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. xcv. Chapiter.

¶ In the yere of oure Lorde God. vi. Hundreth and. lv. Penda slewe the kyng of Estangles; and the yere of our Lord God. vi. hundreth and. lvi. Oswyne slewe Penda, kynge of Marchelande; and the foresayde kynge Oswyne condiscended to holde and kepe his Easter accordyng to the vse of Roome and Caunterburye, the yere of oure Lorde vi. hūdreth and. lxiii. whiche before was celebrated accordyng to the Iudeicall custome.

THose [These.] battayls two after thincarnacion Syxe hundreth yere fyfty [wer,] & [also] fyue, [In the yere after, by] [And oone therto by dewe.] computacion, That [And than.] kyng Oswy made Penda kyng belyue, [Of Marces lande and to conuerte his lyue,

By teachyng of Dwyma made byshop thare, And all his lande, by vertue of his lare.] [

Of Mercia, son of Penda, full ryve, Who wedded hade Efflede doughter of kynge Oswy, Vpon couenaunt Cristen feith not to deny.

]

¶ Kyng Oswy made houses. xii. of religion, Sixe in Deyry, and sixe in Berū [Berne.] to bee, With his doughter Elflede [Efflede.] for deuocion, Whom he auowed in clene virginitee To sacre so and lyue in chastitee, For his triumphe and for his victorie Of [Agayn.] kyng Penda and his panymerye [paianry.] .

¶ The kyng Oswy, of Christes incarnacion The yere. vi. C. lx. and also three, Had all the clerkes of his dominacion, With many other clerkes of farre countree, For to dispute the Pasche when it should bee, The whiche afore was held [holdyn.] diuersly, One vse at Yorke, another at Caunterbury.

¶ But this seynt Oswy [then] helde [it] at Whitby, Where then saynt Hilde in all deuinitee Was hole instructe amonge all the clergie, Where Wilfride with Eglibert [Agilberte.] and she, Concluded [Concludynge.] all the clerkes of the [that.] countree, And fro thens forth thei helde it in certeyne [certaynte.] , As Caunterbury vsed [and did obeyne.] [they obeied playnle.]

¶ This kyng Oswyn [then] died [in] the yere [the yere I gesse.] Sixe hundreth hole, sixti and also ten, [Fol. xcii.] At Whytby [then] wher Hild was [abbas clere,] [than abbesse.] At [That.] Streyneshalgh named was so then, [Emonge the couente of this holy woman,] [That tyme a place of worshipe well knowen.] And [Where.] in Hildes schole. vi. byshops wer enfourmed In holy wryte as she theim had confourmed.

¶ These were the names of the byshoppes right: Bosa [Bossa.] , Oskford [Oskefore.] , Etla [and] also Tatfryde [Catfride.] ,

Iohn of Beuerley the fyfte, that then so hight, The sixte then was the holy man Wilfryde; [All in the lawe of Christ enfourmed that tyde,] [In vertue lerned withoutyn any pride.] [With] this virgyne clene of royall [royall blode.] discent, Of kyng Edwyn and Oswalde bloode full gent.

¶ Whiche virgyne [clene] died so in the yere Of Christ. vi. C. and foure score also [than also.] , About whiche tyme saynt Awdry y^e virgyne clere At Hely [Ely.] died emonge hir floures tho [Of holy virgyns and wydowes also,] [Of vertuouse life, whiche kepte her frome all wo.] Whiche she had gathered & kept in cloyster clene, Whyle she there was thabbasse, as was sene.

¶ Who wyfe was twyse, in Westsex first espoused, The secounde tyme vnto the kyng Egfryde Of Northūberlande, her maydenhed euer [ay.] housed, I dar well saye it was neuer set asyde; There might no man hir herte frō Christe deuide, So hole it was sette vnto [in.] chastitee, Inuiolate she kepte her [her pure.] virginitee.

¶ For good ne gold nor any great rychesse, With her housebandes to been deuirginate, Hetherto [Hir hight.] might neuer eschaunge her sekirnesse, So sad it was, it [she.] was neuer violate [But euer clene, as in her fyrst estate,] [Ne of vertue neuer repudiate.] By her housbādes, for ought they could [couth.] her hight, Bu virgyne died through grace of God Almight.

¶ [Thus Awdry then] [This Etheldrede.] frō Egfride was deuorced, For [By.] cause she would not lese hir maydenhede; [To tyme hir soule wer lowsed and vncursed In Hely abode, where then she made in dede] [

In Ely bode she than maide in dede, To tyme hir soule were lesed and uncorsede.

] An house of nunnes, as writtē hath saynt Bede, To serue the God aboue celestiall, In prayers good and matens nocturnall.

¶ Wylfride from Yorke exiled and expelled, The kyng of Sussex and all his lande Conuerte all hole, and mawmetrye downe felled; Wher so three yere afore, I vnderstande, [Suche vengeaunce reigned in that kynges land,] [For theire presomptuouse life lewed and fonde.] [That] ther grewe no grasse, nor [ne yet.] no maner [of] corne; The [So the.] people died for hunger all for lorne.

¶ And that same daye, when they were conuerte, The grasse and corne, that welked [fallowed.] were afore By three yere passed, waxed grene and gan reuert, Through prayer of Wylfryde y^t prayed therfore, For whiche the kyng made hym bishoppe thore, That fyue yere hole there so occupyed The byshopyes cure, and Christes fayth edefied.

¶ And in the yere. vi. hundreth. lxxx. And fyue, Kyng Egfride rode with hoste into Scotlande, And warred [on Pightes] [vpon Pictes.] & Scottes w^t [mekel] striue, Whō [then] they slewe, as Bede could [can.] vnderstande, [Fol. xcii.] [With many worthy knightes of Northūberland: At Nettansmore in an hye mynstre buryed,] [

In batell stronge with myght of theire londe, And at Nectanesmersh in theire mynstre buried.

] A worthy place in Scotlande edified.

¶ Eche kyng of seuen on other warred sore, [But] kyng Cadwas [Cadwall.] that then was souerayn lorde, Accorded theim as myster was ay [euer.] where; By his good rule he made [euer good accorde,] [alway concorde.] Wher any strife or warre was, and discorde: And all [the realmes] [kingdomes.] in Britayn hole baptized, And bishoppes in theim sette and autorised.

¶ Kyng Ethelride of Mors [Mercia.] , and quene Ostride His wyfe, doughter of Oswy Berdnaye [at Bardenaye.] , Buried Oswalde [Wher Oswalde.] , with myracles glorified, Where many yere [yere after.] full styll [there after] he laye, Vnto the tyme he suster, as bookes saye,

Of kynge Edward thelder [hym translate] [ytranslate.] To Gloucester abbey, to his estate.

¶ Cadwallo, kyng of Britons [Britayne.] , in the yere Of Christe goddes sonne. vi. C. sixty and sixtene [seuentene.] , So died awaye, who reigned had full clere Full sixty yere and one, as well was sene, That souerayne lorde of all Britayn had been, After the decease of [the] good kyng Edwyn, And made all [all the.] seuen kynges to hym enclyne.

¶ He made his ymage of laton full clene [clere.] , In whiche he put his body balsomate [balsamere.] Vpon an horse of laton fayre [to sene,] [infere.] With a sweorde in hande, crowned like [his] estate, Full hye sette [vp] to sight on [vpon.] Ludgate; His battayles all and his greate victorie Aboute hym wrought, was made for memorye.