BL MSS Cotton Titus b ii 419

BL MSS Cotton Titus b. ii, 419

Wright Vol 1, 18 Page 38

Transcribed and notes by Thomas Wright, ‘Queen Elizabeth and her times,’ London, 1838

William Honning to the Earl of Sussex Greenwich, July 25 1560

To the right honorable and my singuler good Lorde th'erle of Sussex, the Quene's Majestie's Lieutenante of her Highnes Realme of Ireland. Pleaseth it your good Lordshipp, after humble and due remembrances, to be advertysed, the Vicecounte Mountague (1) (saith Don John Pacheco) departed Kinge Phillipp's courte before his comynge thens twoo dayes, but not yet aryved, for that he cometh the longe seas. This Don John Pacheco, who at his first accessee joyned with the Bishope of Aquila, hathe taken his leave ; the worlde saieth he came to encourage the peace concluded, and so was rather to congratulate it then to do his intended mesage. Dr. Maye, deane of Pole's, (2) is nowe resolutely appointed to the sea of Yorke. Mr. Alley, (3) a joly preacher, hathe Exeter, and with the same, for the tenuitie of that lyvinge, a promotion or twoo for five yeres, lyke as Mr. Parkehurst, (4) clerke of Norwiche, hathe alyke for three yeres to enable hym the better to the payment of the first fruits. Now resteth all the talke here of a litell progresse to Portesmouthe, and of the Kinge elect of Sweden, brother to the late Duke John latelie here ; great preparations is made for his honorable receipt. (5) I thinke your Lordshippe hath herde of the deathe of the poore Lorde Audeley, (6) (yf so I maye be bolde to terme hym). I think a shreude wiff, the relicte of a merchaunt of London, sett hym forward, from whome, besyds her shreudnes, he did not atteyne the welth he loked for. Th'erle of Penbroke (7) is at Henden, and as yet dare not the physicians assure his recovery. The Countysse of Bedford is brought abed at Exeter of a daughter. Sir Nicholas Throgmorton hathe of late for some argument of favour a pattent of forty pounds' land well graunted in a tyme of her Highnes present great charges. And because I have sene a page of the chamber, one Russell, contented to serve in the chappell, I remember the olde Justice Mountague desendinge from the bench to the comon plees, saied it was warmer in the kichen then in the hall. By reason of the contynuance of the foule wether universall for Germany and England and Fraunce, to the rottinge of there grapes and not ripinge, corne hath byn at 6s. the busshell here in some parties, but fallen half in half at a second markett. About a moneth or five weekes paste, after that the Turque had somewhat prevayled at Jarby against Kinge Phillippe's armye, (8) certaiiie Turques, about a thousande men, came nere Nyce, where the Duke of Savoye laye, and betweene it and Vyllefrank, being six hundred in ambushe, made shewe and skyrmishe of four hundred, wherby they trayned out the Duke and his men, in which skyrmishe the Duke hardly escaped, losinge fifty or sixty gentylmen, whome he afterwards redemed by ransome. The Duke of Medena Celi loste his eldest sonne for prysoner to the Turque, and being caryed to Constantinople, it is supposed that his raunsome must be the surrender of a holde in Africa, the Duke's patrimony. Your Lordshippe hathe formerly harde that the Sophi (9) had favorablie receved Baissett, (10) the Turques sonne, though in disgrace with the father for th' affection the Jenesaries had to hym. Sythens the same Bassett, mystrustinge some practyce of his father, paste by confederesy betwixte the Sophi and a secretorye attendinge on the same Bassett, cauled the secretory to hym, and refusing to utter his conferensye, strake of his hed in his pryvat lodginge and the terrytorie of another state; which displesantly taken, provoked the practise, as semeth, for his delyvery, so farre fourth as the Sophi hathe nowe offred to sende him to the father agayne as prysoner. The manner of theire imprisonment is in a cage. The nowe Bishoppe of Rome (11) hath emprysoned upp dyvers Collonnas, the cardinalls, kynsmen to the late bishoppe, and others his favorites for their okle synnes and outragious dealings in tyme of abuse of there greetnes and authoritie. I have been a trewaunde a good tyme, moche absent from courte, at least for attendannce daylie, and so hope uppon collour of this progresseto get me downe into Suffolk. Thus I take my leve of your Lordshippe, prayinge God to sende the same al things prosperouse. From Grenewiche, the 25th of July, 1560. Even nowe came hether one of th'admeraltie, which attended the fleet dispersed from Lythe, amongest others conductors of the Frenche, who saieth they are four thousande in number, able soldyours. (12)

Your Lordshipp's humbly to command,

W. HONNYNG.

(1) " The Lord Montague is revoked from Spayne, and Sir Thomas Chamberlaine left as Lidger there." Letter to the Earl of Shrewsbury, May 16, 1560, in Lodge. Anthony Browne, first Viscounte Montague.

(2) Dr. May, who had been restored to his deanery of St. Paul's in 1559, when the bishopricks were filled with Protestants. Several of the sees had been left temporarily vacant, and particularly that of Yorke. The nomination of May at this time seems to have been done at the suggestion of Cecil, who, on his way to Scotland, writes from Scroby to Sir William Petre (June 4, 1560) : " I perceyve grete lack hereaway of a bisshopp of York. I thynke if you wold move her Majesty, she wold pass the congee d'eslyer for Dr. Maye ; suerly the sooner it be doone the better." (Haynes, p. 323). Dr May died before he was consecrated, and was buried at St. Paul's on the 12th of August of this same year.

(3) William Alley, of King's College, Cambridge, who being a reformer, had lived during Mary's reign in privacy, wandering about the north of England, and practising physic for a livelihood. He was consecrated bishop of Exeter, July 14, 1560, and had the temporalities given him on the 26th August. See Wood.

(4) John Parkhurst, was consecrated Bishop of Norwich on the first of Sept. 1560. He had lived in exile at Zurich during the reign of Mary. He was a great writer of Latin epigrams.

(5) Eric the Fourteenth, King of Sweden, at this time offered his hand to the Queen, and was believed to be on his way to England. John duke of Finland was Eric's brother, and had been sent by the late King Gustavus, their father, to negotiate the marriage. The prospect of so close an alliance with that country naturally made people curious about its history, and among other tracts on the subject we have one, by George de Corth, printed Oct. 28, 1561, entitled, " The Description of Swedland, Gotland, and Finland," and dedicated " To the ryght woorshipfull and hys syngular good mayster, Mayster Thomas Steuckley, Esquire."

(6) George Touchet, lord Audley. His wife was, according to the peerages, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Bryan Tuke, Knt. Treasurer of the Chamber to Hen. VIII.

(7) William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke, grand master of the household to Queen Elizabeth.

(8) After the Spanish fleet under the Duke of Medina Celi had been defeated, the Turks laid siege to the fort Gerba, which was held by Don Alvaro de Sande. When no succour arrived, Alvaro and his garrison in despair attempted to force their way through the enemy, but were nearly all slain. Alvaro was sent prisoner to Constantinople, but was liberated by a treaty of peace.

(9) The King of Persia.

(10) Bajazet.

(11) Pope Pius IV. (Angelo de Medecis). It was the custom among the English Protestants at this time to call the Pope the bishop of Rome.

(12) There is another sentence in the original, written by Honning's own hand, but which it is impossible to understand.