“Edward by the grace of God, kyng of England and of Fraunce, and lord of Irland, to the reverent fader in God Robert byshope of Bathe and Wells, oure chaunceller, greting. Forasmoche as we send unto you within these oure letters the tenure of an acte of oure grete counsail, amonge other thinges, remaynyng in thoffice of oure privé sael, in fourme as folowith: In the chamber of the grete counsaill, called the parliament-chambre, within the kings paleis att Westminster, the x. day of Februarie, the ixth yere of the regne of oure soveraygne lord the kyng Edward the IIIIth, in the presence of the same pure soveraigne lord, and my lordis of his grete counsail, whs names ben under wrten, a supplication addressed unto oure said soveraygne lord, on behalf of the high and noble princesse Jaquet duchesse of Bedford, and two sedules in papier annexed unto the same supplication, were openly, by oure saide soveraygn lordis commaundement, fadde; and afterward his highness, by thavis of my said lordis of his counsaill, accepting eftsones the declaracion of my said lady specified in the said supplicacion, according to the peticion of my said lady, commmaunded the same to be enacted of record, and thereupon letters of exemplificacion to be made under his grete seal in due fourme; the tenure of the supplication and cedules, whereof above is made mencion hereafter ensue wyse. To the kyng oure soveraygne lord; shewith and lamentably complayneth unto your highness your humble and true liegewoman Jaquet duchesse of Bedford, late the wyf of your true and faithfull knight and liegeman Richard late erle of Ryvers, that where shee at all tyme hath, and yit treuly beleve on God according to the feith of Holy Chirche, as a true christen woman owith to doo, yet Thomas Wake squire, contrarie to the lawe of God, lawe of this land, and all reason and good consciens, in the tyme of the late trouble and riotous season, of his malicious disposicion towards your said oratrice of long tyme continued, entendyng not oonly to hurt and apaire her good name and fame, but also purposed the fynall distruccion of her persone, and to that effecte caused her to be brought in a commune noyse and disclaundre of wychecraft thorouout a grete part of this youre reaume, surmytting that she shuld have usid wichecraft and sorcerie, insomuche as she said Wake caused to be brought to Warrewyk ate your last being there, soveraigne lord, to dyvers of the lords thenne being ther present, a image of lede made lyke a man od armes, conteynyng the lengthe of a mannes finger, and broken in the myddes, and made fast with a wyre, saying that it was made by your said oratrice to use with the said witchcraft and sorsory, where she, ne noon for her ne he be her, ever sawe it, God knowith. And over this, the said Wake for the perfourmyng of his malicious entent above said, entreted oon John Daunger, parishe clerk of Stoke Brewerne, in the counte of Northampton, to have said that there were two other images made by your said oratrice, oon for you, soveraygne lord, and another for oure soveraigne lady the queen, whereunto the said John Daunger neyther coude ne wolde be entreted to say. Wheruppon it lykid your highnesse, of your noble grace, ate humble sute made unto your highnesse by your said oratrice, for her declaracion in the premises, to send for the said Wake and the said John Daunger, commaundyng them to attende upon the reverent fadir in God the bishop of Carlisle, the honourable lord therle of Northumberland, and the worshipfull lords lord Hastyngs and Mountjoye, and mayster Roger Radclyff, to be examined by them of such as they coude allege and say anenst your said oratrice in this behalf; thaxaminacions afore them had apperith in wrytinge herunto annexed; wherof oon bill is conteyning the sayings of Wake, and writte with his owne hand; and another shewyng the sayings of the said Daunger, and wrete in the presence of the said lords; which seen by your highnesse, and many other lords in this your grete councell, the xx day of January last passed, then being there present, your said oratrice was by your grace and theime takyn clerid and declared of the said noises and disclaundres, which as yet remaygneth not enacted; forsomuch as divers your lords were then absent. Wherfor please it your highnesse, of your most habundant grace and grete rightwisenesse, tenderly to consider the premises, and the declarscion of your said orstrice had in this behalf, as is afore shewid, to commaunde the same to be enacted in this youre said grete counsaill, so as the same her declaration may allway remaigne there of record, and that she may have it exemplified undir your grete seall: And she shall continually pray to God for the preservacion of your most royal estate.

“Thomas Wakes bille. Sir, this ymage was shewed and left in Stoke with an honest persone, which delyverid it to the clerk of the said chirche, and so shewid to dyver neighbours, aftir to the parson in the chirche openly to men both of Shytlanger and Stoke; and aftir it was shewed in Sewrisley a nounry, and to many other persones, as it said, &c. And of all this herd I nor wist no thing, till after it was sent me by Thomas Kymbell from the said clerc, which I suppose be called John Daunger, which cam home to me, and told me as I have said to my lord of Carlille and to your maistershipp, from which saying as by herdsay I neither may nor will vary. And yf any persone will charge me with more that I have said, I shall discharge me as shall accord with my trouthe and dutee.

“John Daungers bille. John Daunger, of Shetyllanger, sworn and examined, saith, that Thomas Wake send unto hym oon Thomas Kymbell, that tyme being his bailly, and bad the said John to send hym the ymage of led that he had, and so the said John sent it by the said Thomas Kymbell, att which tyme the same John said that he herd never noo wichecraft of my lady of Bedford. Item, the same John Saith, that the said ymage was delivered unto hym by oon Harry Kyngeston of Stoke; the which Harry fonde it in his owne hous after departing of soundeours. Item, the same John saith, that the said Thomas Wake, after he cam from London, fro the kyng, send for hym and said that he had excused himself and leyd all the blame to the said John; and therfor he bad the said John say that he durst not kepe the said image, and that he was the cause he send it to the said Thomas Wake. Item, the same John saith, that the said Thomas Wake bad hym say that ther was two other ymages, onn for the kyng, and another for the quene; but the said John denyed to say soo. Present my lords whos names foloweth; that is to say, my lordis the cardinall and archebishop of Canterbury, tharchebishop of York, the bishops of Bathe, chauncellor of Englond, Elye,tresorer of Englonde, Rouchester, keeper of the privie seall, London, Duresme, and Karlill; therls of Warrewyk, Essex, Northumberland, Shrewsbury, and Kent; the lords Hastings, Mountjoye, Lyle, Crowmell, Scrope of Bolton, Say, &c.”

These charges were revived after the king’s death, as we learn by the “Act for the settlement of the Crown upon the king and his issue, with a Recapitilation of his Title,” of which the following is an extract.¹

“Over this, amonges other things, more specially wee consider howe that, the tyme of the reigne of kyng Edward the iiijth late deceased, after the ungracious pretensed marriage, as all England hath cause soo to say, made betwixt the said king Edward and Elizabeth sometime wife to sir John Grey knight, late naming herself and many years heretofore quene of Englond, the ordre of all poletique rule was perverted, the lawes of God and of Gods church, and also the lawes of nature and of Englond, and also the laudable customes and liberties of the same, wherein every Englishman is inheritor, broken, subverted, and contempned, against all reason and justice, soo that this land was ruled by selfewill, and pleasure, feare, and drede. All manner of equite and lawes layd apart and despised, whereof ensued many inconvenients and mischiefs, as murders, extorsions, and oppressions; namely, of poore and impotent people, soo that no man was sure of his lif, land, ne lyvelode, ne of his wif, doughter, ne servaunt, every good maiden and woman standing in drede to be ravished and defouled. And besides this, what discords, inward battailles, effusion of Christian mens blode, and namely by the destruction of the noble blode of this londe, was had and committed within the same, it is evident and notarie thourough all this reame, unto the great sorowe and hevynesse of all true Englishmen. And here also we consider, howe that the seid pretensed marriage betwixt the above-named king Edward and Elizabeth Grey was made of grete presumption, without the knowing and assent of the lords of this lond, and also by sorcerie and wichecrafte, committed by the said Elizabeth and her moder Jaquett duchesse of Bedford, as the common opinion of the people, and the punlique voice and fame is thorough all this land; and herafter, if and as the caus shall require, shall bee proved sufficiently in tyme and place convenient. And here also we consider. Howe that the said pretensed marriage was made privately and secretely, without edition of banns, in a private chamber, a prophane place, and not openly in the face of the church, after the lawe of Goddes churche, but contrarie thereunto, and the laudable custome of the church of Englonde. And howe, also, that at the tyme of contract of the same pretensed marriage, and before and longe tyme after, the said king Edward was and stode maryed and trouth-plight to oone dame Elianor Butteler, doughter of the old earl of Shrewesbury, with whome the same king Edward had made a precontracte of matrimonie, long tyme before he made the said pretensed marriage with the said Elizabeth Grey, in manner and forme abovesaid. Which premises being true, as in veray trouth they been true, it appeareth and followeth evidently that the said king Edward during his lif, and the seid Elizabeth, lived together sinfully and dampnably in adultery, against the lawe of God and his churche; and therefore noo marvalle that, the souverain lord and the head of this land being of such ungodly disposicion, and provoking the ire and indignacion of oure Lord God, such haynous mischieffs, and inconvenients, as is above remembered, were used and committed in the reame amongs the subjects. Also it appeareth evidently and followeth that all thissue and children of the seid king Edward been bastards, and unable to inherite or to clayme any thing by inheritance by the lawe and custome of Englond.”

^1. Rot. Parl. 1 Ric. III printed in the Rolls of Parliament, vol. vi. p. 240