The Fall of Richard Plantagenet, Duke of Gloucester, Slain at Bosworth Field

What heart so hard, but doth abhorre to heare
The rufull raigne of me the third Richard?
King vnkindly calde, though I the crown did weare,
Who entred by rigour, but right did not regard,
By tyranny proceding in killing king Edward,
Fift of that name, right heyr vnto the crowne,
With Richard his brother, princes of renowne.

Of trust they were committed vnto my gouernaunce,
But trust turned to treason, too truly it was tryed,
Both agaynst nature, duty, and alleigaunce,
For through my procurement most shamefully they dyed:
Desire of a kingdom forgetteth all kinred,
As after by discourse it shalbe shewed here,
How cruely these innocents in prison murdered were.

The lords and commons all with one assent,
Protectour made me both of land and king,
But I therewith, alas, was not content:
For minding mischife I ment another thing,
Which to confusion in short time did mee bring:
For I, desirous to rule and raigne alone,
Sought crowne and kingdom, yet title had I none.

To all peeres and princes a president I may bee,
The like to beware how they do enterprise,
And learne theyr wretched falles by my fact to foresee,
Which rufull stand bewayling my chaunce before theyr eyes,
As one cleane bereft of all felicityes:
For right through might I cruelly defaced,
But might helped right and mee agayne displaced.

Alas, that euer prince should thus his honour stayne
With the bloud of innocents, most shamefull to be tolde:
For these two noble impes I caused to be slaine,
Of yeares not full ripe as yet to rule and raigne:
For which I was abhorred both of yong and olde,
But as the deede was odious in sight of God and man,
So shame and destruction in the end I wan.

Both God, nature, duty, alleigaunce all forgot,
This vile and haynous act vnnaturally conspyred:
Which horrible deede done, alas, alas, God wot,
Such terrours mee tormented, and my sprites fired
As vnto such a murder and shamefull deede required,
Such broyle dayly felt I breeding in my brest,
Whereby, more and more, increased mine vnrest.

My brother’s children were right heyres vnto the crowne,
Whom nature rather bound to defend then destroy,
But I not regarding theyr right nor my renowne,
My whole care and study to this end did employe,
The crowne to obtayne, and them both to put downe:
Wherein I God offended, prouoking iust his ire,
For this my attempt and most wicked desire.

To cursed Cayn compare my carefull case,
Which did vniustly slay his brother iust Abel:
And did not I in rage make run that rufull race
My brother duke of Clarence? whose deth I shame to tel,
For that it was so straunge as it was horrible:
For sure he drenched was, and yet no water neare,
Which straunge is to bee tolde, to all that shall it heare.

The but hee was not whereat I did shoote,
But yet he stoode betweene the marke and mee,
For had he liu’d, for mee it was no boote
To tempt the thing that by no meanes could bee,
For I third was then of my brethren three:
But yet I thought the elder being gone,
Then needes must I beare the stroke alone.

Desire of rule made mee, alas, to rewe,
My fatall fall I could it not foresee,
Puft vp in pride, so hawty then I grewe,
That none my peere I thought now could bee,
Disdayning such as were of high degree:
Thus dayly rising, and pulling other downe,
At last I shot how to win the crowne.

And dayly deuising which was the best way
And meane, how I might my nephues both deuour:
I secretly then sent, without furder delay,
To Brackinbury, then lieutenaunt of the tower,
Requesting him by letters to helpe vnto his power,
For to accomplish this my desire and will,
And that hee would secretly my brother’s children kill.

He aunswered playnly with a flat nay,
Saying that to dye hee would not doe that deede:
But finding then a profer to my pray,
“Well worth a friend (quoth I) yet in time of neede:”
Iames Tyrrill hight his name, whom with all speede,
I sent agayne to Brackinbury, as you heard before,
Commaunding him deliuer the keyes of euery dore.

The keyes hee rendred, but partaker would not be
Of that flagitious fact. O, happy man, I say:
As you haue heard before, he rather chose to dye,
Then on those sely lambes his violent hands to lay:
His conscience him pricked his prince to betraye,
O constant minde, that wouldst not condiscend,
Thee may I prayse, and my selfe discommend.

What though hee refused, yet bee sure you may,
That other were as ready to take in hand that thing,
Which watched and wayted as duely for their pray,
As euer did the cat for the mouse taking,
And how they might their purpose best to passe bring:
Where Tyrrill hee thought good to haue no bloud shed,
Becast them to kill by smothering in their bed.

The wolues at hand were redy to deuoure
The seely lambes in bed, wheras they laye,
Abiding death, and looking for the howre,
For well they wist, they could not scape away:
Ah, woe is mee, that did them thus betray,
In assigning this vile deede to bee done,
By Miles Forrest and wicked Ihon Dighton.

Who priuely into their chamber stale,
In secret wise somwhat before midnight,
And gan the bed together tug and hale,
Bewrapping them, alas, in wofull plight,
Keping them downe, by force, by power, and might,
With haling, tugging, turmoyling, turnde and tost,
Tyll they of force were forced yeeld the ghost.

Which when I heard, my hart I felt was eased
Of grudge, of griefe, and inward deadly payne,
But with this deede the nobles were displeased,
And sayde: “O God, shall such a tyrant raygne,
That hath so cruelly his brother’s children slayne?”
Which bruit once blowen in the people’s ears,
Their doloure was such, that they brast out in tears.

But what thing may suffise vnto the gredy man,
The more hee baths in bloud, the bloudier hee is alway:
By proofe I do this speake, which best declare it can,
Which onely was the cause of this prince’s decay:
The wolfe was neuer gredier then I was of my pray:
But who so vseth murder, full well affirme I dare,
With murder shall bee quit, ere hee thereof beware.

And marke the sequel of this begone mischiefe:
Which shortly after was cause of my decay,
For high and low conceiued such a griefe
And hate agaynst mee, which sought, day by day,
All wayes and meanes that possible they may,
On mee to bee reuenged for this sinne,
For cruelly murdering vnnaturally my kyn.

Not only kyn, but king, the truth to say,
Whom vnkindely of kingdome I bereft,
His lyfe from him, I also raught away,
With his brother’s, which to my charge was left:
Of ambition beholde the worke and weft,
Prouoking mee to do this haynous treason,
And murder them, agaynst all right and reason.

After whose death thus wrought by violence,
The lords not lyking this vnnaturall deede,
Began on mee to haue greate diffidence,
Such brinning hate gan in their harts to breede,
Which made mee doubt, and sore my daunger dreede:
Which doubt and dreede proued not in vayne,
By that ensude, alas, vnto my payne.

For I supposing all things were as I wished,
When I had brought these sely babes to bane,
But yet in that my purpose far I missed:
For as the moone doth chaunge after the wane,
So chaunged the hearts of such as I had tane
To bee most true, to troubles did mee tourne:
Such rage and rancoure in boyling brests doth burne.

And sodainly a bruit abroade was blowne,
That Buckingham the duke, both sterne and stout,
In field was ready, with diuers to mee knowne,
To giue mee battayle if I durst come out:
Which daunted mee and put mee in greate doubt,
For that I had no army then prepared:
But after that, I litle for it cared.

But yet remembring, that oft a litle sparke
Suffred doth growe vnto a greate flame,
I thought it wisdome wisly for to warke,
Mustred then men in euery place I came:
And marched forward dayly with the same,
Directly towards the towne of Salisbury,
Where I gat knowledge of the duke’s army.

And as I passed ouer Salisburie downe,
The rumour ran the duke was fled and gone,
His hoast dispersed besides Shrewesbury towne,
And hee dismaied was left there post alone,
Bewailing his chaunce and making great mone:
Towards whome I hasted with all expedition,
Making due search and diligent inquisition.

But at the fyrst I could not of him heare,
For hee was scaped by secrete bywayes,
Unto the house of Humfrey Banastaire,
Whome hee had much preferred in his dayes,
And was good lorde to him, in all assaies:
Which hee full ill requited in the end,
When hee was driuen to seeke a trusty frend.

For so it happened to his mishap, alas,
When I no knowledge of the duke could heare:
A proclamation, by my commaundement, was
Published and cryed throughout euery shyre,
That whoso could tell where the duke were,
A thousand marke shoulde haue for his payne:
What thing so hard but mony can obtayne?

But were it for mony, meede, or dreede,
That Banastaire thus betrayed his ghest,
Diuers haue diuersly deuined of this deede,
Some deeme the worst, and some iudge the best,
The doubt not dissolued, nor playnly exprest:
But of the duke’s death hee doubtless was cause,
Which dyed without iudgement, or order of lawes.

Loe, this noble duke I brought thus vnto bane,
Whose doings I doubted and had in greate dread,
At Banastaire’s house I made him to bee tane,
And without iudgement be shortned by the head,
By the shriue of Shropshyre to Salisburie led,
In the market place vpon the scaffolde newe,
Where all the beholders did much his death rewe.

And after this done I brake vp my hoaste,
Greatly applauded with this heauy hap,
And forthwith I sent to euery sea cost,
To foresee all mischieues and stop euery gap,
Before they shoud chaunce or light in my lap,
Geuing them in charge to haue good regarde
The sea cost to keepe, with good watch and warde.

Dyrecting my letters vnto euery shriue,
With strait commaundement vnder our name,
To suffer no man in their partes to aryue,
Nor to passe forth out of the same,
As they tendred our fauour, and voyde would our blame,
Doing therein theyr payne and industry,
With diligent care and vigilant eye.

And thus setting things in order as you heare,
To preuent mischieues that might then betyde,
I thought my selfe sure, and out of all feare,
And for other things began to prouide:
To Nottingham castle straight did I ryde,
Where I was not very long space,
Straunge tydings came, which did mee sore amaze.

Reported it was, and that for certainty,
The earle of Richmond landed was in Wales
At Milford hauen, with an huge army,
Dismissing his nauy which were many sayles:
Which, at the fyrst, I thought flying tales,
But in the end did otherwise proue,
Which not a little did mee vexe and moue.

Thus fauning fortune gan on mee to frowne,
And cast on mee her scornfull lowring looke:
Then gan I feare the fall of my renowne,
My heart it faynted, my sinowes sore they shooke,
This heauy hap a scourge for sinne I tooke:
Yet did I not then vtterly dispayre,
Hoping storms past the weather shoulde bee fayre.

And then with all speede possible I might,
I caused them muster throughout euery shyre,
Determining with the earle spedely to fyght,
Before that his power much encreased were,
By such as to him great fauour did beare:
Which were no small number, by true report made,
Dayly repayring him for to ayde.

Dyrecting my letters to diuers noble men,
With earnest request their power to prepare
To Notingham castle, where, as I lay then,
To ayde and assist mee in this waighty affayre:
Where straite to my presence did then repayre,
Ihon duke of Northfolke, his eldest sonne also,
With th’earle of Northumberland and many other mo.

And thus being furnisht with men and munition,
Forwarde wee marched in order of battayle ray,
Making by scouts euery way inquisition,
In what place the earle with his campe lay:
Towards whom dyrectly wee tooke then our way,
Euermore mynding to seeke our most auayle,
In place conuenient to gieue to him battayle.

So long wee laboured, at last our armies met
On Bosworth playne, besides Lecester towne,
Where sure I thought the garland for to get,
And purchase peace, or els to lose my crowne:
But fickle fortune, alas, on mee did frowne,
For when I was enchamped in the fielde,
Where most I trusted I soonest was begylde.

The brand of malice thus kindling in my brest
Of deadly hate which I to him did beare,
Pricked mee forward, and bad mee not desist,
But boldly fight, and take at all no feare,
To wyn the field, and the earle to conquere:
Thus hoping glory greate to gayne and get,
Myne army then in order did I set.

Betyde mee lyfe or death I desperatly ran,
And ioyned mee in battayle with this earle so stoute,
But fortune so him fauoured that hee the battayle wan,
With force and great power I was beset about:
Which when I did beholde, in midst of the whole route,
With dint of sword I cast mee on him to be reuenged,
Where in the midst of them my wretched life I ended.

My body was hurried and tugged like a dog,
On horsebacke all naked and bare as I was borne:
My heade, hands, and feete, downe hanging lyke a hog,
With dirte and bloud besprent, my corpes all to torne,
Cursing the day that euer I was borne:
With greuous woundes bemangled, moste horrible to see,
So sore they did abhorre this my vile cruelty.

Loe, heare you may behold the due and iust rewarde
Of tyranny and treason, which God doth most detest:
For if vnto my duety I had taken regarde,
I might haue liued still in honour with the best,
And had I not attempt the thing that I ought leste:
But desyre to rule, alas, did mee so blinde,
Which caused mee to doe agaynst nature and kynde.

Ah, cursed caytife, why did I climbe so hye,
Which was the cause of this my balefull thrall:
For still I thirsted for the regall dignitye,
But hasty rising threatneth sodayne fall:
Content your selues with your estates all,
And seeke not right by wrong to suppresse,
For God hath promist ech wrong to redresse.

See here the fine and fatall fall of mee,
And guerdon due for this my wretched deede,
Which to all princes a miroir now may bee,
That shall this tragicall story after reede,
Wishing them all by mee to take heede,
And suffer right to rule as it is reason:
For tyme tryeth out both truth and also treason.