The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation Volume I Part 15

Than I conclude, if neuer so much by land Were by carres brought vnto their hand, If well the sea were kept in gouernance They should by sea haue no deliuerance.

Wee should hem stop, and we should hem destroy, As prisoners we should hem bring to annoy.

And so we should of our cruell enimies Make our friends for feare of marchandies, If they were not suffered for to pa.s.se Into Flanders. But we be frayle as gla.s.se And also brittle, not thought neuer abiding, But when grace s.h.i.+neth soone are we sliding, We will it not receiue in any wise: That maken l.u.s.t, enuie, and couetise: Expone me this; and yee shall sooth it find, Bere it away, and keepe it in your mind.

Then shuld wors.h.i.+p vnto our n.o.ble bee In feate and forme to lord and Maiestie: Liche as the seale the greatest of this land On the one side hath, as I vnderstand, A prince riding with his swerd ydraw, In the other side sitting, soth it is in saw, Betokening good rule and punis.h.i.+ng In very deede of England by the king.

And it is so G.o.d blessed mought he bee.

So in likewise I would were on the see By the n.o.ble, that swerde should haue power, And the s.h.i.+ps on the sea about vs here.

What needeth a garland which is made of Iuie Shewe a tauerne winelesse, also thriue I?

If men were wise, the Frenchmen and Fleming Shuld bere no state in sea by werring.

Then Hankin lyons shuld not be so bold To stoppe wine, and s.h.i.+ppes for to hold Vnto our shame. He had be beten thence Alas, alas, why did we this offence, Fully to shend the old English fames; And the profits of England and their names: Why is this power called of couetise; With false colours cast beforn our eyes?

That if good men called werriours Would take in hand for the commons succours, To purge the sea vnto our great auayle, And winne hem goods, and haue vp the sayle, And on our enimies their liues to impart, So that they might their prises well departe, As reson wold, iustice and equitie; To make land haue lords.h.i.+p of the sea.

[Sidenote: Lombards are cause enough to hurt this land although there were none other cause. False colouring of goods by Lombards. Alas for bribes & gift of good feasts & other means that stoppen our policie. This is the very state of our time.]

Then shall Lombards and other fained friends Make her chalenges by colour false offends, And say their chaffare in the s.h.i.+ppes is, And chalenge al. Looke if this be amisse.

For thus may al that men haue bought to sore, Ben soone excused, and saued by false colour.

Beware yee men that bere the great in hand That they destroy the policie of this land, By gifte and good, and the fine golden clothis, And silke, and other: say yee not this soth is?

But if we had very experience That they take meede with prime violence, Carpets, and things of price and pleasance, Whereby stopped should be good gouernance: And if it were as yee say to mee, Than wold I say, alas cupiditie, That they that haue her liues put in drede, Shalbe soone out of winning, all for meed, And lose her costes, and brought to pouerty, That they shall neuer haue l.u.s.t to goe to sea.

An exhortation to make an ordinance against colour of maintainers and excusers of folkes goods

[Sidenote: It is a marueilous thing that so great a sicknes and hurt of the land may haue no remedie of so many as take heselues wise men of gouernance.]

For this colour that must be sayd alofte And be declared of the great full ofte, That our seamen wol by many wise Spoile our friends in steede of our enimies: For which colour and Lombards maintenance, The king it needes to make an ordinance With his Counsayle that may not fayle, I trowe, That friends should from enimies be knowe, Our enimies taken and our friends spared: The remedy of hem must be declared.

Thus may the sea be kept in no sell, For if ought be spoken, wot yee well, We haue the strokes, and enemies haue the winning: But mayntainers are parteners of the finning.

We liue in l.u.s.t and bide in couetise; This is our rule to maintaine marchandise, And policie that wee haue on the sea, And, but G.o.d helpe, it will no other bee.

Of the commodities of Ireland and policie and keeping thereof and conquering of wild Irish: with an incident of Wales. Chap. 9.

I cast to speake of Ireland but a litle: Commodities of it I will ent.i.tle, Hides, and fish, Salmon, Hake, Herringe, Irish wooll, and linen cloth, faldinge, And marterns goode ben her marchandie, Hertes Hides, and other of Venerie.[8]

Skinnes of Otter, Squirell and Irish hare, Of sheepe, lambe, and Fox, is her chaffare, Felles of Kiddes, and Conies great plentie.

So that if Ireland helpe vs to keepe the sea, Because the King cleped is Rex Angliae, And is Dominus also Hyberniae, Old possessed by Progenitours: The Irish men haue cause like to ours Our land and hers together to defend, That no enemie should hurt ne offend, Ireland ne vs: but as one commontie Should helpe well to keepe about the sea: For they haue hauens great, and goodly bayes, Sure, wyde and deepe, of good a.s.sayes, At Waterford, and costes many one.

And as men sayne in England be there none Better hauens, s.h.i.+ps in to ride, No more sure for enemies to abide, Why speake I thus so much of Ireland?

For all so much as I can vnderstand, It is fertile for things that there doe growe And multiplien, loke who l.u.s.t to knowe, So large, so good, and so commodious, That to declare is strange and maruailous.

[Footnote 8: Hunting.]

[Sidenote: Mynes of siluer and gold in Ireland.]

For of siluer and golde there is the oore, Among the wilde Irish though they be poore.

For they are rude can thereon no skill: So that if we had their peace and good will To myne and fine, and metal for to pure, In wilde Irish might we finde the cure, As in London saith a Iuellere, Which brought from thence golde oore to vs here, Whereof was fyned mettal good and clene, As they touch, no better could be seene.

Nowe here beware and heartily take intent, As yee will answere at last iudgement, That for slought and for rach.e.s.h.ede Yee remember with all your might to hede To keepe Ireland that it be not lost.

For it is a botera.s.se and a post, Vnder England, and Wales another: G.o.d forbid, but ech were others brother, Of one ligeance due vnto the king.

But I haue pittie in good faith of this thing That I shall say with auis.e.m.e.nt: I am aferde that Ireland will be shent: It must awey, it wol bee lost from vs, But if thou helpe, thou Iesu gracious, And giue vs grace al slought to leue beside.

For much thing in my herte is hide, Which in another treatise I caste to write Made al onely for that soile and site, Of fertile Ireland, wich might not be forborne, But if England were nigh as goode as gone.

G.o.d forbid that a wild Irish wirlinge Should be chosen for to bee their kinge, After her conqueste for our last puissance, And hinder vs by other lands alliance.

Wise men seyn, wich felin not, ne douten, That wild Irish so much of ground haue gotten There vpon vs, as likenesse may be Like as England to sheeris two or three Of this our land is made comparable: So wild Irish haue wonne on vs vnable Yet to defend, and of none power, That our ground is there a litle corner, To all Ireland in true comparison.

It needeth no more this matter to expon.

Which if it bee lost, as Christ Iesu forbed, Farewel Wales, then England commeth to dred, For aliance of Scotland and of Spaine,

[Sidenote: This is now to be greatly feared.]

And other moe, as the pety Bretaine, And so haue enemies enuiron round about.

I beseech G.o.d, that some prayers deuout Mutt let the said apparance probable Thus disposed without feyned fable.

But all onely for perill that I see Thus imminent, it's likely for to bee, And well I wotte, that from hence to Rome, And, as men say, in all Christendome, Is no ground ne land to Ireland liche, So large, so good, so plenteous, so riche, That to this worde Dominus doe long.

Then mee semeth that right were and no wrong, To get the lande: and it were piteous To vs to lese this high name Dommus.

And all this word Dominus of name Shuld haue the ground obeysant wilde and tame.

That name and people togidre might accord Al the ground subiect to the Lord.

And that it is possible to bee subiect, Vnto the king wel shal it bee detect, In the litle booke that I of spake.

I trowe reson al this wol vndertake, And I knowe wel howe it stante, Alas fortune beginneth so to scant, Or ellis grace, that deade is gouernance.

For so minisheth parties of our puissance, In that land that wee lese euery yere, More ground and more, as well as yee may here.

I herd a man speake to mee full late, Which was a lord [9] of full great estate; Than expense of one yere done in France Werred on men well willed of puissance This said ground of Ireland to conquere.

And yet because England might not forbere These said expenses gadred in one yeere, But in three yeeres or foure gadred vp here, Might winne Ireland to a finall conqueste, In one sole yeere to set vs all at reste.

And how soone wolde this be paied ageyne: Which were it worth yerely, if wee not feyne: I wol declare, who so l.u.s.te to looke, I trowe full plainely in my litle booke.

But couetise, and singularitie Of owne profite, enuie, crueltie, Hath doon vs harme, and doe vs euery day, And musters made that shame is to say: Our money spent al to litle auaile, And our enimies so greatly doone preuaile, That what harme may fall and ouerthwerte I may vnneth write more for sore of herte.

[Footnote 9: This Lorde was the Earle of Ormond that told to me this matter, that he would vndertake it, in pain of losse of al his liuelihood.

But this proffer could not be admitted. Ergo male.]

An exhortation to the keeping of Wales

Beware of Wales, Christ Iesu mutt vs keepe, That it make not our childers childe to weepe, Ne vs also, so if it goe his way, By vnwarenes: seth that many a day Men haue bee ferde of her rebellion, By great tokens and ostentation: Seche the meanes with a discrete auise, And helpe that they rudely not arise For to rebell, that Christ it forbede.

Looke wel aboute, for G.o.d wote yee haue neede, Vnfainingly, vnfeyning and vnfeynt, That conscience for slought you not atteynt: Kepe well that grounde for harme that may ben vsed, Or afore G.o.d mutte yee ben accused.

Of the commodious Stockfish of Island and keeping of the Sea namely the Narrow sea, with an incident of the keeping of Caleis. Chap. 10.

[Sidenote: The trade of Bristow to Island.]

[Sidenote: The old trade of Scarborough to Island and the North.]

Of Island to write is litle nede, Saue of Stock fish. Yet forsooth in deed Out of Bristowe, and costes many one, Men haue practised by nedle and by stone Thider wardes within a litle while, Within twelue yere, and without perill Gon and come, as men were wont of old Of Scarborough, vnto the costes cold.

And nowe so fele s.h.i.+ppes this yeere there ware, That moch losse for vnfreyght they bare: Island might not make hem to bee fraught Vnto the Hawys: thus much harme they caught.

Then here I ende of the commoditees For which neede is well to kepe the seas: Este and Weste, South and North they bee.

And chiefly kepe the sharpe narrow see, Betweene Douer and Caleis: and as thus that foes pa.s.se none without good will of vs: And they abide our danger in the length, What for our costis and Caleis in our strength.

An exhortation for the sure keeping of Caleis.

And for the loue of G.o.d, and of his blisse Cherish yee Caleis better then it is.

See well thereto, and heare the grete complaint That true men tellen, that woll no lies paint, And as yee know that writing commeth from thence: Doe not to England for slought so great offence, But that redressed it bee for any thing: Leste a song of sorrow that wee sing.

For litle wenith the foole who so might chese What harme it were good Caleis for to lese: What wo it were for all this English ground.

[Sidenote: The ioy of Sigismund the Emperour that Caleis was English.]

Which wel concerned the Emperour Sigismound, That of all ioyes made it one of the moste, That Caleis was subiect vnto English coste.

Him thought it was a iewel most of all, And so the same in Latine did it call.

And if yee wol more of Caleis heare and knowe, I cast to write within a litle scrowe, Like as I haue done before by and by In other parteis of our policie.

Loke how hard it was at the first to get; And by my counsell lightly doe not it let.

For if wee lese it with shame of face Wilfully, it is for lacke of grace.

Howe was Harflew [10] cried vpon, and Rone,[11]

That they were likely for shought to be gone: Howe was it warned and cried on in England, I make record with this pen in my hand.

It was warened plainely in Normandie, And in England, and I thereon did crie.