TO MYLES COVERDALE, FROM THE MS. IN THE COLLEGE OF ARMS, LONDON. OIBUS XRI FIDELIBUS has pntes Iras inspecturis aut audituris GILBERTUS DETHICK ALS GARTER miles principalis herauldus et primarius Rex Armor inclitissimi ordinis garterii salutem. Equitas vult et racio postulat qd homines virtuosi laudabilis dispocitionis et vite honorabilis sint p eor merita honorati et remunerati in suis psonis existentes in hac vita mortali tam brevi et transitoria et in quolibet loco honoris p ceteris exaltati demonstrando signa et exempla virtutis honoris ac etiam humanitatis videlicet ea intencione ut p eorum exempla alii magis conentur vitam suam in actibus operibusq clarissimis exercere quibus assequantur et impetrent famam antique nobilitatis et ideo Ego pdcus Gilbertus als garter non solum ex divulgata fama verum etiam ex meo ceterorumq fidelium fide dignor testimonio sum veraciter instructus et informatus qd Rdus in XRO pr Milo Coverdalus Exonien Epus diu in virtute claruit et pseveravit et in oibus suis actibus et moribus adeo bene sobrie discrete atq honorifice se gessit adeo ut mereat' et dignus sit in omnibus locis honoris admitti numerari et recipi in numeru et con sortium aliorü veterum et illustrium virorum. Quo circa ob memoriam ejus tante virtutis et dignitatis p auctem et ptatem mihi Gilberto officioq meo p illm dn nrm Regem sptr concess annex et attribut ordinavi pfato Miloni epo andicto scutum cum insigniis honoris sicut hic gallice declarabitur Cest a scavoir de goules et dor quartele endente p fesse troys fleurs et troys roses entrechanges du champ ut latius in scuto hic depicto apparet HABEND & TENENDU eidm Miloni et ut ille in his ornatus sit ad ejus honorem inppetuu In cujus Rei testimoniu has pntes has manu mea subscripsi ac sigillum meu una cu sigillo officii mei Regis armoru his pntibus apposui. Dat primo die mens Septemb Anno Regi Regis Edwardi sexti Dei gracia Anglie Francie et Hibnie Regis &c. There is no exemplification of the coat attached, nor is the date of the year affixed to this grant. It was discovered in an un-indexed volume in the College of Arms, by the Rev. R. H. Barham, who kindly furnished it for this work, together with the literal translation which follows. (TRANSLATION.) To all Christian people who may see or hear of these presents, Gilbert Dethick, otherwise Garter, Knight, Chief Herald, and Principal King at Arms of the most renowned Order of the Garter, sends health. Justice wills and reason requires that men of virtuous and praiseworthy disposition and honourable life, should for their deserts be honoured and rewarded in their own persons while yet in this mortal life, so brief and transitory, exhibiting signs and examples of virtue, honour, and also of courtesy; to wit, with the intent that through their examples others may the more endeavour to pass their lives in actions and deeds of the best repute, whereby they may acquire and attain the reputation of antient nobility. Wherefore, I the aforesaid Gilbert, otherwise Garter, being, not only by common fame, but also by my own knowledge and by the testimony of divers credible and trustworthy persons truly instructed and informed that the Reverend Father in Christ Myles Coverdale Bishop of Exeter hath long been eminent for and continued in virtue, and in all his actions and manners hath borne himself fairly, soberly, discreetly, and honourably, so that he deserveth and is worthy to be admitted, accounted, and received into the number and society of other antient and illustrious persons. Wherefore for a memorial of his so great virtue and worth, by the authority and power to me the said Gilbert, and to my office, by our illustrious Lord the King especially given, annexed and granted, I have ordained to the said Myles, the Bishop aforesaid, a shield with insignia of honour such as shall be here in the French language declared. That is to say of gules and or quarterly indented by fess three flowers and three roses counterchanged of the field as more plainly in the shield here depicted doth appear, to have and to hold to him the said Myles, and that he may in them be adorned to his honour for ever. In witness whereof I have subscribed these presents with my hand, and also to these presents have affixed my seal together with the seal of my office of King at Arms. Given the first day of the month of September in the Year of our Lord King Edward the Sixth by the grace of God of England France and Ireland King. AT CAMBRIDGE, IN THE MONASTERY OF THE AUGUSTINS. DR. AUGUSTIN PRIORY, HIS COVERDALE PROFESSES THE NEW TENETS. RECANTATION OF ONE TOPLEY, IN WHICH HE STATES THAT COVERDALE WAS THE MEANS OF LEADING HIM INTO HERESY. COVERDALE THEREFORE, FOR FEAR OF PERSECUTION, DETERMINES TO LEAVE ENGLAND. MYLES COVERDALE, the subject of the present work, was born in the year м CCCCLXXXVIII, in the county of York. His early life is little known; and who or what were his parents cannot now be ascertained. That no account should be handed down to us of the parentage and birth of this eminent man, will be matter of little surprise, when we observe how carelessly and superficially events, that now seem to us B of the highest importance, are treated by the early chroniclers and biographers. And what may be a still stronger reason for this neglect is, that, as the first notice taken of him mentions him to have been a monk of the Augustine order, it was probably not easy, even for his contemporaries, except from his own relation, to give any light as to the place of his birth, or who were his parents. When a person devoted himself to a monastic life, he was regarded as a being cut off from the world. Its cares, and pains, and tumults, were not to disturb the mind of him, who was consecrated to the service of his God. He was to be superior to the frailties of human feelings; and because the heart would still fondly turn to thoughts of joy and pleasure, every method to alienate his affections from worldly things, and to break the ties that associations and recollections would necessarily strengthen, was had resort to. With this view, the monk, on entering the convent, formally renounced the name that he had hitherto been known by, and assumed a new one, which was such as suited the fancy or inclination of each individual. There is little doubt, therefore, that Coverdale was a personal, not an inherited name; and as all writers agree in stating that he was born in Yorkshire," it may not be unfair to presume that he took his name from the place of his birth, and that, as the learned · Mr. Whitaker suggests," we are therefore justified in |