BISHOP AYLMER. 161 



Palsgrave; who in like manner died and left a daughter CHAP. 



called Gertrude, Palatiness ; whom Otto, Duke of Bavaria, 



married, and became Palsgrave. And the same order of 

 descent and succession remained in the most part of the 

 empire. Hence our historian proceeded to Spain ; where, 

 he said, he could number a great sort of women, who suc 

 ceeded and ruled in the realm : as Joanna, the mother of 

 Charles V. Mary the daughter of Charles called Bellator, 

 and wife to Maximilian, succeeded her father in the duke 

 dom of Burgundy and the county of Flanders. Mary, 

 Charles s sister, ruled in Flanders in his time : and Frances, 

 the French King s mother, ruled the whole dominion during 

 the term of her son s captivity in Spain. And many more 

 he mentioned in France. I have repeated all this, which lie 

 handled more at large, to shew what a general well read 

 historian our Bishop was, even in his younger years, when 

 he wrote that book of the lawfulness of women s govern 

 ment ; and so well accomplished in that material piece of 

 learning. 



And as Aylmer, as we have seen, was an excellent histo- A good He. 

 rian, so he was well seen in the learned tongues ; and par- 

 ticularly in the Hebrew, a piece of learning very rare in 

 those times: nor had he a superficial knowledge only 

 therein, but was able by the help of it to search out truth 

 and confute error. To give an instance or two. Whereas 

 some had objected, that Moses s authority was not over the 

 priest, because he was a prince, but in that he was a priest 

 himself; and so it became lawful for him to meddle in 

 Church matters, because he was a Churchman. And this 

 they went about to prove from Psal. xcix. Moses and Aaron 

 among his PRIESTS. Here Aylmer made use of his He 

 brew learning, by shewing what the word was in the Hebrew, 

 viz. tZ3^rO (which is there translated priests,) but that 

 it was a word indifferent to the chief priests or the chief 

 princes: and therefore that such as best understood that 

 tongue rendered it thus ; Moses et Aaron inter MINJSTROS 

 ejns. And to prove that it might be so, the Scripture, lie- 

 said, called David s sons Cohanim, by tlve same word* 



M 



