lieth buried and whither the rest of the monks of Bangor did flie to saue themselues when 2100. of their fellowes were slaine by the Saxon princes in the quarell of Augustine the monke the citie of Caerleon or Chester raced to the ground and not since reedified againe to anie purpose Ptolomie calleth this Iland Lymnos the Britons Enlhi and therein also is a parish-church as the report goeth From hence we cast about gathering still toward the northest till we came to Caer Ierienrhod a notable rocke situat ouer against the mouth of the Leuenni wherein standeth a strong hold or fortresse or else some towne or village Certes we could not well discerne whether of both it was bicause the wind blew hard at southwest the morning was mistie and our mariners doubting some flats to be couched not far from thence hasted awaie vnto Anglesei whither we went apace with a readie wind euen at our owne desire This Iland which Tacitus mistaketh no doubt for Mona Caesaris and so dooth Ptolomie as appeareth by his latitudes is situat about two miles from the shore of Northwales Paulus Iouius gesseth that it was in time past ioined to the continent or maine of our Ile and onelie cut off by working of the Ocean as Sicilia peraduenture was from Italie by the violence of the Leuant or practise of some king that reigned there Thereby also as he saith the inhabitants were constreind at the first to make a bridge ouer into the same till the breach waxed so great that no such passage could anie longer be mainteined But as these things doo either not touch my purpose at all or make smallie with the present description of this I le so in comming to my matter Anglesei is found to be full so great as the Wight and nothing inferiour but rather surmounting it as that also which Caesar calleth Mona in fruitfulnesse of soile by manie an hundred fold In old time it was reputed and taken for the common granarie to Wales as Sicilia was to Rome and Italie for their prouision of corne In like maner the Welshmen themselues called it the mother of their countrie for giuing their minds wholie to pasturage as the most easie and lesse chargeable trade they vtterlie neglected tillage as men that leaned onelie to the fertilitie of this Iland for their corne from whence they neuer failed to receiue continuall abundance Gyraldus saith that the I le of Anglesei was no lesse sufficient to minister graine for the sustentation of all the men of Wales than the mountaines called Ereri or Snowdoni in Northwales were to yeeld plentie of pasture for all the cattell whatsoeuer within the aforesaid compasse if they were brought togither and left vpon the same It contained moreouer so manie townes welnéere as there be daies in a yeare which some conuerting into Cantreds haue accompted but for three as Gyraldus saith Howbeit as there haue beene I say 363. townes in Anglesei so now a great part of that reckoning is vtterlie shroonke and so far gone to decaie that the verie ruines of them are vnneath to be séene discerned and yet it séemeth to be méetlie well inhabited Leland noting the smalnesse of our hundreds in comparison to that they were in time past addeth so far as I remember that there are six of them in Anglesei as Menay Maltraith Liuon Talbellion Torkalin and Tindaithin herevnto Lhoid saith also how it belonged in old time vnto the kingdome of Guinhed or Northwales and that therein at a towne called Aberfraw being on the southwestside of the I le the kings of Gwinhed held euermore their palaces whereby it came to passe that the kings of Northwales were for a longtime called kings of Aberfraw as the Welshmen named the kings of England kings of London till better instruction did bring them farther knowledge There are in Anglesei many townes and villages whose names as yet I cannot orderlie atteine vnto wherefore I will content my selfe with the rehearsall of so many as we viewed in sailing about the coasts and otherwise heard report of by such as I haue talked withall Beginning therefore at the mouth of the Gefni which riseth at northeast aboue Gefni or Geuenni 20. miles at the least into the land we passed first by Hundwyn then by Newborow Port Hayton Beaumarrais Penmon Elian Almwoch Burric whereby runneth a rill into a creeke Cornew Holihed standing in the promontorie Gwifen Aberfraw and Cair Cadwalader of all which the two latter stand as it were in a nuke betweene the Geuenni water and the Fraw wherevpon Aberfraw is situate Within the Iland we heard onlie of Gefni afore mentioned of Gristial standing vpon the same water of Tefri of Lanerchimedh Lachtenfarwy and Bodedrin but of all these the cheefe is now Beaumarais which was builded sometime by king Edward the first and therewithall a strong castell about the yeare 1295. to kéepe that land in quiet There are also as Leland saith 31. parish-churches beside 69. chappels that is a hundreth in all But héerof I can saie little for lacke of iust instruction In time past the people of this I le vsed not to seuerall their grounds but now they dig stonie hillocks and with the stones thereof they make rude walles much like to those of Deuonshire sith they want hedgebote fire bote and house bote or to saie at one word timber bushes and trees As for wine it is so plentifull and good cheape there most commonlie as in London through the great recourse of merchants from France Spaine and Italie vnto the aforesaid Iland The flesh likewise of such cattell as is bred there wherof we haue store yearelie brought vnto Cole faire in Essex is most delicate by reason of their excellent pasture and so much was it esteemed by the Romans in time past that Columella did not onelie commend and preferre them before those of Liguria but the emperours themselues being neere hand also caused their prouision to be made for nete out of Anglesei to feed vpon at their owne tables as the most excellent beefe It taketh now the name of Angles and Ei which is to meane the I le of Englishmen bicause they wan it in the Conquerors time vnder the leading of Hugh earle of Chester and Hugh of Shrewesburie Howbeit they recouered it againe in the time of William Rufus when they spoiled the citie of Glocester ransacked Shrewesburie and returned home with great bootie and pillage in which voiage also they were holpen greatlie by the Irishmen who after thrée yeares ioined with them againe and slue the earle of Shrewesburie which then liued with great crueltie The Welshmen call it Tiremone and Mon and herein likewise is a promontorie or Byland called Holie head which hath in time past beene named Cair kyby of Kyby a monke that dwelled there from whence the readiest passage is commonlie had out of Northwales to get ouer into Ireland of which Ile I will not speake at this time least
and the faithfull report of such writers as haue left notice thereof vnto vs in their learned treatises to be perpetuallie remembred Howbeit whereas some in setting downe of these two lines haue séemed to varie about the placing of the same each of them diuerstie remembring the names of sundrie cities and townes whereby they affirme them to haue their seuerall courses for my part I haue thought good to procéed somewhat after another sort that is by diuiding the latest and best chards each way into two equall parts so neere as I can possible bring the same to passe wherby for the middle of latitude I product Caerlile and Newcastell vpon Tine whose longest day consisteth of sixtéene houres 48. minuts and for the longitude Newberie Warwike Sheffield Skipton c which dealing in mine opinion is most easie and indifferent and likeliest meane to come by the certeine standing and situation of our Iland Touching the length and bredth of the same I find some variance amongst writers for after some there are from the Piere or point of Douer vnto the farthest part of Cornewall westwards 320. miles from thence againe to the point of Cathnesse by the Irish sea 800. Wherby Polydore and other doo gather that the circuit of the whole Iland of Britaine is 1720. miles which is full 280. lesse than Caesar dooth set downe except there be some difference betwéene the Romane and British miles as there is indéed wherof hereafter I may make some farther conference Martianus writing of the bredth of Britaine hath onlie 300. miles but Orosius hath 1200. in the whole compasse Ethicus also agreeing with Plinie Martianus and Solinus hath 800. miles of length but in the breadth he commeth short of their account by 120. miles In like maner Dion in Seuero maketh the one of 891. miles but the other to wit where it is broadest of 289. and where it is narowest of 37. Finally Diodorus Siculus affirmeth the south coast to conteine 7000 furlongs the second to wit à Carione ad Promontorium 15000. the third 20000. and the whole circuit to consist of 42000. But in our time we reckon the breadth from Douer to Cornewall not to be aboue 300. miles and the length from Douer to Cathnesse no more than 500. which neuerthelesse must be measured by a right line for otherwise I see not how the said diuision can hold The forme and fashion of this I le is thrée cornered as some haue deuised like vnto a triangle bastard sword wedge or partesant being broadest in the south part and gathering still narrower and narrower till it come to the farthest point of Cathnesse northward where it is narrowest of all there endeth in maner of a promontorie called Caledonium Orchas in British Morwerydh which is not aboue 30. miles ouer as dailie experience by actuall trauell dooth confirme The old writers giue vnto the thrée principall corners crags points and promontories of this Iland thrée seuerall names As vnto that of Kent Cantium that of Cornewall Hellenes and of Scotland Caledonium and Orchas and these are called principall in respect of the other which are Taruisium Nouantum Epidium Gangacum Octapites Herculeum Antiuesteum Ocrinum Berubium Taizalum Acantium c of which I thought good also to leaue this notice to the end that such as shall come after may thereby take occasion to seeke out their true places wherof as yet I am in maner ignorant I meane for the most part bicause I haue no sound author that dooth leade mée to their knowledge Furthermore the shortest and most vsuall cut that we haue out of our Iland to the maine is from Douer the farthest part of Kent eastward vnto Calice a towne in Picardie 1300 miles from Rome in old time called Petressa and Scalas though some like better of blacknesse where the breadth of the sea is not aboue thirtie miles Which course as it is now frequented and vsed for the most common and safe passage of such as come into our countrie out of France and diuers other realms so it hath not beene vnknowne of old time vnto the Romans who for the most part vsed these two hauens for their passage and repassage to and fro although we finde that now and then diuerse of them came also from Bullen and landed at Sandwich or some other places of the coast more toward the west or betweene Hide and Lid to wit Romneie marsh which in old time was called Romania or Romanorum insula as to auoid the force of the wind weather that often molesteth seafaringmen in these narrowe seas best liked them for their safegards Betweene the part of Holland also which lieth néere the mouth of the Rhene and this our Iland are 900. furlongs as Sosimus saith and besides him diuers other writers which being conuerted into English miles doo yeeld 112. and foure od furlongs whereby the iust distance of the neerest part of Britaine from that part of the maine also dooth certeinlie appéere to be much lesse than the common maps of our countrie haue hitherto set downe Of the ancient names or denominations of this Iland Cap. 3. IN the diligent perusall of their treatises who haue written of the state of this our Iland I find that at the first it séemed to be a parcell of the Celtike kingdome whereof Dis otherwise called Samothes one of the sonnes of Iaphet was the Saturne or originall beginner and of him thencefoorth for a long while called Samothea Afterward in processe of time when desire of rule began to take hold in the minds of men and ech prince endeuouted to enlarge his owne dominions Albion the sonne of Neptune Amphitrite surnamed Marioticus bicause his dominions laie among the Ilands of the Mediterran sea as those of Plutus did on the lower grounds neere vnto shore as contrariwise his father Iupiter dwelled on the high hils néerer to heauen hearing of the commodities of the countrie and plentifulnesse of soile here made a voiage ouer and finding the thing not onelie correspondent vnto but also farre surmounting the report that went of this Iland it was not long after yer he inuaded the same by force of armes brought it to his subiection in the 29. yeare after his grandfathers decease and finallie changed the name thereof into Albion whereby the former denomination after Samothes did grow out of mind and fall into vtter forgetfulnesse And thus was this Iland bereft at on time both of hir ancient name and also of hir lawfull succession of princes descended of the line of Iaphet vnder whom it had continued by the space of 341. yeres and nine princes as by the Chronologie following shall easilie appeere Goropius our neighbor being verie nice in the denomination of our Iland as in most other points of his huge volume of the originall of Antwarpe lib. 6. whom Buchanan also followeth in part is brought into great doubt whether Britaine was called Albion of
the water there beginneth to be called Hulne as I haue said alreadie From hence also it goeth through Beuerleie medowes and comming at the last not farre from an arme led from the Hulne by mans hand and able to beare great vessels almost to Beuerleie towne which in old time either hight or stood in Deirwald vntill Iohn of Beuerleie whom Leland nameth out of an old author to be the first doctor or teacher of diuinitie that euer was in Oxford and as it should séeme also by an ancient monument yet remaining to be of an hostell where the vniuersitie college now standeth therefore they write him Somtime fellow of that house began to be of fame of whom it is called Beuerleie as some affirme to this daie In déed all the countrie betwéene the Deirwent the Humber was sometime called Deira and the lower part Caua Deira in respect of the higher soile but now it is named the east Riding But what is this to my purpose The Hulne therefore being come almost to Beuerleie towne méeting thereabout also with the Cottingham becke comming from Westwood by the waie it hasteth to Kingston vpon Hulne or Hull and so into the Humber without anie maner impeachment The Fowlneie riseth about Godmanham from whence it goeth by Wighton Hareswell Seton Williams bridge and soone after spreading it selfe one arme called Skelfleet goeth by Cane Cawseie to Brownefléet and so into the Ouze The other passeth by Sandholme Gilberts dike Scalbie chappell Blacketoff and so into the aforesaid Ouze leauing a verie pretie Iland which is a parcell as I heare of Walding fen more though otherwise obscure to vs that dwell here in the south The Darwent riseth in the hilles that lie west of Robin Whoodes baie or two miles aboue Aiton bridge west from Scarborow as Leland saith and yer it hath run farre from the head it receiueth two rilles in one bottome from by west which ioine withall about Longdale end Thence they go togither to Broxeie and at Hacknesse take in another water comming from about Silseie Afterward it commeth to Aiton then to Haibridge and there crosseth the Kenford that descendeth from Roberteston After this also it goeth on to Potersbrumton where it taketh in one rill as it dooth another beneath running from Shirburne and the third yet lower on the further banke that descendeth from Brumton From these confluences it runneth to Fowlbridge Axbridge Yeldingham bridge so to Cotehouse receiuing by the waie manie waters yéelding great plentie of delicate samons to such as fish vpon the same Leland reckoning vp the names of the seuerall brookes numbreth them confusedlie after his accustomed order The Darwent saith he receiueth diuerse streames as the Shirihutton The second is the Crambecke descending from Hunderskell castell so called Tanquam à centum fontibus or multitude of springs that rise about the same and goeth the Rie which comming out of the Blackemoore passeth by Riuers abbeie taking in the Ricoll on the left hand then the Seuen the Costeie and Pickering brooke The Seuin also saith he riseth in the side of Blacke-moore and thence goeth by Sinnington foure miles from Pickering and about a mile aboue a certeine bridge ouer Rie goeth into the streame The Costeie in like sort springeth in the verie edge of Pickering towne at a place called Keld head and goeth into the Rie two miles beneath Pickering about Kirbie minster Finallie Pickering water ariseth in Blackemoore and halfe a mile beneath Pickering falleth into Costeie meeting by the way with the Pocklington becke and an other small rill or two of whose names I haue no knowledge Hitherto Leland But in mine opinion it had béene far better to haue described them thus Of those waters that fall into the Darwent beneath Cotehouse the first commeth from Swenton the second from Ebberston the third from Ollerston the fourth from Thorneton Pickering and the fift on the other side that commeth thither from Wintringham For so should he haue dealt in better order and rid his hands of them with more expedition referring the rest also vnto their proper places But to procéed after mine owne maner Being past Cotehouse yer the Darwent come at Wickham it crosseth the Rie which riseth of two heads and ioining west of Locton they run through Glansbie parke Finallie receiuing the Costeie it méeteth at the last with an other streame increased by the fals of six waters and more yer it come into the Darwent The most easterlie of these is called Seuen and riseth as is aforesaid in Blackemoore from whence it goeth by Sinnington Murton Normanbie Newsound How and so into the Rie The second named Dou hath his originall likewise in Blackemoore and descending by Rasmore Keldon and Edston where it receiueth the Hodgebecke that commeth by Bernesdale Kirkedale Welburne it goeth to Sawlton and there taketh in first the Ricoll that goeth by Careton and whereof Ridall as some thinke but falslie doth séeme to take the name Then Fesse which riseth aboue Bilisdale chappell and méeteth with the Rie at the Shaking bridge from whence they go togither vnder the Rie bridge to Riuis abbeie and thence after it hath crossed a becke from the west through a parke of the earle of Rutlands to Newton Muniton and so to Sawton or Sawlton as I doo find it written Here also it taketh in the Holbecke brooke that commeth thithex from by west by Gilling castell and Stangraue from whence it goeth on to Brabie next into the Seuen then into the Rie and so into the Darwent which from thence dooth run to Wickham Being past Wickham it méeteth with a water that commeth thereinto from Grinston to Setterington at southeast and thence it goeth on the Malton and Malton where the prouerbe saith that a bushell of rie and an other of malt is woorth but six pence carie awaie whilest you may so as you can kéepe them from running through the sarkes Sutton Wellam Furbie and Kirkeham receiuing by the waie one rill on the one side and an other on the other whereof this commeth from Burdfall that other from Conisthorpe From Kirkeham it goeth to Cramburne and Owsham bridge crossing by the waie an other brooke comming from saint Edwards gore by Faston then to Aldbie Buttercram aliàs Butterham bridge Stamford bridge Kexbie bridge Sutton Ellerton Aughton Bubwith Wresill Babthorpe and so into the Ouze wherewith I finish the description of Darwent sauing that I haue to let you vnderstand how Leland heard that an arme ran some time from the head of Darwent also to Scarborow till such time as two hils betwixt which it ran did shalder and so choke vp his course The Fosse a slow streame yet able to beare a good vessell riseth in Nemore Calaterio that is Galters wood or Cawood among the wooddie hilles and in his
diseases doo consume manie of them before the owners can séeke out any remedie by Phlebotomie or otherwise Some superstitious fooles suppose that they which die of the garget are ridden with the night mare and therefore they hang vp stones which naturallie haue holes in them and must be found vnlooked for as if such a stone were an apt cockeshot for the diuell to run through and solace himselfe withall whilest the cattell go scotfree and are not molested by him But if I should set downe but halfe the toies that superstition hath brought into our husbandmens heads in this and other behalfes it would aske a greater volume than is conuenient for such a purpose wherefore it shall suffice to haue said thus much of these things The yéeld of our corne-ground is also much after this rate folowing Through out the land if you please to make an estimat thereof by the acre in meane and indifferent yeares wherein each acre of rie or wheat well tilled and dressed will yeeld commonlie sixtéene or twentie bushels an acre of barlie six and thirtie bushels of otes and such like foure or fiue quarters which proportion is notwithstanding oft abated toward the north as it is oftentimes surmounted in the south Of mixed corne as peason and beanes sowen togither tares and otes which they call bulmong rie and wheat named miscelin here is no place to speake yet their yéeld is neuerthelesse much after this proportion as I haue often marked And yet is not this our great foison comparable to that of hoter countries of the maine But of all that euer I read the increase which Eldred Danus writeth of in his De imperio Iudaeorum in Aethiopia surmounteth where he saith that in the field néere to the Sabbatike riuer called in old time Gosan the ground is so fertile that euerie graine of barleie growing dooth yéeld an hundred kernels at the least vnto the owner Of late yeares also we haue found and taken vp a great trade in planting of hops whereof our moorie hitherto and vnprofitable grounds doo yeeld such plentie increase that their are few farmers or occupiers in the countrie which haue not gardens and hops growing of their owne and those farre better than doo come from Flanders vnto vs. Certes the corruptions vsed by the Flemings and forgerie dailie practised in this kind of ware gaue vs occasion to plant them here at home so that now we may spare and send manie ouer vnto them And this I know by experience that some one man by conuersion of his moorie grounds into hopyards wherof before he had no commoditie dooth raise yearelie by so little as twelue acres in compasse two hundred markes all charges borne toward the maintenance of his familie Which industrie God continue though some secret fréends of Flemings let not to exclaime against this commoditie as a spoile of wood by reason of the poles which neuerthelesse after three yeares doo also come to the fire and spare their other fewell The cattell which we breed are commonlie such as for greatnesse of bone swéetnesse of flesh and other benefits to be reaped by the same giue place vnto none other as may appeare first by our oxen whose largenesse height weight tallow hides and hornes are such as none of anie other nation doo commonlie or may easilie excéed them Our shéepe likewise for good tast of flesh quantitie of lims finesse of fléece caused by their hardnesse of pasturage and abundance of increase for in manie places they bring foorth two or thrée at an eaning giue no place vnto anie more than doo our goates who in like sort doo follow the same order and our déere come not behind As for our conies I haue séene them so fat in some soiles especiallie about Meall and Disnege that the grease of one being weighed hath peised verie néere six or seuen ounces All which benefits we first refer to the grace and goodnesse of God and next of all vnto the bountie of our soile which he hath indued with so notable and commodious fruitfulnesse But as I meane to intreat of these things more largelie hereafter so will I touch in this place one benefit which our nation wanteth and that is wine the fault whereof is not in our soile but the negligence of our countriemen especiallie of the south partes who doo not inure the same to this commoditie and which by reason of long discontinuance is now become vnapt to beare anie grapes almost for pleasure shadow much lesse then the plaine fields or seuerall vineyards for aduantage and commoditie Yet of late time some haue assaied to deale for wine as to your lordship also is right well knowen But sith that liquor when it commeth to the drinking hath bin found more hard than that which is brought from beyond the sea and the cost of planting and keeping thereof so chargeable that they may buie it far better cheape from other countries they haue giuen ouer their enterprises without anie consideration that as in all other things so neither the ground it selfe in the beginning nor successe of their trauell can answer their expectation at the first vntill such time as the soile be brought as it were into acquaintance with this commoditie and that prouision may be made for the more easinesse of charge to be imploied vpon the same If it be true that where wine dooth last and indure well there it will grow no worse I muse not a little wherefore the planting of vines should be neglected in England That this liquor might haue growne in this Iland heretofore first the charter that Probus the emperour gaue equallie to vs the Galles and Spaniards is one sufficient testimonie And that it did grow here beside the testimonie of Beda lib. 1. cap. 1. the old notes of tithes for wine that yet remaine in the accompts of some parsons and vicars in Kent elsewhere besides the records of sundrie sutes commensed in diuerse ecclesiasticall courts both in Kent Surrie c also the inclosed parcels almost in euerie abbeie yet called the vineyardes may be a notable witnesse as also the plot which we now call east Smithfield in London giuen by Canutus sometime king of this land with other soile there about vnto certeine of his knights with the libertie of a Guild which therof was called Knighten Guild The truth is saith Iohn Stow our countrie man and diligent traueller in the old estate of this my natiue citie that it is now named Port soken ward and giuen in time past to the religious house within Algate Howbeit first Otwell the Archouell Otto finallie Geffrie erle of Essex constables of the Tower of London withheld that portion frō the said house vntill the reigne of king Stephan and thereof made a vineyard to their great commoditie and lucre The I le of Elie also was in the first times of the Normans called Le Ile des vignes And good record appéereth that the
battell king Ardulfe was expelled out of the state ¶ Thus ye may consider in what plight things stood in Northumberland by the often seditions tumults and changings of gouernors so that there be which haue written how after the death of king Ethelbert otherwise called Edelred diuers bishops and other of the chiefest nobles of the countrie disdaining such traitorous prince-killings ciuill seditions and iniurious dealings as it were put in dailie practise amongst the Northumbers departed out of their natiue borders into voluntarie exile and that from thencefoorth there was not anie of the nobilitie that durst take vpon him the kinglie gouernement amongst them fearing the fatall prerogatiue thereof as if it had béene Seians horsse whose rider came euer to some euill end But yet by that which is héeretofore shewed out of Simon Dunelm it is euident that there reigned kings ouer the Northumbers but in what authoritie and power to command it may be doubted Howbeit this is certeine that the sundrie murtherings and banishments of their kings and dukes giue vs greatlie to gesse that there was but sorie obedience vsed in the countrie whereby for no small space of time that kingdome remained without an head gouernor being set open to the prey and iniurie of them that were borderers vnto it and likewise vnto strangers For the Danes which in those daies were great rouers had landed before in the north parts spoiled the abbeie of Lindisferne otherwise called holie Iland and perceiuing the fruitfulnesse of the countrie and easinesse for their people to inuade it bicause that through their priuate quarelling there was little publike resistance to be looked for at their comming home entised their countriemen to make voiages into England and so landing in Northumberland did much hurt and obteined a great part of the countrie in manner without resistance bicause there was no ruler there able to raiseanie power of men by publike authoritie to incounter with the common enimies whereby the countrie was brought into great miserie partlie with war of the Danes and ciuill dissention amongest the nobles and people themselues no man being of authoritie I say able to reforme such misorders Yet we find that the nobles and capteines of the countrie assembling togither at one time against the Danes that were landed about Tinmouth constreined them by sharpe fight to flée backe to their ships and tooke certeine of them in the field whose heads they stroke off there vpon the shore The other that got to their ships suffered great losse of men and likewise of their vessels by tempest ¶ Here then we are taught that the safest way to mainteine a monarchie is when all degrées liue in loialtie And that it is necessarie there should be one supereminent vnto whome all the residue should stoope this fraile bodie of ours may giue vs sufficient instruction For reason ruleth in the mind as souereigne and hath subiect vnto it all the affections and inward motions yea the naturall actions are directed by hir gouernement whereto if the will be obedient there cannot créepe in anie outrage or disorder Such should be the sole regiment of a king in his kingdome otherwise he may be called Rex à regendo as Mons à e mouendo For there is not a greater enimie to that estate than to admit participants in roialtie which as it is a readie way to cause a subuersion of a monarchie so it is the shortest cut ouer to a disordered anarchie But to procéed in the historie After that Alrike the last of king Witchtreds sonnes which reigned in Kent successiuelic after their father was dead the noble ofspring of the kings there so decaied and began to vade awaie that euerie one which either by flattering had got riches togither or by seditious partaking was had in estimation sought to haue the gouernement and to vsurp the title of king abusing by vnworthie means the honor and dignitie of so high an office Amongest others one Edbert or Edelbert surnamed also Prenne gouerned the Kentishmen for the space of two yeares and was in the end vanquished by them of Mercia and taken prisoner as before is said so that for a time he liued in captiuitie and although afterwards he was set at libertie yet was he not receiued againe to the kingdome so that it is vncerteine what end he made Cuthred that was appointed by Kinevulfe the king of Mercia to reigne in place of the same Edbert or Edelbert continued in the gouernement eight yéeres as king rather by name than by act inheriting his predecessors euill hap and calamitie through factions and ciuill discord After that Iambrith or Lambert the archbishop of Canturburie was departed this life one Edelred was ordeined in his place vnto whome the primasie was restored which in his predecessors time was taken awaie by Offa king of Mercia as before is recited Also after the death of Eubald archbishop of Yorke another of the same name called Eubald the second was admitted to succeed in that sée After that Brightrike the king of Westsaxons was departed this life messengers were sent with all spéed into France to giue knowledge thereof vnto Egbert which as before is shewed was constreined by the said Brightrike to depart the countrie At the first he withdrew vnto Offa king of Mercia with whome he remained for a time till at length through suit made by Brightrike he perceiued he might not longer continue there without danger to be deliuered into his enimies hands and so Offa winking at the matter he departed out of his countrie and got him ouer into France But being now aduertised of Brightriks death and required by earnest letters sent from his friends to come and receiue the gouernement of the kingdome he returned with all conuenient spéed into his countrie and was receiued immediatlie for king by the generall consent of the Westsaxons as well in respect of the good hope which they had conceiued of his woorthie qualities and aptnesse to haue gouernement as of hid roiall linage being lineallie descended from Inigils the brother of king Inas as sonne to Alkemound that was the sonne of one Eaffa which Eaffa was sonne to Ope the sonne of the foresaid Inigils Egbert reigneth ouer the Westsaxons his practise or exercise in the time of his exile his martiall exploits against the Cornishmen and Welshmen Bernulfe king of Mercia taketh indignation at Egbert for the inlarging of his roiall authoritie they fight a sore battell Egbert ouercommeth great ods betweene their souldiers bishop Alstan a warriour Kent Essex Southerie Sussex and Eastangles subiect to Egbert he killeth Bernulfe K. of Mercia and conquereth the whole kingdome Whitlafe the king thereof becommeth his tributarie the Northumbers submit themselues to Egbert he conquereth Northwales and the citie of Chester he is crowned supreme gouernour of the whole land when this I le was called England the Danes inuade the land they discomfit Egberts host the Welshmen ioine
were not yet resolued of the diuision of the earth For my part as I indeuour not to remooue the credit of that which antiquitie hath deliuered and yet loth to continue and maintaine any corruption that may be redressed so I thinke good to giue foorth a new diuision more probable better agreeing with a truth And therefore I diuide the whole into fiue seuerall parcels reteining the common diuision in the first three as before and vnto the fourth allowing not onelie all that portion that lieth by north of the Magellan streicts and those Hyperborean Ilands which lie west of the line of longitude of late discouered by Frobisher and called by hir Maiestie Meta incognita but likewise so manie Ilands as are within 180. degrées Westwards from our beginning or common line of longitude whereby they are parted from those which by this diuision are allotted vnto Asia and the portion it selfe made equipollent with the same for greatnes far excéeding either Europa or Africa if it be not fullie so much in quantitie as they both vnited and laid togither The fift last part is the Antartike portion with hir Ilands annexed that region I meane which lieth vnder the South pole cut off from America or the fourth part by the Magellan streiâ—ts from Africa by the sea which passeth by the Cape of good hope a countrie no lesse large for limits and bounds than Africa or America and therefore right worthie to be called the fift howsoeuer it shall please the curious to mislike of this diuision This also I will adde that albeit the continent hereof doo not extend it selfe vnto the verie Antartike point but lieth as it were a long table betwéene two seas of which the later is vnder the South poole and as I may call it a maine sea vnder the aforesaid pricke yet is it not without sundrie Ilands also adioining vnto it and the inner most sea not destitute of manie as by experience hath béene of late confirmed Furthermore whereas our describers of the earth haue made it such in their descriptions as hath reached litle or nothing into the peaceable sea without the Antartike circle it is now found by Theuet and others that it extendeth it selfe northwards into that trace by no small number of leagues euen in maner to the Equator in so much that the westerlie part thereof from America is supposed to reach northward so far from the Antartike article as Africa dooth southwards from the tropike of Cancer which is no small portion of ground I maruell why not obserued by such as heretofore haue written of the same But they excuse themselues by the ingratitude of the Portingals and Spaniards who haue of purpose concealed manie things found out in their trauell least they should séeme to open a gap by dooing otherwise for strangers to enter into their conquests As for those Ilands also which lie in the peaceable sea scattered here and there as Iaua the greater the lesser Sumatra Iapan Burneo c with a number of other I refer them still vnto Asia as before so as they be without the compasse of 90. degrées eastward from the line of longitude not aboue 180. as I doo the I le of S. Laurence and a number of other vnto Africa within the said proportion wishing so little alteration as I may and yet not yéelding vnto any confusion whereby the truth of the diuision should hereafter be impeached And whereas by Virgil speaking of our Iland saith Et penitùs toto diuisos orbe Britannos And some other authors not vnwoorthie to be read and perused it is not certeine vnto which portion of the earth our Ilands and Thule with sundrie the like scattered in the north seas should be ascribed bicause they excluded them as you sée from the rest of the whole earth I haue thought good for facilitie sake of diuision to refer them all which lie within the first minute of longitude set downe by Ptolome to Europa and that as reason requireth so that the aforesaid line shall henceforth be their Meta partition from such as are to be ascribed to America albeit they come verie neere vnto the aforesaid portion may otherwise without preiudice be numbred with the same It may be that some will thinke this my dealing either to be superfiuous or to procéed from I wot not what foolish curiositie for the world is now growne to be very apt and readie to iudge the hardest of euerie attempt But forsomuch as my purpose is to leaue a plaine report of such matter as I doo write of and deliuer such things as I intreat of in distinct and vpright order though method now and then doo faile I will go forward with my indeuour referring the examination of my dooings to the indifferent and learned eare without regard what the other doo conceiue and imagine of me In the meane season therefore it shall suffice to say at this time that Albion as the mother and the rest of the Ilands as hir daughters lieng east of the line of longitude be still ascribed vnto Europa wherevnto some good authours heretofore in their writings their owne proper or naturall situations also haue not amisse referred them Of the position circuit forme and quantitie of the I le of Britaine Cap. 2. BRitannia or Britain as we now terme it in our English toong or Brutania as some pronounce it by reason of the letter y in the first syllable of the word as antiquitie did sometime deliuer it is an Ile lieng in the Ocean sea directlie ouer against that part of France which conteineth Picardie Normandie and thereto the greatest part of little Britaine which later region was called in time past Armorica of the situation thereof vpon the sea coast vntill such time as a companie of Britons either led ouer by some of the Romane Emperours or flieng thither from the tyrannie of such as oppressed them here in this Iland did setle themselues there and called it Britaine after the name of their owne countrie from whence they aduentured thither It hath Ireland vpon the west side on the north the maine sea euen to Thule and the Hyperboreans and on the east side also the Germane Ocean by which we passe dailie through the trade of merchandize not onlie into the low countries of Belgie now miserablie afflicted betwéene the Spanish power and popish inquisition as spice betwéene the morter and the pestell but also into Germanie Friezeland Denmarke and Norwaie carrieng from hence thither and bringing from thence hither all such necessarie commodities as the seuerall countries doo yéeld through which meanes and besides common amitie conserued traffike is mainteined and the necessitie of each partie abundantlie reléeued It conteineth in longitude taken by the middest of the region 19. degrees exactlie and in latitude 53. degrées and thirtie min. after the opinions of those that haue diligentlie obserued the same in our daies
among the Alps called after his owne name and other also euen in his owne kingdome on that side and Lestrigo greatlie weakened by the slaughter of his brethren Of this inuention of Hercules in like sort it commeth that Iupiter father vnto Hercules who indeed was none other but Osyris is feigned to throw downe stones from heauen vpon Albion and Bergion in the defense of his sonne which came so thicke vpon them as if great drops of raine or haile should haue descended from aboue no man well knowing which waie to turne him from their force they came so fast and with so great a violence But to go forward albeit that Albion and his power were thus discomfited and slaine yet the name that he gaue vnto this Iland died not but still remained vnto the time of Brute who arriuing héere in the 1116. before Christ and 2850. after the creation of the world not onelie changed it into Britaine after it had beene called Albion by the space of about 600. yeares but to declare his souereigntie ouer the rest of the Ilands also that lie scattered round about it he called them all after the same maner so that Albion was said in time to be Britanniarum insula maxima that is The greatest of those Iles that beare the name of Britaine which Plinie also confirmeth and Strabo in his first and second bookes denieth not There are some which vtterlie denieng that this Iland tooke hir name of Brute doo affirme it rather to be so called of the rich mettals sometime carried from the mines there into all the world as growing in the same Vibius Sequester also saith that Calabria was sometime called Britannia Ob immensam affluentiam totius delitiae atque vbertatis that was to be found heerein Other contend that it should be written with P Pritannia All which opinions as I absolutelie denie not so I willinglie leane vnto none of them in peremptorie maner sith the antiquitie of our historie carrieth me withall vnto the former iudgements And for the same cause I reiect them also which deriue the aforesaid denomination from Britona the nymph in following Textor or Prutus or Prytus the sonne of Araxa which Britona was borne in Creta daughter to Mars and fled by sea from thence onelie to escape the villanie of Minos who attempted to rauish and make hir one of his paramours but if I should forsake the authoritie of Galfride I would rather leane to the report of Parthenius whereof elsewhere I haue made a more large rehersall It is altogither impertinent to discusse whether Hercules came into this Iland after the death of Albion or not although that by an ancient monument seene of late as I heare and the cape of Hartland or Harcland in the West countrie called Promontorium Herculis in old time diuers of our British antiquaries doo gather great likelihood that he should also be here But sith his presence or absence maketh nothing with the alteration of the name of this our region and countrie and to search out whether the said monument was but some token erected in his honour of later times as some haue beene elsewhere among the Celts framed those like an old criple with a bow bent in one hand a club in the other a rough skin on his backe the haire of his head all to be matted like that of the Irishmens and drawing manie men captiue after him in chaines is but smallie auailable and therefore I passe it ouer as not incident to my purpose Neither will I spend any time in the determination whether Britaine had beene sometime a parcell of the maine although it should well séeme so to haue beene bicause that before the generall floud of Noah we doo not read of Ilands more than of hils and vallies Wherfore as Wilden Arguis also noteth in his philosophie and tractation of meteors it is verie likelie that they were onelie caused by the violent motion and working of the sea in the time of the floud which if S. Augustine had well considered he would neuer haue asked how such creatures as liued in Ilands far distant from the maine could come into the arke De ciuit lib. 16. cap. 7. howbeit in the end he concludeth with another matter more profitable than his demand As for the speedie and timelie inhabitation thereof this is mine opinion to wit that it was inhabited shortlie after the diuision of the earth For I read that when each capteinie and his companie had their portions assigned vnto them by Noah in the partition that he made of the whole among his posteritie they neuer ceased to trauell and search out the vttermost parts of the same vntill they found out their bounds allotted and had seene and vewed their limits euen vnto the verie poles It shall suffice therefore onelie to haue touched these things in this manner a farre off and in returning to our purpose to procéed with the rest concerning the denomination of our Iland which was knowne vnto most of the Gréekes for a long time by none other name than Albion and to saie the truth euen vnto Alexanders daies as appeareth by the words of Aristotle in his De mundo and to the time of Ptolomie notwithstanding that Brute as I haue said had changed the same into Britaine manie hundred yeares before After Brutus I doo not find that anie men attempted to change it againe vntill the time that Theodosius in the daies of Ualentinianus and Ualens endeuoured in the remembrance of the two aforesaid Emperours to call it Valentia as Marcellinus saith But as this deuise tooke no hold among the common sort so it retained still the name of Britaine vntill the reigne of Ecbert who about the 800. yeare of Grace and first of his reigne gaue foorth an especiall edict dated at Winchester that it should be called Angles land or Angellandt for which in our time we doo pronounce it England And this is all right honorable that I haue to say touching the seuerall names of this Iland vtterlie misliking in the meane season their deuises which make Hengist the onlie parent of the later denomination whereas Ecbert bicause his ancestours descended from the Angles one of the sixe nations that came with the Saxons into Britaine for they were not all of one but of diuers countries as Angles Saxons Germans Switzers Norwegiens Iutes otherwise called Iutons Uites Gothes or Getes and Uandals and all comprehended vnder the name of Saxons bicause of Hengist the Saxon and his companie that first arriued here before anie of the other and therto hauing now the monarchie and preheminence in maner of this whole Iland called the same after the name of the countrie from whence he deriued his originall neither Hengist neither anie Queene named Angla neither whatsoeuer deriuation ab Angulo as from a corner of the world bearing swaie or hauing ought to doo at all in that behalfe What sundrie nations haue dwelled in Albion Cap.
4. AS few or no nations can iustlie boast themselues to haue continued sithence their countrie was first replenished without any mixture more or lesse of forreine inhabitants no more can this our Iland whose manifold commodities haue oft allured sundrie princes and famous capteines of the world to conquer and subdue the same vnto their owne subiection Manie sorts of people therfore haue come in hither and settled themselues here in this I le and first of all other a parcell of the linage and posteritie of Iaphet brought in by Samothes in the 1910. after the creation of Adam Howbeit in processe of time and after they had indifferentlie replenished and furnished this Iland with people which was doone in the space of 335. yeares Albion the giant afore mentioned repaired hither with a companie of his owne race procéeding from Cham and not onelie annexed the same to his owne dominion but brought all such in like sort as he found here of the line of Iaphet into miserable seruitude and most extreame thraldome After him also and within lesse than sixe hundred and two yeares came Brute the sonne of Syluius with a great traine of the posteritie of the dispersed Troians in 324. ships who rendering the like courtesie vnto the Chemminits as they had doone before vnto the séed of Iaphet brought them also wholie vnder his rule and gouernance and dispossessing the peeres inferior owners of their lands and possessions he diuided the countrie among such princes and capteines as he in his arriuall here had led out of Grecia with him From hencefoorth I doo not find any sound report of other nation whatsoeuer that should aduenture hither to dwell and alter the state of the land vntill the Romane emperours subdued it to their dominion sauing of a few Galles and those peraduenture of Belgie who first comming ouer to rob and pilfer vpon the coasts did afterward plant themselues for altogither neere vnto the shore and there builded sundrie cities and townes which they named after those of the maine from whence they came vnto vs. And this is not onelie to be gathered out of Cesar where he writeth of Britaine of set purpose but also else-where as in his second booke a litle after the beginning for speaking of Deuiaticus king of the Swessions liuing in his time he affirmeth him not onelie to be the mightiest prince of all the Galles but also to hold vnder his subiection the I le of Britaine of which his sonne Galba was afterward dispossessed But after the comming of the Romans it is hard to say with how manie sorts of people we were dailie pestered almost in euerie steed For as they planted their forworne legions in the most fertile places of the realme and where they might best lie for the safegard of their conquests so their armies did commonlie consist of manie sorts of people and were as I may call them a confused mixture of all other countries and nations then liuing in the world Howbeit I thinke it best bicause they did all beare the title of Romans to reteine onelie that name for them all albeit they were wofull ghests to this our Iland sith that with them came all maner of vice and vicious liuing all riot and excesse of behauiour into our countrie which their legions brought hither from each corner of their dominions for there was no prouince vnder them from whence they had not seruitours How and when the Scots a people mixed of the Scithian and Spanish blood should arriue here out of Ireland when the Picts should come vnto vs out of Sarmatia or from further toward the north the Scithian Hyperboreans as yet it is vncerteine For though the Scotish histories doo carrie great countenance of their antiquitie in this Iland yet to saie fréelie what I thinke I iudge them rather to haue stolne in hither within the space of 100. yeares before Christ than to haue continued here so long as they themselues pretend if my coniecture be any thing Yet I denie not but that as the Picts were long planted in this Iland before the Scots aduentured to settle themselues also in Britaine so the Scots did often aduenture hither to rob and steale out of Ireland and were finallie called in by the Meats or Picts as the Romans named them because they painted their bodies to helpe them against the Britains after the which they so planted themselues in these parts that vnto our time that portion of the land cannot he cleansed of them I find also that as these Scots were reputed for the most Scithian-like and barbarous nation and longest without letters so they vsed commonlie to steale ouer into Britaine in leather skewes and began to helpe the Picts about or not long before the beginning of Cesars time For both Diodorus lib. 6. and Strabo lib. 4. doo seeme to speake of a parcell of the Irish nation that should inhabit Britaine in their time which were giuen to the eating of mans flesh and therefore called Anthropophagi Mamertinus in like sort dooth note the Redshanks and the Irish which are properlie the Scots to be the onelie enimies of our nation before the comming of Caesar as appeareth in his panegyricall oration so that hereby it is found that they are no new ghestes in Britaine Wherefore all the controuersie dooth rest in the time of their first attempt to inhabit in this Iland Certeinlie I maruell much whie they trauell not to come in with Cantaber and Partholonus but I see perfectlie that this shift should be too grosse for the maintenance of their desired antiquitie Now as concerning their name the Saxons translated the word Scotus for Irish whereby it appeareth that those Irish of whom Strabo and Diodorus doo speake are none other than those Scots of whom Ierome speaketh A duersus Iouinianum lib. 2. who vsed to féed on the buttocks of boies and womens paps as delicate dishes Aethicus writing of the I le of Man affirmeth it to be inhabited with Scots so well as Ireland euen in his time Which is another proofe that the Scots and Irish are all one people They were also called Scoti by the Romans bicause their Iland originall inhabitation thereof were vnknowne and they themselues an obscure nation in the sight of all the world Now as concerning the Picts whatsoeuer Ranulphus Hygden imagineth to the contrarie of their latter enterance it is easie to find by Herodian and Mamertinus of which the one calleth them Meates the other Redshankes and Pictones that they were setled in this I le long before the time of Seuerus yea of Caesar and comming of the Scots Which is proofe sufficient if no further authoritie remained extant for the same So that the controuersie lieth not in their comming also but in the true time of their repaire and aduenture into this Iland out of the Orchades out of which they gat ouer into the North parts of our countrie as the
Robert but following the authoritie of an English préest then liuing in the court the English Peeres began to shew their disliking in manifest maner Neuerthelesse the Normans so bewitched the king with their lieng and bosting Robert the Archbishop being the chéefe instrument of their practise that he beléeued them and therevpon vexed sundrie of the nobilitie amongst whom Earle Goodwijn of Kent was the chéefe a noble Gentleman and father in law to king Edward by the mariage of his daughter The matter also came to such issue against him that he was exiled and fiue of his sonnes with him wherevpon he goeth ouer the sea and soone after returning with his said sonnes they inuaded the land in sundrie places the father himselfe comming to London where when the kings power was readie to ioine with him in battell it vtterlie refused so to doo affirming plainelie that it should be méere follie for one Englishman to fight against another in the reuenge of Frenchmens quarels which answer entred so déeplie into the kings mind that he was contented to haue the matter heard and appointing commissioners for that purpose they concluded at the vpshot that all the French should depart out of England by a day few excepted whom the king should appoint and nominate By this means therfore Robert the Archbishop of secret counsell with the king was first exiled as principall abuser seducer of the king who goeth to Rome there complaineth to the Pope of his iniurie receiued by the English Howbeit as he returned home againe with no small hope of the readeption of his See he died in Normandie whereby he saued a killing Certes he was the first that euer tendered complaint out of England vnto Rome with him went William Bishop of London afterward reuoked and Vlfo of Lincolne who hardlie escaped the furie of the English nobilitie Some also went into Scotland and there held themselues expecting a better time And this is the true historie of the originall cause of the conquest of England by the French for after they were well beaten at Douer bicause of their insolent demeanour there shewed their harts neuer ceased to boile with a desire of reuenge that brake out into a flame so soone as their Robert possessed the primacie which being once obteined and to set his mischéefe intended abroch withall a contention was quicklie procured about certeine Kentish lands and controuersie kindled whether he or the Earle should haue most right vnto them The king held with the priest as with the church the nobilitie with the Earle In processe also of this businesse the Archbishop accused the Earle of high treason burdening him with the slaughter of Alfred the kings brother which was altogither false as appeareth by a treatise yet extant of that matter written by a chaplaine to king Edward the Confessour in the hands of Iohn Stow my verie fréend wherein he saith thus Alfredus incautè agens in aduentu suo in Angliam a Danis circumuentus occiditur He addeth moreouer that giuing out as he came through the countrie accompanied with his few proud Normans how his meaning was to recouer his right vnto the kingdome and supposing that all men would haue yéelded vnto him he fell into their hands whome Harald then king did send to apprehend him vpon the fame onelie of this report brought vnto his eares So that to be short after the king had made his pacification with the Earle the French I say were exiled the Quéene restored to his fauour whom he at the beginning of this broile had imprisoned at Wilton allowing hir but one onlie maid to wait vpon hir and the land reduced to hir former quietnesse which continued vntill the death of the king After which the Normans not forgetting their old grudge remembred still their quarell that in the end turned to their conquest of this Iland After which obteined they were so cruellie bent to our vtter subuersion and ouerthrow that in the beginning it was lesse reproch to be accounted a slaue than an Englishman or a drudge in anie filthie businesse than a Britaine insomuch that euerie French page was superiour to the greatest Peere and the losse of an Englishmans life but a pastime to such of them as contended in their brauerie who should giue the greatest strokes or wounds vnto their bodies when their toiling and drudgerie could not please them or satisfie their gréedie humors Yet such was our lot in those daies by the diuine appointed order that we must needs obey such as the Lord did set ouer vs and so much the rather for that all power to resist was vtterlie taken from vs and our armes made so weake and feeble that they were not now able to remooue the importable load of the enimie from our surburdened shoulders And this onelie I saie againe bicause we refused grace offered in time and would not heare when God by his Preachers did call vs so fauourablie vnto him Oh how miserable was the estate of our countrie vnder the French and Normans wherein the Brittish and English that remained could not be called to any function in the commonwealth no not so much as to be constables and headburowes in small villages except they could bring 2. or 3. Normans for suerties to the Lords of the soile for their good behauiour in their offices Oh what numbers of all degrées of English and Brittish were made slaues and bondmen and bought and sold as oxen in open market In so much that at the first comming the French bond were set free and those that afterward became bond were of our owne countrie and nation so that few or rather none of vs remained free without some note of bondage and seruitude to the French Hereby then we perceiue how from time to time this Iland hath not onelie béene a prey but as it were a common receptacle for strangers the naturall homelings or Britons being still cut shorter and shorter as I said before till in the end they came not onelie to be driuen into a corner of this region but in time also verie like vtterlie to haue beene extinguished For had not king Edward surnamed the saint in his time after greeuous wars made vpon them 1063. wherein Harald latelie made Earle of Oxenford sonne to Goodwin Earle of Kent and after king of England was his generall permitted the remnant of their women to ioine in mariage with the Englishmen when the most part of their husbands and male children were slaine with the sword it could not haue béene otherwise chosen but their whole race must needs haue susteined the vttermost confusion and thereby the memorie of the Britons vtterlie haue perished among vs. Thus we see how England hath six times beene subiect to the reproch of conquest And wheras the Scots séeme to challenge manie famous victories also ouer vs beside gréeuous impositions tributs dishonorable compositions it shall suffice for answer that they deale in
Essex Middlesex and part of Hertfordshire euen as the iurisdiction of the bishop of London is now extended for the ouersight of such things as belong vnto the church Ech of the gouernors also of these regions called themselues kings and therevnto either of them dailie made warre vpon other for the inlarging of their limits But for somuch as I am not able to saie how manie did challenge this authoritie at once and how long they reigned ouer their seuerall portions I will passe ouer these ancient times and come néerer vnto our owne I meane the 600. yéere of Christ whereof we haue more certeine notice at which season there is euident proofe that there were twelue or thirtéene kings reigning in this Iland We find therefore for the first how that Wales had hir thrée seuerall kingdomes which being accompted togither conteined as Giraldus saith 49. cantreds or cantons whereof thrée were in his time possessed by the French and English although that whole portion of the Iland extended in those daies no farder than about 200. miles in length and one hundred in bredth and was cut from Lhoegres by the riuers Sauerne and Dée of which two streames this dooth fall into the Irish sea at Westchester the other into the maine Ocean betwixt Somersetshire and Southwales as their seuerall courses shall witnesse more at large In the begining it was diuided into two kingdoms onelie that is to saie Venedotia or Gwynhedh otherwise called Dehenbarth and Demetia for which we now vse most cōmonlie the names of South Northwales But in a short processe of time a third sprung vp in the verie middest betwéene them both which from thence-foorth was called Powisy as shal be shewed hereafter For Roderijc the great who flourished 850. of Christ and was king of all Wales which then conteined onlie six regions leauing thrée sons behind him by his last will testament diuided the countrie into thrée portions according to the number of his children of which he assigned one vnto either of them wherby Morwing or Morwinner had Gwynhedh or Northwales Cadelh Demetia or Southwales and Anaralt Powisy as Giraldus and other doo remember Howbeit it came to passe that after this diuision Cadelh suruiued all his brethren and thereby became lord of both their portions and his successors after him vntill the time of Teuther or Theodor all is one after which they were contended to kéepe themselues within the compasse of Demetia which as I said conteined 29. of those 49. cantreds before mentioned as Powisy did six and Gwinhedh fouretéene except my memorie doo faile me The first of these thrée being called as I said Northwales or Venedotia or as Paulus Iouius saith Malfabrene for he diuideth Wales also into thrée regions of which he calleth the first Dumbera the second Berfrona and the third Malfabrene lieth directlie ouer against the I le of Anglesei the chiefe citie whereof stood in the I le of Angleset and was called Aberfraw It conteineth 4. regions of which the said Iland is the first and whereof in the chapter insuing I will intreate more at large The second is called Arfon and situate betwéene two riuers the Segwy and the Conwy The third is Merioneth and as it is seuered from Arfon by the Conwy so is it separated from Tegenia otherwise called Stradcluyd and Igenia the fourth region by the riuer Cluda Finallie the limits of this latter are extended also euen vnto the Dée it selfe and of these foure regions consisteth the kingdome of Venedotia whereof in times past the region of the Canges was not the smallest portion The kingdome of Powisy last of all erected as I said hath on the north side Gwinhedh on the east from Chester to Hereford or rather to Deane forest England on the south and west the riuer Wy and verie high hilles whereby it is notablie seuered from Southwales the chiefe citie thereof being at the first Salopsburg in old time Pengwerne and Ynwithig but now Shrowesburie a citie or towne raised out of the ruines of Vricouium which standing 4. miles from thence and by the Saxons called Wrekencester and Wrokecester before they ouerthrew it is now inhabited with méere English and where in old time the kings of Powisy did dwell and hold their palaces till Englishmen draue them from thence to Matrauall in the same prouince where they from thencefoorth aboad Upon the limits of this kingdome and not far from Holt castell upon ech side of the riuer as the chanell now runneth stood sometime the famous monasterie of Bangor whilest the abated glorie of the Britons yet remained vnextinguished and herein were 2100. monkes of which the learned sort did preach the Gospell and the vnlearned labored with their hands thereby to mainteine themselues and to sustaine their preachers This region was in like sort diuided afterward in twaine of which the one was called Mailor or Mailrosse the other reteined still hir old denomination and of these the first laie by south the latter by north of the Sauerne As touching Mailrosse I read moreouer in the gests of Fowkes de Warren how that one William sonne to a certeine ladie sister to Paine Peuerell the first lord of Whittington after the conquest did win a part of the same and the hundred of Ellesmore from the Welshmen in which enterprise he was so desperatlie wounded that no man hight him life yet at the last by eating of the shield of a wild bore he got an appetite and recouered his health This William had issue two daughters to wit Helene maried to the heire of the Alans and Mellent which refused mariage with anie man except he were frist tried to be a knight of prowesse Herevpon hir father made proclamation that against such a daie at such a place whatsoeuer Gentleman could shew himselfe most valiant in the field should marrie Mellent his daughter haue with hir his castell of Whittington with sufficient liueliehood to mainteine their estates for euer This report being spred Fowkes de Warren came thither all in red with a shield of siluer and pecocke for his crest whereof he was called the red knight and there ouercomming the kings sonne of Scotland and a Baron of Burgundie he maried the maid and by hir had issue as in the treatise appeareth There is yet great mention of the red knight in the countrie there about and much like vnto this Mellent was the daughter sometime of one of the lord Rosses called Kudall who bare such good will to Fitz-Henrie clarke of hir fathers kitchen that she made him carie hir awaie on horssebacke behind him onlie for his manhood sake which presentlie was tried For being pursued ouer taken she made him light held his cloke whilest he killed and draue hir fathers men to flight and then awaie they go till hir father conceiuing a good opinion of Fitz-Henrie for this act receiued
or other of the stars vnto his person to the end his name might neuer weare out of memorie And this they called their translation in heauen so that he which had any starres or forme of starres dedicated vnto him was properlie said to haue a seat among the gods A toie much like to the catalog of Romish saints although the one was written in the celestiall or immateriall orbes the other in sheeps skins and verie brickle paper but yet so estéemed that euerie prince would oft hazard and attempt the vttermost aduentures thereby to win such fame in his life that after his death he might by merit haue such place in heauen among the shining starres Howbeit euerie of those that were called gods could not obteine that benefit for then should there not haue béene stars enow in heauen to haue serued all their turnes wherfore another place was in time imagined where they reigned that were of a second calling as the Semones who were gods by grace and fauour of the people Semones dici voluerunt saith Fulgentius In vocibus antiquis quos coelo nec dignos ascriberent ob meriti paupertatem sicut Priapus Hyppo Vortumnus c. nec terrenos eos deputare vellent per gratiae venerationem as also a third place that is to say an earth where those gods dwelled which were noble men officers good gouernours and lawgiuers to the people and yet not thought worthie to be of the second or first companie which was a iollie diuision Thus we sée in generall maner how idolatrie honoring of the starres and brood of inferiour gods were hatched at the first which follies in processe of time came also into Britaine as did the names of Saturne Iupiter c as shall appeare hereafter And here sith I haue alreadie somewhat digressed from my matter I will go yet a little farder and shew foorth the originall vse of the word Saturne Iupiter Hercules c whereby your Honor shall sée a little more into the errours of the Gentils and not onelie that but one point also of the root of all the confusion that is to be found among the ancient histories Certes it was vsed for a few yéeres after the partition of the earth which was made by Noah in the 133. yeere after the floud that the beginners of such kingdoms as were then erected should be called Saturni whereby it came to passe that Nimbrote was the Saturne of Babylon Cham of Aegypt and so foorth other of sundrie other countries Their eldest sonnes also that succeeded them were called Ioues and their nephewes or sonnes sonnes which reigned in the third place Hercules by which meanes it followed that euerie kingdome had a Saturne Iupiter and Hercules of hir owne and not from anie other In like sort they had such another order among their daughters whom they married as yet commonlie vnto their brethren God himselfe permitting the same vnto them for a time as before the floud to the end the earth might be thoroughlie replenished and the sooner furnished with inhabitants in euerie part thereof The sister therefore and wife of euerie Saturne was called Rhea but of Iupiter Iuno Isis or Io. Beyond these also there was no latter Harold that would indeuour to deriue the petigree of any prince or potentate but supposed his dutie to be sufficientlie performed when he had brought it orderlie vnto some Saturne or other wherat he might cease and shut vp all his trauell They had likewise this opinion grounded amongst them that heauen earth were onlie parents vnto Saturne and Rhea not knowing out of doubt what they themselues did meane sith these denominations Heauen Ogyges the Sunne Pater Deorum and such like were onelie ascribed vnto Noah as Terra the Earth Vesta Aretia the Moone Mater deorum and other the like were vnto Tydea his wife So that hereby we sée how Saturne is reputed in euerie nation for their oldest god or first prince Iupiter for the next and Hercules for the third And therfore sith these names were dispersed in the beginning ouer all it is no maruell that there is such confusion in ancient histories and the dooings of one of them so mixed with those of another that it is now impossible to distinguish them in sunder This haue I spoken to the end that all men may see what gods the Pagans honored thereby what religion the posteritie of Cham did bring ouer into Britaine For vntill their comming it is not likelie that anie grosse idolatrie or superstition did enter in among vs as deifieng of mortall men honoring of the starres and erection of huge images beside sorcerie witchcraft and such like whereof the Chemminites are worthilie called the autors Neither were these errors anie thing amended by the comming in of Brute who no doubt added such deuises vnto the same as he and his companie had learned before in Graecia from whence also he brought Helenus the sonne of Priamus a man of excéeding age made him his préest and bishop thorough out the new conquest that he had atchieued in Britaine After Brute idolatrie and superstition still increased more and more among vs insomuch that beside the Druiysh and Bardike ceremonies and those also that came in with Albion and Brute himselfe our countriemen either brought hither from abroad or dailie inuented at home new religion and rites whereby it came to passe that in the stead of the onelie and immortall God of whome Samothes and his posteritie did preach in times past now they honored the said Samothes himselfe vnder the name of Dis and Saturne also Iupiter Mars Minerua Mercurie Apollo Diana and finallie Hercules vnto whome they dedicated the gates and porches of their temples entrances into their regions cities townes and houses with their limits and bounds as the papists did the gates of their cities and ports vnto Botulph Giles bicause fortitude and wisedome are the cheefe vpholders and bearers vp of common-wealths and kingdoms both which they ascribed to Hercules forgetting God and diuers other idols whose names I now remember not In lieu moreouer of sheepe and oxen they offred mankind also vnto some of them killing their offendors prisoners and oft such strangers as came from farre vnto them by shutting vp great numbers of them togither in huge images made of wicker réed haie or other light matter and then setting all on fire togither they not onelie consumed the miserable creatures of ashes sometimes adding other beasts vnto them but also reputed it to be the most acceptable sacrifice that could be made vnto their idols From whence they had this horrible custome trulie I cannot tell but that it was common to most nations not onlie to consume their strangers captiues but also their owne children with fire in such maner of sacrifice beside the text of the Bible the prophane histories doo generallie leaue
impertinent discourse and proceed with my purpose I find in the Chronicles of Burton vnder the yeare of Grace 141. and time of Hadrian the emperour that nine scholers or clerkes of Grantha or Granta now Cambridge were baptised in Britaine and became preachers of the gospell there but whether Taurinus bishop or elder ouer the congregation at Yorke who as Vincentius saith was executed about this tune for his faith were one of them or not as yet I do not certeinlie find but rather the contrarie which is that he was no Britaine at all but Episcopus Ebroicensis for which such as perceiue not the easie corruption of the word may soone write Eboracensis as certeinlie mine author out of whom I alledge this authoritie hath done before me For Vincentius saith flat otherwise and therefore the Chronologie if it speake of anie Taurinus bishop of Yorke is to be reformed in that behalfe Diuers other also imbraced the religion of Christ verie zealouslie before these men Howbeit all this notwithstanding the glad tidings of the gospell had neuer free and open passage here vntill the time of Lucius in which the verie enimies of the word became the apparent meanes contrarie to their owne minds to haue it set foorth amongst vs. For when Antoninus the emperour had giuen out a decrée that the Druiysh religion should euerie where be abolished Lucius the king whose surname is now perished tooke aduise of his councell what was best to be doone wrote in this behalfe And this did Lucius bicause he knew it impossible for man to liue long without any religion at all finallie finding his Nobilitie subiects vtter enimies to the Romane deuotiō for that they made so many gods as they listed some to haue the regiment euen of their dirt dung and thervnto being pricked forwards by such christians as were conuersant about him to choose the seruice of the true God that liueth for euer rather than the slauish seruitude of any pagan idoll he fullie resolued with himselfe in the end to receiue and imbrace the gospell of Christ. He sent also two of his best learned and greatest philosophers to Rome vnto Eleutherus then bishop there in the 177. of Christ not to promise any subiection to his sea which then was not required but to say with such as were pricked in mind Acts. 2. verse 37. Quid faciemus viri fratres I meane that they were sent to be perfectlie instructed and with farther commission to make earnest request vnto him and the congregation there that a competent number of preachers might be sent ouer from thence by whose diligent aduise and trauell the foundation of the gospell might surelie be laid ouer all the portion of the I le which conteined his kingdome according to his mind When Eleutherus vnderstood these things he reioiced not a little for the great goodnesse which the Lord had shewed vpon this our Ile and countrie Afterwards calling the brethren togither they agréed to ordeine euen those two for bishops whom Lucius as you haue heard had directed ouer vnto them Finallie after they had thoroughlie catechized them making generall praier vnto God and earnest supplication for the good successe of these men they sent them home againe with no small charge that they should be diligent in their function and carefull ouer the flocke committed to their custodie The first of these was called Eluanus Aualonius a man borne in the I le of Aualon and brought vp there vnder those godlie pastours and their disciples whom Philip sent ouer at the first for the conuersion of the Britons The other hight Medguinus and was thereto surnamed Belga bicause he was of the towne of Welles which then was called Belga This man was trained vp also in one schoole with Eluanus both of them being ornaments to their horie ages and men of such grauitie and godlinesse that Eleutherus supposed none more worthie to support this charge than they after whose comming home also it was not long yer Lucius and all his houshold with diuers of the Nobilitie were baptised beside infinit numbers of the common people which dailie resorted vnto them and voluntarilie renounced all their idolatrie and paganisme In the meane time Eleutherus vnderstanding the successe of these learned doctours and supposing with himselfe that they two onlie could not suffice to support so great a charge as should concerne the conuersion of the whole Iland he directed ouer vnto them in the yeare insuing Faganus Dinaw or Dinauus Aaron and diuerse other godlie preachers as fellow-labourers to trauell with them in the vineyard of the Lord. These men therefore after their comming hither consulted with the other and foorthwith wholie consented to make a diuision of this Iland amongst themselues appointing what parcell each preacher should take that with the more profit and eass of the people and somewhat lesse trauell also for themselues the doctrine of the Gospell might be preached and receiued In this distribution they ordeined that there should be one congregation at London where they placed Theonus as chéefe elder and bishop for that present time worthilie called Theonus 1. for there was another of that name who fled into Wales with Thadiocus of Yorke at the first comming of the Saxons and also Guthelmus who went as I read into Armorica there to craue aid against the Scots and Uandals that plagued this Ile from the Twede vnto the Humber After this Theonus also Eluanus succéeded who conuerted manie of the Druiydes and builded the first librarie neere vnto the bishops palace The said Lucius also placed another at Yorke whither they appointed Theodosius and the third at Caerlheon vpon the riuer Uske builded sometimes by Belinus and called Glamorgantia but now Chester in which three cities there had before time beene thrée Archflamines erected vnto Apollo Mars and Minerua but now raced to the ground and three other churches builded in their steeds by Lucius to the end that the countries round about might haue indifferent accesse vnto those places and therewithall vnderstand for certeintie whither to resort for resolution if after their conuersion they should happen to doubt of any thing In like sort also the rest of the idoll-temples standing in other places were either ouerthrowne or conuerted into churches for christian congregations to assemble in as our writers doo remember In the report whereof giue me leaue gentle reader of London my natiue citie to speake a little for although it may and dooth seeme impertinent to my purpose yet it shall not be much and therefore I will soone make an end There is a controuersie moued among our historiographers whether the church that Lucius builded at London stood at Westminster or in Cornehill For there is some cause why the metropolitane church should be thought to stand where S. Peters now doth by the space of 400. yéeres before it was remoued to Canturburie by Austine the
which should be prima as yet I do not read except it should be Anglesei and then saith Malmesburie well In like sort Propertius speaketh of a Meuania which he called Nebulosa but he meaneth it euidentlie of a little towne in Umbria where he was borne lib. 4. eleg De vrbe Rom. Wherfore there néedeth no vse of his authoritie This in the meane time is euident out of Orosius lib 1. capite 2. that Scots dwelled somtime in this I le as also in Ireland which Ethicus also affirmeth of his owne time and finallie confirmeth that the Scots and Irish were sometime one people It hath in length 24. miles and 8. in bredth and is in maner of like distance from Galloway in Scotland Ireland and Cumberland in England as Buchanan reporteth In this Iland also were some time 1300. families of which 960. were in the west halfe and the rest in the other But now through ioining house to house land to land a common plague and canker which will eat vp all if prouision be not made in time to withstand this mischéefe that number is halfe diminished and yet many of the rich inhabiters want roome and wote not how and where to bestowe themselues to their quiet contentations Certes this impediment groweth not by reason that men were greater in bodie than they haue béene in time past but onelie for that their insatiable desire of inlarging their priuate possessions increaseth still vpon them and will doo more except they be restrained but to returne to our purpose It was once spoiled by the Scots in the time of king Athelstane chéeflie by Anlafus in his flight from the bloudie battell wherein Constantine king of Scotland was ouercome secondlie by the Scots 1388. after it came to the possession of the English for in the beginning the kings of Scotland had this Iland vnder their dominion almost from their first arriuall in this Iland and as Beda saith till Edwine king of the Northumbers wan it from them and vnited it to his kingdome After the time of Edwine the Scots gat the possession thereof againe and held it till the Danes Norwaies wan it from them who also kept it but with much trouble almost 370. yeares vnder the gouernance of their viceroies whome the kings of Norwaie inuested vnto that honor till Alexander the third king of that name in Scotland recouered it from them with all the rest of those Iles that lie vpon the west coast called also Sodorenses in the daies of Magnus king of Norwaie And sithens that time the Scotish princes haue not ceased to giue lawes to such as dwelled there but also from time to time appointed such bishops as should exercise ecclesiasticall iurisdiction in the same till it was won from them by our princes and so vnited vnto the realme of England Finallie how after sundrie sales bargains and contracts of matrimonie for I read that William Scroope the kings Uicechamberleine did buy this I le and crowne thereof of the lord William Montacute earle of Sarum it came vnto the ancestours of the earles of Darbie who haue béene commonlie said to be kings of Man the discourse folowing shall more at large declare Giraldus noteth a contention betwéene the kings of England Ireland for the right of this Iland but in the end when by a comprâ—mise the triall of the matter was referred to the liues or deaths of such venemous wormes as should be brought into the same and it was found that they died not at all as the like doo in Ireland sentence passed with the king of England so he reteined the Iland But howsoeuer this matter standeth and whether anie such thing was done at all or not sure it is that the people of the said Ile were much giuen to witchcraft and sorcerie which they learned of the Scots a nation greatlie bent to that horible practise in somuch that their women would oftentimes sell wind to the mariners inclosed vnder certeine knots of thred with this iniunction that they which bought the same should for a great gale vndoo manie and for the lesse a fewer or smaller number The stature of the men and also fertilitie of this Iland are much commended and for the latter supposed verie néere to be equall with that of Anglesei in all commodities There are also these townes therein as they come now to my remembrance Rushen Dunglasse Holme towne S. Brids Bala cury the bishops house S. Mich. S. Andrew kirk Christ kirk Louel S. Mathees kirk S. Anne Pala sala kirk S. Marie kirk Concane kirk Malu and Home But of all these Rushen with the castell is the strongest It is also in recompense of the common want of wood indued with sundrie pretie waters as first of al the Burne rising in the northside of Warehill botoms and branching out by southwest of kirk S. An it séemeth to cut off a great part of the eastside thereof from the residue of that Iland From those hils also but of the south halfe commeth the Holme and Holmey by a towne of the same name in the verie mouth whereof lieth the Pile afore mentioned They haue also the Bala passing by Bala cury on the westside and the Rame on the north whose fall is named Ramesei hauen as I doo read in Chronicles There are moreouer sundrie great hils therein as that wherevpon S. Mathees standeth in the northeast part of the I le a parcell whereof commeth flat south betwéene kirk Louell and kirk Marie yéelding out of their botoms the water Bala whereof I spake before Beside these and well toward the south part of the I le I find the Warehils which are extended almost from the west coast ouertwhart vnto the Burne streame It hath also sundrie hauens as Ramsei hauen by north Laxam hauen by east Port Iris by southwest Port Home and Port Michell by west In like sort there are diuers Ilets annexed to the same as the Calfe of man on the south the Pile on the west and finallie S. Michels Ile in the gulfe called Ranoths waie in the east Moreouer the sheepe of this countrie are excéeding huge well woolled and their tailes of such greatnesse as is almost incredible In like sort their hogs are in maner monstrous They haue furthermore great store of barnacles bréeding vpon their coasts but yet not so great store as in Ireland and those as there also of old ships ores masts peeces of rotten timber as they saie and such putrified pitched stuffe as by wrecke hath happened to corrupt vpon that shore Howbeit neither the inhabitants of this I le nor yet of Ireland can readilie saie whether they be fish or flesh for although the religious there vsed to eat them as fish yet elsewhere some haue beene troubled for eating of them in times prohibited for heretikes and lollards For my part I haue béene verie desirous to vnderstand the vttermost of the bréeding of
also neat and gotes whereby they abound in white meat as butter and cheese wherein next vnto fish the chéefe part of their sustenance dooth consist There is also a bishop of the Orchades who hath his see in Pomona the chéefe of all the Ilands wherein also are two strong castels and such hath béene the superstition of the people here that there is almost no one of them that hath not one church at the least dedicated to the mother of Christ. Finallie there is little vse of physicke in these quarters lesse store of éeles and least of frogs As for the horsses that are bred amongst them they are commonlie not much greater than asses and yet to labour and trauell a man shall find verie few else-where able to come neere much lesse to match with them in holding out their iournies The seas about these Ilands are verie tempestuous not onelie through strong winds and the influences of the heauens and stars but by the contrarie méetings and workings of the west ocean which rageth so vehementlie in the streicts that no vessell is able to passe in safetie amongst them Some of these Ilands also are so small and low that all the commoditie which is to be reaped by anie of them is scarselie sufficient to susteine one or two men and some of them so barren and full of rocks that they are nothing else but mosse or bare shingle Wherefore onelie thirteene of them are inhabited and made account of the rest being left vnto their sheepe and cattell Of all these Ilands also Pomona is the greatest and therfore called the continent which conteineth thirtie miles in length and is well replenished with people for it hath twelue parish churches and one towne which the Danes sometime lords of that Iland called Cracouia but now it hight Kirkwa There are also two pretie holds one belonging to the king the other to the bishop and also a beautifull church and much building betweene the two holds and about this church which being taken as it were for two townes the one is called the kings and the other the bishops towne All the whole Iland is full of cliffes and promontories whereby no small number of baies and some hauens are producted There is also tin and lead to be found in six of these Iles so good and plentifullie as anie where else in Britaine It lieth foure twentie miles from Cathnesse being separated from the same by the Pictish sea wherein also lie certeine Ilands as Stroma foure miles from Cathnesse which albeit that it be but foure miles from Cathnesse is not reputed for anie of the Orchades Going therefore from hence northward we come to the first I le of the Orchades called south Rauals which is sixtéene miles from Dunghilsbie aliàs Dunachisbie that in two houres space such is the swiftnesse of the sea in that tract This I le is fiue miles long and hath a faire port called saint Margarets hauen Then passe we by two desert Iles which lie towards the east wherein nothing is found but cattell some call them the holmes bicause they lie low and are good for nothing but grasse On the northside lieth the Bur and two other holmes betweene the same Pomona From Bur toward the west lie thrée Iles Snu Flat and Far and beyond them Hoie and Uall which some accompt for two and other but for one bicause that in March and September the flats that lie betwéene them doo séeme to ioine them togither after the tide is gone This neuerthelesse is certeine that in this single or double I le which is ten miles in length the highest hilles are to be séene that are in all the Orchades And as they lie eight miles from Rauals so are they two miles from Pomona from saint Donats in Scotland full twentie miles And on the north side of it lieth the Brainse in a narrow streict as Buchanan dooth remember And these are the Iles which lie betweene Pomona and Cathnesse As for the west side of the continent I find that it lieth open to the sea without either shelues Ilands or rocks appéering néere vnto it but on the east side thereof Cobesa dooth in maner ouershadow it Siapiusa also an I le of six miles long lieth within two miles of Cracouia Toward the east on the west side of Pomona lieth the Rouse of six miles in length and by east of that the Eglisa wherin as they saie their patrone S. Magnus lieth interred From hense southward lie the Uera Gersa and not far off the Uester which is fourescore miles from Hethland Papa Stronza which is also eightie miles from Hethland as the Uester In the middest also of this tract lieth Far or Fara which is to saie faire I le in old English faire eie and within sight so well of Hethland as the Orchades by reason of three insuperable rocks which are apparant in the same a verie poore Iland and yet yearelie robbed of such commodities as it hath by such Flemish and English fishermen as passe by the coasts thereof in time of the yeare to catch fish for the prouision of their countries Next vnto this is the greatest of all the Hethlands an Iland called the Maine sixtie miles in length and sixteene in bredth full of rocks and whose coasts are onelie inhabited the innermost parts being lest vnto the foules of the aire bicause of the barrennesse and vnfruitfulnesse of the soile yet of late some haue indeuoured to impeople it but with no successe correspondent to their desire Wherefore they returned to their former trades making their chéefe commoditie and yearelie gaine by fish as aforetime Ten miles from this toward the north lieth the Zeale twentie miles in length eight in bredth and so wild that it will suffer no creature to liue thereof that is not bred therein Betwéene this Iland also and the Maine are other smaller Ilands to be found as the Ling Orne Big and Sanferre And from hense nine miles northward Usta twentie miles long six in bredth plaine pleasant but inuironed with a swift and terrible sea Betwéene this also and the Zeale are the Uie the Ure and the Ling also towards the west the two Skenes Chalseie Nordwade Brase and Mowse on the west side lie the west Skenes Rottia Papa the lesse Wunned Papa the more Ualla Tondra Burra Haura the more Haura the lesse in maner so manie holmes dispersed heere and there whereof I haue no notice Some call these the Shetland and some the Shotland Iles. Buchanan nameth them in the third member of his diuision Zelandise and toward the end of his first booke seemeth to auouch that they liue in maner as doo the inhabitants of the Orchades although not in so ciuill wise nor in such large measure and aboundance of diet in their houses He addeth moreouer that their apparrell is after the Germaine cut comelie but not so chargeable and costlie and how they raise their gaine by skins of
they beat vpon the Test not verie farre from Murseling From thence the Test goeth vnder a pretie bridge before it come at Redbridge from whence it is not long yer it fall into the hauen The next riuer that runneth into this port springeth in the new Forrest and commeth thereinto about Eling not passing one mile by west of the fall of Test. From hence casting about againe into the maine sea and leauing Calde shore castell on the right hand we directed our course toward the southwest vnto Beaulieu hauen whereinto the Mineie descendeth The Mineie riseth not far from Mineiestéed a village in the north part of the new Forrest and going by Beaulieu it falleth into the sea southwest west as I take it of Exburie a village standing vpon the shore Being past the Mineie we crossed the Limen as it is now called whose head is in the verie hart of the new Forrest sometime conuerted into a place of nourishment for déere by William Rufus buieng his pleasure with the ruine of manie towns and villages as diuerse haue inclosed or inlarged their parks by the spoile of better occupiengs running southwest of Lindhirst the parke it goeth by east of Brokenhirst west of Bulder finallie into the sea south and by east of Lemington I take this not to be the proper name of the water but of the hauen for Limen in Gréeke is an hauen so that Limendune is nothing else but a downe or higher plot of ground lieng on the hauen neuerthelesse sith this denomination of the riuer hath now hir frée passage I think it not conuenient to séeke out any other name that should be giuen vnto it The next fall that we passed by is namelesse except it be called Bure as it descendeth from new Forrest so the next vnto it hight Mile as I haue heard in English Certes the head thereof is also in the southwest part of the said Forrest the fall not far from Milford bridge beyond the which I find a narrow going or strictland leading fro the point to Hirst castell which standeth into the sea as if it hoong by a thred from the maine of the Iland readie to be washed awaie by the continuall working and dailie beating of the waues The next riuer that we came vnto of anie name is the Auon which as Leland saith riseth by northeast and not far from Woolfehall in Wilthshire supposed to be the same which Ptolomie called Halenus The first notable bridge that it runneth vnto is at Uphauen thence foure miles further it goeth to little Ambresburie and there is another bridge from thence to Woodford village standing at the right hand banke and Newton village on the left The bishops of Sarum had a proper manor place at Woodford which bishop Shaxton pulled downe altogither bicause it was somewhat in ruine Thence it goeth to Fisherton bridge to Cranebridge old Salisburie new Salisburie and finallie to Harnham which is a statelie bridge of stone of six arches at the least There is at the west end of the said bridge a little Iland that lieth betwixt this and another bridge of foure pretie arches and vnder this later runneth a good round streame which as I take it is a branch of Auon that breaketh out a little aboue soone after it reuniteth it selfe againe or else that Wilton water hath there his entrie into the Auon which I cannot yet determine From Harneham bridge it goeth to Dounton that is about foure miles and so much in like sort from thence to Fordingbridge to Kingwood bridge fiue miles to Christes church Twinham fiue miles and streight into the sea and hitherto Leland of this streame which for the worthinesse thereof in mine opinion is not sufficientlie described Wherefore I thinke good to deliuer a second receiued of another which in more particular maner dooth exhibit his course vnto vs. Certes this Auon is a goodlie riuer rising as I said before néere vnto Wolfe hall although he that will séeke more scrupulouslie for the head in déed must looke for the same about the borders of the forrest of Sauernake that is Soure oke which lieth as if it were imbraced betwéene the first armes thereof as I haue beene informed These heads also doo make a confluence by east of Martinshall hill and west of Wootton From whence it goeth to Milton Powseie Manningfield abbeie Manningfield crosse and beneath Newington taketh in one rill west from Rudborow and another a little lower that riseth also west of Alcanninges and runneth into the same by Patneie Merden Wilford Charleton and Rustisall Being therefore past Newington it goeth to Uphauen whereof Leland speaketh to Chesilburie Compton Ablington little Almsburie Darntford Woodford old Salisburie and so to new Salisburie where it receiueth one notable riuer from by northwest another from north east which two I will first describe leauing the Auon at Salisburie for a while The first of these is called the Wilugh whereof the whole shire dooth take hir name and not of the great plentie of willowes growing therein as some fantasticall heads doo imagine whereof also there is more plentie in that countrie than is to be found in other places It riseth among the Deuerels and running thence by hill Deuerell Deuerell long bridge it goeth toward Bishops straw taking in one rill by west another from Upton by Werminster at northwest From Bishops straw it goeth to Norton Upton Badhampton Steplinford and Stapleford where it meeteth with the Winterburie water from by north descending from Maddenton by Winterburne From Stapleford it hasteth to Wishford Newton Chilhampton Wilton and thither commeth a water vnto it from southwest which riseth of two heads aboue Ouerdonet After this it goeth by Wordcastell to Tisburie and there receiueth a water on ech side whereof one commeth from Funthill the other from two issues of which one riseth at Austie the other at Swalodise and so keeping on still with his course our Wilugh runneth next of all by Sutton Thence it goeth to Fouant Boberstocke Southburcombe Wilton where it taketh in the Fomington or Nader water Westharnam Salisburie and Eastharnam and this is the race of Wilugh The other is a naked arme or streame without anie branches It riseth aboue Colingburne Kingston in the hils and thence it goeth to Colingburne the Tidworths whereof the more southerlie is in Wiltshire Shipton Cholterton Newton Toneie Idmerson Porton the Winterburns Lauerstocke and so into Auon east of Salisburie And thus is the confluence made of the aforesaid waters with this our second Auon whereinto another water falleth calleth Becquithes brooke a mile beneath Harneham bridge whose head is fiue miles from Sarum and thrée miles aboue Becquithes bridge as Leland dooth remember who noteth the Chalkeburne water to haue his due recourse also at this place into the aforesaid riuer Certes it is a pretie brooke and riseth six miles from Shaftesburie and in the
receiueth a pretie brooke descending from Frome Selwood west of Brackleie increased with sundrie rils whereof two come out of Selwood forrest and one of them from the Fratrie another out of Long lead parke from Horningsham and the fourth from Cofleie Hence our Frome goeth to Lullington Beckington Farleie castell Bord and Fresh foord and taking in the Silling brooke falleth into the Auon beneath Bradford and east of Freshford From thence going beneath Stoke it receiueth on the left hand a water comming from southwest increased by sundrie brookes whereof one commeth from Camelet by Litleton and Dankerton the other from Stone Eston Midsummer Norton by Welston Rodstocke Wrigleton Foscot and Wellow and there taking in a rill from Phillips Norton it goeth by Clauerton to Hampton and there it méeteth with another water comming from Barthford whose head is at Litleton from whence it runneth by west Kineton to Castell combe where it ioineth with a rill rising by north from Litleton drue and thence commeth south to Slaughtenford Haselburie Box Baithford and so into the Auon which turning plaine west hasteth to Baithwijc and meeting with another in his passage from Caldaston to Bath the Tiuertons and Coston Héere also it taketh in a rill by the waie from Markesburie by Wilmerton and Newton and then going on to Sawford it méeteth with one rill soone west of Northstocke named Swinford and another by Bitton from Durhain by Wike and so procéedeth still holding on his way to Caimsham a towne in Summerset shire so called of Caim an English saint by whose praiers as the countrie once beléeued all the adders snakes and serpents were turned into stone their formes reserued and for a certeine space of ground about the said towne and whereof some store as yet is to be found in those quaries But this miracle is so true as the historie of Hilda or that S. Patrike should chase all venemous creatures out of Italie with his staffe or that maid Radegund should driue the crowes to the pound which did annoie hir corne while she went vnto a chappell to heare sée a masse where it crosseth the Chute which issueth at Winford and goeth by bishops Chue to Penford and there receiueth the Clue comming from Cluton and from thence to Chute so into the Auon The Auon likewise after all these confluences goeth to Briselton and so to Bristow beneath which it receiueth a rill on each side wherof one commeth from about Stoke lodge in Glocestershire being a faire water and running by Acton Frampton Hambroch Stapleton and through Bristow the other by south from Dundreie hill and towne by Bisport and Bedminster and so descending yet lower goeth to Rawneham passage and Clifton then by S. Uincents rocke and Laie next of all to Crocampill and finallie into the sea whither all waters by nature doo resort Beside this water Leland maketh mention of Alderleie brooke which in some ancient records is also called Auon and runneth by Barkeleie In like maner he talketh of Douresleie booke whose principall head is in Douresleie towne howbeit he saith no thing of it more than that it serueth sundrie tucking lucking milles and goeth by Tortworth or foure miles further before it come at the Sauerne Finallie making mention of an excellent quarrie of hard stone about Douresleie he telleth of the Tortworth becke that runneth within a flight shot of Barkeleie towne and falleth on the left hand into Sauerne marches taking with all the Alderleie or Auon except I mistake his meaning which may soone be doone among his confused notes The description of the Sauerne such waters as discharge themselues into the same Chap. 13. THe Sauerne which Ptolomie calleth Sabriana Tacitus Sabrina diuideth England or that part of the Iland which sometime was called Lhoegres from Cambria so called of Camber the second sonne of Brute as our histories doo report But now that region hight Wales of the Germane word Walsh whereby that nation dooth vse to call all strangers without respect of countrie This riuer tooke the name of a certeine ladie called Habren or Hafren base daughter to Locrinus begotten vpon Estrildis daughter to Humber otherwise called Cumbrus or Umar and for which some write Chonibrus king of Scithia that sometime inuaded this Island and was ouerthrowne here in the daies of this Locrinus as shall be shewed at hand although I suppose rather that this ladie was called Ine and that the word Sabrina is compounded of Aber and Ine and the letter S added Propter euphoniam for the mouth or fall of euerie riuer in the British spéech is called Aber whereby Aber Ine is so much to saie as the fall of Ine But let vs returne againe to our discourse of Humber or Umar which is worthie to be remembred For after the death of Locrinus it came to passe that Guendolena his wife ruled the kingdome in the nonage of hir sonne and then getting the said Estrildis and Habren hir daughter into hir hands she drowned them both in this riuer And in perpetuall remembrance of hir husbands disloialtie towards hir she caused the streame to be called Habren of the yoong ladie for which the Romans in processe of time for readinesse and mildnesse of pronunciation wrote Sabrina and we at this time doo pronounce the Sauerne Of the drowning of the said Abren also I find these verses insuing In fluuium praecipitatur Abren Nomen Abren fluuio de virgine nomeneidem Nomine corrupto deinde Sabrina datur But to returne to our Sauerne It falleth into the maine sea betwéene Wales and Cornewall which is and shall be called the Sauerne sea so long as the riuer dooth keepe hir name But as the said streame in length of course bountie of water and depth of chanell commeth farre behind the Thames so for other commodities as trade of merchandize plentie of cariage store of all kind of fish as salmon trouts breames pikerell tench perch c it is nothing at all inferiour or second to the same Finallie there is nothing to be discommended in this riuer but the opennesse thereof in manie places to the weather whereby sundrie perils oft ouertake such as fish or saile in small vessels on the same The head of this noble streame is found in the high mounteines of south Wales called Helennith or Plim limmon in English the blacke mounteins or moore heads from whence also the Wie and the Rhidoll do procéed and therefore these thrée waters are commonlie called the thrée sisters and haue in latitude two and fiftie degrees ten minutes in longitude fiftéene and fiftie as the description inferreth So soone as it is out of the ground it goeth southeastward till it come within a mile of Laundlos where it receiueth a chanell from by south southwest called the Dulas which commeth thereinto on the south side southwest of Lan Idlos It riseth as it should séeme of diuerse heads in the edge of
waie sundrie salt créekes as the maine chanell dooth from thence foorth vntill it passe the Sandie hauen the Dale rode whither a sillie fresh rill commeth of small value be come about againe to the large Ocean Hauing thus shewed the courses of those few fresh waters that come to Milford hauen we cast about by the Blockehouse and S. Annes chappell to Gateholme I le that lieth betwéene S. Annes and the Wilocke point directlie ouer against Stockeholme Iland that is situat further off into the sea toward the southwest and is full halfe so great as the Scalmeie that I elsewhere described Betwéene the Willocke point also and the Scalmeie directlie west is the Midland I le full so great as the Gateholme As for the two rocks that lie by north and south of the Scalmeie of which the one is called the Yardland stone the other Mewstone it shall not be greatlie requisit to stand on their discourses sith they are such as may hardlie be taken for Ilands and euen in like sort we may iudge of S. Brides Ile which is southwest of Calthrop rode likewise of the Gresholme whereof I find this short description The Gresholme lieth directlie west of Scalmeie from whence if you saile thither on the south side you must néeds passe by the Mewstone rocke if on the north of Scalmeie you must leaue the Yarland stone on your left hand Wherto if you note well the situation of these Ilands alreadie named and confer them with the Ramseie and S. Dauids land you shall find them to produce as it were two dangerous points including the Brid baie wherein notwithstanding the greatnesse are 1000 perils and no fresh brookes for me to deale withall Finallie hauing doubled the Willocke point we thought it not good altogether to leaue that baie vnsearched at lestwise to sée what Ilands might there be found long entred into the same we beheld one which the men of the countrie call S. Brides Iland a verie little place and situate néere the land before I came at Galtroie rode From thence we went about by the little hauen Doluach hauen Caruaie hauen Shirelace rocke Carnbuddie and Earnaie baies Portelais and so into the found betwéene Ramseie and the point In this sound likewise is a little I le almost annexed to the maine but in the middest thereof I meane of the sound is a rocke called the horsse a mile and more by north of Ribbie rocke that lieth south east of Ramseie and more infortunate than ten of Seians colts but thanked be God I neuer came on his backe Thence passing by S. Stephans and Whitesand baies we saluted the Bishop and his clerks as they went in procession on our left side being loth to take anie salted holie water at their hands and came at last to the point called S. Dauids head which Ptolomie calleth Octapitanum promontorium except I be deceiued But here gentle reader giue me leaue to staie a while and insert the words of Leland touching the land called S. Dewies or S. Dauids land whereof some men may peraduenture haue vse his words are these Being therefore past this hauen and point of Demetia in casting about the coast we come to S. Dewies or S. Dauids land which Ptolomie calleth Octapitanum promontorium I read to be separated from the rest of the countrie much after this maner although I grant that there may be and are diuerse other little creekes betwixt Newgale and S. Dauids head and betwixt S. Dauids and Fischard beside those that are héere mentioned out of a register of that house As we turne therefore from Milford S. Dauids land beginneth at Newgale a créeke serued with a backe fresh water Howbeit there is a baie before this creeke betwixt it and Milford From hence about foure miles is Saluach creeke otherwise called Sauerach whither some fresh water resorteth the mouth also thereof is a good rescue for balingers as it I meane the register saith Thence go we to Portelais three miles where is a little portlet whither the Alen that commeth through saint Dewies close dooth run It lieth a mile southwest from S. Dewies saint Stinans Chappell also is betwéene Portelais and Portmaw The next is Port Maw where I found a great estuarie into the land The Pendwie halfe a mile from that Lhand Uehan is thrée miles from Pendwie where is a salt créeke then to Tredine three miles where is another creeke to Langunda foure miles and another créeke is there in like sort where fishermen catch herrings Héere also the Gwerne riuer diuideth Penbidiane from Fischerdine Kemmeis land From Langunda to Fischard at the Gwerne mouth foure miles and here is a portlet or hauenet also for ships And thus much of S. Dauids land Besides this also Leland in a third booke talketh of lhinnes and pooles but for asmuch as my purpose is not to speake of lakes and lhinnes I passe them ouer as hasting to Teifie in Latine Tibius and after Ptolomie Tuerobius or Tiuirobius which is the next riuer that serueth for my purpose And yet not forgetting to touch the Gwerne for after we came from saint Dauids head we coasted along toward the southeast till wée came ouer against saint Catharins where going northwards by the bread hauen and the Strombles head we sailed thence northeast and by north to Langlas head then flat south by the Cow and Calfe two cruell rockes which we left on the left hand so coasted ouer to Abergwin or Fischard where we found a fresh water named Guin or Gwerne whose course is in maner directlie out of the east into the west from Uremie hils by pont Uaunt and Lanichair vntill it come within a mile of the foresaid towne It riseth flat north of the Perselie hill from whence it goeth by Pont vaine Lauerillidoch Lanchar Landilouair so to Abergwine or Abergwerne for I read both From Abergwine we cast about by Dinas head till we come to the fall of Neuerne where Newport standeth The head of this riuer is aboue Capell Nantgwin from whence it runneth by Whitchurch but yer it come at Kilgwin it taketh in a little water that riseth short of Wrenie vaure and thence go foorth as one vntill they come to Newport Cardigan hauen is the next fall that I did stumble on wherein lieth a litle Iland ouer against the north point Hereinto also commeth the Teifie a noble riuer which riseth in Lintinie and is fraught with delicate samons and herein and not else where in all the riuers of Britaine is the Castor or Beuer to be found But to procéed The verie hed thereof I saie is foure miles aboue Stradflore in Luitie and after it hath run from thence a little space it receiueth a brooke from southeast that commeth out of Lin Legnant and then after the confluence runneth on to Stradflore abbeie beneth which it
space of thrée score miles more as Hugh of Peterborow writeth This streame riseth about Sibbertoft and running betwéene Bosworth and Howthorpe it goeth to Féedingworth Merson Bubberham Trussell Herborow receiuing there the Braie which commeth from Braiebrooke castell to Bowton Weston Wiland Ashleie Medburne Rokingham and Cawcot where a riueret called little Eie méeteth withall comming from east Norton by Alexstone Stocke Faston and Drie stocke From Cawcot it goeth to Gritto Harringworth Seton Wauerlie Duddington Collie Weston Eston and there ioineth with the third called Warke not far from Ketton which commeth from Lie by Preston Wing Lindon Luffenham c. Thence it goeth on by Tinwell to Stanford crossing the Brooke water and Whitnelbecke both in one bottome and from Stanford by Talington Maxeie to Mercate Deeping Crowland where it almost meeteth with the Auon then to Spalding Whapland and so into the sea Leland writing of this Wiland addeth these words which I will not omit sith in mine opinion they are worthie to be noted for better consideration to be had in the said water and his course The Wiland saith he going by Crowland at Newdrene diuideth it selfe into two branches of which one goeth vp to Spalding called Newdrene and so into the sea at Fossedike Stow the other named the South into Wisbech This latter also parteth it selfe two miles from Crowland sendeth a rill called Writhlake by Thorneie where it méeteth with an arme of the Nene that commeth from Peterborow and holdeth course with the broad streame till it be come to Murho six miles from Wisbech where it falleth into the South Out of the South in like sort falleth another arme called Sheepes eie and at Hopelode which is fouretéene miles from Lin did fall into the sea But now the course of that streame is ceased wherevpon the inhabitants susteine manie grieuous flouds bicause the mouth is stanched by which it had accesse before into the sea Hitherto Leland Of the course of this riuer also from Stanford I note this furthermore out of another writing in my time Being past Stanton saith he it goeth by Burghleie Uffington Tallington Maxeie Déeping east Deeping and comming to Waldram hall it brancheth into two armes whereof that which goeth to Singlesole receiueth the Nene out of Cambridgeshire and then going by Dowesdale Trekenhole and winding at last to Wisbech it goeth by Liuerington saint Maries and so into the sea The other arme hasteth to Crowland Clowthouse Bretherhouse Pikale Cowbecke and Spalding Here also it receiueth the Baston dreane Longtost dreane Déeping dreane and thence goeth by Wickham into the sea taking withall on the right hand sundrie other dreanes And thus farre he Next of all when we are past these we come to another fall of water into the Wash which descendeth directlie from Whaplade dreane to Whaplade towne in Holland but bicause it is a water of small importance I passe from thence as hasting to the Nene of both the more noble riuer and about the middest thereof in place is a certeine swallow so déepe and so cold in the middest of summer that no man dare diue to the bottome thereof for coldnesse and yet for all that in winter neuer found to haue béene touched with frost much lesse to be couered with I se The next therefore to be described is the Auon otherwise called Nene which the said author describeth after this maner The Nene beginneth foure miles aboue Northampton in Nene méere where it riseth out of two heads which ioine about Northampton Of this riuer the citie and countrie beareth the name although we now pronounce Hampton for Auondune which errour is committed also in south Auondune as we may easilie see In another place Leland describeth the said riuer after this maner The Auon riseth in Nene méere field and going by Oundale and Peterborow it diuideth it selfe into thrée armes whereof one goeth to Horneie another to Wisbech the third to Ramseie and afterward being vnited againe they fall into the sea not verie farre from Lin. Finallie the descent of these waters leaue here a great sort of Ilands wherof of Elie Crowland and Merfland are the chiefe Hitherto Leland Howbeit because neither of these descriptions touch the course of this riuer at the full I will set downe the third which shall supplie whatsoeuer the other doo want The Auon therefore arising in Nenemere field is increased with manie rilles before it come at Northhampton one aboue Kings thorpe from whence it goeth to Dallington and so to Northhampton where it receiueth the Wedon And here I will staie till I haue described this riuer The Wedon therefore riseth at Faulesse in master Knightlies pooles and in Badbie plashes also are certeine springs that resort vnto this streame Faulesse pooles are a mile from Chareton where the head of Chare riuer is that runneth to Banberie There is but an hill called Alberie hill betwéene the heads of these two riuers From the said hill therefore the Weldon directeth his course to Badbie Newenham Euerton Wedon betwixt which and Floretowne it receiueth the Florus a pretie water rising of foure heads whereof the one is at Dauentrie another at Watford the third at long Bucke the fourth aboue Whilton and then passeth on to Heiford Kislingberie Upton and so to Northhampton where it falleth into the Auon receiuing finallie by the waie the Bugbrooke water at Heâ—ford Patâ—hall water néere â—islingberie and finallie Preston water beneath Upton which running from Preston by Wootton méeteth at the last with Milton rill and so fall into Auon Now to resume the tractation of our Auon From Northhampton therefore it runneth by Houghton great Billing Whitstone Dodington and Willingborow where we must staie a while for betweene Willingborow and Higham Ferries it receiueth a pretie water comming from about Kilmarsh which going by Ardingworth Daisborow Rusheton Newton Gaddington Boughton Warketon Kettering Berton and Burton méeteth there with Rothwell water which runneth west of Kettering to Hisham the greater Haridon and then into the Auon Being therfore past Burton our maine streame goeth to Higham Ferries Artleborow Kingsted Woodford and méeting thereby with Cranford rill to Thraxston north whereof it ioineth also with the Ocleie water that commeth from Sudborow and Lowicke to old Umkles Waden ho Pilketon Toke where it taketh in the Liueden becke and so to Oundell Cotterstocke Tansoner and betweene Tothering and Warmington receiueth the Corbie water which rising at Corbie goeth by Weldon Deneshap Bulwich Bletherwijc Fineshed Axthorpe Newton Tothering and so into the Auon After this the said Auon goeth to Elton Massington Yerwell Sutton Castor Allerton and so to Peterborow where it diuideth it selfe into sundrie armes and those into seuerall branches and draines among the fennes and medowes not possible almost to be numbred before it méet with the sea on the one side of the countrie and fall into the Ouze
March chappell Saltfléete Wilgripe Mapleford saint Clements Wenfléete Friscon Toft Skerbike Boston Frompton Woluerton Fossedike a good hauen In Northfolke Linne a good hauen Snatchham Hitchham Desingham good Thunstone Thorneham good Brankester good Burnham good with diuers townes and villages thereto belonging Welles good Strikeie Marston Blakeleie towne Withon Claie Blakelie hauen good Salthouse créeke Sheringham hith Roughton Cromer Beston Trinningham Mounsleie Bromwall Haseborow Wakesham Eckelles Winterton Custer Helmesleie Okell Upton Waibridge Yarmouth good all the waie to Norwich with diuerse villages on the riuer side In Suffolke Becles Bongeie Southton Corton Gorton Laistow a good port Kirtill Pakefield Kasseldon Bliborow Coffe hith Eston Walderswijc Donewich Swold hauen Sisewell Thorpe Alborow Orford a good hauen Balseie good Felixstow Colneie Sproten Ypswich Downambridge good Pinnemill Shoteleie Cataweie Barfold In Esseâ— we haue Dedham Maning trée Thorne Wrabbesnes Ramseie Harwich Douercourt Handford Okeleie Kirbie Thorpe Brichwill Walton mill Walton hall Ganfléete Newhauen good S. Osithes Bentleie good Bricleseie Thorlington where good ships of a hundred tun or more be made Alsford Wiuenhall Colchester Cold hith Rough hedge Fingering ho east Merseie west Merseie Salcot Goldanger Borow Maldon Stanesgate Sudmester S. Peters Burnham Crixseie Aldon Clements gréene Hulbridge Pacleston Barling litle Wakering much Wakering south Sudburie Wakeringham Melton Papper hill or Lee Beaâ—â—fléete Pidseie range Fobbing Hadleie good Mucking Stanford and Tilberiâ— ferrie In Kent Harling Cliffe Tanfleete Stokehow Snodlond Melhall Maidston Ailessord New hith Rochester Gelingham Reinham Upchurch Halsted Quinborow Milton Feuersham Whitâ—â—aple Herne Margate Brodestaier Ramsgate and manie of these good créekes also Sandwich Douer Hide reasonable ports although none of the best In Sussex we haue Smalade with the créekes adioining to the same Ridon Appledoure Rie a good hauen and Winchelseie nothing at all inferiour to the same and so manie shires onelie are left vnto me at this time wherefore of force I must abruptlie leaue off to deale anie further with the rest whose knowledge I am right sure would haue beene profftable and for the which I hoped to haue reaped great thankes at the hands of such sea-faring-men as should haue had vse hereof Desunt caetera Of the aire soile and commodities of this Iland Cap. 18. THe aire for the most part throughout the Iland is such as by reason in maner of continuall clouds is reputed to be grosse and nothing so pleasant as that is of the maine Howbeit as they which affirme these things haue onelie respect to the impediment or hinderance of the sunne beames by the interposition of the clouds and oft ingrossed aire so experience teacheth vs that it is no lesse pure wholesome and commodious than is that of other countries and as Caesar himselfe hereto addeth much more temperate in summer than that of the Galles from whom he aduentured hither Neither is there anie thing found in the aire of our region that is not vsuallie seene amongst other nations lieng beyond the seas Wherefore we must néeds confesse that the situation of our Iland for benefit of the heauens is nothing inferiour to that of anie countrie of the maine where so euer it lie vnder the open firmament And this Plutarch knew full well who affirmeth a part of the Elistan fields to be found in Britaine and the Iles that are situate about it in the Ocean The soile of Britaine is such as by the testimonies and reports both of the old and new writers and experience also of such as now inhabit the same is verie fruitfull and such in deed as bringeth foorth manie commodities whereof other countries haue néed and yet it selfe if fond nicenesse were abolished néedlesse of those that are dailie brought from other places Neuerthelesse it is more inclined to féeding and grasing than profitable for tillage and bearing of corne by reason whereof the countrie is woonderfullie replenished with neat and all kind of cattell and such store is there also of the same in euerie place that the fourth part of the land is scarselie manured for the prouision and maintenance of graine Certes this fruitfulnesse was not vnknowne vnto the Britons long before Caesars time which was the cause wherefore our predecessors liuing in those daies in maner neglected tillage and liued by féeding and grasing onelie The grasiers themselues also then dwelled in mooueable villages by companies whose custome was to diuide the ground amongst them and each one not to depart from the place where his lot laie a thing much like to the Irish Criacht till by eating vp of the countrie about him he was inforced to remooue further and séeke for better pasture And this was the British custome as I learne at first It hath béene commonlie reported that the ground of Wales is neither so fruitfull as that of England neither the soile of Scotland so bountifull as that of Wales which is true for corne and for the most part otherwise there is so good ground in some parts of Wales as is in England albeit the best of Scotland be scarselie comparable to the meane of either of both Howbeit as the bountie of the Scotish dooth faile in some respect so dooth it surmount in other God and nature hauing not appointed all countries to yéeld foorth like commodities But where our ground is not so good as we would wish we haue if néed be sufficient helpe to cherish our ground withall and to make it more fruitfull For beside the compest that is carried out of the husbandmens yards ditches ponds doouehouses or cities and great townes we haue with vs a kind of white marle which is of so great force that if it be cast ouer a péece of land but once in thrée score years it shall not need of anie further compesting Hereof also dooth Plinie speake lib. 17. cap. 6 7 8 where he affirmeth that our marle indureth vpon the earth by the space of fourescore yeares insomuch that it is laid vpon the same but once in a mans life whereby the owner shall not need to trauell twise in procuring to commend and better his soile He calleth it Marga and making diuerse kinds thereof he finallie commendeth ours and that of France aboue all other which lieth sometime a hundred foot déepe and farre better than the scattering of chalke vpon the same as the Hedui and Pictones did in his time or as some of our daies also doo practise albeit diuerse doo like better to cast on lime but it will not so long indure as I haue heard reported There are also in this Iland great plentie of fresh riuers and streames as you haue heard alreadie and these throughlie fraught with all kinds of delicate fish accustomed to be found in riuers The whole I le likewise is verie full of hilles of which some though not verie manie are of exceeding heigth and diuerse extending themselues verie far from the beginning as we may see by
Shooters hill which rising east of London and not farre from the Thames runneth along the south side of the Iland westward vntill it come to Cornewall Like vnto these also are the Crowdon hils which though vnder diuers names as also the other from the Peke doo run into the borders of Scotland What should I speake of the Cheniot hilles which reach twentie miles in length of the blacke mounteines in Wales which go from to miles at the least in length of the Cle hilles in Shropshire which come within foure miles of Ludlow and are diuided from some part of Worcester by the Teme of the Grames in Scotland and of our Chiltren which are eightéene miles at the least from one end of them which reach from Henlie in Oxfordshire to Dunstable in Bedfordshire and are verie well replenished with wood and corne notwithstanding that the most part yéeld a sweet short grasse profitable for shéepe Wherein albeit they of Scotland doo somewhat come behind vs yet their outward defect is inwardlie recompensed not onelie with plentie of quarries and those of sundrie kinds of marble hard stone and fine alabaster but also rich mines of mettall as shall be shewed hereafter In this Iland likewise the winds are commonlie more strong and fierce than in anie other places of the maine which Cardane also espied and that is often séene vpon the naked hilles not garded with trées to beare and kéepe it off That grieuous inconuenience also inforceth our nobilitie gentrie and communaltle to build their houses in the vallies leauing the high grounds vnto their corne and cattell least the cold and stormie blasts of winter should bréed them greater annoiance whereas in other regions each one desireth to set his house aloft on the hill not onlie to be seene a farre off and cast forth his beames of statelie and curious workemanship into euerie quarter of the countrie but also in hot habitations for coldnesse sake of the aire sith the heat is neuer so vehement on the hill top as in the vallie because the reuerberation of the sunne beames either reacheth not so farre as the highest or else becommeth not so strong as when it is reflected vpon the lower soile But to leaue our buildings vnto the purposed place which notwithstanding haue verie much increased I meane for curiositie and cost in England Wales and Scotland within these few yeares and to returne to the soile againe Certeinelie it is euen now in these our daies growne to be much more fruitfull than it hath béene in times past The cause is for that our countriemen are growne to be more painefull skilfull and carefull through recompense of gaine than heretofore they haue béene insomuch that my Synchroni or time fellows can reape at this present great commoditie in a little roome whereas of late yeares a great compasse hath yéelded but small profit and this onelie through the idle and negligent occupation of such as dailie manured and had the same in occupieng I might set downe examples of these things out of all the parts of this Iland that is to saie manie of England more out of Scotland but most of all out of Wales in which two last rehearsed verie little other food and liuelihood was woont to be looked for beside flesh more than the soile of it selfe and the cow gaue the people in the meane time liuing idelie dissolutelie and by picking and stealing one from another All which vices are now for the most part relinquished so that each nation manureth hir owne with triple commoditie to that it was before time The pasture of this Iland is according to the nature and bountie of the soile whereby in most places it is plentifull verie fine batable and such as either fatteth our cattell with speed or yéeldeth great abundance of milke and creame whereof the yellowest butter and finest chéese are made But where the blue claie aboundeth which hardlie drinketh vp the winters water in long season there the grasse is spearie rough and verie apt for bushes by which occasion it commeth nothing so profitable vnto the owner as the other The best pasture ground of all England is in Wales of all the pasture in Wales that of Cardigan is the cheefe I speake of the same which is to be found in the mounteines there where the hundred part of the grasse growing is not eaten but suffered to rot on the ground whereby the soile becommeth matted and diuerse bogges and quicke moores made withall in long continuance because all the cattell in the countrie are not able to eat it downe If it be to be accompted good soile on which a man may laie a wand ouer night and on the morrow find it hidden and ouergrowen with grasse it is not hard to find plentie thereof in manie places of this land Neuertheles such is the fruitfulnes of the aforsaid countie that it farre surmounteth this proportion whereby it may be compared for batablenesse with Italie which in my time is called the paradise of the world although by reason of the wickednesse of such as dwell therein it may be called the sinke and draine of hell so that whereas they were woont to saie of vs that our land is good but our people euill they did but onlie speake it whereas we know by experience that the soile of Italie is a noble soile but the dwellers therein farre off from anie vertue or goodnesse Our medowes are either bottomes whereof we haue great store and those verie large bicause our soile is hillie or else such as we call land meads and borowed from the best fattest pasturages The first of them are yearelie often ouerflowen by the rising of such streames as passe through the same or violent falles of land-waters that descend from the hils about them The other are seldome or neuer ouerflowen and that is the cause wherefore their grasse is shorter than that of the bottomes and yet is it farre more fine wholesome and batable sith the haie of our low medowes is not onelie full of sandie cinder which breedeth sundrie diseases in our cattell but also more rowtie foggie and full of flags and therefore not so profitable for stouer and forrage as the higher meads be The difference furthermore in their commodities is great for whereas in our land meadowes we haue not often aboue one good load of haie or peraduenture a little more in an acre of ground I vse the word Carrucata or Carruca which is a waine load and as I remember vsed by Plinie lib. 33. cap. 11. in low meadowes we haue sometimes thrée but commonlie two or vpward as experience hath oft confirmed Of such as are twise mowed I speake not sith their later math is not so wholsome for cattell as the first although in the mouth more pleasant for the time for thereby they become oftentimes to be rotten or to increase so fast in bloud that the garget and other
bishop there had yearelie thrée or foure tunne at the least giuen him Nomine decimae beside whatsoeuer ouer-summe of the liquor did accrue to him by leases and other excheats whereof also I haue seene mention Wherefore our soile is not to be blamed as though our nights were so exceeding short that in August and September the moone which is ladie of moisture chiefe ripener of this liquor cannot in anie wise shine long inough vpon the same a verie méere toie and fable right worthie to be suppressed because experience conuinceth the vpholders thereof euen in the Rhenish wines The time hath béene also that wad wherwith our countrie men died their faces as Caesar saith that they might seeme terrible to their enimies in the field and also women their daughters in law did staine their bodies go naked in that pickle to the sacrifices of their gods coueting to resemble therin the Ethiopians as Plinie saith li. 22. cap. 1. and also madder haue béene next vnto our tin and woolles the chiefe commodities and merchandize of this realme I find also that rape oile hath beene made within this land But now our soile either will not or at the leastwise may not beare either wad or madder I saie not that the ground is not able so to doo but that we are negligent afraid of the pilling of our grounds and carelesse of our owne profit as men rather willing to buie the same of others than take anie paine to plant them here at home The like I may saie of flax which by law ought to be sowen in euerie countrie-towne in England more or lesse but I sée no successe of that good and wholesome law sith it is rather contemptuouslie reiected than otherwise dutifullie kept in anie place of England Some saie that our great number of lawes doo bréed a generall negligence and contempt of all good order bicause we haue so manie that no subiect can liue without the transgression of some of them and that the often alteration of our ordinances dooth much harme in this respect which after Aristotle doth séeme to carie some reason withall for as Cornelius Gallus hath Euentus varios res noua semper habet But verie manie let not to affirme that the gréedie corruption of the promoters on the one side facilitie in dispensing with good lawes and first breach of the same in the lawmakers superiors priuat respects of their establishment on the other are the greatest causes whie the inferiours regard no good order being alwaies so redie to offend without anie facultie one waie as they are otherwise to presume vpon the examples of their betters when anie hold is to be taken But as in these things I haue no skill so I wish that fewer licences for the priuat commoditie but of a few were granted not that thereby I denie the maintenance of the prerogatiue roiall but rather would with all my hart that it might be yet more honorablie increased that euerie one which by féeed friendship or otherwise dooth attempt to procure oughts from the prince that may profit but few and proue hurtfull to manie might be at open assizes and sessions denounced enimie to his countrie and common-wealth of the land Glasse also hath beene made here in great plentie before and in the time of the Romans and the said stuffe also beside fine scissers shéeres collars of gold and siluer for womens necks cruses and cups of amber were a parcell of the tribute which Augustus in his daies laid vpon this Iland In like sort he charged the Britons with certeine implements and vessels of iuorie as Strabo saith Wherby it appéereth that in old time our countriemen were farre more industrious and painefull in the vse and application of the benefits of their countrie than either after the comming of the Saxons or Normans in which they gaue themselues more to idlenesse and following of the warres If it were requisit that I should speake of the sundrie kinds of moold as the cledgie or claie whereof are diuerse sorts red blue blacke and white also the red or white sandie the lomie rosellie grauellie chalkie or blacke I could saie that there are so manie diuerse veines in Britaine as else where in anie quarter of like quantitie in the world Howbeit this I must néeds confesse that the sandie and cledgie doo beare great swaie but the claie most of all as hath beene and yet is alwaies séene felt through plentie and dearth of corne For if this latter I meane the claie doo yeeld hir full increase which it dooth commonlie in drie yeares for wheat then is there generall plentie wheras if it faile then haue we scarsitie according to the old rude verse set downe of England but to be vnderstood of the whole Iland as experience dooth confirme When the sand dooth serue the claie Then may we sing well a waie But when the claie dooth serue the sand Then is it merie with England I might here intreat of the famous vallies in England of which one is called the vale of White horsse another of Eouesham commonlie taken for the granarie of Worcestershire the third of Ailesbirie that goeth by Tame the rootes of Chilterne hils to Donstable Newport panell Stonie Stratford Buckhingham Birstane parke c. Likewise of the fourth of Whitehart or Blackemoore in Dorsetshire The fift of Ringdale or Renidale corruptlie called Ringtaile that lieth as mine author saith vpon the edge of Essex and Cambridgeshire and also theo Marshwood vale but for somuch as I know not well their seuerall limits I giue ouer to go anie further in their description In like sort it should not be amisse to speake of our fennes although our countrie be not so full of this kind of soile as the parties beyond the seas to wit Narbon c and thereto of other pleasant botoms the which are not onelie indued with excellent riuers and great store of corne and fine fodder for neat and horsses in time of the yeare whereby they are excéeding beneficiall vnto their owners but also of no small compasse and quantitie in ground For some of our fens are well knowen to be either of ten twelue sixtéene twentie or thirtie miles in length that of the Girwies yet passing all the rest which is full 60 as I haue often read Wherein also Elie the famous I le standeth which is seuen miles euerie waie and wherevnto there is no accesse but by thrée causies whose inhabitants in like sort by an old priuilege may take wood sedge turfe to burne likewise haie for their cattell and thatch for their houses of custome and each occupier in his appointed quantitie through out the I le albeit that couetousnesse hath now begun somewhat to abridge this large beneuolence and commoditie aswell in the said I le as most other places of this land Finallie I might discourse in like order of the large commons
neither regarding either maners or obedience doo oftentimes come to confusion which if anie correction or discipline had béene vsed toward them in youth might haue prooued good members of their common-wealth countrie by their good seruice and industrie I could make report likewise of the naturall vices and vertues of all those that are borne within this Iland but as the full tractation herof craueth a better head than mine to set foorth the same so will I giue place to other men that list to take it in hand Thus much therefore of the constitutions of our bodies and so much may suffice How Britaine at the first grew to be diuided into three portions Cap. 21. AFter the comming of Brutus into this Iland which was as you haue read in the foresaid treatise about the yeare of the world 2850 or 1217 before the incarnation of Christ although Goropius after his maner doo vtterlie denie our historie in this behalfe he made a generall surueis of the whole Iland from side to side by such means to view and search out not onelie the limits and bounds of his dominions but also what commodities this new atchiued conquest might yéeld vnto his people Ferthermore finding out at the last also a conuenable place wherin to erect a citie he began there euen the verie same which at this daie is called London naming it Trenouanton in remembrance of old Troie from whence his ancestors proceeded and for which the Romans pronounced afterward Trinobantum although the Welshmen doo call it still Trenewith This citie was builded as some write much about the tenth yeare of his reigne so that he liued not aboue fiftéene yeares after he had finished the same But of the rest of his other acts attempted and doone before or after the erection of this citie I find no certeine report more than that when he had reigned in this Iland after his arriuall by the space of foure and twentie yeares he finished his daies at Trenouanton aforesaid being in his yoong and florishing age where his carcase was honourablie interred As for the maner of his death I find as yet no mention thereof among such writers as are extant I meane whether it grew vnto him by defect of nature or force of gréeuous wounds receiued in his warres against such as withstood him from time to time in this Iland and therefore I can saie nothing of that matter Herein onelie all agree that during the time of his languishing paines he made a disposition of his whole kingdome diuiding it into three parts or portions according to the number of his sonnes then liuing whereof the eldest excéeded not eight and twentie yeares of age as my coniecturs giueth me To the eldest therefore whose name was Locrine he gaue the greatest and best region of all the rest which of him to this daie is called Lhoegres among the Britons but in our language England of such English Saxons as made conquest of the same This portion also is included on the south with the British sea on the est with the Germane Ocean on the north with the Humber and on the west with the Irish sea and the riuers Dee and Sauerne whereof in the generall description of this Iland I haue spoken more at large To Camber his second sonne he assigned all that lieth beyond the Sauerne and Dee toward the west which parcell in these daies conteineth Southwales and Northwales with sundrie Ilands adiacent to the same the whole being in maner cut off and separated from England or Lhoegria by the said streams wherby it séemeth also a peninsula or by-land if you respect the small hillie portion of ground that lieth indifferentlie betweene their maine courses or such branches at the least as run and fall into them The Welshmen or Britons call it by the ancient name still vnto this day but we Englishmen terme it Wales which denomination we haue from the Saxons who in time past did vse the word Walsh in such sort as we doo Strange for as we call all those strangers that are not of our nation so did they name them Walsh which were not of their countrie The third and last part of the Iland he allotted vnto Albanact his yoongest sonne for he had but three ill all as I haue said before whose portion séemed for circuit to be more large than that of Camber and in maner equall in greatnesse with the dominions of Locrinus But if you haue regard to the seuerall commodities that are to be reaped by each you shall find them to be not much discrepant or differing one from another for what soeuer the first second haue in plentie of corne fine grasse and large cattell this latter wanteth not in excéeding store of fish rich mettall quarries of stone and abundance of wild foule so that in mine opinion there could not be a more equall partition then this made by Brute and after the aforesaid maner This later parcell at the first tooke the name of Albanactus who called it Albania But now a small portion onelie of the region being vnder the regiment of a duke reteineth the said denomination the rest being called Scotland of certeine Scots that came ouer from Ireland to inhabit in those quarters It is diuided from Lhoegres also by the Solue and the Firth yet some doo note the Humber so that Albania as Brute left it conteined all the north part of the Iland that is to be found beyond the aforesaid streame vnto the point of Cathnesse To conclude Brute hauing diuided his kingdome after this maner and therein contenting himselfe as it were with the generall title of the whole it was not long after yer he ended his life and being solemnelie interred at his new citie by his thrée children they parted each from other and tooke possession of their prouinces But Scotland after two yeares fell againe into the hands of Locrinus as to the chiefe lord by the death of his brother Albanact who was slaine by Humber king of the Scithians and left none issue behind him to succéed him in that kingdome After what maner the souereigntie of this I le dooth remaine to the princes of Lhoegres or kings of England Chap. 22. IT is possible that some of the Scotish nation reading the former chapter will take offense with me for meaning that the principalitie of the north parts of this I le hath alwais belonged to the kings of Lhoegres For whose more ample satisfaction in this behalfe I will here set downe a discourse thereof at large written by diuerse and now finallie brought into one treatise sufficient as I thinke to satisfie the reasonable although not halfe enough peraduenture to content a wrangling mind sith there is or at the leastwise hath beene nothing more odious among some than to heare that the king of England hath ought to doo in Scotland How their historiographers haue attempted to shape manie coloured
persons called pledges as I said or ten denaries or tithings of men of which ech one was bound for others good abering and laudable behauiour in the common-wealth of the realme The chiefe man likewise of euerie denarie or tithing was in those daies called a tithing man in Latine Decurio but now in most places a borsholder or burgholder as in Kent where euerie tithing is moreouer named a burgh or burrow although that in the West countrie he be still called a tithing man and his circuit a tithing as I haue heard at large I read furthermore and it is partlie afore noted that the said Alfred caused ech man of frée condition for the better maintenance of his peace to be ascribed into some hundred by placing himselfe in one denarie or other where he might alwais haue such as should sweare or saie vpon their certeine knowledge for his honest behauior and ciuill conuersation if it should happen at anie time that his credit should come in question In like sort I gather out of Leland and other that if anie small matter did fall out worthie to be discussed the tithing man or borsholder now officers at the commandement of the high constable of which euerie hundred hath one at the least should decide the same in their léetes whereas the great causes were referred to the hundreds the greater to the lathes and the greatest of all to the shire daies where the earles or aldermen did set themselues make finall ends of the same according vnto iustice For this purpose likewise in euerie hundred were twelue men chosen of good age and wisedome and those sworne to giue their sentences without respect of person and in this manner as they gather were things handeled in those daies Which waie the word wapentake came in vse as yet I cannot tell howbeit the signification of the same declareth as I conceiue that at the chiefe towne the soldiers which were to serue in that hundred did méet fetch their weapons go togither from thence to the field or place of seruice by an ordinarie custome then generallie knowen amongst them It is supposed also that the word Rape commeth a Rapiendo as it were of catching and snatching bicause the tenants of the hundred or wapentakes met vpon one or sundrie daies made quicke dispatch of their lords haruest at once and in great hast But whether it be a true imagination or not as yet I am vncerteine and therefore it lieth not in me to determine anie thing thereof wherefore it shall suffice to haue touched them in this maner In my time there are found to be in England fourtie shires and likewise thirtéene in Wales and these latter erected of late yeares by king Henrie the eight who made the Britons or Welshmen equall in all respects vnto the English and brought to passe that both nations should indifferentlie be gouerned by one law which in times past were ordred by diuerse and those far discrepant and disagreing one from another as by the seuerall view of the same is yet easie to be discerned The names of the shires in England are these whereof the first ten lie betwéene the British sea and the Thames as Polydor also dooth set them downe Kent Sussex Surreie Hampshire Barkeshire Wilshire Dorsetshire Summerset Deuon Cornewall There are moreouer on the northside of the Thames and betwéene the same and the riuer Trent which passeth through the middest of England as Polydor saith sixtéene other shires whereof six lie toward the east the rest toward the west more into the mddest of the countrie Essex somtime all forrest saue one hundred Middlesex Hartfordshire Suffolke Norffolke Cambridgeshire in which are 12 hundreds Bedford Huntington wher in are foure hundreds Buckingham Oxford Northampton Rutland Leircestershire Notinghamshire Warwike Lincolne We haue six also that haue their place westward towards Wales whose names insue Glocester Hereford Worcester Shropshire Stafford Chestershire And these are the thirtie two shires which lie by south of the Trent Beyond the same riuer we haue in like sort other eight as Darbie Yorke Lancaster Cumberland Westmerland Richemond wherein are fiue wapentaxes when it is accompted as parcell of Yorkeshire out of which it is taken then is it reputed for the whole Riding Durham Northumberland So that in the portion sometime called Lhoegres there are now fortie shires In Wales furthermore are thirtéene whereof seuen are in Southwales Cardigan or Cereticon Penmoroke or Penbrooke Caermardine wherein are 9. hundreds or commots Glamorgan Monmouth Breckenocke Radnor In Northwales likewise are six that is to saie Angleseie Carnaruon Merioneth Denbigh Flint Montgomerie Which being added to those of England yéeld fiftie and thrée shires or counties so that vnder the quéenes Maiestie are so manie counties whereby it is easilie discerned that hir power farre excéedeth that of Offa who of old time was highlie honored for that he had so much of Britaine vnder his subiection as afterward conteined thirtie nine shires when the diuision was made whereof I spake before This is moreouer to be noted in our diuision of shires that they be not alwaies counted or laid togither in one parcell whereof I haue great maruell But sith the occasiō hath growen as I take it either by priuiledge or some like occasion it is better briefelie to set downe how some of these parts lie than to spend the time in séeking a iust cause of this their od diuision First therefore I note that in the part of Buckinghamshire betweene Amondesham Beconsfield there is a peece of Hartfordshire to be found inuironed round about with the countie of Buckingham and yet this patch is not aboue three miles in length and two in breadth at the verie most In Barkeshire also betwéene Ruscombe and Okingham is a péece of Wilshire one mile in breadth and foure miles in length whereof one side lieth on the Loden riuer In the borders of Northamptonshire directlie ouer against Luffeld a towne in Buckkinghamshire I find a parcell of Oxfordshire not passing two miles in compasse With Oxfordshire diuerse doo participate in so much that a péece of Glocestershire lieth halfe in Warwikeshire halfe in Oxfordshire not verie far from Horneton Such another patch is there of Glocestershire not far from long Compton but lieng in Oxford countie a péece of Worcestershire directlie betwéene it Glocestershire Glocester hath the third péece vpon the north side of the Winrush neere Falbrocke as Barkeshire hath one parcell also vpon the selfe side of the same water in the verie edge of Glocestershire likewise an other in Oxfordshire not verie farre from Burford and the third ouer against Lach lade which is parted from the main countie of Barkeshire by a little strake of Oxfordshire Who would thinke that two fragments of Wilshire were to be seene in Barkeshire vpon the Loden and the riuer that falleth into it whereof and the like sith there are verie manie
and called after their names as lord Henrie or lord Edward with the addition of the word Grace properlie assigned to the king and prince and now also by custome conueied to dukes archbishops and as some saie to marquesses and their wiues The title of duke commeth also of the Latine word Dux à ducendo bicause of his valor and power ouer the armie in times past a name of office due to the emperour consull or chéefe gouernour of the whole armie in the Romane warres but now a name of honor although perished in England whose ground will not long beare one duke at once but if there were manie as in time past or as there be now earles I doo not thinke but that they would florish and prosper well inough In old time he onelie was called marquesse Qui habuit terram limitaneam a marching prouince vpon the enimies countries and thereby bound to kéepe and defend the frontiers But that also is changed in common vse and reputed for a name of great honor next vnto the duke euen ouer counties and sometimes small cities as the prince is pleased to bestow it The name of earle likewise was among the Romans a name of office who had Comites sacri palatij comites aerarij comites stabuli comites patrimonij largitionum scholarum commerciorum and such like But at the first they were called Comites which were ioined in commission with the proconsull legate or iudges for counsell and aids sake in each of those seuerall charges As Cicero epistola ad Quintum fratrem remembreth where he saith Atque inter hos quos tibi comites adiutores negotiorum publicorum dedit ipsa respublica duntaxat finibus his praestabis quos ante praescripsi c. After this I read also that euerie president in his charge was called Comes but our English Saxons vsed the word Hertoch and earle for Comes and indifferentlie as I gesse sith the name of duke was not in vse before the conquest Goropius saith that Comes and Graue is all one to wit the viscont called either Procomes or Vicecomes and in time past gouerned in the countie vnder the earle but now without anie such seruice or office it is also become a name of dignitie next after the earle and in degrée before the baron His reléefe also by the great charter is one hundred pounds as that of a baronie a hundred marks and of a knight flue at the most for euerie fée The baron whose degrée answered to the dignitie of a senator in Rome is such a frée lord as hath a lordship or baronie whereof he beareth his name hath diuerse knights or fréeholders holding of him who with him did serue the king in his wars and held their tenures in Baronia that is for performance of such seruice These Bracton a learned writer of the lawes of England in king Henrie the thirds time tearmeth Barones quasi robur belli The word Baro indéed is older than that it may easilie be found from whence it came for euen in the oldest histories both of the Germans and Frenchmen written since the conquest we read of barons and those are at this daie called among the Germans Liberi vel Ingenui or Freihers in the Germane toong as some men doo coniecture or as one saith the citizens and burgesses of good townes and cities were called Barones Neuerthelesse by diligent inquisition it is imagined if not absolutelie found that the word Baro and Filius in the old Scithian or Germane language are all one so that the kings children are properlie called Barones from whome also it was first translated to their kindred and then to the nobilitie and officers of greatest honour indifferentlie That Baro and Filius signifieth one thing it yet remaineth to be séene although with some corruption for to this daie euen the common sort doo call their male children barnes here in England especiallie in the north countrie where that word is yet accustomablie in vse And it is also growne into a prouerbe in the south when anie man susteineth a great hinderance to saie I am beggered and all my barnes In the Hebrue toong as some affirme it signifieth Filij solis and what are the nobilitie in euerie kingdome but Filij or serui regum But this is farre fetched wherefore I conclude that from hensefoorth the originall of the word Baro shall not be anie more to seeke and the first time that euer I red thereof in anie English historie is in the reigne of Canutus who called his nobilitie and head officers to a councell holden at Cirnecester by that name 1030 as I haue else-where remembred Howbeit the word Baro dooth not alwaies signifie or is attributed to a noble man by birth or creation for now and then it is a title giuen vnto one or other with his office as the chéefe or high tribune of the excheker is of custome called lord chéefe baron who is as it were the great or principall receiuer of accounts next vnto the lord treasuror as they are vnder him are called Tribuni aerarij rationales Hervnto I may ad so much of the word lord which is an addition going not seldome and in like sort with sundrie offices and to continue so long as he or they doo execute the same and no longer Unto this place I also referre our bishops who are accounted honourable called lords and hold the same roome in the parlement house with the barons albeit for honour sake the right hand of the prince is giuen vnto them and whose countenances in time past were much more glorious than at this present it is bicause those lustie prelats sought after earthlie estimation and authoritie with farre more diligence than after the lost shéepe of Christ of which they had small regard as men being otherwise occupied and void of leisure to attend vpon the same Howbeit in these daies their estate remaineth no lesse reuerend than before and the more vertuous they are that be of this calling the better are they estéemed with high and low They reteine also the ancient name lord still although it be not a littie impugned by such as loue either to heare of change of all things or can abide no superiours For notwithstanding it be true that in respect of function the office of the eldership is equallie distributed betwéene the bishop and the minister yet for ciuill gouernements sake the first haue more authoritie giuen vnto them by kings and princes to the end that the rest maie thereby be with more ease reteined within a limited compasse of vniformitie than otherwise they would be if ech one were suffered to walke in his owne course This also is more to be maruelled at that verie manie call for an alteration of their estate crieng to haue the word lord abolished their ciuill authoritie taken from them and the present condition of the church in other things reformed whereas to saie trulie
gentlemen which oftentimes doo beare more port than they are able to mainteine Secondlie by seruingmen whose wages cannot suffice so much as to find them bréeches wherefore they are now and then constreined either to kéepe high waies and breake into the wealthie mens houses with the first sort or else to walke vp and downe in gentlemens and rich farmers pastures there to sée and view which horsses féed best whereby they manie times get something although with hard aduenture it hath béene knowne by their confession at the gallowes that some one such chapman hath had fortie fiftie or sixtie stolne horsses at pasture here and there abroad in the countrie at a time which they haue sold at faires and markets farre off they themselues in the meane season being taken about home for honest yeomen and verie wealthie drouers till their dealings haue been bewrated It is not long since one of this companie was apprehended who was before time reputed for a verie honest and wealthie townesman he vttered also more horsses than anie of his trade because he sold a reasonable peniworth and was a faire spoken man It was his custome likewise to saie if anie man hucked hard with him about the price of a gelding So God helpe me gentleman or sir either he did cost me so much or else by Iesus I stole him Which talke was plaine inough and yet such was his estimation that each beleeued the first part of his tale and made no account of the later which was the truer indeed Our third annoiers of the common-wealth are roges which doo verie great mischeefe in all places where they become For wheras the rich onelie suffer iniurie by the firâ—t two these spare neither rich nor poore but whether it be great gaine or small all is fish that commeth to net with them and yet I saie both they and the rest are trussed vp apace For there is not one yeare commonlie wherein three hundred or foure 〈◊〉 of them are not deuoured and eaten vp by the gallowes in one place and other It appeareth by Cardane who writeth it vpon the report of the bishop of Lexouia in the geniture of king Edward the sixt how Henrie the eight executing his laws verie seuerelie against such idle persons I meane great theeues pettie théeues and roges did hang vp thréescore and twelue thousand of them in his time He seemed for a while greatlie to haue terrified the rest but since his death the number of them is so increased yea although we haue had no warres which are a great occasion of their breed for it is the custome of the more idle sort hauing once serued or but séene the other side of the sea vnder colour of seruice to shake hand with labour for euer thinking it a disgrace for himselfe to returne vnto his former trade that except some better order be taken or the lawes alreadie made be better executed such as dwell in vplandish townes and little villages shall liue but in small safetie and rest For the better apprehension also of theeues and mankillers there is an old law in England verie well prouided whereby it is ordered that if he that is robbed or any man complaine and giue warning of slaughter or murther committed the constable of the village wherevnto he commeth and crieth for succour is to raise the parish about him and to search woods groues and all suspected houses and places where the trespasser may be or is supposed to lurke and not finding him there he is to giue warning vnto the next constable and so one constable after serch made to aduertise another from parish to parish till they come to the same where the offendor is harbored and found It is also prouided that if anie parish in this businesse doo not hir dutie but suffereth the théefe for the auoiding of trouble sake in carrieng him to the gaile if he should be apprehended or other letting of their worke to escape the same parish is not onlie to make fine to the king but also the same with the whole hundred wherein it standeth to repaie the partie robbed his damages and leaue his estate harmlesse Certes this is a good law howbeit I haue knowne by mine owne experience fellons being taken to haue escaped out of the stocks being rescued by other for want of watch gard that théeues haue beene let passe bicause the couetous and greedie parishoners would neither take the paines nor be at the charge to carrie them to prison if it were far off that when hue and crie haue béene made euen to the faces of some constables they haue said God restore your losse I haue other businesse at this time And by such meanes the meaning of manie a good law is left vnexecuted malefactors imboldened and manie a poore man turned out of that which he hath swet and taken great paines for toward the maintenance of himselfe and his poore children and familie Of the maner of building and furniture of our houses Chap. 12. THe greatest part of our building in the cities and good townes of England consisteth onelie of timber for as yet few of the houses of the communaltie except here there in the West countrie townes are made of stone although they may in my opinion in diuerse other places be builded so good cheape of the one as of the other In old time the houses of the Britons were slightlie set vp with a few posts many radels with stable and all offices vnder one roofe the like whereof almost is to be séene in the fennie countries and northerne parts vnto this daie where for lacke of wood they are inforced to continue this ancient maner of building It is not in vaine therefore in speaking of building to make a distinction betwéene the plaine and wooddie soiles for as in these our houses are commonlie strong and well timbered so that in manie places there are not aboue foure six or nine inches betwéene stud and stud so in the open and champaine countries they are inforced for want of stuffe to vse no studs at all but onlie franke posts raisins beames prickeposts groundsels summers or dormants transoms and such principals with here and there a girding whervnto they fasten their splints or radels and then cast it all ouer with thicke claie to keepe out the wind which otherwise would annoie them Certes this rude kind of building made the Spaniards in quéene Maries daies to woonder but chéeflie when they saw what large diet was vsed in manie of these so homelie cottages in so much that one of no small reputation amongst them said after this maner These English quoth he haue their houses made of sticks and durt but they fare commonlie so well as the king Whereby it appeareth that he liked better of our good fare in such course cabins than of their owne thin diet in their princelike habitations and palaces In like sort as euerie countrie house is thus apparelled on the out side
vnto the possession of the crowne they were so prouidentlie called to remembrance and such spéedie reformation sought of all hands for the redresse of this inconuenience that our countrie was sooner furnished with armour and munition from diuerse parts of the maine beside great plentie that was forged here at home than our enimies could get vnderstanding of anie such prouision to be made By this policie also was the no small hope conceiued by Spaniards vtterlie cut off who of open fréends being now become our secret enimies and thereto watching a time wherein to atchieue some heauie exploit against vs and our countrie did there vpon change their purposes whereby England obteined rest that otherwise might haue béene sure of sharpe and cruell wars Thus a Spanish word vttered by one man at one time ouerthrew or at the least wise hindered sundrie priuie practises of manie at another In times past the chéefe force of England consisted in their long bowes But now we haue in maner generallie giuen ouer that kind of artillerie and for long bowes in déed doo practise to shoot compasse for our pastime which kind of shooting can neuer yéeld anie smart stroke nor beat downe our enimies as our countrie men were woont to doo at euerie time of néed Certes the Frenchmen and Rutters deriding our new archerie in respect of their corslets will not let in open skirmish if anie leisure serue to turne vp their tailes and crie Shoote English and all bicause our strong shooting is decaied and laid in bed But if some of our Englishmen now liued that serued king Edward the third in his warres with France the bréech of such a varlet should haue beene nailed to his bum with one arrow and an other fethered in his bowels before he should haue turned about to sée who shot the first But as our shooting is thus in manner vtterlie decaied among vs one waie so our countrie men wex skilfull in sundrie other points as in shooting in small péeces the caliuer and handling of the pike in the seuerall vses whereof they are become verie expert Our armour differeth not from that of other nations and therefore consisteth of corslets almaiâ—e riuets shirts of maile iackes quilted and couered ouer with leather fustian or canuas ouer thicke plates of iron that are sowed in the same of which there is no towne or village that hath not hir conuenient furniture The said armour and munition likewise is kept in one seuerall place of euerie towne appointed by the consent of the whole parish where it is alwaies readie to be had and worne within an houres warning Sometime also it is occupied when it pleaseth the magistrate either to view the able men take note of the well kéeping of the same or finallie to sée those that are inrolled to exercise each one his seuerall weapon at the charge of the townesmen of each parish according to his appointment Certes there is almost no village so poore in England be it neuer so small that hath not sufficient furniture in a readinesse to set foorth thrée or foure soldiors as one archer one gunner one pike a bilman at the least No there is not so much wanting as their verie liueries and caps which are least to be accounted of if anie hast required so that if this good order may continue it shall be vnpossible for the sudden enimie to find vs vnprouided As for able men for seruice thanked be God we are not without good store for by the musters taken 1574 and 1575 our number amounted to 1172674 and yet were they not so narrowlie taken but that a third part of this like multitude was left vnbilled and vncalled What store of munition and armour the quéenes maiestie hath in hir store-houses it lieth not in me to yéeld account sith I suppose the same to be infinit And whereas it was commonlie said after the losse of Calis that England should neuer recouer the store of ordinance there lest and lost that same is at this time prooued false sith euen some of the same persons doo now confesse that this land was neuer better furnished with these things in anie kings daies that reigned since the conquest The names of our greatest ordinance are commonlie these Robinet whose weight is two hundred pounds and it hath one inch and a quarter within the mouth Falconet weigheth fiue hundred pounds and his widenesse is two inches within the mouth Falcon hath eight hundred pounds and two inches and a halfe within the mouth Minion poiseth eleauen hundred pounds and hath thrée inches and a quarter within the mouth Sacre hath fiftéene hundred poundes and is three inches and a halfe wide in the mouth Demie Culuerijn weigheth three thousand pounds and hath foure inches and a halfe within the mouth Culuerijn hath foure thousand pounds and fiue inches and an halfe within the mouth Demie Canon six thousand pounds and six inches and an halfe within the mouth Canon seauen thousand pounds and eight inches within the mouth E. Canon eight thousand pounds and seauen inches within the mouth Basiliske 9000 pounds eight inches and thrée quarters within the mouth By which proportions also it is easie to come by the weight of euerie shot how manie scores it doth flée at point blanke how much pouder is to be had to the same finallie how manie inches in height ech bullet ought to carrie The names of the greatest ordinance  Weight of the shot Scores of cariage Pounds of pouder Height of bullet Robinet hath 1. li. 0 ½ 1 Falconet 2. li. 14 2 1 2 4 Falcon. 2. ½ 16 2 ½ 2 ¼ Minion 4. ½ 17 4 ½ 3 Sacre 5 18 5 3 ¼ Demie Culuerijn 9 20 9 4 Culuerijn 18 25 18 5 ¼ Demie canon 30 38 28 6 ¼ Canon 60 20 44 7 ¾ E. Canon 42 20 20 6 ¾ Basiliske 60 21 60 8 ¼ I might here take iust occasion to speake of the princes armories But what shall it néed sith the whole realme is hir armorie and therefore hir furniture infinit The Turke had one gun made by one Orban a Dane the caster of his ordinance which could not be drawen to the siege of Constantinople but by seauentie yokes of oxen and two thousand men he had two other there also whose shot poised aboue two talents in weight made by the same Orban But to procéed As for the armories of some of the nobilitie whereof I also haue séene a part they are so well furnished that within some one barons custodie I haue séene thrée score or a hundred corslets at once beside caliuers handguns bowes sheffes of arrowes pikes bils polaxes flaskes touchboxes targets c the verie sight wherof appalled my courage What would the wearing of some of them doo then trow you if I should be inforced to vse one of them in the field But thanked be God our peaceable daies are such as no man hath anie great cause to occupie them at all but
For hearing as he trauelled by complaint of the countrie how these inclosures were the chéefe decaie of men and of tillage in the land he sware with an oth that he would not suffer wild beasts to féed vpon the fat of his soile and sée the people perish for want of abilitie to procure and buie them food that should defend the realme Howbeit this act of his was so ill taken by the religious and their adherents that they inuerted his intent herein to another end affirming most slanderouslie how he did it rather of purpose to spoile the corne and grasse of the commons and catholikes that held against him of both estates and by so doing to impouerish and bring the north part of the realme to destruction because they refused to go with him into Scotland If the said prince were aliue in these daies wherein Andrew Boord saith there are more parks in England than in all Europe ouer which he trauelled in his owne person and saw how much ground they consume I thinke he would either double his othes or laie the most of them open that tillage might be better looked vnto But this I hope shall not néed in time for the owners of a great fort of them begin now to smell out that such parcels might be emploied to their more gaine and therefore some of them doo grow to be disparked Next of all we haue the franke chase which taketh something both of parke and forrest and is giuen either by the kings grant or prescription Certes it differeth not much from a parke nay it is in maner the selfe same thing that a parke is sauing that a parke is inuironed with pale wall or such like the chase alwaie open and nothing at all inclosed as we see in Enuéeld Maluerne chases And as it is the cause of the seisure of the franchise of a parke not to kéepe the same inclosed so it is the like in a chase if at anie time it be imparked It is trespasse and against the law also for anie man to haue or make a chase parke or frée warren without good warrantie of the king by his charter or perfect title of prescription for it is not lawfull for anie subiect either to carnilate that is build stone houses imbattell haue the querke of the sea or kéepe the assise of bread ale or wine or set vp furels tumbrell thew or pillorie or inclose anie ground to the aforesaid purposes within his owne soile without his warrant and grant The beasts of the chase were commonlie the bucke the roe the fox and the marterne But those of venerie in old time were the hart the hare the bore and the woolfe but as this held not in the time of Canutus so in stéed of the woolfe the beare is now crept in which is a beast coÌ„monlie hunted in the east countries and fed vpon as excellent venison although with vs I know not anie that féed thereon or care for it at all Certes it should seeme that forrests and franke chases haue alwaies béene had and religiouslie preserued in this Iland for the solace of the prince and recreation of his nobilitie howbeit I read not that euer they were inclosed more than at this present or otherwise fensed than by vsuall notes of limitation whereby their bounds were remembred from time to time for the better preseruation of such venerie and vert of all sorts as were nourished in the same Neither are anie of the ancient laws prescribed for their maintenance before the daies of Canutus now to be had sith time hath so dealt with them that they are perished and lost Canutus therefore seeing the dailie spoile that was made almost in all places of his game did at the last make sundrie sanctions and decrées whereby from thenceforth the red and fallow déere were better looked to throughout his whole dominions We haue in these daies diuerse forrests in England and Wales of which some belong to the king and some to his subiects as Waltham forrest Windlesor Pickering Fecknam Delamore Gillingham Kingswood Wencedale Clun Rath Bredon Weire Charlie Leircester Lée Rokingham Selwood New forrest Wichwood Hatfeeld Sauernake Westbirie Blacamore Pcke Deane Penrise manie other now cleane out of my remembrance and which although they are far greater in circuit than manie parkes and warrens yet are they in this our time lesse deuourers of the people than these latter sith beside much tillage manie townes ar found in each of them wheras in parks and warrens we haue nothing else than either the keepers wareners lodge or at least the manor place of the chéef lord owner of the soile I find also by good record that all Essex hath in time past wholie béene forrest ground except one cantred or hundred but how long it is since it lost the said denomination in good sooth I doo not read This neuerthâ—lesse remaineth yet in memorie that the towne of Walden in Essex slanâ—ing in the limits of the aforesaid countie doth take hir name thereof For in the Câ—ltike toong wâ—erewith the Saxon or Scithian spéech dooth not a little participate huge woods and forrests were called Walds and likewise their Druides were named Walie or Waldie bicause they frequented the woods and there made sacrifice among the okes and thickets So that if my coniecture in this behalfe be anie thing at all the aforesaid towne taketh denomination of of Wald and end as if I should say The end of the wooddie soile for being once out of that parish the champaine is at hand Or it may be that it is so called of Wald and dene for I haue read it written in old euidences Waldaene with a diphthong And to saie truth Dene is the old Saxon word for a vale or lowe bottome as Dune or Don is for an hill or hillie soile Certes if it be so then Walden taketh hir name of the woodie vale in which it sometime stood But the first deriuation liketh me better and the highest part of the towne is called also Chipping Walden of the Saxon word gipping which signifieth Leaning or hanging and may verie well be applied therevnto sith the whole towne hangeth as it were vpon the sides of two hils wherof the lesser runneth quite through the middest of the same I might here for further confirmation of these things bring in mention of the Wald of Kent but this may suffice for the vse of the word Wald which now differeth much from Wold For as that signifieth a woodie soile so this betokeneth a soile without wood or plaine champaine countrie without anie store of trées as may be seene in Cotswold Porkewold c. Beside this I could saie more of our forrests and the aforesaid inclosures also therein to prooue by the booke of forrest law that the whole countie of Lancaster hath likewise beene forrest heretofore Also how William the Bastard made a law that whosoeuer did take anie wild beast within the kings forrest
time with application of one simple c if a Spaniard or Englishman stand in need of their helpe they are driuen to haue a longer space in their cures and now and then also to vse some addition of two or thrée simples at the most whose forces vnto them are throughlie knowne because their exercise is onelie in their owne as men that neuer sought or heard what vertue was in those that came from other countries And euen so did Marcus Cato the learned Roman indeuor to deale in his cures in sundrie diseases wherein he not onelie vsed such simples as were to be had in his owne countrie but also examined and learned the forces of each of them wherewith he dealt so diligentlie that in all his life time he could atteine to the exact knowledge but of a few and thereto wrote of those most learnedlie as would easilie be séene if those his bookes were extant For the space also of 600 yéeres the colewort onelie was a medicine in Rome for all diseases so that his vertues were thoroughlie knowne in those parts In Plinies time the like affection to forren drugs did rage among the Romans whereby their owne did grow in contempt Crieng out therefore of this extreame follie lib. 22. cap. 24 he speaketh after this maner Non placent remedia tam longè nascentia non enim nobis gignuntur immò ne illis quidem alioquin non venderent siplacet etiam superstitionis gratiâ emantur quoniam supplicamus c. Salutem quidem sine his posse constare vel obid probabimus vt tanto magis sui tandem pudeat For my part I doubt not if the vse of outlandish drugs had not blinded our physicians of England in times passed but that the vertues of our simples here at home would haue béene far better knowne and so well vnto vs as those of India are to the practisioners of those partes and therevnto be found more profitable for vs than the forren either are or maie be This also will I ad that euen those which are most common by reason of their plentie and most vile bicause of their abundance are not without some vniuersall and especiall efficacie if it were knowne for our benefit sith God in nature hath so disposed his creatures that the most néedfull are the most plentifull and seruing for such generall diseases as our constitution most commonlie is affected withall Great thanks therefore be giuen vnto the physicians of our age and countrie who not onelie indeuour to search out the vse of such simples as our soile dooth yéeld and bring foorth but also to procure such as grow elsewhere vpō purpose so to acquaint them with our clime that they in time through some alteration receiued from the nature of the earth maie likewise turne to our benefit and commoditie and be vsed as our owne The chiefe workeman or as I maie call him the founder of this deuise is Carolus Clusius the noble herbarist whose industrie hath woonderfullie stirred them vp vnto this good act For albeit that Matthiolus Rembert I obell and other haue trauelled verie farre in this behalfe yet none hath come néere to Clusius much lesse gone further in the finding and true descriptions of such herbes as of late are brought to light I doubt not but if this man were in England but one seuen yéeres he would reueale a number of herbes growing with vs whereof neither our physicians nor apothecaries as yet haue anie knowledge And euen like thankes be giuen vnto our nobilitie gentlemen and others for their continuall nutriture and cherishing of such home-borne and forren simples in their gardens for hereby they shall not onlie be had at hand and preserued but also their formes made more familiar to be discerned and their forces better knowne than hitherto they haue béene And euen as it fareth with our gardens so dooth it with our orchards which were neuer furnished with so good fruit nor with such varietie as at this present For beside that we haue most delicate apples plummes peares walnuts filberds c and those of sundrie sorts planted within fortie yéeres passed in comparison of which most of the old trées are nothing woorth so haue we no lesse store of strange fruit as abricotes almonds peaches figges cornetrees in noble mens orchards I haue seene capers orenges and lemmons and heard of wild oliues growing here beside other strange trees brought from far whose names I know not So that England for these commodities was neuer better furnished neither anie nation vnder their clime more plentifullie indued with these and other blessings from the most high God who grant vs grace withall to vse the same to his honour and glorie and not as instruments and prouocations vnto further excesse and vanitie wherewith his displeasure may be kindled least these his benefits doo turne vnto thornes and briers vnto vs for our annoiance and punishment which he hath bestowed vpon vs for our consolation and comfort We haue in like sort such workemen as are not onelie excellent in graffing the naturall fruits but also in their artificiall mixtures whereby one trée bringeth foorth sundrie fruits and one and the same fruit of diuers colours and tasts dallieng as it were with nature and hir course as if hir whole trade were perfectlie knowne vnto them of hard fruits they will make tender of sowre sweet of sweet yet more delicate béereuing also some of their kernels other of their cores and finallie induing them with the sauour of muske ambre or swéet spices at their pleasures Diuerse also haue written at large of these seuerall practises and some of them how to conuert the kernels of peaches into almonds of small fruit to make farre greater and to remooue or ad superfluous or necessarie moisture to the trées with other things belonging to their preseruation and with no lesse diligence than our physicians doo commonlie shew vpon our owne diseased bodies which to me dooth seeme right strange And euen so doo our gardeners with their herbes whereby they are strengthened against noisome blasts and preserued from putrifaction and hinderance whereby some such as were annuall are now made perpetuall being yéerelie taken vp and either reserued in the house or hauing the rosse pulled from their rootes laid againe into the earth where they remaine in safetie What choise they make also in their waters and wherewith some of them doo now and then keepe them moist it is a world to sée insomuch that the apothecaries shops maie séeme to be needfull also to our gardens and orchards and that in sundrie wise naie the kitchin it selfe is so farre from being able to be missed among them that euen the verie dishwater is not without some vse amongest our finest plants Whereby and sundrie other circumstances not here to bée remembred I am persuaded that albeit the gardens of the Hesperides were in times past so greatlie accounted of because of their delicacie yet if it were possible to
a world to sée moreouer how diuerse men being bent to building and hauing a delectable veine in spending of their goods by that trade doo dailie imagine new deuises of their owne to guide their workemen withall and those more curious and excellent alwaies than the former In the procéeding also of their workes how they set vp how they pull downe how they inlarge how they restreine how they ad to how they take from whereby their heads are neuer idle their purses neuer shut nor their bookes of account neuer made perfect Destruunt aedificant mutant quadrata rotundis saith the poet So that if a man should well consider of all the od crotchets in such a builders braine he would thinke his head to haue euen inough of those affaires onelie therefore iudge that he should not well be able to deale in anie other But such commonlie are our workemasters that they haue beside this veine afore mentioned either great charge of merchandizes little lesse businesse in the common-wealth or finallie no small dealings otherwise incident vnto them wherby gaine ariseth and some trouble oft among withall Which causeth me to wonder not a little how they can plaie the parts so well of so manie sundrie men whereas diuerse other of greater forecast in apparance can seldome shift well or thriue in anie one of them But to our purpose We haue manie woods forrests and parks which cherish trées abundantlie although in the woodland countries there is almost no hedge that hath not some store of the greatest sort beside infinit numbers of hedgerowes groues and springs that are mainteined of purpose for the building and prouision of such owners as doo possesse the same Howbeit as euerie soile dooth not beare all kinds of wood so there is not anie wood parke hedgerow groue or forrest that is not mixed with diuerse as oke ash hasell hawthorne birch béech hardbeame hull sorfe quicken aspe poplers wild cherie and such like wherof oke hath alwaies the preheminence as most méet for building and the nauie whervnto it is reserued This tree bringeth foorth also a profitable kind of mast whereby such as dwell néere vnto the aforesaid places doo cherish and bring vp innumerable heards of swine In time of plentie of this mast our red and fallow déere will not let to participat thereof with our hogs more than our nete yea our common pultrie also if they may come vnto them But as this abundance dooth prooue verie pernicious vnto the first so these egs which these latter doo bring foorth beside blackenesse in color and bitternesse of tast haue not seldome beene found to bréed diuerse diseases vnto such persons as haue eaten of the same I might ad in like sort the profit insuing by the barke of this wood whereof our tanners haue great vse in dressing of leather and which they buie yearelie in Maie by the fadame as I haue oft séene but it shall not néed at this time to enter into anie such discourse onlie this I wisâ—â— that â—ur sole and vpper leathering may haue their due time and not be hasted on by extraordinarie slights as with ash barke c. Whereby as I grant that it séâ—meth outwardlie to be verie thicke well doone so if you respect the sadnes therof it dooth prooue in the end to be verie hollow not able to hold out water Neuerthelesse we haue good lawes for redresse of this enormitie but it coÌ„meth to passe in these as in the execution of most penall statutes For the gaines to be gotten by the same being giuen to one or two hungrie and vnthriftie persons they make a shew of great reformation at the first for a litle while till â—hey find that following of sute in law against the offendors is somwhat too chargeable and tedious This therefore perceiued they giue ouer the law and fall to the admission of gifts and rewards to winke at things past and when they haue once gone ouer their ground with this kind of tillage then doo they tender licences and offer large dispensations vnto him that shall aske the same thereby to doo what him listeth in his trade for an yearelie pension whereby the bribour now groweth to some certeine reuenues the tanner to so great libertie that his lether is much worse than before But is not this a mockerie of our lawes manifest illusion of the good subiect whom they thus pill poll Of all oke growing in England the parke oke is the softest and far more spalt and brickle than the hedge oke And of all in Essex that growing in Bardfield parke is the finest for ioiners craft for oftentimes haue I seene of their workes made of that oke so fine and faire as most of the wainescot that is brought hither out of Danske for our wainescot is not made in England Yet diuerse haue assaied to deale without okes to that end but not with so good successe as they haue hoped bicause the ab or iuice will not so soone be remoued and cleane drawne out which some attribute to want of time in the salt water Neuerthelesse in building so well the hedge as the parke oke go all one waie and neuer so much hath beene spent in a hundred years before as is in ten yeare of our time for euerie man almost is a builder and he that hath bought any small parcell of ground be it neuer so little will not be quiet till he haue pulled downe the old house if anie were there standing and set vp a new after his owne deuise But wherevnto will this curiositie come Of elme we haue great store in euerie high waie and elsewhere yet haue I not séene thereof anie togither in woods or forrests but where they haue béene first planted and then suffered to spread at their owne willes Yet haue I knowen great woods of béech and hasell in manie places especiallie in Barkeshire Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire where they are greatlie cherished conuerted to sundrie vses by such as dwell about them Of all the elms that euer I saw those in the south side of Douer court in Essex néere Harwich are the most notable for they grow I meane in crooked maner that they are almost apt for nothing else but nauie timber great ordinance and béetels and such thereto is their naturall qualitie that being vsed in the said behalfe they continue longer and more long than anie the like trées in whatsoeuer parcell else of this land without cuphar shaking or cleauing as I find Ash commeth vp euerie where of it selfe and with euerie kind of wood And as we haue verie great plentie and no lesse vse of these in our husbandrie so are we not without the plane the vgh the sorfe the chestnut the line the blacke cherrie and such like And although that we inioy them not in so great plentie now in most places as in times past or the other afore remembred yet haue we sufficient of them all for our
necessarie turnes and vses especiallie of vgh as may be séene betwixt Rotheram and Sheffield and some stéeds of Kent also as I haue béene informed The firre frankincense and pine we doo not altogither want especiallie the firre whereof we haue some store in Chatleie moore in Darbishire Shropshire Andernesse and a mosse néere Manchester not far from Leircesters house although that in time past not onelie all Lancastershire but a great part of the coast betwéene Chester and the Solme were well stored As for the frankincense and pine they haue béene planted onelie in colleges and cloisters by the cleargie and religious heretofore Wherefore in mine opinion we may rather saie that we want them altogither for except they grew naturallie and not by force I sée no cause whie they should be accounted for parcell of our commodities We haue also the aspe whereof our fletchers make their arrowes The seuerall kinds of poplars of our turners haue great vse for bolles treies troughs dishes c. Also the alder whose barke is not vnprofitable to die blacke withall and therfore much vsed by our countrie wiues in colouring their knit hosen I might here take occasion to speake of the great sales yéerelie made of wood whereby an infinit quantitie hath bin destroied within these few yéers but I giue ouer to trauell in this behalfe Howbeit thus much I dare affirme that if woods go so fast to decaie in the next hundred yeere of Grace as they haue doone and are like to doo in this sometimes for increase of sheep-walks and some maintenance of prodigalitie and pompe for I haue knowne a well burnished gentleman that hath borne threescore at once in one paire of galigascons to shew his strength and brauerie it is to be feared that the fennie bote broome turffe gall heath firze brakes whinnes ling dies hassacks flags straw sedge réed rush and also seacole will be good merchandize euen in the citie of London wherevnto some of then euen now haue gotten readie passage and taken vp their innes in the greatest merchants parlours A man would thinke that our laws were able inough to make sufficient prouision for the redresse of this error enormitie likelie to insue But such is the nature of our countriemen that as manie laws are made so they will kéepe none or if they be vrged to make answer they will rather séeke some crooked construction of them to the increase of their priuat gaine than yéeld themselues to be guided by the same for a common wealth and profit to their countrie So that in the end whatsoeuer the law saith we will haue our willes whereby the wholesome ordinances of the prince are contemned the trauell of the nobilitie councellors as it were derided the common wealth impouerished a few onelie inriched by this peruerse dealing Thus manie thousand persons doo suffer hinderance by this their lewd behauior Hereby the wholesome laws of the prince are oft defrauded and the good meaning magistrate in consultation about the common wealth vtterlie neglected I would wish that I might liue no longer than to sée foure things in this land reformed that is the want of discipline in the church the couetous dealing of most of our merchants in the preferment of the commodities of other countries and hinderance of their owne the holding of faires and markets vpon the sundaie to be abolished and referred to the wednesdaies and that euerie man in whatsoeuer part of the champaine soile enioieth fortie acres of land and vpwards after that rate either by frée deed copie hold or fee farme might plant one acre of word or sowe the same with oke mast hasell béech and sufficient prouision be made that it may be cherished and kept But I feare me that I should then liue too long and so long that I should either be wearie of the world or the world of me and yet they are not such things but they may easilie be brought to passe Certes euerie small occasion in my time is enough to cut downe a great wood and euerie trifle sufficeth to laie infinit acres of corne ground vnto pasture As for the taking downe of houses a small fine will beare out a great manie Would to God we might once take example of the Romans who in restreint of superfluous grasing made an exact limitation how manie head of cattell ech estate might kéepe and what numbers of acres should suffice for that and other purposes Neither was wood euer better cherished or mansion houses mainteined than by their lawes and statutes Such also was their care in the maintenance of nauigation that it was a great part of the charge of their consuls yéerelie to view and looke vnto the hilles whereon great timber did grow least their vnnecessarie faults for the satisfaction of the priuat owner and his couetous mind might prooue a preiudice vnto the common wealth in the hinderance of sufficient stuffe for the furniture of their nauie Certes the like hereof is yet obserued in Uenice Read also I praie you what Suetonius writeth of the consulship of Bibulus and Cesar. As for the wood that Ancus Martius dedicated toward the maintenance of the common nauie I passe it ouer as hauing elsewhere remembred it vnto another end But what doo I meane to speake of these sith my purpose is onlie to talke of our owne woods Well take this then for a finall conclusion in woods that beside some countries are alreadie driuen to sell their wood by the pound which is an heauie report within these fortie yéeres we shall haue little great timber growing aboue fortie yéeres old for it is commonlie seene that those yoong staddles which we leaue standing at one twentie yéeres fall are vsuallie at the next sale cut downe without any danger of the statute and serue for fire bote if it please the owner to burne them Marises and fennie bogges we haue many in England though not now so many as some of the old Roman writers doo specifie but more in Wales if you haue respect vnto the seuerall quantities of the countries Howbeit as they are verie profitable in the summer halfe of the yeere so are a number of them which lie lowe and néere to great riuers to small commoditie in the winter part as common experience dooth teach Yet this I find of manie moores that in times past they haue béene harder ground and sundrie of them well replenished with great woods that now are void of bushes And for example hereof we may sée the triall beside the roots that are dailie found in the déeps of Monmouth where turfe is digged also in Wales Aburgauennie and Merioneth in sundrie parts of Lancashire where great store of firre hath growen in times past as I said and the people go vnto this daie into their fens and marises with long spits which they dash here and there vp to the verie cronge into the ground In which practise a thing commonlie doone in winter if they
barnacle whose place of generation we haue sought oft times so farre as the Orchades whereas peraduenture we might haue found the same neerer home and not onelie vpon the coasts of Ireland but euen in our owne riuers If I should say how either these or some such other foule not much vnlike vnto them haue bred of late times for their place of generation is not perpetuall but as opportunitie serueth and the circumstances doo minister occasion in the Thames mouth I doo not thinke that manie will beleeue me yet such a thing hath there béene seene where a kind of foule had his beginning vpon a short tender shrub standing néere vnto the shore from whence when their time came they fell downe either into the salt water and liued or vpon the drie land and perished as Pena the French herbarian hath also noted in the verie end of his herball What I for mine owne part haue séene here by experience I haue alreadie so touched in the chapter of Ilands that it should be but time spent in vaine to repeat it here againe Looke therefore in the description of Man or Manaw for more of these barnacles as also in the eleuenth chapter of the description of Scotland I doo not doubt but you shall in some respect be satisfied in the generation of these foules As for egrets pawpers and such like they are dailie brought vnto vs from beyond the sea as if all the foule of our countrie could not suffice to satisfie our delicate appetites Our tame foule are such for the most part as are common both to vs and to other countries as cocks hens géese duckes peacocks of Iude pigeons now an hurtfull foule by reason of their multitudes and number of houses dailie erected for their increase which the bowres of the countrie call in scorne almes houses and dens of theeues and such like wherof there is great plentie in euerie farmers yard They are kept there also to be sold either for readie monie in the open markets or else to be spent at home in good companie amongst their neighbors without reprehension or fines Neither are we so miserable in England a thing onelie granted vnto vs by the especiall grace of God and libertie of our princes as to dine or sup with a quarter of a hen or to make so great a repast with a cocks combe as they doo in some other countries but if occasion serue the whole carcasses of manie capons hens pigeons and such like doo oft go to wracke beside béefe mutton veale and lambe all which at euerie feast are taken for necessarie dishes amongest the communaltie of England The golding of cocks whereby capons are made is an ancient practise brought in of old time by the Romans when they dwelt here in this land but the gelding of turkies or Indish peacocks is a newer deuise and certeinlie not vsed amisse sith the rankenesse of that bird is verie much abated thereby and the strong taste of the flesh in sundrie wise amended If I should say that ganders grow also to be gelded I suppose that some will laugh me to scorne neither haue I tasted at anie time of such a foule so serued yet haue I heard it more than once to be vsed in the countrie where their géese are driuen to the field like heards of cattell by a gooseheard a toie also no lesse to be maruelled at than the other For as it is rare to heare of a gelded gander so is it strange to me to sée or heare of géese to be led to the field like shéepe yet so it is their gooseheard carieth a rattle of paper or parchment with him when he goeth about in the morning to gather his gostings togither the noise whereof commeth no sooner to their eares than they fall to gagling and hasten to go with him If it happen that the gates be not yet open or that none of the house be stirring it is ridiculous to sée how they will peepe vnder the doores and neuer leaue creaking and gagling till they be let out vnto him to ouertake their fellowes With vs where I dwell they are not kept in this sort nor in manie other places neither are they kept so much for their bodies as their feathers Some hold furthermore an opinion that in ouer ranke soiles their doong dooth so qualifie the batablenesse of the soile that their cattell is thereby kept from the garget and sundrie other diseases although some of them come to their ends now and then by licking vp of their feathers I might here make mention of other foules producted by the industrie of man as betwéene the fesant cocke and doonghill hen or betwéene the fesant and the ringdooue the peacocke and the turkie hen the partrich and the pigeon but sith I haue no more knowledge of these than what I haue gotten by mine care I will not meddle with them Yet Cardan speaking of the second sort dooth affirme it to be a foule of excellent beautie I would likewise intreat of other foules which we repute vncleane as rauens crowes pies choughes rookes kites iaies ringtailes starlings woodspikes woodnawes rauens c but sith they abound in all countries though peraduenture most of all in England by reason of our negligence I shall not néed to spend anie time in the rehearsall of them Neither are our crowes and thoughs cherished of purpose to catch vp the woormes that bréed in our soiles as Polydor supposeth sith there are no vplandish townes but haue or should haue nets of their owne in store to catch them withall Sundrie acts of parlement are likewise made for their vtter destruction as also the spoile of other rauenous fouls hurtfull to pultrie conies lambs and kids whose valuation of reward to him that killeth them is after the head a deuise brought from the Goths who had the like ordinance for the destruction of their white crowes and tale made by the becke which killed both lambs and pigs The like order is taken with vs for our vermines as with them also for the rootage out of their wild beasts sauing that they spared their greatest beares especiallie the white whose skins are by custome priuilege reserued to couer those planchers wherevpon their priests doo stand at Masse least he should take some vnkind cold in such a long péece of worke and happie is the man that may prouide them for him for he shall haue pardon inough for that so religious an act to last if he will till doomes day doo approch and manie thousands after Nothing therefore can be more vnlikelie to be true than that these noisome creatures are nourished amongst vs to deuoure our wormes which doo not abound much more in England than elsewhere in other countries of the maine It may be that some looke for a discourse also of our other foules in this place at my hand as nightingales thrushes blackebirds mauises ruddocks redstarts or dunocks larkes tiuits kingsfishers buntings turtles white
the waie and so much are our rauens giuen to this kind of spoile that some idle and curious heads of set purpose haue manned reclaimed and vsed them in stéed of hawkes when other could not be had Some doo imagine that the rauen should be the vulture and I was almost persuaded in times past to beleeue the same but finding of late a description of the vulture which better agreeth with the forme of a second kind of eagle I fréelie surcease to be longer of that opinion for as it hath after a sort the shape colour and quantitie of an eagle so are the legs and feet more hairie and rough their sides vnder their wings better couered with thicke downe wherewith also their gorge or a part of their brest vnder their throtes is armed and not with fethers than are the like parts of the eagle and vnto which portraiture there is no member of the rauen who is also verie blacke of colour that can haue anie resemblance we haue none of them in England to my knowledge if we haue they go generallie vnder the name of eagle or erne Neither haue we the pygargus or gripe wherefore I haue no occasion to intreat further I haue séene the carren crowes so cunning also by their owne industrie of late that they haue vsed to soare ouer great riuers as the Thames for example suddenlie comming downe haue caught a small fish in their féet gone awaie withall without wetting of their wings And euen at this present the aforesaid riuer is not without some of them a thing in my opinion not a little to be wondered at We haue also ospraies which bréed with vs in parks and woods wherby the kéepers of the same doo reape in bréeding time no small commoditie for so soone almost as the yoong are hatched they tie them to the but ends or ground ends of sundrie trees where the old ones finding them doo neuer cease to bring fish vnto them which the keepers take eat from them and commonlie is such as is well fed or not of the worst sort It hath not béene my hap hitherto to see anie of these foules partlie through mine owne negligence but I heare that it hath one foot like an hawke to catch hold withall and another resembling a goose wherewith to swim but whether it be so or not so I refer the further search and triall thereof vnto some other This neuertheles is certeine that both aliue and dead yea euen hir verie oile is a deadlie terrour to such fish as come within the wind of it There is no cause wherefore I should describe the cormorant amongst hawkes of which some be blacke and manie pied chiefelie about the I le of Elie where they are taken for the night rauen except I should call him a water hawke But sith such dealing is not conuenient let vs now sée what may be said of our venemous wormes and how manie kinds we haue of them within our realme and countrie Of venemous beasts Chap. 6. IF I should go about to make anie long discourse of venemous beasts or wormes bred in England I should attempt more than occasion it selfe would readilie offer sith we haue verie few worms but no beasts at all that are thought by their naturall qualities to be either venemous or hurtfull First of all therefore we haue the adder in our old Saxon toong called an atter which some men doo not rashlie take to be the viper Certes if it be so then is it not the viper author of the death of hir parents as some histories affirme and thereto Encelius a late writer in his De re metallica lib. 3. cap. 38. where he maketh mention of a she adder which he saw in Sala whose wombe as he saith was eaten out after a like fashion hir yoong ones lieng by hir in the sunne shine as if they had béene earth worms Neuerthelesse as he nameth them Viperas so he calleth the male Echis and the female Echidna concluding in the end that Echis is the same serpent which his countrimen to this daie call Ein atter as I haue also noted before out of a Saxon dictionarie For my part I am persuaded that the slaughter of their parents is either not true at all or not alwaies although I doubt not but that nature hath right well prouided to inhibit their superfluous increase by some meanes or other and so much the rather am I led herevnto for that I gather by Nicander that of all venemous worms the viper onelie bringeth out hir yoong aliue and therefore is called in Latine Vipera quasi viuipara but of hir owne death he dooth not to my remembrance saie any thing It is testified also by other in other words to the like sense that Echis id est vipera sola exserpentibus non ouased animalia parit And it may well be for I remember that I haue read in Philostratus De vita Appollonij how he saw a viper licking hir yoong I did see an adder once my selfe that laie as I thought sléeping on a moule-hill out of whose mouth came eleuen yoong adders of twelue or thirtéene inches in length a péece which plaied to and fro in the grasse one with another till some of them espied me So soone therefore as they saw my face they ran againe into the mouth of their dam whome I killed and then found each of them shrowded in a distinct cell or pannicle in hir bellie much like vnto a soft white iellie which maketh me to be of the opinion that our adder is the viper indéed The colour of their skin is for the most part like rustie iron or iron graie but such as be verie old resemble a ruddie blew as once in the yeare to wit in Aprill or about the beginning of Maie they cast their old skins whereby as it is thought their age reneweth so their stinging bringeth death without present remedie be at hand the wounded neuer ceasing to swell neither the venem to worke till the skin of the one breake and the other ascend vpward to the hart where it finisheth the naturall effect except the iuico of dragons in Latine called Dracunculus minor he spéedilie ministred and dronke in strong ale or else some other medicine taken of like force that may counteruaile and ouercome the venem of the same The length of them is most commonlie two foot and somwhat more but seldome dooth it extend vnto two foot six inches except it be in some rare and monsterous one whereas our snakes are much longer and séene sometimes to surmount a yard or thrée foot although their poison be nothing so grieuous and deadlie as the others Our adders lie in winter vnder stones as Aristotle also saith of the viper Lib. 8. cap. 15. and in holes of the earth rotten stubs of trees and amongst the dead leaues but in the heat of the summer they come abroad and lie
pearle which as they are for greatnesse and colour most excellent of all other so are they digged out of the maine land and in sundrie places far distant from the shore Certes the westerne part of the land hath in times past greatlie abounded with these and manie other rare and excellent commodities but now they are washed awaie by the violence of the sea which hath deuoured the greatest part of Cornewall and Deuonshire on either side and it dooth appéere yet by good record that whereas now there is a great distance betweene the Syllan Iles and point of the lands end there was of late yeares to speke of scarselie a brooke or draine of one fadam water betwéene them if so much as by those euidences appeereth and are yet to be séene in the hands of the lord and chiefe owner of those Iles. But to procéed Of colemines we haue such plentie in the north and westerne parts of our Iland as may suffice for all the realme of England and so must they doo hereafter in deed if wood be not better cherished than it is at this present And to saie the truth notwithstanding that verie manie of them are caried into other countries of the maine yet their greatest trade beginneth now to grow from the forge into the kitchin and hall as may appéere alreadie in most cities and townes that lie about the coast where they haue but little other fewell except it be turffe and hassocke I maruell not a little that there is no trade of these into Sussex and Southhampton shire for want whereof the smiths doo worke their iron with charcoale I thinke that far carriage be the onelie cause which is but a slender excuse to inforce vs to carrie them vnto the maine from hence Beside our colemines we haue pits in like sort of white plaster and of fat and white and other coloured marle wherewith in manie places the inhabitors doo compest their soile and which dooth benefit their land in ample maner for manie yeares to come We haue saltpeter for our ordinance and salt soda for our glasse thereto in one place a kind of earth in Southerie as I weene hard by Codington and sometime in the tenure of one Croxton of London which is so fine to make moulds for goldsmiths and casters of mettall that a load of it was woorth fiue shillings thirtie yeares agone none such againe they saie in England But whether there be or not let vs not be vnthankefull to God for these and other his benefits bestowed vpon vs wherby he sheweth himselfe a louing and mercifull father vnto vs which contrariewise returne vnto him in lieu of humilitie and obedience nothing but wickednesse auarice meere contempt of his will pride excesse atheisme and no lesse than Iewish ingratitude Of mettals to be had in our land Chap. 11. ALl mettals receiue their beginning of quicksiluer and sulphur which are as mother and father to them And such is the purpose of nature in their generations that she tendeth alwaies to the procreation of gold neuerthelesse she sildome reacheth vnto that hir end bicause of the vnequall mixture and proportion of these two in the substance ingendered whereby impediment and corruption 〈◊〉 induced which as it is more or lesse dooth shew it selfe in the mettall that is producted First of all therefore the substance of sulphur and quicksiluer being mixed in 〈◊〉 proportion after long and temperate decoction in the â—â—â—els of the earth orderlie ingrossed and fixed becommeth gold which Encelius dooth call the sunne and right heire of nature but if it swarue but a little saith he in â—he commixtion and other circumstances then dooâ—t it product siluer the daughter not so noble a child as gâ—ld hir brother which among mettall is worthilie called the cheefe Contrariwise the substances of the aforesaid parents mixed without proportion and lesse digested and fixed in the entrailes of the earth whereby the radicall moisture becommeth combustible and not of force to indure heat and hammer dooth either turne into tin lead copper or iron which were the first mettals knowne in time past vnto antiquitie although that in these daies there are diuerse other whereof neither they nor our alchumists had euer anie knowledge Of these therfore which are reputed among the third sort we here in England haue our parts and as I call them to mind so will I intreat of them and with such breuitie as may serue the turne and yet not altogither omit to saie somewhat of gold and siluer also bicause I find by good experience how it was not said of old time without great reason that all countries haue need of Britaine and Britaine it selfe of none For truelie if a man regard such necessities as nature onelie requireth there is no nation vnder the sunne that can saie so much as ours sith we doo want none that are conuenient for vs. Wherefore if it be a benefit to haue anie gold at all we are not void of some neither likewise of siluer whatsoeuer Cicero affirmeth to the contrarie Lib. 4. ad Atticum epi. 16. in whose time they were not found Britannici belli exitus saith he expectatur constat enim aditus insulae esse munitos mirificis molibus etiam illud iam cognitum est neque argenti scrupulum esse vllum in illa insula neque vllam spem praedae nisiex mancipijs ex quibus nullos puto te litteris aut musicis eruditos expectare And albeit that we haue no such abundance of these as some other countries doo yéeld yet haue my rich countrimen store inough of both in their pursses where in time past they were woont to haue least bicause the garnishing of our churches tabernacles images shrines and apparell of the preests consumed the greatest part as experience hath confirmed Of late my countriemen haue found out I wot not what voiage into the west Indies from whence they haue brought some gold whereby our countrie is inriched but of all that euer aduentured into those parts none haue sped better than sir Francis Drake whose successe 1582 hath far passed euen his owne expectation One Iohn Frobisher in like maner attempting to séeke out a shorter cut by the northerlie regions into the peaceable sea and kingdome of Cathaie happened 1577 vpon certeine Ilands by the waie wherein great plentie of much gold appeared and so much that some letted not to giue out for certeintie that Salomon had his gold from thence wherewith he builded the temple This golden shew made him so desirous also of like successe that he left off his former voiage returned home to bring news of such things as he had seene But when after another voiage it was found to be but drosse he gaue ouer both the enterprises and now keepeth home without anie desire at all to séeke into farre countries In truth such was the plentie of ore there séene and to be had that if it had holden perfect might haue furnished
vse it with extremitie towards our owne nation after we haue once found the meanes to shut out forreners from the bringing in of the like It breedeth in like manner great expense and waste of wood as dooth the making of our pots and table vessell of glasse wherein is much losse sith it is so quicklie broken and yet as I thinke easie to be made tougher if our alchumists could once find the true birth or production of the red man whose mixture would induce a metallicall toughnesse vnto it whereby it should abide the hammer Copper is latelie not found but rather restored againe to light For I haue read of copper to haue béene heretofore gotten in our Iland howbeit as strangers haue most commonly the gouernance of our mines so they hither to make small gains of this in hand in the north parts for as I am informed the profit dooth verie hardlie counteruaile the charges whereat wise men doo not a litle maruel considering the abundance which that mine dooth séeme to offer and as it were at hand Leland our countrieman noteth sundrie great likelihoods of naturall copper mines to be eastwards as betwéene Dudman and Trewaâ—â—thher places whereaâ— in sundrie plaâ—es of this booke alreadie and therefore it shall bâ— but in vaine to repeat them here againe as for â—hat which is gotten out of the marchasite I speake not of it sith it is not incident to my purpose In Dorsetshire also a copper mine latelie found is brought to good perfection As for our stéele it is not so good for edge-tooles as that of Colaine and yet the one is often sold for the other and like tale vsed in both that is to saie thirtie gads to the sheffe and twelue sheffes to the burden Our alchumie is artificiall and thereof our spoones and some salts are commonlie made and preferred before our pewter with some albeit in truth it be much subiect to corruption putrifaction more heauie and foule to handle than our pewter yet some ignorant persons affirme it to be a mettall more naturall and the verie same which Encelius calleth Plumbum cinereum the Germans wisemute mithan counterfeie adding that where it groweth siluer can not be farre off Neuerthelesse it is knowne to be a mixture of brasse lead and tin of which this latter occupieth the one halfe but after another proportion than is vsed in pewter But alas I am persuaded that neither the old Arabians nor new alchumists of our time did euer heare of it albeit that the name thereof doo séeme to come out of their forge For the common sort indeed doo call it alchumie an vnwholsome mettall God wot and woorthie to be banished and driuen out of the land And thus I conclude with this discourse as hauing no more to saie of the mettals of my countrie except I should talke of brasse bell mettall and such as are brought ouer for merchandize from other countries and yet I can not but saie that there is some brasse found also in England but so small is the quantitie that it is not greatlie to be estéemed or accounted of Of pretious stones Chap. 12. THe old writers remember few other stones of estimation to be found in this Iland than that which we call great and they in Latine Gagates wherevnto furthermore they ascribe sundrie properties as vsuallie practised here in times past whereof none of our writers doo make anie mention at all Howbeit whatsoeuer it hath pleased a number of strangers vpon false surmise to write of the vsages of this our countrie about the triall of the virginitie of our maidens by drinking the powder hereof against the time of their bestowing in mariage certeine it is that euen to this daie there is some plentie to be had of this commoditie in Darbishire and about Barwike whereof rings salts small cups and sundrie trifling toies are made although that in manie mens opinions nothing so fine as that which is brought ouer by merchants dailie from the maine But as these men are drowned with the common errour conceiued of our nation so I am sure that in discerning the price and value of things no man now liuing can go beyond the iudgement of the old Romans who preferred the geat of Britaine before the like stones bred about Luke and all other countries wheresoeuer Marbodeus Gallus also writing of the same among other of estimation saith thus Nascitur in Lycialapis propè gemma Gagates Sed genus eximium faecunda Britannia mittit Lucidus niger est leuis leuissimus idem Vicinas paleas trahit attritu calefactus Ardet aqua lotus restinguitur vnctus oliuo The Germane writers confound it with amber as if it were a kind therof but as I regard not their iudgement in this point so I read that it taketh name of Gagas a citie and riuer in Silicia where it groweth in plentifull maner as Dioscorides saith Nicander in Theriaca calleth it Engangin and Gangitin of the plentie thereof that is found in the place aforesaid which he calleth Ganges and where they haue great vse of it in driuing awaie of serpents by the onelie perfume thereof Charles the fourth emperour of that name glased the church withall that standeth at the fall of Tangra but I cannot imagine what light should enter therby The writers also diuide this stone into fiue kinds of which the one is in colour like vnto lion tawnie another straked with white veines the third with yellow lines the fourth is garled with diuerse colours among which some are like drops of bloud but those come out of Inde and the fift shining blacke as anie rauens feather Moreouer as geat was one of the first stones of this I le whereof anie forren account was made so our pearles also did match with it in renowme in so much that the onelie desire of them caused Caesar to aduenture hither after he had séene the quantities and heard of our plentie of them while he abode in France and whereof he made a taberd which he offered vp in Rome to Uenus where it hoong long after as a rich and notable oblation and testimonie of the riches of our countrie Certes they are to be found in these our daies and thereto of diuerse colours in no lesse numbers than euer they were in old time Yet are they not now so much desired bicause of their smalnesse and also for other causes but especiallie sith church worke as copes vestments albes tunicles altarclothes canopies and such trash are worthilie abolished vpon which our countrimen superstitiously bestowed no small quantities of them For I thinke there were sew churches or religious houses besides bishops miters bookes and other pontificall vestures but were either throughlie fretted or notablie garnished with huge numbers of them Marbodeus likewise speaking of pearles commendeth them after this maner Gignit insignes antiqua Britannia baccas c. Marcellinus also Lib. 23 in ipso fine speaketh of our
pearls and their generation but he preferreth greatlie those of Persia before them which to me dooth séeme vnequallie doone But as the British geat or orient pearle were in old time estéemed aboue those of other countries so time hath since the conquest of the Romans reuealed manie other insomuch that at this season there are found in England the Aetites in English called the ernestone but for erne some pronounce eagle and the hematite or blood-stone and these verie pure and excellent also the calcedonie the porphyrite the christall and those other which we call calaminares and speculares besides a kind of diamond or adamant which although it be verie faire to sight is yet much softer as most are that are found bred toward the north than those that are brought hither out of other countries We haue also vpon our coast the white corall nothing inferiour to that which is found beyond the sea in the albe néere to the fall of Tangra or to the red and blacke whereof Dioscorides intreateth Lib. 5. cap. 8. We haue in like sort sundrie other stones dailie found in cliffes and rocks beside the load stone which is oftentimes taken vp out of our mines of iron whereof such as find them haue either no knowledge at all or else doo make but small account being seduced by outlandith lapidaries whereof the most part discourage vs from the searching and séeking out of our owne commodities to the end that they maie haue the more frée vtterance of their naturall and artificiall wares whereby they get great gaines amongst such as haue no skill I haue heard that the best triall of a stone is to laie it on the naile of the thombe and so to go abroad into the cleare light where if the colour hold in all places a like the stone is thought to be naturall and good but if it alter especiallie toward the naile then is it not sound but rather to be taken for an artificiall péece of practise If this be true it is an experiment woorthie the noting Cardan also hath it in his De subtilitate if not I haue read more lies than this as one for example out of Cato who saieth that a cup of iuie will hold no wine at all I haue made some vessels of the same wood which refuse no kind of liquor and therefore I suppose that there is no such Antipathia betweene wine and our iuie as some of our reading philosophers without all maner of practise will seeme to infer amongst vs and yet I denie not but the iuie of Gréece or Italie may haue such a propertie but why should not the iuie then of France somewhat participat withall in the like effect which groweth in an hotter soile than ours is For as Baptista porta saith it holdeth not also in the French iuie wherefore I can not beléeue that it hath anie such qualitie at all as Cato ascribeth vnto it What should I say more of stones Trulie I can not tell sith I haue said what I may alreadie and peraduenture more than I thinke necessarie and that causeth me to passe ouer those that are now then taken out of our oisters todes muskels snailes and adders and likewise such as are found vpon sundrie hils in Glocestershire which haue naturallie such sundrie proportions formes colours in them as passe all humane possibilitie to imitate be the workeman neuer so skilfull and cunning also those that are found in the heads of our perches and carps much desired of such as haue the stone yet of themselues are no stones but rather shels or gristles which in time consume to nothing This yet will I ad that if those which are found in muskels for I am vtterlie ignorant of the generation of pearls be good pearle in déed I haue at sundrie times gathered more than an ounce of them of which diuerse haue holes alreadie entered by nature some of them not much inferiour to great peason in quantitie and thereto of sundrie colours as it happeneth amongst such as are brought from the esterlie coast to Saffron Walden in Lent when for want of flesh stale stinking fish and welked muskels are thought to be good meat for other fish is too déere amongst vs when law dooth bind vs to vse it Sée more for the generation of pearls in the description of Scotland for there you shall be further informed out of Boetius in that behalfe They are called orient because of the cléerenesse which resembleth the colour of the cléere aire before the rising of the sun They are also sought for in the later end of August a little before which time the swéetnesse of the dew is most conuenient for that kind of fish which dooth ingender and conceiue them whose forme is flat and much like vnto a lempet The further north also that they be found the brighter is their colour their substances of better valure as lapidaries doo giue out Of salt made in England Chap. 13. THere are in England certein welles where salt is made whereof Leland hath written abundantlie in his cōmentaries of Britaine and whose words onlie I will set downe in English as he wrote them bicause be seemeth to haue had diligent consideration of the same without adding anie thing of mine owne to him except it be where necessitie dooth inforce me for the méere aid of the reader in the vnderstanding of his mind Directing therefore his iournie from Worcester in his peregrination and laborious trauell ouer England he saith thus From Worcester I road to the Wich by inclosed soile hauing meetlie good corne ground sufficient wood and good pasture about a six miles off Wich standeth somewhat in a vallie or low ground betwixt two small hils on the left ripe for so he calleth the banke of euerie brooke through out all his English treatises of a pretie riuer which not far beneath the Wich is called Salope brooke The beautie of the towne in maner standeth in one stréet yet be there manie lanes in the towne besides There is also a meane church in the maine stréet and once in the wéeke an indifferent round market The towne of it selfe is somewhat foule and durtie when anie raine falleth by reason of much cariage through the stréets which are verie ill paued or rather not paued at all The great aduancement also hereof is by making of salt And though the commoditie thereof be singular great yet the burgesses be poore generallie bicause gentlemen haue for the most part gotten the great gaine of it into their hands whilest the poore burgesses yeeld vnto all the labour There are at this present time thrée hundred salters and thrée salt springs in the towne of Wich whereof the principall is within a butshoot of the right ripe or banke of the riuer that there commeth downe and this spring is double so profitable in yeelding of salt liquor as both the other Some saie or rather fable that this salt spring did
Cornwall at Osestrie in Wales at Lexfield in Suffolke at Stow the old at Reading at Leicester at Chensford at Maidstone at Brickehill at Blackeborne at Cogilton at Stokeneie land The third at Bramyard at Henningham at Elstow Waltham Holicrosse and Hedningham castell The seuenth at Beuerleie at Newton at Oxford On Ascension day at Newcastell at Yerne at Brimechame at saint Edes at Bishopstratford at Wicham at Middlewich at Stopford at Chappell frith On Whitsunéeuen at Skipton vpon Crauen On Whitsunday at Richell at Gribbie and euerie wednesday fortnight at Kingston vpon Thames at Ratesdale at Kirbistephin in Westmerland On monday in Whitsunwéeke at Darington at Excester at Bradford at Rigate at Burton at Salforth at Whitechurch at Cockermouth at Applebie at Bicklesworth at Stokeclare On tuesday in Whitsunwéeke at Lewse at Rochford at Canturburie at Ormeskirke at Perith at long Milford On wednesday in Whitsunweeke at Sandbarre at Raiston On Trinitie sunday at Kendall and at Rowell On thursday after Trinitie sunday at Prescote at Stapford at saint 〈…〉 at Newburie at Couentrie at saint Eden at Bishop 〈…〉 ford at Rosse The ninth at L 〈…〉 at Dimstable The twentie seventh day at L 〈…〉 ham The twentie ninth at Crambrooke On monday in Rogation weeke at Reth and sunday after Ascension day at Thaxsted Faires in Iune THe ninth day at Maidstone The xi at Okingham at Newbourgh at Bardfield at Maxfield Holt. The seuenteenth at Hadstocke The twentie thrée at Shrewsburie at saint Albans The twentie fourth day at Horsham at Bedell at Strackstocke at saint Annes at Wakefield at Colchester at Reading at Bedford at Barnewell beside Cambridge at Woollerhampton at Crambrooke at Glocester at Lincolne at Peterborow at Windsor at Harstone at Lancaster at Westchester at Halifax at Ashborne The twentie seuenth at Folkestone The twentie eight at Hetcorne at saint Pombes The twentie ninth at Woodhurst at Marleborough at Hollesworth at Woollerhampton at Peterfield at Lempster at Sudburie at Gargrainge at Bromleie Faires in Iulie THe second at Congreton at Ashton vnder line The sunday after the third of Iulie at Raiston The eleuenth at Partneie and at Lid. The fiftéenth at Pichbacke The seuentéenth at Winchcombe The twentith at Uxbridge at Catesbie at Bolton The twentie two at Marleborow at Winchester at Colchester at Tetburie at Cooling at Yealdon at Bridgenorth at Clitherall at Norwich in Cheshire at Cheswike at Battelfield at Bicklewoorth The twentie fift at Bristow at Douer at Chilham at Darbie at Ipswich at Northampton at Dudleie in Staffordshire at saint Iames beside London at Reading at Ereth in the I le at Walden at Thremhall at Baldocke at Louth at Malmesburie at Bromeleie at Chichester at Liuerpoole at Altergam at Rauenglasse in the north The twentie sixt at Tiptrie The twentie seuenth at Canturburie at Horsham at Richmund in the north at Warington at Chappell frith Faires in August THe first day at Excester at Feuersham at Dunstable at saint Edes at Bedford at Northam church at Wisbich at Yorke at Rumneie at Newton at Yeland The fourth at Linton The tenth at Waltham at Thaxsted at Blackemoore at Hungerford at Berdford at Stroides at Fernam at S. Laurence by Bodmin at Walton at Croileie at Seddell at new Brainford The xv at Cambridge at Dunmow at Caerleill at Preston in Andall at Wakefield on the two ladie daies and vpon the sunday after the fiftéenth day of August at Hauerhull On Bartholomew day at London at Beggers bush beside Rie at Teukesburie at Sudburie at Rie at Nantwich at Pagets at Bromleie at Norwich at Northalerton at Douer On the sunday after Bartholomew day at Sandwich The twentie seuenth and at Ashford Faires in September THe first day at S. Giles at the Bush. The eight day at Woolfpit at Wakefield at Sturbridge in Southwarke at London at Snide at Recoluer at Gisbourgh both the ladie daies at Partneie The thrée ladie daies at Blackeburne at Gisborne in Yorkeshire at Chalton at Uâ—â—ester OOn Holiroode day at Richmond in Yorkeshire at 〈…〉 ippond a horse faire at Penhad at Bersleie as Wal 〈…〉 ablie at Wotton vnder hedge at Smalding at Chesterfield at Denbigh in Wales On saint Mathies day at Marleborough at Bedford at Croidon at Holden in Holdernes at saint Edmundsburie at Malton at saint Iues at Shrewesburie at Laneham at Witnall at Sitting borne at Brainetrie at Baldocke at Katharine hill beside Gilford at Douer at Eastrie The twentie ninth day being Michaelmas day at Canturburie at Malton a noble horsse faire at Lancaster at Blackeborne at Westchester at Cokermouth at Ashborne at Hadleie at Malden an horsse faire at Waie hill at Newburie and at Leicester Faires in October THe fourth day at Michell The sixt day at saint Faiths beside Norwich at Maidstone The eight at Harborough at Hereford at Bishop Storford On S. Edwards day at Roiston at Grauesend at Windsor at Marshfield The ninth day at Colchester On saint Lukes eeuen at Elie at Wrickle at Upane at Thirst at Bridgenorth at Stanton at Charing at Burton vpon Trent at Charleton at Wigan at Friswides in Oxford at Tisdale at Middlewich at Holt in Wales The twentie one day at Saffron Walden at Newmarket at Hertford at Cicester at Stokesleie The twentie third at Preston at Bikelsworth at Ritchdale at Whitechurch The twentie eight at Newmarket and Hertford On all saints eeuen at Wakefield and at Rithen Faires in Nouember THe second at Blechinglie at Kingston at Maxfield at Epping The sixt day at Newport pond at Stanleie at Tregnie at Salford at Lesford and Wetshod faire at Hertford The tenth at Leuton The eleuenth at Marleborough at Douer The thirtenth at saint Edmundsburie at Gilford The seuenteenth day at Low at Hide The ninetéenth at Horsham On saint Edmunds day at Hith at Ingerstone The twentie third day at Sandwich On saint Andrews day at Colingbourgh at Rochester at Peterfield at Maidenhed at Bewdleie at Warington in Lancashire at Bedford in Yorkeshire at Osestrie in Wales and at Powles Belcham Faires in December ON the fift day at Pluckeleie On the sixt at Cased at Hedningham at Spalding at Excester at Sinocke at Arnedale and at Northwich in Chesshire The seuenth day at Sandhurst The eight day being the conception of our ladie at Clitherall in Lancashire at Malpas in Cheshire The twentie ninth at Canturburie and at Salisburie Of our innes and thorowfaires Chap. 16. THose townes that we call thorowfaires haue great and sumpthous innes builded in them for the receiuing of such trauellers and strangers as passe to and fro The manner of harbouring wherein is not like to that of some other countries in which the host or goodman of the house dooth chalenge a lordlie authoritie ouer his ghests but cleane otherwise sith euerie man may vse his inne as his owne house in England and haue for his monie how great or little varietie of vittels and what other seruice himselfe shall thinke expedient to call for Our innes are also verie well furnished with
certeine materiall titles added at the head of euerie page of the said historie it is a thing of no difficultie to comprehend what is discoursed and discussed in the same Wherein sith histories are said to be the registers of memorie and the monuments of veritie all louers of knowlege speciallie historicall are aduisedlie to marke among other points the seuerall and successiue alterations of regiments in this land whereof it was my meaning to haue made an abstract but that the same is sufficientlie handled in the first booke and fourth chapter of the description of Britaine whereto if the seuenth chapter of the same booke be also annexed there is litle or no defect at all in that case wherof iustlie to make complaint Wherfore by remitting the readers to those I reape this aduantage namelie a dischage of a forethought purposed labour which as to reduce into some plausible forme was a worke both of time paine and studie so seeming vnlikelie to be comprised in few words being a matter of necessarie and important obseruation occasion of tediousnes is to and fro auoided speciallie to the reader who is further to be aduertised that the computations of yeares here and there expressed according to the indirect direction of the copies whense they were deriued and drawne is not so absolute in some mens opinion as it might haue beene howbeit iustifiable by their originals Wherin hereafter God prolonging peace in the church and common-welth that the vse of bookes may not be abridged such diligent care shall be had that in whatsoeuer the helpe of bookes will doo good or conference with antiquaries auaile there shall want no will to vse the one and the other And yet it is not a worke for euerie common capacitie naie it is a toile without head or taile euen for extraordinarie wits to correct the accounts of former ages so many hundred yeares receiued out of vncerteinties to raise certeinties and to reconcile writers dissenting in opinion and report But as this is vnpossible so is no more to be looked for than may be performed and further to inquire as it is against reason so to vndertake more than may commendablie be atchiued were fowle follie Abraham Fleming THE FIRST BOOKE of the historie of England ·HONI· SOIT· QVI· MAL· Y· PENSE· Who inhabited this Iland before the comming of Brute of Noah his three sonnes among whom the whole earth was diuided and to which of their portions this Ile of Britaine befell The first Chapter WHat manner of people did first inhabite this our country which hath most generallie and of longest continuance béene knowne among all nations by the name of Britaine as yet is not certeinly knowne neither can it be decided frō whence the first inhabitants there of came by reason of such diuersitie in iudgements as haue risen amongst the learned in this behalfe But sith the originall in maner of all nations is doubtfull and euen the same for the more part fabulous that alwaies excepted which we find in the holie scriptures I wish not any man to leane to that which shall be here set downe as to an infallible truth sith I doo but onlie shew other mens coniectures grounded neuerthelesse vpon likelie reasons concerning that matter whereof there is now left but little other certeintie or rather none at all To fetch therefore the matter from the farthest and so to stretch it forward it séemeth by the report of Dominicus Marius Niger that in the beginning when God framed the world and diuided the waters apart from the earth this I le was then a parcell of the continent and ioined without any separation of sea to the maine land But this opinion as all other the like vncerteinties I leaue to be discussed of by the learned howbeit for the first inhabitation of this I le with people I haue thought good to set downe in part what may be gathered out of such writers as haue touched that matter and may séeme to giue some light vnto the knowledge thereof First therefore Iohn Bale our countrieman who in his time greatlie trauelled in the search of such antiquities dooth probablie coniecture that this land was inhabited and replenished with people long before the floud and that time in the which the generation of mankind as Moses writeth began to multiplie vpon the vniuersall face of the earth and therfore it followeth that as well this land was inhabited with people long before the daies of Noah as any the other countries and parts of the world beside But when they had once forsaken the ordinances appointed them by God and betaken them to new waies inuented of themselues such loosenesse of life ensued euerie where as brought vpon them the great deluge and vniuersall floud in the which perished as well the inhabitants of these quarters as the residue of the race of mankind generallie dispersed in euerie other part of the whole world onelie Noah his familie excepted who by the prouidence and pleasure of almightie God was preserued from the rage of those waters to recontinue and repaire the new generation of man vpon earth AFter the flood as Annius de Viterbo recordeth and reason also enforceth Noah was the onlie monarch of all the wrold and as the same Annius gathereth by the account of Moses in the 100. yeare after the flood Noah diuided the earth among his thrée sonnes assigning to the possession of his eldest sonne all that portion of land which now is knowne by the name of Asia to his second sonne Cham he appointed all that part of the world which now is called Affrica and to his third sonne Iaphet was allotted all Europa with all the Iles therto belonging wherin among other was conteined this our Ile of Britaine with the other Iles thereto perteining IAphet the third son of Noah of some called Iapetus and of others Atlas Maurus because he departed this life in Mauritania was the first as Bodinus affirmeth by the authoritie and consent of the Hebrue Gréeke Latine writers that peopled the countries of Europe which afterward he diuided among his sonnes of whom Iuball as Tarapha affirmeth obteined the kingdome of Spaine Gomer had dominion ouer the Italians and as Berosus and diuers other authors agrée Samothes was the founder of Celtica which conteined in it as Bale witnesseth a great part of Europe but speciallie those countries which now are called by the names of Gallia and Britannia Thus was the Iland inhabited and peopled within 200 yéeres after the floud by the children of Iaphet the sonne of Noah this is not onlie prooued by Annius writing vpon Berosus but also confirmed by Moses in the scripture where he writeth that of the offspring of Iaphet the Iles of the Gentiles wherof Britain is one were sorted into regions in the time of Phaleg the sonne of Hiber who was borne at the time of the
diuision of languages Herevpon Theophilus hath these words Cùm priscis temporibus pauei forant homines in Arabia Chaldaea post linguarum diuisonem aucti multiplicati paulatim sunt hinc quidam abierunt versus orientem quidam concessere ad partes maioris continentis alij porrò profecti sunt ad septentrionem sedes quaesiuâ—â—i nec priùs desierunt terram vbique occupare quà m etiam 〈◊〉 annos in Arctois climatibus accesserint c. That is When at the first there were not manie men in Arabia and Chaldaea it came to passe that after the diuision of toongs they began somewhat better to increase and multiplie by which occasion some of them went toward the east and some toward the parts of the great manie land diuers went also northwards to seeke them dwelling places neither staid they to replenish the earth as they went till they came vnto the Iles of Britaine lieng vnder the north pole Thus far Theophilus These things considered Gildas the Britaine had great reason to thinke that this countrie had bene inhabited from the beginning And Polydor Virgil was with no lesse consideration hereby induced to confesse that the I le of Britaine had receiued inhabitants foorthwith after the floud Of Samothes Magus Sarron Druis and Bardus fiue kings succeeding each other in regiment ouer the Celts and Samotheans and how manie hundred yeeres the Celts inhabited this Iland The second Chapter SAmothes the first begotten sonne of Iaphet called by Moses Mesech Dis by others receiued for his portion according to the report of Wolfgangus Lazius all the countrie lieng betwéene the riuer of Rhene and the Pyrenian mountains where he founded the kingdome of Celtica ouer his people called Celtae Which name Bale affirmeth to haue bene indifferent to the inhabitants both of the countrie of Gallia and the I le of Britaine that he planted colonies of men brought foorth of the east parts in either of them first in the maine land and after in the Iland He is reported by Berosus to haue excelled all men of that age in learning and knowledge and also is thought by Bale to haue imparted the same among his people namelie the vnderstanding of the sundrie courses of the starres the order of inferiour things with manie other matters incident to the morall and politike gouernment of mans life and to haue deliuered the same in the Phenician letters out of which the Gréekes according to the opinion of Achilochus deuised deriued the Gréeke characters insomuch that Xenophon and Iosephus doo constantlie report although Diogenes Laertius be against it that both the Gréekes and other nations receiued their letters and learning first from these countries Of this king and his learning arose a sect of philosophers saith Annius first in Britaine and after in Gallia the which of his name were called Samothei They as Aristotle and Secion write were passing skilfull both in the law of God and man and for that cause excéedinglie giuen to religion especiallie the inhabitants of this I le of Britaine insomuch that the whole nation did not onelie take the name of them but the Iland it selfe as Bale and doctor Caius agree came to be called Samothea which was the first peculiar name that euer it had and by the which it was especiallie knowne before the arriuall of Albion MAgus the sonne of Samothes after the death of his father was the second king of Celtica by whome as Berosus writeth there were manie townes builded among the Celts which by the witnesse of Annius did beare the addition of their founder Magus of which townes diuers are to be found in Ptolomie And Antoninus a painfull surueior of the world and searcher of cities maketh mention of foure of them here in Britaine Sitomagus Neomagus Niomagus and Nouiomagus Neomagus sir Thomas Eliot writeth to haue stood where the citie of Chester now standeth Niomagus George Lillie placeth where the towne of Buckingham is now remaining Beside this Bale dooth so highlie commend the foresaid Magus for his learning renowned ouer all the world that he would haue the Persians and other nations of the south and west parts to deriue the name of their diuines called Magi from him In déed Rauisius Textor and sir Iohn Prise affirme that in the daies of Plinie the Britons were so expert in art magike that they might be thought to haue first deliuered the same to the Persians What the name of Magus importeth and of what profession the Magi were Tullie declareth at large and Mantuan in briefe after this maner Ille penes Persas Magus est qui sidera norit Qui sciat herbarum vires cultumú deorum Persepoli facit ista magos prudentia triplex The Persians terme him Magus that the course of starres dooth knowe The power of herbs and worship due to God that man dooth owe By threefold knowledge thus the name of Magus then dooth growe SArron the third king of the Celts succéeded his father Magus in gouernement of the contrie of Gallia and the I le Samothea wherein as D. Caius writeth he founded certaine publike places for them that professed learning with Berosus affirmeth to be done to the internt to restraine the wilfull outrage of men being as then but raw and void of all ciuilitie Also it is thought by Annius that he was the first author of those kind of philosophers which were called Sarronides of whom Diodorus Siculus writeth in this sort There are saith he among the Celts certaine diuines and philosophers called Sarronides whom aboue all other they haue in great estimation For it is the manner among them not without a philosopher to make anie sacrifice sith they are of beléefe that sacrifices ought onelie to be made by such as are skilfull in the diuine mysteries as of those who are néerest vnto God by whose intercession they thinke all good things are to be required of God and whose aduise they vse and follow as well in warre as in peace DRuis whom Seneca calleth Dryus being the sonne of Sarron was after his father established the fourth king of Celtica indifferentlie reigning as wel ouer the Celts as Britons or rather as the inhabitants of this I le were then called Samotheans This prince is commended by Berosus to be so plentifullie indued with wisedome and learning that Annius taketh him to be the vndoubted author of the beginning and name of the philosophers called Druides whome Caesar and all other ancient Gréeke and Latine writers doo affirme to haue had their begining in Britaine and to haue bin brought from thence into Gallia insomuch that when there arose any doubt in that countrie touching any point of their discipline they did repaire to be resolued therein into Britaine where speciallie in the I le of Anglesey as Humfrey Lâ—â—oyd witnesseth they made their principall abode Touching their vsages many things are written by
against Albion and Bergion Moreouer from henceforth was this I le of Britaine called Albion as before we haue said after the name of the said Albion because he was established chiefe ruler and king thereof both by his grandfather Osiris and his father Neptune that cunning sailour reigning therein as Bale saith by the space of 44. yeares till finally he was slaine in maner afore remembred by his vncle Hercules Libicus After that Hercules had thus vanquished and destroied his enimies hée passed to and fro thorough Gallia suppressing the tyrants in euerie part where he came and restoring the people vnto a reasonable kinde of libertie vnder lawfull gouernours This Hercules as we find builded the citie Alexia in Burgongne nowe called Alize Moreouer by Lilius Giraldus in the life of Hercules it is auouched that the same Hercules came ouer hither into Britaine And this dooth Giraldus writer by warrant of such Britons as saith he haue so written themselues which thing peraduenture he hath read in Gildas the ancient Briton poet a booke that as he confesseth in the 5. dialog of his histories of poets he hath séene The same thing also is confirmed by the name of an head of land in Britaine called Promontorium Herculis as in Ptolomie ye may read which is thought to take name of his arriuall at that place Thus much for Albion and Hercules But now whereas it is not denied of anie that this I le was called ancientlie by the name of Albion yet there be diuers opinions how it came by that name for manie doo not allow of this historie of Albion the giant But for so much as it apperteineth rather to the description than to the historie of this I le to rip vp and lay foorth the secret mysteries of such matters and because I thinke that this opinion which is here auouched how it tooke that name of the forsaid Albion sonne to Neptune may be confirmed with as good authoritie as some of the other I here passe ouer the rest procéed with the historie When Albion chiefe capteine of the giants was slaine the residue that remained at home in the I le continued without any rule or restraint of law in so much that they fell to such a dissolute order of life that they séemed little or nothing to differ from brute beasts and those are they which our ancient chronicles call the giants who were so named as well for the huge proportion of their stature sithens as before is said that age brought foorth far greater men than are now liuing as also for that they were the first or at the least the furthest in remembrance of any that had inhabited this countrie For this word Gigines or Gegines from whence our word giant as some take it is deriued is a Gréeke word and signifieth Borne or bred of or in the earth for our fore-elders specially the Gentiles being ignorant o the true beginning of mankind were persuaded that the first inhabitants of any countrie were bred out of the earth and therefore when they could go no higher reckoning the descents of their predecessours they would name him Terrae filius The sonne of the earth and so the giants whom the poets faine to haue sought to make battell against heauen are called the sonnes of the earth and the first inhabitants generally of euery countrie were of the Gréekes called Gigines or Gegines and of the Latines Aborigines and Indigenae that is People borne of earth from the beginning and comming from no other countrie but bred within the same These giants and first inhabitants of this I le continued in their beastlie kind of life vnto the arriuall of the ladies which some of our chronicles ignorantly write to be the daughters of Dioclesian the king of Assyria whereas in déed they haue béene deceiued in taking the word Danaus to be short written for Dioclesianus and by the same meanes haue diuers words and names beene mistaken both in our chronicles and in diuers other ancient written woorks But this is a fault that learned men should not so much trouble themselues about considering the same hath bin alreadie found by sundrie authors ling sithens as Hugh the Italian Iohn-Harding Iohn Rouse of Warwike and others speciallie by the helpe of Dauid Pencair a British historie who recite the historie vnder the name of Danaus and his daugthers And because we would not any man to thinke that the historie of these daughters of Danaus is onelie of purpose deuised and brought in place of Dioclesianus to excuse the imperfection of our writers whereas there as either no such historie or at the least no such women that arriued in this Ile the authoritie of Nennius a Briton writer may be auouched who wrote aboue 900. yeares past and maketh mention of the arriuall of such ladies To be short the historie is thus Belus the sonne of Epaphus or as some writers haue of Neptune and Lâ—bies whome Isis after the death of Apis maried had issue two sonnes the first Danaus called also Armeus and Aegyptus called also Rameses these two were kings among the Aegyptians Danaus the elder of the two hauing in his rule the vpper region of Aegypt had by sundrie wiues 50. daughters with whome his brother Aegyptus gaping for the dominion of the whole did instantlie labour that his sonnes being also 50. in number might match But Danaus hauing knowledge by some prophesie or oracle that a sonne in law of his should be his death refused so to bestow his daughters Hereupon grew warre betwixt the brethren in the end whereof Danaus being the weaker was inforced to flée his countrie and so prepared a nauie imbarked himselfe and his daughters and with them passed ouer into Gréece where he found meanes to dispossesse Gelenor sonne to Stenelas king of Argos of his rightfull inheritance driuing him out of his countrie and reigned in his place by the assistance of the Argiues that had conceiued an hatred towardes Gelenor and a great liking towardes Danaus who in verie deed did so farr excell the kings that had reigned there before him that the Gréekes in remembrance of him were after called Danai But his brother Aegyptus taking great disdaine for that he and his sonnes were in such sort despised of Danaus sent his sonnes with a great armie to make warre against their vncle giuing them in charge not to returne till they had either slaine Danaus or obteined his daugthers in mariage he yoong gentlemen according to their fathers commandement being arriued in Greece made such warre against Danaus that in the end he was constrained to giue vnto those his 50. nephues his 50. daughters to ioine with them in mariage and so they were But as the prouerbe saith In trust appeared treacherie For on the first night of the mariage Danaus deliuered to ech of his daughters a sword charging them that when their husbands after their bankets and pastimes were
may be déemed to agrée with those authors that haue written of their comming into this I le But as for an assured proofe that this I le was inhabited with people before the comming of Brute I trust it may suffice which before is recited out of Annius de Viterbo Theophilus Gildas and other although much more might be said as of the comming hither of Osiris as well as in the other parties of the world and likewise of Ulysses his being here who in performing some vow which he either then did make or before had made erected an altar in that part of Scotland which was ancientlie called Calidonia as Iulius Solinus Polyhistor in plaine words dooth record ¶ Upon these considerations I haue no doubt to deliuer vnto the reader the opinion of those that thinke this land to haue bene inhabited before the arriuall here of Brute trusting it may be taken in good part sith we haue but shewed the coniectures of others till time that some sufficient learned man shall take vpon him to decipher the doubts of all these matters Neuerthelesse I thinke good to aduertise the reader that these stories of Samothes Magus Sarron Druis and Bardus doo relie onelie vpon the authoritie of Berosus whom most diligent antiquaries doo reiect as a fabulous and counterfet author and Vacerius hath laboured to prooue the same by a speciall treatise latelie published at Rome THE SECOND BOOKE of the Historie of England Of Brute and his descent how he slue his father in hunting his banishment his letter to king Pandrasus against whom he wageth battell taketh him prisoner and concludeth peace vpon conditions The first Chapter HItherto haue we spoken of the inhabitants of this I le before the comming of Brute although some will néeds haue it that he was the first which inhabited the same with his people descended of the Troians some few giants onelie excepted whom he vtterlie destroied and left not one of them aliue through the whole I le But as we shall not doubt of Brutes comming hither so may we assuredly thinke that he found the I le peopled either with the generation of those which Albion the giant had placed here or some other kind of people whom he did subdue and so reigned as well ouer them as ouer those which he brought with him This Brutus or Brytus for this letter Y hath of ancient time had the sounds both of V and I as the author of the booke which Geffrey of Monmouth translated dooth affirme was the sonne of Siluius the sonne of Ascanius the sonne of Aeneas the Trioan begotten of his wife Creusa borne in Troie before the citie was destroied But as other doo take it the author of that booke whatsoeuer he was and such other as follow him are deceiued onelie in this point mistaking the matter in that Posthumus the sonne of Aeneas begotten of his wife Lauinia and borne after his fathers deceasse in Italie was called Ascanius who had issue a sonne named Iulius who as these others doo coniecture was the father of Brute that noble chieftaine and aduenturous leader of those people which being descended for the more part in the fourth generation from those Troians that escaped with life when that roiall citie was destroied by the Gréekes got possession of this woorthie and most famous I le To this opinion Giouan Villani a Florentine in his vniuersall historie speaking of Aeneas and his ofspring kings of Italie séemeth to agrée where he saith Siluius the sonne of Aeneas by his wife Lauinia fell in loue with a néece of his mother Lauinia and by hir had a sonne of whom she died in trauell and therefore was called Brutus who after as he grew in some stature and hunting in a forrest slue his father vnwares and therevpon for feare of his grandfather Siluius Posthumus he fled the countrie and with a retinue of such as followed him passing through diuers seas at length he arriued in the I le of Britaine Concerning therefore our Brute whether his father Iulius was sonne to Ascanius the sonne of Aeneas by his wife Creusa or sonne to Posthumus called also Aseanius and sonne to Aeaneas by his wife Lauinia we will not further stand But this we find that when he came to the age of 15. yéeres so that he was now able to ride abrode with his father into the forrests and chases he fortuned either by mishap or by Gods prouidence to strike his father with an arrow in shooting at a déere of which wound he also died His grandfather whether the same was Posthumus or his elder brother hearing of this great misfortune that had chanced to his sonne Siluius liued not long after but died for verie greefe and sorow as is supposed which he conceiued thereof And the yoong gentleman immediatlie after he had slaine his father in maner before alledged was banished his countrie and therevpon got him into Grecia where trauelling the countrie he lighted by chance among some of the Troian ofspring and associating himselfe with them grew by meanes of the linage whereof he was descended in proces of time into great reputation among them chieflie by reason ther were yet diuers of the Troian race and that of great authoritie in that countrie For Pyrrhus the sonne of Achilles hauing no issue by his wife Hermione maried Andromache late wife vnto Hector and by hir had thrée sonnes Molossus Pileus and Pergamus who in their time grew to be of great power in those places and countries and their ofspring likewise whereby Brutus or Brytus wanted no friendship For euen at his first comming thither diuers of the Troians that remained in seruitude being desirous of libertie by flocke resorted vnto him And amongst other Assaracus was one whom Brute intertained receiuing at his hands the possession of sundrie forts and places of defense before that the king of those parties could haue vnderstanding or knowledge of any such thing Herewith also such as were readie to make the aduenture with him repaired to him on ech side wherevpon he first placed garisons in those townes which had bene thus deliuered vnto him and afterwards with Assaracus and the residue of the multitude he withdrew into the mountains néere adioining And thus being made strong with such assistance by consultation had with them that were of most authoritie about him wrote vnto the king of that countrie called Pandrasus in forme as followeth A letter of Brute to Pandrasus as I find it set downe in Galfride Monumetensis BRute leader of the remnant of the Troian people to Pandrasus king of the Greekes sendeth greeting Bicause it hath beene thought a thing vnworthie that the people descended of the noble linage of Dardanus should be otherwise dealt with than the honour of their nobilitie dooth require they haue withdrawne themselues within the close couert of the woods For they haue chosen rather after the maner of wild beasts to liue on flesh and
he awaked out of sléepe and had called his dreame to remembrance he first doubted whether it were a verie dreame or a true vision the goddes hauing spoken to him with liuelie voice Wherevpon calling such of his companie vnto him as he thought requisite in such a case he declared vnto them the whole matter with the circumstances whereat they greatlie reioising caused mightie bonfixes to be made in the which they cast wine milke and other liquors with diuers gums and spices of most sweet smell and sauour as in the pagan religion was accustomed Which obseruances and ceremonies performed and brought to end they returned streightwaies to their ships and as soone as the wind serued passed forward on their iournie with great ioy and gladnesse as men put in comfort to find out the wished seats for their firme and sure habitations From hence therefore they cast about and making westward first arriued in Affrica and after kéeping on their course they passed the straits of Gibralterra and coasting alongst the shore on the right hand they found another companie that were likewise descended of the Troian progenie on the coasts nere where the Pyrenine hils shoot downe to the sea whereof the same sea by good reason as some suppose was named in those daies Mare Pyrenaeum although hitherto by fault of writers copiers of the British historie receiued in this place Mare Tyrrhenum was slightlie put downe in stead of Pyrenaeum The ofspring of those Troians with whom Brute and his companie thus did méet were a remnant of them that came away with Antenor Their capteine hight Corineus a man of great modestie and approoued wisedome and thereto of incomparable strength and boldnesse Brute and the said Troians with their capteine Corineus doo associat they take landing within the dominion of king Goffarus he raiseth an armie against Brute and his power but is discomfited of the citie of Tours Brutes arriuall in this Iland with his companie The third Chapter AFter that Brute and the said Troians by conference interchangeablie had vnderstood one anothers estates and how they were descended from one countrie and progenie they vnited themselues togither greatlie reioising that they were so fortunatlie met and hoising vp their sailes directed their course forward still till they arriued within the mouth of the riuer of Loire which diuideth Aquitaine from Gall Celtike where they tooke land within the dominion of a king called Goffarius surnamed Pictus by reason he was descended of the people Agathyrsi otherwise named Picts bicause they vsed to paint their faces and bodies insomuch that the richer a man was amongst them the more cost he bestowed in painting himselfe and commonlie the haire of their head was red or as probable writers say of skie colour Herodotus calleth them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 bicause they did weare much gold about them They vsed their wiues in common and because they are all supposed to be brethren there is no strife nor discord among them Of these Agathyrsi it is recorded by the said Herodotus that they refused to succour the Scythians against Darius giuing this reason of their refusall bicause they would not make warre against him who had doone them no wrong And of this people dooth the poet make mention saieng ¶ Cretésque Dryopésque fremunt pictique Agathyrsi To paint their faces not for amiablenesse but for terriblenesse the Britons in old time vsed and that with a kind of herbe like vnto plantine In which respect I sée no reason why they also should not be called Picts as well as the Agathyrsi séeing the denomination sprang of a vaine custome in them both And here by the way sithens we haue touched this follie in two seuerall people let it not séeme tedious to read this one tricke of the Indians among whom there is great plentie of pretious stones wherewith they adorne themselues in this maner namelie in certein hollow places which they make in their flesh they inclose and riuet in pretious stones and that as well in their forheads as their chéekes to none other purpose than the Agathyrsi in the vse of their painting The countrie of Poictou as some hold where the said Goffarius reigned tooke name of this people likewise a part of this our Ile of Britaine now conteined within Scotland which in ancient time was called Pightland or Pictland as elsewhere both in this historie of England and also of Scotland may further appeare But to our purpose When Goffarius the king of Poictou was aduertised of the landing of these strangers within his countrie he sent first certeine of his people to vnderstand what they ment by their comming a land within his dominion without licence or leaue of him obteined They that were thus sent came by chance to a place where Corineus with two hundred of the companie were come from the ships into a forrest néere the sea side to kill some veneson for their sustenance and being rebuked with some disdainfull speach of those Poictouins he shaped them a round answer insomuch that one of them whose name was Imbert let driue an arrow at Corineus but he auoiding the danger thereof shot againe at Imbert in reuenge of that iniurie offered and claue his head in sunder The rest of the Poictouins fled therevpon and brought word to Goffarius what had happened who immediatlie with a mightie armie made forward to encounter with the Troians and comming to ioine with them in battell after sharpe and sore conflict in the end Brute with his armie obteined a triumphant victorie speciallie through the noble prowesse of Corineus Goffarius escaping from the field fled into the inner parts of Gallia making sute for assistance vnto such kings as in those daies reigned in diuers prouinces of that land who promised to aid him with all their forces and to expell out of the coasts of Aquitaine such strangers as without his licence were thus entred the countrie But Brute in the meane time passed forward and with fire and sword made hauocke in places where he came and gathering great spoiles fraught his ships with plentie of riches At length he came to the place where afterwards he built a citie named Turonium that is Tours Here Goffarius with such Galles as were assembled to his aid gaue battell againe vnto the Troians that were incamped to abide his comming Where after they has fought a long time with singular manhood on both parties the Troians in fine oppressed with multitudes of aduersaries euen thirtie times as manie mo as the Troians were constreined to retire into their campe within the which the Galles kept them as besieged lodging round about them and purposing by famine to compell them to yéeld themselues vnto their mercie But Corineus taking counsell with Brute deuised to depart in the darke of the night out of the campe to lodge himselfe with thrée thousand chosen
souldiers secretlie in a wood and there to remaine in couert till the morning that Brute should come foorth and giue a charge vpon the enimies wherewith Corineus should breake foorth and assaile the Galles on the backes This policie was put in practise and tooke such effect as the deuisers themselues wished for the Galles being sharplie assailed on the front by Brute and his companie were now with the sudden comming of Corineus who set vpon them behind on their backes brought into such a feare that incontinentlie they tooke them to flight whom the Troians egerlie pursued making no small slaughter of them as they did ouertake them In this battell Brute lost manie of his men and amongst other one of his nephues named Turinus after he had shewed maruellous proofe of his manhood Of him as some haue written the foresaid citie of Tours tooke the name and was called Turonium because the said Turinus was there buried Andrew Theuet affirmeth the contrarie and mainteineth that one Taurus the nephue of Haniball was the first that inclosed it about with a pale of wood as the maner of those daies was of fensing their townes in the yeare of the world 3374. and before the birth of our sauiour 197. But to our matter concerning Brute who after he had obteined so famous a victorie albeit there was good cause for him to reioise yet it sore troubled him to consider that his numbers dailie decaied and his enimies still increased and grew stronger wherevpon resting doubtfull what to doo whether to procéed against the Galles or returne to his ships to séeke the Ile that was appointed him by oracle at length he chose the surest and best way as he tooke it and as it proued For whilest greater part of his armie was yet left aliue and that the victorie remained on his side he drew to his nauie and lading his ships with excéeding great store of riches which his people had got abroad in the countrie he tooke the seas againe After a few daies sailing they landed at the hauen now called Totnesse the yeare of the world 2850 after the destruction of Troy 66 after the deliuerance of the Israelites from the captiuitie of Babylon 397 almost ended in the 18 yeare of the reigne of Tineas king of Babylon 13 of Melanthus king of Athens before the building of Rome 368 which was before the natiuitie of our Sauior Christ 1116 almost ended and before the reigne of Alexander the great 783. Brute discouereth the commodities of this Iland mightie giants withstand him Gogmagog and Corineus wrestle together at a place beside Douer he buildeth the citie of Trinouant now termed London calleth this Iland by the name of Britaine and diuideth it into three parts among his three sonnes The fourth Chapter WHEN Brute had entred this land immediatlie after his arriuall as writers doo record he searched the countrie from side to side and from end to end finding it in most places verie fertile and plentious of wood and grasse and full of pleasant springs and faire riuers As he thus trauelled to discouer the state and commodities of the Iland he was encountred by diuers strong and mightie giants whome he destroied and slue or rather subdued with all such other people as he found in the Iland which were more in number than by report of some authors it should appeare there were Among these giants as Geffrey of Monmouth writeth there was one of passing strength and great estimation named Gogmagog with whome Brute caused Corineus to wrestle at a place beside Douer where it chanced that the giant brake a rib in the side of Corineus while they stroue to claspe and the one to ouerthrow the other wherewith Corineus being sore chafed and stirred to wrath did so double his force that he got the vpper hand of the giant and cast him downe headlong from one of the rocks there not farre from Douer and so dispatched him by reason whereof the place was named long after The fall or leape of Gogmagog but afterward it was called The fall of Douer For this valiant déed and other the like seruices first and last atchiued Brute gaue vnto Corineus the whole countrie of Cornwall To be briefe after that Brute had destroied such as stood against him and brought such people vnder his subiection as he found in the I le and searched the land from the one end to the other he was desirous to build a citie that the same might be the seate roiall of his empire or kingdome Wherevpon he chose a plot of ground lieng on the north side of the riuer of Thames which by good consideration séemed to be most pleasant and conuenient for any great multitude of inhabitants aswell for holsomnesse of aire goodnesse of soile plentie of woods and commoditie of the riuer seruing as well to bring in as to carrie out all kinds of merchandize and things necessarie for the gaine store and vse of them that there should inhabit Here therefore he began to build and lay the foundation of a citie in the tenth or as other thinke in the second yeare after his arriuall which he named saith Gal. Mon. Troinouant or as Hum. Llhoyd saith Troinewith that is new Troy in remembrance of that noble citie of Troy from whence he and his people were for the greater part descended When Brutus had builded this citie and brought the Iland fullie vnder his subiection he by the aduise of his nobles commanded this Ile which before hight Albion to be called Britaine and the inhabitants Britons after his name for a perpetuall memorie that he was the first bringer of them into the land In this meane while also he had by his wife .iij. sonnes the first named Locrinus or Locrine the second Cambris or Camber and the third Albanactus or Albanact Now when the time of his death drew néere to the first he betooke the gouernment of that part of the land nowe knowne by the name of England so that the same was long after called Loegria or Logiers of the said Locrinus To the second he appointed the countrie of Wales which of him was first named Cambria diuided from Loegria by the riuer of Seuerne To his third sonne Albanact he deliuered all the north part of the I le afterward called Albania after the name of the said Albanact which portion of the said Ile lieth beyond the Humber northward Thus when Brutus had diuided the I le of Britaine as before is mentioned into 3. parts and had gouerned the same by the space of 15. yeares he died in the 24 yeare after his arriuall as Harison noteth and was buried at Troinouant or London although the place of his said buriall there be now growne out of memorie Of Locrine the eldest sonne of Brute of Albanact his yoongest sonne and his death of Madan Mempricius Ebranke Brute Greenesheeld Leill Ludhurdibras Baldud and Leir the nine rulers of
Britaine successiuelie after Brute The fift Chapter LOcrinus or Locrine the first begotten sonne of Brute began to reigne ouer the countrie called Logiers in the yeare of the world 1874 and held to his part the countrie that reached from the souht sea vnto the riuer of Humber While this Locrinus gouerned Logiers his brother Albanact ruled in Albania where in fine he was slaine in a battell by a king of the Hunnes or Scythians called Humber who inuaded that part of Britaine and got possession thereof till Locrinus with his brother Camber in reuenge of their other brothers death and for the recouerie of the kingdome gathered their powers togither and comming against the said king of the Hunnes by the valiancie of their people they discomfited him in battell and chased him so egerlie that he himselfe and a great number of his men were drowned in the gulfe that then parted Loegria and Albania which after tooke name of the said king and was called Humber and so continueth vnto this daie Moreouer in this battell against the Hunnes were thrée yong damsels taken of excellent beautie specially one of them whose name was Estrild daughter to a certeine king of Scythia With this Estrild king Locrine fell so farre in loue notwithstanding a former contract made betwixt him and the ladie Guendoloena daughter to Corineus duke of Cornwall that he meant yet with all spéed to marie the same Estrild But being earnestlie called vpon and in manner forced thereto by Corineus hée changed his purpose and married Guendoloena keeping neuertheles the aforesaid Estrild as paramour still after a secret sort during the life of Corineus his father in law Now after that Corineus was departed this world Locrine forsooke Guendoloena and maried Estrild Guendoloena therefore being cast off by hir husband got hir into Cornewall to hir friends and kinred and there procured them to make warre against the said Locrine hir husband in the which warres hée was slaine and a battell fought néere to the riuer of Sture after he had reigned as writers affirme twentie yeares was buried by his father in the Citie of Troinouant leauing behind him a yoong sonne begotten of his wife Guendoloena named Madan as yet vnméete to gouerne Guendoloena or Guendoline the wife of Locrinus and daughter of Corineus duke of Cornewall for so much as hir sonne Madan was not of yeeres sufficient to gouerne was by common consent of the Britons made ruler of the I le in the yéere of the world 2894 and so hauing the administration in hir hands she did right discreetlie vse hir selfe therein to the comfort of all hir subiects till hir sonne Madan came to lawfull age and then she gaue ouer the rule and dominion to him after she had gouerned by the space of fifteene yeares MAdan the sonne of Locrine and Guendoline entred into the gouernement of Britaine in the 2909 of the world There is little left in writing of his doings sauing that he vsed great tyrannie amongst his Britons and therefore after he had ruled this land the tearme of 40. yeares he was deuoured of wild beastes as he was abroad in hunting He left behind him two sonnes Mempricius and Manlius He builded as is reported Madancaistre now Dancastre which reteineth still the later part of his name MEmpricius the eldest sonne of Madan began his reigne ouer the Britons in the yeare of the world 2949 he continued not long in peace For his brother Manlius vpon an ambitious mind prouoked the Britons to rebell against him so that sore and deadly warre continued long betweene them But finallie vnder colour of a treatie Manlius was slaine by his brother Mempricius so that then he liued in more tranquillitie and rest Howbeit being deliuered thus from trouble of warres he fell into slouth and so into vnlawfull lust of lecherie and thereby into the hatred of his people by forcing of their wines and daughters and finallie became so beastlie that he forsooke his lawfull wife and all his concubines and fell into the abhominable sinne of Sodomie And thus from one vice he fell into another till he became odious to God and man and at length going on hunting was lost of his people and destroied of wild beastes when he had reigned twentie yeares leauing behind him a noble yoong sonne named Ebranke begotten of his lawfull wife EBranke the sonne of Mempricius began to rule ouer the Britons in the yeare of the world 2969 He had as writers doo of him record one and twentie wiues on whom he begot 20. sonnes and 30. daughters of the which the eldest hight Guales or Gualea These daughters he sent to Alba Syluius which was the eleuenth king of Italie or the sixt king of the Latines to the end they might be married to his noble men of the bloud of Troians because the Sabines refused to ioine their daughters with them in marriage Furthermore he was the first prince of his land that euer inuaded France after Bute and is commended as author and originall builder of many cities both in his owne kingdome and else where His sonnes also vnder the conduct of Assaracus one of their eldest brethren returning out of Italie after they had conducted their sisters thither inuaded Germanie being first molested by the people of that countrie in their rage and by the helpe of the said Alba subdued a great part of that countrie there planted themselues Our histories say that Ebracus their father married them in their returne and aided them in their conquests and that he builded the citie of Caerbranke now called Yorke about the 14 yeare of his reigne He builded also in Albania now called Scotland the castle of Maidens afterward called Edenburgh of Adian one of their kings The citie of Alclud was builded likewise by him as some write now decaied After which cities thus builded he sailed ouer into Gallia now called France with a great armie and subduing the Galles as is aforesaid he returned home with great riches and triumph Now when he had guided the land of Britaine in noble wise by the tearme of fortie yeares he died and was buried at Yorke BRute Greeneshield the sonne of Ebranke was made gouernor of this land in the yeare of the world 3009 Asa reigning in Iuda and Baasa in Israell This prince bare alwaies in the field a gréene shield whereof he tooke his surname and of him some forraine authors affirme that he made an attempt to bring the whole realme of France vnder his subiection which he performed because his father susteined some dishonor and losse in his last voiage into that countrie Howbeit they say that when he came into Henaud Brinchild a prince of that quarter gaue him also a great ouerthrow and compelled him to retire home againe into his countrie This I borrow out of William Harison who in his chronologie toucheth the same
of Gallia which now is called France whose name was Aganippus hearing of the beautie womanhood and good conditions of the said Cordeilla desired to haue hir in mariage and sent ouer to hir father requiring that he might haue hir to wife to whome answer was made that he might haue his daughter but as for anie dower he could haue none for all was promised and assured to hir other sisters alreadie Aganippus notwithstanding this answer of deniall to receiue anie thing by way of dower with Cordeilla tooke hir to wife onlie moued thereto I saie for respect of hir person and amiable vertues This Aganippus was one of the twelue kings that ruled Gallia in those daies as in the British historie it is recorded But to proceed After that Leir was fallen into age the two dukes that had married his two eldest daughters thinking it long yer the gouernment of the land did come to their hands arose against him in armour and rest from him the gouernance of the land vpon conditions to be continued for terme of life by the which he was put to his portion that is to liue after a rate assigned to him for the maintenance of his estate which in processe of time was diminished as well by Maglanus as by Henninus But the greatest griefe that Leir tooke was to see the vnkindnesse of his daughters which seemed to thinke that all was too much which their father had the same being neuer so little in so much that going from the one to the other he was brought to that miserie that scarslie they would allow him one seruant to wait vpon him In the end such was the vnkindnesse or as I maie saie the vnnaturalnesse which he found in his two daughters notwithstanding their faire and pleasant words vttered in time past that being constreined of necessitie he fled the land sailed into Gallia there to seeke some comfort of his yongest daughter Cordeilla whom before time he hated The ladie Cordeilla hearing that he was arriued in poore estate she first sent to him priuilie a certeine summe of monie to apparell himselfe withall and to reteine a certeine number of seruants that might attend vpon him in honorable wise as apperteined to the estate which he had borne and then so accompanied she appointed him to come to the court which he did and was so ioifullie honorablie and louinglie receiued both by his sonne in law Aganippus and also by his daughter Cordeilla that his hart was greatlie comforted for he was no lesse honored than if he had beene king of the whole countrie himselfe Now when he had informed his sonne in law and his daughter in what sort he had béene vsed by his other daughters Aganippus caused a mightie armie to be put in a readinesse and likewise a great nauie of ships to be rigged to passe ouer into Britaine with Leir his father in law to see him againe restored to his kingdome It was accorded that Cordeilla should also go with him to take possession of the land the which he promised to leaue vnto hir as the rightfull inheritour after his decesse notwithstanding any former grant made to hir sisters or to their husbands in anie maner of wise Herevpon when this armie and nauie of ships were readie Leir and his daughter Cordeilla with hir husband tooke the sea and arriuing in Britaine fought with their enimies and discomfited them in battell in the which Maglanus and Henninus were slaine and then was Leir restored to his kingdome which he ruled after this by the space of two yéeres and then died fortie yeeres after he first began to reigne His bodie was buried at Leicester in a vaut vnder the chanell of the riuer of Sore beneath the towne The gunarchie of queene Cordeilla how she was vanquished of hir imprisonment and selfe-murther the contention betweene Cunedag and Margan nephewes for gouernement and the euill end thereof The sixt Chapter COrdeilla the yoongest daughter of Leir was admitted Q. and supreme gouernesse of Britaine in the yéere of the world 3155 before the bylding of Rome 54 Uzia then reigning in Iuda and Ieroboam ouer Israell This Cordeilla after hir fathers deceasse ruled the land of Britaine right worthilie during the space of fiue yeeres in which meane time hir husband died and then about the end of those fiue yéeres hir two nephewes Margan and Cunedag sonnes to hir aforesaid sisters disdaining to be vnder the gouernment of a woman leuied warre against hir and destroied a great part of the land and finallie tooke hir prisoner and laid hir fast in ward wherewith she tooke such griefe being a woman of a manlie courage and despairing to recouer libertie there she slue hirselfe when she had reigned as before is mentioned the tearme of fiue yéeres CUnedagius and Marganus nephewes to Cordeilla hauing recouered the land out of hir hands diuided the same betwixt them that is to saie the countrie ouer and beyond Humber fell to Margan as it stretcheth euen to Catnesse and the other part lieng south and by-west was assigned to Cunedagius This partition chanced in the yéere of the world 3170 before the building of Rome 47 Uzia as then reigning in Iuda and Ieroboam in Israell Afterwards these two cousins Cunedag and Margan had not reigned thus past a two yéeres but thorough some seditious persons Margan was persuaded to raise warre against Cunedag telling him in his eare how it was a shame for him being come of the elder sister not to haue the rule of the whole I le in his hand Herevpon ouercome with pride ambition and couetousnesse he raised an armie and entring into the land of Cunedag he burned and destroied the countrie before him in miserable maner Cunedag in all hast to resist his aduersarie assembled also all the power he could make and comming with the same against Margan gaue him battell in the which he slue a great number of Margans people and put the residue to flight and furthermore pursued him from countrie to countrie till he came into Cambria now called Wales where the said Margan gaue him eftsoones a new battell but being too weake in number of men he was there ouercome and slaine in the field by reason whereof that countrie tooke name of him being there slaine and so is called to this daie Glau Margan which is to meane in our English toong Margans land This was the end of that Margan after he had reigned with his brother two yéeres or thereabouts AFter the death of Margan Cunedag the sonne of Hennius and Ragaie middlemost daughter of Leir before mentioned became ruler of all the whole land of Britaine in the yeare of the world 3172 before the building of Rome 45 Uzia still reigning in Iuda and Ieroboam in Israell He gouerned this I le well and honourablie for the tearme of 33 yeares and then dieng his bodie was buried at Troinouant or London Moreouer our writers doo
Britaine and to paie him a yéerelie tribute These couenants being agréed vpon and hostages taken for assurance he was set at libertie and so returned into his countrie The tribute that he couenanted to paie was a thousand pounds as the English chronicle saith When Beline had thus expelled his brother and was alone possessed of all the land of Britaine he first confirmed the lawes made by his father and for so much as the foure waies begun by his father were not brought to perfection he therefore caused workmen to be called foorth and assembled whom he set in hand to paue the said waies with stone for the better passage and ease of all that should trauell through the countries from place to place as occasion should require The first of these foure waies is named Fosse and stretcheth from the south into the north beginning at the corner of Totnesse in Cornewall and so passing foorth by Deuonshire and Somersetshire by Tutherie on Cotteswold and then forward beside Couentrie vnto Leicester and from thence by wild plaines towards Newarke and endeth at the citie of Lincolne The second waie was named Watling stréete the which stretcheth ouerthwart the Fosse out of the southeast into the northeast beginning at Douer and passing by the middle of Kent ouer Thames beside London by-west of Westminster as some haue thought and so foorth by S. Albons and by the west side of Dunstable Stratford Toucester and Wedon by-south of Lilleborne by Atherston Gilberts hill that now is called the Wreken and so foorth by Seuerne passing beside Worcester vnto Stratton to the middle of Wales and so vnto a place called Cardigan at the Irish sea The third way was named Ermingstréet which stretched out of the west northwest vnto the east southeast and beginneth at Meneuia the which is in Saint Dauids land in west Wales and so vnto Southampton The fourth and last waie hight Hiknelstréete which leadeth by Worcester Winchcombe Birmingham Lichfield Darbie Chesterfield and by Yorke and so foorth vnto Tinmouth After he had caused these waies to be well and sufficientlie raised and made he confirmed vnto them all such priuileges as were granted by his father Brennus marrieth with the duke of Alobrogs daughter groweth into great honour commeth into Britaine with an armie against his brother Beline their mother reconcileth them they ioine might munition and haue great conquests conflicts betweene the Galles and the Romans the two brethren take Rome The third Chapter IN the meane time that Beline was thus occupied about the necessarie affaires of his realme and kingdome his brother Brenne that was fled into Gallia onelie with 12. persons bicause he was a goodlie gentleman and séemed to vnderstand what apperteined to honour grew shortlie into fauour with Seginus the duke afore mentioned and declaring vnto him his aduersitie and the whole circumstance of his mishap at length was so highlie cherished of the said Seginus deliting in such worthie qualities as he saw in him dailie appearing that he gaue to him his daughter in mariage with condition that if he died without issue male then should he inherit his estate duke dome and if it happened him to leaue anie heire male behind him then should he yet helpe him to recouer his land and dominion in Britaine béerest from him by his brother These conditions well and surelie vpon the dukes part by the assent of the nobles of his land concluded ratified and assured the said duke within the space of one yéere after died And then after a certeine time being knowne that the duches was not with child all the lords of that countrie did homage to Brenne receiuing him as their lord and supreme gouernour vpon whome he likewise for his part in recompense of their curtesie bestowed a great portion of his treasure Shortlie after also with their assent he gathered an armie and with the same eftsoones came ouer into Britaine to make new warre vpon his brother Beline Of whose landing when Beline was informed he assembled his people and made himselfe readie to méete him but as they were at point to haue ioined battell by the intercession of their mother that came betwixt them and demeaned hirselfe in all motherlie order and most louing maner towards them both they fell to an agréement and were made friends or euer they parted asunder After this they repaired to London and there taking aduice togither with their peeres and councellors for the good order and quieting of the land at length they accorded to passe with both their armies into Gallia to subdue that whole countrie and so following this determination they tooke shipping and sailed ouer into Gallia where beginning the warre with fire and sword they wrought such maisteries that within a short time as saith Geffrey of Monmouth they conquered a great part of Gallia Italie and Germanie and brought it to their subiection In the end they tooke Rome by this occasion as writers report if these be the same that had the leading of those Galles which in this season did so much hurt in Italie and other parts of the world After they had passed the mountains were entred into Tuscan they besieged the citie of Clusium the citizens whereof being in great danger sent to Rome for aid against their enimies Wherevpon the Romanes considering with themselues that although they were not in anie league of societie with the Clusians yet if they were ouercome the danger of the next brunt were like to be theirs with all spéed they sent ambassadours to intreat betwixt the parties for some peace to be had They â—hat were sent required the capteines of the Galles in the name of the senat and citizens of Rome not to molest the friends of the Romans Wherevnto answere was made by Brennus that for his part he could be content to haue peace if it were so that the Clusians would be agréeable that the Galles might haue part of the countrie which they held being more than they did alreadie well occupie for otherwise said he there could be no peace granted The Romane ambassadours being offended with these wordes demanded what the Galles had to doo in Tuscan by reason of which and other the like ouerthwart wordes the parties began to kindle in displeasure so farre that their communication brake off and so they from treating fell againe to trie the matter by dint of sword The Romane ambassadours also to shew of what prowesse the Romans were contrarie to the law of nations forbidding such as came in ambassage about anie treatie of peace to take either one part or other tooke weapon in hand and ioined themselues with the Clusians wherewith the Galles were so much displeased that incontinentlie with one voice they required to haue the siege raised from Clusium that they might go to Rome But Brennus thought good first to send messengers thither to require the deliuerie
in the most part of his victories both in Gallia Germanie and Italie Titus Liuius speaketh but onlie of Brennus wherevpon some write that after the two brethren were by their mothers intreatance made friends Brennus onlie went ouer to Gallia and there through proofe of his woorthie prowesse atteined to such estimation amongst the people called Galli Senones that he was chosen to be their generall capteine at their going ouer the mountaines into Italie But whether Beline went ouer with his brother and finallie returned backe againe leauing Brennus behind him as some write or that he went not at all but remained still at home whilest his brother was abroad we can affirme no certeintie Most part of all our writers make report of manie woorthie deeds accomplished by Beline in repairing of cities decaied erecting of other new buildings to the adorning and beautifieng of his realme and kingdome And amongst other works which were by him erected he builded a citie in the south part of Wales neare to the place where the riuer of Uske falleth into Seuerne fast by Glamorgan which citie hight Caerleon or Caerlegion Ar Wiske This Caerleon was the principall citie in time past of all Demetia now called Southwales Manie notable monuments are remaining there till this day testifieng the great magnificence and roiall building of that citie in old time In which citie also sith the time of Christ were thrée churches one of saint Iulius the martyr an other of saint Aron and the third was the mother church of all Demetia and the chiefe sée but after the same sée was translated vnto Meneuia that is to say saint Dauid in Westwales In this Caerleon was Amphibulus borne who taught and instructed saint Albon This Beliue also builded an hauen with a gate ouer the same within the citie of Troinouant now called London in the summitie or highest part wherof afterwards was set a vessell of brasse in the which were put the ashes of his bodie which bodie after his deceasse was burnt as the maner of burieng in those daies did require This gate was long after called Belina gate and at length by corruption of language Billings gate He builded also a castell eastward from this gate as some haue written which was long time after likewise called Belins castell and is the same which now we call the tower of London Thus Beline studieng dailie to beautifie this land with goodlie buildings and famous workes at length departed this life after he had reigned with his brother iointlie and alone the space of 26 yeres Of Gurguintus Guintolinus and Sicilius three kings of Britaine succeeding ech other by lineall descent in the regiment and of their acts and deeds with a notable commendation of Queene Martia The fift Chapter GUrguintus the sonne of Beline began to reigne ouer the Britains in the yeare of the world 1596 after the building of Rome 380 after the deliuerance of the Israelites out of captiuitie 164 complet which was about the 33 yeare of Artaxerxes Mnenon surnamed Magnus the seuenth king of the Persians This Gurguint in the English chronicle is named Corinbratus and by Matthew Westmin he is surnamed Barbiruc the which bicause the tribute granted by Guilthdag king of Denmarke in perpetuitie vnto the kings of Britaine was denied he sailed with a mightie nauie and armie of men into Denmarke where he made such warre with fire and sword that the king of Denmarke with the assent of his barons was constreined to grant eftsoones to continue the paiment of the aforesaid tribute After he had thus atchiued his desire in Denmarke as he returned backe towards Britaine he encountred with a nauie of 30 ships beside the Iles of Orkenies These ships were fraught with men and women and had to their capteine one called Bartholin or Partholin who being brought to the presence of king Gurguint declared that he with his people were banished out of Spaine and were named Balenses or Baselenses and had sailed long on the sea to the end to find some prince that would assigne them a place to inhabit to whom they would become subiects hold of him as of their souereigne gouernor Therefore he besought the king to consider their estate and of his great benignitie to appoint some void quarter where they might settle The king with the aduice of his barons granted to them the I le of Ireland which as then by report of some authors lay waste and without habitation But it should appeare by other writers that it was inhabited long before those daies by the people called Hibemeneses of Hiberus their capteine that brought them also out of Spaine After that Gurguintus was returned into his countrie he ordeined that the laws made by his ancestors should be dulie kept and obserued And thus administring iustice to his subiects for the tearme of 19 yeares he finallie departed this life and was buried at London or as some haue at Caerleon In his daies was the towne of Cambridge with the vniversitie first founded by Cantaber brother to the aforesaid Bartholin according to some writers as after shall appeare GUintollius or Guintellius the sonne of Gurguintus was admitted king of Britaine in the yere of the world of 614 after the building of the citie of Rome 399 and second yere of the 206 Olimpiad This Guintoline was a wise prince graue in counsell and sober in behauior He had also a wife named Martia a woman of perfect beautie wisedome incomparable as by hir prudent gouernement and equall administration of iustice after hir husbands deceasse during hir sonnes minoritie it most manifestlie appeared It is thought that in an happie time this Guintoline came to the gouernement of this kingdome being shaken and brought out of order with ciuill dissentions to the end he might reduce it to the former estate which he carnestlie accomplished for hauing once got the place he studied with great diligence to reforme anew and to adorne with iustice lawes and good orders the British common wealth by other kings not so framed as stood with the quietnesse thereof But afore all things he vtterlie remooued and appeased such ciuill discord as séemed yet to remaine after the maner of a remnant of those seditious factions and partakings which had so long time reigned in this land But as he was busie in hand herewith death tooke him out of this life after he had reigned 27 yeares and then was he buried at London SIcilius the sonne of Guintoline being not past seuen yeares of age when his father died was admitted king in the yeare 3659 after the building of Rome 430 after the deliuerance of the Israelites out of captiuitie 218 in the sixt after the death of Alexander By reason that Sicilius was not of age sufficient of himselfe to guide the kingdome of the Britains his mother that worthie ladie called Martia had the
wind and weather for his purpose got himselfe aboord with his people and returned into Gallia ¶ Thus writeth Cesar touching his first iournie made into Britaine But the British historie which Polydor calleth the new historie declareth that Cesar in a pitcht field was vanquished at the firt encounter and so withdrew backe into France Beda also writeth that Cesar comming into the countrie of Gallia where the people then called Morini inhabited which are at this day the same that inhabit the diocesse of Terwine from whence lieth the shortest passage ouer into Britaine now called England got togither 80 saile of great ships and row gallies wherewith he passed ouer into Britaine there at the first being wearied with sharpe and sore fight and after taken with a grieuous tempest he lost the greater part of his nauie with no small number of his souldiers and almost all his horssemen and therwith being returned into Gallia placed his souldiors in stéeds to soiourne there for the winter season Thus saith Bede The British historie moreouer maketh mention of thrée vnder-kings that aided Cassibellane in this first battell fought with Cesar as Cridiorus alias Ederus king of Albania now called Scotland Guitethus king of Uenedocia that is Northwales and Britaell king of Demetia at this day called Southwales The same historie also maketh mention of one Belinus that was generall of Cassibellanes armie and likewise of Nenius brother to Cassibellane who in fight happened to get Cesars swoord fastened in his shield by a blow which Cesar stroke at him Androgeus also and Tenancius were at the battell in aid iof Cassibellane But Nenius died within 15 daies after the battell of the hurt receiued at Cesars hand although after he was so hurt he slue Labienus one of the Romane tribunes all which may well be true sith Cesar either maketh the best of things for his owne honour or else coueting to write but commentaries maketh no account to declare the néedeles circumstances or anie more of the matter than the chiefe points of his dealing Againe the Scotish historiographers write that when it was first knowne to the Britains that Cesar would inuade them there came from Cassibellane king of Britaine an ambassador vnto Ederus king of Scots who in the name of king Cassibellane required aid against the common enimies the Romains which request was granted and 10 thousand Scots sent to the aid of Cassibellane At their comming to London they were most ioifullie receiued of Cassibellane who at the same time had knowledge that the Romans were come on land and had beaten such Britains backe as were appointed to resist their landing Wherevpon Cassibellane with all his whole puissance mightilie augmented not onlie with the succours of the Scots but also of the Picts which in that common cause had sent also of their people to aid the Britains set forward towards the place where he vnderstood the enimies to be At their first approch togither Cassibellane sent foorth his horssemen and charets called Esseda by the which he thought to disorder the araie of the enimies Twice they incountred togither with doubtfull victorie At length they ioined puissance against puissance and fought a verie sore and cruell battell till finally at the sudden comming of the Welshmen and Cornishmen so huge a noise was raised by the sound of bels hanging at their trappers and charets that the Romans astonied therewith were more easilie put to flight The Britains Scots and Picts following the chase without order or araie so that by reason the Romans kept themselues close togither the Britains Scots Picts did scarse so much harme to the enimies as they themselues receiued But yet they followed on still vpon the Romans till it was darke night Cesar after he had perceiued them once withdrawne did what he could to assemble his companies togither minding the next morning to séeke his reuenge of the former daies disaduantage But forsomuch as knowledge was giuen him that his ships by reason of a sore tempest were so beaten and rent that manie of them were past seruice he doubted least such newes would incourage his enimies and bring his people into despaire Wherfore he determined not to fight till time more conuenient sending all his wounded folks vnto the ships which he commanded to be newlie rigged and trimmed After this kéeping his armie for a time within the place where he was incamped without issuing foorth he shortlie drew to the sea side where his ships laie at anchor and there within a strong place fortified for the purpose he lodged his host and finallie without hope to atchieue anie other exploit auaileable for that time he tooke the sea with such ships as were apt for sailing and so repassed into Gallia leauing behind him all the spoile and baggage for want of vessels and leisure to conueie it ouer ¶ Thus haue the Scots in their chronicles framed the matter more to the conformitie of the Romane histories than according to the report of our British and English writers and therefore we haue thought good to shew it héere that the diuersitie of writers and their affections may the better appéere Of this sudden departing also or rather fléeing of Iulius Cesar out of Britaine Lucanus the poet maketh mention reciting the saieng of Pompeius in an oration made by him vnto this souldiers wherin he reprochfullie and disdainfullie reprooued the dooings of Cesar in Britaine saieng Territa quaesitis ostendit terga Britannis Caesar taketh a new occasion to make warre against the Britains he arriueth on the coast without resistance the number of his ships both armies incounter why Caesar forbad the Romans to pursue the discomfited Britains he repaireth his nauie the Britains choose Cassibellane their cheefe gouernour and skirmish afresh with their enimies but haue the repulse in the end The xiiij Chapter NOw will we returne to the sequele of the matter as Cesar himselfe reporteth After his comming into Gallia there were but two cities of all Britaine that sent ouer their hostages according to their couenant which gaue occasion to Cesar to picke a new quarrel against them which if it had wanted he would yet I doubt not haue found some other for his full meaning was to make a more full conquest of that I le Therefore purposing to passe againe thither as he that had a great desire to bring the Britains vnder the obedience of the Romane estate he caused a great number of ships to be prouided in the winter season and put in a readinesse so that against the next spring there were found to be readie rigged six hundred ships beside 28 gallies Héerevpon hauing taken order for the gouernance of Gallia in his absence about the beginning of the spring he came to the hauen of Calice whither according to order by him prescribed all his ships were come except 40 which by tempest were driuen backe and could not as yet come to him After he had staied at Calice
and all the late writers of Lucius Hereby it appeareth that whether one or mo yet kings there were in Britain bearing rule vnder the Romane emperors On the other part the common opinion of our chronicle-writers is that the chiefe gouernment remained euer with the Britains that the Romane senat receiuing a yearelie tribute sent at certeine times Ex officio their emperors and lieutenants into this I le to represse the rebellious tumults therein begun or to beat backe the inuasion of the enimies that went about to inuade it And thus would these writers inferre that the Britains euer obeied their king till at length they were put beside the gouernement by the Saxons But whereas in the common historie of England the succession of kings ought to be kept so oft as it chanceth in the same that there is not anie to fill the place then one while the Romane emperors are placed in their steads and another while their lieutenants and are said to be created kings of the Britains as though the emperors were inferiors vnto the kings of Britaine and that the Romane lieutenants at their appointments and not by prescript of the senat or emperours administred the prouince This may suffice here to aduertise you of the contrarietie in writers Now we will go foorth in following our historie as we haue doone heretofore sauing that where the Romane histories write of things done here by emperors or their lieutenants it shall be shewed as reason requireth sith there is a great appearance of truth oftentimes in the same as those that be authorised and allowed in the opinion of the learned Of Theomantius the tearme of yeares that he reigned and where he was interred of Kymbeline within the time of whose gouernment Christ Iesus our sauiour was borne all nations content to obeie the Romane emperors and consequentlie Britaine the customes that the Britaines paie the Romans as Strabo reporteth The xviij Chapter AFter the death of Cassibellane Theomantius or Tenantius the yoongest sonne of Lud was made king of Britaine in the yéere of the world 3921 after the building of Rome 706 before the comming of Christ 45. He is named also in one of the English chronicles Tormace in the same chronicle it is conteined that not he but his brother Androgeus was king where Geffrey of Monmouth others testifie that Androgeus abandoned the land clerelie continued still at Rome because he knew the Britains hated him for treason he had committed in aiding Iulius Cesar against Cassibellane Theomantius ruled the land in good quiet and paid the tribute to the Romans which Cassibellane had granted and finallie departed this life after he had reigned 22 yeares and was buried at London KYmbeline or Cimbeline the sonne of Theomantius was of the Britains made king after the deceasse of his father in the yeare of the world 3944 after the building of Rome 728 and before the birth of out Sauiour 33. This man as some write was brought vp at Rome and there made knight by Augustus Cesar vnder whome he serued in the warres and was in such fauour with him that he was at libertie to pay his tribute or not Little other mention is made of his dooings except that during his reigne the Sauiour of the world our Lord Iesus Christ the onelie sonne of God was borne of a virgine about the 23 yeare of the reigne of this Kymbeline in the 42 yeare of the emperour Octauius Augustus that is to wit in the yeare of the world 3966 in the second yeare of the 194 Olympiad after the building of the citie of Rome 750 nigh at an end after the vniuersall floud 2311 from the birth of Abraham 2019 after the departure of the Israelits out of Egypt 1513 after the captiuitie of Babylon 535 from the building of the temple by Salomon 1034 from the arriuall of Brute 1116 complet Touching the continuance of the yeares of Kymbelines reigne some writers doo varie but the best approoued affirme that he reigned 35 years and then died was buried at London leauing behind him two sonnes Guiderius and Aruiragus ¶ But here is to be noted that although our histories doo affirme that as well this Kymbeline as also his father Theomantius liued in quiet with the Romans and continuallie to them paied the tributes which the Britains had couenanted with Iulius Cesar to pay yet we find in the Romane writers that after Iulius Cesars death when Augustus had taken vpon him the rule of the empire the Britains refused to paie that tribute whereat as Cornelius Tacitus reporteth Augustus being otherwise occupied was contented to winke howbeit through earnest calling vpon to recouer his right by such as were desirous to sée the vttermost of the British kingdome at length to wit in the tenth yeare after the death of Iulius Cesar which was about the thirtéenth yeare of the said Theomantius Augustus made prouision to passe with an armie ouer into Britaine was come forward vpon his iournie into Gallia Celtica or as we maie saie into these hither parts of France But here receiuing aduertisements that the Pannonians which inhabited the countrie now called Hungarie and the Dalmatians whome now we call Slauons had rebelled he thought it best first to subdue those rebells neere home rather than to séeke new countries and leaue such in hazard whereof he had present possession and so turning his power against the Pannonians and Dalmatians he left off for a time the warres of Britaine whereby the land remained without feare of anie inuasion to be made by the Romans till the yeare after the building of the citie of Rome 725 and about the 19 yeare of king Theomantius reigne that Augustus with an armie departed once againe from Rome to passe ouer into Britaine there to make warre But after his comming into Gallia when the Britains sent to him certeine ambassadours to treat with him of peace he staied there to settle the state of things among the Galles for that they were not in verie good order And hauing finished there he went into Spaine and so his iournie into Britaine was put off till the next yeare that is the 726 after the building of Rome which fell before the birth of our sauiour 25 about which time Augustus eftsoons meant the third time to haue made a voiage into Britaine because they could not agrée vpon couenants But as the Pannonians and Dalmatians had aforetime staied him when as before is said he meant to haue gone against the Britans so euen now the Salassians a people inhabiting about Italie and Switserland the Cantabrians and Asturians by such rebellious sturrs as they raised withdrew him from his purposed iournie But whether this controuersie which appeareth to fall forth betwixt the Britans and Augustus was occasioned by Kymbeline or some other prince of the Britains I haue not to auouch for that by our writers
should not come togither againe Now for that a displeasing and a doubtfull peace was not like to bring quietnesse either to him or to his armie he tooke from such as he suspected their armour And after this he went about to defend the riuers of Auon Seuerne with placing his souldiers in camps fortified néere to the same But the Oxfordshire men and other of those parties would not suffer him to accomplish his purpose in anie quiet sort being a puissant kind of people and not hitherto weakened by warres for they willinglie at the first had ioined in amitie with the Romans The countries adioining also being induced by their procurement came to them so they chose forth a plot of ground fensed with a mightie ditch vnto the which there was no waie to enter but one the same verie narrow so as the horssemen could not haue anie easie passage to breake in vpon them Ostorius although he had no legionarie souldiers but certeine bands of aids marched foorth towards the place within the which the Britains were lodged and assaulting them in the same brake through into their campe where the Britains being impeached with their owne inclosures which they had raised for defense of the place knowing how that for their rebellion they were like to find small mercie at the Romans hands when they saw now no waie to escape laid about them manfullie and shewed great proofe of their valiant stomachs In this battell the sonne of Ostorius the lieutenant deserued the price and commendation of preseruing a citizen out of the cruell enimies hands But now with this slaughter of the Oxfordshire men diuers of the Britains that stood doubtfull what waie to take either to rest in quiet or to moue warres were contented to be conformable vnto a reasonable order of peace in so much that Ostorius lead his armie against the people called Cangi who inhabited that part of Wales now called Denbighshire which countrie he spoiled on euerie side no enimie once daring to encounter him if anie of them aduentured priuilie to set vpon those which they found behind or on the outsids of his armie they were cut short yer they could escape out of danger Wherevpon he marched straight to their campe and giuing them battell vanquished them and vsing the victorie as reason moued him he lead his armie against those that inhabited the inner parts of Wales spoiling the countrie on euerie side And thus sharplie pursuing the rebels he approched néere vnto the sea side which lieth ouer against Ireland While this Romane capteine was thus occupied he was called backe by the rebellion of the Yorkshire men whome forthwith vpon his comming vnto them he appeased punishing the first authors of that tumult with death In the meane time the people called Silures being a verie fierce kind of men and valiant prepared to make warre against the Romans for they might not be bowed neither with roughnesse nor yet with anie courteous handling so that they were to be tamed by an armie of legionarie souldiers to be brought among them Therefore to restraine the furious rage of those people and their neighbours Ostorious peopled a towne néere to their borders called Camelodunum with certeine bands of old souldiers there to inhabit with their wiues and children according to such maner as was vsed in like cases of placing naturall Romans in anie towne or citie for the more suertie and defense of the same Here also was a temple builded in the honor of Claudius the emperour where were two images erected one of the goddesse Uictoria and an other of Claudius himselfe The coniectures of writers touching the situation of Camelodunum supposed to be Colchester of the Silures a people spoken of in the former chapter a foughten field betwene Caratacus the British prince and Ostorius the Romaine in the confines of Shorpshire the Britains go miserablie to wracke Caratacus is deliuered to the Romans his wife and daughter are taken prisoners his brethren yeeld themselues to their enimies The sixt Chapter BUt now there resteth a great doubt among writers where this citie or towne called Camelodunum did stand of some and not without good ground of probable coniectures gathered vpon the aduised consideration of the circumstances of that which in old authors is found written of this place it is thought to be Colchester But verelie by this place of Tacitus it maie rather seeme to be some other towne situat more westward than Colchester sith a colonie of Romane souldiers were planted there to be at hand for the repressing of the vnquiet Silures which by consent of most writers inhabited in Southwales or néere the Welsh marshes There was a castell of great fame in times past that hight Camaletum or in British Caermalet which stood in the marshes of Summersetshire but sith there is none that hath so written before this time I will not saie that happilie some error hath growne by mistaking the name of Camelodunum for this Camaletum by such as haue copied out the booke of Cornelius Tacitus and yet so it might be doon by such as found it short or vnperfectlie written namelie by such strangers or others to whom onelie the name of Camelodunum was onelie knowne and Camaletum peraduenture neuer séene nor heard of As for example and Englishman that hath heard of Waterford in Ireland and not of Wexford might in taking foorth a copie of some writing easilie commit a fault in noting the one for the other We find in Ptolomie Camedolon to be a citie belonging to the Trinobants and he maketh mention also of Camelodunum but Humfrey Lhoyd thinketh that he meaneth all one citie Notwithstanding Polydor Virgil is of a contrarie opinion supposing the one to be Colchester in déed and the other that is Camelodunum to be Doncaster or Pontfret Leland esteeming it to be certeinelie Colchester taketh the Iceni men also to be the Northfolke men But howsoeuer we shall take this place of Tacitus it is euident inough that Camelodunum stood not farre from the Thames And therefore to séeke it with Hector Boetius in Scotland or with Polydor Virgil so far as Doncaster or Pontfret it maie be thought a plaine error But to leaue each man to his owne iudgement in a matter so doubtfull we will procéed with the historie as touching the warres betwixt the Romans and the Silurians against whome trusting not onelie vpon their owne manhood but also vpon the high prowesse valiancie of Caratacus Ostorius set forward Caratacus excelled in fame aboue all other the princes of Britaine aduanced thereto by manie doubtfull aduentures and manie prosperous exploits which in his time he had atchiued but as he was in policie and aduantage of place better prouided than the Romans so in power of souldiers he was ouermatched And therefore he remoued the battell into the parts of that countrie where the Ordouices inhabited which are thought to haue dwelled in the borders
of the countrie at the last AFter him succéeded as lieutenant of Britaine one Iulius Frontinus who vanquished and brought to the Romane subiection by force of armes the people called Silures striuing not onelie against the stout resistance of the men but also with the hardnesse combersome troubles of the places ¶ Thus may you perceiue in what state this I le stood in the time that Aruiragus reigned in the same as is supposed by the best histories of the old Britains so that it may be thought that he gouerned rather a part of this land than the whole and bare the name of a king the Romans not hauing so reduced the countrie into the forme of a prouince but that the Britains bare rule in diuerse parts thereof and that by the permission of the Romans which neuerthelesse had their lieutenants and procuratours here that bare the greatest rule vnder the aforesaid emperours The state of this Iland vnder Marius the sonne of Aruiragus the comming in of the Picts with Roderike their king his death in the field the Picts and Scots enter into mutuall aliance the monument of Marius his victorie ouer the Picts his death and interrement The xv Chapter AFter the decease of Aruiragus his sonne Marius succeeded him in the estate and began his reigne in the yeare of our Lord 73. In the old English chronicle he is fondlie called Westmer was a verie wise man gouerning the Britains in great prosperitie honour and wealth In the time of this mans reigne the people called Picts inuaded this land who are iudged to be descended of the nation of the Scithians neare knismen to the Goths both by countrie and maners a cruell kind of men and much giuen to the warres This people with their ringleader Roderike or as some name him Londorike entering the Ocean sea after the maner of rouers arriued on the coasts of Ireland where they required of the Scots new seats to inhabit in for the Scots which as some thinke were also descended of the Scithians did as then inhabit in Ireland but doubting that it should not be for their profit to receiue so warlike a nation into that I le feining as it were a friendship and excusing the matter by the narrownesse of the countrie declared to the Picts that the I le of Britaine was not farre from thence being a large countrie and a plentifull and not greatly inhabited wherefore they counselled them to go thither promising vnto them all the aid that might be The Picts more desirous of spoile than of rule or gouernment without delaie returned to the sea and sailed towards Britaine where being arriued they first inuaded the north parts thereof and finding there but few inhabiters they began to wast and forrey the countrie whereof when king Marius was aduertised with all speed he assembled his people and made towards his enimies and giuing them battell obteined the victorie so that Roderike was there slaine in the field and his people vanquished Unto those that escaped with life Marius granted licence that they might inhabit in the north part of Scotland called Catnesse being as then a countrie in maner desolate without habitation wherevpon they withdrew thither and setled themselues in those parties And bicause the Britains disdained to grant vnto them their daughters in mariage they sent vnto the Scots into Ireland requiring to haue wiues of their nation The Scots agréed to their request with this condition that where there wanted lawfull issue of the kings linage to succéed in the kingdome of the Picts then should they name one of the womans side to be their king which ordinance was receiued and obserued euer after amongst the Picts so long as their kingdome endured Thus the Picts next after the Romans were the first of anie strangers that came into this land to inhabit as most writers affirme although the Scotish chronicles auouch the Picts to be inhabiters here before the incarnation of our sauiour But the victorie which Marius obteined against their king Roderike chanced in the yéere after the incarnation 87. In remembrance of which victorie Marius caused a stone to be erected in the same place where the battell was fought in which stone was grauen these words Marij victoria The English chronicle saith that this stone was set vp on Stanesmoore and that the whole countrie thereabout taking name of this Marius was Westmaria now called Westmerland King Marius hauing thus subdued his enimies and escaped the danger of their dreadfull inuasion gaue his mind to the good gouernement of his people and the aduancement of the common wealth of the realme continuing the residue of his life in great tranquillitie and finallie departed this life after he had reigned as most writers say 52 or 53 yeeres Howbeit there be that write that he died in the yéere of our Lord 78 and so reigned not past fiue or six yéeres at the most He was buried at Caerleill leauing a sonne behind him called Coill Humfrey Lhoyd séemeth to take this man and his father Aruiragus to be all one person whether mooued thereto by some catalog of kings which he saw or otherwise I cannot affirme but speaking of the time when the Picts and Scots should first come to settle themselues in this land he hath these words Neither was there anie writers of name that made mention either of Scots or Picts before Uespasianus time about the yeere of the incarnation 72 at what time Meurig or Maw or Aruiragus reigned in Britaine in which time our annales doo report that a certeine kind of people liuing by pirasie and rouing on the sea came foorth of Sueden or Norwaie vnder the guiding of one Rhithercus who landed in Albania wasting all the countrie with robbing and spoiling so farre as Caerleill where he was vanquished in battell and slaine by Muragus with a great part of his people the residue that escaped by flight fled to their ships and so conueied themselues into the Iles of Orkney and Scotland where they abode quietlie a great while after Thus farre haue I thought good to shew of the foresaid Lhoyds booke for that it seemeth to carie a great likelihood of truth with it for the historie of the Picts which vndoubtedlie I thinke were not as yet inhabiting in Britaine but rather first placing themselues in the Iles of Orkney made inuasion into the maine I le of Britaine afterwards as occasion was offred In the British toong they are called Pightiaid that is Pightians and so likewise were they called in the Scotish and in their owne toong Now will we shew what chanced in this I le during the time of the foresaid Marius his supposed reigne as is found in the Romane histories Iulius Agricola is deputed by Vespasian to gouerne Britaine he inuadeth the I le of Anglesey the inhabitants yeeld vp them selues the commendable gouernement of Agricola his worthie practises to traine the Britains to ciuilitie his
exploits fortunatelie atchiued against diuerse people as the Irish c. The 16. Chapter AFter Iulius Frontinus the emperor Uespasian sent Iulius Agricola to succéed in the gouernement of Britaine who comming ouer about the midst of summer found the men of warre thorough want of a lieutenant negligent inough as those that looking for no trouble thought themselues out of all danger where the enimies neuerthelesse watched vpon the next occasion to worke some displeasure and were readie on ech hand to mooue rebellion For the people called Ordonices that inhabited in the countrie of Chesshire Lancashire and part of Shropshire had latelie before ouerthrowne and in maner vtterlie destroied a wing of such horssemen as soiourned in their parties by reason whereof all the prouince was brought almost into an assured hope to recouer libertie Agricola vpon his comming ouer though summer was now halfe past and that the souldiers lodging here there abroad in the countrie were more disposed to take rest than to set forward into the field against the enimies determined yet to resist the present danger and therewith assembling the men of warre of the Romans and such other aids as he might make he inuaded their countrie that had done this foresaid displeasure and slue the most part of all the inhabitants thereof Not thus contented for that he thought good to follow the steps of fauourable fortune and knowing that as the begining proued so would the whole sequele of his affaires by likelihood come to passe he purposed to make a full conquest of the I le of Anglesey from the conquest wherof the Romane lieutenant Paulinus was called backe by the rebellion of other of the Britains as before ye haue heard But whereas he wanted ships for the furnishing of his enterprise his wit and policie found a shift to supplie that defect for choosing out a piked number of such Britains as he had there with him in aid which knew the foords and shallow places of the streames there and withall were verie skilfull in swimming as the maner of the countrie then was he appointed them to passe ouer on the sudden into the I le onelie with their horsses armor and weapon which enterprise they so spéedilie and with so good successe atchiued that the inhabitants much amazed with that dooing which looked for a nauie of ships to haue transported ouer their enimies by sea and therefore watched on the coast began to thinke that nothing was able to be defended against such kind of warriors that got ouer into the I le after such sort and maner And therefore making sute for peace they deliuered the I le into the hands of Agricola whose fame by these victories dailie much increased as of one that tooke pleasure in trauell and attempting to atchiue dangerous enterprises in stead whereof his predecessors had delighted to shew the maiesties of their office by vaine brags statelie ports and ambitious pomps For Agricola turned not the prosperous successe of his procéedings into vanitie but rather with neglecting his fame increased it to the vttermost among them that iudged what hope was to be looked for of things by him to be atchiued which with silence kept secret these his so woorthie dooings Moreouer perceiuing the nature of the people in this I le of Britaine and sufficientlie taught by other mens example that armor should little auaile where iniuries followed to the disquieting of the people he thought best to take away and remooue all occasions of warre And first beginning with himselfe and his souldiers tooke order for a reformation to be had in his owne houshold yéelding nothing to fauor but altogither in respect of vertue accounting them most faithfull which therein most excelled He sought to know all things but not to doo otherwise than reason mooued pardoning small faults and sharpelie punishing great and heinous offenses neither yet deliting alwaies in punishment but oftentimes in repentance of the offendor Exactions and tributes he lessened qualifieng the same by reasonable equitie And thus in reforming the state of things he wan him great praise in time of peace the which either by negligence or sufferance of the former lieutenants was euer feared and accounted woorse than open warre This was his practise in the winter time of his first yeere But when summer was come he assembled his armie and leading foorth the same trained his souldiers in all honest warlike discipline commending the good and reforming the bad and vnrulie He himselfe to giue example tooke vpon him all dangers that came to hand and suffered not the enimies to liue in rest but wasted their countries with sudden inuasious And when he had sufficientlie chastised them and put them in feare by such manner of dealing he spared them that they might againe conceiue some hope of peace By which meanes manie countries which vnto those daies had kept themselues out of bondage laid rancor aside and deliuered pledges and further were contented to suffer castels to be builded within them and to be kept with garrisons so that no part of Britaine was frée from the Romane power but stood still in danger to be brought vnder more and more In the winter following Agricola tooke paines to reduce the Britains from their rude manners and customs vnto a more ciuill sort and trade of liuing that changing their naturall fiercenesse and apt disposition to warre they might through tasting pleasures be so inured therewith that they should desire to liue in rest and quietnesse and therefore he exhorted them priuilie and holpe them publikelie to build temples common halls where plées of law might be kept and other houses commending them that were diligent in such dooings and blaming them that were negligent so that of necessitie they were driuen to striue who should preuent ech other in ciuilitie He also procured that noble mens sonnes should learne the liberall sciences and praised the nature of the Britains more than the people of Gallia bicause they studied to atteine to the knowledge of the Romane eloquence By which meanes the Britains in short time were brought to the vse of good and commendable manners and sorted themselues to go in comelie apparell after the Romane fashion and by little and little fell to accustome themselues to fine fare and delicate pleasures the readie prouoke vs of vices as to walke in galleries to wash themselues in bathes to vse banketting and such like which amongst the vnskilfull was called humanitie or courtesie but in verie deed it might be accounted a part of thraldome and seruitude namelie being too excessiuelie vsed In the third yéere of Agricola his gouernment in Britaine he inuaded the north parts thereof vnknowne till those daies of the Romans being the same where the Scots now inhabit for he wasted the countrie vnto the water of Tay in such wise putting the inhabitants in feare that they durst not once set vpon his armie though it
which the Romans had followed till they were throughlie wearied There were slaine of the Britains that day 10000 and of the Romans 340 among whom Aulus Atticus a capteine of one of the cohorts or bands of footmen was one who being mounted on horssebacke through his owne too much youthfull courage and fierce vnrulines of his horsse was caried into the middle throng of his enimies and there slaine The lamentable distresse and pitifull perplexitie of the Britains after their ouerthrow Domitian enuieth Agricola the glorie of his victories he is subtilie depriued of his deputiship and Cneus Trebellius surrogated in his roome The xviij Chapter THe night insuing the foresaid ouerthrow of the Britains was spent of the Romans in great ioy gladnes for the victorie atchiued But among the Britains there was nothing else heard but mourning and lamentation both of men and women that were mingled togither some busie to beare away the wounded to bind and dresse their hurts other calling for their sonnes kinsfolkes and friends that were wanting Manie of them forsooke their houses and in their desperate mood set them on fire and choosing foorth places for their better refuge and safegard foorthwith misliking of the same left them and sought others herewith diuerse of them tooke counsell togither what they were best to doo one while they were in hope an other while they fainted as people cast into vtter despaire the beholding of their wiues and children oftentimes mooued them to attempt some new enterprise for the preseruation of their countrie and liberties And certeine it is that some of them slue their wiues and children as mooued thereto with a certeine fond regard of pitie to rid them out of further miserie and danger of thraldome The next day the certeintie of the victorie more plainlie was disclosed for all was quiet about and no noise heard anie where the houses appeared burning on ech side and such as were sent foorth to discouer the countrie into euerie part thereof saw not a creature stirring for all the people were auoided and withdrawne a farre off When Agricola had thus ouerthrowne his enimies in a pitcht field at the mountaine of Granziben and that the countrie was quite rid of all appearance of enimies bicause the summer of this eight yéere of his gouernement was now almost spent he brought his armie into the confines of the Horrestians which inhabited the countries now called Angus Merne and there intended to winter and tooke hostages of the people for assurance of their loialtie and subiection This doone he appointed the admirall of the nauie to saile about the I le which accordinglie to his commission in that point receiued luckilie accomplished his enterprise and brought the nauie about againe into an hauen called Trutulensts In this meane time whiles Iulius Agricola was thus occupied in Britaine both the emperour Uespasianus and also his brother Titus that succéeded him departed this life and Domitianus was elected emperor who hearing of such prosperous successe as Agricola had against the Britains did not so much reioise for the thing well doone as he enuied to consider what glorie and renowme should redound to Agricola thereby which he perceiued should much darken the glasse of his same hauing a priuate person vnder him who in woorthinesse of noble exploits atchiued farre excelled his dooings To find remedie therefore herein he thought not good to vtter his malice as yet whilest Agricola remained in Britaine with an armie which so much fauoured him and that with so good cause sith by his policie and noble conduct the same had obteined so manie victories so much honor and such plentie of spoiles and booties Wherevpon to dissemble his intent he appointed to reuoke him foorth of Britaine as it were to honor him not onelie with deserued triumphs but also with the lieutenantship of Syria which as then was void by the death of Atilius Rufus Thus Agricola being countermanded home to Rome deliuered his prouince vnto his successor Cneus Trebellius appointed thereto by the emperour Domitianus in good quiet and safegard ¶ Thus may you sée in what state Britaine stood in the daies of king Marius of whome Tacitus maketh no mention at all Some haue written that the citie of Chester was builded by this Marius though other as before I haue said thinke rather that it was the worke of Ostorius Scapula their legat Touching other the dooings of Agricola in the Scotish chronicle you maie find more at large set foorth for that which I haue written héere is but to shew what in effect Cornelius Tacitus writeth of that which Agricola did here in Britaine without making mention either of Scots or Picts onelie naming them Britains Horrestians and Calidoneans who inhabited in those daies a part of this Ile which now we call Scotland the originall of which countrie and the inhabitants of the same is greatlie controuersed among writers diuerse diuerslie descanting therevpon some fetching their reason from the etymon of the word which is Gréeke some from the opening of their ancestors as they find the same remaining in records other some from comparing antiquities togither and aptlie collecting the truth as néere as they can But to omit them and returne to the continuation of our owne historie Of Coillus the sonne of Marius his education in Rome how long he reigned of Lucius his sonne and successor what time he assumed the gouernment of this land he was an open professor of christian religion he and his familie are baptised Britaine receiueth the faith 3 archbishops and 28 bishops at that time in this Iland westminster church and S. Peters in Cornehill builded diuers opinions touching the time of Lucius his reigne of his death and when the christian faith was receiued in this Iland The 19. Chapter COillus the sonne of Marius was after his fathers deceasse made king of Britaine in the yeare of our Lord 125. This Coillus or Coill was brought vp in his youth amongst the Romans at Rome where he spent his time not vnprofitablie but applied himselfe to learning seruice in the warres by reason whereof he was much honored of the Romans and he likewise honored and loued them so that he paied his tribute truelie all the time of his reigne and therefore liued in peace and good quiet He was also a prince of much bountie and verie liberall whereby he obteined great loue both of his nobles and commons Some saie that he made the towne of Colchester in Essex but others write that Coill which reigned next after Asclepiodotus was the first founder of that towne but by other it should séeme to be built long before being called Camelodunum Finallie when this Coill had reigned the space of 54 yeares he departed this life at Yorke leauing after him a sonne named Lucius which succéeded in the kingdome LUcius the sonne of Coillus whose surname as saith William Harison is not extant
not through want of strength kéepe pace with their fellowes as they marched in order of battell they were slaine by their owne fellowes least they should be left behind for a prey to the enimies Héereby there died in this iournie of the Romane armie at the point of fiftie thousand men but yet would not Seuerus returne till he had gone through the whole I le and so came to the vttermost parts of all the countrie now called Scotland and at last backe againe to the other part of the I le subiect to the Romans the inhabitants whereof are named by Dion Cassius Meatae But first he forced the other whom the same Dion nameth Caledontj to conclude a league with him vpon such conditions as they were compelled to depart with no small portion of the countrie and to deliuer vnto him their armour and weapons In the meane time the emperour Seuerus being worne with age fell sicke so that he was constreined to abide at home within that part of the Ile which obeied the Romans and to appoint his sonne Antoninus to take charge of the armie abroad But Antoninus not regarding the enimies attempted little or nothing against them but sought waies how to win the fauour of the souldiers and men of warre that after his fathers death for which he dailie looked he might haue their aid and assistance to be admitted emperour in his place Now when he saw that his father bare out his sicknesse longer time than he would haue wished he practised with physicians and other of his fathers seruants to dispatch him by one meane or other Whilest Antoninus thus negligentlie looked to his charge the Britains began a new rebellion not onlie those that were latelie ioined in league with the emperour but the other also which were subiects to the Romane empire Seuerus tooke such displeasure that he called togither the souldiers and commanded them to inuade the countrie and to kill all such as they might méet within anie place without respect and that his cruell commandement he expressed in these verses taken out of Homer Nemo manus fugiat vestras caedémque cruentam Non foetus grauida mater quem gessit in aluo Horrendam effugiat caedem But while he was thus disquieted with the rebellion of the Britains and the disloiall practises of his sonne Antoninus which to him were not vnknowne for the wicked sonne had by diuers attempts discouered his traitorous and vnnaturall meanings at length rather through sorrow and griefe than by force of sicknesse he wasted awaie and departed this life at Yorke the third daie before the nones of Februarie after he had gouerned the empire by the space of 17 yeares 8 moneths 33 daies He liued 65 yeres 9 moneths 13 daies he was borne the third ides of April By that which before is recited out of Herodian and Dion Cassius of the maners vsages of those people against whome Seuerus held warre here in Britaine it maie be coniectured that they were the Picts the which possessed in those daies a great part of Scotland and with continuall incursions and rodes wasted and destroied to the borders of those countries which were subiect to the Romans To kéepe them backe therefore and to represse their inuasions Seuerus as some write either restored the former wall made by Adrian or else newlie built an other ouerthwart the I le from the east sea to the west conteining in length 232 miles This wall was not made of stone but of turfe and earth supported with stakes and piles of wood and defended on the backe with a déepe trench or ditch and also fortified with diuerse towers and turrets built erected vpon the same wall or rampire so néere togither that the sound of trumpets being placed in the same might be heard betwixt and so warning giuen from one to another vpon the first descrieng of the enimies Seuerus being departed out of this life in the yere of our Lord 211 his son Antoninus otherwise called also Bassianus would faine haue vsurped the whole gouernment into his owne hands attempting with bribes and large promises to corrupt the minds of the souldiers but when he perceiued that his purpose would not forward as he wished in that behalfe he concluded a league with the enimies and making peace with them returned backe towards Yorke and came to his mother and brother Geta with whome he tooke order for the buriall of his father And first his bodie being burnt as the maner was the ashes were put into a vessell of gold and so conueied to Rome by the two brethren and the empresse Iulia who was mother to Geta the yonger brother and mother in law to the elder Antoninus Bassianus by all meanes possible sought to maintaine loue and concord betwixt the brethren which now at the first tooke vpon them to rule the empire equallie togither But the ambition of Bassianus was such that finallie vpon desire to haue the whole rule himselfe he found meanes to dispatch his brother Geta breaking one daie into his chamber and slaieng him euen in his mothers lap and so possessed the gouernment alone till at length he was slaine at Edessa a citie in Mesopotamia by one of his owne souldiers as he was about to vntruffe his points to doo the office of nature after he had reigned the space of 6 yeares as is aforesaid Where we are to note Gods iudgment prouiding that he which had shed mans bloud should also die by the sword Of Carausius an obscure Britaine what countries he gaue the Picts and wherevpon his death by Alectus his successor the Romans foiled by Asclepiodotus duke of Cornewall whereof Walbrooke and the name the couetous practise of Carausius the vsurper The xxxiij Chapter CArausius a Britan of vnknowne birth as witnesseth the British histories after he had vanquisht slaine Bassianus as the same histories make mention was of the Britains made king and ruler ouer them in the yeare of our Lord 218 as Galfridus saith but W. H. noteth it to be in the yeare 286. This Carausius either to haue the aid support of the Picts as in the British historie is conteined either else to be at quietnesse with them being not otherwise able to resist them gaue to them the countries in the south parts of Scotland which ioine to England on the east marshes as Mers Louthian and others ¶ But here is to be noted that the British writers affirme that these Picts which were thus placed in the south parts of Scotland at this time were brought ouer out of Scithia by Fulgentius to aid him against Seuerus and that after the death of Seuerus and Fulgentius which bother died of hurts receiued in the batell fought betwixt them at Yorke the Picts tooke part with Bassianus and at length betraied him in the battell which he fought against Carausius for he corrupting them by such subtile practises as
haue growne vnto the Britains by receiuing certeine men of warre that fled out of Italie into Britaine whome the emperour Constantius would haue punished because they had taken part with Maxentius his aduersarie Paulus a Spaniard and notarie was sent ouer by him with commission to make inquirie of them and to sée them brought to light to answere their transgressions which Paulus began to deale roughlie in the matter whereof he was called Catera and to rage against the Britains and partakers with the fugitiues in that they had receiued and mainteined them as he alledged but in the â—nd being certified by Martinus the lieutenant of their innocencie and fearing least his extreame rigour might alienate the hearts of the inhabitants altogither and cause them to withdraw their obedience from the Romane empire he turned the execution of his furie from them vnto the Romans and made hauocke of those that he suspected till the said Martinus fell at square with him thinking on a time to kill him he drew his sword and smote at him But such was his age and weakenesse that he was not able to kill him or giue him anie deadlie wound wherefore he turned the point of his sword against himselfe and so ended his life being contented rather to die than sée his countriemen and subiects of the empire so to be abused After this the said Paulus returned backe againe into Italie from whence he came after whose departure it was not long yer he also was slaine and then all the Scots and Picts sore disquieted the Romane subiects for the suppressing of whose attempts Lupicinus was sent ouer out of Gallia by Iulianus as shall be declared out of Amianus Marcellinus after we haue first shewed what we find written in our owne writers concerning the Scots and Picts who now began to rob and spoile the British inhabitants within the Romane prouinces here in this I le and that euen in most outragious maner Maximianus or Maximus gouerneth this I le why writers speake ill of him strife betwixt him and Conan duke of Cornewall Maximus is proclaimed emperour in Britaine he transporteth the British youth seruiceable for warres into France little Britaine in France why so called eleuen thousand maids sent thither to match with Conans people whereof some were drowned and other some murthered in the way by Guanius king of Hunnes and Melga king of Picts they flie into Ireland murther requited with murther the words of Gyldas concerning Maximus The xxx Chapter AFter the deceasse of Octauius or Octauian as the old English chronicle nameth him Maximianus or Maximus as the Romane writers call him began to rule the Britains in the yéere of our Lord 383 he was the sonne of one Leonine and coosen germane to Constantine the great a valiant personage hardie of stomach but yet because he was cruell of nature and as Fabian saith somewhat persecuted the christians he was infamed by writers but the chiefe cause why he was euill reported was for that he slue his souereigne lord the emperour Gratianus as after shall appeare for otherwise he is supposed woorthie to haue had the rule of the empire committed to his hands in ech respect Betwixt him and the abouenamed Conan Meridoc duke of Cornewall chanced strife and debate so that Conan got him into Scotland and there purchasing aid returned and comming ouer Humber wasted the countrie on ech side Maximianus thereof hauing aduertisement raised his power and went against him and so fighting with him diuers battels sometime departed awaie with victorie and sometime with losse At length through mediation of friends a peace was made betwixt them Finallie this Maximianus or as the Romane histories say Maximus was by the souldiers chosen and proclaimed emperour here in Britaine although some write that this was doone in Spaine After he had taken vpon him the imperiall dignitie vpon desire to haue inlarged his dominion he assembled togither all the chosen youth of this land méet to doo seruice in the warres with the which he passed ouer into France there as our writers record he first subdued the countrie ancientlie called Armorica and slue in battell the king thereof called Imball This doone he gaue the countrie vnto Conan Meridoc which was there with him to hold the same of him and of the kings of great Britaine for euer He also commanded that the said countrie from thencefoorth should be called litle Britaine and so was the name changed What people soeuer inhabited there before the ancient name argueth that they were rather Britains than anie other for Armorica in the British toong signifieth as much as a countrie lieng vpon the sea Conan then placing himselfe and his Britains in that quarter of Gallia auoided all the old inhabitants peopling that countrie onelie with Britains which abhorring to ioine themselues with women borne in Gallia Conan was counselled to send into Britaine for maids to be coupled with his people in mariage Herevpon a messenger was dispatched vnto Dionethus at that time duke of Cornwall and gouernour of Britaine vnder Maximianus requiring him to send ouer into little Britaine 11000 maids that is to say 8000 to be bestowed vpon the meaner fort of Conans people and 3000 to be ioined in mariage with the nobles and gentlemen Dionethus at Conans request assembled the appointed number of maids and amongst them he also appointed his daugther Ursula a ladie of excellent beautie to go ouer and to be giuen in mariage to the foresaid Conan Meridoc as he had earnestlie requested These number of maids were shipped in Thames and passing forward toward Britaine were by force of weather and rage of wind scattered abroad and part or them drowned and the residue among whom was the foresaid Ursula were slaine by Guanius king of the Hunnes and Melga king of the Picts into whose hands they fell the which Guanius and Melga were sent by the emperour Gracian to the sea coasts of Germanie to oppresse and subdue all such as were friends and mainteiners of the part of Maximianus We find in some bookes that there were sent ouer at that time 51000 maids that is to say 11000 gentlewomen and 40000 other After that Guanius and Melga had murthered the foresaid virgins they entred into the north parts of Britaine where the Scots now inhabit and began to make sore warre on the Britains whereof when Maximus was aduertised he sent into Britaine one Gratianus with thrée legions of souldiers who bare himselfe so manfullie against the enimies that he constreined the said Guanius and Melga to flie out of the land and to withdraw into Ireland In this meane while Maximus hauing slaine the emperor Gratian at Lions in France and after entring into Italie was slaine himselfe at Aquilia after he had gouerned the Britains eight yéeres by the emperour Theodosius who came in aid of Ualentinian brother to the said emperor Gratian as ye may find in
after certeine bickerings he slue the said Constantine at Arles although not without great bloudshed He pursued also the residue of the Britains driuing them to the verie sea coasts where they shrowded themselues among the other Britains that before were setled in the countrie there ancientlie called as before we said Armorica that is a region lieng on the sea coast for Ar in the British toong signifieth vpon and Moure perteining to the sea And as this Constantine the father was slaine by Constantius so was Constans the sonne killed at Uienna by one of his owne capteines named Gerâ—ntius Whereby it came to passe that Honorius shortlie after hauing thus obteined the victorie of both these vsurpers recouered the Ile but yet not till the yeare next following and that by the high industrie and great diligence of that valiant gentleman earle Constantius The slaughter of Constantine his sonne happened in the 1 yeare of the 297 Olympiad 465 after the comming of Cesar 1162 after the building of Rome the dominicall letter being A and the golden number 13 so that the recouering of the Iland fell in the yeare of our Lord 411. Here also is eftsoones to be considered the valure of the British souldiers who following this last remembred Constantine the vsurper did put the Romane state in great danger and by force brake through into Spaine vanquishing those that kept the streicts of the mounteins betwixt Spaine and Gallia now called France an exploit of no small consequence sith thereby the number of barbarous nations got frée passage to enter into Spaine whereof insued manie battels sacking of cities and townes and wasting of the countries accordinglie as the furious rage of those fierce people was mooued to put their crueltie in practise ¶ If therefore the Britaine writers had considered and marked the valiant exploits and noble enterprises which the Brittish aids armies and legions atchiued in seruice of the Romane emperours by whome whilest they had the gouernement ouer this I le there were at sundrie times notable numbers conueied foorth into the parties of beyond the seas as by Albinus and Constantius also by his sonne Constantine the great by Maximus and by this Constantine both of them vsurpers if I saie the British writers had taken good note of the numbers of the British youth thus conueied ouer from hence what notable exploits they boldlie attempted no lesse manfullie atchiued they néeded not to haue giuen eare vnto the fabulous reports forged by their Bards of Arthur and other their princes woorthie in déed of verie high commendation And pitie it is that their fame should be brought by such meanes out of credit by the incredible and fond fables which haue béene deuised of their acts so vnlike to be true as the tales of Robin Hood or the gests written by Ariost the Italian in his booke intituled Orlando furioso sith the same writers had otherwise true matter inough to write of concerning the worthie feats by their countriemen in those daies in forren parts boldlie enterprised and no lesse valiantlie accomplished as also the warres which now and then they mainteined against the Romans here at home in times when they felt themselues oppressed by their tyrannicall gouernment as by that which is written before of Caratacus Uoadicia Cartimandua Uenusius Galgagus or Galdus as some name him and diuers other who for their noble valiancies deserue as much praise as by toong or pen is able to be expressed But now to returne vnto the British historie we will procéed in order with their kings as we find them in the same mentioned and therefore we haue thought good to speake somewhat further of Gratian from whome we haue digressed Gratians rough regiment procureth his owne destruction the comming of his two brethren Guanius and Melga with their armies the Scots and Picts plague the Britains they send for aid to Rome Valentinian sendeth Gallio Rauenna to releeue them the Romans refuse anie longer to succour the Britains whom they taught how to make armour and weapons the Scots and Picts enter afresh into Britaine and preuaile the Britains are brought to extreme miserie ciuill warres among them and what mischiefe dooth follow therevpon their lamentable letter to Actius for succour against their enimies their sute is denied at what time the Britains ceased to be tributaries to the Romans they send ambassadors to the K. of Britaine in France and obteine their sute The xxxiij Chapter GRatianus then whome Maximus or Maximinus had sent into Britaine as before ye haue heard hearing that his maister was slaine tooke vpon him the rule of this our Britaine and made himselfe king therof in the yeare 390. He was a Britaine borne as Polydor writeth coniecturing so by that he is named of authors to be Municeps that is to saie a frée man of the countrie or citie where he inhabited For his sternehesse and rough gouernement he was of the Britains as the histories alledge slaine and dispatched out of the waie after he had reigned the space of foure yeares or rather foure moneths as should seeme by that which is found in autentike writers Then the forenamed kings Guanius and Melga which as some write were brethren returned into this land with their armies increased with new supplies of men of warre as Scots Danes the Norwegians and destroied the countrie from side to side For the Britains in this season were sore inféebled and were not able to make anie great numbers of souldiers by reason that Maximus had led foorth of the land the floure and chiefest choise of all the British youth into Gallia as before ye haue heard Gyldas maketh no mention of these two kings Guanius and Melga of the Hunnes but rehearsing this great destruction of the land declareth as before ye haue heard that the Scots and Picts were the same that did all the mischiefe whome he calleth two nations of beyond the seas the Scots comming out of the northwest and the Picts out of the northeast by whome as he saith the land was ouerrun and brought vnder foot manie yeares after Therefore the Britains being thus vexed spoiled and cruellie persecuted by the Scots and Picts if we shall so take them sent messengers with all spéed vnto Rome to make sute for some aid of men of war to be sent into Britaine Wherevpon immediatlie a legion of souldiers was sent thither in the yéere 414 which easilie repelled the enimies and chased them backe with great slaughter to the great comfort of the Britains the which by this meanes were deliuered from danger of vtter destruction as they thought But the Romans being occasioned to depart againe out of the land appointed the Britains to make a wall as had béene aforetime by the emperours Adrian Antoninus and Seuerus ouerthwart the countrie from sea to sea stretching from Penuelton vnto the citie of Aclud whereby the enimies might be staid from entring the land but this
trumpets had blowne the sound to battell through out the whole Romane empire most cruell nations being stirred vp inuaded the borders next adioining the Almans wasted and destroied the parts of Gallia and Rhetia as the Sarmatians and Quadi did Pannonia the Picts the Saxons the Scots and the Attacots vexed the Britains with continuall troubles and gréeuous damages the Austorians and the people of the Moores ouerran the countrie of Affrike more sharpelie than in time past they had done the pilfring troops of the Goths spoiled Thracia the king of Persia set in hand to subdue the Armenians and sought to bring them vnder his obeisance hasting with all spéed toward Numonia pretending though vniustlie that now after the deceasse of Iouinius with whome he had contracted a league and bond of peace there was no cause of let what he ought not to recouer those things which as he alledged did belong to his ancestors and so foorth Moreouer the same Marcellinus in another place writeth in this wise where he speaketh of the said Ualentinianus Departing therefore from Amiens and hasting to Trier he was troubled with gréeuous newes that were brought him giuing him to vnderstand that Britaine by a conspiracie of the barbarous nations was brought to vtter pouertie that Nectaridus one of the emperours house earle of the sea coast hauing charge of the parties towards the sea was slaine and that the generall Bulchobaudes was circumuented by traines of the enimies These things with great horrour being knowne he sent Seuerus as then erle or as I may call him lord steward of his houshold to reforme things that were amisse if hap would so permit who being shortlie called backe Iouinius going thither and with spéed hasting forward sent for more aid and a great power of men as the instant necessitie then required At length for manie causes and the same greatlie to be feared the which were reported and aduertised out of that I le Theodosius was elected and appointed to go thither a man of approoued skill in warlike affaires and calling togither an hardie youthfull number of the legions and cohorts of men of warre he went foorth no small hope being conceiued of his good spéed the fame wherof spred and went afore him A litle after Marcellinus adding what people they were that troubled the Britains in this wise saith thus This shall suffice to be said that in this season the Picts diuided into two nations Dicalidones and Victuriones and in like maner the Attacotti a right warlike nation and the Scots wandering here and there made fowle woorke in places where they came The confines of France were disquieted by the Frankeners and Saxons borderers vnto them euerie one as they could breaking foorth dooing great harme by cruell spoile fire and taking of prisoners To withstand those dooings if good fortune would giue him leaue that most able capteine going vnto the vttermost bounds of the earth when he came to the coast of Bullen which is seuered from the contrarie coast on the other side by the sea with a narrow streight where sometime the water goeth verie high and rough shortlie after becommeth calme pleasant without hurt to those that passe the same transporting ouer at leasure he arriued at Sandwich or rather Richburrow where there is a quiet road for vessels to lie at anchor Wherevpon the Bataui and Heruli with the souldiers of the legions called Iouij and Victores being companies that trusted well to their owne strength marched foorth drew towards London an ancient citie which now of late hath bin called Augusta Herewith diuiding his armie into sundrie parts he set vpon the troops of his enimies as they were abroad to forrey the countrie pestered with burdens of their spoiles and pillage and spéedilie putting them to flight as they were leading away those prisoners which they had taken with their booties of cattell he bereft them of their preie the which the poore Britains that were tributaries had lost To be briefe restoring the whole except a small portion bestowed amongst the wearie souldiers he entred the citie which before was opprest with troubles but now suddenlie refreshed bicause there was hope of reliefe and assured preseruation After this when Theodosius was comforted with prosperous successe to attempt things of greater importance and searching waies how with good aduise to woorke suerlie whilest he remained doubtfull what would insue he learned as well by the confession of prisoners taken as also by the information of such as were fled from the enimies that the scattered people of sundrie nations which with practise of great crueltie were become fierce and vndanted could not be subdued but by policie secretlie practised and sudden inuasions At length therefore setting foorth his proclamations and promising pardon to those that were gone awaie from their capteins or charge he called them backe againe to serue and also those that by licence were departed and laie scattered here and there in places abroad By this meanes when manie were returned he being on the one side earnestlie prouoked and on the other holden backe with thoughtfull cares required to haue one Ciuilis by name sent to him to haue the rule of the prouinces in Britaine in steed of the other gouernours a man of sharpe wit and an earnest mainteiner of iustice He likewise required that one Dulcitius a capteine renowmed in knowledge of warlike affaires might be sent ouer to him for his better assistance These things were doone in Britaine Againe in his eight and twentith booke the same Marcellinus reciting further what the same Theodosius atchiued in Britaine hath in effect these words Thedosius verelie a capteine of woorthie fame taking a valiant courage to him and departing from Augusta which men of old time called London with souldiers assembled by great diligence did succour and reléeue greatlie the decaied and troubled state of the Britains preuenting euerie conuenient place where the barbarous people might lie in wait to doo mischiefe and nothing he commanded the meane souldiers to doo but that whereof he with a chéerefull mind would first take in hand to shew them in example By this meanes accomplishing the roome of a valiant souldier and fulfilling the charge of a noble capteine he discomfited and put to flight sundrie nations whome presumption nourished by securitie emboldened to inuade the Romane prouinces and so the cities and castels that had béene sore endamaged by manifold losses and displeasures were restored to their former state of wealth the foundation of rest and quietnesse being laid for a long season after to insue But as these things were a dooing one wicked practise was in hand like to haue burst foorth to the gréeuous danger of setting things in broile if it had not béene staied euen in the beginning of the first attempt For there was one Ualentinus borne in the parties of Ualeria adioining to Pannonia
had attempted to inuade the Britains before anie mention is made of the same their attempts by the British and English writers But whether the Scots had anie habitation within the bounds of Britaine till the time supposed by the Britaine writers we leaue that point to the iudgement of others that be trauelled in the search of such antiquities onelie admonishing you that in the Scotish chronicle you shall find the opinion which their writers haue conceiued of this matter and also manie things touching the acts of the Romans doone against diuerse of the Britains which they presume to be doone against their nation though shadowed vnder the generall name of Britains or of other particular names at this daie to most men vnknowne But whensoeuer the Scots came into this I le they made the third nation that inhabited the same comming first out of Scithia or rather out of Spaine as some suppose into Ireland and from thence into Britaine next after the Picts though their writers fetch a farre more ancient beginning as in their chronicles at large appéereth referring them to the reading thereof that desire to vnderstand that matter as they set it foorth Thus farre the dominion and tribute of the Romans ouer this land of Britaine which had continued by the collection of some chronographers the space of 483. yeeres And heere we thinke it conuenient to end this fourth booke THE FIFT BOOKE of the Historie of England Constantinus at the generall sute of the Britains vndertaketh to gouerne this Iland he is crowned king his three sonnes he is traitorouslie slaine of a Pict Constantius the eldest sonne of Constantine hauing bene a monke is created king the ambitious slie practises of duke Vortigerne to aspire to the gouernment he procureth certeine Picts and Scots to kill the king who had reteined them for the gard of his person his craftie deuises and deepe dissimulation vnder the pretense of innocencie he winneth the peoples harts and is chosen their king The first Chapter HAuing ended our former booke with the end of the Romane power ouer this Iland wherein the state of the Iland vnder them is at full described it remaineth now that we procéed to declare in what state they were after the Romans had refused to gouerne them anie longer Wherefore we will addresse our selues to saie somewhat touching the succession of the British kings as their histories make mention Constantinus the brother of Aldroenus king of little Britaine at the sute and earnest request of the archbishop of London made in name of all the Britains in the I le of great Britaine was sent into the same I le by his said brother Aldroenus vpon couenants ratified in manner as before is recited and brought with him a conuenient power landing with the same at Totnesse in Deuonshire Immediatlie after his coÌ„ming on land he gathered to him a great power of Britains which before his landing were hid in diuerse places of the I le Then went he foorth with them and gaue battell to the enimies whom he vanquished slue that tyrannicall king Guanius there in the field as some bookes haue Howbeit this agréeth not with the Scotish writers which affirme that they got the field but yet lost their king named Dongard as in their historie ye maie read But to procéed as our writers report the matter When the Britains had thus ouercome their enimies they conueied their capteine the said Constantine vnto Cicester and there in fullfilling their promise and couenant made to his brother crowned him king of great Britaine in the yéere of our Lord 433 which was about the fift yéere of the emperour Ualentinianus the second and third yéere of Clodius king of the Frankners after called Frenchmen which then began to settle themselues in Gallia whereby the name of that countrie was afterwards changed and called France Constantine being thus established king ruled the land well and noblie and defended it from all inuasion of enimie during his life He begat of his wife thrée sonnes as the British historie affirmeth Constantius Aurelius Ambrosius and Uter surnamed Pendragon The eldest bicause he perceiued him to be but dull of wit and not verie toward he made a moonke placing him within the abbie of Amphibalus in Winchester Finallie this Constantine after he had reigned ten yéeres was traitoroustie staine one day in his owne chamber as some write by a Pict who was in such fauor with him that he might at all times haue frée accesse to him at his pleasure Neither the Romane writers nor Beda make anie mention of this Constantine but of the other Constantine they write which immediatlie after the vsurper Gratian was dispatched out of the way as before ye haue heard was aduanced to the rule of this land and title of emperour onelie in hope of his name and for no other respect of towardnesse in him afore time being but a meane souldier without anie degrée of honour The same Constantine as writers record going ouer into Gallia adorned his sonne Constantius with the title and dignitie of Cesar the which before was a moonke and finallie as well the one as the other were slaine the father ar Arles by earls Constantius that was sent against him by the emperour Honorius and the sonne at Uienna as before ye haue heard by one of his owne court called Gerontius as in the Italian historie ye may sée more at large This chanced about the yeere of our Lord 415. ¶ This haue we thought good to repeat in this place for that some may suppose that this Constantine is the same that our wrâ—ters take to be the brother of Aldroenus king of little Britaine as the circumstance of the time and other things to be considered may giue them occasion to thinke for that there is not so much credit to be yéelded to them that haue written the British histories but that in some part men may with iust cause doubt of sundrie matters conteined in the same and therfore haue we in this booke béene the more diligent to shew what the Romans and other forreine writers haue registred in their bookes of histories touching the affaires of Britaine that the reader may be the better satisfied in the truth But now to returne to the sequele of the historie as we find the same written by the British chroniclers After that Constantine was murthered as before ye haue heard one Uortigerus or Uortigernus a man of great authoritie amongst the Britains wrought so with the residue of the British nobilitie that Constantius the eldest sonne of their king the fore-remembred Constantine was taken out of the abbie of Winchester where he remained and was streightwaies created king as lawfull inheritour to his father Ye haue heard how Constantius was made a moonke in his fathers life time bicause he was thought to be too soft and childish in wit to haue anie publike rule committed to his hands
the same daies tooke name of them the one being called Wodensdaie and the other Freadaie which woords after in continuance of time by corruption of spéech were somewhat altered though not much as from Wodensdaie to Wednesdaie and from Freadaie to Fridaie The foresaid Woden was father to Uecta the father of Westgistus that was father to the foresaid Hengistus and Horsus But now to rehearse further touching those thrée people which at this time came ouer into Britaine out of Germanie Of the Uites or Iutes as Beda recordeth are the Kentishmen descended and the people of the I le of Wight with those also that inhabit ouer against the same I le Of the Saxons came the east the south the west Saxons Moreouer of the Angles procéeded the east Angles the middle Angles or Mercies and the Northerne men That these Angles were a people of Germanie it appeareth also by Cornelius Tacitus who called them Anglij which word is of thrée syllables as Polydor saith but some write it Angli with two syllables And that these Angli or Anglij were of no small force and authoritie in Germanie before their comming into this land maie appeare in that they are numbred amongst the twelue nations there which had lawes and ancient ordinances apart by themselues according to the which the state of their common wealth was gouerned they being the same and one people with the Thuringers as in the title of the old Thuringers lawes we find recorded which is thus Lex Angliorum Werinorum hoc est Thuringorum The law of the Angles and Werinians that is to saie the Thuringers which Thuringers are a people in Saxonie as in the description of that countrie it maie appeare But now to the matter Hengist perceiuing that his people were highlie in Uortigernes fauour began to handle him craftilie deuising by what means he might bring him in loue with his daughter Ronix or Rowen or Ronowen as some write which he beléeued well would easilie be brought to passe bicause he vnderstood that the king was much giuen to sensuall lust which is the thing that often blindeth wise mens vnderstanding and maketh them to dote and to lose their perfect wits yea and oftentimes bringeth them to destruction though by such pleasant poison they féele no bitter taste till they be brought to the extreame point of confusion in déed A great supper therefore was prepared by Hengist at the which it pleased the king to be present and appointed his daughter when euerie man began to be somewhat merrie with drinke to bring in a cup of gold full of good and pleasant wine and to present it to the kingâ—â— saieng Wassail Which she did in such comelie and decent maner as she that knew how to doo it well inough so as the king maruelled greatlie thereat and not vnderstanding what she ment by that salutation demanded what it signified To whom it was answered by Hengist that she wished him well and the meaning of it was that he should drinke after hir ioining thereto this answer Drinke haile Wherevpon the king as he was informed tooke the cup at the damsels hand and dranke Finallie this yoong ladie behaued hir selfe with such pleasant woords comelie countenance and amiable grace that the king beheld hir so long till he felt himselfe so farre in loue with hir person that he burned in continuall desire to inioy the same insomuch that shortlie after he forsooke his owne wife by the which he had thrée sonnes named Uortimerus Catagrinus and Pascentius and required of Hengist to haue his daughter the said Rowen or Ronowen in mariage Hengist at the first séemed strange to grant to his request and excused the matter for that his daughter was not of estate and dignitie méet to be matched with his maiestie But at length as it had béene halfe against his will he consented and so the mariage was concluded solemnized all Kent being assigned vnto Hengist in reward the which countrie was before that time gouerned by one Guorongus though not with most equall iustice which Guorongus was subiect vnto Uortigerne as all other the potentats of the I le were This mariage and liberalitie of the king towards the strangers much offended the minds of his subiects and hastened the finall destruction of the land For the Saxons now vnderstanding the affinitie had betwixt the king and Hengist came so fast ouer to inhabit héere that it was woonder to consider in how short a time such a multitude could come togither so that bicause of their great number and approoued puissance in warres they began to be a terrour to the former inhabitants the Britains But Hengist being no lesse politike in counsell than valiant in armes abusing the kings lacke of discretion to serue his owne turne persuaded him to call out of Germanie his brother Occa and his sonne named Ebusa being men of great valure to the end that as Hengist defended the land in the south part so might they keepe backe the Scots in the north Héerevpon by the kings consent they came with a power out of Germanie and coasting about the land they sailed to the Iles of Orknie and sore vexed the people there and likewise the Scots and Picts also and finallie arriued in the north parts of the realme now called Northumberland where they setled themselues at that present and so continued there euer after but none of them taking vpon him the title of king till about 99 yéeres after their first comming into that countrie but in the meane time remaining as subiects vnto the Saxon kings of Kent After their arriuall in that prouince they oftentimes fought with the old inhabitants there and ouercame them chasing away such as made resistance and appeased the residue by receiuing them vnder allegiance When the nobles of Britaine saw and perceiued in what danger the land stood by the dailie repaire of the huge number of Saxons into the same they first consulted togither and after resorting to the king mooued him that some order might be taken for the auoiding of them or the more part of them least they should with their power and great multitude vtterlie oppresse the British nation But all was in vaine for Uortigerne so estéemed and highlie fauoured the Saxons and namelie by reason of the great loue which he bare to his wife that he little regarded his owne nation no nor yet anie thing estéemed his owne naturall kinsmen and chiefe friends by reason whereof the Britains in fine depriued him of all kinglie honour after that he had reigned 16 yéeres and in his steed crowned his sonne Uortimer Gyldas and Beda make no mention of Uortimer but declare that after the Saxons were receiued into this land there was a couenant made betwixt them and the Britains that the Saxons should defend the countrie from the inuasion of enimies by their knightlie force and that in
and in most louing sort but after they were a little entred into communication Hengist meaning to accomplish his deuised purpose gaue the watchword immediatlie wherevpon the Saxons drew out their kniues and suddenlie fell on the Britains and slue them as shéepe being fallen within the danger of woolues For the Britains had no weapons to defend themselues except anie of them by his strength and manhood got the knife of his enimie Amongst other of the Britains there was one Edol earle of Glocester or as other say Chester which got a slake out of an hedge or else where and with the same so defended himselfe and laid about him that he slue 17 of the towne of Ambrie now called Salisburie and so saued his owne life Uortiger was taken and kept as prisoner by Hengist till he was constreined to deliuer vnto Hengist thrée prouinces or countries of this realme that is to say Kent Essex or as some write that part where the south Saxons after did inhabit as Sussex and other the third was the countrie where the Estangles planted themselues which was in Norfolke and Suffolke Then Hengist being in possession of those thrée prouinces suffered Uortigerne to depart to be at his libertie ¶ William Malmesburie writeth somewhat otherwise of this taking of Uortigerne during whose reigne after the deceasse of his sonne Uortimer nothing was attempted against the Saxons but in the meane time Hengist by colorable craft procured his sonne in law Uortigerne to come to a banket at his house with three hundred other Britains and when he had made them well and warme with often quaffing and emptieng of cups and of purpose touched euerie of them with one bitter tawnt or other they first fell to multiplieng of malicious words and after to blowes that the Britains were slaine euerie mothers sonne so yéelding vp their ghosts euen amongst their pots The king himselfe was taken and to redéeme himselfe out of prison gaue to the Saxons thrée prouinces and so escaped out of bondage Thus by what meane soeuer it came to passe truth it is as all writers agrée that Hengist got possession of Kent and of other countries in this realme and began to reigne there as absolute lord gouernor in the yéere of our Lord as some write 476 about the fift yéere of Uortigerns last reigne but after other which take the beginning of this kingdome of Kent to be when Hengist had first gift therof the same kingdome began in the yéere 455 and conteined the countrie that stretcheth from the east Ocean vnto the riuer of Thames hauing on the southeast Southerie and vpon the west London vpon the northeast the riuer of Thames aforesaid and the countrie of Essex The heptarchie or seuen kingdoms of this land Hengist causeth Britaine to be peopled with Saxons the decaie of Christian religion the Pelagians with their hereticall and falle doctrine infect the Britains a synod summoned in Gallia for the redresse thereof the Scots assist the Britains against the Saxons who renew their league with the Picts Germane and Lupus two bishops of Germanie procure the British armie to be newlie christened the terror that the Britains vnder bishop Germans fortunate conduct draue into the Saxons by the outcrie of Alleluia and got the victorie bishop Germane departeth out of the land and to redresse the Pelagian heresie commeth againe at the clergies request he confirmeth his doctrine by a miracle banisheth the Pelagians out of the land the death of Germane murther requited with murther The vj. Chapter HEngist and all other the Saxon kings which ruled as after shall appeare in seuen parts of this realme are called by writers Reguli that is little kings or rulers of some small dominion so that Hengist is counted a little king who when he had got into his hands the foresaid thrée prouinces he caused more Saxons to come into Britaine and bestowed them in places abroad in the countrie by reason whereof the christian religion greatlie decaied within the land for the Saxons being pagans did that they could to extinguish the faith of Christ and to plant againe in all places their heathenish religion and woorshipping of false gods and not onelie hereby was the true faith of the Christians brought in danger dailie to decaie but also the erronious opinions of the Pelagians greatlie preuailed here amongst the Britains by meanes of such vnsound preachers as in that troublesome season did set forth false doctrin◠amongst the people without all maner of reprehension Certeine yéeres before the comming of the Saxons that heresie began to spread within this land vrrie much by the lewd industrie of one Leporius Agricola the sonne of Seuerus Sulpitius as Bale saith a bishop of that lore But Pelagius the author of this heresie was borne in Wales and held opinion that a man might obteine saluation by his owne frée will and merit and without assistance of grace as he that was borne without originall sinne c. This erronious doctrine being taught therefore and mainteined in this troublesome time of warres with the Saxons sore disquieted the godlie minded men amongst the Britains who not meaning to receiue it nor yet able well to confute the craftie and wicked persuasions vsed by the professors thereof thought good to send ouer into Gallia requiring of the bishops there that some godlie and profound learned men might be sent ouer from thence into this land to defend the cause of the true doctrine against the naughtie teachers of so blasphemous an error Whervpon the bishops of Gallia sore lamenting the miserable state of the Britains and desirous to relieue their present néed speciallie in that case of religion called a synod and therein taking counsell to consider who were most méet to be sent it was decréed by all their consents in the end that one Germane the bishop of Aurerre and Lupus bishop of Trois should passe ouer into Britaine to confirme the Christians there in the faith of the celestiall grace And so those two vertuous learned men taking their iournie finallie arriued in Britaine though not without some danger by sea through stormes rage of winds stirred as hath beene thought of the superstitious by the malice of wicked spirits who purposed to haue hindered their procéedings in this their good and well purposed iournie After they were come ouer they did so much good with conuincing the wicked arguments of the aduersaries of the truth by the inuincible power of the woord of God and holinesse of life that those which were in the wrong waie were soone brought into the right path againe About the same time also one Palladius was sent from Celestinus bishop of Rome vnto the Scots to instruct them in the faith of Christ and to purge them from the heresie of the said Pelagius This Palladius exhorted Constantinus the king of Scots that in no wise he should aid the
same churches Also for a perpetuall memorie of those Britains that were slaine on the plaine of Salisburie by the treason of Hengist he caused stones to be fetched out of Ireland and to be set vp in the same place where that slaughter was committed and called the place Stoneheng which name continueth vnto this day Fiftéene thousand men as Galfrid ◠saith were sent for those stones vnder the leading of Uter Pendragon the kings brother who giuing battell vnto Gillomanus king of Ireland that went about to resist the Britains and would not permit them to fetch away the same stones out of his countrie discomfited him and his people and so maugre his hart brought the stones away with him Shortlie after Pascentius that was Uortigerns yoongest sonne and had escaped into Ireland when Aurelius Ambrosius came into Britaine returned with a great power of strange nations and tooke the citie of Meneuia in Wales afterwards called saint Dauids and did much hurt in the countrie with fire and swoord At which time the same Aurelius Ambrosius lay sicke at Winchester and being not able to go foorth himselfe desired his brother Uter Pendragon to assemble an armie of Britains and to go against Pascentius and his adherents Uter according to his brothers request gathering his people went foorth and incountering with the enimies gaue them the ouerthrow slue Pascentius and Gillomare or Gilloman king of Ireland that was come ouer with him in aid against the Britains In the meane while a Saxon or some other stranger whose name was Eopa or Copa not long before procured thereto by Pascentius fained himselfe to be a Britaine and for a colour counterfeiting himselfe a moonke and to haue great knowledge in physicke was admitted to minister as it were medicins to Aurelius but in stead of that which should haue brought him health he gaue him poison wherof he died shortlie after at Winchester aforesaid when he had reigned after most accord of writers nintéene yeeres his bodie was conueied to Stoneheng and there buried ¶ Thus find we in the British and common English histories of the dooings of Aurelius Ambrosius who as ye haue hard makes him a Britaine borne and descended of the bloud of the ancient Britains But Gyldas and Beda report him to be a Romane by descent as before is mentioned Polydor Virgil writeth in this sort of the victorious acts atchiued by the foresaid Aurelius Ambrosius Then saith he the Saxons hauing alreadie gotten the whole rule of the I le practised their outragious cruelties speciallie against the princes of the Britains to the end that the said princes being ouercome and destroied they might with more ease obteine possession of the whole I le which thing they on-like sought But the fauour of almightie God was not wanting to the miserable Britains in that great necessitie For behold Aurelius Ambrosius was at hand who had no sooner caused the trumpet to sound to armor but euerie man for himselfe prepared and repaired vnto him praieng beseeching him to helpe to defend them and that it might stand with his pleasure to go foorth with them against the enimies in all speed Thus an armie being assembled Aurelius Ambrosius went against them and valiantlie assailed them so that within the space of a few daies they fought thrée battels with great fiercenesse on both sides in triall of their high displeasures and vttermost forces in which at length the Britains put the Saxons to flight Horsus the brother of Hengist being slaine with a great number of his people But yet notwithstanding the enimies rage was little abated hereby for within a few daies after receiuing out of Germanie a new supplie of men they brake foorth vpon the Britains with great confidence of victorie Aurelius Ambrosius was no sooner aduertised thereof but that without delaie he set forward towards Yorke from whence the enimies should come and hearing by the way that Hengist was incamped about seuen twentie miles distant from that citie néere to the banke of a riuer at this day called Dune in the place where Doncaster now standeth he returned out of his waie and marched towards that place and the next day set on the enimie and vanquished him Hengist at the first méeting of the battell being slaine with a 〈◊〉 number of the Germans The fame of this 〈◊〉 saith Polydor is had in memorie with the inhabitants of those parties euen vnto this day which victorie did sore diminish the power of the Saxons insomuch that they began now to thinke it should be more for their profit to sit in rest with that dishonour than to make anie new warres to their great disaduantage and likelihood of present losse Hengist left behind him two sonnes Osca and and Occa which as men most sorowfull for the ouerthrow of fate receiued assembled such power as they could togither and remooued therewith towards the west part of the I le supposing it to be better for them to draw that way foorth than to returne into Kent where they thought was alreadie a sufficient number of their people to resist the Britains on that side Now therefore when they came into the west parts of the land they wasted the countrie burnt villages and absteined from no maner of crueltie that might be shewed These things being reported vnto Aurelius Ambrosius he straightwaies hasted thither to resist those enimies and so giuing them battell eftsoones discomfited them but he himselfe receiuing a wound died thereof within a few daies after The English Saxons hauing thus susteined so manie losses within a few moneths togither were contented to be quiet now that the Britains stirred nothing against them by reason they were brought into some trouble by the death of such a noble capteine as they had now lost In the meane time Uortimer died whome Uier surnamed Pendragon succéeded Thus hath Polydor written of the forsaid Aurelius Ambrosius not naming him to be king of Britaine and differing in déed in sundrie points in this behalfe from diuerse ancient writers of the English histories for where he attributeth the victorie to the Britains in the battell fought wherein Horsus the brother of Hengist was slaine by the report of Polychronicon and others the Saxons had the victorie in that reincounter and William of Malmesburie saith that they departed from that batell with equall fortune the Saxons losing their capteine Horsus and the Britains their capteine Katigerne as before ye haue heard But there is such contrarietie in writers touching the dooings betwixt the Britains and Saxons in those daies as well in account of yéeres as in report of things doone that setting affection aside hard it is to iudge to which part a man should giue credit For Fabian and other authors write that Aurelius Ambrosius began his reigne ouer the Britains about the yéere of our Lord 481 and Horsus was slaine about the yéere 458 during the reigne of Uortimer as aboue is
mentioned so that it cannot stand with the truth of the British histories the which Fabian followeth that Horsus was slaine by Aurelius Ambrosius if according to the same histories he returned not into Britaine till the time there supposed But diuerse such maner oh contrarieties shall ye find in perusing of those writers that haue written the chronicles of the Britains and Saxons the which in euerie point to recite would be too tedious and combersome a matter and therefore we are forced to passe the same ouer not knowing how to bring them to anie lust accord for the satisfieng of all mens minds speciallie the curious which may with diligent search satisfie themselues happilie much better than anie other shall be able to doo in vttering his opinion neuer so much at large and agreeable to a truth This therefore haue we thought good as it were by the waie to touch what diuerse authors doo write leauing it so to euerie mans iudgement to construe thereof as his affection leadeth him We find in the writings of those that haue registred the dooings of these times that Aurelius hauing vanquished the Saxons restored churches to the furtherance of the christian religion which by the inuasion of the Saxons was greatlie decaied in diuerse parts of Britaine and this chanced in the daies of the emperour Theodosius the yoonger The beginning of the kingdome of the Southsaxons commonlie called Sussex the Britains with their rulers giue battell to Ella the Saxon his three sonnes disagreement betweene the English and British chronographers about the battel 's fought by Hengist and his death the beginning of the Kentish kingdome a battell fought betweene the Britains and Saxons the first are conquered the last are conquerors The ninth Chapter IN the time of the foresaid Aurelius Ambrosius one Ella a Saxon with his 3 sonnes Cymen Plettinger and Cissa came out of Germanie with thrée ships and landed in the south parts of Britaine and being incountred with a power of Britains at a place called Cuneueshore discomfited them and chased them vnto a wood then called Andredescester and so tooke that countrie and inhabited there with his people the Saxons which he brought with him and made himselfe king and lord thereof in somuch that afterwards the same countrie was named the kingdome of the Southsaxons which had for limits on the east side Kent on the south the sea and I le of Wight on the west Hamshire and on the north part Southerie This kingdome after some began vnder the foresaid Ella about the 32 yeere after the first comming of the Saxons into this land which by following that account should be about the second yéere of the reigne of Aurelius Ambrosius and about the yéere of our Lord 482. But other write that it did begin about the 30 yéere after the first comming of Hengist which should be two yéeres sooner William Harison differing from all other noteth it to begin in the fourth yéere after the death of Hengist 4458 of the world 2 of the 317 Olympiad 1243 of Rome 492 of Christ and 43 after the comming of the Saxons his woords are these Ella erected the kingdome of the Southsaxons in the 15 after his arriuall and reigned 32 yéeres the chiefe citie of his kingdome also was Chichester and after he had inioied the same his kingdome a while he ouerthrew the citie called Andredescester which as then was taken for one of the most famous in all the south side of England ¶ For my part I thinke my dutie discharged if I shew the opinions of the writers for if I should therto a◠mine owne I should but increase coniectures whereof alreadie we haeu superfluous store To procéed thereforr as I find About the ninth yéere after the comming of Ella the Britains perceiuing that he with his Saxons still inlarged the bounds of his lordship by entring further into the land assembled themselues togither vnder their kings and rulers and gaue battell to Ella and his sonnes at Mecredesbourne where they departed with doubtfull victorie the armies on both sides being sore diminished and so returned to their homes Ella after this battell sent into his countrie for more aid But now touching Hengist who as ye haue heard reigned as king in the prouince of Kent the writers of the Wnglish kings varie somewhat from the British histories both in report of the battels by him fought against the Britains and also for the maner of his death as thus After that Uortimer was dead who departed this life as some write in the first yéere of the emperor Leo surnamed the great and first of that name that gouerned the empire who began to rule in the yéere of our Lord 457 we find that Hengist and his sonne Occa or Osca gathered their people togither that were before sparkled and hauing also receiued new aid out of Germanie fought with the Britans at a place called Crekenford where were slaine of the Britains foure dukes or capteins and foure thousand of other men the residue were chased by Hengist out of Kent vnto London so that they neuer returned afterwards againe into Kent thus the kingdome of Kent began vnder Hengist the twelfe yéere after the comming of the Saxons into Britaine and Hengist reigned in Kent after this as the same writers agree foure and twentie yéeres It is remembred that those Germans which latelie were come ouer to the aid of Hengist being chosen men mightie and strong of bodie with their axes and swoords made great slaughter of the Britains in that battell at Crekenford or Creiford which Britains were ranged in foure battels vnder their aforesaid foure dukes or capteins and were as before is mentioned slaine in the same battell About the sixt yéere of the said emperor Leo which was in the 17 yéere after the comming of the Saxons Hengist and his sonne Occa or Osca fought at Wipets field in Kent néere to a place called Tong with the Britains and slue of them twelue dukes or capteins on the part of the Saxons was slaine beside common souldiers but onelie one capteine called Wipet of whom the place after that daie tooke name This victorie was nothing plesant to the Saxons by reason of the great losse which they susteined as well by the death of the said Wipet as of a great number of others and so of a long time neither did the Saxons enter into the confines of the Britains nor the Britains presumed to come into Kent But whilest outward wars ceassed among the Britains they exercised ciuill battell falling togither by the eares among themselues one striuing against another Finallie Hengist departed this life by course of nature in the 39 yéere after his first comming into Britaine hauing procéeded in his businesse no lesse with craft and guile than with force and strength following therewith his natiue crueltie so that he rather did all things with rigour than with gentlenesse
season at sundrie times diuers great companies of the Saxons came ouer into Britaine out of Germanie and got possession of the countries of Mercia and Eastangle but as yet those of Mercia had no one king that gouerned them but were vnder certeine noble men that got possession of diuers parts in that countrie by means wherof great warres and manie incounters insued with a common waste of land both arable and habitable whiles each one being ambitiouslie minded heaping to themselues such powers as they were able to make by swoord and bloudshed chose rather to haue their fortune decided than by reason to suppresse the rage of their vnrulie affections For such is the nature of men in gouernement whether they be interessed to it by succession or possessed of it by vsurpation or placed in it by lawfull constitution vnlesse they be guided by some supernaturall influence of diuine conceit if they be more than one they cannot away with equalitie for regiment admitteth no companion but euerie one séeketh to aduance himselfe to a singularitie of honour wherein he will not to die for it participate with another which maie easilie be obserued in this our historicall discourse The beginning of the kingdome of the Eastsaxons what it conteined of Arthur king of Britaine his twelue victories ouer the Saxons against whome he mainteined continuall warre why the Scots and Picts enuied him his roialtie and empire a league betwixt Arthur and Loth king of the Picts Howell king of little Britaine aideth Arthur against Cheldrike king of Germanie who taking the ouerthrow is slaine by the duke of Cornewall the Picts are discomfited the Irishmen with their king put to slight and the Scots subdued Arthurs sundrie conquests against diuers people the vanitie of the British writers noted The twelfe Chapter IN those daies also the kingdome of the Eastsaxons began the chéefe citie whereof was London It conteined in effect so much as at this present belongeth to the diocesse of London One Erchenwin a Saxon was the first king thereof the which was sonne to one Offa the sixt in lineall descent from one Saxnot from whom the kings of that countrie fetched their originall Harison noteth the exact yéere of the erection of the kingdome of the Eastsaxons to begin with the end of the eight of Cerdicus king of the Westsaxons that is the 527 of Christ and 78 after the comming of the Saxons In the 13 yéere of the reigne of Cerdicus he with his sonne Kenrike and other of the Saxon capteins fought with the Britains in the I le of Wight at Witgarsbridge where they slue a great number of Britains and so conquered the Ile the which about foure yéeres after was giuen by Cerdicus vnto his nephues Stuffe and Witgar AFter the deceasse of Uter Pendragon as we doo find in the British histories his sonne Arthur a yoong towardlie gentleman of the age of 15 yéeres or thereabouts began his reigne ouer the Britains in the yéere of our Lord 516 or as Matt. Westmin saith 517 in the 28 yéere of the emperour Anastasius and in the third yéere of the reignes of Childebert Clothare Clodamire and Theodorike brethren that were kings of the Frenchmen Of this Arthur manie things are written beyond credit for that there is no ancient author of authoritie that confirmeth the same but surelie as may be thought he was some woorthie man and by all likelihood a great enimie to the Saxons by reason whereof the Welshmen which are the verie Britains in déed haue him in famous remembrance He fought as the common report goeth of him 12 notable battels against the Saxons in euerie of them went away with the victorie but yet he could not driue them quite out of the land but that they kept still the countries which they had in possession as Kent Sutherie Norfolke and others howbeit some writers testifie that they held these countries as tributaries to Arthur But truth it is as diuers authors agrée that he held continuall warre against them and also against the Picts the which were allied with the Saxons for as in the Scotish histories is conteined euen at the first beginning of his reigne the two kings of the Scots and Picts séemed to enuie his aduancement to the crowne of Britaine bicause they had maried the two sisters of the two brethren Aurelius Ambrosius and Uter Pendragon that is to say Loth king of Picts had married Anne their eldest sister and Conran king of Scots had in mariage Alda their yoonger sister so that bicause Arthur was be gotten out of wedlocke they thought it stood with more reason that the kingdome of the Britains should haue descended vnto the sisters sonnes rather than to a bastard namelie Loth the Pictish king which had issue by his wife Anna sore repined at the matter Wherefore at the first when he saw that by suit he could not preuaile he ioined in league with the Saxons and aiding them against Arthur lost many of his men of warre being ouerthrowne in battell which he had sent vnto the succours of Colgerne the Saxon prince that ruled as then in the north parts But finallie a league was concluded betwixt Arthur and the foresaid Loth king of Picts vpon certeine conditions as in the Scotish historie is expressed where ye may read the same with many other things touching the acts of Arthur somewhat in other order than our writers haue recorded ¶ The British authors declare that Arthur immediatlie after he had receiued the crowne of Dubright bishop of Caerleon went with his power of Britains against the Saxons of Northumberland which had to their capteine as before is said one Colgrime or Colgerne whome Arthur discomfited and chased into the citie of Yorke within which place Arthur besieged him till at length the same Colgrime escaped out of the citie leauing it in charge with his brother called Bladulfe passed ouer into Germanie vnto Cheldrike king of that countrie of whom he obteined succor so that the said Cheldrike made prouision of men and ships and came himselfe ouer into Scotland hauing in his companie fiftéene hundred sailes one with an other When Arthur was aduertised thereof he raised his siege and withdrew to London sending letters with all speed vnto Howell king of little Britaine in France that was his sisters sonne requiring of him in most earnest wise his aid Howell incontinentlie assembled his people to the number of fifteene thousand men and taking the sea landed with them at Southampton where Arthur was readie to receiue him with great ioy and gladnesse From thence they drew northwards where both the hosts of Arthur and Howell being assembled togither marched forward to Lincolne which citie Cheldrike did as then besiege Here Arthur and Howell assailed the Saxons with great force no lesse manhood and at length after great slaughter made of the enimies they obteined the victorie and chased Cheldrike with the residue
of the Saxons that were left aliue vnto a wood where they compassed them about within the same in such wise that in the ende they were constreined to yéeld themselues with condition that they might be suffered to depart on foot to their ships and so auoid the land leauing their horsse armour and other furniture vnto the Britains Héerevpon the Britains taking good hostages for assurance permitted the Saxons to go their waies and so Cheldrike and his people got them to their ships in purpose to returne into their countrie but being on the sea they were forced by wind to change their course and comming on the coasts of the west parts of Britaine they arriued at Totnesse and contrarie to the couenanted articles of their last composition with Arthur inuaded the countrie anew and taking such armour as they could find marched foorth in robbing and spoiling the people till they came to Bath which towne the Britains kept and defended against them not suffering them by anie meanes to enter there wherevpon the Saxons inuironed it with a strong siege Arthur informed heereof with all spéed hasted thither and giuing the enimies battell slue the most part of Cheldrikes men There were slaine both Colgrime and Bladulfe howbeit Cheldrike himselfe fled out of the field towards his ships but being pursued by Cador earle of Cornwall that had with him ten thousand men by Arthurs appointment he was ouertaken and in fight slaine with all his people Arthur himselfe returned from this battell foughten at Bath with all speed towards the marshes of Scotland for that he had receiued aduertisement how the Scots had besieged Howell K. of Britaine there as he lay sicke Also when Cador had accomplished his enterprise and slaine Cheldrike he returned with as much spéed as was possible towards Arthur found him in Scotland where he rescued Howell and afterwards pursued the Scots which fled before him by heaps About the same time one Guillomer king of Ireland arriued in Scotland with a mightie power of Irishmen neere the place where Arthur lodged to helpe the Scots against the Britains wherevpon Arthur turning his forces towards the same Guillomer vanquished him and chafed him into Ireland This doone he continued in pursute of the Scots till he caused them to sue for pardon and to submit them selues wholie to him and so receiuing them to mercie taking homage of them he returned to Yorke and shortlie after tooke to wife one Guenhera a right beautifull ladie that was néere kinswoman to Cador earle of Cornwall In the yeere following which some note to be 525 he went into Ireland and discomfiting king Guillomer in battell he constreined him to yéeld and to acknowledge by dooing his fealtie to hold the realme of Ireland of him It is further remembred in those British histories that he subdued Gothland and Ileland with all the Iles in and about those seas Also that he ouercame the Romans in the countrie about Paris with their capteine Lucius and wasted the most part of all France and slue in singular combats certeine giants that were of passing force and hugenesse of stature And if he had not béene reuoked and called home to resist his coosen Mordred that was sonne to Loth king of Pightland that rebelled in his countrie he had passed to Rome intending to make himselfe emperor and afterward to vanquish the other emperor who then ruled the empire ¶ But for so much as there is not anie approoued author who dooth speake of anie such dooings the Britains are thought to haue registred méere fables in sted of true matters vpon a vaine desire to aduance more than reason would this Arthur their noble champion as the Frenchmen haue doone their Rouland and diuerse others Arthur is resisted by Mordred the vsurper from arriuing in his owne land they ioine battell Gawaine is slaine and his death lamented by Arthur Mordred taketh flight he is slaine and Arthur mortallie wounded his death the place of his buriall his bodie digged vp his bignesse coniecturable by his bones a crosse found in his toome with an inscription therevpon his wife Guenhera buried with him a rare report of hir haire Iohn Lelands epitaph in memorie of prince Arthur The xiij Chapter KIng Arthur at his returne into Britaine found that Mordred had caused himselfe to be made king hauing alied himselfe with Cheldrike a Saxon not him whome Galfride as ye haue heard supposeth to haue béene wounded slaine before was readie to resist his landing so that before he could come on land he lost manie of his men but yet at length he repelled the enimies and so tooke land at Sandwich where he first arriued and ioining in battell with his enimies he discomfited them but not without great losse of his people speciallie he sore lamented the death of Gawaine the brother of Mordred which like a faithfull gentleman regarding more his honour and loiall truth than néerenesse of bloud and coosenage chose rather to fight in the quarrell of his liege king and louing maister than to take part with his naturall brother in an vniust cause and so there in the battell wa slaine togither also with Angussell to whom Arthur afore time had committed the gouernment of Scotland Mordred fled from this battell and getting ships sailed westward and finallie landed in Cornwall King Arthur caused the corps of Gawaine to be buried at Douer as some hold opinion but William Malmesburie supposeth he was buried in Wales as after shall be shewed The dead bodie of Angussell was conueied into Scotland and was there buried When that Arthur had put his enimies to flight and had knowledge into what parts Mordred was withdrawne with all spéed he reinforced his armie with new supplies of souldiers called out of diuerse parties and with his whole puissance hasted forward not resting till he came néere to the place where Mordred was incamped with such an armie as he could assemble togither out of all parties where he had anie friends ¶ Héere as it appéereth by Iohn Leland in his booke intituled The assertion of Arthur it may be douted in what place Mordred was incamped but Geffrey of Monmouth sheweth that after Arthur had discomfited Mordred in Kent at the first landing it chanced so that Mordred escaped and fled to Winchester whither Arthur followed him and there giuing him battell the second time did also put him to flight And following him from thence fought eftsoones with him act a place called Camblane or Kemelene in Cornwall or as some authors haue néere vnto Glastenburie This battell was fought to such proofe that finallie Mordred was slaine with the more part of his whole armie and Arthur receiuing diuers mortall wounds died of the same shortlie after when he had reigned ouer the Britains by the tearme of 26 yéeres His corps was buried at Glastenburie aforesaid in the churchyard betwixt two pillers where it was found in the
manner of wickednesse and namelie to ciuill dissention rapine adulterie and fornication so that it may be thought that GOD stirred vp the Saxons to be a scourge to them and to worke his iust vengeance vpon them for their wickednesses and abhominable offenses dailie coÌ„mitted against his diuine maiestie so that we find recorded by writers how that the Saxons in diuers conflicts against the Britains had the better and also tooke from them diuers townes as alreadie partly hath beene and also hereafter shall be shewed It is furthermore to be remembred that about the 14 yeere of the Britaine king Conanus his reigne which was about the end of the yere of Christ 559 Kenrike king of the Westsaxons departed this life after he had reigned xxv yéeres complet This Kenrike was a victorious prince and fought diuers battels against the Britains In the 18 yeere of his reigne which was the 551 of Christ we find that he fought against them being come at that time vnto Salisburie and after great slaughter made on both parts at length the victorie remained with the Saxons and the Britains were chased Againe in the two and twentith yéere of his reigne and 555 yéere of Christ the fame Kenrike and his sonne Cheuling fought with a great power of Britains at Branburie The Britains were diuided into nine companies three in the fore ward thrée in the battell and thrée in the rere ward with their horssemen and archers after the maner of the Romans The Saxons being ranged in one entire battell valiantlie assailed them and notwithstanding the shot of the Britains yet they brought the matter to the triall of handblowes till at length by the comming on of the night the victorie remained doubtfull and no maruell is to be made therof saith Henrie archdeacon of Huntington sith the Saxons were men of huge stature great force valiant courage The same yéere that Kenrike deceassed Ida the king of Northumberland also died he was as ye haue heard a right valiant prince inlarged the dominion of the Saxons greatlie he ouercame Loth king of the Picts in battell and Gorran king of Scots Also about the yéere of Christ 560 Conanus as yet gouerning the Britains Irmenâ—ike king of Kent departed this life of whome ye haue heard before Ethelbert his sonne succéeded him 52 yéeres Then after that the foresaid thrée princes were dead as before ye haue heard they had that succéeded them in their estates as here followeth After Kenrike his sonne Ceaulinus or Cheuling succéeded in gouernement of the Westsaxons and after Ida one Ella or Alla reigned in Northumberland after Irmenrike followed his sonne Ethelbert in rule ouer the Kentish Saxons This Ethelbert in processe of time grew to be a mightie prince but yet in the begining of his reigne he had but sorie successe against some of his enimies for hauing to doo with the foresaid Cheuling king of Westsaxons he was of him ouercome in battell at Wilbasdowne where he lost two of his dukes or cheefe capteins beside other people This was the first battell that was fought betwixt the Saxons one against another within this land after their first comming into the same And this chanced in the yere of our Lord 567 being the second yéere of the emperour Iustinus ABout the yéere 570 Cutha the brother of king Cheuling fought with the Britains at Bedford vanquished them tooke from them 4 townes Liganbrough Eglesbrough or Ailsburie Besington and Euesham Also about the yéere of our Lord 581 the foresaid king Cheuling incountered with the Britains at a place called Diorth and obteining the vpper hand tooke from them the cities of Bath Glocester and Cirencester At this battell fought at Diorth were present thrée kings of the Britains whose names were these Coinmagill Candidan and Farimnagill which were slaine there through the permission of almightie God as then refusing his people the which through their heinous sinnes and great wickednesses had most gréeuouslie offended his high and diuine maiestie as by Gyldas it may euidentlie appeare For they had declined from the lawes of the Lord and were become abhominable in his sight euen from the prince to the poore man from the priest to the Leuit so that not one estate among them walked vprightlie but contrarie to dutie was gone astray by reason whereof the righteous God had giuen them ouer as a prey to their enimies Also in the latter end of Malgos daies or about the first beginning of the reigne of his successor Careticus Cheuling and his sonne Cutwine fought with the Britains at a place called Fechanley or Fedanley or as some bookes haue Frithenlie where Cutwine was slaine the Englishmen chased but yet Cheuling repairing his armie wan the victorie and chasing the Britains tooke from them manie countries and wan great riches by the spoile But Matth. West saith that the victorie aboad with the Britains and that the Saxons were chased quite out of the field The Scotish writers record that their king Aidan who is noted to haue béene the 49 successiuelie possessing the regiment of that land partlie with griefe of hart for the death of Columba a graue and wise gentleman whome he tenderlie loued and partlie with age for he was growne horieheaded and had reigned 34 yéeres ended his life was there in aid of the Britains and Brudeus king of the Picts betwixt whom and the said Aidan a sore battell was fought in aid of the Saxons but the same writers name the place Deglaston where this battell was made and the forces of both sides by a sharpe incounter tried The begining of the kingdome of Mercia the bounds of the same the heptarchie or seuen regiments of the Saxons how they grew to that perfection and by whom they were reduced and drawne into a monarâ—â—ie Careticus is created king of Britaine the Saxons take occasion by the ciuill dissentions of the Britains to make a full conquest of the land they procure forren power to further them in their enterprise Gurmundus king of the Africans arriueth in Britaine the British king is driuen to his hard shifts the politike practise of Gurmundus in taking Chichester setting the towne on fire he deliuereth the whole land in possession to the Saxons the English and Saxon kings put Careticus to flight the Britains haue onelie three prouinces left of all their countrie which before they inhabited their religion church and commonwealth is in decaie they are gouerned by three kings Cheulings death is conspired of his owne subiects The xviij Chapter ABout the same time also and 585 of Christ the kingdome of Mercia began vnder one Crida who was descended from Woden and the tenth from him by lineall extraction The bounds of this kingdome were of great distance hauing on the east the sea vnto Humber and so on the north the said riuer of Humber and after the riuer of Mercia which falleth into the west
enimie twelue hundred of them are slaine Edelfride entreth the citie of Chester the Britains assembling their power vnder three capteins incounter with Edelfride slaie manie of his souldiers and put him to flight warres betweene Edelfride and Redwald king of the Eastangles about Edwine the sonne of king Elle Edelfride is slaine Ceowlfe king of the Westsaxons dieth The xxij Chapter AFter the deceasse of Chelricus king of the Westsaxons we find that Ceowlfe or Ceoloulph succéeded in gouernment of that kingdome and reigned twelue yéeres He began his reigne as should appéere by some writers about the yeere of our Lord 597 and spent his time for the more part in warres not giuing place to idlenesse but séeking either to defend or inlarge the confines of his dominion He was the sonne of Cutha which was the sonne of Kenrike which was the sonne of Certike After Wibba or Wipha king of Mercia who nothing inferiour to his father did not onelie defend his kingdome but also inlarge it by subduing the Britains on ech side one Ceorlus succéeded in that kingdome being not his sonne but his kinsman This Ceorlus began his reigne about the yéere of our Lord 594 as Matth. West recordeth Ye haue heard that Edelferd which otherwise is called also by writers Edelfride surnamed the wild gouerned still the Northumbers which Edelferd did more damage to the Britains than anie one other king of the English nation None of them destroied their countries more than he did neither did anie prince make more of the Britains tributaries or inhabited more of their countries with English people than he Héerevpon Edan king of those Scots which inhabited Britaine being therewith mooued to see Edelfride prosper thus in his conquests came against him with a mightie armie but ioining in battell with Edelfride and his power at a place called Degsastane or Degsastone or Deglaston he lost the most part of his people and with the residue that were left aliue he escaped by flight This was a sore foughten battell with much bloudshed on both parties For notwithstanding that the victorie remained with the Northumbers Theobaldus the brother of Edelferd was slaine with all that part of the English host which he gouerned and it was fought in the yéere of our Lord 603 in the 19 yeere of the reigne of the foresaid Edelferd and in the sixt yéere of Ceowlfe king of the Westsaxons and in the first yéere of the emperor Phocas or rather in the last yéere of his predecessor Mauricius From that day till the daies of Beda not one of the Scotish kings burst presume to enter into Britaine againe to giue battell against the English nation as Beda himselfe writteth But the Scotish writers make other report of this matter as in the historie of Scotland ye maie find recorded The Britains that dwelt about Chester through their stoutnesse prouoked the aforesaid Edelferd king of the Northumbers vnto warre wherevpon to tame their loftie stomachs he assembled an armie came forward to besiege the citie of Chester then called of the Britains Carleon ardour deué The citizens coueting rather to suffer all things than a siege and hauing a trust in their great multitude of people came foorth to giue batell abroad in the fields whome he compassing about with ambushes got within his danger and easilie discomfited It chanced that he had espied before the battell ioined as Beda saith where a great number of the British priests were got aside into a place somewhat out of danger that they might there make their intercession to God for the good spéed of their people being then readie to giue battell to the Northumbers Manie of them were of that famous monasterie of Bangor in the which it is said that there was such a number of moonks that where they were diuided into seuen seuerall parts with their seuerall gouernors appointed to haue rule ouer them euerie of those parts conteined at the least thrée hundred persons the which liued altogither by the labour of their hands Manie therefore of those moonks hauing kept a solemne fast for thrée daies togither were come to the armie with other to make praier hauing for their defender one Brocmale or Broemael earle or consull as some call him of Chester which should preserue them being giuen to praier from the edge of the enimies swoord King Edelferd hauing as is said espied these men asked what they were and what their intent was and being informed of the whole circumstance and cause of their being there he said Then if they call to their God for his assistance against vs suerlie though they beare no armour yet doo they fight against vs being busied in praier for our destruction Wherevpon he commanded the first onset to be giuen them and after slue downe the residue of the British armie not without great losse of his owne people Of those moonks and priests which came to praie as before is mentioned there died at that battell about the number of 12 hundred so that fiftie of them onelie escaped by flight Brocmale or Broemael at the first approch of the enimies turning his backe with his companie left them whom he should haue defended to be murthered through the enimies swoord Thus was the prophesie of Augustine fulfilled though he was long before departed this life as Beda saith ¶ Héere is to be noted if this battell was fought in the seuenth yéere of Ceowlfe king of Westsaxon as some haue written and that Augustine liued 12 yéeres after his entrance into the gouernment of the sée of Canturburie as some write it is euident that he liued foure yéeres after this slaughter made of the British priests and moonks by Edelferd as before is recited For Ceowlfe began his reigne as before is mentioned about the yéere of our Lord 596 and in the seuenth yeere of his reigne the battell was fought at Degsastane betwixt the English the Scots which chanced in the yéere of our Lord 604 as Beda himselfe recordeth A late chronographer running vpon this matter and preciselie setting downe his collection saith that Athelbright or Edelfride K. of the Northumbers Ethelbert K. of Kent hauing Augustine in their companie in the eight yéere after his arriuall made warre vpon such Britains as refused to obserue the canons of the late councell mentioned 603 and killed 1200 moonks of the monasterie of Bangor which laboured earnestlie and in the sweat of their browes thereby to get their liuings c. Uerclie Galf. Mon. writeth that Ethelbert king of Kent after he saw the Britains to disdaine and denie their subiection vnto Augustine by whome he was conuerted to the christian faith stirred vp Edelferd king of the Northumbers to warre against the Britains But heereof Maister Fox doubteth and therefore saith that of vncerteine things he hath nothing certeinlie to saie much lesse to iudge But now to the matter where we left After
at length the king gaue licence to Pauline openlie to preach the gospell and renouncing his worshipping of false gods professed the christian faith And when he demanded of his bishop Coifi who should first deface the altars of their idols and the tabernacles wherewith they were compassed about He answered that himselfe would doo it For what is more méet saith he than that I which thorough foolishnesse haue worshipped them should now for example sake destroie the same thorough wisedome giuen me from the true and liuing God And streightwaies throwing awaie the superstition of vanitie required armour and weapon of the king with a stoned horsse vpon the which he being mounted rode foorth to destroie the idols This was a strange sight to the people for it was not lawfull for the bishop of their law to put on armour or to ride on anie beast except it were a mare He hauing therefore a swoord gird to him tooke a speare in his hand and riding on the kings horsse went to the place where the idols stood The common people that beheld him had thought he had béene starke mad and out of his wits but he without longer deliberation incontinentlie vpon his comming to the temple began to deface the fame and in contempt threw his speare against it reioising greatlie in the knowledge of the worshipping of the true God commanded his companie to destroie burne downe the same temple with all the altars This place where the idols were sometime worshipped was not farre from Yorke towards the east part of the riuer of Derwent and is called Gotmundin Gaham where the foresaid bishop by the inspiration of God defaced and destroied those altars which he himselfe had hallowed King Edwin therefore with all the nobilitie and a great number of his people receiued the faith and were baptised in the yéere of our Lord 627 in the tenth yéere of his reigne and about the 178 yéere after the first comming of the Englishmen into this land He was baptised at Yorke on Easter daie which fell that yéere the day before the Ides of Aprill in the church of S. Peter the apostle which he had caused to be erected and built vp of timber vpon the sudden for that purpose and afterwards began the foundation of the same church in stone-woorke of a larger compasse comprehending within it that oratorie which he had first caused to be built but before he could finish the woorke he was slaine as after shall be shewed leauing it to be performed of his successor Oswald Pauline continued from thencefoorth during the kings life which was six yéeres after in preaching the gospell in the prouince conuerting an innumerable number of people to the faith of Christ among whom were Osfride and Eadfride the two sonnes of Edwin whom he begot in time of his banishment of his wife Quinburga the daughter of Cearlus king of Mercia Also afterwards he begot children on his second wife Ethelburga that is to say a sonne called Edilhimus and a daughter named Ediltraudis and another sonne called Bustfrea of the which the two first died in their cradels and were buried in the church at Yorke To be briefe by the kings assistance fauour shewed vnto Pauline in the woorke of the Lord great multitudes of people dailie receiued the faith and were baptised of Pouline in 〈◊〉 places but speciallie in the riuer of Glâ—â—te within the prouince of Bernicia and also in Swale in the prouince of Deira for as yet in the beginning 〈◊〉 of the church in those countries no temples or fonts could be builded or erected in so short a time Of such great zeale was Edwin as it is reported towards the setting foorth of Gods truth that he persuaded Carpwald the sonne of Redwald king of the Eastangles to abandon the superstitious worshipping of idols and to receiue the faith of Christ with all his whole prouince His father Redwald was baptised in Kent long before this time but in vaine for returning home through counsell of his wife and other wicked persons he was seduced and being turned from the sincere puritie of faith his last dooings were woorsse than his first so that according to the maner of the old Samaritans he would séeme both to serue the true God and his false gods whom before time he had serued and in one selfe church had at one time both the sacraments of Christ ministred at one altar and sacrifice made vnto diuels at another But Carpwald within a while after he had receiued the faith was slaine by one of his owne countrimen that was an ethnike called Richbert and then after his death that prouince for the tearme of thrée yeeres was wrapped eftsoones in errour till Sibert or Sigibert the brother of Carpwald a most christian prince and verie well learned obteined the rule of that kingdome who whilest he liued a banished man in France during his brothers life time was baptised there and became a christian and when he came to be king he caused all his prouince to be partaker of the same fountaine of life wherein he had beene dipped himselfe Unto his godlie purpose also a bishop of the parties of Burgoigne named Felix was a great furtherer who comming ouer vnto the archbishop of Canturburie Honorius that was successor vnto Iustus and declaring vnto him his earnest desire was sent by the same archbishop to preach the woord of life vnto the Eastangles which he did with such good successe that he conuerted the whole countrie to the faith of Iesus Christ and placed the sée of his bishoprike at Dunwich ending the course of his life there in peace after he had continued in that his bishoplike office the space of 17 yéeres Moreouer Pauline after that he had conuerted the Northumbers preached the woord of God vnto them of Lindsey which is a part of Lincolnshire and first he persuaded one Blecca the gouernour of the citie of Lincolne to turne vnto Christ togither with all his familie In that citie he also builded a church of stone woorke Thus Pauline trauelled in the woorke of the Lord the same being greatlie furthered by the helpe of Edwin in whose presence he baptised a great number of people in the riuer of Trent néere to a towne which in the old English toong was called Tio vulfingacester This Pauline had with him a deacon named Iames the which shewed himselfe verie diligent in the ministerie map profited greatlie therein But now to returne to king Edwin who was a prince verelie or woorthie same and for the politike ordering of his countries and obseruing of iustice deserued highlie to be commended for in his time all robbers by the high waie were so banished out of his dominions that a woman with hir new borne child alone without other companie might haue trauelled from sea to sea and not haue incountred with â—â—ie creature that durst once haue offered hir iniurie He was also verie carefull
liue from thencefoorth a priuat kind of life and so resigning the administration vnto his kinsman Egricus he became a moonke and led the rest of his life in a certeine abbeie Shortlie after it so came to passe that Penda king of Mercia that cruell ethnike tyrant made sore warres vpon Egricus wherevpon the people of Eastangles compelled Sigibert to come foorth of his monasterie to go with them into the field against Penda Sigibert being thus constreined against his will would not put on armour or beare anie other kind of weapon than onelie a wand in his hand in steed of a scepter and so the armie of the Eastangles in hope of good spéed by the presence of Sigibert ioined in battell with their enimies but the Eastangles were finallie vanquished and the more part of them slaine togither with Sigibert and his coosen Egricus their king This happened in the yere after the birth of our Sauiour as some haue noted 652. In the daies whilest Sigibert as yet ruled the Eastangles there came out of Ireland a deuout person named Furseus who comming into the countrie of the Eastangles was gladlie receiued of king Sigibert by whose helpe afterwards he builded the abbeie of Cumbreburge in the which Sigibert as some haue written when he renounced his kingdome was professed a moonke Of this Furseus manie things are written the which for briefenesse we ouerpasse After that Felix the bishop of the Eastangles was dead one Thomas was ordeined in his place who after he had béene bishop fiue yéeres died and then one Beretgils was ordeined in his roome by Honorius the archbishop of Canturburie The said Honorius himselfe when he had run the race of his naturall life deceassed also the last of September in the yéere of our Lord 653. Anna king of Eastangles is slaine by Penda king of Mercia his brother succeeding him is slaine also by Oswie king of Northumberland the Mercians or Middle angles receiue the faith vnder vertuous Peda their prince he requesteth Alchfled the king of Northumberlands daughter in mariage he is baptised by bishop Finnan by whose meanes the Eastsaxons imbraced christian religion vnder Sigibert their king he is murthered of two brethren that were his kinsmen vpon a conceiued hatred against him for his good and christian life how dangerous it is to keepe companie with an excommunicate person the authoritie of a bishop The xxxj Chapter AFter Egricus succeeded Anna the sonne of Enus in the kingdome of Eastangle and was likewise slaine by Penda king of Mercia with the most part of his armie as he gaue battell vnto the said Penda that inuaded his countrie He left behind him manie children but his brother Edelhere succéeded him in gouernment of the kingdome who was slaine by Oswie the king of Northumberland togither with the foresaid Penda and woorthilie sith he would aid that tyrant which had slaine his kinsman and his brother that were predecessors with him in his kingdome After this when the sée of Canturburie had béene vacant by the space of one whole yeere and six moneths one Deus dedit of the countrie of the Westsaxons was elected and consecrated by Ithamar the bishop of Rochester on the 7 kalends of Aprill He gouerned the church of Canturburie by the tearme of nine yéeres foure moneths and two daies When he was departed this life the foresaid Ithamar consecrated for him one Damianus of the countrie of Sussex ABout this time the people of Mercia commonlie called Middleangles receiued the christian faith vnder their king named Peda or Peada the sonne of Penda king of Mercia who being a towardlie yoong gentleman and woorthie to haue the guiding of a kingdome his father Penda aduanced him to the rule of that kingdome of the Middleangles during his owne life ¶ Héere maie you note that the kingdome of the Middleangles was one and the kingdome of Mercia another though most commonlie the same were gouerned by one king This yoong Peda came to Oswie king of Northumberland requiring of him to haue his daughter Alchfled in mariage but when he was informed that he might not haue hir except he would become a christian then vpon hearing the gospell preached with the promise of the celestiall ioies and immortalitie by the resurrection of the flesh in the life to come he said that whether he had king Oswies daughter to wife or not he would suerlie be baptised and chieflie he was persuaded therevnto by his kinsman Alchfrid who had in mariage his sister the daughter of Penda named Cimburgh Wherefore he was baptised by bishop Finnan with all those which came thither with him at a place called At the wall and taking with him foure priests which were thought méete to teach and baptise his people he returned with great ioy into his owne countrie The names of those priests were as followeth Cedda Adda Betti and Diuna of the which the last was a Scot by nation and the other were Englishmen These priests comming into the prouince of the Middleangles preached the woord and were well heard so that dailie a great number of the nobilitie communaltie renouncing the filthie dregs of idolatrie were christned Neither did king Penda forbid the preaching of the gospell within his prouince of Mercia but rather hated and despised those whome he knew to haue professed themselues christians and yet shewed not the woorks of faith saieng that Those were wretches and not to be regarded which would not obeie their God in whome they beléeued This alteration of things began about two yéeres before the death of king Penda ABout the same time the Eastsaxons at the instance of Oswie king of Northumberland receiued eftsoones the faith which they had renounced when they banished their bishop Melitus Ye haue heard that Serred Siward and Sigibert brethren and the sonnes of king Sabert which brethren occasioned the reuolting of that prouince from the faith of Christ were slaine in battell by the kings of Westsaxon after whome succéeded Sigibert surnamed the little sonne to the middlemost brother Siward as some write This Sigibert the litle left the kingdome to an other Sigibert that was sonne to one Sigebald the brother of king Sabert which second Sigibert reigned as king in that prouince of the Eastsaxons being a most especiall friend of king Oswie so that oftentimes he repaired into Northumberland to visit him whervpon king Oswie ceassed not most earnestlie at times conuenient to exhort him to receiue the faith of Iesus Christ and in the end by such effectuall persuasions as he vsed Sigibert gaue credit to his woords and so being conuerted receiued the sacrament of baptisme by the hands of bishop Finnan at the kings house called At the wall so named bicause it was built néere to the wall which the Romans had made ouerthwart the I le as is often before remembred being twelue miles distant from the east sea King Sigibert hauing
now receiued the christian faith when he should returne into his countrie required king Oswie to appoint him certeine instructors and teachers which might conuert his people to the faith of Christ. King Oswie desirous to satisfie his request sent vnto the prouince of the Middleangles calling from thence that vertuous man Cedda and assigning vnto him another priest to be his associat sent them vnto the prouince of the Eastsaxons there to preach the christian faith vnto the people And when they had preached taught through the whole countrie to the great increase and inlarging of the church of Christ it chanced on a time that Cedda returned home into Northumberland to conferre of certeine things with bishop Finnan which kept his sée at Lindesherne where vnderstanding by Cedda the great fruits which it had pleased God to prosper vnder his hands in aduancing the faith among the Eastsaxons he called to him two other bishops and there ordeined the foresaid Cedda bishop of the East saxons Héerevpon the same Cedda returned vnto his cure went forward with more authoritie to performe the woorke of the Lord building churches in diuerse places ordeined priests and deacons which might helpe him in preaching and in the ministerie of baptising speciallie in the citie of Ithancester vpon the riuer of Pent and likewise in Tileburge on the riuer of Thames Whilest Ced was thus bufle to the great comfort and ioy of the king and all his people in the setting forward of the christian religion with great increase dailie procéeding it chanced thorough the instigation of the deuill the common enimie of mankind that king Sigibert was murthered by two of his owne kinsmen who were brethren the which when they were examined of the cause that should mooue them to that wicked fact they had nothing to alledge but that they did it bicause they had conceiued an hatred against the king for that he was too fauourable towards his enimies and would with great mildnesse of mind forgiue iniuries committed against him such was the kings fault for the which he was murthered bicause he obserued the commandements of the gospell with a deuout hart Notwithstanding in this his innocent death his offense was punished wherein he had suerlie transgressed the lawes of the church For whereas one of them which slue him kept a wife whome he had vnlawfullie maried and refused to put hir away at the bishops admonition he was by the bishop excommunicated and all other of the christian congregation commanded to absteine from his companie This notwithstanding the king being destred of him came to his house to a banket and in his comming from thence met with the bishop whome when the king beheld he waxed afraid and alighted from his horsse and fell downe at his féet beséeching him of pardon for his offense The bishop which also was on horssebacke likewise alighted and touching the king with his rod which he had in his hand as one something displeased and protesting as in the authoritie of a bishop spake these words Bicause saith he thou wouldst not absteine from entring the house of that wicked person being accurssed thou shalt die in the same house and so it came to passe Suidhelme king of the Eastsaxons he is baptised the bishoplike exercises of Ced in his natiue countrie of Northumberland Ediswald K. of Deira reuerenceth him the kings deuout mind to further and inlarge religion the maner of consecrating a place appointed for a holie vse the old order of fasting in Lent bishop Ced dieth warre betweene Oswie and Penda Oswie maketh a vow to dedicate his daughter a perpetuall virgine to God if he got the victorie he obteineth his request and performeth his vow she liueth dieth and is buried in a monasterie the benefit insuing Oswies conquest ouer his enimies the first second and third bishops of Mercia the victorious proceeding of king Oswie prince Peada his kinsman murthered of his wife The xxxij Chapter AFter Sigbert succeeded Suidhelme in the kingdome of the Eastsaxons he was the son of Sexbald and baptised of Ced in the prouince of the Eastangles at a place of the kings there called Rendlessham Ediswald king of the Eastangles the brother of king Anna was his godfather at the fontsone Ced the bishop of the Eastsaxons vsed oftentimes to visit his countrie of Northumberland where he was borne and by preaching exhorted the people to godlie life Wherevpon it chanced that king Ediswald the son of king Oswald which reigned in the parties of Deira mooued with the fame of his vertuous trade of liuing had him in great reuerence and therefore vpon a good zeale and great deuotion willed him to choose foorth some plot of ground where he might build a monasterie in the which the king himselfe and others might praie heare sermons the oftener and haue place where to burie the dead The bishop consenting to the kings mind at length espied a place amongst high and desert mounteins where he began the foundation of a monasterie afterwards called Lestinghem Wherefore meaning first of all to purge the place with praier fasting he asked leaue of the king that he might remaine there all the Lent which was at hand and so continuing in that place for that time fasted euerie daie sundaie excepted from the morning vntill euening according to the maner nor receiued anie thing then but onlie a little bread and a hens eg with a little milke mixt with water for he said that this was the custome of them of whome he had learned the forme of his regular order that they should consecrate those places vnto the Lord with praier and fasting which they latelie had receiued to make in the same either church or monasterie And when there remained ten daies of Lent yet to come he was sent for to the king wherefore he appointed a brother which he had being also a priest named Cimbill to supplie his roome that his begun religious woorke should not be hindered for the kings businesse Now when the time was accomplished he ordeined a monasterie there appointing the moonks of the same to liue after the rules of them of Lindesferne where he was brought vp Finallie this bishop Ced comming vnto this monasterie afterwards by chance in time of a sicknesse died there and left that monasterie to the gouernance of another brother which he had named Ceadda that was after a bishop as afterwards shall be shewed There were foure brethren of them and all priests Ced Cimbill Ceulin and Ceadda of the which Ced and Ceadda were bishops as before is said About the same time Oswie king of Northumberland was sore oppressed by the warres of Penda king of Mercia so that he made great offers of high gifts and great rewards vnto the said Penda for peace but Penda refused the same as he that meant vtterlie to haue destroied the whole nation of Oswies poeple so that Oswie turning himselfe to seeke
Kent departed this life in Iulie and left the kingdome to his brother Lothaire which held the same eleuen yéeres seuen moneths Some haue written that king Egbert by the suggestion of one Thunnir who had the chiefe rule of the kingdome vnder him suffered the same Thunnir in lamentable maner to kill the two innocent sonnes of Ermenredus the brother of king Ercombert that was father vnto king Egbert for doubt least they being towardlie yoong gentlemen might in time grow so into fauour with the people that it should be easie for them to depriue both Egbert and his issue of the kingdome Also that they were priuilie put to death and secretlie buried at the first but the place of their buriall immediatlie being shewed after a miraculous maner their bodies long after in the daies of king Egilred the sonne of king Edgar were taken vp conueied vnto Ramsey and there buried And although Egbert being giltie of the death of those his coosens did sore repent him for that he vnderstood they died giltlesse yet his brother Lothaire was thought to be punished for that offense as after shall be shewed Winfrid bishop of the Mercies for his disobedience in some point was depriued by archbishop Theodore and one Sexvulfe that was the builder and also the abbat of the monasterie of Meidhamsted otherwise called Peterborough was ordeined and consecrated in his place About the same time Erkenwald was ordeined bishop of the Eastsaxons and appointed to hold his sée in the citie of London This Erkenwald was reputed to be a man of great holinesse and vertue Before he was made bishop he builded two abbeies the one of moonks at Chertsey in Southerie where he himselfe was abbat and the other of nuns at Berking within the prouince of the Eastsaxons where he placed his sister Ethelburga a woman also highlie estéemed for hir deuout kind of life She was first brought vp and instructed in the rules of hir profession by one Hildelitha a nun of the parties beyond the seas whome Erkenwald procured to come ouer for that purpose After Erkenwald one Waldhere was made bishop of London in whose daies Sebbie king of the Eastsaxons after he had reigned thirtie yéeres being now vexed with a gréeuous sicknesse professed himselfe a moonke which thing he would haue doone long before if his wife had not kept him backe He died shortlie after within the citie of London and was buried in the church of saint Paule King Sighere which in the beginning reigned with him and gouerned a part of the Eastsaxons was departed this life before so that in his latter time the foresaid Sebbie had the gouernment of the whole prouince of the Eastsaxons and left the same to his sonnes Sighard and Sewfred About the yéere of our Lord 675 Uulfhere king of Mercia departed this life after he had reigned as some say 19 yéeres but as other affirme he reigned but 17 yéeres Howbeit they which reckon 19 include the time that passed after the slaughter of Penda wherein Oswie and Peada held the aforesaid kingdome Edilred king of Mercia inuadeth the kingdome of Kent and maketh great waste without resistance of Lothaire the king thereof Putta of a bishop becommeth a poore curat and teacheth musicke Wilfred deposed from his bishoprike by king Egfrid vpon displeasure he preacheth the gospell in Sussex by the licence of king Edilwalke no raine in Sussex for the space of three yeeres the woord and sacraments bring blessings with them bishop Wilfrid the first teacher to catch fish with nets the people haue him in great reuerence a great and bloudie battell betweene Egfrid king Edilred they are reconciled by the meanes of archbishop Theodore a synod holden at Hatfield the clergie subscribe to certeine articles of Hilda the famous abbesse of Whitbie The xxxv Chapter AFter Uulfhere his brother Edilred or Ethelred succéeded in gouernment of the kingdome of Mercia This Edilred inuaded the kingdome of Kent with a mightie armie in the yéere of our Lord 677 destroieng the countrie afore him not sparing churches nor abbeies but spoiling the same without respect as well as other common places King Lothaire durst not appéere in the field to giue him battell so that Edilred went thorough the countrie destroied the citie of Rochester and with great riches gotten by the spoile he returned home Putta the bishop of Rochester after that his church was spoiled and defaced by the enimies went to Sexvulfe bishop of Mercia and there obteining of him a small cure and a portion of ground remained in that countrie not once labouring to restore his church of his church of Rochester to the former state but went about in Mercia to teach song and instruct such as would learne musicke wheresoeuer he was required or could get intertainment Heerevpon the archbishop Theodore consecrated one William bishop of Rochester in place of Putta and after when the said William constreined by pouertie left that church Theodore placed one Gebmound in his stéed In the yéere of our Lord 678 in the moneth of August a blasing starre appéered with a long bright beame like to a piller It was séene euerie morning for the space of thrée moneths togither The same Egfrid king of Northumberland banished bishop Wilfrid vpon displeasure taken with him out of his sée and then were two bishops ordeined in his place to gouerne the church of the Northumbers the one named Bosa at Yorke and the other called Eata at Hagustald or Lindesferne Also one Eadhidus was ordeined about the same time bishop of Lindsey the which prouince king Egfrid had of late conquered and taken from Uulfhere the late king of Mercia whome he ouercame in battell and droue him out of that countrie The said thrée bishops were consecrated at Yorke by the archbishop of Canturburie Theodorus the which within thrée yéeres after ordeined two bishops more in that prouince of the Northumbers that is to say Tumbert at Hagustald Eata that was appointed to remaine at Lindesferne Trumuine was ordeined to haue the cure of the prouince of those Picts which as then were vnder the English dominion Also bicause Edilred king of Mercia recouered the countrie of Lindsey and ioined it to his dominion bishop Eadhedus comming from thence was appointed to gouerne the church of Rippon After that bishop Wilfrid was expelled out of his diocesse and prouince of the Northumbers he went to Rome and returning from thence came into the kingdome of the Southsaxons the which conteining seuen thousand housholds or families as yet was not conuerted to the christian faith Wherefore the said Wilfrid began there to preach the gospell with licence of king Edilwalke who as before is mentioned was conuerted and baptised in Mercia by the procurement of king Wolfher that then became his godfather and gaue him at the same time the I le of Wight and the prouince of the
bishop of Chester Eadulfus bishop of Dorcester Wilnardus bishop of Hereford Halard bishop of Elsham and Cedferth bishop of Donwich There remained onelie to the archbishop of Canturburie the bishops of London Winchester Rochester and Shireburne This separation continued all the life time of the archbishop Lambert although he trauelled earnestlie to mainteine his prerogatiue Now for that he still defended his cause and would not reuolt from his will Offa depriued him of all his possessions reuenues that he held or inioied within anie part of his dominions Neither was Offa satisfied herewith but he also tooke into his hands the possessions of manie other churches and fléeced the house of Malmesburie of a part of hir reuenues Because of these other his hard dooings doubting the malice of his enimies he procured the friendship of forren princes Unto Brightricke king of the Westsaxons he gaue his daugther Ethelburga in mariage And sending diuers ambassadours ouer vnto Charles the great that was both emperor king of France he purchased his friendship at length athough before there had depended a péece of displeasure betwixt them insomuch that the intercourse for trade of merchandize was staied for a time One of the ambassadours that was sent vnto the said Charles as is reported was that famous clearke Albine or Alcwine by whose persuasion the same Charles erected two vniuersities as in place due and conuenient may more largelie appeare Finallie king Offa as it were for a meane to appease Gods wrath which he doubted to be iustlie conceiued towards him for his sinnes and wickednesse granted the tenth part of all his goods vnto churchmen and to poore people He also indowed the church of Hereford with great reuenues and as some write he builded the abbeie of Bath placing moonkes in the same of the order of saint Benet as before he had doone at saint Albons Moreouer he went vnto Rome about the yeare of our Lord 775 and there following the example of Inas kign of the Westsaxons made his realme subiect by way of tribute vnto the church of Rome appointing that euerie house within the limits of his dominions should yearelie pay vnto the apostolike see one pennie which paiment was after named Rome Scot and Peter pence After his returne from Rome perceiâ—ing himselfe to draw into yeares he caused his sonne Egfrid to be ordeined king in his life time and shortlie after departing out of this world left the kingdome vnto him after he had gouerned it by the space of 39 yeares Amongst other the dooings of this Offa which suerlie were great and maruellous this may not passe with silence that he caused a mightie great ditch tâ— be cast betwixt the marshes of his countrie and the Welsh confines to diuide thereby the bounds of their dominions This ditch was called Offditch euer after and stretched from the south side by Bristow vnder the mountaines of Wales running northward ouer the riuers of Seuerne and Dée vnto the verie mouth of Dee where that riuer falleth into the sea He likewise builded a church in Warwikeshire whereof the towne there taketh name and is called Offchurch euen to this day Egfrid taking vpon him rule began to follow the approoued good dooings of his father and first restored vnto the churches their ancient priuileges which his father sometimes had taken from them Great hope was conceiued of his further good procéeding but death cut off the same taking him out of this life after he had reigned the space of foure moneths not for his owne offenses as was thought but rather for that his father had caused so much bloud to be spilt for the confirming of him in the kingdome which so small a time he new inioied Osulph king of Northumberland traitorouslie murthered Edilwald succeedeth him the reward of rebellion a great mortalitie of foules fishes and fruits moonkes licenced to drinke wine great wast by fire Edelred king of Northumberland is driuen out of his countrie by two dukes of the same Ethelbert king of the Eastangles commended for his vertues Alfred the daughter of king Mercia is affianced to him tokens of missehaps towards him his destruction intended by queene Quendred hir platforme of the pactise to kill him Offa inuadeth Ethelberts kingdome Alfred his betrothed wife taketh his death greuouslie and becommeth a nun the decaie of the kingdome of Eastangles succession in the regiment of the Westsaxons the end of the gouernement of the Eastsaxons prince Algar is smitten blind for seeking to rauish virgine Friswide and at hir praiers restored to his sight The fift Chapter WHen Eadbert or Egbert K. of Northumberland was become a moonke his sonne Osulphus succéeded him but after he had reigned onelie one yeare he was traitorouslie murthered by his owne seruants at Mikilwongton on the 9 kalends of August Then succéeded one Moll otherwise called Edilwold or Edilwald but not immediatlie for he began not his reigne till the nones of August in the yeare following which was after the birth of our sauiour 759. This man prooued right valiant in gouernement of his subiects He slue in battell an earle of his countrie named Oswin who arrearing warre against him fought with him in a pitcht field at Eadwines Cliue and receiued the worthie reward of rebellion This chanced in the third yeare of his reigne and shortlie after that is to say in the yeare of our Lord 764 there fell such a maruellous great snow and therwith so extreame a frost as the like had not béene heard of continuing from the beginning of the wintes almost till the middest of the spring with the rigour whereof trees and fruits withered awaie and lost their liuelie shape and growth and not onelie feathered foules but also beasts on the land fishes in the sea died in great numbers The same yeare died Cedlwulf then king of Northumberland vnto whome Beda did dedicate his booke of histories of the English nation After that he was become a moonke in the monasterie of Lindesferne the moonks of that house had licence to drinke wine or ale whereas before they might not drinke anie other thing than milke or water by the ancient rule prescribed them of the bishop of Aidan first founder of the place The same yeare sundrie cities townes and monasteries were defaced and sore wasted with fier chancing on the sudden as Stretehu Giwento Anwicke London Yorke Doncaster c. After that Moll had reigned 6 yeares he resigned his kingdome But other write that he reigned 11 yeares and was in the end slaine by treason of his successor Altred This Altred reigned ten years ouer the Northumbers and was then expelled out of his kingdome by his owne subiects Then was Ethelbert named also Edelred the sonne of the foresaid Moll made king of Northumberland and in the fift yeare of his reigne he was driuen out of his kingdome by two dukes of his
forward courage hasted to incounter his enimies the which receiued him so sharplie and with so cruell fight that at length the Englishmen were at point to haue turned their backs But herewith came king Ethelred and manfullie ended the battell staied his people from running away and so encouraged them and discouraged the enimies that by the power of God whom as was thought in the morning he had serued the Danes finallie were chased and put to flight losing one of their kings that is to say Basreeg or Osréeg and 5 earles Sidroc the elder and Sidroc the yoonger Osberne Freine and Harold This battell was sore foughten and conâ—inued till night with the slaughter of manie thousands of Danes About 14 daies after king Ethelred and his brother Alured fought eftsoones with the Danish armie at Basing where the Danes had the victorie Also two moneths after this they likewise fought with the Danes at Merton And there the Danes after they had béene put to the woorse pursued in chase a long time yet at length they also got the victorie in which battell Edmund bishop of Shireborne was slaine and manie other that were men of woorthie fame and good account In the summer following a mightie host of the Danes came to Reading and there soiourned for a time ¶ These things agrée not with that which Polydor Virgil hath written of these warres which king Ethelred had with the Danes for he maketh mention of one Iuarus a king of the Danes who landed as he writeth at the mouth of Humber and like a stout enimie inuaded the countrie adioining Against whome Ethelred with his brother Alured came with an armie and incountring the Danes fought with them by the space of a whole day togither and was in danger to haue béene put to the woorse but that the night seuered them asunder In the morning they ioined againe but the death of Iuarus who chanced to be slaine in the beginning of the battell discouraged the Danes so that they were easilie put to flight of whome before they could get out of danger a great number were slaine But after that they had recouered themselues togither and found out a conuenient place where to pitch their campe they chose to their capteines Agnerus and Hubba two brethren which indeuored themselues by all meanes possible to repaire their armie so that within 15 daies after the Danes eftsoones fought with the Englishmen and gaue them such an ouerthrow that little wanted of making an end of all incounters to be attempted after by the Englishmen But yet within a few daies after this as the Danes attended their market to spoile the countrie and range somewhat licentiouslie abroad they fell within â—he danger of such ambushes as were laid for them by king Ethelred that no small slaughter was made of them but yet not without some losse of the Englishmen Amongest others Ethelred himselfe receiued a wound whereof he shortlie after died Thus saith Polydor touching the warres which king Ethelred had with the Danes who yet confesseth as the trueth is that such authors as he herein followed varie much from that which the Danish writers doo record of these matters and namelie touching the dooings of Iuarus as in the Danish historie you may sée more at large But now to our purpose touching the death of king Ethelred whether by reason of hurt receiued in fight against the Danes as Polydor saith or otherwise certeine it is that Ethelred anon after Easter departed this life in the sixt yeare of his reigne and was buried at Winborne abbey In the daies of this Ethelred the foresaid Danish capteins Hungar otherwise called Agnerus and Hubba returning from the north parts into the countrie of the Eastangles came vnto Thetford whereof Edmund who reigned as king in that season ouer the Eastangles being aduertised raised an armie of men and went foorth to giue battell vnto this armie of the Danes But he with his people was chased out of the field and fled to the castell of Framingham where being enuironed with a siege by his enimies he yéelded himselfe vnto them And because he would not renounce the christian faith they bound him to a trée and shot arrowes at him till he died and afterwards cut off his head from his bodie and threw the same into a thicke groue of bushes But afterwards his friends tooke the bodie with the head and â—uried the same at Egleseon where afterward also a faire monasterie was builded by one bishop Aswin and changing the name of the place it was after caâ—â—ed saint Edmundfburie Thus was king Edmund put to death by the cruell Danes for his constant confessing the name of Christ in the 16 yeare of his reigne and so ceased the kingdome of Eastangles For after that the Danes had thus slaine that blessed man they conquered all the countrie wasted it so that through their tyrannie it remained without anie gouernor by the space of nine yeares and then they appointed a king to rule ouer it whose name was Guthrun one of their owne nation who gouerned both the Eastangles and the Eastsaxons Ye haue heard how the Danes slue Osrike and Ella kings of Northumberland After which victorie by them obteined they did much hurt in the north parts of this land and amongest other cruell deeds they destroied the citie of Aâ—â—uid which was a famous citie in the time of the old Saxons as by Beda and other writers dooth manifestlie appeare Here is to be remembred that some writers rehearse the cause to be this Osbright or Osrike king of Northumberland rauished the wife of one Berne that was a noble man of the countrie about Yorke who tooke such great despight thereat that he fled out of the land and went into Denmarke and there complained vnto the king of Denmarke his coosin of the iniurie doone to him by king Osbright Wherevpon the king of Denmarke glad to haue so iust a quarell against them of Northumberland furnished foorth an armie and sent the same by sea vnder the leading of his two brethren Hungar and Hubba into Northumberland where they slue first the said king Osbright and after king Ella at a place besides Yorke which vnto this day is called Ellas croft taking that name of the said Ella being there slaine in defense of his countrie against the Danes Which Ella as we find registred by writers was elected king by such of the Northumbers as in fauour of Berne had refused to be subiect vnto Osbright Alfred ruleth ouer the Westsaxons and the greatest part of England the Danes afflict him with sore warre and cruellie make wast of his kingdome they lie at London a whole winter they inuade Mercia the king whereof Burthred by name forsaketh his countrie and goeth to Rome his death and buriall Halden king of the Danes diuideth Northumberland among his people Alfred incountreth with the
of his reigne king Alured went to Eglerighston on the east part of Selwood where there came to him the people of Summersetshire Wiltshire Hamshire reioising greatlie to sée him abroad From thence he went to Edanton there fought against the armie of the Danes and chased them vnto their strength where he remained afore them the space of fouretéene daies Then the armie of the Danes deliuered him hostages and couenants to depart out of his dominions and that their king should be baptised which was accomplished for Gurthrun whome some name Gurmond a prince or king amongst these Danes came to Alured and was baptised king Alured receiuing him at the fontstone named him Adelstan and gaue to him the countrie of Eastangle which he gouerned or rather spoiled by the space of twelue yéeres Diuerse other of the Danish nobilitie to the number of thirtie as Simon Dunelmensis saith came at the same time in companie of their king Gurthrun and were likewise baptised on whome king Alured bestowed manie rich gifts At the same time as is to be thought was the league concluded betwixt king Alured and the said Gurthrun or Gurmond in which the bounds of king Alureds kingdome are set foorth thus First therefore let the bounds or marshes of our dominion stretch vnto the riuer of Thames and from thence to the water of Lée euen vnto the head of the same water and so foorth streight vnto Bedford and finallie going alongst by the riuer of Ouse let them end at Watlingstréet This league being made with the aduise of the sage personages as well English as those that inhabited within east England is set foorth in maister Lamberts booke of the old English lawes in the end of those lawes or ordinances which were established by the same king Alured as in the same booke ye may sée more at large Th'English called diuers people Danes whom the French named Normans whervpon that generall name was giuen them Gurmo Anglicus K. of Denmark whose father Frotto was baptised in England the Danes besiege Rochester Alfred putteth them to flight recouereth London out of their hands and committeth it to the custodie of duke Eldred his sonne in law he assaulteth Hasting a capteine of the Danes causeth him to take an oth his two sonnes are baptised he goeth foorth to spoile Alfreds countrie his wife children and goods c are taken and fauourablie giuen him againe the Danes besiege Excester they flie to their ships gaine with great losse they are vanquished by the Londoners the death of Alfred his issue male and female The xv Chapter HEre is to be noted that writers name diuerse of the Danish capteins kings of which no mention is made in the Danish chronicles to reigne in those parties But true it is that in those daies not onelie the Danish people but also other of those northeast countries or regions as Swedeners Norwegians the Wondens and such other which the English people called by one generall name Danes and the Frenchmen Normans vsed to roaue on the seas and to inuade forren regions as England France Flanders and others as in conuenient places ye may find as well in our histories as also in the writers of the French histories and likewise in the chronicles of those north regions The writers verelie of the Danish chronicles make mention of one Gurmo whome they name Anglicus bicause he was borne here in England which succeeded his father Frotto in gouernement of the kingdome of Denmarke which Frotto receiued baptisme in England as their stories tell In the eight yéere of king Alfred his reigne the armie of the Danes wintered at Cirencester and the same yéere an other armie of strangers called Wincigi laie at Fulham and in the yéere following departed foorth of England and went into France and the armie of king Godrun or Gurmo departed from Cirencester and came into Eastangle and there diuiding the countrie amongst them began to inhabit the same In the 14 yéere of king Alfred his reigne part of the Danish armie which was gone ouer into France returned into England and besieged Rochester But when Alfred approched to the reskue the enimies fled to their ships and passed ouer the sea againe King Alfred sent a nauie of his ships well furnished with men of warre into Eastangle the which at the mouth of the riuer called Sture incountering with 16 ships of the Danes set vpon them and ouercame them in fight but as they returned with their prises they incountered with another mightie armie of the enimies and fighting with them were ouercome and vanquished In the yeere following king Alfred besieged the citie of London the Danes that were within it fled from thence and the Englishmen that were inhabitants thereof gladlie receiued him reioising that there was such a prince bred of their nation that was of power able to reduce them into libertie This citie being at that season the chiefe of all Mercia he deliuered into the kéeping of duke Eldred which had maried his daughter Ethelfleds held a great portion of Mercia which Colwolphus before time possesed by the grant of the Danes after they had subdued K. Burthred as before is said About the 21 yere of K. Alfred an armie of those Danes Normans which had béene in France returned into England and arriued in the hauen or riuer of Limene in the east part of Kent néere to the great wood called Andredesley which did conteine in times past 120 miles in length and thirtie in breadth These Danes landing with their people builded a castle at Appledore In the meane time came Hasting with 80 ships into the Thames and builded a castle at Middleton but he was constreined by siege which king Alfred planted about him to receiue an oth that he should not in any wise annoie the dominion of king Alfred who vpon his promise to depart gaue great gifts as well to him as to his wife and children One of his sonnes also king Alfred held at the fontstone and to the other duke Aldred was god father For as it were to win credit and to auoid present danger Hasting sent vnto Alfred these his two sonnes signifieng that if it stood with his pleasure he could be content that they should be baptised But neuerthelesse this Hasting was euer most vntrue of word and déed he builded a castle at Beamfield And as he was going foorth to spoile and wast the kings countries Alfred tooke that castle with his wife children ships and goods which he got togither of such spoiles as he had abroad but he restored vnto Hasting his wife and children bicause he was their godfather Shortlie after newes came that a great number of other ships of Danes were come out of Northumberland and had besieged Excester Whilest king Alfred went then against them the other armie which lay at Appledore inuaded Essex and built
somnesse of life by death diuide Iam post transactos regni vitaeque labores Now after labours past of realme and lie which he did spend Christus ei fit vera quies sceptrúmque perenne Christ is â—o him true quietnesse and scepter void of end In the daies of the foresaid king Alured the kingdome of Mercia tooke end For after that the Danes had expelled king Burthred when he had reigned 22 yeares he went to Rome and there died his wife also Ethelswida the daughter of king Athulfe that was sonne to king Egbert followed him and died in Pauia in Lumbardie The Danes hauing got the countrie into their possession made one Cewulfe K. thereof whome they bound with an oth and deliuerie of pledges that he should not longer kéepe the state with their pleasure and further should be readie at all times to aid them with such power as he should be able to make This Cewulfe was the seruant of king Burthred Within foure yeares after the Danes returned and tooke one part of that kingdome into their owne hands and left the residue vnto Cewulfe But within a few yeares after king Alured obteined that part of Mercia which Cewulfe ruled as he did all the rest of this land except those parcels which the Danes held as Northumberland the countries of the Eastangles some part of Mercia and other The yeare in the which king Alured thus obteined all the dominion of that part of Mercia which Cewulfe had in gouernance was after the birth of our Sauiour 886 so that the foresaid kingdome continued the space of 302 yeares vnder 22 kings from Crida to this last Cewulfe But there he that account the continuance of this kingdome onelie from the beginning of Penda vnto the last yeare of Burthred by which reckoning it stood not past 270 yeares vnder 18 or rather 17 kings counting the last Cewulfe for none who began his reigne vnder the subiection of the Danes about the yeare of our Lord 874 where Penda began his reigne 604. The Eastangles and the Northumbers in these daies were vnder subiection of the Danes as partlie may be perceiued by that which before is rehearsed After Guthrun that gouerned the Eastangles by the terme of 12 yeares one Edhirike or Edrike had the rule in those parts a Dane also and reigned 14 yeares and was at length bereued of his gouernement by king Edward the sonne of king Alured as after shall appeare But now although that the Northumbers were brought greatlie vnder fooâ— by the Danes yet could they not forget their old accustomed maner to stirre tumults and rebellion against their gouernours insomuch that in the yeare 872 they expelled not onelie Egbert whome the Danes had appointed king ouer one part of the countrie as before you haue heard but also their archbishop Wilfehere In the yeare following the same Egbert departed this life after whome one Rigsig or Ricsige succéeded as king and the archbishop Wolfehere was restored home In the same yeare the armie of Danes which had wintered at London came from thence into Northumberland and wintered in Lindseie at a place called Torkseie and went the next yeare into Mercia And in the yeare 975 a part of them returned into Northumberland as before ye haue heard In the yeare following Ricsig the king of Northumberland departed this life after whome an other Egbert succéeded And in the yeare 983 the armie of the Danes meaning to inhabit in Northumberland and to settle themselues there chose Guthrid the sonne of one Hardicnute to their king whome they had sometime sold to a certeine widow at Witingham But now by the abuise of an abbat called Aldred they redéemed his libertie and ordeined him king to rule both Danes and Englishmen in that countrie It was said that the same Aldred being abbat of holie Iland was warned in a vision by S. Cuthberd to giue counsell both to the Danes and Englishmen to make the same Guthrid king This chanced about the 13 yeare of the reigne of Alured king of Westsaxons When Guthrid was established king he caused the bishops sée to be remoued from holie Iland vnto Chester in the stréet and for an augmentation of the reuenues and iurisdiction belonging thereto he assigned and gaue vnto saint Cuthbert all that countrie which lieth betwixt the riuers of Teise and Tine ¶ Which christian act of the king liuing in a time of palpable blindnesse and mistie superstition may notwithstanding be a light to the great men and péeres of this age who pretend religion with zeale and professe in shew the truth with feruencie not to impouerish the patrimonie of the church to inrich themselues and their posteritie not to pull from bishoprikes their ancient reuenues to make their owne greater not to alienate ecclesiasticall liuings into temporall commodities not to seeke the conuersion of college lands into their priuat possessions not to intend the subuersion of cathedrall churches to fill their owne cofers not to ferret out concealed lands for the supporte of their owne priuat lordlines not to destroy whole towneships for the erection of one statelie manour not to take and pale in the commons to inlarge their seueralles but like good and gratious common-wealth-men in all things to preferre the peoples publike profit before their owne gaine and glorie before their owne pompe and pleasure before the satisfieng of their owne inordinate desires Moreouer this priuiledge was granted vnto saint Cuthberts shrine that whosouer fled vnto the same for succour and safegard should not be touched or troubled in anie wise for the space of thirtie seuen daies And this fréedome was confirmed not onelie by king Guthrid but also by king Alured Finallie king Guthrid departed this life in the yeare of our Lord 894 after he had ruled the Northumbers with much crueltie as some say by the terme of a 11 yeares or somewhat more He is named by some writers Gurmond and also Gurmo thought to be the same whome king Alured caused to be baptised Whereas other affirme that Guthrid who ruled the Eastangles was he that Alured receiued at the fontstone William Malmesburie taketh them to be but one man which is not like to be true After this Guthrid or Gurmo his sonne Sithrike succeeded and after him other of that line till king Adelstane depriued them of the dominion and tooke it into his owne hands Edward succeedeth his father Alured in regiment he is disquieted by his brother Adelwold a man of a defiled life he flieth to the Danes and is of them receiued king Edwards prouision against the irruptions and forraies of the Danes Adelwold with a nauie of Danes entreth Eastangles the Essex men submit themselues he inuadeth Mercia and maketh great wast the Kentishmens disobedience preiudiciall to themselues they and the Danes haue a great conflict king Edward concludeth a truce with them he maketh a great slaughter
in Cornwall Werstan to Shireborne Adelme to Welâ—es and Edulfe to Kirton Also to the prouince of Sussex he ordeined one Bernegus and to Dorchester for the prouince of Mercia one Cenulfus ¶ Héere ye must note that where William Malme Polychro and other doo affirme that pope Formosus did accursse king Edward and the English nation for suffering the bishops sées to be vacant it can not stand with the agréement of the time vnlesse that the cursse pronounced by Formosus for this matter long afore was not regarded vntill Edward had respect thereto For the same Formosus began to gouerne the Romane sée about the yéere of our Lord 892 and liued in the papasie not past six yeeres so that he was dead before king Edward came to the crowne But how so euer this matter maie fall out this ye haue to consider although that Pleimond was sent vnto Rome to aduertise the pope what the king had decréed doone in the ordeining of bishops to their seuerall sées as before ye haue heard yet as maister Fox hath noted the gouernance and direction of the church depended chieflie vpon the kings of this land in those daies as it manifestlie appeereth as well by the decrees of king Alfred as of this king Edward whose authoritie in the election of bishops as before ye haue heard séemed then alone to be sufficient Moreouer I thinke it good to aduertise you in this place that this Pleimond archbishop of Canturburie of whome ye haue heard before was the 19 in number from Augustine the first archbishop there for after Brightwold that was the 8 in number and first of the English nation that gouerned the sée succéeded Taduin that sat thrée yéeres Notelin fiue yéeres Cuthbert 18 yéeres Brethwin thrée yeeres Lambert 27 yéeres Adelard 13 yéeres Wilfred 28 yéeres Theologildus or Pleogildus â— yéeres Celuotus or Chelutus 10 yéeres Then succéeded Aldred of whome king Edward receiued the crowne and he was predecessor to Pleimond A litle before the death of king Edward Sithrike the king of Northumberland killed his brother Nigellus and then king Reinold conquered the citie of Yorke Adelstane succeedeth his father Edward in the kingdome Alfred practising by treason to keepe him from the gouernement sanke downe suddenlie as he was taking his oth for his purgation the cause why Alfred opposed himselfe against Adelstane whose praise is notable what he did to satisfie the expectation of his people ladie Beatrice king Edwards daughter maried to Sithrike a Danish gouernor of the Northumbers by whose meanes Edwin king Edwards brother was drowned practises of treason the ladie Beatrice strangelie put to death by hir stepsons for being of counsell to poison hir husband Sithrike hir death reuenged vpon the tormentors by hir father king Edward and how chronographers varie in the report of this historie The xix Chapter ADelstane the eldest sonne of king Edward began his reigne ouer the more part of all England the yéere of our Lord 924 which was in the 6 yere of the emperour Henrie the first in the 31 yéere of the reigne of Charles surnamed Simplex king of France thrée moneths after the burning of Pauie about the 22 or 23 yéere of Constantine the third king of Scotland This Adelstane was crowned and consecrated king at Kingstone vpon Thames of Aldelme the archbishop of Canturburie who succéeded Pleimond He was the 24 king in number from Cerdicus or Cerdike the first king of the Westsaxons There were in the beginning some that set themselues against him as one Alfred a noble man which practised by treason to haue kept him from the gouernement but he was apprehended yer he could bring his purpose to passe and sent to Rome there to trie himselfe giltie or not giltie And as he tooke his oth for his purgation before the altar of saint Peter he suddenlie fell downe to the earth so that his seruants tooke him vp and bare him into the English schoole or hospitall where the third night after he died Pope Iohn the tenth sent vnto king Adelstane to know if he would that his bodie should be laid in christian buriall or not The king at the contemplation of Afreds friends and kinsfolks signified to the pope that he was contented that his bodie should be interred amongst other christians His lands being forfeited were giuen by the king vnto God and saint Peter The cause that mooued Alfred and other his complices against the king was as some haue alledged his bastardie But whether that allegation were true or but a slander this is certeine that except that steine of his honor there was nothing in this Adelstane worthie of blame so that he darkened all the glorious same of his predecessors both in vertuous conditions and victorious triumphs Such difference is there to haue that in thy selfe wherein to excell rather than to stand vpon the woorthinesse of thine ancestors sith that can not rightlie be called a mans owne After that king Adelstane was established in the estate he indeuored himselfe to answer the expectation of his people which hoped for great wealth to insue by his noble and prudent gouernance First therfore meaning to prouide for the suertie of his countrie he concluded a peace with Sithrike king of the Northumbers vnto whome as ye haue heard he gaue one of his sisters named Editha in mariage Sithrike liued not past one yéere after he had so maried hir And then Adelstane brought the prouince of the Northumbers vnto his subiection expelling one Aldulph out of the same that rebelled against him There be that write that Godfrie and Aulafe the sonnes of Sithrike succéeding their father in the gouernement of Northumberland by practising to mooue warre against king Adelstane occasioned him to inuade their countrie and to chase them out of the same so that Aulafe fled into Ireland Godfrie into Scotland but other write that Godfrie was the father of Reignold which wan Yorke after that Sithrike had slaine his brother Nigellus as before is mentioned ¶ The Scotish chronicles varie in report of these matters from the English writers whose chronicles affirme that in the life time of king Edward his daughter Beatrice was giuen in mariage to Sithrike the gouernor of the Danes in Northumberland with condition that if anie male were procreated in that mariage the same should inherit the dominions of king Edward after his decease King Edward had a brother as they say named Edwin a iolie gentleman and of great estimation amongst the Englishmen He by Sithrikes procurement was sent into Flanders in a ship that leaked and so was drowned to the great reioising of all the Danes least if he had suruiued his brother he would haue made some businesse for the crowne About the same time Adelstane a base sonne of K. Edward fled the realme for doubt to be made away by some like traitorous practise of the Danes Shortlie after king
submitted themselues vnto him and so both Scots and Northumbers receiued an oth to be true vnto him which they obserued but a small while for he was no sooner returned into the south parts but that Aulafe which had beene chased out of the countrie by king Edmund as before ye haue heard returned into Northumberland with a great nauie of ships and was ioifullie receiued of the inhabitants and restored againe to the kingdome which he held by the space of foure yéeres and then by the accustomed disloialtie of the Northumbers he was by them expelled and then they set vp one Hirke or Hericius the sonne of one Harrold to reigne ouer them who held not the estate anie long time For in the third yeere of his reigne Edred in the reuenge of such disloiall dealings in the Northumbers out of the countrie by king Edmund as before ye destroied the countrie with fire swoord sleaing the most part of the inhabitants He burnt the abbeie of Rippon which was kept against him As he was returning homeward an host of enimies brake out of Yorke and setting vpon the rereward of the kings armie at a place called Easterford made great slaughter of the same Wherefore the king in his rage ment to haue begun a new spoile and destruction but the Northumbers humbled themselues so vnto him that putting awaieout of the countrie by king Edmund as before ye their forsaid king Hirke or Hericius and offering great rewards and gifts to buy their peace they obteined pardon But bicause that Wolstane the archbishop of Yorke was of counsell with his countriemen in reuolting from king Edred and aduancing of Hericius king Edred tooke him and kept him in prison a long time after but at length in respect of the reuerence which he bare to his calling he set him at libertie and pardoned him his offense Matth. Westm. reciteth an other cause of Wolstans imprisonment as thus In the yéere of Grace saith he 951 king Edred put the archbishop of Yorke in close prison bicause of often complaints exhibited against him as he which had commanded manie townesmen of Theadford to be put to death in reuenge of the abbat Aldelme by them vniustlie slaine and murthered After this when Edred had appeased all ciuill tumults and dissentions within his land he applied him selfe to the aduancing of religion wholie followingWestm reciteth an other cause of Wolstans imprisonment the mind of Dunstane by whose exhortation he suffered patientlie manie torments of the bodie and exercised himselfe in praier and other deuout studies This Edred in his latter daies being greatlie addicted to deuotion religious priests at the request of his mother Edgiua restored the abbeie of Abington which was built first by king Inas but in these daies sore decaied and fallen into ruine Finallie after he had reigned nine yéeres and a halfe he departed this life to the great gréeuance of men and reioising of angels as it is written and was buried at Winchester in the cathedrall church there ¶ Heere is to be noted that the foresaid Edred when he came first to the crowne vpon a singular and most especiall fauour which he bare towards Dunstane the abbat of Glastenburie committed vnto him the chiefest part of all his treasure as charters of lands with other monuments and such ancient princelie iewels as belonged to the former kings with other such as he got of his owne willing him to lay the same inthis life to the great gréeuance of men and reioising safe kéeping within his monasterie of Glastenburie Afterward when king Edred perceiued himselfe to be in danger of death by force of that sickenesse which in déed made an end of his life he sent into all parties to such as had anie of his treasure in kéeping to bring the same vnto him with all spéed that he might dispose thereof before his departure out of this life as he should sée cause Dunstane tooke such things as he had vnder his hands hasted forward to deliuer the same vnto the king and to visit him in that time of his sickenesse according to his dutie but as he was vpon the waie a voice spake to him from heauen saieng Behold king Edred is now departed in peace At the hearing of this voice the horsse wheron Dunstane rode fell downe and died being not able to abide the presence of the angell that thus spake to Dunstane And when he came to the court he vnderstood that the king died the same houre in which it was told him by the angell as before ye haue heard Edwin succeedeth Edred in the kingdome of England his beastlie and incestuous carnalitie with a kinswoman of his on the verie day of his coronation he is reproued of Dunstane and giueth ouer the gentlewomans companie Dunstane is banished for rebuking king Edwin for his vnlawfull lust and lewd life the diuell reioised at his exile what reuenging mischiefs the king did for displeasure sake against the said Dunstane in exile the middle part of England rebellethye haue heard against king Edwin and erecteth his brother Edgar in roiall roome ouer them he taketh thought and dieth Edgar succeedeth him he is a fauourer of moonks his prouision for defense of his realme his policie and discretion in gouernment what kings he bound by oth to be true vnto him eight princes row his barge in signe of submission the vicious inconueniences that grew among the Englishmen vpon his fauouring of the Danes a restraint of excessiue quaffing Dunstane is made bishop of Worcester and Ethelwold bishop of Winchester iustice in Edgars time seuerelie executed theft punished with death a tribute of woolfs skins paid him out of Wales and the benefit of that tribute The xxiij Chapter AFter the deceasse of Edred his nephue Edwin the eldest sonne of king Edmund was made king of England and began his reigne ouer the same in the yeere of our Lord 955 in the 20 yeere of the emperor Otho the first in theiustice in Edgars time seuerelie executed 28 and last yéere of the reigne of Lewes king of France and about the twelfe yeere of Malcolme the first of that name king of Scotland He was consecrated at Kingston vpon Thames by Odo the archbishop of Canturburie On the verie day of his coronation as the lords were set in councell about weightie matters touching the gouernment of the realme he rose from the place gat him into a chamber with one of his néere kinswomen and there had to doo with hir without anie respect or regard had to his roiall estate and princelie dignitie Dunstane latelie before named abbat of Glastenburie did not onlie without feare of displeasure reprooue the K. for such shamefull abusing of his bodie but also caused the archbishop of Canturburie to constreine him to forsake that woman whom vnlawfullie he kept There be that write that there were two
friuolous and wholie impertinent to our purpose onelie this I read that through declaring of his dreames and visions he obteined in the time of king Edgar first the bishoprike of Worcester after the London last of all the archbishoprike of Canturburie But leauing Dunstane and the fond deuises depending vpon the commemoration of his life we will now returne to the dooings of Egelred and speake of such things in the next chapter as chanced in his time The Danes inuade England on each side they are vanquished by the English Goda earle of Deuonshire slaine the Danes in a battell fought at Maldon kill Brightnod earle of Essex and the most of this armie ten thousand pounds paid to them by composition that they should not trouble the English subiects they cease their crueltie for a time but within a while after fall to their bloudie bias the English people despaire to resist them Egelred addresseth a nauie against the Danes vnder the erles Alfrike and Turold Alfrike traitorouslie taketh part with the Danes his ship and souldiers are taken his sonne Algar is punished for his fathers offense the Danes make great wast in many parts of this Iland they besiege London and are repelled with dishonor they driue king Egelred to buy peace of them for 16000 pounds Aulafe king of Norwey is honorablie interteined of Egelred to whome he promiseth at his baptisme neuer to make warre against England the great zeale of people in setting forward the building of Durham towne and the minster The second Chapter SHortlie after the decease of Dunstane the Danes inuaded this realme on each side wasting and spoiling the countrie in most miserable wise They arriued in so manie places at once that the Englishmen could not well deuise whither to go to encounter first with them Some of them spoiled a place or towne called Wichport and from thence passing further into the countrie were met with by the Englishmen who giuing them battell lost their capteine Goda but yet they got the victorie and beat the Danes out of the field and so that part of the Denish armie was brought to confusion Simon Dunel saith that the Englishmen in déed wan the field here but not without great losse For besides Goda who by report of the same author was Earle of Deuonshire there died an other valiant man of warre named Strenwold In the yeere 991 Brightnod earle of Essex at Maldon gaue battell to an armie of Danes which vnder their leaders Iustine and Guthmond had spoiled Gipswich and was there ouercome and slaine with the most part of his people and so the Danes obteined in that place the victorie In the same yéere and in the 13 yeere of king Egelreds reigne when the land was on each side sore afflicted wasted and haried by the Danes which couered the same as they had béene grashoppers by the aduise of the archbishop of Canturburie Siricius which was the second of that séee after Dunstane a composition was taken with the Danes so that for the sum of ten thousand pounds to be paied to them by the king they should couenant not to trouble his subiects anie further This monie was called Denegilt or Dane monie and was leuied of the people Although other take that to be Danegilt which was giuen vnto such Danes as king Egelred afterwards reteined in his seruice to defend the land frm other Danes and enimies that sought to inuade his dominions But by what name so euer this monie which the Danes now receiued was called true it is that herevpon they ceassed from their most cruell inuasions for a time But shortlie after they had resfreshed themselues and recouered new strength they began to play their old parts againe dooing the like mischéefe by their semblable inuasions as they had vsed before By reason hereof such feare came vpon the English people that they despaired to be able to resist the enimies The king yet caused a nauie to be set foorth at London whereof he appointed earle Alfrike whome before he had banished to be high admerall ioining with him earle Turold This nauie did set forward from London toward the enimies who hauing warning giuen them from Alfrike escaped away without hurt Shortly after a greater nauie of the Danes came and incountered with the kings fléet so that a great number of the Londoners were slaine and all the kings ships taken for Alfrike like a traitor turned to the Danes side ¶ Matt. West maketh other report of this matter declaring that Alfrike in déed being one of the chiefe capteins of the fléet aduertised them by forewarning of the danger that was toward them and that when they should come to ioining the same Alfrike like a traitor fled to the Danes and after vpon necessitie being put to â—light escaped away with them but the other capteins of the kings fléet as Theodred Elstan and Escwen pursued the Danes tooke one of their ships and slue all those that were found therein The Londoners also as the same Matt. West saith met with the nauie of the Danish rouers as they fled away and slue a great number and also tooke the ship of the traitor Alfrike with his souldiers armor but he himselfe escaped though with much paine hauing plaied the like traitorous part once before and yet was reconciled to the kings fauor againe Upon this mischiefe wrought by the father the king now tooke his sonne Algar and caused his eies to be put out About the same time was Bambrough destroied by the Danes which arriued after in Humber and wasted the countrie of Lindsey and Yorkeshire on either side that riuer And when the Englishmen were assembled to giue them battell before they ioined the capteines of the English armie Frena Godwin and Fredegist that were Danes by their fathers side began to flie away and escaped so giuing the occasion of the ouerthrow that lighted on their people But by some writers it should appéere that after the Danes had destroied all the north parts as they spred abroad without order and good arraie the people of the countrie fell vpon them and slue some of them and chased the residue Other of the Danes with a nauie of 94 ships entered the Thames and besieged London about our ladie daie in September They gaue a verie sore assault to the citie and assaied to set it on fire but the citizens so valiantlie defended themselues that the Danes were beaten backe and repelled greatlie to their losse so that they were constreined to depart thence with dishonor Then they fell to and wasted the countries of Essex Kent Sussex and Hamshire and ceassed not till they had inforced the king to compound with them for 16 thousand pounds which he was glad to pay to haue peace with them Moreouer whereas they wintered that yéere at Southampton the king procured Aulafe king of the Norwegians to come vnto Andeuer where at
shortlie after erle Turkill with 9 of those ships sailed into Denmarke submitted himselfe vnto Cnute counselled him to returne into England and promised him the assistance of the residue of those Danish ships which yet remained in England being to the number of thirtie with all the souldiers and mariners that to them belonged To conclude he did so much by his earnest persuasions that Cnute through aid of his brother Harrold king of Denmarke got togither a nauie of two hundred ships so roially decked furnished and appointed both for braue shew and necessarie furniture of all maner of weapons armor munition as it is strange to consider that which is written by them that liued in those daies and tooke in hand to register the dooings of that time Howbeit to let this pompe of Cnutes fléete passe which no doubt was right roiall consider a little and looke backe to Turkill though a sworne seruant to king Egelred how he did direct all his drift to the aduancement of Cnute and his owne commoditie cloking his purposed treacherie with pretended amitie as shall appeare hereafter by his deadlie hostilitie A great waste by an inundation or in-breaking of the sea a tribute of 30000 pounds to the Danes king Egelred holdeth a councell at Oxford where he causeth two noble men of the Danes to be murdered by treason Edmund the king eldest sonne marieth one of their wiues and seizeth vpon his 〈◊〉 lands Cnute the Damsn king returneth into England the Damsn and English armies encounter both 〈…〉 Cnute maketh waste of certeine 〈◊〉 Edmund preuenteth 〈◊〉 purposed treason Edrike de Streona 〈◊〉 to the Danes the Westernemen yeeld to Cnute Mercia refuseth to be subiect vnto him Warwikeshire wasted by the Danes Egelred assembleth an armie against them in vaine Edmund Vtred with ioined forces lay waste such countries and people as became subiect to Cnute his policie to preuent their purpose through what countries he passed Vtred submitteth himselfe to Cnute and deliuereth pledges he 〈◊〉 put to death and his lands alienated Cnute pursueth Edmund to London and prepareth to besiege the citie the death and buriall of Egelred his wiues what issue he had by them his infortunatenesse and to what affections and vices he was inclined his too late and bootlesse seeking to releeue his decaied kingdome The eight Chapter BUt now to returne to our purpose and to shew what chanced in England after the departure of Cnute In the same yeare to the forsaid accustomed mischiefes an vnwoonted misaduenture happened for the sea rose with such high spring-tides that ouerflowing the countries next adioining diuers villages with the inhabitants were drowned and destroied Also to increase the peoples miserie king Egelred commanded that 30000 pounds should be leuied to paie the tribute due to the Danes which lay at Gréenewich This yeare also king Egelred held a councell at Oxford at the which a great number of noble men were present both Danes and Englishmen and there did the king cause Sigeferd and Morcad two noble personages of the Danes to be murdered within his owne chamber by the traitorous practise of Edrike de Streona which accused them of some conspiracie But the quarell was onelie as men supposed for that the king had a desire to their goods and possessions Their seruants tooke in hand to haue reuenged the death of their maisters but were beaten backe wherevpon they fled into the steeple of saint Friswids church and kept the same till fire was set vpon the place and so they were burned to death The wife of Sigeferd was taken sent to Malmsburie being a woman of high fame and great worthinesse wherevpon the kings eldest sonne named Edmund tooke occasion vpon pretense of other businesse to go thither and there to sée hir with whome he fell so far in loue that he tooke and maried hir That doone he required to haue hir husbands lands and possessions which were an earles liuing and lay in Northumberland And when the king refused to graunt his request he went thither and seized the same possessions and lands into his hands without hauing anie commission so to doo finding the farmers and tenants there readie to receiue him for their lord Whilest these things were a dooing Cnute hauing made his prouision of ships and men with all necessarie furniture as before ye haue heard for his returne into England set forward with full purpose either to recouer the realme out of Egelreds hands or to die in the quarrell Herevpon he landed at Sandwich and first earle Turkill obteined licence to go against the Englishmen that were assembled to resist the Danes and finding them at a place called Scoraâ—tan he gaue them the ouerthrow got a great bootie and returned therewith to the ships After this Edrike gouernor of Norwaie made a rode likewise into an other part of the countrie with a rich spoile and manie prisoners returned vnto the nauie After this iournie atchiued thus by Edrike Cnute commanded that they should not waste the countrie anie more but gaue order to prepare all things readie to besiege London but before he attempted that enterprise as others write he marched foorth into Kent or rather sailing round about that countrie tooke his iournie westward came to Fromundham and after departing from thence wasted Dorsetshire Summersetshire Wiltshire King Egelred in this meane time lay sicke at Cossam and his sonne Edmund had got togither a mightie hoast howbeit yer he came to ioine battell with his enimies he was aduertised that earle Edrike went about the betraie him and therefore he withdrew with the armie into a place of suertie But Edrike to make his tratorous purpose manifest to the whole world fled to the enimies with fortie of the kings ships fraught with Danish souldiers Herevpon all the west countrie submitted it selfe vnto Cnute who receiued pledges of the chiefe lords and nobles and then set forward to subdue them of Mercia The people of that countrie would not yéeld but determined to defend the quarrell and title of king Egelred so long as they might haue anie capteine that would stand with them and helpe to order them In the yeare 1016 in Christmas Cnute and earle Edrike passed the Thames at Kirkelade entring into Mercia cruellie began with fire and sword to waste and destroie the countrie and namelie Warwikeshire In the meane time was king Egelred recouered of his sicknesse and sent summons forth to raise all his power appointing euerie man to resort vnto him that he might incounter the enimies and giue them battell But yet when his people were assembled he was warned to take héed vnto himselfe and in anie wise to beware how he gaue battell for his owne subiects were purposed to betraie him Herevpon the armie brake vp king Egelred withdrew to London there to abide his enimies within the walles with whom in the field he doubted
this daughter of duke William was departed this life before the comming of these ambassadors and that Harold therevpon thought himselfe discharged of the oth and couenants made to duke William and therefore sent them away with such an vntoward answer But howsoeuer it was after the departure of these ambassadors king Harold doubting what would insue caused his ships to be newlie rigged his men of warre to be mustered and spéedilie put in a readinesse to the end that if anie sudden inuasion should be made and attempted by his enimie he might be able to resist them ¶ About the same time also and vpon the 24 of Aprill whilest Harold was making prouision to withstand the Norman force there appeared a blasing starre which was séene not onelie here in England but also in other parts of the world and continued the space of seuen daies This blasing starre might be a prediction of mischéefe imminent hanging ouer Harolds head for they neuer appeare but as prognosticats of afterclaps To be resolutelie instructed herein doo but peruse a treatise intituled A doctrine generall of comets or blasing starres published by a bishop of Mentz in Latine and set foorth in English by Abraham Fleming vpon the apparition of a blasing starre séene in the southwest on the 10 of Nouember 1577 and dedicated to the right worshipfull sir William Cordell knight then maister of hir maiesties rolles c. Earle Tostie afflicteth his brother Harold on sea and land he taketh the repulse and persuadeth Harfager king of Norweâ—e to attempt the conquest of England against Harold Harfager Tostie with their powers arriue at Humber they fight with the Northumbers vnder the conduct of Edwine and Marchar and discomfit them Harold leuieth an armie against them the rare valiantnes of a Norwegian souldior Harfager and Tostie slaine in battell the Norwegians are foiled and flie Harolds vnequall and parciall diuiding of the spoile he goeth to Yorke to reforme things amisse The ninth Chapter WHilest Harold desirous to reteine and verie loth to let go his vsurped roialtie had crackt his credit with the duke of Normandie and by his lewd reuolting from voluntarie promises ratified with solemne othes had also kindled the fire of the dukes furie against him it came to passe that the proud and presumptuous man was to begin withall vexed in his owne flesh I meane his owne kinred For Tostie the brother of king Harold who in the daies of king Edward for his crueltie had béene chased out of the realme by the Northumbers returning out of Flanders assembled a nauie of ships from diuers parts to the number of 60 with the which he arriued in the I le of Wight there spoiled the countrie and afterward sailing about by the coasts of Kent he tooke sundrie preies their also and came at the last to Sandwich so that Harold was now constreined to appoint the nauie which he had prepared against the Normans to go against his brother earle Tostie Whereof the said Tostie being aduertised drew towards Lindsey in Lincolnshire and there taking land did much hurt in the countrie both with sword and fire till at length Edwine earle of Mercia and Marchar earle of Northumberland aided with the kings nauie chased him from thence and caused him to flie into Scotland not without some losse both of his men and ships This trouble was scarse quieted but streightwaies another came in the necke thereof farre more dangerous than the first For Tostie perceiuing that he could get no aid in Scotland to make anie account of sailed forth into Norweie and there persuaded Harold Harfager king of that realme to saile with an armie into England persuading him that by meanes of ciuill dissention latelie kindled betwixt the king and his lords which was not so it should be an easie matter for him to make a conquest of the whole realme and reigne ouer them as his predecessors had done before Some authors affirme that Harold king of Norwey tooke this enterprise in hand of his owne mind and not by procurement of Tostie saieng that Tostie méeting with him in Scotland did persuade him to go forward in his purposed busines and that the said Harold Harfager with all conuenient spéed passed foorth with a nauie of 300 saile entered into the riuer of Tine where after he had rested a few daies to refresh his people earle Tostie came also with his power according to an appointment which should be made betweene them They ad furthermore that they sailed forth alongst the coast till they arriued in the mouth of Humber then drawing vp against the streame of the riuer Owse they landed at length at a place called Richhall from whence they set forward to inuade the countrie néere vnto Yorke on the north-side of the citie they fought with the power of the Northumbers which was led by the earls Edwine and Marchar two brethren and there discomfited and chased them into the citie with great slaughter and bloudshed Harold king of England being aduertised of this chance made the more hast forward for he was alreadie in the field with his armie intending also to come towards his enimies so that vpon the fift day after he came to Stamford bridge finding there the said king Harfager and Tostie readie imbattelled he first assailed those that kept the bridge where as some writers affirme a Norwegian souldier with his axe defended the passage mauger the whole host of the Englishmen and slue fortie of them or more with his axe might not be ouercome till an Englishman went with a boat vnder the said bridge and through and hole thereof thrust him vp into the bodie with his speare yet Matt. West saith that he was slaine with a dart which one of king Harold his seruants threw at him so ended his life Which bridge being woone the whole host of the Englishmen passed ouer and ioined with their enimies and after a verie great and sore battell put them all to flight In this conflict Harold Harfager king of the Norwegians was slaine so was Tostie the king of England his brother besides a great number of other as well in the battell as in the chase neither did the Englishmen escape all frée for the Norwegians fought it out a long time verie stoutlie beating downe and killing great numbers of such as assailed them with great courage and assurance The residue of the Norwegians that were left to keepe their ships vnder the guiding of Olaue sonne to the king of Norwaie and Paule earle of Orkneie after they vnderstood by their fellowes that escaped from the field how the mater went with Harfager and Tostie they hoised vp their sailes and directed their course homewards bearing sorowfull newes with them into their countrie of the losse of their king and ouerthrow of all his people Some write that
made by the foresaid duke of Normandie to set downe his pedegrée thereby to shew how he descended from the first duke of that countrie who was named Rollo and after by receiuing baptisme called Robert The said Rollo or Rou was sonne to a great lord in Denmarke called Guion who hauing two sons the said Rou and Gourin and being appointed to depart the countrie as the lots fell to him and other according to the maner there vsed in time when their people were increased to a greater number than the countrie was able to susteine refused to obeie that order and made warre there against the king who yet in the end by practise found meanes to slea the foresaid Guion and his sonne Gourin so that Rou or Rollo hauing thus lost his father and brother was compelled to forsake the countrie with all those that had holpe his father to make warre against the king Thus driuen to séeke aduentures at length he became a christian and was created duke of Normandie by gift of Charles king of France surnamed le Simple whose daughter the ladie Gilla he also maried but she departing this life without issue he maried Popée daughter to the earle of Bessin and Baieulx whome he had kept as his wife before he was baptised and had by hir a sonne named William Longespée and a daughter named Gerlota William Longespée or Longaspata had to wife the ladie Sporta daughter to Hubert earle of Senlis by whome he had issue Richard the second of that name duke of Normandie who married the ladie Agnes the daughter of Hugh le grand earle of Paris of whome no issue procéeded but after hir deceasse he maried to his second wife a gentlemwoman named Gonnor daughter to a kinght of the Danish line by whom he had thrée sonnes Richard that was after duke of Normandie the third of that name Robert and Mauger He had also by hir three daughters Agnes otherwise called Emma married first to Egelred king of England and after to K. Cnute Helloie otherwise Alix bestowed vpon Geffrey earle of Britaine and Mawd coupled in marriage with Euldes earle of Charters and Blais Richard the third of that name maried Iudith sister to Geffrey earle of Britaine by whome he had issue thrée sonnes Richard Robert and William and as manie daughters Alix married to Reignold earle of Burgogne Elenor married to Baldwine earle of Flanders and the third died yoong being affianced to Alfonse king of Nauarre Their mother deceassed after she had beene married ten yéeres and then duke Richard married secondlie the ladie Estric sister to Cnute king of England and Denmarke from whome he purchased to be diuorsed and then married a gentlewoman called Pauie by whome he had issue two sonnes William earle of Arques and Mauger archbishop of Rouen Richard the fourth of that name duke of Normandie eldest sonne to Richard the third died without issue and then his brother Robert succéeded in the estate which Robert begat vpon Arlete or Harleuina daughter to a burgesse of Felais William surnamed the bastard afterward duke of Normandie and by conquest king of England Of whose father duke Robert his paramour Arlete take this pleasant remembrance for a refection after the perusing of the former sad and sober discourses In the yéere of Christ 1030 Robert the second sonne of Richard the second duke of Normandie and brother to Richard the third duke of that name there hauing with great honour and wisedome gouerned his duke dome seuen yéeres for performance of a penance that he had set to himselfe appointed a pilgrimage to Ierusalem leauing behind him this William a yoong prince whome seuen yeeres before he had begotten vpon his paramour Arlete whom after he held as his wife with whose beautifull fauour louelie grace and presence at hir dansing on a time then as he was tenderlie touched for familiar vtterance of his mind what he had further to say would néeds that night she should be his bedfellow who else as wiuelesse should haue lien alone where when she was bestowed thinking that if she should haue laid hir selfe naked it might haue séemed not so maidenlie a part so when the duke was about as the maner is to haue 〈◊〉 vp hir linnen the in an humble modestie staid hir lords hand and rent downe hir smocke asunder from the collar to the verie skirt Heereat the duke all smiling did aske hir what thereby she ment In great lowlines with a feate question she answerd againe My lord were it méet that any part of my garments dependant about me downeward should presume to be mountant to my souereignes mouth vpward Let your grace pardon me He liked hir answer and so and so foorth for that time This duke before his voiage calling at Fiscam all his nobilitie vnto him caused them to sweare fealtie vnto his yoong sonne Willliam whome he then at his iournie betooke vnto the gouernance of earle Gilbert and the defense of the gouernance vnto Henrie the French king So Robert passing foorth in his pilgrimage shewed in euerie place and in all points a magnanimitie and honour of a right noble prince and pleasant withall who once in Iurie not well at ease in a litter was borne toward Ierusalem vpon Saracens shoulders méeting with a subiect of his that was going home toward Normandie Friend quoth he if my people at thy returne aske after me tell them that thou sawest their lord carried to heauen by diuels The Norman nobilitie during duke Roberts life did their dutie to the yoong prince faithfullie but after they heard of his fathers death they slackened apace euerie one shifting for himselfe as he list without anie regard either of oth or obedience toward the pupill their souereigne Whereby not manie yéeres after as Gilbert the gouernour by Rafe the childes coosine germane was slaine the dukedome anon by murther and fighting among themselues was sore troubled in all parts Thus much a litte of duke Robert the father and of prince William his sonne for part of his tender yéeres A notable aduertisement touching the summe of all the foresaid historie wherein the foure great and notable conquests of this land are brieflie touched being a conclusion introductorie as is said in the argument IN the former part of this historie it is manifest to the heedfull reader that after the opinion of most writers Brute did first inhabit this land and called it then after his owne name Britaine in the yéere after the creation of the world 2855 and in the yéere before the incarnation of Christ 1108. ¶ Furthermore the said land of Britaine was conquered by C. Iulius Cesar and made tributarie to the Romans in the 50 yéere before the natiuitie of Christ and so continued 483 yéeres So that the Britains reigned without tribute and vnder tribute from Brute vntill the fourth yeere of the reigne of king Cadwalladar which was in the yéere of our Lord
saturdaie whereby it commeth to passe that as the Iews make our last daie the first of their wéeke so the Turks make the Iewish sabaoth the beginning of their Hebdoma bicause Mahomet their prophet as they saie was borne and dead vpon the fridaie and so he was indéed except their Alcharon deceiue them The Iews doo reckon their daies by their distance from their sabaoth so that the first daie of their wéeke is the first daie of the sabaoth and so foorth vnto the sixt The Latins and Aegyptians accompted their daies after the seauen planets choosing the same for the denominator of the daie that entreth his regiment with the first vnequall houre of the same after the sun be risen Howbeit as this order is not wholie reteined with vs so the vse of the same is not yet altogither abolished as may appéere by our sunday mondaie and saturdaie The rest were changed by the Saxons who in remembrance of Theut sometime their prince called the second day of the wéek Theutsdach the third Woden Othin Othon or Edon or Wodensdach Also of Thor they named the fourth daie Thorsdach and of Frea wife to Woden the fift was called Freadach Albeit there are and not amisse as I thinke that suppose them to meane by Thor Iupiter by Woden Mercurie by Frea or Frigga as Saxo calleth hir Uenus and finallie by Theut Mars which if it be so then it is an easie matter to find out the german Mars Uenus Mercurie and Iupiter whereof you may read more hereafter in my chronologie The truth is that Frea albeit that Saxo giueth hir scant a good report for that she loued one of hir husbands men better than himselfe had seauen sonnes by Woden the first father to Wecca of whome descended those that were afterwards kings of Kent Fethelgeta was the second and of him came the kings of Mercia Baldaie the third father to the kings of the west Saxons Beldagius the fourth parent to the kings of Brenicia or Northumberland Weogodach the fift author of the kings of Deira Caser the sixt race of the east Angle race Nascad originall burgeant of the kings of Essex As for the kings of Sussex although they were of the same people yet were they not of the same streine as our old monuments doo expresse But to procéed As certeine of our daies suffered this alteration by the Saxons so in our churches we reteined for a long time the number of daies or of sabaoth after the manner of the Iews I meane vnstill the seruice after the Romane vse was abolished which custome was first receiued as some thinke by pope Syluester though other saie by Constantine albeit another sort doo affirme that Syluester caused the sundaie onelie to be called the Lords day and dealt not with the rest In like maner of wéekes our moneths are made which are so called of the moone each one conteining eight and twentie daies or foure wéekes without anie further curiositie For we reckon not our time by the yeare of the moone as the Iews Grecians or Romans did at the first or as the Turks Arabians and Persians doo now neither anie parcell thereof by the said planet as in some part of the west Indies where they haue neither weeke moneth nor yéere but onlie a generall accompt of hundreds and thousands of moones Wherefore if we saie or write a moneth it is to be expounded of eight and twentie daies or foure wéeks onelie and not of hir vsuall period of nine and twentie daies and one and thirtie minuts Or if you take it at large for a moneth of the common calender which neuerthelesse in plées and sutes is nothing at all allowed of sith the moone maketh hir full reuolution in eight and twentie daies or foure weeks that is vnto the place where she left the sun notwithstanding that he be now gone and at hir returne not to be found verie often in that signe wherin she before had left him Plutarch writeth of diuers barbarous nations which reckoned a more or lesse number of these moneths for whole yeares and that of these some accompted but thrée as the Archadians did foure the Acarnans six and the Aegyptians but one for a whole yeare which causeth them to make such a large accompt of their antiquitie and originall But forsomuch as we are not troubled with anie such disorder it shall suffice that I haue generallie said of moneths and their quantities at this time Now a word or two of the ancient Romane calender In old time each moneth of the Romane calender was reckoned after the course of the moone and their enterances were vncerteine as were also the changes of that planet whereby it came to passe that the daie of the change was the first of the moneth howsoeuer it fell out But after Iulius Cesar had once corrected the same the seuerall beginnings of euerie one of them did not onelie remaine fixed but also the old order in the diuision of their parts continued still vnaltered so that the moneth is yet diuided as before into calends ides and nones albeit that in my daies the vse of the same bée but small and their order reteined onelie in our calenders for the better vnderstanding of such times as the historiographers and old authors doo remember The reckoning also of each of these goeth as you sée after a preposterous order whereby the Romans did rather note how many daies were to the next change from the precedent than contrariwise as by perusall of the same you shall more easilie perceiue The daies also of the change of the moneth of the moone are called Calendae which in time of paganisme were consecrated to Iuno and sacrifice made to that goddesse on the same On these daies also and on the ides and nones they would not marie Likewise the morow after each of them were called Dies atri blacke daies as were also diuerse other and those either by reason of some notable ouerthrow or mishap that befell vnto the Romans vpon those daies or in respect of some superstitious imagination conceiued of euill successe likelie to fall out vpon the same Of some they were called Dies Aegyptiaci Wherby it appeareth that this peeuish estimation of these daies came from that nation And as we doo note our holie and festiuall daies with red letters in our calenders so did the Romans their principall feasts circle of the moone either in red or golden letters and their victories in white in their publike or consularie tables This also is more to be added that if anie good successe happened afterward vpon such day as was alreadie blacke in their calender they would solemnlie enter it in white letters by racing out of the blacke whereby the blacke daie was turned into white and wherein they not a little reioised The word Calendae in Gréeke Neomenia is deriued of Calo to call for vpon the first day of euerie moneth the priest vsed to call the
people of the citie and countrie togither in Calabria for so the place was called where they met and shew them by a custome how manie daies were from the said calends to the nones what feasts were to be celebrated betwéene that and the next change Their order is retrograde because that after the moneth was halfe expired or the moone past the full they reckoned by the daies to come vntill the next change as seuentéene daies sixtéene daies fourtéene daies c as the Gréekes did in the latter decad onelie for they had no vse of calends The verie day therefore of the change is called Calendae dedicated to Iuno who thereof was also called Calendaris At the first also the fasts or feast daies were knowne by none other meanes vnto the people but by the denunciation of the priests as I said vpon this daie till Flauius Scriba caused them to be written published in their common calenders contrarie to the will and meaning of the senat for the ease and benefit of the people as he pretended The nones commonlie are not aboue foure or six in euerie moneth and so long as the nones lasted so long did the markets continue and therefore they were called Nonae quasi Nundinae In them also were neither holiedaies more than is at this present except the day of the purification of our ladie no sacrifice offered to the gods but each one applied his businesse and kept his market reckoning the first day after the calends or change to be the fourth or sixt daie before the faire ended Some thinke that they were called Nonae of the word Non quia in ijsdem dij non coluntur For as Ouid saith Nonarum tutelae deo caret or for that the nones were alwaies on the ninth daie before the ides other because Nundina dea was honored the ninth day before the ides albeit I suppose rather that Nundina dea a goddesse far yoonger than the name of Nonae tooke hir name of the nones whereon it was a custome among the Romans Lustrare infantes ac nomina maribus imponere as they did with their maid children vpon the eight but howsoeuer this be sure it is that they were the mart daies of euerie moneth wherin the people bought sold exchanged or battered and did nothing else The ides are so named of the Hethruscan word Iduare to diuide and before that Cesar altered the calender they diuided the moneth commonlie by the middest But afterward when he had added certeine daies the reto therby to make it agrée to the yéere of the sunne which he intruded about the end of euerie moneth bicause he would not alter the celebration of their vsuall feasts whereof the chiefe were holden alwaies vpon the day of the ides then came they short of the middest sometime by two or thrée daies In these therefore which alwaies are eight the merchants had leisure to packe vp and conueie their merchandize to pay their creditors and make merie with their friends After the ides doo the calends follow but in a decreasing order as I noted as the moone dooth in light when she is past the full But herein lieth all the mysterie if you can say so manie daies before the next change or new moone as the number there expressed dooth betoken as for 16 calends so manie daies before the next coniunction c as is aboue remembred Of these calends I meane touching their number in euerie moneth I find these verses insuing Ianus Augustus denas nouémque December Iunius Aprilis September ipse Nouémber Ter senas retinent Februs bis octo calendas Iulius October Mars Maius epta decémque In English thus December Iune and August month full nineteene calends haue Septemb Aprill Nouemb and Iune twise nine they doo desire Sixteene foule Februarie hath no more can he well craue October Maie and Iulie hot but seuenteene door require In like maner doo the nones and ides Sex Maius nonas October Iulius Mars Quatuor at reliqui dabit idus quilibet octo To Iulie Mars October Maie six nones I hight The rest but foure and as for ides they keepe still eight Againe touching the number of daies in euerie moneth Iunius Aprilis Septémque Nouémque tricenos Vnumplus reliqui Februs tenet octo vicenos At si bissextus fuerit superadditur vnus Thirtie daies hath Nouember Aprill Iune and September Twentie and eight hath Februarie alone and all the rest thirtie and one but in the leape you must ad one Our yeare is counted after the course of the sunne and although the church hath some vse of that of the moone for obseruation of certeine mooueable feasts yet it is reducible to that of the sunne which in our ciuill dealings is chieflie had in vse Herein onelie I find a scruple that the beginning thereof is not vniforme and certeine for most of our records beare date the 25 of March and our calenders she first of Ianuarie so that with vs Christ is borne before he be conceiued Our sundrie officers also haue sundrie entrances into their charges of custome which bréedeth great confusion whereas if all these might be referred to one originall and that to be the first of Inuarie I doo not thinke but that there would be more certeintie and lesse trouble for our historiographers notaries other officers in their account of the yere In old time the Atheniens began their yeare with the change of the moone that fell néerest to the enterance of the sunne into the crab the Latines at the winter solstice or his going into the goat the Iewes in ciuill case at the latter equinoctiall and in ecclesiasticall with the first They of Calecute begin their yeare somewhere in September but vpon no daie certeine sith they first consult with their wisards who pronounce one day or other thereof to be most happie as the yeare goeth about and therewith they make their entrance as Osorius dooth remember who addeth that vpon the eleuenth calends of September they haue solemne plaies much like to the idoll games that they write in leaues of tree with a pencill in stead of paper which is not found among them Some of the old Grecians began their yere also in September but sith we seeke herein but for the custome of our countrie onelie it shall be enought to affirme that we make our account from the calends or first of Ianuarie and from the middest of the night which is Limes betwéene that and the last of December whereof this maie suffice I might speake of the Cynike yeare also in this place for the ease of our English readers sometime in vse amongst the Egyptians which conteineth 1460 common yeares whose beginning is alwaies reckoned from the rising of the lesser dog The first vse thereof entered the selfe yeare wherin the Olimpiads were restored And forsomuch as this nation hath no vse of intercalation at the end of euerie 1460 yeares they added an whole yeare of intercalation because
betwéene Tine and Tweed as in the Scotish chronicles may further appeare Also this is to be remembred that the victorie which was got against the Saxons by the Britains at what time Germane bishop of Auxerre was present Hector Boetius affirmeth by authoritie of Vâ—remond that wrote the Scotish chronicles to haue chanced the second time of his comming ouer into this land where Beda auoucheth it to be at his first being heere Againe the same Boetius writeth that the same victorie chanced in the daies of Uter Pendragon Which can not be if it be true that Beda writeth touching the time of the death of the said Germane for where he departed this life before the yeare of our Lord 459 as aboue is said Uter Pendragon began not his reigne till the yeare of our Lord 500 or as the same Hector Boetius saith 503 so that bishop Germane was dead long before that Uter began to reigne In déed some writers haue noted that the third battell which Uortimer fought against the Saxons was the same wherein S Germane was present and procured the victorie with the crie of Alleluia as before ye haue heard Which seemeth to be more agréeable to truth and to stand also with that which holie Beda hath written touching the time of the being héere of the said Germane that the opinion of other which affirme that it was in the time of the reigne of Uter The like is to be found in the residue of Hector Boetius his booke touching the time speciallie of the reignes of the British kings that gouerned Britaine about that season For as he affirmeth Aurelius Ambrosius began his reigne in the yeare of our Lord 498 and ruled but seuen yeares and then succéeded Uter which reigned 18 yeares and departed this life in the yeare of our Lord 521. ¶ Notwithstanding the premisses here is to be remembred that whatsoeuer the British writers haue recorded touching the victories of this Uter had against the Saxons and how that Osca the sonne of Hengist should be slaine in battell by him and his power in those old writers which haue registred the acts of the English Saxon kings we find no such matter but rather that after the deceasse of Hengist his sonne Osca or Occa reigned in Kent 24 yeares defending his kingdome onelie and not séeking to inlarge it as before is touched After whose death his sonne Oth and Irmenrike sonne to the same Oth succéeded more resembling their father than their grandfather or great grandfather To their reignes are assigned fiftie and three yeares by the chronicles but whether they reigned iointlie togither or seuerallie apart either after other it is not certeinlie perceiued Porth the Saxon arriueth at Portesmouth warre betweene Nazaleod king of the Britains and the Saxons the Britains are ouethrowen and slaine the kingdome of the west Saxons beginneth the compasse or continent thereof the meanes whereby it was inlarged The eleuenth Chapter NOw will we breefelie discourse vpon the incidents which first happened during the reigne of Uter Pendragon We find that one Porth a Saxon with his two sons Megla and Beda came on land at Portesmouth in Sussex about the beginning of the said Uters reigne and slue a noble yoong man of the Britains and manie other of the meaner sort with him Of this Porth the towne hauen of Portesmouth tooke the name as some haue thought Moreouer about 40 yeares after the comming of the Saxons into this land with their leader Hengist one Nazaleod a mightie king amongst the Britains assembled all the power he could make to fight with Certicus king of the West saxons who vnderstanding of the great power of his enimies required aid of Osca king of Kent also of Elle king of Sussex and of Porth and his sonnes which were latelie before arriued as ye haue heard Certicus being then furnished with a conuenient armie diuided the same into two battels reseruing the one to himselfe and the other he appointed to his sonne Kenrike King Nazaleod perceiuing that the wing which Certicus led was of more strength than the other which Kenrike gouerned he set first vpon Certicus thinking that if he might distresse that part of the enimies armie he should easilie ouercome the other Herevpon he gaue such a fierce charge vpon that wing that by verie force he opened the same and so ouerthrew the Saxons on that side making great slaughter of them as they were scattered Which maner of dealing when Kenrike saw he made forward with all spéed to succour his father and rushing in amongst the Britains on their backs he brake their armie in péeces and slue their king Nazaleod and withall put his people to flight There died of the Britains that daie 5000 men and the residue escaped by fléeing as well as they might In the sixt yeare after this battell Stuff and Wightgar that were nephues to Certicus came with three ships and landed at Certicesford and ouerthrew a number of Britains that came against them in order of battell and so by the comming of those his nephues being valiant and hardie capteins the part of Certicus became much stronger About the same time Elle king of the Southsaxons departed this life after whome succéeded his sonne Cissa of whome we find little left in writing to be made account of About the yeare of our Lord 519 and in the yeare after the comming of the Saxons 71 which was in the 26 yeare of the emperour Anastasius the Britains fought with Certicus and his sonne Kenrike at Certicesford where the capteins of the Britains stood to it manfullie but in the end they were discomfited and great slaughter was made there of them by the Saxons and greater had béene if the night comming on had not parted them and so manie were saued From that day forward Certicus was reputed taken for king of Westsaxons so began the same kingdome at that time which was as W. Harison noteth in the yéere of Christ 519 after the building of Rome 1270 of the world 4485 of the comming of the Saxons 70 of Iustinus Anicius emperour of the east the first and third of the renowmed prince Patricius Arthurus then reigning ouer the Britains The said kingdome also conteined the countries of Wiltshire Summersetshire Barkeshire Dorsetshire and Cornewall hauing on the east Hamshire on the north the riuer of Thames and on the south and west the Ocean sea Howbeit at the first the kings of the Westsaxons had not so large dominions but they dailie wan ground vpon the Britains and so in the end by inlarging their confines they came to inioy all the foresaid countries and the whole at the last In the ninth yéere of the reigne of Certicus he eftsoones sought with the Saxons at Certicesford aforesaid where great slaughter was made on both parts This Certicesford was in times past called Nazaleoy of the late remembred Nazaleod king of the Britains About this