taunts, reproaches, calumnies, clamours, lies, and unsufferable abuses he underwent in Parliaments, in Court, in city, in country: and for nothing else, but for labouring to preserve and keep the Church of England, as it was legally established in the first reformation of it. All which notwithstanding, he went on steadily, and with meekness and forbearance persevered in his pious purposes, and succeeded at length beyond expectation; making good his motto, That he that beareth patiently overcomes Vincit qui at last.

These noble and divine gifts, your Grace hath and will have great need of in your station and spiritual administration of the affairs of this Church, as they had and exercised, who are gone long since hence, and do enjoy the ample reward of their faith and patience.

Pardon, my Lord, this address. And I beseech your Grace, and all others, to accept in good part this my imperfect, but well meant, and, I hope, useful work. And so begging your Grace's blessing, I humbly take my leave; being,

May it please your Grace,

Your Grace's most humble
and obedient Servant,

patitur.

JOHN STRYPE. 1718

THE

PREFACE TO THE READER.

I SHALL

SHALL only detain the reader of this book now offered to the public, while I advertise him of two or three things briefly; viz. concerning the end and purpose for which I have composed it; the method I have used; and the credit to be given to it.

My end herein was, together with the preserving of the memory of this Archbishop, to continue some history of our reformed Church under Queen Elizabeth; the knowledge whereof we have hitherto much wanted. Which as I had given some account of in the former part of her reign, under the lives of the two former Archbishops, and elsewhere; so under this we have gone on, and lengthened it out to the end of her life; and somewhat further, to the entrance of her successor King James I, The fruit whereof is various, and chiefly to dispose us, in this succeeding age, to value and adhere to this holy religion and Church, which still flourisheth, after so many foreign and domestic endeavours to undermine it, and the more open assaults to overthrow the evangelical and apostolical discipline, on which it was settled after great deliberation by very wise and good men, our first Reformers; several of them martyrs and confessors: and to excite us (who live in these days) heartily to bless and praise Almighty God for the many signal deliverances which we see it hath obtained by his gracious and overruling hand, throughout that long and dangerous reign; and to live quietly and thankfully in the communion of it.

The method I have taken hath been to comprise the history under two heads; viz. under the life of the Archbishop, and his particular care and conduct in the govern

ment of the Church, and influence in the many occurrences wherein religion or learning were concerned. And secondly, under other various ecclesiastical emergencies happening from time to time, having some respect or other to the Archbishop, his courts or dependencies. By which means a fair prospect is given of the state of this Church for many years; viz. from the time that Whitgift first wore the mitre, to the conclusion of his life, and the administration of it for above a year after.

And to make the history the more useful and instructive, as well as entertaining, I have given myself the liberty (as occasion hath fallen in) to enlarge my accounts both of matters and persons. So that a great many transactions, from year to year, are related; especially what was done in Parliaments, and Convocations, and Commissions Ecclesiastical. And large notices are recorded of many Bishops, Divines, dignified men, or eminent for learning, disciplinarians, schismatics, and enthusiasts, as well as other persons of quality or remark in those times: whereby the knowledge of them, their principles, their characters, their virtues, their vices, &c. are brought to light, or to clearer and truer light; the names only of some of them, or little more, having come to our ears at this distance of time.

As, these Archbishops and Bishops, (besides our Archbishop,) viz. Parker, Grindal, Sandys, Cox, Scory, Ælmer, Cooper, Overton, Hutton, Matthew, Pierse, Bilson, Fletcher, Still, Bickley, Heton, Bancroft: Deans, Divines, and University men; Noel, Perne, Goodman, Fox, Lever, Saravia, Sutcliff, Whitaker, Broughton, Reynolds, Baro, Hooker, Andrews, Abbot, Goad, Overal, Nevyl, Charior: new Reformers and Separatists; Sampson, Nicolls, Cartwright, Travers, Chark, Giffard, Browne, Randall, Fenn, Snape, Pagitt, Penry, Udall, Barrow, Greenwood, Darell: Civilians; Clark, Cofin, Lewen: Papists; Ballard, Moor, and the gentlemen and Priests in Wisbich-castle: Courtiers and Statesmen; Lord Burghley, the Earl of Leicester, Walsingham, Wylson, Hatton, Knowles, Beal, &c. Of all whom, and many more, mention is made, and divers mat

ters observable, in the series of the book, are discovered. concerning them. To which I add, that there are interspersed not a few affairs of both the Universities, and of divers colleges therein.

And now, as for the credit to be given to what I have writ I have taken my relations from authentic records, papers of state, original letters, registries of Archbishops and Bishops of Canterbury, and of the University, the Cotton library, the Heralds' Office, Mr. Petyt's library, the Harleyan library, that of the late Bishop of Ely, and other treasuries of manuscripts of the greatest fame; and most of them such as mine own eyes have seen, and hand hath transcribed. And as I have always professed, so I have now governed myself strictly by the rules of truth and integrity. And that I might the more surely give the sense of the papers I have made use of, I have for the most part compiled the history, not so much in mine own words, as in the very words of the records and writings; though sometimes the expressions are uncouth, and the spelling not so consonant to our modern way of writing; that so the reader may the better judge of what he reads; and that the truth of the things themselves may the more evidently appear.

I must also here in gratitude acknowledge the assistances divers learned men have given me, by supplying me with some very valuable papers, either originals or transcripts; as willing to render this work I had undertaken the more complete: particularly the Reverend Thomas Brett, LL. D. of Spring-Grove; Thomas Baker, B. D. of St. John's college; Mr. Samuel Knight, of Trinity college, Cambridge; Mr. Nicholas Battely, of Beaksborn, deceased; Mr. Ralph Thoresby, of Leeds in Yorkshire.

And in order to be secure from imbibing wrong impressions, (as often happens by means of the author's partiality, or mistake, or wilful concealment of many things,), and for the confirmation of what is here related, I have in an Appendix entered a great sort of originals, to the number of