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  HENRY THE SIXTH




  CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS

  C. F. CLAY, MANAGER

  LONDON: FETTER LANE, E.C. 4
  NEW YORK: G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
  BOMBAY   }
  CALCUTTA } MACMILLAN AND CO., LTD.
  MADRAS   }
  TORONTO: J. M. DENT AND SONS, LTD.
  TOKYO: MARUZEN-KABUSHIKI-KAISHA

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED




  Henry the Sixth

  A REPRINT OF
  JOHN BLACMAN'S MEMOIR
  WITH TRANSLATION
  AND NOTES

  BY

  M. R. JAMES, LITT. D., F.B.A., F.S.A.

  PROVOST OF ETON
  FORMERLY PROVOST OF KING'S COLLEGE

  CAMBRIDGE
  AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS
  1919




CONTENTS

PREFACE                                                   PAGE    vii

TEXT                                                                1

TRANSLATION                                                        23

NOTES                                                              45

SPECIAL NOTES

      I. A PRAYER TO HENRY VI IN ENGLISH VERSE                     50

     II. ON THE MANUSCRIPT MIRACLES OF HENRY VI.                   51

    III. ON JOHN BLACMAN'S BOOKS                                   55




PREFACE


The tract on the Personality of King Henry VI (as I may perhaps be
allowed to call it), which is here reprinted, has hitherto been almost
inaccessible to ordinary students. It is not known to exist at all in
manuscript. We depend ultimately for our knowledge of it upon a printed
edition issued by Robert Coplande of London, of which the date is said
to be 1510. Of this there may be two copies in existence. This text was
reprinted by Thomas Hearne in 1732, in his edition of the Chronicles of
Thomas Otterbourne and John Whethamstede, of which 150 copies were
issued.

I have here reprinted Hearne's text, and have collated it with
Coplande's. This I was enabled to do through the great kindness of the
authorities of St Cuthbert's College at Ushaw, who most generously lent
me a copy of the tract preserved in their Library. This copy I will
endeavour to describe.

It is in a modern binding lettered: _Hylton's Lives of British Saints.
Blackman's Life of Henry VI_. The pressmark is

            XVIII
              C      4
                     7

The size is 185 x 130 mm. There are 32 lines to a full page.

_Collation_: A6 B4.

_Signatures_: A I (2 not signed): A III (4-6 not signed).

B I (2 not signed): B III (4 not signed). Ab I _a_ has the title at
top:

    ¶Collectarium Mansuetudinum et bono-
    rum morum regis Henrici. VI. ex col-
      lecti[=o]e magistri Joannis blak
          man bacchalaurei theo
           logie / et post Car
              tusie monachi
                 Londini.


Below this is a woodcut measuring 99 x 76, and representing a bearded
king in hat with crown about it, clad in ermine tippet, and dalmatic
over long robe. He holds a closed book in his _R._ hand, a sceptre in
his _L._: on the _L._ wrist is a maniple. His head is turned towards
_R._ On _R._ a tree, plants across the foreground: a mound on _L._ with
two trees seen over it.

I feel confident that the woodcut is not intended for a portrait of
Henry VI, and that it really represents some Old Testament personage:
but I have not attempted to trace it in other books.

It has a border in three pieces. Those on _R._ and _L._ are 115 mm. in
height and contain small figures of prophets standing on tall shafts:
that at bottom was designed to be placed vertically, and contains a
half-length figure of a prophet springing out of foliage, and with
foliage above.

On A I _b_ the woodcut is repeated without the border.

Then follows the text as given by me. After it, on B IV _a_, is Robert
Coplande's device, measuring 80 x 95; a wreath of roses and leaves,
comprised within two concentric circles: within it the printer's mark.

Outside in the upper _L._ corner a rose slipped and leaved: in the upper
_R._ corner, a pomegranate.

Below, a scroll inscribed: Robert (_rose_) Coplande.

On B IV _b_ the woodcut of the king, without border.

Below it, in a neat hand:

          R. Johnson. prec. 1d.
                  1523.


For the rest, the volume contains:

     Capgrave's _New Legende_, beginning imperfectly in the Table

     De S. Esterwino abbate. fo. xxxviii.


This is preceded by two inserted leaves of paper: on the first are the
missing items of the Table, supplied in a rough hand of cent. XVI. On
the second, in a hand of cent. XVIII, is:

        Printed at London by Richard Pynson
     Printer to the Kings Noble Grace the 20th
        day of February 1516. Vid. Page 133.

               Newcastle upon Tyne.

        This book was found in the Town Clerk's
     Office about the latter end (of) the year 1765.

                   (?) A P G.


At the end of the Table (before A I) is written in a hand of cent. XVI:

     The abbridgement of henry the syxthes lyfe ys fastned to the ende
     of this booke.


At top of A I (cent. XVI) is: T. T. Collected by Caxton.

On A VIII _b_, B II _a_ is the name (cent. XVI):

    Alexander Ridley of ye brom hills.


He has written a good many marginal notes in the book.

_Collation_: Table 2 ff. A8 B4 C8 D4 E8 F4 G8 H4 I8 K4 L8
(i-iii signed) M4 N8 (as L) O4 (i-iii signed) P8 (as L) Q4 R8 (as
L) S4 (i-iii signed: ii, iii both numbered i) T8 (+ 1: 4 leaves
CIX-CXII on the 11000 Virgins inserted after CVII* instead of after
CVIII) U6 (6 blank unnumbered) X8 (Life of S. Byrgette) Y6.

Followed by tract of Walter Hylton: 'to a deuoute man in temperall
estate howe he shulde rule hym' etc. A8 B8 (leaves not numbered).

On CXIX _b_ is Pynson's device: no date.

On CXXXIII _a_ (Life of S. Byrgette) the date M.CCCCCXVI. XX Feb. On the
verso Pynson's device with break in lower border.

At the end of Hylton's tract B VIII _a_ the date MCCCCCXVI last daye of
Feb.

On the verso Pynson's device with break in lower border.

Hearne's preface to _Otterbourne_ (I, p. xliv) contains some interesting
matter bearing on the tract, which I summarize here.

    No one, he says, except John Blakman has yet written a special
    life of Henry VI, and Blakman's is not an _opus absolutum_ but a
    "fragmentum duntaxat operis longe majoris alicubi forte nunc etiam
    latentis."

     Vita haecce qualiscunque in lucem prodiit Londini A.D. M.D.X. a
     Roberto Coplandio... excusus. Eiusdem exemplaria adeo rara sunt ut
     vix reperias in bibliothecis etiam instructissimis. Penes se autem
     habet amicus excultissimus Jacobus Westus, qui pro necessitudine
     illa quae inter nos intercedit, non tantum mutuo dedit, sed et
     licentiam concessit exscribendi. Id quod feci.


West had acquired his copy by purchase, among a number of printed books
formerly the property of Archbishop Sancroft.

On p. xlix Hearne tells us that Sancroft had written the following note
in his copy of the tract:

     Hunc libellum conscribendum curavit Henricus VIIus, cum Julio papa
     II agens de Henrico VI in Sanctorum numerum referendo. De quo vide
     Jac. Waraei annales H. 7. Aº 1504.


Ware (and Hearne) print the Bull of Julius, directing an inquiry into
Henry's sanctity and miracles. I may add that some part of the results
of this negotiation may be seen in the manuscript collection of Henry
VIth's miracles preserved in the Royal MS. 13. C. VIII and in the MS.
Harley 423 (a partial copy of the other), both in the British Museum.[1]

Furthermore Hearne reprints what is properly called a _Memoria_ of King
Henry VI such as is to be found in a fairly large number of Books of
Hours or Primers both manuscript and printed. Hearne's text is taken
from _Horae_ printed by Wynkyn de Worde 1510, f. cli _a_, and is as
follows.

     _A prayer to holy kynge Henry._
     Rex Henricus sis amicus nobis in angustia
     Cuius prece nos a nece saluemur perpetua
     Lampas morum spes egrorum ferens medicamina
     Sis tuorum famulorum ductor ad celestia.
     Pax in terra non sit guerra orbis per confinia
     Virtus crescat et feruescat charitas per omnia
     Non sudore uel dolore moriamur subito
     Sed viuamus et plaudamus celis sine termino.
  _Ver._ Ora pro nobis deuote rex Henrice.
  _Resp._ Ut per te cuncti superati sint inimici.
         Oremus. Presta, quesumus, omnipotens et misericors deus, ut qui
     deuotissimi regis Henrici merita miraculis fulgentia pie mentis
     affectu recolimus in terris, eius et omnium sanctorum tuorum
     intercessionibus ab omni per te febre, morbo, ac improuisa morte
     ceterisque eruamur malis, et gaudia sempiterna adipisci mereamur.
     Per Christum dominum nostrum. Amen.


Here is another form, which occurs in the Fitzwilliam MS. 55 (a Norfolk
book of about 1480):

         _Antiphon_. Rex Henricus pauper(um?) et ecclesie defensor ad
     misericordiam semper pronus in caritate feruidus pietati deditus
     clerum decorauit, quem deus sic beatificauit.
  _Vers._ Ora pro nobis deuote Henrice.
  _Resp._ Ut digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi.
         Oremus. Deus sub cuius ineffabili maiestate vniuersi reges
     regnant et imperant, qui deuotissimum Henricum Anglorum regem
     caritate feruidum, miseris et afflictis semper compassum, omni
     bonitate clemenciaque conspicuum, ut pio (pie) creditur inter
     angelos connumerare dignatus es: concede propicius ut eo cum
     omnibus sanctis interuenientibus hostium nostrorum superbia
     conteratur, morbus et quod malum est procul pellatur, palma
     donetur et gratia sancti spiritus nobis misericordiam tuam
     poscentibus ubique adesse dignetur. Qui uiuis, etc.


Yet another form is seen in a manuscript (V. III. 7) in Bishop Cosin's
Library at Durham, of cent. XV late: it is written, with a good many
other miscellaneous verses, at the end of the book.

     O rex Henrice vincas virtute pudice
     Anglorum vere cum recto nomine sexte
     [Es] wynsorie natus et ibi de fonte leuatus
     Atque coronatus in Westm(ynster) veneratus
     Et post ffrancorum rex es de iure creatus
     Post mortem carnis miracula plurima pandis
     Confirmante deo qui te preelegit ab euo
     Et tibi concessit plures sanare per illum
     Cecos et claudos cum debilitate retentos
     Atque paraliticos egrotos spasmaticosque
     In neruis plures contracti te mediante
     In te sperantes sanantur et auxiliantur
     Et laudes domino per te semper tribuantur.
   Ora pro nobis dei electe rex Anglie Henrice sexte.
   Ut digni, etc.
         Oremus. Omnipotens eterne deus qui electis tuis multa mirabilia
     operaris: concede quaesumus ut electi tui Anglorum regis Henrici
     sexti meritis et precibus mediantibus et intercedentibus mereamur
     ab omnibus angustiis anime et doloribus membrorum liberemur(-ari).
     Et cum illo in vita perpetua gloriari. Per, etc.


These three forms of _Memoriae_ are probably not all that exist; but
they will suffice as representative specimens of the popular devotions
used in honour of our Founder.

Besides the _Memoria_ Hearne gives two prayers, attributed to the King
himself, and largely identical in language with that which is prefixed
to Blakman's tract. He takes them from the same printed _Horae_ of 1510
whence the _Memoria_ comes. They are on p. lv _a_ and run thus:

     _Two lytell prayers whiche King Henry the syxte made._

     Domine Ihesu Christe, qui me creasti, redemisti, et preordinasti
     ad hoc quod sum: tu scis quid de me facere vis: fac de me secundum
     voluntatem tuam cum misericordia.

     Domine Ihesu Christe, qui solus es sapientia: tu scis que michi
     peccatori expediunt: prout tibi placere[2] et sicut in oculis tue
     maiestatis videtur, de me ita fiat cum misericordia tua. Amen.
     Pater noster. Aue Maria.


Of John Blacman or Blakman, the author of our tract, not a great deal is
known. He was admitted Fellow of Merton College, Oxford, in 1436, and of
Eton in 1447: he was Cantor of Eton College, and, as we read in the
title of his book, a bachelor of Divinity, and later a Carthusian monk.
But before he 'entered religion' he held an important post in University
circles, for, in 1452, on the death of Nicholas Close, he was appointed
by the Provosts of Eton and King's (who at that time owned this piece of
patronage) Warden of King's Hall at Cambridge, that royal foundation
which was eventually absorbed into Trinity College. As Warden (I quote
from Mr W. W. Rouse Ball's privately printed account of King's Hall) he
introduced into the College "some scheme of reorganization, which
involved a division of the Society into four classes, fellows, scholars,
commoners, and servi-commoners.... The scheme, whatever it was, was
abandoned on Blacman's resignation" which took effect on 11 July 1457.
Blacman then entered the Carthusian house of Witham in Somerset, and
subsequently that of London, where he probably died. When, and for how
long, he held the post of spiritual director or confessor to Henry VI, I
have no evidence to show.

Of one thing about him, namely, his literary possessions, we know more.
The Bodleian manuscript Laud. Misc. 154 contains two lists, one short,
and one long and elaborate, of books given by him to the Witham
Charterhouse. Several of these exist in the Bodleian and other
libraries, and one, a notable copy of the Polychronicon, which contains
the earliest known picture of Windsor Castle (and of Eton), very
probably drawn by Blacman himself, has in recent years been acquired by
the library of Eton College. The full list of Blacman's books is given
in a separate note.

In reprinting Hearne's text I have retained his spelling, which does not
correspond completely with that of Coplande's print. Hearne gives _ae_
for _e_ throughout, and expands contractions without notice. Had I had
access to the original tract before Hearne's text was put into type, I
should have retained the medieval spelling; but I did not think it worth
while to make the change _apres coup_. The actual words of the text
represent Blacman as faithfully as possible; and that is the chief
matter.

I need not, I think, say much by way of commending this little memorial
of our Founder to the _pietas_ of the many who have owed and still owe
to his bounty such pleasant and peaceful years, and such opportunities
for the gaining of knowledge and the forming of friendships, as he
himself never enjoyed. The evils which his weak rule brought upon
England have faded out of being: the good which in his boyhood he
de