The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

Originally compiled on the orders of King Alfred the Great, approximately A. D. 890, and subsequently maintained and added toby generations of anonymous scribes until the middle of the 12thCentury. The original language is Anglo-Saxon (Old English), butlater entries are essentially Middle English in tone. 

Translation by Rev. James Ingram (London, 1823), with additionalreadings from the translation of Dr. J. A. Giles (London, 1847). 

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PREPARER'S NOTE:

At present there are nine known versions or fragments of the"Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" in existence, all of which vary(sometimes greatly) in content and quality. The translation thatfollows is not a translation of any one Chronicle; rather, it isa collation of readings from many different versions. 

The nine known "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" MS. Are the following:

A-Prime The Parker Chronicle (Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, MS. 173)A Cottonian Fragment (British Museum, Cotton MS. Otho B xi, 2)B The Abingdon Chronicle I (British Museum, Cotton MS. Tiberius A vi. )C The Abingdon Chronicle II (British Museum, Cotton MS. Tiberius B i. )D The Worcester Chronicle (British Museum, Cotton MS. Tiberius B iv. )E The Laud (or "Peterborough") Chronicle (Bodleian, MS. Laud 636)F The Bilingual Canterbury Epitome (British Museum, Cotton MS. Domitian A viii. ) NOTE: Entries in English and Latin. H Cottonian Fragment (British Museum, Cotton MS. Domitian A ix. )I An Easter Table Chronicle (British Museum, Cotton MS. Caligula A xv. )

This electronic edition contains primarily the translation ofRev. James Ingram, as published in the Everyman edition of thistext. Excerpts from the translation of Dr. J. A. Giles wereincluded as an appendix in the Everyman edition; the preparer ofthis edition has elected to collate these entries into the maintext of the translation. Where these collations have occurred Ihave marked the entry with a double parenthesis (()). 

WARNING:While I have elected to include the footnotes of Rev. Ingram inthis edition, please note that they should be used with extremecare. In many cases the views expressed by Rev. Ingram areseverally out of date, having been superseded by almost 175 yearsof active scholarship. At best, these notes will provide astarting point for inquiry. They should not, however, be treatedas absolute. 

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY:

ORIGINAL TEXT--

Classen, E. And Harmer, F. E. (eds. ): "An Anglo-Saxon Chroniclefrom British Museum, Cotton MS. Tiberius B iv. " (Manchester, 1926)

Flower, Robin and Smith, Hugh (eds. ): "The Peterborough Chronicleand Laws" (Early English Text Society, Original Series 208, Oxford, 1941). 

Taylor, S. (ed. ): "The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: MS B" <aka "TheAbingdon Chronicle I"> (Cambridge, 1983)

OTHER TRANSLATIONS--

Garmonsway, G. N. : "The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" (Everyman Press, London, 1953, 1972). HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Contains side-by-sidetranslations of all nine known texts. 

RECOMMENDED READING--

Bede: "A History of the English Church and People" <aka "TheEcclesiastical History">, translated by Leo Sherley-Price(Penguin Classics, London, 1955, 1968). 

Poole, A. L. : "Domesday Book to Magna Carta" (Oxford UniversityPress, Oxford, 1951, 1953)

Stenton, Sir Frank W. : "Anglo-Saxon England" (Oxford UniversityPress, Oxford, 1943, 1947, 1971)

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ORIGINAL INTRODUCTION TO INGRAM'S EDITION [1823]

England may boast of two substantial monuments of its earlyhistory; to either of which it would not be easy to find aparallel in any nation, ancient or modern. These are, the Recordof Doomsday (1) and the "Saxon Chronicle" (2). The former, whichis little more than a statistical survey, but contains the mostauthentic information relative to the descent of property and thecomparative importance of the different parts of the kingdom at avery interesting period, the wisdom and liberality of the BritishParliament long since deemed worthy of being printed (3) amongthe Public Records, by Commissioners appointed for that purpose. The other work, though not treated with absolute neglect, has notreceived that degree of attention which every person who feels aninterest in the events and transactions of former times wouldnaturally expect. In the first place, it has never been printedentire, from a collation of all the MSS. But of the extent ofthe two former editions, compared with the present, the readermay form some idea, when he is told that Professor Wheloc's"Chronologia Anglo-Saxonica", which was the first attempt (4) ofthe kind, published at Cambridge in 1644, is comprised in lessthan 62 folio pages, exclusive of the Latin appendix. Theimproved edition by Edmund Gibson, afterwards Bishop of London, printed at Oxford in 1692, exhibits nearly four times thequantity of the former; but is very far from being the entire (5)chronicle, as the editor considered it. The text of the presentedition, it was found, could not be compressed within a shortercompass than 374 pages, though the editor has suppressed manynotes and illustrations, which may be thought necessary to thegeneral reader. Some variations in the MSS. May also stillremain unnoticed; partly because they were considered of littleimportance, and partly from an apprehension, lest the commentary, as it sometimes happens, should seem an unwieldy burthen, ratherthan a necessary appendage, to the text. Indeed, till the editorhad made some progress in the work, he could not have imaginedthat so many original and authentic materials of our historystill remained unpublished. 

To those who are unacquainted with this monument of our nationalantiquities, two questions appear requisite to be answered:--"What does it contain?" and, "By whom was it written?" Theindulgence of the critical antiquary is solicited, whilst weendeavour to answer, in some degree, each of these questions. 

To the first question we answer, that the "Saxon Chronicle"contains the original and authentic testimony of contemporarywriters to the most important transactions of our forefathers, both by sea and land, from their first arrival in this country tothe year 1154. Were we to descend to particulars, it wouldrequire a volume to discuss the great variety of subjects whichit embraces. Suffice it to say, that every reader will here findmany interesting facts relative to our architecture, ouragriculture, our coinage, our commerce, our naval and militaryglory, our laws, our liberty, and our religion. In this edition, also, will be found numerous specimens of Saxon poetry, neverbefore printed, which might form the ground-work of anintroductory volume to Warton's elaborate annals of EnglishPoetry. Philosophically considered, this ancient record is thesecond great phenomenon in the history of mankind. For, if weexcept the sacred annals of the Jews, contained in the severalbooks of the Old Testament, there is no other work extant, ancient or modern, which exhibits at one view a regular andchronological panorama of a PEOPLE, described in rapid successionby different writers, through so many ages, in their ownvernacular LANGUAGE. Hence it may safely be considered, nor onlyas the primaeval source from which all subsequent historians ofEnglish affairs have principally derived their materials, andconsequently the criterion by which they are to be judged, butalso as the faithful depository of our national idiom; affording, at the same time, to the scientific investigator of the humanmind a very interesting and extraordinary example of the changesincident to a language, as well as to a nation, in its progressfrom rudeness to refinement. 

But that the reader may more clearly see how much we are indebtedto the "Saxon Chronicle", it will be necessary to examine what iscontained in other sources of our history, prior to the accessionof Henry II. , the period wherein this invaluable recordterminates. 

The most ancient historian of our own island, whose work has beenpreserved, is Gildas, who flourished in the latter part of thesixth century. British antiquaries of the present day willdoubtless forgive me, if I leave in their original obscurity theprophecies of Merlin, and the exploits of King Arthur, with allthe Knights of the Round Table, as scarcely coming within theverge of history. Notwithstanding, also, the authority of Bale, and of the writers whom he follows, I cannot persuade myself torank Joseph of Arimathea, Arviragus, and Bonduca, or even theEmperor Constantine himself, among the illustrious writers ofGreat Britain. I begin, therefore, with Gildas; because, thoughhe did not compile a regular history of the island, he has leftus, amidst a cumbrous mass of pompous rhapsody and querulousdeclamation some curious descriptions of the character andmanners of the inhabitants; not only the Britons and Saxons, butthe Picts and Scots (6). There are also some parts of his work, almost literally transcribed by Bede, which confirm the briefstatements of the "Saxon Chronicle" (7). But there is, throughout, such a want of precision and simplicity, such abarrenness of facts amidst a multiplicity of words, such ascantiness of names of places and persons, of dates, and othercircumstances, that we are obliged to have recourse to the SaxonAnnals, or to Venerable Bede, to supply the absence of those twogreat lights of history--Chronology and Topography. 

The next historian worth notice here is Nennius, who is supposedto have flourished in the seventh century: but the work ascribedto him is so full of interpolations and corruptions, introducedby his transcribers, and particularly by a simpleton who iscalled Samuel, or his master Beulanus, or both, who appear tohave lived in the ninth century, that it is difficult to say howmuch of this motley production is original and authentic. Bethat as it may, the writer of the copy printed by Gale bearsample testimony to the "Saxon Chronicle", and says expressly, that he compiled his history partly from the records of the Scotsand Saxons (8). At the end is a confused but very curiousappendix, containing that very genealogy, with some brief noticesof Saxon affairs, which the fastidiousness of Beulanus, or of hisamanuensis, the aforesaid Samuel, would not allow him totranscribe. This writer, although he professes to be the firsthistoriographer (9) of the Britons, has sometimes repeated thevery words of Gildas (10); whose name is even prefixed to somecopies of the work. It is a puerile composition, withoutjudgment, selection, or method (11); filled with legendary talesof Trojan antiquity, of magical delusion, and of the miraculousexploits of St. Germain and St. Patrick: not to mention those ofthe valiant Arthur, who is said to have felled to the ground inone day, single-handed, eight hundred and forty Saxons! It isremarkable, that this taste for the marvelous, which does notseem to be adapted to the sober sense of Englishmen, wasafterwards revived in all its glory by Geoffrey of Monmouth inthe Norman age of credulity and romance. 

We come now to a more cheering prospect; and behold a steadylight reflected on the "Saxon Chronicle" by the "EcclesiasticalHistory" of Bede; a writer who, without the intervention of anylegendary tale, truly deserves the title of Venerable (12). Witha store of classical learning not very common in that age, andwith a simplicity of language seldom found in monastic Latinity, he has moulded into something like a regular form the scatteredfragments of Roman, British, Scottish, and Saxon history. Hiswork, indeed, is professedly ecclesiastical; but, when weconsider the prominent station which the Church had at this timeassumed in England, we need not be surprised if we find thereinthe same intermixture of civil, military, and ecclesiasticalaffairs, which forms so remarkable a feature in the "SaxonChronicle". Hence Gibson concludes, that many passages of thelatter description were derived from the work of Bede (13). Hethinks the same of the description of Britain, the notices of theRoman emperors, and the detail of the first arrival of theSaxons. But, it may be observed, those passages to which healludes are not to be found in the earlier MSS. The descriptionof Britain, which forms the introduction, and refers us to aperiod antecedent to the invasion of Julius Caesar; appears onlyin three copies of the "Chronicle"; two of which are of so late adate as the Norman Conquest, and both derived from the samesource. Whatever relates to the succession of the Roman emperorswas so universally known, that it must be considered as commonproperty: and so short was the interval between the departure ofthe Romans and the arrival of the Saxons, that the latter musthave preserved amongst them sufficient memorials and traditionsto connect their own history with that of their predecessors. Like all rude nations, they were particularly attentive togenealogies; and these, together with the succession of theirkings, their battles, and their conquests, must be derivedoriginally from the Saxons themselves, and not from Gildas, orNennius, or Bede (14). Gibson himself was so convinced of this, that he afterwards attributes to the "Saxon Chronicle" all theknowledge we have of those early times (15). Moreover, we mightask, if our whole dependence had been centered in Bede, whatwould have become of us after his death? (16) Malmsbury indeedasserts, with some degree of vanity, that you will not easilyfind a Latin historian of English affairs between Bede andhimself (17); and in the fulness of self-complacency professeshis determination, "to season with Roman salt the barbarisms ofhis native tongue!" He affects great contempt for Ethelwerd, whose work will be considered hereafter; and he well knew howunacceptable any praise of the "Saxon Annals" would be to theNormans, with whom he was connected (18). He thinks it necessaryto give his reasons, on one occasion, for inserting from thesevery "Annals" what he did not find in Bede; though it is obvious, that the best part of his materials, almost to his own times, isderived from the same source. 

The object of Bishop Asser, the biographer of Alfred, who comesnext in order, was to deliver to posterity a complete memorial ofthat sovereign, and of the transactions of his reign. To himalone are we indebted for the detail of many interestingcircumstances in the life and character of his royal patron (19);but most of the public transactions will be found in the pages ofthe "Saxon Chronicle": some passages of which he appears to havetranslated so literally, that the modern version of Gibson doesnot more closely represent the original. In the editions ofParker, Camden, and Wise, the last notice of any public eventrefers to the year 887. The interpolated copy of Gale, called bysome Pseudo-Asserius, and by others the Chronicle of St. Neot's, is extended to the year 914 (20). Much difference of opinionexists respecting this work; into the discussion of which it isnot our present purpose to enter. One thing is remarkable: itcontains the vision of Drihtelm, copied from Bede, and that ofCharles King of the Franks, which Malmsbury thought it worthwhile to repeat in his "History of the Kings of England". WhatGale observes concerning the "fidelity" with which these annalsof Asser are copied by Marianus, is easily explained. They bothtranslated from the "Saxon Chronicle", as did also Florence ofWorcester, who interpolated Marianus; of whom we shall speakhereafter. 

But the most faithful and extraordinary follower of the "SaxonAnnals" is Ethelwerd; who seems to have disregarded almost allother sources of information. One great error, however, hecommitted; for which Malmsbury does nor spare him. Despairing ofthe reputation of classical learning, if he had followed thesimplicity of the Saxon original, he fell into a sort of measuredand inverted prose, peculiar to himself; which, being at firstsufficiently obscure, is sometimes rendered almost unintelligibleby the incorrect manner in which it has been printed. Hisauthority, nevertheless, in an historical point of view, is veryrespectable. Being one of the few writers untainted by monasticprejudice (21), he does not travel out of his way to indulge inlegendary tales and romantic visions. Critically considered, hiswork is the best commentary on the "Saxon Chronicle" to the year977; at which period one of the MSS. Which he seems to havefollowed, terminates. Brevity and compression seem to have beenhis aim, because the compilation was intended to be sent abroadfor the instruction of a female relative of high rank in Germany(22), at her request. But there are, nevertheless, somecircumstances recorded which are not to be found elsewhere; sothat a reference to this epitome of Saxon history will besometimes useful in illustrating the early part of the"Chronicle"; though Gibson, I know not on what account, hasscarcely once quoted it. 

During the sanguinary conflicts of the eleventh century, whichended first in the temporary triumph of the Danes, and afterwardsin the total subjugation of the country by the Normans, literarypursuits, as might be expected, were so much neglected, thatscarcely a Latin writer is to be found: but the "Saxon Chronicle"has preserved a regular and minute detail of occurrences, as theypassed along, of which subsequent historians were glad to availthemselves. For nearly a century after the Conquest, the Saxonannalists appear to have been chiefly eye-witnesses of thetransactions which they relate (23). The policy of the Conquerorled him by degrees to employ Saxons as well as Normans: andWilliam II. Found them the most faithful of his subjects: butsuch an influx of foreigners naturally corrupted the ancientlanguage; till at length, after many foreign and domestic wars, tranquillity being restored on the accession of Henry II. , literature revived; a taste for composition increased; and thecompilation of Latin histories of English and foreign affairs, blended and diversified with the fabled romance and legendarytale, became the ordinary path to distinction. It is remarkable, that when the "Saxon Chronicle" ends, Geoffrey of Monmouthbegins. Almost every great monastery about this time had itshistorian: but some still adhered to the ancient method. Florence of Worcester, an interpolator of Marianus, as we beforeobserved, closely follows Bede, Asser, and the "Saxon Chronicle"(24). The same may be observed of the annals of Gisburne, ofMargan, of Meiros, of Waverley, etc. ; some of which are anonymouscompilations, whilst others have the name of an author, or rathertranscriber; for very few aspired to the character of authors ororiginal historians. Thomas Wikes, a canon of Oseney, whocompiled a Latin chronicle of English affairs from the Conquestto the year 1304, tells us expressly, that he did this, notbecause he could add much to the histories of Bede, William ofNewburgh, and Matthew Paris, but "propter minores, quibus nonsuppetit copia librorum. " (25) Before the invention of printing, it was necessary that numerous copies of historical works shouldbe transcribed, for the instruction of those who had not accessto libraries. The transcribers frequently added something oftheir own, and abridged or omitted what they thought lessinteresting. Hence the endless variety of interpolators anddeflorators of English history. William of Malmsbury, indeed, deserves to be selected from all his competitors for thesuperiority of his genius; but he is occasionally inaccurate, andnegligent of dates and other minor circumstances; insomuch thathis modern translator has corrected some mistakes, and suppliedthe deficiencies in his chronology, by a reference to the "SaxonChronicle". Henry of Huntingdon, when he is not transcribingBede, or translating the "Saxon Annals", may be placed on thesame shelf with Geoffrey of Monmouth. 

As I have now brought the reader to the period when our"Chronicle" terminates, I shall dismiss without much ceremony thesucceeding writers, who have partly borrowed from this source;Simon of Durham, who transcribes Florence of Worcester, the twopriors of Hexham, Gervase, Hoveden, Bromton, Stubbes, the twoMatthews, of Paris and Westminster, and many others, consideringthat sufficient has been said to convince those who may not haveleisure or opportunity to examine the matter themselves, thathowever numerous are the Latin historians of English affairs, almost everything original and authentic, and essentiallyconducive to a correct knowledge of our general history, to theperiod above mentioned, may be traced to the "Saxon Annals". 

It is now time to examine, who were probably the writers of these"Annals". I say probably, because we have very little more thanrational conjecture to guide us. 

The period antecedent to the times of Bede, except where passageswere afterwards inserted, was perhaps little else, originally, than a kind of chronological table of events, with a fewgenealogies, and notices of the death and succession of kings andother distinguished personages. But it is evident from thepreface of Bede and from many passages in his work, that hereceived considerable assistance from Saxon bishops, abbots, andothers; who not only communicated certain traditionary facts"viva voce", but also transmitted to him many written documents. These, therefore, must have been the early chronicles of Wessex, of Kent, and of the other provinces of the Heptarchy; whichformed together the ground-work of his history. With greaterhonesty than most of his followers, he has given us the names ofthose learned persons who assisted him with this localinformation. The first is Alcuinus or Albinus, an abbot ofCanterbury, at whose instigation he undertook the work; who sentby Nothelm, afterwards archbishop of that province, a fullaccount of all ecclesiastical transactions in Kent, and in thecontiguous districts, from the first conversion of the Saxons. From the same source he partly derived his information respectingthe provinces of Essex, Wessex, East Anglia, and Northumbria. Bishop Daniel communicated to him by letter many particularsconcerning Wessex, Sussex, and the Isle of Wight. Heacknowledges assistance more than once "ex scriptis priorum"; andthere is every reason to believe that some of these precedingrecords were the "Anglo-Saxon Annals"; for we have already seenthat such records were in existence before the age of Nennius. In proof of this we may observe, that even the phraseologysometimes partakes more of the Saxon idiom than the Latin. If, therefore, it be admitted, as there is every reason to concludefrom the foregoing remarks, that certain succinct andchronological arrangements of historical facts had taken place inseveral provinces of the Heptarchy before the time of Bede, letus inquire by whom they were likely to have been made. 

In the province of Kent, the first person on record, who iscelebrated for his learning, is Tobias, the ninth bishop ofRochester, who succeeded to that see in 693. He is noticed byBede as not only furnished with an ample store of Greek and Latinliterature, but skilled also in the Saxon language and erudition(26). It is probable, therefore, that he left some proofs ofthis attention to his native language and as he died within a fewyears of Bede, the latter would naturally avail himself of hislabours. It is worthy also of remark, that Bertwald, whosucceeded to the illustrious Theodore of Tarsus in 690, was thefirst English or Saxon archbishop of Canterbury. From thisperiod, consequently, we may date that cultivation of thevernacular tongue which would lead to the composition of briefchronicles (27), and other vehicles of instruction, necessary forthe improvement of a rude and illiterate people. The firstchronicles were, perhaps, those of Kent or Wessex; which seem tohave been regularly continued, at intervals, by the archbishopsof Canterbury, or by their direction (28), at least as far as theyear 1001, or by even 1070; for the Benet MS. , which some callthe Plegmund MS. , ends in the latter year; the rest being inLatin. From internal evidence indeed, of an indirect nature, there is great reason to presume, that Archbishop Plegmundtranscribed or superintended this very copy of the "Saxon Annals"to the year 891 (29); the year in which he came to the see;inserting, both before and after this date, to the time of hisdeath in 923, such additional materials as he was well qualifiedto furnish from his high station and learning, and theconfidential intercourse which he enjoyed in the court of KingAlfred. The total omission of his own name, except by anotherhand, affords indirect evidence of some importance in support ofthis conjecture. Whether King Alfred himself was the author of adistinct and separate chronicle of Wessex, cannot now bedetermined. That he furnished additional supplies of historicalmatter to the older chronicles is, I conceive, sufficientlyobvious to every reader who will take the trouble of examiningthe subject. The argument of Dr. Beeke, the present Dean ofBristol, in an obliging letter to the editor on this subject, isnot without its force;--that it is extremely improbable, whenwe consider the number and variety of King Alfred's works, thathe should have neglected the history, of his own country. Besides a genealogy of the kings of Wessex from Cerdic to his owntime, which seems never to have been incorporated with any MS. Ofthe "Saxon Chronicle", though prefixed or annexed to several, heundoubtedly preserved many traditionary facts; with a full andcircumstantial detail of his own operations, as well as those ofhis father, brother, and other members of his family; whichscarcely any other person than himself could have supplied. Todoubt this would be as incredulous a thing as to deny thatXenophon wrote his "Anabasis", or Caesar his "Commentaries". From the time of Alfred and Plegmund to a few years after theNorman Conquest, these chronicles seem to have been continued bydifferent hands, under the auspices of such men as ArchbishopsDunstan, Aelfric, and others, whose characters have been muchmisrepresented by ignorance and scepticism on the one hand; aswell as by mistaken zeal and devotion on the other. The indirectevidence respecting Dunstan and Aelfric is as curious as thatconcerning Plegmund; but the discussion of it would lead us intoa wide and barren field of investigation; nor is this the placeto refute the errors of Hickes, Cave, and Wharton, alreadynoticed by Wanley in his preface. The chronicles of Abingdon, ofWorcester, of Peterborough, and others, are continued in the samemanner by different hands; partly, though not exclusively, bymonks of those monasteries, who very naturally inserted manyparticulars relating to their own local interests and concerns;which, so far from invalidating the general history, render itmore interesting and valuable. It would be a vain and frivolousattempt ascribe these latter compilations to particular persons(31), where there were evidently so many contributors; but thatthey were successively furnished by contemporary writers, many ofwhom were eye-witnesses of the events and transactions which theyrelate, there is abundance of internal evidence to convince us. Many instances of this the editor had taken some pains tocollect, in order to lay them before the reader in the preface;but they are so numerous that the subject would necessarilybecome tedious; and therefore every reader must be left to findthem for himself. They will amply repay him for his trouble, ifhe takes any interest in the early history of England, or in thegeneral construction of authentic history of any kind. He willsee plagarisms without end in the Latin histories, and will be inno danger of falling into the errors of Gale and others; not tomention those of our historians who were not professedantiquaries, who mistook that for original and authentictestimony which was only translated. It is remarkable that the"Saxon Chronicle" gradually expires with the Saxon language, almost melted into modern English, in the year 1154. From thisperiod almost to the Reformation, whatever knowledge we have ofthe affairs of England has been originally derived either fromthe semi-barbarous Latin of our own countrymen, or from theFrench chronicles of Froissart and others. 

The revival of good taste and of good sense, and of the good oldcustom adopted by most nations of the civilised world--that ofwriting their own history in their own language--was happilyexemplified at length in the laborious works of our Englishchroniclers and historians. 

Many have since followed in the same track; and the importanceof the whole body of English History has attracted and employedthe imagination of Milton, the philosophy of Hume, the simplicityof Goldsmith, the industry of Henry, the research of Turner, andthe patience of Lingard. The pages of these writers, however, accurate and luminous as they generally are, as well as those ofBrady, Tyrrell, Carte, Rapin, and others, not to mention those inblack letter, still require correction from the "SaxonChronicle"; without which no person, however learned, can possessanything beyond a superficial acquaintance with the elements ofEnglish History, and of the British Constitution. 

Some remarks may here be requisite on the CHRONOLOGY of the"Saxon Chronicle". In the early part of it (32) the reader willobserve a reference to the grand epoch of the creation of theworld. So also in Ethelwerd, who closely follows the "SaxonAnnals". It is allowed by all, that considerable difficulty hasoccurred in fixing the true epoch of Christ's nativity (33), because the Christian aera was not used at all till about theyear 532 (34), when it was introduced by Dionysius Exiguus; whosecode of canon law, joined afterwards with the decretals of thepopes, became as much the standard of authority in ecclesiasticalmatters as the pandects of Justinian among civilians. But itdoes not appear that in the Saxon mode of computation this systemof chronology was implicitly followed. We mention thiscircumstance, however, not with a view of settling the point ofdifference, which would not be easy, but merely to account forthose variations observable m different MSS. ; which arose, notonly from the common mistakes or inadvertencies of transcribers, but from the liberty which the original writers themselvessometimes assumed in this country, of computing the current yearaccording to their own ephemeral or local custom. Some beganwith the Incarnation or Nativity of Christ; some with theCircumcision, which accords with the solar year of the Romans asnow restored; whilst others commenced with the Annunciation; acustom which became very prevalent in honour of the Virgin Mary, and was not formally abolished here till the year 1752; when theGregorian calendar, commonly called the New Style, wassubstituted by Act of Parliament for the Dionysian. Thisdiversity of computation would alone occasion some confusion; butin addition to this, the INDICTION, or cycle of fifteen years, which is mentioned in the latter part of the "Saxon Chronicle", was carried back three years before the vulgar aera, andcommenced in different places at four different periods of theyear! But it is very remarkable that, whatever was thecommencement of the year in the early part of the "SaxonChronicle", in the latter part the year invariably opens withMidwinter-day or the Nativity. Gervase of Canterbury, whoseLatin chronicle ends in 1199, the aera of "legal" memory, hadformed a design, as he tells us, of regulating his chronology bythe Annunciation; but from an honest fear of falsifying dates heabandoned his first intention, and acquiesced in the practice ofhis predecessors; who for the most part, he says, began the newyear with the Nativity (35). 

Having said thus much in illustration of the work itself, we mustnecessarily be brief in our account of the present edition. Itwas contemplated many years since, amidst a constant successionof other occupations; but nothing was then projected beyond areprint of Gibson, substituting an English translation for theLatin. The indulgence of the Saxon scholar is thereforerequested, if we have in the early part of the chronicle toofaithfully followed the received text. By some readers noapology of this kind will be deemed necessary; but something maybe expected in extenuation of the delay which has retarded thepublication. The causes of that delay must be chiefly sought inthe nature of the work itself. New types were to be cast;compositors to be instructed in a department entirely new tothem; manuscripts to be compared, collated, transcribed; the textto be revised throughout; various readings of great intricacy tobe carefully presented, with considerable additions fromunpublished sources; for, however unimportant some may at firstsight appear, the most trivial may be of use. With such andother difficulties before him, the editor has, nevertheless, beenblessed with health and leisure sufficient to overcome them; andhe may now say with Gervase the monk at the end of his firstchronicle, "Finito libro reddatur gratia Christo. " (36)

Of the translation it is enough to observe, that it is made asliteral as possible, with a view of rendering the original easyto those who are at present unacquainted with the Saxon language. By this method also the connection between the ancient and modernlanguage will be more obvious. The same method has been adoptedin an unpublished translation of Gibson's "Chronicle" by the lateMr. Cough, now in the Bodleian Library. But the honour of havingprinted the first literal version of the "Saxon Annals" wasreserved for a learned LADY, the Elstob of her age (37); whoseWork was finished in the year 1819. These translations, however, do not interfere with that in the present edition; because theycontain nothing but what is found in the printed texts, and areneither accompanied with the original, nor with any collation ofMSS. 

ENDNOTES:(1) Whatever was the origin of this title, by which it is now distinguished, in an appendix to the work itself it is called "Liber de Wintonia, " or "The Winchester-Book, " from its first place of custody. (2) This title is retained, in compliance with custom, though it is a collection of chronicles, rather than one uniform work, as the received appellation seems to imply. (3) In two volumes folio, with the following title: "Domesday-Book, seu Liber Censualis Willelmi Primi Regis Angliae, inter Archlyos Regni in Domo Capitulari Westmonasterii asservatus: jubente rege augustissimo Georgio Tertio praelo mandatus typis MDCCLXXXIII"(4) Gerard Langbaine had projected such a work, and had made considerable progress in the collation of MSS. , when he found himself anticipated by Wheloc. (5) "Nunc primum integrum edidit" is Gibson's expression in the title-page. He considers Wheloc's MSS. As fragments, rather than entire chronicles: "quod integrum nacti jam discimus. " These MSS. , however, were of the first authority, and not less entire, as far as they went, than his own favourite "Laud". But the candid critic will make allowance for the zeal of a young Bachelor of Queen's, who, it must be remembered, had scarcely attained the age of twenty-three when this extraordinary work was produced. (6) The reader is forcibly reminded of the national dress of the Highlanders in the following singular passage: "furciferos magis vultus pilis, quam corporum pudenda, pudendisque proxima, vestibus tegentes. "(7) See particularly capp. Xxiii. And xxvi. The work which follows, called the "Epistle of Gildas", is little more than a cento of quotations from the Old and New Testament. (8) "De historiis Scotorum Saxonumque, licet inimicorum, " etc. "Hist. Brit. Ap. " Gale, XV. Script. P. 93. See also p. 94 of the same work; where the writer notices the absence of all written memorials among the Britons, and attributes it to the frequent recurrence of war and pestilence. A new edition has been prepared from a Vatican MS. With a translation and notes by the Rev. W. Gunn, and published by J. And A. Arch. (9) "Malo me historiographum quam neminem, " etc. (10) He considered his work, perhaps, as a lamentation of declamation, rather than a history. But Bede dignifies him with the title of "historicus, " though he writes "fiebili sermone. "(11) But it is probable that the work is come down to us in a garbled and imperfect state. (12) There is an absurd story of a monk, who in vain attempting to write his epitaph, fell asleep, leaving it thus: "Hac sunt in fossa Bedae. Ossa:" but, when he awoke, to his great surprise and satisfaction he found the long-sought epithet supplied by an angelic hand, the whole line standing thus: "Hac sunt in fossa Bedae venerabilis ossa. "(13) See the preface to his edition of the "Saxon Chronicle". (14) This will be proved more fully when we come to speak of the writers of the "Saxon Chronicle". (15) Preface, "ubi supra". (16) He died A. D. 734, according to our chronicle; but some place his death to the following year. (17) This circumstance alone proves the value of the "Saxon Chronicle". In the "Edinburgh Chronicle" of St. Cross, printed by H. Wharton, there is a chasm from the death of Bede to the year 1065; a period of 330 years. (18) The cold and reluctant manner in which he mentions the "Saxon Annals", to which he was so much indebted, can only be ascribed to this cause in him, as well as in the other Latin historians. See his prologue to the first book, "De Gestis Regum, " etc. (19) If there are additional anecdotes in the Chronicle of St. Neot's, which is supposed to have been so called by Leland because he found the MS. There, it must be remembered that this work is considered an interpolated Asser. (20) The death of Asser himself is recorded in the year 909; but this is no more a proof that the whole work is spurious, than the character and burial of Moses, described in the latter part of the book of "Deuteronomy", would go to prove that the Pentateuch was not written by him. See Bishop Watson's "Apology for the Bible". (21) Malmsbury calls him "noble and magnificent, " with reference to his rank; for he was descended from King Alfred: but he forgets his peculiar praise--that of being the only Latin historian for two centuries; though, like Xenophon, Caesar, and Alfred, he wielded the sword as much as the pen. (22) This was no less a personage than Matilda, the daughter of Otho the Great, Emperor of Germany, by his first Empress Eadgitha or Editha; who is mentioned in the "Saxon Chronicle", A. D. 925, though not by name, as given to Otho by her brother, King Athelstan. Ethelwerd adds, in his epistle to Matilda, that Athelstan sent two sisters, in order that the emperor might take his choice; and that he preferred the mother of Matilda. (23) See particularly the character of William I. P. 294, written by one who was in his court. The compiler of the "Waverley Annals" we find literally translating it more than a century afterwards:--"nos dicemus, qui eum vidimus, et in curia ejus aliquando fuimus, " etc. --Gale, ii. 134. (24) His work, which is very faithfully and diligently compiled, ends in the year 1117; but it is continued by another hand to the imprisonment of King Stephen. (25) "Chron. Ap. " Gale, ii. 21. (26) "Virum Latina, Graec, et Saxonica lingua atque eruditione multipliciter instructum. "--Bede, "Ecclesiastical History", v. 8. "Chron. S. Crucis Edinb. Ap. ", Wharton, i. 157. (27) The materials, however, though not regularly arranged, must be traced to a much higher source. (28) Josselyn collated two Kentish MSS. Of the first authority; one of which he calls the History or Chronicle of St. Augustine's, the other that of Christ Church, Canterbury. The former was perhaps the one marked in our series "C. T. " A VI. ; the latter the Benet or Plegmund MS. (29) Wanley observes, that the Benet MS. Is written in one and the same hand to this year, and in hands equally ancient to the year 924; after which it is continued in different hands to the end. Vid. "Cat. " p. 130. (30) Florence of Worcester, in ascertaining the succession of the kings of Wessex, refers expressly to the "Dicta Aelfredi". Ethelwerd had before acknowledged that he reported many things--"sicut docuere parentes;" and then he immediately adds, "Scilicet Aelfred rex Athulfi regis filius; ex quo nos originem trahimus. " Vid. Prol. (31) Hickes supposed the Laud or Peterborough Chronicle to have been compiled by Hugo Candidus (Albus, or White), or some other monk of that house. (32) See A. D. Xxxiii. , the aera of Christ's crucifixion, p. 23, and the notes below. (33) See Playfair's "System of Chronology", p. 49. (34) Playfair says 527: but I follow Bede, Florence of Worcester, and others, who affirm that the great paschal cycle of Dionysius commenced from the year of our Lord's incarnation 532--the year in which the code of Justinian was promulgated. "Vid. Flor. An. " 532, 1064, and 1073. See also M. West. "an. " 532. (35) "Vid. Prol. In Chron. " Bervas. "ap. X. " Script. P. 1338. (36) Often did the editor, during the progress of the work, sympathise with the printer; who, in answer to his urgent importunities to hasten the work, replied once in the classical language of Manutius: "Precor, ut occupationibus meis ignoscas; premor enim oneribus, et typographiae cura, ut vix sustineam. " Who could be angry after this?(37) Miss Gurney, of Keswick, Norfolk. The work, however, was not published. 

THE ANGLO-SAXON CHRONICLE

The island Britain (1) is 800 miles long, and 200 miles broad. And there are in the island five nations; English, Welsh (orBritish) (2), Scottish, Pictish, and Latin. The firstinhabitants were the Britons, who came from Armenia (3), andfirst peopled Britain southward. Then happened it, that thePicts came south from Scythia, with long ships, not many; and, landing first in the northern part of Ireland, they told theScots that they must dwell there. But they would not give themleave; for the Scots told them that they could not all dwellthere together; "But, " said the Scots, "we can nevertheless giveyou advice. We know another island here to the east. There youmay dwell, if you will; and whosoever withstandeth you, we willassist you, that you may gain it. " Then went the Picts andentered this land northward. Southward the Britons possessed it, as we before said. And the Picts obtained wives of the Scots, oncondition that they chose their kings always on the female side(4); which they have continued to do, so long since. And ithappened, in the run of years, that some party of Scots went fromIreland into Britain, and acquired some portion of this land. Their leader was called Reoda (5), from whom they are namedDalreodi (or Dalreathians). 

Sixty winters ere that Christ was born, Caius Julius, emperor ofthe Romans, with eighty ships sought Britain. There he was firstbeaten in a dreadful fight, and lost a great part of his army. Then he let his army abide with the Scots (6), and went southinto Gaul. There he gathered six hundred ships, with which hewent back into Britain. When they first rushed together, Caesar's tribune, whose name was Labienus (7), was slain. Thentook the Welsh sharp piles, and drove them with great clubs intothe water, at a certain ford of the river called Thames. Whenthe Romans found that, they would not go over the ford. Thenfled the Britons to the fastnesses of the woods; and Caesar, having after much fighting gained many of the chief towns, wentback into Gaul (8). 

((B. C. 60. Before the incarnation of Christ sixty years, GaiusJulius the emperor, first of the Romans, sought the land ofBritain; and he crushed the Britons in battle, and overcame them;and nevertheless he was unable to gain any empire there. ))

A. D. 1. Octavianus reigned fifty-six winters; and in the forty-secondyear of his reign Christ was born. Then three astrologersfrom the east came to worship Christ; and the children inBethlehem were slain by Herod in persecution of Christ. 

A. D. 3. This year died Herod, stabbed by his own hand; andArchelaus his son succeeded him. The child Christ was also thisyear brought back again from Egypt. 

A. D. 6. From the beginning of the world to this year were agonefive thousand and two hundred winters. 

A. D. 11. This year Herod the son of Antipater undertook thegovernment in Judea. 

A. D. 12. This year Philip and Herod divided Judea into fourkingdoms. 

((A. D. 12. This year Judea was divided into four tetrarchies. ))

A. D. 16. This year Tiberius succeeded to the empire. 

A. D. 26. This year Pilate began to reign over the Jews. 

A. D. 30. This year was Christ baptized; and Peter and Andrewwere converted, together with James, and John, and Philip, andall the twelve apostles. 

A. D. 33. This year was Christ crucified; (9) about five thousandtwo hundred and twenty six winters from the beginning of theworld. (10)

A. D. 34. This year was St. Paul converted, and St. Stephenstoned. 

A. D. 35. This year the blessed Peter the apostle settled anepiscopal see in the city of Antioch. 

A. D. 37. This year (11) Pilate slew himself with his own hand. 

A. D. 39. This year Caius undertook the empire. 

A. D. 44. This year the blessed Peter the apostle settled anepiscopal see at Rome; and James, the brother of John, was slainby Herod. 

A. D. 45. This year died Herod, who slew James one year ere hisown death. 

A. D. 46. This year Claudius, the second of the Roman emperorswho invaded Britain, took the greater part of the island into hispower, and added the Orkneys to rite dominion of the Romans. This was in the fourth year of his reign. And in the same year(12) happened the great famine in Syria which Luke mentions inthe book called "The Acts of the Apostles". After Claudius Nerosucceeded to the empire, who almost lost the island Britainthrough his incapacity. 

((A. D. 46. This year the Emperor Claudius came to Britain, andsubdued a large part of the island; and he also added the islandof Orkney to the dominion of the Romans. ))

A. D. 47. This year Mark, the evangelist in Egypt beginneth towrite the gospel. 

((A. D. 47. This was in the fourth year of his reign, and in thissame year was the great famine in Syria which Luke speaks of inthe book called "Actus Apostolorum". ))

((A. D. 47. This year Claudius, king of the Romans, went with anarmy into Britain, and subdued the island, and subjected all thePicts and Welsh to the rule of the Romans. ))

A. D. 50. This year Paul was sent bound to Rome. 

A. D. 62. This year James, the brother of Christ, suffered. 

A. D. 63. This year Mark the evangelist departed this life. 

A. D. 69. This year Peter and Paul suffered. 

A. D. 70. This year Vespasian undertook the empire. 

A. D. 71. This year Titus, son of Vespasian, slew in Jerusalemeleven hundred thousand Jews. 

A. D. 81. This year Titus came to the empire, after Vespasian, who said that he considered the day lost in which he did no good. 

A. D. 83. This year Domitian, the brother of Titus, assumed thegovernment. 

A. D. 84. This year John the evangelist in the island Patmoswrote the book called "The Apocalypse". 

A. D. 90. This year Simon, the apostle, a relation of Christ, wascrucified: and John the evangelist rested at Ephesus. 

A. D. 92. This year died Pope Clement. 

A. D. 110. This year Bishop Ignatius suffered. 

A. D. 116. This year Hadrian the Caesar began to reign. 

A. D. 145. This year Marcus Antoninus and Aurelius his brothersucceeded to the empire. 

((A. D. 167. This year Eleutherius succeeded to the popedom, andheld it fifteen years; and in the same year Lucius, king of theBritons, sent and begged baptism of him. And he soon sent ithim, and they continued in the true faith until the time ofDiocletian. ))

A. D. 189. This year Severus came to the empire; and went withhis army into Britain, and subdued in battle a great part of theisland. Then wrought he a mound of turf, with a broad wallthereupon, from sea to sea, for the defence of the Britons. Hereigned seventeen years; and then ended his days at York. Hisson Bassianus succeeded him in the empire. His other son, whoperished, was called Geta. This year Eleutherius undertook thebishopric of Rome, and held it honourably for fifteen winters. To him Lucius, king of the Britons, sent letters, and prayed thathe might be made a Christian. He obtained his request; and theycontinued afterwards in the right belief until the reign ofDiocletian. 

A. D. 199. In this year was found the holy rood. (13)

A. D. 283. This year suffered Saint Alban the Martyr. 

A. D. 343. This year died St. Nicolaus. 

A. D. 379. This year Gratian succeeded to the empire. 

A. D. 381. This year Maximus the Caesar came to the empire. Hewas born in the land of Britain, whence he passed over into Gaul. He there slew the Emperor Gratian; and drove his brother, whosename was Valentinian, from his country (Italy). The sameValentinian afterwards collected an army, and slew Maximus;whereby he gained the empire. About this time arose the error ofPelagius over the world. 

A. D. 418. This year the Romans collected all the hoards of gold(14) that were in Britain; and some they hid in the earth, sothat no man afterwards might find them, and some they carriedaway with them into Gaul. 

A. D. 423. This year Theodosius the younger succeeded to theempire. 

A. D. 429. This year Bishop Palladius was sent from PopeCelesrinus to the Scots, that he might establish their faith. 

A. D. 430. This year Patricius was sent from Pope Celestinus topreach baptism to the Scots. 

((A. D. 430. This year Patrick was sent by Pope Celestine topreach baptism to the Scots. ))

A. D. 435. This year the Goths sacked the city of Rome; and neversince have the Romans reigned in Britain. This was about elevenhundred and ten winters after it was built. They reignedaltogether in Britain four hundred and seventy winters sinceGaius Julius first sought that land. 

A. D. 443. This year sent the Britons over sea to Rome, andbegged assistance against the Picts; but they had none, for theRomans were at war with Atila, king of the Huns. Then sent theyto the Angles, and requested the same from the nobles of thatnation. 

A. D. 444. This year died St. Martin. 

A. D. 448. This year John the Baptist showed his head to twomonks, who came from the eastern country to Jerusalem for thesake of prayer, in the place that whilom was the palace of Herod. (15)

A. D. 449. This year Marcian and Valentinian assumed the empire, and reigned seven winters. In their days Hengest and Horsa, invited by Wurtgern, king of the Britons to his assistance, landed in Britain in a place that is called Ipwinesfleet; firstof all to support the Britons, but they afterwards fought againstthem. The king directed them to fight against the Picts; andthey did so; and obtained the victory wheresoever they came. They then sent to the Angles, and desired them to send moreassistance. They described the worthlessness of the Britons, andthe richness of the land. They then sent them greater support. Then came the men from three powers of Germany; the Old Saxons, the Angles, and the Jutes. From the Jutes are descended the menof Kent, the Wightwarians (that is, the tribe that now dwellethin the Isle of Wight), and that kindred in Wessex that men yetcall the kindred of the Jutes. From the Old Saxons came thepeople of Essex and Sussex and Wessex. From Anglia, which hasever since remained waste between the Jutes and the Saxons, camethe East Angles, the Middle Angles, the Mercians, and all ofthose north of the Humber. Their leaders were two brothers, Hengest and Horsa; who were the sons of Wihtgils; Wihtgils wasthe son of Witta, Witta of Wecta, Wecta of Woden. From thisWoden arose all our royal kindred, and that of the Southumbriansalso. 

((A. D. 449. And in their days Vortigern invited the Anglesthither, and they came to Britain in three ceols, at the placecalled Wippidsfleet. ))

A. D. 455. This year Hengest and Horsa fought with Wurtgern theking on the spot that is called Aylesford. His brother Horsabeing there slain, Hengest afterwards took to the kingdom withhis son Esc. 

A. D. 457. This year Hengest and Esc fought with the Britons onthe spot that is called Crayford, and there slew four thousandmen. The Britons then forsook the land of Kent, and in greatconsternation fled to London. 

A. D. 465. This year Hengest and Esc fought with the Welsh, nighWippedfleet; and there slew twelve leaders, all Welsh. On theirside a thane was there slain, whose name was Wipped. 

A. D. 473. This year Hengest and Esc fought with the Welsh, andtook immense Booty. And the Welsh fled from the English likefire. 

A. D. 477. This year came Ella to Britain, with his three sons, Cymen, and Wlenking, and Cissa, in three ships; landing at aplace that is called Cymenshore. There they slew many of theWelsh; and some in flight they drove into the wood that is calledAndred'sley. 

A. D. 482. This year the blessed Abbot Benedict shone in thisworld, by the splendour of those virtues which the blessedGregory records in the book of Dialogues. 

A. D. 485. This year Ella fought with the Welsh nigh Mecred's-Burnsted. 

A. D. 488. This year Esc succeeded to the kingdom; and was kingof the men of Kent twenty-four winters. 

A. D. 490. This year Ella and Cissa besieged the city of Andred, and slew all that were therein; nor was one Briten left thereafterwards. 

A. D. 495. This year came two leaders into Britain, Cerdic andCynric his son, with five ships, at a place that is calledCerdic's-ore. And they fought with the Welsh the same day. Thenhe died, and his son Cynric succeeded to the government, and heldit six and twenty winters. Then he died; and Ceawlin, his son, succeeded, who reigned seventeen years. Then he died; and Ceolsucceeded to the government, and reigned five years. When hedied, Ceolwulf, his brother, succeeded, and reigned seventeenyears. Their kin goeth to Cerdic. Then succeeded Cynebils, Ceolwulf's brother's son, to the kingdom; and reigned one andthirty winters. And he first of West-Saxon kings receivedbaptism. Then succeeded Cenwall, who was the son of Cynegils, and reigned one and thirty winters. Then held Sexburga, hisqueen, the government one year after him. Then succeeded Escwineto the kingdom, whose kin goeth to Cerdic, and held it two years. Then succeeded Centwine, the son of Cynegils, to the kingdom ofthe West-Saxons, and reigned nine years. Then succeeded Ceadwallto the government, whose kin goeth to Cerdic, and held it threeyears. Then succeeded Ina to the kingdom of the West-Saxons, whose kin goeth to Cerdic, and reigned thirty-seven winters. Then succeeded Ethelheard, whose kin goeth to Cerdic, and reignedsixteen years. Then succeeded Cuthred, whose kin goeth toCerdic, and reigned sixteen winters. Then succeeded Sigebriht, whose kin goeth to Cerdic, and reigned one year. Then succeededCynwulf, whose kin goeth to Cerdic, and reigned one and thirtywinters. Then succeeded Brihtric, whose kin goeth to Cerdic, andreigned sixteen years. Then succeeded Egbert to the kingdom, andheld it seven and thirty winters, and seven months. Thensucceeded Ethelwulf, his son, and reigned eighteen years and ahalf. Ethelwulf was the son of Egbert, Egbert of Ealmund, Ealmund of Eafa, Eafa of Eoppa, Eoppa of Ingild, Ingild of Cenred(Ina of Cenred, Cuthburga of Cenred, and Cwenburga of Cenred), Cenred of Ceolwald, Ceolwald of Cuthwulf, Cuthwulf of Cuthwine, Cuthwine of Celm, Celm of Cynric, Cynric of Creoda, Creoda ofCerdic. Then succeeded Ethelbald, the son of Ethelwulf, to thekingdom, and held it five years. Then succeeded Ethelbert, hisbrother, and reigned five years. Then succeeded Ethelred, hisbrother, to the kingdom, and held it five years. Then succeededAlfred, their brother, to the government. And then had elapsedof his age three and twenty winters, and three hundred andninety-six winters from the time when his kindred first gainedthe land of Wessex from the Welsh. And he held the kingdom ayear and a half less than thirty winters. Then succeeded Edward, the son of Alfred, and reigned twenty-four winters. When hedied, then succeeded Athelstan, his son, and reigned fourteenyears and seven weeks and three days. Then succeeded Edmund, hisbrother, and reigned six years and a half, wanting two nights. Then succeeded Edred, his brother, and reigned nine years and sixweeks. Then succeeded Edwy, the son of Edmund, and reigned threeyears and thirty-six weeks, wanting two days. When he died, thensucceeded Edgar, his brother, and reigned sixteen years and eightweeks and two nights. When he died, then succeeded Edward, theson of Edgar, and reigned--

A. D. 501. This year Porta and his two sons, Beda and Mela, cameinto Britain, with two ships, at a place called Portsmouth. Theysoon landed, and slew on the spot a young Briton of very highrank. 

A. D. 508. This year Cerdic and Cynric slew a British king, whosename was Natanleod, and five thousand men with him. After thiswas the land named Netley, from him, as far as Charford. 

A. D. 509. This year St. Benedict, the abbot, father of all themonks, (16) ascended to heaven. 

A. D. 514. This year came the West-Saxons into Britain, withthree ships, at the place that is called Cerdic's-ore. And Stuffand Wihtgar fought with the Britons, and put them to flight. 

A. D. 519. This year Cerdic and Cynric undertook the governmentof the West-Saxons; the same year they fought with the Britons ata place now called Charford. From that day have reigned thechildren of the West-Saxon kings. 

A. D. 527. This year Cerdic and Cynric fought with the Britons inthe place that is called Cerdic's-ley. 

A. D. 530. This year Cerdic and Cynric took the isle of Wight, and slew many men in Carisbrook. 

A. D. 534. This year died Cerdic, the first king of the West-Saxons. Cynric his son succeeded to the government, and reignedafterwards twenty-six winters. And they gave to their twonephews, Stuff and Wihtgar, the whole of the Isle of Wight. 

A. D. 538. This year the sun was eclipsed, fourteen days beforethe calends of March, from before morning until nine. 

A. D. 540. This year the sun was eclipsed on the twelfth daybefore the calends of July; and the stars showed themselves fullnigh half an hour over nine. 

A. D. 544. This year died Wihtgar; and men buried him atCarisbrook. 

A. D. 547. This year Ida began his reign; from whom first arosethe royal kindred of the Northumbrians. Ida was the son ofEoppa, Eoppa of Esa, Esa of Ingwy, Ingwy of Angenwit, Angenwit ofAlloc, Alloc of Bennoc, Bennoc of Brand, Brand of Balday, Baldayof Woden. Woden of Fritholaf, Fritholaf of Frithowulf, Frithowulf of Finn, Finn of Godolph, Godolph of Geata. Idareigned twelve years. He built Bamburgh-Castle, which was firstsurrounded with a hedge, and afterwards with a wall. 

A. D. 552. This year Cynric fought with the Britons on the spotthat is called Sarum, and put them to flight. Cerdic was thefather of Cynric, Cerdic was the son of Elesa, Elesa of Esla, Esla of Gewis, Gewis of Wye, Wye of Frewin, Frewin of Frithgar, Frithgar of Brand, Brand of Balday, Balday of Woden. In thisyear Ethelbert, the son of Ermenric, was born, who on the two andthirtieth year of his reign received the rite of baptism, thefirst of all the kings in Britain. 

A. D. 556. This year Cynric and Ceawlin fought with the Britonsat Beranbury. 

A. D. 560. This year Ceawlin undertook the government of theWest-Saxons; and Ella, on the death of Ida, that of theNorthumbrians; each of whom reigned thirty winters. Ella was theson of Iff, Iff of Usfrey, Usfrey of Wilgis, Wilgis ofWesterfalcon, Westerfalcon of Seafowl, Seafowl of Sebbald, Sebbald of Sigeat, Sigeat of Swaddy, Swaddy of Seagirt, Seagar ofWaddy, Waddy of Woden, Woden of Frithowulf. This year Ethelbertcame to the kingdom of the Cantuarians, and held it fifty-threewinters. In his days the holy Pope Gregory sent us baptism. That was in the two and thirtieth year of his reign. AndColumba, the mass-priest, came to the Picts, and converted themto the belief of Christ. They are the dwellers by the northernmoors. And their king gave him the island of Hii, consisting offive hides, as they say, where Columba built a monastary. Therehe was abbot two and thirty winters; and there he died, when hewas seventy-seven years old. The place his successors yet have. The Southern Picts were long before baptized by Bishop Ninnia, who was taught at Rome. His church or monastery is at Hwiterne, hallowed in the name of St. Martin, where he resteth with manyholy men. Now, therefore, shall there be ever in Hii an abbot, and no bishop; and to him shall be subject all the bishops of theScots; because Columba was an abbot--no bishop. 

((A. D. 565. This year Columba the presbyter came from the Scotsamong the Britons, to instruct the Picts, and he built amonastery in the island of Hii. ))

A. D. 568. This year Ceawlin, and Cutha the brother of Ceawlin, fought with Ethelbert, and pursued him into Kent. And they slewtwo aldermen at Wimbledon, Oslake and Cnebba. 

A. D. 571. This year Cuthulf fought with the Britons at Bedford, and took four towns, Lenbury, Aylesbury, Benson, and Ensham. Andthis same year he died. 

A. D. 577. This year Cuthwin and Ceawlin fought with the Britons, and slew three kings, Commail, and Condida, and Farinmail, on thespot that is called Derham, and took from them three cities, Gloucester, Cirencester, and Bath. 

A. D. 583. This year Mauricius succeeded to the empire of theRomans. 

A. D. 584. This year Ceawlin and Cutha fought with the Britons onthe spot that is called Fretherne. There Cutha was slain. AndCeawlin took many towns, as well as immense booty and wealth. Hethen retreated to his own people. 

A. D. 588. This year died King Ella; and Ethelric reigned afterhim five years. 

A. D. 591. This year there was a great slaughter of Britons atWanborough; Ceawlin was driven from his kingdom, and Ceolricreigned six years. 

A. D. 592. This year Gregory succeeded to the papacy at Rome. 

A. D. 593. This year died Ceawlin, and Cwichelm, and Cryda; andEthelfrith succeeded to the kingdom of the Northumbrians. He wasthe son of Ethelric; Ethelric of Ida. 

A. D. 596. This year Pope Gregory sent Augustine to Britain withvery many monks, to preach the word of God to the English people. 

A. D. 597. This year began Ceolwulf to reign over the West-Saxons;and he constantly fought and conquered, either with theAngles, or the Welsh, or the Picts, or the Scots. He was the sonof Cutha, Cutha of Cynric, Cynric of Cerdic, Cerdic of Elesa, Elesa of Gewis, Gewis of Wye, Wye of Frewin, Frewin of Frithgar, Frithgar of Brand, Brand of Balday, and Balday of Woden. Thisyear came Augustine and his companions to England. (17)

A. D. 601. This year Pope Gregory sent the pall to ArchbishopAugustine in Britain, with very many learned doctors to assisthim; and Bishop Paulinus converted Edwin, king of theNorthumbrians, to baptism. 

A. D. 603. This year Aeden, king of the Scots, fought with theDalreathians, and with Ethelfrith, king of the Northumbrians, atTheakstone; where he lost almost all his army. Theobald also, brother of Ethelfrith, with his whole armament, was slain. Noneof the Scottish kings durst afterwards bring an army against thisnation. Hering, the son of Hussa, led the army thither. 

((A. D. 603. This year Aethan, King of the Scots, fought againstthe Dalreods and against Ethelfrith, king of the North-humbrians, at Daegsanstane [Dawston?], and they slew almost all his army. There Theodbald, Ethelfrith's brother, was slain with all hisband. Since then no king of the Scots has dared to lead an armyagainst this nation. Hering, the son of Hussa, led the enemythither. ))

A. D. 604. This year Augustine consecrated two bishops, Mellitusand Justus. Mellitus he sent to preach baptism to theEast-Saxons. Their king was called Seabert, the son of Ricola, Ethelbert's sister, whom Ethelbert placed there as king. Ethelbert also gave Mellitus the bishopric of London; and toJustus he gave the bishopric of Rochester, which is twenty-fourmiles from Canterbury. 

((A. D. 604. This year Augustine consecrated two bishops, Mellitus and Justus. He sent Mellitus to preach baptism to theEast-Saxons, whose king was called Sebert, son of Ricole, thesister of Ethelbert, and whom Ethelbert had there appointed king. And Ethelbert gave Mellitus a bishop's see in London, and toJustus he gave Rochester, which is twenty-four miles fromCanterbury. ))

A. D. 606. This year died Gregory; about ten years since he sentus baptism. His father was called Gordianus, and his motherSilvia. 

A. D. 607. This year Ceolwulf fought with the South-Saxons. AndEthelfrith led his army to Chester; where he slew an innumerablehost of the Welsh; and so was fulfilled the prophecy ofAugustine, wherein he saith "If the Welsh will not have peacewith us, they shall perish at the hands of the Saxons. " Therewere also slain two hundred priests, (18) who came thither topray for the army of the Welsh. Their leader was calledBrocmail, who with some fifty men escaped thence. 

A. D. 611. This year Cynegils succeeded to the government inWessex, and held it one and thirty winters. Cynegils was the sonof Ceol, Ceol of Cutha, Cutha of Cynric. 

A. D. 614. This year Cynegils and Cwichelm fought at Bampton, andslew two thousand and forty-six of the Welsh. 

A. D. 616. This year died Ethelbert, king of Kent, the first ofEnglish kings that received baptism: he was the son of Ermenric. He reigned fifty-six winters, and was succeeded by his sonEadbald. And in this same year had elapsed from the beginning ofthe world five thousand six hundred and eighteen winters. ThisEadbald renounced his baptism, and lived in a heathen manner; sothat he took to wife the relict of his father. Then Laurentius, who was archbishop in Kent, meant to depart southward over sea, and abandon everything. But there came to him in the night theapostle Peter, and severely chastised him, (19) because he wouldso desert the flock of God. And he charged him to go to theking, and teach him the right belief. And he did so; and theking returned to the right belief. In this king's days the sameLaurentius, who was archbishop in Kent after Augustine, departedthis life on the second of February, and was buried nearAugustine. The holy Augustine in his lifetime invested himbishop, to the end that the church of Christ, which yet was newin England, should at no time after his decease be without anarchbishop. After him Mellitus, who was first Bishop of London, succeeded to the archbishopric. The people of London, whereMellitus was before, were then heathens: and within five wintersof this time, during the reign of Eadbald, Mellitus died. To himsucceeded Justus, who was Bishop of Rochester, whereto heconsecrated Romanus bishop. 

((A. D. 616. In that time Laurentius was archbishop, and for thesorrowfulness which he had on account of the king's unbelief hewas minded to forsake this country entirely, and go over sea; butSt. Peter the apostle scourged him sorely one night, because hewished thus to forsake the flock of God, and commanded him toteach boldly the true faith to the king; and he did so, and theking turned to the right (faith). In the days of this same king, Eadbald, this Laurentius died. The holy Augustine, while yet insound health, ordained him bishop, in order that the community ofChrist, which was yet new in England, should not after hisdecease be at any time without an archbishop. After himMellitus, who had been previously Bishop of London, succeeded tothe archbishopric. And within five years of the decease ofLaurentius, while Eadbald still reigned, Mellitus departed toChrist. ))

A. D. 617. This year was Ethelfrith, king of the Northumbrians, slain by Redwald, king of the East-Angles; and Edwin, the son ofElla, having succeeded to the kingdom, subdued all Britain, except the men of Kent alone, and drove out the Ethelings, thesons of Ethelfrith, namely, Enfrid. Oswald, Oswy, Oslac, Oswood. Oslaf, and Offa. 

A. D. 624. This year died Archbishop Mellitus. 

A. D. 625. This year Paulinus was invested bishop of theNorthumbrians, by Archbishop Justus, on the twelfth day beforethe calends of August. 

((A. D. 625. This year Archbishop Justus consecrated Paulinusbishop of the North-humbrians. ))

A. D. 626. This year came Eamer from Cwichelm, king of theWest-Saxons, with a design to assassinate King Edwin; but he killedLilla his thane, and Forthere, and wounded the king. The samenight a daughter was born to Edwin, whose name was Eanfleda. Then promised the king to Paulinus, that he would devote hisdaughter to God, if he would procure at the hand of God, that hemight destroy his enemy, who had sent the assassin to him. Hethen advanced against the West-Saxons with an army, felled on thespot five kings, and slew many of their men. This year Eanfleda, the daughter of King Edwin, was baptized, on the holy eve ofPentecost. And the king within twelve months was baptized, atEaster, with all his people. Easter was then on the twelfth ofApril. This was done at York, where he had ordered a church tobe built of timber, which was hallowed in the name of St. Peter. There the king gave the bishopric to Paulinus; and there heafterwards ordered a larger church to be built of stone. Thisyear Penda began to reign; and reigned thirty winters. He hadseen fifty winters when he began to reign. Penda was the son ofWybba, Wybba of Creoda, Creoda of Cynewald, Cynewald of Cnebba, Cnebba of Icel, Icel of Eomer, Eomer of Angelthew, Angelthew ofOffa, Offa of Wearmund, Wearmund of Whitley, Whitley of Woden. 

A. D. 627. This year was King Edwin baptized at Easter, with allhis people, by Paulinus, who also preached baptism in Lindsey, where the first person who believed was a certain rich man, ofthe name of Bleek, with all his people. At this time Honoriussucceeded Boniface in the papacy, and sent hither to Paulinus thepall; and Archbishop Justus having departed this life on thetenth of November, Honorius was consecrated at Lincoln Archbishopof Canterbury by Paulinus; and Pope Honorius sent him the pall. And he sent an injunction to the Scots, that they should returnto the right celebration of Easter. 

((A. D. 627. This year, at Easter, Paulinus baptized Edwin kingof the North-humbrians, with his people; and earlier within thesame year, at Pentecost, he had baptized Eanfled, daughter of thesame king. ))

A. D. 628. This year Cynegils and Cwichelm fought with Penda atCirencester, and afterwards entered into a treaty there. 

A. D. 632. This year was Orpwald baptized. 

A. D. 633. This year King Edwin was slain by Cadwalla and Penda, on Hatfield moor, on the fourteenth of October. He reignedseventeen years. His son Osfrid was also slain with him. Afterthis Cadwalla and Penda went and ravaged all the land of theNorthumbrians; which when Paulinus saw, he took Ethelburga, therelict of Edwin, and went by ship to Kent. Eadbald and Honoriusreceived him very honourably, and gave him the bishopric ofRochester, where he continued to his death. 

A. D. 634. This year Osric, whom Paulinus baptized, succeeded tothe government of Deira. He was the son of Elfric, the uncle ofEdwin. And to Bernicia succeeded Eanfrith, son of Ethelfrith. This year also Bishop Birinus first preached baptism to theWest-Saxons, under King Cynegils. The said Birinus went thither bythe command of Pope Honorius; and he was bishop there to the endof his life. Oswald also this year succeeded to the governmentof the Northumbrians, and reigned nine winters. The ninth yearwas assigned to him on account of the heathenism in which thoselived who reigned that one year betwixt him and Edwin. 

A. D. 635. This year King Cynegils was baptized by Bishop Birinusat Dorchester; and Oswald, king of the Northumbrians, was hissponsor. 

A. D. 636. This year King Cwichelm was baptized at Dorchester, and died the same year. Bishop Felix also preached to theEast-Angles the belief of Christ. 

A. D. 639. This year Birinus baptized King Cuthred at Dorchester, and received him as his son. 

A. D. 640. This year died Eadbald, King of Kent, after a reign oftwenty-five winters. He had two sons, Ermenred and Erkenbert;and Erkenbert reigned there after his father. He overturned allthe idols in the kingdom, and first of English kings appointed afast before Easter. His daughter was called Ercongota--holydamsel of an illustrious sire! whose mother was Sexburga, thedaughter of Anna, king of the East-Angles. Ermenred also begattwo sons, who were afterwards martyred by Thunnor. 

A. D. 642. This year Oswald, king of the Northumbrians, was slainby Penda, king of the Southumbrians, at Mirfield, on the fifthday of August; and his body was buried at Bardney. His holinessand miracles were afterwards displayed on manifold occasionsthroughout this island; and his hands remain still uncorrupted atBarnburgh. The same year in which Oswald was slain, Oswy hisbrother succeeded to the government of the Northumbrians, andreigned two less than thirty years. 

A. D. 643. This year Kenwal succeeded to the kingdom of theWest-Saxons, and held it one and thirty winters. This Kenwal orderedthe old (20) church at Winchester to be built in the name of St. Peter. He was the son of Cynegils. 

A. D. 644. This year died at Rochester, on the tenth of October, Paulinus, who was first Archbishop at York, and afterwards atRochester. He was bishop nineteen winters, two months, and oneand twenty days. This year the son of Oswy's uncle (Oswin), theson of Osric, assumed the government of Deira, and reigned sevenwinters. 

A. D. 645. This year King Kenwal was driven from his dominion byKing Penda. 

A. D. 646. This year King Kenwal was baptized. 

A. D. 648. This year Kenwal gave his relation Cuthred threethousand hides of land by Ashdown. Cuthred was the son ofCwichelm, Cwichelm of Cynegils. 

A. D. 650. This year Egelbert, from Gaul, after Birinus theRomish bishop, obtained the bishopric of the West-Saxons. 

((A. D. 650. This year Birinus the bishop died, and Agilbert theFrenchman was ordained. ))

A. D. 651. This year King Oswin was slain, on the twentieth dayof August; and within twelve nights afterwards died Bishop Aidan, on the thirty-first of August. 

A. D. 652. This year Kenwal fought at Bradford by the Avon. 

A. D. 653. This year, the Middle-Angles under alderman Peadareceived the right belief. 

A. D. 654. This year King Anna was slain, and Botolph began tobuild that minster at Icanhoe. This year also died ArchbishopHonorius, on the thirtieth of September. 

A. D. 655. This year Penda was slain at Wingfield, and thirtyroyal personages with him, some of whom were kings. One of themwas Ethelhere, brother of Anna, king of the East-Angles. TheMercians after this became Christians. From the beginning of theworld had now elapsed five thousand eight hundred and fiftywinters, when Peada, the son of Penda, assumed the government ofthe Mercians. In his time came together himself and Oswy, brother of King Oswald, and said, that they would rear a minsterto the glory of Christ, and the honour of St. Peter. And theydid so, and gave it the name of Medhamsted; because there is awell there, called Meadswell. And they began the groundwall, andwrought thereon; after which they committed the work to a monk, whose name was Saxulf. He was very much the friend of God, andhim also loved all people. He was nobly born in the world, andrich: he is now much richer with Christ. But King Peada reignedno while; for he was betrayed by his own queen, in Easter-tide. This year Ithamar, Bishop of Rochester, consecrated Deus-dedit toCanterbury, on the twenty-sixth day of March. 

A. D. 656. This year was Peada slain; and Wulfhere, son of Penda, succeeded to the kingdom of the Mercians. In his time waxed theabbey of Medhamsted very rich, which his brother had begun. Theking loved it much, for the love of his brother Peada, and forthe love of his wed-brother Oswy, and for the love of Saxulf theabbot. He said, therefore, that he would dignify and honour itby the counsel of his brothers, Ethelred and Merwal; and by thecounsel of his sisters, Kyneburga and Kyneswitha; and by thecounsel of the archbishop, who was called Deus-dedit; and by thecounsel of all his peers, learned and lewd, that in his kingdomwere. And he so did. Then sent the king after the abbot, thathe should immediately come to him. And he so did. Then said theking to the abbot: "Beloved Saxulf, I have sent after thee forthe good of my soul; and I will plainly tell thee for why. Mybrother Peada and my beloved friend Oswy began a minster, for thelove of Christ and St. Peter: but my brother, as Christ willed, is departed from this life; I will therefore intreat thee, beloved friend, that they earnestly proceed on their work; and Iwill find thee thereto gold and silver, land and possessions, andall that thereto behoveth. " Then went the abbot home, and beganto work. So he sped, as Christ permitted him; so that in a fewyears was that minster ready. Then, when the king heard saythat, he was very glad; and bade men send through all the nation, after all his thanes; after the archbishop, and after bishops:and after his earls; and after all those that loved God; thatthey should come to him. And he fixed the day when men shouldhallow the minster. And when they were hallowing the minster, there was the king, Wulfere, and his brother Ethelred, and hissisters, Kyneburga and Kyneswitha. And the minster was hallowedby Archbishop Deusdedit of Canterbury; and the Bishop ofRochester, Ithamar; and the Bishop of London, who was calledWina; and the Bishop of the Mercians, whose name was Jeruman; andBishop Tuda. And there was Wilfrid, priest, that after wasbishop; and there were all his thanes that were in his kingdom. When the minster was hallowed, in the name of St. Peter, and St. Paul, and St. Andrew, then stood up the king before all histhanes, and said with a loud voice: "Thanks be to the highalmighty God for this worship that here is done; and I will thisday glorify Christ and St. Peter, and I will that you all confirmmy words. --I Wulfere give to-day to St. Peter, and the AbbotSaxulf, and the monks of the minster, these lands, and thesewaters, and meres, and fens, and weirs, and all the lands thatthereabout lye, that are of my kingdom, freely, so that no manhave there any ingress, but the abbot and the monks. This is thegift. From Medhamsted to Northborough; and so to the place thatis called Foleys; and so all the fen, right to Ashdike; and fromAshdike to the place called Fethermouth; and so in a right lineten miles long to Ugdike; and so to Ragwell; and from Ragwellfive miles to the main river that goeth to Elm and to Wisbeach;and so about three miles to Trokenholt; and from Trokenholt rightthrough all the fen to Derworth; that is twenty miles long; andso to Great Cross; and from Great Cross through a clear watercalled Bradney; and thence six miles to Paxlade; and so forththrough all the meres and fens that lye toward Huntingdon-port;and the meres and lakes Shelfermere and Wittlesey mere, and allthe others that thereabout lye; with land and with houses thatare on the east side of Shelfermere; thence all the fens toMedhamsted; from Medhamsted all to Welmsford; from Welmsford toClive; thence to Easton; from Easton to Stamford; from Stamfordas the water runneth to the aforesaid Northborough. "--These arethe lands and the fens that the king gave unto St. Peter'sminster. --Then quoth the king: "It is little--this gift--but I will that they hold it so royally and so freely, that therebe taken there from neither gild nor gable, but for the monksalone. Thus I will free this minster; that it be not subjectexcept to Rome alone; and hither I will that we seek St. Peter, all that to Rome cannot go. " During these words the abbotdesired that he would gant him his request. And the king grantedit. "I have here (said he) some good monks that would lead theirlife in retirement, if they wist where. Now here is an island, that is called Ankerig; and I will request, that we may therebuild a minster to the honour of St. Mary; that they may dwellthere who will lead their lives in peace and tranquillity. " Thenanswered the king, and quoth thus: "Beloved Saxulf, not that onlywhich thou desirest, but all things that I know thou desirest inour Lord's behalf, so I approve, and grant. And I bid thee, brother Ethelred, and my sisters, Kyneburga and Kyneswitha, forthe release of your souls, that you be witnesses, and that yousubscribe it with your fingers. And I pray all that come afterme, be they my sons, be they my brethren, or kings that comeafter me, that our gift may stand; as they would be partakers ofthe life everlasting, and as they would avoid everlastingpunishment. Whoso lesseneth our gift, or the gift of other goodmen, may the heavenly porter lessen him in the kingdom of heaven;and whoso advanceth it, may the heavenly porter advance him inthe kingdom of heaven. " These are the witnesses that were there, and that subscribed it with their fingers on the cross of Christ, and confirmed it with their tongues. That was, first the king, Wulfere, who confirmed it first with his word, and afterwardswrote with his finger on the cross of Christ, saying thus: "IWulfere, king, in the presence of kings, and of earls, and ofcaptains, and of thanes, the witnesses of my gift, before theArchbishop Deus-dedit, I confirm it with the cross of Christ. "(+)--"And I Oswy, king of the Northumbrians, the friend of thisminster, and o[oe] the Abbot Saxulf, commend it with the cross ofChrist. " (+)--"And I Sighere, king, ratify it with the cross ofChrist. " (+)--"And I Sibbi, king, subscribe it with the crossof Christ. " (+)--"And I Ethelred, the king's brother, grantedthe same with the cross of Christ. " (+)--"And we, the king'ssisters, Kyneburga and Kyneswitha, approve it. "--"And IArchbishop of Canterbury, Deus-dedit, ratify it. "--Thenconfirmed it all the others that were there with the cross ofChrist (+): namely, Ithamar, Bishop of Rochester; Wina, Bishop ofLondon; Jeruman, Bishop of the Mercians; and Tuda, bishop; andWilfrid, priest, who was afterwards bishop; and Eoppa, priest, whom the king, Wulfere, sent to preach christianity in the Isleof Wight; and Saxulf, abbot; and Immine, alderman, and Edbert, alderman, and Herefrith, alderman, and Wilbert, alderman, andAbo, alderman; Ethelbald, Brord, Wilbert, Elmund, Frethegis. These, and many others that were there, the king's most loyalsubjects, confirmed it all. This charter was written after ourLord's Nativity 664--the seventh year of King Wulfere--theninth year of Archbishop Deus-dedir. Then they laid God's curse, and the curse of all saints, and all christian folks, onwhosoever undid anything that there was done. "So be it, " saithall. "Amen. "--When this thing was done, then sent the king toRome to the Pope Vitalianus that then was, and desired, that hewould ratify with his writ and with his blessing, all thisaforesaid thing. And the pope then sent his writ, thus saying:"I Vitalianus, pope, grant thee, King Wulfere, and Deus-dedit, archbishop, and Abbot Saxulf, all the things that you desire. And I forbid, that any king, or any man, have any ingress, butthe abbot alone; nor shall he be Subject to any man, except thePope of Rome and the Archbishop of Canterbury. If any onebreaketh anything of this, St. Peter with his sword destroy him. Whosoever holdeth it, St. Peter with heaven's key undo him thekingdom of heaven. "--Thus was the minster of Medhamsted begun, that was afterwards called Peter-borough. Afterwards cameanother archbishop to Canterbury, who was called Theodorus; avery good man and wise; and held his synod with his bishops andwith his clerk. There was Wilfrid, bishop of the Mercians, deprived of his bishopric; and Saxulf, abbot, was there chosenbishop; and Cuthbald, monk of the same minster, was chosen abbot. This synod was holden after our Lord's Nativity six hundred andseventy-three winters. 

A. D. 658. This year Kenwal fought with the Welsh at Pen, andpursued them to the Parret. This battle was fought after hisreturn from East-Anglia, where he was three years in exile. Penda had driven him thither and deprived him of his kingdom, because he had discarded his sister. 

A. D. 660. This year Bishop Egelbert departed from Kenwal; andWina held the bishopric three years. And Egbert accepted thebishopric of Paris, in Gaul, by the Seine. 

A. D. 661. This year, at Easter, Kenwal fought at Pontesbury; andWulfere, the son of Penda, pursued him as far as Ashdown. Cuthred, the son of Cwichelm, and King Kenbert, died in one year. Into the Isle of Wight also Wulfere, the son of Penda, penetrated, and transferred the inhabitants to Ethelwald, king ofthe South-Saxons, because Wulfere adopted him in baptism. AndEoppa, a mass-priest, by command of Wilfrid and King Wulfere, wasthe first of men who brought baptism to the people of the Isle ofWight. 

A. D. 664. This year the sun was eclipsed, on the eleventh ofMay; and Erkenbert, King of Kent, having died, Egbert his sonsucceeded to the kingdom. Colman with his companions this yearreturned to his own country. This same year there was a greatplague in the island Britain, in which died Bishop Tuda, who wasburied at Wayleigh--Chad and Wilferth were consecrated--AndArchbishop Deus-dedit died. 

A. D. 667. This year Oswy and Egbert sent Wighard, a priest, toRome, that he might be consecrated there Archbishop ofCanterbury; but he died as soon as he came thither. 

((A. D. 667. This year Wighard went to Rome, even as King Oswy, and Egbert had sent him. ))

A. D. 668. This year Theodore was consecrated archbishop, andsent into Britain. 

A. D. 669. This year King Egbert gave to Bass, a mass-priest, Reculver--to build a minster upon. 

A. D. 670. This year died Oswy, King of Northumberland, on thefifteenth day before the calends of March; and Egferth his sonreigned after him. Lothere, the nephew of Bishop Egelbert, succeeded to the bishopric over the land of the West-Saxons, andheld it seven years. He was consecrated by Archbishop Theodore. Oswy was the son of Ethelfrith, Ethelfrith of Ethelric, Ethelricof Ida, Ida of Eoppa. 

A. D. 671. This year happened that great destruction among thefowls. 

A. D. 672. This year died King Cenwal; and Sexburga his queenheld the government one year after him. 

A. D. 673. This year died Egbert, King of Kent; and the same yearthere was a synod at Hertford; and St. Etheldritha began thatmonastery at Ely. 

A. D. 674. This year Escwin succeeded to the kingdom of Wessex. He was the son of Cenfus, Cenfus of Cenferth, Cenferth ofCuthgils, Cuthgils of Ceolwulf, Ceolwulf of Cynric, Cynric ofCerdic. 

A. D. 675. This year Wulfere, the son of Penda, and Escwin, theson of Cenfus, fought at Bedwin. The same year died Wulfere, andEthelred succeeded to the government. In his time sent he toRome Bishop Wilfrid to the pope that then was, called Agatho, andtold him by word and by letter, how his brothers Peada andWulfere, and the Abbot Saxulf, had wrought a minster, calledMedhamsted; and that they had freed it, against king and againstbishop, from every service; and he besought him that he wouldconfirm it with his writ and with his blessing. And the popesent then his writ to England, thus saying: "I Agatho, Pope ofRome, greet well the worthy Ethelred, king of the Mercians, andthe Archbishop Theodorus of Canterbury, and Saxulf, the bishop ofthe Mercians, who before was abbot, and all the abbots that arein England; God's greeting and my blessing. I have heard thepetition of King Ethelred, and of the Archbishop Theodorus, andof the Bishop Saxulf, and of the Abbot Cuthbald; and I will it, that it in all wise be as you have spoken it. And I ordain, inbehalf of God, and of St. Peter, and of all saints, and of everyhooded head, that neither king, nor bishop, nor earl, nor any manwhatever, have any claim, or gable, or gild, or levy, or take anyservice of any kind, from the abbey of Medhamsted. I commandalso, that no shire-bishop be so bold as to hold an ordination orconsecration within this abbacy, except the abbot intreat him, nor have there any claim to proxies, or synodals, or anythingwhatever of any kind. And I will, that the abbot be holden forlegate of Rome over all that island; and whatever abbot is therechosen by the monks that he be consecrated by the Archbishop ofCanterbury. I will and decree, that, whatever man may have madea vow to go to Rome, and cannot perform it, either frominfirmity, or for his lord's need, or from poverty, or from anyother necessity of any kind whatever, whereby he cannot comethither, be he of England, or of whatever other island he be, hemay come to that minster of Medhamsted, and have the sameforgiveness of Christ and St. Peter, and of the abbot, and of themonks, that he should have if he went to Rome. Now bid I thee, brother Theodorus, that thou let it be proclaimed through allEngland, that a synod be gathered, and this writ be read andobserved. Also I tell thee, Bishop Saxulf, that, as thoudesirest it, that the minster be free, so I forbid thee, and allthe bishops that after thee come, from Christ and from all hissaints, that ye have no demand from that minster, except so muchas the abbot will. Now will I say in a word, that, whoso holdeththis writ and this decree, then be he ever dwelling with GodAlmighty in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso breaketh it, thenbe he excommunicated, and thrust down with Judas, and with allthe devils in hell, except he come to repentance. Amen!" Thiswrit sent the Pope Agatho, and a hundred and twenty-five bishops, by Wilfrid, Archbishop of York, to England. This was done afterour Lord's Nativity 680, the sixth year of King Ethelred. Thenthe king commanded the Archbishop Theodorus, that he shouldappoint a general Wittenmoot at the place called Hatfield. Whenthey were there collected, then he allowed the letter to be readthat the pope sent thither; and all ratified and confirmed it. Then said the king: "All things that my brother Peada, and mybrother Wulfere, and my sisters, Kyneburga and Kyneswitha, gaveand granted to St. Peter and the abbot, these I will may stand;and I will in my day increase it, for their souls and for mysoul. Now give I St. Peter to-day into his minster, Medhamsted, these lands, and all that thereto lyeth; that is, Bredon, Repings, Cadney, Swineshead, Hanbury, Lodeshall, Scuffanhall, Cosford, Stratford, Wattleburn, Lushgard, Ethelhun-island, Bardney. These lands I give St. Peter just as freely as Ipossessed them myself; and so, that none of my successors takeanything therefrom. Whoso doeth it, have he the curse of thePope of Rome, and the curse of all bishops, and of all those thatare witnesses here. And this I confirm with the token ofChrist. " (+) "I Theodorus, Archbishop of Canterbury, am witnessto this charter of Medhamsted; and I ratify it with my hand, andI excommunicate all that break anything thereof; and I bless allthat hold it. " (+) "I Wilfrid, Archbishop of York, am witness tothis charter; and I ratify this same curse. " (+) "I Saxulf, whowas first abbot, and now am bishop, I give my curse, and that ofall my successors, to those who break this. "--"I Ostritha, Ethelred's queen, confirm it. "--"I Adrian, legate, ratify it. "--"IPutta, Bishop of Rochester, subscribe it. "--"I Waldhere, Bishop of London, confirm it. "--"I Cuthbald, abbot, ratify it;so that, whoso breaketh it, have he the cursing of all bishopsand of all christian folk. Amen. "

A. D. 676. This year, in which Hedda succeeded to his bishopric, Escwin died; and Centwin obtained the government of theWest-Saxons. Centwin was the son of Cynegils, Cynegils of Ceolwulf. Ethelred, king of the Mercians, in the meantime, overran the landof Kent. 

A. D. 678. This year appeared the comet-star in August, and shoneevery morning, during three months, like a sunbeam. BishopWilfrid being driven from his bishopric by King Everth, twobishops were consecrated in his stead, Bosa over the Deirians, and Eata over the Bernicians. About the same time also Eadhedwas consecrated bishop over the people of Lindsey, being thefirst in that division. 

A. D. 679. This year Elwin was slain, by the river Trent, on thespot where Everth and Ethelred fought. This year also died St. Etheldritha; and the monastery of Coldingiham was destroyed byfire from heaven. 

A. D. 680. This year Archbishop Theodore appointed a synod atHatfield; because he was desirous of rectifying the belief ofChrist; and the same year died Hilda, Abbess of Whitby. 

A. D. 681. This year Trumbert was consecrated Bishop of Hexham, and Trumwin bishop of the Picts; for they were at that timesubject to this country. This year also Centwin pursued theBritons to the sea. 

A. D. 684. This year Everth sent an army against the Scots, underthe command of his alderman, Bright, who lamentably plundered andburned the churches of God. 

A. D. 685. This year King Everth commanded Cuthbert to beconsecrated a bishop; and Archbishop Theodore, on the first dayof Easter, consecrated him at York Bishop of Hexham; for Trumberthad been deprived of that see. The same year Everth was slain bythe north sea, and a large army with him, on the thirteenth daybefore the calends of June. He continued king fifteen winters;and his brother Elfrith succeeded him in the government. Everthwas the son of Oswy. Oswy of Ethelferth, Ethelferth of Ethelric, Ethelric of Ida, Ida of Eoppa. About this time Ceadwall began tostruggle for a kingdom. Ceadwall was the son of Kenbert, Kenbertof Chad, Chad of Cutha, Cutha of Ceawlin, Ceawlin of Cynric, Cynric of Cerdic. Mull, who was afterwards consigned to theflames in Kent, was the brother of Ceadwall. The same year diedLothhere, King of Kent; and John was consecrated Bishop ofHexham, where he remained till Wilferth was restored, when Johnwas translated to York on the death of Bishop Bosa. Wilferth hispriest was afterwards consecrated Bishop of York, and Johnretired to his monastery (21) in the woods of Delta. This yearthere was in Britain a bloody rain, and milk and butter wereturned to blood. 

((A. D. 685. And in this same year Cuthbert was consecratedBishop of Hexham by Archbishop Theodore at York, because BishopTumbert had been driven from the bishopric. ))

A. D. 686. This year Ceadwall and his brother Mull spreaddevastation in Kent and the Isle of Wight. This same Ceadwallgave to St. Peter's minster, at Medhamsted, Hook; which issituated in an island called Egborough. Egbald at this time wasabbot, who was the third after Saxulf; and Theodore wasarchbishop in Kent. 

A. D. 687. This year was Mull consigned to the flames in Kent, and twelve other men with him; after which, in the same year, Ceadwall overran the kingdom of Kent. 

A. D. 688. This year Ceadwall went to Rome, and received baptismat the hands of Sergius the pope, who gave him the name of Peter;but in the course of seven nights afterwards, on the twelfth daybefore the calends of May, he died in his crisom-cloths, and wasburied in the church of St. Peter. To him succeeded Ina in thekingdom of Wessex, and reigned thirty-seven winters. He foundedthe monastery of Glastonbury; after which he went to Rome, andcontinued there to the end of his life. Ina was the son ofCenred, Cenred of Ceolwald; Ceolwald was the brother of Cynegils;and both were the sons of Cuthwin, who was the son of Ceawlin;Ceawlin was the son of Cynric, and Cynric of Cerdic. 

((A. D. 688. This year King Caedwalla went to Rome, and receivedbaptism of Pope Sergius, and he gave him the name of Peter, andin about seven days afterwards, on the twelfth before the kalendsof May, while he was yet in his baptismal garments, he died: andhe was buried in St. Peter's church. And Ina succeeded to thekingdom of the West-Saxons after him, and he reigned twenty-sevenyears. ))

A. D. 690. This year Archbishop Theodore, who had been bishoptwenty-two winters, departed this life, (22) and was buriedwithin the city of Canterbury. Bertwald, who before this wasabbot of Reculver, on the calends of July succeeded him in thesee; which was ere this filled by Romish bishops, but henceforthwith English. Then were there two kings in Kent, Wihtred andWebherd. 

A. D. 693. This year was Bertwald consecrated archbishop byGodwin, bishop of the Gauls, on the fifth day before the nones ofJuly; about which time died Gifmund, who was Bishop of Rochester;and Archbishop Bertwald consecrated Tobias in his stead. Thisyear also Dryhtelm (23) retired from the world. 

A. D. 694. This year the people of Kent covenanted with Ina, andgave him 30, 000 pounds in friendship, because they had burned hisbrother Mull. Wihtred, who succeeded to the kingdom of Kent, andheld it thirty-three winters, was the son of Egbert, Egbert ofErkenbert, Erkenbert of Eadbald, Eadbald of Ethelbert. And assoon as he was king, he ordained a great council to meet in theplace that is called Bapchild; in which presided Wihtred, King ofKent, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Brihtwald, and Bishop Tobiasof Rochester; and with him were collected abbots and abbesses, and many wise men, all to consult about the advantage of God'schurches that are in Kent. Now began the king to speak, andsaid, "I will that all the minsters and the churches, that weregiven and bequeathed to the worship of God in the days ofbelieving kings, my predecessors, and in the days of my relationsof King Ethelbert and of those that followed him--shall soremain to the worship of God, and stand fast for evermore. For IWihtred, earthly king, urged on by the heavenly king, and withthe spirit of righteousness annealed, have of our progenitorslearned this, that no layman should have any right to possesshimself of any church or of any of the things that belong to thechurch. And, therefore, strongly and truly, we set and decree, and in the name of Almighty God, and of all saints, we forbid allour succeeding kings, and aldermen, and all lawmen, ever, anylordship over churches, and over all their appurtenances, which Ior my elders in old days have given for a perpetual inheritanceto the glory of Christ and our Lady St. Mary, and the holyapostles. And look! when it happeneth, that bishop, or abbot, or abbess, depart from this life, be it told the archbishop, andwith his counsel and injunction be chosen such as be worthy. Andthe life of him, that shall be chosen to so holy a thing, let thearchbishop examine, and his cleanness; and in no wise be chosenany one, or to so holy a thing consecrated, without thearchbishop's counsel. Kings shall appoint earls, and aldermen, sheriffs, and judges; but the archbishop shall consult andprovide for God's flock: bishops, and abbots, and abbesses, andpriests, and deacons, he shall choose and appoint; and alsosanctify and confirm with good precepts and example, lest thatany of God's flock go astray and perish--"

A. D. 697. This year the Southumbrians slew Ostritha, the queenof Ethelred, the sister of Everth. 

A. D. 699. This year the Picts slew Alderman Burt. 

A. D. 702. This year Kenred assumed the government of theSouthumbrians. 

A. D. 703. This year died Bishop Hedda, having held the see ofWinchester twenty-seven winters. 

A. D. 704. This year Ethelred, the son of Penda, King of Mercia, entered into a monastic life, having reigned twenty-nine winters;and Cenred succeeded to the government. 

A. D. 705. This year died Ealdferth, king of the Northumbrians, on the nineteenth day before the calends of January, atDriffield; and was succeeded by his son Osred. Bishop Saxulfalso died the same year. 

A. D. 709. This year died Aldhelm, who was bishop by Westwood. The land of the West-Saxons was divided into two bishoprics inthe first days of Bishop Daniel; who held one whilst Aldhelm heldthe other. Before this it was only one. Forthere succeeded toAldhelm; and Ceolred succeeded to the kingdom of Mercia. AndCenred went to Rome; and Offa with him. And Cenred was there tothe end of his life. The same year died Bishop Wilferth, atOundle, but his body was carried to Ripon. He was the bishopwhom King Everth compelled to go to Rome. 

A. D. 710. This year Acca, priest of Wilferth, succeeded to thebishopric that Wilferth ere held; and Alderman Bertfrith foughtwith the Picts between Heugh and Carau. Ina also, and Nun hisrelative, fought with Grant, king of the Welsh; and the same yearHibbald was slain. 

A. D. 714. This year died Guthlac the holy, and King Pepin. 

A. D. 715. This year Ina and Ceolred fought at Wanborough; (24)and King Dagobert departed this life. 

A. D. 716. This year Osred, king of the Northumbrians, was slainnear the southern borders. He reigned eleven winters afterEaldferth. Cenred then succeeded to the government, and held ittwo years; then Osric, who held it eleven years. This same yeardied Ceolred, king of the Mercians. His body lies at Lichfield;but that of Ethelred, the son of Penda, at Bardney. Ethelbaldthen succeeded to the kingdom of Mercia, and held it one andforty winters. Ethelbald was the son of Alwy, Alwy of Eawa, Eawaof Webba, whose genealogy is already written. The venerableEgbert about this time converted the monks of Iona to the rightfaith, in the regulation of Easter, and the ecclesiasticaltonsure. 

A. D. 718. This year died Ingild, the brother of Ina. Cwenburgaand Cuthburga were their sisters. Cuthburga reared the monasteryof Wimburn; and, though given in marriage to Ealdferth, King ofNorthumberland, they parted during their lives. 

A. D. 721. This year Bishop Daniel went to Rome; and the sameyear Ina slew Cynewulf, the etheling. This year also died theholy Bishop John; who was bishop thirty-three years, and eightmonths, and thirteen days. His body now resteth at Beverley. 

A. D. 722. This year Queen Ethelburga destroyed Taunton, whichIna had formerly built; Ealdbert wandered a wretched exile inSurrey and Sussex; and Ina fought with the South-Saxons. 

A. D. 725. This year died Wihtred, King of Kent, on the ninth daybefore the calends of May, after a reign of thirty-two winters. His pedigree is above; and he was succeeded by Eadbert. Ina thisyear also fought with the South-Saxons, and slew Ealdbert, theetheling, whom he had before driven into exile. 

A. D. 727. This year died Tobias, Bishop of Rochester: andArchbishop Bertwald consecrated Aldulf bishop in his stead. 

A. D. 728. This year (25) Ina went to Rome, and there gave up theghost. He was succeeded in the kingdom of Wessex by Ethelhardhis relative, who held it fourteen years; but he fought this sameyear with Oswald the etheling. Oswald was the son of Ethelbald, Ethelbald of Cynebald, Cynebald of Cuthwin, Cuthwin of Ceawlin. 

A. D. 729. This year appeared the comet-star, and St. Egbert diedin Iona. This year also died the etheling Oswald; and Osric wasslain, who was eleven winters king of Northumberland; to whichkingdom Ceolwulf succeeded, and held it eight years. The saidCeolwulf was the son of Cutha, Cutha of Cuthwin, Cuthwin ofLeodwald, Leodwald of Egwald, Egwald of Ealdhelm, Ealdhelm ofOcca, Occa of Ida, Ida of Eoppa. Archbishop Bertwald died thisyear on the ides of January. He was bishop thirty-seven winters, and six months, and fourteen days. The same year Tatwine, whowas before a priest at Bredon in Mercia, was consecratedarchbishop by Daniel Bishop of Winchester, Ingwald Bishop ofLondon, Aldwin Bishop of Lichfield, and Aldulf Bishop ofRochester, on the tenth day of June. He enjoyed thearchbishopric about three years. 

((A. D. 729. And the same year Osric died; he was king elevenyears; then Ceolwulf succeeded to the kingdom, and held it eightyears. ))

A. D. 733. This year Ethelbald took Somerton; the sun waseclipsed; and Acca was driven from his bishopric. 

A. D. 734. This year was the moon as if covered with blood; andArchbishop Tatwine and Bede departed this life; and Egbert wasconsecrated bishop. 

A. D. 735. This year Bishop Egbert received the pall at Rome. 

A. D. 736. This year Archbishop Nothelm received the pall fromthe bishop of the Romans. 

A. D. 737. This year Bishop Forthere and Queen Frithogitha wentto Rome; and King Ceolwulf received the clerical tonsure, givinghis kingdom to Edbert, his uncle's son: who reigned one andtwenty winters. Bishop Ethelwold and Acca died this year, andCynewulf was consecrated bishop. The same year also Ethelbaldravaged the land of the Northumbrians. 

A. D. 738. This year Eadbery, the son of Eata the son ofLeodwald, succeeded to the Northumbrian kingdom, and held it oneand twenty winters. Archbishop Egbert, the son of Eata, was hisbrother. They both rest under one porch in the city of York. 

A. D. 740. This year died King Ethelhard; and Cuthred, hisrelative, succeeded to the West-Saxon kingdom, which he heldfourteen winters, during which time he fought many hard battleswith Ethelbald, king of the Mercians. On the death of ArchbishopNothelm, Cuthbert was consecrated archbishop, and Dunn, Bishop ofRochester. This year York was on fire. 

A. D. 742. This year there was a large synod assembled atCliff's-Hoo; and there was Ethelbald, king of Mercia, withArchbishop Cuthbert, and many other wise men. 

A. D. 743. This year Ethelbald, king of Mercia, and Cuthred, kingof the West-Saxons, fought with the Welsh. 

A. D. 744. This year Daniel resigned the see of Winchester; towhich Hunferth was promoted. The stars went swiftly shooting;and Wilferth the younger, who had been thirty winters Bishop ofYork, died on the third day before the calends of May. 

A. D. 745. This year died Daniel. Forty-three winters had thenelapsed since he received the episcopal function. 

A. D. 746. This year was King Selred slain. 

A. D. 748. This year was slain Cynric, etheling of the West-Saxons;Edbert, King of Kent, died; and Ethelbert, son of King Wihtred, succeeded to the kingdom. 

A. D. 750. This year Cuthred, king of the West-Saxons, foughtwith the proud chief Ethelhun. 

A. D. 752. This year, the twelfth of his reign, Cuthred, king ofthe West-Saxons, fought at Burford (27) with Ethelbald, king ofthe Mercians, and put him to flight. 

A. D. 753. This year Cuthred, king of the West-Saxons, foughtagainst the Welsh. 

A. D. 754. This year died Cuthred, king of the West-Saxons; andSebright, his relative, succeeded to the kingdom, which he heldone year; Cyneard succeeded Humferth in the see of Winchester;and Canterbury was this year on fire. 

A. D. 755. This year Cynewulf, with the consent of the West-Saxoncouncil, deprived Sebright, his relative, for unrighteous deeds, of his kingdom, except Hampshire; which he retained, until heslew the alderman who remained the longest with him. ThenCynewulf drove him to the forest of Andred, where he remained, until a swain stabbed him at Privett, and revenged the alderman, Cumbra. The same Cynewulf fought many hard battles with theWelsh; and, about one and thirty winters after he had thekingdom, he was desirous of expelling a prince called Cyneard, who was the brother of Sebright. But he having understood thatthe king was gone, thinly attended, on a visit to a lady atMerton, (28) rode after him, and beset him therein; surroundingthe town without, ere the attendants of the king were aware ofhim. When the king found this, he went out of doors, anddefended himself with courage; till, having looked on theetheling, he rushed out upon him, and wounded him severely. Thenwere they all fighting against the king, until they had slainhim. As soon as the king's thanes in the lady's bower heard thetumult, they ran to the spot, whoever was then ready. Theetheling immediately offered them life and rewards; which none ofthem would accept, but continued fighting together against him, till they all lay dead, except one British hostage, and he wasseverely wounded. When the king's thanes that were behind heardin the morning that the king was slain, they rode to the spot, Osric his alderman, and Wiverth his thane, and the men that hehad left behind; and they met the etheling at the town, where theking lay slain. The gates, however, were locked against them, which they attempted to force; but he promised them their ownchoice of money and land, if they would grant him the kingdom;reminding them, that their relatives were already with him, whowould never desert him. To which they answered, that no relativecould be dearer to them than their lord, and that they wouldnever follow his murderer. Then they besought their relatives todepart from him, safe and sound. They replied, that the samerequest was made to their comrades that were formerly with theking; "And we are as regardless of the result, " they rejoined, "as our comrades who with the king were slain. " Then theycontinued fighting at the gates, till they rushed in, and slewthe etheling and all the men that were with him; except one, whowas the godson of the alderman, and whose life he spared, thoughhe was often wounded. This same Cynewulf reigned one and thirtywinters. His body lies at Winchester, and that of the ethelingat Axminster. Their paternal pedigree goeth in a direct line toCerdic. The same year Ethelbald, king of the Mercians, was slainat Seckington; and his body lies at Repton. He reigned one andforty years; and Bernred then succeeded to the kingdom, which heheld but a little while, and unprosperously; for King Offa thesame year put him to flight, and assumed the government; which heheld nine and thirty winters. His son Everth held it a hundredand forty days. Offa was the son of Thingferth, Thingferth ofEnwulf, Enwulf of Osmod, Osmod of Eawa, Eawa of Webba, Webba ofCreoda, Creoda of Cenwald, Cenwald of Cnebba, Cnebba of Icel, Icel of Eomer, Eomer of Angelthew, Angelthew of Offa, Offa ofWermund, Wermund of Witley, Witley of Woden. 

((A. D. 755. This year Cynewulf deprived King Sigebert of hiskingdom; and Sigebert's brother, Cynehard by name, slew Cynewulfat Merton; and he reigned thirty-one years. And in the same yearEthelbald, king of the Mercians, was slain at Repton. And Offasucceeded to the kingdom of the Mercians, Bernred being drivenout. ))

A. D. 757. This year Eadbert, king of the Northumbrians, receivedthe tonsure, and his son Osulf the kingdom; which he held oneyear. Him his own domestics slew on the ninth day before thekalends of August. 

A. D. 758. This year died Archbishop Cuthbert. He held thearchbishopric eighteen years. 

A. D. 759. This year Bregowin was invested archbishop atMichaelmas, and continued four years. Mull Ethelwold this yearsucceeded to the Northumbrian kingdom, held it six winters, andthen resigned it. 

A. D. 760. This year died Ethelbert, King of Kent, who was theson of King Wihtred, and also of Ceolwulf. 

A. D. 761. This year was the severe winter; and Mull, king of theNorthumbrians, slew Oswin at Edwin's-Cliff, on the eighth daybefore the ides of August. 

A. D. 762. This year died Archbishop Bregowin. 

A. D. 763. This year Eanbert was invested archbishop, on thefortieth day over mid-winter; and Frithwald, Bishop of Whitern, died on the nones of May. He was consecrated at York, on theeighteenth day before the calends of September, in the sixth yearof the reign of Ceolwulf, and was bishop nine and twenty winters. Then was Petwin consecrated Bishop of Whitern at Adlingfleet, onthe sixteenth day before the calends of August. 

A. D. 764. This year Archbishop Eanbert received the pall. 

A. D. 765. This year Alred succeeded to the kingdom of theNorthumbrians, and reigned eight winters. 

A. D. 766. This year died Archbishop Egbert at York, on thethirteenth day before the calends of December, who was bishopthirty-six winters; and Frithbert at Hexham, who was bishop therethirty-four winters. Ethelbert was consecrated to York, andElmund to Hexham. 

A. D. 768. This year died King Eadbert, the son of Eata, on thefourteenth day before the calends of September. 

A. D. 772. This year died Bishop Mildred. 

A. D. 774. This year the Northumbrians banished their king, Alred, from York at Easter-tide; and chose Ethelred, the son ofMull, for their lord, who reigned four winters. This year alsoappeared in the heavens a red crucifix, after sunset; theMercians and the men of Kent fought at Otford; and wonderfulserpents were seen in the land of the South-Saxons. 

A. D. 775. This year Cynewulf and Offa fought near Bensington, and Offa took possession of the town. In the days of this king, Offa, there was an abbot at Medhamsted, called Beonna; who, withthe consent of all the monks of the minster, let to farm, toAlderman Cuthbert, ten copyhold lands at Swineshead, with leasowand with meadow, and with all the appurtenances; provided thatthe said Cuthbert gave the said abbot fifty pounds therefore, andeach year entertainment for one night, or thirty shillings inmoney; (29) provided also, that after his decease the said landsshould revert to the monastery. The king, Offa, and King Everth, and Archbishop Hibbert, and Bishop Ceolwulf, and Bishop Inwona, and Abbot Beonna, and many other bishops, and abbots, and richmen, were witnesses to this. In the days of this same Offa wasan alderman, of the name of Brorda, who requested the king forhis sake to free his own monastery, called Woking, because hewould give it to Medhamsted and St. Peter, and the abbot thatthen was, whose name was Pusa. Pusa succeeded Beonna; and theking loved him much. And the king freed the monastery of Woking, against king, against bishop, against earl, and against all men'so that no man should have any claim there, except St. Peter andthe abbot. This was done at the king's town calledFree-Richburn. 

A. D. 776. This year died Bishop Petwin, on the thirteenth daybefore the calends of October, having been bishop fourteenwinters. The same year Ethelbert was consecrated Bishop ofWhitern, at York, on the seventeenth day before the calends ofJuly. 

A. D. 778. This year Ethelbald and Herbert slew threehigh-sheriffs--Eldulf, the son of Bosa, at Coniscliff; Cynewulf andEggo at Helathyrn--on the eleventh day before the calends ofApril. Then Elwald, having banished Ethelred from his territory, seized on his kingdom, and reigned ten winters. 

A. D. 780. This year a battle was fought between the Old-Saxonsand the Franks; and the high-sheriffs of Northumbria committed tothe flames Alderman Bern at Silton, on the ninth day before thecalends of January. The same year Archbishop Ethelbert died atYork, and Eanbald was consecrated in his stead; Bishop Cynewulfretired to Holy-island; Elmund, Bishop of Hexham, died on theseventh day before the ides of September, and Tilbert wasconsecrated in his stead, on the sixth day before the nones ofOctober; Hibbald was consecrated Bishop of Holy-island atSockbury; and King Elwald sent to Rome for a pall in behoof ofArchbishop Eanbald. 

A. D. 782. This year died Werburga, Queen of Ceolred, and BishopCynewulf, in Holy-island; and the same year there was a synod atAcley. 

A. D. 784. This year Cyneard slew King Cynewulf, and was slainhimself, and eighty-four men with him. Then Bertric undertookthe government of the West-Saxons, and reigned sixteen years. His body is deposited at Wareham; and his pedigree goeth in adirect line to Cerdic. At this time reigned Elmund king in Kent, the father of Egbert; and Egbert was the father of Athulf. 

A. D. 785. This year died Bothwin, Abbot of Ripon, and alitigious synod was holden at Chalk-hythe; Archbishop Eanbertresigned some part of his bishopric, Hibbert was appointed bishopby King Offa, and Everth was consecrated king. In the meantimelegates were sent from Rome to England by Pope Adrian, to renewthe blessings of faith and peace which St. Gregory sent us by themission of Bishop Augustine, and they were received with everymark of honour and respect. 

A. D. 787. This year King Bertric took Edburga the daughter ofOffa to wife. And in his days came first three ships of theNorthmen from the land of robbers. The reve (30) then rodethereto, and would drive them to the king's town; for he knew notwhat they were; and there was he slain. These were the firstships of the Danish men that sought the land of the Englishnation. 

A. D. 788. This year there was a synod assembled at Fingall inNorthumberland, on the fourth day before the nones of September;and Abbot Albert departed this life. 

A. D. 789. This year Elwald, king of the Northumbrians, was slainby Siga, on the eleventh day before the calends of October; and aheavenly light was often seen on the spot where he was slain. Hewas buried in the church of Hexham; and Osred, the son of Alred, who was his nephew, succeeded him in the government. This yearthere was a synod assembled at Acley. 

A. D. 790. This year Archbishop Eanbert died, and Abbot Ethelherdwas chosen archbishop the same year. Osred, king of theNorthumbrians, was betrayed and banished from his kingdom, andEthelred, the son of Ethelwald, succeeded him. 

A. D. 791. This year Baldulf was consecrated Bishop of Whitern, on the sixteenth day before the calends of August, by ArchbishopEanbald and Bishop Ethelbert. 

A. D. 792. This year Offa, King of Mercia, commanded that KingEthelbert should be beheaded; and Osred, who had been king of theNorthumbrians, returning home after his exile, was apprehendedand slain, on the eighteenth day before the calends of October. His body is deposited at Tinemouth. Ethelred this year, on thethird day before the calends of October, took unto himself a newwife, whose name was Elfleda. 

A. D. 793. This year came dreadful fore-warnings over the land ofthe Northumbrians, terrifying the people most woefully: thesewere immense sheets of light rushing through the air, andwhirlwinds, and fiery, dragons flying across the firmament. These tremendous tokens were soon followed by a great famine: andnot long after, on the sixth day before the ides of January inthe same year, the harrowing inroads of heathen men madelamentable havoc in the church of God in Holy-island, by rapineand slaughter. Siga died on the eighth day before the calends ofMarch. 

A. D. 794. This year died Pope Adrian; and also Offa, King ofMercia, on the fourth day before the ides of August, after he hadreigned forty winters. Ethelred, king of the Northumbrians, wasslain by his own people, on the thirteenth day before the calendsof May; in consequence of which, Bishops Ceolwulf and Eadbaldretired from the land. Everth took to the government of Mercia, and died the same year. Eadbert, whose other name was Pryn, obtained the kingdom of Kent; and Alderman Ethelherd died on thecalends of August. In the meantime, the heathen armies spreaddevastation among the Northumbrians, and plundered the monasteryof King Everth at the mouth of the Wear. There, however, some oftheir leaders were slain; and some of their ships also wereshattered to pieces by the violence of the weather; many of thecrew were drowned; and some, who escaped alive to the shore, weresoon dispatched at the mouth of the river. 

A. D. 795. This year was the moon eclipsed, between cock-crowingand dawn, (31) on the fifth day before the calends of April; andErdulf succeeded to the Northumbrian kingdom on the second beforethe ides of May. He was afterwards consecrated and raised to histhrone, at York, on the seventh day before the calends of June, by Archbishop Eanbald, and Bishops Ethelbert, Hibbald, andBaldulf. 

A. D. 796. This year died Archbishop Eanbald, on the fourth daybefore the ides of August; and his body is deposited at York. The same year also died Bishop Ceolwulf; and another Eanbald wasconsecrated to the see of the former, on the nineteenth daybefore the calends of September. About the same time Cynewulf, King of Mercia, made inroads upon the inhabitants of Kent as faras the marsh; and the Mercians seized Edbert Pryn, their king, led him bound into Mercia, and suffered men to pick out his eyes, and cut off his hands. (32) And Ethelard, Archbishop ofCanterbury, held a synod, wherein he ratified and confirmed, bycommand of Pope Leo, all things concerning God's monasteries thatwere fixed in Witgar's days, and in other king's days, sayingthus: "I Ethelard, the humble Archbishop of Canterbury, with theunanimous concurrence of the whole synod, and of all thecongregations of all the minsters, to which in former daysfreedom was given by faithful men, in God's name and by histerrible judgment do decree, as I have command from Pope Leo, that henceforth none dare to choose them lords from lewd men overGod's inheritance; but, as it is in the writ that the pope hasgiven, or holy men have settled, our fathers and our teachers, concerning holy minsters, so they continue untainted without anyresistance. If there is any man that will not observe thisdecree of God, of our pope, and of us, but overlooketh it, andholdeth it for nought, let them know, that they shall give anaccount before the judgment-seat of God. And I Ethelard, archbishop, with twelve bishops, and with three and twentyabbots, this same with the rood-token of Christ confirm andfasten. "

((A. D. 796. This year Offa, king of the Mercians, died on thefourth before the kalends of August; he reigned forty years. ))

A. D. 797. This year the Romans cut out the tongue of Pope Leo, put out his eyes, and drove him from his see; but soon after, bythe assistance of God, he could see and speak, and became pope ashe was before. Eanbald also received the pall on the sixth daybefore the ides of September, and Bishop Ethelherd died on thethird before the calends of November. 

A. D. 798. This year a severe battle was fought in theNorthumbrian territory, during Lent, on the fourth day before thenones of April, at Whalley; wherein Alric, the son of Herbert, was slain, and many others with him. 

A. D. 799. This year Archbishop Ethelbert, and Cynbert, Bishop ofWessex, went to Rome. In the meantime Bishop Alfun died atSudbury, and was buried at Dunwich. After him Tidfrith waselected to the see; and Siric, king of the East Saxons, went toRome. In this year the body of Witburga was found entire, andfree from decay, at Dercham, after a lapse of five and fiftyyears from the period of her decease. 

A. D. 800. This year was the moon eclipsed, at eight in theevening, on the seventeenth day before the calends of February;and soon after died King Bertric and Alderman Worr. Egbertsucceeded to the West-Saxon kingdom; and the same day Ethelmund, alderman of the Wiccians, rode over the Thames at Kempsford;where he was met by Alderman Woxtan, with the men of Wiltshire, and a terrible conflict ensued, in which both the commanders wereslain, but the men of Wiltshire obtained the victory. 

((A. D. 801. This year Beornmod was ordained Bishop ofRochester. ))

A. D. 802. This year was the moon eclipsed, at dawn, on thethirteenth day before the calends of January; and Bernmod wasconsecrated Bishop of Rochester. 

A. D. 803. This year died Hibbald, Bishop of Holy-island, on thetwenty-fourth of June, and Egbert was consecrated in his stead, on the thirteenth of June following. Archbishop Ethelherd alsodied in Kent, and Wulfred was chosen archbishop in his stead. Abbot Forthred, in the course of the same year, departed thislife. 

A. D. 804. This year Archbishop Wulfred received his pall. 

A. D. 805. This year died King Cuthred in Kent, and AbbessColburga, and Alderman Herbert. 

A. D. 806. This year was the moon eclipsed, on the first ofSeptember; Erdwulf, king of the Northumbrians, was banished fromhis dominions; and Eanbert, Bishop of Hexham, departed this life. This year also, on the next day before the nones of June, a crosswas seen in the moon, on a Wednesday, at the dawn; andafterwards, during the same year, on the third day before thecalends of September, a wonderful circle was displayed about thesun. 

A. D. 807. This year was the sun eclipsed, precisely at eleven inthe morning, on the seventeenth day before the calends of August. 

A. D. 812. This year died the Emperor Charlemagne, after a reignof five and forty winters; and Archbishop Wulfred, accompanied byWigbert, Bishop of Wessex, undertook a journey to Rome. 

A. D. 813. This year Archbishop Wulfred returned to his own see, with the blessing of Pope Leo; and King Egbert spread devastationin Cornwall from east to west. 

A. D. 814. This year died Leo, the noble and holy pope; andStephen succeeded him in the papal government. 

A. D. 816. This year died Pope Stephen; and Paschalis wasconsecrated pope after him. This same year the school of theEnglish nation at Rome was destroyed by fire. 

A. D. 819. This year died Cenwulf, King of Mercia; and Ceolwulf(33) succeeded him. Alderman Eadbert also departed this life. 

A. D. 821. This year Ceolwulf was deprived of his kingdom. 

A. D. 822. This year two aldermen were slain, whose names wereBurhelm and Mucca; and a synod was holden at Cliff's-Hoo. 

A. D. 823. This year a battle was fought between the Welsh inCornwall and the people of Devonshire, at Camelford; and in thecourse of the same year Egbert, king of the West-Saxons, andBernwulf, King of Mercia, fought a battle at Wilton, in whichEgbert gained the victory, but there was great slaughter on bothsides. Then sent he his son Ethelwulf into Kent, with a largedetachment from the main body of the army, accompanied by hisbishop, Elstan, and his alderman, Wulfherd; who drove Baldred, the king, northward over the Thames. Whereupon the men of Kentimmediately submitted to him; as did also the inhabitants ofSurrey, and Sussex, and Essex; who had been unlawfully kept fromtheir allegiance by his relatives. The same year also, the kingof the East-Angles, and his subjects besought King Egbert to givethem peace and protection against the terror of the Mercians;whose king, Bernwulf, they slew in the course of the same year. 

A. D. 825. This year Ludecan, King of Mercia, was slain, and hisfive aldermen with him; after which Wiglaf succeeded to thekingdom. 

A. D. 827. This year was the moon eclipsed, on mid-winter'smass-night; and King Egbert, in the course of the same year, conqueredthe Mercian kingdom, and all that is south of the Humber, beingthe eighth king who was sovereign of all the British dominions. Ella, king of the South-Saxons, was the first who possessed solarge a territory; the second was Ceawlin, king of theWest-Saxons: the third was Ethelbert, King of Kent; the fourth wasRedwald, king of the East-Angles; the fifth was Edwin, king ofthe Northumbrians; the sixth was Oswald, who succeeded him; theseventh was Oswy, the brother of Oswald; the eighth was Egbert, king of the West-Saxons. This same Egbert led an army againstthe Northumbrians as far as Dore, where they met him, and offeredterms of obedience and subjection, on the acceptance of whichthey returned home. 

A. D. 828. This year Wiglaf recovered his Mercian kingdom, andBishop Ethelwald departed this life. The same year King Egbertled an army against the people of North-Wales, and compelled themall to peaceful submission. 

A. D. 829. This year died Archbishop Wulfred; and Abbot Feologildwas after him chosen to the see, on the twenty-fifth of April, and consecrated on a Sunday, the eleventh of June. On thethirteenth of August he was dead!

A. D. 830. This year Ceolnoth was chosen and consecratedarchbishop on the death of Abbot Feologild. 

A. D. 831. This year Archbishop Ceolnoth received the pall. 

A. D. 832. This year heathen men overran the Isle of Shepey. 

A. D. 833. This year fought King Egbert with thirty-five piratesat Charmouth, where a great slaughter was made, and the Danesremained masters of the field. Two bishops, Hereferth and Wigen, and two aldermen, Dudda and Osmod, died the same year. 

A. D. 835. This year came a great naval armament into West-Wales, where they were joined by the people, who commenced war againstEgbert, the West-Saxon king. When he heard this, he proceededwith his army against them and fought with them at Hengeston, where he put to flight both the Welsh and the Danes. 

A. D. 836. This year died King Egbert. Him Offa, King of Mercia, and Bertric, the West-Saxon king, drove out of England intoFrance three years before he was king. Bertric assisted Offabecause he had married his daughter. Egbert having afterwardsreturned, reigned thirty-seven winters and seven months. ThenEthelwulf, the son of Egbert, succeeded to the West-Saxonkingdom; and he gave his son Athelstan the kingdom of Kent, andof Essex, and of Surrey, and of Sussex. 

A. D. 837. This year Alderman Wulfherd fought at Hamton withthirty-three pirates, and after great slaughter obtained thevictory, but he died the same year. Alderman Ethelhelm also, with the men of Dorsetshire, fought with the Danish army inPortland-isle, and for a good while put them to flight; but inthe end the Danes became masters of the field, and slew thealderman. 

A. D. 838. This year Alderman Herbert was slain by the heathens, and many men with him, among the Marshlanders. The same year, afterwards, in Lindsey, East-Anglia, and Kent, were many menslain by the army. 

A. D. 839. This year there was great slaughter in London, Canterbury, and Rochester. 

A. D. 840. This year King Ethelwulf fought at Charmouth withthirty-five ship's-crews, and the Danes remained masters of theplace. The Emperor Louis died this year. 

A. D. 845. This year Alderman Eanwulf, with the men ofSomersetshire, and Bishop Ealstan, and Alderman Osric, with themen of Dorsetshire, fought at the mouth of the Parret with theDanish army; and there, after making a great slaughter, obtainedthe victory. 

A. D. 851. This year Alderman Ceorl, with the men of Devonshire, fought the heathen army at Wemburg, and after making greatslaughter obtained the victory. The same year King Athelstan andAlderman Elchere fought in their ships, and slew a large army atSandwich in Kent, taking nine ships and dispersing the rest. Theheathens now for the first time remained over winter in the Isleof Thanet. The same year came three hundred and fifty ships intothe mouth of the Thames; the crew of which went upon land, andstormed Canterbury and London; putting to flight Bertulf, king ofthe Mercians, with his army; and then marched southward over theThames into Surrey. Here Ethelwulf and his son Ethelbald, at thehead of the West-Saxon army, fought with them at Ockley, and madethe greatest slaughter of the heathen army that we have everheard reported to this present day. There also they obtained thevictory. 

A. D. 852. About this time Abbot Ceolred of Medhamsted, with theconcurrence of the monks, let to hand the land of Sempringham toWulfred, with the provision, that after his demise the said landshould revert to the monastery; that Wulfred should give the landof Sleaford to Meohamsted, and should send each year into themonastery sixty loads of wood, twelve loads of coal, six loads ofpeat, two tuns full of fine ale, two neats' carcases, six hundredloaves, and ten kilderkins of Welsh ale; one horse also eachyear, and thirty shillings, and one night's entertainment. Thisagreement was made in the presence of King Burhred. ArchbishopCeolnoth, Bishops Tunbert, Kenred, Aldhun, and Bertred; AbbotsWitred and Weftherd, Aldermen Ethelherd and Hunbert, and manyothers. 

A. D. 853. This year Burhred, King of Mercia, with his council, besought King Ethelwulf to assist him to subdue North-Wales. Hedid so; and with an army marched over Mercia into North-Wales, and made all the inhabitants subject to him. The same year KingEthelwulf sent his son Alfred to Rome; and Leo, who was thenpope, consecrated him king, and adopted him as his spiritual son. The same year also Elchere with the men of Kent, and Huda withthe men of Surrey, fought in the Isle of Thanet with the heathenarmy, and soon obtained the victory; but there were many menslain and drowned on either hand, and both the aldermen killed. Burhred, the Mercian king, about this time received in marriagethe daughter of Ethelwulf, king of the West-Saxons. 

A. D. 854. This year the heathen men (34) for the first timeremained over winter in the Isle of Shepey. The same year KingEthelwulf registered a TENTH of his land over all his kingdom forthe honour of God and for his own everlasting salvation. Thesame year also he went to Rome with great pomp, and was residentthere a twelvemonth. Then he returned homeward; and Charles, king of the Franks, gave him his daughter, whose name was Judith, to be his queen. After this he came to his people, and they werefain to receive him; but about two years after his residenceamong the Franks he died; and his body lies at Winchester. Hereigned eighteen years and a half. And Ethelwulf was the son ofEgbert, Egbert of Ealhmund, Ealhmund of Eafa, Eafa of Eoppa, Eoppa of Ingild; Ingild was the brother of Ina, king of theWest-Saxons, who held that kingdom thirty-seven winters, andafterwards went to St. Peter, where he died. And they were thesons of Cenred, Cenred of Ceolwald, Ceolwald of Cutha, Cutha ofCuthwin, Cuthwin of Ceawlin, Ceawlin of Cynric, Cynric of Creoda, Creoda of Cerdic, Cerdic of Elesa, Elesa of Esla, Esla of Gewis, Gewis of Wig, Wig of Freawine, Freawine of Frithugar, Frithugarof Brond, Brond of Balday, Balday of Woden, Woden of Frithuwald, Frithuwald of Freawine, Freawine of Frithuwualf, Frithuwulf ofFinn, Finn of Godwulf, Godwulf of Great, Great of Taetwa, Taetwaof Beaw, Beaw of Sceldwa, Sceldwa of Heremod, Heremod of Itermon, Itermon of Hathra, Hathra of Hwala, Hwala of Bedwig, Bedwig ofSceaf; that is, the son of Noah, who was born in Noah's ark:Laznech, Methusalem, Enoh, Jared, Malalahel, Cainion, Enos, Seth, Adam the first man, and our Father, that is, Christ. Amen. Thentwo sons of Ethelwulf succeeded to the kingdom; Ethelbald toWessex, and Ethelbert to Kent, Essex, Surrey, and Sussex. Ethelbald reigned five years. Alfred, his third son, Ethelwulfhad sent to Rome; and when the pope heard say that he was dead, he consecrated Alfred king, and held him under spiritual hands, as his father Ethelwulf had desired, and for which purpose he hadsent him thither. 

((A. D. 855. And on his return homewards he took to (wife) thedaughter of Charles, king of the French, whose name was Judith, and he came home safe. And then in about two years he died, andhis body lies at Winchester: and he reigned eighteen years and ahalf, and he was the son of Egbert. And then his two sonssucceeded to the kingdom; Ethelbald to the kingdom of theWest-Saxons, and Ethelbert to the kingdom of the Kentish-men, andof the East-Saxons, and of Surrey, and of the South-Saxons. Andhe reigned five years. ))

A. D. 860. This year died King Ethelbald, and his body lies atSherborn. Ethelbert his brother then succeeded to the wholekingdom, and held it in good order and great tranquillity. Inhis days came a large naval force up into the country, andstormed Winchester. But Alderman Osric, with the command ofHampshire, and Alderman Ethelwulf, with the command of Berkshire, fought against the enemy, and putting them to flight, madethemselves masters of the field of battle. The said Ethelbertreigned five years, and his body lies at Sherborn. 

A. D. 861. This year died St. Swithun, bishop. 

A. D. 865. This year sat the heathen army in the isle of Thanet, and made peace with the men of Kent, who promised moneytherewith; but under the security of peace, and the promise ofmoney, the army in the night stole up the country, and overranall Kent eastward. 

A. D. 866. This year Ethered, (35) brother of Ethelbert, took tothe West-Saxon government; and the same year came a large heathenarmy into England, and fixed their winter-quarters in East-Anglia, where they were soon horsed; and the inhabitants made peace withthem. 

A. D. 867. This year the army went from the East-Angles over themouth of the Humber to the Northumbrians, as far as York. Andthere was much dissension in that nation among themselves; theyhad deposed their king Osbert, and had admitted Aella, who had nonatural claim. Late in the year, however, they returned to theirallegiance, and they were now fighting against the common enemy;having collected a vast force, with which they fought the army atYork; and breaking open the town, some of them entered in. Thenwas there an immense slaughter of the Northumbrians, some withinand some without; and both the kings were slain on the spot. Thesurvivors made peace with the army. The same year died BishopEalstan, who had the bishopric of Sherborn fifty winters, and hisbody lies in the town. 

A. D. 868. This year the same army went into Mercia toNottingham, and there fixed their winter-quarters; and Burhred, king of the Mercians, with his council, besought Ethered, king ofthe West-Saxons, and Alfred, his brother; that they would assistthem in fighting against the army. And they went with theWest-Saxon army into Mercia as far as Nottingham, and there meetingthe army on the works, they beset them within. But there was noheavy fight; for the Mercians made peace with the army. 

A. D. 869. This year the army went back to York, and sat there ayear. 

A. D. 870. This year the army rode over Mercia into East-Anglia, and there fixed their winter-quarters at Thetford. And in thewinter King Edmund fought with them; but the Danes gained thevictory, and slew the king; whereupon they overran all that land, and destroyed all the monasteries to which they came. The namesof the leaders who slew the king were Hingwar and Hubba. At thesame time came they to Medhamsted, burning and breaking, andslaying abbot and monks, and all that they there found. Theymade such havoc there, that a monastery, which was before fullrich, was now reduced to nothing. The same year died ArchbishopCeolnoth; and Ethered, Bishop of Witshire, was chosen Archbishopof Canterbury. 

A. D. 871. This year came the army to Reading in Wessex; and inthe course of three nights after rode two earls up, who were metby Alderman Ethelwulf at Englefield; where he fought with them, and obtained the victory. There one of them was slain, whosename was Sidrac. About four nights after this, King Ethered andAlfred his brother led their main army to Reading, where theyfought with the enemy; and there was much slaughter on eitherhand, Alderman Ethelwulf being among the skain; but the Daneskept possession of the field. And about four nights after this, King Ethered and Alfred his brother fought with all the army onAshdown, and the Danes were overcome. They had two heathenkings, Bagsac and Healfden, and many earls; and they were in twodivisions; in one of which were Bagsac and Healfden, the heathenkings, and in the other were the earls. King Ethered thereforefought with the troops of the kings, and there was King Bagsacslain; and Alfred his brother fought with the troops of theearls, and there were slain Earl Sidrac the elder, Earl Sidracthe younger, Earl Osbern, Earl Frene, and Earl Harold. Theyput both the troops to flight; there were many thousands of theslain, and they continued fighting till night. Within afortnight of this, King Ethered and Alfred his brother foughtwith the army at Basing; and there the Danes had the victory. About two months after this, King Ethered and Alfred his brotherfought with the army at Marden. They were in two divisions; andthey put them both to flight, enjoying the victory for some timeduring the day; and there was much slaughter on either hand; butthe Danes became masters of the field; and there was slain BishopHeahmund, with many other good men. After this fight came a vastarmy in the summer to Reading. And after the Easter of this yeardied King Ethered. He reigned five years, and his body lies atWinburn-minster. Then Alfred, his brother, the son of Ethelwulf, took to the kingdom of Wessex. And within a month of this, KingAlfred fought against all the Army with a small force at Wilton, and long pursued them during the day; but the Danes gotpossession of the field. This year were nine general battlesfought with the army in the kingdom south of the Thames; besidesthose skirmishes, in which Alfred the king's brother, and everysingle alderman, and the thanes of the king, oft rode againstthem; which were accounted nothing. This year also were slainnine earls, and one king; and the same year the West-Saxons madepeace with the army. 

((A. D. 871. And the Danish-men were overcome; and they had twoheathen kings, Bagsac and Halfdene, and many earls; and there wasKing Bagsac slain, and these earls; Sidrac the elder, and alsoSidrac the younger, Osbern, Frene, and Harold; and the army wasput to flight. ))

A. D. 872. This year went the army to London from Reading, andthere chose their winter-quarters. Then the Mercians made peacewith the army. 

A. D. 873. This year went the army against the Northumbrians, andfixed their winter-quarters at Torksey in Lindsey. And theMercians again made peace with the army. 

A. D. 874. This year went the army from Lindsey to Repton, andthere took up their winter-quarters, drove the king, Burhred, over sea, when he had reigned about two and twenty winters, andsubdued all that land. He then went to Rome, and there remainedto the end of his life. And his body lies in the church ofSancta Maria, in the school of the English nation. And the sameyear they gave Ceolwulf, an unwise king's thane, the Merciankingdom to hold; and he swore oaths to them, and gave hostages, that it should be ready for them on whatever day they would haveit; and he would be ready with himself, and with all those thatwould remain with him, at the service of the army. 

A. D. 875. This year went the army from Repton; and Healfdenadvanced with some of the army against the Northumbrians, andfixed his winter-quarters by the river Tine. The army thensubdued that land, and oft invaded the Picts and theStrathclydwallians. Meanwhile the three kings, Guthrum, Oskytel, and Anwind, went from Repton to Cambridge with a vast army, andsat there one year. This summer King Alfred went out to sea withan armed fleet, and fought with seven ship-rovers, one of whom hetook, and dispersed the others. 

A. D. 876. This year Rolla penetrated Normandy with his army; andhe reigned fifty winters. And this year the army stole intoWareham, a fort of the West-Saxons. The king afterwards madepeace with them; and they gave him as hostages those who wereworthiest in the army; and swore with oaths on the holy bracelet, which they would not before to any nation, that they wouldreadily go out of his kingdom. Then, under colour of this, theircavalry stole by night into Exeter. The same year Healfdendivided the land of the Northumbrians; so that they becameafterwards their harrowers and plowers. 

((A. D. 876. And in this same year the army of the Danes inEngland swore oaths to King Alfred upon the holy ring, whichbefore they would not do to any nation; and they delivered to theking hostages from among the most distinguished men of the army, that they would speedily depart from his kingdom; and that bynight they broke. ))

A. D. 877. This year came the Danish army into Exeter fromWareham; whilst the navy sailed west about, until they met with agreat mist at sea, and there perished one hundred and twentyships at Swanwich. (36) Meanwhile King Alfred with his army rodeafter the cavalry as far as Exeter; but he could not overtakethem before their arrival in the fortress, where they could notbe come at. There they gave him as many hostages as he required, swearing with solemn oaths to observe the strictest amity. Inthe harvest the army entered Mercia; some of which they dividedamong them, and some they gave to Ceolwulf. 

A. D. 878. This year about mid-winter, after twelfth-night, theDanish army stole out to Chippenham, and rode over the land ofthe West-Saxons; where they settled, and drove many of the peopleover sea; and of the rest the greatest part they rode down, andsubdued to their will;--ALL BUT ALFRED THE KING. He, with alittle band, uneasily sought the woods and fastnesses of themoors. And in the winter of this same year the brother ofIngwar and Healfden landed in Wessex, in Devonshire, with threeand twenty ships, and there was he slain, and eight hundred menwith him, and forty of his army. There also was taken thewar-flag, which they called the RAVEN. In the Easter of this yearKing Alfred with his little force raised a work at Athelney; fromwhich he assailed the army, assisted by that part ofSomersetshire which was nighest to it. Then, in the seventh weekafter Easter, he rode to Brixton by the eastern side of Selwood;and there came out to meet him all the people ofSomersersetshire, and Wiltshire, and that part of Hampshire whichis on this side of the sea; and they rejoiced to see him. Thenwithin one night he went from this retreat to Hey; and within onenight after he proceeded to Heddington; and there fought with allthe army, and put them to flight, riding after them as far as thefortress, where he remained a fortnight. Then the army gave himhostages with many oaths, that they would go out of his kingdom. They told him also, that their king would receive baptism. Andthey acted accordingly; for in the course of three weeks after, King Guthrum, attended by some thirty of the worthiest men thatwere in the army, came to him at Aller, which is near Athelney, and there the king became his sponsor in baptism; and hiscrisom-leasing was at Wedmor. He was there twelve nights withthe king, who honoured him and his attendants with many presents. 

A. D. 879. This year went the army from Chippenham toCirencester, and sat there a year. The same year assembled aband of pirates, and sat at Fulham by the Thames. The same yearalso the sun was eclipsed one hour of the day. 

A. D. 880. This year went the army from Cirencester intoEast-Anglia, where they settled, and divided the land. The same yearwent the army over sea, that before sat at Fulham, to Ghent inFrankland, and sat there a year. 

A. D. 881. This year went the army higher up into Frankland, andthe Franks fought with them; and there was the army horsed afterthe battle. 

A. D. 882. This year went the army up along the Maese far intoFrankland, and there sat a year; and the same year went KingAlfred out to sea with a fleet; and fought with four ship-roversof the Danes, and took two of their ships; wherein all the menwere slain; and the other two surrendered; but the men wereseverely cut and wounded ere they surrendered. 

A. D. 883. This year went the army up the Scheldt to Conde, andthere sat a year. And Pope Marinus sent King Alfred the "lignumDomini". The same year led Sighelm and Athelstan to Rome thealms which King Alfred ordered thither, and also in India to St. Thomas and to St. Bartholomew. Then they sat against the army atLondon; and there, with the favour of God, they were verysuccessful after the performance of their vows. 

A. D. 884. This year went the army up the Somne to Amiens, andthere remained a year. This year died the benevolent BishopAthelwold. 

A. D. 885. This year separated the before-mentioned army in two;one part east, another to Rochester. This city they surrounded, and wrought another fortress around themselves. The people, however, defended the city, until King Alfred came out with hisarmy. Then went the enemy to their ships, and forsook theirwork. There were they provided with horses; and soon after, inthe same summer, they went over sea again. The same year sentKing Alfred a fleet from Kent into East-Anglia. As soon as theycame to Stourmouth, there met them sixteen ships of the pirates. And they fought with them, took all the ships, and slew the men. As they returned homeward with their booty, they met a largefleet of the pirates, and fought with them the same day; but theDanes had the victory. The same year, ere midwinter, diedCharles, king of the Franks. He was slain by a boar; and oneyear before his brother died, who had also the Western kingdom. They were both the sons of Louis, who also had the Westernkingdom, and died the same year that the sun was eclipsed. Hewas the son of that Charles whose daughter Ethelwulf, king of theWest-Saxons, had to wife. And the same year collected a greatfleet against Old-Saxony; and there was a great fight twice inthe year, and the Saxons had the victory. There were theFrieslanders with them. And the same year succeeded Charles tothe Western kingdom, and to all the territory this side of theMediterranean and beyond, as his great-grandfather held it, except the Lidwiccians. The said Charles was the son of Louis, who was the brother of that Charles who was the father of Judith, whom Ethelwulf, king of the West-Saxons, married. They were thesons of Louis, who was the son of the elder Charles, who was theson of Pepin. The same year died the good Pope Martin, who freedthe English school at the request of Alfred, king of theWest-Saxons. And he sent him great gifts in relics, and a partof the rood on which Christ suffered. And the same year the armyin East-Anglia brake the truce with King Alfred. 

A. D. 886. This year went the army back again to the west, thatbefore were bent eastward; and proceeding upwards along theSeine, fixed their winter-quarters in the city of Paris. (37)The same year also King Alfred fortified the city of London; andthe whole English nation turned to him, except that part of itwhich was held captive by the Danes. He then committed the cityto the care of Alderman Ethered, to hold it under him. 

A. D. 887. This year the army advanced beyond the bridge atParis; (38) and then upwards, along the Seine, to the Marne. Then upwards on the Marne as far as Chezy; and in their twostations, there and on the Yonne, they abode two winters. Thissame year died Charles, king of the Franks. Arnulf, hisbrother's son, had six weeks before his death bereft him of hiskingdom; which was now divided into five portions, and five kingswere consecrated thereto. This, however, was done with theconsent of Arnulf; and they agreed that they should hold insubjection to him; because none of them had by birth any claim onthe father's side, except him alone. Arnulf, therefore, dwelt inthe country eastward of the Rhine; Rodulf took to the middledistrict; Oda to the western; whilst Berenger and Witha becamemasters of Lombardy and the Cisalpine territory. But they heldtheir dominion in great discord; fought two general battles, andfrequently overran the country in partial encounters, displacingeach other several times. The same year also, in which theDanish army advanced beyond the bridge at Paris, AldermanEthelhelm led the alms of the West-Saxons and of King Alfred toRome. 

A. D. 888. This year Alderman Beeke conducted the alms of theWest-Saxons and of King Alfred to Rome; but Queen Ethelswith, whowas the sister of King Alfred, died on the way to Rome; and herbody lies at Pavia. The same year also Ethered, Archbishop ofCanterbury and Alderman Ethelwold, died in one month. 

A. D. 889. This year there was no journey to Rome; except thatKing Alfred sent two messengers with letters. 

A. D. 890. This year Abbot Bernhelm conducted the alms of theWest-Saxons and of King Alfred to Rome; and Guthrum, king of theNorthern men, departed this life, whose baptismal name wasAthelstan. He was the godson of King Alfred; and he abode amongthe East-Angles, where he first established a settlement. Thesame year also went the army from the Seine to Saint Lo, which isbetween the Bretons and the Franks; where the Bretons fought withthem, obtained the victory, and drove them out into a river, inwhich many of them were drowned. This year also was Plegmundchosen by God and all his saints to the archbishopric inCanterbury. 

A. D. 891. This year went the army eastward; and King Arnulffought with the land-force, ere the ships arrived, in conjunctionwith the eastern Franks, and Saxons, and Bavarians, and put themto flight. And three Scots came to King Alfred in a boat withoutany oars from Ireland; whence they stole away, because they wouldlive in a state of pilgrimage, for the love of God, they reckednot where. The boat in which they came was made of two hides anda half; and they took with them provisions for seven nights; andwithin seven nights they came to land in Cornwall, and soon afterwent to King Alfred. They were thus named: Dubslane, andMacbeth, and Maelinmun. And Swinney, the best teacher that wasamong the Scots, departed this life. And the same year afterEaster, about the gang-days or before, appeared the star that menin book-Latin call "cometa": some men say that in English it maybe termed "hairy star"; for that there standeth off from it along gleam of light, whilom on one side, whilom on each. 

A. D. 893. This year went the large army, that we before spokeabout, back from the eastern district westward to Bologne; andthere were shipped; so that they transported themselves over atone time with their horses withal. And they came up with twohundred and fifty ships into the mouth of the Limne, which is inEast-Kent, at the east end of the vast wood that we call Andred. This wood is in length, east and west, one hundred and twentymiles, or longer, and thirty miles broad. The river that webefore spoke about lieth out of the weald. On this river theytowed up their ships as far as the weald, four miles from themouth outwards; and there destroyed a fort within the fen, whereon sat a few churls, and which was hastily wrought. Soonafter this came Hasten up with eighty ships into the mouth of theThames, and wrought him there a work at Milton, and the otherarmy at Appledore. 

A. D. 894. This year, that was about twelve months after they hadwrought a work in the eastern district, the Northumbrians andEast-Angles had given oaths to King Alfred, and the East-Anglessix hostages; nevertheless, contrary to the truce, as oft as theother plunderers went out with all their army, then went theyalso, either with them, or in a separate division. Upon thisKing Alfred gathered his army, and advanced, so that he encampedbetween the two armies at the highest point he could finddefended by wood and by water, that he might reach either, ifthey would seek any field. Then went they forth in quest of thewealds, in troops and companies, wheresoever the country wasdefenceless. But they were also sought after most days by othercompanies, either by day or by night, both from the army and alsofrom the towns. The king had divided his army into two parts; sothat they were always half at home, half out; besides the menthat should maintain the towns. The army came not all out oftheir stations more than twice; once, when they first came toland, ere the forces were collected, and again, when they wishedto depart from their stations. They had now seized much booty, and would ferry it northward over Thames into Essex, to meettheir ships. But the army rode before them, fought with them atFarnham, routed their forces, and there arrested the booty. Andthey flew over Thames without any ford, then up by the Colne onan island. Then the king's forces beset them without as long asthey had food; but they had their time set, and their meat noted. And the king was advancing thitherwards on his march with thedivision that accompanied him. But while he was advancingthitherwards, the other force was returning homewards. TheDanes, however, still remained behind; for their king was woundedin the fight, so that they could not carry him. Then collectedtogether those that dwell in Northumbria and East-Anglia about ahundred ships, and went south about; and with some forty morewent north about, and besieged a fort in Devonshire by the northsea; and those who went south about beset Exeter. When the kingheard that, then went he west towards Exeter with all his force, except a very considerable part of the eastern army, who advancedtill they came to London; and there being joined by the citizensand the reinforcements that came from the west, they went east toBarnfleet. Hasten was there with his gang, who before werestationed at Milton, and also the main army had come thither, that sat before in the mouth of the Limne at Appledore. Hastenhad formerly constructed that work at Barnfleet, and was thengone out on plunder, the main army being at home. Then came theking's troops, and routed the enemy, broke down the work, tookall that was therein money, women, and children and brought allto London. And all the ships they either broke to pieces, orburned, or brought to London or to Rochester. And Hasten's wifeand her two sons they brought to the king, who returned them tohim, because one of them was his godson, and the other AldermanEthered's. They had adopted them ere Hasten came to Bamfleet;when he had given them hostages and oaths, and the king had alsogiven him many presents; as he did also then, when he returnedthe child and the wife. And as soon as they came to Bamfleet, and the work was built, then plundered he in the same quarter ofhis kingdom that Ethered his compeer should have held; and atanother time he was plundering in the same district when his workwas destroyed. The king then went westward with the army towardExeter, as I before said, and the army had beset the city; butwhilst he was gone they went to their ships. Whilst he was thusbusied there with the army, in the west, the marauding partieswere both gathered together at Shobury in Essex, and there builta fortress. Then they both went together up by the Thames, and agreat concourse joined them, both from the East-Angles and fromthe Northumbrians. They then advanced upward by the Thames, tillthey arrived near the Severn. Then they proceeded upward by theSevern. Meanwhile assembled Alderman Ethered, Alderman Ethelm, Alderman Ethelnoth, and the king's thanes, who were employed athome at the works, from every town east of the Parret, as well aswest of Selwood, and from the parts east and also north of theThames and west of the Severn, and also some part of North-Wales. When they were all collected together, they overtook the rear ofthe enemy at Buttington on the banks of the Severn, and therebeset them without on each side in a fortress. When they had satthere many weeks on both sides of the water, and the kingmeanwhile was in Devonshire westward with the naval force, thenwere the enemy weighed down with famine. They had devoured thegreater part of their horses; and the rest had perished withhunger. Then went they out to the men that sat on the easternside of the river, and fought with them; but the Christians hadthe victory. And there Ordhelm, the king's thane, was slain; andalso many other king's thanes; and of the Danes there were manyslain, and that part of them that came away escaped only byflight. As soon as they came into Essex to their fortress, andto their ships, then gathered the remnant again in East-Angliaand from the Northumbrians a great force before winter, andhaving committed their wives and their ships and their booty tothe East-Angles, they marched on the stretch by day and night, till they arrived at a western city in Wirheal that is calledChester. There the army could not overtake them ere they arrivedwithin the work: they beset the work though, without, some twodays, took all the cattle that was thereabout, slew the men whomthey could overtake without the work, and all the corn theyeither burned or consumed with their horses every evening. Thatwas about a twelvemonth since they first came hither over sea. 

A. D. 895. Soon after that, in this year, went the army fromWirheal into North-Wales; for they could not remain there, because they were stripped both of the cattle and the corn thatthey had acquired by plunder. When they went again out ofNorth-Wales with the booty they had acquired there, they marched overNorthumberland and East-Anglia, so that the king's army could notreach them till they came into Essex eastward, on an island thatis out at sea, called Mersey. And as the army returned homewardthat had beset Exeter, they went up plundering in Sussex nighChichester; but the townsmen put them to flight, and slew manyhundreds of them, and took some of their ships. Then, in thesame year, before winter, the Danes, who abode in Mersey, towedtheir ships up on the Thames, and thence up the Lea. That wasabout two years after that they came hither over sea. 

A. D. 896. This same year wrought the aforesaid army a work bythe Lea, twenty miles above the city of London. Then, in thesummer of this year, went a large party of the citizens, and alsoof other folk, and made an attack on the work of the Danes; butthey were there routed, and some four of the king's thanes wereslain. In the harvest afterward the king encamped close to thecity, whilst they reaped their corn, that the Danes might notdeprive them of the crop. Then, some day, rode the king up bythe river; and observed a place where the river might beobstructed, so that they could not bring out their ships. Andthey did so. They wrought two works on the two sides of theriver. And when they had begun the work, and encamped before it, then understood the army that they could not bring out theirships. Whereupon they left them, and went over land, till theycame to Quatbridge by Severn; and there wrought a work. Thenrode the king's army westward after the enemy. And the men ofLondon fetched the ships; and all that they could not lead awaythey broke up; but all that were worthy of capture they broughtinto the port of London. And the Danes procured an asylum fortheir wives among the East-Angles, ere they went out of the fort. During the winter they abode at Quatbridge. That was about threeyears since they came hither over sea into the mouth of theLimne. 

A. D. 897. In the summer of this year went the army, some intoEast-Anglia, and some into Northumbria; and those that werepenniless got themselves ships, and went south over sea to theSeine. The enemy had not, thank God, entirely destroyed theEnglish nation; but they were much more weakened in these threeyears by the disease of cattle, and most of all of men; so thatmany of the mightiest of the king's thanes, that were in theland, died within the three years. Of these, one was SwithulfBishop of Rochester, Ceolmund alderman in Kent, Bertulf aldermanin Essex, Wulfred alderman in Hampshire, Elhard Bishop ofDorchester, Eadulf a king's thane in Sussex, Bernuff governor ofWinchester, and Egulf the king's horse-thane; and many also withthem; though I have named only the men of the highest rank. Thissame year the plunderers in East-Anglia and Northumbria greatlyharassed the land of the West-Saxons by piracies on the southerncoast, but most of all by the esks which they built many yearsbefore. Then King Alfred gave orders for building long shipsagainst the esks, which were full-nigh twice as long as theothers. Some had sixty oars, some more; and they were bothswifter and steadier, and also higher than the others. They werenot shaped either after the Frisian or the Danish model, but soas he himself thought that they might be most serviceable. Then, at a certain turn of this same year, came six of their ships tothe Isle of Wight; and going into Devonshire, they did muchmischief both there and everywhere on the seacoast. Thencommanded the king his men to go out against them with nine ofthe new ships, and prevent their escape by the mouth of the riverto the outer sea. Then came they out against them with threeships, and three others were standing upwards above the mouth ondry land: for the men were gone off upon shore. Of the firstthree ships they took two at the mouth outwards, and slew themen; the third veered off, but all the men were slain exceptfive; and they too were severely wounded. Then came onward thosewho manned the other ships, which were also very uneasilysituated. Three were stationed on that side of the deep wherethe Danish ships were aground, whilst the others were all on theopposite side; so that none of them could join the rest; for thewater had ebbed many furlongs from them. Then went the Danesfrom their three ships to those other three that were on theirside, be-ebbed; and there they then fought. There were slainLucomon, the king's reve, and Wulfheard, a Frieslander; Ebb, aFrieslander, and Ethelere, a Frieslander; and Ethelferth, theking's neat-herd; and of all the men, Frieslanders and English, sixty-two; of the Danes a hundred and twenty. The tide, however, reached the Danish ships ere the Christians could shove theirsout; whereupon they rowed them out; but they were so crippled, that they could not row them beyond the coast of Sussex: theretwo of them the sea drove ashore; and the crew were led toWinchester to the king, who ordered them to be hanged. The menwho escaped in the single ship came to East-Anglia, severelywounded. This same year were lost no less than twenty ships, andthe men withal, on the southern coast. Wulfric, the king'shorse-thane, who was also viceroy of Wales, died the same year. 

A. D. 898. This year died Ethelm, alderman of Wiltshire, ninenights before midsummer; and Heahstan, who was Bishop of London. 

A. D. 901. This year died ALFRED, the son of Ethelwulf, sixnights before the mass of All Saints. He was king over all theEnglish nation, except that part that was under the power of theDanes. He held the government one year and a half less thanthirty winters; and then Edward his son took to the government. Then Prince Ethelwald, the son of his paternal uncle, rodeagainst the towns of Winburn and of Twineham, without leave ofthe king and his council. Then rode the king with his army; sothat he encamped the same night at Badbury near Winburn; andEthelwald remained within the town with the men that were underhim, and had all the gates shut upon him, saying, that he wouldeither there live or there die. But in the meantime he stoleaway in the night, and sought the army in Northumberland. Theking gave orders to ride after him; but they were not able toovertake him. The Danes, however, received him as their king. They then rode after the wife that Ethelwald had taken withoutthe king's leave, and against the command of the bishops; for shewas formerly consecrated a nun. In this year also died Ethered, who was alderman of Devonshire, four weeks before King Alfred. 

A. D. 902. This year was the great fight at the Holme (39)between the men of Kent and the Danes. 

((A. D. 902. This year Elswitha died. ))

A. D. 903. This year died Alderman Ethelwulf, the brother ofElhswitha, mother of King Edward; and Virgilius abbot of theScots; and Grimbald the mass-priest; on the eighth day of July. This same year was consecrated the new minster at Winchester, onSt. Judoc's advent. 

A. D. 904. This year came Ethelwald hither over sea with all thefleet that he could get, and he was submitted to in Essex. Thisyear the moon was eclipsed. 

A. D. 905. This year Ethelwald enticed the army in East-Anglia torebellion; so that they overran all the land of Mercia, untilthey came to Cricklade, where they forded the Thames; and havingseized, either in Bradon or thereabout, all that they could laytheir hands upon, they went homeward again. King Edward wentafter, as soon as he could gather his army, and overran all theirland between the foss and the Ouse quite to the fens northward. Then being desirous of returning thence, he issued an orderthrough the whole army, that they should all go out at once. Butthe Kentish men remained behind, contrary to his order, though hehad sent seven messengers to them. Whereupon the army surroundedthem, and there they fought. There fell Aldermen Siwulf andSigelm; Eadwold, the king's thane; Abbot Kenwulf; Sigebriht, theson of Siwulf; Eadwald, the son of Acca; and many also with them;though I have named the most considerable. On the Danish sidewere slain Eohric their king, and Prince Ethelwald, who hadenticed them to the war. Byrtsige, the son of Prince Brihtnoth;Governor Ysop; Governor Oskytel; and very many also with themthat we now cannot name. And there was on either hand muchslaughter made; but of the Danes there were more slain, thoughthey remained masters of the field. Ealswitha died this sameyear; and a comet appeared on the thirteenth day before thecalends of November. 

((A. D. 906. This year King Edward, from necessity, concluded apeace both with the army of East-Anglia and of North-humbria. ))

A. D. 907. This year died Alfred, who was governor of Bath. Thesame year was concluded the peace at Hitchingford, as King Edwarddecreed, both with the Danes of East-Anglia, and those ofNorthumberland; and Chester was rebuilt. 

A. D. 909. This year died Denulf, who was Bishop of Winchester;and the body of St. Oswald was translated from Bardney intoMercia. 

A. D. 910. This year Frithestan took to the bishopric ofWinchester; and Asser died soon after, who was Bishop ofSherborne. The same year King Edward sent an army both fromWessex and Mercia, which very much harassed the northern army bytheir attacks on men and property of every kind. They slew manyof the Danes, and remained in the country five weeks. This yearthe Angles and the Danes fought at Tootenhall; and the Angles hadthe victory. The same year Ethelfleda built the fortress atBramsbury. 

((A. D. 910. This year the army of the Angles and of the Danesfought at Tootenhall. And Ethelred, ealdor of the Mercians, died; and King Edward took possession of London, and of Oxford, and of all the lands which owed obedience thereto. And a greatfleet came hither from the south, from the Lidwiccas (Brittany), and greatly ravaged by the Severn; but they were, afterwards, almost all perished. ))

A. D. 911. This year the army in Northumberland broke the truce, and despised every right that Edward and his son demanded ofthem; and plundered the land of the Mercians. The king hadgathered together about a hundred ships, and was then in Kentwhile the ships were sailing along sea by the south-east to meethim. The army therefore supposed that the greatest part of hisforce was in the ships, and that they might go, without beingattacked, where that ever they would. When the king learned onenquiry that they were gone out on plunder, he sent his army bothfrom Wessex and Mercia; and they came up with the rear of theenemy as he was on his way homeward, and there fought with himand put him to flight, and slew many thousands of his men. Therefell King Eowils, and King Healfden; Earls Ohter and Scurf;Governors Agmund, Othulf, and Benesing; Anlaf the Swarthy, andGovernor Thunferth; Osferth the collector, and GovernorGuthferth. 

((A. D. 911. Then the next year after this died Ethelred, lord ofthe Mercians. ))

A. D. 912. This year died Ethered, alderman of Mercia; and KingEdward took to London, and to Oxford, and to all the lands thatthereunto belonged. This year also came Ethelfleda, lady of theMercians, on the holy eve called the invention of the holy cross, to Shergate, and built the fortress there, and the same year thatat Bridgenorth. 

A. D. 913. This year, about Martinmas, King Edward had thenorthern fortress built at Hertford, betwixt the Memer, and theBenwic, and the Lea. After this, in the summer, betwixt gang-daysand midsummer, went King Edward with some of his force intoEssex, to Maldon; and encamped there the while that men built andfortified the town of Witham. And many of the people submittedto him, who were before under the power of the Danes. And someof his force, meanwhile, built the fortress at Hertford on thesouth side of the Lea. This year by the permission of God wentEthelfleda, lady of Mercia, with all the Mercians to Tamworth;and built the fort there in the fore-part of the summer; andbefore Lammas that at Stafford: in the next year that atEddesbury, in the beginning of the summer; and the same year, late in the autumn, that at Warwick. Then in the following yearwas built, after mid-winter, that at Chirbury and that atWarburton; and the same year before mid-winter that at Runkorn. 

((A. D. 915. This year was Warwick built. ))

A. D. 916. This year was the innocent Abbot Egbert slain, beforemidsummer, on the sixteenth day before the calends of July. Thesame day was the feast of St. Ciricius the martyr, with hiscompanions. And within three nights sent Ethelfleda an army intoWales, and stormed Brecknock; and there took the king's wife, with some four and thirty others. 

A. D. 917. This year rode the army, after Easter, out ofNorthampton and Leicester; and having broken the truce they slewmany men at Hookerton and thereabout. Then, very soon afterthis, as the others came home, they found other troops that wereriding out against Leighton. But the inhabitants were aware ofit; and having fought with them they put them into full flight;and arrested all that they had taken, and also of their horsesand of their weapons a good deal. 

A. D. 918. This year came a great naval armament over hithersouth from the Lidwiccians; (40) and two earls with it, Ohter andRhoald. They went then west about, till they entered the mouthof the Severn; and plundered in North-Wales everywhere by thesea, where it then suited them; and took Camlac the bishop inArchenfield, and led him with them to their ships; whom KingEdward afterwards released for forty pounds. After this went thearmy all up; and would proceed yet on plunder againstArchenfield; but the men of Hertford met them, and of Glocester, and of the nighest towns; and fought with them, and put them toflight; and they slew the Earl Rhoald, and the brother of Ohterthe other earl, and many of the army. And they drove them into apark; and beset them there without, until they gave themhostages, that they would depart from the realm of King Edward. And the king had contrived that a guard should be set againstthem on the south side of Severnmouth; west from Wales, eastwardto the mouth of the Avon; so that they durst nowhere seek thatland on that side. Nevertheless, they eluded them at night, bystealing up twice; at one time to the east of Watchet, and atanother time at Porlock. There was a great slaughter each time;so that few of them came away, except those only who swam out tothe ships. Then sat they outward on an island, called theFlat-holms; till they were very short of meat, and many men died ofhunger, because they could not reach any meat. Thence went theyto Dimmet, and then out to Ireland. This was in harvest. Afterthis, in the same year, before Martinmas, went King Edward toBuckingham with his army, and sat there four weeks, during whichhe built the two forts on either side of the water, ere hedeparted thence. And Earl Thurkytel sought him for his lord; andall the captains, and almost all the first men that belonged toBedford; and also many of those that belonged to Northampton. This year Ethelfleda, lady of the Mercians, with the help of God, before Laminas, conquered the town called Derby, with all thatthereto belonged; and there were also slain four of her thanes, that were most dear to her, within the gates. 

((A. D. 918. But very shortly after they had become so, she diedat Tamworth, twelve days before midsummer, the eighth year of herhaving rule and right lordship over the Mercians; and her bodylies at Gloucester, within the east porch of St. Peter'schurch. ))

A. D. 919. This year King Edward went with his army to Bedford, before Martinmas, and conquered the town; and almost all theburgesses, who obeyed him before, returned to him; and he satthere four weeks, and ordered the town to be repaired on thesouth side of the water, ere he departed thence. 

((A. D. 919. This year also the daughter of Ethelred, lord of theMercians, was deprived of all dominion over the Mercians, andcarried into Wessex, three weeks before mid-winter; she wascalled Elfwina. ))

A. D. 920. This year, before midsummer, went King Edward toMaldon; and repaired and fortified the town, ere he departedthence. And the same year went Earl Thurkytel over sea toFrankland with the men who would adhere to him, under theprotection and assistance of King Edward. This year Ethelfledagot into her power, with God's assistance, in the early part ofthe year, without loss, the town of Leicester; and the greaterpart of the army that belonged thereto submitted to her. And theYorkists had also promised and confirmed, some by agreement andsome with oaths, that they would be in her interest. But verysoon after they had done this, she departed, twelve nights beforemidsummer, at Tamworth, the eighth year that she was holding thegovernment of the Mercians with right dominion; and her bodylieth at Glocester, in the east porch of St. Peter's church. This year also was the daughter of Ethered, lord of the Mercians, deprived of all authority over the Mercians, and led into Wessex, three weeks before midwinter. Her name was Healfwina. 

A. D. 921. This year, before Easter, King Edward ordered his mento go to the town of Towcester, and to rebuild it. Then again, after that, in the same year, during the gang-days, he orderedthe town of Wigmore to be repaired. The same summer, betwixtLammas and midsummer, the army broke their parole fromNorthampton and from Leicester; and went thence northward toTowcester, and fought against the town all day, and thought thatthey should break into it; but the people that were thereindefended it, till more aid came to them; and the enemy thenabandoned the town, and went away. Then again, very soon afterthis, they went out at night for plunder, and came upon menunaware, and seized not a little, both in men and cattle, betwixtBurnham-wood and Aylesbury. At the same time went the army fromHuntington and East-Anglia, and constructed that work atTernsford; which they inhabited and fortified; and abandoned theother at Huntingdon; and thought that they should thence oft withwar and contention recover a good deal of this land. Thence theyadvanced till they came to Bedford; where the men who were withincame out against them, and fought with them, and put them toflight, and slew a good number of them. Then again, after this, a great army yet collected itself from East-Anglia and fromMercia, and went to the town of Wigmore; which they besiegedwithout, and fought against long in the day; and took the cattleabout it; but the men defended the town, who were within; and theenemy left the town, and went away. After this, the same summer, a large force collected itself in King Edward's dominions, fromthe nighest towns that could go thither, and went to Temsford;and they beset the town, and fought thereon; until they brokeinto it, and slew the king, and Earl Toglos, and Earl Mann hisson, and his brother, and all them that were therein, and whowere resolved to defend it; and they took the others, and allthat was therein. After this, a great force collected soon inharvest, from Kent, from Surrey, from Essex, and everywhere fromthe nighest towns; and went to Colchester, and beset the town, and fought thereon till they took it, and slew all the people, and seized all that was therein; except those men who escapedtherefrom over the wall. After this again, this same harvest, agreat army collected itself from East-Anglia, both of theland-forces and of the pirates, which they had enticed to theirassistance, and thought that they should wreak their vengeance. They went to Maldon, and beset the town, and fought thereon, until more aid came to the townsmen from without to help. Theenemy then abandoned the town, and went from it. And the menwent after, out of the town, and also those that came fromwithout to their aid; and put the army to flight, and slew manyhundreds of them, both of the pirates and of the others. Soonafter this, the same harvest, went King Edward with theWest-Saxon army to Passham; and sat there the while that menfortified the town of Towcester with a stone wall. And therereturned to him Earl Thurferth, and the captains, and all thearmy that belonged to Northampton northward to the Welland, andsought him for their lord and protector. When this division ofthe army went home, then went another out, and marched to thetown of Huntingdon; and repaired and renewed it, where it wasbroken down before, by command of King Edward. And all thepeople of the country that were left submitted to King Edward, and sought his peace and protection. After this, the same year, before Martinmas, went King Edward with the West-Saxon army toColchester; and repaired and renewed the town, where it wasbroken down before. And much people turned to him, both inEast-Anglia and in Essex, that were before under the power of theDanes. And all the army in East-Anglia swore union with him;that they would all that he would, and would protect all that heprotected, either by sea or land. And the army that belonged toCambridge chose him separately for their lord and protector, andconfirmed the same with oaths, as he had advised. This year KingEdward repaired the town of Gladmouth; and the same year KingSihtric slew Neil his brother. 

A. D. 922. This year, betwixt gang-days and midsummer, went KingEdward with his army to Stamford, and ordered the town to befortified on the south side of the river. And all the peoplethat belonged to the northern town submitted to him, and soughthim for their lord. It was whilst he was tarrying there, thatEthelfleda his sister died at Tamworth, twelve nights beforemidsummer. Then rode he to the borough of Tamworth; and all thepopulation in Mercia turned to him, who before were subject toEthelfleda. And the kings in North-Wales, Howel, and Cledauc, and Jothwel, and all the people of North-Wales, sought him fortheir lord. Then went he thence to Nottingham, and secured thatborough, and ordered it to be repaired, and manned both withEnglish and with Danes. And all the population turned to him, that was settled in Mercia, both Danish and English. 

A. D. 923. This year went King Edward with an army, late in theharvest, to Thelwall; and ordered the borough to be repaired, andinhabited, and manned. And he ordered another army also from thepopulation of Mercia, the while he sat there to go to Manchesterin Northumbria, to repair and to man it. This year diedArchbishop Plegmund; and King Reynold won York. 

A. D. 924. This year, before midsummer, went King Edward with anarmy to Nottingham; and ordered the town to be repaired on thesouth side of the river, opposite the other, and the bridge overthe Trent betwixt the two towns. Thence he went to Bakewell inPeakland; and ordered a fort to be built as near as possible toit, and manned. And the King of Scotland, with all his people, chose him as father and lord; as did Reynold, and the son ofEadulf, and all that dwell in Northumbria, both English andDanish, both Northmen and others; also the king of theStrathclydwallians, and all his people. 

((A. D. 924. This year Edward was chosen for father and for lordby the king of the Scots, and by the Scots, and King Reginald, and by all the North-humbrians, and also the king of theStrath-clyde Britons, and by all the Strath-clyde Britons. ))

((A. D. 924. This year King Edward died among the Mercians atFarndon; and very shortly, about sixteen days after this, Elwardhis son died at Oxford; and their bodies lie at Winchester. AndAthelstan was chosen king by the Mercians, and consecrated atKingston. And he gave his sister to Ofsae (Otho), son of theking of the Old-Saxons. ))

A. D. 925. This year died King Edward at Farndon in Mercia; andElward his son died very soon after this, in Oxford. Theirbodies lie at Winchester. And Athelstan was chosen king inMercia, and consecrated at Kingston. He gave his sister to Otho, son of the king of the Old-Saxons. St. Dunstan was now born; andWulfhelm took to the archbishopric in Canterbury. This year KingAthelstan and Sihtric king of the Northumbrians came together atTamworth, the sixth day before the calends of February, andAthelstan gave away his sister to him. 

((A. D. 925. This year Bishop Wulfhelm was consecrated. And thatsame year King Edward died. ))

A. D. 926. This year appeared fiery lights in the northern partof the firmament; and Sihtric departed; and King Athelstan tookto the kingdom of Northumbria, and governed all the kings thatwere in this island:--First, Howel, King of West-Wales; andConstantine, King of the Scots; and Owen, King of Monmouth; andAldred, the son of Eadulf, of Bamburgh. And with covenants andoaths they ratified their agreement in the place called Emmet, onthe fourth day before the ides of July; and renounced allidolatry, and afterwards returned in peace. 

A. D. 927. This year King Athelstan expelled King Guthfrith; andArchbishop Wulfhelm went to Rome. 

A. D. 928. William took to Normandy, and held it fifteen years. 

((A. D. 931. This year died Frithstan, Bishop of Winchester, andBrinstan was blessed in his place. ))

A. D. 932. This year Burnstan was invested Bishop of Winchesteron the fourth day before the calends of June; and he held thebishopric two years and a half. 

A. D. 933. This year died Bishop Frithestan; and Edwin theatheling was drowned in the sea. 

A. D. 934. This year went King Athelstan into Scotland, both witha land-force and a naval armament, and laid waste a great part ofit; and Bishop Burnstan died at Winchester at the feast of AllSaints. 

A. D. 935. This year Bishop Elfheah took to the bishopric ofWinchester. 

((A. D. 937. This year King Athelstan and Edmund his brother leda force to Brumby, and there fought against Anlaf; and, Christhelping, had the victory: and they there slew five kings andseven earls. ))

A. D. 938. Here Athelstan king, of earls the lord, rewarder of heroes, and his brother eke, Edmund atheling, elder of ancient race, slew in the fight, with the edge of their swords, the foe at Brumby! The sons of Edward their board-walls clove, and hewed their banners, with the wrecks of their hammers. So were they taught by kindred zeal, that they at camp oft 'gainst any robber their land should defend, their hoards and homes. Pursuing fell the Scottish clans; the men of the fleet in numbers fell; 'midst the din of the field the warrior swate. Since the sun was up in morning-tide, gigantic light! glad over grounds, God's candle bright, eternal Lord!-- 'till the noble creature sat in the western main: there lay many of the Northern heroes under a shower of arrows, shot over shields; and Scotland's boast, a Scythian race, the mighty seed of Mars! With chosen troops, throughout the day, the West-Saxons fierce press'd on the loathed bands; hew'd down the fugitives, and scatter'd the rear, with strong mill-sharpen'd blades, The Mercians too the hard hand-play spared not to any of those that with Anlaf over the briny deep in the ship's bosom sought this land for the hardy fight. Five kings lay on the field of battle, in bloom of youth, pierced with swords. So seven eke of the earls of Anlaf; and of the ship's-crew unnumber'd crowds. There was dispersed the little band of hardy Scots, the dread of northern hordes; urged to the noisy deep by unrelenting fate! The king of the fleet with his slender craft escaped with his life on the felon flood;-- and so too Constantine, the valiant chief, returned to the north in hasty flight. The hoary Hildrinc cared not to boast among his kindred. Here was his remnant of relations and friends slain with the sword in the crowded fight. His son too he left on the field of battle, mangled with wounds, young at the fight. The fair-hair'd youth had no reason to boast of the slaughtering strife. Nor old Inwood and Anlaf the more with the wrecks of their army could laugh and say, that they on the field of stern command better workmen were, in the conflict of banners, the clash of spears, the meeting of heroes, and the rustling of weapons, which they on the field of slaughter played with the sons of Edward. The northmen sail'd in their nailed ships, a dreary remnant, on the roaring sea; over deep water Dublin they sought, and Ireland's shores, in great disgrace. Such then the brothers both together king and atheling, sought their country, West-Saxon land, in right triumphant. They left behind them raw to devour, the sallow kite, the swarthy raven with horny nib, and the hoarse vultur, with the eagle swift to consume his prey; the greedy gos-hawk, and that grey beast the wolf of the weald. No slaughter yet was greater made e'er in this island, of people slain, before this same, with the edge of the sword; as the books inform us of the old historians; since hither came from the eastern shores the Angles and Saxons, over the broad sea, and Britain sought, -- fierce battle-smiths, o'ercame the Welsh, most valiant earls, and gained the land. 

A. D. 941. This year King Athelstan died in Glocester, on thesixth day before the calends of November, about forty-onewinters, bating one night, from the time when King Alfred died. And Edmund Atheling took to the kingdom. He was then eighteenyears old. King Athelstan reigned fourteen years and ten weeks. This year the Northumbrians abandoned their allegiance, and choseAnlaf of Ireland for their king. 

((A. D. 941. This year King Edmund received King Anlaf atbaptism; and that same year, a good long space after, he receivedKing Reginald at the bishop's hands. ))

A. D. 942. Here Edmund king, of Angles lord, protector of friends, author and framer of direful deeds. O'erran with speed the Mercian land. Whete'er the course of Whitwell-spring, or Humber deep, The broad brim-stream, divides five towns. Leicester and Lincoln. Nottingham and Stamford, and Derby eke. In thraldom long to Norman Danes they bowed through need, and dragged the chains of heathen men; till, to his glory, great Edward's heir, Edmund the king, refuge of warriors, their fetters broke. 

A. D. 943. This year Anlaf stormed Tamworth; and much slaughterwas made on either hand; but the Danes had the victory, and ledaway with them much plunder. There was Wulfrun taken, in thespoiling of the town. This year King Edmund beset King Anlaf andArchbishop Wulfstan in Leicester; and he might have conqueredthem, were it not that they burst out of the town in the night. After this Anlaf obtained the friendship of King Edmund, and KingEdmund then received King Anlaf in baptism; and he made him royalpresents. And the same year, after some interval, he receivedKing Reynold at episcopal hands. This year also died King Anlaf. 

A. D. 944. This year King Edmund reduced all the land of theNorthumbrians to his dominion, and expelled two kings, Anlaf theson of Sihtric, and Reynold the son of Guthferth. 

A. D. 945. This year King Edmund overran all Cumberland; and letit all to Malcolm king of the Scots, on the condition that hebecame his ally, both by sea and land. 

A. D. 946. This year King Edmund died, on St. Augustine's massday. That was widely known, how he ended his days:--that Leofstabbed him at Pucklechurch. And Ethelfleda of Damerham, daughter of Alderman Elgar, was then his queen. And he reignedsix years and a half: and then succeeded to the kingdom EdredAtheling his brother, who soon after reduced all the land of theNorthumbrians to his dominion; and the Scots gave him oaths, thatthey would do all that he desired. 

A. D. 947. This year came King Edred to Tadden's-cliff; and thereArchbishop Wulfstan and all the council of the Northumbriansbound themselves to an allegiance with the king. And within alittle space they abandoned all, both allegiance and oaths. 

A. D. 948. This year King Edred overran all Northumberland;because they had taken Eric for their king; and in the pursuit ofplunder was that large minster at Rippon set on fire, which St. Wilferth built. As the king returned homeward, he overtook theenemy at York; but his main army was behind at Chesterford. There was great slaughter made; and the king was so wroth, thathe would fain return with his force, and lay waste the landwithal; but when the council of the Northumbrians understoodthat, they then abandoned Eric, and compromised the deed withKing Edred. 

A. D. 949. This year came Anlaf Curran to the land of theNorthumbrians. 

A. D. 951. This year died Elfeah, Bishop of Winchester, on St. Gregory's mass day. 

A. D. 952. This year the Northumbrians expelled King Anlaf, andreceived Eric the son of Harold. This year also King Edredordered Archbishop Wulfstan to be brought into prison atJedburgh; because he was oft bewrayed before the king: and thesame year the king ordered a great slaughter to be made in thetown of Thetford, in revenge of the abbot, whom they had formerlyslain. 

A. D. 954. This year the Northumbrians expelled Eric; and KingEdred took to the government of the Northumbrians. This yearalso Archbishop Wulfstan received a bishopric again atDorchester. 

A. D. 955. This year died King Edred, on St. Clement's mass day, at Frome. (41) He reigned nine years and a half; and he rests inthe old minster. Then succeeded Edwy, the son of King Edmund, tothe government of the West-Saxons; and Edgar Atheling, hisbrother, succeeded to the government of the Mercians. They werethe sons of King Edmund and of St. Elfgiva. 

((A. D. 955. And Edwy succeeded to the kingdom of theWest-Saxons, and Edgar his brother succeeded to the kingdom of theMercians: and they were the sons of King Edmund and of S. Elfgiva. ))

A. D. 956. This year died Wulfstan, Archbishop of York, on theseventeenth day before the calends of January; and he was buriedat Oundle; and in the same year was Abbot Dunstan driven out ofthis land over sea. 

A. D. 958. This year Archbishop Oda separated King Edwy andElfgiva; because they were too nearly related. 

A. D. 959. This year died King Edwy, on the calends of October;and Edgar his brother took to the government of the West-Saxons, Mercians, and Northumbrians. He was then sixteen years old. Itwas in this year he sent after St. Dunstan, and gave him thebishopric of Worcester; and afterwards the bishopric of London. In his days it prosper'd well; and God him gave, that he dwelt in peace the while that he lived. Whate'er he did, whate'er he plan'd, he earn'd his thrift. He also rear'd God's glory wide, and God's law lov'd, with peace to man, above the kings that went before in man's remembrance. God so him sped, that kings and earls to all his claims submissive bow'd; and to his will without a blow he wielded all as pleased himself. Esteem'd he was both far and wide in distant lands; because he prized the name of God, and God's law traced, God's glory rear'd, both far and wide, on every side. Wisely he sought in council oft his people's good, before his God, before the world. One misdeed he did, too much however, that foreign tastes he loved too much; and heathen modes into this land he brought too fast; outlandish men hither enticed; and to this earth attracted crowds of vicious men. But God him grant, that his good deeds be weightier far than his misdeeds, to his soul's redemption on the judgment-day. 

A. D. 961. This year departed Odo, the good archbishop, and St. Dunstan took to the archbishopric. This year also died Elfgar, arelative of the king, in Devonshire; and his body lies at Wilton:and King Sifferth killed himself; and his body lies at Wimborn. This year there was a very great pestilence; when the great feverwas in London; and St. Paul's minster was consumed with fire, andin the same year was afterwards restored. In this year Athelmod. The masspriest, went to Rome, and there died on the eighteenthbefore the calends of September. 

A. D. 963. This year died Wulfstan, the deacon, on Childermass-day;(42) and afterwards died Gyric, the mass-priest. In thesame year took Abbot Athelwold to the bishopric of Winchester;and he was consecrated on the vigil of St. Andrew, which happenedon a Sunday. On the second year after he was consecrated, hemade many minsters; and drove out the clerks (43) from thebishopric, because they would hold no rule, and set monkstherein. He made there two abbacies; one of monks, another ofnuns. That was all within Winchester. Then came he afterwardsto King Edgar, and requested that he would give him all theminsters that heathen men had before destroyed; for that he wouldrenew them. This the king cheerfully granted; and the bishopcame then first to Ely, where St. Etheldritha lies, and orderedthe minster to be repaired; which he gave to a monk of his, whosename was Britnoth, whom he consecrated abbot: and there he setmonks to serve God, where formerly were nuns. He then boughtmany villages of the king, and made it very rich. Afterwardscame Bishop Athelwold to the minster called Medhamsted, which wasformerly ruined by heathen folk; but he found there nothing butold walls, and wild woods. In the old walls at length he foundhid writings which Abbot Hedda had formerly written;--how KingWulfhere and Ethelred his brother had wrought it, and how theyfreed it against king and against bishop, and against all worldlyservice; and how Pope Agatho confirmed it with his writ, as alsoArchbishop Deusdedit. He then ordered the minster to be rebuilt;and set there an abbot, who was called Aldulf; and made monks, where before was nothing. He then came to the king, and let himlook at the writings which before were found; and the king thenanswered and said: "I Edgar grant and give to-day, before God andbefore Archbishop Dunstan, freedom to St. Peter's minster atMedhamsted, from king and from bishop; and all the thorps thatthereto lie; that is, Eastfield, and Dodthorp, and Eye, andPaston. And so I free it, that no bishop have any jurisdictionthere, but the abbot of the minster alone. And I give the towncalled Oundle, with all that thereto lieth, called Eyot-hundred, with market and toll; so freely, that neither king, nor bishop, nor earl, nor sheriff, have there any jurisdiction; nor any manbut the abbot alone, and whom he may set thereto. And I give toChrist and St. Peter, and that too with the advice of BishopAthelwold, these lands;--that is, Barrow, Warmington, Ashton, Kettering, Castor, Eylesworth, Walton, Witherington, Eye, Thorp, and a minster at Stamford. These lands and al the others thatbelong to the minster I bequeath clear; that is, with sack andsock, toll and team, and infangthief; these privileges and allothers bequeath I clear to Christ and St. Peter. And I give thetwo parts of Whittlesey-mere, with waters and with wears andfens; and so through Meerlade along to the water that is calledNen; and so eastward to Kingsdelf. And I will that there be amarket in the town itself, and that no other be betwixt Stamfordand Huntingdon. And I will that thus be given the toll;--first, from Whittlesey-mere to the king's toll of Norman-crosshundred; then backward again from Whittlesey-mere throughMeerlade along to the Nen, and as that river runs to Crowland;and from Crowland to Must, and from Must to Kingsdelf and toWhittlesey-mere. And I will that all the freedom, and all theprivileges, that my predecessors gave, should remain; and I writeand confirm this with the rood-token of Christ. " (+)--Thenanswered Dunstan, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and said: "Igrant, that all the things that here are given and spoken, andall the things that thy predecessors and mine have given, shallremain firm; and whosoever breaketh it, then give I him God'scurse, and that of all saints, and of all hooded heads, and mine, unless he come to repentance. And I give expressly to St. Petermy mass-hackle, and my stole, and my reef, to serve Christ. " "IOswald, Archbishop of York, confirm all these words through theholy rood on which Christ was crucified. " (+) "I BishopAthelwold bless all that maintain this, and I excommunicate allthat break it, unless they come to repentance. "--Here wasBishop Ellstan, Bishop Athulf, and Abbot Eskwy, and Abbot Osgar, and Abbot Ethelgar, and Alderman Elfere; Alderman Ethelwin, Britnoth and Oslac aldermen, and many other rich men; and allconfirmed it and subscribed it with the cross of Christ. (+)This was done in the year after our Lord's Nativity 972, thesixteenth year of this king. Then bought the Abbot Aldulf landsrich and many, and much endowed the minster withal; and was thereuntil Oswald, Archbishop of York, was dead; and then he waschosen to be archbishop. Soon after another abbot was chosen ofthe same monastery, whose name was Kenulf, who was afterwardsBishop of Winchester. He first made the wall about the minster, and gave it then the name of Peterborough, which before wasMedhamsted. He was there till he was appointed Bishop ofWinchester, when another abbot was chosen of the same monastery, whose name was Elfsy, who continued abbot fifty wintersafterwards. It was he who took up St. Kyneburga and St. Kyneswitha, that lay at Castor, and St. Tibba, that lay atRyhall; and brought them to Peterborough, and offered them all toSt. Peter in one day, and preserved them all the while he wasthere. 

((A. D. 963. This year, by King Edgar, St. Ethelwold was chosento the bishoprick at Winchester. And the Archbishop ofCanterbury, St. Dunstan, consecrated him bishop on the firstSunday of Advent; that was on the third before the kalends ofDecember. ))

A. D. 964. This year drove King Edgar the priests of Winchesterout of the old minster, and also out of the new minster; and fromChertsey; and from Milton; and replaced them with monks. And heappointed Ethelgar abbot to the new minster, and Ordbert toChertsey, and Cyneward to Milton. 

((A. D. 964. This year were the canons driven out of theOld-minster by King Edgar, and also from the New-minster, and fromChertsey and from Milton; and he appointed thereto monks andabbots: to the New-minster Ethelgar, to Chertsey Ordbert, toMilton Cyneward. ))

A. D. 965. This year King Edgar took Elfrida for his queen, whowas daughter of Alderman Ordgar. 

A. D. 966. This year Thored, the son of Gunner, plunderedWestmorland; and the same year Oslac took to the aldermanship. 

A. D. 969. This year King Edgar ordered all Thanet-land to beplundered. 

A. D. 970. This year died Archbishop Oskytel; who was firstconsecrated diocesan bishop at Dorchester, and afterwards it wasby the consent of King Edred and all his council that he wasconsecrated Archbishop of York. He was bishop two and twentywinters; and he died on Alhallow-mas night, ten nights beforeMartinmas, at Thame. Abbot Thurkytel, his relative, carried thebishop's body to Bedford, because he was the abbot there at thattime. 

A. D. 971. This year died Edmund Atheling, and his body lies atRumsey. 

((A. D. 972. This year Edgar the etheling was consecrated king atBath, on Pentecost's mass-day, on the fifth before the ides ofMay, the thirteenth year since he had obtained the kingdom; andhe was then one less than thirty years of age. And soon afterthat, the king led all his ship-forces to Chester; and there cameto meet him six kings, and they all plighted their troth to him, that they would be his fellow-workers by sea and by land. ))

A. D. 973. Here was Edgar, of Angles lord, with courtly pomp hallow'd to king at Akemancester, the ancient city; whose modern sons, dwelling therein, have named her BATH. Much bliss was there by all enjoyed on that happy day, named Pentecost by men below. A crowd of priests, a throng of monks, I understand, in counsel sage, were gather'd there. Then were agone ten hundred winters of number'd years from the birth of Christ, the lofty king, guardian of light, save that thereto there yet was left of winter-tale, as writings say, seven and twenty. So near had run of the lord of triumphs a thousand years, when this was done. Nine and twenty hard winters there of irksome deeds had Edmund's son seen in the world, when this took place, and on the thirtieth was hallow'd king. (43)Soon after this the king led all his marine force to Chester; andthere came to meet him six kings; and they all covenanted withhim, that they would be his allies by sea and by land. 

A. D. 975. Here ended his earthly dreams Edgar, of Angles king; chose him other light, serene and lovely, spurning this frail abode, a life that mortals here call lean he quitted with disdain. July the month, by all agreed in this our land, whoever were in chronic lore correctly taught; the day the eighth, when Edgar young, rewarder of heroes, his life--his throne--resigned. Edward his son, unwaxen child, of earls the prince, succeeded then to England's throne. Of royal race ten nights before departed hence Cyneward the good-- prelate of manners mild. Well known to me in Mercia then, how low on earth God's glory fell on every side: chaced from the land, his servants fled, -- their wisdom scorned; much grief to him whose bosom glow'd with fervent love of great Creation's Lord! Neglected then the God of wonders, victor of victors, monarch of heaven, -- his laws by man transgressed! Then too was driv'n Oslac beloved an exile far from his native land over the rolling waves, -- over the ganet-bath, over the water-throng, the abode of the whale, -- fair-hair'd hero, wise and eloquent, of home bereft! Then too was seen, high in the heavens, the star on his station, that far and wide wise men call-- lovers of truth and heav'nly lore-- "cometa" by name. Widely was spread God's vengeance then throughout the land, and famine scour'd the hills. May heaven's guardian, the glory of angels, avert these ills, and give us bliss again; that bliss to all abundance yields from earth's choice fruits, throughout this happy isle. (45)

((A. D. 975. The eighth before the ides of July. Here Edgar died, ruler of Angles, West-Saxons' joy, and Mercians' protector. Known was it widely throughout many nations. "Thaet" offspring of Edmund, o'er the ganet's-bath, honoured far, Kings him widely bowed to the king, as was his due by kind. No fleet was so daring, nor army so strong, that 'mid the English nation took from him aught, the while that the noble king ruled on his throne. And this year Edward, Edgar's son, succeeded to the kingdom; andthen soon, in the same year, during harvest, appeared "cometa"the star; and then came in the following year a very greatfamine, and very manifold commotions among the English people. In his days, for his youth, God's gainsayers God's law broke; Eldfere, ealdorman, and others many; and rule monastic quashed, and minsters dissolved, and monks drove out, and God's servants put down, whom Edgar, king, ordered erewhile the holy bishop Ethelwold to stablish; and widows they plundered, many times and oft: and many unrighteousnesses, and evil unjust-deeds arose up afterwards: and ever after that it greatly grew in evil. And at that rime, also, was Oslac the great earl banished fromEngland. ))

A. D. 976. This year was the great famine in England. 

A. D. 977. This year was that great council at Kirtlington, (46)after Easter; and there died Bishop Sideman a sudden death, onthe eleventh day before the calends of May. He was Bishop ofDevonshire; and he wished that his resting-place should be atCrediton, his episcopal residence; but King Edward and ArchbishopDunstan ordered men to carry him to St. Mary's minster that is atAbingdon. And they did so; and he is moreover honourably buriedon the north side in St. Paul's porch. 

A. D. 978. This year all the oldest counsellors of England fell atCalne from an upper floor; but the holy Archbishop Dunstan stoodalone upon a beam. Some were dreadfully bruised: and some didnot escape with life. This year was King Edward slain, ateventide, at Corfe-gate, on the fifteenth day before the calendsof April. And he was buried at Wareham without any royal honour. No worse deed than this was ever done by the English nation sincethey first sought the land of Britain. Men murdered him but Godhas magnified him. He was in life an earthly king--he is nowafter death a heavenly saint. Him would not his earthlyrelatives avenge--but his heavenly father has avenged himamply. The earthly homicides would wipe out his memory from theearth--but the avenger above has spread his memory abroad inheaven and in earth. Those, Who would not before bow to hisliving body, now bow on their knees to His dead bones. Now wemay conclude, that the wisdom of men, and their meditations, andtheir counsels, are as nought against the appointment of God. Inthis same year succeeded Ethelred Etheling, his brother, to thegovernment; and he was afterwards very readily, and with greatjoy to the counsellors of England, consecrated king at Kingston. In the same year also died Alfwold, who was Bishop ofDorsetshire, and whose body lieth in the minster at Sherborn. 

A. D. 979. In this year was Ethelred consecrated king, on theSunday fortnight after Easter, at Kingston. And there were athis consecration two archbishops, and ten diocesan bishops. Thissame year was seen a bloody welkin oft-times in the likeness offire; and that was most apparent at midnight, and so in mistybeams was shown; but when it began to dawn, then it glided away. 

((A. D. 979. This year was King Edward slain at even-tide, atCorfe-gate, on the fifteenth before the kalends of April, andthen was he buried at Wareham, without any kind of kinglyhonours. There has not been 'mid Angles a worse deed done than this was, since they first Britain-land sought. Men him murdered, but God him glorified. He was in life an earthly king; he is now after death a heavenly saint. Him would not his earthly kinsmen avenge, but him hath his heavenly Father greatly avenged. The earthly murderers would his memory on earth blot out, but the lofty Avenger hath his memory in the heavens and on earth wide-spread. They who would not erewhile to his living body bow down, they now humbly on knees bend to his dead bones. Now we may understand that men's wisdom and their devices, and their councils, are like nought 'gainst God's resolves. This year Ethelred succeeded to the kingdom; and he was veryquickly after that, with much joy of the English witan, consecrated king at Kingston. ))

A. D. 980. In this year was Ethelgar consecrated bishop, on thesixth day before the nones of May, to the bishopric of Selsey;and in the same year was Southampton plundered by a pirate-army, and most of the population slain or imprisoned. And the sameyear was the Isle of Thanet overrun, and the county of Chesterwas plundered by the pirate-army of the North. In this yearAlderman Alfere fetched the body of the holy King Edward atWareham, and carried him with great solemnity to Shaftsbury. 

A. D. 981. In this year was St. Petroc's-stow plundered; and inthe same year was much harm done everywhere by the sea-coast, both upon Devonshire and Wales. And in the same year diedElfstan, Bishop of Wiltshire; and his body lieth in the minsterat Abingdon; and Wulfgar then succeeded to the bishopric. Thesame year died Womare, Abbot of Ghent. 

((A. D. 981. This year came first the seven ships, and ravagedSouthampton. ))

A. D. 982. In this year came up in Dorsetshire three ships of thepirates, and plundered in Portland. The same year London wasburned. In the same year also died two aldermen, Ethelmer inHampshire, and Edwin in Sussex. Ethelmer's body lieth inWinchester, at New-minster, and Edwin's in the minster atAbingdon. The same year died two abbesses in Dorsetshire;Herelufa at Shaftsbury, and Wulfwina at Wareham. The same yearwent Otho, emperor of the Romans, into Greece; and there met he agreat army of the Saracens, who came up from the sea, and wouldhave proceeded forthwith to plunder the Christian folk; but theemperor fought with them. And there was much slaughter made oneither side, but the emperor gained the field of battle. He wasthere, however, much harassed, ere he returned thence; and as hewent homeward, his brother's son died, who was also called Otho;and he was the son of Leodulf Atheling. This Leodulf was the sonof Otho the Elder and of the daughter of King Edward. 

A. D. 983. This year died Alderman Alfere, and Alfric succeededto the same eldership; and Pope Benedict also died. 

A. D. 984. This year died the benevolent Bishop of Winchester, Athelwold, father of monks; and the consecration of the followingbishop, Elfheah, who by another name was called Godwin, was onthe fourteenth day before the calends of November; and he tookhis seat on the episcopal bench on the mass-day of the twoapostles Simon and Jude, at Winchester. 

A. D. 985. This year was Alderman Alfric driven out of the land;and in the same year was Edwin consecrated abbot of the minsterat Abingdon. 

A. D. 986. This year the king invaded the bishopric of Rochester;and this year came first the great murrain of cattle in England. 

A. D. 987. This year was the port of Watchet plundered. 

A. D. 988. This year was Goda, the thane of Devonshire, slain;and a great number with him: and Dunstan, the holy archbishop, departed this life, and sought a heavenly one. Bishop Ethelgarsucceeded him in the archbishopric; but he lived only a littlewhile after, namely, one year and three months. 

A. D. 989. This year died Abbot Edwin, and Abbot Wulfgarsucceeded to the abbacy. Siric was this year investedarchbishop, and went afterwards to Rome after his pall. 

A. D. 991. This year was Ipswich plundered; and very soonafterwards was Alderman Britnoth (47) slain at Maidon. In thissame year it was resolved that tribute should be given, for thefirst time, to the Danes, for the great terror they occasioned bythe sea-coast. That was first 10, 000 pounds. The first whoadvised this measure was Archbishop Siric. 

A. D. 992. This year the blessed Archbishop Oswald departed thislife, and sought a heavenly one; and in the same year diedAlderman Ethelwin. Then the king and all his council resolved, that all the ships that were of any account should be gatheredtogether at London; and the king committed the lead of theland-force to Alderman Elfric, and Earl Thorod, and Bishop Elfstan, and Bishop Escwy; that they should try if they could anywherewithout entrap the enemy. Then sent Alderman Elfric, and gavewarning to the enemy; and on the night preceding the day ofbattle he sculked away from the army, to his great disgrace. Theenemy then escaped; except the crew of one ship, who were slainon the spot. Then met the enemy the ships from East-Anglia, andfrom London; and there a great slaughter was made, and they tookthe ship in which was the alderman, all armed and rigged. Then, after the death of Archbishop Oswald, succeeded Aldulf, Abbot ofPeterborough, to the sees of York and of Worcester; and Kenulf tothe abbacy of Peterborough. 

((A. D. 992. This year Oswald the blessed archbishop died, andAbbot Eadulf succeeded to York and to Worcester. And this yearthe king and all his witan decreed that all the ships which wereworth anything should be gathered together at London, in orderthat they might try if they could anywhere betrap the army fromwithout. But Aelfric the ealdorman, one of those in whom theking had most confidence, directed the army to be warned; and inthe night, as they should on the morrow have joined battle, theselfsame Aelfric fled from the forces; and then the armyescaped. ))

A. D. 993. This year came Anlaf with three and ninety ships toStaines, which he plundered without, and went thence to Sandwich. Thence to Ipswich, which he laid waste; and so to Maidon, whereAlderman Britnoth came against him with his force, and foughtwith him; and there they slew the alderman, and gained the fieldof battle; whereupon peace was made with him, and the kingreceived him afterwards at episcopal hands by the advice ofSiric, Bishop of Canterbury, and Elfeah of Winchester. This yearwas Bamborough destroyed, and much spoil was there taken. Afterwards came the army to the mouth of the Humber; and theredid much evil both in Lindsey and in Northumbria. Then wascollected a great force; but when the armies were to engage, thenthe generals first commenced a flight; namely, Frene and Godwinand Frithgist. In this same year the king ordered Elfgar, son ofAlderman Elfric, to be punished with blindness. 

((A. D. 993. In this year came Olave with ninety-three ships toStaines, and ravaged there about, and then went thence toSandwich, and so thence to Ipswich, and that all overran; and soto Maldon. And there Britnoth the ealdorman came against themwith his forces, and fought against them: and they there slew theealdorman, and had possession of the place of carnage. And afterthat peace was made with them; and him (Anlaf) the kingafterwards received at the bishop's hands, through theinstruction of Siric, bishop of the Kentish-men, and of Aelphegeof Winchester. ))

A. D. 994. This year died Archbishop Siric: and Elfric, Bishop ofWiltshire, was chosen on Easter-day, at Amesbury, by KingEthelred and all his council. This year came Anlaf and Sweyne toLondon, on the Nativity of St. Mary, with four and ninety-ships. And they closely besieged the city, and would fain have set it onfire; but they sustained more harm and evil than they eversupposed that any citizens could inflict on them. The holymother of God on that day in her mercy considered the citizens, and ridded them of their enemies. Thence they advanced, andwrought the greatest evil that ever any army could do, in burningand plundering and manslaughter, not only on the sea-coast inEssex, but in Kent and in Sussex and in Hampshire. Next theytook horse, and rode as wide as they would, and committedunspeakable evil. Then resolved the king and his council to sendto them, and offer them tribute and provision, on condition thatthey desisted from plunder. The terms they accepted; and thewhole army came to Southampton, and there fixed their winter-quarters;where they were fed by all the subjects of the West-Saxonkingdom. And they gave them 16, 000 pounds in money. Thensent the king; after King Anlaf Bishop Elfeah and AldermanEthelwerd; (48) and, hostages being left with the ships, they ledAnlaf with great pomp to the king at Andover. And King Ethelredreceived him at episcopal hands, and honoured him with royalpresents. In return Anlaf promised, as he also performed, thathe never again would come in a hostile manner to England. 

A. D. 995. This year appeared the comet-star. 

A. D. 996. This year was Elfric consecrated archbishop at Christchurch. (49)

A. D. 997. This year went the army about Devonshire into Severn-mouth, and equally plundered the people of Cornwall, North-Wales, (50) and Devon. Then went they up at Watchet, and there muchevil wrought in burning and manslaughter. Afterwards theycoasted back about Penwithstert on the south side, and, turninginto the mouth of the Tamer, went up till they came to Liddyford, burning and slaying everything that they met. Moreover, Ordulf'sminster at Tavistock they burned to the ground, and brought totheir ships incalculable plunder. This year Archbishop Elfricwent to Rome after his staff. 

A. D. 998. This year coasted the army back eastward into themouth of the Frome, and went up everywhere, as widely as theywould, into Dorsetshire. Often was an army collected againstthem; but, as soon as they were about to come together, then werethey ever through something or other put to flight, and theirenemies always in the end had the victory. Another time they layin the Isle of Wight, and fed themselves meanwhile from Hampshireand Sussex. 

A. D. 999. This year came the army about again into the Thames, and went up thence along the Medway to Rochester; where theKentish army came against them, and encountered them in a closeengagement; but, alas! they too soon yielded and fled; becausethey had not the aid that they should have had. The Danestherefore occupied the field of battle, and, taking horse, theyrode as wide as they would, spoiling and overrunning nearly allWest-Kent. Then the king with his council determined to proceedagainst them with sea and land forces; but as soon as the shipswere ready, then arose delay from day to day, which harassed themiserable crew that lay on board; so that, always, the forwarderit should have been, the later it was, from one time to another;--theystill suffered the army of their enemies to increase;--theDanes continually retreated from the sea-coast;--and theycontinually pursued them in vain. Thus in the end theseexpeditions both by sea and land served no other purpose but tovex the people, to waste their treasure, and to strengthen theirenemies. "

A. D. 1000. This year the king went into Cumberland, and nearlylaid waste the whole of it with his army, whilst his navy sailedabout Chester with the design of co-operating with his land-forces;but, finding it impracticable, they ravaged Anglesey. The hostile fleet was this summer turned towards the kingdom ofRichard. 

A. D. 1001. This year there was great commotion in England inconsequence of an invasion by the Danes, who spread terror anddevastation wheresoever they went, plundering and burning anddesolating the country with such rapidity, that they advanced inone march as far as the town of Alton; where the people ofHampshire came against them, and fought with them. There wasslain Ethelwerd, high-steward of the king, and Leofric ofWhitchurch, and Leofwin, high-steward of the king, and Wulfhere, a bishop's thane, and Godwin of Worthy, son of Bishop Elfsy; andof all the men who were engaged with them eighty-one. Of theDanes there was slain a much greater number, though they remainedin possession of the field of battle. Thence they proceededwestward, until they came into Devonshire; where Paley came tomeet them with the ships which he was able to collect; for he hadshaken off his allegiance to King Ethelred, against all the vowsof truth and fidelity which he had given him, as well as thepresents which the king had bestowed on him in houses and goldand silver. And they burned Teignton, and also many other goodlytowns that we cannot name; and then peace was there concludedwith them. And they proceeded thence towards Exmouth, so thatthey marched at once till they came to Pin-hoo; where Cole, high-steward of the king, and Edsy, reve of the king, came againstthem with the army that they could collect. But they were thereput to flight, and there were many slain, and the Danes hadpossession of the field of battle. And the next morning theyburned the village of Pin-hoo, and of Clist, and also many goodlytowns that we cannot name. Then they returned eastward again, till they came to the Isle of Wight. The next morning theyburned the town of Waltham, and many other small towns; soonafter which the people treated with them, and they made peace. 

((A. D. 1001. This year the army came to Exmouth, and then wentup to the town, and there continued fighting stoutly; but theywere very strenuously resisted. Then went they through the land, and did all as was their wont; destroyed and burnt. Then wascollected a vast force of the people of Devon and of the peopleof Somerset, and they then came together at Pen. And so soon asthey joined battle, then the people gave way: and there they madegreat slaughter, and then they rode over the land, and their lastincursion was ever worse than the one before: and then theybrought much booty with them to their ships. And thence theywent into the Isle of Wight, and there they roved about, even asthey themselves would, and nothing withstood them: nor any fleetby sea durst meet them; nor land force either, went they ever sofar up. Then was it in every wise a heavy time, because theynever ceased from their evil doings. ))

A. D. 1002. This year the king and his council agreed thattribute should be given to the fleet, and peace made with them, with the provision that they should desist from their mischief. Then sent the king to the fleet Alderman Leofsy, who at theking's word and his council made peace with them, on conditionthat they received food and tribute; which they accepted, and atribute was paid of 24, 000 pounds. In the meantime AldermanLeofsy slew Eafy, high-steward of the king; and the king banishedhim from the land. Then, in the same Lent, came the Lady ElfgiveEmma, Richard's daughter, to this land. And in the same summerdied Archbishop Eadulf; and also, in the same year the king gavean order to slay all the Danes that were in England. This wasaccordingly done on the mass-day of St. Brice; because it wastold the king, that they would beshrew him of his life, andafterwards all his council, and then have his kingdom without anyresistance. 

A. D. 1003. This year was Exeter demolished, through the Frenchchurl Hugh, whom the lady had appointed her steward there. Andthe army destroyed the town withal, and took there much spoil. In the same year came the army up into Wiltshire. Then wascollected a very great force, from Wiltshire and from Hampshire;which was soon ready on their march against the enemy: andAlderman Elfric should have led them on; but he brought forth hisold tricks, and as soon as they were so near, that either armylooked on the other, then he pretended sickness, and began toretch, saying he was sick; and so betrayed the people that heshould have led: as it is said, "When the leader is sick thewhole army is hindered. " When Sweyne saw that they were notready, and that they all retreated, then led he his army intoWilton; and they plundered and burned the town. Then went he toSarum; and thence back to the sea, where he knew his ships were. 

A. D. 1004. This year came Sweyne with his fleet to Norwich, plundering and burning the whole town. Then Ulfkytel agreed withthe council in East-Anglia, that it were better to purchase peacewith the enemy, ere they did too much harm on the land; for thatthey had come unawares, and he had not had time to gather hisforce. Then, under the truce that should have been between them, stole the army up from their ships, and bent their course toThetford. When Ulfkytel understood that, then sent he an orderto hew the ships in pieces; but they frustrated his design. Thenhe gathered his forces, as secretly as he could. The enemy cameto Thetford within three weeks after they had plundered Norwich;and, remaining there one night, they spoiled and burned the town;but, in the morning, as they were proceeding to their ships, cameUlfkytel with his army, and said that they must there come toclose quarters. And, accordingly, the two armies met together;and much slaughter was made on both sides. There were many ofthe veterans of the East-Angles slain; but, if the main army hadbeen there, the enemy had never returned to their ships. As theysaid themselves, that they never met with worse hand-play inEngland than Ulfkytel brought them. 

A. D. 1005. This year died Archbishop Elfric; and Bishop Elfeahsucceeded him in the archbishopric. This year was the greatfamine in England so severe that no man ere remembered such. Thefleet this year went from this land to Denmark, and took but ashort respite, before they came again. 

A. D. 1006. This year Elfeah was consecrated Archbishop; BishopBritwald succeeded to the see of Wiltshire; Wulfgeat was deprivedof all his property; (51) Wulfeah and Ufgeat were deprived ofsight; Alderman Elfelm was slain; and Bishop Kenulf (52) departedthis life. Then, over midsummer, came the Danish fleet toSandwich, and did as they were wont; they barrowed and burned andslew as they went. Then the king ordered out all the populationfrom Wessex and from Mercia; and they lay out all the harvestunder arms against the enemy; but it availed nothing more than ithad often done before. For all this the enemy went wheresoeverthey would; and the expedition did the people more harm thaneither any internal or external force could do. When winterapproached, then went the army home; and the enemy retired afterMartinmas to their quarters in the Isle of Wight, and providedthemselves everywhere there with what they wanted. Then, aboutmidwinter, they went to their ready farm, throughout Hampshireinto Berkshire, to Reading. And they did according to theircustom, --they lighted their camp-beacons as they advanced. Thence they marched to Wallingford, which they entirelydestroyed, and passed one night at Cholsey. They then turnedalong Ashdown to Cuckamsley-hill, and there awaited better cheer;for it was often said, that if they sought Cuckamsley, they wouldnever get to the sea. But they went another way homeward. Thenwas their army collected at Kennet; and they came to battlethere, and soon put the English force to flight; and afterwardscarried their spoil to the sea. There might the people ofWinchester see the rank and iniquitous foe, as they passed bytheir gates to the sea, fetching their meat and plunder over anextent of fifty miles from sea. Then was the king gone over theThames into Shropshire; and there he fixed his abode duringmidwinter. Meanwhile, so great was the fear of the enemy, thatno man could think or devise how to drive them from the land, orhold this territory against them; for they had terribly markedeach shire in Wessex with fire and devastation. Then the kingbegan to consult seriously with his council, what they allthought most advisable for defending this land, ere it wasutterly undone. Then advised the king and his council for theadvantage of all the nation, though they were all loth to do it, that they needs must bribe the enemy with a tribute. The kingthen sent to the army, and ordered it to be made known to them, that his desire was, that there should be peace between them, andthat tribute and provision should be given them. And theyaccepted the terms; and they were provisioned throughout England. 

((A. D. 1006. This year Elphege was consecrated archbishop [ofCanterbury]. ))

A. D. 1007. In this year was the tribute paid to the hostilearmy; that was, 30, 000 pounds. In this year also was Edricappointed alderman over all the kingdom of the Mercians. Thisyear went Bishop Elfeah to Rome after his pall. 

A. D. 1008. This year bade the king that men should speedilybuild ships over all England; that is, a man possessed of threehundred and ten hides to provide on galley or skiff; and a manpossessed of eight hides only, to find a helmet and breastplate(53). 

A. D. 1009. This year were the ships ready, that we before spokeabout; and there were so many of them as never were in Englandbefore, in any king's days, as books tell us. And they were alltransported together to Sandwich; that they should lie there, anddefend this land against any out-force. But we have not yet hadthe prosperity and the honour, that the naval armament should beuseful to this land, any more than it often before was. It wasat this same time, or a little earlier, that Brihtric, brother ofAlderman Edric, bewrayed Wulnoth, the South-Saxon knight, fatherof Earl Godwin, to the king; and he went into exile, and enticedthe navy, till he had with him twenty ships; with which heplundered everywhere by the south coast, and wrought every kindof mischief. When it was told the navy that they might easilyseize him, if they would look about them, then took Brihtric withhim eighty ships; and thought that he should acquire for himselfmuch reputation, by getting Wulnoth into his hands alive or dead. But, whilst they were proceeding thitherward, there came such awind against them, as no man remembered before; which beat andtossed the ships, and drove them aground; whereupon Wulnoth sooncame, and burned them. When this was known to the remainingships, where the king was, how the others fared, it was then asif all were lost. The king went home, with the aldermen and thenobility; and thus lightly did they forsake the ships; whilst themen that were in them rowed them back to London. Thus lightlydid they suffer the labour of all the people to be in vain; norwas the terror lessened, as all England hoped. When this navalexpedition was thus ended, then came, soon after Lammas, theformidable army of the enemy, called Thurkill's army, toSandwich; and soon they bent their march to Canterbury; whichcity they would quickly have stormed, had they not rather desiredpeace; and all the men of East-Kent made peace with the army, andgave them 3, 000 pounds for security. The army soon after thatwent about till they came to the Isle of Wight; and everywhere inSussex, and in Hampshire, and also in Berkshire, they plunderedand burned, as THEIR CUSTOM IS. (54) Then ordered the king tosummon out all the population, that men might hold firm againstthem on every side; but nevertheless they marched as theypleased. On one occasion the king had begun his march beforethem, as they proceeded to their ships, and all the people wereready to fall upon them; but the plan was then frustrated throughAlderman Edric, AS IT EVER IS STILL. Then after Martinmas theywent back again to Kent, and chose their winter-quarters on theThames; obtaining their provisions from Essex, and from theshires that were next, on both sides of the Thames. And oft theyfought against the city of London; but glory be to God, that ityet standeth firm: and they ever there met with ill fare. Thenafter midwinter took they an excursion up through Chiltern, (55)and so to Oxford; which city they burned, and plundered on bothsides of the Thames to their ships. Being fore-warned that therewas an army gathered against them at London, they went over atStaines; and thus were they in motion all the winter, and inspring, appeared again in Kent, and repaired their ships. 

A. D. 1010. This year came the aforesaid army, after Easter, intoEast Anglia; and went up at Ipswich, marching continually tillthey came where they understood Ulfcytel was with his army. Thiswas on the day called the first of the Ascension of our Lord. The East-Angles soon fled. Cambridgeshire stood firm againstthem. There was slain Athelstan, the king's relative, and Oswy, and his son, and Wulfric, son of Leofwin, and Edwy, brother ofEfy, and many other good thanes, and a multitude of the people. Thurkytel Myrehead first began the flight; and the Danes remainedmasters of the field of slaughter. There were they horsed; andafterwards took possession of East-Anglia, where they plunderedand burned three months; and then proceeded further into the wildfens, slaying both men and cattle, and burning throughout thefens. Thetford also they burned, and Cambridge; and afterwardswent back southward into the Thames; and the horsemen rodetowards the ships. Then went they west-ward into Oxfordshire, and thence to Buckinghamshire, and so along the Ouse till theycame to Bedford, and so forth to Temsford, always burning as theywent. Then returned they to their ships with their spoil, whichthey apportioned to the ships. When the king's army should havegone out to meet them as they went up, then went they home; andwhen they were in the east, then was the army detained in thewest; and when they were in the south, then was the army in thenorth. Then all the privy council were summoned before the king, to consult how they might defend this country. But, whatever wasadvised, it stood not a month; and at length there was not achief that would collect an army, but each fled as he could: noshire, moreover, would stand by another. Before the feast-day ofSt. Andrew came the enemy to Northampton, and soon burned thetown, and took as much spoil thereabout as they would; and thenreturned over the Thames into Wessex, and so by Cannings-marsh, burning all the way. When they had gone as far as they would, then came they by midwinter to their ships. 

A. D. 1011. This year sent the king and his council to the army, and desired peace; promising them both tribute and provisions, oncondition that they ceased from plunder. They had now overrunEast-Anglia [1], and Essex [2], and Middlesex [3], andOxfordshire [4], and Cambridgeshire [5], and Hertfordshire [6], and Buckinghamshire [7], and Bedfordshire [8], and half ofHuntingdonshire [9], and much of Northamptonshire [10]; and, tothe south of the Thames, all Kent, and Sussex, and Hastings, andSurrey, and Berkshire, and Hampshire, and much of Wiltshire. Allthese disasters befel us through bad counsels; that they wouldnot offer tribute in time, or fight with them; but, when they haddone most mischief, then entered they into peace and amity withthem. And not the less for all this peace, and amity, andtribute, they went everywhere in troops; plundering, andspoiling, and slaying our miserable people. In this year, between the Nativity of St. Mary and Michaelmas, they besetCanterbury, and entered therein through treachery; for Elfmardelivered the city to them, whose life Archbishop Elfeah formerlysaved. And there they seized Archbishop Elfeah, and Elfward theking's steward, and Abbess Leofruna, (56) and Bishop Godwin; andAbbot Elfmar they suffered to go away. And they took therein allthe men, and husbands, and wives; and it was impossible for anyman to say how many they were; and in the city they continuedafterwards as long as they would. And, when they had surveyedall the city, they then returned to their ships, and led thearchbishop with them. Then was a captive he who before was of England head and Christendom;-- there might be seen

 great wretchedness, where oft before great bliss was seen, in the fated city, whence first to us came Christendom, and bliss 'fore God and 'fore the world. And the archbishop they kept with them until the time when theymartyred him. 

A. D. 1012. This year came Alderman Edric, and all the oldestcounsellors of England, clerk and laity, to London before Easter, which was then on the ides of April; and there they abode, overEaster, until all the tribute was paid, which was 48, 000 pounds. Then on the Saturday was the army much stirred against thebishop; because he would not promise them any fee, and forbadethat any man should give anything for him. They were also muchdrunken; for there was wine brought them from the south. Thentook they the bishop, and led him to their hustings, on the eveof the Sunday after Easter, which was the thirteenth before thecalends of May; and there they then shamefully killed him. Theyoverwhelmed him with bones and horns of oxen; and one of themsmote him with an axe-iron on the head; so that he sunk downwardswith the blow; and his holy blood fell on the earth, whilst hissacred soul was sent to the realm of God. The corpse in themorning was carried to London; and the bishops, Ednoth andElfhun, and the citizens, received him with all honour, andburied him in St. Paul's minster; where God now showeth this holymartyr's miracles. When the tribute was paid, and the peace-oathswere sworn, then dispersed the army as widely as it wasbefore collected. Then submitted to the king five and forty ofthe ships of the enemy; and promised him, that they would defendthis land, and he should feed and clothe them. 

A. D. 1013. The year after that Archbishop Elfeah was martyred, the king appointed Lifing to the archiepiscopal see ofCanterbury. And in the same year, before the month August, cameKing Sweyne with his fleet to Sandwich; and very soon went aboutEast-Anglia into the Humber-mouth, and so upward along the Trent, until he came to Gainsborough. Then soon submitted to him EarlUtred, and all the Northumbrians, and all the people of Lindsey, and afterwards the people of the Five Boroughs, and soon afterall the army to the north of Watling-street; and hostages weregiven him from each shire. When he understood that all thepeople were subject to him, then ordered he that his army shouldhave provision and horses; and he then went southward with hismain army, committing his ships and the hostages to his sonKnute. And after he came over Watling-street, they wrought thegreatest mischief that any army could do. Then he went toOxford; and the population soon submitted, and gave hostages;thence to Winchester, where they did the same. Thence went theyeastward to London; and many of the party sunk in the Thames, because they kept not to any bridge. When he came to the city, the population would not submit; but held their ground in fullfight against him, because therein was King Ethelred, andThurkill with him. Then went King Sweyne thence to Wallingford;and so over Thames westward to Bath, where he abode with hisarmy. Thither came Alderman Ethelmar, and all the western thaneswith him, and all submitted to Sweyne, and gave hostages. Whenhe had thus settled all, then went he northward to his ships; andall the population fully received him, and considered him fullking. The population of London also after this submitted to him, and gave hostages; because they dreaded that he would undo them. Then bade Sweyne full tribute and forage for his army during thewinter; and Thurkill bade the same for the army that lay atGreenwich: besides this, they plundered as oft as they would. And when this nation could neither resist in the south nor in thenorth, King Ethelred abode some while with the fleet that lay inthe Thames; and the lady (57) went afterwards over sea to herbrother Richard, accompanied by Elfsy, Abbot of Peterborough. The king sent Bishop Elfun with the ethelings, Edward and Alfred, over sea; that he might instruct them. Then went the king fromthe fleet, about midwinter, to the Isle of Wight; and there abodefor the season; after which he went over sea to Richard, withwhom he abode till the time when Sweyne died. Whilst the ladywas with her brother beyond sea, Elfsy, Abbot of Peterborough, who was there with her, went to the abbey called Boneval, whereSt. Florentine's body lay; and there found a miserable place, amiserable abbot, and miserable monks: because they had beenplundered. There he bought of the abbot, and of the monks, thebody of St. Florentine, all but the head, for 500 pounds; which, on his return home, he offered to Christ and St. Peter. 

A. D. 1014. This year King Sweyne ended his days at Candlemas, the third day before the nones of February; and the same yearElfwy, Bishop of York, was consecrated in London, on the festivalof St. Juliana. The fleet all chose Knute for king; whereuponadvised all the counsellors of England, clergy and laity, thatthey should send after King Ethelred; saying, that no sovereignwas dearer to them than their natural lord, if he would governthem better than he did before. Then sent the king hither hisson Edward, with his messengers; who had orders to greet all hispeople, saying that he would be their faithful lord--wouldbetter each of those things that they disliked--and that eachof the things should be forgiven which had been either done orsaid against him; provided they all unanimously, withouttreachery, turned to him. Then was full friendship established, in word and in deed and in compact, on either side. And everyDanish king they proclaimed an outlaw for ever from England. Then came King Ethelred home, in Lent, to his own people; and hewas gladly received by them all. Meanwhile, after the death ofSweyne, sat Knute with his army in Gainsborough until Easter; andit was agreed between him and the people of Lindsey, that theyshould supply him with horses, and afterwards go out all togetherand plunder. But King Ethelred with his full force came toLindsey before they were ready; and they plundered and burned, and slew all the men that they could reach. Knute, the son ofSweyne, went out with his fleet (so were the wretched peopledeluded by him), and proceeded southward until he came toSandwich. There he landed the hostages that were given to hisfather, and cut off their hands and ears and their noses. Besides all these evils, the king ordered a tribute to the armythat lay at Greenwich, of 21, 000 pounds. This year, on the eveof St. Michael's day, came the great sea-flood, which spread wideover this land, and ran so far up as it never did before, overwhelming many towns, and an innumerable multitude of people. 

A. D. 1015. This year was the great council at Oxford; whereAlderman Edric betrayed Sigferth and Morcar, the eldest thanesbelonging to the Seven Towns. He allured them into his bower, where they were shamefully slain. Then the king took all theirpossessions, and ordered the widow of Sigferth to be secured, andbrought within Malmsbury. After a little interval, EdmundEtheling went and seized her, against the king's will, and hadher to wife. Then, before the Nativity of St. Mary, went theetheling west-north into the Five Towns, (58) and soon plunderedall the property of Sigferth and Morcar; and all the peoplesubmitted to him. At the same time came King Knute to Sandwich, and went soon all about Kent into Wessex, until he came to themouth of the Frome; and then plundered in Dorset, and inWiltshire, and in Somerset. King Ethelred, meanwhile, lay sickat Corsham; and Alderman Edric collected an army there, andEdmund the etheling in the north. When they came together, thealderman designed to betray Edmund the etheling, but he couldnot; whereupon they separated without an engagement, and sheeredoff from their enemies. Alderman Edric then seduced forty shipsfrom the king, and submitted to Knute. The West-Saxons alsosubmitted, and gave hostages, and horsed the army. And hecontinued there until midwinter. 

A. D. 1016. This year came King Knute with a marine force of onehundred and sixty ships, and Alderman Edric with him, over theThames into Mercia at Cricklade; whence they proceeded toWarwickshire, during the middle of the winter, and plunderedtherein, and burned, and slew all they met. Then began Edmundthe etheling to gather an army, which, when it was collected, could avail him nothing, unless the king were there and they hadthe assistance of the citizens of London. The expeditiontherefore was frustrated, and each man betook himself home. After this, an army was again ordered, under full penalties, thatevery person, however distant, should go forth; and they sent tothe king in London, and besought him to come to meet the armywith the aid that he could collect. When they were allassembled, it succeeded nothing better than it often did before;and, when it was told the king, that those persons would betrayhim who ought to assist him, then forsook he the army, andreturned again to London. Then rode Edmund the etheling to EarlUtred in Northumbria; and every man supposed that they wouldcollect an army King Knute; but they went into Stafforddhire, andto Shrewsbury, and to Chester; and they plundered on their parts, and Knute on his. He went out through Buckinghamshire toBedfordshire; thence to Huntingdonshire, and so intoNorthamptonshire along the fens to Stamford. Thence intoLincolnshire. Thence to Nottinghamshire; and so into Northumbriatoward York. When Utred understood this, he ceased fromplundering, and hastened northward, and submitted for need, andall the Northumbrians with him; but, though he gave hostages, hewas nevertheless slain by the advice of Alderman Edric, andThurkytel, the son of Nafan, with him. After this, King Knuteappointed Eric earl over Northumbria, as Utred was; and then wentsouthward another way, all by west, till the whole army came, before Easter, to the ships. Meantime Edmund Etheling went toLondon to his father: and after Easter went King Knute with allhis ships toward London; but it happened that King Ethelred diedere the ships came. He ended his days on St. George's day;having held his kingdom in much tribulation and difficulty aslong as his life continued. After his decease, all the peersthat were in London, and the citizens, chose Edmund king; whobravely defended his kingdom while his time was. Then came theships to Greenwich, about the gang-days, and within a shortinterval went to London; where they sunk a deep ditch on thesouth side, and dragged their ships to the west side of thebridge. Afterwards they trenched the city without, so that noman could go in or out, and often fought against it: but thecitizens bravely withstood them. King Edmund had ere this goneout, and invaded the West-Saxons, who all submitted to him; andsoon afterward he fought with the enemy at Pen near Gillingham. A second battle he fought, after midsummer, at Sherston; wheremuch slaughter was made on either side, and the leadersthemselves came together in the fight. Alderman Edric and Aylmerthe darling were assisting the army against King Edmund. Thencollected he his force the third time, and went to London, all bynorth of the Thames, and so out through Clayhanger, and relievedthe citizens, driving the enemy to their ships. It was withintwo nights after that the king went over at Brentford; where hefought with the enemy, and put them to flight: but there many ofthe English were drowned, from their own carelessness; who wentbefore the main army with a design to plunder. After this theking went into Wessex, and collected his army; but the enemy soonreturned to London, and beset the city without, and foughtstrongly against it both by water and land. But the almighty Goddelivered them. The enemy went afterward from London with theirships into the Orwell; where they went up and proceeded intoMercia, slaying and burning whatsoever they overtook, as theircustom is; and, having provided themselves with meat, they drovetheir ships and their herds into the Medway. Then assembled KingEdmund the fourth time all the English nation, and forded overthe Thames at Brentford; whence he proceeded into Kent. Theenemy fled before him with their horses into the Isle of Shepey;and the king slew as many of them as he could overtake. AldermanEdric then went to meet the king at Aylesford; than which nomeasure could be more ill-advised. The enemy, meanwhile, returned into Essex, and advanced into Mercia, destroying allthat he overtook. When the king understood that the army was up, then collected he the fifth time all the English nation, and wentbehind them, and overtook them in Essex, on the down calledAssingdon; where they fiercely came together. Then did AldermanEdric as he often did before--he first began the flight withthe Maisevethians, and so betrayed his natural lord and all thepeople of England. There had Knute the victory, though allEngland fought against him! There was then slain Bishop Ednoth, and Abbot Wulsy, and Alderman Elfric, and Alderman Godwin ofLindsey, and Ulfkytel of East-Anglia, and Ethelward, the son ofAlderman Ethelsy (59). And all the nobility of the Englishnation was there undone! After this fight went King Knute upwith his army into Glocestershire, where he heard say that KingEdmund was. Then advised Alderman Edric, and the counsellorsthat were there assembled, that the kings should make peace witheach other, and produce hostages. Then both the kings mettogether at Olney, south of Deerhurst, and became allies andsworn brothers. There they confirmed their friendship both withpledges and with oaths, and settled the pay of the army. Withthis covenant they parted: King Edmund took to Wessex, and Knuteto Mercia and the northern district. The army then went to theirships with the things they had taken; and the people of Londonmade peace with them, and purchased their security, whereuponthey brought their ships to London, and provided themselveswinter-quarters therein. On the feast of St. Andrew died KingEdmund; and he is buried with his grandfather Edgar atGastonbury. In the same year died Wulfgar, Abbot of Abingdon;and Ethelsy took to the abbacy. 

A. D. 1017. This year King Knute took to the whole government ofEngland, and divided it into four parts: Wessex for himself, East-Anglia for Thurkyll, Mercia for Edric, Northumbria for Eric. This year also was Alderman Edric slain at London, and Norman, son of Alderman Leofwin, and Ethelward, son of Ethelmar theGreat, and Britric, son of Elfege of Devonshire. King Knute alsobanished Edwy etheling, whom he afterwards ordered to be slain, and Edwy, king of the churls; and before the calends of Augustthe king gave an order to fetch him the widow of the other king, Ethelred, the daughter of Richard, to wife. 

((A. D. 1017. This year Canute was chosen king. ))

A. D. 1018. This year was the payment of the tribute over allEngland; that was, altogether, two and seventy thousand pounds, besides that which the citizens of London paid; and that was tenthousand five hundred pounds. The army then went partly toDenmark; and forty ships were left with King Knute. The Danesand Angles were united at Oxford under Edgar's law; and this yeardied Abbot Ethelsy at Abingdon, to whom Ethelwine succeeded. 

A. D. 1019. This year went King Knute with nine ships to Denmark, where he abode all the winter; and Archbishop Elfstan died thisyear, who was also named Lifing. He was a very upright man bothbefore God and before the world. 

((A. D. 1019. And this winter died Archbishop Elfstan [ofCanterbury]: he was named Living; and he was a very providentman, both as to God and as to the world. ))

A. D. 1020. This year came King Knute back to England; and therewas at Easter a great council at Cirencester, where AldermanEthelward was outlawed, and Edwy, king of the churls. This yearwent the king to Assingdon; with Earl Thurkyll, and ArchbishopWulfstan, and other bishops, and also abbots, and many monks withthem; and he ordered to be built there a minster of stone andlime, for the souls of the men who were there slain, and gave itto his own priest, whose name was Stigand; and they consecratedthe minster at Assingdon. And Ethelnoth the monk, who had beendean at Christ's church, was the same year on the ides ofNovember consecrated Bishop of Christ's church by ArchbishopWulfstan. 

((A. D. 1020. And caused to be built there [Canterbury] a minsterof stone and lime, for the souls of the men who there were slain, and gave it to one of his priests, whose name was Stigand. ))

A. D. 1021. This year King Knute, at Martinmas, outlawed EarlThurkyll; and Bishop Elfgar, the abundant giver of alms, died inthe morning of Christmas day. 

A. D. 1022. This year went King Knute out with his ships to theIsle of Wight. And Bishop Ethelnoth went to Rome; where he wasreceived with much honour by Benedict the magnificent pope, whowith his own hand placed the pall upon him, and with great pompconsecrated him archbishop, and blessed him, on the nones ofOctober. The archbishop on the self-same day with the same pallperformed mass, as the pope directed him, after which he wasmagnificently entertained by the pope himself; and afterwardswith a full blessing proceeded homewards. Abbot Leofwine, whohad been unjustly expelled from Ely, was his companion; and hecleared himself of everything, which, as the pope informed him, had been laid to his charge, on the testimony of the archbishopand of all the company that were with him. 

((A. D. 1022. And afterwards with the pall he there [at Rome]performed mass as the pope instructed him: and he feasted afterthat with the pope; and afterwards went home with a fullblessing. ))

A. D. 1023. This year returned King Knute to England; andThurkyll and he were reconciled. He committed Denmark and hisson to the care of Thurkyll, whilst he took Thurkyll's son withhim to England. This year died Archbishop Wulfstan; and Elfricsucceeded him; and Archbishop Egelnoth blessed him in Canterbury. This year King Knute in London, in St. Paul's minster, gave fullleave (60) to Archbishop Ethelnoth, Bishop Britwine, and allGod's servants that were with them, that they might take up fromthe grave the archbishop, Saint Elphege. And they did so, on thesixth day before the ides of June; and the illustrious king, andthe archbishop, and the diocesan bishops, and the earls, and verymany others, both clergy and laity, carried by ship his holycorpse over the Thames to Southwark. And there they committedthe holy martyr to the archbishop and his companions; and theywith worthy pomp and sprightly joy carried him to Rochester. There on the third day came the Lady Emma with her royal sonHardacnute; and they all with much majesty, and bliss, and songsof praise, carried the holy archbishop into Canterbury, and sobrought him gloriously into the church, on the third day beforethe ides of June. Afterwards, on the eighth day, the seventeenthbefore the calends of July, Archbishop Ethelnoth, and BishopElfsy, and Bishop Britwine, and all they that were with them, lodged the holy corpse of Saint Elphege on the north side of thealtar of Christ; to the praise of God, and to the glory of theholy archbishop, and to the everlasting salvation of all thosewho there his holy body daily seek with earnest heart and allhumility. May God Almighty have mercy on all Christian menthrough the holy intercession of Elphege!

((A. D. 1023. And he caused St. Elphege's remains to be bornefrom London to Canterbury. ))

A. D. 1025. This year went King Knute to Denmark with a fleet tothe holm by the holy river; where against him came Ulf and Eglaf, with a very large force both by land and sea, from Sweden. Therewere very many men lost on the side of King Knute, both of Danishand English; and the Swedes had possession of the field ofbattle. 

A. D. 1026. This year went Bishop Elfric to Rome, and receivedthe pall of Pope John on the second day before the ides ofNovember. 

A. D. 1028. This year went King Knute from England to Norway withfifty ships manned with English thanes, and drove King Olave fromthe land, which he entirely secured to himself. 

A. D. 1029. This year King Knute returned home to England. 

A. D. 1030. This year returned King Olave into Norway; but thepeople gathered together against him, and fought against him; andhe was there slain, in Norway, by his own people, and wasafterwards canonised. Before this, in the same year, died Haconthe doughty earl, at sea. 

((A. D. 1030. This year came King Olave again into Norway, andthe people gathered against him, and fought against him; and hewas there slain. ))

A. D. 1031. This year returned King Knute; and as soon as he cameto England he gave to Christ's church in Canterbury the haven ofSandwich, and all the rights that arise therefrom, on either sideof the haven; so that when the tide is highest and fullest, andthere be a ship floating as near the land as possible, and therebe a man standing upon the ship with a taper-axe in his hand, whithersoever the large taper-axe might be thrown out of theship, throughout all that land the ministers of Christ's churchshould enjoy their rights. This year went King Knute to Rome;and the same year, as soon as he returned home, he went toScotland; and Malcolm, king of the Scots, submitted to him, andbecame his man, with two other kings, Macbeth and Jehmar; but heheld his allegiance a little while only. Robert, Earl ofNormandy, went this year to Jerusalem, where he died; andWilliam, who was afterwards King of England, succeeded to theearldom, though he was a child. 

A. D. 1032. This year appeared that wild fire, such as no manever remembered before, which did great damage in many places. The same year died Elfsy, Bishop of Winchester; and Elfwin, theking's priest, succeeded him. 

A. D. 1033. This year died Bishop Merewhite in Somersetshire, whois buried at Glastonbury; and Bishop Leofsy, whose body restethat Worcester, and to whose see Brihteh was promoted. 

A. D. 1034. This year died Bishop Etheric, who lies at Ramsey. 

A. D. 1035. This year died King Knute at Shaftesbury, on thesecond day before the ides of November; and he is buried atWinchester in the old minster. He was king over all England verynear twenty winters. Soon after his decease, there was a councilof all the nobles at Oxford; wherein Earl Leofric, and almost allthe thanes north of the Thames, and the naval men in London, chose Harold to be governor of all England, for himself and hisbrother Hardacnute, who was in Denmark. Earl Godwin, and all theeldest men in Wessex, withstood it as long as they could; butthey could do nothing against it. It was then resolved thatElfgiva, the mother of Hardacnute, should remain at Winchesterwith the household of the king her son. They held all Wessex inhand, and Earl Godwin was their chief man. Some men said ofHarold, that he was the son of King Knute and of Elfgive thedaughter of Alderman Elfelm; but it was thought very incredibleby many men. He was, nevertheless, full king over all England. Harold himself said that he was the son of Knute and of Elfgivethe Hampshire lady; though it was not true; but he sent andordered to be taken from her all the best treasure that she couldnot hold, which King Knute possessed; and she nevertheless abodethere continually within the city as long as she could. 

A. D. 1036. This year came hither Alfred the innocent etheling, son of King Ethelred, and wished to visit his mother, who abodeat Winchester: but Earl Godwin, and other men who had much powerin this land, did not suffer it; because such conduct was veryagreeable to Harold, though it was unjust. Him did Godwin let, and in prison set. His friends, who did not fly, they slew promiscuously. And those they did not sell, like slaughter'd cattle fell! Whilst some they spared to bind, only to wander blind! Some ham-strung, helpless stood, whilst others they pursued. A deed more dreary none in this our land was done, since Englishmen gave place to hordes of Danish race. But repose we must in God our trust, that blithe as day with Christ live they, who guiltless died-- their country's pride! The prince with courage met each cruel evil yet; till 'twas decreed, they should him lead, all bound, as he was then, to Ely-bury fen. But soon their royal prize bereft they of his eyes! Then to the monks they brought their captive; where he sought a refuge from his foes till life's sad evening close. His body ordered then these good and holy men, according to his worth, low in the sacred earth, to the steeple full-nigh, in the south aile to lie of the transept west-- his soul with Christ doth rest. 

((A. D. 1036. This year died King Canute at Shaftesbury, and heis buried at Winchester in the Old-minster: and he was king overall England very nigh twenty years. And soon after his deceasethere was a meeting of all the witan at Oxford; and Leofric, theearl, and almost all the thanes north of the Thames, and the"lithsmen" at London, chose Harold for chief of all England, himand his brother Hardecanute who was in Denmark. And Godwin theearl and all the chief men of Wessex withstood it as long as theycould; but they were unable to effect anything in opposition toit. And then it was decreed that Elfgive, Hardecanute's mother, should dwell at Winchester with the king's, her son's, household, and hold all Wessex in his power; and Godwin the earl wastheir man. Some men said of Harold that he was son of KingCanute and of Elfgive, daughter of Elfelm the ealdorman, but itseemed quite incredible to many men; and he was nevertheless fullking over all England. ))

A. D. 1037. This year men chose Harold king over all; and forsookHardacnute, because he was too long in Denmark; and then droveout his mother Elgiva, the relict of King Knute, without anypity, against the raging winter! She, who was the mother ofEdward as well as of King Hardacnute, sought then the peace ofBaldwin by the south sea. Then came she to Bruges, beyond sea;and Earl Baldwin well received her there; and he gave her ahabitation at Bruges, and protected her, and entertained herthere as long as she had need. Ere this in the same year diedEafy, the excellent Dean of Evesham. 

((A. D. 1037. This year was driven out Elfgive, King Canute'srelict; she was King Hardecanute's mother; and she then soughtthe protection of Baldwin south of the sea, and he gave her adwelling in Bruges, and protected and kept her, the while thatshe there was. ))

A. D. 1038. This year died Ethelnoth, the good archbishop, on thecalends of November; and, within a little of this time, BishopEthelric in Sussex, who prayed to God that he would not let himlive any time after his dear father Ethelnoth; and within sevennights of this he also departed. Then, before Christmas, diedBishop Brihteh in Worcestershire; and soon after this, BishopElfric in East Anglia. Then succeeded Bishop Edsy to thearchbishopric, Grimkytel to the see of Sussex, and Bishop Lifingto that of Worcester shire and Gloucestershire. 

((A. D. 1038. This year died Ethelnoth, the good archbishop, onthe kalends of November, and a little after, Ethelric, bishop inSussex, and then before Christmas, Briteagus, Bishop inWorcestershire, and soon after, Elfric, bishop in East-Anglia. ))

A. D. 1039. This year happened the terrible wind; and BishopBritmar died at Lichfield. The Welsh slew Edwin, brother of EarlLeofric, and Thurkil, and Elfget, and many good men with them. This year also came Hardacnute to Bruges, where his mother was. 

((A. D. 1039. This year King Harold died at Oxford, on thesixteenth before the kalends of April, and he was buried atWestminster. And he ruled England four years and sixteen weeks;and in his days sixteen ships were retained in pay, at the rateof eight marks for each rower, in like manner as had been beforedone in the days of King Canute. And in this same year came KingHardecanute to Sandwich, seven days before midsummer. And he wassoon acknowledged as well by English as by Danes; though hisadvisers afterwards grievously requited it, when they decreedthat seventy-two ships should be retained in pay, at the rate ofeight marks for each rower. And in this same year the sester ofwheat went up to fifty-five pence, and even further. ))

A. D. 1040. This year died King Harold at Oxford, on thesixteenth before the calends of April; and he was buried atWestminster. He governed England four years and sixteen weeks;and in his days tribute was paid to sixteen ships, at the rate ofeight marks for each steersman, as was done before in KingKnute's days. The same year they sent after Hardacnute toBruges, supposing they did well; and he came hither to Sandwichwith sixty ships, seven nights before midsummer. He was soonreceived both by the Angles and Danes, though his advisersafterwards severely paid for it. They ordered a tribute forsixty-two ships, at the rate of eight marks for each steersman. Then were alienated from him all that before desired him; for heframed nothing royal during his whole reign. He ordered the deadHarold to be dragged up and thrown into a ditch. This year rosethe sester of wheat to fifty-five pence, and even further. Thisyear Archbishop Edsy went to Rome. 

((A. D. 1040. This year was the tribute paid; that twenty-onethousand pounds and ninety-nine pounds. And after that they paidto thirty-two ships, eleven thousand and forty-eight pounds. And, in this same year, came Edward, son of King Ethelred, hitherto land, from Weal-land; he was brother of King Hardecanute: theywere both sons of Elfgive; Emma, who was daughter of EarlRichard. ))

A. D. 1041. This year was the tribute paid to the army; that was, 21, 099 pounds; and afterwards to thirty-two ships, 11, 048 pounds. This year also ordered Hardacnute to lay waste allWorcestershire, on account of the two servants of his household, who exacted the heavy tribute. That people slew them in the townwithin the minster. Early in this same year came Edward, the sonof King Ethelred, hither to land, from Weal-land to Madron. Hewas the brother of King Hardacnute, and had been driven from thisland for many years: but he was nevertheless sworn as king, andabode in his brother's court while he lived. They were both sonsof Elfgive Emma, who was the daughter o[oe] Earl Richard. In thisyear also Hardacnute betrayed Eadulf, under the mask offriendship. He was also allied to him by marriage. This yearwas Egelric consecrated Bishop of York, on the third day beforethe ides of January. 

((A. D. 1041. This year died King Hardecanute at Lambeth, on thesixth before the ides of June: and he was king over all Englandtwo years wanting ten days; and he is buried in the Old-minsterat Winchester with King Canute his father. And his mother, forhis soul, gave to the New-minster the head of St. Valentine themartyr. And before he was buried, all people chose Edward forking at London: may he hold it the while that God shall grant itto him! And all that year was a very heavy time, in many thingsand divers, as well in respect to ill seasons as to the fruits ofthe earth. And so much cattle perished in the year as no manbefore remembered, as well through various diseases as throughtempests. And in this same time died Elsinus, Abbot ofPeterborough; and then Arnwius the monk was chosen abbot, becausehe was a very good man, and of great simplicity. ))

A. D. 1042. This year died King Hardacnute at Lambeth, as hestood drinking: he fell suddenly to the earth with a tremendousstruggle; but those who were nigh at hand took him up; and hespoke not a word afterwards, but expired on the sixth day beforethe ides of June. He was king over all England two years wantingten nights; and he is buried in the old minster at Winchesterwith King Knute his father. And his mother for his soul gave tothe new minster the head of St. Valentine the Martyr: and ere hewas buried all people chose Edward for king in London. And theyreceived him as their king, as was natural; and he reigned aslong as God granted him. All that year was the season verysevere in many and various respects: both from the inclemency ofthe weather, and the loss of the fruits of the earth. Morecattle died this year than any man ever remembered, either fromvarious diseases, or from the severity of the weather. At thissame time died Elfsinus, Abbot of Peterborough; and they choseArnwy, a monk, for their abbot; because he was a very good andbenevolent man. 

A. D. 1043. This year was Edward consecrated king at Winchester, early on Easter-day, with much pomp. Then was Easter on thethird day before the nones of April. Archbishop Edsyconsecrated him, and before all people well admonished him. AndStigand the priest was consecrated bishop over the East Angles. And this year, fourteen nights before the mass of St. Andrew, itwas advised the king, that he and Earl Leofric and Earl Godwinand Earl Siward with their retinue, should ride from Gloucesterto Winchester unawares upon the lady; and they deprived her ofall the treasures that she had; which were immense; because shewas formerly very hard upon the king her son, and did less forhim than he wished before he was king, and also since: but theysuffered her to remain there afterwards. And soon after this theking determined to invest all the land that his mother had in herhands, and took from her all that she had in gold and in silverand in numberless things; because she formerly held it too fastagainst him. Soon after this Stigand was deprived of hisbishopric; and they took all that he had into their hands for theking, because he was nighest the counsel of his mother; and sheacted as he advised, as men supposed. 

((A. D. 1043. This year was Edward consecrated king at Winchesteron the first day of Easter. And this year, fourteen days beforeAndrew's-mass, the king was advised to ride from Gloucester, andLeofric the earl, and Godwin the earl, and Sigwarth [Siward] theearl, with their followers, to Winchester, unawares upon the lady[Emma]; and they bereaved her of all the treasures which shepossessed, they were not to be told, because before that she hadbeen very hard with the king her son; inasmuch as she had doneless for him than he would, before he was king, and also since:and they suffered her after that to remain therein. This yearKing Edward took the daughter [Edgitha] of Godwin the earl forhis wife. And in this same year died Bishop Brithwin, and heheld the bishopric thirty-eight years, that was the bishopric ofSherborne, and Herman the king's priest succeeded to thebishopric. And in this year Wulfric was hallowed Abbot of St. Augustine's at Christmas, on Stephen's mass-day, by leave of theking, and, on account of his great infirmity, of Abbot Elfstun. ))

A. D. 1044. This year Archbishop Edsy resigned his see frominfirmity, and consecrated Siward, Abbot of Abingdon, bishopthereto, with the permission and advice of the king and EarlGodwin. It was known to few men else before it was done; becausethe archbishop feared that some other man would either beg or buyit, whom he might worse trust and oblige than him, if it wereknown to many men. This year there was very great hunger overall England, and corn so dear as no man remembered before; sothat the sester of wheat rose to sixty pence, and even further. And this same year the king went out to Sandwich with thirty-fiveships; and Athelstan, the churchwarden, succeeded to the abbacyof Abingdon, and Stigand returned to his bishopric. In the sameyear also King Edward took to wife Edgitha, the daughter of EarlGodwin, ten nights before Candlemas. And in the same year diedBritwold, Bishop of Wiltshire, on the tenth day before thecalends of May; which bishopric he held thirty-eight winters;that was, the bishopric of Sherborn. And Herman, the king'spriest, succeeded to the bishopric. This year Wulfric wasconsecrated Abbot of St. Augustine's, at Christmas, on themass-day of St. Stephen, by the king's leave and that of AbbotElfstan, by reason of his great infirmity. 

((A. D. 1044. This year died Living, Bishop in Devonshire, andLeoftic succeeded thereto; he was the king's priest. And in thissame year died Elfstan, Abbot of St. Augustine's, on the thirdbefore the nones of July. And in this same year was outlawedOsgod Clapa. ))

A. D. 1045. This year died Elfward, Bishop of London, on theeighth day before the calends of August. He was formerly Abbotof Evesham, and well furthered that monastery the while that hewas there. He went then to Ramsey, and there resigned his life:and Mannie was chosen abbot, being consecrated on the fourth daybefore the ides of August. This year Gunnilda, a woman of rank, a relative of King Knute, was driven out, and resided afterwardsat Bruges a long while, and then went to Denmark. King Edwardduring the year collected a large fleet at Sandwich, through thethreatening of Magnus of Norway; but his contests with Sweyne inDenmark prevented him from coming hither. 

((A. D. 1045. This year died Grimkytel, Bishop in Sussex, andHeca, the king's priest, succeeded thereto. And in this yeardied Alwyn, Bishop of Winchester, on the fourth before thekalends of September; and Stigand, bishop to the north[Flanders], succeeded thereto. And in the same year Sweyn theearl went out to Baldwin's land [Of Elmham] to Bruges and abodethere all the winter; and then in summer he went out. ))

A. D. 1046. This year died Lifting, the eloquent bishop, on thetenth day before the calends of April. He had three bishoprics;one in Devonshire, one in Cornwall, and another inWorcestershire. Then succeeded Leofric, who was the king'spriest, to Devonshire and to Cornwall, and Bishop Aldred toWorcestershire. This year died Elfwine, Bishop of Winchester, onthe fourth day before the calends of September; and Stigand, Bishop of Norfolk, was raised to his see. Ere this, in the sameyear, died Grimkytel, Bishop of Sussex; and he lies atChrist-church, in Canterbury. And Heca, the' king's priest, succeeded to the bishopric. Sweyne also sent hither, andrequested the aid of fifty ships against Magnus, king of theNorwegians; but it was thought unwise by all the people, and itwas prevented, because that Magnus had a large navy: and he droveSweyne out, and with much slaughter won the land. The Danes thengave him much money, and received him as king. The same yearMagnus died. The same year also Earl Sweyne went out toBaldwin's land, to Bruges; and remained there all the winter. Inthe summer he departed. 

A. D. 1046. This year went Earl Sweyne into Wales; and Griffin, king of the northern men with him; and hostages were delivered tohim. As he returned homeward, he ordered the Abbess ofLeominster to be fetched him; and he had her as long as he list, after which he let her go home. In this same year was outlawedOsgod Clapa, the master of horse, before midwinter. And in thesame year, after Candlemas, came the strong winter, with frostand with snow, and with all kinds of bad weather; so that therewas no man then alive who could remember so severe a winter asthis was, both through loss of men and through loss of cattle;yea, fowls and fishes through much cold and hunger perished. 

((A. D. 1046. This year died Brithwin, bishop in Wiltshire, andHerman was appointed to his see. In that year King Edwardgathered a large ship-force at Sandwich, on account of thethreatening of Magnus in Norway: but his and Sweyn's contentionin Denmark hindered his coming here. This year died Athelstan, Abbot of Abingdon, and Sparhawk, monk of St. Edmund's-bury, succeeded him. And in this same year died bishop Siward, andArchbishop Eadsine again obtained the whole bishopric. And inthis same year Lothen and Irling came with twenty-five ships toSandwich, and there took unspeakable booty, in men, and in gold, and in silver, so that no man knew how much it all was. And theythen went about Thanet, and would there do the like; but theland's-folk strenuously withstood them, and denied them as welllanding as water; and thence utterly put them to flight. Andthey betook themselves then into Essex, and there they ravaged, and took men, and property, and whatsoever they might find. Andthey betook themselves then east to Baldwine's land, and therethey sold what they had plundered; and after that went their wayeast, whence they before had come. In this year was the greatsynod at St. Remi's [Rheins]. Thereat was Leo the pope, and theArchbishop of Burgundy [Lyons], and the Archbishop of Besancon, and the Archbishop of Treves, and the Archbishop of Rheims; andmany men besides, both clergy and laity. And King Edward sentthither Bishop Dudoc [Of Wells], and Wulfric, Abbot of St. Augustine's, and Abbot Elfwin [Of Ramsey], that they might makeknown to the king what should be there resolved on forChristendom. And in this same year King Edward went out toSandwich with a great fleet. And Sweyn the earl, son of Godwinthe earl, came in to Bosham with seven ships; and he obtained theking's protection, and he was promised that he should be heldworthy of everything which he before possessed. Then Harold theearl, his brother, and Beorn the earl contended that he shouldnot be held worthy of any of the things which the king hadgranted to them: but a protection of four days was appointed himto go to his ships. Then befell it during this, that word cameto the king that hostile ships lay westward, and were ravaging. Then went Godwin the earl west about with two of the king'sships; the one commanded Harold the earl, and the other Tosty hisbrother; and forty-two of the people's ships. Then Harold theearl was removed from the king's ship which Harold the earlbefore had commanded. Then went they west to Pevensey, and laythere weather-bound. Upon this, after two days, then came Sweynthe earl thither, and spoke with his father, and with Beorn theearl, and begged of Beorn that he would go with him to the kingat Sandwich, and help him to the king's friendship: and hegranted it. Then went they as if they would go to the king. Then whilst they were riding, then begged Sweyn of him that hewould go with him to his ships: saying that his seamen woulddepart from him unless he should at the soonest come thither. Then went they both where his ships lay. When they came thither, then begged Sweyn the earl of him that he would go with him onship-board. He strenuously refused, so long as until his seamenseized him, and threw him into the boat, and bound him, and rowedto the ship, and put him there aboard. Then they hoisted uptheir sails and ran west to Exmouth, and had him with them untilthey slew him: and they took the body and buried it in a church. And then his friends and litsmen came from London, and took himup, and bore him to Winchester to the Old-minster, and he isthere buried with King Canute his uncle. And Sweyn went theneast to Baldwin's land, and sat down there all the winter atBruges, with his full protection. And in the same year diedEadnoth [II. ] bishop [Of Dorchester] of the north and Ulf wasmade bishop. ))

A. D. 1047. This year died Athelstan, Abbot of Abingdon, on thefourth day before the calends of April; and Sparhawk, monk of St. Edmundsbury, succeeded him. Easter day was then on the third daybefore the nones of April; and there was over all England verygreat loss of men this year also. The same year came to SandwichLothen and Irling, with twenty-five ships, and plundered and tookincalculable spoil, in men, and in gold, and in silver, so thatno man wist what it all was; and went then about Thanet, andwould there have done the same; but the land-folk firmlywithstood, and resisted them both by land and sea, and thence putthem to flight withal. They betook themselves thence into Essex, where they plundered and took men, and whatsoever they couldfind, whence they departed eastward to Baldwin's land, and havingdeposited the booty they had gained, they returned east to theplace whence they had come before. 

((A. D. 1047. This year died Living the eloquent bishop, on thetenth before the kalends of April, and he had three bishoprics;one in Devonshire, and in Cornwall, and in Worcester. ThenLeofric (61) succeeded to Devonshire and to Cornwall, and BishopAldred to Worcester. And in this year Osgod, the master of thehorse, was outlawed: and Magnus [King of Norway] won Denmark. Inthis year there was a great council in London at mid-Lent, andnine ships of lightermen were discharged, and five remainedbehind. In this same year came Sweyn the earl into England. Andin this same year was the great synod at Rome, and King Edwardsent thither Bishop Heroman and Bishop Aldred; and they camethither on Easter eve. And afterwards the pope held a synod atVercelli, and Bishop Ulf came thereto; and well nigh would theyhave broken his staff, if he had not given very great gifts;because he knew not how to do his duty so well as he should. Andin this year died Archbishop Eadsine, on the fourth before thekalends of November. ))

A. D. 1048. This year came Sweyne back to Denmark; and Harold, the uncle of Magnus, went to Norway on the death of Magnus, andthe Northmen submitted to him. He sent an embassy of peace tothis land, as did also Sweyne from Denmark, requesting of KingEdward naval assistance to the amount at least of fifty ships;but all the people resisted it. This year also there was anearthquake, on the calends of May, in many places; at Worcester, at Wick, and at Derby, and elsewhere wide throughout England;with very great loss by disease of men and of cattle over allEngland; and the wild fire in Derbyshire and elsewhere did muchharm. In the same year the enemy plundered Sandwich, and theIsle of Wight, and slew the best men that were there; and KingEdward and the earls went out after them with their ships. Thesame year Bishop Siward resigned his bishopric from infirmity, and retired to Abingdon; upon which Archbishop Edsy resumed thebishopric; and he died within eight weeks of this, on the tenthday before the calends of November. 

((A. D. 1048. This year was the severe winter: and this year diedAlwyn, Bishop of Winchester, and Bishop Stigand was raised to hissee. And before that, in the same year, died Grinketel, Bishopin Sussex, and Heca the priest succeeded to the bishopric. AndSweyn also sent hither, begging assistance against Magnus, Kingof Norway; that fifty ships should be sent to his aid. But itseemed unadvisable to all people: and it was then hindered byreason that Magnus had a great ship-force. And he then drove outSweyn, and with much man-slaying won the land: and the Danes paidhim much money and acknowledged him as king. And that same yearMagnus died. In this year King Edward appointed Robert, ofLondon, Archbishop of Canterbury, during Lent. And in the sameLent he went to Rome after his pall: and the king gave thebishopric of London to Sparhafoc, Abbot of Abingdon; and the kinggave the abbacy of Abingdon to Bishop Rodulf, his kinsman. Thencame the archbishop from Rome one day before St. Peter's mass-eve, and entered on his archiepiscopal see at Christ's Church onSt. Peter's mass-day; and soon after went to the king. Then cameAbbot Sparhafoc to him with the king's writ and seal, in orderthat he should consecrate him Bishop of London. Then thearchbishop refused, and said that the pope had forbidden it him. Then went the abbot to the archbishop again for that purpose, andthere desired episcopal ordination; and the archbishop constantlyrefused him, and said that the pope had forbidden it him. Thenwent the abbot to London, and occupied the bishopric which theking before had granted him, with his full leave, all the summerand the harvest. And then came Eustace [Earl of Boulogne] frombeyond sea soon after the bishop, and went to the king, and spokewith him that which he then would, and went then homeward. Whenhe came to Canterbury, east, then took he refreshment there, andhis men, and went to Dover. When he was some mile or more, onthis side of Dover, then he put on his breast-plate, and so didall his companions, and went to Dover. When they came thither, then would they lodge themselves where they chose. Then came oneof his men, and would abide in the house of a householder againsthis will, and wounded the householder; and the householder slewthe other. Then Eustace got upon his horse, and his companionsupon theirs; and they went to the householder, and slew himwithin his own dwelling; and they went up towards the town, andslew, as well within as without, more than twenty men. And thetownsmen slew nineteen men on the other side, and wounded theyknew not how many. And Eustace escaped with a few men, and wentagain to the king, and made known to him, in part, how they hadfared. And the king became very wroth with the townsmen. Andthe king sent off Godwin the earl, and bade him go into Kent in ahostile manner to Dover: for Eustace had made it appear to theking, that it had been more the fault of the townsmen than his:but it was not so. And the earl would not consent to the inroad, because he was loth to injure his own people. Then the king sentafter all his council, and bade them come to Gloucester, nigh theaftermass of St. Mary. Then had the Welshmen erected a castle inHerefordshire among the people of Sweyn the earl, and wroughtevery kind of harm and disgrace to the king's men there aboutwhich they could. Then came Godwin the earl, and Sweyn the earl, and Harold the earl, together at Beverstone, and many men withthem, in order that they might go to their royal lord, and to allthe peers who were assembled with him, in order that they mighthave the advice of the king and his aid, and of all this council, how they might avenge the king's disgrace, and the wholenation's. Then were the Welshmen with the king beforehand, andaccused the earls, so that they might not come within his eyes'sight; because they said that they were coming thither in orderto betray the king. Thither had come Siward the earl [OfNorthumbria] and Leofric the earl [Of Mercia], and much peoplewith them, from the north, to the king; and it was made known tothe Earl Godwin and his sons, that the king and the men who werewith him, were taking counsel concerning them: and they arrayedthemselves on the other hand resolutely, though it were loathfulto them that they should stand against their royal lord. Thenthe peers on either side decreed that every kind of evil shouldcease: and the king gave the peace of God and his full friendshipto either side. Then the king and his peers decreed that acouncil of all the nobles should be held for the second time inLondon at the harvest equinox; and the king directed the army tobe called out, as well south of the Thames as north, all that wasin any way most eminent. Then declared they Sweyn the earl anoutlaw, and summoned Godwin the earl and Harold the earl, to thecouncil, as quickly as they could effect it. When they had comethither, then were they summoned into the council. Then requiredhe safe conduct and hostages, so that he might come, unbetrayed, into the council and out of the council. Then the king demandedall the thanes whom the earls before had: and they granted themall into his hands. Then the king sent again to them, andcommanded them that they should come with twelve men to theking's council. Then the earl again required safe conduct andhostages, that he might defend himself against each of thosethings which were laid to him. Then were the hostages refusedhim; and he was allowed a safe conduct for five nights to go outof the land. And then Godwin the earl and Sweyn the earl went toBosham, and shoved out their ships, and betook themselves beyondsea, and sought Baldwin's protection, and abode there all thewinter. And Harold the earl went west to Ireland, and was thereall the winter within the king's protection. And soon after thishappened, then put away the king the lady who had beenconsecrated his queen [Editha], and caused to be taken from herall which she possessed, in land, and in gold, and in silver, andin all things, and delivered her to his sister at Wherwell. AndAbbot Sparhafoc was then driven out of the bishopric of London, and William the king's priest was ordained thereto. And thenOdda was appointed earl over Devonshire, and over Somerset, andover Dorset, and over the Welsh. And Algar, the son of Leofricthe earl, was appointed to the earldom which Harold beforeheld. ))

A. D. 1049. (62) This year the emperor gathered an innumerablearmy against Baldwin of Bruges, because he had destroyed thepalace of Nimeguen, and because of many other ungracious actsthat he did against him. The army was immense that he hadcollected together. There was Leo, the Pope of Rome, and thepatriarch, and many other great men of several provinces. Hesent also to King Edward, and requested of him naval aid, that hemight not permit him to escape from him by water. Whereupon hewent to Sandwich, and lay there with a large naval armament, until the emperor had all that he wished of Baldwin. Thitheralso came back again Earl Sweyne, who had gone from this land toDenmark, and there ruined his cause with the Danes. He camehither with a pretence, saying that he would again submit to theking, and be his man; and he requested Earl Beorn to be ofassistance to him, and give him land to feed him on. But Harold, his brother, and Earl Beorn resisted, and would give him nothingof that which the king had given them. The king also refused himeverything. Whereupon Swevne retired to his ships at Bosham. Then, after the settlement between the emperor and Baldwin, manyships went home, and the king remained behind Sandwich with a fewships. Earl Godwin also sailed forty-two ships from Sandwich toPevensey, and Earl Beorn went with him. Then the king gave leaveto all the Mercians to return home, and they did so. Then it wastold the king that Osgod lay at Ulps with thirty-nine ships;whereupon the king sent after the ships that he might dispatch, which before had gone homewards, but still lay at the Nore. ThenOsgod fetched his wife from Bruges; and they went back again withsix ships; but the rest went towards Essex, to Eadulf's-ness, andthere plundered, and then returned to their ships. But therecame upon them a strong wind, so that they were all lost but fourpersons, who were afterwards slain beyond sea. Whilst EarlGodwin and Earl Beorn lay at Pevensey with their ships, came EarlSweyne, and with a pretence requested of Earl Beorn, who was hisuncle's son, that he would be his companion to the king atSandwich, and better his condition with him; adding, that hewould swear oaths to him, and be faithful to him. WhereuponBeorn concluded, that he would not for their relationship betrayhim. He therefore took three companions with him, and they rodeto Bosham, where his (63) ships lay, as though they shouldproceed to Sandwich; but they suddenly bound him, and led him tothe ships, and went thence with him to Dartmouth, where theyordered him to be slain and buried deep. He was afterwardsfound, and Harold his cousin fetched him thence, and led him toWinchester, to the old minster, where he buried him with KingKnute, his uncle. Then the king and all the army proclaimedSweyne an outlaw. A little before this the men of Hastings andthereabout fought his two ships with their ships, and slew allthe men, and brought the ships to Sandwich to the king. Eightships had he, ere he betrayed Beorn; afterwards they all forsookhim except two; whereupon he went eastward to the land ofBaldwin, and sat there all the winter at Bruges, in fullsecurity. In the same year came up from Ireland thirty-six shipson the Welsh coast, and thereabout committed outrages, with theaid of Griffin, the Welsh king. The people were soon gatheredagainst them, and there was also with them Bishop Eldred, butthey had too little assistance, and the enemy came unawares onthem very early in the morning, and slew on the spot many goodmen; but the others burst forth with the bishop. This was doneon the fourth day before the calends of August. This year diedthe good Bishop Ednoth in Oxfordshire; and Oswy, Abbot of Thomey;and Wulfnoth, Abbot of Westminster; and King Edward gave thebishopric which Ednoth had to Ulf his priest, but it ill betidedhim; and he was driven from it, because he did nought like abishop therein, so that it shameth us now to say more. BishopSiward also died who lies at Abingdon. In this same year KingEdward put nine ships out of pay; and the crews departed, andwent away with the ships withal, leaving five ships only behind, for whom the king ordered twelve months pay. The same year wentBishops Hereman and Aldred to the pope at Rome on the king'serrand. This year was also consecrated the great minster atRheims, in the presence of Pope Leo and the emperor. There wasalso a great synod at St. Remy; (64) at which was present PopeLeo, with the Archbishops of Burgundy, of Besancon, of Treves, and of Rheims; and many wise men besides, both clergy and laity. A great synod there held they respecting the service of God, atthe instance of St. Leo the pope. It is difficult to recogniseall the bishops that came thither, and also abbots. King Edwardsent thither Bishop Dudoc, and Abbot Wulfric, of St. Augustine's, and Elfwin, Abbot of Ramsey, with the intent that they shouldreport to the king what was determined there concerningChristendom. This same year came Earl Sweyne into England. 

((A. D. 1049. This year Sweyn came again to Denmark, and Harold. Uncle of Magnus, went to Norway after Magnus was dead; and theNormans acknowledged him: and he sent hither to land concerningpeace. And Sweyn also sent from Denmark, and begged of KingEdward the aid of his ships. They were to be at least fiftyships: but all people opposed it. And this year also there wasan earthquake, on the kalends of May, in many places inWorcester, and in Wick, and in Derby, and elsewhere; and alsothere was a great mortality among men, and murrain among cattle:and moreover, the wild-fire did much evil in Derbyshire andelsewhere. ))

A. D. 1050. This year returned the bishops home from Rome; (65)and Earl Sweyne had his sentence of outlawry reversed. The sameyear died Edsy, Archbishop of Canterbury, on the fourth daybefore the calends of November; and also in the same year Elfric, Archbishop of York, on the eleventh before the calends ofFebruary, a very venerable man and wise, and his body lies atPeterborough. Then had King Edward a meeting of the greatcouncil in London, in mid-lent, at which he appointed Robert theFrank, who was before Bishop of London, Archbishop of Canterbury;and he, during the same Lent, went to Rome after his pall. Theking meanwhile gave the see of London to Sparhawk, Abbot ofAbingdon, but it was taken from him again before he wasconsecrated. The king also gave the abbacy of Abingdon to BishopRodulph his cousin. The same year he put all the lightermen outof pay. (66) The pope held a council again, at Vercelli; andBishop Ulf came thither, where he nearly had his staff broken, had he not paid more money, because he could not perform hisduties so well as he should do. The same year King Edwardabolished the Danegeld which King Ethelred imposed. That was inthe thirty-ninth year after it had begun. That tribute harassedall the people of England so long as is above written; and it wasalways paid before other imposts, which were leviedindiscriminately, and vexed men variously. 

((A. D. 1050. Thither also came Sweyn the earl, who before hadgone from this land to Denmark, and who there had ruined himselfwith the Danes. He came thither with false pretences; sayingthat he would again be obedient to the king. And Beorn the earlpromised him that he would be of assistance to him. Then, afterthe reconciliation of the emperor and of Baldwin, many of theships went home, and the king remained behind at Sandwich with afew ships; and Godwin the earl also went with forty-two shipsfrom Sandwich to Pevensey, and Beorn the earl went with him. Then was it made known to the king that Osgood lay at Ulps withthirty-nine ships; and the king then sent after the ships whichbefore had gone home, that he might send after him. And Osgodfetched his wife from Bruges, and they went back again with sixships. And the others landed in Sussex [Essex] at Eadulf-ness, and there did harm, and went again to their ships: and then astrong wind came against them, so that they were all destroyed, except four, whose crews were slain beyond sea. While Godwin theearl and Beorn the earl lay at Pevensey, then came Sweyn theearl, and begged Beorn the earl, with fraud, who was his uncle'sson, that he would be his companion to the king at Sandwich, andbetter his affairs with him. He went then, on account of therelationship, with three companions, with him; and he led himthen towards Bosham, where his ships lay: and then they boundhim, and led him on ship-board. Then went he thence with him toDartmouth, and there ordered him to be slain, and deeply buried. Afterwards he was found, and borne to Winchester, and buried withking Canute his uncle. A little before that, the men of Hastingsand thereabout, fought two of his ships with their ships; andslew all the men, and brought the ships to Sandwich to the king. Eight ships he had before he betrayed Beorn; after that allforsook him except two. In the same year arrived in the WelshAxa, from Ireland, thirty-six ships, and thereabout did harm, with the help of Griffin the Welsh king. The people weregathered together against them; Bishop Aldred [Of Worchester] wasalso there with them; but they had too little power. And theycame unawares upon them at very early morn; and there they slewmany good men, and the others escaped with the bishop: this wasdone on the fourth before the kalends of August. This year died, in Oxfordshire, Oswy, Abbot of Thorney, and Wulfnoth, Abbot ofWestminster; and Ulf the priest was appointed as pastor to thebishopric which Eadnoth had held; but he was after that drivenaway; because he did nothing bishop-like therein: so that itshameth us now to tell more about it. And Bishop Siward died: helieth at Abingdon. And this year was consecrated the greatminster at Rheims: there was Pope Leo [IX. ] and the emperor[Henry III]; and there they held a great synod concerning God'sservice. St. Leo the pope presided at the synod: it is difficultto have a knowledge of the bishops who came there, and how manyabbots: and hence, from this land were sent two--from St. Augustine's and from Ramsey. ))

A. D. 1051. This year came Archbishop Robert hither over sea withhis pall from Rome, one day before St. Peter's eve: and he tookhis archiepiscopal seat at Christ-church on St. Peter's day, andsoon after this went to the king. Then came Abbot Sparhawk tohim with the king's writ and seal, to the intent that he shouldconsecrate him Bishop o[oe] London; but the archbishop refused, saying that the pope had forbidden him. Then went the abbot tothe archbishop again for the same purpose, and there demandedepiscopal consecration; but the archbishop obstinately refused, repeating that the pope had forbidden him. Then went the abbotto London, and sat at the bishopric which the king had beforegiven him, with his full leave, all the summer and the autumn. Then during the same year came Eustace, who had the sister ofKing Edward to wife, from beyond sea, soon after the bishop, andwent to the king; and having spoken with him whatever he chose, he then went homeward. When he came to Canterbury eastward, there took he a repast, and his men; whence he proceeded toDover. When he was about a mile or more on this side Dover, heput on his breast-plate; and so did all his companions: and theyproceeded to Dover. When they came thither, they resolved toquarter themselves wherever they lived. Then came one of hismen, and would lodge at the house of a master of a family againsthis will; but having wounded the master of the house, he wasslain by the other. Then was Eustace quickly upon his horse, andhis companions upon theirs; and having gone to the master of thefamily, they slew him on his own hearth; then going up to theboroughward, they slew both within and without more than twentymen. The townsmen slew nineteen men on the other side, andwounded more, but they knew not how many. Eustace escaped with afew men, and went again to the king, telling him partially howthey had fared. The king was very wroth with the townsmen, andsent off Earl Godwin, bidding him go into Kent with hostility toDover. For Eustace had told the king that the guilt of thetownsmen was greater than his. But it was not so: and the earlwould not consent to the expedition, because he was loth todestroy his own people. Then sent the king after all hiscouncil, and bade them come to Gloucester nigh the after-mass ofSt. Mary. Meanwhile Godwin took it much to heart, that in hisearldom such a thing should happen. Whereupon be began to gatherforces over all his earldom, and Earl Sweyne, his son, over his;and Harold, his other son, over his earldom: and they assembledall in Gloucestershire, at Langtree, a large and innumerablearmy, all ready for battle against the king; unless Eustace andhis men were delivered to them handcuffed, and also the Frenchmenthat were in the castle. This was done seven nights before thelatter mass of St. Mary, when King Edward was sitting atGloucester. Whereupon he sent after Earl Leofric, and northafter Earl Siward, and summoned their retinues. At first theycame to him with moderate aid; but when they found how it was inthe south, then sent they north over all their earldom, andordered a large force to the help of their lord. So did Ralphalso over his earldom. Then came they all to Gloucester tothe aid of the king, though it was late. So unanimous were theyall in defence of the king, that they would seek Godwin's army ifthe king desired it. But some prevented that; because it wasvery unwise that they should come together; for in the two armieswas there almost all that was noblest in England. They thereforeprevented this, that they might not leave the land at the mercyof our foes, whilst engaged in a destructive conflict betwixtourselves. Then it was advised that they should exchangehostages between them. And they issued proclamations throughoutto London, whither all the people were summoned over all thisnorth end in Siward's earldom, and in Leofric's, and alsoelsewhere; and Earl Godwin was to come thither with his sons to aconference; They came as far as Southwark, and very many withthem from Wessex; but his army continually diminished more andmore; for they bound over to the king all the thanes thatbelonged to Earl Harold his son, and outlawed Earl Sweyne hisother son. When therefore it could not serve his purpose to cometo a conference against the king and against the army that waswith him, he went in the night away. In the morning the kingheld a council, and proclaimed him an outlaw, with his wholearmy; himself and his wife, and all his three sons--Sweyne andTosty and Grith. And he went south to Thorney, (67) with hiswife, and Sweyne his son, and Tosty and his wife, a cousin ofBaldwin of Bruges, and his son Grith. Earl Harold with Leofwinewent to Bristol in the ship that Earl Sweyne had before preparedand provisioned for himself; and the king sent Bishop Aldred fromLondon with his retinue, with orders to overtake him ere he cameto ship. But they either could not or would not: and he thenwent out from the mouth of the Avon; but he encountered suchadverse weather, that he got off with difficulty, and sufferedgreat loss. He then went forth to Ireland, as soon as theweather permitted. In the meantime the Welshmen had wrought acastle in Herefordshire, in the territory of Earl Sweyne, andbrought as much injury and disgrace on the king's men thereaboutas they could. Then came Earl Godwin, and Earl Sweyne, and EarlHarold, together at Beverstone, and many men with them; to theintent that they might go to their natural lord, and to all thepeers that were assembled with him; to have the king's counseland assistance, and that of all the peers, how they might avengethe insult offered to the king, and to all the nation. But theWelshmen were before with the king, and bewrayed the earls, sothat they were not permitted to come within the sight of hiseyes; for they declared that they intended to come thither tobetray the king. There was now assembled before the king (68)Earl Siward, and Earl Leofric, and much people with them from thenorth: and it was told Earl Godwin and his sons, that the kingand the men who were with him would take counsel against them;but they prepared themselves firmly to resist, though they wereloth to proceed against their natural lord. Then advised thepeers on either side, that they should abstain from allhostility: and the king gave God's peace and his full friendshipto each party. Then advised the king and his council, that thereshould be a second time a general assembly of all the nobles inLondon, at the autumnal equinox: and the king ordered out an armyboth south and north of the Thames, the best that ever was. Thenwas Earl Sweyne proclaimed an outlaw; and Earl Godwin and EarlHarold were summoned to the council as early as they could come. When they came thither and were cited to the council, thenrequired they security and hostages, that they might come intothe council and go out without treachery. The king then demandedall the thanes that the earls had; and they put them all into hishands. Then sent the king again to them, and commanded them tocome with twelve men to the king's council. Then desired theearl again security and hostages, that he might answer singly toeach of the things that were laid to his charge. But thehostages were refused; and a truce of five nights was allowed himto depart from the land. Then went Earl Godwin and Earl Sweyneto Bosham, and drew out their ships, and went beyond sea, seekingthe protection of Baldwin; and there they abode all the winter. Earl Harold went westward to Ireland, and was there all thewinter on the king's security. It was from Thorney (69) thatGodwin and those that were with him went to Bruges, to Baldwin'sland, in one ship, with as much treasure as they could lodgetherein for each man. Wonderful would it have been thought byevery man that was then in England, if any person had said beforethis that it would end thus! For he was before raised to such aheight, that he ruled the king and all England; his sons wereearls, and the king's darlings; and his daughter wedded andunited to the king. Soon after this took place, the kingdismissed the lady who had been consecrated his queen, andordered to be taken from her all that she had in land, and ingold, and in silver, and in all things; and committed her to thecare of his sister at Wherwell. Soon after came Earl Williamfrom beyond sea with a large retinue of Frenchmen; and the kingentertained him and as many of his companions as were convenientto him, and let him depart again. Then was Abbot Sparhawk drivenfrom his bishopric at London; and William the king's priest wasinvested therewith. Then was Oddy appointed earl overDevonshire, and over Somerset, and over Dorset, and over Wales;and Algar, the son of Earl Leofric, was promoted to the earldomwhich Harold before possessed. 

((A. D. 1051. In this year died Eadsine, Archbishop ofCanterbury; and the king gave to Robert the Frenchman, who beforehad been Bishop of London, the archbishopric. And Sparhafoc, Abbot of Abingdon, succeeded to the bishopric of London; and itwas afterwards taken from him before he was consecrated. AndBishop Heroman and Bishop Aldred went to Rome. ))

A. D. 1052. This year, on the second day before the nones ofMarch, died the aged Lady Elfgiva Emma, the mother of King Edwardand of King Hardacnute, the relict of King Ethelred and of KingKnute; and her body lies in the old minster with King Knute. Atthis time Griffin, the Welsh king, plundered in Herefordshiretill he came very nigh to Leominster; and they gathered againsthim both the landsmen and the Frenchmen from the castle; andthere were slain very many good men of the English, and also ofthe French. This was on the same day thirteen years after thatEdwin was slain with his companions. In the same year advisedthe king and his council, that ships should be sent out toSandwich, and that Earl Ralph and Earl Odda should be appointedheadmen thereto. Then went Earl Godwin out from Bruges with hisships to Ysendyck; and sailed forth one day before midsummer-eve, till he came to the Ness that is to the south of Romney. When itcame to the knowledge of the earls out at Sandwich, they went outafter the other ships; and a land-force was also ordered outagainst the ships. Meanwhile Earl Godwin had warning, and betookhimself into Pevensey: and the weather was so boisterous, thatthe earls could not learn what had become of Earl Godwin. ButEarl Godwin then went out again until he came back to Bruges; andthe other ships returned back again to Sandwich. Then it wasadvised that the ships should go back again to London, and thatother earls and other pilots should be appointed over them. Butit was delayed so long that the marine army all deserted; andthey all betook themselves home. When Earl Godwin understoodthat, he drew up his sail and his ship: and they (70) went westat once to the Isle of Wight; and landing there, they plunderedso long that the people gave them as much as they required ofthem. Then proceeded they westward until they came to Portland, where they landed and did as much harm as they could possibly do. Meanwhile Harold had gone out from Ireland with nine ships, andcame up at Potlock with his ships to the mouth of the Severn, near the boundaries of Somerset and Devonshire, and thereplundered much. The land-folk collected against him, both fromSomerset and from Devonshire: but he put them to flight, and slewthere more than thirty good thanes, besides others; and went soonafter about Penwithstert, where was much people gathered againsthim; but he spared not to provide himself with meat, and went upand slew on the spot a great number of the people--seizing incattle, in men, and in money, whatever he could. Then went heeastward to his father; and they went both together eastward (71)until they came to the Isle of Wight, where they seized whateverhad been left them before. Thence they went to Pevensey, and gotout with them as many ships as had gone in there, and soproceeded forth till they came to the Ness; (72) getting all theships that were at Romney, and at Hithe, and at Folkstone. Thenordered King Edward to fit out forty smacks that lay at Sandwichmany weeks, to watch Earl Godwin, who was at Bruges during thewinter; but he nevertheless came hither first to land, so as toescape their notice. And whilst he abode in this land, heenticed to him all the Kentish men, and all the boatmen fromHastings, and everywhere thereabout by the sea-coast, and all themen of Essex and Sussex and Surrey, and many others besides. Then said they all that they would with him live or die. Whenthe fleet that lay at Sandwich had intelligence about Godwin'sexpedition, they set sail after him; but he escaped them, andbetook himself wherever he might: and the fleet returned toSandwich, and so homeward to London. When Godwin understood thatthe fleet that lay at Sandwich was gone home, then went he backagain to the Isle of Wight, and lay thereabout by the sea-coastso long that they came together--he and his son Earl Harold. But they did no great harm after they came together; save thatthey took meat, and enticed to them all the land-folk by thesea-coast and also upward in the land. And they proceeded towardSandwich, ever alluring forth with them all the boatmen that theymet; and to Sandwich they came with an increasing army. Theythen steered eastward round to Dover, and landing there, took asmany ships and hostages as they chose, and so returned toSandwich, where they did the same; and men everywhere gave themhostages and provisions, wherever they required them. Thenproceeded they to the Nore, and so toward London; but some of theships landed on the Isle of Shepey, and did much harm there;whence they steered to Milton Regis, and burned it all, and thenproceeded toward London after the earls. When they came toLondon, there lay the king and all his earls to meet them, withfifty ships. The earls (73) then sent to the king, praying thatthey might be each possessed of those things which had beenunjustly taken from them. But the king resisted some while; solong that the people who were with the earl were very muchstirred against the king and against his people, so that the earlhimself with difficulty appeased them. When King Edwardunderstood that, then sent he upward after more aid; but theycame very late. And Godwin stationed himself continually beforeLondon with his fleet, till he came to Southwark; where he abodesome time, until the flood (74) came up. On this occasion healso contrived with the burgesses that they should do almost allthat he would. When he had arranged his whole expedition, thencame the flood; and they soon weighed anchor, and steered throughthe bridge by the south side. The land-force meanwhile cameabove, and arranged themselves by the Strand; and they formedan angle with the ships against the north side, as if they wishedto surround the king's ships. The king had also a greatland-force on his side, to add to his shipmen: but they were most ofthem loth to fight with their own kinsmen--for there was littleelse of any great importance but Englishmen on either side; andthey were also unwilling that this land should be the moreexposed to outlandish people, because they destroyed each other. Then it was determined that wise men should be sent between them, who should settle peace on either side. Godwin went up, andHarold his son, and their navy, as many as they then thoughtproper. Then advanced Bishop Stigand with God's assistance, andthe wise men both within the town and without; who determinedthat hostages should be given on either side. And so they did. When Archbishop Robert and the Frenchmen knew that, they tookhorse; and went some west to Pentecost Castle, some north toRobert's castle. Archbishop Robert and Bishop Ulf, with theircompanions, went out at Eastgate, slaying or else maiming manyyoung men, and betook themselves at once to Eadulf's-ness; wherehe put himself on board a crazy ship, and went at once over sea, leaving his pall and all Christendom here on land, as Godordained, because he had obtained an honour which God disclaimed. Then was proclaimed a general council without London; and all theearls and the best men in the land were at the council. Theretook up Earl Godwin his burthen, and cleared himself there beforehis lord King Edward, and before all the nation; proving that hewas innocent of the crime laid to his charge, and to his sonHarold and all his children. And the king gave the earl and hischildren, and all the men that were with him, his fullfriendship, and the full earldom, and all that he possessedbefore; and he gave the lady all that she had before. ArchbishopRobert was fully proclaimed an outlaw, with all the Frenchmen;because they chiefly made the discord between Earl Godwin and theking: and Bishop Stigand succeeded to the archbishopric atCanterbury. At the council therefore they gave Godwin fairly hisearldom, so full and so free as he at first possessed it; and hissons also all that they formerly had; and his wife and hisdaughter so full and so free as they formerly had. And theyfastened full friendship between them, and ordained good laws toall people. Then they outlawed all Frenchmen--who beforeinstituted bad laws, and judged unrighteous judgment, and broughtbad counsels into this land--except so many as they concludedit was agreeable to the king to have with him, who were true tohim and to all his people. It was with difficulty that BishopRobert, and Bishop William, and Bishop Ulf, escaped with theFrenchmen that were with them, and so went over sea. EarlGodwin, and Harold, and the queen, sat in their stations. Sweynehad before gone to Jerusalem from Bruges, and died on his wayhome at Constantinople, at Michaelmas. It was on the Mondayafter the festival of St. Mary, that Godwin came with his shipsto Southwark: and on the morning afterwards, on the Tuesday, theywere reconciled as it stands here before recorded. Godwin thensickened soon after he came up, and returned back. But he madealtogether too little restitution of God's property, which heacquired from many places. At the same time Arnwy, Abbot ofPeterborough, resigned his abbacy in full health; and gave it tothe monk Leofric, with the king's leave and that of the monks;and the Abbot Arnwy lived afterwards eight winters. The AbbotLeofric gilded the minster, so that it was called Gildenborough;and it then waxed very much in land, and in gold, and in silver. 

((A. D. 1052. This year died Alfric, Archbishop of York, a verypious man, and wise. And in the same year King Edward abolishedthe tribute, which King Ethelred had before imposed: that was inthe nine-and-thirtieth year after he had begun it. That taxdistressed all the English nation during so long a time, as ithas been written; that was ever before other taxes which werevariously paid, and wherewith the people were manifestlydistressed. In the same year Eustace [Earl of Boulougne] landedat Dover: he had King Edward's sister to wife. Then went his meninconsiderately after quarters, and a certain man of the townthey slew; and another man of the town their companion; so thatthere lay seven of his companions. And much harm was there doneon either side, by horse and also by weapons, until the peoplegathered together: and then they fled away until they came to theking at Gloucester; and he gave them protection. When Godwin, the earl, understood that such things should have happened in hisearldom, then began he to gather together people over all hisearldom, (75) and Sweyn, the earl, his son, over his, and Harold, his other son, over his earldom; and they all drew together inGloucestershire, at Langtree, a great force and countless, allready for battle against the king, unless Eustace were given up, and his men placed in their hands, and also the Frenchmen whowere in the castle. This was done seven days before the lattermass of St. Mary. Then was King Edward sitting at Gloucester. Then sent he after Leofric the earl [Of Mercia] and north afterSiward the earl [Of Northumbria] and begged their forces. Andthen they came to him; first with a moderate aid, but after theyknew how it was there, in the south, then sent they north overall their earldoms, and caused to be ordered out a large forcefor the help of their lord; and Ralph, also, over his earldom:and then came they all to Gloucester to help the king, though itmight be late. Then were they all so united in opinion with theking that they would have sought out Godwin's forces if the kinghad so willed. Then thought some of them that it would be agreat folly that they should join battle; because there wasnearly all that was most noble in England in the two armies, andthey thought that they should expose the land to our foes, andcause great destruction among ourselves. Then counselled theythat hostages should be given mutually; and they appointed a termat London, and thither the people were ordered out over all thisnorth end, in Siward's earldom, and in Leofric's, and alsoelsewhere; and Godwin, the earl, and his sons were to come therewith their defence. Then came they to Southwark, and a greatmultitude with them, from Wessex; but his band continuallydiminished the longer he stayed. And they exacted pledges forthe king from all the thanes who were under Harold, the earl, hisson; and then they outlawed Sweyn, the earl, his other son. Thendid it not suit him to come with a defence to meet the king, andto meet the army which was with him. Then went he by night away;and the king on the morrow held a council, and, together with allthe army, declared him an outlaw, him and all his sons. And hewent south to Thorney, and his wife, and Sweyn his son, and Tostyand his wife, Baldwin's relation of Bruges, and Grith his son. And Harold, the earl, and Leofwine, went to Bristol in the shipwhich Sweyn, the earl, had before got ready for himself, andprovisioned. And the king sent Bishop Aldred [Of Worcester] toLondon with a force; and they were to overtake him ere he came onship-board: but they could not or they would not. And he wentout from Avonmouth, and met with such heavy weather that he withdifficulty got away; and there he sustained much damage. Thenwent he forth to Ireland when fit weather came. And Godwin, andthose who were with him, went from Thorney to Bruges, toBaldwin's land, in one ship, with as much treasure as they mighttherein best stow for each man. It would have seemed wondrous toevery man who was in England if any one before that had said thatit should end thus; for he had been erewhile to that degreeexalted, as if he ruled the king and all England; and his sonswere earls and the king's darlings, and his daughter wedded andunited to the king: she was brought to Wherwell, and theydelivered her to the abbess. Then, soon, came William, the earl[Of Normandy], from beyond seas with a great band of Frenchmen;and the king received him, and as many of his companions as itpleased him; and let him away again. This same year was given toWilliam, the priest, the bishopric of London, which before hadbeen given to Sparhafoc. ))

((A. D. 1052. This year died Elfgive, the lady, relict of KingEthelred and of King Canute, on the second before the nones ofMarch. In the same year Griffin, the Welsh king, plundered inHerefordshire, until he came very nigh to Leominster; and theygathered against him, as well the landsmen as the Frenchmen ofthe castle, and there were slain of the English very many goodmen, and also of the Frenchmen; that was on the same day, onwhich, thirteen years before, Eadwine had been slain by hiscompanions. ))

((A. D. 1052. In this year died Elgive Emma, King Edward's motherand King Hardecanute's. And in this same year, the king decreed, and his council, that ships should proceed to Sandwich; and theyset Ralph, the earl, and Odda, the earl [Of Devon], as headmenthereto. Then Godwin, the earl, went out from Bruges with hisships to Ysendyck, and left it one day before Midsummer's-masseve, so that he came to Ness, which is south of Romney. Thencame it to the knowledge of the earls out at Sandwich; and theythen went out after the other ships, and a land-force was orderedout against the ships. Then during this, Godwin, the earl, waswarned, and then he went to Pevensey; and the weather was verysevere, so that the earls could not learn what was become ofGodwin, the earl. And then Godwin, the earl, went out again, until he came once more to Bruges; and the other ships returnedagain to Sandwich. And then it was decreed that the ships shouldreturn once more to London, and that other earls and commandersshould be appointed to the ships. Then was it delayed so longthat the ship-force all departed, and all of them went home. When Godwin, the earl, learned that, then drew he up his sail, and his fleet, and then went west direct to the Isle of Wight, and there landed and ravaged so long there, until the peopleyielded them so much as they laid on them. And then they wentwestward until they came to Portland, and there they landed, and did whatsoever harm they were able to do. Then was Haroldcome out from Ireland with nine ships; and then landed atPorlock, and there much people was gathered against him; but hefailed not to procure himself provisions. He proceeded further, and slew there a great number of the people, and took of cattle, and of men, and of property as it suited him. He then wenteastward to his father; and then they both went eastward untilthey came to the Isle of Wight, and there took that which was yetremaining for them. And then they went thence to Pevensey andgot away thence as many ships as were there fit for service, andso onwards until he came to Ness, and got all the ships whichwere in Romney, and in Hythe, and in Folkstone. And then theywent east to Dover, and there landed, and there took ships andhostages, as many as they would, and so went to Sandwich and did"hand" the same; and everywhere hostages were given them, andprovisions wherever they desired. And then they went to North-mouth, and so toward London; and some of the ships went withinSheppey, and there did much harm, and went their way to King'sMilton, and that they all burned, and betook themselves thentoward London after the earls. When they came to London, therelay the king and all the earls there against them, with fiftyships. Then the earls sent to the king, and required of him, that they might be held worthy of each of those things whichhad been unjustly taken from them. Then the king, however, resisted some while; so long as until the people who were withthe earl were much stirred against the king and against hispeople, so that the earl himself with difficulty stilled thepeople. Then Bishop Stigand interposed with God's help, and thewise men as well within the town as without; and they decreedthat hostages should be set forth on either side: and thus was itdone. When Archbishop Robert and the Frenchmen learned that, they took their horses and went, some west to Pentecost's castle, some north to Robert's castle. And Archbishop Robert and BishopUlf went out at East-gate, and their companions, and slew andotherwise injured many young men, and went their way to directEadulf's-ness; and he there put himself in a crazy ship, and wentdirect over sea, and left his pall and all Christendom here onland, so as God would have it, inasmuch as he had before obtainedthe dignity so as God would not have it. Then there was a greatcouncil proclaimed without London: and all the earls and thechief men who were in this land were at the council. ThereGodwin bore forth his defence, and justified himself, before KingEdward his lord, and before all people of the land, that he wasguiltless of that which was laid against him, and against Haroldhis son, and all his children. And the king gave to the earl andhis children his full friendship, and full earldom, and all thathe before possessed, and to all the men who were with him. Andthe king gave to the lady [Editha] all that she before possessed. And they declared Archbishop Robert utterly an outlaw, and allthe Frenchmen, because they had made most of the differencebetween Godwin, the earl, and the king. And Bishop Stigandobtained the Archbishopric of Canterbury. In this same timeArnwy, Abbot of Peterborough, left the abbacy, in sound health, and gave it to Leofric the monk, by leave of the king and of themonks; and Abbot Arnwy lived afterwards eight years. And AbbotLeofric then (enriched) the minster, so that it was called theGolden-borough. Then it waxed greatly, in land, and in gold, andin silver. ))

((A. D. 1052. And went so to the Isle of Wight, and there tookall the ships which could be of any service, and hostages, andbetook himself so eastward. And Harold had landed with nineships at Porlock, and slew there much people, and took cattle, and men, and property, and went his way eastward to his father, and they both went to Romney, to Hythe, to Folkstone, to Dover, to Sandwich, and ever they took all the ships which they found, which could be of any service, and hostages, all as theyproceeded; and went then to London. ))

A. D. 1053. About this time was the great wind, on the mass-nightof St. Thomas; which did much harm everywhere. And all themidwinter also was much wind. It was this year resolved to slayRees, the Welsh king's brother, because he did harm; and theybrought his head to Gloucester on the eve of Twelfth-day. Inthis same year, before Allhallowmas, died Wulfsy, Bishop ofLichfield; and Godwin, Abbot of Winchcomb; and Aylward, Abbot ofGlastonbury; all within one month. And Leofwine, Abbot ofCoventry, took to the bishopric at Lichfield; Bishop Aldred tothe abbacy at Winchcomb; and Aylnoth took to the abbacy atGlastonbury. The same year died Elfric, brother of Odda, atDeerhurst; and his body resteth at Pershore. In this year wasthe king at Winchester, at Easter; and Earl Godwin with him, andEarl Harold his son, and Tosty. On the day after Easter sat hewith the king at table; when he suddenly sunk beneath against thefoot-rail, deprived of speech and of all his strength. He wasbrought into the king's chamber; and they supposed that it wouldpass over: but it was not so. He continued thus speechless andhelpless till the Thursday; when he resigned his life, on theseventeenth before the calends of May; and he was buried atWinchester in the old minster. Earl Harold, his son, took to theearldom that his father had before, and to all that his fatherpossessed; whilst Earl Elgar took to the earldom that Harold hadbefore. The Welshmen this year slew a great many of the wardersof the English people at Westbury. This year there was noarchbishop in this land: but Bishop Stigand held the see ofCanterbury at Christ church, and Kinsey that of York. Leofwineand Wulfwy went over sea, and had themselves consecrated bishopsthere. Wulfwy took to the bishopric which Ulf had whilst he wasliving and in exile. 

((A. D. 1053. This year was the great wind on Thomas's-mass-night, and also the whole midwinter there was much wind; and itwas decreed that Rees, the Welsh king's brother, should be slain, because he had done harm; and his head was brought to Gloucesteron Twelfth-day eve. And the same year, before All Hallows-mass, died Wulfsy, Bishop of Lichfield, and Godwin, Abbot of Winchcomb, and Egelward, Abbot of Clastonbury, all within one month, andLeofwine succeeded to the Bishopric of Lichfield, and BishopAidred [Of Worcester] took the abbacy at Winchcomb, and Egelnothsucceeded to the abbacy at Glastonbury. And the same year diedElfric, Odda's brother at Deorhurst; and his body resteth atPershore. And the same year died Godwin the earl; and he fellill as he sat with the king at Winchester. And Harold his sonsucceeded to the earldom which his father before held; and Elgar, the earl, succeeded to the earldom which Harold before held. ))

((A. D. 1053. In this year died Godwin, the earl, on theseventeenth before the kalends of May, and he is buried atWinchester, in the Old-minster; and Harold, the earl, his son, succeeded to the earldom, and to all that which his father hadheld: and Elgar, the earl, succeeded to the earldom which Haroldbefore held. ))

A. D. 1054. This year died Leo the holy pope, at Rome: and Victorwas chosen pope in his stead. And in this year was so great lossof cattle as was not remembered for many winters before. Thisyear went Earl Siward with a large army against Scotland, consisting both of marines and landforces; and engaging with theScots, he put to flight the King Macbeth; slew all the best inthe land; and led thence much spoil, such as no man beforeobtained. Many fell also on his side, both Danish and English;even his own son, Osborn, and his sister's son, Sihward: and manyof his house-carls, and also of the king's, were there slain thatday, which was that of the Seven Sleepers. This same year wentBishop Aldred south over sea into Saxony, to Cologne, on theking's errand; where he was entertained with great respect by theemperor, abode there well-nigh a year, and received presents notonly from the court, but from the Bishop of Cologne and theemperor. He commissioned Bishop Leofwine to consecrate theminster at Evesham; and it was consecrated in the same year, onthe sixth before the ides of October. This year also died OsgodClapa suddenly in his bed, as he lay at rest. 

((A. D. 1054. This year went Siward the earl with a great armyinto Scotland, both with a ship-force and with a landforce, andfought against the Scots, and put to flight King Macbeth, andslew all who were the chief men in the land, and led thence muchbooty, such as no man before had obtained. But his son Osborn, and his sister's son Siward, and some of his house-carls, andalso of the king's, were there slain, on the day of the SevenSleepers. The same year went Bishop Aldred to Cologne, over sea, on the king's errand; and he was there received with much worshipby the emperor [Henry III], and there he dwelt well nigh a year;and either gave him entertainment, both the Bishop of Cologne andthe emperor. And he gave leave to Bishop Leofwine [Of Lichfield]to consecrate the minster at Evesham on the sixth before the idesof October. In this year died Osgod suddenly in his bed. Andthis year died St. Leo the pope; and Victor was chosen pope inhis stead. ))

A. D. 1055. This year died Earl Siward at York; and his body lieswithin the minster at Galmanho, (76) which he had himself orderedto be built and consecrated, in the name of God and St. Olave, tothe honour of God and to all his saints. Archbishop Kinseyfetched his pall from Pope Victor. Then, within a little timeafter, a general council was summoned in London, seven nightsbefore mid-Lent; at which Earl Elgar, son of Earl Leofric, wasoutlawed almost without any guilt; because it was said againsthim that he was the betrayer of the king and of all the people ofthe land. And he was arraigned thereof before all that werethere assembled, though the crime laid to his charge wasunintentional. The king, however, gave the earldom, which EarlSiward formerly had, to Tosty, son of Earl Godwin. WhereuponEarl Elgar sought Griffin's territory in North-Wales; whence hewent to Ireland, and there gave him a fleet of eighteen ships, besides his own; and then returned to Wales to King Griffin withthe armament, who received him on terms of amity. And theygathered a great force with the Irishmen and the Welsh: and EarlRalph collected a great army against them at the town ofHereford; where they met; but ere there was a spear thrown theEnglish people fled, because they were on horses. The enemy thenmade a great slaughter there--about four hundred or fivehundred men; they on the other side none. They went then to thetown, and burned it utterly; and the large minster (77) alsowhich the worthy Bishop Athelstan had caused to be built, thatthey plundered and bereft of relic and of reef, and of all thingswhatever; and the people they slew, and led some away. Then anarmy from all parts of England was gathered very nigh; (78) andthey came to Gloucester: whence they sallied not far out againstthe Welsh, and there lay some time. And Earl Harold caused thedike to be dug about the town the while. Meantime men began tospeak of peace; and Earl Harold and those who were with him cameto Bilsley, where amity and friendship were established betweenthem. The sentence of outlawry against Earl Elgar was reversed;and they gave him all that was taken from him before. The fleetreturned to Chester, and there awaited their pay, which Elgarpromised them. The slaughter was on the ninth before the calendsof November. In the same year died Tremerig, the Welsh bishop, soon after the plundering; who was Bishop Athelstan's substitute, after he became infirm. 

((A. D. 1055. In this year died Siward the earl at York, and helies at Galmanho, in the minster which himself caused to bebuilt, and consecrated in God's and Olave's name. And Tostysucceeded to the earldom which he had held. And ArchbishopKynsey [Of York], fetched his pall from Pope Victor. And soonthereafter was outlawed Elgar the earl, son of Leofric the earl, well-nigh without guilt. But he went to Ireland and to Wales, and procured himself there a great force, and so went toHereford: but there came against him Ralph the earl, with a largearmy, and with a slight conflict he put them to flight, and muchpeople slew in the flight: and they went then into Hereford-port, and that they ravaged, and burned the great minster which BishopAthelstan had built, and slew the priests within the minster, andmany in addition thereto, and took all the treasures therein, andcarried them away with them. And when they had done the utmostevil, this counsel was counselled: that Elgar the earl should beinlawed, and be given his earldom, and all that had been takenfrom him. This ravaging happened on the 9th before the Kalendsof November. In the same year died Tremerin the Welsh bishop [OfSt. David's] soon after that ravaging: and he was BishopAthelstan's coadjutor from the time that he had become infirm. ))

((A. D. 1055. In this year died Siward the earl: and then wassummoned a general council, seven days before Mid-lent; and theyoutlawed Elgar the earl, because it was cast upon him that he wasa traitor to the king and to all the people of the land. And hemade a confession of it before all the men who were theregathered; though the word escaped him unintentionally. And theking gave the earldom to Tosty, son of Earl Godwin, which Siwardthe earl before held. And Elgar the earl sought Griffin'sprotection in North-Wales. And in this year Griffin and Elgarburned St. Ethelbert's minster, and all the town of Hereford. ))

A. D. 1056. This year Bishop Egelric resigned his bishopric atDurham, and retired to Peterborough minster; and his brotherEgelwine succeeded him. The worthy Bishop Athelstan died on thefourth before the ides of February; and his body lies atHereford. To him succeeded Leofgar, who was Earl Harold'smass-priest. He wore his knapsack in his priesthood, until he was abishop. He abandoned his chrism and his rood--his ghostlyweapons--and took to his spear and to his sword, after hisbishophood; and so marched to the field against Griffin the Welshking. (79) But he was there slain, and his priests with him, andElnoth the sheriff, and many other good men with them; and therest fled. This was eight nights before midsummer. Difficult isit to relate all the vexation and the journeying, the marchingand the fatigue, the fall of men, and of horses also, which thewhole army of the English suffered, until Earl Leofric, and EarlHarold, and Bishop Eldred, came together and made peace betweenthem; so that Griffin swore oaths, that he would be a firm andfaithful viceroy to King Edward. Then Bishop Eldred took to thebishopric which Leofgar had before eleven weeks and four days. The same year died Cona the emperor; and Earl Odda, whose bodylies at Pershore, and who was admitted a monk before his end;which was on the second before the calends of September; a goodman and virtuous and truly noble. 

A. D. 1057. This year came Edward Etheling, son of King Edmund, to this land, and soon after died. His body is buried within St. Paul's minster at London. He was brother's son to King Edward. King Edmund was called Ironside for his valour. This ethelingKing Knute had sent into Hungary, to betray him; but he theregrew in favour with good men, as God granted him, and it wellbecame him; so that he obtained the emperor's cousin in marriage, and by her had a fair offspring. Her name was Agatha. We knownot for what reason it was done, that he should see his relation, King Edward. Alas! that was a rueful time, and injurious to allthis nation--that he ended his life so soon after he came toEngland, to the misfortune of this miserable people. The sameyear died Earl Leofric, on the second before the calends ofOctober; who was very wise before God, and also before the world;and who benefited all this nation. (80) He lies at Coventry(81): and his son Elgar took to his territory. This year diedEarl Ralph, on the twelfth before the calends of January; andlies at Peterborough. Also died Bishop Heca, in Sussex; andEgelric was elevated to his see. This year also died PopeVictor; and Stephen was chosen pope, who was Abbot of MonutCassino. 

((A. D. 1057. In this year Edward Etheling, King Edmund's son, came hither to land, and soon after died, and his body is buriedwithin St. Paul's minster at London. And Pope Victor died, andStephen [IX. ] was chosen pope: he was Abbot of Mont-Cassino. AndLeofric the earl died, and Elgar his son succeeded to the earldomwhich the father before held. ))

A. D. 1058. This year was Earl Elgar banished: but he soon camein again by force, through Griffin's assistance: and a navalarmament came from Norway. It is tedious to tell how it all fellout. In this same year Bishop Aldred consecrated the minsterchurch at Gloucester, which he himself had raised (82) to thehonour of God and St. Peter; and then went to Jerusalem (83) withsuch dignity as no other man did before him, and betook himselfthere to God. A worthy gift he also offered to our Lord'ssepulchre; which was a golden chalice of the value of five marks, of very wonderful workmanship. In the same year died PopeStephen; and Benedict was appointed pope. He sent hither thepall to Bishop Stigand; who as archbishop consecrated Egelric amonk at Christ church, Bishop of Sussex; and Abbot Siward Bishopof Rochester. 

((A. D. 1058. This year died Pope Stephen, and Benedict wasconsecrated pope: the same sent hither to land a pall toArchbishop Stigand. And in this year died Heca, Bishop ofSussex; and Archbishop Stigand ordained Algeric, a monk atChristchurch, Bishop of Sussex, and Abbot Siward Bishop ofRochester. ))

A. D. 1059. This year was Nicholas chosen pope, who had beenBishop of Florence; and Benedict was expelled, who was popebefore. This year also was consecrated the steeple (84) atPeterborough, on the sixteenth before the calends of November. 

A. D. 1060. This year was a great earthquake on the Translationof St. Martin, and King Henry died in France. Kinsey, Archbishopof York, died on the eleventh before the calends of January; andhe lies at Peterborough. Bishop Aldred succeeded to the see, andWalter to that of Herefordshire. Dudoc also died, who was Bishopof Somersetshire; and Gisa the priest was appointed in his stead. 

A. D. 1061. This year went Bishop Aldred to Rome after his pall;which he received at the hands of Pope Nicholas. Earl Tosty andhis wife also went to Rome; and the bishop and the earl met withgreat difficulty as they returned home. In the same year diedBishop Godwin at St. Martin's, (85) on the seventh before theides of March; and in the self-same year died Wulfric, Abbot ofSt. Augustine's, in the Easterweek, on the fourteenth before thecalends of May. Pope Nicholas also died; and Alexander waschosen pope, who was Bishop of Lucca. When word came to the kingthat the Abbot Wulfric was dead, then chose he Ethelsy, a monk ofthe old minster, to succeed; who followed Archbishop Stigand, andwas consecrated abbot at Windsor on St. Augustine's mass-day. 

((A. D. 1061. In this year died Dudoc, Bishop of Somerset, andGiso succeeded. And in the same year died Godwin, Bishop of St. Martin's, on the seventh before the ides of March. And in theself-same year died Wulfric, Abbot of St. Augustine's, withinthe Easter week, on the fourteenth before the kalends of May. When word came to the king that Abbot Wulfric was departed, thenchose he Ethelsy the monk thereto, from the Old-Minster, who thenfollowed Archbishop Stigand, and was consecrated abbot atWindsor, on St. Augustine's mass-day. ))

A. D. 1063. This year went Earl Harold, after mid-winter, fromGloucester to Rhyddlan; which belonged to Griffin: and thathabitation he burned, with his ships and all the riggingbelonging thereto; and put him to flight. Then in the gang-dayswent Harold with his ships from Bristol about Wales; where hemade a truce with the people, and they gave him hostages. Tostymeanwhile advanced with a land-force against them, and plunderedthe land. But in the harvest of the same year was King Griffinslain, on the nones of August, by his own men, through the warthat he waged with Earl Harold. He was king over all the Welshnation. And his head was brought to Earl Harold; who sent it tothe king, with his ship's head, and the rigging therewith. KingEdward committed the land to his two brothers, Blethgent andRigwatle; who swore oaths, and gave hostages to the king and tothe earl, that they would be faithful to him in all things, readyto aid him everywhere by water and land, and would pay him suchtribute from the land as was paid long before to other kings. 

((A. D. 1063. This year went Harold the earl, and his brotherTosty the earl, as well with a land-force as a shipforce, intoWales, and they subdued the land; and the people deliveredhostages to them, and submitted; and went afterwards and slewtheir King Griffin, and brought to Harold his head: and heappointed another king thereto. ))

A. D. 1065. This year, before Lammas, ordered Earl Harold his mento build at Portskeweth in Wales. But when he had begun, andcollected many materials, and thought to have King Edward therefor the purpose of hunting, even when it was all ready, cameCaradoc, son of Griffin, with all the gang that he could get, andslew almost all that were building there; and they seized thematerials that were there got ready. Wist we not who firstadvised the wicked deed. This was done on the mass-day of St. Bartholomew. Soon after this all the thanes in Yorkshire and inNorthumberland gathered themselves together at York, and outlawedtheir Earl Tosty; slaying all the men of his clan that they couldreach, both Danish and English; and took all his weapons in York, with gold and silver, and all his money that they could anywherethere find. They then sent after Morkar, son of Earl Elgar, andchose him for their earl. He went south with all the shire, andwith Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire and Lincolnshire, till hecame to Northampton; where his brother Edwin came to meet himwith the men that were in his earldom. Many Britons also camewith him. Harold also there met them; on whom they imposed anerrand to King Edward, sending also messengers with him, andrequesting that they might have Morcar for their earl. This theking granted; and sent back Harold to them, to Northampton, onthe eve of St. Simon and St. Jude; and announced to them thesame, and confirmed it by hand, and renewed there the laws ofKnute. But the Northern men did much harm about Northampton, whilst he went on their errand: either that they slew men, andburned houses and corn; or took all the cattle that they couldcome at; which amounted to many thousands. Many hundred men alsothey took, and led northward with them; so that not only thatshire, but others near it were the worse for many winters. ThenEarl Tosty and his wife, and all they who acted with him, wentsouth over sea with him to Earl Baldwin; who received them all:and they were there all the winter. About midwinter King Edwardcame to Westminster, and had the minster there consecrated, whichhe had himself built to the honour of God, and St. Peter, and allGod's saints. This church-hallowing was on Childermas-day. Hedied on the eve of twelfth-day; and he was buried on twelfth-dayin the same minster; as it is hereafter said. Here Edward king, (86) of Angles lord, sent his stedfast soul to Christ. In the kingdom of God a holy spirit! He in the world here abode awhile, in the kingly throng of council sage. Four and twenty winters wielding the sceptre freely, wealth he dispensed. In the tide of health, the youthful monarch, offspring of Ethelred! ruled well his subjects; the Welsh and the Scots, and the Britons also, Angles and Saxons relations of old. So apprehend the first in rank, that to Edward all the noble king were firmly held high-seated men. Blithe-minded aye was the harmless king; though he long ere, of land bereft, abode in exile wide on the earth; when Knute o'ercame the kin of Ethelred, and the Danes wielded the dear kingdom of Engle-land. Eight and twenty winters' rounds they wealth dispensed. Then came forth free in his chambers, in royal array, good, pure, and mild, Edward the noble; by his country defended-- by land and people. Until suddenly came the bitter Death and this king so dear snatched from the earth. Angels carried his soul sincere into the light of heaven. But the prudent king had settled the realm on high-born men-- on Harold himself, the noble earl; who in every season faithfully heard and obeyed his lord, in word and deed; nor gave to any what might be wanted by the nation's king. This year also was Earl Harold hallowed to king; but he enjoyedlittle tranquillity therein the while that he wielded thekingdom. 

((A. D. 1065. And the man-slaying was on St. Bartholomew'smass-day. And then, after Michael's-mass, all the thanes inYorkshire went to York, and there slew all Earl Tosty's householdservants whom they might hear of, and took his treasures: andTosty was then at Britford with the king. And then, very soonthereafter, was a great council at Northampton; and then atOxford on the day of Simon and Jude. And there was Harold theearl, and would work their reconciliation if he might, but hecould not: but all his earldom him unanimously forsook andoutlawed, and all who with him lawlessness upheld, because herobbed God first, and all those bereaved over whom he had powerof life and of land. And they then took to themselves Morkar forearl; and Tosty went then over sea, and his wife with him, toBaldwin's land, and they took up their winter residence at St. Omer's. ))

A. D. 1066. This year came King Harold from York to Westminster, on the Easter succeeding the midwinter when the king (Edward)died. Easter was then on the sixteenth day before the calends ofMay. Then was over all England such a token seen as no man eversaw before. Some men said that it was the comet-star, whichothers denominate the long-hair'd star. It appeared first on theeve called "Litania major", that is, on the eighth before thecalends off May; and so shone all the week. Soon after this camein Earl Tosty from beyond sea into the Isle of Wight, with aslarge a fleet as he could get; and he was there supplied withmoney and provisions. Thence he proceeded, and committedoutrages everywhere by the sea-coast where he could land, untilhe came to Sandwich. When it was told King Harold, who was inLondon, that his brother Tosty was come to Sandwich, he gatheredso large a force, naval and military, as no king before collectedin this land; for it was credibly reported that Earl William fromNormandy, King Edward's cousin, would come hither and gain thisland; just as it afterwards happened. When Tosty understood thatKing Harold was on the way to Sandwich, he departed thence, andtook some of the boatmen with him, willing and unwilling, andwent north into the Humber with sixty skips; whence he plunderedin Lindsey, and there slew many good men. When the Earls Edwinand Morkar understood that, they came hither, and drove him fromthe land. And the boatmen forsook him. Then he went to Scotlandwith twelve smacks; and the king of the Scots entertained him, and aided him with provisions; and he abode there all the summer. There met him Harold, King of Norway, with three hundred ships. And Tosty submitted to him, and became his man. (87) Then cameKing Harold (88) to Sandwich, where he awaited his fleet; for itwas long ere it could be collected: but when it was assembled, hewent into the Isle of Wight, and there lay all the summer and theautumn. There was also a land-force every where by the sea, though it availed nought in the end. It was now the nativity ofSt. Mary, when the provisioning of the men began; and no mancould keep them there any longer. They therefore had leave to gohome: and the king rode up, and the ships were driven to London;but many perished ere they came thither. When the ships werecome home, then came Harald, King of Norway, north into the Tine, unawares, with a very great sea-force--no small one; that mightbe, with three hundred ships or more; and Earl Tosty came to himwith all those that he had got; just as they had before said: andthey both then went up with all the fleet along the Ouse towardYork. (89) When it was told King Harold in the south, after hehad come from the ships, that Harald, King of Norway, and EarlTosty were come up near York, then went he northward by day andnight, as soon as he could collect his army. But, ere KingHarold could come thither, the Earls Edwin and Morkar hadgathered from their earldoms as great a force as they could get, and fought with the enemy. (90) They made a great slaughter too;but there was a good number of the English people slain, anddrowned, and put to flight: and the Northmen had possession ofthe field of battle. It was then told Harold, king of theEnglish, that this had thus happened. And this fight was on theeve of St. Matthew the apostle, which was Wednesday. Then afterthe fight went Harold, King of Norway, and Earl Tosty into Yorkwith as many followers as they thought fit; and having procuredhostages and provisions from the city, they proceeded to theirships, and proclaimed full friendship, on condition that allwould go southward with them, and gain this land. In the midstof this came Harold, king of the English, with all his army, onthe Sunday, to Tadcaster; where he collected his fleet. Thencehe proceeded on Monday throughout York. But Harald, King ofNorway, and Earl Tosty, with their forces, were gone from theirships beyond York to Stanfordbridge; for that it was given themto understand, that hostages would be brought to them there fromall the shire. Thither came Harold, king of the English, unawares against them beyond the bridge; and they closed togetherthere, and continued long in the day fighting very severely. There was slain Harald the Fair-hair'd, King of Norway, and EarlTosty, and a multitude of people with them, both of Normans andEnglish; (91) and the Normans that were left fled from theEnglish, who slew them hotly behind; until some came to theirships, some were drowned, some burned to death, and thusvariously destroyed; so that there was little left: and theEnglish gained possession of the field. But there was one of theNorwegians who withstood the English folk, so that they could notpass over the bridge, nor complete the victory. An Englishmanaimed at him with a javelin, but it availed nothing. Then cameanother under the bridge, who pierced him terribly inwards underthe coat of mail. And Harold, king of the English, then cameover the bridge, followed by his army; and there they made agreat slaughter, both of the Norwegians and of the Flemings. ButHarold let the king's son, Edmund, go home to Norway with all theships. He also gave quarter to Olave, the Norwegian king's son, and to their bishop, and to the earl of the Orkneys, and to allthose that were left in the ships; who then went up to our king, and took oaths that they would ever maintain faith and friendshipunto this land. Whereupon the King let them go home with twenty-fourships. These two general battles were fought within fivenights. Meantime Earl William came up from Normandy intoPevensey on the eve of St. Michael's mass; and soon after hislanding was effected, they constructed a castle at the port ofHastings. This was then told to King Harold; and he gathered alarge force, and came to meet him at the estuary of Appledore. William, however, came against him unawares, ere his army wascollected; but the king, nevertheless, very hardly encounteredhim with the men that would support him: and there was a greatslaughter made on either side. There was slain King Harold, andLeofwin his brother, and Earl Girth his brother, with many goodmen: and the Frenchmen gained the field of battle, as God grantedthem for the sins of the nation. Archbishop Aldred and thecorporation of London were then desirous of having child Edgar toking, as he was quite natural to them; and Edwin and Morkarpromised them that they would fight with them. But the moreprompt the business should ever be, so was it from day to day thelater and worse; as in the end it all fared. This battle wasfought on the day of Pope Calixtus: and Earl William returned toHastings, and waited there to know whether the people wouldsubmit to him. But when he found that they would not come tohim, he went up with all his force that was left and that camesince to him from over sea, and ravaged all the country that heoverran, until he came to Berkhampstead; where Archbishop Aldredcame to meet him, with child Edgar, and Earls Edwin and Morkar, and all the best men from London; who submitted then for need, when the most harm was done. It was very ill-advised that theydid not so before, seeing that God would not better things forour sins. And they gave him hostages and took oaths: and hepromised them that he would be a faithful lord to them; though inthe midst of this they plundered wherever they went. Then onmidwinter's day Archbishop Aldred hallowed him to king atWestminster, and gave him possession with the books of Christ, and also swore him, ere that he would set the crown on his head, that he would so well govern this nation as any before him bestdid, if they would be faithful to him. Neverrhetess he laid veryheavy tribute on men, and in Lent went over sea to Normandy, taking with him Archbishop Stigand, and Abbot Aylnoth ofGlastonbury, and the child Edgar, and the Earls Edwin, Morkar, and Waltheof, and many other good men of England. Bishop Odo andEarl William lived here afterwards, and wrought castles widelythrough this country, and harassed the miserable people; and eversince has evil increased very much. May the end be good, whenGod will! In that same expedition (92) was Leofric, Abbot ofPeterborough; who sickened there, and came home, and died soonafter, on the night of Allhallow-mass. God honour his soul! Inhis day was all bliss and all good at Peterborough. He wasbeloved by all; so that the king gave to St. Peter and him theabbey at Burton, and that at Coventry, which the Earl Leofric, who was his uncle, had formerly made; with that of Croyland, andthat of Thorney. He did so much good to the minster ofPeterborough, in gold, and in silver, and in shroud, and in land, as no other ever did before him, nor any one after him. But nowwas Gilden-borough become a wretched borough. The monks thenchose for abbot Provost Brand, because he was a very good man, and very wise; and sent him to Edgar Etheling, for that theland-folk supposed that he should be king: and the ethelingreceived him gladly. When King William heard say that, he wasvery wroth, and said that the abbot had renounced him: but goodmen went between them, and reconciled them; because the abbot wasa good man. He gave the king forty marks of gold for hisreconciliation; and he lived but a little while after--onlythree years. Afterwards came all wretchedness and all evil tothe minster. God have mercy on it!

((A. D. 1066. This year died King Edward, and Harold the earlsucceeded to the kingdom, and held it forty weeks and one day. And this year came William, and won England. And in this yearChrist-Church [Canterbury] was burned. And this year appeared acomet on the fourteenth before the kalends of May. ))

((A. D. 1066. ... And then he [Tosty] went thence, and did harmeverywhere by the sea-coast where he could land, as far asSandwich. Then was it made known to King Harold, who was inLondon, that Tosty his brother was come to Sandwich. Thengathered he so great a ship-force, and also a land force, as noking here in the land had before gathered, because it had beensoothly said unto him, that William the earl from Normandy, KingEdward's kinsman, would come hither and subdue this land: all asit afterwards happened. When Tosty learned that King Harold wason his way to Sandwich, then went he from Sandwich, and took someof the boatmen with him, some willingly and some unwillingly; andwent then north into Humber, and there ravaged in Lindsey, andthere slew many good men. When Edwin the earl and Morcar theearl understood that, then came they thither, and drove him outof the land. And he went then to Scotland: and the king of Scotsprotected him, and assisted him with provisions; and he thereabode all the summer. Then came King Harold to Sandwich, andthere awaited his fleet, because it was long before it could begathered together. And when his fleet was gathered together, then went he into the Isle of Wight, and there lay all the summerand the harvest; and a land-force was kept everywhere by the sea, though in the end it was of no benefit. When it was the Nativityof St. Mary, then were the men's provisions gone, and no mancould any longer keep them there. Then were the men allowed togo home, and the king rode up, and the ships were dispatched toLondon; and many perished before they came thither. When theships had reached home, then came King Harald from Norway, northinto Tyne, and unawares, with a very large ship-force, and nosmall one; that might be, or more. And Tosty the earl came tohim with all that he had gotten, all as they had before agreed;and then they went both, with all the fleet, along the Ouse, uptowards York. Then was it made known to King Harold in thesouth, as he was come from on ship-board, that Harald King ofNorway and Tosty the earl were landed near York. Then went henorthward, day and night, as quickly as he could gather hisforces. Then, before that King Harold could come thither, thengathered Edwin the earl and Morcar the earl from their earldomas great a force as they could get together; and they foughtagainst the army, and made great slaughter: and there was much ofthe English people slain, and drowned, and driven away in flight;and the Northmen had possession of the place of carnage. Andthis fight was on the vigil of St. Matthew the apostle, and itwas Wednesday. And then, after the fight, went Harald, King ofNorway, and Tosty the earl, into York, with as much people asseemed meet to them. And they delivered hostages to them fromthe city, and also assisted them with provisions; and so theywent thence to their ships, and they agreed upon a full peace, sothat they should all go with him south, and this land subdue. Then, during this, came Harold, king of the Angles, with all hisforces, on the Sunday, to Tadcaster, and there drew up his force, and went then on Monday throughout York; and Harald, King ofNorway, and Tosty the earl, and their forces, were gone fromtheir ships beyond York to Stanfordbridge, because it had beenpromised them for a certainty, that there, from all the shire, hostages should be brought to meet them. Then came Harold, kingof the English, against them, unawares, beyond the bridge, andthey there joined battle, and very strenuously, for a long timeof the day, continued fighting: and there was Harald, King ofNorway, and Tosty the earl slain, and numberless of the peoplewith them, as well of the Northmen as of the English: and theNorthmen fled from the English. Then was there one of theNorwegians who withstood the English people, so that they mightnot pass over the bridge, nor obtain the victory. Then anEnglishman aimed at him with a javelin, but availed nothing; andthen came another under the bridge, and pierced him terriblyinwards under the coat of mail. Then came Harold, king of theEnglish, over the bridge, and his forces onward with him, andthere made great slaughter, as well of Norwegians as of Flemings. And the King's son, Edmund, Harold let go home to Norway, withall the ships. ))

((A. D. 1066. In this year was consecrated the minster atWestminster, on Childer-mass-day. And King Edward died on theeve of Twelfth-day; and he was buried on Twelfth-day within thenewly consecrated church at Westminster. And Harold the earlsucceeded to the kingdom of England, even as the king had grantedit to him, and men also had chosen him thereto; and he wascrowned as king on Twelfth-day. And that same year that hebecame king, he went out with a fleet against William [Earl ofNormandy]; and the while, came Tosty the earl into Humber withsixty ships. Edwin the earl came with a land-force and drove himout; and the boatmen forsook him. And he went to Scotland withtwelve vessels; and Harald, the King of Norway, met him withthree hundred ships, and Tosty submitted to him; and they bothwent into Humber, until they came to York. And Morcar the earl, and Edwin the earl, fought against them; and the king of theNorwegians had the victory. And it was made known to King Haroldhow it there was done, and had happened; and he came there with agreat army of English men, and met him at Stanfordbridge, andslew him and the earl Tosty, and boldly overcame all the army. And the while, William the earl landed at Hastings, on St. Michael's-day: and Harold came from the north, and fought againsthim before all his army had come up: and there he fell, and histwo brothers, Girth and Leofwin; and William subdued this land. And he came to Westminster, and Archbishop Aldred consecrated himking, and men paid him tribute, delivered him hostages, andafterwards bought their land. And then was Leofric, Abbot ofPeterborough, in that same expedition; and there he sickened, andcame home, and was dead soon thereafter, on All-hallows-mass-night;God be merciful to his soul! In his day was all bliss andall good in Peterborough; and he was dear to all people, so thatthe king gave to St. Peter and to him the abbacy at Burton, andthat of Coventry, which Leofric the earl, who was his uncle, before had made, and that of Crowland, and that of Thorney. Andhe conferred so much of good upon the minster of Peterborough, ingold, and in silver, and in vestments, and in land, as never anyother did before him, nor any after him. After, Golden-boroughbecame a wretched borough. Then chose the monks for abbot Brandthe provost, by reason that he was a very good man, and verywise, and sent him then to Edgar the etheling, by reason that thepeople of the land supposed that he should become king: and theetheling granted it him then gladly. When King William heard saythat, then was he very wroth, and said that the abbot haddespised him. Then went good men between them, and reconciledthem, by reason that the abbot was a good man. Then gave he theking forty marks of gold for a reconciliation; and thenthereafter, lived he a little while, but three years. After thatcame every tribulation and every evil to the minster. God havemercy on it!))

A. D. 1067. This year came the king back again to England on St. Nicholas's day; and the same day was burned the church of Christat Canterbury. Bishop Wulfwy also died, and is buried at his seein Dorchester. The child Edric and the Britons were unsettledthis year, and fought with the castlemen at Hereford, and didthem much harm. The king this year imposed a heavy guild on thewretched people; but, notwithstanding, let his men always plunderall the country that they went over; and then he marched toDevonshire, and beset the city of Exeter eighteen days. Therewere many of his army slain; out he had promised them well, andperformed ill; and the citizens surrendered the city because thethanes had betrayed them. This summer the child Edgar departed, with his mother Agatha, and his two sisters, Margaret andChristina, and Merle-Sweyne, and many good men with them; andcame to Scotland under the protection of King Malcolm, whoentertained them all. Then began King Malcolm to yearn after thechild's sister, Margaret, to wife; but he and all his men longrefused; and she also herself was averse, and said that she wouldneither have him nor any one else, if the Supreme Power wouldgrant, that she in her maidenhood might please the mighty Lordwith a carnal heart, in this short life, in pure continence. Theking, however, earnestly urged her brother, until he answeredYea. And indeed he durst not otherwise; for they were come intohis kingdom. So that then it was fulfilled, as God had long ereforeshowed; and else it could not be; as he himself saith in hisgospel: that "not even a sparrow on the ground may fall, withouthis foreshowing. " The prescient Creator wist long before what heof her would have done; for that she should increase the glory ofGod in this land, lead the king aright from the path of error, bend him and his people together to a better way, and suppressthe bad customs which the nation formerly followed: all which sheafterwards did. The king therefore received her, though it wasagainst her will, and was pleased with her manners, and thankedGod, who in his might had given him such a match. He wiselybethought himself, as he was a prudent man, and turned himself toGod, and renounced all impurity; accordingly, as the apostlePaul, the teacher of all the gentries, saith: "Salvabitur virinfidelis per mulierem fidelem; sic et mulier infidelis per virumfidelem, " etc. : that is in our language, "Full oft theunbelieving husband is sanctified and healed through thebelieving wife, and so belike the wife through the believinghusband. " This queen aforesaid performed afterwards many usefuldeeds in this land to the glory of God, and also in her royalestate she well conducted herself, as her nature was. Of afaithful and noble kin was she sprung. Her father was EdwardEtheling, son of King Edmund. Edmund was the son of Ethelred;Ethelred the son of Edgar; Edgar the son of Edred; and so forthin that royal line: and her maternal kindred goeth to the EmperorHenry, who had the sovereignty over Rome. This year went outGitha, Harold's mother, and the wives of many good men with her, to the Flat-Holm, and there abode some time; and so departedthence over sea to St. Omer's. This Easter came the king toWinchester; and Easter was then on the tenth before the calendsof April. Soon after this came the Lady Matilda hither to thisland; and Archbishop Eldred hallowed her to queen at Westminsteron Whit Sunday. Then it was told the king, that the people inthe North had gathered themselves together, and would standagainst him if he came. Whereupon he went to Nottingham, andwrought there a castle; and so advanced to York, and therewrought two castles; and the same at Lincoln, and everywhere inthat quarter. Then Earl Gospatric and the best men went intoScotland. Amidst this came one of Harold's sons from Irelandwith a naval force into the mouth of the Avon unawares, andplundered soon over all that quarter; whence they went toBristol, and would have stormed the town; but the people bravelywithstood them. When they could gain nothing from the town, theywent to their ships with the booty which they had acquired byplunder; and then they advanced upon Somersetshire, and therewent up; and Ednoth, master of the horse, fought with them; buthe was there slain, and many good men on either side; and thosethat were left departed thence. 

A. D. 1068. This year King William gave Earl Robert the earldomover Northumberland; but the landsmen attacked him in the town ofDurham, and slew him, and nine hundred men with him. Soonafterwards Edgar Etheling came with all the Northumbrians toYork; and the townsmen made a treaty with him: but King Williamcame from the South unawares on them with a large army, and putthem to flight, and slew on the spot those who could not escape;which were many hundred men; and plundered the town. St. Peter'sminster he made a profanation, and all other places also hedespoiled and trampled upon; and the etheling went back again toScotland. After this came Harold's sons from Ireland, aboutmidsummer, with sixty-four ships into the mouth of the Taft, where they unwarily landed: and Earl Breon came unawares againstthem with a large army, and fought with them, and slew there allthe best men that were in the fleet; and the others, being smallforces, escaped to the ships: and Harold's sons went back toIreland again. 

A. D. 1069. This year died Aldred, Archbishop of York; and he isthere buried, at his see. He died on the day of Protus andHyacinthus, having held the see with much dignity ten yearswanting only fifteen weeks. Soon after this came from Denmarkthree of the sons of King Sweyne with two hundred and fortyships, together with Earl Esborn and Earl Thurkill, into theHumber; where they were met by the child Edgar, and EarlWaltheof, and Merle-Sweyne, and Earl Gospatric with theNorthumbrians, and all the landsmen; riding and marching fullmerrily with an immense army: and so all unanimously advanced toYork; where they stormed and demolished the castle, and woninnumerable treasures therein; slew there many hundreds ofFrenchmen, and led many with them to the ships; but, ere that theshipmen came thither, the Frenchmen had burned the city, and alsothe holy minster of St. Peter had they entirely plundered, anddestroyed with fire. When the king heard this, then went henorthward with all the force that he could collect, despoilingand laying waste the shire withal; whilst the fleet lay all thewinter in the Humber, where the king could not come at them. Theking was in York on Christmas Day, and so all the winter on land, and came to Winchester at Easter. Bishop Egelric, who was atPeterborough, was this year betrayed, and led to Westminster; andhis brother Egelwine was outlawed. This year also died Brand, Abbot of Peterborough, on the fifth before the calends ofDecember. 

A. D. 1070. This year Landfranc, who was Abbot of Caen, came toEngland; and after a few days he became Archbishop of Canterbury. He was invested on the fourth before the calends of September inhis own see by eight bishops, his suffragans. The others, whowere not there, by messengers and by letter declared why theycould not be there. The same year Thomas, who was chosen Bishopof York, came to Canterbury, to be invested there after theancient custom. But when Landfranc craved confirmation of hisobedience with an oath, he refused; and said, that he ought notto do it. Whereupon Archbishop Landfranc was wroth, and bade thebishops, who were come thither by Archbishop Landfranc's commandto do the service, and all the monks to unrobe themselves. Andthey by his order so did. Thomas, therefore, for the time, departed without consecration. Soon after this, it happened thatthe Archbishop Landfranc went to Rome, and Thomas with him. Whenthey came thither, and had spoken about other things concerningwhich they wished to speak, then began Thomas his speech: how hecame to Canterbury, and how the archbishop required obedience ofhim with an oath; but he declined it. Then began the ArchbishopLandfranc to show with clear distinction, that what he craved hecraved by right; and with strong arguments he confirmed the samebefore the Pope Alexander, and before all the council that wascollected there; and so they went home. After this came Thomasto Canterbury; and all that the archbishop required of him hehumbly fulfilled, and afterwards received consecration. Thisyear Earl Waltheof agreed with the king; but in the Lent of thesame year the king ordered all the monasteries in England to beplundered. In the same year came King Sweyne from Denmark intothe Humber; and the landsmen came to meet him, and made a treatywith him; thinking that he would overrun the land. Then cameinto Ely Christien, the Danish bishop, and Earl Osbern, and theDanish domestics with them; and the English people from all thefen-lands came to them; supposing that they should win all thatland. Then the monks of Peterborough heard say, that their ownmen would plunder the minster; namely Hereward and his gang:because they understood that the king had given the abbacy to aFrench abbot, whose name was Thorold;--that he was a very sternman, and was then come into Stamford with all his Frenchmen. Nowthere was a churchwarden, whose name was Yware; who took away bynight all that he could, testaments, mass-hackles, cantel-copes, and reefs, and such other small things, whatsoever he could; andwent early, before day, to the Abbot Thorold; telling him that hesought his protection, and informing him how the outlaws werecoming to Peterborough, and that he did all by advice of themonks. Early in the morning came all the outlaws with manyships, resolving to enter the minster; but the monks withstood, so that they could not come in. Then they laid on fire, andburned all the houses of the monks, and all the town except onehouse. Then came they in through fire at the Bull-hithe gate;where the monks met them, and besought peace of them. But theyregarded nothing. They went into the minster, climbed up to theholy rood, took away the diadem from our Lord's head, all of puregold, and seized the bracket that was underneath his feet, whichwas all of red gold. They climbed up to the steeple, broughtdown the table that was hid there, which was all of gold andsilver, seized two golden shrines, and nine of silver, and tookaway fifteen large crucifixes, of gold and of silver; in short, they seized there so much gold and silver, and so many treasures, in money, in raiment, and in books, as no man could tell another;and said, that they did it from their attachment to the minster. Afterwards they went to their ships, proceeded to Ely, anddeposited there all the treasure. The Danes, believing that theyshould overcome the Frenchmen, drove out all the monks; leavingthere only one, whose name was Leofwine Lang, who lay sick in theinfirmary. Then came Abbot Thorold and eight times twentyFrenchmen with him, all full-armed. When he came thither, hefound all within and without consumed by fire, except the churchalone; but the outlaws were all with the fleet, knowing that hewould come thither. This was done on the fourth day before thenones of June. The two kings, William and Sweyne, were nowreconciled; and the Danes went out of Ely with all the aforesaidtreasure, and carried it away with them. But when they came intothe middle of the sea, there came a violent storm, and dispersedall the ships wherein the treasures were. Some went to Norway, some to Ireland, some to Denmark. All that reached the latter, consisted of the table, and some shrines, and some crucifixes, and many of the other treasures; which they brought to a king'stown, called ----, and deposited it all there in the church. Afterwards through their own carelessness, and through theirdrunkenness, in one night the church and all that was therein wasconsumed by fire. Thus was the minster of Peterborough burnedand plundered. Almighty God have mercy on it through his greatgoodness. Thus came the Abbot Thorold to Peterborough; and themonks too returned, and performed the service of Christ in thechurch, which had before stood a full week without any kind ofrite. When Bishop Aylric heard it, he excommunicated all the menwho that evil deed had done. There was a great famine this year:and in the summer came the fleet in the north from the Humberinto the Thames, and lay there two nights, and made afterwardsfor Denmark. Earl Baldwin also died, and his son Arnulfsucceeded to the earldom. Earl William, in conjunction with theking of the Franks, was to be his guardian; but Earl Robert cameand slew his kinsman Arnulf and the earl, put the king to flight, and slew many thousands of his men. 

A. D. 1071. This year Earl Edwin and Earl Morkar fled out, (93)and roamed at random in woods and in fields. Then went EarlMorkar to Ely by ship; but Earl Edwin was treacherously slain byhis own men. Then came Bishop Aylwine, and Siward Barn, and manyhundred men with them, into Ely. When King William heard that, then ordered he out a naval force and land force, and beset theland all about, and wrought a bridge, and went in; and the navalforce at the same time on the sea-side. And the outlaws then allsurrendered; that was, Bishop Aylwine, and Earl Morkar, and allthat were with them; except Hereward (94) alone, and all thosethat would join him, whom he led out triumphantly. And the kingtook their ships, and weapons, and many treasures; (95) and allthe men he disposed of as he thought proper. Bishop Aylwine hesent to Abingdon, where he died in the beginning of the winter. 

A. D. 1072. This year King William led a naval force and a landforce to Scotland, and beset that land on the sea-side withships, whilst he led his land-force in at the Tweed; (96) but hefound nothing there of any value. King Malcolm, however, came, and made peace with King William, and gave hostages, and becamehis man; whereupon the king returned home with all his force. This year died Bishop Aylric. He had been invested Bishop ofYork; but that see was unjustly taken from him, and he then hadthe bishopric of Durham given him; which he held as long as hechose, but resigned it afterwards, and retired to Peterboroughminster; where he abode twelve years. After that King Williamwon England, then took he him from Peterborough, and sent him toWestminster; where he died on the ides of October, and he isthere buried, within the minster, in the porch of St. Nicholas. 

A. D. 1073. This year led King William an army, English andFrench, over sea, and won the district of Maine; which theEnglish very much injured by destroying the vineyards, burningthe towns, and spoiling the land. But they subdued it all intothe hand of King William, and afterwards returned home toEngland. 

A. D. 1074. This year King William went over sea to Normandy; andchild Edgar came from Flanders into Scotland on St. Grimbald'smass-day; where King Malcolm and his sister Margaret received himwith much pomp. At the same time sent Philip, the King ofFrance, a letter to him, bidding him to come to him, and he wouldgive him the castle of Montreuil; that he might afterwards dailyannoy his enemies. What then? King Malcolm and his sisterMargaret gave him and his men great presents, and many treasures;in skins ornamented with purple, in pelisses made of martin-skins, of grey-skins, and of ermine-skins, in palls, and invessels of gold and silver; and conducted him and his crew withgreat pomp from his territory. But in their voyage evil befelthem; for when they were out at sea, there came upon them suchrough weather, and the stormy sea and the strong wind drove themso violently on the shore, that all their ships burst, and theyalso themselves came with difficulty to the land. Their treasurewas nearly all lost, and some of his men also were taken by theFrench; but he himself and his best men returned again toScotland, some roughly travelling on foot, and some miserablymounted. Then King Malcolm advised him to send to King Williamover sea, to request his friendship, which he did; and the kinggave it him, and sent after him. Again, therefore, King Malcolmand his sister gave him and all his men numberless treasures, andagain conducted him very magnificently from their territory. Thesheriff of York came to meet him at Durham, and went all the waywith him; ordering meat and fodder to be found for him at everycastle to which they came, until they came over sea to the king. Then King William received him with much pomp; and he was thereafterwards in his court, enjoying such rights as he confirmed tohim by law. 

A. D. 1075. This year King William gave Earl Ralph the daughterof William Fitz-Osborne to wife. This same Ralph was British onhis mother's side; but his father, whose name was also Ralph, wasEnglish; and born in Norfolk. The king therefore gave his sonthe earldom of Norfolk and Suffolk; and he then led the bride toNorwich. There was that bride-ale The source of man's bale. There was Earl Roger, and Earl Waltheof, and bishops, and abbots;who there resolved, that they would drive the king out of therealm of England. But it was soon told the king in Normandy howit was determined. It was Earl Roger and Earl Ralph who were theauthors of that plot; and who enticed the Britons to them, andsent eastward to Denmark after a fleet to assist them. Rogerwent westward to his earldom, and collected his people there, tothe king's annoyance, as he thought; but it was to the greatdisadvantage of himself. He was however prevented. Ralph alsoin his earldom would go forth with his people; but the castlementhat were in England and also the people of the land, cameagainst him, and prevented him from doing anything. He escapedhowever to the ships at Norwich. (97) And his wife was in thecastle; which she held until peace was made with her; when shewent out of England, with all her men who wished to join her. The king afterwards came to England, and seized Earl Roger, hisrelative, and put him in prison. And Earl Waltheof went oversea, and bewrayed himself; but he asked forgiveness, andproffered gifts of ransom. The king, however, let him offlightly, until he (98) came to England; when he had him seized. Soon after that came east from Denmark two hundred ships; whereinwere two captains, Cnute Swainson, and Earl Hacco; but they durstnot maintain a fight with King William. They went rather toYork, and broke into St. Peter's minster, and took therein muchtreasure, and so went away. They made for Flanders over sea; butthey all perished who were privy to that design; that was, theson of Earl Hacco, and many others with him. This year died theLady Edgitha, who was the relict of King Edward, seven nightsbefore Christmas, at Winchester; and the king caused her to bebrought to Westminster with great pomp; and he laid her with KingEdward, her lord. And the king was then at Westminster, atmidwinter; where all the Britons were condemned who were at thebride-ale at Norwich. Some were punished with blindness; somewere driven from the land; and some were towed to Scandinavia. So were the traitors of King William subdued. 

A. D. 1076. This year died Sweyne, King of Denmark; and Haroldhis son took to the kingdom. And the king gave the abbacy ofWestminster to Abbot Vitalis, who had been Abbot of Bernay. Thisyear also was Earl Waltheof beheaded at Winchester, on the mass-dayof St. Petronilla; (99) and his body was carried to Croyland, where he lies buried. King William now went over sea, and ledhis army to Brittany, and beset the castle of Dol; but theBretons defended it, until the king came from France; whereuponWilliam departed thence, having lost there both men and horses, and many of his treasures. 

A. D. 1077. This year were reconciled the king of the Franks andWilliam, King of England. But it continued only a little while. This year was London burned, one night before the Assumption ofSt. Mary, so terribly as it never was before, since it was built. This year the moon was eclipsed three nights before Candlemas;and in the same year died Aylwy, the prudent Abbot of Evesham, onthe fourteenth day before the calends of March, on the mass-dayof St. Juliana; and Walter was appointed abbot in his stead; andBishop Herman also died, on the tenth day before the calends ofMarch, who was Bishop in Berkshire, and in Wiltshire, and inDorsetshire. This year also King Malcolm won the mother ofMalslaythe.... And all his best men, and all his treasures, andhis cattle; and he himself not easily escaped.... This year alsowas the dry summer; and wild fire came upon many shires, andburned many towns; and also many cities were ruined thereby. 

A. D. 1079. This year Robert, the son of King William, desertedfrom his father to his uncle Robert in Flanders; because hisfather would not let him govern his earldom in Normandy; which hehimself, and also King Philip with his permission, had given him. The best men that were in the land also had sworn oaths ofallegiance to him, and taken him for their lord. This year, therefore, Robert fought with his father, without Normandy, by acastle called Gerberoy; and wounded him in the hand; and hishorse, that he sat upon, was killed under him; and he thatbrought him another was killed there right with a dart. That wasTookie Wiggodson. Many were there slain, and also taken. Hisson William too was there wounded; but Robert returned toFlanders. We will not here, however, record any more injury thathe did his father. This year came King Malcolm from Scotlandinto England, betwixt the two festivals of St. Mary, with a largearmy, which plundered Northumberland till it came to the Tine, and slew many hundreds of men, and carried home much coin, andtreasure, and men in captivity. 

A. D. 1080. This year was Bishop Walker slain in Durham, at acouncil; and an hundred men with him, French and Flemish. Hehimself was born in Lorrain. This did the Northumbrians in themonth of May. (100)

A. D. 1081. This year the king led an army into Wales, and therefreed many hundreds of men. 

A. D. 1082. This year the king seized Bishop Odo; and this yearalso was a great famine. 

A. D. 1083. This year arose the tumult at Glastonbury betwixt theAbbot Thurstan and his monks. It proceeded first from theabbot's want of wisdom, that he misgoverned his monks in manythings. But the monks meant well to him; and told him that heshould govern them rightly, and love them, and they would befaithful and obedient to him. The abbot, however, would hearnothing of this; but evil entreated them, and threatened themworse. One day the abbot went into the chapter-house, and spokeagainst the monks, and attempted to mislead them; (101) and sentafter some laymen, and they came full-armed into the chapter-houseupon the monks. Then were the monks very much afraid (102)of them, and wist not what they were to do, but they shotforward, and some ran into the church, and locked the doors afterthem. But they followed them into the minster, and resolved todrag them out, so that they durst not go out. A rueful thinghappened on that day. The Frenchmen broke into the choir, andhurled their weapons toward the altar, where the monks were; andsome of the knights went upon the upper floor, (103) and shottheir arrows downward incessantly toward the sanctuary; so thaton the crucifix that stood above the altar they stuck manyarrows. And the wretched monks lay about the altar, and somecrept under, and earnestly called upon God, imploring his mercy, since they could not obtain any at the hands of men. What can wesay, but that they continued to shoot their arrows; whilst theothers broke down the doors, and came in, and slew (104) some ofthe monks to death, and wounded many therein; so that the bloodcame from the altar upon the steps, and from the steps on thefloor. Three there were slain to death, and eighteen wounded. And in this same year departed Matilda, queen of King William, onthe day after All-Hallow-mass. And in the same year also, aftermid-winter, the king ordained a large and heavy contribution(105) over all England; that was, upon each hide of land, two andseventy pence. 

A. D. 1084. In this year died Wulfwold, Abbot of Chertsey, on thethirteenth day before the calends of May. 

A. D. 1085. In this year men reported, and of a truth asserted, that Cnute, King of Denmark, son of King Sweyne, was cominghitherward, and was resolved to win this land, with theassistance of Robert, Earl of Flanders; (106) for Cnute hadRobert's daughter. When William, King of England, who was thenresident in Normandy (for he had both England and Normandy), understood this, he went into England with so large an army ofhorse and foot, from France and Brittany, as never before soughtthis land; so that men wondered how this land could feed all thatforce. But the king left the army to shift for themselvesthrough all this land amongst his subjects, who fed them, eachaccording to his quota of land. Men suffered much distress thisyear; and the king caused the land to be laid waste about the seacoast; that, if his foes came up, they might not have anything onwhich they could very readily seize. But when the kingunderstood of a truth that his foes were impeded, and could notfurther their expedition, (107) then let he some of the army goto their own land; but some he held in this land over the winter. Then, at the midwinter, was the king in Glocester with hiscouncil, and held there his court five days. And afterwards thearchbishop and clergy had a synod three days. There wasMauritius chosen Bishop of London, William of Norfolk, and Robertof Cheshire. These were all the king's clerks. After this hadthe king a large meeting, and very deep consultation with hiscouncil, about this land; how it was occupied, and by what sortof men. Then sent he his men over all England into each shire;commissioning them to find out "How many hundreds of hides werein the shire, what land the king himself had, and what stock uponthe land; or, what dues he ought to have by the year from theshire. " Also he commissioned them to record in writing, "Howmuch land his archbishops had, and his diocesan bishops, and hisabbots, and his earls;" and though I may be prolix and tedious, "What, or how much, each man had, who was an occupier of land inEngland, either in land or in stock, and how much money it wereworth. " So very narrowly, indeed, did he commission them totrace it out, that there was not one single hide, nor a yard(108) of land, nay, moreover (it is shameful to tell, though hethought it no shame to do it), not even an ox, nor a cow, nor aswine was there left, that was not set down in his writ. And allthe recorded particulars were afterwards brought to him. (109)

A. D. 1086. This year the king bare his crown, and held hiscourt, in Winchester at Easter; and he so arranged, that he wasby the Pentecost at Westminster, and dubbed his son Henry aknight there. Afterwards he moved about so that he came byLammas to Sarum; where he was met by his councillors; and all thelandsmen that were of any account over all England became thisman's vassals as they were; and they all bowed themselves beforehim, and became his men, and swore him oaths of allegiance thatthey would against all other men be faithful to him. Thence heproceeded into the Isle of Wight; because he wished to go intoNormandy, and so he afterwards did; though he first did accordingto his custom; he collected a very large sum from his people, wherever he could make any demand, whether with justice orotherwise. Then he went into Normandy; and Edgar Etheling, therelation of King Edward, revolted from him, for he received notmuch honour from him; but may the Almighty God give him honourhereafter. And Christina, the sister of the etheling, went intothe monastery of Rumsey, and received the holy veil. And thesame year there was a very heavy season, and a swinkful andsorrowful year in England, in murrain of cattle, and corn andfruits were at a stand, and so much untowardness in the weather, as a man may not easily think; so tremendous was the thunder andlightning, that it killed many men; and it continually grew worseand worse with men. May God Almighty better it whenever it behis will. 

A. D. 1087. After the birth of our Lord and Saviour Christ, onethousand and eighty-seven winters; in the one and twentieth yearafter William began to govern and direct England, as God grantedhim, was a very heavy and pestilent season in this land. Such asickness came on men, that full nigh every other man was in theworst disorder, that is, in the diarrhoea; and that sodreadfully, that many men died in the disorder. Afterwards came, through the badness of the weather as we before mentioned, sogreat a famine over all England, that many hundreds of men died amiserable death through hunger. Alas! how wretched and howrueful a time was there! When the poor wretches lay full nighdriven to death prematurely, and afterwards came sharp hunger, and dispatched them withall! Who will not be penetrated withgrief at such a season? or who is so hardhearted as not to weepat such misfortune? Yet such things happen for folks' sins, thatthey will not love God and righteousness. So it was in thosedays, that little righteousness was in this land with any men butwith the monks alone, wherever they fared well. The king and thehead men loved much, and overmuch, covetousness in gold and insilver; and recked not how sinfully it was got, provided it cameto them. The king let his land at as high a rate as he possiblycould; then came some other person, and bade more than the formerone gave, and the king let it to the men that bade him more. Then came the third, and bade yet more; and the king let it tohand to the men that bade him most of all: and he recked not howvery sinfully the stewards got it of wretched men, nor how manyunlawful deeds they did; but the more men spake about right law, the more unlawfully they acted. They erected unjust tolls, andmany other unjust things they did, that are difficult to reckon. Also in the same year, before harvest, the holy minster of St. Paul, the episcopal see in London, was completely burned, withmany other minsters, and the greatest part, and the richest ofthe whole city. So also, about the same time, full nigh eachhead-port in all England was entirely burned. Alas! rueful andwoeful was the fate of the year that brought forth so manymisfortunes. In the same year also, before the Assumption of St. Mary, King William went from Normandy into France with an army, and made war upon his own lord Philip, the king, and slew many ofhis men, and burned the town of Mante, and all the holy minstersthat were in the town; and two holy men that served God, leadingthe life of anachorets, were burned therein. This being thusdone, King William returned to Normandy. Rueful was the thing hedid; but a more rueful him befel. How more rueful? He fellsick, and it dreadfully ailed him. What shall I say? Sharpdeath, that passes by neither rich men nor poor, seized him also. He died in Normandy, on the next day after the Nativity of St. Mary, and he was buried at Caen in St. Stephen's minster, whichhe had formerly reared, and afterwards endowed with manifoldgifts. Alas! how false and how uncertain is this world's weal!He that was before a rich king, and lord of many lands, had notthen of all his land more than a space of seven feet! and hethat was whilom enshrouded in gold and gems, lay there coveredwith mould! He left behind him three sons; the eldest, calledRobert, who was earl in Normandy after him; the second, calledWilliam, who wore the crown after him in England; and the third, called Henry, to whom his father bequeathed immense treasure. Ifany person wishes to know what kind of man he was, or what honourhe had, or of how many lands he was lord, then will we writeabout him as well as we understand him: we who often looked uponhim, and lived sometime in his court. This King William thenthat we speak about was a very wise man, and very rich; moresplendid and powerful than any of his predecessors were. He wasmild to the good men that loved God, and beyond all measuresevere to the men that gainsayed his will. On that same spotwhere God granted him that he should gain England, he reared amighty minster, and set monks therein, and well endowed it. Inhis days was the great monastery in Canterbury built, and alsovery many others over all England. This land was moreover wellfilled with monks, who modelled their lives after the rule of St. Benedict. But such was the state of Christianity in his time, that each man followed what belonged to his profession--he thatwould. He was also very dignified. Thrice he bare his crowneach year, as oft as he was in England. At Easter he bare it inWinchester, at Pentecost in Westminster, at midwinter inGlocester. And then were with him all the rich men over allEngland; archbishops and diocesan bishops, abbots and earls, thanes and knights. So very stern was he also and hot, that noman durst do anything against his will. He had earls in hiscustody, who acted against his will. Bishops he hurled fromtheir bishoprics, and abbots from their abbacies, and thanes intoprison. At length he spared not his own brother Odo, who was avery rich bishop in Normandy. At Baieux was his episcopal stall;and he was the foremost man of all to aggrandise the king. Hehad an earldom in England; and when the king was in Normandy, then was he the mightiest man in this land. Him he confined inprison. But amongst other things is not to be forgotten thatgood peace that he made in this land; so that a man of anyaccount might go over his kingdom unhurt with his bosom full ofgold. No man durst slay another, had he never so much evil doneto the other; and if any churl lay with a woman against her will, he soon lost the limb that he played with. He truly reigned overEngland; and by his capacity so thoroughly surveyed it, thatthere was not a hide of land in England that he wist not who hadit, or what it was worth, and afterwards set it down in his book. (110) The land of the Britons was in his power; and he wroughtcastles therein; and ruled Anglesey withal. So also he subduedScotland by his great strength. As to Normandy, that was hisnative land; but he reigned also over the earldom called Maine;and if he might have yet lived two years more, he would have wonIreland by his valour, and without any weapons. Assuredly in histime had men much distress, and very many sorrows. Castles helet men build, and miserably swink the poor. The king himselfwas so very rigid; and extorted from his subjects many marks ofgold, and many hundred pounds of silver; which he took of hispeople, for little need, by right and by unright. He was falleninto covetousness, and greediness he loved withal. He made manydeer-parks; and he established laws therewith; so that whosoeverslew a hart, or a hind, should be deprived of his eyesight. Ashe forbade men to kill the harts, so also the boars; and he lovedthe tall deer as if he were their father. Likewise he decreed bythe hares, that they should go free. His rich men bemoaned it, and the poor men shuddered at it. But he was so stern, that herecked not the hatred of them all; for they must follow withalthe king's will, if they would live, or have land, orpossessions, or even his peace. Alas! that any man shouldpresume so to puff himself up, and boast o'er all men. May theAlmighty God show mercy to his soul, and grant him forgiveness ofhis sins! These things have we written concerning him, both goodand evil; that men may choose the good after their goodness, andflee from the evil withal, and go in the way that leadeth us tothe kingdom of heaven. Many things may we write that were donein this same year. So it was in Denmark, that the Danes, anation that was formerly accounted the truest of all, were turnedaside to the greatest untruth, and to the greatest treachery thatever could be. They chose and bowed to King Cnute, and swore himoaths, and afterwards dastardly slew him in a church. Ithappened also in Spain, that the heathens went and made inroadsupon the Christians, and reduced much of the country to theirdominion. But the king of the Christians, Alphonzo by name, senteverywhere into each land, and desired assistance. And they cameto his support from every land that was Christian; and they wentand slew or drove away all the heathen folk, and won their landagain, through God's assistance. In this land also, in the sameyear, died many rich men; Stigand, Bishop of Chichester, and theAbbot of St. Augustine, and the Abbot of Bath, and the Abbot ofPershore, and the lord of them all, William, King of England, that we spoke of before. After his death his son, called Williamalso as the father, took to the kingdom, and was blessed to kingby Archbishop Landfranc at Westminster three days ere Michaelmasday. And all the men in England submitted to him, and sworeoaths to him. This being thus done, the king went to Winchester, and opened the treasure house, and the treasures that his fatherhad gathered, in gold, and in silver, and in vases, and in palls, and in gems, and in many other valuable things that are difficultto enumerate. Then the king did as his father bade him ere hewas dead; he there distributed treasures for his father's soul toeach monastery that was in England; to some ten marks of gold, tosome six, to each upland (111) church sixty pence. And into eachshire were sent a hundred pounds of money to distribute amongstpoor men for his soul. And ere he departed, he bade that theyshould release all the men that were in prison under his power. And the king was on the midwinter in London. 

A. D. 1088. In this year was this land much stirred, and filledwith great treachery; so that the richest Frenchmen that were inthis land would betray their lord the king, and would have hisbrother Robert king, who was earl in Normandy. In this designwas engaged first Bishop Odo, and Bishop Gosfrith, and William, Bishop of Durham. So well did the king by the bishop [Odo] thatall England fared according to his counsel, and as he would. Andthe bishop thought to do by him as Judas Iscariot did by ourLord. And Earl Roger was also of this faction; and much peoplewas with him all Frenchmen. This conspiracy was formed in Lent. As soon as Easter came, then went they forth, and harrowed, andburned, and wasted the king's farms; and they despoiled the landsof all the men that were in the king's service. And they each ofthem went to his castle, and manned it, and provisioned it aswell as they could. Bishop Gosfrith, and Robert the peace-breaker, went to Bristol, and plundered it, and brought the spoilto the castle. Afterwards they went out of the castle, andplundered Bath, and all the land thereabout; and all the honor(112) of Berkeley they laid waste. And the men that eldest wereof Hereford, and all the shire forthwith, and the men ofShropshire, with much people of Wales, came and plundered andburned in Worcestershire, until they came to the city itself, which it was their design to set on fire, and then to rifle theminster, and win the king's castle to their hands. The worthyBishop Wulfstan, seeing these things, was much agitated in hismind, because to him was betaken the custody of the castle. Nevertheless his hired men went out of the castle with fewattendants, and, through God's mercy and the bishop's merits, slew or took five hundred men, and put all the others to flight. The Bishop of Durham did all the harm that he could over all bythe north. Roger was the name of one of them; (113) who leapedinto the castle at Norwich, and did yet the worst of all over allthat land. Hugh also was one, who did nothing better either inLeicestershire or in Northamptonshire. The Bishop Odo being one, though of the same family from which the king himself wasdescended, went into Kent to his earldom, and greatly despoiledit; and having laid waste the lands of the king and of thearchbishop withal, he brought the booty into his castle atRochester. When the king understood all these things, and whattreachery they were employing against him, then was he in hismind much agitated. He then sent after Englishmen, described tothem his need, earnestly requested their support, and promisedthem the best laws that ever before were in this land; eachunright guild he forbade, and restored to the men their woods andchaces. But it stood no while. The Englishmen however went tothe assistance of the king their lord. They advanced towardRochester, with a view to get possession of the Bishop Odo; forthey thought, if they had him who was at first the head of theconspiracy, they might the better get possession of all theothers. They came then to the castle at Tunbridge; and therewere in the castle the knights of Bishop Odo, and many others whowere resolved to hold it against the king. But the Englishmenadvanced, and broke into the castle, and the men that weretherein agreed with the king. The king with his army went towardRochester. And they supposed that the bishop was therein; but itwas made known to the king that the bishop was gone to the castleat Pevensea. And the king with his army went after, and besetthe castle about with a very large force full six weeks. Duringthis time the Earl of Normandy, Robert, the king's brother, gathered a very considerable force, and thought to win Englandwith the support of those men that were in this land against theking. And he sent some of his men to this land, intending tocome himself after. But the Englishmen that guarded the sealighted upon some of the men, and slew them, and drowned morethan any man could tell. When provisions afterwards failed thosewithin the castle, they earnestly besought peace, and gavethemselves up to the king; and the bishop swore that he woulddepart out of England, and no more come on this land, unless theking sent after him, and that he would give up the castle atRochester. Just as the bishop was going with an intention togive up the castle, and the king had sent his men with him, thenarose the men that were in the castle, and took the bishop andthe king's men, and put them into prison. In the castle weresome very good knights; Eustace the Young, and the three sons ofEarl Roger, and all the best born men that were in this land orin Normandy. When the king understood this thing, then went heafter with the army that he had there, and sent over all England. And bade that each man that was faithful should come to him, French and English, from sea-port and from upland. Then came tohim much people; and he went to Rochester, and beset the castle, until they that were therein agreed, and gave up the castle. TheBishop Odo with the men that were in the castle went over sea, and the bishop thus abandoned the dignity that he had in thisland. The king afterwards sent an army to Durham, and allowed itto beset the castle, and the bishop agreed, and gave up thecastle, and relinquished his bishopric, and went to Normandy. Many Frenchmen also abandoned their lands, and went over sea; andthe king gave their lands to the men that were faithful to him. 

A. D. 1089. In this year the venerable father and favourer ofmonks, Archbishop Landfranc, departed this life; but we hope thathe is gone to the heavenly kingdom. There was also over allEngland much earth-stirring on the third day before the ides ofAugust, and it was a very late year in corn, and in every kind offruits, so that many men reaped their corn about Martinmas, andyet later. 

A. D. 1090. Indiction XIII. These things thus done, just as wehave already said above, by the king, and by his brother and bythis men, the king was considering how he might wreak hisvengeance on his brother Robert, harass him most, and winNormandy of him. And indeed through his craft, or throughbribery, he got possession of the castle at St. Valeri, and thehaven; and so he got possession of that at Albemarle. Andtherein he set his knights; and they did harm to the land inharrowing and burning. After this he got possession of morecastles in the land; and therein lodged his horsemen. When theEarl of Normandy, Robert, understood that his sworn men deceivedhim, and gave up their castles to do him harm, then sent he tohis lord, Philip, king of the Franks; and he came to Normandywith a large army, and the king and the earl with an immenseforce beset the castle about, wherein were the men of the King ofEngland. But the King William of England sent to Philip, king ofthe Franks; and he for his love, or for his great treasure, abandoned thus his subject the Earl Robert and his land; andreturned again to France, and let them so remain. And in themidst of these things this land was much oppressed by unlawfulexactions and by many other misfortunes. 

A. D. 1091. In this year the King William held his court atChristmas in Westminster, and thereafter at Candlemas he went, for the annoyance of his brother, out of England into Normandy. Whilst he was there, their reconciliation took place, on thecondition, that the earl put into his hands Feschamp, and theearldom of Ou, and Cherbourg; and in addition to this, that theking's men should be secure in the castles that they had wonagainst the will of the earl. And the king in return promisedhim those many [castles] that their father had formerly won, andalso to reduce those that had revolted from the earl, also allthat his father had there beyond, except those that he had thengiven the king, and that all those, that in England before forthe earl had lost their land, should have it again by thistreaty, and that the earl should have in England just so much aswas specified in this agreement. And if the earl died without ason by lawful wedlock, the king should be heir of all Normandy;and by virtue of this same treaty, if the king died, the earlshould be heir of all England. To this treaty swore twelve ofthe best men of the king's side, and twelve of the earl's, thoughit stood but a little while afterwards. In the midst of thistreaty was Edgar Etheling deprived of the land that the earl hadbefore permitted him to keep in hand; and he went out of Normandyto the king, his sister's husband, in Scotland, and to hissister. Whilst the King William was out of England, the KingMalcolm of Scotland came hither into England, and overran a greatdeal of it, until the good men that governed this land sent anarmy against him and repulsed him. When the King William inNormandy heard this, then prepared he his departure, and came toEngland, and his brother, the Earl Robert, with him; and he soonissued an order to collect a force both naval and military; butthe naval force, ere it could come to Scotland, perished almostmiserably, a few days before St. Michael's mass. And the kingand his brother proceeded with the land-force; but when the KingMalcolm heard that they were resolved to seek him with an army, he went with his force out of Scotland into Lothaine in England, and there abode. When the King William came near with his army, then interceded between them Earl Robert, and Edgar Etheling, andso made the peace of the kings, that the King Malcolm came to ourking, and did homage, (114) promising all such obedience as heformerly paid to his father; and that he confirmed with an oath. And the King William promised him in land and in all thingswhatever he formerly had under his father. In this settlementwas also Edgar Etheling united with the king. And the kings thenwith much satisfaction departed; yet that stood but a littlewhile. And the Earl Robert tarried here full nigh untilChristmas with the king, and during this time found but little ofthe truth of their agreement; and two days before that tide hetook ship in the Isle of Wight, and went into Normandy, and EdgarEtheling with him. 

A. D. 1092. In this year the King William with a large army wentnorth to Carlisle, and restored the town, and reared the castle, and drove out Dolphin that before governed the land, and set hisown men in the castle, and then returned hither southward. And avast number of rustic people with wives and with cattle he sentthither, to dwell there in order to till the land. 

A. D. 1093. In this year, during Lent, was the King William atGlocester so sick, that he was by all reported dead. And in hisillness he made many good promises to lead his own life aright;to grant peace and protection to the churches of God, and nevermore again with fee to sell; to have none but righteous lawsamongst his people. The archbishopric of Canterbury, that beforeremained in his own hand, he transferred to Anselm, who wasbefore Abbot of Bec; to Robert his chancellor the bishopric ofLincoln; and to many minsters he gave land; but that heafterwards took away, when he was better, and annulled all thegood laws that he promised us before. Then after this sent theKing of Scotland, and demanded the fulfilment of the treaty thatwas promised him. And the King William cited him to Glocester, and sent him hostages to Scotland; and Edgar Etheling, afterwards, and the men returned, that brought him with greatdignity to the king. But when he came to the king, he could notbe considered worthy either of our king's speech, or of theconditions that were formerly promised him. For this reasontherefore they parted with great dissatisfaction, and the KingMalcolm returned to Scotland. And soon after he came home, hegathered his army, and came harrowing into England with morehostility than behoved him; and Robert, the Earl ofNorthumberland, surrounded him unawares with his men, and slewhim. Morel of Barnborough slew him, who was the earl's steward, and a baptismal friend (115) of King Malcolm. With him was alsoslain Edward his son; who after him should have been king, if hehad lived. When the good Queen Margaret heard this--her mostbeloved lord and son thus betrayed she was in her mind almostdistracted to death. She with her priests went to church, andperformed her rites, and prayed before God, that she might giveup the ghost. And the Scots then chose (116) Dufenal to king, Malcolm's brother, and drove out all the English that formerlywere with the King Malcolm. When Duncan, King Malcolm's son, heard all that had thus taken place (he was then in the KingWilliam's court, because his father had given him as a hostage toour king's father, and so he lived here afterwards), he came tothe king, and did such fealty as the king required at his hands;and so with his permission went to Scotland, with all the supportthat he could get of English and French, and deprived his uncleDufenal of the kingdom, and was received as king. But the Scotsafterwards gathered some force together, and slew full nigh allhis men; and he himself with a few made his escape. (117)Afterwards they were reconciled, on the condition that he neveragain brought into the land English or French. 

A. D. 1094. This year the King William held his court atChristmas in Glocester; and messengers came to him thither fromhis brother Robert of Normandy; who said that his brotherrenounced all peace and conditions, unless the king would fulfilall that they had stipulated in the treaty; and upon that hecalled him forsworn and void of truth, unless he adhered to thetreaty, or went thither and explained himself there, where thetreaty was formerly made and also sworn. Then went the king toHastings at Candlemas; and whilst he there abode waiting theweather, he let hallow the minster at Battel, and deprivedHerbert Losang, the Bishop of Thetford, of his staff; andthereafter about mid-Lent went over sea into Normandy. After hecame, thither, he and his brother Robert, the earl, said thatthey should come together in peace (and so they did), and mightbe united. Afterwards they came together with the same men thatbefore made the treaty, and also confirmed it by oaths; and allthe blame of breaking the treaty they threw upon the king; but hewould not confess this, nor even adhere to the treaty; and forthis reason they parted with much dissatisfaction. And the kingafterwards won the castle at Bures, and took the earl's mentherein; some of whom he sent hither to this land. On the otherhand the earl, with the assistance of the King of France, won thecastle at Argence, and took therein Roger of Poitou, (118) andseven hundred of the king's knights with him; and afterwards thatat Hulme; and oft readily did either of them burn the towns ofthe other, and also took men. Then sent the king hither to thisland, and ordered twenty thousand Englishmen to be sent out toNormandy to his assistance; but when they came to sea, they thenhad orders to return, and to pay to the king's behoof the feethat they had taken; which was half a pound each man; and theydid so. And the earl after this, with the King of France, andwith all that he could gather together, went through the midst ofNormandy, towards Ou, where the King William was, and thought tobesiege him within; and so they advanced until they came toLuneville. There was the King of France through cunning turnedaside; and so afterwards all the army dispersed. In the midst ofthese things the King William sent after his brother Henry, whowas in the castle at Damfront; but because he could not gothrough Normandy with security, he sent ships after him, andHugh, Earl of Chester. When, however, they should have gonetowards Ou where the king was, they went to England, and came upat Hamton, (119) on the eve of the feast of All Saints, and hereafterwards abode; and at Christmas they were in London. In thissame year also the Welshmen gathered themselves together, andwith the French that were in Wales, or in the neighbourhood, andhad formerly seized their land, stirred up war, and broke intomany fastnesses and castles, and slew many men. And when theirfollowers had increased, they divided themselves into largerparties. With some part of them fought Hugh, Earl of Shropshire, (120) and put them to flight. Nevertheless the other part ofthem all this year omitted no evil that they could do. This yearalso the Scots ensnared their king, Duncan, and slew him; andafterwards, the second time, took his uncle Dufenal to king, through whose instruction and advice he was betrayed to death. 

A. D. 1095. In this year was the King William the first four daysof Christmas at Whitsand, and after the fourth day came hither, and landed at Dover. And Henry, the king's brother, abode inthis land until Lent, and then went over sea to Normandy, withmuch treasure, on the king's behalf, against their brother, EarlRobert, and frequently fought against the earl, and did him muchharm, both in land and in men. And then at Easter held the kinghis court in Winchester; and the Earl Robert of Northumberlandwould not come to court. And the king was much stirred to angerwith him for this, and sent to him, and bade him harshly, if hewould be worthy of protection, that he would come to court atPentecost. In this year was Easter on the eighth day before thecalends of April; and upon Easter, on the night of the feast ofSt Ambrose, that is, the second before the nones of April, (121)nearly over all this land, and almost all the night, numerous andmanifold stars were seen to fall from heaven; not by one or two, but so thick in succession, that no man could tell it. Hereafterat Pentecost was the king at Windsor, and all his council withhim, except the Earl of Northumberland; for the king wouldneither give him hostages, nor own upon truth, that he might comeand go with security. And the king therefore ordered his army, and went against the earl to Northumberland; and soon after hecame thither, he won many and nearly all the best of the earl'sclan in a fortress, and put them into custody; and the castle atTinemouth he beset until he won it, and the earl's brothertherein, and all that were with him; and afterwards went toBamborough, and beset the earl therein. But when the king sawthat he could not win it, then ordered he his men to make acastle before Bamborough, and called it in his speech"Malveisin"; that is in English, "Evil Neighbour". And hefortified it strongly with his men, and afterwards wentsouthward. Then, soon after that the king was gone south, wentthe earl one night out of Bamborough towards Tinemouth; but theythat were in the new castle were aware of him, and went afterhim, and fought him, and wounded him, and afterwards took him. And of those that were with him some they slew, and some theytook alive. Among these things it was made known to the king, that the Welshmen in Wales had broken into a castle calledMontgomery, and slain the men of Earl Hugo, that should have heldit. He therefore gave orders to levy another force immediately, and after Michaelmas went into Wales, and shifted his forces, andwent through all that land, so that the army came all together byAll Saints to Snowdon. But the Welsh always went before into themountains and the moors, that no man could come to them. Theking then went homeward; for he saw that he could do no morethere this winter. When the king came home again, he gave ordersto take the Earl Robert of Northumberland, and lead him toBamborough, and put out both his eyes, unless they that weretherein would give up the castle. His wife held it, and Morelwho was steward, and also his relative. Through this was thecastle then given up; and Morel was then in the king's court; andthrough him were many both of the clergy and laity surrendered, who with their counsels had conspired against the king. The kinghad before this time commanded some to be brought into prison, and afterwards had it very strictly proclaimed over all thiscountry, "That all who held land of the king, as they wished tobe considered worthy of protection, should come to court at thetime appointed. " And the king commanded that the Earl Robertshould be led to Windsor, and there held in the castle. Also inthis same year, against Easter, came the pope's nuncio hither tothis land. This was Bishop Walter, a man of very good life, ofthe town of Albano; and upon the day of Pentecost on the behalfof Pope Urban he gave Archbishop Anselm his pall, and he receivedhim at his archiepiscopal stall in Canterbury. And Bishop Walterremained afterwards in this land a great part of the year; andmen then sent by him the Rome-scot, (122) which they had not donefor many years before. This same year also the weather was veryunseasonable; in consequence of which throughout all this landwere all the fruits of the earth reduced to a moderate crop. 

A. D. 1096. In this year held the King William his court atChristmas in Windsor; and William Bishop of Durham died there onnew-year's day; and on the octave of the Epiphany was the kingand all his councillors at Salisbury. There Geoffry Bainardchallenged William of Ou, the king's relative, maintaining thathe had been in the conspiracy against the king. And he foughtwith him, and overcame him in single combat; and after he wasovercome, the king gave orders to put out his eyes, andafterwards to emasculate him; and his steward, William by name, who was the son of his stepmother, the king commanded to behanged on a gibbet. Then was also Eoda, Earl of Champagne, theking's son-in-law, and many others, deprived of their lands;whilst some were led to London, and there killed. This yearalso, at Easter, there was a very great stir through all thisnation and many others, on account of Urban, who was declaredPope, though he had nothing of a see at Rome. And an immensemultitude went forth with their wives and children, that theymight make war upon the heathens. Through this expedition werethe king and his brother, Earl Robert, reconciled; so that theking went over sea, and purchased all Normandy of him, oncondition that they should be united. And the earl afterwardsdeparted; and with him the Earl of Flanders, and the Earl ofBoulogne, and also many other men of rank (123). And the EarlRobert, and they that went with him, passed the winter in Apulia;but of the people that went by Hungary many thousands miserablyperished there and by the way. And many dragged themselves homerueful and hunger-bitten on the approach of winter. This was avery heavy-timed year through all England, both through themanifold tributes, and also through the very heavy-timed hungerthat severely oppressed this earth in the course of the year. Inthis year also the principal men who held this land, frequentlysent forces into Wales, and many men thereby grievouslyafflicted, producing no results but destruction of men and wasteof money. 

A. D. 1097. In this year was the King William at Christmas inNormandy; and afterwards against Easter he embarked for thisland; for that he thought to hold his court at Winchester; but hewas weather-bound until Easter-eve, when he first landed atArundel; and for this reason held his court at Windsor. Andthereafter with a great army he went into Wales, and quicklypenetrated that land with his forces, through some of the Welshwho were come to him, and were his guides; and he remained inthat country from midsummer nearly until August, and sufferedmuch loss there in men and in horses, and also in many otherthings. The Welshmen, after they had revolted from the king, chose them many elders from themselves; one of whom was calledCadwgan, (124) who was the worthiest of them, being brother's sonto King Griffin. And when the king saw that he could do nothingin furtherance of his will, he returned again into this land; andsoon after that he let his men build castles on the borders. Then upon the feast of St. Michael, the fourth day before thenones of October, (125) appeared an uncommon star, shining in theevening, and soon hastening to set. It (126) was seen south-west, and the ray that stood off from it was thought very long, shiningsouth-east. And it appeared on this wise nearly all the week. Many men supposed that it was a comet. Soon after thisArchbishop Anselm of Canterbury obtained leave (127) of the king(though it was contrary to the wishes of the king, as mensupposed), and went over sea; because he thought that men in thiscountry did little according to right and after his instruction. And the king thereafter upon St. Martin's mass went over sea intoNormandy; but whilst he was waiting for fair weather, his courtin the county where they lay, did the most harm that ever courtor army could do in a friendly and peaceable land. This was inall things a very heavy-timed year, and beyond measure laboriousfrom badness of weather, both when men attempted to till theland, and afterwards to gather the fruits of their tilth; andfrom unjust contributions they never rested. Many counties alsothat were confined to London by work, were grievously oppressedon account of the wall that they were building about the tower, and the bridge that was nearly all afloat, and the work of theking's hall that they were building at Westminster; and many menperished thereby. Also in this same year soon after Michaelmaswent Edgar Etheling with an army through the king's assistanceinto Scotland, and with hard fighting won that land, and droveout the King Dufnal; and his nephew Edgar, who was son of KingMalcolm and of Margaret the queen, he there appointed king infealty to the King William; and afterwards again returned toEngland. 

A. D. 1098. In this year at Christmas was the King William inNormandy; and Walkelin, Bishop of Winchester, and Baldwin, Abbotof St. Edmund's, within this tide (128) both departed. And inthis year also died Turold, Abbot of Peterborough. In the summerof this year also, at Finchamstead in Berkshire, a pool welledwith blood, as many true men said that should see it. And EarlHugh was slain in Anglesey by foreign pirates, (129) and hisbrother Robert was his heir, as he had settled it before with theking. Before Michaelmas the heaven was of such an hue, as if itwere burning, nearly all the night. This was a very troublesomeyear through manifold impositions; and from the abundant rains, that ceased not all the year, nearly all the tilth in the marsh-landsperished. 

A. D. 1099. This year was the King William at midwinter inNormandy, and at Easter came hither to land, and at Pentecostheld his court the first time in his new building at Westminster;and there he gave the bishopric of Durham to Ranulf his chaplain, who had long directed and governed his councils over all England. And soon after this he went over sea, and drove the Earl Eliasout of Maine, which he reduced under his power, and so byMichaelmas returned to this land. This year also, on thefestival of St. Martin, the sea-flood sprung up to such a height, and did so much harm, as no man remembered that it ever didbefore. And this was the first day of the new moon. And Osmond, Bishop of Salisbury, died in Advent. 

A. D. 1100. In this year the King William held his court atChristmas in Glocester, and at Easter in Winchester, and atPentecost in Westminster. And at Pentecost was seen in Berkshireat a certain town blood to well from the earth; as many said thatshould see it. And thereafter on the morning after Lammas daywas the King William shot in hunting, by an arrow from his ownmen, and afterwards brought to Winchester, and buried in thecathedral. (130) This was in the thirteenth year after that heassumed the government. He was very harsh and severe over hisland and his men, and with all his neighbours; and veryformidable; and through the counsels of evil men, that to himwere always agreeable, and through his own avarice, he was evertiring this nation with an army, and with unjust contributions. For in his days all right fell to the ground, and every wrongrose up before God and before the world. God's church hehumbled; and all the bishoprics and abbacies, whose elders fellin his days, he either sold in fee, or held in his own hands, andlet for a certain sum; because he would be the heir of every man, both of the clergy and laity; so that on the day that he fell hehad in his own hand the archbishopric of Canterbury, with thebishopric of Winchester, and that of Salisbury, and elevenabbacies, all let for a sum; and (though I may be tedious) allthat was loathsome to God and righteous men, all that wascustomary in this land in his time. And for this he was loathedby nearly all his people, and odious to God, as his endtestified:--for he departed in the midst of hisunrighteousness, without any power of repentance or recompensefor his deeds. On the Thursday he was slain; and in the morningafterwards buried; and after he was buried, the statesmen thatwere then nigh at hand, chose his brother Henry to king. And heimmediately (131) gave the bishopric of Winchester to WilliamGiffard; and afterwards went to London; and on the Sundayfollowing, before the altar at Westminster, he promised God andall the people, to annul all the unrighteous acts that took placein his brother's time, and to maintain the best laws that werevalid in any king's day before him. And after this the Bishop ofLondon, Maurice, consecrated him king; and all in this landsubmitted to him, and swore oaths, and became his men. And theking, soon after this, by the advice of those that were abouthim, allowed men to take the Bishop Ranulf of Durham, and bringhim into the Tower of London, and hold him there. Then, beforeMichaelmas, came the Archbishop Anselm of Canterbury hither tothis land; as the King Henry, by the advice of his ministers hadsent after him, because he had gone out of this land for thegreat wrongs that the King William did unto him. And soonhereafter the king took him to wife Maud, daughter of Malcolm, King of Scotland, and of Margaret the good queen, the relative ofKing Edward, and of the right royal (132) race of England. Andon Martinmas day she was publicly given to him with much pomp atWestminster, and the Archbishop Anselm wedded her to him, andafterwards consecrated her queen. And the Archbishop Thomas ofYork soon hereafter died. During the harvest of this same yearalso came the Earl Robert home into Normandy, and the Earl Robertof Flanders, Eustace, Earl of Boulogne, from Jerusalem. And assoon as the Earl Robert came into Normandy, he was joyfullyreceived by all his people; except those of the castles that weregarrisoned with the King Henry's men. Against them he had manycontests and struggles. 

A. D. 1101. In this year at Christmas held the King Henry hiscourt in Westminster, and at Easter in Winchester. And soonthereafter were the chief men in this land in a conspiracyagainst the king; partly from their own great infidelity, andalso through the Earl Robert of Normandy, who with hostilityaspired to the invasion of this land. And the king afterwardssent ships out to sea, to thwart and impede his brother; but someof them in the time of need fell back, and turned from the king, and surrendered themselves to the Earl Robert. Then at midsummerwent the king out to Pevensey with all his force against hisbrother, and there awaited him. But in the meantime came theEarl Robert up at Portsmouth twelve nights before Lammas; and theking with all his force came against him. But the chief meninterceded between them, and settled the brothers on thecondition, "that the king should forego all that he held by mainstrength in Normandy against the earl; and that all then inEngland should have their lands again, who had lost it beforethrough the earl, and Earl Eustace also all his patrimony in thisland; and that the Earl Robert every year should receive fromEngland three thousand marks of silver; and particularly, thatwhichever of the brothers should survive the other, he should beheir of all England and also of Normandy, except the deceasedleft an heir by lawful wedlock. " And this twelve men of thehighest rank on either side then confirmed with an oath. And theearl afterwards remained in this land till after Michaelmas; andhis men did much harm wherever they went, the while that the earlcontinued in this land. This year also the Bishop Ranulf atCandlemas burst out of the Tower of London by night, where he wasin confinement, and went into Normandy; through whose contrivanceand instigation mostly the Earl Robert this year sought this landwith hostility. 

A. D. 1102. In this year at the Nativity was the King Henry atWestminster, and at Easter in Winchester. And soon thereafterarose a dissention between the king and the Earl Robert ofBelesme, who held in this land the earldom of Shrewsbury, thathis father, Earl Roger, had before, and much territory therewithboth on this side and beyond the sea. And the king went andbeset the castle at Arundel; but when he could not easily win it, he allowed men to make castles before it, and filled them withhis men; and afterwards with all his army he went to Bridgenorth, and there continued until he had the castle, and deprived theEarl Robert of his land, and stripped him of all that he had inEngland. And the earl accordingly went over sea, and the armyafterwards returned home. Then was the king thereafter byMichaelmas at Westminster; and all the principal men in thisland, clerk, and laity. And the Archbishop Anselm held a synodof clergy; and there they established many canons that belong toChristianity. And many, both French and English, were theredeprived of their staves and dignity, which they either obtainedwith injustice, or enjoyed with dishonour. And in this sameyear, in the week of the feast of Pentecost, there came thieves, some from Auvergne, (133) some from France, and some fromFlanders, and broke into the minster of Peterborough, and thereinseized much property in gold and in silver; namely, roods, andchalices, and candlesticks. 

A. D. 1103. In this year, at midwinter, was the King Henry atWestminster. And soon afterwards departed the Bishop WilliamGiffard out of this land; because he would not against rightaccept his hood at the hands of the Archbishop Gerard of York. And then at Easter held the king his court at Winchester, andafterwards went the Archbishop Anselm from Canterbury to Rome, aswas agreed between him and the king. This year also came theEarl Robert of Normandy to speak with the king in this land; andere he departed hence he forgave the King Henry the threethousand marks that he was bound by treaty to give him each year. In this year also at Hamstead in Berkshire was seen blood [torise] from the earth. This was a very calamitous year in thisland, through manifold impositions, and through murrain ofcattle, and deficiency of produce, not only in corn, but in everykind of fruit. Also in the morning, upon the mass day of St. Laurence, the wind did so much harm here on land to all fruits, as no man remembered that ever any did before. In this same yeardied Matthias, Abbot of Peterborough, who lived no longer thanone year after he was abbot. After Michaelmas, on the twelfthday before the calends of November, he was in full processionreceived as abbot; and on the same day of the next year he wasdead at Glocester, and there buried. 

A. D. 1104. In this year at Christmas held the King Henry hiscourt at Westminster, and at Easter in Winchester, and atPentecost again at Westminster. This year was the first day ofPentecost on the nones of June; and on the Tuesday following wereseen four circles at mid-day about the sun, of a white hue, eachdescribed under the other as if they were measured. All that sawit wondered; for they never remembered such before. Afterwardswere reconciled the Earl Robert of Normandy and Robert deBelesme, whom the King Henry had before deprived of his lands, and driven from England; and through their reconciliation theKing of England and the Earl of Normandy became adversaries. Andthe king sent his folk over sea into Normandy; and the head-menin that land received them, and with treachery to their lord, theearl, lodged them in their castles, whence they committed manyoutrages on the earl in plundering and burning. This year alsoWilliam, Earl of Moreton (134) went from this land into Normandy;but after he was gone he acted against the king; because the kingstripped and deprived him of all that he had here in this land. It is not easy to describe the misery of this land, which it wassuffering through various and manifold wrongs and impositions, that never failed nor ceased; and wheresoever the king went, there was full licence given to his company to harrow and oppresshis wretched people; and in the midst thereof happened oftentimesburnings and manslaughter. All this was done to the displeasureof God, and to the vexation of this unhappy people. 

A. D. 1105. In this year, on the Nativity, held the King Henryhis court at Windsor; and afterwards in Lent he went over seainto Normandy against his brother Earl Robert. And whilst heremained there he won of his brother Caen and Baieux; and almostall the castles and the chief men in that land were subdued. Andafterwards by harvest he returned hither again; and that which hehad won in Normandy remained afterwards in peace and subjectionto him; except that which was anywhere near the Earl William ofMoretaine. This he often demanded as strongly as he could forthe loss of his land in this country. And then before Christmascame Robert de Belesme hither to the king. This was a verycalamitous year in this land, through loss of fruits, and throughthe manifold contributions, that never ceased before the kingwent over [to Normandy], or while he was there, or after he cameback again. 

A. D. 1106. In this year was the King Henry on the Nativity atWestminster, and there held his court; and at that season Robertde Belesme went unreconciled from the king out of his land intoNormandy. Hereafter before Lent was the king at Northampton; andthe Earl Robert his brother came thither from Normandy to him;and because the king would not give him back that which he hadtaken from him in Normandy, they parted in hostility; and theearl soon went over sea back again. In the first week of Lent, on the Friday, which was the fourteenth before the calends ofMarch, in the evening appeared an unusual star; and a long timeafterwards was seen every evening shining awhile. The starappeared in the south-west; it was thought little and dark; butthe train of light which stood from it was very bright, andappeared like an immense beam shining north-east; and someevening this beam was seen as if it were moving itself forwardsagainst the star. Some said that they saw more of such unusualstars at this time; but we do not write more fully about it, because we saw it not ourselves. On the night preceding theLord's Supper, (135) that is, the Thursday before Easter, wereseen two moons in the heavens before day, the one in the east, and the other in the west, both full; and it was the fourteenthday of the moon. At Easter was the king at Bath, and atPentecost at Salisbury; because he would not hold his court whenhe was beyond the sea. After this, and before August, went theking over sea into Normandy; and almost all that were in thatland submitted to his will, except Robert de Belesme and the Earlof Moretaine, and a few others of the principal persons who yetheld with the Earl of Normandy. For this reason the kingafterwards advanced with an army, and beset a castle of the Earlof Moretaine, called Tenerchebrai. (136) Whilst the king besetthe castle, came the Earl Robert of Normandy on Michaelmas eveagainst the king with his army, and with him Robert of Belesme, and William, Earl of Moretaine, and all that would be with them;but the strength and the victory were the king's. There was theEarl of Normandy taken, and the Earl of Moretaine, and Robert ofStutteville, and afterwards sent to England, and put intocustody. Robert of Belesme was there put to flight, and WilliamCrispin was taken, and many others forthwith. Edgar Etheling, who a little before had gone over from the king to the earl, wasalso there taken, whom the king afterwards let go unpunished. Then went the king over all that was in Normandy, and settled itaccording to his will and discretion. This year also were heavyand sinful conflicts between the Emperor of Saxony and his son, and in the midst of these conflicts the father fell, and the sonsucceeded to the empire. 

A. D. 1107. In this year at Christmas was the King Henry inNormandy; and, having disposed and settled that land to his will, he afterwards came hither in Lent, and at Easter held his courtat Windsor, and at Pentecost in Westminster. And afterwards inthe beginning of August he was again at Westminster, and theregave away and settled the bishoprics and abbacies that either inEngland or in Normandy were without elders and pastors. Of thesethere were so many, that there was no man who remembered thatever so many together were given away before. And on this sameoccasion, among the others who accepted abbacies, Ernulf, whobefore was prior at Canterbury, succeeded to the abbacy inPeterborough. This was nearly about seven years after the KingHenry undertook the kingdom, and the one and fortieth year sincethe Franks governed this land. Many said that they saw sundrytokens in the moon this year, and its orb increasing anddecreasing contrary to nature. This year died Maurice, Bishop ofLondon, and Robert, Abbot of St. Edmund's bury, and Richard, Abbot of Ely. This year also died the King Edgar in Scotland, onthe ides of January, and Alexander his brother succeeded to thekingdom, as the King Henry granted him. 

A. D. 1108. In this year was the King Henry on the Nativity atWestminster, and at Easter at Winchester, and by Pentecost atWestminster again. After this, before August, he went intoNormandy. And Philip, the King of France, died on the nones ofAugust, and his son Louis succeeded to the kingdom. And therewere afterwards many struggles between the King of France and theKing of England, while the latter remained in Normandy. In thisyear also died the Archbishop Girard of York, before Pentecost, and Thomas was afterwards appointed thereto. 

A. D. 1109. In this year was the King Henry at Christmas and atEaster in Normandy; and before Pentecost he came to this land, and held his court at Westminster. There were the conditionsfully settled, and the oaths sworn, for giving his daughter (137)to the emperor. (138) This year were very frequent storms ofthunder, and very tremendous; and the Archbishop Anselm ofCanterbury died on the eleventh day before the calends of April;and the first day of Easter was on "Litania major". 

A. D. 1110. In this year held the King Henry his court atChristmas in Westminster, and at Easter he was at Marlborough, and at Pentecost he held his court for the first time in NewWindsor. This year before Lent the king sent his daughter withmanifold treasures over sea, and gave her to the emperor. On thefifth night in the month of May appeared the moon shining brightin the evening, and afterwards by little and little its lightdiminished, so that, as soon as night came, (139) it was socompletely extinguished withal, that neither light, nor orb, noranything at all of it was seen. And so it continued nearly untilday, and then appeared shining full and bright. It was this sameday a fortnight old. All the night was the firmament very clear, and the stars over all the heavens shining very bright. And thefruits of the trees were this night sorely nipt by frost. Afterwards, in the month of June, appeared a star north-east, andits train stood before it towards the south-west. Thus was itseen many nights; and as the night advanced, when it rose higher, it was seen going backward toward the north-west. This year weredeprived of their lands Philip of Braiose, and William Mallet, and William Bainard. This year also died Earl Elias, who heldMaine in fee-tail (140) of King Henry; and after his death theEarl of Anjou succeeded to it, and held it against the king. This was a very calamitous year in this land, through thecontributions which the king received for his daughter's portion, and through the badness of the weather, by which the fruits ofthe earth were very much marred, and the produce of the treesover all this land almost entirely perished. This year men beganfirst to work at the new minster at Chertsey. 

A. D. 1111. This year the King Henry bare not his crown atChristmas, nor at Easter, nor at Pentecost. And in August hewent over sea into Normandy, on account of the broils that somehad with him by the confines of France, and chiefly on account ofthe Earl of Anjou, who held Maine against him. And after he cameover thither, many conspiracies, and burnings, and harrowings, did they between them. In this year died the Earl Robert ofFlanders, and his son Baldwin succeeded thereto. (141) This yearwas the winter very long, and the season heavy and severe; andthrough that were the fruits of the earth sorely marred, andthere was the greatest murrain of cattle that any man couldremember. 

A. D. 1112. All this year remained the King Henry in Normandy onaccount of the broils that he had with France, and with the Earlof Anjou, who held Maine against him. And whilst he was there, he deprived of their lands the Earl of Evreux, and WilliamCrispin, and drove them out of Normandy. To Philip of Braiose herestored his land, who had been before deprived of it; and Robertof Belesme he suffered to be seized, and put into prison. Thiswas a very good year, and very fruitful, in wood and in field;but it was a very heavy time and sorrowful, through a severemortality amongst men. 

A. D. 1113. In this year was the King Henry on the Nativity andat Easter and at Pentecost in Normandy. And after that, in thesummer, he sent hither Robert of Belesme into the castle atWareham, and himself soon (142) afterwards came hither to thisland. 

A. D. 1114. In this year held the King Henry his court on theNativity at Windsor, and held no other court afterwards duringthe year. And at midsummer he went with an army into Wales; andthe Welsh came and made peace with the king. And he let menbuild castles therein. And thereafter, in September, he wentover sea into Normandy. This year, in the latter end of May, wasseen an uncommon star with a long train, shining many nights. Inthis year also was so great an ebb of the tide everywhere in oneday, as no man remembered before; so that men went riding andwalking over the Thames eastward of London bridge. This yearwere very violent winds in the month of October; but it wasimmoderately rough in the night of the octave of St. Martin; andthat was everywhere manifest both in town and country. In thisyear also the king gave the archbishopric of Canterbury to Ralph, who was before Bishop of Rochester; and Thomas, Archbishop ofYork, died; and Turstein succeeded thereto, who was before theking's chaplain. About this same time went the king toward thesea, and was desirous of going over, but the weather preventedhim; then meanwhile sent he his writ after the Abbot Ernulf ofPeterborough, and bade that he should come to him quickly, forthat he wished to speak with him on an interesting subject. Whenhe came to him, he appointed him to the bishopric of Rochester;and the archbishops and bishops and all the nobility that were inEngland coincided with the king. And he long withstood, but itavailed nothing. And the king bade the archbishop that he shouldlead him to Canterbury, and consecrate him bishop whether hewould or not. (143) This was done in the town called Bourne(144) on the seventeenth day before the calends of October. Whenthe monks of Peterborough heard of this, they felt greater sorrowthan they had ever experienced before; because he was a very goodand amiable man, and did much good within and without whilst heabode there. God Almighty abide ever with him. Soon after thisgave the king the abbacy to a monk of Sieyes, whose name wasJohn, through the intreaty of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Andsoon after this the king and the Archbishop of Canterbury senthim to Rome after the archbishop's pall; and a monk also withhim, whose name was Warner, and the Archdeacon John, the nephewof the archbishop. And they sped well there. This was done onthe seventh day before the calends Of October, in the town thatis yclept Rowner. And this same day went the king on board shipat Portsmouth. 

A. D. 1115. This year was the King Henry on the Nativity inNormandy. And whilst he was there, he contrived that all thehead men in Normandy did homage and fealty to his son William, whom he had by his queen. And after this, in the month of July, he returned to this land. This year was the winter so severe, with snow and with frost, that no man who was then living everremembered one more severe; in consequence of which there wasgreat destruction of cattle. During this year the Pope Paschalissent the pall into this land to Ralph, Archbishop of Canterbury;and he received it with great worship at his archiepiscopal stallin Canterbury. It was brought hither from Rome by Abbot Anselm, who was the nephew of Archbishop Anselm, and the Abbot John ofPeterborough. 

A. D. 1116. In this year was the King Henry on the Nativity atSt. Alban's, where he permitted the consecration of thatmonastery; and at Easter he was at Odiham. And there was alsothis year a very heavy-timed winter, strong and long, for cattleand for all things. And the king soon after Easter went over seainto Normandy. And there were many conspiracies and robberies, and castles taken betwixt France and Normandy. Most of thisdisturbance was because the King Henry assisted his nephew, Theobald de Blois, who was engaged in a war against his lord, Louis, the King of France. This was a very vexatious anddestructive year with respect to the fruits of the earth, throughthe immoderate rains that fell soon after the beginning ofAugust, harassing and perplexing men till Candlemas-day. Thisyear also was so deficient in mast, that there was never heardsuch in all this land or in Wales. This land and nation werealso this year oft and sorely swincked by the guilds which theking took both within the boroughs and without. In this sameyear was consumed by fire the whole monastery of Peterborough, and all the buildings, except the chapter-house and thedormitory, and therewith also all the greater part of the town. All this happened on a Friday, which was the second day beforethe nones of August. 

A. D. 1117. All this year remained the King Henry, in Normandy, on account of the hostility of the King of France and his otherneighbours. And in the summer came the King of France and theEarl of Flanders with him with an army into Normandy. And havingstayed therein one night, they returned again in the morningwithout fighting. But Normandy was very much afflicted both bythe exactions and by the armies which the King Henry collectedagainst them. This nation also was severely oppressed throughthe same means, namely, through manifold exactions. This yearalso, in the night of the calends of December, were immoderatestorms with thunder, and lightning, and rain, and hail. And inthe night of the third day before the ides of December was themoon, during a long time of the night, as if covered with blood, and afterwards eclipsed. Also in the night of the seventeenthday before the calends of January, was the heaven seen very red, as if it were burning. And on the octave of St. John theEvangelist was the great earthquake in Lombardy; from the shockof which many minsters, and towers, and houses fell, and did muchharm to men. This was a very blighted year in corn, through therains that scarcely ceased for nearly all the year. And theAbbot Gilbert of Westminster died on the eighth day before theides of December; and Faritz, Abbot of Abingdon, on the seventhday before the calends of March. And in this same year.... 

A. D. 1118. All this year abode the King Henry in Normandy onaccount of the war of the King of France and the Earl of Anjou, and the Earl of Flanders. And the Earl of Flanders was woundedin Normandy, and went so wounded into Flanders. By this war wasthe king much exhausted, and he was a great loser both in landand money. And his own men grieved him most, who often from himturned, and betrayed him; and going over to his foes surrenderedto them their castles, to the injury and disappointment of theking. All this England dearly bought through the manifold guildsthat all this year abated not. This year, in the week of theEpiphany, there was one evening a great deal of lightning, andthereafter unusual thunder. And the Queen Matilda died atWestminster on the calends of May; and there was buried. And theEarl Robert of Mellent died also this year. In this year also, on the feast of St. Thomas, was so very immoderately violent awind, that no man who was then living ever remembered anygreater; and that was everywhere seen both in houses and also intrees. This year also died Pope Paschalis; and John of Gaetasucceeded to the popedom, whose other name was Gelasius. 

A. D. 1119. All this year continued the King Henry in Normandy;and he was greatly perplexed by the hostility of the King ofFrance, and also of his own men, who with treachery deserted fromhim, and oft readily betrayed him; until the two kings cametogether in Normandy with their forces. There was the King ofFrance put to flight, and all his best men taken. And afterwardsmany of King Henry's men returned to him, and accorded with him, who were before, with their castellans, against him. And some ofthe castles he took by main strength. This year went William, the son of King Henry and Queen Matilda, into Normandy to hisfather, and there was given to him, and wedded to wife, thedaughter of the Earl of Anjou. On the eve of the mass of St. Michael was much earth-heaving in some places in this land;though most of all in Glocestershire and in Worcestershire. Inthis same year died the Pope Gelasius, on this side of the Alps, and was buried at Clugny. And after him the Archbishop of Viennawas chosen pope, whose name was Calixtus. He afterwards, on thefestival of St. Luke the Evangelist, came into France to Rheims, and there held a council. And the Archbishop Turstin of Yorkwent thither; and, because that he against right, and against thearchiepiscopal stall in Canterbury, and against the king's will, received his hood at the hands of the pope, the king interdictedhim from all return to England. And thus he lost hisarchbishopric, and with the pope went towards Rome. In this yearalso died the Earl Baldwin of Flanders of the wounds that hereceived in Normandy. And after him succeeded to the earldomCharles, the son of his uncle by the father's side, who was sonof Cnute, the holy King of Denmark. 

A. D. 1120. This year were reconciled the King of England and theKing of France; and after their reconciliation all the KingHenry's own men accorded with him in Normandy, as well as theEarl of Flanders and the Earl of Ponthieu. From this timeforward the King Henry settled his castles and his land inNormandy after his will; and so before Advent came to this land. And in this expedition were drowned the king's two sons, Williamand Richard, and Richard, Earl of Chester, and Ottuel hisbrother, and very many of the king's household, stewards, andchamberlains, and butlers, and men of various abodes; and withthem a countless multidude of very incomparable folk besides. Sore was their death to their friends in a twofold respect: one, that they so suddenly lost this life; the other, that few oftheir bodies were found anywhere afterwards. This year came thatlight to the sepulchre of the Lord in Jerusalem twice; once atEaster, and the other on the assumption of St. Mary, as crediblepersons said who came thence. And the Archbishop Turstin of Yorkwas through the pope reconciled with the king, and came to thisland, and recovered his bishopric, though it was very undesirableto the Archbishop of Canterbury. 

A. D. 1121. This year was the King Henry at Christmas at Bramton, and afterwards, before Candlemas, at Windsor was given him towife Athelis; soon afterwards consecrated queen, who was daughterof the Duke of Louvain. And the moon was eclipsed in the nightof the nones of April, being a fortnight old. And the king wasat Easter at Berkley; and after that at Pentecost he held a fullcourt at Westminster; and afterwards in the summer went with anarmy into Wales. And the Welsh came against him; and after theking's will they accorded with him. This year came the Earl ofAnjou from Jerusalem into his land; and soon after sent hither tofetch his daughter, who had been given to wife to William, theking's son. And in the night of the eve of "Natalis Domini" wasa very violent wind over all this land, and that was in manythings evidently seen. 

A. D. 1122. In this year was the King Henry at Christmas inNorwich, and at Easter in Northampton. And in the Lent-tidebefore that, the town of Glocester was on fire: the while thatthe monks were singing their mass, and the deacon had begun thegospel, "Praeteriens Jesus", at that very moment came the firefrom the upper part of the steeple, and burned all the minster, and all the treasures that were there within; except a few books, and three mass-hackles. That was on the eighth day before theides of Marcia. And thereafter, the Tuesday after Palm-Sunday, was a very violent wind on the eleventh day before the calends ofApril; after which came many tokens far and wide in England, andmany spectres were both seen and heard. And the eighth nightbefore the calends of August was a very violent earthquake overall Somersetshire, and in Glocestershire. Soon after, on thesixth day before the ides of September, which was on the festivalof St. Mary, (145) there was a very violent wind from the forepart of the day to the depth of the night. This same year diedRalph, the Archbishop of Canterbury; that was on the thirteenthday before the calends of November. After this there were manyshipmen on the sea, and on fresh water, who said, that they sawon the north-east, level with the earth, a fire huge and broad, which anon waxed in length up to the welkin; and the welkin undiditself in four parts, and fought against it, as if it wouldquench it; and the fire waxed nevertheless up to the heaven. Thefire they saw in the day-dawn; and it lasted until it was lightover all. That was on the seventh day before the ides ofDecember. 

A. D. 1123. In this year was the King Henry, at Christmastide atDunstable, and there came to him the ambassadors of the Earl ofAnjou. And thence he went to Woodstock; and his bishops and hiswhole court with him. Then did it betide on a Wednesday, whichwas on the fourth day before the ides of January, that the kingrode in his deer-fold; (146) the Bishop Roger of Salisbury (147)on one side of him, and the Bishop Robert Bloet of Lincoln on theother side of him. And they rode there talking together. Thensank down the Bishop of Lincoln, and said to the king, "Lordking, I die. " And the king alighted down from his horse, andlifted him betwixt his arms, and let men bear him home to hisinn. There he was soon dead; and they carried him to Lincolnwith great worship, and buried him before the altar of St. Mary. And the Bishop of Chester, whose name was Robert Pecceth, buriedhim. Soon after this sent the king his writ over all England, and bade all his bishops and his abbots and his thanes, that theyshould come to his wittenmoot on Candlemas day at Glocester tomeet him: and they did so. When they were there gatheredtogether, then the king bade them, that they should choose forthemselves an Archbishop of Canterbury, whomsoever they would, and he would confirm it. Then spoke the bishops amongthemselves, and said that they never more would have a man of themonastic order as archbishop over them. And they went all in abody to the king, and earnestly requested that they might choosefrom the clerical order whomsoever they would for archbishop. And the king granted it to them. This was all concerted before, through the Bishop of Salisbury, and through the Bishop ofLincoln ere he was dead; for that they never loved the rule ofmonks, but were ever against monks and their rule. And the priorand the monks of Canterbury, and all the other persons of themonastic order that were there, withstood it full two days; butit availed nought: for the Bishop of Salisbury was strong, andwielded all England, and opposed them with all his power andmight. Then chose they a clerk, named William of Curboil. Hewas canon of a monastery called Chiche. (148) And they broughthim before the king; and the king gave him the archbishopric. And all the bishops received him: but almost all the monks, andthe earls, and the thanes that were there, protested against him. About the same time departed the earl's messengers (149) inhostility from the king, reckless of his favour. During the sametime came a legate from Rome, whose name was Henry. He was abbotof the monastery of St. John of Angeli; and he came after theRome-scot. And he said to the king, that it was against rightthat men should set a clerk over monks; and therefore they hadchosen an archbishop before in their chapter after right. Butthe king would not undo it, for the love of the Bishop ofSalisbury. Then went the archbishop, soon after this, toCanterbury; and was there received, though it was against theirwill; and he was there soon blessed to bishop by the Bishop ofLondon, and the Bishop Ernulf of Rochester, and the BishopWilliam Girard of Winchester, and the Bishop Bernard of Wales, and the Bishop Roger of Salisbury. Then, early in Lent, wentthe archbishop to Rome, after his pall; and with him went theBishop Bernard of Wales; and Sefred, Abbot of Glastonbury; andAnselm, Abbot of St. Edmund's bury; and John, Archdeacon ofCanterbury; and Gifard, who was the king's court-chaplain. Atthe same time went the Archbishop Thurstan of York to Rome, through the behest of the pope, and came thither three days erethe Archbishop of Canterbury came, and was there received withmuch worship. Then came the Archbishop of Canterbury, and wasthere full seven nights ere they could come to a conference withthe pope. That was, because the pope was made to understand thathe had obtained the archbishopric against the monks of theminster, and against right. But that overcame Rome, whichovercometh all the world; that is, gold and silver. And the popesoftened, and gave him his pall. And the archbishop (of York)swore him subjection, in all those things, which the popeenjoined him, by the heads of St. Peter and St. Paul; and thepope then sent him home with his blessing. The while that thearchbishop was out of the land, the king gave the bishopric ofBath to the Queen's chancellor, whose name was Godfrey. He wasborn in Louvain. That was on the Annunciation of St. Mary, atWoodstock. Soon after this went the king to Winchester, and wasall Easter-tide there. And the while that he was there, gave hethe bishopric of Lincoln to a clerk hight Alexander. He wasnephew of the Bishop of Salisbury. This he did all for the loveof the bishop. Then went the king thence to Portsmouth, and laythere all over Pentecost week. Then, as soon as he had a fairwind, he went over into Normandy; and meanwhile committed allEngland to the guidance and government of the Bishop Roger ofSalisbury. Then was the king all this year (150) in Normandy. And much hostility arose betwixt him and his thanes; so that theEarl Waleram of Mellent, and Hamalric, and Hugh of Montfort, andWilliam of Romare, and many others, went from him, and held theircastles against him. And the king strongly opposed them: andthis same year he won of Waleram his castle of Pont-Audemer, andof Hugh that of Montfort; and ever after, the longer he stayed, the better he sped. This same year, ere the Bishop of Lincolncame to his bishopric, almost all the borough of Lincoln wasburned, and numberless folks, men and women, were consumed: andso much harm was there done as no man could describe to another. That was on the fourteenth day before the calends of June. 

A. D. 1124. All this year was the King Henry in Normandy. Thatwas for the great hostility that he had with the King Louis ofFrance, and with the Earl of Anjou, and most of all with his ownmen. Then it happened, on the day of the Annunciation of St. Mary, that the Earl Waleram of Mellent went from one of hiscastles called Belmont to another called Watteville. With himwent the steward of the King of France, Amalric, and Hugh the sonof Gervase, and Hugh of Montfort, and many other good knights. Then came against them the king's knights from all the castlesthat were thereabout, and fought with them, and put them toflight, and took the Earl Waleram, and Hugh, the son of Gervase, and Hugh of Montfort, and five and twenty other knights, andbrought them to the king. And the king committed the EarlWaleram, and Hugh, the son of Gervase, to close custody in thecastle at Rouen; but Hugh of Montfort he sent to England, andordered him to be secured with strong bonds in the castle atGlocester. And of the others as many as he chose he sent northand south to his castles in captivity. After this went the king, and won all the castles of the Earl Waleram that were inNormandy, and all the others that his enemies held against him. All this hostility was on account of the son of the Earl Robertof Normandy, named William. This same William had taken to wifethe younger daughter of Fulke, Earl of Anjou: and for this reasonthe King of France and all the earls held with him, and all therich men; and said that the king held his brother Robertwrongfully in captivity, and drove his son William unjustly outof Normandy. This same year were the seasons very unfavourablein England for corn and all fruits; so that between Christmas andCandlemas men sold the acre-seed of wheat, that is two seedlips, for six shillings; and the barley, that is three seedlips, forsix shillings also; and the acre-seed of oats, that is fourseedlips, for four shillings. That was because that corn wasscarce; and the penny was so adulterated, (151) that a man whohad a pound at a market could not exchange twelve pence thereoffor anything. In this same year died the blessed Bishop Ernulfof Rochester, who before was Abbot of Peterborough. That was onthe ides of March. And after this died the King Alexander ofScotland, on the ninth day before the calends of May. And Davidhis brother, who was Earl of Northamptonshire, succeeded to thekingdom; and had both together, the kingdom of Scotland and theearldom in England. And on the nineteenth day before the calendsof January died the Pope of Rome, whose name was Calixtus, andHonorius succeeded to the popedom. This same year, after St. Andrew's mass, and before Christmas, held Ralph Basset and theking's thanes a wittenmoot in Leicestershire, at Huncothoe, andthere hanged more thieves than ever were known before; that is, in a little while, four and forty men altogether; and despoiledsix men of their eyes and of their testicles. Many true men saidthat there were several who suffered very unjustly; but our LordGod Almighty, who seeth and knoweth every secret, seeth also thatthe wretched people are oppressed with all unrighteousness. First they are bereaved of their property, and then they areslain. Full heavy year was this. The man that had any property, was bereaved of it by violent guilds and violent moots. The manthat had not, was starved with hunger. 

A. D. 1125. In this year sent the King Henry, before Christmas, from Normandy to England, and bade that all the mint-men thatwere in England should be mutilated in their limbs; that was, that they should lose each of them the right hand, and theirtesticles beneath. This was because the man that had a poundcould not lay out a penny at a market. And the Bishop Roger ofSalisbury sent over all England, and bade them all that theyshould come to Winchester at Christmas. When they came thither, then were they taken one by one, and deprived each of the righthand and the testicles beneath. All this was done within thetwelfth-night. And that was all in perfect justice, because thatthey had undone all the land with the great quantity of base cointhat they all bought. In this same year sent the Pope of Rome tothis land a cardinal, named John of Crema. He came first to theking in Normandy, and the king received him with much worship. He betook himself then to the Archbishop William of Canterbury;and he led him to Canterbury; and he was there received withgreat veneration, and in solemn procession. And he sang the highmass on Easter day at the altar of Christ. Afterwards he wentover all England, to all the bishoprics and abbacies that were inthis land; and in all he was received with respect. And all gavehim many and rich gifts. And afterwards he held his council inLondon full three days, on the Nativity of St. Mary in September, with archbishops, and diocesan bishops, and abbots, the learnedand the lewd; (152) and enjoined there the same laws thatArchbishop Anselm had formerly enjoined, and many more, though itavailed little. Thence he went over sea soon after Michaelmas, and so to Rome; and (with him) the Archbishop William ofCanterbury, and the Archbishop Thurstan of York, and the BishopAlexander of Lincoln, and the Bishop J. Of Lothian, and the AbbotG. Of St. Alban's; and were there received by the Pope Honoriuswith great respect; and continued there all the winter. In thissame year was so great a flood on St. Laurence's day, that manytowns and men were overwhelmed, and bridges broken down, and cornand meadows spoiled withal; and hunger and qualm (153) in men andin cattle; and in all fruits such unseasonableness as was notknown for many years before. And this same year died the AbbotJohn of Peterborough, on the second day before the ides ofOctober. 

A. D. 1126. All this year was the King Henry in Normandy--alltill after harvest. Then came he to this land, betwixt theNativity of St. Mary and Michaelmas. With him came the queen, and his daughter, whom he had formerly given to the Emperor Henryof Lorrain to wife. And he brought with him the Earl Waleram, and Hugh, the son of Gervase. And the earl he sent toBridgenorth in captivity: and thence he sent him afterwards toWallingford; and Hugh to Windsor, whom he ordered to be kept instrong bonds. Then after Michaelmas came David, the king of theScots, from Scotland to this land; and the King Henry receivedhim with great worship; and he continued all that year in thisland. In this year the king had his brother Robert taken fromthe Bishop Roger of Salisbury, and committed him to his sonRobert, Earl of Glocester, and had him led to Bristol, and thereput into the castle. That was all done through his daughter'scounsel, and through David, the king of the Scots, her uncle. 

A. D. 1127. This year held the King Henry his court at Christmasin Windsor. There was David the king of the Scots, and all thehead men that were in England, learned and lewd. And there heengaged the archbishops, and bishops, and abbots, and earls, andall the thanes that were there, to swear England and Normandyafter his day into the hands of his daughter Athelicia, who wasformerly the wife of the Emperor of Saxony. Afterwards he senther to Normandy; and with her went her brother Robert, Earl ofGlocester, and Brian, son of the Earl Alan Fergan; (154) and helet her wed the son of the Earl of Anjou, whose name was GeoffryMartel. All the French and English, however, disapproved ofthis; but the king did it for to have the alliance of the Earlof Anjou, and for to have help against his nephew William. Inthe Lent-tide of this same year was the Earl Charles of Flandersslain in a church, as he lay there and prayed to God, before thealtar, in the midst of the mass, by his own men. And the King ofFrance brought William, the son of the Earl of Normandy, and gavehim the earldom; and the people of that land accepted him. Thissame William had before taken to wife the daughter of the Earl ofAnjou; but they were afterwards divorced on the plea ofconsanguinity. This was all through the King Henry of England. Afterwards took he to wife the sister of the king's wife ofFrance; and for this reason the king gave him the earldom ofFlanders. This same year he (155) gave the abbacy ofPeterborough to an abbot named Henry of Poitou, who retained inhand his abbacy of St. John of Angeli; but all the archbishopsand bishops said that it was against right, and that he could nothave two abbacies on hand. But the same Henry gave the king tounderstand, that he had relinquished his abbacy on account of thegreat hostility that was in the land; and that he did through thecounsel and leave of the Pope of Rome, and through that of theAbbot of Clugny, and because he was legate of the Rome-scot. But, nevertheless, it was not so; for he would retain both inhand; and did so as long as God's will was. He was in hisclerical state Bishop of Soissons; afterwards monk of Clugny; andthen prior in the same monastery. Afterwards he became prior ofSevigny; and then, because he was a relation of the King ofEngland, and of the Earl of Poitou, the earl gave him the abbacyof St. John's minster of Angeli. Afterwards, through his greatcraft, he obtained the archbishopric of Besancon; and had it inhand three days; after which he justly lost it, because he hadbefore unjustly obtained it. Afterwards he procured thebishopric of Saintes; which was five miles from his abbey. Thathe had full-nigh a week (156) in hand; but the Abbot of Clugnybrought him thence, as he before did from Besancon. Then hebethought him, that, if he could be fast-rooted in England, hemight have all his will. Wherefore he besought the king, andsaid unto him, that he was an old man--a man completely broken--thathe could not brook the great injustice and the greathostility that were in their land: and then, by his ownendearours, and by those of all his friends, he earnestly andexpressly entreated for the abbacy of Peterborough. And the kingprocured it for him, because he was his relation, and because hewas the principal person to make oath and bear witness when theson of the Earl of Normandy and the daughter of the Earl of Anjouwere divorced on the plea of consanguinity. Thus wretchedly wasthe abbacy given away, betwixt Christmas and Candlemas, atLondon; and so he went with the King to Winchester, and thence hecame to Peterborough, and there he dwelt (157) right so as adrone doth in a hive. For as the drone fretteth and draggethfromward all that the bees drag toward [the hive], so didhe. --All that he might take, within and without, of learned and lewd, so sent he over sea; and no good did there--no good left there. Think no man unworthily that we say not the truth; for it wasfully known over all the land: that, as soon as he came thither, which was on the Sunday when men sing "Exurge quare o D---- etc. "immediately after, several persons saw and heard many huntsmenhunting. The hunters were swarthy, and huge, and ugly; and theirhounds were all swarthy, and broad-eyed, and ugly. And they rodeon swarthy horses, and swarthy bucks. This was seen in the verydeer-fold in the town of Peterborough, and in all the woods fromthat same town to Stamford. And the monks heard the horn blowthat they blew in the night. Credible men, who watched them inthe night, said that they thought there might well be abouttwenty or thirty horn-blowers. This was seen and heard from thetime that he (158) came thither, all the Lent-tide onward toEaster. This was his entry; of his exit we can as yet saynought. God provide. 

A. D. 1128. All this year was the King Henry in Normandy, onaccount of the hostility that was between him and his nephew, theEarl of Flanders. But the earl was wounded in a fight by aswain; and so wounded he went to the monastery of St. Bertin;where he soon became a monk, lived five days afterwards, thendied, and was there buried. God honour his soul. That was onthe sixth day before the calends of August. This same year diedthe Bishop Randulph Passeflambard of Durham; and was there buriedon the nones of September. And this same year went the aforesaidAbbot Henry home to his own minster at Poitou by the king'sleave. He gave the king to understand, that he would withalforgo that minster, and that land, and dwell with him in England, and in the monastery of Peterborough. But it was not sonevertheless. He did this because he would be there, through hiscrafty wiles, were it a twelvemonth or more, and come againafterwards. May God Almighty extend his mercy over that wretchedplace. This same year came from Jerusalem Hugh of the Temple tothe king in Normandy; and the king received him with much honour, and gave him rich presents in gold and in silver. And afterwardshe sent him into England; and there he was received by all goodmen, who all gave him presents, and in Scotland also: and by himthey sent to Jerusalem much wealth withal in gold and in silver. And he invited folk out to Jerusalem; and there went with him andafter him more people than ever did before, since that the firstexpedition was in the day of Pope Urban. Though it availedlittle; for he said, that a mighty war was begun between theChristians and the heathens; but when they came thither, then wasit nought but leasing. (159) Thus pitifully was all that peopleswinked. (160)

A. D. 1129. In this year sent the King to England after the EarlWaleram, and after Hugh, the son of Gervase. And they gavehostages for them. And Hugh went home to his own land in France;but Waleram was left with the king: and the king gave him all hisland except his castle alone. Afterwards came the king toEngland within the harvest: and the earl came with him: and theybecame as good friends as they were foes before. Soon after, bythe king's counsel, and by his leave, sent the Archbishop Williamof Canterbury over all England, and bade bishops, and abbots, andarchdeacons, and all the priors, monks, and canons, that were inall the cells in England, and all who had the care andsuperintendence of christianity, that they should all come toLondon at Michaelmas, and there should speak of all God's rights. When they came thither, then began the moot on Monday, andcontinued without intermission to the Friday. When it all cameforth, then was it all found to be about archdeacons' wives, andabout priests' wives; that they should forgo them by St. Andrew'smass; and he who would not do that, should forgo his church, andhis house, and his home, and never more have any calling thereto. This bade the Archbishop William of Canterbury, and all thediocesan bishops that were then in England, but the king gavethem all leave to go home. And so they went home; and all theordinances amounted to nothing. All held their wives by theking's leave as they did before. This same year died the BishopWilliam Giffard of Winchester; and was there buried, on theeighth day before the calends of February. And the King Henrygave the bishopric after Michaelmas to the Abbot Henry ofGlastonbury, his nephew, and he was consecrated bishop by theArchbishop William of Canterbury on the fifteenth day before thecalends of December. This same year died Pope Honorius. Ere hewas well dead, there were chosen two popes. The one was namedPeter, who was monk of Clugny, and was born of the richest men ofRome; and with him held those of Rome, and the Duke of Sicily. The other was Gregory: he was a clerk, and was driven out of Romeby the other pope, and by his kinsmen. With him held the Emperorof Saxony, and the King of France, and the King Henry of England, and all those on this side of the Alps. Now was there suchdivision in Christendom as never was before. May Christ consultfor his wretched folk. This same year, on the night of the massof St. Nicholas, a little before day, there was a greatearthquake. 

A. D. 1130. This year was the monastery of Canterbury consecratedby the Archbishop William, on the fourth day before the nones ofMay. There were the Bishops John of Rochester, Gilbert Universalof London, Henry of Winchester, Alexander of Lincoln, Roger ofSalisbury, Simon of Worcester, Roger of Coventry, Geoffry ofBath, Evrard of Norwich, Sigefrith of Chichester, Bernard of St. David's, Owen of Evreux in Normandy, John of Sieyes. On thefourth day after this was the King Henry in Rochester, when thetown was almost consumed by fire; and the Archbishop Williamconsecrated the monastery of St. Andrew, and the aforesaidbishops with him. And the King Henry went over sea into Normandyin harvest. This same year came the Abbot Henry of Angeli afterEaster to Peterborough, and said that he had relinquished thatmonastery (161) withal. After him came the Abbot of Clugny, Peter by name, to England by the king's leave; and was receivedby all, whithersoever he came, with much respect. ToPeterborough he came; and there the Abbot Henry promised him thathe would procure him the minster of Peterborough, that it mightbe subject to Clugny. But it is said in the proverb, "The hedge abideth, that acres divideth. "May God Almighty frustrate evil designs. Soon after this, wentthe Abbot of Clugny home to his country. This year was Angusslain by the army of the Scots, and there was a great multitudeslain with him. There was God's fight sought upon him, for thathe was all forsworn. 

A. D. 1131. This year, after Christmas, on a Monday night, at thefirst sleep, was the heaven on the northern hemisphere (162) allas if it were burning fire; so that all who saw it were sodismayed as they never were before. That was on the third daybefore the ides of January. This same year was so great amurrain of cattle as never was before in the memory of man overall England. That was in neat cattle and in swine; so that in atown where there were ten ploughs going, or twelve, there was notleft one: and the man that had two hundred or three hundredswine, had not one left. Afterwards perished the hen fowls; thenshortened the fleshmeat, and the cheese, and the butter. May Godbetter it when it shall be his will. And the King Henry camehome to England before harvest, after the mass of St. Peter "advincula". This same year went the Abbot Henry, before Easter, from Peterborough over sea to Normandy, and there spoke with theking, and told him that the Abbot of Clugny had desired him tocome to him, and resign to him the abbacy of Angeli, after whichhe would go home by his leave. And so he went home to his ownminster, and there remained even to midsummer day. And the nextday after the festival of St. John chose the monks an abbot ofthemselves, brought him into the church in procession, sang "TeDeum laudamus", rang the bells, set him on the abbot's throne, did him all homage, as they should do their abbot: and the earl, and all the head men, and the monks of the minster, drove theother Abbot Henry out of the monastery. And they had need; forin five-and-twenty winters had they never hailed one good day. Here failed him all his mighty crafts. Now it behoved him, thathe crope in his skin into every corner, if peradventure therewere any unresty wrench, (163) whereby he might yet once morebetray Christ and all Christian people. Then retired he intoClugny, where he was held so fast, that he could not move east orwest. The Abbot of Clugny said that they had lost St. John'sminster through him, and through his great sottishness. Thencould he not better recompense them; but he promised them, andswore oaths on the holy cross, that if he might go to England heshould get them the minster of Peterborough; so that he shouldset there the prior of Clugny, with a churchwarden, a treasurer, and a sacristan: and all the things that were within the minsterand without, he should procure for them. Thus he departed intoFrance; and there remained all that year. Christ provide for thewretched monks of Peterborough, and for that wretched place. Nowdo they need the help of Christ and of all Christian folk. 

A. D. 1132. This year came King Henry to this land. Then cameAbbot Henry, and betrayed the monks of Peterborough to the king, because he would subject that minster to Clugny; so that the kingwas well nigh entrapped, and sent after the monks. But throughthe grace of God, and through the Bishop of Salisbury, and theBishop of Lincoln, and the other rich men that were there, theking knew that he proceeded with treachery. When he no morecould do, then would he that his nephew should be Abbot ofPeterborough. But Christ forbade. Not very long after this wasit that the king sent after him, and made him give up the Abbeyof Peterborough, and go out of the land. And the king gave theabbacy to a prior of St. Neot's, called Martin, who came on St. Peter's mass-day with great pomp into the minster. 

A. D. 1135. In this year went the King Henry over sea at theLammas; and the next day, as he lay asleep on ship, the daydarkened over all lands, and the sun was all as it were a threenight old moon, and the stars about him at midday. Men were verymuch astonished and terrified, and said that a great event shouldcome hereafter. So it did; for that same year was the king dead, the next day after St. Andrew's mass-day, in Normandy. Then wasthere soon tribulation in the land; for every man that might, soon robbed another. Then his sons and his friends took hisbody, and brought it to England, and buried it at Reading. Agood man he was; and there was great dread of him. No man durstdo wrong with another in his time. Peace he made for man andbeast. Whoso bare his burthen of gold and silver, durst no mansay ought to him but good. Meanwhile was his nephew come toEngland, Stephen de Blois. He came to London, and the people ofLondon received him, and sent after the Archbishop WilliamCurboil, and hallowed him to king on midwinter day. In thisking's time was all dissention, and evil, and rapine; for againsthim rose soon the rich men who were traitors; and first of allBaldwin de Redvers, who held Exeter against him. But the kingbeset it; and afterwards Baldwin accorded. Then took the others, and held their castles against him; and David, King of Scotland, took to Wessington against him. Nevertheless their messengerspassed between them; and they came together, and were settled, but it availed little. 

A. D. 1137. This year went the King Stephen over sea to Normandy, and there was received; for that they concluded that he should beall such as the uncle was; and because he had got his treasure:but he dealed it out, and scattered it foolishly. Much had KingHenry gathered, gold and silver, but no good did men for his soulthereof. When the King Stephen came to England, he held hiscouncil at Oxford; where he seized the Bishop Roger of Sarum, andAlexander, Bishop of Lincoln, and the chancellor Roger, hisnephew; and threw all into prison till they gave up theircastles. When the traitors understood that he was a mild man, and soft, and good, and no justice executed, then did they allwonder. They had done him homage, and sworn oaths, but they notruth maintained. They were all forsworn, and forgetful of theirtroth; for every rich man built his castles, which they heldagainst him: and they filled the land full of castles. Theycruelly oppressed the wretched men of the land with castle-works;and when the castles were made, they filled them with devils andevil men. Then took they those whom they supposed to have anygoods, both by night and by day, labouring men and women, andthrew them into prison for their gold and silver, and inflictedon them unutterable tortures; for never were any martyrs sotortured as they were. Some they hanged up by the feet, andsmoked them with foul smoke; and some by the thumbs, or by thehead, and hung coats of mail on their feet. They tied knottedstrings about their heads, and twisted them till the pain went tothe brains. They put them into dungeons, wherein were adders, and snakes, and toads; and so destroyed them. Some they placedin a crucet-house; that is, in a chest that was short and narrow, and not deep; wherein they put sharp stones, and so thrust theman therein, that they broke all the limbs. In many of thecastles were things loathsome and grim, called "Sachenteges", ofwhich two or three men had enough to bear one. It was thus made:that is, fastened to a beam; and they placed a sharp iron[collar] about the man's throat and neck, so that he could in nodirection either sit, or lie, or sleep, but bear all that iron. Many thousands they wore out with hunger. I neither can, nor mayI tell all the wounds and all the pains which they inflicted onwretched men in this land. This lasted the nineteen winterswhile Stephen was king; and it grew continually worse and worse. They constantly laid guilds on the towns, and called it"tenserie"; and when the wretched men had no more to give, thenthey plundered and burned all the towns; that well thou mightestgo a whole day's journey and never shouldest thou find a mansitting in a town, nor the land tilled. Then was corn dear, andflesh, and cheese, and butter; for none was there in the land. Wretched men starved of hunger. Some had recourse to alms, whowere for a while rich men, and some fled out of the land. Neveryet was there more wretchedness in the land; nor ever did heathenmen worse than they did: for, after a time, they spared neitherchurch nor churchyard, but took all the goods that were therein, and then burned the church and all together. Neither did theyspare a bishop's land, or an abbot's, or a priest's, butplundered both monks and clerks; and every man robbed another whocould. If two men, or three, came riding to a town, all thetownship fled for them, concluding them to be robbers. Thebishops and learned men cursed them continually, but the effectthereof was nothing to them; for they were all accursed, andforsworn, and abandoned. To till the ground was to plough thesea: the earth bare no corn, for the land was all laid waste bysuch deeds; and they said openly, that Christ slept, and hissaints. Such things, and more than we can say, suffered wenineteen winters for our sins. In all this evil time held AbbotMartin his abbacy twenty years and a half, and eight days, withmuch tribulation; and found the monks and the guests everythingthat behoved them; and held much charity in the house; and, notwithstanding all this, wrought on the church, and set theretolands and rents, and enriched it very much, and bestowedvestments upon it. And he brought them into the new minster onSt. Peter's mass-day with much pomp; which was in the year, fromthe incarnation of our Lord, 1140, and in the twenty-third fromthe destruction of the place by fire. And he went to Rome, andthere was well received by the Pope Eugenius; from whom heobtained their privileges:--one for all the lands of the abbey, and another for the lands that adjoin to the churchyard; and, ifhe might have lived longer, so he meant to do concerning thetreasury. And he got in the lands that rich men retained by mainstrength. Of William Malduit, who held the castle of Rockingham, he won Cotingham and Easton; and of Hugh de Walteville, he wonHirtlingbury and Stanwick, and sixty shillings from Oldwinkleeach year. And he made many monks, and planted a vine-yard, andconstructed many works, and made the town better than it wasbefore. He was a good monk, and a good man; and for this reasonGod and good men loved him. Now we will relate in part whathappened in King Stephen's time. In his reign the Jews ofNorwich bought a Christian child before Easter, and tortured himafter the same manner as our Lord was tortured; and on Long-Friday(164) hanged him on a rood, in mockery of our Lord, andafterwards buried him. They supposed that it would be concealed, but our Lord showed that he was a holy martyr. And the monkstook him, and buried him with high honour in the minster. Andthrough our Lord he worketh wonderful and manifold miracles, andis called St. William. 

A. D. 1138. In this year came David, King of Scotland, with animmense army to this land. He was ambitious to win this land;but against him came William, Earl of Albemarle, to whom the kinghad committed York, and other borderers, with few men, and foughtagainst them, and routed the king at the Standard, and slew verymany of his gang. 

A. D. 1140. In this year wished the King Stephen to take Robert, Earl of Gloucester, the son of King Henry; but he could not, forhe was aware of it. After this, in the Lent, the sun and the daydarkened about the noon-tide of the day, when men were eating;and they lighted candles to eat by. That was the thirteenth daybefore the kalends of April. Men were very much struck withwonder. Thereafter died William, Archbishop of Canterbury; andthe king made Theobald archbishop, who was Abbot of Bec. Afterthis waxed a very great war betwixt the king and Randolph, Earlof Chester; not because he did not give him all that he could askhim, as he did to all others; but ever the more he gave them, theworse they were to him. The Earl held Lincoln against the king, and took away from him all that he ought to have. And the kingwent thither, and beset him and his brother William de Romare inthe castle. And the earl stole out, and went after Robert, Earlof Glocester, and brought him thither with a large army. Andthey fought strenuously on Candlemas day against their lord, andtook him; for his men forsook him and fled. And they led him toBristol, and there put him into prison in close quarters. Thenwas all England stirred more than ere was, and all evil was inthe land. Afterwards came the daughter of King Henry, who hadbeen Empress of Germany, and now was Countess of Anjou. She cameto London; but the people of London attempted to take her, andshe fled, losing many of her followers. After this the Bishop ofWinchester, Henry, the brother of King Stephen, spake with EarlRobert, and with the empress, and swore them oaths, "that henever more would hold with the king, his brother, " and cursed allthe men that held with him, and told them, that he would givethem up Winchester; and he caused them to come thither. Whenthey were therein, then came the king's queen with all herstrength, and beset them, so that there was great hunger therein. When they could no longer hold out, then stole they out, andfled; but those without were aware, and followed them, and tookRobert, Earl of Glocester, and led him to Rochester, and put himthere into prison; but the empress fled into a monastery. Thenwent the wise men between the king's friends and the earl'sfriends; and settled so that they should let the king out ofprison for the earl, and the earl for the king; and so they did. After this settled the king and Earl Randolph at Stamford, andswore oaths, and plighted their troth, that neither should betraythe other. But it availed nothing. For the king afterwards tookhim at Northampton, through wicked counsel, and put him intoprison; and soon after he let him out again, through worsecounsel, on the condition that he swore by the crucifix, andfound hostages, that he would give up all his castles. Some hegave up, and some gave he not up; and did then worse than heotherwise would. Then was England very much divided. Some heldwith the king, and some with the empress; for when the king wasin prison, the earls and the rich men supposed that he never morewould come out: and they settled with the empress, and broughther into Oxford, and gave her the borough. When the king wasout, he heard of this, and took his force, and beset her in thetower. (165) And they let her down in the night from the towerby ropes. And she stole out, and fled, and went on foot toWallingford. Afterwards she went over sea; and those of Normandyturned all from the king to the Earl of Anjou; some willingly, and some against their will; for he beset them till they gave uptheir castles, and they had no help of the king. Then wentEustace, the king's son, to France, and took to wife the sisterof the King of France. He thought to obtain Normandy thereby;but he sped little, and by good right; for he was an evil man. Wherever he was, he did more evil than good; he robbed the lands, and levied heavy guilds upon them. He brought his wife toEngland, and put her into the castle at... (166) Good woman shewas; but she had little bliss with him; and Christ would not thathe should long reign. He therefore soon died, and his motheralso. And the Earl of Anjou died; and his son Henry took to theearldom. And the Queen of France parted from the king; and shecame to the young Earl Henry; and he took her to wife, and allPoitou with her. Then went he with a large force into England, and won some castles; and the king went against him with a muchlarger force. Nevertheless, fought they not; but the archbishopand the wise men went between them, and made this settlement:That the king should be lord and king while he lived, and afterhis day Henry should be king: that Henry should take him for afather; and he him for a son: that peace and union should bebetwixt them, and in all England. This and the other provisionsthat they made, swore the king and the earl to observe; and allthe bishops, and the earls, and the rich men. Then was the earlreceived at Winchester, and at London, with great worship; andall did him homage, and swore to keep the peace. And there wassoon so good a peace as never was there before. Then was theking stronger than he ever was before. And the earl went oversea; and all people loved him; for he did good justice, and madepeace. 

A. D. 1154. In this year died the King Stephen; and he was buriedwhere his wife and his son were buried, at Faversham; whichmonastery they founded. When the king died, then was the earlbeyond sea; but no man durst do other than good for the greatfear of him. When he came to England, then was he received withgreat worship, and blessed to king in London on the Sunday beforemidwinter day. And there held he a full court. The same daythat Martin, Abbot of Peterborough, should have gone thither, then sickened he, and died on the fourth day before the nones ofJanuary; and the monks, within the day, chose another ofthemselves, whose name was William de Walteville, (167) a goodclerk, and good man, and well beloved of the king, and of allgood men. And all the monks buried the abbot with high honours. And soon the newly chosen abbot, and the monks with him, went toOxford to the king. And the king gave him the abbacy; and heproceeded soon afterwards to Peterborough; where he remained withthe abbot, ere he came home. And the king was received withgreat worship at Peterborough, in full procession. And so he wasalso at Ramsey, and at Thorney, and at.... And at Spalding, andat.... 

ENDNOTES:

(1) This introductory part of the "Chronicle" to An. I. First printed by Gibson from the Laud MS. Only, has been corrected by a collation of two additional MSS. In the British Museum, "Cotton Tiberius B" lv. And "Domitianus A" viii. Some defects are also here supplied. The materials of this part are to be found in Pliny, Solinus, Orosius, Gildas, and Bede. The admeasurement of the island, however inaccurate, is from the best authorities of those times, and followed by much later historians. 

(2) Gibson, following the Laud MS. Has made six nations of five, by introducing the British and Welsh as two distinct tribes. 

(3) "De tractu Armoricano. "--Bede, "Ecclesiastical History" i. I. The word Armenia occurring a few lines above in Bede, it was perhaps inadvertently written by the Saxon compiler of the "Chronicle" instead of Armorica. 

(4) In case of a disputed succession, "Ubi res veniret in dabium, " etc. --Bede, "Ecclesiastical History" i. I. 

(5) Reada, Aelfr. ; Reuda, Bede, Hunt. Etc. Perhaps it was originally Reutha or Reotha. 

(6) This is an error, arising from the inaccurately written MSS. Of Orosius and Bede; where "in Hybernia" and "in Hiberniam" occur for "in hiberna". The error is retained in Wheloc's Bede. 

(7) Labienus = Laberius. Venerable Bede also, and Orosius, whom he follows verbatim, have "Labienus". It is probably a mistake of some very ancient scribe, who improperly supplied the abbreviation "Labius" (for "Laberius") by "Labienus". 

(8) Of these early transactions in Britain King Alfred supplies us with a brief but circumstantial account in his Saxon paraphrase of "Orosius". 

(9) "8 die Aprilis", Flor. M. West. 

(10) Gibbon regrets this chronology, i. E. From the creation of the world, which he thinks preferable to the vulgar mode from the Christian aera. But how vague and uncertain the scale which depends on a point so remote and undetermined as the precise time when the world was created. If we examine the chronometers of different writers we shall find a difference, between the maximum and the minimum, of 3368 years. The Saxon chronology seems to be founded on that of Eusebius, which approaches the medium between the two extremes. 

(11) An. 42, Flor. This act is attributed by Orosius, and Bede who follows him, to the threatening conduct of Caligula, with a remark, that it was he (Pilate) who condemned our Lord to death. 

(12) An. 48, Flor. See the account of this famine in King Alfred's "Orosius". 

(13) Those writers who mention this discovery of the holy cross, by Helena the mother of Constantine, disagree so much in their chronology, that it is a vain attempt to reconcile them to truth or to each other. This and the other notices of ecclesiastical matters, whether Latin or Saxon, from the year 190 to the year 380 of the Laud MS. And 381 of the printed Chronicle, may be safely considered as interpolations, probably posterior to the Norman Conquest. 

(14) This is not to be understood strictly; gold being used as a general term for money or coin of every description; great quantities of which, it is well known, have been found at different times, and in many different places, in this island: not only of gold, but of silver, brass, copper, etc. 

(15) An interpolated legend, from the "Gesta Pontificum", repeated by Bede, Florence, Matth. West. , Fordun, and others. The head was said to be carried to Edessa. 

(16) Merely of those called from him "Benedictines". But the compiler of the Cotton MS. , who was probably a monk of that order, seems not to acknowledge any other. Matthew of Westminster places his death in 536. 

(17) For an interesting and minute account of the arrival of Augustine and his companions in the Isle of Thanet, their entrance into Canterbury, and their general reception in England, vid. Bede, "Hist. Eccles. " i. 25, and the following chapters, with the Saxon translation by King Alfred. The succeeding historians have in general repeated the very words of Bede. 

(18) It was originally, perhaps, in the MSS. ICC. The abbreviation for 1, 200; which is the number of the slain in Bede. The total number of the monks of Bangor is said to have been 2, 100; most of whom appear to have been employed in prayer on this occasion, and only fifty escape by flight. Vide Bede, "Hist. Eccles. " ii. 2, and the tribe of Latin historians who copy him. 

(19) Literally, "swinged, or scourged him. " Both Bede and Alfred begin by recording the matter as a vision, or a dream; whence the transition is easy to a matter of fact, as here stated by the Norman interpolators of the "Saxon Annals". 

(20) This epithet appears to have been inserted in some copies of the "Saxon Chronicle" so early as the tenth century; to distinguish the "old" church or minster at Winchester from the "new", consecrated A. D. 903. 

(21) Beverley-minster, in Yorkshire. 

(22) He was a native of Tarsus in Cilicia, the birth-place of St. Paul. 

(23) This brief notice of Dryhtelm, for so I find the name written in "Cotton Tiberius B iv. " is totally unintelligible without a reference to Bede's "Ecclesiastical History", v. 12; where a curious account of him may be found, which is copied by Matthew of Westminster, anno. 699. 

(25) Wothnesbeorhge, Ethelw. ; Wonsdike, Malmsb. ; Wonebirih, H. Hunt; Wodnesbeorh, Flor. ; Wodnesbirch, M. West. There is no reason, therefore, to transfer the scene of action to Woodbridge, as some have supposed from an erroneous reading. 

(26) The establishment of the "English school" at Rome is attributed to Ina; a full account of which, and of the origin of "Romescot" or "Peter-pence" for the support of it, may be seen in Matthew of Westminster. 

(27) Beorgforda, Ethelw. ; Beorhtforda, Flor. ; Hereford and Bereford, H. Hunt; Beorford, M. West. This battle of Burford has been considerably amplified by Henry of Huntingdon, and after him by Matthew of Westminster. The former, among other absurdities, talks of "Amazonian" battle-axes. They both mention the banner of the "golden dragon" etc. 

(28) The minuteness of this narrative, combined with the simplicity of it, proves that it was written at no great distance of time from the event. It is the first that occurs of any length in the older MSS. Of the "Saxon Chronicle". 

(29) Penga in the original, i. E. "of pence", or "in pence"; because the silver penny, derived from the Roman "denarius", was the standard coin in this country for more than a thousand years. It was also used as a weight, being the twentieth part of an ounce. 

(30) Since called "sheriff"; i. E. The reve, or steward, of the shire. "Exactor regis". --Ethelw. 

(31) This is the Grecian method of computation; between the hours of three and six in the morning. It must be recollected, that before the distribution of time into hours, minutes, and seconds, the day and night were divided into eight equal portions, containing three hours each; and this method was continued long afterwards by historians. 

(32) This wanton act of barbarity seems to have existed only in the depraved imagination of the Norman interpolator of the "Saxon Annals", who eagerly and impatiently dispatches the story thus, in order to introduce the subsequent account of the synod at Bapchild, so important in his eyes. Hoveden and Wallingford and others have repeated the idle tale; but I have not hitherto found it in any historian of authority. 

(33) St. Kenelm is said to have succeeded Cenwulf:

 "In the foure and twentithe yere of his kyngdom Kenulf wente out of this worlde, and to the joye of hevene com; It was after that oure Lord in his moder alygte Eigte hondred yet and neygentene, by a countes rigte, Seint Kenelm his yonge sone in his sevende yere Kyng was ymad after him, theg he yong were. " --"Vita S. Kenelmi, MS. Coll. Trin Oxon. " No. 57. Arch. 

(34) i. E. The Danes; or, as they are sometimes called, Northmen, which is a general term including all those numerous tribes that issued at different times from the north of Europe, whether Danes, Norwegians, Sweons, Jutes, or Goths, etc. ; who were all in a state of paganism at this time. 

(35) Aetheredus, --Asser, Ethelwerd, etc. We have therefore adopted this orthography. 

(36) It is now generally written, as pronounced, "Swanage". 

(37) For a more circumstantial account of the Danish or Norman operations against Paris at this time, the reader may consult Felibien, "Histoire de la Ville de Paris", liv. Iii. And the authorities cited by him in the margin. This is that celebrated siege of Paris minutely described by Abbo, Abbot of Fleury, in two books of Latin hexameters; which, however barbarous, contain some curious and authentic matter relating to the history of that period. 

(38) This bridge was built, or rebuilt on a larger plan than before, by Charles the Bald, in the year 861, "to prevent the Danes or Normans (says Felibien) from making themselves masters of Paris so easily as they had already done so many times, " etc. --"pour empescher que les Normans ne se rendissent maistres de Paris aussi facilement qu'ils l'avoient deja fait tant de lois, " etc. --Vol. I. P. 91, folio. It is supposed to be the famous bridge afterwards called "grand pont" or "pont au change", --the most ancient bridge at Paris, and the only one which existed at this time. 

(39) Or, in Holmsdale, Surry: hence the proverb--

 "This is Holmsdale, Never conquer'd, never shall. "

(40) The pirates of Armorica, now Bretagne; so called, because they abode day and night in their ships; from lid, a ship, and wiccian, to watch or abide day and night. 

(41) So I understand the word. Gibson, from Wheloc, says--"in aetatis vigore;" a fact contradicted by the statement of almost every historian. Names of places seldom occur in old MSS. With capital initials. 

(42) i. E. The feast of the Holy Innocents; a festival of great antiquity. 

(43) i. E. The secular clergy, who observed no rule; opposed to the regulars, or monks. 

(44) This poetical effusion on the coronation, or rather consecration, of King Edgar, as well as the following on his death, appears to be imitated in Latin verse by Ethelwerd at the end of his curious chronicle. This seems at least to prove that they were both written very near the time, as also the eulogy on his reign, inserted 959. 

(45) The following passage from Cotton Tiberius B iv. , relating to the accession of Edward the Martyr, should be added here--

 In his days, On account of his youth, The opponents of God Broke through God's laws; Alfhere alderman, And others many; And marr'd monastic rules; Minsters they razed, And monks drove away, And put God's laws to flight-- Laws that King Edgar Commanded the holy Saint Ethelwold bishop Firmly to settle-- Widows they stript Oft and at random. Many breaches of right And many bad laws Have arisen since; And after-times Prove only worse. Then too was Oslac The mighty earl Hunted from England's shores. 

(46) Florence of Worcester mentions three synods this year; Kyrtlinege, Calne, and Ambresbyrig. 

(47) Vid. "Hist. Eliens. " ii. 6. He was a great benefactor to the church of Ely. 

(48) This was probably the veteran historian of that name, who was killed in the severe encounter with the Danes at Alton (Aethelingadene) in the year 1001. 

(49) i. E. At Canterbury. He was chosen or nominated before, by King Ethelred and his council, at Amesbury: vid. An. 994. This notice of his consecration, which is confirmed by Florence of Worcester, is now first admitted into the text on the authority of three MSS. 

(50) Not the present district so-called, but all that north of the Sea of Severn, as opposed to West-Wales, another name for Cornwall. 

(51) See a more full and circumstantial account of these events, with some variation of names, in Florence of Worcester. 

(52) The successor of Elfeah, or Alphege, in the see of Winchester, on the translation of the latter to the archiepiscopal see of Canterbury. 

(53) This passage, though very important, is rather confused, from the Variations in the MSS. ; so that it is difficult to ascertain the exact proportion of ships and armour which each person was to furnish. "Vid. Flor. " an. 1008. 

(54) These expressions in the present tense afford a strong proof that the original records of these transactions are nearly coeval with the transactions themselves. Later MSS. Use the past tense. 

(55) i. E. The Chiltern Hills; from which the south-eastern part of Oxfordshire is called the Chiltern district. 

(56) "Leofruna abbatissa". --Flor. The insertion of this quotation from Florence of Worcester is important, as it confirms the reading adopted in the text. The abbreviation "abbt", instead of "abb", seems to mark the abbess. She was the last abbess of St. Mildred's in the Isle of Thanet; not Canterbury, as Harpsfield and Lambard say. 

(57) This was a title bestowed on the queen. 

(58) The "seven" towns mentioned above are reduced here to "five"; probably because two had already submitted to the king on the death of the two thanes, Sigferth and Morcar. These five were, as originally, Leicester, Lincoln, Stamford, Nottingham, and Derby. Vid. An. 942, 1013. 

(59) There is a marked difference respecting the name of this alderman in MSS. Some have Ethelsy, as above; others, Elfwine, and Ethelwine. The two last may be reconciled, as the name in either case would now be Elwin; but Ethelsy, and Elsy are widely different. Florence of Worcester not only supports the authority of Ethelwine, but explains it "Dei amici. "

(60) Matthew of Westminster says the king took up the body with his own hands. 

(61) Leofric removed the see to Exeter. 

(62) So Florence of Worcester, whose authority we here follow for the sake of perspicuity, though some of these events are placed in the MSS. To very different years; as the story of Beorn. 

(63) i. E. The ships of Sweyne, who had retired thither, as before described. 

(64) "Vid. Flor. " A. D. 1049, and verbatim from him in the same year, Sim. Dunelm. "inter X. Script. P. 184, I, 10. See also Ordericus Vitalis, A. D. 1050. This dedication of the church of St. Remi, a structure well worth the attention of the architectural antiquary, is still commemorated by an annual loire, or fair, on the first of October, at which the editor was present in the year 1815, and purchased at a stall a valuable and scarce history of Rheims, from which he extracts the following account of the synod mentioned above:--

 "Il fut assemble a l'occasion de la dedicace de la nouvelle eglise qu' Herimar, abbe de ce monastere, avoit fait batir, seconde par les liberalites des citoyens, etc. " ("Hist. De Reims", p. 226. ) But, according to our Chronicle, the pope took occasion from this synod to make some general regulations which concerned all Christendom. 

(65) Hereman and Aldred, who went on a mission to the pope from King Edward, as stated in the preceding year. 

(66) Nine ships were put out of commission the year before; but five being left on the pay-list for a twelvemonth, they were also now laid up. 

(67) The ancient name of Westminster; which came into disuse because there was another Thorney in Cambridgeshire. 

(68) i. E. At Gloucester, according to the printed Chronicle; which omits all that took place in the meantime at London and Southwark. 

(69) Now Westminster. 

(70) i. E. Earl Godwin and his crew. 

(71) i. E. From the Isle of Portland; where Godwin had landed after the plunder of the Isle of Wight. 

(72) i. E. Dungeness; where they collected all the ships stationed in the great bay formed by the ports of Romney, Hithe, and Folkstone. 

(73) i. E. Godwin and his son Harold. 

(74) i. E. The tide of the river. 

(75) Godwin's earldom consisted of Wessex, Sussex, and Kent: Sweyn's of Oxford, Gloucester, Hereford, Somerset, and Berkshire: and Harold's of Essex, East-Anglia, Huntingdon, and Cambridgeshire. 

(76) The church, dedicated to St. Olave, was given by Alan Earl of Richmond, about thirty-three years afterwards, to the first abbot of St. Mary's in York, to assist him in the construction of the new abbey. It appears from a MS. Quoted by Leland, that Bootham-bar was formerly called "Galman-hithe", not Galmanlith, as printed by Tanner and others. 

(77) Called St. Ethelbert's minster; because the relics of the holy King Ethelbert were there deposited and preserved. 

(78) The place where this army was assembled, though said to be very nigh to Hereford, was only so with reference to the great distance from which some part of the forces came; as they were gathered from all England. They met, I conjecture, on the memorable spot called "Harold's Cross", near Cheltenham, and thence proceeded, as here stated, to Gloucester. 

(79) This was no uncommon thing among the Saxon clergy, bishops and all. The tone of elevated diction in which the writer describes the military enterprise of Leofgar and his companions, testifies his admiration. 

(80) See more concerning him in Florence of Worcester. His lady, Godiva, is better known at Coventry. See her story at large in Bromton and Matthew of Westminster. 

(81) He died at his villa at Bromleage (Bromley in Staffordshire). --Flor. 

(82) He built a new church from the foundation, on a larger plan. The monastery existed from the earliest times. 

(83) Florence of Worcester says, that he went through Hungary to Jerusalem. 

(84) This must not be confounded with a spire-steeple. The expression was used to denote a tower, long before spires were invented. 

(85) Lye interprets it erroneously the "festival" of St. Martin. --"ad S. Martini festum:" whereas the expression relates to the place, not to the time of his death, which is mentioned immediately afterwards. 

(86) This threnodia on the death of Edward the Confessor will be found to correspond, both in metre and expression, with the poetical paraphrase of Genesis ascribed to Caedmon. 

(87) These facts, though stated in one MS. Only, prove the early cooperation of Tosty with the King of Norway. It is remarkable that this statement is confirmed by Snorre, who says that Tosty was with Harald, the King of Norway, in all these expeditions. Vid "Antiq. Celto-Scand. " p. 204. 

(88) i. E. Harold, King of England; "our" king, as we find him Afterwards called in B iv. , to distinguish him from Harald, King of Norway. 

(89) Not only the twelve smacks with which he went into Scotland during the summer, as before stated, but an accession of force from all quarters. 

(90) On the north bank of the Ouse, according to Florence of Worcester; the enemy having landed at Richale (now "Riccal"). Simeon of Durham names the spot "Apud Fulford, " i. E. Fulford-water, south of the city of York. 

(91) It is scarcely necessary to observe that the term "English" begins about this time to be substituted for "Angles"; and that the Normans are not merely the Norwegians, but the Danes and other adventurers from the north, joined with the forces of France and Flanders; who, we shall presently see, overwhelmed by their numbers the expiring, liberties of England. The Franks begin also to assume the name of Frencyscan or "Frenchmen". 

(92) i. E. In the expedition against the usurper William. 

(93) i. E. --threw off their allegiance to the Norman usurper, and became voluntary outlaws. The habits of these outlaws, or, at least, of their imitators and descendants in the next century, are well described in the romance of "Ivanhoe". 

(94) The author of the Gallo-Norman poem printed by Sparke elevates his diction to a higher tone, when describing the feasts of this same Hereward, whom he calls "le uthlage hardi. "

(95) Or much "coin"; many "scaettae"; such being the denomination of the silver money of the Saxons. 

(96) Florence of Worcester and those who follow him say that William proceeded as far as Abernethy; where Malcolm met him, and surrendered to him. 

(97) Whence he sailed to Bretagne, according to Flor. S. Dunelm, etc. ; but according to Henry of Huntingdon he fled directly to Denmark, returning afterwards with Cnute and Hacco, who invaded England With a fleet of 200 sail. 

(98) i. E. Earl Waltheof. 

(99) This notice of St. Petronilla, whose name and existence seem scarcely to have been known to the Latin historians, we owe exclusively to the valuable MS. "Cotton Tiberius" B lv. Yet if ever female saint deserved to be commemorated as a conspicuous example of early piety and christian zeal, it must be Petronilla. 

(100) The brevity of our Chronicle here, and in the two following years, in consequence of the termination of "Cotton Tiberius" B iv. , is remarkable. From the year 1083 it assumes a character more decidedly Anglo-Norman. 

(101) i. E. In the service; by teaching them a new-fangled chant, brought from Feschamp in Normandy, instead of that to which they had been accustomed, and which is called the Gregorian chant. 

(102) Literally, "afeared of them"--i. E. Terrified by them. 

(103) Probably along the open galleries in the upper story of the choir. 

(104) "Slaegan", in its first sense, signifies "to strike violently"; whence the term "sledge-hammer". This consideration will remove the supposed pleonasm in the Saxon phrase, which is here literally translated. 

(105) "Gild, " Sax. ; which in this instance was a land-tax of one shilling to a yardland. 

(106)--and of Clave Kyrre, King of Norway. Vid. "Antiq. Celto-Scand". 

(107) Because there was a mutiny in the Danish fleet; which was carried to such a height, that the king, after his return to Denmark, was slain by his own subjects. Vid. "Antiq. Celto-Scand", also our "Chronicle" A. D. 1087. 

(108) i. E. A fourth part of an acre. 

(109) At Winchester; where the king held his court at Easter in the following year; and the survey was accordingly deposited there; whence it was called "Rotulus Wintoniae", and "Liber Wintoniae". 

(110) An evident allusion to the compilation of Doomsday book, already described in A. D. 1085. 

(111) Uppe-land, Sax. --i. E. Village-church. 

(112) i. E. Jurisdiction. We have adopted the modern title of the district; but the Saxon term occurs in many of the ancient evidences of Berkeley Castle. 

(113) i. E. Of the conspirators. 

(114) Literally "became his man"--"Ic becom eowr man" was the formula of doing homage. 

(115) Literally a "gossip"; but such are the changes which words undergo in their meaning as well as in their form, that a title of honour formerly implying a spiritual relationship in God, is now applied only to those whose conversation resembles the contemptible tittle-tattle of a Christening. 

(116) From this expression it is evident, that though preference was naturally and properly given to hereditary claims, the monarchy of Scotland, as well as of England, was in principle "elective". The doctrine of hereditary, of divine, of indefeasible "right", is of modern growth. 

(117) See the following year towards the end, where Duncan is said to be slain. 

(118) Peitevin, which is the connecting link between "Pictaviensem" and "Poitou". 

(119) Now called Southampton, to distinguish it from Northampton, but the common people in both neighbourhoods generally say "Hamton" to this day (1823). 

(120) The title is now Earl of Shrewsbury. 

(121) The fourth of April. Vid. "Ord. Vit. "

(122) Commonly called "Peter-pence". 

(123) Literally "head-men, or chiefs". The term is still retained with a slight variation in the north of Europe, as the "hetman" Platoff of celebrated memory. 

(124) This name is now written, improperly, Cadogan; though the ancient pronunciation continues. "Cadung", "Ann. Wav. " erroneously, perhaps, for "Cadugn". 

(125) It was evidently, therefore, not on Michaelmas day, but during the continuance of the mass or festival which was celebrated till the octave following. 

(126) In the original "he"; so that the Saxons agreed with the Greeks and Romans with respect to the gender of a comet. 

(127) Literally "took leave": hence the modern phrase to signify the departure of one person from another, which in feudal times could not be done without leave or permission formally obtained. 

(128) That is, within the twelve days after Christmas, or the interval between Christmas day, properly called the Nativity, and the Epiphany, the whole of which was called Christmas-tide or Yule-tide, and was dedicated to feasting and mirth. 

(129) The King of Norway and his men. "Vid. Flor. "

(130) His monument is still to be seen there, a plain gravestone of black marble, of the common shape called "dos d'ane"; such as are now frequently seen, though of inferior materials, in the churchyards of villages; and are only one remove from the grassy sod. 

(131) i. E. Before he left Winchester for London; literally "there-right"--an expression still used in many parts of England. Neither does the word "directly", which in its turn has almost become too vulgar to be used, nor its substitute, "immediately", which has nearly superseded it, appear to answer the purpose so well as the Saxon, which is equally expressive with the French "sur le champ". 

(132) This expression shows the adherence of the writer to the Saxon line of kings, and his consequent satisfaction in recording this alliance of Henry with the daughter of Margaret of Scotland. 

(133) "Auvergne" at that time was an independent province, and formed no part of France. About the middle of the fourteenth century we find Jane, Countess of Auvergne and Boulogne, and Queen of France, assisting in the dedication of the church of the Carmelites at Paris, together with Queen Jeanne d'Evreux, third wife and widow of Charles IV. , Blanche of Navarre, widow of Philip VI. , and Jeanne de France, Queen of Navarre. --Felib. "Histoire de Paris", vol. I, p. 356. 

(134) A title taken from a town in Normandy, now generally written Moretaine, or Moretagne; de Moreteon, de Moritonio, Flor. 

(135) "cena Domini"--commonly called Maundy Thursday. 

(136) Now Tinchebrai. 

(137) Matilda, Mathilde, or Maud. 

(138) Henry V. Of Germany, the son of Henry IV. 

(139) Or, "in the early part of the night, " etc. 

(140) That is, the territory was not a "fee simple", but subject to "taillage" or taxation; and that particular species is probably here intended which is called in old French "en queuage", an expression not very different from that in the text above. 

(141) i. E. To the earldom of Flanders. 

(142) "Mense Julio". --Flor. 

(143) We have still the form of saying "Nolo episcopari", when a see is offered to a bishop. 

(144) i. E. East Bourne in Sussex; where the king was waiting for a fair wind to carry him over sea. 

(145) The Nativity of the Virgin Mary. 

(146) i. E. An inclosure or park for deer. This is now called Blenheim Park, and is one of the few old parks which still remain in this country. 

(147) This may appear rather an anticipation of the modern see of Salisbury, which was not then in existence; the borough of Old Saturn, or "Saresberie", being then the episcopal seat. 

(148) St. Osythe, in Essex; a priory rebuilt A. 1118, for canons of the Augustine order, of which there are considerable remains. 

(149) i. E. Of the Earl of Anjou. 

(150) The writer means, "the remainder of this year"; for the feast of Pentecost was already past, before the king left England. 

(151) The pennies, or pence, it must be remembered, were of silver at this time. 

(152) i. E. Clergy and laity. 

(153) This word is still in use, but in a sense somewhat different; as qualms of conscience, etc. 

(154) See an account of him in "Ord. Vit. " 544. Conan, another son of this Alan, Earl of Brittany, married a daughter of Henry I. 

(155) i. E. Henry, King of England. 

(156) "A se'nnight", the space of seven nights; as we still say, "a fortnight", i. E. The space of fourteen nights. The French express the space of one week by "huit jours", the origin of the "octave" in English law; of two by "quinte jours". So "septimana" signifies "seven mornings"; whence the French word "semaine". 

(157) Literally, "woned". Vid Chaucer, "Canterbury Tales", v. 7745. In Scotland, a lazy indolent manner of doing anything is called "droning". 

(158) The Abbot Henry of Angeli. 

(159) "Thou shalt destroy them that speak `leasing, '" etc. "Psalms". 

(160) i. E. Vexed, harassed, fatigued, etc. Milton has used the word in the last sense. 

(161) The monastery of Angeli. 

(162) Aurora Borealis, or the northern lights. 

(163) "Any restless manoeuvre or stratagem. " Both words occur in Chaucer. See "Troilus and Criseyde", v. 1355, and "Canterbury Tales", v. 16549. The idea seems to be taken from the habits of destructive and undermining vermin. 

(164) Now called "Good-Friday". 

(165) The tower of the castle at Oxford, built by D'Oyley, which still remains. 

(166) The MS. Is here deficient. 

(167) Or Vaudeville. 

[End of "The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle"]