MarginaliaAn 1550. when he looked for no suche matter,MarginaliaSyr Anthony Wingfield & syr Rafe Sadler sent to Winchest. came to his house the right worshipfull Syr Anthony Wingfielde and Syr Rafe Sadler knightes, accompanied with a great nomber of the Gard, and vsing thē selues for their part according to their worships, and (I doubt not) as they were appointed, Sir Rafe Sadler began thus with me: My Lord (sayd he) ye preached yesterday obedience, but ye dyd not obey your selfe and went forth with his message very soberly as he can, & discretely. I asked him wherin I obeyed not. He sayd, touchyng my Lord of Somersets letter. maister Sadler, quoth I, I pray you say to my Lords Grace, I would he neuer made mention of that letter, for the loue I beare him. And yet quoth I, I haue not broken that letter, and I was mynded, quoth I, to haue wrytten to my Lorde vpon the receipt of it, and loe, quoth I, ye may see how I began, and shewed him (because we were then in my study) the byginnyng of my letter, and reasoned with him for declaration of my selfe, and told him therwith, I will not spend quoth I, many words with you, for I can not alter this determination. And yet in good fayth, quoth I, my maner to you, and this declaration may haue this effect, that I bee gentlye handeled in the prison, & for that purpose I pray you, make sute on my behalfe.

MarginaliaWinchester arested. Maister Wingfield layd his hand on my shoulder, and arested me in the kynges name for disobedience. I asked thē whether I shoulde.MarginaliaWinchester cōmited to the tower. They sayd to the Tower. Finally I desired them that I might be spoken with shortly, & heard what I could say for my selfe, and prayed them to be suters in it, and so they sayd they would.

After that I was once in the Tower, vntil it was within vi. days of one whole yeare, I could heare no maner word message, comfort, or reliefe, sauyng once when I was sicke, and me thought some extremitie towardes me, my Chapleine had licence to come to me for one tyme, and then denyed agayne, beyng aunswered that my feuer was but a tertian, whiche my sayd Chaplaine tolde me when hee came to me at the Easter folowing, and there beyng with me from the morning till night on Easter daye departed, and for no sute could neuer haue hym since. To Master Lieftenant I made diuers sutes to prouoke the Duke of Somersets grace to heare me. And if I might haue the libertye of an English man, I would playnly declare I had neither offēded lawe, statute, act, proclamation nor his own letter neither, but all would not helpe, and I shall reporte me to maister Lieftenant whether in all this time I maligned, grudged or vsed any vnsemely woordes, euer demaundyng iustice, and to be heard according to Iustice.

MarginaliaThe Lord Chaūcellour & Secretary Peter commeth to Winchester in the tower. When I had ben thus in þ^e Tower one whole yeare within vi. dayes, or vij. as I remember, came to the Tower the Lord Chauncellour of Englād now beyng the Lord Treasurer, and master Secretary Peter, who callyng me vnto them, as I remember, entred this: They sayde they hadde brought with them a booke passed by the Parlamēt, which they would I shoulde looke on and say my mynde to it, and vpon my conformitie in it, my Lord of Somerset would be suter to the kynges Maiestie for mercye to bee ministred to me. Whereunto I aunswered that I trusted if I might be heard, the Kynges Maiesties iustice woulde releue mee, which I had long sued for, and coulde not be heard.MarginaliaWinchester denieth to sue for mercy. And to sue for mercy, quoth I, when I haue not in my conscience offended, and also to sue out of this place, where askyng of mercy, employeth a further suspition then I woulde be for all the worlde touched in it, were not expedient. And therfore, quoth I, not guilty is and hath bene allowed a good plee for a prisoner, Then my Lord sayd, why, quoth he, wereMarginaliaTalke betwene the Lord Chauncellour & Winchester in the tower. ye not commaunded to preache of the kynges authoritie in his yonge age, and yet dyd not? I tolde him I was not cōmaunded. Is not (quoth he) that Article in the papers ye had deliuered you? I assured him no.

And after communication of the kynges Maiesties authoritie wherein was no disagrement, then my Lord Chaūcellour sayde I had disobeyed my Lordes graces letter. I told him I thought not, and if the matter came to iudgement, it should appeare. And then I sayd to him my Lorde how many opē Iniunctions vnder Seale & in open Court haue bene broken in this Realme? the punishment wherof hath not ben handled after this sorte, and yet I would stād in defence that I had not broken his letter, waying þ^e words of the letter, wherein I reasoned with M. Peter Secretary what a controuersie was, and some part what I could say further, But what soeuer I can saye (quoth I) you must iudge it, and for the passion of God do it, and then let me sue for mercy: when the nature of the offence is knowen if I will haue it.MarginaliaWinchester wyll acknowledge no offence. But when I am (quoth I) declared an offender, I will with humilitie of sufferyng make a mendes to the Kyngs Maiestie, so farre as I am able: for I should neuer offend him, and much lesse in his young age.

My Lord Chancelor then shewed me the beginning of the act for commō prayer, how daungerous it was to breake the order of it. I told him that it was true, and therfore if I came abroad, I would be well ware of it. But it is (quoth I) after in the act how no man should be troubled for thys act, vnles he were first indyted, and therefore (quoth I,) I may not be kept in prison for this act. Ah (quoth he) I perceiue ye know the law well enough. I tolde him my Chaplaine had brought it vnto me the after noone before. Then they required me to looke on the booke and say my minde in it.MarginaliaWinchester will not goe to schoole in prison. I answered that I thought not meete to yeald me selfe a scholler to go to schole in prison, and then slaunder my self as though I redeemed my faultes with my conscience. As touching the law which I know not, I will honor it lyke a subiect, and if I keepe it not, I will willinglye suffer the payne of it. And what more conformitie I should shewe, I cannot tell, for mine offences be past if there be any. If I haue not suffred enough I will suffer more, if vpon examynation I be found faulty, and as for this new law, if I keep it not punish me likewise.

Then my Lorde Chaunceloure asked me whether I would not desire the kinges Maiestye to be my good Lord. At which worde I sayd: alas my Lorde (quoth I) doe ye thinke that I haue so forgotten me selfe?MarginaliaWinchester desireth the kyng to be his good Lord. My duty (quoth I) requireth so, and I will on my knees desire him to bee my good Lord and my Lord Protectour also quoth I, that is wel sayd quoth my Lord Chaunceler, And what will ye say further, quoth my Lord Chāceler, In good faith quoth I this, that I thought when I had preached, that I had not offended at all, and thinke so still, and had it not been for the article of the supremacy, I woulde haue rather fayned my selfe sicke then be occasion of this that hath followed: but goyng to the Pulpit, I must needes say as I sayde. Well quoth my Lord Chanceler, let vs goe to our purpose again. Ye will quoth he, desire the kings maiestye to be your good Lord, and my Lord Protectour also, and ye say ye thought not to haue offended.MarginaliaWinchester yet will not confesse himselfe to be an offender. All this I will say quoth I. And ye wil (quoth my Lord Chancelor) submit your selfe to be ordred by my Lord Protectour.MarginaliaWinchester will not submit himselfe to the Lord Protectour but to the law. Nay (quoth I) by the lawe for my Lord Protectour quoth I hath scourged mee ouer sore this yeare, to put my matter in his hands now. And in the latter poynt I varied with my Lorde Chauncellour, when I could not refer my order to my Lord Protectour, but to the law, and staying at this point they were contente to graunt me of their gentlenes to make their sute to procure me to be heard, and to obtaine me lybertye to goe in the Galery, and that I should heare of one of them within two dayes following. I desired them to remember that I refused not the booke by way of contempt, nor in no euill maner, but that I was loth to yeald my selfe a scholer in þ^e Tower, and to be seene to redeeme my faultes if I had any, with my conscience. My body I sayd, shoulde serue my conscience, but not contrarywise. And this is the truth vpon my conscience and oth that was done and sayd at their comminge. There was more sayd to the purposes aforesayd. And I binde not my selfe to the precise forme of wordes, but to the substaunce of the matter and fashion of the intreatinge. So neare as I can remember, I haue truely discharged mine oth: But I heard no more of my matter in one whole yere after almost within xiiij. dayes notwithstanding two letters written by me to the Counsaile, of most humble request to be heard according to Iustice. And then at the end of 2. yeres almost, came vnto me the Duke of Somerset with other of the counsell which matter because it is left out here, I shall not touch but prepare it in a matter apart, for declaration of my behauyour at all tymes.

Item, that after that &c. the 9. day of Iuly, in the 4. yeare of hys Maiesties raigne, his highnes sent vnto you his graces letters, with a certayne submission and Articles, whereunto his grace willed & commaunded you to subscribe, to which submission, you contemptuously refused to subscribe.

To the xij. Article for aunswere therunto, he graunted þ^t about the time mencioned in this Article, the Lorde Treasurer, the Erle of Warwike lord great maister, sir William Harbert, and MSecretary Peter, came to the tower: and called me before them,MarginaliaThe kynges letters deliuered to Winchest. in the tower. and deliuered vnto me the kynges maiesties letters which I haue to shew, and receiued them at the handes of the lord Treasurer vpon my knees, kissed them as my duety was, and still vpon my knees read them, where as they right gently required me to take more ease, & to go apart with them and consider them, which after that I had throughly read, I much lamented that I should bee commaunded to say of my selfe as was there written, and to say otherwise of my selfe then my conscience will suffer me: and where I trust my dedes wil not cōdemne me, there to condemne my selfe with my tong, I should sooner (quoth I to them) by commaundement: thinke if ye would bid me, to tumble my selfe desperately into the Themes.