The following pages present an account of the sums paid out of the
Privy Purse of King Henry VIII. from the 17th of November, 1529, to
the end of December, 1532; and as every payment, whether for the daily
expenses of the Royal establishments, or for the gratification of His
Majesty's wishes, is minutely noticed, it must be evident that they
afford interesting information, not merely on the general customs and
manners of the times, but on the personal character of that monarch,
his occupations, amusements, and places of residence.
Among the materials for History, private Letters have, long since,
been deemed of the utmost value; but the curious facts contained in
records like those now introduced to the notice of the public, have not
obtained the attention which they deserve: hence it will not perhaps
be irrelevant to give a brief account of the few works of this nature
which have been printed, as well as of some which still remain in
Manuscript.
The first in point of time, is the "Liber Quotidianus Contrarotulatoris
Garderobae, Anno Regni Regis Edwardi Primi Vicesimo Octavo: A. D. 1299
and 1300," printed in 1787 by the Society of Antiquaries, from a MS. in
their library. This volume which is but partially known, abounds in
highly interesting information, illustrative of the History, Manners,
Expences, Army, Navy, Provisions, Costume, &c. of the thirteenth
century; and as an adjunct to Historical and Antiquarian inquiries, it
cannot be too highly estimated. Few MSS. have been so well edited; but
amidst much ground for praise, it is to be regretted that it does not
contain an Index, an omission which considerably lessens its utility.
Another MS. of the same kind, of the 31st and 32nd years of Edward
the First, is also extant,[1] but it has never been printed. In 1790
the Society of Antiquaries published "A Collection of Ordinances and
Regulations for the Government of the Royal Household, made in divers
reigns, from King Edward III. to King William and Queen Mary," and
which is copiously cited in the Notes to this work. Only one more
publication of the sort remains to be noticed, the Household Book of
Henry Algernon Percy, Fifth Earl of Northumberland, which appeared
privately in 1770, edited by Bishop Percy, and which has been recently
reprinted by the Publisher of this volume.
Independently, however, of Household expences which occur in
separate volumes, many have been printed in other works. Of these
it will be sufficient to refer to the few which are to be found in
the "Archæologia," in County Histories, and more particularly, the
Household payments of the family of Kytson in Mr. Gage's admirable
"History and Antiquities of Hengrave." Although not more than four
accounts of the expenditure of sovereigns or individuals have been
published, those which are known to exist in MS. are both numerous and
valuable. Besides those of the 31st and 32nd of Edward I. which have
just been mentioned, four large volumes of the kind are preserved in
the Chapter House: one containing the Royal disbursements from the 1st
of October, 21st Henry VII. 1505, to the 20th November, 1st Henry VIII.
1509; another, from the 1st of May, 1st Henry VIII. 1510, to February
in the 9th Henry VIII. 1518; the third, entitled "The King's Books of
Payments beginning 1st April, 9th Henry VIII. 1518, to December in the
12th Henry VIII." 1520; and the fourth is called "A Book of Arrears of
the 14th Henry VIII." 1522-3.
The expences noticed in the following sheets extend from the 17th
November 21st Henry VIII. 1529, to the end of December 24th Henry VIII.
1532; and in the library of the Royal Society is the book of Quarterly
Payments from February in the 29th Henry VIII. 1538, to Midsummer, 33rd
Henry VIII. 1541. In the library of the British Museum is the Household
Book of a Citizen, or perhaps Clergyman, of London, from March 1594
to March 1595.[2] Lord Bagot possesses an interesting MS. of the
Household expences of Edward Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, which his
Lordship some time since offered to allow the Society of Antiquaries to
print, but, extraordinary as it may appear, the proposition _was not
accepted_: and doubtlessly many other documents of the same kind are
extant.
Of the MSS. which have been cited, only those in the Chapter House and
the one in the library of the Royal Society resemble that printed in
this volume; but neither of them is precisely like it, in its objects
or contents. The one in the library of the Royal Society consists
principally of quarterly payments of wages to servants and retainers,
and of sums paid pursuant to the warrant of the Lord Privy Seal: they
present the charges of Ambassadors, of other public officers, and of
posts and couriers, as well as those of various articles purchased or
prepared by the king's commands, a few extracts from which, of general
interest, will be found in a subsequent page; these afford, however,
but a very imperfect idea of the value of that MS. in illustration
of the history and manners of the time, though it does not appear to
have been once noticed from the year 1762, when it was referred to
by Walpole, to the present time! The MS. now printed, contains, on
the contrary, what may be termed Henry's personal expences, whether
arising from his purchases; from his "rewards" to those who brought
him presents; from his losses at dice, cards, bowls, and other games;
from his attachment to Anne Boleyn, or his favourite courtiers; or
from the wages and liveries of his servants, fools, jesters, and other
minions. The accounts in the other MSS. were paid quarterly, and rested
on the responsibility of the persons entrusted to keep them; these
were daily, and are attested at the end of each month by the signature
of the King himself. Notwithstanding that they differ in character,
they mutually confirm and illustrate each other; and if a judicious
compilation were made from the whole series which has been mentioned,
and which could be comprised in one, or at the most, two quarto
volumes, invaluable information would be given to the world on the most
interesting period of English History--the period marked by the revival
of all which benefits and adorns society, Science, Literature, and the
Fine Arts. The Accounts of the Citizen of London are remarkable for
the minuteness with which the expence of every article of food, from a
farthing's worth of fruit to several pounds' worth of meat, is stated;
and as evidence of the price of provisions and other articles, wine,
servants' wages, &c. at the time, it is extremely useful. In the margin
the names of the guests at dinner and supper on each day are recorded,
and it altogether exhibits a curious picture of the manners of the
Elizabethan age.
It must be at once obvious, that Manuscripts which throw light upon
British History, but which are not sufficiently popular to enable
a bookseller to print them, ought to be published by the Society
incorporated for the sole purpose of advancing "the study of Antiquity,
and the history of former times," and to which we are indebted for
two of the volumes which have been alluded to; but the zeal which
caused them to be edited has unfortunately long since evaporated. If
it be thought impossible for the Society of Antiquaries to publish
all the MSS. which have been enumerated, the most striking entries,
and a summary of the expences of different departments might, at
least, be extracted from them. The objection that few of its Fellows
would undertake the trouble of editing such works without some
pecuniary advantage, may be met by the remark, that it possesses two
paid Secretaries, who are alike distinguished for their literary
productions; or, if the duties of these officers be too severe to
admit of their doing so, by asking whether it would not be a far more
legitimate application of its funds to appoint persons to prepare such
MSS. for the press, and to remunerate them for their labours, than to
waste the Society's resources, by publishing useless articles, because
they are gratuitous contributions; and still more, by inquiring whether
the cost of producing such compilations, with illustrative notes,
would not confer infinitely more honor upon that body, and tend in a
greater degree to advance the objects for which it exists, than a heavy
expenditure on useless engravings?
The Manuscript of these sheets is imperfect both at the commencement
and end; in one or two places part of a leaf has been torn off, and in
another a folio has been abstracted, whilst the first page is in many
places illegible. Its contents and orthography are printed literally,
and the imperfections in the copy pointed out by stars: the few blanks
which will be found, also occur in the MS. The earliest notice of it
which has been discovered is in the Lansdown MS. 737, which contains
numerous extracts made from it by Peter le Neve, Norroy King of Arms,
from 1704 to 1729, who says he bought the original "of ---- Wynde,
Esq. _and sold it for_ the same price _to the Right Honorable Lord
Harley, son and heir of the Earl of Oxford_ ---- 1723;" and adds in
the margin, "It was the book of Sir Orlando Bridgeman, Knight, Lord
Keeper, and in the beginning is his hand-writing." The words printed
in italics have been almost obliterated, perhaps in consequence of Le
Neve's having afterwards retained the volume instead of selling it;
but perhaps because it was surreptitiously taken from Lord Oxford's
collection. The next notice which occurs of it, is in Walpole's
"Anecdotes of Painting," from which it appears that in 1762 it was in
the possession of Mrs. Bridgeman, of Hanover Square. The name might
suggest the idea that her husband was a descendant of Sir Orlando
Bridgeman, who purchased it in 1634, and hence that the book was
in her possession in consequence of that relationship; but this is
contradicted by the fact of its having passed from Sir Orlando's family
to Mr. Wynde and from him to Le Neve sometime after 1704, who in 1723
sold it to the Earl of Oxford, though in 1762 we find it belonged to
a Mrs. Bridgeman. After that year nothing more is known of it, than
that it was purchased about a twelvemonth since at the sale of an
Undertaker and Broker, of the name of Gomme. In the fly leaf at the
beginning is the following memorandum, which Le Neve says was written
by Sir Orlando Bridgeman:--"Accounts of H. EIGHT, and signed with his
own hande, I gott it by Chance this yeere, 1634." With the exceptions
just noticed, the MS. is in fine preservation. From Le Neve's extracts
the contents of the folio which is now wanting, have been recovered,
though not in the original words, and will be found at the end of this
volume; but all the other imperfections seem to have existed when in
his possession, for he takes no notice of the first folio; he expressly
says of pages 131, 132, 133, that the leaf was then torn; and the last
folio of the MS. was the same as at present.
Walpole conjectures that they were the accounts kept by "Sir Bryan
Tuke, the Treasurer of the Chambers," but it is much more likely
that they were those of Sir William Fitz-William, afterwards Earl of
Southampton, Treasurer of the Household: nothing positive, however, can
be said on the subject.
Such notes as are requisite to explain the items, or to describe the
individuals mentioned, are introduced into the Index, which contains
references to every person, place, and thing, recorded. The Editor is
sensible that many of his observations are imperfect, and not a few,
perhaps, erroneous: in one or two instances he has been obliged to
confess his inability to throw any light upon the subject, and he will
be much gratified if his readers do not consider that there is still
greater cause for a similar confession. Simple as many of the Notes
appear, the labour and research with which they have been attended,
were considerable; and to have partially failed when complete success
was almost impossible, would not, he trusts, be discreditable to a far
abler Antiquary. His friend Dr. Meyrick, for whose assistance in his
literary pursuits the Editor has frequently had cause to express his
gratitude, and James Heywood Markland, Esq. Director of the Society of
Antiquaries, have most kindly and liberally afforded him their aid; and
the information which these gentlemen have respectively contributed is
equal in interest and importance to what might be expected from their
reputation.
_1st August, 1827._