TO THE MOSTE hygh, moste puysaunte, moste exellent and moste Chrysten Kynge, my moste redoubtede souereygne lorde Henry th’Eighte, by the grace of Gode, of Englonde, Fraunce and Irelonde Kynge, Defender of the Feythe, and in erthe, vndre Gode, suppreme heede of the Churche of Englonde and Irelonde, your moste humble subiecte Henry Parcare, knyght, Lorde Morley, desyreth thys Newe Yere, with infynyte of yeres to your imperiall Maieste, helthe, honoure and vyctory.
IN the tyme the hoole worlde was obediente to the Romaynes, moste victoriouse and graciouse souereigne lorde, not onely by armes they were renoumede aboue all other naciones, but also in eloquens and goode lernynge, as it apperethe by thyes oratours and poetes in the greate Augustus days; that is to saye, Varro, Tullius Cicero, Virgill, Orace and Ouyde, with diuers others. And all thoughe that those that ensuyde frome oone emperoure to another were exellently lernede, as bothe the Plynys, Marciall, Quyntilian and Claudian and suche other, yet why it was so that they coulde neuer attayne to thes afore rehersyde, neither in prose nor yet in verse, is to me a greate wonder. For asmuche as they sawe the workes of the other, whiche, as my reasone geuythe me, shulde haue rather causede theym to haue bene in science aboue theym then inferiours to theym. For why? If one that gothe aboute to buylde a palace, if he se another whiche lykethe hym well, it shalbe noo greate mastrie, if he spye a faulte in his examplar, to amende it in hys worke. And why thys shulde not be, truely, I can geue noo reasone to the contrary. For soo it was, that euere as the greate empyre of Rome decayde in deedes of armes, so dyd it in learenynge. In somuche that, whether it were by the straynge nationes that they were mynglede with all, or otherwyse, at the laste theimselfes (that accomptyde all other nationes barbarouse, oonely the Greakes excepte) by the space of sex or seuene hundrithe yeres were as barbarouse as the best, thys contynuynge so longe a tyme, that in processe aboute the yere of our Lorde God, a thousand foure hundrith, in the tyme of the flowre and honour of prynces, Kynge Edwarde, the thyrde of that name, holdynge by ryghte the septre of thys imperiall realme, as your Grace nowe dothe, there sprange in Italy three excellente clerkes. The fyrst was Dante, for hys greate leamynge in hys mother tunge sumamyde dyuyne Dante. Surely, not withoute cause. For it is manyfest that it was true, whiche was grauen on hys tumbe, that hys maternall eloquens touchede so nyghe the prycke that it semyde a myracle of nature. And forbecause that one shuldnot thynke I do feyne, I shall sett the wordes in the Italiane tunge, whiche is thys:
Dante Alighieri son, Minerua oscura
D’intelligenza e d’arte, nel cui ingegno
L’eleganza materna aggiunse al segno
Che si tien gran miracol di natura.
The next vnto thys Dante was Frauncis Petrak, that not onely in the Latyne tunge, but also in swete ryme, is so extemyde that vnto thys present tyme vnnethe is ther any noble prynce in Italy, nor gentle man, withoute hauynge in hys handes hys sonnetes and hys ‘Tryhumphes’ or hys other rymes. And he wrote also in the Latyne tunge certeyn eglogges in versys and another booke namede ‘Affrica’ and ‘Of the Remedyes of bothe Fortunes’, with dyuers epistles and other wourkes whiche I ouer passe.
The last of thies three, moste gratiouse souereigne lorde, was John Bocas of Certaldo, whiche in lyke wyse as the tother twayne, Dante and Petracha, wer moste exellent in the vulgare ryme, so thys Bocas was aboue all others in prose, as it apperythe by his hundrith tayles and many other notable workes. Nor he was noo lesse elegaunte in the prose of his oune tunge then he was in the Latyne tunge, wherin, as Petrak dyd wryte clerkly certeyn volumes in the Latyne tunge, so dyd thys clerke. And fyrst ‘Of the Fall of Prynces’, ‘Of the Geonelogye of the Goddes’, and emonge other thys booke namede ‘De preclaris mulieribus’, that is, of the ryght renomyde ladies. Whiche sayde booke, as in the ende he wrytethe, he dyd dedicate the same to Quene Jane, in hys tyme Quene of Naples, a pryncesse enduede with all vertues, wysdome and goodenes. And for asmuche as that I thoughte howe that your Hyghnes, of youre accustomede mekenes and pryncely herte, woldenot disdayn it, so dyd I imagyne that if by chaunce it shulde cum to the handes of the ryght renomyde and moste honorable ladyes of your Highnes moste tryhumphaunte courte, that it shulde be well acceptyde to theym to se and reede the meruelouse vertue of theyr oune sexe, to the laude perpetuall of theym. And albeit, as Bocas wrytethe in hys proheme, he menglyssheth sum not verey chaste emongste the goode, yet hys honeste excuse declarethe that he dyd it to a goode entent, that all ladyes and gentlewomen, seynge the glorye of the goode, may be steryde to folowe theym, and seynge the vyce of sum, to flee theym. Whiche saide worke, my moste noble and gratiouse souereygne lorde, as farr as it gothe, I haue drawne in to our maternall tonge, to presente the same vnto your imperiall dignyte thys Newe Yeres Day, praynge to Chryste Jhesu to teche that right Christen hande of yours to batell agaynste youre auncyente ennemyes, that they may knowe that He whiche is the way and the truethe, helpythe your Exellencye in your truethe, so that they may fall and youe to ryse in honour, victory and fame, aboue all kynges that is, hathe bene, or shalbe. Amen.
THE preface of th’exellent clerc, John Bocasse, of his booke, intitlede in the Latyne tunge ‘De preclaris mulieribus’, that is to say in Englysshe, of the ryghte renoumyde ladyes, wherin he dothe excuse hymself why, emongste theym that were moste vertuouse and honorable women, he dothe often put in theym that were vicyouse.
Incipit Prologus Iohannis Bocacij in librum de Claris mulieribus.
THere be of the olde auncyent wryters, and also of late, of right famous clerkes that haue breuely wrytten the lyffes of the illustriouse noble men. Emonge others, the ryght exellent poete Frauncys Petrark, my maister, hathe endytyd and gathrede theyre actes in a compendiouse volume, and well worthy. For, to th’entent that they myghte be aboue others by theyr notable and hardy actes, they not oonely put to theyr study, but also their substaunce and their bloode, when the oportunyte of tyme semyde theim so for to do, to noone other entente, but to deserue therby of theyr posteryte a name and fame for euer. Surely, I haue not a litle meruelyde of theym that haue thus wrytten, why they haue not sumwhat touchede the gloriouse actes of women, when it is euydente that dyuers and sundry of theym haue doone ryghte notable thynges. And if men by theyr strength and other worthy ways haue desemede to haue suche prayse and commendation, how muche more ought those women to be praysede, because that they be naturally weike and feble, and theyr wyttes not so quycke as mens wyttes be, if they haue doone suche famouse actes, which shulde be harde for men to do. And for that entente they shulde not be defraudyde therof, it came into my mynde that of those that haue deseruyde prayse to put theym in oone volume — not oonely theym that by vertue haue deseruede it, but also those that by expresse ande knowne euyll doynge be spoken of vnto thys day. Nor I wyllnot that the reder shall thynke it congruente that I do compare Medea and Sempronia with Lucres and Sulpicia. All thoughe I haue mynglede theym with thies moste chastyste wyfes, my mynde is nothynge that ways. Nor agayne not so strayte that I wolde touche noone other but suche, and in a larger sense, with the patiens of the gentle reder, to put theym with the other. For why? Emonge the Scipions and the Catons and the Fabryciens, moste noble, vertuouse men, is numbrede wyle and crafty Hanyball, false and trayterouse Jugurta, the blody and tyrawnouse Scilla and Marryus, and the couetouse Crassus, and other whiche I do well call to mynde that I haue redde of. But I haue thus sett theim to gether, to thys entente that, in lokynge and redynge of the goode, it may stere the reders to goodenes, and to theym that be euyll to gyue theym a bytte, whereby they may withdrawe theymselffes frome so euyll condiciones and ways. And I haue so ratyde this my worke that it semythe I haue sumwhat hydde of the euyll of theym, and emonge the hystoryes and in sum place put in sum thynges ioyouse and pleasaunte, not withoute geuynge sum sharpe prycke to theym, to counseill theim to flye frome vyce, so that I doo hoope that with thys cowmyxtion sum vtylyte and profyte shall cum of the same. And for because that men shulde not ymagyne that I shulde but touche suche to breuely, for theym that knowe not well the hystoryes I haue drawne theyr lyfes oute in a lengthe, nott doubtynge but to please aswell the men as the women therby. I wyllnot also forgete to tell youe that emonge all thies women, whiche were but panymes, our fyrste mother Eue sett asyde, I ...