96 SAMUEL EDWAED DAAVSON ON THE 



APPENDIX C. 

 Fabyan's Chronicle. 



In the Chronicles of England, by John Stow, published in 1580, the following passage occurs at 

 p, 862, as extracted from the Chronicle of Robert Fabyan : — 



"In Anno 14, Henr. VII."— (Aug. 22, 1498, to Aug. 21, 1499.) 



" This j'caie, one Sebastian Gabato, a genoa's sonne borne in Bristow professing himself to be 

 " experte in knowledge of the circute of the worlde and Ilandos of the same, as by his Chartes and 

 " other reasonable demonstrations he shewed, caused the King to man and victual a shippo at Bristow 

 "to eearch for an llande which he knewe to be replenished with rich commodities ; in the ship 

 " diverse merchauntes of Loodon adventured smal stockes, and in the company of this shij)pe, sayled 

 " also out of Bristow three or foure smal shippcs fraught with slight and grosse wares as course cloth 

 " caps, laces, points and such other " * * * * 



Harrisse conjectures with the greatest probability that Stow meant the current year 1498 and not 

 strictly the regnal year. The voyage then falls in with the letters patent of 14'J8 and the date agrees 

 with the following citation which purports to bo also extractei from the same work. 



From Haklutt's " Divers Voyages," published 1582. 



" A note of Sebastian Gabote's Voyage of Discoverie, taken out of an Old Chronicle, written by 

 " Robert Fabian, sometime Alderman of London, which is in the custodie of John Stow, Citizen, a 

 " diligent searcher and preserver of Antiquities. 



" In the 13 yere of King Henrie the VII., 1498." (Aug. 22, 1497, to Aug. 21, 1498.) 

 " This yere the King (by means of a Venetian, whiche made himself very o.Kpcrtc and cunning in 

 " knowledge of the circuit of the worlde, and Ilandes of the same as by a Carde, and other demonstra- 

 " tions reasonable hee shewed), caused to man and vietuall a shippe at Bristowe to search for an 

 " llande, whiche hee saide hee knewe well was riche, and replenished with riche commodities. 

 " Which ship, thus manned and victualed at the Kinge's cost divers merchants of London ventured 

 " in her small stockes, beiny in her, as chief Patrone, the saide Venetian. And in the companie of the 

 " saide shippe sayled also out of Bristovf e, three or foure small ships, fraught with sleight and grosse 

 " merchandizes, as course cloth. Caps, Laces, points and other trifles, and so departed from Bristowe in 

 " the beginning of May ; of whom in this Maior's time returned no tidings." 



The mayor of London was William Purchas and his time expired on October a8th, 1498. At 

 that date then the expedition had not returned. The words in the extracts printed in italics 

 differ in the two versions. Hakluyt and Stow were quoting from what would appear to be a MS. 

 chronicle in the possession of the latter. Hakluyt's extract says the padrone or commander was a 

 Venetian. In his prefator}- note he calls him Sebastian Cabot. Stow says in his extract that he was 

 Sebastian Cabot the son of a Genoese and born in Bristol. John Cabot was in fact born in Genoa but 

 a subject of Venice. Each writei' seems to have taken from the MS. what struck his attention. 



Hakluyt in his Principal ]\'acigations published in 1600, (vol. 12, p. 31, Goldsmith's ed.) repeats 

 the quotation from Fabyan but, in the intervening eighteen years, he would seem to have made further 

 researches while preparing his great work. He now inserts the name in the extract — " One John 

 Cabot, a Venetian, who made, etc.," but, as if to perplex future historians, he changes the profatorj- 

 note only very slightly to " a note of Sebastian Cabot's first discovery taken out oï the latter part of 

 Fabian's Chronicle." 



