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ADeulpus or Ethel¦wolphus the son of Egbertus / be∣ganne hys reygne ouer the westesa∣xons or Anglys, in the yere of oure lordes incarnacy∣on .viii. hundred and .xxxii / and the xvii. yere of Lewys the mylde then kynge of Fraunce.
Thys in his youth was wyllynge
to be a preste, and was enteryd the order of subdeacon.
But there after by dyspensacyon of Pascall the fyrst of that name pope / he was maryed to Osburga a wo∣man of lowe byrthe. By whome he hadde foure sonnes / that is to mea∣ne Ethelwalde, Ethelbert, Ethel∣drede, and Alurede / the whyche af∣ter theyr father reygned as kynges of Englād that one after that other, as after shall appere.
This Adeulphus after he hadde a certayne tyme ben kyng / he went to Rome, and toke wyth hym his yon∣gest sonne Alurede or Alphrede / and taryed there by the space of a yere. In the whyche season he repayred the Saxon scole / the whyche before tyme was there founden by Offa kynge of Mercia, as Guydo sayeth and other / but more veryly of Iue kynge of westsaxons, as sayth the authoure of the Floure of historyes. And for that he graunted of euery house of his kyngdome a peny, as in his storye is before shewyd.
But thys scole was sore decayed, and the house therof lately brent / the whyche thys Adeulphus newely repayred, and sette yt in better order then yt before was vsyd.
Thys kynge also to refourme the greuouse correccyons that he sawe there executyd to Englyshe men for spyrytuall offensys, as in werynge of irons and guyues: he graunted of euery fyre house of hys lande .i. d, as Iue foresayde hadde done.
By the whyche sayenge yt shulde seme / that by these two kynges shuld be grauntyd vnto Rome .ii. d. of eue¦ry fyre house thorough theyr lande.
But that maye not be so vnder∣stande / for thys Rome scot ys ga∣deryd of euery house a peny wyth∣out more.
wherfore yt muste folowe, that yt is mysse taken of wryters, that allege this dede to that one kynge for that other. How be yt, yt maye stande by reason, that Iue made the fyrste graunte, and this kynge after con∣fermyd the same. But the authoure of Cronica cronycarum sayth, that thys Adeulphus graunted to saynte Peter these sayde Peter pens / and spekyth no word of Iue nor of none other.
It is also shewyd of this kynge by Policronica / that he shulde for the ac¦quytynge of the chyrches of Englād of all maner of kynges trybute, pay¦ed yerely to Rome thre hundred mar∣kes. That ys to meane to saynte Pe¦ters chyrche a hundred markes / to the lyghte of saynt Paule a hundred marke / and to the popys treasorye a hundred marke. And ouer all thys of hys pure deuocyon, he offred to god & to saynte Peter the .x. parte of hys moueable goodes.
And also one cronycler sayth, that thys kynge founded fyrste the vny∣uersytye of Oxynforde / whyche was lykely to be done by Offa kynge of Mercia, for so myche as in his days flowred that famouse clerke Alcu∣mus or Albinus / the whych as sayth the frenche cronycle, was fyrste foū∣der of the scole of Parys and of Pa∣pya, as is before shewyd in ye story of Charlys the great, in the thyrd cha∣pyter of the sayde storye.
when Adeulphus hadde thus sped hys besynes and pylgrymage at Rome, he retournyd by Fraunce / where at that tyme was kyng of that lande Charlys the Ballyd, of whom he was ioyouslye receyued. And af∣ter he hadde dysportyd hym there a season / he spousyd the doughter of the sayde Charlys, in the .xx. yere of the reygne of the sayde Adeulphus, as testyfyeth Policronica in the .xxx. chapiter of his .v. boke / whych shuld
be the yere of the reygne of the sayde Charlis the .xi. But of this mariage is nothynge touchyd in the frenche cronycle.
Then Adeulphus takynge leue of the kynge / toke shyppynge and lan∣ded in Englande wyth his wyfe In∣dyth by name. And for that he con∣trary the law made in ye tyme of Brig¦thricus, sette his wyfe in the kynges trowne, and magnyfyed her lyke a quene / the lordes of his lande arose agayne hym, and pullyd from hym a great parte of his domynyon, and made his eldeste sonne ruler therof. whyche all was done in reproche of Ethelburga, whyche slew her lorde Brigthricus as before is shewyd. Lastly the mater was appeasyd, and he to his kyngly honour restoryd.
About this tyme Bertulph{us} kyng of Mercia, slewe wyckydly in the holy tyme of Penthecoste saynte wyl stone / whose holy bodye was buryed at Repyngedō. And in ye place where thys holy wylstone was slayne stode a pyller of lyghte .xxx. dayes after.
And in the yere folowynge dyed the sayde Bertulphus. After whose deth, Burdredus was made kynge of Mercia or myddell Englande / the whyche before tyme hadde spou∣syd the doughter of kynge Adeul∣phus.
In the later dayes of thys Adeul∣phus, the Danys dyd myche harme in Lyndesey, and also in kent / and frome thens came to London, and robbed and spoyled the cytye. wher∣fore Adeulphus gaderyd his people, and lastely mette wyth them in Sou¦therey vppon a downe called Oclea / and there dyscomfyted theym, not wythoute shedynge of great plente of the Anglis blood, and forsyd them to take the see / so that after they lan¦ded in eest Anglia as after shall ap∣pere. Then lastely dyed thys good kynge Adeulphus or Ethelwolph{us} / when he hadde ruled hys subictes nobly by accorde of moste wrytes ful¦ly .xxii. yere / and was buryed at wyn¦chester, leuynge after hym four son∣nys aforesayde.