No. I
Henry by the grace of God, King of England and France,
Defender of the Faith, and Lord of
Our most dear friend — Greeting :
The venerable and religious men,
Sir Thomas Docreus, Prior of St. John's in this kingdom, and Sir W. Weston of
your convent, Turcoplerius, have lately delivered to us the epistle of your Reverence,
and when we had read it, they laid before us the commission which they had in
charge, with so much prudence and address, and recommended to us the condition,
well being, and honour of their Order with so much zeal and affection, that
they have much increased the good will, which of ourselves we feel towards the
Order, and have made us more eager in advancing all its affairs, so that we
very much hope to declare by our actions the affection which we feel towards this
Older.
And that we might give some proof
of this our disposition, we have written at great length to His Imperial
Majesty, in favour of maintaining the occupation of Malta, and we have
given orders to our envoys there to help forward this affair as much as they
are able. The other matters, indeed, your Reverence will learn more in detail
from the letters of the said Prior.
From our Palace at
Eighth day of January, 1523,
Your good friend,
HENRY REX.