Spain: July 1553, 1-10 | British History Online

Calendar of State Papers, Spain, Volume 11, 1553. Originally published by His Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1916.

'Spain: July 1553, 1-10', in Calendar of State Papers, Spain, Volume 11, 1553, (London, 1916) pp. 69-80. British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/spain/vol11/pp69-80 [accessed 24 April 2024]

July 1553, 1–10



July 4. Vienna, Imp. Arch. E. 20.	Jehan Scheyfve to the Emperor.
	Sire: I hear for a fact that the King of England has made a will, appointing as true heir to the Crown, after his death, Suffolk's eldest daughter, who has married my Lord Guilford, son of the Duke of Northumberland. The Princess has been expressly excluded on religious grounds and because she is asserted to have disobeyed the King and his Council, and infringed the decrees of Parliament. Some folk say the Duke of Suffolk is to succeed to the Crown and that the Princess is to be declared a bastard, others that this is not to be done, partly for fear of your Majesty and partly in order to be able to declare the Lady Elizabeth a bastard, as the King is said to have done in his will. This instrument, with its clauses of exclusion, was written by the King's own hand, and he requested the Council to sign his last will and testament, which they signed and swore to observe rather out of fear than for any other reason. Lord Shrewsbury, the Lord Treasurer, the Lord Warden, the Privy Seal and other members of the government demurred and made many difficulties before consenting, especially the Earl of Arundel, who was made a councillor on the same day. Several gentlemen of the King's Bed-chamber, certain lords who had been summoned to Court, and some of the judges and legal authorities who were consulted on the preparation of the will, affixed their signatures to the instrument. It appears that the King has given, in the form of legacies, some 5,000 or 6,000 pounds income in land to be distributed among the lords of the Council. I am told, however, that the Duke of Northumberland has managed to obtain more money for the councillors independently of the will, and is doing his utmost to make friends, by gifts, promises and other means. It is still said that Parliament is to meet on September 18th, to satisfy the people, confirm and approve the measures that have been adopted, and perhaps, if all goes well, to take steps against the person of the Princess. There are some folk who assert that the execution of the will is to be subject to the authority of Parliament; but it is to be feared that as soon as the King is dead they will attempt to seize the Princess, as I said in former letters. She was warned by a friend yesterday that she had better go further away into the country; and it has been decided that it will be wiser for her to retire to her house of Framlingham in Norfolk, (fn. 1) sixty miles from London. She is at present at Hunsdon, twenty miles from London, where it would be much easier to seize her. She has confidence in her friends in Norfolk. Northumberland is still behaving courteously towards the Princess, as if nothing were about to happen.
	As for the King, his condition is still as I reported to your Majesty on the 27th of last month, though since then he has shown himself at a window at Greenwich, where many saw him, but so thin and wasted that all men said he was doomed, and that he was only shown because the people were murmuring and saying he was already dead, and in order that his death, when it should occur, might the more easily be concealed. The people believed that the King was to show himself again last Sunday, the 2nd of the month, and a great crowd went to see, but they were told it should be done the following day. A large gathering then assembled, but a gentleman of the Bed-chamber came out and told them that the air was too chill. As far as I am able to ascertain, Sire, the King is very ill to-day and cannot last long. He will die suddenly, and no one can foretell whether he will live an hour longer, notwithstanding his having been shown to the people, for that was done against the physicians' advice. It seems there is at present about the King a certain woman who professes to understand medicine, and is administering certain restoratives, though not independently of the physicians.
	Six of the warships that have been fitted out have sailed, and are at present at Margate. These vessels are of about 100 tons each. There are two pinnaces ready for service at Leigh, and at Woolwich four great ships of 400 to 500 tons, also in readiness, and two galleys that are not yet in order, having neither crews nor guns. At Limehouse, Becton and Greenwich there are eight great ships, well-supplied with guns but not manned. It appears that still more are to be fitted out, and that the ships enumerated above will be ready to set sail in seven or eight days, though as the King has shown himself it is thought they will not hurry. It is said that there are 1,000 soldiers under arms, without counting the seamen who have hastily been brought in from all quarters, though as many as can do so escape. There is no doubt that all the artillery in the forts at Gravesend and elsewhere has been taken, and part of it put on board the ships, part in the Tower and other safe places where it is out of reach. The councillors have raised men, horses and provisions. The Duke of Northumberland has 500 men wearing his livery, the Duke of Suffolk 300 and the other councillors numbers proportionate to their rank and importance; and they have bought up all the arms and armour in the kingdom, not only enough for their own use, but all they could find for sale, in order to keep it out of the hands of the Princess' friends. The result is that every one is murmuring against Northumberland, saying he is a great tyrant, that he has poisoned the King, and wishes to plunge the kingdom into disturbances and hand it over to the French. Some say that the men-of-war are to go to fetch soldiers from France. . . [two or three words missing through a rent in the paper] that it is likely, for several reasons. It is true that Northumberland appears to be negotiating a great deal with the French ambassador and shows him friendship, in order to make sure of his support and strike terror into the adversaries. Many people are delighted by the coming of your Majesty's ambassadors, and every one says openly that they have been sent on account of the Princess, to uphold her rights. I have had the lady informed of their approach, and she shows the liveliest satisfaction.
	The preachers and priests have once more been made to sign certain articles, and they are told that unless they abide by them they shall be deprived of their benefices and pensions, and imprisoned and chastised in exemplary fashion into the bargain.
	The King of France was again at St. Germain a few days ago; and I have been assured that when he heard the news of the fall of Thérouanne, he straightway threw himself upon a bed, and allowed no one to speak to him for twenty-four hours, save only the Duchess of Valentinois (fn. 2) and Marshal de St. André. (fn. 3) It seems he is somewhat angry with the Constable, (fn. 4) who had assured him that Thérouanne was in no danger. It is said that all the reserve forces are being called up; and rumour has it that the King is to appear in person at Amiens with 15,000 Switzers and 10,000 Germans, in order to put heart into the people, who are beginning to show signs of unrest.
	London, 4 July, 1553.
	Signed. French. Cipher.
July 7. Vienna, Imp. Arch E. 20.	Jehan de Montmorency, Sieur de Courrières; Jacques de Marnix, Sieur de Thoulouse; Simon Renard and Jehan Scheyfve to the Emperor.
	Sire: We arrived in this city of London on the 6th instant and Mr. (Sir John) Mason, a Gentleman of the King's Bed-chamber, came with two officers to salute us, bid us welcome in the King's name, and make courteous offers of entertainment. The following morning, as we were making ready to send to demand audience of the King, we were informed that his Majesty had died between eight and nine o'clock on the evening of the 6th. We nevertheless decided to send to Court about our audience, in order to discover whether the news we had heard were true, and to see how faces looked there, and what movements might be a-foot. And in the meantime we have done our best to ascertain how matters stand with regard to the designs of the Duke of Northumberland and his party. In the course of our conversations with Ambassador Scheyfve we have heard that he has given your Majesty full details of the progress of the King's illness, the apparent improvement, the Duke of Northumberland's plots, the dangers with which the Duke's ambition and avarice menace the Princess Mary, together with the machinations of the French. We have heard that the King has been caused to make a will by which he has appointed heir to the Crown the eldest daughter of the late (fn. 5) Duke of Suffolk, who has been married to my Lord Guilford, younger son of the Duke of Northumberland. Most of the councillors have signed this will and accepted it, thereby debarring the Princess from her rightful claim; and the Duke has managed to contract alliances between his family and the foremost in the land, in order to be able to put the dispositions of the will into execution. He has seized the treasury and money-reserves of the kingdom, has appointed his own men to the command of fortresses, has raised a force of artillery, fitted out warships for service, and has men ready to go on board as soon as he shall issue the order. He has reinforced the watch in London and at the Tower, and has sought to justify his ambition to get the Crown for his son, by prevailing upon the King and most of the Council to act in such a manner that he may not incur the same blame as if he had grasped the Crown himself, and may avoid the suspicion, which is hanging over him, of having poisoned the King, or caused him to be poisoned.
	Beyond this we have been informed that he intends to seize my Lady Mary, and that he has men ready to do so as soon as the King dies. For this reason the lady has retired to Kenninghall, which is distant some 60 miles from this place, taking as an excuse a dangerous malady that has smitten some of her servants. She believes she will there be in greater safety than she would enjoy nearer this town of London. As she is loved in the kingdom, especially in that part where she now is, where she has the support of several gentlemen and others who are devoted to her and hate the Duke, she hopes she will be able to shelter herself from the first storms and disturbances, and not be as easily arrested as if she were near Court. While we were writing the above, we received information that the Earl of Warwick, eldest son of the Duke, had set out from this town with 300 horse to proceed to a place whither he had been sent; and this makes us fear he has been sent to put into effect the Duke's plan for arresting the Princess. Be that as it may, we see small likelihood of being able to withstand the Duke's designs; and he has secured the support of the French, in case he finds it necessary to have recourse to them, for as we have already said he has been negotiating for a long time past with L'Aubespine and the French ambassador. He founds his hopes on the present state of affairs in Christendom, on the fact that your Majesty's hands are full, on the troubled condition of Germany, on the disagreement that promises a prolongation of the war between your Majesty and France; and in order to hide his plans and machinations in France he caused my Lord (i.e. Sir Andrew) Dudley to be sent to your Majesty, to be followed by the other English ambassadors, and another mission to be sent to France to perform neighbourly offices, endeavour to make peace, and behave in a hypocritical manner, whilst he has been enabled to conduct his plans in the desired direction without arousing suspicions. It seems from all the signs that may be observed that the Duke will incline towards a French policy rather than see his enterprise fail. This he will have to do rather by force than by means of any affection harboured by the English in general for the French or for him; for the English have received much ill-treatment at the hands of the French, and know they may look for more.
	We have been in perplexity as to the decision we had best take in order to put your Majesty's instructions into effect, since it now seems that the Lady Mary's person will be in danger, and her promotion to the Crown so difficult as to be well-nigh impossible in the absence of a force large enough to counterbalance that of her enemies. Before our arrival here, and before my Lady knew your Majesty was sending us, she deliberated with her most confidential advisers on the course she had better adopt in case the King were to die. She came to the conclusion that, as soon as the King's death should be announced, she had better proclaim herself Queen by her letters, for thus she would encourage her supporters to declare for and support her. Also, there is some custom here that the man or woman who is called to the Crown must immediately declare him or herself king or queen; and my Lady decided to do this in order to avail herself of her right and call upon her friends and all those who might wish to support her, either because of her reasonable and just claim, out of hatred for the Duke, who is considered to be an unworthy tyrant, or merely because the people desire a change in government. My Lady has firmly made up her mind that she must act in this manner, and that otherwise she will fall into still greater danger and lose all hope of coming to the throne. We consider this resolution strange, full of difficulties and danger for the abovementioned reasons. All the forces of the country are in the Duke's hands, and my Lady has no hope of raising enough men to face him, nor means of assisting those who may espouse her cause. If she proclaims herself queen, the King and Queen appointed by the King's will—although that instrument be null—will certainly send troops against my Lady, who will have no means of resisting unless your Majesty supplies her with them; and it seems to us inadvisable to stir up the English against your Majesty now that you are engaged in a war with the French, and are obliged to defend various parts of your dominions. The hope that my Lady builds upon English supporters of her claim is vain, because of religion; and to proclaim herself without hope of (immediate) success would only jeopardise those chances that remain to her of coming to the throne. As we have been unable to have speech with my Lady, we informed her of our arrival and the difficulties enumerated above, warning her not to trust to the first news she might receive of the King's death. We feared such news might be published with intent to deceive, and by persons especially primed for the purpose, in order to discover the temper of the people, of my Lady, and of the Duke's enemies; and if she were to declare herself queen before the King's death had actually occurred, she would risk being suspected of the crime of lese-majestie, and might be made to answer for it. Even if the King were really dead, his decease might be kept a secret, and false witnesses might be produced to prove that he had lived longer, in order to cause her trouble. If the nobility, her adherents or the people desired her to be queen and meant to uphold her right they might speak out without any proclamation on her part. The actual possession of power was a matter of great importance, especially among barbarians like the English. Were the question to be settled according to right, there was no doubt as to where the right lay, but if arms and a popular rising were to decide it, the result must be very uncertain. It seemed to us that she would do well to give this matter more careful consideration, examining it in all its possible bearings. We were moved by our desire to safeguard her person, to bring these difficulties to her notice, and your Majesty's instructions told us to avoid throwing England into confusion to the disadvantage of your Majesty and your dominions. We also advanced certain arguments based on the requirements of your Majesty's general policy, wishing not to make her abandon her decision altogether, for then she might take the opportunity to put the blame for disaster upon us, but only to give our reasons for expressing doubts as to the wisdom of the course she had intended to adopt, to assist her in the choice of another if she should see fit to change her mind, or to urge her to take all possible precautions before embarking on an enterprise that we, in our ignorance of the alliances and promises on which she might be able to reckon, could not help considering dangerous because of the above-mentioned considerations. Before our arrival here it had already been said that your Majesty had sent us to uphold my Lady's claim; and this awakened suspicions in the Duke, who tried to find out from M. Scheyfve's secretary, in presence of the Council, whether there were among us any member of your Majesty's Order. (fn. 6) We are informing your Majesty of this in order that you may be pleased to determine upon a course of action. As soon as the passages are opened we will report the progress of events and of our own negotiation.
	Pierre de Hoghen arrived in this place from France three days ago. His coming may perhaps not be without connexion with his former intrigues and spy-craft. It appears from his talk that he would be glad to leave the French service. We have heard from him that the son of the late Count of Rügen was taken prisoner at Thérouanne.
	Sire: The King of England's death is certain. When we have audience we will take care to change our speech according to the occasion, making our visit one of condolence, though uttering recommendations in favour of the Lady Mary and in support of her right, unless we receive fresh instructions from your Majesty. We will follow our instructions as nearly as shall seem possible or advisable. It would appear necessary that your Majesty should consider how letters might be sent across in case the Calais passage were to be closed. We will leave it to your Majesty to decide whether it will be well to watch the English ambassadors now at your Court, and prevent them from departing until you have news of what has happened here. The English are anxious to know whether your Majesty's camp is moving towards Ardres, for their belief that you intend to assist the Lady Mary causes them to view your approach to their frontiers with misgiving.
	We suppose your Majesty has information as to the movements of the French, whether they are preparing for action at sea, or intend to join forces with the English. We have heard nothing; but as the English are arming it might be well to make some demonstration in English waters, as they afford an opportunity for so doing.
	In answer to our demand for audience, the Council have sent to tell us that they will speak to the King about it, fix a time according to his Majesty's condition, and let us know sometime to-morrow. We will observe their reply, and make such declarations to them as shall seem best suited to the occasion. We will report to your Majesty what happens.
	While we were writing the above, the Lord Admiral of England, accompanied by the Treasurer and the Earl of Shrewsbury, took over the command of the Tower of London. This would seem to confirm the news of the King's death, as also the fact that the Council have met in an unwonted place, into which the secretaries were not admitted. Several persons have been sent off in divers directions, it is believed to close the passages. Three or four warships have sailed towards the mouth of the Thames.
	London, 7 July, 1553.
	Signed by all four ambassadors. Cipher. French. Printed by Weiss, Documents Inédits, Vol. IV, from. a slightly mutilated copy at Besançon (Collection Granvelle, 73).
July 7. Brussels, L.A. 64.	Jacques de Marnix, Sieur de Thoulouse, to the Queen Dowager.
	Madam: On my arrival at the camp I sent to inform your Majesty that, as I did not find M. de Vaudry there, I had left the rolls I had brought in the hands of the treasurer for war's clerk, who will do with them what your Majesty shall command him. I then set out in all haste to execute the commission your Majesty was pleased to entrust me with; and had the good fortune to come up with M. de Courrières and the Lieutenant of Amont (i.e. Simon Renard) in time to cross over from Calais with them. On my arrival in this city of London yesterday, a servant of the English Council handed me your Majesty's letter of June 28th, in which you ordered me not to hurry, but to stay and confer at leisure with M. de Vaudry. I was unable to do so for the above reasons, and because your Majesty's letter only reached me here. Your Majesty will hear all that is happening here from our letters to the Emperor.
	London, 7 July, 1553.
	Signed. French.
July 8. Brussels, E.A. 46.	The Emperor to the King of the Romans. (fn. 7)
	(Extract.)
	The English ambassadors who, as you have already heard, have come to this Court under colour of arranging the preliminaries for peace negotiations, are still here. They say they desire to wait to hear what reports their colleagues who have been sent to France will send. Meanwhile, news are arriving from all quarters to the effect that the King of England is sick to death, and there is much talk about his illness, and what course the Duke of Northumberland intends to follow if the King dies. In order to do all I can to prevent the French from intriguing unduly in England, and to afford our cousin all possible favour and assistance, I have sent thither MM. de Courrières, de Thoulouse and Simon Renard with the pretext of visiting the King. I have instructed them to remain in England for some time, following the example given by the English ambassadors here, and have given them sufficient power to take, on my behalf, such steps as the course of events shall dictate to them. . . .
	Brussels, 8 July, 1553.
	Copy. French.
July 10. Vienna, Imp. Arch, E. 20.	MM. de Courrières, de Thoulouse, Simon Renard and Jehan Scheyfve to the Emperor.
	Sire: After we had demanded audience of the King of En land, as we stated in our last letters to your Majesty, the Council sent to us, on the 8th of this month, one of their secretaries who declared that the King was unable to grant us audience, as his indisposition kept him most of the time in bed. If, however, we had been instructed to make any particular communication they would appoint a day for our reception, and send us word. We replied that we were very sorry to hear of the King's indisposition, that we accepted the Council's excuses, being confident that they would make a faithful report to the King of what we should declare to them, and that we would present ourselves on the day appointed by the Council for an audience, which we trusted might be given us as soon as possible, in order that we might execute our charge in obedience to your Majesty's orders, and set out shortly on our return journey. Thus the Council concealed from us the fact of the King's death, which is nonetheless true and generally known; and they are gaining time, before giving us audience, in order to have sworn and accepted as Queen, as the late King's will directs, the eldest daughter of the Duke of Suffolk, who is married to the Duke of Northumberland's younger son. May your Majesty be pleased to know that on the morning following the King's death, the French ambassador went to Court and conferred with the Duke of Northumberland, and it was pretended to us that he was there to negotiate private claims connected with commerce, and nothing to do with the affairs of state. As they are setting up a new Queen in England, one may surmise that they will not dare to let the French into the kingdom for fear they may become too powerful, and that these intrigues will stop short of that point; but it is probable that the Duke of Northumberland has made sure of French support in case your Majesty were to send a force over to support the Lady Mary and try to place her on the throne.
	On the 7th of this month the Mayor of London and the magistrates were summoned to the castle (fn. 8) where the King died. There they swore allegiance to the new Queen and agreed to abide by the terms of the King's will. This was also done by the members of the guard.
	On the 8th, the letters, a copy of which is being sent to your Majesty, were despatched to the officers in all parts of the kingdom. In them your Majesty will see expressed the Council's real attitude towards the Lady Mary, the calumnies they are preparing to heap upon her, and the precautions they are taking to prevent people from rising in arms to make her queen. It is quite certain that they will never allow her to come to the throne unless they are compelled by force to do so.
	On the 9th, the captain of the guard summoned all the archers of the guard, told them publicly of the King's death, and asked them to swear allegiance to the Crown of England. This they did; and he then declared to them that the King had taken measures by his will for the administration of the kingdom, and told them that they must repair to the Tower the next day at noon to swear to abide by the will. The Lady Mary, he added, was not fit to succeed because of the divorce that had separated her father, King Henry, from her mother, Queen Catherine. He referred to the motives of the divorce, and stated that the Lady Mary was unable to administer the kingdom, being a woman and of the old religion; and he hinted that mutations and changes might take place that would cause the ruin of the country.
	On the 10th of the month the Council sent us two secretaries, one called Dr. Petre and the other Mr. Cecil, through whom they informed us of the death of the King, saying they believed your Majesty would be afflicted by the news, because of the great affection held for you by the late King, of which he would have given a striking proof had he lived a few days longer. They nonetheless hoped that the ancient friendship between the two countries would be preserved, and they would always be watchful in its service, as they believed the welfare of both parties demanded. We replied that we were greatly grieved to hear such news for the same reasons that they had mentioned, and because we knew that your Majesty had a more than paternal affection for the King, as the kingdom of England had seen in the past by the fidelity with which you had observed the obligations of neighbourhood and amity. And your Majesty intended to pursue the same course in the future. We greatly regretted that the King's death had been so sudden as to prevent us from having the audience for which we had asked; which, had we obtained it, would certainly have contributed to confirm the good will and friendly relations already existing between the two countries. We were waiting for the Council to give us a day, as they had sent us a message to say they would do. We would then declare to them our charge; and in the meantime we requested the secretaries to pray the Council to remember my Lady Mary, cousin german to your Majesty, to receive her into their protection and shelter her; for princes had always esteemed that kinship was one of the most powerful instruments of peace and goodwill between countries. For our part we would immediately despatch the above news to your Majesty, who would then send us instructions.
	We have been told, Sire, that the new King and Queen are to be proclaimed this very day in the Tower of London and at Westminster; and we have heard that the Council have quite decided not to allow the Lady Mary to succeed. Other folk have told us that it is to be feared that, when the proclamation and coronation are over, the Council may seize my Lady and throw her into the Tower, out of dread of a popular rising, believing that once she is a prisoner, no one will make any move in her favour, or uphold her right to the Crown. We have no doubt that they will already have sent to your Majesty to inform you of the King's death and testamentary dispositions, and consequently of the Lady Mary's exclusion. That lady is now surrounded by 300 or 400 horse under the command of my Lord Robert, younger son of the Duke of Northumberland. Three of her most confidential officers have been sent to this place, and it is thought they will be thrown into the Tower. One of them has been examined to-day as to my Lady's reason for withdrawing her presence; and it seems the Council were not ill-pleased with his answers.
	We are in great perplexity as to what we shall do if we are received by the Council, and the new King wishes to appear and act as if he were granting us audience; for we have no charge where he is concerned, and would be afraid of committing an action that might be construed in a sense prejudicial to my Lady Mary's right, though we are also anxious to avoid giving the Council grounds to suspect that your Majesty intends to oppose the execution of the late King's will, and send forces to assist my Lady to come to the throne. After a careful consultation of our instructions, it seems that your Majesty does not wish us to adopt an attitude that might cause the English to proceed further in the negotiations already opened between them and the French government, and take up a more open position on the French side, in order to succeed in their ambitious designs; for that is precisely what the French want. As far as we are able to ascertain, it does not seem that the English desire to give the French a foothold in this country, for the King's will and the appointment of a successor show that they do not, unless your Majesty makes a point of helping the Lady Mary. Therefore we have decided that, if we are given audience before receiving fresh instructions from your Majesty, we shall summarily recite our charge and the recommendations in favour of my Lady Mary with all moderation and gentleness, and without entering into unprofitable discussions as to whose right to the Crown is the better. And we shall also express your Majesty's friendly intentions in the manner you commanded us to observe. As for providing for my Lady's safety, her chances of coming to the throne are very slight, as we have said above, and there are troops posted everywhere to prevent the people from rising in arms or causing any disorder; and the Duke has been preparing to put his plans into execution for so long in advance that it would be exceedingly difficult successfully to advance her claim without support from abroad. Several persons have questioned us as to your Majesty's intentions with regard to this point, for they assure us that they would gladly help her if they knew she was being assisted by your Majesty. It will therefore be well for your Majesty to signify your intentions to us; and in the meantime we will do our best to encourage these persons in their present frame of mind. May you also be pleased to let us know your pleasure concerning the new King and Queen; for this is a matter of great importance, as your Majesty may well consider.
	It is said that to-day or to-morrow the Bishop of Winchester, (fn. 9) Courtenay, son of the Marquis of Exeter, and the Duke of Norfolk (fn. 10) are to be executed; and that they were warned three days ago to prepare for death.
	At about four o'clock this afternoon the ceremony of the state entry was performed at the Tower of London with the accustomed pomp. The new Queen's train was carried by her mother, the Duchess of Suffolk; and there were not many people present to witness the act. When it was over, criers at the street-corners published an order given under the Great Seal of England, by which, by the new Queen's authority, the Lady Mary was declared unfitted for the Crown, as also the Lady Elizabeth. Both ladies were declared to be bastards; and it was stated that the Lady Mary might marry a foreigner and thus stir up trouble in the kingdom and introduce a foreign government, and also that as she was of the old religion she might seek to introduce popery. However, no one present showed any sign of rejoicing, and no one cried: “Long live the Queen!” except the herald who made the proclamation and a few archers who followed him. Thus your Majesty may gather the state of feeling in England towards the Lady Mary. We will endeavour to obtain a copy of the above proclamation in order to send it to your Majesty.
	London, 10 July, 1553.
	Signed by all four ambassadors. French. Cipher. Printed by Weiss in his Documents Inédits, Vol. IV, from a badly mutilated copy at Besançon (Collection Granvelle, 73).