gisters he dyed an. 1413.

MarginaliaAn other vntruth in Polydore noted.To this vntruth an other also may be ioyned, where he erryng in the computation of the yeares of the sayd Thomas Arundell Archbyshop of Caunterbury, reporteth him to sit xxxiij. yeares. Who was there Archbishop but onely xviij. yeares, as is to be seen in the recordes of Caunterbury. The woordes of Polydore be these: Thomas Arundellius Cantuariensis antistes annū iam tunc sedens tertium & trigesimū e vita excessit Lib. 22. Ang hist. Albeit in this I do not greatly contende with Polydore, and peraduenture the aduersarye will finde some easie shift for this matter.

MarginaliaThe testimony of Halle against the Lord Cobham examined.But let vs passe now from Polydore, not (as they say) out of the halle, into the kytchen, but out of the kytchen vnto the halle, examinyng and perpendyng what sayth Edward Halle, an other witnes in this matter: vpon whō maister Cope byndeth so fast, that he supposeth his knot is neuer able to bee loosed. And moreouer so treadeth me down vnder his feete in the dyrte (as a mā would thinke hym some dyrtdaubers sonne) so that the spottes therof, he sayth, will neuer be gotten out while the worlde standeth and a day longer. Notwithstanding I trust maister Cope þ^t your dyrtie pen with your cockish bragges hath not so bedaubed and bespotted me, nor yet conuicted me to bee such a deprauer of historyes, but I hope to spunge it out. At least way, with a lytle asperges of the Popes holy water, I trust to come to a de albabor well enough. But Certes, maister Cope, your mastershyp must first vnderstande, that if ye thinke so to depresse me, and disproue me of vntruth in my historye, you must goo more groundly to worke, and bryng agaynst me other autors thē Edw. Halle: You must consider (maister Cope) if you will bee a controller in storye matters, it is not enough for you to bryng a raylyng spirite, or a mynde disposed to carpe and cauille where any matter may bee picked, diligence is required, and great searching out of bookes and autors not onely of our time, but of all ages. And especially where matters of religion are touched perteyning to the church: it is not sufficient to see what Fabian, or what Halle saith, but the recordes must be sought, the registers must be turned ouer, letters also & auncient instrumentes ought to be perused, and autors with þ^e same compared, finally the writers among them selues one to be conferred with an other. And so with iudgement to be wayed, with diligence to be labored, and with simplicitie pure from all addiction and partialitie to bee vtterred. Thus did Auentinus, thus did Sledanus write. These helpes also the eldest and best historicians semed to haue, both Titus Liuius, Salustius, Quintus Curtius, and such lyke, as by their letters and recordes inserted may well appeare. The same helpes lykewise both in your Fabian, and in your Edward Halle were to be required, but especially in you (maister Cope) your selfe, MarginaliaCope a carper of storyes wherof he hath no skyll.whiche take vpon you so cockyshly (rather then wisely) to bee a controller & maister moderatour of other mens matters. In which matters (to say the truth) you haue no great skill, & lesse experiēce, neither haue you either such plentie of autors mete for that purpose, nor yet euer trauayled to searche out the origens and groundes of that wherof ye wryte. But onely contented with such as commeth next to hād, or peraduenture receuyng such almose as some of your poore frendes bestow vpō you, thinke it sufficient if you can alledge Fabian and Halle, for your purpose.

Now what purpose and affectiō herein doth lea you, rather doth driue you, to the carping & barkyng against the historie of these good men, þ^t be hence gone & had their punishement, all men may see it to be no simple sinceritie of a minde indifferent, but the zeale onely of your sect of Popery, or rather of fury, which setteth your rayling spirit on fire. But now out of þ^e fiery kytchyng, to come to the Halle again let vs see what matter lieth in the testimonie of Edwarde Halle, to proue these men to be tray-tors. And here for somuch (master Cope) as you seme neither sufficiently aquainted w^t this your owne maister & autor, maister Halle, nor yet wel experienced in the searchyng out of historyes: I will take a litle paynes for you in this behalfe, to certifie you cōcerning the story of this autor, wherof percase you your selfe are yet ignorant. MarginaliaAunswere to Edward Halle.The truth whereof is this,, þ^t as the sayd Edw. Halle your great maister & Testis, was about þ^e cōpiling of hys story, certaine there were which resorted to him, of whom some were drawers for his petygree and vyniet, some were grauers, the names of whom were Iohn Bets, & Tyrrall, which be now both dead. And other there were of the same sodalitie, who be yet aliue, & was then in the house of Richard Grafton, both the printer of the sayde booke, and also (as is thought) a greater helper in penning of the same. It so befell that as Halle was entring into þ^e story of syr Iohn Oldcastell, of syr Roger Acton, and their fellowes, the booke of Iohn Bale, touchyng the story of the Lord Cobham, was the same time newly come ouer. Which booke was priuelye conueyed by one of his seruauntes into the study of Halle, so that in turning ouer hys bookes, it must needes come to hys handes. At the sight whereof, when he saw the grounde and reasons in that booke contayned, hee turned to the autors in the foresayd booke alledged, whereupon within two nights after, moued by what cause I know not, but so it was, MarginaliaHalle raseth out hys owne story written agaynst the L. Cobham.that he taking hys pen, rased and cancelled all that he had written before, agaynst syr Iohn Oldcastell and his fellowes, and was now ready to go to the print, contayning neare to the quantity of three pages. And least (maister Cope) you, or any other should thynke me to speake bysyde my booke, be it therefore knowen both to you and to all other, by these presentes, that the very selfe same fyrst copy of Hall rased and crossed with his own penne, remaineth in my handes to be shewed & sene, as nede shall require. The matter which he cancelled out came to this effrect. Wherin he folowing the narration of Polidore, began w^t like words, to declare how the Sacramentaries here in Englande, after the death of Iohn Husse, and Hierome of Prage, being prycked as he sayth, with a demoniacall styng, fyrst conspyred against the priestes, and after agaynst the kyng, hauyng to theyr Captaines syr Iohn Oldcastell the Lorde Cobham, & syr Roger Acton knight, with many mo wordes to the lyke purpose and effect, as Polydore & other suche lyke Chroniclers do write agaynst him. All which matter notwithstanding, the sayde Hall with hys pen at the sight of Iohn Bales booke, did vtterly extinct and abolyshe. Adding in the place thereof the wordes of mayster Bales booke, touching the accusation and condemnation of the sayd Lorde Cobham, before Thomas Arundell Archbishop of Canterburye, taken out of the letter of the sayd Archbishop, as is in hys own story to be sene. MarginaliaHallus. in vita Henric. 5. pag. 2. b. lin. 30.In vita Henr. 5. pag. 2. b lin. 30.

And thus Edward Halle your author, reuoking and calling backe all that he had deuised before agaynst the Lord Cobham (whereof I haue his own hand to shew, and wytnes substantiall vpon the same) in hys prynted booke recordeth of hym no more, but onely sheweth the proces betwene the Archbishop of Canterbury and him for matters of religion. MarginaliaHalle in the story of the L Cobham, and sir Roger Acton, agreeth not with other storyes.And so endyng wyth sir Iohn Oldcastell, proceedeth further to the assemble of sir Roger Acton (whom he falsely calleth Robert Acton) Iohn Browne, and Beuerley, the narration wherof he handleth in such sorte, that he neyther agreeth with the record of other writers, nor yet with truth it selfe. For wher he excludeth the Lord Cobham out of that assemble, he discordeth therein from Polydore and other. MarginaliaVntruth in Halle noted.And where he affirmeth the fact of that conspiracie to be wrought before, or at the. xij. day of December, that is manifestlye false, if the recordes before alledged be true. And where he reporteth thys assemble to bee after the burnyng of