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

Capitulum tricesimum tertium.

KYNG Richard deide wiþ oute children, and his broþer, þat

heet Iohn wiþ oute londes, was kyng after hym, anoon he occupied kyng Richard his tresour at Chinon, and sente Hubert þe archebisshop to ordeyne þinges in Engelond; bote Thomas of Thorney bytook Angeoy to Arthur duke of Bretayne, þe sone of þe elder broþer Geffrey. Þere come to gidres þe lordes of Anjoye, of Cenomannia and of Turon, and hylde wiþ Arthur, as þe manere is of þat lond, þat þe elder broþer sone schal be eyre ȝif þe eldest sone deieþ wiþ oute sone. Constans, Geffray his love, contas of Bretayne, bytook þe warde of her sone Arthur and his heritage to þe king of Fraunce, but Iohn overtorned sone Cenomannia, for he hulde wiþ Arthur. Þan þe Esterne at Rothomage Iohn was i-gurd wiþ þe swerd of þe duccherie of Bretayne. And an holy Þorsday at Westmynstre he was i-crowned kyng of Engelond of Hubert archebisshop of Caunturbury; þat day Iohn made Hubert his owne chauncelere. Hubert was to proude of þat office after|ward,

and oon spak to hym and seide, "Sire, þou schuldest nouȝt be proude of þe ȝok of þraldom; ofte we haveþ i-herdof an erchebisshop i-made [of] a chaunceller, bote neverea chaunceller i-made [of] a erchebisshop." Here after, aboute seint Iohn his feste þe Nativite, kyng Iohn seillede into Normandie. Þere were trewes i-take bytwene þe kynges of Engelond and of Fraunce, and assuered with ooth and wiþ writinge, so þat wheþer of hem breke first þat pees, his men schulde be assoilled of his homage and fewte and [turne] to þe oþer kyng. But afterward kyng Iohn wolde slee his owne nevewe Arthure; þanne þe kyng of Fraunce occupied meny londes by ȝonde þe see. Also þis ȝere þe eorle of Flaundres bycam kyng Iohn his lege man, and þe kyng of Fraunce made Arthur knyȝt, and feng of hym homage for þe londe of Anioye, and of Cenomannia, of Peyto, of Turon, of Litel Bretayne, and of Normandie. Also þis ȝere was made devors solempneliche bytwene kyng Iohn and his wif þe eorles

douȝter of Gloucestre, bycause of kynrede in þe þridde gree. And by counsaille of þe kyng of Fraunce Iohn wedded Isabel, þe eorle his douȝter of Engolism, and gat on here Henry, [and] Richard duke of Cornewayle, and þre douȝtres. And took anon tribute of everiche teme lond in Engelond þre schelynges, and wente aȝen into Normandie. Þat tyme þe þridde Ranulph eorle of Chestre, on caas by ensaumple of þe kyng, lefte his wif Constaunce contas of Bretayne, þat he hadde i-wedded somtyme by counsaille of Henry, and wedded oon Clemencia, Raaph his douȝter de Feugere; þerfore he deide wiþoute children as som men weneþ. Me troweþ þat þis ȝere bygan þe lordschippe of Tarters. Þese men wonede under þe hilles of Inde, [and slouȝ here owne lord David,] [kyng of Inde,] þat was prætor Iohn his sone, and wente to robbynge and revynge, and took prayes of oþer naciouns. Also þat ȝere Frensche men took Constantynnoble, and made þere emperour Baldewyn [erle] of Flaundres. Men of þe contray aboute longe tyme þerafter myȝte unneþe i-leve

þat þat citee was i-take, and þat for olde prophecie þat seide þat þat citee myȝte nouȝt be take but by an aungel; bote þe enemyes entrede þe citee by a place of þe wal þer an aungel was i-peynt, and so þe men of þe contray knewe at þe laste þat þey were begiled by doubel entendement of an aungel. Þe secounde Frederik was emperour þre and þritty ȝere. Þis was i-crowned of pope Honorius. First he favored holy chirche, as it were his owne moder, but afterward he spoylede holy cherche, as it were his stepdame. Þerfore Honorius pope acorsed hym, and assoillede meny of his fey and feute. Þe nynþe pope Gregory renewed þe same sentens; þis Frederik took his owne sone Henry kyng of Almayne, and slouȝ hym in prisoun. Also þe prelates þat þe nynþe Gregory hadde i-sente forto come to general counsaille he made hem i-take, and while he was so accorsed he wente to þe Holy Lond, and lefte þere more desola|cioun and discomfort þan consolacioun and confort. At þe laste he was i-sette doun of the fourþe pope Innocentius, and while he byseged a citee of Italy he loste his tresour, and [the] pope his legat chasede hym in to Apulia, and þere he

evelde and deide. Aboute þis ȝere fil so greet reyn, þonder, and hayle, þat hayle stones fil doun from heven as greet eyren i-medled wiþ reyn, and destroyed vynes and corn; men were i-schent, and foules were i-seie flee in þe ayre, and bere fury coles in her biles, and sette houses a fyre. Also þis ȝere at Londoun deide seint Hewe bisshop of Lin|colne, [but he was y-buryed at Lyncolne]. To his burienge come þe popes legat and þre archebisshoppes, [of Caunterbury, of Develyng and of Regne, and þrittene bisshoppes], and tweie kynges, of Engelond and of Scotlond, þat was þo i-come þider forto swere fewte uppon Hubert the archebisshops cros, and forto doo homage to kyng Iohn. Þat day a womman had her siȝt þat hadde i-be sevene ȝere blynde, and a purskevere in kuttinge of purses werþ i-cliȝt in his hondes, forto he was delivered by prayeng of the clergie and of þe people. Þis Hewe was of þe nacioun of byȝonde þe see, i-made priour of þe Charthous at Wicham besides Salusbury, and þan he

was made bisshop of Lyncolne. Whan he was i-stalled at Lyncoln by þe archedecon, me axede an hors oþer a kow for his stallynge, and he seide þat hym were levere forsake þe bisshopriche þan ȝeve eny manere þing for suche a doynge. Wilde foules wolde fecche mete at his hond. Þis [yere] Eustas abbot of Flaiȝ cam in to Engelonde forto preche Goddes word, and dede meny miracles: among þe myracles he blessed þe welle of Wy besides Caunterbury, and sike men þat dronke þerof had her heele; ffor a womman þat hadde a fende wiþ inne her drank þerof, and caste up tweye blake taddes, þat tornede anon in to houndes, and þan in to grete asshes, and fliȝ up in to þe ayer, and lefte foule soores after hem. Þis Eustas by his prechynge made meny men leve userie and chepynge and feyres in þe Sonday; he made þat liȝt schulde brenne alwey in cherches to fore Goddes body, and þat lordes at þe borde schulde have almes disches. At þe laste som prelates hadde envie to þis Eustas, and seide to hym, "Þou hast no leve to sette þyn hook in oþer men

ripe." "Þere is moche corn [to rype]," quod he, "and fewe workmen;" and so he wente into Normandie. Also þis ȝere in þe province of ȝork, in the monþe of Decembre, were i-seie fyve mones in hevene, oon in þe est and þe oþere in the west, þe þridde in þe south, þe fourþe in þe north, and þe fifte in þe myddel of hevene, and ȝede sixe siþes aboute þe oþer foure moones as it were in an houre, and vanschede awey at þe laste.

Notes

• 32, Cx.
• lond, α., β., γ., and Cx.
• Anioye, β.
• Giffrai, γ.
• of Chynon in Tureyn, Cx.
• helde, β.
• Artur, Cx.
• þere, α.; the lond there, Cx.
• Giffrai, γ.
• loove, α.
• countesse, β. and Cx.
• at, α. and Cx.
• at Ester, β. and γ.; Eester, Cx.
• Roen, Cx.
• gird, β.
• an] on, β. and Cx.
• prout, γ.
• habbeþ yhurd, γ.; have herde, Cx.
• From α., β., γ., and Cx.
• bote nevere, from γ.; but never, β. and Cx.; and, MS.
• From α., β., γ., and Cx.
• an, α. and β.
• From α., β., and γ.; torne, Cx.
• londes, from β., γ., and Cx.; lordes, MS.
• lyge, γ.
• londes, α. and β.
• Angeo, Cx.
• Peytow, β.
• dyvorse, β. and Cx.; dyvors, γ.
• solemliche, β.
• kynrade, γ.
• degre, α. and β.; degree, Cx.
• kyng, add. Cx.
• eorle his] om. Cx.
• Engolosym, Cx.
• From β.
• teeme, β.; tem, γ.
• schillyngis, β.
• countesse, β. and Cx.
• of Feneger, β. and Cx.; Fen|gere, γ.
• wenen, Cx.
• Men trowyn, Cx.
• Tartres, β.
• From α., β., and γ. (not Cx.).
• From β. and γ.
• preter, β., γ., and Cx.
• Freyns, γ.
• From β. and Cx.
• leeve, β.; leve, Cx.
• entride, β.
• duble, γ.
• men, Cx.
• renewide, β.
• theym to be take, Cx.
• comfort, β.
• From Cx.
• evelede, α. and Cx.; eveled, β.
• hawel, β. and γ., bis.
• hawel, β. and γ., bis.
• ymelled, γ.
• cornes, β.
• shende, Cx.
• vle, γ.
• vuyry, γ.; fuyer, Cx.
• hous fuyre, α.
• Huwe, β.
• From α., β., γ., and Cx.
• Develun β.; Dyvelyng, γ.
• Ragne, β., γ., and Cx.
• From α., β., γ., and Cx.
• þo] soo, Cx.
• purskervere, α. and Cx.; purs|kerver, β. and γ.
• y-clyȝt, α. and γ.; was lame, Cx.
• and] om. Cx.
• pupel, γ.
• byȝunde, γ.
• Chartrous, Cx.
• þat hym] he, Cx.
• soche, γ.
• voules, γ.
• veeche, γ.
• From Cx.
• Flai, α., β., and γ.; Flaye, Cx.
• myrakels, γ., bis.
• twy, γ.
• todes, Cx.
• asses, α., β., and Cx.
• flyed, Cx.
• eyr, Cx.
• foores, β.
• leeve, β.
• in] on, Cx.
• houk, γ.
• ryppe, α.; rip, β.; ryp, γ. rype, Cx.
• From γ.
• vyf, γ.
• another, Cx.
• sydes, γ.
• foure] om. Cx.
• vansede, γ.