CONSIDEryng with our ſelfes the preſēt ſtate of thynges, & weiyng more depelye the maner and termes, wherein we and you do ſtāde: It maketh vs to merueile what euil & fatal chaūce doth ſo diſſeuer your hartes, and maketh theim ſo blinde and vnmindfull of your profite and to ſtill conciliate and heape to your ſelf mooſte extreme miſchiefes: the whiche, we (whō you will nedes haue your enemies) go aboute to take awaie frō you and perpetually to eaſe you therof. And although by all reaſone and ordre of neceſſitie, it ſhould bee rather more conuenient for you to ſeke and require, moderate agrementes of vs (whō god hath hetherto, accordyng vnto our moſte iuſte, true, and Godly meanynges and intētes, proſpered and ſet forwarde, with youre affliccion and miſerie) then that we, beyng ſuperiours in the feld Maſters of a great part of your realme, ſhould ſeke vpon you: Yet to thintent that our charitable mynde and brotherly loue, ſhould not ceaſe by all meanes poſſible, to prouoke and cal you to youre awne commoditie and profite, euen as the father to the ſonne, or thelder brother would do to the yōger brother: And as the louyng Phiſicion, would do to the miſtruſtfull and ignoraūt pacient, we are cōtent to call and crye vpon you, to looke on your ſtate, to auoyde the greate calamitie your Countrey is in: To haue vs rather brothers, then enemies, rather Countreymenne, then Conquerours. And if your Gouernor or Capitaines, ſhall reteigne and kepe from you this oure exhortacion, as heretofore thei haue doen: our Proclamaciō tendyng to the like effecte, for their awne priuate wealth & cō moditie, not regardyng though you bee ſtill in miſerie, ſo they haue profite and gouernaunce ouer you, & ſhall ſtill abuſe you, with feyned and forged tales: Yet this ſhalbee a witneſſe afore God, and all Chriſtian people, betwixte you and vs, that wee profeſſyng the Goſpell of Chriſt accordyng to the doctrine thereof, doo not ceaſe to call and prouoke you, from theffuſiō of your awne blood, from the deſtrucciō of the realme of Scotland, from perpetuall enemitie and hatred, from the finall eradicacion of your nacion, and from ſeruitude to foreyne nacions: to libertie, to amitie, to equalitie with vs, to that, whiche your writers hath alwayes wiſſhed, mighte once come to paſſe. VVHO that hathred thiſtories of tyme paſte, and doth marke and note the greate battailes, fought betwixte Englande and Scotland, thincurſions, roades, and ſpoyles, whiche hath been doen on bothe the parties: The realme of Scotlande fiue tymes wonne by one kyng of Englande: The Scottiſhe kynges, ſome taken priſoners, ſome ſlain in battaill, ſome for very ſorowe and diſcomforte vpon loſſe, diyng and departing the world: and ſhall perceiue again, that of all nacions in the worlde, that nacion onely beſide England, ſpeaketh theſame language: and as you and wee bee annexed and ioyned in one Iſlande, ſo no people ſo like in maner, forme, language, and all condicions as we are: Shal not he thynke it a thyng verie vnmete, vnnaturall, and vnchriſtiā that there ſhould be betwixte vs ſo mortall warre, who in reſpect of al other nacions, be, & ſhould bee, like as twoo brethren of one Iſlande of greate Britayn? And though he were a ſtraungier to bothe, what would he thynke more mete, then if it wer poſſible one kyngdome be made in rule, whiche is one in language, and not to be diuided in rulers, whiche is all one in Countrey. And for ſomuche as twoo ſucceſſions cānot concurre and fal into one, by no maner of other meanes, then by mariage, whereby one bloude, one lignage and parentage, is made of twoo, and an indefecible right geuen of bothe to one, without the deſtruccion and aboliſhing of either: If god ſhould graunt that whatſoeuer you would wiſh, ſhould be doen what could you wiſh, other then that, whiche now, not by fortune hath chaunced, but by his infinite mercie and moſte inſcrutable prouidence, as carefull for you, he hath geuē vnto you. The whiche thyng, that you ſhould alſo thinke to come of his diſpoſicion, and not by blynd fortune how vnlikely hath it been, & how ſodainly hath it turned, that the power of God might be ſhewed: Your laſt Kyng beyng a Prince of muche excellencie and young, (whō you know, after a promiſe broken contrary to his honour: And a miſfortune by iuſt iudgement of GOD folowyng vpon it, GOD either by ſorowe, or by ſome other wiſe at his inſcrutable pleaſure, did take away from you) had three children. Did not almightie GOD, as it were to ſhewe his will and pleaſure to be, that the long cōtinued warre and ennemitie, of bothe the naciōs ſhould be taken awaie, and knit in perpetuall loue and amitie, take the two men children of thoſe babies, beyng diſtaunt the one frō the other, and in diuerſe places, bothe as it were at one tyme, and within the ſpace of xxiiii. houres, leauyng but one mayden child and Princeſſe?

When the moſte wiſe and victorious Prince, late our Kyng and Maſter, kyng Hēry theight in other of his mariages not moſt fortunate, had by his moſt lawful and moſte verteous wife Quene Iane, his other two wifes before that mariage departed this worlde, and neuer ſurmiſe nor queſtion made of that mariage, fithe that tyme to this daie, nor ſo muche as all her life tyme, name or mocion, to, or of any other wife, one Prince of ſo high expectacion, of ſo greate giftes of God, the right and vndoubted heire of the Realme of England, and his maieſtie onely of male iſſue, left behynd hym to ſuccede the imperial Croune. If nothyng els had been dooen, what can any wiſe or any Chriſtian manne, that thynketh the worlde to be gouerned by Gods prouidence, and not by fortune, thinke otherwiſe, but that it was Gods pleaſure it ſhould bee ſo, that theſe twoo realmes ſhould ioyne in mariage, and by a godly Sacrament, make a Godly, perpetuall, and moſte frendly vnitie and concord. wherby ſuche benefites, as of vnitie and concord commeth, may through his infinite grace, come vnto theſe realmes. Or if any man of you, or of any other nacion doubteth hereof, excepte that you loke for miracles to bee doen herein, and yet if ye marke all the poſſibilities of the natures of the twoo princes, the children alredy had, the doubtfull chaunce, leaſt eche of theim ſhould haue a ſonne, or bothe doughters, or not of mete ages, with other circumſtaūces both of the partie of this realme of Englande, and that of Scotland, whiche hath not chaunced in viii. C. yeres, it muſt nedes be reconed a greate meruaill and a miracle. But let it be no miracle ſeyng that God dooth not nowe ſpeake in oracles as emōges the Iewes he did: And preſent propheſies now a daies, bee but either not certain, or els not plain, What more certaintie can bee had of Gods will in this caſe, then the before reherſed dooeth bryng? But if GOD hymſelf ſhould ſpeake, what could he ſpeake more then he ſpeaketh in theſe: cal you them prouidences or chaunces? If you bee ſtill afflicted and puniſhed, may he not ſaie: I of my infinite mercie and loue to your nacion, had prouided a right heire and a prince to the one, and a right heire & princes to the other, to bee ioyned in my holy lawes, and by the lawe of nature, and the world to haue made an vnitie, concorde, and peace, in the whole Iſle of bothe the realmes, you refuſed it, you loued better diſſencion then vnitie, diſcorde then agremente, warre then peace, hatered then Loue and Charitie. If you doo then therfore ſmart for it, whom can you blame, but youre awne eleccion? BVT becauſe ſome of thoſe, who maketh hereto impedimentes, who cannot but confeſſe, that there appereth Gods prouidence herein, and opportunitie and occaſiō geuen, to vnite both the realmes: yet may hereafter ſaie, and heretofore hath ſaied, that the faulte herein is, that wee ſeke not equalitie, nor the mariage, but a conqueſt, wee would not be frēdes, but be lordes. Although our Proclamacions at the laſte warres, dooeth enough declare the contrary, yet here wee proteſte and declare to you, and all Chriſtian people, to be the kynges Maieſties mynd, our Maſters, by our aduiſe and counſaill, not to conquer, but to haue an amitie, not to wynne by force, but to conciliate by loue, not to ſpoyle and kil, but to ſaue and kepe, not to diſſeuer and diuorce, but to ioyne in mariage from high to low, bothe the realmes, to make of one Iſle one realme, in loue, amitie, concorde, peace, and Charitie. Whiche if you refuſe, and driue vs to conquere, who is giltie of the blood ſhed? Who is the occaſion of the warre? Who maketh the battailes, the brennyng of houſes, and the deuaſtacion whiche ſhall folowe? CAN it be denied, but that we haue the great ſeale of Scotlande, graunted by the Parliament of Scotlande, for the mariage whiche ſhould bee made, with aſſuraunces and pledges, vntil the performaūce? And this in the tyme that the late kyng of moſte famous memorie, our ſouereigne Lorde kyng Henry the eight did reigne, and in the tyme of theſame your Gouernor, who now is the erle of Arreigne, who then beyng a chief dooer and laborer therein, for the high & ineſtimable benefite of that realme. So ſone as he was by the late Cardinall of S. Andrews and others, with certain vain feares & hopes, and gredines of dignitie peruerted, reuolted frō his firſt agrement, and put al the realme to the loſſe of ſuche holdes and fortreſſes, as be now taken from you: and to the loſſe of a foughten feld, for the which we are ſory, if otherwiſe peace could haue been cōcluded, for his awne priuate lucre, & recheleſnes of that noble Realme. And what ende canne you loke of this maner of procedynges, but ſuche ſucceſſe as heretofore hath been experimēted and aſſaied: we offre loue, we offer equalitie & amitie, we ouercome in war, and offer peace, wee wynne holdes, and offre no conqueſt, we gette in your lande and offre Englande: What can be more offered and more profered, then entercourſe of merchaū diſes, enterchaunge of mariages the abholiſhyng of all ſuche our lawes, as prohibiteth theſame, or might bee impediment to the mutuall amitie. We haue offerd not onely to leaue thaucthoritie, name, title, right, or chalenge of conquerours: but to receiue that whiche is the ſhame of mē ouercomed, to leaue the name of the nacion, and the glory of any victorie if any wee haue had, or ſhould haue of you, and to take the indifferent old name of Britaynes again, becauſe nothyng ſhould be left, of our part vnoffered, nothyng of your part vnrefuſed, whereby you might bee inexcuſable: And all the worlde might teſtifie, all other meanes not beyng able to do any thyng, after many other waies and remedies attēpted: Battaill of vs to be takē, as an extreme refuge, to atteigne righte and reaſon, emonges Chriſtian men. IF any man maie rightfully make battaill, for his eſpouſe and wife: the daughter of Scotland, was by the greate ſeale of Scotland, promiſed to the ſonne and heire of Englande. If it bee lawfull by Gods Lawe, to fighte in a good querell, and for to make peace: This is to make an ende of all warres, to conclude an eternall and perpetuall peace, whiche to confirme, wee ſhall fighte, and you to breake, is it not eaſie to decerne who hath the better parte? GOD and the ſworde, hath all ready, and ſhall hereafter, if there bee no remedie trie it. Who ſo willeth the mariage to goo forwarde, who myndeth the peace and tranquilitie of bothe the Realmes, who willeth no conqueſt to bee had, but amitie and loue to bee eſtabliſhed betwixte vs, wee refuſe no manne: let hym bryng his name and his pledge, of good ſeruice in this querell, he ſhal not onely be receiued to ye amitie, but ſhal haue ſufficient defence agaynſte the aduerſaries: VVE neither do nor intend, to put any man from his takkes or offices, onleſſe he will needes reſiſt, & ſo cōpell vs thereunto. what face hath this of cōqueſt? We intend not to diſherit your Quene, but to make her heires, inheritors alſo to England. What greater honor can you ſeke vnto your Quene, then the mariage offred? What more meter mariage then this, with the kynges highnes of Englād? What more ſure defence, in the noneage of your Quene, for the Realme of Scotlande, then to haue England patron and garriſon? We ſeke not to take from you youre lawes nor cuſtomes: But we ſeke to redreſſe your oppreſſions, whiche of diuerſe, you do ſuſtein. IN the realme of England, diuerſe lawes and cuſtomes be, accordyng to the auncient vſage of the parties thereof. And likewiſe in Fraunce, Normādy, and Gaſcoigne, hath ſundery kynd of ordres: Hath al the realmes and dominions whiche the Emperor now hath, one and one ſorte of lawes? Theſe vain feares and phantaſies, of expulſion of youre nacion, of chaungyng the lawes, of makyng a cō queſt, bee driuen into your heddes, of thoſe who in deede, had rather you were all conquered, ſpoyled, & ſlain, then thei would loſe any poynte of their will, of their deſire of rule, of their exiſtimacion, whiche thei knowe in quietnes would bee ſene what it wer, as it were in a calme water. Now in this tumulte of diſcord whē the realme is toſſed vp and doune, with waues and ſourges of battaill, famyne, & other miſchief, whiche the warr bringeth, thei thynke thei cānot be eſpied. But looke on thē, you that haue wit and prudence, and conſider the ſtate of your Quene and realme: YOV wil not kepe her ſole and vnmaried, the whiche were to you greate diſhonour. If you mary her within the realme, that cānot extynguiſh the title which we haue to the Croune of Scotlande: and what diſſenciō, enuie, grudge, and malice, that ſhall brede emonges you, it is eaſy to perceiue. You will mary her out of the Realme: our title remayneth, you be ſubiectes to a forein Prince of other Countrey, another language: and vs ye haue youre enemies, euen at your elbowe, your ſuccours farre of frō you. And be we not in ye bowels now of the realme? Haue we not a greate parte thereof either in ſubiecciō, or in amitie and loue? Who ſhall come into your Realme, but he ſhalbee mette with, and fought with, if nede be, euen of youre awne nacion, who bee faithefull & true to the realme of England, in ye way of this moſte Godly vniō by mariage. And if any forein power, Prince or potētate, whoſoeuer be your aider, to noriſhe ſtill diſcord, ſende you an armie alſo: how ſhall thei oppreſſe you, fill your houſes, waſt your groundes, ſpende and conſume your vitaill, holde you in ſubieccion, and regarde you as ſlaues, which without thē could not liue, take your Quene to beſtowe as thei liſt, and leaue your realme, eſpecially if their Kyng or ruler (as perchaunce he maye be) in other warres, be otherwiſe occupied, to be a pray to vs & a true conqueſt. Then it ſhalbe to late to ſaie, we will haue a mariage and no conqueſt, wee wiſhe peace and amitie, we are wery of battaill and miſerie. The ſtubborne ouercomed muſt ſuffre the victours pleaſure, and pertinacitie will make the victory more inſolent, whereof you your ſelfe haue geuen the cauſe. If thei ſēd money and Capitaines, but no ſouldiors: Firſt if thei be Capitaines, who ruleth & who dooth obeye, who ſhall haue the honor of the enterpriſe, if it bee well achieued? But whether it bee well achieued or no, whiche numbre is that, that ſhalbee ſlain, whoſe bloodde ſhalbe ſhed? Their money peraduenture ſhalbe conſumed, and their commaundementes obeyed: But whoſe bodies ſhall ſmarte for it? Whoſe lādes ſhalbee waſted? Whoſe houſes burned? What realme made deſolate? Remembre what it is to haue a forein power within you a ſtrong power of your enemies vpō you, you as it were the cāpe and plain, betwixt them to fight on, and to be troden vpon, bothe of the victor and the ouercomed. And imagine you ſe before your iyes, your wifes and daughters in daungier of the wantonneſſe and inſolēcie of the ſouldiours, the proude lookes of the Capitaines and ſouldiours, whō you cal to helpe you, the contēpt you ſhall bryng your nacion in: And then take hede leſt in deede that follow, whiche you feare, that is that you ſhalbe by them conquered, that you ſhalbe by them put from your holdes, lādes, tackes, and offices: that youre lawes by them ſhalbe altered: That your naciō ſhalbe by them deſtroyed. Cōſider in this realme: Did not the Britaynes call in the Saxons for helpe, and by theim wer put out? Where bee the Pictes, once a great nacion betwixt you and vs? Howe did the nacion of Fraunce put out the Galles out of all Fraunce? Howe gotte the Turke firſt all Grecia, and now a late Hūgarie, but beyng called in for to aide and helpe? And did not the Gothes by like meanes get all Italie? And the Lombardes one part thereof, now called Lombardy? What loke you for more? Nedy ſouldiours and hauyng the weapons in their handes, & knowing that you cannot liue without them, what wil thei not cōmaunde you to do? What wil thei not encroche vpon you? What will thei not thynke thei maie dooe? And what will thei thinke that you dare doo? This forein helpe is your confuſion, that ſuccour is your detriment, the victory ſo had, is your ſeruitude, what is then to be thought of loſſe taken with theim? The ſtraūgers and forein ſouldiours ſhall oppreſſe you within, oure power & ſtrength without: And of youre awne nacion, ſo many as loueth quietnes, Godlines, and the wealth of your realme, ſhall helpe alſo to ſcourge and afflicte you. Is it not better to compoſe & acquiete al this calamitie and trouble by mariage? To ende al ſorowes and battailes, by ſuche and ſo honorable a peace? How hath the Emperour Spayne and Burgondy, not by title of mariage? Howe holdeth the Frēche king Briteigne, now lately adnexed to that Croune, not by title of mariage? Howe hath al the greate princes of the worlde happely, and with quiete made of two kyngdomes one, of diuerſe lordſhippes one? of nacions alwaies at warre with thē ſelf, or els in doubtful peace, one well gouerned Kyngdome, rule and dominion, but by that moſt Godly, moſte quiete, moſte amicable compoſicion of mariage? Two meanes ther is of makyng one rule, whereto title is pretended, and perfite agremēt betwixt twoo nacions: Either by force & ſuperioritie whiche is conqueſt, or by equalitie and loue, whiche is parentage and marryng: ye hate the one, that is conqueſt, and by refuſyng the other, you enforce it vpon you: you wil not haue peace, you will not haue aliaunce, you will not haue concorde: and conqueſt commeth vpon you whether you will or no: And yet if all thynges were conſidered, wee feare it will appere, that it were better for you to bee conquered of vs, then ſuccoured of ſtraungiers, leſſe loſſe to your gooddes, leſſe hurte to youre lande, leſſe diſhonor to your realme: This nacion which is one in tongue, one in Countrey and birthe, hauyng ſo litle diuerſitie to occupie ye whole, thē other powers to come into you, neither like in language, ne yet like in behauior, who ſhould rule ouer you, and take you to be but their ſlaues. But we efteſones and finally declare, and proteſt vnto you, that although for the better furtheraunce of this godly purpoſe, of vniting the realmes, and for the ſure defēce of theim, whiche fauoreth the mariage, we are compelled for the tyme, to kepe holdes, to make fortificaciōs in youre Realme: Yet the Kynges Maieſties mynde, and determinate pleaſure, with oure aduiſe and counſaill, to bee as before is declared, where fauour maie be ſhewed, not to vſe rigoure, if by condicions you will receiue this amitie offered, not to followe cō queſt, we deſire loue, vnitie, concord, peace and equalitie: let neither your Gouernour, nor your Kirkmen, nor thoſe who ſo often hath falſefied their faithe & promiſe, and by treacherie and falſhed, be accuſtomed to prolōg the tyme, fede you further with faire wordes, and bryng you into the ſnare, from whence thei cannoe deliuer you. Thei wil peraduenture prouide for themſelues, with pencions in ſome other Realme, and ſett ſouldiours ſtraungiers in youre holdes, to kepe you in ſubieccion, vnder pretenſe to defende them againſt vs. But who prouideth pēcions for you? How are you defended, when thei bee fled awaie? Who cōquereth you whē the ſtraunge ſouldiours or Capitaines hath your holdes? When your land is waſted, and the realme deſtroyed, & the more part kept frō you? Who will ſet by the mariage of the Quene, to buye a title with the war of Englande, to mary the name, another mightie Kyng holdyng the lande? If we twoo beyng made one by amitie, bee moſte hable to defende vs againſt all nacions: and hauyng the ſea for wall, the mutuall loue for garriſon, and God for defence, ſhould make ſo noble and wel agreyng Monarchie, that neither in peace wee maie bee aſhamed, nor in warre affraied, of any worldely or forrein power: why ſhould not you bee as deſirous of the ſame, and haue as muche cauſe to reioyſe at it as we? If this honour of ſo noble a monarchie, do not moue you to take and accepte amitie, let the grief and the daungier of the before named loſſes, feare you to attempt that thyng whiche ſhall diſpleaſe God, encreaſe warre, daungier youre Realme, deſtroy your landes, vndo your children, waſte your groundes, deſolatey oure Countreis, and bryng all Scotlāde either to famyne and miſerie, or to ſubiecciō and ſeruitude of another naciō. Wee require but your promiſed Quene, your offred agrement of vntiie, the ioynyng of bothe the nacitons: whiche God of his infinite clemencie and tendre loue that he hath declared, to beare to bothe the naciōs, hath offered vnto vs bothe, and in maner called vs bothe vnto it: VVHOSE callyng & prouocacion, we haue and will followe, to the beſte of oure powers, and in his name, and with his ayde, admonicion, exhortacion, requeſtes, and Embaſſaides, not beyng hable to do it, and to finde ſtablenes in promiſes: We ſhal not willyng, but conſtreined, purſue the battaill chaſtice the wicked and malicious, by the angrie Angelles of GOD, the Fire and Sworde. Wherefore, wee require & exhort all you, who hath loue to youre Countrey, pitie of that realme, a true hart to your quene & Maiſtreſſe, regarde of youre honors and promiſes, made by ye greate Seale of Scotlande: And who fauoreth the peace, loue, vnitie, and concord, and that moſt profitable mariage, to entre and to come to vs, and declaryng your true and godly hartes therunto, to ayde vs in this moſte Godly purpoſe & enterpriſe: be witneſſe of our doynges, we refuſe no mā temporall ne ſpirituall, lorde ne larde, gentilman, ne other, who will ayde this our purpoſe, and miniſhe the occaſion of ſlaughter and deſtruccion, to whom we ſhall kepe the promiſſes heretofore declared, and further ſee reward & recompence made accordyng to deſerte. And for a more ſure profe, and playner token of the good mynd & wil whiche we beare vnto you: that whiche neuer yet before was graunted to Scotlande, in any league, truce or peace, betwixt Englande and Scotlande, becauſe you ſhall haue profe of the beginnyng, of loue and amitie of bothe the realmes: the kynges highnes, conſideryng the multitude of them, whiche is come to his maieſties deuocion, and of theim that bee well willers and ayders, of this Godly enterpriſe, hath by oure aduiſe and counſail graunted, & by theſe preſentes doeth graunt, that from hencefurthe, all maner of merchaūtes, and other Scottiſhmen, who will entre their names, with one of the lieuetenaū tes or wardens of the Marchies or any other of the Kynges maieſties officers hauyng aucthoritie, and there profeſſe to take parte with vs, in this before named godly purpoſe, to his awne cōmoditie, and to ſerue all ſuche as be of theſame agrement: may lawfully, and without any trouble and vexacion, entre into any Porte, Creeke, or Hauen of Englande, and vſe their trafique of merchaundiſe, either by lande or ſea, bye and ſell, bryng in the cō moditie of Scotlande, and take and cary furth the commodities of England, as liberally and as frely, & with theſame, & no other cuſtome or paimentes therefore, then Engliſhmen, & the Kynges ſubiectes doth at theſe preſentes myndyng further vpon the ſucceſſe hereof, to gratifie ſo ye furtherers of this moſte Godly enterpriſe and vnion, that all the world may be witnes of ye great zeale and loue, whiche his highnes dooeth beare, towardes you and your naciō. And all this the Kynges highnes by our aduiſe and counſaill, hath willed to bee declared vnto you, and geuen in commaundement to vs, and all his Lieuetenauntes, Wardens, Rulers, and other hed officers, miniſters & ſubiectes, to ſee executed and doen, according to the true purporte, effecte and meanyng therof. Fare you well.