THE .CLXXVII. CHAPITER.
LEwys the fourth af that na∣me, and sonne of Charlis as before is sayde / beganne his reygne ouer ye Frenchmen, in the yere of our lorde .viii. hundred .lxxx. & .vi / and the .xiiii. yere of Aluredus then kyng of Englande. Of thys Lewys yt ys testyfyed of dyuers wryters, that he shulde enamoure hym selfe vppon a menchon of the monastery of Chyell, and her drawe oute by force, and ma¦rye her vnto his wyfe. For the which dede and other, he purchasyd the a∣boue said name / & was called Lewis nought doynge.
In thys tyme the Danys, contra∣ry to theyr {pro}myse before made / made new warre wythin the land of Fraū∣ce. wherfore the Frenchmen hauyng lytell hope in theyr kynge / sente vn∣to Charlon or Charlys ye emperour, sonne of Lewys kynge of Germany as before is shewyd / requyryng him in all humble wyse to vysyte ye realm of Fraunce / and to defende yt from the persecucyon of the Danys.
In these dayes also was lyuynge in Fraunce the forenamed Hugh / whych as ye before haue herd / mayn¦teyned the quarell of Lewys & Char¦lys last kynges, agayn Lewys kyng of Germanye. The whyche Hugh of some writers is called Hue le graūd, that is Hugh the great. Thys man gaderyd an hoste of Frenchmen, and gaue batayll vnto the Danys, and slewe of them a great nomber.
It shulde seme by the wryters of the frenche storye, that these noble men of Fraunce, as thys Hugh and other, shulde haue the rule of the spy¦rytuall possessyons of abbayes and other houses of relygyon. For of myne Authour mayster Gagwyne, they are in laten named abbates / and in the Frenche boke abbis, whych is to meane abbottes.
And also yt is testyfyed of the sayd writers / that this Hugh and Robert erle of Parys, were the fyrst that left the dystrybucyon of those spyrytuall goodes vnto theyr knightes / & gaue ouer that name of abbotte, the why∣che in some other estates contynued tyll the dayes of Roberte kynge of Fraunce.
Then yt folowyth, accordynge to the request made vnto the emperour as aboue is shewyd / he gatheryd a stronge hoste of Italyons, and par∣ced the lande of Fraunce / and bare hym so vyctoryously agayne the Da¦nys, that he forced theym to obey to all theyr former promyse & condycy∣ons. But Eusebi{us} and other yt wrote the actes of the emperours / sayen, yt this Charlis whyche they name the thyrd of y• name, and also Grossus, yt is great / subdued the Danys of Fraunce, & compellyd theyr leder or prynce named there Rodefredus, to take the habyte of Crystes relygyon, and receyued hym at the coulde wa / ter. In whyche tyme or soone after (wherof ye tyme is not duely ascertay¦ned) dyed the forenamed kynge Lew¦ys surnamed nought doynge / when he hadde reygned after most wryters viii. yeres / leuyng after hym a sonne named Charlis, yt whyche after was surnamed symple. But for he was to yonge to take vpon hym such a char¦ge / the lordes put hym vnder good & conuenyent guydynge / and chase an other as foloweth to guyde ye lande tyll he were come to hys laufull age, whyche was named Eudo.