Acts and Monuments Volume 2 Part 2, Book 12 · Account 129 – Account 132
¶The stroke of Gods hand vponupon Henry .2. French king.
KIng Henry being in the Parliamēt house, which was kept at the Fryer Augustines at Paris, because ye Pallace was in preparing agaynst the mariage of hys daughter and his sister, and hauing heard the opinion in religiō of Anne du Bourg Counsaylour in the lawe, a man eloquent and learned, he caused the sayd Anne du Bourg and Loys du Faur Counsaylours, to be taken prisoners by ye Constable of Fraunce, who apprehended them, and delyuered them into the handes of the Countye of Mongommery, the which caryed them to prison. Agaynst whom the king being wrathfull and angry, among other talke, sayd to the sayd Anne du Bourg: These eyes of mine shall see thee burnt: And so on the 19. of Iune, Commission was geuen to the Iudges to make his Proces.
During this meane while, great feastes and banquets were preparing in the Courte, for ioy and gladnes of the mariage that should be of the kinges daughter and sister, agaynst the last day of Iune saue one.Henry. 2. the French king for… set agaynst the poore Protestantes. So when the day & tyme aboue prefixed was come, the king employed all the morning in examining as wel the Presidentes, as Counsaylours of the sayde Parliament agaynst these prisoners and other theyr companions that were charged with the same doctrine, which being done, they went to dinner.
The king after he had dyned, for that he was one of ye defendauntes at the Tourney, which was solemnly made in S. Anthonies Streate, neare to the prison where the foresayde Prisoners were committed, hee entred into the Lystes, and there in iusting: as the manner is, had broken many Staues right valiauntly as could be, runnyng as well agaynste the Countye of Montgommery, as other moe.
Whereupon he was highly commended of the lookers on. And because he had done so valiauntly,Henry. 2. the French king in his triumph iusteth agaynst Montgommery. and was thought nowe to hauehave done enough, hee was desired to cease with praise. But he being the more inflamed with hearing of hys prayse, woulde needes runne an other course wyth Montgommery: who then refusing to runne agaynst the king, and kneling vponupon his knees for pardon not to run: the king being egerly set, commanded him vponupon his allegeance to runne, and (as some affirme) did also him selfe put the staffe in his hand, vntounto whose handes he had committed the foresayd prisoners a little before.Montgommery agaynst his will commaunded to iuste agaynst the king. Montgommery thus being enforced whether he would or no, to run agaynst the king, addressed hymselfe after the best wyse to obey the kinges commaundement.
Whereupon he and the king met together so stoutly yt in breaking theyr Speares, the king was striken with the counter blowe, so right in one of hys eyes, by reasonne that the visour of his Helmet so sodenly fell downe at the same instaunt, yt the shiuers entred into hys head: so that ye braynes was peryshed, & thereupon so festred, that no remedy could bee founde, although Phisitions and Surgeons were sent for from all places in the Realme, as also frō Brabant by king Philip, but nothing auayled, so that the xj. day after, that is, the x. of Iuly. 1559. he ended his life in great dolour, hauing raigned xij. yeares, three monethes and ten dayes.
Henry 2. the French king stricken and killed in his owne iusting.Some report, that among other wordes he said, that he feared he was strickē for casting ye poore christians wrongfully in prisō: but the Cardinal of Loraine standing by (as he was alwayes at hād) sayd vntounto him, that it was the enemy that tempted him, & that he should be stedfast in the fayth. By this meanes the Hall which was prepared for a place of ioy and gladnes,The deuelishe perswasion of the Cardinall of Loraine at the death of the French king. did now serue for a Chappel to keep the corps, being dressed with blacke mourning cloth, & night and day t…ere was nothing heard but mournyng and lamenting for the space of xl, dayes.
About two yeares after this, which was the yeare of our Lord .1561. there were certayne Gentlemen put to death at Amboise,Certayne gentlemen executed at Amboyse for standing against the house of Guyse. for taking armes agaynst the house of Guise. Touching which Gentlemen, this is to be noted, that as one of thē should be brought to the place of executiō, where the other lay dead before him, he thrust his handes into the bloud of two of his companions which were there beheaded, and then lifting them vp to heauen, cryed with a loud voyce: Lord behold the bloud of thy childrē: thou wilt in time and place reuenge it.
Not long after the same, the Chancellor Oliuier, who was condemner of thē,The Lordes punishment vponupon the Chauncellour Oliuier for his sentence geuen agaynst certayne gentlemen Protestantes. The death of Fraunces. 2. french king after he began to withstande the course of the Gospell. How the Lord worketh for his Gospell. at the instigatiō and pursuit of the Cardinall of Loraine, through great remorse of cōscience fell sicke, and in a frensy casting out sighes vncessauntly, & afflicting himselfe after a fearefull and straūge fashion for his vnrighteous sentence, and more then barbarous cruelty, shriked vponupon a sodeyne with an horrible cry, & sayd: O Cardinall thou wilt make vsus all to be damned. And within a very few dayes after he dyed.
Fraunces the second of that name, king of Fraunce, at the perswasion of the Cardinall of Loraine & of certeyne others, caused an assēbly of the Estates of the realm in the towne of Orleans, among other things to mainteine the Papall See, to the ouerthrow of those which would lyue after the sincerity of the gospel: but being fallen sick, shortly after in the foresayd place, of a feuer, through an Impostume in his left eare, he dyed, the fourth of Decemb. 1561. hauing raigned but one yeare and about fiue monethes.
It was sayd of this king Fraunces (as the authour aboue mentioned reporteth) that when he was drawyng toward his end, the Cardinal of Loraine made him to say and pronounce these words which folow:The wordes of king Fraunces at his death. Lord forgeue me my trespasses, and impute not vntounto me the faultes which my ministers hauehave done vnderunder my name and authority.
Neither is it vnworthy of obseruation, that after the father happened in much like sort by gods mighty iudgement vponupon Carol. 9. his second sonne, & brother to Frances aboue mentioned, in these our latter dayes, who after the horrible and bloudy murder of the Admyrall,The terrible stroke of Gods reuenge vponupon Carol. 9. the French king. & other true professors of Christes Gospell, both men, womē, and children, to the nūber of many thousandes, of diuers Cityes, in so much that the prisōs & streetes are said to be coloured wt bloud, smoking after such a cruell sort, as in our time or country the like hath not hitherto bene sene: by the terrible stroke of gods iust reuenge, the same king, by credible report of stor…, is sayd to dye of bleeding, not onelyonly at his eares and nose, but in all other places of his bodye, where bloud might hauehave any issue.
Unto these afore recited historyes of king Henry and hys two Sonnes,The death of Charles the Emperour. might also be added the death of the Emperour Charles the fift. Who in like maner beyng an enemy, and a great terrour to the Gospell, was cut of like wise for doing any more hurt to the Church, muche about the same time, an. 1558. which was but three monethes before the death of Queene Mary, and ten monethes before the death of the sayd Henry the 2. Touching the death of which Charles and Henry, & Fraunces, this Epitaph folowing was written in Latine verses, and printed in the French story booke, aboue alledged.
Consilijs Christum oppugnans & fraudibus, ingens
Regum ille terror Carolus,
An Epitaphe vponupon Charles Emperour, Henry .2. French king, and Fraunces his sonne.Ipsis ridiculus pueris, furiosus & excors,
Totus repentè corruit.
Tu que Henrice, malis dum consultoribus vtens,
Sitis piorum sanguinem,
Ipse tuo vecors inopina caede peremptus,
Terram imbuisti sanguine.
Henrici deinceps sectans vestigia patris
Franciscus infoelix puer,
Clamantem Christum surda dum negligit aure,
Aure putrefacta corruit.
Versuti, fatui, surdi, haec spectacula Reges,
Vos sapere vel mori iubent.
Not long after Anne du Bourges death, the President Minard, who was a sore persecutour,The sodaine death of President Minard. and the condemner of the sayd Anne du Bourg, as he returned from the Pallace or Counsell chamber, to his owne house, beyng vponupon his Mule, euen hard by his house was slayne with a Dag but who was the doer thereof, or for what cause hee was slayne, for all the inquisition and dilligent searche yt coulde be made, it was neuer knowne.
Amongst many other examples worthy to be noted,The punishment of God vponupon the king of Nauarre after he had reuolted from the Gospell to Popery. let vsus also consider the end of the K. of Nauarre, brother to the worthy Prince of Condy, who after he had susteined a certayne time, the cause of the Gospell, at length being allured by the flattering words of ye Duke of Guise and the Cardinall of Loraine his brother, and vponupon hope to hauehave his landes restored againe, which the king of Spayne reteyned from him, was contented to alter his religion and to ioyne side with the Papists, and so being in camp with the Duke of Guise at the siege of Roane, was there shot in with a pellet. After which wound receiued, being brought to a towne three miles from the campe, called Preaux, hee did vehemently repent and lament his backsliding from ye Gospell, promising to God most earnestly, yt if hee might escape that hurt, he woulde bring to passe that the Gospell should be preached freely through all Fraunce: Notwithstanding within fiue or sixe dayes after he dyed.The Duke of Guyse sl…ine before Orleance. The Constable before Paris. The Marshall of S. Andrew before Dreux.
Neyther did the Duke of Guise himselfe, the greate Archenemy of God and his Gospell, continue in life long after that, but both he with ye whole triumuirat of France that is, three the greatest captayns of popery, were cut off for doyng any more hurt, to wit, the Duke of Guise before Orleance, the Constable before Paris, the Marshal of S. Andrew before Dreux.
¶Of the Emperour Sigismundus.
Amongest others, here is not to bee past ouer nor forgotten the notable examples of Gods iust scourge vppon Sigismundus ye Emperour, of whō mentiō is made before, in the condemnation of Iohn Husse, & Hierome of Prage, pag. 596. After the deathe and wrongfull condemnation of which blessed martyrs: nothing afterward went prosperously with the sayd Emperour, but all contrary: so that both he dyed without issue, & in his warres euer wēt to the worst. And not long after, Ladislaus his daughters sonne king of Hungary, fighting agaynst the Turk, was slayne in the fielde. So that in the tyme of one generation, al the posteritie & ofspring of this Emperor perished. Besides this, Barbara his wife came to suche ruine, by her wicked leudnes, yt she became a shame and slaunder to the name & state of all Queenes. Whereby all Christian princes and Emperours may sufficiently bee admonished, if they hauehave grace, what it is to defile themselues with the bloud of Christes blessed sayntes and Martyrs.
¶A note of Christopher Parker.
CHristopher Parker, called Parker the wilde, mentioned before in this booke of Monumentes, pag. 1986. who being a persecuter of Richard Woodman, did manacle his handes with a corde, did cast himselfe into a pond, and so drowned himselfe at Herstnonceux in Sussex, the 8. of September. 1575.
*The story of one Drayner of Kent, commonly called Iustice Nyne hooles.
I May not in this place omit the tragedy of one Drayner of Smarden in the Coun…y of Kent, Esquire,The story of one Drayner otherwise called Iustice nine holes. who bearing grudge against one Gregory Doddes, Parson of the sayde towne, for reprouing his vicious lyfe, sent for hym by two men, which tooke hym & brought him before him, where he was had into a Parlour, as it were to breakfast. In which behinde ye doore he had placed one Roger Mathew secretly, to beare witnes what he shuld say, no more being in sight but ye sayd Drayner & one of hys men, who willed and perswaded him to speake freely his minde, for that there was not sufficient record of his wordes to hurt him. But the Lord kept his talke without perill,A malitious practise to intrappe a good man. wherby the sayd Drayner sent hym to the next Iustice called M. George Dorell, who perceiuing it to be done more of malice thē otherwise, deliuered him vponupon sureties, to appeare at the next Sessions at Cant. and at length was banished the Countrey.
This sayd Drayner afterward, being chosen Iustice, to shew himselfe diligent in seeking ye trouble of his neighbors, made in ye Rodeloft nyne hooles, that he might looke about the church in Masse tyme. In which place alway at the sacring therof, he would stand to see who looked not, or held not vp his hands therto: which persōs so not doing, he would trouble & punish very sore. Wherby he purchased a name ther, & is called to this day Iustice nine holes: who now (God be thanked) is Iohn out of office, & glad of his neighbors good will.
It so fell out, that since this was published, the sayde Drayner came to the Printers house, with other associate, demaunding: Is Foxe here? To whome aunswere was geuen, that maister Foxe was not within. Is the Printer within (quoth Drayner? It was aunswered, yea: Wherevpon being required to come vp into his house, was asked what his will was. Mary, sayth he, you hauehave printed me false in your booke: Why sayth the Printer is not your name M. Drayner, otherwise called Iustice nine holes? It is false sayth he: I made but v. with a great Augure, and the Parson made the rest. It was answered: I hauehave not read that a Iustice shoulde make him a place in the Roode loft to see if the people held vppe theyr handes. He sayd where as you alleadge, that I did it to see who adored ye sacrament, or who not, it is vntrue: for I set as litle by it, as the best of you all. In deede sayth the Printer, so we vnderstand now, for you being at a supper in Cheapside among certaine honest company, and there burdened with the matter, sayd then, that you did it rather to looke vponupon fayre wenches, then otherwise. He being in a great rage▪ sware to the purpose, saying: Can a man speake nothing, but you must hauehave vnderstāding therof? But sayth he, did I any man any hurt? It was aunswered, that hee meant litle good to M. Doddes aforesayd, especially procuring a secret witnesse behinde his doore, to catche some wordes that might tend to Doddes destruction. Whiche thing, Drayner sware, as before, was not true. To whō the printer replied, that it was most true, for that the party there secretly hidden, hath since vponupon his knees, asking forgeuenesse for his intent, confessed the same to Doddes himselfe.Drayner conuict of falsehood. I will hang that knaue sayth he: And so he departed in a rage: and since is deceased, whose death & order therof, I referre to the secret Iudge.