The oration of king Richard the third to the chiefteins of his armie.
King Richard iustifieth himselfe and his gouernement.
My most faithfull and assured fellowes, most trustie & welbeloued fréends, & elected capteins, by whose wisedome and policie I haue obteined the crowne, and type of this famous realme, and noble region: by whose puissance & valiantnesse I haue inioid and possessed the state roiall & dignitie of the same, maugre the ill will and seditious attempts of all my cankered enimies, and insidious aduersaries: by whose prudent & politike counsell I haue so gouerned my realme, people, subiects, that I haue omitted nothing apperteining to the office of a iust prince: nor you haue pretermitted nothing belonging to the dutie of wise and sage councellors. So that I maie saie, and trulie affirme, that your approoued fidelitie & tried constancie, maketh me to beléeue firmelie, and thinke that I am an vndoubted king, and an indubitate prince.
And although in the adeption and obteining of the garland, I being seduced, and prouoked by sinister councell, and diabolicall temptation, did commit a wicked and detestable act: yet I haue with streict penance and salt tears (as I trust) expiated & cléerelie purged the same offense: which abhominable crime I require you of frendship as cléerelie to forget, as I dailie remember to deplore and lament the same. If ye will euen now diligentlie call to remembrance in what case and perplexitie we doo stand; and in what doubtfull perill we be all intrapped; I doubt not but you in heart will thinke, and with mouth confesse, that if euer amitie and faith preuailed betwéene prince and subiects, or betwéene subiect and subiect; or if euer bond of alegiance obliged the vassall to loue and serue his naturall souereigne lord; or if anie obligation of dutie bound anie prince to aid & defend his subiects; all these loues, bonds, and duties of necessitie are now this day to be tried, shewed, and put in experience.
He speaketh opprobriouslie of the earle of Richmond.
For if wise men saie true (as they doo not lie) there is some policie in getting, but much more in kéeping; the one being but fortunes chance, & the other high wit and policie. For which cause, I with you, and you with me, must néeds this day take labour and paine, to kéepe and defend with force, that preheminence and possession, which by your prudent deuises I haue gotten & obteined. I doubt not but you know how the diuell (continuall enimie to humane nature, disturber of concord, & sower of sedition) hath entered into the heart of an vnknowne Welshman (whose father I neuer knew, nor him personallie saw) exciting him to aspire and couet our realme, crowne, and dignitie, and thereof cléerelie to depriue and spoile vs and our posteritie. Ye sée further, how a companie of traitors, théeues, outlawes, and runnagates of our owne nation, be aiders and partakers of his feat and enterprise, readie at hand to ouercome and oppresse vs.
You sée also, what a number of beggerlie Britans and faint-hearted Frenchmen be with him arriued to destroie vs, our wiues and children. Which imminent mischéefs and apparant inconueniences, if we will withstand & repell, we must liue togither as brethren, fight togither like lions, & feare not to die togither like men. And obseruing and kéeping this rule and precept, beléeue me, the fearefull hare neuer fled faster before the gréedie greihound, nor the sillie larke before the sparrowhawke, nor yet the simple shéepe before the rauenous woolfe; than your proud bragging aduersaries, astonied and amazed with the onelie sight of your manlie visages, will flée, run, and skir out of the field. For if you consider and wiselie ponder all things in your mind, you shall perceiue, that we haue manifest causes, and apparant tokens of triumph and victorie.
The K. would persuade his capteins that the earle of Richmond is not warrior.
And to begin with the erle of Richmond capteine of this rebellion, he is a Welsh milkesop, a man of small courage, and of lesse experience in martiall acts and feats of warre, brought vp by my moothers meanes: and mine, like a captiue in a close cage in the court of Francis duke of Britaine; and neuer saw armie, nor was exercised in martiall affaires: by reason wherof he neither can, nor is able by his owne will or experience to guide or rule an hoast. For in the wit and policie of the capteine consisteth the chéefe adeption of the victorie, and ouerthrow of the enimies. Secondarilie feare not, but put awaie all doubts; for when the traitors and runnagates of our realme, shall sée vs with banner displaied come against them, remembring their oth, promise, and fidelitie made vnto vs, as to their souereigne lord and annointed king; they shall be so pricked and stoong in the bottome of their scrupulous consciences, that they for verie remorse and dread of the diuine plague, will either shamefullie flée, or humblie submit themselues to our grace and mercie.
Frenchmen & Britans great bosters small rosters.
And as for the Frenchmen and Britans, their valiantnesse is such, that our noble progenitors, and your valiant parts haue them oftener vanquished and ouercome in one moneth, than they in the beginning imagined possiblie to compasse and finish in a whole yeare. What will you make of them? braggers without audacitie, drunckards without discretion, ribalds without reason, cowards without resisting, and in conclusion, the most effeminate and lasciuious people that euer shewed themselues in front of battell; ten times more couragious to flée & escape, than once to assault the breast of our strong & populous armie. Wherefore considering all these aduantages, expell out of your thoughts all douts, auoid out of your minds all feare; and like valiant champions aduance foorth your standards, & assaie whether your enimies can decide and trie the title of battell by dint of sword. Aduance (I say againe) forward my capteines, in whome lacketh neither policie, wisedome, nor yet puissance. Euerie one giue but one sure stripe, & suerlie the iournie is ours. What preuaileth a handfull to a whole realme?
K. Richards vaine confidence and bootlesse courage.
Desiring you (for the loue that you beare to me) and the affection that you haue to your natiue and naturall countrie, and to the safegard of your prince & your selues, that you will this daie take to you your accustomed courage and couragious spirits, for the defense and safegard of vs all. And as for me, I assure you, this daie I will triumph by glorious victorie, or suffer death for immortall fame. For they be maimed and out of the palace of fame disgraded, dieng without renowme, which doo not as much prefer and exalt the perpetuall honour of their natiue countrie, as their owne mortall and transitorie life. Now saint George to borow, let vs set forward, and remember well, that I am he which shall with high aduancements reward and preferre the valiant and hardie champions, and punish and torment the shamefull cowards, and dreadfull dastards.
This exhortation incouraged all such as fauoured him; but such as were present (more for dread than loue) kissed them openlie, whome they inwardlie hated. Other sware outwardlie to take part with such, whose death they secretlie compassed, and inwardlie imagined. Other promised to inuade the kings enimies, which fled and fought with fierce courage against the king. Other stood still and looked on, intending to take part with the victors and ouercommers. So was his people to him vnsure and vnfaithfull at his end, as he was to his nephues vntrue and vnnaturall in his beginning. [How then was it possible that this princes regiment could long stand, séeing the preseruation and prorogation of his reigne consisted not in the loue of his subiects? In place wherof bicause feare (yea seruile and forced feare succéeded) he was the sooner forsaken of his people, whose harts fell from him as isicles from a penthouse in a sunnie daie; and in this case the poet saith truelie, and was well worthie of credit when he craued it, saieng:
Credite quem metuit quisq; perire cupit.]
The person of the earle of Richmond described.
When the earle of Richmond knew by his foreriders that the king was so néere imbatelled, he rode about his armie from ranke to ranke, & from wing to wing, giuing comfortable words to all men, and that finished (being armed at all péeces, sauing his helmet) mounted on a little hill, so that all his people might sée and behold him perfectlie, to their great reioising. For he was a man of no great stature, but so formed and decorated with all gifts and lineaments of nature, that he séemed more an angelicall creature, than a terrestriall personage. His countenance and aspect was chéerefull and couragious, his haire yellow like the burnished gold, his eies graie shining and quicke; prompt and readie in answering, but of such sobrietie, that it could neuer be iudged whether he were more dull than quicke in speaking (such was his temperance.) Now when he had ouerlooked his armie ouer euerie side, he paused awhile, and after with a lowd voice and bold spirit spake to his companions these, or the like words following.