Fabyans cronycle newly prynted, wyth the cronycle, actes, and dedes done in the tyme of the reygne of the moste excellent prynce kynge Henry the vii. father vnto our most drad souerayne lord kynge Henry the .viii. To whom be all honour, reuere[n]ce, and ioyfull contynaunce of his prosperous reygne, to the pleasure of god and weale of this his realme amen

THE .LXXV. CHAPITER.

AFter that Gracian was thus slayne of the Brytons / the forsayd Gwanus and Melga kno∣wynge the Brytons to be wythout hed or ruler: assembled also people and retourned into mych Brytayne / wastynge and brennynge on euery syde, and destroyed greate plenty of Brytons, as wytnessyth Gaufryde and other.

But Policronica sayth that whan the Romayns knewe of the deth of Gracyan / they sent a knyght called Constantyne to haue the rule of Bry¦tayne and other countrees there a∣bout. But he was after demed an enemye to the empyre, for harme and s••athes by hym done in Fraunce. wherfore by commaundement of Ho¦norius then emperour / a knyght or erle called Constancius was sente agayne the forenamed Constantine / and slewe hym at a place or towne called Arelet. After thys the Brytōs were agayne vexed by the Pictes & other straunge nacyons. By reason wherof they were cōstrained to sende agayne to Rome: requyrynge them of ayde, vppon condycyon that they shuld alway be subiecte vnto Rome. The whyche request and promesse thus herde of the senate: Honorius aforenamed was sent into Britayne wyth a legyon of knyghtes / whyche is .vi. thousande .vi. houndred .lxvi. The which legyon with helpe of the Brytons / chasyd y^e foresayde Pictes and other enemyes / and taughte the Brytōs to make a walle ouerthwart the lande from see to see / that ys to meane from the water of Humber to the Scottyshe see, and ordeyned thē wardeynes and kepars of the wall / and after retourned to Rome. Thys wall as testyfyeth Policronica, was made of turuys / and strechyd from Pemilton̄ or Penulton̄, vnto y^e citye of Acliut or Acliud. But for thys wall was of small strength: the ene¦myes before named dystroyed cer∣tayne partyes of this sayd wall, and ouerrode the countre, and toke grete prayes dayly, & dyd as myche harme as they had done before tyme. wher∣fore the Brytons were constrayned to seke for newe socour to the Ro∣mayns. Then dyd Foloaynes sende an other legion / the whyche agayne chased the sayd Pictes and other ene¦myes / and made than a wall of stone of the thycknesse of .viii. fote, and in heyght .xii. fote, in the selfe place where before Seuerus had made a dyke and wall of turfes. And y^t done the Romaynes comforted and exor∣ted the Brytons to be manly and co∣rageous to wythstande theyr ene∣myes / shewyng to them forther that they shuld truste to theyr owne stren¦gthe, for so myche as the Romayns beynge so ferre from thē, myght not lyghtly come from so ferre wyth an armye of knyghtes / & also not wyth∣out great coste and trauayle. After whyche monycyon and exortacyon thus gyuen to the Brytons, by the mouth of the archebysshop of Lon∣don, wyth other instruccyons apper∣teynynge to the feytes of warre: the sayde Romaynes toke leue of y^e Bry¦tons, as though they shulde after y^e tyme no more retourne īto Britayne

But it was not longe after that the Romayns were thus departyd / that

the Pictes and Scottes beganne to breke out of theyr dēnes and caues. These two nacyons after some au∣thours, shulde seme to be one. But by the declaracion of Ranulphe in his .lviii. chapyter of his fyrste boke, they shulde appere to be two maner of peoples / or at the last dwel¦lyd in twoo sondry countres. As the Pictes in the northsyde of Scotlād, or after Beda in y^e southsyde, whiche conteyneth Galeway and Lodeway. And the Scottes by ledyng of theyr duke Renda shulde possede Irland: all be yt after an arme of the northe parte of the see passynge by Deyra, shuld departe the Pictes. But in the tyme that y^e Saxōs ruled the lande / y^e Scottes by maner of treason slew the mighty men and rulers of the Pi¦ctes / and so after kepte that countre for theyr owne. These two nacyons dyscorde in maners, but not in clo∣thynge & in fayth, and in couetyse of the shedynge of mannes blood, they be one.

Then as before is sayde, these Pi∣ctes and Scottes entred the lande, and brake y^e walle before made, and slewe the wardeyns therof / and after spoyled and robbed the coūtres, and chased so cruelly the commons and other, that they were comfortlesse. By meane wherof the Britons were brought in suche daunger and myse¦rye / that eyther of them robbed and slewe other. And ouer this y^e groūde was vntylled and vnsowen / wherof ensued great scarcytye and hunger: and after hunger ensued deth.

Thus after one mychyef came an other / as deth vpon deth, and sorow vpon sorow, whych fyll vpō them by stryfe medlyd wyth the great hūger. The whych mysery in this wyse cōty¦nuynge the chyef of them toke ad∣uyse amonge them selfe / and fynally concludyd that for remedye of this myschyef, they wolde sende vnto Ae¦cius then beynge kynge in Fraunce. whyche Aecius was mayster of the chyualry of Honori{us} then emperour, and occupyed in warres in a parte of Gallia. To this Aecius was sent wri¦tyng, wherof theffecte was this. To thy manhode Aecius be it vnderstan¦den the mysery of the Brytons / the whyche straunge nacyons chase vn∣to the see / and the see dryueth vs a∣gayne to straunge nacyons. Of the which ensew two maner of carayns / y^e one by violēce of y^e enemyes swerd, and that other by wilfull drownyng. But all theyr wrytynge was but in vayne / so that from the sayd Aecius, nor yet from the Romaynes, hadde they no refuge nor comfort. In this whyle the hunger encreased / and the people were so ouerset with theyr eny¦myes, that many of thē were as yol∣den & toke partye agayne theyr own neyghbours. And y^e other that were of more power, and dwelled farther wythin the lande / defendyd them in theyr beste maner. Lastely the noble and wysest of them / and specyally y^e archbyshop of London wyth other of the lande, kepte a counsayll at Lō¦don. By the whyche yt was conclu∣dyd y^t an embassade shulde be made vnto the kynge of lytell Brytayne, to impetre and aske of hym ayde and comforte in theyr great necessyte. Of whyche ambassade the sayde arche∣byshop was appoynted for the chyef and pryncypall / the whych is named of Gaufryde Guethelinus / and of y^e englyshe cronycle Gosseleyne. which sayde byshoppe wyth the other vnto hym assygned, so spedde them, that in shorte and conuenyent tyme they came vnto the presence of Aldroen{us} then kynge of lytell Brytayn / and to hym declaryd the effecte of theyr mes¦sage. The whyche hauynge compas¦syon of the lamentable request made

vnto hym by the sayde ambassade / after aduyse taken of hys lordes, he graūted vnto the bysshop, vppon condycyon that yf god sent to them victory of theyr enemyes, that they shulde crowne hys brother kynge of great Brytayne / the whyche he en∣tendyd to sende thyder wyth a con∣uenyent armye. whyche condycyon the sayde bysshoppe wyth the other gladly acceptyd & fermely graūted.

So that thus it is apparant vnto you, that this lande was longe with¦out hedde or gouernoure / whyche length of tyme is of some authours determyned to be longe, and of some but shorte / so that lytell certentye is therof lefte.

wherfore I haue shewed and dry∣uen certayne reasons after myne o∣pynyon and dull mynde, in the table before expressed / wherin it shall ap∣pere vnder correccyon, that the sayd season and tyme of this land beynge without kynge, to rekyn from the laste yere of Gracian vnto the fyrste yere of Constantyne no we next en∣suynge, was fully .xxxix. yere.

FINIT TRIBVYVM.

YE shall also forthermore vnder∣stande, that here endeth fynally y^e trybute and domynyon of the Ro∣maynes. For after thys daye they had no trybute to them payed / nor no Romayn prynce after this dayes ruled thys lande of Brytayne. The whyche trybute and domynyon en∣dured from the .ix. yere of Cassybel∣lan, vnto the tyme of Seuerus by the terme of two houndred and .lv. yeres. And from the tyme of Seue∣rus vnto the fyrste yere of Gracyan a houndred .lxxx. and .iii. yeres. And from the fyrst yere of Gracyan vnto the laste yere of thys mysery .xliii. ye∣res. So that from the yere that Iu∣lius Cesar made fyrste thys Ile of Brytayne trybutary vnto the empy∣re / vnto the last yere or ende of thys foresayd misery, flowyd .iiii. houn∣dred .xxxi. yeres. But Polycronyca sayth that the Romaynes ruled and had trybute of this lande about .iiii. houndred .lxx. yeres. whyche sayeng is full lyke to be true, yf the ende of theyr dominyon be determyned at y^e laste departyng of the Romayns out of thys lande.

ANd thus here an ende of the iiii. parte of thys worke / for so myche as the fornamed Gracian{us} was the laste of Romayne kynges y^t reygned in myche Brytayne / or that no trybute was after this day payed vnto the Romaynes.

wherfore in gyuynge thankes to that moste blessyd vyrgyne our lady saynte Mary, for the good exployte and spede had to thys tyme, and to opteyne her moste habundaūt grace for the perfourmaunce of the reste or other dele of the same: I here with all humblenesse sa¦lute her wyth the iiii. ioye of the forenamed vii. ioyes, the which begynneth,

Gaude nexu voluntatis. &c. O excellent pryncesse and quene celestyall / Be ioyous and glad, for thou eternally By knot of charyte, and dygnyte pryncypall Art to the hyghest ioyned celestyally That thou may impetre, what is necessary For thy seruauntes, thou virgyn moste pure Of thy swetteste Ihesu, and optayne it sure.

Thys .iiii. parte to be accompted from y^e fyrste yere of Seuerus, vnto the last ende or yere of thys misery: includeth of yeres .CC. and .xxvi.