THE

HISTORY OF THE CIVIL WAR.

BOOK I.

ARGUMENT.

What times forego Richard the Second's reign; The fatal causes of this civil war:

His uncle's pride; his greedy minions gain : Gloc'ster's revolt, and death, deliver'd are. Her'ford, accus'd, exil'd, call'd back again, Pretends t' amend what others rule did mar. The king from Ireland hastes, but did no good; Whilst strange prodigious signs foretoken blood.

SING the civil wars, tumultuous broils,

And bloody factions of a mighty land;
Whose people haughty, proud with foreign spoils,
Upon themselves turn back their conq'ring hand:
Whilst kin their kin, brother the brother foils;
Like ensigns all, against like ensigns band:
Bows against bows, the crown against the crown;
Whilst all pretending right, all right's thrown down.

What fury, O what madness held thee so,
Dear England, (too too prodigal of blood)
To waste so much, and war without a foe;
Whilst France, to see thy spoils, at pleasure stood!
How much might'st thou have purchas'd with less

Come, sacred Virtue; I no Muse, but thee,
Invoke, in this great labour I intend.
Do thou inspire my thoughts: infuse in me
A power to bring the same to happy end.
Raise up a work for later times to see,
That may thy glory and my pains commend:
Make me these tumults rightly to rehearse;
And give peace to my life, life to my verse.

And thou, Charles Montjoy, who did'st once afford
Rest for my fortunes on thy quiet shore,
And cheered'st me on these measures to record
In graver tones than I had us'd before;
Behold, my gratitude makes good my word
Engag'd to thee, although thou be no more;
That I, who heretofore have liv'd by thee,
Do give thee now a room to live with me.

And Memory, preserv'ress of things done,
Come thou, unfold the wounds, the wrack, the waste;
Reveal to me how all the strife begun
'Twixt Lancaster and York, in ages past:
How causes, counsels, and events did run,
So long as these unhappy times did last;
Unintermix'd with fictions, fantasies:
I versify the truth, not poetize.

And to the end we may with better ease
Discern the true discourse, vouchsafe to show
What were the times foregoing, near to these,
That these we may with better profit know.
Tell how the world fell into this disease;
And how so great distemperature did grow:
So shall we see by what degrees it came;
How things at full do soon wax out of frame.

Ten kings had from the Norman conq'ror reign'd ',
With intermix'd and variable fate,

When England to her greatest height attain'd
Of power, dominion, glory, wealth, and state;
After it had with much ado sustain'd

The violence of princes, with debate

1 Which was in the space of 260 years.

For titles, and the often mutinies
Of nobles, for their ancient liberties.

For first, the Norman 2 conq'ring all by might,
By might was forc'd to keep what he had got;
Mixing our customs and the form of right
With foreign constitutions he had brought;
Mast'ring the mighty, humbling the poorer wight,
By all severest means that could be wrought;
And, making the succession doubtful, rent
This new-got state, and left it turbulent.

William 3 his son tracing his father's ways,
(The great men spent in peace, or slain in fight)
Upon depressed weakness only preys,

And makes his force maintain his doubtfull right:
His elder brother's claim vexing his days,
His actions and exactions still incite;
And giving beasts what did to men pertain,
(Took for a beast) himself in th' end was slain.

His brother Henry 4 next commands the state;
Who, Robert's title better to reject,
Seeks to repacify the people's hate;
And with fair shows, rather than in effect,
Allays those grievances that heavy sat;
Reforms the laws, which soon he did neglect:
And 'reft of sons, for whom he did prepare,
Leaves crown and strife to Maud his daughter's care.

Whom Stephen3, his nephew, (falsifying his oath)
Prevents; assails the realm, obtains the crown;
Such tumults raising as torment them both,
Whilst both held nothing certainly their own:
Th' afflicted state (divided in their troth,
And partial faith) most miserable grown,
Endures the while; till peace, and Stephen's death,
Gave some calm leisure to recover breath.

When Henry, son to Maud the empress, reigns,
And England into form and greatness brought;
Adds Ireland to this sceptre, and obtains
Large provinces in France; much treasure got,
And from exactions here at home abstains:
And had not his rebellious children sought

2 1067. William I. surnamed the Conqueror, the base son to Robert VI. duke of Normandy, reigned twenty years and eight months; and left the crown of England to William, his third son, contrary to the custom of succession.

3 1087. William II. had wars with his elder brother, Robert duke of Normandy; with whom his uncle Otho, and many of the nobility of England, took part. He was slain hunting in the New Forest, by sir Walter Tyrrell shooting at a deer, when he had reigned thirteen years.

4 1100. Henry I. the youngest son of William the Conqueror, reigned thirty-five years and four months; whose sons (William and Richard) being drowned in the seas, he leaves the crown to Maud, first married to the emperor Henry IV. and after to Geoffrey Plantagenet, earl of Anjou.

5 1135. Stephen, son to the earl of Blois and Adela, daughter to William the Conqueror, invades the kingdom, contends with Maud the empress for the succession, and reigned tumultuarily eighteen years and ten months.

6 1154. Henry II. son of Geoffrey Plantagenet, earl of Anjou, and Maud the empress, associated

T' embroil his age with tumults, he had been
The happiest monarch that this state had seen.
Him Richard 7 follows in the government;
Who much the glory of our arms increas'd,
And all his father's mighty treasure spent,
In that devoutful action of the east:
Whereto whilst he his forces wholly bent,
Despite and treason his designs oppress'd;
A faithless brother, and a fatal king,
Cut off his growth of glory in the spring.
Which wicked brother, contrary to course,
False John, usurps his nephew Arthur's rights;
Gets to the crown by craft, by wrong, by force;
Rules it with lust, oppression, rigour, might;
Murders the lawful heir without remorse :
Wherefore procuring all the world's despite,
A tyrant loath'd, a homicide convented,
Poison'd he dies, disgrac'd, and unlamented.

Henry his son is chosen king, though young,
And Lewis of France (elected first) beguil'd;
After the mighty had debated long,
Doubtful to choose a stranger or a child:
With him the barons (in these times grown strong)
War for their ancient laws so long exil❜d.
He grants the Charter, that pretended ease;
Yet kept his own, and did his state appease.

Edward 1o, his son, a martial king, succeeds;
Just, prudent, grave, religious, fortunate:
Whose happy-order'd reign most fertile breeds
Plenty of mighty spirits, to strength his state;
And worthy minds, to manage worthy deeds,
Th' experience of those times ingenerate :
For, ever great employment for the great,
Quickens the blood, and honour doth beget.

And had not his misled, lascivious son,
Edward the Second ", intermitted so
The course of glory happily begun,
(Which brought him and his favourites to woe)
That happy current without stop had run
Unto the full of his son Edward's flow:
But who hath often seen, in such a state,
Father and son like good, like fortunate ?

his son Henry in the crown and government; which turned to his great disturbance, and set all bs sons (Henry, Richard, Geoffrey, and John) against him. He reigned thirty-four years and seven months.

7 1189. Richard went to the holy wars, was king of Jerusalem; whilst his brother John, by the help of the king of France, usurped the crown of England. He was detained prisoner in Austria, redeemed, and reigned nine years and nine months.

8 1199. King John usurps the right of Arthur, son to Geoffrey, his elder brother; and reigns sẽventeen years. He had wars with his barons; whe elected Lewis, son to the king of France.

91216. Henry III. at nine years of age was crowned king, and reigned fifty-six years.

to 1272. Edward I. had the dominion over this whole island of Britain; and reigned gloriously thirty-four years, seven months.

111307. Edward II. abused by his minions, and debauched by his own weakness, was deposed from his government, when he had reigned nineteen years and six months; and was murthered in prison.