THE FYRST CHAPITER.

Syns that I haue shewed vnto you, what season and tyme of the yeres of y ^e world Brute entred fyrste this yle of Albyon: me semyth yt is cōuenyent, that I also shew how and for what cause yt was fyrste named Al­byon. The whych so toke fyrst name, as wytnessyth Strabo and other writers, of the whyte clyues or rockes, y ^t stande vppon the sees syde, and are farre seen in clere wether and bryght dayes. wherof it was of olde wryters named Albyon, as yt were the whyte lande. whyche sayenge affermyth al­so Ranulphe & dyuerse other: so that yt may certaynly be knowen, that yt toke not that fyrste name of Albyne doughter of Dioclecyan kyng of Sirye, as in the englyshe cronycle is affermyd. For in all olde storyes or cronycles is not founde, that any suche kynge of that name reygned ouer the Syriens, or yet Assyriens: nor yet any suche storye, that his .xxx. dough­ters shuld slee theyr .xxx. husbandes, as there is surmysed, was put in writynge. whyche, yf eny such wonder hadde ben there wrought, shulde not haue ben vnremembred of the wry­ters & auctours of that partyes: consyderynge that many lesse wonders are put in writynge by the sayde wryters. wherfore it ys more apparant, y ^t yt toke that fyrst name of Albyon, as aboue is sayde / then of Albyne dou­ghter of the sayde Dioclecyon.

And as to the Geaūtes that Brute founde in this yle at his arryuayll, they myght be brought into this lāde by some meane of shyppes or other wyse, rather then to be borne of those women, as there also is imagyned.

Of this yle the auctours Alpherd and Beda tell many wonders / which in the fyrst boke of Policronycon are suffyciētly towched, where it is sayd, y ^t this yle is called an other worlde. For as sayth Solinus, the edge of the Frenche cliffe shuld be the ende of the world, yf this yland ne were not. Many other thynges ben there specyfyed, the whyche I passe ouer.

Thys yle is closyd on all sydes with y ^e see / & stretcheth in length out of the sowth into the north / hauynge in the sowthest syde Fraunce / in the south y ^e land of Spayne / in the north y ^e coūtre of Norway / & in y ^e weste the coūtre of Irland. And hath in length from Totnesse to Catenessey .xv. myles beyonde Mychell Stowe in Cornewayle vpon .viii. hundred myles. And to reken the brede from saynte Dauyds lande in walys called Me­nema to Douer clyffes: it cōteyneth after moste wryters .iii. hundred my­les. And yf yt be rekened from y ^e sayd place in walys, vnto parmouthe in Norfolk, not so much, but lesse by .lx. myles, after some wryters. And Be­da saith it cōteineth ouer .CC. miles. [Page] And this ile was fyrste as aboue ys sayde, named Albyon: and secunda­ryly Britayne after Brute: & thyrde [...] of Anglis by cōmaūdmēt of Egberte kynge of Anglys, and of westsaxons: all be yt that after some wryters yt was called Anglia, after the name of the quene of this lande name Anglia: albe it that therof is founde lytell authoryte.

This ile was fyrst cōqueryd by y ^e Romayns / and so contynued vnto them as trybutary, and vnder theyr rule, as after in the ende of the story of Gracianus shall appere, ouer .iiii. hūdred yeres: secondely by the Sa­xōs: thyrdely by y ^e Danys: & fourth­ly by the Normans: and was deuy­ded fyrst by Brute in thre partes / as in the storie shall appere folowynge.

THE .II. CHAPITER.

BRute of the auncyent and no­ble blode of Troyans, dyscendyd of Eneas a Troyan and of the doughter of Pryame kynge of the Troyans: whyche Eneas receyued of his sayde wyfe a sonne named As­canius, the whych was kynge of the countre of Italye nexte after hys fa­ther Eneas.

For so yt was, that after the fore­sayde cytye of Troy was, as before is sayde, by the Grekes subuertyd: Eneas, whyche entendyd to haue sauyd from dethe the fayre Polixena doughter of kynge Pryam / was for that dede by Agamemnon, duke or chyefe leder of the Grekes, exyled frō Troy: the whyche accōpanyed wyth a great nomber of Troyans, wythin iii. yeres after his departynge from Troye, landed in y ^e coūtre of Italye. And there after dyuerse conflyctys and bataylles hadde wyth Latynus then kynge of Italye: he maryed by the agrement of the sayde Latinus, hys doughter named Lauina. Up­pon y ^e which he gatte a sonne, and named hym Syluius Posthumus: of the whych after some wryters descendyd Brutus fyrste kynge of Albyon. But for a more concordaunce of this worke and conuenyencye of yeres, As testyfyeth Policronia, Guydo de Colūna, wryter of storyes, & other: Ascanius the fyrste sonne of Eneas, gotten vppon hys fyrste wyfe, hadde a sonne named Siluius / whyche af­ter some wryters is named Siluius Eneas: this Siluius Eneas was father to Brute. Of this is dyuers opinyons, whereof some are manyfestly shewed in the .xxvii. chapyter of the seconde boke of Polycronycon.

Then yt foloweth in y ^e story: this Brute beyng of the age of .xv. yeres, slewe his father in shotyng at a wyld beste. And as some authours haue / he slewe also hys moder in tyme of his byrth. But for the laste dede, by agrement of all wryters, he was ba­nyshed the countre: and after by fortune landed wyth his conpanye in a prouynce of Grece / where at y ^e tyme reygned a kyng named Pandrasus, or after some wryters Pandarus: y ^e whyche kynge, as affermyth Geffrey of Monmouth, was lynyally descendyd of the blode of Achylles.

In this prouynce Brute founde many Troyans, as captiuys & thrall to the Grekes, wyth the whyche he conspyred & faughte wyth y ^e Grekes sondry tymes: & lastely for a fynall concorde toke to wyfe the doughter of the sayd Pandrasus, name Ignogen. After whyche maryage solemnysyd: the sayde Brute, by coūsayle of y ^e Troyans, with a certayne of shyp­pes well vytaylled / departed out of Grece, and soughte his aduenture. whyche after many daungers of the [Page V] passed / he landed wyth his company in a parte or yle of Affrica named (as sayth Guydo and other) Lergesia. wythin whyche yle at those dayes stode an old temple dedycate in y ^e honoure of Diua or Diana a goddesse of mysbyleued people. The whyche temple, when Brute had apꝑceyuyd anon he yode into yt / where knelyng before the aulter, wyth great deuocyon, sayde these versys folowynge.

The whyche versys are to be vnderstanden in our moder tonge as after is expowned.

After whyche prayer & obseruaun­ces after y ^e pagan ryte, with great deuocyon done and exercysed aboute y ^e auter of y ^e sayd goddesse or idolle in those days vsed: Brute fill in a slepe. In tyme of whyche slepe apperyd to hym the sayd goddesse, and sayd to hym in maner & forme as foloweth.

The whyche versys may be englys­shed as here after foloweth.

THE .III. CHAPITER.

WHen Brute awoke and remēbred hym of this vysyon: a­nō he called to hym such as he most trusted / and shewed to them what he had seen & harde. wherof they all beynge greatly reioysed: caused great fa­res to be made, in the whyche they cast wyne, mylke, and other lycours, wyth dyuerse aromate and spyces of moste swettest odour, as in the olde pagan lawes and rytes were vsed.

whyche obseruaunce wyth other done: wyth great ioye and myrthe they entryd into theyr shyppes, and pulled vp theyr sayles, & toke theyr course westwarde. And so sayled by the space of .xxx. dayes passynge by many auentures and daungers / as of Philenes, y ^e lake called Lacus sa­linarum or salte lake, or the place where salte is made, the ryuer called Malea, & Hercules pyllers / & came lastly to the see Tyrrhen or Turon, where he encoūtred wyth a small nauy of shyppes / of the whyche a Tro­yane and neuew to Brute called Co­rineus was captayne. whē eyther of them had saluted other, & reioysed of theyr metynge: they to gyder made towarde land, and landyd in the prouynce of Gallia, now called Guyan: of whyche prouynce at that daye a prynce named Groffariꝰ was ruler. The whyche hauyng knowlege of y ^e landynge of these straunges: wyth his power made towarde them, & to [Page] them gaue batayll. But the Troyās were victours and ouercame Groffarius wyth all his knyghtes.

In this batayll was slayne a no­ble Troyane & neuewe to Brute named Turonus, and there buryed. wherfore in remembraunce of y ^e sayd Turonus Brute buylded there a cytye, and named yt Turon as some authours testyfye. But it shuld seme by the sayenge of Polycronyca / that thylke cytye Turon was buylded a­fore: all be yt that y ^e authour of Cronica cronica (rum) affermyth it to be buylded by Brute in remembraūce of his sayd cosyn Turonus, whych citye at this daye is yet great fame wyth in the realme of Fraunce.

This done, the sayde Brutes & Co [...]ineus wyth theyr Troyans toke a­gayne shyppynge / the whyche after iii. dayes or fewe dayes saylyng, landyd at an hauen or porte in Corne­wayll, named at this day Totnesse: & from thens yode serchyng the land and coūtre, the yere as before is sayd iiii. thousande .lxiii / before the buyl­dynge of Rome folowynge the fore­sayde accompte .iiii. hundred and .xx. before the incarnacyon of Cryste .xi. hundred, & .xxxvi: and before Alexander the great conquered the worlde, eyght hundred and .xi: also before any kynge reygned ouer the Frenshe men / or that they were clere quyte of theyr trewage agayne y ^e Romayns, xv. hundred and .lvi.

THE .IIII. CHAPITER.

REtourne we then to Brute / whyche after his landyng in this ile of Albyon: circuyd & serchyd y ^e land ouer all / and foūde yt full fertyle & plenteous of wode and of grasse, and garnysshed with many fayre ryuers and stremes. And in his trauaylynge the lande / he was encountred wyth ma­ny great and myghty gyauntes / the whych he destroyed. Among y ^e which as reherseth that Englyshe cronicle: was one of passyng strength named Gogmagog / the whyche he caused to wrestle wyth Cormeus or Coryne his neuewe besyde Douer: in which wrestlinge that gyaūt brake a rybbe in the syde of Cormeus. where tho­rough Corineꝰ beyng sore amoued, wyth great strength supprysed that gyaunt, & cast hym downe the rocke of Douer. By reason wherof as affermyth y ^e said englyshe cronicle, y ^e place was named the fall of Gogmagog.

But after that y ^e name was chaū ged & called the fall of Douer / which to this daye enduryth. For this dede and other Brute gaue vnto his sayd neuewe Corineus or Coryn the hole countre of Cornewayll.

And whē Brute had thus destroyed the gyauntes, & serchyd the sayde yle of Albyō thoroughly: he cōmyng by y ^e ryuer of Thamis, for pleasure y ^e he had in that ryuer, with also the cō modytyes therunto adioynynge / be­gan there to buylde a cytye in y ^e remē braunce of the cytye of Troye lately subuerted, & named it Troynouant / whyche is as myche to saye as newe Troy: whych name endured tyll the cōmynge of Lud after kynge of Brytayne vpon the tyme of a thousande lxviii. yere. But y ^e sayd kyng cōmaundyd yt to be called Luddys towne / which by shortnesse of speche is now called London.

Then whē Brute had thus buyl­ded his cytye, & saw y ^t he was stablysshed in his realme quyetly: he thē by thaduise of his lordes / cōmaunded y ^e sayd ile & coūtre to be called Britayn and his people Brytons / and so contynued his reygne prosperousely. [Page VI] In the whyche tyme he stablysshed and ordred his people to lyue in tyl­lynge of theyr lande and otherwyse.

This Brute had receyued of his wyfe thre sonnes, wherof the fyrste was named Locrinus or Locryne / y ^e seconde Cambrius or Cambre / and y ^e third Albanactus or Albanakt. To the fyrst and eldest, he besette this yle of Brytayne, the whyche after was named myddell Englande / whych is to meane Troynouant, wyth all y ^e coū ­tres there about lyenge, cōteynynge est, west, & sowth. And for this cause, and for yt shuld sounde towarde the name of the sayd Locryne: this parte of Brytayne was longe after called Loegria or Logiers.

To the seconde sonne Cambre, he beset or appoynted to hym the coū tre of walys / the whyche was fyrste named after hym Cambria. This in the eest syde was somtyme departed from Englande by the ryuer of Se­uerne: But now in the north syde the ryuer named Dee at Chester depar­teth England and walys: and in the sowth the ryuer that is called Uaga at the castell of Strynglyng parteth Englande and walys.

To the thyrde sonne Albanakt, he besette the north parte of this yle, and named yt Albyon / or more veryly the sayd countre toke after y ^e name of the sayd thirde sonne, and was called Albania. This coūtre was after named Scotlande / and is deuyded from Loegria or Logiers, as saythe holy Beda by two armys of y ^e see, but they mete not. The eest arme of these two begynneth about ii. myles from the mynster of Eburcurynge, in the west syde of Penulton̄. The weste arme of those twayne hath in y ^e ryght syde or somtyme hadde, a stronge cytye named Acliud, whych in y ^e Bret­tysshe tunge was called Clynt [...]ton, & stādeth vppon the ryuer called Clynt

Thus whē Brute had diuided this yle of Brytayne, as before is shewed in thre partes, and hadde holden the pryncypate therof nobly by the terme of .xxiiii. yeres after most cōcordaūce of writers: he dyed, and was enteryd or buryed at Troynouāt or London.

THE .V. CHAPITER.

LOcrinus or Lo­cryne y ^e fyrst or el­dest son of Brute was made kynge of Brytayne of y ^e countre of Logi­ers / the yere of the worlde .iiii. thousande .lxxx. and .vii. The whych helde to his parte, as sayth Policro­nicon, and also Guydo de Columna, the countre that stretcheth from the south see vnto the ryuer of Humbre, as before is expressyd.

whyle this Locrinus thus reyg­ned in Logiers: his brother Albanactus beynge ruler, as before is sayd of Albania or Scotlande, was war­reyd by a duke, whome the cronycle of Engāld nameth Humbre / y ^e which slewe Albanakt in playne batayll.

ye shall vnderstande y ^t this Humber at the daye of his commynge into Albania was not named Humber / but after olde wryters he was called kynge of Hunnys or kyng of Sithia without other addicyon. This kyng as before is sayde, after he thus sub­duyd Albanactus / held the lande of Albania, tyll after y ^e Locrinus wyth his brother Cambre, gathered a gret power of men of armys, and yode a­gaynst the sayde kynge of Hunnys / and by strength of theyr Britons chasyd and subduyd the sayde Hūnys so sharpely, that many of thē with theyr kyng were drowned in a ryuer, which departyth England and Scotland. And for so myche as to the wryter of [Page] the storye of Brytons, his name was declared to be Humber: therfore the sayde auctor affermyth, that the sayd Humber y ^e ryuer toke the fyrste name of hym / whyche yet contynueth to this daye.

Furthermore testyfyeth the sayde auctour, that after this victory thus obteyned by these two forsayde bro­therne: this Locrinus enamowred hym selfe vppon a fayre wenche na­med Estrylde, and doughter of the forenamed Humber / and her kept vnlefully by a certayne of tyme. where wyth his wyfe named Guendoloena beynge sore dyscontent / excyted her fader and frēdes to make warre vp­pon the sayde Locryne her husbande. In the whyche warre lastly he was slayne / when he hadde reygned or ruled Loegria or Logiers after the concordaunce of moste writers .xx. yeres: and was buryed by his fader in the cytye of Troynouaunt / leuyng after hym a yonge sonne gottē vppon his wyfe named Madan.

THE VI. CHAPITER.

GUēdoloena or Guē doleyne the wyfe of Locrinus, & doughter of Corineꝰ duke of Cornewayle / for so myche as Ma­dan her sonne was yonge to gouerne the lande: was by cōmune assent of all y ^e Brytōs made ruler of the yle of Brytayne, the yere of the world .iiii. thousande, a hūdred and .vii. And so hauyng possession of the sayde yle, wele and dyscretly she ruled yt, to the comfort of her subiec­tes / tyll the tyme her sonne Madan came vnto hys lawfull age. At the whiche season she gaue ouer the rule and domynyon to hym / after she had ruled (as before ys sayde) thys yle xv. yeres.

THE VII. CHAPITER.

MAdan the sonne of Locryne & of Guē ­dolyne before na­med: was made ruler of Britayne, in the yere of y ^e world iiii. thousande .C. and .xxii. Of thys is lytell or no memory made by any wryters / excepte that some wryte of hym, that he vsed great tyranny a­monge his Brytons. Neuerthelesse all or the more ꝑte of writers agreen / that he ruled this ile of Britayn by y ^e terme of .xl. yeres. At y ^e ende of which terme, he beynge at his dysporte or huntyng, was of wyld bestes or woluys slayne or deuouryd: and left af­ter him two sonnes, as sayth Policronica, named Menprecius & Manliꝰ.

THE VIII. CHAPITER.

MEnprecius the el­dest sonne of Madan was made ruler of Brytayne / in the yere of the worlde .iiii thou­sande .C.lxii. But he reygned not lōge in peace. For his yonger broder Manlius, of a malycyous and couetyse mynde entendynge to be kynge, and to expell or subdue his brother: excyted the Britons, in such wyse to rebell agayne Menprecius, y ^e great and dedly warre contynued longe amonge them. Howe be yt lastely by mediacyons of frendes, a daye of communycacyon in louynge maner ner attwene these two bretherne was appoynted. At whyche daye of as­semble Menpriciꝰ by treason slewe his brother Manlius / after whose deth he lyued in more tranquylite and rest. where through he fyll into slowth, and by meane of slowth into vnlefull lykynge and lechery / and by [Page VII] that vyce into hatered of his subiec­tes by takynge of theyre wyues and chylder: and fynally became so vn­happy, y ^t he forsoke his lefull wyfe and concudynes, and fyll into the synne of Sodomye. Thus from one vice he grew into a nother / so that he became odyble to god and man: and lastely goyng on huntynge, and lost of his people / was distroyed of wyld bestes, when he had reygned .xx. ye­res: leuyng after hym a goodly yonlynge begoten of his lefull wyfe na­med Ebranke.

THE .IX. CHAPITER.

EBranke the sonne of Menpre­cius was made ruler of this lande of Brytayne / in the yere of the worlde foure thousande a hundred, lxxx. and .ii: and had, as testyfyeth Policronica, Gaufryde, & other wryters .xxi. wyues: of the whych he re­ceyued .xx. sonnes and .xxx. dough­ters / wherof the fayrest was named Gwales, or after some Gualea. He sent these doughters to Albia Siluius, whych was the .xi. kynge of Italye, or the .vii kynge of Latynes / to the ende to haue them maryed to the blood of Troyans. This Ebranke was also a man of fayre statute, & of great strengthe, & by his power and myght he enlarged his domynyon / in so myche that he wanne and occupyed a great parte of Germania by y ^e ayde and helpe of the Latynes / and retourned thēs wyth great pray & ryches. After whych retourne, he buylded the cytye of Caerbrank now cal­led yorke: whych shulde be, as sayth the authour named Flos historiarū, or the Floure of historyes wryten in frenche / in the .xxiii. yere of y ^e reygne of the sayd Ebranke. which accompt to folow, yt shuld seme that Troynouant or Lōdon was buylded before the sayd cytye of yorke, about an hundred and .xl. yeres: supposyng the cytye of London to be begonne in the seconde yere of Brutes reygne.

Also he buylded ī Albania or Scotlande the castell of Maydens, the whych is called Edynborgh. After which edyfyces ended and made: he wyth a great armye sayled into Gallia nowe Fraunce, and subdued the Gallis, and retourned wyth great triumphe and rychesse. And when he had guyded this lande of Brytayne nobly by the terme of .lx. yeres, after moste concordaunce of wryters, he dyed, and was buryed at Caerbrank or yorke / leuynge after hym for hys heyre his eldest sonne (as sayth Gaufryde) named Brute Greneshyelde.

THE .X. CHAPITER.

BRute Greneshyelde, the sonne of Ebranke, was made gouernour of this lande of Brytayne / the yere of the worlde .iiii. thousande .ii. hūdred and xlii. Of this Brute is no memory made touchynge any fame / excepte y ^e Gaufryde sayth that he ru­led this lande of Brytayne (his fader lyuynge) a certayne tyme / & after his fader by the terme of .xii. yeres. The whyche yeres expyred or endyd: he dyed, and lyeth buryed at Caerbrāk or yorke, leuynge after hym a sonne named Leyll.

THE .XI. CHAPITER.

LEillus or Leyr son of Brute Greneshielde / was made ru­ler of Brytayne, in y ^e yere of y ^e world iiii.M.CC. & liiii. This was a iuste mā & a louer of peace & equyte / & in his tyme made the town of Caerleyr or Carlyle, and ruled this lande well and honourably by the terme of .xxv. yeres, as testyfyeth the forenamed Gaufryde: and after dyed, and was buryed at Caerleyr be foresayde.

But of this Leyr speketh some dele the aboue named authour Floure of [Page] historyes sayeng, y ^t in the ende of his reygne he fyll to slowth and vnlefull lykyng of his body: by meane wherof cyuyle stryfe began to grow with in this realme / y ^e which was not pacifyed by some termes after his dayes: the whyche sayenge is not denyed by the foresayd authour Gaufrid. This Leyll lefte after hym a sonne named Lud, or after some wryters he was named Lud Hurdibras.

THE .XII. CHAPITER.

LUd or Lud Hurdibras y ^e son of Leyll, was made ruler of the lande of Brytayne, in the yere of the worlde .iiii. thousande .ii. hūdred and .ixxix. This also of Gaufryde is called Hurdibras: the whyche after he was stablyshed in his reygne / appeasyd and drewe to accorde of the dyscorde and varyaunce that hadde spronge in his fathers lyues tyme. The whych discretely appeasyd and endyd / he buylded the towne of Kaerkyn, nowe called Caunterbury: the towne also of Kaerguen, now callyd wynton or wynchester: and also a towne called Moūt Paladour, now named Septon or Shaftisbury. In the tyme of buyldyng, of which town of Septon, as affermyth myne au­thour Gaufride, an egle there spake certayn wordes, y ^e which he sayth he wyll not declare or wryte for any certaynte. Thus when this sayde Lud hadde ruled this lande nobly by the terme of .xxxix. yeres, he dyed, & lefte after hym a sonne named Baldud.

THE .XIII. CHAPITER.

BAldud y ^e sonne of Lud Hurdibras, was made gouernoure of Brytayne in the yere of the world iiii. thousand .iii. hundred and .xviii. This as testyfyed Gaufryde, Poly­cronica, and other, was well and suffycyently instructe in the connynges or scyēces of astronomy & nigromancye. By thē he made the hote bathes wythin the town of Caerbadon, now named Bathe: the whyche towne or cytye he also buyldyd. But to that repugnyth wyllyam de Malmesbury, saynge that the foresayd hote bathes were made by the industrye, or of the industry of Iulius cesar fyrste emperour of Rome. This Baldud as affermyth the foresayd authour Gau­fride: taught this lore of nigromācy thorough his realme: & fynally toke in yt such pryde & presumpsyon / y ^t he toke vpō him to fle in y ^e ayer. But he fyll vpon the temple of his god Apolyn, & theron was all to torne / when he had ruled Brytayne by the space of .xx. yeres, leuynge after hym a son named Leyr.

THE .XIIII. CHAPITER.

LEyr y ^e sonne of Baldud was made ruler ouer y ^e Britōs, the yere of y ^e world .iiii.M.ccc. & xxxviii. This Leyr was noble of cōdicyōs, & guyded his land & subiectes in great welth. He made y ^e towne of Caerleyr nowe called Leyceter or Leycester. And all be yt y ^t this man helde longe the pryncypate of Brytayne: yet of hym is nothynge left worthy memo­ry, excepte that Gaufryde sayth, y ^t he receyued of his wyfe .iii. doughters onely wythout any son / whych were named Gonorilla, Ragan, and Cor­deilla, the whych he mych loued / but moste specially he loued the yongest, Cordeilla by name.

whē this Leyr or Leyth after some wryters, was fallen in competente age, to knowe the mynde of his thre doughters, he fyrst asked Gonorilla the eldeste howe well she loued hym: the whych callyng her goddes to re­corde, sayd she loued hym more then her owne soule. wyth this answere the father beynge well contented, demaunded of Ragan the seconde doughter, howe well she loued hym. [Page XI] To whom she answered, and affer­mynge wyth great othes, sayde that she coude not wyth her tong expresse the great loue that she bare to hym: affermynge furthermore, that she loued hym aboue all creatures. After these pleasaūt answeres had of those two doughters, he called before hym Cordeilla y ^e yongest. The whych vn­derstādyng y ^e dyssymulacyō of her .ii. susters, entēdyng to proue her fader, sayd: most reuerent fader where my ii. systers haue dyssymuled wyth the with their pleasaūt word fruteles, I knowyng y ^e great loue & faderly zele, that toward me euer before this time thou hast borne (for y ^e whych I may not speke to the otherwyse thē my cō scyence ledyth me) therfore I saye to the father I haue loued the euer as my fader, & shall cōtynually whyle I lyue, loue the as my naturall father. And yf thou wylt further be inquisytyfe of the loue that I to the bere: I ascertayne the, that asmyche as thou arte worthy to be beloued / euen so myche I loue the and no more.

The fader wyth this answere be­ynge discōtent: maryed his .ii. elder doughters, that one vnto the duke of Cornewayll, & that other vnto the duke of Albania or Scotlande & deuyded wyth thē two in maryage his lande of Britayne after his deth, and the one halfe in hand duryng his naturall lyfe. And for the thyrde Cor­deilla reserued nothynge.

It so fortuned after / that Aganippus, whych the cronycle of England named Agamp and kyng of Fraūce / harde of y ^e beaute and womāhode of Cordeilla, and sent vnto her fader, & axyd her in maryage. To whome yt was answered, that the kynge wold gladly gyue to hym his doughter, but for dowar he wolde not departe with: for he had all promysed vnto hys other two doughters.

Aganippus thus by his messagy­ers enfourmed: remembred the vertues of the forenamed Cordeilla / & wythoute promesse of dowar maried the sayde Cordeilla.

But here is to be noted / y ^t where this Aganippus or Agamp is called in dyuerse cronicles kyng of Fraūce: yt can not agre with other hystories, nor wyth the cronycle of Fraunce. For yt is testyfyed by Polycronica, by Peter Pictauyēce, by mayster Robert Gagwyne, by byshop Antonyne and many other cronicles: that lōge after thys daye was no kynge in Fraunce / nor longe after yt was called Frauce: but at this daye the inhabytauntes therof were called Galli, and were trybutaryes vnto Rome wythoute kynge, tyll the tyme of Ualentinianus emperour of Rome / as hereafter in this worke shall be ma­nyfestly shewed.

The storye of Britons sayth, that in the tyme that Leyr reygned in Britayne: the land of Fraunce was vnder the domynyon of .xii. kynges, of the whych Aganippus shuld be one. The whyche sayenge is full vnlyke to be trew, whych myght be prouyd by many reasons, which I passe ouer for length of tyme.

THE .XV. CHAPITER.

tHen yt foloweth in the story, after this Leyr was fallen in age, these forsayde two du­kes thynkyng longe or the lordshyp of Brytayne was fallen to theyr handes: arrose agayne theyr father (as testifyeth Gaufryde) and beraft hym the gouernaunce of the land vppon certayne cōdycyons to be contynued for terme of lyfe: the whyche in pro­cesse of tyme more and more were minyshyd, as well by Maglaunus as by Hēninus husbādes of the forena­med Gonorild & Ragan. But moste [Page] dyspleased Leyr the vnkyndnesse of his two doughters, consyderynge theyr wordes to hym before spoken and sworne / and now founde & pro­uyd them all contrarye.

For the whyche he beyng of necessyte constrayned: fledde his lande, & sayled into Gallia, for to be comfor­ted of his doughter Cordeilla, wher­of she hauyng knowlege, of naturall kyndnesse cōforted hī: & after shew­ynge all the maner to her husbande, by his agrement receyuyd hym & his to her lordes courte / where he was cherished after her beste maner.

Longe yt were to shew vnto you y ^e circumstaunce of y ^e vtterans of the vnkyndnesse of his two doughters, and of the wordes of comfort gyuen to hym by Aganippus and Cordeilla, or of the coūsaile and purueyaūce made by the sayde Aganippus & his lordes for restorynge of Leyr agayn to his dominyō. But fynally he was by the helpe of the sayde Aganippus restored agayne to his lordshyp / and so possessed, lyued as ruler & gouer­nour therof by the space of .iii. yeres after. In whych season dyed Aganippus. And when this Leyr had ruled this lande by the terme of .xl. yeres, as affermeth dyuerse cronycles, he dyed and was buryed at his towne of Caerleir or Leycestre: leuynge after hym for to inheryte the lande his doughter Cordeilla.

THE .XVI. CHAPITER.

COrdeilla the yongeste doughter of Leyr / was by assente of the Brytons made lady of Brytayn / in the yere of y ^e world .iiii. thousande iii. hundred & .lxxxxviii: the whyche guyded the lande full wysely by the tyme or space of .v. yeres complete. The whyche tyme expyred and rōne her .ii. neuewes called Margan and Cunedagiꝰ, sonnes of her .ii. susters came vpon her land / and made ther­in great waste and destruccyon / and at the laste toke her and cast her into a stronge pryson / where she beynge dyspayred of y ^e recouery of her estate (as testyfyeth Gaufryde) slewe her selfe, whenne she hadde reygned as before is declared, by the terme of fyue yeres.

THE .XVII. CHAPITER.

CUnedagius and Marganus neuewes as before is sayde, of Cordeilla, departyd this lande of Brytayne betwene them, in the yere of the worlde .iiii. thousand .iiii. hundred and .iii. That is to wyt the coū trey ouer and beyond Humber fyll to Margan towarde Catenessey: and the other parte of the lande towarde weste as reherseth Gaufride, fyll to Cunedagius.

After two yeres were ronne & en­ded / some euyll dysposyd came vnto Margan, and sayde, that to hym yt was great reproche and dyshonour (consyderynge that he was comen of Gonorilla the elder suster, & of Maglaunus her husbande / & Cunedag was descended of Ragan the yonger and Hemnius her husbande) that he had not y ^e rule of all y ^e land: to which sedycyous ꝑsons Margan gyuynge credence, was supprysed with pryde and couetyse / and anon by theyr coū sayle assembled a great hoste & made warre vpon his sayde brother / bren­nynge and destroyeng his land with out mercy. wherof Cunedag beynge ware, in all hast gaderyd his people: & after certayne message sent to hym of the reconcylyacyon / seynge there was no peace to be made, but by the iudgement of batayll, he mette wyth his brother in playne felde: where y ^e goddes were to hym so fauourable, that he slewe myche of the people of [Page IX] his brother, and cōpellyd hym to fle. After whyche vyctory thus had, he pursued Margan from coūtre to coū tre, tyll he came wythin the countre or prouynce of Cambria or walys: in the whyche coūtre the sayde Margan gaue one other batayll vnto his brother Cunedag: but for he was farre the weker, he there was ouercomen and slayne in the felde. whyche felde or coūtre, where the sayd Margan fought & was slayne, is to thys daye called Glaumargan / whych is to meane in our vulgare tung, Margan lande. And thus was Margan slayne, whan he hadde regned wyth his brother two yeres.

THE .XVIII. CHAPITER.

CUnedagius before named the sonne of Hemnius and Ra­gan yōger doughter or myddell doughter of Leyr, was made ruler and lorde of all Brytayne, in the yere of the worlde .iiii. thousande .iiii. hun­dred & .v. Of the whyche is nothyng worthy memorye lefte in wrytyng: but that he guyded y ^e lande after the deth of his brother well and honorably by the terme of .xxxiii. yeres. After which terme ended, he dyed and was buryed at Troynouant or London: leuynge for his heyre a sonne (as te­styfyeth Gaufryde) named Riuallo or Rinallo / or after some wryters Reyngnolde.

THE .XIX. CHAPITER.

BIuallus the sonne of Cune­dagius, was made gouer­noure of the Brytons / in the yere of the world .iiii. thousand .iiii. hundred and .xxxviii: the whyche of wryters is called fortunat and restfull. This Riuallus ruled y ^e Brytōs with great sobernesse, & kepte the lande in great welthe and prosperyte / all be yt that of hym is lefte no specyall memorye of acte done in his tyme / except myn authour sayth, that in y ^e tyme of his, reygne yt reyned blood by the space of .iii. days contynually wythin the lande of Brytayne. After the whych reyne ensued so great excedynge nō ­ber of multitude of flyes / the which were to the people so noyous and cō tagyous, that they slewe myche people. And after that (as sayth an olde authour, whose name is vnknowē) ensued great sykenesse and mortallytie, to the great desolacyon of thys sayde lande.

Then yt foloweth in the story, whē this Riuallus hadde reygned, after moste cōcordaunce of writers, by the terme of .xlvi. yeres: he dyed, & was buryed, as testyfyeth the sayde olde authour, at Caerbrank or yorke / le­uynge after hym a sonne (as wytnes­syth Gaufride) named Gurgustius.

In the tyme of the reygne of thys kynge, after moste concorde of wry­ters: y ^e famous cytye of Rome shuld be buylded / as is shewed more playnly in the treatyse in the begynnyng of this warke.

THE .XX. CHAPITER.

GUrgustius the sonne of y ^e fore named Riuallus, was made ruler of Brytayne / in the yere of the worlde .iiii. thousane .iiii. hundred lxxxiii. This in y ^e cronicle of Englād is named Gorbodiam sonne of Reygnold, Of the which is lytell memory made, other of his regne or of his de­des by any authours or wryters of y ^e hystorye of Brytayne / excepte the a­boue named olde authoure, and the authoure called the floure of hysto­ryes, wytnessyth, that he reygned xxxviii. yeres: leuynge after hym none heyre of his bodye begotten / and lastely dyed and was buryed by his fader at Caerbrank or yorke.

Rome as aboue ys towched, was fyrst buylded & edyfyed in the tyme [Page] of Riuallus / and after moste writers In the yere of the worlde .iiii. thou­sande .iiii. hundred .lxx: after the buyldyng of Troynouāt or London .iiii. hūdred .vii. yeres: whych folowyng that accompte shulde be in the .xxxii. yere of the forsayde Riuallus.

THE .XXI. CHAPITER.

SIsillius, or after some wry­ters, Siluius the brother of Gurgustius, as affermeth the fore­sayde olde cronycle, was made chyef ruler of Brytayne / in the yere of the worlde .iiii. thousande .v. hundred and .xxi.

This in y ^e englyshe boke is named Seyzill. Of the whych is no mency­on made nother of his reygne nor dedes, excepte that Geffrey of Mon­mouth wryter of y ^e hystoryes of Brytons, sayth that he reygned two ye­res. whyche sayenge is not accor­daunte wyth other wryters. But more to the cōuenyency of tyme and agrement of other cronyclers, accor­dyng to the sayeng of the forenamed old authour: he reygned by y ^e terme of .xlix. yeres / and after dyed & was buryed at Caerbadon or Bathe / and lefte after hym none heyre of his bodye begotten.

THE .XXII. CHAPITER.

IAgo or Lago / y ^e cosyne of Gurgustius, as wytnesseth Gau­fryde, as nexte inherytoure, was made gouernour of Britayne / in the yere of the worlde .iiii. thousande .v. hundred .lxx. This also ys vnmyn­ded of wryters, other for restfulnesse of tyme, or ellys for rudenesse of his dedes, that clerkes lyste not to spēde any tyme in wrytynge of such dedes. Of hym is nothynge specyfyed, sa­uynge the forenamed olde authoure ioyneth to his tyme of reygne .xxv. yeres: and also he sayth he dyed wyth­oute issue, and was buryed by hys cosyn at Caerbrank or yorke.

THE .XXIII. CHAPITER

BInimacus the sonne of Sisilliꝰ as some wryters haue, but more verytably as sayth the olde cronycle, y ^e brother of Lago, was made ruler of Brytayne / in the yere of the world .iiii. thousand .iiii. hūdred .lxxx and xv: the whyche (as his brother before hym) passed his tyme without any notable actes or dedes: so that of hym is no more memorye made, thē of his brother. For the more par­ty they that wrote the faytes & dedes of Brytons, make but a shorte rehersayll of these .v. kynges / y ^t is to saye, from Ryuallo to Gorbodug / sayeng that after Ryuallo succedyd Gurgustius / after hym succedyd Lago, to Lago succedyd Kinimacus / & after Kinimacus succeded Gorbodug. Of these .v. kynges or rulers is made lytell other mencyon. Thenne yt fo­loweth in the sayd olde cronicle / that when this Kinimacus had reygned liiii. yeres: he dyed and was buryed by his brother at Caerbrāk or york: leuynge after hym a sonne, as testy­fyeth Flos historiarū / whych sonne was named Gorbodug.

THE .XXIIII. CHAPITER.

GOrbodug the sonne of Kini­macꝰ, was made ruler of Brytayne / in the yere of the worlde fo­lowynge the foresayde accompt .iiii. thousande .v. hundred and .xlix. whych all so passed his tyme lyke vnto the forenamed dukes or kynges / wythout any specyall memory of ho­nour noted by writers. This by most lykelyhode to brynge historyes to accorde: shulde reygne ouer the Bry­tons the terme of .lxiii. yeres. whych terme endyd, he dyed and lyeth bu­ryed at new Troy or Lōdon / leuyng [Page X] after hym two sonnes named Ferrex and Porrex / or after some wryters Ferreus and Porreus.

THE .XXV. CHAPITER.

FErrex wyth Porrex hys bro­ther, sonnes of Gorbodug: were ioyntly made gouernours and dukes of Britayne / in the yere of the worlde foure thousande .vii. hun­dred and .xi / and contynued in amytye a certayne tyme. After whyche tyme expyred, as witnessyth Policronica and also Gaufride, Porrex be­ynge couetouse of lordeshyp: gade­ryd his peple, vnwetynge Ferrex his brother / entendynge to destroy hym. wherof he beynge warned, for lacke of space to assemble his people / for sauegard of his persone, fled sodeynly into Gallia or Fraūce, and axyd ayd of a duke of Gallia named by Gau­fryde Gunhardus or Suardus: the the whych duke hym ayded and sent hym agayne into Brytayne with his hoste of Gallis. After whose lādynge his brother Porrex with his Brytōs hym mete, and gaue to hym batayll: in the whyche batayll Ferrex was slayne with y ^e more part of his peple.

But here dyscordeth myn authour wyth some other wryters, and wyth the cronycle of Englande: for they testyfye, that Porrex was slayne, and Ferrex suruyuyd. But whether of them was lyuyng, the moder of these two brethern named widen settynge a parte all moderly pytye: with help of her women entred the chambre (of hym so lyuynge) by nyght / and hym there slepynge slew cruelly, and cut into small peces. And thus dyed the two foresayde bretherne / after they had thus ruled Brytayne in warre and peace to the agrement of moste wryters .v. yeres.

THE .XXVI. CHAPITER.

HEre now endeth the lyne or of sprynge of Brute / after the affermaunce of moste wryters. For Gaufride saith after the deth of these forenamed bretherne / great discorde arose amonge the Brytons / y ^• which longe tyme among them continued: by meane wherof the people and coū tre was sore vexed and noyed vnder v. kynges. And further saith Guydo de Columna, that the Brytons ab­horred the lynage of Gorbodug / for so myche as fyrste that one brother slew that other / and more for the in­naturall dysposycyon of the morder, that so cruelly slew her owne chylde.

The cronycle of Englande sayth, that after the deth of the two forenamed bretherne / no ryghtfull enhery­tour was lefte on lyue. wherfore the the people were brought in great discorde / in so myche that the land was deuydyd in foure partyes. So that in Albania was one ruler / in Loe­gria or Logiers one other ruler / in Cambria the thyrde duke or ruler / & in Cornewayle the .iiii. duke or ru­ler. But of these .iiii. dukes the en­glish cronicle alloweth Cloton̄ duke of Cornewayll for moste ryghtefull heyre.

Policronyca sayth that after y ^e deth of the foresayde two bretherne, great dyscorde was in the lande / whyche greuyd the people sore vnder .v. kynges. But he nother reheseth the na­mes nor the tymes of theyr regnes / excepte he addeth to, that the sayde dyscorde contynued tyll the tyme of Moliuncius Dumuallo. So y ^t here appereth no tyme certayn, how lōge this varyaunce and dyscorde amōg the Brytons contynued. But who so lyst to loke vpon a draught made by me in english in y ^e beginnyng of this boke: he shall se there (yf he please to [Page] caste ouer the tymes and yeres there expressed) that this forsayde discorde contynued nere to the terme of .li. ye­res. In whyche draught or conceyte yf any man here fynde erroure: of his goodnes lette hym amende & correcte yt / and all other places where he shall by good profe fynde place of correccyon.

THE XXVII. CHAPITER.

THus here endyth y ^e fyrst parte of this worke, conteynynge or dyuyded in .vii. partes, as before is shewed. And in a waye of a thank to be gyuen to our moste blessyd ad­uocate & helper of all wretches, that to her lyste to call / I meane y ^e moste blessyd vyrgyne our lady saynt Mary moder of Cryste / for y ^t her grace hath fortheryd this worke hytherto / and for to impetrate of her the grace and ayde of her moste mercyfull contynuaūce to accomplysh this worke begonne as before is shewed, vnder supporte of her most boūteous grace here wyll I wyth humble mynde sa­lute her wyth the fyrste ioye of y ^e .vii. ioyes whych begynneth,

This fyrst parte to be accompted from the fyrste yere of Brute, vnto the laste yere of the foresayde dys­corde, or vnto the fyrste yere of Mul­mutius: includyth of yeres .vii. hundred and foure.

THE .XXVIII. CHAPITER.

MUlmutius Dun­uallo or as some haue Dunuallo Mulmutius, the sonne of Cloten̄ as testyfyeth the englyshe boke, & also Gaufride: was venquesshour of y ^e other dukes or rulers / and began his reygn ouer the hole monarchy of Brytayne, in the yere of the worlde .iiii. thousand vii. hundred & .xlviii. This is named in the englyshe cronycle Donebant: the whyche was a noble man, & cau­syd to be made wythin the cytye of Troynouant a temple, and named it the temple of peace. The whyche af­ter some opynyons is that place or feld / where y ^e market of wollen cloth is holden called or named Blakwel­hall. He also made many good laws the which were long after vsed & called Mulmutiꝰ lawes. These lawes holy Gyldas wrote wyth great dylygence out of the brettishe speche into latyne. And longe tyme here after y ^e, Aluredus kynge of England turned those lawes oute of latyne into en­glyshe. He also gaue pryuylege to temples, to plowghes & cytyes, and to the wayes ledynge to y ^e same. And as some authours wytnesse / he be­ganne the foure hye wayes of Bry­tayne / the whych were fynyshed and perfyted of Belinus his sonne, as after at length shall be declared. The olde cronycle testyfyeth y ^t this Mul­mutius, whyche he in his boke na­meth Molle, made the two townes of Malmesbury and Uyes. And all other writers afferme, that this Mulmutius, after he hadde stablyshyd his lande, and sette his Brytons in [Page XI] good and conuenyent order: by the aduyce of his lordes / he ordeyned hym a crowne or dyademe of gold / & caused hym selfe to be crowned wyth great solempnyte after the vsaunce of pagane lawe then vsed. And for this cause, after the opynyon of some wryters / he is named the fyrste kyng of Britayn. And all y ^e other before rehersyd are named rulers, dukes, or gouernours.

Then yt foloweth in the storye / when Mulmutiꝰ had guyded y ^e land well and honorably by the terme of xl. yeres: he dyed and was buryed in the foresayde temple of peace within Troynouant or Lōdon / leuynge af­ter hym two sonnes named Belinus and Brennus.

THE .XXIX. CHAPITER.

BElinus and Brennꝰ the two sonnes of Mulmutius: be­ganne to raygne ioyntly as kynges of Brytayne / in the yere of the world iiii. thousande .viii.C. & viii: so that Belinus held to hym Loegria or Logiers, walys, and Cornewayll / and Brennus held to his parte all y ^e land ouer & beyonde Humber. with which partycyon eyther of them was cōtentyd & pleasyd, as testyfyeth Polycronica, by the terme of .v. yeres. After the whyche terme endyd and expired Brennus entendynge to haue more lande or all: arose agaynste his bro­ther Belyne, and made vppon hym mortall warre. In the whych warre Brennus was ouersette, and was cō pelled to flye the land and sayle vnto Armorica now named lytell Britayn or as sayth Gaufryde, into a countre called Allebrog, as after shalbe more playnely declared / and there allyed hym after the foresayde terme (as before is sayd) of .v. yeres was expyryd as affermeth Policronica. For Gaufryde sayeth in his boke made of the hystory of Brytons / y ^t after y ^e terme of .v. yeres afore sayde were expyred and runne, Brennus by sterynge of yonge and euyll counsayll, entēdyng as before is sayde: sayled vnwetyng his brother into Norway, and there maryed the doughter of Elfunge or Elfynge then ruler or duke of Nor­waye, when this was shewed vnto Belyn, consyderynge the sodayne departyng: in all haste he seasyd Alba­nia and all the other lande appertey­nyng to Brenne into his owne hand, and strengthed the cytyes and other stronge places wyth his owne sow­dyours. wherof when Brenne was warned: he in all possyble haste as­sembled a great people of the Nor­wayes, and toke hys shyppynge to sayle into Brytayne. And as he was kepynge his course vpon the see: he was encountred wyth Guilthdacus kynge of Denmarke, the whych had lyen in awayte for hym, for loue of y ^e wenche y ^t Brennus had maryed: for before tyme he had requyred her of Elfungeher fader. whē those .ii. flotꝭ were mette: strong shotte and fyght was vppon both partyes. But fy­nally the Danes ouercame the Norwayes or Norganys, and toke the shyppe by strength whych the wēche was in / y ^t whych anone was brought vnto the shyppe of Guilthdake: and Brenne wyth a fewe of his shyppes lefte was fayne to sauegarde hym selfe by flyght.

when Guilthdake hadde thus obteyned y ^e vyctorye, entendynge to haue sayled towarde Denmarke: in shorte whyle after y ^e tempestes came so hydous vppon the see, that hys nauye was deuyded and scatered that one frome the other / in suche wyse that he was in fere to haue ben drowned. And at the ende of fyue dayes not wetynge where he was / [Page] wyth fewe shyppes landed in the coū tre of Northumberlande, where at that tyme was Belyn prouydyng defence agayne his brothers cōmyng. wherof when word was brought vnto Belyn of the landynge of the fore sayde Danoys prynce wyth a small company: he reioysed yt, and cōmaū ded hym wyth his shyppes & compa­ny to be put in sure holde & kepynge.

It was not long after but Brēne hadde reculyd and gaderyd to gy­der the more parte of hys nauye be­fore (as ye haue harde) chased. And when he hadde theym newely ryg­gyd and vytayled / he herynge of the aryuayll of Guilthdacus in North­thūberlād with his wife, sent wordꝭ of manace vnto his brother Belyn / wyllyng hym to sende vnto hym his wyfe wrōgfully rauyshed by Guilthdacus / & also to restore vnto him his land & patrymony / or ellys he wold shorthely inuade his lande, yt for to waste, & his enymy to destroye. The whych desyre or request of Belynus was playnely and shortely denyed. whych knowlege had: Brennꝰ shortly after landed in a parte of Albania, and made towarde his brother / and his brother towarde hym: so y ^t theyr hostes met nere vnto a wood named at that day Calater or Calaterium, where betwene them was a mortall batayll / in so myche that mych peo­ple fyll vpon both partyes. But lastly the Brytons wanne the felde, and chasyd the Norganys or Norways vnto theyr shyppes / chasynge & sle­yenge them without pyty. And as affermeth myne authour, y ^e fyght was so cruell and sharpe: that there was slayne to the nomber of .xl.M. men.

After this dyscumfyture Brenne was constrayned to flee / and wyth fewe in nomber recoueryd the lande of Gallia.

Belinus hauyng thus victorye of his enemyes / after thankes and oblacyons made vnto his goddes, after the pagane law: he then assembled his lordes at Caerbrank or yorke, to haue theyr aduyse what he shuld do wyth the prynce of Denmark. In y ^e whych counsayle yt was concludyd / that the foresayd Guylthdacꝰ shulde holde and do homage to the kynge of Britayn for the land of Dēmark, and yerely bere to hym a certayne tribute. whyche done wyth suerty and hostages taken: the sayde Guylth­dacus wyth his loue was sette at ly­bertye and leue, to retourne into his owne countre: whych yerely tribute as testyfyeth the englyshe cronycle, was a thousande pounde.

THE .XXX. CHAPITER.

Then yt foloweth in y ^e hystory, when Belyn hadde thus vyctory of this enemyes, and was alone possessoure of this realme of Bry­tayne: the lawes before made by his father he cōfermed, and ordeyned iu­styce to be mynystred thorough the lande. And for so myche as the .iiii. wayes begon by his fader, were not perfyghtyd and endyd: he therfore causyd workmen to be called, and set theym to paue wyth stone the sayde wayes, that they myght suffycyently be knowen of all waygoers or tra­ueyllers of the countres as hereaf­ter ensuyth.

The fyrst of these .iiii. wayes was named Fosse, the whyche stretchyd oute of the southe into the north / and begynneth, or at that dayes be­ganne, at the corner of Totnesse in Cornewayle, and passed forth by Deuynshyre, Somersetshyre, & so forth by Tutbury vpon Cotteswolde, be­syde Couētre vnto Leycestre, & from thennes by wylde playnes towarde Newerke, and endyth at the cytye of Lyncoln̄.

[Page XII]The second waye was named watlyngstrete / the which stretcheth ouer thwarte y ^e wayes of Fosse out of the southest into the northest. This be­ganne at Douer, and passeth by the myddell of Kente ouer Thamys be­syde London by weste of westmyn­ster / and so forth by saynte Albanys in the weste syde of Dunstable, of Stratford, of Towceter, and of we don / by south Kyllyngburne of Kyl­lebourn̄, by Athicston̄, vnto Gylber­tes hyll, that now is named wrekyn / and so forth by Seuarn̄ passynge besyde wrokceter, & forth vnto Strat­ton̄ to the myddell of walys vnto a place called Cardycan / at y ^e Irysh se.

The thyrde waye was named Ermyngstrete. The whyche stretcheth out of the weste northweste vnto the eest southeest, & bygynneth at Me­nema, the whych is in saynt Dauies lande in weste walys / and so stret­cheth forth vnto south Hampton̄.

The fourth and last waye is called or was called Kykenyldis strete. The which stretcheth forth by worceter, by wycombe, by Birmyngham, by Lychefyld, by Derby, by Chester­fyeld, by yorke. And so forth vnto Tymmouth: y ^e whych was suffycyētly made. He graūted & confermed thē all suche priuyleges as before were graūted by Dūuallo his fader. The whych priuyleges with other lawes by hym made, who y ^t is desyrous to know: let hym rede ouer y ^e trāslacy­on y ^e holy Gildas made of Mulmu­tius lawes out of Brytyshe speche in to latyne / and there he shall se the circumstaunce of euery thynge.

In this whyle that Belyn was thus occupyed aboute the nedes of his land / his brother Brenne beyng, as before is sayde, in a prouynce of Gallia takynge sore to mynde hys expulsyon from his naturall coūtre, not hauynge any comforte how he myght attayn to his former dignite, lastely resorted (wyth .xii. persones onely accompanyed) vnto the duke or ruler of that prouynce or countre.

For ye shall vnderstande that at those dayes (as testyfyeth Eutropiꝰ and other wryters) the Gallis occu­pyed dyuers countres. And therfore Titus Liuius, whych wrote y ^e actes and dedes of the Romayns, made disstynccyon of the Gallis / and nameth them that Brēne ladde, when he be­seigyd the cytye of Rome and after y ^e capitoyll, Cenonenses Galli / which is to name the Gallis of that coūtre where the cytye of Cena than stode & yet doth (as testyfyeth the authour of cronica cronicarū, and other) in a countre of Italy named at this day Etruria. The whiche cytye, as affermen the sayde authours, was fyrste buylded of the foresayde Gallis, in y ^e tyme of Brenne beyng theyr duke or leder, before the commynge or incarnacyon of Cryste .iii. hundred .lxxx. & vi. yeres: whyche maketh the yere of the worlde folowynge the accompte of this worke .iiii. thousand .viii. hundred and .xiii. yeres.

Then yt foloweth in y ^e story, when Brenne was comen to the presence of the duke named by myne authour Gaufride Seginꝰ duke of Alebrog / the whyche is to vnderstande duke of Armorica, now named lytell Bry­tayne, as by Policronica and the englyshe cronycle is suffycyently declared / and shewed vnto hym his aduersyte & trouble: y ^e sayd duke receyued hym into his courte. And for he was personable & well maneryd, hauyng great experyence in hawkynge and huntynge, and other propertyes ap­perteynynge to a gentylman: he had hym in shorte whyle in especyall fa­uour before any noble man of hys courte. By meane wherof, he lastly maryed his doughter / vpon condy­cyon [Page] that yf he dyed wythout Issue­male, that he then shuld be ruler of y ^e countre. And yf yt happened hym to haue an heyre male: that then yt not withstādyng, to ayde and helpe hym to recouer his lande before loste.

The whych condycyons well and suerly vpon the dukes partye, by the assent of y ^e nobles of his lāde assured: the said duke within cōpas of y ^e same yere dyed. After whose deth when by a conuenyent terme, yt was knowen that the duchesse his wyfe was not wyth chyld: all the lordes to Brēne dyd homage, & became his men. To the whych lordes the more to wynne theyr loues, he departed mych of his tresour: and shortly after with theyr assente gadered a great armye / and so in all hast sayled into Britayne to make new warre vppon his brother Belyne / & after a certayn tyme there landed. Of whose landyng when Belyne was enfourmed: he in all haste gaderyd his Brytons in great nom­ber, & made towarde hym as to hys mortall enemye. But the moder of the two brethern named Cōnuuēna, or after the englysh boke Cornewey / consyderynge y ^e mortall hateryd at­twene her two chylder, and in partye of theyr both persones: of a moderly and naturall pyty, went attwene her two sonnes, and vsyd her in such dyscrete maner and moderly cōpassyon, as shewyng her brestes and other demeanures, that at length she accor­ded them. After whych accorde both bretherne with theyr lordes and frendes sped them vnto Troynouant or London / and there after many thynges orderyd and made for the weale of y ^e land: they cōdescended & agreed to lede theyr both hostes into Gallia for to subdue to them the sayde countre. And in as goodly haste as they might p̄pare for y ^e iourney, they toke shyppyng, & so sayled into a parte of Gallia brennyng & wastynge y ^e conntre without pyty. And as wytnessyth myn authour Gaufryde, in a shorte whyle they subdued a great parte of Gallia Italy and Germania.

But here I entend to leue the farther ꝓcesse of myn authour Gaufrid for so myche as here he varieth from other writers of authority, as Eutropius, Titus Liuiꝰ, & other, that dyd great dilygence in writynge of y ^e de­dys & actes of the Romayns, and of other peple dwellyng at those dayes in Italia, Gallia, & Germania. For where the sayd Gaufryde sayth, y ^t at such tyme Belyn and Brenne made warre in Italye / Gabius & Porsena were at that day consules of Rome: that sayeng is farre dyscordaunt vnto the other foresayd authours. For as they afferme at the tyme whenne Brēne besegyd Rome, Claudiꝰ Emilius, & Lucius Lucretius were con­sulis / & Furius Camillus was at y ^e tyme dictatour of Rome / and none lyke vnto the other were cōsules many yeres before nor after.

But trouth yt is that the sayde .ii. bretherne dyd many great actes in y ^e forenamed countres / but not all ac­cordynge wyth the sayeng of y ^e sayd Gaufride. For where he referreth all those dedys to bothe bretherne: the forenamed Titus Liuiꝰ spekyth but of Brenne onely, as yt shall some dele be touched hereafter. wherefore to folowe the moste wryters / when Belyn hadde dwelled a certayne of tyme wyth hys brother Brenne in those partyes: by agrement of them both, Belyn retourned into Britayn and Brenne remayned there.

THE .XXXI. CHAPITER.

WHen Belinus or Belyn was re­tourned into Brytayne: he re­payred olde cytyes, and buyldyd vp­pon [Page XIII] the ryuer of Uske a cytye, and called yt Caeruske nere vnto the ry­uer of Seuerne. This city was after namyd y ^e cyty of Legiōs, for so mych as y ^e legions of Romaynes were lodgyd wythin y ^e same citye / & now yt is called Caerleon or Carleon. Also he buylded an hauen wyth a gate there ouer wythin Troynouāt / in y ^e sum­mer or pynacle wheron was set a vessell of brasse / in the which was closyd the asshes of his brent body when he was dede. This gate was long after called Belyns or Belinꝰ gate / but at this day yt is called Belyngesgate.

In this whyle that Belinus was thus occupyed in Brytayne, his bro­der Brenne desyrous to wynne fame and honoure buylded in Italy and other partes of Gallia these cytyes and townes folowynge.

• Mediolana or Mylleyn in Lūbardy
• Papya or Papy.
• Burgamum or
• Sena or ☞
• Comum or
• Briria or
• Uerona or
• Uincentia or ☞
• Cremona or
• Mantua or

The whyche cytyes and townes were buylded of the Gallis, or at the leste new repayred, in the tyme that Brenne was theyr leder or duke / all be yt that some wryters wold meane that Comum & Cremona were buylded after Brenne was dede. Policronica wytnessyth, that the Senons; whych he meaneth by y ^e Gallis dwellyng aboute the cytye of Sena / by y ^e ledyng of Brēnus ouercame the Romaynes .xi. myle from Rome, at the ryuer Albia, & chasyd them to Rome and toke the city vnto the Capitoll / & after leyd syege to y ^e same Capitol. And vppon a nyght whyle the war­deyns of y ^e Capitoll slepte: y ^e Frēshemen or Gallys by a waye vnder the erth / came into the Capitoll & were lykely to haue wonne it. But a noble Romayne named Mallius or Manlius Torquatus, awoke by the cryēg or noyse of a gander or gāders. The which Manlius awakyng the other Romaynes, put of the Gallys. For whych cause y ^e Romayns long tyme after helde a feste of ganders, y ^e fyrst daye of Iune.

Neuerthelesse afterwarde they cal­led it Inōs feste, for so mych as they thought that Iuno y ^e goddes had by her influence gyuen that grace vnto the ganders, that they shuld by theyr noyse awake the Romayns. But yet the Gallis or frenchmen held y ^e Ro­mayns so short, y ^t they were cōpelled to gyue vnto Bren theyr duke a thousand poūde weyght of gold, as ther­of is wytnesse Titꝰ Liuius. And further more sayth y ^e sayd Liuiꝰ, that y ^e Gallis slewe of the senatours many in nomber, the whych fyrste they supposed hadde ben goddes bycause of theyr ryche apparell, whych they sat in. But shortly after this the forena­myd Furius Camillus, whiche was called agayne frō the citye of Ardea, where he was outlawed before, & by the comontye of Rome in this nede made agayne dictatour.

The which pursued Brenne and his people, and to theym gaue batayll, sleynge of them a great multytude, and wanne from them all the golde and iewellys that before tyme y ^e Gallis hadde wonne of the Romaynes. The whyche dede was done, as wytnessyth the foresayd Titus Liuius, the yere after the buyldyng of Rome iii. hundred and .lxv. whych was the yere of the worlde, folowynge the accompt of this worke foure thousand viii. hundred and .xxxv: and before Crystys incarnacyon kepynge the same accompt .iii. hundred and .lxiiii.

[Page]Then yt foloweth in the storye of Brenne, when he was thus dyscomfyted of the Romaynes: he tourned his people towarde the Macedones or Grekes, and dyuyded his people in two hostes. wherof he reteyned y ^t one with hym, and that other he sent into a countre called then Gallacia, and after Gallogreci, and lastly Galates. Then Brenne ouercame the Macedons with theyr duke Sosten̄ and after spoyled the goddes & theyr temples / & sayde in his game, ryche goddes muste gyue to men somedele of theyre rychesse. Also he spoyled the temple of the god Apolyne Del­phicus standynge in the hyll of the mounte Parnasus. wherfore as testifyeth the wryter Policarpus: the people of that countre prayed to god for helpe / and sodaynly the erth be­ganne to quake, and a great parte of the hyll fell vpon the hoste of Gallis, and thē slew. And after that ensued and fyll to grounde hayle stones of suche greatnesse, y ^t yt slew one other great parte of the sayde hoste / & duke Brennus was sore wounded: wher by he fyll in suche dyspayre, that he slew hym self with his owne swerde. No man shall wonder, though thys Apolyn toke wreche of thē that spoyled the goddes and theyr temples. For god sufferyd Apolyn to destroy many nacyons, because of theyr trespasses and euyll lyuynge. For yt is certayne that spyrytes of the eyre may vse theyr shrewdnes in thē that be of mysbyleue and vse euyll dedes. For grace is wythdrawen from such maner of men: wherfore the spirites haue the more power to hurte and greue them.

Then syns I haue here shewed vnto you the fyne or ende of Brennus, I shall nowe retourne my style vnto his brother Belynus, the whyche, as before is towched, endeuoryd hym aboute the weale of hys lande of Brytayne and his people duryng y ^e tyme of his reygne, in executyng of many notable dedes, the whyche for length of tyme I ouer passe: so that lastely he dyed and was buryed, as before is sayde at Belius or Beli­nus gate wythin Troynouante or London / when he had reygned wyth his brother and alone, after the most concordaūce of wryters .xxvi. yeres, leuyng after hym a sonne called Gurguyntus, Gurguynt Brabtruc, or aftersome wryters Gurguynt Bar­berous, whyche is to meane Gur­guynt wyth the red berde.

THE .XXXII. CHAPITER.

GUrguintus or Gurguynt the sonne of Belyne, was made kynge of the lande of Brytayne, in the yere of the worlde foure .M.viii. hundred and .xxxiiii. This in the englyshe cronycle is named Corynbra­tus or Corynbatus. The whych for so myche as the trybute before graū ted by Guilthdak kyng of Dēmark, vnto the kynges of Brytayne for a perpetuyty, was denayed: he array­ed his army and nauye, and sayled into Denmarke / and there wasted and harmed the countre wyth iron and fyre: in such wyse that at length the kynge of Denmarke, wyth the assent of his Baronage, graunted to paye and contynue the foresayde tribute yerely of a thousande poūde. After whyche vyctorye thus hadde of the Danys: he wyth great try­umphe retourned towarde Britayn. And in kepynge of hys course / he encountred wyth a nauye of .xxx. sayle besyde the yle of Orchades full of men and women / of whyche flote the chyefe captayne was called after moste wryters Bartholomew. The whyche when he was brought vnto [Page XIIII] the kynges presence, shewyd that he wyth his people were putte or exyled out of the countre of Spayne, and were named Balenses / and had sayled longe tyme vppon the see, to the ende to fynde some prynce, that wold gyue to them a dwellynge place, and they to become his subiectys & holde theyr lande of hym / besechynge the kynge to haue compassyon of them, and to graunt to them some place to enhabyte them in / & that they shulde no lenger dwell in theyr shyppes, cōsyderyng theyr vytayle was spent by reason of theyr long lyeng vpon y ^e see. After whych request thus made by theyr captayne / the kyng with the aduyse of his barons, graunted vn­to them a voyde and waste countre, whyche was and is the farthest ile of all the iles / towarde the weste / the whych yle as sayth the Englyshe cronycle, was then named Irelande, after the name of theyr captayn called in the Englyshe cronycle Irlamal. But who so wyll knowe the fyrste cause of the namynge of this yle Ir­lande: lette hym rede the .xxxii. and xxxiii. chapytres of the fyrste boke of Policronica / and there he shall fynd y ^e more certaynly of y ^e fyrst namynge therof, with many other thynges touchynge y ^e sayd yle, the whych I ouerpasse for length of y ^e mater. For there he shall be suffyciently enfourmed of that, and also of other thynges.

Then yt foloweth in the story, af­ter this Gurguintus was retourned into his lande of Britayne: he ordeyned to be stablyshed & kepte y ^e lawes made by his forefaders / & exersy­syd iustyce to his subiectes, and guy­ded his lande well and nobly by the terme, after moste wryters, of .xix. yeres / and then dyed, and was bu­ryed at newe Troye or London, or at Caerleon / leuynge after hym a sonne named after myne authoure Guynthelinus, but after some he is named Guyntellius.

THE .XXXIII. CHAPITER.

GUinthelinꝰ or Guintellius y ^e sonne of Gurguintus / was made kynge of Brytayne, in the yere of the world .iiii. thousande .viii. hundred and .liii. This is named in the englyshe cronycle Gwentolyne, the whyche guyded his lande and Bry­tons with great mekenesse and sobernesse. He hadde also a noble wyfe called Marcia, instructe and lerned in many scyēces / the whych amonge other noble dedys by her done, stu­dyed and broughte forth a certayne good and conuenyent lawe amonge the Brytons / the whyche was na­med longe after the Marcyan lawe. This lawe for that yt was thought both good and necessary, Aluredus, whyche longe after was kynge of Englande, translated oute of Bre­tyshe into Saxon speche / and then was yt called after that translacyon in the Saxon tonge Marthehelage, whych is to meane the lawe of Marcia. To this womā for her wysdome was committed all the gouernaunce of the lande / in so myche, as wytnes­syth myne authoure Gaufryde and other, she reygned as quene of Brytayne a certayne tyme after her hus­bande was dede. But the yeres of her reygne be accompted with the yeres of her husbande, or wyth the yeres of her sonne Sisillius / so that no tyme asserteyned is to her deputed or sette.

Then yt foloweth, whē this Guinhelinus hadde reygned well and mekely by the terme of .xxvi. yeres, he dyed and was buryed at newe Troy or London, leuyng after hym a son named Sisillius or Cecilius.

THE .XXXIIII. CHAPITER.

SIsillius or Ceciliꝰ the sonne of Guynthelinus, was made kynge of Brytayne, in the yere of the world .iiii. thousande .viii. hundred & lxxix. This in the Englysh cronycle is named Seyzyl. Of whych no mencion nor worthy memory is made. Al be yt that Gaufryde meaneth, y ^t this Sisillius was but .vii. yeres of age when his father dyed. wherfore the charge of the realme was committed vnto Marcia his moder / the which guyded yt well and suffycyently tyll her sayde sonne came to his lawfull age, and then resygnyd to hym all y ^e rule: whyche so contynued / but how longe he reygned Gaufryde expres­syth not. wherfore I now folowe the sayenge of the forenamed authoure called the Floure of historyes, which affermeth hym to reygne onely .vii. yeres / all be yt the Englyshe boke sayeth he reygned .xv. yeres, whyche agreeth not so well wyth the concor­daunce of other historyes & tymes.

This Sisillius, as Gaufryde wytnessyth, left after him a sonne named Kymarus / whome the englysh boke nameth Kymor.

THE .XXXV. CHAPITER.

RImarus the sonne of Sisilli­us / was made kynge of Bry­tayne, in the yere of the worlde .iiii. thousande .viii. hundred .lxxx. & vi. This in the englyshe boke is called Kymor / of y ^t whych is made no men­cyon nother of hys tyme of reygne, nor of his dedes.

For the more partye of wryters reherse in moste breuest & shorteste maner, y ^t after Kimarꝰ reygned Elaniꝰ. After Elaniꝰ Morindus. But y ^e old cronycle, whych I haue before tyme spoken of sayth that this Kymarus, which he nameth Kymarchꝰ Elaniꝰ▪ was a wylde yonge man, and lyued after hys pleasure. wherfore as he was in his dysporte of huntynge, he was by his euyll willers slayne, whē he hadde ruled skarsly .iii. yeres.

THE .XXXVI. CHAPITER.

ELanius the sonne of Kymarꝰ, as wytnessyth the foresayde Floure of cronycles, but the broder of Kimarus as sayth Gaufride / was made kynge of Brytayne, in the ye­re of the worlde foure thousand .viii. hundred .lxxx. and .ix. the whyche in the englyshe boke is named Howan. Of this also is no mēcyon made nor memory nother of acte nor of reygn, but as the forenamed olde cronycle sayth, that Kymarus and Elanius was one persone / and reygned as before is sayde: but the abouesayd writer called Floure of hystoryes sayth, he reygned fully two yeres.

THE .XXXVII. CHAPITER.

MOrindus the bastarde sonne of Elanius, as sayth Gau­fryde and other / was made kynge of Brytayne, in y ^e yere of y ^e world foure thousande .viii. hundred .lxxx. and .xi. the whych in the englyshe cronicle is called Morwith. This as witnesseth Gaufryde, was goten vppon the concubyne of Elanius named Tan­guestela, and was a man of worthy fame in dedys of chyualry / but he was so ouercome with wrath & cruelnesse, y ^t lyghtly he slew all men that hym tened or angred. He was also beauteouse of persone and lyberall of gyftes / and wyth that he was of a meruelouse strength, in so mych that he had not his pere wythin his realm of any man of noble byrthe.

In his tyme came into Brytayne a prynce oute of a countre called Mauritania / the whyche countre at those dayes is assygned by Strabo y ^e wryter▪ to be betwene the kyngdomes of [Page XV] Hungary, and of Beame / the whych prynce wyth his cruell & fyers peo­ple wasted the lād of Britayne with iron and fyre wythout pytye. wherof Morindus beynge warned / in all haste gaderyd his people, and hym mette / and faught in such wyse, that he chasyd the sayde prynce agayne to the see, and toke many of his sowdy­ours as prysoners, the whyche in sa­tysfyeng of his cruelnesse and tyran­ny, he caused to be put to deth in his syght by dyuerse maners of tormen­tes / as by heedynge, fleynge, brennynge, and other cruell execucyons. Lastely as testyfyeth Guydo de Co­lumpna and other, this Morindus walkynge or rydynge vppon the see stronde espyed a wōderfull monstre, the whych of his corage and knyght hod he thought to sle. And by a māly corage and force assayled this mon­stre or beste, fyghtyng wyth yt a cer­tayne of tyme. But in conclusyon he was deuoured and swalowyd of the sayd monstre: after he had reygned, after moste wryters, by the terme of viii. yeres / leuynge after hym, as wytnessyth Gaufryde, fyue sonnes, wherof the fyrste was named Gorbomānus: the secunde Archygallo, the thyrde Elidurus, the fourth Uigenius or Nigenius, and the fyfte or yongest, Peredurus.

THE .XXXVIII. CHAPITER.

GOrbamānus the fyrste sonne of Morindꝰ / was made king of Brytayne / in the yere of the world foure thousande .viii. hundred .lxxx. and .xviii. This in the englyshe cro­nycle ys named Granbodyan / the whyche as testifyeth Gaufryde, was a iuste and ryghtwyse man to y ^e goddes and to his people, and yelded to eyther partye that was his / that ys to say to his goddes he yelded due reuerence & sacrifyce / and to the people iustyce & equyte. And he renewed and repayred all olde temples tho­rough his realme, and buylded some newe. And in his tyme was more welth and plente in his realme, mych more thē was in any of his predeces­sours dayes. But fynally to y ^e great sorow of all his Brytons / he was taken wyth sykenesse, and dyed wyth­out issue of his body, when he hadde reygned after moste wryters by the terme of .xi. yeres.

THE .XXXIX. CHAPITER.

ARchigallo the seconde sonne of Morindus, and broder vnto Gorbomānus, was made kynge of Brytayne, in the yere of y ^e worlde foure thousande .ix. hundred and .x. This in the englyshe boke is named Artogayll / the whyche folowed no­thynge the workes of his brother, but gaue hym selfe all to discencyon and stryfe / and imagyned causes a­gayne his nobles to put them from theyr goodes and dygnytyes and in theyr places to sette and ordeyne vnnoble and of rude byrthe and maner / and from the ryche by synystre and wrongfull meanes he plucked theyr ryches and goodes. By whyche inordynate meanes he enryched hym self and impoueryshed his subiectes. For whyche condycyons his lordes & subiectes murmuryd agaynst hym / and lastly of one assent toke him, or more verely, depryuyd hym of all honour and kyngly dygnyte, when he hadde reygned after moste concordaunce of wryters fyue yeres.

THE .XL. CHAPITER.

ELid [...]rus the thyrde sonne of Morindus, and the brother of Archigallo / was by one assent of the [Page] Brytons made kynge of Brytayne, in the yere of the worlde .iiii.M.ix. hundred and .xv. This in y ^e englyshe cronycle is named Hisider or Eso­dyr. The which became so myld and benygne to the Brytons, that they gaue to hym a surname, and called hym Elidure y ^e meke. For he amōge other dedys of mekenes, as he was vpon a daye in his dysporte of hun­tynge, in a wode nere vnto Caerbrāk or yorke called Calater, or after some wryters Caltras: he fande his elder brother Archigallo late kynge, mas­kelyng or wandrynge in the thykest of the woode / whome louyngly and charytably he in secrete maner con­ueyed vnto his owne mancyō into y ^e cytye then named Aldud or Acliut. And as affermeth myn authour Gaufryde, to thentent to brynge his bro­ther to his former dygnytye as after foloweth: the sayd Elidurus fayned hym selfe syke / and in all haste sente his messagers aboute his realme to gather and assemble the Barons of his lāde. And when the daye of assemble was cōmyn, and his lordes accordynge to his commaundement were present: he called them one by one, as they were of honour, into his se­crete cubycle or chamber / & there by his wyse & dyscrete wordes as well in benygne and louynge maner, as other wordes and countenaunce apperteynyng to his royall power and dygnyty / he gat graunte of his sayd lordes, that they shuld ayde & strēgth hym to theyr powers, to brynge hys brother Archigallo to his former ho­nour and regally. After which graūt by the lordes made: he assembled a counsayll of his Brytons at Caer­brank or yorke / & there caused suche meanes to be made to the cōmons, that in conclusion when the sayd Elidurus hadde ruled the lande .v. ye­res as kynge, he there resygned his crowne and all kyngly power vnto his sayde brother Archigallo.

THE .XLI. CHAPITER.

WHen Archigallo was thus restored to his kyngly dygnyte, he remembred well the euyl lyfe that before tyme he had ladde, and the punishement which he had suffred for y ^e same. wherfore in eschewynge of lyke daunger: He chaunged all hys olde condicyons, and became a good and ryghtwyse man, mynystryng to the people equyte and iustyce / & bare hym so nobly agayne his lordes and rulers vnder hym of his landes, that he was belouyd & dradde of all hys subiectes / and so contynued duryng the terme of his naturall lyfe. But fynally he payde the dette of nature, when he hadde reygned nowe lastly after moste wryters .x. yeres / & was buryed, as sayth the sayde olde cro­nycle at Caerbranke or yorke.

THE XLII. CHAPITER.

ELidurus before named was agayne by one assent of y ^e Brytons made kynge / in the yere of the worlde .iiii. thousande .ix. hundred & xxx. But his two yonger bretherne Uigenius and Peredurus, hauynge of hym indignacyon, that he was for his vertue and good gouernaūce so well fauoured with the Brytons: of malyce conspyryd agayne hym / & gatheryd an army of soudiours, & made a felde wyth hym. And in the felde toke hym, and commaūded hym vn­to the towre of Troynouāt as sayth Gaufryde, there as a prysoner to be sauely kepte. After & when he hadde reygned nowe laste by the space, as wytnesseth the old cronycle .ii. yeres.

THE .XLIII. CHAPITER.

UIgenius and Peredurus y ^e yongest sonnes of Morindꝰ, [Page XVI] and bretherne of Elidurus before sayde / were ioyntly made kynges of Brytayne / in the yere of the worlde foure thousande .ix. hundred & .xxxii. These two bretherne are named in y ^e engleshe cronycle Higanius and Petytur / the whych as testyfyeth Gau­fryde departed y ^e land betwene thē, so y ^t all y ^e land from the water of Hūber westwarde, fyll to Uigenius or Nigeniꝰ: & the other part of the land with also Albania or Scotlande, fyll vn­to Peredurus. But after the saynge of Guydo de Columna, Uigenius or Nigeniꝰ was not kyng, but alonely Peredurus / the whych, as he sayth, helde his brother Elidurus in pry­son by his owne assent, for so myche as Elidurus was not wyllyng to be kynge. And as affermeth the sayde Guydo / this Peredurus was cruell and tyrannous to the Britayns, and slew and entreated y ^e lordes in moste cruell maner. wherfore he became so odyous to them / that they rebelled agaynst hym and slew hym.

This sayeng contraryeth and en­pugnyth myne authoure Gaufryde, sayeng y ^t Uigeniꝰ dyed after he had reygned .vii. yeres. After whose deth Peredurus seasyd all the lande into his owne rule / & ruled yt wyth great sobernesse, in such wyse that he excelled or was preysed aboue all his bre­thern, so that Elidurꝰ was clene for­goten of the Brytons. The englysh cronycle also sayth that this Peredurus founded the town of Pikeryng. But fynally he was taken wyth so­dayne sykenesse / whereof he dyed, when he had reygned wyth his bro­ther and alone, after the accorde of moste wryters .ix. yeres / leuynge af­ter hym no chylde to be his heyr.

THE .XLIIII. CHAPITER.

ELidurꝰ before named so soone as Peredurus was dede, for as myche as he was next heyre to the crowne / was taken forth of pryson and made the thyrde tyme kynge of Brytayne, in the yere of y ^e world .iiii. thousande .ix. hundred and .xli. The whyche as before tyme he had vsyd hym selfe so he contynued styll in mynystrynge to all persones ryght and iustyce all the dayes of his lyfe. And lastely beynge of good age he dyed, whē he had now reygned after moste concordaunce of wryters .iiii. yeres / leuynge after hym a son named Gorbonianus or Gorbomanus. And as wytnesseth the olde cronycle, and the englyshe cronycle / y ^e fore named Elidurus was buryed at Caerleyl or Karlele.

THE .XLV. CHAPITER.

YE shall vnderstande y ^t to the deth of the foresayde Elidure, the wry­ters of the storye of Brytons wryten dyuersly / so that the one varyeth greatly from the other, both in y ^e na­mes, and also in the tyme of theyre reygnes / the which wold aske a long tyme to reherse in order the dyuersy­tye of that one from the other / & also to some reders y ^e mater therof shulde be but small pleasure. wherfore to suche as ben desyrous to knowe of y ^e tyme and season that passed betwene the laste yere of Elidurus, & the fyrst yere of Lud / in whych passe tyme reygned in Britayne .xxxii. or after some writers .xxxiii. kyng [...]: let hym loke in a table before y ^e begynnynge of this worke. And there he shall se my con­ceyt for y ^e declaracyon of y ^e yeres passed or spent betwene the forsayd two kynges Elidurus and Lud / prayēge hym or them that so shall loke in the sayde draught, that yf I haue in any poynte erryd, that of theyr goodnes they wolde wyth good delyberacyon correcte and amende yt. But for it semeth to me, that of al such authours as I haue redde or seen, Guydo de [Page] Columna reherseth most breuely the passetyme of the sayde kynges: therfore I purpose here to reherse his sayenge, as he hath left yt to vs in latyn.

THE XLVI. CHAPITER.

GOrbonianꝰ or Gorbomānus the sonne of Regny sonne of Elidure / was made kynge of Bry­tayne, in the yere of the worlde foure thousande .ix. hundred and .xlv. Af­ter whom succedyd Margan. After Margā Emerianꝰ brother to y ^e sayd Margan / the whyche Emerianus was depryuyd for his cruelnes. And after hym reygned .xx. kynges successyuely the one after the other / of the whyche, as sayth myn authour Guydo, is no mencyon made / eyther for theyr rudenesse, or ellys for crueltye or dyscordaunte meanes or maners vsed in y ^e tyme of theyr reygnes / the whyche mysorder clerkes disdayned to wryte or put in memory. And next the laste of these foresayd .xx. kynges succedyd Blegabridus a connynge musycyan: the whyche for his excel­lence in that facultye, was called of the Brytons god of glemen.

After Blegabridꝰ was thus kyng and dyed, succeded .ix. kynges / of whome for the former cōsyderacyon is nother name nor tyme of reygne put in memory. The laste of whyche ix. kynges was by the agremēt of all wryters named Hely / whych Hely after some wryters reygned .xl. yeres, & after some but bare .vii. monethes. In the whych .xxxiii. kynges tymes, passed or flowed (that is to say from the laste yere of Elidure vnto the last yere of the foresayde Hely, as by the fornamed table apperyth) a hūdred and .lxxxvi. yeres. whyche sayde Hely lefte after hym .iii. sonnes, named Lud, Cassibellanus, and Neurius.

THE .XLVII. CHAPITER.

LUd the eldeste sonne of Hely, was made kyng of Brytayn, in the yere of y ^e worlde .v. thousand a hundred and .xxxi. This mā was honourable in all his dedes / for he edyfyed new temples, and repayred the olde. He also repayred olde cytyes & townes / and specyally in the cytye of Troynouant he causyd many buyldynges to be made / and gyrde the sayde citye about wyth a strong wall of lyme and stone. And in the weste parte of the sayde walle he arreryd a fayre and stronge gate, and com­maūded it to be called Luddys gate, whych at this daye is clepyd Ludde gate. And for he loued myche this cytye: he vsed myche & moste to lye there. By reason wherof yt was cal­led Caerlud or Luddys towne / and after by corrupcyon or shortynge of the speche, yt was named London, whych name at this daye remayneth and abydeth.

This Lud also, as wytnessyth Gaufryde, was strōge and myghty in ar­mys in subduynge his enymyes. He was also lyberall of gyftes and plentuouse in his houshold / so y ^t he was myche loued and drad of his Britōs. But when he hadde contynued hys reygn with great honour by y ^e terme of .xi. yeres: he dyed, & was buryed in his gate called Portlud or Lud­gate / leuynge after hym, as wytnessyth Gaufryde, two sonnes, Andro­geus, & Temancius or Tenancius.

THE .XLVIII. CHAPITER.

CAssibellan the brother of Lud was made kyng of Brytayn, in the yere of the worlde .v. thousand a hundred and .xlii. For so myche as the .ii. sonnes before named of Lud were to yonge or insuffycyent for to take on hand so great a charge. But [Page XVII] as wytnessyth the olde cronycle, and also the authour of the Floure of hi­storyes: thys Cassybellan was not made kynge, but ruler or protectour of the lande, for the tyme of the non-age of the foresayde brethern: all be yt myne authour Gaufryde sayth, y ^t after Cassibellan was sette in autho­rite / he became so noble and lyberall, that his name sprange farre / and by his exercysynge of iustyce, the Bry­tons ought to hym more fauour, thē to eyther of his neuewes. How be yt he cheryshed them, & brought theym forth accordyng to theyr byrth. And when they came vnto yeres of dyscrecyon, he gaue to Androgeꝰ the cytye of London, wyth the dukedome or the erledome of Kent / and to Temancius the dukedome of Cornewayll.

In this season was Caius Iuliꝰ, the whyche is moste commonly cal­led Iulius Cesar, sente by the se­nate of Rome as felowe and consull wyth Lucius Bubulus into Gallia nowe called Fraunce, for to subdue them vnto the empyre of Rome. The whyche Iulius beyng vppon the see syde, after he had ouercome the Gallis, and beholdyng the whyte clyues or rockes of Brytayne: enquyred of the countre, and what people dwel­led therin. And when he was suffy­cyently enfourmed of all the commodytyes therof: he had great wyll to brynge the sayde countre vnder the yocke of the Romaynes, for so mych as at those dayes a great parte of the worlde was tributary to Rome. But as sayth myne authour, fyrste he ex­orted the Britons by writyng & mes­sagers, to gyue trybute vnto Rome. wherfore Cassybellan hauynge indygnacyon wrote vnto hym sharpe & short answeres, shewyng that he and euery noble man was bounde specy­ally to kepe his coūtre from seruage / and to kepe his subiectes, that they myght enioy lybertye and franchise. The whyche to obserue, he wold do the vttermost of his power & myght. wyth the which answere Iulius be­ynge nothynge cōtentyd, in all hast made redy his nauy and people, and sayled towarde Brytayne. And whē the Romaynes were comyn nere the land of Brytayne, & shuld haue landed: y ^e Brytons pyght sharpe stakes and longe vppon the bankes / which causyd theym to wynne lande wyth great daunger. And not longe after theyr landynge, Cassibellan wyth a stronge hoste of Britons encountred the Romaynes / gyuynge or yeldyng to them suche fyght and batayll that they were fayne to resorte to theyr shyppes for theyr suertye. Not wyth standyng y ^e, as witnesseth Gaufride and other / Iulius after he hadde re­newed his knyghtes, and also ryg­gyd his nauye: he came agayne the seconde tyme, entendynge to subdue the land to the empyre of Rome. But as before tyme he was by the man­hode of the kynge and his Brytons manfully and knyghtly wythstāden and chasyd: so this seconde tyme he was in lyke wise ouercome, and compelled to flee wythout honoure. For whych vyctory thus twyes obteyned by the Brytons, Cassibellan enten­dynge to gyue thanke vnto his god­des, and rewarde to hys knyghtes: in goodly haste caused an assemble to be made of his lordes & knyghtes at the cytye of Caerlud or London. where after dew obseruaunces done to theyr goddes, after y ^e vse of theyr pagan lawes, a great and solemne feste was holden by the kynge to all that wolde come, wyth moste lyberalytye and plentye in all that was ne­cessarye to such a feste. And the more to encrease the kynges honoure / and to the more comforte and dilectacion of his lordes and other there beynge [Page] present: there was all maner kynꝭ of games that at those dayes were exercysed and vsed. Contynewynge whyche feste, two noble and yonge knyghtes amonge other hapened to assey eyther other in wrastlyng / wherof that one was neuew to kyng Cassibellan named Hirelda / and y ^e other named Euelinus, was allyed vnto Androgeus erle or duke of London. By meane of this wrastlynge dyuysyon or vnfyttynge wordes fyll be­twene the two yonge knyghtes, y ^t after wordes ensued strokes / by meane wherof partyes were takē on eyther syde, whyche ranne to gyder in great [...]re and malyce, so that on eyther part many and diuers were hurte & wounded. Among whome Hirelda neuew to the kynge was slayne / whych caused great dysturbaunce in the courte and amonge the lordes.

when the knowlege of the deth of Hirelda was brought vnto y ^e kyng: he was therwyth greatly amoued / & entendynge dewe iustice to be hadde & mynystred by thaduyce of his Ba­rons, causyd the forenamed cosyn of Androgeus Euelinus to be sommoned for to appere before hym & hys counsayll, and there to acquyte hym of suche cryme as to hym was layde for the deth of Hirelda before slayne. But Euelinus by coūsayll of Androgeus wythstode that commaunde­ment / and shortly after the sayde Androgeus and Euelyne departed the courte wythoute takynge leue of the kynge.

The kynge dysdaynynge this de­meanure of Androgeꝰ / after dyuers monycyons to hym gyuen, gathered his knightes and made warre vpon Androgeus. wherfore he cōsyderyng after many ways & meanes thought y ^t he was not of power to wythstand the kynges great indignacyon / sent his letters vnto Caius Iuliꝰ Cesar, shewynge to hym the circumstaunce of the mater / and aduoydynge hym of all gylt, besought and prayed him in moste humble wyse, that he wolde shortly retourne wyth his army into Brytayne / & he wyth his hole power shuld be redy to ayde and helpe hym agayne the Brytons.

Of this message was Iulius very glad / and in all haste made towarde Brytayne wyth a great power. To whom y ^e wynde was so fauourable / y ^t in short tyme after this message he drew nere y ^e land. But as affermeth myne authour Gaufryde / or he wold lande, ferynge the treason of Androgeus, he receyued frō hym in hostage his sonne named Scena, wyth .xxx. other of the moste noble of his lord­shyppe / & that done he landed wyth the helpe and ayde of Androgeus. wherof when Cassibellan hadde warnynge, in all haste he made towarde the Romaynes / and in a valey nere vnto Dorobernia now named Can­terbury, there he foūde the hoste of y ^e said Iuliꝰ lodged, & with him Androgeꝰ with all his power. After whych knowlege had eyther of other / wyth theyr habyllemētes of warre eyther greued other, tyll at lēgth both hostꝭ mette hande for hand and faught vygerously, in such wise that many fell on eyther partye.

But when the Brytons, as sayth Gaufryde, hadde longe foughten & knyghtly defended the Romaynes: Androgeꝰ with his peple came by a wynge of the Brytons / and them so sharpely assayled, that they were constreyned to forsake the feld and place y ^t they before had kepte. The whiche flyght dyscōforted so the other, that fynally all fledde and gaue place to the Romaynes, the which pursued & slewe them withoute pytye. So that Cassibellan wyth his Brytons that were lefte, were fayne to gette them [Page XVIII] to a place of suerty / there to reste tyll they myght newly prouyde to wyth stande theyr enemyes.

But fynally as all wryters agre, Iulius helde the kyng so shorte, that for an vnytye and concorde he was fayne to become trybutary to the Romaynes, and to paye to them yerely a certayne trybute, whych Gaufryd affermeth to be .iii. thousande poūd. And when the sayde trybute was set in a suertye / so that the sayd Romaynes were wyth yt contented, and Iulius hadde accomplyshed his wyll & pleasure in thynges to hym thought necessary: he with Androgeus departed the lande, and so spedde hym to­warde Rome / where soone after he was agayn, by the will of y ^e most of y ^e senatours made emperour. And this tribute thus was graūted when Cassibellan hadde reygned as kynge of Britayne fully .viii. yeres and more.

THE .XLIX. CHAPITER.

THis begynnynge of this try­bute payde by Cassibellan vnto the Romayns, shuld seme by most concordaunce of wryters to be vpon xl. and .viii. yeres before Crystes in­carnacyon, or after some .l. But for profe of the fyrste sayenge / I haue shewed my conceyte in the tabyll before named / the whych I remytte to the correccyon of such as haue ꝓfyte vndertandynge in calculynge of hystoryes and tymes.

And here I make an ende of the seconde parte of this worke / in yeldynge graces to oure moste consolatryce, that moste blessed virgyne our lady saynt Mary, the whyche here I agayne salute wyth the seconde of the forsayde .vii. ioyes, whyche begynneth,

This seconde parte to be accompted from the last yere of the dyscorde of the Brytons to the ende of the .ix. yere of Cassybellan, includeth of ye­res .iii. hundred .lxxx. and .iii.

THE .L. CHAPITER.

THus maye we vnderstande, that by the apoyntmēt before made / Cassi­bellan contynued styll as kynge and gouernour of this land of Brytayn / whyche by moste cōcordaunce of writers hadde reygned before or he were made trybutarye vppon .ix. yeres / whyche sayde .ix. yeres made the yere of the worlde folowynge thaccompte before expressyd, fyue thousand a hū dred & .l. And after he reygned by thagremēt of all writers as kyng of this lande, fully .vii. yeres. So that in all before the graūte of y ^e tribute, and after / he reygned vppon .xvi. yeres.

THE .LI. CHAPITER.

NOwe then haue I shewyd to you how that Iulius Cesar by ayde and helpe of Androgeus erle of Kent / made this land of Brytayn trybutarye to the Romaynes, when Cassibelan had ben kyng of the sayd lande vppon .ix. yeres / whych .ix. yeres I haue sette for the ende of the seconde parte of this worke. So that [Page] the .x. yere of Cassibellan is the fyrst yere of the thyrde parte of the sayde worke. Then as all writers testyfye / Cassibellan contynued after the departynge of Iulius, as kyng by the terme or space of .vii. yeres, as before is declared. In the tyme of y ^e whych vii. yeres is none noble acte nor dede of hym put in memory or wrytynge.

But for some wold thynke that af­ter Caius Iulius Cesar, hadde tho­rough helpe of Androgeus erle of Kent, and eldest sonne of Lud, thus as before is sayde, subdued Cassibellan: that the sayd Iulius wold haue restoryd the sayde Androgeus to the crowne of Brytayne, as his ryght­full inherytaūce / and clerely to haue expelled and put oute the sayd Cassibellan from all kyngly dygnyty. To this answereth the olde cronycle and sayth, that Cassibellan was not the sonne of Hely, but that he was the eldeste sonne of Lud, by reason wherof he was fyrste made kyng / and so as ryghtfull heyre contynued durynge hys lyfe, kynge of Brytayne. The whych when he hadde reygned .ix. yeres or he were trybutary, and .vii. yeres after as affermeth the sayde olde cronicle in all .xvi. yeres / he thē dyed wythoute issue, and was buryed at Caerbranke or yorke.

THE .LII. CHAPITER.

TEmanciꝰ or Tēnancius the yongest sonne of Lud, as affermeth Gaufryde, was made kyng of y ^e Brytōs, in the yere of the world fyue thousande a hundred and .lvii. This is named in the englyshe cro­nycle Tormace, and not kynge, as the sayde boke affermeth. But his elder brother, whych in the sayde boke is named Androgen, was after the affyrmaunce of the sayd englyshe cronycle made kynge. But the foresayd Gaufryde and other testyfyen / that for so myche as Androgeus feryd to be euer hated of y ^e Brytons, for his treason wroughte agaynst the kyng and the lande: he therfore chase to go with Caius Iulius to Rome, rather thē to be kyng of such as he thought wolde neuer haue hym in theyr loue and fauoure.

Then yt foloweth in y ^e storye, this Tēnācius ruled the land with great dylygence and iustyce / and defended the lande well and knyghtly agayne all alyaūtis and straūgers / & payde his trybute to the Romaynes y ^• Cassibellan had graunted / and lastly dyed when he had reygned after most wryters .xxiii. yeres, and was buryed at Caerlud or London / leuynge after hym a sonne, the whyche was called Kymbeline.

THE .LIII. CHAPITER.

Kymbelinus or Kymbelyne the sonne of Tēnancius / was of y ^e Brytōs made kynge, in the yere of the worlde .v. thousande a hundred and .lxxx. This man as wytnesseth Guydo was brought vp at Rome a­monge the Romaynes, & there made a knyght / and had of them suche fa­uoure, that he was at lyberty to pay the trybute or not. Of hym is lytell memorye made / excepte all wryters agreen, that in y ^e season that he was kynge, our sauyoure Cryste Iesus was incarnate of that moste blessyd virgine our lady saynt Mary. which shulde be to accorde historyes, in the xix. yere of his reygne.

Of the reygne of this Kymbelyn authours wryte dyuersly / so y ^t some shewe no yeres, and some but fewe, whych can not accord wyth the tyme of other cronycles. But the authour of the hystorye called Floure of historyes wytnessyth, y ^t he reygned .xxxv. yeres. The whyche sayeng who lyst to se y ^e table before rehersed: he shall [Page XIX] there haue knowlege, that this sayd auctoure accordeth beste wyth other storyes and cronycles.

And when that this Kymbelyne had reygned gloryously ouer y ^e Brytons by all the season before expres­syd, he dyed & was buryed at Caer­lud or London / leuynge after hym two sonnes named Guyderius and Aruiragus.

NOw before haue I shewed vnto you in y ^e later chapyter, y ^t Criste was incarnate, in the .xix. yere of Kymbelyne / whyche maketh the yere of the worlde, that is to saye frō the fyrste creacyon of Adam to the incarnacyon .v. thousande a hundred lxxx. and .xix. the whyche accompt is approuyd by holy Isodore, Beda, and other.

• Then Cryste was incarnate the yere of y ^e world, as before is expressed.
• From Noes flood or after .ii. thou­sande ix. hundred and .lvii.
• After Abraham .ii thousande & .xvii.
• After Dauid kyng of Israell, a thousande and .lxxv.
• From or after the trāsmygracyon of the Iewes to Babylon, v. hūdred lxxx. and .x.
• After Brute entred Britayne .xi. hundred and .xxxvi.
• After Alexander the great, nere vp­pon .iii. hundred and .xxv.
• After the buyldynge of Rome .vii. hū dred and .xxix.
• And in the begynnyng of y ^e .xlii. yere of Octauius Augustus, then emperour of Rome.

THE .LIIII. CHAPITER.

GUyderius the fyrste sonne of Kymbalyne / beganne his reygne ouer the Britons, the yere of the worlde .v. thousande .CC. & .xvi. And the yere after Cristes incarnacyon y ^e xvii. yere. This man was welthy & trusted mych in his strēgth. And for he thought the Romayns hadde the forenamed trybute with wronge: he therfore of a knyghtly courage de­nyed to the Romaynes the sayde try­bute. wherfore Claudiꝰ whych was vncle vnto Caius Caligula the .iiii. emperour of Rome: came into Bry­tayne with a great armye of Romaynes / & as wytnessyth Policronica, cō queryd and wanne agayne the sayde trybute wythout great fyght. And y ^t done / he also subdued the yles of Orchades or Orkeys, whych stande be­yonde Scotlād within the great Occean / and after tourned agayne to Rome the .vi. moneth after that he came thens.

The cronycle of Englande, and also Gaufryde saye, that in the hoste of the Romaynes was a captayne na­med Hame or Hamo / the whych en­tendynge hurte and destruccyon of y ^e Brytons, chaunged his shelde or ar­mure, & dyd vppon hym the armure of a Britayne. And by that meane as a Briton mysclad, he entred into the thyckest of the hoste / and lastely vn­to the place where as kynge Guyde­rius faught, & shortly after slewe the kynge. But Aruiragus seynge this sodayne myschyefe, to the ende y ^t the Brytons shulde not gyue backe: he hastely causyd hym selfe to be armed wyth the cognysaunce of the kynge. And so for kyng cōtynued the fyght, wyth such māhode, that the Romaynes were put to flyght.

Thus by accorde of wryters Guyderius was slayne of the foresayde Hamo / when he hadde reygned ouer the Brytons by the concordaunce of other hystoryes .xxviii. yeres, leuyng after hym none heyre of his body to guyde the lande after his deth.

THE .LV. CHAPITER.

ARuiragus the yongest sonne of Kymbelyne, and brother [Page] to Guyderius before slayn, was or­deyned kyng of Brytons, in the yere of our lorde .xliiii. This in the en­glyshe boke is named Armager / the whyche as there is shewed, well and knyghtly maynteyned the warre a­gayne the Romayns, and after slew the forenamed Hamo nere vnto an hauen or porte of the see. And hym so slayne, threwe gobet meale into the same see. And for this skyll, was this hauē longe tyme after called Hamōs hauen / whych at this daye is called Southampton.

Then yt foloweth in the .viii. cha­pyter of the .iiii. boke of Policroni­con, that Claudius after dyuers happes of batayll, toke Aruiragꝰ to his grace / & brought his doughter Gennissa by name from Rome, and ma­ried her vnto Aruiragus. And for he wolde make the place of y ^e maryage more solemne, he therfore called the towne of mariage Claudiocestria after his name, the whych before was called in bretyshe tunge Caerleon, & after Glouernia after a duke of De­mecia that hyght Glorio / but nowe this towne is named Glouceter.

All otherwyse telleth the englyshe cronycle / & sayth that Armager scomfyted Claudius, and compelled hym to gyue his doughter Gēnissa or Gē nen to the sayde Armager to wyfe / wyth condycyon that the Romayns shulde neuer after that daye clayme any trybute of Brytayne, excepte al­onely feawte / whyche sayenge appe­reth doutefull for dyuers causes. wherof one is, that the sayde Ar­mager shulde not constrayne Clau­dius to gyue his doughter to hym / for so myche as the sayde Armager hadde neuer seen the sayde Gennen before tyme, nor knewe not of her cō uersacyon. Then meruayle yt were, that he shulde force her father to gyue hym a wyfe, that he hadde cast no loue vnto before tyme. One other reason is, that the sayde cronycle te­styfyeth / that after he hadde maryed the sayd Gennen, he was at London crowned kynge of Englande. For I wold thinke if he had ouercomē Claudius, as there is surmytted, he wold fyrste haue crowned hym selfe kyng, and then haue maried his doughter. But by the same reason yt certifyeth more strenger the former sayenge of Policronica. For by all lykelyhode Claudius wold not suffer hym to be crowned kyng, tyll he hadde full perfourmed his promyse in maryage of his doughter.

And all be yt that myne authoure Gaufryde varyeth not myche from the englyshe cronicle: I thynke in y ^e doynge he toke example of Homerꝰ, that wrote the dedis and actes of the Grekes / the whyche shewed and put in memory all the noble actes by thē done, and specyally in the recuyll or boke made by hym of the syege of Troye. But the other dedys con­cernynge theyr dyshonoure / he hyd yt as mych as he myght. And in lyke maner do many other writers, which I passe ouer. And so Gaufride for he was a Bryton, he shewed the beste for Brytons.

Then yt foloweth, after the solem­nysacyon of this maryage, whyche was with all honour finyshed: Claudius sente certayne legyons of his knyghtes into Irlande to rule that countre, and retourned hym selfe to Rome.

THE .LVI. CHAPITER.

IT was not longe after the de­partynge of Claudius: but y ^t Aruiragus rode aboute his realme, and wyth great dylygence repayred cytyes and townes before decayed & broken wyth the strength of the Ro­maynes / and entreated his subiectes [Page XX] wyth suche iustyce and good order, that they loued and drad hym more then any of his progenitours. This in tracte of tyme made hym welthy. And by meane of this welthynes en­sued pryde / so y ^t hym thought great shame to be vnder the rule or guy­dynge of y ^e Romayns / wherfore lastly he denyed the tribute before graū ­ted. wherof when knowlege came vnto y ^e senate of Rome: in all hast was sent a duke of Rome called Uespa­syan, wyth a certayne of legyons to subdue Aruiragus.

ye shall vnderstand, that a legyon of knyghtes, is .vi. thousande .vi. hundred .lxvi.

when Uespasyan was landed in Brytayne, as testyfyeth Polycroni­ca / he spedde hym so, that in shorte whyle he subdued Aruiragus to the empyre, and causyd hym to graunte payment of the foresayde trybute. which was done, as sayth Gaufride by entreatye of the quene Gennissa, and of no constraynt nor coaccyon.

when Uespasyan hadde thus recoueryd the trybute, he then also made subiecte to the empyre / an yle in the see lyenge vpon the southsyde of Britayne, now called the yle of weyght, and after retourned to Rome.

when Aruiragus was thus se­condely brought vnder the yocke of y ^e Romayns: he became more mylde towarde them / so that whyle he ly­ued after he payed hys trybute wyth lesse grudge, and contynued hym in theyr fauours, in suche wyse that he was of theym well beloued. And so lastely dyed when he hadde ruled the Brytōs well and nobly by the terme of .xxx. yeres / and was buryed at Caerglon̄, Caerleon̄, Claudiocestria, or Glouceter / leuynge after hym a sonne named Marius ⸫

THE .LVII. CHAPITER.

MArius the sonne of Aruiragꝰ was ordeyned kynge of Brytons, in the yere of our lorde .lxxiiii. This in the cronycle of Englande is named westmer. whych Marius, as wytnessyth Gaufryde, was an excel­lent wyse man / and guyded his Brytons moste honourably, and in grete prosperyte and welthe. In the tyme of the reygne of this Mariꝰ a duke or kynge of a nacyon called Pyctes / whych as wytnessyth Uirgilius, are descendyd of a people called of olde tymes Scythis. They also are na­med Gothis or Hunys. This fore­sayde leder of Pictes is named of Gaufryde Londricus / the which landed wyth a great nauy, in the pro­uynce of Albania now called Scot­lande / and yt beganne to waste with iron and wyth fyre. wherof whē Marius was warned / he in all haste as­sembled his knyghtes, and made to­warde his enymyes / and gaue vnto them stronge batayll. In the whych Lōdricus or after some Rodicꝰ was slayne, and a great parte of his peo­ple were slayne. In remembraunce of whyche vyctorye, kynge Marius lette arrere a great stone / and in this he commaunded to be grauen Ma­rii victoria, whych is to meane the victorye of Marius.

wyllyam of Malmesburye sayth, that this stone was arered in mynde of Marius the consull of Rome.

The englyshe cronycle sayth, that this batayll was foughtē in a place, the whyche now is called Stanys­more. But where so this stone is set / the countre there aboute was longe after called westmaria, and nowe westmerlande.

Then yt foloweth in the story, that [Page] when the resydue of the people of Lodricus, whyche were fledde from the felde, vnderstode that theyr hedde & captayne was slayne: they made hū ­ble request vnto y ^e kynge, y ^t he wolde accepte thē vnto his grace / and that he wold graunt to theym some lande and countre to dwell in. whych graū ted vnto thē a place in the ferre ende of Scotlande, whyche is named of myne authoure Cathenesia, where the sayd Scythis or Pictes fyrst in­habyted them. And for so myche as the Brytons dysdayned to gyue vn­to thē theyr doughters in maryage: therfore they acqueynted them wyth the Iryshe men, and maryed theyr doughters, and grewe in proces in­to a great people. And for this ally­aunce attwene the Iryshe and them: theyr countre, as wytnessyth Poli­cronycon y ^e .xxxvii. chapyter of hys fyrste boke, was called Irlande, and after Pictauia, & lastely Scotlande.

And when Marius had thus sub­dued his enemyes / he attendyd and sette his mynde to the common wele of this lande and subiectes / and contynued y ^e resydue of his lyfe in great tranquillite and reste. And so lastely payde his naturall tribute, & was buryed at Caerleyll, leuyng after hym a sonne named Coillꝰ or Coyll, whē he hadde reygned after moste wry­ters .lii. yeres.

THE .LVIII. CHAPITER.

COyllus the sonne of Marius was after the deth of his fa­ther made kynge of Brytons, in the yere of oure lordes incarnacyon a hū dred and .xxvi. This was from hys infancy noryshed and brought vppe amonge the Romaynes in Italia or Rome / by reason wherof he was to theym louynge and kynde, and they vnto hym. And he, for so myche as he knewe the power of the Romayns great / in auoydyng of warre & other daunger, payde vnto them the fore­sayde trybute duryng his lyfe. This Coillus also, as wytnessyth Gau­fryde, was a lyberall man of gyftes / by reason wherof he obteyned great loue of his nobles, and also of his cō mons. And as some authours haue: this Coyll made the towne of Col­chester / whych at this daye is a fayre town in the shyre of Essex. But other ascrybe yt to Coell or Coill, that was kynge nexte after Asclepeodotus.

But when this Coillus hadde rey­gned in soueraygne peace by y ^e terme of .liiii. yeres, he dyed and was bu­ryed at Caerbrank or yorke / & lefte after hym a sonne, the whyche was named Lucius or Lucy.

THE .LIX. CHAPITER.

LUcius or Lucy the sonne of Coillus, was made kynge of Brytons, in the yere of oure lorde a hundred and .lxxx. The whych in all actes and dedes of goodnes folowed his forefaders / in suche wyse that he of all men was beloued and drad. Of this is litell or none acte notable put in memorye / excepte that all wryters agree, that this Lucius sent to Eleutherius then pope of Rome certayne pystles or letters, prayeng hym that he & his Britons myght be receyued to the fayth of Crystes chyrche. wherof the pope beynge very ioyous and gladde / sente into Brytayne two noble clerkes named Faganus and Dunianus: or after some, Fuga­cius and Dimianus. These two good and vertuous clerkes were honourably receyued of Lucius / the whych by theyr good doctryne and vertuous examples gyuynge, cōuertyd the kynge and a great parte of the Brytons.

But for so myche authours & wry­ters [Page XXI] wryte dyuersly of y ^e tyme of this receyuynge of the fayth by Lucius / so that the one varyeth greatly from the other: therfore I haue shewed in the forenamed table, that yt shall vnder correccyon appere, y ^t the fayth was receyued by Lucius, as affer­meth Petrus Pictauiens. the .viii. yere of the reygne of the sayde Lucius. And y ^t yere after Cristes incarnacion a hundred & .lxxxviii. The whych Lucye after the fayth thus by hym receyued, by the aduyce of the foresayde clerkes, and wyth the instruccyons sent to theym by the foresayde pope Eleuthery: instituted and ordeyned, that all or the more partye of Arche­flamynys and flamynys / whyche is to meane archbysshoppes and bys­shoppes of the pagan lawe, whyche at that daye were in nomber, as wytnessyth Gaufryde and other .iii. of the archeflamynys, and .xxviii. of the flamynys / were made and ordeyned archebyshoppes & byshoppes of y ^e chyrch of Criste, as after foloweth.

Archeflamynys byshop­pes constytuted. THE .LX. CHAPITER.

THe fyrste of the archeflamy­nys see, rule, or iurysdyccyō / was as wytnessyth Gaufride & Policronica, at London, the seconde at yorke, and the thyrde at Caerurst or Kaerglon̄ or Glouceter. To these .iii. archbyshopes were subiecte the foresayd .xxviii. flamynys or byshoppes. To the archebyshoppes see of Lon­don was subiecte Cornewayll and all myddel England vnto Humber. To the archebyshoppes see of yorke was subiecte all Northumberlande, from the bowe of Humber, wyth all Scotlande. And to the thyrde arch­byshoppes see, whych was at Glowceter, was subiecte all walys. In whych prouynce of walys were .vii. byshoppes, where as now ben but iiii. And at y ^e daye Seuarū departed Brytayne and Cambria or walys. But in the tyme of Saxons, after they had the rule of the lande of Brytayne, as testyfyeth wylhelmus de Pontific, all be yt that saynt Grego­ry had graunted vnto London pry­uylege of that archbishoppes see: neuerthelesse saynt Austayn, the which wyth other was sent into Englande by the foresayde Gregorye, tourned the archebyshoppes see out of Lon­don into Caunterbury, after the deth of saint Gregory, by meanes of prayer of kyng Egbert or Ethelbert, and other cytyzeyns & burgesys of Caunterbury / where yt hath contynued to this daye / except that for the tyme of Offa kynge of Mercia or Merche­ryk, for dyspleasure that he hadde to the cytezeyns of Caunterburye by­nāme and toke from theym that dy­gnyte / and worshypped Adulphe bysshop of Lychefelde wyth the pall of Caunterbury by the assent of Adry­an the fyrste of that name then pope. Neuerthelesse in the tyme of Kenul­phus, whyche not longe after was kynge of the sayde Mercia or Mer­cheryk / yt was agayne restoryd to Caunterbury.

The worshyp of y ^e see of yorke hath endured there alwaye and yet dothe, though Scotland be withdrawē frō his subieccyon. The archbyshoppes see of Caerglon̄ or Glowceter, was tourned frō thēs to Menenia, whych is in y ^e west syde of Demecia vppon the Iryshe see, whiche now is called saynt Dauids lande. In this pro­uynce from the dayes of saynt Da­uid, vnto the dayes of Sampson bysshop / sat .xxiii. byshoppes. But in the sayde Sampsons dayes then arche­byshop, fyll such mortalyte thorowe [Page] walys of the yelowe euyll called the Iaundyes / that myche people therof dyed. wherfore the sayde Sampson toke wyth hym the pall, & sayled in­to Armorita or lytell Brytayne / and was there bysshoppe of Dolence or Dolences. And from that tyme vnto the fyrst Henry [...]s tyme kyng of En­glande / hadde sytten at Menenia or saynte Dauids .xxi. byshoppes, and all wythoute pall. But whether yt were for lacke of connynge, or ellys for pouerty, it is not asserteyned. Neuerthelesse alwaye from the tyme of the sayde Sampson vnto the fore­sayde Henry the fyrste tyme / all the byshoppes of wales were sacred of y ^e byshoppe of Menenia or saynte Da­uids. And the archebyshop of Menenia was at all tymes sacred of y ^e bys­shoppes of walys, as of his suffra­gans, and made no profession nor obieccyon to any other chyrche. But after these dayes other byshoppes y ^t sat there / were compelled to be sacred at Canterbury. In token of whyche subieccyon Bonyface archbyshoppe of Caūterbury, & legate of the crosse / sange in euery cathedrall chyrche of walys a solemne masse, whyche was done by the sayde Boniface in the tyme of Henry the seconde beynge kynge of Englande.

But now ye shall vnderstāde there ben but two prymates or archbys­shoppes in all Englande and walys. That one ys at Caunterburye, and that other is at yorke. To the pry­mate of Caunterburye ben subiecte xiii. byshoppes in England, and .iiii. in walys. And the prymate of yorke hath but two suffragans in Englād, which be the byshoppes of Caerleyll and Durham.

And who so wyll be further instructe of the order and chaūges of bysshop­pes see of Englande lette hym rede ouer the .lii.liii.lv.lvi. and lvii. chapyters of the fyrste boke of Polycronycon / or a ꝑte of holy Bedys work, whyche he compyled of the same mater called historia Anglicana: and there he shall haue euery thyng sette out clerely and truely.

And for to contynewe my processe of Lucius as wytnessyth myne au­thoure Gaufride / when he hadde, as before ys sayde stablyssyd & orderyd the foresayde archeflamyns and fla­myns / and that they were also con­fermed of the pope: he then endowed them wyth such landes and possessy­ons, as before tyme were occupyed or gyuen to the maynteynynge and vpholdynge of the pagan rytes and lawe vsyd before tyme. And the temples of idollys thorough his land he causyd to be dedycate to Iesu Criste and his sayntes / & honoured them wyth myche great and large gyftes. And when he had done, after moste accorde of wryters by y ^e terme of .xii. yeres: he dyed and was buryed in y ^e cytye of Claudiocestre or Glouceter without heyre of his body / the which after grewe to great damage of the Brytons, as after shalbe shewed.

Of this Lucius yt is shewed in a table hangynge vpon the wall of the north syde of the yle, in the backe of the quere of saynte Paules chyrche in London / that the sayde Lucius reygned ouer the Brytons .lxxvii. yeres. And ouer that the authoure of cronica cronicarum testyfyeth, that after Lucius had receyued the fayth, he assembled a great hoste of Bry­tons and sayled ouer into Gallia or Fraunce / and thens into other countres passynge by Becia and the cytye called Augusta / & there subdued many of the enymyes of Crystes fayth / where after many vertuouse dedys he restyd in good peace. And his su­ster called Emerita, as sayth the said authour, was also martyred for Cristes [Page XXII] sake. But of this sayeng & other the doute is assoyled in the foresayde table in y ^e begynnyng of this worke / where yt shall apere, that he reygned but .xii. yeres, as aboue is shewed.

And for so myche as in this Luciꝰ endeth for a tyme the lyne of Britōs, and the lande after this daye was ruled some dele by the Romayns: therfore I will here ende the thyrd parte of this worke. And for y ^e good spede I haue hyderto had / and to the ende to inpetre the more grace in accom­plyshyng y ^e other dele of this worke: I here salute our moste blessyd lady wyth the thyrd ioye of the foresayde vii. ioyes, whyche begynneth.

This thyrde parte to be accompted from the ende of the .ix. yere of Cassibellan, to the laste yere of Lucius, includeth of yeres two hūdred & .xli.

TRouth yt is, as affermyn all wryters / that after the deth of the forenamed Luciꝰ, for so mych as of his body remayned non heyre: the Brytons amonge them selfe fyll at great dystaunce and warre. The whyche warre and trouble endured to the greate dystourbaunce of the lande. But howe longe, the certayne is not sette out by any wryter that I haue seen / excepte the englyshe cro­nycle sayth, that yt endured .l. yeres. The whych sayeng vnder correccyō can not stande wyth the concordaūce of other writers / as yt is more playnly declared in the foresayde table. where also yt shall appere, that the sayde dyscorde amonge the Britons contynued but onely .xv. yeres.

After whyche terme of .xv. yeres expyred, as after more clerely shall be shewed: Seuerus beynge thē emperour of Rome, beganne his domynyon ouer this lande of Brytayne. So that ye shall nowe vnderstande that y ^e laste yere of this discorde was the yere of our lorde two hundred & vii. By reason wherof yt foloweth, that the sayde .xv. yeres ioyned vnto the foresayde thyrde parte: that the thyrde part cōteyneth and includeth of yeres .ii. hundred and .lvi.

THE .LXI. CHAPITER.

SEuerꝰ a Romayn at this daye emperour of Rome / begane to rule this lande of Brytayn in the yere of our lordes incarnacyon .ii. hūdred and viii. The whych as wytnesseth Gaufryde, was before tyme sent from the senate of Rome with two legyons of knyghtes into Brytayne, to appease the warre and stryfe amonge them / and also for to wythstāde the Pictes and other enymyes, whych dayly inuaded the land. For dyuers wryters agree, that this Seuerꝰ was made emperoure, the yere of Crystes incarnacyon a hūdred .lxxx. and .xv / and ruled the sayd empyre after the most wryters .xvi. yeres. By whych rule yt shuld appere that he shuld be takē for gouernour of this realme of Brytayne, the .xii. yere of his empyre.

[Page]It is sayde of this man, that after he had subdued the Parthis and the Arabis, he was named Particus / & was sent, as before is sayde, of the senate of Rome into Brytayne / where he causyd to be made at the coste of the commoute, a walle of turues and great stakes of the length, as wytnes syth Policronica of a hundred & .xii. myles / as in the .xviii. chapyter of his .iiii. boke apperyth. This wall after the exposycyon of the sayde Polycronica, began at the ryuer of Tyne, and enduryd to the Scottyshe see / or from the ende of the lordshyp of Deira, vnto the sayde Scottyshe see / or after some wryters from Durham, to the see beforesayde.

Then yt foloweth, the Pictes with theyr leder Fulgenius / issued from Albany or Scotlande into the lande of Brytayne / and destroyed myche of y ^e coūtre beyonde Durham. wher­fore this Seuerus with and hoste of Brytons and of Romaynes mette wyth the sayde Fulgenius in a place nere vnto yorke, where after sore fyght the sayd Seuerus was slayn / when he hadde ruled this lande after moste concordaunce of wryters by y ^e terme of .v. yeres / and was after buryed at yorke, leuynge behynde hym two sonnes, that one named Geta, and that other Bassianus.

THE .LXII. CHAPITER.

BAssianus the sonne of Seue­rus and of the moders syde a Bryton / beganne to rule this lande of Britayne in the yere of Cirstes in­carnacyon two hundred and .xii. Of this man spekyth nothynge the en­glyshe cronycle. But trouth yt is, as wytnessyth Gaufride and other, that after / y ^e deth of Seuerꝰ stryfe arose betwene the Brytons & the Romay­nes, then beynge wythin the land of Brytayne. For the commons helde for theyr kynge Bassianus, for so myche as he was borne of a Bryton woman. And vpon that other party in lyke maner the Romayns alowed Geta for theyr kyng, because he was descended of a Romayne. And as far ther affermeth the forenamed Gau­fryde / for this dyscencyon a batayll was hadde betwene the sayd two bretherne / in y ^e whych Geta was slayn, and Bassianus remayned for kynge of all the lande.

But frō this sayeng varyeth greatly Eutropius, and other that wryte of the cronycles of Rome. For by thē yt is witnessed, that Geta was slayn at a cytye named Edessa, when he faught agayne the Parthiens / and Bassianus succedyd his fader in the dignyte of emperoure / which as in y ^e sayde cronycle of Rome is testyfyed, was also called Marcus Aurelius Antonnius and Caracalla a man of ryght euyll condycyon, and vnrea­sonable of lechery, so y ^t he laye by his stepdame named Iuliana and wed­dyd her, and dyd other many cruell dedys / and lastely he was slayne at the forenamed cytye of Edessa, when he had ben emperour vpō .vii. yeres.

In the tyme that Bassianus was thus kynge of Brytayne, one named Carassius a Bryton of lowe byrthe, but valyant and hardy in mercyall dedys: purchaced of the senate of Rome the kepynge of y ^e costes of Brytayne, and to wythstāde the malyce of straungers, as Pictes and other. By meane of this, Carassius drewe vnto hym many knyghtes, & specy­ally of the Brytons / promysynge to them, y ^t if they wold make hym kyng he wolde clerely delyuer them from all seruytude of y ^e Romaynes. where thorough y ^e Britons (as wytnessyth Gaufryde) rebelled agayne Bassianus / and wyth theyr duke and leder Carassius, arreryd agayne hym dedely [Page XXIII] warre. By meane wherof Bassia­nus was slayne, when he hadde ru­led this land by moste concordaunce vi. yeres.

THE .LXIII. CHAPITER.

CArassius a Briton of vnkno­wen byrth was of the Brytōs made ruler, in the yere of our lord .ii. hundred and .xviii. the whych as be­fore is touched, was by the senate of Rome deputed for a substytute or a ruler vnder the Romaynes, as yt is shewed in theyr cronycles, in the ab­sence, or whyle Bassianus then em­perour of Rome and kynge of Bry­tayne, was occupyed aboute the ne­des of the empyre. This Carassius for that he was not of power to withstande the Pictes / or for the fauoure that he bare towarde thē for aydyng hym agayne the Romayns: he gaue to them the countre of Albania, that now is called Scotlande.

But ye shall vnderstande, y ^t here is not ment all Scotlande. For as wytnessyth Policronica / this parte y ^t was gyuē thus to the Pictes, was the south parte of Albania, and be­ganne at Twede, and enduryd to the Scottysh see. Of the kynde of those Pictes is somwhat shewed before in the story of Marius / but more after shall be shewed of them in conueniēt place, bothe of theyr ofsprynge and maners.

Then yt foloweth in the story, whē the Romaynes hadde knolege of the deth of Bassianus / anon they sent a duke frō Rome named Alectus with iii. legyons of knyghtes, for to slee Carassius, and to subdue the Bry­tons to the empyre. To the whyche Alectus fortune was so fauourable, that he chased Carassius, and lastely slew hym / when he hadde ruled the Brytons by most accorde of wryters viii. yeres.

But Iacobus Philippꝰ authour of a boke named Supplementū cro­nicarum sayth, that in the tyme that Maximianus or Maxymyan sur­named Herculeus, and Dioclecyan Dalmatheus were emperoures of Rome: they harde that this Carassiꝰ had taken vpon hym to were y ^e pur­pure that onely was reserued to emperours / & also y ^t he ruled the realm of Brytayne as to his synguler vse / and furthermore were credybly en­fourmed, that Narsetꝰ an other substytute hadde or occupyed the eest lā des wyth cruell batayll / and other prynces the great coūtre of Affrica / and many other also by the instyga­cyon and leuyng of one named Achilleus hadde subdued the countre of Grece. For whych sayde nouellys & tydynges / these two emperours, to the ende to refourme all these sayde rebellyons, chase vnto them two no­ble men / of the whyche that one was named Galerius, and that other Cō stancius, as cesars or felowes to rule the empyre. And y ^t done / the sayd .ii. cesars were sent with great powers, that one īto Affrica, and y ^e other into Egypte. This forenamed Maximyan came wyth great power of peo­ple into Britayne, and ouercame the sayde Carassius more by gyle then by strength / when the sayde Caras­sius had ruled the Brytons, as sayth the forenamed authour Iacobꝰ Philippus, by the terme of .x. yeres.

In the whyche sayeng appereth errour, for dyuersytie of tyme and yeres. For after moste accorde of wry­ters / and also by the affyrmacyon of the sayde Iacobus Philippus, the sayde emperoures Dioclesian & Maxymyan, ruled the empyre of Ro­me aboute the yere of Crystes incar­nacyon two hundred and .lxxxx. And this Carassiꝰ was ruler in Britayne long before, as in the tyme of Bassianus [Page] emperour of Rome, y ^e reygned aboute the yere of our lorde two hundred & .xiii. as testyfyeth Polycro­con and other.

Also a boke in frenche called la Mere de hystoryes, whyche maye be en­glyshed y ^e Moder of hystoryes, sayth that this Carassius was fyrste a treasourer or such a hygh offycer amōge the Romayns. By reason wherof he sought great abundaunce of ryches, and fyll by reason therof in fauoure of the senatours of Rome / so that fynally he was made senatour, and became a man of great authorytye / in so myche that Bassianus then empe­roure made hym protector of the cy­tye and countre of Alexandrye. But then he was supprysyd wyth suche pryde, that he exercysed tyranny and other vnlefull meanes, in so exce­dynge maner that the countre waxed wery of him, and conspired his deth. wherfore after punyshemēt done vpon some of his enymyes / he feryng the sequell and reuengement of the same: left that countre and retour­ned vnto Rome / where after he had a season restyd, he was by the senate of Rome assygned for his sternesse vnto the rule of Brytayne, wyth the ayde of .iii. legyōs of knyghtes. And so beynge garnyshed wyth all abyly mentes of warre, entred this yle of Brytayne / and wyth great trauayle subdued them to the empyre / and so contynued the lyues tyme of the em­perour Bassianus.

But so sone as he was assertayned that y ^e emperour was slayne at Edessa, as before in the story of Bassianꝰ is shewed / thynkynge that amonge the Romaynes shuld growe stryfe & dyssencyon for the electyon of a new emperour / by reason of whych stryfe he myght the rather lyue so farre frō them wythout any correctyon: con­federyd wyth the Scottes and cer­tayne other of the Britons / and slew many of the Romaynes, suche of thē as he thought wolde not consent to his treason / and by that meane fy­nally was made kynge of Brytayne. And so contynued, as affermeth the sayde authour to accompte from his fyrst hauyng rule vnder the Romaynes, vnto the tyme y ^t he was slayne of Alectus .viii. yeres, not wythout exercysynge of his olde accustomed tyrannyes and other vnsyttynge condycyons.

THE .LXIIII. CHAPITER.

ALectus a duke or consull of Rome, sent as before is sayd from the senate / begāne to rule the Brytons, in the yere of our lorde .ii. hundred & .xxvi. This in the englysh cronycle is named Allec. whych whē he had restoryd the lande to the sub­ieccyon of Rome / he thē pursued certayne of the Brytōs, that had fauoured Carassiꝰ agayne the Romayns. And in that doynge vsed and exercysyd many tyrannyes and exaccyons / by reason wherof he fyll in greate grudge of y ^e Brytons. wherfore they entendynge to oppresse and subdue the power of the Romaynes / purchasyd and excyted a noble man of y ^e Britons called Asclepiodotus and duke of Cornewayle. The whyche gathe­ryd a great hoste of the Brytons, and made warre vppon the Romaynes, and chasyd them from coūtre to coū ­tre, & from towne to towne / and last­ly Alectus wyth his Romayns drew hym to London, and there kept hym for his most suertye. wherof beynge warned Asclepiodotus: he with his Brytons came nere vnto the sayde cytye / where by meanes of prouoca­cyon on eyther partye vsed, lastely y ^e Romaynes issued oute of the cytye & gaue batayll to the Brytons. In the [Page XXIIII] which fyght many fyll on eyther partye / but y ^e more on the party of y ^e Ro­maynes / amonge the whyche was also slayne Alectꝰ. wherfore a captayn of the Romaynes called Liuius Gallus, aduertysynge this myschyef, & the great daūger that the Romayns were in: drewe backe into the cytye with the Romaynes that were lefte on lyue, and defendyd yt wyth theyr powers.

Thus then appereth, that Alectus was slayne of the Brytons / whyche was by most accorde of writers whē he had ruled this lande vnder y ^e Ro­maynes by the terme of .vi. yere.

THE .LXV. CHAPITER.

ASclepiodotus duke of Cor­newayle, as sayth Gaufryde (but after the sayeng of Eutropius and Beda, he was presydente of the Pretory of Rome) began his domy­nyon ouer the Brytons, in the yere of our lorde two hundred and .xxxii. The whych as before is sayde, wyth his Brytons gyrt the cytye of Lon­don wyth a stronge syege / and kepte the forsayde Liuius Gallus and his Romayns in streyte holde / & finally, as affermyth myne authour Gaufride, with knyghtly force & violēce en­tred the sayde cytye, and slewe y ^e forenamyd Liuius Gallus nere vnto a broke there at that daye rynnynge, and hym threwe into the sayd broke. By reason wherof long after yt was called Gallus or wallus broke. And at this day y ^e strete where some tyme ranne the sayde broke, is nowe called walbroke. And after he hadde thus venquyshed the Romayns: he helde this lande a certayn of tyme in peasyble wyse, and ruled the Brytōs wyth good iustyce / in rewardynge & exaltynge the good men, and punysshynge of the euyll.

In this whyle by styrynge of dys­claunderous & dyuylyshe persons / a grudge was arreryd attwene the kynge and a duke of his land called Coill or Coillus, the whyche was duke or erle of Kaercolym or Colchester / wherof the cause is not appa­raunt. But how it was, great people were assembled on both parties / and fynally mette in the feld, where was faughtē a great and stronge batayll. In the whyche Asclepiodotus was slayne / when he had reygned to the concordaunce of other histories, and after the affermaunce of the olde cronycle by the space of .xxx. yeres.

THE .LXVI. CHAPITER.

COelus erle of Colchester be­gan hys domynyon ouer the Brytons, in the yere of the incarna­cyon of Cryste .ii. hoūdred .lxii. This in the englyshe boke is called Coyll / the whiche guyded the lande to the pleasure of the Brytons a certayne tyme. But as wytnesseth Gaufryde, when the senate of Rome had vnder standynge of the deth of Asclepiodotus, they were ioyous of the deth of hym, for so myche as he hadde euer ben an enemye to y ^e empyre. But for so mych as at that dayes was great dyssencyon amonge them selfe, as wytnesseth y ^e cronycle of Rome: they coude not conuenyently sende any armye of knyghtes for to warre vp­pon this Coelus. wherfore he conty­nued y ^e longer in reste & good peas. After the cronycle regestred within the monastery of saynt Alboon / the sayd holy martyr suffered his passyō in the yere of our lorde .ii. houndred lxxx. & .vi / whych shulde be the .xxiiii. yere of this present kynge. But thys dyscordeth from suche wryters, as affermen the holy man to be martyred in the .x. persecucyon vnder Diocle­sian and Maximian emperours.

Neuerthelesse at length was sente [Page] from y ^e senate a noble wyse man cal­led Constancius / the whiche as affermeth the forenamed auctour, had before tyme subdued to the empyre a great part of the coūtre of Spayne. But that sayenge dysagreeth to the wrytynge of Eutropius. For the coū tre of Spayne was not subdued by hym tyll after y ^t he was emperour.

Than it foloweth, whan this Constancius was arryued in Brytayne with his army / anone Coelus assembled his Brytons. But for he dredyd the strength and fame of thys Con­stācius, he sent to hym an enbassad, affyrmynge vnto hym cōdycyons of peace, wyth graunte of paymentes of the trybute, whych before was denyed / or ellys as meaneth Polycro­ni [...]a, wythin a moneth after the lan­dynge of this Constancius, Coelus was dede. wherfore the Brytons to haue the more peace / wyllyd this knyghte to take to wyfe Heleyn the doughter of Coelus, wyth the possessyon of the lande of Britayne / which by hym was graunted. Then as be­fore is sayde, Coelus dyed, when he had ruled the Brytons after most accorde of wryters .xxvii. yeres.

THE .LXVII. CHAPITER.

COnstancius a senatoure of Rome, as sayth Policronica / beganne to rule the Brytons in the yere of oure lorde two hundred .lxxx. and .ix. This as before is shewed maryed Heleyn the doughter of Coelus last kyng of Brytayne. But ye shall vnderstande, that this Constancius was fyrste maryed vnto Theodora the stepdoughter of Herculeus Ma­ximianꝰ / and had by her syx sonnes. So that this Heleyn was his secōde wyfe, whyche was fayrest of all maydens, and therewyth lerned, and suffycyenly lettred. She is also noted of many writers to be a captyue or a prysoner to the Romaynes.

Of this Constantius lytell memorye is lefte in the bretyshe or englishe cronycles / excepte that he receyued of the foresayde Heleyn a sonne na­med Constantinus / the whyche after for his knyghtly & marcyall dedys, was called Constantyne the great.

But for the noble dedys of so vy­ctoryous a duke shuld not be hydde, as was this Cōstantius: therfore I shall now folowe the story of Rome, whych sayth, that for so myche as in the tyme of Dioclesianus and Ma­ximianus beynge emperours, many coūtres rebellyd agayne the empyre: therfore the sayde emperoures ad­myttyd this Constantius, and one Galerius as cesars, whych was a dignyte next of authoryte to the empe­rours. And so y ^e empyre was at those dayes guyded by two emperours, & by two cesars. This Constātius, as wytnessyth Policronica made sub­iecte to the empyre the Almaynes, & slewe of theym in one daye .lx. thou­sande. And after other many vycto­ryous dedys, when the sayde .ii. em­perours had of theyr free wylles re­sygned and gyuen ouer all imperiall dygnyte: thys sayde Constantius with his forenamed felowe Galeriꝰ, were made emperours / y ^t is to wytte Galerius was emperour of all Iliricum, whyche now is named Grecia or Grece wyth all the eest lādes, and Cōstantiꝰ hadde to hym all the west landes. But he helde hym contente wyth Gallia or Fraunce, & Spayne with Britayn / & graunted Italia vnto Galerius afore sayd. Then he subdued the countre of Spayne, as be­fore is touched in the storye of Coe­lus, and a parte of Gallia / and after soiourned and abode in this lande of Brytayne in guydynge & rulynge the same wyth great sobernesse, and ordeyned his sonne gotten vpon Helayne [Page XXV] to rule Gallia and Spayne.

But for to make this story more apparant & open to y ^e readers, and al­so to y ^e herers: it is here to be noted, that Dioclesianus or Dioclesian beganne his empyre ouer the Romay­nes after moste wryters, in the ye­re of our lorde two hundred .lxxx. and .vii. and he was emperour .xx. yeres. And this Cōstantius was sent into Brytayne from the senate as before is sayde, in the seconde yere of y ^e sayde Dioclesian, or the yere of oure lorde two hundred .lxxx. and .ix.

whyche Constancius after he had in due maner spedde the nedes of the empyre, as in subduynge this land of Brytayne, as before is sayde: he retourned agayn to Rome / where he was shortely after made cesar, and so contynued his lyfe, as before ys touchyd.

And in the tyme of his beyng thus cesar and rule [...] of Brytayne vnder y ^e emperour, the blessyd and holy pro­thomartyr, of Brytayn saynt Alboon at Uerolan was martyred / in the .x. persecucyon of the chyrche, as wyt­nessyth Policronicon. whyche persecucyon beganne, as testyfye Eusebiꝰ and Beda, the .xviii. yere of the forenamed emperours Dioclesian & Maximyan, and endured .x. yeres / that is to say in y ^e eest vnder Dioclesian / and in the weste vnder Ma [...]yan. The whyche was so sharpe and fer­uent, that wythin y ^e space of one moneth, in dyuers places of the worlde were .xvii. thousande holy men and women martyred for Crystes fayth. And when the sayde emperours left or resygned theyr imperyall dygny­tye, and [...]adde a pryuate lyfe: this sayde Constancius wyth his felowe Galerius, departyd the empyre be­twene them, as before is touched / so that he reygned as ruler of Brytayn by the terme of .xvii. yeres and more or he were emperoure. And after as emperour of the weste partye of the empyre▪ and kynge of Brytayn .xii. yeres and more. And so in all y ^e sayd Cōstantius reygned ouer Brytayne xxx. yeres. And lastely dyed and was buryed at yorke, leuyng after hym y ^e foresayd son called Cōstantinꝰ without mo that any mēcyon is made of.

THE .LXVIII. CHAPITER.

COnstantinus the sonne of Cō stancius, and of Heleyne doughter of kynge Coelus, in the yere of our lord .iii. hūdred & .xix. was made kynge of Brytayne. Antoninus archbyshop of Florence, & wryter of hystoryes, sheweth in the fyrst chapiter of the .ix. tytle of his worke called S [...] Antonini / that this Cōstantine was made emperour, or beganne to rule the empyre, in the yere of our lordes incarnacyon .iii. hundred and .ix. which sayeng also affermeth Uyncēt historyall and other authours / wherof the cause is y ^t the sayde authours accōpt not the yeres of the reygne of Constancius, but folow the accōpte of Galerius felowe of Constancius / whych reygned as emperour but .iii. yeres. After the which rule yt muste nedis folowe, that this Constantyne began his empyre, as the sayd Antoninus wytnessyth / and folowynge y ^e other accompt yt shulde varye.

Then to pursue or contynue y ^e sto­rye of this Constantyne / yt foloweth y ^t at the tyme of the decease of Con­stancius his fader, he was occupyed in warres in Gallia & those ꝑties. After whose deth he by a certayn terme ruled Brytayne, & the other landes, the whyche his fader before helde in due maner. And all be yt y ^t at y ^e daye he was a mysereant & pagan: yet he vsed no tyrannyes, nor compelled not the Brytons to refuse the lawe, and to worshyppe idollys, as other [Page] tyrauntes at those dayes vsed. In this whyle that Constantyne ruled thus the weste parte of this empyre / one Maxentius whych was the son of Herculeus Maximianꝰ, somtyme felowe in the empyre with Dioclesi­an as before is shewed / was of the knyghtes of the pretory declared emperour. This Maxentius was there worste of all men. And as testyfyeth Eusebius & other / he fyrst began mekely, to wynne therby loue & fauour. But when he was stablysshed in au­thorite / he exercysed all tyrāny, & pursued all crystyens wyth all kynde of torment. Also he expulsed and putte out from Rome & all honour hys fa­der Herculeꝰ Maximianꝰ, y ^t entēdyd agayne to haue ben emperour. Of y ^e tyranny of this Maxētius when Cō stantyne had wyttyng: he assembled a great hoste of Brytons and Gal­lis, for to oppresse the malyce of the sayde Maxentius.

And for to rule and guyde this lād of Brytane in his absence, he depu­ted and ordeyned a mā of myght called Octauius / the whych Polycronica nameth duke of Iewessis, that after were named west Saxons. And when the sayde Constantyne had all peparyd for his voyage: he betoke the lande of Brytayne vnto the sayd Octauius, and after spedde hym vppon his iourney. And as he was to­warde his sayde iourney, he sawe in his slepe the sygne of the crosse shy­nynge in the fyrmament, as yt hadde ben a brennyng lyght of fyre / and an aungell standynge therby and say­enge: Constantyne toicanata / which is to meane, Constantyne by this token thou shalte wynne vyctorye. when he awoke, he called this vysy­on to mynde, and tolde vnto his se­cretes / by whose counsayll he com­maunded the sygne of the crosse to be peynted and set in his baners and penons, and all his knyghtes.

THE .LXIX. CHAPITER.

WHen Constantyne had thus or­deyned the sygne of the crosse: he spedde hym forth towarde y ^e sayd tyrante Maxentius / and mette with hym at a brydge called Ponte Mil­uium. where after lōge fyght, he chasyd the sayd Maxentius / & him with a great parte of his hoste drowned in the water of the sayde brydge, when he had reygned as emperour vpō .v. yeres. After which victory thus had: the sayde Constantyne wente vnto Rome / where he was receyued of y ^e senate wyth moste triumphe. And there caused the signe of the crosse to be peynted in the ryght hādes of the images, whyche the senatours of old tyme had areryd in worshyp of theyr vyctoryes. And vnder the feet of the images / he causyd to be wryten: This is the signe and token of the lyuynge god, that maye not be ouer­comen.

Soone after this, Constātyne was conuertyd from his pagan lawe vn­to Crystes fayth, by vertue of y ^e blessed Uernacle as some haue ben / or by the good doctryne of that blessyd pope saint Siluester first of y ^• name / the whyche was made pope in y ^e yere folowynge Crystes incarnacyon .iii. hundred and .xiii. Then Constan­tyne opened the prysons, and des­stroyed the temples of false goddes, and dedycate them in the worshyppe of god and his sayntes. He also ope­ned them that tofore were shytte and kepte close / and causyd dyuyne ser­uyce in them to be sayd, and gaue to the chyrche of Rome fyrste possessy­ons. And also he ordeyned that y ^e bysshoppe of Rome shulde be hedde of all byshoppes, & all other to be obe­dyent vnto hym. He also bare claye [Page XXVI] vppon his shoulders to the founda­cyon of saynt Peters chyrch, as wytnessyth Policronica and other.

Of this fyrste indowement of the chyrch are dyuers thynges shewed, as reherseth Gwaldus Cambrens. saynt Hierom, and other / the whych I ouer passe for lengthynge of tyme of this worke.

And whyle that Constantyne was thus occupyed in Rome: hys moder Heleyne then beyng ferre from hym, and herynge that he was become a Crysten man: sent vnto hym letters of recommendacyon, that he had forsaken the worshyppynge of idollys. But she dyspreysed hym, in that that he worshypped a man that was nayled vppon a crosse. But after receyte of these letters / he wrote answere to his moder, that he shulde suffycyently proue, that he byleued and wor­shypped hym, that was fyrste crea­tour and maker of the worlde. And not onely a man but also god & man, with diuers other poyntes touchyng the fayth, whych I ouerpasse.

For resonynge and profe of thys, was after assygned .vii. score iewes / and Siluester wyth a certayne nomber of crysten clerkes, to dyspute the artycles of Crystes fayth. where af­ter dyuers myracles shewed, & good profe made by holy scrypture: the sayde iewes were confounded / and the sayde Heleyne was conuerted vnto the fayth of Crystes chyrche / and traueyled soon after to Hierusalem, where she by her industrye and la­bour fande oute the holy crosse, with the .iii. nayles that oure lorde was nayled wyth to the same crosse. wherof she lefte there a parte / and the o­ther dele was brought vnto Bizan­cium nowe called Constantyne no­ble. whyche cytye the sayde Constantyne greatly augmentyd wyth ex­cellent buyldynge / and therin also caused to be arcryd a chyrch of mer­uaylous beautye, & named yt So­phia. when the emperour hadde re­ceyued the foresayde parte of the cros wyth the .iii. nayles: he after some authours put two of the sayde nay­les in the brydell of his horse, whych he vsed in batayll. And the thyrde he caste or caused to be caste (as wytnessyth saynt Ambrose) in a swalowe of the see called mare Adriaticū. whych swalowe was before that tyme so peryllous, that vnnethes any shyppe escapyd that daunger / and garnys­shed the crosse wyth many ryche sto­nes freyt wyth golde / and after with great reuerēce conueyde it to Rome, as in dyuerse hystories is declaryd. Then this Cōstantyne remoued the emperyall see vnto his cytye of Con­stantyne the noble / and there for the more partye kepte his emperyall honoure, and other emperours in lyke wyse after hym. By reason wherof the emperours were longe after cal­led emperours of Constantyne no­ble. This man was so myghty & mercyall in his feates and all hys de­dys / that for hys more honoure he had an addycyon putte to his name, and was called for his great myght and power, Constantyne the great. He was also the fyrste crysten empe­roure / and dyd many notable actes for the weale of Crystes fayth. A­monge the whyche seuen are noted by the forenamed Antoninus, in the ix. tytle of y ^e second part of his worke before named: wherof the fyrste was that Cryste shulde be worshypped as god thorough the cyty of Rome.

The seconde was, that who so of Iesu Cryste spake any blasphemy, he shulde be greuously punyshed.

The thyrde was, what persone that dyd any iniurye or wronge to a [Page] Crysten man / he shuld be depryuyd or put to y ^e losse of halfe his goodes. The fourth, that lyke as the empe­rour of Rome is hede of all tēporall prynces: so the byshoppe or pope of Rome is hed of all byshoppes. The fyfte, that what persone fledde to the chyrche for his sauegarde or suerty / that there he shuld be defended from all peryll and daunger. The syxte, that no man shuld presume to buyld any temple or chyrche wythin any cytye or towne, wythout the specyall lycence of his byshoppe. The seuenth, that euery prynce shulde gyue the .x. parte of his possessyons to the buyl­dyng and meynteynyng of chirches.

The whyche lawe he fyrste execu­ted / and after wyth a pykax or mat­toke with his owne hande, brake the groūde where as now standeth saint Peters chyrche. and .xii. cophyns or treys full of erth he bare away vpon his shulders / as wytnessyth the foresayde Antoninus and other.

But after those manyfolde good dedys / he fyll into the heresye called Ariannys heresy. By meane wherof he was so blynded, that he then be­came an enymye to Cristes chyrch, & ꝑsecuted crystē men, & exyled y ^e pope Siluester / or as some meane y ^e sayde Siluester fledde the cyte for fere.

For this as wytnessyth Iacobus Philippus and other wryters / this Constantyne was smyten wyth the euyll of lepry. For curynge wherof iii. thousand chyldren were brought to thēperours paleys to be slayne, y ^t he in the blood of them myght be ba­thed, and so clēsyd of his lepry. But when he saw the childern and the moders sorowyng for them, he was moued wyth pytye, and sayd: the dygnitye of thēpyre cometh of myldnesse. For yt is demyd, that he shuld dye y ^e sleeth a chyld in batayll. Then what crueltye were this to sle so many in­nocentes wylfully? yet better yt were to vs to dye and saue those chylders lyues / then to gette a cruell lyfe by y ^e deth of so many innocentes.

For this myldnesse it is redde that saynt Peter and Poule apperyd to hym the nyght folowynge, warnyng hym to sende agayne for Siluestre y ^e pope, and he shulde be by hym restoryd to perfytte helthe. whyche was done, and he heled as the legende of sayntes bereth wytnesse.

Thus haue I shewed to you a part of the dedys of Constantyne / whych yf I shulde cōtynue the hole processe of his reygne, that endured as em­peroure by the space of .xxx. yeres: I shulde therof make a large volume. But it concernyth nothynge of then­tent of this worke, as touchynge the lande of Brytayne: therfore I woll retourne my style to Octauius from whom I haue made a lōg digressyō.

THE .LXX. CHAPITER.

IN this passetyme whyle Con­stantyne occupyed hym in ne­des of thempyre as aboue is shewed: Octauius beynge lieutenant in the lande of Brytayne vnder Constan­tyne, ruled the lande to the pleasure of the Brytons a certayne of tyme. But when he perceyued that he was in fauoure of them, and that Con­stantyne was farre from hym / cas­tynge also in his mynde, that y ^e sayd Constantyne beyng then emperour, wold or myght not lyghtly retourne into Britayn: he therfore with helpe of his affynyte and frēdes, withstode the Romaynes lefte in Brytayne of Constantyne / and vsurpyd the rule & domynyon of y ^e lande. wherof whē certayntie came to y ^e knowlege of Cō stantyne: he in all hast sent into Brytayne a duke named Trahern̄, the whyche was vncle vnto Heleyne moder of Constantyne. when this Tra­hern̄ was arryued in Brytayne with [Page XXVII] iii. legions of knyghtes: anon Octauius made towarde hym wyth hys Brytons / and wyth hym mette nere the citye, then called Kaerperis, now called Porte chestre or Porchestre / but more verely in a felde nere vnto the cytye of Kaerguent, that now ys called wynchester / whych felde then was named Maesurian. The .ii. ho­stes mette wyth great ire, and fough ten longe whyle. But in y ^e ende Trahern̄ was compelled to forsake the felde / and after drewe wyth his Ro­maynes towarde Albania or Scot­lande. wherof Octauius beyng warned, folowed hym / and in the coun­tre of westmerlande gaue vnto hym the seconde batayll, where then Oc­tauius was chasyd & Trahern̄ was vyctour / the whych pursued Octa­uius so egerly, that he cōpelled hym to forsake the lande of Britayne, and to sayle into the countre of Norway for his sauegarde.

But yt was not longe after, that the sayde Octauius gaderyd a newe people of Brytons & Norways, and was redy to retourne agayn into Britayne. In whych tyme, as testyfyeth myne authour Gaufryde / an erle of Brytayne that entyerly loued Octauius, by treason slewe the sayd Trahern̄ a lytell before the landynge of the sayde Octauius. whyche shortly subdued the Romaynes and y ^e lande to his owne vse. This shuld be after moste concordaunce of wryters, whē Constantyne wyth also the ayde of Trahern̄, hadde ruled this lande of Brytayne by the terme of .x. yeres.

THE .LXXI. CHAPITER.

OCtauiꝰ duke of y ^e Iessis, other­wyse westsaxons / beganne his reygne ouer the Brytons, in the yere of our lorde .iii. hundred .xxix. This in the englyshe boke is called Octa­uian / the whych as testyfyeth Gau­fryde, gaderyd in shorte whyle after so great plentye of treasoure and ry­chesse, that he feryd no man / and ruled this lande in peasyble wyse. So that of hym or of his actes is left ly­tell memorye / excepte that when he was fallen into age, by the counsayll of Brytons he sent vnto Rome for a noble yonge man of the aliy of He­leyne, moder vnto Constantyne called Maximianꝰ, as after more playnly shalbe shewed: all be yt that some aduysed hym to make one Conan Meryadok his cosyne, kynge after hym. But by the instāt labour of Caradok then duke of Cornewayll / Octauius lastly sent vnto Rome Mau­ryce the sonne of the forenamed Ca­radok / to brynge or conuey the sayd Maximianus into Brytayne, for to mary the onely doughter of Octaui­us / and by reason therof, to enioy y ^e realme of Brytayne. This Maximianꝰ is of some auctour named Maximius / the whych as wytnessyth Gaufride, was the sonne of Leonyne, brother to Heleyne, and vncle vnto Cō stantyne the great. whych saynge af­fermeth also Iacobus Philippꝰ au­thour of a boke called Supplemen­tum cronicarum / wherin he nameth the sayde Maximianus a knyght of the Bryton blood.

Then it foloweth, when the forenamed Maurice had spedde his nedes, so y ^t he came to the presence of Maximianꝰ, & shewed theffecte of his Message: the sayd Maximianus to hym graunted, & in all haste prepared for his voyage into Brytayne / & shortly after with cōuenient cūpany landed at Southampton. wherof beynge warned Conan Meryadok: he wyth a certayne of knyghtes of his affinytye, was purposed to haue frayed with the sayd Maximianꝰ, & to haue destressed hym / for so mych as he wel knewe, that by hym he shuld be pu [...] from the rule of the lande. But thys [Page] purpose was let by the commaunde­ment of the kynge or otherwyse, so y ^t the sayd Maximianus was cōueyed safely to the kynges presence, & shortly after wyth consent of the more partye of his lordes, gaue his doughter vnto the sayde Maximianus wyth possessyon of this yle of Brytayne. The whyche mariage solemnysed & endyd, the sayde Octauiꝰ dyed shortly after. But howe long he reygned, none of the foresayde authours testystye / excepte dyuers of them agre, y ^t he contynued his reygne tyll y ^e tyme that Gracyan and Ualentinyan ru­led the empyre / the whyche beganne to reygne the yere of our lorde .iii. hū dred .lxxx. and .ii. By whyche reason yt muste folowe, that the sayd Octauius reygned at the leest .liiii. yeres.

THE .LXXII. CHAPITER.

MAximianꝰ or Maximiꝰ y ^e son of Leonine & cosyn Germayn of Constantyne the great / was made kynge of Bryton, in the yere of oure lorde .iii. hundred .lxxx. and .ii. Thys in the englyshe boke is named Maximian / the whych as testyfyeth Gau­fryde and other, was stalworth and myghty of his handes.

But for he was cruell and pursued somdele the cristen: he therfore of all wryters is called Maximianꝰ the tyrant. Attwene this & Conan before named, was stryfe and debate / and dyuers conflyctes attwene thē was foughten, in the whyche eyther of them spedde dyuersly / all be yt that lastely they were made frendes. So that Maximianꝰ reygned a season in quyete, and gaderyd rychesse, & treasour not all wyth out grudge. Lastely he was moued & exyted to warre vpon the Galles / thorow whych coū cell he wyth a great hoste of Brytōs sayled into Armorica that now is called lytell Brytayne / and bare hym so knyghtly, that he subdued that countre vnto his lordshyp / & after gaue the sayde countre to Conan Meryadok, to hold of hym and of the kyngeꝭ of great Brytayn for euer. And then commaunded the sayde lande to be called lytell Brytayne.

For this vyctory his knyghtes proclamed hym emperour. where tho­rough he beynge the more exaltyd in pryde / passed farther in the landes of the emprye, & vyctoryously subdued a great parte of Gallia or Fraunce, and all Germania. For thys dede / dyuers authours accompt hym false and periuryd. wherfore yt shulde seme that before his departynge frō Rome, he was sworne vnto Gracian and Ualentynyane emperours, that he shuld neuer after clayme any part of the empyre. And also for the bre­kynge of this othe / he was after chalengyd or blamed of saynt Martyne byshop of Turon. To whom he an­swered that he was compelled of his knyghtes to take vppon hym as emperour / or ellys he shuld of thē haue ben slayne. Neuerthelesse the sayde byshoppe shewed vnto hym, that for his vntrouth he shuld not longe prospere or reygne.

After that worde was brought vnto the emperours, that Maximianꝰ had wyth harde bataylles thus sub­dued Gallia and Germania: Gra­cianꝰ wyth a great hoste came down to resyste hym. But when he harde of y ^e marciall dedes of Maximianꝰ / he was a drade and fled backe to the citye of Lugdun or Lyōs in Fraūce. where after the sayde Gracianꝰ was slayne / and his brother Ualentinian was compelled to flee to Constan­tyne the noble. Then Maximianꝰ to haue the more strength to wythstāde his enimyes: made his sonne named Uictour felowe of the emperour. In [Page XXVIII] this whyle that Maximianꝰ warred thus in Italy: Conan Meryadoke, to whom as before is sayde Maximianꝰ had gyuen the land of lytell Brytayne / for so mych as he & his knyghtes had no wyll to mary the dough­ters of Frenschmen, but rather to haue wyues of theyr owne blood: therfore this Conan sent messagers vnto Dionotus then duke of Cornewayll, and chyfe ruler of Brytayne / wyllynge hym to sende his dough­ter Ursula wyth a certayne nomber of virgyns, to be coupled to hym & to his knightes in maryage. The which soone after prepared accordyng y ^e re­quest of Conan, the foresayd Ursula accōpanyed wyth .xi. thousande vyr­gyns, and were sent by her sayde fa­ther towarde lytell Brytayne / as witnesseth the englyshe cronycle, Gau­fryde, and also Policronica.

But yt shuld appere by the sayeng of Antoninus, Iacobꝰ Philippus, and other writers / that this Ursula with her company shulde not be sent forth of mych Brytayne, nor maryed aboute this tyme / but in the tyme of Marcianus beynge emperoure / the whyche began his empyre after most accorde of wryters, in the yere of our lord .iiii. hundred & .li. Of the martyrdome of these maydens dyuers au­thours wryte dyuersly. wherfore I remytte them that wyll haue farther vnderstādyng in this mater, vnto y ^e legende of saynts redde yerely in the chyrche, where they maye be suffycyenly taught and enformed.

THE .LXXIII. CHAPITER.

ANd as before is shewed Maximianꝰ beynge occupyed in warres in Italy: two dukes named Gwanus, and Melga / the whych as Gaufryde testyfyeth and other, were sent from Gracian and Ualentinian emperours, to punyshe and subdue the Brytons that fauoured the par­ty of Maximianꝰ / warred sore vpon the costes of great Brytayne, and occupyed a great parte of Albania. wherof when Maximianꝰ had knowlege / he sente into great Brytayne a knyght and captayn named Gracianus or Gracyan. The whyche wyth two legyons of knyghtes bare hym so knyghtly / that in shorte processe he chasyd the sayd .ii. dukes into Ir­lande / & helde the lande of Brytayne in good peace to the behalfe of Ma­ximianus.

In this whyle Maximianꝰ conty­nuyng his warre agayn the empyre / & entendynge to be emperour: Theodocius named the elder then empe­rour of the eest parte of the world, herynge of the deth of Gracyan, & cha­synge of Ualentynyan, wyth a great power spedde hym towarde the sayd Maximianꝰ. And shortely after at a citye in Italy named Aquilia / toke the sayde Maximianꝰ, and hym behedded. when knowlege of the deth of Maximianꝰ was comen to Gra­cyan, that then had the rule of mych Brytayn: he seasyd the land & made hym selfe by strength kynge of Bry­tayne / whē or after that Maximianꝰ had gouerned the same, by most ac­corde of wryters by the space of .viii. yeres.

THE .LXXIIII. CHAPITER.

GRacianus the whych of Gaufryde is called Municeps, y ^t maye be taken for an hyred or wa­ged knyght, or for y ^e keper of gyftes, or berynge the chyef rule of a cytye: beganne to rule the Brytons, in the yere of oure lorde .iii. hundred .lxxx. & x. The whych exercysyd all tyranny and exaccyon vppon his subiectes / for the which he was had in wonder full hatered amonge the Brytons / [Page] and amonge them cast and sought many wayes and meanes for hys destruccyon / but he by dyuers meanes escapyd theyr daungers, and punys­shed greuously all suche fautours. wherfore lastly as sayth Gaufryde they fyll vpon hym of an hole assent and kylled hym / when he had reyg­ned or more verely vsurped by the terme of .iiii. yeres.

THE .LXXV. CHAPITER.

AFter that Gracian was thus slayne of the Brytons / the forsayd Gwanus and Melga kno­wynge the Brytons to be wythout hed or ruler: assembled also people and retourned into mych Brytayne / wastynge and brennynge on euery syde, and destroyed greate plenty of Brytons, as wytnessyth Gaufryde and other.

But Policronica sayth that whan the Romayns knewe of the deth of Gracyan / they sent a knyght called Constantyne to haue the rule of Brytayne and other countrees there a­bout. But he was after demed an enemye to the empyre, for harme and s [...]athes by hym done in Fraunce. wherfore by commaundement of Honorius then emperour / a knyght or erle called Constancius was sente agayne the forenamed Constantine / and slewe hym at a place or towne called Arelet. After thys the Brytōs were agayne vexed by the Pictes & other straunge nacyons. By reason wherof they were cōstrained to sende agayne to Rome: requyrynge them of ayde, vppon condycyon that they shuld alway be subiecte vnto Rome. The whyche request and promesse thus herde of the senate: Honorius aforenamed was sent into Britayne wyth a legyon of knyghtes / whyche is .vi. thousande .vi. houndred .lxvi. The which legyon with helpe of the Brytons / chasyd y ^e foresayde Pictes and other enemyes / and taughte the Brytōs to make a walle ouerthwart the lande from see to see / that ys to meane from the water of Humber to the Scottyshe see, and ordeyned thē wardeynes and kepars of the wall / and after retourned to Rome. Thys wall as testyfyeth Policronica, was made of turuys / and strechyd from Pemilton̄ or Penulton̄, vnto y ^e citye of Acliut or Acliud. But for thys wall was of small strength: the enemyes before named dystroyed cer­tayne partyes of this sayd wall, and ouerrode the countre, and toke grete prayes dayly, & dyd as myche harme as they had done before tyme. wher­fore the Brytons were constrayned to seke for newe socour to the Ro­mayns. Then dyd Foloaynes sende an other legion / the whyche agayne chased the sayd Pictes and other enemyes / and made than a wall of stone of the thycknesse of .viii. fote, and in heyght .xii. fote, in the selfe place where before Seuerus had made a dyke and wall of turfes. And y ^t done the Romaynes comforted and exor­ted the Brytons to be manly and co­rageous to wythstande theyr ene­myes / shewyng to them forther that they shuld truste to theyr owne strengthe, for so myche as the Romayns beynge so ferre from thē, myght not lyghtly come from so ferre wyth an armye of knyghtes / & also not wyth­out great coste and trauayle. After whyche monycyon and exortacyon thus gyuen to the Brytons, by the mouth of the archebysshop of Lon­don, wyth other instruccyons apper­teynynge to the feytes of warre: the sayde Romaynes toke leue of y ^e Brytons, as though they shulde after y ^e tyme no more retourne īto Britayne

But it was not longe after that the Romayns were thus departyd / that [Page XXIX] the Pictes and Scottes beganne to breke out of theyr dēnes and caues. These two nacyons after some au­thours, shulde seme to be one. But by the declaracion of Ranulphe in his .lviii. chapyter of his fyrste boke, they shulde appere to be two maner of peoples / or at the last dwellyd in twoo sondry countres. As the Pictes in the northsyde of Scotlād, or after Beda in y ^e southsyde, whiche conteyneth Galeway and Lodeway. And the Scottes by ledyng of theyr duke Renda shulde possede Irland: all be yt after an arme of the northe parte of the see passynge by Deyra, shuld departe the Pictes. But in the tyme that y ^e Saxōs ruled the lande / y ^e Scottes by maner of treason slew the mighty men and rulers of the Pictes / and so after kepte that countre for theyr owne. These two nacyons dyscorde in maners, but not in clo­thynge & in fayth, and in couetyse of the shedynge of mannes blood, they be one.

Then as before is sayde, these Pi­ctes and Scottes entred the lande, and brake y ^e walle before made, and slewe the wardeyns therof / and after spoyled and robbed the coūtres, and chased so cruelly the commons and other, that they were comfortlesse. By meane wherof the Britons were brought in suche daunger and myserye / that eyther of them robbed and slewe other. And ouer this y ^e groūde was vntylled and vnsowen / wherof ensued great scarcytye and hunger: and after hunger ensued deth.

Thus after one mychyef came an other / as deth vpon deth, and sorow vpon sorow, whych fyll vpō them by stryfe medlyd wyth the great hūger. The whych mysery in this wyse cōtynuynge the chyef of them toke ad­uyse amonge them selfe / and fynally concludyd that for remedye of this myschyef, they wolde sende vnto Aecius then beynge kynge in Fraunce. whyche Aecius was mayster of the chyualry of Honoriꝰ then emperour, and occupyed in warres in a parte of Gallia. To this Aecius was sent writyng, wherof theffecte was this. To thy manhode Aecius be it vnderstanden the mysery of the Brytons / the whyche straunge nacyons chase vn­to the see / and the see dryueth vs a­gayne to straunge nacyons. Of the which ensew two maner of carayns / y ^e one by violēce of y ^e enemyes swerd, and that other by wilfull drownyng. But all theyr wrytynge was but in vayne / so that from the sayd Aecius, nor yet from the Romaynes, hadde they no refuge nor comfort. In this whyle the hunger encreased / and the people were so ouerset with theyr enymyes, that many of thē were as yol­den & toke partye agayne theyr own neyghbours. And y ^e other that were of more power, and dwelled farther wythin the lande / defendyd them in theyr beste maner. Lastely the noble and wysest of them / and specyally y ^e archbyshop of London wyth other of the lande, kepte a counsayll at Lō don. By the whyche yt was conclu­dyd y ^t an embassade shulde be made vnto the kynge of lytell Brytayne, to impetre and aske of hym ayde and comforte in theyr great necessyte. Of whyche ambassade the sayde arche­byshop was appoynted for the chyef and pryncypall / the whych is named of Gaufryde Guethelinus / and of y ^e englyshe cronycle Gosseleyne. which sayde byshoppe wyth the other vnto hym assygned, so spedde them, that in shorte and conuenyent tyme they came vnto the presence of Aldroenꝰ then kynge of lytell Brytayn / and to hym declaryd the effecte of theyr message. The whyche hauynge compassyon of the lamentable request made [Page] vnto hym by the sayde ambassade / after aduyse taken of hys lordes, he graūted vnto the bysshop, vppon condycyon that yf god sent to them victory of theyr enemyes, that they shulde crowne hys brother kynge of great Brytayne / the whyche he en­tendyd to sende thyder wyth a con­uenyent armye. whyche condycyon the sayde bysshoppe wyth the other gladly acceptyd & fermely graūted.

So that thus it is apparant vnto you, that this lande was longe without hedde or gouernoure / whyche length of tyme is of some authours determyned to be longe, and of some but shorte / so that lytell certentye is therof lefte.

wherfore I haue shewed and dry­uen certayne reasons after myne o­pynyon and dull mynde, in the table before expressed / wherin it shall ap­pere vnder correccyon, that the sayd season and tyme of this land beynge without kynge, to rekyn from the laste yere of Gracian vnto the fyrste yere of Constantyne no we next en­suynge, was fully .xxxix. yere.

THE .LXXVI. CHAPITER.

HEre accordynge to the promyse made by me in y ^e begynnynge of thys worke: I shall brynge in & shewe vnto you the begynnynge of the reygne of y ^e kinges of Fraūce / and set them in suche a direct order, that it shalbe apparant to the reder, that it shalbe certaynly knowē what kyng reygned in Fraūce whan such a kyng reygned in Englande. And also I shall somdele touche the actes and dedys of the sayde kynges of Fraunce / so y ^t the cronycles of bothe realmes shall in this worke appere, and the names of the prynces which at ones reygned in Englande and in Fraunce.

Then for the perfourmaūce of the same, fyrste is to be noted, that after the subuercyon of Troye by the Grekes (as in y ^e begynnyng of this work is shewyd) dyuers Troyans beyng vnder the rule of nobles of the same lygnage, as Helenus sonne of Prya­mus, Eneas, Anthenorus, & other / serchyd y ^e worlde & landyd in dyuers coūtrees. As Helenꝰ in Grece or Grecia / Eneas in Italia or Italy / & so of other amōg. The whych nobles one named Turchus, & an other named Franco cosyn Germayns / as Tur­chus the sonne of Troylus, & Frāco or Francio the sonne of Ector / which sayd two cosyns serchyng theyr ad­uenture: after many & dyuers daungers & ieopardyes passyd by the see, lastly landed in a coūtre called Tra­cea or Tracia in Grece. And there wyth theyr cōpany enhabyted them nere vnto a ryuer called Dion. And after they hadde contynued there a season of tyme: Turchus departed wyth a certayne of Troyans frō hys sayd cosyn Francio / and sayled after into a countre called Faso the lesse. where he wyth hys people dwelled longe tyme. whyche Faso shulde be in the countre of Sithia. Of thys Turchus dyscendyd as sayth y ^e Frē ­che cronycle .iiii. maner of people. That is to saye, Austrogothis, Ipogothis, wandalis, and Normans. And Frācio or Frāco remoued after wyth hys company into a countree named Pannoma / whyche countree now shuld seme to be a parte of Hungery or ioynynge nere to it. There nere vnto a ryuer called Thanais they buylded them a cytye, and na­med it Sicambria / by reason wherof they were longe after called Sicambri. They were also named Franci, as sayth the Frenche cronycle, after thys man Francio. Turpinus that wrote the gestes of the greate Charles / sayth that whan Charles hadde made the countre of Spayne subiecte, and was retourned into Fraunce: he made all the bonde mē dwellynge aboute or nere vnto Pa­ris or in all Gallia fre, in the wour­shyppe of saynte Denis and of saynt Iamys of Galis / vppon condycyon that they shulde yerely offre foure pence to thys worke of saynt Denis churche. By reason wherof they we­re named Franci, as men freed that to fore were bond. Policronica saith they were named Franci of Ualen­tynyan the emperour, as it were for fyersnes. But how so euer they came by that name they were called Fran­ci as Frenschemen.

This sayd peple were also named long tyme Galli / & were trybutaries to Rome & vnder theyr rule, tyll the [Page] tyme of Ualentinyan emperour, a­boute the yere of Cryste .iii. hoūdreth & .lxvi. Thys Ualentinyan hauynge the rule of the west parte of y ^e world made warre vppon a people called Aleynys, that dwelled nere vnto the forenamed Gallis. These Aleynys were egre of fyghte / and ouer y ^t they were so closyd wyth fennys & mar­rys, that the Romaynes myghte not wynne to them by force / wherof they often rebellyd agayne the empyre. wherfore in the ende Ualentinyan consyderynge the fyersnes of y ^e Gal­lis, wyth theyr nere dwellynge vnto the sayd Aleynys / couenaūted with them yf they wolde subdue the sayde people, they shulde haue releace of .x. yeres trybute. whyche couenaūt well and suffycyently confermed to the Gallis / they in shorte whyle after by theyr knyghthode and polycy, sub­dued or vtterly chased the sayd Aleynys. For the whyche dede they contynued the foresayde .x. yeres wythout payenge of any trybute. whyche .x. yeres ronne and expyred / y ^e Romay­nes agayn claymed the former accu­stomed trybute. To whom it was answered, y ^t they had redemed the sayd tribute with the price of theyr blood, and ought not any more to be char­ged with any suche trybute.

wyth whych answere the Romay­nes beynge sore dyscontentyd / made newe warre vpon y ^e sayd Sicābris. Of whyche warre the Sicambris or Gallis had the worse, and were cha­syd from theyr citye of Sicambria. Then as wytnessyth Polycronica & other, they drewe nere vnto the wa­ter of Ryne / and grewe in shorte processe to suche a multytude & of suche strength, that they in shorte whyle after by ledynge of theyr .iii. dukes named Marcomirus, Somomꝰ or Symon, and Genebaur / warred vppon the landes of the empyre, & such as were subiecte vnto y ^e same. wherof Theodosius surnamed the yonger then emperour beynge warned: he anone sente .ii. of his dukes wyth a greate hoste for to subdue the sayde Gallis or Sicambris. But they de­fendyd them so knyghtly, y ^t the sayde dukes were chasyd / and as wytnes­syth mayster Robert Gagwyne, a greate nomber of the Romaynes were slayne.

THE .LXXVII. CHAPITER.

AFter this victory thus opteyned by the Sicambris: they waxed so stronge that they wan from the Almaynes dyuers townes and stronge holdes wythin Germania. And after that they opteyned the fa­mous cytye named Treueris / which as wytnessyth the aucthour of Cro­nica cronicarum, was fyrst foundyd in the tyme of the patryarche Abraham, before the incarnacyō of Cryst a thousande .ix. houndred .lxv. yeres. And so dayly wan vpon the nacyōs adioynynge to them, tyll they came to the ryuer of Seyn / where they re­styd them, and buylded the countre all there about. In so mych that they than named them selfe Franci / as men freed and out of all daunger of the empyre of Rome / and theyr land after them they named Fraunce, whyche syns that tyme is greatly encreasyd. So that at this daye it is a countre of great welth & honoure, and conteyneth many prouynces & lordshyppes / as after the affyrmaūs of Policronica is touchyd in y ^e .xxvii. chapyter of hys fyrste boke / where it is shewed that Gallia which now is Fraunce, had that name Gallia of whytenesse of people. Thys Gallia or Fraunce hath in the North syde, Germania / in the Eest, the ryuer of Ryne / in the Southest, the Alpis or the hyghe mountaynes / and in the [Page XXXI] west, the see Occean, whyche is cal­led both Brytannicum and Gallicū, whyche is to meane, Englyshe see & Frenche see. For yt departyth En­glande and Fraunce, in the south see of myddell eerth, y ^t wassheth about by the the prouynce of Narbon. In the tyme of Iulius Cesar, Gallia was departed in thre / but for diuers happes that befell after in that land / the countre and land that stretcheth from the Ryne to Seyn̄, is now cal­led Gallia Belgica, whyche is very Fraunce. And that countre that stretcheth from Seyn̄ to y ^e ryuer of Leyr, is called Gallia Lugdunensis / wherof the ouer parte hyght or is named Burgundia that is Burgoyne, and the nether parte is Nestria or Nor­mandye.

And the countre that stretcheth frō the ryuer of Leyr to the ryuer of Ge­round, is called Gallia Aquitania / whych is Guyan, and stretcheth out of the eest from the riuer of Roon̄, vnto the west Occean. wherof the ouer parte therof hyght Celtica, whyche is to meane Heuenly, because that hyghe mountaynes be therin.

From the water of Gerounde to the see of middell eerth, and to the Moū taynes called mōtes Pireni or great hylles of Spayne / is clepyd Gallia Narbonensis. And now a parte therof is called Gothia, and some Uasconia, whyche is to meane Gascoyne.

And so Gallia is closyd aboute wyth thre noble waters / wyth the ryuer of Ryne in the north syde / wyth the ryuer of Roone in the eest / and wyth the Brytyshe occean in y ^e weste. In Gallia or Fraunce ben many no­ble cytyes, wherof Parys is hed and pryncypall / whyche in the fyrst foundacyon was clepyd Parydes, after Parides a Troyane, that departed from Troy wyth Eneas and other, as wytnessyth Carinus and other wryters of histories. But the frenche cronycle sayth it was fyrst foūded by y ^e Sycambris, and named by them Lutecia, before the incarnacyon of Cryste .iii. hundred .lxxx. and .xv. yeres. And in the whyle that the forenamed Marcomyrus was as there chyefe hedde and gouernour: for the more beauty of the name / and also in mynde of Paris sonne of Pryame kynge of Troye, of the whych he was lynyally descendyd, he ther­fore chaunged the name, and com­maunded yt to be called Paris.

In Gallia also be these prouynces and lordshyppes folowynge / Bra­ban, Flaundres, Normandye, Py­cardye, Brytayn the lesse, Poytowe, Gascoyne, Guyan, Tolowse, Bur­goyne, Angeo, and Mayne, Pro­uynce, Champayne, and Aluerne. All whyche sygnouries and lorde­shippes belonged or apperteyned vnto the crowne of Fraunce / all be yt that dyuers of theym hath ben gy­uen oute by maryage or otherwyse. So that the kynge of Fraunce clay­meth to be chyef lorde of theym, and at this daye hath the possessyon of them / excepte Burgoyne, Flaundres Braban, and Normandye / for the whyche he is trybutarye vnto the kynge of Englande.

Then yt folowyth, when the sayde Gallis or Frenchmen hadde thus cō quered these foresayde countres, or the more parte of theym, or at lesse made theym vnto the sayde Gallis trybutary: then the forenamed Marcomyrus as theyr chyef hedde or go­uernour, closyd cytyes wyth stronge walles, and buylded stronge holdes and castelles / and after dyed, leuyng after hym a sonne garnyshed wyth all knyghtly vertue, named Phara­mundus or Pharamonde.

Francio. THE .LXXVIII. CHAPITER.

PHaramundꝰ the son of Mar­comyrus beforenamed / was after the deth of his said fader, made or ordeyned the fyrst kyng of Frenchmen, by the agrement of hystoryes / & also as affermeth mayster Robert Gagwyne and other, in the yere of our lordes incarnacion foure hūdred and .xx. And of the worlde, or after y ^e creacyon of the fyrste Adam folow­ynge the accompte of thys worke, as before is shewed, fyue thousande vi. hundred and .xix. After Brute be­ganne his domynyon in thys yle of Brytayne, a thousande, fyue hūdred and .lvi. And the yere of mysery of the Brytons .xxvi.

Of this Pharamundus is lytell thynge lefte in memory / excepte that myne authoure Gagwyne testyfy­fyeth, that he made certayne lawes whyche longe tyme enduryd after. But for the names of the lawes and vse of them be derke to englyshe vn­derstandynge: therfore I ouerpasse theym, and folowe the story / whych affermeth, that when the sayde Pharamonde hadde ruled the Frenchmē well and nobly by the space of .xi. ye­res, he dyed / and lefte after hym a sonne named Clodio Crinitus or Capellatus.

THE .LXXIX. CHAPITER.

CLodio y ^e son of Pharamonde was made kyng of Fraunce, in the yere of our lorde .iiii. hūdred & xxxi. And the .xxxvii. yere of the foresayd mysery of Brytons. The which as before is sayd was surnamed Crinitus and Capellatꝰ / by reason wherof the kynges of Frenchmen longe tyme after, were called Criniti. This to augment hys lordshyppe, made warre vpon a people called Turyn­ges / and by great & sore fyght made them at lēgth subiecte to hym / which countre as sayth the frēche cronycle, is a parte of Almayne. And at thys daye or tyme of this Clodio his rey­gne / the Romaynes had no more of the land of Gallia or Fraūce in theyr rule, then that whyche lyeth from y ^e ryuer of Leyr vnto y ^e ryuer of Ryne, whyche is called Gallia Lugdunen­sis. And when he hadde thus sub­dued the Turynges / he then sent his espyes ouer the Ryne to se what strength they were of, that inhaby­ted that countre. And after reporte to hym brought of the sayde espyes, that the countre was fertyll and ryche, and the people therof but of small defence: he with his army ouer spred the countre / and after shortely beseged the cytyes of Cambrey, and Turney and them wanne. But in y ^e cytye of Turney was a certayn nomber of Romaynes / whyche manfully defendyd the towne longe tyme. And when they ꝑceyued that they myght no lenger holde the towne / they then manfully issued out, and gaue to the Frenchmen harde batayll. But for­tune was to theym frowarde / so that they were dystressyd. After whyche countres and townes thus goten by Clodio, wyth other vyctoryous dedes by hym done: he lastely dyed, when he had ruled the frēchmen .xix. yeres wythout issue of his body.

THE .LXXX. CHAPITER.

COnstantinus the brother of Aldroenus kynge of ly­tell Brytayn, was crowned kyng of myche Brytayne, in the yere of oure lorde foure hun­dred and .xxxiii / and the thyrde yere of Clodio then kynge of Fraunce. The whyche guyded the lande with suche manhode and polyce, that he kepte yt from daunger of enymyes / and for tyme of hys lyfe helde yt in god quyete & reste. Of thys Cōstantyne is lytell mynde made or lefte in wrytynge / excepte that he receyuyd of his wyfe thre sonnes / the whyche he named Constante, Aurely, or Cō stantius, Aurelius, Ambrosius, and Uter, whyche was surnamed Pen­dragon.

But for he sawe and perceyuyd, that his eldest sonne named Constāt was dull and insolent of wytte: he therfore made hym a monke in the monasterye of saynte Amphyabyll of wynchester / whyche monasterye at this daye is called saynte Suy­thynes abbey. And to the other two bretherne he betoke vnto Guethe­linus archbyshoppe, to noryshe and brynge forth.

In the courte of this Cōstantyne, as witnesseth Gaufryde, was a Pict that was myche loued and greatly fauouryd of Constantyne / so that he myghte at all tymes come to the kynges presence. The whyche beyng an erraunt traytoure / and sechynge conuenyent tyme to execute his detestable treason: by a secrete meane slewe the kynge in his chamber / when he hadde ben kyng, after moste wryters tenne yeres

THE .LXXXI. CHAPITER.

COnstantius sonne of Con­stantyne, by meane of Uorti­gernus was made kynge of Bry­tayne, in the yere of our lorde foure hundred and .xliii. This as before is touched, for so myche as his fader thought he was not very apt to take so great a charge as to gouerne the lande after hym, became a relygious man in the monastery before named. Or as some wryters meane, the sayd Constante of pure deuocyon that he hadde to god and saynt Amphiabyl, made hym selfe a monke vnwyt­tynge the kynge his fader and other his frendes.

But how or in what maner so euer he became a monke / trouth it is that Uortigerus or Uortigernus after y ^e deth of Constantyne, founde suche meanes that he was taken out of the abbey, and crowned kynge of Bry­tayne. By meane wherof the sayde Uortiger had all the rule of the land so that Constante hadde but onely the name. This Uortyger then con­syderynge the innocencye and myl­denes of the kyng / cast in his mynde how he myght be kynge hym selfe. And amonge other meanes / founde [Page] to haue aboute y ^e kynges persone an hundred Pictes, or after some Scottes / y ^e whych he ordeyned for a garde for the kynges persone. which done / he bare hym in such wyse agayne the Pictes by meanes of great gyftes & otherwyse, that they at length had Uortyger in such fauoure, that they feryd not to saye openly that Uorty­ger was more worthy to be kyng thē Constant. In this whyle Uortyger gatte into his possessyon the kynges treasour / and what was of hym cō ­maunded was done, though other therat murmured and grudge. And euer in ryght and wronge he fauou­red the foresayd Pictes or Scottes. The whyche at length perceyuynge his corrupte mynde, when they sawe that they had conuenyent tyme, fyll vpon the kynge, and hym slewe or murderyd.

After whych cruell dede by theym done / they presentyd the hed of Constante vnto Uortiger, then beyng at London. wherof when he was ware / to the ende that the Brytons shulde thynke that dede to be done agayne his mynde and wyll: wepte & made semblaunt of all sorowe and heue­nes / and causyd the sayde hundred knyghtes to be taken in all haste af­ter, and theym by dome and lawe of y ^e lād to be be heddyd / by reason wherof he was taken not culpable, or in­nocent of the kynges deth. when the kynges deth was knowen to suche persones as hadde the kepyng of the two yonger bretherne, Aurelius and Uter: they in all haste for the more sauegarde of them, fledde into lytell Brytayne / & there kept theym tyll yt pleasyd god ortherwyse to purueye for theym. And thus as ye haue herd was kynge Constante slayne / when he hadde reygned after moste wry­ters fyue yere.

THE .LXXXII. CHAPITER.

UOrtigernus duke of y ^e Iues­ses, or Uortigerꝰ erle of Ie­wesses, after called westsaxons / was made kynge of Brytayne, in the yere of our lorde .iiii. hundred and .xlviii. and the .xviii. yere of Clodio kyng of Fraūce / whych after y ^e deth of Con­stant by strength and otherwise was made kynge, and ruled the land not all wythout trouble. For yt was not longe or the Pictes, whych hauyng knowlege of the deth and iudgemēt of theyr knightes and kynsmen, that they inuaded the north partes of the lande, doynge therin great harme and domage. And ouer that many & dyuerse of the great of the Brytons, perceyuyng that the kyng Constant was not murderyd all wythout con­sent of the sayde Uortyger: rebelled agayne hym / and dayly sent and say led ouer into lytell Brytayne, to the ayde and assystence of the foresayde chyldern of Constant / whyche putte the sayde Uortiger to great vnrest­fulnesse / and the more for that, that he wyst not nor knewe not in whom he myght putte his truste and con­fydence in.

wyth these perturbaūces was medled plenty of corne & frute, y ^t the lyke therof had not ben sene many yeres passyd. wherwyth was ioyned leche­ry & pestylence, with many other in­cōueniences / so y ^e vice was accōpted for small or none offence. The which reygned not onely in the temporalty, but also in the spiritualtie & hedes of the same. So y ^e euery mā turned the poynt of his spere agaynst the trewe & innocent man / & the cōmons gaue them all to dronkēnes and ydelnes / where thorough ensued fyghtynge, stryfe, and mych enuy. Of which foresayd myschyues ensued mych mortalyte and deth of men, that the lyuyng [Page XXXIII] scantly suffysed in some countres to bury the dede. And ouer this y ^e kyng was so hard beset with y ^e forenamed enymyes / that he was cōstrayned, as affermyth Policronica, to sende for paynems, as the Saxōs, to helpe to withstand his enemyes and defende his lande / and also he dayly ferid the landyng of Aurely and Uther.

Uortyger thus beynge beset wyth many aduersytyes in vysytynge hys lande / and then beynge for dyuerse causes hym mouyng at Dorobernia or Caunterbury: tydynges came to hym of the arryuynge of thre longe shyppes full of armed men at the yle of Tenet. wherof fyrst he made countenaunce as though he hadde ben in doute whether it had ben the two brethern of Constant or none. But whē the same was blowen aboute, y ^t they were none enymyes: anon he caused the leders of them to be brought vn­to his presence / freynynge of theym the cause of theyr landyng & of theyr nacyon and countre. The whych answered vnto the kynge and sayd they were of the coūtre of Germany / and put out of theyr countre by a maner sorte or lot at sōdry tymes vsed with in the sayde lande / the whyche was vsed for so myche as the people ther­in encreasyd so faste, that wythoute such prouysyon had, the coūtre shuld not suffyce for the people / the whych was suche as foloweth.

At sondry tymes when the sayd coū tre was replenyshed of people: the prynces and rulers therof wolde as­semble at a certayne place, and call before theym the lusty yonge folkes. Of the whych they wold chose out a certayne nomber / and appoynte to them certayne dukes or leders, with all thyng necessary to the warre. And them so garnyshed / wold cōmaunde to serche theyr aduēture, & to wynne some lande by theyr knyghthode, where they myght inhabyte thēselfe. By whych vse & custome thus longe vsyd / now was fallen to theyr lotte, to do as theyr fore faders had done before theym.

wherfore syns fortune had brought them to this land / they besought the kyng, that he wold take them to his seruyce, & they wold be redy to fyght for y ^e defence of him and his countre. And when the kyng hadde enquyred farther: he foūde that they had two leders named Hengistꝰ and Horsus / and they and theyr people were cal­led Saxons.

The kynge thus beyng asserteyned of the maner of these straūgers, and that they were of the gentyle of pa­gan law: sayde he was very heuy & sory, that they were myscreantes. But he was ioyous & glad of theyr commynge / for so myche as he had nede of suche sowdyours to defende hym and his lande agayne his eny­myes. And so receyued them to hys wages and seruyce, as is wytnessed of Gaufryde and other mo wryters.

THE .LXXXIII. CHAPITER.

BEda the holy man sayth, that Uortyger sent for the Saxōs stronge men of armes, that hadde no lande to dwelle in. The whych came in thre longe shyppes called Oby­las / and receyued a place of hym to dwell in, in the Eest syde of Bry­tayne called the yle of Tenet besyde Kent. Guillelmus de regibus a writer of hystoryes [...]ayth, that the Sa­xons came oute of Germany by wyll to wynne worshyppe & lande / and not by lotte or compulsyon.

And also that they worshypped at that dayes a god named woden, and a goddesse named Frya. In the worshyppe of the whyche god the [Page] thyrde feryall daye in the weke they named wodnesd aye / whyche at this daye we call wednysdaye. And in worshyppe of the sayde goddes they called the fyfth daye friys daye / the whyche we call now frydaye.

Of these foresayde people came thre maner of people, or thre maner of names / that is to say Saxōs, Anglys, and Iewetes. Of the Saxons came the eest Saxons, westsaxons, & the south Saxons. Of y ^e Anglys came the eest Anglys, the myddell Angl [...]s or Merceys, whyche helde myddell England, that stretcheth westwarde toward the ryuer of Dee besyde Chestre, and to Seuern̄ besyde Shroysbury, and so forth to Brystowe / and eestwarde toward the see, and southwarde to Thamys, and so forth to London, and northwarde to Hum­ber, and tourned downewarde and westward to the ryuer Mercea / and so forth to the weste see.

And of the Iewetys come the Kentyshmen, & men of the yle of weyght. Of the fyrst cōmyng of these Saxōs into great Britayn, authours in party varrey. wherfore in the table be­fore named / it shall appere vnder correccyon, that the forenamed Hengi­stus and Horsus wyth theyr compa­ny fyrst landed in the foresayde yle of great Brytayne in the yere of our lorde .iiii. hundred and .l, & the thyrd yere of Uortiger.

Then yt foloweth these Saxons wyth the kynges power bete downe the enymyes before sayde, and defendyd the land in most knyghtly wyse, so that the kyng hadde the Saxons in great loue and fauour. whyche fauour Hengistus wel apperceyuyng / vpon a season when he sawe conue­nyent tyme, he axed of the kynge so myche grounde as the hyde of a bull or other beste wolde compare / which the kynge to hym graunted. After whyche graunt, the sayde Hengyste to the ende to winne a large groūde / causyd the sayd bestes skyn to be cut into a small and slender thonge. And with the same mette out a large and great circuyte of grounde / vpon the whyche he shortly after buylded and sette a large and stronge castell. By reason of whych thonge the sayd castell was lōg afternamed Thonge castell / whyche was sette by the agrement of all wryters in the countre of Lyndesey. After thyse tydynges sprange into Germania, of the plentye and fatnes of the lande of Bry­tayne, wyth other commodytyes perteynyng to the same. By meane wherof the Saxons dayely drewe to the sayde lande / and conuenaūted with the Brytons, that the Britons shuld entende theyr worldlynes and other necessaryes / and y ^e Saxons as theyr sowdiours, shulde defende the land from incursyon of all enymyes. For the whych the Brytons shulde gyue to them competent mete and wages.

Then by the sonde of Hengiste, came wyth .xvi. sayles Ronowen the doughter of the sayd Hengist / which was a mayden of excellēt beaute. After whose commyng / Hengiste vpon a daye besought the kyng y ^t he wold se his castell, whyche he had newely edyfyed. To whose request the kyng was agreable / & at the day assygned came to y ^e sayd castell, where he was ioyously receyued. And there amōge other passetymes the sayde Ronowē wyth a cuppe of golde full of wyne presentyd the kynge, salutynge and sayeng wassayle. The kynge whych before that tyme had herd no lyke salutacyon, nor yet vnderstode what she ment / axed of her fader what she mente by that worde wassayle. To whom yt was answered by Hengistꝰ that yt was a salutacyon of good & gladnesse / and that the kynge shuld [Page XXXIIII] drynke after her, ioynynge there vn­to this answere, drynke hayl [...] wherfore the kyng as he was enfourmed toke the cuppe of the maydens hand and drank / & after beheld the wēche in suche maner, that he was woun­ded with the darte of the blynde god Cupide, that neuer after he coude wythdrawe his loue from y ^e wenche / but lastely by instygacyon of the de­uyll, axed her in maryage of her fa­der. And by force therof, as wytnes­syth Policronica, he put from hym his laufull wyfe / of the whyche he had before tyme receyued .iii. noble sonnes called Uortimerus, Ca [...]agrinus, and Pascentius. Then the kyng gaue vnto Hengistus the lord shyppe of Kent, though Garango­nus then erle therof therat grudged wyth many of his Brytons.

For this and for that that y ^e kynge had maryed a woman of vncought beleue: well nere all the Brytons forsoke hym and his workes. Neuerthelesse some there were as well no­bles & other, that cōforted the kynge in his euyll doyng. By whych meane and other vnlefull dedys then dayly vsyd / the fayth of Cryste began sore to apalle. And ouer that an heresye called Arianes heresy, began then to sprynge in Brytayn. For the which, two holy byshoppes named Germa­nus and Lupus, as of Gaufryde is wytnessyd / came into Brytayne to refourme the kynge and all other y ^t erred from the waye of trouth.

Of this holy man saynt Germayn / Uincent historyall sayth, that vpon an euenynge, when the weder was passynge cold, and the snowe fyll very faste / he axed lodgyng of the kyng of Brytayne, for hym and his comperys / whych was denyed. Then he after syttyng vnder a bushe in the feld, the kynges herdmen passyd by / and seynge this byshop wyth his compa­ny sittyng in the weder / desyred hym to his house to take there such poore lodgynge as he had▪ wherof the bys­shoppe beynge glad and fayne [...]yode vnto the house of the sayd herdman, the whyche receyued hym wyth glad chere. And for hym and his compa­ny wysled his wyfe to kyll his onely calfe / and to dresse yt for his gestes souper, y ^e which was also done. when the holy man had souped, he called to hym his hostes, wyllynge and de­syrynge her that she shulde dylygently gader to gyder all the bones of the deed calfe / and them so gaderyd, to wrappe to gyder wythin the skynne of the sayde calfe / & then it lay in the stall before the racke nere vnto the dame. whych done accordyng to the commaundement of the holy man I shortly after the calfe was restoryd to lyfe, and forth wyth e [...]e haye wyth the dame at y ^e racke. Of whych mer­uayle all the housholde was great­ly astonyed / and yeldyd thankynge vnto almyghty god, and to that ho­ly byshoppe.

Uppon the morowe this holy bys­shoppe toke wyth hym the herdman, & yode vnto the presence of y ^e kynge / & axed of hym in sharpe wyse, why that ouer nyght he hadde denyed to hym lodgynge. wherwyth the kyng was so abas [...]hed, that he hadde no power to gyue vnto the holy man answere. Then saynt Germayne sayde to hym: I charge the in the name of my lorde god, that thou and thyne departe from this paleys / and resy­gne yt & the rule of thy lande to hym that is more worthy this rome then thou arte. The whyche all thyng by power diuyne was obserued & done / and the sayde herdman by the holy byshoppes authoryte, was sette into y ^e same dygnyte. Of whom after de­scendyd all the kynges of Brytayne.

THE .LXXXIIII. CHAPITER.

THys story is also confermed of Antoninꝰ archebysshoppe of Florence / and at lengthe by hym shewyd in the .xvii. chapyter and .ix. day of the seconde part of hys worke called Som̄ Antonini. But by whō so euer thys story was fyrste wry­ten: I thynke he was none that dis­cended of the walshmen, nor yet of theyr blode. For they come all of Pryamys blode, and not of an herd­man, excepte that they fetche theyr lyne from Dauyd the holy kynge & prophete. Thys storye semeth to be of more fame then of credence. For other wryters tell thys story to be done in the region of Powys by Buly theyr kynge. And also for so mych as the foresayd authour maketh no mencyon of the more Brytayne nor of the lesse: it is doutefull whyther thys happe fyll in that one regyon or in that other. All be yt in the lyfe of saynte Germayne it ys redde, that the sayde saynte Germayne deposyd Uortiger & enhaunced the herdman, as before is declared, as affermeth Polycronica. Then it foloweth in y ^e story, when saynte Germayne hadde restoryd some parte of Brytayne to the trewe fayth: he retourned into Fraunce, fro whens he was before comen. But in thys sayde sayenge shuld appere dyscorde in Cronycles. For as at this day was not the fayth of Cryste receyued in Fraunce, as after more clerely shall appere / wherfore no bysshoppe of Crystes fayth myghte then kepe any see in Fraun­ce. And also as affermeth Iacobus Phylyppus and other / holy Remi­gius was the fyrst y ^t tourned Fraūce to Crystes relygyon / and that, after moste concorde of wryters, to be in the yere of our lorde .iiii. hundred lxxx. and .xix. and the .xv. yere of the reygne of Clodoueus Lewys fyrste Crysten kyng of y ^e realme of Fraūce.

Then to furnysshe or perfourme the story of Uortiger, nedefull it is or necessary to retourne to the mater where we before lefte. And to shewe that for so moche as the Brytons wythdrewe them from Uortyger / he was therfore constrayned to holde wyth hym the Saxons. By whose counsayle he after sent for Octa the sonne of Hengyst / y ^e whych brought wyth hym an other company of Saxons.

when the lordes of Britayne sawe and consyderyd the greate multytu­de of Saxons, and theyr dayly re­payre into thys lande: they assem­bled them togyder, and shewed to the kyng the inconuenience and ieo­pardy that myght ensue to hym and hys lande, by reason of the greate power of these straungers / and ad­uertysed hym in aduoydyng of gre­ter daunger, to expelle and put them out of hys realme or the more parte of them.

But all was in vayne / for Uorty­ger bare suche a mynde to the Sax­ons, by reason of hys wyfe / that he preferred the loue of them before the loue of hys owne naturall kynnes­men and frendes. wherfore the Bry­tons of one wyll and mynde crow­ned for theyr kynge Uortimerus the eldest sonne of Uortyger, and depry­ued hym of all kyngly dygnyte / whē he hadde reygned after moste con­corde of hystoryes .xvi. yeres.

THE .LXXXV. CHAPITER.

MEroneus next of allie vnto Clodio last kyng of Fraūce, for so mych as of Clodeo remayned none issue / was made kyng of Fraū ce in y ^e yere of our lorde .iiii. hundred [Page XXXV] and .l / and the seconde yere yere of Uortiger than kynge of Brytayne. The whyche was stronge and mar­cyall in all hys dedes / and there vn­to ryght profytable for the realme. And amonge other notable dedes by hym done / he slewe in one day of Hunes (the whyche by the commaun­dement of Atti [...]a inuadyd & dystro­yed dyuers countres, as Italy, Germany, and other) an hundreth and lxxx. thousande / as is wytnessyd of mayster Robert Gagwine compyler and gaderer of the actes and dedes of Frenshmen. Thys forenamed At­tila was kynge of Hunes / and led in one hoost .ii. hundred thousand men of warre, as testyfyeth Policronica. And after dyuers baytayles by hym wonne / he came into y ^e feldes called Catulyntes, the whyche conteyned an hundred legys in length and .lxx. in brede, wherof euery lege contey­neth .iii. Englysshe myles. In the whyche feldes or playnes he was encountred wyth the power of the Ro­maynes / in whose ayde was y ^e kyng of Fraunce Meroneus, the kynge or duke of Burgoyne, and other. where after a longe fyghte was slayne on bothe sydes the foresayde hundred and .lxxx. thousand. Of the whyche nomber the sayde kynge or duke of Burgoyne was one / as is more playnly shewed in the .xxxiii. chapiter in the .iiii. boke of the sayd Polycro­nicon, wyth other wonders whyche I ouerpasse.

Of thys Meroneus dyscendyd all the kynges of Frensshemen, tyll the tyme of Pepyn the whyche was fa­ther vnto Charles the greate or em­perour. And fynally dyed thys Me­roneus when he had reygned after moste wryters .x. yeres / leuynge af­ter hym a sonne named Chylderych or Hylderych.

THE .LXXXVI. CHAPITER.

CHyldericus or Hildericus the sonne of Meroneus / was or­deyned kyng of Fraunce, in the yere of oure lorde god .iiii. hundred & .lx / & the .xii. yere of Uortiger than kyng of Brytayne. The whiche ensued no thynge the warres of hys father / but allyed hym wyth all vyce and cruel­nesse, in suche exterme wyse that he became odyble vnto hys subiectes. wherfore the said Childerich / perceyuyng the murmur & grudge among the people / and ferynge hys sodayne distruccyon: coūsayled wyth a frend and lorde of hys named Guynoma­dus or Guynemeus / by whose counsayle in auoydynge greater paryll, he auoyded secretely hys lande, and yode vnto the kynge of Thurynges named Besygne, of whom he was ioyously receyued. But the at departynge of the kynge from y ^e sayd Guynemeus, he toke a pece of golde and brake it in two peces / wherof y ^e one pece he delyuered vnto the kynge, & that other pece he kepte to hym self / sayenge to the kynge that whan so euer that he receyued from hym that pece of golde, that he shulde be sure to be restored agayne to hys regally and dygnyte.

After the kynge was departed his lande / the Frenshmen of one assent, chase for theyr gouernour and hed a Romayne named Gylf / whyche at that daye hadde a parte of Gallia or Fraunce in hys rule to the behofe of the Romaynes / whyche parte was named or nowe is named Soisons. whā thys Gilf was stablyssed in his authoryte / the forenamed Guyne­meus behauyd hym in suche wyse towarde thys Gylf, that he had hym in specyall fauour aboue all the no­bles of Fraunce / and wolde execute no thynge of charge wythout hys [Page] and counsayll. wherof the sayd Guynemeus beynge ware / and remem­brynge how he myght restore Chyl­derych to his former dygnyte, aduy­sed the sayde Gill to sette more gre­uous taskys vpon the Frenschmen / enfourmynge hym further, that yf any grudged there at, that he shuld punyshe some of the myghtyeste of them / by reason wherof he shulde fere the other.

whyche thus done accordynge to the forsayde counsayll / shortely after to brynge his purpose the better ab­out, the sayde Guynemeus accused certayne rulers of Fraunce suche as he well knewe were great enymyes vnto Chylderych / the whych he cau­sed to be taken and sent vnto Gill, & Gill vpon them dyd sharpe execucy­on. In the whyche he so perseuered, that the Frenschmen for remedy complayned theym to Guynemeus. To whom it was by hym answered, that he greatly meruayled of theyr vnstastablenesse that they hadde chosen to them a kynge, and now so sodaynly wolde haue hym deposed / shewynge furthermore that other they must cal agayn Childerich that exercysyd his lyfe in voluptuousnesse of lyuynge / or ellys they muste dwell vnder the kynge, whyche is cruell and full of blood shedynge, wyth dyuerse other exhortacyons cōcernynge the agayn callynge of Childerych to his four­mer dygnyte, whyche for length I omytte and passe ouer.

By meane of whyche exhortacyon, Childerich was secretly sent for / and receyued from his trustye frende the foresayde pece of golde / and spedde hym hastely into Fraunce. Agayne whom the foresayde Guynemeus in lykewyse sped hym / so that they met at a castell in the countre of Cham­pion, where they wyth other to them allyed / gaderyd a great hoste, and made towarde the foresayde Gill or Gillion. The whych hauynge knowlege of the sayde conspyracye / ordey­ned an armye of knyghtes, and yode agayne his enymyes. But he was ouerset and compelled for his saue­garde to fle into the countre of Soi­sons beforenamed, where he after endyd his naturall lyfe / & Childerych was agayne restoryd & made kynge.

Childerych then thus restoryd vnto his regally / subdued soone after a Saxon prynce named Onager / & besegyd the cytye of Orleaunce, and yt receyued vnto his subieccyon and after passyd the ryuer of Leyr, & sub­dued to his sygnory the countre of Angeo and Mayne.

when the fame of Childerich was brought vnto Basyna the wyfe of Besygne kyng of Turryngꝭ: she a­non forsoke her owne lorde, and sped her into Fraunce, and so to the pre­sence of Childerich, whom he recey­ued wyth all gladnes. And when he had of her frayned the cause of her commynge: she answeryd, for that that she knewe and vnderstode to be in hym more vertue and honour, thē in any other mā at y ^e day lyuyng / she was therefore comyn vnto hym to contynue the remanaunt of her lyfe in his cōpany / addyng also therunto that yf in any countre she knew his better, she wolde then serche see and lande to haue hym to her lord or husbande. But for she was assured, that he had no pere / she besought hym to accepte her in his company.

THE .LXXXVII. CHAPITER.

THen Childerych puttynge a parte and forgettynge kyndenesse to hym before shewyd by her housbande Besynge / maryed the sayde Basina yet beynge a pagan. And when the fyrste nyght was co­men [Page XXXVI] that they shulde go to bedde / she exorted hym y ^t he shulde y ^t nyght ab­steyn frō all fleshly lykyng, & watche the gates of his paleys / and to make reporte to her of suche vysyons as he sawe there y ^t nyght. To the which he was agreable. where he so stan­dynge, sawe fyrst a multitude of vny­cornes, lyons, and lybardes, passyng foreby the paleys gate. And wythin a shorte space of tyme after, he sawe a great company of berys & wolues rēnyng after the other. And thyrdly & lastly he sawe a multytude of dog­ges & other small rauenous bestes / the whyche in hys syghte fyll vppon the other .ii. companyes and vtterly deuoured them all.

when he hadde sene the fyne of his vision / not a lytell astonyed, he returned to hys wyfe / shewynge to her what he hadde sene. To whom she sayd / syr of me ye shal receyue a son / the whyche in all hys dedes shall be noble and honourable, lyke to y ^e vnycornes and lyons shewyd to you in y ^e fyrst vysyon. Of the whyche shall discende one other sonne, the whyche shall be rauenous and shall set hys mynde all to pyllage & rauyne, lyke vnto the rauenous wolfe and here. And after hym shall come a chylde or chyldern that shall be of suche in­solency and wastynge, that lyke as the rauenous hounde stroyeth and wastyth all that he maye tere wyth hys teeth / so shall these persons wast and destroye by theyr folyes all that other noble men hath purchased to theyr handes. And the multytude whyche that ye sawe of other small rauenous bestes / betokeneth the co­mon people, whyche in those dayes for lacke of a good and wyse prynce shall renne eyther vppon other and robbe and s [...]e eche other.

Of thys exposycyon the kyng was somdele troubled. But yet he reioy­sed of the issue that shuld come of his body. Then it foloweth whan thys Chylderych hadde ouercomen some baytayles in Almayne, and them subdued to hys empyre: he lastly dyed when he had reygned, wyth the .viii. yeres allowed to hys reygne for the tyme that he was exyled / and wyth the resydue that he reygned before & after in all .xxiiii. yeres / leuyng after hym a sonne begotten vpon the forenamed Basina called Clodio or af­ter moste wryters Clodoueus.

Anglia. THE .LXXXVIII. CHAPITER.

UOrtimerus the eldest sonne of Uortiger / was by assent of the Brytōs made kyng of Brytayn, in the yere of our lorde .iiii. hundred lxiiii / and the .iiii. yere of Chyldericꝰ than kynge of Fraunce. The whych in all hast pursued the Saxons, and gaue vnto them a great batayle vp­pon the ryuer of Darwent / where he hadde of them vyctory. And secundaryly he faught wi [...]h them vppon the foord called Epi [...]ord or Agliffhorp. In the whych fyght Catrignus the brother to Uortimer, & Horsus bro­ther to Hengyst or Cosyn, after long fyght attwene them .ii. eyther of thē slewe other / in whyche fyght also the Brytons were vyctours.

The thyrd batayle he faught with them nere vnto the see syde / where also the Brytons chasyd y ^e Saxōs, and compelled them to take the yle of wyghte for theyr suertye.

This batayle as wytnesseth Alfredus; was more wonne by vertue of the prayers of the holy byshop saynt Germayne, than by myght of y ^e Brytons. For when the holy man sawe y ^e Brytons gyue backe / he helde hys handes towarde heuen, and cryed thryse alleluya / whyche is to our vnderstādyng as mych to saye, as saue vs good lorde. Thorough whyche [Page] prayer the Britons by dyuyne helpe obteyned y ^e victory of theyr enimyes.

The fourth batayll was nere vnto a moore called Cole moore. The whych was long and sore foughten by the Saxons / by reason that the sayde moore closyd a parte of theyr hoste so strongly, that the Brytons myght not winne vnto them for daūger of theyr shot / All be yt that fynally they were chasyd, and many of thē of cōstraynt drowned and swalowed in the sayde moore

And ouer and besyde these foure pryncypall bataylles: Uortimerus had wyth the Saxons dyuers other conflictes / as in Kent, at Thetfoord in Northfolke, and in Essex nere vnto Colchestre / & lefte not tyll he had byrafte from them the more parte of such possessyons as before tyme they had wonne / and kepte them onely to the yle of Thanet, the whych Uortymer oftē greuyd by such nauy as he then hadde.

when that Ronowen doughter of Hengiste apperceyued the great myschy [...]f, that her fader and the Saxōs were in, by the mraciall knyghthode of Uortymer: she sought suche mea­nes, that shortly after, as testyfyeth Gaufryde and other, Uortimer was poysoned / when he had ruled the Britons after moste concorde of wry­ters seuen yeres.

THE .LXXXIX. CHAPITER.

UOrtigernus fader of Uorty­merus last dede, was agayn restoryd to the kyngdome of myche Brytayne / in the yere of oure lordes incarnacyon foure hūdred .lxxi / and the .xi. yere of Childericus then kyng of Fraunce / the whyche all the tyme of the reygne of his sonne Uortimer, had restyd hym in the coūtre of Cambria or walys. where in this passe tyme after some writers, he buyldyd a strōge castel in a place called Gene­ron̄ or Gwayneren, in the west syde of walys nere vnto the riuer of Gwana, in an hyll or vpon an hyll called Cloarcius. But the olde cronycle before spoken of, sayth y ^• this Uortiger was kept somwhat vnder rule of certayne tutours to hym assygned in y ^e towne of Caerlegion or Chester / and demeaned hym so well towarde hys sonne in aydynge of hym wyth hys counsayll and otherwyse, that the Brytons for it cast to hym such a fauoure, that they after the deth of Uortimer made hym agayne kynge.

It was not longe after that Uor­tiger was thus set in authoryte, but that Hengistꝰ percyd this land with a great multytude of Saxons. wherof herynge Uortyger / in all haste assembled his Brytons, and made to­warde them. And when Hengistus hadde experyence of the great hoste of Brytons: he then ordeyned mea­nes of treaty and peas. where lastly yt was concluded that a certayne nō ber of Brytons, and as many of Saxons, shuld vpon a Maye day assemble vppon the playne of Ambrii, now called Salesbury. whyche daye cer­taynly prefyxyd / Hengistus vsynge a new maner of treason, chargyd all his Saxons by him appoynted, that eche of them shulde putte secretely a longe knyfe in theyr hose / & at suche season as he gaue to thē this watche or by worde, Nempnyth your sexis, that eueryche of them shulde drawe hys knyfe and slee a Bryton, not sparynge any one / except Uortiger y ^e kyng. And at y ^e day before appointed the kynge wyth a certayne of Bry­tons not ware of this purposed trea­son, came in peasyble wyse to y ^e place before assygned / where he fande re­dy Hengistus wyth hys Saxons. The whyche after due obeysaunce [Page XXXVII] made vnto the kynge / receyued hym with a coūtenaūce of all loue. where after a tyme of cōmunycacyon had / Hengiste beynge mynded to execute his former purposed treason, shew­ed his watche word. By reason wherof anon the Brytons were slayne as shepe amonge woluys, hauynge no maner of wepyn to defēde them self / excepte y ^t any of them myght by his manhode and strength get the knyfe of his enymye. Amonge the nomber of these Brytons was an Erle called Edoll or Edolf erle of Caerlegion or Chestre / y ^e whych seynge his felowes and frendes thus murdered, as affermeth myne authoure Gaufryde and other: he by his manhode wanne a stake in the hedge or ellys where / wyth the whyche he knyghtly sauyd his owne lyfe, and slewe of the Sa­xons .xvii, and fledde to the cytye or towne of Ambry nowe named Sa­lysburye. After whyche treason thus executyd / the kynge remayned wyth Hengistus as prysoner.

Of the takynge of Uortyger, and sleynge of the lordes of Brytayne / an authoure called Guillelmus de regibus sayth, that Hengistꝰ agreed wyth Uortyger and hys Brytons / and that he shulde enioye the castell by hym before made, wyth a certayn of lande therunto adioynynge for hym and his Saxōs to dwell vpon. And when the sayde agrement was suerly stablyshed / this Hengiste en­tendynge treason / desyred the kynge wyth a certayn nomber of his lordes to come to hym to dyner wythin his sayde castell. The whych of y ^e kynge was graunted. And at the daye assy­gned the kyng with his lordes came to the sayde Thongcastell to dyner / where he wyth his was well and ho­nourably receyued and also deyntely serued.

But when the kynge & his lordes were in theyr moste myrth / this Hengiste had commaunded before, y ^t his owne knyghtes shuld falle at vary­aūce among thē selfe. whych so done the remenaunt of his Saxons, as yt were in partynge of frayes, shulde fall vppon the Britons & slee theym all, oute take onely the kynge. The whyche was done lyke as ye haue before harde deuysed / and the kynge was holden as prysoner.

THE .XC. CHAPITER.

HEngistus then hauynge the kynge as prysoner, & a great parte of the rulers of Britayne thus as before is sayd subdued: was some deale exalted in pryde / and compel­lyd the kynge to gyue vnto hym, as wytnessyth Policronica, thre prouynces in the eest parte of Brytayne. whych thre prouynces shuld be Kēt, Southsaxon or Sussex, and Eestanglys, whych is to meane Norff. and Suff. as affermeth the authoure of the floure of hystoryes. But Guydo de columna sayth, that the foresayde thre prouynces was Kent, Eestsa­xon or Essex, and Eestanglys / which is Norff. and Suff. Of the whyche sayde prouynces when Hengist was possessyd / he suffred the kynge to go at his lybertye. And then Hengiste beganne his lordshyppe ouer the prouynce of Kent, and sent other of his Saxōs to beweld the other two prouynces / that is to saye Eestanglys and Eestsaxons, tyll he hadde sente for other of his kynnesmen, y ^t he entē dyd to gyue the sayd ꝓuynces vnto.

The kyngdome of Kent here begynnyth

THE .XCI. CHAPITER.

THus Hengistus beynge in the possessyon of this [Page] prouynce of Kent: comaunded hys Saxons to call yt Hengistus lande / wherof as some authours meane the hole lande of Brytayn toke his fyrst name of Englande. But that sayeng shall appere cōtrary, as shalbe shew­ed hereafter in the storye of Egbert kynge of westsaxons. The whych after he had subdued y ^e more parte of the kyngedomes of Saxōs, & made of all but one monarchye: he then cō maundyd this lande to be called Anglia, & his Saxons Anglys / whych after by corrupcyon of speche was called Englande, and the people Englyshemen.

This lordshyppe or kyngedome of Kent had his begynnyng vnder Hengiste, in the yere of oure lorde after moste concordaunce of wryters, and by reason of y ^e time .iiii. hūdred .lxxvi. And the fyfte yere of Uortygers last reygne.

But Denys and other, that accōpt this kyngdome to begynne in the yere of our lord foure hundred and .lv. allowe the begynnynge therof to be when Hengistus had fyrst gyft of the same, by reason that Uortyger ma­ryed his doughter.

This lordeshyppe conteyned the countre that stretcheth from eest Occean vnto the ryuer of Thamys / and had vpon the southeest Southerye / and vppon the weste London / vpon the northeest the Thamys aforesayd and Eestsaxon nowe Essex. And this lordshyppe conteyned also the yle of Thanet.

whyche lordshyppe or kyngdome endured after moste wryters, from the tyme of the fyrste yere of the rey­gne of Hengiste, tyll the .xxv. yere of Egbert before named, by the terme of .iii. hundred and .xlii. yeres folow­ynge that accompte. At whyche sea­son the sayde Egbert then kynge of westsaxons, subdued Baldredus thē kynge of Kent, and ioyned yt to hys owne kyngdome.

Al be yt that the authoure of Po­licronica affermeth yt to endure by the space of thre hundred and .lxviii, vnder .xv. kynges, wherof Baldre­dus was the laste: whyche folowyth nere vnto the accompt of Denys be­fore named. The fyrste crysten kyng of this lordshippe was Ethelbertus, or Ethelbert / the whyche receyued the fayth of Cryste by that holy man saynt Austayne or Augustayne, nere about the yere of our lordes incarnacyon foure hundred .lxxx. and .xvi. The whyche Ethelbert caused soone after to be edyfyed the monastery of saynt Peter and Paule, in the eestsyde or ende of the cytye of Dorobernia now Caunterbury. He gaue vn­to this Austayn and his successours byshoppes of Caunterbury, a place for the byshoppes see at Chrystes chyrche wythin the sayd cytye, & en­dowed it with many ryche possessiōs.

This Hengiste and all the other Saxons whyche ruled the .xvii. pryncypates of Brytayne, as after shall be shewed, are called of moste wry­ters reguli / whyche is to meane in oure vulgare or speche as small or lytell kynges. So that this Hengist is accompted a lyttell kynge. The whyche when he hadde thus rule of the foresayde .iii. prouynces, he sent for mo Saxons / & gatheryd them y ^t were sparkled abrode / so y ^t in these prouynces the fayth of Chryste was all quenchyd and in slepe.

Then Hengist wyth Octa his son gaderyd a great strēgth of Saxōs / and faught wyth the Brytons, and ouercame the Brytons, and chasyd them in suche wyse, that Hengiste kepte his lordesshyppe in peace and warre by the space of .xxiiii. yeres, as moste wryters testyfye.

THE .XCII. CHAPITER.

NOwe then lette vs retourne agayne to Uortiger / y ^e which when he sawe the Saxons in suche wyse encrease theyr strength, and the Brytons dayly dyscreace / for as writeth myne authour Gaufryde, y ^t Saxons had the rule of London, yorke, Lincolne, or Lindecoln̄, and Kaer­guēt, that is wynchester, wyth other good townes / wherfore as affermeth the sayd Gaufryde, the kyng for fere of y ^e Saxōs, & also for that y ^• he was some deale warned of the commyng of the .ii. bretherne Aurely and Uter sonnes of Constantyne: he therfore consyderynge these many and great daungers, fledde into Cambria or walys, and there helde hym for the more suertye / where as wytnessyth the sayde Gaufryde he then buylded the castel before mynded. Of y ^e which buyldynge and impediment therof / and also of the gettynge or byrthe of Merlyne, and of his prophecyes he made a longe worke, the whyche I passe ouer for dyuerse consyderacy­ons, & retourne agayne to Uortiger.

Trouth yt is, that whyle Uorty­gernus was thus besyed in walys / the forenamed brethern Aurely and Uter preparyd theyr nauy and men of armys, and passed the see, and landed at Totnesse as sayth the englysh cronycle. wherof when the Brytons were ware that were disparklyd and seueryd in many coūtres / they drewe to them in all hasty wyse. The which sayde bretherne when they sawe that they hadde a competent nomber of knyghtes / they made towarde wa­lys to dystresse Uortyger.

wherof he beynge warned / for so myche as he well knewe, y ^t he myght not make sufficyēt defence by strēgth of knyghtes: he therfore garnyshed his castell wyth strength of men and vytayll / entendynge to sauegarde hym selfe by that meane / but all in vayne. For the sayde two bretherne wyth theyr armye, besegyd the sayd castell / and fynally after many as­sautes, wyth wylde fyre consumed the sayde castell wyth Uortiger, and all that was therin.

Of hym yt is redde, that he shulde lye by his owne doughter, in truste y ^e kynges shulde come of his blood. For the whyche dede he was accur­syd of saynte Germayne / and lastely ended his lyfe as hefore is expressed, when he hadde reygned nowe laste ix. yeres.

THE .XCIII. CHAPITER.

AUrelius Ambrosius the se­conde sonne of Cōstantyne, and brother to Constancius slayne by the treason of Uortyger / was kynge made of the Brytons in the yere of oar lorde .iiii. hundred .lxxx. & one / and the .xxi. yere of Childericꝰ then kynge of Fraunce. Of thys yt is sayd, that when he hard of the dy­uysion that was in the land of Bry­tayne betwene Uortiger and the Saxons / and in what maner the Saxōs had subdued the Brytons he in all goodly haste wyth ayde of the kynge of lytell Brytayne, spedde hym into thys lande. where after the aboue sayde vyctory hadde of Uortiger / he spedde hym towarde yorke, as affer­meth Gaufride, and there chasyd the Saxons that helde the cytye wyth Octa or Osca sonne of Hengist / and toke the sayde Octa, & kepte hym as a prysoner somwhat of tyme.

But howe so yt was by treason of his keper or otherwyse he brake pry­son. And he wyth his fader gaderyd after a great hoste / and mette Aure­lius & his Brytons at a place called Crekynford, where was foughten a stronge & myghty batayll / to y ^e losse [Page] of both partyes / but the more losse fyll to the Saxōs. For of them was slayne foure dukes, and .iiii. thou­sande of other men, & that other dele chasyd to theyr great daunger. yet this not wytstandynge Hengiste contynued his lordshyppe in Kent / and Aurelius Ambrose, whyche the en­glyshe cronycle nameth Aurilam­brose, kepte the countre called Logiers or myddell Englande wyth wa­lys / and chasyd the Saxons y ^• dwelled in y ^e .ii. forsayd prouynces of eest Saxon and eest Anglis, out of those countres.

The seconde kyngdome.

THE .XCIIII. CHAPITER.

IN this passe tyme a Saxō named Ella, wyth his thre son­nes called Symen or Symon, Plettynger, and Cissa / came wyth thre shyppes called Obilas, and landed in the south parte of Brytayne, and slewe many Brytons at a place that then was named Cuneueshore / & chased many vnto a wood thē called Andresleger / and after occupyed y ^e countre, & inhabyted hym & his Saxons wythin the sayde prouynce / makyng hym selfe kyng and lorde therof. By reason wherof by his might & power the sayd prouynce or countre was after named y ^e kyngdome or lordshyp of Southsaxons. The whyche after most concorde of wryters shuld haue his begynnyng y ^• .xxxii. yere after the fyrst cōmyng of Hēgist. which folowynge y ^e accompte shuld be in the yere of our lorde .iiii. hundred .lxxxii / and in the seconde yere of Aurely then kynge of Brytayne.

This kyngdome or lordshippe had in the eestsyde Kent, in the south the see and the yle of wyght, in the west Hampsyre, and in the northe Sou­threy / and conteyned as wytnessyth Guydo Southampton, Somersetshyre, Deuenshyre / and Cornewayl. Of whyche sayde kyngdome Ethel­baldus or Ethelwaldꝰ was the .iiii. kynge, and the fyrste crysten kynge. Thys kyngdome endured shorteste season of all the other kyngdomes, and passyd soonest into the other. For yt endured not aboue an hun­dred and .xii. yeres, vnder .v. or .vii. kynges at moste.

THE .XCV. CHAPITER.

THen to returne where we left Aurely, whyche as before ye haue harde helde and occupyed the myddell parte of Brytayne wyth Cā bria or walys, dyd hys dylygence to repayre ruynous places, as well temples as other / and caused y ^e seruyce of god to be sayde and done, whyche by meane of the Saxons was greatly decayde thorough all Brytayne. And after this Aureliꝰ beseged y ^• Saxons in y ^e hyll of Badon or Badowe, where he slewe many of theym. But dayly the Saxons encreasyd & lan­ded in myche Brytayn, as after shall appere. For shortely after a Saxon named Porth / landed wyth his two sōnes at an hauē in Southsex. After whome as some authours meane, y ^e hauē was after called Portismouth, whyche kepeth the name at this day. And in lykewyse they came to lande in dyuers places of Britayne / so that Aurelius had wyth them many con­flyctys and bataylles, in the whych he spedde dyuersly / for he was som­tyme vyctour, and some season ouer set. It is wrytē of hym in y ^e englyshe cronicle and other, that he by y ^e helpe of Merlyn shuld fetche the great stones now standynge vpon the playne of Salysburye, and called the stone henge, oute of Irlande, and caused theym to be sette there as they nowe [Page XXXIX] stande / in remembraunce of the Brytons that there were slayne and bu­ryed in the tyme of the communyca­cyon had with Hengiste and his Saxons, as before in the storye of Uor­tiger is touchyd. But Polycronica alledgyth y ^t honour vnto Uter Pendragon his brother. In the tyme of this Aurelius, as wytnessyth also y ^e sayde Policronica / dyed Hengist in his bed, when he had reygned ouer y ^e Kentysh Saxons .xxiiii. yeres. After whose deth Octa or Osca his sonne, ruled y ^e sayd kyngdome other .xxiiii. yeres. All be yt that the brytyshe bo­kes, and also the cronycles of En­lande sheweth / that after that Aure­lius had in batayll slayne Hengiste: he toke vnto his grace Octa his son, & gaue vnto hym a dwellynge place in the countre of Galewey for hym & his Saxōs then lefte on lyue. which semeth not to be true, for mater that shall after ensue / and also for y ^• that before is touchyd of the Pictes and Scottes, in the tyme of the myserye of the Brytons. Then yt foloweth, this Octa nother augmented nor mynyshed his lordshyp / but helde hym therwyth contented as his fader had to hym lefte yt.

Lastely & in the ende of the reygne of Aurely, Pascentius the yongest son of Uortiger, whiche after y ^e deth of his fader was fledde into Irland for fere of Aurely, purchasyd ayde of Guilamour kyng of Irlāde. And wyth a great armye inuadyd thys lande of Brytayne by the countre of walys / in takynge the cytye of Me­nenia, and in wastynge the sayd coū tre wyth iron and fyre. In the which season and tyme Aureliꝰ laye syke in his cytye of Kaerguent or wynches­ter. For whych cause he desyred hys brother Uter to gather an hoste of Britōs, & to appease y ^e malice of Pascencius & his adherētis. The whych accordyngly preparyd his hoste / & at length ouercame the hoste of Pascē ­cius, and slewe hym and the forena­med Guillamour in the same fyght.

In this whyle and season that Uter was thus gone agayne Pascentius / a Saxon or other straūger feynynge hym a Bryton, & a connyng man in physyke, by the intycemet of Pascencius came vnto Aurely, where he lay syke / & by his subtyle & false meanes purchasyd such fauour wyth those y ^t were nyghe vnto the prynce, that he was put in truste to mynystre medycines vnto the kyng. This is named of writers Coppa or of some Eoppa.

The whyche when he had espyed his tyme cōuenyent to brynge about his false purpose / he gaue to Aureliꝰ a pocyon enpoysoned / by vyolence wherof he shortely after was dede, when he hadde reygned after moste wryters vppon .xix. yeres.

The thyrde or fyfte.

THE .XCVI. CHAPITER.

IN the tyme of y ^e reygne of this Aurelius as wytnesseth the authour of Policronica & other / y ^e kyngdome of Eestanglis began vnder a Saxon named Uffa, about the yere of our lorde .iiii. hundred .lxxx. and xii, and the .xi. yere of Aurelius. The whych kyngdome conteyned Norlf. and Suff. nowe called. This hadde in this eest and north sydes, the see / in the northweste, Cambryge shyre / and in the weste, saynte Edmundes dytche, and Hertfordshyre / and in the southe Essex. This lordshyppe was called fyrste Uffynys lordshyp / and the kynges therof were named Uffynys, or after some authoures the people. But fynally they were named eest Anglys.

The fyrst cristen kyng of this pryncypate [Page] was Redwaldus the thyrde kynge / but he was not so stedfaste as belonged to his relygyon. His sonne named Corpwaldus was more stedfaste / whyche after was slayne of a mysbyleuynge man, and for Crystes fayth as some wryte. But Guydo sayth that Sebertus was fyrste cri­sten kynge of this lordshyppe / & that he made saynt Poulys chyrch of Lō don. This vnder .xii. kynges endu­red, tyll the martyrdome of blessyd saynte Edmunde laste kynge therof / the whych was martyred nere about the yere of our lord .viii. hūdred and lxix. By the whyche reason yt shuld folowe, that this kyngdome shulde endure by the terme of .iii.C.lxxvii. yeres. And of this lordshyp, at that dayes was Elman or Thetforde the chyfe towne. But after Guydo, this lordeshyppe shulde begynne the ye­re of Grace .v. hundred & .lxx / & then shuld yt endure but .ii. hundred .iiii. score and .xix. yeres.

Francia. THE .XCVII. CHAPITER.

CLodoueus the sonne of Chil­dericus or Hildericus before named, was after the deth of his fa­der ordeyned kynge of Fraunce, in y ^e yere of oure lorde .iiii. hundred .lxxx. and .iiii / and the thyrde yere of Au­relius then kyng of Brytayne. This of some wryters is named Clodoueꝰ Lowys. The whyche shortely after that he of this realme was authory­syd for kynge / heryng reporte of the beaute and grete vertue of Clotildis neuewe to Cundebald kynge or ru­ler of Burgoyne: sente vnto hym a knyght named Aurelius to treat a maryage betwene the kynge and Clotyld or Crotild. The which Cun­debald more for fere then for loue assentyd.

The cause wherof as myn authour sayth was, for y ^t thys Crotyld was enherytour vnto the sayde lande of Burgoyne / and that she be reason of y ^t maryage shuld recouer her ryghte and put hym from the rule therof. This Crotild had before that day receyuyd the fayth of Cryste / and so cō tynuynge her relygyon was maryed to Clodoueus then a paynym, and so endured a certayne of tyme. But yet she left not to enduce and tourne her lorde to the fayth in all that she myghte.

And after a certayn of tyme she was delyueryd of a sonne / the whyche by meanes of the holy man Remigius byshop of Raynes, and of the quene Crotyld, was crystyned and named Clodomerus / the whych dyed wyth in shorte processe after. For y ^t happe the kyng sayd that his goddes were dyscontented wyth hym, that he had suffred his chylde to be crystyned, & for wrathe therof had taken frō hym his chylde. The quene takynge the kynges sayenge in pacyence / conceyued the seconde sonne, whyche also by the kynges agrement was also baptysed.

This also after a certayne of tyme was vexed wyth a greuous sekenes, in suche wyse that yt was lykely to haue dyed. wherfore the kynge was then more impacyent, and blamed y ^e relygyon of his wyfe in moste impa­cyent maner. The whych sayenges the quene toke pacyētly, and put all her confidence in god / to whom both she and Remigeus prayed so effec­tuously, that the chylde was restored vnto perfyte helth.

Thus Clodoueus perseuerynge in his erronyous lawe / made warre vppon the Almaynes. In whych warre beynge one daye occupyed in fyght agayne hys enymyes / he wyth hys people was put to the werse. wherof [Page XL] whan Clodoueꝰ was ware / hauyng greate drede of hym selfe, called to mynde the often exortacyon of hys wyfe, and of the greate vertue of her goddes lawe / and sodaynly lyfte his eyen towarde heuen and sayde, god the whyche Clotylde my wyfe doth honoure, now helpe me. And yf this daye I may passe thys daunger and opteyne vyctory / I shall euer after worshyp the wyth true fayth. The whyche prayer skantly fynysshed the Frenchemen by dyuyne power were so vnyed and knyt togyther, and so knyghtly wythstode theyr enemyes / that in shorte whyle after they opteyned vyctory. whyche vyctory had / y ^e kynge with greate tryumphe retourned into Fraunce. wherof whan Clotylde was warned / she anone recey­ued hym wyth all ioye and gladnes, thankynge her lord god of his great vyctory / but more for that y ^e he had forsaken hys idolatrye, and was be­comen seruaunt of y ^e onely god four­mer of all the worlde.

THE .XCVIII. CHAPITER.

IT was not longe after y ^t bles­syd Remigius was sent for. The whyche enfourmed the kynge suffycyently in the fayth of Cryst / & vppon an Eester daye folowynge, wyth great solempnyte baptysed the kynge. In tyme of which solempny­sacyon doynge / the holy Crysine or oyle by neglygence of the mynysters or otherwyse, lackynge / a doue dis­cendyng from heuen, brought in her becke or byll a vyoll fylled wyth oyle of moste swetest sauour / and delyue­red it to saynt Remigius. The which was construed to be done by vertue of y ^e holy ghost. And wyth thys holy oyle whan the kyng was anoynted / the surplusage therof was kept with moste reuerence. I haue herde reported, that this oyle is kept at the cytye of Reynes or at Parys, and that yt neuer fayleth or wasteth / and that al ryghtfull enherytours of y ^e crowne of Fraunce be therwyth at theyr co­ronacyō anoynted. But & it happen any myghty mā to vsurpe y ^e crowne by myghte / when the bysshoppe co­meth for thys holy oyle, he fyndeth y ^t vyoll or glasse drye, and ellys not.

To thys reporte euery man maye gyue credence as hym lyketh / for I fande not this wryten in the gospell, nor yet in no boke of holy scrypture.

Then it foloweth after thys solēp­nyte done / the kynge hadde certeyne wordes to the people, in exortynge them to leue theyr idolatrye, and to byleue in Cryste and hys fayth, by whose myghte and power onely he hadde venquysshed hys enemyes. By the whyche exortacyō and other meanes of the holy bysshop Remi­gius / myche people were some after conuertyd and baptysed.

Then the kyng buylded certeyne newe monasteryes / and dedycat the olde temples of idollys in honoure of Crystes sayntes. Among y ^e which one was nere vnto the cytye of Pa­rys, in the honour of the apostles Peter and Paule. It is wytnessed of mayster Robert Gagwyne / that be­fore these dayes all Frenche kynges vsed to bere in theyr armes .iii. todys But after thys Clodoueus had re­ceyued Crystes relygyon .iii. floure de lyse were sente to hym by dyuyne power, sette in a shylde of asure / the whyche syns y ^e tyme hath ben borne of all Frenche kynges.

The sayd authour myndeth also that in a monastery of Fraunce cal­led the monastery of saynte Bartyl­mewe / was somtyme kepte a clothe of redde sylke, whyche was named the aurysflambe, and borne for a ba­ner in the felde agayne the Barbaris or hethen people / by vertue wherof [Page] the frenche prynces wan many vyc­toryes. But after whan thys precy­ous relyke or aurysflābe was borne agayne Crysten prynces / the vertue therof seasyd, and lastly was lost. But yet the lyke therof is kepte at saynt Denys / and had in greate re­uerence of the bysshoppes and ab­bottes of the same place.

Then it foloweth in y ^e storye / whan Clodoueus hadde set hys realme in due order: Clotyld callyng to myn­de the treason done to her fader, and also the wrongfull wythholdynge of her ryghtfull enherytaunce by her vncle Cundebalde / exorted her lorde Clodoueus to sende an embassade, & to requyre restytucyon of her sayde ryght / y ^t whych was sone after done. And whan the kynge had receyued an answere, y ^t the sayd Cundebalde wolde not restore the sayd ryghte of hys wyfe: he in all goodly wyse pre­pared an armye, and made warre vppon the sayd Cundebalde. And after greate waste and dystruccyon of the coūtre: Clodoueus fynally besegyd hym in a cytye / & after toke the sayd cytye by strength / and the sayd Cundebalde wythin y ^e same as prysoner. But by medyacyon of frendes and greate gyftes / wyth also a yerely trybute to be payed to Clodoueus, the sayd Cundebalde was releaced and sette at lybertye.

THE .XCIX. CHAPITER.

THis voyage thus spedde and orderyd: the kynge lefte be­hynde hym an armye of .v. thousand knyghtes, vnder the gydyng of Gū ­defyll brother of the foresayd Cun­debalde / and after retourned into Fraunce. But sone after the kynges departynge / Cundebalde cōtrary to the promyse before made, gaderyd a power of knyghtes, & made warre vppon hys sayde brother / and lastly beseged hym in the cytye of Uienne / where vppon eyther parte was by skyrmysshes & assautes great people slayne. All be yt in the ende Cunde­balde wanne the cytye / and hys bro­ther therein beynge, he afterwarde behedyd. About thys tyme great discencyon grewe atwene Clodoueus and the kynge of Gothys called Alericus. whyche varyaūce by agremēt of bothe partyes was put to the iu­gement of Theodorycus than kyng of Longobardes or of Italyās. The whyche after the sayde causes were well and suffycyently argued and debatyd before hym and hys coūsayle: he fynally gaue sentence y ^t a knyght of Clodoueus shulde stande vppon an hylle holdynge a spere vpryghte in hys hande / and that the kynge of Gothys shuld throwe or lay so mych syluer as shulde in processe couer the poynt of the sayd spere. whyche sen­tence as testyfyeth mayster Robert Gagwyne, the Gothis despysed say­enge that they had not suffycyent syluer wythin theyr land to perfourme the sayd sentence. And for despyte of the same / certeyne Gothys espyenge a prynce of Fraūce named Paterne, beynge assocyate wyth some dyuerse Frenshmen in a lofte or chamber / the whyche Paterne had ben solycy­tour for the Frenshe kynge in y ^e foresayd mater: the sayde Gothys by crafty and false meanes caused the floorth of the sayd chamber to falle / by whyche meane the sayde Paterne was greuously hurte, and many of the other in lykewise, & some slayne.

wherof whan Clodoueus had wrytynge / he beynge therwyth greatly amoued, and also bycause y ^e Gothys dysobeyde the foresayd awarde: he gadered shortly after a greate hoste. And after certeyne offerynges done to saynt Martyn / wyth also passyng the ryuer of Uian by myracle and le­dynge [Page XLI] of an harte: he lastly came to the syghte of hys enemyes. Thenne Clodoueus lodged hys hoost nere vnto the monastery of saint Hillary / where in the nyght before y ^e batayle, he receyued tokens of vyctory, the whyche I passe ouer.

And vppon the morne he set hys people in araye, and made towarde hys enemyes / and mette wyth them in a felde called Noglodien̄, nere vnto y ^e ryuer of Cleue or Clyue. where after sore and longe fyght / he slewe the abouesayde Alaricus kynge of Gothys (as sayth myne authour) wyth hys owne hande.

But here shulde seme some dis­corde of tyme wyth other wryters. For Cronica cronicarum, Iacobus Philippus, and other / testyfye that thys Alaricus was dede many yeres before. For he shulde be kynge of Gothys by theyr sayenge in the tyme y ^t Honorius brother vnto Archadius was emperour whyche was aboute the yere of our lord .iiii. hūdred & .ix. that he began hys empyre. wherfore mayster Robert Gagwyne meaneth some other kynge of Gothys than Alaricꝰ. For the sayd authours also affyrmen, that this Alaricus dyed of sodayne sykenesse at a cytye named Cesancia / whā he had reygned after moste wryters .vi. yere.

Then it foloweth in y ^e story / whan Clodoueus had thus opteyned vyc­tory of the Gothys, and set the countre of Guyan in order: he sped hym agayne into Fraunce.

And when he was comen into the countre of Turon̄ / he was encoūtred wyth embassadours of themperours Anastasius, and presented from the sayd emperour wyth gyftes & greate pryce and honour, and also admyt­ted for a consull of Rome, whyche at that dayes was a dygnyte of moste honour. whyche done, he remytted the sayd embassade wyth great gyf­tes. This sayenge is affyrmed of the other wryters / the whych shewe this honour to hym to be done, for as mych as he had ouercomen the Go­thys, enemyes of Crystes fayth. But they name not the kynges name that then reygned ouer the Gothys.

Thys besynesse ouerpassed / Clodoueus contynued hys iourney tyll he came to the monastery or chyrche of faynt Martyn. where wyth great deuocyon accordyng to hys former promysse / he offered his stede that he oc­cupyed that iourney agayne the Gothys. And after for that he entended to occupye the sayd hors yf he hadde lyke nede: he redemed hym wyth a competent summe of golde. But yet the hors myghte not be remoued. Then y ^e kyng added to an hundreth pecys of golde / which at those dayes were named golden shyllynges / and so receyued hys stede. wherfore the kynge sayd after in game, that saynt Martyn was a good helper at nede / but he was costelewe.

Thus thys noble and fyrste cry­sten prynce cōtynued hys lyfe in no­ble and marcyall dedys / in augmen­tynge hys kyngdome by knyghtly batayles and other worldy prouy­syons / and lastly dyed of goddes vi­sytacyō with all stedfastnes of fayth, whan he hadde reygned .xxx. yeres / leuyng after hym .iiii. sonnes of Clotylde hys wyfe / that is to saye Clo­domyrus, Chyldebertus, Theodori­cus, and Clotharius / or after some Latarius / and was buryed in y ^e mo­nastery that he before nere vnto Parys hadde buylded, wyth suche epy­taphy or superscripcyon vppon hys tumbe as after shalbe shewed.

But or I procede to the declaryng of the foresayd epitaphy / for so mych as I haue hard dyuers hold an opynyon, that the fayth of Cryste was [Page] receyued in Fraunce or it were recey­ued in this lande of Brytayne: ther­fore I shall note here the tyme that this Clodoueus fyrst toke baptyme. whyche was as Ranulphe monke & other testyfye, in the .xv. yere of hys reygne / or nere about. whyche was y ^e yere of our lord .iiii.C.lxxx. & .xix.

wherby yt apperyth, consyderynge the tyme of Luciꝰ fyrst crystē prynce that euer was of Brytayne as before is shewed / that Cristes fayth was by a longe tyme honoured in Brytayn, or it were honoured in Fraunce / ex­cepte that suche as holde the forsayd opynyō, accompte the fyrste comyng of Crystes fayth into Brytayne at y ^e fyrste conuersyon of the Saxons, whenne yt was prechyd by the holy monke saynt Augustyne and hys fe­lowes / whych is not to the purpose. Than to the foresayde epitaphy or superscrypcyon as foloweth.

The whyche verses maye be thus expouned in our moder tūge as here after foloweth.

Anglia. THE .C. CHAPITER.

VTer the laste or yongest sonne of Cōstantyne, and brother of Aure­lius / was made kyng of Britayn in the yere of our lorde .v. huu­dred euen / and the .xvi. yere of Clo­doueus than kynge of Fraunce. Thys as before ys touched, was sur­named Pendragō. The cause therof was as wytnessyth y ^e Englysshe cro­nycle, for so mych as Merlyn lyke­ned hym vnto a dragō vnder a sterre apperynge in the firmament. wherof there is made a long processe, and by Gaufryde in his Brytyshe boke also affermed / the whych to me semeth of lytell credēce. But trought it is, that after Uter was (as before is sayde) made kynge / he was enamowryd vppon the dukes wyfe of Cornewayll named Igwarne or Igorne / & for to optayn his vnlefull lust, sought ma­ny & dyuers meanes. So y ^e lastly he made warre vpō her husbāde named Garolꝰ or Gorleis / & at lēgth slew y ^e [Page XLII] sayde duke at his castell called Tyntagell, standynge in Cornewayle / & after maryed his wyfe, and receyued of her the noble knyght Arthur, and a doughter named Amye, as sayth the englyshe cronycle.

More is not lefte of any wryter of authoryte in remembraunce of thys Uter / all be it that some testifye, that he by the helpe of Merlyne shulde fetche Coria gigantum otherwyse called the stone henge, out of Irlād as before I haue shewed in the story of Aurelius. And of Gaufryde ys shewed, that Uter also shulde wynne the forsayde ladye by the enchaunte­ment of Merlyn. whych is not comely to any chrysten relygyon to gyue to any suche fantastycall illusyons any mynde or credence. wherfore I passe ouer, leuynge all the other ma­ter, whych also ys there rehersyd of the warre betwene Uter and Osca, sonne of Hengyste, for so mych as it is dyscordaunt vnto other wryters / and fynally conclude that thys Uter Pendragon dyed by force of venym, when he hadde ruled thys yle of Brytayne by the full terme of .xvi yeres / and after was buryed by his brother Aurely in Coria gigantum or stone henge, leuynge after hym the fore­named sonne the puyssaunt Arthur.

Francia. THE .CI. CHAPITER.

LOtharius or Clotharius the yon­gest sonne of Clodoueꝰ / was made kynge of a parte of Fraunce called Soisons, in y ^e yere of our lorde .v. hundred and .xiiii / and the .xiiii. yere of Uter then kynge of myche Bry­tayne. ye shall vnderstande that af­ter the deth of Clodoueus laste kyng of Fraunce / the lande by hym was dyuyded to hys foure sonnes. That is to say to the eldest sonne Clodomirus was appoynted the lordshyppe of Orlyaunce / to Theodoricus the seconde sonne Austracye / to Childe­bertus y ^e thyrd son myddell Fraūce, or the countre lyenge about Paris / and to this Lothayr, the aboue sayd lordshyppe of Soisons. Of whyche sayd lordshyppes eyther of them possessyd / they were of theyr subiettes called kynges, and so contynued in good reste a certayne of tyme. In the whyche season Clotyld theyr moder, berynge in mynde the vnnaturall deth of her parentes / wylled her sonnes to venge theyr deth. whych deth as testyfyeth Uincent historyall, and also Antoninus, was in this forme folowynge. Gundenchus the graūd father of Clotildis had .iiii. sonnes / that is to saye Cundebaldus, Gondigisillus, Hilpericus, and Godoma­rus: To these .iiii. sonnes Gundenchus besette the lande of Burgoyne. Gondigisillꝰ and Godomarꝰ dyed / wherfore the land of Burgoyne fyll to Cundebaldus and Hilpericus. Then Cundebaldus for couetyse of the hole lordeshyp, slew his brother Hilpericus / & fastened a great stone to the necke of his wyfe, and cast her into a depe water. And of hys .ii. doughters, wherof the eldest hyght Trona / he exyled in poore wede or clo­thynge. And the yonger he kepte in seruage wythin his owne courte. The whyche after as before is shew­ed was maryed agayne hys wyll vnto Clodoueꝰ fader to this Lothariꝰ.

Then yt foloweth, this Lotharius sonne of Clotild made sharpe warre vpon Sigismonde sonne of Cundebaldus, whyche then was dede. In the whyche warre the eldest sonne Clodomyrus was slayne / leuyng after [Page] hym .iii. sonnes named Theobaldus, Guntherus or Guntharre, and Clodoaldus. whych .iii. sonnes toke to her tuycyon and guydynge. But the other brother maynteyned the warre agayn y ^t Burgoyniōs / in such wyse y ^e finally they obteyned y ^e ryght porcyon of theyr moder Clotilde.

After thys warre was fynyshed in Burgoyne: Childebertus the thyrd sonne herynge that Almarcus kyng of Spayne mysse entreated his sus­ter / made warre vppon hym, & lastly hym subdued and sette his suster in her former estate.

But whyle the said Childebert was thus in Spayne occupyed: Theodorus his brother toke from hym a cy­tye to hym belongyng called Moūt­clere / and slewe the knyghtes which Childebertus had lefte there to kepe the sayd cytye. For this myscheuous dede arose gret debate betwene these two bretherne / but by medyacyon of frendes they were at lēgth accordyd. Then Theodorus sought new mea­nes of dyspleasure agayne his sayde brother, as well treason as other wyse / the whyche Childebert by his polycye and wysedome & wyth good fortune escapyd.

Childebertus than castynge in his mynde how he myght wynne to hym the patrymony or the lordeshyp that lately belōged vnto his eldest broder Clodomyrus: toke counsayle of his brother Clotharius. In such wyse y ^t they to gyder or of one assent, sent vnto theyr moder Clotyld for theyr ne­uewes, childern of theyr brother And she nothynge mystrustynge theym / sent the sayde childern vnto the sayd ii. brethern. But wythin shorte tyme of theyr commyng vnto theyr sayde vncles, as testifyeth mayster Robert Gagwyne, and also the frēche cronicle / Lotharius tyrānously wyth his sworde slew two of y ^e sayde childern. And then the thyrde fledde for his sauegarde vnto suche as hym fauou­ryd. He was after agayne taken and compelled to make a solemne othe, y ^t he shulde become a relygyous man, & neuer clayme any part of his ryght or enherytaunce. By which vnlefull meane the .ii. brothern obteyned the hole lordshyppe of Orleaunce / and partyd the reuennues thereof be­twene them / but that enduryd but a whyle. And here I passe ouer the so­rowe that Clotylde made for the childern of her sonne Clodomyrus / and also the orderyng of the yongest son called Clodoaldus, whyche escaped the daunger of his vncles, as before is shewed / the whyche wolde aske a longe season.

THE .CII. CHAPITER.

IT was not long after but that the seconde brother kynge or duke of Austracy, dyed of goddes visytacyon / leuynge after hym a sonne named Theodobertus. The whyche of his two foresayde vncles was greuously warred by lōge tract of tyme, the whyche he defendyd thorough his marciall knighthode. And when he by dyuers meanes hadde sought peace, and myght not purchase it: he then founde suche meanes by ryche gyftes and otherwyse, that he wāne the fauoure of his vncle Childebert / and cherysshyd hym as his frende. Then fyll vnkyndnes betwene Childebert and Lotharius / in so myche that eyther of thē assembled a great hoste to subdue that one the other. But the forenamed Theodobertus made all y ^e power he myght, to ayde and assyste Chyldebert. So that vppon bothe partyes was a great mul­tytude of knyghtes armed redy to fyght. Clotilde then herynge of this mortall warre betwene her two son­nes / and also consyderynge the lykelyhode [Page XLIII] of the great effusyon of mannes blood that myghte ensue, by the reason of the ioynynge of these foresayd two hostes: in all hast yode vnto the sepulture or shryne of saynt Martyn. where wyth due deuocyon she made her specyall prayers / bese­chynge god and that blessyd saynt to sende by heuenly power some let or impedyment, y ^t the sayd hostes shuld not ioyne in batayll. By meane of whyche prayer when the sayde two hostes were in preparyng for to haue ronne to gyther: sodeynly fyll suche a tempeste of wynde and hayll wyth thunder and lyghtnynge, that bothe hostes were so greuously beten with the sayde tempeste and wederynge, that eyther of them had most mynde how they myght defende them selfe from daunger of the said wederyng. And ouer that, as testyfyeth y ^e aboue named Authour / eyther of the hostes thought in theyr myndes, that they were chased of theyr enimies / in such wyse that eyther of them fledde from other by a longe space.

After this eyther of them sent meanes of treatyse eyther to other / and at length confermed a peace betwene them. The whyche peace surely on both partyes assured Childebert excytyd his brother to warre vppon a people or countre called Terra Co­nens̄ in the prouynce of Spayn, and besegyd the cytye of Saragounce otherwise called Augusta / & fynally kept the cytesyns so shorte, that they to appeace theyr enimyes, caused the byshoppe of the cytye to open the se­pulchre of saynt Uyncent, and gyue to Lotharius a parte of y ^• holy martyrs bodye.

But yet that notwythstandynge / though the syege were wythdrawen and the cytye sparyd: yet the coun­tre there aboute they pylled and wasted wythoute pyte. And after wyth great rychesse of praye, retourned in to Fraunce. where at Paris by Childebert soone after was builded a monastery in the worshyppe of god and of saynt Uincent / where the foresayd relyke was sette and reuerētly kepte. whych monastery at this daye is called saynt Germayns de Pree.

In thys whyle, I can not saye by what happe / these two brethern newly malygned agayne theyr neuewe Theodobert the son of theyr brother Theodorich. And entendyd by they [...] malyce to byreue hym of the lorde­shyppe of Austracy. And to that en­tent gatheryd theyr people to warre vpon the sayde Theodobert. wherof when y ^e sayd Theodobert was ware, consyderynge he coude not so shorte­ly assemble his people to wythstande the malyce of his sayd vncles▪ he [...] lowly and good maner rode agayne them in a peasyble wise. And to them behaued hym so well in worde and dede, that they alonely forgaue no [...] hys trespasse / but also sente hym [...]gayne with great rychesse of gyftes.

Soone after thys tyme dyed Clo [...]tilde the wife of Clodoueus / y ^• which with great pompe of her two sonnes was buryed by her sayde husbande▪ And shortly after dyed Theodobert aforenamed / leuynge after hym [...] sonne named Theobalde. In thys passe tyme Lotherius of hys wyfe r [...] ceyued .vii. sonnes & two doughters. Of the whyche Cramyris the eldest sonne he sente into Guyan, to haue the rule therof vnder his father. But he contrary to hys fathers mynde / oppressyd the inhabytauntes therof wyth greuous exaccyons and tribu­te / wherfore hys father beynge dys­content, called hym thens. Cramy­ris wyth this beynge sore amoued / in great angre departed his fathers courte, & yode vnto Childebert hys vncle, excytynge hym to make warre [Page] vppon hys father / imagynynge fals occasyons to bryng the two brethern at dystaunce / and made a solemne othe to his vncle, that durynge hys lyfe he shuld strēgth his party agayn his owne father. whyche assuraunce thus made, Chyldebert preparyd hys hoste to warre agayne his bro­ther Lothariꝰ. But y ^e sayd Lothariꝰ of this beynge warned / for such lette as he then haddde, sent agayne hys enymyes two sonnes of hys, named Gunthranus and Aribertꝰ / & whyle these two fonnes made toward Childebert, he in that whyle made great waste in the countre of Champayne / and takynge great pryses, returned into hys owne countre of myddell Fraunce. wherof herynge the forenamed Guntranus and hys brother / and also that in Guyan was moued warre by Cramyr̄: spedde them thy­der wyth all theyr people. But they dydde nothynge worthye memorye or laude.

In thys season dyed the forsayde Chyldeberte brother of Lotharius wythout heyre / when he hadde ruled myddell Fraunce .xivii. yeres, as sayeth the Frenche cronycle / and was enterred in y ^e monastery of saint Uyncent, otherwyse called saynte Germayne de Pree.

THE .CIII. CHAPITER.

AFter the deth of Childebert / for so myche as he dyed without heyre, Lotharius forenamed seasyd all myddell Fraunce into his possessyon. And after he hadde somdele sette yt in order / not forgetynge the innaturall rebellyon of hys son Cramyris: chase vnto hym a puryd company of knyghtes and of competent nomber / & in all haste made toward Guyan, where y ^e sayd Cramyr̄ was then abydynge. But when he harde of the cōmynge of his father agayn hym with his chosyn armye: he withdrewe hym to the vttermost partyes of Fraunce / and requyryd ayde of a kynge or duke to that partye adioy­nynge named Gonobalde / the which to hym promised ayde to his power.

Lotharius of this affinyte beyng warned / pursued the sayde Gono­balde so sharpely, that he constray­ned hym at length to take the chyrch of saynte Martyne, and to holde yt for his sauegarde. But when Lotharius had assayd by dyuerse meanes, as well by fayre promyse as wordes of Manasses, and myght not get the sayde Gonobalde oute of that holy place: he set the chyrche on fyre, and brent the duke in the same / the which shortely after he reedifyed and made in more better maner then yt before hadde ben.

when Cramyris was thus dispoynted of y ^e ayde of Gonobalde: he then fledde into lyttell Brytayne, and re­quyred ayde of the erle therof named Cenabutus / where by comforte of y ^t sayde erle he assembled a great hoste to wythstand his father. wherof the father beynge asserteyned drewe to­warde hym. And when both hostes were nere: they sent messagers to y ^e father to entreate a peace. But Lo­tharius included so many harde condycyons wythin the sayde peace / or as some writersmeane, Cramyris desyred such vnlefull desyres of his father / that the sayd treaty myght take none effecte. And for truste that he had in the Brytons and his strength he was vtterly bent to trye his cause by dynt of swerde.

Lotharius hauynge experiēce that fortune of batayl is in victory dout­full & vncertayne: he therfore made hys prayer to god / besechynge hym of ayde agayne the innaturall and obstynate rebellyon of his sonne. [Page XLIIII] After whych prayer endyd / he com­maunded in the name of god to sette vppon his enymyes. whyche mette with so grete ire / that shortly y ^e grene feld was dyed into a perfyght redde / and many knyghtes vpon both par­tyes laye slayne, and gruntynge vp­pon the erthe. The father comfor­tynge and callynge vpon his knyghtes vppon the one parte, and the son vpon his knyghtes vpon that other parte / eyther of them entendynge y ^e deth and vtter destruccyon of eche other / thus this batayll hangynge in suspence to whether of them the vy­ctorye shuld turne: sodeynly the Britons gaue backe / and gaue place to the Frenchemen. wyth the which the French partye beyng cōforted / enforced y ^t Britons wyth so sharpe fyght, that they were compelled to forsake the felde, and toke theym to flyght / whom the Frenchemen chasyd and slewe wythout mercy.

In the whyche chase Cramyris wyth hys wyfe and chyldern were taken and presentyd vnto Lotharius. The whyche shortly after, settynge a parte all faderly loue, compassion, and pytye, causyd a great fyre to be made / into the whyche he commaunded to be caste the sayde Cramyris with also hys wyfe and chyldern. Or as wytnessyth the frenche cronycle, they were all enclosyd in a house / and the house and they to gether consumyd wyth fyre.

Thus the moste cruell father without pyte chastysyd y ^e inobedyent son, to the example and lernyng of other, to bere dewe obedyēce vnto theyr parentes. After this vyctory and cruell chastysement executed by Lothariꝰ: he retourned into Fraunce. And so to the sepulcre or shryne of saynte Martyne / yeldynge to god and hym thankes of thys vyctorye, and offe­ryd there many & ryche gyftes. And after spedde hym to Soisons / where he as kynge of all Fraunce / excepte the lordshyppe of Austracy, whyche Theobald sonne of his brother sons Theodorich then helde. The father of this Theobald was Theodobert. Then Lotharius seynge hys lande in reste and quyetnesse / gaue hym to huntynge and chace of wylde bestes, a game of great vse amōg all Frēche prynces.

In whyche dysporte he beyng one daye greatly trauayled, caught some surfet / of the whyche ensued a mor­tall sykenes, so that he dyed shortely after, when he hadde reygned as be­fore is specifyed ouer the lordshyppe of Soysons and other, by the terme of .l. wynter full. And was after bu­ryed at Soisons with great pompe / leuynge after hym foure sonnes, Gū thranus, Aribertus, Chilpericus, & Sigebertus.

It is testyfyed of mayster Robert Gagwyne, that saynte Radegunde borne of the countre of Thurynge, of a pagan father named Bernigarius, was wyfe to this Lothar̄. whose vertuous lyfe Antoninꝰ in his boke called Sm̄ Antonini, in the .viii. chapyter & .xii. tytle of the seconde parte of his worke, shewyth cōpēdyously.

Anglia. THE .CIIII. CHAPITER.

ARthurꝰ the sonne of Uter Pendra­gon a strepelynge of .xv. yeres of age beganne his rey­gne as kynge of Brytayne, in the yere of oure lorde v. hundred and .xvii / and the thyrde yere of Lotharius, then kynge of Fraunce, or of a parte therof, as be­fore is declared. Of this Arthure is [Page] by Gaufryde recyted a longe storye, and alowed by the englysh cronycle, the whyche from other wryters ys greatly dyscordaunte. But yet all authours agreen that he was noble an victoryous in all his dedys.

Fayne I wolde declare the fame of this noble prynce, to the comforte of other to folowe his marcyall de­dis / so that I myght somwhat iustly fye my reporte by some authoure of authoryte. But the more I am in doute, bycause of the sayenge of Ranulphe monke of Chestre / whyche vouchyth yt vppon wyllyam wry­ter of hystoryes of kynges, as ys re­hersed at length in the .vi. chapyter of the .v. boke of Policronicō / which is there open to euery man that ys desyrous to knowe the sayde reporte or opynyon / the whyche for the lēgth therof I ouerpasse. And somwhat to the honour of so great a champyon as was thys Arthur, I shall lay vn­to the reder, that he may wyth authoryte shewe vnto the herers / and ther wyth gladde the welsheman that he shuld descēde of so noble a vyctour / whych so many dedys of honour executed in his dayes.

Then as testyfyeth Polycrony­con and other / Arthur faught .xii. no table batayllis agayne the Saxons, and of them all was victour.

wherfore the fyrste was vpon the ryuer of Cleuy / and .iiii. the nexte were foughten vpon the ryuer Douglys, which rynneth vnder the town of wygan, vpon ten myles from the ryuer of Merse in Lancashyre.

The .vi. batayll was vppon the ryuer called Bassa.

The .vii. besyde Lyncoln̄ in a wood called Celidon̄.

The .viii. and the .ix. were fough­ten about yorke.

The .x. was about Nycolf towne, whyche is named warwyk as after some wryters.

The .xi. was at Bathe / where he longe besegyd Cerdicus kynge of westsaxons.

The .xii. and last was at a place called Badon or Babowe hyll / in which he slewe many Saxons. But that notwythstandynge he myght not clerely voyde them his lande / but that they kepte theyr coūtes, which they were before possessyd of / as Kente, Southerey, and Norff: all be it that some authours testyfy that they held these countres as trybutaryes vnto Arthure.

Thys noble warryour as wytnessyth holy Gildas, slew with his own hande in one daye by y ^e helpe of our ladye saynte Marye / whose picture he bare peynted in his shelde, a hundred and .xl. Saxons. whyche shelde he called Prydwen̄ / his swerd was called Caliboure / and his spere was called Ron̄, after the brytyshe tunge or speche.

The thyrde or fourth.

THE .CV. CHAPITER.

ABout the .v. yere of this Arthur, after the agrement of moste wryters beganne the lord shyppe of westsaxōs, vnder y ^e Saxon called Cerdicus & Kenricus hys sonne. For Denys and other wyt­nesse, that this lordshyppe or kyng­dome shulde haue his begynnynge the .lxxi. yere. after the fyrste com­mynge of Hengiste / or the yere of oure lorde fyue hundred .xxii. which agreeth wyth the .v. yere of Arthure aforesayde.

Thys lordshyppe conteyned the weste countre of Englande / as wylt [Page XLV] wyltshyre, Somersetshyre, Berkꝭ, Dors. and other / as Deuonshyre, and Cornewayll / and hadde in the Eest syde Southampton / in y ^e north Thamys the famouse ryuer / in the south and weste the see Occean.

This foresayde Cerdicus, whyche of some authours is named Childri­cus / lāded fyrst at Cerdyshore which nowe is called yermouth, an hauen towne in the countre of Norff. And by helpe of other Saxons then inhabyted in that countre then called eest Anglys: the sayd Cerdicus at lēgth obteyned the foresayde countre and named yt westsaxon or westsaxonia / and reygned therin as lorde or kyng a certayne of yeres, and Kenricꝰ his sonne after hym.

The fyrste chrysten kynge of this prouynce was named Kyngilsus / and cōuertyd by meanes of that blessed man Berinus byshoppe of Dor­chester. To whom Quichelinus brother of the foresayd Kyngilsus, gaue the sayd cytye to make there hys see, after he also had receyued baptyme of the sayde Berinus. And as Guy­do wytnessyth the sayde Quicheli­nus gaue after to the byshoppe of wynchester .vii. myles compasse of lande, to buylde there a byshoppes see / the whyche was accomplyshed and finyshed by Kenwalcus his son. Thys kyngdome enduryd longeste of all the other / whyche were .vii. in nomber, or .vi. besyde thys. Some wryters accompte the terme of the duraunce of thys kyngdome, from Cerdicus to Egbert / and some to the laste yere of Aluredus. But Guydo accomptyth the enduraunce of thys kyngdome, from the fyrste yere of Cerdicus vnto the laste yere of Ed­warde the cōfessour. By reason wherof yt shuld endure fyue hundred and & .liiii. yeres. But moste accordyng­ly yt shulde be rekened from the fyrst yere of Cerdicus to the laste yere of Aluredus. For he made one monar­chye of all .vii. kyngdomes / in which tyme dyd flowe or passe thre hūdred lxxviii. yeres.

THE .CVI. CHAPITER.

NOwe then I wyl returne vnto Ar­thur / the whych by a longe tyme dwelled in warre and mortall ba­tayll wyth y ^e Saxōs, by meane of theyr dayly repayre into this lande. The whyche also a­lyed them with Pictes and other nacyons, and made theyr partye the strenger by y ^e meane. But yet Arthur by his marciall knyghthod brought theym in suche frame / that he was accōpted for chyef lord of Brytayne.

Fynally when he hadde by a longe tyme maynteyned hys warres a­gayne the Saxons / and specyally a­gayne Cerdicus or Childricus kyng of westesaxons: he for a fynall con­corde gaue vnto the sayde Cerdicus as testyfyeth Policronica in the .vi. chapyter of his .v. boke. the two coū tres of Hampshyre and Somerset. And when he hadde sette hys lande in some quietnesse, he betoke the rule therof vnto hys neuewe Mordred / and wyth a chosyn armye sayled, as sayth Gaufryde and other, vnto Fraūce / where by the reporte of Gaufryde he wrought wonders.

But the wryters of Frenche cronycles touche nothynge of suche nota­ble dedes / nor yet the wryters of Romaynes mynde nothynge of suche actes done agayne theyr consull or emperoure called by Gaufryde Lu­cius Hybertꝰ. Therfore I wyll spare all that longe mater: remyttyng the welshemen as touchynge y ^e processe [Page] vnto the sayd Gaufride. And here I wyll folowe Policronicon, where he sayth, that for as mych as the forenamed Mordred was desyrous to be kynge / & feryd some dele the myght of Cerdicus kyng of westsaxons: he therfore drewe to hym the sayde Cerdicus by great gyftes, as of townes and castelles & other meanes / where thorough the sayd Cerdicus to hym assented, so that Mordred was at London crowned kyng of Brytayn / and Cerdicus after the vse of pagās was at wynchester then called Kaer­guent crowned kyng of westsaxons.

when relacyō came to Arthur of all this treason wrought by his neuewe Mordred: he in all haste made to­warde Brytayn, as yt is redde in the englyshe cronycle / & lāded at Sand­wyche, where he was mette of Mor­dred and hys people / whych gaue vnto hym strong batayll in tyme of his landyng, and loste there many of his knyghtes, as the famouse knyghte Gawyne and other. But yet this not withstandyng Arthur at lēgth wāne the lande, and chasyd his enymyes / and after the enterynge of his cosyn Gawyn and other of his knyghtes there slayne, he sette forwarde his hoste to pursue his enymyes. Mor­dred thus beynge ouersette of his vncle at the see syde / withdrewe hym to wynchester. where he beynge furnysshed of newe soudyours, gaue vnto Arthur, as sayth Gaufryde, y ^e secōde fyghte / wherin also Mordred was put to the worse, and constrayned to flee. Thyrdely and lastely the sayde Mordred faught wyth his vncle Arthur besydes Glastynbury / where after a longe and daungerouse fyght, Mordred was slayn / & y ^e victorious Arthur wounded vnto the deth / and after buryed in the vale of Aualon besyde Glastynbury beforesayde.

Of this laste ende and buryenge of Arthur in the brytyshe bokes are tolde many fables. But to oppresse y ^e errours of Brytons y ^e thynke or by­leue y ^t Arthur yet lyueth: Policroniconshe with in his forenamed chapyter of his .v. boke, y ^t in the secōde Henryes tyme kynge of Englande the bonys of the sayd Arthur and Gwaynour his wyfe were foūden / and trāslated into the forsayde chyrch of Glastynbury, and there newe buryed in the yere of our lord .xi. hundred .lxxx. And more specially yt is noted in the xxiii. chapyter of the .vii. boke of Policronicon aboue sayde.

wherfore to be at cōclusyon of a fyne of this noble warryour / he was as before is shewed slayne or woun­ded to deth, when he hadde reygned ouer the Britons by y ^e terme of .xxvi. yeres / wyllynge before his deth that Constantyne the son of Cador duke of Cornewayle, for so mych as of his bodye remayned none heyre, that he shulde be his heyre and enheryte the land of mych Britayn after his deth.

Anglia. THE .CVII. CHAPITER.

CONstantinus the son of Cador duke of Cornewayle / by assent of the Bry­tons was of them crowned kynge of myche Brytayne, in the yere of Cry­stes incarnacyon fyue hūdred .xliii / and the .xix. yere of Lotharius then kynge of Fraunce. This was nere kynnesman vnto Arthur / and was by the two sonnes of Mordred gre­uously vexed, for so myche as they claymed the lande by the ryghte or tytle of theyr father. So y ^t betwene hym and them were foughten many and sondry bataylles. wherof nother [Page XLVI] of place nor of tyme is left any con­uenyent memorye / nor yet of the names of the sayde two sonnes.

But as dyuerse authours agreen, after these forsayde batayllys thus foughten / fynylly the two sonnes of Mordred were constrayned of pure force to seche strong holdes for theyr refuge▪ wherfore that one toke Lon­don, and that other wynchester.

wherof Constantyne beynge warned / lefte not tyll he had slayne that one wythin the monastery of saynte Amphiabil [...] at wynchester / and that other wythin a temple or chyrche of London, whych temple is named of Gaufryde an hous of freres. But y ^e sayeng is doutefull / for at that days yt is to be supposed that there was none hous of freres within London nor by a longe tyme after.

when Constantine hadde thus subdued his enymyes, and thought hymselfe in a maner of suertye of his re­gyon: then fortune as she hadde en­uyed his glory, arreryd agayne hym his owne kynnesman named Aurelius Conanus / the whych agayn hym made mortall batayll / and finally or at the last slewe hym in y ^e felde, when he hadde reygned after most accorde of wryters .iii. yeres / the whych was then huryed at Stone hyenge by the sepulture of Uter Pēdragon / wyth great solemnytye.

THE .CVIII. CHAPITER.

AUrelius Conanus the cosyn of Constantync last named / was crowned kyng Brytayne, in the yere of our lord .v. hundred & .xlvi / & the .xxxii. yere of Lothariꝰ before na­med then kynge of Fraunce. This was noble and lyberall. But he was a man that cherysshed suche as loued stryfe and dyscencyon wyth in his lande / and gaue lyghte cre­dence to them y ^t accused other, were yt ryght or wronge. And as testyfy­eth Gaufryde and other / he toke by strength his vncle whyche of ryght shulde haue ben kyng, and caste hym in a strong pryson / and after s [...]ew ty­rannously the .ii. sonnes of his sayd vncle. But he reioysed his reygne but shorte whyle. For as wytnessyth the sayde Gaufryde, when he hadde reygned two yeres he dyed, were yt of the sonde of god or otherwyse / le­uynge after him a sonne named Uortiporius, as hath the authoure of the boke named Floure of hystoryes.

Of this Uortiporius speketh no­thynge the englyshe cronycle / but telleth of two kynges that shulde rey­gne nexte after Constantyne both at ones / wherof that one he nameth Adelbryght, and that other Edyll. wherunto none other writer agreeth except that he nameth them for some of the kynges of the Saxons. For a­boute that tyme reygned in kent or soone after, Ethelbert or Athelbert / whyche myghte be taken of some for Adelbryght. And that other whyche he named Edylf, myght be taken for Ella kynge of Southsaxons. But this Ella shulde not by concorde of wryters be lyuynge at this tyme. It myght wyth more conuenyency ac­corde, that yt shulde be a kynge of Deira or of Northūberlande named Ella, the whyche reygned more a­boute this tyme and season.

Of these two kynges, the sayde englyshe cronycle telleth a longe processe / the whych for I fynde none authour of authoryte that wryteth or speketh of the same, I passe yt ouer.

ye shall also furthermore vnder­stande, that after this daye the Brytons dayly dyscreasyd of lordshyppe and rule wythin Brytayne, & drewe them towarde Cambyr or walys / so that the countre about Chestre was [Page] the chyefe of theyr lordshyp wythin Brytayne. For dayly the Saxons landed wyth companyes, and occu­pyed y ^e princypall partes of y ^e same / as shortely here after shall appere.

The fyfthe kyngdome of the Saxons.

THE .CIX. CHAPITER.

IN the tyme of the reygne of this fore named Aurelius Conanus / as wytnessyth Polycronica, Guido, & other: beganne the kyngdome or lordshyp of Brenicia vnder a Saxon named Ida / the yere of our lorde .v. hundred and .xlvii / and the seconde or laste yere of the sayd Co­nanus. Thys lordshyp was in the north parte of Brytayne / and grewe in short whyle more & more, so that fynally it was named the kyngdome of Northumberlande. But ye shall vnderstande, that this lordshyp was fyrste deuyded in two kyngdomes / wherof the fyrste, as aboue is sayde was called Brenicia, and that other Deyra. The meris or markis of this kyngdome of Northūberlande were by Easte and by west the occean see / by south the ryuer of Humber, and so downwarde towarde the weste by the endys of y ^e shyres of Notynghm and Derby, vnto the ryuer of Merse or Mercia / and by north the Scot­tysshe see, whyche is called forth in Scottysh / & in Brettyshe the werde.

The southsyde of thys lordshyppe was called Deyra, whyche is nowe called the bysshopryke of Durham, and the north syde was called Brenicia / whyche were than departyd or seuered by the ryuer of Tyne. Deyra conteyned the lande from Humber to the ryuer of Tyne / and Brenicia included the countree from Tyne to the Scottysshe see.

In Brenicia regned fyrste as is a­boue sayd Ida or Idas / & in Deyra regned fyrste Ella / whych lordshyp­pes began bothe within .iii. yeres. But in processe of tyme bothe in one were named the kyngdome of Nor­thumberlande / whych so contynued somwhyle vnder one kynge, & somewhyle vnder two, by the terme of .iii. hundred and .xxi. yeres, as sayth Ranulphe munke of Chester. And after furth contynued y ^e name vnder Sa­xons and Danes, tyll the comynge of Edredus brother of Ethelstane & son of Edwarde y ^e elder. The whiche Edredus in the .ix. or last yere of hys reygne, ioyned thys to hys owne kyngdome. By which reasō it shulde seme, that thys kyngdome endured vnder that name vpon .iiii. hundred and .ix. yeres.

The fyrste crysten prynce of thys kyngdome was named Edwynus / that receyued the fayth of saynt Paulyne, as testyfyeth Guydo. In thys lordshyppe also were included these shyres and countrees nowe called yorke, Notyngham shyre or Snot­hyngham shyre, Derby shyre, y ^e bys­shopryke of Durham, Copelande, and other.

Amonge the many kynges y ^t reyg­ned in thys lordshyppe, whych after some wryters were to the nomber of xxiii. reygned one accōpted the .viii. kynge by Guydo, named Ethelfridꝰ & sonne of Ethelricus. whych Ethel­fridus destroyed mo Brytons than all y ^e other kynges of Saxōs. This was fader to saint Oswold & Oswi.

He slewe also many of the Brytōs at a batayle that he had agayn them besyde Kaerlegyon or Chester, and two thousande and a hūdred of monkes of the house of Bangor, as it ys [Page XLVII] testyfyed of Polycronicon in the .x. chapyter of hys .v. boke / the whyche monkes were comen thyder to praye for the good spede of the Brytons. And ouer thys forsayde nomber of monkes .l. fled / whereby they wyth theyr leder named Brucyuall were sauyd. Of suche a nomber of mon­kes of one house / myghte be demyd a wonder. But the sayd Policroni­ca, wyth Guydo, and other wryters / affermyn that in that house of Ban­gor were at those dayes for the more party thre tymes. vii, hundred mon­kes, the whych lyued by the trauayle of theyr handes onely.

The forenamed Oswye, was after Oswolde kynge of thys prouynce / whych gaue wyth hys doughter El­fleda a nonne .xii. lordshyppes into y ^e chyrche, to buylde wyth .xii. monasteryes / whereof .vi. of the sayde lord­shyppes were in Brenicia, and .vi. in Deyra / as sayth Guydo. And also Ranulphe in hys .v. boke of Poly­cronyca and .xvi. chapyter affermyth the same.

THE .CX. CHAPITER.

UOrtiporiꝰ sonne of Aureliꝰ Conanus after the opynyon before sayd / was ordeyned kynge of Brytayne in the yere of our lorde .v. hundred and .xlviii. and the .xxxiiii. yere of Clotharius thenne kynge of Fraunce. Of the whych is lytell me­mory lefte in any cronycler or wry­ter / excepte y ^t Guydo testyfyeth hym to be a vyctoryous knyght / shewyng breefly that he in sondry batayles scomfyted the Saxons / and defen­dyd hys lande and Brytons from y ^e daunger of them and other that the Saxons alyed them wyth.

In the tyme of the reygne of thys kynge / a Saxon named Ella the son of Iffus, began to reygne in y ^e south syde of the kyngdome of Northum­berlande called Deyra / as before is touchyd in the chapyter of the sayde kyngdome.

Then yt foloweth / whan this Uortiporius hadde ruled the Brytons knyghtly by the terme of .iiii. yeres / he dyed, and was put to hys fader / leuynge none heyre of hys body.

For as myche as all wryters agre­en, that the kynges of westsaxon at length subdued all the other kyng­domes / and made of the hole land of mych Brytayne but one kyngdome or monarchye / and all other as well of Brytons as of Saxons fayled or lefte of, that all onely excepted: ther­fore I entende to brynge in, the na­me of euerych kyng of westsaxon frō the fyrst Cerdycus or Chyldricus, & ioyne them wyth the kynges of Brytons / for so long as hereafter y ^e sayd Brytons contynued theyr reygne wythin any parte of Brytayne.

THE .CXI. CHAPITER.

MAlgo a duke of the Brytons and neuewe of Aureliꝰ Co­nanus, as sayth the authour of the Floure of hystories / begā his reigne ouer the Brytons in the yere of oure lorde .v. hundred .lii / and the .xxxviii. yere of Clotharius then styll kynge of Fraunce / and also the .xv. yere of Kenricus the sonne of Cerdicus and seconde kyng of westsaxō aforesayd: accomptyng .xv. yeres of the reygne of hys fader, as Guydo allowyth. Thys Malgo after y ^e accorde of all wryters that make mencyon / was y ^e comlyest and moost personable man of all Brytons than lyuyng, & there­wyth endowed with knyghtly man­hode. The whyche wythstode y ^e Sa­xons and kepte them of, that they damaged not the lande / the whyche he then had possessyon of. And as wyt­nessyth Gaufryde & other / he by hys manhode subdued y ^e iles of Iseland, [Page] Orchades or Orkeys, and Norway wyth other.

In the tyme of the reygne of thys Malgo / reygned in the lordshyp or kyngdome of Kent Ethelbertus / the whych as wytnessyth Polycronycō, assembled an hoste of hys knyghtes, and gaue batayle vnto Ceawlmus sonne of Kenricus and then kyng of westsaxon / the cause whereof ys not expressyd. But thys batayle was y ^e fyrste batayle that was foughten by twene the Saxons, after that they opteyned lande and dwellynge with in Brytayne / whyche was foughten in a place called wylbaldowne. And in the fyghte was slayne .ii. dukes of Ethelbertus / and hym selfe with his people chasyd.

Also yt'ys wytnessyd of the sayde Polycronica, that y ^e yere folowynge Cutwolfus the brother of Ceawimꝰ before named / faughte strongely a­gayn the Brytons at Bedforde / and berafte them .iiii. cytyes or townes named Liganbroght, Egelsborgth, Besyngton, and Euysham.

Then to retorne agayn to Malgo kynge of the Brytons / the authour of the Floure of historyes sayth, that not wythstandynge the many ver­tues, the whyche god had endowed hym wyth / he lastely forgate god for sakynge all vertue, and gaue hym to sondry vices and synnes, wherof the odible synnes of Sodomy was one / wherfore fell to hym great ꝑsecucyō of hys enemyes the Saxons, as be­fore sōdele is shewyd & more ensueth

It was not longe after the forena­med batayle done at Bedforde / but that the foresayd Cutwolfus dyed. But yet hys sayd brother Ceawlmꝰ couetouse of worshyppe, mayntey­ned hys warre agayne the Brytons / so that after he made a newe voyage agayne them, and made of them an other scomfyture / & toke from them y ^e famous cytyes of Bathe, of Glouceter, and w [...]rceter / whyche shulde be by y ^e meanynge of Ranulfe about the yere of the reygne of thys Mal­go .xxix.

Of all thys spekyth nothynge the cronycle of England / but he maketh hys processe of a kynge named Cor­tyf. By the whyche as yt shulde seme by the rehersall folowynge that he makyth of Gurmunde / that Careti­cus ruled the Brytōs nexte after the deth of thys Malgo / as when the tyme cometh more playnly yt shall appere. Then it foloweth aboute the .xxxiii. yere of thys Malgo / Ce­awlmus before named gadered hys Saxons, and foughte wyth the Brytons at a place called Fechanlege. where after longe fyght Ceawlmus chasyd the Brytons, & wan of them vyctory. But hys brother called Cu­tha, was slayne in y ^e fyght / for whom he made greate sorowe. Thus in his latter dayes Malgo beynge oppres­syd & pursued of hys enemyes lastly dyed / when he hadde reygned after moste cōcorde of storyes .xxxv. yeres.

Francia. THE .CXII. CHAPITER.

CHilpericꝰ the .iii. son of Lotharius or Clotharius before named / begā hys reygne ouer y ^e parte of Fraūce called Soysons, in the yere of oure lorde god .v. hundred .lxiiii / and the xiiii. yere of Malgo then kynge of Brytayne. Thys not beyng content wyth suche as hys fader had hym be set / so soone as the obsequy and en­terremēt of his fader was fynysshed, he spedde hym vnto Parys and pos­sessyd hym of hys faders treasoure. wherof his .iii. bretherne beyng war­ned [Page VXLIII] / purchasyd to thē such frēdshyp of the nobles of Fraunce, that they vnwetynge theyr sayd broder hadde entre into Paris / and lykely to haue takyn hym there in, yf he had not the soner escaped.

For thys incōuenyence grete discē ­cyon was lykely to haue growen by twene these .iiii. bretherne / hadde not ben the mediacyon of frendes vpon bothe partyes. The whyche by good & polityke wayes, at length pacyfied all varyaūces amonge them / & con­cluded for a fynall pease, y ^t eyther of the sayd bretherne shuld hold hym cō tent with such porcyō as was before assygned to thē by theyr fader. That is to saye to the eldest brother named Aribertꝰ or after some wryters Che­rebris, shulde falle the countrey that is lyenge about Paris called mydle Fraunce / to Guntranus shulde falle the prouynce of Orleaunce / and to thys Chylpericus / the prouynce of Soysons / and to Sygebertus the yongest brother, shulde belonge the countrey of Mees or of Austracy. whych lordshyp begynneth at Champeyne as affyrmeth the Frenche cro­nicle, and stretchyth to the lordshyp or prouynce of Lorayne vppon one parte, & to Almayne vppō that other part. After which cōcorde & agremēt thus fynysshed / eyther of y ^e sayd bre­thern depted vnto his ꝓper lordshyp

If I shulde here discribe the ma­ners & condycyons of these .iiii. prynces / or to expresse y ^e vnlauful lechery of the eldest brother Aribertus, in re­fusyng hys laufull wyfe Ingebryda or Ingeberta / or of the rauyshement of wyues & virgyns by hym done / or yet the vnstablenesse of lyuyng that was also in y ^e seconde brother Gun­tranꝰ, with vertues and vyces of the other: I shuld therof make a longe worke. wherfore to brynge this story to some cōuenyēce, I thus begynne.

Trouth it is that thys Chilperi­cus or after some Hilpericus / toke to wyfe the doughter of the kynge of Spayne called Athanahildꝰ, whose name was Golsanda. The whyche had to hyr handmayden a mayde called Fredegunda, the whyche was of passyng beaute, and shappe of body. But to hyr was ioyned subtyll wyt and euyll condycyons / contrary to hyr lady and maysters, which was symple and of vertuous condycyōs.

To the yongest brother named Sigebert was coupled in mariage the syster of the sayde Golsanda named Brunechildis, or after y ^e Frensh cronicle Brunecheuste / a woman of per­uers & wycked cōdicyō as after shall appere. Then it foloweth, Chilpe­rich within shorte tyme that he was thus maryed vnto Golsanda, caste vnlaufull loue vnto hyr woman Fredegūda. By reason wherof fell suche vnkyndnesse bytwene them, y ^e lastly she was foūden in her chamber dede and strangelyd wyth a corde / whych was done by the hande of hyr hous­bande, as testyfyeth y ^e frenche boke.

Then secondly he maryed a nother wyfe named Audouera a woman of great byrth: how be it myne authour nor yet y ^e frenche cronycle declaryth not her progeny / with y ^e which he cō ­tynued & kepte hyr after hyr honour. But yet he withdrew not hys vnlaufull loue frō y ^e forenamed Fredegūd.

In thys passetyme / cause of warre was moued bytwene Sigebert the yonger brother, and men of the countrey of Sweuy / for the whyche the sayde Sigebert requyred ayde of hys brother Chilperich. At whose request he in all haste assembled hys people and spedde hym towarde hys brother / leuynge hys wyfe greate wyth chylde, in the kepynge of the soresayde Fredegunde. Of the why­che wyfe as testyfyeth the Frenche [Page] booke, he hadde before receyued .iii. sonnes named Theodobertus, Me­ronens, and Clodoueus.

It was not longe after that Chil­periche, as before is sayd, in ayde of his brother was departed / but that his wyfe was delyueryd of a dough­ter. And when thys chylde shulde be confermed of the byshoppe / this Fre­degunde entendynge to make a de­uorce betwene Chilperich & his wife, by her subtyle and false coniectoure counsayled the quene that she shulde for the more honoure conferme her own childe. And the quene trustyng her counsayle / supposynge her counsayle hadde ben for the beste, confer­med her owne chylde.

THE .CXIII. CHAPITER.

IN this whyle the kynge wyth his brother occupyed in warre agayne y ^• Suytzers or men of Sweuy / bare them so knyghtly, that they subdued theyr enymyes, and after retourned into theyr countres. wherof when Fredegunde was ware, she in secrete maner mette with the kynge / & shewyd to hym all the demeanure of his wyfe, but nothyng of her own crafty workyng, wherewyth kyng was greuously dyscontente in shew­ynge of his outwarde contenaunce / and sayd, yf that were true, she shuld from hym be deuorcyd / and that she shulde be quene in her stede.

After this the kynge commynge to his paleys / the quene to the entēt to be the more accepted in his presence, not knowynge of the malicyous workynge of Fredegūde, brought in her armes the yonge baby, to the whych she was moder bothe naturally and spirytually / and welcommed y ^e kyng her lorde in ryght humble maner, sa­lutynge hym wyth wordes of all cō ­forte. But the kyng beynge warned of her symple demeanure / & as some authours wryte, glad that he hadde occasyon to fynde mater to her of displeasure / blamed her in greuous maner, and commaunded her out of his presence for that tyme / & after by coū sayle of spyrytuall men, causyd her from hym to be deuorcyd / & her wyth her yonge doughter to be put into an house of relygyon, to the whyche he gaue possessyons for the fyndyng of her and of her yonge doughter na­med Childeynda.

And when Chilpericꝰ hadde thus fynyshed this foresayde besynesse / he shortely after toke to wyfe the fornamed Fredegūd, not without grudge of some of hys lordes and other.

It was not longe after this ma­ryage, that stryfe and discencyon fell betwene this Chilpericus and Sigebert hys brother / the whyche grewe for certayne lande that Chilpericus claymed to haue of hys brother a­fore sayde. Then Chilpericus assem­bled hys knyghtes and made warre vppon the lande of hys brother Si­gebert / the whyche then was besyed in lyke warre agayne a people called Hunes / by reason wherof Chilpericꝰ hadde the more fordell, and wan by strength the cytye of Reynys.

But yt was not longe after or Sigebert was warned of his brothers vnkyndnesse. wherfore he after hys enymyes were by hym somdele sub­dued / went wyth hys armye into the countre of Soysons belongynge to his brother Chilpericꝰ / and warred in lykewyse in that lande as hys brother dyd in his / and at length toke y ^e cytye of Soysons, and therin the el­dest son of Chilpericꝰ named Theo­dobert, and helde hym as his pryso­ner. Then Chilpericus herynge of the scomfyture of his people and ta­kynge of his sonne, was agayne hys brother more feruently amoued / and [Page XLIX] caste in his mynde all wayes & mea­nes howe he myghte reuenge hym vppon hys brother. But yt was in vayne. For his brother at that tyme had such auauntage of hym / that he well apperceyuyd, that he had no better meane then a treaty of peace, by meane wherof he shortly after obteyned his sonne out of daunger, wyth other thynges concernynge his pro­fyte / assurynge to hys sayde brother by solemne othe, that after that daye he shuld neuer were armes, nor yet warrey his brother.

This cōcorde and vnite in due maner fynyshed, & suffycyently by both counsayles stablysshed / yet Chilpericus beynge alwayes mynded to be reuengyd vpon his brother Sigebert / sent his yongest sonne named Clodoueus, and caused hym to warre vpon a cytye called Burdeaux, in the pro­nice of Neustria / now called Normā dye. But by the manhode of a captayne of Sigebert named Singul­phus, the sayd Clodoueus was ouer comen and compelled to voyde the countre, and so fledde to Paris.

For thys happe Chilpericus was fyryd with all malyce / and in all hast commaunded hys forenamed sonne Theodobert wyth a great armye to inuade the sayd coūtrey of Neustria, or Normandye. The whyche ac­cordynge to hys fathers commaun­dement spedde him thyder / and there by hys extorte myghte and power, toke many cytyes and stronge hol­des / not sparynge chyrches, howses of relygyon, as nunnes and other / and robbed and spoyled the countre in moste cruell wyse.

Lastly this persecucion thus done, a cheuetayne or duke named Gun­doaldus of the erldome of Poitowe / assembled a great power, and wyth­stode Theodobert / and fynally slew hym in playne batayll, and a great parte of hys people. wherof herynge Chilpericus gatheryd a great hoste, and yode into the countrey of Champayne / wastynge and destroyenge the countrey wyth fyre and iron to the vttermoste of hys power, and at length toke the cytye of Reynes, and spoylyd yt wythout mercy.

THE .CXIIII. CHAPITER.

SIgebertus aduertysynge / and cas­tynge in hys mynde the innaturall dysposycyō of his brother / percey­uyng well that he entendyd hys vt­ter destruccyon: ꝓuyded in his beste maner for to wythstande his malyce. And for to brynge his continued malyce to a fynall ende / he gatheryd to hym a puysant power / and after sped hym towarde his sayd brother. wherof Chilpericus beynge aduertysed / by hys couert meanes sought ways of entreaty and peace, in suche wyse that or the hostes mette, a peace was concluded.

Then these two bretherne thus accordyd / condescendyd in shorte tyme after to make warre vppon theyr brother Gunthranus then lorde of Or­leaunce / the whyche sygnory at that daye belonged to the countrey or prouynce of Burgoyne. The cause of this warre is not expressyd / except y ^t they enuyed theyr brother to haue so great lordshyp. But by medyatours on both partes / after great aray purueyed on all sydes, a concorde and peace was concludyd in the temple of saynt Lowpe at y ^e cytye of Trois in Uyncent.

when this sayd peace was fynyshed / the sayd .iii. brethern in syght depar­tyd as frendes eyther of theym from [Page] other. But as peace somtyme contentyth not saudyours / & specially such as delyte them in pyllage and robbery: ryght so amonge the knightes of Sigebert was spronge a great ru­moure / sayeng that they were not cō tente and rewardyd for theyr great laboure and trauayle accordynge to theyr desert / and specyally for y ^e fyrst iourney of these .ii hadde agayne his brother Chilpericus / thynkynge the peace wyth hym made was nothyng honorable, consyderyng y ^e great doublenesse and vntrouth that in hym was prouyd. For the whyche they excytyd Sygebert in all that in theym was / to breke those boūdes of peace, and to make newe warre vpon hym. And in lyke maner some euyll dysposyd persons were more agreable to warre then to peace, vppon the party of Chilpericus, and murmured in lykewise. And for they thought to haue ben better rewarded of Sygebert, then they were of theyr own maister, they therfore lefte hym and yode to y ^e hoste of Sygeberte. By whose eueytynge & report, Sygebert was more kyndelyd to sette vppon his brother.

Chilpericus hauynge notycyon of hys brothers purpose / wyth also the murmoure and departynge of hys knyghtes, and hauynge in the other somme mystruste: he anon wyth his wyfe and chyldren and chefe of hys treasoure, went vnto y ^e cyty of Tourney / entēdyng to kepe that for theyr and hys sauegarde. But when Sy­gebert knew therof, he was nothyng in the pursuynge of hym foūde slow / but foloweth streyght after, and closyd hym wythin the sayde cytye with a stronge syege / where Chilpericus was in a maner dyspayred of y ^e wel­fare of hym & hys Fredegunde. But she that was replenyshed of all ini­quyte, called to her two wycked per­sones / and promysed vnto theym great gyftes, yf they wolde by ve­nym or otherwyse slee her brother Sigebert. The whyche two felowes dysceyued wyth the fayre speche and great gyftes of the sayde Fredegun­da, toke vppon theym that vnlefull charge / and by theyr subtell & false imagynacyon, brought theyr cur­sed purpose to an ende / but to theyr owne confusyon. For after they had wounded the kynge Sygebert to deth, and wolde then haue escapyd / the kynges knyghtes espyeng theyr treason, fell soone vppon them, and all to hewed them. And when y ^e deth of the kynge was knowen / a great noyse and crye was areryd in the hoste. By meane wherof the kynges deth was blowen in to the cytye, and after to the ceres of Chilpericus / wherof he was not a lytell ameruay­led, nor wolde to yt geue ferme cre­dence, tyll he was enfourmed of hys wyfe Fredegunde of all hyr subtyle workynge.

It was not longe after or the kny­ghtes or some of the captaynes of the hoste of Sygebert presentyd thē vnto Chylpericus, besegynge hym of hys grace and pardon / the whych he gladly accepted. And when he hadde sette hys charges in order / he then commaunded prouysyon to be made for the beryenge of hys sayd brother wythin the monasterye of saynte Medarde of Soysons.

And when all that besynesse after a kyngely maner where fynyshed and endyd / he then exylyd Brunechyel­dys and Childebert, the wyfe and sonne of hys brother Sygebert, vn­to the cytye of Roane / takynge from theym great treasour that they were possessyd of. But shortly after the sonne of Sygebert by helpe of Gun debolde or Gundealde duke of Poy towe here before named / was dely­ueryd from the daunger of the sayde [Page L] Chilperycus, and sent into his owne lordeshyppe of Austracye, whych his father Sygebert was lorde of.

In thys passetyme he hadde sent hys sonne Meroneus into a coūtrey called Buturynges, to appeace cer­tayne rebellyons there areysyd. But when he hard of the deth of his vncle Sygebert / and of the be­ynge of hys wyfe Bruncchyelde at the cytye of Roane / he sette a parte all the charge of his father, and sped hym streyght thyder, kepynge com­panye wyth her. In whome he toke suche consolacoin and pleasure / that lastely he maryed her, and kepte her as hys wyfe. And when hys father was therof warned / he feryd leste by the counsayle of hys sayde wyfe, he wolde arryse agayne hym / wherfore he in all haste assembled hys people, and spedde hym towarde Roane.

when tydynges came to Mero­neus of the conunynge of hys father wyth so great araye / and he as then vupurucyed of strength of knightes to resyste hys father / for hys moste suertye fled wyth hys vnlefull wyfe to the temple or chyrche of saynte Martyne, takynge the pryuylege therof for theyr defence. And when Chilpericus hadde temptyd by ma­ny sondry meanes to haue them out of the sayde pryuylege, and myghte not wythout brekynge of the same: he to brynge aboute hys cautelouse purpose, made to theym assuryd promyse, that yf they wyllfully wolde renounce the sayde place, and putte theym in hys grace / he wolde vtter­lye pardon theyr trespace, and suffer theym from that tyme for to conty­nue theyr lyfe to gether as man and wyfe. Uppon whyche promyse the sayd Meroneꝭ wyth his wyfe renoū ced the sayde pryuylege, and putte theym hole in the kynges mercy / the whyche them receyuyd wyth all contenaunce of loue and fauoure, and theym festyd and cherysshyd louyngly, by the space of two dayes onely. But the thyrde daye the feaste was fynyshed / for then he sent his sonne vnto Parys vnder sure guydes / and there causyd hym to be professyd in a house of relygyon. But by the meanes of hys vncle Gunthranus he was after taken thens / and so resto­ryd to hys former knyghthode. For the whych his father hym newly pursued and cōstrayned hym to take for hys sauegarde y ^e chyrche of saynt Martyne in Turon.

And when he was warned that his fader perforce wold take hym thens / he then fledde vnto a cytye of Champayne accompanyed wyth .vi. ser­uauntes onely / where he was in so great fere to be taken and in suche despayre to obteyne grace of hys fa­ther, that he causyd one of the sayde vi. persones to slee hym wyth hys sworde / & the foresayd Bruncchyel­dis hys wyfe put in sure kepynge.

THE .CXV. CHAPITER.

CHilpericꝰ then be­ynge asserteyned of the doth of hys sonne Meroneus, & the sure kepyng of Brunechieldis, he thoughte hymselfe somdele assu­ryd / for y ^e mystruste y ^t he had in them many tymes inquieted hym. But yet he was not ī quiete or reste. For shortly after y ^e peple of Turon rebellyd a­gayne him. Agayn whom he sent his son Clodoueus / & a noble man of his courte named Desideriꝰ, y ^e which he sent as a gyde & a counsayloure of his sayd son. And vpon the party of his enymyes was a captayne of the kynge Gunthranus / for so mych as the said Gunthranus claymed parte [Page] of those landes about Turon. This captayne named Momelues heryng of the cōmynge of the foresayd hoste, wyth a chosen cōpany made taward them / and gaue vnto Clodoueus a great sharpe fyght / and not without great losse of his men wanne of hym the felde, and compellyd hym to for­sake that countre.

Thus Chilperyche was wrapped in warre and troubles of the worlde, sometyme wyth ryght, & some whyle wyth wronge / so that he some tyme wanne worshyppe and other whyle he loste. wherof to tell all the cyrcumstaunce I thynke yt shulde be tedy­ouse bothe to the reders / and also to y ^e herers. wherfore I passe ouer, in a­brydgynge and shortynge somedele of this storye.

Then foloweth within y ^e storye / after Chylpericus had by intycemēt of Fredegunde / wrongfully tormentyd the archebyshoppe of Roan named Breteste, & hym after the sufferaunce of many vylanyes exyled (for the whych and other god sent vnto hym some correccyom, in takynge awaye by sodeyne deth the chyldern that he had by Fredegunde) he then began to knowe god, and toke great repentaunce / in promysynge to god amendement of his lyfe. And to thentent that he might haue the more prayers of the comyn people to stand in state of grace: he fyrst releasyd a greuous trybute or imposicyon that he hadde lately sette vpon all vynes thorough his regyon. And that done he reedy­fyed olde chyrches and some he made newe, and endowed them with great possessyons. And ouer thys he rele­uyd greatly y ^e poore people, by enlargynge of his lyberall almes / and be­came very humble and meke, where before tyme he was ryght sterne and cruell. But lyke as oftē it happeneth that hote loue is soone colde / so thys sodayne deuocyon was soone aswa­ged. For lyke as hys troubles began to aswage, and his prosperyte to en­crease: ryght so hys olde cōdycyons beganne in hym to reuyue and quycken / so that at length he retourned to hys olde accustomed vyces.

In this tyme a pleople called Longobardes, and now Italyans / war­red sore vppon the landes of the empyre. wherfore Mauricius then be­ynge emperour of Constantyne the noble / for so mych as he tought that the frenche kynges myght was lesse coste and payne to subdue them, then he myght beyng so farre from them / he therfore sent to hym a great sūme of golde / wyth letters of recommen­dacyon, exortyng hym in the defence of the chyrche of Rome, to assemble hys people and to withstande y ^e sayd Longobardes / and not to sease ther of tyll he hadde expellyd theym from the landes of the empyre.

whyche somme of golde he goodly receyuyd / promysynge to the bryn­gers therof, that he wyth all dyly­gence shulde execute the vttermoste of his power to accomplyshe the re­queste of the emperoure. And accor­dynge to a parcell of his sayde pro­myse / he assembled a great people, and made towarde the sayde Longobardes. Of whom the sayde Longo­bardes ferynge y ^e great myght, made meane of entreaty / offrynge to hym great summes of money. By reason wherof he lefte theym in reste, and so retourned into Fraunce. when Mauricius had vnderstandyng y ^t the foresayde enymyes remayned styll in the foresayde landes, and contynued in theyr malice: he sent agayne to Chil­pericus / requyryng hym other to performe his promyse or ellys to restore hys money, whych he had takē for y ^e perfourmaunce of the same. But all was in vayne / for he wolde neyther [Page LI] execute that one nor that other. But at lēgth as affermeth myne authour, he was by goddes ordynaunce com­pelled for to restore the sayde money or a great parte therof, by meane of his suster wyth her chylde that was as a prysoner to the sayde emperour, whyche suster was before tyme ma­ryed vnto the kynge of Spayne.

THE .CXVI. CHAPITER.

CHilpericus thus encreasynge in vyce and dyshonoure, lastely repugned agayne god / so that he fell into that detestable heresye of the Arianes / and commaūded certayne artycles of the same touchyng the deuysyon of the trynyte to be prechyd thorough hys regyon. But the holy byshoppe of Towres withstode that precepte, and blamed hym greuous­ly for that dede / all be yt the sayd bysshop named Gregory wyth great assystence of the other byshoppes of Fraunce, hadde great laboure to re­moue hym from the sayde opynyon.

This with many other crymes passed by Chilpericus / Fredegunde, whyche euer encreasyd in peruerse & malycyouse purpose, soughte many vnlefull meanes howe she myghte brynge to confusyon the thyrd sonne of her husbonde / knowynge well y ^e whyle he leuyd, her chyldern shulde neuer enheryte the crowne of Fraunce. This purpose to brynge about many and dyuerse wayes she attem­ted, whyche were longe to reherse. But fynally she causyd hym wrong­fully to be accusyd, & by meane ther­of to be caste in pryson. where he so beynge, she hyred a felon to sle hym / and after shewyd to her husbande y ^t the sayde Clodoueus hadde stayne hym selfe. In profe wherof she hadde appoynted the foresayde murderer to leue a sworde styckyng in hym, as thoughe he hadde wylfully slayne hym selfe vppon the same sworde. whyche when the kynge sawe / he de­med hym gylty of such offense as before was putte vppon hym.

ye haue harde before of the sonne of Sygeberte named Childebert, that was delyuered from the handes of Chilpericus his vncle by the meanes of Gundoald duke or erle of Poitowe / the whyche in this tyme was growen to mannes stature and ruled at this daye his enherytaunce of Austracye, not wythout great stryfe had betwene hym and hys sayde vncle, whych were to long to wryte y ^e cyrcū staunce therof. wherof at this daye somdele was vndyscussyd / all be yt they at thys daye vsyd eyther other as frendes.

About this tyme the other vncle of Chyldebert called Gūthranꝰ / sought occasyon agayne hym, for cause of a byshop named Theodorꝰ, & byshop of Marsill or Marsyle / y ^e which was put from his see by Gūthranus, and receyuyd of Chyldebert, and by hym agayne restoryd to the sayde see of Marsyle. For the whych Gunthrane was sore amoued / and entendyd to make warre vpon hym. But by me­dyatours it was somdeale appeasyd and sette in quyete / vppon certeyne condycyons to be obserued and also perfourmed vpon the party of Gunthranus / the whyche after were not vppon his syde kept nor performed. wherfore after request to hym made for reformacyon of all such poyntes / and answere agayne receyuyd of no reformacyon: Chyldebert to haue hys partye the strenger / and also for that that he well knewe, that hys vncle Chilpericus bare towarde the sayde Gunthranus not very fra­ternall loue / he therfore sente vnto hym a noble man of hys courte na­med Gyllon, requiryng hym of ayde [Page] agayne hys vncle / the whych by many-seasons had as well broken pro­myse agayne hym, as nowe he hadde agayne Childebert. Of this Chilpe riche beynge ryght fayne, assentyd to the desyre of Gyllon / and after in all haste preparyd theyr hostes / and by two sondry companyes inuadyd the countres of Orleaunce, wherof Gunthranus was kynge or ruler. But y ^e inhabytauntes of that prouynce de­fendyd theym in so stronge maner / y ^t theyr enymyes hadde of theym lytell auauntage. In whyche meane sea­son Gunthranꝰ assembled a myghty hoste, and spedde hym towarde his enymyes, at a place called Medio­lan̄, he supprysed a parte of hys sayd enymies / and after drewe nere to the great nomber of bothe hostes, where was made preparacyon on bothe sy­des to haue foughten. But as before tyme ye haue often harde, that by discrete & wyse men the fyght was put by, and meanes of accorde was founden: so nowe at this tyme by labour of good and wise prelates and other / these kynnesmen were sette in vnyte, and departed without great shedyng of crysten bloode.

In this passetyme / deth whych sparyth no creature, berafte Chilpericꝰ a sonne borne of Fredegūde and na­med Theodorus / for the whyche the kynge and also the quene toke great heuynesse. But as she y ^t was prōpte & redy to all euyll / cast in her mynde that thys chylde was slayne by poy­son, or by some other purposed ma­lyce. For the whyche lastely was ac­cusyd a baylyfe or lefe offycer called Monuole, with diuers wytches and sorseresses, that shuld imagyne this chyldes deth. The whych she payned and tormētyd in such wyse / that lastly the sayde wytches confessed, that they hadde destroyed the chylde, and not wythoute consente of the sayde Monuole. wherfore she after caused the sayde sorceresses to dye by cruell deth, as by fyre and otherwyse / and the sayde baylyffe to be so tourmen­tyd that he dyed soone after.

The frenche cronycle sayth, that by the meane of the takynge a way of the lyfe of the kynges chylde / a chyld of the sayde Monuole was restoryd to helth, whych before was in great ieoperdye / whyche is for folys to be­leue. Thys sorow and heuenesse of Chilpericus and Fredegunde hys wyfe / was somdele aswaged by the byrthe of a son shortly after borne of y ^e sayd Fredegunde / whych the kyng lette call Lotharius, or Clotharius. For ioye wherof the kyng lette open the prysones / and suffred the pryso­ners to goo at theyr lyberte / and spe­cyally suche as concerned causes touchynge hym selfe for dette or other­wyse, with other thynges cōcernyng hys honoure.

But lyke as dame Fortune is ac­customed to medle her ioyes of thys world wyth some bytternesse: so dyd she now with Chilpericꝰ. For where he was nowe in great tranquillyte and reste / and thought to haue ladde the resydue of his lyfe in pleasure: so deynly word was brought vnto hym that hys brother Gunthranus, and hys neuewe Childebert / was allyed and fermely accorded to make warre vppon hym / for the whych they had assemblyd a great army. wherfore he in all haste commaunded all his treasour and chyfe iewellys to be had to the cytye of Cambria / where he wyth his wyfe and frendes entended to cō tynue the resydue of his lyfe. And y ^t done spedde hym thyder in all haste / and fortyfyed the sayde cytye in such wyse, that he feryd lytle or nothynge hys enymyes / where he so kepte hym wythin the sayde cytye a certayne of tyme. And whē he sawe nor hard not [Page LII] of the commynge of his sayd broder nor neuewe / he then walkyd more at large / and sportyd hym in haukynge and chase of the wylde bestes, as wolues and other / whych at those dayes was greatly vsyd of the kynges of Fraunce, and yet is contynued.

Uppon a day as he was purposyd towarde this dysporte, and all thyng redy preparyd for the same / so that the quene thought veryly he had be gone oute of the paleys / for what happe I can not tell, the quene yode into her chāber, and there rested her vppon her bedde. where she so lyeng the kynge passyd by / & wyth a lytle wande, whych he bare in his hande, in maner of game strake the quene with yt vppon the backe. The quene supposynge the kynge had ben gone to the felde, and not lokyng vp sayd, Laundrye why dareste thou thus stryke me. This Laundrye was a great man in the kynges courte / and hadde ben peramoure to the quene longe tyme. But the kynge herynge these wordes, made semblaunt as he hadde not herde them, and so passyd on hys waye.

THE .CXVII. CHAPITER.

FRedegunda apperceyuynge & after seynge yt was the kyng, to whome she hadde thus sayde / sore was abasshed, and in great fere and agony. And after she had by a longe season coniected in her mynde what remedy she myght fynde for this mishappe: she lastely dyuely shely deter­myned to sle her sayd husbande and lorde. And this to brynge about she sent in all haste for the sayde Laun­drye, and shewed to hym in order all the cyrcumstaunce of the foresayde mater. wherafter he was strykē with suche a fere / that his wytte and counsayle faylyd hym to deuyse in such a case any remedy. wherfore the quene as she that was fully determyned to execute her detestable & cursyd pur­pose / sayde to hym boldely: Laūdry thou seest well y ^t this case is brought to so strayte a poynt, that other thou muste thynke to destroy my lord and husbande, or ellys thou and I muste both be shamefully confounded. Of whyche thou well knowest our owne is moste to be regarded / therfore dys­pose the to do after my counsayll. Thou knowest well that the kynge is accustomed to come late from hys dysporte. wherfore prouyde to the a certayne, that thou well trustyst / and in the euenynge when he retourneth aspye thy tyme and fall vppon hym sodeynly, and so rydde hym. And after make an out crye, & sende to serch about as thou woldest take the homicydes / & cause some of thyne own cō panye to flee frō the, as though thou shuldest thē pursue. Laundry heryng this cursyd coūsayll, alowed it well & therunto assentyd / and incontynently went aboute the perfourmaunce of the same. And when he hadde purueyde his accessaryes / he towarde nyght assemblyd thē, gyuynge to thē informacyon how they in y ^t mischyef shuld behaue them in that thyng, takynge of them assuryd othes, for kepyng of his coūsayle. The kyng not mysdemynge any thynge of thys conspyred treason / toke his delectacyon and pleasoure in folowynge of hys game, so that he loste myche of hys company / and towarde nyght as he before tyme was accustomed, wyth fewe accōpanyed drewe homewarde. wherof Laundry beyng warned / met the kynge salutynge hym and sayng that he was comen wyth hys company to cōdute hym home, for so mych as he douted how he was garnyshed of his meyneyall seruaūtes or other.

What shuld I lenger make delaye [Page] or farther reharsall in thys matyer, or to tell the cyrcumstaunce of thys purposyd treason. But fynally when the kynge was nere hys paleys / or as reherseth the Frenche cronycle wythin the courte of hys paleys / as he lyght from hys horse he was so­deynly wounded to the herte, that he streyght fell to the erth dede.

After whyche murder thus com­mytted: a greate crye was areryd, the kynge ys slayne / so y ^t thys Laundrye made in great haste to be called certeyne persons to attende vppon y ^e corps, whyle he wyth other pursued suche as were dempte gylty of thys offence. But lastly he retourned, and sayd that thys dede was done by the knyghtes of Chyldebert / the whych by the derkenes of the nyght were escapyd.

To shewe here the vayne and dis­symuled sorowe y ^t Fredegund made for the kynge, it were but lettyng of tyme. For euery wyse man knoweth well, that all suche as ben of that disposycyon, can fayne ryghte well in suche semblable casys. But to my purpose / when the kynge was thus slayne, and at that tyme nother the quene nor yet Laundrye suspectyd / prouysyon was made for enterryng of y ^e corps. The whyche was shortly after shypped at the next ryuer / and so conuayed vnto saynt Germayns de Pree before spoken of / and there wyth greate solēpnyty buryed, when he hadde regned, as before is sayde xxiiii. yeres / leuynge after hym a son before mynded called Clotharius or Lotharius.

Thus as affermyth myn authour mayster Robert Gagwyne endyd Chylperych myserably his lyfe / whi­che in pryde and mysery before tyme it cōtynued. And where in his lyfe he cherysshed no frende / at hys ende he fande few or no frendes. Thys gaue the patrymony of y ^e chyrche to lewde & symple clerkys, and was an enmye to all holy relygyous places / and fauored more suche as had lately bene conuerted to the fayth, than he dyd them that had cōtynued by holy lyfe a longe season therin / & gaue vnto such persons the rule of Crystes chyrche. Amonge the whyche, one there was of perfyght lyuyng and byshop of Parys / that garnysshed hys tōbe with this cpytaphy as after in meter foloweth.

The whych verses in our mother tunge, maye thus be expounded in meters as foloweth.

Thus maye ye well apperceyue and knowe / that as erthly men fa­uoure, so woll they wryte / as nowe shewyth by thys superscrypcyō. But to god all thyng is manyfestyd and knowen / and nothynge to hym hyd, whatsoeuer erthly man wryteth / or demyth / to whom all the premysses I remytte.

Anglia. THE .CXVIII. CHAPITER.

CAreticus or Lareticus after y ^t wry­tynge of Guydo, of whom nother y ^t progeny nor yet other addicyon of honour is of wry­ters of hym remē ­bred / began to rule the Brytons, the yere of our lord .v. hundred .iiii. score and .vi. as the sayde authour recor­dyth / and y ^e .xxii. yere of Chylperyche than kynge of Fraunce / and also the ix. yere of Ceawlmus then kynge of westsaxons. Thys as wytnessyth all wryters was a louer of cyuyle ba­tayle & was worst of all men / so y ^t he was odible to god and his subiectes, in suche wyse that they excyted the Saxons to warre vpon hym, as te­styfyeth Guydo / & chasyd hym from cytye to cytye, & towne to towne, tyll they had berafte hym the most [...] parte of suche lande as hys predeces soure Malgo had holdē before hym.

But Polycronycō, Gaufryde and other, adde more there vnto / & sayen y ^t for as mych as the Saxons knew of the discensyon betwene Careticus and hys Brytons / they in all haste sent into Irelande for the kynge called Gurmundus Affricanꝰ / y ^e which of some wryters are named two per­sons, as Gurmūdus and Affricanꝰ. But by the rehersall that Ranulfe monke of Chester maketh in y ^e .xxiii. chapyter of hys fyrste boke of Poly­cronycō, it shulde seme, that he shuld be named Gurmundus / the whyche by hys meanynge shulde warre in Brytayne and Fraunce, whyle hys brother Turgecius regned as kyng in Irelande, as in the sayd chapyter is more at lengthe declared. whyche fayd Gurmundus with the strength of y ^e Saxons, warred so sore agayne the Brytōs / that lastly the sayd Careticus was fayne to take the towne of Kaersegent now called Sichester / & therein besegyd hym wyth hys Bry­tons by a certeyne of tyme / where by dayly skyrmysshes and assautes he [Page] loste mych of hys people.

when Careticus had a season as­sayed and prouyd the strength of his enemyes / and sawe that they encrea­syd, and hys knyghtes lassed & my­nysshed: he sodenly lefte that towne / and with a certeyne of Brytons toke ouer Seuarne water, and so into walys then callyd Cābria. whych shuld be after moste accorde of wryters, y ^e iii. yere of y ^e reygne of this Careticꝰ.

About thys tyme as meaneth An­toninus / the great Gregory then be­yuge a monke and after pope, sawe at Rome childyrn of Anglis or Saxons to sell at Rome. And whē he had aryd of them what coūtrey they were of, and it was answered to hym that they were named Anglis / he sayde y ^e Alleluya shulde be songe in that coū tree, that so fayre chylderne were borne in Alleluya before in the .iiii. score and .viii. chapyter rehersyd / ys there takē after y ^e exposycyō of saynt Austayne, for ayde and helpe of god. But here it is ment for louynge and praysynge of god / as to hym y ^e laude and thankes shulde be gyuen vnto, that sendyth to men so fayre frewte. wherfore as after shalbe shewyd the sayd Gregory beynge Pope / sent y ^t holy man Austayne wyth other, for to preache to the sayde Anglis the fayth of Cryste.

Then to retourne to Careticus, whom the Englysh cronycle nameth Cortife. Trouth it is, that after he wyth his Brytons were dryuen into Cambria or walis: yet he lefte not contynually to make reyses and as­sautes vppon the Saxons nexte to hym adioynaunte.

In thys tyme or soone after / ruled Ethelfridus the north Saxons. For as wytnesseth the foresayde authour Guydo / he began the reygne of Dei­ra and Brenicia, in the yere of oure lorde .v.C.lxxx. & .xiii. This is Ethel­fridus son of Ethelricus, y ^e pursued so sore the Brytons, & slewe so great a nomber of y ^e monkes of the towne of Bangor, as is before rehersyd in the .C. and .ix. chapyter of this worke The whyche dayly warred vpon the Brytons, & the Brytons vpon hym / so y ^• he destroyed or subuerted myche of Crystes fayth wyth the helpe of y ^e foresayd Gurmunde thorough Loe­gria or myddle England / in so mych that the bysshoppes of London and yorke wyth other mynysters of the chyrche, wyth such goodes & relykes as they myght cary, fled into dyuerse countrees / so that theyr chyrchdores were shytte after them, or ellys occupyed in worship of theyr fals goddes

Thus the fayth that had endured in Brytayne from the tyme of Luciꝰ fyrst crysten kynge in Brytayne tyll thys daye, nere vppon the season of iiii.C. yeres and odde / was well nere extyncte thorough all the lande.

And when y ^e forenamed Gurmūde had fynysshed hys tyrannye wythin the land of Brytayne / he then sayled into Fraunce, where he was after slayne, as wytnessyth Polycronycō / all be it y ^e french cronycle speketh nothyng of any such man duryng thys persecucyon, as wytnessyth Guydo.

The chyrche or monastery before buylded in Uerolamy nowe called saynte Albanes, was by the sayde myscreauntes beten downe / whyche there was buylded of the Brytōs in the honoure of y ^e holy prothomartyr saynt Albō, with diuerse many other the whyche are loste out of memory.

Duryng also this trouble bytwene the Saxons & Brytōs / the lordshyp or kyngdome of Eest Saxon began to take place as after shalbe shewed.

THE .CXIX. CHAPITER.

IN thys tyme also after the ac­corde of moste wryters, as wytnessyth Polycronyca & other, Ethel­bertꝰ [Page LIIII] reygned in Kent / & by knyght­hode and greate myghte bare hym / and behaued hym so victoryously, that he enlarged hys kyngdome to the boundys of Humbyr. In which tyme Gregory, whyche for hys notable dedes was surnamed great / was made pope of Rome. The whych as before is touchyd in the precedynge chapyter / hauynge compassyon that the coūtre from whens so fayre chyl­derne came as he before had seyne, shulde be inhabyte wyth Pagans or people of mysbyleue / sent into Bry­tayne that holy man Austayne wyth other of hys bretherne, to preche to the Anglis the fayth of Cryste. But as wytnessyth Antoninus in the .iii. chapyter & .xii. tytle of hys foresayde worke, when Austayn was .iii. dayes iourney gone and passed / suche a so­deyne fere entryd in hym and hys fe­loushyppe, that they turned agayne. Then Gregory cōforted the sayd cō ­pany / and sent them wyth letters to the bysshop Arelatensis / wyllynge hym to helpe and ayde Austayne in all that in hym nedyd. The tenoure of whyche letters and other sent to Ethelbert kynge of Kent wyth theyr answeres / are wrytē with other que­styons in the regester of Gregory, & in the bokes of Beda and other.

Austayne thus comfortyd / sped his iourney, and landed in the Eest syde of Kent in the ile of Thauet wyth .xl. felowes / wherof some were interpretours or such as cowde speke all langages. Nere vnto the place before named where holy Austayne landed stode at those dayes the manoyre or palayes of the sayd kyng Ethelbert / wherof at thys daye appere somme of the ruynous walles, & is called of the inhabytaunces of that ile Rych­bourgh. It is apparent betwene the ile & the towne of Sandwych, vpon a myle & a halfe from the sayd towne Eestwarde from Caunterbury. Thē when Austayne was landed, he sent the sayde interpretours vnto Ethel­berte / sayenge y ^t they were sent from Rome for the hele and saluacyon of the kynge & hys realme. The kynge before tyme had herde of the fayth of Cryst / for he hadde to wyfe as sayth Polycronycon a french woman that was cristened / and had receyued hyr vppon condycyon that he shuld suf­fer hyr to lyue after hyr lawe.

Then after a certeyne tyme y ^e kyng spoke with Austayne / but that was without y ^e house after the maner of hys lawe. Agayn his comyng he ar­reryd a baner of y ^e crucifyx, & sange y ^e lateny, & preachyd to hym the worde of god. Then y ^e kyng sayd it is fayre that ye promyse. But for it is to me vncowth & new / I may not so soone assent to you. But for ye be comen so farre for my sake / ye shalbe fayre en­treatyd, and haue all thynge y ^t is to you necessary / & we graunte to you leue to torne of our people whom ye maye. when they had receyued thys cōfort of the kynge / they went wyth processyō to the cytye of Dorobernia or Caūterbury, syngynge Alleluya / where they lad theyr lyues as holy faders dyd in the begynnynge of the chyrch / as in fastyng, prayeng, wat­chyng, & preachynge of the worde of helth / & sange masses / and crystened such as they cōuertyd in y ^e Eest syde of the cytie in the old chyrch of saynt Martyne, vnto the tyme y ^t the kyng was cōuertyd. At length when the kyng had well consyderyd the cōuersacyō & holy lyfe of Austayn and his felowes, he harde them more gladly / and lastly by theyr good exortacyōs and gostly loue, was by them cōuer­tyd & crystened / in y ^e yere of our lorde after moste accorde of wryters .v.C. lxxx. & xvi / and the .xxxvi. yere of hys reygne, as affermeth Policronicon.

[Page]Then he gaue to Austayne a place for his bishoppes see at Cristes chyr­che in Dorobernia / and buylded the abbey of saynte Peter and Paule in the eest syde of the sayde cytye / where after Austayne and all the kynges of Kent were buryed / and that place is nowe called saynte Augustyne.

In thys whyle Augustyne saylyd into Fraunce to the byshoppe Arela­tens̄ / and was of hym sacryd arche­byshoppe.

when holy Gregory was certyfy­ed of the good expedycyon of Augu­styne / he sent then to him mo helpers as Melytꝰ, Iustꝰ, & Paulinus, with bokes and relykes of holy sayntes / and answeres to saynte Augustynes questyons / that was that all suche goodes as fell to the chyrche shulde be deuyded in foūre ꝑtes / that is to meane the fyrste shuld go to the housholde of the byshoppes house and charge of the same / the seconde to the clergy / the thyrde to the amendemēt of chyrches / the fourth to the relyfe of the poore people and other dedys of mercye.

when Austayne hadde baptyzed a great part of the kyngdome of Kent / he after made two archebyshoppes by the cōmaundement of saynte Gregorye, as wytnessyth Polycronicon: that one at London, and that other at porke / and by the helpe of Ethel­bert, he assembled and gatheryd to­gether the byshoppes and doctoures of Brytayne, that were before dysperkled. The place of assemble was callyd longe after Austeyns oke, whych is expowned to be Austeyns strēgth, and is in the marche of wykeres and of the westsaxons.

In thys place he charged the sayd byshoppes, y ^t they shulde wyth hym preache the worde of god to the An­glys / and also that they shuld amōg them selfe amende certayne errours then vsyd in the chyrche, and specyally for kepynge of theyr Ester tyde. where agayne the byshoppes of Brytayne helde opynyon, tyll Austayne by hys prayers shewyd there a my­racle by a blynde Angle or Saxon. After the whyche myracle shewed / y ^e sayd byshoppes applyed them to the wyll of Austayne in that cause. But for all this there was of theym that sayd, that they myghte not leue the custome, whych they so longe hadde continued, wythout assent of all such as hadde vsyd the same. Then he gatheryd a synode / to the whyche came seuen byshoppes of Brytons, wyth the wysest mē of that famouse abbey of Bangor, But fyrste they toke coū sayle of an holy man and heremyte / whether they shulde be obedyent to Austayne or not. The heremyte sayd yf ye fynde hym humble or meke, as to Crystes dyscyple belonged / y ^t then they shulde assent to hym. whych mekenesse they shulde perceyue in hym, yf he at theyr commynge into the sy­node or councell, arose agayne them. when the sayde byshoppes entred y ^e sayde synode / Austayne sate styll in the chayre and remouyd not. wher­fore they were wroth and dysdaynyd hym, and wolde not obey to hys re­questes. Then he sayd to them / syns ye woll not assente to my hestes ge­nerally / assent ye to me specyally in thre thynges.

The fyrste is, y ^t ye kepe Ester daye in due fourme and tyme as yt is or­deynyd.

The seconde, that ye geue crysten­dome to the chyldern in the maner y ^t is vsed in the chyrche of Rome.

And the thyrde is, that ye preache vnto the Anglys the word of god, as a fore tymes I haue exhorted you. And all the other deale I shall suffer you to amende and refourme wyth­in your selfe / but they wold not ther­of. [Page LV] of. Then saynt Augustyne sayde vnto them, and warned them by maner of inspyracyon / that syns they wold not receyue peace of theyr bretherne, they shulde of other receyue warre & wreche / the whyche was after put in experyence by Ethelfrydus kynge of Northumberlande.

Longe yt were to tell the cyrcum­staūce of the lyfe of this blessyd man, wherfore I passe ouer. Lastly whē he hadde in one daye crystyned .x. thousande of Saxons or Anglys, in the weste ryuer that is called Swale be­syde yorke, and knewe that he shuld shortely dye after / he ordeyned a successour named Laurence whyle he lyued / for the state of holy chyrche in Brytayn was as yet but rude & boystous. But in y ^t doynge he folowed the ensample of Peter that was fyrst pope / whyche made Clement by his lyfe helper and successour. Also this Augustyne made Mellitus bysshop of London and of Eestsaxōs / whych after moste wryters were then newly entred the lande. The ryuer of Thamys departed theym and Kent / and after dyed and was buryed in y ^e mo­nastery before rehersed, wythoute the wallys of Dorobernia or Caun­terburye.

THE .CXX. CHAPITER.

EThelbertus then confermyd in the fayth / among other costly dedys beganne he foundacyon of Paulys chyrche wythin the cytye of London / and ordeyned yt for the bysshoppes see of London. For the archbyshoppes see that before tyme was at London / was by Augustyne and Ethelbert at the prayer of y ^e cytezyns of Dorobernia trāslated to the sayde cytye / as in the .lix. chapyter of thys treatyse yt is more at length decla­red. But of the buyldynge of thys chyrche of saynt Paule, dyuerse opynyons ben. For some wryters testy­fye, that yt was buylded or begonne to buylde, by Sygebertus kynge of Eestanglys, but more veryly kynge of Eestsaxōs or Eestsex. This Ethel­bert also foūded the chyrche of sayne Andrew, in the cytye of Dorubres in Kent nowe called Rochester / of the whyche Iustus was byshoppe ordeyned before of saynt Albane.

About y ^e tyme or a season after / the forenamed Ethelfrydus, whyche in the englyshe cronycle is named El­fryde / foughte wyth the Brytons at the cytye of Legyscestre or Chestre / & slew of the Brytons a great nomber. At whyche tyme and season, a great nomber of the monkes of Bangor were also there assembled, for to pray for the good spede of the Brytons. wherof when Ethelfrydus was warned / he fell also vppon theym, and flewe of theym at that tyme, as wyt­nessyth dyuers authours .xxi. hūdred as yt is before shewyd in the .C. and ix. chapyter of this boke.

This forenamed Ethelbert excy­ted a dweller or cytezen of London, to make a chyrche or chapell in the worshyp of saynte Peter, in the west ende of London then called Thor­ney, and now the towne of westmyn­ster / the whyche that tyme was for­growen wyth bushes and b [...]eres ex­cedyngly. where the sayde cytezen be ganne, and buylded the fyrst chyrche of westmynster in y ^e honour of saynt Peter, whych was after by saynt Edwarde the cōfessour enlarged or new buylded. But of the thyrde Henry, when he reygned as kynge of En­gland / yt was newe edyfyed & made as yt now is a beauteous monaste­ry, and rychely endowed bothe wyth possessyon and relykes, and ryche iewellys.

It is shewyd in the Englyshe cro­nycle [Page] of Englande / that thys Ethel­bert shulde be slayne in a fyghte be­twene hym and Ethelfryde kynge of Northumberlande. But Policroni­con sayth that he dyed and went to heuen / when he hadde reygned ouer the lordshyppe of Kent .lvi. yeres / and the .xxi. yere after that he hadde receyuyd Crystendome.

The kyngdome of Eestsaxons.

THE .CXXI. CHAPITER.

DUrynge also the foresayde persecu­cyon of y ^e Brytōs, or any ruler of thē were specyally named / beganne the reygne of Eestsa­xons as wytnessyth Policronicon, vnder Sebertus theyr fyrste kynge / nere about the yere of our lordes in­carnacyon .vi. hundred and .xiiii. All be yt that Guydo de Columna sayth that yt beganne nere about the tyme and season, when the kyngdome of Eestanglys beganne. But I folowe Polycronicon / for he leyeth holy Beda for his Authour in myche of his worke. This kyngdome whych is to meane Essex / hadde in the eest syde the see / in the weste Myddelsex and London / in the southe the cyuer of Thamys / & in the north Suffolke / and endured after moste wryters by the terme of two hundred and odde yeres. But by y ^• sayeng of Policronica yt shuld not endure ouer two hundred yeres. Neuerthelesse yt shulde appere by the storye of Edwarde the elder sonne of Aluredus, y ^t yt shulde cōtynue vnder the Danys and other wyse, tyll the .viii. yere of his reygne. And by that reason yt shulde endure two hundred .lxxx. & .xiii. yeres. The contynuaūce therof is more doutfull to be iustly determyned, for so myche as wryters be of dyuers opynyons of the begynnyng therof. All be it y ^e Polycronycon in the .li. chapyter of hys fyrste boke, sayth that yt began vnder Sebertus, and vnder .x. kyn­ges / tyll Egbertus kynge of westsa­xons subdued yt and ioyned yt to his owne kyngedome.

The fyrste crysten kynge of thys lordshyppe was the forenamed Se­bertus, conuertyd by meanes of Mellitus byshoppe of London, as sayth Guydo. But after hys sayeng thys Sebertus shulde be the thyrd kynge of Essex. All wryters agreen that the kynges of thys lordshyp were more comynly named vnder kynges, and were more subiecte to other kyn­ges / and chefely vnto the kynges of Mercia or Mercheryke.

Then to retourne agayn vnto the Brytons, whyche by all this season occupyed a parte of Cornewayl and the countres of Cambria / as Uene­docia, whyche now is called North­walys, ad Demecea whych now is called Southwalys / and there held them in makynge assautes vpon the Saxons, as before is touchyd, some whyle in one coste, and some whyle in that other, vnder sondrye dukes, as witnessyth Gaufryde and also the englysh cronycle. The whych so contynued after moste accorde of tyme, and to accorde thys hystorye wyth other, by the terme of .xxiiii. yeres / ouer and aboue thre yeres alowed for the reygne of Careticus aforesayd. So that from the fyrste yere of Caretycus, to the laste of these .xxiiii. ye­res. / expyryd or flowyd .xxvii. yeres. At whyche tyme the Brytons of one assent chase for theyr hedde or ruler, y ^• duke of Uenedocia, or Southwa­lys, named Cadwanus.

Francia. THE .CXXII. CHAPITER.

CLotharius or Lo­tharius the sonne of Chilpericus, & second of y ^t name / was made kynge of a parte of Fraū ­ce in y ^e yere of oure lorde .v. hundred lxxx. and .viii / and the .ii. yere of Ca­reticus then kynge of the Brytons. Thys Clotharius by the reporte of mayster Robert Gagwyne, is notyd to be descendyd of Clodoueꝰ Lowis fyrste crystened kynge of Fraunce / & not expressely to be the sonne of Chil­pericus.

But for so myche as in the cronycle of Chilperych, I haue shewed to you somwhat of the dedys of Fredegund wyfe of Chylperiche: therfore I en­tende in the declarynge of thys story of Clothayre, to expresse the rema­naunte, in as shorte wyse as I goodly may. And fyrst ye shall vnderstād, that after thys fredegunde had as before is shewed, causyd her lorde to be slayne: she ferynge that at length her vntrouth shulde be dyscoueryd / wyth all her goodes in shorte tyme after yode vnto Paris / and there in the monasterye or house of our ladye held her. And for she wold be in more suerty / and also her son the sayd Clotharius shuld be the strēger in his domynyon and kingdome: therfore she sent messengers vnto Gunthranus kynge of Orleaunce & brother to her lorde Chilperich / requyryng hym of fauoure and ayde / & that he wolde of his goodnesse be tutour & defendour of her yonge sonne Clotharius. The whych not denyenge the requeste of Fredegunde, spedde towarde Paris in all haste / where wyth the assent of other nobles of the realme, he toke the gydynge of the yonge kynge. By whose aduyse and cōmaundement, the sayde Clotharius was conueyd & shewyd thorough many of the chefe cytyes of his lande. But in lykewyse as Gunthranus wyth other bysyed theym selfe to strength Lotharius in hys ryghte / euen so were other of the nobles of Fraūce (by the meanes of Brunechyeldis, wyfe some tyme of Sygebert, yongest sonne of Lo­thayre the fyrst / the whyche Syge­bert receyued of hys sayde wyfe two sonnes named Chilperich and Chyl­debert / of the whych two, Chilperich suruyued the other) that dyd all theyr entent to promote Chyldebert to the porcyon of hys father / that Chilpericus father of Lotharius occupyed after the deth of Sigebert forenamed.

Here dyscordeth the frenche crony­cle frō myne authour Gagwyne. For there yt is sayd, y ^e Brunechield with the other of her assent / wold then by theyr meanes haue p̄ferred a bastard son of the forenamed Sygebert cal­led Theodoricꝰ, to the kyngdome of Fraūce. An other authour sayth that this Theodorich was the son of Childericꝰ afore named, whyche was the sonne of Sygebert.

But to folowe mayster Gagwyne / This Childebert whych by y ^e former sayeng rehersyd in y ^t .C. and .xiiii. chapiter of this treatyse, was delyueryd from y ^e handes of Chilperich his vncle, by meanes of the erle of Poytow named Gūdebald: this with a small cōpany came vnto Paris / where of y ^e cytesēs he was kept out. For y ^e which soon after he sent a noble man of his named Gillon with other, as ambassadours vnto Gūthranꝰ. And where among other thynges of hym requyred, they axed of him Fredegūd to suffer deth, for y ^• she had by her subtylty caused to be murdred bothe Syge­bert father to theyr kynge, and also [Page] Chilpericus her owne husbande: yt was of him vtterly denyed. Wherfore this sayd Gyllon sayd vnto Gūthranus / syr kynge knowe thou for cer­tayne, synnes thou haste refused this peace to the offeryd of thy neuewe / that the deth of thy brother shall cle­u [...] to thy hedde. wyth these wordes the kynge beynge greatly amoued / commaunded the ambassadours to be putte oute of his court / and when they were in the strete, all fylthe and ordoure to be caste vppon theym as enymytyes.

And varyaunces thus kyndelyng betwene these two kinges / Gunthranus soone after sent Fredegunde in­to Neustria or Normandy / & caused her there to be kepte not farre from y ^e citye of Roan, whyther to her came many noble men of Fraūce in cōfor­tynge her, and also mouynge her for the trouble she was in / promysynge to her ayde to the vttermoste of theyr power. But when that Fredegunde apperceyuyd the great fauoure that Brunechyelde stode in, of the no­bles of Orleaunce or Fraunce, she enuyenge her welth and honoure, cal­led to her an homycyde & a felon cal­led Holderyche / to whom the sayde Fredegūde pmysyd great treasour, yf he coude by venyme or otherwyse brynge to deth the sayde Brunechieldis. By meane of whych promyse he graūted to brynge her entent about / & shortely after drewe vnto the court of the sayde Brunechyeldis. where he fyll in suche famylyaryte wyth dyuerse of her courte, that he came ma­ny seasons to the p̄sence of y ^e quene. But by what happe I can not saye / lastely he was taken in suspeccyon / and so tormentyd & pyned, that he cō fessyd y ^e cause of his thyder cōmyng, and by whom he was sent / with all y ^e other cyrcūstaunce of the matter. After whych cōfessyon so made / he was to betyn & arrayed in moste vyle maner, and so sent agayn to Fredegūd. And when he was comen to her pre­sence, and shewed what tourment he had suffred for her cause: she incon­tynēt in fulfyllyng of her malycyous purpose / commaunded that his handes and fete shulde be stryken of and so lette go / to the ende that yt shulde be thought that she had not desyred hym to that besynesse. Aboute thys tyme & season arose a yonge mā in a corner of Fraunce / the whych by his subtyle wytte named hym selfe to be the sonne of the fyrst Lotharius, and brother vnto Gunthranꝰ. The which by synystre meanes and crafty, gatte the fauoure of the lordes of Guyan / and by theyr assystence held and occupyed a great parte therof.

And after somdele of hys counsay les to Gunthranus by hys espyes disclosyd / this sayde yonge man beyng named Gūdoaldus, sent vnto Gun­thranus an ambassade / and requy­ryd hym to be restoryd to a porcyon of hys faders goodes. Addyng ther­to that yf he denyed / the sayde Gun­doaldus wolde wyth a strong armye repayre out of Gwyan, and get hys ryght wyth strength / & that to bryng about he shulde also haue great ayde of Chyldebert his neuewe aboue named. whan kynge Gunthranus had at leyser herde the message: he in dysdaynyng the same cōmaunded them to be sette vppon horse backes theyr facys towarde the tayle / and so with betynge and vylanye to be dryuen thorough the town. It was not long after that a daye was appoyntyd be­twene Gunthranus and Childebert / at whych day both prynces met with great companyes & lordes. And whē they were sette in theyr counsayll / Gunthranꝰ cōmaunded the foresayd messyngers of Gundoaldus to be brought to fore them, & there agayne [Page LVII] to recyte, theyr foresayde message. whych done, he shewyd furthermore that the sayd Gundoalde had before tyme dispoyled the doughter of Chil peryche named Rygonde, of all such rychesse as she wyth her conueyed, when she went towarde Spayne to be maryed / of the whyche some lor­des of Childebert were of counsayll. whyche vnto the sayde two prynces was thought trewe / for so myche as the sayde lordes then accusyd, were absent from that great counsayll.

THE .CXXIII. CHAPITER.

AFter many and great actes concludyd by thys counsayll betwene these two foresayd prynces: Gunthranus in open audyence ad­mytted hys neuewe Chyldebert for his heyre, for so mych as he had none heyre of hys bodye / commyttynge the rule therof to hym before all that were there. And after toke hym aꝑte, and shewyd to hym whych of his nobles he shulde take to counsayll, and whyche he shuld refuse. And specyally he warnyd hym to be well ware of hys moder Brunechyeldis, for that he knewe in her so great vntrouthe & subtylty / and also of Gyllon the bys­shoppe, the whyche he also sayde he was not to be trusted. when he had thus aduertysed hys neuewe, they both retourned vnto the place of coū sayll / where by them and theyr counsayllys certayn thynges concernyng the comone wele were sette in an or­der. And that done, the sayde coun­sayll was fynyshed / and purueyaūce for theyr dyner pronyded, the pryn­ces wyth theyr baronye went vnto dyner. In the season of whych dyner the sayde Gunthranus sayde vnto y ^e great nomber of lordes beynge pre­sente / ye my lordes and nobles of Fraunce, the whych to me haue euer more ben true and dere / here is myn neuew, the whyche as myne heyre I haue allowed and ordeynyd, whome I praye you to honoure, and wyth true fayth be vnto hym obedyent as to your kyng. For of y ^e great worthynesse that of hym is to come, I am in great hope / whyche is allyed wyth myght and vertue. And to the aug­mentacyon of these wordes / shortely after restored to hym all such cytyes, as Chilpericus by hys lyfe had with holden from hym. And soone after eyther from other in moste humble & louynge maner departyd.

Of thys peace betwene these two prynces thus stablysshyd, the fame ranne wyde. wherfore certayne lor­des beyng vppon the partye of Gundoaldus refused hym / and went vn­to the party of Gunthranus.

Soone after wyth hys people Gū ­doaldus resortyd vnto a cytye ouer the ryuer of Gerounde named Con­uena / where for the strength therof, he thought to abyde hys fortune. wherof when Gunthranus was warned / he in goodly spede made thyder warde, and layd hys people nere vnto the sayde cytye. But when he had espyed the strēgth therof / and knew well yt was daungerous for to ob­teyn: he thē vsyd gyle, where strēgth myghte not preuayle / and deuysed or forged certayn letters in the name of Brunechyeldys, wherin was fay­ned, that the sayde Brunechyeldys shulde desyre Gundoaldus in all hasty wyse, to resorte vnto the cytye of Burdeaux.

Of whyche fraude Gundoaldus no thynge suspectynge / commaundyd hys treasoure wyth other hys stuffe vnder saufe gydynge thyderward to be conueyed. wherof the knightes of Gunthranꝰ hauyng knowlege, with a stronge cōpany made ouer the fore sayd water of Geroūde, & layde such [Page] watche for them, that they encoun­tred the sayde people that caryed the sayde treasure and stuffe / and par­force toke it from the knyghtes of Gundoaldus and presentyd it vnto Gunthranus.

Lyke as before ye haue harde that certeyne lordes of the hoste of Gun­doalde fled vnto the hoste of Gun­thranus / so in thys passe tyme .iiii. capytaynes or rulers of the hoste of Gunthranus fled vnto Gundoalde / y ^t whych myne authour nameth De­siderius, Mommolus, Bladascus, and Sagyttaryus. whyche .iiii. after theyr comynge to Gundoalde stode in such fauour / that he was by theyr counsayle myche what aduysed and gyded. It was not longe after that y ^e knyghtes of Gunthranus had thus wonne y ^e foresayd treasoure & stuffe / that Gundoald was so sore pursued that he was fayne to close hym wyth in a stronge cytye / the whyche Len­degylsus mayster of the hoste of Gū thranus assayled by dyuerse feates of warre to wynne. But whā he saw hys labour lost / than he cautelously fande y ^• meane to speke secretly with one of the foresayde .iiii. capytaynes named Mommolus, and wyth hym treatyd of the betrayenge of y ^e cytye. The whyche after many and longe exhortacyons, wyth the assuraūce of theyr lyues and other, graūtyd vnto the sayd treason / whereof the maner shulde be thus. Thys sayd Mommolus wyth the forenamed Bladascus and other of that affynyte / shulde set a fyre an olde temple wythin y ^t citye. And when the people of y ^e citye were besyed to quenche the fyre / the sayde Mommolus wyth hys adherentes to open the gates, & so to let in Lyn­degylsus and hys knyghtes. But yet thys treason set a parte / Mōmo­lus goeth to Gōdoalde, and sheweth to hym the greate daunger that he standeth in of his enemyes. wherfore he counsayled hym that he wyth the other rulers about hym go vnto the tentys of Gunthranus and yelde them all vnto hys grace and mercy. And also to the entent that he shuld there shewe and proue, that he was the indubytate son of the fyrste Clothayre / the whyche to the kynge and all his hoste was very doutfull, and the more bycause he so fled from them. whan Gundoaldus had at ley soure harde the counsayle of Mom­mole, gyuynge to hym credence / for so mych as by hys counsayle before tymes he had fortheryd hys causes / and also by comfort that he reportyd to haue by meanes of Lyndegylsus before named: he settyng a parte all fere, wyth certayne nomber in peasyble wyse issued the cytye. And whan he had a lyttell space gone: ii. erles of Gunthranus hoste named Bole and Boson receyued hym, and delyuered hym to the power of Lyndegylsus / and Mommole retourned wyth the other of his confederey, vnto y ^e citye / and closed faste the gates bytwene y ^e citye and the pauyllyons of Gūthra­nus. where was a lytell coppyd hyll / to the heyght whereof whan Gundoalde was comen, the sayd Bosō hym sodeynly threwe downe. And as he was rollynge downe the hyll / with a great stone he strake him on the hed, by vyolēce wherof he was forthwith slayne or dede. And Mommole, the whych as before is towched was re­entred the citye / fyrste dyspoyled the goodes of the sayd Gundoalde / and after fell vpon the citesyns, and rob­bed and spoyled them in lyke maner, not sparynge prestes nor other / and after brente chyrches, temples, and houses without pytye / whyche done he sped hym vnto the tentys of Lyndegylsus. But he not beynge sure of the sauegarde of the sayde Mōmole [Page LVIII] and hys cōpany from the murmoure of hys knyghtes / or more veryly for he wolde not be a knowen of the prouyded deth of theym / commaunded the sayde Mōmole wyth hys adhe­rentes to tary without, & not to come in the prese of hys knyghtes, tyll he had somedele pacyfyed them. whiche was done, but not all without strife / for some there were that beganne to quarell wyth hym and hys. But whē Lyndegylse sawe that this Mōmole and his company were somdele withdrawē frō his pauylyon, he made a token to hys knyghtes / whereby they knowyng his mynde, fell vpon him & slewe hym. Sagyttarius one of the foresayde .iiii. of that company, the whyche myne authour reporteth to be a byshoppe, fledde to haue saue­garded hym self / but in his flyght he was slayne. And whē these enymyes where thus brought out of lyfe / Gunthranus commaūded the goodes of the sayde Mommole to be broughte vnto hys tresorye / whyche were of great valure, and after were egallye deuyded betwene hym and Childe­bert hys neuewe. It was not longe after but certayne tokens & fygures appered in the fyrmament, the which by astronomers were iuged the fyne of some prynce / whyche after a yere shewyd to be true. For the sayd Gunthranus dyed vpon a yere folowyng the sayd fygures or sygnes / when he hadde ben kyng of Orleaunce by the terme of .xxxvii. yeres / and was bu­ryed wyth great pompe in the cytye of Cabylon wythin the prouynce of Burgoyne, in y ^e monastery of saynte Marke, whyche he before had buyl­ded / and lefte for hys heyre of that kyngdome his neuewe the foresayde Chyldebert.

THE .CXXIIII. CHAPITER.

CHildebertus then hauyng the rule & possessyon of hys owne enherytaunce, that ys to saye of Au­stracy, and also of Orleaunce / cas­tynge in his mynde howe he myghte be reuenged of Fredegunde, y ^e which as before is shewed in the .C. & .xiii. chapyter of this lybell slewe hys fa­ther Sygebert: called vnto hym his olde frende and councelloure Gun­debald erle of Poytowe / and then cō maunded y ^t he shuld with his power inuade the countre of Soysons, the whyche was in the rule of Clothari­us. wherof Fredegunde beyng warned / assembled to her y ^e lordes of the countrey, and exhorted them to wythstande the malyce of theyr enymyes / shewynge to them furthermore that that thynge they shuld of iustyce and equyte do, consyderynge that theyr kynge Clotharius was yet tender of age, and hadde as yet no knyghtely prowesse to defende hym self and his lande. And after a longe exhortacy­on to them made / she wyth her sonne prepared to go agayne the sayde enymyes. And when all thynge to the warre was preparyd and redy / she wyth a great army made toward the hoste of Gundebalde. And when she knewe she was nere vnto the hoste / she commaundyd her captaynes to reste & fortyfye her people vppon all ꝑtes for brekyng in of her enymyes. And agayne nyghte she called to her Laundry her olde paramoure wyth other / wyllyng them that in the dede of the nyght they wolde manfully set vppon the other partye / for so myche as she sayde to them that she was certaynly enfourmed by her espies, that her sayde enymyes were sore weryed by reason of that dayes laboure. Af­ter whose counseyll the sayde Laundry wyth other wrought / and sup­prysed theyr enymyes so vnwarelye, that of theym she slewe a parte & chasyd the remanaunt. And that done spedde them vnto Champayne nere [Page] vnto Reynes, and spoyled and brent a parte of that countre. Thys feat of warre thus compassyd by the subtyle wytte of Fredegunde was nere to a place called Truet.

Then Childebert entendyd after certentye hadde of the ouerthrowe of Gundebalde, for to haue made newe warre vppon Fredegunde. But he was let by meane of the Longobar­dis, whyche than made warre vpon hym. Of the whyche warre he hadde somdeale his entent / and more shuld yf Mauricius emperour of Constā ­tyne the noble had kept all promesse with hym before made. After y ^e which warre in party endyd, he retourned into hys owne countree / and shortly after he and also hys wyfe dyed, and not wythout suspeccyon of venym / leuyng after hym two sōnes named Theodobert and Theodorych / gy­uynge to the eldest the lordshyppe of Austraci, and to the yonger the pro­uynce of Burgoyne.

About thys tyme the Hunes brake out of theyr places, and warryd vpō certeyne partyes of myddle Fraunce and dyd therein greate harme. But lastly by meanes of greate gyftes by them receyued / they left the countre & drewe towarde Soysons. Agayne whom Fredegūde gaderyng a grete powar / sent Clotharius hyr sonne & kynge, to the entent to defende the sayd Hunes / that they shulde not in­uade theyr countrees. And shortly after bothe hostes mette in the felde / where after longe and sharpe fyght the Frenchmen were vyctours, and chased the Hunes in suche wyse, that the more parte of them were slayne and taken, for the whyche vyctory Fredegunde made excedynge ioye to hyr son Clothayre / & receyued hym with greate pleasure, and excedynge gyftes. After the whyche passyd not longe whyle, but that she fell syke & dyed / and than buryed by hyr hous­bonde Chylperich.

whan the forenamed bretherne had knowlege of the deth of Fredegūde / they by the exhortacyon and styryng of Brunechieldis theyr graundmo­ther, callyng to mynde the wronges to theyr auncesters done by Frede­gund, and somdele by Lothayre: assembled a greate powar, & met wyth Lothayre and hys powar at the ry­uer of Arrune or Aruēne. In y ^e which place was so sore fyght and so many slayne, that the cource of the ryuer was let, by the multytude of the ca­ryens or dede bodyes y ^t were therein caste. But the more parte fell of the knyghtes of Lothayre / so y ^t he was forcyd to forsake the feld, and thens to flee to the cyty of Meleon, & from thens to Parys: whom the sayde bretherne folowed / & compelled hym to make peas after theyr pleasure. The effecte of which peas was this. Theodobert y ^e elder brother of these two, shuld enioye all the lande lyeng bytwene the ryuer of Seyn & Leyr, vnto the Bryttysh Occean, or the see of lytell Brytayne. And Theodorich the yonger brother, to haue all the lande from the sayd ryuer of Seyn vnto the ryuer of Isayr to the brynk of the see. And to Clothayr shuld re­mayne .xii. prouinces, which the sayd two ryuers of Isayr and Seyne flo­wen by or thorough.

whyche peas thus confermed and graūted / Theodobert to whom Neustria or Normandye belonged, sent thyder a cheuetayne of hys court called Berthalde, to defende the sayde countre. But Clothayre of thys for­mer accorde beynge nothynge con­tentyd / sent his sonne Meroneꝰ vn­der the gydynge of Laundry prefect or ruler of hys paleys into Neu­stria to warre in that countrey. And for so mych as Berthalde sawe [Page LIX] well he lakked power to wythstande so great an host / he therfore toke the cytye of Orleaunce, tyll he had gaderyd more company. Then Laundry seasyd that parte of y ^e coūtrey, & cam to the wallys of the cytye / and by dyuerse wordes of reproche, excyted y ^e sayde Berthalde to gyue batayll to hym in the playne felde. The whych he refusyd because of the inequalyte of nomber of knyghtes. But he offeryd to issue out of y ^e cytye, & to fyght wyth Laundry hande to hand / wyth that he myght be assuryd agayne his people / the whyche offer Laundrye refusyd.

It was not longe after or bothe kynges wyth great hostes drewe in­to that countrey / and at the ryuer of Stampis mette, where betwene thē was foughten a stronge batayll. But by the polycye of Theodobert / Lothary was putte to a disuaūtage. For whyle the sayde Lotharye was cōueyeng hys people ouer the ryuer at a narowe passage / Theodobert beganne so fyersly and kepte the passage so streyt, that the peple of Clotharye came not two partes of theym to the felde. Neuerthelesse the fyght cō tynued by a longe season / in whyche tyme Berthalde encountred many tymes Laundrye, and prouoked hym to batayll / but euer that other refu­syd. Lastly he seynge and knowyng well that he shuld wynne great worsshyppe and also profyte, yf he myght slee or take this Laūdry / he therfore put hym selfe in the more daunger of hys enymys, and fynally of thē was slayn. But Theodobert in pursuyng Lotharye and in comfortynge of his knyghtes bare hym so well, that he causyd his enimyes to lese grounde / and at length put them to flyght, the whyche he foloweth to the gates of Parys, to the great damage of y ^e people of Lothary. In this chase was taken Meroneus the sonne of Clotharye wyth many other / but Laundry was goten wythin the cytye. And when Theodobert had thus goten the vyctory of hys enemyes / he lyste no lenger to tary about them at that season / but shortly after retourned to hys countre.

In the court of Theodorich broder of this Theodobert, was at this day dwellynge an Italian named Pro­thadiꝰ / the whyche as myne authour sayth was paramour vnto Brune­chyeld before sayd. The which, Brunechyeld by hyr meanes had exalted from poore estate vnto hyghe authoryte / the whyche was of a subtyle & far castynge wytte, and therwyth ex­cedynge couetous / and in greate fa­uour of the kynge, but to all hys lor­des odyous & hatefull: for the which vnlefull meanes by hym to the no­bles and comons of the lande vsed / & for the yll condycyons and bad counceyll that Brunechyelde & thys Prothadiꝰ vsed within y ^e court of Theo­dobert / he bannysshed them both as well of hys lande as of hys courte. wherfore euer after they malygned agayne Theodobert. And for the ex­ecucyon of theyr malicious purpose / they tolde vnto Theodoryche, that hys enemy and not brother Theodobert, had wythdrawen from hym the chefe of hys faders treasoure / alled­gyng also, that he was not the sonne of Chyldebert hys fader, but gotten of a gardener / and wyllyd hym ther­fore to sende vnto hym and to aske restytucyon of the sayde goodes. By the whyche wycked counceyle Theodoryche was so lad, that he sent vn­to hys brother / and in suche wyse so vexyd and styryd hym, that dedely malice was kyndelyd betwene them. In so myche that eyther of them as­sembled great hostes / and lastely met nere vnto a towne named Carysse. [Page] where the sayde hostes beynge redy to haue runne togyders / the lordes of Theodoberte so demeaned them vnto hym, that by theyr wyse coun­sayle he agreed to sende to hys bro­ther, and to haue a cōmunicacyon of peas. And whan the embassade was comen to the pauylyon of Theodoryche, and there had shewyd the vn­kyndnesse of thys warre, wyth the ieopardy that myghte ensue of the same / anone the foresayde Protha­dius toke vppon hym the answere, & sayd: it is not requysyte so lyghtly to graunte peas / but necessary it is to attempte the wyll of our enemye by batayle, whether he woll be agre­able to condescende to our desyres. The whyche wordes thus expressyd of hym, anone the more party of the lordes dysdayned it / and conspyryd wythin them selfe howe they myghte putte hym to deth. And forthwyth arose amonge them such a murmur, that y ^e kynge apperceyued well that they entendyd some harme to Pro­thadius. For the whyche he called vnto hym a knyght named Uselyne / chargynge hym to go vnto the lor­des, commaundynge them that they in no wyse shulde do any harme to Prothadius. The whyche Uselyne beynge of the mynde of the other / sayd that the kynge wolde that they shulde slee Prothayde. After whyche message done / they ranne in all haste and hym slewe, as he sate playenge at dyce or tables wyth one Peter a physicyon / and that done all hoolly ranne vnto y ^e kynges tent, besechyng hym to take no dyspleasure of y ^e deth of so euyll a man, that as well was knowē, was enemye to all frendshyp and peas. But for Theodoryche ap­perceyued well, that he cowde not reuenge hys deth wythout ponyshe­mēt of a multytude / he therfore toke pacience, and suffred the offence to passe vnpunysshed. After whyche man thus murdered / bothe prynces without notable acte deꝑted eyther into hys countree.

THE .CXXV. CHAPITER

TO thys daye Theodoryche had taken no wyfe / all be yt of hys concubyne he receyued two sonnes. He therfore by thaduertyse­ment of hys frendes, set hys mynde to mary some noble woman / & soone after sent certeyne ambassadours vnto Berthricꝰ then kyng of Spayne / wyllyng to graūte vnto hym Mem­berge his doughter in mariage. The whiche vppon certeyne condicyons was perfourmed, and wyth greate ryches to hym shortly after sent and maryed / [...] by a certayn tyme well entreated & cheryshed. But that season rōne & spent / Brunechyeld so turned the kynges mynde from the quene, that lastely he wyth suche treasoure and iewellys as he of her receyued, sent her home agayn. The whych in­iury Berthricus her father toke at herte greuously / & shortly after sente hys messengers vnto Clothary kyng of Soysons, requiryng hym of ayde to warre vppon Theodoriche, which hadde done vnto hym great dyspleasure / and the rather for y ^e warre that the sayde Theodoryche wyth his brother lately made agayne hym / the whyche wyth both theyr strengthes they myghte then well reuenge. To whome Clotharius graūted. And to haue hys party the stronger, he sente vnto hys neuewe Theodobert and brother to Theodoriche, to styre hym agayne hys sayde brother.

wherof when Berthricus hadde re­ceyuyd knowlege of hys sayde mes­sengers / he thē sent vnto Agon king of Longobardys / or more veryly Adoaldus the .v. kynge after Alboynus / requyryng hym in lyke maner. [Page LX] And he desyrous of wreche / made faste and sure promyse to gyue ayde to the vttermoste of his power.

when Theodoryche was warned of the cōspyracy of these .iiii. kynges, that entendyd to warre ioyntly vp­pon hym / he was therwyth greatly amoued, and prouyded for hys de­fence in his best [...] maner. Then Theodobert trustyng the appoyntmēt be­fore made, assembled a great hoste / and made spede fyrst toward y ^e place bytwene theym appoynted, whyche was nere to y ^e castell of Salas. But or any preparacyon was made to­warde batayle / a meane was founde that the forenamed two bretherne shulde mete eyther wyth other, accō ­panyed wyth .x. thousand knyghtes. But Theodobertus enter [...]ynge to dysceyue hys sayd brother, & to force hym to graūte to his pleasure / brou­ghte wyth hym ferre aboue y ^e nōber. wherfore Theodoricus beynge ouersette wyth strength / graunted all his brothers wyll. whych was that ouer certeyne thynges and appoyntementes concluded bytwene Berthricus and hym / Theodobert shulde holde to hym and his heyres two lordship­pes called Champayne and Turon. whych conclusyon fynysshed / eyther takynge leue of other departyd vnto theyr countreys / but not wythout greate vnrestfulnesse of the sayde Theodorych, berynge in mynde the wronge doynge of hys brother. wherfore he shortly after made mea­nes to hys neuewe Clothayre desy­rynge hym that he wolde not assyste hys brother agayne hym / but to suf­fer hys quarell to be demyd by dynt of swerde bytwene theym two. This requeste, Lothayre by the aduyse of saynte Columbane munke of Ire­lande than beynge in those costes, graunted.

And the french cronicle sayth, that he was warned of thys foresayd ho­ly munke and abbot, that he shulde not medle bytwene the sayd two bre­therne / for so myche as yt was pro­uyded of god, that he shuld be heyre to them bothe.

whan Theodorych had receyued thys answere, he gaderyd his strēgth and spedde hym vppon hys iourney to the cytye of Langresse, and from thens to Uerdune or Uerdoune. Theodoberte hauynge knowlege of hys malycyouse brothers purpose, gaderyd in Austracy a greate hoste / and so sped hym tyll he came to the cytye of Toull. where bothe hostes shortely after met / and in the feldes or playnes nere to the cytye foughte a stronge batayle. In the which was slayne greate people vppon bothe sydes / but the more parte vppon the syde of Theodobert. wherfore he fy­nally was compelled to forsake the felde, and fled vnto Coleyne. where he gaderyng a newe powar / fought agayne wyth hys brother. In the whyche fyght he had lyke fortune / & was agayn chasyd to hys grete sha­me and losse / whom Theodoricus as hys mortall enemye folowed, fy­rynge and wastynge the countreys as he went / in so myche that the in­habytauntes of the coūtreys fell be­fore hym, besechynge his grace, that for the offence of one man, he wolde not destroye so many innocentes / as­surynge hym forthermore that they wolde become hys lyegemen, and holde theyr lande of hym for euer. At whyche request he sayde gladly he wolde to them graunte theyr pe­tycyon, yf that they wolde presente to hym the hedde of hys brother. After the whych answere by them of Theodorych receyued / they amonge them selfe appoynted out a certayne of persones moste apte to theyr pur­pose / and wyllyd theym to go vnto [Page] Theodobert to execute theyr entent. The whyche sped theyr iourney tyll they came to the presence of Theodobert / & shewyd vnto hym that yf he wolde be agreable to departe wyth suche stuffe and iewellys as he had of hys faders, so that Theodoryche myghte be partener therof / he shulde haue perfyght amyte and rest wyth hym. To the whyche wordes he gy­uynge confydence and truste / called wyth hym the sayde persones / and brought them into y ^e howses, where the sayd stuffe and iewellys lay. And whyle he was busyed to deuyde out and appoynte y ^e porcyon of hys, one of the sayde persons slewe hym so­deynly / and after of one agrement strake of hys hed, and in secrete wyse caused yt to be conueyed vnto hys brother. whan Theodoryche hadde receyued the hed of hys brother, he sped hym to Coleyne where this treason was wrought / and receyued the cytye into hys possessyon, wyth all y ^e kyngdome of Austracy to hys bro­ther belongynge. And when he had there ordred hys nedes after hys mynde / wyth two sonnes and an ex­cedynge fayre doughter of Theodo­bert, he spedde hym vnto Mees the chefe cytye of Austracy / where wyth hym met hys graundmoder Brune­chyelde. The whyche perseuerynge in all malyce and myschefe / caused y ^e sayd two sonnes to be shortly slayn.

Theodorych then restoryd or dely­uered vnto Clothayre, all such lādes as to hym he had before promysed.

Theodoryche thus endynge hys warre, the whyche by a longe season spent hys tyme in kepynge of concu­bynes / was nowe rauyshed wyth the beaute of his brothers doughter, the whyche he hadde brought from Co­leyne. But that doyng Brunechyeld wythstode wyth all her power, be­cause the mayde was so [...]e [...]e of hys kynne. For the whych he beyng with herfore dyscōtent sayde, o thou most wycked & false woman / dyd not thou make me to beleue, that Theodobert was not the sonne of my father / but that he was the sonne of a gardyner. For what cause hast thou caused me to ꝑsecute my brother, and lastely to [...]lee hym. After the whyche wordes he wolde haue slayne her, yf he of his lordes hadde not ben letted. whyche dede not forgotten of this vngoodly woman / euer after imagyned howe she myght brynge Theodoryche out of lyfe. And lastely she hyryd such as were about hym to consent to her iniquyte / so that vpon a season when he came out of his stew or bayn, he axyd drynke by y ^e force wherof he was poysoned & [...]yed soone after, whē he had reygned .xviii. yeres. Howe be yt Antoninus in the .vi. chapyter & .xii. tytle of the seconde parte of hys worke, sayth that he was brent wyth fyre by the dyuyne power.

THE .CXXVI. CHAPITER.

NOw that I haue shewed vn­to you the fyne & ende of these two bretherne / by reason of whose deth the hole pryncypate of Fraunce fell vnto the abouenamed Clothayr: I shall now expresse vnto you the dedys by hym done after he hadde all the rule onely.

So yt was that y ^e forenamed Brunechyelde malygned euer agayn Lothayr. And to the fortheraūce of her malyce▪ she behauyd her in such wise wyth some of the rulers & lordes of Austracy, that she caused them to admytte owne named Sygebert to be ryghtfull enherytoure of that lande▪ But for that some of them had good experyence of theyll dysposycyon of this woman / they therfore sent two noblemen of that lande name Pe­pyn [Page LXI] and Arnold vnto Clothayre / willynge hym to sende hastely into that prouynce. After the whyche message by these two lordes reported, Clotharius shortely after spedde hym into Austracy / and at a castell called Ca­thomat he lodgyd hym with hys people. whereof herynge Brunechielde sent vnto hym / & gaue vnto hym monicyon that he shuld voyde the land, for so myche as Sygebert the eldest sonne of Theodoryche was therof ryghtefull enherytour.

ye haue harde before that Theodoryche vsyd lemmans / of the whyche he receyued foure sonnes, y ^t is to say Sygebert, Corbe, Chyldebert, and Merone. wherfore y ^e foresayde Bru­nechyelde entendynge to dystourbe Lothayre and all the lande / fortyfy­ed the sayd Sygebert to clayme the lande of Austracye. And when Clo­thayre hadde receyued knowlege of this maundemēt from Brunechielde or Bruncheuste / he sent to her answere that he wolde assemble the lordes of Austracy, and be demed by theym, whyther thys land belonged to hym, or Sygebert. And she ferynge that sentence / excyted people of the pro­uynce of Germanye to strength her partye, wyth all the people that she myght make of the sayde countre of Austracy. And that to bryng about / she sente one Garnery an other Al­bon. Of this Garnery she hadde su­speccyon that he shuld fauour y ^e par­tye of Lothayre / wherfore to Albone hys felowe she sente letters, that he shulde put the sayde Garnery away. whē Albone had ouer rad the letter / he brake yt in peces & threwe theym from hym. And afterwarde a frende of Garneryes gaderyd the peces / and so ioyned theym that he concey­uyd the sentence of the letter, and forthwyth shewyd yt vnto Garnery. when Garnery perceyued the maly­cyous entent of Brunechielde, he kepte yt secrete to hym selfe: all be it that he by his secrete meanes caused the Germanyes that they shuld take no partye wyth Brunechyelde. And that done he retourned into Bur­goyne / where wyth her and in her cō panye he solycyted so the lordes of Burgoyne, that some of them abhorred the crudelite of that woman. And when Garnery hadde in thys wyse compassed hys maters / he sent vnto Lothayr, & shewyd that yf he myght haue hys grace and safecondute / he wolde come to hym and shew to hym thynges concernynge hys aduaun­tage. All the whyche was graunted.

Then Clothayre by counsayle of y ^e sayd Garnery assembled his power / & shortly sente a strenght of theym in to Champayne and Cathaloyne / where yt was shewed that Sigebert hadde gatheryd great strenghtys. Then forsoke the party of Sigebert many nobles of Austracye / amonge the whyche myne authoure nameth Rucco, Sigoldus, and Enulanus, and yelded them to the mercy of Clothayre. Then shortly after the hostes of Clothayre and Sygebert mette / where Garnerye, by tokens betwene hym and dyuerse of the captaynes of Sygebert before assygned, y ^e sayd captaynes wyth theyr people wyth­drewe them, so that Sygebert wyth hys two bretherne Corbo and Meroneus gaue backe whyle they came to the ryuer of Sigoune / where after lytle resystence the foresayde two bre­therne were taken. But the frenche cronicle sayth that all foure brethern were there taken. All be yt mayster Gagwyn sayth, that Sygeberte by the vertue of hys horse escapyd / so that he was not after that daye seen.

And soone after thys victory Brunechyeldes, which also of the frenche cronycle ys named Bruneheuste / [Page] was broughte as prysoner vnto the presence of Lothayre, wyth a suster of Theodoryche, whych Garnery or Gerney hadde taken in the tentes of his enymyes. Then Lotharius forthwyth commaūded Corbon to be be­hedded / and preseruyd Meroneus, for so mych as he was to hym godfather / and euer after cheryshed hym as his kynnesman.

Lotharius thus hauyng y ^e victory of his enimyes, made great ioy. And after he hadde somedeale sette that countrey and other in quyete / he then toke aduyse of hys lordes howe he shulde be demeaned wyth Brune­chielde, that hadde ben authoryce of so manyfolde mychyefes and crymy­nous dedꝭ. The whych of one cōsent and mynde condescendyd & agreed, that she shuld be put to moste payn­full and vyle deth. And fynally after fore betynges she was sette vppon a horse / and so conueyed thorough the hoste / that all men myghte beholde and se her / and after brought agayn to y ^e kynges presence. where then the kynge rehersed vnto her a longe processe of all her murdurs, conspyra­cis, and wycked dedes / affermynge that she hadde ben the occasyon and cause of the deth of .x. prynces, be­syde other meane persones. And whē he hadde sayde hys pleasure / he then commaunded her to be bounden to a wylde horse tayle by the here of her hedde / and so to be drawen whyle she were dede.

And when this iudgement was executed / she by the lycence of the kynge was buryed in an house of relygyon wythin the cytye of Hosdon̄ or Os­don̄, that she before tyme hadde buyldyd in the honoure of saynte Mar­tyne, besyde other many that she in her lyfe buyldyd in dyuerse other places, endowyng them wyth great and ryche possessyons.

THE .CXXVII. CHAPITER.

THus dame Fortune fauoured the partye of Lotharius / that this kyngdome, whyche hadde from the tyme of Clodoueus Lewes cōtynued vnder .iiii. gouernours or ru­lers for the more partye, nowe was fallen to hym / so that he hadde all vnder obeysaunce and rule / then anon thys Lotharius made Garnery pre­fecte and mayster of hys paleys / and releasyd vnto the Longebardes or Lombardes a trybute of .xii. thou­sand pounde yerely payde to the kynges of Frannce / the whych was fyrst sette vppon theym by Gunthranus hys vncle.

And in thys whyle to hys more en­creace of wordely ioye / he receyuyd of hys wyfe Bergeruda a sonne, the whych he named Dagobertus. The whyche when he came to couenable age / he betoke to the lore of Arnolde then byshoppe of Me [...]s. And when the fyrste wyfe of Lotharius was ded / he maryed a seconde named Sichilde, of whom he receyued a chyld and named yt Haybert. when Dagobert the fyrste sonne was comen to a lawfull age / after vsuell custome of all prynces of Fraunce, he gaue hym myche to the chase of wylde bestys. And as by chaunce one daye he fo­lowed the chace of an hert / and tryed yt so sore y ^t he broughte hym to a bay in a place that then was called the strete of Catulyen. In the whyche strete was then an old lytle chapell / to the whyche the forsayde herte en­tred, and there helde hym / all be yt that a great nomber of houndes fo­lowed hym to y ^e chapell dore, & none of theym wold enter, but there stode bayenge. And when Dagobertus came after and behelde the maner of the houndes, and dyd what he coude to cause them to entre the chapel and [Page LXII] myghte not / he thus departed wyth­out more doynge at that season, not wythout great meru [...]lynge in hys mynde.

It was not longe after, that Clo­thayr cōsyderynge the frowardnesse of growyng in his sonne Dagobert / assygned to hym a tutour or lerner of worldely and knyghtely maners, whose name was Sadragesyle. And for his sonne shulde haue hym in the more awe and fere / the kyng gaue vnto the sayde tutoure the dukedome of Guyan. But so yt was one daye that for a cause thys Sadragesyle wold haue chastyzed this Dagobert / wherof he beyng ware, associated vnto hym certayne wanton persones and bete his mayster / & after in way of dyspyte caused the berd of hys tu­tour to be shauen of. For the whyche dede Lothayre was agayne hym greuously dyspleasyd / & in greatire and haste, sente for hys sonne Dagobert. But he feryng punyshement, wyth­drewe hym, and went vnto the fore­named chapell / trustyng veryly that wheretofore a beste was shewid such comforte, that he by holy prayers shulde there be comforted tyll suche tyme as he myghte atteyne vnto the grace of hys father.

ye shall vnderstande that before tyme after he hadde experyence of that wonder shewyd by the herte / he lerned that the holy martyrs saynte Denys, and hys two felowes Rusti­cus and Eleutherius shulde be bu­ryed wythin the sayde chapell / the whych were martyryd in the persecucyon of Domycyane the emperour, aboute the yere of Crystes incarnacyon .lxxx. and .xvi. In the honoure of y ^e whych martyrs the foresayd poore chapell was arreryd, as witnessyth the frenche cronycel, by the meanes of a deuout french man whose name ys not expressyd. Thus Dagobert in thys chapell abydynge in prayer / in the fyrste nyght he beyng in slepe, apperyd vnto hym .iii. olde faders, sayenge vnto hym / yonge man we be those martyrs, whyche many yeres passyd were slayne for the fayth of Cryste, and buryed in thys place by Catula that good woman. whyche place is not duely nor suffyciently honoured / nor yet the people of Fraūce hath not vs in due reuerēce and worshyppe. And therfore when thou art of myghte and power, then remem­bre vs, and helpe thys place to be otherwyse buyldyd / whych shall not be longe to. And for thou shalte not take thys for a dreme or fantasye / dygge hereafter thys grounde, and thou shalte fynde oure thre bodyes hole and vncorrupt / and vppon eueryche of vs our names with letters fresshely wryten. And after thys they vanyshed awaye.

when Dagobert awoke / he called well to mynde thys vysyon. And promysed inwardely betwene god and hym, that yf he were recouncylyd to hys father as to hym they hadde promysed / he wolde fulfyll that they hadde desyryd. After thys the father beynge warnyd that Dagobert was in thys chapell / sent vnto the place certayne of hys knyghtes to pull or take hym thens per force. And when they came wythin a myle of y ^e sayde chapell / they were so astonyed that they myghte not go one fote forwar­de to do the beste they coude.

when they hadde long stryuē with oute preuaylynge / they retournyd to the kynge, and shewed to hym y ^e trouthe in all thynge as they had done.

The kynge beynge dyscontent wyth theyr reporte, blamed theym, and sayde that they feryd hys sonne, for the whyche cause they hadde fayned that excuse.

[Page]And incontynently he sente forth an other company / the which were delte wyth in lyke maner as y ^e other. were Lothariꝰ somdele troubled wyth the reporte of his seruauntes / consyde­ryd the chapell to be nere vnto Pa­ris where he then lay / & cōmaundyd his horse to be brought, for he wolde proue the mater hym selfe. But lyke as his seruauntes were seruyd, euen so became of hym / so that he myghte go or ryde frowarde or sydewarde / but towarde the chapell myght he in no wyse atteyne.

when this was knowen to y ^e kyng / he cōsydered well yt was the handy­worke of god. wherfore by fayre and easy meanes he called home his son, and recouncylyd hym, and forgaue all trespace. To this accordyth the legende of the lyfe of saynte Denys, wyth more that shall after folowe in the storye of this Dagobert.

After thys reconcylyacyon, Lotharius ordeyned vnder hym hys sonne Dagobert to be ruler of the sygnory of Austracye. But whyther yt were by the elacyon of hys owne mynde, or by badde counsayll, he shortely after rebellyd agayne hys father / and wolde haue reteyned that prouynce to his owne vse.

For thys were chosen .xii. noble men of Fraūce, to arbytre and deme betwene the father and the son. The whyche Lordes after they had longe debated this mater / by fayre entrea­tyse contentyd so the father, that he gaue vnto the sonne the sayde lord­shyppe of Austracy.

Soone after thys accorde, Clo­thayre made warre vppon the Go­this or Saxons / and them at length subdued. For yt is to be knowē, that lyke as the sayde Saxons inuadyd myche Brytayne or Englande / in ly­kewyse warryd they in Fraunce / and lastely subdued the prouynce of Neustria and named yt after theym Normandye, as after in the storye of Charlis the symple shall more euy­dently appere.

Of thys vyctorye of Saxons ys made a longe rehersayll / and howe lastly when Clothayre hadde slayne the kynge or ruler of theym named Berthrande, he after yode into the countrey of Germanye, and slewe man and chylde that passyd y ^e length of hys swerde.

Of this and other dedes by this Lothayre done, I myght make a longe worke / but I passe ouer.

Then yt foloweth, when Lothayre hadde set his countrey in some reste / he assembled hys lordes at a cytye or towne called Traacas or Trecas. And after dyuers maters dyscussyd and endyd / he axed of theym perfyte allegeaunce and fydelite to hym and hys heyres to be kepte. The wyche by the sayde lordes fyrmely promy­sed and assuryd / he commaundyd e­ueryche of theym to repayre to theyr owne countreys. And soone after he made an assemble of hys byshoppes and spyrytuall men at the cytye or towne of Troys / by whose counsayl­lys he orderyd thynges and maters concernynge the wele of the chyrche. And shortly after he was vexyd with greuous sekenes / wherof he fynally dyed, when he hadde reygned after moste wryters .xliii. yeres, leuynge for heyre the forenamed Dagobert / the whyche enterryd hys fader wyth great pōpe at the abbey of saynt Uincent wythoute the wallys of Paris / the whiche abbey is at thys daye called saynte Germaynes.

The foresayde yeres accomptyd for the reygne of Lothayre / be ac­comptyd from the fyrste daye that he was ordeyned kynge of Soysons, vnto the daye of hys deth. wherof he reygnyd after some wryters ouer a [Page LIII] parte .xxvii. yeres / & ouerall Fraūce xvi. yeres. whyche make the full of xliii. yeres.

Anglia. THE .CXXVIII. CHAPITER.

CAdwanus or Ca­dwan, the whyche of Guydo ys na­med duke of Uenedoyce or of Northwalys / was by one assente of the Britōs lastly ma­de theyr souerayne or gouernour, in the yere of our lorde .vi. hundred and xiii / and the .xxv. yere of the seconde Clothayre kynge of Fraunce / and also the fyrst yere of Colwolphus then kynge of westsoxons / accomptynge for the reygne of Ceawlmus kynge of the sayde westsaxons .xxxi. yeres. And for Colricus nexte succedynge hym .v. yeres.

ye haue before hard what dyscorde and trouble was amonge the Bry­tons in the tyme of Careticus laste kynge & longe after, by reason wher of the Saxōs wanne the more land / and as before is rehersyd in the .C. and .xx. chapyter, howe Ethelfryde kynge of Northumberlande ouer set the Brytons at the cytye of Chestre / & forcyd thē to take ouer Seuarne, and so into walys / where they then chase thys Eadwane to theyr duke and leder. The whyche after he was putte in authoryte / assembled hys Brytons, and came agayne into Britayne / and gaue batayll vnto the sayde Ethelfryde. In the whych they spedde dyuersly, so that some season the Saxons wanne / and some while the Brytons. But the Brytons held Chestre & other good townes / whych they hadde recoueryd sene theyr last commynge.

It shulde seme by the meanynge of Policronica, that thys Cadwan or Cedwall shulde at length slee the sayde Ethelfryde and Osricus bothe kynges of Brennicia and Deyra. But Guydo and also Gaufryde wytnessen, that after thys Cadwan had the better of Ethelfryde / by medya­tours yt was agreed that Ethelfryd shulde enioye all the lande ouer and beyonde Humber vnto Scotlande / and Cadwan shulde haue the lande from Humber towarde the sowthe. To the whyche sayenge agreeth the englyshe cronycle, affermynge also that he shulde be the sonne of Brucyuall kynge of Leyceter, the whych of other wryters is not testyfyed.

It is also there shewed that after y ^e sayde accorde betwene Ethelfryde & Cadwan confyrmed / that they contynued durynge the lyfe of Cadwan as two especiall louers and frendes / and durynge the reygne of this Cadwan the two sonnes of Colricꝰ, Kyngilsus and Quichillynus, after the deth of theyr fathers brother Colwolphus, ruled ioyntly the pryncypate of westsaxons. The whyche in theyr begynnynge faught agayn the Bry­tons at Ampton besyde Oxynford / & wanne of them the towne & other holdes, whyche the Brytons in y ^t coūtre occupyed. But by agrement of wry­ters this Cadwan was not at this cō flycte, nor yet medlyd hym so farre within y ^e land. But as yt shuld seme by Guydo / these Brytons shulde be some cōpany that shulde lyue vnder trybute of the Saxons / y ^e whych for the manhode y ^t they hard reported of Cadwan, rebelled agayn y ^e Saxons. Then it foloweth, whē this Cadwan had thus contynued his amite wyth Ethelfryde / a chaunge fell, that this Ethelfryde for hatered or otherwise put frō hym hys wyfe beynge great wyth chylde, & toke to hym an other. [Page] wherfore thys woman beynge reed­lesse / callyng to mynde y ^e great loue, that was betwene her husbande and Cadwan, she went vnto hym, and specyally besoughte hym to recoenyle her lorde & husbande, that she myght be restoryd to hys company. But for Cadwan after many meanes and requestis myght not bryng that about / he therfore tenderynge her necessyte, kepte her in hys owne courte tyll she were lyghted. The whyche at tyme brought fourth a man chylde whom she lette call Edwyn. And soone af­ter was the wyfe of Cadwan delyueryd of a sonne, whom the father cal­lyd Cadwalyn. But the authour of the Floure of hystoryes sayth y ^t these two chyldern were long borne before this tyme. The whych shuld seme to be true, for so myche as this Cadwa­lyn was of lawfull age to beweld his lande whē his father dyed / the which he coude not do, yf he hadde nowe be borne. But as affermeth Policronycon, yt shulde seme lyke to a fable, all the rehersayll that Gaufride maketh in the ende of hys boke / as well for Cadwalyn and Edwyn, as for the other cyrcūstaunce of the mater there rehersyd. whych varyeth from other wryters both for the tyme, and also for the mater, as somdeale is more in the hystorye hereof before made mencyon / and also by the cōtynuaūce of this storye. For as Giraldus Cam­brens and other seyen / this Edwyn was the sonne of Elle or Ella kynge of Deyra / the whyche was persecu­tyd of Ethelfridus before named thē kynge of both prouynces, that is to meane Brennicia and Deyra, so sore that he was compellyd to flee to Re­dwaldus then kynge of Gestanglys. The whyche for mede or fere of the sayde Ethelfride, was lastely consentynge to haue betrayed Edwyn / of whyche daunger the sayde Edwyn was delyueryd by warnynge of a frende of hys.

After this escape as Edwyn satte vppon a time in a great study alone / a straunger apperyd to hym sodeynly, and sayde, I know well the cause of thy thought and heuynes. Ther­fore yf thyn enymyes were slayne, & thou restoryd vnto thy kyngdome & sette the in better maner then any of thy forefathers / woldyst thou not admytte such one for thy frende, and assent and do by his rede and coūsayll. yes trewly sayd Edwyn / and that I surely and fastely promise the. Then this man layd his hand vpon Edwynes hedde and sayde to hym, Edwyn when this token is broughte to the / then haue thou mynde of this tyme of trybulacyon, and of this promyse thou haste made. And anon as thys was spoken this man vanyshed out of his syght sodeynly.

In a conuenyent season after, Ed­wyn assemblyd hys hoste and gaue batayll vnto Ethelfryde in the countrey of Mercia by eest the ryuer of Idle / and slewe hym in that fyghte, wyth a great nōber of his knyghtes / and thē seasyd in his possessyon both the foresayde pryncypates / and was kynge of Northumberlande by the terme of .xvii. yeres.

ye shall vnderstande that the fore­named Ethelfride hadde .iii. sonnes, whyche are mynded besyde other. The fyrste & eldest was named Eau­fricus, the seconde Oswaldus, and the thyrde Oswye. The fyrst was of lawfull age / so that he myght helpe and shyft for hym selfe. But Oswald was but .xii. yeres of age / and Oswy farre yonger. wherfore theyr war­deyns immediatly after theyr faders deth, sente theym into Armorica or lytell Brytayne, there to be brought vppe / or more veryly into Albania or Scotlande.

THE .CXXIX. CHAPITER.

ABoute this tyme and season, as wytnessen Policronica, Guydo, and other / began the kyng­dome or lordshyp of Mercia, vnder the stronge paynym and Saxon cal­led Penda. The whyche Mercia or Mercherike conteyned Huntyngdon shyre, Hertfortshyre, Gloucetershyre, wyth dyuers other / and was grettest and largeste of all the other / & was closyd in y ^e west syde wyth the ryuer of Dee, stretchynge to Chestre & Seuarne, and so to Shrouesburye and Brystowe / in the eest yt was closyd wyth the see Occean / in the South with Thamys vnto London / and in the north with y ^e ryuer of Hōber / and had hys begynnynge vnder the fore named Penda, as the accorde of dy­uerse authours wytnessyth, in the yere of oure lordes incarnacyon .vi. hundred & .xxvi / and after the fyrste commynge of Hengyste a hundred and lxxvi. yeres. All be yt that of the fyrste kyng dyuerse opynyons there ben / wherof a cause maye be, for so myche as this lordshyppe in the fyrst begynnyng was departyd in .iii / that is to say y ^• fyrst was called eest Mer­cia, the .ii. was named myddell Mercia, and the .iii. weste Mercia. But after yt was brought to one pryncy­pate & called Mercherike, or of some wryter myddell Englande. Of thys lordshyppe the fyrste crysten kynge was called wolpherus that was the sonne of the forenamed Penda. But of all the kynges of thys kyngdome of Mercia, whych were .xviii. in nomber, as testyfyeth Policronica / Offa was of moste myght and power, as after shall more playnly appere.

This lordshippe endured to reken moste certaynly, tyll the yere of oure lorde .viii. hundred and .lxxvi. In the whych yere Alurede or Alhered then kynge of westsaxons, ioyned yt vnto his owne kyngdome / whych by that accompte shulde be two hundred & .l. yeres. All be yt that some accompte the enduraūce therof, to the last yere of Burdredus that was putte out by the Danes / by whyche rekenynge yt shulde then endure .iiii. yeres lesse. And some wryters accōpte the terme therof whyle the tyme of Edward called the elder / whych after the deth of his fader Alured put out the Danes from the sayde lordshyppe, and ioy­ned yt agayne to westsaxon / and by that accompte yt shulde laste .ii. hundred .lxxx. yeres and odde.

ye shall also vnderstande, that in this kyngdome reygned dyuerse ho­ly kynges, whyche nowe be alowed by the chyrche for sayntes / as Offa, Kenelphus, Kenelmꝰ, and other, as hereafter somedeale shall appere.

I haue seen an old regyster within the chyrche of Poulys of London / wherin ys conteyned many thynges concernynge the fyrst foundacyon of that chyrch, wyth certayne olde cro­nycles of thys lande. Amonge the whyche yt is there notyd, that in the tyme and season when Cadwan was kynge or ruler of the Brytons / that in the same moment and tyme rey­gned in dyuers partes of this lande these .vii. kynges vnder wryten. As fyrste Sybertus, that then was kynge of Eestsaxons no Essex, Red­waldus was then kynge of Eestan­glys now Norff. and Suff. Ethel­bertus was then kyng of Kēt, Ethelwaldꝰ was kynge of Southsex. Kyngylsus was kynge of westsaxons. Penda was kynge of Mercheryke. And Ethelfridus was then kynge of the North coūtre or Northumb. All whyche regyster this worke accor­dyth with, yf the storys of this Cad­wan, Careticus, & Cadwall be due­ly serchyd.

THE .CXXX. CHAPITER

LEtte vs than retourne to the perfourmaūce of the story of Cadwan / and of such dedes as were done in his dayes. About the .xiiii. yere of his reygne, Quincellinus y ^• was brother vnto Kyngylsus, and kynge with hym, as before in the .C. and .xxviii. chapyter is touchyd, ru­led y ^e westsaxōs / sent vpon an Eester day a swerdman to sle Edwyn kyng of Northumberland. This swerde­man came to a cytye besyde the wa­ter of Darwent in Derbysshyre, and wayted his tyme / and lastly fand the kynge smally accompanyed, and en­tended to haue ronne thorough the kynge wyth a sworde enuenemed. But one Lilla the kynges trusty ser­uaunt, dysgarnysshed of shylde or other wepyn to defende his mayster / starte betwene the knyg & the sword, and was stryken thorough the body and dyed / and the kynge was woun­ded with the same stroke. And after he woūded the thyrde / and was takē and confessyd by whom he was sent to worke that treason. The other knyght that was secondly wounded dyed / and the kynge laye after longe syke or he were helyd. And the same nyght folowynge the quene was de­lyuered of a doughter / the whyche kyng Edwyn caused to be crystened of Paulinus y ^e bysshop, in tokē that he wolde fulfylle all suche promyse as he before had made. And she was named Enfleda / and halowed vnto god. And after whytsontyde y ^• kyng beynge scantly hole of the wounde, assembled his hoste & made towarde the kynges of westsaxon / and after a greate and sore fyghte venquysshed them and theyr hoste. But Edwyn for all thys vyctory and other thyn­ges gyuen to hym of god / as he that was in helthe of the worlde, forgate his former promesse, and had lytell mynde therof / excepte that he by the preachyng of Paulinus forsoke his maumētrye, and for his excuse sayde that he myghte not clerely renye his olde lawe that his forefaders hadde kepte so longe, and sodeynly be cry­stened without authoryte and good aduyse of hys counceyle. He also re­ceyued letters of exhortacyon and cō forte to take the baptyme, from y ^e .v. Boniface thā pope. The whiche also sent to the quene lyke letters, with a myrrour garnysshed with syluer and a combe of iuory, and for the kyng a shyrte wrought in sōdry places with letters of golde. But all this preuayled nothynge.

Then Paulinꝰ made his specyall prayers to god / and had it shewed to hym by reuelacyon, of the token that was gyuen to Edwyn in tyme of his trybulacyon. After the which know­lege hadde / Paulinus shortly after came vnto the kyng / and layeng his hande on hys hed, frayned of hym whyther he had any lyke remēbraū ­ce of any lyke token. The whyche whan the kynge hadde confessyd / the holy bysshoppe sayde vnto hym. Lo thou hast ouercomen thyne enemyes and wonne thy kyngdome, & holdest it in moste large wyse / therfore per­fourme thy promesse, and be trew to hym that hath holpen thy.

It was not longe after that the kynge assemblyd hys counceyll / and by theyr agremēt he was of the sayd Paulinus byshop of yorke baptysed wythin the sayde cytye the .xi. yere of hys reygne / and the yere of grace, as testifyeth Guido .vi.C.xxvii. He was the fyrste crysten kyng that reygned in that coūtrey. And after hym many of hys lordes & subiectes were also crystened of the sayd Paulinus / and the flamyns or bysshoppes of theyr false goddes, were turned to Crystes [Page LXV] faythe. In token wherof they armed them as knyghtes, & bestrode good horses / where before by theyr lawe they myghte vse none armoure nor ryde but onely on a mare.

From that tyme forthwardes by the term of .vi. yeres, durynge the lyfe of kynge Edwyn, Paulinus crystened contynuelly in bothe prouyn­ces of Deyra and in Brēnicia in the ryuers of Gweuy & Swala, whyche he vsed for hys fontes / and preached in the shyre of Lyndesey / and buyl­ded there a chyrche of stone at Lyn­decoln or Lyncolne.

In thys tyme was so great peace in that kyngdome of Edwyne, that a woman myghte haue gone from one towne to an other without grefe or noyaunce.

And for the refresshynge of waye goers / this Edwyn ordeyned at clere wellys cuppes or dysshes of iron or brasse to be fastened to postes stan­dynge by the sayd wellys sydes, and no man was so hardy to take awaye those cuppes / he kept so good iustyce and with that he was knyghtely of hys dedes.

He was the fyrste that wanne this ile of Eubonia now called the ile of man. And by hys meanes / Orpewaldus or Corpewaldus, the sonne of Redwaldus kynge of Eest anglis or Norphis / to whom as before is tou­chyd Edwyn had fledde for socoure, was conuerted to the true fayth, and a greate parte of his men with hym. And for this Edwyn excellyd y ^e other kynges / they enuyed at hym, and specyally Penda kynge of Mercia / the whyche excyted Cadwan kynge of Brytons agayne hym. So that they two assemblyd a great hoste agayne Edwyn, and lastly met in a palce called Hatfelde / and after sharpe fyght on bothe sydes there Edwyne was slayne, whan he had reygned ouer y ^e Northumbris .xvii. yeres, in the yere of our lorde, as sayth Guydo .vi.C. xxxiii. when these two kynges Cad­wan or Cedwalla and Penda, hadde thus ouercomen the kynge and hym slayne and mych of hys people / they became so cruell to men of that countrey, that they destroyed therin mych people, as men, women, & chyldren, as well religyous as other. wherfore Paulinus the archebysshop behol­dyng theyr cruelnesse / toke with him the quene & Enfleda hyr doughter, & fled by water into Kent. And for the bysshoprych of Rochester was than voyde, by reason that Romanus the last bysshop was adreynte / Paulyne was there ordeyned and made bys­shop of that see, and there dyed. And also lefte there his Paull, as affyr­meth Policronycon and other / the archebysshoppes see of yorke was voyde .xxx. yeres after. But y ^e quene whyche was named Etherberga be­came a menchon, & sayled into Gal­lia or Fraunce / wherein an abbaye called Brydgence or Bryggence, she lyued an holy lyfe and dyed / and hyr doughter Enfleda cōtynued hyr professyon, and was afterwarde abbesse of Strenshalt in the vale of whitby.

After the deth of Edwyn Osrycus that was the sonne of Elfricꝰ which was brother of Ethelfridus, toke vppon hym to be kynge of Deyra / and Eaufricus the eldest sonne of Ethel­frida, as before in the .C. and. xxviii. chapiter is touched, was made kyng of Brennicia / the whyche turned thē both frō Crystes fayth, and became myscreaūtes. For the whych goddes wrech fell vpon them in short whyle after / for they were bothe slayne in y ^e yere folowynge, of y ^e fornamed Cad­wan and Penda.

And whan these sayde two kynges were thus slayne / Oswalde y ^• second sonne of Ethelfrid began his reygne [Page] ouer the prouynce of Brennicia, as chefe of that kyngdome of Northumberlande / and had the rule of Deira in lyke wyse. wherof whan Cadwan or Cedwalla was ware / he gathered hys Brytons and thoughte to slee Oswalde as he hadde before slayne his brother Eaufricus. But Oswald whan he was warned of the greate strength of thys Cadwan / he made his prayers to god, and besoughte hym mekely of helpe to withstande his enemyes. And or he yode to prayer he arreryd a crosse of tre / be­fore the whyche he knelyd a longe whyle in a felde / whyche longe after was called Heuynfelde, and at thys daye is had in greate worshyppe. That place is nere vnto the town or chyrche of Agustalde in Brennicia / the whyche chyrche was there buyl­ded by Oswalde after the wynnyng of that batayle. And of the spones of that crosse are tolde many wounders the whiche I ouer passe.

Than after Oswalde had prayed for the saluacyon of hys people / the two hostes met in a felde named thā Denysborne or Denyslake, where was foughten a stronge batayle. But fynally Cadwan, whyche Po­lycronyca nameth Cedwalla, was slayne and his people chasyd / which were farre excedynge the nomber of Oswaldus hoste / whanne the sayde Cadwan had reygned ouer the Bry­tons after moste accorde of wryters and also of the tyme, by the terme of xxii. yeres / leuynge after hym a son, as affermeth Gaufryde, named Cadwallus or Cadwalyn.

Francia. THE .CXXXI. CHAPITER.

DAgobertus the fyrste of that name, and sonne of Clothayr before rehersed / beganne his reygne ouer the hole monarchye of Fraunce in the yere of our lorde .vi. hundred xxxi / and the .xviii. yere of Cadwan than kynge of Brytons. The which at the tyme of hys faders deth was in the prouynce of Austracy, gyuen to hym by his fader, as before is she­wed in the .C.xxvii. chapyter prece­dynge. But anone as worde came to hym of hys faders decease / he sped hym well accompanyed into Fraūce. And when he was comen to the cyty of Reynes thyder came vnto hym many nobles / as well out of Bur­goyne as out of other partyes of Fraunce, and dyd vnto hym feauty and homage.

It is shewed in the .C.xxvi. chapy­ter of thys worke, how Clothayre had by his seconde wyfe a sonne na­med Heybert / the which claymed his parte of the kyngdome of Fraunce, and for y ^e same began to make some styrynge. But by the good polycy & meanes of one Brunulphe vncle to the sayd Haybert, and brother to Sichyld hys moder, the mater was ap­peased / so that he had vnto hym cer­teyne cytyes assygned, wyth landes in Guyan. with the whiche he was cōtentyd / & ordeyned Tholouse for the chefe cytye of hys pryncypate. And after that peace confermed / Dagobert was in quiete by the terme of iii. yeres folowyng. But the .iiii. yere the Gascoynes rebelled agayn hym / the whych by hys manhode he short­ly subdued. And whan he had set his lande in a quyetnesse / he called to mynde y ^e promyse before tyme which he hadde made to saynt Denys and hys felowes. wherfore he with great solempnite caused the groūd, where these holy bodyes laye to be openyd / and wyth great reuerēce to be taken vp. Upon the whych bodyes he fand fresshely wryten eyther of theyr na­mes, so that he myghte perfyghtely knowe that one from that other / and [Page LXVI] then caused thē to be layd in a sump­tuouse shryne. And ouer them in the sayd place he buylded a royall myn­ster of lyme and stone, and conue­ryd it with plates of syluer in stede of sclate or leade / and assygned vnto y ^e prestes and mynysters therof greate and ryche possessyons. And for so goodly a temple that was of suche beautye outwarde, shulde not lacke of garnysshynge within: he therfore causyd hangynges to be made to hange within the same temple / of the whiche tapettes suche as scruyd for the quere, were garnyshed & set with dyuerse stones in those dayes vsed. And by the foresayde place or shryne where the holy martyrs bodyes laye he ordeyned a cheste or trūke of clene syluer / to the entēt y ^t all such iewelles and ryche gyftes as were offered to y ^e holy sayntes, shulde therin be kept to the vse of the mynysters of y ^e same place, and ouer that endowed y ^t same place with many greate lybertyes & pryuyleges. And this place thus fy­nysshed / he caused a crosse of golde to be made, & to be garnysshed with moste precyous stones of a greate bygnesse and value / and caused it to be set ouer the hyghe aulter wythin the sayde monastery.

This translacyon of these blessyd sayntes shulde be as wytnessyth the Frēche Cronycle, in the .v. yere of the reygne of the sayd Dagobert / which made y ^e yere of our lorde .vi.C.xxxvi. The which whā he had clerely with all honour and due reuerence fynys­shed / he thā vysyted and cyrcued his lande in mynystrynge iustyce to all persons / and ordeyned such meanes as bylles of supplicacyon and other, that the causes and maters of poore men myghte come to his knowlege by meane wherof he gate great loue and fauour of his comons.

But amonge hys many notable dedes / one dede by hym was com­mytted, the whyche somdeale longe after blemysshyd hys honour. And that was that he without iudgement or processe of the lawes / caused to be slayne the forenamed Brunulphe vncle vnto Haybert hys brother, for malyce y ^t he bare to hym, for the fa­uouryng of y ^e sayd Haybertis party.

After thys the kynge was deuor­syd from his wyfe named Gertrude, for that she was bareyne & broughte forthe no frute / and was after ma­ryed to a fayre wenche named Ra­netrude, of the whyche he receyued at conuenyent tyme after, a son that was named Sigebert. Of this chyld it is told that whan he was brought to the holy bysshoppe Amandus to be confermed, beyng than of the age of .xl. dayes / and the bysshoppe sayd ouer hym certeyne prayers concer­nynge the offyce of confyrmacyon, and none of the cyrcumstauntes by neglygēce gaue answere vnto y ^e bys­shop at conuenyent tyme: the chylde by dyuyne power sayde, Amen, in so lowde maner that all the people a­bout standynge myghte well vnder stande it / whereof the bysshoppe and all the people were hougely amer­uayled.

Than it foloweth, this Dagobert all thys passetyme was ruled by a noble man of Fraunce, or more pro­perly of the prouynce of Austracy, named in the Frenche booke saynte Arnulphe bysshoppe of Mees / and by Pepyn, whyche was ruler of the kynges paleys. By whyche season, he and also hys lande were in greate honour and prosperyte, tyll the deth of the forenamed Arnulphe / whych dyed about the season that the kyng beganne to alter and chaunge his cō dycyons, to the hurte of hys comons and of hys lande.

THE .CXXXII. CHAPITER.

DAgobertus y ^t be­fore exercised hym in all honour and vertue, beganne now to exercise in­iustyce and tyran­nye / in pyllynge hys commons by exaccyons and trybutes, in suche wyse that those that dwellyd in the outwarde partyes of hys realme, and nere vnto the Tur­kys and other straunge landes and nacions, were fayne to be vnder the rule of theym then of theyr owne na­turall prynce. But howe so euer he bare hym agayne hys subiectes, in pyllynge and takyng from thē what he myght yet he euer hadde such a fauour to saynt Denys, that he gaue to hym what he myghte purchace, were yt wyth ryght or otherwyse. Conty­nuynge whyche season / he went in­to the countrey of Poytiers and robbyd and spoyled there the chyrche of saynte Hyllary, of many great iewellys / and after toke wyth hym the bodye of that blessyd man, and causyd yt to be hadde into the monasterye of saynt Denys, & there shrynyd hym. And that done / he destroyed the coū ­trey of Poytiers wyth iron and fyre / and the wallys of the cytye he made playne wyth the grounde. And for y ^t more cruelty or terrour to the people to be shewyd / he eryd the stretys of the sayde cytye, and sewe theym wythsalte for a sygne and token that he wolde haue that cytye subuer­tyd for euer. The whyche ruyne to thys daye appereth / for there where the olde cytye stode, is now called y ^e olde Poytiers / and where that other standyth nowe, is called the newe cytye of Poytiers. The cause of thys destruccion of the citye & countre as sayeth mayster Roberte Gagwyne / was for, that that y ^e erle of Poytiers rebellyd agayne the kynge.

Thus this man that whylome was a lambe / was now turned to a tygre. And ouer hys cruelnesse he was gy­uen to all sensuall luste of hys body / in so myche that where so he rode he hadde folowynge hym a company of strumpettes, besyde suche as he kept in dyuerse places of his realme, ap­pareylyd and fed lyke vnto quenes.

For thys rule & other vyces vsyd by the kynge / Pepyn then mayster of the paleys was put in great wyte and blame of dyuerse lordes of the lande / thynkynge that by hys coun­sayle and sufferaunce, the kyng was so lad and guyded. This was y ^e fyrst Pepyn. The seconde was mayster of the placys in that tyme of the se­conde reygne of the fyrste Theo­doricus / and was surnamed Uetulꝰ and Breuis, whyche is to meane old and lytle. And y ^e .iii. Pepyn was son of Carolus Marcellus. The fyrste Pepyn was graundefader to the se­conde by the moders syde / and the seconde was graunsyr to the .iii. by y ^e mannes syde. whyche thyrde Pepyn was by hole assent of Frenchmen or­deyned kyng of Fraūce as after shall appere / & was father vnto the kynge named Charlis the great and empe­rour of Rome. All whyche Pepyns descendyd of the blood of Austracye / and hadde great possessyons wythin that prouynce. when the forenamed Pepyn vnderstode the grudge and murmour of the lordes, whyche they bare agayne hym for the kynges de­meanour / he by theyr aduyces toke vnto hym a nother great lorde na­med Martyn, to be vnto hym assy­stent / and ouer that he caused y ^e bles­syd man Amandus to accompany y ^e kynge. By whose coūsayle the kyng somdeale refrayned hym from vyce / but not all as the good byshop hym [Page LXIX] aduertysed.

In this tyme Heybart the kynges halfe brother dyed, and also hys son shortly after named Chilperych. By reason of whose dethes / the lordshyp and countrey of Tholouse fell to the possessyon of Dagobert. It was not longe after that a people called As­clauons or Sclauons, made warre vpon the coūtrey of Austracy. These also are called Bulgaris, and ioyne vppon a parte of Austracy. Of these tydynges when Dagobert was ler­ned / he sped hym into Austracy, and there assembled a myghtye hoste of knyghtes / & so sped him tyll he came nere hys enymyes. But y ^e sayd Sclauons hauynge knowlege of the kyn­ges great hoste, agreed by oratours to hym sent, to contynue the trybute that they before tyme payde / y ^e which was yerely fyue hūdred oxen. where thorough y ^e warre was appesyd for that tyme / and newe allyaunce vpon both partyes confermed.

After the whych peace thus stablysshyd / y ^e kyng made his son Sigebert as kynge & ruler of that lordshyp of Austracy / assygnynge to hym the bisshop of Colayn named Cunbert, and the erle Palatyne named Agasyle, to be hys tutours and rulers conty­nuynge his yeres of youth. And that done, y ^e kyng retourned into Fraūce, where soone after he receyued of hys wyfe a sonne named Clodoueus, the whych of many wryters is called Lodouicus or Lowes. To thys Lo­wes the father at couenable tyme af­ter gaue the countyes of Burgoyne and Neustria or Normandy.

Then the kynge graunted to the house of saynte Denys, a fayre to be kepte yerely in the moneth of Iune in a felde nere vnto the sayde mona­sterye / and that no marchaunte of Paris nor good towne there about; shulde sell any marchaundyse but onely in the fayre / wyth many other customes to the great auauncement of that house.

And after the kynge hadde subdu­ed the Gascoynes, and the Brytons of Armorica or lytle Brytayne / he then assembled a multytude of bys­shoppes for to dedycate and halowe the monasterye of saynte Denys in moste solemne wyse. where a great myracle was shewyd of the clensyng of a leper or lazar / that durynge the nyght laye wythin the sayde chyrch, and there beyng in his deuoute prayers, sawe our sauyour Cryste accompanyed wyth Peter and Paule, and also the holy martyrs saynte Denys wyth hys two felowes, entre the chyrche by one of the wyndowes / and after halowed the sayde chyrch. whyche after came to the sayd lazar / and commaunded hym to shew vnto the byshoppes, y ^t he in proper person hadde halowed the sayd chyrche / and for a token and knowlege of y ^e same, he hadde receyued hys helthe. And for more recorde of the trouth of this mater / our sauyour Cryste, as wyt­nessyth mayster Robert Gagwyn, & also the frenche cronicle, drewe of the skynne of the face of the sayde lazar, and threwe yt agayne a stone, where yt remayneth at thys daye to be sene. The whyche token when Dagobert and his byshoppes vppon the morne after behelde and sawe / they beynge greatly ameruaylyd, laft of any for­ther besynesse touchynge the dedyfy­enge of the sayde chyrche. For thys myracle great concurse of people ye­rely in the .vi. kalendis of Marche cōmyth wyth great deuocyon vnto y ^e sayd monastery, there makyng theyr oblacions / fermly beleuyng that the sayde chyrch was halowed with Crystes own hand. when Dagobert had this besynesse wyth other ꝑfyted & endyd / he then called a great counsayll [Page] of his lordes spyrytuall and tēporall at hys cytye of Biguage, where he beyng set betwene his .ii. sonnes Sigebert & Clodoueus / he made a long preposycyon & oracyon concernynge the allegyaunce / whyche he exhorted hys lordes to owe and bere to hym for the terme of his lyfe, and after to hys two sonnes there beynge pren­sent. And then he exhorted his .ii. son­nes charitably to loue / and that they shulde in moste fraternall wyse con­tynue theyr lyues. The whyche pre­posycyon fynyshed / he there in that presence made his testament, that before he hadde causyd to be wryten in iiii. sondry skynnes endentyd, to be rad, and then sealyd wyth certayn of theyr sealys / wherof that one he wyl­lyd to be kept in the treasory of saynt Denys, the .ii. in the treasorye of the cytye of Lyons, the .iii. in the tresory of Mees in Austracy, whyche howe is named Lorayne, and the .iiii. in the kynges tresorye. And when the kynge had orderyd hys matiers som deale to hys purpose / he dyssoluyd thys counsayll, and cōmaundyd eueryche estate vnto hys owne countre / and after was somwhat besyed wyth the rebellyon of the forenamed Bry­tōs and Gascoynes & such other ma­ters, the whyche I passe ouer for length of tyme.

Then the kynge lastely was syke of the flyx / and was brought by hys desyre vnto the monastery of saynte Denys. where after he had commyt­ted hys wyse Nantyld wyth her son Clodoueꝰ vnto the guydyng & tuy­cyon of a noble man of Fraūce, & thē mayster of hys Paleys named Agaynus / he dyed, when he had reygned xiiii. yeres / & was buryed with great pompe in the forenamed monastery.

Of this Dagobert is reported by myne authour, & also the frenche cronycle besyde other wryters, that an holy ancre or heremyte of Fraunce beynge in his medytacyons, shuld se a company of fendes / whyche beyng in the see shuld haue amonge theym in a bote the soule of Dagobert, and were conueyenge yt towarde payne. But thys spiryte ceasyd not to crye & to call to saynt Denis and his felowes for helpe / the whyche lastely came clad in whyte vestymentes & delyue­red that soule from the paynes of his enymyes, and conueyed it vnto euerlastynge ioy / as more at length and wyth more cyrcūstaunce yt ys declared in the bokys beforesayde.

Anglia. THE .CXXXIII. CHAPITER.

CAdwallus or Cadwalyne the sonne of Cadwan lastely spo­ken of in y ^e cronycle of mych Britayn as testyfyeth Guydo, Gaufryde, and other / beganne hys reygne ouer the Brytons in the yere of Crystes incarnacyon .vi. hundred & .xxxv / & y ^e fyrst yere of the fyrst Dagobert then kyng of Fraunce / and also the .xii. yere of Kyngilsus & Quichillinus then kynges of westsaxon. This Cadwallus was stronge and myghty, & warryd strongly vpon the Saxōs nere vnto hym / and wanne from them both castels and townes, and droue theym backe into the lande towarde Lon­don. wherof herynge Penda kynge of Mercia / he assembled his Saxōs and made towarde Cadwall. But he was in the ende dystressyd / and fayn to seche and purchace the fauoure of Cadwal, and lyue vnder his tribute. This Penda after this was in great fauour with Cadwall / in so myche y ^t he toke parte wyth Cadwall agayne his other Saxon kynges, as after shall appere. About thys tyme Kyn­gylsus one of the kynges of westsa­xons [Page LXVIII] / was by the doctryne of y ^e bles­syd man Berinꝰ cōuertyd to y ^e ryght beleue, and cristyned of hym at the citye of Dortyke or Dorchester. And Oswald kynge of Northumberland was hys godfather / and weddyd his doughter afterwarde. And then that cytye was geuen to the byshop, to the ende that he shuld there ordeyne hys see / where the sayde Berinꝰ sat .xiiii. yeres after, & there was buryed / tyll Beda bishop of wynchester trāslatyd his body to y ^e citye of wynchester: all be it y ^t the chanōs of Dorchester sayē, that the sayd bodye of holy Beryne was not taken thens but a nother in the stede of hym. And yet in tokē therof / a beers of wonder worke stādyth at this day ouer that graue / where y ^e holy man was fyrst buryed. It shuld seme that this cytye of Dorchester is now called Dorset. Thys see was in the tyme of wyllyam conqueroure chaunged to Lyncolne.

About thys tyme Sigebertus or after some Segebertus kynge of Eestenglande or Norfolke, whyche reygned there next his brother Corpwaldus / ordeyned letters to be ler­nyd, and set scolys in dyuerse places of his kyngdome / and ordeyned ouer thē schole maysters & pedagoges, as he somtyme hadde seen in Fraunce. The whyche Sygebert was conuertyd to Crystes fayth by the doctryne of an holy man named Felix / y ^e which he was fyrste acqueynted wyth in Fraūce or in Burgoyne. The whych Felix came soone after that acqueyntaunce into Eestanglia or Norfolke / where the kynge made hym byshop of Dūwyche nowe called Thetford. Lastelye the kynge betoke hys kyngdome vnto hys neuew Egritus / and became a munke in an abbay whych he hym selfe buyldyd.

But when Penda kynge of Mer­cia warryd after in that coūtrey / the sayde Sygebert was agayne hys wyll pulled oute of the sayde mona­stery, and went in armes, or as some testyfye vnarmyd wyth a whyte rod in hys hande nycely, & so was slayne, and well nere all his hoste of knygh­tes that came wyth hym to that feld.

By this rehersayll apperyth here dyscorde of wryters of the begyn­nyng of this sayd kyngdome of Eestanglis. For yf yt were true that this beganne as wytnessyth Policrony­con in the .iiii. chapyter of hys fyfte boke, in the yere of grace .iiii. hūdred lxxx. and .xii, as before also I haue shewed in the .lxxx. and .xvi. chapyter of this worke: then myght yt not a­gree wyth conuenyency of tyme, that this Sygebert or Sebert shulde reygne as kynge at those dayes nowe mynded. wherfore y ^e sayenge of Guydo is more concordaunte / whyche shewyth this kyngdome to haue his begynnynge in the yere of grace .v.C. & .lxx, as in the ende of the forsayd chapyter yt is there shortly touched.

Then yt foloweth in the story / af­ter the deth of this Sigebert, Anna was made kyng of Eestanglis.

And durynge the reygne of Sige­bertus, befell the wōder y ^t is tolde of that holy man Furceꝰ / as is shewed at lēgth in the .xiii. chapiter of the .v. boke of Policronicon aforesayd / and in the .xiii. tytle of the .vi. chapyter of the .ii. parte of y ^e famous worke cal­led Summa Antonini.

And about this season reygned or began to reygne the cursyd secte of y ^e detestable & false prophete Macho­met / y ^e which syns y ^e tyme hath so enfected / y ^t it hath enfectyd .ii. prīcipall ꝑtes of y ^e world, as Asia, & Affrica / & the more part of y ^e third named Europa / & dayly wynneth vpon the crysten peple great lādes & possessions. Aboute the .vii. yere of thys forena­med Cadwall kynge of Britons / reygned [Page] in Kent a Saxon kyng named Ercombertus, the whyche had that pryncypate .xx. yeres nobly.

And amonge other of hys famous dedys / he reuyued and quyckened agayne the fayth of Cryste, that in some places of hys kyngedome was sore appallyd. For he destroyed the temples of false goddes thorough all that countrey / and ordeyned by the aduyse of his clergye, the tyme of lente to be fasted. He wedded the doughter of Anna kynge of Eestanglis named Sexburga / of whom he receyuyd a doughter and named her Eu­kengoda / y ^e whyche after was a menchon or nunne in the abbey of Brydgence in Fraunce before mynded, where Ethelburga y ^e wyfe somtyme of Edwyn kynge of Northoumber­lande serued god, as in the hundred and .xxx. chapyter precedynge yt ys shewed / and eyther of them was ab­besse of the same place. And though at those dayes there were many ab­beys in thys yle of myche Brytayne / yet many both of men and of women sayled into other landes / as Fraūce, and Burgoyne and other places, be­cause the conuersacyon and lyuynge of those countres were of more fame and perfeccyon then was then vsyd in thys yle of Brytayne.

About thys tyme as yt were about the .viii. yere of Cadwall / dyed kyngylsus kyng of westsaxons, when he had reygned with his brother and a­lone .xxxi. yeres. And Kenwalcus his sonne was kynge after hym / y ^e which in y ^e begynnyng of his reygne wolde not be crystyned / & forsoke hys wyfe the doughter of Pēda, & toke to hym a nother. wherfore Penda in aduen­gynge hys doughter / gatheryd hys hoste, and chasyd Kynwalcus out of his kyngdome / & kept hym thens .iii. yeres. By whyche season was Anna kynge of Eestanglis / & there conuertyd to the feyth of Cryste, & cristyned of Felix aforenamed then byshoppe of Dūwyke or Thetforde / and after he recoueryd hys kyngdome, by the ayde and assystence of the sayde An­na. when Kenwalcus was restoryd to hys lande / he made a byshoppes see at Kaerguent or wynchestre / and ordeyned there a byshop named Agilbert a frenche man of byrthe, but he was called out of Irlād. The which when he had sytten there a certayn of tyme / he was put thēs I ne wote for what cause / and in his place was set an other named wyn. Of this wyn, as sayeth Policronicon, the towne of wynchester toke y ^e name, as he de­claryth in y ^e .liii. chapyter of his fyrst boke / as yt were wynnes cytye. But he was also putthens / and then was Leutherius byshop, and after Leu­therius succedyd Cedda. And after Theodorus the archbyshop of Caunterbury ordeyned two byshoppes to that prouynce of westsaxō. That one at wynchester / & to that was subiecte two coūtreys Southrey and South hampshyre. And that other see he or­deyned at Shyreborne, to the which were subiecte .vi. coūtreys, that is to saye Berkshyre, wyltshyre, Somer­setshyre, Dorsetshyre, Deuenshyre, & Cornewayll. But in wyllyam the cō querours tyme y ^e see of Shyreborne was tourned to Salysbury with the see of Rāmysburye.

It was not longe after that Ken­walcus was warreyd with the kyng of Brytons / the whyche fought with hym at a place called wyght Gosne­borough, and were of him there ouercomyn. Then Cadwall assembled a newe hoste of Brytons / and mette wyth Kenwalcus at a place called the hyll of Pent / where after longe fyghte the Brytons were putte to flyghte.

YE haue harde before how that blessyd man Oswall the son of Ethel­fryde, was ordeyned kynge of Northumberlande / the whyche con­tynued hys lyfe in iustyce and ver­tue as kynge, by the terme of .ix. ye­res. But Penda kynge of Mercia, that to hym & to all crysten men had great disdayne and enuye / about the ix. yere of Cadwall made warre vp­pon Oswald, and slew hym in a feld callyd Meserfeld / where after hys deth god shewed for hym many my­racles. But after one yere of his deth Oswy his yonger brother recoueryd the kyngdome / and buryed his hed in the chyrcheyarde of Lyndesar, for the bodye was conueyed by the Pa­gans and deuyded in sundry peces. But yt is sayde that the hed is nowe at Durham betwene saynt Cutbert­tus armes. And the other parte of y ^e bodye whyche was longe after founden / was had to the abbay of Bur­deaux, by Ostrida doughter of Os­wy & quene of Mercia. where straūgnesse was made by the ruler of that hous for the receyte of those relykes, tyll a myracle or dyuyne token there was shewyd. But after the sayde bodye & bones were brought to Glow­ceter to an hous of chanōs / and one of hys armes is at Peterboroughe, hole of fleshe & fell as some haue and tellen. whan Oswy had a season ru­lyd hys kyngdome / he fande vnle­full meanes to slee Oswyn that was kynge of Deyra. This Oswyn was the son of Eaufrycus eldest brother of Oswalde / whyche Oswyn was good of condycyon, and there wyth both meke and mylde. when thys Oswyn was slayn by the consent of his neuewe Oswy / then Oswy toke to hym as felow of that kyngdome his broders sonne Odylwaldus the son of Oswalde. Thys Oswalde gaue vnto Cedda byshoppe of whynches­ter before named a groūde in a place of the North coūtrey in the hygh hylles called Lastyngaye, for to buylde vpon an abbay, which he there buyldyd / & after there taught his brother Chymbyllus how he shuld rule that place. Pēda kynge of Mercia, which forgate not the strengthynge and fauourynge that Anna kynge of Eest­anglys had shewyd to Kenwalchus hys doughters husband and his enymye / gaderyd a power of knyghtes, and yode agayne the sayde Anna, & slewe hym in playne batayll. And the same yere one Botulphus buyldyd an abbay besyde Lindecolne or Lin­colne, in a place that hyght I canno.

And as wytnessyth Beda in the .iiii. chapiter of his thyrd boke / thys yere whych shuld be the .xxi. yere of y ^e reygne of Cadwall, Penda that of thys former vyctory was supprysyd wyth great pryde, came wyth hys hoste into the boundes of Northum­land / entendynge to slee Oswy, as before he had slayne his brother Os­walde. wherof whē Oswy was ware he assemblyd hys knyghtes & made towarde hym. And for affynyte of maryage y ^e was betwene theyr chyl­dren, as after shall be shewed, and other causes / Oswy offeryd to hym many great offers, to the entente to haue had hym refused that batayll, & to haue hadde peace with hym. when Oswy perceyued the obstyna­cye and pryde of Pēda, and saw that by no reasonable offers he myghte of hym wynne no peace / he sayde / sens thys paynym can not receyue our gyftes and proffers that we ha­ue offeryd to hym, we shall offer thē to hym that can receyue theym.

And anon he made hys auowe vn­to god, that yf he myght haue vyctory of his enymyes, he shuld offer his [Page] doughter Elfleda to hym wyth suf­fycyent possessyons for to buylde .xii. abbayes / and after ioyned in batayll with the sayde Penda in the coūtrey of Ledis not farre from yorke / which was so sore foughten, y ^t the lyke therof was not seen many yeres beforne. But fynally Penda was slayne, and xxx. of his chefe captayns with hym / and yet he had thryes the people that Oswy hadde. And those that scaped the shot and the swerde / were for the more partye drowned in the ryuer of wynwed, whyche was nere vnto the place of that batayll. And among the prysoners that were taken at this felde / the wyfe of Penda was one, and her sonnes vncle named Egfri­dus was an other. Then Oswy yel­ded hys thankes to god / and accor­dynge to hys former promyse, he of­fryd hys doughter Elfleda or Enfleda of the age of .iii. yeres vnto god, and toke her to the lore of Hylda ab­besse of Hertsey or Hertis iland. And after that the sayde Hylda remoued to the abbaye of Stremshalte in the vale of whitby .xxx. myle from yorke / where she was after abbesse, & y ^e sayd Elfleda also. And Oswy as he had promysed / gaue landes and rentes to buyld .xii. abbeys. wherof .vi. were in the prouynce of Brēnicia, and .vi. in the prouynce of Deyra.

This fornamed Penda hadde dy­uerse sonnes by accorde of wryters / that is to meane wolferꝰ weda, and Egfridus, besyde other not mynded. To this seconde sonne weda, Oswy had beforetyme maryed a doughter of his by cōsent of Penda his fader / The whyche weda by helpe of Oswy was made kynge of south Mercia, the whyche lordshyp is seueryd from the northe Mercia by the ryuer of Trent, and conteyned by recorde of holy Beda fyue thousande houshol­des. This weda also promysed when he maryed the sayd doughter of Os­wy, that he shulde become a crysten man / the whyche he perfourmyd af­ter the deth of his father. But when he hadde scantly reygned thre yeres ouer the sayd Southmercis / he was by the treason of hys wyfe slayne. And after that kyngdome fell to wolferus the other brother / the whyche hadde weddyd the doughter of Er­combert kynge of Kent named Er­menylda. This wolferus was shortly after crystyned or before / so that he is accōpted for the fyrste cristened kyng that reygned in Mercia. This was fader to Keneredus, & that holy virgyne and menchon wereburga.

And for yt is longe that I spake of Kenwalcus kynge of westsaxons / yt is to be noted that after he hadde ouercomen the Brytons, as before is shewyd, and at that tyme had not perfyted the byshoppes see of Kaer­guent or wynchester, he then besyed hym there about. And accordyng to the wyll of kyngylsus hys father / he gaue to the sustentacyon of the sayd see all the lande whyche laye wythin vii. myles of the sayde cytye, as af­fermeth the authoure of the Floure of hystoryes / and fynyshed yt som­dele to hys purpose.

But let no man thynke that it was buylded as yt is nowe. For nother y ^t nor none other ben at this daye standynge monastery, paleys, nor other / but y ^t they haue ben sens those daies alteryd, and new chaūged, and some clerely throwē downe, and some new buylded / all be yt that many stande vppon theyr fyrste foundacyon as thys yet dothe.

Soone after that Kenwalcus had endyd this worke / he made warre vppon wolferꝰ of Mercia. But in that iourney fortune was not to hym fa­uourable / for he loste thereby, & wan nothynge of hys entent.

[Page LXX]It was not long after that Ercombert kynge of Kent dyed / and his son Egbert was kyng after hym .ix. yere.

And soone thereafter fell great mortalyte and sekenesse in thys lande of Brytayne / the whyche cōtynued and encreasyd more and more durynge y ^e lyfe of Cadwall now kyng of Bry­tons and of Cadwaldyr hys succes­sour or sonne, after some writers. In the whyche season and begynnynge of this mortalyte and sekenesse, dyed many byshoppes in this lande / in so myche that Uitalcanus then beynge pope, ordeyned Theodorus archbysshoppe of Caūterbury to haue y ^e rule of the chyrches of Brytayne.

Somwhat before this tyme, Benet that was in good fauour wyth kyng Ofwy, & dyscendyd of ryche kynne forsoke seruyce and house, and all hys kynred, and became Crystes seruaunt. He went .v. sythes to Rome and came agayne / and at euery tyme he brought wyth hym relykes or bo­kes of Crystes lore. And lastely he was made munke / and buyldyd .ii. abbeys, that one ouer agayn y ^e other vppon the ryuer of wyre, that ren­neth in the countrey of.

This Benet was the fyrst y ^t brought the crafte of glasyng into this lande / and he was Abbot of both the fore­sayde abbayes / and toke to hys lore Beda when he was but .vii. yeres of age, and taughte hym durynge hys lyfe. Of the vertue and pacyence of thys holy munke and byshoppe Be­net, I myghte make a longe reher­sayll. But for the holynes of his lyfe is declaryd in the legende of sayntes and other bokes of authoryte / here for lengthynge of the tyme I ouer passe yt, and wyll retourne agayne to Oswy. The whyche when he had longe reygned ouer the Northum­bers / he made Cedda that was ab­botte of Lastyngay, archbishoppe of yorke, more by wyll then by skyll / and put out wylfrida the archbishop of that see. But yt was not longe af­ter that Cedda was depryued of that dygnyte by the authoryte of tharche­bisshop Theodorus / as he depryuyd dyuerse other that tyme, whych came to theyr benefyces agayne the ordy­naunce of the holy lawes of Crystes chyrche / and made hym by great in­staunce after thys, byshoppe of west­saxons. And about the .xxx. yere of the reygne of Cadwall Cissa that was father to Ine kynge of westsa­xons / buyldyd y ^e abbey of Abyndon. In these dayes the munkes and clergye of Brytayne, set all theyr myn­des to serue god and not the worlde, the herte and not the wombe. wher­fore they were then hadde in great reuerence & honour / so y ^t they were thē receyuyd wyth all worshyp. And as they went by y ^e stretys & wayes / men that sawe them, wold ronne to them and desyre thē blessynges. And well was hym that thē myght gyue vnto them possessyons, & buyldyd to them houses & chyrches. But as they en­creasyd in ryches of the worldly treasoure / so they dyscreaced in heuenly treasour / as in the dayes of Alure­dus somdeale beganne, and sythen that tyme hath spronge not all to the pleasure of god / wherof all is to be cōmytted to his pleasure. Then they plyed nothynge that was worldely / but gaue them to prechynge and te­chynge of the worde of our sauyour / and folowyd the lyfe that they prea­chyd, by gyuynge of good example. And ouer that they were so voyde of couetyse, that they receyuyd no pos­sessyons, but yf yt were perforce.

THE .CXXXV. CHAPITER.

OSwy kynge of Northumber­lande dyed / and Edfrydus his [Page] sonne was kyng after hym .xv. yeres Hys fader had reygned wyth hys fe­lowes Oswynus and Odyswalde xxviii. yeres. Edfrydus or Egfrydus had to wyfe that holy woman Ethelfryde, y ^t before was the wyfe of Tonbertꝰ prynce of the south Eyrwayes, the whyche whan Egfrydus hadde holden .xii. yeres as hys wyfe, and myghte not in that whyle haue leue of hyr to deale wyth hyr carnally for prayer nor great gyfte / he then gaue to hyr lycence to be a menchyon at Colud vnder Aebba, that than was awnte vnto hym. And after she remened to Ely, and there was abbesse, & lyued in greate penaunce and absty­nence / and dyed there, after she had ben .vii. yere abesse.

And Kenwalcus kynge of weste Saxon, dyed about the yere of the reygne of Cadwall kyng of Brytōs, the .xxxix. when he had regned ouer them .xxx. yeres. And hys sonne Ke­newinus succedyd hym / after that Sexburga hys mother or wyfe to hys fader, had ruled that prouynce one yere.

Cedda the bysshop of westsaxons dyed / and hys deken wenfrede was hys successoure. And whan he was put down / the abbot of Medāpstede that now is called Peterboroughe, was there bysshop after hym.

Sone after this tyme dyed wyna bysshop of Lōdon / after whom was bysshop Erkenwald, the whych was brother to Ethelburga or Alborough the Menchen, and after abbesse of Berkynge in Essex. Thys holy bys­shop Erkenwalde foundyd the mo­nasteryes of Chertsey in Southery, and Berkynge afore sayde / whyche place hath ben preserued sens y ^e fyrst foundacyon. But that of Chertsey was throwen downe by the Danes and reedyfyed by Edgar kynge of Englande, as after foloweth.

After the deth of wolpherus kyng of Mercia / reygned hys brother E­theldredus. And the wyfe of wolpherus named Ermenilda, was made a menchon at Ely / and wereburga his doughter was also made a nonne at Trikyngham, and dyed at hambur­gam, where she laye in the Erth .iii. hundred yeres hole and sounde / and after that she was conueyde to Che­ster. Thys Etheldredus kynge of Mercia had .iii. holy doughters / y ^t is to say Mylburga, Myldreda, and Mylguida / and a sonne of great ho­lynesse named Meresyn. But after some wryters all these forsayde chyldren shulde be the chyldren of wol­pherus and not of Etheldrede. And wolpherus also had .ii. holy susters named Kynedda and Kyneswyda, bothe nonnes and buryed at Peter­borough / where saynte Ethelwolde buyldyd after an abbey of maydens.

ye haue harde before how wylfryd was put out of y ^e see of yorke / where­fore he went to Rome and complay­ned hym to Agathon the pope / and was well allowed in some thynges. But the kynge and Theodorus had there such protectours and frendes / that he retourned without spedynge of hys cause. wherfore he retourned vnto the South Saxons, and buylded an abbey in Silesey, and prea­chyd to the south Saxons .xv. yeres, and conuertyd myche people / and shewed there a greate wonder. For where by y ^e terme of .iii. yeres before hys commynge there fell no rayne vppon the grounde / by hys prayer / god sent to them rayne, & the groūde began to burgen and wax grene, y ^t before was bareyn & dryed for lacke of water. He also taught to them the crafte of fysshynge.

Egfrydus kynge of Northumber­lande claymed the lande that Ethel­drede kynge of Mercia helde / for the [Page LXXI] whyche dyuerse assembles of treaty bytwene them were had, but all were dyssoluyd wythout agremēt. where­fore eyther ꝑty gathered hys strēgth and met vppon a playne nere vnto y ^e ryuer of Trent / where was foughtē bytwene them a longe and sharpe fyght. In the whiche among a great nombre on bothe parties, was slayn y ^e brother of Egfryde named Elswynus / but Edfryde or Egfryde had the better. Than after this batayle meanes of peace were agayn trea­tyd / so y ^t fynally Edfryde had great summes of Money in recompence­ment of his Brothers deth / & so re­styd the sayd .ii. kynges accorded. In this batayll was takē as priso­ner a knyght of Egfryde, the which after hys takynge was solde to one Fryson by the knyghtes of Ethel­fryde. This Fryson to thentent to haue his prysoner the shortelyer redemed kept hym in bandes of iron which prysoner had to his brother a preest & a vertuous man, that for the delyuere of his brother prayed dayly By meane of whose prayers as oftē as y ^e sayd preste sang masse / so often were the bandes of iron lousyd from the prysoner duryng the tyme of the masse. The whyche so cōtynued, tyll he was clerely delyuered, and hys raunson payde.

And in thys yere apperyd stella comata a blasynge sterre, whyche beto­keneth deth or mortalyte of y ^e people And in the yere folowynge dyed of y ^e Epedemye sykenesse, the holy abbes of Ely saynt Etheldrede / hyr suster Sexburga that somtyme hadde ben wyfe to Ercobert kyng of Kent, was hyr successoure. And thys yere also dyed Helda y ^e holy abbesse of whythy before spoken of, whiche was neuew to Edwyne lately kynge of Northū ­berlande. In thys abbey were also bretherne vnder the rule of Hylda, as at these dayes ben at Syō vnder the abbesse there. wherfore sondry of thē were made bisshoppes, as Besa, wylfryde, and other. Amonge these bretherne was one named Cedman a man of greate perfeccyon / y ^e which by inspyracyon was taught to make dytyes and songes to moue men to deuocion, wherin he passyd all other at those dayes.

Soone after thys tyme Theodorꝰ for dyuerse causes, kepte a synode or counceyll of Bysshoppes and other men of the chyrche at Hatfelde. By authoryte of whych counceyll he de­uyded the prouynce of Mercia, that Sexwolphus then ruled alone, into v. bysshopryches / that is one to Che­stre, the seconde to worcetyr, y ^e thyrd to Lychefelde, the fourth to Cedema in Lyndesey, & the .v. to Dorchester.

About the .xlvi. yere of the reygne of Cadwall, Kenewynus kynge of westsaxons had occasyon of warre agayne y ^e Brytons, so that they met nere vnto the west see / where after a sharpe skyrmysshe y ^e Brytōs were chasyd. And soone after Egfrydus kynge of Northumberlande made warre vpon the Pyctes or Scottes / bycause they fauouryd greatly y ^e cest anglis agayne hym. But lastly by colour or fleyng backe / they brought Edfryde into a streyte amonge Hyl­les and mountaynes, and slewe hym there with a grete part of his people. And after his deth a bastard brother of hys named Alfridus Notus was kynge of Northumberlande, & reyg­ned there .xviii. yeres, as wytnessyth willyam wryter of storyes of kynges And shortly after dyed Cadwall or Cadwalyne kynge of Brytōs / when he hadde reygned as testyfyeth Gal­fryde, Guydo, & other .xlviii. yeres. But nother Polycronyca, nor none of the other authours of authoryte, which Policronica allegyd / shewyth [Page] any lyke actes of thys Cadwall as Galfryde doth / nor yet that he shuld be buryed to the terrour and fere of the Saxons / or an image of brasse set of hym vppon an horse ouer the west gate of Londō called Ludgate or yet the chyrche of saynt Martyne there now stondynge shulde be buyldyd by the Brytons, to the ende to pray for the sayd Cadwall and hys Frendes / or y ^e Cadwaladrus, whych of Beda is named Cedwalla, shulde be hys sonne / as of y ^e sayd Gaufryde is affermed.

Francia. THE .CXXXVI. CHAPITER.

CLodoueus y ^e yon­ger sonne of Da­gobert, & of Nau­tylda hys wyfe / beganne hys reygne ouer the myddell parte of Fraunce and other partes therof, in the yere of our lorde .vi.C.xlv / and the .x. yere of Cadwall then kynge of Brytons. And hys elder brother Sigebert was made kynge of Austracy or Lorayne accordynge to the wyll of Dagobert theyr fader. Thys as before is sayd of some wryters is called Lowes / the which was guyded by hys mother & by the coū ­seyle of Agaynus than mayster of hys Paleys / to whom the fader had by hys lyfe commytted hym, for he at thys daye was yonge of age and of dyscrecyon. And shortly after he was made kynge / all suche porcyon as belonged to the ryght of hys bro­ther Sigebert, which was the thyrd of hys faders treasour and iewelles, was to hym delyuered. whych dystrybucyon made / he sped hym to Orle­aunce, and thyder called to hym the lordes of Burgoyne, and receyued of them feauty and homage / & ordeyned there for hys leutenaunte or de­putye a noble Burgonyon named Flantas̄ / & gaue to hym in mariage the neuew of hys mother Nautylda named Ranebert. And after with a due charge to hym gyuen for guy­dyng of the sayd countrey / sent hym and the other lordes into Burgoyn. But wythin a season of tyme after wilibaldus a great man of birth and myght, enuyed this Flantas̄ / in su­che wyse that he had hym in dysday­nynge, and began to dystourbe the countrey & the kynges peace. wher­of herynge Clodoueus / in all hast commaunded the sayd wilibaldus to appere before hym. But whyle wilibaldus sent an erle & a bysshop to y ^e kynges courte to purchace hym frendys about the kynge / he was in that whyle slayne by the gyle of hys enemy Flantas̄.

About the .iiii. yere of the reygne of Clodoueus dyed his mother Nau­tylda, a woman of great wisdome & of vertuous condicion / and was honorably buryed by Dagobert hyr husbande in the church of saynt De­nys. Soone after ensued such scar­cety of corne / y ^• whete & other grey­nes were at an excedynge pryce. For after the rate of money nowe currāt, a quarter of whete was worth .ii. markes & a halfe / by meane of which scarcitye myche poore people were famisshed & dyed for defaut. where­fore the kyng entendyng a remedy for the nedy people / causyd ȳe house or church of saynt Denys that his fader before tyme had coueryd with plates of syluer, to be rased of & co­ueryd with lede / & that syluer to be dystributyd amonge the poore co­mōs, to socoure thē agayn the great and huge famyn that then reygned / all be it that this ded was somedea­le withstanden by Agulphus Abbot of that place for that tyme.

[Page LXXII]About the .viii. yere of his reygne / the firste Pepyn that than ruled the house of Sigebert kyng of Austra­cy, dyed. And soone after dyed Agaynus mayster of the paleys of Clodo­ueus. For which .ii. princis in eyther Countreys that they rulyd, great dole and sorowe was for theym ma­de. After the deth of which sayd Prī ­cis / a noble man & cosyn to Dago­berte late kynge, was chosen may­ster of the paleys with Clodoueus

Thus kynge Clodoueus otherwyse called Lowes, contynued his rey­gne in great peace & prosperyte, tyll lastly it fell in his mīde that he wol­de vysyte y ^e sepulcre of saynt Denys where after he had done certayne obseruaūces, and made his prayers / he wolde nedely se the holy relykes and handle them. wyth the doynge whereof it semed the holy martyrs were not contentyd. For immedy­ately ensued suche a derknes, that the kynge and all that were aboute hym were wyth it greately astonyed and aferde, in so mych that the kyng loste the vse of reason, and wente from hym selfe more than two ye­res folowynge. It is wryten of some authours, that the kynge han­delyd the body of saynte Denys so rabbysshely that he brake one of his armes. But the Frenche booke and mayster Roberte Gagwyne sayen, y ^t he dysseueryd one of the armes from the sayd holy body / the whych he af­ter whan he was somdele restoryd to hys helthe, closyd in golde and pre­cyous stoones, and restored it to the sayd monasterye / and lyued vppon two yeres folowynge that he was amendyd, but not lyke vnto hys for­mer beynge / so y ^t he lastly dyed whan he had reygned syke and hole by y ^e terme of .xvi. yeres, not without vyce as glotony, lechery, & excedyng aueryce. And was buryed by hys paren­tes in the monasterye forenamed / le­uynge after hym thre sonnes named Clotharius, Chyldericus, and Theodorych. After whose deth hys wyfe named Batylde / became a nonne in the monastery of Corbye, that she before tyme had newly renued or reedyfyed / and ended there in holy lyfe.

THE .CXXXVII. CHAPITER

CLotharius the eldest sonne of Clodoueus / was ordeyned kynge of Fraunce, in the yere of our lordes incarnacyon .vi. hundred .lxii / and the .xxvi. yere of Cadwall than kynge of Brytōs. The whych anone as he was somwhat stablysshed / he made the mayster of hys palayes, a myghty man and tyrannous of con­dycyon named Eboryn / as shall ap­pere by hys condycyons ensuynge, whan the tyme conuenyent of the ex­pressement of them shall come. But of thys Clotharius is lefte nothyng in wrytynge of worthy memory / ex­cepte that the Frenche cronicle sayth that he reygned .iiii. yeres.

THE .CXXXVIII. CHAPITER.

THeodoricus the second sonne of Clodoueus / beganne hys reygne ouer the Frenchemen, in the yere of grace .vi. hundred .lxvi / and the .xxx. yere of Cadwall than kynge of Brytons. The whych by coūceyll of his lordes sent his yonger brother Chylderych into the lordshyp of Au­stracy or Lorayne, to guyde that coūtrey / wyth the ayde and assystence of wolphanus a noble man of y ^e coun­trey. For Sigeberte laste kynge of that prouynce / was before this tyme dede wythout heyre of hys body. This Theodorych gaue hym all to slowth & rest / so that the gouernaūce of the realme was all in the power of [Page] the mayster of y ^e paleys, whych was styll contynuynge, the forenamed Eboryne. The whyche among other cruell dedys by hym done / he emprysoned the holy bishoppe of Oston called Leodegayr. And lastely after many tormentes and vylanyes to hym done / he raced hys eyen oute of hys hedde. This dede wyth many other to the kynges dyshonour he [...]momysyd / which all were layd to y ^e kynges charge, for so myche as the kynge kept most what his paleys. Except y ^e one season of the yere in the moneth of may / he shulde be broughte wyth great pompe into a place where the people shulde behold hym, and gyue and offer vnto him gyftes / and returne vnto y ^e paleys y ^t he was broughte fro, and there to reste all the yere fo­lowynge. By meane wherof Eboryn dyd what to hym was lykynge / and vexyd and troubled the people gre­uously. wherfore by one assent y ^e lor­des assembled theym / and by autho­ryte depryued the kynge of all dignytye / and closyd hym in a monastery, there to contynue the resydue of hys lyfe, when he hadde borne the name of a kynge wythout execucyon of the acte therunto belongynge .iii. yeres / and the cruell Eboryn they exyled to Luxon or Luxunborgh in the pro­uynce of Burgoyne / and not to de­parte thens vppon payn of hys lyfe.

THE .CXXXIX. CHAPITER.

CHildericus or Hildericus the thyrde sonne of Clodoueus, that was sent to rule the prouynce of Austracy / was ordeyned kynge of Fraunce in the yere of grace .vi. hundred .lxix. & the .xxxiii. yere of Cadwal before named. Of the whyche dede the sayde lordes shortely after repen­ded thē. For this Chylderych which was yonge and of lyght maners, oppressyd his subiectes greuously / and vsed the lawes of hys progenytours after hys pleasure and wyll / & wold nothynge be aduertised nor ruled by wolphanus before named, y ^e whyche was before tyme assigned to hym for hys counceyllour and guyde. But in augmentynge his malyce / he caused a noble mā of his realme named Bolyde, wythout gylte or trespace or greuous offence doynge, to be bounden to a stake, and there betyn tyll he yelded the spyrite. For y ^e whych crueltye and other / the lordes wyth the cō mons murmuryd sore agayne hym, ferynge lyke punyssyon wythout de­seruynge. wherfore they conspyryd agaynste hym, and moste specyally two noble men of byrth & of myghte named Iugebert & Amabert. which two wyth other awayted theyr tyme & season whē they myght fynde tyme cōueniēt to bryng y ^e kyng out of lyfe. And vpon a daye when y ^t kyng with his wyfe and small companye wyth theym, were in the wood in theyr dysporte and game / the sayde two lor­des accompanyed purposely fell vp­pon hym & slewe hym there and hys wyfe also great wyth chyld, y ^e which ranne betwene her lord and them, to y ^e entent to haue sauyd her lord and husbande from the dynt of y ^e sworde. The whyche dede was done when y ^e sayde Childeriche had reygned ouer the Frenchemen after moste wryters two yeres.

THE .CXL. CHAPITER.

THeodoricus before deposyd / was by the lordes of Fraūce agayne restoryd to hys former dy­gnyty, in the yere of our lorde .vi. hū dred .lx. and .xi / and the .xxxv. yere of Cadwall forenamed. Therof when Eboryn was warned, he anon drew vnto the kynges presence. By whose fauour & hys owne strength he was [Page LXXIII] agayne restoryd to his former dignytie & honour / so that he was in lyke authorite as he before tyme had ben.

Then he gatheryd to hym great strength, and chasyd Lyndesyle then mayster of the paleys vnto a place named Boccauyle / and shortly after was possessyd of the kynges treaso­rye. After the which season, this Eboryn faynynge loue and amytye vnto the sayde Lyndesyle, trayterouslye slewe hym. And when Eboryne had thus delyuerid Līdesyle / he thought he myght the better exercyse his olde tyranny and wylfull actes. So that then he exylyd dyuerse prelates and men of the chyrche / and sette in theyr places suche as hym lyked. wherof the nobles of Fraunce beynge aduertysed / and specyally Martyne and Pepyn two of the most nobles of the regyon: they called to them assystēce to wythstande the tyrannye of Ebo­ryne / the whyche yf yt myghte be so sufferyd, shulde destroye the comonwele of the lande. Then this Pepyn (whyche after the rehersayle before made in the .C. and .xxxii. chapyter, shulde be the seconde of that name, and surnamed Uetulus and Breuis / also yet by conuenyency of the tyme to me yt semeth to be one man that ruled in the tyme of Dagobert and nowe, all be yt the frenche cronycle meaneth two sondry persones) wyth the forenamed Martyne, assembled a great hoste, and gaue batayll vnto the sayde Eboryn. But that was to theyr harme / for the loste they felde, and were coacted to flee, the one to the cytye of Laon, and that other to Austracye.

And Eboryne whych amonge vsed his accustomyd treason, vnder dyssymyled loue slew the sayde Martyne, as he before had slayne Lyndesyle.

In thys tyme flouryd Harmefre­ditus a nere kynnesman of the holy byshop Leodegayre, that Eboryn before had martyred, as before is shewyd. The whyche Harmefreditus be­rynge in mynde the passyon of hys sayde kynnesman / waytyd his tyme, and slewe the sayde Eboryne. After whose deth dyssencyon grewe amōg the Frenche men, for the admyssyon of a mayster of the paleys / all be yt that after the sayde varyaunce one Graccon was chosen and admytted. But yt was longe after that Gyllo­marus his sonne, putte hys father from the rule therof. Thys after he hadde a whyle occupyed / he dyed of sodayne deth. After whom succedyd agayne hys father Graccon or Ga­racon / the whyche also dyed shortely after.

Then beganne newe questyons a­monge the nobles of Fraūce for this offyce / so that lastely they chase a man of lowe byrth and vnmete to that Rome named Bethayr or Bar­thayr. But Pepyn whych by all this season was in y ^e coūtrey of Austracy, and harde of the contrauersies and dyuerse opynyons of the Frenche men / assembled to him a strōge hoste, and spedde hym towarde the kynge / entendynge to haue the rule of hym, rather then suche other that were of lesse authoryte and honoure. wherof the kynge beynge warned / by the prouysyon of Barthayer foresayde, he gatheryd hys armye and mette with Pepyn. And after a sharpe fyghte betwene bothe hostes hadde / Bar­thayre was slayne and the kyng chasyd / and finally was forced to admyt Pepyn for the mayster and gouer­nour of his paleys. But for as mych as Pepyn had thē the rule of Austracy, and myght not well ouerse bothe charges / he therfore purueyed vnder hym a substitute named Nordobert, whyle he returned into Austracy or Lorayne. And shortly after dyed the [Page] kynge / when he hadde borne y ^e name therof by the terme of .xix. yeres / le­uynge after hym two sonnes named Clodoueus and Childebertus.

Anglia. THE .CXL. CHAPITER.

CAdwaladrus that of y ^e reuerente Be­da is named Ced­walla / beganne to aryse and rule the Brytons and also the westsaxons, in the yere of grace vi. hundred .lxxx. and thre / and y ^e .xii. yere of Theodoricus then kynge of Fraunce / and also the last yere of Kenewinus or Kentwinus then kynge of westsaxon. This of Gaufryde and other authours wyth y ^e englyshe cronicle is called the sonne of Cedwall. But wyllyam that wrote the actes & dedys of kynges sayth, that he was the sonne of Kenebryght / and descendyd lynyally of the blode of Cerdicꝰ the fyrste kynge of the westsaxons. The which Cadwaladyr or Cedwalla made warre vpon Lothariꝰ kyng of Kent, and destroyed myche of that prouynce / and wan the yle of wyght, and gaue the fourth parte therof vnto saynte wylfryde / in the whyche sayde .iiii. parte were accompted .iii. hundred housholdes.

The whyle that Calwaladyr was besyed in one parte of Kent / his bro­ther named Mulkyn wyth a certayn of knyghtes was beseged, and lastely brente in a nother parte therof. In reuengement wherof, Cadwaladyr of new destroyed a more parte of the sayde prouynce.

Contynuynge the whyche warre, Lotharius forenamed was woūded and dyed. After whom Edricus was kynge / y ^e whych reygned but a shorte season.

Aboute this tyme saynte Cutbert was byshop of Hogulstald or Dur­ham / & after byshop of Lyndefarn. But lastely he rufusyd that / and became an anker in the yle of Farne, and there dyed. This ile now is cal­led holy ilande.

Thē Cadwaladyr made warre vppon Athelwold kynge of Southsa­xons or Southsex / and slewe hym in playne batayll, and after made hys prouynce thrall to hym. But thys agreeth not with y ^e former sayeng rehersyd in the .lxxx. & .xiiii. chapyter of this worke precedynge / where yt is sayde that the kyngdome of South­saxons enduryd but a hundred .xii. yeres. By whyche reason this Ethel­wolde or Athelwolde shulde not at this season be kyng of Southsaxōs. For the terme of a hundred and .xii. yeres was expyrd more then .lxxx. and .viii. yeres before this daye. But ye shall vnderstande y ^t this forsayde terme of a hundred and .xii. yeres / is ment for the contynuaunce of this kyngedome or they were subdued, and the kynges therof named vnder kynges as this Ethelwold was.

Then yt foloweth when Cadwa­ladyr hadde ruled the Brytons and also the westsaxons, by the terme of thre yeres, as wytnessyth Ranulphe munke of Chester / he then of pure deuocyon renouncyd the pompe and pryde of the worlde, and yode in pylgrymage to Rome / where of the fyrst Sergius then pope, he was confyr­myd and after made a white munke, and contynued there hys lyfe tyme in perfyte holynes.

Of thys Cadwaladyr or Cedwalla many and dyuers opynyons are wryten of authours, both of hys reygne and also of the contynuaunce therof / and ouer that, of the tyme whē he forsoke hys lande. wherin is great varyaunce, as I haue shewed [Page LXXIIII] in the table in the begynnyng of this symple worke. So that it shuld seme that these two names shulde sounde to be sondry persones / wherof the cō trary is a certayned by the foresayde Ranulphe / where as he sayeth that Cadwaladrꝰ or Cedwalla was but one persone, the whyche was laste kyng of Britons and of westsaxons. Also for so mych as they ioyned next vnto Cambria or walys.

If I shuld here bryng in the cause of the auoydynge of thys lande by Cadwaladyr, as is rehersyd by Gaufryde / yt wolde aske a longe tracte of tyme / and also to me yt apperyth the more doutefull, that yt is not te­styfyed of the authour of Policronycon / consyderynge the great nomber of authours, whyche he sought and allegyd for his authoryte, as yt shewyth in the fyrste chapyter of his fyrst boke. And specyally syns that ho­ly Gyldas and Bede is amonge the sayde authours accomptyd / y ^e whych dyd great dilygence in serchynge of the dedes and actes of the Brytons / and of the aungellis monycyon that to hym was geuen / with also the prophecye of Merlyn, that the Brytons shulde not recouer this lande tyll the relykes of Cadwaladyr wyth other of holy saintes, were brought hyther out of Rome. I hold that for no part of my beleue though many welshe­men yt do. wherfore to folowe the moste authoryte as before is sayde / when this Cadwaladyr had reygned thre yeres, he went to Rome / & there lastely dyed, and was buryed in the chyrche of saynt Peter, with this epythaphye or superscrypcyon vppon his toumbe, as foloweth in metyr,

The whyche versys may be englys­shed in maner as foloweth.

And thus here endeth the lyfe & rule of the Brytons nowe called welshemen / whych toke that name of theyr duke or leder as sayth Guydo called wallo or Guallo / or ellys of a quene of walys named Galaes or walaes. But how so y ^e name came first to thē, onw are they called welshe mē, y ^t somtyme were named Brytons or Bru­tons, descendyd fyrste of Troyans, and after of Brute, & lastely of Dū ­wallo Moliuncius or Molmucius Dūwallo. All be yt they were gretly mynglyd or medelyd wyth other na­cyōs, as Romayns, Pictes, & other / as by the redyng of the premisses ye may wel perceyue & know. And now be they englyshe, that in theyr begynnyng were named Saxōs or Anglis

But yet for so myche as welchmē extolle so hougely theyr blode & ally­aūce, fetchyng yt frō Pryam but not from Eneas, & regarded so lytle the progeny or lynyall descent of y ^e Sa­xōs or Anglis: therfore to y ^e entēt to kele somwhat theyr hygh corage, or to opp̄sse in ꝑty their brutyshe blastꝭ, I will bryng in here y ^e sayng of Guydo & other, y ^e auaūce the blode or dyssent of the Saxōs to be farre aboue the Britons / as they y ^t ar descendyd of goddes & men immortall / where [Page] the Britons clayme the ofsprynge to come of men they were mortall / & not moste to be alowed in honour, yf they thynke vppon Eneas vntrouth and treason.

Then to folowe the foresayde au­thour Guydo, that sayth. woden, of whom the Saxons taken theyr ory­gynall, was y ^e sonne of Frealoffe the sonne of Fredewolfe, the sonne of Flyn, the son of Flokwald, the son of Geta, that was the sonne of Minos, that is nexte in honour to Pluto god of hell, and chefe iudge of his infer­nall iurisdyccyon.

Therfore ye welshe men here after nurture lere.

And dyspyse not Saxōs that ben to god so nere.

Thus then apperyth by the con­ueyaunce of this worke, y ^t the last or thyrd yere of Cadwaldyr was y ^e yere of grace .vi. hundred .lxxx. & vi. which maketh the yere of y ^e worlde .v. thou­sand .viii. hūdred .lxxx. & .v. By which reason yt apperyth, that the Britons had the rule of this land for the more party, to reken frō the fyrst cōmynge of the duke or leader Brute, by the space of a thousande .viii. hundred & xxii. yeres.

And thus here an ende of the fyfte parte of this worke, for the consyde­racyon before rehersyd, that Briton kynges after this day, reygned none in this realme / and the Saxons or Anglis began fully to haue domynyon therof.

wherfore as before tyme I haue vsed and done in the other parties before specyfyed, so now I here agayn salute and gyue thankes to that moste excellēt virgyn our lady saynt Mary, with the .v. ioy­es of the forenamed seuen ioyes, begynnynge.

This .v. parte to be accompted from the laste yere of the mysery of Bry­tons, or the fyrste yere of Constan­tyne brother to kynge of Armorica / vnto the thyrd or last yere of Cadwaladyr, includyth of yeres .CCliii.

THE .CXLI. CHAPITER.

IUe or Iewe discendyd of the blode of Saxons / was ru­ler or kyng of westsaxons, nexte after that y ^e forenamed Cadwaladyr had renounced the pompe of the worlde. The whyche to folowe the opynyon of Policronicon, began hys reygne the yere of grace .vi. hundred .lxxx. & vii, and the .xvi. yere of the seconde Theodoricus then kynge of Fraūce / and ruled the westsaxons knyghtly, and maynteyned such warre agayn the Kentyshe Saxons, y ^t the men of Dorobernia or Caunterbury grauntyd vnto hym to haue peace. And al­so for a recompensement of the deth of Mulkynge brother to Cadwala­dyr before slayne, as is shewed in the precedynge chapyter by the sayde Kentyshe Saxons / they gaue vnto hym for the sayd consyderacyōs thre thousande pounde.

About y ^e yere of the reygne of Iue / the holy man Cutlake about y ^e .xxiiii. yere of his age, renouncyd the pōpe and pryde of this worlde / and toke y ^e order of munkes in the abbay of Re­pyndon. And the .iii. yere after he wēt to Crowlande / and there lad for the whyle an holy Ankers lyfe, and dyd there many myracles, and there fy­nally was buryed.

In whyche yle and place of hys buryenge standeth nowe a fayre abbay, the whyche for the greate resorte of gestes that thyther drawyth, and for the good and frendely chere that ge­stes there receyue and take / the sayd place hath purchasyd a surname and is named Crowlande the curteys / the whyche is a place of good fame. And there lyeth also the holy confes­soure Neotus, somtyme dyscyple of Erkenwalde byshoppe of London.

In the .xi. yere of the reygne of Iue, befell the wounder and mer­uayle that ys tolde of Bryghtwal­dus / the whyche after he hadde ben a longe whyle ded, was restoryd to lyfe agayne, and tolde many thynges of great wonder to many men / whereby he causyd great almys, and many other dedes of charyte to be executyd.

And after the dysposycyon of hys owne goodes, by the agremēt of his wyfe he went vnto y ^e abbay of Maylroos / and there in great holynes contynued the resydue of his lyfe.

About the .xvi. yere of the reygne of Iue / Etheldredus before mynded in the .C. & xxxv. chapiter kyng of Mercia, forsoke this wordly honour, and [Page] became a munke at Bardeney / when he hadde longe tyme rulyd the men of Mercia or myddell Anglys. Hys brother Kenredus was kynge after hym / the whych also after he had reygned fyue yeres, lefte his kyngdome vnto Colredus the sonne of hys vn­cle / and he wyth Offa the sonne of Iue now kynge of westsaxons, and wyth Egwinus byshop of wykcies or of wyke, whych see is now at worceter / wyth thys forsayde companye this Kenredus yode vnto Rome in pilgrimage and there endyd his life.

And aboute the .xviii. yere of the reygne of Iue dyed the holy byshop Aldelme, whyche fyrste was munke and abbot of Malmesbury, and the laste byshoppe. Of hym yt is writen, that when he was styryd by his gostly enymy to the synne of the fleshe / he to do the more torment to hym selfe and of hys body / wolde holde within his bedde by hym a fayre mayden, by so longe tyme as he myght say ouer the hole sauter / all be yt that such holynesse is no artycle of saynt Benet­tis lore, yor yet for dyuerse inconue­nyence moste alowyd by holy doc­tours. And amonge many of his vertuous & holy dedys / Ranulph mūke of Chester she with, that for the same of hys holynes sprange wyde, Ser­gius the fyrste of that name beynge pope, sente for hym to Rome. In whyche season of his there beynge / the sayde Sergius was accusyd or defamed of the gettynge of a chylde, the whyche the .ix. daye of the sayde chyldes age, was brought to holy Aldelme to be crystyned. By vertue of whose prayer, the sayde chylde an­swered vnto certayn questyons, and cleryd the pope of that cryme y ^t was before put vppon hym.

Nere about the .xxiii. yere of Iue / Colredus then kynge of Mercia, for cause of variaunce betwene him and Ine vnremembred of myn authour, assembled hys knyghtes, and began to warre vppon hym. wherof y ^e other hauynge knowlege, in lykewyse ga­theryd his power / and lastely met to both theyr harmes, at a place called wodynsburgth. where after longe fyght eyther of them sped so vnhap­pely, that yt was not knowen whe­ther hoste hadde moste domage.

And nere about y ^e .xxv. yere of Iue, as wytnessyth holy Beda / saynte Iohan of Beuerlay that then was bys­shoppe of yorke, dyed / and was bu­ryed in the porche of the mynster of Deyrwood or Beuerlay. Thē Iewe or Iue callynge to mynde the coun­sayll of holy Aldelme, y ^t beforetyme had coūsaylyd hym to buylde an ab­bay at Glastenbury / began the sayd worke about the .xxxii. yere of his reygne / and founded there an abbaye, the whyche contynued prosperously tyll y ^e comynge of y ^e Danis / by whose cruelty yt was then sore blemyshed. But afterward by the helpe of saynt Dunstane, in the tymes of Edmond and Edgare, yt was agayne suffycyently repayred, & so cōtynued tyll the comyng of the Normās / after which season yt was agayne besette wyth hard happes. But now at this daye yt standeth a place of great welthe and honour.

Then yt folowyth, when Iue had ruled the westsaxons nobly by the terme of .xxxvii. yeres / by the assy­duate labour of hys holy wyfe Ethelburga, as she that longe had labou­red hym to leue the world and coude not brynge about her purpose / vpon a season when the kyng and she had restyd them in a fayre paleys rychely behanged, and were vpon the morne thens departed, she by her commaundement caused the sayd paleys to be replenysshyd wyth all kynd of fylth and dunge / and hogges and vyle be­stes [Page LXXVI] there in to be layde, as well in y ^e chambers as other houses of offyce. And when she knewe that thys pa­leys was thus deformyd / she be­sought the kynge to vysyte the sayde paleys. And when she had broughte hym therunto, she sayde to hym: I praye you my lorde behold now this house. where are now the ryche tap­pets and clothes of gold and of silke and other ryche apparell that we left here thys other daye. And where be the delyces and plesaunt seruytours and costly dyshes, that you and I lately were seruyd wyth. Be not all these passyd and gone? My lorde in lyke maner shall we passe and sodenly, as ye se these worldely thynges ben passyd. And oure bodyes whych now ben delycately kepyd / shall fall and turne into fylth of y ^e erthe. wher­fore haue in mynde my wordes that before this tyme to you I haue often shewyd & told / and busy you to pur­chase that paleys y ^e euer shal endure in ioy wythout transmutacyon.

By meane of these wordes & other / the quene turnyd so y ^e kynges mynd, that shortly after he resygned the gouernaunce of his kyngdome vnto Ethellardus his neuewe / & he for the loue of Cryste toke vpon hym the habyte of a poore man / and settynge a parte all pompe and pryde of thys worlde, accompanyed hym in the fe­lowshyp of poore men, and yode vn­to Rome in pylgrymage wyth great deuocyon, when he hadde ben kynge of the westsaxons, as before is sayde xxxvii. yeres. After whose departyng the foresayde Etheldreda hys wyfe went vnto barkynge .vii. mylys frō London / where in the abbay before of Erkenwalde foundyd, she conty­nued and ended an holy lyfe, whē she hadde ben abbesse of the same place a certayn of tyme. It is sayd & testifyed of wyllyam wryter of kynges, that this Iue was the fyrste kynge that grauntyd a peny of euery fyre house thorow this realm to be payed to the courte of Rome, whych at this daye is called Rome stote or Peter pens, and yet is payed in many places of Englande. But why yt was graunted the cause is not here shew­ed, how be it yt shall be shewyd after.

Francia. THE .CXLII. CHAPITER.

CLodoueus y ^e thyrd of y ^e name, & son of the secōd Theodoricus / beganne his domynyon o­uer the realme of Fraunce, in the yere of grace .vi. hondred .lxxx. and .x / and the thyrd yere of Iue then kyng of westsaxons. Of this Clodoueus is of wryters lefte no maner of memorye soundynge to good or euyll / but Pepyn before na­med contynued as master of the pa­leys by all the tyme of the reygne of y ^e sayd Clodoueus. The whych after that he hadde borne the name by the space of .iii. yeres, he dyed wythoute yssue / and was buryed by his father. By reason of whose deth the sayde kyngedome fell by successyon vnto hys brother Childebert.

THE .CXLIII. CHAPITER.

CHildebertus the second sonne to Theodoryche, and brother of Clodoueus foresayde / began his domynyon ouer y ^e realme of Fraūce, in the yere of grace .vi. hundred .lxxx. and .xiii / and the .vi. yere of Iue then kynge of westsaxons. In tyme of whose reygne also the foresayde Pe­pyn contynued as chefe ruler of the kynges house / all be yt y ^e he for such other charge as he had of ouerseyng [Page] of the realme, set in hys place a sub­st [...]tute or depute, as his sonne Gri­monart and other.

Thys Pepyn contrary to the lawe of the chyrche / helde besyde hys law­full wyfe called Ple [...]trude, a womā named Alpayd. For the whyche the holy bysshop of Treet named Lam­berte, blamynge and rebukynge the sayde Pepyn / of the brother of the forenamed Alpayde, whyche is cal­led Dodon or Dodoin, was slayne & martyred, in the yere of our lorde .vi. hundred .lxxx. and .xii / as testyfyeth Antoninus in the .vi. chapyter of the [...]iii. tytle of the seconde parte of hys worke called summa Antonini. And as affermeth the sayde Antoninus & also the Frenche cronycle / the sayde Pepyn receyued of the sayd Alpayde a sonne, whom he named Charlys / whyche Charlys was after surna­med Marcellus, & was ryghte pro­fytable to the realme of Fraunce, as after shall appere.

Of the foresayd kyng Chyldebert is nothynge lefte in wrytyng worthy memory / excepte that he receyued of hys wyfe a sonne named Dagobert / and kepte the name of a kynge by y ^e terme of .xvii. yeres, as sayth the cro­nycle in French / and than dyed / and was buryed in the abbey of Caus in y ^e chyrch or chapell of saīt Stephan.

THE .CXLIIII. CHAPITER

DAgobertꝰ the seconde of that name, and sonne of Chylde­bert before named / began his reygne ouer the Frenchmen, in the yere of grace .vii. hundred and .x / & the .xxiii. of Iue than kynge of westsaxons. The whyche was vnder the rule of Plectrude the wyfe of Pepyn than dede, and of Theodowald than may­ster of the paleys. Thys Plectrude as before is shewed was stepmother to Charlys sonne of Pepyn and of Alpayde, wherfore she berynge ma­lyce to the sayd Charlys, caused hym to be holden as prysoner wythin Coleyne, where he so as prysoner remaynynge / the foresayd Theoldowalde exercysed suche tyrannys, and putte vpon the people suche exaccyons, y ^e dyscensyon grewe bytwene hym and the lordes of Fraūce, so that dyuers cōflyctes and skyrmysshes were had amonge the nobles of Fraunce / for partyes were taken vpon eyther sy­des, whereby the kynges partye at length was wekyd. And fynally the sayd Theoldowalde was depryued of hys rome / and one Rangafredus was made mayster of y ^e paleys. The whyche beynge Accompanyed with conuenyent strength / toke with hym the kynge, and cōueyed hym thorow the forest of Charbōnur, tyll he came vnto y ^e ryuer of Mense. In y ^e which passetyme the forenamed Charlys beynge, as aboue is sayde prysoner / by fauoure of hys kepars or other­wyse, brake pryson and escapyd. And shortly after dyed the kynge / whan he hadde reygned or borne the name of a kynge as other of hys progenytours hadde done, by y ^e terme of .xi. yeres / leuyng after hym nother chylde, as than knowynge, nor nere of a lye / whyche was cause of mysor­der of the tytle of Fraunce, as after­warde shall appere.

THE .CXLV. CHAPITER.

DAnyell that of y ^e Frenchmen was after named Chilperich was by assente of them made kynge, in the yere of grace .vii. hundred and xxi / and the .xxxiiii. yere of Iue than kynge of westsaxons.

Thus as testyfyeth mayster Ro­bert Gagwyne and also the Frenche cronycle, was a preste or clerke / and [Page LXXVII] for his wysedome was cherysshed before tyme in the kynges paleys / in y ^e whyche tyme and season he sufferyd hys crowne to be ouer growen. Or ellys after Antoninus, this Danyell after y ^e deth of Dagobert, for so mych as he lefte after hym none of y ^e royall blode / the Frenchemen supposynge hym to be apte for y ^e rule of the lond, for suche experyence as before tyme in hym had be proued / kepte hym se­crete a certeyne of tyme tyll his heyre was fully growen / and than decla­red hym to be the brother of Dago­bert, and chaungyd hys name / and called hym Chylperych / & so by one assente admytted hym for kynge of Fraunce.

Charles before spoken of sonne of Pepyn, beynge escapyd the daunger of prysonement / sought and compassyd by all maner of wayes, how he myghte obteyne the rome that some­tyme hys fader occupyed. And thys to brynge to effecte / he purchasyd to hym a yonglynge of fayre & goodly maners & stature named Clothayre, and sayd that he was descendyd of y ^e royall blode of Fraunce / by meane wherof in shorte tyme he gaderyd to hym greate strength. wherof heryng Chylperych / commaunded Ranga­frede to assemble hys knyghtes to wythstōde the purpose of Charlys. And soone after bothe hostes mette, nere vnto the forenamed ryuer of Mense / where was foughte a strong and cruell batayle / of y ^e whych Ran­gafrede was vyctor, and compellyd Charles to forsake the felde. But he shortly afterward assemblyd and ga­deryd agayne togyder all suche as before were dysperklyd / and fought efte wyth the sayde Rangafrede at a Place called Ablane. Of the whyche batayle wyth great dyffyculte Char­lys was lastly wyctour / and chasyd Rangafrede, and hys hoste greatly demynysshed & lassyd. Than thyrdly these two hostes met in a felde called the wyne felde / where also was pre­sent the sayd Danyell or Chilperych hauynge in hys ayde amonge other prynces the duke of Gascoyne / and there fought a sore & cruell batayle. wherof lastly was vyctor the sayde Charlys / and constrayned the kyng wyth the sayde duke to fle vnto Or­leaunce. where they takynge wyth them suche treasoure as belonged to the kynge / fled from thens vnto the Duchye of Gascoyne.

whan Charlys conceyued that the kynge was escapyd hys daunger, & knewe that Raganfrede was in the cyty of Aungiēs / he sped him thether in all haste: and compassyd the citye wyth so stronge a syege, that fynally he obteyned the cytye wyth all that was therin. But it was not longe after that Charlys shewed vnto Ragā frede suche benyuolence, that he was set at hys lyberte and fredome.

The next yere folowyng the duke of Gascoyn before mynded, hauyng parfyte informacyon by ambassade or otherwyse / that Charlys entēdyd to make sharpe & cruell warre vpon the Gascoynes, for that that they fa­uouryd and kepte wyth them Da­nyell or Chilperych / he in auoydyng the sayde daūger of warre, in shorte tyme after sent vnto Charlys, vnder certayne condycyons bytwene them agreed, the sayd Chylperyche / wyth al such treasour & iewellys as to him or the crowne of Fraunce belongyd.

In thys passetyme & season dyed the forenamed Clothayre, that Charles before had made kyng. wherfore to the more restfulnesse of y ^e realme, he allowed the forenamed Chylpe­ryche for kyng / and he as mayster of the kynges paleys, as other his pre­decessours, ruled the land of Fraūce. Than Charlys hauynge thus the [Page] rule and gouernaunce / ruled it well and substancyally, and defended yt from all enemyes durynge the lyfe of the sayd Chylperyche. And after the whych / Chylperych whan he had contynued as kynge by the terme of v. yeres dyed / and was buryed, as sayth the Frenche cronycle in y ^e citye of Noen or Noyen / wythout issue of hys body.

Anglia. THE .CXLVI. CHAPITER.

EThelardus the neuew of Iue / began hys reygne ouer the westsa­xons, in the yere of grace .vii. hun­dred and .xxiiii / & the thyrde yere of Danyell otherwyse called Chylpe­ryche than kynge of Fraunce. Thys after some wryters is named Ethel­dredus.

In the tyme of hys reygne, Ofricꝰ as kynge reygned in Northumber­lande / to whom holy Beda wrote the story called historia Anglicana / or more verely to hys successoure Col­woifus. Of the whyche Beda and of hys workes Ranulphe mūke of Chester sheweth a compedyous processe, in the .xxiii. chapyter of hys .v. boke called Policronycon.

The forsayd Ofricus is named in the Englyshe cronycle Osbryght / of the whyche in the sayde cronycle is rehersed a longe worke. But for I se no authour of authoryte afferme the same / I therfore in thys worke passe it ouer.

It shulde appere also by the mea­nynge of Polycronycon, that about thys tyme dyed Etheldredus before touchyd kyng of Mercia / the which whan he had longe tyme ruled that countrey, he lastlye renouncyd the pompe of thys worlde, & was shorne a munke at Bardony.

Of y ^e soresayd Ethelarde kyng of westsaxon, is lefte no memory of any actes or dedes by hym done. But as agree many wryters, he dyed whan he hadde reygned .v. yeres, wythout issue of hys body.

And in Northumberlande after y ^e forenamed Ofricus, reygned Col­wolphus / after whom Egbertus / & after whom Oswolph / and after Oswolphe reygned Ethelbald or Ethelwalde. All be it that dyuers au­thours of these names of kynges & contynuaunce of theyr reygnes so dyuersly & sundryly report & wryte.

Francia. THE .CXLVII. CHAPITER.

THeodoricus, the whyche of mayster Robert Gagwyne is alowed to be the sonne of y ^e seconde Dagobert / began hys reygne ouer y ^e Frenchmen, in the yere of grace .vii. hundred and .xxvi / and the seconde yere of Ethelardus than kyng of westsaxōs. The which was from hys yonge and tender age fosteryd and norysshed in a house of nonnys in womans clothynge / and lastly espyed, and by cōsent of Char­lys mayster of the paleys admytted for kynge.

After the whych solempnyte fynysshed / Charlys herynge of the rebel­lyon of a people called the Sweuys or Swetesers / assembled an hoste, & lastly them subdued. whyche done / he turned hym toward an other part of the Almaynes, and in lyke wyse ouercame them / and after retourned into Fraunce wyth greate tryumphe and ryches, that he hadde wonne at [Page LXXVIII] those two iourneyes.

It was not longe afterward, that Charlys had thus subdued the fore­sayde people of Almayne, wyth also a greate parte of Germany / but that tydyng came to hym, y ^t Endo duke of Gascoyne rebelled agayne y ^e kyng of Fraūce. wherfore he in all goodly haste preparyd hys armye, and sped hym into Gascoyne / where he made so cruell warre, that he in short tyme damagyd greatly the countrey / and held the duke Endo so streyte, that he was compellyd to hyde hym in se­crete places of the countreye / where after greate serche he myghte not be founde, wherfore he settynge the coū trey in some restfulnesse, retourned hym into Fraunce.

whan Endo was sure of the re­tourne of Charlys into Fraunce / for so mych as he had prouyd the mar­cyall knyghthode of hym, and knew well he myghte not hym selfe wyth­stand hys knyghtly power / he there­fore allyed hym wyth the kynge of Spayne than beyng a pagan or myscreaunt and named Abyderamus, and excyted and styred hym to make warre vppon the lande of Fraunce / promysynge to hym not all onely vyctory, but also that londe to hym and to hys heyres for euer. Uppon comforte of whyche promyse, and al­so ayde of the sayde Endo / thys forenamed Arbyderamus thrystyng cry­sten mannys blode, and entendynge vtter desolacyon and destruccyon of the realme of Fraunce / assemblyd an excedynge hooste of people, and wyth theyr wyues chyldren and ca­tayle entryd the londe of Fraunce. And what they wan, they enioyed it as theyr owne. And so in processe came vnto the cytye of Burdeaux / the whych after a certayne tyme of y ^e cytesens defendyd, the sayde mys­creaūtes wan into theyr possessyon, and dystroyed the people thereof, with all theyr chyrches and temples of the same. And from thens passyng the countreye in wastynge it wyth iron and wyth fyre, lastly came vnto Poytiers. whyche cytye as before ye haue harde in the story of the fyrste Dagoberte in the .C. and .xxxii. cha­pyter, was by hym subuertyd / and at thys daye newely reedyfyed.

Thys cytye also of them posses­syd / they in lyke maner as they had dalte wyth Burdeaux, so dyd they wyth thys / not sparynge that holy place of saynt Hyllary, but dyd vnto yt greate shame & vylany. And from thens they yode vnto Towers / wa­stynge and sleynge the people wyth­out mercy by all the waye that they passyd, and wasted that cytye as they had done the other.

In the whyche passetyme Char­lys herynge of the cruelte of this Ar­bideramus / assembled hys power, and shortly met with hym nere vnto Towers. where he bare hym so knyghtely / that he slewe of the Pa­ganys to excedynge a nomber to be accordaunt wyth reason. But for I se it testyfyed of so many wryters yt boldeth me to expresse the nomber / whyche was .iii. hundred .iiii. score and .v. thousande and odde. And of the Frenchemen were slayne but .xv. hundred onely.

For the whyche vyctoryous acte / the sayde Charlys obteyned a surname, and was called after that day Carolus Martellus, the whyche is to meane Charles the hamer. For lyke as the hamer maketh all metal­lys plyable / so Charlys made hys foes or enemies pliable to his hestis. And as the hamer cutteth, breketh, or dysseueryth iron and other harde metallys / so dyd thys Charlys dys­mēber & cut or breke the enemyes of Fraūce thorough his high prowesse.

[Page]It is shewyd in the bokes called Cronica cronicarum, Supplemen­tum cronicarum, Policronica, and other / that this vyctory was obtey­ned by Charlis of the Sarasins, but not as inhabytauns or incolers of Spayne / but that they were yssuyd out of Africa, and then warryd and hadde wonne great countreys in Spayne. The whyche is more ac­cordaunt wyth hystoryes. For in the plegys or rehersayllys of the names of kynges of Spayne, I fynde no kynge of that name. Then yt folow­eth in the story / when Charlis Martell hadde thus obteyned vyctory, he cōmaūded all y ^e pillage to be brought to one place. That done, he deuyded it amonge hys knyghtes. And shortly after Endo knowlegynge hys of­fence, and sekyng meanes of mercy / was agayne restoryd to the lande of Gascoyne.

THE .CXLVIII. CHAPITER.

CHarles Martell hauynge the duke of Gascoyne thus recoū cylyd / sent hym wyth a certayne of knyghtes agayn the reste of the sayd Sarazyns / the whyche by hys man hode he oppressyd and subdued, and clerely voydyd the lande of theym. Then soone vpon this beganne the Burgonyons to rebelle / and made sharpe warre vpon the Frenchemen nexte adioynaunte to them, and dyd vnto the countrey and inhabitaūtes of the same great harme. The which warre / the sayde Martell that therin toke great payne, not without great payne, lastely yt appeasyd and them subduyd.

In tyme of the whyche warre so contynuynge / Endo before rehersyd duke of Gascoyne dyed. wherfore Charlis to sette that prouynce in an order and due obeysaunce, yode the­ther. where he beynge busyed about the nedes of the same / tydynges to hym were broughte that the wanda­lys which ben of the kynde or lynage of the Hunys before touched, hadde entred the land wyth an houge pow­er and in wastynge the countrey, approchyd y ^e citye of Senōs or Sens, and yt enuyroned or beclypped wyth a stronge syege. But by the vertue and strength of the archbyshop of y ^e cytye named Ebe, Ebbe, or Obbo, wyth the assystence of the cytezyns of the same / the sayde cytye was defen­dyd and delyueryd from the power of the fayde wandalys / & the power of them abbatyd and subduyd.

For these manyfolde incurcyons and assautys of enymyes, and rebel­lyon of the countrees that were sub­iecte to the crowne of Fraunce / the treasour of Fraunce, & specyally of y ^e temporall people was sore minyshed and wastyd. wherfore in defence of all the lande / Charlis Martell made requeste to the spirituall men / & with great dyffyculte hadde yt graunted, that he myght leuy certayne dymys to wage therwith soudyours, & pre­payre other necessaryes for y ^e warre. Thys after the opinyon of some writers, was the fyrste tyme that euery spirytuall mannes money wythin y ^e realme was occupyed to temporall vse. wherfore as yt is reported of dyuerse cronyclars / the sayde Charlis when he was ded, was sene by the byshoppe of Orleaunce named Ethereus, to be in great payne and tour­ment.

Then Charlis moued his hoste to­warde the Burgonyons, that agayn were of newe styred and exhortyd by dyuerse persones to newe rebellyon. And after his comynge thyther, dyd execucyon vppon suche persons as he founde culpable / and not without batayll, sette the country agayne in [Page LXXIX] quyet / & then retourned into Fraūce.

But he rested not longe there, or he harde worde that the Almaynes, whyche dwellyd ouer or beyonde the ryuer called the Ryne / brake ouer in to Fraunce. These people are named in y ^e Frenche boke Sesues / y ^e which dyd great domage vpon the coun­treys adioynynge to the sayde ryuer. But yt was not long after, or he had theym chasyd and subduyd / wyth al so an nother people called the Hunis or Gothys, that he before hadde also vaynquyshed. The whych after this seconde scōfyture / they assocyat vnto theym the kinge of Longobardes namyd Luytprandus. By whose assystens and power, the forsayde Gothis wan the citye of Auygnon and other stronge holdes, to the great hurte of the Frenche men.

And for at this season Charlis was greued wyth sykenesse / he therfore sent his brother named Chyldebert to wythstande the sayde enymyes / y ^e whyche bare hym so manfully, that he chasyd the sayde enymyes.

But thys saynge dyscordyth wyth other authours, whyche shewen that betwene this Charlis and Luytprandus was contynuall amyte & frend­shyppe / in so myche that Luytpran­dus ayded & assysted the sayde Charlis to auoyde y ^e Sarasins that were entryd a countrey of Fraunce called then Gallia cisalpina.

In this tyme that Fraunce was thus wrapped in these harde happes and batayllys / dyed the kyng Theodoricus, when he hadde occupied the name onely of a kynge .xiiii. yeres.

Anglia. THE .CXLIX. CHAPITER.

CUtbertus the neuew of Ethe­lardꝰ / began his reygne ouer y ^e westsaxōs, in the yere of grace .vii. hūdred & .xxix / and the thyrde yere of the seconde Theodoricus then kyng of Fraunce. In tyme of whose reygn Colwolphus reygned in Northum­berland / to whome as before in the story of Ethelarde is touched, holy Beda wrote the story called Historia Anglicana. About the .ii. yere of the reygne of this Cutberte apperyd in the fyrmament .ii. blasynge starrys or .ii. starris wyth crestes / & caste as yt were brennynge brondes towarde the Northe.

And about the .vi. yere of the reygn of Cutbert dyed the foresayde holy Beda / the which in his tyme made & wrote .lxxviii. bokes, ouer and besyde his manyfold workes of vertue that he vsyd by all his lyfe tyme. It ys told of hym, that in his later dayes when he was blynd, he was brought by y ^e frawde of his leder vnto a great hepe of stonys / the whych his leder shewyd to hym was an assemble of men and women, that were thether comyn to here hym preache the word of god. Then he thynkynge hys re­porte to be true / anon wyth great deuocyon beganne there a collacyon. And therof when he came to the ende the stonys by dyuyne power, in lykenesse of a great multytude of people sayd Amen / or after the sayng of Antoninus, Deo gratias.

He was so noble of lernynge and excellent in connynge / that the fyrste Sergius pope of Rome sent for him to assoyle q̄styons there made in the popes vniuersyte. Also his connyng is apparent in the bokes whyche he wrote super Genesim, super Thobi­am, super Esdriam, suꝑ Neemiam, wyth other, whyche wolde aske a longe tracte of tyme to reherse, wyth also the omelies made vppon the gospellys / but I passe ouer▪ when he was dede / he was buryed at y ^e abbay of Gyruy / all be yt the comynyng is [Page] that he restyth now wyth saynte Cutbert of Durham. About the .ix. yere of this kynges reygne / the holy vyrgyne saynt Fredeswide dyed. Of her yt is sayde, for vylanye that to her shulde haue ben done, by a kynge in Oxynford / that kynges of England at the seasons syns haue sparyd to entre that towne for drede of mys­happe. who so wyll knowe the cyrcū staunce of the mater, and the holy­nesse of her lyfe / lette hym serche the workes of holy Gyldas, where he shall be suffycyently informed.

Soone after thys tyme and sea­son / Colwolphus kynge of Northū ­berlande when he had reygned .viii. yeres, he resygned his domynyon to his cosyn Egbertus / and was shorne a monke in the abbay of Geruy, or after some wryters in the abbay of Lyndesar or holy ylande.

Thus for as mych as lytle is shewyd of the dedis of Cutbert kynge of westsaxons, therfore I haue made the more rehersayll of other chynges done in his tyme. For of hym is no­thynge lefte in wrytynge worthy to be remembryd or mynded / sauynge that he often and many tymes made warre vppon Ethelwalde kynge of Mercia and spedde therin diuersly / & lastely dyed when he had reygned after moste wryters .xvi. yeres.

Francia. THE .CXLIX. CHAPITER.

HIldericꝰ or Childericus y ^e second of that name, & sonne of Theo­doricus / began his reygne ouer the Frenshemen in y ^e yere of our lordes incarnacyon .vii. hūdred and xl / and the .xi. yere of Cutbertus then kynge of westsaxons. Of the whych for his dulnesse and hys other enor­mytes in hym exercysed / lytle or no thynge of his actes or dedes are put in memorye.

ye haue before in the story of Theo­doryche, harde of the puyssaunt and stronge dedys of Charlis Martell / the whyche styll durynge his lyfe, cōtynued in great honour, to the great suertye of the realme of Fraūce, and to the great terrour and fere of theyr enymyes / wherof to reherse all the cyrcumstaunce yt wolde occupye a longe tyme. wherfore shortely to conclude / lastely after hys manyfolde trauayllys susteyned for the weale of the realme of Fraunce, he dyed / leuynge after hym thre sonnes, that is to wytte Charlemayne, Pepyn, and Gryffon / to the whyche he be­quethed his possessions and goodes. But for the yongest named Gryffon helde hym not contentyd wyth suche bequest as hys father to hym gaue / he therfore made warre vppon hys other two bretherne. The whyche behaued theym so wysely / that wyth­out notable batayll, they toke theyr sayde brother, and putte hym in a safe kepynge. And that done / the sayde two bretherne assemblyd theyr knyghtes, and spedde theym agayn Hanualde duke of Guyan, then re­bellyng agayn the crown of Fraūce. The whych duke with the countrey, they brought vnder theyr fyrste obeysaunce. After the whyche victorye of the sayde coūtrey obteyned, the sayd two bretherne spedde them to the cytye of Poytyers, where they by ad­uyse of the nobles of the lande, con­syderynge the vnablenesse of Hilde­ryche y ^e kynge, that he was vnsuffy­cyent to rule so great a charge / dy­uyded the lande of Fraunce betwene theym. So that eyther of them shuld [Page LXXX] vnder the kynge, rule and gouerne suche porcyon as then there was to them appoynted.

After the whyche porcyon Charl­mayne herynge of the dyuysyon and stryfe amonge the Almaynes / as thynge belongynge to hys charge, spedde hym thyther in all haste. And after a parte of that countrey wastyd and spoylyd / and dyuerse of theyr stronge holdys caste playne wyth the erthe / he brought theym to due subieccyon.

And soone after he went agayne the Bauarys / y ^e whyche by his knyghtely strength, he appeased in lykewyse. In all whyche tyme and season / Pe­pyn hys brother was occupyed in defendynge of the other partyes of Fraunce.

Then this foresayde Charlmayne steryd by dyuyne inspyracyon, or as some authours meane, as he before tyme hadde auowyd / sodeynely re­nouncyd and gaue ouer all worlde­ly prosperyte and domynyon, and with pure deuocyon yode to Rome. where of the pope then named za­charias / he wyth all honour and ioy was receyuyd, and of hym shorne a munke, and dwelled a season in an abbaye of hym selfe buylded in the mounte Sarapte. But for he sawe that dayly drewe to hym many great lordes of Fraunce / by meane wher­of he was lette from hys dyuyne ser­uyce and contemplacyon: he ther­fore yode thens to the mounte Cas­syne, & there endyd his naturall lyfe.

After whose thus departynge or gyuynge ouer of the sayde Charle­mayne / Pepyn as onely ruler, toke vppon hym the charge of the hole realme.

In thys passe tyme Gryffon the yonger brother was enlargyd from prysone / and by fauoure of hys bre­therne was assygned to suche posses­syons, as to hym was demed suffy­cyent to lede an honorable lyfe.

How be yt when he sawe that hys brother Pepyn hadde all the rule and he nothynge: he dysdayned hys sayde brother / and thoughte no len­ger to contynue in that maner, but to be partener of the rule of the lande as Charlemayne hys brother hadde ben. And this to brynge to hys pur­pose, he fledde vnto the Saxons, whyche as after shall appere were named Normans. And with the prynce of theym made alyaunce / so that wyth theyr ayde he mouyd warre a­gayne his brother, and assembled a stronge hoste. wherof Pepyn be­ynge warnyd, gaderyd hys people / and passynge thorow came to the ryuer of Sunaha, or after the latyne tonge Smussaha / and Gryffon sped hym tyll he came to a ryuer called Onacre.

whē these .ii. hostes were thus nere, meanes of treatye were soughte on both partyes. Durynge whych communycacyon / Gryffon hauynge susspeccyon to the Saxons that were on his parte, leste they wold betraye hym and yelde hym into the handes of his brother, made for that tyme a sleyght agrement / and shortly after departyd from the sayd Saxōs, and fled to the Bauarys or into Bayon. where he allyeng hym wyth dyuerse nobles and barons of Fraunce / ve­xyd and distourbed sore the duke and lorde of that countrey called Tassy­lon / and lastly dysceasyd hym of that lordshyppe. wherof Pepyn beynge warned, spedde hym thyther wyth great strength / and so bare hym that he had the better of his brother, and restoryd the sayd Tassylon vnto his right / & after retourned into Fraūce, ledynge wyth hym his brother Gryf­fon as his prysoner.

But ye was not long after, that by [Page] medyatours the sayde Gryffon was reconcilyd to his brother. And for he shuld be cōtent & haue no more cause to vary with his broder, there was assygned to hym, as wytnessyth y ^e frēch cronicle and other, xii. erldomes with in the realme of Fraunce. wyth the whyche bounteous gyfte he not beynge cōtente / the selfe same yere fled vnto y ^e duke of Guyan named Gayf­fer / and wyth hym newly conspyred agayne his sayde brother. But laste­ly he was there slayne as after shall appere.

Pepyn then consyderynge in hys mynde in what daunger and trouble hys father before hym had ruled the lande, & he now for his tyme in lyke agony and trouble / and the kynge, to whome belonged all the charge, kepte hys paleys & folowed all his delytes and pleasures, wythoute ta­kynge of any payne / wherfore con­syderynge the premysses, & for a re­formacyon of the same: sent hys ambassade to the pope then beynge za­charye before named, askyng hys aduyse, whether yt was more necessa­ry or welfull for the realme of Fraūce that he shulde be admytted for kyng that dyd nothynge but applye hys mynde to all pleasure of hys bodye, wythout cure or charge takynge vp­pon hym for the guydynge of the lande and the people of the same / or he that toke upon him all the charge and payne, in defence of the lande, and kepynge of the people in due subieccyon. To this the pope answeryd and wrote vnto Pepyn, that he was beste worthy and moste profytable for the realme to be admyttyd for kynge, that ruled well the comynal­tye by iustyce and prudence, and the enymyes therof defendyth and sub­dueth by his polycy and manhode. The whyche answere thus receyued frome the pope, and declared vnto the lordes and barons of the realme: anone they of one assente and mynde procedyd and went to the deposynge and puttynge downe of theyr kynge and gouernour Hylderyche. And in shorte space after closyd hym in a monastery or house of relygyon, when he hadde ben occupyer of a kynges rome by the name onely .x. yeres. And that done, the Frenche men ele­ctyd and chase Pepyn for theyr souerayne and kynge.

In the whyche Hilderyche or Childerych endyd the lyfe or progeny of Meroneus / of whome the Frenche kynges lynyally descendyd by contynuaunce of tyme as foloweth.

Meroneus.

x. yeres.

Childericus

xxiiii. yeres.

Clodoueus

xxx. yeres.

Dagobertus

xiiii. yeres.

Clodoueus

xvi. yeres.

Clotharius

iiii. yeres.

Theodoricus

iii. yeres.

Childericus

ii. yeres.

Lotharius

l. yeres.

Chilpericus

xxiiii. yeres.

Lotharius

xliii. yeres.

Clodoueus

iii. yeres.

Childebertus

xvii. yeres.

Dagobertus

xi. yeres.

Danyel

v. yeres.

Theodoricus

xiiii. yeres.

Theodoricus

xix. yeres

Hildericus

x. yeres

Anglia. THE .CL. CHAPITER.

SIgebertꝰ or Sigbertus the cosyne of Cutbert laste kynge of the westsaxons / beganne his reygne ouer y ^e sayd Saxons, in the yeres of y ^e in­carnacyon [Page LXXXI] of Cryst .vii. hūdred and xlv / and the .v. yere of Hildericꝰ then kyng of Fraunce. He was cruell and tyrannous to his subiectes / & turnyd theyr lawes and customes of his fore fathers after his owne wyll and pleasure. And for y ^e one of the noble men of his dominyon somdele sharply aduertysed him to chaūge his maners, and to behaue hym more prudently towarde his pleople / he therfore ma­lycyously caused hym to be putte to cruell deth.

About this tyme Egbertus, after the yonger wylfryde, was made archbyshoppe of yorke. The whyche brought agayn thyther the pall that his predecessours hadde forgone, syns the tyme that the fyrst Paulinꝰ had lefte that see and fled to Roche­ster in Kent, and there lefte the sayd pall. This Egbert was brother vn­to Egbert kyng of Northumberlād / by whose assystence and comforte, he dyd many thynges for the weale of y ^e see, & made there a noble library.

Then yt folowyth, for so myche as the kyng Sygebert contynued in his malyce & cruell condycyons / his subiectes conspired agayn hym, and putte hym from all kyngely dyg­nyte. So y ^t he fell after to great de­solacyon & mysery / in such wyse y ^t he was founden after in a wood or desolate place wandryng alone without cōforte. where he beyng so foundē by a swyne herd or vylayne, some tyme belongyng to the erle Cōbranꝰ y ^t he before tyme wyckydly had slayn / in auengement of his sayd lordes deth slew hym in y ^e sayd place. which sayd Sigebertus was thus depryued frō al houour / whē he after most writers had reygned or tyrannysed .ii. yeres.

THE .CLI. CHAPITER.

KEnulphus of the lyne or blode of Cerdicus fyrst kyng of westsaxons / began hys domynyon ouer the sayde westsaxons in the yere of grace .vii. hundred & .xlviii / and the vii. yere of Hildericus then kynge of Fraunce. The vertue of thys man passyd his fame. For after he hadde with the agrement of the westsaxons depryued Sygebert theyr kynge frō his authorite and regally / he fyrst appeasyd dyuers murmurs and grud­gis that kyndelyd among his subiectes / & set his lordshyp in great quyetnesse and rest touchynge theyr ciuyle dyscorde.

About the .viii. yere of the reygne of this Kenulphus / Offa slewe a ty­raunt named Beoruredus, y ^t before had slayne Ethelwald kyng of Mercia. After whose deth the sayde Offa as neuew to the sayd Ethelwald, reygned as kynge of that prouynce. Of this Offa is tolde many notable dedes, wherof somwhat I entende to shew. He hadde warre wyth the Northumbres, & thē for a tyme subdued. He also had warre wyth Etheldrede kynge of eest anglys / and wyth Eg­bert otherwyse called Pren kynge of Kent. whome he toke prysoner, and led hym bounden wyth hym into Mercia.

Then after these vyctoryes, Offa buylded the chyrch of wychcom. In tyme of the whyche buyldynge, in presens of .xiii. byshoppes and ma­ny other great estatys / kynge Offa enlargyd the sayde Egbert of imprysonement. In token wherof the people beynge there present / made such an exclamacyon of ioye and glad­nesse, that the chyrche therof range.

Thys kynge Offa hadde suche dyspleasure vnto the cytyzens of Caun­terburye / that he remoued the arch­byshoppes see by the agremente of the fyrste Adryane then pope, vnto Lychefelde. He also chased the Brytons or welshmē into walys / & made [Page] a famouse dyke betwene walys and the vtter bondys of Mercia or myd­le Englande / the whyche to this day is named Offedyche. And after he buyldyd there a chyrch, whych longe tyme after was called Offekyrke. This Offa also by angelycall inspyracyon, translatyd the holy protho­martyr saynt Albone / and was fyrst founder of that famous monasterye ouer that holy bodye. The whyche syns the fyrste foundacyon hath by sondry tymes ben perished and hurt by Danys & other / and newely syns that tyme reedyfyed. This holy Al­bon was martyred as before appe­ryth in the .lxvii. chapyter and storye of Cōstantius, about the yere of our lorde two hundred .lxxx. and .xvii. By whych reason he shuld lye or he were translatyd, ouer foure hundred and lx. yeres. This Offa also maried one of hys doughters to Bryghtricus y ^• was kynge of westsaxons. And for that in his tyme was varyaunce be­twene hym and the Frēche men, that passage of marchauntes was forbo­den: therfore he sente that famouse doctour Anselmus vnto Charlis the great then kynge of Fraunce, to co­mon the meanes of a peace. whyche Charlis hadde after thys Anselmus in suche fauour / that he became hys discyple.

Then retourne we to Kenelphus / y ^t whyche before tyme had had often warre wyth Offa, and with hym many conflyctes, and lastely agreed. About the .xi. yere of thys Kenelphꝰ / Egbert kynge of Northumbres re­nouncyd his kyngly dignyte, and became a munke.

And lastely the sayde Offa, when he had reygned ouer Mercia .xxxix. yeres, as sayth Guydo / he lefte the kyngdome to hys sonne also named Kenelphus, and yode to Rome.

And this Kenulphꝰ kynge of westsaxon / kepte strongely hys lordshyp agayn y ^e power of all his enymyes, & hadde his subiectes in due order of obedyence. Lastly Kenulph was supprysed wyth the loue of a womā that he kept at Merton / and hauntyd her more secretly then stode wyth his honour. wherof hauynge knowlege a kynnesman of Sygebert late kyng, entendynge to reuēge the deposynge of his kynnesmā / awayted the tyme, and beset the house where Kenulphe & his paramour was smally accōpa­nyed. But so soone as Kenulph had espyed his enymyes / he serte vppon them, whych as sayth Policronicon were .lxxx. in nōber, and fought with them a longe whyle. But in the ende he was slayn of Clyto or Clyton his enymye.

It was not longe after or worde sprang of the kynges deth. wherfore Offricꝰ then beynge mayster of the kynges knyghtes / toke wyth hym a certayn of the sayde chyualry, & pursued vpon the sayd murderers / & lastly encountred wyth them, and slewe the sayde Clyto theyr captayne with the more parte of his companye. And that done he retourned to Mer­ton / and there toke the corps of Ke­nulphe, and with great solemnyte cō ueyed yt vnto wynchester / where yt was with all reuerēce enterryd / whē he hadde ruled the westsaxons (all be yt that of hym the englyshe cronycle maketh no mencyon) .xxxi. yeres.

Francia. THE .CLII. CHAPITER.

PIpinus the secōd sonne of Charlis Martell, began his reygne ouer y ^e Frenchemen, in y ^e yere of grace .vii. hundred and .l / & [Page LXXXII] the seconde yere of Kenulphus then kyng of westsaxons. This as before ye haue harde, was elected to that honoure, by assent of Pope zachary, & the consent of the nobles of Fraūce / and after he was confermyd of the seconde Stephan, when he satte after as Pope.

The fyrste yere of his reygne / the Saxons otherwyse called Danys or Normannys, beganne to warre vppon hym. The whyche he encountred at the ryuer of Isayr / and them knyghtly ouercame, and chased and brought them fynally vnder his subieccyon. And in his returnynge into the countrey of Fraunce / word was brought to him of the deth of his brother Gryffon / the whych as before is sayde fledde vnto Gayferus duke of Guyan, and there helde hym to the ende for to haue caused the people of Guyan to haue rebellid, and to make warre agayne his brother Pepyn. wherof when some of them consyde­ryd the malycyous and vnstable condycyons of hym / in auoydyng more daunger, that to theyr countrey by his meanes myght ensue, they fell sodeynly vppon hym and slew hym.

when Pepyn was retourned into Fraunce / he by the aduyse of Remi­gius then byshoppe of Roan, amen­dyd the state of the chyrche / and cau­syd goddes seruyce to be songe, that before tyme hadde ben wyth lytle deuocyon and reuerence done and vtteryd. And other spyrytuall thynges that before were mysorderyd / he caused them to be sette in a better forme. And shortly after Stephā aboue named, confyrmed this Pepyn and his heyres for kynges of Fraunce / and of hym axyd ayde and assystence to wythstāde the power of Aystulphus then kyng of Longobardes / y ^e which then warryd vppon certayne landes belongyng vnto the chirch of Rome. The whyche kenge Pepyn to hym with good wyll graūtid / & the begynnynge of the nexte yere folowynge, wyth a great hoste enteryd the boun­des of Italy / and in the same made sharpe and cruell warre. In defence wherof the sayde Aystulphus made his beste prouysyon / and defendyd y ^e straytes and moūtaynes, by y ^e which the Frenche men shuld haue further entre into hys lande / and there gaue vnto his enymyes a stronge fyghte. All be yt he wyth his people was forcyd to gyue backe / & for hys refuge toke y ^e citie of Papye. wherof Pepyn hauynge informacyon / beclyppyd y ^e sayd cytye wyth a strong syege. when Aystulphꝰ had a season defended hys cytye / & saw by experiēce dayly his enimyes encreace, & his power mynyshe and feble / in auoydynge of extreme daunger, he sought meanes of peace / and in suche wyse pursued the same, that he finally hadde peace to hym graunted / vppon condycyon that he by a daye lymytted, shuld re­store to y ^e pope all ryght to his chirch belongynge, that he or any for hym helde or before tyme hadde wythol­den / wyth other thynges concer­nynge the sayde peace. And for the perfourmaunce of the sayde condy­cyōs / he deliueryd immediatly good hostages and pledgys. After whyche peace thus substancially confermed / Pepyn wyth his hoste wyth great tryumphe retourned into Fraunce.

But not wythstandyng this assuryd peace, by the confyrmacyon of othe and other cyrcumstaunce before shewyd / the nexte yere folowynge he trustynge vppon better fortune of warre, denyed and reuokyd all his former grauntes / and refused to do as before he hadde fyrmyly promy­sed. For this vnstablenes and vn­trouth to remedy / the pope of newe made requeste vnto Pepyn. The [Page] which wythout longe taryeng resembled his knightes, & made good sped towarde Italy / & not wythout daū ­ger passyd the mountaynes / and fy­nally besyeged Aystulphus wythin y ^e foresayd cytye of Papy. By meane wherof he lastly was constrayned to restore certayne cyties and other possessyons that before tyme he had ta­ken from the pope.

After the whych agrement endyd and perfyted / wythin a shorte terme the sayde Aistulphus beynge in hys dysporte of huntynge, fell from hys horse or with his horse. By vyolence wherof he was so brosyd, that he dyed shortly after / whan he had ru­led the Longobardes, Lumbardys, or Italyans .viii. yeres.

After this vyctory thus obteyned by Pepyn / the lordes and prynces that dwellyd aboute hym, feryd and drad hym, and sought to hym for al­lyaunce & amyte. Amonge the whych Tassylon duke of Bayon before spoken of, that newly hadde conspyred agayn hym / yelded hym to the kyng, and became hys trewe lyege man / and swore to hym and to hys two sonnes feawte.

But the Saxons, whyche in the Frenche boke are named Soysons / coude neuer hold them cōtent with­out dystorbynge of the Frenchemen. wherfore kynge Pepyn assembled a greate hoste and made towarde thē, and had wyth them dyuerse conflyc­tes and batayles. So that at length they were dryuen to aske peace / vpō condicyō that yerely after they shuld yelde vnto the kynge of Fraunce iii. hundred good horses in waye of trybute.

And that done he retourned into Fraūce / and immedyatly after ordeyned by the aduyse of hys counceyle a courte or counceyle / y ^e whiche at this day is called y ^e parlyamēt of Fraūce, and is lyke vnto the courte of reque­stes now at this day holden in Eng­land. How be it y ^t of mych greater resort of people, and therwyth veray delayous / in so mych that as I haue herde credyble persons say / some one mater hath hanged there in dysputacyon ouer .xx. yeres. The whych par­lyament at this daye is kepte at Pa­rys, at Roan, and other two places of the lande. And for iudges of thys counceyll or parlyament, is deputyd of the kynges coste in euery place where it is kepte an hūdred persons, what of one and what of an other.

Than it foloweth, Gayfer duke of Guyan before mynded / of wyll more than of reason, set a trybute or imposycyon vppon the spyrytuall landes wythin hys lande wythout agrement of the clergy. wherfore the byshoppes for a redresse and remedy cōplayned them vnto kynge Pepyn. Then Pepyn sent vnto hym / mone­stynge hym in fayre and goodly ma­ner, that he shuld exchew and forbere such doyng. And for the duke wolde not abstayne for the kynges cōmaū ­dement / he in shorte whyle assembled hys army, and entred the territory of Guyan / in wastynge and spoylynge the countrey. And in so shorte whyle after put the duke in suche fere, that he was fayne to aplye hym to y ^e kyn­ges mynde and pleasure / and bound hym to restore to the clergy all that he had before taken by extort power. But whan the sayde duke was assu­ryd of y ^e kinges retorne into Fraūce / he gathered a strength of knyghtes, and sent theym to the cytye of Cha­lours in Burgoyne / and dyd that he cowde or myghte to the domage of that towne and countrey. In whych season the kynge was at the towne or cytye called Dury / whyther and to the whyche towne tydynges were brought to hym of the vntrew dea­lynge [Page LXXXIII] of thys foresayd duke. where wyth he beynge sore dyscontent / re­tournyd wyth his people into Guyā and therein bete downe many strong holdys & castlellys / and toke or wōne at length burbon, Cancaruyle, and Cleremoūt / and from thens wasting the coūtrey wyth iron and fyre, yode tyll he came to Lymoges. And for y ^e wynter came on hande / the kyng for the ease and sauegard of his people, strengthyd these foresayde cytyes, townes, and holdes, that he before had wonne / and than yode to a place called Cause or Caus, & there kepte hys crystmasse and ester. And whan the new season was come / not forgettynge hys former purpose, reentryd the foresayd duchy of Guyan, in wastynge the londe as he before hadde done / and after toke by strength the cytyes of Burgies and Towrs. In whyche season and tyme the duke wolde neuer apere in playne felde, but kepte hym in strong holdes / & as one was wone, he fled into another.

Thys warre thus contynuynge / the countreye and people were sore empouerysshed. wherfore they lastly consyderynge the obstynacy of theyr duke / wyth also the greate daunger which they stode in: murderyd theyr sayde duke / and after yelded them & the coūtrey to the kynges obeysaūce, wyth all suche treasure and iewelles as to the sayd duke belonged / where of Pepyn offerd a great parte of thē vnto saynte Denys.

Thys warre thus ended, wyth many other notable workes whereof the rehersall in order wolde aske a longe tracte of tyme: thys vyctory­ous prynce Pepyn was vexed wyth greuous sykenesse. wherfore in all haste he sped hym vnto saynt Mar­tynes, where he made certayne obla­cyons and prayers / and thens hys sykenesse encreasyng, was conueyed vnto Parys / where he shortly after dyed, when he had reygned as kynge by the terme of .xviii. yeres / leuynge after him .ii. sonnes, that is for to say Charle mayne and Charlys.

THE .CLIIII. CHAPITER.

CArolomanus and Charlys sonnes of Pepyn / begā theyr reygne ioyntly ouer the Frenchmen, in the yere of our lorde .vii. hundred lxviii / and the .xx. yere of Kenulphe than kynge of westesaxons / so that Charlemayne had to his parte myd­dell Fraunce, and Charlys had Au­stracy wyth y ^e other deale of Fraūce.

Of y ^e elder brother Charlemayne lytell is lefte in memory / for he dyed whan he had reygned lytell ouer .ii. yeres. wherfore to Charlys fell the hole realme of Fraunce / the whyche of all the nobles was ioyously ad­mytted.

It was not longe after / Hunyl­dys whom Pepyn by hys lyfe hadde ordeyned ruler of Guyan, rebellyd agayne the kynge, wherfore Char­lys preparyd anone hys armye, and sped hym thyder / and in processe of tyme constrayned the sayd Hunyldꝰ to forsake the countrey, and for hys tuycyon to flee vnto Lupus than duke of Gascoyne, wherfore Char­lys beynge aduertysed, sent hys message to the sayd Lupus / wyllynge & commaundyng hym that he in spedy maner, shulde sende to hym hys re­bell Hunyldus, or els he wolde with hys army inuade & spoyle his people and coūtrey. Uppon resceyt of which message, Lupus by coūceyll condes­cendyd to the kynges pleasure / so y ^t he causyd Hunyldus to submyt hym vnto the kynges grace and mercy. wherewyth the kynge was so well contentyd, that vppon assuraunce taken of the sayd Hunyldus, y ^t there after he shulde be of good aberynge [Page] toward the kyng / he clerely forgaue vnto hym all hys former offence. And after he had set that countrey in a rule and order / he retornyd into Fraunce. where to hym soone after came an embassade from the fyrste Adryan than pope / requyrynge hym of ayde agayne Desyderiꝰ thā kyng of Longobardys / the whyche than had taken from the chyrche of Rome many cytyes and other possessyons.

Than Charlys acceptyng the po­pes request / or he began any warre agayne the sayde Desyderius, sente vnto hym an embassade / wyllynge and requyrynge hym in all honora­ble wyse to restore vnto the chyrche of Rome, all suche possessyons as he from the same chyrche before tyme hadde taken and yet withhelde / and also to refrayne hym from all suche warre as he dayly made vppon the londys of the sayd chyrche. But for he sawe no frute ensue of y ^e message / he made prouysyon for all thyng ne­defull to such a iourney. And shortly after passed the mountaynes, not all wythout batayle / and in processe cō ­strayned Desyderiꝰ to take the cytye of Uercyle. where after he hadde re­fresshed hys Italyans / he gaue vn­to the Frenchemen a sharpe and cru­ell batayle. But in the ende, Desyderius was compellyd to forsake the felde, and fled after to the forenamed cytye of Papy / where he kepte hym as after shall appere a longe whyle.

And for to shewe you somewhat of the foresayde batayle / ye shall vn­derstande that for the greate occysyō of men y ^t there was slayne / the place was called longe after Mortaria, that is to meane in our vulgare or mother tonge the place of deth. In this fyghte were slayne amonge o­ther two knyghtes greately famyd, Amys and Amylyon / of whom some fables are reportyd, bycause they were so lyke of semblaunt.

These two knyghtes as wytnes­syth the Frenche story and also An­toninus / were brought vppe in the court of the foresayde Charles, and wyth hym well cherysshed / and fy­nally here slayne and buryed after some wryters in the two chappellys, whyche in the foresayde place were buylded to praye for the greate mul­tytude of the soules of these knygh­tes that there were slayne. But who that is desyrous to knowe the hole lyfe of those two foresayd knyghtes / let hym ouerse the thyrde chapyter of the .xiiii. tytle of Antoninus / and he shall there fynde a compendyous and goodly story / the whyche for length I ouerpasse and retorne my style agayne to Charlys. The which whan he was ware that Desyderius had taken thys cytye of Papy / and it greatly strengthyd both with men and vytell, in such wyse that he well vnderstode y ^t it myghte not be short­ly wonne: he therfore layde about it a stronge syege wyth the ouersyght of sure and wyse capytayns / and af­ter yode to Rome to vysyte the holy apostles Peter and Poule, and also to speke wyth the pope for dyuers maters. where he taryed a greate parte of the wynter folowynge, and after retorned vnto Papy / whych as yet was not delyueryd nor gyuē vp.

But it was not longe after his re­torne that the cytye was wonne / wherein was takyn as prysoner the sayde Desyderius wyth hys wyfe and chyldren. The whyche to make shorte processe, he at length forcyd hym to restore vnto the pope all such possessyons as he before tyme hadde taken from hys chyrche / and addyd more there vnto, the two cytyes of Spoletys and Beneuent. And fy­nally depryued hym of all kyngely honoure, and ladde hym as prysoner [Page LXXXIIII] into Fraunce / and as a prysoner or exyle from hys naturall countreye kepte hym at the cytye of Lyons, as wytnessyth Cronica cronicarum, Iacobus Philippus, and other. And after by agremēt the pope gaue that kyngdome vnto Pypynus hys son / the whych cōtynued so in the French mens rule and possessyon, ouer the terme of two hundred yeres.

For thys vyctoryous dede thus obteyned by Charlis / the forenamed pope graūted vnto hym many great pryuyleges. Amonge the nomber whereof, one was that no pope du­rynge the lyfe of Charlys, shulde be in no wyse electid or chosyn tyll there came from hym a commaundement to go to that eleccyon. And also he graunted vnto hym inuestyture of benefyces spyrytuall. whyche grauntes and pryuyleges were confermed and authorysed in a Synode of an hundreth and .liii. bysshoppes, kepte in Fraunce by cōmaundement of the foresayd Adryan.

Of thys Charlys longe and te­dyous it were to tell the hole of hys actes and dedes. wherfore I entende to towche but a parte of theym / and for the other deale I remitte to them y ^t haue further desyre of knowlege, vnto the bokes of Turpyn and Egyueaux chaplayne to the sayde Char­lys / or ellys to the sayd bysshop Turpyn, whyche wrote a longe worke of hys vertuous dedes.

THE .CLV. CHAPITER.

THis Charlys marcyall after his re­torne into Fraūce / without there lōge taryeng sped hym agayne to the forenamed people cal­led Soysons or Saxons, whyche newly rebellyd / and warryd sharpely vppon them, and fought wyth them sondry batayles. Amonge the whyche two ben specyally noted / whereof that one was foughten at a place called Onacre, and that other at the ryuer of Esam or Hesayre. By whyche two batayls the Saxons loste moch of theyr peo­ple, and were so sore feblysshed that they were fayne shortely after to put them in the mercy of Charlys. By reason wherof he bonde them vnto certayne lawes and ordynaunces / wherof specyally one as pryncypall of them, was that they frō that daye forth, shulde renounce and forsake theyr worshyppynge of idollys and fals goddes, and beleue in the fayth of Crystes chyrch, wyth many other. For the performynge of the whyche couenauntes / the kyng toke of them good pledgys & hostages. And more ouer to the ende to mynysshe & make lesse theyr strengthe / he chase out of them .x. thousande of the moste apte men for the warrys, and conueyed them wyth hym into Fraunce. And after he hadde clothed them with the mantell of baptyme / takynge of thē assuryd othe to be trewe to hym and to hys heyres: he after inhabyted them in dyuers places of his realme. Of the whyche people, as affermeth myne authoure, descendyd the Flemmynges and Brabāders. And thus endyd the warre of the Saxons or Soysons, that hadde contynued by the terme of many yeres passyd.

And forthwyth by assent and ad­uyse of hys counceyle / he preparyd all abilymentes and ordynaunce of warre, to go agayne y ^e Hunys y ^t then had wonne great groūd in Spayne. And for to bryng this war to y ^e more effectuall ende / he chase .xii. perys, which after some wryters are called dozeperys or kynges. Of the whiche [Page] vi. were byshoppes & .vi. temporall lordes. Of the whyche byshoppes thre were named dukes, whych were archbyshops / & .iii. erlys, which were byshoppes. Of the temporall lordes thre were dukes and thre erlys / that is to saye the duke of Burgoyne, the duke of Neustria or Normandy, and the duke of Guyan / & for .iii. erlys, the erle of Palantyne, y ^e erle of Tholons, and the erle of Champayn. Of y ^t whyche also some writers afferme, that y ^e famouse knyghtes Rowland and Olyuer were .ii / as Roulād erle of Palātyne. & Olyuer erle of Tho­lous. when Charlis had prepared all thynges necessary to this gret iourney / he fyrste made his pylgrymage vnto saynte Denys, and there offerd ryche great gyftes, and after proce­dyd towarde his iourney / and fyrste besyegyd the citye called Pāpilona / the whych after .iii. monethes he subdued to his obeysaunce. This cytye stode in the entre of Spayne in the montaynes callyd montes Pyreni. After the obteynynge of whyche cy­tye, and by myracle of saynt Iamys as sayth Antoninus / Charlis com­maūded all such as to Crystes fayth wolde be conuertyd, shuld be sauyd / & the other to passe by sentence of the sworde. And after he hadde wonne y ^e fyrste cytye he wanne all the coūtrey adioynynge to the same / by reason wherof he caste great fere vnto the myscreantis / and wan by his strēgth and by appoyntemēt (so that they became his trybutaryes) these coūtres and prouynces hereafter ensuynge / that is to saye as wytnessyth Uyncēt historyall, Antoninus, and other y ^e land of Laudeluffe, the land of Par­dis, the lande of Castyll, the lande of Maurys, the prouynce of Nauerne, the countrey of Portyngall, the lāde of Byscaye, & the lande of Palarge / and destroyed in them all idollis and buyldyd in them chyrches and monasteryes / and brought the more par­tye of them to Crystes relygyon. And moste specyally the chyrche of saynt Iamys he buylded in Cōpos­tella wyth sumptuous coste / & gaue there vnto great possessyons, to the maynteynyng of the diuyne seruyce of god and the mynysters of y ^e same. And ouer that with the treasour that he gate in these foresayd countreys / he buyldyd many dyuerse chyrches, as well in other places as there.

Longe yt were to tell all the cyrcū ­staunce of this vyage and vyctoryes of the same. wherfore I passe ouer. And when Charlys hadde sped hys nedys / he had good wyll to retourne into Fraunce. In the whych retorne Carlis castynge no dought nor pa­rell / by the treason of Gauelon a knyght or ruler of Gascoyn / y ^e which Gauelon hadde receyuyd of a Pay­nym kynge named Marsyll, great & ryche gyftes for to betraye the hoste of Charlis, was dysceyuyd as after shewyth. Thys Gauelon the better to compasse and brynge to effecte his purpose / aduised Charlis wyth a certayne of his people to passe the porte of Cesayre, and to leue behynde hym in the rerewarde Rouland & Olyuer wyth .xx. thousande of the resydue of his hoste. And when the kynge was passyd wyth his hoste / he gaue war­nynge vnto the forenamed Marsyll and other, that they shulde close the sayde Rowlande in the place callyd Rounceuale. The whych accordyng to that false counsayll / with an hoste of .lx. thousande or mo, beclyppyd Rowlande and his people on euery syde, and there fell vppon the Crystē men and slew them wythoute mercy or pytye. In the whyche fyght, not wythstandynge the great slaughter that they made of the Sarasyns / fynally was there slayne the sayd Rowlande, [Page LXXXV] Olyuer, and many of the no­bles of Fraunce. But this Gauelon scapyd not wythoute punyshement. For he was after taken / and wyth other to hym condescēdyng, were put to moste cruell deth at the cytye of Aquisgrany.

Of thys great vyctory of Charlis in subduynge of Spayn / are dyuers opynyons. For the Frenche cronycle and Antoninus agreen, that it shuld be after that Charlis was ennoynted emperour of Rome. But mayster Robert Gaywyn and other say, that yt was before he was emperour.

Thus this victoryous prynce re­tournynge into Fraunce, subdued thā after diuerse coūtreys, as Gallia Narbonensis, Campania or Cham­payn, and Beneuentana, and other / whych of one mynde hadde rebellyd agayne hym.

Aboute the .xxxi. yere of his reygne as moste wryters agre / certayne per­sons of Italy conspyred agayn Leo the .iii. then Pope of Rome, and hym vngoodly entreatyd. But he lastely escapyng theyr daunger / came vnto Charlis, and requyryd hym of hys cōfort and ayde / wherof he was not daungerous. But when he had well serchyd, and vnderstode that y ^e pope had susteyned wrong / he wyth all dylygence spedde hym thyther. And after he had subdued y ^e popes enimies / he restoryd the sayd pope to hys for­mer dignyte. For the which dede and other that he had done for y ^e defence of the chyrch of Rome / he was by the sayd pope Leo or Leon sacryd or en­oyntyd emperour of Rome.

THE .CLVI. CHAPITER.

CHarlis then thus sacryd as emperour, in the yere of oure lord .viii. hundred and one / when he hadde accomplyshed hys nedys for the weale of the chyrch and the pope, he then wyth great gyftes retourned into Fraunce.

In this tyme or soone after as witnessyth the Frenche cronycle, landed in Fraunce the famous clerkes Al­cinnus or Albinus, Rabanus, & Io­hannes, and other of the discyples of Beda. The whych Charlis receyued wyth great honour / and by theyr coū saylys instytuted and ordeyned fyrst the scole of Paris, and an other at Papia in Italy before minded. wherfore yt shulde seme that the sayde Alcinnus was not sent for any entrea­tyse of peace betwene the two real­mes of Fraunce and great Britayn, as in the storye of Kenulphus before is shewyd.

After this tyme and season many great and noble dedis were done by this sayd Charlis, and by his sonnes and capytaynes vnder hym, and by his commaundement.

And for the personage of so noble a prynce shuld be had in mynde / ther­fore dyuerse authours testyfye y ^t he was fayre & welfaryng of body, and sterne of loke & of face. His body was viii. fote long / & his armes & legges well lengthed & strengthed after the proporcyon of the body. His face of a spāne brede / & his berde very long. Of hys strength wonders are tolde. He wold at one mele ete an hole hare or two hennes, or a hole gose, or lyke quātyte of other mete / & drynke ther to a litle wyne mynglyd with water.

Amonge his other notable dedis, he made a brydge ouer the ryuer of Ryne of .v. hūdred pace longe, by the cytye of Magunce. And he buylded as wytnessyth Antoninꝰ and other / as many abbayes or monasteryes as there ben letters in the crosse row of the A.B.C.

And in the front of eyther of y ^e sayd abbayes, after the tyme of theyr foū ­dacion [Page] / he pight or set a letter of gold of the value of an hundred pounde turnoys, whych is nere to the value of englysh money now curraunt .xx. mark. For a poūde turnoys is mych lyke .ii. s.viii. d. starlyng / and a poūd Parysyen is nere vppon .xl. d. star­lyng. But it standyth at no certayn­te, for hyghtynge & lowynge of theyr coynes.

He also buylded or new reedyfyed the cytye of Aquisgrany / & endowyd the chyrch of our lady there wyth many great gyftes and precyouse rely­ques, whyche yet remayne there to this daye / in whych cytye and nere aboute, he vsyd myche to abyde & lye. And for his great dedes & vyctory­es / he deserued to be named Charlis y ^e great. And for all his great myght and honour / yet y ^t not wythstādynge he was meke and lowly in herte, and mylde & gracyous to the poore, and mercyfull to wretches & nedy / & sette his sonnes to lerne, as wel letters as marcyall & knyghtly featys. And his doughter he set to spynnynge & woll worke. And he was expert in all spe­chys / so that he neded none interpre­tours to explane or expresse to hym y ^e message of straunge ambassatours. And in the tyme of his dyner or meales / he vsyd to haue red before hym lessons and pystles / and specyally of the workes of saynte Austayne de Ciuitate dei. In hym was nothynge to be dyscommendyd / but that he helde his doughter so longe vnmaryed.

This noble man Charlis .iii. yeres before his deth / he hadde peace wyth all countreys, as well suche as were obeysaunt vnto y ^e empyre, as such as longed to his domynyon of Fraūce. In the tyme of reste amonge other goodly & vertuous dedys, he made hys testamēt / & dystrybuted his temporall mouable goodes in .iii. ꝑtes. wherof two part he gaue to y ^e maynteynynge of bishoppes and other mynysters of the chyrch, and for the re­paracion of chyrches & necessaries to the same, and to the maynteynynge of the dyuyne seruyce of god, with also ayde and fedynge of poore & nedy people / and the thyrde parte to hys chyldren and other of his allye.

ye shall vnderstande, this Charlis had in his treasory specyally noted before hys other iewellys, iiii. tables or bordes / wherof thre were of syluer and the fourth of gold. In one was grauē the lykenes of the cytye of Cō stantyne the noble, the whych he be­quath to the chyrche of Romē. In an other was grauen or wrought the lykenysse of the cytye of Rome / & that he gaue to the byshop of Reynes and to his chyrche. And the thyrd table of syluer, wherin was grauen the mappa mundi / and the fourth of gold he gaue to his sonnes.

Many thynges there were and causys of the exaltyng of y ^e fame of this prynce. But among other one is specyally remembryd of myn authoure Gagwyne / that the kynge of Percye then rulynge a great parte of y ^e Ori­ent / sent vnto Charlis an ambassad honorable wyth many ryche presen­tis. Amonge the whyche was an ho­rologe of a clocke of laten of a won­der artyfycyall makyng, that at eue­ry oure of the daye and nyghte when the sayd clocke shuld stryke, images on horse backe apperyd out of son­dry places, and after departid agayn by meane of certayne vyces.

He sente to hym also tentys of ry­che sylke and balme naturall, with certayne Olyfauntys / requyrynge hym of amyty and frendshyppe. And in lyke wyse dyd the emperour of Cō stantyne the noble / all be yt thathe in his mynde was not well contentyd, that the pope had in y ^e wyse dyuyded the empyre, and sette suche a man of [Page LXXXVI] myghte in the rome therof.

Thys Charlis had dyuers wyues. But of the seconde named Eldegard he receyued .iii. sonnes / that is to say Lewys, Pepyn, & Charlis / y ^e whyche Pepyn he made kynge of Longobardes or Italy, as before is shewyd.

Of thys great conqueroure what shulde I holde lenger processe? For lyke as I before shewyd / of his notable dedys myght I make a great volume, yf I shuld of them shew the clerenesse, and the circūstaunce of euery cōquest that he in his tyme acheuyd. But deth that is to all ꝑsones egall / lastly toke him in his dymme daūce, when he had ben kynge of Fraunce with his brother & alone .xlvii. yeres. Of the whyche he ruled the empyre as before is shewyth .xiiii. yeres, in y ^e yere of his age as sayen the frenche cronycles .lxxii / and was buryed at Aquisgrany wyth great pompe, in y ^e yere of our lordes incarnacyon .viii. hundred and .xv. wyth this superscripcyon vppon his toumbe.

Caroli Magne christianissimi imperatoris Romanorū corpus, sub hoc sepulchro conditū est. which may be englished as folowith.

Of Charlis the great and empe­rour moste crysten.

Of Rome, the bodye is hyd thys toumbe wythin.

Of the forenamed sonnes of Char­lys suruyued y ^e eldest Lewys by na­me / and the other two Pepin & Charlys dyed, before theyr father.

Anglia. THE .CLVII. CHAPITER.

BRigthricus of the blood of Cerdicꝰ fyrst kyng of westsaxons descēdyd / beganne hys rey­gne ouer the sayd Saxons, in yere of oure lorde .vii. hundred and .lxxviii / and the .x. yere of Charlis the great then kynge of Fraunce.

This before tyme hadde maryed one of the doughters of Offa kynge of Mercia, as before is touchyd / by whose ayde and power he put out of hys rule Egbert the sonne of Alcu­mundus / the whyche Egbert at that daye was an vnder kynge or ruler in the lordshyppe of westsaxon, whyche Egbert was descendyd of y ^e blood of the holy Genulphus / of whome som parte of the storye ys declared in the .xxv. chapyter of the .v. boke of Po­licronica. And after he was thus of Brigthricus expulsyd / he saylyd in­to Fraunce, and there exercysyd hymselfe in featys of warre wyth the knyghtes of Charlys courte, durynge the lyfe of the sayde Brigthricus.

About the .ii. yere of thys Brigthricus, was sene in great Brytayne a wonder syghte. For sodeynly as men walked in y ^e strete / crossys lyke vnto blood fell vppon theyr clothes, and blood fell from heuen lyke drop­pes of rayne.

This after some exposytours / be­tokened the commynge of the Da­nes into this lande, the whyche en­tryd shortely after. For as wytnes­syth Polycronica, aboute the .ix. yere of Brigthricus the Danys fyrste entryd this lande. In defence wherof / thys sayde kynge sent forth hys ste­warde of housholde wyth a smalle company, whych shortly was slayn. But by the strength of Brygthricus and the other kynges of Saxons / they were cōpellyd to voyde the land for that tyme and season.

Brigthricus thus well & knyght­ly rulynge his land / his wyfe named Ethelburga not wyth hym cōtentyd as she oughte to be, soughte dyuerse wayes and meanes how she myghte brynge her lorde oute of lyfe / so that [Page] fynally she poysoned hym wyth ma­ny other of hys housholde meyny. wherfore she ferynge punyshement, fledde into Fraunce / and by suche frēdshyppe as she there hadde, was well cheryshed in Charlis courte surnamed the great.

Of her yt is told, that whan he had hadde some informacyon of the vn­stablenes of this womans condycy­ons / he at that season beynge a wy­dowar, vppon a season in passynge of the tyme wyth her / sayde, nowe I put to youre choyse whyther ye wyll haue me vnto your wedded lorde, or ellys my sonne stādyng here in your presence. And hym that you chose / hym shall you haue and enioye for your husbande. But she chase y ^e son and lefte the father. Then sayde the kynge / yf thou haddest chosen me, thou shuldest haue hadde my sonne. But for thou haste forsaken me thou shalt haue nother of vs. And after he closyd her in an abbey, where in processe a lewde man kept with her such company, that she was voydyd that place / and after demeaned her so vycyously, that in processe of tynie she fell in such pouerte, that she dyed in great penurye and myserye. For the whyche mysse demeanure of this woman, that she had innaturally slayne her lorde and husbande / the kyng of Anglis and specially of westsaxons, wolde not suffer the wyues to be cal­lyd Sueuys / nor yet suffer them to sette by them in places of great ho­nour or kyngely sete by a long tyme after. Thus as before is shewyd by the impoysonynge of his own wyfe, dyed y ^e kynge Brigthricus / when he had ruled y ^e westsaxōs after most concorde of writers by the terme of .xvii. yeres.

THE .CLVIII. CHAPITER.

EGbertus the sonne of Alcumū dꝰ as before is shewyd / began hys reygne ouer the westsaxons in y ^e yere of grace .vii. hundred .lxxx. and xv / and y ^e .xxvii. yere of Charlis the great then kynge of Fraunce. Thys as before is sayde was dryuen oute of the lande of Britayne by y ^e strēgth of Brigthricus. But he hauynge knowlege of hys deth / spedde out of Fraunce, and in so knyghtely wyse hym demeaned, that he obteyned the regiment and gouernaunce of the a­boue sayde kynge.

Bernulphus kynge of Mercia had this Egbert in derysyon / and made therof dyuerse scoffys & iapynge ry­mes, y ^t which he susteyned for a time. But when he was somdeale stablys­shed, and hadde prouyd the myndes and hartis of his subiectes / he lastly assembled his knyghtes, and gaue to hym a batayll in a place called Elyndome, in the prouynce of Hampton. And all be yt that in that fyght was great dyuersyte of nomber, as .vi. or viii. agayne one / yet Egbert had the victory. For his knyghtes were lene, megre, pale, and longe brethed, so that they myghte endure to fyghte. But Bernulphus knyghtes were fatte, corpulent, & shorte brethed / so that they were soone ouercome with swet and shorte labour.

Here is to be noted, that after the deth of Offa kyng of Mercia or middell Englande (of whome somwhat is touched in the story of Kenulphꝰ) reygned his son Egfertꝰ / & after Egfertꝰ reygned Kenulfus or Kēwolfus y ^e which Kenwolphus was father to y ^e holy martyr Kenelme, & to .ii. fayre vyrgyns Ouindred and Burgenulda or Ermenilda. And after Kenwolfus succedyd the foresayd Kenelme / and after Kenelme reygned Colwolphus / and after hym succedyd Ber­nulphus before named.

Then to retourne agayne to Eg­bert / the whych when he had as be­fore [Page LXXXVII] is sayd ouercome Bernulphus, he seasyd that lordshyppe into hys hande. And that done, he made war vppon the Kentyshe Saxons / and at lēgth in lyke wyse of them obteyned vyctorye. And as wytnessyth Poly­cronica, he also subdued the Nor­thumbrys / and caused the kynges of these thre kyngdomes to lyue vnder hym as trybutaryes or ioyned them to hys kyngedome as testyfyeth the authour of the Floure of hystories.

Thys Egbert also wanne from y ^e Brytons or walshemen the towne of Chester, that they hadde kepte possessyon of tyll that daye. For the whych vyctoryes thus by hym obteyned / he shortely after called a counsayll of his lordes at wynchester / and there by theyr aduysys crowned him kyng and chese lorde of this lande, that to fore thys daye is called Brytayne / and sente then oute into all costes of thys lande his commaundementes and commyssyons, chargyng straytly that from that day forthward, the Saxons shulde be called Anglys / & the lande Anglia.

About the .xxiiii. yere of the reygne of Egbert, whyche shulde be the yere of our lord as meaneth Policronica viii. hundred and .xix. Kenelmus be­fore mynded the son of Kenwolfus, was admytted for kynge of Mercia, beynge then a chyld of the age of .vii yeres. The whyche by treason of his syster Ouendreda was slayne in a thycke wood, by a tyraunt callid Hesbertus / and hys bodye after founde by a pyller of the sonne beame, or of lyght dyuyne that shone from his bodye towarde heuen. It ys also redde of hym, that a coluer bare a scrowle wryten in englyshe then vsed / and lette yt fall from hyr vppon the aul­ter of saynte Peter in Rome / wherof the wordes were these. At clense in Cowbacch, Kenelme Kenebern lyeth vnder Thorne hewyd beweuyd. whyche is to meane in englyshe now vsyd: at Clent in Cow vale vnder a thorne, lyeth Kenelmus hedlesse slayne by fraude.

when this holy body was founde, and was borne towarde the place of his sepulture / his forenamed syster entendynge some derysyon or other vylanye to be done to the corps, le­nyd oute of a wyndowe where by the corps shulde passe. And to bryng her malycyouse purpose aboute, I note by what sorcery she ment / there she redde the psalme of the Sauter / be­gynnynge Deus laudem, bacward, But what so her entente was / she there incontynently fell blynde, and her eyen dystylled dropes of blood, that fell vppon the Sauter boke. The which in token of goddes wret­che, in that boke remayne at thys daye to be sene. Of the holynes of thys martyr & of his vertue, y ^e legēde of sayntes reportyth the surplusage.

In the .xxix. yere of the reygne of Egbert, or after the englyshe crony­cle Edbryght / the Danys wyth a great hoste enteryd the seconde tyme thys londe, and spoyled the yle of Shepey in Kent or nere to kent. wherof herynge the kynge Egbert / assembled hys people, and met wyth theym at a place callyd Carrum. But he wanne of that fyghte lytell worshyppe / for the Danys compel­lyd him and his knyghtes to forsake the felde. And by presumpcyon of y ^e vyctorye they drewe westwarde / and made a confederey wyth weste Bry­tons that liued in seruage. By whose power they assayllyd Egbertus lan­des, and dyd myche harme in ma­ny placys of hys domynyon and el­lys where / so that after thys daye they were contynuallye abydynge in one place of the realme of En­glande or other, tyll y ^e tyme of harde [Page] Kynytus laste kynge of the Danys blood / so that many of theym were maryed to Englishe women, and many that nowe ben or in tyme passed were called englyshe men, are dyscendyd of theym. And all be yt that they were many and sondry tymes dry­uen out of that lande, and chasyd frō one countrey to a nother, as after ye shall here: yet that not wythstādyng they euer gaderyd newe strengthes and power / so that they abode styll wythin the lande.

Of the kynge of these Danys, and of what people they be dyscended, dyuerse opynyons of wryters there be / whych now I passe ouer, for so mych as I entende to shewe somewhat of theym in this worke folowynge.

Then it folowyth in the storye / the tyme contynuyng of the persecucion of these foresayd Paganys and Danes, Egbert or Edbryght dyed / whē he hadde well and nobly ruled the westsaxons and other the more parte of Englande, by the terme after most wryters of .xxxvii. yeres / and was buryed at wynchester as sayth Guydo, and lefte after hym a sonne named Athenulphus.

Francia. THE .CLIX. CHAPITER.

LOdouicus y ^e fyrst of that name, and sonne of Charlis the great / began hys reygne ouer y ^e realme of Fraū ce, & also his em­pyre ouer the Romaynes, in the yere of grace .viii. hū dred and .xv / and the .xx. yere of Eg­bertus then kynge of westsaxons. Thys for his mekenesse was callyd Lewys the mylde or meke.

In tyme of hys fathers decease he was occupyed in Guyan / the whych he before tyme hadde the rule and domynyon of by commaundement of his father. But when he was aduer­tised of his faders deth, he anon sped hym toward Aquisgrani / so y ^t y ^e .xxx. day after hys departyng out of Guyan he came vnto the foresayde cytye, where he was mette wyth all the no­bles and barons of Fraūce. And fyrst or he medled or toke vpon hym any cure or charge of hys owne besynes / he with most deuocyon causyd great obseruaunces and myche dyuyne seruyce to be done aboute the sepulture of his father, whyche obseruaunce & prayers fynyshed and endyd / y ^e sayde Lewes commaundyd to come before hym dyuerse ambassadours, that frō dyuerse prynces were sent vnto hys father Charlis, and to theym gaue answers concernyng theyr legacyōs and messagis / and then proceded vnto the nedes of his realm for y ^e weale therof and of his people.

wherein he beynge besyed / worde was brought to hym of an ambassad royall, y ^t was comen from Michael the emperour of Constantyne the noble. Agayne the whyche he sent cer­tayne of hys lordes to receyue them / and so wyth all honour to bryng thē vnto hys presence. Of whose com­mynge the entente was, to presente hym wyth certayne ryche gyftes, and to desyre hym of his amyte and frendshyppe.

Also soone after came vnto hym messengers from the Beneuētanys / offerynge vnto his magnyfycence obligacyons and bondes to be his true lyeges, and to paye to hym yerely in way of trybute .vi. thousande duca­tes of gold. A ducate is of sondry va­luys / but the leste in value is .iii. s.iii. d. ob, and the beste .iiii. s.vii. d.

Then the Soysons or Saxons that were so dyuerse of condycyon / [Page LXXXVIII] beganne to murmoure and rebell a­gayne this Lowys. wherfore or he wolde assemble any people agayne theym / he sent thyder certayne per­sones to know y ^e cause of theyr rebellyon. And when he was enfourmed, that yt was for the takynge awaye from them of certayne lādes and possessyons by hys father / he then restored agayne the sayde landes / and so recouncylyd the countrey to his subieccyon. For this dede some of his lordes grudged / and sayde such mylde­nes was not to be vsyd to people of suche obstynacy and sternesse / but to haue forcyd them by dynte of sworde to haue lyued in due obedyence.

In thys passetyme dyed pope Stephan the fourth of that name / after whose deth was elected to that dy­gnyte the fyrste Pascall, wythout cō sente or knowlege of this Lowys, & somdeale to the dyscontentynge of his mynde & pleasure. But in shorte tyme after he receyued such wordes and presentes from the sayde pope, that he was well satysfyed and plea­syd. And for at those days in Fraūce was vsyd of prestes and men of the chyrche precyouse and shewynge ve­sture, and golden and riche starynge gyrdelles, with rynges and other or­namentes of gold / the sayde Lowys purchasyd of the pope a correccyon for all suche as vsyd suche dysordy­nate apparell / and causyd theym to vse and were browne & sad colours, accordynge to theyr honoures and sadnes.

This Lowys hadde thre sonnes, that is to saye Lothayre, whome he made felowe of the empyre / Pepyn the seconde, whome he made duke of Guyan / and Lowys the thyrde, to whom he betoke the rule of Bayton. To this yongeste sonne worde was broughte, that Bernarde a ruler in Italy had assembled a great power / & wyth y ^e aydes of two other captaynes named Iylys and Reyner, the whyche Charlis the great by his lyfe greatly fauouryd / occupyed y ^e strēg­thys of the mountaynes, and enten­dyd to kepe the countrey of Italye from the subieccyon of his father the emperoure. wherof he gyuynge his father knowlege / strong power was gaderyd, as well by the father as by Lothayre his sonne, and sped theym towarde the mountayns. But when the sayde Bernarde was ware of the emperours commyng wyth so great a strength / and consyderyd his lacke of power to mayntayn his purpose / wyth also the great mercy and pytye that he knew to be in the emperour: he submytted hym holy to hys grace and mercy, and dyscoueryd to hym the authours of that rebellyon / the whyche thys Lowys causyd vnder safe kepynge to be hadde vnto the cytye of Aquisgrany. The whyche re­bellys were the byshop of Mylayne, the byshop of Cremoun, and the bysshoppe of Orleaunce.

The kynge passed all the wynter folowyng at the foresayde cytye / and lastely caused to be broughte before hym the foresayde transgressours, & examyned the cyrcumstaunce of the foresayd treason, and after remytted them to the rygour of Lowes / where by processe they were condemnyd to deth as many of them as were tem­porall men.

Then the emperour hauynge compassion of the forenamed Bernarde, for so myche as he was the sonne of Pepyn laste kynge of Italy, and his nere kynnesman / transmutyd the sentence of deth vnto perpetuyte of pry­son and losynge of hys syghte. But for the sayde Bernarde, Reyner, and other, chase rather to dye thē to lyue in pryson wyth that deformyte / they passyd by dinte of the sworde, & were [Page] beheddyd within or nere to the sayd cytye of Aquisgrani. And the sayde bysshoppes were depryued of theyr dygnyteys & put into pryuate hou­ses of relygyon.

And whyle thys Lewys was oc­cupyed in lytell Brytayne, in subdu­ynge of that countrey / Lothayre the eldest sonne of thys Lewys was sent to rule the lōdes of y ^e empyre. where he bare hym ryght nobly, and execu­ted dyuers actes for the weale of the empyre. But in thys season .ii. fren­des of hys father and hys / were for certeyne crymes to them put, moste cruelly condēpned to vyle deth with in the cytye of Rome. wherof heryng Lothayre than beyng at the cytye of Papy, sent worde therof to hys fa­ther in all hasty wyse / the which was lyke to haue turnyd y ^e pope to greate trowble, yf he by polytyke and wyse meanes had not shortly pacifyed the mater. That one of the foresayd two persones so condempned was scrybe to the pope, and that other was Donar.

ye shall vnderstande that thys Lewys hadde two wyues / by the fyrste he had the forenamed thre sonnes, and of the seconde he receyued a son and named hym Charlys / the which whan he came to mannes stature, was surnamed Charlys y ^e bolde. He loued entyerly thys Charlys, & wold often kysse hym in the presence of his brethern. For the whych they enuyed theyr sayd brother / and also dysday­ned theyr father as here after shall appere.

Thus in processe of tyme Lewys gaue vnto thys Charlys the coūtrey of Neustria or Normādy / the which causyd greate dyscencyon amonge the bretherne / and also for thys and other causes, Lotharius toke partye agayne hys father.

THE .CLX. CHAPITER.

THys seconde wyfe of Lewys was named Indith / y ^e which was accusyd to the pope to be with­in suche degre of allyaunce to hyr husbonde, that she myghte not law­fully contynewe hys wyfe. wherfore contrary to the wyll of Leuys, by the laboure of some bysshoppes & other lordes of Fraūce, she was deuorcyd from hym / and put into a house of nonnys, and there straytly kepte.

But Lewys for a tyme susteyned thys iniuryes, to y ^e ende y ^t he myght know whyther his sonnes fauoured the cause or not. But in processe of tyme whan he hadde experyence of hys frendes / and of hys sonnes / he thā assembled to hym a strong hoste, and recoueryd hys wyfe malgre to all hys enmyes. For the whych dede Lothayre, wyth dyuers of the Ba­rons of Fraunce, assemblyd theyr people / and entendyd to depryue Lewys from all imperyall and kyngly dygnyte. wherfore Lewys ferynge hys sonne and hys assystens / & also for the entent that he myghte assem­ble the strength of y ^e empyre: he yode vnto Magunce. And after he hadde purueyed and garnysshed hys rety­newe / he retornyd toward Fraunce, and met wyth some of hys enemyes and them subdued / and so kepte on hys iourney tyll he came to Aquys­grany, where he restyd hym and hys people.

Thus contynuynge thys dyssen­cyon / the sonnes sent wrytyng to the pope than beynge named Gregory y ^e fourth, requyrynge hym of ayde and counceyle to deuyse a concorde and peace bytwene theyr fader and them.

At whose request / and for to cause a naturall charyte to be quyckenyd bytwene the father & hys .iii. sonnes / he came in hys proper persone into [Page LXXXIX] Fraunce, and endeuoryd hym to the vttermoste of hys wyttes to agree to the sayd parties. In the tyme of this entreaty made by the pope / I can not saye for what cause, many of the lordes / on the partye of Lowys for­sooke hym, and fled to the sōnys partye / so that the emperoure was in great feere of hym selfe, & of hys parson. whan Lewys had seen his frendes thus in tyme of hys nede refuse & flee frome hym, and lefte hym in great feere and daūger of straūgers he than thoughte better for hym to put hym selfe vnder the Rule and tuycion of hys owne chyldren, than to abyde the doute of the sayde straū gers. wherfore he sent vnto his sayd sonnes / requyrynge theym to pro­uyde for his safegarde and assuryn­ge of his person, and that he were not there oppressyd or murdryd. And within shorte space after this messa­ge sent to theym withoute answere of them agayne receyuyd, he rode towarde theym smally accompanyed. where of than Lothayre and hys brother hauynge warnynge in all hom­ble wyse encountred hym, and recey­ued hym vppon theyr knees / and so cōueyed hym wyth all reuerēce vnto theyr pauylyon or tent. And after for a begynnyng of a peace to be stablysshed bytwene hym and them / he to satysfye theyr myndes, refused the forenamed Indith, and closyd her in a place of relygyon called Torton, as testyfyeth myne authour mayster Robert Gagwyne. But the Frenche boke sayth that thys dede was done by Frederyke bysshoppe or Utryke / where fore he was after pyteously slayne by such as fauoured y ^e quene / and not all wythout her concent, as wytnessyth the sayd cronycle.

And whan Lewys had in thys & other thynges agreed vnto hys son­nes / and thought hym self to be in surete of theyr amyte and fauours: so­deynly he was cōueyed vnto the mo­nastery of saynt Medrid / or as sayth the Frenche boke he was conueyed to a towne called in Frenche Melanguy, wyth hys yonge sonne Char­lys. And that done / the sayd thre son­nes deuyded theyr fathers possessy­ons amonge theym thre. That is to saye Lothayre the eldeste, had to his porcyon the londes of the empyre / Pepyn, the countrey of Guyan / and to Lewys the yongest, fell the coun­trey of Bayon.

whyche mysery of the emperour whan the pope had beholden & seen / he wyth greate mornynge retorned into Iuly & so vnto Rome. In which tyme of prysonemēt of the emperour the sayd Lewys made dyteys & pys­telles of greate sorowe and lamentacyon, to the ensample of all erthlye prynces / and to the entent that hys sonnes shulde of hym haue the more compassyon and pytye. The whyche I ouer passe for length of tyme / and the rather, for in tyme of prysonemēt of Edwarde the seconde callyd Car­naruan was by hym made a lyke cō ­playnt / where of when tyme & place comyth, I entende to expresse some parte therof.

whan Lewys had thus a season remayned in pryson / for so myche as the comons shulde not thynke that thys shuld be done by the authoryte of y ^e thre sonnes onely: therfore they causyd a coūsayle to be callyd at the cytye of Compeyne / & there by theyr meanes and labours causyd theyr father by authoryte of spyrytuall & temporall lordys, to be discharged of all rule and domynyon, as well of the empyre as of the realme of Fraū ce, by authoryte of the sayd coūsayle or parliament / and after caused hym to renoūce all hys temporall habyte, and to become a munke in the mona­stery [Page] of saynt Matke / where he was lefte of his sonne Lothayre, not with out sure watche and kepynge.

But full often it is seen, that whā the erthlye power of man faylyth or wekyth / god of hys greate mercy the repentaunt synner to grace callyth, & hym by hys dyuyne power aydeth and strengtheth / and so he dyd thys Lewys. For after thys mysery and trybulacyon thus to hym fallen / the peple in dyuerse placys of this londe murmured and grudgyd very sore, agayne the innaturall dealynge of the sonnes agayne theyr father.

In these dayes was a greate ru­ler in Fraunce named Guyllyam, & stuarde or constable of that lande / y ^e which wyth one Egebard or Edgare a man of greate byrth and alyaunce, coūsayled togyder for the enlargyng of y ^e emperour. And lastly wyth ayde of theyr frendes assembled a greate peple. And than drewe vnto them .ii. noble men of Burgoyne called Bar­narde and Gueryn, the whyche sometyme had ben well cherysshed wyth the emperoure Lewys.

All thys season Lothayre had re­styd hym for y ^e more partye at Aquysgrany. But whan he harde of the as­semblynge of these foresayd lordes, he sped hym towarde Parys. And whan he was thyther comen / the foresayd lordes sent vnto hym two noble men Rowlande and Gantelyne / the whych made request vnto Lothayre in the name of the other lordes, that it wolde lyke hym to restore hys fa­ther vnto hys former dygnyte / wyth other thynges concernynge theyr le­gacyon. To the whyche two lordes Lothayre gaue answere, that of hys fathers restorynge to hys fyrste or former dygnyte, no man lyuynge wolde be therof more fayne than he wolde. But y ^e deposyng of hym was done by the hole authoryte of y ^e land. wherfore yf he shulde be agayne re­storyd / it must be by the same autho­ryte, and not by hym onely. All be yt that they myghte knowe of hys be­nyuolēce and fauour that he bare to­warde hys father / he wylled them to stonde a parte, whyle he had some cō munycacyon of his lordes for y ^e same mater. By reason wherof were it for fere or for fauour / the emperour was shortly after put at hys lybertye, and restoryd to all hys fyrst honoure and dygnyte / & than with great honoure conueyed to a cytye or towne called Ciriciake, where met wyth hym hys other two sōnes Pepyn and Lewys / and there restyd hym certayne dayes in makyng all feest and ioye / and af­ter rode vnto Aquysgrany, and there restyd an other season.

In whych tyme of hys there beyng / was brought vnto hym from y ^e place where she had ben prisoner, his wyfe Indyth. But whan Lothariꝰ knewe that hys father had hyr agayne re­ceyued contrary to hys mynde and pleasure / he in wrath & dyspleasure entryd the countrey of Burgoyne / & made in it sharpe and cruell warre, & executed therin many spoylynges and other inordynate dedys. The whyche cruelty to wythstande & let / hys father wyth hys sonne Pepyn wyth a greate hoste sped hym thyder warde. But anone as he had know­lege therof / mystrustyng his strēgth, he yelded hym vnto his faders grace and mercy / whom the meke fader re­ceyued and forgaue to hym hys tres­passe.

And after that of hym and dyuerse of hys lordes he had taken assuryd othes and other suretyes / he thā sent the sayd Lothayre into Italy with a certayne nomber of knyghtes, to de­fende the countrey from daunger of enemyes, and strengthynge of the straytes and mountaynes.

[Page XC]And that wyth other thynges or­deryd and done for the weale of hys realme / Lewys than toke vpon hym to ryde about hys lande, to thentent that he myghte be somwhat enfor­med of the rule of hys offycers / and how the countreys were ruled by the rulers of them. And where he found any mysgouernaunce / he punysshed the executers therof, as well y ^e bys­shoppes as other, as farre as his authoryte in that behalfe stretchyd.

Than Indith consyderynge the emperoure fell into greate age / and hyr sonne and his Charlis by name, had as yet no suffycyent landes nor possessyons to maynteyne any estate wyth: she compassed many wayes in hyr mynde, how she myghte acheue hyr entent, and to brynge it to good purpose. where fynally by counceyll of hyr frendes, to y ^e ende to purchase the loue and fauour of Lothayre / she axed of hyr lorde and husbonde, that the sayd Lothayre myghte be tutour and gyder of hys yonge sonne Charles. Of this request y ^e emperour was very glad, and graunted hyr, hyr pe­ticion. And so it fell soone after, cer­tayne messengers came to the empe­roure from Lothayre hys sonne. To the whych whan Lewys had gyuen answere to such maters as they were sent fore, and gyuē vnto them other instruccyons / he sent them forthe a­gayne, and with them certeyne other to wylle his sayd sonne to come vnto hym in as goodly wyse as he myght. But at that season he excusyd hym by sykenesse / and whan he was reco­uered he fayned an other excuse.

In thys meane tyme worde was brougth to the emperoure, that hys sonne Lothayre had greued y ^e chyrch of Rome / and takyn from it certeyne possessyons. wherewyth Lewys be­ynge before amoued, sent vnto hys sonne / cōmaundynge hym in sharpe wordes, y ^t he shulde haue in mynde the othe before by hym made / & that he shulde in exchewynge his dyspleasure, make restytucyō of all thynges that he before hadde taken from the chyrch / the whyche cōmaundement Lothayre promysed to obey in all wyse. And where Lewys was deter­myned to haue gone vnto Rome, to haue sene y ^e sayd promesse fulfylled / & also to haue spoken wyth the pope for dyuers maters nedefull for the chyrche: he was lette by occasyon of Danes or Normannes, y ^t than had newly inuaded the lōdes of Fraūce / the whyche he shortly after expellyd and droue out of hys londys.

And that done, the emperour yode vnto Aquysgrany / where by the frendes of Indith & other of the nobles of Fraunce, the emperour gaue vnto hys yongest sonne Charlis a porcyō of y ^e empyre, whyche after shall more clerely appere. And soone after at a counsayle holdyn at Cirycyake, be­fore namyd in the presence of his son Lewys / he gaue to hym the order of knyghthode, & adournyd hym wyth kynges clothynge.

And ouer all thys in the presence of many lordes of Fraunce / he gaue to the sayde Charlys the hole coun­trey of Neustria that now is named Normandye. Of whyche honoure and gyftes though hys moder were ioyous and gladde / yet hys brother Lewys was therewyth nothynge contentyd, whyche of Indith and of hyr frendes was well appercey­uyd and knowen. wherefore as she before tyme had done / than of newe she made request vnto hyr lorde and husband, that he wolde of hys moste especyall grace graunte vnto hyr, that Lothayre myghte haue the go­uernaunce of hyr sonne Charlys / the whych of hym was the seconde tyme graunted. Uppon whyche graunte [Page] thus to her made / the emperour sent vnto hys son Lothayre pleasaūt let­ters, wyllyng hym in all goodly hast to resorte vnto hys court. The which obeyenge hys fathers commaunde­ment / retourned into Fraunce shortly after the receyte of the said letters, and came vnto his father to the citye of Uernayse, of whome he was ioy­ously receyued. And after he hadde a season dwellyd with the emperour, he gaue vnto hym the coūtrey of Austracy / the whyche countrey as shall after be shewyd in thys Lotharius story, was after his name named Lorayne. But a parte of the sayde pro­uynce or countrey that stretchyd to­warde Hungrye / the sayde Lowys gaue vnto his yongest son Charlys. And immedyatly after thys gyftes before many lordes confermyd / the emperoure in presence of the sayd lordes, toke Charlys by the hande, and delyueryd hym vnto his brother Lo­thayre / wyllynge and straytly char­gynge hym that he shulde take hym vnto his cure, and be to hym as cu­ryouse as he wolde be vnto hys own chyld, and to guyde hym and his pos­sessyons, as the father shulde guyde the chylde. And to Charlys he com­maunded that he shulde take & obey hym as his father, and loue and worshyppe hym as his brother / y ^e whych vppon eyther partye was promysyd to be obseruyd. And shortly after the sayd Lothayr with his brother Charlys, toke congy of father and mo­ther, and returned agayn into Italy.

About this tyme dyed Pepyn the seconde sonne of Lewys, and duke of Guyan / the whych yf all shuld be expressyd, putte his father to great trouble and vexacyon / wherfore for hym was made the lesse mournynge. This left after hym a son named Pepyn, of whome somwhat the storye spekyth after. But now I wyll re­tourne to Lewys the thyrde sonne of the emperoure.

THE .CLXI. CHAPITER.

TRouth yt is that whē the yonger brother Lewys sawe the bountye of his father so largely ex­tende towarde his two brethern, and to hym nothynge / he was therwyth in his mynde greatly dyscontent, all be yt that for the tyme he kepte yt se­crete to hym selfe. But when he was departyd from hys father, and returnyd to his owne lordshyppe / he gaderyd a myghty power, and began to make warre vpon the dwellers nere about the Ryne. wherfore the empe­rour wyth a conuenyent power ap­prochyd vnto the citye of Dodayng / and sent from thens vnto hys sayde sonne wordes of reconcylyacyon / by meane wherof the sayde Lowes put hym holy in the grace of hys father, and was to hym reconcyled without shedynge of mannys blood.

But whyle the emperour was be­syde at the citye of Cleremoūt in the countye of Auerne, to set a dyreccion amonge the Gascoynes, for opyny­ons that were reryd amonge theym for the sonne of Pepyn there lately kynge or duke dyscessyd, whyche son as aboue is sayde was also named Pepyn / and there about had taken great payne and labour: thyther to hym tydynges were newly brought, that hys sayde sonne Lewys hadde wyth y ^e Saxons or Soysons, & with the Thorynges made alliaunce / and was entryd into Germany, and ther­in made warre in moste cruell wyse. wyth whyche tydynges Lowis was so greuously passyoned / that to hys great age was by meane of thys vn­kynde anger, fyxyd a sykenes that lefte hym not whyle he lyued.

After yet thys not wythstandyng / [Page XCI] he lyke a strong hartyd knyght shewyd forth a good and comfortable coū tenaunce. And after he hadde in knyghtly wyse preparyd all thynge ne­cessarye to the warre / he spedde hym towarde Almayne, and contynued hys iourney tyll he came vnto Tho­rynge / where a season he restyd hym and his people tyll he myght be bet­ter assuryd where his sonne Lewys restyd hym. But the sonne hauynge knowlege of the great power of hys father / and also beynge in despayre of purchasynge of mercy, consyde­ryng his many offences: fled by the coūtrey of Sclauony, and so by that costes retourned into Bayon or Ba­uery / and so escapyd the daunger of hys father.

Then the emperoure beyng surely enformyd of the scape of hys sonne / helde on his iourney tyll he came to Magoūce. And after came vnto the cytye of Uermayse / where he called a counsayle of his lordes spyrytuall and temporall, and ordeyned there dyuerse thynges for the state of the empyre. And more entendyd to haue done / but sykenesse increasyd so sore in hym, that by the space of .xl. days he toke no temporall sustenaunce. But in that tyme he vsyd often to take the blessed sacrament / the which as he often sayde, strengthyd bothe the soule and the bodye.

Then he sent for Lothayre to come vnto hym / the whyche wythoute ta­ryenge obeyed his commaundemēt, and abode styll wyth hym.

Of this Lewys Policronicon maketh a shorte rehersall / and sayth y ^• by his fyrste wyfe named Hermyn­garde, he had .iii. sonnes / Lothayre, Pepyn and Lewys. The fyrst beyng felowe with his father of the empyre, was crowned of pope Pascall vpon an Ester daye / and he was also kyng of Italy. And Pepyn he made duke of Gascoyne and Guyan. And Lew­ys was made ruler of Bauary.

And by his second wife named In­dyth and doughter of y ^e duke of Bayon, he hadde Charlis the Ballyd / to whome he gaue the countrey of Burgoyn as the sayd Policronica sayth. And for this Lewys was mylde / he was often troubled of hys own men and of other, tyll he delte wyth them more sharpely and wysely, and ruled the people more straytly.

It is there also shewyd, that when this Lewys had promotyd a yonge man named Frederyke to the see of Utryke / and to hym hadde gyuen sadde and good exhortacyon, that he shuld folowe the stablenes of hys antecessours, and that he shulde pur­pose the sothe and trouth wythoute excepcyon of persones / and punyshe mysdoers, as well the ryche as the poore: the sayde byshoppe shulde answere to hym and saye, I beseche thy magestye syr emperour to take in pacyence, that I maye dysclose to the that thynge that hath long walowed & turned in my mynde. Say thy plesure sayd the emperour. I praye thy syr emperour shewe me thy mynde / whyther is more accordynge, to at­tame thys fyshe here presente fyrste at the hedde or at the tayle. The em­perour answered shortely and sayd, at the hedde the fyshe shall be fyrste attamyd. So yt is lorde emperoure sayd the byshoppe, that crysten fayth maye cause the to cease of thyne er­roure, that thy subiectes be not bol­dyd to folowe thy mysdoynge. wherfore fyrste forsake thou thy vnlawe­full wedloke, that thou haste made wyth Indyth thy nere kynnes wo­man.

By meane of those wordes the kyng was reconcylyd, and lefte the com­pany of his wyfe, tyll he hadde pur­chasyd a lycence of the pope. And the [Page] emperour forgaue the sayde byshop all trespassys / but the woman hyred two knyghtes that slewe hym in his vestymentes, when he hadde ended hys masse.

After thys the empresse was falsely accused of wronge cryme, and made a menchon. But the same yere the emperoure delyueryd her from that habyte, when he hadde suffycyently prouyd the sayde cryme to be false.

Then to retorne where I lefte / whā this Lewys had longe lyen in thys agonyous sykenes, and knewe well that he amendyd nothynge / but fe­blyd more and more / he commaun­dyd his iewellys to be broughte be­fore hym. wherof by hys owne hand he haue a parte vnto the chyrche of Rome / and to Lotharius his sonne there presente he gaue his crowne & his sworde / commaundynge hym straytly vppon his blessynge that he shuld haue in honour hys moder Indith, & that to Charlis his brother he shulde owe true loue & amyte, & that he shuld hym & his lādes deffende to the vttermoste of his power.

Then the lordes spirituall and temporall, and specyally the archebys­shoppe of Meaws / made a lamen­table requeste to the emperoure for his sonne Lewys, that he wolde ac­cepte hym to his grace and mercye, and to forgyue hym hys insolente and wanton wylde dedys. wherof when the emperour harde / he fell in suche wepynge, that he myghte not speke of a good whyle after.

And when he hadde refrayned hym therof / he remembryd to y ^e lordes the many and great benefytes y ^t he had done to hym, and the innaturall vn­kyndnes that the sayd Lewys had agayn shewyd vnto hym / & how often tymes he had perdoned his vnkynd sonnes trespasse. And finally all this not wythstandyng / he was at y ^e oure in perfyte charite wyth hym, and for­gaue hym as he trusted to be forgy­uen / prayenge the lordes there pre­sent, and specyally chargynge y ^e sayd byshop, that he wold shew vnto hys sayd son that great daunger that he was in agaynst god for the dysplea­sures done to him / and specially that he was a cause of the abrygement or shortynge of hys dayes.

Then to brynge this story to effect, wherof yf I shuld declare the special tyes therof, wolde aske a longe tyme (for ye shall vnderstand that these .ii. storyes of the great Charlis and of this Lewys, occupye in Frenche of leuys of great scantelyn ouer .lxiiii) wherfore I conclude y ^t he dyed lyke a good crysten prynce, when he had ben emperour of Rome and kynge of Fraunce by the terme of .xxvi. yeres / and was buryed wyth great solem­nyte at Meaws or at Mettis by hys mother Hyldegarde as sayth mays­ter Robert Gaguyne, in the yere of hys age .lxiiii / leuynge af­ter hym the foresayde thre sonnes Lothayre, Lewys and Charlys the Ballyd.

Anglia. THE .CLXII. CHAPITER.

ADeulpus or Ethelwolphus the son of Egbertus / be­ganne hys reygne ouer the westesa­xons or Anglys, in the yere of oure lordes incarnacy­on .viii. hundred and .xxxii / and the xvii. yere of Lewys the mylde then kynge of Fraunce.

Thys in his youth was wyllynge [Page XCII] to be a preste, and was enteryd the order of subdeacon.

But there after by dyspensacyon of Pascall the fyrst of that name pope / he was maryed to Osburga a wo­man of lowe byrthe. By whome he hadde foure sonnes / that is to mea­ne Ethelwalde, Ethelbert, Ethel­drede, and Alurede / the whyche af­ter theyr father reygned as kynges of Englād that one after that other, as after shall appere.

This Adeulphus after he hadde a certayne tyme ben kyng / he went to Rome, and toke wyth hym his yon­gest sonne Alurede or Alphrede / and taryed there by the space of a yere. In the whyche season he repayred the Saxon scole / the whyche before tyme was there founden by Offa kynge of Mercia, as Guydo sayeth and other / but more veryly of Iue kynge of westsaxons, as sayth the authoure of the Floure of historyes. And for that he graunted of euery house of his kyngdome a peny, as in his storye is before shewyd.

But thys scole was sore decayed, and the house therof lately brent / the whyche thys Adeulphus newely repayred, and sette yt in better order then yt before was vsyd.

Thys kynge also to refourme the greuouse correccyons that he sawe there executyd to Englyshe men for spyrytuall offensys, as in werynge of irons and guyues: he graunted of euery fyre house of hys lande .i. d, as Iue foresayde hadde done.

By the whyche sayenge yt shulde seme / that by these two kynges shuld be grauntyd vnto Rome .ii. d. of euery fyre house thorough theyr lande.

But that maye not be so vnder­stande / for thys Rome scot ys ga­deryd of euery house a peny wyth­out more.

wherfore yt muste folowe, that yt is mysse taken of wryters, that allege this dede to that one kynge for that other. How be yt, yt maye stande by reason, that Iue made the fyrste graunte, and this kynge after con­fermyd the same. But the authoure of Cronica cronycarum sayth, that thys Adeulphus graunted to saynte Peter these sayde Peter pens / and spekyth no word of Iue nor of none other.

It is also shewyd of this kynge by Policronica / that he shulde for the acquytynge of the chyrches of Englād of all maner of kynges trybute, payed yerely to Rome thre hundred mar­kes. That ys to meane to saynte Peters chyrche a hundred markes / to the lyghte of saynt Paule a hundred marke / and to the popys treasorye a hundred marke. And ouer all thys of hys pure deuocyon, he offred to god & to saynte Peter the .x. parte of hys moueable goodes.

And also one cronycler sayth, that thys kynge founded fyrste the vny­uersytye of Oxynforde / whyche was lykely to be done by Offa kynge of Mercia, for so myche as in his days flowred that famouse clerke Alcu­mus or Albinus / the whych as sayth the frenche cronycle, was fyrste foū ­der of the scole of Parys and of Pa­pya, as is before shewyd in y ^e story of Charlys the great, in the thyrd cha­pyter of the sayde storye.

when Adeulphus hadde thus sped hys besynes and pylgrymage at Rome, he retournyd by Fraunce / where at that tyme was kyng of that lande Charlys the Ballyd, of whom he was ioyouslye receyued. And af­ter he hadde dysportyd hym there a season / he spousyd the doughter of the sayde Charlys, in the .xx. yere of the reygne of the sayde Adeulphus, as testyfyeth Policronica in the .xxx. chapiter of his .v. boke / whych shuld [Page] be the yere of the reygne of the sayde Charlis the .xi. But of this mariage is nothynge touchyd in the frenche cronycle.

Then Adeulphus takynge leue of the kynge / toke shyppynge and lan­ded in Englande wyth his wyfe In­dyth by name. And for that he con­trary the law made in y ^e tyme of Brigthricus, sette his wyfe in the kynges trowne, and magnyfyed her lyke a quene / the lordes of his lande arose agayne hym, and pullyd from hym a great parte of his domynyon, and made his eldeste sonne ruler therof. whyche all was done in reproche of Ethelburga, whyche slew her lorde Brigthricus as before is shewyd. Lastly the mater was appeasyd, and he to his kyngly honour restoryd.

About this tyme Bertulphꝰ kyng of Mercia, slewe wyckydly in the holy tyme of Penthecoste saynte wyl stone / whose holy bodye was buryed at Repyngedō. And in y ^e place where thys holy wylstone was slayne stode a pyller of lyghte .xxx. dayes after.

And in the yere folowynge dyed the sayde Bertulphus. After whose deth, Burdredus was made kynge of Mercia or myddell Englande / the whyche before tyme hadde spou­syd the doughter of kynge Adeul­phus.

In the later dayes of thys Adeul­phus, the Danys dyd myche harme in Lyndesey, and also in kent / and frome thens came to London, and robbed and spoyled the cytye. wher­fore Adeulphus gaderyd his people, and lastely mette wyth them in Southerey vppon a downe called Oclea / and there dyscomfyted theym, not wythoute shedynge of great plente of the Anglis blood, and forsyd them to take the see / so that after they landed in eest Anglia as after shall ap­pere. Then lastely dyed thys good kynge Adeulphus or Ethelwolphꝰ / when he hadde ruled hys subictes nobly by accorde of moste wrytes fully .xxii. yere / and was buryed at wynchester, leuynge after hym four son­nys aforesayde.

Francia. THE .CLXIII. CHAPITER.

CHarlys y ^e yongeste son of Lewys the mylde / began hys reygne ouer the chefe part of Fraū ce, in y ^e yere of our lorde .ix. hundred & .xli / and the .ix. yere of Adeulphus then kynge of west­saxons / the whyche as before is sayd was surnamed Ballyd.

Anon as his father was buryed / his brother Lothayre, to whome the father, as ye fore behaue harde, had cōmyttyd y ^e guydynge of this Char­lys, by the entysynge of his brother Lewys malygned agayn this Charlis / and sought many wayes to put hym from such landes as his father had gyuen hym. This sayd Lothayr was after the deth of his father emperour / and Lewys the yonger brother was duke or knyght of Bayon. But for Charlis was yongest, and had to his parte the pryncypall porcyon of Fraunce, whych was called myddell Fraunce / therfore his .ii. bretherne & specially Lewys, malygned greuously agayne hym. wherof this Charlis beynge somdeale infourmed / bare hym so wysely & so egally to his sub­iectes, that he hadde theyr loues and fauours / and trustyd alway by theyr good ayde that he shulde be of power to wythstande theyr vnkynde ma­lyce. And lyke as the hydde fyre in processe breketh oute and shewyth great lyght and flammy blase, euen [Page XCIII] so dyd thys couerde malyce at the laste breke oute, to great ire and opē wrath. For after foure yeres was passyd / the sayde two bretherne with oute defyaunce or groundely cause of warre, assygned or assembled a great hoste / suche lyke before thys daye hadde not ben sene / and entryd the lymyttes of kynge Charlys.

Then Charlis assembled in all y ^e haste hys lordes / and requyred theyr aydes and counsayll to wythstande the malyce of hys bretherne. And when he hadde knowelege of theyr good myndes, anon theyr knyghtes were gaderyd and all thynge was redy to the fyghte.

Nowe in thys whyle the two bre­therne wyth theyr peple were comen to a place callyd Fountayns or Foū tanet, where to Charlis spedde hym. And when both hostes were nere / ey­ther partye made prouysyon to sub­due his enymye.

Then were the bataylles on bothe partyes orderyd & assygned to theyr standardes and capytaynes, and the wynges set to the moste auauntage. what shuld I lenger processe of this ordynaunce make, fynally the shote of arblasters beganne on both sydes whyche ouer threwe many an horse and man / and specyally the fore ry­dars, that putte theym selfe in prese wyth theyr longe and sharpe laun­cys, to wynne the fyrste brunte of the felde.

Pytye yt was to beholde the good­ly bryght armyd knyghtes, lyēg and walowynge wyth theyr great stedys in the felde, wyth dedly woundes gapynge agayne the son, y ^t were slayne at the fyrst encountre. But when the shote was spent, and the speres to shateryd / then both hostes ranne to gyther wyth Rowlandes songe / so that in shorte whyle the grene felde was dyed into a perfyte redde. For there was heddes, armes, legges, & trunkys of ded mennys bodyes ly­enge, as thycke as floures growe in tyme of maye in the floryshynge me­dowys / myserable and pyteouse yt was to beholde the persones halfe lyuynge and halfe ded / with theyr grysely woundes pyteously gronynge and cryenge wythoute comforte. So that there was shewyd all rygoure wythoute mercy, and all crueltyes wythout compassyon.

Thus duryd this mortall fyghte by a longe season / that doutefull yt was to knowe whyche partye hadde thauaūtage of other. Howbeit Charlys was putte to an afterdeale by .ii. meanes. The fyrste was for so mych as Charlis entendyd to haue forborne, for the reuerence of the hygh feste as the daye of the ascensyon of oure lorde, & that daye not to haue foughten. And the seconde was, that he was farre lesse in nomber. whyche two causes of dysauaūtage not with standynge / yet in the conclusyon he wanne the honoure of that iourney. But not wythoute great losse of hys peple and many of the nobles of his lande / where of the frenche boke re­hersith the names. But for they be to vs vnknowen, I passe theym ouer. And as yet is testyfyed of many wryters / there was slayne that daye mo Frencheman, then was slayn at any felde euer before that day. wherof the nomber is not expressyd / for yt was so great. Then Lothayre was forced to take Aquisgrany for his safegard, and Lewys ellys where. But Char­lys wyth a small cōpany that to hym were lefte / folowed his Bretherne, and cōstrayned Lothayre to forsake y ^e citye, & thens to go vnto Lyon a cytye y ^e standeth at this day in the vtter most border of Fraūce, & after to Uyenne. To y ^e which citye of Uyen shortly after came vnto hym hys brother [Page] Lewys / where they two assembled a newe hoste.

In the whych passetyme, as Charlis was comynge towarde hys bre­therne / messyngers mette with hym, sent from his bretherne to comon of a peace. So that fynally he was ac­cordyd, that the realme of Fraunce shulde be dyuyded in .iii, as the fa­ther had before dysposyd yt. That is to meane, Lothayr shuld enioy ouer the landes belongyng to the empyre the countrey of Austracy / the whych in processe of tyme was called Lo­thayre or Lotharingia, whyche is to meane Lorayne after his name. And to Lewys shulde remayne the pro­uynce of Germany, wyth the coūtrey of Buyan or Benery. And to Char­lys shulde remayne the countrey called myddell or chefe Fraunce, wyth the prouynces of Normandy & Burgoyne. whyche sayde myddle Fraūce is reportyd to be in space from y ^e Oc­cean of Brytayne to the ryuer of Mawze.

The whyche concorde thus ferme­ly stablyshed and fynyshed / eyther of other toke theyr departynge, and re­sorted vnto theyr owne lordshyppes. But Lothayre dyed shortely after / leuynge after hym thre sonnes, na­med Lewys, Lothayre, and Charlis. But this deth of Lothayre is not ta­ken for temporall deth / for yt is sayd y ^t he forsoke the trauayle of y ^e world, and became a munke at the abbaye of Pruny, and lyued there a solytary lyfe many yeres after.

THE .CLXIIII. CHAPITER.

CHarlis y ^e Ballyd thus beyng in peaseble possessyon of the chefe parte of the realme of Fraunce, and guydynge yt wyth all sobernes and indifferēt iustyce / was well drad and also beloued of his subiectes.

In processe of tyme, as vpon .viii. yeres after that Lothayr abouesayd renouncyd the pompe of the worlde / dyed fyrste Charlys the yongest son of the thre of the foresayd Lothayre. And after dyed Lothayre the second sonne / so that the sayde Lewys one­ly suruyued, whych was after his father enoynted emperour.

when Charlis kynge of Fraunce knewe certaynely of the deth of these two forsayde brethern, and that with out yssu / anon he assembled his power and entred the prouynce of Austracy or Lorayne / the which his brother Lothayre hadde gyuen to Lothayre his sonne. And in shorte whyle after crowned hym kynge of that pro­uynce, wythin the chyrche of saynte Stephan of the cytye of Meaws, chefe cyty of that lordshyppe & kyngdome. wyth the whyche dede Lewys his brother, and kynge of Germany and Bayon was dyscontentyd / thynkyng hym selfe more ryghtfull enheritour then Charlis, for so myche as he was y ^e elder brother, and also bro­ther to the fyrste Lothayre of father & of mother / where as Charlis was but halfe brother, and by the fathers syde onely.

For this y ^e sayd Lewys sent to Charlys the Ballyd certayn messyngers / gyuynge to hym monycyon that he shulde call to memory the couenauntes betwene theym before tyme sta­blyshed / and that he shulde not med­dell hym nor haue to do wythin the landes of his cosyn lately deed, vnto such tyme as yt were determyned by theyr bothe counsayles, whyther of theym hadde the better ryght / & this to be obseruyd vppon payne of excō ­munycacyon or cursyng.

But for to Lewys was well sene, that his brother Charlis nothyng absteyned hym from the occupyenge of the forenamed countrey / he therfore [Page XCIIII] gaderyd an armye to warre vppon his sayde brother.

In the whych passe tyme Charlys toke to his second wyfe a woman namyd Rychent or Ricent / the whyche he before tyme hadde vsyd as his cō cubyne or paramoure.

And soone after the Danys or Normans inuadyd the landes of Char­lys / the whych for that tyme he was fayne to appease & please wyth ryche gyftes and other pleasures.

Then Charlys receyued from his brother a seconde ambassade or mes­sage / the whyche shewyd vnto hym excepte he wold voyde his knyghtes and strengthes, that he had sette and put in dyuerse places of the lande of Austracy, he shuld be sure to haue of his sayd brother an enymy / and that in all haste he wolde entre his lande wyth great force and warre. wheruppon was suche answere sente, that by both theyr agrementes the mater was hadde in suche cōmunycacyon / that fynally yt was agreed that the sayde landes shulde egally be departyd betwene them. whyche conclusyon perfyted. Lewys wyth his people retournyd into Germany.

But yt was not longe after that Lewys repented hym of hys agre­ment / so that newe legacyons were made vppon both partyes / and lastely wyth myche payne newly agreed. After whyche agrement and accorde fynyshed / Lewys the emperour and sonne of the fyrste Lothayre, sente an ambassade to both the fornamed bretherne / admonestynge and warnyng them that nother the one nor y ^e other shulde intermyt wyth the foresayde landes, for so myche as the ryghte therof belonged to him as next heyre to his brother / and not to them that were a degre forther. The answere of this was deferryd by Charlys / how be it his brother Lewis as sayth myne authour, gaue ouer his parte shortly after to Lewys y ^e emperour.

In this passe tyme Charlys the sonne of Charlis the Ballyd by hys fyrste wyfe, whome the father had made ruler of a countrey called Belge / hadde rulyd hym insolently, and done in that countrey dyuerse outragiouse dedes. For the whyche he beyng cōplayned of, was brought vnto his father / and so by hym commaundyd to pryson. But shortely after he was deliueryd at y ^e requeste of some nobles of Fraūce / & kept after in his fathers courte, where he contynued but a shorte whyle. For wythin a lytle season after his father beynge at Lyons / he departyd from y ^e sayde courte, and gaderyd to hym a wylde company of euyll dysposyd persons, and went agayne into the sayd countrey of Belge / and dyd more harme then he had done before season / and so contynuyd a long whyle. But lastly he was taken and caste agayne in pryson / where after longe punyshe­ment he was reued of his syght / and then sent vnto the monastery of Cor­benyke, there safely to be kepte. But at length by the entycemēt of his vncle Lewys kynge of Germany, and the treason of two mūkes of y ^e place / he scapyd thens, and fledde vnto the sayd Lewys his vncle. In the which tyme Charlys his father was occu­pyed in the defence of the Danys or Normannys, that then by strength had wonne the citye of Angyers and done therein myche harme / whome the kynge closyd wythin the sayd cy­tye wyth a stronge syege, and fynally compellyd theym to seke meanys of peace at the kynges pleasure. After whych peace cōcludyd, and the sayd Danys auoydyd / the kynge repossessyd the sayde cytye.

It was not longe after, that ty­dynges were brought vnto Charlis [Page] of the deth of Lewys the emperoure. After knowlege wherof / the kynge sent hys other sonne named Lewys into Austracy, to haue the rule and y ^e guydynge of y ^e countrey. And after other thynges ordered for y ^e weale of hys realme / he wyth a stronge com­pany of men of armys passyd y ^e moū taynes, and so into Italy towarde Rome. But Lewys hys brother and kynge of Germanye beynge therof warnyd / sent in all haste hys sonne Lewys wyth a stronge hoste to lette hys passage. But how it was for fere or other meane / the sayd Lewys yel­dyd hym to hys vncle Charlys the Ballyd. wherewith the father beyng greuously dyspleasyd / sent hys se­conde sonne namyd Charlō, to with­stande the passage of the sayd Char­lys. But thys for fere or other cause that he sawe that he myghte not pre­uayle agayne hys vncle / retornyd hym agayne to hys father. After whose retorne, he for so mych as the sayd Lewys kyng of Germany well perceyued that hys brother Charlys was paste his daunger / he than with a more nomber ioyned vnto his son­nes hoste, entryd y ^e londe of Fraūce, in domagynge it to the vttermoste of hys power.

In whyche season Charlys the Ballyd kepte on his iourney toward Rome. wherof heryng the .viii. Iohn̄ than pope / sent agayne hym certayn persones of honoure, and welcomyd hym as Augustus or emperour. And after hys comynge thyther the sayde pope receyued hym wyth greate re­uerence / and crowned hym wyth the imperyall dyademe and denouncyd hym as emperoure.

THE .CLXV. CHAPITER.

CHarlys y ^e Ballyd thus beyng authorysed for emperour / ex­ersyd hym for a tyme for the nedys of the chyrche of Rome / & after toke hys leue of the pope & retorned vnto Papye a cytye of Italy. where he callynge a generall counceyle of the lordes of the empire & other / he by theyr aduyses prouyded and ordered dy­uerse thynges for the weale of y ^e sayd empyre. And ouer that by theyr agrementes he ordeyned for hys lyeu te­naunt or debyte of the sayde empyre in hys absence, a noble man brother to hys wyfe recent named Besonne or Beson / and assygned to hym such people as was thought necessarye and conuenyent.

whan Charlys had sped hys ne­dys in Papye, he hyed hym into Fraunce. But or he came wythin the terrytory therof / word was brought to hym that hys brother Lewys was retorned into hys owne countreye, wythout greate domage done to the realme of Fraunce.

In processe the emperoure came to Parys / where he was receyued of the cytesens wyth moste tryumphe & ioye / and kepte hys Eester tyde at saynte Denys.

It was not longe after that Char­lys was thus returnyd into Fraūce / but that he receyued messengers frō hys brother kynge of Germany, the which in his name claymed his part of the empyre as hys ryghte and en­herytaunce. whiche answere for that tyme was deferryd with pleasaunte wordes / so that at the nexte worde y ^t he hadde from his sayd brother, was that he was dede and buryed in the chyrche of saynte Nazer in Franke­borught. wherof whā Charlys was ascerteyned, anone he yode vnto Foū tenays / and sent hys messengers to the lordes of the countrey, commaū ­dynge them that they shulde meete hym at the cytye of Mettes.

Thys foresayd Lewys lefte after hym two sonnes named Lewys and [Page XCV] Charlon as before is towched / the whych deuyded bytwene them theyr fathers patrymony / so that Lewys had Germany, and Charlon hadde Bayon.

Thys Lewys ferynge hys vncle Charlys / gaderyd to hym a stronge power of Saxons and of Thoryn­ges. And in the tyme of theyr assem­ble / he sent an ambassade of certeyne byshhoppes & temporall lordes vnto hys vncle Charlys, prayeng hym of hys loue and fauour / wyth other re­questes to hym made, of the whyche they myghte purchase no graunte. wherof whan they were retornyd he hauynge by them knowlege / y ^e sayde Lewys incontinently wyth his hoste drewe nere vnto the Ryne. But thys Lewys was not so couert ī his work and assemblynge of hys people / but that hys vncle had therof wyttynge, and purueyed hys people as faste vppon that other syde / so that he wyth an hoste was redy to fyghte with the sayd Lewys.

whan Lewys was ware of y ^e great power that the emperour hadde as­sembled, he made no haste to passe y ^e water / but houed and caused his people to falle vnto prayer. And Char­lys also ferynge hys neuewe / vnder a colour sent alegacyon of entreaty. Durynge the whyche entreaty / the emperour contrary to hys honoure, led his peple by a secrete waye thyn­kyng to haue fallen vpon his neuew sodeynly, and by that meane to haue dystressyd hym. But Lewys beynge ware of hys vncles treason / prouy­ded so for hys peple, & kepte them in suche araye, that they receyued theyr foo men vpon theyr speres poyntes & to theyr great damage. For where the greate rayne and tedyousnesse of the harde and strayte wayes, whych they hadde passyd, hadde sore tyred and weryed them: than the fresshe fyersnesse of theyr enemyes, whyche they thoughte they shulde haue takē slepynge and vnpurueyed, abasshed thē in such wyse that they were soone ouercomen, and fled from the felde as shepe fle frō the wolfe. By meane of the whych flyght great slaughter of them was made / & many nobles & greate estates of Fraūce both slayne and taken prysoners / and the empe­roure hym selfe scapyd wyth greate daunger. And of the prysoners that were takē they were so nere spoyled / y ^t they were fayne to take vyne leues to couer wyth theyr secrete mēbres.

ye shall vnderstand y ^• thys warre bytwene the emperoure Charlys the Ballyd and hys brothers sonne Le­wys / was for the prouynce of Austracy or Lorayne, the whyche somtyme belonged to the emperoure Lothayr and halfe brother to Charlys. The whych countreye after thys batayle, was by medyatours set in an order.

Than the emperoure wyth great trauayle came to a town called Ty­guy. And Lewys kepte hys waye to Dandonyquyke / and from thens to Ayes the chapell.

In this whyle the Danes or Normans knowynge that Charlys was occupyed in the warre agayne hys neuewe / apparayled them a stronge hoste, and entred ofte the landes of Fraunce. But for Charlys was at y ^e tyme letted wyth chargeable busy­nesse / he therfore sent a noble man agayne them called Comarde, vnto the ryuer of Sayne, to wythstande the sayde enemyes. And also to hym was gyuen counceyle, to haue wyth them cōmunicacyon to make a peace yf he myghte.

And to thys trouble immedyatly was ioyned another. For ī this tyme and season a cytye belongyng to the chyrch of Rome rebellyd. wherfore to wythstand theyr malyce / the pope [Page] than beynge Iohn̄ the .viii. of that name, sent messengers to Charlys for the defence of the sayd lōdes and other. And soone after the pope for to haste the sayd emperoure, or ellys to quyckē his deputye before named to assemble the Italyans and other people there adioynaūt / came downe to the cytye of Papye, & taryed there the emperours comynge.

Charlys thā beset with trowbles / assembled hys knyghtes & sped hym towarde Italy. And whan he was passyd the mountaynes / worde was brought to hym of the popes beynge in Papy / wherfore he sped hym thy­der with all dylygence.

In thys tyme & season Charlone the brother of Lewys and sonne of Lewys kynge of Germany / whyche Charlone as before is shewyd was duke of Bayon or Bayory / gaderyd a stronge hoste, and entred the boundes of Italy. wherof herynge y ^e pope and the emperour, than (as before is sayd) beynge at Papye, busyed in a great counceyle / dissoluyd the same. And the pope incontynētly toke leue of the emperour / & departyd agayne to Rome. And Charlys wyth a great power that he had gaderyd, as well of Italyans as of hys owne people / made towarde hys neuewe. wherof herynge the sayde Charlone / turned agayne by the waye that he had co­men, tyll he came to hys owne coun­trey, as sayth myne authour & also y ^e French boke. But more verely Charlone kepyng togyther hys hoste, and hauynge fauour of dyuers lordes of Italye / the emperoure Charlys re­mouyd to y ^e cytye of Mantue / where he was grudged wyth a feuer. For remedy wherof he toke a pocyon of a physycyon Iewe named Sedechi­as, whyche was intoxicat / by meane of whych venemous pocyon he dyed shortly after whan he hadde reygned as kynge & emperoure after moste accorde of writers, by y ^e space of .xxxvii. yeres, wherof he reygned as empe­roure .iii. yeres / leuynge after hym a sonne named Lewys, whyche as be­fore is shewed was ruler of the coū ­trey of Austracy or Lorayne.

whan thys Charlys was dede / hys frendes entendynge to haue ca­ryed the corps into Fraunce / cau­syd it to be seryd and enoynted wyth ryche and precyous bawmes, and other oyntmentes and aromatykes. But all myghte not stoppe the into­lerable ayre of hys body / so that they were fayne to bury hym at Uercyle, wythin the monastery of saynt Eu­seby. where he laye ouer .vii. yeres after / and then taken vp and conueyed to saynt Denys in Fraūce, and there honorably buryed.

THE .CLXVI. CHAPITER

IN the tyme of thys Charlys the Ballyd, as wytnessen ma­ny wryters, began the erledome of Flaunders / the whyche euer before these dayes, the ruler therof was called the forester of the kynge of Fraū ­ce. whyche erledome had hys begynnynge by thys meane.

ye haue harde before in the story of Adeulphus kynge of westsaxons / how in hys retornynge from Rome, he maryed the doughter of Charlys y ^e Ballyd named Indith. The which Indyth after the deth of her sayde husbonde retornyd by Flaunders towarde Fraunce / thynkynge to passe wythout daunger, bycause the sayde countrey was vnder the obedyence or her father. But at those dayes was ruler or forester in that partyes a noble yonge amerous man callyd Bawdewyne / the whyche herynge of the great beautye of thys Indith, gaue attendaunce vppon her. And receyued her in hys best maner, ma­kyng [Page XCVI] to her all the chere that to hym was possyble / and fynally cast to hyr suche loue, that whan she supposed to departe and to haue gone into Fraunce / he delayed the mater in su­che curteys and wyse maner, that he wan such fauour of her, that she ma­de no greate haste to departe frome hym / all be it that moste authours agre, that he kepte hyr perforce.

whan Charlys hadde wyttynge that Bawdewyne thus helde hys doughter Indith / he sent to hym, straytly chargynge hym to sende ho­me hys doughter / but that holpe not the mater. Thā he purchasyd agayn hym the censures of holy chyrch, and accursed the sayd Bawdewyne. But whan the kynge conceyued that the yonge man hadde suche loue to In­dyth that he sette not by that punys­shement / and also was certeynly en­formed that hyr harte was gyuen vnto hym: he in processe by y ^e meane of some bysshoppes and frendes of the sayd Bawdewine, agreed that he shulde take hyr to wyfe / and in the name of hyr dowar, he shulde holde and enioye the sayd countre of Flaū ders. And for he wolde haue hys doughter to be the more honoured / he creatyd the sayde Bawdewyne an erle, and commaunded hym to be called after that daye erle of Flaūders.

It is also shewyd in the Frenche cronycle and of other wryters / that thre dayes before hys deth, hys spi­ryte shulde be rauysshed from hys body, and vnto places of payne and turment / where thys Charlys by the ledynge of an aungell, shulde se hyl­les and mountaynes brenne, & pyt­tes full of sulphyr, pytche, and hote boylynge lede. In whyche paynes the sayde Charlys shulde se many of hys progenytours and bysshoppes, that counceyled prynces to debate or stryfe, or gaue counceyle to them to rayse of theyr subiectys vnlefull tas­kys or imposycyons / wyth many other thynges, whyche I passe ouer for length of the mater.

Anglia. THE .CLXVII. CHAPITER.

EThelwaldus or Ethelwoldus y ^e eldeste sonne of Adeulphus, be­gan hys reygne ouer the weste­saxons or ouer y ^e more partye of Englande, in the yere of our lorde viii. hundred and .lv / and the .x. yere of Charlys the Ballyd than kynge of Fraunce. The whyche became so vnhappy / that he maryed y ^e woman whyche hys father hadde somtyme kepte or holden for hys concubyne, as wytnessyth y ^e authour of y ^e Floure of hystoryes. But Polycronycon sayth that he wedded his stepmoder / whyche dysaccordyth wyth the say­enge of other wryters, which testifye his stepmoder to be maryed to Bawdewyn erle of Flaūders, as in y ^e story of Charlys last before is shewyd.

Thys Ethelwolde though it be not expressyd by what hap he dyed, whan he hadde reygned one yere, as sayth Polycronyca. But another cronycle beryth wytnesse, that he was slayne as a martyr, of Hungar and Hubba prynces of Danys.

About thys tyme the holy kynge saynt Edmund cōtynued his reygne ouer the Eest Anglis or Norfolke.

THE .CLXVIII. CHAPITER.

EThelbertus the seconde sonne of Adeulphꝰ / began his reygn ouer the more partye of Englande, in the yere of our lorde .viii. hundred lvi / & the .xi. yere of Charlis y ^e Ballid [Page] then kynge of Fraunce. In whose tyme the Danys wyth more streng­thes entred y ^e west part of this land / and robbed and spoyled the coūtrey before theym tyll they came to wyn­chester / & toke the cytye by strength, and dyd therin what they wold. But the kynge made suche prouysyon / that by hym & his dukes they were forcyd to forsake the cytye. And as they yode toward theyr shippes / they were fought wyth, and a great parte of theym slayne and taken.

Of this kynge is nothynge ellys lefte in memory more then before is shewyd / but that he dyed when had reygned after moste wryters .vi. ye­res / and was buryed at Shyrborne, leuynge after hym none yssu of hys body. wherfore the rule of the lande fell to his brother Etheldrede.

THE .CLXIX. CHAPITER.

ETheldredus the thyrde sonne of Adeulphus / beganne hys reygne ouer the west Anglis and the more parte Englande, in the yere of our lorde .viii. hundred & .lxiii / & the xviii. yere of Charlis y ^e Ballyd then kynge of Fraunce.

In the begynnyng of this kynges reygne, the Danes landed in eest England or Norff. and Suff. But they were compellyd to forsake that countrey / and so toke agayne shyppynge and saylyd northwarde, and landed in Northumberlande. where they were mette wyth of the kynges then there reynynge callyd Osbryghte and Ella / whyche gaue to theym a stronge fyghte. But that not wyth­standynge the Danys wyth helpe of suche as enhabyted y ^e countrey, wan the cytye of yorke, and helde yt a certayne of tyme.

Then the people of Northumberland varyed with in them self / & had more leuer ayde the Danys then to reygne vnder the kyng of westsaxōs. For here is to be notyd that all such kynges as reygned there after Eg­bert, whyche as before is sayde sub­dued that prouynce and other / rey­gned as trybutaryes to the kynge of of westsaxons or Anglys.

wherfore Etheldredus herynge of the auauntage that the Danys then had, assembled his people and sped hym thytherwarde / and sente vnto the foresayd two kynges, commaundynge them also to prepare theyr peple agayne hys cōmynge. But howe yt was or the kynge came wyth hys hoste / the Danys so prouokyd the Northumbres to batayll, that they met in playne feld & foughte a longe batayll. But finally the Danys wan the pryce / and slew both the foresayd kynges wyth a great multytude of theyr people.

After whych vyctory they subdued myche of the sayde countrey, and de­stroyed y ^e town of Aklynt or Aclynd / the whyche, as testyfyeth Beda, was somtime one of the strongest townes of the Northe.

when Etheldrede hadde preparyd all thynge for the warre / and was purposyd towarde the North, for cō syderacyon aforesayde: worde was brought vnto the sayde kynge Etheldrede of the dyscomfyture of the Northumbres / and also of dyuerse of the sayde Danys wyth other that were comen to Mercia, and hadde wonne the towne of Snotyngham or No­tyngham / whyche tydynges lettyd hym of his forth spedde in that iour­ney. But thys sayenge is dysagrea­ble vnto Policronicon. For he sayth that the Northumbres were yet of theyr kynge Osbrutus or Osritus after some authours / and chase vnto thē a tyraunt named Ella / by meane wherof great dissensyon grew amōg [Page CXVII] them to the great hurte of the coun­trey. But when the Danys hadde passed the countre, and wonne the cytye of yorke, that then was febly wallyd: then by constraynte and of fere, for the defence of theyr coūtrey, they were fayne to agree and to ga­ther strengthe on all sydes / so that bothe the foresayde kynges went a­gayne the foresayd Danis, and both were slayn. After whych scomfyture the people as desolate / some fledde the countrey, and some made peace wyth the Danys, and lyued vnder theyr tuycyon. And so the Danys kepte the possessyon of that coūtrey / in suche wyse that no Angle hadde rule therof, tyll the time of Adelstone or Ethelstone, or after some wryters tyl the tyme of Edredus / so that they helde the possessyon therof ouer the terme of .lx. yeres.

Then the Danys beynge thus possessyd of the Northe countrey / man­ned the same, & fortyfyed the stronge holdes therof. And the other of them came downe into Mercia or myddell Englande / and wanne a parte ther­of wyth the forsayde towne of No­thyngam / and dwellyd there y ^e more parte of the yere folowynge.

wherfore kynge Etheldrede wyth ayde of Burdredus then kynge of Mercia, layde seage vnto the towne. The whyche when the Danys per­ceyued shulde be wonne / they refu­syd the towne, and toke the towre or castell, and defendyd yt in so stronge maner, that they helde yt tyll a peas or apoyntement was concludyd be­twene the two kynges and theym. whyche was that they shulde go free where they wolde, and carye wyth theym theyr horse and harnesse wythout any pyllage. And whē this peace was thus made, eyther of the kinges departed to theyr owne / and the Da­nys retourned vnto yorke, & dwelled there the yere folowynge.

And the yere folowynge that sayde yere / a parte of the sayde Danys ta­kynge shyppynge in the Northe, en­tendynge to sayle towarde eest En­glande / mette in the see wyth a flo­te of Danys, wherof the captaynes or ledars were named Hynguoar & Hubba. The whyche by exhortacyon of the other commynge oute of the North / made all one course, and lastly landed in eest Englande or Norf­folk / and in processe of time came vnto Therforde.

Therof herynge Edmundus then kyng of that prouynce / assembled an hoste, that gaue vnto them batayll. But Edmūde and his hoste was forsed to forsake y ^e feld / & the kyng with a few persones fledde vnto the castel of Framilynghā or Framyngeham / whome the Danys pursued. But he in short whyle after yelded hym selfe vnto the persecucyon of the Danys. And for this blessyd man Edmunde wolde not renye or deny Cryste and hys lawys / they therfore moste cruelly bonde him vnto a tree, and causyd hym to be shot to deth / and lastely causyd his hedde to be smytten from the body, & caste amonge the thycke of the bushes. But when his frendes came after to burye this holy trea­soure and lacked the hed, and made for yt busy serche / the hedde beyng in the clawys of a wylde wolfe spake, & sayde thre tymes dystynctely, here, here, here. By reason of whyche speche they came vnto y ^e place where the hedde in the sayde bestys kepyng laye. whyche sayde wolfe contrarye to his kynde / anon as he sawe the people, fledde from the hedde and suffred theym to take yt vp / and fo­lowyd theym after a certayn of tyme as he hadde ben rame.

Then they wyth great solempnyte caryed the body and hed vnto Egly­don [Page] or Eglysdon now callyd saynte Edmundes bury / and there buryed hym, aboute the yere of our lorde as wytnessen Policronica, Guydo, and other, viii. hūdred. & .lxix / as before it is shewyd in y ^e chapyter of this wor­ke foure score & .xiv, for whom dayly god shewyd there many miracles.

THE .CLXX. CHAPITER.

WHan this blessyd Edmūde was thus martyred for the loue that he bare towarde his mayster Criste and his lawes / his brother named Edwoldus settynge a parte the lykynge and pleasure of the worlde, all be yt that to hym belongyd the ryght of that kyngdome, toke vpon hym the habyte of an heremyte, and lyued onely by brede and water at the abbay of Cern̄ in the countye of Dorset / by the clere welle that saynt Austyne by his prayers made to sprynge, when he conuertyd fyrst the Saxons of that prouynce to y ^e fayth of Cryste.

Of this said abbay of Cerū, Policronica sayth y ^t it was after these dayes ryche and ryght welthy. But the go­uernours therof mysspent the patrymony therof in excesse glotony, & not amonge the seruauntes of god.

wherfore he sayth farther, that co­uetyse and pryde hadde so chaūged all thyng in England in these days / that all thynges that before tyme were gyuē to abbays, were then more wasted in glotony and outrage of the owners, then in sustenaunce and ayde of nedy men and of gestes or nedy waygoers. Albe yt he sayth the fyrst doers or gyuer lose not theyre rewarde. For theyr wyll and entent is full euenly paysed in a balaunce, be­fore hym that is the rewarder of all good. But though Treuysa y ^t was the translatoure of this boke of Po­lycronycon out of laten into our vulgare tunge / reporte this to be done, or thys mysorder to be vsyd in thys dayes, whyche lyued in the tyme of that honorable prynce Edwarde the thyrde / yf he now lyued, he wold not in no gouernours of munkes blacke or yet whyte, laye no suche outrage. For nowe at these dayes pryde and glotony is clerely banyshed frō theyr monasteryes and cellys / and in the rome of pryde wyth hys frende dys­obedyence, haue they now lodgyd humylyte with his suffer obedyence. And in the stede of glotonye and vn­clēnesse of lyuynge / haue they nowe newely professyd them vnto all cha­styte, temperaunce, abstynence, a­uoydynge all slowth and idelnesse / and exercyse theym in gostely studye and preachynge of the worde of god wyth all dylygence. So that nowe the holy rulys & ordynaunces made by that holy father and abbote saynt Benet, which by ignoraūce haue lōg tyme slepte / nowe by grace of good gouernaunce are newely renyued and quyckened. And here and ende, lest I be accused of dyssymulacyon.

Then to retourn vnto the Danys, from whome I haue made a longe dygressyon / trouth yt is that when they hadde as before is sayde, mar­tyred the blessed man Edmunde, and robbed and spoyled that countrey / and they toke agayne theyr shyppes and landed agayne in Southerye / and there contynued theyr iourney tyll they came to the towne of Re­dynge, and wanne the towne wyth the castell.

Policronyca sayth y ^t the thyrd day of theyr thyther cōming / Hingwar & Hubba as they wente in purchasyng of prayes, were slayne at a place cal­led Engelfelde. whyche prynces of Danys thus slayne / the other dele of theym kepte hole to gyther, in suche [Page XCVIII] wyse that the weste Saxons myght take of theym none auauntage. But yet wythin few dayes after the Da­nys were holden so shorte, that they were forced to yssue out of the castell, and to defende theym in playne ba­tayll. In y ^t whych by cōforte of kyng Etheldrede and of Alurede his bro­ther / the Danys were dyscomfyted, and many of theym slayne. wherof the other beynge ware / fled agayne to the castell, and kepte theym wyth in the same a certayne of tyme.

Then the kynge cōmaunded Etel­wold then duke of Baroke or Bark­shyre, to attende wyth hys peple vp­pon that castell / & to se that the Danys breke not oute at large while he went in other costes of that countrey to subdue other of the sayde Danys But when the Danys knewe of the kynges departure / they brake out so daynly anon of theyr hold, and toke the duke vnpuruayed & slewe hym and myche of hys people / and cau­sed the other to with drawe them farther from that towne or castell.

Then these Danys drewe them to other that were theyr lordes in that coūtrey / and enbatelled them in such wyse, that of theym was gatheryd a stronge hoste.

It was not long after duke Ethel wolde was slayne, but the kyng was ascertayned therof. The whyche re­newed his heuenesse, and made hym full heuy / to consyder the losse of his frende, and the encreace and multy­plyenge of his enymyes. For y ^e daye before reporte of these tydynges as affermeth an olde cronycle / worde was brought to hym of the landyng of a Dane named Osryk, whyche of Policronyca is named kyng of Denmarke. The whyche in shorte tyme after with assystence of the other Danys / hadde gaderyd a great hoste, and were enbatellyd vppon ashe downe. To his batayll Alured was forced by great nede to come before his brother the kynge, that then was herynge of a masse wyth great deuocyon, not knowynge of that hasty spede of his brother. where y ^e kynge thus beynge in hys medytacyons / y ^e hostes of Anglys and Danys strake to gyders wyth houge vyolēce. And how be yt the Danys hadde won the hyllande & y ^e crysten men were in the valley / yet by grace and vertue of y ^e kynges holy prayers and manhode of theym selfe, they at length wanne the hyll of the Danis, and slew theyr duke or kynge called Osryke, or af­ter the englyshe cronycle Oseg, and fyue of theyr dukes, wyth myche of theyr people / and chased y ^e other dele vnto Redynge towne.

wherfore the Danys resembled theyr people, and gathered a newe hoste / so that wythin .xv. dayes they mette at a towne called Basynge Stoke / and there gaue batayll vnto the kynge, and hadde the better.

Then the kynge gatheryd his peo­ple, the whych at that felde were chachyd & dysparklyd / and wyth freshe soldyours to theym accompanyed, mette the Danys within two mone­thes after at a towne called Mer­ton / and gaue to theym a sharpe ba­tayll, so that myche people were slayn as well of the crysten as of the Danys. But in the ende the Danys hadde the honour of the felde / and the kynge of Anglys was wounded, and fayne to sauegarde hym selfe by polycy when myght fayled.

After these two feldes thus won by the Danys / they obteyned great cyrcuyte of grounde, and destroyed man and chyld that to them were in­obedyēt. And chyrches and temples they tourned to vse of stables, and other vyle occupacyons. And to this sorowe was added an other.

[Page]For where the kyng hoped well to recouer his losses by ayde of his subie­ctes, as wel of other ꝑtes of his land as of hys owne of westsaxon / when he hadde sent his commyssyons into Northumberland into Mercia, and éest Anglia: He had of them small or lytell comforte / so that the coūtre of west Saxon was brought in great desolacyon. For the kyng was beset wyth enymyes vpon euery syde / and ouer that his knyghtes and soldy­ours were tyred & palled wyth ouer watche and laboure. whyche many­folde aduersytyes and troubles syn­kynge in the kynges mynde / wyth brose or hurte ensuyng of the woūde before takē at y ^e batayll besyde Mer­ton, shortened his dayes / so that he dyed when he had reygned in great persecucion of the Danys after most wryters .viii. yeres, wythout yssue of his body. By reason wherof the rule of the lande fyll vnto hys brother Alurede.

It is wytnessyd of some cronycles that not wythstandynge the great trouble and vexacion that this kyng Etheldrede hadde wyth the Danys, he founded the house or college of chanons at Exeter, and was bu­ryed at the abbaye of wynbourne or wobourne.

THE .CLXXI. CHAPITER.

ALuredus the .iiii. sonne of Adolfus & brother to Ethel­dredus laste kynge / beganne his reygne ouer the westsaxons and other prouynces of Englande, in the yere of our lorde .viii. hundred & .lxxii / and the .xxxi. yere of Charlis forenamed, then kyng in Fraunce. This Alured or after some wryters Alphred was xii. yere of age or he were set to scole. But for all that he spedde so well his tyme, that he passed his brother and other that were long set forth before hym. And by the counsayll of Neotꝰ or Notꝰ / he ordeyned the fyrst grammer scole at Oxenford, & other free scoles, and fraunchaysyd that towne wyth many great lybertyes / & trans­lated many lawes, & Marcyan lawe and other, out of Bretyshe speche vnto Saxon tunge. He was also a sub­tyll mayster in buyldyng and deuy­synge therof, and excellent connyng in all huntynge. Fayre he was of stature / and moste beloued of his father of all his chyldren.

Longe tyme it wold aske to reherse all his vertue. But for he was in his youth dysposed to y ^e syn of the fleshe, and thereby letted from many a ver­tuous purpose: he lastely after many resystences by hym done to auoyde y ^e temtacyon therof / besought god en­terly, that he wold sende to hym som contynuall sykenes in quenchyng of y ^e vyce, & that he were not vnprofytable to wordely besynesse & serue god the better.

Then at goddes ordynaūce he had y ^e euyll called Fycꝰ / wyth the whych sekenes he was greued many yeres, and lastely cured of that holy virgyn saynt Modwenna then dwellyng in Irlande. But after this cure by her done she came into Englande, for so myche as her monastery or chyrch y ^t she there dwelled in was destroyed. wherfore Adulfus father to Alured, knowynge the vertue and holynesse of this mayden / gaue to her ground to buylde vppon .ii. abbays of may­dens. That is to say one in Arderne at a place callyd Polliswortham, another at Strenesalte in the Northe. But this holy mayden dyed in the yland of Andrese besyde Burton, af­ter many yeres of the buyldynge of these sayd two abbays, & after .vii. yeres y ^t she had ben closyd within stone walles in the yle before named.

when Alurede was cured of this sekynes, [Page XCIX] to him fyll an other / the which contynued with hym from the .xx. ye­re of his age tyll the .xlv. yere of hys sayed age. But y ^t not wythstādynge he wedded a noble woman named Ethelwyda / of the which he receyued two sonnes, Edwarde surnamed the elder, & Egelwarde / & .iii. doughters, Elphleda y ^t after was ladye of Mer­cia Ethelgota a mēchon or nūne, & y ^e thyrd was named Elfrida. The whyche he caused all as well doughters as other▪ to studye the arte or scyence of grāmer, & to be noryshed wyth all vertue. And when this Alurede was admyttyd to be kynge, he well consyderyd the great daunger y ^t his lande was in. wherfore he gaderyd to hym his lordes / & suche as he myghte not wyn wythout stryfe, he wanne wyth great iustyce and fayre hostes. So y ^t he shorlty assembled a stronge hoste / and in the seconde moneth y ^t he was made kynge, he mette wyth the Da­nys besyde wylton, & yelded to them batayll, but not wythout great losse of men on both partyes.

Then he remeuyd his pleople, and in sondry places faught wyth y ^e Da­nys in the fyrste yere .vi. tymes. By meane wherof his peple were so sore mynyshed and wekyd / that he was forsed to take peas wyth his enymy­es, vppon couenaunt that they shuld auoyde the countres & prouynces y ^t he had domynyon of.

Uppon whych agremēt fermely concluded the Danis for a tyme voyded those coūtreys / & drew towarde London, & rested theym about y ^e coste the more parte of the yere folowynge / & from thens to Lyndesey, in robbyng and spoylyng the townes & villages as they wente, & holdynge y ^e cōmon people vnder theyr seruage / & so contynued ouer the terme of two yeres. But or the thyrde yere were endyd they yode vnto Repindon / and there put down or slewe Burdredus then kyng of Mercia / and betoke y ^e kyngdome vnto a seruaunt of his named Colwolphus, vppon condicyon on that he shulde kepe it to theyr behofe. And then they besegyd a town thereby called Hambourgth, & assauted yt right sharpely. wherfore the people therof beynge in great drede and fere / toke the body of that holy vyrgyne saynt werbourgth, by vertue of whose bo­dy the enymyes were somwhat put a backe. And after for a more suerty / y ^e inhabytauntes of y ^e towne of Ham­burgth wyth that holy treasure, fled vnto westchester / where at this daye she lyeth honorably shryned.

Then the kyng made oft peas with the Danys, in truste wherof he rode with the fewer peple, wherof they beyng ware, layd bushemētes for hym, & set so nere hym, y ^t they slew a great parte of his cōpany in a nyght as he rode towarde wynchester.

For this treason the hyng was sore amouyd agayne the Danys / & in as secrete maner as he myght he assem­bled a chosen cōpany of knyghtes / & as wytnessyth Guydo, fyll vpon thē sodeynly, & dystressed many of them, and lefte them not tyll he had chased them to Chester, or after an other authour to Exetour. And there kynge Alurede kept the Danys so short / y ^t he constrayned them to gyue to hym pledges to kepe the peace, & to dwell no lenger there then they myght puruey shyppynge at the next porte to sayle into Denmarke.

After which accorde thus fynyshed the kynge returned vnto Mercia or myddell England. And for he harde y ^t Colwolphus was dede, to whom the Danys had taken that lordshyp to kepe: he therfore seasyd y ^t kynge­dome, and ioyned yt to his owne of west Saxons. By whych reason the kyngedome of Mercia surseasyd y ^e [Page] had continued from theyr fyrst kyng named Penda, as in the chapyter of this worke .C.xxix. precedynge, is more at length declared.

Aboute the .v. yere of the reygne of Alurede / the Danys as affermeth Policronica, sayled fro warham to­warde Exetour / in the whyche iour­ney they loste .vi. score of theyr small shyppes by a tempeste in the see. But some of them occupyed the towne of Chepynham and the countrey ther­unto adioynynge / and chasyd y ^e An­gles, or made them as subiectes to y ^e Danys. And so sore the power of thē augmentyd / that the Angles loste dayly and they encresyd / and y ^e more by reason of the landyng of a prynce of the Danys named Gutteron or Gowthram, whyche ys named kyng of Denmarke.

THE .CLXXII. CHAPITER.

ALurede beynge thus ouerset in multytude of enymyes, as affermeth Policronica & other / ladde an vncertayne lyfe and vneasy wyth few folkes aboute hym, in the wode coūtrey of Somersetshyre / and had ryght scante to lyue wyth, but suche as he and hys peple myght purchase be huntyng and fyshynge. In which mysery he thus by a certayn of tyme contynuynge / he was by a vysyon to hym shewyd of saynte Cutbert comforted, as folowyth. Uppon a tyme when his cōpany was from hym departed & besyed in purchasyng of vy­tayle, and he for a passetyme was redynge on a boke / a pilgryme came to him and requyred his almes in god­des name. The kynge lyfte vp hys handes towarde heuen and sayde, I thanke god that of his grace, he vy­syteth hys poore man this day by an other poore man / and that he woll wytsaue to aske of me y ^t he hath gy­uen to me. Then the kynge anon called his seruaunt that hadde but one lofe and a lytell what of wyne / and badde hym gyue the halfe therof vn­to the poore man. The whyche receyued yt thankefully / and sodaynly vanished from his syght, so that no step of hym was sene in the nesshe fenne or more y ^t he passed thorough. And also all that was gyuen to hym / was lefte there by in such wyse as yt was to hym gyuen. And shortely after his company returned to theyr maister / and brought wyth theym great plenty of fyshe that they had then taken.

The nyght folowynge when the kynge was at his reste / one apperyd to hym in a byshoppes wede, & char­gyd hym that he shuld loue god, and kepe iustyce, and be mercyable to the poore men, and worshyppe prestes. And sayd more ouer, Alurede Criste knowyth thy cōscience and thy wyll, and nowe wyll put an ende of thy so­rowe and care. For to morow strong helpers shall come to the, by whose helpe thou shalte subdue thyne eny­myes. who arte thou sayd the kyng. I am Cutbert sayd he, y ^e pylgryme y ^t yester day was here with y ^t / to whom thou gauest both brede and wyne. I am besy for the and thyne wherfore haue thou mynde hereof when yt is wel with the. But how he had his pilgryme in mynde after, by the fredam that he gaue with the possessyons vnto Durham chyrche / yt is well and euydently sene.

Then Alurede after this vysyon, was wel comforted, and shewed hym more at large / so that dayly resortyd to hym men of wylshyre, Somerset­shyre, & Hamshyre / tyll that he was strongly companied. Then the kyng put hym in a great ieoꝑdye, as sayth wyllyam de regibus. For he dyd on hym the habite of a mynstrell / & with his instrument of musyke, he entred [Page C] the tentes and pauylyons of the Danys / and in shewynge there his en­terlude & songes, he espyed all theyr slouth and idelnesse, and harde mych of theyr counsayll / and after retour­ned vnto his company, and tolde to theym all the maner of the Danys.

Then the kynge wyth a chosen cō pany / fyll vpon y ^e Danys by nyght, and dystressyd and slewe of theym a great multytude, and chasyd theym from that coste. And when the kyng had thus chasyd the Danys / by coū ­sayll of his knyghtes, he buylded there a toure and named it Edelyng, whyche is to meane in oure speche a toure of noble men. Oute of whych toure he and his soldyers made ma­ny assautes vppon theyr enymyes, & dyd to them myche harme & scath / and clerely voyded the countrey of them betwene that and Selwood.

This Edelynge or Ethelyngyssey, standeth in a great marys or more / so that men may not wyn to yt with­oute shyppe or bote, and conteynyth no great grounde / but yet therin is venyson and other wyld bestes, and fowle, and fyshe great plenty.

Thus kynge Alurede dayly pur­suyd his enymyes by helpe of god & his subiectes / whyche heryng of his vyctoryes and manfull dedes, drewe to hym dayly out of all costes. By whose powers and assistens he helde the Danys so shorte / that he wanne from them wynchester, & many other good townes / and forced them lastly to seche for peace, the whych was cō cludyd vppon certayn couenauntis. wherof one and principall was / that theyr kynge named as before is sayd Guttrun or Gothram, or after y ^e Englyshe cronycle Gurmunde, shuld be crystyned, and a certayne of his du­kes wyth hym. And for y ^e kyng wold haue the Danys banyshed out of the west partyes of Englande / he graunted to hym eest Anglia to abyde and dwell in.

Then this prynce of Danys accor­dynge to the couenauntes, was cry­styned at wynchester / and .xx. of the grettest of his dukes. And to this sayde Danys prynce Alurede was godfather at the funte stone, and named hym Athelstane. And after he hadde a season feasted the sayde Daues / he accordynge to his promys [...] gaue vnto theyr kynge the countrey of eest Anglia, whyche then contey­ned Norffolk and Suffolk, & parte of Cambrydshyre. And also as wyt­nessyth Policronica he graūted to y ^e Danys that were crystened the countrey of Northumberlande. And the other that wold not be crystyned, de­parted the land & failed into Fraūce / where they restyd theym wyth theyr cosyns and Kynnesmen, that at those dayes wasted the lande of Fraunce, as in the frenche storys is somwhat apparent. when this Danys kynge Athelstane hadde the possessyon of these countreys / ye shall vnderstand y ^t all suche Angles as dwelled there, and wythin the precyncte of theym, were vnder his obedyence. And all be yt that he helde the sayd prouynce as in fee of y ^e kyng, and promysed to dwell there as his lyege mā / yet that promyse not wythstandynge, he contynued lyke a tyraunte by the terme of .xi. yeres full, and dyed in the .xii.

In the whyche tyme kynge Alu­rede amended the cytye of Septon̄ that nowe is called Shaftesburye / and other townes and stronge hol­des y ^t by the Danys were sore aba­tyd and enpayred. And as wytnes­syth Guydo and other / he buylded y ^e house of nonnes at Shaftesbury, or was fyrste founder therof.

He also founded an house of relygyon in the aboue named place of Ethelyngesey / and a nother in wyn­chester, [Page] that was named the new monastery. In the whiche he was after buryed. And ouer this he endowed the churche of saynte Cuthberte in Doreham, as before is touched.

Aboute the .xv. yere of the reygne of Alurede / y ^e Danys whiche before as ye haue hard sayled into Fraūce, retorned into Englande and landed in Kent / and so lastly came vnto Ro­chester and beseged that cytye / and lay there so longe, that they buylded a towre of tymber and not of stone, agayne the gates of the cytye. But by strength of y ^e cytesyns that towre was destroyed, and the cytye defen­ded tyll kyng Alurede restowed thē. The whyche hadde made suche pur­ueyaunce for the dystressyng of them by water and lande / that they were so nere trapped, that for fere they left theyr horses behynde them and fled to theyr shyppes by nyght. But whā the kynge was therof ware / he sent after them & toke .xvi. of theyr shyp­pes, and slewe many of the sayd Danys. After thys iourney, the kynge retorned to London / and repayred certayne placys therof, that before had ben hurte or febled wyth the Danys / and betoke the guydyng therof vnto Etheldredus than erle or duke of Mercia, to whom as wyfe he had gyuen hys doughter Elfleda.

About thys tyme dyed Dunber­tus than bysshop of wynchester / and the kyng made Dunwolfus bysshop after hym. The whyche as sayth Polycronycon the kynge fande in the wodde kepyng of bestes, in the tyme whan he hym selfe kepte the woddes for fere of the Danys.

About the .xxi. yere of the reygne of thys kynge Alurede / the Danys landed in .iiii. places of thys lande, that is to wytte in the Eest England and the North, and in the west in .ii. places. But for y ^e kynge before theyr landynge had warnynge of the deth of Athelstan̄ kyng of Danys of Eest England, and of other complayntes of y ^e Danys / he therfore yode thyder in whyche tyme of hys there beynge these tydynges came vnto hym.

THE .CLXXIII. CHAPITER

WHan kynge Alurede was acer­tayned of these tydynges / for so mych as some of the sayde Da­nes were landed in that coste, and knewe well that y ^e ferther they drewe vnto these partyes, the more they shulde be ayded and strengthed: he therfore sent messengers in all haste vnto Etheldred erle or duke of Mercia / chargynge hym to assemble an hoste of the men of Mercia and the border there about / and to make re­systens agayne the Danes, whyche landed in the west. And that done / y ^e kyng sped hym toward hys enmyes, and pursued them so sharpely, that in y ^e ende he droue them out of Eest Anglia. The whyche than landed in Kent / whyther the kynge wyth hys people spedde hym, and in lyke ma­ner draue the Danes from thens. How be it of any specyall fyghte or batayle authours therof leue no me­mory. After thys agayne the Danes toke shyppynge & sayled into North wales, and there robbed and spoyled the Britōs / and from thens retorned by the see into the Eest Anglia, and there rested them, for so mych as the kynge than was gone westwarde.

In thys whyle some of the fore­sayd Danys had wonne the towne of Chester. But for the countrees adioynaūt presed so sore vppon them / the sayd Danys were compelled to kepe them wythin the sayd towne or cytye, and to defende theym by that maner. But that holdyng of y ^e towne lasted so longe, that the Danys were [Page CI] compellyd to eate theyr horses for hunger. But by apoyntement they lastely gaue ouer the towne, & went thens into Northumberland. And in the whyle that the kynge with his hoste spedde hym thyderwarde / they leuynge the stronge holdes and ca­stels garnysshed wyth men and vy­tayle, toke agayne shyppynge & fet theyr course in suche wyse that they landed in Sussex / and so came vnto the towne of Lewes, and from thens toward London / & buylded a towre or castell nere vnto the ryuer of Le­wes. But the Londoners heryng of theyr doynges, māned out a certayn nomber of men of armes / the whiche wyth assystens of the men of y ^e countree, put the Danys from that towre and after bete it downe to the groūd.

Soone after y ^e kyng came downe thyder / and for he thoughte that ry­uer shulde be a meane to brynge ene­myes efte soones into that countre: therfore he cōmaunded y ^e streme to be deuyded into diuers stremes / so y ^t by reasō therof there a shyp myght sayle in tyme afore passed, thā a lytell bote myghte scantly rowe. Than by pre­sence of the kynge, the Danes were forsed to fle that countre, and from thens toke agayne waye toward walys, and kept a parte of the ryuer of Seuerne / & vppon the border therof buylded them a castell nere vnto walys, & so rested them there for a tyme. So that .iii. yeres after thys lande was vexed wyth thre maner of so­rowes / wyth warre of the Danes, pestylence of men, & moreyne of bestes. whyche troubles & aduersytees not wythstandynge / the kyng knyghtly and manfully resysted the malyce of his enmyes / and thanked god alway what trouble so euer fyll to hym or to hys realme / and susteyned it with greate humylyte and pacyence.

It is tolde of hym y ^t he deuyded y ^e daye and nyght in thre partyes yf he were not let by warre or other greate besynes. wherof .viii. houres he spēt in study and lernyng of scyence / and other .viii. he spente in preayer and almes dedes wyth other charytable dedes / & other .viii. houres he spent in his natural reste, sustinaūce of his body, & the nedes of the realme. The whych order he kept duely by waxen tapers kepte by certayne persons.

Thus thys marcyall knyght contynuyng in all prowesse and vertue, lastly dyed / whan he hadde reygned ouer the more parte of thys lande by the terme of .xxviii. yeres full. And was fyrst buryed at wyltō, and after certayne yeres remoued and caryed vnto wynchester / leuynge after hym a sonne named Edwarde, surnamed Edwarde the elder. For the other b [...]other called Egelwarde dyed before hys father.

Francia. THE .CLXXIIII. CHAPITER.

LEwys the second of that name, and sonne of Charlis y ^e Balled / began hys reygne ouer the Frenchmen, in the yere of our lorde .viii. hūdred lxxviii / and the .vi. yere of Aluredus than kynge of the more parte of En­glande. Thys was named Lodowi­cus Balbus, whych is to meane Le­wys the stamerer / for so mych as he had an impedyment in hys tunge.

ye haue before in y ^e story of Char­lys the Balled herde, How Charlon the neuew of Charlys foresayd, with hys hoste had entred Italy, and en­tended towarde Rome. The whyche after the deth of his sayd vncle Charlys, kepte on hys waye, & lastly came [Page] vnto Rome. But for the pope than beynge Iohn̄ the .viii. of that name / fauoured the aboue named Lewys Balbus, and entended to make hym emperoure: therfore he refrayned y ^t enoyntyng of the sayd Charlon. For the whyche dede he fynally was compelled to auoyde the towne & coūtre, & fled into Fraūce. where he beynge honourably of Lewys receyued / de­clared and admytted hym for empe­roure, as sheweth the Cronycles of Rome. But after two yeres of hys reygne or short tyme of thys admys­syon to that dygnyte, thys Lewys dyed. wherfore the sayde pope to en­ioye hys papasy in reste / retorned to Rome, and anoynted the forenamed Charlon, and crowned hym with the imperyall dyademe / the whyche in y ^e Roman̄ cronycle is named Carolus tertius, the thyrde emperour, that is to meane of that name.

But of all thys speketh nothyng the Frenche Cronycle / excepte that it is there testyfyed, that he was of the sayd pope admytted for emperour.

Polycronycon sheweth, that the seconde Lewys kynge of Fraunce, was accursed of the pope Nicolas y ^e fyrste of that name / for so myche as he refused hys lawfull wyfe, & toke to him his concubine named waldrada. But that is vnderstande by Le­wys the second emperour of that na­me / whyche was sonne of Lothayre, whyche Lothayre was eldest sonne of Lewys the mylde, as in the story of Charlys the Ballyd appereth. And for the genelogy of Charlis the conqueroure, or of hys ofspyng may the clerelyer appere / and also that y ^e reder may haue the more certeyne of the names, whych were emperours, whych kynges of Fraunce, & whych were kynges of Germany: I shall in the story of Lewys the .v. (in whome for a tyme surseasyd y ^e blode) make a remembraunce of euery emperour, & kynges of Fraunce & Germany, that reygned from y ^e sayd Charlis y ^e grete or conquerour, tyll Hugh Capet / the whyche Hugh vsurped the crowne of Fraunce, as after shall appere.

Than it foloweth in the story, that for partycyon of the lande of Austracy or Lorayn, grudge and varyaūce contynued alwaye bytwene the kyn­ges of Fraūce & Germany / whyche bothe kynges at thys daye were na­med Lewys, albeit that the kyng of Fraunce was surnamed Balbus, as before is shewed. For the whych va­ryaunce by laboure of frendes these two kynges mette at y ^e cytye or place called Gundeuyle. where after longe cōmunycacyō it was fynally agreed, that the sayde prouynce of Austracy shulde than be deuyded, as it som­tyme had ben parted bytwene Char­lys the Balled and Lewys kynge of Germany theyr bothe fathers.

After whych peas thus cōcluded, eyther parted from other in frendely wyse. And Lewys Balbꝰ yode vnto Ardern̄, where he halowed the feste of Crystmas. And frō thens he yode vnto Compeyne / where he herde of the rebellyon of a marques of hys realme called Barnarde, or more verely after the Romayn story a mar­ques of Italy. For thys Barnarde wyth one Helberde had before tyme taken from the chyrche of Rome cer­teyne possessyons / whyche by meane of thys Lewys & the sentence of the chyrche denounced agayne them by the foresayd pope Iohn̄, were agayn restored, and the partyes also recon­cyled. But now of newe thys Bar­narde rebelled agayne. wherfore the pope as to Lewys for the defensour of the chyrch of Rome sent for ayde / for, as before I haue shewed you, thys Lewys of the sayde pope Iohn̄ was authorysed for emperoure. But [Page CII] for he was not crowned at Rome wyth the imperyall dyademe / he is not accōpted amonge y ^e emperours.

For thys newe rebellyon of Bar­narde, Lewys assembled hys armye at Cōpayne foresayd / and frō thens rode to y ^e cytye of Troyes in Uincēt, where he was taken wyth sodayne malady, of y ^e whyche he dyed shortly after, and not wythout suspeccyon of venym, whan he had ben kynge of Fraunce fully two yeres / leuyng af­ter hym two sonnes, that is to saye Lewys and Charlys, or after some wryters Charlemayne.

THE .CLXXV. CHAPITER.

LEwys and Charlys / the son­nes of Lewys Balbus or Lewys y ^e stamerer / began theyr reygne ouer the Frenchemen, in the yere of oure lordes incarnacion .viii.C.lxxx / and the .viii. yere of y ^e reygne of Alu­rede than kynge of Englande. The whyche for they were yonge of age, were put vnder tuyssyō and gydyng of Barnarde the erle of Auuergii / to whom the father by hys lyfe had thē commytted. wherfore the sayd Bar­narde wyth other of hys affynyte as­sembled shortly after at Meaux in Lorayne / & thyder called vnto them the lordes of the lande, to treate ma­ters for the comon weale of y ^e same.

In those dayes was a man of grete myght in Fraūce named Gosseleyn̄ / the whyche enuyed the foresayd erle Barnarde & other, for certayne har­mes to hym by them done in tyme be fore passed. In auengynge wherof the sayd Gosseleyn̄ intended to putte hym and other from the rule of the land, whych he knew well they shuld occupye whyle the sayd two childern had rule of the same.

And thys euyll purpose to brynge to effecte / he went vnto Conrade erle of Parys, and shewed to hym moche of his wyll. And amonge other thyn­ges lette hym wytte, that yf Lewys kynge of Germany myght with hys helpe be made kynge of Fraūce / that he shulde by hym be greatly auaun­ced. By whych meanes he caused the sayde Conrade to take hys parte / so that he & other of hys affynyte whan they came vnto the foresayde coun­sayle at Meaux / sayde that Lewys kynge of Germany, was more apte to rule the lande of Fraūce than any other was. And also after some wry­ters / these Lewis and Charlys afore sayde were not the legyttymate son­nes of the forenamed Lewis Balbꝰ, but gotten in baste of a concubyne of the sayd Lewys.

Thys mater thus debated and argued amonges the coūsayle / lastly by moste in nomber it was agreed, that Lewys kynge of Germanye shulde be by ambassade requyred to come and take vppon hym the rule of the lande of myddell Fraunce. The whych wyth small request was agreable / and in shorte tyme after came vnto the sayd cytye of Meaux, and after to Uerdune. But as soone as the knowlege was come to Bar­narde and other of hys affynyte / by counceyle of Hughe and Terry two nobles of Fraunce, the bysshop of Orlyaunce with an erle and other were sent to Uerdune vnto the sayd kynge of Germany wyth thys mes­sage. That yf he were contente to take vnto hym all suche parte of the prouynce of Lorayne, as Char­lys the Balled kepte from hys fader Lewys, wythout more clayme of the lande or realme of Fraunce / he shuld gladly haue it. And yf nat, he shulde abyde the iugement of Mars and hys batayle. wyth whyche offer Le­wys was well contented / and beyng of it in a suertye, departed agayne into Germanye.

[Page]Thorough that doynge, the fore­named Gosselyne and Conrade with other of theyr frēdꝭ, were with yt sore dyscōtentyd of the departure of Lewys forsayde. But the sayd Bernarde with other of his syde, in goodly hast after cōueyed the sayd two chyldren vnto the citye of Ferrer / & there crowned and proclaymed theym for kyn­ges, as wytnessyth mayster Robert Gaguyne. But the forenamed Gos­selyne and Conrade not leuynge so the mater / sente messengers vnto y ^e quene of Germanye, cōplaynynge theym vnto her of the vnstablenesse and tymerousnesse of her lorde / wherby he had not alonely loste the possessyon of the realme of Fraunce, but also he hadde put them and all theyr frendes in great fere and daunger. wherof herynge the quene / in her mynde was sore dyscontentyd wyth her lorde and husbande, and as she durste shewyd yt to hym as his re­proche and dyshonour. And fynally to satysfye the myndes of the sayde Gosselyn̄ and Conrade, she sent into Guyan her brother named Boso / by whose aydes and assystence he was of that prouynce proclaymed kynge.

Endurynge whyche troubles / the Danys entred the lande, and came vnto the ryuer of Lyger, and robbed and spoyled the countrey wythoute mercy. wherfore the kynges assem­bled theyr people / and gaue to them batayll nere vnto the ryuer of Uyen. where they dystressyd the sayde Da­nys and slewe of them .ix. thousand, and drowned of thē ouer that a grete multytude in the sayde ryuer. After whyche vyctory by the kynges obteyned / a new vexacyon & trouble was to them ascertayned, y ^t Lewys kyng of Germany with a great puysaunce was comen vnto a place called Du­cy / and to hym was gone the forenamed Gosselyn̄ and Conrade with all the power that they myghte make / & by theyr ledynge was from thens cō ueyed vnto Rybemaunt. But howe so yt was, for lacke of performaunce of promyse made by the sayde two erles vnto the kyng of Germany & not obserued / he herynge of the kynges of Fraunce drawynge towarde hym wyth stronge hoste, cōcluded a peas, and retourned into Germany. And the two bretherne rode to gyder vn­to the citye of Damens or Demeus / where they deuyded the lande of Fraunce betwene theym. So that Lewes held to hym the coūtrey nere & about Parys, with the prouince of Neustria or Normandye / and Char­les had vnto his part Burgoyn and Guyan / with promyse made & assured on eyther partye, that eyther of them shulde ayde and assyste other.

THE .CLXXVI. CHAPITER.

AFter this partycyon betwene the two bretherne thus ma­de / by the meanes of Lewys kynge of Germany the foresayde erles Gosselyn̄ & Conrade were vnto the sayde bretherne recouncyled and agreed. And for to theym redy worde was brought, y ^• Bose before named kyng of Guyan hadde wonne the cytye of Uyen / & therin lefte his wyfe whyle that he occupyed y ^e hylles and mountaynes beynge there aboute: they ioyntly assembled theyr knyghtes, & sped thē thyther, & layde theyr seage aboute the cytye. But durynge this syege the Danis often wasted y ^e land of Fraunce. wherfore Lewys the elder brother, departed frō that syege / leuynge there his brother Charlys. But or the sayde Lewis myght wyn to the sayde Danys, they as tyraun­tes and cruell enymyes to Crystes fayth, hadde spoyled many chyrches and temples, and a monasterye of [Page CIII] saynt Peter in Corby, and throwen yt downe to the ground. After which vyle and cruell dede by theym done / Lewys gaue vnto them batayll, and slew of them great nomber, and cha­sed the remanaunt.

But after this vyctorye ensuyd a great wonder. For when the crysten hadde as before is sayde chasyd the pagans or Danys / they retourned as confusyd and dysparkled, lyke as all the hoste of Danys hadde theym pursued / so that well was hym that myghte ronne fastest, and hyde hym selfe from the daunger of his enymy. For yt was thought to them and ap­parent to theyr syght, that theyr enymyes folowed at theyr backes wyth all kynde of wepyn / and yet folowed thē no man. The whych fere & flyght of Frenche men, as sayth myne au­thour, was sent to theym by dyuyne purueaunce / for so myche as they so often before tyme had won the pryce of theyr enymyes, and had not ther­fore gyuen due thanke vnto god, but referred yt to theyr owne strenghtes and vertue.

Then the Danys herynge of this dysparklyng of the crysten hoste / re­assembled theyr power and ppayred them to new fyght. wherfore y ^e kyng called to gyther his knyghtes, so as before is sayd dysparkled / and mette wyth theym nere vnto the aboue na­med ryuer of Lyger. But when both hostes were wythin a days iourney / the kynge was aduysed by some of his coūsayll, y ^t he shulde not as then fyght wyth thē. For the whych cause he yode vnto Compeynge, and there kept the feast of Crystemasse.

And whyle the kynge was lodged in Cōpeynge / he delyueryd his hoste vnto a noble man of his land named Theodorych / wyllynge hym to go a­gayne the Danys. Of whose exployt or spede myne authoure maketh no mencyon / but sayeth that soone after the foresayde feast, the kynge spedde him to Turon̄ / where he sent to rayse the Brytōs of lytell Britayn to with stande the foresayde enymyes.

In the whyche passetyme he was there taken wyth a maladye, & from thens in a lytter caryed vnto saynte Denis, where he dyed & was buried. Or as sayth maister Gaguyn, he dy­ed at Turon̄, and was after cōueyed vnto saynt Denys, and there buried. But for all wryters ioyne the reygn of these two bretherne in one / ther­fore I wyll now shewe vnto you the fyne or conclusyon of the other bro­ther called Charlys or Charlemayn / the whyche all thys whyle maynte­ned the syege aboute Uyenne, where his brother as before is touchyd left hym. To whom the lordes of Fraū ­ce sente in all haste, gyuynge to hym knowlege of the deth of his brother / and also of the great daunger that the land was in by reason of the Danys. wherof when the sayd Char­lys hadde thus wyttynge / he lefte a parte of hys people at the sayde sye­ge, and wyth the other deale he sped hym towarde Champayne, for so mych as he was enfourmed that the Danys were drawen towarde that coste. And as he was in hys iour­ney / worde was broughte vnto hym that Uyenne was delyueryd vnto suche persones as he hadde there left to maynteyne the syege.

And after thys came a nother mes­senger / whyche shewyd to hym that the Danys hadde destroyed dyuers chyrches in Champayne and other places / and howe the byshoppe of Meaws that agayne theym hadde ladde an host of people, was of them slayne, and hys people chasyd / and ouer thys at the foresayde ryuer of Lyger an other hoste of Danis, with theyr leder called Hastynges was as­sembled. [Page] The whych in that partyes wasted the countrey as the other in other places dyd / whyche somdeale apasled the herte of the kynge Char­lys. How beyt by the comforte that he hadde dayly receyued from the lordes of Fraunce / he kepte on hys iourney, and made towarde the next of his enymyes.

But when he drew nere vnto them / were yt for his own cowardyse, or of the counsayll of his lordes / he fell to a communycacyon of peace. And fy­nally concluded that Godfrey the prynce of Danys, to cōfesse the fayth of Cryste and to be crystened / shulde enioye the hole prouynce of Fryse. And wyth in the same / he wyth hys Danys to inhabyte theym.

The whyche condycyon of peace was the begynnynge of greate so­rowe and losse vnto Fraunce, as af­ter shall appere. For all be yt that the sayd Godfrey to deceyue the Frenchmen, shewed outwarde countenaūce to be crysten man for a whyle / he shortely after wyth an hoste of .xl. thousande Danys, entred the land, wastynge the countrey tyll he came to Parys / and layde there hys syege about the same citye. But by the arch byshoppe of Parys then named Iosselen̄, and the inhabytaunces of the same, the cytye was manfully defended / so that he with his Danys was fayne to breke hys syege / and from thens yode to the cytye of Laon̄, and wan yt by strength / and after yt spoyled and robbed, and after brent. And fro thens to Soysons in pyllynge and destroyeng the countrey as they went, in so cruell wyse, that the bys­shoppes and prestys fled from theyr chyrches, wyth relyques and anour­namentes or ornamētes belongyng to the same / as the bodyes of saynte Germanye, saynte Remigius, and dyuers other.

In y ^e tyme of this persecucyō / lyke as the lande of Englande was in great daunger, so also was the land of Fraunce / by meane of these pa­gans or myscreauntes Danys. The whyche resortyd from that one real­me to that other / and releued theym selfe in that one land, whē they were chased oute of that other. But one myshappe amonges other befell in Fraunce at these dayes. For Char­lys theyr kynge was taken from theym in suche wyse, that no wryter leueth of hym any mencyon how he dyed, nor when he dyed / nor no men­cyon is made in the frenche cronycle nor of myne auhoure, howe longe whyle he and hys brother Lewys reygned. All by Uyncent historyall, and Antoninus, whych groūded hym vppon the sayde Uyncent, and Iaco­bus Philippus saye / that these two foresayde bretherne regned togyder and alone, by the terme of .v. yeres wythoute more.

And the frenche cronycle and also myne authour sayen, that Lewys dyed wythoute heyre / and that Char­lys lefte after hym a sonne, whyche was named Lewys, and after for his symple dedes surnamed in laten Nihil faciens, or in frēche Ryen fezant / whyche is to meane in our speche nought doynge.

But who that lysteth wele to ad­uertyse & remēber the order of thys cronycle / he shall fynde in this latter sayenge some dyscorde. For where yt is sayde that thys Charlis shulde leue a sonne after hym, to my yt se­meth, that consyderynge hys youth he shulde not be of any lawfull age to gette a chylde. For by all lykly­hode of conuenyence of the storye / yf all be veryfyed as yt is before decla­red / he coude not passe y ^e age of .viii. yeres at the moste.

wherfore yt muste folowe of a con­gruence [Page CIIII] / that other they reygned lenger tyme, or ellys thys chylde or heyre Lewys aboue named, was the sonne of some other man. But to fo­lowe myne authour I shall procede as foloweth.

THE .CLXXVII. CHAPITER.

LEwys the fourth af that na­me, and sonne of Charlis as before is sayde / beganne his reygne ouer y ^e Frenchmen, in the yere of our lorde .viii. hundred .lxxx. & .vi / and the .xiiii. yere of Aluredus then kyng of Englande. Of thys Lewys yt ys testyfyed of dyuers wryters, that he shulde enamoure hym selfe vppon a menchon of the monastery of Chyell, and her drawe oute by force, and marye her vnto his wyfe. For the which dede and other, he purchasyd the a­boue said name / & was called Lewis nought doynge.

In thys tyme the Danys, contra­ry to theyr ꝓmyse before made / made new warre wythin the land of Fraū ­ce. wherfore the Frenchmen hauyng lytell hope in theyr kynge / sente vn­to Charlon or Charlys y ^e emperour, sonne of Lewys kynge of Germany as before is shewyd / requyryng him in all humble wyse to vysyte y ^e realm of Fraunce / and to defende yt from the persecucyon of the Danys.

In these dayes also was lyuynge in Fraunce the forenamed Hugh / whych as ye before haue herd / maynteyned the quarell of Lewys & Charlys last kynges, agayn Lewys kyng of Germanye. The whyche Hugh of some writers is called Hue le graūd, that is Hugh the great. Thys man gaderyd an hoste of Frenchmen, and gaue batayll vnto the Danys, and slewe of them a great nomber.

It shulde seme by the wryters of the frenche storye, that these noble men of Fraunce, as thys Hugh and other, shulde haue the rule of the spyrytuall possessyons of abbayes and other houses of relygyon. For of myne Authour mayster Gagwyne, they are in laten named abbates / and in the Frenche boke abbis, whych is to meane abbottes.

And also yt is testyfyed of the sayd writers / that this Hugh and Robert erle of Parys, were the fyrst that left the dystrybucyon of those spyrytuall goodes vnto theyr knightes / & gaue ouer that name of abbotte, the why­che in some other estates contynued tyll the dayes of Roberte kynge of Fraunce.

Then yt folowyth, accordynge to the request made vnto the emperour as aboue is shewyd / he gatheryd a stronge hoste of Italyons, and par­ced the lande of Fraunce / and bare hym so vyctoryously agayne the Danys, that he forced theym to obey to all theyr former promyse & condycy­ons. But Eusebiꝰ and other y ^t wrote the actes of the emperours / sayen, y ^t this Charlis whyche they name the thyrd of y ^• name, and also Grossus, y ^t is great / subdued the Danys of Fraunce, & compellyd theyr leder or prynce named there Rodefredus, to take the habyte of Crystes relygyon, and receyued hym at the coulde wa / ter. In whyche tyme or soone after (wherof y ^e tyme is not duely ascertayned) dyed the forenamed kynge Lewys surnamed nought doynge / when he hadde reygned after most wryters viii. yeres / leuyng after hym a sonne named Charlis, y ^t whyche after was surnamed symple. But for he was to yonge to take vpon hym such a charge / the lordes put hym vnder good & conuenyent guydynge / and chase an other as foloweth to guyde y ^e lande tyll he were come to hys laufull age, whyche was named Eudo.

THE .CLXXVIII. CHAPITER.

EUdo the sonne of Robert erle of Angeowe / beganne his reygne ouer the French men, in the yere of our lorde .viii. hundred .lxxx. & .xv / and the .xxiii. yere of Alurede then kynge of Englande.

ye shall vnderstand that the aboue named Robert erle of Angeow was as tutor and guyder vnto the forenamed kynges of Fraunce Lewys and Charlys / and lastely was slayne of the Danys. The whyche Robert left after hym .ii. sonnes, Eudo and Ro­bert. whych Eudo for the great fame that he was of, and also for y ^e great trouth that in hym was prouyd and knowen / y ^e lordes of one assent chose hym to be kynge of the lande for the terme of his lyfe. And as affermeth the french boke & other he was crowned of walter then archebyshoppe of Senys.

Howe be yt this is somdele doutfull to be gyuen credence vnto, for dy­uers reasons that therunto myghte be made. Mayster Gagwyne sayth, that he hath sene some authoures, that testyfye this forenamed Charlis the symple, to be the lawfull son of Lewys Balbus / and the foresayde Lewys and Charlis late kynges of Fraunce, to be the bastarde sonnes of the sayde Lewys Balbus.

Then to folowe the mater, thys Eudo in cōsyderacyon that the sayd Charlis the symple was insuffycyēt to guyde the lande, he was putte vnder the guydyng of this sayd Eudo / and he was made kynge in his stede. The whyche myghtly defendyd the lande from all daunger of enymyes. And ouer y ^t he caused the sayde Charlys the symple to be noryshed and broughte vp wyth moste dylygence / so that he was informed & exercysed wyth all vertues doctrine, and other thynges necessarye vnto a prynces son. And finally when this noble and vertuous knyghte Eudo knew y ^t he shulde dye / he called before hym the lordes & nobles of Fraunce / y ^t whych he charched by solemne othe, that af­ter his deth, they immedyatly shulde crowne Charlis for theyr kyng / and dyed soone after, when he hadde rey­gned as affermeth authours by the terme of .ix. yeres.

Anglia. THE .CLXXIX. CHAPITER.

EDwarde surna­med the elder and son of Aluredus / began his reygne ouer y ^e more part of England, in y ^e yere of our lord .ix hundred & one / & the .vii. yere of Eudo then kynge of Fraunce. This was lower then hys father in letter and connynge / but he was hygher in honoure & worshyp. By his fyrst wife he had a son named Ethelstane, the whych was kynge after hym. By his seconde wyfe he had two sonnes Edredus & Edwynus / & vii. doughters. And of y ^e thyrd wyfe he receyued two sonnes, Edmunde & Edrede / and two doughters Edbur­ga and Edgina.

The fyrste of these .iii. wyfes hyght Edwyna the second hyght Edgina / & the thyrde was named Ethleeswyda. Of y ^e forenamed .vii. doughters, which he had by his second wife / one named Alunda or Almyda, was maryed to the fyrst Otto the emperour. And a nother named Algina, was maryed to Charlis the symple kyng of west Fraūce. And the yōgest of his doughters as sayth Policronica / he wedded vnto Lewys kyng of Guy­an. But therof speketh nothyng the [Page CV] frenche cronicle. He set his sonnes to scole / and his doughters he sette to woll worke, takyng exemple of Charlis the conquestour.

By authoryte of Formosus the pope, he made .vii. byshoppes in Enlande. wherof he ordeyned .v. in west Saxon, one in southe Saxon, & one in Mercia at Dorchester. He also for that the munkes of wynchester sayd that his father Alurede walkyd / caused hym to be remoued vnto the new abbay. About the .v. yere of his rey­gne Clyto Ethelwaldus a nere kyn­nesman of his / rebellyd agayn hym, and occupyed y ^e towne of wymborne besydes Bathe / & toke thens by force & nunne / & went thens vnto the Da­nys dwellyng in Northūberlande, & excyted them to ryse agayn kyng Edwarde. But the kynge pursued hym so sharpely, that he was constrayned to leue the countrey / and sayled into Fraunce, and lefte the nūne behynde hym / the whych the kynge caused to be restoryd agayn to the house y ^t she was taken fro.

The nexte yere folowyng, the sayd Clito wyth his cōpany landed in eest Englande, & gaderyd to hym y ^e Da­nys of that countrey, and with theyr ayde destroyed and pylled the coun­trey about Crekynforde & Criklade. And then passed y ^e ryuer of Thamis & spoyled the land to Bradenestoke / and so frō thens retourned into eest Anglia, y ^t is Norffolke & Suffolke.

The kynge folowed his enymyes and spoyled of theyr landes, whyche they helde by composycyon from the ryuer of Owse, to the bordure of saynte Edmundus lande / commaundynge hys knyghtes of hys hoste that none shulde dragge or tarye af­ter hys hoste, for fere that they were not beclyppyd of theyr enmyes. But the Kentyshe men, whych trusted to myche in theyr owne strength, dyso­beyed that commaundement. wher­fore the Danys awaytynge theyr praye / fyll vppon them by bushementes, and slewe the more partye of theym, wherwyth the kyng was sore dyscontentyd.

Soone after bothe hostes mette. where after longe fyght Clyto wyth many of the Danys was slayne, and the remenaunt constrayned to seche peace / the whyche was graunted vppon certayne condycyons, that they shulde holde theym wythin the boundes to theym lymytted / and ouer that paye yerely a certayne money in waye of trybute.

After whyche peace wyth them stablyshed / he repayred cytyes, townes, and castellys, that by the sayde Da­nys were shatered and broken.

And about the .viii. yere of his reygne / kynge Edwarde repayred the wallys and also the cytye of Kaer­lyon, that now is called Chester. To the whych were great helpers Etheldredꝰ duke of Mercia, & Elfleda his wyfe, doughter of Alurede as before is shewyd, & suster of this kynge Ed­warde. And that done the kynge buylded a stronge castell at Herforde in y ^e egge of walys. And he enlarged so greatly y ^e walles of Chester / y ^t the castell whych before tyme was wyth out the wall, is now wythin.

And the .ix. yere of his reygn / Etheldredꝰ duke of Mercia by coūsayll of his wyfe trāslated y ^e bones of y ^e holy kyng Oswald, frō Bradony to Gloucestre / & there buylded a fayre monastery in the worshyp of saynt Peter.

In the .xii. yere of kyng Edwardes reygne / the Danes repentynge them of theyr couenauntes before made, myndyng & entēdyng y ^e breche of the same / assēbled an hoste & met with y ^e kynge in Staffordeshyre, at a place called Toten halle, and soone after at wodenesseylde. At whyche .ii. pla­ces [Page] the kynge slew two kynges, two erlys, and many thousandes of the Danys that then occupyed the countrey of Northumberlande.

And soon after dyed the noble man Etheldredus duke or erle of Mercia or myddell Englande. After whose deth, the kynge for so myche as he hadde often prouyd her wysedome / he toke the rule of that countrey to hys wyfe Elfleda, London alonely exceptyd, the whyche he toke vnder his onwe rule.

THE .CLXXX. CHAPITER.

OF this noble woman Elfleda, yf I shulde shewe all the ver­tues, yt shuld aske a long tyme and leasure. But amonges other of her noble dedes / she buylded and newly repayred many townes, cytyes, and castellys / as Tomworth besyde Ly­chefeld, Stafforde, warwyke, Shro­wesbury, watrysbury, Eldysbury, in the forest besyde Chester, that nowe is ouer tourned and destroyed. Also she buylded a cytye wyth a castell in the Northe ende of Mercia vpon y ^t ry­uer Merce, that in those dayes was named Runcofan̄, but now yt is cal­led Runcorn̄. And she also buylded a brydge ouer the ryuer of Seuern̄, whyche is or was named Brymmysburye brydge. This stronge virago fauour of cytezeyns and fere of eny­myes / halpe myche the kyng her brother, in gyuynge of counsayll & buyldynge of cytyes. Of her is told that when she hadde ones assayed, the wo and sorowe that women fele and suffer in berynge of a chylde, she hated the enbrasynge of her husband euer / and toke wytnesse of god and sayde, that yt was not cōuenyent or semely to a kinges doughter to vse such flesshely lykynge, wherof suche sorowe shuld ensue or folowe.

In the .xiii. yere of the reygne of this Edwarde / a great nauy of Da­nys, whych in tyme of Alurede were driuen into Fraunce, now retourned agayn and sayled about the west coū trey / and landed in dyuers places, & toke prayes, and went to theyr shyp­pes agayn. And at one time amōges other they robbed and spoyled at a place called Irchynfeylde, and toke a Brytyshe byshop and caryed hym to theyr shyppes, and fynally raun­somed hym at .xl. pounde. But as soone as kynge Edwarde had knowlege of theyr beyng / he assembled his knyghtes, and sped hym westwarde by lande / and sent a nother hoste by shyppe to encounter the Danys vp­pon the see. wherof heryng the sayd Danys fledde into Irlande / and by that course voyded the land and handes of the kynge.

Then the kynge for strengthynge of the countrey / made a castell at the mouth of the water of Auene, and a nother castell at Bokyngham / and the thyrd faste therby, y ^t is to meane vpon eyther syde of y ^e ryuer of Owseone. And after retourned into Nor­thamtonshyre and Bedfordshyre, & faughte there wyth the Danys of these coūtres / and at length subdued the [...] wyth theyr leder or duke cal­led Turketyllus.

About the .xvii. yere of this kynges reygned / Elfleda lady of Mercia before mynded, gaderyd her knightes. And where the Brytons or walshe men brake into the lande about Brekenoke, she wyth her people wyth­stode theym / and amonge other pry­soners & prayes, toke there the quene of walshemen.

And the yere folowynge kynge Edwarde buylded or newly reedyfyed the townes of Towsetour and wyg­more / and destroyed the castell that the Danys hadde made at Temes­forde. [Page CVI] And that yere the noble Elfleda wanne the towne of Derby from the power of the Danys / where they put her in such aduēture, that foure knyghtes, whyche were called Gar­deyns of her corps, were slayne faste by her.

And y ^e .xviii. yere of his reygne dyed that noble pryncesse Elfleda in the moneth of Iune / and was buryed in the monastery of saynt Peter, which her lorde and she before tyme hadde buylded wythin the towne of Glou­cetour as aboue is touched, ouer the bones of that holy kynge saynte Os­walde / whyche monastery was after throwen to grounde by the Danys. But Aldredus byshop both of yorke & of worcetour, made there an other / whyche is now chefe house or abbay of that towne or cytye.

when Elfleda was deed / her doughter named Elswyna helde the lorde­shyppe of Mercia a season. But for the kynge cōsydered yt to be to great a thynge for her to rule / he therfore dyscharged her therof, and ioyned it to his kyngedome, but not all wyth­out stryfe. For dyuers townes kepte of the kyng for a tyme / as Snotyn­gham or Nothyngam, Tomworth, Derbye, and other / supposynge the doughter wold haue defended them as the mother by her lyfe had done. But finally they came to the kynges subieccyon.

Henry archbyshoppe of Huntyng­don, that wrote myche of the crony­cles of Englande / in prayse of thys noble woman Elfleda made dyuers dytyes / of the whyche some ben ex­pressyd as foloweth.

WHen Edwarde hadde reconciled these foresayde townes / he then buylded a new towne for agayn the olde towne of Nothyngham, on the south syde of the ryuer of Trent / and made a brydge ouer the sayd ry­uer betwene the sayd .ii. twones. And as wytnessyth Policronica, the yere folowynge in the sayde towne or cy­tye of Notyngham, two kinges, that is to saye, of Scotlande and walys yeldyd them vnto kynge Edwarde. The cause why, nor of warre be­twene theym to be contynued, is not of hym expressyd.

How be yt dyuers bokes of writers of cronycles of Englande, as of Marianꝰ the Scot, wyllam of Malmes­bury, Henry of Huntyngdon, & other yt is shewyd that this Edwarde subdued the kynges of Scotlande and of Cūbrys, aboute the .ix. yere of hys reygne. And of the sayde authours yt is also testifyed, that about the .xx. yere of the reygne of the sayde Ed­warde, these sayde kynges of Scot­tes and Cumbrys, shulde chose this kynge Edwarde for theyr chefe lord and patrone, whyche shuld be about this season before expressyd.

Then this noble prynce Edwarde, after these thynges set by hym in an order / he in the northe ende of Mer­cia by the ryuer of Merce, buylded a cytye or towne, and named yt Thyl­wall, and strengthyd yt wyth knyghtes. And after repayred the cytye of Maynchester / that sore was defaced with warre of y ^e Danys. After which notable dedis by y ^e puyssaunt prynce fynyshed / wyth the maryage of hys chylder and many other, whyche I omytte and passe ouer for length of tyme: fynally this noble man dyed, when he hadde reygned wyth great [Page] trauayle by the terme of .xxiiii. yeres at Faryngdon / and from thens con­ueyed to wynchester, and there ente­ryd in the monastery of saynt Swy­thyne / leuyng after hym dyuers son­nes as before is shewed, of the which Ethelstane was eldest.

Francia. THE .CLXXXI. CHAPITER.

CHarlys surnamed the symple, & sonne of Lewys the .iiii. or Ryen Fayzand / began hys reygne ouer the Frenche­men, in the yere of our lordes incar­nacyon, as wytnessyth Iacobꝰ Phi­lippus and other .ix. hundred & .iiii / and the thyrde yere of Edwarde the elder than kynge of Englande. In tyme of whose reygne the Danys, whyche contynuelly ouer the terme of .l. wynters / that is to saye from y ^e x. yere of Charlys the Ballyd som­tyme kynge of Fraunce, vnto y ^e sayd dayes, had wasted and spoyled the lande, not wythstandyng y ^e agrementes made bytwene Charlys the em­perour and them, as before in y ^e story of the .iiii. Lewys is shewed: yet they wyth greate hostes aryued in the coū tre of Neustria or Normandy, & rob­bed and spoyled the countre before them, and slewe the people thereof wythout pytye / and from cytye to cy­tye kepte on theyr iourney tyll they came vnto the cytye of Roan. wherof the bysshop beynge in greate drede, of subuersyon of the cytye and de­struccyon of the crysten people wyth in the same / delyuered the cytye by appoyntment, that he wyth y ^e people myghte departe thens wythout bo­dely harme / whyche vnto the sayde Danys was a greate strength, and hurte to the lande of Fraunce.

Of thys hoste of Danys was ru­ler and leder a myscreaunt named Rollo / the whyche was a man of lowe byrthe, but he was of greate strength. The whyche whan he had a season rested hym and hys hoste, & refresshed them wythin the cytye of Roan / he than set forth hys waye, cō maūdyng hys vawnewarde to kepe theyr iourney towarde Parys. And for y ^e more spede to be made / he shypped hys Danis ryght there / and one parte he sent by the ryuer of Sean, the seconde by the ryuer of Lyger or Leyr, and the thyrde by the water Geronde.

Than the Danys that passyd by the ryuer of Leyr came at length to the cyte of Nauntes / and wan that cytye by strength, and slewe therin moche people. And the byshop of the same named Guymerte beynge at masse, they slewe at the aulter. And whan they had spoyled that cytye & the countre there about / than yode they to the cytye of Angiers, & brent and robbyd it most cruelly. And that done they yode vnto Towres, and layde syege to that cytye. The which by the presens of the holy body of saynt Martyne, whych at that tyme was wythin y ^e cytye / it was a whyle preserued. But soone after the mun­kes feryng the sworde of the Danys fled the cytye secretly, and toke the body wyth them. And soone after the Danes had the towne at theyr wyll / and brent the abbay before the town or stādynge without the towne / and spoyled and robbed the cytye & tow­nes thorough the countre of Guyan.

whan the Danys had thus sub­dued the more parte of Neustria or Normandy. They wyth theyr duke Rollo by y ^e ryuer of Seyn̄ drewe to­warde Parys. And fyrst entred the landes of Burgoyne and Auerne & in effecte to Senons. wherof heryng [Page CVII] the monkes of the monastery of Flory, where the body of saynte Benet than rested, they toke that holy trea­soure and bare it vnto Orlyaunce / & layde it in the chyrche of saynt Any­an, tyll the persecucyon were ouer passed.

Of thys monastery was at that dayes lyuynge a defensour by pro­myse before made, whose name in latyne is called Sigillosus, & in Frēch Sigillophes an erle / whych was ta­ken for patrone of the same abbaye. To whom in the nyght folowynge that the monkes were fled, as before is sayd / saynt Benet appered, & bla­med hym y ^t he none other wyse had defended y ^e place of hys Sepulture. wyth whych visyon the sayd erle be­ynge feryd / gaderyd vnto hym vpon the daye folowyng such small power as he than myghte make, & set vpon the Danys and draue them backe, & slewe of them a great nomber. And y ^e prayes that he there wan, he offered to god and saynte Benet / by whose prayers he knewe well that he opteyned that vyctory.

In tyme y ^t the Danys thus per­secuted the countre of Fraunce, and the kynge was not of power them to resyst / for so mych as Charles knew well that the bysshop of Roan na­med Franke, was in good fauour of Rollo: he therfore sent hym in am­bassade to the sayd Rollo, to requyre a trewe or trewse for thre monethes / the whych was graūted. The which trewse ended, the sayd Rollo beseged the cytye of Chartrys. Duryng whi­che syege / the duke of Burgoyne na­med Richarde wyth hys retynue as­sayled the Danys. In tyme of which fyght Ebalde erle of Poytowe was present, and draue backe y ^e Danys. wherwyth the bysshop of the cytye beynge encoraged / toke wyth hym y ^e smocke of our lady, whyche at those dayes was kepte there wyth greate reuerence / and wyth the cytesyns & other issued out of the cytye, & made vpon the Danys a great scomfyture So that by the prowesse of the fore­sayde two temporall lordes, and as­systens of this spyrituall man / Rollo was compelled to fle and forsake his siege, & not without huge slaughter.

Rollo then hauynge greate dys­dayne and dyspleasure of thys ouerthrowe and scumfyture of hys Da­nys / reassembled them that were a­brode scatered, and cōmaunded thē to ouer ryde the countre, and to de­stroye it in all that they myght. After whych cōmaundement thus to them gyuen / this cruell people slewe man, women, & chylde, that were not apte to do to them seruyce / and brent the chyrches and temples, and rauyshed virgyns as well religious as other / So that miserable it was to beholde the greate abhomynacyon of these tyrannous Danys, that brent, rob­bed; and slewe that innocent people wythout mercy.

The lordes and comons thus be­set with cruell fury of theyr enmyes, assembled them by sondry cōpanyes and went vnto the kynge / shewynge vnto hym theyr mysery, and blamed as they durste hys ferefulnesse and negligence, that he nor none for hym otherwyse wythstode the crueltye of the Danys / that hadde destroyed a greate parte of hys lande.

THE .CLXXXII. CHAPITER.

CHarlys herynge this exclamacyon of hys subgettes, and cō syderyng hys lacke of power to withstande that malyce of hys enemyes, was ryght pensyfe and heuy in hys herte / and castynge in hys mynde many sondry wayes, he lastly deter­myned to sende agayne the aboue [Page] named Frank byshop of Roan vnto Rollo prynce of Danys / shewynge hym that yf he wolde renye hys pa­gan lawe and become a crysten man, he wolde to hym gyue in maryage Gylda his doughter, wyth the hole countre of Neustria for her dowar.

whan Rollo had receyued this tydynges from the kyng by the mouth of his frende Frank / he somwhat at­tempred hys fury and crueltye, and condescended to a trewe, by the counsayle of hys lordes for y ^e terme of .iii. monethes / in the whyche tyme he myghte haue some cōmunycacyon wyth the kynge, for ferther processe of thys mater. So that after it was concluded by the counsayle of bothe prynces / that theyr metynge shulde be vpon y ^e ryuer or flode named Ept. where shortly after the sayd prynces had cōmunycacyon the one wyth the other / theyr people standynge vpon eyther syde of the sayd ryuer. where it was concluded, that Rollo shulde forsake hys pagan lawe, and take vppon hym the lyuerey of Crystes baptym / and after to marye the fore­named Gylda, and to receyue wyth her as is aboue shewed. whyche con­clusyon thus taken eyther fro other departed / and shortly after at the cy­tye of Roan, all the foresayd coue­naūtes were executed and fulfylled. And whan the sayd Rollo was cry­stened / his name was chaunged and called Robert, after the erle of Poy­towe / whyche receyued hym at the fonte stone.

Of thys Rollo or Robert, dyscen­ded lynyally duke wyllyam of Nor­mandy, whych conquered England / as after shalbe more clerely shewed.

Than this Robert thus crystened, was seased of the coūtre of Neustria / whom the kynge created duke, and named hym duke of Neustria.

But it was not longe after, y ^t this name of Neustria was chaunged & called Normandye / after the name of Normayns, or men commyng out of the North / or of Nor, that is to meane North, and men, whyche two syllables togyder make Norman, or a man of the North.

whyche Normans or Danys af­ter the exposycyon of mayster Gag­wyne / shulde be descended of the na­cyon called the Gothes. whyche Go­thes of the cytye or men of Sithica ben descended. The whyche Gothys in the dayes of the grete Cōstantine / for theyr feersnesse and cruelty, were dryuen from theyr countre then by them inhabyted nere vnto the ryuer called Thamys, in y ^e North partyes of Europe / and nowe ben inhabyted in Dacia, whych in our speche is called Dēmarke. And where some men holde an opynyon, that Danys and Saxons shulde be one maner of people / it may congruly folowe. For Saxons ben of the coūtre of Germany / and contayne the lande after the say­enge of Strabo, in the west parte of Germania. From the flode called Uistergus or wysera, vnto the famous ryuer called the Ryne. And Dacia or Denmarke is in the North partyes.

Than to retorne to thys Rollo or Robert / the story sayth y ^t he became a good crysten man. In token wher­of as affermeth the French boke / he gaue vnto dyuers chyrches and mo­nasteryes of Fraunce greate gyftes, as well of possessions as of mouable goodes / & contynued hys pease with the kyng as he before had promised.

After whyche pease thus stablys­shed bytwene the kynge and the Danys / Robert brother vnto Eudo last kyng of Fraūce, contrary hys trouth and allegyaunce, seased certayne cy­tyes and other holdes of the kynges enherytaunce. wherfore the kynge seynge that he coude not refourme [Page CVIII] hym of that errour, by no meanes of entreaty or other lyke wayes / assem­bled an hoste and met wyth hym in playne batayle / in the whych y ^e sayde Robert was slayne. Thys Robert hadde a suster, whyche was maryed vnto Hebert erle of Uermendoys / whyche erle herynge of the deth of his brother in lawe, by enticement of hys wyfe, as the story demeth, mette the kynge at the retorne of the felde / and requyred hym in moste humble wyse, that he wolde vouchesafe to lodge wyth hym in hys manour cal­led the castell of Perone.

The kynge castynge no parell, thanked hym of hys kynde request, and graūted to go wyth hym / where he was receyued and fested wyth all honoure. But whan thys erle hadde conueyed the kynges frendes and strength from hym / he thā kepte him there as a prisoner or murdred hym / so that he neuer came at large after. whyche tydynges certaynly knowē / Algina wyfe vnto the sayd Charlys the symple mystrustynge the Frenchmen / wyth fewe accōpanyed toke se­crete shyppyng / and wyth her yonge sonne named Lewys sayled into Englande, there to be comforted of her fader Edwarde surnamed the elder. And thus ended the reygne of thys Charlys the symple / whan he hadde reygned after the sayeng of Uynsent hystoryall and other, by the terme of xvi. yere full / leuynge after hym the foresayde chylde named Lewys.

THE .CLXXXIII. CHAPITER.

RAdulphus the sonne of Ry­charde duke of Burgoyne / began his reygne ouer the Frēchmen, in the yere of our lorde .ix. hundred & xxii / and the .xxi. yere of Edwarde y ^e elder than kynge of Englande.

Here is to be noted that for so mych as Algina wyfe vnto Charlys the symple, was thus secretly voyded y ^e lande of Fraunce wyth her sonne Lewys / and that the lande myghte not be wyth out a ruler / the lordes as­sembled at Parys, and there toke theyr counsayle for the admyssyon of an hed or kyng of the lande. which lordes after longe debatynge of this mater, fynally agreed that thys abouer [...]amed Radulphus or Rauf. son of the duke of Burgoyne, as aboue is sayd / as nexte heyre to the crowne shulde be admytted for kynge, and so was admytted. Of the whyche ly­tell of hys dedes are put in memory / except that in the tyme of hys reygne the Sarasyns entred the lande of Burgoyne wyth a grete armye, and dyd mych harme in that duchy. wherfore the kynge gaderynge his hoste, met wyth them at a place called in latyne Carrolas, and in French Callo the lasse / where the Frenchmen were vyctours, but nat wythout greate losse of theyr people.

Than it foloweth, whanne thys Rauff. had ruled the lande of Fraūce by y ^e space of .xii. yeres / he dyed with out issue male. And was buryed in the chyrche of saynte Calumb in the prouynce of Senys.

Anglia. THE .CLXXXIIII. CHAPITER.

EThelstan̄ y ^e son of Edwarde the elder, began hys reygne ouer the more part of Englande, in y ^e yere of our lorde .ix. hundred & .xxv / and the thyrde yere of Rauff. than kynge of Fraunce.

In the fyrst yere of the reygne of Ethelstan̄ / the holy chyld Dunstane was borne in the coūtre of Glasten­bury, [Page] whose lyfe shone after wyth many myracles.

This was somtyme abbot of Glastē bury / & lastly archbyshop of Caunterbury. whose holynes & ꝓphecyes are shewed at length, in the .vi. chapyter of the .xvi. tytle of the worke called Sin̄ Antonini, and in the legende of the chyrche also.

In the seconde yere of the reygne of Ethelstane / for an vnytye and a peace to be hadde betwene the kyng and the Danis of Northumberland, he maryed to Sithyricꝰ theyr kyng his suster. But after .v. yeres this Sithyricus dyed. After whose deth he seasyd the countrey into hys owne hande / and put oute the sonne of the foresayd Sythyricus. And when he hadde thus accorded wyth the Da­nys of Northumberlande / he shortly after made subiect to him Cōstantyn kynge of Scottes. But the sayd Cō stantyne meked hym so lowely to the kynge / that he restoryd hym to hys former dygnytye. wherfore the sayd Constantyne sayde in prayse of the kynge / that yt was more honour to make a kynge, then to be a kynge. whyche acte was done by the affyr­maunce of Polycronycon, in the ye­re of grace .ix. hundred & .xxvi / which then after that saynge shuld be the seconde yere of the reygn of this Ethelstane. It is testyfyed of Policronica, that thys Ethelstane shuld marye one of his susters named Editha or Edyth, vnto Otto the fyrst of that name emperour of Almayne, and re­ceyued from hym many precyous ie­wellys and relyques. But of this speketh nothyng the cronicle of Romaynes. Howe be yt yt is shewyd there, that the foresayd Ottho or Otto had a wyfe named Alunda / whych as before is sayde in the storye of Edward the elder, myght be the doughter of the sayd Edward and of Edgina his seconde wyfe. But Uincentius historialis sayth / that Henry duke of Saxony, whyche was father vnto the fyrste Otto / sent vnto Ethelstane, re­quyrynge of hym hys suster to mary vnto his sonne Otto. By whych rea­son I maye folowe, that this Ottho maryed the suster of Ethelstane, but not Edythe.

Of these foresayde iewelles sent by Otto / one was a precyouse vessell of stone called Onechynus / whych was of suche clerenesse, & also so subtily & craftely wrought, that yt apperyd to mannes syght as grene corne hadde growen wythin yt, and moued and waued as corne doth standyng in the felde. More ouer in yt apperyd vy­nes burgenyng and berynge fruyte / and men also to syght mouynge and styrynge. He also receyued the great Constantynes sworde / wherin was grauen wyth great letters of golde, the name of the owner. And the hyl­tes therof were coueryd wyth great plates of golde. And one of the nay­les was fastenyd to the crosse of the sayd sworde, that Criste suffred with his passyon. But in thys reporte or saynge, Polycronycon varyeth from his former sayng / were he reporteth two of the sayd nayles to be spent vppon the brydell of the sayde Constantyne, and the thyrde nayle to be caste into a daūgerous swalowe of the see, as before is rehersed in the .lxix. chapiter of thys worke. He also receyued the spere of Charlys the gret, whych after the opynyon of some wryters, was the spere that Longeus opened wyth Crystes syde. And the baner of saynte Morys, a relyque of greate pryce / wyth a part of the holy crosse, and a parte of the crown of thorne of our sauyoure.

Of the whych iewellys kyng Ethelstane gaue a parte vnto saynte Swithunys of wynchester / and some he [Page CIX] gaue vnto y ^e abbay of Malmesbury.

I haue sene a cronycle of Englād, which testyfyeth, that this Ethilstan̄ was y ^e fyrst kynge that euer was en­oynted in this land. All be yt I fynd therof lytell authorytye / excepte that Guydo and other testyfyen, that he was crowned at the kynges towne nowe called Kyngestone, x. myles from London, of Athelyne their archbyshoppe of Caunterbury. But that proueth not or argueth hym to be the fyrste for that reason. For ryghte so was his fader Edwarde crowned of Plemounde archbyshoppe of the sayde see. But Guydo aforesayd af­fyrmeth that Alurede graund fader to thys Ethylstane / was enoyntyd kyng by authoryte of Leo y ^e .v. then pope. wherfore it agreeth better that he shulde be the fyrste.

Then yt foloweth in the story, that aboute the .viii. yere of the reygne of thys Ethilstane, dyed Frystane byshoppe of wynchester / and Bry­stane was byshoppe after hym. Of whom yt is radde, that he sange euery daye masse for all Crysten soules. And as the byshoppe Brystane went vppon a nyght about a chirch yerde, and sayde hys deuocyons for all cry­sten soules, and lastly sayde, requies­cant in pace / he harde a voyce as yt hadde ben a great hoste of people saynge. Amen.

Soone after Constantyne kynge of Scottes, brake couenaunt wyth kynge Ethylstane. wherfore he as­sembled his knyghtes and made to­warde Scotlande. And in hys way he tourned to saynte Iohn̄ of Be­uerley and offeryd there hys knyfe vppon the aulter / sayenge that yf he retourned wyth vyctorye, he shulde redeme hys knyfe wyth a noble pry­ce / and that done proceded vppon hys iourney, and in cōclusyon scomfyted the Scottes, and broughte theym agayne vnto dewe subieccy­on. And after accordynge to the pro­myse before made / he retourned to yorke, and so to the chyrche where the corps of saynt Iohn̄ of Beuerley laye / redemynge his knyfe worthely as he before hadde promysed.

In the .vi. chapyter of the .vi. boke of Polycronycon / yt is remembred that kynge Ethilstane after this subduynge of the Scottes, beyng wyth hys lordes and famylyers nere vnto the castell of Dunbar / prayed to god and saynte Iohn̄ yf Beuerley, that in that countrey he myght leue some remembraunce or token, that those that then were lyuynge, and also suche as shulde come after, myghte knowe that the Scottes by ryghte shulde be subiectes to Englyshmen. And soone after wyth hys sworde he smote vppon a great stone standyng nere vnto the sayd castell / with why­che stroke the stone was ryuen to an elle in length, that in the tyme of Edwarde the thyrde was there remay­nyng to be sene. And whyther at this daye yt is so / that I am in doute.

ye haue harde before, that kynge Ethilstane after the deth of Sythericus kynge of Northumberlande / seasyd that lande or prouynce into hys owne handes, and putte out his sonne. whyche after allyed hym with Constantyne kynge of Scottes, and maryed his doughter. By whose styrynge and exhortacyon, he gatheryd a company of Danys, Scottes, and other / and entred the mouth of Humber wyth a stronge nauy.

wherof herynge Ethilstane, in all goodly haste prepared hys armye / and at length met wyth hym and his people at a place called Brymforde, where he hadde a great and solemne vyctorye. For as yt is shewyd in the foresayde chapyter and boke / after the kynge by helpe of god and saynt [Page] Adelyne hadde defended the subtyll assaute made vppon hym by nyghte of his enymyes / he vppon the morne by helpe of hys brother Edmunde & Dodo the archbyshoppe, chased his sayde enymyes, and slew there Constantyne kynge of Scottes, and .v. small or vnder kynges, and .xii. du­kes, wyth the more partye of all the straūge nacyons at y ^e tyme there gaderyd. whyche batayll shuld be done by the meanyng of the sayd Policronicon, about y ^e last yere of his reygn.

THE .CLXXXV. CHAPITER.

IT is also testyfyed of dyuers wryters, that Ethylstane af­ter this vyctory thus obteyned of the Danys and Scottes, or Scottes & Danys / he also subdued the Northe Brytons that dwelled at Herforde & there about / and compelled theym to pay to hym yerely for a tribute .iii. hū dred pounde of syluer, xxv. hundred hede of nete, and .xx. pounde in gold. But Guydo sayth that kynge Ethilstane caused to come before hym at Herforde cytye the rulers of all the North Brytayne / & there had wyth them suche communycacyon / that he forced them to graunte vnto hym as a yerely trybute .xx. pounde of gold. iii. hundred poūde in syluer, & of hed­des of nete .xxv. hundred / wyth dog­ges & haukes to a certayne nomber. After whych vyctories he went vnto Exeter, and repayred yt & the wal­lys therof suffycyently.

Dane Iohn̄ Lydgate a munke somtyme of saynt Edmundes bury, made a goodly treatyse of this kyng Ethilstane / shewynge that he was in so great persecucyon of the Danys, y ^t he was constrayned to call at wynchester a great counsayll of his lor­des. where after longe debatyng of the mater, & dyuers ambassades and messages sent about by y ^e kyng & the Danys / It was fastly cōcluded that the kynge shuld puruey hym a champyon to fyghte wyth Colibronde or Colbronde a geaunt & Dane, which the Danys had appoynted for theyr cheuetayne. wherfore the kyng enserchyng thorough his landes for such a knyght, & myght none fynde / was in great daunger & dystresse & heuy­nesse. And for so mych as he well perceuyd y ^e mannes power fayled / he by the aduyse of lordes spyrituall & temporall fyll to fastynge & prayer, and cōtynued therin by a certayn of time, wyth perfyte & charitable deuocyon.

In tyme of whyche sayde absty­nence / a vysyon was shewed vnto Ethilstane, cōfortyng hym, & also cō maundyng hym, y ^t erely vppon the next mornynge he shuld stand at the North gate of the citye of winchester and there he shuld fynde amonges y ^e porayll / a pylgryme clad in palmers wede, whome he shulde chose for his champyon. After whyche vysyon thus to hym shewyd, he dyd accor­dyngly / and founde a man of good­ly stature, and somdeale stryken in age, and clade as he was monyshed by the vysyon. wherof he fyrste ga­ue vnto god thankynges / and after made request to this pylgryme, that he wold take vpon hym thys batayll for the defence of the lande / whyche layde for hym many reasonable excuses, as well for his age as otherwise. How be it finally he graūted y ^e kyng to fullfyll his request and cōmaundement. And at the daye before lymyt­ted and assygned met in the feld with the forenamed geaunt called Col­bronde, wythoute the gate of y ^e cytye in a medow or pasture called Hyde­mede / where betwene them two was faughten a longe and cruell fyghte, so that the kynge was in great fere of hys champyon. But fynally by [Page CX] helpe of god the pylgryme wanne the honoure of that fyghte / and slew that geaunt that was of excedynge stature, and therunto of great and passynge strength. whyche vyctorye by the pylgryme thus by grace obteyned / the kynge wyth his baro­ny fette hym into the citye of wynchester wyth solemne processyon, and cō ueyed hym vnto the cathedral chirch of the same / where he thanked god wyth great deuocyon, & offryd there the axe, wyth the whych he had slayn the Danys champyon. After whych oblacyon with dew reuerence & other obseruances by hym and other fy­nyshed / the kynge caused hym to be conueyed vnto hys courte, where he taryed that nyght wyth myche daunger. And vppon the morne erely he made suche meanes / that he wolde nedely departe, and y ^t in the same apparell y ^t he came thyther. when the kynge was aduertysed that his pyl­gryme wold so hastly departe / whom he entendyd to haue holden wyth hym in his courte, and to haue en­dowed with ryche possessyons: he cō maunded hym to be broughte vnto hys presence. And when he sawe he coude not cause him to tary, he required hym to shewe his name / wherof also he besought the kyng to pardon hym. wherfore the kyng cōsyderyng hys hasty departynge, wyth many other thynges in hym to be consyde­red / was the more desyrous to haue of hym some knowlege. And for that he was effectuose in his desyre, when the pylgryme perceyuyd that he coude not wyth the kynges plea­sure departe wythoute dysclosynge of hys name / he sayde he myght not dyscouer hys name wythin the walles of the cytye, wythoute the offence of hys conscyence.

wherfore the kyng graunted to go wyth hym tyll he were in the brode feldes. Uppon whyche graunt thus made / the kynge commaunded dy­uers great gyftes to be to hym pre­sented, whyche all he vtterly refused. Shortely to cōclude / the kyng wyth a certayne of his lordes conueyed this sayd pylgryme vnto the townes ende. And when he was thyther cō ­men / he there requyred of the performaunce of the promyse. where thys pylgryme syttynge one his kne / be­soughte the kynge of his especyall grace, that he wolde put a parte his lordes and other, so that he myghte shewe vnto hym his name onely.

whyche done / he in moste humble wyse besoughte hym, that he wolde kepe hys name secrete for the space of .xxiiii. oures. where of by y ^e kyng affyrmaunce to hym fyrmely made / he shewed vnto hym, that he was hys naturall lyege man and subiect, and that his name was Guy of warwike. Of whyche tydynges the kyng was very ioyous, and offeryd hym then of newe many ryche rewardes and gyftes. But all was in vayne, for he wolde nothynge receyue / so that the kynge and he lastely departed wyth wepynge eyen. And after as affyr­meth my sayde authoure / not farre from warwyke in a wyldernesse, he purchased by goddes purueyaunce a lodgynge in a heremytage / where by the terme of two yeres and more he dwelled & kept an harde lyfe.

And herynge that dame Felyce his owne wyfe fed dayly .xiii. poore men for Cristes sake / he went thyther sondry tymes and fette there his aimes / hys sayde wyfe then lyenge at the castell of warwyke, not knowynge of any man what he was / tyll lastely he was visited with so sore sykenes, that he knew well that he shuld dye. wherefore he sente hys weddynge rynge vnto hys wyfe / requyrynge her in all haste to come and speke [Page] wyth hym. whych she obeyed in humble wyse / and sped her vnto the sayd Heremytage wyth all womanly dy­lygence, and fande hym deed at her commynge / whom she besprent with many a salt tere. And as she was en­fourmed of the messenger as he dyed she buryed hym ryghte there. And more ouer as saith my sayd authour he monyshed her by the sayd messen­ger, that she shulde prouyde for her selfe / for she shuld also alter her mortall lyfe the .xv. day folowyng. which also she obeyed, and made suche pro­uisyon, that she was in that place buryed by hym. All whyche mater the sayde Dane Iohn̄ Lydgate affyr­meth, that he toke out of the boke of Gerarde Cambres̄ / whyche wrote mych of the dedes and storyes of the prynces of Englande, as Policroni­ca and other authour testyfyen / and as the sayde Lydgate in the ende of his sayde treatyse wytnessyth, as by the mater folowynge appereth.

For more authorite, as of this mater This translacyon, such as in sentēce Out of laten made by the cronycler Called of old Gerardus Cambrēce / whyche wrote the dedes, wyth great dylygence.

AL whyche sayde treatyse is shewyd at length in meter of viii. stauys, after the maner of the precedentes, by the dylygent labour of the sayde Dane Iohn̄ Lydgate. The whyche I haue here sette in / for so mych as yt concernyth mater that was done in the tyme of the reygne of thys Ethylstane. The whyche after the accorde of moste wryters▪ broughte thys lande agayne to one monarchye / and reygned as kynge therof by the full terme of .xvi. yeres / and was buryed at the monastery of Malmysbury, leuynge after hym no chylde. wherfore the rule of the land fyll vnto Edmunde his brother.

Francia. THE .CLXXXVI. CHAPITER.

LEwys the sonne of Charlis y ^e symple / beganne hys reygne ouer the Frenchmen, in y ^e yere of our lorde ix. hundred and xxxiiii / and the .ix yere of Ethelstane then kynge of Englande. ye haue harde before in the ende of the storye of Charlys y ^e sym­ple, how Elgina the quene wyth Lewys her yonger sonne, was fledde into England to her father Edward the elder. wherfore y ^e lordes of Fraū ce not knowynge where she with the Chylde was gone / chose the forena­med Rauf. for theyr kynge. After whose deth the said lordes of Fraūce beynge ascertayned of the beynge of the sayd Lewys in England / sent vnto hym the archbyshop of Senys, & Hughe surnamed le graunde / desy­rynge hym to restore into Fraunce, and take therof possessyon.

Then Elgina herynge the message of the lordes, and trustyng vnto thē / by counsayll of her frendes made her redy wyth her son, & sayled shortly after into Fraunce. where she was re­ceyued wyth myche honour / & short­ly after crowned her sonne Lewys kynge / at the cytye of Laon̄.

This Lewys is named y ^e .v. Lewys. In the thyrde yere of whose reygne fyll a scarcytye of corne & vytayll / by [Page CXI] reason wherof ensued a great famyn in so myche that people voyded the realme, & many dyed for defaut. For as wytnesseth the frenche cronycle / a quarter of whete was then worth .xx. poūde. of y ^e money / which is of value after sterlynge money .l. s. or there a­bout. This kyng beryng in mynd the murder and treason done agayn his father by Hebert, as before in the storye of Charlis the symple is declared / cast and ymagined in his mynde how he myght wythout shedynge of blood, reuenge the deth of his fader / and after many ymagynacyons and thought is reuolued in his mynde, he lastely dyuysed a letter / the whych he charged a seruaunt of his to brynge to hys presence when he was sette a­monge his lordes in counsayll. when kynge Lewys hadde compassed this in hys mynde / he for nedes of hys realme called a great coūsayll of his barony at Laon̄ / whyther amonges the other, the sayde Heberte erle of Uermendoys was warned to come. And when the kynge was ascertay­ned of theyr commynges / he apoyn­ted a secrete cōpanye in harnes to be in a secrete chamber, nere vnto the place of the sayde counsayll / and at conuenient tyme after yode vnto the same, and all his lordes wyth hym. And when he hadde a season commoned wyth hys lordes of suche ma­ters as hym lyked / sodeynly came one to hym and sayd that a man was cōmen wyth a letter dyrected to hys grace oute of Englande / the whych he commaunded to be broughte vn­to hys syghte.

when the kyng hadde vnfolde the letter, and radde a parte therof, he smyled. whereof the lordes beynge ware purposed the kynge to haue receyued some iewyllys or ioyous no­uellys oute of Englande.

whyle the kynge was aboute to de­lyuer this letter to his scribe or secretory / one of hys lordes sayde vnto hym. Syr we truste ye haue some io­cande & mery tydynges oute of En­glāde, that ye haue cause of smilyng. I shall shewe the cause to you sayde the kyng. There is dwellyngin England a kynnesman of myne named Harman / the whych is a man of gret myghte, and myne especyall frende. He shewyth me by this letter, that an husbandeman or a vyleyne badde or requyred hys lorde vnto his howse to dyner / and vnder the coloure therof he slewe hys sayde lorde. And for the sayde Harman thynketh the law of that lande to fauourable for such an haynous dede / hetherfore writeth to me to haue myne aduyse in thys mater. wherfore sens ye be all pre­sent / I praye you shewe to me your opynyons in this mater. whych with one voyce sayde y ^t the murderer was worthy to suffer the moste shamefull and cruell deth, & to be hanged and strangled in a rope. But for y ^e kynge wolde be certaynely enfourmed of the consentes of theym all / he began at the hygest, and so pursued theym tyll he came to Hebert erle of Uermē doys / the whych alowed the sentēce as the other hadde done.

Then the kynge made a token to y ^e walshemen betwene hym & them be­fore appoynted / so y ^e anon they were present. & sette sure hold vppon the sayde Hebert. To whom the kynge sayd, Hebert thou art the husbond­man or vilayne y ^t I haue spoken of / whych slew his lord vnder colour of byddynge or gestynge hym in hys house. For traytoursly thou dydeste requyre my lorde and father vnder thyne house or castell of Peron̄ / and there not remembrynge the kyndnes to the by hym before dayes shewyd, nor thyne allegyauntes and trouthe that toward hym thou shuldest haue [Page] borne / kept hym lyke a prysoner and lastely murderyd hym, to the greate daunger agayne god, & to the world shame. wherfore accordynge to thy desert, and after thyne own sentence and iudgemēt / take now thy reward and guardon.

After whyche sentence thus gyuen by the kynge / the sayde Hebert was by the executers ladde vnto an hylle wythout the citye of Laon̄ / and there most shamefully hanged. whych hyll for that cause was named Hebertes hyll longe tyme after.

About thys tyme the seconde duke of Normandy named wyllyam lon­ga Spata, y ^e son of Rollo or Robert fyrste duke of Normandy / was slay­ne by treason of one Arnolde erle of Flaūdres / for encheson that the sayd wyllyam ayded a noble man of Py­cardy named Herloyn̄, agayne the sayde Arnolde.

This wyllyam left after hym a son named Richarde / whych at the tyme of his fathers deth was not of suffy­cient age to rule so gret a dukedome. wherfore Lewys kynge of Fraunce desyrous of that prouynce, whyche of late dayes belonged to his antecessours and progenitours / sought be­syly the wayes and meanes, to haue this chylde Rycharde vnder his tuy­cyon & gydynge. And this to brynge to effecte spedde hym vnto Roan̄ / callynge there before hym the lordes and rulers of the countrey / hauynge vnto them many plesaunt and fayre wordes, in promysyng to them ayde and assystence to reuenge the deth of theyr lorde and duke / and in the con­clusyon desyred of them y ^t he myght haue the noryshynge and bryngyng vp of the chylde, tyll he came to hys lawfull age.

whyche thynge thus by the kynge desyred / the lordes anon coniectured in theyr myndes, y ^t he desyred the kepyng of theyr yonge lord, to y ^e ende y ^t he myghte y ^e more easely obteyne the possession of that dukedome. For the whych, the lordes and other of the cytye were in great rumour and grud­ge agayne the kynge. wherof he be­ynge monyshed, to appeace the mul­tytude / the kynge toke the chylde in his armes, and so bare hym into the place of the assemble of the people / & there shewyd vnto theym wyth affyrmaunce of great othes, that hys en­tent was onely for y ^e wele of the child and for defence of hys countrey, and not to clayme any ryghte or tytle of the duchy / excepte onely the homage therof, whyche belongeth to hym by iuste tytle.

By meane of whyche fayre speche, the kynge obteyned his purpose, and caried the chyld with hym into Fraū ce, not forgetynge the vnkynde dea­lynge of the Normans.

when Arnolde erle of Flaūdres vn­derstode that to the kynge of Fraūce the guydynge of y ^e yonge chyld was commytted, ferynge y ^t he wyth pow­er of the Normans wolde ronne vp­pon hym reuengynge of the chyl­des fathers deth / sent vnto the kyng x. pounde weyghte of golde, wherof euery pounde cōteyneth .xii. ounces, and euery oūce in value of fyne gold xl. s / so that after this rate his pre­sente shulde be in value to y ^e summe of .ii. hundred & .xl. pounde. All be yt mayster Gagwyne sayth he sent vn­to hym but .xl. marke / besechyng him to be his good and gracyous lorde, and not to gyue to hasty credence to hys accusours. For he in suche wyse wolde declare hym selfe, and delyuer vnto the kynge the murderers of duke wyllyam / he meane wherof he shulde certaynly know, that he was innocēte of the sayd dukes deth. And ouer this he made a frende about the kynge, whyche spake good wordes [Page CXII] for hym, & put in the kynges mynde the great hurtes & iniuryes that he and his progenytours hadde sustey­ned of the Danys or Normans. By meane whereof this murdour was forgoten / & more and more the kyng malygned agayne the Normans / and to the chylde he bare not so good mynde as some men thoughte that he wolde do.

Uppon a daye when the kyng was retourned from hys dysporte of huntynge / a lyght cōplaynt was brouht to hym of the chylde Rycharde, of an offence that he had commytted. For the which he rebuked him otherwyse then was syttyng to his honour, and called hym opprobryously, and thre­tened hym greuously / and after that caused hym to be kept more straytly, then he before hadde vsed to be.

To this chylde Rycharde was as­sygned a mayster or teacher named Osmunde / whyche Osmunde hadde a famylyer named Iuon̄. These two apperceyuynge the kynges indygnacyon that he bare towarde the chyld / studyed for his enlargynge, and lastly coūsaylyd hym that he shuld fayne hym self syke. The whych was done, in suche wyse that all suche as awayted vppon hym, supposed hym to be very syke, by reason wherof his ke­pers toke the lesse cure of hym.

wherof Osmunde beynge ware, and also beynge sure of the kynge / made a great trusse of herbes or grasse, wherin he wrapped the chyld, and so conueyed hym oute of the cytye of Laon̄ / and there receyued hym an horse redy for the iourney / & so sped hym vnto Cosuy, and delyueryd the chylde to the captayne of that town. And from thēs he rode all nyght tyll he came vnto Senlys / & there shew­ed all hys doynge vnto y ^e erle of that coūtrey named Bernard, which was nere kynnesman vnto y ^e yonge duke.

THE .CLXXXVII. CHAPITER.

BErnarde hauynge knowlege of the escape of his kynnesmā Rycharde / sente in all haste vnto Hugh le graunde erle of Parys, for to haue his ayde and assystence. The whych without taryeng assēbled his knyghtes, and conueyed the chylde from Cousy to Senlys or Saynlys to his neuewe Bernarde / where he was receyued wyth mych ioye and honoure.

when Lewys was ascertayned of the scape of Rycharde, and howe he was in the guydynge of Hughe the great or graunde / anon he sent vnto hym, gyuynge hym in commaunde­ment that he shulde restore the chyld to hym. The whyche excused hym, and sayde that the chylde was in the kepynge of erle Bernarde and not in hys.

The kynge seynge how he was de­luded / sente for Arnolde or Arnulfe erle of Flaundres / whyche at his cō ­maundement counsayled the kynge to wynne Hugh le graūde with riche behestes or gyftes. After whose counsayll worchynge / kynge Lewys wylled the sayd Hugh to mete with hym at the crosse of Compeyn̄, where the sayd Hugh shortly after met with the kynge. To whome the kynge promysed great parte of the duchy of Nor­mandy / wyth that that he wolde re­fuse the partye of the Normans, and take his parte agayne them. By meane of which promises this erle Hugh was ouercomē / and agreed with the kynge to warre vppon one parte of the countrey, whyle he warred vpon that other. And forthwyth receyuyd an armye of the kynge, and spedde hym to Bayon̄, & made cruell warre vppon that countrey. And kynge Lewys entryd vppon the prouynce of Caux / and wasted and spoyled that [Page] Coste in all that he myghte.

whan Barnarde the Dane, and also Barnarde erle of Senlys, con­ceyued y ^e vntrouth of Hugh le graūt, and also the greate hostes that they were beset wyth / by theyr counsayles and other they sent vnto the kynge certayne messengers, gyuynge them in commaundement to saye, that in vayne the kynge hadde entred that countre with his armye / for the citye of Roan and all the prouince was at hys commaundement. Besechynge hym not to waste nor spoyle the coū ­tre but to ayde and helpe defende it agayne theyr enemyes.

Of thys message the kynge was ryght fayne / and forthwith sped him tyll he came to Roan, wher he was accordynge to hys honour receyued. For the whyche cause he sent in all hast vnto Arnulfe erle of Flaūders / monassynge hym that he sease of his warres in Bayon, tyll he receyued farther knowlege.

The kyng thus restyng in Roan, deuysed hys maters at hys pleasure / so that the Normayns obeyed them to all hys requestes. And for y ^e good aberynge that Barnarde the Dane was of agayne the kynge / he graun­ted to hym the gydynge of the yonge duke. And whan he shulde departe / he ordeyned as hys deputye one na­med Raoull or Rauf. The whyche after the kynges departure, behaued hym so cruelly to the Normans / that they were very irke of hym. And ouer thys the foresayd Barnard fe­rynge the kynges retorne, and other more greuous punysshement than they before hadde susteyned / sent his messengers vnto Grolle kynge of Denmarke than beynge at Chyer­bourk / wyllyng hym to assemble his people / and to make of them two ho­stes. wherof to sende y ^e one by lande, and that other by water / & so to entre the coūtre of Normandy in wastyng and spoylynge it / by reason wherof he myghte brynge the kynge to some cōmunycacyon. whych all was done as the sayd Barnarde had deuysed.

whan the kynge had wyttyng of the Danys, that wyth so grete a multytude were entred the prouynce of Normandy / he assembled hys hoste and sped hym thytherwarde / and in processe of tyme came vnto the cytye of Roane. where by hys counsayle it was condyscended, that a metynge and frendly communycacyon shulde be had bytwene the kynge & the sayd Grolle, at a place called in Frenche Herlycum. where at the day appoyn­ted bothe prynces mette, wyth bothe hostes standynge or hauynge a lytell dystaūce of. And whyle the two prynces were there in communycacyon of the deth and murder of duke willm̄ / a Dane markynge Herloyne (For whose causes, as before is shewed duke willm̄ was slayne) with a spere wounded hym so greuously that he dyed forthwyth, whych dede hys brother called Lambert wyth other of y ^e Frenchmen entendynge to reuenge, wyth theyr wepons fylle vppon the Danys / whyche them receyued with greate vyolence. So that of that a fraye ensued a skyrmysshe / and after the skyrmysshe a sore batayle. For bothe hostes ioyned on bothe sydes / and faught cruelly eyther with other a longe whyle. But in the ende the Frenchmen had the worse, and were compelled to flee. And the kynge to saue hys lyfe fledde also / whyche by reason of hys vntrusty horse was taken and kepte secrete a certayne of tyme by his taker. But lastly he was discouered and brougth to the cytye of Roane as a prysoner.

The kynge thus beynge in holde vnder the kepynge of the Danys / Engeberge hys wyfe makynge for [Page CXIII] hym grete dole and sorowe / toke her iourney to the kynge of Germany, whose doughter she was / besechyng hym to prouyde for the delyuerye of her lorde and husbande. But of hym had she no socour / but rather dyscō ­fort / shewyng to her that the trowble that her husbande susteyned he had well deserued, for his vnstedfastnesse that he agayne wyllyam the duke & Rycharde hys sonne had vsed.

wherfore the quene beynge thus answered of her father / rode vnto Hugh le graunde, besechyng hym of helpe in this greate nede. The which at the request of the quene sent vnto Barnard erle of Senlys / requiryng to moue some wayes to the Danys for the enlargynge of the kynge. By whose labour and meanys lastely a counsayle was kepte at saynt Clere vpon the ryuer of Ept. where after many argumentes & reasons made / fynally it was agreed that the kyng shulde be enlarged tyll an other day of cōmunycacyon / layenge for pled­ges hys sonne and heyre named Lo­thayr, the bysshop of Senlys, and y ^e bysshop of Beauuayze. whyche done the kynge was set at large, and forth wyth rode vnto the cytye of Laon. where he abode the other daye of cō ­munycacyon / whyche after was hol­den at y ^e foresayd ryuer of Ept. And concluded a peas, whyche lasted but a shorte whyle after.

Thys peas thus confermed / Grollo the kynge of Danys wyth greate gyftes was retorned from whens he was desyred. And Richarde the yon­ge duke toke vpon hym the rule of hys owne Signory / and grewe and encreased forthwardly. wherof Hugh the graunde takyng hede / and beholdynge hys wyse demeanure and conuersacyon / made suche labour and meanes vnto Barnarde erle of Senlis, y ^t he maried to him his doughter named Emmacet. wherof beynge en­fourmed the French kynge / caste in hys mynde thys greate alyaunce bytwene the yonge duke and two grete perys of hys lande / and thoughte y ^t these .iii. kn [...]t in amyte and alyaunce shulde dysturbe hym whan them ly­ked. wherof he called to hym Arnold erle of Flaunders / by whose coun­sayle he sent the sayde Arnolde vnto Ottho kynge of Germany / requy­rynge hym of ayde to warre vpon y ^e Normayns, and to breke thys affy­nyte of thys yonge duke, & of Hugh le graunde, and of Barnarde erle of Senlys / and for his labour he shuld haue to hym and to hys heyres the prouynce or lordshyp of Lorayne.

Ottho wyth thys couetous pro­messe deceyued, assēbled his knygh­tes / and at the day and place appoynted met wyth the kynge / and wyth theyr people sped them to Roan, and layde siege vnto y ^e cytye. And whyle the kynges were occupyed in wa­stynge and brennynge the vylages nere vnto the cytye / to put the Nor­mans in the more fere, Ottho sent hys neuewe wyth a certayne of hys people in secrete wyse to the gates of the cytye. But whan he was comen to the gate that opened towarde the ryuer of Sayn̄, and thoughte there to wynne hys enterpryse / y ^e cytesyns issued out vppon hym sodeynly, and gaue to hym batayle / and slewe hym and many of hys company, and the remenaunt they chased frō the wal­les of the cytye.

whan Ottho had wyttyng of the ouerthrowe of hys men and deth of his neuew, whom he entyrely loued / he made inward heuynesse, and caste in his minde how he myght reuenge the deth of hys neuewe. But whan he approched the cytye, and behelde the strength therof, wyth also the fy­ersnesse of the Normādes / he repen­ted [Page] hym of enterprysyng of that iourney / and torned all hys hatered vnto Arnolde erle of Flaunders, by whose sterynge and counsayle that vyage was fyrste begon / in so mych that he sought the meanes to brynge y ^e sayd Arnolde into the handes of the Nor­mans.

wherof Arnolde beynge warned / trussed his stuffe and harneys secret­ly, and in the nyght stale away / and so retorned into Flaunders with his retynew. The whych thyng knowen to the two kynges / in as secrete wise as they myghte departed also from y ^e siege. But yet therof theyr enmyes beynge ware / pursued them & slewe many of theyr company. And or the yere that thys was done in, had rōne hys full compas, Lewys the kynge dyed and was buryed in the temple of the holy bysshoppe saynte Remy­gius wythin the cytye of Raynys / whan he had reygned in great trou­ble .xxi. yeres / leuynge for hys heyre a sonne named Lothayr.

Anglia. THE .CLXXXVIII. CHAPITER.

EDmunde y ^e bro­ther of Ethel­stan̄ and sonne of Edwarde the elder, & of Ethelwyda the thyrde wyfe of the sayd Edwarde / begā hys reygne ouer Englande, in the yere of our lorde .ix. hundred and .xl / and the .vii. yere of the .v. Lewys thā kynge of Fraunce.

In the fyrste yere of hys reygne, the Danys of Northumberland re­belled agayne hym. And for to make theyr party the strōger / they sent for a prynce of Danys named Aulaffe than beynge in Irlande. The which brought wyth hym an other prynce or ruler of Danys named Reygnald wyth a great hoste of Danys & other straūge nacyons / and entred the foresayd countre, and warred vppon the next borders, in wastynge and spoy­lynge the inhabytaūtes of the same.

wherof whan kyng Edmund was warned / anone he assembled his people and sped hym toward y ^e countre / and lastly faught wyth the two sayd prynces of the Danys, or at the leest chaced them from towne to towne tyll he forsyd them wyth all theyr cō ­pany of straunge nacyons to forsake vtterly that prouynce / and bet down that countre of Cumberlande y ^t had mych fauoured and ayded the sayde enmyes agayne hym / and toke ther­in greate prayes, and deuyded them amōges hys knyghtes. And y ^e done / other for the good seruyce that Malcolyn̄ kynge of Scotlande hadde in thys vyage done vnto the kynge, or for the trowth and allegyaunce that he in tyme folowyng shulde bere vnto hym, or for bothe / the kynge gaue there to the sayd Malcolyn̄ the countre of Cumberlande, and seased all y ^e resydue of the kyngdom or lordshyp of Northumberlande, and ioyned it vnto hys owne kyngdome.

But yet y ^e Danys retorned agayn in the tyme of Edredus the nexte kynge as after shalbe shewed / so that as yet the fyne or ende of thys kyng­dome is not accompted.

In thys Edmundus dayes the authour of Polycronyca sayth, that whan Edmunde hadde ended hys iourney, and set that countree in an order / he toke wyth hym the bones of the holy abbot Colfrydus, and of that holy abbesse Hylda, & brought theym vnto Glastenbury, and there shryned theym. This Colfryde was abbot of Bedas abbey, or of the ab­bey of Gyrwye / & Hilda was abbesse of Stenshalt or whytby. And as af­fermeth [Page CXIIII] y ^e sayd authour, both places ben in y ^e North partyes of England.

Thys kynge Edwarde had a no­ble woman to wyfe named Elgina / of whom he receyued two sonnes named Edwyne and Edgar.

And as testyfyeth Henry arche­dekē of Huntyngdon / thys Edward had ofte warre wyth the Danes / the whyche as he affermeth helde than many good townes in myddle En­gland, as Lyncoln̄, Nothinghm̄, Derby, Stafforde, & Laycetour / y ^e which by his knyghtly manhode he wanne from them. And by the helpe of holy Dunstan / he amēded many thynges within his realm y ^t had bē lōge tyme misordered by meane of y ^e Danys.

Of the ende or fyne of thys Ed­munde dyuers opynyons there be. For Marianus the Scot sayth, that whyle thys kynge Edmunde ende­uered hym selfe to saue his sewer frō the daūger of hys enemye, that wold haue slayne hym at Pulkerchyrche / the kynge in ryddynge of the fraye was wounded to the deth, and dyed shortly after.

But wyllyam de regibus sayth, that the kynge beynge at a feest at y ^e foresayd towne or place, vppon the daye of saynte Augustyne / espyed a felon syttyng in y ^e halle named Leof, whych he before tyme for hys felony hadde exyled / and lept ouer the table and plucked that thefe by the here of the hedde to the grounde. In whych doynge the sayd felon wyth a knyfe wounded the kynge to the deth / and also wyth the same knyfe wounded many other of the kynges seruaun­tes / and at length was all to hewen & dyed forthwyth. If this be trewe / it shulde seme that kynges at those dayes vsed not the honour that they nowe haue and exercyse. But whych of these two meanes was vsed in the kynges deth / by agreemēt of all wryters thys kynge dyed, whan he had reygned .vi. yeres and more / & was buryed at Glastenbury the whyche before he hadde sumptuously repay­red / and lafte after hym two yonge sonnes, as before is remembred, Edwyne and Edgar. But for they were to yonge to rule the lande / therfore y ^e rule therof was cōmytted to Edredꝰ theyr vncle & brother to theyr fader.

THE .CLXXXIX. CHAPITER.

EDredus y ^e brother of Edmūde and sonne of Edwarde the el­der, and of Ethylswyda hys thyrde wyfe / began his reygne ouer the realme of Englande, in the yere of our lorde .ix. hundred and .lxvii / and the xiii. yere of the fyfte Lewys thā kyng of Fraunce. The whych as before is towched was admytted kyng by au­thoryte of hys barony. For so myche as the two forenamed chylderne of Edmunde, Edwyn and Edgar, were thought to yonge and insuffycyent to take vpon them so great a charge. The whyche Edrede was enoynted kynge of Oddo archbyshop of Caū ­terbury in y ^e towne of Kyngestowne. And soone after he warred vpon the Danys, that then were reentred into Northumberland / or after some wryters, there dwellynge vnder trybute of the kynge, subdued before of Ed­munde hys brother / and bette theym downe, and caused theym to holde and obeye vnto theyr former coue­nauntes. And the Scottes than be­gan to varye which he also brought vnto due obedyence.

After a certayne terme / y ^e Danys of Northumberlande, whyche euer contynued full of gyle and dowble­nesse, not beyng content to holde the couenaūtes before made & promisses vnto Edredus the kynge / called vn­to theym theyr olde accessaryes and [Page] helpers, and bereuyd from the kyn­ges subiectes the cytye of yorke and other stronge townes and castelles, to the great hurte of the coūtrey, and vtter dyspleasure of the kynge. wherfore he beynge therof aduerty­sed / in goodly and conuenyent haste assembled hys people, and spedde hym thyther, and destroyed myche of the lande. And in that fury brent the abbey of Rypon, whyche the Danys kept for a fortresse and strength / and wan from them myche of the streng­thes that they to fore had wōne / and broughte theym agayne vnder hys subieccyon.

when this kynge Edrede had thus spedde hys iourney, and was retournynge into Englande, nothynge su­spectynge the sayde Danys / a com­pany of them by the excytyng of Hyrcus a kyng or prynce of the Danys, thē folowyd the kinges hoste, and on thys halfe yorke fyll vppon the kyn­ges rerewarde, and destroyed & slew many a man. For the whyche doyng the kynge was sore amoued / & tour­ned hys people agayne, entendynge to haue destroyed y ^e countrey vtterly.

wherof the Danys beynge ware / so lowely meked theym vnto hym, & gaue to hym suche gyftes, that the kyng refrayned hym of the great yre that he had purposed to theym. But amonges other articles y ^t he bounde them vnto / one was that they shuld banyshe and vtterly refuse theyr fore sayde duke or kynge called Hyrcus. whyche thynge with dyuers and many other graunted & fermely bounde to kepe, as well by hostages taken as other suertye / the kynge re­tourned into England ioynyng this kyngedome to hys other. So that here is rekened the ende of this kyngdome / whyche shulde endure as be­fore is shewyd in the .C.ix. chapyter of thys worke, by the terme of foure hundred & .ix. yeres.

In the same yere that the kynge hadde thus subdued the danys, a strong sykenesse toke hym / wherfore he sent for holy byshoppe Dunstane to come vnto hym. The whych Dunstane in goynge towarde the kynge / harde a voyce saye vnto hym, now restyth kynge Edredus in peace. At tyme of whych voyce thus sayenge / the horse of that holy byshop fyll to the grounde and dyed, wythout hur­tynge of hys mayster.

Then this holy man continued his iourney, and fande the kynge dede at his commynge / whome he buryed wyth great reuerence, in the mona­stery or cathedrall chyrche of the cy­tye of wynchester, in the .xxviii. yere of his age, and the .x. yere of hys reygne, as testyfyeth Guydo and other.

THE .CXC. CHAPITER.

LOtharius the el­dest sonne of the v. Lewys / began his reygne ouer the Frenchemen, in the yere of our lordes incarnacy on .ix. hundred & lv / and y ^e .viii. yere of Edredus then kynge of Englande. Thys Lothayr by meanes of Thebaude or Theo­balde erle of Chartres, toke partye agayne Rycharde duke of Normandye. And for to haue agayn hym som groūdely cause, he sent vnto y ^e duke, monyshynge hym to haue in mynde, the fayth and allegyaunce that the dukes of Normandye ought to bere vnto the kynges of Fraūce. And for maynteynynge of the same, and for other maters that he hadde to speke wyth hym of / he wylled hym to come to a place appoynted, where all such [Page CXV] maters myght haue farther expedicion. All whyche commaundement or request was graunted of the duke.

when the kynge had receyued this answere from the duke, wherof he demyd before the contrary / he sent for Arnolde erle of Flaundres, Godfrey erle of Angewe, and Theobalde be­fore named. By whose counsaylles after many argumentes made / the kynge agreed to call the duke vnto the ryuer of Isayr, & there to betraye hym. At which daye & place appoynted / y ^e duke with a cōuenyent cōpany came vnto the sayd ryuersyde, there abydyng the cōmyng of Lothayr vppon y ^e other syde / whyche lastly came thyther wyth a great people. wherof when the duke was ware he fered treason / for the whyche cause he sent espyes to knowe of the kynges en­tent. And they as wyse mē espyed all the purpose of the hoste / and shorte­ly retourned, and shewed to the du­ke that he was in great daunger. The whyche shortely after apperyd / for the Frenchemen began to passe the ryuer in great nomber.

Then duke Rychard consyderyng that he was of so litell myght to with stande the great power of the Frēche hoste / sente a parte of his men to de­fende the passage, & wyth the reme­naunt retourned vnto the cytye of Roan̄. wherof the kynge beyng ware that the duke was hym escaped / cal­led agayne his people, & wyth great dyspleasure retourned vnto Laon.

It was not longe after y ^t the kyng assembled a great hoste of Burgonyons and Frenchemen / & entred into Normandye, and beseged the cytye of Bayon, and lastly wanne it by the treason of one Gylberde a smyth be­longynge vnto y ^e erle Theobald a­boue named. when the kynge hadde thus wōne y ^e citye of Bayon / he betoke the kepynge therof vnto the sayde erle. The whyche puttynge therin a strength of knyghtes / yode vnto a castell called Harmauyle, & besegyd yt wyth a certayn of knyghtes. In whyche season the kynge for nedes of his realme / retourned into Fraunce.

when duke Rycharde was ware of the kynges departure / he wyth hys people passed the water of Sayn̄ / & costed the countrey, & fyll sodaynely vppon erle Theobalde lyenge at the foresayd syege / and slewe of his men vi. hūdred & .xl. persons / and put the erle in such a fere, that he scaped with great daunger, and fledde with smal company, tyll he came to his owne citye of Charters.

Then duke Rycharde consyderyng the great malice of his foon & strēgth of them / sent vnto the kynge of Denmarke then named Erarde, requy­ryng him of ayde or helpe for to withstande the malyce of his enymyes.

The whych Erarde receyued glad­ly that message, & promysed to them all theyr request / & shortely after sent to the sayd duke a great army of Danys, which sped thē by y ^e see tyll they came to to the place where the water of Sayn̄ falleth into the see. wherof the duke beynge aduertysed, in short space drew vnto them wyth his peo­ple / and so with them entred the coū ­trey of y ^e erle of Chartris, in wastyng & destroynge it wythout mercy / and after entred the landes of Fraunce, in pyllynge, robbynge, brennynge, & wastynge yt, and slew y ^e people with out mercy and pytye.

For this mysery & tyranny thus ex­ercysed by the Danys / y ^e kyng beyng therwyth confused, sente for the bys­shoppes of his land, to haue theyr aduyce. Amonges the which the bishop of Chartris beynge present, was by the hole counsayll admitted to go to the duke, and knowe the cause why that he beynge a crysten man, made [Page] suche destruccyon of the crysten peo­ple, and occupyed the land of crysten men with so manyfolde harmes and seathes / and to conclude the trew or trewce for a certayne of tyme. The sayde byshoppe accomplyssynge the kynges pleasure, was answered of the duke / that this vexacyon that he put the lande of Fraunce to, was for the iniurye y ^t the kyng hadde before tyme done vnto hym / & yet cōtynued the same in holdynge from hym hys cytye of Bayon, the whych he hadde gyuen to his great enymy the erle of Chartris. So that in conclusyon a restraynte of warre was graunted, vppon condycyon that by a day assy­gned, the kynge wold apoynte a day of communycacyon / and in the mea­ne tyme restore vnto hym hys cytye of Bayon.

when the kynge had receyued y ^e answere from the duke / he made suche meanes that y ^e duke receyued his city of Bayon, with all dyspeasure forgyuen agayn y ^e forenamed Theobald. whych was done by medyacyon of a relygyous munke, as affermeth the Frenche boke. And after the daye of metynge was appoynted at a place called Gyndolfoss. where the duke made ordynaūce for receyuynge of y ^e kyng / and cōmaunded the paynyms and Danis to behaue them reuerently agayne the kynge and his people / the whych was obeyed in all due maner. And y ^e kyng there receyued with myche honour, hadde vnto the duke many goodly wordes, requyrynge hym to forget all his former vnkyndnesse, trustynge to shewe vnto hym suche pleasures in tyme to come, that shulde recompence all the former displeasures and vnkyndnes by him before commytted. wyth whyche fayre speche the duke takynge yt wythout dyssymulacyon, was well satysfyed and content / so that after assuraunce of amytye and peace betwene theym stablysshed, eyther gyuynge vnto other great and ryche gyftes, they departed as frendes. The whych peas contynued durynge theyr lyues.

THE .CXCI. CHAPITER.

LOthayre thus beyng in loue and amytye wyth the Nor­mans / caste in his mynde howe he myght wynne from his neuewe Ot­thon kynge of Germany, y ^e prouynce of Austracy or Lorayn, y ^t in tyme passed was belongynge to his progeny tours. And this to brynge to effecte / he gaderyd in right secret wyse a chosen host of Frenchemen, & with them passed the countrey, in such wise that he was entred the cytye of Aquisgrani, or any great fame or noyse were therof made. wherwith Ottho beyng dysmade / fledde for that season, & suffred the sayde Lothayr for that tyme to execute his pleasure / so y ^t the sayd Lothayre spoyled the kynges paleys and other places, to the great enry­chinge of hym & his hoste. And when he hadde taryed there a certayne of tyme, he retourned wythout batayll wyth great pompe into Fraunce.

It is shewyd before in the begyn­nyng of the story of Ethelstane kyng of England / that Henry duke of Saxony, the whyche is ment for Germany, sent vnto the sayde Ethilstane to haue his suster Alunda to mary vn­to his sonne Ottho or Otthon.

ye shall vnderstande this Henry is of some wryters admytted for emperour. But his sonne Ottho forena­med, was emperour in dede / whose sonne this Ottho was abouenamed, and called the seconde of that name, and emperour after hys father, and son of the forenamed Alunda suster to Ethilstane.

Then this second Ottho emperour [Page CXVI] & kyng of Germany, beyng thus as ye haue hard surprised of his neuew Lothayre kyng of west Fraunce / ga­deryd a stronge hoste and entred the realm of Fraūce. And as wytnessyth Gerardus wryter of hystoryes, des­troyed the coūtrey of Soysons / and lastly came vnto Paris, and brent y ^e suburbes of that cytye, and hadde a great parte of his wyll of the sayde Lothayre. But the frenche cronycle varyeth from this saynge / and sayth that Lothayr (by the helpe of the du­ke of burgoyne and of Hugh Capet erle of Paris, after y ^e sayd Otthō had fyred the suburbes of the citye of Parys) issued out of the towne & faught wyth the emperoure, and compelled him to gyue backe and fle. whom the kynge pursued tyll he came to the ryuer of Isayr or Sue / where eyther hoste encoūtred wyth other & faught cruelly. But at length the emperour was forced to forsake y ^e feld / & mych of his people slayn and droned with in the said ryuer. And so grete a nomber as affermeth the frenche storye / that the course of the water was stopped, and ouerflowed the feldes nere vnto the sayde ryuer.

But this victory not wythstādyng as wytnessyth mayster Gagwyn / the kynge cōtrary the mynde of the duke of Burgoyne, and also of Hugh Capet / releasyd vnto the emperour the tytle and ryghte of Lorayne. The whyche was cause of couetynge of the realme by the sayde Hugh, and vsurpynge of the same, as affermeth the sayde authoure. whyche agre­ment betwene the two princes stablisshed and ended, eyther retourned in­to his own countrey. After the which season no notable dede is put in me­mory of the sayde Lothayre / so that he fynally sykened and dyed, in the yere of our lorde .ix hundred .lxxx. & vi, when he had ruled his pryncypat vygurously by the full terme of .xxx. wynter / and was buried in the myn­ster of saynte Remigius in the cytye of Raynes, leuynge after hym a son named Lewys.

Anglia. THE .CXCII. CHAPITER.

Edredus or Ed­wyne the eldeste son of Edmund brother of Ethil stane / began his reygne ouer Englande, in the yere of our lord .ix. hundred & .lvi / and the second yere of Lothayre then kynge of Fraunce. This Edwyne was crowned kynge at Kyngistone or Kyngestowne be­syde London, of the archbyshoppe of Caunterbury. The whych selfe daye of his ꝓfessyon or coronacion / broke sodeynly from his lordes, & entred a secrete chāber, & there occupyed him selfe synfully wyth a nother mannes wyfe. wherof saynt Dūstane hauyng knowlege, rebuked and blamed hym greuously / & caused the woman to be voyded from his bed and company. whose husband as one authour testyfyeth he slew, for to haue y ^e vnlawful vse of her beaute / not cōsideryng y ^e allyaūce of affynyte of kynred betwene them, affermeth y ^e sayde authour.

Guydo writer of storyes sayth, that Edwyn cōtrary y ^e lawes of y ^e chyrch, held a woman as his cōcubyne. wherfore holy Dūstane accused him vnto Oddo archbishop of Caūterbury, by whose power the kynge was causyd to refuse & forsake the cōpany of that woman. For the which dede Edwyn bare great malice vnto the holy man Dunstane / & at length by his extorte power, banyshed hym his lande, and forced hym for a season to holde hym [Page] in Flaunders. And for the malyce y ^e he bare towarde hym, he dyd myche dyspleasure to all blacke munkes of Englande / in so myche that at Mal­mysbury he put oute the mōkes and set in seculer prestes in theyr stede.

It is rad of hym that he also toke from the chyrch what he myght / and specyally from the blacke monkes. In so myche that such precyouse ie­wellys as Ethylstane hadde before receyued from Othon̄ the emperour, gyuē vnto wynchester and Malmysbury / he toke theym thens and gaue theym vnto alyauntes and straun­gers. And thus was not onely vn­kynde to god / but also he vsyd suche tyranny, and other vnlefull meanes to hys subiectes, that lastely they re­belled agayn hym / and specyally the inhabytaūtes of the countre of Mercia or myddell Englande, and also of Northumbers / and put hym clerely from all kyngely honour and dygnytye, when he had reygned after most wryters the full terme of .iiii. yeres / and was buryed after in y ^e cathedrall chyrche of wynchester, leuynge none heyre of his body / wherfore the rule of the lande fyll vnto Edgar his yonger brother.

Antoninus archebyshop of Florēce in this worke often before mynded, amonges many myracles and ver­tues actes, which he in y ^e .vi. chapiter of y ^e .xvi. title of his boke called Sm̄ Antonini / reherseth of this holy man Dunstan̄, & sayth that when he had vnderstandynge of the deth of thys Edwyn̄ by reuelacyon or otherwyse, he made hys specyall prayer to god to know what state the soule of Ed­wyn̄ was in. To whome after thys prayer made / apperyd to the sayde Dūstane a great company of fēdes, turmentynge the soule of the sayde Edwyn, and ledynge yt vnto the places of peyne. The whyche when this holy man hadde sene, he fell to great wepynge and sorowe / besechynge god with most deuocyon to haue py­tye and compassyon of that soule. And whyle he was occupied in his prayer, the sayde cōpany of fendes returned wyth yellynge and cryenge / shewynge to hym that thorough hys prayer, the angelles of god had by­rafte from them the soule of Edwyn.

THE .CXCIII. CHAPITER.

EDgar the seconde sonne of Edmunde and brother of Edwyn laste kynge / began hys reygne ouer the realme of Englande, in the yere of our lorde .ix. hundred and .lx / and the .v. yere of Lotharius then kynge of Fraunce. The whyche of dyuers wryters is wytnessed to be of the age of .xvi. yere, when he was admytted for kynge / and that he was not crowned kynge tyll he hadde reygned the full terme of .xii. yeres. whych terme ended and expyred / he was enoynted and crowned kynge in the cytye of Bathe, vppon a whytsondaye / fal­lyng then vpon the .xv. day in May, of Dunstane and Oswolde byshop­pes, that one of Caunterburye, and that other of yorke.

In the begynnynge of his reygn he called home holy Dunstane / that before was exyled of kyng Edwyne / whych Dunstane harde aungellys synge, peace be to the lande of En­glyshemen.

Then he made Dūstane that was abbot of Glastenburye, byshoppe of worceter / and vnyed and knyt into one, the prouynce and lorshyppes of Englande, and made of theym one monarchye and kyngedome.

In many places he putte away cler­kes and prestes that lyued vycyously / and sette there for theym mun­kes. And as wytnessyth Guydo, Policronica, [Page CXVII] and other / he buylded and repayred to the nomber of .xl. houses of relygyon / wherof Abyndon, Pe­terburgh, Thorney, Ramesey, and wylton̄ were parcell of theym.

And at wynchester in the newe ab­bay he putte in munkes / where be­fore dayes were seculer prestes. The cause wherof was, for so myche as the prestes fled or neglygently slow­thed the dyuyne seruyce of god, and sette vykers in theyr places, whyle they lyued at theyr pleasure in other places, and spente the patrymo­nye of that chyrche after theyr sen­suall wyll.

Then kynge Edgar gaue to the vykers the lande that before belonged to the prebendaryes / trustynge ther­by that they wolde do theyr duetyes. But yt was not longe to, or the sayd vycares were as neglygent as the other. wherfore fynally, the kyng by authoryte of pope Iohn̄ the .xiii. of that name, voyded clerely the pres­tes & ordeyned there mōkes / though some of hys prelates where not ther­wyth contented.

This Edgar kepte suche iustyce, and dyd so sharpe execucyon / that neuer before his days was vsyd lesse felony or robberyes. And for he wold haue the rauenous bestes destroyed thorough hys lande / he caused Ludwallus prynce or kynge of walys, to yelde to hym yerely by way of try­bute thre hundred woluys. By mea­ne wherof wythin the space of .iiii. yeres after, in Englande and walys myght scantely be founden one wolf a lyue.

It is wytnessyd of dyuers authours that Kynadus kynge of Scotlande dispysed Edgar, for that that he was lytell of stature. wherof Edgar be­ynge warned / desyred the sayd Kynadus to dyner, and made to him good countenaunce. After whych dyner ended / he toke the sayd Kynadus by y ^e arme, and so wyth hym helde company tyll they came into y ^e feldes. where beynge dysseuered from bothe theyr seruauntes / Edgar drew from vnder his garment two swordes, & desyred Kynadus to take the chose of theym, & sayd to hym: nowe thou hast good laysure to a saye thy strength wyth myne, that before tyme thou haste so myche dyspysed. And lette vs nowe proue whyche is more worthy to be subiecte to other. It is not syttynge for a knyghte to make great boste at the borde, and to do lytell in felde. when the Scottyshe kynge hard the kyng thus challenge hym / he knew well his wordes before spoken were disclosyd to y ^e kynge / wherof he was not a litle abashed. But for apeace y ^e kynge / he behaued hym so lowely, and gaue to hym suche plesaunte wordes, that the kynge forgaue the trespace.

This Edgar amonge other of hys polytyke dedes / vsed in the somer tyme to scowre the see wyth certayne shyppes of warre. And agayn y ^e wynter he prouyded to laye the sayd shyppes in sure hauens / and had redy in his owne seruyce, and in hys lordes houses, a certayne nomber of so [...]dy­ours that were alway redy when the kyng had nede of them. And his shyp maysters were in wages wyth hym thorough the yere / that euer attēdyd vpon the shippes, to se that nothyng fayled that vnto theym was necessa­ry. By meane wherof he kepte hys land in great quyete fro outward enmyes. And in the wynter he vsed to ryde ouer the land, and to se how hys offycers entreated the people. And yf any were accused of extorcyon or other crymes, and agayne them suf­fycyently proued / he dyd vppon all suche sharpe correccyon.

And for so mych as in his days grete [Page] multytude of Danys dwelled in dy­uers places of England, which vsed many vyces / & specyally great dryn­kynge, wherof ensued dronkenesse and many other vices, to the euyll examples and hurte of hys commons and subiectes: he therfore ordeyned certayne cuppes with pynnes or nayles set in them / and ordeyned & made a law, that what person dranke past that marke at one drought, shuld for fayte a certayn peny. wherof the one half shuld fall to the accusour, & that other half to the ruler of y ^e brough or towne that the offence was done in.

It is told of this Edgar by dyuers authours, y ^t he vpon a season beyng at Chester, entred y ^e ryuer of Dee / & there syttynge in a bote, toke the ru­le of the helme, and caused .viii. kynges, whyche of Guydo are called re­gul [...], whyche is to meane small or lytell kynges or vnder kinges, y ^e why­che he commaunded to rowe hym vp and downe the ryuer vnto saynte Iohn̄s chyrche, and from thens to hys owne paleys / in token y ^t he was lorde & kynge of so many prouynces.

This noble Edgar had two wy­ues. By the fyrste y ^t was called Egelfleda the whyte / he hadde a son that was named Edwarde. He was after kynge, and slayne by reason of hys stepmoder Alfrita, called in the en­glyshe cronycle Estrylde. And vpon his seconde wyfe Alfrida or Estrylde he gat a son named Egelredus, or after the englyshe boke Eldrede / which was kynge after Edwarde the mar­tyr, as after shall be shewyd. And of saynte wylfryth, whych of some wryters is accōpted for a mēchon, he had a doughter named saynte Edyth in ꝓcesse of ryme. But this was of bast and not in wedloke. For as Guydo and Policronicon testyfyen / this virgyne wylfryth knowynge that the kyng caste to her vnlawfull loue, put vppon her the habyte of a nūne, thynkyng thereby to wythdrawe the kynges loue. But that not wythstan­dynge, she was at length brought to the kynges bedde. For whych dede he was greatly blamed of the holy byshop Dunstane / and dyd therfore vii. yere penaūce, by the heste or byd­dynge of the sayde Dunstane. And the forenamed wylfrith after y ^e chyld borne lyued so relygyousely / y ^t she is now cōpted for a saynt in heuen. Of her doughter Edyth yt is radde, that at lawefull age she was at wylton̄ shorne a nunne / where she vsyd more gayer apparell then was thought cō uenyent to her religyon. For y ^e which she beynge blamed of the holy bys­shop Ethelwolde answered. Goddes dome that maye not fayle is pleasyd onely wyth conscyence. wherfore I truste that vnder these clothes maye be as clene a soule, as vnder other y ^e ben of lasse shewynge. Many ver­tues ben rehersed of this holy virgyn Edyth, in the .ix. chapyter of the .vi. boke of Policronycon. The which I passe ouer for length of the mater.

THE .CXCIII. CHAPITER.

EDgar thus rulynge the lande after the deth of his fyrst wyfe Egelfleda / worde was broughte to hym of y ^e beaute of Alfrida or Estrild doughter of Orgarus erle of Deuenshire. wherfore he sent a knight of his court named Ethelwold, to espy whether the mayde were of such beautye as she was reported of or not / char­gynge hym yf she were so beauty­ous, that then he shulde aske her to wyfe for the kynge.

But this knyght hauyng syght of this mayden, was so wounded wyth the darte of the blynde god Cupyde, that he forgate his trouth and alle­giaunce, y ^t he shuld owe to his may­ster [Page CXVIII] and souerayne / and retourned, shewynge to the kynge, that she was nothynge of the beaute that she was reported of, but of meane fayrenesse as other women were. wherfore he besought the kynge consyderyng she was her fathers heyre & a good ma­ryage / that he wolde be so good lord to hym as to wryte vnto her fader, y ^t he myght haue her to wyfe. The why the grace he obteyned, and at length was maryed vnto her.

In processe of tyme the fame of the beaute of thys woman sprange so wyde, that lastly yt came to the erys of Edgar. wherwyth the kynge in mynde beynge sore dyscontentyd wyth Ethilwolde, whyche hym had dysceyued / yet kepte good counte­naunce, and made semblaunte, as though he hadde nothynge forced y ^t mater. And vpon a tyme as yt were in game / warned this Ethilwolde, y ^t then was an erle by reason of hys wyfe or otherwyse, that he wold lod­ge one nyght in his house / & appoynted the daye when yt shulde be. wyth thys monyssyon the erle beynge no­thynge contented / ranne home nygh deed for fere, and prayed his wyfe of helpe in that tyme of nede, and y ^t she wold in all that she myght make her self as fowle and as vnsemely as she coude / and shewed to her all the resydue of y ^e mater. Then y ^e woman cast in her mynde the great dyspleasure y ^t might ensue toward her agayn god, to make that fowle, whych he hadde made goodly and fayre / and also to her lorde and husbande agayne the kynge, thynkyng that he shuld cause her thus to do, to the ende to mocke and dysceyue hym. wherfore in con­syderacyon of the premysses, she en­ourned her in moste costly and shew­ynge aparayll. And ouer y ^t yf dame nature hadde had any thynge forgo­ten or mysprinted in her / she left not that by womās helpe might be amended or refourmed / and at the kynges cōmynge receyued hym wyth all ioy and gladnesse. By whyche meanes this yonge amorous kyng was soon caught in the dyuylles snare / so that he sette reason a parte, and folowed his own sensualyte. And for to bryng his purpose the better about, he kept forth a countenaunce as he had ben well contentyd wyth all thynge, and desyred the erle, that he wolde wyth hym ryde on huntyng into the wood of welwerley that now is called hore wood / where he awaytynge his sea­son & tyme, strake the erle thorough the bodye wyth his shafte / so that he dyed soon after. And then he maryed this Elfryda or Estrylde shortely, & hadde by her Egelredus as before I haue shewyd. For the whyche dede sayth Ranulf, this Elfrida buylded an house of nunnes at warwell. But other authours saye, yt was for the slayeng of her stepson Edwarde.

Also the englyshe cronycle sheweth that this Ethilwolde was slayne by an other meane and not by the kyng.

About this tyme dyed Oddo archbyshoppe af Caunterbury, that was of the nacyon of Danys. Of hym is tolde a longe processe in the .x. chapyter of the .vi. boke of Polycronycon. And after hym Bryglinus, that then was byshoppe of wynchester, was made hys successour. But for he was not suffycyent for so great a charge / he went agayne to wynchester. And holy Dunstane byshop of London & of worceter, was sacryd archbys­shoppe of Caunterbury / and went to Rome and receyued the palle of pope Iohn̄ the .xiii. of that name. This Dunstane was fyrste abbot of Glas­tynbury, and byshoppe of London & worceter, and lastely archbyshoppe of Caunterbury. In his dayes the order of munkes was religyous and [Page] Full of vertues. For it hadde relygyous rulers, clere of scyence and of clergy / so that then men were lad as mych wyth other dedes and good examples of vertuous lyuynge as by theyr famous & vertuous prechyng.

Than Edgare as before ys sayde was crowned kynge at the cytye of Bathe, of Dunstane archbysshop of Caunterbury, and Oswolde archbysshop of yorke, whan he hadde ruled thys lande .xii. yeres. The cause why it was so longe or this Edgar were enoynted / was as testyfyeth Guydo for hys vnlefull Lechery, and specy­ally for the offence done wyth wyl­fryde. For the whyche dede he was of Dunstane ioyned to .vii. yeres pe­naunce. The whyche penaunce du­rynge, he was kept from the sayd en­oyntement as affermeth the sayde Guydo. But for what cause so euer it was / by agrement of dyuers wry­ters, he was not crowned tyll he had reygned .xii. yeres.

It is also tolde of thys Edgare, that he beynge vpon a season at the towne of And [...]uyr / he was enamou­red vpon a noble mannes doughter whyche was of passynge beautye / & made suche meanes by force or other wyse, that the parentes were agreed that the kynge shulde haue hys pleasure. But the moder subtyll of wytte bethoughte her of a whyle / and sent a seruaunt of hers, whych was both comely and fayre to the kynges bed. In the mornynge whan the daye began to waxe clere / the woman began to styrre, and wolde haue departed from the kynge. But the kynge re­frayned her and asked the cause of her so hasty departyng. For I muste be at my worke wyth my felowes sayde the woman, at myne houre to kepe my taske. And whan the kynge had questyoned wyth her further, he lerned that she was a bonde woman / and asked of the kynge fredome for y ^• nyghtis seruyce. The kyng at this had good game / and cherysshed that damosell so after, that he made her lady of Lordes. For these insolent & wanton dedes / it is sayde that by the counsayle of the holy Dunstane, he buylded & repayred so many abbeys and houses of relygyon as aboue is rehersed.

Thus thys noble Edgare passyng his tyme in vertue medled with vyce lastly had wyttynge of the rebellyon of y ^e Brytaynes or walshmen, wher­fore he assembled hys knyghtes, and entred the lande, and dyd them grete harme and waste. And among other prayes, spoyled the countre of Gla­morgan̄ / and also toke or spoyled the countre of Ono / and toke the bell of saynt Eltutus, which serued for hys chyrche, that was taken by vyolence wyth other stuffe, & hanged it about an horse necke. In puttynge it to tē ­porall seruyce to the dyspleasure of that saynte. But for the vyolent ta­kynge therof, as Ranulf expresseth / in an vndertyde whan kyng Edgar was layde to take hys reste, the sayd Eltutus apered and smote the kyng vppon the breste wyth a spere. So y ^t the kynge awoke wyth that stroke / and charged that the belle shulde be restored to the chyrche of Saynt Eltutus, and all other thynges that were taken wyth the same. But the kynge dyed wythin .x. dayes after / whan he had reygned after moste wryters the full terme of .xvi. yeres. And was buryed at Glastenbury / leuynge after hym two sonnes, Edwarde the mar­tyr & Egelredꝰ, by .ii. sondry wyues.

Henricus the hystographer made of hym these verses folowynge.

WIllelmus de regibus testifyeth, that in the yere of our lorde .M.lii, whiche was after the deth of this noble kynge Edgar .lxxvi. yeres / an abbot of Glastenbury named Ayle­warde, dygged the graue of this no­ble man vnreuerently. At whyche tyme the body was foūden hole and so full of flesshe, that the body wolde not entre into a newe cheste without pressynge. By reason wherof fresshe droppes of blode issued out of the same body. Than the abbot foresayd fyll sodeynly madde, and went out of the chyrch, and brake hys necke, and so dyed. Than the body was put in a shryne that he before tyme had gy­uen to the place, & set vppon y ^e auter / wyth the hed of saynt Apolinare and other relyques of saynt Uyncent, the whych y ^e kyng Edgare before dayes had brought thyther and gyuen to y ^e house. wherfore it maye well appere to all that rede thys story, that what lyuynge thys man was demed of, y ^t he purged hym in suche wyse by pe­naūce, that he made a seth and amendes to goddes pleasure.

THE .CXCV. CHAPITER.

IN y ^e story of thys noble prynce Edgare, I fynde wryten a story, the whyche is alleged by the au­thour, y ^t it shulde be done by a kyng of Syrye named Cambyses, in the tyme of the reygne of thys Edgare. But in that sayenge he varyeth frō other authours and wryters very farre / as Uincencius hystorialis, Antoninus, Ranulphus and other. For all be it the sayde acte was done by y ^e sayd Cambyse, as the forenamed authoure affermeth / yet it was by the sayd Cambyses executed, longe be­fore the incarnacyon of Cryste. For thys Cambyses was the sonne of Cirus kyng of Parsys and of Medis, whyche reygned ouer those prouyn­ces about the yere of the worlde .iiii. thousand .lxx, before the commynge of Cryste folowyng the accompte of thys worke .xi. hundred yeres & .xxix. But it myghte be, y ^t the whyte mon­ke that was authoure or wryter of this acte to the story of Edgare / was moued for the greate iustyce that he radde in the story of thys Edgare, thynkyng to enhaunce it by the rea­son herof / where he sayth that in the tyme of thys Cābyses, a iudge was to hym accused and conuycte vppon the same accusacyon, that he hadde gyuen a wronge sentence by meane of takynge of mede. wherfore thys Cambyses to the terrour and fere of other / commaunded the sayde iudge to be flayne quycke, and the skynne to be spred ouer the place or stole of iudgement / and that done, made the sone of the foresayd iudge to sytte as iudge in the place, where hys fader before sat / wyth these verses wryten vppon the face of the sayde place of iudgement as foloweth.

whyche verses maye be englysshed in maner and fourme as foloweth.

AS I haue before shewed this acte was put in execucyon y ^e xi.C. yere and odde before the com­mynge of Cryste. And syns the sayd cōmynge or incarnacyon haue expy­red .xv. hundred yeres & more / which all maketh ouer two thousande .vi. hundred yeres. In all whyche tyme I haue nat radde in any cronycle of thys lande nor other where, that any iudge hath ben put to lyke sentence. wherfore it is to presuppose, that in the lawes bothe spyrytuall & temporall / all iudges haue wel borne these verses in mynde, and exercysed them in mynystrynge of dewe iustyce, as perfytely as theyr cusshons had ben fresshely lyned wyth the foresayde skinne / & emprīted so narowly these verses in the boke of theyr cōscience, that they in all theyr iudgementes set asyde all parcyalyte and fauour / and holde theyr handes from all me­des and rewardes / so that now it is thus wyth more, or ellys thus it shulde be.

THE .CXCVI. CHAPITER.

EDwarde the sonne of Edgare and of hys fyrste wyfe named Egelfleda / beganne hys reygn ouer thys realme of Englande, in the yere of our lorde .ix. hundred and .lxxvii / and the .xii. yere of Lothayre than kynge of Fraunce.

ye shall vnderstand that after the deth of Edgare / stryfe arose amonge the lordes for admyssyon of theyr kyng. For Elfryda or Estrylde with Alphrede duke of Mercia / made dy­uers frendes to haue her sonne Egelredus promoted to that dygnite, a chylde of .vii. yeres of age, that she & he myghte haue the rule of the land. But holy Dunstane wyth ayde of other bysshoppes, and of the erle of eest Englande or Essex / wythstode so that doynge, that he crowned thys Edwarde kynge at y ^e towne of Kyn­gestowne / to the greuous dysplea­sure of hys sayd moder Elfryda and other of her affynyte.

In the tyme of thys Edward appered stella cometa, a blasing sterre / wherafter ensued many inconueny­ences as well to men as to bestes, as sykenesse, hunger, moreyne, & other lyke myseryes. But none of this fyll in the dayes of this Edwarde, but after hys deth. The forenamed Alphe­rus duke of Mercia, whyche in all thynges fauoured mych the dedes of the quene / put out y ^e monkes at wynchester, that kyng Edgare as before is shewed had there set in / & brought in for theym wanton clerkes / or as Ranulphe sayth clerkes wyth con­cubynes. But Dunstane and the erle of Essex wythsayde that doyng / and helde agayne the duke and suche as fauoured hys partye. For the whych arose greate stryfe bytwene the pre­stes and the monkes of Englande. For y ^e clerkes that were before tyme put out by Edgare / sayd that it were a wretched and cursed dede, that a newe comon company vnknowen shulde put out olde landysmen from theyr place / nor it shulde not be plea­syng to god y ^t had graunted y ^e place to the olde wōner / nor no good man ought to alowe suche doynge, for the ensample that therof myght ensewe. [Page CXX] The monkes sayde y ^etCryste alowed nother the olde dweller, nor yet the persone. But who so wolde take the crosse of penaunce vppon hym, and folow Cryste in vertuous lyuynge / he shulde be hys dyscyple. For thys was holden a generall counsayle of bysshoppes and all the clergy of the land at wynchester / where holy Dū ­stane helde wyth the vertuous. And whyle they were there in greate ar­gument for thys mater, as dyuers wryters testyfyē / a rode there beyng or standynge in the wall spake myraculously, and sayd that Dunstanes wayes was good and trewe. But for all thys the stryfe seased not. In so mych that a new assemble of the clergye and other was appoynted after at a place called the strete of Calue / where the counsayle was kept in an vpper lofte. In thys counsayle Dū ­stane was greuously despysed and rebuked of some vnskylfull mē. But yet he kept hys opynyon grounded vpon iustyce and vertue. And whyle they were there in thys greate dyuy­syon and argument, whyche waye shulde be admytted and alowed / so­deynly the ioystes of the lofte fayled, and the people fell downe, so y ^t many were slayne & greuously hurte. But holy Dunstane escaped, wyth fewe other that toke hys partye vnhurte. This wonder with the other, caused sylence amonges them that entēded to maynteyne this foresayd quarell / so that Dunstane had all hys wyll.

Thus passynge the tyme of the reygne of Edwarde the kynge / he came vppon a season from huntyng in the forest or woode after some wryters, nere to the castell of Corfe in y ^e west countre. where he losynge hys company and seruauntes, resorted vnto the castell before sayd / where at that tyme hys moder with her sonne Egelredꝰ kept her housholde. whan the quene was warned of hys com­mynge / anone she called to a seruaūt of hers whych she mych trusted, and tolde to hym all her counsayle / shew­ynge to hym forther how he shulde behaue hym in accomplysshynge of her wyll and mynde. And that done / she went towarde the kynge, and re­ceyued hym wyth all outwarde gladnesse / and desyred hym to tary wyth her that nyght. But he in curteyse maner excused hym selfe / & for spede desyred to drynke vpon hys horse syttyng, y ^e whych was shortly brought.

And whyle the cuppe was at hys mouth / the seruaunt before of the quene enfourmed, strake hym to the herte wyth a sworde or a longe dag­ger sharpe on both sydes. After whi­che stroke by the kynge receyued / he toke the horse wyth the spores and ranne towarde the place that he was comen fro, or ellys suche waye as he supposed to mete of hys company. But he bled so sore that for fayntnes he fyll from hys horse, hys one fote beynge faste in the styrroppe. By reason wherof he was drawen of y ^e horse ouer wayes and feldes, tyll he came to a place named than Corysgate, where he was founden dede. And for y ^e maner of hys deth was vnknowē ▪ and also he for kynge not knowen / he was buryed vnworthely at the towne of warehm̄, and there rested by the terme of .iii. yeres after. In whyche tyme and season god shewed for hym dyuers myracles / as syghte to the blynde, helthe to the syke, and herynge to y ^e defe, wyth dyuers other whyche I ouer passe.

wherof herynge hys stepmoder, began to take repentaunce, and en­tended to vysyte hym by way of pyl­grymage. But how or for what cau­se she entended inwardly I can nat saye / but the horse or beest y ^t she rode vpon, myght not nyghe y ^e place / by a [Page] certayne space, for betynge or any other thynge that to hym myght be done by man. But after this by her meanes he was translated from thēs to Septon̄, that now is called Shaftesbury / & there buried with great honour. But syn that tyme parte of his bodye was translated to the abbaye of Leof besyde Hereforde in the edge of walys / and some parte therof to Abyndon̄. And yt is reported that at Shaftesbury remayne hys lunges / and ben shewed in the place that is called Edwardysstowe.

For the murder of this blessed man / yt is sayde as before is shewed in the story of Edgar, that his stepmother foūded two monasteryes of women / y ^e one at Ambrisbury, and that other at warwell. In the whyche place of warwell in her latter dayes, she refusynge the pompe of the worlde, helde there a solytary and strayte lyfe / and ended her lyfe wyth great penaunce and repentaunce, and was there bu­ryed when she dyed.

Thus as ye haue harde was this vertuous yonge kynge Edwarde martyred, whē he had reygned after most wryters .iiii. yeres, leuyng none yssue / wherfore the rule of the lande fyll to Egelredus his brother.

THE .CXCVII. CHAPITER.

EGelredus the sonne of Edgar and Alfrida or Estryld his last wyfe / beganne his reygne ouer En­glande, in the yere of our lorde .ix hū dred & .lxxxi / and the .xxvi. yere of Lothayre then kynge of Fraunce.

This is named of some wryters E­theldredus, and in the englyshe cro­nycle Eldrede. In whose begynnyng the grounde waxed bareyne / and all myseryes before bodyd by the appe­rynge of the blasynge starre, in the dayes of Edwarde the martyr, nowe beganne to take place and encreace vppon the erth. This as the other of his ꝓgenytours, was crowned kyng at Kyngestone, of the holy archbys­shoppe Dunstane, and of Oswalde archebyshop of yorke. To whome as yt is redde in the lyfe of saynt Dun­stane amonges his prophecyes / that in the day of his coronacyon, he sayd vnto the kynge: for thou comest to this kingdome by the deth of thy brother, in whose deth Englyshemen cō spyred with thy wykked moder / they shall not be wythout blood shedynge and sworde, tyll there come people of vnknowen tunge, and brynge them into thraldome. And thys trespace shall not be clensyd wythoute longe vengeaunce.

Of this Egelredꝰ wryters agreen, that he was goodly of shappe and of vysage / but that was mynged wyth lechery and cruelty. It is also redde that when holy Dunstane shuld cry­sten hym / as he helde hym ouer the fonte, he felyd the holy lyker wyth y ^e fruyte of his wombe. wherfore holy Dunstane sware by god and by hys mother / this shalbe vnkynde to god and his chyrche. whych fayled not in his forth goynge / for he was vngracyous in his begynnynge, wretched in y ^e myddell of his lyfe, and hatefull to men in the ende therof.

In the seconde yere of his reygn / a cloude was sene in Englande, the whyche appered halfe lyke blood, & the other halfe lyke fyre / and chaun­ged after into sundry colours, & dys­aperyd at the laste. In the thyrd yere of his reygn, y ^e Danys aryued in sundry places of his lande / as in the yle of Thanet besyde Kente, in Corne­wayll, and Sussex, and dyd in those costes myche harme. And after some of theym came to London / but there they were put of. How be yt they de­stroyed a great part of Chestershyre.

[Page CXXI]And in the ende of the same yere, a great parte of the cytye of London was wasted with fyre. But how it beganne myne authour myndeth not. But ye shall vnderstand, that at this daye the cytye of London had moste housynge and buyldynge from Ludgate towarde westmester / and lytell or none where y ^e chefe or herte of the cytye is nowe / excepte in dyuers places was housing, but they stode with oute order. So that many townes and cytyes, as Caunterbury, yorke, and other dyuers in Englande / pas­sed London in buyldynge at those days, as I haue sene or knowē by an olde boke somtyme in the Guyldehal of London named Domys day. But after the cōquest yt encreaced & shortly after passed & excelled all y ^e other.

About the .viii. yere of this kyn­ges reygne / the kynge maryed erle Egbertus doughter named Ethelgina or Elgina. Of the whyche in pro­cesse of time he receyued a son named Edmunde, whyche after was surnamed Ironsyde / and .ii. other sonnes named Edwyn and Ethylstane, and a doughter named Edgina.

In this pastyme dyed saynt Ethil­walde byshop of wynchester. He was borne in wynchester, and noryshed vnder holy Dunstane at Glastenbury, and there shorne monke / and af­ter was chosen abbot of Abyndon, in the tyme of the reygne of kynge Edredus. And in the tyme of Edgar he was sacryd byshoppe of wynche­ster / where he made an abbay of nun­nes, and translated saynt Swythy­nes body out of the erth.

After whyche sayde Ethelwalde, holy Alphegus abbot then of Bathe was sacred byshoppe of wynchester / the whyche after was archebishoppe of Caunterbury, and martyred hastely of the cruell Danys, as after shall be shewed.

About the .ix. yere of Egelredus / for stryfe y ^t was betwene the byshop of Rochester and hym, he wyth his knyghtes beseged the sayde cytye. wherof holy Dūstane sent to y ^e kyng, amonyssynge hym that he shulde re­frayne hym of that cruelty, & suffre y ^e byshop and his citye in peace, oneles that he offended saynte Andrewe pa­trone of that citye. But this message mylded nothyng y ^e kynges courage. Then thys blessed man sent to hym a hundred pounde in gold, wyllyng hym to refrayne of that outrage / the whyche he receyued and brake the syege. Then blessyd Dunstane sente this message to the kyng: For thou haste preferred golde before god, and syluer before the apostle, and coue­tyse before me / right so euyll happes shall come vnto the, but not whyle I am in lyfe. But the kynge toke lytell regarde to those wordes, but conty­nued in his insolent & cursed dedes.

About the .xi. yere of his reygne, dy­ed that blessed archbyshoppe saynte Dunstane. Of whom Ranulff in the xiii. chapyter of his .vi. boke of Po­licronycon, maketh rehersall of dy­uers of his vertues and myracles / the whyche I passe ouer, and the ra­ther bycause his legēde or lyfe is manyfest. Siricus was archbyshop af­ter hym, & after hym wulricus. And after wulricus, blessed Elphegꝰ was archbyshop of that see.

It was not longe after the deth of holy Dunstane, but that the Danys perced England in many and sondry places of the lande / in suche wyse that the kynge was to seke, to which coste he shuld go fyrst to wythstande his enymyes. And in conclusyon in auoydynge of more harme / he was compellyd to appeace theym wyth great summes of money. But when y ^e money was spent / they fyll to new robbynge of the people. Then the [Page] kynge graunted more money. But for all that the Danys robbed and spoyled y ^e coūtrey of Northūberlād, and besyeged London at the laste. And for augmentacyon of the kyn­ges sorowe / Elfricus that then was mayster or admyrall of the kynges nauy, fled as a false traytour. And after that recōcyled & fled the second tyme to the Danys. wherfore y ^e kyng in wreche of the father / commaūded the eyen of his sonne Algarus, to be plucked or done out of his hedde.

But whyle this persecucion thus contynued / by meanes of the holy byshoppe of wynchester Elphegus, a peace was concluded for a tyme betwene the kyng and the Danys. And the prynce or chefe captayne of them named Aulaff, was so exorted by the said holy byshop / y ^t he became a cristē man, to whome the kynge was god­father / so that after the sayde Aulaff retorned to his owne, without doyng of more harme / so that for a whyle the warre of Danys seased.

But whyle that rested / the blody flyx wyth a brennynge feuer vexed the people thorough the lande, that myche folke therof dyed.

Contynuynge whyche mysery / the Danys agayne assayled the lande, & dyd in dyuers places great harme / so that for lacke of a good hed or gouernour, many thynges in the land peryshed. For the lordes were at such dyssencyon that one with that other / that when they were assembled to speke or treate of peace betwene that one lorde and that other, and yf any good thynge were dyuysed for the hurte of theyr enymyes / anone the Danys were warned therof by some of the same counsayll. wherof were suspected Elfricus and Edricus. And to this sorowe was ioyned hunger and penury amonges the com­mons, that eueryche of theym was constrayned to plucke and stele from other / so that what by the pyllage of the Danys, and inwarde theuys and brybours, this lande was broughte in great mysery and myschefe.

THE .CXCVIII. CHAPITER.

EGelredus then wrapped in misery / lefte not to gader of hys subiectes what he myght, as well by vnlaufull meanes as otherwyse. For as sayth Ranulfe myne authour / he wold for fayned or small causes, dys­heryte mē of theyr possessyōs / & after cause men to redeme theyr owne for great summes of money. And ouer that he walowed in lechery, gyuyng hym to all vycyous and incontynent lyfe of his body. By whych vngracyous meanes, he brought this land in such ruyne, that what he myght not helpe by strēgth, he warred wyth money. So y ^t from the fyrst entre of the Danys as testyfyeth Policronica in the .xviii. chapyter of his .vi. boke, & also Guydo wyth other authours / that from the fyrst trybute of .x. thou sande pounde, he broughte yt at the laste in processe of .v. or .vi. yeres to xl. thousande pounde. The whyche yerely durynge his lyfe and after, to the commynge of saynte Edwarde, was leuyed of his subiectes / and na­med for the contynuance therof Da­ne gelt. whyche is or was to meane money payde to the Danys, or shortly, Dane money.

In this tyme as yt were about the xv. yere of his reygne, dyed saynt Oswalde the archbyshoppe of Caunterbury. And soone after dyed Ethelgi­na the quene. And the body of saynte Cuthbert was translated from holy ylande to Durham / in the whyche yle he helde anankers lyfe, as yt is before shewyd in the storye of Cad­walader.

[Page CXXII]Thus contynuynge this lande vnder the greuous tribute of the Da­nys, and also by susteynynge of ma­ny villanyes and iniuryes by the Englyshe men of the sayde Danys, as after somdele shall appere / this Egelredus by counsayll of his famylyers about the .xxi. yere of hys reygn / ma­ryed Emma y ^e doughter of Rychard duke of Normandy, before mynded in the storye of Lewys the .v. and Lothayre hys sonne kynges of Fraūce. The whyche Rycharde was the thyrde duke of Normandy, and the fyrste that name / and also was surnamed Rycharde wythoute fere or the hardy / as more of hym shall be shewyd in the storye of the .vi. Lewis kynge of Fraunce.

By reason of maryenge of this Emma, whych in y ^e Frenche cronycle is named the flowre of Normandye / thys Egelredus was greatly enhaū ced in hys owne mynde. By presumpcyon wherof he sent into all good burghes, cytyes, and townes of his lande, secrete and strayte commys­syons / chargynge the rulers that vppon a certayne day, that is to say vppon the daye of saynte Bryce at an houre assygned in euery place of hys lande, the Danys shulde be so­deynly slayne. And so yt was done.

And as the cōmon fame telleth, y ^t this murder beganne at a lytell towne in Hertefordeshyre, wythin xxiiii. myles of London called wele­wyn̄ or welwyn̄. For the whyche dedeyt toke fyrst that name / as who wolde wene, that the wele of the coū ­trey was there fyrste wonne. But who that well cōsydereth the sequell of thys storye / shall fynde lytell wynnynge or weale ensuyenge of thys dede.

But or I procede further / here I wyll touche somewhat of the pryde and abusyō of y ^e Danis, that they ex­ercysed in Englande, in some parte therof, as I haue sene in an olde cronycle, wherof the authoure ys vn­knowen. There it is shewyd, that the Danys by strength caused husbande men to ere and sowe the lande, and do all other vyle laboure that belon­ged to husbandrye / and the Dane helde hys wyfe at hys pleasure, with doughter and seruaunt. And when the husbandeman came home / he shulde scantly haue of hys owne as seruaūtes had, so that the Dane had all hys commaundement, and ete and dranke hys fyll of the beste / whē the owner hadde scantely hys fyll of the worste. And ouer that the comon people were so of theym oppressyd / that for fere and drede, they called theym in euery suche house as they hadde rule of, Lorde Dane.

But in processe of tyme, after the Danys were voyded the lande / thys worde Lord Dane, was in de­rysyon and despyte of the Danys, turned by the Englyshemen into a name of opprobrye and called Lur­dayne / whyche to our dayes ys not forgotten. But when one Englyshe­mā woll rebuke an other / he woll for the more rebuke call hym Lurdayn.

Then to retourne to our fyrste mater. Treuthe yt is that when the Danys were thus murdred thorugh Englande / tydynges therof sprange into Denmarke. whyche kyndeled in theym suche a fury / that the kyng therof named Swanus, assembled shortely a great hoste and nauye of Danys, and in shorte processe after landed in Cornewayll. And by trea­son of a Norman named Hugh, why­che by fauoure of the quene Emma was made erle of Deuenshyre / the sayd Swanus toke Exetour, and after bette downe the wallys.

Then he entred further into the lande. In whyche season the kynge [Page] sent vnto Edricꝰ / chargyng hym to assemble the weste Saxons, and to wythstande the further entre of the Danys. The whyche accordynge to his commyssyon assembled the weste Saxōs / and made good contenaūce to wythstand the sayd enymyes. But when the hostes shulde ioyne / were it for fere or for treason, he fayned hym syke and fled from hys people. The whych for lacke of an hed were fayn to gyue backe / to theyr hurte, and to theyr enimyes great auauntage and comforte.

wherfore the Danys resorted then to wylton̄ and Shyrborn̄ / and anon spoyled both those townes, and there refresshed theym. But for Swanus had wittynge that the kynge was cō myng towarde hym wyth the power of his lande / he therfore departed thens and retourned wyth great pyllage to his shyppes / & sayled aboute the lande, and lastely landed in Nor­folke. where he wastynge and spoy­lynge the countrey / came in processe vnto the cytye of Norwyche and robbed and spoyled yt / and after yode to Thetforde, and dyd lykewise to that towne, and fyred yt and destroyed y ^e countrey nere there about.

But soone after a noble man of that countrey called duke Uskatell mette wyth the hoste of Danys, and gaue vnto them an hard and sharpe batayll / and slewe many of the eny­myes and put them backe. For this, and for hūger that then assailed this lande / Swanus returned ofte vnto his shyppes, & departed agayne into Denmarke, & taryed there all y ^e wynter folowynge. In whyche season he made great prouysyon to reenter the lande of Englande.

THE .CXCIX. CHAPITER.

ABout the .xxvi. yere of the reygne of Egelredus the forenamed Swanus with a stronge army, landed at Sandwyche / and spoyled all the coūtrey nere vnto the see syde, and rested hym there tyll he harde of an armye cōmynge agayn hym. And when he was ware therof, he retour­ned to his shyppes agayne / and he­rynge the kyng was farre westward, he landed in Sussex, and spoyled yt wonder sore. And when he there was warned of the cōmynge of a batayll of Englyshemen, anon he toke shyppynge agayne. So that when the englyshemen wende to haue met wyth them in one coste / then wolde they sodaynly lande in a nother. And when y ^e kyng prouyded to mete wyth thē vppon the see / other they wold fayne to flee, or ellys they shulde wyth gyftes blynde the admyrall of the kyn­ges nauy.

By whyche subtylytye and crafty meanes, they weryed and tyred the hoste of Englyshmē. And where euer they went / they slew, brent, and rob­bed wythout compassyon and pytye. The kynge then beyng at Shrewesbury, & herynge of the great sleyght and cruelty of the Danys / called his counsayll to rede what were beste to be done for y ^e defence of his enmyes. where it was concluded, that y ^e kyng to haue peace with the Danys, shuld pay vnto them .xxx. thousande poūd. But whyle this was in doynge, the Danys destroyed a grete part of Baroke or Barkshyre.

when this peace was thus made / Swanus wyth his company retourned into Denmarke. And y ^e yere fo­lowynge / the kynge made Edricus forenamed duke of Mercia. Thys Edricus was of lowe byrth, ryche, of tunge false, and subtyll of wyt, softe and eloquēt of speche, vntrusty and false of thoughte and promyse / as of hym somdeale before is shewyd, and after more shall appere.

[Page CXXIII]In the .xxvii. yere of Egelredus / a prynce of Danys named Turkyllus landed in Kent. The whyche so gre­uously warred in that coūtrey / that the Kentyshemen were fayn to make theyr peace, and so departed.

And yet the persecucyon of Danys seased not. For in one countre of Englande or other / they euer in whylys robbed & pilled the Englishmen. So y ^t all the coūtrey a longe the coste, frō the Northe parte of Englande vnto the yle of wyghte / was by theym de­stroyed or hugely sette a backe. And when the kynge entended to make prouysyon for to wythstande theym / euer Edricus wolde counsayll hym to the contrarye / shewynge hym that he shulde spende hys treasour & tra­uayle his people in vayne. By mean wherof the Danys entred .l. myles wythin the lande / and brent and robbed by dyuers tymes many vylages & townes. So that they encreased & waxed passynge ryche / and the En­lyshemen nedy, bare, & poore. Thus contynuynge this mysery / Swanus or after the englyshe Swayne then beyng in Denmarke, and heryng of the encreace of his people within Englande / repented hym of his former couenauntes, and thought y ^t the hole domynyon of Englād shulde belong to hym of ryght. For the whyche he prepared his armye & nauy in moste defensyble wyse / and sped hym into England, & to the ryuer of Humber, and landed in Northumberlande.

where the erle or ruler of that countrey wyth all the rulers of the same, sware feaute vnto the sayde Swa­nus, and promysed to kepe that countrey vnto hys vse. And when he had done hys wyll in that coste / he en­tred agayne the water, and by the ryuer of Trent he passed to Gaynys­burghe, and so by North watlyng­strete / and subdued the inhabytaun­tes of that coūtrey, and forced theym to gyue vnto hym pledges. whyche pledges, wyth also his nauy / he be­toke vnto Canutus his sonne, whyle, he wente farther into the lande. And that done, he wyth his▪ people kepte on his iourney tyl he▪ came into Mercia, kyllynge and slayeng the men of that prouynce / And reserued the women to vnclene lyuynge, as well the relygyous as other / and toke by strength wynchester and Oxenford, and dyd in them what he lyked.

And after he hadde thus passed the lande / he drewe the nexte waye to­warde London. But in passynge the ryuer of Thames he loste some parte of hys people / other for lacke of a brydge or for ieopardynge theyr passage vnauysely. And so in processe he came vnto London / where at that tyme kynge Egelredus was. wher­fore Swanus lefte the cytye, and drewe into Kente, and so towarde Caunterbury wythoute lette, wel­dynge the countrey at hys wyll / and lastely beseged that cytye. The why­che manfully defended theyr eny­myes by the space of .xx. dayes. whyche syege beganne vpon the day of saynte Mathewe in the moneth of September, and endured as is a­boue sayde / and then taken by the treason of a deken named Almari­cus / the whyche beforetyme blessed Elphegus then archebyshop of that see, hadde preserued from deth.

Then the Danys fyred the cytye when they before had spoyled it / and toke the archebyshop and put him in strayte pryson. And the monkes of saynt Augustynes abbey they tythed that is to meane they slew .ix. by cruel torment, and the tenth they kepte a lyue / the whych after was solde and sette to all seruyle laboure. And as wytnessyth Antoninus or Uyncent hystoryall / they slewe and broughte [Page] in seruage ouer the summe of .ix. hundred persones of relygyon / they slew of men, women, & chyldren, beyonde the nōber of .viii. thousand. As with myche more cruelty yt is shewyd, in the .vii. chapyter of the .xvi. tytle of the worke of the sayde Antoninus. And fynally for this blessed man El­phegus wolde not condescende to gyue vnto them as sayth Policroni­ca .iii. thousande pounde / after they had kept hym in harde pryson by the space of .vii. monethes, vppon an Ester euē they after many vylanyes to hym done at Grenewyche wythin thre myles of London, they stoned hym to deth. where he lay in the feld vnburyed a certayne of tyme / and after caryed to London, and buryed reuerētly in the chyrch of saynt Paule. But afterward in tyme of Canutus, he was taken vp agayne and caryed to his owne chyrche. Of this blyssed Elphegus Antoninus and also Policronicon shewen many vertues and myracles / the whyche I passe ouer for lengthynge of the tyme.

THE .CC. CHAPITER.

IN this pastyme, kynge Egelredus ferynge the ende of thys persecucyon / sent Emma the quene wyth her two sonnes Alphrede and Edwarde, vnto Rycharde the second of y ^e name, then fourth duke of Nor­mandy, whych was brother vnto the sayde Emma / wyth whome also he sent the byshoppe of London.

About the .xxxiiii. yere of the reygne of Egelredus / the Danis when they hadde wonne a great part of the coū trey of westsaxon, retorned agayn towarde London. wherof herynge the Londoners sent vnto theym certayn gyftes and pledges.

In all thys season myne authoure maketh no mynde, that euer the king gaue vnto the Denys any notable batayll / but kepte hym in holdes or places, for his owne sauegarde, and lytell fruyte or profyte to his lande. At the laste he was chaced vnto the yle of wyghte / where wyth a secrete companye, he helde a great parte of the wynter / and fynally wythout ca­tall or comforte, sayled ouer to hys wyfe into Normādy / and there held hym a certayne of tyme.

whan Swanus was ascertayned of the departynge of Egelredus out of the lande, he was enflamed wyth excedynge pryde / so that he arrered excedynge imposycyons of the peo­ple, and greued them wonderfully. And amonges other of his tyrānyes he asked a great summe of money of saynt Edmundes landes. whych the rulers denayed / for so myche as they claymed to be free of all kynges try­bute. For thys he entred the terytory of saynte Edmunde, and wasted and spoyled the countrey / and ouer that despysed that holy martyr, wyth manassyng of the place of his sepulture. wherfore the men of that countrey ferynge this tyraunt, gaue them to fa­stynge and prayer / so that shortly af­ter he was stycked in an euenynge a­monges his knyghtes, with y ^e sword of saynte Edmunde in the towne of Shetforde as sayth Guydo / but af­ter Policronicon & other in the town of Gaynesborugh. where he dyed wyth yellynge and cryenge the thyrd daye after.

In fere wherof, Canutus hys son after that he was kynge, closed in y ^e land of that holy martyr with a depe dyche / and graunted to the inhaby­tauntes therof great fredam, & quyt them of all kyngly taske or trybute. And after buylded a chyrch ouer the place of his sepulture / and ordeyned there an house of munkes, & endued them wyth fayre possessyons. And after [Page CXXIIII] yt was vsed that kynges of En­gland when they were crowned, sent for an offerynge theyr crownes vnto saynte Edmundes shryne / and rede­med them aftewardes wyth a condygne pryce.

when Egelredus hadde wrytynge of the deth of Swanus / by procure­ment of his frendes / he made mea­nes to retourne to hys owne. By whose meanes he was sent for, wyth condycyon that he shulde refourme his olde condycyons. Ad for perfourmaūce of the same, he sent his son Edwarde into Englande before hym. And in the lent folowynge the kyng came hym selfe, and wyth his people sped hym towarde Lyndesey. where Canutus was at that tyme resseaūt, not prouyded of the kynges so hasty commynge.

wherfore he beynge not purueyed to wythstande the kynge, fledde into Sandewyche in Kente. And for he there proued suche persones as be­fore tyme his fader and he hadde taken pledges of, & fande them not perseueraunt in theyr ꝓmisses / he made to be cutte of all the noses and hādes of the sayd Englyshe people, and sayled into Denmarke when he had do / and retourned the nexte yere wyth a great nauy, and sayled about y ^e land, and toke prayes in the South countrey. wherof the kynges eldest sonne named Edmunde, made prouysyon wyth y ^e ayde of Edricus to go agayn hym. But when he shulde haue met with Edricꝰ at a place assigned & his host, he was of hym dysceyued / wherfore he was compelled to gyue place to his enymyes. And as yt was after knowen, the sayde Edricus had pro­mysed his fauour and ayde vnto the sayde Canutus.

By reason wherof Canutus entred the countre of west Saxon / and for­sed them to swere to him feauty, and to gyue vnto him pledges / and other countreys adioynyng dyd the same.

In this seasan Egelredus beyng at London, was taken wyth a gre­uous sykenes & dyed / and was there buryed in the chyrch of saynt Paule, where at this day in y ^e North yle be­hynde the quere, apperyth in the wal a token of hys sepulture / whyche reygned, or as say Policronicon & other, beseged Englande, by the terme of xxxvi. yeres full / leuynge after hym a sonne named Edmunde Iron syde ouer Alphrede and Edwarde sonnes of Emma.

Francia. THE .CCI. CHAPITER.

LEwys the .vi. of that name & son of Lothayre / be­gan hys reygne ouer Fraunce, in the yere of our lordes incarnacyon ix. hundred and lxxxvi / and the .v. yere of Egelredus than kyng of England. Of y ^• whiche other for hys youth or for the short­nesse of hys reygne, lytell of hys de­des is laft in memory / excepte that y ^e Frenche boke wytnessyth, that for he hadde none issue, and Hugh Capet before in the story of Lothayre myn­ded, was hys famylyer and chyefe coūsayler / he shuld therfore ordeyne and admytte the sayd Hugh for hys heyre. But more verely as before is touched in the aboue named story, & in the ende therof, thys Hugh was stronge and myghty, and in the later dayes of Lothayre coueted the rule of the lande. wherfore after the deth of this Lewys, for so mych as he laft no chyld after hym / he than hauyng y ^e chyefe rule of Fraunce, by strength and power made hym selfe kynge.

[Page]But for I promysed in the story of Egelredus, somwhat to shewe of Rycharde the fyrst of that name and thyrde duke of Normandye / I shall somdele length thys story wyth the story of the sayd Rycharde. Thys Rycharde as afferme all wryters, was named Rychard wythout fere. And for thys cause that foloweth, as testyfyeth the Frenche boke. He vsed mych to byd hys bedys for all crystē soules. And vpon a nyght whan he had longe watched / he entred a chyrche, where stode a corps vnburyed & no man watchynge it. And whyle he sayd hys orysons for that soule and other / he layed hys gloues vppon a deske by hym. And whan he had en­ded hys deuocyons, he went out of y ^e chyrche for gettynge hys gloues be­hynde. But shortly after he remem­bred hym of them / and retorned to­warde the chyrche for to fetche hys sayd glouys. whan he came at the chyrch dore / he founde y ^e corps there standynge, wyth hys armes spradde abrode, and makynge greate noyse and crye. wherfore the duke made y ^e sygne of y ^e crosse in hys forehed, and coniured the corps that he shulde re­ste, but all was in vayne. wherof the duke drewe hys sword and stroke at the corps, and to hys thynkyng par­ted hym in two peces. And that done entred the chyrche, fet hys glouys, & so departed. And for this chaunce he ordeyned after thorough hys realme that a corps shulde be watched the fyrste nyght or lenger, as men hadde deuocyon. which gyse was somtyme vsed in Englande, and begon of the Normans as men may coniecture, after they had fyrste conquered thys lande.

Polycronycon sheweth in the .vii. chapyter of hys .vi. boke, that thys duke Rycharde dremed on a nyght that a monke of the house of saynte Audoenus in Roan, as he went to­warde hys lemman by nyght / fyll besyde a brydge and was drowned. whose soule after was in stryfe by­twene an angell and a fende. The whyche after a longe stryfe / condes­cended to put the iudgement in duke Rycharde. Than the duke gaue sen­tence, that the soule shuld be restored agayne to the body / and then y ^e body to be set vppon y ^e brydge that before he was fallen fro. And yf he than went to hys lemman he shuld be the fendes / and yf nat, he shulde than be saued. And whan thys sentence was put in execucyon, the monke fledde vnto the chyrche therby. Uppon the morne whan the duke awoke, & cal­led thys vysyon to hys memory / to knowe the certaynte therof, he went vnto the sayd chyrche, and fande the monke there hys clothes yet wete / & after went to the abbot of that place, and tolde to hym all thys dede, ad­uertysynge hym to take better ouer­syght of hys flocke.

To these narracyons the herers may gyue credence as them lyketh. For they be nother in the pystle nor yet in the gospell. All be it Antoninꝰ archbysshop of Florence, whan he reherseth any lyke narracyons, whych he thynketh somwhat doutefull / he ioyneth these wordes and sayth, piū est credere. The thyrde narracyon is tolde of thys duke / whych by all pre­sumpcyon was regestred of some women scrybe. Thys duke wyth Gun­nore hys wyfe, lyued longe whyle a dyshonest lyfe, and contrary to the lawes of the chyrch. wherof his peo­ple murmured sore / so that at length by the holsome doctryne of some of hys clerkes or spyrytuall men, he maryed her to hys lawfull wyfe. The fyrste nyght after y ^e weddynge / were it in game or otherwyse, the duchesse torned her buttocke in y ^e dukes lappe as [Page CXXV] she before tyme hadde neuer done. whan the duke frayned the cause of her so doyng / for now (sayd she) may I do what me lyketh / where before I myghte do but what you lyked. Upon thys Gunnore he gate besyde other chylder, Emma that was the wyfe of Egelredꝰ as before ye haue harde / and dyed whan he had ruled Normandy by the terme of .lii. yeres.

Than to retourne to the .vi. Le­wys kyng of Fraunce, from whome we haue made a longe dygressyon / as wytnesseth mayster Gagwyne he dyed in the yere of our lorde .ix. hun­dred .lxxxix, whē he had reygned. iii. yeres / and was buryed at Cōpayne.

ye shall vnderstande that this Lewys was the last kynge of the blode of Pepyn. And for I promysed be­fore to shewe the dyscent of the sayde Pepyn, to the ende that ye maye the better know thys story / and also to knowe the kynges of Fraunce from the kynges of Germany, which both discended of thys Pepyn: hereafter I shall more clerely set it out in braū ches. But fyrste I woll expresse the kynges of Fraunce as they reygned lynially / and ioyne to eyther of them the terme that he reygned, that there by it maye appere howe longe thys blode continued in y ^e house of Fraunce, or it were empeched by Hugh Ca­pet, as after appe­reth.

Pepyn.

xviii.

Charlys.

xlvii.

Lewys the fyrste.

xxvi.

Charlys the Ballyd.

xxxvii.

Lewys balbus.

ii.

Lewys and Charlys.

v.

Lewys the fourth.

viii.

Eudo.

ix.

Charlys the symple.

xvii.

Radulphus.

xii.

Lewys vnus.

xxi.

Lotharius.

xxx.

Lewys the syxte.

iii.

OF the whyche kynges .ii. were not of that blode, as Eudo and Radulphus / but admytted of the barony of Fraunce to rule the lande, tyll two of that progeny / that is to meane Charlys the symple, and Le­wys the .v, were comen to theyr law­full age. So that from the fyrst yere of Pepyn, whyche began his reygne in the yere of grace .vii. hundred & .l. to the fyrst yere of Hugh Capet that began hys reygne in the yere of our lorde god .ix. hun­dred and lxxxix / expyred or passed .ii. hun­dred & .xxxix. yeres.

• [Page]Pypyn the fader of Charlys the greate.
  • Charlys the great emperour.
    • Lowys the fyrste, emperour
      The kynges of Germany.
      • Lothayre emperour / and the sonne of Le­wys the fyrst.
        • Lowys emperour the sonne of Lothayre.
          • Lothayre the seconde the son of Lothayre.
            • Charlys the .iii. and sonne of Lothayre.
      • Lewys kyng of Germany and broder vn­to the sayd Lo­thayre.
        • Lewys the sonne of Lewys / whyche was broder vnto Charlys grossu [...] emperour.
          • Lewys the son of Lewys / which of some ys compted em­perour.
            • Arnusphus the sonne of Lewys emperour.
              • Lewys the sonne of Arnulph, last emperour of Fraunce.
      The kynges of Fraunce.
      • Charlys the ballyd the sonne of Lewys the fyrst of hys .ii. wyfe emperour
        • Lewys Balbus the son of Charlys the Ballyd
          • Lewys & Charlys sonnes of Lewys Balbus.
            • Lewys the .iiii. and son of the foresayd Charlys.
              • Charlys the symple the sonne of Lewys the forth.
                • Lewys the .v. and the sonne of Char­lys the symple.
                  • Lothayre the sonne of the foresayde Lewys.
                    • Lewys the sonne of Lothayr / and the last kyng of that flock.

THE .CCII. CHAPITER.

HUgh the sonne of Robert the tyraunt, descended of Hugh legraunde / beganne to take the rule, or to vsurpe the crowne of Fraunce, in the yere of our lorde .ix. hundred and .lxxxix / and the .viii. yere of Egelredus than kynge of Englande.

Thys as wytnessyth the Frenche Cronycle was erle of Parys, and marshall of Fraunce. And as sayth Antoninus, he maryed one of the doughters of Edwarde the elder. Thys also was named Capet, for so myche as in hys youth / he vsed in game to laye asyde hys felowes ho­des. In whose begynnyng / Charlys that was the brother to Lothayre, and vncle vnto Lewys the .vi. laste kynge, herynge of the deth of hys neuewe Lewys wythout issue / as nexte heyre, wyth ayde of some lor­des of Fraunce, and also of Loreyn, the whyche than he was lorde of, gadered an army and entred Fraun­ce / and than came to the cytye of La­one. wythin whyche cytye / he wyth hys wyfe and people, by the treason of the bysshoppe of the same cytye, was taken and delyuered wyth hys wyfe and chylder into the handes of hys enemyes / the whyche sent them to Orleaunce there sauely to be kept.

Than thys Hugh was crowned in the cytye of Rayns / and welded the lande wyth more suerty. How be it the erle of Flaunders named Ar­nulphus or Arnolde before spoken of, wolde not be vnder hys obedy­ence. wherfore thys Hugh assembled hys kynghtes / and by hys strength toke from hym the coutre of Artoys, wyth many stronge holdes and ca­stels / and lastly forced the sayd Ar­nolde to fle into Normandy, to aske ayde of Richarde the fyrste of that name, before spoken of in the story of the .vi. Lewys. By whose mea­nes after some wryters / wyllyam Longa Spata fader to y ^e sayd duke Richarde was slayne. But that not wythstandynge, by frendshyp of the sayde duke Richarde, thys Arnolde was reconcyled vnto the kynge, and contynued after as hys subiecte.

In the cytye of Rayns was arch bysshoppe at thys daye a noble pre­late named Arnolde, sonne of baste of Lothayre, and neuewe to Char­lys than prysoner, as before is tou­ched. The whyche for malyce that the kynge bare vnto hym, for cause of the forenamed Charlys / called a counsayle of the clergy of hys lande, and layde agayne hym suche obiec­cyons, that he by theyr assent was putte from that benefyce, and sente hym to Orlyaunce there also to be kepte in pryson. And set in hys place one Gylberte, or after the Frenche boke Gerbres, a connynge man in phylosophy / whiche had before tyme ben tutor or mayster to Robert sonne of the sayde Hugh. But after .iii. ye­res / pope Iohn̄ the .xvi. of that name sent downe hys maundement vnto Guyan archebysshop of Sens / chargynge hym that he sholde remoue y ^e sayde Gerbers, and restore the sayde Arnolde to hys proper see. whyche was done shortely after / and y ^e sayde Gerbers was after this preferred by one of the Othons emperour vnto y ^e chyrche of Rauenne, and contynued there tyll the deth of the .xvii. Iohn̄. After whose deth he was electe pope of Rome / and was named the secōde Siluester, & lyued as pope .iiii. yeres

Than it followeth in the story / whan thys Hugh had reygned full viii. yeares and more, he dyed in the yere of our lorde .ix. hundred .xciii. and was buryed at saynte Denys leuynge after hym a sonne named Robert.

THE .CCIII. CHAPITER.

RObert the sonne of Hugh Ca­pet, beganne his reygn, in the yere of our lord .ix. hundred & .xcviii / and the .xvii. yere of Egelredus then kynge of Englande.

This was cōnynge in many scyen­ces, and a man of good maner & vertue. He made dyuers hymnes, sequences, & respondes / as O Iuda et Hie­rusulem, O cōstantia martyrum, As sit nobis scti spūs gratia, or more cō ­gruely, Sancti spiritus assit nobis gratia, wyth dyuers other.

In y ^e beginnyng of his reygn / while Bowcharde erle of Meleon̄ was at the kynges court, Galtyer or walter a knyghte and seruaunt of the sayde Bowcharde, to whom the sayd Bowcharde hadde delyuered his castell of Meleon̄ to kepe in his absence / for great gyftes the sayde walter hadde delyuered the sayde castell unto Eu­do erle of Carnotens. wherfore the kyng at the request of the sayd Bowcharde, sente streyghte commaunde­ment vnto the sayd Eudo / chargyng hym in all goodly wyse to restore the sayde castell vnto Bowcharde. The whyche commaundement he vtterly refused to obey. For y ^e whych ȳe kyng beyng so amoued / sent for Rycharde the seconde of that name, then .iiii. duke of Normandy / and wyth theyr both armyes besyeged the castell vp­pon euery parte, and at length wan yt and toke the sayd walter wythin the same / whom the kinge for his vntrouthe commaunded soone after to be hanged vppon a gybet, and the castell to be restored vnto y ^e forenamed Bowcharde / and after returned euery man to his owne.

In the tyme of the reygne of thys Robert / dyd Henry then duke of Burgoyne. The whyche for lacke of yssue of his body, bequethed his dukedome vnto kynge Robert. But the Burgonyons wythstode that le­gacy / and drewe to theym for an hed & captayne Lawdry erle of Neuers / and wyth hym helde by strength or for a strength the cytye of Anxerre. wherof herynge kyng Robert / sente for the foresayde duke of Norman­dye, and so spedde theym towarde Burgoyne and besyeged the forsayd cytye. But at length y ^e cytye was yolden / and Lawdry put at the kynges grace. And that done, the kyng with his hoste besyeged a nother stronge cytye called Aualon̄ / and not wyth­out great daunger wanne yt also at length / and after receyued the coun­trey wyth dew obeysaunce, and ordered yt at hys own pleasure, and so retourned into Fraunce.

Arnolde erle of Sens vsed great tyranny amonges the byshoppes & mynysters of the chyrche. wherfore Leophricus byshop of that see, thorough the ayde and counsayll of Regnalde byshop of Parys / put oute the sayde Arnolde, and delyuered the cytye vnto kynge Robert. But the brother of the sayde Arnolde with a certayne of his knyghtes, fled to the castell and yt helde wyth strength. wherfore the kynge layde syege to the sayd castel, and at length wan yt / and toke the brother of Arnolde named Fromōde and sent him to Orleaūce there to be prisoned, where he dyed shortly after

This Robert as saith the frenche boke buylded fyrst y ^e castell of Moūt fort. He founded also dyuers mona­steryes and tēples / and at Orleaūce the tēple of saint Anyan̄ / at Stamps a chyrche of our lady / & dyuers other in dyuers places of hys realme. And he endowed the chyrche of saynte Denys wyth many great lyberties / and hadde especyall deuocyon to saynte ypolyte ouer all other sayntes.

It is radde of this kynge Robert, [Page CXXVII] that vppon a season when he hadde longe whyLe lyen at the syege of a castell nere vnto Orleaunce, and sawe yt was defuse to wynne be strength / he vpon y ^e daye of saynt Anyan yode vnto Orleaunce, & there in the quere bare a cope, and dyd helpe to synge the dyuyne seruyce. And after when he was in his deuocyōs in the masse whyle / when the preste was at the cō secracion and sayd thryse Agnꝰ dei, the walles of the castell fyll wythout stroke of gunne or other engyne, and hys enemyes submytted them to hys grace. Many vertues myght I shew more of this vertuous price / y ^• which I passe ouer for length of the tyme / and conclude thus, that when he had reygned after moste accorde of wry­ters, and ruled hys lande nobly .xxx. yeres, he dyed, and was buryed in the house of saynte Denys / leuynge after him of his fyrst wife Constaūce a sonne named Henry, and one other named Robert / and of hys seconde wyfe .ii. sonnes named Symonde and Almaryche. But yt shulde seme by the sequele of the next storye, that Constaunce shuld be laste wyfe, & the other the fyrste / and deuorced from hym for some cause, so that her chyl­dern shulde not be legyttymat / all be yt the authoure of this maketh no mencyon.

Anglia. THE .CCIIII. CHAPITER.

EDmunde Iron­syde the sonne of Egelredus, and also Canutus y ^e sonne of Swa­nus kyng of Dē marke / beganne to rule the En­glyshemen, in the yere of our lorde a thousande & .xvi / and the .xix. yere of Robert then kynge of Fraunce. For y ^e Londoners wyth assystēce of some of y ^e lordes of England fauoured Edmūde. But the more party of the lordes fauoured Canutꝰ / & specylly the spiritualtye, y ^e before tyme had swor­ne feauty to hys father. And he then beynge at Southampton̄ / swore to them to be vnto them a good & trewe iustice, and to entreate the people so­berly and ryghte wysely. Then Ed­munde beynge of the archbyshop of yorke crowned at Lōdon, and the so­lemnyte fynyshed and ended / he sped hym into westsaxon, and subdued y ^t countrey. In whych tyme Canutus, whych in y ^e englyshe storye is called Knough / drewe wyth hys people to Lōdon, and wold there haue entred. But that was hym forboden of the Londoners. For the whiche he layde hys ordynaunce aboute the cytye, en tendynge to haue entred perforce. But it was not long or he was fayne to breke his syege & to depart thens.

when Canutus was put of from London / he drewe westwarde, and mette in processe wyth Edmunde in Dorsetshyre besyde Gyllyngham / where betwene theym was foughten a stronge and cruell batayll. But in the ende Canutus was ouercomen & compelled to forsake the felde. After thys they mette agayne in worceter shyre / where they fought a more strō ger batayll. For this was so strong­ly bydden by, y ^e men coude not iudge whych parte had the better, or which the worse. But as wytnessyth Poli­cronica eyther of theym departed frō other, eyther for werynesse of fyghte or for lak of the daye.

But vppon the morne folowynge both hostes ioyned agayne, & fought egerly. Contynuynge whych fyght Edricus espyenge Edmunde to be at auauntage of wynnynge of the feld, sodaynly pyght a dede mannys hed [Page] vppon a spere hed, and cryed to the hoste of Englyssmen, fle fle ye En­glyshemen & saue your selfe / loo here is the hedde of Edmūde your kyng. But Edmunde therof beynge war­ned / spedde hym towarde that parte of the felde, and behaued hym so comfortably amonges hys men, that by hys knyghtely courage hys people recoueryd that they before had loste / and cōtynued the batayll tyll nyght, in suche wyse that he hadde rather the better then the worse / and cau­sed Canutus to refuse that countrey, and to retourne towarde London a­gayne. Then Edmunde beyng aduertysed that Canutus was retour­ned towarde London / he folowed hym and passed the ryuer of Tha­mys, and delyueryd the cytye from daunger of the Danys / and after­warde encountred the Danys at a place called Brentforde, where with them he had a cruell fyght / and scom fyted theym at length.

In thys passe tyme Emma y ^e wyfe of Egelredus, ferynge the fortune of the warre / sent her two sonnes Alphrede and Edwarde, vnto her bro­ther Richarde the seconde of that na­me and fourth duke of Normandy.

But Edricus then, whyche as before is sayd, was euer subtyle of wyt, consyderynge the good fortune of Edmunde and hys knyghtely cou­rage / thought that at length he shuld ouercome the Danys. wherfore to saue hys lande, and also to brynge aboute hys malycyouse treason / he sought the wayes and meanes howe he myght stande in hys grace and fauour. And at length obteyned his entente / and swore to hym to be hys trewe subiecte.

when kynge Edmunde had a sea­son soiorned at Lōdon / he then made towarde the Danys that then were in Kent, and met wyth thē at a place called Okefforde or Otforde, & there scomfyted them, and chasyd Canutꝰ to the yle of Shepey. And there Ca­nutus toke shypyng / & sayled about the land, & entred lastely in y ^e coūtrey of Mercia & spoyled a parte therof.

Then the two hostes met soone after at a place called Asshedown, whe­re after longe fyghte Edricus wyth his retynew fledde to the comforte of the Danys. By meane wherof kyng Edmunde was put to the worse / for many noble men were slayne vppon his party. Amonges the whyche the byshop of Lyncoln̄ & the abbot of Ramysey were two / that thyther were come to treate a peace betwene bothe prynces. But whē this was layde to y ^e charge of Edricꝰ / he by his vntrew meanes so excused hym, that no man myght charge hym with any defaut.

Thus contynuynge thys mortall warre betwyxte these two marcyall prynces, to the grete desolacyō & mortalyte of the people / one of the knyghtes of the partye of Edmunde gatte hym to an hyghe place, where he myght be somwhat harde of y ^e hoste / and spake in thys wyse: Dayly we dye, and no man hath the vyctorye. For Edmunde may not be ouercome for his great strength / and Canutus may not be ouercome for fauoure of Fortune. what shall then be y ^e fruyte of thys cōtynuall stryfe? None other but when the knyghtes ben all slayn on eyther partyes / then the dukes compelled by nede shall accorde, or ellys they shall fyght alone wythout knyghtes. Then syn this shall be the ende / why do they not one of these two? If they accorde / why is not this kyngedome suffycynt for twayne, y ^t somtyme suffysed for .vii. If theyr couetyse of lordshyppes be so great, y ^• eyther hath indygnacyon to take and haue parte wyth other, or ellys that one to be vnder that other / then [Page CXXVIII] lette them fyghte alone, that woll be the lordes alone left. If all mē fyght, all men be slayne / by meane wherof no men shall be left to be vnder theyr lordshyp or ledyng of dukes, nor yet to defende the kynge agayne stronge enymyes or nacyons.

These wordes thus spoken / were ryght wele alowed of both hostes. For as affermeth myne author / at this time a trewce was made betwen both prynces far a certayne tyme. After whych peace ended / were yt by occasyon of these wordes or otherwise, the sayde two dukes Edmunde and Canutus agreed to trye theyr qua­relles betwene them two onely. And for thys was assygned by theyr both agrementes, a lytell yle called then Olney nere vnto Glouceter, or after some wryters named Olenege, by­cleped wyth the water of Seuerne. In whyche place at the daye appoynted, the two chāpyons met wythoute company or assistence wythin y ^e sayd yle / the hostes of bothe partyes standynge wythoute the yle, and there a­bydynge the fortune of thys batayll. There eyther proued other fyrste wyth sharpe speres, and after wyth kene and cuttynge swordes. what shall I of thys make lenger proces / when eyther hadde other well pro­ued and assayed, by receyuynge of harde and sore strokes / by the fyrste mocyon of Canutus, as moste wry­ters testyfyen, they lastely accorded and kyssed to gyther as louers, to the great comforte of bothe hostes. And shortely after by the aduyce of bothe theyr counsaylles, condescen­ded vppon partycyon of the lande / whyche immedyately was done to bothe theyr agrementes, and loued after as two bretherne duryng theyr naturall lyues. But the serpent Idre of enuy and false conspyracye, which euer burnyd in the harte of Edricus was kyndeled so sore, that of pure force yt must breke out vpon a lyght flambe / so what he myghte not ac­complyshe by his owne persone, he fulfylled by his sonne, as testyfyen dyuerse authours. For as affermeth Guydo / this sonne of Edricus away tynge his tyme, espyed when y ^e kyng was at the wyddraught to purge nature / and wyth a spere strake hym into the foundement and so into the bodye, wherof kynge Edmunde dyed shortly after at Oxen. The king thus beynge slayne / anon Edricus thyn­kynge therby to be greatly exalted, spedde hym in all haste vnto Canu­tus, and saluted hym as kynge / and shewed hym of thys treason onely for hys loue done. when Canutus hadde well vnderstandyng of y ^e con­fessyon of Edricus, he lyke a dyscrete and ryghtous prynce sayd vnto hym in thys wyse. For thou haste Edri­cus for the loue thou berest vnto me, slayne thyne naturall lorde, whyche I moste loued / I shall exalte thyne hed aboue al the lordes of England. And forthwyth commaunded hym to be taken, and hys hedde to be stryken of, and pyght on a spere hedde, and after sette vppon the higest gate of London. But Marianus the Scot telleth, that Edmunde dyed at London by naturall sekenesse, a­bout the feste of saynt Andrewe. And the englyshe cronycle affermeth the forenamed treason / but by a nother maner of doynge. But howe so euer this noble prynce dyed / trouth yt is after agrement of moste wryters, y ^t he ended hys lyfe, when he hadde reygned one yere & more, as myche as from the moneth of Iune vnto the ende of Nouember / and was bu­ryed at Glastenbury by hys graund­father Edgare. Policronica shew­eth in the .xviii. chapyter of hys .vi. boke, that Canutus after the deth [Page] of Edmunde gave vnto Edricus the lordeshyppe of Mercia / and by hys counsayll exyled the brother of Ed­munde called the kynge of chorles / and thorough his con̄sayle executed many cruell dedes. Of this Edmūde remayned two sonnes, that is to wyt Edmunde and Edwarde.

THE .CCV. CHAPITER.

CAnutus or Knougth after the Englyshe cronycle, sonne of Swanus as before is touched, and yonger brother as appereth by y ^e sto­ry folowynge / began his domynyon alone ouer Englande, in the yere of our lorde a thousande & .xix / and the xxi. yere of Robert then kyng of Fraū ce. The whyche anon after the deth of Edmunde assembled a counsayll at London / where among other thynges in that coūsayll debated, a ques­tyon was put, whether in the composicyon made betwene Edmunde and Canutus, any speciall remembraūce was made for the chyldren or bre­thern of Edmunde, for any partycy­on of any parte of the lande.

wherunto yt was answered of the lordes naye. Affermyng farthermore wyth othe for the kynges pleasure, that they to the vttermoste of theyr powers wolde put of that blood of Edmunde in all that they myght By reason of whyche answere & pro­myse / they thought many of them to haue standen in the great grace and fauoure of the kynge / but yt turned all otherwyse.

For many of them, or the more partye, such as Canutus apperceyued & knewe, that they beforetyme were sworne to Edmunde and his heyres, & also were natyue Englishe men / he mystrusted & disdaned euer after. In so myche that some he exyled, & some were slayn, and some by goddes pu­nyshement dyed sodaynly.

But amonge all Edricus wyth his sugred wordes contynued in the kynges fauoure as sayth Marianus before mynded. By whose counsayll & other / he shortely after outlawed the foresayde brother of Edmunde sur­named kynge Charlis, as before is touched. But he afterwarde was reconcyled to the kynges fauour, and lastely slayne of his owne seruaūtes.

Canutus also by the sayde coun­sayll, sent the .ii. sonnes of Edmūde, named as before is sayde Edmunde & Edwarde, vnto his brother Swa­nus then kynge of Denmarke, to be slayne after the oppynyon of some wryters. But he abhorrynge that dede / sente theym to Salomon then kynge of Hungarye as wytnessyth Guydo and other. where in processe of tyme Edmunde dyed / and his brother Edwarde in tracte of tyme ma­ryed Agatha the doughter of the .iiii. Henry then emperour of Almayne. Of the whyche Edwarde and Aga­tha procedyd Margarete that after was quene of Scotlande / and Cry­styane that was a menchon, and a sonne named Edgar and surnamed Ethelynge.

Thys Edwarde of the cronycles of England is named Edwarde the outlawe / for so myche as he neuer returned into Englande as sayth the sayde englyshe cronycle, after hys fyrste exyle.

Then to returne vnto Canus / the whyche after some thynges orderyd in his lande, deuyded his sayd lande in foure partes. That is to meane the fyrst princypall which at those dayes was westsaxon, he helde vnder hys owne gydyng. Eestenglande, whych cōteyned Norff. & Suff. he betoke to the rule of y ^e erle, Turkyllꝰ a Dane / of whome somwhat is in the .iii. cha­pyter of y ^e story of Egelredꝰ. Mercia [Page CXXIX] he betoke to the subtell erle Edricus. And the .iiii. Northumberlande, vn­to a Dane named Hircius. But lyke as the man of Inde at no tyme chaū ged his colour / so this Edricus chaū ged neuer his fals maners. But not wythstandynge the great benefytes that he dayly receyued of his pryn­ces / there as he to other hadde ben false and dysceyuable in dayes past, euen so nowe he demeaned hym a­gayne Canutus.

wherfore he beynge accused & proued wyth defaute / was commaūded of the kyng to haue iudgement. The whyche was done immediatly / & his hedde for dyuerse causes smyten of / and yt wyth the bodye for spyte caste into a fowle and fylthy place. But Ranulf sayth that he was slayne by the kynges agrement wythin his paleys at London / and his body wyth the hed throwne after into the towne dyche. Thus wyth shame he ended, that in falshode & dyssymulacyō had contynued myche of his lyfe.

Aboute the .ix. yere of his reygne, Canutꝰ called a parliament at Oxenford / where amonges other thynges yt was enacted, that Englyshmen & Danys shuld holde the lawes of Ed­gar lately kynge.

In this pastyme dyed Swanus brother to Canutus kynge of Den­marke wythout issue / wherfore that lande fyll to Canutus. For the which cause he wyth a stronge army sayled thyther to take the possessyon, and to set the countrey in an order / or after some wryters to apeas & wythstande the wandelys, y ^t then had perced that lande and done therin myche harme. where Goodwyn̄ the erle, whose doughter Edwarde the confessour after maryed / wyth a certayne nomber of Englyshmen fyll vpon y ^e wandalys by nyght, & dystressed theym in suche wyse, that Canutus had of them his pleasure. For this dede the kyng had erle Goodwyn̄ euer after in good fa­uoure, and loued Englyshmen more specyally. And when he was retur­ned into Englande / he shortely after or before, maryed Emma the wyfe lately of Egelredus. Of the whych he receyued in processe of tyme a son & named hym Hardicunitus, or after some Hardykynitus / & after the Englyshe boke Hardyknough.

And aboute this tyme fyll voyde y ^• see of Lyndesser or Durham, to the whyche by dyuyne inspyracyon and knowlege receyued by a voyce from the tumbe of saynt Cuthbert / blessed Edmūde after thre yere of vacacyon was electe to that see. But ye shal vnderstande that thys was not saynte Edmunde of Ponteney. For he was archbyshoppe of Caunterbury in the dayes of Henry the thyrde.

THE .CXCVI. CHAPITER.

CAnutus about the .vii. yere of his reygne / by exhortacyon of Egelnothus then archbishop of Caūterbury, translated the body of saynt Elphegus late archbyshoppe of the sayd see, martyred by the Danys, as before is shewed in the seconde chapiter of the storye of Egelredus / and shryued hym in hys owne chyrche of Caunterbury foresayde.

In the tyme also of thys Canu­tus / aboute the .xvi. yere of hys rey­gne, the Scottes rebelled agayne hym. wherfore he with a great army entred Scotlande / & at length ouer­came the kynge of that lande named then Malcolyne, and brought them agayne to hys subieccyon, as is re­corded in the bokes of Marianus the Scot. By reason of whych vyctory Canutus was then kynge of .iiii. kyngdoms / of England, of Scotlād of Denmarke, and Norwaye. Then [Page] as wytnessyth dyuerse authours af­ter he had betaken this lande of En­glande to the gydynge of Leofricus Egelnothus, and other / he then re­turned into Denmarke. And from thēs he yode to Rome in the .xv. yere of his reygn, & made there great offerynges to saynte Peter and Poule / & redemed the scole of Saxons fre of all former trybute graunted, as be­fore in the storyes of Iue and Offa and other kynges of Saxons is som deale more touched. whyche redempcyon of tribute as sayth Guydo, was called Rome Scot. But it shall seme in that sayenge some douteth / for so myche as at thys daye in dyuers places of Englād, as in Northampton­shyre and other, the peter pens are yet gaderyd. Canutus also after he had in Rome accomplyshed his pur­pose / he in hys returne towarde Englande executed wonderfull dedes of almes, in releuynge of the poore and other goftly workes / & payde great good for raunsom of crysten pryso­ners / amonges other of his dedes, It is wytnessyd that he shulde agree with the pope that was called Benet the .viii. of that name, & pay to hym certayne summes of money, that his archbyshoppes after y ^t daye myghte haue the pall wythoute payenge of money therfore.

And whē he was comen in the citye of Papia in Italy, in hys way home warde, he there brought the arme of saynte Augustyne the doctour for a hundred pounde of syluer and a ta­lent of golde. And here is to be noted that there be thre maners of talētes. The fyrst and grettest is of y ^• weyght of .vi. score pounde weyghte / the se­conde of the weyght of .lxxii pounde / and the thyrde and leest of .l. pounde weyght. Then yf we reken this ta­lent with the leest / in a poūde of gold after troye weyght, is .xii. vuces, and in .l. pounde is .vi. hūdred vnces, and euery vnce of fyne golde is worth xl. s. By whyche reason this talent shulde be in value to the summe of xii. hundred pounde. This precyous relyque y ^e kyng gaue vnto his trusty frende Leofricus / y ^e whych he myche loued and trusted / and remayned at Couentre many yeres after.

whyle Canutus was occupyed in thys iourney / cōplaynt was brought vnto hym of some mysse demeanurs and rule, that were occupyed and exercysed in his absence wythin this realme. wherfore he wrote home let­ters to the lordes / chargynge theym straytely, that all such defautes were redressed agayne hys cōmyng home.

Thys kynge as wythnesseth Guydo was of great magnyfycence / and vsed suche iustyce and temperaunce, that in his dayes in the weste partes of the worlde, was no prynce of re­nowne as was Canutus. And ouer that he was gretly beloued & dradde of hys subiectes.

In the tyme of this Canutus, as tessyfyeth Guillelmus de pontifici­bus / a munke of Glastēbury named Bryghtwolde, whyche was after bysshop of wylton, beynge in hys con­templacyon and prayer, bethoughte hym on the lynage of Englyshe kynges. And in that thought fyll into a slumber / in whyche tyme of his slepe he sawe saynte Peter the apostle standynge by hym, and holdynge in hys hande Edwarde the sonne of Egelredus which then was in Normandy / the whyche to his thynkynge, he saw saynte Peter saker y ^e sayde Edward as kynge of Englande. And shewed to hym farther how holy this Ed­warde shulde be in hys lyuynge, and how he shuld reygne as kynge .xxiii. yeres. Then thys monke frayned saynt Peter of the ofsprynge of thys Edwarde, and who shulde be kynge [Page CXXX] after hym. To the whyche questyon was answered by Peter, the kynge­dome of Englyshemen is the kynge­dome of god / wherfore the kynges therof shall stande at goddes puruy­aunce. And also a nother doctour called Henry of Huntyngdon / shewyd that an holy man warned Englyshe men, y ^• a lorde whyche they thought nothynge vppon, shulde come out of Fraunce & brynge them ryght lowe.

In the tyme also of thys Canutꝰ by agrement of many wryters fyll one thynge worthy mynde and me­mory. In a town of Saxony named Calbis, in y ^e dyocesys of Magburgh and parysshe of saynt Magii / xviii. men and .xv. women vppon the euen of the Natyuyte of our lorde began a daunce about the chyrche yarde of saynt Magu afore sayd / the person or other prestes beyng than at masse wythin y ^e same chyrche. which beyng troubled wyth the noyse of the myn­strellys, & also the dynne of the sayde men and women / sent vnto them in monysshynge them to seace of that doynge. But all was in vayne / for they wolde not seace of theyr dysport for any commaūdement y ^t to thē was gyuen. wherwyth the preste beynge dyscontented, that they none other wyse reuerenced y ^e sacrament, noryed that solempne season / besought god and saynte Magii that they shulde contynue theyr daunce by the space of an hole yere. The whyche prayer was harde / in suche wyse that they contynued the same songe & daunce tyll that daye twelue monethes, and neuer eate nor dranke nor rested thē in all y ^e season. And moreouer dewe nor rayne fyll vppon them in all that yere / nor garment nor no thyng that was about them was impayred shoo nor other. At the yeres ende / Horo­bertus archbysshop of that dyocesys came vnto y ^e sayde place and lowsed them of that bonde whych the preste had bounde them in / and before the awlter of the chyrche them reconsy­led. Of the whyche a prestes dough­ter and two other dyed forth wyth / and the remenaunt yode to reste and slepte by the space of .iii. dayes and iii. nyghtes folowynge. where after some of them dyed / and suche as ly­ued fell lame of theyr lymmes. And one of the same .xviii. men beyng na­med Ubertus or Hupertus, wrote thys wonder wyth hys owne hande for a more recorde of the trowth.

Then let vs retorne to Canutus / of whom it is redde that after hys cōmyng from Rome, he beganne som­dele to presume in pryde, & set more by hym selfe than good wysdome wolde. In tyme of whyche exaltacyō of hys mynde / he went vnto the Ta­mys syde, and behelde howe the wa­ter swelled or flowed. And so stan­dynge nere the water / the water tou­ched hys fete. Than he charged the water that he shuld flowe no hygher and that in no wyse he shulde to wche hys lordes clothes. But the water kepte his course and wette at length the kynges thyes. wherewyth y ^e kyng abasshed sterte backe and sayde, all erthly kynges may know that theyr powers be vayne / and that none is worthy to haue the name of a kynge but he that hath all thynges subiecte to hys hestes, as here is shewed by worchynge of hys treature by thys water. And for thys as wytnesseth Polycronycon and other / he offered hys crowne to y ^e rode of wynchester, and neuer bare it vpon his hed after.

It is also wytnessed of the sayde authour / that Canutus maryed hys doughter hadde by hys laste wyfe, vnto Henry sonne of Conradus the emperour, the seconde of that name / as also it is testyfyed of the authour of Cronica cronicarum.

[Page]And he repayred many monaste­ryes / and specyally suche as before tyme were hurte or throwne downe in the tyme of hys fathers persecu­cyon. And began and ended the mo­nastery of saynt Edmundes Bury / & endowed it wyth ryche possessyons as before is towched. And dyed fy­nally at Shaftesbury, and was bu­ryed at wynchester, whan he hadde reygned .xix. yeres / leuyng after hym two sonnes of hys wyues / the eldest was named Harolde and the yonger Hardykynytus / the whyche lyuyng hys fader was made kynge of Den­marke.

Francia. THE .CCVII. CHAPITER.

HEnry the sonne of Robert / begā hys domynyon ouer the French men, in the yere of our lord. M.xxix / and the .x. yere of Canutus than kynge of Englande. To the whyche Henry / Cōstantyne the mo­der was so vnkynde, that she by her meanes wolde haue preferred her yonger sonne Roberte duke of Bur­goyne, to the rule of the lande before thys Henry / so that by her meanes, bothe cytyes and castels were wyth holden from hym, and was by her & suche other as toke her parte so ouer lad, that he was forced to resorte to Robert than duke of Normandy, for to aske helpe of hym to wythstande hys enemyes.

ye shall vnderstande that this Ro­bert was the .vi. duke of Normandy, and sonne of Richarde the seconde / and also father vnto wyllyā bastard that conquered Englande.

Thys Roberte was lyberall and noble of condycyon / but defamed of y ^e deth of hys elder brother Rychard the thyrde. For the whyche murder as wytnessyth dyuers authours / the vii. yere of hys dowchery he went to Iherusalem, and dyd in that pylgre mage many honourable and liberall actes / the whyche in good order ben remembred in the .xix. chapyter of the vi. boke of Polycronicon.

This Robert receyued kyng Henry wyth all honour, and gaue vnto hym greate and ryche gyftes, & sent for hys frendes and knyghtes / so y ^e the kynge had by hys ayde a greate & myghty hoste. And retorned agayn into Fraunce / and in short whyle af­ter recouered from hys sayde moder bothe cytyes, townes, and castelles, that she and her fautours from hym wythhelde. And fynally agreed so wyth her / that he and she contynued frendes theyr lyfe tymes enduryng. After whyche accorde / about the .v. yere of hys reygne he made warre vppon Eudo erle of Champayne, & vppon Baldewine erle of Flaūders / and in processe of tyme wan frō them certayne cytyes and castelles, the whyche Constance his moder hadde before tymes gyuen to them in tyme of dyscencyon.

In thys warre was slayne Eudo erle of Champayne. wherfore hys .ii. sonnes Stephen & Thybaud mayn­teyned the warre agayne the kynge / but to theyr bothe harmes in y ^e ende. For Stephen loste therby the cytyes of Chartres and towers, and Thy­baude y ^e cytyes of Troyes & Maulx wyth other.

whan Henry hadde ended thys warre & set hys lande in some quyet­nesse / he thā buylded a monastery of saynt Martyne called Des Chāps besyde Parys, and set therin seculer prestes.

In thys passetyme Robert duke [Page CXXXI] of Normandy moued in conscyence to vysyte the holy sepulture of oure lorde, called before hym hys lordes of hys lande / wyllynge and cōmaundynge them to owe theyr trewe alle­gaunce vnto hys yonger sonne wyl­lyam, and to take hym for theyr lord and duke yf he retorne not agayne. And to thys / he caused to swere Ro­bert than archbysshop of Roan, with the other of hys lordes / and after de­parted vppon the sayd iourney, and dyed in the cytye of Bethenia as he was cōmynge homewarde. wherof y ^e lordes of Normandy beynge asser­tayned, accepted the foresayde wyllyam to theyr lorde and souerayne.

Of thys wyllyams procreacyon / yt is wytnessed of Uyncent hystory all and other, that his father passynge by the cytye or towne of Faloys in Normandy, he sawe a company of maydens daunsynge by the strete. Amonges the whych was one of passynge beautye called Arlet, and dou­ghter to a skynner. To y ^e which duke Robert caste vnlefull loue / in suche wyse y ^t he caused her to be broughte to his bed the nyght folowyng, and helde her to his concubyne a certayn of tyme after / & begat on her this wyllyam. whē his moder was wyth him cōceyued / she dremed that her bowel lys were sprad ouer all Normandye and Englande. And when he was borne of his moders wombe / he fyll to the groūde, and closed his handes wyth powder of the flore or paue­ment. Therfore the mydwyfe made and exclamacyon, and sayd this chyld shall be a kynge.

Then yt foloweth / when thys wyllyam was thus admitted duke, some of his lordes by the meane of y ^e kyng of Fraūce, began to wythdraw them from hym. In so myche y ^e erle Gyl­bert to whome duke Robert had be­taken hys ponge sonne to gyde was slayne, and other that were especyall frendes to the chylde. There was fyghtyng and manslaughter and the countrey fowle faren with, by reason of the opynyons that were amonges them selfe / wherof Guy a Burgoyn was one of the chefe causers. For he with his adherentes sayde alwayes; that they wolde haue no bastarde to be ruler of them.

This Guy as saith the frēche boke was nere kynnesman vnto y ^e yonge duke, descendyd of the doughter of the seconde Rycharde / and entended to haue ben duke hym selfe. For the which he ensensed y ^e kyng of Fraūce agayn hym in all that he myght / but at length duke wyllyam toke hym and put hym to deth.

Thus the Frenche kynge forget­tynge y ^e kyndnesse shewyd to hym by duke Robert hys father, toke partye agayne hym to the vttermoste / and ordeyned hym .ii. hostes. wherof one he delyueryd to his brother Alma­ryk / and warned hym to eutre y ^e countrey of Caus / and he hym selfe ladde that other, and entred with it the coū trey of Eurour.

But wyllyam not ferynge the kynges great power / beynge growen wele towarde mannes stature, lyke a luste yonge knyght made towarde the kynges brother / & gaue to hym batayll, & hym ouercame, and chased the Frenchemen to theyr great byla­ny. wherof heryng the Frenche kyng wyth his people spedde hym toward wyllyam to reuenge the shame done to his men. But in cōclusyon he wan there no honoure. Then peace was made betwene the kyng and y ^e duke / and the Frenche prysoners were de­lyueryd.

But this peace enduryed not long / for the Frēch kyng callynge to remē braūce the losse of hys men at Mort mere or dede see, wyth other dysa­uauntages [Page] by hym sustayned of the sayde duke wyllyam / called to hys ayde Geoffrey erle of Aungiers. And whan hys hoste was assembled / they entred y ^e prouynce of Normādy, & cō tynued theyr iourney tyll they came to an arme of the see, where the hoste shulde passe ouer.

Of thys new warre duke wyllyā beynge warned / in all haste assem­bled hys Normans and sped hym y ^e next waye to mete the Frenchemen. In thys meane whyle the Frenche kynge had passed the water wyth certayne of hys hoste, trustyng that the remenauaūt shulde haue folowed. But soone after the water flowed so faste that hys people myghte not passe. And in thys whyle came the duke and set vpon the kynges hoste, and bet theym downe cruelly / so that at length the kynge was compelled to flee, and loste a great nomber of his knyghtes, to consyder them y ^e were slayne wyth the other that were ta­ken prysoners.

whan kynge Henry had well dys­gested in hys mynde, the wrongfull trouble that he by enuyous persons hadde put the duke vnto, and remē ­bred the yll expedycyon that he had in that warre / he recōsyled hym selfe, and made meanes that the duke and he myghte be agreed and accorded. The whyche by dyscrete solycytours was shortely after brought to good effecte / so that they contynued as frē des durynge theyr lyues after.

Than Henry abstayned hym from all warre / & vsed the reste of hys lyfe in peas and quyetnesse. Thys Hen­ry had two wyues / and of the laste whyche was doughter to the kynge of Russy, he had .iii. sonnes / that is to say Phylyp, y ^• whych he made kyng of Fraunce by hys lyfe, Robert that was after duke of Burgoyne, and Hughe that was after named Hugh le graunde, and was fader to Raufe erle of Uermendoyse.

And in thys kynges dayes / Bur­goyne that had ben vnder y ^e Frenche kynges obeysaunce ouer a hundred and .xxx. yeres, refused the Frenche kynge, aparte of them, & torned vnto Conradus the seconde of that name than emperour. So that that parte whyche stretched to Champayne be­longed to Fraunce / and that other parte whyche stretched toward Ba­saynz belonged to the Almayns.

And that yere that the kynge had admytted hys sonne Phylyp to the gydynge of the realme / he dyed, and was buryed at saynt Denys / leuyng after hym the issue forenamed, whan he hadde reygned after moste wry­ters .xxxi. yeres.

Anglia. THE .CCVIII. CHAPITER.

HArold the sonne of Canutus, & of Elgma y ^e er­lys doughter of Hampton / begā his reygne ouer Englande, in y ^e yere of our lor­des incarnacyon. M. xxxix / and the x. yere of Henry thā kyng of Fraūce. Thys for his delyuernesse & swyfte­nesse, was surnamed Harefote. In whose begynnynge stryfe was a­monge the lordes, for so myche as of hys byrthe shulde be doughte, why­ther he were the kynges son or not / and specyally erle Goodwyne, that dyd the vttermoste of hys power to sette hym by, and put Hardykynitus his brother to that honour. But Leo frycus that Canutus so mych loued and trusted, wyth the ayde of the Danes / wythstode so myghtely Good­wyne and hys sonnes, that they fay­led [Page CXXXII] of theyr purpose.

Anone as thys Harold was crow­ned kynge / he banysshed hys stepmoder Emma, and toke from her suche goodes and iewelles as she had. The whych Emma sayled than into Flaū ders, and there of Bawdewyne the erle was reuerently receyued, & there abode durynge the lyfe of thys Ha­rolde. The whyche contynued hys lyfe to lytell fruyte or profyte of the land, nor yet of the subiectes / so that of hym, other for y ^e vyce that clerkes lyste nat to put in memory, other for the rudenesse, whyche is worthy no memory, nothynge of hym is put in remembraunce / but that he dyed at London, or after some at Oxenford, & was buryed at westmynster, when he had reygned as moste wryters a­green .iii. yeres and odde monethes / leuynge after hym none heyre. wher­fore hys brother kyng of Denmarke was next kynge after hym.

THE .CCIX. CHAPITER.

HArdikynytus the sonne of Ca­nutus & of Emma / was made kyng of England, in the yere of our lordes incarnacyon. M.xli / and the xii. yere of Henry than kyng of Fraū ce. Thys of some wryters is named Hardykynytus and Hardyknough / and was anone after the deth of hys brother sent for into Denmarke, and receyued ioyously, and crowned at Londō of Ethelnotus than archybys­shop of Caunterbury. But this was of suche cruelty, that he sent Alfry­cus archbysshoppe of yorke and erle Goodwyne vnto westmynster / com­maundynge them for the iniury by hys brother Harolde before done vnto his moder Emma, that they shuld drawe the corps out of y ^e place where it was buryed, and to be throwen into the ryuer of Thamys / which was done accordynge to hys wyll. whych corps after as testyfyeth Guydo and other, was founden by a fyssher / and buryed vnreuerently within the chyrcheyarde of saynt Clement standyng wythout the Temple barre of Lon­don. And as Polycronycon sayth / for a more curelty he caused fyrst the hed of hys sayd brother to be smyten from the body, and than throwen in to the sayd ryuer. Lette the herers to thys gyue credence as them lyke / for to me it semeth though the kyng had ben of suche cruelty, that the bysshop forenamed wolde not haue ben the executour of so fowle a dede.

Thys kyng also leuyed the fore­named trybute named Dane gelt, & spent it to the lytell comforte of the realme / but gaue vnto shypmen and maryners, and other lewde persons, greate and vnsyttynge fees and wa­ges / and was of suche prodegalyte, that his bourdes and tabelles of his courte were spred .iiii. tymes in the daye / and the people serued of great excesse both of mete & also of drynke.

wyth leuyeng of the foresayd try bute the comons greatly grudged / so that in worceter two of hys ser­uauntes, whyche were assygned to gader that money were there slayne. For the whyche dede the kynge was so sore dyspleased, y ^t he brent a great parte of that towne.

Thys Hardykynutus after some authours, maryed hys syster named Gunylda vnto the thyrde Henry em­perour. The whych was of passyng beaute / and was the doughter also of Emma laste wyfe of Canutus. But in processe of tyme thys Gunyl­da was falsely accused of spowse­brech / for tryall wherof she was put to her champyon. wherfore she beynge in greate agony / lastely tru­styng to god, and knowyng her selfe without gylte of that offence, putte a [Page] chyld that she wyth her had brought out of Englande in stede of the champyon. The whyche fought wyth a man of geauntes stature / and fynal­ly hym slew, and broughte vnto confusyon.

when Gunylda by dyuyne power hadde thus clered her selfe / she vtterly refused the emperours company, and ended her lyfe in the seruyce of hym the onely god, that so hadde defended her ryght.

But yt shulde appere by Polycro­nycon, and also by Antoninus / that thys mayden was maryed to y ^e sayde Henry by the lyfe of her father Canutus, and also durynge the lyfe of the sayde Henryes father named Conradus the second, as before is touched in the storye of the sayde Canutus / and not by thys Hardykinytus her brother.

It is rad that the kynge betoke all the rule of the lande vnto hys moder and erle Goodwyn / the whyche had maryed as wytnessyth the englyshe cronycle, the doughter of Canutus gotten vppon hys fyrste wyfe Elgi­na. By whome many thynges were mysse orderyd / and specyally by the subtylyte of this erle Goodwyn. This erle had many sonnes, as wyt­nesseth Polycrony con in the .xxv. chapyter of hys .vi. boke. By his fyrste wyfe that was kynge Canutus sys­ter, & not hys doughter as is aboue sayde / he hadde one sonne. The whyche by vndyscrete strykynge of an horse, was throwen into the Tha­mys and drowned. And the mother was lastely smyttē wyth lyghtenyng and so dyed. Of whome yt is there remembred, that she was so vngra­cyous and of so vyle condycyon / that she set yonge womē to horedome, for to gader by that vnlefull meane ry­ches. After the whyche wyfe so dyed, he maryed the seconde / of whome he receyued .vi. sonnes. That is to wyt Swanus, Harolde, Tostius, wyl­notus, Sirthe or Surthe, and Leoffricus / and a doughter named Goditha, whych after was maryed to Edwarde the confessour.

The two sonnes of Egelredus Al­phredus and Edwarde, whych as ye before haue hard were sent into Normādy by Emma theyr mother / came in y ^e tyme of the reygne of thys kyng into Englande, for to vysyte and se theyr mother / & brought wyth them a great nomber of Normans. Then thys Goodwyne ymagyned in hys mynde howe he myght preferre hys doughter Godyth to one of these bretherne / and thoughte in his mynde y ^t the eldest wold dysdayne that mary­age. And for he thought to ioyne her vnto the yonger, and to make hym kynge and her quene / he compassed the deth of y ^e elder. And by this mean Goodwyn warned the lordes of En­glande / and sayde yt was a great ieoperdye for the lande, to suffer so ma­ny straungers to entre the land without lycence / wherfore yt were neces­sary that they were punyshed to the example of other. By whych meanes he gat authoryte to order that mater as to hym semed beste or of his owne power, because he was of moste myght nexte the kynge. wherfore he yode and mette wyth the sayde Nor­mans / and slewe of theym the moste nomber. For vppon Guylde downe he slewe alway .ix. & saued the .x. And yet for he thoughte to many by that meane lefte a lyue / he eft agayne ty­thed agayne the sayd tythe, and slew euery tenth knyght of them and that by cruell deth / as wyndynge theyr guttes out of theyr bodyes, as sayth Polycronycon / and amonge other put out the eyen of the elder brother Alphredus, & sent hym to Ely, where he dyed in short tyme after / all be it y ^e [Page CXXXIII] englyshe boke sayth y ^t he was slayne by the forenamed tormente. And Edwarde was conueyed and by some other waye broughte to hys mother. But she ferynge the treason of Good wyne, sente hym soone ouer the see agayne. Howe be yt the ynglyshe cronycle telleth all otherwyse. when Goodwyne was after accused for thys cruell dede / he sware depely y ^t he was forced of the kynge so for to do. But in one cronicle, I fynde that thys dede was executed by Good­wyne in the tyme of Harolde Hare­fote beynge kynge.

Then yt foloweth in the story / this kynge Hardykynytus beynge at a feste at Lambehyth besyde London, mery and iocande / whyle he stode drynkynge he fyll downe sodaynly, and dyed / or waxed dumbe, and lay tyll the .viii. daye after, the whyche was the .viii. daye of the moneth of Iune / and then dyed, when he hadde reygned after moste wryters two yeres / leuynge after hym none yssue of his bodye lawfull, and was bury­ed by his father at wynchester.

Thus here endeth the lyne or of­sprynge of Swanus and all other Danys / so that after thys kynge, the blood of Danys was clerely extyncte and putte oute from all kyngly dygnyte wyth­in thys realme of En­glande. And also the persecution of thē seased clerely after thys kyn­ges deth. The whyche had contynued, to rekē from theyr fyrst landynge in tyme of Brightricus kyng of west Saxon, & the .ix. yere of his reygne, as in y ^e storye before is rehersed / by y ^e terme of .CC.lv. yeres.

THE .CCX. CHAPITER.

EDward the son of Egelredus & of Emma hys last wyfe / began his reygne ouer England, in the yere of our lord M .xliii / and the xiiii. yere of Henry then kynge of Fraunce. The whyche after the deth of Hardykinitus was sente for into Normandye / and pledges layde for hym, that he wythout fraude shulde be made kynge. And then he came wyth a few straunges. But as sayth Marianus / some of the lordes had sent for Edwarde the outlaw son of Edmunde Ironsyde, for to be theyr kynge. But after the affyrmaunce of the said authour / when he knew that Edwarde hys neuewe was in possessyon of the lande, he wolde medle hym no farther.

Then thys Edwarde by the great aduyse of Goodwyn̄ erle of west Saxon, and of Leofricꝰ erle of Chester / was crowned kyng at westmynster, of Edsius then archbyshop of Caunterbury / & wedded in processe of time after, Goditha the doughter of erle Goodwyne, whych of Guydo is cal­led Editha. The whych he entreatyd in suche wyse / y ^t he put her not from his bed, nor yet delte wyth her fleshe­ly. whyther yt were for hate of her kynne, or forloue of chastite, y ^e trouth is not shewed. But all wryters a­green that he cōtynued his lyfe with outen offence wyth women.

This kyng discharged Engleshmen of y ^e great tribute called Dane gelt, y ^t whych before is sundry tyme spoken of / so y ^t after y ^e daye yt was no more gaderyd. And also he subdued y ^e Brytons or walshmen that made warre [Page] wythin the bondes of y ^e land. But after y ^t theyr duke or leder called Gryffyn or Gryffyth, with ayde of y ^e Irysh men entred the ryuer of Seuerne, & toke many prayes, and departed a­gayne wythout fyght.

In the tyme of the reygne of thys Edwarde / Emma his moder was accused to be familyer with y ^e byshop of winchester. Upō which accusaciō, by coūsayll of erle Goodwyn̄ he toke from her many of her iewellys, & caused her to be keptsomdele more straitly in the abbay of warwell / and the byshop he cōmytted to the examyna­cyon and correccyon of the clergye. But his moder more sorowynge the defame of Alwyn̄ the byshoppe then her awne estate / wrote vnto dyuers byshoppes, and besought them of iustyce / affermynge y ^t she was redy to abyde all leful & most sharpest triall.

Then dyuers of y ^e byshoppes made laboure to the kynge for her and for the byshop. But Robert then arche­byshop of Caunterbury / beyng wyth theyr laboure dyscontended, sayde to them in this maner. My brethern bisshoppes sayd he, how dare ye defende her that is a wyld beste and not a woman? she hath defamed her own son the kynge, and nempned her leche­rours lemman goddes owne preste. But be yt so that the woman wolde purge the preste / who shall then pur­ge the woman, that is accused to be consentynge to the deth of her sonne Alphred, and procured venym to the poysonyng of her son Edwarde. But how so yt be that she be gylty or gyltlesse / yf she woll go barefoted for her selfe .iiii. steppes & for the byshop .v, contynually vpon .ix. plough sharys brennynge and fyre hote / then yf she escape harmelesse, he shall be as­soyled of this chalenge and she also.

Thys was of her graunted, and the daye of purgacyon assygned. At which day y ^e kyng & grete part of his lordes were present / but this Robert fayled, were yt for pyte or otherwyse. Thys Robert was a monke of an house in Normandy, and came ouer by the sonde of the kynge / and was fyrste made bysshoppe of London, and after archbysshopppe of Caun­terbury. Then the nyght before Emma shulde make her purgacyon / she went vnto the shryne of saynt Swythune at wynchester / and there kne­led all that night in prayer and receyued dyuyne cōforte. Upon the morne she was blyndefelde / and ladde vnto the place betwene .ii. men, where the iron laye glowynge hote / and passed the .ix. sharys vnhurte. Then at last she sayde. Good lorde when shall I come to the place of my purgacyon. when they opened her eyen, and she sawe that she was paste the payne / she kneled downe and thanked God and saynte Swythune. Then the kynge repented hym / and restored to her that he before hadde taken from her, and asked of her forgyuenesse. But the archebyshoppe of Caunter­burye fledde into Normandye. And thys Emma gaue then vnto the mo­nastery of that holy confessour saynt Swythune .ix. maners / and the bys­shoppe other .ix. as affermeth Poly­cronica and other.

It was not long after, that kyng Edwarde gaderyd a stronge nauye at Southampton̄, or more verely in the hauen of Sandwyche / for so myche as he was warned that Swanus kynge of Denmarke entended to make warre vppon hym. But Polycronycon sayth that he gade­deryd thys nauy to wythstande Harolde Harfagar then kyng of North ganys, that entended to haue en­tred Englande. But he was letted by y ^e forenamed Swanꝰ, y ^t shortely after made warre vpō y ^e sayd Harold

[Page CXXXIIII]An other cronycle shewyth, that the Danys and Norgayns, whyche is to meane men of Norway / were a­greed to come ioyntly into England. And whyle the kynge was shyppyng of his mne / one brought forth a bole full of mede or meth to drynke vpon bon vyage. And after that came bole after bole / so that after drynke came dronkenes, & after iangelyng / & ian­gelynge tourned into stryfe, & stryfe tourned into fyghtynge / where tho­rough many were slayne / & the other turned to theyr owne, so that that iourney was lefte of. But the legēde of hys lyfe in the chyrche telleth / that he beynge at masse in the chyrche of westmynster vppon a whytsondaye, in the tyme of the leuacyon of the sa­crament he laught. wherof the lor­des beynge aboute hym meruayled greatly / and after frayned of hym the cause. wherūto he answered and sayde, that the Danys wyth the Norwayes of one assente were purposed to haue comen into thys lande, and here haue taken prayes. But as the kynge of Danys shuld haue entred hys shyp, he fyll into the see and was drowned / so that I truste in my days they shall not, nor none other straungers make any warre in this lande.

THE .CCXI. CHAPITER.

IN the tyme of thys Edwarde fyll passynge great snowe, the whyche began in the begynnynge of Ianuary, and so contynued tyll the xvii. daye of Marche or saynte Patrykes daye / wherof the great quantyte fyll in the weste countreys of Englande. And after that ensued great deth of men, and moreyne of beftes / and by lyghtnynge the corne vpon the ground that yere was wonderfull brent and wasted.

Aboute the .x. yere of Edwarde as moueth Policronyca, and in the moneth of September / Eustace erle of Bolongn̄ came a lande at Douer / whyche erle hadde wedded after the sayenge of the sayde authour, kynge Edwardes syster. Thys was parted frome hys companye in so secrete wyse, that hys knyghtes were fayne to serche for hym / wenynge to them that he hadde ben slayne by some of the dwellers of the towne. In the whyche serche they demeaned theym so vndyscretely, that they slewe a cy­tezyne of Douer. By meane wher­of the people arose / and in the ques­tyonynge of thys mannes deth, ran at length vppon the erles company, and slewe .xx. of hys men, and wounded many mo. Hastely the erle appe­ryd and toke his mennys parte. But in conclusyon he was fayne to wyth­drawe hym selfe with a few persons, and rode vnto the kynge then beyng at Glouceter / and made vnto hym a greuous complaynte of the men of Douer.

Then erle Goodwyne, for so moch as to hym was commytted the rule of Kente / was charged to ryde thy­ther, and to take wreche of the inha­bytaūtes of that towne. But he with sayde that commaundement / and counsayled the kyng to sende for the wardeyns of the castell of Douer and rulers of the towne, for to an­swere to suche maters as were layde agayne them, and yf they were gylty to punyshe them, and ellys not.

This answere of Goodwyn̄ pleased nothynge the kynge, nor suche as were aboute hym / wherfore ma­ny mo lordes were sent for. Amonge the which Leofricus erle of Chester, and Sewarde erle of Northumber­land of myne authour ben named. After whych assemble of y ^e lordꝭ erle Goodwyne had suche monycyon of some of y ^e counsayll, y ^t he wythdrewe [Page] hym from the courte, and gadered to hym strength of knyghtes out of dyuers shyres, as west Saxon & Kent / and houed at Beuerston̄ tyl his son­nes came vnto him with more peple Soone after came vnto hym his el­dest son named Swanus, & brought wyth hym a fayre companye that he hadde arreyred in Oxenfordeshyre & Gloucetershyre / and Harolde hys other sonne, wyth a feleshyppe that he had assembled in eest Englande, and Huntyngdon̄shyre / so that of these people was made a great hoste.

Then Goodwyn̄ to the kyng was accused, for gaderynge of so great an hoste. But he excused hym, and sayde, yt was done to wythstand the walyshmen. The whyche contrary proued / he was cōmaunded to sende awaye the people, and to come wyth a certayne nomber vnto the courte. But that he refused. Then the kyng wyth hys counsayll beynge at Lon­don / Goodwyn and Harold was eft sent for, and charged to come to the courte wyth .xii. persones wythoute mo / and to render into the kynges handes all knightes fees that he and Harolde his sonne hadde wythin Englande. To thys by theym was an­swered, that they myghte not come to the counsayll of treachours and gylefull men / and that also wyth so fewe men in nomber, they mygthe not wythoute parell or shame passe by the countrey.

In thys whyle a parte of Good­wyns knyghtes wythdrewe theym, and hys power beganne to mynyshe and the kynge in thys whyle hadde gaderyd a stronge hoste. Then pro­clamacyons were made, that Good­wyne shuld come to the courte as before is sayd / or auoyde the land with in fyue dayes. wherfore Goodwyne consyderyng the ieopardy y ^t he was in / toke wyth hym .iii. of his sonnes, that is to meane Swanus, Tosty, & Gurthe / and sayled into Flaundres▪ where he was receyued of the erle Baldwyn after some wryters / whose doughter Swanus his sonne hadde before spoused & was named Iudeth And Harolde and Leofricus two of his other sonnes with a few shyppes sayled out frō Brystow into Irland.

when the kynge was ascertayned that erle Goodwyne wyth hys fyue sonnes was in thys maner departed oute of his lande / he shortly after cal­led a parlyament / and by authoryte of the same, outlowed Goodwyne & hys .iii. sonnes that were gone wyth hym. And that done he put his owne wyfe and doughter of Goodwyn̄ in­to the abbaye of warwell wyth one mayden, as sayth Marianus. And so Goodwyn̄ and hys sayde sonnes contynued two yeres outlawed. In the whyche season he or hys retynue toke dyuers tymes prayes in y ^e mar­ches of Englande / and in the ende drewe to hym suche strength, that he was purposed to haue entred the lande wyth force, and to haue war­red vppon the kynge. But by medyatours that fauoured erle Goodwyn, a peace was made betwene y ^e kynge and hym / so that in processe he was receyued to grace wyth hys sonnes / & hys doughter restored to her fyrste and former honoure. And for thys peace to be contynued / for Good­wyns parte was delyueryd for pled­kes a sonne of hys called wylnotus, and a sonne of Swanus named Ha­cum or Hacun. The whyche .ii. pledges kynge Edwarde sent vnto wyl­lyam duke of Normandy to be kept. And Algarus the sonne of Leofricꝰ erle of Chester, to whbme the kynge had gyuen the erledome of Harold, & ruled yt dyscretely in tyme of his ab­sence / at hys returne delyuered yt to him again, gladly & without grudge

THE .CCXII. CHAPITER.

DUrynge the tyme of this out lauwry of Goodwyne / wyl­lyam bastarde duke of Normandye came with a goodly cōpany into this land, and was honorably receyued / to whom the kyng made great chere. And after he hadde taryed here a certayne of tyme to his agrement and pleasure / he retourned to hys owne wyth great gyftes & pleasures. And Emma the kinges moder dyed shortly after, and was buryed a wynche­ster. And Swanus the eldest sonne of Goodwyne went to Hierusalem, and from thens towarde Lycia / and dyed by the waye of colde, that he had taken of goynge barefote. Then the Normans that had gyuen to the kynge euyll counsaylles agayne Englyshemen / were by Goodwyne and his frendes exyled. Among the why­che Robert archebyshop af Caunterbury that hadde spoken sore agayne theym was one / whych after went to Rome to complayn to the pope then Leon̄ the .ix. or Uyctour the seconde. And whē he had receyued letters of y ^e pope directed to y ^e kyng / he returned to his abbay of Gemeticum in Nor­mandye, where he somtyme had ben munke and abbot / and there dyed. After hym Stigandus was made his successoure / the whyche as sayth Policronicon, had before tyme lefte the byshopryche of Shyrborne, and toke the see of wynchester by strēgth. He also vsed fayres of holy chyrche thynges / and was a lewde or vnlet­tred man, as the more part of the bysshoppes of Englande at those dayes were. And ouer that he passed other in ryches and dyssymulacyon. But yet he neuer had y ^e palle from Rome, though there be great sale that ma­keth many maystryes.

Then was openly spoken that he was not worthy a byshopryche, that coude vse y ^e bragge or pompe of the worlde, the vse of voluptuosyte, of glotony and Lechery, the shynynge araye of clothynge, the countenaunce of knyghtes, and the gaderynge of horsemen, and thynketh full ly­tell on the profyte of soules. And yf men sayde to theym that a byshoppe shulde be chosen for holynesse of ly­uyng, and for hys good clergye, and not for couetyse of money / they wold answere as foloweth, Nunc aliud tempus, alii pro tēpore mores. The whyche verse maye be englyshed in thys maner.

SO that by such light answere they planed or excused y ^e shar­penesse of theyr mysse lyuynge.

About this tyme, whyche shuld by Ranulff be about the .xii. yeare of y ^e reygne of Edward / Marianꝰ the Scot that before I haue often named, that wrote myche of y ^e dedes of y ^e kynges of England / at the age of .xxv. yeres forsoke the world, & went on pylgry­mage / & was after shorne munke at Coleyne in Almayne in the abbay of Scottes. whyche Marianus after some wryters was in great fauoure with Malcolyne kyng of Scottes.

In the .xiii. yere of kynge Edward the Scottes rebelled agayn y ^e kyng. wherfore Sewarde erle of Northumberlande, [Page] by the kynges commaun­dement gadered a great hoste and entred that lande / and behaued hym so manfully, that in processe he sub­dued the Scottes, & chased y ^e kynge out of his coūtrey / so that after kyng Edwarde gaue that kyngedome vnto Malcolyn̄ sonne of the kynge of Cumbrys, to beholden of hym & hys heyres kynges, as chefe lordes of Scotlande.

Uppon Ester mondaye aboute the sayde yere Goodwyn̄ syttynge at the kynges bourde wyth other lordes in y ^e castell of wyndsore / yt happed one of the kynges cuppe berers to stum­ble and to recouer agayne, so that he shedde none of the drynke. wherat Goodwyn̄ lough, and sayde, nowe that one brother hath susteyned that other. wherby he ment that the one fote or legge hathe sustayned y ^e other from fallynge. wyth whyche wordes the kyng marked him & sayd, Ryght so my brother Alfrede shuld haue holden me, ne had Goodwyn ben. The erle then conceyued that the kynge suspected hym of hys brothers deth / and sayde vnto the kynge in defen­dynge hys vntrouth: syr as I per­ceyue well it is told to the, y ^t I shuld be y ^e cause of thy brothers deth. So mought I sauely swalowe this mor fel of brede y ^t I here hold in my hāde, as I am giltlesse of the dede. But as soone as he had receyued the brede / forthwyth he was choked. Then the kynge commaūded hym to be drawē from the table / and so was conueyed to wynchester, and there buryed. Marianus sayth that as erle Good­wyn̄ sat at the kynges table at wyn­chester / he was sodaynly taken with a palsye or some other sykenes vpon the Ester mondaye, and dyed y ^e thyrd day after. And his lordshyppes were gyuen vnto Harold his eldest sonne then lyuynge / & Haroldes erledome was gyuen to Algarus the sonne of Leofricus, whych was the erledome of Oxenford after some wryters. It was not longe after y ^e kynge Ed­warde sent vnto the .iiii. Henry than emperour of Almayne, Aldredus bysshop of worceter, wyth other noble men / prayenge hym that he wolde sende vnto England hys cosyn Ed­warde sonne of Edmūde Ironsyde / for so myche as he entended to make hym hys heyre. The whyche request was fulfylled, so that he came into Englande soone after / the whych as ye haue harde before, was named Edwarde the outlawe.

But as witnessyth Guydo and other the yere after that he came into En­glande, he dyed at London, and was buryed at westmynster.

Thys yere folowynge kynge Ed­warde thorough yll counsayll exiled wythout gylte Algarus the sonne of Leofricus. The whych assocyat hym wyth Gryffyne kynge or duke of wa­lys / and destroyed y ^e countre of Har­forde, & dyd mych harme to y ^e towne, and set the mynster on fyre, and slew vii. chanons therof. Then the kyng sent Harolde agayn hym / the whiche chased the walshmen into theyr own boundes, and recoueryd the sayde towne by appoyntement holden by the sayde Algarus, and amended all hurtes before done by the walshmē / and lastely recouncyled the sayde Algarus and his companye vnto the kynges grace.

THE .CCXIII. CHAPITER.

ABoute the .xv. yere of kynge Edwarde / dyed y ^e noble duke Sewarde ruler of Northumberland of the flux, of whome Guydo reher­seth dyuers notable actes whyche I passe ouer. Of whom yt is radde that when he sawe well he shulde dye, he [Page CXXXV] caused hys armour to be put vppon hym / and so armed and syttynge in a cheyre, hauynge all the ryghtes of the chyrch sayde, that so yt became a knyght and man of honour to dye, & not lyenge as an other mene man / and so dyed, & was buryed at yorke. And hys erledome was after gyuen to Tosty or Costy son of Goodwyn̄.

In the yere folowynge or .xvi. yere of kynge Edwarde, dyed also y ^e good erle Leofricus erle of Mercia and of Chester / and was buryed in the ab­bay of Couentre, the whyche before he hadde buylded. This man pur­chased many great pryuyleges for y ^e towne of Couentre / and made it free of all maner of toll, excepte onely of horse. For the whyche to haue al­so free / the comen fame telleth, that after longe requeste made vnto hym by his wyfe named Godina, he graū ted her to haue yt therof freed / wyth that that she wolde ryde naked tho­rough the towne / by meane wherof yt was freed. Then Algarus hys son was erle after hym.

Harolde then the eldeste sonne of Goodwyn̄ / was in great authoryte, & ruled myche of the kynges armye.

The yere folowyng Algarus was accused by malyce / & exylded the land. wherfore he fled agayne to Gryffyne duke of walis as he before had done, of whom he was ioyously receyuyd and maynteyned. The kynge therof beyng infourmed, sent Harolde into walys to make warre vppon Gryf­fyne. The whyche quytte hym in so knyghtely wyse / that he chased the walshmen, brent the sayde Gryffyns paleys at a place callyd Rutlan̄, and his nauy, and then returned into Englande about mydlent. But aboute rogacyon dayes nexte folowyng, the sayde Harolde with his brother Tosty was sente thyther agayne, wyth a stronge army. At whyche season they destroyed a great parte of walys, & in conclusion brought the walshmen vnto dew subieccyon, and forced thē to gyue pledges for the contynuance of the same. And that done pursued so sore vppon the sayde Gryffyne, that in the ende his owne people for purchase of theyr owne lyues, slewe the sayde Gryffyne, and sent his hed vnto Harolde in the moneth of Au­guste / so that after the deth of thys Griffyne by the commaundement of the kynge, the coūtrey of walys was commytted to the gydynge of the .ii. bretherne of Gryffyne / the whyche had fauoured more the kynges par­ty in tyme of the foresayd warre then theyr brother. And this warre in walys thus brought to ende / Harold by his polycy recouncyled agayne Algarus erle of Mercia to y ^e kyngꝭ grace, so that he contynued in hys fauoure durynge hys lyfe after.

About thys tyme a woman of Bakley in Barkshyre vsed yll craftes of sorcery. The whyche as she was syt­tynge vpon a daye at a feste or great dyner / a crowe that she had lykyng­ly fedde and brought vp, kreked louder then he was accustomed to do▪ when the woman harde that noyse her knyfe fyll out of her hande, & she waxed sodaynly pale. And with y ^t she beganne to syghe and sorow / & sayd alas, this daye is my soule comen to the laste sorow. And so after that she had spoken those wordes / a messan­ger came to her, and sayde that her son and all her mayny was dede so­daynly. Then she was conueyed to her owne and was full syke. wher­fore in haste she sent for an other son of hers that was a monke, & a doughter y ^t was a nunne / at whose cōmyng she sayd to them in thys wyse. I am the woman that haue vsed yll crafte and enyll lyuynge / and in vayne I hoped to haue ben saued by your be­des [Page] and prayers. But now I praye you that ye woll releue my tourmentes and paynes / for of my soule the iudgement is gyuen. wherfore in ca­se that ye maye kepe my body from tourment, sewe it in an hartes skyn, and laye it in a troughe of stone and hyll it wyth lede close and iuste / and after do bynde it wyth barres of iron in moste strongest and sure wise, and cause ye .xl. ꝑsons to synge psalmes by nyght, and vppon the morne as many masses. And yf I lye so stylle iii. nyghtes, than burye my body on the .iiii. daye. But all thys was for noughte. For the fyrste nyght whyle the psalmes were in sayeng / y ^e strōge bandes were sodaynly to brokē / and one wyth a gresely loke was sene vppon an horse backe all blacke, & cast thys woman behynde hym, & so rode forth wyth so greate crye and noyse, that it was harde as sayth Polycronycon .iiii. myles thens.

Thys wolde I not haue shewed, but that I fynde it wryten and recorded of diuers authours.

Than to retourne to our fourmer story / as wytnessyth myne authoure Ranulfe, about y ^e .xx. yere of y ^e reygne of kynge Edwarde / Harolde sayled towarde Normandye to vysyte hys brother wylnotus and Hacun hys neuewe / the which as ye before haue harde were layde there for pledges for the peas to beholden vppon erle Goodwyns syde agayne the kynge. But he in his course of saylyng was weder dryuen by tempeste into the countre or prouynce of Pontyfe, or more verely into the puynce of Poūtyth / where he was taken as a pry­soner, and sent vnto duke wyllyam of Normandy. The whyche forced hym to swere, that he in tyme folow­ynge shulde marye hys doughter / & that after the deth of kynge Edward he shulde kepe the lande of England to hys behofe, accordyng to the wyll and mynde of Edwarde after some wryters. And after the opynyon of a nother cronycle wryten in latyn / the sayd Harolde for to be in the more fauour of duke wyllyā, shewed to hym that kynge Edwarde in presence of hys barony, had admytted the sayde wyllyam for his heyre / and couenaū ted wyth hym, that yf he ouerlyued the kyng, he wold in saue wyse kepe the lande to hys vse. For the whyche tydynges & promyse wyllyam graū ­ted to hym hys doughter to wyfe, y ^t than was wythin lawfull yeres of maryage wyth greate dower. And for to cause Harolde to be the more stabler in hys promyse kepynge / he delyuered to hym Hacun hys neuew and sonne of hys brother Swanus, whyche he myche desyred, and kepte styll wylnotus the brother of y ^e sayd Harolde. After whiche couenauntes suffycyentely stablysshed and enac­ted / Harold departed from duke wyllyam wyth greate and ryche gyftes, and in processe of tyme landed in Englande. And at hys comynge to the kynges presence / he shewed to hym all that he had done in the foresayde maters / where wyth the kynge was well cōtented, as affermeth the sayd latyne cronycle.

THE .CCXIIII. CHAPITER.

IN the .xxii. yere of kynge Ed­warde as testyfyeth Ranulfe / Tostius the brother of Harolde was for cause not shewed disconted in the kynges courte, and went vnto Har­forde in the marche of walys / where at that tyme the seruauntes of Ha­rold by cōmaūdement of theyr may­ster were besyed to make prouysyon for to receyue the kynge. But whan thys Tostius was thyder comen / he cruelly slewe the sayde seruaūtes of [Page CXXXVII] hys brother, & hacked them in small pecys, and caste them after in mere­sowce or salte. And that done sent worde vnto the kynge, y ^t yf he wolde come vnto hys feest, he shulde lacke no powdered mete, what so euer he hadde besyde.

Thys cruell dede sprange wyde, so that for it he was hated of all mē / in so mych that hys owne tenauntes the men of Northūberland, of which prouynce he than was lorde of, arose agayne hym and toke frō hym that he hadde / and lastely chaced hym in­to Flaunders wyth a fewe persons than a waytynge vppon hym. But y ^e vertuouse kyng Edward not beyng contented wyth the comons doynge, consyderynge it to be done wythout hys aduyce and cōmaūdement / sent thyder Harolde to do correccyon vp­pon the heddes or capytayns of the Northumbers. wherof they beynge acerteyned cōtynued theyr strength and mette wyth Harolde & hys peo­ple / and sent hym to vnderstāde that they were frely borne, and frely nou­rysshed, & that they myght nat suffer no cruelnesse of dukes. Also they had lerned of theyr elders & soueraynes to meyntayn fredom or to suffer deth and to lyue in quyetnesse vnder an easy duke. whan Harolde had recey­ued thys message, and aduertysed y ^e strength of the Northūbers / he per­ceyued well that wythout greate ef­fusyon of blode he myghte not cor­recte the mysse doers. wherfore it se­med to hym better to fauour the coū ­tree, than to take hede of the syngu­ler profyte of hys brother / so that he retorned to the kynge wyth thys an­swere, and purchased theyr pardon of hym / and also procured so y ^e kyng, y ^e he assygned to them an other duke or erle that was named Malcarus. And Tostius hys brother wyth hys wyfe & chyldern remayned in Flaunders, durynge the kynges lyfe.

Kynge Edwarde in the .xxii. yere of hys reygne, syttyng at mete vpon Eester day in his paleys of westmynster, sodaynly lowghe, whan other dyd talke and eate. whan thys bles­syd man had dyned, and was entred into his chamber / his famylyers as­ked of hym y ^e cause of hys lawghyng To whom he answered / for y ^e same selfe tyme sayd he .vii. slepers, that in the mount Seleon besydes Ephesym in Asya the lasse, had slepte two hundred yeres or there about vpon the ryght syde / the selfe same tyme they tourned them, and shall slepe agayne vpon that other syde .lxxiiii. yeres. Though thys be tolde of Ra­nulphe & other / syth in thys sayenge appereth some dyscordaunce wyth other wryters / & also wyth the for­mer sayenge of the sayde Ranulphe in the .xxii. chapyter of hys .iiii. boke of Polycronycō, where he sayth that the sayd .vii. slepers were closed in y ^e caue / the fyrst yere of Decius, and so sleped contynuyngly to the laste ty­me or yeres of Theodocius the you­ger than emperour / by whyche rea­son they shulde slepe about y ^e season or space of .ii. hundred yere as aboue is sayd / and than arose and shewed them to that sayd Theodocius emperour and many other / & dyed soone after, as wytnessyth Uincencius hy­storialis, Antoninus, Iacobus Phi­lippus, and other: wherfore it can not stande wyth reasō, y ^t they shulde slepe vpon y ^e other syde after y ^e tour­nyng .lxxiiii. yeres, as is aboue sayd / nor that they shulde sterue in y ^e tyme of thys holy kynge and confessoure. For hys tyme of reygne was after y ^e tyme of Theodociꝰ aforesayd, more than .vi. hundred yeres. But yf it be ment by some other. For there are vii. other slepers spoken of in y ^e .xxvi. chapyter of the fyrste boke of Poly­cronycon, [Page] that hath slepte in a no­ther caue many yeres. wherfore I remytte thys vnto other, and folowe the order of the story. wherein it is founde, that whan this blessed kyng Edwarde had receyued by dyuyne monycyon, that he shulde chaunge thys transitory and bryckell lyfe for the lyfe euerlastynge / he sykened in the Crystmasse weke. In tyme of whych sykenesse was shewed to hym a vysyon, that he after shewed vnto suche as were about hym / and sayde two men of relygion came to me that I somtyme was famylyer wyth in Normandye / and shewed that they were sent from god vnto me, to gyue vnto me warynynge of such thynges as foloweth. And fyrste they sayde that for the dukes, bysshoppes, and abbotes of Englande, be not goddes seruauntes, but the deuyllys / god hath taken thys kyngdome into the handes of enemyes for a tyme / and fendes shall walke and destroble the people. Than I besought god that the people myghte haue warnynge, and do penaunce and be delyuered, as the people were of the cytye of Ninyue. Nay sayde they / for these men be so indurate of harte, y ^e they shulde do no worthy penaunce, nor to them god shall shewe hys mercy nor forgyuenesse. Than I asked of them / whā myghte be hope of mercy and pardō. They answered / whan a grene tree is hewen downe, and a parte therof cut from the stocke, and layde .iii. fourlonge from the stocke / and wythout mannes helpe or hande shall re­tourne to his stocke or rote, and take agayne hys shappe, and than flou­ryshe and brynge forth fruyte. whan thys is done / than maye be hope of comforte and of remedy.

In the tyme that this blessyd man shewed thus thys vysyon / was pre­sent there wyth other, Stygandus archebysshoppe of Caunterbury. The whyche sayde vnto the other, that the kynge raued or ellys doted for age and sykenesse, as olde men done / and accompted these wordes for foly and vanyte. But not longe after Englande felte and conceyued thys prophecye / whan it was in sub­ieccyon of straungers and alyauntes as after shall be shewed.

Than who that is desyrous to knowe the exposycion of the prophe­cye of the grene tree / lette hym rede in the ende of the lyfe of thys glory­ous kynge and confessoure, transla­ted by wyllyam Caxton, in the boke called the Legende of sayntes / and there he shall fynde it. All be it that in other places I haue sene it other­wyse interpreted / the whyche I re­mytte to them that haue experyence in suche facultye. And to conclude thys storye / trouth it is that this blessyd kynge dyed the .iiii. daye of Ia­nuary, whan he hadde reygned .xxiii. yeres, vii. monethes, and odde days / and was buryed in the monastery of westmynster, y ^• whych he before had gretly augmēted & repayred / but nat in that maner and fourme that it is nowe in. For the chyrche that nowe there standeth, was so reedyfyed and buylded newe of Henry the thyrde and sonne of kynge Iohn̄. The whi­che also after some wryters / transla­ted thys blessyd kynge Edwarde from the lower parte of y ^e chyr­che, and shryned hym there he now lyeth. And this kynge Edwarde laft after hym no chylde / for he was accompted for a vyrgyn whan he dyed.

Francia. THE .CCXV. CHAPITER.

PHylyp the fyrst of that name & son of Henry / began his dominiō ouer the Frenchemen, in the yere of our lorde .M.lviii / & the .xvi. yere of Edwarde the confessour than kynge of Englande. And of thys Phylyp it is radde, that he maryed a wyfe named Berta the doughter of Baldewyne erle of Holland and of Fryce. Of the whyche Berta this Philyp receyued a sonne and named hym Lewis / and a doughter y ^e was called Cunstaūce. But in processe of tyme he haunted so myche the company of a woman named Bertande, that he hated hys laufull wyfe / and at length helde her in pryson, and kept that other in her stede / and gatte vppon the sayd Bertrande two sonnes named Phylyp & Florys, and a doughter which myne authour nameth not. For thys ad­uoutry, he was often monysshed of y ^e pope, that he shulde leue the compa­nye of that yll woman, and take to hym hys lawfull wyfe y ^t he so longe had holden in pryson within hys ca­stell of Monsfruell. And for he wolde not be obedyent vnto the popes coū sayll / he was fynally accused of pope Urbane the seconde of that name. By meane wherof he was reconcy­led and restored agayne to his wyfe, and refused hys concubyne.

And in the tyme of thys Phylyp / Godfrey de Bolliō with many other crysten prynces, at the exortacyon of Peter the heremyte, sayled into the holy lande / and wanne the cytye of Hierusalē out of the Sarasyns handes. whyche prynces lastly crowned the sayd Godfrey kynge of the sayde cytye. And after it so contynued in possessyon of crysten men, by y ^e terme of foure score and tenne yeres, vnder ix. crysten kinges / and lenger myght haue endured, hadde not discencyon fallen amonges them selfe. And so by Antoninus, Peter Disrey, and other it is manyfestely shewed. Thys vya­ge after moste accorde of wryters, begā in the yere of grace .M.lxxxvi. and the .xxvii. yere of thys Phylyp. And the sayd Godfrey was crowned kynge of the sayde cytye of Hierusa­lem after the affyrmaunce of y ^e sayde wryters, in the yere of grace a thou­sande and foure score and .xix.

Of thys Phylyp lytell worthy me­mory is lefte in wrytynge. For lyke as hys fader Henry made hym kyng by his lyfe, and suffered hym to haue the rule of the lande / ryght so thys Phylyp after a certayne of tyme, cō ­mytted the rule of the lande vnto Lewys his sonne. And he sette hys mynde to huntynge and other dys­portes / and so ladde hys lyfe in all slowthe and idelnesse.

Than Lewys takynge vppon hym the charge of the realme / sub­dued the erle of Mounte Merusy & other / that laboured to take from the chyrche of saynt Denys certayn pre­uyleges / and also constrayned them to restore and satysfye all hurtes and harmes to the sayde chyrche by them done.

Thys Lewys as affermeth the Frenche cronycle, maryed the doughter of Guy erle of Cotcheforde / the whyche after for nerenesse of kynne was deforced from the sayde Le­wys, to the greate dyspleasour of the sayde erle Guy. wherfore he moued warre agayne the sayd Lewys, and toke from hym certayne holdes and castelles / of the whyche the castell of Gurney was one. But at length Le­wys had y ^e better of that warre, and [Page] recoueryd diuers of the sayd holdes. And amonges other prysoners by hym and his knyghtes takē / he toke a myghty and stronge captayn of the sayde erle Guy named Hombolde, the whyche he sente to the castell of Stampes, there sauely to be kepte. Durynge whyche warre, Philyppe the kynge sykened / and dyed the yere of grace .M. a hundred & .vi, when he hadde rygned full .xlviii. yere / and was buried at saint Benet sur Loyt.

THE .CCXVI. CHAPITER.

HArolde y ^e second son of erle Goodwyne, and laste kynge of Sa­xons / began to rule the realme of Englande y ^e v. daye of Ia­nuary, and the yere of our lorde .M. and .lxvi / and the .viii. yere of Phy­lyp the fyrst then kynge of Fraunce. This as moste myghty, for so myche as the blessyd kynge Edwarde dyed wythout yssue, not myndyng the promysse of hym before made vnto wyl­lyam duke of Normādy as before I haue shewed / toke vpō him as kyng, and was crowned of Aldredus then byshoppe of yorke. All be yt as affer­meth Guydo and other, some of the lordes entended to haue made Ed­gare Adelynge kynge / whyche Ed­gare as affermeth y ^e sayde authours, was sonne to Edwarde that was the sonne of Edmund Ironsyde, and named of some Edwarde the outlawe. But for this Edgare was yong, and specyally for Harolde was strong of knightes and rychesse / he wanne the reygne. Howe be yt Marianus sayth that kyng Edwarde ordeyned before his deth, that Harolde shuld be kyng after hym. By reason wherof, the lordes crowned hym therupppon at westmynster.

Anon as he was crowned / he be­ganne to fordoo euyll lawes and cu­stomes before vsed, and stablysshed the good lawes, and specyally suche as were for the defence of holy chirch and punyshed the euyll doers, to the fere and example of other.

In shorte tyme after that Harolde was thus made kynges / Tosty or Costy hys brother, whyche as before is sayde, was of the Northumbers chased into Flaundres, made hym a nauy of .lx. small sayles, and sayled about the ile of wyght, & toke prayes wythin the sayd yle and other places of Kent. And from thens he sayled in to Lynsey, & dyd there myche harme both with fyre and sworde. But soon after he was chased thens by Edwyn̄ and Malcharus erles of Mercia & of Northumberlande. And then he sayled into Scotland, & taryed there tyll the somer after.

when Tostius was thus wyth hys robbers chased / then Harolde Harfagar kynge of Northganys or Nor­ways, wyth a great nauy of .iii. hun­dred shyppes or mo, entred y ^e mouth of the ryuer of Tyne. Thys Harolde Harfagar as sayth Guyde, was the sonne of Canutus, and kyng of Denmarke and of Norway. The whych heryng of the deth of holy Edward / purueyed y ^e sayd great armye to wyn Englande, as his ryghtfull enhery­taunce. when Harolde was warned of thys great flote of Danys / he sent vnto the forenamed erles or dukes of Mercia and of Northumberland / commaundyng them to wythstande theyr landrynge, whyle he gadered hys strength. Then the foresayde dukes spedde theym towarde the Da­nys, and gaue vnto them a sharpe & stronge fyght. But in conclusyon the [Page CXXXIX] Englyshemen were put to the worse, and were fayne to gyue backe / so y ^t the enymyes entred farther into the lande. The kyng herynge of the scō ­fyture of hys people, made the more haste towarde hys enymyes / so that the .vi. day after he came to Stemysforde brydge. In thys whyle was Tostius before named come oute of Scotlande, and gone to the partye of the Danys agayne hys owne brother. In thys foresayde place bothe hostes ioyned / and faught then there a sharpe cruell batayll. wherin fyll many a sturdy knyght vppon the englyshe partye, but mo vppon the Danys syde / so that in the ende Harolde theyr kynge was slayne, and that of the hande of Harolde kynge of En­lande as sayth Guydo / and Tostius was also slayne in the same fyghte. Olanus broter to the sayth Harolde Harfagar, with Paulus duke of the yles of Orkeys / were there taken prisoners. The whyche the kynge cau­sed to hym to be sworne, to kepe such promises as they to hym there made, and toke good pledges for perfor­maunce of the same, and after suffred theym to retourne from thens they were comen.

It ys also specyally remembred of the sayd authour / that one knyght stode vppon the foresayde brydge, and wyth his axe defended the pas­sage maugre the hole hoste of y ^e En­glyshemen, and slew .xl. Englyshmen or mo wyth hys axe / and myght not be ouercomen, tyll an Englysheman went vnder the brydge and stycked hym vpwarde wyth hys spere tho­rough an hole of the brydge.

For thys vyctory Harolde was suppressed wyth pryde, and also wyth couetouse / so that he dyuyded not the prayes of hys enymyes amonge hys knyghtes, but kepte theym to hym selfe / or gaue parte vnto suche [...]ny­ghtes as he fauoured, and spared to them that had well deserued / by rea­son wherof he loste the fauour of many of hys knyghtes.

In thys passetyme / the doughter of duke wyllyam, the whych Harold shuld haue maried, dyed within age. wherfore Harold thought hī y ^e more discharged of his ꝓmise before made to her fader. But duke willyam warned Harolde of couenauntes broken, and medled menasses wyth prayers by sondry tymes. wherunto Harolde answered, that a nyce folyshe coue­naunte ought not to be holden / & namely y ^e behest of other mennys ryght and kyngdome, wythout the hole assent of the senatours of y ^e same land. And farthermore a lewde othe might and ought to be broken / and specyally when yt is compelled to be sworne for nede or for drede.

Uppon these answers receyued by duke wyllyam from Harolde / in the whyle that messangers went & came, duke wyllyam gadered hys knygh­tes, and prepared his nauy and all other thinges necessary to the warre, & had assent of the lordes of his land to ayde and assyste hym in his iour­ney. And ouer that he in such wise enformed the pope, then beynge named Alexander the second / y ^t he cōformed hym in takynge of that vyage / and sent vnto hym a banner, the whyche he willed hym to bere in the shyp that he hym self shuld sayle in. And so be­ynge purueyed of all thynges concernyng his iourney, he sped hym to the see syde, & toke shyppynge in the hauen of faynt Ualery / where he taryed a longe tyme or he myght haue a co­uenable wynde. For y ^e whych his soldyours murmured & grudged / and sayd it was a woodnesse & great dys­pleasynge to god, to desyre an other mann [...]s kyngdome by strength / & namely when god wythsayde yt by the [Page] workynge of his element.

At the laste when duke wyllyam had longe bydden and houed for the wynde / he commaunded to brynge forth y ^e body of saynt Ualery, and to be sette vppon the see stronde. The whyche done / the wynde shortely af­ter came about and fylled the sayles. Then wyllyam thanked god & saynt Ualery / and toke shortely after shyppynge, and helde his course to warde Englande / vppon thys grounde & tytle folowynge.

The fyrste and pryncypall was to chalenge his ryghte / and to haue the domynyon of the lande that to hym was gyuen (as he affermed) of kyng Edwarde the confessoure and hys neuewe.

The seconde was, to take wreche of his deth & cruell murdour of hys neuew Alfrede, and brother of y ^e blessyd kynge Edwarde / that was slayn of erle Goodwyne and his adheren­tes, as before ye haue harde in the storye of Hardykinitus / the whyche dede he ascrybed chefely vnto Ha­rolde And the thyrde was, for to auenge the wronge done vnto Ro­bert archebyshop of Caunterburye / whych as he was enformed / was exiled by the meanes and labour of Harolde, in the tyme of Edwarde the cō fessour, as before is shewed.

THE .CCXVII. CHAPITER.

DUke wyllyam kepynpe hys course / landed in processe of tyme at Hastynge in Sussex, in a place called Peuenessey. And in hys goynge oute of his shyp, and takyng the land / hys one fote slode, and that other stacke faste in the sande. The whych espyenge one of his knyghtes y ^t was nere vnto hym / cryed alowde and sayd, now syr duke thou holdest Englande, and thou shalte soone be tourned from a duke to a kynge. The duke of this made game, and entred further into the lande / and made his proclamacyons and cryes, that no man shuld take any prayes, or do any force to the people. For he sayde that yt was reasonable that he shuld spare that thynge that shulde be hys owne.

Harolde in thys whyle was in the North partes of Englande, and had wittynge of the landynge of the Normayns / and sped hym towarde them in all that he myghte, and gatheryd his strength by the countreys as he came. But the duke made so good spede, that he came to Lōdon before the kynge. where he was holden out, tyll he had made good suertye, that he and hys people shulde passe tho­rough the cytye wythout taryenge. The whyche was obseruyd. And so he passyng the cytye / passed the brid­ge, and went ouer into Sussex.

Kynge Harolde entendynge to know the strēgth of his enmyes, sent espyes into the dukes hoste / the whyche made reporte vnto the kynge, that all duke wyllyams soldyours were prestes. For they had theyr ouer lyppes and chekes shauen / and the Englyshmen at these dayes vsed the here of theyr ouer lyppes shadde and not shauen. But Harold to that answered and sayde, they be no pre­stes, but are stalworth and sturdye knyghtes.

Then Gurth or Surth one of the yongeste bretherne of Harolde / counsayled hym that he shulde stande a parte, and suffer hym wyth other of hys lordes to fyght with y ^e Normās, for so myche as he was sworne to the duke and they were not / aled­gynge furthermore, that yf they were ouerthrowen, y ^t yet he myght defende hys quarell and fyghte for the countrey.

[Page CXL]In this meane tyme wyllyam sent a monke vnto Harold, and proferred to hym thre maner of wayes / and to chose one of the thre.

The fyrste, that accordynge to his othe he shulde render the lande, or delyuer yt vnto the possessyons of wyl­lyam. And y ^e done / to take yt agayne of hym, and hold yt of hym as in fee / & so to reygne vnder hym for terme of hys lyfe / and after his deth to re­tourne yt to the sayd wyllyam, or to suche one of his sonnes as he wolde assigne it vnto. Or secondly, leue the kyngedome without more stryfe. Or thyrdely in exchewynge of shedynge of the more plenty of Crysten mēnes blood / that he wold defende his qua­rell in hys owne persone agayne the duke / and they two onely to trye the mater by dynte of sworde. But Ha­rolde refused these offers / and sayde he wolde trye his quarell by dynt of swordis, and not by one sworde / and that he and hys knyghtes wolde de­fende theyr coūtrey agayn all straūge nacyons, prayenge to god to deme the ryghte betwene them twayne.

when duke wyllyam hadde recey­ued this answere from Harolde, and same well that there was no meane but fortune in batayll: he charged his people y ^t myght watche, to occu­pye theym in prayer / and specylly the prestes and the religious people, where the Englyshemen gaue them all to drynke and songe.

Then vppon the morowe beynge saterdaye, and the .xiiii. daye of Oc­ctober, and the daye of saynte Ca­lyxte the pope / bothe hostes assay­led other, in that place where as nowe standeth the abbay of Batayll in Sussex. In the begynnyge of thys batayll / a banner or a banneret called Thylfer a Norman splayed before the hoste of Normans / and slewe an Englysheman or knyghte that came agayne hym / and after that one other, and so the thyrde, and was slayne at the laste.

Then the seltrons smote to gy­ther wyth a great noyse and crye, and faughte sore a longe season. And the Englyshmen defended them manfully / and the better for that that they kepte theym hole to gy­ther wythoute scaterynge or spryn­gynge a brode. The whyche when wyllyam apperceyued / he gaue a sygne vnto hys knyghtes, that they shulde gyue backe, and make coun­tenaunce as they dyd flee. Then the Normans imbatelled the fote men, and sette horse men for wynges on euery syde. By the whyche wyle the Englyshemen were descueryd, and soone oute of araye / and the Nor­mans tourned agayne vpon y ^e En­glyshemen, and slewe theym downe on euery syde.

Thys batayll was sore foughten of the Englyshemen / that duke wyllyam was thryse felled that day by reason that thre horse were that daye slayne vnder hym. Lastely Ha­rolde was wounded in the eye wyth an arowe, and fyll to the grounde and was slayne, and hys people sca­tered / so that well was hym that myghte saue hym selfe by fleynge Then duke wyllyam buryed hys men that there were slayne / and fuf­fred hys enymyes to do the same.

Of the deth of thys Harolde ys dyuersly wryten. For Geraldus Crambrens. in hys boke called Iti­nerarius sayth, y ^t after Harolde had receyued many woundes, and loste hys lefte eye / he fledde from that felde to the countrey of Chester, and lyued longe after an holy lyfe as an ancre, in the selle of saynte Iamys faste by saynt Iohn̄s chyrch, & made there an holy ende.

when y ^e deth of Harold was knowen [Page] to the erles of Mercia and of Nor­thumberlande / the whyche for streytnesse of waye myght not bryng theyr people to that felde / or ellys for that that they wylfully wythdrew theym selfe from Harolde, bycause he none otherwise departed y ^e prayes amon­ges them and theyr knyghtes at the former feld of Norgaynes: then they drewe the next waye to London, and take Agatha Haroldꝭ wyfe and sent her to Chester. And they and Aldre­dus byshoppe of yorke with the Londoners / agreed and promysed eyther vnto other, that they wold make Edgare Athelynge kynge, and defende hys ryghte to the vttermoste of theyr powers.

But that promyse not wythstan­dynge, when they harde of the great strength that dayly fell to duke wyl­lyam and of hys prouysyons / they were fayne to breke that appoynte­ment. And the sayd erles submytted them, and gaue vnto hym pledges, and became to hym his lyege men by homage and feautye.

And thus when Harolde hadde ruled the lande from the .v. daye of Ianuary to the .xiiii. daye of October / he was slayne, when he had reygned ix. monethes and odde dayes / and was buryed at the monasterye of the holy crosse of waltham, whyche he before hadde founded, and set therin chanons, and gaue vnto theym fayre possessyons.

And here endeth for a time y ^• blood of Saxons / the whych contynued to reken from Hengestus fyrste reygne, by the space or tyme of .v. hundred and .lxxxxi. yeres. And yf yt be reke­ned from the begynnyng of the west Saxōs / then yt endureth by y ^e terme of .v. hundred .lxv. yeres. whych cōtynued as rulers & kinges of this land all the sayd tyme / onely except y ^• that passed betwene the fyrst yeres Canutus, and the laste yere of Hardekyni­tus. In the whyche season passed or flowed vpon .xxiiii. yeres. All be yt y ^t the persecucyon of the Danys lasted mych lenger, as to fore I have shewed in y ^e story of y ^e forenamed Kynitꝰ.

THE .CCXVIII. CHAPITER.

THen for as myche that god of his vnknowen iudgementes to man, and by his hygh & hyd counsayll, wolde suffer this duke to con­quere so noble a lande, and to be lord and souerayne ouer so many noble enherytours, as were & now be with in the same: I thynke yt cōuenyent to shew here the dyscent of the sayde duke / and how nere of blood he was vnto the blessed kynge Edwarde the confessour.

wherfore as before to you I haue shewed in the storye of Charlys the Symple somtyme kynge of Fraūce / a myscreaunt or a pagan named Rollo ꝑsecuted sore the realm of Fraūce- & lastely wan by strength the citye of Roan the hed or chefe cytye of Nor­mandy. And in conclusyon for a fy­nall peace betwene the sayde kynge and Rollo to be had / the sayde Rollo was crystened & named Robert, and maryed Silla the doughter of y ^e said Charlys. To whom y ^e kyng gaue in waye of Dower, y ^e hole duchy of Normandy. The whych Robert after he was crystened / ruled that dukedome as a good crysten man, by the terme of .xiiii. yeres / and receyued of y ^e sayd Silla a son, and named hym wylly­am / the whyche after was surnamed Longa spata, as who wold saye wyllyam wyth a longe sworde.

This wyllyam was duke after his fader .xxv. yeres / and lefte after hym a sonne named Rycharde, whych as before is shewed in the storye of Lew es y ^e .vi. was named Richard y ^e hardy.

[Page CXLI]Then Rycharde the hardy was the thyrde duke, and reygned .lii. yeres / & had by hys wyfe a son named Rycharde the good, and Emma that was wyfe to Egelredus and mother to saynte Edwarde the confessoure. After hym the Good Rycharde was duke, and reygned .xxviii. yeres / and lefte after hym two sonnes, that is to say Rycharde and Robert. The fyrste after two yeres was slayne by treason of hys brother Robert / so that Robert was then duke and rey­gned .ix. yeres. The whyche Ro­bert, as yt is before shewed in the storye of Henry kyng of Fraunce / was father vnto this duke wyllyam. And thys wyllyam was the .vii. duke of Normandye / and ruled yt or he con­quered Englande after moste wry­ters .xxx. yeres.

whereby yt appereth, that Emma was aunte to duke Robert, father of wyllyam Conquerour. And saynte Edwarde and this duke wyllyam were by y ^e fathers syde cosyn [...]armay nes remoued as sheweth by thys draught folowynge.

Th fyrste duke

Rollo or Robert the fyrste duke.

The seconde duke.

Wyllyam longa [...]pata sonne of Robert and the second duke.

The thyrde duke.

Rycharde the hardy the son of Wyllyam and .iii. duke

• Rycharde the [...]ood and sonne of Rychard the fyrst
• Emma moder of Edward confes sour & doughter of the sayd Richard

The .iiii. duke

Rycharde the .ii surnamed y ^e good a son of Rychard the fyrst & .iiii. duke.

The fyft duke

Rychard y ^e thyrd son of Richard .ii. and .v. duke Brethern.

The syxte duke

Robertus the son of Rycharde ii. and Brother of Rycharde .iii. & vi. duke. Brethern.

• Wyllyam the sonne of Robert / & the .vii. duke and noble conquerour.

[Page]ANd thus here an ende of the .vi. part of thys worke / for so myche as the lande was here conquered, and put vnder the rule of an other nacyon.

wherfore as before I haue vsed and done, to gyue than­kes vnto that moste blessyd vyrgyn our lady saynt Mary, as furtherer and conductryce of thys worke / so here agayn I salute and hayle her wyth the .vi. ioye of the fornamed vii. ioyes, thus begynnynge,

THys .vi. parte to be accompted from the fyrste ye­re of Iue, vnto the laste daye of the reygne of Ha­rolde, or begynnynge of wyllyam Conqueroure / includeth of yeres .iii. hundred and .lxxx. yeres and one.

ANd so thys lande was conquered after the fyrst commynge of Brute, to folowe thaccōpte of thys worke / by the force of thys duke wyllyam & hys Normans, ii. thousande .ii. hundred and two yeres.

THE .CCXIX. CHAPITER.

WIllyā duke of Normandye surnamed Conquerour, baste sonne of Robert y ^e vi. duke of that said dukedome, and ne­uew vnto Edward the confessour, as before is shewed / beganne hys domynyon ouer thys realme of Englande, the .xv. daye of October, in the yere of our lordes in­carnacyon a thousand & .lxvii / and y ^e ix. yere of the fyrste Phylyppe then kyng of Fraunce / and was crowned kynge of the same vppon Crystmas daye nexte folowynge, of Aldredus archbyshoppe of yorke, for so myche as at that tyme Stigandus archbysshoppe of Caunterbury was then absent, or durste not come in the p̄sence of the kynge / to whome he ought no great fauour, as in the sequele shall appere.

when wyllyam had sette in quyet a great parte of thys lande, he betoke the gydyng therof to his brother the byshop of Bayon / and in lent folow­ynge sayled into Normandye / and led wyth hym the chefe rulers of England, for doute of sturryng in tyme of his absence. Amonge the whyche, the two erles Marcarꝰ and Edwyne rulers of Northumberlande & Mer­cia were two / wyth also Stigandus and Edgare Ethelynge. To the why the Stigandus wyllyam shewed great reuerence and coūtenaunce of fauoure. But all proued to great dissymulacyon after / as was shewed by the depryuynge of the sayd Stigan­dus, [Page] and prysonment of hym in wynchester towne, by a longe terme and season.

In the next wynter, whan wyl­lyam had sped hys besynesse in Normandy / he retourned into England wyth greate pompe, and sette a gre­uous trybute vpon the Englyshmen By reason wherof some partyes of the lande rebelled agayne hym, and specyally the cytye of Excetour, the whyche defended hym for a certayne of tyme. But lastly by force he wanne the sayde cytye, and punysshed the cytesyns greuously.

For thys and other sterne dedes of wyllyam / Marcharus erle of Northumberlande, wyth Edgare Athe­lynge and dyuers other, as hys mo­der and two systers Margarete and Crystyan, sayled into Scotlande. But another cronycle telleth, y ^t Ed­gare entendynge wyth Agatha hys moder and hys two systers, to haue sayled into Almayne where he was borne / was by tempest of the see dry­uen into Scotlande. where of Mal­colyne than kynge of Scottes they were ioyously receyued. And in pro­cesse of tyme the sayde Malcolyne caste suche loue vnto the sayd Mar­garet / that he toke her to wyfe / as before is touched in the fyrste chapyter of the story of Canutꝰ. Of the which Margaret the sayde Malcolyne re­ceyued .ii. doughters and .vi. sonnes. wherof thre named Edgare, Alexaū ­der, & Dauyd, were kynges of Scotlande nexte folowynge theyr fader. And Molde one of y ^e foresayd doughters was after maryed vnto the fyrst Henry kynge of Englande. And the other doughter Mary / was maryed to Eustace erle of Bolongii. Of Molde the fyrste doughter / Henry receyued .ii. sonnes named wyllyam and Rychard, the whych bothe dyed before theyr fader / as after in y ^e story of the sayd Henry shall appere. And he receyued also two doughters na­med Molde and Mary / whych Molde or Mawde was maryed to y ^e fyfte Henry emperour of Almayne. After whose deth she was agayne maryed to Godfrey of Geoffrey Plātagenet erle of Aungeowe. Of whom descen­ded Henry surnamed shorte mantell, and kynge of Englande, called Hen­ry the seconde. And the other dough­ter Mary was maryed vnto the erle of Blaynes / of whō descended Mol­de or Mawde, that was wyfe vnto kynge Stephen.

Than it foloweth, that thys wyl­lyam after thys foresayd trybute so leuyed of the Englysshemen, and knowynge of the depertynge of the lordes foresayde, kepte the other the streyter. But it was not longe after that Marcharus was reconsyled to the kynges grace / and fayled agayn as folowynge shall be shewed. For thys and other causes whyche were tedyous to shewe / wyllyam exalted the Normans, and gaue vnto them the chyefe possessyons of the lande / so that they dayly encreased in great honour and welth, and the Englysh men as faste decayed. Kynge wyllyā also made .iiii. stronge castels / where of two be sette at yorke, the thyrde at Lyndetyngham or Notynghm, and manned them wyth Normans, and the .iiii. at Lyncolne.

About the thyrde yere of his reygne Harolde & Canutus sonnes of Swanus kynge of Denmarke, came on lande in the North of Humber wyth a stronge nauy / and in all haste drew them towarde yorke. Than the Normans whyche hadde the rule of the towne and castelles, feryng that the Englysshemen wolde ayde the Da­nys, and wyth the houses of the sub­urbes of the towne haue fylled the towne dyches / sette the suburbes on [Page CXLIII] fyre. wherof y ^e flame was so bygge, and wyth the wynde so stronge / that it toke into the cytye, & brent a parte therof, wyth the mynster of saynt Peter. In tyme wherof the Danys by fauour of some of the citesyns entred the cytye / and slewe more than thre thousande of the Normans.

But it was not longe or kynge wyllyam chased the Danys to theyr shyppes / and toke so greate dysplea­sure wyth the inhabytauntes of that prouynce, that he destroyed the land lyenge bytwene yorke and Durham in suche wyse, that .ix. yeres after or there about, the lande laye vnlabo­red & vntylled / onely out taken saynt Iohn̄s lande of Beuerley, the which was for borne by reason of a wreche done by dyuyne power, vpon one of kynge wyllyams knyghtes. The whych as he was besyed in wastyng and spoylynge of the sayde countre, fyll sodeynly wyth hys horse / so that hys horse brake hys necke, and the knyghtes face was turned to his backe.

And of the famyne that the people of that countre susteyned / wonders are reported, that they shuld eate all maner of vermyn, as cattes, rattes, dogges, & other / so harde they were kepte by the warre of the kyng. And in that yere also Molde or Mawde the wyfe of kynge wyllyā / was crowned quene of England, of Aldredus archebysshop of yorke.

In the .iiii. yere of the reygne of thys kynge the Scottes with Mal­colyne theyr kynge entred Northumberlande / and wasted and destroyed sore that countre, and slewe there in myche people / and many they toke prysoners, & helde thē as bonde men.

But in the .vi. yere of hys kyng­dome, wyllyam made such warre vppon the Scottes / that he lastely for­ced the sayde Malcolyne to swere to hym bothe homage and feauty / as it is wytnessed of wyllyam of Malmesbery and other wryters.

THE .CCXX. CHAPITER.

Kynge willyam by counsayle of the erle of Hortford and other, caused the abbeyes of Englande to be serched. And what money in them at that season was founde / he caused it to be brought to hys treasour. For the whyche dede after the exposycyō of some authours / the sayd erle was punysshed, as after shall be shewed.

Soone vpon thys in the tyme by twene Easter and wytsontyde / was holden a solempne counsayle at wynchester of the clergy of Englande. At the whyche counsayle were presente two cardynalles, sent from y ^e second Alexaunder than pope. In thys coū ­sayle, Stygandus archebysshop of Caūterbury was depryued from his dygnytye / and that for thre skylles. The fyrste was / for that he had hol­den wrongfully that bysshopryche, whyle Robert the archebysshop was lyuynge. The seconde cause was / for that he hadde receyued the Paule of pope Benet the .v. of that name. And the thyrde cause was / for that he oc­cupyed the sayd Paule wythout ly­cence & lefull authoryte of y ^e courte of Rome.

Than Stigandꝰ proued that be­nyuolence of kynge wyllyam. For where before he made to him louyng and frendly countenaūce, & dyd vnto hym greate reuerence / than he chaū ­ged all his myldenesse into sternesse, and exceuted hym by y ^e popes authoryte / so that in the ende Stigandus was depryued of hys dygnytye, and kepte in wynchester as a prysoner y ^e terme of hys lyfe.

It is recorded of hym that he was so couetous and sparyng, y ^t he wold [Page] take nothynge of hys owne / & vsed to swere by Alhalowes, that he had not one peny. But that othe was proued vntrewe after hys deth, by a ly­tell keye that was founde fastened about hys necke. For by that keye was founden greate treasour vnder the erth in mo places than one.

In thys counsayle also were put downe dyuers other bysshoppes, ab­botes, and pryours, by the meanes of kynge wyllyam / and all to the en­tent that he myghte preferre Nor­mans to the rule of the chyrch, as he hadde preferred hys knyghtes to the rule of the tēperaltye, that he myght stande in the more suerty of the land.

In thys counsayle saynt wolstan̄ that than was bysshop of worceter / axed besely of the kynge certayne possessyons fallen into hys handes, by the deth of Aldredꝰ laste archbyshop of yorke, that were wyth holden by y ^e sayd Aldredus. But the kyng myght not here than of any suche maters, for hurtyng of the lyberty of the chyrche of yorke.

Than vpon wytsonday after / the kynge gaue the sayd archebysshop­ryche of yorke vnto Thomas a cha­non of Bayon / & sent for Lamfrank an other Norman than abbot of Cadomonency, and gaue vnto hym the archebysshopryche of Caunterbury. Thys Lamfranke was an Italyan borne / and was perfytely lerned in y ^e scyence of theologye or holy wrytte, & ryght apte in gouernynge of thyn­ges bothe spyrytuall and temporall. Upon our lady daye the Assumpcyō the kynge made hym archebysshop of Caūterbury. Than Thomas that was chosen archebysshop of yorke / came vnto Lamfranke for to be sa­cred as the vsage wolde. Of whom Lamfranke axed an othe, & his pro­fessyon in wrytynge concernyng his obedyence. Thomas answered and sayde that he wolde neuer do that / but yf he myghte therof here suffy­cyent authoryte and skylfull reasons & byndynge, by the whyche it myght be knowen that he shulde so do with out any preiudyce of hys chyrche. Than Lamfranke shewed and pro­ued skylfully, that hys askynge was reasonable and ryghtfull. But yet Thomas wolde not assent / but with sayde it and went for that tyme from Lamfrank vnsacred / & shewed vnto the kyng, that Lamfranke entended to do wronge to hym and to his chyrche of yorke. Than the kyng callyng Lamfrank before hym sayd, than he trusted more in his cunnyng than he dyd in good fayth or reason. But he answered so reasonably vnto y ^e kyng that in the ende Thomas by the cō ­maundement of the kyng was fayne to come agayne to Lamfranke to be sacred / and wrote hys professyō with hys owne hande of hys obedyence and radde it / in the whyche was con­teyned that he shulde be obedyent in all that belongeth to the worshyp of god and all crystē fayth▪ which done, he was sacred & so deꝑted. And shortly after Lamfranke axed & toke pro­fessyō of all y ^e byshoppes of Englād.

THE .CCXXI. CHAPITER.

IN the .v. yere of wyllyam the conquerours reygne / Edwyn and Marcharus erle of Mercia and of Northumberlande, beynge in fere of daunger, voyded y ^e kynges court secretly, and were rebelles som what of tyme. But at length it turned to bothe theyr harmes. For Edwyne was slayn as he went toward Scotlande / and erle Marcharus wyth y ^e bysshop of Dorcham named Egel­wynus, toke the ile of Ely for theyr sauegarde. But the kynge held them so shorte, that in processe they were [Page CXLIIII] fayne to yelde them to the kynges grace and mercy. Than he sent the bysshop to the abbey of Abyndon to be kept there as a prysoner / where he was so dayntely fed, that he dyed for hunger. But some wryters testyfye that he was so hyghe herted, that af­ter he knewe he shuld remayne there as prysoner / he wolde neuer ete mete after. And erle Marcharus was had to the towre of London.

In the .vi. yere of hys reygne / kyng wyllyam, as before is touched went wyth a great army into Scot­land / and subdued Malco [...]yne theyr kynge, as before I haue shewed in the precedynge chapyter.

In the .vii. yere of kyng wyllyam / Thomas archebysshop of yorke not beynge content to be vnder the rule and obedyence of Lamfranke, ap­pealed to the courte of Rome / so that the sayde two archbysshoppes appe­red both in proper persone before the pope Alexaunder afore named. In whose presence Lamfranke was so well fauoured, that where Thomas aboue named and Remigius byshop of Dorchester, were for skylfull cau­ses depryued of theyr croyses and rynges / he by hys fauour & meanes restored them to theyr former dygnytees. The cause of Thomas was, for that he had holpen duke wyllyam to warde hys iourney into Englande. For the whyche the sayd duke pro­mysed hym a bysshopryche yf he op­teyned vyctory. And y ^e other was de­priued, for y ^t he was proued a prestes sonne. Than Thomas moued the cause of the prymacy of Caunterbu­ry, & of subieccyon that to hym shuld belonge / and sayde that these two sees were farre asonder, that is to meane Caunterbury and yorke / and that nother of them by the constytu­cyons of Gregory shulde be subiecte vnto other / but that the one is more worthy than the other, for so myche as he is of elder tyme. To thys an­swered Lamfranke and sayd / that y ^e constytucyons of Gregory made no mencyō of Caūterbury, but of yorke & London. Than the pope remytted thys mater to be determyned before y ^e kyng & the byshoppes of England / and gaue y ^e palle vnto Lamfranke.

But for this terme or word palle, is to many one vnknowen / I shall therfore here shewe vnto you what thynge it is. This palle is an indu­ment y ^• euery archbyshop must haue / & is not in full authoryte of an arch­byshoppe, tyll he haue receyued hys palle of the pope / and is a thynge of white like to y ^e breded of a stole. But it is of a nother fassyon. For where y ^e stole is made in length, and is worne about the prestes necke / thys is ioy­ned togyder aboue, so that it lyeth a parte therof vppon the shulders. And that one ende hangeth streyght downe to the grounde before, and that other behynde, garnysshed in dyuers places, therof wyth crosses. And where the stole is worne nexte vnto the albe whan the preste is re­uested to masse / thys palle is wor­ne vpon thys vestymente ouermoste of all, whan an archebysshoppe syn­geth hys masse.

whan Lamfranke had thus sped hys nedys at Rome / he wyth y ^e other two bysshoppes retourned into En­glande / where thys mater hangyng in varyaunce bytwene the sayde two archebysshoppes, was had in cōmu­nycacion. For tryall wherof Bedaes story was brought forth▪ where in it appered, that from the fyrste Augu / styns tyme to Bedaes last dayes, vppon the season of a hundred & .xxxix. yeres / the archbysshop of Caunter­bury had prymacy of all the bysshoppes of England thā called Brytayn, and of Irlande also / and that the [Page] archbyshoppes of Caunterbury had kept coūsayles nere vnto yorke, and cleped therunto the bysshoppes of yorke / and made some byshoppes, & depryued dyuers from theyr dygny­tyes / and to this were adioyned cer­tayne pryuyleges, that were graun­ted for this maner of doynge.

when Thomas had harde all the allegacyons, he denyed all / and layd for hym the pystle, in the whych pope Gregorye demed that the chyrche of yorke and of London shulde be euen perys / and neyther of theym subiecte to other.

To this was answered by Lam­frank, that he was not byshop of Lō don, nor this questyon was not mo­ued for the chyrche of London.

But Thomas sayde that Grego­ry had graūted to Augustyne, power to haue vnder hym all y ^e byshoppes of Englande / and that London at y ^e day was the pryncypall see of all Englande. All be yt y ^t the popes mynde was, that betwene Lōdon and yorke shulde be no dyuersyte of honour, because they were archeflamynes / and that by theyr vnyte all other myghte ly [...]e vnder dewe obedyence. And though Augustyne chaunged y ^e see from London to Caunterbury / yet Gregory wolde not that Augustyne successours shuld be aboue the bys­shoppes of yorke. For he wolde then haue set in hys epystle these wordes folowynge: I graunte to the Augustyne and to thy successours. But for he wold y ^t no such power shuld stret­che to his successours / therefore he made no mēcyon of his successours.

Lamfranke to this answered and sayd, If that authoryte were graunted to Augustyne alone & not to hys successours / yt was a symple gyfte y ^t the pope gaue vnto Augustyne, that was so famylyer wyth hym / and na­mely whyle Augustine ordeyned nor sacred no byshoppe of yorke whyle he lyued. For y ^e see was full durynge his lyfe / by reason wherof he put not hys authoryte in execucyon. But pryuyleges of popes confermeth this dignyte to Augustynes successours of Caunterbury / and demeth that yt is skyll and good reason, that all the chyrches of Englande shulde take lore and lyghte of that place. For of that welle or place proceded fyrst the doctrine of Cristes fayth. And where thou sayest Thomas, that Gregory myght yf he had wolde, haue confyrmed all thynge vndowtably wyth thys worde successours / that is soth. But yet the lackynge of this worde, dothe no preiudyce to the chyrche of Caunterbury. For when that Cryste sayde to Peter, I shall gyue to the the kayes of the kingdome of heuen / he myght haue also sayd yf he wold, I graunt the same power to thy suc­cessours. And though he sayde not so / yet he ment the successours of Peter, nothynge of reuerence nor yet of authoryte / but the dyspensacyon of holy chyrche and offyce of the same, was and is holy in theym, whyche onely spryngeth by vertue of Cryste into Peter, and from Peter into his successours. And yf thou can dyscer­ne betwene false and soth / loke what hath strength in all, hath strength in the parte / and what hath strength in the more, hath also strēgth in y ^e lesse. The chyrche of Rome is as yt were all of all chyrches / & other chyrches ben as membres therof: lyke as one man is the kynd of all synguler men, and euery synguler man is the kynd of all mankynde: so in some maner of wyfe the chyrch and the see of Ro­me is as yt were the kynde, and con­teyneth all, in comparyson to other chyrches / and yet in euery chyrch re­mayneth the full holenes of Crystes fayth. And also the chyrche of Rome [Page CXLV] is greattest of all chirches / and what hath strength in that chyrche, shall haue strēgth in lesse chyrches / so that the power that is fyrste gyuen to euery chyrche, shall sprynge into the successours of the same / but yf yt be by some specyall thynge excepted & out taken. Therfore I cōclude as Cryst sayde to Peter, so he sayde to all the byshoppes of Rome / and so conse­quētly was sayde to Augustynes successours of Gregorye, as was sayde vnto Augustyne. wherfore yt muste appere, that lyke as Caunterbury is subiecte to Rome, so muste yorke be subiecte to Caunterbury / whych sent to yorke prechours, to teache and preache vnto them the ryghte fayth. And where thou sayeste that Grego­ry wolde that Augustyne shuld haue his see at London, yt may not stand wyth reason. For who wolde trowe that so noble a discyple as Augustyn was / wold wythstande or do agayn hys maysters wyll, or agayne holy decrees. And yf yt were so as thou haste alledged / what is that to me, that am not bishop of London as oft before I haue sayd. Therfore yf this mater may thus sease wythout more stryfe / so be yt ended. And yf thou desyrest contynuaunce of plee / I shall not fayle the, but defende my ryghte and offyce gladly.

By these reasons & other at length Thomas was ouercomen / and graūted gladly that the farther brynke of Humber shulde be the begynnyng of hys dioces. And ouer y ^t yt was there demed, that in all thynges concer­nynge the worshyppe of god and the fayth of holy chyrch / the archbyshop of yorke shuld be subiecte to the archbyshoppe of Caunterburye. So that yf the archebyshoppe of Caunterbu­rye wolde call a coūsayll in any parte of Englande / the archebyshoppe of yorke shulde be therat, wyth all the byshoppes of hys prouynce / and be also obediēt vnto the lawfull hestes. And at all seasons when the archbysshop of Caunterbury shuld be sacred the archebyshoppe of yorke, with the byshoppes of y ^e chyrche, shulde come to Caūterbury and saker hym there. And yf the archebyshoppe of yorke shuld be stalled or sacred / thē shall he come to Caunterburye, and ellys where in all Englande, where the archebyshop of Caunterburye woll hym assygne, and there to be sacred of hym / and he shall make to hym an othe with professyon and obedyence.

when Lamfranke harde this iudgement gyuen thus / he reioysed in­wardely. And for yt shulde remayne of recorde that his successours shuld not newely plede for that cause / he caused yt to be regestred in moste substancyall wyse. And ouer that sent a pystle for that cause to Alexander forenamed pope of all this doenge, wyth the professyon of Thomas the archbyshop foresayd. Of this Lam­frank is many notable thynges wryten of diuers writers. And after some he is admytted for a saynte.

THE .CCXXII. CHAPITER.

ABoute the .x. yere of kynge wyllyams reygne / Roger erle of Hereforde, by whose counsayl the kynge as before ys sayde hadde serched all the abbayes of England, whyche erle hadde wedded hys sys­ter vnto Rauf erle of eest Angles / that is to saye, of Norf. and Suff, agayne the kynges mynde / he wyth the sayde Raufe made conspyracy a­gayne the kynge / & caused an other erle by theyr subtyle meanes to be agreable vnto theyr vntrouth, why­che erle had to name walref. But at length when thys erle walref hadde knowen the fyne of theyr entent / he [Page] went vnto Lamfranke, and shewed to hym the hole mater. By whose counsayll he shortely after sayled vn­to the kyng then beynge in Normandye / and dysclosed the mater to hym, and putte hym holy in hys grace and mercye.

when the kynge had harde of these tydynges / he made good semblaunt vnto this erle walref, and sped hym the faster into Englande. But howe so yt was, the forenamed two erles were warned of dysclosynge of this mater / in such wyse y ^t they gaderyd to theym suche strength, that y ^e kyng coude not haue them at his pleasure, but as he was fayne by stronge hāde to chase and outlawe theym. And for he fayled of his purpose of them, he emprysoned erle walref at wyn­chester / and lastely caused hym to be hedded, more of tyranny, then of iu­styce, as affermeth myne authoure / whose corps was buryed at the ab­bay of Crowlande.

In the .xi. yere was holden a great counsayll or synode of the clergye of the lande in saynt Paules chyrche of London / where amōges many thynges ordeyned for the rule of y ^e chyrch of England, dyuers byshoppes sees were transported from one place to another / as Selwey to Chychester, Kyrton̄ to Exeter, welles to Bathe, Shyrbourne to Salysbury, Dor­chester to Lyncolne, and the see of Lychefelde to Chester. whyche thynges thus ordered, wyth many other for the chyrche / the sayde counsayll was dyssolued.

In the .xiii. yere of hys reygne / af­ter the deth of Herman byshoppe of Salysbury, succeded Osmūde y ^e kynges chaunceller. The whyche buyl­ded there a new chyrch / and brought thyther clerkes that were garnyshed wyth vertue and connynge. And he hym self wrote & bounde bokes that were occupyed in the dyuyne seruyce of the chyrche, as the ordynall or consuetudynary, the whyche at this daye is occupyed in the more partye of Englande, wyth walys, and Ir­lande, and is nowe named Salysbury vse, or the ordynary after Salysbury vse.

In the .xv. yere of his reygne Robert the eldest sonne of kynge wylly­am, the whyche was surnamed Curthose or Shorthose and shorte bote also / for he myght not haue the du­chy of Normandy, whych his father hadde somtyme assygned and gyuen vnto hym, and after for hys wylde­nesse hadde agayne resumed yt / he wyth fauoure and ayde of y ^e French kynge Phylyppe and of Lewys hys sonne, toke prays in that duchy, and put hys father to myche trouble / in so myche that at length the father & the sonne met in playne felde with .ii. great hostes / and eyther wyth other faught a cruell batayll.

It is radde that durynge thys ba­tayll wyllyam was throwē from his horse, and in great ieopardy of hys lyfe. wherof hys sonne Robert beyng ware / was so moued wyth pytye, y ^t he rescowed his father, and delyue­red hym free from all daunger of his enymyes. But howe so yt betyde of the kynge / trouth yt is that many of his men were slayn, & his second son wyllyam the rede sore hurte, so that in the ende kynge wylliam was fayn to refuse the felde, and gatte at that tyme none aduauntage of his sayde sonne. For the whiche dede and rebellyon thus made by the sonne / y ^e fader accursed hym after the opynyon of some wryters.

whyle kyng wyllyam was thus occupyed in Normandy / the Northumbers waxte sterne & rebell, and slewe in theyr rage walkerus the bishop of Durham / but for what cause myne [Page CXLVI] authour expressyth not.

Aboute thys tyme, warynge erle of Shrewesbury made two abbayes in the worshyp of god and saynte Mylborgh / wherof one was set in the suburbes of Shrewesbury, and y ^e other at wenioke.

In the .xvii. yere of kyng wyllyam / a cursed stryfe was arered betwene Thurstone abbot of Glastenbury a Norman, and his munkes. wherof a part of the cause was, that the abbot despysed, & wold haue set a part such songe and offices, as by pope Gregory and Augustyn his dyscyple, of old tyme to them was assygned / & wolde haue compelled them to haue folow­ed the vse of one wyllyā of Fescamp̄. And ouer that this Thurstone was­ted and spēded the goodes of y ^e place inordynatly, in lechery and by other insolent meanes / and wythdrew frō the munkes theyr olde accustomed dyet. For the whyche causes fyrst beganne great wordes wyth chydyng, and after strokes and fyghtes / so y ^t the abbot gat vnto hym armed men, and fyll vppon hys munkes, & slewe two of them at y ^e hygh alter, and woū ded of theym .xviii. And the munkes wyth fourmes and candelstyckes defended theym, in suche wyse that they hurte many of the armed men. Then the complaynte was brought before the kyng / by whose iudgemēt Thurstone was agayne returned vnto Cadony frō whēs he was brought and the mūkes were spredde abrode into dyuers houses thorough En­glande. But yt is sayde that in the tyme of wyllyā the Rede / this Thurston̄ obteyned the rule of that abbay agayne for the pryce of .v. hundred pounde.

In the .xix. yere of his reygne, kyng willyam then raysed a new maner of trybute. For he caused to be gadered thorough England of euery hyde of lande .vi. s̄. An hyde of lande conteyneth .v. yerdes / and euery yerde conteyneth foure acres. And so an hyde of lande conteyneth .xx. acres, an a­cre conteyneth .xl. perches in length and .iiii. in brede / & .iiii. acres make a yerde / and .v. yerdes make an hyde / and .viii. hydes make a knightes fee. By the whyche reason a knyghtes fee shuld welde a hundred & .lx. acres / and that is demed for a plough tyll a yere.

And not longe after he caused to be serchyd howe myche lande eche of hys barons helde / how many knyghtes fees / how many townes / & what nombre of men and of bestes were wyth in this lande / wherof he com­maunded a boke to be made, whyche all was done. For the whyche dede, this lande was after greued wyth many sondry plages as after shall appere. In the .xx. yere of the rey­gne of kynge wyllyam / Canutus kynge of Denmarke wyth helpe of the Flemmynges, to whome he was called wyth a great armye came to­warde Englande. But by the prouysyon of the kynge they were so fered, that they were let of theyr iourney. Then kyng wyllyam gaue vnto .iii. of his champyons .iii. byshopryches. To Moryce he gaue London, to willyam he gaue Thetforde, and to Ro­bert he gaue Chester / whych Robert was after remoued to Couentre. Of this Robert reporteth Ranulfe, that he scraped frō one beme of his chirch in Couentre .v. hūdred marke, to fyll wyth y ^e hande of kyng wyllyam. For erle Leofricus y ^t was duke of Mer­cia in the tyme of Edwarde the cōf [...]s­sour / had adourned that chyrch with great ryches of golde, syluer, & other precyous iewelles.

In thys yere Edgare Ethelynge, whych was reconcyled vnto the kynges fauoure / by lycence of the kynge [Page] [...] [Page CXLVI] [...] [Page] sayled into Apulia.

Then beganne the forsayde pla­ges to sprynge. For greate morayne fell vppon the brute bestes, and brennyng feuours amonges the people, and also great hūger and barreynes of y ^e erth. Also in this yere great hurt was done in many places of y ^e lande by fyre, and specyally in the cytye of London / where vpon the .vii. day of the moneth of Iulii sodayne fyre be­gan, the whyche brent a great parte of the chyrche of saynte Paule, wyth also a great parte of the cytye.

Then kynge wyllyam beynge in Normandye was syke, and kept his [...]hamber at Roan̄ a longe time. wherfore Phylyppe the Frenche kynge in hys game sayde that wyllyam lay in chyldbedde [...], and noryshed hys fatte wombe. The whyche wordes when they were blowen to kynge wyllyās crys, he was greuously dyscontent and sayde, when I am chyrched I shall offer to hym a thousande can­dellys lyghte, wyth the whyche he shall holde hym smally contented. The whyche promyse he after performed. For in the moneth of Iuly whē Corne, fruyt, and grapes were moste florishynge / he entred Fraunce with a great army / and sette on fyre many cytyes and townes in the west syde of Fraunce / and lastely came to the cytye of Meaus, and fyred yt & brent a parte therof wyth the chyrch of our lady / wherin he brent a womā beyng closed in the walle of the sayd chyrch as a recluse.

But of this thynge speketh not the cronycle of Fraunce / Nor yet for the more parte of any thynge that soun­deth to theyr dyshonour done vnto theym by Englyshemen.

In this hete, or as some wryters ha­ue by y ^e lepyng of an horse / kyng wyllyam toke such a dysease or sykenes, that yt was the cause of hys deth. And when he felt hym thus greued / he called his sonnes before hym, and exhorted theym in his beste maner, that they shulde charytably loue and fauoure euery of them the other, and holde to gyder as louyng bretherne / & after made his testamēt, and therin ordeyned wyllyam Ruffus or wylly­am the rede to be kynge of England. And Normandye he beset vnto Ro­ber Curthose. And to Henry his yongest sonne he bequethed his treasour and mouable goodes. And that done he enfourmed hys two eldest sonnes of the dysposycyon of both peoples / and warned wyllyam to be louynge and lyberall to his subiectes, and Robert to be sterne and sturdy vnto his. Then he was moued with myldenes and delyueryd from prison hys own brother the byshop of Bayon, Mar­charus erle of Northūberlande. wyl­notus the sonne of Harolde, or after some the sonne of Goodwyne, that was sent to wyllyā by Edwarde the confessour to remayne for a pledge for his sayde fader Goodwyn. And shortely after these thynges wyth other done / he dyed in Normandye, and was buryed in y ^e cytye of Caan̄ / when he had reygned as kyng of Englande .xxi. yeres and vppon .x. mo­nethes, in the moneth of Iuly, and the yere of hys duchery the .lii.

when wyllyam was dede / men spake of hym as they do of other prynces / and sayd that he was wyse and gylefull, ryche and couetous, & loued well to be magnifyed and praysed / a fayre speker & a greatr dyssy­muler, a man of skylfull stature but somdeale fatte in the bely, sterne of face and stronge in armys, and ther­wyth bolde / and had therwyth great pleasure in huntyng and in makyng of great festes. But he passed al other in leuyenge of taskes. whyche con­dycyon hys subiectes construed .iii. [Page CXLVII] maner of wayes / and saydeyt was to the entente that he wolde excell all other in rychesse, or ellys for to withstāde and defende his enymyes, or ellys to staunche the appetyte of his couetyse mynde. He buylded .ii. abbayes in Englande / one at batayl in Sussex where he wanne the felde agayne Harolde, and is at thys daye called the abbay of Batail / & y ^e other he sette besyde London vppon the south syde of Thamys, and named yt Barmoundesay. And in Normandye he buylded two also.

Thys man made the newe forest in the countrey of Southampton / the whyche to brynge aboute he caste downe dyuers chyrches by the space of .xxx. myles, and replenyshed yt wyth wylde bestes / and made harde and sharpe lawes for the encreasyng of them, as losyng of eyen and other. And he helde Englyshemen so lowe, that in hys dayes was almoste no Englyshe man that bare any offyce of honoure or rule. But yet some­deale he fauoured the cytye of Lon­don, and graunted to the cytezens the fyrste charter that euer they had / the whych is wryten in Saxon tun­ge, and sealed wyth grene waxe, and expressed in .viii. or .ix. lynes.

THE .CCXXIII. CHAPITER.

Wyllyam Rufus or wyllyam the erede, the second sonne of wyllyam Conque­rour / beganne hys reygne ouer En­glande, in the mo­neth of Iulye, and the yere of our lorde a thousande & .lxxxix / and the xxxi. yere of the fyrste Phylyppe then kynge of Fraunce.

Ranulfe monke of Chester shew­eth in hys boke of Polycronycon, y ^t Robert Curthose eldest sonne of wyllyam Conquerour, was at the tyme of hys fathers deth absent. The whyche heryng that his father hadde preferred hys yonger brother to y ^e kyngdome of Englande, was therwyth greatly amoued / in so myche that he layde his dukedome to pledge to his brother Henry / and wyth that good gatheryd to him a stronge army, and so landed at Hampton̄.

wherof wyllyam hys brother be­ynge warned, in all haste sent vnto hym messangers / to whome he gaue cōmyssyon to say in maner as folow­eth. Thy brother wyllyam prayeth y ^t to take no grefe with y ^t he hath done, for he clepeth hym selfe not kynge, but as vnder kynge to reygne vnder the, and by helpe of the that arte gretter then he & better, & rather borne. And yf thou consyder yt well, he hath nothynge mysused hym agayn the. For he hath taken vppon hym for a tyme bycause of thyne absence. But for he is nowe in authoryte by thy sufferaunce / he prayeth y ^t he may vnder the so contyue, payeng to the yerely .iii. thousande marke, wyth cōdycyon that who so ouer lyueth may enioye the kyngdome. when Robert had harde that message to the ende, he wagged hys hedde, as he that conceyued some doublenesse in thys re­porte. But for he was lyberall and allowed more the honour then he dyd hys profyte, as in other thynges fo­lowyng of his dedes yt shall appere / therfore he lyghtely assented to all that was desyred, and returned shortly after into Normandye wyth plea­saunt wordes wythout profyte.

Thys wyllyam was crowned the xxvii. daye of September, vppon the daye of saynte Cosma and Da­myan, and was well ayded of Lam­frāk whyle he lyued. He was dyuers & unstable of maners / so y ^t betwene hym & his lordes was oftē dyssencyō. In y ^e spryngyng of somer folowyng [Page] hys coronacyon / Odo byshoppe of Bayō, whych as before ye haue hard was delyuered out of pryson by wylliam Cōquerour, came into Englād. whom the kynge ioyously receyued / and gaue vnto hym shortly after the erledome of Kent. But he toke vp­pon hym in processe of tyme to rule, in suche wyse as the kynge grudged wyth hys doynge. And for thys the kynge and his sayde vncle fyll at vnkyndnesse / so y ^t he withdrew hym frō the kynge, and alyed hym wyth the byshop of Durham, the erles of Northūberland and Shrewesbury, with other. Confederacy. The whyche confederyd to gyder / toke partye agayne the kynge, and dyd thynges to his dyspleasure and hurte. And amonges other da­mages by theym done, Roger de Mount Gomoryk erle of Shrewes­bury, destroyed the countrey and en­des of England vnto worceter town wyth ayde of the walshemen. But in the ende thorough the prayer of the holy byshoppe wolstane / the walshe­men were so weked and febled, that a few knyghtes scomfyted of them a great hoste.

when kyng wyllyam conceyued, y ^e well nere all the Normans toke partye agayne hym / he then forced of necessyte drewe to hym the Englyshe­men. And fauoured them by giftes & easy lawes / so that by theyr strength he lastely recouered the erle of Shrewesburye, and chased some other of hys enymyes / and shortely after oc­cupyed the castell and strong holdes in Kent belongynge to byshop Odo hys forsayde vncle / and in the ende cōpelled hym to forswere England. And y ^t done he besyeged y ^e citie of Rochester, wherin the byshoppe of Durham, the erle of Northumberland, and other noble men were gadered / and wan yt at length by appoynte­ment, so that hys enymyes were vn­to hym reconcyled.

In the thyrde yere of hys reygne dyed Lamfrank / when he hadde ben archbyshop of Caunterburye .xviii. yeres. By whose meanes the mōkes of Englande were brought to the vse of theyr holy relygyon / the whych before hys commynge lyued more lyke to seculer prestes thē religious men / and exercysed them in huntynge and hawkynge for to auoyde idelnesse, & dysynge and cardynge in the wynter nyghtes, that they myght be redy to kepe theyr howres and nyghtly ser­uyce. And in theyr apparel they were lyke vnto consules and not vnto mū kes, wyth many other deformytyes. The whych in y ^e begynnyng of Lamfrank / he of policye suffered for a season, lest he had brought all in his top atones, and therby myght haue cau­sed some scysme or varyaūce to haue rysen in the chyrche. In auoydynge wherof wyth other inconuenyences / he lytell and lytell refrayned them of theyr outrage / and in ꝓcesse of tyme caused and constrayned them to lyue after the constitucyons and rules of theyr relygyon.

Aboute thys tyme, Robert Cur­those duke of Normandy, entēdynge to take hys vyage into the holy lande / layde his dukedome to wedde to hys brother wyllyam for .x. thousande pounde. For leuyenge wherof kynge wyllyam set a taske vpon his commons and subiectes, and reysed a farre excidynge some vnder colour of the same / so that byshoppes mel­ted theyr vessell, and lordes spoyled theyr tenauntes.

The kynge of Scottes also brake the peace before made with wyllyam Conquerour, and wasted and toke prayes ut the countrey of Northum­berlande. Then the kynge prouyded a nauy and sayled thyther in the wynter tyme. But by y ^e tempest of the see, [Page CXLVIII] halfe his nauy or a great parte of yt was drowned / and many of his kny­ghtes were loste for colde and hun­ger. But yet in the ende after dyuers conflyctes and bykerynges, by me­diacyon of frendes a peace and vny­te was concluded / so that Malcolyn then kynge of Scottes shuld be obedyent to kynge wyllyam, vnder the same othe that he was before tyme sworne vnto hys father / and kynge willyam shuld yerely gyue vnto him in y ^e way of a fee .xii. markes of gold.

In the fourth yere of his reygne, and the fyft daye of October / pas­syng great tempest of wederyng fell in soudry places of Englande, and specyally in y ^e towne of wynchecome. For there by tempeste of thūder and lyghtenyng, a parte of y ^e steple of the chyrch was throwen downe / and the crycyfyx wyth the ymage of our lady also standynge vpon the roode lofte, was in lykewyse ouerthrowen and broke and shatered. And after folow­ed a contagye and a fowle stenche / y ^e whych endured tyll the munkes had gone in processyon about the chyrch, and all the houses adioynyng to that abbay and other places.

Also thys yere at Lōdon was great harme done by force of the wynde / which blewe with such violence y ^t yt ouerturned or ryued as wytnessyth Polycronycon, ouer the nōber of .vi. hundred houses. And y ^e rofe of saynt Mary Bow in chepe was also ryued wherwith two men were slayne. And also at Salesburye was hurte done wyth y ^e same wynde or y ^e lyke therof.

In the .v. yere of wyllyās reygne / he went into Northumberlande, and repayred suche holdes and castelles as the Scottes by theyr warrys had blemyshed and apayred / and caused a new castell to be made at Caercol y ^e cytye or towne, whych the Danys of two hundred yeres passed hadde de­stroyed. Then y ^e kyng returned vnto Gloucester / where he was greuously veryd wyth sykenesse, so that he wende he shulde haue dyed. In tyme wherof he toke great repentaunce, & ꝓmysed yf he myght escape, he wold neuer sell mo benefices / & ouer that he wold amēde hys lyuyng & become a new mā. But after he was restored to helth, that promyse was shortely forgoten. And in that yere he gaue vnto Anselme the archbyshopryche of yorke. But he myghte take of yt but as the kynges pleasure was, tyll suche tyme as the kyng hadde taken his trybute therof. And more ouer he auouched, that the see of Lyncoln̄ be longed to the see of yorke / tyll the bis­shoppe of Lyncolne had pleased him wyth a great summe of money, as .v. thousande marke after the wrytyng of Ranulfe.

In the .vi. yere of hys reygne were excedynge floodes, wherof the lyke in many yeres passed hadde not ben sene. And after that ensued wonder­full frost [...] / whych frose the great stremes in suche wyse, y ^e horse and carte passed ouer y ^e gret ryuers. And in the ende when the yse melted and brake / the payse therof brake many a stron­ge brydge, bothe of tymber and of stone.

THE .CCXXIIII. CHAPITER.

ABout thys tyme the welshe­men with theyr kyng or duke named Rees, brake out vppon the Englyshmen in the Bordour, where standeth the castell of Brekenocke / and there made masteryes for a whi­le. But in the ende his people were chaced and slayne / and he wounded to deth, so that he dyed the .iii. daye folowynge. Thys Rees is accom­pted of wryters, to be the laste kynge of walys. For after thys daye they [Page] were so daūted / that kynges of En­glande had them in suche rule, that they were vnder more stedfaste obe­dyence than they were before tyme. How be it they rebellyd full often as after shall appere.

And the yere folowyng kyng wyllyam to haue y ^e countrey in the more quyet / hewe downe mych of y ^e wood, and buylded in sundry places strong castels and pyles / by meane wherof more and more they were plucked to obedyēce. But not shortely after / but specyally in the dayes of Edwarde y ^e fyrste and Edwarde the thyrde.

Malcolyn kyng of Scotland came vnto Glowcester to comon wyth the kynge of dyuers maters, and to take a fynall agremēt. But for kyng wyl­lyam wolde haue demyd hym in hys courte / therfore Malcoline departed from the kynge in great dyspleasur. For the whyche and other causes, the warre bytwene England and Scot­lande was reuyued / so that vppon saynt Bricius daye folowyng, Malcolyne wyth hys retynewe foughte wyth an erle named Robert and thā erle of Northumberlande / and there was slayne wyth hys eldest sonne Edwarde. For sorowe wherof Mar­garet quene of Scotlande and syster vnto Edgare Ethelynge, as in the fyrste chapyter of the story of wyllyā Conqueroure is shewed, dyed soone after. Than the Scottes made Dunwalde brother of Malcolyne theyr kynge, and put by hys sonnes. But by the ayde of kynge wyllyam / Ed­gare whyche of some wryters is na­med Dunkam, was made kynge, as eldest sonne of Malcolyne.

In the .vii. yere of the reygne of kynge wyllyam / Auncelyne or An­selme that was archbyshop of yorke, was remoued to Caunterbury as affermeth one cronycle. But Polycro­nycon and Guydo sayen, that Hugh erle of Chester beynge sycke and dis­eased / in the .vi. yere of wyllyam Ru­fus, sent into Normādy for Anselme than abbot of Barry for thre causes. The fyrste to vysyte and se hym, and to be reconcyled of hym, as the man that he moste trusted. The seconde cause was, that he shuld releue some abbays of Englande, that the kynge vexed wyth greuous trybutes. And the thyrd cause was, y ^t he shuld foūd an abbay at Chester / whych place he after buylded, & made one Rycharde his chapleyne fyrst abbot of y ^e place / and sone after he was made archbysshop of Caunterbury. where by it ap­pereth that the sayd see was voyde ouer the terme of thre yeres.

Thys sayd .vii. yere / Englande & Normandye were greued wyth try­bute and moreyne of men, so sharply that tyllynge of the erth was spared or putte of for that yere / & there after ensued great hūger. Thys yere also y ^e Scottes slewe theyr kyng Edgar, and restored agayn to the rule of the lande the forenamed Dunwalde. And many grysly and vncouth syghtes were thys yere sene in England / as hostes of men fightyng in y ^e skye, and fyre lemys & other. And the holy bysshop wolstone of worceter dyed soone after / of whom it is shewed y ^t he sondry tymes warned & rebuked Englyshmen for theyr mysseliuyng / and sayd for theyr offenses they were so punysshed of the Normans. But the Englyshmen excused them selfe, and sayde that the Normans were worse in lyuynge than they. where vnto the byshop answered and sayd / that god vsed the wyckednesse of thē in Englyshmen. For by the Wycked punysshement. wycked he punysshed y ^e wycked. And so doth god suffer the deuyll to punysshe synners in hell / & he hym selfe is punys­shed wyth them.

Of thys wolstone it is radde, that [Page CXLIX] kynge wyllyam wold haue put hym from hys see, to the entente that he myghte put another into hys see. wherof thys holy man beynge war­ned / yode vnto the kynge and sayde to hym: I am enfourmed that thou wylte take from me, the whiche a better man thā thou arte gaue vnto me. wherfore of whom that I receyued so noble a gyfte, to hym wyll I gyue it agayn / and than take it from hym yf thou may. And whan he hadde so sayde to the kynge, he yode to the se­pulture of Edward the confessoure / and after y ^t he had made his prayers there, he pytched hys crosse in y ^e mar­ble stone that laye vppon the graue. But no man myghte plucke out the staffe, tyll wolston came thyther hym selfe and pulled it out at the kynges cōmaundement. wherfore the kynge seyng that maruayle / suffred hym to enioye hys benefyce styll.

In the .x. yere of willyam Rufus / stryfe and dyscencyon fell bytwene hym and Anselme bysshop of Caun­terbury / for Anselme myght nat call hys synodys nor correcte the byshoppes, but as the kynge wolde. The kynge also chalenged the inuestiture of bysshoppes, and pylled the spyry­tualtye and temporaltye with vnreasonable taskes & trybutes / the which he spent vpon the towre of London, & the makynge of westmynster hall. And ouer that the kynges seruaun­tes, greued and pylled englysshmen. vnreasonably. And to thys mysery was ioyned the vnsaceable couetous of Ranulphe that was somtyme chapelayne vnto wyllyam conquerour / the whyche was at thys day the kynges procuratour, and gadered hys taskes ouer all. He was so couetous and so euyll dysposed, that he wolde leuye .iii. taskys for two. He pylled the ryche, and bare downe the poore, and caused many men to lose theyr landes for smal causes / and therfore the kynge had hym in hys synguler fauoure. And by hys meanes byshoprykes were boughte and solde as playnly as other marchaundyses. For that tyme, clerkes vsed busshed and brayded heddys, longe tayled & blasynge clothes, shynynge golden gyrdels / and rode wyth gylte spur­res, wyth vsynge of dyuers other enormytees. All whyche vyces An­selme wolde haue corrected / but he lacked assystence of hys bretherne y ^e bysshoppes. For the whyche cause & other he departed the londe. where­wyth the kyng beynge mysse conten­ted / sente after hym suche persons as robbed and spoyled hym, and en­treted hym in most cruell maner. For the whyche dede Raufe bysshoppe of Chychester blamed the kynge / and also rebuked all such bysshoppes as had refused the partye of Anselme, & had fauoured the kynge in causes cō cernynge the foresayde varyaunce. And forthermore he wythstode the kynge and hys offycers in takynge of fynes of prestes for cryme of fornicacyon. For whyche causes the kyng wyth the sayd Raufe was sore amo­ued and dyscontented / and opteyned such fauour, that he suspēded many chyrches of hys dyoses. But in the ende, Raufe demeaned hym in suche wyse that he hadde hys owne wyll / and his chyrches enlarged and freed that before were stopped wyth thor­nes. And the kynge gaue vnto hym y ^e fynes of prestes within his dyosis / and endued y ^e see of Chychester with many greate gyftes.

And vpon a tyme kynge wyllyam was rydynge towarde hys dysporte of huntynge / and sodeynly a messen­ger came vnto hym and sayde, that the cytye of Cenemonia in Normandye was beseyged. wherfore he wythout longe taryenge or aduysement, [Page] toke the streyght way to these syde / and sent to hys lordes, chargynge them to folow. whan the sayd lordes came to hys presence / they aduysed hym to tarye tyll his people were as­sembled. But he wolde nothynge do after theyr counsayle / but sayd, such as hym loued, he shortely wyste well wolde folowe hym, and so yode to shyp, settyng aparte all parels. The mayster of the shyp was afrayde, he sawe the weder so darke & so clowdy / and counceyled the kynge to tary tyll the wynde wolde blowe more fa­uorably. But he commaunded hym to make all the spede that he cowde vpon hys lyfe / sayenge that he neuer harde that euer any kyng was drowned. And so he passed the see and landed in Normandy / and gathered to hym there hys knyghtes. whan the capytayne of the syege, whose name was Helyas, knewe of the kynges landyng / he fered, and anone began to breke the syege. But by treason he was taken and brought to the kyn­ges presence. To whom the kynge shewed suche pytye, that he suffered hym to be at hys lybertye. whyche after the opynyon of wyllyam de regi­bus, was done more of pryde than of compassyon.

THE .CCXXV. CHAPITER.

IN the .xi. yere of the reygne of thys wyllyam the rede / at a towne called Fynchanster in the coūtrey of Barke shyre, a welle caste out blode as before it hadde done water. And after by the space of .xv. dayes, great flames of fyre were sene in the elemēt in sundry places and tymes. Thys yere also y ^e two erles of Shrewesbury and of Chester eyther na­med Hugh / by the kynges commaū ­dement entred wyth theyr knyghtes the ile of Man or Anglesaye, & slewe therin many welshemen, and gelded many moo. Amonge the whyche a preste named Kynredus was drawē out of a chyrch and serued of y ^e same wyse / and also cut hys tunge out of hys hed, and put out hys one eye. But this preste was of such vertue, that by myracle he was restored to helthe within .iii. dayes ensuynge.

In the whyche season and tyme, the kynge of Northganys or Nor­waye wan the iles called than Orcades and now Orkeys / & after came wyth hys strength into the foresayd ile of Man, where at the same season were the sayde two erles. Than by­twene them was mortall fyght / in y ^e whyche Hugh erle of Shrewesbury was stryken with an arowe in y ^e eye, and dyed wythin .viii. dayes after. But as sayth Guydo, the Danys were chased, and the Englysshemen hadde the vyctory.

Kyng wylliam was mych in Normandye / for so myche as Robert his brother was all thys season in the holy land / of whose actes shall some deale be towched in y ^e story of Henry the fyrste. And wyllyam had myche payne to rule the Normans / for they rebelled often agayne hym.

In the .xii. yere of hys reygne / he came out of Normandye, and when he saw the hall of westmynster y ^t he had caused to be buylded / he was therwyth dyscontented, that it was so lytell. wherfore as it is rehersed of some wryters / he entended yf he had lyued to haue made a larger, and y ^t to haue serued for a chaumber.

Robert Losaunge, that somtyme had ben abbot of Ramsey, and than bysshop of Thetforde by gyfte of a thousand pounde to the kyng / repented hym after, and bewept that vn­skylfull dede / and toke hys waye to Rome, and dyd for it hys enioyned penaunce / and after retorned into [Page CL] Englande, and turned hys see from Thetforde to Norwyche / & founded there a fayre monastery of hys owne goodes, & not of the patrymony of crystes chyrch. But therin is a dowt to consyder. For he was fyrste an ab­bot and after a bysshop.

About thys tyme, by the meanes of one Stephen Hardynge a munke of Sherbourne / an Englyshman of y ^e order of Sisteaux or whyte mūkes had hys begynnynge in the wylder­nesse of Cystery within the prouynce of Burgoyne, as wytnesseth Ranulf munke of Chester. But other wry­ters, as Jacobus Phylyppus, & the authour of Cronica cronicarū, Ma­theolus, wyth other / sayen that this Stephen was the second abbot of y ^e place / & y ^t it was fyrste foūded by the meanes of one Robert abbot of Molynēse, in the yere of grace .M.xcviii. whyche to folow theyr sayeng, shuld be in the .ix. yere of the reygne of this kyng. This order was after brought into Englande by one called walter Espeke, that foūded the fyrste abbay of that relygyon at Ryuall, about y ^e yere of grace .xi.C.xxxi. The whyche shulde be about the .xxxi. yere of the fyrste Henry than kyng of England. Somwhat of theyr relygyon is towched in the .x. chapyter of the .viii. boke of Polycronycon.

After that kynge wyllyam, as be­fore is sayde, was retourned out of Normandy / many wonderfull pro­dygyes and tokyns were shewed in England / as the swellyng or rysyng of y ^e water of Thamys, in suche wyse that it drowned dyuers townes, and dyd mych harme by out passyng his boundys in dyuers places about Lō don and ellys where. Also the deuyll was sene walke in mannes lykenesse wyth dyuers other thynges whyche I ouerpasse. The kyng was warned of this, and tolde by his famylyers y ^t god was not cōtent with his lyuing. But he set all at nought, and made of it a scoffe or a iape.

In the .xiii. yere of his reygne and begynnynge thereof, as the thyrde daye of Auguste after the sayenge of Ranulfe / thys kyng wyllyam beyng at hys dysporte of huntynge wythin the newe forest, by glaunsynge of an arowe shot of a knyght named wal­ter Tyrell, was wounded to the deth in the .xliiii. yere of hys age. After whyche dede the sayde walter esca­ped and saued hym self, for few there were that hym pursued. And so the kynge thus wounded, was layde vppon an horse lytter, and so conueyed to wynchester / where shortly after he dyed and was buryed.

Of this man myghte be made a myche lenger story, yf all hys dedes shulde be towched. The whych toke vpon hym great thynges / and mych gretter entēded yf he myght haue ly­ued. The daye before he was slayne one axed of hym where he wold kepe hys Crystmasse. At Poytiers sayde the kynge / for the erle entendeth to go towarde Hierusalem / and I woll assaye to haue hys erledome in mor­gage / for well I knowe he must che­uyche for money to perfourme that iourney. The day that wyllyā dyed / he helde in his hādes the .iii. bysshopryches / of Caūterbury, of winchester and of Salysbury / and dyuers ab­bayes, of the whyche he let some to terme. Also he refrayned y ^• money y ^• of olde tyme was payed to Rome called Rome scotte. Roma scotte. Of this wyllyā re­portyth Henry of Hūtyngdō / & sayth y ^t though this mā were lyght of som thynges, yet he was stedfast & stable of his promyse / so y ^t what he ꝓmysed good or euyll shuld be ꝑformed. And though he were named couetous / yet it shuld seme y ^t he was liberall, as sheweth by this narracyō folowyng.

[Page]Upon a season when the abbot of a place in Englande was dede / two munkes of the same place, the which before hadde gatheryd money, made theyr frendes to kynge willyam / and offered large offers eyther of them to be promoted to that dygnyte. There was also a thyrde munke, the which of mekenesse & of humylyte folowed the other two / to the entent that vp­pon hym that the kynge had admyt­ted for abbot, he wolde haue gyuen attendaunce, and as his chapelayn to haue wyth hym returned. The kynge called before hym the .ii. mun­kys seuerally, and eyther out profe­red other. And as he caste hys eye asyde / he espyed the thyrd, the whych he demed hadde comen also for the same cause. Then the kynge called hym / and asked yf he wold geue any more then his bretherne had offered, to be abbot. But he answered to the kynge and sayde, that he wolde no­ther offer nor yet gyue for yt one pe­ny / nor wold haue so great a charge by any meane wrongefull. when the kynge had well vnderstanden thys thyrde munkes answere / he sayde that he was best worthy to be abbot, and to haue the rule of so holy a charge / and so he gaue vnto hym that benefyce, wythout takynge any peny. Thys kynge wyllyam vsed alway lemmans / wherfore he dyed without yssue legyttymat, when he had rey­ned as before is sayde fully .xii. yeres and odde dayes.

THE .CCXXVI. CHAPITER.

HEnry the .iii. son of wyllyam Cō ­querour & fyrste of y ^t name, why­che for his con­nynge was sur­named beuclerk began hys rey­gne and domynyon as kynge of Englande, the .v. daye of August, in the yere of our lorde .xi. hundred & one / and the .xliii. yere of the fyrste Phy­lyppe then kynge of Fraunce / & was crowned at westmynster ryght shortly after, of Thomas archebyshoppe of yorke, and Morys byshoppe of London.

This Henry in his youth plyed him to such studye, that he was instructe in the .vii. artes lyberall. Anon he made holy chyrche free / & vsed saynt Edwardes lawes, wyth the amendemēt of them. He put out of his courte nyce and wāton men / and closed Ranulphe byshoppe of Durham in the towre of Lōdon, y ^e which as ye before haue harde was so great wyth wyl­lyam his brother / and sent for Ansel­me archebyshoppe of Caunterburye, whyche before was fledde fro the ty­ranny of wyllyam Rufus.

Iustyce and cōtynence. This Henry chastysed the olde vntrewe mesure, and made a yerde of y ^e length of hys owne arme / wyth dy­uers other thynges reformyng, that longe before his days had ben mysse vsed / and abhorred excesse of metys and drynkes / & vsed to fyght more wyth coūsayll then wyth sworde.

In the seconde yere of his reygne / Robert hys brother, that by all thys season hadde ben occupyed in war­res vppon Cristes enymyes, hauyng worde of the deth of hys brother wyllyam, and howe his brother Henry hadde taken vpon hym as kynge / returned into Normandy, and there made preparacyon for to come into Englande.

In this season also was brokē out of pryson Ranulfe byshoppe of Durham, and comen to the sayde Robert into Normandy. The whych excyted duke Robert in all that he myght to warre vppon hys brother Henry / so that he assembled a stronge armye of [Page CLI] knyghtes, and toke shyppynge, and landed in processe of tyme at Portysmouth. But by medyacyon a peace was made / and that in suche condy­cion, that he shuld haue .iii. thousand markes yerely, as before was pro­mysed vnto hym by willyam Rufus his brother wyth other condycyons of successyon and other thynges, the whyche I ouerpasse for length of tyme. Thus Robert beynge con­tented contrary to the myndes of his lordes, after he a season hadde dys­ported hym in Englande retourned into Normandy / where of his lordes he was for thys & other dedes before done as after is shewed, lytle or lesse and lesse setby. For all be yt that by hys fathers lyfe he hadde vyctorye, and vtterly dyspleased hym as some deale before ys touched / yet by hys manhode and manfull dedes, he fell into the fauoure of the people, and dyd many and great notable actes / and specyally at the wynnyng of the cytye of Acon vppon the myscreauntes and turkes. For the whyche de­des yt apperyth by the sequele of the storye that he was also in the fauour of god. For when the eleccyon shuld be made for the kynge of Hierusa­lem, and certayne prynces and pryn­ces peeres by ordynaunce made, stode wyth theyr tapers abydynge the dyuyne purueyaunce, that who­se taper were fyrst wyth heuenly fyre lyghtened shulde be admytted for kynge / the taper of thys duke Ro­bert was fyrste onely. wherfore by dyuyne purueyaunce he was then cho­sen kynge of Hierusalem. The why­che he refused, for the payne and tra­uayle that he shuld haue wyth all / & also for the couetyse of the crowne of Englande. For as soone as he hadde knowlege of the deth of his brother willyam / anon he parted the coūtrey and sped hym homewarde in all that he myght. For the whych dede as affermeth myne authour, he spedde the worse in all his dedes after.

Thys Robert was wyse in coun­sayll, stronge in batayll, and also ryght lyberall / and in hys retourne from Hierusalem, maryed the doughter of wyllyam de Auersana lorde of Apulia, wyth whome he receyued grete sōmes of money for her dower, the whych by meane of his liberalyte he spent shortly after. Then fortune beganne to frowne vppon duke Ro­bert / and sette his owne lordes so a­gayn hym, that they sent vnto kyng Henry hys brother / wyllynge hym to come into Normandye, and they wolde delyuer the coūtrey vnto him, and holde hym for theyr chefe lorde and ruler. wherunto, as sayth the englyshe cronycle, kynge Henry soone cōsented. But or euer thys warre betwene the sayde duke Robert & kyng Henry beganne / thys Henry maryed Mawde or Molde the doughter of Malcolyne kyng of Scotlande, and of Margarete hys wyfe doughter of Edwarde the outlawe, as in the be­gynnyng of wyllyam Conqueroure is thouched. Of the whyche Molde thys Henry receyuyd after some wryters two sonnes and .ii. doughters / y ^t is to saye wyllyam and Rycharde, Mawde & Mary. And also the sayd authour wyth other saye / that Ro­bert duke of Normandye came into Englande in the fourth yere of the reygne of kynge Henry, and hadde good chere of his brother and syster. For the which he at the request of his sayde syster, released to his brother y ^e forenamed trybute of .iii. thousand markes. But by yll tale tellers & co­uetous of signory, this broderly loue was after dissolued / in such wise that the kynge with a strong army sayled into Normandy / and held his broder Robert with so sharpe warre, that he [Page] chased hym from one countrey to another / and wanne from hym Roan, Caan, Faloys, and all the good townes of Normandye / and lastely con­strayned hym to aske helpe of Phy­lyppe kyng of Fraunce, & after of the erle of Flaūdres / but he fayled helpe of them both. Then wyth such pow­er as he could make, he gaue batayll vnto his brother kynge Henry. In the whyche he was taken, and sent ouer into England, and put into the castell of Cardyffe in walys / where he remayned as prisoner whyle he lyued. And when he was dede he was buryed at Glowcester.

In this tyme and season, as it were in y ^e .iii. yere of kyng Henry / y ^e chyrch of saynt Barthelmew in Smythfeld of London was begonne to be foun­ded, of a mynstrell of this kyng Henry named Rayer / and after perfour­med and ended by good and well disposed cytezens of the citye of Lōdon. This place of Smythfelde was at y ^e day a lay stowe of al ordure or fylth, and the place where felons and other transgressours of the kynges lawes were put to execucyon.

THE .CCXXVII. CHAPITER.

SO as kynge Henry hadde fy­nyshed his warre in Normandye, & was returned into Englande / Robert de Bolesyn, which was the eldest sonne of Roger de mount Gomeryk erle of Shrewesburye / arose a­gayne the kynge, and manned his castellys of Shrewesbury, of Brugg [...] of Arundell, and of Tekynhyll, and incoraged the walshmen agayne the kyng. But the kyng pursued so cruelly the sayd Robert, y ^t wythin .xl. days he wan all thoses castellis & slew many of his men, and gat the fauour of the walshmen by gyftes and plesaūt wordes / and also compelled the sayd Robert to forsake Englād, The whyche then sayled into a corner of Nor­mādye & kept him there secretely, tyll such tyme as to hym was thyther comen willyā erle of Cornewall / which wyllyam was also erle of Nortom in Normandye. when these two erles were assocyat / they gaderyd to them a great strength of Normans, & dyd great harme wythin the prouynce. wherfore the kynge sayled thyther & made sharpe warre vppon them. In the whych he loste many of his men. But in y ^e ende he put frō them theyr strength, and toke theym both pry­soners, and so helde them y ^e terme of theyr lyues. And that done, he sette that coūtrey in good reste and peace, and after retourned into Englande. After whyche returne / kynge Henry made sharpe lawes agayne theues and other that vsed vnleful meanes. In whyche lawes was conteyned losynge of lyfe, of eyes, of stones, and other members of man as the gylte requyred.

And soone after Anselme archbys­shoppe of Caunterbury, assembled a great coūsayll at London of the cler­gy of England. By authoryte of the which coūsayll / dyuers abbotes and other were put from theyr dygnytie, for that they had taken before tyme theyr abbayes by vnlefull meanes. Prestes wyues And amōges all other decrees one was, y ^e prestes shulde forgo theyr wyues. Then strife fell betwen y ^e kyng & Anselme / for that that he wold not sacre the prestes that hadde taken in­uestyture of lewde mennys handes, whyche before was forboden vppon payne of cursynge. But Gyralde archebyshoppe of yorke / for the pleasure of the kynge sacred suche bys­shoppes. wherfore Anselme beynge dyscōtent / departed y ^e land and yode to Rome, to shewe thys wyth other thynges to the pope, whyche at that [Page CLII] daye by moste accorde of wryters shulde be Pascall the seconde.

In the .vi. of the kynge, the coun­trey of Flaūdres was sore blemyshed and hurte by meane of the see, so that the Flemynges yode aboute to haue socoure of dwellynge, and requyred of the kyng to haue lycence that they might inhabyt them in the eest parte of the ryuer of Twede, the whych to them was graunted. But after a certayn of yeres they were remoued ito westwalys, where they remayned a longe whyle / but after they sprad all Englande ouer.

In the .vii. yere of thys kynge / vp­pon a frydaye at nyghte in the fyrste weke of clene lent, was sene an vn­couth starre betwene y ^e south and the weste, the whyche nyghtely appered at one howre, and cōtynued so by the space of .xxv. days. And fore agaynst that oute of the eest parte / appered a great leuyn or beme of bryghtnes, whyche stretched towarde the sayde starre.

And vppon shere thursdaye nexte ensuynge, were sene two monys / that one in the eest, and that other in the weste.

And in thys yere / Anselme by the kynges agrement, returned agayne from Rome / and shortely after cal­led a conuocacyon at London. In the whyche by the popes authoryte yt was newely conformed and ena­cted, that no temporall man after that daye shuld make inuesture with crosse or wyth rynge.

In the .viii. yere of the reygne of kynge Henry / the fourth Henry em­perour of Almayne, the whyche had maryed Molde the eldeste doughter of kynge Henry, when she was of the age of .v. yeres / prysoned pope Pas­call and dyuerse of the cardynallys. This Henry also warred agayne his father Henry the .iii / and lastely caste hym in stronge pryson. For the why­che dede as assermeth Ranulphe / he wylfully when he had ruled the em­pyre .xx. yere / resygned hys dygnyte into the handes of Calixtus y ^e secōde of that name then pope / & after came secretely into England, & vnto Che­ster, vnwyttynge hys wyfe or any of hys frendes / where he lyued longe after a strayte lyfe, and was buryed there at laste. But to this sayeng dysagreeth the wryters of the storyes of emperours. For of them yt is wytnessed / that this Henry the emperour after he had ruled the empyre as before is sayd .xx. wynter, he dyed at a place in Almayn called Spyre / and there was buryed, wyth this scrypture vppon his toumbe. ‘Filius hic, pater hic, auus hic, preauus iacet hic.’

whyche is to meane in our vulgare tunge as foloweth.

when Henry the emperour was thus dede as after yt shalbe shewed, when conuenyency of tyme requy­reth / what became of his wife it shall there be declared.

In the .ix. yere of y ^e reygne of kyng Henry / the archebyshoppe Anselme professed Gerarde archbyshoppe of yorke to the yoke of hys obedyence, as he was before taught by the lore of Lamfranke his predecessour. And the .x. daye of Auguste folowynge, he sacred .v. byshoppes at one tyme / as of wynchester; of Salysbury, of Exeter, of Herforde, and of Glamur­gan. And kynge Henry ordeyned a byshoppes see at Ely / and ordeyned there Henry that hadde ben bishoppe of Bangor / and besette Cambrydge [...]shyre to the see of Ely. And to the bisshoppes see of Lyncolne, he gaue his owne towne of Spaldynge, for he hadde mynyshed that see by the pre­ferment of Ely.

[Page]In the .x. yere dyed Anselme archbyshop of Caunterbury. After whose deth that see was voyde .v. yeres / & the goodes of the chyrch spent to the kynges vse. And whē he was prayed to helpe y ^e chyrch, that was wythout an hedde and a pastor / he vsed to an­swere that his fader and also his brother had accustomed, to set there the beste proued men y ^t they might fynd. And to the entente that he myght do the same / he toke the more tyme & laysure. wyth suche mylde answeres he so put of the tyme, that be fylled hys cofers wyth the great sommes of y ^e benefyce. And who that is desyrous to knowe of the great vertue of thys byshoppe Anselme / lette hym rede in the .xiiii. chapyter of the .vii. boke of Polycronycon; & there he shall fynde a parte therof.

About this tyme as wytnesseth the frenche cronycle / a cōtrauersy began betwene the kyng and Lewys kyng of Fraunce son to Phylyp the fyrste. This Lewys was surnamed Lewis the great, other for hys bygnesse of person, or ellys for greatnesse of hys dedes. This Lewys sent vnto kyng Henry beynge in Normandy / & gaue vnto hym monycyon of homage for the duchy of Normandy / & also that he shulde restore vnto hym or bete down to the groūde, the castell of Gysours / & also to recompence and re­store for hurtes and harmes that his Normans hadde done in those par­tes. But all this of kyng Henry was denyed / and shortely after skyrmys­shes and cocke fyghtes beganne be­twene the sayde two prynces, kynge Henry lyenge at the sayde castell of Gysours, and Lewys at a place cal­led mounte Calue. But thys encreased in suche wyse, that after eyther prynce soughte more rome places, whose knyghtes sundry tymes met. But of any notable batayll I fynde no remembraunce / all be yt that the sayde warre contynued by the terme of two yeres. In the ende of whych two yeres wyllyam the eldest sonne of kynge Henry, beynge a chyld and wythin age / contented so well the mynde of Lewys, that he refrayned of hys warre for that tyme.

In the .xiii. yere, at Shrewesbu­rye was a great erth quake, and at Nothyngham from the morne to the vndertyde. The ryuer of Trent was so fordryed in the moneth of June, as sayth Guydo, that men wente ouer drye. And the starre called stel­la cometa or the blasynge sterre ape­ryde soone after. Theruppon folow­ed an harde wynter, great deth of the people, and scarcete of vitayll by the great moreyn of bestes. In thys yere also the kynge founded the ab­bay of Hyde wythoute the wallys of wynchester, that of olde tyme was wythin the wallys.

THE .CCXXVIII. CHAPITER.

IN the .xv. yere of hys reygne / y ^e kynge entēdyd to haue [...]mo­ted Faricus abbot of Abyndon, vn­to the see of Caunterburye. But by a counsayll kept at wyndesoure of bysshoppes, y ^e kynges mynde was chaū ged / and to that see was then admytted Raufe that was byshoppe of Ro­chester. And the same yere one Thurstone was chosen archebyshoppe of yorke / the whyche wythsayde hys professyon of obedience that he shuld owe to the see of Caunterbury / wherfore at lengthe he was depryuyd of hys dygnyte. But after by laboure that he made to Pascall the pope be­fore named / the sayde pope wrote vnto the kynge that he shulde re­store Thurstone agayne to the see of yorke. By whyche meane he was a­gayne restoryd / but yet he disdayned [Page] to do hys lawefull obedyence vnto Raufe archebyshope of Caunterbu­ry. Then the stryfe was renewed, which Lamfranke before as ye haue harde in the thyrde chapyter of wyl­lyam Conquerour, dyd appeace / and was brought in argument before the pope. The whyche at the kynges re­quest, promysed y ^t he wolde nothyng do nor ordeyne, that shuld be derogacion to the archbyshop of Caunterbury, or to the dygnyte of his chyrche. But in cōclusion the pope gaue such a defuse sentence in thys mater, that he lefte the stryfe vndetermyned and vnassoyled. And when y ^e kynges procuratours wyth also the archbyshop of Caunterbury were absent / were yt for nede or for fauour, the pope was so bowed, that he forsoke y ^e olde rule vsed before hys days, and sacred the sayde Thurstone, and gaue vnto hym the pawle. For this dede y ^e kyng was sore dyscontented wyth Thur­stone, and warned hym the entre of his lande. wherfore the pope wrote after shortely to the kynge / wyllyng hym to suffer Thurstone to occupye his see peaseably, or he shulde be ac­cused and suspended by the dygnyte of the offyce of Caunterbury / and so Thurstone enioyed his see.

In the yere of our lorde .xi. hundred & .xviii. as sayth the frenche cronicle, whyche was the .xvii. yere of thys kyng Henry the fyrst / the warre was agayn quyckened betwen kyng Henry and Lewys kynge of Fraunce. wherof was the occasyon, as sayth the sayde frenche cronycle, Thy­baude erle of Chartres. whych Thybaude was greuyd by the Frenche kynge, and for necessyte requyred kynge Henry of ayde and helpe, to whome the kynge as to hys kynnes­man sent ayde and socoure. And af­terwarde the kynge sayled ouer with a stronge armye / and sente a nobleman named Stephan into the lord­shyppe of Brye, to defendeyt agayn the Frenche kynge. when Lewys vnsterstode that kynge Henry was lan­ded in Normandye wyth so great power / he in all haste assembled a stronge power, and drewe hym to­warde the kynge. But there were so stronge holdes mannyd wyth Nor­mans, & also such depe and great ryuers / that the Frenche kynge myght not wynne vnto kynge Henry. Then lastely by a feate of warre whyche were longe to reherse, he wan a town named Lyngues in Cause / in the whyche towne was a brydge to passe the ryuer of Thee, and so into Nor­mandye.

when a certayne of the knyghtes of Lewes had thus wonne the foresayd towne / the sayd Lewes wyth his people spedde hym shortly after, and rescued his foresayde knightes / & then spoyled and robbed the towne the whyche was ryche, for so myche as yt hadde ben in quyet and rest many yeres before. He also slewe and toke prysoners all y ^e Normans there dwellyng, & put in theyr stede Frenchmē. And that done he sped hym towarde kynge Henry, the which was at a ca­stell called Male assyse / & there made purueyaunce for the defence of the Frenchmen. And when he hadde garnyshed yt to hys pleasure he depar­ted thens. But not longe after the Frenche kynge came thyther wyth his hole hoste of Frenchmen / and after many sore & cruell assautys, wan the sayde castell / and bette yt downe euen wyth the grounde. After whych season as sayth the sayd cronicle, fell to the Frenche kynge many and dy­uerse mysfortunes. For shortely af­ter amonge other myssechaunces / a noble captayn of hys named Angue­ran de Chanmount, the whyche had done myche harme in Normandye [Page] to kynge Henry, and wonne there some castelles and other stronge holdes, dyed sodeynly. And in shorte tyme after / Baldewyne erle of Flaūdres a man of great strēgth and puyssaunce, as he beseaged a castell was wounded in the face, and dyed wyth in .vi. dayes after. Then Fauques erle of Aungeos, in whom also this Lewys affyed mych and trusted / maryed his doughter vnto willyam the eldest sonne of kynge Henry / and re­fused the kynge of Fraunce parte, and ayded and assysted kynge Hen­ry in all that he myght / so that dayly the power of kyng Henry encreased, and the Frenche kynges mynyshed. Lastely these two prynces met wyth theyr both hostes in playne feld, and foughte a dedely and cruell batayll. where in the ende the Frenche kynge was ouercomen, and loste myche of his people / and was cōpelled to flee vnto a place called Audely for his sa­uegarde. But thys ouerthrowe of Frenchemen is excused in the moste fayrest maner / so y ^t they excuse them selfe, and saye that kynge Henry set vppon kynge Lewys, when he was not ware, but hys knyghtes all oute of aray & order, and also kyng Henry had farre excedynge nomber of men ouer that theyr kyng had / with other wordes of boste of them selfe, & slaunder of Englyshemen, the whyche as to me appereth is an augmentacyon of theyr owne shame. But Ranulfe the munke sayth shortely, that kyng Henry ouercame the Frenche kynge royally in batayll.

Then yt foloweth in y ^e story / fynally these sayde prynces were agreed / and wyllyam the sonne of kyng Henry dyd homage vnto y ^e French kyng for the landes of Normandye, by the agrement of his fader. For the kyng thought hym selfe to good to be vn­der the obeysaūce of y ^e Frenche kyng Then kynge Henry caused hys free men of Englande and of Normandy, to do homage vnto his sonne wyllyam.

And soone after Fouques before named lefte hys erledome of Angeer or Angiers, in guydyng of kynge Henry, and yode hym selfe into the holy lande / and wylled in his testament, that yf he retourned not agayne, that the sayde erledome shulde remayne vnto his sonne in lawe wyllyam, son of kynge Henry, whyche hadde ma­ryed hys doughter.

About the .xx. yere of the reygne of kyng Henry / quene Molde or Mawde hys wyfe dyed in Normandy / the whyche in her youthe was set by her father kyng of Scottes into a nun­ry, and there ware & vsed the vayle and habyte of a nunne. For the whi­che cause when kynge Henry was a­greable to take her vnto wyfe, thys mater fell in great despucyon / & An­selme then archebyshop of Caunter­bury was sore agayne that maryage a season of tyme. But at length yt was suffycyētly proued that she was there as a fygure, a woman worynge that habyte wythoute professyon of order. And this was thus ordered by her father, to the ende to put by vn­worthy wowers. Thys of wryters was reputed for a blessyd and holy woman, after the lyuynge of a worldly woman.

when kynge Henry had contynued in Normandy vppon the season and terme of .iii. yeres / he toke shyppyng at Haterflete in Normandy, and sayled happely into Englande the same day, that is to meane y ^e .xxiiii. day of Nouember as sayth some wryters. And shortly after willyā duke of Normandy, wyth Rycharde his brother, Notha the countesse of Persye, Ry­charde erle of Chester, with his wyfe the kynges nyce, and the archdekyn [Page CLIIII] of Herforde and other, to the nom­ber of a hundred & .lx. persones / toke shyppynge at the sayde porte, & were all drowned, a bocher onely excepte. whyche mysfortune fell by the ouer­syght of the maister and other, which fell at a dyssencyon in the nyghte a­monge them selfe / by reason wherof they ranne vppon a rocke as shewed the foresayde bocher. From this daūger wyllyam duke of Normādy was escaped, and was in the shyppe bote nere vnto the lande. But when he harde the lamētable crye of the Coū ­tesse Notha / he commaunded the rowers to returne and saue the sayd Countesse. whych done by what mysfortune I can not saye, after she was receyued into the bote, were it by tempeste or ouer chargynge of the bote or otherwise / they were all swalowid of the see, so that none of them was after foūde but ꝑte of theyr goodes. Of this duke wyllyā some desclaunderous wordes are lefte in memory, both in the englyshe cronycle and also of other wryters / the whyche I ouerpasse.

THE .CCXXIX. CHAPITER.

IN the .xxi. yere of hys reygne / kynge Henry made y ^e parke of wodestoke be syde Oxenforde, with other plesures to the same. And Fouques erle of Angiers returned out of the holy land, and maryed the syster of her that before he had maryed vn­to wyllam duke of Normandye, vn­to the son of Robert Curthose / and gaue wyth her the erledome of Co­nomanna. And stryfe began to kyn­dell betwene kynge Henry & the sayd Fouques, for the wytholdyng of the dowre or ioynture of hys fyrste dou­ghter, maryed wnto wyllyam the kynges sonne.

In the .xxiii. yere of kynge Henry, dyed Raufe archbyshoppe of Caun­terbury / and one named wyllyā was set in y ^e see after hym. And the kynge in thys yere beganne the foundacy­on of y ^e abbay of Redyng. And Iohn̄ a cardynall of Rome was sente from Calyxte the seconde of that name thē beynge pope, for certayne maters cō ­cernynge the pope. In the tyme of whyche hys so beynge here, the car­dynall made sharpe processe agayne prestes that norysshed Crysten moy­les / and rebuked them by open pub­lyshement and otherwyse, so that he wan hym here but small & lytle fa­uoure. But this dyssymuled doctour toke so great feruence in the correccyon of the iudgement of prestes of Englande, that he forgate the lore and coūsayll of his famous pope Caton / whyche in the boke of his counsayll or of wysedome thus sayth:

The whyche two verses maye be englyshed as foloweth,

This coūsayll was not remembred of the sayd Cardynall. For in the euenynge after he had lewdely blowen his horne, and sayde it was a detestable synne to aryse from the syde of a strumpet & sacre the body of Cryste / he was taken wyth a strumpet to his open shame and rebuke.

In the .xxv. yere of kynge Henry [Page] was called a counsayll at London / where the spyrytualty condescended that the kynges offycers shulde pu­nyshe prestes that cheryshed the foresayde mulys. But the sayd offycers toke money, and sufferyd the prestes to spurre theyr mulys at theyr plea­sure. whyche offyce at this daye is so clerely renoūced of al spyritual men / y ^t neyther kyng nor bishop taketh for yt any synes, nor yet correccyon ne­cessarye to be done for the same.

In the .xxvii. yere of his reygne as reporteth an olde Cronycle / the gray freres by procuryng of y ^e kyng came fyrste into Englande, and had theyr fyrst house buylded at Caunterbury. And aboute this tyme by moste ac­corde of writers, dyed Henry the .iiii. emperour of that name / whyche as before is touched maryed Molde the doughter of kyng Henry. After who­se deth the sayde empresse came vnto her father into Normandye. when kyng Henry was ascertaynted of the deth of Henry the emperour / for so myche as he hadde none heyre male, he caused soone after the more party of hys lordes of England as well spirytuall as temporall, to swere in his presence, that they shuld kepe y ^e land of Englande to the vse of Mawde y ^e empresse, yf he dyed wythoute yssue male, and she then suruyued

In the .xxviii. yere of kyng. Henry / Geffrey Plātagenet erle of Angeou maryed Molde the empresse. Of the whyche two descended Henry the se­cond, that after Stephan was kyng of Englande. In this yere also the kynge had dyuers monycyons and vysyons. For amonge other ferefull dremys / he saw a great company of clerkys with dyuerse wepons, why­che manassed hym for dette that he shuld owe vnto them. And when they were passed / he thought y ^t he was manassed to deth of his own knyghtes. And lastely apperyd to hym a great company of byshoppes / whych thre­tened hym, and wolde haue smytten hym wyth theyr crosses. By this monicyon he toke remorce in his conscyence, and dyd great dedes of charyte in Normandye where he hadde sene these visyons. And after his cōmyng then into Englande / in satysfaccyon of wronges done to the chyrche as affermeth Guydo, he then founded the abbay of Redynge before spoken of. And ouer that he releasyd vnto En­glyshe men the Dane gelt, that was by his father & his brother renewed.

In the .xxx. yere of this kyng Henry, dyed the erle of Flaundres / and kynge Henry as sayth Ranulfe, was by agrement of Lewys the Frenche kyng made erle, as next heyr & enhe­rytour to the sayde erledome. But it is not there expressed by what maner of tytle or successyon.

In the .xxxii. yere of the kyng, dyed Robert Curthose the kynges broder the whyche he hadde kept as pryso­ner in the castell of Cardyfe from the iiii. yere of his reygn or there about / whose corps as before is shewed, was buryed at Glouceter before the hyghe alter. And aboute this tyme was founded the pryorye of Norton in the prouynce of Chester, by one wyllyam the sonne of Nychelle. And the abbay of Combremer in the same prouynce, was also founded aboute the same tyme.

In the .xxxv. yere of kynge Henry / was borne of Molde the empresse, Henry shorte mantell or Henry the seconde. The whyche as after shall be shewed was consentynge to the martyrdome of saynt Thomas of Caunterburye.

Kynge Henry beyng in Normandy after some writers, fell from or wyth hys horse / whereof he cought hys deth. But Ranulphe sayth he toke a [Page CLV] surfet by etynge of a lamprey & ther of dyet, when he hadde reygned full xxxv. yeres and odde monethes. Then y ^e kynges bowellys were dra­wen out of hys body, and then salted wyth myche salte. And for to auoyde the stenche whych hadde infected many men / the body was lastely closed in a bulles skynne, and yet yt was not all stynted. He that clensed the hed, dyed of the stenche of the brayn. Then lastely the body was brought into England, & buryed in the abbay of Redynge that he had before founded. Then y ^e fame of hym was blowen abrode as yt is blowen of other prynces / and sayde y ^t he passed other men in .iii. thynges. In wytte, in eloquence, and fortune of batayll. And other sayde he was ouercomen wyth iii. vyces / wyth couetyse, wyth cruelty, and wyth luste of lechery.

One other made these verys of hym as folowen.

Francia. THE .CCXXX. CHAPITER.

LEwys the sonne of the fyrste Phylyp beganne hys reygne ouer the Frenchemen, in the yere of our lorde .xi. hundred & .vii. to reken his begynnynge from the deth of his father / and the .vi. yere of the fyrste Henry then kyng of England. This Lewys as before is touched, was admytted to the rule of the land certayn yeres or hys father dyed, and was surnamed Lewes the great for gros­senesse of his body.

Anon as this Lewys had fynyshed the obsequy of the funerallys of hys father / he wythoute taryenge called a counsayll of hys lordes spyrytuall and temporall at the cytye of Orle­aunce / where of the byshoppe of the same see wyth other adioynynge, he was solemnly anoynted & crowned. But not wythout grudge of the archbyshoppe of Raynes / for so mych as of custome the Frenche kynges vsed there to be crowned.

Soone after the coronacyon of Lewys / Guy le Rous, and Guy de Cressy his sonne, whych before tyme hadde ben at debate and warre with Lewys, and Lewys had from them taken y ^e castel of Gurnaye / this Guy le Rous wyth hys sonne seynge they might not preuayle agayn the kyng, awayted theyr tyme and season, and espyed when Endo hys owne broder and erle of Corbueyll went forth on huntynge, and toke hym, & as a pry­soner kept hym in the castell of Bawdum. whereof the cause was, for so myche as the sayde Endo wolde not assyste nor ayde y ^e sayd Guyle Rous his brother agayne the kynge. when thys was knowen, anon the frendes and tenauntes of the sayde erle shewyd this mater vnto the kynge / bese­chynge hym that he wolde ayde and assyste theym to recouer theyr natu­rall lorde. wherunto the kynge gran̄ted / and forth wyth sent a knyght or captayn of his named Auncelyne, accompanyed with .xl. horsmen before / for so myche as yt was shewyd vnto [Page] the kyng, y ^t such as had y ^e rule of the castell wolde receyue suche persones as were sent from hym, and delyuer the castell wyth the prysoner vnto them. Uppon whyche appoyntemēt thys Ancelyne as before is sayd was sent to entre this castell. But all contrary to the former ꝓmise made / this Auncelyne was betrayed and taken, and many of his men slayne, & hym selfe set in prison, where the sayd erle of Corbuayll was. wherof when the kynge was enfourmed / he was pas­synge greuously dyscontent. wher­fore in all haste he sped him thyther, & compassed y ^e castell wyth a stronge syege / and those that were wythin defended them manfully. In the tyme of the whyche syege nother Guy the fader, nor Guy hys sonne, were with in the sayde castell of Baudum.

But Guy y ^e son as a lusty and iu­perdous knyght / put hym self in ad­uenture dyuers wayes and tymes to haue entred the sayde castell for comfort of his men / but all was in vayn. Fynally the kynge made so sore and cruell assautes, that he wan the fyrst warde wyth great dyffycultye, and after the hole / and delyueryd the erle and Auncelyn his stewarde, y ^e which were in great doute of theyr lyues. And such as he toke prysoners of the soldyours / some he put to deth, and some he prisoned to theyr lyues ende, to the terrour and fere of other.

In processe of tyme after at a place called the Roche of Guy, whych one Guy of olde tyme had buylded / dwel lyd at this daye one of that stocke named also Guy, the whyche hadde to wyfe a fayre and good woman, the doughter of one wyllyā a Norman. whyche wyllyam entendynge to dysheryte the sayde Guy, and to be lord of that stronge place / vppon a tyme when the sayde Guy was in y ^e chyrch or chapell to here his dyuyne seruyce entred the chyrche wyth a certayn of harnessed knightes vnder theyr man tellys, and fell vppon hym and all to hewe hym. wherof herynge the wyfe / ranne as a madde woman, and fell vppon her husbande, to the entēt to saue hym from the strokes. But the tyrauntes were so cruell, y ^t they forbare nothynge of theyr cruel tye / but wounded her wyth her hus­bande, so that both were slayne / and that done entred the castell, and slew all suche as they found therin. when this willyam fader to y ^e wife of Guy, or broder to her as affermeth maister Robert Gagwyne, was possessed of y ^e castell of Guyon / he thought ther­by to rule all the countrey enuyron. But the gentylles and commons he rynge of thys shamefull murder / as­sembled thē to gither / & of one mynde whyle some of them yode to the kyng to enfurme hym of that cruell dede, the other prepared abyllementes of warre, and layde syege to the sayde castell. The kynge Lewys he­rynge of this shamfull dede, and the wynnynge of so stronge an holde, ferynge the rescue of Englishmen and Normans, leste that castell by that meane myghte fall in theyr handes / sent his commyssyon vnto the rulers of that countrey, chargynge theym wyth all dylygence to assaute that place. And yf they myght wynne yt / to put the executours of that murder vnto moste shamefull deth. whyche commaundement receyued from the kynge / stronge assaute & cruell was made, & manfully yt was defended. But the losse ran to theym of the cas­tell / so that in processe of tyme when this willyam conceyued well that he myght not contynue the defence therof, he began to treate & agreed, that yf he myghte haue free yssue for hym and hys, & assuraunce that he wyth his knyghtes myght go quyetly vn­to [Page CLVI] a place that he wold chose / he wold then delyuer the castell wyth all that was therin. The whyche requeste of dyuerse of the hedde captaynes was graunted and sworne. But so soone as the castell was delyuered, and the Frenchemen entred / the multytude not wythstandynge the former pro­myse and othe, fell vppon the sayde wyllyam and his soudyours, & them put vnto deth by many cruell tormē tes / & fynally caste all theyr careyns into the ryuer of Sayne, vppon the brynke wherof the sayde roche and castell was standynge.

And shortely after this, ensued the warre betwene this Lewys & kynge Henry of Englande, as yt is before shewyd in y ^e .x. yere of y ^e sayde Henry. And after the warre ended betwene these two prynces / Hugh Puyssake a man of great myght at those dayes in Fraunce, rebelled agayne y ^e kyng / and warred greuously vppon or a­gayn the countesse of Chartres / and robbed and pylled the chyrches of y ^e countrey, as well as other places / so that the sayd coūtesse with her yonge sonne Thybaude, were fayne to seke socoure of the kynge. wherfore the kynge called a counsayll at hys citye of Meleyne / where agayne the sayd Hugh many greuous complayntes were put. But for so myche as y ^e sayd Hugh at that tyme was not present, to make answere vnto such thynges as then was layde to his charge / the kynge commaunded that the castell of Terry or of Thoree in all haste shulde be manned & vytayled, to the ende that by the comforte & strength of that castell, the kynge yf nede re­quyred myght lay syege to the castell of Puyssake, for so mych as that one was nere adioynynge vnto y ^e other. In whych passe tyme the sayd Hugh was somoned to appere before the kynge and his counsayll / but he refused to appere.

when the kynge was enfourmed of the garnyshyng of y ^e castell of Thor­re, and of the disobedyence of Hugh / he assembled a stronge hoste, and cō ­passed the castell of Puyssake with a syege / and set Thybaude son of the countesse vppon that syde that stode towarde the prouynce of Chartres, so that stronge assautes and cruell warre was made on euery parte. what shulde I make longe processe / to tell of the ferefull shot of the gon­nys vppon bothe partyes, or of the sharpe shot of Arowes, the castynge of stonys, or scalynge of the wallys, or fyllynge of the dyches, the fyryng of the gates, or yet the mortall and cruell fyght on bothe partes / nor of y ^e manyfold dede bodyes & maymed, by reason of y ^e sayd assautes / or yet y ^e manasses or mockes, or great bosus or crakes vsed of the souldyours durynge this syege. But fynally after the kynge hadde lyen before the sayd castell a certayne of tyme, he wanne yt by pure force, and toke the sayde Hughe wyth hys accessaryes. The whyche he commaunded to be kepte as prysoners in the castell of Thorre for a season. Then the kynge caste downe the sayde castell of Puyssake to the grounde, excepte a lytle towre made of tymber, the whyche he reseruyd for a lodgynge. And that done some of the forsayd prysoners he put to deth, and some he dysherityd after the grefe of theyr offence. And so this foresayd countesse of Charters with her sonne Thybaude was in quyete of theyr countrey and castell of Puyssake belongynge to the sayde erle­dome. But howe yt was / in pro­cesse of tyme folowynge thys Thy­baude entended to haue reedyfyed there a newe castell / wherby as the kinge was enformed, he wold haue encroched thynges appertaynynge [Page] to the crowne of Fraunce / wherfore the kynge wythstode yt. For this / a grudge fell betwene the kynge and erle Thybaude / so that in processe dedely warre was made betwen thē. The whyche contynued in such wise to theyr both damages / that fynal­ly the warre was agayne reuyued betwene kynge Lewys and kynge Henry, as in the .xvii. yere of the rey­gne of the sayde Henry is declared, by meane of thys warre betwene the kynge and this erle Thybaude. wherof the cyrcumstaunce wold axe a longe leysure to reherse, as yt is shewyd in the frenche storye. But fy­nally this erle Thybaude loste none honour / all be yt that the frenche cronycle wonderfully fauoreth y ^e party of the Frenche kynge, that the rea­der maye well apperceyue, Quis pin xit leonem.

THE .CCXXXI. CHAPITER.

THis Lewys also hadde great warre wyth Henry the fourth of that name emperour / the whyche maryed Molde the doughter of Henry the fyrste kynge of England, as before is shewed. whefore the occasyon was as sayth the Frenche crony­cle / for so myche as the sayd Henry the emperour hadde before tyme ben accursed of Gelasius the seconde of that name then pope, at Raynes a citye in Fraunce. For the whych cause as there is surmytted / the sayde em­peroure assembled an huge hoste of Almaynes and Italyens, and entred the lande of Fraunce, and dyd therin myche harme. But in the ende when he knew of the great prouisyon y ^e Lewis made to mete him, & of his great power / he then as affermeth y ^e frēch cronycle, wythdrewe hym / and so a­uoyded the lande of Fraūce wythout stroke strykyng. But of this speketh nothyng the authour that wrote the story of this Henry the emperour.

After this the erle of Flaundres named Charlys, the systers sonne of kynge Lewys nexte duke after Bal­dewyn, whych dyed as before is sayd in the thyrde chapyter of the story of kyng Henry, of a woūde in his face / this foresayd Charlys was sore ha­ted of the prouoste of Brudgys. The whyche to bryng his malyce to some effecte / counsayled wyth hys adhe­rentes how he myght slee the sayde Charlys. By whose coūsayle a mea­ne was founde to brynge the erle to Brudgys a towne of Flaundres, for the wele of the sayde towne. After whose commynge vppon a daye he beynge in a chyrche and herynge his dyuyne seruyce, was slayne of y ^e sayd prouoste and his complycys. wherof herynge kynge Lewys / anon wyth a great army entred Flaundres, and besyeged the town of Brudges, and lastely toke the sayde prouoste. The whyche fyrst was bounden to a post, & then his eyen wyth a reede stryken out of hys hed / And then shot wyth arowes / & lastely set vppon a whele, where he remayned tyl he dyed. And a felowe of hys named Bartopus, y ^e whyche was consentyng to the same murder / was hanged vppon a galos by the waste and armys / and by hym amastyfe or great curre dogge, the whyche as soon euer he was smytten bote vppon the sayde Bartopus / so that in processe he all to rent hym, & dyd to hym so great payne, that lastely he endyd his lyfe in great mysery.

In the time of y ^e reygn of this Lewys / the bishop of Clermōde was voyded his see by the cruelnes of the erle of Auerne, wherfore the kyng assembled his knyghtes / and by strength, set the byshoppe in hys place agayne maugry his enymyes. And agayne the second tyme when he was eft put [Page CLVII] out by the sayde erle / the kynge restoryd hym / and toke suche pledges of the erle, that he remayned after in good quyet. In y ^e later dayes of this Lewys / his eldest sonne named Phylyppe wyth a conuenyent company, vppon a daye for his dysporte rode about certayne stretys of the cytye of Parys / and as he rode, an hogge so­deynly starte amonge the horse fete of the chylde / wherwyth the horse be­ynge frayde lepte sodeynly, and cast the chylde to the grounde, wyth so great vyolence that he dyed y ^e nyght folowynge. For this myssehappe the kynge toke great heuynesse / so that he waxed dayly more feble. And for he was vnweldly by reason of ouer ladynge of fleshe, and myghte not well trauayll / he therfore by the ad­uyce of hys lordes, admytted hys seconde sonne named Lewys to the rule of the realme, and hym he crowned by his lyfe tyme / and also mary­ed hym vnto Elynoure the dough­ter of the duke of Guyan, by whych he was inherytoure vnto her father. And shortely after the kynge syke­ned / and to hys great payne in an horse lytter was brought vnto saynt Denys. where he lyenge a season syke, and knew that the owre of deth was nere / commaunded suche as were aboute hym that they shulde spredde a tapytte vppon the ground, and then laye hym vppon the sayde tappette, and vppon hym to be made a crosse of asshes / whyche all was done accordynge to his commaun­dement. And there he so laye tyll he dyed, in the yere of hys reygne to reken from the deth of his father to his owne endynge daye .xxx. yeres / so that he reygned .xxix yeres full and odde monethes / and was buryed in the monastery of saynte Denys with great pompe, wyth thys scrypture folowynge vppon his tombe.

whyche versys may be expowned in our vulgar as foloweth:

Angsia. THE .CCXXXII. CHAPITER.

STephan erle of Boloyn, and son of the erle of Ble­sence, and of the wyues syster of Henry the fyrst named Mary / be­ganne his reygne ouer the realme of Englande, in the yere of our lord .xi.C.xxxvi / & the first yere of Lewes y ^e .viii. of y ^t name then kyng of Fraunce. This was a noble man and hardy. But contrarye hys othe, after the affyrmaunce of some wryters that he made to Molde the empresse / he toke vpon hym y ^e crow­ne / and was crowned vppon saynte Stephans daye in the Crystemasse [Page] weke at westmynster, of the archbis­shoppe of Caunterbury, the whyche in lykewyse had made lyke othe vn­to the sayde empresse, in presence of her fader as before is touched. In punyshment wherof as men denied / the sayde archbyshoppe dyed shortly af­ter. And many other lordes whyche dyd accordyng lyke / went not quyte wythout punyshement. A great cau­ser of this periurye as rehersyth one authour, was this / one Hugh Bygot stewarde somtyme wyth Henry the fyrste / immedyatly after the deceace of the sayde Henry, came vnto En­gland / and before the sayde archbys­shop and other lordes of the lande, toke wyllfully an othe / & sware that he was present a lytle before the kynges deth, when kynge Henry admytted & chase for hys heyre to be kynge after hym Stephan hys neuewe / for so myche as Molde his doughter had dyscontented hym. wher vnto the archbyshoppe wyth the other lor­des gaue to hasty credence. But this Hugh scaped not vnpunyshed / for he dyed myserably in a shorte tyme after.

when kyng Stephan was crowned he sware before the lordes at Oxyn­forde, that he wolde not holde in hys hand the benefyces that voyded / and that he wold forgyue the Dane gelt as kyng Henry before hym had done wyth other thynges whyche I passe ouer. And for this Stephan drad the cōmynge of the empresse / he therfore gaue lycence vnto his lordes, y ^t eue­ry of them myght buylde a castell or strong fortres vpon his own groūd. And soone after he agreed wyth Da­uyd kynge of Scottes, & receyued of hym homage, after he had from hym wonne some townes and holdes.

The towne of Exetoure rebellyd a­gayne the kynge in the seconde yere of hys reygne. But he in the ende he subdued theym. And wyllyam archbyshoppe of Caunterburye dyed the same yere / whose benefyce was af­ter gyuen to Thibaude abbot of Becco in Normandye.

About the fourth yere of his rey­gne / Dauyd kynge of Scottys re­pentynge hym of hys former agre­ment made wyth the kynge, entred of newe the boundes of Northum­berlande aboute the ryuer of Theyse towarde the prouynce of yorke, and brent and slewe the people in moste cruell wyse / not sparynge man, wo­man, nor chylde. Agayne whome Thurstone by the kynges cōmaundement was sent. The whych wyth his power quytte hym so knyghtly, that he ouer threwe the hoste of Scottes, and slewe of theym a great nomber, and compellyd theym to wythdrawe agayne into Scotlande. In the which passetyme y ^e kyng layde syege to the castell of Bedforde and wanne yt. And that done / he then made a vyage into Scotlande, where he dyd lytle to hys pleasure or profyte. Then in his retourne homewarde he toke Alexaunder byshoppe of Lyn­colne / and helde hym in duresse tyll he hadde yelded or gyuen vnto hym the castell of Newerke. And then he chased Nygellus byshop of Ely.

Also in thys furye he toke suche displeasure with his louynge frende Roger byshop of Salysburye / that he caste hym in bondes tyll the sayde Roger hadde rendred vnto hym the two castellys of Uyes and Shyr­burne. For the whyche thys Roger in remembrynge the great ingraty­tude of the kynge / toke such thought that he dyed shortely after / and left in redy coyne .xl. thousande marke, whyche after hys deth came to the kynges cofers.

One cronycle sayth that kynge Stephan obteyned these foresayde castellys, [Page CLVIII] to the entent he myght fortyfye theym wyth his knyghtes to wyth­stande the empresse, whose cūmynge he euer fered. And y ^e yere folowynge he wāne wyth strength the castellys of Glowceter, of Herford, of webley, of Brystowe, of Dudley, & of Shre­wesburye / for the whyche cause Ro­bert erle of Glouceter began to wythdrawe hys allegeaunce from kynge Stephan. This Robert was the son of Henry the fyrst by reason of baste / and for thys dyspleasure sent letters vnto Molde the empresse hys syster, promysynge to her great ayde to wynne her ryght.

In the meane whyle that the em­presse made prouysyon for her iour­ney / kynge Stephan concluded a maryage betwene Eustace his sonne and Constaunce the kynges syster of Fraunce, doughter of Lewys the great / the whyche contynued the a­myte betwene England and Fraūce.

Then in the moneth of Iuly and vi. yere of Stephan / Molde the empresse as testyfyeth Henry the cha­non in hys .ix. boke, entred this land by the porte of Portesmouthe / and so kepte on her iourney tyll she came to Brystowe, and dyd great harme by the meane of her passage through the countrey. In whyche tyme of her sayde landynge, kyng Stephan laye at the syege of walyngforde ca­stell. But as soone as he harde of the landynge of the empresse / he anon sente oute commyssyons for more strength, and so drewe towarde hys enymyes. But in this tyme and sea­son Robert erle of Glowceter, and Ranulfe erle of Chester, wente vn­to the empresse wyth all the power that they might make. The empresse herynge the great power commynge wyth the kynge / drewe to the cytye of Nycoll now called Lyncolne, and there helde her a longe season for all that the kyng myght do. But lastely the empresse wyth her people esca­ped / and the kynge was possessyd of the cytye, and there bode tyll Candelmas. After whyche season / erle Ro­bert and Ranulfe before named, with a great power of walshmen, & y ^e po­wer of the empresse, came agayn the kynge. where as when bothe hostes were nere ioynyng / the erle Ranulfe of Chester spake to his knightes and sayd: I requyre you that I that am cause of your parell, may be the fyrst that shall entre into the parell. Then answered erle Robert and sayd / yt is not vnworthy to the y ^t axeste the fyrst stroke and dignyte of this fyght. For to the yt is syttynge, for noblesse of blood and vertue of strength, in the whyche thou passest other men. But the kinges false othe moueth men to warre and to fyght / where we muste now wynne the mastry or be ouerco­mē. And he y ^t hath none other socour, is cōstrayned to defende hym by knyghtly and stronge dedes of armes & of manhode. And so shall we now a­gayne theym that by entryked wyth gyle & wyckednesse / as Robert erle of Mellent, the erle also of Albe­marll, and Symon of Hampton, the which is a man of great boste and of small myght.

Then kyng Stephan prepayred to set forwarde hys people / and erle Baudewyne had wordes of comfort to the kynges peple, Thre thynges requysyte to fyght & sayde: Men y ^t shall fyghte / to theym is behouefull thre thynges. The fyrst is ryght of y ^e cause, leste men fal in parell of soule. The second is quantyte of men of armys, leste men be oppreste wyth excedynge nomber. And the thyrde is the effecte corage of strēgth of knightes, y ^t the quarel shuld not fayle for lacke of hardy and assured fyghtynge. As touchynge whyche thre poyntes I truste we be well sped. But & ye take [Page] hede farthermore what enymyes we haue / fyrste we haue agayne vs Ro­bert erle of Glouceter, whyche vseth great manasses, and executeth lytle or small dedys. In mouth he is a ly­on / but in harte he is a shepe. He is pompous in speche, and darke in vnderstandyng. There is also Ranulfe erle of Chester / a man wythout rea­son and full of folehardynesse / redy and preste to all conspyracy and vn­stedfastnesse of maner and dedes, hasty and furyouse of hart, and vnware of parellys. He assayeth oft to acheue great dedes / but he bryngeth none to effecte. And what he fyrsly and fresshely begynneth / he cowardely and fayntly forsaketh, as vnhappy and vngracyous in all his dedys / and is ouercomen in euery place. For he holdeth wyth hym banyshed men & scullers. And the mo of them that be in a company, the soner they be ouercomē / and weke they be in fyghtyng, for eyther of theym putteth truste in his felowe whyle hym selfe is ouer­throwen.

But or he myght haue finyshed his wordes to moste mennys audyence / the crye of the enymyes, wyth noyse of trumpettes and gruntyng of hor­sys approched and smote to gyther / and forth go the arowes, and grese­ly & cruell fyghte was contynued vppon bothe sydes for the whyle y ^t yt enduryd. where through the grene feld was turned into a perfyte redde / so that many a pale & wan vysage was there sene yeldynge the gooste, wyth armys and legges disseueryd and departed. A longe whyle thys fyghte stode in questyon, whyther partye shulde obteyne vyctorye. But in the ende kynge Stephans partye gaue backe and fledde / and he full knyghtly abode on felde wyth a fewe of his knyghtes, and was taken, and so was brought vnto the empresse / the whyche commaunded hym to be conueyed vnder sure kepyng vnto Brystowe, where he was kepte as a pry­soner from the sayde tyme of Candelmasse vnto holy Roode daye next ensuynge.

Aboute this tyme was founded the Abbay of Stratforth Langthorne wythin .iiii. myles of London, by a knyght called syr wyllyam de Moūtfychet.

THE .CCXXXIII. CHAPITER.

WHen the empresse hadde wonne this vyctorye, and had commytted the kyng to warde, as before ye haue harde / she was not therwith a lytle exalted / but thoughte in her mynde that she was in a suerty of the possessyon of the hole realme. But she was disceyued / for Kent toke partye wyth kynge Stephan. But yet after this victory thus obteyned, the empresse came vnto wynchester, and after to wyltone, to Oxenforde, to Redynge, and to saynte Albonys / into the whyche cytyes and townes she was receyued wyth all honoure. And fynally she came to London, for to entre the state of the lande. At her whyche there beynge / the quene made assyduat laboure for the dely­uerye of the kynge her husbande / promysynge that he shulde surren­der the lande into her possessyon, and he to be come a religyous man, other ellys a pylgryme to hys lyues ende. But all was in vayne / for she myght purchace no grace as then vppon no maner of condycyons. The cy­tezens of London also made great laboure, that they myghte vse the lawys of Edwarde the confessoure, as they were graunted by wyllyam Conqueroure / and not the lawys of her father, whyche were of more straytnesse. wherof in no wyse [Page CLIX] they of her coūsayll myght haue any graunte. For this the cytezens were dyscontentyd / and knowynge that the countrey of Kent wolde strength theyr partye, ordeyned to haue taken her. But she beynge therof warned / departed in haste, and lefte behynde her hyr store of housholde, and so fledde vnto Oxynforde / where she abode her people, the whyche was deuyded and scateryd. And in thys whyle she sente vnto Dauyd kynge of Scottes and her vncle for to ayde her, the whyche in all haste came vnto her / and so yode to wynchester, where she layde syege to the byshop­pes towre, the whyche the kyn­ges brother at that tyme helde wyth strength.

Then the quene wyth ayde of her frendes, of Kentyshemen and other / made a stronge hoste / wherof was capytayne a knyght named Guyllyam de Pre. whē the empresse harde of y ^e great strength of the quene, and saw that her owne mynyshed rather then encreasyd / she fled secretely and escaped vnto Glouceter. And erle Ro­bert her brother was taken soone af­ter, and put in pryson. Then Dauyd kynge of Scottes herynge of thys / returned into Scotland. Then meanes was made vpon eyther syde, for deliuery and exchaunge of the pryso­ners / so that fynally yt was agreed that the kynge shulde be delyueryd for erle Robert. But or thys agre­ment were concluded myche sorowe was wroughte wythin thys realme. For the empresse pylled and spoyled on hyr partye / and the quene by pro­myses and manaces borowed & toke vppō y ^e other syde / & the soudyours stale and extorcyoned vpō both par­tyes / so that riche men were made nedy, and the poore were oppressed.

In thys meane whyle the empresse retourned agayne to Oxynforde & vytayled and manned yt in her beste maner.

Then lastely the kyng was delyuered vpon holy Roode day in haruest, and soon after he becleped Oxynford wyth a stronge syege, from the tyme of Mychelmasse vnto the season of Crystemas / at whyche tyme and season the empresse vsed a new gyle for constraynte and necessyte of vytayle.

In that tyme was great plente of snow fallen vppon the grounde / and the frost was therwyth so great, that Thamys wyth other great ryuers were then frosen ouer / so that man & horse myghte passe y ^e water vppō the yse. The empresse then constrayned of nede as before is sayd, apparayled her and her companye in whyte clo­thynge, whych a farre of apered lyke the snow / and so vpon a plumpe go­yng to gyther as nere as they myght escaped the daunger of theyr fone / & so came to walyngforde. And thens in processe of tyme she wyth a small companye departed, and retourned fynally into Normandye vnto her husbande.

So soon as the empresse was thus departed from Oxenforde, the town was yelden vnto y ^e kynge / where the kyng had mich of the empresse stu [...]e as wel harnes as other stuffe of housholde. Thē he entendyd to haue pur­sued her. But tydyngꝰ were brought vnto hym, y ^t Ranulfe erle of Chester wyth an hoste of walshmen was commyng towarde hym. But by medya­cyon of frendes thys Ranulfe in the ende to the kynge was reconcyled, and was wyth hym agreed.

About this tyme and season as yt is testyfyed of dyuerse authours / the Iewes vpon Ester euyn crucyfyed a chylde named wyllyam, in the cy­tye of Norwyche. And in the tyme of Henry the second, about y ^e .vi. yere of his reygn as sayth Policronicon, [Page] they crucified an other at Glouceter.

In the .xxii. yere of his reygn / kyng Stephan was agayne crowned at Lyncolne. And soon after he toke frō Ranulphe erle of Chester the castell of Lyncolne.

Robert erle of Glouceter made also newe warre vppon the kynge / & had the better of the kynge at wyltone, so that the kynge was lyke to haue fal­len in Robertys daūger. But yet the kynge escaped wyth myche payne. And there was taken a baron of the kynges named syr willyam Martel, for whose delyuery the kynge gaue after to the sayde erle the castell of Shyrbourne. And that done y ^t sayd erle Robert began to foūde a stronge castell at Faryngdone. wherof the kynge beynge enfourmed, assembled his knyghtes and sped hym thyther­warde / by meane wherof the worke was for that tyme empeached & let.

In the .xv. yere of the reygne of kynge Stephan / the ryuer of Tha­mys was so strongely ouerfrosen, that horse and carte passed ouer vp­pon the yse.

In the .xvi. yere / Ranulphe erle of Chester dyed, that was surnamed Gercyous, and was the .iiii. erle after the conqueste / and his sonne Hughe was erle after hym, which was a mā of great strength and vertue. And in the same yere, as wytnessyth Guydo and other / dyed Geffrey Plantage­net husband of Molde the empresse. After whose deth, Henry short man­tell that was the son of the sayde Geffrey and Molde / was made duke of Angeous & Normandye. The which in few yeres after maryed Elyanour the doughter of the erle of Poytow / the whych Elyanour was before maryed vnto Lewys kynge of Fraūce, and from hym deuorced for nerenes of blood, when he hadde receyued of her .ii. doughters named Mary and Alys, as wytnessyth the frenche cro­nycle. And so this Henry was erle of Angeous by his fader, duke of Nor­mandy by his mother, & erle of Poy­towse by his wyfe.

It was not longe after, that Eu­stace the sonne of kynge Stephan wyth ayde of the Frenche kyng, warred vppon Henry duke of Norman­dye / the whyche after some wryters was ymagyned by Stephan his fa­ther, to the entent to let or stop hym y ^t he shuld not come into England to clayme his enherytaunce. But duke Henry defended hym so knyghtly, y ^t the sayde Eustace wanne therby lyt­le honour or profyte.

An old cronycle sheweth, that kyng Stephan entended to haue crowned the sayde Eustace his sonne kyng of Englande by his dayes / but the bysshoppes of Englande refused y ^e dede by cōmaundement of the pope.

In the .xxvii. yere / the kynge layd syege vnto the castelles of Newebe­ry, of walyngforde, and of warwyke or warwell / the whyche hadde ben kepte by the empresse frendes from the tyme of her departyng vnto that daye, and hoped of rescous by Hen­ry duke of Normandy. But y ^e kynge then wan the castellys of Newebery and of warwell / and walyngforde defended the holders tyl the cōmyng of Henry the duke. The whyche in the ende of y ^e sayde yere wyth a great armye entred Englande / and fyrste wanne the castell of Malmysburye. And thens he yode to London / and wanne the towre, as myche by Polycy and by fayre ꝓmyse as by strēgth. And suche stuffe of vytayle and ar­moure as he fande therin / he sent to walyngforde. And that done he wēt to the towne of walyngforde / & wan such holdes as were there about.

Then kyng Stepan wyth his power drewe towarde the duke / and fy­nally [Page CLX] by meane of medyatours, as Thybaude archbyshoppe of Caūter­bury and other / both prynces to co­mon of peace, met nere vnto y ^e water of Uryn or Urn. But as fast as some laboured to haue peace, so fast other laboured to haue warre / so that at that communacacyon the peace was not concluded.

After the kynge and the duke were departed / the kynge yode towarde Epyswyche in Suff. And the duke toke the way to Srewesbury / where he wan the castell of the sayde town. From thens the duke wente to Not­hyngham and wan the towne. wherfore the soldyours that helde the ca­stell, seynge that the towne toke ꝑtye wyth the duke / brake out vppon the nyght, and fyred the town and brent a great parte therof.

In this while dyed and was drowned Eustace the sonne of kynge Stephan / and was buried at Feuersham in Kent in the abbay that his father before had buylded.

Thybaude archbyshop of Caun­terbury left not to labour & conclude y ^e peace betwene y ^e kyng & the duke / & endeuored hym selfe therin so dyly­gently, wyth the assystence of other, that in the yere folowynge the peace was cōcluded vppon dyurese condycyons. wherof one was, that y ^e kyng shulde contynue as kynge durynge his lyfe / and immedyatly after y ^e conclusion of this peace, the sayd Henry shuld be proclaymed in all the chefe cytyes and townes of Englande for heyr apparant, & be kynge after the deth of the sayde Stephan / and that the kynge shulde take hym for hys son of adopcyon and ryghtefull heyr vnto the crowne. To the whyche co­uenaūtes iustly to be holden / y ^e kyng was fyrste sworne, and after his lor­des spyrytuall and temporall / and so yode bothe to London, where they were royally receyued. And when y ^e kyng had fested the duke, and gyuen to hym ryche gyftes / he toke leue of the kynge, and so returned into Normandye, as affyrmeth the sayde au­thour the Floure of historyes. Howe be yt the cronycle of England sayth, that the accorde was made vpon dy­uysyon of the lande betwene theym / that is to meane that both shuld rey­gne to gyther, and eyther of them to enioye halfe the lande. But how that dyuysyon was made, or whych parte of the lande eueryche of them shulde hold / no mēcion therof is made. And the former accorde shuld be as abue is sayde, concluded .viii. days folowynge the Epyphanye of our lorde in the towne of Oxenford. And y ^e kyng dyed in the moneth of October fo­lowyng, when he had reygned .xviii. yeres full and odde monethes / and was enterred in theforsayde abbay of Feuyrsham.

Of dyuers authours as Ranulfe and other / yt is recorded that thys Stephan lyued in great vexacyon and trouble all the terme of hys rey­gne. It is sayde also that thys Ste­phan maryed Molde or Mawde the doughter of Mary / the whyche was the doughter of Henry the fyrst, and countesse of Boloyne / by whome he claymed the tytle to be crowned, as by the yonger doughter of Hen­ry the fyrst / and Henry shorte man­tell claymed by the elder. But after most certenty of wryters / this Ste­phan was sonne of Eustace erle of Boloyne, and of Mary syster vnto Molde that was maryed vnto Hen­ry the fyrste / whych Molde and Mary were doughters of Margarete wife of Malcolyn kyng of Scottes / whyche Margaret was syster to Edgare Ethelynge, and doughter of Edwarde the outlawe, that was the sonne of Edmunde Ironsyde. Then [Page] the eldest syster Molde, bare Molde the empresse by Henry the fyrste. And Molde y ^e empresse doughter of Henry the fyrst / hadde by her second husbande Geffrey Plantagenet Henry the seconde. And so by Henry shorte mantell or Henry the seconde, returneth the bloode of the Saxons to the crowne of Englande, and so it dyd by Stephan / but moste conue­nyently by Henry the fyrst, as by the dyssent of his mother. By whych reason yt foloweth, that the blood of willyam conquerour continued but .lxx. yeres / yf it be accompted from y ^e fyrst yere of wyllyam Conquerour, vnto the laste yere of Henry the fyrste.

Thys kynge Stephan at the re­quest of Molde hys wyfe / buylded in the yere of grace .xi. hundred .xl, y ^e ab­bey of Coggeshale in Essex, and set therin whyte mūkes. Also about the same tyme he founded the abbay of Feuersham in Kent / where he nowe corporally resteth. And the thyrde he founded in Furneys in Lancashyre / and all he garnyshed wyth munkys of Cysteaux order / & dyed as before is sayde wythout yssue of his body.

Francia. THE .CCXXXIIII. CHAPITER.

LEwys the .viii. of that name, & son of Lewys y ^e great began his reygn ouer the Frenche men, in y ^e yere of our lord .xi. hun­dred & .xxxvi / & y ^e fyrst yere of Stephan then kyng of Englande. This also is called the yonger Lewys / in whose begyn­nynge Iohannes de tēporibus dyed. Thys Iohn̄ was somtyme a squyer in the house of Charlys the conque­rour / the whyche lyued ouer .iii. hundred yeres, for whyche cause he was named Iohn̄ of tyme, as he y ^t myght remēber thinges done of longe tyme passed. This Lewys at y ^e tyme of his fathers deth, was in the countrey of Guyan, for to receyue the dower of his wyfe Elyanour, as before in the storye and seconde chapyter of kyng Stephan is touched. But when he harde of y ^e deth of his father / he sped hym into Fraūce. where after the necessaryes for the weale of his realme ordeyned / he maryed his wyues sys­ter named Alys, vnto Arnolde erle of Uermendoze. After whyche ma­ryage solempnysed / tydynges were broughte vnto hym, that the crysten people beynge in the holy lande as warryours vppon the Turkes and Sarasyns, were dystressed and ouerthrowen / and dyuerse stronge hol­des from them taken and wonne. wherfore by the exhortacyon of that holy mūke Bernarde, whych at this day is called saynt Bernard / y ^e sayd Lewys, wyth also Conradus the .iii. of that name then emperour of Al­mayne, wyth Alphon then kynge of Spayne, wyth dyuerse other nobles of Fraunce & other prouynces / toke vpon them the crosse, and prouyded for the expedycyon of that iourney, in the .iiii. yere of hys reygne after some wryters. But of the takyng of hys iourney dyuers writers holde diuers oppinyons / so that the doute resteth betwene the yere of our lord .xi. hundred & .xl, and the yere of .xi. hundred and .l.

when all thynges were redy for that iourney / the kynge, the quene, wyth the floure of the chyualry of Fraūce set forthwarde vppon that iourney / and came in processe of tyme vnto Constantyn the noble / where he met wyth Conradus the emperour, and Alphons kynge of Spayne. whom the prynce Emanuell then empe­rour [Page CLXI] of Constantyne the noble receyued ioyusly / and made to theym by his outwarde contenaunce louynge and frendely chere / and promised vnto theym ayde in that iourney bothe of vitayll and also for guydes for the nexte and surest waye. But he con­trary to his promyse dyd dysapoynte theym, and nothynge ayded theym. For he delyueryd vnto theym meale myngeled wyth lyme, wherof grewe myche harme to the crysten hoste af­ter. And also he assygned vnto them suche guydes, as brought them into places and coūtreys of sterylyte and other daunger / so that hastely the Frenche kyng wyth great dyffyculte and losse of his men, came vnto the citye of Danas, and becleped yt with a stronge syege / the whych he assau­ted and enpayred very sore, and was lykely to haue wonne yt, yf he had assauted y ^e place styll where he began. But by counsayll of some false cry­sten men, the whyche as wytnesseth Peter Dysroye and other had taken mede of the Turkes / the kynge by theyr counsayll remoued the ordy­naunce from the weker place vnto y ^e strōger. where after dyuers assautes made / the kyng conceyued well y ^t he was dysceyued. A cause of this treason as sayth y ^e foresayde Peter was this. The erle of Flaūdres, which by dyuerse experymētes saw that the cytye was lyke to be goten / made sup­plycacyon to the kynge and the lor­des, that he myghte haue the rule of the cytye at suche tyme as yt were wonne / the which to hym was graū ted. wherof beynge aduertysed dy­uerse Suryons of y ^e coūtrey borne, dysdayned that a straunger shuld be lorde of theyr enherytaunce / and for that condescēded and agreed to that treason, by mean wherof the crysten prynces loste theyr trauell.

Then the crysten prynces seynge y ^t they were thus deluded / toke theyr aduyce howe they myght contynewe theyr pylgrimage vnto the holy citye of Hierusalem. But in this counsayl sourded and quykened so many opynyons / that eche was contraryous vnto other. By mean wherof the emperour was so dyscontented / that he toke leue of the Frenche kynge and other, and so returned into hys own countrey. But the Frenche kynge taryed there in that costes a yere after / and dyd there but lytle worthye any memory. All be yt of this vyage the frenche boke maketh a great & longe processe, touchynge the wynnyng of the cytye of Anteoche / wyth hys be­ynge and counsayllys kepynge wythin Hierusalem, & other thinges there rehersed. But for I se the mater dys­agreable to other wryters, and also thynke that myche therof is fayned / I therfore passe yt ouer, howe be yt that to some persones suche fablys ben full pleasaunte to here. wherfore all suche I remytte vnto the sayde french cronicle / & somwhat I shall folowe the authour Gyraldꝰ, y ^t which wyth other testyfyen, that Lewys in his returne towarde Fraunce waxed syke for y ^e long forberyng of his wife. wherfore by thaduyce of phisycyons & also of byshops / he was coūsayled to take a wenche because his wyfe was so farre from hym. But y ^e kyng wythstode that counseyll / and sayde that hym hadde bene leuer to be syke and dye of goddes hande / then to lyue in spouse brekynge, A kynges chas [...]y [...]e, & offende hys lawes. And so the kyng put himselfe to the mercy of god and recey­ued helth shortly after. Also it is told of hym that he vsed to faste euery frydaye brede and water / and by his famylyers he was counsayled that he shulde leue that faste for wekynge of hym selfe / & fede a hundred of poore men euery frydaye, the whyche vnto [Page] god shuld be myche more acceptable. To this he answered and sayde, we wold gladly fede so many poore men or mo / but our fastynge woll we not breke. For wythout the profyte that yt doth vnto the soule, yt profyteth also right myche to the body. For the purgacyon and reste of one daye, helpeth myche to put of the superfluyte of the other / and also yt maketh the sharper apetyte.

when Lewys was retourned into Fraunce / for what happe yt is of the frenche cronycle made doutefull, he was from Elyanour hys wyfe deuorced, of the whych he hadde receyued before .ii. doughters as before is touched / the whyche in processe of tyme folowynge, was maried vnto Henry duke of Normandy. whych maryage was a new occasyon of the warre be­twene Englande and Fraunce. For the landes of Poytowe, wyth Gas­coyne and Guyan, Lewys claymed by his former possessyon, & Henry by reason of the maryag of y ^e sayd Elyanour, as heyr to the sayde landes. Of the whyche warre shalbe shewed in the story of y ^e sayde Henry folowyng. After whyche deuorce thus made / kynge Lewys maryed the yongeste doughter of the kynge of Spayne that was named Cūstaunce / and she dyed of her fyrst chylde. Then for so myche as kynge Lewys hadde none heyr male / by coūsayll of his barony he maryed the thyrd wyfe, the whych was the yongeste doughter of Thy­baude erle of Bloys, & was named Alys. This sayde erle dyed / and left after hym .iiii. sonnes and .v. dough­ters. The eldest sonne named Henry was erle of Troys / the seconde na­med Thybaude was erle of Bloys / the thyrd named Stephan was erle of Sancorum or Sauncorer / and y ^e fourth named wyllyam was archbysshoppe of Raynes. The eldeste of the doughters was duches of Bur­goyne / the seconde was countesse of Barre / the thyrde was maryed fyrst to the duke of Puell, and after to a knyght named syr william de Goer, the fourth was countesse of Perche / and the fyfte as before is sayd quene of Fraūce, whych was a woman garnyshed wyth many vertues as the storye declareth.

THE .CCXXXV. CHAPITER.

IN processe of tyme after the solemnisacyon of this maryage / complaynte was brought before the kynge of the erles of Cleremoūt and Puy or Puyll, sonne of the duke be­fore rehersyd, and of the erle of Plo­met / that they shuld spoyle and wast the chyrches and landes to the sayde chyrches belongynge. For the which dedys the kynge commaunded the sayd .iii. erlys to warde / but not with out warre and shedynge of blood.

And after the subduynge of y ^e sayd thre erlys / a knyght or great man of myght called wyllyam y ^e erle of Chalon, wyth a company of tyrauntes assembled for to robbe and spoyle the chyrche of saynte Peter of Cluny in Burgoyne. wherof herynge the prestes and mynysters of the chyrche / to the entent to mytygate & to appeace the cruelty of the sayde tyraūtes, dyd vpon them the ornamentes of y ^e sayd chyrche / and yode agayne them with processyon, wyth a great companye them folowynge of the people of the towne and the countrey there about, in peseable and charytable wyse. But when the sayde tyrauntes ap­proched vnto the sayde cōpany / with out compassyon and pyty, as turkes ranne vppon crysten men, or wyth lesse Pytye / so ranne they vppon the prestes and other, and spoyled them of all the sayde ornamētes / and slew [Page CLXII] of that cōpany to the nomber of .v. hū dred or mo / & after spoyled the sayde chyrche, of suche stuffe as was therin lefte. It was not longe after or kynge Lewys had wyttynge of this cruell dede. wherfore in auengynge the chyrche / he gatheryd a conueny­ent power and spedde hym thyther. But the sayde wyllyam erle of Cha­lon herynge of the kynges cōmynge, fled y ^e coūtrey / so y ^t the kyng myght haue no certayne knowlege where he became. wherfore the kyng entred and seased his landes, and gaue the moyty therof to y ^e duke of Burgoyn as chefe lorde of that soyle / and that other halfe he gaue vnto the erle of Neuers, to whose auncetry in tyme passed the sayd moyty apperteyned. And that done he commaunded in­quyry to be made of his accessaryes / the prebensons or prebendars of the whyche he punyshed by dyuerse ma­ner of tormentes and dethes, to the great contentacyon of the countrey.

when the kynge hadde thus fy­nished this vyage and was returned into Fraunce / soon after was knowlege brought vnto him, that the Burgonyons & men of the towne of Uer­deley, rebelled agayne the hed chyrch or abbay of that towne / and entēdyd to haue done some vylany to the ab­bot and munkes of the same / wher­fore the kynge spedde hym thyther in all haste. But for theyr sauergarde the munkes were compelled to fortyfye the chyrche, and to defende them by force of armys / so that betwene them and the Burgonions many an arbalaster and stone was shot & cast. And for the kynge myght not so hastly furnyshe hym of his soldyours / he therfore sent vnto the erle of Neuers by whose meane as to the kyng was shewed this ryot began / commaun­dynge hym that he shuld se this ryot appeased, and that the chyrch of Uerdeley were restored of suche harmys as to theym was done by the inhabytauntes of the towne. But of thys cō maundement the erle set but lytle / so that the burgeses perseuered in theyr erroure. wherfore the abbot sente a­gayne to the kynge / besechyng hym of his moste gracyouse ayde and so­coure. Then the kynge herynge of the erles dysobedyence, was ther­wyth greatly dyspleasyd / and suspe­cted y ^e erle to be partye in the cause, & sped hym y ^e faster thetherwarde. But when the erle was enfourmed of the kynges cōmynge he somdeale feryd / and mette wyth the kynge at a place called Moret, and there demeaned hym in suche wyse, that the kyng forgaue his offense. Then he promysed that the kynges pleasure shulde be fullfylled in all thynge as he hadde before cōmaunded, wyth more as yt lyked hym to dyuyse. Uppon whych promyse so made / he commaunded that the Burgonyons shulde fyrste refrayne theym of that rebellyon a­gayn the chyrch / and that they shuld newly be sworne to be obedient vnto the abbot and vnto hys successours as theyr p̄decessours had ben / & ouer that for the hurtes & harmys y ^t they had done to the place at that season, they shulde paye to the sayde abbot and couēt .lx. thousand sous. A sous is in value after sterlyng money i. d. ob / so that .lx. thousand sous amounteth in sterlyng money .iii. hundred & lxxv. pounde. After whych ende thus made / the kynge retourned into Fraunce.

It was not longe after, that y ^e kyng receyued of quene Alys hys wyfe a sonne, and named yt Phylyppe. But for y ^e kyng Lewys had made many pylgrymages, and vsed many ways of charyte, in gyuynge of almes and otherwyse; for to haue a sonne to be his heyre / therfore he surnamed this [Page] chylde A dieu done, a chyld gyuen of god. Then thys Lewys for the intollerable dedes of the Iewes whiche in these dayes had great inhaby­tynge wyth in the lande of Fraūce, & vsed vsery & sleynge of Crysten chyl­dren / he ponyshed many by deth, and many he banyshed his lande / but yet many remayned.

Of this Lewys dedes is lytle more cronacled / excepte when his son Philyppe was of the age of .xiii. yeres, his fader caused hym to be crowned, and resygned to hym all the rule of the lande / and dyed the yere folow­ynge at Parys in the moneth of Oc­tober, in the yere of grace .xi. hūdred and .lxxix. By whyche reason he rey­gned, to reken from his faders deth to his owne, vppon .xliii. yeres / and was rychely enterred by y ^e meane of his last wife at the monastery of Barbell / the whyche he founded in hys yonge days. After whose deth y ^e sayd quene Alys adorned his sepulture in the moste rychest maner, wyth gold, syluer, and precyous gemmys / vp­pon whose tombe was grauen these two versis folowyng, as a counsayll left vnto his sonne Phylyppe.

whyche versys are to be vnderstan­den as after foloweth.

Anglia. THE .CCXXXVI. CHAPITER.

HEnry the second of that named, & sonne of Geffrey Plātagenet erle of Angeou, and of Molde y ^e em­presse doughter of Henry y ^e first, began hys reygn ouer the realme of England, in the moneth of October, the yere of our lorde god .xi. hundred and .lv / and. y ^e xix. yere of Lewys the viii. then kynge of Fraunce. Thys Henry was somdeale redde of face, & brode of breste, shorte of body, & therwyth fatte / the whych to aswage he toke the lesse of metes and drynkes, and exercysed myche huntynge. He was resonable of speche and well lettered & orped, and also noble in kny­ghthode, wyse in counsayll, and dred to myche distenyes. He was also free and lyberall to straūgers, and harde and holdynge from hys famylyers & seruauntes. And whome he loued enterely or hated / harde it was to turne hym to the contrary. He was slowe of answere, vnstedfaste of promyse, gylefull of dede, open spouse breker, hamour of holy chyrch, and alwayes vnkynde to god. He also loued reste and peace, to the ende he myghte the more folowe hys delectacyon & plea­sure / wyth mo vyces rehersed by Gyralde, the whyche for length I passe ouer. This Henry yet, as wytnessyth Ranulfe, was not all bareyn of ver­tues. For he was of so gret courage­ousnes, that he wolde often say that all the world suffysyth not to a cora­gyous harte. And he encreasyd hys herytage so myghtyly, that he wanne Irlande by strength / and toke wyl­lyam kynge of Scottes, and ioyned that kyngdome to his owne. From [Page CLXIII] the suthe Occean to the north ylan­des of Orkeys / he closed all the landes as yt were vnder one pryncy­pate / and spradde so largely hys empyre, that men rede not of none of hys progenytours that hadde so many prouynces and countreys vn­der theyr domynyon and rule. For besyde the realme of Englande / he hadde in hys rule Normandy, Gas­coyn, and Guyan, Angeou and Chy­non. And he made subiecte to hym Aluerne and other landes. And by hys wyfe, he obteyned as her ryghte the mountes and hyllys of Spayne called montes Pyrany. Of the why­che wyfe Elynoure by name, de­uorced, as before ys sayde, from the viii. Lewys kynge of Fraunce / he receyued .vi. sonnes and thre doughters. Of the sonnes fyue were na­med wyllyam, Henry, Rycharde, Godfrey, and Iohn̄. The eldeste of the maydens hight Molde or Mau­de, and was maryed to the duke of Saxon / the seconde Elyanoure to the kynge of Spayne / and the thyrd named Iane, to wyllyam kynge of Scycyle.

Thys Henry was prosperouse in hys begynnynge, and vnfortunate in hys ende, and specyally in the last fyue yeres of hys reygne. For in the fyrst of those fyue yeres, his strength beganne to mynyshe / the seconde ye­re he loste a vyage in Irlande / the thyrde he loste Aluerne agayne the kynge of Fraunce / the fourth yere he loste Butyrycan / and the fyfte ye­re he loste the cytye of Cenomenea and Turon, wyth many holdes to theym belongynge.

Thys Henry the seconde ascertayned of the deth of Stephan / spedde hym into Englande / and was crowned the sondaye before Crystemasse daye of Theobalde archbyshoppe of Caunterbury in westmynster chyrch.

The fyrste yere of hys reygne he subdued Irlande. And soone after Thomas Beketh, whyche after was byshoppe of Caunterbury, was ma­de chaunceller of Englonde. This kynge caste downe dyuers castellys, that before in tyme of kynge Ste­phan were buylded / other for dys­pleasure of the owners, or ellys for the fere they shulde be strengthed a­gayne hym. And also he banyshed many of the lordes and gentylmen, that kynge Stephan hadde in hys fauoure.

Aboute the thyrde yere of hys rey­gne in the moneth of October, were sene in the fyrmament two sunnys / and in the mone was sene a redde crosse. But of thys wonder sheweth the authoure of Cronica cronicarū / and sayth that aboute thys tyme in Italy in the moneth of Nouember, appered thre sunnys by the space of thre owres in the weste / and the yere folowynge appered thre monys, whereof the myddle mone hadde a redde crosse ouerthwarte the face. whyche there ys noted for a prodygy or a token of the scysme, that after fell amonges the cardinallys for eleccyon of the pope Alexāder the thyrd / whyche scysme by meane of the fyrste Frederyke then emperoure, endu­red almoste .xx. yeres.

Also aboute this tyme Adryan the fourthe of that name was pope, an Englysheman borne in the towne of saynte Albon of whome is more de­clared in the begynnynge of the .xxii. chapyter of the .vii. boke of Poly­cronycon.

Also in thys yere the kynge wente wyth a stronge armye into walys / and after he hadde sette that coun­trey in an order and quyet, he buyl­dyd a stronge castell at Rutlande, [Page] and founded the abbaye of Basyngewerke.

In the .vi yere of hys reygne / thys Henry maryed hys seconde son Hen­ry, vnto the kynges doughter of Fraūce, that is to meane Lewys the viii / whyche the sayde Lewys recey­ued of hys seconde wyfe named Constaunce, the doughter of the kyng of Spayne, as before ye haue harde in the seconde chapyter of y ^e story of the sayd Lewys. This mayden was na­med Margaret. By reason of whych maryage, was appeased the warre that was begonne betwene Fraunce and Englande for the landes of Poy [...]owe and other, the whyche kynge Henry helde by reason of hys wyfe. In y ^e whych warre mych harme was done / and more wolde haue ensued, yf yt hadde not by thys meane haue ben agreed.

In the .vii. yere of his reygn, Theobalde archbyshoppe of Caunterbu­ry dyed / and Thomas Beket chaunceller of Englande was archebys­shoppe▪ after hym, of whome more shall folowe.

In the same yere kyng Henry with a stronge hoste yode to Scotlande / and made so cruell warre vppon willyam kynge of that lande, that laste­ly he was taken / and dyd to the sayd Henry recompensacyon, in yeldynge vnto hym the cytye of Carlell, the castell of Bamburghe, the newe ca­stell vpon Tyne, wyth dyuers other holdes / and a great parte of Nor­thumberlande, the whyche he hadde wonne from the borderers. And af­ter fewtye and homage done by the sayde wyllyam vnto the kynge, and a certayne summe of money by hym promysed wythin .ix. monethes fo­lowynge / the kynge suffred hym to go at large. But an other authour sayth, that the kynge of Scottys was not taken / but strongely besye­ged in a towne or castell, so that fy­nally he was forced to agree to the foresayde couenauntes.

In the .viii. yere, the cytye of Caū terburye was fyred by neglygence, & a great part therof brente. And in that season, the archbyshoppe Thomas beganne to re­plye agayne y ^e kynges mynde, for thynges that the kynge dyd exercyse agayn the liberties of the chyrche.

THE .CCXXXVII. CHAPITER.

IN the .ix. yere of hys reygne / the kynge for dyuerse causes cōcernyng y ^e nedes of his realme, called a parliament at hys towne of Northampton. Durynge whyche parlyament / dyssencyon fell betwen the kynge and Thomas archbyshop of Caunterburye, for dyuerse actes and ordinaunces that the kyng there procured, to passe agayne the lyber­tyes of holy chyrch / the whych Thomas gaynstode and denyed. wher­fore the kynge toke a great dysplea­sure with Thomas / in so myche that shortely after he was fayne to flee the lande / and in processe of tyme spedde hym to Rome, where he com­playned hym to Alexaunder the .iii. of that name then pope / and there contynued, and in Fraunce, and in other places, in poore estate by terme of .vi. yeres and more. when kynge Henry hadde certayne vnderstan­dynge, that Thomas was thus de­parted out of hys lande / he seased [Page CLXIIII] his maners and temporall landes into hys hande / so that hys mouable goodes were spoyled and rauenyd amonge the kynges offycers.

In the .xiiii. yere of his reygne / the kynge crowned Henry hys eldest sonne then lyuynge kynge of En­glande at westmynster. whyche was done to the derogacyon or harme of the archbyshoppe Thomas, as yt is wytnessyd in hys legende / and for that doynge Roger archbyshoppe of yorke whyche crowned hym was accursed. But an other authour sayth that the kynge crowned Henry hys sonne, to the ende he myght haue ful power and authoryte to rule thys lande and the people of the same, whyle hys father was occupyed in Normandye and other countreys, where hys landes laye.

In myche of thys season that thys blessyd man Thomas was thus banyshed the lande / the kynge sente ouer byshoppes and proctours, to complayne vppon hym to the pope / for well nere all the bishoppes of Englande were agayne hym. And yf a­ny toke hys parte, they durste not speke for the displeasure of theyr temporall lorde / so that this blessed man defended the quarell of the chyrche alone.

In the .xvi. yere of y ^e reygne of kyng Henry / Lewys the kynge of Fraūce, agreed kynge Henry and the archbysshoppe, the kynge then beynge in Normandye. Uppon whyche agre­ment thys blessyd man came to hys owne chyrche of Caunterbury / and there so restynge hym, sente for such persones as had spoyled and taken perforce the goodes of the chyrche / aduertysynge theym by fayre mea­nes to restore the sayde goodes, and to be reconcyled to the chyrche as trewe crysten men shulde. But when he sawe that he myght not reconcyle theym by fayre meanes / he then vsed compulsaryes, and denounced them accursed but if they restored the goo­des of the chyrche by a certayne day. wherewyth the partyes beynge agreued / sayled ouer to the kynge into Normandye / and shewyd vnto hym greuous complayntes, and more greuouse then the cause or mater requy­red. For the whych, the kynge which hadde not yet quenched the bronde of malyce in hys harte the whyche he bare agayne thys holy man, gaue lyght credence vnto those complayntes, and was sore & feruētly amoued agayne the holy man Thomas / in so myche that vppon a daye herynge the complayntes of this blessyd mannes aduersaryes, he sayd in oppē audyence of hys knyghtes, that yf he had any good knyghtes about hym, he had ben aduēged of that traytour longe or that tyme. At the tyme of whyche wordes vtterynge / was present syr wyllyam Bryton, syr Hugh Moruyle, syr wyllyam Tracy, and syr Regnolde fytz Urle. whych foure knyghtes, thynkyng that they shuld to theyr mayster do a synguler plea­sure yf they slewe thys blessyd man / hastely takynge aduyse eche of them of other, of one wyll and mynde toke shyppyng and sayled to Douer / and in all haste spedde theym vnto Caunterburye / where the .v. daye of Cristmasse they executed theyr tyrannye, and martyred that blessyd archebys­shoppe at that aulter of sayne Benet wythin hys owne chyrche, in the ye­re of our lordes incarnacyon a thou­sande, a hundred, and .lxx, as yt ys wytnessyd by these versys folowyng

The whych is to vnderstande in our [Page] vulgare / as thus.

After this cruell dede thus by the foure knyghtes done, wherwyth the kynge after some wryters was not contented / the kynges fortune be­ganne to decreace and fall / so that he hadde after thys many aduersy­teys, where before he knewe not of lyke trouble.

In the .xvii. yere of his reygne, the kynge made a iourney into Irland / where wyth great trauayle he sub­dued the Iryshe. And after wyth helpe of the prymate and byshoppe of Arnache, he refourmed the maner of the dwellers and people of that countrey, and that in thre thynges specyally. Fyrste in rulynge and or­derynge of the chyrche by the cura­tes, & how they shuld order theyr dy / uyne seruyce, and mynyster the sa­cramente of matrymonye as yt was in Englande and other crysten regyons. The seconde was, how that the laye people shuld behaue theym to theyr curates, and what wyse they shulde paye and offer to god theyr tythes. The thyrde was for makyng of theyr testamentes. Thys was or­deyned that euery man shulde make hys laste wyll in p̄sence of his neyghbours / or at leste cause yt to be rede in theyr presence. And fyrste he shuld reken what he ought / and to sette so myche of hys goodes. And yf he had a wyfe and chyldren, then the resy­due of hys goodes hys dettys beyng payde to be deuyded in thre partes / one to the wyfe, the seconde for the chyldren, and the thyrde to be spente for the weale of the soule. And yf he hadde no chyldren / then the halfe to hys soule, and that other halfe to his wyfe. And yf he hadde no wyfe nor chyldren / then to dyspose hys goo­des at hys pleasure.

In the returne of the kynge oute of Irlande / was a wonder thynge shewed vnto hym vppon whyteson­daye, whyche in the calender is cal­led dominica in Albys. whē the kyng shuld take his horse / sodeynly appe­red vnto hym a man of pale & wanne colour barefote, and in a whyte kyr­tell / the whyche bodely spake vnto the kynge in the langage of duche / and sayde syr kynge, Criste greetyth the wele, and hys mylde moder ma­ry, with also Iohn̄ Baptyst and Peter / and commaunde the streyghtly that no Markettes, nor seruyle wor­kes be holden vppon the sondaye in the landes of thy lordeshyppe, oute take that longeth to dressynge of mete. And yf thou do after thys byddynge / I assure the that all thynge that thou begynnest to good entent or of good purpose, thou shalt bryng yt to good ende. The kynge ly­ked nothynge thys speche / and sayd to the knyghte that helde hys bry­dell, Aske of thys chorle whether he haue dremed all thys that he telleth. wherunto thys man answered, why­ther I haue mette thys tale in my dreme or not / take thou hede well of my saynge. For and thou do not as I haue aduertysed the, & amende thy lyfe / thou shalte shortely here [Page CLXV] suche thynges that thou shalte be heuy fore to thy lyues ende. The kyng toke all in game / and the man va­nyshed sodeynly, that the kyng & his knyghtes wonderyd of hys depar­tynge. wherof when the kynge was warned, both of hys fyrste sodeynly apperynge, and of hys departynge / the kynge sette yt nere hys mynde, and entendyd to do some thynges after that mannys counsayll. But how yt was yt had no forwarde.

After that the blessed man Tho­mas was martyred / the munkes by assent of the kynge, chase Rycharde pryour of Douer / the whyche was a man of euyll lyuynge, and wasted the goodes of y ^e chyrch inordynatly.

THE .CCXXXVIII. CHAPITER.

ABoute the .xx. ye­re of the kynges reygne / he pur­chased a dyspensacyon for the vya­ge that before he hadde solempnely auowed before .ii. cardynallys, to go into the holy lan­de, and to ieoperde hys proper per­sone agaynst Crystes enymyes. The whyche dyspensacyon was graun­tyd vppon one condycyon, that he shulde buylde thre abbays in En­glande. In fulfyllynge wherof the kynge put oute of the howse of waltham seculer chanons / and set there in theyr stede chanons reguler. And for the seconde he auoyded the mun­kes oute of the house of Aumbrysbury / and sette there menchons that he hadde brought from beyonde the see. And for the thyrde he renewed cour­sely the charter house of wytham besyde Salysburye. By whyche thre dedes he thought hym selfe excused of hys former promyse.

Then beganne his sonnes to make warre vppon hym, the whyche were ayded by the Scottyshe kynge and the two erles of Chester and of Lyncolne. The cause of whyche warre was after the declaracyon of some wryters, for so myche as the kynge hadde emprysoned Elyanoure hys wyfe, and kepte that wenche Rosa­mounde agayne all good order. But other say yt was for certayne landes in Normandye / whyche by ayde of the Frenche kynge, Rycharde the .iii. sonne of byrthe and seconde then lyuynge, wolde haue taken from hys father. Of thys warre speketh no­thynge the frenche cronycle.

Then as testyfyeth Ranulfe / this innaturall warre endured by the ter­me of two yeres, to the great dysturbaunce of the kynge and of hys real­me / tyll the kynge wyth great deuocyon vysyted the graue of the holy martyr saynte Thomas. After why­che pylgrymage was by hym fynysshed / in shorte processe after wyllyam kynge of Scottes, and the two forenamed erlys of Chester and Lyncolne, were taken at the castell of Anwyke. But yet he lefte not the company of the forenamed Rosamunde / to the whych wenche he hadde made an house of wonder workyng, so that no creature man or woman myghte wynne to her but yf he were instructe by the kynge or suche as were ryght secrete with hym touchynge that mater. Thys house after some wry­ters was named Labyrinthus or Dedalus worke or house, whyche ys to meane after moste exposytours, an howse wroughte lyke vnto a knot in a garden called a mase. But the common fame telleth, that lastely the quene wan to her by a clew of threde [Page] or sylke / and delte wyth her in suche maner, that she lyued not longe af­ter. Of the maner of her deth spe­kyth nothynge myne authoure / but when she was dede she was buryed at the howse or monasterye of God­destow besyde Oxenforde, with these versys vppon her toumbe.

The whythe versys, to our vnderstandynge may thus as folowyth be englyshed and expowned.

Longe tyme after the deth of the sayde Rosamounde, in the sayde ab­baye was shewed a cofer of the sayd wenches of the length of two fote / in whych apperyd fyghtynge geaūtes, stertlynge of bestes, swymmynge of fyshes, and flyenge of fowlys.

In the forsayde .xx. yere after the opynyon of Guydo / the kynge had the seconde monicyon of mendynge of hys lyfe, by an Iryshe man y ^t told vnto hym many secret tokens, why­che the kynge supposyd no man had knowen but hym selfe. But yet the kynge toke lytell hede therunto.

In the .xxii. yere of his reygne, after the forsayde takynge of y ^e Scottyshe kynge and .ii. erlys / the .xi. day before Septēber, wyllyam kynge of Scot­tys by assent of the lordes spyrytuall and temporall, dyd homage to kyng Henry at hys cytye of yorke. where the sayde wyllyam graunted by hys letters patentys, that he and his suc­cessours kynges of Scotland, shuld make theyr homage and fydelyte vnto the kynges of Englande as often as they shalbe necessaryly requyred. And in sygne and token of that sub­ieccyon / the kyng of Scottes offered hys hatte & his sadell vppon the aulter of saint Peter in y ^e chyrch of york. whyche for a remembraunce of that dede / the sayd hat & sadell were there kepte many yeres after. And ouer y ^t the lordes of Scotland swore, that if theyr kynge at any tyme wold wyth­drawe hym from allegeaunce / they wold all aryse agayn hym, and be to hym as enymyes, tyll he were retur­ned to his fayth & kepyng of his promyse. And for the more strēgth of the sayd cōposycyon, the kynge of Scottis came after to y ^e kyng Henries parlyament holden at Northāpton, and a nother season into Normandye.

Ranulfe munke of Chester sayth, that Lewys the .viii. of that name kynge of Fraunce / delyueryd vnto kynge Henry a doughter of hys to haue in guydynge, and to haue ben maryed vnto Rycharde hys son / the whyche after the deth of Rosamoūde he defloured of her vyrgynyte. After whyche dede, as affermyth the sayde authoure, the kynge was in wyll to haue wedded that damoysell. For expedicyon wherof he made great meanes ta Hugūcia a cardynall then be­ynge in his land, that he wold make a dyuorce betwene hym and Elya­noure the quene. And thys he dyd, to the ende to haue the more fauoure of the Frenchemen, that by theyr ayde he myghte the better dysheryte hys sonnes. But he fayled of his purpose and also yt turned to hys owne har­me. For by this means, he caused the [Page CLXVI] sayde Rycharde hys sonne to shewe all hys demeanour vnto the Frenche kynge / so that by hys informacyon vnkyndnesse kyndled betwene them two / & therof ensued mortall warre, as sayth the englyshe cronycle, and also Polycronycon. But of thys warre speketh nothynge the frenche cronycle / nor of none other durynge the lyfe of the sayd Lewys after this daye, which dyed in the .xxiiii. yere of thys Henry. But the warre that was betwen the two kynges of England and of Fraunce / was betwene thys Henry and Phylyppe sonne of thys Lewys, as after shalbe shewed.

About the .xxiiii. yere of thys kyng as wytnessen dyuerse wryters / fell wonderfull wederynge and tempest of thunder in myddewynter tyme in Hampshyre and other places / by violence wherof a preste amonges other was slayn. And in the somer folow­ynge about Mary Magdalene tyde, fell hayle of suche bygnesse, y ^t yt slew both men and bestes. And about this tyme were the bonys of kynge Ar­ture and his wyfe Gueynour founde in the vale of Aualon / whose here of the hed of the sayde Gweynour was then hole and of freshe coloure / but so soone as yt was touched, yt fell in powder. whyche bonys were trans­lated and buryed wythin the chyrche of Glastenburye / and were founden by a synger of gestis vnder an holow oke .xv. fote wythin the grounde. whyche fyndynge and translatynge is an obiecte to y ^e fantastycall sayeng of the walshemen, that afferme hys commynge agayne to reygne as he before dyd.

Then hadde kynge Henry the se­conde monycyon by a knyghte cal­led syr wyllyam Chesterby or Lyn­desey / the whyche warned hym spe­cyally for the reformacyon of .vii. ar­tycles. The fyrste was, that he shuld sette better dylygence to the defence of holy chyrche / and maynteynynge of the same. The seconde, that he shulde se hys lawes executed, wyth better iustice then at those days was vsed. The thyrd was, that he shuld surmyse no mater agayn ryche men / and by that mean plucke from them theyr landes & goodes. The fourth that he shulde restore all suche lan­des and goodes gotten by suche vn­lawfull meanes or by any other. The fyfte, that he shuld for no medetarye ryghtfull sentence / but suffer the ryght to haue hys processe. The vi, that he shulde se to the payment of hys subiectes for suche stuffe as was dayly taken to his vse / & also to the payment of hys seruauntes and souldyours wages, whych dayly fell to robbynge for defaute. The .vii. and the laste was, that he shulde in all haste voyde the Iewys of hys lande, whyche dayly wrought great sorowe to his commons / and to leue theym somwhat to spende in theyr iourney. But as he toke the other monycyons, so he toke thys / and cōtynued hys lyfe as he before hadde done.

THE .CCXXXIX. CHAPITER.

IN the .xxviii. yere of his reygn after moste writers, dy­ed Henry his el­deste sonne then lyuynge / y ^e whych as before is sayde was crowned to the derogacyon of the martyr saynte Thomas. And in thys yere / whyche shulde be the .iiii. yere of Phylyppe the seconde, or of Phylyppe surnamed Gyuen of god / the warre beganne betwene kynge Henry and hym. wherof was occa­syon [Page] as testyfyeth the sayd Frenche cronycle, the denyenge of the defer­rynge of homage, that shuld be done to the sayde Phylyppe of Rycharde then eldest sonne of kyng Henry / for the lādes of Poytow. An other cause also was / that where certayne coue­nauntes were stablyshed and enrol­led betwene kynge Henry and Lew­ys father of thys Phylyp, at the ma­ryage of Henry his sonne and Mar­garete syster of Phylyppe, for cer­tayne holdes and castellys wherof y ^e castell of Gysours was one / whych were delyueryd in dower wyth the sayde Margarete, vppon condycy­on that yf the sayde Henry hadde ys­sue by y ^e sayde Margarete, then the sayde castellys to remayne to the sayde heyres / and yf the sayde yonge Henry dyed without yssue of y ^e sayde Margarete, that then the sayde ca­stellys and holdes to be reuerted vn­to the crowne of Fraunce: and for that kynge Henry denyed or defer­red these two poyntes, and wold not answere when he was called / the Frenche kynge therfore entred the land of Barry wyth great strength; and wasted the countrey of Guyan wythout mercy. wherof kynge Henry beynge warned / in all haste assembled hys people then beynge in Normandye, and d [...]ew hym towarde the Frenche kynge / whyche then hadde layde syege vnto the castell called in frenche Raoull, or the castell of Roaull.

when both hostes were nere and lykely to haue ioyned / medyatours were sente vppon bothe partyes to treate a peace. By meane wherof in processe a trewce was taken for a certayne terme / so that eyther hoste de­parted wythoute strykynge of stroke at that season.

About thys tyme dyed Rycharde archebyshoppe of Caunterbury. Of hym yt is redde that a voyce or vysy­on was shewed to hym, saynge to hym in the mouthe of Cryste: For thou haste wasted the goodes of my chyrch, I shal rote the out of y ^e erthe. with which wordes he was so frayd, that he dyed shortly after. Then was Baldewyn byshoppe of worceter admytted to that see, though the mun­kys of Caunterburye wythsayde yt wyth all theyr power.

In the .xxx. yere of the kynge / Heraclius patryarke of Hierusalem came in to England, to haue ayde agayne the Sarazyns that had wonne great parte of the landes that Cristen men had in the holy lande / and for to de­fende the holy cytye, whyche by Saladyne prynce of Surey was wonne shortely after. For by the reporte of Peter Dysroy, whyche made a boke in frenche of the wynnynge and lo­synge of the sayde cytye / yt appereth that yt was wōne by Godfrey de Bulyon, in the yere of Crystes incarna­cyon a thousande .lxxx. and .xix / and so cōtynued vnder the rule of .ix. cry­sten kynges, tyll the laste kynge named Guyde Lesyngham or Lesyn­guam loste yt wyth the holy crosse, in the yere of our lorde .xi. hundred lxxx. and .ix. whych maketh the yere of the reygn of thys kyng Henry the xxxiiii. Then yt foloweth in the story / this Heraclius made besy request vnto the kynge for ayde, and profe­red to hym the keys of the cytye and of our lordes graue / and letters of Luciꝰ y ^e thyrd of y ^t name then pope, chargyng him that he shuld take vppon hym y ^e iourney, & to haue mynde of the othe y ^t he before time had ma­de. The kyng deferred this answere and Baldwyne the archbyshop preached & exhorted men to take y ^e crosse / by whose meanes many there were y ^e [Page CLXVII] auowed that iourney. Lastely the kynge gaue answere, and sayde that he myghte not leue hys lande wyth­oute kepynge / nor yet leue yt to the praye and robbory of Frenchemen. But he wolde gyue largely of hys owne, to suche as wolde take vp­pon theym that vyage. wyth thys answere the patryarke was dyscon­tent / and sayde we seke a man and not money. welnere euery crysten regyon sendyth vnto vs money / but no lande sendyth to vs a prynce. Therfore we aske a prynce that ne­deth money / and not money that nedeth a prynce. But the kynge layde for hym suche excuses, that the pa­tryarke departed from hym dyscon­tentyd and comfortelesse. wherof the kynge beynge aduertysed / enten­dynge somwhat to recomforte hym wyth pleasaunte wordes, folowed hym vnto the see syde. But the more the kynge thought to satysfye hym wyth hys fayre speche, the more the patryarke was dyscontented / in so myche that at the laste he sayde vn­to hym. Hytherto thou haste reygned gloryously. But here after thou shalt be forsaken of him y ^t thou at thys ty­me forsakeste. Thynke on hym what he hath gyuen to the / and what thou haste yelden to hym agayne. Howe fyrste thou were false vnto the kyng of Fraunce / and after slewe that ho­ly man Thomas of Caunterburye / and lastely thou forsakeste the pro­teccyon of Crystes fayth. The kyng was amoued wyth these wordes, & sayde vnto the patriarke. Though all the men of my lande were one bodye, and spake wyth one mouth / they durste not speke to me such wordys. No wonder sayde the patryar­ke, for they loue thyne and not the. That ys to meane, they loue thy goodes temporall, and fere the for losse of promocyon / but they loue not thy soule. And when he hadde so sayde / he offeryd hys hedde to the kynge sayenge, Do by me, ryghte as thou dyddest by that blessyd man Thomas of Caunterburye. For I hadde leuer to be slayne of the, then of y ^e Sarasyns. For thou arte worse then any Sarasyn / and thy people folowyth praye and not a man. But the kynge kepte hys pacyence, and sayde I maye not wende oute of my lande / for myne owne sonnes wyll arryse agayne me when I were ab­sent. A pacyēt man No wonder sayde the patry­arke. For of the deuyll they cōme, and to the deuyll they shall / and so departyd from the kynge in great ire. After the patryarke was thus departyd / the kynge sente John̄ his seconde sonne into Irlande. In the whyche vyage he spente the kynge great goodys, and dyd lytle profyte or none.

In the .xxxi. yere of kynge Henry / the Iewes crucyfyed a chylde in the towne of Burye in Suff. named Robert / for whome god shewyd after many myracles.

And the .xxxii. yere, the kynge ma­de a vyage into Irlande to redresse thynges there oute of order. But fortune was to hym so contrarye that he loste hys trauayle, lyke as the ye­re before hys sonne Iohn̄ had done.

In the .xxxiii. yere of thys kynge Henry / at Dunstable in the ayre was sene a crucyfyxe, and Cryste nayled theron / whyche apperyd vysybly to many a mannys syghte. And in thys yere the kynge loste the countrey of Aluerne / when he hadde spente great goodes aboute the de­fence of the same. Howe be yt of this warre speketh nothynge the frenche cronycle.

THE .CCXI. CHAPITER.

IN the .xxxiiii. yere of the kynge / Ry­charde the erle of Poytowe arrered warre agayn king Henry hys father, & toke party with the Frenche kynge. By meane of the whyche warre / all suche summys of money as were before gatheryd by dymys and otherwyse, for the hel­pynge of the croysye to be made into the holy lande, by the sayde Ry­charde and by many other nobles of the lande, were spente in the same in­naturall warre / wherfore the kynge sayled into Normandy with a strōge armye. But or the kynge were there landed / the sayde Rycharde by helpe of the Frenchemen hadde wonne the cytyes of Towres, of Meaus, and also the castellys of Raoull and Gy­sours wyth other. At the laste the Frenche kyng Phylyppe the second, wyth the sayde Rycharde came vnto the cytye of Cenomanna / entendyng to laye syege vnto the same. wherof kynge Henry beynge warned / sette the suburbes on fyre, bycause hys enmyes shuld in thē haue no socour. But the flame of the fyre was by the wynde dryuen into the cytye so sharpely, that the kyng was compelled to forsake yt. wherwyth y ^e kynge was so amoued / that in hys depar­tynge from the cytye he sayde these wordes. For thou haste taken from me thys daye the cytye that I moste loued in the worlde, I shall acquyte the / for after thys tyme I shall by­nome the that thynge, y ^t shuld most haue pleased the in me, whych ys myne harte.

After thys he loste more dayly / so that hys enymyes preuayled stron­gely agayne hym.

It is rede of hym / that he shulde be at so great an after deale in thys warre / that hastely he shuld put hym in the kynge of Fraunces mercy, his honoure and hys crowne reserued. But this is doutefull of credēce. For sure I am, yf the Frenche kyng had suche auauntage of hym / yt shulde not haue fallen throughe the boke, but haue ben regystred in the moste auauntynge maner / where as in the frenche cronycle is touched no word of lyke mater. But trowth yt ys that fortune was to him contrary, in such wyse that wyth or for anger and im­pacyence, he fell into a feuer. wherof he lastely dyed in the castell of Cono­meus or of Chynon in Normandye, in the moneth of Iuly, when he had reygned .xxxiiii. yeres and .viii. mo­nethes wyth oddes dayes / and was buryed at Fount Ebrade, wyth thys epytaphy vppon his tombe.

The whyche versys are thus myche to meane in sentence.

Gerardus Cambrens̄, whyche in hys boke of dystynccyons sette oute the lyfe of thys Henry / sayth drede­full yt is to allege agayne hym that maye putte a man oute of lande, and to descrybe hym wyth many wor­des, that may exyle a man wyth one worde. wherfore yt were a notable dede to tell the sothe of a prynces de­dys, and offende the prynce in no meane. But yet when the prynce ys passed and gone / then men wyll tal­ke without fere, that before tyme they spared for fere.

Then to folow the sooth, this kyng Henry noryshed stryfe amonge hys chyldern wyth all dylygēce / hopyng therby to lyue hym selfe in the more reste. when men wolde aske of hym when he wolde leue his great dedes / he vsed to answere that the worlde shulde fayle, or a courageouse harte shulde sease of great dedes. He was pereles in chyualry, in warre, and in lecherye. He wedded Elyanoure wyfe of Lewys kynge of Fraunce / contrary to the commaundement of hys father. For he hadde shewed to hym that he hadde lyen by her, when he was the sayde kynges stewarde.

He reygned .xxvi. yeres somdeale to hys wordely blysse, and foure ye­res somwhat to hys payne / but the laste fyue yeres to hys great trowe­ble and sorow. Farthermore the sayd Gerarde descryueth the progenye of thys Henry / whyche I ouer passe be­cause yt is so common.

Rycharde hys sonne wolde often tell that wonder / and vsed to saye, no meruayle though they greued the peple that were comon of such kynd. For of y ^e deuyll they came, and to the dyuyll they shall.

It ys also redde of thys Henry, that in a chaumber at wyndesore he caused to be paynted an egle wyth foure byrdes / wherof thre of theym all rased the bodye of the olde egle, and the fourth was cratchynge at the olde eglys eyen. when the ques­tyon was asked of hym what thyng that pycture shuld sygnyfye / yt was answered by hym: thys olde egle (sayde he) is my selfe / and these .iiii. eglys betoken my foure sonnes, the whyche sease not to pursue my deth. And specyally my yongeste sonne Iohn̄, whyche nowe I loue moste / shall most specyally awayte and imagen my deth.

Francia. THE .CCXLI. CHAPITER.

PHylyp the seconde of that name, sur­named Dyeu do­ne or gyuē of god, and sonne vnto y ^e viii. Lewys / be­ganne to reygne ouer the realme of [Page] Fraunce, in the yere of our lorde .xi. hundred and .lxxix / and the .xxiii. yere of Henry the seconde than kynge of Englonde. whyche sayde Phylyppe reygned somwhat of tyme by the lyfe of hys father / which tyme is accompted vnto the reygne of hys father.

Thys in the fyrst yere of hys rey­gne, for the great enormytyes that the Iewes vsed wythin the realme of Fraunce / as crucyfyenge of chyl­dren, and exercysynge of theyr dete­stable vsery: he after due profe made put the malefactours to dethe / and the other in auoydynge more daun­ger / he exyled and put clere out of hys realme.

This Phylyp also as before in the story of Henry the seconde is tow­ched, excyted the sonnes of the sayde Henry to make warre vppon theyr father / by whyche meane thys Phylyppe gate many holdes and townes from the sayde Henry wythin hys duchy of Guyon. But after the deth of Henry / thys Phylyppe gaue ouer all the sayde holdes and townes, vn­to Rycharde the eldeste sonne of the sayde Henry / and receyued of hym homage for the same. And as wyt­nessyth the French cronycle / the sayd Rychard in token of obedyence, was present at the coronacion of the sayd Phylyppe. But ye shall vnderstande that than he was not kynge of En­glande .x. yeres after. But yf yt so were that he were present at the sayd coronacyon / yet was he duke of Guyon onely.

Aboute the thyrde yere of hys rey­gne / Eraclius patryarke of Hierusalem came into Fraunce, and requy­red ayde of thys kynge Phylyppe to wythstande the furye and persecu­cyon, whyche Saladyne prynce of Turkes hadde excuted and dayly contynued in the countrey of Pale­stina agayne the Cristen to the great destruccyon of theym and vndoyng of the countrey, and great ieoper­dye of the losynge of the holy cytye of Hierusalem. For thys the kynge assembled a great counsayll at hys cytye of Parys / where the sayde Eraclius made requeste to the kynge as before he hadde done to Henry the seconde. For he was in Fraunce in the yere of our lorde .xi. hundred .lxxx. and two / and in Englande he was in the yere of grace .xi. hundred .lxxx. and .vii. After whyche counsayll there so holden / yt was agreed that the kynge wyth ayde of the byshop­pes and other of the spyrytualtye, shulde ayde the sayde patryarke / the whyche where sette forthe in all pos­syble haste. But after the reporte of Peter Dysroye, whyche made a re­cule or lytle boke of the wynnynge and losyng of Hierusalem / they with mo crysten prynces were dryuen by tempeste of the see vnto the porte of Damas / where vnder coloure of a fayned trewce, they were taken and caste the moste parte of theym in pryson.

And when kynge Phylyppe hadde thus delyuered the patryarke / he then gatheryd hys knyghtes and made an armye agayne Hugh duke of Burgoyne / the whyche at that season and tyme hadde beclypped the castell of Uergye wyth a stronge syege / and hadde promysed not to departe thens, tyll such tyme as he had wonne that holde by appoytement or otherwyse.

And for the defence of rescouse that myghte be made for the same / he hadde māned foure castellys or tow­res there vnto adioynaunte, wyth great strength of men of armys. But [Page CLXIX] after the kynge was thyder comen wyth hys hoste, the sayde towrs were sone ouertourned / and y ^e kynge wyth a certayne of hys people, of Guy capytayne of the sayde castell of Uergy was ioyously into the sa­me receyued / and rendred to hym the castell, and became hys lege man. where wyth the sayde Hugh beynge [...]ore amoued and dyscontented, se­ynge there he was dyspoynted of his purpose / departed thens wyth hys ordynaunce and people, and robbed and spoyled the coūtre there aboute / sparynge nother chyrche nor howse of relygyō / in so cruell and greuous maner, that the bysshoppes and ab­bottes of that partye of Burgoyne made pyteous request vnto the sayd Phylyp, that he of his specyall grace wolde ayde and socoure them and theyr chyrches agayne the tyranny of the sayde duke Hugh. The kynge beynge moued wyth thys pyteous requeste / made sharpe warre vppon the sayde Hugh / and at length wan from hym a stronge castell named Chastelone. where wyth all the duke was put to suche a studyall and fere that he was forsed to seche meanes of treaty and of peace. wherof the cō ­clusyon was, that he shulde paye vn­to the chyrches before by hym hur­ted & harmed .xxx. thousande pownd. whyche conclusyon taken and sure­lye sette for the same / the kynge re­torned vnto Parys. where the kyng so restynge hym a certeyne of tyme, and hauynge experyence of the intollerable and foule stenches that dayly grewe by the fylthe of the erthe and myre in the stretes / made prouysyon dylygently wyth ayde and helpe of the cytesens, whyche as than hadde londe wythin the cytye, that the stre­tes were shortely paued after. And at thys tyme whanne the cytye was thus paued, as affermen many au­thours / the name of it was chaun­ged from Lutesse or Lewcesse vnto Parysse.

THE .CCXLII. CHAPITER.

IN the .vii. yere of thys kynge Phy­lyp, as sayth the Frēche boke / Margarete syster vnto thys Phylyp, late wyfe vnto Henry late deceased, and eldeste sonne of Henry the seconde kynge at this day of Englande, was maryed vnto Be­las kynge of Hungry.

In the .x. yere of thys kyng Phy­lyp / the cytye of Hierusalem was ta­ken of Saladyne prynce of Egypte / and Guy de Lesyngnan laste crysten kynge of that cytye, wyth the holy crosse was taken in the felde / whych after that daye came neuer into cry­sten mennes possessyon. Of thys so­rowe & heuynesse worde was brou­ghte vnto kynge Phylyp, wyth re­queste of ayde to reskue certeyne cy­tyes, as yet rested vnder the domy­nyon of the crysten / as Tyre, Try­ple, and Antioch, wyth other small holdes. For sauegarde wherof many nobles of Fraunce toke vpon them the crosse / as the duke of Burgoyn, the erle of Flaunders, Theobalde erle of Bloyes, the erle of Rochfo [...]d, the erle of Champayne, wyth many other noble knyghtes / whyche for lengthe I passe ouer, and also the re­porte of theyr dedys, for so myche as it cōcernyth nothyng the mater that I haue promysed to speke of.

In this iourney also kynge Phy­lyppe entēded to haue gone / and for the same great taskes & dymys were leuyed through oute his realme, the [Page] whyche to this daye are called Sa­ladynes dymes. But the lette of this iourney as sayth the french cronycle was Rycharde duke of Guyan / and after his father Henry the seconde, that made warre vppon the Frenche kynge, as before is touched in the storye of the sayd Henry. Duryng whyche warre the sayde Henry dyed, in the .xi yere of thys sayde Phylyppe.

About thys season and tyme / the Iewes whych by meane of great gyftes, had agayn purchased theyr dwellynge wythin the coūtrey of Fraūce, wherof a wedowe was lady and ma­stresse called Branous / in absence of the kynge toke a Crysten man, & surmysed agayne hym felonye and murder. For the whyche by fauoure of the sayde lady / the sayde Iewes set a crowne of thorne vppon the sayd crysten mannys hedde, and after scour­ged hym, and lastely in derysyon of Crystes relygyon and despyte of the same, crucyfyed the same persone. wherof when the kynge was enfour­med / in all haste he sent into the sayd coūtrey or castell of Brayon, and surprysed the sayde Iewys so sodaynly that none escaped / and brent there of them to the nomber of .lxxx. for theyr malycyouse and abhomynable dede.

In the .xi yere of the reygne of thys Phylyppe, dyed Isabell the quene of Fraūce his wyfe / a womā of good fame and of great vertue.

In the .xii. yere of his reygne as sayth the frenche boke / thys Phylyp toke vppon hym the crosse, hauynge promyse of kyng Rychard then newly crowned kyng of Englād, to kepe company wyth hym in that iourney. But he kept not promyse. wherwith thys Phylyppe beynge dyscontēted / sayled before and layde syege vnto the cytye of Acon or Acre. From this sayenge varyeth Policronica, and also Peter Desroy. For Polycronycon sayth, that after the kynges of En­glande and of Fraunce, hadde made suerty betwen them for performaūce of this iourney / they both to gyther taryed at Turon in Fraunce, for to abyde the somer tyde. And at spryn­gynge of the yere / they of one wyll & purpose, toke theyr vyage towarde the holy lande / that ys to wytte that one by water and that other by land / and mette agayne in Cecilia. where the Frēche kynge deꝑted from hym / and so sayled to the sayde cytye of A­cone or Acre, and layde hys syege there vnto. In whych pastyme kyng Rycharde warred vppon the kynge of Sypres, & hym wyth his land subdued / & after came vnto Acon̄, where the Frenche kyng had longe lyen at syege without gettynge of any great auauntage of his enymyes / saynge vnto kynge Rycharde that he hadde spared the wynnynge of the towne tyll hys commynge, to the ende that he at his commyng myght be parteyner as well of the honoure as of the wynnynge. But how it was, such vnkyndenesse fell betwene theym there, after they hadde woonne the sayde towne, as after in story of kynge Rycharde shalbe shewed, that this kyng Phylyppe retourned into Fraunce shortely after. In the whych returne the sayde Phylyppe sykened, and the duke of Burgoyne dyed. And when kyng Phylyppe a season had soiourned in Fraūce / he maryed Iugebert the doughter of the kynge of Den­marke. The whyche maryage, as sayth Ranulfe, was desyred of the Frenche kynge, to haue wyth her graunted the tytle whyche the Da­nes had vnto the crown of England, wyth also .x. thousand markes of syluer, for to wynne wyth y ^e sayd ryght and tytle. But yt was not longe or [Page CLXX] she were frō hym deuorced, for cause of alyaūce of gossypred or otherwise. Howe be yt in processe of tyme after / the said Iugebert was to him agayn ioyned by the authoryte of Pope Innocent the thyrd of that name, in the yere of grace .xii. hūdred and .ix. and yere of reygne of this Philyppe .xxx / so that the sayde Iugebert was de­uorced frome her lorde by the terme of .xvii. yeres or theruppon.

In whych tyme and season the sayd Phylyppe had maryed the doughter of Phylyppe duke of Sweuy, that then was returned vnto her father.

THE .CCXLIII. CHAPITER.

Kynge Phylyp for dyspleasure whych he bare towarde kyng Rycharde / made sharpe and cruell warre vpon the Normans, and wan therein dyuerse holdes and townes / and fynally layde syege vnto the cy­tye of Roan. wherof herynge Iohn̄ erle of Huntyngeton, or after some erle of Oxenforde brother to kynge Rycharde, whome the Frenche boke nameth Iohn̄ withoute lande / wyth the erle of Arundell and other noble men, spedde hym into Normandye / and so ayded the cytezens and the soldyours of Roan, that as testyfyeth the frēche cronycle, the French kyng was so moued wyth the warre and defence of the same towne, that in a passynge fury consyderyng the wynter season drewe vppon, and that he myght not carye awaye his gunnes and other great ordynaunces / he set all vppon a fyre / and so wyth great agony departed. And within thre monethes after he layde syege vnto the castell of Uernyel / where whē he had lyen .iii. wekes or more, a messynger came vnto hym and sayde, that the cytye Euroux was taken of the Normans / and the people therof taken prysoners. wherfore in all haste he departed, and rescued the sayd cytye and prysoners / and that done retourned to the foresayde syege / and assye­ged yt so strōgely, that lastely he had yt delyueryd by appoyntement.

By thys season was kynge Ry­charde delyueryd out of the handes of the duke of Ostryge. And then be­ganne the warre to be more cruell / whych here I passe ouer, for so mych as I entende to shew the effecte therof in the storye of kynge Rycharde folowynge.

Aboute the .xviii. yere of the reygn of thys Phylyppe / fell such plenty of water, that the groūde was therwith so bucked and drowned, that corne & other frutes by reason therof greatly decayed and scanted, in such wyse that whete was shortly after at .xx. s a quarter after sterlynge money.

In the .xx. yere of the reygn of this Phylyppe / dyed Rycharde kynge of England / to whom was heyre Iohn̄ before named his brother. The why­che cōcluded a trewce wyth this Philyppe for certayne yeres, as after in the storye of this Iohn̄ shall more clerely appere.

And soone there after meanes were made to kyng Phylyp, that he shuld receyue agayne vnto his company Iugebert hys wyfe / and to renounce Mary doughter of the duke of Sweuy, or after some authours, the dou­ghter of the duke of Bohemy. But the kynge wyth this mocyon was nothynge contentyd / nor yet agreable to folow any such mocion or request. wherfore the prelasy of the lande as­semled theym in counsayll / and by a full and hole authoryte, seynge they myghte not induce the kynge to no conformyte or agrement to resume hys lawfull wyfe, and to refuse that [Page] other / they denounsed hym and hys realme accursed. wherwith the kyng was so amoued and vexed / that he depryued certayne bysshoppes from theyr sees / and also toke in hys pos­sessyon the spyrytuall goodes / and prysoned many prestes and other re­lygyous men / and ouer that closed the sayde Iugebert wythin the ca­stell of Sampys / and forthermore greued hys comons wyth greuous exaccyons and taxys. Than wythin a shorte terme after Iohn̄ de saynte Poule cardynall, and Athā or Othe­mon bysshoppe of Osty and legate of the pope of Rome, wyth the arche­bysshoppe of Burdeaux and other / by the commaundement of the pope than Innocent the thyrde, kepte a greate counceyle in the cytye of Sorsore. where the kynge was monys­shed to apere / for so mych as before he hadde graunted to be recon­cyled vnto hys fyrste wyfe. where thys mater hynge in argument be­fore the spyrytuall iudges by y ^e space of .xv. dayes, wythout sentence gy­uynge. wherfore the kynge beynge wyth the delayes dyscontented / so­denly wyth hys wyfe departed, wythout takynge of them any congye or leue / sendynge them vnderstandyng that as yet he wolde be aduysed or he were dysseuered from hys wyfe. wherof whan the sayd Iohn̄ cardy­nall and the other bysshoppes hadde wyttynge / accomptynge theyr la­boure loste, they retourned shortely after vnto Rome, and shewed vnto the pope all as they hadde done.

And soone there after kyng Iohn̄ was honorably receyued of thys kynge Phylyppe, as in the story of the sayd Iohn̄ shall be more playnly shewed.

And in the yere folowynge, which shulde be in the begynnynge of the xxiii. yere of thys Phylyppe, dyed Mary hys wyfe / whyche he wrong­fully had holden cōtrary to the law of the chyrche by the terme of tenne yeres or there vppon. Of the why­che Mary he hadde receyued a man chylde and a doughter / the whyche after were made legyttymate by In­nocent the thyrde, though some no­ble men of Fraunce there agayne grudged.

THE .CCXLIIII. CHAPITER.

IT was not longe after, that y ^e kyng assembled greate people and enten­dyd to haue en­tred the landys of the erle Rossell, & o [...] Roger de Rose / of the whyche he hadde broughte before hym many greuous complayntes, of greate ex­torcyons and exaccyōs that the sayd erle and Roger hadde executed and done vppon the chyrches nere to the valey of Soysons / and wolde not refrayne for all the kynges cōmaundement. wherfore he rygged hys armye and drewe towarde them. But as soone as they were aduerty­sed of the kynges comynge / anone they submytted them to the kynges grace / oblygynge them selfe to make restytucyon accordynge to the kyn­ges pleasure, to all suche places and persons as they hadde offended. And thys acte thus fynysshed / kyng Phylyppe returned vnto a place by­twene Uerdon, and the ile Audely / in the whyche place the kynge hadde appoynted a great counsayle or parlyament. where amonge other ma­ters yt was concluded, that Iohn̄ kynge of Englande shulde be somo­ned to appere as the Frenche kyn­ges [Page CLXXI] lyege man, at the same parlya­ment to be holden at parys wythin xv. dayes of Ester / to answere suffy­cyently to the kyng vppon such questyons as there shulde be purposed vnto hym, for the duchy of Normandye, for the coūtrey of Aungeou and of Poytyers. But for y ^t kynge John̄ came not at that day appoynted, nor none for hym accordynge to the mo­nyshement to hym gyuen, therfore thys kynge Philypppe not withstandynge the amytye and trewce before confermed, assembled hys hoste and entred the duchye of Normandye, and made therin sharpe and cruell warre / and wanne a castell therein named Bonte or Bowte, and brused or crased the castellys of Gentylyne and Gurney / and seased all y ^e landes whyche Hugh de Gurney helde, and gyue theym vnto the duke of Bry­tayne. And also he gaue vnto hym the erledome of Aungeou, and two hundred knyghtes prysones of Normans and Englyshe wyth a great summe of money.

It was not longe after that the duke of Brytayne was departyd from the kynge / but that he wyth suche power as he myght make entred the countrey of Aungeou, to take therof possessyon. where in shorte space he was encountred of kynge John̄, and fought to geder a cruell batell. In the whyche in the ende the duke was put to the worse / for the more parte of hys people were slayne, and hym selfe wyth Hugh le Bruns, Godfrey de Lesygnan, and many other no­bles of Fraunce and also of Bry­tayne, were taken prysoners. wyth whyche tydynges the Frenche kyng was greuously dyscontentyd. And where as at that tyme he had becle­ped y ^e castell of Arches wyth a strong syege / he remoued from thens and and yode to the citye of Towres and brent a part therof. But as testifyeth the frenche cronycle he taryed not the commynge of kynge Iohn̄. But for that wynter was commynge to­warde / he ceasyd of hys warrys for that yere, and so drewe hym into Fraunce ⸫

In the yere folowynge, whyche was the yere of this Phylyp .xxiiii, & of kynge Iohn̄ the .iiii. yere / y ^e warre newely began, whyche I ouer passe, for as mych as yt shall be shewyd in the storye of kynge Iohn̄.

In the .xxvi. yere thys Phylyppe Almaricus a studyent of Paris held certayne opynyons of heresye. Of the whyche when he was abiured / he toke suche thought that he dyed shortely after. It was not longe af­ter but that other clerkys and study­auntys helde an other erronyous opynyon cōcernynge y ^e vnyon of the trynyte. Of the whyche nomber Pe­ter byshoppe of Parys, and one Ga­ryne a man of great connynge were two / the whyche were degraded, & after cōsumyd wyth fyre / and the body of the forenamed Almaricus was agayne taken oute of the erthe, and after brent.

Nere about the .xxx. yere of the rey­gne of thys Phylyppe / for consyde­racyon as sayth the frenche boke, that Iohn̄ kynge of Englande had exylyd dyuerse of hys byshoppes, and taken from them theyr possessy­ons and goodes / the whyche to this kynge Phylyp were comen for ayde and socour: he therfore mouyd with pytye, assembled a great hoste, and entendyd to haue sayled into En­glande to haue refourmed these ma­ters. wyth the whyche hoste he pas­sed tyll he came to Grauenynge by lande, where he appoynted hys na­uey to mete wyth hym. And to the [Page] same place also Ferrande then erle of Flaundres had affermely promy­syd to come, wyth the ayde of hys Flemynges / where the kynge for hym taryed a certayne of tyme. But shortely after the kynge was ascer­tayned that the sayde erle was alyed wyth kynge Iohn̄ hys enymye / and purposed to ayde hys partye in all that he myghte. wherof the occasyon was as affermeth the sayde Frenche cronycle, for so myche as Lewys el­dest sonne of kynge Phylyppe helde from the sayde Farrande two castellys or townes named saynte Omer and Are.

when kynge Phylyppe appercey­ued that he was thus of the erle dys­poynted / he by coūsayll of his Baro­nye putte by hys iourney into En­glande, and assayled the countrey of Flaundres / and so yode vnto Cassyle a lytell from Grauelynge, & wyth sharpe assaute wanne the sayd towne / and so from thens to Bru­gys / and commaunded hys nauy to be brought vnto the hauē of Sluse, whyche is wythin shorte waye of Brugys. And when he hadde executed hys pleasure at Brugys, leuyng a certayn of his peple for to strength hys Nauy / he yode vnto Gaunte, and there rested hym and hys peo­ple. In whyche season Regnolde erle of Boleyne, Guyllyam longe Espe, or Guyllyam wyth the longe sworde, wyth a crewe of Englyshe men aryued in Flaundres / to whom shortely drewe Ferraunde the erle wyth a great power of Flemynges. The whyche shypped theym in small caruyles and barkes and other shyppys of aduaūtage / and wyth a fyerse corage sette vppon the Frenche kyn­ges nauey lyenge at Sluse as before is shewed / where was foughten a stronge and cruell batayll. But in the ende the Flemynges hadde the vyctorye, and hadde the rule of all the frenche flote, the whyche in nomber as testyfyeth the sayd frenche cronycle, were a thousande & ten sayle. The whyche for nomber and great­nesse myghte not all lye wythin the hauyn / but spradde a great parte of the ryuer besyde. whyche so lyenge wythout the hauen, the Flemynges conueyed thens / and after layde or­dinaunce to the towne of Sluse, and assyeged yt.

Kynge Phylyppe herynge of the losse of hys nauye, and of the assau­tynge of the towne of Sluse, in all haste spedde hym thyther / and there in suche wyse resysted hys enymyes, that he slew of them vpon two thou­sande / and toke of theym dyuerse prysoners, and rescued the towne. But for he sawe he myght not reco­uer hys shyppes beynge wythin the hauyn / he causyd theym to be dys­charged of vytell and other ne­cessaryes, and after set them on fyre and the towne also / and that done, to­ke certayne hostages of Brugis of Gaunte and of Ipre, and so retourned into Fraunce.

THE .CCXLV. CHAPITER.

WHen kynge Phy­lippe was returned into Fraunce / yt was not longe af­ter, that by the meanes of some well dysposyd persones, he was reconcyled and toke to hym his lawfull wyfe Ingeberta or Inge­bert, [Page CLXXII] doughter of the kynge of Den­marke / whyche was great comforte to all hys people. And thys yt nowe apperyth that the sayde Ingebert was from her lorde or husbande by the terme of .xvi. yeres and more, as before yt is touched in the seconde chapyter of thys storye.

In the yere of grace .xii. hūdred .xiiii. as sayth the frenche boke, whyche maketh the yere of the reygne of this Philyppe .xxxv / Otho the .iiii. of that name and duke of Saxony, whyche of some of the electours was chosen for emperour / in the quarell of kyng Iohn̄ intred y ^e prouince of Henaude, and there beynge accompanyed with Reygnolde erle of Boleyne, Far­raunde erle of Flaundres, and dy­uerse other nobles, as well of En­glande, Saxonye, and other pla­ces / made prouysyon to fyght wyth kynge Phylyppe, whyche then war­red in Flaūdres / so that the Frenche kynge was at the castell of Peron, and Otho was at the castell of Ua­lensyens or Ualenseus.

About Mary Madgdaleyns tyde, the Frenche kynge in wastyng y ^e coū trey of Flaūdres came vnto the town of Turney / and Otho returned from the foresayde castell, and came vnto the castell or towne named Mor­tenge, the whyche was but .vi. myle from Turney. wherof herynge the kynge, entendyd to haue set in shorte tyme vppon hys enymyes. But by the aduyse of hys barons he was let­ted / for so myche as the wayes and places were streyghte and narowe towarde hys enymyes. For the why­che consyderacyon by counsayll of hys sayde barones he was letted, and retourned towarde Henawde for to haue more larger playnes. So that after saynte Iamys daye he re­tourned / purposynge that nyghte to haue lyen and also his hoste at the castell called Lylly. But he was let­ted of hys purpose. For Otho whych was warned of hys remouynge, de­med hym to haue fled and pursued after the vaungarde of the kynge / of the whyche were captaynes the vycounte of Mylyon, and one named Fryer Garnye / the whyche was a a fryer and relygyous man, a man of great counsayll and hardynesse. These beynge accompanyed wyth iiii. thounsande men / rode tyll they came to an hyll or lytle Mountayne, where they espyed the auauntage of Otho and hys hoste. wherfore fryer Garny retourned to gyue the kynge knowlege / and the vycounte remayned in the place, and houed with his companye.

when the kynge hadde knowlege of the commynge of his enymyes / he in good maner kepte on hys iour­ney. In whyche season Otho, wyth hys people came vnto y ^e ryuer which was somdeale daungerous to passe / howe be yt in processe he passed yt. And when he & his hoste were ouer / he made waye towarde Turney / in so myche that the Uycounte & his cō pany demed them to haue retourned to Turney. But so soone as Fryer Garny was returned vnto the sayde mount, anon he demed the coūtrary / & sayd precysely that other they must gyue batayll to theyr enimyes, or el­lys they must fle wyth shame. In thys whyle the kynges people came vnto a brydge where they shulde passe ouer. And the cautele of hys enymyes was, that when the kynge wyth the more parte of hys people hadde ben passed that brydge / they wolde haue sette vppon the rere­warde, and haue dystressyd theym / and so haue kepte that brydge that the kynge shulde not haue socoured [Page] his people. But or the kynge were passed the fyght was begonne / in so myche that hydeous crye came to the kynges crys, at armys at armys, to harneys to harnes, our enymyes be come.

Nere vnto the kyng was a chapell halowed in the honour and worshyp of saynte Peter / wherunto the kyng yode and made there hys deuoute prayers / and that done armed hym, and lepte to horse ioyously cryenge / as barons at armys. Then the Oryflambe which was passed y ^e brydge, was countermaunded. And then began the trumpettys and tabours to blowe / whyche reuyued the pal­led hartes, and caused theym to for­gete the drede of deth. But for the kynges people myght not so hastely retourne and passe the brydge / the kynge as a valyaunt knyghte toke hys horse wyth hys spurrys, and set forwarde to encourage the other of hys knyghtes / so that his enymyes herynge of hys commynge, were somdeale dyscoraged and gaue place vnto the kynges hoste. Then Otho herynge of the kynges retourne, enbatayled hys people. But so yt was that he toke the northe parte of the felde / by reason wherof the sonne was in hys face to hys afterdeale / for that was excedynge hote ouer the other. Then was the batell be­gonne in dyuers partyes of the felde so cruelly that many a mā was there ouerthrowen. The whyche endured be a longe space, in suche wyse that harde yt was to dyscerne whyche partye hadde the better of that other. Eyther prynce enforcyd so strayte­ly that other / that eyther of theym were vnhorsed and in great ieoper­dye. If here I shulde reherse the vyctoryouse dedys of the Frenche kynge and hys knyghtes in order, after the expressement of the frenche boke / I shulde therof make a longe storye. But trouth yt is that in the ende / Otho was compelled to for­sake the felde, to the great losse of hys people / and Feraunte the erle of Flaunders was taken wyth many other, as Reygnolde erle of Boleyn, and .xxviii. other of name.

And one thynge hardely me semeth to be credence gyuen vnto, rehersyd by the frenche cronycle, whych sayth that of all the frenche hoste myssed but one syngle man / the whyche af­ter was founde amonge the dede Al­maynes sore wounded, and after cured and helyd agayne. whyche maye be tolde for a great wonder / consy­derynge the sayde fyghte lasted ouer foure howres, as testyfyeth the sayd cronycle. But sure the authoure or the wryter ouerseeth hym selfe in that reporte / for he shewyth before in the dyuysynge of the fyghte of thys batell, that when kynge Phy­lyppe was felled from hys horse, two of hys knyghtes were slayne ryghte before hym / that one named Guyl­lyam de longe Champe, and that other Gerarde le Tirne. But maister Robert Gagwyne expressyth thys more clerely / sayenge that after the felde was done and the emperoure was fledde, leuynge hys banner of splayed Egle behynde hym / a bys­shement of the nomber of .vii. hun­dred men recoueryd that standarde, and so kepte theym to gyther. wher­of when the kynge was enfourmed / he sente agayne them one of hys knyghtes called syr Thomas Ualary, accōpanyed wyth .l. fotemen & two thousand horse men. The whych dystressyd y ^e sayd cōpany, wythout losse of one man as before is sayde. And more ouer the sayd authour sayth / y ^t vppon the partye of the sayde Otho [Page CLXXIII] of knyghtes and gylte harnesse were slayne a thousande & fyue hundred / and of other horse men and fote men a hundred and fyfty thousande. But of y ^e Frenche men whych shulde be sureste of rekenynge / he maketh no mencyon. But trouth it is, that in all the cronycle thoroughe the Frenche boke rehersed / all thynge touchynge theyr honour is decla­red and shewed to the vttermoste. And that whyche concerneth theyr dyshonoure or losse, yt ys ouer sub­tely excused / or so darkely or mystly wryten, that the reader therof shall hardely come to the knowlege of the trouthe. And that is well apparent in the storyes of Phylyppe de Ua­loys and of kynge John̄ hys sonne, in expressement of theyr faytes done and exercysed agayne the thyrde Edwarde kyng of England and prynce Edwarde hys sonne.

Than it foloweth in y ^e story / whan Phylyp hadde obteyned this greate vyctory of hys enemyes, and orde­red other thynges concernynge hys people, as countermaūdynge them the next waye vnto theyr countrees / he wyth hys prysoners spedde hym to Parys / and there of hys greate bounte graunted to the sayde erlys of Boleyne and Flaunders theyr ly­ues, but not of prysonement. For the erle of Boleyne was sent vnto the castell of Peron / and Feraunt erle of Flaunders was commytted to the castell or towre of Louour wythout the wallys of the cytye of Parys thā newly made. But wythin lesse than xv. monethes after / by labour of his wyfe, he with other of hys lyege men was delyuered / payenge theyr fy­naunces, and perfourmyng of other streyght condycyons.

THE .CCXLVI. CHAPITER.

IT was not longe after that kynge Phylyppe re­assembled hys knyghtes, and spedde hym towarde the countrey of Poytow. wherof beynge warned the erle of Thoners that than was chefe ruler of that countrey vnder kyng Iohn̄, seynge the feblenesse of the comons that dayly were vexed wyth warre, and also the losse of kynge John̄s frendes, not wythstandyng the sayd Iohn̄ was than wythin twenty my­les / yet he made suche meanes to kynge Phylyppe by the laboure of Peter than duke or erle of Brytayn, that the sayde kynge accepted the same erle to hys grace / and graun­ted to hym and hys a trewce for .iiii. yeres. But that not wythstandyng / the kynge kept on hys iourney to­warde kynge Iohn̄. wherof kynge Iohn̄ beynge enfourmed / and also of the peace bytwene the erle of Thoners and the Frenche kynge: he by meanes of one Roberte a legate of Rome sought meanes of treaty and of peace / so that in processe by dyly­gence of the sayde Robert and other, a peace was concluded for .v. yeres. whyche peace concluded and assured eyther kynge returned into theyr owne prouynces.

wythin short whyle after y ^e Fren­che kyng was returned into Fraūce / he called to mynde the great vyctory had of the Almayns / wyth also one other whych Lewys his son about y ^e same tyme had agayne or of kynge Iohn̄ in the countre of Aungeou, at the castell of Moyne or Mayne. For the whyche .ii. vyctoryes, the kynge edyfyed a monastery besyde the cyty of Sayntles, in the honour of saynt Uyctor / and endowed it wyth fayre and ryche possessyons, and named it the abbey of saynt Uyctor.

[Page]In the .xxxvi. yere of the reygne of thys Phylyppe / Lewys hys sonne by procurynge and sturrynge of the lordes of Englande, sayled into the sayde prouynces / as more playnely shall be shewed in the .xvi. yere of the reygne of kynge Iohn̄.

Many mo storyes & actes myght I brynge in and set in thys story of thys kynge Phylyppe, yf I shulde folowe the Frenche boke. For he maketh there a rehersayll that contey­neth .xxxix. greate leuys of parche­myne. Of the whyche I haue taken out suche as to me semeth moste conuenyent / and haue ouer passed the other for lengthe of the tyme.

Than it foloweth / thys Phylyp after these dayes drewe hym to more quyet and reste / so that after thys peace or trewce cōcluded wyth kyng Iohn̄ of Englande, the authour spe­keth not or myndeth of any noble dede by hym done. So that in the yere of our lorde .xii. hundred and .xxii, whyche shulde be the yere of hys reygne .xliii / the sayd authour begyn­neth, and sayth that in that foresayd yere apered a greate eclypce of the son, wherof the lyke hadde not ben seen in many yeres passed.

And in the yere folowynge dyed thys Phylyppe in the moneth of Iunii, whan he hadde reygned vppon xliiii. yeres. Before whose deth ape­red a great comete or blasyng starre / the whyche the Frenche men, wyth also the foresayde eclypce / they ad­iudged for pronostiquys and tokens of the kynges deth / the whyche was buryed wyth excellent pompe in the monastery of saynt Denys, in the ye­re of our lorde a thousand two hun­dred and .xxiii. and of hys age .lviii / leuynge after hym the fore named Lewys / whyche was enoynted kyng after hym.

Thys Phylyppe amonges other notable thynges ordeyned in hys te­stament / be sette to the aydynge and wynnynge of the holy cytye of Hie­rusalem thre hundred thousande pownde of Parys money / to the ho­spytall in Mount forte a hundred thousande pownde / and to be dystrybuted amonges the poore comons of hys londe he gaue twenty thou­sande pownde.

But here is to be noted, there is a great dyuersyte bytwene a pownd of Parys money and a pownde of sterlynge money. For a pownde of Parys money is but two shyllynges and .vi. pence sterlynge, or nere there about. And so it foloweth that a thousande pownde of Parys, is but a hundred fyue and twenty pownde sterlynge. By whyche accompte it foloweth that thys kynge gaue to the ayde of the ho­ly londe .xxxvii. thou­sande and fyue hundred pownde sterlynge / to the hospytall xii. thousande and fyue hundred pownde sterlynge / and to the poore peo­ple two thou­sand & fyue hundred pownde.