ed their bellies and cutt them in peces, as if they had bene
openinge of lambes shutt upp in their folde. They laied wagers with suche
as with one thruste of a sworde, woulde paunche or bowell a man in the
middest, or with one blowe of a sworde most readily and moste deliverly
cut of his heade, or that woulde best perce his entralls at one stroke.
They tooke the little soules by the heeles, rampinge them from their
mothers brestes, and crusshed their heades against the cliftes. Others
they caste into the rivers, laughinge and mockinge; and when they tombled
into the water, they saied: Nowe shifte for thy selfe suche a one's corps.
They put others, together with their mothers, and all that they mett, to
the edge of the sworde. They made certaine gibbetts longe and loughe, in
such sorte that the feete of the hanged one touched in a manner the
grounde; every one enoughe for thirtene, in the honour and worshippe of
our Saviour and his twelve apostles (as they used to speake), and setting
to fire, burned them all quicke that were fastened. Unto all others, whome
they used to take and reserve alive, cuttinge of their twoo handes as nere
as mighte be, and so lettinge them hange, they saied: Go you with those
letters to cary tydinges to those which are fled by the mountaines. They
murdred commonly the lordes and nobilitie on this fashion: they made
certen grates of perches laid on pitchforkes, and made a little fire
underneathe, to the intente that by little and little, yellinge and
despairinge in these tormentes, they mighte give up the ghoste. One time I
sawe foure or five of the principall lordes roasted and broyled upon these
gredyrons; also I thinke that there were twoo or three of the said
gredyrons garnished with the like furniture. And for that they cried oute
piteously, whiche thinge troubled the capitaine that he coulde not then
slepe, he comaunded to strangle them. The serjeant, which was worse then
the hangman, that burned them, (I knowe his name and frendes in Civill,)
woulde not have them strangled, but hymselfe puttinge bulletts in their
mouthes, to the ende they shoulde not crye, put to the fire, until they
were softly roasted after his desire. I have seene all the aforesaide
thinges and others infinite. And forasmuche as all the people that coulde
flee, hidd themselves in the mountaines and, mounted on the toppes of
them, fledd from the men, so, withoute all manhodde, emptie of all pietie,
behavinge themselves as