remembir al my requestes in my last letters to you directyd, and eftsones desire you to make myn most humble recommendations to the kinges highnes and to the quenes grace. And thus fare ye as hertely well as I wold my self. Wryten the morow after Michaelmas day. Your assured to al his power,

THOMAS AUDELY, k. chauncelour.

To his hertie loving frend, Mr. Secretary, be this yoven.

The following account of the capture of the abbot of Langdon's concubine is singularly ludicrous. Langdon, or West Langdon, in Kent, was a small abbey of Premonstratensians, founded and endowed by William de Auberville, in 1192. The name of the last abbot was William Sayer. The private posterns or "startyng hoilles" of the monasteries are frequently mentioned by the old satirists. One of the injunc tions (MS. Cotton. Cleop. E. iv. fol. 21) seems to have been particularly aimed against such houses as that of Lanngdon. "Also, that ther be no enteryng into this monastery but one, and that by the great for-gate of the same, which diligently shalbe watchyd and kept by some porter specially appoynctyd for that purpose, and shalbe shute and openyd by the same bothe daye and nyght at convenyent and accustomyd howres, which porter shall repell all manner women from enteraunce into the said monastery."

XXXIII.

DR. LAYTON TO CROMWELL.

[From MS. Cotton. Cleop. E. iv. fol. 127.]

Pleasit your goodnes to understonde, that one Friday xxij°. Octobris, I rode bake with spede to take an inventarie of Fowlstone,* and from thens I went to Langden. Wheras immediatly discendyng from my horse, I sent Bartlett, your servant, with alle my servantes, to circumcept the abbay, and surely to kepe alle

* At Folkestone in Kent, Eadbald king of Kent founded a nunnery, on the site of which Nigellus de Mandeville founded a priory in 1095. This house was surrendered on the 15th of November, 1535, as will be seen by a subsequent letter in the present volume.

bake dorres and startyng hoilles, etc. I my self went alone to the abbottes logeyng jonyng upon the feldes and wode, evyn lyke a cony clapper fulle of startyng hoilles, a goode space knokkyng at thabbottes dore, nec vox nec sensus apparuit, saveyng thabbottes litle doge that, within his dore faste lokked, bayede and barkede. I fownde a short polax standyng behynde the dore, and with yt I dasshede thabbottes dore in peisses, ictu oculi, and set one of my men to kepe that dore, and aboute howse I go with that polax in my hande, ne forte, for thabbot is a daingerouse desperate knave and a hardy. hardy. But for a conclusion, his hore, alias his gentle womman, bestyrrede hir stumpis towardes hir startyng hoilles, and ther Bartlett wachyng the pursuet towke the tendre damoisel, and affter I hade examynede hir, to Dover ther to the maire to sett hir in sum cage or prison for viij. dais, and I browgt holy father abbot to Canterbury, and here in Christeschurche I will leve hym in prison. In this soden doyng ex tempore to circumcept the howse and to serche, your servant John Antonie his men mervelede what felow I was, and so dyde the reste of thabbay, for I was unknowyn ther of al men. At last, I fownde hir apparel in thabbottes cofer. To tell yowe all this commodie, but for thabbot a tragedie, hit were to long. Now hit shalle appere to gentilmen of this contrey, and other the comons, that ye shall not deprive or visite but upon substanciall growndes. Surely I suppos Gode hym self put hit in my mynde thus sodenly to make a serche at the begynnyng, bycause no chanon apperede in my syghte; I supposede rather to have fownde a hore emongiste them then in thabbottes chambre. The reste off alle this knaverie I shall differ tyll my cumyng unto yow, wiche shalbe with as muche spede as I can possible, doyng my assurede deligence in the reste. This mornyng I ryde towardes the archebisshop to visite hym; now whan I have visite hys see, this nyght I wilbe at Feversham abbay.* This ys to advertise yowr maistershipe.

The abbey of Faversham in Kent was founded about 1147, and filled with Cluniac monks from Bermondsey.

Scribullede this Satterday, an writen with the hasty hand of your assurede servant,

RYCHARD LAYTON, Preste.

The following letter was written by the same William Barlow, who wrote the letter printed before at page 6. He appears to have been moved, at his desire, from the priory of Haverfordwest to that of Bisham, which he quitted on the 22nd of February 1535-6, for the Bishopric of Asaph, which in the following April (1536) he exchanged for that of St. David's. His predecessor in the latter see, against whom he here complains, was Richard Rawlins, appointed in 1523.

The priory of Haverfordwest was founded before the year 1200 by Robert de Haverford, the first Norman lord of this district. The ruins are still visible by the river side, near the town.

XXXIV.

WILLIAM BARLOW TO CROMWELL.

[From MS. Cotton. Cleop. E. iv. fol. 107.]

Pleasith your good maistershipe with compassion to advertise the complaynt and unfayned peticion of your humble oratour, disquietly vexede without cause or any pretenced occasion motioned of your saide oratours partie. Whereas the quene of here graciouse bounte advouched me unworthy the priorshipe of Haverfordwest under here graces foundacion, syns the tyme of my ther contynual residence, consideryng the hungry famyne of heryng the worde of God and desolate scarcete of true prechers, I have endeveryd my self with no smalle bodely daunger agenst Antichrist, and all his confederat adherentes, sincerely to preche the gospell of Christ, whose verite as hit is invincible so is hit incessantly assautyd of faythles false perverters; by reson wherof they whiche of dutie ought to fortifie me in mayntenyng the truthe maliciously have concevid a malivolent mynde causles to maligne agenst me, in suche wise that I was forced ffrom theire tyranny to appele unto the kyng his honorable councelle, as playnly apperithe by the un

true surmised articles falsely contrived by the blacke ffreere of Haverfordwest, whiche though I presented to your maistershipe as thacte of his onely doing, yet was hit the mayntenans of the busshope and his ungostly spirituall officers, whiche is evident by the rewarde of the busshope to the ffreere at his departyng, also by his letters directed to Mr. dean of tharches and to doctoure Huys, diligently to sollicite that I myght be suppressed in my just matter. And where they sithe perceive that (praise be to God!) under the favour of your righteouse equite they cannot prevaile agenst me as they wilfully wulde, yet cesse they not wrongfully to vex suche as pertayne to me, troblyng them with tyranny for my sake, no suche cruelte deservyng; as where of late I sent a servaunt home about certen busynes, immediatly aftre his commyng the busshops officers ascited hym to apperans, and ransacking his house forced hym to delyver suche bokes as he had, that is to saye, an Ynglysshe Testament, thexposicion of the iiijth, vth, and vjth chapters of Mathewe, the Ten Commaundementes, and the Epistelle of Saynt Johan, violently withholding them with vehement reproches and clamarouse exclamacions agenst heretikes, as if to have the Testament in Ynglysshe were horrible heresie, to no litle dismaying and ferefull discomfort of the sincere favorers of Godes word. Moreover, they charged in the kynges name the maire of Tynby, in payne of fyve hundreth merckes, to putt in warde the said poore man, his wiff, and a certen honest widowe of inculpable fame, with whom they were at host, laying certen articles to theyre charge whiche they never thought nor spake; and. aftre most shamefull rumors raysed uppe to theyre dyffamacion, with slaunderouse wonderment of the towne, alle crafty meanes assayde to bryng in false witnes, when no accuser wuld appere openely, as a true certificat undre the townes seale largely dothe testifie, the above mencyoned officers, without any charitable satisfaction to the said parties wrongfully imprisonede, badd the maire do with them as he lusted, and so thens departyng made ther advaunt * in places where they came

*Their boast.

of theire valyaunt actes agenst heretikes, meanyng therby the favorers of Christes gospell. In consideracion wherof hit may please your singuler goodnes to provyde a redresse, that ffrom the terroure of suche tyrannes the kynges faythfulle subjectes youre poure oratours maye peaceably lyve according to Goddes lawes, without any suche unchristen empeschement and combrouse vexacyons. Furthermore, unfaynedly to assertayne your maistershipe, in what petious case gretely lamentable the kynges faithfull subjectes the poore resians* in the dioces of saynt David your suppliaunt oratours ar miserably ordred undre the clergye, requyreth a farre larger processe then here maye conveniently be comprised; for though we have semblably to other dioceses in outwarde auctorite and exterior ceremonies a busshop, a suffrigan, archdeacons, deans, commissaries, and other busshoplyke officers intitled with spirituall names, also a multitude of mounckes, chanons, ffreers, and secular pristes, yet among them all, so many in nombre and in so large a dioces, is ther not one that sincerely prechithe Goddes word, nor scarce any that hertely favorithe hit, but all utter enemyes theragenst, whose stubburne resistence cannot be without froward rebellion agenst the kynges graciouse actes establisshed uppon the verite of Goddes word. And concernyng the enormyouse vices, the frawdulent exactions, the mysordred lyvyng, and hethyn idolatry, shamefully supported undre the clergies jurisdiction, whiche by sequele of theyre blynd wilfull ignorans do consequently folowe, no dioces I suppose more corrupted nor none so farre out of frame, without hope of reformacion, except your maistershipe shall see a redresse, in whom under the kynges grace the trust of all those that meane well onely consistyth. Fynally theyr abused fasshions at lengithe to discover, at your commaundement, I shalbe redy with suche certente of truthe, that no adversary shalbe able to make contrary denyall; whiche so performed, hit may then please youre good maistershipe to licence me for to departe, under the laufull favour of youre protection, without the * Inhabitants, residents.