<!DOCTYPE ETS PUBLIC "-//UMDLPS//DTD EEBOPROOF 2.0//EN">
<ETS>
<TEMPHEAD>
<REVDESCR>
<CHANGE>
<DATE>2010-09-03</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>Mona Logarbo</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
</RESPSTMT>
<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B100810.pdcc.</ITEM>
</CHANGE>
</REVDESCR>
</TEMPHEAD>
<EEBO>
<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="B08674">
<STC T="W">C1616</STC>
<BIBNO T="oclc">[ocm]64551051</BIBNO>
<VID>184434</VID>
</IDG>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>A CAVEAT TO THE Three Kingdoms: OR, A <HI>Summary Account</HI> OF THE Mo&s;t Mi&s;erable and Deplorable E&s;tate and Condition of <HI>England</HI> in the Reign of King <HI>John,</HI> occa&s;ioned by his bringing in infinite Multitudes of Foreign Forces: TOGETHER With the Ba&s;e Treachery of <HI>Lewis,</HI> the French King's Son, and his Great Men, intended again&s;t the Barons, who invited him in to their A&s;&s;i&s;tance: Very well worthy to be &s;eriou&s;ly con&s;idered by all True Engli&s;h-Men at this time of Day.</P>
<P>Tran&s;lated out of <HI>MATTHEW PARIS,</HI> One of our mo&s;t Authentick Hi&s;torians, who lived at that Time.</P>
<P><HI>LONDON&punc;</HI> Printed for <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">. Whitlock</HI> near <HI>Stationers-Hall,</HI> 1696.</P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB REF="2">
<PB N="3" REF="2">
<HEAD>A CAVEAT TO THE Three Kingdoms.</HEAD>
<P><HI>JOHN</HI> King of <HI>England,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Matt. Paris,</HI> Fol. 268. Line 32.</NOTE> repenting of his granting of <HI>Mag|na Charta</HI> in the 17th year of his Reign, after three Months &s;tay breaking forth from the I&s;le of <HI>Wight,</HI> &s;ailed up to <HI>Do|ver,</HI> whither his Me&s;&s;engers, whom he had &s;ent into Parts beyond the Sea, re&s;orting to him, they brought with them out of divers Countries a multitude of Soldiers and Armed Men, which &s;truck all &s;uch as beheld them with <HI>Fear</HI> and <HI>Horror:</HI> For there came from the Parts of <HI>Poictou</HI> and <HI>Ga&s;cony</HI> Noble Per&s;ons and Warriors: <HI>Savaric</HI> of <HI>Malcon, Geofrey</HI> and <HI>Oliver</HI> of <HI>Buteville,</HI> Bro|thers, accompanied with very Great Forces of Soldiers and Armed Per&s;ons, who promi&s;ed faithful Obedience to the King. There came likewi&s;e from the Countries of <HI>Louvain</HI> and <HI>Brabant</HI> very courageous Men, <HI>Walter Buck, Gerard, Sotin,</HI> and <HI>Gode&s;chal,</HI> with Three Le|gions of Armed Men and Slingers, &s;uch as thir&s;ted after nothing more than Humane Blood. Be&s;ides there repaired to the &s;aid King out of <HI>Flanders,</HI> and other Foreign Countries, all &s;uch who were greedy of other Men's Goods, Debtors, Exiled and Excommuni|cated Per&s;ons, Murtherers, all &s;uch to whom their Country was a Bani&s;hment, not a Refuge; &s;uch as the&s;e adhering to him, gave this de&s;perate King very great hopes of making Re&s;i&s;tance [again&s;t the Barons.]</P>
<P>There likewi&s;e came <HI>Hugh de Boves,</HI> a &s;tout Soldier,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ibidem,</HI> 268, 269.</NOTE> but proud and wicked, to the Port of <HI>Calice</HI> in <HI>Flanders,</HI> with an Innumerable multitude of Armed Per&s;ons to the A&s;&s;i&s;tance of the King of <HI>England,</HI> where having taken Shipping with all his Company, he earne&s;tly de&s;ired to &s;ail for <HI>Dover;</HI> but a &s;udden Tempe&s;t ari&s;ing, before they
<PB N="4" REF="3">
could reach their de&s;ired Haven, they &s;uffered Shipwrack, and were all drowned in the Sea; in&s;omuch that as not one of 40000 Men e&s;caped alive. This great number of Men all came with their Wives and Children for <HI>England,</HI> for this purpo&s;e, that the Natives being expelled this Kingdom, and utterly exterminated, they them|&s;elves might po&s;&s;e&s;s this Land by a perpetual Right. For the be|fore-mentioned cruel King, to the Leader of them, yea, this cruel Ty|rant, had given (as it is reported) by his Charter to the afore&s;aid <HI>Hugh de Boves,</HI> that Seducer, that Fugitive, the Counties of <HI>Nor|folk</HI> and <HI>Suffolk.</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Matt. Paris&punc;</HI> 274, l. 20.</NOTE>The King contrived how he might confound his Enemies, name|ly, the Barons of <HI>England,</HI> and how he might provide Stipends for tho&s;e foreign Nations which &s;erved under him; at length the King got together two Armies, that with one of them he might &s;uppre&s;s the Eruptions of &s;uch Barons as were re&s;ident at <HI>London,</HI> and that with the other he might de&s;troy the Northern Provinces of <HI>England</HI> with Fire and Sword, by laying wa&s;te what&s;oever &s;hould come in his way. The&s;e things were tran&s;acted at St. <HI>Albans</HI> the 13th. of the <HI>Calends</HI> of <HI>January.</HI> The Army which he left behind him was commanded by Warlike Men, as <HI>W.</HI> Earl of <HI>Salisbury, Falca&s;ius</HI> the King's Brother, who had no Bowels of Compa&s;&s;ion, <HI>Savaric de Mal|con</HI> a Warrior, and bloudy-minded, with his <HI>Pictavians, William Brievere,</HI> an expert Warrior, with his whole Power, <HI>Walter Buck,</HI> a Villain, and Blood-thir&s;ty Man, with his mo&s;t impious and ignoble <HI>Flemings</HI> and <HI>Brabantines,</HI> noted for all kind of Wickedne&s;s: There were al&s;o others with them whom, to avoid Prolixity, I for a time omit to mention.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ibidem.</HI> King <HI>John</HI> lays wa&s;te the Northern parts of <HI>Eng|land.</HI></NOTE>King <HI>John</HI> being now <HI>of a King become a Tyrant,</HI> from a Man tran&s;|forming him&s;elf into Bruti&s;h Cruelty, went from St. <HI>Albans,</HI> taking with him towards the North <HI>William</HI> Earl of <HI>Albemarle, Philip</HI> of <HI>Albin<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">t, John Mar&s;hal;</HI> and of Foreigners, <HI>Gerard</HI> of <HI>Sotin, Gode&s;chall,</HI> with the <HI>Flemings</HI> and Slingers, and other de&s;perate People, who neither feared God nor Man: Who, when for that Night he had re&s;ted a little at <HI>Dun&s;table,</HI> ri&s;ing before Day, he took his way to|wards <HI>Northampton,</HI> wa&s;ting all the Hou&s;es, and burning the Seats of the Barons with his divided Forces, in an Ho&s;tile manner, he plun|dered, taking Spoils and Cattel; and thus de&s;troying all things, he made a mi&s;erable Spectacle to all &s;uch as beheld it. And to heighten this De&s;olation and Malice of his, the King commanded his Incen|diaries to burn the Fences and Villages, by ca&s;ting Fire into them all along as they went, that he might take plea&s;ure in the &s;ight of the Lo&s;&s;es of his Enemies <HI>(if they may be called Enemies, who endeavoured to bring him to a &s;en&s;e of Clemency and Ju&s;tice)</HI> and by Rapine enrich tho&s;e mo&s;t outrageous In&s;truments of Iniquity whom He had under Him. All Per&s;ons of what&s;oever Condition, Age, or Rank they
<PB N="5" REF="3">
were, were taken, who&s;oever were found without the Church or Church-yard, and being tormented after &s;everal ways, were com|pelled to pay a mo&s;t heavy Ran&s;ome, according that of the Poet &mdash;
<Q LANG="lat"><L>Quicquid delirant Reges plectuntur Achivi.</L></Q>
<Q><L>Kings &s;cruple not what Outrage they commit;</L>
<L>But 'tis their Subjects who mu&s;t pay for it.</L></Q></P>
<P>Such as were in any of the Fortre&s;&s;es of the Barons, when they had Intelligence of the King's Approach, leaving the Ca&s;tles de&s;ti|tute, and con&s;ulting their own Safety, fled to &s;ecret Places, quit|ting their Provi&s;ions with great Spoils and variety of Furniture as a Prey to their Enemies: But the King placing his own People in the disfurni&s;hed Ca&s;tles, as has been above related, with his mo&s;t wicked Followers ha&s;tened to <HI>Nottingham.</HI></P>
<P>In the mean time, <HI>William</HI> Earl of <HI>Salisbury</HI> and <HI>Falca&s;ius,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">The Southern Parts of <HI>Eng|land</HI> depopula|ted.</NOTE> with their Soldiers, whom the King had di&s;mi&s;s'd at St. <HI>Albans,</HI> appointed the Garri&s;ons of <HI>VVind&s;or, Hartford,</HI> and <HI>Berkham&s;ted,</HI> with a &s;trong armed Body, to have a watchful Eye upon &s;uch as pa&s;&s;ed to and from the City of <HI>London,</HI> and to take care to cut off the Barons from Provi&s;ions: Which being done, they marching through the Counties of <HI>E&s;&s;ex, Hartford, Cambridge,</HI> and <HI>Huntingdon,</HI> were in|tent upon plundering and ravaging, like <HI>Holofernes,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Fol. 275.</NOTE> Commander of the <HI>A&s;&s;yrian</HI> Army, made the Villages Tributary, took the Men Captives, burn'd the Hou&s;es of the Barons, de&s;troyed their Parks and Warrens, cut down their Orchards; and at la&s;t, even in the Suburbs of <HI>London,</HI> they &s;et Fire, and carried away an ine&s;timable Booty. And when Me&s;&s;engers from divers Places recounted the&s;e things to the Barons, they looking upon each other, &s;aid. <HI>The Lord hath given; The Lord hath taken away:</HI> The&s;e things mu&s;t be born with Courage. And when among&s;t other Abominable Outrages com|mitted by the King, and his mo&s;t wicked Accomplices, they heard likewi&s;e that their Wives and Daughters were expo&s;ed to &s;corn, they &s;ighing &s;aid, <HI>The&s;e Things doth the Pope's mo&s;t beloved Son in Chri&s;t, who protects his Va&s;&s;al in &s;ubduing &s;o Free and Noble a Kingdom after this unheard of manner.</HI></P>
<P>The King having divided his wicked Forces entring into the Nor|thern Parts, by &s;etting Fire to the Seats of the Barons,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tyranny.</NOTE> driving away Preys of Cattel, making Spoils, wa&s;ting all things with the Sword, contemning God, nor regarding the Poor, de&s;troyed what&s;oever came in his way: For the&s;e Soldiers of Satan, Mini&s;ters of the De|vil, and they al&s;o who were gathered together from the more remote Parts for this purpo&s;e, like Locu&s;ts, covered the Face of the Land. It was a &s;ufficient Cau&s;e of Death for the poor Inhabitants, if they
<PB N="6" REF="4">
were but thought to have &s;omething; and they which had nothing, were con&s;trained to confe&s;s they had &s;omething; and he who had it not, was grievou&s;ly tormented as if he had, to enforce him to pay the &s;ame. The&s;e Murderers ran up and down, blooded with human Slaughter, Night-wanderers, Incendiaries, Sons of <HI>Belial,</HI> with their drawn Swords, that they might extirpate, from Man to Bea&s;t, all things nece&s;&s;ary for humane U&s;es; and, with their drawn Knives, throughly &s;earched Towns, Hou&s;es, Church-yards, Churches, de|&s;poiled all People,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Fol 276.</NOTE> in&s;omuch as they &s;pared neither Women, nor Children, nor &s;uch as were Aged. And what they could not con|&s;ume them&s;elves, they &s;et on Fire, or otherwi&s;e rendred it unfit for Man's U&s;e. And &s;uch as were altogether unblameable, <HI>calling them the King's Enemies:</HI> Where&s;oever they were found, they were ha&s;ti|ly ca&s;t into Pri&s;on, fetter'd, and at la&s;t forced to pay a mo&s;t grievous Ran&s;ome. The Prie&s;ts al&s;o &s;tanding at the very Altars, carrying the Sign of the Holy Cro&s;s in their hands, or handling the very Body of our Lord, venerable in their holy Ve&s;tments, they thus &s;tanding at the Altars, who ought to be re&s;pected for the &s;ake of Religion were taken, tormented, de&s;poiled, wounded: Nor was there any, Bi&s;hop, Prie&s;t, or Levite, who might pour fourth Wine or Oil into the&s;e Wounds &s;o inflicted upon them. Soldiers al&s;o, and other Per&s;ons of what Condition &s;oever, they tormented in like manner, hanging up &s;ome by the Reins and Privy-Members, others by the Feet and Legs, &s;ome by the Hands, and Thumbs, and Arms; they did &s;pit in the Eyes of the&s;e mi&s;erable Sufferers Salt mix'd with Vinegar, not at all under&s;tanding that they were created after the Image of God, and &s;igned with the Character of Chri&s;t. Others they forced either wholly to expire, or &s;carcely to be able to draw their breath, put|ting them in Ve&s;&s;els, and upon Gridirons over hot burning Coals, and then dipping their roa&s;ted Bodies in Water covered with Ice,<NOTE PLACE="marg">A&s;&s;ata Corpo|ra.</NOTE> that they might as it were with Helli&s;h Torments pa&s;s from too much Heat into the extremity of Cold; and whil&s;t they mi&s;erably cried out in the mid'&s;t of Torment, and horribly groaned for the ex|ce&s;&s;ive Angui&s;h of their Puni&s;hments, no body pitied them; nor did their Tormentors cea&s;e from exacting Money, which the&s;e &s;uffering Per&s;ons had not, neither was any Credit given to them who were thus afflicted. Some, who had nothing, promi&s;ed great things, that &s;o at lea&s;t for &s;ome very &s;hort time they might de&s;err the Cruelties which had been thus experienced. This was a general Per&s;ecution in <HI>England,</HI> whil&s;t Fathers by their Children, Brothers by their Bre|thren, Citizens by their Fellow-Citizens were &s;old to be tormented.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Matt. Paris, <HI>Fol. 278.</HI> An|no <HI>18</HI> Regis Johannis.</NOTE>About this time, when at length the <HI>Barons</HI> (who had now lo&s;t all which was mo&s;t de&s;irable in this World, and were utterly de&s;titute of hope of better Fortune how of them&s;elves they might recover their Lo&s;&s;es,) were inwardly touched with grief of Heart, and what to
<PB N="7" REF="4">
do they knew not: Cur&s;ing the <HI>Subtilty, Back&s;lidings, and Infidelity of the King;</HI> and &s;aying with repeated Sighs, <HI>Woe be to you,</HI> John, <HI>thou la&s;t of Kings, the Abomination of Engli&s;h Princes, the Confu&s;ion of the Eng|li&s;h Nobility! Oh,</HI> England, <HI>who art already laid wa&s;te, and must yet &s;till farther be wa&s;ted! Oh,</HI> England, England! <HI>who in the Eyes of all good Men ha&s;t hitherto been the chief of Provinces, art now made Tributary; not only made &s;ubject, and reduced to Fire, Famine, and the Sword, but mu&s;t be governed by mean Slaves and Foreigners: Since nothing can be more unfortunate than to be &s;ubjected to the Slavery of &s;uch Va&s;&s;als.</HI></P>
<P><HI>We have read of many Kings and inferior Princes, who have fought even until Death for the Deliverance of their Countreys under their Obedience; but thou,</HI> John, <HI>(of unhappy Memory to future Ages) that this your Land, which from all Antiquity hath been free, might be en&s;laved, ha&s;t be&s;towed thy Thoughts and Pains to draw others with thee into Bondage, not unlike the &s;liding of a Serpent, ha&s;t first withdrawn thy &s;elf from this Firma|ment; being become of a mo&s;t free King, a Tributary, a Farmer, and a Va&s;&s;al of Slavery: Thou hath link'd this mo&s;t Noble La<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">d to perpetual Bondage, never to be free'd from the&s;e &s;ervile Fetters, unle&s;s He, who had Compa&s;&s;ion over us and all the World, when anciently they were en&s;la|ved under the yoke of Sin, taking pity, &s;hall at &s;ome time or other conde|&s;cend to deliver us. And what &s;hall we &s;ay of thee, O Pope? Who being the Father of Holine&s;s, the Pattern of Piety, the Tutor of Ju&s;tice, and the Guardian of Truth, oughte&s;t to &s;hine for an Example to the whole World; Art thou con&s;enting to &s;uch an One? Do&s;t thou prai&s;e and defend &s;uch an One? But it is for this rea&s;on that Thou defende&s;t this Exhau&s;ter of Engli&s;h Money, and the Impo&s;er upon the Briti&s;h Nobility, who inclines him&s;elf to thy &s;ide, that all things may be &s;wallowed up in the Gulph of Roman Avarice.</HI> At length it was decreed, that they would elect &s;ome powerful Per&s;on to be their King, by who&s;e means they might be re&s;tored to their ancient Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions, believing that none could reign more cruelly than <HI>John,</HI> and framing this &s;orry Argument.</P>
<Q LANG="lat"><L>&mdash; Fortuna mi&s;errima tuta</L>
<L>Nam Timor Event&ucirc;s deterioris abe&s;t.</L></Q>
<Q><L>When Fortune has her utmo&s;t Malice &s;pent,</L>
<L>We cannot then dread any wor&s;e Event.</L></Q>
<P>And when for &s;ome time they had he&s;itated <HI>whom to Elect,</HI> they at la&s;t agreed in this, that they would &s;et over them <HI>Lewis</HI> the Son of <HI>Philip</HI> the French King, and advance him to be King: And their Rea&s;on was becau&s;e that if by the means of <HI>Lewis,</HI> and his Father, the foreign multitude, with which King <HI>John</HI> was &s;urrounded, being the greate&s;t part of them their Subjects, &s;hould de&s;ert him, when he &s;hould likewi&s;e be deprived and de&s;titute of his own Forces at home, he him&s;elf would remain in a manner alone without Power; and, making a Virtue of Nece&s;&s;ity, would hearken to more whole|&s;ome Coun&s;els. And afterwards this Re&s;olution being plea&s;ing to
<PB N="8" REF="5">
them all, they &s;ent by &s;olemn Me&s;&s;engers, namely, the Lord <HI>S.</HI> Earl of <HI>Winche&s;ter,</HI> and <HI>Robert Fitzwater,</HI> to King <HI>Philip</HI> and <HI>Lewis</HI> his Son, Letters Sealed with the Seals of all the Barons, earne&s;tly be&s;eeching the Father, that he would &s;end his Son into <HI>England</HI> that he might reign, and the Son that he would come forth to be Crowned.</P>
<P><HI>Lewis</HI> having accepted of their Invitation, comes over for <HI>Eng|land;</HI> and being joined by the Barons at <HI>London,</HI> who making War upon King <HI>John</HI> and his Party, in which <HI>Lewis</HI> and the Barons pre|vailed.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Matt. Paris,</HI> Fol. 287. <HI>An|no</HI> 1216.</NOTE>Not long after which, it fell out that the Vi&s;count of <HI>Molun,</HI> a Nobleman of the Kingdom of <HI>France,</HI> who came over into <HI>England</HI> with <HI>Lewis,</HI> was dangerou&s;ly &s;ick in the City of <HI>London;</HI> who, per|ceiving that his Death was near at hand, de&s;ired to di&s;cour&s;e with &s;uch of the Barons of <HI>England,</HI> as were remaining in the City of <HI>Lon|don,</HI> for the Safeguard thereof; and he confe&s;&s;ed in the hearing of them all, telling them, <HI>I am grieved at your De&s;olation and Subver&s;ion, becau&s;e ye are ignorant how many Dangers hang over ye: For</HI> Lewis <HI>hath &s;worn, and &s;ixteen more Earls and Barons of the Kingdom</HI> of France <HI>with him, that if it &s;hall be his Fortune to &s;ubdue</HI> England, <HI>and to be Crowned King, he would condemn to perpetual Exile all tho&s;e who now &s;erve in the VVar under him&s;elf, and tho&s;e who are the Followers of King</HI> John, <HI>as Betrayers of their Ma&s;ter, and would extirpate all their Race out of the Land. And that you may not doubt of this, I my &s;elf, who now lie in continual expectation of Death, do, as I hope my Soul &s;hall be &s;aved, affirm unto ye, that I was one of tho&s;e who with</HI> Lewis <HI>have &s;worn it. VVherefore I now earne&s;tly advi&s;e ye, that for the future ye provide for your Safety; and that the&s;e things, which now I have related unto ye, be kept &s;ecret.</HI> And having thus &s;aid, this Nobleman forthwith expired. And when the&s;e Words were &s;pread among the Barons, they were ve|ry much grieved to find them&s;elves thus every way di&s;tre&s;&s;ed. For <HI>Lewis</HI> had given their Lands and Ca&s;tles, which he had in divers places &s;ubdued, to French-men, which they murmured at; and that which troubled them the more was, that he gave out as if they were Trai|tors; and it farther encrea&s;ed their Sorrow to find that they were every Day excommunicated, and deprived of all Earthly Honour, whereby they fell into the greate&s;t Affliction both of Body and Mind. Many of them therefore had Thoughts of returning to be obedient to King <HI>John;</HI> but they were much afraid, whether he, whom they had &s;o much provoked to hate them by their Revilings, would re|ceive them upon their Repentance.</P>
<P>But by the timely Death of King <HI>John,</HI> which &s;hortly after hap|pen'd, and the &s;etting up his Son to be King, to whom the Barons re&s;orted, the villainous De&s;ign of <HI>Lewis,</HI> and his Adherents, became abortive, as the <HI>Hi&s;torian</HI> tells us.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
