The funeralles of King Edward the sixt VVherin are declared the causers and causes of his death [by William Baldwin] |
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 | The funeralles of King Edward the sixt |  |
When Chryst our sauiours merciful request
Was sonke into his fathers tender brest,
He neyther graunted it, nor yet denayd
But fatherlike thus to his sonne he sayd:
To sewe for mercy I maruayle what ye meane,
For such a sort as haue reiect vs cleane.
Behold the heades, what els do they deuise,
Saue in our name to cloke their couetise?
Thine herytage they have thee whole bereft,
Except thy shurt, let see, what have they left?
Thy golde, thy plate, thy lodgyng, yea thy landes
That are the poores, are in the richest handes:
They waste, they spoyle, they spill vpon their pride
That which was geven the nedy corse to hide:
And thou lyest naked starving at their gates
While they consume thy substaunce with theyr mates.
As for theyr lawe wherby men should haue right
Is ruled hole by money and by might.
And where the riche the nedy should relive
They do their best to beggry all to drive.
What titles forge they falsely to their landes,
Untill they wrongly wring them from their handes?
How ioyne they house to house, how farme to farme?
How lease to lease, the selly sort to harme?
How rayse they rents, what incoms, yea what fines
Exact they still though all the world repines?
How suffer they theyr grayne to rot and hore
To make a dearth when I geue plenty store?
And where they brag they do thy word auaunce,
Have they not spoyld or fliste all mayntenaunce,
That therto servde? what kinde of Clergy lande
Or fee, is free now from the Lay mans hande?
What gentleman, what marchant, yea what swayne,
But hath or may have a personage or twayne?
I loth to name the vilenes of the rest,
So sore my hart theyr robbry doth detest.
Is this the way our Gospell to defend?
No no, we see to well what they entend.
But passe we this, and marke their godly lives,
How do they kepe theyr promys with theyr wives?
For what respect do they theyr mariage make
Save riches, honour, or promocion sake?
Alas how are our Orphans bought and solde,
Our widowes forst to mary where they nould,
What vowe, what oth, what bond most strongly knit,
Doth hold, where gayne may growe by breaking it?
And when our preachers tell them ought hereof,
What do they then save eyther threat or skof?
Which causeth such as would thy manhode spoyle,
And rob from thee the merite of thy toyle,
To hate thy word, and count our prophetes evill,
Wyshing them both together at the devill.
Are these thy vine? thy flocke canst thou them call
That steale thy landes, thy goodes, thy glory and all?
Was sonke into his fathers tender brest,
He neyther graunted it, nor yet denayd
To sewe for mercy I maruayle what ye meane,
For such a sort as haue reiect vs cleane.
Behold the heades, what els do they deuise,
Saue in our name to cloke their couetise?
Thine herytage they have thee whole bereft,
Except thy shurt, let see, what have they left?
Thy golde, thy plate, thy lodgyng, yea thy landes
That are the poores, are in the richest handes:
They waste, they spoyle, they spill vpon their pride
That which was geven the nedy corse to hide:
And thou lyest naked starving at their gates
While they consume thy substaunce with theyr mates.
As for theyr lawe wherby men should haue right
Is ruled hole by money and by might.
And where the riche the nedy should relive
They do their best to beggry all to drive.
What titles forge they falsely to their landes,
Untill they wrongly wring them from their handes?
How ioyne they house to house, how farme to farme?
How lease to lease, the selly sort to harme?
How rayse they rents, what incoms, yea what fines
Exact they still though all the world repines?
How suffer they theyr grayne to rot and hore
To make a dearth when I geue plenty store?
And where they brag they do thy word auaunce,
Have they not spoyld or fliste all mayntenaunce,
That therto servde? what kinde of Clergy lande
Or fee, is free now from the Lay mans hande?
What gentleman, what marchant, yea what swayne,
I loth to name the vilenes of the rest,
So sore my hart theyr robbry doth detest.
Is this the way our Gospell to defend?
No no, we see to well what they entend.
But passe we this, and marke their godly lives,
How do they kepe theyr promys with theyr wives?
For what respect do they theyr mariage make
Save riches, honour, or promocion sake?
Alas how are our Orphans bought and solde,
Our widowes forst to mary where they nould,
What vowe, what oth, what bond most strongly knit,
Doth hold, where gayne may growe by breaking it?
And when our preachers tell them ought hereof,
What do they then save eyther threat or skof?
Which causeth such as would thy manhode spoyle,
And rob from thee the merite of thy toyle,
To hate thy word, and count our prophetes evill,
Wyshing them both together at the devill.
Are these thy vine? thy flocke canst thou them call
That steale thy landes, thy goodes, thy glory and all?
Whan for these sins I sent them late the sweat,
How low they croucht, so hard they dyd intreat,
What earnest vowes they made they would amend,
But as you see nought lesse they dyd entend:
For I no sooner had withdrawen my curse,
But they as soone were fallen from yll to wurse.
For where they vowed to flye and set aside
Theyr covetise, theyr othes, theyr fare, theyr pride,
They raysd theyr rents, theyr fines, theyr marchādises,
And glut their paunche with daynty wine and spices,
Eke Idollyke with pounsed silke and gold,
Arayd theyr wives and children yong and old:
As for them selves who marketh their attyer,
Would thinke them Gods more like then brittle myer,
And shall we suffer so perverse a nacion
To skorne and mocke their God on such a fashion?
No no my sonne, that were agaynst all ryght,
Yet for thy sake, I wil not stroye them quight,
But for to trye them once at thy request
I will but touch their king, and warne the rest
To amend their lives, which if they do delay
I will take their king, their comfort life and stay:
And if they set his death to at their heele,
I will powre downe plages till every one do feele.
How low they croucht, so hard they dyd intreat,
What earnest vowes they made they would amend,
But as you see nought lesse they dyd entend:
For I no sooner had withdrawen my curse,
But they as soone were fallen from yll to wurse.
For where they vowed to flye and set aside
Theyr covetise, theyr othes, theyr fare, theyr pride,
They raysd theyr rents, theyr fines, theyr marchādises,
Eke Idollyke with pounsed silke and gold,
Arayd theyr wives and children yong and old:
As for them selves who marketh their attyer,
Would thinke them Gods more like then brittle myer,
And shall we suffer so perverse a nacion
To skorne and mocke their God on such a fashion?
No no my sonne, that were agaynst all ryght,
Yet for thy sake, I wil not stroye them quight,
But for to trye them once at thy request
I will but touch their king, and warne the rest
To amend their lives, which if they do delay
I will take their king, their comfort life and stay:
And if they set his death to at their heele,
I will powre downe plages till every one do feele.
This sayd, he called to his seruaunt Crasy cold,
Whom the Isy king kept prisoner in his hold
Beneath the Poales, where vnder he doth dwell
In grysly darke like to the diepe of hell,
In rockes and caves of snow and cluttred yse
That never thaw, and sayd him in this wise.
About five Climates henceward to the South
Betwene the maynland and the Occean mouth,
Two ylandes lye, skarce distant forty mile:
Wherof the larger and more Eastward yle
Cald Britaine once, til time that peoples sin
Drave out them selves & brought straunge nacions in,
Is now devided into portions three,
And in the same thre sundry peoples be.
Of which the best and cyuil like in sight,
But wurst in deede, the english nacion hight
And they indwel the Southpart of the land.
Fro the midst wherof (marke wel, and vnderstand)
A River runneth Eastward to the mayne
Sea arme, that parteth it and Fraunce in twayne.
About this riuer many mighty Bowres
Are cumly buylt with Castels, Halles, and Towres,
In which the King and Rulers commonly
In Wynter time with al theyr housholdes lye.
To one of these I wil thou hye in poste,
To that I meane where as the prince is moste:
I thought to byd thee marke the great resort,
But do not so, for other beare a porte
As great as he, and greater otherwhile:
But take this note, which will the not begile,
The mournful chere of many a suters face
Will shew the sure which is his biding place.
And when thou hast his place and person found,
I will thou shalt his helthy body vnsound:
But see thou hurt him not vnto the death,
Thou shalt but stop his Loungpipes, that his breth
Constraynd, may cause the cough brede in his brest:
Els what shall cure or quel vp al the rest.
But in this feat I charge the see thou looke
Thou harme him not while he is at his booke,
Or other kinde of vertuous exercise:
Neyther yet at game so love voyd of vice.
But if this Winter time thou mayst him marke
To ride all day all armde about the parke,
Or els at dice, or tenis out of time
To overwatch or toyle him selfe, for such a crime
Strike hardily, but not to hard, I say:
This is thy charge, about it, go thy way.
Whom the Isy king kept prisoner in his hold
Beneath the Poales, where vnder he doth dwell
In grysly darke like to the diepe of hell,
In rockes and caves of snow and cluttred yse
That never thaw, and sayd him in this wise.
About five Climates henceward to the South
Betwene the maynland and the Occean mouth,
Two ylandes lye, skarce distant forty mile:
Wherof the larger and more Eastward yle
Cald Britaine once, til time that peoples sin
Drave out them selves & brought straunge nacions in,
Is now devided into portions three,
And in the same thre sundry peoples be.
Of which the best and cyuil like in sight,
And they indwel the Southpart of the land.
Fro the midst wherof (marke wel, and vnderstand)
A River runneth Eastward to the mayne
Sea arme, that parteth it and Fraunce in twayne.
About this riuer many mighty Bowres
Are cumly buylt with Castels, Halles, and Towres,
In which the King and Rulers commonly
In Wynter time with al theyr housholdes lye.
To one of these I wil thou hye in poste,
To that I meane where as the prince is moste:
I thought to byd thee marke the great resort,
But do not so, for other beare a porte
As great as he, and greater otherwhile:
But take this note, which will the not begile,
The mournful chere of many a suters face
Will shew the sure which is his biding place.
And when thou hast his place and person found,
I will thou shalt his helthy body vnsound:
But see thou hurt him not vnto the death,
Thou shalt but stop his Loungpipes, that his breth
Constraynd, may cause the cough brede in his brest:
Els what shall cure or quel vp al the rest.
But in this feat I charge the see thou looke
Thou harme him not while he is at his booke,
Or other kinde of vertuous exercise:
Neyther yet at game so love voyd of vice.
But if this Winter time thou mayst him marke
To ride all day all armde about the parke,
Or els at dice, or tenis out of time
Strike hardily, but not to hard, I say:
This is thy charge, about it, go thy way.
Scarce was this errand throwly to him tolde,
But forth he came this shivering crasy cold,
With Ysikles bebristled like a Bore,
About his head behind and eke before.
His skin was hard, al made of glassy yse,
Ouerheard with hore frost, like gray Irishe Frise,
His armes and legges, to kepe him warme I trow,
Wer skaled through with flakes of frosen snowe,
And from his mouth there reekt a breth so hot,
As touched nothing that congeled not.
But forth he came this shivering crasy cold,
With Ysikles bebristled like a Bore,
About his head behind and eke before.
His skin was hard, al made of glassy yse,
Ouerheard with hore frost, like gray Irishe Frise,
His armes and legges, to kepe him warme I trow,
Wer skaled through with flakes of frosen snowe,
And from his mouth there reekt a breth so hot,
As touched nothing that congeled not.
And when he had arowsd him selfe a while.
And stretcht his ioyntes as stiffe as any stile:
Because he would his charge no longer slacke.
He got him vp on blustring Boreas backe,
And forth he went: but his horse so heauy trode,
That al the world might knowe which way he rode.
For in his way there grew no maner grene,
That could in thre dayes after wel be sene.
His breth and braying was so sharpe and shryl,
That fluds for feare hard cluddered stoode full stil.
The seas did quake and tremble in such sort,
That never a ship durst venter out of port.
The holtes, the heathes, the hilles became al hore,
The trees did shrinke, al thinges were troubled sore.
And stretcht his ioyntes as stiffe as any stile:
Because he would his charge no longer slacke.
He got him vp on blustring Boreas backe,
And forth he went: but his horse so heauy trode,
That al the world might knowe which way he rode.
For in his way there grew no maner grene,
That could in thre dayes after wel be sene.
His breth and braying was so sharpe and shryl,
That fluds for feare hard cluddered stoode full stil.
The seas did quake and tremble in such sort,
That never a ship durst venter out of port.
The holtes, the heathes, the hilles became al hore,
The trees did shrinke, al thinges were troubled sore.
| The funeralles of King Edward the sixt | |