The following pages present an account of the sums paid out of the Privy Purse of King Henry VIII. from the 17th of November, 1529, to the end of December, 1532; and as every payment, whether for the daily expenses of the Royal establishments, or for the gratification of His Majesty's wishes, is minutely noticed, it must be evident that they afford interesting information, not merely on the general customs and manners of the times, but on the personal character of that monarch, his occupations, amusements, and places of residence.

Among the materials for History, private Letters have, long since, been deemed of the utmost value; but the curious facts contained in records like those now introduced to the notice of the public, have not obtained the attention which they deserve: hence it will not perhaps be irrelevant to give a brief account of the few works of this nature which have been printed, as well as of some which still remain in Manuscript.

The first in point of time, is the "Liber Quotidianus Contrarotulatoris Garderobae, Anno Regni Regis Edwardi Primi Vicesimo Octavo: A. D. 1299 and 1300," printed in 1787 by the Society of Antiquaries, from a MS. in their library. This volume which is but partially known, abounds in highly interesting information, illustrative of the History, Manners, Expences, Army, Navy, Provisions, Costume, &c. of the thirteenth century; and as an adjunct to Historical and Antiquarian inquiries, it cannot be too highly estimated. Few MSS. have been so well edited; but amidst much ground for praise, it is to be regretted that it does not contain an Index, an omission which considerably lessens its utility. Another MS. of the same kind, of the 31st and 32nd years of Edward the First, is also extant,[1] but it has never been printed. In 1790 the Society of Antiquaries published "A Collection of Ordinances and Regulations for the Government of the Royal Household, made in divers reigns, from King Edward III. to King William and Queen Mary," and which is copiously cited in the Notes to this work. Only one more publication of the sort remains to be noticed, the Household Book of Henry Algernon Percy, Fifth Earl of Northumberland, which appeared privately in 1770, edited by Bishop Percy, and which has been recently reprinted by the Publisher of this volume.

Independently, however, of Household expences which occur in separate volumes, many have been printed in other works. Of these it will be sufficient to refer to the few which are to be found in the "ArchÆologia," in County Histories, and more particularly, the Household payments of the family of Kytson in Mr. Gage's admirable "History and Antiquities of Hengrave." Although not more than four accounts of the expenditure of sovereigns or individuals have been published, those which are known to exist in MS. are both numerous and valuable. Besides those of the 31st and 32nd of Edward I. which have just been mentioned, four large volumes of the kind are preserved in the Chapter House: one containing the Royal disbursements from the 1st of October, 21st Henry VII. 1505, to the 20th November, 1st Henry VIII. 1509; another, from the 1st of May, 1st Henry VIII. 1510, to February in the 9th Henry VIII. 1518; the third, entitled "The King's Books of Payments beginning 1st April, 9th Henry VIII. 1518, to December in the 12th Henry VIII." 1520; and the fourth is called "A Book of Arrears of the 14th Henry VIII." 1522-3.

The expences noticed in the following sheets extend from the 17th November 21st Henry VIII. 1529, to the end of December 24th Henry VIII. 1532; and in the library of the Royal Society is the book of Quarterly Payments from February in the 29th Henry VIII. 1538, to Midsummer, 33rd Henry VIII. 1541. In the library of the British Museum is the Household Book of a Citizen, or perhaps Clergyman, of London, from March 1594 to March 1595.[2] Lord Bagot possesses an interesting MS. of the Household expences of Edward Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, which his Lordship some time since offered to allow the Society of Antiquaries to print, but, extraordinary as it may appear, the proposition was not accepted: and doubtlessly many other documents of the same kind are extant.

Of the MSS. which have been cited, only those in the Chapter House and the one in the library of the Royal Society resemble that printed in this volume; but neither of them is precisely like it, in its objects or contents. The one in the library of the Royal Society consists principally of quarterly payments of wages to servants and retainers, and of sums paid pursuant to the warrant of the Lord Privy Seal: they present the charges of Ambassadors, of other public officers, and of posts and couriers, as well as those of various articles purchased or prepared by the king's commands, a few extracts from which, of general interest, will be found in a subsequent page; these afford, however, but a very imperfect idea of the value of that MS. in illustration of the history and manners of the time, though it does not appear to have been once noticed from the year 1762, when it was referred to by Walpole, to the present time! The MS. now printed, contains, on the contrary, what may be termed Henry's personal expences, whether arising from his purchases; from his "rewards" to those who brought him presents; from his losses at dice, cards, bowls, and other games; from his attachment to Anne Boleyn, or his favourite courtiers; or from the wages and liveries of his servants, fools, jesters, and other minions. The accounts in the other MSS. were paid quarterly, and rested on the responsibility of the persons entrusted to keep them; these were daily, and are attested at the end of each month by the signature of the King himself. Notwithstanding that they differ in character, they mutually confirm and illustrate each other; and if a judicious compilation were made from the whole series which has been mentioned, and which could be comprised in one, or at the most, two quarto volumes, invaluable information would be given to the world on the most interesting period of English History—the period marked by the revival of all which benefits and adorns society, Science, Literature, and the Fine Arts. The Accounts of the Citizen of London are remarkable for the minuteness with which the expence of every article of food, from a farthing's worth of fruit to several pounds' worth of meat, is stated; and as evidence of the price of provisions and other articles, wine, servants' wages, &c. at the time, it is extremely useful. In the margin the names of the guests at dinner and supper on each day are recorded, and it altogether exhibits a curious picture of the manners of the Elizabethan age.

It must be at once obvious, that Manuscripts which throw light upon British History, but which are not sufficiently popular to enable a bookseller to print them, ought to be published by the Society incorporated for the sole purpose of advancing "the study of Antiquity, and the history of former times," and to which we are indebted for two of the volumes which have been alluded to; but the zeal which caused them to be edited has unfortunately long since evaporated. If it be thought impossible for the Society of Antiquaries to publish all the MSS. which have been enumerated, the most striking entries, and a summary of the expences of different departments might, at least, be extracted from them. The objection that few of its Fellows would undertake the trouble of editing such works without some pecuniary advantage, may be met by the remark, that it possesses two paid Secretaries, who are alike distinguished for their literary productions; or, if the duties of these officers be too severe to admit of their doing so, by asking whether it would not be a far more legitimate application of its funds to appoint persons to prepare such MSS. for the press, and to remunerate them for their labours, than to waste the Society's resources, by publishing useless articles, because they are gratuitous contributions; and still more, by inquiring whether the cost of producing such compilations, with illustrative notes, would not confer infinitely more honor upon that body, and tend in a greater degree to advance the objects for which it exists, than a heavy expenditure on useless engravings?

The Manuscript of these sheets is imperfect both at the commencement and end; in one or two places part of a leaf has been torn off, and in another a folio has been abstracted, whilst the first page is in many places illegible. Its contents and orthography are printed literally, and the imperfections in the copy pointed out by stars: the few blanks which will be found, also occur in the MS. The earliest notice of it which has been discovered is in the Lansdown MS. 737, which contains numerous extracts made from it by Peter le Neve, Norroy King of Arms, from 1704 to 1729, who says he bought the original "of —— Wynde, Esq. and sold it for the same price to the Right Honorable Lord Harley, son and heir of the Earl of Oxford —— 1723;" and adds in the margin, "It was the book of Sir Orlando Bridgeman, Knight, Lord Keeper, and in the beginning is his hand-writing." The words printed in italics have been almost obliterated, perhaps in consequence of Le Neve's having afterwards retained the volume instead of selling it; but perhaps because it was surreptitiously taken from Lord Oxford's collection. The next notice which occurs of it, is in Walpole's "Anecdotes of Painting," from which it appears that in 1762 it was in the possession of Mrs. Bridgeman, of Hanover Square. The name might suggest the idea that her husband was a descendant of Sir Orlando Bridgeman, who purchased it in 1634, and hence that the book was in her possession in consequence of that relationship; but this is contradicted by the fact of its having passed from Sir Orlando's family to Mr. Wynde and from him to Le Neve sometime after 1704, who in 1723 sold it to the Earl of Oxford, though in 1762 we find it belonged to a Mrs. Bridgeman. After that year nothing more is known of it, than that it was purchased about a twelvemonth since at the sale of an Undertaker and Broker, of the name of Gomme. In the fly leaf at the beginning is the following memorandum, which Le Neve says was written by Sir Orlando Bridgeman:—"Accounts of H. Eight, and signed with his own hande, I gott it by Chance this yeere, 1634." With the exceptions just noticed, the MS. is in fine preservation. From Le Neve's extracts the contents of the folio which is now wanting, have been recovered, though not in the original words, and will be found at the end of this volume; but all the other imperfections seem to have existed when in his possession, for he takes no notice of the first folio; he expressly says of pages 131, 132, 133, that the leaf was then torn; and the last folio of the MS. was the same as at present.

Walpole conjectures that they were the accounts kept by "Sir Bryan Tuke, the Treasurer of the Chambers," but it is much more likely that they were those of Sir William Fitz-William, afterwards Earl of Southampton, Treasurer of the Household: nothing positive, however, can be said on the subject.

Such notes as are requisite to explain the items, or to describe the individuals mentioned, are introduced into the Index, which contains references to every person, place, and thing, recorded. The Editor is sensible that many of his observations are imperfect, and not a few, perhaps, erroneous: in one or two instances he has been obliged to confess his inability to throw any light upon the subject, and he will be much gratified if his readers do not consider that there is still greater cause for a similar confession. Simple as many of the Notes appear, the labour and research with which they have been attended, were considerable; and to have partially failed when complete success was almost impossible, would not, he trusts, be discreditable to a far abler Antiquary. His friend Dr. Meyrick, for whose assistance in his literary pursuits the Editor has frequently had cause to express his gratitude, and James Heywood Markland, Esq. Director of the Society of Antiquaries, have most kindly and liberally afforded him their aid; and the information which these gentlemen have respectively contributed is equal in interest and importance to what might be expected from their reputation.

1st August, 1827.

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