SACRED and IMPERIAL MAJESTY OF OUR DREAD SOVEREIGN, THE Moft Magnanimous, Illuftrious, and Puiffant MONARCH, CHARLES: By the DIVINE PROVIDENCE of Go Dy The most powerful Protector of the Faith, The moft Royal Patron, Preferver, and Fofterer of the true Religion of JESUS CHRIST, The Pattern of true Piety and Justice, And the Prefident of all Princely Virtues, JOHN WE EVER, Though far unworthy the View of So RESPLENDANT a GREATNESS. The AUTHOR to the READER. H'doms, AVING feen, judicious reader, how carefully, in other kingdoms, the monuments of the dead are preferved, and their inscriptions or epitaphs registered in their church-books; and having read the epitaphs of Italy, France, Germany, and other nations, collected and put in print by the pains of SCHRADERUS, CHYTRÆUS, SWERTIUS, and other foreign writers. And also knowing with all how barbaroufly within these his majefty's dominions, they are (to the fhame of our time) broken down, and utterly almost all ruinated, their brafen infcriptions erazed, torn away, and pilfered; by which inhuman, deformidable act, the honorable memory of many virtuous and noble perfons deceased, is extinguished, and the true understanding of divers families in thefe realms (who have defcended of thefe worthy perfons aforefaid) is fo darkened, as the true course of their inheritance is thereby partly interrupted: grieving at this unfufferable injury, offered as well to the living as the dead, out of the refpect I bore to venerable antiquity, and the due regard to continue the rememberance of the defunct to future pofterity; I determined with myfelf to collect fuch memorials of the deceafed, as were remaining as yet undefaced; as alfo to revive the memories of eminent worthy perfons entombed or interred, either in parish, or in abbey churches; howsoever some of their fepulchres are at this day no where to be discerned; neither their bones and afhy remains in any place to be gathered. Whereupon with painful expences (which might have been well fpared perhaps you will fay) I traveled over the most parts of all England, and fome part of Scotland; I collected the funeral infcriptions of all the cathedral churches of the one, and in fome of the other, and ever by the way gathered fuch as I found in parochial churches: I likewife took view of many antient monuments not infcribed, demanding of the church officers, or others the inhabitants, for whom fuch and fuch tombs or fepulchres were made and erected, which was told me according to that which was delivered unto them by tradition: after all this fcrutiny, finding so few, or none at all in many churches (time, the malignity of wicked people, and our English profane tenacity, having quite taken them away for lucre fake) I was altogether difcouraged to proceed any further in this my laborious and expenceful enterprife; until I came cafually into the acquaintance of my dear deceafed friend, AUGUSTINE VINCENT, efq. Windfor herald, and keeper of the records in the tower, who perfuaded me to go forward as I had begun, and withall gave me many church col W a lections, A funeral elegy upon the death of fir Robert Cotto., knt, and. bart. lections, with divers memorable notes, and copies of records, gathered by himself and others; and by his means I had free access to the heralds' office, to write out fuch antiquities as I could there find for my purpose. But above all, I am most bound to love the forefaid VINCENT's memory, for that he made me known to that honorable gentleman fir RoBERT COTTON, knt. and baronet; who forthwith apprehending the fcope and drift of this my argument (his generous difpofition being always ready to afford his beft furtherance to other mens induftrious labors) gave me his able directions, and withall, lent me out of his ineftimable library, fuch books and manufcripts as were moft fitting for my use. But, alas! this worthy repairer of eating-time's ruins, this PHILADELPHUS, in preferving old monuments, and antient records: this magazine, this treasury, this ftore-house of antiquities, fir ROBERT COTTON, is now lately deceased, whofe excellent good parts are well conceived in a funeral elegy which hath happily come into my hands, and which I think fitting here to be inferted. VIRO CLARISSIMO ROBERTO COTTO NO, AB AN- Nefcio quid gaudens ad amici jufta litaffe: Queis NECKA MI obitum, crefcitque in carmine verum. He died at his house in Westminster the fixth of May, about ten of the clock in the forenoon, Anno 1631. being aged, threefcore years, three months, months, and fome few odd days; he took to wife ELIZABETH, one of the daughters and heireffes of WILLIAM BROCAS, efq. by whom he had iffue, only one fon, fir THOMAS COTTON, bart. now living; who married MARGARET, daughter of lord WILLIAM HOWARD, grandchild to THOMAS duke of Norfolk, by whom he hath iffue, one ion, named JoH N, and two daughters, LUCY and FRANCES. But to return: I have had many helps, I confefs, from fir HENRY SPELMAN, knt. and JOHN SELDEN, efq the most learned antiquaries now living of our times: nor have the helps been few which I have long received from the well furnished, and daily increafing library of fir SIMONDS D'EwES, knt. whofe judicious directions and ready affistance, were as often vouchfafed unto me, as I had occafion to requeft, and whofe long ftudied and ftill intended labors for the public good, though in another kind, may in due time make his memory and themfelves dear unto pofterity: divers of the heralds have much furthered thefe my intended defigns; namely, fir RICHARD, and fir HENRY St. GEORGE, knts. JOHN PHILIPOT, and WILLIAM LE NEVE, efquires. which I fhall ever acknowledge, as occafion prefents itself. Venerable BE DE, when he compiled the chronicles of the English Saxons, had all the help that might be of the bishops and learned men of this land. CYM BERTUS wrote unto him all that was done in Lincoln. fhire: NOT HELMUS alfo fent unto him all that he had gathered together in Suffex, Surry, and Kent. ALCUINUS gave him his labors and collections for the province of York. DANIEL of Winchefter made. him privy of all that was done amongst the weft Saxons: and from all other quarters of the land, were letters, fcrolls, and writings, directed unto him by meffengers, to aid and aflift him in his enterprise, as he doth himself acknowledge in his epiftle dedicatory to CEONULPH, king of the Northumbers. Now, generous reader, as he had these helps for the perfecting of his ecclefiaftical hiftory, and as I have had the acceptable affiftance of many of my good friends, ftudious in this kind, for the finishing of this part, and the reft of the work now in hand, which is already in a good forwardnefs, let me intreat thy furtherance in the fame thus far, that, in thy neighboring churches, if thou shalt find any antient funeral infcriptions, or antique obliterated monuments, thou wouldst be pleafed to copy out the one, and take fo much relation of the other as tradition can deliver; as alfo to take the infcriptions and epitaphs upon tombs and gravestones which are of thefe times; and withall to take order that fuch thy collections, notes, and obfervations may come safely to my hand; and I fhall reft ever obliged to acknowledge thy pains and courtesy. And I would earnestly defire the tomb-makers of this city of London, and elsewhere, that they would be fo careful of pofterity, as to preferve in writing the infcriptions or epitaphs which they daily engrave upon fune ral |