---

A Prince out of the North1 shall come,

King borne, Crownde babe,2 his brest upon

a lyon rampant3 strange to see,

& C J S shall cleped be4

borne in a Country rude & stony,5

5

yet he Couragious wise & holie.

At beste of strength his Fortunes beste

he shall receive,6 & then in reste

couche as a Lyon in his denne,

& live in peace so long, till men

10

shall wonder, & all Christendome

thinke the time long, both all & some.

At last he calles a Parliament,

& breakes it up in discontent.7

And shortlie then shall rowzed be,

15

by enemie beyonde the sea;

But when in wrath he drawes his sworde,

Woe, that the sleeping Lyon stird’e.

For ere he sheathes the same againe

he puttes his foes to mickle8 paine

20

The Valiant acts he then shall doe,

greate Alexanders9 fame out-goe.

He passeth seas & fame doth winne,

till many Princes joyne with him,

& chuse him for theire Governor,

25

& crowne him Westerne Emperor.

And after a while he shall beguile,

the City auncient oulde & greate,

which on seaven hilles is scituate,10

till he her walles hath ruinate.

30

Then shall a foe from Easte11 appeere

the brinke of one greate river12 neere,

The Lyon rampant shall him meete,

& if on this side they shall fight

the day is loste, but he shall crosse

35

the river greate, & being paste

shall in the strength of his greate god,

be to his foes a scourging rodde.

causing him thence to take his flight

of Easterne kings succour to seeke

40

Then shall he be in an hower

of East & west crownde Emperour.13

Then shall the foe in fury burne,

& from the Easte in haste returne,

with aide of Kinges & Princes greate,

45

into the Vale of Jehosaphat.14

There shall he meete the Lyon strong,

who in a battaile fierce & long

shall foile his foes. Then cruell death

shall take away his aged breathe.

---

Source. BL Add. MS 28640, fol. 101r-v

Other known sources. Bodleian MS Ashmole 423, fol. 263r; Bodleian MS Eng. Poet. c.50, fol. 26v; Bodleian MS Rawl. Poet. 26, fol. 67r; Bodleian MS Tanner 88, fol. 253r; BL Add. MS 27879, fol. 239v; BL MS Sloane 1479, fol. 6r; Brotherton MS Lt. q. 9, fol. 63v; Beinecke MS Osborn b.197, p. 174; Folger STC 14344, t.p.; Folger MS V.a.275, p. 176; Folger MS V.b.303, p. 232

Ni3

Quick links to other poems within this section

Select page here < N0. Introduction Ni1 You men of Britaine Ni2 A Prince out of Ni3 A Prince out of the North Ni4 If 88 be past then Nii1Some say Sir Edward Nii2 Whiles thy sonnes rash Nii3 The famous Embassador Nii4 The Belgick Frogge Nii5 When we but heare Nii6 Religion the most sacred Niii1 Why? what meanes this? Niii2 Adew deere Don Niii3 Anagram on Count Niv1 If Saints in heaven Niv2 Your bold Petition Mortalls Nv1 What suddayne change Nv2 From Englands happy Nv3 I’ve read of Ilands flotinge Nv4 False on his Deanrye? Nv5 Tell mee for gods sake Nv6 The day was turnd Nv7A Phillipp once to england Nv8 The starre that rose Nv9 Since Arthure, or his Nv10 Ilium deplores, but still Nv11Our eagle is yett flowne Nv12 Poor silly wight that Nv13 Our Prince whom we Nv14 The Prince of Wales Nv15 All the newes thats Nv16 Oh for an Ovid Nv17 The Prince is now Nv18 The fift of August Nvi1O stay your teares yow Nvi2 Contemne not Gracious Nvi3 Withold thy fiery steeds

¹   A Prince out of the North: i.e. James VI of Scotland, who became James I of England in 1603. <back>

²   Crownde babe: James became King of Scotland when he was one year old. <back>

³   a lyon rampant: the heraldic badge of the Scottish king. <back>

⁴   C J S shall cleped be: Rous adds here a cryptic note: “Charles James Stuart the K. of Fr. named his Ch. & Queene Eliz. James”. “Cleped” means “called”. <back>

⁵   a Country rude & stony: Scotland. The English had a low opinion of Scotland’s charms (see Section E). <back>

⁶   At beste...receive: this refers to James’s inheritance of the English throne in 1603. <back>

⁷   calles a Parliament...in discontent: the obvious “prophetic” allusion is to the 1621 Parliament. <back>

⁸   mickle: much. <back>

⁹   greate Alexanders: Alexander the Great, fourth-century BC King of Macedonia, and conqueror of massive swathes of territory. <back>

¹⁰   the City auncient...scituate: the city of Rome, seat of the papacy, and built on seven hills. <back>

¹¹   a foe from Easte: probably the Turkish Ottoman empire. <back>

¹²   one greate river: the river’s identity is unclear. <back>

¹³   of East & west crownde Emperour: presumably the Lion/James would be crowned Emperor of the East in Constantinople, then under Ottoman Turk control. <back>

¹⁴   Vale of Jehosaphat: the valley where God will judge the heathen (see Joel 3.2, 3.12). <back>