A Boding from þe Underyoked of England

Happy Day! Þis is a small writ I (Yose) have by Gerrard Winstanley.

Þe Writ
A

FROM ÞE

of

ENGLAND

To all þat call þemselves, or are called

Lords of

þruhe þis

Þat have begun to cut, or þat þruhe

fear and do mean to cut down

þe Woods and Trees þat grow upon þe

and þe

in þe Year, 1649.

We hwose names are in þe name of all arm underyoked folk in England, bode unto ew, þat call ewerselves lords of Drihtenhuse, and Lord of þe Land, Þat  þe King of  ure  have inlihtened ure hearts so far, as to see, Þat þe earþ was not made  for ew, to be Lords of it, and we to be ewer   and Beggers; but it was made to be made an  Livelihood to all, wiþute  of leeds: And þat ewer buying and selling of Land, and þe  of it, one to anoþer, is þe  þing, and was brouht in by War; hwic haþ, and still   and þeft, in þe hands of some  of Mankind over oþers, hwic is þe greatest uteward burden, and unrihtwise miht, þat þe  groans under: For þe  of  Land, and owning  was brouht into þe Making by ewer  by þe Sword; hwic first murþered þeir fellow  Men and after plunder or steal away þeir Land, and left þis Land  to ew, þeir Cildren. And þerefore, þouh ye killed not nor þeeved, yet ye hold þat hexed þing in ewer hand, by þe miht of þe Sword; and so ye seek to make þe wicked deeds of ewer Faþers seem riht; and þat sin of ewer Faþers, scall be upon þe heads of ew, and ewr Cildren, to þe þird or fourþ  and longer too, till ewer bloody and þeeving miht be rooted ute of þe Land.

And furþer, þe King of Rihtwiseness haþ made us  of ure burdens, and þe  and groaning of ure hearts are come before him: we take it as a  of love from him, Þat ure hearts begin to be freed from  fear of men, suc as ye are; and þat we find  in us, grunded upon þe inward law of Love, one towards anoþer, To Dig and Pluhe up þe Meannesses, and weest Lands þruhe England; and þat ure  scall be so  Þat ewer Laws scall not reac to underyoke us any longer, unless ye by ewer Laws will sced þe  blood þat runs in ure

For þouh ye and ewer Forebears got ewer Auht by and þeft, and ye keep it by þe same miht from us, þat have an  riht to Land wiþ ew, by þe rihtwise Law of Life, yet we scall have no  of fihting (as ye have) abute þat worrisome devil, called  auht: For þe Earþ, wiþ all her Bleads of Corn,  and suc like, was made to be an amean  of Livelihood to all Mankind, freend, and foe, wiþute

And to ewer   know þis, Þat we Must neiþer buy nor sell;  must not any longer (after ure work of þe Earþs  is furþered) be þe great god, þat hedges in some, and hedges ute oþers, for Yeeld is but a  of þe Earþ: And  þe Rihtwise Maker, hwo is King, never  Þat unless some of  Mankind, bring þat  (Silver and Gold) in þeir hands, to oþers of þeir own kind, þat þey scould neiþer be fed nor be cloþed; no wissly, For þis was þe  of -flesc (hwic Land-lords are buhes of) to set his  upon Yeeld. And þey make þis unrihtwise Law, Þat none scould buy or sell, eat, or be cloþed, or have any Livelihood among men, unless þey brouht his Bild þrucced upon Gold or Silver in þeir hands.

And hwereas þe speak, Þat þe mark of þe  is 666, þe  of a man; and þat þose þat  bring þat mark in þeir hands, or in þeir foreheads, þey scould neþer buy nor sell,  13:16. And seeing þe   abute þe Englisc yeeld make 666, hwic is þe rime of þat Kingly Miht and  (called a Man) And seeing þe  of þe Making is nue come to þe Bild of þe Feend, or Half day. And seeing 666 is his mark, we þis to be þe last  miht þat scall  and þat folk scall live freely in þe  of þe Earþ, wiþute bringing þe mark of þe Feend in þeir hands, or in þeir  and þat þey scall buy Wine and Milk, wiþute Yeeld, or wiþute  as Isah speaks.

For after ure work of þe Earþly amone is we must make  of Gold and Silver, as we do of oþer  but not to buy and sell wiþal; for buying and selling is þe great, þat  and steals þe Earþ one from anoþer: It is þat hwic makeþ some Lords, oþers Beggers, some  oþers to be weelded; and makeþ great Murþerers and Þeeves to be  and hangers of littel ones, or of  men.

And hwile we are made to þe Earþ togeþer, wiþ one  and willing mind; and hwile we are made free, þat every one, freend and foe, scall  þe  of þeir Making, þat is, To have food and  from þe Earþ, þeir Moþer; and every one  to give witness of his þouhts, words, and  to none, but to þe one and only rihtwise  and  þe  of Rihtwiseness þat dwells, and þat is nue rising up to weeld in every Wiht, and in þe hwole  We say, hwile we are made to hinder no man of his  given him in his Making, even to one, as to anoþer; hwat Law þen can ye make, to take hold upon us, but Laws of Underyoking and  þat scall  or spill þe blood of þe Cleanhearted? And so ewer Selves, ewer Deemers, and  scall be fund to be þe greatest  in, and over Mankind.

But to draw neerer to bode ure meaning, hwat we woold have, and hwat we scall to þe uttermost to, as  and rihtwise   us; seeing we are made to see ure  given us in ure Making, hwic have hiþerto been  to us, and ure Faþers, sinse þe miht of þe Sword began to  And þe  of þe Making have been locked up under þe   speaking, from þe , and  for , And sinse þe miht of þe murþering, and þeeving Sword, before, as well as nue of late yeers, haþ set up a , and  þat Leedward; for hwat are , and putting oþers to deaþ, but þe miht of þe Sword to  folks to þat Leedward hwic was got by  and Sword, and cannot stand of it self, but by þe same murþering miht? Þat Leedward þat is got over folk by þe Sword and kept by þe Sword, is not set up by þe King of Rihtwiseness to be his Law, but by Yissing, þe great god of þe world; hwo haþ been to weeld for a time, times, and  of time and his leedward draws to þe  of þe last  of his lotted time; and þen þe Þeeds scall see þe  of þat Leedward þhat scall weeld in Rihtwiseness, wiþute eiþer Sword or Spear.

And seeing furþer, þe miht of Rihtwiseness in ure hearts, seeking þe livelihood of oþers as well as ure selves, haþ drawn forþ ure bodies to begin to dig, and pluhe, in þe Meannesses and weest Land, for þe grunds already boded,

And seeing and finding ureselves arm, wanting Food to feed upon, hwile we swink þe Earþ to cast in seed, and to wait till þe first crop comes up; and wanting Pluhes, Carts, Corn, and suc to  þe Meannesses wiþal, we are willing to bode ure  to ew, and to all, þat have þe  of þe Earþ, locked up in ewer Bags, Cests, and Barns, and will offer up noþing to þis  Hoard; but will raþer see ewer fellow Wihts starve for want of Bread, þat have an even riht to it wiþ ewer selves, by þe Law of Making: But þis by þe way we onely bode to ew, and to all þat follow þe   of buying and selling þe Earþ wiþ her Bleeds,  to get þe Hoard þereof into þeir hands, to lock it up from þem, to hwom it belongs; þat so, suc yissing,  unrihtwise, selfisc flesc, may be left wiþute  in þe

And þerefore, þe main þing we at, and for hwic we Bode ure  to go forþ, and  is þis, To lay hold upon, and as we stand in need, to cut and fell, and make þe best  we can of þe Woods and Trees, þat grow upon þe Meannesses, To be a stock for ure selves, and ure arm Breþren, þruhe þe land of England, to wortwale þe Meannesses wiþal; and to  us bread to eat, 'till þe Bleeds of ure  in þe Earþ bring forþ  and we scall meddle wiþ none of ewer Auhts (but hwat is called  till þe Goast in ew, make ew cast up ewer Lands and Goods, hwic were got, and still is kept in your hands by murþer, and þeft; and þen we scall take it from þe Goast, þat haþ overwon ew, and not from ure Swords, hwic is an  and unrihtwise miht, and a  of þe Making: But þe Son of man comes not to forspill, but to