Mother Shiptons prophesies: with three and XX. more, all most terrible and wonderfull, predicting strange alterations to befall this climate of England. Viz. 1. Of K. Richard the III ... 23. A prophesie of David, Cardinall of France, &c.

* 1.1WHen she heard that King Henry the 〈…〉〈…〉 Wolsey should be at Yorke she said that Cardinall Wolsey shou•…•… never come to Yorke, which the King and the Cardinall hearing, being ang•…•… sent the Duke of Suffolk and the L. Darcy to her, who came with their 〈◊〉〈◊〉 disguised to the Kings house near York, where leaving their men they went 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Mr. Besly in York, and desired him to goe with them to Mother Shiptons house, where whe•• they came they knocked at the doore, she said, Come in Mr. Besly, and those honorable Lor•…•… with you, and Mr. Besly would have put in the Lords before him; but shee said come in M•…•… Besly you know the way but they doe not. This they thought strange that she should kno•• them and never saw them; then they went into the house, where there was a great Fire, an•• they dranke and were very merry. Mother Shipton said the Duke, if you knew what we ca•…•… about, you would not bid us so welcome, shee said, the Messenger should not be hange•…•… Mother Shipton said the Duke, you said the Cardinall should never see Yorke; yea said she, •• said he might see Yorke but never come at it. But said the Duke, when he comes to Yorke tho•• shalt be burned; wee shall see that said she, and plucking her Handkercher off her head, sh•• threw it into the fire, and it would not burne, then she tooke her staffe and turned it into th•• fire, and it would not burne, then she tooke and put it on againe. Then said the Duke, wha•• meane you by this? She replyed, if this had burned J might have burned, Mothe•…•… Shipton quoth the Duke, what thinke you of me? My Lord said she, the time wi•…•… come a 1.2 you will be as low as I am, and that is a low one indeed.

My Lord Piercy said, and what say you of me? My Lord said shee, Shooe you•• Horse in the quick and you shall do well but your b 1.3 bo¦dy will be buried in York Pavement, and your Head sha•…•… be stolne from the Barre and carried into France; At whic•• they all laughed saying, that would be a great lop betwee•• the Head and the Body. Then said the Lord Darcy, an•• what thinke you of me? She said, you have made a grea•• Gunne, shoot it off for it will never doe you any good; you are going to Warre, you will paine many a man, but kill ••one: So they went away.

Not long after the Cardinall came to Cawood and going to the top of the Tower, He asked where stands York and how farre it was thither; And said that one said, that he should never see Yorke: nay said one, she said you might see Yorke, but never come at it. He vowed to burne ••er when he came to York. Then they shewed him York, and told him it was but Eight miles •…•…ence, he said that he would soone be there; but being sent for by the King, he dyed in his way to London at Leicester of a Laske. And Shiptons wife said to Mr. Besly yonder is a •…•…ne •…•…all built for the Cardinall in the Minster of gold, Pearle and precious Stones, goe and pre∣•…•…nt one of the Pillers to King Henry and he did so.

••r. Besly seeing these things fall out as she had foretold, desired her to tell him some more of 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Prophesies, Mr. Besly said sh••e, before that c 1.4 Owse-bridge and Trinity Church meet the•…•… shall build on the Day, and it shall fall in the Night, untill they get the highe•…•… stone of Trinity-steeple to be the lowest stone of Owse Bridge.

That the day will come when the North shall rue it wondrous sore, but the South shall rue it for evermore; when Hares kindle on cold hearth d 1.5 stones, and lads shall marry Ladies and bring them home, then shall you have a yeare of pining hunger, and then a dearth without Corne, a woful! day will be seene in England, a King and a Queene.

The first comming of the e 1.6 King of Scots shal be at Holgate Town, but he shall not come in through the Barre, and when the King f 1.7 of the North shall be at London, his tayle shall be at Edinborough.

After this shall water g 1.8 come over Owse-bridge, and a Wind-mill shall be set on a tower; and an Elme-tree shall lye at every mans doore, and at that time Women shall weare great hats and great bands.

And when there is a Lord Major h 1.9 at Yorke, let him beware of a stab.

When two Knights i 1.10 shall fall out in the Castle-yard, they shall never bee kindly all their lives after.

When all Colton k 1.11 hag hath borne crops of Corne, seven yeares after you shall heare newes, there shall two Judges l 1.12 goe in and out at Walmgate barre.

Then Warres shall begin in the Spring, Much woe to England it shall bring: Then shall the Ladies cry well away, That ever we liv'd to see this day.

Then best for them that have the least, and worst for them that have the most; You shall not know of the warte over night yet you shall have it in the morning: and when it comes it shal last three yeares; between Cardon and Aire shall be great warfare, when all the world is lost, it shall bee called Christs Croft. When the battell begins, it shall be where m 1.13 Crook-back Ri∣chard ••egan his fray.

They shall say to warfare for our King, for half a Crowne a day, but stirre not, (they will say) to warfare for your King on paine of hanging, but stirre not; for he that goes to com∣plaine, shall not come back againe. The time will come when England shall tremble and quake for feare of a dead man that shal be heard to speak: Then will the Dragon give the Bull a great snap, & when the one is down they will go to London town: Then there will be a great battell between England and Scotland, and they will be pacified for a time, and when they come to Brammamore they fight, and are againe pacified for a time, then there will be a great battell betweene England and Scotland at •…•…tockmore: Then will a Raven sit on the n 1.14 Cross, and drinke as much

bloud of Nobles as of the Cōmons, then woe is me, for London shalbe destroyed for ever 〈◊〉〈◊〉

There will come a woman with one Eye, and she shall tread in many mens bloud to 〈◊〉〈◊〉 knee; and a man leaning on a staffe by her, she shall say to him, what art thou? And he sh•…•… say, J am the King of Scots, and she shall say, goe with me to my house, for there are th•…•… Knights, and he will goe with her, and stay there three dayes and three nights, then will En••¦land be lost, and they will cry twice a day, England is lost. Then there will be three Knigh•…•… in Petergate in Yorke, and the one shall not know of the other;. here shall be a Child bo•…•… in Pomfret with three thumbs, and those 3 Knights will give him three horses o 1.15 to hold while they winne England, and all Noble blood shall be gone but one; and they shall carry him to Sheriffe-Huttons Castle, six miles from York, and he shall dye ther, and they shall chuse there an Earle in the field, and hanging their Horses on a thorne, will rue the time that ever they were borne to see so much blood shed. Then they will come to Yorke to be∣siege it, and they shall keep them out three dayes and three nights, and a penny loafe shall be within the Bar at half a Crown, and without the bar at a penny; and they will sweare if they will not yeeld, to blow up the Town-walls; Then they will let them in, and they will hang up the Major, Sheriffs and Aldermen, and they will goe into Crouch Church, there will three Knights goe in, and but one come out againe, and hee will cause Proclamation to be made, that any man may take house, tower, or bower for 12. yeares, and while the world endureth there shal never be warfare againe, nor any more Kings or Queenes; but the Kingdom shall be governed by three Lords, and then York shall be London. And after this shall bee a wh•…•… harvest of Corne gotten in by women. Then shall be in the North, that one woman shall •…•…y unto another; Mother J have seene a Man to day, and for one man there shall be a thousand women: There shall be a man sitting on St. James Church-hill weeping his fill; And after that a Ship come sayling up the Thames till it come against London, and the Mr. of the Ship shall weepe, and the Marriners shall aske him why he weepeth, being he hath made so good a voyage, and he shall say; Ah what a goodly City this was, none in the world comparable to it, and now there is left scarce any house that can let us have drinke for our money.

Vnhappy he that lives to see those dayes, But happy are the dead Shipton wife sayes: In the world old age this woman did fore-tell, Strange things shal hap, which in our time have f••ll

Notes

• * 1.1

  Note that this Prophesie was never exactly printed before.
• a 1.2

  The Duke was afterward Beheaded.
• b 1.3

  This proved true, for hee rose in rebellion in the North; and by not flying when he might, hee was taken and beheaded in York, where his body was buried, and his Head was stolne away and carried into France, tem∣pore Eliz. Reg.
• c 1.4

  This came 〈◊〉〈◊〉 passe; for •…•…ty steeple 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Yorke was blowne downe with a tempest, and Owsebridge was broken down with a great flood; and •…•…at they did in repairing the Bridge in the day time with the stone of the steeple, fell down in the nigh•…•… •…•…ill they remembring this Prophesie, laid the highest stone of the steeple for foundation of the bridg•…•… 〈◊〉〈◊〉 then the worke stood. And by this was partly verified another of Mother Shipton: Prophesies, viz. •…•…at her Maid should live to drive her Cow over Trinity steeple.
• d 1.5

  Supposed to be meant by suppression of Abbias & other Religious houses, and at the Lord Wil: How•…•…ds house at Naworth, a Hare came and kindled in his Kitchin upon his hearth.
• e 1.6

  This was ful∣filled in K, Iam••s comming to; for such multitude of People stood at Holgate bar to behold him, as that to avoid the presse, he was forced to ride another way
• f 1.7

  When K. Iames was at London, his children were at Edenbrough, preparing to come into England.
• g 1.8

  This is verified by the con∣ducting of water into Yorke streets through bored Elmes? and the Conduit house hath a Wind-mill on the top this drawes up the water
• h 1.9

  A Lord Major whose house was in the Minister yard in York, was killed with three stabs.
• i 1.10

  Sir T. Wentworth, and Sir John-Savill, in choosing Knights for the shire, in the Castle yard at Yorke, did so fall out, that they were never well reconciled.
• k 1.11

  Colton hagge in her time was Woodland ground full of Trees, which bore Corne 7. yeares, and the 7•…•…h yeare after that was the yere of the comming in of the Scots, and their taking of Newcastle.
• l 1.12

  In the year 1616. two Iudges of As∣size went out at a gate in Yorke, where never any Iudges were knowne to goe out before.
• m 1.13

  Neare Leice•…•…er where Richard the 3 was slaine in battell, there Col Hasting•• was one of the first in arms, endeavouring to settle the commission of Array in op∣position to others that were setling the Militia.
• n 1.14

  It is to be no∣ted and admired, that this Cross 〈◊〉〈◊〉 ••hiptons dayes was a tall stone Cross, which ever since hath been by degrees sinking into the ground, and 〈◊〉〈◊〉 is sunke so low, that a Raven may fit upon the top of it, and reach with her bill to the ground.
• o 1.15

  There is a Child not many yeares since born at Pomfret, with three Thumbs.