Raynys whan he had reygned in great trouble .xxi. yeres leuynge for hys heyre a sonne named Lothayr Anglia THE CLXXXVIII CHAPITER EDmunde y e brother of EthelstanÌ„ and sonne of Edwarde the elder of Ethelwyda the thyrde wyfe of the sayd Edwarde begaÌ„ hys reygne ouer Englande in the yere of our lorde .ix. hundred and .xl and the .vii. yere of the .v. Lewys thaÌ„ kynge of Fraunce In the fyrste yere of hys reygne the Danys of Northumberland rebelled agayne hym And for to make theyr party the stroÌ„ger they sent for a prynce of Danys named Aulaffe than beynge in Irlande The which brought wyth hym an other prynce or ruler of Danys named Reygnald wyth a great hoste of Danys other strauÌ„ge nacyons and entred the foresayd countre and warred vppon the next borders in wastynge and spoylynge the inhabytauÌ„tes of the same wherof whan kyng Edmund was warned anone he assembled his people and sped hym toward y e countre and lastly faught wyth the two sayd prynces of the Danys or at the leest chaced them from towne to towne tyll he forsyd them wyth all theyr coÌ„pany of straunge nacyons to forsake vtterly that prouynce and bet down that countre of Cumberlande y t had mych fauoured and ayded the sayde enmyes agayne hym and toke therin greate prayes and deuyded them amoÌ„ges hys knyghtes And y e done other for the good seruyce that MalcolynÌ„ kynge of Scotlande hadde in thys vyage done vnto the kynge or for the trowth and allegyaunce that he in tyme folowyng shulde bere vnto hym or for bothe the kynge gaue there to the sayd MalcolynÌ„ the countre of Cumberlande and seased all y e resydue of the kyngdom or lordshyp of Northumberlande and ioyned it vnto hys owne kyngdome But yet y e Danys retorned agayn in the tyme of Edredus the nexte kynge as after shal be shewed so that as yet the fyne or ende of thys kyngdome is not accompted In thys Edmundus dayes the authour of Polycronyca sayth that whan Edmunde hadde ended hys iourney and set that countree in an order he toke wyth hym the bones of the holy abbot Colfrydus and of that holy abbesse Hylda brought theym vnto Glastenbury and there shryned theym This Colfryde was abbot of Bedas abbey or of the abbey of Gyrwye Hilda was abbesse of Stenshalt or whytby And as affermeth y e sayd authour both places ben in y e North partyes of England Thys kynge Edwarde had a noble woman to wyfe named Elgina of whom he receyued two sonnes named Edwyne and Edgar And as testyfyeth Henry archedekeÌ„ of Huntyngdon thys Edward had ofte warre wyth the Danes the whyche as he affermeth helde than many good townes in myddle England as LyncolnÌ„ NothinghmÌ„ Derby Stafforde Laycetour y e which by his knyghtly manhode he wanne from them And by the helpe of holy Dunstan he ameÌ„ded many thynges within his realm y t had beÌ„ loÌ„ge tyme misordered by meane of y e Danys Of the ende or fyne of thys Edmunde dyuers opynyons there be For Marianus the Scot sayth that whyle thys kynge Edmunde endeuered hym selfe to saue his sewer froÌ„ the dauÌ„ger of hys enemye that wold haue slayne hym at Pulkerchyrche the kynge in ryddynge of the fraye was wounded to the deth and dyed shortly after But wyllyam de regibus sayth that the kynge beynge at a feest at y e foresayd towne or place vppon the daye of saynte Augustyne espyed a felon syttyng in y e halle named Leof whych he before tyme for hys felony hadde exyled and lept ouer the table and plucked that thefe by the here of the hedde to the grounde In whych doynge the sayd felon wyth a knyfe wounded the kynge to the deth and also wyth the same knyfe wounded many other of the kynges seruauntes and at length was all to hewen dyed forthwyth If this be trewe it shulde seme that kynges at those dayes vsed not the honour that they nowe haue and exercyse But whych of these two meanes was vsed in the kynges deth by agreemeÌ„t of all wryters thys kynge dyed whan he had reygned .vi. yeres and more was buryed at Glastenbury the whyche before he hadde sumptuously repayred and lafte after hym two yonge sonnes as before is remembred Edwyne and Edgar But for they were to yonge to rule the lande therfore y e rule therof was coÌ„mytted to Edredê° theyr vncle brother to theyr fader THE CLXXXIX CHAPITER EDredus y e brother of EdmuÌ„de and sonne of Edwarde the elder and of Ethylswyda hys thyrde wyfe began his reygne ouer the realme of Englande in the yere of our lorde .ix. hundred and .lxvii and the xiii yere of the fyfte Lewys thaÌ„ kyng of Fraunce The whych as before is towched was admytted kyng by authoryte of hys barony For so myche as the two forenamed chylderne of Edmunde Edwyn and Edgar were thought to yonge and insuffycyent to take vpon them so great a charge The whyche Edrede was enoynted kynge of Oddo archbyshop of CauÌ„terbury in y e towne of Kyngestowne And soone after he warred vpon the Danys that then were reentred into Northumberland or after some wryters there dwellynge vnder trybute of the kynge subdued before of Edmunde hys brother and bette theym downe and caused theym to holde and obeye vnto theyr former couenauntes And the Scottes than began to varye which he also brought vnto due obedyence After a certayne terme y e Danys of Northumberlande whyche euer contynued full of gyle and dowblenesse not beyng content to holde the couenauÌ„tes before made promisses vnto Edredus the kynge called vnto theym theyr olde accessaryes and helpers and bereuyd from the kynges subiectes the cytye of yorke and other stronge townes and castelles to the great hurte of the couÌ„trey and vtter dyspleasure of the kynge wherfore he beynge therof aduertysed in goodly and conuenyent haste assembled hys people and spedde hym thyther and destroyed myche of the lande And in that fury brent the abbey of Rypon whyche the Danys kept for a fortresse and strength and wan from them myche of the strengthes that they to fore had woÌ„ne and broughte theym agayne vnder hys subieccyon when this kynge Edrede had thus spedde hys iourney and was retournynge into Englande nothynge suspectynge the sayde Danys a company of them by the excytyng of Hyrcus a kyng or prynce of the Danys theÌ„ folowyd the kinges hoste and on thys halfe yorke fyll vppon the kynges rerewarde and destroyed slew many a man For the whyche doyng the kynge was sore amoued tourned hys people agayne entendynge to haue destroyed y e countrey vtterly wherof the Danys beynge ware so lowely meked theym vnto hym gaue to hym suche gyftes that the kyng refrayned hym of the great yre that he had purposed to theym But amonges other articles y t he bounde them vnto one was that they shuld banyshe and vtterly refuse theyr fore sayde duke or kynge called Hyrcus whyche thynge with dyuers and many other graunted
of Romaynes as wytnessyth Policronica coÌ„queryd and wanne agayne the sayde trybute wythout great fyght And y t done he also subdued the yles of Orchades or Orkeys whych stande beyonde ScotlaÌ„d within the great Occean and after tourned agayne to Rome the .vi. moneth after that he came thens The cronycle of Englande and also Gaufryde saye that in the hoste of the Romaynes was a captayne named Hame or Hamo the whych entendynge hurte and destruccyon of y e Brytons chaunged his shelde or armure dyd vppon hym the armure of a Britayne And by that meane as a Briton mysclad he entred into the thyckest of the hoste and lastely vnto the place where as kynge Guyderius faught shortly after slewe the kynge But Aruiragus seynge this sodayne myschyefe to the ende y t the Brytons shulde not gyue backe he hastely causyd hym selfe to be armed wyth the cognysaunce of the kynge And so for kyng coÌ„tynued the fyght wyth such maÌ„hode that the Romaynes were put to flyght Thus by accorde of wryters Guyderius was slayne of the foresayde Hamo when he hadde reygned ouer the Brytons by the concordaunce of other hystoryes .xxviii. yeres leuyng after hym none heyre of his body to guyde the lande after his deth THE LV. CHAPITER ARuiragus the yongest sonne of Kymbelyne and brother to Guyderius before slayn was ordeyned kyng of Brytons in the yere of our lorde .xliiii. This in the englyshe boke is named Armager the whyche as there is shewed well and knyghtly maynteyned the warre agayne the Romayns and after slew the forenamed Hamo nere vnto an hauen or porte of the see And hym so slayne threwe gobet meale into the same see And for this skyll was this haueÌ„ longe tyme after called HamoÌ„s hauen whych at this daye is called Southampton Then yt foloweth in the .viii. chapyter of the .iiii. boke of Policronicon that Claudius after dyuers happes of batayll toke Aruiragê° to his grace brought his doughter Gennissa by name from Rome and maried her vnto Aruiragus And for he wolde make the place of y e maryage more solemne he therfore called the towne of mariage Claudiocestria after his name the whych before was called in bretyshe tunge Caerleon after Glouernia after a duke of Demecia that hyght Glorio but nowe this towne is named Glouceter All otherwyse telleth the englyshe cronycle sayth that Armager scomfyted Claudius and compelled hym to gyue his doughter GeÌ„nissa or GeÌ„nen to the sayde Armager to wyfe wyth condycyon that the Romayns shulde neuer after that daye clayme any trybute of Brytayne excepte alonely feawte whyche sayenge appereth doutefull for dyuers causes wherof one is that the sayde Armager shulde not constrayne Claudius to gyue his doughter to hym for so myche as the sayde Armager hadde neuer seen the sayde Gennen before tyme nor knewe not of her coÌ„uersacyon Then meruayle yt were that he shulde force her father to gyue hym a wyfe that he hadde cast no loue vnto before tyme. One other reason is that the sayde cronycle testyfyeth that after he hadde maryed the sayd Gennen he was at London crowned kynge of Englande For I wold thinke if he had ouercomeÌ„ Claudius as there is surmytted he wold fyrste haue crowned hym selfe kyng and then haue maried his doughter But by the same reason yt certifyeth more strenger the former sayenge of Policronica For by all lykelyhode Claudius wold not suffer hym to be crowned kyng tyll he hadde full perfourmed his promyse in maryage of his doughter And all be yt that myne authoure Gaufryde varyeth not myche from the englyshe cronicle I thynke in y e doynge he toke example of Homerê° that wrote the dedis and actes of the Grekes the whyche shewed and put in memory all the noble actes by theÌ„ done and specyally in the recuyll or boke made by hym of the syege of Troye But the other dedys concernynge theyr dyshonoure he hyd yt as mych as he myght And in lyke maner do many other writers which I passe ouer And so Gaufride for he was a Bryton he shewed the beste for Brytons Then yt foloweth after the solemnysacyon of this maryage whyche was with all honour finyshed Claudius sente certayne legyons of his knyghtes into Irlande to rule that countre and retourned hym selfe to Rome THE LVI CHAPITER IT was not longe after the departynge of Claudius but y t Aruiragus rode aboute his realme and wyth great dylygence repayred cytyes and townes before decayed broken wyth the strength of the Romaynes and entreated his subiectes wyth suche iustyce and good order that they loued and drad hym more then any of his progenitours This in tracte of tyme made hym welthy And by meane of this welthynes ensued pryde so y t hym thought great shame to be vnder the rule or guydynge of y e Romayns wherfore lastly he denyed the tribute before grauÌ„ted wherof when knowlege came vnto y e senate of Rome in all hast was sent a duke of Rome called Uespasyan wyth a certayne of legyons to subdue Aruiragus ye shall vnderstand that a legyon of knyghtes is .vi. thousande .vi. hundred .lxvi. when Uespasyan was landed in Brytayne as testyfyeth Polycronica he spedde hym so that in shorte whyle he subdued Aruiragus to the empyre and causyd hym to graunte payment of the foresayde trybute which was done as sayth Gaufride by entreatye of the quene Gennissa and of no constraynt nor coaccyon when Uespasyan hadde thus recoueryd the trybute he then also made subiecte to the empyre an I le in the see lyenge vpon the southsyde of Britayne now called the yle of weyght and after retourned to Rome when Aruiragus was thus secondely brought vnder the yocke of y e Romayns he became more mylde towarde them so that whyle he lyued after he payed hys trybute wyth lesse grudge and contynued hym in theyr fauours in suche wyse that he was of theym well beloued And so lastely dyed when he hadde ruled the BrytoÌ„s well and nobly by the terme of .xxx. yeres and was buryed at CaerglonÌ„ CaerleonÌ„ Claudiocestria or Glouceter leuynge after hym a sonne named Marius ⸫ THE LVII CHAPITER MArius the sonne of Aruiragê° was ordeyned kynge of Brytons in the yere of our lorde .lxxiiii. This in the cronycle of Englande is named westmer whych Marius as wytnessyth Gaufryde was an excellent wyse man and guyded his Brytons moste honourably and in grete prosperyte and welthe In the tyme of the reygne of this Mariê° a duke or kynge of a nacyon called Pyctes whych as wytnessyth Uirgilius are descendyd of a people called of olde tymes Scythis They also are named Gothis or Hunys This foresayde leder of Pictes is named of Gaufryde Londricus the which landed wyth a great nauy in the prouynce of Albania now called Scotlande and yt beganne to waste with iron and wyth fyre wherof wheÌ„ Marius was warned he in all haste assembled his knyghtes and made towarde his enymyes and gaue vnto them stronge batayll In the whych
made one monarchye of all .vii. kyngdomes in which tyme dyd flowe or passe thre huÌ„dred lxxviii yeres THE CVI. CHAPITER NOwe then I wyl returne vnto Arthur the whych by a longe tyme dwelled in warre and mortall batayll wyth y e SaxoÌ„s by meane of theyr dayly repayre into this lande The whyche also alyed them with Pictes and other nacyons and made theyr partye the strenger by y e meane But yet Arthur by his marciall knyghthod brought theym in suche frame that he was accoÌ„pted for chyef lord of Brytayne Fynally when he hadde by a longe tyme maynteyned hys warres agayne the Saxons and specyally agayne Cerdicus or Childricus kyng of westesaxons he for a fynall concorde gaue vnto the sayde Cerdicus as testyfyeth Policronica in the .vi. chapyter of his .v. boke the two couÌ„tres of Hampshyre and Somerset And when he hadde sette hys lande in some quietnesse he betoke the rule therof vnto hys neuewe Mordred and wyth a chosyn armye sayled as sayth Gaufryde and other vnto FrauÌ„ce where by the reporte of Gaufryde he wrought wonders But the wryters of Frenche cronycles touche nothynge of suche notable dedes nor yet the wryters of Romaynes mynde nothynge of suche actes done agayne theyr consull or emperoure called by Gaufryde Lucius Hybertê° Therfore I wyll spare all that longe mater remyttyng the welshemen as touchynge y e processe vnto the sayd Gaufride And here I wyll folowe Policronicon where he sayth that for as mych as the forenamed Mordred was desyrous to be kynge feryd some dele the myght of Cerdicus kyng of westsaxons he therfore drewe to hym the sayde Cerdicus by great gyftes as of townes and castelles other meanes where thorough the sayd Cerdicus to hym assented so that Mordred was at London crowned kyng of Brytayn and Cerdicus after the vse of pagaÌ„s was at wynchester then called Kaerguent crowned kyng of westsaxons when relacyoÌ„ came to Arthur of all this treason wrought by his neuewe Mordred he in all haste made towarde Brytayn as yt is redde in the englyshe cronycle laÌ„ded at Sandwyche where he was mette of Mordred and hys people whych gaue vnto hym strong batayll in tyme of his landyng and loste there many of his knyghtes as the famouse knyghte Gawyne and other But yet this not withstandyng Arthur at leÌ„gth waÌ„ne the lande and chasyd his enymyes and after the enterynge of his cosyn Gawyn and other of his knyghtes there slayne he sette forwarde his hoste to pursue his enymyes Mordred thus beynge ouersette of his vncle at the see syde withdrewe hym to wynchester where he beynge furnysshed of newe soudyours gaue vnto Arthur as sayth Gaufryde y e secoÌ„de fyghte wherin also Mordred was put to the worse and constrayned to flee Thyrdely and lastely the sayde Mordred faught wyth his vncle Arthur besydes Glastynbury where after a longe and daungerouse fyght Mordred was slayn y e victorious Arthur wounded vnto the deth and after buryed in the vale of Aualon besyde Glastynbury beforesayde Of this laste ende and buryenge of Arthur in the brytyshe bokes are tolde many fables But to oppresse y e errours of Brytons y e thynke or byleue y t Arthur yet lyueth Policroniconshe with in his forenamed chapyter of his .v. boke y t in the secoÌ„de Henryes tyme kynge of Englande the bonys of the sayd Arthur and Gwaynour his wyfe were fouÌ„den and traÌ„slated into the forsayde chyrch of Glastynbury and there newe buryed in the yere of our lord .xi. hundred .lxxx. And more specially yt is noted in the xxiii chapyter of the .vii. boke of Policronicon aboue sayde wherfore to be at coÌ„clusyon of a fyne of this noble warryour he was as before is shewed slayne or wounded to deth when he hadde reygned ouer the Britons by y e terme of .xxvi. yeres wyllynge before his deth that Constantyne the son of Cador duke of Cornewayle for so mych as of his bodye remayned none heyre that he shulde be his heyre and enheryte the land of mych Britayn after his deth Anglia THE CVII CHAPITER CONstantinus the son of Cador duke of Cornewayle by assent of the Brytons was of them crowned kynge of myche Brytayne in the yere of Crystes incarnacyon fyue huÌ„dred .xliii and the .xix. yere of Lotharius then kynge of Fraunce This was nere kynnesman vnto Arthur and was by the two sonnes of Mordred greuously vexed for so myche as they claymed the lande by the ryghte or tytle of theyr father So y t betwene hym and them were foughten many and sondry bataylles wherof nother of place nor of tyme is left any conuenyent memorye nor yet of the names of the sayde two sonnes But as dyuerse authours agreen after these forsayde batayllys thus foughten fynylly the two sonnes of Mordred were constrayned of pure force to seche strong holdes for theyr refuge â–ª wherfore that one toke London and that other wynchester wherof Constantyne beynge warned lefte not tyll he had slayne that one wythin the monastery of saynte Amphiabilâ— at wynchester and that other wythin a temple or chyrche of London whych temple is named of Gaufryde an hous of freres But y e sayeng is doutefull for at that days yt is to be supposed that there was none hous of freres within London nor by a longe tyme after when Constantine hadde thus subdued his enymyes and thought hymselfe in a maner of suertye of his regyon then fortune as she hadde enuyed his glory arreryd agayne hym his owne kynnesman named Aurelius Conanus the whych agayn hym made mortall batayll and finally or at the last slewe hym in y e felde when he hadde reygned after most accorde of wryters .iii. yeres the whych was then huryed at Stone hyenge by the sepulture of Uter PeÌ„dragon wyth great solemnytye THE CVIII CHAPITER AUrelius Conanus the cosyn of Constantync last named was crowned kyng Brytayne in the yere of our lord .v. hundred .xlvi the .xxxii. yere of Lothariê° before named then kynge of Fraunce This was noble and lyberall But he was a man that cherysshed suche as loued stryfe and dyscencyon wyth in his lande and gaue lyghte credence to them y t accused other were yt ryght or wronge And as testyfyeth Gaufryde and other he toke by strength his vncle whyche of ryght shulde haue ben kyng and caste hym in a strong pryson and after sâ—ew tyrannously the .ii. sonnes of his sayd vncle But he reioysed his reygne but shorte whyle For as wytnessyth the sayde Gaufryde when he hadde reygned two yeres he dyed were yt of the sonde of god or otherwyse leuynge after him a sonne named Uortiporius as hath the authoure of the boke named Floure of hystoryes Of this Uortiporius speketh nothynge the englyshe cronycle but telleth of two kynges that shulde reygne nexte after Constantyne both at ones wherof that one he nameth Adelbryght and that other Edyll. wherunto none other writer agreeth except that he nameth them for some of the kynges of the Saxons For aboute
hoste and chasyd Kynwalcus out of his kyngdome kept hym thens .iii. yeres By whyche season was Anna kynge of Eestanglis there conuertyd to the feyth of Cryste cristyned of Felix aforenamed then byshoppe of DuÌ„wyke or Thetforde and after he recoueryd hys kyngdome by the ayde and assystence of the sayde Anna when Kenwalcus was restoryd to hys lande he made a byshoppes see at Kaerguent or wynchestre and ordeyned there a byshop named Agilbert a frenche man of byrthe but he was called out of IrlaÌ„d The which when he had sytten there a certayn of tyme he was put theÌ„s I ne wote for what cause and in his place was set an other named wyn Of this wyn as sayeth Policronicon the towne of wynchester toke y e name as he declaryth in y e .liii. chapyter of his fyrst boke as yt were wynnes cytye But he was also putthens and then was Leutherius byshop and after Leutherius succedyd Cedda And after Theodorus the archbyshop of Caunterbury ordeyned two byshoppes to that prouynce of westsaxoÌ„ That one at wynchester to that was subiecte two couÌ„treys Southrey and South hampshyre And that other see he ordeyned at Shyreborne to the which were subiecte .vi. couÌ„treys that is to saye Berkshyre wyltshyre Somersetshyre Dorsetshyre Deuenshyre Cornewayll But in wyllyam the coÌ„querours tyme y e see of Shyreborne was tourned to Salysbury with the see of RaÌ„mysburye It was not longe after that Kenwalcus was warreyd with the kyng of Brytons the whyche fought with hym at a place called wyght Gosneborough and were of him there ouercomyn Then Cadwall assembled a newe hoste of Brytons and mette wyth Kenwalcus at a place called the hyll of Pent where after longe fyghte the Brytons were putte to flyghte YE haue harde before how that blessyd man Oswall the son of Ethelfryde was ordeyned kynge of Northumberlande the whyche contynued hys lyfe in iustyce and vertue as kynge by the terme of .ix. yeres But Penda kynge of Mercia that to hym to all crysten men had great disdayne and enuye about the ix yere of Cadwall made warre vppon Oswald and slew hym in a feld callyd Meserfeld where after hys deth god shewed for hym many myracles But after one yere of his deth Oswy his yonger brother recoueryd the kyngdome and buryed his hed in the chyrcheyarde of Lyndesar for the bodye was conueyed by the Pagans and deuyded in sundry peces But yt is sayde that the hed is nowe at Durham betwene saynt Cutberttus armes And the other parte of y e bodye whyche was longe after founden was had to the abbay of Burdeaux by Ostrida doughter of Oswy quene of Mercia where strauÌ„gnesse was made by the ruler of that hous for the receyte of those relykes tyll a myracle or dyuyne token there was shewyd But after the sayde bodye bones were brought to Glowceter to an hous of chanoÌ„s and one of hys armes is at Peterboroughe hole of fleshe fell as some haue and tellen whan Oswy had a season rulyd hys kyngdome he fande vnlefull meanes to slee Oswyn that was kynge of Deyra This Oswyn was the son of Eaufrycus eldest brother of Oswalde whyche Oswyn was good of condycyon and there wyth both meke and mylde when thys Oswyn was slayn by the consent of his neuewe Oswy then Oswy toke to hym as felow of that kyngdome his broders sonne Odylwaldus the son of Oswalde Thys Oswalde gaue vnto Cedda byshoppe of whynchester before named a grouÌ„de in a place of the North couÌ„trey in the hygh hylles called Lastyngaye for to buylde vpon an abbay which he there buyldyd after there taught his brother Chymbyllus how he shuld rule that place PeÌ„da kynge of Mercia which forgate not the strengthynge and fauourynge that Anna kynge of Eestanglys had shewyd to Kenwalchus hys doughters husband and his enymye gaderyd a power of knyghtes and yode agayne the sayde Anna slewe hym in playne batayll And the same yere one Botulphus buyldyd an abbay besyde Lindecolne or Lincolne in a place that hyght I canno And as wytnessyth Beda in the .iiii. chapiter of his thyrd boke thys yere whych shuld be the .xxi. yere of y e reygne of Cadwall Penda that of thys former vyctory was supprysyd wyth great pryde came wyth hys hoste into the boundes of Northumland entendynge to slee Oswy as before he had slayne his brother Oswalde wherof wheÌ„ Oswy was ware he assemblyd hys knyghtes made towarde hym And for affynyte of maryage y e was betwene theyr chyldren as after shall be shewed and other causes Oswy offeryd to hym many great offers to the entente to haue had hym refused that batayll to haue hadde peace with hym when Oswy perceyued the obstynacye and pryde of PeÌ„da and saw that by no reasonable offers he myghte of hym wynne no peace he sayde sens thys paynym can not receyue our gyftes and proffers that we haue offeryd to hym we shall offer theÌ„ to hym that can receyue theym And anon he made hys auowe vnto god that yf he myght haue vyctory of his enymyes he shuld offer his doughter Elfleda to hym wyth suffycyent possessyons for to buylde .xii. abbayes and after ioyned in batayll with the sayde Penda in the couÌ„trey of Ledis not farre from yorke which was so sore foughten y t the lyke therof was not seen many yeres beforne But fynally Penda was slayne and xxx of his chefe captayns with hym and yet he had thryes the people that Oswy hadde And those that scaped the shot and the swerde were for the more partye drowned in the ryuer of wynwed whyche was nere vnto the place of that batayll And among the prysoners that were taken at this felde the wyfe of Penda was one and her sonnes vncle named Egfridus was an other Then Oswy yelded hys thankes to god and accordynge to hys former promyse he offryd hys doughter Elfleda or Enfleda of the age of .iii. yeres vnto god and toke her to the lore of Hylda abbesse of Hertsey or Hertis iland And after that the sayde Hylda remoued to the abbaye of Stremshalte in the vale of whitby .xxx. myle from yorke where she was after abbesse y e sayd Elfleda also And Oswy as he had promysed gaue landes and rentes to buyld .xii. abbeys wherof .vi. were in the prouynce of BreÌ„nicia and .vi. in the prouynce of Deyra This fornamed Penda hadde dyuerse sonnes by accorde of wryters that is to meane wolferê° weda and Egfridus besyde other not mynded To this seconde sonne weda Oswy had beforetyme maryed a doughter of his by coÌ„sent of Penda his fader The whyche weda by helpe of Oswy was made kynge of south Mercia the whyche lordshyp is seueryd from the northe Mercia by the ryuer of Trent and conteyned by recorde of holy Beda fyue thousande housholdes This weda also promysed when he maryed the sayd doughter of Oswy that he shulde become a crysten man the whyche he perfourmyd
pytye that he suffered hym to be at hys lybertye whyche after the opynyon of wyllyam de regibus was done more of pryde than of compassyon THE CCXXV. CHAPITER IN the .xi. yere of the reygne of thys wyllyam the rede at a towne called Fynchanster in the couÌ„trey of Barke shyre a welle caste out blode as before it hadde done water And after by the space of .xv. dayes great flames of fyre were sene in the elemeÌ„t in sundry places and tymes Thys yere also y e two erles of Shrewesbury and of Chester eyther named Hugh by the kynges commauÌ„dement entred wyth theyr knyghtes the I le of Man or Anglesaye slewe therin many welshemen and gelded many moo Amonge the whyche a preste named Kynredus was draweÌ„ out of a chyrch and serued of y e same wyse and also cut hys tunge out of hys hed and put out hys one eye But this preste was of such vertue that by myracle he was restored to helthe within .iii. dayes ensuynge In the whyche season and tyme the kynge of Northganys or Norwaye wan the iles called than Orcades and now Orkeys after came wyth hys strength into the foresayd ile of Man where at the same season were the sayde two erles Than bytwene them was mortall fyght in y e whyche Hugh erle of Shrewesbury was stryken with an arowe in y e eye and dyed wythin .viii. dayes after But as sayth Guydo the Danys were chased and the Englysshemen hadde the vyctory Kyng wylliam was mych in Normandye for so myche as Robert his brother was all thys season in the holy land of whose actes shall some deale be towched in y e story of Henry the fyrste And wyllyam had myche payne to rule the Normans for they rebelled often agayne hym In the .xii. yere of hys reygne he came out of Normandye and when he saw the hall of westmynster y t he had caused to be buylded he was therwyth dyscontented that it was so lytell wherfore as it is rehersed of some wryters he entended yf he had lyued to haue made a larger and y t to haue serued for a chaumber Robert Losaunge that somtyme had ben abbot of Ramsey and than bysshop of Thetforde by gyfte of a thousand pounde to the kyng repented hym after and bewept that vnskylfull dede and toke hys waye to Rome and dyd for it hys enioyned penaunce and after retorned into Englande and turned hys see from Thetforde to Norwyche founded there a fayre monastery of hys owne goodes not of the patrymony of crystes chyrch But therin is a dowt to consyder For he was fyrste an abbot and after a bysshop About thys tyme by the meanes of one Stephen Hardynge a munke of Sherbourne an Englyshman of y e order of Sisteaux or whyte muÌ„kes had hys begynnynge in the wyldernesse of Cystery within the prouynce of Burgoyne as wytnesseth Ranulf munke of Chester But other wryters as Jacobus Phylyppus the authour of Cronica cronicaruÌ„ Matheolus wyth other sayen that this Stephen was the second abbot of y e place y t it was fyrste fouÌ„ded by the meanes of one Robert abbot of MolyneÌ„se in the yere of grace M.xcviii whyche to folow theyr sayeng shuld be in the .ix. yere of the reygne of this kyng This order was after brought into Englande by one called walter Espeke that fouÌ„ded the fyrste abbay of that relygyon at Ryuall about y e yere of grace .xi. C.xxxi The whyche shulde be about the .xxxi. yere of the fyrste Henry than kyng of England Somwhat of theyr relygyon is towched in the .x. chapyter of the .viii. boke of Polycronycon After that kynge wyllyam as before is sayde was retourned out of Normandy many wonderfull prodygyes and tokyns were shewed in England as the swellyng or rysyng of y e water of Thamys in suche wyse that it drowned dyuers townes and dyd mych harme by out passyng his boundys in dyuers places about LoÌ„don and ellys where Also the deuyll was sene walke in mannes lykenesse wyth dyuers other thynges whyche I ouerpasse The kyng was warned of this and tolde by his famylyers y t god was not coÌ„tent with his lyuing But he set all at nought and made of it a scoffe or a iape In the .xiii. yere of his reygne and begynnynge thereof as the thyrde daye of Auguste after the sayenge of Ranulfe thys kyng wyllyam beyng at hys dysporte of huntynge wythin the newe forest by glaunsynge of an arowe shot of a knyght named walter Tyrell was wounded to the deth in the .xliiii. yere of hys age After whyche dede the sayde walter escaped and saued hym self for few there were that hym pursued And so the kynge thus wounded was layde vppon an horse lytter and so conueyed to wynchester where shortly after he dyed and was buryed Of this man myghte be made a myche lenger story yf all hys dedes shulde be towched The whych toke vpon hym great thynges and mych gretter enteÌ„ded yf he myght haue lyued The daye before he was slayne one axed of hym where he wold kepe hys Crystmasse At Poytiers sayde the kynge for the erle entendeth to go towarde Hierusalem and I woll assaye to haue hys erledome in morgage for well I knowe he must cheuyche for money to perfourme that iourney The day that wyllyaÌ„ dyed he helde in his haÌ„des the .iii. bysshopryches of CauÌ„terbury of winchester and of Salysbury and dyuers abbayes of the whyche he let some to terme Also he refrayned y â— money y â— of olde tyme was payed to Rome called Rome scotte Of this wyllyaÌ„ reportyth Henry of HuÌ„tyngdoÌ„ sayth y t though this maÌ„ were lyght of som thynges yet he was stedfast stable of his promyse so y t what he ê“mysed good or euyll shuld be ê‘formed And though he were named couetous yet it shuld seme y t he was liberall as sheweth by this narracyoÌ„ folowyng Upon a season when the abbot of a place in Englande was dede two munkes of the same place the which before hadde gatheryd money made theyr frendes to kynge willyam and offered large offers eyther of them to be promoted to that dygnyte There was also a thyrde munke the which of mekenesse of humylyte folowed the other two to the entent that vppon hym that the kynge had admytted for abbot he wolde haue gyuen attendaunce and as his chapelayn to haue wyth hym returned The kynge called before hym the .ii. munkys seuerally and eyther out profered other And as he caste hys eye asyde he espyed the thyrd the whych he demed hadde comen also for the same cause Then the kynge called hym and asked yf he wold geue any more then his bretherne had offered to be abbot But he answered to the kynge and sayde that he wolde nother offer nor yet gyue for yt one peny nor wold haue so great a charge by any meane wrongefull when the kynge had well vnderstanden thys thyrde munkes answere he sayde that he was best worthy to be
abbot and munkes of the same wherfore the kynge spedde hym thyther in all haste But for theyr sauergarde the munkes were compelled to fortyfye the chyrche and to defende them by force of armys so that betwene them and the Burgonions many an arbalaster and stone was shot cast And for the kynge myght not so hastly furnyshe hym of his soldyours he therfore sent vnto the erle of Neuers by whose meane as to the kyng was shewed this ryot began commaundynge hym that he shuld se this ryot appeased and that the chyrch of Uerdeley were restored of suche harmys as to theym was done by the inhabytauntes of the towne But of thys cōmaundement the erle set but lytle so that the burgeses perseuered in theyr erroure wherfore the abbot sente agayne to the kynge besechyng hym of his moste gracyouse ayde and socoure Then the kynge herynge of the erles dysobedyence was therwyth greatly dyspleasyd and suspected y e erle to be partye in the cause sped hym y e faster thetherwarde But when the erle was enfourmed of the kynges cōmynge he somdeale feryd and mette wyth the kynge at a place called Moret and there demeaned hym in suche wyse that the kyng forgaue his offense Then he promysed that the kynges pleasure shulde be fullfylled in all thynge as he hadde before cōmaunded wyth more as yt lyked hym to dyuyse Uppon whych promyse so made he commaunded that the Burgonyons shulde fyrste refrayne theym of that rebellyon agayn the chyrch and that they shuld newly be sworne to be obedient vnto the abbot and vnto hys successours as theyr p̄decessours had ben ouer that for the hurtes harmys y t they had done to the place at that season they shulde paye to the sayde abbot and couēt .lx. thousand sous A sous is in value after sterlyng money i. d. ob so that .lx. thousand sous amounteth in sterlyng money .iii. hundred lxxv pounde After whych ende thus made the kynge retourned into Fraunce It was not longe after that y e kyng receyued of quene Alys hys wyfe a sonne and named yt Phylyppe But for y e kyng Lewys had made many pylgrymages and vsed many ways of charyte in gyuynge of almes and otherwyse for to haue a sonne to be his heyre therfore he surnamed this chylde A dieu done a chyld gyuen of god Then thys Lewys for the intollerable dedes of the Iewes whiche in these dayes had great inhabytynge wyth in the lande of Fraūce vsed vsery sleynge of Crysten chyldren he ponyshed many by deth and many he banyshed his lande but yet many remayned Of this Lewys dedes is lytle more cronacled excepte when his son Philyppe was of the age of .xiii. yeres his fader caused hym to be crowned and resygned to hym all the rule of the lande and dyed the yere folowynge at Parys in the moneth of October in the yere of grace .xi. hūdred and .lxxix. By whyche reason he reygned to reken from his faders deth to his owne vppon .xliii. yeres and was rychely enterred by y e meane of his last wife at the monastery of Barbell the whyche he founded in hys yonge days After whose deth y e sayd quene Alys adorned his sepulture in the moste rychest maner wyth gold syluer and precyous gemmys vppon whose tombe was grauen these two versis folowyng as a counsayll left vnto his sonne Phylyppe 〈◊〉 superos tu qui super es successor honoris Degener es si degeneris a laude prioris whyche versys are to be vnderstanden as after foloweth Nowe take good hede thou that doest ouer lyue Hym that in honoure and vertue dyd excelle Se thou alter not nor thy selfe depryue But folowe hym which was of honoure the well For yf thou do not men shall of the tell Thou arte degenerate and growen out of kynde Thy progenytours laude hauynge nothynge in mynde Anglia THE CCXXXVI CHAPITER HEnry the second of that named sonne of Geffrey Plātagenet erle of Angeou and of Molde y e empresse doughter of Henry y e first began hys reygn ouer the realme of England in the moneth of October the yere of our lorde god .xi. hundred and .lv and. y e xix yere of Lewys the viii then kynge of Fraunce Thys Henry was somdeale redde of face brode of breste shorte of body therwyth fatte the whych to aswage he toke the lesse of metes and drynkes and exercysed myche huntynge He was resonable of speche and well lettered orped and also noble in knyghthode wyse in counsayll and dred to myche distenyes He was also free and lyberall to straūgers and harde and holdynge from hys famylyers seruauntes And whome he loued enterely or hated harde it was to turne hym to the contrary He was slowe of answere vnstedfaste of promyse gylefull of dede open spouse breker hamour of holy chyrch and alwayes vnkynde to god He also loued reste and peace to the ende he myghte the more folowe hys delectacyon pleasure wyth mo vyces rehersed by Gyralde the whyche for length I passe ouer This Henry yet as wytnessyth Ranulfe was not all bareyn of vertues For he was of so gret courageousnes that he wolde often say that all the world suffysyth not to a coragyous harte And he encreasyd hys herytage so myghtyly that he wanne Irlande by strength and toke wyllyam kynge of Scottes and ioyned that kyngdome to his owne From the suthe Occean to the north ylandes of Orkeys he closed all the landes as yt were vnder one pryncypate and spradde so largely hys empyre that men rede not of none of hys progenytours that hadde so many prouynces and countreys vnder theyr domynyon and rule For besyde the realme of Englande he hadde in hys rule Normandy Gascoyn and Guyan Angeou and Chynon And he made subiecte to hym Aluerne and other landes And by hys wyfe he obteyned as her ryghte the mountes and hyllys of Spayne called montes Pyrany Of the whyche wyfe Elynoure by name deuorced as before ys sayde from the viii Lewys kynge of Fraunce he receyued .vi. sonnes and thre doughters Of the sonnes fyue were named wyllyam Henry Rycharde Godfrey and Iohn̄ The eldeste of the maydens hight Molde or Maude and was maryed to the duke of Saxon the seconde Elyanoure to the kynge of Spayne and the thyrd named Iane to wyllyam kynge of Scycyle Thys Henry was prosperouse in hys begynnynge and vnfortunate in hys ende and specyally in the last fyue yeres of hys reygne For in the fyrst of those fyue yeres his strength beganne to mynyshe the seconde yere he loste a vyage in Irlande the thyrde he loste Aluerne agayne the kynge of Fraunce the fourth yere he loste Butyrycan and the fyfte yere he loste the cytye of Cenomenea and Turon wyth many holdes to theym belongynge Thys Henry the seconde ascertayned of the deth of Stephan spedde hym into Englande and was crowned the sondaye before Crystemasse daye of Theobalde archbyshoppe of Caunterbury in westmynster chyrch
kept to the entent that at all tymes when any cytesyne wolde borowe any money that he shulde haue it there for the space of a yere to laye for suche a summe as he wold haue plate or other iewellys to a suffycyente gayge so that he excedyd not the summe of an hundreth marke And for the occupyenge therof yf he were lerned to saye at hys pleasure De profundis for the soule of IohnÌ„ Bernys and all christen soules as often tymes as in hys summe were comprysed .x. markes As he that borowed but .x. marke shulde saye but ouer that prayer And yf he had .xx. marke then to saye it twyes and so after the rate And yf he were not lerned then to saye so often hys Pater noster But how so thys money was lent or gyded at thys daye the cheste remayneth in the chamber of London wythout money or pledges for the same Anno domini M.CCC.lxx  Anno dnÌ„i M.CCC.lxxi  Robert Hatfelde  IohnÌ„ Bernes  Anno .xlvi.  Robert GaytonÌ„  IN thys .xlvi. yere and moneth of February kynge Edwarde helde hys parlyamente at westmynster In the whych he asked of the spirytualtye .l. M. li as moch of y e laye fee. The whych by the temporal was graunted but the clergye kepte them of wyth plesaunt answeres So that the kyng and hys couÌ„sayll was with them dyscontented in so moche that to theyr dyspleasures dyuers offycers as the chaunceler the pryuye seale the tresourer and other were remoued beyng spyrytuall men and in theyr offyces places temporall men set in And shortly after the foresayde cardynall of Beauuays came into Englande to treate of the peace betwene the .ii. realmes But he spedde nothyng to the effect therof wherfore in the moneth of Iuly y e Frenche kyng sente into the countre of Poyteaw the forenamed syr Barthram de ClayconÌ„ wyth a stronge armye where he wan dyuers holdes fortresses from the Englyshmen In whyche season kynge Edwarde for strengthyng of the couÌ„tre specially to defende y e towne of Rochell which as aboue in the other yere is shewed was at this yere besieged by the sayd syr Barthran sente the erle of Penbroke wyth other noble men to forty fye the sayde towne and to remoue y e syege But or he myght wynne to the sayd towne he was encountred with a flote of Spaynardes the whyche kyng Henry of Castyle had sent into Fraunce to strength the French kynges partye Of the whyche flote after longe and cruell fyght the sayde erle was taken wyth syr Guycharde de Angle and other to the nombre of C and thre score prysoners the more partye of hys men slayne and drowned wyth the losse of many good shyppes And in the begynnyng of the moneth of Septembre folowyng a Gascoygne borne a man of good fame whome the kyng of England had admytted for hys lyeutenaunt gouernoure of the countre of Poyteaw named le Captall de Bueffe faughte wyth an armye of Frenchmen before a towne named Sonbyse where in conclusyon hys men were slayne and chased he wyth .lxx. of hys partie taken prysoners Than the dukes of Berry of Burgoyne vppon the .vi. daye of Septembre came before Rochell and had certayne communicacioÌ„s with y e rulers of the sayd towne for the delyuery therof In this passe tyme season kyng Edward heryng of the takyng of the erle of PeÌ„broke of the losse that he dayly had of hys men in dyuers partyes of Fraunce with also the ieopardye that y e towne of Rochell and other stode in made hasty prouysyon entendyd to haue passed the see But the wynde was coÌ„traryous that he myght haue no passage wherfore he retourned as sayth PolicronicoÌ„ agayne into the land Than vpon the .viii. daye of Septembre beforesayd the captayne of Rochell hauynge no coÌ„forte of short rescous yelded vppon certayne appoyntementes the sayde towne vnto the forenamed dukes vnto the FreÌ„ch kynges vse And shortely after were also yolden to theym the townes of Angolesme of ExaÌ„ctes of saiÌ„t IohnÌ„ de Angely wyth dyuers other Anno domini M.CCC.lxxi  Anno dnÌ„i M.CCC.lxxii  IohnÌ„ Phylpotte  IohnÌ„ Pyell  Anno .xlv.  Nycholas Brember  IN thys .xlvii. yere at a wrestelynge holden vpon blake Heth besyde London was slayne a mercer of LondoÌ„ named IohnÌ„ Northwode For the whyche greate dyssencyon grewe amonge the felyshyppes of y e cytye to the houge dystourbaunce of it and a good season after or the rancoure thereof myghte be duely appeased In thys yere also the duke of LaÌ„castre syr IohnÌ„ of Gaunt syr EdmuÌ„de his brother erle of Cambriged wedded the two doughters of Peter whyche was late kynge of Castyle put to deth by HeÌ„ry hys bastarde brother as before I haue shewed in the xliii yere of thys kyngê reygne Of y e whyche two doughters syr IohnÌ„ of Gaunt maryed the eldest named CoÌ„stance hys brother the yonger named Isabell so that by these maryages these .ii. bretherne claymed to be enherytours of the kyngdome of Castyle or Spayne And in thys yere after the duke of Brytayne had receyued many exortacyons requestes frome the Frenche kyng to haue hym vpon hys partye he sente for certayne sowdyours of Englishmen strengthed with them some of thys castelles holdes wherof heryng kyng Charles sent thyder wyth a stronge power the forenamed syr Barthran de Claycon warnyng theym to make warre vpon them as an enemye vnto the house of FrauÌ„ce The whyche accordynge to theyr coÌ„mission entred the lande of Brytayn in wastyng it with irne fyre and in shorte processe had yolden vnto hym the more partye of the chyef townes excepte Brest Aulroy and Deruall Than in the ende of Iuny the sayde syr Barthran layd syege vnto Brest the lord of Craon wyth other laye before Daruall In all whyche season the duke of Brytayne was in Englande For so soone as he hadde as before is sayd bestowed the foresayd Englyshe sowdyours he sayled into Englande to speke wyth kynge Edwarde In the moneth of Iuly the duke of LaÌ„castre wyth syr IohnÌ„ de MouÌ„t forde duke of Brytayne other with a myghty puyssaunce landed at Caleys And after they had rested them there a certayn days they rode vnto Hesden and lodged them within the parke an other season And after passed by DourloÌ„s by Benquesne and so vnto Corbye where they passed y e ryuer of Some and rode vnto Roy in Uermendoys where they rested them by the space of .vii. dayes At whych terme ende they set fyre vpon the towne toke theyr way towarde Laemoys and burned spoyled the countre as they weÌ„t And in processe of tyme passed the ryuers of Osne Marne and of Aube rode thorugh ChaÌ„payne by the erledome of Brame streyghte vnto Guy passed the ryuer of Seyn so towarde y e ryuer of Leyr and vnto Marcynguy y e noÌ„nery And whan they were passed the sayd nonnery they kepte theyr waye
they entended theyr diuyne seruyce praied more specyally for hym as they were bounde of duety whereunto it was after pardon requyred lastely by the sayde father answered that in conuenyent wyse they naturally might nat praye for hym and hys good spede consyderynge that he dayely warred vpon theyr fathers and kynnesmen and slewe of theym and spoyled theÌ„ dayly and enpouerysshed that laÌ„de whyche they of very kynde ought to loue and praye for After whyche answere thus by them made the kynge auoyded the hous of them and turned the lande thereof to suche vse as hym best lyked and suffred the hous to fall in ruyne And ouer thys great acte of fouÌ„dyng of these .ii. religious houses he ordeyned at westmynster to brenne perpetually wythoute extinccion iiii tapers of waxe vppon the sepulture of kyng Rychard and ouer that he ordeyned therto to be continued for euer one day in y e weke a solempne Dirige to be songe vppon the morowe a masse after which masse ended certayn money to be gyueÌ„ as before is expressed with other thynges in y e begynnyng of this kynges reygne And ouer thys his great besynesse in warre natwithstaÌ„dyng this most cristeÌ„ priÌ„ce by his lyfe chase his place of sepulture within the foresayd monastery there ordeyned for hym to be songe .iii. masses euery day in the weke whyle the world lasteth in maner and forme as by these verses folowyng doth appere Henrici missae quinti sunt hic tabulatae Quae successiue sunt per monachos celebratae ¶ Prima fit Assumptae de festo virginis almae Poscit pusiremam Christus de morte resur gens Dominica ¶ Prima salutate de festo virginis extat Nunciat angelicis laudem postrema choreis â—unc ¶ Esse deum natum de virgine prima fatetur Commemora natam sic vltima missa Mariam Martis ¶ Prima celebretur ad honorem neupmatis almi Vltima conceptam denunciat esse Mariam Mercurij ¶ Semper prima coli debet de corpore Christi Vltima fit fata de virgine purificata Iouis ¶ Concedet vt prima celebretur de cruce sancta Atque salutate fiet postrema Mariae Veneris ¶ Omnes ad sanctos est prima colenda supernos Vltima de requie pro defunctis petit esse Sabati ¶ Semper erit media de proprietate dei Omni die ¶ Missa Assumptionis Mâ—tiae Missa dnÌ„ieae resurrectionis 1 ¶ Missa salutationis Mariae Missa annuÌ„ciatioÌ„is Mariae 2 ¶ Missa natiuâ—tatis Christi Missa natiuitatis Mariae 3 ¶ Missa sancti spiritus Missa conceptionis 4 ¶ Missa corporis Christi Missa purificationis 5 ¶ Missa sanctÌ„ae crucis Missa salutationis Mariae 6 ¶ Missa omnium sanctorum Missa de requie 7 ¶ Missa diei quotidie ¶ whyche verses may thus to vnletteryd be englysshed Loo here is noted and put in memory That ouer these actes noble and Marcyall Thys excellent prynce thys fyfte kyng Henry Hys soule to endowe he was memoryall For wyth suffrages whyche euer laste shall Of masses thre that folowe ceryously At westmynster he ordeyned to be sayde dayly Upon sondaye the fyrste masse to begynne Deuoutly to be sayd of the Assumpcion Of our blessed Lady and nat thereafter blynne But than the latter of the resurreccion And on the mondaye of the Uisitacion The fyrste masse after ordeyned is Of the Annunciacion the latter masse sayd is Upon the tuysday to kepe the ordre iust The fyrste to be sayd of crystes Natiuite Than of our Lady byrth the latter folow muste On wednysdaye the holy ghost halowed to be And of the Concepcion the thyrd wylled he The thursday to synge the fyrste of Corpus xpÌ„i Of the Purificacion the laste of our Lady Upon the frydaye a masse of crystes crosse And of the Salutacion the latter for to synge And for of daye or tyme shuld be no losse Upon saterdaye the fyrste of that mornynge A masse of all sayntes to pray for the kynge Than masse of Requiem to be laste of all And euery day the day masse amyd these masses to fall ¶ Lenuoy ¶ O mercifull god what a prynce was this Whiche his short lyfe in marciall actes spent In honour of conquesi that wonder to me it is Howe he myght compasse suche dedys excellent And yet for that his mynde nothynge detent Alâ— ghostly helthe for his soule to prouide Cut of his world or he fatally shulde slyde So that though I had Tullyes eloquence Or of Sâ—â—ek the great moralyte Or of Salomon the perfyght sapience Or the swete dyties of dame Caliope Yet might I nat in prose or other dytte Accordyngly auaunce this princes fame And with due honour to enhaunce the same Consideringe his actes wherof percell appere In this rude wâ—rke with many mo left out The tyme also whiche was lesse than ten yere That he so shortly brought all thynge about By diuine grace forthryd without doute That myghtfull lorde he halâ—e his ghostly knyght With grace honour to passe this worldes sight And to haue rewarde dowble condigne And first for marciall actes by hym doone To be auaunced amonge the worthys Nyâ—e And for his vertues vsed by hym efte soone With many good dedes which he in erth had done Aboue the Hierarches he is I trust now stalled That was on erth kyng of kynges called Anglia ¶ Henry the syxte HEnry the .vi. of y e name and onely sonne of Henry the .v of quene Kathryn doughter of Charles y e seuenth kyng of Fraunce began hys reygne ouer the realme of Englande the fyrst day of September in the yere of our lorde M.iiii C. .xxii. and in the ende of the laste yere of the reygne of the foresayde .vii. Charles than kyng of Fraunce Thys Henry for the insufficience of hys age whyche as before ys shewed was but of .viii. monethes and odde days was commytted vnto the rule of hys vncles the dukes of Bedforde and of Glouceter The whyche durynge hys none age ruled the realmes of Englande of Fraunce honourably as the duke of Glouceter protectour of Englande and duke of Bedforde regent of Fraunce Than vpon the .xxi. day of October duryng thys mayres yere Robert Chyceley dyed at Parys the aboue named vii Charles kynge of Fraunce By reason of whose deth by force of appoyntemeÌ„t before made betwene HeÌ„ry the .v. and hym as before is towched in the seuenth yere of the sayde Henry the realme of Fraunce right thereof fylle vnto the yonge kynge Henry To whose vse the nobles of Fraunce excepte a fewe of suche as helde wyth the Dolphyne delyuered the possession therof vnto the duke of Bedforde as regent therof durynge that nonage of thys kynge Anno dnÌ„i M. CCCC.xxii  Anno dnÌ„i M. CCCC.xxiii  wyllyam Estfeylde  wyllyam walderne  Anno primo  Robert Tatersale  IN the begynnyng of thys mayres yere and fyrste yere of the
In this season was Caius Iuliê° the whyche is moste commonly called Iulius Cesar sente by the senate of Rome as felowe and consull wyth Lucius Bubulus into Gallia nowe called Fraunce for to subdue them vnto the empyre of Rome The whyche Iulius beyng vppon the see syde after he had ouercome the Gallis and beholdyng the whyte clyues or rockes of Brytayne enquyred of the countre and what people dwelled therin And when he was suffycyently enfourmed of all the commodytyes therof he had great wyll to brynge the sayde countre vnder the yocke of the Romaynes for so mych as at those dayes a great parte of the worlde was tributary to Rome But as sayth myne authour fyrste he exorted the Britons by writyng messagers to gyue trybute vnto Rome wherfore Cassybellan hauynge indygnacyon wrote vnto hym sharpe short answeres shewyng that he and euery noble man was bounde specyally to kepe his couÌ„tre from seruage and to kepe his subiectes that they myght enioy lybertye and franchise The whyche to obserue he wold do the vttermost of his power myght wyth the which answere Iulius beynge nothynge coÌ„tentyd in all hast made redy his nauy and people and sayled towarde Brytayne And wheÌ„ the Romaynes were comyn nere the land of Brytayne shuld haue landed y e Brytons pyght sharpe stakes and longe vppon the bankes which causyd theym to wynne lande wyth great daunger And not longe after theyr landynge Cassibellan wyth a stronge hoste of Britons encountred the Romaynes gyuynge or yeldyng to them suche fyght and batayll that they were fayne to resorte to theyr shyppes for theyr suertye Not wyth standyng y e as witnesseth Gaufride and other Iulius after he hadde renewed his knyghtes and also ryggyd his nauye he came agayne the seconde tyme entendynge to subdue the land to the empyre of Rome But as before tyme he was by the manhode of the kynge and his Brytons manfully and knyghtly wythstaÌ„den and chasyd so this seconde tyme he was in lyke wise ouercome and compelled to flee wythout honoure For whych vyctory thus twyes obteyned by the Brytons Cassibellan entendynge to gyue thanke vnto his goddes and rewarde to hys knyghtes in goodly haste caused an assemble to be made of his lordes knyghtes at the cytye of Caerlud or London where after dew obseruaunces done to theyr goddes after y e vse of theyr pagan lawes a great and solemne feste was holden by the kynge to all that wolde come wyth moste lyberalytye and plentye in all that was necessarye to such a feste And the more to encrease the kynges honoure and to the more comforte and dilectacion of his lordes and other there beynge present there was all maner kynê of games that at those dayes were exercysed and vsed Contynewynge whyche feste two noble and yonge knyghtes amonge other hapened to assey eyther other in wrastlyng wherof that one was neuew to kyng Cassibellan named Hirelda and y e other named Euelinus was allyed vnto Androgeus erle or duke of London By meane of this wrastlynge dyuysyon or vnfyttynge wordes fyll betwene the two yonge knyghtes y t after wordes ensued strokes by meane wherof partyes were takeÌ„ on eyther syde whyche ranne to gyder in great â—re and malyce so that on eyther part many and diuers were hurte wounded Among whome Hirelda neuew to the kynge was slayne whych caused great dysturbaunce in the courte and amonge the lordes when the knowlege of the deth of Hirelda was brought vnto y e kyng he was therwyth greatly amoued entendynge dewe iustice to be hadde mynystred by thaduyce of his Barons causyd the forenamed cosyn of Androgeus Euelinus to be sommoned for to appere before hym hys counsayll and there to acquyte hym of suche cryme as to hym was layde for the deth of Hirelda before slayne But Euelinus by couÌ„sayll of Androgeus wythstode that commaundement and shortly after the sayde Androgeus and Euelyne departed the courte wythoute takynge leue of the kynge The kynge dysdaynynge this demeanure of Androgeê° after dyuers monycyons to hym gyuen gathered his knightes and made warre vpon Androgeus wherfore he coÌ„syderyng after many ways meanes thought y t he was not of power to wythstand the kynges great indignacyon sent his letters vnto Caius Iuliê° Cesar shewynge to hym the circumstaunce of the mater and aduoydynge hym of all gylt besought and prayed him in moste humble wyse that he wolde shortly retourne wyth his army into Brytayne he wyth his hole power shuld be redy to ayde and helpe hym agayne the Brytons Of this message was Iulius very glad and in all haste made towarde Brytayne wyth a great power To whom y e wynde was so fauourable y t in short tyme after this message he drew nere y e land But as affermeth myne authour Gaufryde or he wold lande ferynge the treason of Androgeus he receyued froÌ„ hym in hostage his sonne named Scena wyth .xxx. other of the moste noble of his lordshyppe that done he landed wyth the helpe and ayde of Androgeus wherof when Cassibellan hadde warnynge in all haste he made towarde the Romaynes and in a valey nere vnto Dorobernia now named Canterbury there he fouÌ„de the hoste of y e said Iuliê° lodged with him Androgeê° with all his power After whych knowlege had eyther of other wyth theyr habyllemeÌ„tes of warre eyther greued other tyll at leÌ„gth both hostê mette hande for hand and faught vygerously in such wise that many fell on eyther partye But when the Brytons as sayth Gaufryde hadde longe foughten knyghtly defended the Romaynes Androgeê° with his peple came by a wynge of the Brytons and them so sharpely assayled that they were constreyned to forsake the feld and place y t they before had kepte The whiche flyght dyscoÌ„forted so the other that fynally all fledde and gaue place to the Romaynes the which pursued slewe them withoute pytye So that Cassibellan wyth his Brytons that were lefte were fayne to gette them to a place of suerty there to reste tyll they myght newly prouyde to wyth stande theyr enemyes But fynally as all wryters agre Iulius helde the kyng so shorte that for an vnytye and concorde he was fayne to become trybutary to the Romaynes and to paye to them yerely a certayne trybute whych Gaufryd affermeth to be .iii. thousande pouÌ„d And when the sayde trybute was set in a suertye so that the sayd Romaynes were wyth yt contented and Iulius hadde accomplyshed his wyll pleasure in thynges to hym thought necessary he with Androgeus departed the lande and so spedde hym towarde Rome where soone after he was agayn by the will of y e most of y e senatours made emperour And this tribute thus was grauÌ„ted when Cassibellan hadde reygned as kynge of Britayne fully .viii. yeres and more THE XLIX CHAPITER THis begynnynge of this trybute payde by Cassibellan vnto the Romayns shuld seme by most concordaunce of wryters to be vpon xl and .viii. yeres before Crystes incarnacyon or
as witnesseth Gaufryde was a Pict that was myche loued and greatly fauouryd of Constantyne so that he myghte at all tymes come to the kynges presence The whyche beyng an erraunt traytoure and sechynge conuenyent tyme to execute his detestable treason by a secrete meane slewe the kynge in his chamber when he hadde ben kyng after moste wryters tenne yeres THE LXXXI CHAPITER COnstantius sonne of Constantyne by meane of Uortigernus was made kynge of Brytayne in the yere of our lorde foure hundred and .xliii. This as before is touched for so myche as his fader thought he was not very apt to take so great a charge as to gouerne the lande after hym became a relygious man in the monastery before named Or as some wryters meane the sayd Constante of pure deuocyon that he hadde to god and saynt Amphiabyl made hym selfe a monke vnwyttynge the kynge his fader and other his frendes But how or in what maner so euer he became a monke trouth it is that Uortigerus or Uortigernus after y e deth of Constantyne founde suche meanes that he was taken out of the abbey and crowned kynge of Brytayne By meane wherof the sayde Uortiger had all the rule of the land so that Constante hadde but onely the name This Uortyger then consyderynge the innocencye and myldenes of the kyng cast in his mynde how he myght be kynge hym selfe And amonge other meanes founde to haue aboute y e kynges persone an hundred Pictes or after some Scottes y e whych he ordeyned for a garde for the kynges persone which done he bare hym in such wyse agayne the Pictes by meanes of great gyftes otherwyse that they at length had Uortyger in such fauoure that they feryd not to saye openly that Uortyger was more worthy to be kyng theÌ„ Constant. In this whyle Uortyger gatte into his possessyon the kynges treasour and what was of hym coÌ„maunded was done though other therat murmured and grudge And euer in ryght and wronge he fauoured the foresayd Pictes or Scottes The whyche at length perceyuynge his corrupte mynde when they sawe that they had conuenyent tyme fyll vpon the kynge and hym slewe or murderyd After whych cruell dede by theym done they presentyd the hed of Constante vnto Uortiger then beyng at London wherof when he was ware to the ende that the Brytons shulde thynke that dede to be done agayne his mynde and wyll wepte made semblaunt of all sorowe and heuenes and causyd the sayde hundred knyghtes to be taken in all haste after and theym by dome and lawe of y e laÌ„d to be be heddyd by reason wherof he was taken not culpable or innocent of the kynges deth when the kynges deth was knowen to suche persones as hadde the kepyng of the two yonger bretherne Aurelius and Uter they in all haste for the more sauegarde of them fledde into lytell Brytayne there kept theym tyll yt pleasyd god ortherwyse to purueye for theym And thus as ye haue herd was kynge Constante slayne when he hadde reygned after moste wryters fyue yere THE LXXXII CHAPITER UOrtigernus duke of y e Iuesses or Uortigerê° erle of Iewesses after called westsaxons was made kynge of Brytayne in the yere of our lorde .iiii. hundred and .xlviii. and the .xviii. yere of Clodio kyng of FrauÌ„ce whych after y e deth of Constant by strength and otherwise was made kynge and ruled the land not all wythout trouble For yt was not longe or the Pictes whych hauyng knowlege of the deth and iudgemeÌ„t of theyr knightes and kynsmen that they inuaded the north partes of the lande doynge therin great harme and domage And ouer that many dyuerse of the great of the Brytons perceyuyng that the kyng Constant was not murderyd all wythout consent of the sayde Uortyger rebelled agayne hym and dayly sent and say led ouer into lytell Brytayne to the ayde and assystence of the foresayde chyldern of Constant whyche putte the sayde Uortiger to great vnrestfulnesse and the more for that that he wyst not nor knewe not in whom he myght putte his truste and confydence in wyth these perturbauÌ„ces was medled plenty of corne frute y t the lyke therof had not ben sene many yeres passyd wherwyth was ioyned lechery pestylence with many other incoÌ„ueniences so y e vice was accoÌ„pted for small or none offence The which reygned not onely in the temporalty but also in the spiritualtie hedes of the same So y e euery maÌ„ turned the poynt of his spere agaynst the trewe innocent man the coÌ„mons gaue them all to dronkeÌ„nes and ydelnes where thorough ensued fyghtynge stryfe and mych enuy Of which foresayd myschyues ensued mych mortalyte and deth of men that the lyuyng scantly suffysed in some countres to bury the dede And ouer this y e kyng was so hard beset with y e forenamed enymyes that he was coÌ„strayned as affermyth Policronica to sende for paynems as the SaxoÌ„s to helpe to withstand his enemyes and defende his lande and also he dayly ferid the landyng of Aurely and Uther Uortyger thus beynge beset wyth many aduersytyes in vysytynge hys lande and then beynge for dyuerse causes hym mouyng at Dorobernia or Caunterbury tydynges came to hym of the arryuynge of thre longe shyppes full of armed men at the yle of Tenet wherof fyrst he made countenaunce as though he hadde ben in doute whether it had ben the two brethern of Constant or none But wheÌ„ the same was blowen aboute y t they were none enymyes anon he caused the leders of them to be brought vnto his presence freynynge of theym the cause of theyr landyng of theyr nacyon and countre The whych answered vnto the kynge and sayd they were of the couÌ„tre of Germany and put out of theyr countre by a maner sorte or lot at soÌ„dry tymes vsed with in the sayde lande the whyche was vsed for so myche as the people therin encreasyd so faste that wythoute such prouysyon had the couÌ„tre shuld not suffyce for the people the whych was suche as foloweth At sondry tymes when the sayd couÌ„tre was replenyshed of people the prynces and rulers therof wolde assemble at a certayne place and call before theym the lusty yonge folkes Of the whych they wold chose out a certayne nomber and appoynte to them certayne dukes or leders with all thyng necessary to the warre And them so garnyshed wold coÌ„maunde to serche theyr adueÌ„ture to wynne some lande by theyr knyghthode where they myght inhabyte theÌ„selfe By whych vse custome thus longe vsyd now was fallen to theyr lotte to do as theyr fore faders had done before theym wherfore syns fortune had brought them to this land they besought the kyng that he wold take them to his seruyce they wold be redy to fyght for y e defence of him and his countre And when the kyng hadde enquyred farther he fouÌ„de that they had two leders named Hengistê° and Horsus and they and theyr people were called Saxons The
of hys treasoure went vnto y e cyty of Tourney enteÌ„dyng to kepe that for theyr and hys sauegarde But when Sygebert knew therof he was nothyng in the pursuynge of hym fouÌ„de slow but foloweth streyght after and closyd hym wythin the sayde cytye with a stronge syege where Chilpericus was in a maner dyspayred of y e welfare of hym hys Fredegunde But she that was replenyshed of all iniquyte called to her two wycked persones and promysed vnto theym great gyftes yf they wolde by venym or otherwyse slee her brother Sigebert The whyche two felowes dysceyued wyth the fayre speche and great gyftes of the sayde Fredegunda toke vppon theym that vnlefull charge and by theyr subtell false imagynacyon brought theyr cursed purpose to an ende but to theyr owne confusyon For after they had wounded the kynge Sygebert to deth and wolde then haue escapyd the kynges knyghtes espyeng theyr treason fell soone vppon them and all to hewed them And when y e deth of the kynge was knowen a great noyse and crye was areryd in the hoste By meane wherof the kynges deth was blowen in to the cytye and after to the ceres of Chilpericus wherof he was not a lytell ameruayled nor wolde to yt geue ferme credence tyll he was enfourmed of hys wyfe Fredegunde of all hyr subtyle workynge It was not longe after or the knyghtes or some of the captaynes of the hoste of Sygebert presentyd theÌ„ vnto Chylpericus besegynge hym of hys grace and pardon the whych he gladly accepted And when he hadde sette hys charges in order he then commaunded prouysyon to be made for the beryenge of hys sayd brother wythin the monasterye of saynte Medarde of Soysons And when all that besynesse after a kyngely maner where fynyshed and endyd he then exylyd Brunechyeldys and Childebert the wyfe and sonne of hys brother Sygebert vnto the cytye of Roane takynge from theym great treasour that they were possessyd of But shortly after the sonne of Sygebert by helpe of Gun debolde or Gundealde duke of Poy towe here before named was delyueryd from the daunger of the sayde Chilperycus and sent into his owne lordeshyppe of Austracye whych his father Sygebert was lorde of In thys passetyme he hadde sent hys sonne Meroneus into a couÌ„trey called Buturynges to appeace certayne rebellyons there areysyd But when he hard of the deth of his vncle Sygebert and of the beynge of hys wyfe Bruncchyelde at the cytye of Roane he sette a parte all the charge of his father and sped hym streyght thyder kepynge companye wyth her In whome he toke suche consolacoin and pleasure that lastely he maryed her and kepte her as hys wyfe And when hys father was therof warned he feryd leste by the counsayle of hys sayde wyfe he wolde arryse agayne hym wherfore he in all haste assembled hys people and spedde hym towarde Roane when tydynges came to Meroneus of the conunynge of hys father wyth so great araye and he as then vupurucyed of strength of knightes to resyste hys father for hys moste suertye fled wyth hys vnlefull wyfe to the temple or chyrche of saynte Martyne takynge the pryuylege therof for theyr defence And when Chilpericus hadde temptyd by many sondry meanes to haue them out of the sayde pryuylege and myghte not wythout brekynge of the same he to brynge aboute hys cautelouse purpose made to theym assuryd promyse that yf they wyllfully wolde renounce the sayde place and putte theym in hys grace he wolde vtterlye pardon theyr trespace and suffer theym from that tyme for to contynue theyr lyfe to gether as man and wyfe Uppon whyche promyse the sayd Meroneê wyth his wyfe renouÌ„ced the sayde pryuylege and putte theym hole in the kynges mercy the whyche them receyuyd wyth all contenaunce of loue and fauoure and theym festyd and cherysshyd louyngly by the space of two dayes onely But the thyrde daye the feaste was fynyshed for then he sent his sonne vnto Parys vnder sure guydes and there causyd hym to be professyd in a house of relygyon But by the meanes of hys vncle Gunthranus he was after taken thens and so restoryd to hys former knyghthode For the whych his father hym newly pursued and coÌ„strayned hym to take for hys sauegarde y e chyrche of saynt Martyne in Turon And when he was warned that his fader perforce wold take hym thens he then fledde vnto a cytye of Champayne accompanyed wyth .vi. seruauntes onely where he was in so great fere to be taken and in suche despayre to obteyne grace of hys father that he causyd one of the sayde vi persones to slee hym wyth hys sworde the foresayd Bruncchyeldis hys wyfe put in sure kepynge THE CXV CHAPITER CHilpericê° then beynge asserteyned of the doth of hys sonne Meroneus the sure kepyng of Brunechieldis he thoughte hymselfe somdele assuryd for y e mystruste y t he had in them many tymes inquieted hym But yet he was not iÌ„ quiete or reste For shortly after y e peple of Turon rebellyd agayne him Agayn whom he sent his son Clodoueus a noble man of his courte named Desideriê° y e which he sent as a gyde a counsayloure of his sayd son And vpon the party of his enymyes was a captayne of the kynge Gunthranus for so mych as the said Gunthranus claymed parte of those landes about Turon This captayne named Momelues heryng of the coÌ„mynge of the foresayd hoste wyth a chosen coÌ„pany made taward them and gaue vnto Clodoueus a great sharpe fyght and not without great losse of his men wanne of hym the felde and compellyd hym to forsake that countre Thus Chilperyche was wrapped in warre and troubles of the worlde sometyme wyth ryght some whyle wyth wronge so that he some tyme wanne worshyppe and other whyle he loste wherof to tell all the cyrcumstaunce I thynke yt shulde be tedyouse bothe to the reders and also to y e herers wherfore I passe ouer in abrydgynge and shortynge somedele of this storye Then foloweth within y e storye after Chylpericus had by intycemeÌ„t of Fredegunde wrongfully tormentyd the archebyshoppe of Roan named Breteste hym after the sufferaunce of many vylanyes exyled for the whych and other god sent vnto hym some correccyom in takynge awaye by sodeyne deth the chyldern that he had by Fredegunde he then began to knowe god and toke great repentaunce in promysynge to god amendement of his lyfe And to th entent that he might haue the more prayers of the comyn people to stand in state of grace he fyrst releasyd a greuous trybute or imposicyon that he hadde lately sette vpon all vynes thorough his regyon And that done he reedyfyed olde chyrches and some he made newe and endowed them with great possessyons And ouer thys he releuyd greatly y e poore people by enlargynge of his lyberall almes and became very humble and meke where before tyme he was ryght sterne and cruell But lyke as ofteÌ„ it happeneth that
the premysses for a reformacyon of the same sent hys ambassade to the pope then beynge zacharye before named askyng hys aduyse whether yt was more necessary or welfull for the realme of FrauÌ„ce that he shulde be admytted for kyng that dyd nothynge but applye hys mynde to all pleasure of hys bodye wythout cure or charge takynge vppon hym for the guydynge of the lande and the people of the same or he that toke upon him all the charge and payne in defence of the lande and kepynge of the people in due subieccyon To this the pope answeryd and wrote vnto Pepyn that he was beste worthy and moste profytable for the realme to be admyttyd for kynge that ruled well the comynaltye by iustyce and prudence and the enymyes therof defendyth and subdueth by his polycy and manhode The whyche answere thus receyued frome the pope and declared vnto the lordes and barons of the realme anone they of one assente and mynde procedyd and went to the deposynge and puttynge downe of theyr kynge and gouernour Hylderyche And in shorte space after closyd hym in a monastery or house of relygyon when he hadde ben occupyer of a kynges rome by the name onely .x. yeres And that done the Frenche men electyd and chase Pepyn for theyr souerayne and kynge In the whyche Hilderyche or Childerych endyd the lyfe or progeny of Meroneus of whome the Frenche kynges lynyally descendyd by contynuaunce of tyme as foloweth Meroneus x. yeres Childericus xxiiii yeres Clodoueus xxx yeres Dagobertus xiiii yeres Clodoueus xvi yeres Clotharius iiii yeres Theodoricus iii. yeres Childericus ii yeres Lotharius l. yeres Chilpericus xxiiii yeres Lotharius xliii yeres Clodoueus iii. yeres Childebertus xvii yeres Dagobertus xi yeres Danyel v. yeres Theodoricus xiiii yeres Theodoricus xix yeres Hildericus x. yeres Anglia THE CL. CHAPITER SIgebertê° or Sigbertus the cosyne of Cutbert laste kynge of the westsaxons beganne his reygne ouer y e sayd Saxons in the yeres of y e incarnacyon of Cryst .vii. huÌ„dred and xlv and the .v. yere of Hildericê° then kyng of Fraunce He was cruell and tyrannous to his subiectes turnyd theyr lawes and customes of his fore fathers after his owne wyll and pleasure And for y e one of the noble men of his dominyon somdele sharply aduertysed him to chauÌ„ge his maners and to behaue hym more prudently towarde his pleople he therfore malycyously caused hym to be putte to cruell deth About this tyme Egbertus after the yonger wylfryde was made archbyshoppe of yorke The whyche brought agayn thyther the pall that his predecessours hadde forgone syns the tyme that the fyrst Paulinê° had lefte that see and fled to Rochester in Kent and there lefte the sayd pall This Egbert was brother vnto Egbert kyng of NorthumberlaÌ„d by whose assystence and comforte he dyd many thynges for the weale of y e see made there a noble library Then yt folowyth for so myche as the kyng Sygebert contynued in his malyce cruell condycyons his subiectes conspired agayn hym and putte hym from all kyngely dygnyte So y t he fell after to great desolacyon mysery in such wyse y t he was founden after in a wood or desolate place wandryng alone without coÌ„forte where he beyng so foundeÌ„ by a swyne herd or vylayne some tyme belongyng to the erle CoÌ„branê° y t he before tyme wyckydly had slayn in auengement of his sayd lordes deth slew hym in y e sayd place which sayd Sigebertus was thus depryued froÌ„ al houour wheÌ„ he after most writers had reygned or tyrannysed .ii. yeres THE CLI CHAPITER KEnulphus of the lyne or blode of Cerdicus fyrst kyng of westsaxons began hys domynyon ouer the sayde westsaxons in the yere of grace .vii. hundred .xlviii and the vii yere of Hildericus then kynge of Fraunce The vertue of thys man passyd his fame For after he hadde with the agrement of the westsaxons depryued Sygebert theyr kynge froÌ„ his authorite and regally he fyrst appeasyd dyuers murmurs and grudgis that kyndelyd among his subiectes set his lordshyp in great quyetnesse and rest touchynge theyr ciuyle dyscorde About the .viii. yere of the reygne of this Kenulphus Offa slewe a tyraunt named Beoruredus y t before had slayne Ethelwald kyng of Mercia After whose deth the sayde Offa as neuew to the sayd Ethelwald reygned as kynge of that prouynce Of this Offa is tolde many notable dedes wherof somwhat I entende to shew He hadde warre wyth the Northumbres theÌ„ for a tyme subdued He also had warre wyth Etheldrede kynge of eest anglys and wyth Egbert otherwyse called Pren kynge of Kent whome he toke prysoner and led hym bounden wyth hym into Mercia Then after these vyctoryes Offa buylded the chyrch of wychcom In tyme of the whyche buyldynge in presens of .xiii. byshoppes and many other great estatys kynge Offa enlargyd the sayde Egbert of imprysonement In token wherof the people beynge there present made such an exclamacyon of ioye and gladnesse that the chyrche therof range Thys kynge Offa hadde suche dyspleasure vnto the cytyzens of Caunterburye that he remoued the archbyshoppes see by the agremente of the fyrste Adryane then pope vnto Lychefelde He also chased the Brytons or welshmeÌ„ into walys made a famouse dyke betwene walys and the vtter bondys of Mercia or mydle Englande the whyche to this day is named Offedyche And after he buyldyd there a chyrch whych longe tyme after was called Offekyrke This Offa also by angelycall inspyracyon translatyd the holy prothomartyr saynt Albone and was fyrst founder of that famous monasterye ouer that holy bodye The whyche syns the fyrste foundacyon hath by sondry tymes ben perished and hurt by Danys other and newely syns that tyme reedyfyed This holy Albon was martyred as before apperyth in the .lxvii. chapyter and storye of CoÌ„stantius about the yere of our lorde two hundred .lxxx. and .xvii. By whych reason he shuld lye or he were translatyd ouer foure hundred and lx yeres This Offa also maried one of hys doughters to Bryghtricus y â— was kynge of westsaxons And for that in his tyme was varyaunce betwene hym and the FreÌ„che men that passage of marchauntes was forboden therfore he sente that famouse doctour Anselmus vnto Charlis the great then kynge of Fraunce to comon the meanes of a peace whyche Charlis hadde after thys Anselmus in suche fauour that he became hys discyple Then retourne we to Kenelphus y t whyche before tyme had had often warre wyth Offa and with hym many conflyctes and lastely agreed About the .xi. yere of thys Kenelphê° Egbert kynge of Northumbres renouncyd his kyngly dignyte and became a munke And lastely the sayde Offa when he had reygned ouer Mercia .xxxix. yeres as sayth Guydo he lefte the kyngdome to hys sonne also named Kenelphus and yode to Rome And this Kenulphê° kynge of westsaxon kepte strongely hys lordshyp agayn y e power of all his enymyes hadde his subiectes in due order of
done by Offa kynge of Mercia for so myche as in his days flowred that famouse clerke Alcumus or Albinus the whych as sayth the frenche cronycle was fyrste fouÌ„der of the scole of Parys and of Papya as is before shewyd in y e story of Charlys the great in the thyrd chapyter of the sayde storye when Adeulphus hadde thus sped hys besynes and pylgrymage at Rome he retournyd by Fraunce where at that tyme was kyng of that lande Charlys the Ballyd of whom he was ioyouslye receyued And after he hadde dysportyd hym there a season he spousyd the doughter of the sayde Charlys in the .xx. yere of the reygne of the sayde Adeulphus as testyfyeth Policronica in the .xxx. chapiter of his .v. boke whych shuld be the yere of the reygne of the sayde Charlis the .xi. But of this mariage is nothynge touchyd in the frenche cronycle Then Adeulphus takynge leue of the kynge toke shyppynge and landed in Englande wyth his wyfe Indyth by name And for that he contrary the law made in y e tyme of Brigthricus sette his wyfe in the kynges trowne and magnyfyed her lyke a quene the lordes of his lande arose agayne hym and pullyd from hym a great parte of his domynyon and made his eldeste sonne ruler therof whyche all was done in reproche of Ethelburga whyche slew her lorde Brigthricus as before is shewyd Lastly the mater was appeasyd and he to his kyngly honour restoryd About this tyme Bertulphê° kyng of Mercia slewe wyckydly in the holy tyme of Penthecoste saynte wyl stone whose holy bodye was buryed at RepyngedoÌ„ And in y e place where thys holy wylstone was slayne stode a pyller of lyghte .xxx. dayes after And in the yere folowynge dyed the sayde Bertulphus After whose deth Burdredus was made kynge of Mercia or myddell Englande the whyche before tyme hadde spousyd the doughter of kynge Adeulphus In the later dayes of thys Adeulphus the Danys dyd myche harme in Lyndesey and also in kent and frome thens came to London and robbed and spoyled the cytye wherfore Adeulphus gaderyd his people and lastely mette wyth them in Southerey vppon a downe called Oclea and there dyscomfyted theym not wythoute shedynge of great plente of the Anglis blood and forsyd them to take the see so that after they landed in eest Anglia as after shall appere Then lastely dyed thys good kynge Adeulphus or Ethelwolphê° when he hadde ruled hys subictes nobly by accorde of moste wrytes fully .xxii. yere and was buryed at wynchester leuynge after hym four sonnys aforesayde Francia THE CLXIII CHAPITER CHarlys y e yongeste son of Lewys the mylde began hys reygne ouer the chefe part of FrauÌ„ce in y e yere of our lorde .ix. hundred .xli and the .ix. yere of Adeulphus then kynge of westsaxons the whyche as before is sayd was surnamed Ballyd Anon as his father was buryed his brother Lothayre to whome the father as ye fore behaue harde had coÌ„myttyd y e guydynge of this Charlys by the entysynge of his brother Lewys malygned agayn this Charlis and sought many wayes to put hym from such landes as his father had gyuen hym This sayd Lothayr was after the deth of his father emperour and Lewys the yonger brother was duke or knyght of Bayon But for Charlis was yongest and had to his parte the pryncypall porcyon of Fraunce whych was called myddell Fraunce therfore his .ii. bretherne specially Lewys malygned greuously agayne hym wherof this Charlis beynge somdeale infourmed bare hym so wysely so egally to his subiectes that he hadde theyr loues and fauours and trustyd alway by theyr good ayde that he shulde be of power to wythstande theyr vnkynde malyce And lyke as the hydde fyre in processe breketh oute and shewyth great lyght and flammy blase euen so dyd thys couerde malyce at the laste breke oute to great ire and opeÌ„ wrath For after foure yeres was passyd the sayde two bretherne with oute defyaunce or groundely cause of warre assygned or assembled a great hoste suche lyke before thys daye hadde not ben sene and entryd the lymyttes of kynge Charlys Then Charlis assembled in all y e haste hys lordes and requyred theyr aydes and counsayll to wythstande the malyce of hys bretherne And when he hadde knowelege of theyr good myndes anon theyr knyghtes were gaderyd and all thynge was redy to the fyghte Nowe in thys whyle the two bretherne wyth theyr peple were comen to a place callyd Fountayns or FouÌ„tanet where to Charlis spedde hym And when both hostes were nere eyther partye made prouysyon to subdue his enymye Then were the bataylles on bothe partyes orderyd assygned to theyr standardes and capytaynes and the wynges set to the moste auauntage what shuld I lenger processe of this ordynaunce make fynally the shote of arblasters beganne on both sydes whyche ouer threwe many an horse and man and specyally the fore rydars that putte theym selfe in prese wyth theyr longe and sharpe launcys to wynne the fyrste brunte of the felde Pytye yt was to beholde the goodly bryght armyd knyghtes lyeÌ„g and walowynge wyth theyr great stedys in the felde wyth dedly woundes gapynge agayne the son y t were slayne at the fyrst encountre But when the shote was spent and the speres to shateryd then both hostes ranne to gyther wyth Rowlandes songe so that in shorte whyle the grene felde was dyed into a perfyte redde For there was heddes armes legges trunkys of ded mennys bodyes lyenge as thycke as floures growe in tyme of maye in the floryshynge medowys myserable and pyteouse yt was to beholde the persones halfe lyuynge and halfe ded with theyr grysely woundes pyteously gronynge and cryenge wythoute comforte So that there was shewyd all rygoure wythoute mercy and all crueltyes wythout compassyon Thus duryd this mortall fyghte by a longe season that doutefull yt was to knowe whyche partye hadde thauauÌ„tage of other Howbeit Charlys was putte to an afterdeale by .ii. meanes The fyrste was for so mych as Charlis entendyd to haue forborne for the reuerence of the hygh feste as the daye of the ascensyon of oure lorde that daye not to haue foughten And the seconde was that he was farre lesse in nomber whyche two causes of dysauauÌ„tage not with standynge yet in the conclusyon he wanne the honoure of that iourney But not wythoute great losse of hys peple and many of the nobles of his lande where of the frenche boke rehersith the names But for they be to vs vnknowen I passe theym ouer And as yet is testyfyed of many wryters there was slayne that daye mo Frencheman then was slayn at any felde euer before that day wherof the nomber is not expressyd for yt was so great Then Lothayre was forced to take Aquisgrany for his safegard and Lewys ellys where But Charlys wyth a small coÌ„pany that to hym were lefte folowed his Bretherne and coÌ„strayned Lothayre to forsake y e citye thens to go vnto Lyon a cytye y e standeth at
entred the boundes of Italy wherof herynge y e pope and the emperour than as before is sayd beynge at Papye busyed in a great counceyle dissoluyd the same And the pope incontyneÌ„tly toke leue of the emperour departyd agayne to Rome And Charlys wyth a great power that he had gaderyd as well of Italyans as of hys owne people made towarde hys neuewe wherof herynge the sayde Charlone turned agayne by the waye that he had comen tyll he came to hys owne countrey as sayth myne authour also y e French boke But more verely Charlone kepyng togyther hys hoste and hauynge fauour of dyuers lordes of Italye the emperoure Charlys remouyd to y e cytye of Mantue where he was grudged wyth a feuer For remedy wherof he toke a pocyon of a physycyon Iewe named Sedechias whyche was intoxicat by meane of whych venemous pocyon he dyed shortly after whan he hadde reygned as kynge emperoure after moste accorde of writers by y e space of .xxxvii. yeres wherof he reygned as emperoure .iii. yeres leuynge after hym a sonne named Lewys whyche as before is shewed was ruler of the couÌ„trey of Austracy or Lorayne whan thys Charlys was dede hys frendes entendynge to haue caryed the corps into Fraunce causyd it to be seryd and enoynted wyth ryche and precyous bawmes and other oyntmentes and aromatykes But all myghte not stoppe the intolerable ayre of hys body so that they were fayne to bury hym at Uercyle wythin the monastery of saynt Euseby where he laye ouer .vii. yeres after and then taken vp and conueyed to saynt Denys in FrauÌ„ce and there honorably buryed THE CLXVI CHAPITER IN the tyme of thys Charlys the Ballyd as wytnessen many wryters began the erledome of Flaunders the whyche euer before these dayes the ruler therof was called the forester of the kynge of FrauÌ„ce whyche erledome had hys begynnynge by thys meane ye haue harde before in the story of Adeulphus kynge of westsaxons how in hys retornynge from Rome he maryed the doughter of Charlys y e Ballyd named Indith The which Indyth after the deth of her sayde husbonde retornyd by Flaunders towarde Fraunce thynkynge to passe wythout daunger bycause the sayde countrey was vnder the obedyence or her father But at those dayes was ruler or forester in that partyes a noble yonge amerous man callyd Bawdewyne the whyche herynge of the great beautye of thys Indith gaue attendaunce vppon her And receyued her in hys best maner makyng to her all the chere that to hym was possyble and fynally cast to hyr suche loue that whan she supposed to departe and to haue gone into Fraunce he delayed the mater in suche curteys and wyse maner that he wan such fauour of her that she made no greate haste to departe frome hym all be it that moste authours agre that he kepte hyr perforce whan Charlys hadde wyttynge that Bawdewyne thus helde hys doughter Indith he sent to hym straytly chargynge hym to sende home hys doughter but that holpe not the mater ThaÌ„ he purchasyd agayn hym the censures of holy chyrch and accursed the sayd Bawdewyne But whan the kynge conceyued that the yonge man hadde suche loue to Indyth that he sette not by that punysshement and also was certeynly enformed that hyr harte was gyuen vnto hym he in processe by y e meane of some bysshoppes and frendes of the sayd Bawdewine agreed that he shulde take hyr to wyfe and in the name of hyr dowar he shulde holde and enioye the sayd countre of FlauÌ„ders And for he wolde haue hys doughter to be the more honoured he creatyd the sayde Bawdewyne an erle and commaunded hym to be called after that daye erle of FlauÌ„ders It is also shewyd in the Frenche cronycle and of other wryters that thre dayes before hys deth hys spiryte shulde be rauysshed from hys body and vnto places of payne and turment where thys Charlys by the ledynge of an aungell shulde se hylles and mountaynes brenne pyttes full of sulphyr pytche and hote boylynge lede In whyche paynes the sayde Charlys shulde se many of hys progenytours and bysshoppes that counceyled prynces to debate or stryfe or gaue counceyle to them to rayse of theyr subiectys vnlefull taskys or imposycyons wyth many other thynges whyche I passe ouer for length of the mater Anglia THE CLXVII CHAPITER EThelwaldus or Ethelwoldus y e eldeste sonne of Adeulphus began hys reygne ouer the westesaxons or ouer y e more partye of Englande in the yere of our lorde viii hundred and .lv and the .x. yere of Charlys the Ballyd than kynge of Fraunce The whyche became so vnhappy that he maryed y e woman whyche hys father hadde somtyme kepte or holden for hys concubyne as wytnessyth y e authour of y e Floure of hystoryes But Polycronycon sayth that he wedded his stepmoder whyche dysaccordyth wyth the sayenge of other wryters which testifye his stepmoder to be maryed to Bawdewyn erle of FlauÌ„ders as in y e story of Charlys last before is shewyd Thys Ethelwolde though it be not expressyd by what hap he dyed whan he hadde reygned one yere as sayth Polycronyca But another cronycle beryth wytnesse that he was slayne as a martyr of Hungar and Hubba prynces of Danys About thys tyme the holy kynge saynt Edmund coÌ„tynued his reygne ouer the Eest Anglis or Norfolke THE CLXVIII CHAPITER EThelbertus the seconde sonne of Adeulphê° began his reygn ouer the more partye of Englande in the yere of our lorde .viii. hundred lvi the .xi. yere of Charlis y e Ballid then kynge of Fraunce In whose tyme the Danys wyth more strengthes entred y e west part of this land and robbed and spoyled the couÌ„trey before theym tyll they came to wynchester toke the cytye by strength and dyd therin what they wold But the kynge made suche prouysyon that by hym his dukes they were forcyd to forsake the cytye And as they yode toward theyr shippes they were fought wyth and a great parte of theym slayne and taken Of this kynge is nothynge ellys lefte in memory more then before is shewyd but that he dyed when had reygned after moste wryters .vi. yeres and was buryed at Shyrborne leuynge after hym none yssu of hys body wherfore the rule of the lande fell to his brother Etheldrede THE CLXIX CHAPITER ETheldredus the thyrde sonne of Adeulphus beganne hys reygne ouer the west Anglis and the more parte Englande in the yere of our lorde .viii. hundred .lxiii the xviii yere of Charlis y e Ballyd then kynge of Fraunce In the begynnyng of this kynges reygne the Danes landed in eest England or Norff. and Suff. But they were compellyd to forsake that countrey and so toke agayne shyppynge and saylyd northwarde and landed in Northumberlande where they were mette wyth of the kynges then there reynynge callyd Osbryghte and Ella whyche gaue to theym a stronge fyghte But that not wythstandynge the Danys wyth helpe of suche as enhabyted y e countrey wan the
Edwarde the confessoure and hys neuewe The seconde was to take wreche of his deth cruell murdour of hys neuew Alfrede and brother of y e blessyd kynge Edwarde that was slayn of erle Goodwyne and his adherentes as before ye haue harde in the storye of Hardykinitus the whyche dede he ascrybed chefely vnto Harolde And the thyrde was for to auenge the wronge done vnto Robert archebyshop of Caunterburye whych as he was enformed was exiled by the meanes and labour of Harolde in the tyme of Edwarde the coÌ„fessour as before is shewed THE CCXVII CHAPITER DUke wyllyam kepynpe hys course landed in processe of tyme at Hastynge in Sussex in a place called Peuenessey And in hys goynge oute of his shyp and takyng the land hys one fote slode and that other stacke faste in the sande The whych espyenge one of his knyghtes y t was nere vnto hym cryed alowde and sayd now syr duke thou holdest Englande and thou shalte soone be tourned from a duke to a kynge The duke of this made game and entred further into the lande and made his proclamacyons and cryes that no man shuld take any prayes or do any force to the people For he sayde that yt was reasonable that he shuld spare that thynge that shulde be hys owne Harolde in thys whyle was in the North partes of Englande and had wittynge of the landynge of the Normayns and sped hym towarde them in all that he myghte and gatheryd his strength by the countreys as he came But the duke made so good spede that he came to LoÌ„don before the kynge where he was holden out tyll he had made good suertye that he and hys people shulde passe thorough the cytye wythout taryenge The whyche was obseruyd And so he passyng the cytye passed the bridge and went ouer into Sussex Kynge Harolde entendynge to know the streÌ„gth of his enmyes sent espyes into the dukes hoste the whyche made reporte vnto the kynge that all duke wyllyams soldyours were prestes For they had theyr ouer lyppes and chekes shauen and the Englyshmen at these dayes vsed the here of theyr ouer lyppes shadde and not shauen But Harold to that answered and sayde they be no prestes but are stalworth and sturdye knyghtes Then Gurth or Surth one of the yongeste bretherne of Harolde counsayled hym that he shulde stande a parte and suffer hym wyth other of hys lordes to fyght with y e NormaÌ„s for so myche as he was sworne to the duke and they were not aledgynge furthermore that yf they were ouerthrowen y t yet he myght defende hys quarell and fyghte for the countrey In this meane tyme wyllyam sent a monke vnto Harold and proferred to hym thre maner of wayes and to chose one of the thre The fyrste that accordynge to his othe he shulde render the lande or delyuer yt vnto the possessyons of wyllyam And y e done to take yt agayne of hym and hold yt of hym as in fee so to reygne vnder hym for terme of hys lyfe and after his deth to retourne yt to the sayd wyllyam or to suche one of his sonnes as he wolde assigne it vnto Or secondly leue the kyngedome without more stryfe Or thyrdely in exchewynge of shedynge of the more plenty of Crysten meÌ„nes blood that he wold defende his quarell in hys owne persone agayne the duke and they two onely to trye the mater by dynte of sworde But Harolde refused these offers and sayde he wolde trye his quarell by dynt of swordis and not by one sworde and that he and hys knyghtes wolde defende theyr couÌ„trey agayn all strauÌ„ge nacyons prayenge to god to deme the ryghte betwene them twayne when duke wyllyam hadde receyued this answere from Harolde and same well that there was no meane but fortune in batayll he charged his people y t myght watche to occupye theym in prayer and specylly the prestes and the religious people where the Englyshemen gaue them all to drynke and songe Then vppon the morowe beynge saterdaye and the .xiiii. daye of Occtober and the daye of saynte Calyxte the pope bothe hostes assayled other in that place where as nowe standeth the abbay of Batayll in Sussex In the begynnyge of thys batayll a banner or a banneret called Thylfer a Norman splayed before the hoste of Normans and slewe an Englysheman or knyghte that came agayne hym and after that one other and so the thyrde and was slayne at the laste Then the seltrons smote to gyther wyth a great noyse and crye and faughte sore a longe season And the Englyshmen defended them manfully and the better for that that they kepte theym hole to gyther wythoute scaterynge or spryngynge a brode The whyche when wyllyam apperceyued he gaue a sygne vnto hys knyghtes that they shulde gyue backe and make countenaunce as they dyd flee Then the Normans imbatelled the fote men and sette horse men for wynges on euery syde By the whyche wyle the Englyshemen were descueryd and soone oute of araye and the Normans tourned agayne vpon y e Englyshemen and slewe theym downe on euery syde Thys batayll was sore foughten of the Englyshemen that duke wyllyam was thryse felled that day by reason that thre horse were that daye slayne vnder hym Lastely Harolde was wounded in the eye wyth an arowe and fyll to the grounde and was slayne and hys people scatered so that well was hym that myghte saue hym selfe by fleynge Then duke wyllyam buryed hys men that there were slayne and fuffred hys enymyes to do the same Of the deth of thys Harolde ys dyuersly wryten For Geraldus Crambrens in hys boke called Itinerarius sayth y t after Harolde had receyued many woundes and loste hys lefte eye he fledde from that felde to the countrey of Chester and lyued longe after an holy lyfe as an ancre in the selle of saynte Iamys faste by saynt IohnÌ„s chyrch made there an holy ende when y e deth of Harold was knowen to the erles of Mercia and of Northumberlande the whyche for streytnesse of waye myght not bryng theyr people to that felde or ellys for that that they wylfully wythdrew theym selfe from Harolde bycause he none otherwise departed y e prayes amonges them and theyr knyghtes at the former feld of Norgaynes then they drewe the next waye to London and take Agatha Haroldê wyfe and sent her to Chester And they and Aldredus byshoppe of yorke with the Londoners agreed and promysed eyther vnto other that they wold make Edgare Athelynge kynge and defende hys ryghte to the vttermoste of theyr powers But that promyse not wythstandynge when they harde of the great strength that dayly fell to duke wyllyam and of hys prouysyons they were fayne to breke that appoyntement And the sayd erles submytted them and gaue vnto hym pledges and became to hym his lyege men by homage and feautye And thus when Harolde hadde ruled the lande from the .v. daye of Ianuary to the .xiiii. daye of October he was slayne when he had reygned ix
feuours amonges the people and also great huÌ„ger and barreynes of y e erth Also in this yere great hurt was done in many places of y e lande by fyre and specyally in the cytye of London where vpon the .vii. day of the moneth of Iulii sodayne fyre began the whyche brent a great parte of the chyrche of saynte Paule wyth also a great parte of the cytye Then kynge wyllyam beynge in Normandye was syke and kept his â—hamber at RoanÌ„ a longe time wherfore Phylyppe the Frenche kynge in hys game sayde that wyllyam lay in chyldbeddeâ— and noryshed hys fatte wombe The whyche wordes when they were blowen to kynge wyllyaÌ„s crys he was greuously dyscontent and sayde when I am chyrched I shall offer to hym a thousande candellys lyghte wyth the whyche he shall holde hym smally contented The whyche promyse he after performed For in the moneth of Iuly wheÌ„ Corne fruyt and grapes were moste florishynge he entred Fraunce with a great army and sette on fyre many cytyes and townes in the west syde of Fraunce and lastely came to the cytye of Meaus and fyred yt brent a parte therof wyth the chyrch of our lady wherin he brent a womaÌ„ beyng closed in the walle of the sayd chyrch as a recluse But of this thynge speketh not the cronycle of Fraunce Nor yet for the more parte of any thynge that soundeth to theyr dyshonour done vnto theym by Englyshemen In this hete or as some wryters haue by y e lepyng of an horse kyng wyllyam toke such a dysease or sykenes that yt was the cause of hys deth And when he felt hym thus greued he called his sonnes before hym and exhorted theym in his beste maner that they shulde charytably loue and fauoure euery of them the other and holde to gyder as louyng bretherne after made his testameÌ„t and therin ordeyned wyllyam Ruffus or wyllyam the rede to be kynge of England And Normandye he beset vnto Rober Curthose And to Henry his yongest sonne he bequethed his treasour and mouable goodes And that done he enfourmed hys two eldest sonnes of the dysposycyon of both peoples and warned wyllyam to be louynge and lyberall to his subiectes and Robert to be sterne and sturdy vnto his Then he was moued with myldenes and delyueryd from prison hys own brother the byshop of Bayon Marcharus erle of NorthuÌ„berlande wylnotus the sonne of Harolde or after some the sonne of Goodwyne that was sent to wyllyaÌ„ by Edwarde the confessour to remayne for a pledge for his sayde fader Goodwyn And shortely after these thynges wyth other done he dyed in Normandye and was buryed in y e cytye of CaanÌ„ when he had reygned as kyng of Englande .xxi. yeres and vppon .x. monethes in the moneth of Iuly and the yere of hys duchery the .lii. when wyllyam was dede men spake of hym as they do of other prynces and sayd that he was wyse and gylefull ryche and couetous loued well to be magnifyed and praysed a fayre speker a greatr dyssymuler a man of skylfull stature but somdeale fatte in the bely sterne of face and stronge in armys and therwyth bolde and had therwyth great pleasure in huntyng and in makyng of great festes But he passed al other in leuyenge of taskes whyche condycyon hys subiectes construed .iii. maner of wayes and saydeyt was to the entente that he wolde excell all other in rychesse or ellys for to withstaÌ„de and defende his enymyes or ellys to staunche the appetyte of his couetyse mynde He buylded .ii. abbayes in Englande one at batayl in Sussex where he wanne the felde agayne Harolde and is at thys daye called the abbay of Batail y e other he sette besyde London vppon the south syde of Thamys and named yt Barmoundesay And in Normandye he buylded two also Thys man made the newe forest in the countrey of Southampton the whyche to brynge aboute he caste downe dyuers chyrches by the space of .xxx. myles and replenyshed yt wyth wylde bestes and made harde and sharpe lawes for the encreasyng of them as losyng of eyen and other And he helde Englyshemen so lowe that in hys dayes was almoste no Englyshe man that bare any offyce of honoure or rule But yet somedeale he fauoured the cytye of London and graunted to the cytezens the fyrste charter that euer they had the whych is wryten in Saxon tunge and sealed wyth grene waxe and expressed in .viii. or .ix. lynes THE CCXXIII. CHAPITER Wyllyam Rufus or wyllyam the erede the second sonne of wyllyam Conquerour beganne hys reygne ouer Englande in the moneth of Iulye and the yere of our lorde a thousande .lxxxix and the xxxi yere of the fyrste Phylyppe then kynge of Fraunce Ranulfe monke of Chester sheweth in hys boke of Polycronycon y t Robert Curthose eldest sonne of wyllyam Conquerour was at the tyme of hys fathers deth absent The whyche heryng that his father hadde preferred hys yonger brother to y e kyngdome of Englande was therwyth greatly amoued in so myche that he layde his dukedome to pledge to his brother Henry and wyth that good gatheryd to him a stronge army and so landed at HamptonÌ„ wherof wyllyam hys brother beynge warned in all haste sent vnto hym messangers to whome he gaue coÌ„myssyon to say in maner as foloweth Thy brother wyllyam prayeth y t to take no grefe with y t he hath done for he clepeth hym selfe not kynge but as vnder kynge to reygne vnder the and by helpe of the that arte gretter then he better rather borne And yf thou consyder yt well he hath nothynge mysused hym agayn the. For he hath taken vppon hym for a tyme bycause of thyne absence But for he is nowe in authoryte by thy sufferaunce he prayeth y t he may vnder the so contyue payeng to the yerely .iii. thousande marke wyth coÌ„dycyon that who so ouer lyueth may enioye the kyngdome when Robert had harde that message to the ende he wagged hys hedde as he that conceyued some doublenesse in thys reporte But for he was lyberall and allowed more the honour then he dyd hys profyte as in other thynges folowyng of his dedes yt shall appere therfore he lyghtely assented to all that was desyred and returned shortly after into Normandye wyth pleasaunt wordes wythout profyte Thys wyllyam was crowned the xxvii daye of September vppon the daye of saynte Cosma and Damyan and was well ayded of LamfraÌ„k whyle he lyued He was dyuers unstable of maners so y t betwene hym his lordes was ofteÌ„ dyssencyoÌ„ In y e spryngyng of somer folowyng hys coronacyon Odo byshoppe of BayoÌ„ whych as before ye haue hard was delyuered out of pryson by wylliam CoÌ„querour came into EnglaÌ„d whom the kynge ioyously receyued and gaue vnto hym shortly after the erledome of Kent But he toke vppon hym in processe of tyme to rule in suche wyse as the kynge grudged wyth hys doynge And for thys the kynge and his sayde vncle fyll at vnkyndnesse
so y t he withdrew hym froÌ„ the kynge and alyed hym wyth the byshop of Durham the erles of NorthuÌ„berland and Shrewesbury with other The whyche confederyd to gyder toke partye agayne the kynge and dyd thynges to his dyspleasure and hurte And amonges other damages by theym done Roger de Mount Gomoryk erle of Shrewesbury destroyed the countrey and endes of England vnto worceter town wyth ayde of the walshemen But in the ende thorough the prayer of the holy byshoppe wolstane the walshemen were so weked and febled that a few knyghtes scomfyted of them a great hoste when kyng wyllyam conceyued y e well nere all the Normans toke partye agayne hym he then forced of necessyte drewe to hym the Englyshemen And fauoured them by giftes easy lawes so that by theyr strength he lastely recouered the erle of Shrewesburye and chased some other of hys enymyes and shortely after occupyed the castell and strong holdes in Kent belongynge to byshop Odo hys forsayde vncle and in the ende coÌ„pelled hym to forswere England And y t done he besyeged y e citie of Rochester wherin the byshoppe of Durham the erle of Northumberland and other noble men were gadered and wan yt at length by appoyntement so that hys enymyes were vnto hym reconcyled In the thyrde yere of hys reygne dyed Lamfrank when he hadde ben archbyshop of Caunterburye .xviii. yeres By whose meanes the moÌ„kes of Englande were brought to the vse of theyr holy relygyon the whych before hys commynge lyued more lyke to seculer prestes theÌ„ religious men and exercysed them in huntynge and hawkynge for to auoyde idelnesse dysynge and cardynge in the wynter nyghtes that they myght be redy to kepe theyr howres and nyghtly seruyce And in theyr apparel they were lyke vnto consules and not vnto muÌ„kes wyth many other deformytyes The whych in y e begynnyng of Lamfrank he of policye suffered for a season lest he had brought all in his top atones and therby myght haue caused some scysme or varyauÌ„ce to haue rysen in the chyrche In auoydynge wherof wyth other inconuenyences he lytell and lytell refrayned them of theyr outrage and in ê“cesse of tyme caused and constrayned them to lyue after the constitucyons and rules of theyr relygyon Aboute thys tyme Robert Curthose duke of Normandy enteÌ„dynge to take hys vyage into the holy lande layde his dukedome to wedde to hys brother wyllyam for .x. thousande pounde For leuyenge wherof kynge wyllyam set a taske vpon his commons and subiectes and reysed a farre excidynge some vnder colour of the same so that byshoppes melted theyr vessell and lordes spoyled theyr tenauntes The kynge of Scottes also brake the peace before made with wyllyam Conquerour and wasted and toke prayes ut the countrey of Northumberlande Then the kynge prouyded a nauy and sayled thyther in the wynter tyme. But by y e tempest of the see halfe his nauy or a great parte of yt was drowned and many of his knyghtes were loste for colde and hunger But yet in the ende after dyuers conflyctes and bykerynges by mediacyon of frendes a peace and vnyte was concluded so that Malcolyn then kynge of Scottes shuld be obedyent to kynge wyllyam vnder the same othe that he was before tyme sworne vnto hys father and kynge willyam shuld yerely gyue vnto him in y e way of a fee .xii. markes of gold In the fourth yere of his reygne and the fyft daye of October passyng great tempest of wederyng fell in soudry places of Englande and specyally in y e towne of wynchecome For there by tempeste of thuÌ„der and lyghtenyng a parte of y e steple of the chyrch was throwen downe and the crycyfyx wyth the ymage of our lady also standynge vpon the roode lofte was in lykewyse ouerthrowen and broke and shatered And after folowed a contagye and a fowle stenche y e whych endured tyll the munkes had gone in processyon about the chyrch and all the houses adioynyng to that abbay and other places Also thys yere at LoÌ„don was great harme done by force of the wynde which blewe with such violence y t yt ouerturned or ryued as wytnessyth Polycronycon ouer the noÌ„ber of .vi. hundred houses And y e rofe of saynt Mary Bow in chepe was also ryued wherwith two men were slayne And also at Salesburye was hurte done wyth y e same wynde or y e lyke therof In the .v. yere of wyllyaÌ„s reygne he went into Northumberlande and repayred suche holdes and castelles as the Scottes by theyr warrys had blemyshed and apayred and caused a new castell to be made at Caercol y e cytye or towne whych the Danys of two hundred yeres passed hadde destroyed Then y e kyng returned vnto Gloucester where he was greuously veryd wyth sykenesse so that he wende he shulde haue dyed In tyme wherof he toke great repentaunce ê“mysed yf he myght escape he wold neuer sell mo benefices ouer that he wold ameÌ„de hys lyuyng become a new maÌ„ But after he was restored to helth that promyse was shortely forgoten And in that yere he gaue vnto Anselme the archbyshopryche of yorke But he myghte take of yt but as the kynges pleasure was tyll suche tyme as the kyng hadde taken his trybute therof And more ouer he auouched that the see of LyncolnÌ„ be longed to the see of yorke tyll the bisshoppe of Lyncolne had pleased him wyth a great summe of money as .v. thousande marke after the wrytyng of Ranulfe In the .vi. yere of hys reygne were excedynge floodes wherof the lyke in many yeres passed hadde not ben sene And after that ensued wonderfull frostâ— whych frose the great stremes in suche wyse y e horse and carte passed ouer y e gret ryuers And in the ende when the yse melted and brake the payse therof brake many a stronge brydge bothe of tymber and of stone THE CCXXIIII CHAPITER ABout thys tyme the welshemen with theyr kyng or duke named Rees brake out vppon the Englyshmen in the Bordour where standeth the castell of Brekenocke and there made masteryes for a while But in the ende his people were chaced and slayne and he wounded to deth so that he dyed the .iii. daye folowynge Thys Rees is accompted of wryters to be the laste kynge of walys For after thys daye they were so dauÌ„ted that kynges of Englande had them in suche rule that they were vnder more stedfaste obedyence than they were before tyme. How be it they rebellyd full often as after shall appere And the yere folowyng kyng wyllyam to haue y e countrey in the more quyet hewe downe mych of y e wood and buylded in sundry places strong castels and pyles by meane wherof more and more they were plucked to obedyeÌ„ce But not shortely after but specyally in the dayes of Edwarde y e fyrste and Edwarde the thyrde Malcolyn kyng of Scotland came vnto Glowcester to comon wyth the kynge of dyuers maters and to take a fynall agremeÌ„t But for kyng wyllyam wolde haue demyd
into the holy lande the xx peny of euery mannes substaunce mouable thorough out hys lande of the lay fee and of the spyrytualty by assent of y e .x. Gregorye then pope .iii. dysmes to be leuyed in thre yeres Anno domini M.CC.lxx  Anno domini M.CC.lxxi  walter Porter  IohnÌ„ Adryan Uyntyner  Anno .lv.  IohnÌ„ Taylour  IN thys .lv. yere the kynge of Romains coÌ„cludid a couenauÌ„t betwen y e kyng syr Gylbert de Clare erle of Glouceter for a vyage to be taken into the holy lande by the sayd erle for the kynge For the whych vyage the saide erle shuld haue toward his charge .viii thousand mark and at the takyng of his shyppyng other iiii thousande marke and to be redy by the fyrst daye of May next folowynge and yf the erle were not redy at the see syde at that day with his company to take his shyppynge he shuld then forfayte to y e kyng .ii. M. marke For suertie wherof y e sayde erle shuld delyuer into the kynges possessyon his castell of Henleger standynge vppon y e marche of walis But this cam after to no purpose wherfore y e cause is not shewyd But y e iourney was perfourmed by syr Edwarde the kynges sonne as after shall be to you declared In this passe tyme the cytesyns of London contentyd so well syr Edwardes mynde that he laboured so for them to the kynges grace that they had then theyr chartour so coÌ„fermyd that they shuld after theyr auncyent lybertyes chose of them self a mayre and two shryues and y e sayd shryues to haue the offyces therunto belongynge to ferme as they to fore hadde excepte that wheretofore they payde for the fee ferme .iii. hundred and l. punde nowe they shulde pay .iiii. hundred and .l. pouÌ„de After whyche confyrmacyon thus grauÌ„ted and passed by y e kynges brode seale the cytesyns vppon the .xiiii. daye of Iuly assembled at the Guyldhall chase for theyr mayre IohnÌ„ Adryan draper and for shyreffes walter Porter and IohnÌ„ Tayller And vppon y e xvi daye folowynge syr Edwarde beynge present presented them vnto y e king at westminster where they were admitted sworne And then was syr Hugh of Othon dyschargyd of that rule of the cytye Then the citesyns of theyr fre wyll gaue vnto the kynge an C. marke to syr Edwarde .v. huÌ„dred marke whyche gyft the kyng well accepted And soone after they receyued theyr chartour of confyrmacyon berynge date the .xxi. day of Iuly and yere of the kynges reygne .lv. And for the former conuencyon betwene the kyng and the erle of Glouceter was not holden syr Edwarde toke vppon hym the kynges crosse To whom the kynge gaue all suche money as was graunted of y e lay fee as before is shewyd then toke his leue of the kyng and after toke shyppynge at Douer the .xx. daye of August and so sayled to Burbeaux with his wyfe and other noble company And for that holy Lewys then kyng of Fraunce was gone he taryed at Burdeaux a certayne season and after sped hym with his forsayd company toward y e cytye of Thunys where y e Frenche kyng was But or he came thyder saynt Lewys was dede And y e peace coÌ„cluded betwene Phylyppe hys son and the kynge of Thunys wherfore syr Edwarde entendynge to greue goddes enmyes wyth some knygtes of Fraunce whych enteÌ„ded the same toke leue of the Frenche kynge and of syr Charlâ—s hys vncle then kynge of Scycyle sayled further into the holy lande and arryued at a porte of Acris or Acon For at y e daye in the holy lande was no mo cytyes in the possessyon of cristen men but that and the cytye of Tyre wyth certayne castellys wherunto the crysten fled often for socoure agayne the Sarazyns when syr Edwarde was comeÌ„ to y e cytye of Acon y e crysten knyghtes receyued hym with gret honour gladnesse and lodged hym in theyr beste maner where he taryed by the space of a yere after as aftermeth y e french cronycle For yt was not longe after his commynge thyder but that the Soudane of Sury the whych had wonne al the countreys there about came thyther wyth a great power of Sarazyns and assauted the towne vygurously But syr Edwarde with the ayde of crysten men bare hym so knyghtly that he defended the cytye and the castellys to the same belongynge terrytores of the same that the Soudane for all hys great multytude and power gate there lyteil honoure notwytstandynge that he hadde in hys hoste as affyrmeth the frenche cronycle ouer an hundred thousande Sarazyns And more affyrmeth the sayde cronycle that syr Edwarde in his polycyes and manfull actes so honorably behauyd him that he neuer dyd such acte in all his lyfe folowynge all be it that after he dyd many of grete honour But none that was lyke vnto the actes that he there accomplyshed and brought vnto ende By reason wherof his name amonge infidelys was had in memory many yeres after Of the honoure of thys marcyall knyght I haue shewed the lenger rehersall for so myche as I fynde yt testyfyed of the French men the which I knowe well by theyr other cronycles that they make of Englysh prynces must be of great authoryte or ellys by them yt shuld not so specyally haue ben noted And more ouer I am assured that yf a Frenche prynce had deseruyd suche a generall pryce yt shulde haue ben set out and artyculed euery acte thereof that yt shulde haue conteyned a large worke the specyaltyes therof declared to they re moste laude and honour Then thys noble prynce beynge thus in Acon and dayly puttynge the Suryens to shame and great damages they seynge they might not preuayle agayn hym by strength of vatayll cast how they myght destroy hym by treason and sente vnto hym a Sarazyne in name of a messanger the whyche in tellynge of hys fayned message wouÌ„ded hym wyth a knyfe enuenomyd of the whyche wounde he laye longe or he were therof cured But after confessyon made by the Sarazyn of all hys coÌ„passed treason he was put vnto cruell deth In thys yere also fyll downe the steple of saynt Mary Bow in Chepe of LoÌ„don slew women chyldren Anno domini M.CC.lxxi  Anno dnÌ„i M.CC.lxxii  Gregory Rokkysle  IohnÌ„ Adryan wyntener  Anno .lvi.  Henry waleys  IN this .lvi. yere in the moneth of Nouember at the parliameÌ„t holden at westmynster the marchauÌ„tes of LoÌ„don and other places of Englande complayned them to y e kyng that the countesse of Flaundres had taken from them certayne gooddes amountynge to a great summe Uppon whych complaynt the kyng sent to her to make restytucyon But for noâ—e was had the kyng coÌ„maunded that all men born in y e partyes in Englande shulde be arrested and they theyr goodes to be vnder suer kepynge By the whych meane in conclusyon she sent ouer embassadours and besought the kyng that
Cambrees erle of Atles and syr IohnÌ„ Comyn with other the whyce voluntarylye were sworne in presence of the kynge and hys lordes that they shuld be trewe vnto the kynge of Englande kepe the lande of Scotlande to hys vse agayne all other persones And yf any rebell or other malycyous persone distourbed the laÌ„de or breke y e kynges peas they shulde cause hym to be taken and sent vnto the kynge wyth many other articles coÌ„cernyng theyr allegeaunce the whyche full falsely they brake and contraryed shortely after Anno dnÌ„i xiii C.v.  Anno dnÌ„i xiii C.vi  Raynold Doderell  IohnÌ„ Blount  Anno .xxxiiii.  wyllyam Cansyn  IN thys .xxxiiii. yere Robert le Bruze contrary hys othe to kynge Edwarde before made assembled the lordes of Scotlande and by the couÌ„sayll of thabbot of Stone and other that fauoured hys vntrouthe he sent vnto the pope than Clement the .v for a dyspensacyoÌ„ of hys othe before made vnto kynge Edwarde and surmysed to hym that kyng Edwarde vexed and greuyd the realme of Scotlande wrongfully whereupoÌ„ the pope wrote vnto kyng Edwarde to leue of suche doynges And whyle thys matter was thus complayned on vnto the pope y e sayd Robert le Bruze made all the labour he myght vnto y e lordes of ScotlaÌ„de that he were admytted for kyng of y e regyon so that vpon the daye of the concepcyon of our Lady or the .viii. day of Decembre a great assemble of the lordes was made at the abbey of Stone And vpoÌ„ the day folowyng by the meanes of the abbot of y t place many of the sayd lordes assented to y e wyl of the sayd Robert except syr Iohan Comyn onely The whych in defence of hys trouthe and othe before sworne vnto kyng Edwarde many reasons excuses made and fynally sayd that he wolde nat false hys othe for no man For thys the sayd syr Iohan Comyn had great maugre of syr Robert le Bruze many of y e nobles of Scotlande But he helde hys oppynyon so fermely that other began to take hys parte that in that counsayll rose suche contrariete of opynyons and reasons that the sayd couÌ„sayll was dyssolued and a newe sette at the graye freers of Dunfrize after Candelmas next ensuyng At whych daye of assemble whenne the cause of theyr meting was by Robert le Bruze denouÌ„ced and shewed many of the great lordes of the land had grauÌ„ted to hym theyr aydes assistence the forenamed syr IohnÌ„ Comyn other sat styll and sayd no worde whyche Robert le Bruze marked well and to hym sayd And you syr IohnÌ„ I trust for defence and weale of thys realme ye wyll nat be behynde wherunto he answered syr I wolde that ye and al my lordes here present knowe well that for the weale and defence in the ryght of thys lande I wolde stande with it to the vttermost of my power But for I se that ye enteÌ„de rather the subuercyon than the weale therof I wyll therfore ye know I shal nother ayde you with counsayll nor yet with strength Some other also there were whose names the auctoure myndeth nat whyche allowed the sayenge of the sayde syr IohnÌ„ and in some wordes admytted hys sadde and trewe answere For the whyche Roberte le Bruze was so amoued that when syr IohnÌ„ Comyn with syr Rogyer hys brother was departed from the counsayll and was comyn into the chyrch of the freers Robert le Bruze hym folowyd and wounded to the deth with his swerde and after slew syr Rogier hys brother whyche wolde haue defended the foresayde syr IohnÌ„ After whose deth lytell or no resysteÌ„ce was made agayne the vntrewe meane dedes of the sayd Robert le Bruze so that he at saynte IohnÌ„s towne was crowned kynge shortly after It was nat longe after that kyng Edwarde was monysshed of all this vntrouth of the scottes wherfore he prepared hym to wende thyder And at Penthecoste he helde a great feaste of hys barony at westmyster durynge that feast made a greate noÌ„bre of knyghtes ouer CC. after mooste wryters And that feast ended he seÌ„t with a fayre company of knyghtes syr Aymer de Ualaunce erle of Penbroke and syr Henry Percy erle of Northumberlande into ScotlaÌ„de sped hym selfe wyth hys hoost soone after Than about the feast of the assuÌ„pcyon of our Lady the kyng faughte with the sayd Robert le Bruze and al the power of Scotlande in a playne nere vnto saynt IohnÌ„s towne And after loÌ„ge fyght and great slaughter of the scottes to y e nombre of .vii. M he chased the scottes In whyche chase syr Symon de Fryseyll erle of DuÌ„barre was takeÌ„ with also the bishoppes of saint Adrews and of Bastoon the abbot of Stoon or Scoon syr IohnÌ„ Chambres erle of Atles which bysshoppes and abbot kyng Edward sent after vnto innoceÌ„t the .v. thaÌ„ pope with reporte of theyr ê‘iury how they were taken armed in the felde to shede the blode of cristeÌ„ men And y e teÌ„porall lordes he sent into EnglaÌ„de so vnto the towre of LondoÌ„ And Robert le Bruze after thys scomfyture losse of hys chyef freÌ„des feryng lest y e scottes with suche Englysshmen as kyng Edward laft there wolde aryse agayne hym all comfortles fledde vnto the kynge of Norwaye there abode duryng whyle kyng Edwarde lyued whan thys noble prynce Edward had thus subdued y e scottes he yelded thankes to god of hys vyctorye And wheÌ„ he was ascertayned of the auoydyng of Robert le Bruze had set y e laÌ„de in a quiet ordre he retourned into Englande In thys passetyme were y e forenamed lordes of ScotlaÌ„de areygned at LondoÌ„ vpoÌ„ the euyn of the Natyuyte of our Lady put to deth theyr heddes after set vpoÌ„ LondoÌ„ brydge And shortly after was IohnÌ„ waleys brother vnto wyllyaÌ„ waleys whych for lyke treason was put to deth in y e preceding yere taken haÌ„ged quarteryd And some scottes that were taken as prysoners remayned loÌ„ge in EnglaÌ„de or they myght acquite theyr fynaunce Anno dnÌ„i xiii C.vi  Anno dnÌ„i xiii C.vii.  Symon Bolet  IohnÌ„ Blount  Anno .xxxv.  Godfrey de la Conduyt  IN thys .xxxv. yere y e kynge for certayne causes hym mouyng retourned agayne into Scotlande Or after some wryters he taryed at Berwyke helde hys Crystmasse Easter in those partyes came nat into EnglaÌ„de after he had scoÌ„fyted y e scottes In the season of somer as he was retournyng into EnglaÌ„de a sykenes toke hym so ferueÌ„tly y e he knew wele he shuld dye wherfore he beyng at Burgthe vpoÌ„ the sande beyonde Carleyll called to hym syr Aymer de Ualance erle of PeÌ„broke syr Henry Percy erle of NorthuÌ„berlande syr HeÌ„ry Lacy erle of LyncolnÌ„ syr Robert Clyfforde baroÌ„ caused them to besworne before hym y t they shuld crowne hys sonne Edwarde in as conuenyent tyme after hys dethe as they myght and
his enemyes For subdie wherof the cytezyns of London were constrayned to fynde at theyr propre costes an hundred men of armys the whyche contrary theyr lybertyes with a condycyon that after that daye it shulde be no president they sent vnto Portchestre In thys season passe tyme the quene with syr Edwarde hyr son with a small company of Englysshemen and a crewe of Henawders of the whych syr IohnÌ„ of Henawde the erles brother was capytayne toke shyppynge in those partyes had y e wynde so fauorable vnto them that they landed in Englande at a porte called Orwell besyde Harwyche in Suffolke the .xxv. day of SepteÌ„bre without any resistens of meÌ„ of warre agayne hyr made To whome after hyr landyng the people of the couÌ„tre drewe by great companyes so sped hyr towarde London At thys tyme of the quenes thus laÌ„dyng the kyng was at hys cytye of LondoÌ„ But wheÌ„ he harde of the great people y t drewe to hyr out of all countres he fered wherfore in safegardyng of hym self he fled wyth a small companye towarde walys lefte mayster walter StapyltoÌ„ bisshop of Exceter behynd hym to haue the rule of the cytye of London It was nat longe after the kynges departyng that y e quene sent a letter vnto the mayre comynaltie of the cytye requyred of them ayde to subdue the oppressours of y e comoÌ„ weale of the realme But to that letter was made none answere Therefore she wrote the secoÌ„de tyme aduertysyng them of theyr landynge of the entent that she had to refourme y e enormytyes mysgouernauÌ„ce of the lande in admonestyng them of theyr ayde socoure as by the tenure of y e sayd letter more playnly appereth wherof the circumstauÌ„ce I haue left out of thys boke for so moche as I fynde varyaunce in the contentes thereof and also for the copyes there of ben sette oute in the cronycles of Englande and dyuers other bokes Than thys sayde letter was tacked vpon the crosse in Chepe whyche at that daye was called the newe crosse In the nyght before the day of saynt Denys or the .ix. day of October And other copyes of the same were fastened in dyuerse other places of y e cytye wherof one was fastened vpoÌ„ the mayres gate After whyche letter thus publysshed in the cytye the bisshop of Exceter to whome as before is sayd the kyng had commytted the rule of the cytye sent vnto the mayre to haue the keyes of the gates of the cytye by vertue of hys commission By the whych he stode so fermely vsed so sharpe wordes in the kynges name that varyaunce grew betwene hym the cytezyns so ferfourth that the commons of the cytye in theyr rage toke the sayd bysshop the .xiiii. day of Octobre and hym with .ii. of hys housholde esquyers beheded vnreuerently at y e standard in weschep And the same daye was taken for a spye a cytezyn called IohnÌ„ Marshal whych fauoured the Spensers ê‘tye in y e same place also beheded without processe of lawe And then the corps of y e sayde bysshop with hys .ii. seruauÌ„tes were haryed to Thamys syde where the sayd bysshop had begonne to edyfye a toure and there in the rubbusshe and sande of the same they buryed or conueyed these thre bodyes whyche dispyte to hym was done after some auctoures for so moche as he had vsurped of the comoÌ„ grounde of the cytie in settyng of the sayd toure But for what cause was he thus vngoodly vnreuerentely delte with no mencion is made And in thys passe tyme the quene easely a foote space folowed y e kyng which by thys season was coÌ„mâ— to Brystow hauyng with hym the SpeÌ„sers his dyffamed chauÌ„celler mayster Robert Baldocke syr IohnÌ„ erle of Arundell other where by theyr counsayls it was agreed that syr Hugh SpeÌ„ser the father shulde remayne there and haue the rule of the towne castell whyle the kynge with the other toke shyppynge sayled frome thens into walys to rayse the walshemen And so the kyng with syr Hugh Spenser the sonne the other toke shyppyng at Brystowe so sayled into waâ—ys when the certaynte therof came vnto the quene anone she sent to Brystow the erle of Kent the kynges brother syr IohnÌ„ of Henawde wyth dyuerse other for to take syr Hugh Spenser the father The whyche put them in suche deuour that they tooke the sayde syr Hugh and lefte a certayne to holde the towne castell tyll the quene with hyr power came thyther â–ª In the whyche tyme they sped them into walys and in processe tooke y e kynge hys chaunceller the erle of Arundell and syr Hughe Spenser the sonne and broughte them all to the towne of Hereforde And in thys whyle the cytezeyns of London wan the towre of LondoÌ„ and kept it vnto the quenes vse Anno dnÌ„i xiii C.xxv  Anno dnÌ„i xiii C.xxvi  Gylbert Moordon  Rycharde Betayne  Anno .xix.  IohnÌ„ Cotton  IN thys .xix. yere and begynnynge of thys mayres charge vppon the morowe folowynge the feaste of Symon and Iude the same daye that the mayre rode to westmynster to take hys charge the same day at Brystow was syr Hugh Spenser the father putte to dethe and after buryed at wynchestre And vppon saynte Huys daye folowynge or the .xviii. daye of Nouembre was syr Hugh hys sonne draweÌ„ hanged and quartered at Herforde and hys hed sent to London and set amonge other vpon the brydge The comon fame of hym went that after he was taken he wolde take no maner sustenauÌ„ce wherfore he was the sooner put vnto deth Of this Hugh a versyfyer made these two verses folowynge Punis cum lignis a te miser ensis ignis Hugo securis equus abstulit omne decus whiche verses to them that vnder stande no latyne maye in thys wyse be expowned or englysshed wyth ropes were thou bounde and on the galowe honge And from thy body thyne hed wyth swerde was kytte Thy bowels in the fyre were throwe and burned longe Thy body in foure pecys eke wyth an axe was slytte wyth horse before drawyn fewe men pytyenge it Thus wyth these turmentys for thy synnes sake from y e wretched Hugh all wordly welthe was take In thys meane tyme and season the kynge was conueyed vnto the castell of Kenelworthe and there kepte vnder the garde of syr Henry of Lancaster or brother vnto the erle Thomas of Lancaster that was behedyd at Pounfrette And mayster Robert Baldoke the kynges chauncelloure was sent vnto London and put into the pryson of Newgate where after he dyed myserably The erle IohnÌ„ of Arundell was also put to deth at Herforde wythin foure dayes of syr Hugh the yonger Spenser Then y e quene wyth syr Edwarde hyr sonne and with a goodly company of lordes and gentylmen retourned vnto London and there of the cytesyns wyth greate honoure and ioye was receyued vppon the daye of saynte Barbara or the .iiii.
hys promesse take partye with hym wherby they and other enemyes to y ◠comon welth myght be recoūceyled whereunto the kynge answered and sayd that the regēt had brokē y e sayd accorde For where he by hys dylygēce laboure had brought the cytezyns to a nere poynt of recōciliacyon submyssiō the regent by the meane of that assaute whyche he made vnto the towne caused the sayd cytezeyns to renoūce all theyr former graunt to bynde them vpō theyr former wyl fulnesse After whyche answere thus gyuen by the kyng the regēt caused his people to passe y e ryuer of Sayne by a brydge made of botes and so to brenne the towne of Uyttry diuers other townes robbed pylled the coūtrey there about Upō the .xiiii. day of Iuly dyuers of the towne of Parys issued oute of the towne with the ayde of the Englyshmen endeuoured them to haue socoured the sayde towne of Uyttry with also to haue destroyed y e brydg At whych iournay they bare them so well that with theyr shotte they woūded many of theyr enemies and toke prysoner the regentes marshall named syr Reynolde de Fountaynes with dyuers other after retourned vnto theyr cytye Upon the .xix. day of Iuly y e quene Iohn̄ syster vnto y e kyng of Nauern̄ with the archebysshop of Lyons the bysshop of Parys with certayne other temporall persones of the cytye yode vnto a place assygned withoute the towne where with them met the regent certayne of hys coūsayll at lengthe cōcluded an unyte and cōcorde betwene the sayd regent cytesyns without farther payne or exacciō to be put vnto them excepte that the sayd cytesyns shuld humbly submytte thē vnto the regent in aknowlegyng theyr offēce askyng of hym mercy grace for the same ouer y t to be ordered forther as the kynge of Nauerne the sayd quene Iohn̄ with the duke of Orleaūce the erle of El cāps wolde deme adiuge and that graunted the regēt to opyn all ways passages as well by lāde as by water that al marchaūtes may passe as they before tymes vsed in lykewise they of the cytye to opyn the gates of the towne and to receyue all straungers AFter whych agremente thus cōcluded agreed with all other before made betwene the kyng the regent to be maynteyned vpholden the regēt sent from hym moch of hys people appoynted the sayd bisshoppes the other for the towne to mete with hym y e .iiii. day folowynge at a place called Laiguy syr Marne where he wolde haue also the kynge of Nauerne the other to perfyghte and clerely fynysh the sayd agremēt vpō thys made proclamacions thorough the hoste that a good and perfyght peace was agreed wherefore many of the hoste for dyuers causes theym mouynge yode towarde the cytye trustyng there gladly louynglye to be receyued But vpōn y e morne whan they came vnto the gates they fande them watched with harnessed men whyche wolde none suffre to entre but suche as them lyked amōg the whyche one named Macequetta seruaunte of the regētes was mysse entreated And nat withstādyng that accorde yet the mouable goodes of suche as were with the regent had houses within the cytie where disperbled and stroyed Upon the .xxi. day of Iuly euyn of mary Magdaleyne a stryfe began to kyndell within the cytye so that y e cytesyns complayned them vpon the Englysshemen surmysynge agayne thē dyuers causes By meane wherof the comonte in a fury yode vnto the palaye of Necl where at y t tyme many of the capytaynes of the Englysshemen dyned wyth the kynge of Nauerne vpon whome they fell sodeynly and slewe of them vpō .xxiiii. after in diuers places of y e citie toke the other deale to the noūbre of .iiii. C. or thereupon and closed theym in dyuers prysons with whych doyng the kynge of Nauerne with also the prouoste and other the gouernoures of the cytye were right fore discontented wherfore vpō the day folowyng the kynge assembled the comynaltye at theyr comon halle entendynge by plesaūt wordes to haue caused them to haue ben repētaunt of the murder of the foresayd capytaynes also to haue gotten the remenaunte oute of pryson But the more the kynge spake for the Englysshemen the more woder were they dysposed agayne theym sayenge y t those whyche were within the cytye shulde nat alonely be putte to deth but also suche as were at sait Denys whyche there spoyled that towne countrey enuyron and had had suche wordes vnto the kynge y t in the ende he wyth the prouost the other gouernoures were fayne to graunte vnto them that they wolde go with theym for to helpe to dystres the sayde Englysshemen And so the same daye agayne nyght the comōs yssued by the gate of saynt Honoure the kynge of Nauerne with the prouost theyr company went out by y e wyndemylle so that in the sayd assēbles of the kynge the comons were noumbred vppon .xvi. C. speres and of foote men vpon .viii. M. whan the kynge with hys company was comē into the feelde where the sayd wyndemylle stādeth he houed there well vp on halfe an houre to se what y e other company wolde do The whych sent out .iii. speres to espye where the Englyshmen were and espyed of theym vpō .xl. or .l. that apered by a woddes syde nere vnto saynt Clow and wenynge that the sayde Englysshemen there had bē no mo retourned shewed what they had sene whereupon the sayde comons in all haste spedde theym thyther And whā they were within the daunger of theyr shotte y e Englysshmen issued oute of dyuerse parties of the wode and woūded and slewe many of them wherwith the other beynge fered fled incontinently whome the Englysshemen pursued so cruelly that they slewe of the fote men vpon .vi. C. in all whych season the kyng of Nauern̄ and also y e prouost with theyr peple stode styl neuer moued towarde thē for theyr defence or ayde After thys scomfyture thus susteyned by the Parysyens the kyng lefte the cytye and rode vnto saynt Denys and the prouoste wyth hys company returned vnto Parys where he was receyued wyth hydyous noyse and crye aswel of womē as mē for y t he so cowardly had suffered hys neyghbours to be woūded and slayne By reasō of this the murmure of the people encreased dayly more and more agayne the prouost so that in maner a party was taken betwene the prouoste and the other gouernours of the cytye and the comynaltye For the comons wolde haue put to deth many of the prysoners of the Englysshemen but y e prouost with hys affynyte let them and preserued them from theyr fury and malyce And vpon the .xxvii. daye of Iuly beynge frydaye the sayd prouost beyng encōpanyed wyth .viii. score or ii C. mē in harnesse yode vnto Louure and other prysons and toke out y e sayd Englysshemen
FrauÌ„ce and after maryed vnto Charlys son and heyre to the duke of Orleaunce as before I haue shewed in the .xxii. yere of hyr sayde fathers reygne Than it foloweth in the story of kynge Henry whan he hadde fermely consydered the greate conspyracy agayne hym by the forenamed lordes and other persons entendyd and imagyned to hys distruccyon and releuynge of Rycharde late kynge he in auoydynge of lyke daunger prouyded to put the sayde Rycharde out of thys present lyfe and shortely after the opynyon of moste wryters he sente a knyghte named syr Pyers of Exton vnto Pountfreyte castell where he wyth .viii. other in hys companye fell vppon the sayde Rycharde late kynge and hym myserably in hys chaumber slewe but not wythout reuengemente of hys dethe For or he were felled to the grounde he slewe of the sayde .viii. foure men with an axe of theyr own But lastely he was wounded to deth by the hande of the sayde syr Pyers of Exton and so dyed After execucyon of whyche dedely dede the sayde syr Pyers toke great repentaunce in so myche that lamentably he sayde alas what haue we done we haue now put to deth hym that hath ben our souerayne drad lorde by the space of .xxii. yeres by reason wherof I shall be reproched of all honoure where so I after thys daye become and all men shall redounde thys dede to my dyshonour and shame Other opynyons of the dethe of thys noble prynce are lefte by wryters as by waye of famyne and other But thys of moste wryters is testyfyed and alleged whan the deth of this prynce was publyshed abrode he was after opeÌ„ vysaged layed in y e mynster of PouÌ„frayt so y t all men myght know and se that he was dede And the .xii. daye of Marche folowynge he was wyth great solempnyte brought thorough the cytye of London to Paules and there layed open vysaged agayne to the ende that hys deth myght be manyfestly knowen whyche was doutfull to many one specyally to suche as ought to hym fauoure And than after a fewe days the sayd corps was caryed vnto the freers of Langley there entred But after he was remoued by kynge HeÌ„ry the .v. in the fyrst yere of hys reygne wyth great honoure and solempnyte coÌ„ueyed vnto the monasterye of westmynster and there wythin the chapell of saynt Edwarde honourably buryed vppoÌ„ the south syde of saynt Edwardes Shryne wyth hys epytaphy vppon hys toumbe as foloweth Prudens mundus Richardus iure secundus Per fatum victus iacet hic sub marmore pictus Verax sermone fuit plenus ratione Corporae procerus auimo prudens vt omerus Ecclesiam fauit elatos subpeditauit Quemuis prostrauit regalia qui violauit ¶ whyche verses are thus to be vnderstande in our vulgare Englysh tonge as foloweth Parfyght and prudent Rycharde by ryghte the seconde Vaynquysshed by fortune lyeth here nowe grauen in stone Trewe of hys worde therto well resounde Semely of persone lyke to omer as one In wordely prudence euer the churche in câ—ie Vphelde fauoured castyng the proud to grouÌ„d And all that wolde hys royall state confounde But yet alas though that this metyr or ryme Thus doth enbelysshe this noble princes fame And that some clerke whiche fauoured hym some tyme Lyst by hys connynge thus to enhauÌ„ce his name â–ª Yet by his story apereth in hym some blame wherfore to princes is surest memory Theyr lyues to exercyse in vertuous constancy whanne thys mortall prynce was thus dede grauen kyng HeÌ„ry was inquyet possessyon of the realme and fande great rychesse y t before tyme to kynge Rycharde belonged For as wytnesseth Polycronycon he fande in kyng Rychardes tresoury .iii. hundreth thousande li. of redy coyne besyde iewelles and other ryche vessels whyche were as moche in value or more And ouer that he espyed in the kepyng of the tresourers haÌ„des an C. and .l. M. nobles and iewels and other stuffe that cuÌ„teruayled the sayd value And so it shulde seme y e kynge Rycharde was ryche whan hys money iewelles amuÌ„ted to .vii. C.M. li. And in the moneth of Octobre and ende of thys mayers yere was brent in smythfelde of LondoÌ„ a preest named syr wyllyam Sawtry for certayne poyntts of heresy Anno dnÌ„i M. CCCC  Anno dnÌ„i M. CCCC.i Goldsmyth IohnÌ„ wakele  IohnÌ„ Fraunces  Anno .ii.  wyllyam Ebot  IN thys seconde yere of kynge Henry and moneth of Frebruary were drawen and hanged for treason a knyghte named syr Roger Claryngeton at tybourne wyth two of hys seruauntes the pryour of LaÌ„de and eyghte freres mynours of gray freres of the whyche some were bachelers of dyuynyte And in thys yere began a greate dyscencion in walys betwene y e lorde Gray Ryffyn a welsheman named Howen of Glendore whyche Howen gathered to hym greate strenghte of welshemen and dyd moche harme to that couÌ„trey nat sparynge the kynges lordshyppes nor hys people and lastlye toke the sayd lorde Gray prysoner helde hym prysoner tyll contrarye hys wyll he hadde maryed the sayde HoweÌ„s doughter After which matrymony fynysshed he helde the sayde lorde styl in walys tyll he died to the kynges great dyspleasure wherfore the kynge wyth a stroÌ„ge army spedde hym into walys for to subdue the sayde HowenÌ„ hys adherentes But whan the kyng wyth his power was entred y e couÌ„tre he with hys fawtours fledde in to the mountaynes helde hym there so that the kyng myght nat wynne to hym with out dystruccion of hys hoste wherefore fynally by the aduyce of hys lordes he retourned into Englande for that season In thys yere also whete other graynes beganne to fayle so that a quarter of whete was solde at London for .xvi. s derer shuld haue beÌ„ had nat ben the prouysyon of marchauÌ„tes that brought rye rye floure out of Spruce wherwyth thys laÌ„de was greatly susteyned and eased Anno dnÌ„i M. CCCC.i  Anno dnÌ„i M. CCCC.ii  wyllyam Uenour  IohnÌ„ Shadworth  Anno .iii.  IohnÌ„ FremynghmÌ„  IN thys yere the coÌ„duyte standyng vpon cornhylle in London was begon to be made And in the somer folowynge syr Thomas Percy erle of worceter and syr HeÌ„ry Percy sonne heyre vnto the erle of Northumberlande gadered a greate power and vppoÌ„ the daye of saynte Praxede the vyrgyne or the .xxi. daye of Iuly mette wyth the kynge nere vnto Shrowysbury and there gaue vnto hiÌ„ a cruell batayll but to theyr owne confusion For in that fyght y e sayd syr Thomas Percy was taken and hys neuew the foresayde syr Henry wyth many a stronge man vppon theyr partye was there slayne And vpoÌ„ y e kynges partie the prynce was wouÌ„ded in the hed the erle of Stafforde wyth many other slayne And the .xxv. daye of Iuly folowynge at Shrowysbury the sayd syr Thomas Percy was beheded and after hys hed caried to London there set vpoÌ„ the brydge In thys
as some drowned .iii. of the grettest of theyr carykkes taken Anno dnÌ„i M. CCCC.vi  Anno dnÌ„i M. CCCC.vii  Roberte wodtyngton  Henry Barton Skynner  Anno .v.  IohnÌ„ Couentre  THys yere the kynge holdynge hys parlyameÌ„t at westmynster to hym was graunted by auctoryt of the same a Fyftene And by a conuocacyon of the clergy was grauÌ„ted to hym a dyme for the mayntenaunce of hys warrys wheruppon newe prouysyon was made for hys seconde vyage into Fraunce By authoryte of this parlyament also Rycharde whyche was sonne heyre of y e erle of Cambrydge which erle was put to deth at Southampton was created duke of yorke whiche after was maryed vnto Cecyle y e doughter of Daraby erle of westmerlande by reason that he brought his wardshyp of the kynge By the whiche lady Cecyle he hadde Henry that dyed yonge Edward that after was kynge Edmunde erle of Rutlande Anne duchesse of Exceter Elyzabeth duchesse of Suffolke George duke of Clarence Rycharde duke of Glouceter and after kynge and Margaret duchesse of Burgoyne And whaÌ„ all thynge was redy for the kynges vyage he ordeyned IohnÌ„ duke of Bedforde hys brother protectour of thys land in the tyme of his absence And that done he wyth hys lordes aboute wytsontyde toke hys shyppyng at SouthamptoÌ„ and so sayled into Normandye and landed vpon LaÌ„mas daye at a place called Toke or Towke And after he was wyth hys hoste there landed for so moche as he was warned of certayne shyppes of warre y e entendyd to do some harme in Englande beynge than vppon the see he therfore to wythstaÌ„de theyr malycyouse purpose sent the erle of Marche the erle of Huntyngdon wyth other to scowre the see The whyche encountred the sayde enemyes and after a loÌ„ge and cruell fyght them veÌ„quysshed ouercame whyche fyght was vpon the daye of saynt Romayne or the .ix. day of Auguste as hath the Frenche cronycle And of the French nauy was chyefe capytayne the vycount of Narbon whych in that fyght was taken with great pleÌ„ty of treasour For as sayth Gaguinus he with one Mountney an other capytayne to whom y e sowdyours wages was coÌ„mytted of one assent of theyr synguler lucre wythhelde the sayde wages By reason wherof whan they shuld ioyne in batayll many of them wyth theyr shyppes withdrew last theyr capitayns in the dauÌ„ger of theyr enemyes But this is lyke to be a fayned excuse of y e sayd Gagwyne to saue the honoure of the FreÌ„chmen as he many tymes semblably dothe in many places of hys boke Then to retourne vnto kyng Henry whan he was thus landed he sent vnto y e rulers of the town of Towke and had it vnto hym delyuered But the castell was defended agayn hym tyll saynt Laurence daye folowyng the whyche he gaue after vnto hys brother the duke of ClareÌ„ce wyth all the sygnory therunto belongynge And thys done the kynge spedde hym toward Cane layde his syege therunto vpon y e .xvii. day of the foresayd moneth of August The whych contynued tyll the feest of the Natyuyte of our lady than won vpon y e ê‘ty y t the duke of ClareÌ„ce assawted But the castel helde by apoyntemeÌ„t yf no rescouse were had tyll the .xiiii. day folowyng At whych day y e sayd castel was delyuered with other .xiiii stroÌ„ge holdes which had before takeÌ„ y e same apoyntmeÌ„t Than the kynge made the foresayd duke of Clarence capytayne of the sayd town castell And in this passetyme were dyuers other townes stroÌ„ge holdes goten by dyuers of y e kynges retynew as y e erle Marshall the erle of warwyke other y e which wan Louers Faloys Newelyn Cherburgth ArgeÌ„tyne Bayons the citye with many other stroÌ„ge abbays pilys ThaÌ„ the king helde there saynt Georges feest and dubbyd there .xv. knyghtê of y e Bath after coÌ„tynued his warres duryng this mayres yere in wynnyng vpon the FreÌ„chmen by apoyntementê and otherwyse wherof the cyrcumstauÌ„ce were very longe to declare in order In this yere also vpoÌ„ the festfull day of Ester tyll a chaunce in LoÌ„doÌ„ which to y e fere of all good crysteÌ„ men is necessary to be noted For vpoÌ„ the hygh soleÌ„pne day by excytyng of y e deuyll yll disposycioÌ„ of .ii. women that is to mene the wyfe of the lorde StrauÌ„ge y e wyfe of syr IohnÌ„ Trussell knyght such vnkyndnes fyll bytwene theyr two husbaÌ„des y t eyther wold haue slayne other within y e parysh chyrch of saynt DuÌ„stanes in the Eest In ê‘tyng of which persons dyuers men were hurt sore wouÌ„ded one named ThomÌ„ PetwardeÌ„ slayne out of hand which was a freeman fysshemoÌ„ger of the cyty Than lastly both frayers were takeÌ„ brought vnto the CouÌ„tour in y e Pultry And for the sayd lorde StrauÌ„ge was demed culpable of y e begiÌ„nyng of this fray he therfore vpoÌ„ the soÌ„day folowyng for suspendyng of the chyrche was denouÌ„ced acursyd at Poulys crosse in all parysshe chyrches of LondoÌ„ And fynally he was demed to open penaunce dyd it and made greate amendes vnto the wyfe of the sayde Thomas for the deth of her husbaÌ„d And in the ende of thys yere where at LoÌ„doÌ„ was sold for .ii. s. a busshell Anno domini M. CCCC.xvii  Anno domini M. CCCC.xviii  Henry Rede  Rycharde Merlowe Iremonger  Anno .vi.  IohnÌ„ Gedney  IN thys yere syr IohnÌ„ Oldcastell lorde CobhmÌ„ the whyche as before is shewed in the ende of the fyrste yere of thys kynge escaped out of the Towre of London was in the moneth of sent vnto London by the lorde Powys out of walys The whyche syr IohnÌ„ for heresye treason was conuycte in the moneth of folowynge and for the same drawen vnto saynt Gyles feld where he was hanged vppon a newe peyre of galowes wyth chaynes and after consumed wyth fyre And about that season the person of wortham in Norfolke whyche longe tyme had haunted Newmarket heth and there robbed spoyled many of the kynges subgettes was nowe with his concubyne broughte vnto Newgate where he lastly dyed And kynge Henry beynge styll in Normandy deuyded hys people in thre partes wherof one he reserued vnto hym selfe the seconde he commytted to the rule of the duke of Clarence and the thyrde vnto the erle of warwyke whyche sayde duke erle employed theyr armes so well and valyauntly that eyther of theym encroched sore vppon the Frenchmen and wanne from them many stronge holdes and pyles And the kynge after longe syeges by hym contynued aboute Argentyne Cressy saynte Launde and other he then in y e ende of thys yere that is to saye vppon y e daye of the translacyon of saynt Edwarde or the .xiii. daye of October layde hys syege vnto the cytye of Roan and contynued the same tyll the .xii. daye of Ianuary folowynge In the whych passetyme the olde mayre was chaunged to a new
nor to any of his counsayll beynge louers of y e coÌ„mon weale and of hym and of his lande but his enteÌ„t purpose was to remoue from hym a fewe euyll disposed persones by whose meanes y e coÌ„mon people was greuously opressed and the comynaltye greatly enpouerysshed Of y â— whiche he named for principall the duke of Somerset Of whome it was fynally agreed by the kyng â–ª that he shulde be coÌ„mytted to warde there to abyde answere vnto suche artycles as the duke of yorke wolde lay agayne hym Upon whych promesse so made by the kyng the fyrst day of Marche beyng thursdaye the duke brake vp hys felde so came vnto y e kynges tente where coÌ„trary the former promyse made he faÌ„de the duke of Somerset as chefe awayter next vnto the kyng And thaÌ„ was y e duke of yorke sence before to LondoÌ„ was holden somedeale in maner as prisoner more streyghter shuld haue ben kepte ne had ben tydynges whych dayely spraÌ„ge that syr Edwarde hys sonne thaÌ„ erle of y e March was commyng toward London wyth a stronge power of welche men March meÌ„ whych fered so the quene and hyr counsayl that y e duke was lyberted to go where he wolde And so after he departed vnto hys owne countrey and peace was dyssymuled wyth feyned loue for a whyle Ann odnÌ„i M.iiii C.lii  Anno dnÌ„i M.iiii C.liii.  Rychard Lee.  Godfrey Feyldynge  Anno .xxxi.  Rychard Alley  IN thys .xxxi. yere y e kynge helde a solempne feest at westmyster vpon the .xii. day of Cristmas where he created .ii. erles the whyche were hys bretherne vpoÌ„ the mothers syde quene Katheryne that after the deth of kynge Henry the .v. was maryed vnto a knyghte of walys named Dwayne the whych begate vpoÌ„ hyr these forsayd .ii. sonnes wherof that one thys sayd daye was created erle of RychemouÌ„t which was named sir Edmonde the yoÌ„ger called syr Iasper was creat the erle Penbroke The whych lastly was created duke of Bedforde by our souerayne lorde kyng HeÌ„ry the .vii. so dyed And in Marche folowyng as witnesseth Gaguyne was the towne of Herfâ—ewe wonne by the FreÌ„chmen And soone after the cytye of Bayons was gyueÌ„ vp by appoyntment so that the souldyours shuld leue theyr armoure behynde them And for euery woman there beyng was grauÌ„ted an horse to ryde vpon to euery horse maÌ„ .x. scutes to pay for theyr costes to euery fote man .v. wythout more by theym to be taken And thys yere the kynge laye longe syke at Claryngdowne was in great ieopardye of hys lyfe And in y e ende of thys mayres yere begynnynge of the .xxxii. yere of the kyng that is to meane vpon the day of traÌ„slacyon of saynt Edwarde or y e xiii day of Octobre y e quene at westmynster was delyuered of a fayre prynce For the whyche greate reioysyng and gladnesse was made in sundry places of Englande and specyallye wythin the cyâ—ye of London where of the expressemente of the cyrcumstaunce wolde are longe leysoure to vtter Thys prynce beynge wyth all honour and reuerence sacred and crystened was named Edwarde and grew after to perfight and good lye personage and lastly of Edward the fourthe was slayne at Tewkysburye feelde as after to you shall be shewed whose noble mother susteyned nat a lytle dysclaunder obloquy of the coÌ„mon peple sayeng that he was nat the naturall sonne of kynge Henry but chaunged in the cradell to hyr greate dyshonour heuynesse which I ouer passe Thys yere also whyche was the yere of grace M.iiii C.liii. Mahumet thaÌ„ prynce of Turkes in the moneth of Iuny and .iiii. daye of the sayde moneth beynge the thyrde yere of hys empyre or reygne after .l. dayes of coÌ„tynuall assaute by his innumerable multytude of Turkes to the cytye of ConstaÌ„tyne the noble with excedyng force and crueltye made and excercysed wan and opteyned the domynyoÌ„ and rule of the same to the greate hynderauÌ„ce and shame of all crystendome and enhauÌ„cynge of the power and myghte of the sayd Turkes Of the excedynge noumber of men women and chyldren that in that cytye at that daye were slayne I wyll not speke of for the great dyuersyte that I haue seen of wryters Amonge the whyche the emperour named Paleogolus with many other nobles of the cytye beynge taken on lyue were thaÌ„ behedyd and many a preste and relygyous man put vnto deth by sundry cruell turmentes After whych great crueltye wyth many other longe to reherce put in execucyon a commauÌ„dement passed from the sayde emperoure of Turkes that all chyldren beynge aboue the age of .vi. yeres as well men as women kynde shulde be streyght put vnto deth the whyche after some wryters excedyd the nomber of .iiii. M. Here for tydeousnesse and lamentable processe whyche I myghte shewe in the rehersall of the abomynacyon of the moste dampnable and accursyd Turkys by theÌ„ done vnto the crucyfyxe and other images of the chyrches and temples wythin the cytye I cease For paynefull it were to rede more paynefull and sorowfull to here that the fayth of Chryst shulde in so vyle maner be dyspysed Anno dnÌ„i M.iiii C.liii.  Anno dnÌ„i M.iiii C.liiii Draper IohnÌ„ walden  IohnÌ„ Norman  Anno .xxxii.  Thomas Cooke  IN thys .xxxii. yere IohnÌ„ Norman foresayd vpoÌ„ the morowe of Symonde and Iudys day the accustomyd day whan the newe mayre vsyd yerely to tyde wyth greate poÌ„pe vnto westminster to take his charge this mayre fyrste of all mayres brake that auncyent and olde coÌ„tynued custome and was rowed thyther by water for the whiche y e watermen made of hym a roundell or songe to hys great prayse y t whiche began Rowe y e bote Norman rowe to thy lemmaÌ„ and so forth wyth a longe processe ye haue in your remeÌ„braunce how I before in the .xxx. yere of thys kyng shewed to you of the apoyntement taken bytwene the sayd kyng y e duke of yorke at Brent heth which apoyntement as before is sayde was soone broken and set at nought By reason wherof greate enuye and dyscencyon grewe bytwene y e kynge and dyuers of hys lordes and most specyally bytwene the quenes counseyll and the duke of yorke and hys blode For all contrary y e kynges promyse by meanes of the quene whiche than bare y e cure and charge of the land the duke of Somerset was sette at large and made capytayne of Caleys and had as greate rule about the kynge as he before dayes hadde wherwyth not onely some of the nobles of the land grudgyd but also the comons whyche by hys counsayll and other than rulers as the fame went susteyned many greuous imposycyons charges Thys fyre rancour and enuye by y e space of .xvii. or .xviii. monethes smokynge and brennynge vnder couert dyssymulacyon now at this day brake out in greate and hote flamys of open warre and wrath in so mych that the duke
them was fynally coÌ„cluded he y e sayd Lewys all suche as wyth hym were reteyned or allied were for thys offeÌ„ce by y e sayd Charles clerely pardoned one persone all only excepted named Iaket or Iakis by whose treason the castell of Maxente was loste and taken for whyche offence he was after drawen hanged also quartered ThaÌ„ in processe of tyme folowyng the flemynges of GauÌ„te rebelled agayne theyr duke or erle named Philyp The cause of whyche rebellyon was for that he areryd a greuouse taske vpoÌ„ salte put the people ther by to greuouse charge wherevppon dedely warre betwene the duke and hys subiectys arose to the dystruccioÌ„ of moche people vpoÌ„ bothe partyes wherof the cyrcumstauÌ„ce were loÌ„g to wryte Howe be it in the ende y e duke or erle by ayde of the FreÌ„che kynge was vyctour helde them of GauÌ„te so streyghte that they were compelled by force to bye theyr peace wyth great summes of money to theyr other many folde domages About the .xxxi. yere of thys sayde Charles came vnto hym from pope Nycholas the .v. of that name an ambassade for to requyre ayde agayne the Turkys for the defeÌ„ce of CoÌ„stantyne the noble whyche the Turkys purposed shortly after to assayle To whyche ambassade by the sayd Charlys it was answeryd that to hym it was right greuouse to here of the intollerable persecucyoÌ„ whych y e cristeÌ„ dayly susteyned of the Turkys But he was of y e Englysh nacyoÌ„ so vexed and warred that he myghte nat leue hys laÌ„de wythout an hedde to the coÌ„forte of other to lose hys owne But to the entent that he before tymes myght haue warred vppon the sayd Turkys he for that cause onely had offered vnto the kynge of Englande many reasonable offers And if of the Englysshe party any lyke offers myghte be to hym profered he wolde gladly theym accepte turne hys spere incoÌ„tyneÌ„tly agayn the fore named Turkes And ouer that he wolde for the furtherauÌ„ce of the matter sende wyth them vnto the kynge of EnglaÌ„de certayne ambassadours to se yf that as yet any reasonable peace myght be betwene them coÌ„cluded For accomplisshemeÌ„t wherof as testyfyeth myne auctour Gaguynus he sente the archebysshop of Raynes wyth other honorable persones The whych whan they to kyng Henry and hys counsayll hadde shewyd theyr legacyoÌ„ it was to them shortly answered that at suche season as the EnglysshemeÌ„ hadde wonne agayne so moche laÌ„de as the Frenchemen by cawtelys had woÌ„ne from theym thaÌ„ were it good tyme season to treate of accorde nat before By reason of whiche answere the popes ambassade retourned to Rome wythoute ayde or comforte And thus y e FreÌ„che wryters lay euer the charge froÌ„ theyr prynce put it vnto other But of thys ambassade or answere fynde I no memory of any Englysshe wryters Aboute the .xxxiiii. yere of y e reygn of thys Charlys Lewys hys sonne before named beynge a maÌ„ of greate lyberalitye and largesse thought his father departed nat wyth hym of his mouables possessyoÌ„s as he hadde cause to do For the whych by coÌ„fort of yoÌ„ge persones as he had aboute hym he rebelled thys seconde tyme agayne hys sayde father by reason of hys largesse lyberalyte drewe vnto hym moche waÌ„ton wylde people wyth theyr assystence warred vppoÌ„ hys fathers freÌ„des entendyd to depryue hys father of all gouernauÌ„ce of the realme wherof herynge hys father in all possyble haste gathered to hym greate strengthe and spedde hym towarde hys sayd sonnÌ„ But whaÌ„ Lewys was warned of the coÌ„myng of hys father wyth so great an hoste consydered hys quarell wekenesse he wyth a fewe persones fledde towarde Burgoyne whereof herynge the father sente in all â—haste people to kepe the passages and dyd that he myghte to haue stopped hym of hys waye But that prouysyon notwythstandynge the sayd Lewys escaped and came sauely vnto the presence of Phylyppe then duke of Burgoyne the whyche hym receyued wyth gladde chere and entreatyd hym accordyng to his estate and so kepte hym durynge his fathers lyfe Nowbeit he made for hym great sute and labour to wynne him to his fathers grace But all was in vayne For what by obstynacy of the same y t he wolde not submytte hym to his father and comme vnto hys presence when he was sente for for the great stomacke of the father that he wold not be condycyoned with of the son thys varyaunce contynued bytwene them as aboue is sayd y e terme of his fathers lyfe In the whyche passe tyme thys Charlys concluded a maryage bytwene hys doughter called Magdaleyne and Ladyslaus kyng of Beme Hungary and of Polayne But whyle the bryde wyth great apparayle and pompe was conueyed towarde her husbande to be maryed her sayde husbande was taken sodenly with sykenesse and dyed with in .xxiiii. houres after that he fyrste coÌ„playned hym whych was by force of poysone as most wryters agreen Of whych tydynges when Charlys was asserteyned he therwyth toke such a peÌ„syffenesse that he dyed shortely after whan he had ruled a parte and the hole realme to reken from y e deth of hys father .xxxvi. yeres How be it of Frenche wryters no certeyne terme of hys reygne to hym is assygned for so myche as kyng Henry the vi longe after the deth of hys father was alowyd in Parys and many other Cytyes of FrauÌ„ce for souerayne and kynge of that regyon Thys Charlys thus beynge dede lefte after hym two sonnes that is to saye Lewys that after hym was kynge and a yonger named Charlys wyth y e forenamed doughter named Magdaleyne or after some Margarete And after wyth greate pompe hys corps was conueyed vnto saynt Denys and there buryed Francia Lewys the .xi. LEwys the .xi. of y â— name after the accompte of thys boke and .x. after the Frenche accompte whereof y e cause is before shewed sonne to Charles last dede beganne his dominyon ouer the realme of Fraunce in the moneth of October in the yere of grace M.iiii hundreth and .lviii. and the .xxxvi. yere of Henry the .vi. than kynge of Englande This of Gaguinus is called the sturdy or fel Lewys The whiche at the tyme of his fathers deth beyng as aboue is sayd vnrecouÌ„syled in the prouynce of Burgoyne herynge of the deth of his father wyth ayde of the foresayd duke Phylyp shortly entred y e realm of Fraunce toke vpon hym y e rule in euery good cytie town as he passyd as kyng of y e same so y t many lordes hed offycers drewe vnto hym By meane wherof he was stronge put such vnto sylence as after y e wyll purpose of his father wolde haue preferred his yoÌ„ger son named Charlys Than this Lewys by strengthe of his frendes was shortely after at Raynes crowned kynge of Fraunce After whyche solempnyte fynysshed he repayred vnto Parys and there by consent of hys counceyll made a law y t no man of what degre