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your goode mynde towardes me, and in the mean tyme ye shalbe faste assurede of my faithfull servyce in all suche your affaires as ye commite unto me, and for no corruption or lucre frome my loyaltie to swerve in doyng my princes commaundement for your discharge, whyche hath put your truste and affiance unto me. Frome Yorke, xiijo Januarii, by your assurede poire preste, RICHARDE LAYTON.

While Legh and Layton were in the North, Bedyll was occupied in Cambridgeshire, and the fen district. The celebrated abbey of Ramsey was founded soon after the middle of the tenth century. The charter of King Edgar is printed in the Monasticon. The last abbot was John Wardeboys, alias Lawrence: he was appointed to that place as early as 1507, and must have been an old man at the time he surrendered his house to the King, which he did very willingly.

XLVI.

BEDYLL TO CROMWELL.

[From. MS. Cotton. Cleop. E. IV. fol. 204.]

In my moost hertie wise I commende me to you, doing you to understand that I am now at Ramesey, wher in myne opinion the abbatt and convent be as true and as feythful obedienciaries to the kinges grace as any religious folkes in this realme, and live as uprightly as any other, after the best sort of lyving that hath been emong religious folkes this many yeres, that is to sey mor gyven to ceremonies than is necessary. I pray God I may fynd other houses in no worse condicion, and than I wolbe right glad that I tok this jorney. Your cosyn Mr. Richard* was her on Thursday, by whom I sent letters unto you, whiche I thinke ye have

*The term cousin was applied in a very general manner to all kinds of distant affinity. Richard Cromwell was the secretary's nephew.

not yet receyved.* Muche of the mater of my letters concerneth a charter of king Edgar, whiche I found in this house, wreten in a very antique Romane hand, whereof the subscription is this, Signum Edgari illustris Anglorum imperatoris; And it is subscribed with vj. dukes whiche were in Edgars tymes. The said Edgar exempteth the abbat and his convent and al his men from the power of al bisshops, and maketh thaim immediatly subject to him self; and albeit they were then excepted, the bisshop of Rome had never to do with thaim. Ther may be good notes gatherd out herof, as I have wreten mor playne in my said letters delivered to Mr. Richard. Here in this monastery of Ramsey be two brethern whiche have gyven thes billys enclosed unto me, very affectuosly desiryng to have liberte to go from thaire cloyster by the kinges grace auctorite, or els to have licence to repair to my lord of Cauntrebury to sue thaire capacites. I have steyed thaim as wel as I can, with suche counsels and exhortations as I could gyve thaim; but I fere, if they can have no liberte graunted thaim, they wol take it of thaire owne auctorite. I beseche you to write a word or two how I shal use me self towardes thaim and al other whiche wol make like suyt, in no smal number as I think, whereof som occasion hath growen by that that docter Lee now at Christmas gave liberte to half the house of Sawtre † to depart (as I am informed), whiche Sautre is within v. myles of Ramsey. The religious men thinketh that I have like auctorite as doctor Lee, and that moveth thaim to make this suyt. Nevertheless I wol no thing do therein, or presume suche hyghe maters, without your advise and counsel, beseching you to write your mynd in this behalf, and in suche other thinges whiche ye wold me to do in this

* This letter is preserved in the same volume, but is not of importance, as it chiefly contains a copy of part of the charter.

†The abbey of Saltrey, or Sawtrey, in Huntingdonshire, was founded in 1146, when Simon earl of Northampton established there a convent of Cistercian monks from the abbey of Wardon in Bedfordshire. The last abbot was William Angell.

jorney. If it pleased you to grant me a commission to visit the religious houses unvisitted in Lyncoln diocese, whiche shal be nyghe my jorney, it shuld be muche to my commodite. From Ramsey the xv. day of January.

To the right honorable and my singuler

frende, M. Thomas Cromwel,

the kinges grace secretarie moost worthy.

By your owne,

THOMAS BEdyll.

The next letter relates to the mal-practices of the abbot of Fountains, who has been already mentioned in a previous letter. He was a few months afterwards condemned and executed for his activity in the rebellion of 1536.

XLVII.

LAYTON AND LEGH TO CROMWELL.

[From MS. Cotton. Cleop. E. iv. fol. 114.]

Pleasit your mastershipe to understonde, that thabbot of Fontance hath so gretly dilapidate his howse, wastede ther wooddes, notoriously kepyng vj. hoorres, diffamede here a toto populo, one day denyyng thes articles with many mo, the next day folowyng the same confessyng, thus manifestely incurryng perjurie. vj. days before our accesse to his monasterie he committede thefft and sacrilege, confessyng the same. At mydnyght causede his chapelaine to stele the sextens keis, and towke owte a jewel, a crosse of golde with stones. One Warren, a goldsmith of the Chepe, was with hym in his chambre at that owre, and ther they stole oute a gret emerode with a rubie; the saide Warren made thabbot beleve the rubie to be but a garnet, and so for that he payede nothyng, for the emerode but xxli. He solde hym also then plate withoute weyght or ownces: howe moche thabbot therfore therin was decevide he cannot tell, for the trewith ys he ys a vara fole, and a miserable ideote. We pronuncede hym perjurede, and willede hym

to shew us a cause why he owght not of ryght and justes to be deprivede, and reheresyde and rede unto hym his owne rule, wiche deprivede hym for the premisses, with other many his transgressions mo, wiche were to long to write. He cowlde not denye but that by those his owne rulles he owght to be deprivede, if ther hade bene no nother lawe made or written for deprivation; and for a conclusion he hath resignede privelie into our handes, noman therof yet knowyng. We have acceptede and admittede his resignation, et declaravimus monasterium jam esse vacans, and sufferith hym to ministre in all thynges (for the avoidance off suspicion) evyn as he dyde before, tyll we knowe your further pleasure. Ther is never a monke in that howse mete for that rowme. Yf the erle of Comerlande knewe that hit were voide, he wolde make all labor he cowlde possible for the scelerer ther, wiche I inseure yowe is not mete therfore, for suche causes as I knowe ye will alowe, whan I shall declare them unto yow. There is a monke of the howse callede Marmaduke, to whom Mr. Timmes lefft a prebende in Repon churche, nowe abydyng upon the same prebende, the wysyste monke within Inglonde of that cote and well lernede, xxti yerres officer and rewler of all that howse, a welthie felowe, wiche will gyve yowe syx hundreth markes to make hym abbot ther, and pay yowe immediatly affter the election, withoute delay or respite, at one payment, and as I suppos withoute muche borowyng. The first fruttes to the kyng is a thowsande powndes, .wiche he with his pollicie will pay within iij. yerres, and owe noman therfore one grote, as he saith, and his reason therin is vara apparant. Yf ye have not therfore providede or promisede suche a rowme for any other your frendes, this man we thynke were mete both for the kinges honour and for the discharge of your conscience, and the profett of the howse; for I am sure all thabbottes of his religion will thynke hym a ryght apte man hereunto, and the moste mete of any other. What shalbe your pleasure forther in this behalffe, other in preferryng this man, or other ways as ye thynke beste, we advertissede of your pleasure shalbe glade,

with all diligence and dexteritie that shall ly in us, to accomplisshe that your mynde, disieryng yowe that by this bringer my servant with spede hit may please yowe to certifie us of the premisses. And we suppos that many other of the beste abbottes mo, affter they have commonede with your mastershipe and us, will cum to lyke preferment. And wheras we have herde that thabbot of Whitbie hath by his letters certifyede yowe heretofore that he wolde resigne, if he be so myndett at our cumyng thether (wiche shalbe shortly) or if we fynde any cause of deprivation, whom hit shall please yowe then therunto to prefere, if ye be prefixede of any, hit may also please yowe to certifie us, or if ye be not determinede of any, then if hit be your pleasure to commite that to our discretion we shall fynde yowe a man habile both for the kinges honoure and discharge of his conscience and for your wurshipe and also profite. This monke of Repon hath a prebende of xl. powndes, wiche ye may bestowe also upon your frende, if ye make hym abbot.

Ye shall do well to sende for Warren the goldesmith, and lay unto hym thefft and sacrilege, and the recept therof, and to know what other thynges he hath hade of thabbot this viij. or ix. yerres paste. And thus I pray Gode sende yow as goode helth as yowre hert desierith. From Richemont, xx° Januarii, by your assurede poire prestes and faithful servandes,

RYCHARDE LAYTON AND THOMAS LEGH.

To the ryght honorable master Thomas Cromwell,

cheffe secretarie to the

kinges hyghnes.

* Whitby was one of the most ancient monastic houses in the north of England, founded by the abbess Hilda about A.D. 657 (the land having been granted by Oswy king of Northumberland as a nunnery by the name of Streoneshalch. After the conquest it was refounded as a monastery of Benedictine monks. The abbot reigned in 1537, and Henry Davell, who was appointed by the king to succeed him, surrendered the monastery in 1540.

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