The practise of prelates. CompiledThe practyse of prelates. Compyled

Finally unto the siege of Pavia came the French king personally with .lx. thousand men of war,¹ of which .xij, thousand were horsemen, and with money enough And the Emperors host was under .xx. thousand, of which were but .iij. thousand horsemen, with no money at all. For he trusted unto the Pope for aid of men, and unto ⟨image 65⟩our Cardinal for money. But the Pope kept back his men till that the frenchmen had given them a field, and our Cardinal kept back his money for the same purpose. And thus was the silly Emperor betrayed, as all his predecessors have been this .viiij. hundred years. How be it there be that sa•e, how that the Emperors soldiers so threatened Pace,² the kings graces ambassador, that he was fain to make che•esaunce with merchants for money in the kings name, to pay the soldiers with all. Wherefore the cardinal toke from him all his promotions, and played tormentors with him when he came home, because that he presumed to do one Jot more than was in his commission But how so ever it was, the emperors men, in tarrying for help / had spent out all their victuals. Whereupon Bourbon the chief captain of the Emperor said unto his under captains: ye see,³ help cometh not, and that our vitals are spent. Wherefore there is no remedy but to fight though we be unequally matched. If we win, we shall find meat enough: if we loose, we shall loose no more th•n we must lose with hunger / though we fight not. And so they concluded to set upon the Frenchmen by ⟨image 66⟩night. The king of france and his lorde• purposing that the moon would sooner have fallen out of the sky, then that the Emperors host durst have fought with them / were some what negligent, and went the same night a mumming that Bourbon set upon them. The Emperors host therefore with their sudden coming upon them, amazed the frenchmen / and drave them upon heaps together one on an other, so that they never could come in array again, and toke the king and diverse of his lords & slew many and wan the field. And there came out all the Cardinals privy treason / for in the French king's tent (say men) were letters found / and beside that in the French king's treasure, and in all the host among the soldiers were english ships found innumerable which had come sailing a thousand miles by land.