[Basilikon dōron]: neu, Athrawiaeth i fawredh yw anwylaf fab Henri'r tywyfog. Basilikon doron: or, His maiesties instructions to his deerest sonne, Henrie the prince: / Wedi i gyfiaethu i'r gwir Frit tannaiah aeg trwy dhyfalrwydh a thrafael M. Robert Holland, gwenidog eglwys Lhan Dhyfrwr. ; Ac achau mawrhydi'r brenhin a hanesferr yr amferoedh berthyna dwy i'rheini gwedyi i cafclu, i crynhoy au gofod ar lawr mewn trefn gan M. Siers Owen Harri gwenidog yr eglwys wen Yngihemmeis..

❧TO THE MOST VER∣TVOVS, MOST HIGH AND MIGHTY Prince, IAMES, by the grace of God, King of great BRITAIN, FRANCE & IRELAND, Defender of the true ancient Catholique and Apostolique faith, &c. Grace and peace from God the father through Christ Iesus our Lord.

THE people of Israel, the posterity of SEM (most high and mighty Prince) haue for many good cōsideratiōs, care∣fully and very religiously obserued and kept the Genealogies and Pedegrees of their Ancestors, as may be seene in the sacred scriptures in the Histories, both of that Princely Prophet and sweet seruant of God Moses; and also of the blessed & holy Euangelists: whose example therin the line of Iaphet (hauing interest in the Tents of Sem, as it appeared then by their Fathers blessing, and much more now by the fruits therof) haue indeuoured to mayntaine the same with all sincerity, as well appea∣reth by the learned labours of the Bardies among your Noble and most worthy Ancestors the olde BRY∣TAINES: and yet contynued to this day by their off-spring the posteritie of Camber your Maiesties loyal and louing subiects: A Nation of great antiquity, kee∣ping their countrey, and contynuing their language so long a tyme inuiolate without change or mixture. For Brutus landed heere 2711. yeres agoe, when ELI was Priest in Israel, & died, as Histories doe record, when Samuel was president of that people. And among many other vertues of this Nation (which I omit to speak of,

least my prolixitie should offend your Maiestie) this is not the least, that they did so soone and so readyly re∣ceiue the Religiō of Christ by the preaching of Ioseph of Arimathea, that very fewe nations entred into the tentes of Sem before them: and none held more strict∣ly that profession, long and louingly, then they, as it did appeare by their obedience euen to the death.

The consideration wherof mooued me your Maie∣sties meanest vassal, least able of thousands, to effect any thing worthie your Highnes view, and therefore most vnworthy to preasse into your presence, (were it not that your Maiesties milde and louing nature did, as a Loadstone, draw me) to vndertake this labour, and to translate into the true Brittish tongue, your Highnesse Instructions to your dearest sonne, and our most graci∣ous Prince, so grauely, so godly, & so learnedly set down: first penned and purposed for his priuate vse, then vpon occasions made cōmon to your louing subiects of Eng∣land & of Scotland: Yet notwithstanding your good sub∣iectes no lesse loyall then they, the very remnant of the ancient Bryttaines, earnestly desiring to enioy so great a benefit as to heare your Maiestie so speak vnto them as they might well vnderstand, haue not hytherto had it: Wherfore, somewhat to content thē, but much more in regard your Maiesty doth allow & like the language, & the kingly care you haue of the soules of so many thou∣sands of your people, which would starue, if the bread of lyfe (the word of God) should not bee broken vnto them, so as they might make vse therof, feed thereon in deed, and receiue it in substance, not in shew, all lettes that may hinder it, (as your Maiestie hath in a godly zeale determined) being remooued: I haue done for both my best; & the better to further the same, I haue entreated my louing brother and fellow Minister M. George Owen Harry, to assist me therin, by ioyning his la∣bours

with mine (which both iointly we lay downe at your highnes feet) by which work our desire is aswel to let your Maiestie see what interest this Nation hath in you, being so oft & that of both sides descended frō the Kings, Princes, & greatest nobles of our coūtry, besides the right we clayme in you now as you are our dread soueraigne King & gouernor, whō God preserue and continue long among vs: And also the right & interest which the same good God hath giuen your Maiestie in vs the people of this land, after so long a separation of the Kingdomes of England and Scotland, and so many diuisions of Locrinus and Cambers partes, the one being brought by the Saxons into 7. kingdomes, the other by Roddery the great into 3. Principalities; the which distractions Christ pronounceth to be tokens of desola∣tion; and no doubt they were great signes of Gods hea∣uy indignation for the sinnes of this land: But hee (whē his wrath was afterward somwhat asswaged, for∣gettyng our deserts) gaue tokens againe of his loue, be∣ginning in your highnes Ancestors by litle and litle to reconcile and ioyne together what before he had put asunder; though he did not fully vnite the whole, vntil he had brought in Brutus right heire (your Highnes) one lyneally descended of him, whō hee also deliuered wonderfully from many daungers, and reserued pur∣posely to accomplish in, what his diuine Maiestie had by an holy Angell (as some write) vouchsafed to re∣ueale to your great Ancestor king Kadwalader, concer∣nyng the revniting of these dissolued members, and the reducing of this whole Iland to a sole Monarchie, to be possessed by one of his owne posteritie, as it hath plea∣sed him to effect and bring now to passe in your High∣nes, ending all diuisions, quarels, and effusion of Chri∣stian blood, with the end of his owne yeere, and begin∣ing

our reioycyng, for such a comfortable blessing and exceeding great happines on that day, which was or∣dayned to bee hallowed, in remembrance that the Al∣mightie, by the ministerie of his blessed messenger, had made the conception of his Sonne and our Sauiour known vpon it, which ordinance euer sithence allowed and contynued in his church, is made vnto al your Ma∣iesties louing subiects a high and a double feast, being partakers both of that heauenly blessing, and of this ter∣restrial benefit vpon one and the very same day in our heauenly and earthly Princes, Christ the right heire of Gods whole inheritance, and your Maiestie, whom he hath appoynted to be his Lieutenant and rightful Lord next vnder himselfe of these earthly kingdomes, to bee possessed by you and your posterity wee hope, vntil the dissolution of all: for what he had in his secret coun∣sell decreed concerning the settling of the Crowne and Scepter of your Highnes dominions, he hath by his in∣finite wisdome fully effected in your Royall Maiestie, the true, lawfull, and vndoubted heire therof, as it ap∣peareth by all their titles that euer made clayme there∣vnto since first Brute enioyed it, and as may be seen (be∣ginning with the last) by your Line from Henry the 7. (in whom the long diuided Houses of Lancaster and Yorke were vnited) to William the Conqueror, making good your interest by that title. And next, the title of the Saxons, whose 7. kingdomes were reduced into one by king Egbert, descending rightly (most dread soueraign) vnto your selfe by the mariage of Margaret (daughter & heire of Edward the outlawe) to Malcolme Camoyre king of Scotland: which Magaret (the title of William the Cōquerour set aside) was lawful Inheritix to the crown and kingdom of England, as lyneall heire to Edward the Confessor: So that, if the title of a conquest make not a

right to a kingdome, yet this way agayne your title is good by a more auncient right; by that interest which for many yeeres sithence hath descended vpon your Maiesties Auncestors the Kings of Scotland, as right heires to the said Margaret. And yet besides al this, you haue a more auncient interest and title then that, lyne∣ally and hereditarily descended vnto your most Royal Maiestie (the auncientest title of all other) euen that of your BRITTISH line from the first Inhabiter of this Iland: And the same by the thrice-Noble, mag∣nanimous, and most worthy Gentleman of happy me∣mory (who was of affinitie and kinred to the mightiest Princes and greatest Potentates of Christendome) e∣uen Owen Tydyr, who was lawful heire therof by his fa∣thers mariage, Tydyr ap Grono to the daughter of Thomas Llewelyn ap Owen, & that without all question, after the attainder of Owen Glyndwr, whose mother was another daughter of the said Thomas Llewelyn ap Owē, which Tho∣mas was lineally heire to Rees ap Tewdwr Prince of Wales: lineally descended from Rodri the great, sole and ab∣solute Prince of Wales, lineally descended & next heire to Cadwalader, the last king of the Brittains, lineally de∣scended frō Brute: which Pedegree, my fellow labourer hath directly and truely set downe, to the satisfiyng of all such as loue and like, that your Maiestie, the Issue of his loynes, should sway the Crowne & Scepter of this whole Monarchy, and the stopping of all malignant mouthes, which either maliciously or ignorantly shall speake against the same, they not considering that the righteous Lord (in this) hath so looked now downe from heauen vpon vs, that he hath caused his Mercy & Trueth to meete together in our Land: yea, Righte∣ousnes and Peace to kisse each other. Here another would take occasion to speak of your hereditary title to

the kingdome of Hierusalem, as rightful heire to Godfrey of Boleigne the first Christian king of that holy land, and one of the nine Worthies; the title wherof (I am per∣swaded) you haue best interest vnto, the which your Maiesties learned Heraldes know well, to whom, being so apparent a Trueth (as it can not bee denied) I will leaue it. This worke as it is, how willyng soeuer vn∣dertaken, had made a Period diuers times, if three wor∣shipfull Gentlemen had not put to their helps to quic∣ken our faynting hands in a matter so full of Maiestie, as might haue daunted very great spirits: Sir Iames Perrot that good knight euer exhortyng and encoura∣ging me to go on with it, as one willing euery way to haue the vertues of your Maiesties mind made known to all men: The other two, Iohn Phillips of Picton, and George Owen of Henllys in Kemeis in the Countie of Pen∣broke Esquiers, the one supplying my wants with neces∣saries for me & mine, least any thing should hinder it: the other (whose wisdome and learning is well knowen to as many Noble men and Gentlemen as know him, (which are not a few) directing me and my fellow in this Worke, as will appeare very well to such as haue knowledge in these things, and are acquainted with the Gentleman, all three expressyng hereby their affec∣tions and loyaltie to your Maiestie, and the louing re∣gard they haue of their Countrey, now thorough the goodnesse of our euer-merciful God adorned with that precious Iewell which theirs and our hearts much de∣sired to see, a sweet & gracious Prince, whose presence amongst vs would wonderfully reioyce all your High∣nesse Subiects heere, whose Weale it would procure with much contentment to their hearts: and a taste of the tongue (which he now might easely attaine vnto) would verily hereafter please and satisfie him, as being

thereby made able both to speake vnto his people, and also to vnderstand them speaking vnto him, without interpretors, as Mithridates could doe, and was great∣ly commended therfore: A matter of very great mo∣ment and much desired to bee in Princes: for, Officers many times in the Ecclesiasticall and ciuill state, the Church and common weale, grow rich, & the people poore, where the chiefest Gouernours know not their complaints. Hereof, least I be accounted sawcie, or noted for a Statesman, no more but DIV VIVAT REX IACOBVS, the Lord of Lordes and King of Kings, who hath euer defēded his, preserue & streng∣then your Maiestie to accomplish and performe that good worke which he hath begun in you, to the glory of his name, and the benefit of his Church: And that he so settle your Crowne and Scepter in you and your posterity, as the same may neuer haue end, while Sunne and Moone endureth: which he graunt for his Christ his sake. Amen.

Your Maiesties most loyall and louyng Subiect, ROBERT HOLLAND.

Notes

• Gen. 4 17. Gen. 5.1. &c. Gen. 10. Mat. 11. Luke. 3. Gen. 9.26.27.
• Bal. de illust. Brit. script. fol. 9 Pont. Vi∣run. Brit. Hist. lib. 1 fo. 6.
• Reade hereof Io. Foxe fo: 480.481.610. Io. Foxe fo: 219. ex Iornal. Fa¦bian. et aliis.