Now! Then! Henry VIII’s herald encounters part of the Pilgrimage of Grace at Pontefract

21 October 1536: Henry VIII’s herald encounters part of the Pilgrimage of Grace at Pontefract

Board of Commissioners. 1830. State Papers Published under the Authority of His Majesty’s Commission, Vol. 1, King Henry the Eighth, Part 1 and 2. London: George Eyre and Andrew Strahan. Get it:

Excerpt

And when I did approach near the town of Pomfret, I overtook certain companies of the said rebellious, being common people of the husbandry, which saluted me gently, and gave great honour to the king’s coat of arms which I wear. And I demanded of them why they were in harness, and assembled of such sort. And they answered me that it was for the commonwealth, and said if they did not so, the commonalty and the church should be destroyed. And I demanded of them how. And they said that no man should bury, nor christen, nor wed, nor have their beast unmarked, but that the king would have a certain sum of money for every such thing, and the beast unmarked to his own house, which had never been seen. And I answered them and told them how good and gracious lord the king had been to them, and how long he had kept them in great wealth, tranquillity, and peace; and also that his grace, nor none of his counsel, never intended nor thought no such things and articles as they found them grieved with. And with such persuasions as I found and said to them, riding into the town, I had got grant of three or four hundred of the commonalty to go gladly home to their houses, and to ask the king’s mercy; and said, they were weary of that life they were in.

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To facilitate reading, the spelling and punctuation of elderly excerpts have generally been modernised, and distracting excision scars concealed. My selections, translations, and editions are copyright.
Abbreviations:

ER: East Riding
GM: Greater Manchester
NR: North Riding
NY: North Yorkshire
SY: South Yorkshire
WR: West Riding
WY: West Yorkshire

Comment

See also Aske’s addresses to “Lords, knights, masters, kinsmen and friends”, including the principal demands (Board of Commissioners 1830), and to the common people (Ellis 1846). They are undated, but I guess were used on or shortly after his entry into York on 16 October 1536.

The herald or rouge-dragon, Thomas Milner or Mylner, aka Miller, was subsequently executed by Henry, principally for taking the knee and the cash (Ellis 1846).

Claire Cross has a good summary of the affair.

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Original

The manner, fashion, and ordering of me Lancaster herald at arms to our sovereign lord the king, sent from Scro[o]by the 21st day of October, by the right honourable Lord the Earl of Shrewsbury, Lord Steward of the King’s most honourable household, and lieutenant general from the Trent northward, and the right honourable Earls of Rutland and Huntingdon of the King’s most honourable counsel, to Pomfret, with a proclamation to be read amongst the traitorous and rebellious persons assembled at Pomfret contrary to the king’s laws.

And when I did approach near the town of Pomfret, I overtook certain companies of the said rebellious, being common people of the husbandry, which saluted me gently, and gave great honour to the king’s coat of arms which I wear. And I demanded of them why they were in harness, and assembled of such sort; and they answered me that it was for the commonwealth; and said if they did not so, the commonalty and the church should be destroyed. And I demanded of them how. And they said that no man should bury, nor christen, nor wed, nor have their beast unmarked, but that the King would have a certain sum of money for every such thing, and the beast unmarked to his own house, which had never been seen. And I answered them and told them how good and gracious lord the king had been to them, and how long he had kept them in great wealth, tranquillity, and peace; and also that his grace, nor none of his counsel, never intended nor thought no such things and articles as they found them grieved with. And with such persuasions as I found and said to them, riding into the town, I had got grant of three or four hundred of the commonalty to go gladly home to their houses, and to ask the king’s mercy; and said, they were weary of that life they were in. And resorted first to the market cross, where I should have made the proclamation.

And Robert Aske, captain of the host, being in the castle, heard tell that I was come, and sent for me to come to him; and so I did; and as I entered into the first ward, there I found many in harness, of very cruel fellows, and a porter with a white staff in his hand; and at the two other ward-gates every of them a porter with his staff, accompanied with harnessed men; and so I was brought into the hall, which I found full of people. And I was commanded to tarry to such time as the said traitorous captain’s pleasure was known; and in that space I stood up at the high table in the hall, and there showed to the people the cause of my coming, and the effect of the proclamation; and in doing the same, the said Aske sent for me in to his chamber; and there keeping his port and countenance as though he had been a great prince, with great rigour and like a tyrant; who was accompanied with the Archbishop of York, the Lord Darcy, Sir Robert Constable, Mr. Magnus, Sir Christopher Danby, and diverse other. And, as my duty was, I saluted the Archbishop of York and my Lord Darcy, showing to them the cause I came thither for.

And then the said Robert Aske, with a cruel and an inestimable proud countenance, stretched himself, and took the hearing of my tale, which I opened to him at large, in as much honour to our sovereign lord the king as my reason would serve me; which the said captain Aske gave no reverence to, and superstitiously demanded the sight of my proclamation. And then I took it out of my purse and delivered it to him, and then he read it openly, without any reverence to any person; and said, it should not need to call no counsel for the answer of the same, for he would of his own wit give me the answer, which was this. He, standing in the highest place of the chamber, taking the high estate upon him, said, “Herald, as a messenger you are welcome to me and all my company, intending as I do. And as for this proclamation sent from the lords, from whence you come, shall not be read at the market cross, nor in no place amongst my people, which be all under my guiding; nor for fear of loss of lands, life, and goods, not for the power which is against us, doth not enter into our hearts with fear, but are all of one accord with the points of our articles, clearly intending to see a reformation, or else to die in those causes.”

And then I demanded of him what his articles was. And he said, one was that he and his company would go to London of pilgrimage to the king’s highness, and there to have all vile blood of his counsel put from him, and all noble blood set up again, and also the faith of Christ and his laws to be kept, and full restitution of Christ’s church of all wrongs done unto it, and also the commonalty to be used as they should be: and bade me trust to this, for it should be done, or he would die for it. And then I required him, that he would give me this in writing, for my capacity would not serve to bear it away; and he said, “With a good will;” and called for his oath which he gave to his people, and said the articles was comprehended within the said oath, and delivered it in writing to me, and caused me to read it myself; and he said, too that he would set to his hand, and die in the quarrel, and his people with him. And then I prayed him to put his hand to the said bill, and so he did, and with a proud voice said, “This is mine act, whosoever say the contrary.” And also he said, he meant no harm to the king’s person, but to see reformation.

And I fell down on my knee before him, showing him how I was a messenger, and charged by the king’s counsel to read the proclamation which I brought, for my discharge; and he clearly answered me, that of my life I should not; for he would have nothing put in his people’s heads that should sound contrary to his intent; and said at all times I should have his safe conduct, to come and go in message, wearing the king’s coat of arms, or else not: and also said, if my lord of Shrewsbury, or any other of the lords of the king’s army, would come and speak with him, they should have of him their safe-conducts, to come safe and go safe; and also said, “Herald, recommend me to the Lords from whence you come, and say to them it were mete that they were with me, for it is for all their wealths that I do.” And then he commanded the Lord Darcy to give me two crowns of five shillings to reward, whether I would or no; and then took me by the arm, and brought me forth of the castle, and there made a proclamation that I should go safe and come safe, wearing the King’s coat, in pain of death; and so took his leave of me, and returned into the castle in high honour of the people, as a traitor may.

And I missed my horse, and I called to him again, for to have my horse, and then he made a proclamation that who so held my horse, and brought him not again immediately, bade kill him without mercy. And then both my horse was delivered to me, and then he commanded that twenty or forty men should bring me out of the town where I should see the least of his people, nor that I should not speak with them. For surely I think, if I might have read the proclamation and good words unto the people, that all the plough commonalty would have gone home to their houses immediately, for they say they be weary of that life they lead, and if they say to the contrary to the captain’s will, he shall die immediately. And this all to be true, I, the said Lancaster, hath written this with my hand and true report as mine oath is.

1460 words.