❧ The Arraignment, Examination, Confession and judgement of Arnold Cosbye:  
WHO WILFULLY Murdered the Lord Burke, near the Town of Wanswoorth, on the 14. day of this present Month of january and was executed the 27. of the same month. 1591.  
AT LONDON Printed for Edward White, and are to be sold at the little North door of Saint Paul's Church, at the Sign of the Gun.   

The Arraignment, Examination, confession & judgement, of Arnold Cosbye, who wilfully murdered the Lord Burke, near the Town of Wanswoorth, on the 14. day of this present month of january. 1591.  
Upon the 25. day of january last passed, 1591. Arnold Colbye commonly called and known by the name of Captain Cosbye, an Irish man borne, being before committed to Newgate for the murdering of the Lord Burke, appareled in ayellowe Fustian doublet, and alwse night gown cast over with his hands bound: was brought from thence alongst the City of London over London bridge into the borough of Southwark, within the County of Surrey, where the knight marshal's men were ready to receive him▪ and conducted him to the Session's house on S. Marget's hill, whereupon he was immediately put into the docket, and had a great pair of 〈◊〉 bolts put upon his feet, his hands unbound and his arms pinioned: Soon after there came thither the right honourable the Lord chamberlain, the Earl of Wormwood, sir George Carew knight Marshal of England, with Master Popham the Queen's Attorney general, and other of her majesties justices for Middlesex and Surrey: who being orderly placed, proclamation was made for the people to be silent, after that a substantial quest of inquiry was called and impanelled, who having their charge given them by her majesties Attorney general to inquire if any wilful murders, routs or riots etc. were lately committed in the verge of the Queen's majesties household: by virtue of which inquiry, they found this matter of wilful murder.  
That done, the Prisoner was commanded to hold up his hand at the heart, and then the Clerk of the peace read the bill of indictment with aloud voice, which contained in effect that the said Arnold Cosbye contrary to the peace of our Sovereign Lady the Queen: upon the 14. day of january last passed, not having the fear of God before his eyes, did forcibly set upon john Lord Burke in the Town of Wanswoorth in a close: and there upon a devilish and most malicious intent did wilfully murder him, then & there giving him one mortal and deadly wound with a rapier, containing one inch wide, and 10. inches deep, by means of which grievous and deadly wound, the said Lord Burke fell down, and after that the said Arnold Cosbye with a Dagger price two shillings, gave unto the said john Lord Burke xxj. grievous & several wounds more: of which said great and deep wound, the aforesaid Lord Burke died within two hours after. Whereupon the prisoner being demanded if he were guilty of the murder for which he was accused? he answered & pleaded to the same not guilty, and for trial put himself to God and the Country: whereupon there was a sufficient jewrie chosen for his trial, before whom the Prisoner stood to hear what might be alleged against him, for proof of the fact which before he had denied. Then the Court did command proclamation to be made for all such to come in & make their appearance, as could say any thing against the prisoner concerning the fact: otherwise he stood upon his discharge: whereupon the Queen's Attorney general first showed and openly commanded to be read, the confession & examination of the said Arnold Cosbye taken the 16. of january before master William Fleetwood sergeant at Law, and Recorder of the City of London, which said examination contained, that about a twelve month before the said Lord Burke and the prisoner, fell out and fought together at Greenwich, and that afterward they were made friends; nevertheless it appeared thereby by that Cosbye gave unto the said Lord Burke sundry very base terms & unsomely words with other such great abuses, as no noble Gentleman would have put up at the hands of so mean a man as Arnold Cosbye was, and the same always justified by the party, who from time to time did discover them to my Lord, whom the prisoner in his examination aforesaid charged to do it of malice: and in conclusion even in the scope and course of his said examination, it evidently appeared that he had before wilfully pretended the murder of the said Lord Burke, and in most shameful sort effected it as aforesaid: as Master Attorney general did learnedly lay it open. And in the said confession, the said Cosbye declared, that the Lord Burke and he road together from the Court, where the said examinate desired him to cross the river upon the common way to London, to the end (as he said) if it were his chance to endanger him, he might the more easily escape by means of his friends, which my L. refused.  
After that there was a letter openly showed and read, sent from Cosbye the night before the Lord Burke died, containing very 〈◊〉 terms, far unmeet for so mean a man to send to so noble a parsonage, in which he did threaten a sharp revenge to the said Lord and called him therein by the bare name of Burke, so that by the said letter it appeared that he pretended a sharp revenge upon the Lord Burke, and then his own confession aforesaid: proved that the next day following he committed wilful murder upon him. Nevertheless for further proof, witnesses were called in to declare what they could say touching the same, whereupon one Master powel of ●answoorth showed, that being moved by the Lord Burkes foot man to make search for the said Lord, by reason he was ridden forth with Captain Cosbye to fight: spared neither hedge nor ditch, until he came to the place where the L. Burke lay sore wounded ready to give up the Ghost, finding with him at his coming a woman that did comfort him so much as she might, by casting her freeze safeguard on him, and had laboured to stop the wounds with clothes, such as she might conveniently come by. M. powel so soon as he came to the L. Burke, being in what grievous estate he stood, ready to quake and quiver with the blood which cooled and bled inwardly in his body: he first threw his cloak upon the L. Burke, and then demanded of him how he came so sore hurt. Whereupon even in the very agony of death, having supped up two or three dishfulls of new milk, oh said he, Cosbye hath villainously wounded me to death, I never striking blow nor giving thrust, but whilst I was stooping to unbuckle one of my spurs, having unbuckled the other before through his persuasion, saying they would be some trouble unto me, he most cowardly thrust me in at the top of the shoulder, which ran far into the body, yet if I had stricken but two blows with him, it would never have grieved me, had he then manfully slain me in fight. Whereupon the said powel demanded if his Lordship could go or ride, but seeing he could do neither, he was constrained to put him into a cart, 〈…〉 under him, which one had before brought into the field for cattle, and so conveyed him to his house, in which his honour died, whose house was at Wanswoorth: Master powel having made an end of his speech, Cosbies' Sword was showed openly before the Lords and justices, which was all to be smeared with the blood of the Lord Burke, at the least sixteen inches deep. And the same Master powel being demanded how many wounds he told on the body of the Lord Burke (he being before sworn to what he should speak) answered, that he told one and twenty wounds about the fore part of the body of the murdered Lord after he was dead, but the Lord chamberlain affirmed there was four and twenty at the least, beside the great wound of which he died.  
many of which smaller wounds were in his hands, some in his arms, some in the face, breast & sides, the rest in his thighs and legs, and some so low as to his ankles. Which extreme cruelty showed a most bloody mind in the man, and that he neither respected the commandment of God, who forbiddeth murder, neither did he regard the displeasure of the queen's most excellent majesty, by whom he had his maintenance, neither did he respect the towardliness of the said Lord Boorke, nor his own credit in the Court, where he was well beloved, but in all cowardice and rigour as appeareth, executed his bloodthirsty and cruel mind as is aforesaid, all which the said Cosby seemed to deny, and to colour his shameful and unnatural act, he would have persuaded the Lords & justices there, that he meant no quarrel nor hurt to the L. Boorke, but said that he persuaded the Lord Boorke being in the field to break the point of his sword, and then to return again to the Court, & there to acknowledge that they had fought, that the Lord Boorke had offended the said Arnold Cosby, and that the Lord Boorkes life lay in Cosbies' hands at what time they fought, this should the Lord Boork have done, as the said Cosbie affirmed, and why? Forsooth, because Cosbie (as he said at the bar) stood upon his reputation, and yet it is doubtful, whether he ever made my Lord Boorke that offer or not, no man testifying it but himself. And if he had offered it yet it had been a matter of great disgrace unto the said Lord to have performed it: or to any other of his degree to have stooped so low to so mean a man, being in his highest degree and estate, but a captain by her majesties commission, preferred to that place by those that were of honourable estimation, and doubtless such was the courage of that noble man, that before he would have done himself, so great a dishonour he would first manfully have died in the field at Cosbies' feet, neither is it to be supposed that the Lord Boorke did offer that disgrace as Cosby alleged at the bar, which was that he pulled him by the nose the night before they fought, whereas none can come in and justly make report thereof, but Cosbie himself, yea it is a matter manifest and plain that the Lord Boorke was a man of courage, that he bore an undaunted mind, that he was valiant and a hardy man at arms, he was courteous, mild, and liberal, and had been sufficiently tried, with better men than ever Cosbye durst to encounter with hand to hand: and therefore as the Lords said unto Cosbie, so it seemed to fall out, that it was only the cowardice of Cosbie and not his courage that caused him so cruelly to murder so towardly and courteous a Lord. Whereupon after that Captain Moston had delivered to the Lords & justices there assembled, the truth of all that had passed between the Lord Boorke and the said Cosby justifying that the Lord Boorke never gave him any just occasion of malice or inward grudge: and therewithal having beside showed sundry points of cowardice in the said Cosbie, as well towards the said Moston as also towards diverse others, justified by the honourable on the bench, the jury went together and stayed away some short space: in which time the right honourable Lord Chamberlain uttered unto the prisoner a speech of great effect and deep consideration: which was in manner and effect as followeth.   

The speech of the right Honourable the Lord Chamberlain.  
COsbie, give ear what I say unto thee, and regard my speech, look into thyself, and behold the just judgements of God upon thee in this action, first it is most evident, that thou having in a most shameful sort murdered the noble Gentleman, for whose death thou art here arraigned, thou thoughtest to save thyself by flight: & having of thy own as good a hunting nag as any is within this Town, thou didst suspect that he would hardly serve thy turn, and therefore thou didst refuse him. Then thou tookest the Lord Boorkes gelding, and supposing to ride away upon him, he suddenly broke from thee, and would at no hand be taken by thee, to carry thee from the place where thou didst commit the murder. Secondly, note how thy own nag served thee, that when thou wert upon him, thou couldst hardly get him to carry thee to the wood where thou didst hide thyself. When thou camest into the wood near Wimbleton, there thou staiedst most part of all the day, there thou hadst time, space, and sufficient means to have fled far enough, and to have staid there long enough, yet thou hadst not the power to do it, there thou lingeredst all the day long, and durst neither pass one way or other, the fact being committed about eight of the clock in the morning, thou hadst no power to departed before evening, and then note the judgements of God upon thee, whether didst thou fly? Thou hadst no power to pass an●e way, but even to the place where the man say whom thou murtheredst, and coming on the back side of the house, thou sawest my son, but he saw not thee, and then to hide thyself, thou fledst behind the house where the dead corpses lay, at which time all the wounds in the Lord Boorkes body did bleed afresh, and the better to shadow thee from the just judgements of God, who compelled thee to come again to that place where thou committedst murder, thou didst demand of a b●ie which was the way to London, as though thou knewest not the way to London, being an ordinary man & favoured in the court, but this was Gods doing to show his wondrous works upon thee, and a token that God would not suffer thee to fly, nor thy fact to go unpunished: yea the very beasts did shun, & seemed unwilling to carry thee from the place where thou committedst the murder, thy best friends fled from thee when thou hadst done it, and for doing it, they did abhor thee. Thou knowest that thou wast well beloved in the Court, as well of noble men as other, but this thy foul and odious fact, maketh every one of them to despise thee. Well, now call upon God and be sorry for thy offences, for it is some notable and grievous offence which thou hast in time passed committed against God, that causeth the just judgements of God to follow thee even at thy heels, and hath never left thee till thou camest to this place.  
This speech ended, the jewrie came to give up their verdict, whereupon the prisoner was set forth to hear the same, but when he saw that he was justly condemned in the case of wilful murder, he said nothing, nor never changed countenance thereat, nevertheless before judgement was pronounced against him, he fearing lest he should have some grievous death for his horrible offence, he humbly craved the favour of the Court, that rather than he should be hanged, he desired to be shot to death with bullets, but the right worshipful sir George Carey, knight marshal of England, told him that the law would not allow it, but of necessity the fact being odious, it must be punished according to the laws of the land. Then he made another motion, & desired the honourable and worshipful of the bench, that he might not be executed that present day, but that he might have that days respite, and a Preacher appointed to comfort him to Godward, seeing he was now no man of this world: which they all granted because it was a Christian motion. Thereupon master Attorney proceeded to judgement, and first showed him the odiousness of the fact & murder committed, the shortness of his life, & that now he was to look for nothing but death, and therefore willed him to comfort himself with hope of the joys in the life to come, willing him to ask God mercy, for (saith he) God hath promised that no sin shall be unpardonable with him, but only the sin against the holy Ghost, which he hath said shall never be forgiven. And therefore trust in the mercies of God, for in him now only resteth your comfort. Wherefore according to the law, the court doth award you to go from this place unto the marshalsea, & from thence to be conveyed to Wansworth, to some convenient place near about where the fact was committed, & there to be hanged till you be dead, and so the Lord have mercy upon your soul, and afterward to be hanged in chains, for example sake to all other that shall attempt to do the like. Then the right honourable the Lord Chamberlain did in favour of his first motion grant him his life until the wednesday morning following, so that he had one day granted more unto him than he desired. Whereupon the Court broke up and departed, and the prisoner accordingly was committed to the marshalsea.  
FINIS.   

LONDON Printed for William Wright. 1591.