The laboryouse iourney [and] serche of Iohan Leylande, for Englandes antiquitees geuen of hym as a newe yeares gyfte to Kynge Henry the viij. in the. xxxvij. yeare of his reygne, with declaracyons enlarged: by Iohan Bale

Iohā Bale to the Reader.

IN what estymacion Antyquytees haue bene had amonge men of graue wyt∣tes and iudgemen∣tes,* 1.1 the hystoryes whyche are, as testy¦fyeth Cicero, the mastresses of lyfe & exposytours of tymes, haue not omyt∣ted to declare. The most auncyent and authorysable Antiquytees are those, whych Moses left to the Hebrues, and Berosus to the Caldeanes, as moste precyouse treasure, and lyuelye memo∣ryalles in wrytinge, that both the Ie∣wes and the Gentyles,* 1.2 and in them all nacyons of the worlde myghte therby knowe theyr orygynall begynnynges. What hath bene done besydes in the partycular Kyngedomes abroade by theyr antique wryters, it is knowne to them whyche haue of longe time bene

exercysed in the readyng of theyr most auncyēt chronycles. Though Gyldas Badonicus do reporte on the one syde, in his fyrst treatise de excidio Britanniae, that all the olde monumentes of the Brytaynes hadde peryshed afore hys tyme, and were partlye brente by the enemyes, and partlye conueyed into other landes by them that fledde from hens. And although that Bedas Gir∣minus also on y^e other syde,* 1.3 in settynge fourth the hystorye of the Englyshe Saxons, doth omyt the Antiquytees of the seyd Brytaynes their predeces∣sours, partly of hate, as it is supposed, and partly for want of theyr olde wry∣tynges. Yet remayned there of late yeares in serten lybraryes of thys re∣alme (I haue seane parte of them) the moste worthye monumentes,* 1.4 concer∣nynge Antiquite, of Ninianus, Patri∣cius, Ambrosius Merlinus, Gildas Albanius, Merlinus Syluester, Thele¦sinus, Melkinus, Kentigernus, Nen∣nius, Samuel, & other lyke,* 1.5 of whome the more parte wrote longe afore them.

But thys is hyghly to be lamented, of all them that hath a naturall loue to their contrey,* 1.6 eyther yet to lerned An∣tiquyte, whyche is a moste syngular bewty to the same. That in turnynge ouer of y^e superstycyouse monasteryes, so lytle respecte was had to theyr lybra∣ryes for the sauegarde of those noble & precyouse monumētes. I do not denye it, but the monkes,* 1.7 chanons, & fryres, were wycked both wayes, as the oyled Byshoppes and prestes for the more part are yet styll. Fyrst for so much as they were the professed souldyours of Antichrist, & next to that, for so muche as they were moste execrable lyuers. For these causes, I must confesse them most iustly suppressed. Yet this would I haue wyshed (and I scarsely vtter it wythout teares) that the profytable corne had not so vnaduysedly and vn∣godly peryshed wyth the vnprofyta∣ble chaffe,* 1.8 nor the wholsome herbes with the vnwholsome wedes, I meane the worthy workes of men godly myn∣ded, and lyuelye memoryalles of our nacyon, wyth those laysy lubbers and

popyshe bellygoddes.* 1.9 But dyuerse were the workers of thys desolacyon, lyke as the thynges dyssypated were dyuerse. The veryte and promyse of our eternall God, made an ende of the popes dysguysed rable, as it wyll do of hys remnaunt, whyche are wele knowne by their frutes. All plantes (sayth Christe) whyche my heauenlye father hath not planted,* 1.10 shall be pluc∣ked vp by the rootes, least anye longar the blynde leaders shoulde leade the blynde multytude. Math. xi.

Auaryce was the other dyspatcher, whych hath made an ende both of our lybraryes and bokes wythout respecte lyke as of other moste honest commo∣dytees,* 1.11 to no small decaye of the com∣men welthe. Cyrus the Kynge of Per∣seanes (as testifyeth Esdras) had a no∣ble lybrary in Babylon,* 1.12 for the conser∣uacyon both of the landes Antiquytees & also of the prynces actes, lawes, & commaundementes, that whan neces∣syte shoulde requyre it, the certentie of thynges myghte there be sought and founde out. i. Esdre. vi. Nehemias the* 1.13

Prophete made a lybrarye also, and gathered into it bokes from all con∣treyes, specyally the bokes of the pro∣phetes and of Dauid, the epystles and actes of the kynges, with sertē annota¦cyons and writynges, Iudas Macha∣beus addynge dyuerse vyctoryes to the same. ij. Ma••ha. ij. Thus are buylders of lybraryes commended in the scrip∣tures, than must their destroyers haue of the same,* 1.14 their iustly deserued infa∣myes, namelye whan couetousnesse is founde the most busy doar, whose wor¦kes are alwayes to be detested. Wher∣fore Salomon sayth: A dyscrete & iuste rular muche profyteth a lande, where a couetouse rauenour destroyeth it agayne, Prouer. xxix. O most wycked auaryce,* 1.15 Saynte Paule calleth the a worshyppynge of ydolles, whyche is a takynge awaye of all godly honour, Collos. iij. He sayth, thou art suche a temptacyon and snare of the deuyll, as bryngeth all to perdycyon. Yea, he re∣porteth the to be the roote of all my schefe. i. Timot. vi. Nothynge vpon earth (sayth Iesus Syrach) is so euyll,

as a couetouse man. Eccle. x.

Neuer had we bene offended for the losse of our lybraryes,* 1.16 beynge so many in nombre, and in so desolate places for the more parte, yf the chiefe monu∣mentes and moste notable workes of our excellent wryters, had bene reser∣ued. If there had bene in euery shyre of Englande, but one solēpne lybrary, to the preseruacyon of those noble wor¦kes, and preferrement of good lernyn∣ges in oure posteryte, it had bene yet sumwhat. But to destroye all without consyderacyon,* 1.17 is and wyll be vnto Englande for euer, a moste horryble infamy amonge the graue senyours of other nacyons. A great nombre of thē whych purchased those superstycyouse mansyons, reserued of those lybrarye bokes, some to serue theyr inkes, some to scoure theyr candelstyckes, & some to rubbe their bootes. Some they solde to the grossers and sope sellers,* 1.18 & some they sent ouer see to y^e bokebynders, not in small nombre, but at tymes whole shyppes full, to the wonderynge of the foren nacyons. Yea, the vnyuersytees

of thys realme, are not all clere in this detestable fact. But cursed is that bel∣lye, whyche seketh to be fedde with suche vngodly gaynes, and so depelye shameth hys natural cōtreye. I knowe a merchaunt man,* 1.19 whych shall at thys tyme be namelesse, that boughte the cō∣tentes of two noble lybraryes for. xl. shyllynges pryce, a shame it is to be spoken. Thys stuffe hath he occupyed in the stede of graye paper by the space of more than these. x. yeares, & yet he hath store ynough for as many yeares to come. A prodygyuose example is this,* 1.20 & to be abhorred of all men which loue their nacyon as they shoulde do.

O cyties of Englande, whose glory standeth more in bellye chere, than in the serche of wysdome godlye. How cometh it, that neyther you, nor yet your ydell masmōgers,* 1.21 haue regarded thys most worthy commodyte of your contrey? I meane the conseruacyon of your Antiquytees, and of the worthy labours of your lerned men: I thynke the renowme of suche a notable acte, wolde haue much longar endured, thā

of all your belly bākettes & table tryū∣phes, eyther yet of your newely pur∣chased hawles to kepe s. Georges feast in.* 1.22 What els made y^e auncyent Grekes & Romanes, famouse to the world, but suche vertuouse & necessary prouysyōs in their commen welthes? What els hath made the Iewes now an obscure nacyon, but the decaye of their kynge∣dome & continuall destruccyons besy∣des. Yea, what maye bryng our realme to more shame & rebuke,* 1.23 than to haue it noysed abroade, that we are despysers of lernynge? I iudge thys to be true, & vtter it wyth heauynesse, that neyther ••he Brytaynes vnder the Romanes & Saxons, nor yet the Englyshe people ••ndre the Danes and Normānes, had ••uer suche dāmage of their lerned mo∣••umētes,* 1.24 as we haue seane in our time. Oure posteryte maye wele curse thys ••ycked facte of our age, thys vnreaso¦••able spole of Englandes moste noble ••ntiquytees, vnlesse they be stayed in me, and by the art of pryntynge be ••ought into a nōbre of coppyes. The ••ukes kepte thē vndre duste, the ydle

headed prestes regarded thē not,* 1.25 theyr lattre owners haue moste shamefullye abused thē & the couetouse merchaūtes haue solde thē away into forē nacions for moneye. Steppe you fourth now last of all, ye noble men & women (as there are in these dayes a great nōbre of you most nobyllye lerned,* 1.26 prayse be to God for it) and shewe your naturall noble hartes to your nacyon. Treade vndre your fete the vnworthy exāples of these Herostrates or abhomynable destroyars. And brynge you into the lyghte, that they kept longe in the dar∣kenes, or els in these dayes seketh vt∣terly to destroye. As ye fynde a notable Antyquyte,* 1.27 suche as are the hystoryes of Gildas & Nēnius amonge the Bry¦taynes, Stephanides & Asserius amōg the Englyshe Saxons, lete them anon be imprented, & so brynge them into a nombre of coppyes, both to their and your owne perpetuall fame. For a more notable poynt of nobylyte can ye not shewe, thā in suche sort to bewtyfie your contrey,* 1.28 & so to restore vs to suche a truthe in hystories, as we haue longe

wanted. We haue the fable of Dio∣clecyane & hys. xxxiij. Doughters,* 1.29 and how thys realme was called Albion ab albis rupibus, wyth lye and all, but the veryte as yet we haue not, how thys lāde was fyrst inhabyted. If we fynde them mixed wyth superstycyons, we shall measure them by the scriptures, & sumwhat beare with the corrupcyon of their tymes.* 1.30 Vnknowne is it not vnto you, but that the most noble con∣querours of the worlde, haue euermore had in muche pryce the Antiquytees of storyes, and haue lerned of them the thynge which hath most incresed their worthy fame.

Now come we to the author of thys present treatyse, whyche plenteouslye hath declared the abundaunce of a no∣ble harte to hys contreye. Thys was Iohan Leylande,* 1.31 an excellent oratour and poete, moreouer a man lerned in many sondrye languages, as Greke, Latyne, Frenche, Italion, Spanyshe, Brittyshe, Saxonyshe, Walshe, En∣glyshe, and Scottyshe. A most feruent fauourer was thys man, and a moste

dylygent sercher of the Antiquytees of thys oure Englyshe or Bryttyshe nacyon,* 1.32 as wyll apere not onelye by thys treatyse folowynge, but also by many other notable workes whyche he hath lernedly compyled. Bycause I wyll not stande alone in the prayse of hym and hys worthye actes, I wyll now brynge fourth an other wytnesse,* 1.33 a man lerned and louynge hys contrey also, whych wrote vnto me. iij. yeares ago, dolourouslye lamentynge hys soden fall. Maistre Leyande (sayth he) whose prynted workes I haue sent yow, is in suche a frenesy at thys pre∣sent, that lytle hope I haue of hys re∣couer, wherby he myghte fynyshe such thynges as he began, and would haue ended, yf lyfe, helthe, and ryghte rea∣son had serued hym therunto. There be dyuerse whyche (by report of hys enemyes,* 1.34 as Polydore Vergyle and others) saye, that he wolde neuer haue set fourth suche thynges as he promy∣sed, affirmynge hym to be a vayne∣gloryouse persone, whyche woulde promyse more, than euer he was able

or intended to perfourme.

I muche do feare it that he was vaynegloryouse, and that he had a poetycall wytt, whyche I lament,* 1.35 for I iudge it one of the chefest thynges that caused hym to fall besydes hys ryghte dyscernynges. But thys dare I be holde to saye, as one that kno∣weth it (for I sawe and redde of them in his stody, dyuerse and many tymes) that he neuer promysed to set fourth so manye workes as he had dygested in an ordre,* 1.36 and had in a forwarde redy∣nesse to haue set fourth. And surelye in suche a sort he handeled the matters by hym treated of, that (by my symple iudgement) if he had so fynyshed them and set them fourth accordynge as he than intended and wolde haue done. Truly I suppose no lesse, but it wolde haue byn a wondre (yea,* 1.37 a myracle to the worlde) to haue redde them. And that all other authors, whyche haue wrytten of vs and of oures in tymes paste, concernynge thynges memora∣ble, to be chronycled, eyther yet put in writynge, shoulde haue bene counted

but as shaddowes, or of small estyma¦cyon in respect of hym. So lernedlye, lyuelye, euydently, and groundedlye, and with such authorytees (Yea,* 1.38 and as it were wyth a serten maiestie) woulde he haue fullye and whollye paynted, described, or set fourth thys oure realme and all thynges therin, wyth all the domynyons therof, and wyth all suche thynges as haue from tyme to tyme byn done in them.

I was as famylyarlye acquaynted wyth hym,* 1.39 as wyth whome I am best acquaynted, and do knowe certenlye, that he from his youth was so ernestly studyouse and desperouse of our Anti∣quytees, that alwayes hys whole stu∣dyes were dyrected to that ende. And for the true and full attaynynge ther∣unto, he not onlye applyed hym selfe to the knowledge of the Greke and Latyne tongues, wherin he was (I myghte saye) excellentlye lerned. But also to y^e stodye of the Bryttyshe, Saxo¦nyshe, & Walshe tongues,* 1.40 & so muche profyted therin, that he most perfitelye vnderstode them. And yet not herwyth

all content, he dyd fully and whollye both labour and trauayle in hys owne persone, throughe this our realme and certen of the dominiōs therof, because he woulde haue the perfyte and full knoweledge of al thynges that myghte be gathered or learned, bothe for thyn∣ges memorable, and for the sytuacyon of the same. And as for all authors of Greke,* 1.41 Latyne, Frenche, Italian, Spa¦nyshe, Bryttyshe, Saxonyshe, Walshe Englyshe, or Scottyshe, towching in any wyse the vnderstandynge of oure Antiquitees, he had so fully redde and applyed them, that they were in a man∣ner grassed in hym as of nature. So that he myght well cal him selfe Anti∣quarius.

Surely my frynde, I can not therfore but lament this hys estate, boldelye af∣firminge,* 1.42 that Englande neuer sawe (nor as I beleue, shal se, excepte God saye Amen therto) a man to him herin in al thynges to be compared. For vn∣doubted he was in these matters won∣derfull and peerlesse, so that as con∣cerninge them, Englande had yet ne∣uer

a greater losse. But what shall we saye? It hath pleased god that he shuld thus be depryued of hys wyttes, that lord knoweth best what he hath to do, hys name for euermore blessed.* 1.43 But thys shalbe my prayer styll, that yf the Lorde wyll not geue hym his ryghte vnderstandinge agayne, that it maye yet pleased his goodnesse, to put in the mindes of some that best may, to do it. That not only such thinges as maistre Leylande intended to haue set fourth of hys owne,* 1.44 but also suche olde au∣thors as he hath gathered together into hys lybraryes (and as yet not prynted) may (and that with spede) be set fourth in prynte, for the necessary knowledge of all men touchynge Antiquitees. But after suche rate and forte as Maystre Leylande hym selfe (yf hys ryght rea∣son had serued hym, woulde haue set them fourth, for that do I neuer loke. But hereof ones to make an ende as Terence feately sayth,* 1.45 ut quimus, quan∣do ut uolumus non licet. We must do as we may, when we can not do as we woulde, All these are the testymo∣nies

of my frynde.

Thus am I not alone in opynyon concernyng Iohan Leylande and such other for Antiquitees sake, but haue so manye more with their good willes to assiste me as naturallye fauoreth En∣glande.* 1.46 By thys worthye propertye (sayth Cassiodorus) is a noble citezen knowen. He seketh the cōmodite, praise and aduauncement of hys countreye. Swete is the remembraunce of a man∣nes naturall lande, to hym that is ab∣sent. The byrdes that flye abroade, do loue their owne nestes. The beastes that ronne astraye,* 1.47 seketh their accusto¦med cowches. And the fyshes within the water, resorteth to their hollow dē∣nes. Ryght notably was it alleged of Plato, that we are not borne onlye to our owne commoditees. But we ought to haue respect both to our countrey & kyndred. Of our natural countrey we haue our parētes, our fode, our norish∣mēt, frendship, frindes, acquayntaūce howse, wyfe, chyldren, with such lyke. The fathers in the olde lawe,* 1.48 had such an inwarde loue to their natyue soyle,

that they woulde no where els be buri∣ed. Though Christ our moste louynge maystre sayde it. That a Prophete is not withoute honour but in his owne countrey and kindred. Matth. xiij. Yet bewtifyed it he aboue al nacyons, both with his doctrine and miracles, alled∣gynge many of their noble Antiquitees in Noe, Loth, Abraham, Isaac, Iacob, Dauid, Salomon, Elias, Eliseus, and other to confirme thē in the true faith. He that naturallye loueth hys lande, obeyeth therwyth the commaundemen¦tes of God concernyng the loue of his neyber, and the faythful obedyence of kynges. Whych I instaūtly desyre al godly subiectes to folow, to the prayse of him which gaue those necessa∣rye com∣maundementes.

So be it.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Antiqui¦tees.
• * 1.2

  peoples
• * 1.3

  Bedas.
• * 1.4

  Lybra∣ryes.
• * 1.5

  wryters
• * 1.6

  Loue.
• * 1.7

  Mōkes.
• * 1.8

  abbeyes
• * 1.9

  lubbers
• * 1.10

  Masmō∣gers.
• * 1.11

  couetyse
• * 1.12

  Cyrus.
• * 1.13

  Nehe∣mias.
• * 1.14

  Destro∣yers.
• * 1.15

  Auaryce
• * 1.16

  Lybra∣ryes.
• * 1.17

  Destruc¦cyon.
• * 1.18

  grossers
• * 1.19

  A Mer∣chaunt.
• * 1.20

  An exā∣ple.
• * 1.21

  norwich
• * 1.22

  Gylde hawles.
• * 1.23

  Englād
• * 1.24

  dāmage
• * 1.25

  Prestes.
• * 1.26

  nobylite
• * 1.27

  Antiqui∣tees.
• * 1.28

  Cōtreye
• * 1.29

  Fables.
• * 1.30

  Corrup¦cyon.
• * 1.31

  Leylāde
• * 1.32

  Antiqua¦rius.
• * 1.33

  A wit∣nesse.
• * 1.34

  Oblocu¦tours.
• * 1.35

  Lamen∣table.
• * 1.36

  workes
• * 1.37

  A won∣dre.
• * 1.38

  Autory∣tees.
• * 1.39

  Acquain¦ted.
• * 1.40

  Tōgues
• * 1.41

  Authors
• * 1.42

  Dolo∣ously.
• * 1.43

  〈◊〉〈◊〉
• * 1.44

  Old wri¦ters.
• * 1.45

  Terenci¦us.
• * 1.46

  Not al∣one.
• * 1.47

  Creatu∣res.
• * 1.48

  Fathers