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

Capitulum vicesimum quintum.

CONSTANTYNE the v^the was emperoure after his fader xxxiij^ti yere. This emperoure putte aweye ymages owte of churches, after the consuetude of his fader, and brente þeim. Etheldredus, kynge of Weste Saxons, diede in the xiiij. yere of his reigne; whom Cuthredus, cosyn to hym, did succede, whiche trowblede soore in batelles Ethelbald kynge of the Marches, and reignede xvj. yere. Whom Segeberte, his cosyn, succedid ij. yere;

whiche made prowde thro the gestes of his predecessor, entre|tede his subiectes unhonestely, and made lawes at his pleasure; whiche did sle þe noble governour of Cumbrelonde, rebuk|ynge hym for his offense. Whiche beynge as incorrigible, was expulsede from that realme, and goynge from thens into a woode, was sleyne of the hoggeherde of the duke or governoure sleyn afore by hym. Karolus Martellus diede abowte this tyme, the sonnes of whom, Pipinus the secunde and Karolo|mannus, wente to the principate of the kynge palice of Fraunce. But Karolomannus after the iiij^the yere of that principate y|taken, levynge the administracion of hit after the cownsaile of his broþer, wente to Rome, and made monke by Zachary the pope, made a monastery in the mownte Serapte, where he con|tynuede a certeyne space and yere with other breþer. But after that he wente to the mownte Cassyne, for the insolence of men of Fraunce commynge to hym and visitynge hym as theire lorde. Whiche commynge to Zachary the pope with mony

breþer of mownte Cassyne, desirede that the body of seynte Benedicte myȝhte be restorede to the mownte Cassyne by his letters sende to the kynge of Fraunce. The kynge of Fraunce commaundid the monkes of the monastery Floriacense, where the body of seynte Benedicte was, that hit scholde be restorede to the monkes of the monastery in the mownte Cas|syne. The monkes understondynge that, and wepynge soore, preide to allemyȝhty God that the blissede and holy body of seynte Benedicte myȝhte tary þer, and theire preyer was herde. For God made the messyngers blynde, that thei were [folio 286b] feyne to returne to Ytaly with owte the body of seynte Bene|dicte. Pipinus the secunde, governoure that tyme of the kynges howse of Fraunce, under Hildericus kynge, sonne of Theodoricus, havynge but oonly the name of a kynge. Where|fore Pipinus the secunde inquirede of Zachary the pope, wheþer that man awe to be a kynge that is ȝiffen to ydelnesse, and contente with the name of a kynge. To whom the pope did wryte ageyne in this wyse, seyenge that man worthy to be

a kynge þat governethe and ruleth welle his realme. Men of Fraunce made glade toke Hildericus the kynge, and putte hym in a monastery, and made Pipinus the secunde theire kynge, and was made emperoure by the decrete of Zachary the pope, after the viij^the yere of hys reigne; whiche constreynede Astul|phus, kynge of Ytaly, impugnynge the ryȝhtes of the churche of Rome, and empyre, to make restitucion and to ȝiffe plegges þerof. Zacharias þe pope did succede Gregory the thridde xij. yere. This pope goynge in a tyme towarde Ravenna, in the monethe of Iunius, was coverede with a clowde by the powere of God, þat he scholde not be hurte with heete of þe sonne thro alle the day, and tariede nye to his tentes in the nyȝhte, and did aryse ageyne in the morowe. The ordre Paschalle was trowblede, and the ȝonger Wilfride, bischop of Yorke, diede in this tyme, whom Egberte, broþer to kynge Egbert, did succede xxxvj^ti yere. Willelmus de Regibus, libro primo, et de Pontifi|cibus, libro quarto. Whiche recurede that seete into dowble

dignite, whiche thro his labor and money that he hade of the kynge, his brother, a man of grete audacite, thenkynge in mynde that, lyke as hit is a signe of pride to covette thynges that be not dewe, so hit scholde appere a signe of slawthe to despise thynges that were dewe. Wherefore he recurede the use of a palle to that seete, þat Paulinus hade lefte at Row|chestre, and mony of his predecessors laborede not þerfore, and brouȝhte to Yorke also a noble siȝhte of bookes. Of whom the clerke Alcuinus of Ynglonde, sende to kynge Charls for the pease to be hade, makethe laudable mencion in his epistole sende to the churches of Ynglonde. Also he did write to kynge Charls in this wise: "ȝiffe to me bookes of erudicion as be in my cuntre, like as y hade by the labores of Egberte my maister, and y schalle sende ageyne to you somme of oure childer, to take somme necessary thynges and brynge ageyne

to Fraunce the ffloures of Briteyne, and the gardyn conclused schalle be oonly in Yorke, and the floures or emissions of Paradise in Turonica." Seynte Daniel, bischop of Wyne|chestre, diede this yere, whom Humfride did succede. Stephanus the pope succedid Zacharias v. yere, which noyntede ij. sonnes [folio 286a] of Pipinus into emperoures, Karolomannus and grete Charls, and after thempire of Rome wente from men of Grece to men of Fraunce, and after that to men of Germany. Kenulphus, a myȝhty man of fame and vertu, of the kynde of Cerdicus, thro the helpe of Westesaxons, expulsede Segeberte theire kynge, for his grevous offense, and regnede for hym xxx^ti yere. Neverthelesse he ȝafe to hym the province of Hampton, untylle that he did sle Cumbranus the duke aforeseide. That doen, and utterly deiecte, and goynge to a woode, was sleyne of the swyneherde, longynge sommetyme to the seide duke sleyne by hym cowardely afore. Ethelbald, kyng of the Marches, was sleyne at Sigiswolde, of Beornredus the tyraunte, and

beryede at Repyndon. But Offa, cosyn to Ethelbalde, did sle Beornredus sone after, and reignede for hym xxxix^ti yere. This kynge Offa hade victory ageyne men of Northumbrelonde, men of Kente, and Westesaxons, in so moche that he brouȝhte the metropolitan seete of Cawnterbery unto Lichefelde by the tyme of his lyfe. Also he translate the boones of seynte Alban unto the grete monastery that he made, and ȝafe to the pope, vicare of seynte Petre, a yerely rente as of every howse in his realme. Also he made a noble diche dividynge Wales from the realme of the Marches, callede as unto thys tyme Offediche. Willelmus de Regibus, libro j ^o. This Offa, wyllenge the favor of kynges, maryede Ethelburga his doȝhter to Brithricus kynge of Westsaxons, and sende Alcuinus or Albinus the noble doctor of Ynglonde unto kynge Charls for pease; for there was so grete discorde betwene þe realmes of

Ynglonde and of Fraunce, that marchandise was prohibite. Organes come firste into Fraunce in this tyme, sende from Constantyne themperoure and kynge of Grece to Pipinus kynge of Fraunce. Egberte, kynge of Northumbrelonde, made a monke, Oswulphus his sonne succedynge hym, was sleyne in thende of the firste yere of his reigne, by men of Northumbrelonde, after whom Moll or Ethelwolde reignede vij. yere. Martinus. Paulus the pope succedid Stephanus x. yere, a man of grete humilite and pacience. In the tyme of whom an hooly man was in Burguyne, Gengulphus by [folio 287a] name, whiche byenge a welle in Fraunce, purchasede of alle|myȝhty God that hit scholde renne in Burguyne. Whiche forsakenge his wife for adowtery, was sleyne by the clerke whiche synnede with hys wife; after the dethe of whom Gode schewide mony miracles by hym. Whom he [Sic in MS.] wife detractynge seide, "If Gengulphus my howsebonde do miracles, myn erse schalle synge," and so hit was that here erse made a sownde

ever after, so ofte as sche did speke. Moll, the kynge of North|umbrelonde, lefte his realme, whom Alredus [Sic in MS.] succedid ix. yere. This Aluredus hade ij. sonnes, Offredus, whiche was the thridde successor to hym, and [and] bis in MS.] Alcmundus, whiche was sleyne afterwarde in helpenge the Marches ageyne the Westesaxons. Paulus the pope diede, whom Constantinus succedid, beynge an lay man, by oon yere, inducynge grete sclaunder to the churche; but he was expulsede by the tru peple of Criste, and made blynde. In whiche yere Pipinus, kynge of Fraunce, diede of the dropesy, after that he hade reignede xxviij^ti yere.