Polychronicon Ranulphi Higden maonachi Cestrensis; together with the English translations of John Trevisa and of an unknown writer of the fifteenth century.

Of the bischoppes of the weste. Capitulum quinquagesimum tertium.

HIT is to be hade in memory that alle the prouince of Weste Saxones had oon bischop from þe begynnenge vn to the tyme of Theodorus. Birinus, the firste bischop in that prouince, sette the seete at Dorchestre, a meke place, thro the graunte of Kyngelfus, kynge of Weste Saxones; whiche seete was at the sowthe of Oxforde, nye to Walyngeforde, betwene the metenge of ij. floodes, Tham and Yce. That byschop Byryne dedde, Kewacus kynge ordeynede that seete to be at Wynchestre, lyke as his fader proposede to have doen somme tyme, where Agilbertus, borne in Fraunce, hadde gouernaile firste on alle the province of Weste Saxones. From whiche tyme the cite and seete of Dor|chestre

pertenede to the prouince of the Marches, in so moche that cite was sette within Thamys, whiche floode de|partede the Marches from the Weste Saxones. And after Agilberte expulsede from Wynchestre, Wyne, a Englysche man, was byschop þer, of whom somme men trawe that cite to have taken name, for Wynechestre sowndethe as the cite of Wyne. Whiche expulsed at the laste, Leuthe|rius, nevewe to the forseide Agilberte, succedede þer, after whom Hedea succedede. Whiche dedde, Theodorus arche|bischop ordeynede to that prouince of Weste Saxones ij. byschoppes, ordeynenge Daniel, byschop at Wynchestre, to whom ij. cuntrees were subiecte, Sowtherey and Sowthe|hampteschire. And Aldelme at the seete of Schirbourn, to whom vj. cuntrees were subiecte, Barokschire, Wilton|schire, Somerset, Dorsete, Deuenschire, and Cornewaile. Vn to whiche ij. seetes other iij. seetes were addede in [folio 72a] the tyme [of] Edwarde the senior, kynge of Englonde,

thro the precepte of Formosus the pope, that is to say, at Welles, to whom Somersete was subiecte; of Cridense, to whom Deuenschire was subiecte; and of Cornubience, at Seynte Patroclus other Germanus, to whom alle Cornewaile was subiecte. And within a shorte space folowenge the vi^the seete was at Ramisbury, to whom Willeschire was subiecte. At the laste alle these seetes were remouede from townes to cites, thro commaundemente of William Conqueroure, the seete of Wynchestre excepte. For the seetes of Shirborne and of Ramisbery were chaungede to Salisbery, to whom Barokshire, Willeschire, and the pro|uinces of Dorsette be subiecte. And the seete of Welles was chaungede vn to Bathe, to whom Somerset is subiecte. The seetes of Cridence and of Cornubiense were remouede to Excestre, to whom Deuenschire and Cornewaile be subiecte.