this volume. Towards the end of 1446, the public, or rather the inhabitants of London, were deeply interested in two personal combats, which are noticed by nearly all contem- porary Chroniclers. Very minute particulars of these affairs^ (which, though not important, are nevertheless curious from shewing the consideration which was then attached to such subjects) occur in several documents now printed from the originals in the British Museum.
1 Fabian, ed. 181 1, p. 618 ; Stow, p. S85 ; Chronicle of London, p. 134» And pottecu. 3 pp. 50, 54, pasiea, ^ See the account of another duel in the Slst Hen. VI. p. 129, posiea.
PREFACE. xxi
An apprentice to an armourer of London, 25 Hen.vi. having accused his master of treason, the parties agreed to appeal to arms, under the authority of the Constable and Earl Marshal. The King com- manded the Serjeant of his Armoury, in November in that year, to furnish the appellant with the re- quisite weapons and armour ; and two Knights, two Esquires, and an armourer were severally assigned to him, and to the defendant, ^^ to be intendant and ^ . of council" to them/ The combat took place at Smithfield, and the master was slain, in consequence of his friends having given him too much wine.^
The other duel was between two persons of much greater importance ; and it is a remarkable circumstance that one of them was an ecclesiastic of rank. Fitz Thomas, Prior of Kilmaine, having impeached the Earl of Ormond of high treason^ and both having appealed to arms, a day was ap- pointed to decide the quarrel. In the mean time Ormond, who was then a prisoner in the Tower, obtained permission to remain near Smithfield " for " his breathing and more ease," to prepare himself for the fight ; and the Prior, being unused to mortal weapons, wisely took lessons in the art of defence of one Philip Treher, a fishmonger of London, whose services were paid by the Crown.* This duel did not, however, end fatally, for the King forbad the parties to proceed to extremities, though
1 pp. 55-57i />Mtoi.
2 Stow'8 Chronicle, p. 385 ; Fabian, p. 618 ; Hall, ed. 1809, p. 207. * Vide p. xzy atUetu ^ pp. 55-59, posUa.
b 3
xxii PREFACE.
25 Hen.vi. they had actually met for the purpose, knd took
the affair into his own hands.
The only Minutes of the Council in the 1447. year 1447 are of the 19th of March, whence it appears, among other matters, that the Scots had broken the truce; that the garrison of Berwick was discontented; and that the members of the Privy Council were summoned to be present when the French Ambassadors arrived.^
26 Hen.vi. No records of the Council in the 26th Hen. VI.,
1447-1448, have been discovered; and the few which are preserved relating to the 27th of Henry
27 Hen.vi. VI. are by no means important. The earliest of
1448. . .
that year contain the answers which were given, on the 30th of October 1448, to some questions sub- mitted, on the part of the Duke of Somerset, lieutenant-governor of France, respecting the mode of proceeding in certain points connected with the embassy to negociate a peace with Charles the Seventh, but they are not very material.^ In con- sequence of the aggressions of the Scotch, the Bishop of Durham, the Earl of Westmoreland, and five Barons and others, were excused, on the 3rd J 449. of February 1449, from attending the Parliament which was to meet on the 12th of that month ; and they were commanded to remain in the North for
the securitv of the Marches.^
•f _
Commissioners were sent to the Duchess of Burgundy, in March 1449, to remonstrate against
pp. 60f Slf posUa. 2 pp. 62, 63, posUa. ^ p. 65^ postea.
PREFACE, xxiii
^n ordinance which she had made, that no English 27 Heii.yL: cloth should be sold m her dominions, of which serious complaints had been made in Parliament ; and they were also directed to advert to the as- sembling of soldiers and warlike stores at St Qmer, and endeavour to ascertain its object.^ This mission does not appear to have been successful ; and in July, Ambassadors were sent to the Duchess. They were principally directed to complain of various infringements of the truce, by the imprison- ment and ill-usage of some merchants, the King's subjects, on whose release, with full restitution of their property, they were to insist. The prohibition of English cloths was the next point which the Ambassadors were to bring under the Duchess's con- sideration ; and they were ordered to inform her that Parliament had passed an Act, declaring that, unless the ordinance in question was withdrawn, no merchandize should be imported into England from any part of her dominions.^
So much excitement was created in London by the prohibition to sell cloth of English manu- facture in Holland,