had ben as nowe in some other place, ye make suche request to me that I can nat deny you; wherfore I gyue them to you to do your pleasure with theym. Than the quene caused them to be brought into her chambre, and made the halters to be taken fro their neckes and caused them to be newe clothed, and gaue them their dyner at their leser. And than she gaue ech of them sixe nobles, and made them to be brought out of thoost in sauegard & set at their lyberté. 31 T Froissart's Chronicles John Ball's Preaching HER was an vsage in England, & yet is in diuerse countreys, that the noble men hath great fraunches ouer the comons, and kepeth them in seruage: that is to say, their tenauntes ought by custome to laboure the lordes landes, to gather and bring home theyr cornes, & some to threshe and to fanne and by seruage to make theyr hey, and to heaw their wood and bring it home: all these thyngs they ought to do by seruage. And ther be mo of these people in Englande, than in any other realme: thus the noble men and prelates arre serued by them, and specially in the countie of Brendpest, Sussetter, and Bedford. These vnhappy people of these sayd countreys began to styre, bycause they sayde they were kept in great seruage. And in the begynning of the worlde, they sayd they were no bonde men. Wherfore they maynteyned that none ought to be bounde withoute he dyd treason to his lorde: as Lucifer dyde to God. But they sayd they coude haue no such batayle, for they were nother angelles nor spirittes, but men fourmed to the similytude of their lordes: sayng, why shuld they than 7 leser) ease 9 thoost) the host 15 fanne) winnow be kept so undre lyke bests, the which they sayd they wold no lengar suffre, for they wolde be all one: and if they labored or dyd any thyng for theyr lordes, they wold haue wages therfore as well as other. And of this imaginacion was a folisshe preest in the countie of Kent, called Johan Ball, for the which folysshe wordes he had ben thre tymes in the bysshop of Canterburies prison. For this preest vsed often tymes on the sondayes after masse, whanne the people were goynge out of the mynster, to go in to the cloyster & preche, and made the people to assemble about hym, and wolde say thus: A, ye goode people, the maters gothe nat well to passe in Englande, nor shall nat do tyll euery thyng be common, and that there be no villayns nor gentylmen, but that we may be all vnyed toguyder, & that the lordes be no greatter maisters than we be. What haue we deserued, or why shulde we be kept thus in seruage? We be all come fro one father and one mother, Adam and Eue. Whereby can they say or shewe that they be gretter lordes than we be, sauynge by that they cause vs to wyn and labour, for that they dispende? they are clothed in Ueluet and chamlet furred with grise, and we be vestured with pore clothe: they haue their wynes, spyces, and good breed, and we haue the drawynges out of chaffe, & drinke water. They dwell in fayre houses, and we haue the payne and traveyle, rayne, and wynde in the feldes. And by that, that cometh of our labours, they kepe and maynteyne their estates. We be called their bondmen, and without we do redilye them seruyce, we be beaten. And we haue no souerayne to whom we may complayne, nor that wyll here vs, nor do vs right. Lette vs go to the kyng, he is yonge : & shewe hym what seruage we be in: and shewe him howe we wyll haue it otherwyse, or els we wyll prouyde vs of some remedy. And if we go togyder, all maner of people that be nowe in any bondage wyll folowe vs, to thentent to be made fre. And whan the kyng seyth vs, we shall haue some remedy, outher by fayrnesse or otherwyse. Thus John Ball sayd on sundayes, whan the people issued out of the churches in the vyllages. Wherfore many of the meane people loued him, & such as entended to no goodnesse sayde, howe he sayd trouth: and so they wolde murmure one with anothere in the felds and in the wayes, as they went togyder: Affirming how Johan Ball sayd trouthe. 32 Froissart's Chronicles SIR THOMAS MORE 1478-1535 How far is Honest Mirth lawful ́INCENT... And first, good uncle, ere we procede farther, I wil be bold to move you one thing more of that we talked when I was here before. For when I revolved in my minde againe the thinges that were concluded here by you, methought ye would in no wyse that in any tribulacion men shoulde seke for comforte eyther in worldly thing or fleshly, which mynde uncle of yours, semeth somewhat hard, for a mery tale with a frende refresheth a man much, & without any harme lyghteth hys mynde, and amendeth his courage and hys stomake, so that it semeth but well done to take suche recreacion. And Salomon sayeth I trowe that men should in heavines geve the sory man wine to make hym forgeat his sorowe. And saynct Thomas saieth that propre pleasaunte talking which is called evтpañeλia is a good vertue seruing to refreshe the minde, & make it quicke and lusty to labor and study againe, where continuall fatigacion would make it dull and deadly. Anthony. Cosen, I forgat not that point, but I longed not muche to touche it... Of trueth Cosin, as you knowe very well, myselfe am of nature even halfe a gigglot and more. I woulde I coulde as easely mende my faulte as I wel knowe it, but scant can I restraine it as olde a foole as I am: howbeit so parcial wil I not be to my fault as to praise it. . . Cassianus that very verteous man rehearseth in a certayne collacion of his, that a certaine holy father in making of a sermon, spake of heaven and heavenly thynges, so celestially, that much of his audience with the swete sounde therof, began to forget all the world and fall aslepe: whiche when the father beheld, he dissembled their sleping, and sodeinly sayd unto them: I shal tell you a mery tale. At which worde they lyfte up their heades and harkened unto that. And after the slepe therwith broken, heard hym tel on of heaven agayne. In what wyse that good father rebuked than their untowarde myndes so dull unto the thyng that all our lyfe we labor for, & so quicke and lusty towarde other tryfles, I neither beare in mynde, nor shal here nede to rehearse. But thus much of that matter suffiseth for our purpose, that wheras you demaunde me whither in tribulacion men may not sometyme refreshe themselfe with worldlye myrth & recreacion, I can no more say, but he that cannot long endure to holde up his head and heare talking of heaven except he be now & than betwene (as though heaven were heavines) refreshed with a mery folishe tale, there is none other remedy but you must let him have it better would I wishe it, but I cannot helpe it. A Dialogue of Comfort against Tribulation : 33 His Last Letter to his Daughter URE Lorde blesse you, good doughter, and youre good housbande, and youre lyttle boye, and all yours, and all my chyldren, and all my Goddechyldren and all oure frendes. Recommende me whan ye maye, to my good doughter Cicily, whom I beseche oure Lorde to coumforte. And I sende her my blessyng, and to all her children, and praye her to praye for me. I sende her an handkercher: and God coumfort my good sonne her husbande. My good doughter Ďaunce hathe the picture in parchemente, that you delyuered me from my ladye Coniers, her name is on the backeside. Shewe her that I hartelye praye her, that you may sende it in my name to her agayne, for a token from me to praye for me. I lyke speciall wel Dorothe Coly, I pray you be good unto her. I woulde wytte whether thys be she that you wrote me of. If not yet I praye you bee good to the tother, as you maye in her affliccion, and to my good doughter Joone Aleyn too. Geve her I praye you some kynde aunswere, for she sued hither to me this day to pray you be good to her. I comber you good Margaret much, but I would be sory, if it should be any lenger than tomorow. For it is saint Thomas euen, and the utas of saint Peter: & therfore tomorow long I to go to God: it were a day verye mete and conuenient for me. I never liked your maner toward me better, than when you kissed me laste: for I love when doughterly loue and deere charitye hath no laysure to loke to worldlye curtesy. Fare well my dere chylde, and pray for me, and I shall for you and all 24 utas) octave |