The intimation of Gartier king of armes to the Edenburghers.
Abr. Fl. ex Edw. Hall. fol. Ccxlvij.
I Gartier king of armes, seruant, proctour and messenger vnto the most high and mightie prince, my most dread souereigne lord Edward, by the grace of God king of England and of France, and lord of Ireland, by vertue of certeine letters of procuracie here readie to be shewed to me, by my said souereigne lord made and giuen, make notice and giue knowledge vnto you prouost, burgesses, merchants and communaltie of the towne of Edenburgh in Scotland, that whereas it was sometime communed and agreed betweene my said souereigne lord on the one partie, and the right high & mightie prince Iames king of Scots on the other partie, that mariage and matrimonie should haue beene solemnized, and had betweene Iames the first begotten sonne of the said king of Scots, and ladie Cicilie, daughter to my said souereigne lord the king of England.
And for the said mariage to haue been performed, certeine and diuers great sums of monie beene paied and contented by my said souereigne lord, which summes of monie, in case of refusall of the said mariage, by my said souereigne lord to be made and declared, yée the said prouost, burgesses, merchants, and communaltie, and euerie one of you are bound and obliged by your letters, vnder your common seale of your towne of Edenburgh, to repaie vnto his highness vnder like forme, & at such termes as they were first paied. So that the king my souereigne lord would make notice and knowledge of his pleasure and election in taking or refusing of the said mariage, of the repaiment of the said sums of monie, before the feast of Alhalowes next to come; like as in your said letters, bearing date at Edenburgh the fourth daie of August last past, it was conteined all at large.
The pleasure and election of my said souereigne lord, for diuerse causes and considerations him moouing, is to refuse the accomplishment of the said mariage, and to haue the repaiment of all such summes of monie, as (by occasion of the said betrusted mariage) his highnesse had paied. The said repaiment to be had of you prouost, burgesses, merchants, and communaltie, and euerie of you, your heires and successours, according to your bond and obligation afore rehearsed. And therefore I giue you notice & knowledge by this writing, which I deliuer vnto you, within the terme in your said letters limited and expressed, to all intents and effects, which thereof may insue.
When Gartier had thus declared all things giuen to him in charge, the prouost and other burgesses made answer, that they now knowing the kings determinat pleasure, would (according to their bond) prepare for the repaiment of the said summes; and gentlie interteining Gartier conueied him to Berwike, from whence he departed to Newcastell, to the duke of Glocester, making relation to him of all his dooings: which duke with all speed returned to Shrithuton, and there abode. Shortlie after Gartiers departing, the duke of Albanie, thinking to obteine againe the high fauour of the king his brother, deliuered him out of captiuitie and prison, wherin he had a certeine space continued (not without the dukes assent, which besieged him in the castell of Edenburgh a little before) and set him at large, of whome outwardlie he receiued great thanks, when inwardlie nothing but reuenging & confusion was in the kings stomach fullie setled. So that shortlie after in the kings presence he was in ieopardie of his life, and all vnprouided for dread of death, constrained to take a small balinger, and to saile into France, where shortlie after riding by the men of armes, which incountered at the tilt, by Lewes then duke of Orleance, after French king, he was with mischarging of a speare by fortunes peruerse countenance pitifullie slaine and brought to death, leauing after him one onelie son named Iohn, which being banished Scotland, inhabited and maried in France, and there died.
How dolorous, how sorrowfull is it to write, and much more painefull to remember the chances and infortunities that happened within two yeares in England and Scotland, betwéene naturall brethren. For king Edward, set on by such as enuied the estate of the duke of Clarence, forgetting nature and brotherlie amitie, consented to the death of his said brother. Iames king of Scots, putting in obliuion that Alexander his brother was the onelie organ and instrument, by whome he obteined libertie & fréedome, seduced and led by vile and malicious persons, which maligned at the glorie and indifferent iustice of the duke of Albanie, imagined and compassed his death, and exiled him for euer. What a pernicious serpent, what a venemous toade, and what a pestiferous scorpion is that diuelish whelpe, called priuie enuie. Against it no fortresse can defend, no caue can hide, no wood can shadow, no fowle can escape, nor no beast can auoid. Hir poison is so strong, that neuer man in authoritie could escape from the biting of hir téeth, scratching of hir pawes, blasting of hir breth, & filth of hir taile. Notable therefore is the Gréeke epigram in this behalfe, touching enuie of this kind, which saith, that a worsse thing than enuie there is not in the world, and yet hath it some goodnesse in it: for it consumeth the eies and the hart of the enuious. The words in their owne toong sententiouslie sound thus:
ὁ φθόνος ἐσὶ κάκιϛον, ἐχει δὲ τὶ καλὸν ἐν ἀυτῷ,
τήκα γὰρ φθονδρῶν ὀμματα καὶ κραδίαν
Although king Edward reioised that his businesse came to so good a conclusion with the Scots, yet he was about the same time sore disquieted in his mind towards the French king, whome he now perceiued to haue dallied with him, as touching the agreement of the mariage to be had betwixt the Dolphin and his daughter the ladie Elizabeth. For the lord Howard, being as then returned out of France, certified the king (of his owne knowledge) how that he being present, saw the ladie Margaret of Austrich daughter to duke Maximilian, sonne to the emperor Frederike, receiued into France with great pompe and roialtie, and at Ambois to the Dolphin contracted and espoused. King Edward highlie displeased with such double and vniust dealing of the French king, called his nobles togither, and opened to them his gréefes; who promised him for redresse thereof, to be readie with all their powers to make warres in France at his pleasure and appointment.
But whilest he was busie in hand to make his purueiance for warres thus against France, whether it was with melancholie and anger, which he tooke with the French kings dooings and vncourteous vsage; or were it by any superfluous surfet (to the which he was verie much giuen) he suddenlie fell sicke, and was so gréeuouslie taken, that in the end he perceiued his naturall strength in such wise to decaie, that there was little hope of recouerie in the cunning of his physicians, whome he perceiued onlie to prolong his life for a small time. Wherefore he began to make readie for his passage into another world, not forgetting (as after shall appeare) to exhort the nobles of his realme (aboue all things) to an vnitie among themselues. And hauing (as he tooke it) made an attonement betwixt the parties that were knowne to be scant freends, he commended vnto their graue wisedoms the gouernment of his sonne the prince, and of his brother the duke of Yorke, during the time of their tender yeares. But it shall not be amisse to adde in this place the words which he is said to haue spoken on his death-bed, which were in effect as followeth.