A PROTESTATION Of the Most High and Mighty PRINCE CHARLES LODOWICKE, Count Palatine of the Rhine, Archidapifer, and Prince Elector of the sacred Empire, Duke of Bavaria, etc. Translated out of the High-Dutch, and Printed at LONDON for RICHARD WHITAKER, M.DC.XXXVII. THE PROTESTATION Is against All the unlawful, and violent proceed and actions, intended and practised to his Highness, his Brethren, and near Kindred's prejudice. Particularly, against The secret, and invalide dispositions and decrees of the Emperor, in the translation of the Electoral dignity and dominions, upon the Duke of Bavaria, etc. Secondly, The unlawful, and vain Election of a King of the Romans, where his Highness and the elector of Triers were excluded. Lastly, The violent and unjust usurpation and possession of the Electoral Dignity, Title, Voice, and Session, by the Duke of Bavaria. A Protestation, especially being clear and well expressed, conserveth the right of him that maketh it. And though such protestation be necessary, yet doth it no wrong, or injury to any one. Leg. ●idebitor 4. § 1. D. Quibus modis pignus & ibi Bartol. l. & si quis, 14 §. Sed interdum 7. D. de Religiose. & sumptibus. Samson, when the Philistines, took his wife from him, and gave her to another, maketh this Protestation against them. judge's cap. 15. vers. 3. Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure. Charles Lodowicke, By the grace of God, Count Palatine of the Rhine, Archidapifer, and Prince elector of the sacred Empire, Duke of Bavaria, etc. To all, and every one, that shall see or read these our Letters Patents, Greeting. IT is well known and manifest, not only in the Roman Empire, and Germany our dear Country, but also in all Christendom, by the experience of those violent actions and sad effects of war, which even unto this day are to be seen, and by diverse writings and public monuments set forth every where, what manner of proceeding was used, all the while these heavy troubles, and civil wars of Germany lasted, in the occupation, surreption, division, dismembering, sale, grant, and translation of Our now wasted Dominions and Territories; and well as of Our Electoral Dignity, Archidapifership, Voice, Royalties, and other Rights thereunto immediately and inseparably belonging. Which proceed and violences being altogether unjust, intolerable, contrary to all right and justice, and consequently a nullity, invalide, and without power and force: We have just cause to be sensible of them, and to this end to publish Our complaints, exceptions and protestations against them, according as necessity and justice doth require. Especially, that which grieveth & most sensibly afflicteth Us, as tending to the greatest prejudice of Our own, Our Brethren and near Kindred's Persons and Rights, is that not without great dislike and sorrow We do hear and understand. First of all, how that in the last pretended treaty of peace at Prague, without Our knowledge, in the time of Our minority, not being there, nor sent for, nor heard, amongst the rest was concluded and agreed upon, that those dispositions and pactions should be and remain firm, stable and valide, which heretofore were made and granted by his Imperial Majesty, to the Duke of Bavaria, and the Wilhelmian Line and Posterity, in regard of Our Electoral Dominions and Dignities, and withal, that the said invalide disposgions, having been parched & compiled together in private and secretly, hitherto unknown to the world, and as yet not published in their true force and phrase, nevertheless were alleged against Us, under the pretence, as if they had been allowed and confirmed in the said treaty of peace, and consequently received by a general approbation of all the states of the Sacred Empire, as it doth manifestly appear in the last answer given by the Emperor to the Earl of Arundel, the King's Majesty of Great Britain His Ambassador at Ratisbone. By virtue of which dispositions, Our Right, jurisdictions and Possessions, belonging and appertaining unto Us, Our Brethren, and near Kindred, ex primaeuâ & simultaneâ Investiturâ ex pacto & providentiâ majorum, were ravished and violently taken from Us, and transferred from Our House to a remote and fare distant Line and Descent, against all right, laws, constitutions of the Empire, customs observed in Fiefs of such importance and quality; nay, even against the Golden Bull itself, and other pactions and Imperial privileges, from many ages conferred and confirmed upon on Our Electoral House. Secondly, it much grieveth Us, that at the last meeting of the Electours at Ratisbone, where the election of a King of the Romans was propounded and treated, and the King of Hungary, Ferdinando of Austria, chosen and crowned, We were not with the rest of Our Co-electors, by virtue of the Golden Bull, called and invited, notwithstanding that We only represent and bear the Right, Voice, Office, and Person of the Elector Palatine, but We were purposely, though unjustly, passed by and excluded, and the Duke of Bavaria suffered de facto and really to usurp, and to bear our Title, Place, Session, Office and Voice, against all Law and justice. All these things generally, and every one in particular being nothing, and altogether invalide, unjust, and violent, to pass by many other nullities, We do esteem and account the Dispositions abovesaid, and the pretended conclusion of peace of no force and power, upon this ground, because they were continued, framed and agreed upon, in the time of Our, and Our brethren's minority, when We were absent and in foreign Countries, having been neither called nor heard, much less accused and convicted; beside, that in themselves they are contrary to all Divine and humane laws, the fundamental Constitutions of the Sacred Empire, the ordinary customs of Fiefs of such quality, and the manifold declarations, which His Imperial Majesty hath made and given under his own hand with full assurance, to all the Electours, that then were present, the 23. of February, anno 1623. and to the King of Great Britain, Our honoured Grandfather of most blessed memory, few days after, viz. the 5. of March in the same year. And withal the nullity of this pretended Election appeareth, in that. We were with the elector of Triers unjustly and violently excluded and kept out from it, though unto Us only it belongeth by Nature, Divine and humane laws, to bear the Name, Title, Voice, Office, and Function of the elector Palatine, in all Imperial Diets, Electoral meetings, and generally in all solemn actions of the Empire. These inevitable necessities obliged Us, to publish Our exceptions and protestations in a solemn and legal manner, for the maintaining of Our unquestionable and undoubted Right, jurisdiction, Princely descent, State, and Name, against all such and the like violent proceed, intended, determined and practised, to the prejudice and disgrace of Us, Our Brethren and near Kindred, who were never so much as called or heard in Our own cause. We do therefore by virtue of these Letters Patents, with good advice and knowledge, in the best form and wise, according to Law and Custom, plainly and fully protest against, and contradict all, both in general and particular, whatsoever hath been contrived, acted, granted, premised, pronounced, judged, published, disposed, practised and agreed upon, publicly or privately, with deliberation and purpose, or any other way, to the prejudice, detriment and damage of Us, Our Brethren, and near Kindred, or whatsoever shall or may be in time to come, ordained, judged, decreed, practised and acted, against Us, de facto and really, without Our knowledge, consent and approbation. Particularly, we do protest against those vain, impertinent, and most dangerous dispositions, and conclusions of peace at Prague, against the hasty, precipitate and unlawful election of a King of the Romans, and above all, against the violent, unjust and heinous usurpation, detention, and privation made and continued by the Duke of Bavaria, in keeping back, ravishing and detaining from Us, as much as lieth in his power, by his usurpation de facto, Our Electourship, Dominions, Subjects, Royalties, Fiefs, Office, Title, Voice and Session. Reserving withal for Us, Our Brethren, near Kindred, and all those that have any interest in it, to use all such lawful and conducible means, actions, defences and remedies, as are allowed in such cases, by Divine and humane laws, to all, that are thus oppressed, and suffer such wrongs and injuries, with this express declaration and Protestation, that whereas We Ourselves, and others for Us have hitherto tried and sought, as much as was possible, to come by fair means to the quiet repossession of what belongeth unto Us, by Nature, and Laws Divine and humane, upon honest and tolerable conditions, We desire to be clear and blameless before Almighty God, the whole world, and all posterity, of whatsoever may befall any one in the prosecution and maintaining of Our just and lawful cause, for the obtaining of Our restitution. We do likewise in the end profess and protest before God, who knoweth the hearts of man, that We do not intent by this our forced lawful Protestation, to derogate any thing from the Highness and preeminency of his Imperial Majesty, whom We are willing and ready to honour and revere with most humble and constant devotion, Or to diminish and offend the Rights, Honours, and jurisdictions of any State soever, having no other intent and scope, but more and more by these lawful means to maintain, confirm, and publicly to manifest Our innocency, just cause, unquestionable Right, Hereditary Dignities, and lawful possessions, lest by Our silence and forbearance of this necessary and just Protestation, they should be neglected, endangered, or prejudiced, And to the end, that this Our Protestation, drawn in the presence of a Notary and witnesses, might come to the public knowledge and view of the world, and all frivolous exceptions and pretences of ignorance be cut off from those whom it may concern, We have caused it publicly to be set forth and printed, and have already sent some authentic copies of it to his Imperial Majesty, and the Prince's Electours, under Our own hand and Seal. Given at Hampton-court the 27. of January, anno 1637.