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 .CXXVII. CHAPITER.

THus dame Fortune fauoured the partye of Lotharius / that this kyngdome, whyche hadde from the tyme of Clodoueus Lewes cōty¦nued vnder .iiii. gouernours or ru∣lers for the more partye, nowe was fallen to hym / so that he hadde all vn¦der obeysaunce and rule / then anon thys Lotharius made Garnery pre∣fecte and mayster of hys paleys / and releasyd vnto the Longebardes or Lombardes a trybute of .xii. thou∣sand pounde yerely payde to the kyn¦ges of Frannce / the whych was fyrst sette vppon theym by Gunthranus hys vncle.

And in thys whyle to hys more en∣creace of wordely ioye / he receyuyd of hys wyfe Bergeruda a sonne, the whych he named Dagobertus. The whyche when he came to couenable age / he betoke to the lore of Arnolde then byshoppe of Me••s. And when the fyrste wyfe of Lotharius was ded / he maryed a seconde named Si¦childe, of whom he receyued a chyld and named yt Haybert. when Dago¦bert the fyrste sonne was comen to a lawfull age / after vsuell custome of all prynces of Fraunce, he gaue hym myche to the chase of wylde bestys. And as by chaunce one daye he fo∣lowed the chace of an hert / and tryed yt so sore y^t he broughte hym to a bay in a place that then was called the strete of Catulyen. In the whyche strete was then an old lytle chapell / to the whyche the forsayde herte en∣tred, and there helde hym / all be yt that a great nomber of houndes fo∣lowed hym to y^e chapell dore, & none of theym wold enter, but there stode bayenge. And when Dagobertus came after and behelde the maner of the houndes, and dyd what he coude to cause them to entre the chapel and

myghte not / he thus departed wyth∣out more doynge at that season, not wythout great meru••••••lynge in hys mynde.

It was not longe after, that Clo∣thayr cōsyderynge the frowardnesse of growyng in his sonne Dagobert / assygned to hym a tutour or lerner of worldely and knyghtely maners, whose name was Sadragesyle. And for his sonne shulde haue hym in the more awe and fere / the kyng gaue vn¦to the sayde tutoure the dukedome of Guyan. But so yt was one daye that for a cause thys Sadragesyle wold haue chastyzed this Dagobert / wherof he beyng ware, associated vn¦to hym certayne wanton persones and bete his mayster / & after in way of dyspyte caused the berd of hys tu∣tour to be shauen of. For the whyche dede Lothayre was agayne hym gre¦uously dyspleasyd / & in greatire and haste, sente for hys sonne Dagobert. But he feryng punyshement, wyth∣drewe hym, and went vnto the fore∣named chapell / trustyng veryly that wheretofore a beste was shewid such comforte, that he by holy prayers shulde there be comforted tyll suche tyme as he myghte atteyne vnto the grace of hys father.

ye shall vnderstande that before tyme after he hadde experyence of that wonder shewyd by the herte / he lerned that the holy martyrs saynte Denys, and hys two felowes Rusti∣cus and Eleutherius shulde be bu∣ryed wythin the sayde chapell / the whych were martyryd in the persecu¦cyon of Domycyane the emperour, aboute the yere of Crystes incarnacy¦on .lxxx. and .xvi. In the honoure of y^e whych martyrs the foresayd poore chapell was arreryd, as witnessyth the frenche cronycel, by the meanes of a deuout french man whose name ys not expressyd. Thus Dagobert in thys chapell abydynge in prayer / in the fyrste nyght he beyng in slepe, ap¦peryd vnto hym .iii. olde faders, say¦enge vnto hym / yonge man we be those martyrs, whyche many yeres passyd were slayne for the fayth of Cryste, and buryed in thys place by Catula that good woman. whyche place is not duely nor suffyciently ho¦noured / nor yet the people of Fraūce hath not vs in due reuerēce and wor¦shyppe. And therfore when thou art of myghte and power, then remem∣bre vs, and helpe thys place to be otherwyse buyldyd / whych shall not be longe to. And for thou shalte not take thys for a dreme or fantasye / dygge hereafter thys grounde, and thou shalte fynde oure thre bodyes hole and vncorrupt / and vppon eue¦ryche of vs our names with letters fresshely wryten. And after thys they vanyshed awaye.

when Dagobert awoke / he called well to mynde thys vysyon. And pro¦mysed inwardely betwene god and hym, that yf he were recouncylyd to hys father as to hym they hadde promysed / he wolde fulfyll that they hadde desyryd. After thys the father beynge warnyd that Dagobert was in thys chapell / sent vnto the place certayne of hys knyghtes to pull or take hym thens per force. And when they came wythin a myle of y^e sayde chapell / they were so astonyed that they myghte not go one fote forwar∣de to do the beste they coude.

when they hadde long stryuē with oute preuaylynge / they retournyd to the kynge, and shewed to hym y^e trouthe in all thynge as they had done.

The kynge beynge dyscontent wyth theyr reporte, blamed theym, and sayde that they feryd hys sonne, for the whyche cause they hadde fayned that excuse.

And incontynently he sente forth an other company / the which were delte wyth in lyke maner as y^e other. were Lothari{us} somdele troubled wyth the reporte of his seruauntes / consyde∣ryd the chapell to be nere vnto Pa∣ris where he then lay / & cōmaundyd his horse to be brought, for he wolde proue the mater hym selfe. But lyke as his seruauntes were seruyd, euen so became of hym / so that he myghte go or ryde frowarde or sydewarde / but towarde the chapell myght he in no wyse atteyne.

when this was knowen to y^e kyng / he cōsydered well yt was the handy∣worke of god. wherfore by fayre and easy meanes he called home his son, and recouncylyd hym, and forgaue all trespace. To this accordyth the le¦gende of the lyfe of saynte Denys, wyth more that shall after folowe in the storye of this Dagobert.

After thys reconcylyacyon, Lotha¦rius ordeyned vnder hym hys sonne Dagobert to be ruler of the sygnory of Austracye. But whyther yt were by the elacyon of hys owne mynde, or by badde counsayll, he shortely af¦ter rebellyd agayne hys father / and wolde haue reteyned that prouynce to his owne vse.

For thys were chosen .xii. noble men of Fraūce, to arbytre and deme betwene the father and the son. The whyche Lordes after they had longe debated this mater / by fayre entrea∣tyse contentyd so the father, that he gaue vnto the sonne the sayde lord∣shyppe of Austracy.

Soone after thys accorde, Clo∣thayre made warre vppon the Go∣this or Saxons / and them at length subdued. For yt is to be knowē, that lyke as the sayde Saxons inuadyd myche Brytayne or Englande / in ly∣kewyse warryd they in Fraunce / and lastely subdued the prouynce of Neustria and named yt after theym Normandye, as after in the storye of Charlis the symple shall more euy∣dently appere.

Of thys vyctorye of Saxons ys made a longe rehersayll / and howe lastly when Clothayre hadde slayne the kynge or ruler of theym named Berthrande, he after yode into the countrey of Germanye, and slewe man and chylde that passyd y^e length of hys swerde.

Of this and other dedes by this Lo¦thayre done, I myght make a longe worke / but I passe ouer.

Then yt foloweth, when Lothayre hadde set his countrey in some reste / he assembled hys lordes at a cytye or towne called Traacas or Trecas. And after dyuers maters dyscussyd and endyd / he axed of theym perfyte allegeaunce and fydelite to hym and hys heyres to be kepte. The wyche by the sayde lordes fyrmely promy∣sed and assuryd / he commaundyd e∣ueryche of theym to repayre to theyr owne countreys. And soone after he made an assemble of hys byshoppes and spyrytuall men at the cytye or towne of Troys / by whose counsayl∣lys he orderyd thynges and maters concernynge the wele of the chyrche. And shortly after he was vexyd with greuous sekenes / wherof he fynally dyed, when he hadde reygned after moste wryters .xliii. yeres, leuynge for heyre the forenamed Dagobert / the whyche enterryd hys fader wyth great pōpe at the abbey of saynt Uin¦cent wythoute the wallys of Paris / the whiche abbey is at thys daye cal¦led saynte Germaynes.

The foresayde yeres accomptyd for the reygne of Lothayre / be ac∣comptyd from the fyrste daye that he was ordeyned kynge of Soysons, vnto the daye of hys deth. wherof he reygnyd after some wryters ouer a

parte .xxvii. yeres / & ouerall Fraūce xvi. yeres. whyche make the full of xliii. yeres.