Sixte, which lyeth directly before the Castle. At the end of this Bridge was a wonderous stronge Bulwarke, well ordinaunced & wel manned. The Emperours mē saw þ^t they could do nothyng to the Pope, nor to that porte of the Citie, but by the bridge, determined to assaulte the Bulwarke, and so, as men without feare, came on the bridge, and the Romaines so well defended them, that they slue almost. iiij. M. men. MarginaliaThe Bulwarke of the Romaines besieged and taken.That seing the Prince of Orenge, and the Marques of Gnasto, with all spede gaue assaulte, and notwithstanding that the Romaines shot great ordinaunces, handgonnes quarelles, and all that might be shot: yet the Imperiall persones neuer shranke, but manly entered the Bulwarke and slue and threw downe, out at the loupes, all the Romaines that they founde, and after rased the Bulwarke to the grounde. The Pope was in the Castle of S. Angell, & beheld this fight, and with hym were xxiij. Cardinals, of which one called the Cardinall Sanctorum quatuor, or the Cardinall of Pouche, was slayne, and with him were a. M. Prelates and Priestes v. C. Gentlemen. v. C. Souldiers: MarginaliaThe Castle of S. Angell besieged.wherfore immediatly the Captaines determined to lay siege to the Castle of S. Angell, lest they within might issue out & turne them to damage: wherfore sodeinly a siege was plāted round about the Castle.

MarginaliaRome spoyled.In the meane season the souldiers fell to spoyle. Neuer was Rome so pylled, either of the Gothes, or Vandales, for the Souldiers were not content with the spoyle of the Citizens, but they robbed the Churches, brake vp the houses of close religious persons, and ouerthrew the Cloisters and spoyled virgines, and rauished maryed women. Men were tormented if they had not to geue euery new asker or demaunder: some were strangled, some were punished by the pryuie mēbers, to cause them to confesse their treasure. This woodnes continued a great while, and some man might thinke that when they had gotten so much, then they would ceasse and be quiet, but that was not so, for they played continually at dyce, some. v. C. some a M. Ducates at a cast: and he that came to play laden with plate, went agayne almost naked, and then fell to ryfelyng agayne. Many of the Citizens whiche could not paciently suffer that vexation, drowned them selues in Tyber. MarginaliaThe Pope mocked & scorned openly in Rome, before hys own face.The Souldiers dayly that lay at the siege, made Iestes of the Pope. Somtime they had one riding like the Pope with a whore behynd hym, sometyme he blessed, and sometyme he cursed, and sometyme they would with one voyce call him Antichrist: and they went about to vndermine the Castle, and to haue throwen it downe on his head, but the water that enuironeth the Castle, disapoynted their purpose.

In this season the Duke of Vrbine, with xv. M. mē, came to ayde the Pope: but hearyng that Rome was taken, he taried. xl. mile from Rome, till he heard other worde. The Marques of Saluce, and Syr Frederico de Bodso with. xv. M. footemē and a. M. horsemē, were at Vitarbe the. x. day of May: where they hearing that þ^e Citie of Rome was takē, also taried. The Cardinall of Colume, came with an armye of Neapolitans to helpe the Emperours men: but when he saw the crueltie of the Souldiers, he did litle to helpe them, but he hated them much.

MarginaliaThe Pope besieged and taken.The Byshop of Rome was thus besieged till the viij. Ides of Iuly, at whiche day he yelded hym selfe for necessitie and penury of all thynges in the Castel, and then he was restored to geue Graces & graunt Bulles as he did before: but he taried still in þ^e Castle of S. Angell, and had a great nomber of Almaynes and Spanyardes to kepe hym: but the Spanyardes bare most rule in the Castle, for no man entred nor came out of the Castle but by thē. MarginaliaWarre and pestilence in Rome.When the moneth of Iuly came, corne began to fayle in Rome, and the pestilence begā to waxe strong: wherfore the great armye remoued to a place called Naruia: xl. myle from Rome, leauyng behynd them such as kept the Byshop of Rome.

When they were departed, the Spanyardes neuer were contented till they had gotten the Almaynes out of the Castle of S. Angell, and so they had the whole custodie of the Pope. And thus much for the sackyng of Rome. Ex Paralip. Abbat. Vrsper.

MarginaliaThe Cardinall bestyrreth hym for the Pope.When the Cardinall here in Englande, heard how his father of Rome was taken prisoner, he began to stirre coales, and hearyng of hys captiuitie hee laboured with the kyng all that hee might, to stirre hym vp, to fight with the sayd Pope agaynst the Emperour, and to bee a defendour of the Churche: whiche if he would doe, the Cardinall perswaded him that he should receaue great reward at Gods hād. To whom the king aunswered agayne and sayd in this maner: My Lord, I more lament this euill chaunce, then my tongue can tell, but where you say I am the defendour of þ^e fayth, I assure you, MarginaliaThe Pope fighteth for temporall possessions.that this warre betwene the Emperour and the Pope, is not for the fayth, but for temporall possessions and dominions, and now sith Pope Clement is taken by men of warre, what should I doe? My person nor my people can not rescue him, but if my treasure may helpe hym, take that whiche semeth to you most conuenient. Thus the Cardinall, when he could not obteyne at the kynges handes what he would, in styrring him vp to mortall warre, MarginaliaXij. score thousand poundes conueyed out of England, by the Cardinall.he made out of the kinges treasure, xij. score thousand poundes, whiche he caryed ouer þ^e Sea with hym. After this, the Cardinall sent his commission as Legate, to all the Bishops, commaundyng fastynges and solempne processions to bee had, MarginaliaA newe found Letanie of the Lord Cardinals making.wherein they did sing the Letanie after this sorte, Sancta Maria, ora pro Clemente Papa. Sancte Petre, ora pro Clemente Papa, and so forth, all the Letanie.

This Cardinall passyng the Seas with the foresaid summes of money, departed out of Callis, accōpanyed with Cuthbert Tunstall Byshop of London, the Lord Sandes the kynges Chamberlaine, the Earle of Darbye, Syr Henry Guilford, and Syr Thomas Moore, with many other Knightes and Squiers, to the number of xij. hundred horse, hauyng in hys cariage lxxx. wagones, and lx. moyles and sumpter horses.

It were long to discourse in this place, the manifold abuses and treasons, which he practised when he came to the Frenche Court at Amias, cōuertyng the great summes of money, which before you heard he had obteined of the kyng, for the relief & rāsome of Pope Clement, whiche at þ^t tyme was prisoner in þ^e Emperours armie, MarginaliaWarre waged by the Cardinall.& bestowed the same in the hyring of souldiours and furnishing out the French kynges armye, appointyng also certeine Englishe Captaines in the kyng of Englandes name, to go agaynst the Emperour, to rescue the Pope: all which army was payd with the kyng of Englandes money.

Besides that, he priuely by his letters, caused Carētius, kyng of the Armes, to ioyne with the French Heraulde, and openly to defie þ^e Emperour: wherby there began great displeasure to ryse betwen the Emperour & the kyng, but that the Emperour of his politike nature would take no occasion of displeasure agaynst the kyng of England.

MarginaliaThe crafie practise of the Cardinall.Now againe he vttered an other of his practises, for vpon the sayd defiaunce, the Card. surmising & whisperyng in the kynges eare, that the Emperour had euill intreated & imprisoned the kynges Ambassadours in Spaine, caused Hugo de Mendosa þ^e Emperours Ambassador in Englād, to be attached & put in safe keping, and his house, with all his goodes, to be seased. Whiche so remayned vntill that manifest letters came of the gētle intreatie of the kinges Ambassadours in Spayne, and then was agayne set at libertie. When as the Ambassadour complained hereof to the Cardinall, he layd all the fault vpon Clarentius, saying also that Clarentius had defied the Emperour, without the kynges knowledge, at the request of the Herauld of Fraunce: wherefore at hys returne, hee should lose his head at