The First Book 13 



of all the forces raised and to be raised in all the parts of the 

 kingdom, Trent-North, and moreover in the several counties 

 of Lincoln, Nottingham, Derby, Lancashire, Cheshire, Lei- 

 cester, Rutland, Cambridge, Huntingdon, Norfolk, Suffolk, 

 and Essex, and Commander-in-Chief for the same ; as also 

 to empower and authorise him to confer the honour of knight- 

 hood upon such persons as he should conceive deserved it, and 

 to coin money and print whensoever he saw occasion for it. 

 Which as it was not only a great honour, but a great trust 

 and power ; so he used it with much discretion and wisdom, 

 only in such occurrences where he found it tending to the 

 advancement of his Majesty's service, and conferred the honour 

 of knighthood sparingly, and but on such persons whose 

 valiant and loyal actions did justly deserve it, so that he 

 knighted in all to the number of twelve 1 . 



Within a short time, my Lord formed an army of 8000 foot, 

 horse and dragoons, and put them into a condition to march 

 in the beginning of November 1642. No sooner was this 

 effected, but the insurrection grew high in Yorkshire, insomuch, 

 that most of his Majesty's good subjects of that country, as 

 well the nobility as gentry, were forced, for the preservation 

 of their persons, to retire to the city of York, a walled town, 

 but of no great strength ; and hearing that my Lord had not 

 only kept those counties in the northern parts generally faithful 

 to his Majesty, but raised an army for his Majesty's interest, 

 and the protection of his good subjects ; thought it convenient 

 to employ and authorise some persons of quality to attend 

 upon my Lord, and treat with him on their behalf, that he 

 would be pleased to give them the assistance of his army, 

 which my Lord granted them upon such terms as did highly 

 advance his Majesty's service, which was my Lord's chief 

 and only aim 2 . 



Thus my Lord being with his army invited into Yorkshire, 

 he prepared for it with all the speed that the nature of that 



1 The Earl of Essex in Queen Elizabeth's reign also enjoyed, and, according to the 

 Queen, too freely, exercised, this power of making knights. Amongst his knights were 

 Sir John Harington {NugcB Antiques, ed. Park, i, 318) and Sir Robert Cary (Lord Orrery's 

 preface to the Memoirs of Sir Robert Cary, p. xxiv, ed. 1808, where many similar cases 

 are cited). 



2 The letters relating to Newcastle's march into Yorkshire, and the terms finally 

 agreed upon, are printed in a pamphlet entitled, A New Discovery of Hidden Secrets, 

 1645. The first letter is dated September 26, three days before the treaty of neutrality 

 between the Yorkshire Cavaliers and Parliamentarians was signed at Rodwell. Part 

 of the correspondence is printed in Appendix iv., and other letters are to be found in 

 the Portland MSS., i, 69. 



