taken prisoner, who remained in custody about a yeare and halfe: at length through great labour & solicitation, as well of other, as namely of the Cardinall, and kyng Henry, an order was taken, and conditions propounded betwene the French kyng and the Emperour, among whiche other diuers conditions, it was agreed, that they should resiste the Turkes, & oppresse the Lutheranes: and so was the kyng set at libertie, leauyng behynd him, his ij. eldest sonnes, for pledges:MarginaliaThe Pope absolueth the French kyng from hys othe. But shortly after he reuoked his othe, beyng absolued by the Byshop of Rome, and sayd, that he was forced to sweare, or els he should neuer haue bene deliuered. Which was. an. 1526. Pope Clement vij. seyng the French kyng restored to libertie, and misdoubting the puisance and domination of the Emperour in Italy so neare vnder his nose, absolueth the French king from his othe: also ioyneth together a confederacie of Venetians and other Princes against the Emperour, bearyng great hatred agaynst all them that any thyng fauoured the Emperours part, especially the familie of Columna in Rome, which familie was then Imperiall, and therfore to shew his hatred agaynst them, he sayd to Pompey Cardinall of the same familie, in threatnyng wordes, that he would take away his Cardinals hatte.MarginaliaThe aunswere of the Cardinall to the Pope. To whom it was aunswered agayne of the Cardinall, that if he so dyd, he would put on a helmet, to ouerthrow the popes triple crowne. Whereby it may appeare, here by the way, what holynes and vertue lyeth in the Pope and Cardinals in that Catholicke sea of Rome.

MarginaliaThe Pope stirreth vp warres. Thus the false Pope, vnder the lying title of holynes, was the father of much mischief & of great warres, which after ensued. For the Duke of Bourbon and other of the Emperours Captaines, hauyng intelligence of the Popes purpose and cōfederacie, gathered their armye together, and after much bloudshed and fightyng, about Millan, Hawde and Cremona, at length they approched and bent their siege agaynst Rome, and after three sharpe assaultes obteined the Citie with the whole spoyle therof: where also they besieged the foresayd Pope, with his Cardinals, in the mount of Adrian and tooke hym prisoner. an. 1527. As touchyng the cause of the besiegyng of Rome, now ye haue heard: for the maner of takyng of Rome, and of the Pope, the order therof is thus described in Hall, and other.

MarginaliaThe taking of Rome.
Ex Paralip. Abbat. Vrsp. THe Emperours army departyng from Florence, to the city of Seynes, where they lost their ordinaunce, tooke counsaile there to go to Rome, and so much they trauayled by night and day, commonly passing xl. myle day and nyght (their good will was such) that the vj. day of May wyth banners displayed, they came before the citie of Rome being Saterday, the same day: and on Sonday the Romaynes made Bulwarkes, Rampires, and other defences, and layd ordinaunce on the walles, and shot at them wythout fiercely.

MarginaliaThe Duke of Bourbon. The Duke of Bourbon determined that it was not best to lye still without, and be slayne with ordinaunce, consideryng that they were all naked people, and without great ordinaūce: wherfore he determined to take the chaunce and to geue the assault, and so manfully they approched the walles betwene the Burgo nouo & old Rome. But the Romaines valiauntly defended them with handgunnes, pykes, stones, and other weapons, so that the enemyes were fayne to retreit. Then the Romaines were glad, and set many fayre banners on their towers and bulwarkes, and made great shoutes: which seyng the Duke of Bourbone, cryed to a new assault. Then the drumslades blew and euery mā with a ladder mounted:MarginaliaThree assaultes against Rome. and at first encounter, agayne the Romaynes put them a little backe: Which the Duke of Bourbon perceiuyng, cryed: God and the Emperour. Then euery man manfully set on. There was a sore fight, many an arrow shot, and many a man felled, but at last the Emperors men got the wall, and betwene euery assault fell a myst, so that they within coulde not see what parte they wythout would assayle, which was profitable to the emperors partie. At the thre assaultes were slayne 300. Switzes of the Popes Garde.MarginaliaThe Duke of Bourbon wounded. In this last assault was the Duke of Burbon striken in the thigh with a handgunne, of the which he shortly died in a chappell of S. Syst, whether his souldiors had brought him: and this chance notwithstanding, the army entred into Rome, and toke the popes palace and set vp the Emperors armes.

The same day that these three assaultes were made, Pope Clement passed litle on the Emperours armye:MarginaliaThe Pope curseth hys enemyes. for he had accursed them on the Saterday before, and in hys curse he called the Almaines Lutheranes, and the Spanyardes Murreynes or Mores: and when he was hearyng of Masse, sodeinly the Almaines entred into the Church, and slue hys Garde and diuers other.MarginaliaThe pope flyeth. He seyng that, fledde in all hast by a priuie way, to the Castle of S. Angell: and all they that folowed hym that way and could not enter, were slayne, and if he in that fury had bene takē, he had ben slaine. The Cardinals and other Prelates fled to the Castle of S. Angell, ouer the bridge, where many of the commō people were ouerpressed and trodden downe, as they gaue way to the Cardinals and other estates, that passed towarde the Castle for succour.

MarginaliaThe Cardinals besieged. The Cardinal of Senes, of Sesaryne, of Tudertine, of Iacobace and of the Valle taried so long that they could not get to the Castle for the multitude of people: wherfore they were compelled to take an other house, called the Palace of S. George, where they kept themselues for a while as secretly as they might. You must vnderstand, through the Citie of Rome, runneth a famous Riuer, called Tyber: and on the one side of the Ryuer standeth the Castle of S. Angell, or the Borough of S. Angell: and the other side is called Burgo Nouo, or the New Borough. Thys Bridge is called, the Bridge of Sixte, which lyeth directly before the Castle. At the end of thys Bridge was a wonderfull stronge Bulwarke, well ordinaunced and well manned. The Emperours men saw that they could do nothing to the Pope, nor to that porte of the Citie, but by þ^e bridge, determined to assaulte the Bulwarke, and so, as mē without feare, came on the bridge, and the Romaynes so well defended them, that they slue almost. iiij. M. men.MarginaliaThe Bulwarke of the Romaines besieged & taken. That seeyng the Prince of Orenge, and the Marques of Gnasto, wyth all speede gaue assault, and notwithstanding that the Romaynes shot great ordinaunces, hādgunnes, quarelles, and all that might be shot: yet the Imperiall persones neuer shranke, but manly entered the Bulwarke and slue and threw downe, out of the loupes, all the Romaynes that they founde, and after rased the Bulwarke to the ground. The Pope was in the Castle of S. Angel, and beheld this fight, and with him were xxiij. Cardinals, of which one called the Cardinall Sanctorum quatuor, or the Cardinall of Pouche, was slayne, and wyth hym were a. M. Prelates and Priestes, v. C. Gentlemen, v. C. Souldiers:MarginaliaThe castel of S. Angell besieged. wherfore immediatly the Captaines determined to lay siege to the Castle of S. Angell, least they within myght issue out and turne them to damage: wherfore sodeinly a siege was planted round about the Castle.

MarginaliaRome spoyled. In the meane season the souldiers fell to spoyle. Neuer was Rome so pylled, eyther of the Gothes or Vandales, for the Souldiers were not content wyth 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 priuie members, to cause them to confesse their treasure. Thys woodnes continued a great while, & some mā myght thinke that whē they had gotten so much, then they would cease & 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 ladē with plate, went againe almost naked, and then fell to ryfelyng agayne. Many of þ^e Citizens which coulde not paciently suffer that vexation, drowned themselues in Tyber. MarginaliaThe Pope mocked and scorned openly in Rome, before his own face. The Souldiers dayly that lay at the siege, made Iestes of the Pope. Sometime they had one ryding like the Pope wyth a whore behynde hym, sometyme he blessed, and sometyme he cursed, & sometime they would with one voyce call hym Antichrist: and they went about to vndermyne the Castle, and to haue throwen it downe on hys head, but the water that enuironeth the castle, disappointed their purpose.

In this season the Duke of Vrbine, with xv. M. mē, came to ayde the Pope: but hearing that Rome was takē, he taryed xl. myle from Rome, tyll he heard other worde. The Marques of Saluce, and Syr Frederico de Bodso, wyth xv. M. footemen and a. M. horsemē, were at Vitarbe the x. day of May: where they hearing that the Citye of Rome was taken, also taryed. The Cardinall of Colume, came wyth 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 which day he yelded hymselfe for necessitie and penury of all thynges in the Castle, and thē he was restored to geue Graces and graunt Bulles as he did before: but he taryed still in the Castle of S. Angell, and had a great number of Almaines and Spanyards to keepe him: but the Spanyardes bare most rule in the Castle, for no mā entred nor came out of the Castle but by them.MarginaliaWarre and pestilence in Rome. When the moneth of Iuly came, corne began to fayle in Rome, and the pestilence began to waxe strong: wherfore the great armye remoued to a place called Naruia, xl. mile from Rome,