PARR (Catharine), was the eldest daughter of Sir Thomas Parr of Kendall. She was first married to John Nevil, lord Latymer; after whose death she so captivated her amorous sovereign, that he raised her to the throne. The royal nuptials were solemnized at Hampton Court on the 12th of July 1543. Being religiously disposed, she was, in the early part of her life, a zealous observer of the Romish rites and ceremonies; but in the dawning of the Reformation, she became as zealous a promoter of the Lutheran doc-
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trine; yet with such prudence and circumspection as her perilous situation required. Nevertheless, we are told, that she was in great danger of falling a sacrifice to the Popish faction, the chief of whom was Bishop Gardiner: he drew up articles against her, and prevailed on the king to sign a warrant to remove her to the Tower. This warrant was, however, accidentally dropped, and immediately conveyed to her majesty. What her apprehensions must have been on this occasion may be easily imagined. She knew the monarch, and she could not help recollecting the fate of his former queens. A sudden illness was the natural consequence. The news of her indisposition brought the king to her apartment. He was lavish in expressions of affection, and sent her a physician. His majesty being soon after also somewhat indisposed, she prudently returned the visit; with which the king seemed pleased, and began to talk with her on religious subjects, proposing certain questions, concerning which he wanted her opinion. She answered, that such profound speculations were not suited to her sex; that it belonged to the husband to choose principles for his wife; the wife's duty was, in all cases, to adopt implicitly the sentiments of her husband: and as to herself, it was doubly her duty, being blessed with a husband who was qualified, by his judgment and learning, not only to choose principles for his own family, but for the most wife and knowing of every nation. "Not so, by St Mary," replied the king; "you are now become a doctor, Kate, and better fitted to give than receive instruction." She meekly replied, that she was sensible how little she was entitled to these praises; that though she usually declined not any conversation, however sublime, when proposed by his majesty, she well knew that her conceptions could serve to no other purpose than to give him a little momentary amusement; that she found the conversation a little apt to languish when not revived by some opposition, and she had ventured sometimes to feign a contrariety of sentiments, in order to give him the pleasure of refuting her; and that she also proposed, by this innocent artifice, to engage him into topics whence she had observed, by frequent experience, that she reaped profit and instruction. "And is it so, sweetheart?" replied the king; "then we are perfect friends again." He embraced her with great affection, and sent her away with assurances of his protection and kindness.
The time being now come when she was to be sent to the Tower, the king, walking in the garden, sent for the queen, and met her with great good humour; when so the chancellor, with forty of the guards, approached. He fell upon his knees, and spoke softly with the king, who called him knave, arrant knave, beast, fool, and commanded him instantly to depart. Henry then returned to the queen, who ventured to intercede for the chancellor: "Ah, poor soul," said the king, "thou little knowest how evil he deserveth this grace at thy hands. Of my word, sweetheart, he hath been toward thee an arrant knave; and so let him go." The king died in January 1547, just three years and a half after his marriage with this second Catharine; who in a short time was again espoused to Sir Thomas Seymour lord-admiral of England: for in
which he thought would be attended with a lasting peace between the two empires, received the ambassadors with all possible marks of honour, and readily complied with their request. Soon after, Caracalla sent a second embassy to acquaint the king that he was coming to solemnize the nuptials; whereupon Artabanus went to meet him attended with the chief of the nobility and his best troops, all unarmed, and in most pompous habits: but this peaceable train no sooner approached the Roman army, than the soldiers, on a signal given them, falling upon the king's retinue, made a most terrible slaughter of the unarmed multitude, Artabanus himself escaping with great difficulty. The treacherous Caracalla, having gained by this exploit great booty, and, as he thought, no less glory, wrote a long and boastful letter to the senate, assuming the title of Parthicus for this piece of treachery; as he had before that of Germanicus, for murdering, in like manner, some of the German nobility.
Artabanus, resolving to make the Romans pay dear for their inhuman and barbarous treachery, raised the most numerous army that had ever been known in Parthia, crossed the Euphrates, and entered Syria, putting all to fire and sword. But Caracalla being murdered before this invasion, Macrinus, who had succeeded him, met the Parthians at the head of a mighty army, composed of many legions, and all the auxiliaries of the states of Asia. The two armies no sooner came in sight of each other, but they engaged with the utmost fury. The battle continued two days; both Romans and Parthians fighting so obstinately, that night only parted them, without any apparent advantage on either side; though both retired when night had put an end to the contest, crying, Victory, victory. The field of battle was covered all over with dead bodies, there being already above 40,000 killed, including both Romans and Parthians: nevertheless Artabanus was heard to say, that the battle was only begun, and that he would continue it till either the Parthians or Romans were all to a man cut in pieces. But Macrinus, being well apprised that the king came highly enraged against Caracalla in particular, and dreading the consequences which would attend the destruction of his army, sent an herald to Artabanus, acquainting him with the death of Caracalla, and proposing an alliance between the two empires. The king, understanding that his great enemy was dead, readily embraced the proposals of peace and amity, upon condition that all the prisoners who had been taken by the treachery of Caracalla should be immediately restored, and a large sum of money paid him to defray the expenses of the war.
These articles being performed without delay or hesitation, Artabanus returned into Parthia, and Macrinus to Antioch.
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A desperate battle between the Parthians and Romans.
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The Persian revolt, his army, Artaxerxes, a Persian of mean descent, but of great courage and experience in war, revolting from the Parthians, prevailed on his countrymen to join him, and attempt the recovery of the sovereign power, which he said they had been unjustly deprived of, first by the Macedonians, and afterwards by the Parthians their vassals. Artabanus, upon the news of this revolt, marched with the whole strength of his kingdom to suppress it; but being met by Artaxerxes at the head of a no less powerful army, a bloody battle ensued,
which is said to have lasted three days. At length the Parthians, though they behaved with the utmost bravery, and fought like men in despair, were forced to yield to the Persians, who were commanded by a more experienced leader. Most of their troops were cut off in the flight; and the king himself was taken prisoner, and soon after put to death at Artaxerxes's order. The Parthians, having lost in this fatal engagement both their king and their army, were forced to submit to the conqueror, and become vassals to a nation which had been subject to them for the space of 475 years.
For an account of the manners, customs, &c. of the ancient Parthians, see the article PERSIA.
PARTI, PARTIE, Part, or Parted, in heraldry, is applied to a shield or escutcheon, denoting it divided or marked out into partitions.
PARTI per pale, is when the shield is divided perpendicularly into two halves, by a cut in the middle from top to bottom.
PARTI per fess, is when the cut is across the middle from side to side.
PARTI per bend dexter, is when the cut comes from the upper corner of the shield on the right hand, and descends athwart to the opposite lower corner.
PARTI per bend sinister, is when the cut, coming from the upper left corner, descends across to the opposite lower one.
All these partitions, according to M. de la Colorahiere, have their origin from the cuts and bruises that have appeared on shields after engagements; and, being proofs of the dangers to which the bearers had been exposed, they gained them esteem: for which reason they were transmitted to posterity, and became arms and marks of honour to their future families.