and who, by restoring Popery, and the persecutions that the professors of
the Gospel suffered in her time, is said to bring the kingdom to much
annoy.
By the “Mitres,” are meant the bishops, who in the change of religion
found great change; very few keeping their seats wherein they had been
seated by King Edward VI.
Great was the number of martyrs burned in Smithfield in this queen’s
reign, under the bloody hands of Bonner, Bishop of London, and Dr. Story,
Dean of St. Paul’s; the first persecuting by wholesale, the second by
retail; the names of all those who in this place thus testified their
faith by the loss of their lives, would be too long here to recite; the
chief of them were Mr. John Rogers, Mr. John Bradford, Mr. Robert Glover,
etc.
Queen Mary intended to match herself with Philip, King of Spain; the news
thereof of being spread amongst the people, was by them ill-resented, as
dreading to be under the yoke of a stranger; but all to no purpose, for
soon afterwards they were married, to the mortification of the English.
By the “Lioness” is meant Queen Mary, who having reigned five years and
some odd months, died of a dropsy.
The “pontifical priest” signifies Cardinal Pole, who expired within a few
hours after the death of Queen Mary. This prelate was of princely
extraction, his mother, Margret, being daughter to George Duke of
Clarence; when he was young, he was brought up together with Queen Mary,
and being a zealous Catholic, during King Edward’s reign, suffered a
voluntary exile for the same; when the marriage between Prince Philip and
Queen Mary was made up, he returned into England, and was made Archbishop
of Canterbury, but was more moderate than some of his fellow bishops,
having a favourable inclination towards the Protestants.
“The Lion fierce being dead and gone,
A maiden Queen shall reign anon.
The Papal power shall bear no sway,
Rome’s creed shall hence be swept away.
The western monarch’s wooden horses
Shall be destroyed by the Drake’s forces.
More wonders yet! a widowed Queen
In England shall be headless seen.
The Harp shall give a better sound.
An Earl without a head be found.
Soon after shall the English Rose
Unto a male her place dispose.”
These lines being a prophecy of the most remarkable actions during the
reign of Queen Elizabeth, are to be interpreted after this manner:
Queen Mary is here meant, not so much for the cruelty done by her, as by
the bishops and priests under her; in respect to the blood that was shed,
and the persecutions then suffered, she is here termed a fierce “Lion;”
after whom is said, “A maiden Queen to reign anon,” meant by Queen
Elizabeth, one who was the mirror of her age and sex, who for above forty
years managed the affairs of this kingdom; having, when she began, few
friends that durst help, and leaving no foes when she died that could
hurt her; acting her part so well whilst here she reigned, that history
can scarce afford us one prince to be matched to her fame in all
considerable particulars.
Soon after the queen coming to the crown, a Parliament began at
Westminster, wherein the laws of King Henry VIII. against the see of
“Rome” were renewed, and those of King Edward VI. in favour of the
Protestants revived, and the laws by Queen Mary made against them,
repealed.
Uniformity of prayer and administration of sacrament were enacted, and
the queen acknowledged to be the only and supreme governor of her
kingdom. The people in each place beating down superstitious pictures
and images, which misguided zeal had set up.
By the “western monarch’s wooden horses,” is meant the King of Spain’s
great Armada, by them termed invincible, though the success of it
answered not the name; being by Sir Francis Drake and others fought with
and really vanquished; most of it sunk, and the rest, destitute and
scattered, being chased by our ships into the northern latitudes, and
there left to be pursued by hunger and cold; a victory so remarkable,
that neither time nor age will ever wear the remembrance thereof away.
The “widowed Queen” signifies the Queen of Scots, the mother of King
James, who was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle, some say by the privity,
others say to the great discontent of Queen Elizabeth; a lady of sharp
wit, undaunted spirit, comely person, beautiful face, and majestic
presence; a fluent orator, and an excellent poetess, as appears by
several things of her writing now extant; she was beheaded on the 8th of
February, 1587, and was first buried in the choir of Peterborough; and
afterwards by her son, King James, solemnly removed from thence to
Westminster, where, in the south side of the chapel of King Henry VII. he
erected a stately monument to her memory.
“The Harp” signifies Ireland, as being the arms of that country, when
Queen Elizabeth, by reducing it to a better obedience, made it give a
better sound, that is, made it more civilized and profitable to the
exchequer than it ever was before.
“An Earl without a head be found.” This was spoken of the Earl of Essex,
one who was the favourite of the queen and darling of the people (two
things which seldom come together), and yet could not both of them
protect him from the scaffold, but thereon he lost his head.
By the “English Rose” is meant Queen Elizabeth, as we said before, by
whose death the right and title to the crown came to James VI., King of
Scotland, as lineally descended from Margaret, eldest daughter to King
Henry VII., the male issue failing by the death of Queen Elizabeth; and
here is to be remembered the policy of King Henry VII., who having two
daughters, married the eldest of them to the King of Scotland, and the
youngest to the King of France, that if his male issue should happen to
fail, as it afterwards did, then Scotland might wait upon England as the
greater kingdom, and not England upon France as the lesser. Besides,
there was an old prophecy which intimated King James coming to the
English crown; for when King Edward I. harassed Scotland, amongst other
things he brought from thence their royal chair (still preserved at the
Abbey, in Westminster), upon which chair these verses were written:
“If Fates go right, where’er this chair is pight,
The regal race of Scots shall rule that place.”
Which by the coronation of King James there performed, made good the
words of the prophecy.
“The Northern Lion over Tweed,
The maiden Queen shall then succeed,
And join in one, two mighty States;
Janus then shall shut his gates;
Hell’s power, by a fatal blow,
Shall seek the land to overthrow,
Which by mistake shall be reverst,
And heads from shoulders be disperst.
The British Olive next shall twine
In marriage with the German Vine.”
Next follows the remarkable actions of King James’s reign, predicted in
the foregoing lines, which may be thus explained:
By the “Northern Lion” is meant King James, and by the “maiden Queen,”
Queen Elizabeth, whom King James, being King of Scotland, succeeded to
the English crown, joining thereby the two nations of England and
Scotland, which had often been attempted before.
The lines “Hell’s power,” etc., have reference to the Gunpowder Plot,
which was planned to blow up the Parliament House with gunpowder—king,
princes, peers, bishops, judges, knights, and burgesses, being all
designed to destruction. To bring the purpose about, a vault was hired
under the Parliament House, wherein were stowed thirty-six barrels of
gunpowder, with several iron bars, to make the force of the fire more
effectual, all which were covered with billets and coals. The 5th of
November, the day of Parliament first sitting, was the time appointed to
put this design in execution; but Providence had ordered it otherwise,
that those who intended mischief should taste the effects of it. In the
evening before, Lord Monteagle received a strange letter from an unknown
hand, without date or name to it, and which, when it was opened, was even
still sealed. The letter being communicated to the king, he commanded
the rooms under the Parliament House to be searched, where the mystery of
iniquity was quickly discovered. Some of the traitors were taken in
London, others in the country; the hands of justice overtaking them, they
became its examples, and tasted of that cup which they intended others
should have drunk of.
By the “British Olive” is meant the Lady Elizabeth, daughter of King
James; and by the “German Vine” the most illustrious Prince Frederic,
Count Palatine of the Rhine. This Lady Elizabeth was enriched with all
the endowments of both body and mind which make to the completing of a
princess; most dearly beloved of the English, as one that deserved well
of all. They were married with great solemnity at Westminster, February
14, 1602.
Mother Shipton having proceeded thus far with her prophecies, broke up
abruptly with a deep sigh, the tears trickling down her cheeks,
accompanied by a wringing of her hands, as if some extraordinary
mischance had befallen her. The abbot wondered greatly what should be
the cause of this sudden alteration, having observed all along before a
settled composedness in her countenance, and now to break out in such
exclamations. He therefore said unto her, “Mother Shipton, it is more
than some extraordinary matter which hath made you break out into this
sudden passion; and if it may not be troublesome unto you, I shall desire
that, as hitherto you have not been scrupulous in revealing those secrets
unto me, which have wrought in me both wonder and amazement, so that you
will not so abruptly break off as to leave me in suspense of the cause of
your sorrow.” “Ah! Mr. Abbot,” said she, “who can with dry eyes repeat
what must next ensue, or but think upon it without a heart full of agony?
to see virtue trampled on, and vice exalted; beggars on horseback, and
princes on foot; the innocent condemned, and the bloodthirsty go scot
free; but since my promise binds me to fulfil your request, I shall
proceed from where I left off:
“The crown then fits the White King’s head,
Who with the Lilies soon shall wed;
Then shall a peasant’s bloody knife
Deprive a great man of his life.
Forth from the North shall mischief blow,
And English hob shall add thereto.
Then shall the Council great assemble,
Who shall make great and small to tremble,
The White King then (O grief to see!)
By wicked hands shall murdered be.”
By the “White King,” is meant King Charles I., so called not only in
respect of the purity and uprightness of his life, signified by white;
but also at the time of his coronation he was clothed in white. He had,
previous to the death of King James, married the Lady Henrietta Maria,
daughter of Henry IV., King of France; who is hereupon said to wed the
“Lilies,” the lilies being the arms of France.
By the “great man,” who was to lose his life by a bloody knife, was meant
the Duke of Buckingham, the greatest man in favour of those times, and
(as is commonly seen) most hated of the people, who laid the blame of all
miscarriages in state upon him; being made general for the relief of
Rochelle (then besieged by the French forces), before he embarked at
Portsmouth, he was stabbed by one Felton, an officer in his army; who, so
far from flying for the same, though he might pass away undiscovered,
boldly avowed himself to be the man that did it. He was hanged in chains
at Portsmouth, in the year 1627.
The next part of this prophecy alludes to that ancient proverb, “From the
cold ‘North’ all ills come forth,” and may be understood of our troubles
commencing in 1630, taking their original rise from Scotland, and
fermented by several factious spirits in England, the venom of which
poison so infected the veins of the English, that it broke forth into a
most bitter war, and ended not but with the deaths of many thousands of
people.
By the “great Council” is meant the long-lasting Parliament, as known to
all posterity for the remarkable transactions therein. By them fell the
wise Strafford, and Reverend Laud; by them was Episcopacy voted down, and
Presbytery voted up; by them was the common-prayer denied, and the
Directory exalted; by them was the Church and State turned topsy-turvy;
but this cannot be reported of all amongst them; many of them hated their
doings, dissented from them, and suffered by them.
The “White King by wicked hands,” etc., alludes to the beheading of King
Charles I., who was the principal victim of these savage wars.
“The White King dead, the Wolf shall then
With blood possess the Lion’s den.
But Death shall hurry him away;
Confusion shall awhile bear sway;
But Fate to England shall restore
A king to reign as heretofore.
Great death in London shall be though,
And men on tops of houses go.”
By the “White King,” as we said before, is meant King Charles I., and, by
the “Wolf,” Oliver Cromwell, whose ambition was such that he left no
means unattempted until he had got into the “Lion’s den,” that is to say,
until he had attained the sole government.
“But Death shall hurry him away.”
Very remarkable was the day in which the Protector died, being September
3, 1658, wherein the wind was so violent, that it overthrew many houses,
tore up many trees by the roots, tumbled down chimneys, and unroofed
barns and stables; but it is a very ill wind that blows none good, so
with all the hurt this wind did, it made recompense to some folks who had
lost their estates in the civil wars, by blowing this Oliver away.
“But fate to England shall restore
A king to reign as heretofore.”
Which part of the prophecy was fulfilled in the restoration of King
Charles II., which put a period to all the Commonwealth, and restored the
land to its ancient government.
“Great death in London,” verified by the great plague in London, in 1665,
which, for number, was the greatest that hath been known in these latter
centuries of years.
“And men on tops of houses go.” This was suddenly fulfilled in that
great conflagration of fire which happened in London, September 2, 3, and
4, 1666, by which so many houses were destroyed, that men afterwards, in
the ruins, went on the tops of those houses whose lofty structures not
long before seemed to brave the sky.
* * * * *
It will be observed that some of the following prophecies of Mother
Shipton relate to the present time, while others more closely concern the
future. We will leave them to the reader’s own interpretation:—
I.
Ploughed with swords the earth shall be,
And blood will mingle with the sea.
II.
Soon as the fiery year has passed.
Peace again shall come at last.
III.
Great accidents the world will fill,
And carriages without horses go;
Whilst, in the twinkling of an eye,
Around the world our thoughts shall fly.
IV.
In England, now will come to pass
A house that shall be built of glass.
V.
State and State, in most deadly strife,
Will fight and seek each other’s life;
Then, when the North divides the South,
The Eagle will build in the Lion’s mouth.
VI.
Three tyrant rulers France shall see,
And each of a different dynasty.
But when the greater fight be done,
France and England shall be as one.
VII.
In the water shall iron float,
The same as now a wooden boat.
More wonders still shall water do,
And England yet admit a Jew.
VIII.
Gold and riches will be shown
In a land that’s not now known.
IX.
Under rivers man shall walk,
Shall ride, shall sleep, and shall talk.
X.
A river and a town shall be on fire.
* * * * *
_The following remarkable Prophecy_, _which is known as_ “_Mother
Shipton’s prophecies_,” _was first published in 1448_,_ and republished
in 1641_. _It will be seen that the events it predicts have come to
pass_, _except that contained in the last two lines_, _which is still in
the future_.
XI.
Over a wild and stormy sea,
Shall a noble {184} sail,
Who to find, will not fail,
A new and a fair countree.
From whence he shall bring
A herb {185a} and a root {185b}
That all men shall suit,
And please both the ploughman and the king.
And let them take no more than measure.
Both shall have the even pleasure.
The world to an end shall come
In eighteen hundred and eighty-one.
* * * * *
_Here follow other Prophecies which Mother Shipton stated at various
times in her life to different persons_:—
The first coming in of the King of the Scots (James I.) shall be at
Holgate Town, but he shall not come through the bar. And when the
King of the North shall be at London Bridge, his tail shall be at
Edinburgh.
This was fulfilled in the following manner—When King James arrived there
was such a multitude of people at Holgate bar to behold him, that to
avoid the danger of the crush he was forced to ride another way. When
King James was at London, his children were at Edinburgh, preparing to
come into England.
Water shall come over Ouse Bridge, and a windmill shall be set upon a
Tower, and a Elm Tree shall lie at every man’s door. At that day
women shall wear great hats and great bands.
This was verified by the conducting of water into York streets through
bored Elms; and the Conduit-house had a windmill on the top that drew up
the water.
When there is a Lord Mayor living in Minster-yard in York, let him
beware of a stab.
A Lord Mayor, whose house was in Minster-yard, was stabbed by an assassin
in three places, which caused his death.
When two Knights shall fall out in the York Castle-yard, they shall
never live kindly all their after lives.
Sir Thomas Wentworth and Sir John Savile in choosing Knights for the
Shire in the Castle-yard at York, did so fall out, that they were never
after well reconciled.
When all Colton-hag hath borne crops and corn for seven years; seven
years after that you shall hear news.
Colton-hag in Mother Shipton’s time was a woodland ground full of trees,
which some long time after her death was cultivated and bore crops and
corn for seven years; and the seven years after that, was the year of the
coming in of the Scots, and their taking of Newcastle.
You shall have a year of pining hunger, and then a dearth without
corn. You shall not know of the war over-night, yet you shall have
it in the morning; and when it comes it shall last three years.
Between Calder and Aire
Shall be great warfare,
When all the world is aloft,
It shall be called Christ’s Croft.
Calder and Aire are two rivers in Yorkshire; and this Prophecy relates to
the Civil War in the time of Charles I.
When the battle of warfare begins, it shall be where Crookback
Richard made his fray.
It was near Leicester where Richard the Third was slain in battle. There
Colonel Hastings was one of the first in arms at the commencement of the
civil war. Or it may thus be understood—That as King Richard began his
march from Nottingham when he first set out against the Earl of Richmond,
so also should these wars take rise from thence. And indeed at
Nottingham, on Aug. 25th, 1640, Charles I. set up his standard, and there
continued it to little purpose.
They shall say to warfare for your King for half-a-crown a day, but
stir not. They will say to warfare for your King on pain of hanging,
but stir not.
At the time of the Civil War in 1642, many Lords promised two shillings
and sixpence a day for each horseman who would join the King’s service.
For he that goes to complain,
Shall not come back again.
This seems to refer to the Welsh and the Irish serving the King, for very
few lived to return back again to their own country.
_The following Prophecies by Mother Shipton_, (_extracted from Lilly’s
collection_, _with his remarks_,) _being rather quaint in the
composition_, _are left for the reader to decypher_.
(_a_) There will be a great battel between England and Scotland, and
they will be pacified for a time; and when they come at (_b_)
Bramma-moore they fight, and are again pacified for a time: Then
there will be a great battel between England and Scotland at (_c_)
Knavesmore: Then they will be pacified for a while: Then there will
be a great battel between England and Scotland at (_d_) Storktonmore;
then will Ravens sit on the (_e_) Crosse, and drink as much blood of
Nobles as of the Commons. Then wo is me, for London shall be
destroyed.
(_a_) God I hope will prevent this threatened mischief. (_b_) Brammish
is a river in Northumberland. (_c_) I conceive it should be
Knaresborough, by which the river Nidd runs. (_d_) Storkton I conceive
mistaken for Stanemore, in Richmondshire. (_e_) It is to be noted and
admired, that this Crosse in the North in Mother Shipton’s days, was a
tall stone Crosse which ever since hath been by degrees sinking into the
ground, and is now (1640) sunk so low, that a Raven may sit upon the top
of it and reach her bill to the ground.
Then will come a woman with one eye, and she shall tread in men’s
blood to the knee; and she shall meet a man leaning on a staff, and
shall say to him, What art thou? and he shall say, I am King of the
Scots. And she shall say, Go with me to my house, for there are
three Knights. And he will go up with her, and stay there three days
and three nights. Then will England be lost; and they will cry twice
in one day, England is lost. Then there will be three Knights in
Petergate in York, and the one shall not know of the other. There
shall be a child born in Pomfret with three thumbs, and these three
Knights will give their horses to this (_f_) child with three thumbs
to hold, whilst they win England again: then come in Clubs and
Clouted shoes, and they with the three Knights win England again: and
all Noble blood shall be gone but one, and they shall carry him to
Sheriff Hutton’s Castle, six miles from York, and he shall die there;
and they shall chuse their Earl in the field, and hang their horses
on a thorn, and rue the time that ever they were born to see so much
blood shed.
(_f_) There was a child not many years since born at Pomfret with three
thumbs, and credibly reported.
(_g_) Then they will come to York to besiege it; and they shall keep
them out for three days and three nights: and a peny-loaf shall be
within the Bar at half a Crown, and without the Bar at a peny; and
they will swear, if they will not yield, to blow up the Town-walls.
Then they will let them in: and they will hang the Maior, Sheriffs,
and Aldermen. There will three Knights go into Crouch-Church, and
but one of them come out again; and he will cause Proclamation to be
made, That any man may take House, Tower, or Bower, for One and
twenty yeers. And while the world endureth, there shall never be
warfare again, nor any more (_h_) Kings or Queens; but the Kingdom
shall be governed by three lords; then York shall be London.
(_g_) This is yet unacted. (_h_) All old Prophecies do intimate a final
subversion of the Monarchy in England.
After this, shall be a white Harvest of Corn gotten in by women.
Then shall be in the North, that one woman shall say to another,
Mother, I have seen a man to day. And for one man there shall be a
thousand women. There shall be a man sitting on Saint James church
hill, weeping his fill.
The time will come when England shall tremble and quake for fear of a
(_i_) Dead-man, that shall be heard to speak: Then will the Dragon
give the Bull a great snap; and when this battel is done they will
all go to London Town.
(_i_) This Dead-man hath not yet appeared, but is at hand doubtless.
* * * * *
_Here follow other Prophecies she uttered_, _which because they concern
Future Times we shall leave to the Interpretation of the reader_.
I.
The Fiery Year as soon as o’er,
Peace shall then be as before;
Plenty everywhere is found,
And men with Swords shall plough the Ground.
II.
The time shall come, when seas of Blood,
Shall mingle with a greater Flood.
III.
Great noise there shall be heard, Great Shouts and Cries,
And Seas shall Thunder louder than the Skies;
Then shall three Lions fight with three, and bring,
Joy to a People, Honour to their King.