A CONGRATVLATION TO FRANCE, VPON THE HAPPY ALLIANCE WITH SPAINE.

Dedicated to the Queene.

With the order and challenge of the Knights of Fame, to their opposites.

LEWIS · THE XIII · KING OF FRANCE.

Printed for T. Thorp. and to be sold by W. Burre. 1612.

To the Queene.

MADAME.

FRance hath not without cause had recourse to your Maiesty as to her sole remedy, and now Spaine intreats you to adorne her Crowne with our Flower de Luces, for it seemeth that Heauen hath made you the gardian of peace, and placed you in this world as the true Queene vnto whome hee hath appointed the totall gouern­ment thereof; shewing vs there by, that his plea­sure is, that as one MARY brought peace into the world, so your Maiesty should distri­bute it to vs. For this cause Madame, your [Page] Maiesty maybe pleased to giue me leaue to pro­clame the glories thereof, and sing them on the Theater of my labours, that the whole world may be acquainted with our happinesse. My selfe being your Maiesties

Most humble and obedient subiect and seruant. F. de Menantel. S. Denis.

A Congratulation to France on the happy alliance with Spaine.

I I is not without cause, that those Monarchies are held happy, whose affections Heauen hath vnited: be­cause in the renewing of Kings, God rewardeth his people accor­ding to the merit of their liues: for if I for­get not, I haue read of Dionysius the tirant, Heliogabalus, and Nero, who imployed their power and authority cruelly, and to the hurt of their people, which is an eui­dent [Page 2] signe, that God had forsaken them, by giuing them such cruell Princes. Our France is free from those miseries, and without blushing may terme it selfe ex­traordinary happy, by hauing for a long time Kings sacred and chosen by that great God, who calls them his eldest and most Christian sonnes: a matter which may stire vs vp to giue him thankes, and to intreat him to continue this fauour, that wee may nourish our glory vnder the wings of his almighty power. Doe we not owe him this acknowledgment, for taking such speciall care of our peace? Let vs con­sider the greatnesse of the present benifit hee hath bestowed vpon vs, hauing gi­uen vs a Queene, who is the pearle of the world, the ornament of Heauen, the epi­tome of all vertues: For this, we ought to redouble our praiers, and seeke hereafter better to please him, I meane by changing [Page 3] our old conditions, and framing them a new in the model of his holy commande­ments: the which we may easily doe, our mindes being freed from the rage of am­bition which possest vs when Spaine was an enemy to our France: and now I doe assure my selfe our good Genius wil be aus­picious, so long as hir Maiesty shall re­maine among vs. What is there more to be admired then our present gouernment? who would euer haue thought that vpon the euen of warre, losing our great Henry, we should haue enioyed such tranquilli­ty? verily it is the worke of Heauen, and we must of necessity so beleeue it, vnlesse we thinke it to bee our great Henries fame, which peraduenture hath left an immor­tall terror behind him to awe other Kings, who being still amazed at the report of his vallour, haue not dared to make any at­tempt vpon his lawfull heire, vnto whom [Page 4] they feare he hath be queathed his courage as well as greatnesse: The which we shall vndoubtedly finde to be true by those liue­ly signes which may be discerned in him. O hapyy day when her Maiesty was cho­sen Regent. Blessed of God are you my Lords who gaue your consents; you may truly say that the holy Ghost spake in you at that time when you cōmitted the States gouernment to her; Thereby you declare that you worthily deserue your places, & that questionlesse you had a care of the publik peace. O let your sacred Maiesties, who with a liberall hand giues vs meanes to serue your greatnesse, drawing your poore France forth of the dangerous pre­cipice of warre, making it triumphant on the worlds Theater; You I say who with your onely lookes braue the greatest pow­ers of Europe, preserue and make much of your liues, that you may eternize our [Page 5] peace, which can last no longer then you raigne in the world, where al true French­men your humble seruants will beseech the diuine Maiesty that it may be so. For what greater fauours could wee hope for then those we now enioy? by what other way then this could her Maiesty haue pro­cured our good? There is none so simple but knowes that Spaine is more then able to embroile our peace, and by consequent her alliance most profitable for France. Her Maiesty and my Lords of the Coun­cell, whose vnderstanding pearceth Hea­uen, haue maturely disposed of this pro­position, and can make no appeale from this resolution, beeing the onely meanes to try our forces against the Turke and to reconquer that which our vnbrideled am­bition lost do we not suppose but that this consideration did reunite the wandering affections of our Kings, who wearied with [Page 6] ciuill dissention haue resolued vpon this deseigne for when did you euer reade that ciuill warre reigned so long among the Turkes, as it hath done in Christendome. Our Kings are children of a spirituall fa­ther; beleeue in him, liue vnder his law: what reason then haue weee to seeke and desire the ruyne, of our bretheren. Let vs imploy our courage in making warre vp­on that tyrant, a sworne enemy to our reli­gion, and not make our neighbours bow­ells scabbards for our swords; this will more renowne vs, and our death will bee more glorious before God: the way is tra­ced before vs, and an occasion offered by the contracted marriages of our king with the Infanta of Spaine, and is doubly con­firmed by that of the Princesse of France, with the Prince of Spaine: all excuses are vaine. O Lord thou art mighty, thy good­nesse is incomprehensible and men can [Page 7] not sound the depth of thy iudgements: wher is that dead Chaos which we thought to haue beheld? wher are those preparati­ons which our Mars had leuied in France to glut our ambitiō? O thou great God hast thou caused a second MARY to be borne in the East? Hast thou ordained her from her birth to preuent our miseries? I verily thinke it, seeing that by her alone thou hast freed vs from our long troubles: Fi­nish O good God, finish this worke, least some wandring fire fall into the trenches of our peace, and blow vp the myne of our hope, which if it should happen wee were then at the pitts brinke of our for­mer miseries: yet I doe not imagin that her Maiesty and our Princes would be so merry and ioyfull as to proclaime tri­umphes, if they were not assured of our peace, and that thou hadest possest them with a desire to effect it. This O Lord [Page 8] we heartily beseech thee to graunt, and we yeeld vnto thee the same thankes which thy deere seruant Dauid did after that hee had vanquished his ene­mies, and was peaceably seated in his King­dome.

THE KNIGHTS OF Fames Challenge to all those that will oppose themselues against them.

VNDERSTAN­ding by the Oracles that the French Her­cules after his trauailes had builded the Pallace of Felici­ty, and that the Destinies had re­serued the first entrance into it for vs, and the proofe of those [Page 10] which deserue the second, to our Lances, we are come thither vp­on the report of the Marriages of the greatest Kings of Europe, to procure witnesses of our vic­tory, and to shew our selues Knights worthy of imitation. For without loosing the title of In­uincible, which our deeds haue purchased, we will keepe and de­fend that Pallace against all men, and maintaine

That the beauty which wee reuerence is without compare, and her actions blamelesse.

That they are so good as they can not be bettered.

[Page 11]That we alone deserue to pub­lish hir glory and that none ought to aspire to ours.

Neuerthelesse the fame of the assaillants shall not be small, ha­uing such authors of their defeate be it that they come to vs as wea­ried with liuing in the world, or else desirous to haue vs end their daies, seeing that the honor to fight with vs is greater, then that of vanquishing all other men.

VVe Almidor, Leontides, Al­pheus, Lisander, Arganto,
will mayntaine this challenge in the [Page 12] place royall of Paris on the twen­ty fiue day of the Month of MARS, who inspire vs.

THE DECREES OF the Lists, and order of the courses at the Quintyn.

THE Defendants shal enter first into the place, and none after them but those that haue charge of the triumphes, assaillants, or traine.

[Page 13]2. The assailants shall ent [...] with visards, liueries, shields, names, armes of their houses, and impreses.

3. They shall enter the lists at one of the clocke after dinner, if they meane to runne, and shall cause a certaine number of tor­ches to be brought thither.

4. They cannot enter the lists without the leaue of the Iudges of the field.

5. They shal runne according to he order as they entred, and each of them onely with two [Page 14] [...]ances.

6. He That breakes his lance from the chinne of the Quintin to the eyes, wins one course, from thence vpward, two; in the small shield, three; in any other part nothing.

7. The lance shall not bee ac­counted broken vnles the staffe fall in two peeces.

8. Who loseth his lance, sword plume, bridle, spur, or stirrop, lo­seth the course, and if he breakes not, wins nothing.

9. VVho loseth his sadle, or hits [Page 15] the great shield is to be thrust forth of the lists.

10. He that falls from his horse incurs the like penalty.

11. The value of the reward is at the choyse of the assaillants.

12. At their returne from the lists, al of them shal keepe the same order as they did at their entrance. The rest is refered to the Iudges.

Published at Paris the 13. day of the month of march. 1612.

FINIS.

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