of might follow such inconvenience as in many years after should be irreparable. Here hath appeared two hours before daylight every morning since the fifth or sixth day of this month a blazing star, called cometa, straight in the east, casting his beam upward, partly inclining toward the south, much whiter in colour than was the other that appeared the last year. And moreover, many persons here do affirm, that they have seen above the moon a blue cross, which mine host in a city called Indiburs and all his household did see, as they showed me. Other do say, that they have seen an horse head flaming, other have seen a flaming sword. But of these other impressions I cannot assure your Grace, for I saw no mo but the comet, which I saw within these two daysa. What strange things these tokens do signify to come hereafter, God knoweth, for they do not lightly appear, but against some great mutation; and it hath not be seen (as I suppose) that so ma[ny] comets have appeared in so short time. na is a great infection of the plagueb, whereof is dead many of the Em[peror's] household, and among other is dead Waldesius, a Spanyarde, the Em [peror's] chief secretary, and was in his singular favour. He was well learned in the Latin tongue, and partly in the Greek; and whensoever the Emperor would have any thing well and exactly done in the Latin tongue, it was ever put to Waldesius, and I suppose that he made the draught of the answer of the Emperor, which I sent unto your Grace inclosed with my last letters. In my journey I passed through the place where was the a["This was the end of those wonderful preparations made by the two great monarchs, Solyman and Charles V, in the year 1532, which held "the world in great suspense, with the fearful expectation of some "marvellous alteration; and so much the more, for that at the same "time appeared a great blazing star for the space of fifteen days." Knolles, Hist. of the Turks. The appearance of the comet is also mentioned by Sleidan.] b["The plague was got into the camp, yea, even into his court." first battle against the fourteen thousand Turks that came to Ens, though many say they were but eight thousand. In which battle were captains of our party, Cassiander, born in Croatia, and two Turks which have been long time servants unto King Ferdinando; one is called Bacrespal, and the other Turk Waylande. But the Turks durst not abide for fear of Duke Friderick, which was very near with six thousand horsemen and a great number of footmen. By the high way as I rode almost two English miles, lay many dead men and horses, part of Christian and part of Turks, but the great number were Turks. But to mine estimation, as much as I could view the ground, there was not slain upon both parties two thousand men. But after in another place were slain about two thousand Turks of the same band, and they slew again two or three thousand Spaniards arquebusiers at the same time, and took divers prisoners, whom they carried with them into Hungaryb. Beside that, from their first entering into Austria and Stiria until their returning into Hungary again, they slew in one place and other above fifteen or sixteen thousand Christian men, and took many prisoners, and escaped themselves all but three or four thousand, which were slain as I have above written. This is the voice of this country, which I have now written unto your Grace, but Monsieur Grandeveile showed me otherwise, that all the said Turks were slain except two or three hundred, as I wrote unto your Grace in my last letters. Now I have signified unto your Grace both the saying of Monsieur Grandeveile, and also the voice of this country, b[According to Knolles, they carried off prisoners to the number of thirty thousand.] C ["Solymannus... prædatum emittit ad quindecim equitum millia, "duce Casono. Is Lincium usque supra Viennam excurrit, et longe "lateque devastatis agris, nullum immanitatis genus prætermittit: cum "vero pedem referret, in nostros equites, qui fuerant emissi ut rapinis "et populationibus illum prohiberent, incidit; et diversis locis ad in"ternecionem prope concisus, tandem et ipse occumbit." Sleidan, De Statu Religionis, lib. viii. According to Knolles, whose account is more full, this utter destruction befell a division of eight thousand men only, under Cason: the remainder escaped with little loss to Solyman. Knolles seems to have followed "the voice of the country," Sleidan the statement of Granvelle.] permitting unto your Grace's wisdom the judgment of both. This same day a doctor, chaplain to the Bishop of Saltzburg, showed me that the Turk prepareth another army, but I can hear no good ground thereof to give credence unto as yet: as soon as I can inquire the truth, I shall certify your Grace thereof. The King Ferdinando hitherto hath accompanied the Emperor, and shortly he shall depart unto Isbrugh, where the Queen is. And because that I must follow the Emperor, I thought it good to salute him before his departure from the Emperor, and to offer him my service, and to understand if he would any thing command me unto your Grace, who [commended] him unto your Highness, and said that forsomuch as the Emperor [made your Highness] participant of all the news here, it should not require [any other] news sent but only this, that the Emperor and he have recei[ved letters from] sundry parts according in one thing, that Andrew Doria h[ad capti]vate and taken from the Turk Modona and Corona in Moread, [with an]other strong hold, whereof he remembered not the name. But [because] that hitherto they have no letters thereof from Andrew Doria himself: they will not yet give firm credence thereto. Moreover the Emperor hath sent for the Duke William e of Bavaria to come to him, that before his departing out of Almayne he may conclu[de] peace between the King Ferdinando and the Duke of Bavaria, lest that after his departing more inconven[iences] may fall than hath been heretofore. The Duke Dalby an Hispanyard came hither to help the Emperor in his wars, and this same day is word come, that his brother's carriages, six mulettes, and fourteen horses be taken by the boors, and two of his servants slain, and the [Doria ravaged the coasts of Peloponnesus, and took_Coron, Patras, and Rbium, but not Modon. Knolles, Hist. of Turks.] [The Bavarian princes had opposed the election of Ferdinand to be King of the Romans, and Duke William was supposed to have aspired to that dignity himself. Seckendorf, Comm. de Luther. lib. 11I. rest fled away. And this is done in the way, which, by the As concerning Duke Fridericke 8, the French ambassador Cotton IV. TO CRUMWELL. Master Crumwell, in my right hearty wise I commend me pasian. F. XIII. fol. to you; and likewise pray you to be good master unto mine 75. Origi nal. 8 [The person meant seems to be John Frederic, Duke of Saxony, who had lately succeeded his father John in the electorate, and with whom Cranmer had already held a private conference. See Seckendorf, Comm. de Lutheran. lib. 111. §. xvi. Add. Both Strype and Burnet have copied Seckendorf's account of the interview, but the former has confused the peace subsisting between the Emperor and Henry VIII., with that which was concluded at Nuremberg between the Emperor and the German Protestants. It was the object of Henry to form a league with the German reformers, and by their assistance to prevent Charles V. from influencing the decision of the Pope; but their unwillingness to disturb the recent pacification of Nuremberg, rendered his negotiations ineffectual.] [The signature is destroyed by fire.] old acquainted lover and friend Master Newman this Your own assured and very loving Thomas Elect of Canterbury. V. To CRUMwell. House, well's Cor ence. Ori ginal. Right Worshipful Mr. Crumwell, in my hearty manner I Chapter commend me to you; likewise praying you to have in Westminyour good remembrance, mine old suit for the receipt of ster; CrumMr. Benet's advowson of the benefice of Barnake, that the respondsame may be delivered to my hands and custody, to the use of my friend m for whom I have thus long sued, and that it may please you, in case ye have not already spoken to Master Benet's factor in that behalf, to send this bearer my secretary, or some trusty servant of yours, with your letters or token, and with the same letters which ye have received from Mr. Benet for the grant of the same advowson, to re i [See Letters v. LXIV. LXXVIII. CLIII.] [There were in all eleven bulls for Cranmer's promotion, of which the earliest are dated the twenty-first of February, the last, the second of March; but they were applied for at the end of January. He was consecrated on the thirtieth of March, 1553. Burnet, Ref. vol. i. p. 259.] m [Barnack in Northamptonshire, near Stamford.] [Apparently Newman. See Letters IV. LXIV. LXXVIII. CLIII.] |