The Fall of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, and His Brother John, Lord Montacute, Slain at Barnet

Among the heauy heape of happy knightes,
Whome fortune stald vpon her staylesse stage,
Oft hoyst on hie, oft pight in wretched plights,
Behold mee, Baldwine, a per se of my age,
Lord Richard Neuill, earle by maryage
Of Warwicke duchy, of Sarum by discent,
Which erst my father through his mariage hent.

Wouldst thou beholde false fortune in her kinde?
Note well my selfe, so shalt thou see her naked:
Full faire before, but too too foule behinde,
Most drowsy still whan most shee seemes awaked:
My fame and shame her shift full oft hath shaked,
By enterchaunge, alow, and vp aloft,
The lysard like, that chaungeth hew full oft.

For while the duke of Yorke in life remaynde,
Mine vncle deare, I was his happy hand:
In all attempts my purpose I attaynde,
Though king, and queene, and most lordes of the land,
With all their power did often mee withstand:
For God gaue fortune, and my good behauiour
Did from their prince steale mee the people’s fauour.

So that through mee in fieldes right manly fought,
By force myne vncle tooke king Henry twise:
As for my cosin Edward I so wrought,
When both our siers were slaine through rash aduice,
That hee atchiefde his father’s enterprise:
For into Scotland king and queene wee chased,
By meane whereof the kingdome hee embraced.

Which after hee had enioyed in quiet peace,
(For shortly after was king Henry take,
And put in prison) his power to encrease,
I went to Fraunce and match him with a make
The French kinge’s daughter, whome hee did forsake:
For while with paine I brought this sute to passe,
Hee to a widdowe rashely wedded was.

This made the French king shrewdly to mistrust,
That all my treaties had but ill pretence,
And when I sawe my king so bent to lust,
That with his fayth hee past not to dispence,
Which is a prince’s honour’s chiefe defence:
I could not rest till I had found a meane
To mend his misse, or els to marre him cleane.

[Wherefore] I mee allied with his brother George,
Incensing him his brother to maligne,
Through many a tale I did against him forge:
So that through power that wee from Calais bring
And found at home, wee frayed so the king,
That hee did flie to Freseland ward amayne,
Whereby king Henry had the crowne againe.

Than put wee th’earle of Worcester to death,
King Edward’s friend, a man to foule defamed:
And in the while came Edward into breath:
For with the duke of Burgoine so hee framed,
That with the power that hee to him had named,
Unlooked for hee came to England streight,
And got to Yorke, and tooke the towne by sleight.

And after through the sufferaunce of my brother,
Which like a beast occasion fouly lost,
Hee came to London safe with many other,
And tooke the towne to good king Henrie’s cost:
Who was through him from post to piller tost,
Till th’earle of Oxforde, I, and other more,
Assembled power his freedome to restore.

Whereof king Edward warned came with speede,
And camped with his hoast in Barnet towne,
Where wee right fearce encountred him in deed
On Easter day, right earely, on the downe:
There many a man was slaine and stricken downe,
On eyther side, and neither part did gaine,
Till that I and my brother both were slaine.

For wee to hart our ouermatched men,
Forsooke our steedes, and in the thickest throng
Ran preacing forth on foote, and fought so then
That downe wee draue them were they neuer so strong:
But ere this lucke had lasted very long
With nomber and force wee were so fouly cloyed,
And rescue faylde, that quite wee were destroyed.

Now tell mee, Baldwine, hast thou heard or read
Of any man that did as I haue done?
That in his time so many armies led,
And victory at euery voyage won?
Hast thou euer heard of subiect vnder sonne,
That plaast and baast his soueraignes so oft
By enterchaunge, now low, and than aloft?

Perchaunce thou thinkst my doinges were not such
As I and other doe affirme they were:
And in thy minde I see thou musest much
What meanes I vsde, that should mee so prefer:
Wherein, because I will thou shalt not erre,
The truth of all I will at large recyte,
The short is this: I was no hypocrite.

I neuer did nor sayd saue what I ment,
The common weale was still my chiefest care:
To priuate gayne or glory was I neuer bent,
I neuer past vpon delicious fare:
Of needefull food my bourd was neuer bare,
No creditour did curse mee day by day,
I vsed playnnesse, euer pitch and pay.

I heard poore souldiers and poore workemen whine
Because theyr dutyes were not truely payde:
Agayne I saw how people did repine
At those through whom theyr payment was delayde:
And proofe did oft assure (as scripture sayd)
That God doth wreke the wretched people’s greues,
I saw the polls cut of fro polling theues.

This made mee alway iustly for to deale,
Which whan the people playnly vnderstoode,
Because they saw mee mynd the common weale,
They still endeuoured how to doe mee good,
Ready to spend theyr substaunce, life, and bloud,
In any cause where to I did them moue:
For sure they were it was for theyr behoue.

And so it was: for when the realme decayed
By such as good king Henry sore abused,
To mend the state I gaue his enemies ayde:
But when king Edward sinfull prankes still vsed,
And would not mend, I likewise him refused,
And holp Henry, better of the twayne,
And in his quarell (iust I thinke) was slayne.

And therefore, Baldwine, teach by proofe of mee,
That such as couet people’s loue to get,
Must see theyr workes and wordes in all agree,
Liue liberally and keepe them out of det,
On common welth let all theyr care be set:
For vpright dealing, dets payd, poore sustayned,
Is meane whereby all heartes are throwly gayned.