¶ A joyful meditation to all england: of the coronation of our most natural sovereign lord king Henry the eight  
 

The prologue  

THe prudent problems/ & the noble works  
Of the gentle poets in old antiquity  
Unto this day hath made famous clerks  
For the poets Written nothing in vanity  
But grounded them on good morality  
Encensing out the fair dulcet fume  
Our language rude to exile and con●●●●   

The right eloquent poet and monk of berry  
Made many fair books/ as it is probable  
From idle darkness/ to light our emyspery  
Whose virtuous pastime/ was much commendable  
Presenting his books/ greatly profitable  
 
To your worthy predecessor the .v. king Henr●  
Which registered is in the court of memory   

amids the meadow of flora the queen  
Of the gods elycon/ is the spring or well  
And by it groweth/ a fair laurel green  
Of which the poets do oft write and tell  
Beside this olive/ I died never devil  
To taste the water which is aromatic  
For to 'cause me write with lusty rhetoric   

Wherefore good sovereign/ I beseech your highness  
To pardon me which do rudely indite  
As in this art having small intres  
But for to learn is all mine appetite  
In following the monk which died nobly write  
Beseeching your highness and grace debonair  
For to accept this rude and little quayre   
¶ Explicit prologus.   


O God alone in heaven wearing crown  
In whose inspect is every regal see  
Both to enhance & for to cast adown  
Such is the power of thyn high magiste  
Neither hardiness treasure nor dignity  
May withstand thy strength which is in every place  
So great and mighty is thy divine grace   

Two titles in one thou didst well unyfye  
When the red rose took the white in marriage  
reigning together right high and nobly  
From whose unyd tytyls and worthy lineage  
Descended is by right excellent courage  
King Henry the viii for to reign doubtless  
Unyversall his fame honour and largesse   

Which hath spoused a fair flower of virtue  
Descended of 〈◊〉 dame katheryn of Spain  
By grace and prudens the peace to attain  
Wherefore England thou needs not complain  
Sith thou hast crowned openly in sight  
This king and queen by good true love and right   

What should I show by perambulation  
All this great triumph of which report  
Is made about now in every nation  
Unto all this realm to be joy and comfort  
Wherefore you lords I humby you exhort  
spiritual and temporal with the commons unyfyde  
To give god the praise which doth grace provide   

England be glad/ the dew of grace is spread  
The dew of joy/ the dew wholesome and soot  
distilled is now from the rose so read  
And of the white so springing from the root  
After our trouble to be refute and boot  
This rial tree was planted as I know  
By god above the rancour to down throw   

Who is the flower that doth this grace distill  
But only Henry the viii king of his name  
With golden drops all England to fulfil  
To show his largesse his honour and his fame  
His deeds thereto exemplefye the same  
Wherefore now England with hole devotion  
For this young king make daily orison   

Our late sovereign his father excellent  
I know right well some hold opinion  
That to avarice he had intendment  
Gadring great richesse of this his region  
But they little know by their small reason  
For what high intent he gathered doubtless  
Unto his grace such innumerable riches   

For I think well and god had sent him 〈◊〉  
As they have marveled moche of this gathering  
So it to them should have been affyrmatyfe  
To have had great wonder of his spending  
It may fortune he thought to have moving  
Of mortal war our faith to stablish  
Against the turks their power to minish   

But sith that death by his course natural  
Hath him arrested/ and would not delay  
Like wise as he was so be we mortal  
How/ where/ or when I came nothing say  
Therefore to god above let us all prey  
For to grant him mercy which was our king  
bringing his soul to joy everlasting   

A fair England mistrust the right naught  
Regard right well/ his sons justice  
See how that they which inventions sought  
Delyting them in the sin of avarice  
To oppress the commons by great prejudice  
Doth he not punish them according to law  
Such new promotions to damn and withdraw   


Saturn  Fie on the saturn with thy misty fume  
Replete with fraud treason and wickedness  
To show thy beams thou darest not presume  
So cursed thou art withouten stableness  
devoid of graceful fulfilled with doblenes  
Thy power to England was never amiable  
But always evil untrue and variable   


jupiter.  Now gentle jupiter the lodesterre of light  
Thy steadfast beams so fair and so clear  
Cast now abrede that we may have a sight  
To glad us all when that they do appear  
Sending down truth from thy fulgent spear  
For to make our hearts meekly to incline  
To serve our sovereign which doth now domine   

O mighty Mars oh god of the war  
O flaming honour of every hardy heart  
Send down thy power truly from so far 
Mars   
Us to encourage that we do not start  
But by hardiness that we may subvert  
Our sovereigns enemies to him contrarious  
By battles fierce rightful and rigorous   

And thou fair bright/ and aureate phoebus 
Phoebus   
Increase now light with love and honour  
Among the lords so gay and glorious  
With thy radiant beams so high of favour  
devoiding all treachery debate and rancour  
And illumine the mind with liberality  
Of our good sovereign with wealth and unity   

And lady Venus with thy son cupid 
Venus   
Of every lord do now the heart inspire  
With fervent love that he do not slide  
And of the commons set the hearts on fire  
To love our sovereign with their hole desire  
Following his grace with dulcet harmony  
To the rightful way withouten jeopardy   

Also thou Mercury the god of eloquence 
Mercur●   
The gentle star of grace and virtue  
Thy beams of right peace and conscience  
On our kings counsel down send and renew  
The truth of justice/ that they may extue  
For to do wrong by the sin of covetise  
That here before hath done great prejudice   

And thou watery diane of the see the gods 
Luna   
With thy brother eolus the god of the wind  
Encourage the hearts by in ward hardiness  
 
And enemies rise that they be not behind  
Them for to chase and the see to scour  
By grace and fortune in many a stormy stoure   

O god above/ trononysed in heaven  
In whose will resteth every thing alone  
The sky/ the earth/ with all the planets seven  
Without whose grace/ comfort have we none  
As thou art three enclusyd in one  
So save our sovereign/ from all manner woe  
And this his realm from mortal war also   

Holy church rejoice/ with all your liberties  
Withouten damage/ the king will ye increase  
And be your shield from all adversities  
No wrong shall be but he will it soon cease  
knitting the knot of faith love and peace  
between you and him without disturbance  
So for to endure by long continuance   

Right mighty prince our good sovereign lord  
To god inclining be hardy and glad  
Of you and your realm he will see concord  
Though other nations be therefore full sad  
Against you murmuring with their works bad  
Yet dread ye nothing for god with his might  
Will be alway ready to defend the right   

Right noble/ wise/ and excellent princess  
Right benign lady/ liberal and virtuous  
descended lineally of the line of nobleness  
Fair queen Katherine so sweet and precious  
To our sovereign espoused with joy solacyous  
almighty god give grace to multiply  
From you your flowers to reign right rially   

And lady Mary princes right beautevous  
Endued with honour/ virtue/ and prudence  
Right meek/ goodly/ gentle and gracious  
Sister right deer unto the excellence  
Of our good sovereign/ surmounting in sapience  
Right fair young lady/ the great lord above  
He grant you grace/ high fame/ fortune and love   

And all you lords and ladies honourable  
And you noble knights so haunting chivalry  
Unto our sovereign be meek and tendable  
Which will reward you well and nobly  
As to show his largesse universally  
Encouraging your hearts the courage chivalrous  
In time of battle for to be victorious   

And all ye officers of every degree  
Beware extortion/ for and it be known  
No doubt it is but ye shall punished be  
Take heed of them/ the which be overthrown  
Remember well how fortune hath blown  
The promoters down/ and casting them full low  
In following them ye shall fall as I trow   

England be true and love well each other  
Obey your sovereign/ and god omnipotent  
Which is above/ of all the world the rother  
Will send you wealth/ from whom all good is sent  
He give us grace to keep his commandment  
And save our sovereign/ with his seemly queen  
With all their blood/ without trouble and tene   
¶ Amen.   

¶ Excusacio auctoris  

¶ Go little treatise submit the humbly  
To our sovereign lord/ to be in his presence  
Beseeching his grace to accept the meekly  
And to pardon thy rudeness and negligence  
To compile those matters which 〈…〉  
Unto his highness and regal majesty   

Now ye fair ladies/ wise and virtuous  
I right humbly pray you for to condescend  
To accept my making nothing facundious  
I would that fortune would cunning extend  
That mine enditing I might then amend  
To direct my matters after your pleasance  
Which yet replete am with all ignorance   
AMEN  
¶ Thus endeth this joyful meditation made & compiled by Stephen haws sometime groom of the chamber of our late sovereign lord king Henry the seventh    

¶ imprinted at London in the fleetstreet at the sign of the son by winkin de word