The chronicle of Iohn Hardyng. Containing an account of public transactions from the earliest period of English history to the beginning of the reign of King Edward the Fourth. Together with the continuation by Richard Grafton, to the thirty fourth year of King Henry the Eighth. The former part collated with two manuscripts of the author's own time; the last, with Grafton's duplicate edition. To which are added a biographical and literary preface, and an index, by Henry Ellis.

The. C.xviii. Chapiter.

KYng Knowt [Cnute.] reigned in Englād thē anon [allone.] , [Knowt kynge of Englande and of Dēmarke.] And wedded had quene Eme [Emme.] of England, Ethelrede wife, which gate him loue anon In [Of all.] Englande of all [the] estates of the londe, Of cōmons also [als.] that were both [than.] fre and bonde: On her he gate a sonne, that harde Knowt [Hardeknute.] hight; [On his fyrste wyfe] [And be Algyue.] had Swayne & Herold ryght.

¶ He sent Edmonde and Edwarde, y^e sonnes two, Of Edmōd Ironeside, to Swithen to kīg Knowt [Cnute.] To [slee or lowse,] [to sleen or to lowe.] to kepe in pouerte so, That they should neuer haue power, in nor oute, To claime England, neyther with hoost ne route, [Whome he sent forth,] [Which were conveied.] then into Hungry, [To the emperoure, with letters worthely,] [Whome the kynge ther resceived worthelie.]

¶ [Besechyng hym, to noryshe them and saue,] [The messangere hym praied theym to saue.] Declaryng hym whose sonnes that they were [The whiche he dyd full worthy,] [Them he cherisshed full worthely.] and gaue Vnto Edmonde his owne doughter dere; Whiche Edmonde then dyed, and she in fere Without [Withoutyn.] chylde, wherfore Agas [Agath.] his coosyn, Doughter of Herry [Henry.] , he gaue to Edwarde fyne [syne.] .

¶ Of whiche Edwarde, called Edwarde thexyle, Came Edgare, then called Edgar Athelyng [Here the Harleian MS. adds, Margarete also and Cristeyn that while, Whiche Edwarde than after hym shuld been kynge.] ; But Knowt [Cnute.] it let, hym self then crounyng, [Fol. C.xvi.] That to London to hold his Christmas, With his houshold went then with greate solas [gladenes.] .

¶ Wher erle Edrik to kyng Knowt [Cnute.] hym cōfessed That he had slain kyng Edmond Ironeside, His owne leege lorde, with cruell death impressed, To gette his loue and with hym dwell and bide, For vnlikely [vngoodely.] it was to goo or ride, Twoo kynges together in [so in.] Englande, He saied was not accordyng in the [oone.] land.

¶ [The kyng] [Kynge Cnute.] his woordes well herd and cōceiued, And howe he asked a reward for his mede, There made hym tell howe he his lorde disceiued, Afore the lordes, as he had dooen in deed, The whiche boldely he did without [Withoutyn.] dreed, Hauyng no shame [to aske] [axed.] a greate reward, For whiche the kyng & lordes gaue whole award,

¶ To hang hym on the toure duryng his liue, To he were dedde that all folke [the folke.] might hym se, And his treson there openly to shriue, And after that to hang [there till] [to that.] he dye; For whom then was emong the [commons truily] [comonte,] A greate biworde, as many one y^e woundre & rōne, As did on therle Edryke of Strettoun.

¶ [The kyng] [He.] went to [into.] Norway and it conquered, And droue the kyng Olaaf out of that land, And held it so by conquest of his swerd. Full worthily he gouerned euery land, To [The.] peace and lawe, he kept [theim as] [wher euer.] he faund, And in his domes was rightwyse and [ay and.] stable, And to the poore alway merciable.

¶ [Kyng Malcom of Scotland the] [Malcolyne than kynge of Scotlonde.] did homage [Homage of y^e Scottes.] To hym, and furth became for euer his manne; So did the kynges of Wales of hye parage, And all the North West [iles of North West.] occian, For their kyngdomes and for their landes than: And in his tyme moste he was redoubted Of all princes and in all londes loaued [loued. edit. alt. louted. MS.] .

¶ To Roome he rode in royall goodly wyse, And there was with the bishop [pope.] greately commēd As Christen prince by papall whole aduise, The cardynalles foure, whiche the bishop [pope.] had sēd, At Malburgate [Male Burgate.] , foure mile fro Roome extende, With greate meyne hym mette & greate honour, As if he had been of Roome themperour.

¶ At his commyng again into England, He gaue Norway vnto his soonne sir Swayne, And to Herold his soonne, [as] I vnderstand, England he gaue, of whiche he was full fain, And to Harknowt [Hardeknute.] , Denmarke he gaue certain, And so dyed in Christen whole creaunce, At Shaftisbury [buryed by his] [entered by.] ordynaunce.

¶ The yere of Christ a thousand so was than, And thirty foure also truly written, When he had reigned, fro the tyme that he began, Eightene yere whole, as well it was wrytten [than wetyn.] , [With the darte of death whē that he was smitten] [And of his reigne muche more is ther wretyn.] : In whose dayes the land was inquiet [in quiet.] , Full of riches and [of] welfare whole replete. [Fol. C.xxii.]