A bill exhibited to the parlemēt against the clergie.
In the second yeare of his reigne, king Henrie called his high court of parlement, the last daie of Aprill in the towne of Leicester, in which parlement manie profitable lawes were concluded, and manie petitions mooued, were for that time deferred. Amongst which, one was, that a bill exhibited in the parlement holden at Westminster in the eleuenth yeare of king Henrie the fourth (which by reason the king was then troubled with ciuill discord, came to none effect) might now with good deliberation be pondered, and brought to some good conclusion. The effect of which supplication was, that the temporall lands deuoutlie giuen, and disordinatlie spent by religious, and other spirituall persons, should be seized into the kings hands, sith the same might suffice to mainteine, to the honor of the king, and defense of the realme, fiftéene earles, fiftéene hundred knights, six thousand and two hundred esquiers, and a hundred almesse-houses, for reliefe onelie of the poore, impotent, and néedie persons, and the king to haue cléerelie to his coffers twentie thousand pounds, with manie other prouisions and values of religious houses, which I passe ouer.
The archbishop of Canturburies oration in the parlement house.
This bill was much noted, and more feared among the religious sort, whom suerlie it touched verie néere, and therefore to find remedie against it, they determined to assaie all waies to put by and ouerthrow this bill: wherein they thought best to trie if they might mooue the kings mood with some sharpe inuention, that he should not regard the importunate petitions of the commons. Wherevpon, on a daie in the parlement, Henrie Chichelie archbishop of Canturburie made a pithie oration, wherein he declared, how not onelie the duchies of Normandie and Aquitaine, with the counties of Aniou and Maine, and the countrie of Gascoigne, were by vndoubted title apperteining to the king, as to the lawfull and onelie heire of the same; but also the whole realme of France, as heire to his great grandfather king Edward the third.
The Salike law.
Mesina.
Herein did he much inueie against the surmised and false fained law Salike, which the Frenchmen alledge euer against the kings of England in barre of their iust title to the crowne of France. The verie words of that suppose'd law are these, In terram Salicam mulieres ne succedant, that is to saie, Into the Salike land let not women succéed. Which the French glossers expound to be the realme of France, and that this law was made by king Pharamond; whereas yet their owne authors affirme, that the land Salike is in Germanie, betwéene the riuers of Elbe and Sala; and that when Charles the great had ouercome the Saxons, he placed there certeine Frenchmen, which hauing in disdeine the dishonest maners of the Germane women, made a law, that the females should not succéed to any inheritance within that land, which at this daie is called Meisen, so that if this be true, this law was not made for the realme of France, nor the Frenchmen possessed the land Salike, till foure hundred and one and twentie yeares after the death of Pharamond, the supposed maker of this Salike law, for this Pharamond deceassed in the yeare 426, and Charles the great subdued the Saxons, and placed the Frenchmen in those parts beyond the riuer of Sala in the yeare 805.
Moreouer, it appeareth by their owne writers, that king Pepine, which deposed Childerike, claimed the crowne of France, as heire generall, for that he was descended of Blithild daughter to king Clothair the first: Hugh Capet also, who vsurped the crowne vpon Charles duke of Loraine, the sole heire male of the line and stocke of Charles the great, to make his title séeme true, and appeare good, though in déed it was starke naught, conueied himselfe as heire to the ladie Lingard, daughter to king Charlemaine, sonne to Lewes the emperour, that was son to Charles the great. King Lewes also the tenth otherwise called saint Lewes, being verie heire to the said vsurper Hugh Capet, could neuer be satisfied in his conscience how he might iustlie kéepe and possease the crowne of France, till he was persuaded and fullie instructed, that quéene Isabell his grandmother was lineallie descended of the ladie Ermengard daughter and heire to the aboue named Charles duke of Loraine, by the which marriage, the bloud and line of Charles the great was againe vnited and restored to the crowne & scepter of France, so that more cléere than the sunne it openlie appeareth, that the title of king Pepin, the claime of Hugh Capet, the possession of Lewes, yea and the French kings to this daie, are deriued and conueied from the heire female, though they would vnder the colour of such a fained law, barre the kings and princes of this realme of England of their right and lawfull inheritance.
The archbishop further alledged out of the booke of Numbers this saieng: "When a man dieth without a sonne, let the inheritance descend to his daughter." At length, hauing said sufficientlie for the proofe of the kings iust and lawfull title to the crowne of France, he exhorted him to aduance foorth his banner to fight for his right, to conquer his inheritance, to spare neither bloud, sword, nor fire, sith his warre was iust, his cause good, and his claime true. And to the intent his louing chapleins and obedient subiects of the spiritualtie might shew themselues willing and desirous to aid his maiestie, for the recouerie of his ancient right and true inheritance, the archbishop declared that in their spirituall conuocation, they had granted to his highnesse such a summe of monie, as neuer by no spirituall persons was to any prince before those daies giuen or aduanced.
The earle of Westmerland persuadeth the king to the conquest of Scotland.