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.xxvi. Chapiter.

¶ Henry the first kyng of Englande, and duke of Normandye, reigned. xxxvi. yere, and died in the yere of Christe a thousande. C. and. xxxix.

HEnry his brother y^t first was of that name, [Kyng Henry the first.] Was crouned thē w^t al [y^e] honour might be, He recōsiled saynt Anselne that cam hame, Who crouned Maude his wyfe full fayre & free, That doughter was, full of benignitee, To kyng Malcolyne, & saint Margarete y^e quene Of Scotlande whiche afore that tyme had been;

¶ On whom he gate Willyam, Richard, & Mold Whose goodnesse is yet spoken of full wide, If she were fayre hir vertuous [vertues.] manyfolde Exceaded farre and vices [vice.] she set aside, Debates [And debates.] all, that [en]gendred were of pride, She staunched hole with all beneuolence, And visited [vesite.] sycke and poore with diligence:

¶ The [presoners also] [prisons als.] & wemen eke [all.] with childe, And in gesene [Gisean.] lyuyng ay where aboute, Clothes and meate and beddyng newe [clene.] vnfiled, Wyne also [als.] and ale she gaue without [withoutyn.] doubte, Where she sawe [se.] nede in countrees al throughout; These crosses all that yet bee moste royall, In the hye wayes with gold she made theim all.

¶ Kyng Edgare [thē] hir brother was of Scotlād, That to kynge [the kynge.] Henry then made homage, [Homage of y^e Scottes.] The byshop of Duresme then toke on hande, The [To.] duke Robert to gone in [so in.] message, [Fol. C.xxxiiii.] To make [cause.] hym clayme Englande his [as his. edit. alt.] herytage; The [To.] whiche he dyd anon withoute delaye, As they accorded [accorde.] vpon a certayne daye.

¶ But Anselne [seynt Anselme.] byshop of Caunturbury, And also [als.] quene Maude then made them well accorde, The kyng to paye thre. M. marke yerely To duke Robert withoute [withoutyn.] more discorde, And counsayled then the kyng, as was recorde, To loue the lordes that made the discencyon Betwyxte his brother and hym by conuencyon.

¶ The [Then. edit. alt.] kyng Henry warred Robert Estenuyle [Estoutvile.] The eldest sonne of Roger Mountgomery, And his brother that was so called that whyle And create earle of [then of.] Shrewysbury, Who his castell [castells.] of Arundell helde for thy, And Shrewysbury also and the cytee, With other mo castels in his countre [counte.] :

¶ Whiche to the kyng he yelde [helde. edit. alt.] by conuencyon, He and his brother to passe to Normandye, With all theyr men without [withoutyn.] discencyon, To theyr father Roger Mountgomerye, That earle was there of Bolesmo [Bolesme.] manly. The kyng went then to Caue [Caen.] and to Barhous [Bayhouse.] , Helde them with force [strenght.] and herte full couetous:

Whiche towres [townys.] Robert, the duke of Normandy, Asked of hym to haue delyueraunce, And his money of thre thousand marke yerely, Whiche he ought hym by the [their.] hole concordaunce, Whiche he [agayne sayde] [geynseide.] and stode at variaunce; Wherfore they fell on warre and toke the felde, With hostes greate full sore faught vnder shelde,

¶ At Tenarthbray, that is in Normandye, Where Nigell then, of Albany that hyght, Toke duke Robert in batayll manfully, And brought him bound vnto the kyng w^t might; For which y^e kyng anone there made him knight, And gaue hym landes that were forfet afore, By Robert Stutuyle [Stutevile.] in Englande for euermore.

¶ He gate also a castell besyeged [seged.] longe, Whiche he scalyd with noble polycie, And to the kyng it gaue, though it were wronge; For whiche the kyng gaue hym anon in hye The landes all that forfet were only, By Robert Monbray [Moubray.] , earle of Northumberland, In his brothers tyme as I [I can.] vnderstande.

¶ The [This.] same Nygell, that hyght Albanye, A sonne had then, whome [whome so.] the kyng Henry Roger Monbray [Moubray.] dyd call [euer after] [for ay.] ay, Thus Albany was chaunged morally Vnto Monbray [Moubray.] for the lyuelod onely; Whiche Monbray [Moubray.] had afore of herytage These [Monbrayes nowe] [Moubrays newe.] rose fyrst of hye corage.

¶ This kynge Henry then seazed Normandye, And made his sonne Willyam duke of y^t lande, And home came [come so.] to Englande then in hye; And in the yere of Chryste to vnderstande A thousande hole, an. C. and ten on hande, His doughter Maude he maryed to Henry, That emperour was then of Romanye [high Romany.] [Fol. C.xxxv.]

He put his brother duke Robert in straite warde, And many other that were of his cognisaunce [inheraunce.] , Where he released couenauntes and forwarde, Afore wryten of his enherytaunce That betwene them myght make any dystaunce, And founde hym euer [longe.] in all [full.] royall estate, By good auyse and councell ordynate.

¶ Whiche duke ordred [men seide.] was so for he forsoke The realme of al the lande of Ierusalem, When he was chose therto, and nought it toke, For couetyse to haue this Englyshe realme, [For he forsoke that fortune as men dyd deme,] [After the deth of his fader kynge Williame.] Agayne Goddes wyll and his hye ordynaunce, For chosen he was by all Chrysten creaunce.

¶ For at wynnynge of [of this.] Ierusalem, Where prynces many, kynges and dukes were, He was the worthyest of any realme, And bare hym beste in knyghtly dede of warre, At all assautes moste knyghtly dyd [aye.] hym beare, The honoure all and fame he had euermore, And chosen was there to be kynge therfore.

¶ Men saide y^t God gaue hym suche punyshmēt, His brother to put hym in greate [suche.] myserye Vnto his death agayne his owne entente, For he forsake Chrystes owne monarchye, [In whiche he was borne & for man lyste to dye,] [Of Ierusalem and all the regallie.] The Chrysten fayth to mayntayne and encrease, For couetyse his brother to discreace [disencrese.] .

¶ The yere of Chryste a thousande was ful clere, [And] an hundreth also [als.] and therwithall eyghtene, When good quene Maude was deed & laide on bere, At Westminster buryed as well was sene; For heuynesse of whiche the kyng, I wene, To Normandy then went vnto his sonne, The duke William, & there with hym dyd wonne.

¶ The third yere after to England came agayn The duke his sonne, Willyam of Normandye; His brother Rycharde also, the sothe to sayne, And earle Rycharde of Chester in company, With many other lordes in shyppes them bye, Vpon the sea were dreynt in greate distresse, Of [the] whiche the kyng had then great heuinesse.

¶ Which duke Williā had wed y^e doughter then Of Fowke Tailboys, earle of Angeou had bene, With whome a. C. lx. knyghtes with many men, And [With.] ladyes many were drowned as was sene; And then the kyng wed Hadelyse [Adelise.] the quene, [The] duke Godfrey daughter y^t was of Loreyne, Of his mournyng to comforte him agayne.

¶ And in the yere a thousande fully accompte, And an. C. twenty and also fyue, Themperour Henry the death surmounte, And passed to God fro Maude that was his wife, Who to her father king Henry came belyfe, Abode [And bode.] with hym in Englande then two yere, Maude empryce was called then full clere.

¶ And in the yere of Chrystes incarnacyon, [Fol. C.xxxvi.] A thousande was an. C. twenty and seuen, When kyng Henry, in greate prosperacyon, His doughter Maude thempryce to neuen, The [To.] earle Geffrey Plantagenet euen Earle of Angeou, the sone of Fowke Tailboys, So maryed had of fame that had the voyce,

¶ On whome he gate a sonne y^t Henry hyght, By surname called Henry Fitz Empryce. Then dyed his [hir.] eme Alexaunder forth ryghte, [* Homage of y^e Scottes.] The kyng of Scottes, a prīce of great enterpryce [enprice.] , That homage dyd for Scotlande as suffyce, So dyed, then to whome Dauyd succede, His brother was, saint Margarete sonne in dede,

¶ That to kyng Henry made his homage, And then to Maude the foresayde empryce, [* Homage of y^e Scottes.] By hole assent of all his baronage, By letter wryten and sealed as maye suffyce, Which Iohn Hardīg in Scotland brought [bought.] of price, With many mo, for foure. C. marke and fyftye, At biddīg & cōmaundement of the w^t [fifte.] king Henry.

¶ Cadwalan prynce of Wales, at Wadeyet In batayle faught, where kyng Henry him slewe, And greate people of Wales that there forset Were slayne that daye, to hym y^t were vntrewe, Of whiche batayl Wales maye alway rewe, The yere a thousande an. C. and thyrtye, And [there tyll] [therto.] two, as made is memorye [In the Harleian MS. this stanza immediately follows the last of fol. cxxxv.] .

¶ Then went the kyng to Normandye agayne, And there abode, and kepte all Normandy To tyme he dyed, of whome that lande was fayne, But Englande then of it was full heuy; When he had [had so.] reygned so full worthy [worthely. edit. alt. royally. MS.] , He dyed in the syxe and thyrtye yere, At Boys Leon, of his reygne then full clere.

¶ Of Chrystes date was then a thousande yere, An hundreth also [als.] and. ix. and thyrtye moo, Buryed at Redynge as well it doth appere, In the abbaye whiche there he founded [founde.] so Of monkes blake, where euer they ryde or goo That pray for hym, & [for] quene Maude his wyfe, Who eyther other loued withouten stryfe.