C R  HONI SOIT QVI MAL Y PENSE  royal blazon surmounted by a crown  
BY THE KING.  
¶ His Majesties Proclamation forbidding all His Loving Subjects of the Counties of gloucester, Somerset, and Wilts, to obey any Warrants of the earl of Stanford, Sir Edward Bainton, or any others commanding them to appear with arms, without His Majesties express Consent.  
WHEREAS several Warrants have been presented to us, under the hands of the earl of Stanford, Sir Edward Bainton, and others, directed to divers of Our loving Subjects of Our Counties of gloucester, Somerset and Wilts, whereby they are required in Our name and for Our Service to appear with their arms, and other warlike preparations at a certain time and place; We do hereby Declare for the satisfaction of all Our Loving Subjects of those Counties, and that they may not be seduced from their obedience by the cunning and subtlety of those men, That the said earl of Stanford, or the other men under whose hands the Warrants have issued, have no Authority from us to grant any such Warrants, but that the said earl, and his Confederates are in open and actual Rebellion against us, and do endeavour to take away Our Life from Vs. And We do therefore straightly Charge and Command all Our loving Subjects whatsoever, upon their Allegiance, not to obey any of the said Warrants, or any other Warrants of the like nature granted or issued without Our express Consent, and such as by colour of such Authority have assembled together, that they immediately disband and repair to their houses. And We do once more renew Our offer of a free and gracious Pardon to all Our Subjects of Our said three several Counties, excepting those whom We before excepted in Our several Proclamations concerning those Our Counties, and excepting Sir Edward Bainton, who hath exercised such cruel traitorous and unheard of insolences over his fellow Subjects, as cannot be paralleled, against all which We shall proceed according to the Rules of the Law, as against Persons guilty of high Treason. And whom We do hereby require all Our Officers and Ministers of Iustice, and all Our loving Subjects whatsoever, to apprehended and cause to be kept in safe Custody. And Our express Pleasure is, and We do hereby will and Command all the several Tenants of the Persons excepted in Our Proclamation, for those three Counties of gloucester, Somerset, and Wilts, and all other persons who are any ways indebted unto them, and all the Tenants to any other person of any of the said Counties, who is now in actual and open Rebellion against us, or who after the publishing of this Our Proclamation shall contribute to the maintenance of the Armies now in Rebellion against us, under the Conduct of Robert earl of Essex, the said earl of Stanford, or of any other Person or persons, That they forbear to pay any Rents or Debts due to the said several Persons, but detain the same in their hands towards the maintenance of the Peace of the Counties, and the reparation of such men who have suffered by the violence of the others. And if any soldier or Souldiers now under Command against us, in either of Our said three Counties, shall within six dayes after the publishing of this Proclamation, apprehended and bring before us or any Officers of Our Army, or any other Our Minister of Iustice, so that the Person apprehended be kept in safe Custody, the bodies of any of the Persons so excepted by us, or of any of the Commanders or Officers now in Rebellion against us in any of the said three Counties, such soldier or Souldiers, besides their Pardons, shall receive such liberal Rewards by Pensions or otherwise, as their several Services in respect of the qualities of the Persons so apprehended shall deserve. And if any Commander or Officer( except the Persons before excepted) now in Rebellion against us in any of the said three Counties, shall within five dayes after this Our Proclamation published, being convinced in his Conscience of his damnable offence against God and us, in assisting this odious Rebellion, return to His Allegiance, and repair to Our Army, and commit no hostile Act in the mean while against us, We shall not only Pardon him, but so far employ him as his quality and demeanour shall deserve. And We do hereby require all Our Loving Subjects of what degree or quality soever, within Our said three several Counties, upon their Allegiance, and as they tender the cause of God, the Protestant Religion, being invaded and threatened to be rooted up by Anabaptists, Brownists, and Atheists, of us, and Our Posterity,( Our Life being sought after by this Rebellion, and of themselves the Law and Liberty of the Subject being in apparent hazard to be subjected to an Arbitrary lawless power, of a few schismatical, Factious and ambitious Persons) to assist Us in Person, or with the loan of Money, Plate, and Horses, in this Our great necessity. And having said thus much out of Our tender regard of Our Subjects of those Our Counties; If they shall henceforward be guilty of the premises, and shall either by loan or Contribution assist the said Army of Rebells, assemble and Muster themselves in arms without Authority derived from us under Our Hand, or shall enter into any Oath of Association for opposing us and Our Army, and so compel us to sand part of Our Forces thither, to reduce them to their Obedience, they must answer the miseries, that must follow, to God, and their country. And Our Pleasure is, That this Our Proclamation be red in all the Parish Churches and chapels in the said three several Counties.  
¶ Given at Our Court at Oxford, the eight and twentieth day of December, in the eighteen year of Our reign. 
 God save the King.